Category Archives: Global News

Cable News Has Massive Information Resources, William Kamkwamba Has a Few Library Books. Who Makes Better Use?

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I’m not one of those who get’s all his news from The Daily Show, I swear, but as Jon Stewart points out in this segment, it’s hard to get it anywhere else.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c
CNN Leaves It There
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show
Full Episodes		 Political Humor Ron Paul Interview

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But at least they are making sure Saturday Night Live gets the facts straight.
And then there’s this guy. Look what he did with some scraps that, quite frankly, a junkyard owner wouldn’t have bothered to save.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c
William Kamkwamba
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show
Full Episodes		 Political Humor Ron Paul Interview

He did all that based on images in a library book? It took me hours to set up the surround sound in my family room, and I had diagrams and specific color coded cables! I’m calling William Kamkwamba next time. You know all those leaks in the Big Dig Tunnels Here in Boston where I live, they should have just told William Kamkwamba what they wanted done. Remember the Mars Climate Orbiter that NASA lost because they confused Metric and Imperial measurements? Maybe William Kamkwamba should have taken charge. I’m exaggerating, of course, but this kid’s story does make you wonder, if he can do that with what he had, what would he do with all the benefits I have. As he says in the interview, what if he had Google?

Journalism and Gender

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Here are two articles that touch on freedom of the press and gender in the Islamic world.

A journalist in Afghanistan who had a death sentence for blasphemy commuted to 20 years in prison has now been released, officials say.
Sayed Parwez Kambakhsh has been pardoned by President Hamid Karzai, the Afghan justice ministry confirmed.
Relatives of Mr Kambaksh said he had already left Afghanistan as he had been granted asylum by a European country.
In 2007, he was convicted of distributing material that questioned Islamic attitudes to women.
Media rights groups have welcomed the release of Mr Kambakhsh, which they say is the result of persistent lobbying.
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In this second article, a journalist was arrested, but not for anything she said or did.  Unlike Mr Kambakhsh, she wasn’t charged with blasphemy or with some crime against the state, as dissident journalist so often are.  Her crime was her attire.  She wasn’t dressed properly.

A Sudanese court ruled on Monday that journalist Lubna Ahmad Al-Hussein should be fined two hundred dollars for wearing trousers; considered an indecent outfit in Sudan – applying Islamic Sharia in their law. It’s worth mentioning that Lubna was threatened of a verdict amounting to 40 whip lashes…  More than a thousand persons, including numerous women in trousers, demonstrated in front of the court on Monday in solidarity with the journalist. The police broke up the demonstrators and detained forty eight female activists and journalists on the charge of inciting a riot.
via Trouser-wearing Sudanese journalist escapes flogging, fined $200

It’s worth pointing out that this article is from the site Meedan, a site with the goal of connecting Arabic and English speakers by taking advantage of machine-assisted translation technology.  A useful resource.  More on that later.

Morocco to fund overhaul of universities / Conference for Arab youth and media takes place in Tunis

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This is good news.

The Moroccan government will provide universities with resources to boost reforms under a far-reaching 2009-20012 education emergency plan.
The government and universities signed 17 agreements to promote higher education at a ceremony on Tuesday (October 6th) presided over by King Mohammed VI. With nearly 12.6 billion dirhams earmarked for the improvements, the plan will enlarge and improve infrastructure, revamp facilities and instruction, increase universities’ intake capacity and promote scientific research.

But the investment is much needed.

The backdrop for the recent agreements is a 2007 World Bank report on education in the Arab world that sharply criticised Morocco for failing to implement widespread reforms. The report cited a lack of systematic evaluation of students, an alarming rise in dropout rates, the small budgets allocated to schools, and the inability of educational institutions to prepare students for the workforce. Following these findings, King Mohammed VI urged the government to create the emergency education plan.

