digg

Join DiggAbout

Discover the best of the web!
Learn more about Digg by taking the tour.

Twitter Saves Berkeley Student Arrested in Egypt

mercurynews.com — Buck, 29, used the ubiquitous short messaging service to tap out a single word on his cellular phone: ARRESTED. The message went out to the cell phones and computers of a wide circle of friends in the United States and to the mostly leftist, anti-government bloggers in Egypt who are the subject of his graduate journalism project.

Bury
show profanity settings
expand all
  • GerryBot, on 04/16/2008, -3/+138You'd kick yourself if you thought of that but realised you'd never linked your Twitter account to your mobile phone...
    • dgendreau, on 04/16/2008, -6/+1oops. petition already linked below... never mind
    • heavyd14, on 04/16/2008, -0/+19Don't most jails take your possessions and/or cuff you? Kind of hard to send a text without your phone.
      • OwdenBowden, on 04/16/2008, -3/+7its Egypt. You are lucky if they tie you up to a non spitting camel.
        • naonao, on 04/16/2008, -0/+4No such thing as a non-spitting camel.
        • ThndrShk2k, on 04/16/2008, -1/+2"No such thing as a non-spitting camel."
          Thats where the luck comes in. You're ***** out of it.
    • Capta1nA, on 04/16/2008, -0/+2Or if there was no reception available. Or if they took your phone.
    • CthulhuDawn, on 04/17/2008, -0/+240404: ARRESTED!
      *****...
  • decepticrat, on 04/16/2008, -5/+108While it's great that thanks (in part) to Twitter he was released, his Egyptian interpreter, Mohammed Salah Ahmed Maree, who was arrested with him is still being held incommunicado by Egyptian authorities. Please read the article in full and then please go sign this petition to support the release of Mohammed Maree.

    http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/free-mohammed-mar ...
    • dgendreau, on 04/16/2008, -1/+12fixed link:
      http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/free-mohammed-mar ...
      • fkr3, on 04/16/2008, -4/+36lol @ another online petition. You're kidding yourselves if you think you're actually doing something worthwhile signing those.

        Donate money or volunteer with Amnesty International or the Red Cross if you actually want to help people like the interpreter.
        • sougly, on 04/16/2008, -2/+2It seems even more useless when you see how many diggs the post got for a broken link hours before a fixed link was posted.
        • petebot, on 04/16/2008, -1/+4why can't they do both?
          • fkr3, on 04/16/2008, -3/+6They can do both they shouldn't do the online petition. It's just a self-validating and pointless action to make idiots on the internet delude themselves into believing they're having a positive impact on the world without actually making any sacrifice at all. Spreading online petitions, signing them and especially believing they actually work just reinforces the ***** belief that doing nothing is "enough".
          • wellyuk, on 04/16/2008, -0/+3So 10,000 people sign this petition. Then what happens? Does thepetitionsite.com print out and send the petition to whomever or what? Does it remain online? I don't quite understand the process.
          • awesometastic1, on 04/16/2008, -0/+3@wellyuk. see I don't think you understand how this works:
            Step 1: underpants *cough* signatures
            Step2:
            = Freedom
    • scuvball, on 04/16/2008, -1/+17"I'm very angry and I'm frustrated. I'm an American and I got released and he didn't. It makes me feel guilty and upset and I'm not going to stop until he gets out," Buck said.

      I felt quite the same way when I was in Egypt. There is security all over the place - metal detectors at every door, armed police standing guard everywhere. It's funny, they would let all of us (obviously white) tourists walk right through the metal detectors without stopping us - only paying attention to arabs who would walk through. It does inspire guilt, but there are reasons for this type of security.

      In 1997 (http://terror.fredogfrihed.dk/attacks.htm), 65 tourists were killed in Hatshepsut temple by gunmen. Western people (see, white) are not going to go to Egypt to commit violent crime. My tour leader, the bus drivers, all faced tough scrutiny when going through checkpoints where all the tourists with me faced none. Although it sucks to have to go through that type of security as an Egyptian, tourists demand safety and that's the only way the country can provide it. Tourism is the second leading revenue earner for them besides the Suez canal.
    • kaelyiesta, on 04/16/2008, -2/+6Sigh, governments just love to control people no matter the nation. How did we humans ever come to this point where one man will put another in a confined room against his will for documenting a gathering of people? It seems so absurd once phrased in such a simple, honest language.
    • rupturexcore, on 04/17/2008, -4/+3Gee, I know! After I sign this petition, they'll surely let him out!

