Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Egyelection tweets
Ahram Online - Egyelection tweets, 28 Nov 2010 "Some have branded it “the only good thing” to come out of Egypt’s elections while others declared it “hero of the day.” Whatever you think of it, Twitter was brimming with a near overdose of instant information for those following Egypt’s parliamentary elections on it. Just blinking often meant that some 20 new Tweets tagged as “Egyelections” popped before your weary eyes."
'Iran outraged as Star of David revealed on airport'
alarabiya.net, Iran outraged as Star of David revealed on airport, 29 Nov 2010 "A satellite image of Tehran airport taken by Google Earth service outraged Iranian government officials as the Star of David appeared on the roof of the headquarters of the national carrier Iran Air." thanks to Google Earth
'Taking the Middle East conflict online'
Netta Ahituv, European Journalism Centre, Taking the Middle East conflict online, 29 Nov 2010 discusses blogging in Israeli and Palestinian contexts - and dialogue between diverse parties online.
"Despite the substantial presence of pro-Israeli organisations and activity on the web, there is a general feeling among the Israeli public that the Palestinian side is ‘winning’ this virtual battle. There are many more anti-Israeli blogs and websites than pro-Israeli ones."
article refers to middleastpost.com
"Despite the substantial presence of pro-Israeli organisations and activity on the web, there is a general feeling among the Israeli public that the Palestinian side is ‘winning’ this virtual battle. There are many more anti-Israeli blogs and websites than pro-Israeli ones."
article refers to middleastpost.com
WikiLeaks opinion
alarabiya.net, US friends, foes savage WikiLeaks for secrets release, 30 Nov 2010 "Friends and foes of the United States turned on WikiLeaks over its release of secret U.S. diplomatic cables, with some saying the revelations undermined diplomacy, while others dismissed them as worthless."
'BSKYB Arabic'
alarabiya.net, BSKYB says plans Arabic language TV channel, 29 Nov 2010 "ADMIC, a private investment company owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and BSkyB "have formed a 50-50 joint venture to bring a new, free-to-air Arabic-language news channel to viewers across the Middle East and North Africa region from 2012", the pair announced."
'Islamic' game rating system launched
The National, Islamic system will rate video games, 30 Nov 2010: "The rating a game receives will be determined by rules drawn up by the Iran National Foundation of Computer Games, in concert with Dubai-based Index Holdings. They have spent the past two years discussing the guidelines with Islamic clerics."
Some of those discussions would have been enlightening ... I'll be interested to see how some games I'm familiar with (it's a very short list) will be rated.
Also take a look at Iran National Foundation of Computer Game (sic), which has some examples of recent games. There's also a useful article Presenting 18 Iranian games in the main Middle East computer game Expo
Some of those discussions would have been enlightening ... I'll be interested to see how some games I'm familiar with (it's a very short list) will be rated.
Also take a look at Iran National Foundation of Computer Game (sic), which has some examples of recent games. There's also a useful article Presenting 18 Iranian games in the main Middle East computer game Expo
Rushdie, Nintendo & Wii
Eurogamer.net, Rushdie: Nintendo can help liberate Iran News, 29 Nov 2010: "Booker Prize-winning author Salman Rushdie believes Nintendo holds the key to bringing about ideological revolution in the conservative Islamic Republic of Iran."
Xbox and PS3 might 'help' too.
Xbox and PS3 might 'help' too.
WikiLeaks opinion
Marc Lynch, Foreign Policy, WikiLeaks and the Arab public sphere, 29 Nov 2010 "One of the points which I've made over and over again is that Arab leaders routinely say different things in private and in public, but that their public rhetoric is often a better guide to what they will actually do since that reflects their calculation of what they can get away with politically."
New book: 'The Jihadis’ Path to Self-Destruction'
Thomas Hegghammer, Jihadica, The Jihadis’ Path to Self-Destruction, 28 Nov 2010 "Nelly Lahoud’s much-awaited new book, the Jihadis’ Path to Self-Destruction, is out ...
" ... A very impressive work."
Details: Nelly Lahoud, The Jihadis' Path to Self-Destruction. Columbia University Press
Sounds useful.
" ... A very impressive work."
Details: Nelly Lahoud, The Jihadis' Path to Self-Destruction. Columbia University Press
Sounds useful.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Wikileaks US embassy cables (update)
Guardian, WikiLeaks US embassy cables: live updates, 29 Nov 2010
I'm still wading through the articles here and elsewhere
I'm particularly interested (in relation to this blog's core theme) in:
Guardian, Siprnet: where America stores its secret cables
Guardian, Datablog, WikiLeaks embassy cables: download the key data and see how it breaks down
Guardian, US embassy cables: Diplomats bemoan Bin Laden's 'folk hero' status
Guardian, US embassy cables: Washington requests personal data on Hamas
Guardian, WikiLeaks cables: Bin Laden's PR is better than ours, Americans complained
"The message urged Washington to consider a new raft of anti-Bin Laden propaganda through the Voice of America radio station, interviews with Bin Laden victims, "commissioned articles" in the local press and an anti-Bin Laden website.
