Protests as Condi Rice joins Dropbox

11 April 2014 Last updated at 15:06 Ms Rice, US Secretary of State 2005-2009, was appointed by Dropbox to help expand their global footprint The appointment of ex-US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to the board of technology firm Dropbox is being criticised by some service users.

Protests on social media say she is a controversial figure after revelations of widespread wiretapping on US citizens during her time in office.

A petition has been launched inviting supporters to boycott the firm.

However some analysts claim the bigger concerns for the file-sharing company are competing services.

Following the launch of Mailbox for Android and the wider implementation of Dropbox for Business, the company also announced the addition of Condoleezza Rice as a new board member.

Ms Rice, who served as former President George W Bush's Secretary of State from 2005 to 2009 and National Security Adviser 2001 - 2005, was appointed by the company to expand its global footprint, according to its official blog.

However, this has been condemned by some Dropbox users who have launched a campaign.

Voicing concerns on social media, some have said it is inappropriate for the file-sharing company to hire Ms Rice, accusing her of being involved in widespread wiretapping during her time in office.

Those pressing Dropbox to revoke Ms Rice's appointment are using the hashtag #DropDropbox in an attempt to boycott the company. A petition has also been created which amassed approximately 3,000 signatures in its first few hours.

Another site said: "This is deeply disturbing, and anyone - or any business - who values ethics should be concerned," before listing a number of Dropbox alternatives for those who wish to boycott the company.

It also says Ms Rice should not hold power at Dropbox because of her role in the Iraq war.

'Short-term'

However, Chris Green, Principal Technology Analyst of Davies Murphy Group, told the BBC that most users probably wouldn't be concerned over Ms Rice's appointment.

"The vast majority of the company's 275 million users are unlikely to be swayed or concerned by the short-term negative PR that Condoleezza Rice's appointment is generating for Dropbox," he said.

"The backlash is fuelled far more by pent-up anger at the administration she served in than a genuine concern for the security of Dropbox users' data.

The bigger concern for Dropbox, says Mr Green, is the growing competition it faces, which includes big names such as Microsoft, Google and Amazon.

All of them "are offering competing services with either more free storage or more compelling commercial packages than Dropbox offers."

The company has yet to release an official statement addressing the backlash, but a recent Dropbox blog post said: "We're honoured to be adding someone as brilliant and accomplished as Ms Rice to our team."

Gaddafi urges mass Libya protests

6 October 2011 Last updated at 18:31 Anti-Gaddafi forces have been stepping up their attacks on the city of Sirte Libya's ousted leader Col Muammar Gaddafi has called on Libyans to come on to the streets "in their millions" to resist the nation's interim leaders.

In an audio message broadcast on Syrian-based Arrai television, he says conditions in Libya have become "unbearable".

The message comes as heavy fighting continues between anti-Gaddafi forces and loyalists for the city of Sirte.

The whereabouts of Col Gaddafi remain unknown.

Eluded capture

Col Gaddafi and his spokesman have regularly used Arrai as a means of getting his message across since he was forced from the capital, Tripoli, by forces of the National Transitional Council (NTC) on 23 August.

Col Gaddafi's last speech on Arrai was on 20 September.

It was unclear when Thursday's poor quality broadcast was recorded, but in it he says: "I call on the Libyan people, men and women, to go out into the squares and the streets in all the cities in their millions.

"Go peacefully... be courageous, rise up, go to the streets, raise our green flags to the skies.

"Don't be afraid of anyone. You are the people. You have right on your side. You are the rightful people of this land."

NTC troops around Bani Walid are said to be getting reinforcements soon

Col Gaddafi questioned the right of the NTC to govern, asking: "How did it get its legitimacy? Did the Libyan people elect them? Did the Libyan people appoint them?"

He added: "To those who recognise this council, be ready for the creation of transitional councils imposed by the power of fleets [Western powers] to replace you one by one from now on."

Col Gaddafi has eluded capture since the fall of the capital and despite speculation of his presence in Bani Walid, Sirte, Sabha and other areas further south, there has been no confirmation of his whereabouts.

Intense fighting is meanwhile continuing for Sirte, 360km (225 miles) east of Tripoli and one of the last loyalist bastions.

One NTC commander, Nasser el-Mgasibi, told AFP news agency: "Today we carried out a pincer movement to try to cut off the Mauritanian Quarter, where there are a number of [loyalist] fighters, and to cut off their rear."

Gun battles took place along a section of the seafront, with another NTC commander saying that loyalist snipers were constantly changing positions to try to pretend the Gaddafi troops were making advances.

Thousands of civilians have fled Sirte but the NTC believes hundreds are still there.

Some of those who have escaped have complained of indiscriminate Nato and NTC bomb and artillery fire.

Nato insists it has not struck Sirte since the weekend and "is siding with none of the forces on the ground", AFP reports.

There are also reports that a 1,000-strong NTC brigade is being sent to the other major loyalist bastion, Bani Walid, to try to break an impasse there.

Meanwhile, Nato defence ministers are meeting in Naples to discuss the Libya campaign.

US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta, who is meeting military commanders of the campaign, said it had been a "remarkable achievement".

Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said: "We are determined to pursue our operation as long as threats persist, but to end it as soon as conditions permit."

Video: Violent crackdown on Syrian protests continues

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Protests in Egypt: The Twilight of the Despots – By Stefan Weidner at Qantara de

In his essay, Stefan Weidner points out that Mubarak is not the only one who seems to have lost touch with the reality of the situation in Egypt, so too have Western governments and media

 
The beginning of the end of the regime? “Mubarak is still officially in power, but that power is disconnected from Ground Control, floating off like Major Tom in outer space. The engine of change is hurtling full steam ahead, but the President’s carriage, the one still receiving all the international calls, has been left standing on the tracks,” writes Stefan Weidner

To Egyptian ears, it must have sounded like mockery when US President Barack Obama, who once seemed to be the bearer of international hope, said on Friday that he had impressed upon Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak his responsibility to deliver reform.

On Sunday morning, 19 private jets carrying the families of businessmen close to the regime left Cairo for the Gulf states. No police have been seen on the streets of the capital for the past three days. No one is curtailing the people’s freedom to demonstrate any more; at most it is the demonstrators themselves who are calling for order and turning, when necessary, to the army for help.

Read complete article at Qantara de

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Filed under: Arab countries, Egypt, Israel, Palestine, President Obama Tagged: | Arab countries, Democracy, Egypt, Europe, Human Rights Abuses, Israel, President Obama, The west, Tunisia, US Media

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