Friday, December 18, 2009
'Iranian Cyber Army'
Update: The Guardian, Technology Blog, Twitter hack by 'Iranian Cyber Army' is really just misdirection, 18 Dec 09
Michael Arrington, TechCrunch, Twitter Hacked, Defaced By “Iranian Cyber Army”, 17 Dec 09 This is the most detailed post on this issue that I've come across.
Also see:
Telegraph, Twitter hacked by 'Iranian Cyber Army', 18 Dec 09
"A group, calling themselves the Iranian Cyber Army, forced Twitter offline last night."
Wall Street Journal Blog, Twitter, Iranian Reformer Sites Hacked by ‘Iranian Cyber Army’, 18 Dec 09
Labels: hacking, Iranian Cyber Army, Iranian internet, Twitter
Morocco
Brian Whitaker, al-Bab, Moroccan internet 'crimes', 16 Dec 09 "A blogger and the owner of an internet cafe have been jailed in Morocco."
Labels: blogging, Morocco, Morocco internet, Prosecutions
Opinion piece: ethics, diamonds and technology
Molouk Y. Ba-Isa, Arab News, Your mobile may be financing murder, 15 Dec 09 "Since 1996, more than 5.4 million people have died from the ravaging effects of war and its aftermath in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Despite successful elections in 2006, more than 45,000 people are still dying every month in eastern Congo, mostly from hunger and disease resulting from the ongoing conflict. Consumer demands helped stop the violence in Africa fueled by Blood Diamonds. If you want peace of mind in enjoying your cell phone, iPod or notebook computer, support an end to the trade in conflict minerals."
More information: raisehopeforcongo.org
More information: raisehopeforcongo.org
Labels: Cell phones, Democratic Republic of the Congo, ethical issues, iPod
Military apps
Brian X. Chen, Military Could Use iPhones to Track Friends, Enemies in War, 17 Dec 09
Bobbie Johnson, The Guardian, War? There's an iPhone app for that: American military contractor shows off iPhone application intended to help soldiers track and kill insurgents on the battlefield, 17 Dec 09
Not new stories (for example, see Newsweek, Apple’s New Weapon, 18 Apr 09), but some useful updates.
Bobbie Johnson, The Guardian, War? There's an iPhone app for that: American military contractor shows off iPhone application intended to help soldiers track and kill insurgents on the battlefield, 17 Dec 09
Not new stories (for example, see Newsweek, Apple’s New Weapon, 18 Apr 09), but some useful updates.
Labels: Apple, applications, apps, iPhone, iPod
Drones 'hacked'
Times Online, Islamic insurgents hack into CIA state-of-the-art Predator drones, 18 Dec 09 "The Wall Street Journal reported that the hackers were Iranian-backed Shias in Iraq, who used easily downloadable software, such as SkyGrabber, to capture the video feeds, which had not been protected by military encryption."
Labels: hacking, Iraq, software
Commentary - 'Confronting Online Radicalization of Muslim Youth'
Shahed Amanullah, The American Muslim, Confronting Online Radicalization of Muslim Youth, 17 Dec 09 "The bad news is that after being chased out of the Muslim mainstream, those Muslims leaning towards extremism have found sanctuary on the Internet. There, militants have been able to exploit visitors’ religious illiteracy and social alienation better than their moderate brethren and recruit people to join their cause."
Labels: American Muslims, internet jihad
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Karachi arrests: update
Rafia Zakaria, Dawn, Climate of suspicion, 16 Dec 09
"The most damning evidence they left behind, a farewell video using the familiar format of interspersing Quranic verses with images of atrocities being committed in Iraq and Afghanistan, was what made the father of one of the five contact the authorities. One member of the group, Ahmed Minni, left laudatory comments on YouTube videos featuring jihadists. This YouTube connection has, in fact, become central to the whole investigation. Pakistani authorities have since alleged that the group was using social networking sites such as Facebook to search for jihadist contacts with groups such as Lashkar-i-Taiba and Lashkar-i-Jhangvi."
also see Washington Post, Combating homegrown terrorism, 16 Dec 09 (editorial)
Also this blog piece (drawing on/linking to other sources as well) by Mollie Ziegler, getreligion.org, The long arm of Sayyid Qutb, 16 Dec 09 "“This is indeed a wake up call,” Bray, executive director of the Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation, told reporters outside the mosque.