      Honey isn't this great?! Now that I've done my good deed for the week, I'm sure God won't be angry about me making love to your anus!
    • JasonHaley, on 04/17/2008, -0/+1Glad to see these comments, the poster's title should be a political message on Egypt's tyranny but instead it sounds more like an advertisement for Twitter.
  • nelsonjs, on 04/16/2008, -105/+2Well done Twitter. What a great site. Feel free to follow me on Twitter for updates on politics and tech news: http://twitter.com/josh__nelson
    • saxreturns, on 04/16/2008, -2/+52Feel free to take your spam elsewhere.
    • Dylson, on 04/16/2008, -0/+39You just did that? Seriously? Wow....
      • wellyuk, on 04/16/2008, -1/+2He really did. Incredible. He's obviously new around here.

        Buried and blocked.
        • diggmeyoubitch, on 04/17/2008, -1/+1Alright, I've been on digg for over a year now, and I have yet to see this elusive "block" that I have heard so much about. I buried his ass, but I see no block option. Do I have to report it before the block becomes available?
          • HellifIno, on 04/17/2008, -0/+1After you bury, an icon appears between their name and "X hours ago".
    • Ataxia2008, on 04/16/2008, -2/+21How about I just use Digg for politic and tech news and not your spam filled piece of *****
    • greenlight2001, on 04/16/2008, -1/+20What the ***** do I care what you're doing moment to moment? Do I even know you?
    • AmICoolNow, on 04/17/2008, -0/+5Can you post your myspace, too!?
    • jb0nd38372, on 04/17/2008, -1/+3Dear Sir,

      After reading your comment and the following replies afterwords; In short sir, you screwed yourself on that comment.
  • socialpyramid, on 04/16/2008, -12/+3"He's from Hanover, NH and after graduation from Colgate, he took a summer job at The Dartmouth, the student newspaper at Yale, which is in Hanover." Yale is in Hanover? I don't think so..
    • tonaros, on 04/16/2008, -2/+1Sure it is, just use your imagination.
    • mancat, on 04/16/2008, -0/+2Maybe it isn't yet, but Yale Physics Dept. is working on that.
  • numberneal, on 04/16/2008, -1/+15now that's what i call a social media campaign.
  • viciouspictures, on 04/16/2008, -35/+5that's why I tied my Twitter into the ol' cell phone. i haven't been arrested yet, but i did see a really, really fat cat the other day while driving and texted that one in. phew! http://twitter.com/hollywoodriot
  • notque, on 04/16/2008, -38/+12What is with everyone posting their twitter account? That's just shameful whoring. http://twitter.com/notq
  • saxreturns, on 04/16/2008, -4/+157Hooray, Twitter actually finally became useful!
    • vornan19, on 04/16/2008, -2/+2The Egyptian Authorities won't forget Twitter next time!
    • CthulhuDawn, on 04/17/2008, -0/+1Twitter kicks ass.
    • JasonHaley, on 04/17/2008, -1/+2If this was before Twitter the headline would read have just read "Blackberry" and before that "Messenger" or before that "Text messaging" or before that "Phone call" or before that he could have just said "Yes I want to be released because no one knows I'm here."
  • KidSupreme, on 04/16/2008, -16/+2SPAM, SPAM, paid for SPAM!
  • shyboy2008, on 04/16/2008, -24/+5i am going to create a service called Twatter. u can post messages via cellphone if your getting raped.
    • Ataxia2008, on 04/16/2008, -2/+16*I
      *You
      *You're
    • solidus636, on 04/16/2008, -0/+2I doubt you are smart enough.
    • xjeffx, on 04/17/2008, -0/+1I don't like that idea. It increases the chance of me getting caught.
      wait, what? was that my outside voice?!!!?!??!?!?!
  • bxblox, on 04/16/2008, -17/+111Twitter is useless, stop trying to convince me it isnt.
    • pintomp3, on 04/16/2008, -4/+31fine. stay in jail then.
      • rhinitus, on 04/17/2008, -0/+6how would this have been any different than just texting someone?
        • opiniastrous, on 04/17/2008, -0/+10Not much, but I suppose there is the face that Twitter allowed him to send the message to hundreds of people, maximising the chance that he would be helped.
    • boodog, on 04/16/2008, -11/+3Dont worry you can hate all you want, but one day you'll be addicted to! It's right up there with IM, email and other social network sites like FB
      • wellyuk, on 04/16/2008, -1/+4Don't worry, you can hate all you want but one day you'll be addicted too! It's right up there with IM, email and other social network sites, like facebook.

