No News is Good News: 2011 All Bad News?

Amongst all the bad news are a few gems of good news, and 2011 can deliver both good and bad it turns out; When food gets politically destructive; Simplifying the still alien Twitter; Digital Arab Women's Rights; And Palestine's Speed Sisters are Road-Runners!

Was 2011 a year of too much bad news? Or is there hope to be found amongst the rapid change and possible progress made that makes 'good news'?

Suffonsifisms [2]

In Search of Good News

The more news we wade through, the more we feel overwhelmed by bad world news of late. After all, isn't no news, good news? On seeking out the better news stories in the swamp ground of news-feeds. "As of late I’ve been overwhelmed by the amount of bad news coming from all over the world. I’m losing sleep over it. Certainly, one could say “At least you’re not losing your life.”. Which, of course, is true. My mere discomfort is really nothing to complain about. I am not alone, however."

Land and People [3]

Food as a political weapon

"The British researcher, Jane Harrigan, chose Food Security in Lebanon and the Strategies of the Ministry of Agriculture as the title of her lecture last Wednesday at the Faculty of Agriculture and Food Sciences at AUB."

American Bedu [4]

Saudi Arabia: Islamaphobia, Westernophobia – Where Shall the Two Meet?

Fearing the other: "To begin with I think individuals are more likely to comment in manners upon blogs that they would not do so in a face-to-face situation. Secondly, I believe that Islamaphobia and Westernophobia are both on the rise. Instead of more bridges being built towards fostering understanding, walls are going up quickly."

Gradly [5]

Twitter Gets an Overhaul with New Faster, Simpler, Cleaner Interface

Twitter made easier for the uninitiated or tentative new-comers! "Do you find Twitter so darn complicated to use? Well, Its time to change your mind, because the guys behind the service has just done a redesign of its web portal and mobile apps. You can update iPhone app right away."

Tarakiyee [6]

What is Nessa’? Digitizing Arab Women Rights History

"For the past few weeks I’ve been trying to put the chaos of ideas that are into my brain into well-formed ideas, and words, but I just can’t keep up with my eagerness towards making this one project called Nessa’ succeed, so I decided to write this blog post to make sure the idea gets to as many people as it can. I believe that our society is inherently unjust, in so many ways, and towards so many groups of people, but the thing that irks me the most is how unjust we are to women, and that includes women being unjust with themselves. I’m not saying we’re bad people, or that we’re evil, there’s just lots of ignorance going around."

SM Palestine [7]

Palestine’s Speed Sisters racing cars, breaking barriers

"Meet the Speed Sisters, a collective of West Bank-based Christian and Muslim women representing Palestine in the Arab race scene. According to Al Arabiya, Speed Sisters is the first all-female team competing in the Middle East."