'Timbuktu Locals Said to Have Rescued Ancient Texts'

PRI's The World, Timbuktu Locals Said to Have Rescued Ancient Texts, 29 Jan 13

New Photo of Kidnapped Australian posted on Facebook

Yahoo! News, New Photo of Kidnapped Australian posted on Facebook, 31 Jan 2013 "The photo was reportedly posted on Facebook by a group called Al Harakatul Al-Islamiyyah, believed to be a reference to the name of terrorist group, the Abu Sayyaf."

Grand mufti approves death penalty for 'Innocence of Muslims' producers

egyptindependent.com, Grand mufti approves death penalty for 'Innocence of Muslims' producers "Egypt's Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa has approved a death sentence delivered in absentia for seven Coptic Egyptian expats accused of producing and acting a movie deemed insulting to Islam."

Hamas Vows Crackdown On Collaborators With Israel

al-monitor.com, Hamas Vows Crackdown On Collaborators With Israel, "Communication with the agents takes place with utmost secrecy for fear of exposure. Israeli intelligence has taken advantage of the spread and easy use of mobile devices and the internet, which provide cheap security compared to other means. "The language of communication between an agent and his Israeli recruiter is usually "Arabic and Hebrew." Also, a "code" is used to denote specific words, including special numbers and encrypted names. The agents send urgent, regular and secret information using the Internet, mainly via MSN and email, or dead drops."

Bolstering Education and Science in the Arab World

Council on Foreign Relations, Bolstering Education and Science in the Arab World, 29 Jan 2013 "The good news is that the brewing revolution in higher education–driven by new technologies and online learning–provides an unprecedented opportunity for students anywhere in the world to access information and knowledge. (MOOCs is my new favorite word.) With an internet connection, a student in Cairo can now take a course on artificial intelligence at Stanford. A student in Tunis can watch Khan Academy videos explaining calculus."

'Citizens still bipolar about Youtube ban'

pakistantoday.com, Citizens still bipolar about Youtube ban, 30 Jan 2013 "“The purpose of using You Tube is far beyond listening music and downloading movies. We watch documentaries, tutorials, lectures and other informative videos regarding academic needs,” Muhammad Usman, a student at International Islamic University, Islamabad told Pakistan Today."

Press TV perspective on Cyber Attacks

Press TV, US, Israel constantly conducting cyber attacks against Iran: Eric Draitser, 30 Jan 2013 "An analyst says the United States, Israel and Western imperial powers have a ‘long-standing policy’ of using cyber attacks as a form of aspersion particularly against the Islamic Republic of Iran."

(Re-)connecting Timbuktu

CSM, In Timbuktu, a giant task of reconnecting a remote city to the world "When the Internet got knocked out three weeks ago here in Timbuktu, Islamist militants who then ran the city did what most of us would do: They harassed their service provider."

Twitter account of al Shabaab Somali militant group is closed

IDG, Twitter account of al Shabaab Somali militant group is closed, 28 Jan 2013 "The Twitter account of Somali Islamic militant group al Shabaab has been closed following the group's use of the microblogging site to link to videos of Kenyan hostages, mock rivals and claim responsibility for several bombings in Kenya."

Rapping the revolution

alarabiya.net, Rapping the revolution: Syrian sets to war music "The rap music scene is prolific in the Middle East as a whole, including in Syria, with more and more young people turning to the spoken word as a form of expression amid extreme violence."

Russian woman joins Syrian opposition fighters

alarabiya.net, Russian woman joins Syrian opposition fighters

Afghanistan's New Generation

LA Times, Afghanistan's New Generation "Although large parts of the population still struggle to survive in overcrowded slums, these teens and young adults live in modern apartments, shop at Western-style malls and supermarkets, swap text messages on their cellphones, celebrate weddings at neon-decked halls and are connected to the world through television, movies and the Internet." Photos/commentary (with tech references)

Mali

BBC - Podcasts and Downloads - From Our Own Correspondent:

"Andrew Harding travels to the centre of Mali to find out how the fight against the Islamist rebels is affecting life in one small country town. " This was a particularly interesting report.

“I Have The Picture!” Egypt’s Photographic Heritage between Neoliberalism and Digital Reproduction (Part II)

jadaliyya.com, “I Have The Picture!” Egypt’s Photographic Heritage between Neoliberalism and Digital Reproduction (Part II):

Instagramming the Middle East: 15 Views

al-monitor.com, Instagramming the Middle East: 15 Views:

an interesting selection of pix from al-monitor.com

Cyber criminals in Dubai

Dubai fares well against cyber-criminals | GulfNews.com: "Al Hajri [Lt Colonel Saeed Al Hajri, Director of the Electronic Crimes of Dubai Police Criminal And Investigation Department] said cybercrimes in the UAE are mainly defamation, extortion and financial fraud using the internet. This is in addition to crimes that contravene Islamic and Arabic culture."

‘Sharia squads’

These misguided Muslim ‘Sharia squads’ are playing right into the EDL's hands - Comment - Voices - The Independent:

opinion piece by Hasnet Lais

Beware of the Dinosaur

Saudi Arabia: Forced into extinction | The Economist "Like much that moves in Twitter-mad Saudi Arabia these days, it started with a single message. A lady in Dammam, the hub of the oil industry on the kingdom’s Gulf coast, tweeted a complaint from a local shopping mall. Agents of the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (CPVPV), she said, were causing an unpleasant scene. The government-salaried vigilantes, a bearded auxiliary police force familiarly known to Saudis as the Hayaa, had marched officiously into an educational exhibit featuring plaster models of dinosaurs, turned off the lights and ordered everyone out, frightening children and alarming their parents."

Research: “Seeds of Change” in Tahrir Square and Beyond: People Power or Technological Convergence?

A Douai, “Seeds of Change” in Tahrir Square and Beyond: People Power or Technological Convergence?, American Communication Journal
2012 SPECIAL ISSUE (Volume 14, Issue 3)

"This article addresses the role of social media in the Arab Spring, specifically focusing on how
Twitter was used during the Egyptian uprising. Prior to discussing Twitter, however, the article
situates the topic of social media and socio-political change within a larger context: The
“democratic“ shifts that we are witnessing today in the region are outcomes of deep and
historical transformations Arab societies have been going through. These transformations can be
summed up in the convergence of “technological” and “human” variables that have convulsed
the Arab public sphere and led to the current democratic wave. In other terms, the article’s
central argument is that the “seeds” of change are both “technological” and “human.” The case
of Twitter and Web 2:0 will further support and illustrate this unprecedented convergence."

Looks interesting.  Have yet to read it.

Primer on Jihadi Players in Algeria and Mali, Pt. 2: Belmokhtar & Those Who Sign with Blood « jihadica

jihadica.com, Primer on Jihadi Players in Algeria and Mali, Pt. 2: Belmokhtar & Those Who Sign with Blood « jihadica: