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This was probably the most interesting article I have read about education in the MIddle East. It is from the "Humanitarian practice Network". This article is about Turkey and the Syrian refugees, who are not documented as refugees, and the growing desire for improvements to education. Right now, the education which is in place for Syrians is adequate for a temporary stay of preserving knowledge. It is not designed to be used long term, to advance students, or to prep them for universities. This article looks at those issues and tensions which are happening currently in Turkey

"The U.S. government desperately needs new and better tools to fight the information war against the Islamic State (ISIS) and other terrorist networks."

Of course, Libya is currently the largest political issue, alongside Japan's natural disaster and nuclear situation. In both situations we also have an unusually prominent amount of information being made available through social media websites. It really is pretty remarkable.

There's no doubt that the citizenry relied greatly on social media to network and organize during the Arab Spring, when areas in the Middle East and North Africa erupted in popular revolt during the early part of 2011. Platforms like Facebook and Twitter were used to call and coordinate protests, and also for sharing information on issues around the pro-democracy movement.

From left, clockwise: Manal al-Sharif, Taffan Ako Taha, Raquel Saraswati, Malala Yousazai, Dr. Elham Manea There is a burgeoning women's rights movement in Muslim-majority societies today. From Pakistan to North Africa, each country has a network of activists, writers and academics struggling to bring women's rights to their countries and overthrow centuries of patriarchal oppression.

This author gives an analysis of where the Egyptian youth failed and succeeded in their revolution. He applauds their original motivation: overthrowing the oppressive regime and seeking political freedom. However, he criticizes the movement for not having organized goals with practical implications. Their focus was so set on overthrowing Mubarak that they did not have a plan once that was achieved. As a result, the youth allowed the military to become politicized and enforce their political ideas. The author claims this move set a dangerous precedent for the future and took away the attention of the military from places it was needed. The author claims that by endorsing the army to act militarily against the first civilian elected president of the country, the youth is undermining their original goals. He goes on to explain his suggestions for the Egyptian youth to get back on track and follow through in the remaining phases of the revolution.

This article is from the point of view of an anthropologist who was brought in as a cultural consultant to mediate an issue of "watsa" for a corporation in the Middle East. The company prides itself on its lack of internal corruption, and in turn hired a man named Girgis who grew up in the Middle East but lived and received an education in the US. In Girgis's first year he hired one of his cousins, which the supervisors saw as corrupt hiring practice. The author, and hired consultant, explained to the company supervisors that watsa was an "investment and return" framework in Arab culture, and that there are economic parallels between Arab families and businesses, families existing as economic units. Girgis conveyed that anywhere else in the world he would run the office by the book, but in the Arab world he must also adhere to social norms. The result of watsa through Arab eyes leads to greater loyalty, and less likelihood for deception and theft. The article basically introduces the idea that while in the Western world this may be seen as corruption, it is an embedded part of culture in the Middle East. 

The author of this article was on NPR Friday discussing the women of Isis and their use of social media. The author stated that whole social media accounts of these women are constantly shut down, they operate several accounts at all times to ensure they spread their message.

The fighting in Syria and Iraq has expanded and gained more foreign fighters from many more countries around the world. 

A tendency to frame revolutions abroad in terms of our own "knowable" symbols of revolution? Think "Facebook revolutions" and the Guy Fawkes mask.

The Arab Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) expressed its concern over a proposed law that would criminalise graffiti. ANHRI said on Wednesday that the law, announced by interim Minister of Local Development Adel Labib, would seek to punish those "writing abusive language on the walls of government and private buildings."

This article contrasts communication techniques of Al-Qaida and ISIS. It outlines how ISIS communication strategy uses more dominant forms of social media such as facebook, youtube, and twitter while Al-Qaida still uses web pages, forums, and their own magazine they publish to speak to their audience.

Interesting article about challenges social media companies face in preventing and deactivating accounts with content or users linked to terrorist organizations such as ISIS.

This was an article that talked about how the Egyptian media, in particular the Al Kahera Wal Nas TV Network, was accusing the Finish artist Sampsa and Ganzeer of spreading terrorism through their street art and were part of the muslim brotherhood. Sampsa was forced to leave the country and Ganzeer was forced into hiding.

Human trafficking is an often occurrence in Algeria where men and women are illegally smuggled in and through the country. Men are typically subjected to force labor or prostitution while women are more commonly forced into prostitution. Algeria is currently rated a Tier 3 which means they are making no significant changes to end the human trafficking.