Tag Archives: Facebook

Don’t Tag Me Bro!

August 15, 2008 By in Uncategorized Tags: , , , 2 Comments

Maybe it’s because I think I’m un-photogenic, always have, always will; that I don’t want photos of me tagged. I choose the pictures of myself that I want to share with the world carefully. Sorry, does that make me weird?

And maybe it’s also because I value my privacy – something to do with a creeping sense that what with Facebook, Gmail chat status, twitter, Flickr, Zoominfo, and LinkedIn – someone always knows what I’m doing right now, i.e. what my status is, what I did last night, who I did it with, what I’m going to do today, tomorrow and next week and who else will be there.

Now I’ll be the first to admit: I buy into this stuff with the best of them. I change my Facebook status when I want to be noticed, and when I want to share. When someone takes out a camera at a party I rush over because I want to be in the picture, because I want to be tagged together with these people. Continue reading →

Soldier jailed for Facebook pic

April 25, 2008 By in Israel, Israel Defense Forces, Uncategorized Tags: , , 2 Comments

Seems like the message is finally starting to get through to the army, which has really let this thing go on for far too long. This is the first tangible thing to have happened since I published the original article exposing all this stuff.

A soldier serving in the IDF’s elite 8200 military intelligence unit was sentenced to 19 days in prison on Wednesday for uploading a picture onto the Facebook social networking site.

The IDF would not comment on the exact nature of the photograph, but said the punishment was in proportion to the committed offense. Military sources said an IDF directive prohibits photography on bases without official approval.

The sources said the soldier in question would be punished for taking pictures on a military base without permission. Continue reading →

IDF YouTube

April 13, 2008 By in Uncategorized Tags: , , 2 Comments

I’m blown away by the amount of material posted by Israelis during their service in the Israel Defense Forces, including Facebook and YouTube. I published the story below in today’s paper and on this blog, and since then several people have drawn my attention to more material out there, stuff I think should be classified. It seems that the most incriminating stuff has been posted by soldiers on reserve duty, pretty much wanting to show off to their friends and perhaps recapture some of the glory they felt when they were in their mandatory service. These guys are literally filming their tours of duty, including weapons training, going back home and uploading their videos onto YouTube. Some are even editing them and adding music and titles. I sincerely hope that somebody is starting to take a serious look at this problem.

Michael Freund pointed out some IDF training exercises he found on YouTube. This stuff is out in the open and anyone typing in Israel and military into YouTube will find this stuff, so I don’t feel like I’m revealing state secrets here. Continue reading →

IDFacebook

April 13, 2008 By in Uncategorized Tags: , , 3 Comments

Got this response from the IDF Spokesperson’s Office today for both the Facebook and YouTube stories:

Regulations stipulate that it is not permissible to film or take pictures inside any IDF facility or during an IDF operation unless the photographer has express permission. These regulations are designed to prevent people without proper security clearance from accessing classified information and the appearance of such materials in the press or on the internet. The IDF is working to raise awareness among soldiers and reservists about operational and security dangers that maybe caused by classified information carelessly uploaded to the internet. The IDF is taking a broad response to the problem, which includes education, monitoring and disciplinary enforcement.

And now, on to the story:

Dozens, perhaps hundreds, of photographs of classified Israeli military information are available freely for perusal on the popular Facebook social networking Web site. [PICTURES AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST]. Continue reading →

Sderot’s Facebook status: Angry

February 10, 2008 By in Facebook, Israel, Sderot Tags: , , , 7 Comments

Since I wrote this story at the start of the week, hundreds of people have joined the group. The group currently has over 350 members [up from 45 on Monday] and a whole new range of materials on building and firing rockets. I’m not sure how I feel about the ‘success’ this group is seeing, partly, I assume, thanks to the ‘Post story on today’s front page and on our website. I’m not sure its a good idea for Sderot people to make their own rockets and shoot them back at Gaza, and I don’t want to encourage it. But as you can see from the comments on the group, many people think its an idea whose time has come.

Here’s the original story:

A new Facebook group urges Sderot residents to use the internet to learn how to make crude rockets, like the Kassams fired at them from the Gaza Strip, and shoot them back at the Palestinians.

The group, which currently has 45 members, posts instructional material from the Internet on how to make rockets.

Sderot, just a few kilometers to the east of the Gaza Strip, has been under constant Kassam rocket bombardment since the end of 2000. A recent report showed that over 70 percent of the town’s children are suffering from trauma. About 10 percent of the town’s inhabitants have left to seek out a quieter life. Continue reading →

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