""Although that would appear to be counterintuitive – that the masses don't use the internet – almost all Islamic and Islamist groups do indeed have internet access and use it extensively.""
I'm still wading through the articles here and elsewhere
I'm particularly interested (in relation to this blog's core theme) in:
Guardian, Siprnet: where America stores its secret cables
Guardian, Datablog, WikiLeaks embassy cables: download the key data and see how it breaks down
Guardian, US embassy cables: Diplomats bemoan Bin Laden's 'folk hero' status
Guardian, US embassy cables: Washington requests personal data on Hamas
Guardian, WikiLeaks cables: Bin Laden's PR is better than ours, Americans complained
"The message urged Washington to consider a new raft of anti-Bin Laden propaganda through the Voice of America radio station, interviews with Bin Laden victims, "commissioned articles" in the local press and an anti-Bin Laden website.
""Although that would appear to be counterintuitive – that the masses don't use the internet – almost all Islamic and Islamist groups do indeed have internet access and use it extensively.""
Amr Khaled in Yemen (update)
Amr Khaled, The National, From podcasts and Friday sermons, a new start for Yemen, 28 Nov 2010 " ... we have selected 100 of the Muslim world's most respected and renowned preachers whom we will bring to Yemen. With the support of Yemen's Ministry of Endowments (Awqaf), they will be trained to broadcast true Islamic teachings. We will use the latest technologies - podcasts and the internet - as well as the most traditional - Friday sermons in the mosque."
The net is only one part of this. [Note: Internet World Stats, Yemen "420,000 Internet users as of June, 2010; 1.8% of the population, according to ITU."]
The net is only one part of this. [Note: Internet World Stats, Yemen "420,000 Internet users as of June, 2010; 1.8% of the population, according to ITU."]
'Inspire' magazine
Bob Drogin, Los Angeles Times, The 'Vanity Fair' of Al Qaeda, 26 Nov 2010 "An offshoot group in Yemen is producing Inspire magazine, an online propaganda periodical with color photos and interviews with celebrity jihadists. Experts say the target audience appears to be disaffected Muslims in the English-speaking world."
Egyptian Elections
Asharq Alawsat, The Egyptian Elections The Egyptian Elections, 29 Nov 2010: "This atmosphere has triggered unconventionally heated debates on the internet, as well as extensive and untraditional news coverage. However this internet coverage is also strained and tense for the memory of the Egyptian public is alive and well and nobody has forgotten what previously happened to a group of journalists, bloggers, and political activists whose punishment ranged from imprisonment to torture to death."
Hajj sermon
asianews.it, Grand Mufti condemns extremism and violence in sermon, experts discuss it, 29 Nov 2010 "The Hajj sermon delivered by the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Sheikh, at the Nmira Mosque in Makkah has raised interest levels among specialists because of its harsh condemnation of terrorism. Excerpts from the sermon, which condemns terrorism and urges moderation, were reprinted in hundreds of newspapers in the Arab and Islamic worlds. Some clips with English subtitles have appeared on the internet, posted on YouTube."
Sunday, November 28, 2010
'The internet's cyber radicals'
Aleks Krotoski, Observer, The internet's cyber radicals: heroes of the web changing the world, 28 Nov 2010
"A generation of political activists have been transformed by new tools developed on the internet. Here, a leading net commentator profiles seven young radicals from around the world."
Includes profiles of Walid al-Saqaf from Yemen Portal, and Ory Okolloh of Ushahidi (which I have previously blogged about).
"A generation of political activists have been transformed by new tools developed on the internet. Here, a leading net commentator profiles seven young radicals from around the world."
Includes profiles of Walid al-Saqaf from Yemen Portal, and Ory Okolloh of Ushahidi (which I have previously blogged about).
Friday, November 26, 2010
'Killing those who disagree'
opinion piece Nazia Nazar, Pakistan Observer, Killing those who disagree, 26 Nov 2010
"The psyche of an extremist seems to work on the same line. This is what I gauged while randomly chatting with a so-called jihadi-minded individual on internet. What could be elicited from his conversation is that all the fanatics pass through a particular kind of conditioning which leaves far reaching effects on their minds. They are provided with a shortcut to enter the paradise forever."
"The psyche of an extremist seems to work on the same line. This is what I gauged while randomly chatting with a so-called jihadi-minded individual on internet. What could be elicited from his conversation is that all the fanatics pass through a particular kind of conditioning which leaves far reaching effects on their minds. They are provided with a shortcut to enter the paradise forever."
Omar Bakri Muhammad
Daily Star, Omar Bakri released on LL5 million bail, 25 Nov 2010 "During the retrial attended by Sahly, Bakri categorically denied charges of belonging to Al-Qaeda, Fatah al-Islam group or any other fundamentalist or Salafi organization, according to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. Bakri denied reports claiming that he was a spiritual guide of a fundamentalist group."
Stuxnet claims
Morag Lindsay, Press & Journal, Cyber-terrorists could use supervirus to attack Britain, 26 Nov 2010 "Reports yesterday suggested the Stuxnet worm – a computer virus which targets control systems found in industrial plants – had been traded on the black market and could be used by terrorists to target power stations, food distribution networks, hospitals, traffic lights and even dams."
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