Libya: Operation Odyssey Dawn details revealed online

Libya: Operation Odyssey Dawn details revealed online

The international coalition’s armed forces have been in action in Libya for over a week now, and the French and American armies are being transparent with information, by uploading daily Operation Odyssey Dawn updates on to their web sites.

But some web users are finding out their own information on this military intervention. One former Dutch soldier intercepted and posted this warning message broadcast repeatedly by one of the coalition’s planes: "The Gaddafi regime forces are violating a United Nations resolution ordering an end to hostilities in your country."

This fan of radio airwaves has been translating highly detailed information on the coalition’s military intervention and posting it on Twitter since the start of the intervention: Flight durations, movements of jets in the Libyan skies or the radio frequencies used by pilots … these constantly updated posts are being followed by over 10 000 web users.

And he is not the only one interested in the military operation… This other web user is also monitoring the airwaves and, using tanker aircraft itineraries, has managed to gather information on the activity of the three B2 stealth bombers, which attacked Libya’s anti-aircraft defenses.

And it has been possible to track some of these tankers flights on the site Flight Radar 24. Former pilot David Cenciotti has been doing just this and each day, on his blog, he deciphers the military messages which are full of codes, and also gives his own military and strategic analysis of operations underway.

Egyptian-American blogger arrested in Syria

Web users are mobilising in support of Egyptian-American blogger Mohammed Radwan. This 32 year old engineer worked in Damascus and was arrested by Syrian authorities on Friday. He is accused of spying, and appeared on state run television on Saturday where he “confessed” to accepting money from Colombian media in exchange for photos and videos of the troubles in Syria.

In his last Twitter message which he posted on Friday, Mohamed Radwan describes the situation in one of the capital’s mosques where an anti-government rally was taking place. The blogger had been posting intermittent accounts of the anti-government uprising since the protests against President Bashar al-Assad began on the 15th March.

But according to his friends and family, his televised confession was forced out of him to help spread the theory of a foreign conspiracy aimed at destabilizing Syria. On her blog, his cousin Nora Shalaby refutes the accusations made against Mohamed Radwan and explains that he was in contact with a Colombian radio, and so no images were needed.

Another of his cousins, Tarek Shalaby, has set up a Facebook page, calling for his release. The group rapidly drew in hundreds of people.

Many Egyptian cyber activists, like journalist Hossam el-Hamalawy, started campaigning for the blogger’s release immediately. Mr. Radwan was highly active online during the Egyptian revolution.

Nasser Weddady feels that the Syrian government could be committing a strategic error by arresting a member of a network of activists who played a vital role in the Square Tahrir demonstrations.

Protests around the world

With the site World at Protest it is now possible to follow all the protests that are taking place across the globe. The information comes from numerous online media sources dealing with the subject, and you just have to click on a country to read about all the latest developments. Web users can even look back over past movements using a time line at the bottom of the page.

Slow loris videos fuel endangered species trade

The Slow Loris has become a victim of its own online success. Videos of this primate from the forests of south East Asia have been viewed millions of times on the web. In recent years this popularity has turned the animal into a fashionable pet, leading to an increase in trafficking. The slow Loris is in fact an endangered species and on the International Union for Conservation and Nature’s red list.

Video of the day

80 movie titles in 2 minutes: it’s possible. In this mash up, the titles are delivered by the characters themselves. This clip should be hit with film enthusiasts everywhere.