        Not difficult is it?
      • whyufail, on 04/17/2008, -1/+4All of which are terrible. I can't count how many students I've wanted to set on fire because they won't get the ***** off facebook and let us close the computer lab.
        • Skooma714, on 04/17/2008, -0/+3You do understand you have every right to initiate a shutdown whether they like it or not?
      • Sawta, on 04/17/2008, -0/+1What the ***** is FB?
    • joegibes, on 04/17/2008, -0/+5takin a dump, wow its not comin out well about 1 hour ago from web
    • CthulhuDawn, on 04/17/2008, -1/+2Don't hate!
  • atbnet, on 04/16/2008, -2/+5While it would be neat to spam people that you need bail money, I really don't think this would work in the United States because they take all your stuff from you and most importantly they HANDCUFF you.
    • aliguana, on 04/16/2008, -0/+6you think the Egyptians DON'T take your stuff from you?

      If that was in the US, and you Twittered "arrested", all it would mean is your "friends" would come round your house and help themselves to your plasma and the beer in your fridge.
  • strobelite33, on 04/16/2008, -5/+3internet win!
    • brkhobowriter, on 04/17/2008, -0/+1you lose!
    • TheImmigrant, on 04/17/2008, -1/+1wow your comment was so out of touch you just got your self an "epic fail!"
  • noahgelman, on 04/16/2008, -20/+1what language do the Egyptions speak? Is it Egypttion? B/c idk if thats a real language. Help?
    • rpayne656, on 04/16/2008, -0/+13Buried for the inability to use Google.
    • Ndiggnation, on 04/16/2008, -1/+1Demotic..:)
    • ORBAT, on 04/16/2008, -1/+5Did your mother kick you in the head too much when you were little, or were you actually born that stupid?
    • airquotes, on 04/16/2008, -0/+7Arabic mainly.. Please read a book.
  • jer2eydevil88, on 04/16/2008, -6/+4The reporter for this article has apparently messed up a little bit in their research. "He's from Hanover, NH and after graduation from Colgate, he took a summer job at The Dartmouth, the student newspaper at Yale, which is in Hanover." That school listed should not be Yale that should read Dartmouth College. My Sister goes to Dartmouth College in Hanover New Hampshire, its the ONLY college in that town and they have an unofficial mascot named Keggy the Keg!
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keggy_the_Keg
  • flashingcurser, on 04/16/2008, -5/+2I wonder if Sandmonkey was one of the "leftist" Egyptian bloggers.
    http://sandmonkey.org/
    A lot of fun to read, even if you don't agree with him.
  • mal1964, on 04/16/2008, -4/+5If you need a twitter to save you, You were unprepared in the first place.
  • chris8535, on 04/16/2008, -1/+18Buck is a good guy, and we were all worried in our department when he got arrested. But he was there to point out the injustices in Egypt, the riots and the police brutality. He got out, but his translator was not as lucky.
    • Vindexus, on 04/16/2008, -1/+7i think buck is a pretty cool guy. eh points out injusticeis in egypt and doesn't afraid of anything.



      (***** you all, I love to meme.)
      • Soave, on 04/17/2008, -0/+1I know I'll get dugg down for not knowing this, but where does the meme come from? I've tried looking on Google, but I haven't been able to find an origin.
  • judicar, on 04/16/2008, -9/+15... in the middle of the night, hours after his arrest, authorities told him he was free to go. "I said, 'No' and I stayed for 12 more hours and we started a hunger strike at some point.
    Then, the Egyptian lawyer hired by UC Berkeley arrived. "I just caved," he said.

    Word of advice, next time a foreign country that provides no civil liberty guarantees throws you in jail ... and then releases you. YOU LEAVE. Do-gooders like this deserve what they get.
    • woohhaa, on 04/16/2008, -0/+12Started a hunger strike you say? That must have been the most terrible 12 hours of your life.
    • locojones, on 04/16/2008, -0/+10Why is judicar getting dug down? He actually read the article and pulls out the most salient point, a point which completely contradicts the story's title. The authorities offered to let him go and he refused. This is completely independent of the stupid Twitter angle, which has absolutely no relevance to the story after that fact.
      • insomn3ak, on 04/17/2008, -1/+1I agree with judicar that he should have just left when they offered him his freedom. He can be much more effective for his friend on the outside, rather than being locked up in a foreign jail.

