It’s Time for a Little R&R

I have been blogging daily for a very long time now, but I have had no rest from it. Needless to say, I am feeling rather worn out as a result. I therefore need some rest, a change of mind, a change of perspective. I need a holiday. I am starting that holiday today. I ask you for your understanding.

There is a lot of interesting material up on this blog. In fact, there is material going back more than twenty years. You are free to avail yourselves of it.

I have no idea how long my holiday from blogging will last. I suppose it will last until I feel thoroughly refreshed.

For your understanding in this matter and for your loyalty, I thank you all kindly.

Best wishes,
Mark Alexander

Blogging Leave

MARK ALEXANDER: I have been blogging constantly and consistently for a very long time now. As a result, I need some R&R; I am feeling exhausted.

For this reason, I have decided to take a break from blogging for a little while. I need to re-charge the batteries. I therefore ask for your understanding. I shall be back with you as soon as possible. But a little rest will be good for me at this time.

For all the support you have given me thus far, I thank you all kindly. Naturally, all the content of the blog, going back about 21 years, will remain at your disposal.

I thank you for your understanding; and, naturally, for your continued loyalty.

Best wishes to all
Mark Alexander

Blogging

I should like to make my followers and visitors aware that my blogging in the coming weeks will be erratic. The reason for this is that I am going to be caring for someone very close to me who is seriously ill. I ask you all for your understanding. Naturally, I shall be back with you as and when time permits. – Mark

Listening Post: Russia's New Media Mavericks

The story of two Russian bloggers working to expose corruption and challenging the established order.

Saudi Blogger Raif Badawi Faces Jail and 600 Lashes For Insulting Islam

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS TIMES: An international outcry was triggered by a Saudi Arabian court that handed a seven-year jail and 600 lashes sentence to the editor of a liberal website for violating Islamic values.

Raif Badawi has been in detention since 2012, after being arrested on cyber-crime charges related to Free Saudi, the website he founded which hosted discussions on religion in the ultraconservative Islamic kingdom.

The US and France expressed deep concerns at the punishment also slammed by human rights groups.

"We believe that when public speech is deemed offensive, be it via social media or any other means, the issue is best addressed through open-dialogue and honest debate," said US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki.

"This incredibly harsh sentence for a peaceful blogger makes a mockery of Saudi Arabia's claims that it supports reform and religious dialogue," said Nadim Houry, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.

"A man who wanted to discuss religion has already been locked up for a year and now faces 600 lashes and seven years in prison."

Judges at Jeddah criminal court reportedly dropped the heaviest charge of apostasy - which carries an automatic death sentence - after Badawi, gave assurances he was a Muslim. » | Umberto Bacchi | Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Taliban-Angriff auf 14jährige Malala löst Demonstrationen aus
Die junge Bloggerin aus Pakistan ist anfangs Woche von Taliban gezielt niedergeschossen worden. Die Tat hat weltweit Wut und Empörung ausgelöst. Zahlreiche Schulen in der Region blieben heute geschlossen. Viele Schüler demonstrieren gegen die barbarische Tat.

BBC: Malala Yousafzai: Pakistan calls day of prayer: Pakistan has called for Friday to be observed as a "day of prayer" for the recovery of a 14-year-old girl shot in the head by Taliban gunmen. » | Friday, October 12, 2012

Macht der Blogger
Wer nicht ins System passt, steht in China oft schon mit einem Fuss im Arbeitslager. Millionen von Bloggern wehren sich seit Monaten gegen diese Praxis. Erstmals in der Geschichte Chinas haben sie es geschafft, eine breite Debatte über die Zukunft dieser Lager loszutreten. Auslöser war der tragische Fall einer mutigen Frau aus einer Provinzstadt in Südchina.

Ohne Anklage in Haft: Saudi-arabischer Blogger kommt nach 16 Monaten frei
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Der saudi-arabische Blogger Nasir al-Madschid ist frei. Nach mehr als einjähriger Haft wurde er auf freien Fuß gesetzt. Eine offizielle Begründung, weshalb er inhaftiert worden ist, steht bis heute aus.

