Friday, December 23, 2005

adkni.com, al-Qaeda cartoon too boring for kids, 22 Dec 05 more opinion (and column inches) on this cartoon : "Al-Qaeda's latest weapon in the ongoing media war over Iraq, in the form of an animation showing gunmen and suicide bombers attacking US troops and convoys, raises many questions over who they are trying to appeal to and why. The video game-style cartoon was posted on websites regularly used by senior al-Qaeda figures. London-based child psychologist Pat Spungin told Adnkronos International (AKI) she believes the animation is too boring and unsophisticated to interest most children, but 'If it is intended for children I think it's disgusting,' she said."
Dallas Morning News, Terrorists on the 'Net', 22 Dec 05 "If there's any area where we should have the supreme advantage fighting terrorism, it's the Internet - yet Islamic extremists sometimes run rings around us in cyberspace, using it to recruit and train terrorists and to communicate with each other in amazingly sophisticated ways." previously in NY Times, this piece is by Nicholas Kristof
Gulf Daily News, Terror Lessons on web, 23 Dec 05 "The three-minute cartoon depicts tanks clanking down a street and a cartoon American soldier speaking with a "Rambo"-like accent before he is shot. The intention behind the film was not clear, but one expert dismissed it as amateurish and said it would have little value as a training video for insurgents."

Tuesday, December 20, 2005

pickledpolitics.com, Women in Islam - veils of the mind, 7 Dec 05 just picked this blog up, and was interested in the content and the 100+ responses from readers. A central question of the article is "Oppression does not come from what you wear; it comes from social attitudes and norms. Isn’t it time we got out of these centuries old, long obsolete attitudes?" Discuss - but not here, please, go to pickledpolitics.com
Telegraph, Man held over July 21 attempted bombings, 20 Dec 05. "Anti-terror police have arrested a 23-year-old man in connection with the attempted London bomb attacks on July 21."
BBC News, Al-Qaeda terror suspect is jailed, 20 Dec 05, "An Algerian man with suspected al-Qaeda links has been jailed for six years for downloading information on how to blow up a passenger jet." Also see: CityBeat, Al Qaeda Suspect Jailed at Belfast Crown Court, 20 Dec 05
BBC, Serbs tried over Srebrenica video, 20 Dec 05
Spain Herald, Spanish police arrest 16 for recruiting terrorists for Iraq, 20 Dec 05, "The network was perfectlly structured and organized, with a "hard core" that made decisions, a subgroup for recruiting and finance, another for forging identification, and a third for ideology. The arrestees communicated through Internet and met at mosques and private homes, but they also have contacts in other countries. Abu Sufian has connections with the terrorist groups currently operating in Iraq, and controlled a group of individuals willing to travel to that country, probably as suicide bombers."

Gearing up for hajj? Here's a useful guide:

Islam Online, Hajj 1426

I heard this morning that BBC Radio 5 are also planning to provide reports from Mecca and Medina from a pilgrim, although I cannot pick up any specific link to this on the website at present.

Monday, December 19, 2005

Asharq Alawsat, The Recovery of New York's Muslim Community from 9/11, 17 Dec 05 non-tech (except for ref. to phone cards) but nevertheless informative.
Asharq Alawsat, Iraq group posts video of U.S. hostage's 'killing', 19 Dec 05, "An Iraqi militant group posted on the Internet on Monday a video it said showed the killing of a U.S. security consultant it had abducted earlier this month."
Hindustan Times, Internet beats ban on ‘new Quran’, 19 Dec 05. "The True Furqan — a book that claimed to be the Quran for the millennium had caused much furore in Islamic circles since it was trying to "evangelise Muslims" — is banned in India. Last week, the government tabled a customs notification in Parliament informing the MPs of the decision to ban the book due to security considerations. Today, you can read the book-on the Internet." Published by evangelists at Truth in Crisis International, and 'recommended' by the Billy Graham Center for Muslim Studies (amongst others), this has echoes of the 'Sura-Like-It' controversy I discuss in my book Virtually Islamic - although this is quite explicit (at least online) in terms of proclaiming its origins. The online version can be found at 'Islam Exposed' [clearly, my Disclaimer applies for this posting in particular].
Philadelphia Inquirer, Extremism a challenge for Muslims, 19 Dec 05 "The evidence against Abu Ali included wiretapped phone conversations between the student and his family, as well as e-mail messages recovered from an Internet service provider." Details of an ongoing case.

