Battleangel

A little reminder from Boing Boing that we may be seeing a shift in policy towards the Internet, all in the name of freedom and fighting terrorism. The powers that be already tried to sell the idea that piracy funds terrorism with some success and now it’s time for the notion that the free and boundless wired world is cultivating the very same. And like with piracy there are real or perceived economic and power factors behind the scenes. The powers that be are ruing the day they let the Internet slip by them due to sheer ignorance. And now they want it back. I wonder what is next on the list … anything but the real reasons for terrorism I am sure.

Not long ago, CNN’s Miles O’Brien tossed off a comment implying that where Al Qaeda is concerned, the Internet may be the problem. Today the Washington post is running a longer piece (requires free registration) that says:

“al Qaeda has become the first guerrilla movement in history to migrate from physical space to cyberspace. With laptops and DVDs, in secret hideouts and at neighborhood Internet cafes, young code-writing jihadists have sought to replicate the training, communication, planning and preaching facilities they lost in Afghanistan with countless new locations on the Internet.”

One can only be amazed with the transparancy of the system at work here. Note how the “terrorists” are now described as teenage hackers living in someone’s basement. They’re “code-writing jihadists” no less. They drink coke, they don’t shave, shower, they’re probably developing a beer gut as we speak and they probably don’t even have a real job. Ah, the bohemians.

So … people have started to jump the bandwagon. Expect this to pick up speed.