Proving the law really can be an ass: A court in Azerbaijan has handed down prison terms to two bloggers who posted a video of a donkey seen as satirising the government. Adnan Hajizade was given two years and Emin Milli two-and-a-half years after they were found guilty of hooliganism linked to a scuffle in a cafe. They maintain they were arrested and convicted because of their online criticism of the authorities. But of course: [O]fficials deny the case was related to the bloggers’ ant... Read Full Story

Following on from yesterday, part 3 in the series of Perceptions of the Middle East: And because this image not only comprises shocking writing but also devastatingly diabolical cameraship, a breakdown: Middle East Islam, oil, Dubai, Mecca and Medina, desert, terror, Arab-Israeli conflict – war – two Gulf Wars, Palestinians, Jews, Hamas, food – hummus – olives. Oddly, two themes are becoming recurrent: food and war. What complex beings we humans are. Read Full Story

Despite the maelstrom of deadlines billowing about my desk, I still have time to flit between books like a literary harlot. Right now I have five on the go, with some garnering more attention than others. I am ashamed to admit that the scale of attention leans much heavier towards the fantastical than the academic, with the most dour entries languishing at the bottom, when they should really be on top. Tsk, tsk. The guilty parties first then: Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer. Vampires. Emotio... Read Full Story

Belated, but as promised, the second instalment in the experimental Perceptions of the Middle East: My writing is quite heinous, so in sum: Middle East Ottoman Empire, Aladdin, falafal, shisha, Persia, camels, conflict – terrorism, Islam, glamour, oil – money, traditions – customs – dress. Getting better, then. Read Full Story

This image is just crazily beautiful: “Wall banger: A Palestinian demonstrator climbs Israel’s separation barrier moments after knocking down a segment of the concrete wall during a protest in the West Bank village of Nilin.” Photo: Bernat Armangue / AP Via Angry Arab. Read Full Story

A splendidly novel initiative launched by the dynamic Bekhsoos team: Hello! You’ve probably noticed that I’ve changed my sex on Facebook. Were you surprised? Annoyed? Intrigued? Disgusted? Outraged? Did you think it was a joke? Did you perhaps think it was a mistake? Actually, I’m glad you asked. Today is the international day of action for sexual and bodily rights across Muslim societies: “One Day, One Struggle.” To mark the occasion, I’ve changed my sex on Facebook to raise awareness around... Read Full Story

Via Roba, a call has been issued through YouTube for the following fellows to be found in return for a JD 1,000 reward: To find out more, click here. Read Full Story

The results of polls such as these always prompt a swift hanging of the head in shame and the contemplation of how we reached this point: Adolf Hitler was the manager of Germany’s national soccer team, and Auschwitz was a World War Two theme park, a poll released by the Daily Mail on Friday said, questioning U.K. children aged 9 to 15. The study, which was conducted by war veterans’ charity Erskine in the run-up to Remembrance Day, tested 2,000 children for their knowledge of last... Read Full Story

Lest we forget Tunisia’s burgeoning censorship portfolio, here is the latest case: Zouheir Makhlouf was arrested in 20 October after he published a video about pollution, lack of infrastructure and basic services in the industrial zone of the city of Nabeul, 60km southeast of the capital Tunis. Makhlouf was charged with “harming or disturbing others via the public telecommunications networks” and could face up to two years in prison if convicted. He was remanded in custody until the nex... Read Full Story

Let us begin at the beginning: a lecture titled A Look at Anti-Israel Media Bias, hosted by the University Jewish Society, was always predestined for contention on a plethora of levels. Certainly the title denotes a bias itself, but I was intrigued and wilfully hopeful that an alternative, positive perspective would emerge from within an educated and proven argument. Sadly, it was not to be: presented by Simon Plosker, Managing Editor of HonestReporting, the lecture woefully meandered through... Read Full Story