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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 30-Jun-2013
30-Jun-13 World View -- Mass demonstrations on Sunday can affect Egypt's future

Web Log - June, 2013

30-Jun-13 World View -- Mass demonstrations on Sunday can affect Egypt's future

Tech: Computer viruses increasingly attack mobile phones

This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com

Mass demonstrations on Sunday can affect Egypt's future
Morsi's opponents in Egypt list the human rights complaints against him
Egypt shuts down the smuggling tunnels with Gaza
Tech: Computer viruses increasingly attack mobile phones

Mass demonstrations on Sunday can affect Egypt's future

Muslim Brotherhood members wave sticks and shout slogans in support of president Mohamed Morsi (Reuters)

Muslim Brotherhood members wave sticks and shout slogans in support of president Mohamed Morsi (Reuters)

Two and a half years after mass demonstrations toppled Egypt's president Hosni Mubarak, who had ruled for decades, the biggest mass demonstrations since then are planned for Sunday by opponents of president Mohamed Morsi, as the first anniversary of ascension to power arrives. The "Tamarod" (rebel) movement has gathered over 22 million signatures demanding that Morsi step down.

On Saturday, thousands of people gathered in Tahrir Square in Cairo, in anticipation of Sunday's demonstrations. At the same time, Muslim Brotherhood members and Morsi supporters have been gathering for a counter-demonstration. Both sides say they want to avoid violence, but there have already been violent clashes the last few days, and a young American student was killed as collateral damage. Religious leaders have warned of "civil war," but the army has said it will step in if violence gets out of control.

It's worth mentioning, at least in passing, that these mass demonstrations are not directed at either Israel or America. There are plenty of anti-Israel and anti-America demonstrations in the Mideast, but not in Egypt. Al-Ahram (Cairo) and Reuters

Morsi's opponents in Egypt list the human rights complaints against him

As Egypt approaches the first anniversary of the election Mohamed Morsi as the first elected president in thousands of years, Morsi's popularity has suffered because of massive economic problems, including high unemployment and massive gasoline shortages.

The opponents of Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood party are pointing to a number of human rights violations perpetrated by Morsi since he was elected President last year. As Egypt's first elected president in thousands of years, he was initially given the benefit of the doubt by many Egyptians, especially after his stunning success in mediating last year's war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. However, his prestige and support evaporated very quickly after that, when stunned the nation by issuing a decree giving himself dictatorial powers and forcing adoption of a new constitution written by and for the Muslim Brotherhood.

Morsi's opponents are now saying that he never cared about the Egyptian people, or reversing the human rights violations when Hosni Mubarak was in power. They point to the following:

He brutally suppressed political and social protest movements.

He gave his Muslim Brotherhood supporters free rain to use violence to punish and intimidate their opponents, including through torture and even killings.

He's taken revenge against the courts, including the Supreme Constitutional Court, for opposing some of his decrees, by dismissing judges and ignoring court rulings.

Military trials from the Mubarak era are continuing in the Morsi era.

He expanded harassment of journalists and media workers.

He's given the Muslim Brotherhood control over the labor unions.

During the election campaign, Morsi was the "Hope and Change" candidate who promised a free, secular society that would NOT be controlled by the Muslim Brotherhood, with a growing economy and opportunity for everyone. Morsi's opponents say that he never meant any of his promises, and that they were all forgotten the day he was elected.

In a conciliatory speech on Thursday, Morsi said:

"I stand before you as an Egyptian citizen, not as the holder of an office, who is fearful for his country.
Today, I present an audit of my first year, with full transparency, along with a road map. Some things were achieved and others not. I have made mistakes on a number of issues."

Morsi apologized for the fuel shortages, and for not involving the nation's youth more in the new political system. All Africa and Al-Jazeera

Egypt shuts down the smuggling tunnels with Gaza

With June 30 approaching, Egyptian security has harshly cracked down on smuggling though tunnels connecting Gaza to Egypt's Sinai region. The result has been a fuel shortage in Gaza, doubling of the price of building materials and the shutting down some construction sites. Morsi's policies with regard to the tunnels has been very severe for several months, ever since a brutal terrorist attack in Sinai was blamed on jihadists from Gaza.

When Mohamed Morsi became president and the Muslim Brotherhood scored major political victories last year, the people of Gaza were ecstatic, believing that Morsi would completely open up the crossings between Gaza and Egypt. Whether or not Morsi actually intended to open up the crossings, what he actually did do was to maintain Mubarak's policy of keeping the crossings closed, and make it even more strict in some ways. Al-Ahram (Cairo) and AP

Tech: Computer viruses increasingly attack mobile phones

Statistics from a new report are quite dramatic:

Computer malware or viruses that attack mobile devices are skyrocketing.

92% of all malware attacks target smartphones running the Android operating system from Google. Nearly 70% of all smartphones shipped in 2012 were Androids.

96% of all Android smartphones have old versions of the operating system, and so are completely unprotected by the latest security fixes.

Most of the malware comes from malicious apps that the users install. One common malicious app is one that tricks the user into sending SMS messages to premium-rate numbers, resulting in charges up to $10 per message.

The latest version of the Android OS protects against many of these attacks, but only 4% of the Androids have the latest version. The problem is that mobile carriers (Verizon, Sprint, etc.) do not update their customers' phones because it's too much trouble for them, even though it leaves their own customers exposed to malware. Users should demand that their carriers provide the updates, and should sue the carriers if they lose money because an old Android OS version allowed an expensive attack to occur.

If you purchase a new Android phone, one thing you should investigate is whether the Android operating system is capable of being updated directly by Google, rather than by the carrier. This way, you'll at least have the latest security fixes. Dark Reading

(Comments: For reader comments, questions and discussion, see the 30-Jun-13 World View -- Mass demonstrations on Sunday can affect Egypt's future thread of the Generational Dynamics forum. Comments may be posted anonymously.) (30-Jun-2013) Permanent Link
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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 30-Jun-2013 30-Jun-13 World View -- Mass demonstrations on Sunday can affect Egypt's future

Mass demonstrations on Sunday can affect Egypt's future

Morsi's opponents in Egypt list the human rights complaints against him

Egypt shuts down the smuggling tunnels with Gaza

Tech: Computer viruses increasingly attack mobile phones

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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 30-Jun-2013
30-Jun-13 World View -- Mass demonstrations on Sunday can affect Egypt's future