        However, judicar lost me when he said "Do-gooders like this deserve what they get". Sorry, no...they don't. It was a noble stand to make (stupid as it may have been), and he left with his integrity intact. And I'm sure someone has clued him into the fact that he has MUCH more power to help his friend now that he's freed.
    • Mike89, on 04/17/2008, -0/+1Didn't they tell him he was free to go AFTER the twitter *****? And he stayed to help his friend.
  • aconaway, on 04/16/2008, -0/+19To Twitter: Help, help. I'm being repressed?
    • crawf061, on 04/16/2008, -3/+8To aconaway: What, what? Repressed in the butt.
    • ORBAT, on 04/16/2008, -0/+1Come and see the violence inherent in the system?
    • ray4389, on 04/17/2008, -0/+3Oh, what a giveaway! Did you hear that? Did you hear that, eh? That's what I'm on about! Did you see him repressing me? You saw him, Didn't you?
    • ray4389, on 04/17/2008, -0/+1Oh, what a giveaway! Did you hear that? Did you hear that, eh? That's what I'm on about! Did you see him repressing me? You saw him, Didn't you?
  • amdforever, on 04/16/2008, -4/+1An example of an article written by someone who know absolutely NOTHING about technology.
  • serif69, on 04/16/2008, -0/+55"I said, 'No' and I stayed for 12 more hours and we started a hunger strike at some point."

    This is an example of a man being extremely smart and extremely stupid all in the same situation.
    • Ndiggnation, on 04/16/2008, -0/+10Thought about that, and then again, maybe you don't want to leave in the middle of the night..
      • serif69, on 04/16/2008, -0/+36Even if that's the case, who goes on a hunger strike for less than 12 hours, starting in the middle of the night? That basically means they went without breakfast. If that counts as a hunger strike, I've been on hundreds of hunger strikes in the last year alone.
  • Cabe3, on 04/16/2008, -8/+2Awesome story. Twitter rules.
  • harrisbradley, on 04/16/2008, -9/+2Social networking FTW
  • polarpaw, on 04/16/2008, -5/+2Soon, anonymous and his crew are gonna show up and give Egypt the what-for.
    • deadhead05, on 04/16/2008, -5/+2It'd be more useful than going after Scientology!
  • robodud3, on 04/16/2008, -3/+1well its better than having your plant be the only one to reply http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2008/02/how_to_ma ...
  • boodog, on 04/16/2008, -5/+2I signed up 4 a social media event in DC. Got there and the door was locked. I twittered to my followers (many inside) to come down and open the door for me. So two of them did just that...
    • odganarb, on 04/17/2008, -1/+2I hear they have these phones now with QWERTY keyboards, so you don't have to be a retard and substitute numbers for letters on your phone anymore. Here's to hoping you get one of those, and then the habit works it's way back onto your full sized QWERTY. Moron.
      • triskele, on 04/17/2008, -0/+1Since when do you need a QWERTY keyboard to send a text message?
      • boodog, on 04/17/2008, -0/+1Umm your obviously not on Twitter these are people whose number I do not have yet. These are acquaintances I follow and they follow me on Twitter.

        I have an iPhone so I dont get your point?
  • LoCoPyRo, on 04/16/2008, -3/+12Wait.. so he was offered to be released and rejected. Causing him to have to be bailed out by a US attorney and get his friend sent to another prison? I dont see how Twitter helped him at all.. it sounds like he could have gotton out on his own and he was just trying to make a political and moral statement. I guess he's lucky he comes from such an influential college and they cared enough.
  • codered1322, on 04/16/2008, -4/+5He could have just as easily texted some people who would be able to help him out. Twitter is still weak. I feel like he was not using it as a plea for rescue, but just because he is a Twitter-head who wanted all his friends to know he was arrested.
  • rameznabel, on 04/16/2008, -1/+14i'm from egypt and i want to clearfy somthing, the hole thing begin in the social networking from a facebook group asking for Civil disobedience on 6 April 2008 and it hit the phones by sms and posting the idea in every Egyptian web site and blog comment , also a twitter network was setup to report about the arrested bloggers or people that participate in the Civil disobedience because with Egyptian police it's hard to know what's going on and hard to ask any question
    so honestly i can thank the internet for helping the Egyptian people fighting there government

