The case of imprisoned Iranian blogger Hossein Derakhshan has long interested this website. The latest, according to Californian-based writer and blogger Cyrus Farivar, is that Hossein remains in jail and in pretty bad condition. It is now one year since his disappearance: I have also been in regular contact with Hossein Derakhshan’s brother, Hamed Derakhshan,…
Showing all posts tagged internet
All we are saying is give Facebook a chance
I’m sceptical, but when the political elites aren’t really interested in bringing peace, alternatives must be found: For many of its 300 million enthusiasts, Facebook is a convenient way to keep in touch with friends, track down old sweethearts and share drunken photographs with the world. But the global power of the social networking site…
Life in Aceh, Indonesia
My following article is published in the Huffington Post: In a collection of just released work by Acehnese writer Azhari, Nutmeg Woman, we are brought into a world before the devastating 2004 tsunami that killed over 220,000 Indonesians. Civil war wracked the province. Indonesian occupation was brutal and fought against the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).…
Introducing…Miss Aceh
My following article in New Matilda is about the Indonesian province of Aceh: Despite recently implementing sharia law — including the stoning of adulterers and homosexuals — Aceh does not fit the stereotype of an Islamic state, finds Antony Loewenstein Muslim extremists in Aceh were outraged when a young woman from the province, Qori Sandioriva,…
Social networking interests Washington’s elite
Web users, the US government is watching you: America’s spy agencies want to read your blog posts, keep track of your Twitter updates — even check out your book reviews on Amazon. In-Q-Tel, the investment arm of the CIA and the wider intelligence community, is putting cash into Visible Technologies, a software firm that specializes…
The truth of the matter in journalism
The following interview is published this week in the literary journal, Quill: SYDNEY-BASED ANTONY LOEWENSTEIN is the author of the best-selling book,… My Israel Question, a controversial discussion of one of the most important issues of our time, as well as… The Blogging Revolution, a searching examination of the ways the internet is threatening the rule of…
Old media still battles with new media
The following piece by Shakira Hussein in Crikey discusses a recent media conference in Canberra, Australia: Last week’s conference on “War 2.0: Political Violence and New Media” amounted to a loya jirga of different tribes – old media, new media, academics, and the odd military representative. The conference generated some interesting discussions on the implications…
”˜Anti-Zionist’ Jew: author of ”˜My Israel Question’ heads for Bali
The following article by Katrin Figge is published today in one of Indonesia’s largest English newspapers, The Jakarta Globe: For a person who gets hate mail and death threats on a regular basis, Antony Loewenstein remains surprisingly cheerful. The Jewish-Australian journalist, activist, blogger and author, who is based in Sydney, has stirred up plenty of…