Saudi Online Consultation
Asharq Alawsat, Saudi: Female Majority Seeking Online Legal Advice, 27 May 08 "Saudi legal personnel have revealed that the majority of clients seeking legal consultations on the internet are women; approximately 80 percent. This is attributed to a number of reasons, including social and psychological circumstances; the most important of which is the reservation that comes with sharing personal information, in addition to the need to find out legal information anonymously and with utmost discretion."
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Quiz
Guardian, Muslim TV channel to stage interfaith game show, 27 May 08 "Faith Off, the working title of a series on the Islam Channel, will attempt to promote good relations and mutual respect between Britain's religious communities. Two teams of four will go head to head in each episode, answering quick-fire and general knowledge questions in the eight-part series hosted by the Muslim comedian Jeff Mirza." An interesting idea. See islamchannel.tv (no direct links on site yet, it seems)
Guardian, Muslim TV channel to stage interfaith game show, 27 May 08 "Faith Off, the working title of a series on the Islam Channel, will attempt to promote good relations and mutual respect between Britain's religious communities. Two teams of four will go head to head in each episode, answering quick-fire and general knowledge questions in the eight-part series hosted by the Muslim comedian Jeff Mirza." An interesting idea. See islamchannel.tv (no direct links on site yet, it seems)
Academic Issues
Guardian, Concern over threat to our colleague, 28 May 08 "As members of the University of Nottingham faculty we are very concerned about the recent arrests of a postgraduate student and administrator." For the full story, see: Guardian, Student researching al-Qaida tactics held for six days, 23 May 08 "A masters student researching terrorist tactics who was arrested and detained for six days after his university informed police about al-Qaida-related material he downloaded has spoken of the "psychological torture" he endured in custody.
"Despite his Nottingham University supervisors insisting the materials were directly relevant to his research, Rizwaan Sabir, 22, was held for nearly a week under the Terrorism Act, accused of downloading the materials for illegal use. The student had obtained a copy of the al-Qaida training manual from a US government website for his research into terrorist tactics."
Guardian, Concern over threat to our colleague, 28 May 08 "As members of the University of Nottingham faculty we are very concerned about the recent arrests of a postgraduate student and administrator." For the full story, see: Guardian, Student researching al-Qaida tactics held for six days, 23 May 08 "A masters student researching terrorist tactics who was arrested and detained for six days after his university informed police about al-Qaida-related material he downloaded has spoken of the "psychological torture" he endured in custody.
"Despite his Nottingham University supervisors insisting the materials were directly relevant to his research, Rizwaan Sabir, 22, was held for nearly a week under the Terrorism Act, accused of downloading the materials for illegal use. The student had obtained a copy of the al-Qaida training manual from a US government website for his research into terrorist tactics."
Iran
findingdulcinea.com, Iranian Bloggers Angry over New Web Restrictions, 27 May 08 "Iran’s recent move to block access to certain Web sites on women’s issues and human rights has bloggers and activists decrying censorship."
findingdulcinea.com, Iranian Bloggers Angry over New Web Restrictions, 27 May 08 "Iran’s recent move to block access to certain Web sites on women’s issues and human rights has bloggers and activists decrying censorship."
Exeter Nail Bomber
This is London, Nail bomb suspect released from hospital as police raid home of Kurdish men 'linked' to plot, 28 May 08 "It has emerged Reilly was set up with an internet girlfriend by his Kurdish friends and said he would do anything for her."
This is London, Nail bomb suspect released from hospital as police raid home of Kurdish men 'linked' to plot, 28 May 08 "It has emerged Reilly was set up with an internet girlfriend by his Kurdish friends and said he would do anything for her."
Malika/Minbar-SOS
NYT, Al Qaeda Warrior Uses Internet to Rally Women, 28 May 08 "Ms. El Aroud has not only made a name for herself among devotees of radical forums where she broadcasts her message of hatred toward the West. She also is well known to intelligence officials throughout Europe as simply 'Malika' — an Islamist who is at the forefront of the movement by women to take a larger role in the male-dominated global jihad."
NYT, Al Qaeda Warrior Uses Internet to Rally Women, 28 May 08 "Ms. El Aroud has not only made a name for herself among devotees of radical forums where she broadcasts her message of hatred toward the West. She also is well known to intelligence officials throughout Europe as simply 'Malika' — an Islamist who is at the forefront of the movement by women to take a larger role in the male-dominated global jihad."
Research
NYT, Misreading the Arab Media, 25 May 08 " ... in the last year we surveyed 601 journalists in 13 Arab countries in North Africa, the Levant and the Arabian Peninsula. The results, to be published in The International Journal of Press/Politics in July, shatter many of the myths upon which American public diplomacy strategy has been based."
NYT, Misreading the Arab Media, 25 May 08 " ... in the last year we surveyed 601 journalists in 13 Arab countries in North Africa, the Levant and the Arabian Peninsula. The results, to be published in The International Journal of Press/Politics in July, shatter many of the myths upon which American public diplomacy strategy has been based."