Riad - Weit mehr als ein Jahr saß der Blogger Nasir al-Madschid in Saudi-Arabien ohne Anklage in Haft. Mit Texten zu Religion und Freiheit soll sich der Schiit beim sunnitischen Königshaus unbeliebt gemacht haben. Am Samstag teilte Madschids Familie mit, nach rund 16 Monaten im Gefängnis sei der 35-Jährige am Donnerstag aus der Haft entlassen worden. » | mak/dpa | Samstag, 28. Juli 2012

Syria 'Arrests Iconic Blogger Razan Ghazzawi and Leading Activists'
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Security forces on Thursday arrested blogger Razan Ghazzawi, icon of the 11-month uprising in Syria, along with rights activist Mazen Darwish and 12 others, opposition figures said.

Human rights lawyer Anwar Bunni said Ghazzawi was arrested in an early afternoon raid on the Syrian Centre for Media and Freedom of Expression, which is located in central Damascus and is headed by Darwish.

"We at the Syrian Centre for Legal Studies condemn these arrests and call on Syrian authorities to immediately release them," Bunni said in a statement.

Opposition figure Louai Hussein earlier told AFP that Darwish's wife was also among those arrested. » | Thursday, February 16, 2012

Hamza Kashgari, the Saudi Writer Arrested for Religiously Offensive Tweets with Help of Interpol
Hamza Kashgari,the Saudi writer and blogger had to flee after writing three tweets on the social media network Twitter, after only a couple of days he had flee for his life to Malaysia on his way to New Zealand after there were calls for his execution. He was arrested in Islamic Malaysia and is being sent back to Saudi Arabia to face the death penalty.

Mohammed-Zweifler Kaschgari: Facebook-Hatz auf einen Blogger

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Zehntausende fordern in einer Facebook-Gruppe die Bestrafung des saudi-arabischen Journalisten Hamsa Kaschgari, weil er den Propheten Mohammed beleidigt haben soll. Sie wollen ein Exempel statuieren und verlangen die Hinrichtung des 23-Jährigen. Kaum einer stellt sich dem Hass entgegen.

Es ist ein digitaler Lynchmob, der sich im Internet zusammengerottet hat: Mehr als 25.000 Menschen sind bislang der Facebook-Gruppe "Das saudische Volk will die Bestrafung von Hamsa Kaschgari" beigetreten. Die meisten User, die sich auf der Pinnwand der Gruppe äußern, lassen keinen Zweifel daran, wie diese Strafe aussehen muss: Sie fordern den Tod des 23-jährigen Journalisten, weil er ihrer Meinung nach den Propheten Mohammed beleidigt und sich damit der Blasphemie schuldig gemacht haben soll.

Hamsa Kaschgari hatte vor zehn Tagen auf Twitter ein fiktives Gespräch mit dem Propheten geführt. Darin hatte er unter anderem erklärt, dass er nicht für Mohammed beten werde und bestimmte Dinge an ihm hasse. Außerdem schrieb er: "An Deinem Geburtstag werde ich mich nicht vor Dir verbeugen und nicht Deine Hand küssen."

In der Folge brach im arabischsprachigen Internet ein Sturm der Wut und Entrüstung über die Tweets des jungen Mannes aus. Als Kaschgari erkannt hatte, welche Gefahr vom Zorn seiner Glaubensbrüder und Glaubenschwestern ausging, floh er nach Malaysia. Offenbar wollte er von dort aus nach Neuseeland weiterfliegen. Die Behörden in Kuala Lumpur nahmen ihn jedoch bald nach der Ankunft fest und lieferten ihn an Saudi-Arabien aus, wo er in der Zwischenzeit mit Haftbefehl gesucht wurde.