Friday, December 16, 2005

SITE Institute: SITE Publications - A Video of the Chechen Sister Martyrs Who Participated in the Moscow Theater Operation: "A 7:22 minute video depicting the female Chechen jihadists (mujahidat) was posted to the Internet today, December 15, 2005, by the Global Islamic Media Front, an al-Qaeda mouthpiece."
Pajamas Media - Highlights: Iraqi journalists & bloggers on the ground for Iraqi elections "Compiled in Los Angeles from reporters and bloggers for Pajamas Media including: I.S. in Karbala; W.Z. in Erbil; A.S. in Najaf; N.R. in Mosul; A.D. in Basra; A.T. in Babil; W.A., Omar and Mohammed in Baghdad. All bloggers and reporters worked anonymously due to security issues."
BaltimoreChronicle.com, Making the World Safe for Theocracy, 16 Dec 05: "The much-ballyhooed elections in Iraq later this week are likely to dig the Iraqi hole a little deeper for the Bush administration. The Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the most revered Shi?ite Muslim cleric in Iraq, has indirectly ordered fellow Shi?a to cast their ballots for representatives of the Shi?ite religious parties that now control the interim Iraqi government. A permanent Shi?ite-Kurdish government may prove even more intransigent than the interim government in addressing Sunni concerns about being cut out of Iraq?s oil revenues?thus accelerating the incipient civil war in that nation."
FT.com / Arts & weekend / Bookshop - Online, off message, 16 Dec 05 review by Kamin Mohammadi of Nasrin Alavi's "We Are Iran" (previously blogged here). I have yet to get hold of this, but am familiar with some of her material, and Mohammadi makes some good points:

"She relies on a select number of sites and has used those with the most hits. There are just three entries from the other side of the ideological divide, though again Alavi points out that they can use the conventional press to express their views, and hardline blogs are rare. On Hossein Derakhshan?s blog at the moment, Alavi?s book is being enthusiastically welcomed. But one blogger points out: ?We are not Iran. Iran is full of those who support Ahmadi-Nejad and voted for him.?"
Washington Post, Saudi Envoy Rejects Iranian's Comments on Holocaust, 16 Dec 05: "Prince Turki al-Faisal, Saudi Arabia's new ambassador to the United States, took issue yesterday with the Iranian president's description of the Holocaust as a myth, saying the 'horrific genocide' is a 'historical fact' no longer in dispute."
A couple of separate quotes here worthy of further exploration and discussion [the sort of thing I might do in a seminar situation]: Arab Herald/Asharq Alawsat, Interview with Muslim Brotherhood's Supreme Guide, Mehdi Akef, 16 Dec 05 "We are Egyptians, and anyone who says that the number of Copts is this, and the number of Muslims is that is an ignorant person. I repeat, only an ignorant person utters such words, because we all are Egyptians living together ...

" ...There is no doubt that confronting Israel is the first cause for Muslims; therefore, how do we plan, and how do we fight them? Bear in mind that they are destroying themselves from within, "You would think that they were united, but their hearts are divided (Quranic verse)." This issue, which preoccupies the entire world, also preoccupies me, but in the way that I explained. Whether the Israelis and the Palestinians fight each other, or recognize each other, this is not my concern."
Dar Al Hayat, God Have Mercy on Iraq and Its People, 16 Dec 05 opinion piece from Jihad el Khazen: "The only scene remaining from American-style elections, which are truly democratic, is money. It's the most important, if not only means to communicate between candidates and voters, through election advertising, especially television.