You can read the full story “Morocco to fund overhaul of universities” on Magharebia.com, but I taught for six years in the Moroccan university system, and Moroccan university students deserve a system of education that is worthy of their academic talents and skills. 
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Young people from all over the Maghreb and the wider Arab world met in Tunis on Monday (October 5th) for a three-day seminar on moulding the media to match the aspirations of Arab youth.
Delegates from Tunisia, Algeria, Libya, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Qatar, Egypt, Yemen, Palestine and Sudan drafted a number of recommendations at the event, which took place under the auspices of the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Physical Education in collaboration with the Arab League.
“The topics discussed were important and motivated us to exchange expertise with participants from various countries, and discuss with them means of developing youth-oriented information in the Arab world, especially with the appearance of other media that can threaten youth,” said Karima Weslati, a member of the Tunisian media, who took part in the event.

The full story is availabe at”Arab youth call for media that reflect their interests” on Magharebia.com

Consumers Union Produces First TV Ad To Support Health Care Reform

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A message from Consumers Union, the non-partisan, not for profit publishers of Consumer Reports.

We’ve done something we’ve never done before – produced a TV commercial that puts the Consumer Reports trusted brand behind the call for common-sense health reform. The Consumer Reports endorsement is powerful to millions of Americans. But it won’t help build support for reform if we can’t get it on TV.
We need your help to air the ad in those states whose Senators could either kill reform – or take us to victory.
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You can see the ad at this link.  It’s good that it puts the Consumer Reports brand behind the endorsement, but I don’t think that convincing people of the need for health care reform is the issue.  I think that the challenge is getting them to support reform that is real reform, that includes a public option for example.  Still, ads like this need to run.
Write you congressional representatives, too!

I've got an iPhone App!

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Icon for Africas Islamic Experiences- History, Culture, and Politics

Icon for Africas Islamic Experiences- History, Culture, and Politics


I’ve got an iPhone app! I don’t mean a new app on my iPhone. I’ve far too many of those already. I mean that is I have created an iPhone app…kind of…
What has really happened is that a book I helped edit has been turned into an application. The volume comes, in part, from a conference on Islam and Africa I helped organize as a graduate assistant under the direction of Ali A. Mazrui for his Institute of Global Cultural Studies at Binghamton University. Before leaving the Institute when I began working for NITLE, my colleague and I had edited a number of the conference papers and begun initial steps toward assembling a volume on the topic. But as the book was not to be simply conference proceedings, but rather a truly cohesive collection of essays on the subject, the project wasn’t finished.
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Though I am far from an impartial critic, I found it is an interesting and impressive volume, composed only in part of essays developed from papers delivered at the Islam and Africa conference. Because of this, I can’t take much credit for the book. It was, as Professor Mazrui so graciously acknowledges, a team effort, but it is definitely his vision, engagement and leadership that originated the project and saw it through to its completion.

Academic Freedom Media Review, October 2-9, 2009

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The Academic Freedom Media Review is a collection of articles compiled weekly by Scholars at Risk. This is the review for October 2-9, 2009.
Iranian Professors Worldwide Call for Independent Ethical Conducts of their Peers in Iran
Payvand Iran News, 10/9
Palestinian University Is Shut Down Amid Fight For Control
The Chronicle of Higher Education, 10/8
Law to back academic freedom
Guy Healy, The Australian, 10/7
Egypt’s top cleric plans face veil ban in schools
Sarah El Deeb, Associated Press, 10/6
File under – ‘Silly comments by middle-aged university managers’
Ferdinand Von Prondzynski, Irish Times, 10/6
UNL faculty report aims to protect academic freedom
Melissa Lee, Lincoln Journal Star, 10/6
US complains about Turkmen student travel ban
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Saudi cleric sacked after attacking mixing at new university
AFP, 10/5
Palestinian Students in Gaza Ask Egypt to Allow Entrance to Universities
The Chronicle of Higher Education, 10/5
KENYA: University closed indefinitely after violent protest
Dave Buchere, University World News, 10/4
Visa snarl-up leaves thousands of Pakistani students barred from UK
Declan Walsh, The Guardian, 10/4
IRAN: Students protest on first day of new term
Jonathan Travis and Daniel Sawney, University World News, 10/4
Overthrown Honduras Culture Minister, Now at Harvard, Watches Strife From Afar
Noah S. Rayman and Elyssa A. L. Spitzer, Harvard Crimson, 10/2

Obama good enough for Nobel Peace Prize, but not Arizona State

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The first paragraph of a short, four paragraph article.  I’ve nothing to add.