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Egypt Food Crisis
Guardian, Egypt: bread shortages, hunger and unrest, 27 May 08 "The protests were in part organised through emails, text messaging and the internet. Three days after the May 4 strike, Ahmed Maher Ibrahim, a 27-year-old civil engineer who used his Facebook site to promote the protest, was snatched from the street by the interior ministry's state security investigations department. He was blindfolded, taken to a police station, stripped naked and beaten for 12 hours. He was released without charge but warned not to cause more trouble."
Guardian, Egypt: bread shortages, hunger and unrest, 27 May 08 "The protests were in part organised through emails, text messaging and the internet. Three days after the May 4 strike, Ahmed Maher Ibrahim, a 27-year-old civil engineer who used his Facebook site to promote the protest, was snatched from the street by the interior ministry's state security investigations department. He was blindfolded, taken to a police station, stripped naked and beaten for 12 hours. He was released without charge but warned not to cause more trouble."
aQ
Reuters, New al Qaeda video to urge WMDs against West -FBI, 27 May 08 "Groups that monitor Islamic Web sites say al Qaeda will post a new video in the next 24 hours urging jihadists to use biological, chemical and nuclear weapons to attack the West, the FBI said on Tuesday."
Reuters, New al Qaeda video to urge WMDs against West -FBI, 27 May 08 "Groups that monitor Islamic Web sites say al Qaeda will post a new video in the next 24 hours urging jihadists to use biological, chemical and nuclear weapons to attack the West, the FBI said on Tuesday."
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Canada
Globe & Mail, 'None of it matches my life, my whole life', 22 May 08 "Years ago, a shadowy Internet figure who often went by the name Abu Banan gained notoriety as the Canadian-based godfather of an Internet outfit known for disseminating jihadist propaganda. The Globe and Mail has learned of a murky probe that spanned several years, saw a Canadian Islamic preacher — with the same Arab name 'Abu Banan' — questioned frequently by agents from CSIS and ended in criminal charges that nobody, including the father of three, seems to have anticipated."
Globe & Mail, 'None of it matches my life, my whole life', 22 May 08 "Years ago, a shadowy Internet figure who often went by the name Abu Banan gained notoriety as the Canadian-based godfather of an Internet outfit known for disseminating jihadist propaganda. The Globe and Mail has learned of a murky probe that spanned several years, saw a Canadian Islamic preacher — with the same Arab name 'Abu Banan' — questioned frequently by agents from CSIS and ended in criminal charges that nobody, including the father of three, seems to have anticipated."
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Swiss Convictions Upheld
AP/IHT, Swiss high court upholds conviction of two Muslims for terror Web sites, 21 May 08 "In its decision handed down Wednesday the Federal Tribunal said it had no doubt that the two had made their Internet forums available to various terrorist groups operating in the al-Qaida network and thus supported criminal organizations.
"The two were convicted by a lower court in June 2007 of running Web sites that supported terrorists and gave details of how to make bombs and carry out attacks."
AP/IHT, Swiss high court upholds conviction of two Muslims for terror Web sites, 21 May 08 "In its decision handed down Wednesday the Federal Tribunal said it had no doubt that the two had made their Internet forums available to various terrorist groups operating in the al-Qaida network and thus supported criminal organizations.
"The two were convicted by a lower court in June 2007 of running Web sites that supported terrorists and gave details of how to make bombs and carry out attacks."
Iran
AFP, Iran launches fresh crackdown on websites: report, 20 May 2008 "The move follows a new directive sent out by a committee tasked with identifying illegal websites to Internet service providers, the reformist Etemad Melli newspaper said without giving a source.
""There seems to be a tougher approach this time as some sites and weblogs belonging to women's rights and human rights campaigners, writers critical of the government and well-known journalists" have been singled out, it said." Useful update
AFP, Iran launches fresh crackdown on websites: report, 20 May 2008 "The move follows a new directive sent out by a committee tasked with identifying illegal websites to Internet service providers, the reformist Etemad Melli newspaper said without giving a source.
""There seems to be a tougher approach this time as some sites and weblogs belonging to women's rights and human rights campaigners, writers critical of the government and well-known journalists" have been singled out, it said." Useful update
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Hizbullah Telecoms Mapped(?)
geopolitique.com, Exclusif : la carte du réseau télécom du Hezbollah, 16 May 08 well, maybe. Diolch: Abu Muqawama
geopolitique.com, Exclusif : la carte du réseau télécom du Hezbollah, 16 May 08 well, maybe. Diolch: Abu Muqawama
Syrian cyberspace
The National, Syrians defy web blockade, 20 May 2008 "Syrians continue to surf banned web pages, defying an internet purge that has seen hundreds of online sites blacklisted."
The National, Syrians defy web blockade, 20 May 2008 "Syrians continue to surf banned web pages, defying an internet purge that has seen hundreds of online sites blacklisted."