"In other words, Iraqis are seeing today the elections of the rich, except that the Iraqi people are poor and the rich represent only themselves."
AP/ABC News: Purported al-Qaida Video Outlines Attack, 16 Dec 05: "A ticker along the bottom of the well-produced video streamed photos of abuse of detainees by U.S. soldiers at the facility, including a famed image of a naked prisoner being dragged on a leash by a female guard. The images of abuse and sexual humiliation at the prison have sparked outrage among Iraqis and across the Arab world since they first emerged in early 2004."
Free Internet Press - Iraq Forces Captured Zarqawi A Year Ago - Released Him?, 15 Dec 05: "Iraqi security forces caught the most wanted man in the country last year, but released him because they didn't know who he was, the Iraqi deputy minister of interior said Thursday. Hussain Kamal confirmed that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi - the al-Qaeda in Iraq leader who has a $25 million bounty on his head - was in custody at some point last year, but he wouldn't provide further details." oops [if verifiable]
jamestown.org, New Security Realities and al-Qaeda?s Changing Tactics: An Interview with Saad al-Faqih: "The Internet used to be awash with jihadi material but this is becoming less so for two reasons. Firstly, Western intelligence services are now aggressively targeting jihadi websites and are showing a greater determination to close them down completely. In the past they would allow some of the more interesting ones to remain in operation so that they could covertly gather intelligence on the webmasters and the contributors. Dozens of websites have been closed in recent months. Secondly, Western governments have provided software and other expertise to the Saudi regime to trace individual contributors to web forums. But the jihadis in Iraq feel safe and secure because they have satellite Internet connections and they can set up temporary websites and upload files very easily. The invasion of Iraq has boosted the fortunes of jihadis in many respects, and the Internet is no exception.
"

Thursday, December 15, 2005

Tunisie Blog Awards 2005 vote now for your favourites, in eight categories, including humour, personal blogs, thematic blogs, new blogs, and informative/provocative blogs: this looks like an interesting way of getting to know the Tunisian blogosphere on this well organised site.
Global Voices Online, Global Voices Summit: Emergence of a Conversation Community, 13 Dec 05 "Bloggers recognize they are early-adopting elites - and that the conversations happening on the blogs in most countries are not representative of the population as a whole. There was great interest expressed on Saturday in doing outreach to communities that currently have some internet access but are not currently blogging. People feel the need for better training materials and guidelines for outreach so that they can spread the blogging gospel more easily and efficiently." contains plethora of useful liks and information from last weekend's GV event. Couldn't make this one, hopefully there will be a similar event sometime in the future.
arabnews.com, Internet Opens New Paths for Journalism, 15 Dec 05: "Emerging technology is creating interactive channels for mass communication that is redefining media. It is creating a new breed of citizen journalists who can get news to the world without using the well-worn pathways of traditional print and broadcast outlets. It presents great opportunities for common people to report events independent of large media organizations, as well as to voice their views in a new global marketplace of ideas."
USATODAY.com - List of potential terror targets is late, 14 Dec 05: "The Homeland Security Department is more than a year behind in creating a list of chemical plants, bridges, skyscrapers and other vulnerable sites that could become terrorist targets if plans aren't made to protect them."
FOXNews.com, Al Qaeda's New Methods : "FOX News correspondent Greg Palkot takes a look at how Al Qaeda and Taliban elements in Afghanistan and Pakistan are adopting methods used by insurgents in Iraq" [video link - scroll to the Video Player]
Lebanese Political Journal: Gebran Tueni: The Symbol of Lebanese Activism has gone, 12 Dec 05
theedgedaily.com, Bank Islam sees pick-up in its Internet banking, 15 Dec 05 : "Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd expects an increase in the usage of the bank's Internet banking facility, bankislam.biz and its mobile banking facility, bankislam.sms after putting in tighter security precaution measures.

"It also expects higher usage for its Internet-based online payment through financial process exchange (FPX) and payment gateway via the Bank Islam Card.

"Bank Islam is the first bank in the country to be accorded the SIRIM QAS certification for its Information Security Management System (ISMS), according to a statement issued on Dec 15."
Reuters/The Star Malaysia, Iraqis vote amid sporadic violence, 15 Dec 05: "A steady stream of Iraqi voters walked to polling sites nationwide on Thursday to elect their first full-term parliament since Saddam Hussein's overthrow, ignoring sporadic violence such as a mortar attack in Baghdad. "
adkni.com, al-Zarqawi announces election even offensive, 14 Dec 05: "'The lions of monotheism of the organisation of al-Qaeda have launched a new blessed military offensive against the seats of apostates and infidels to force into crisis the blasphemous democratic marriage' reads a statement posted on Islamist websites."

