From Egypt's Naked Blogger to "Tahrir Girl": An Uproar on Gender VIolence of all Forms

The infamous images of the anonymous "Tahrir Girl" have struck more than a nerve with protesters and revolutionaries. According to university professor Daniel Martin Varisco, the image expands to greater realms of the human experience, touching on gender and institutional oppression and violence. Varisco sees the violence of the image as no loss oppressive or demeaning than pornography.

"On a gender scale the only real difference between this image and a simulated sex attack in a pornographic shot is that the woman is acting for money in the latter. But in both cases the message is that men are the ones who control women."

With female-run protests on gender violence on female protesters, revolutionaries of both sexes are putting their foot down. University professor Juan Cole reports with videos and global news bites on the subject.

"The Egyptian protesters consist of two main groups, 1) leftist students and their worker allies, and 2) the Muslim religious parties. The latter are doing well in parliamentary elections."

Have you ever seen a romance between a comma and a dot? Probably not? Well, this language-obsessed blogger shares a deep love for words and language that expands beyond narrative and meaning.

"In fact, commas and dots are the best couples I know of. Both are located in the same position, but you see, each of them knows when to leave and when to stay. If they meet – my lord, if they ever meet: sheer ugliness. The splendor of the chase, that hard to get act: the kind of relation a dot and a comma share together."

Could Hamas be going the peaceful protest route? The possibility is strong, according to Mustapha from Beirut, who has observed that Hamas may backing out of its support for Hezbollah, Syria and Iran. This could bad news for the so-called "Shia'a Crescent", but good news for Hamas's international prospects.

If you love countdowns and "Best of" lists, you're most definitely going to love this!

Wafa from Saudi Arabia lists the Best countdowns from 2011, referencing publications such as National Geographic, Foreign Policy and many others.

Sharing her work on her personal blog, designer and illustrator Nour Bishouty shares her latest personalized logo for a handmade veil pin company. In a word: Cute!