Slashdot, GeekCoffee and InformatonWeek are all reporting on a new deal between the UAE & IBM to track drivers to monitor speeding. Excerpt: IBM said it has signed a four-year, $125 million deal to build an automobile-monitoring system and install a device in cars to track drivers in the United Arab Emirates, making it the [...]
Entries Tagged as 'Middle East'
IBM To Help Track Drivers On UAE Roads
April 17th, 2005 · 1 Comment · Cool Geeky Stuff, IBM, Middle East, Mobiles & Gadgets, News, Privacy
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Saudi Arabia Finally Bans Forced Marriages
April 14th, 2005 · No Comments · Middle East, News, Religion
The BBC is reporting that Saudi Arabia has taken another step towards finally joining the civilised world. Of course, which countries constitute the civilised world is a matter for discussion (For all you people that assume the west, I suggest you watch the news some time). Anyway, an excerpt: Saudi Arabia’s top religious authority has [...]
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Police In UAE Warn Of Bluesnarfing
April 11th, 2005 · 4 Comments · Middle East, Mobiles & Gadgets, Privacy, Religion, Security
AL AIN – People who use mobile phones, particularly with bluetooth technology, to send pornographic images or indecent SMS messages will henceforth have to face imprisonment, a police source has warned.
Technology experts have warned that bluetooth phones are vulnerable to hacking, allowing hackers to steal phone-book data and text messages and even turn the mobiles into bugs to listen to conversations secretly.
“Serious flaws discovered in bluetooth technology used in mobile phones indicate that a hacker could download contact information from victims’ address books, read their calendar appointments or read text SMSs on their phones to conduct business spying,” the source said.
A hacker can even place false text messages in a mobile phone’s memory, or turn the victim’s phone into a listening device to receive private conversation in the immediate vicinity of the mobile, and most of these transgressions can be done without leaving any trace. Another risk is that the worm arriving on the phone as a bluetooth message will have to be automatically accepted by the user.
“I received such a trapped message without realising that it is harmful,” Mohammed Ali, an expatriate living in Al Ain, said.
Another user, Nada Osman, warned against opening SMS messages coming from unknown sources.
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United Arab Emirates To Use Robot Jockeys In Camel Races
April 10th, 2005 · 1 Comment · Middle East, News
The United Arab Emirates says it will use robots as jockeys for camel races from next season.
The move comes after widespread international criticism of the use of young children to ride camels during the long and often hazardous races.
Officials say a prototype of the robot was successfully tested on Saturday.
Aid workers say there are up to 40,000 child jockeys working across the Gulf. Many are said to be have been kidnapped and trafficked from South Asia.
The issue of child camel jockeys has been an embarrassing one for the Emirates, says the BBC’s Gulf correspondent Julia Wheeler.
Camel racing is one of the UAE’s traditional sports and an important part of the region’s heritage.
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Free Mojtaba and Arash!
February 22nd, 2005 · No Comments · Freedom & Democracy, Internet, Middle East
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American commandos in Iran
January 17th, 2005 · No Comments · Middle East, News
The BBC reports a disturbing piece on possible American special forces already inside Iran. Excerpt: The American investigative journalist Seymour Hersh has claimed that US commandos are operating inside Iran selecting sites for future air strikes. In the latest edition of the New Yorker, Hersh says intelligence officials have revealed that Iran is the US’ [...]
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US troops ‘laughed as Iraqi died’
January 6th, 2005 · No Comments · Middle East
Another report of the worst possible American behaviour in Iraq: An Iraqi civilian has testified that US soldiers forced him and his cousin to jump into the River Tigris and laughed as his relative was swept to his death. “He was calling my name, said: ‘Help me! Help me!’” Marwan Fadel Hassoun told a military [...]
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Mossad fuckup revealed
January 1st, 2005 · No Comments · Freedom & Democracy, Middle East, Security
The BBC reports that papers released from the Naional Archives in London reveal that Mossad screwed up a political murder 30 years ago. An excerpt: Papers released at the National Archives in London have revealed the details of a political murder by Israeli secret services 30 years ago. A Moroccan catering worker was killed in [...]
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The kings salary open for all to see
December 30th, 2004 · No Comments · Middle East
The BBC reports that in an unprecedented move the king of Morocco’s salary has been published. It seems that the guy earns a modest $45.000 / month. That’s less than a typical Fortune 500 CEO earns and certainly less than some other Arab kings & sheikhs earn. This is a very bold move for an [...]
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You break it, you pay for it
December 29th, 2004 · No Comments · Freedom & Democracy, Middle East
Naomi Klein writes an interesting overview on how Iraq it getting royally screwed over by Bush and chums. An excerpt: So it turns out Pottery Barn doesn’t even have a rule that says, “You break it, you own it.” According to a company spokesperson, “in the rare instance that something is broken in the store, [...]
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