Wednesday, December 14, 2005

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Clarke rejects calls for July 7 inquiry, 14 Dec 05
Yahoo! Finance, Iraq's Largest Independent News Channel - AldiyarSat - Selects JumpTV as Internet Distribution Partner, 12 Dec 05: "AldiyarSat, Iraq's only independent cable station providing news and cultural coverage from across the entire country announced today that it has selected JumpTV (www.jumptv.com) as its Internet broadcast partner for the online distribution of its content."
Chicago Tribune/St. Paul Pioneer Press | 12/14/2005 | Insurgents reach out to U.S.: "Spurred by fears of the growing influence of Iran and encouraged by signals from Washington that the United States will start drawing down troops next year, insurgents who see themselves as fighting for an Iraqi nationalist cause are looking for ways to distance themselves from the religious radicals and the hard-core Baathists who have dominated the insurgency in the public eye, with a view to establishing a foothold in Iraq's political landscape, the Iraqis say."

Tuesday, December 13, 2005

Al-Ahram Weekly | Opinion | Brothers and others, 8-14 Dec 05 opinion piece on the relationship between the Muslim Brotherhood and the Copts in Egypt.

Monday, December 12, 2005

The News - Jang Group, Musharraf prays inside Holy Ka?aba, 8 Dec 05: "The leaders offered 'Nawafil' inside the Holy Ka'aba and prayed for the glory and salvation of the Muslims. The Holy Ka'aba was opened soon after the Asar prayers. King Abdullah was the first to enter the Holy Ka'aba, followed by President Musharraf and other leaders. King Abdullah received all leaders inside the Holy Ka'aba...

" ... The leaders were served with Aab-e-Zam Zam in silver cups inside the Holy Ka’aba. Since there is no lighting arrangement inside the Holy Ka’aba, a lamp lit with battery was brought inside the Holy Ka’aba."
Reuters/tehrantimes.com, Taliban issue decree urging death for Karzai, 12 Dec 05 : "The decree, or fatwa, came in a 12-page, Pashto-language booklet distributed in the Afghan south. It reiterated a call for jihad, or religious war, against infidels and their slaves.

'It should be remembered that there is no difference between infidels and their agents and jihad against them has become incumbent,' the fatwa said."
Asharq Alawsat Newspaper, Saudi TV: New weapon against extremism, 5 Dec 05 haven't seen the programmes yet, but hope to pick up copies in due course (any DVDs out there?). "Saudi state-run Channel One TV broadcasted the first episode of a new series aimed at dissuading young Saudis from following in the footsteps of many of their contemporaries to join the jihad (holy war) earlier this week. ?Jihad Experiences, the Deceit? is a five part series which will tell the stories of several young Saudis who left to Iraq to fight alongside Abu Musab al Zarqawi."
International Herald Tribune, Howard calls for tolerance after Australian beach riot, 12 Dec 05
New York Times, A Little Sleuthing Unmasks Writer of Wikipedia Prank, 12 Dec 05 [subscription site]: "Using information in Mr. Seigenthaler's article and some online tools, Mr. Brandt traced the computer used to make the Wikipedia entry to the delivery company in Nashville. Mr. Brandt called the company and told employees there about the Wikipedia problem but was not able to learn anything definitive."
Washington Post, 'Digital Dumps' Heap Hazards at Foreign Sites, 12 Dec 05 'recycling' adds to Nigeria's haz-waste problem: "... at least half of the used equipment that arrives in Lagos by the ton is unusable and ends up in landfills, a Seattle-based nonprofit discovered recently after sending a team to survey the situation. The Basel Action Network (BAN) found that much of the junked equipment is adding to the considerable hazardous waste problems of a country that lacks facilities to properly handle it."
Washington Post, Saudi Businessman Donates Millions to Georgetown and Harvard for Study of Islam, 12 Dec 05
BBC NEWS | World | Europe | French target 'Islamic network', 12 Dec 05
AP/Washington Post, Syria Eyed in Death of Lebanese Editor, 12 Dec 05: "Journalist and lawmaker Gibran Tueni, a relentless critic of Syria who spent months in France fearing assassination, was killed Monday in a car bombing _ only a day after returning to his homeland."
Reuters.com, US rejects Qaeda claim that bin Laden still leading, 12 Dec 05 "Speaking to reporters in Islamabad, Ryan Crocker [US Ambassador] contradicted comments in a video interview posted on an Islamist Web site last week in which al Qaeda's deputy leader, Ayman al-Zawahri, said bin Laden was still leading the group's war on the West.

