Twitter Goes Arabian: Saudi Prince Invests a Whopping $300 Million

Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal now the proud shareholder of 3% of Twitter company shares; Syrian blogger is no longer a jailbird, according to her sister's tweets; Lebanese Apple lovers are in for a possible Apple product cull; One US-based blogger contemplates atheism's age-old conundrum: Who came first?; Governance without humanity and compassion is not worth having.

Quirky humor is set to plague Bin Talal's

The Next Web [2]

Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal confirms $300m investment in Twitter

Making what has been called a "strategic investment", Saudi Arabia's Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal has made good on his promise of investing $300 million into popular social networking website Twitter through his Kingdom Holding firm. Thus, he now holds 3% of the company's stakes.

Global Voices [3]

Syria: Blogger Razan Ghazzawi is FREE!

Home for Christmas! Although not officially out yet, much-buzzed about Syrian blogger Razan Ghazzawi, who was caught on the Amman-Syrian border, is set to be released from Syrian custody. The news came through Nadine Ghazzawi's (Razan's sister) Twitter account, who merrily tweeted, "Family is on their way to bring my sister home."

A Separate State of Mind [4]

Apple To Buy Israeli Flash Storage Company – What It Might Mean for Lebanon’s iPhone/iPad/Other Apple Product Users

Lebanese Apple fanatics beware! Elie from Lebanon speculates that Apple products are set to be either banned or in very rare abundance, due to Apple's purchase of an Israeli company that specializes in flash storage. "And last but not least… don’t be shocked when iPhone users are seen as potential spies. What is Israel putting into those flash storage compartments after all? They can’t simply be empty."

Jaraad [5]

Did man create God?

In honor of renowned atheist Christopher Hitchens' death, U.S.-based blogger Malik writes about humanity's complicated relationship with God. Although he has no doubt in this "chicken or the egg" question, Malik address the eternal question: Who created who? "Although, these are all valid points my biggest miracle is “time”. We have no control over time what so ever. We just can’t stop it."

Via Recta [6]

Vaclav Havel and the Arab Spring

Another death that has caused much introspective thought in the Middle Eastern blogosphere is that of former Czech Republic president Vaclav Havel. One Syrian blogger opines that many of Vaclav's views on government and justice could be used in the Arab Spring, particularly those pertaining to humane and compassionated governance. "Democracy, with all its faults, allows societies to compromise, regenerate themselves and flourish whereas autocracy and theocracy allow the ruling classes to thrive while their nations wither and die."