"“We are determined not to let religious extremists exploit the vulnerability of our young children through slick propaganda on the Internet,” Bray added."
Also see: Bobby Ghosh, Time.com, Most Domestic 'Jihadists' Are Educated, Well-Off, 16 Dec 09"The idea that mosques are the favored hunting ground of extremists and propagandists is a myth too. Since 9/11, law enforcement and national security agencies have maintained a close scrutiny of Muslim places of worship; equally, Muslim community leaders have grown more alert for any radical preaching. As a result, terrorist groups seeking American recruits now tend to propagandize mainly online. This also means that relatively wealthy Muslims are much more likely than poorer ones to be exposed to extremist views. "You need a computer, an Internet connection — poor Muslims don't have that kind of access," says [Scott] Stewart."
"The most damning evidence they left behind, a farewell video using the familiar format of interspersing Quranic verses with images of atrocities being committed in Iraq and Afghanistan, was what made the father of one of the five contact the authorities. One member of the group, Ahmed Minni, left laudatory comments on YouTube videos featuring jihadists. This YouTube connection has, in fact, become central to the whole investigation. Pakistani authorities have since alleged that the group was using social networking sites such as Facebook to search for jihadist contacts with groups such as Lashkar-i-Taiba and Lashkar-i-Jhangvi."
also see Washington Post, Combating homegrown terrorism, 16 Dec 09 (editorial)
Also this blog piece (drawing on/linking to other sources as well) by Mollie Ziegler, getreligion.org, The long arm of Sayyid Qutb, 16 Dec 09 "“This is indeed a wake up call,” Bray, executive director of the Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation, told reporters outside the mosque.
"“We are determined not to let religious extremists exploit the vulnerability of our young children through slick propaganda on the Internet,” Bray added."
Also see: Bobby Ghosh, Time.com, Most Domestic 'Jihadists' Are Educated, Well-Off, 16 Dec 09"The idea that mosques are the favored hunting ground of extremists and propagandists is a myth too. Since 9/11, law enforcement and national security agencies have maintained a close scrutiny of Muslim places of worship; equally, Muslim community leaders have grown more alert for any radical preaching. As a result, terrorist groups seeking American recruits now tend to propagandize mainly online. This also means that relatively wealthy Muslims are much more likely than poorer ones to be exposed to extremist views. "You need a computer, an Internet connection — poor Muslims don't have that kind of access," says [Scott] Stewart."
Labels: American Muslims, Facebook, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Laskhar-e-Jhangvi, Pakistan, Pakistan Taliban, Taliban, YouTube
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
muslimmatters.org, Interview with a “Taliban-trained” Suicide Bomber
muslimmatters.org, Interview with a “Taliban-trained” Suicide Bomber, 15 Dec 09 "Below is a chilling video of an interview with a young man, who has no qualms about killing innocent men, women and children. This is because he believes that everyone who isn’t participating in Waziristan or other “jihad” can be considered justified collateral. His “ameer” told him so."
Do see the comments from the post's writer Amad on this video, which I've also linked to below:
Do see the comments from the post's writer Amad on this video, which I've also linked to below:
Labels: Pakistan Taliban, Taliban, YouTube
RevolutionMuslim.com
Jarret Brachman, The Fresh Face of American Jihobbyism: Abdullah as-Sayf Jones, 14 Dec 09 "This is Abdullah as-Sayf Jones, the newly designated emir/leader/director/head of the RevolutionMuslim.com website. With the departure of Yousef al-Khattab, the site now falls on the shoulders of this young mujahid."
Labels: American Muslims, internet jihad, RevolutionMuslim.com
Egypt and the net
Reuters, Egypt puts archives on Web to boost Arabic content, 14 Dec 09 "Egypt has begun making its national archives digitally available on the Internet in Arabic, having last month registered the world's first domain name in Arabic script."