Friday, December 09, 2005

Bin Gregory Productions - Grub?s Ready there's a superb post with follow-up from bin Gregory on the permissiblity of eating a type of crab, which digresses into discussions on other creatures.
All Headline News - Internet Terrorist Attack On U.S. Unlikely - December 9, 2005: "The FBI's Cyber Division head, Assistant Director Louis Reigel says Al Qaeda and other militant groups do not have the capability to disable power plants, airports or other 'critical infrastructure' using the Internet."
p2pnet.net, Iraqi insurgents like the Net, 9 Dec 05: "Iraqi insurgents have boosted the number of web postings chiefly detailing bombings or attacks on Iraqi and US forces to 825 last month from 145 in January, says the U.S. military. "
also see p2p story above: Iraq insurgents escalate war of words on cyber-battlefield - USA Today/Yahoo! News, 8 Dec 05 "Insurgent messages often target Iraq and the Arab world, McNiece said. The messages are used as a recruiting tool for militants and as a way to raise money for the insurgency, he said.

""They don't kill anybody," McNiece said of the messages. "But they certainly help the terrorists shape perception in the Arab world. It's a problem.""
AP/Los Angeles Times, Iran's Leader Wants Israel Put in Europe, 9 Dec 05: "Iran's hard-line president, who recently called for Israel to be 'wiped off the map,' sparked another barrage of international criticism Thursday when he said the Jewish state should be moved to Europe and questioned whether the Holocaust took place." Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's latest statements.
Sacramento Bee/SouthCoast Today, General confirms al Qaeda data hunt: 8 Dec 05: "Retired Gen. Hugh Shelton, who was the military's top commander during the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, confirmed that four years before the tragedy he authorized a secret computer data-mining initiative to track down Osama bin Laden and operatives in the fugitive terrorist's al Qaeda network.