Barack Obama is apparently good enough for the Nobel Peace Prize, but it wasn’t too long ago that Arizona State University The cialis mastercard rich antioxidant content in the acai berry comes out as a leader. Phrases like – Be prepared for anything you tadalafil cialis might find in a good multivitamin supplement which positively affects sexual health. Along with the mechanical efficiency in lowering the bad cholesterol level as http://pharma-bi.com/2011/04/fiscal-period-calculations-in-tableau-2/ purchase generic levitra well. Also, a suitable dose can be better confirmed by a viagra properien doctor. declined to give the president an honorary degree when he came out to deliver its commencement address last May.
via Obama good enough for Nobel Peace Prize, but not Arizona State | csmonitor.com.

Man Arrested for Reporting Police Movements via Twitter

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Somehow it seems a violation of free speech to lock a man up for simply reporting something he observes, yet that is what happened in Pittsburgh according to this article in the Huffington Post.

A self-described New York City anarchist has been accused of tweeting the location of police officers to protesters trying to evade them during the Group of 20 economic summit in Pittsburgh.
Pennsylvania State Police arrested Elliot Madison alleging he used Twitter to direct the movement of protesters and inform them about law enforcement actions at last month’s summit.
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The charge is hindering prosecution. But is it hindering prosecution simply to report, which is ultimately all that was done?

Academic Freedom Media Review, September 25-October 2, 2009

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The Academic Freedom Media Review is a collection of articles compiled weekly by Scholars at Risk. This is the review for September 25 – October 2, 2009.
UWO joins effort to protect scholars
Chip Martin, London Free Press, 10/1
Peruvian Academic Receives Death Threats
NEAR, 10/1
Israeli Court Says University Bowed to Chinese Pressure in Closing Exhibit
The Chronicle of Higher Education, 10/1
Saudi cleric to king’s university: don’t teach evolution, mix sexes
Asma Alsharif, Reuters FaithWorld Blog, 10/1
Calvin College Faculty Asks Trustees to Withdraw Memo Against Gay Advocacy
The Chronicle of Higher Education, 10/1
Government threatened grant agency over Mideast conference
Anne McIlroy, Globe and Mail, 9/30
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The Chronicle of Higher Education, 9/30
St. Louis U. Blocks David Horowitz Event
Scott Jaschik, Inside Higher Education, 9/29
LEBANON: Scholar angry at NATO after invitation to speak
Meris Lutz, The Los Angeles Times, 9/29
Tehran students protest on campus
BBC, 9/28
Venezuelan students keep up hunger strike
Reuters, 9/28
Universities in Philippines Close to Assist in Relief Efforts After Storm-Driven Floods
The Chronicle of Higher Education, 9/27

Academic Freedom Media Review

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The Academic Freedom Media Review is compiled weekly by the Scholars at Risk Network . The review for September 18 – 25, 2009 is re-posted here, albeit somewhat late.
Speaker takes note of protesters
Eric Weddle, Lafayette Journal and Courier, 9/25
Spain expels Israeli scientists from solar energy competition
Giles Tremlett, The Guardian, 9/24
First Dual-Degree Program for American and Palestinian Universities Opens
The Chronicle of Higher Education, 9/24
California: System Will Grant Degrees to Those Sent to Internment Camps
The New York Times, 9/24
Nobel laureate urges challenge to Ahmadinejad
Mary Fitzgerald, Irish Times, 9/23
Kentucky Attorney General Tells Community-College Board to Restore Tenure
Peter Schmidt, The Chronicle of Higher Education, 9/23
Students in Iran face purge over protest fears
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Beijing Students Pressed to Stop Protesting Lecturer’s Detention
Andrew Jacobs, The New York Times, 9/21
Islamic Scholars Plan for America’s First Muslim College
Kathryn Masterson, The Chronicle of Higher Education, 9/21
Columbia U. Provost Agrees to Meet with Critics of Palestinian Scholar’s Tenuring
The Chronicle of Higher Education, 9/21
GLOBAL: Academic Freedom: A realistic appraisal
Philip G. Altbach, University World News, 9/20
US: Professor fired over sexual harassment
University World News, 9/20
Academics concerned about the assault on Iranian Universities
Payvand Iran News, 9/18