In seiner Heimat droht ihm wegen seiner drei verhängnisvollen Tweets nun die Todesstrafe. » | Von Christoph Sydow | Mittwoch, 15. Februar 2012

Related articles and videos here

The Bloodlust Faced by the 'Blaspheming' Saudi Journalist
GUARDIAN – BLOGS – ANDREW BROWN: Hamza Kashgari's tweets about Muhammad have led to a chilling online reaction from many in Saudi Arabia

In this country, and in the US, the judicial authorities make fools of themselves about Twitter. In Saudi and Malaysia, they may make themselves murderers. The case of Hamza Kashgari, a young Saudi journalist who has just been deported from Malaysia to face trial on charges of blasphemy, is one that should frighten and disgust anyone who cares about freedom of speech or religion.

His supposed offence was to have tweeted part of an imaginary conversation with the prophet Muhammad. "I have loved things about you and I have hated things about you and there is a lot I don't understand about you," he wrote; and: "I will not pray for you."

After six hours, he apologised for this, and then fled to Malaysia, en route to New Zealand, where he would have been safe. But after three days in Malaysia, he was arrested and shipped back to Saudi, where he faces the death penalty.

It is likely that he will not be executed, if he makes a sufficiently grovelling apology, though he will certainly be punished cruelly for something that is not a crime in any civilised society. This doesn't do much to excuse either the Saudis or the Malaysian authorities, who were under no compulsion to arrest him, and even less to deport him before his lawyers could lodge an appeal, despite the protests of both Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. Continue reading and comment » | Andrew Brown | Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Related articles and videos here, here, here, here, here, and here.

Saudi in Mohammed Twitter Row 'Repents'

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A Saudi journalist awaiting interrogation over Tweets deemed insulting to Islam's Prophet Mohammed insisted that he has repented, according to a relative.

Hamza Kashgari "has affirmed to his family that he stands by his repentance, that he has made a mistake and regrets it," said the family member on condition of anonymity.

The 23-year-old fled to Malaysia after his comments sparked a wave of condemnations and threats against his life, but was deported back to Saudi Arabia on Sunday.

Upon his return from Malaysia, Kashgari "informed his family he is in very good condition," the source said. "His family is still waiting for authorities to allow them to visit him and appoint a defence lawyer."

A Saudi lawyer told AFP on Tuesday that Kashgari "has not yet been interrogated and we hope this issue ends before it reaches the attorney general."

Saudi English-language daily Arab News reported earlier this week that Kashgari would face blasphemy charges.

On the occasion of the Muslim prophet's birthday, Kashgari tweeted: "I have loved things about you and I have hated things about you and there is a lot I don't understand about you."

"I will not pray for you." » | AFP | Wednesday, February 15, 2012

So much for the Prophet's saying that "there is no compulsion in religion"! Vacuous words in today's Saudi Arabia! – © Mark

Fossils and Dangerous Fools! Saudi Sheikh Weeping as He Demands that Saudi Columnist Hamza Kashgari Gets Executed
Sheikh Nasser Al Omar pleads to the king that Saudi writer Hamza Kashgari gets executed for supposedly writing "shameful" comments about prophet Mohammed on Twitter.

SAVE HAMZA KASHGARI: Sign the petition! »

Deported Writer Faces Apostasy Trial in Saudi Arabia
Malaysia, in extraditing Hamza Kashgari has shown disregard for international norms, says Human Rights Watch.

ALIRAN: Saudi authorities should free Hamza Kashgari and drop any charges against him based on comments he made on Twitter expressing his personal religious views, Human Rights Watch said on 12 February. On the morning of 12 February 2012, Malaysian authorities deported Kashgari back to Saudi Arabia to face charges of apostasy there, hours before lawyers obtained a Malaysian High Court injunction against his deportation.

Saudi Arabia’s highest official clerics have declared Kashgari guilty of apostasy based on his now-deleted tweets and called for him to be put to death.

“Malaysia had no business deporting Kashgari, and Saudi has no business prosecuting him for his tweets expressing his religious opinion, which it is his right to do freely,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “It is near certain he will not get a fair trial in Saudi Arabia, where religious scholars have concluded that he is guilty of apostasy and should be put to death.”

