James M. Dorsey

Qatar Alcohol Ban Underlines Internal Tensions

Qatar Alcohol Ban Underlines Internal Tensions

JAMES M. DORSEY: Alcohol has been banned on the Pearl Qatar, dubbed the ‘Arab Riviera’. It’s the latest manifestation of internal discord.

 Mich Cafe

The Modern Way to Announce A Baby’s Arrival

The Modern Way to Announce A Baby’s Arrival

MICH CAFE: Facebook and Twitter, it appears, have taken over from newspapers in a key area of life. The recent arrival of a Royal baby in Dubai underlines this fact.

 Steve Royston

2012 and Beyond: The Many Reasons to be Both Fearful – and Cheerful

2012 and Beyond: The Many Reasons to be Both Fearful – and Cheerful

STEVE ROYSTON looks at the arts, society, education, politics, business, technology and the environment as we move into 2012, the Year of Fear’.

 M.-Lynx-Qualey

Goodbye Ibrahim Aslan: Daily Debris Was His Inspiration

Goodbye Ibrahim Aslan: Daily Debris Was His Inspiration

M. LYNX-QUALEY: He wrote about everyday lives filled with frustration and dead-ends but leavened by laughter. Farewell, Ibrahim, we’ll miss you

 Ahmed-Al-Omran

Strands of Hair: Halal in Paris, Haram in Riyadh?

Strands of Hair: Halal in Paris, Haram in Riyadh?

AHMED AL OMRAN: The fallout from the ‘Marriott Foyer Incident’ continues. Is such debate an unnecessary diversion from the real issues facing the Kingdom?

 Rob L. Wagner

Saudi Arabia: “The Female Body is a Battleground in the War to Stem Reform”

Saudi Arabia: “The Female Body is a Battleground in the War to Stem Reform”

ROB L. WAGNER: An online battle between conservatives and reformers following the Saudi Intellectual Forum illuminates their diverging opinions…

 Syria News Wire

ISyria’s ‘e-Revolution’: It’s A Constant Game of ‘Cat and Mouse’

ISyria’s ‘e-Revolution’: It’s A Constant Game of ‘Cat and Mouse’

NEWS FROM SYRIA: At first the authorities in Syria were caught unawares at how ‘new technology’ was used against them. But they caught on quickly.

 David Westley

News Analysis: The UAE Five, A Closure?

News Analysis: The UAE Five, A Closure?

NEWS ANALYSIS: “This has become a very dividing case in the U.A.E.,” said Abdulkhaleq Abdullah… He’s not wrong: On Twitter some Emiratis called for the death sentence to be applied to the five.

 Crossroads Arabia

Twitter and Mothers: Breaking Saudi Tradition

Twitter and Mothers: Breaking Saudi Tradition

CROSSROADS ARABIA: This is how customs change: People simply refuse to honor them. Women not driving will go in the same way…

 Common Ground News Service

How I’ve Been Inspired by the ‘Arab Revolutions’

How I’ve Been Inspired by the ‘Arab Revolutions’

SAMAH HUSSAIN, CGNEWS: Social media has been credited with playing a major role in the revolutions of the last nine months but it’s had a huge impact on my political involvement during that time.

 Sultan Al Qassemi

Politics: Emirati Students Abroad Show Way at Home

Politics: Emirati Students Abroad Show Way at Home

SULTAN AL QASSEMI: Qatar, he told me, has one of the most impressive constitutions, as well as the most impressive parliamentary building. “Too bad there’s no parliament to occupy it,” he said.

 Common Ground News Service

Saudi Women: The Power & Limitation of Social Media

Saudi Women: The Power & Limitation of Social Media

MAHA AKEEL, CGNEWS: It’s clearly enabled women in the Middle East in particular to express their views more vocally but there are limits to what social media can achieve in effecting real change.

 James M. Dorsey

The Facebook Revolution. Is it really?

The Facebook Revolution. Is it really?

JAMES M. DORSEY: Autocrats – and their advisers – around the region have clearly underestimated the power of social media. But how significant has it been in effecting real change?

 Shelina Zahra Janmohamed

People, Not Technology, are Agents for Change

People, Not Technology, are Agents for Change

SHELINA ZAHRA JANMOHAMED: Let’s not diminish the creativity and courage of the Arab Spring by attributing great sacrifice to amorphous, faceless technology.

 Rob L. Wagner

The Saudi Arabian Electoral ‘Experiment’ Continues

The Saudi Arabian Electoral ‘Experiment’ Continues

ROB L. WAGNER: There has been a lot of criticism of Saudi Arabia’s upcoming municipal elections. Some groups, however, know how best to work the system.

 Matt J. Duffy

Positive Signs in UAE Election Campaign

Positive Signs in UAE Election Campaign

MATT J. DUFFY: Some concerns have been raised about the stringency of the rules relating to public discourse in the UAE elections. Comments from a senior official, however, seem to have assuaged these concerns.

 Syria News Wire

‘The Stream’: A Radical New Concept?

‘The Stream’: A Radical New Concept?

SYRIA NEWS WIRE: Al Jazeera recently launched ‘The Stream’ designed to bring the ‘holy grail’ of convergence to a worldwide audience. Have they succeeded?

 Common Ground News Service

TweetNadwa: 140 Seconds to Say It As You See It

TweetNadwa: 140 Seconds to Say It As You See It

MEHRUNISA QAYYUM, CGNEWS: Inspired by Twitter a grassroots Egyptian organisation has set up an online forum that limits participants to 140 seconds air time.

 The Ajnabi

The Chants for Change Reach Loyalist Damascus

The Chants for Change Reach Loyalist Damascus

THE AJNABI: It’s a cry that’s familiar from viewing images of Tahrir Square, Yemen and Hama but it’s the first time I’ve heard it in a wealthy, Damascus suburb.

 Ahmed-Al-Omran

Saudi Draft ‘Anti-Terror Law’ Evokes Strong Response

Saudi Draft ‘Anti-Terror Law’ Evokes Strong Response

AHMED AL-OMRAN: A leaked draft of a proposed, new anti-terror law has been leaked to Amnesty International. A predictable storm has erupted.