Labels: Arabic internet, domain names, Egyptian internet, ICANN
Transliteration tools
Gaith Saqer, arabcrunch.com, Google Launches Native Windows Transliteration Application for 14 languages Including Arabic, Greek Hinidi [sic], Urdu and Farsi, 15 Dec 09 "Since Google launched Ta3reeb its online Transliteration for Arabic, which changes Latin letter into Arabic, it has been working in improving it ,as it has become more accurate and better in editing transliterated words. Google also launched an API for Ta3reeb and started integrating it with its online properties starting from Gmail, Blogger, Knol and its ejabat.google.com."
This is an interesting review. I'll to take a further look at these products in due course. It'll be useful to read further feedback on Google IME and Microsoft's Maren. I plan to test-drive them sometime, when I have a spare few days ...
This is an interesting review. I'll to take a further look at these products in due course. It'll be useful to read further feedback on Google IME and Microsoft's Maren. I plan to test-drive them sometime, when I have a spare few days ...
Labels: Arabic resources, Google, Microsoft, transliteration
Morocco: blogger arrest
meedan.net, Moroccan blogger arrested for publishing a statement on student protests, 15 Dec 09 "The Moroccan authorities have arrested blogger Al-Bashir Hezzam after he published a statement on student protests in the area of Tarjijt in southern Morocco."
Labels: blogging, Morocco internet
Arab Bloggers Meeting
Saudi Jeans, Arab Blogger, Unite! (or don’t!), 10 Dec 09 "The first Arab Bloggers Meeting last year in Beirut was really good, and the second one which is taking place this week has been going great. Last year’s event, held in Zico House, was small and cozy, and I was afraid that since there will be much more people this time around that we would lose that coziness. Luckily, this is not the case. The atmosphere is pretty informal, and the good thing in this year’s meeting is the large number of practical workshops aiming to teach bloggers some practical skills that they can use to improve their blogging experience." Sounds interesting - I'd have liked to have attended this one.
Labels: blogging
'The Iranian Digital Empowerment Act'
National Iranian American Council, The Iranian Digital Empowerment Act, 14 Dec 09 "This bill will enable average Iranian citizens to access the most powerful tool available for promoting democracy and civil society in Iran: information. It clarifies the intent of current US sanctions not to prohibit Americans from providing certain software or related services to Iranians, enabling them to communicate freely or bypass their government's online spying and censorship efforts."
Labels: American Muslims, Iran, Iranian cyberspace
Sadequee/Ahmed case (USA)
R. Robin McDonald, Fulton County Daily Report/law.com, Federal Judge Sentences 2 Muslim Americans for Conspiring to Aid Terror Groups, 15 Dec 09, "The Internet prohibition followed testimony at the trials of Sadequee and his co-defendant, former Georgia Tech student Syed Haris Ahmed, that identified the duo's forays into Internet chat rooms where they corresponded with self-proclaimed jihadists. Both defendants argued during their trials that their Internet conversations about jihad were idle, harmless chat and that these conversations were constitutionally protected speech."
Labels: American Muslims, Canadian Muslims, internet jihad, Prosecutions
Majid Tavakoli campaign
cnn.com, New protest statement builds in Iran -- men in head scarves, 13 Dec 09 "Within hours of the Fars report on the arrest of the 22-year-old protester, men both inside and outside Iran responded using a what appears to be a new tactic for the opposition -- they began posting pictures of themselves online wearing head coverings that are mandated for women in the Islamic republic."
Pavyand Iran News, Iranian men dress as women in support of detained student activist, 12 Dec 09 "Hundreds of Iranian men published pictures of themselves wearing headscarves and chadors in support of Majid Tavakoli, the detained Amir Kabir University student who was arrested on December 8 after giving a speech during the National Students Day protests in Iran."
Here's the FARS news report which published the original Tavakoli pictures, an example of which heads this post.