Kashgari fled Saudi Arabia on 6 February to Malaysia, following popular outrage and calls for his punishment after he published a number of tweets expressing his religious views, which he has since deleted. Human Rights Watch has reviewed the alleged tweets and not found any language that could incite violence. The 23-year-old journalist, who wrote for Al-Bilad daily newspaper, has expressed regret for the tweets, saying he had no idea they would elicit such a strong negative reaction. » | Aliran | Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Worshippers Want Kashgari Punished
ARAB NEWS: MAKKAH: Imams of mosques in Makkah were unanimous in their Friday sermons on the necessity of bringing Saudi columnist and writer Hamza Kashgari to justice for making insulting comments about the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) on Twitter.

Kashgari fled to Malasyia after realizing that the deletion of his slanderous comments and the repentance he had announced in his tweets were not enough to save his neck. He was arrested on arrival at Kuala Lumpur airport on Thursday.

Worshippers, many of them in tears, were in agreement with their imams calling for bringing Kashgari to justice for his blasphemous tweets about the Prophet, local daily Al-Eqtisadiah reported Saturday. The article said the worshippers expressed happiness over the government's move to arrest the blogger and bring him to justice.

The Malaysian police confirmed the arrest of Kashgari as part of an Interpol operation under the request of Saudi Arabia but did not disclose if he would be extradited to his country.

The imams and the worshipers strongly denounced the slanderous comments against the Prophet and said anyone who dared to badmouth the Prophet should be severely punished to deter others from doing the same.

Some of the imams dedicated their entire Friday sermon to attacking the blogger and calling for his trial, while others strongly warned against insulting the Prophet in words or deeds. Some of the imams were not able to hold back their tears while defending the Prophet, recalling verses from the Qur'an warning against attacking Allah or His Prophet.

"The unison between the imams and the worship[p]ers against this heinous act is a crystal-clear indication that attacking the Prophet is a red line no one should cross or come close to," a worship[p]er said. He did not want to be identified.

A number of worship[p]ers said they were determined to file lawsuits against Kashgari in Shariah courts calling for his execution on charges of apostasy. » | Arab News | Sunday, February 12, 2012

Related »

Saudi Blogger Faces Trial for Apostasy

VOICE OF AMERICA: Saudi newspaper Arab News says a Saudi blogger accused of apostasy has been detained on arrival in Riyadh after being deported from Malaysia, where he fled last week.

Hamza Kashgari caused an outcry among devout Saudis earlier this month, when he used his Twitter account to post thoughts about the Prophet Muhammad they deemed insulting to Islam.

The comments by the 23-year-old columnist for Jeddah-based newspaper al-Bilad triggered tens of thousands of Twitter responses, many from enraged Saudis calling for his death.

Kashgari quickly apologized and deleted his Twitter account, but fled the country last Tuesday as the outrage grew.

A day later, a committee of senior Saudi clerics appointed by the king declared Kashgari to be an apostate - a crime punishable by death - and called for him to be put on trial. » | Michael Lipin | Washington | Monday, February 13, 2012

Saudi Writer Hamza Kashgari Detained in Malaysia Over Muhammad Tweets

THE DAILY BEAST: A young Saudi blogger whose tweets about the Prophet Muhammad inflamed Islamists—who are calling for his execution—reportedly has been detained in Malaysia. It is not clear if he will be extradited to Saudi Arabia. Mike Giglio exclusively interviews Hamza Kashgari.

Update: The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Hamza Kashgari has been detained in Malaysia. He was detained yesterday at the Kuala Lumpur International airport, the Journal reports, citing Malaysia’s state news service.

A friend of Kashgari’s, who asked not to be named, told The Daily Beast on Wednesday that she had accompanied him to the airport and witnessed his detention. “We were just watching him, waiting for him to pass the immigration checkpoint. Once he submitted his passport, they asked him to step away for a few minutes,” the friend said, still noticeably shaken. “And suddenly these two people without uniforms just arrested him.”