    • liquidpele, on 04/16/2008, -0/+2So... I know jack about the situation in Egypt besides that it has mummies.
      Can you post any blogs or articles on what the deal is over there?
      • source1984, on 04/17/2008, -0/+3from what I know, basically the oppressive government is supported by America. They torture, harass and limit the presence of other political parties. They have much opposition, but basically if today Hosni Mubarak and his government were to allow free and fair elections, Islamists would form the majority in the government - elected by the people of course.
  • designer, on 04/16/2008, -4/+9Moral of story, never go to Egypt.
    • Texmurphy01, on 04/17/2008, -1/+2Yeah, stick in the USA where you're free to dance in front of monuments, be tazered and have all your calls monitored. ***** yeah!
      • designer, on 04/17/2008, -0/+1You're retarded. The USA, even with all its faults, is still the best country on the planet. Just ask all the illegals pouring over our border.
  • roberto_deneero, on 04/16/2008, -8/+5Screw Berkeley students. Enough of their whining and protesting. Let em eat *****!
    • zspeed78, on 04/16/2008, -1/+2Ya, out of the 30k students, when you see 500 locals protesting Marines, that speaks for all us.
      • roberto_deneero, on 04/17/2008, -0/+2You losers have been doing it for DECADES, not just a one-time occurrence. Go hug a tree with granola in one hand and the keys to your Prius in the other you pansy.
  • Zihuatanejo, on 04/16/2008, -3/+16If only the Jews had Twitter thousands of years ago.
    Twitter: SLAVES
    • source1984, on 04/17/2008, -1/+4why is this being down, its a clever joke. i don't see it as anti-semitic.
  • govsucks, on 04/16/2008, -0/+12Well, at least he learned a little about middle eastern cultures. :)
    • sfacets, on 04/17/2008, -1/+2I really hope that smiley was to show that you know that Egypt isn't a "middle eastern" country. I really do.
  • FlimBlimmer, on 04/16/2008, -2/+3He stood there taking photos of Egyptian police arresting protesters, and only spends half a day in Jail. Thats one lucky *****.

    Actually, change ***** to jackass.
  • BECoole, on 04/16/2008, -3/+1"Twitter Saves Berkeley Student Arrested in Egypt"
    Oh Snap!
  • scottsharperz, on 04/16/2008, -1/+0lol thats awesome. he must be a really fast twittererererer to get that out before they took it from him.
  • Dustin00, on 04/16/2008, -1/+3Twitter fails to get all innocent journalists out of jail.

    Headline fail.
  • jongam, on 04/17/2008, -1/+6http://twitter.com/jamesbuck/statuses/786571964
  • Teku, on 04/17/2008, -1/+1I am disappointed digg. I thought for sure I would find someone's comment on the 'play the American bitch and force your way out' advise given by his Egyptian contacts.

    I found nothing.... therefore..... hahaha thats awesome.
  • obxjdt, on 04/17/2008, -8/+1Student loan for Berkeley=$50,000
    Internship to the Middle-East=$2000
    Social Networking...Priceless!
  • TheYuppie, on 04/17/2008, -1/+1Normally I would cheer this on, especially as an avid Twitter user myself. But this guy is from Berkeley, so who cares?

    One down, thousands to go.
  • sfacets, on 04/17/2008, -1/+1This is a great step in the history of popular media having an influence against mainstream culture/politics. Don't see this as an individual incident, but as a demonstration of the power we wield as an anonymous collective entity.
  • JasonHaley, on 04/17/2008, -0/+4Twitter? That's nothing! I once used my iPhone to prevent a weather delay at the airport.
  • dgn3, on 04/17/2008, -0/+0FREE MAREE!!!!
  • YodaJones, on 04/17/2008, -0/+3As soon as I signed up for Twitter my penis grew 3 inches. Thanks Twitter.
  •  

    Login or register to add a comment

    Create a new account or login to join in the conversation on Digg. You'll also be able to Digg stories to help promote things you like.


© Digg Inc. 2008 — Content posted by Digg users is dedicated to the public domain.
DIGG, DIGG IT, DUGG, DIGG THIS, Digg graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, scripts, and other service names are the trademarks of Digg Inc.