Timbuktu
NYT, Project Digitizes Works From the Golden Age of Timbuktu, 20 May 08 "From Timbuktu to here, to reverse the expression, the written words of the legendary African oasis are being delivered by electronic caravan. A lode of books and manuscripts, some only recently rescued from decay, is being digitized for the Internet and distributed to scholars worldwide."
Update on a previously blogged story.
There is some fascinating material here, and it will be great to read scholarly commentaries in due course. Also see the excellent Aluka database, especially Aluka, The Manuscripts of Timbuktu, which notes: "The digitisation and preservation of Timbuktu’s fragile manuscripts involves serious challenges: ubiquitous dust and sand, termites and other insects, lack of moisture and humidity in the air, intense heat during the day and dramatic variations in temperature between day and night, inconsistent and insufficient power supply, a lack of Internet infrastructure, and, most important, the fragile and precarious condition of the manuscripts themselves. SAVAMA-DCI and Aluka are working together to preserve and make these manuscripts available to a broad community of scholars, students, and researchers. By making some of these manuscripts available in digital form, SAVAMA-DCI and its member libraries in Timbuktu are revolutionising how students and scholars around the world may access this literature for research and study."
NYT, Project Digitizes Works From the Golden Age of Timbuktu, 20 May 08 "From Timbuktu to here, to reverse the expression, the written words of the legendary African oasis are being delivered by electronic caravan. A lode of books and manuscripts, some only recently rescued from decay, is being digitized for the Internet and distributed to scholars worldwide."
Update on a previously blogged story.
There is some fascinating material here, and it will be great to read scholarly commentaries in due course. Also see the excellent Aluka database, especially Aluka, The Manuscripts of Timbuktu, which notes: "The digitisation and preservation of Timbuktu’s fragile manuscripts involves serious challenges: ubiquitous dust and sand, termites and other insects, lack of moisture and humidity in the air, intense heat during the day and dramatic variations in temperature between day and night, inconsistent and insufficient power supply, a lack of Internet infrastructure, and, most important, the fragile and precarious condition of the manuscripts themselves. SAVAMA-DCI and Aluka are working together to preserve and make these manuscripts available to a broad community of scholars, students, and researchers. By making some of these manuscripts available in digital form, SAVAMA-DCI and its member libraries in Timbuktu are revolutionising how students and scholars around the world may access this literature for research and study."
Security
Forbes/sify.com, Virtual Jihad, 20 May 08, "The private sector must proactively address the insider threat by creating a smaller informed management of secure individuals, improving employee screening for new employees, updating screening for existing employees and educating top management of potential threats. The owners of critical infrastructure and key resources have a duty to confront homegrown terrorism and the insider threat." The related Forbes.com, Where The Web Is Weak, 14 May 08 is also interesting (nice graphics).
Forbes/sify.com, Virtual Jihad, 20 May 08, "The private sector must proactively address the insider threat by creating a smaller informed management of secure individuals, improving employee screening for new employees, updating screening for existing employees and educating top management of potential threats. The owners of critical infrastructure and key resources have a duty to confront homegrown terrorism and the insider threat." The related Forbes.com, Where The Web Is Weak, 14 May 08 is also interesting (nice graphics).
Lieberman on YouTube
ABC, Lieberman Wants Terrorist Content Yanked From YouTube, 19 May 2008 "In a letter to Google chairman and CEO Eric Schmidt, Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., said, "A great majority of these videos document horrific attacks on American soldiers in Iraq or Afghanistan.""
ABC, Lieberman Wants Terrorist Content Yanked From YouTube, 19 May 2008 "In a letter to Google chairman and CEO Eric Schmidt, Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., said, "A great majority of these videos document horrific attacks on American soldiers in Iraq or Afghanistan.""
Nakba Cartoons
Sabbah's Blog, Cartoons Commemorating Nakba @ 60 "How did the cartoonists in the Arab media Commemorate the 60th anniversary of Nakba?
"I’ve been monitoring most of the Arab media, especially newspapers, during the last 5 days to read what they have to say on this event. To tell you the truth, you haven’t missed much. On the air, Aljazeera made a big difference this year by dedicating a full day (May 15th) to covering al-Nakba @ 60. Honestly, I think they did a great job. In fact if a person who is ignorant about al-Nakba (and you can expect millions in the Arab World to be) watched any part of Aljazeera that day, s/he would have learned a lot about history and what the Nakba means."
Broad range of cartoons from the press - well worth seeing. The example comes from Abdulla Darqawi at Addustour Newspaper, Jordan
Monday, May 19, 2008
Jimmy Wales
AFP/Yahoo News, 'Ordinary' Arabs to retake Internet: Wikipedia founder, 18 May 2008 ""Too often when people around the world reflect on the situation in the Middle East they focus on extremism and the different problems," [Jimmy] Wales told journalists at the World Economic Forum for the Middle East."
AFP/Yahoo News, 'Ordinary' Arabs to retake Internet: Wikipedia founder, 18 May 2008 ""Too often when people around the world reflect on the situation in the Middle East they focus on extremism and the different problems," [Jimmy] Wales told journalists at the World Economic Forum for the Middle East."
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