It remains unclear why Kashgari is being held or whether he will be extradited to Saudi Arabia.
Last week, just before the anniversary of the Prophet Muhammad’s birth, Hamza Kashgari, a 23-year-old Saudi writer in Jidda, took to his Twitter feed to reflect on the occasion.

“On your birthday, I will say that I have loved the rebel in you, that you’ve always been a source of inspiration to me, and that I do not like the halos of divinity around you. I shall not pray for you,” he wrote in one tweet.

“On your birthday, I find you wherever I turn. I will say that I have loved aspects of you, hated others, and could not understand many more,” he wrote in a second.

“On your birthday, I shall not bow to you. I shall not kiss your hand. Rather, I shall shake it as equals do, and smile at you as you smile at me. I shall speak to you as a friend, no more,” he concluded in a third. » | Mike Giglio | Friday, February 10, 2012


Related »

Malaysia Arrests Saudi Blogger Over Tweets

AL JAZEERA ENGLISH: Hamza Kashgari detained after apparently fleeing kingdom after being accused of insulting Prophet Muhammad on Twitter.

A Saudi blogger who caused outrage in the Gulf kingdom with comments on twitter [sic] deemed insulting to the Prophet Muhammad, has been arrested by Malaysian police after fleeing Saudi Arabia following calls for his execution.

Hamza Kashgari was headed to New Zealand where he hoped to gain political asylum when he was arrested upon arrival at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Thursday.

A police spokesman confirmed to the Reuters news agency that Malaysian police had detained the 23-year-old columnist.

"This arrest was part of an Interpol operation which the Malaysian police were a part of," said the spokesman.

State news agency Bernama said Kashgari was arrested in the Muslim-majority nation "for allegedly insulting Islam and the Prophet Mohammed."

No further details were provided on whether the writer from the western city of Jeddah would be extradited to Saudi Arabia.

An official with the Malaysian home ministry who asked to remain unidentified told the AFP news agency that though Malaysia and Saudi Arabia have no formal extradition treaties, Kashgari could be extradited under other bilateral security agreements.

Clerics and locals in the kingdom have called for Kashgari's death for three comments he made on the micro-blogging service on the occasion of the Prophet Muhammad's birthday.

"On your birthday, I find you wherever I turn. I will say that I have loved aspects of you, hated others, and could not understand many more," read one tweet posted on Saturday.

All three tweets were later deleted by Kashgari, who received over 30,000 responses within a day of the postings. » | Source: Al Jazeera and agencies | Friday, February 10, 2012


Related »

Google Joins Twitter in Censorship Storm: Site May Now Block Blog Posts in Line with Requests from Oppressive Regimes
MAIL ONLINE: Blog posts will be blocked at national government request / Campaigners fear 'the end of the global internet community' / But Google claims move will allow MORE free speech

Google's informal motto is 'don't be evil', but a huge change to its Blogger service could see the search giant help oppressive governments stamp out voices of protest.

Bloggers who have relied on the popular service to organise dissent as seen during the Arab Spring could find their posts being blocked by Google itself.

The company will now block posts or blogs from being seen in a country if they their local laws, handing a victory to regimes that crack down on free speech to keep a lid on dissent.

The move has caused widespread concern - and echoes Twitter's recent decision to block Tweets on a similar 'per country' basis to comply with local laws.

Internet freedom group Open Net Initiative said of Twitter's recent policy change, 'The change marks a new trend in American Internet companies bowing to the demands of authoritarian regimes.'

Amnesty International said, 'As with other sectors, business decisions in the digital world have human rights implications. Human rights monitors and advocates have a lot more work to do since the digital revolution.'

'Our collective vigilance is needed more than ever.'

Thailand heartily backed Twitter's recent decision to block Tweets at the request of governments, as did China's state-run newspaper.

But Google claims that the move will actually allow more freedom of speech. Read on and comment » | Rob Waugh | Thursday, February 02, 2012