05-26-2011 by Linda S. Carbonell

Thomas Friedman

First let me say that I adore New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman. I urge every high school senior and college student I meet to read his book The World Is Flat. So I hope he forgives me for sending out this story from his Sunday column….after all, it isn’t originally his.

A Syrian democracy advocate was stopped at a checkpoint. His laptop and a thumb drive were on the seat besides him. A soldier approached menacingly, looked into the car and said “Do you have A Facebook?” Without breaking a sweat, the activist said “no” and was waved through the checkpoint.

How the heck does a despotic regime fight the enemy when their enforcers don’t even know what the enemy is?

The Arab culture has long been famous for creative curses, so I send this one out to the Assad regime…..May all your soldiers and police be as computer literate as the one in this story.

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