Links for 10/15/09

I’ve got one or ten blog posts in the wings, but it’s been a very busy couple of weeks, so in an effort to clear my Firefox session of its many open tabs, I share with you the things I’m reading and thinking about. Please comment feverishly!

  • The Committee to Protect Journalists has released an excellent report on the troubles faced by bloggers in the Middle East.  This is a personal area of interest for me, and I was fortunate enough to be able to chat with the author, Mohamed Abdel Dayem, while he was researching the report.  Worth a close read.
  • I’ve had this USA Today piece on hate speech open in tabs for over a week, and haven’t thought of anything productive to say about it yet.  If you read my blog, you know that I’m opposed to hate speech legislation of most kinds (though very much in favor of hate crime legislation involving violent acts), particularly those which police free speech.  Penny for your thoughts?
  • Two pieces on Sociological Images (one of my favorite blogs) caught my eye this week: One, on the debate over the cross that “memorializes soldiers” (David Weinberger also touched on that this week, and I solidly agree with his sentiments), and another on images of Saudi women at work (you can read my comment on the piece – just look for my avatar).  The latter post brings up the bigger issue of how Arab women are portrayed, something that I talk about all the time and won’t dive into now.

Comment away!