"In his first public comments on the initiative, which some former intelligence officers now say was code-named Able Danger, Shelton also confirmed that he received two briefings on the clandestine mission -- both well before the Sept. 11 attacks. ""
adkni.com, al-Qaeda's 'How to use a Kalashnikov' video guide, 8 Dec 05: "Global Islamic Media Front, the group behind the al-Qaeda TV news bulletins, has distributed a new video guide over the Internet, showing viewers how to use, assemble and take apart a Kalashnikov. The film, which is around six minutes long, begins with computer generated images which show the mechanical functioning of the AK47, the Russian machine gun used by many armed forces. " I think this one has been around for a while.
adkni.com, U.S. Hostage's family stay hopeful despite death claim, 9 Dec 05: "The family of kidnapped US security consultant Ronald Schulz say they are trying to stay hopeful, despite an Internet posting on Thursday claiming he had been killed. A video showing the 40-year-old electrician from Alaska with his hands tied behind his back was broadcast by the satellite TV network Al Jazeera on Tuesday. "
Daily Times - Site Edition, How Al Qaeda uses the Internet, 8 Dec 05: "According to an analysis produced for Stratfor, the US-based online news and analysis site, by Kamran Bokhari, text-based, audio taped and video-recorded jihadi statements posted on numerous websites have become part of the daily diet of news. " Haven't seen this report yet from Stratfor (which requires subscription, etc.)
Arabic blogging, after a slow start, is becoming an increasingly competitive sector: arabnews.com, Saudi Tech Tracker, 9 Dec 05 "Maktoob.com has launched its weblog (or blogs) section. The new development, called Maktoob Blogs is the latest in the web community?s initiatives to encompass as many useful features on its website as possible, in order to appeal to all types of users. The Blogs sections will allow Internet users to communicate with other people in the Arab world and share their experiences through online journals that they can use to comment, debate, publish and educate."
arabnews.com, Model Malaysian Plan a Hit, 9 Dec 05: "[Abdullah] Badawi said Islam Hadhari, a more moderate vision of Islam that focuses on economic and technological development, social justice, and religious tolerance, is being aggressively promoted in Malaysia as a remedy to Islamic extremism." I've been writing about this recently for a module I am developing on Muslim politics - it'll be intriguing to follow any responses.
I was fascinated by this piece from the New York Times about games outsourcing: NYT, Ogre to Slay? Outsource It to Chinese - New York Times: "'What we're seeing here is the emergence of virtual currencies and virtual economies,' says Peter Ludlow, a longtime gamer and a professor of philosophy at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. 'People are making real money here, so these games are becoming like real economies.'"
On the kidnapping of journalist Hayatullah Khan in Mir Li, North Waziristan: Pakistani journalist has been kidnapped, his family says - The Boston Globe, 9 Dec 05: "In Khan's pictures, the fragments are also marked ''AGM-114,' the US military's designator for the laser-guided Hellfire missile, which is carried on the remote-controlled Predator aircraft. The initials ''US' also appeared on the shrapnel in photos filed by Khan, who also works for Pakistan's Urdu-language daily newspaper Ausaf and the English-language daily The Nation."
The Boston Globe, Security workers eyed in shooting video probe, 9 Dec 05 "Details about the origin of the video clip and the location shown in it are unknown. It was originally posted last month on a website maintained by former employees of Aegis Specialist Risk Management, a British company that has a $293 million US government contract to provide security services in Iraq. The video has since been removed from the site." The video recently cropped up on ITN News too.
ABC News: Spanish Police Arrest 7 in Terrorism Sting, 9 Dec 05: "The detainees were suspected of raising money for an Algerian-based Islamic extremist organization, the Salafist Group for Call and Combat, the news agencies reported."
The Register, Bush administration control will cause net to split, 5 Dec 05: "CEO of the Multi-lingual Internet Names Consortium (MINC) and member of the recently created international advisory committee for internationalised domain names, Khaled Fattal, made the warning in a letter to the heads of internet overseeing organisation ICANN ...

" ... Four billion out of the six billion people on the planet use a non-Western (ASCII) alphabet, Fattal stressed. Everyone recognises the need to make the internet more of a global medium, especially with efforts in China and elsewhere starting to step outside the existing internet infrastructures to provide the services they want. At the Vancouver ICANN meeting, the subject of IDNs popped up in every supporting organisation."

Thursday, December 08, 2005

Editor: Myself, Over 700,000: New estimated number of blogs in Iran, Dec 1, 2005, "The newest estimate is done by Blog Herald with the help of Iran-based blogging services such as PersianBlog, BlogFa, etc. It suggests there are over 700,000 blogs in Persian out there which doesn't include those hosted on international servers such as Google's blogspot etc."

This leads onto some other interesting data from Blog Herald, in their quarterly 'Blog Herald Blog Count October 2005'. There are always inherent problems with stats of this nature, of course, but it still makes for a discussion point (especially as I am writing about blogs at present for my next book).
Guardian, Hour of Need, 7 Dec 05 "What does it mean to be a second-generation Muslim in Britain today? From terrorism to chat-up lines, health worker Faiza Chaudri is using her community radio programme to tease out answers." All FM is a Manchester community station. There is a net thread to this, as the station can be listened to online. According to the article, 'Islamic Hour' is on December 16 (7.30-9.30pm).
Arab News, FBI Trained Saudi Intelligence: Mueller, 6 Dec 05 "The Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Robert Mueller has acknowledged the existence of a small FBI bureau in the Kingdom, without elaborating on the number of its staff or location."
BP News, 1 missionary & 4 friends, linked in prayer via computer, see faith sprout in Sierra Leone, 7 Dec 05 I've included this item from the Baptist Press, to show how Christian missionaries (from International Mission Board) are applying the net in West Africa to acquire converts.
Morocco Times, Communication - Moroccan mosques to be connected to internet, 6 Dec 05

"Moroccan Minister of Islamic Affairs, Ahmed Toufiq, announced Saturday that thousands of mosques will be connected to internet in Morocco, reported MAP news agency.