The Spittoon, How the Hijab became the Symbol of Male Resistance in Iran "The ongoing, spirited anti-government protests in Iran has been fearless, witty, creative and nothing short of inspiring." (tip: Harry's Place and Times Online)
And here's an innovative video highlighting this protest:
Also see Sunday Times, Lessons in revolution, via YouTube, 14 Dec 09
Labels: Iran bloggers, Iran internet, Islam and gender, Majid Tavakoli, YouTube
iMuslims - Review in Choice
Subscribers to Choice may want to see the recent review of iMuslims in the November issue ("Recommended").
Labels: Gary Bunt's publications, iMuslims
Monday, December 14, 2009
Egypt: blogger's home raided
almasryalyoum.com, Police raid home of prominent blogger, 13 Dec 09 "The family home of prominent Egyptian blogger Wael Abbas was raided and searched by plainclothes police while the activist was attending a bloggers' conference in Beirut, both Abbas and his mother said Sunday."
BTW almasryalyoum.com has undergone a neat makeover, and is now in BETA revamp mode
BTW almasryalyoum.com has undergone a neat makeover, and is now in BETA revamp mode
Labels: Egypt, Egyptian bloggers
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Pakistan
AP/Miami Herald, Worried father turned in 5 Americans to Pakistani police, 12 Dec 09, "The five had an Internet-powered interest in jihad, or holy war, and had e-mail contact with a mysterious Pakistani militant, the police said. The men's planning appeared amateurish, however. Although police in Sargodha played up the Americans' alleged links to al-Qaida and suggested they were involved in a major terrorist plot, the absence of radical connections may have thwarted their purported ambitions."
Also see dallasnews.com, Pakistani officials search for Virginia men's online Taliban recruiter, 13 Dec 09 "Investigators have identified the man, known as Saifullah, as a recruiter for the Pakistani Taliban and said he contacted one of the American men on YouTube, exchanged coded e-mails with the group, invited them to Pakistan and guided them once they arrived."
Update: NPR, Pakistan Case Highlights Jihadi Efforts On Web, 11 Dec 09
Also see dallasnews.com, Pakistani officials search for Virginia men's online Taliban recruiter, 13 Dec 09 "Investigators have identified the man, known as Saifullah, as a recruiter for the Pakistani Taliban and said he contacted one of the American men on YouTube, exchanged coded e-mails with the group, invited them to Pakistan and guided them once they arrived."
Update: NPR, Pakistan Case Highlights Jihadi Efforts On Web, 11 Dec 09
Labels: al-Qaeda, American Muslims, internet jihad, Jaish-e-Mohammed, Pakistan, Pakistani cyberspace, Taliban
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Abu Yahya al-Libi
Views from the Occident, Leaderless Jihad? What Rumors about Abu Yahya al-Libi's Death & the Commotion Caused among Cyber-Jihadis Tell Us, 10 Dec 09
Labels: Abu Yahya al-Libi, internet jihad, Pakistan, Pakistan internet
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
Human Rights report
Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, 2009 Report on Human Rights in the Arab World: Bastion of Impunity, Mirage of Reform "Today the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies released its second annual report on the state of human rights in the Arab world for the year 2009. The report, entitled Bastion of Impunity, Mirage of Reform, concludes that the human rights situation in the Arab region has deteriorated throughout the region over the last year." In Arabic, with an English version to follow (exec summary in Arabic and English also available). I have this on my reading list.
Labels: Egypt, Human rights
UAE IT
Khaleej Times, UAE IT Market Set for Strong Growth, 8 Dec 09 "The UAE internet penetration estimated to be at 54.3 per cent by the end of 2008, is far above the average for the Middle East and North Africa region. This highlights UAE’s position as one of the most advanced IT countries in the region. Dubai has traditionally been a re-export centre for consumer electronic items, with traders now assembling their own PCs. However the size of the domestic market is also increasing, driven by growing SME spending."
Labels: Middle East Business, UAE, UAE internet
'Inside Islam' film
Union Production Foundation, Inside Islam: What a Billion Muslims Really Think, "Inside Islam: What a Billion Muslims Really Think, a new documentary film from Unity Productions Foundation, explores the expertly gathered opinions of Muslims around the globe as revealed in the world’s first major opinion poll, conducted by Gallup, the preeminent polling organization." I'd be interested to see this in due course, if it makes it to the UK.
