Egyptian cyberdissidents have called for a protest tomorrow, August 24th, at the prime minister’s headquarters in Cairo to voice opposition to the frequent power outages in the city.   The Facebook page for the event stated that, "We have power blackouts every day and food is being spoiled because of this. Every day we hear a new excuse from the government, but no one tells us the reasons...

AMMAN, JORDAN -- Jordan's King Abdullah II, one of the United States' most Western-oriented allies in the Middle East, has faced an unusual amount of domestic criticism in recent months that has coincided with a trend toward more autocratic governance, observers say... Criticizing the king is punishable by up to three years in prison, while slandering a government official carries a penalty of...

This Sunday, Syrian cyberdissidents celebrated the 80th birthday of Haitham Al Maleh, widely considered to be the father of the Syrian human rights movement. Al Maleh was not able to share in the festivities as he is being held in Adra prison in Damascus.    Al Maleh is a former Syrian judge and a well-known and respected lawyer. As founder of the Syrian Organization for Human Rights, he...

Saudi Arabia and BlackBerry’s maker, Canada’s Research In Motion (RIM), have reached a deal which will prevent the Saudi dictatorship from banning BlackBerry in the kingdom.   RIM has agreed to give an all-access pass to the Saudis to all ‘secure’ encrypted BlackBerry data. The deal involves placing a server inside Saudi Arabia’s borders and an agreement to allow the government to...

Ahmad Al Baghdadi, professor at the Kuwait University and renowned secularist thinker, died from illness on August 9 at the age of 60.     Al Baghdadi’s life was defined by his courageous, progressive views that earned him both great respect and recognition among liberals worldwide and harsh criticism from autocrats and fundamentalists.   Al Baghdadi was a vociferous supporter of secular...