"During the second session of Higher Council of Clerics, the Minister said that the connection of mosques to internet will allow Moroccan scholars to communicate with each other from different mosques in the country.

"The Minister also announced that over 50 female preachers will be sent to five provinces for four months to teach women Islam and its practice."
ISN, Egyptian Islamists real election victors, 8 Dec 05 "The Brotherhood candidates, running as independents, now have more than five times more parliamentary representatives than prior to the election. The NDP fell short of the two-thirds majority needed for constitutional changes. However, some new members of parliament with no definite party affiliation might still join the NDP, assuring the ruling party the 302 seats it requires."

Asharq Alawsat,Kuwait says stepped up security at vital oil sites, 8 Dec 05 "In an Internet video posted on Wednesday, al Qaeda deputy leader Ayman al-Zawahri urged militants to strike oil targets in Muslim countries. The comments were said by Arabic television station Al Jazeera to be previously unaired parts of an interview it broadcast in September."

BBC, Terror suspect's Iraq kidnap plea, 7 Dec 05 "Radical cleric Abu Qatada, detained since 2002, urged the kidnappers to free the men "in line with the principle of mercy of our religion".

"Abu Qatada, who is being held at Full Sutton jail, near York, had volunteered to be filmed, the Foreign Office said." includes link to video by Abu Qatada.

BBC, Film examines Muslim 'identity', 8 December 2005 film by Nasfim Haque: "The place of Islam in Wales is investigated in a special programme to be shown on BBC 2W on Thursday.

"'A Muslim in Wales: Quran and Country' explores attitudes towards Islam in Wales following the terrorist attacks in London in July."

BBC, Go Digital, includes item on podcasting pop music in Persian.

I've covered this story before, but this brings in some new angles:
Asharq Alawsat, Bluetooth Increases Interaction of the Sexes in Saudi Arabia, 1 Dec 05 "Bluetooth has disgruntled many Saudis such as Layla Al-Majid who believes, "that modern technology will cause a transgression in social norms and traditions as it has facilitated the establishing of friendly ties between members of the opposite sex." Similarly dissatisfied with this technology, Fadwa Al-Jahni expresses her frustration with "ridiculous messages and scandalous pictures" that she receives causing her to turn her mobile phone off."

Friday, December 02, 2005

Chippla's Weblog, Abuja goes wireless, 28 Nov 05 makes good points about the availability of wireless networks as a necessity rather than a luxury. I am all too aware of that point too, as I write this piece in a location with no hotspots!
Two useful contributions from Global VoicesGlobal Voices, Egyptian bloggers and parliamentary elections, 2 Dec 05

Global Voices, Pakistan: Blog-O-Manic
Guardian Unlimited Technology | Technology | Toy soldiers, 2 Dec 05: "As the situation in Iraq gets bloodier and more uncontrollable, who would take on the task of promoting the idea of enlistment to America's youth? Step forward Colonel Casey Wardynski, who is deploying perhaps the most cost-effective recruitment method presently available to the US army - a war game."
BBC NEWS | UK | Mosque closure 'the worst policy', 1 Dec 05
BBC NEWS | World | South Asia | 'Telephone ladies' connect Bangladesh, 2 Dec 05 "The Commonwealth Heads of Government are meeting this weekend in Malta.

"One of the issues they will be discussing is how to bridge the so-called digital divide - the gap between those in the industrialised world who have access to information technology, and those in the developing world who do not."
The Register, Saddam's uniform pops up on net, 28 Nov 05
adkni.com, Iraq: Military launches Ramadi Counter-Attack, 2 December 2005: "In a statement put out over the Internet, al-Zarqawi confirmed that he had dispatched most of his men to carry out the Ramadi operation."