Word of Mouth or Twitter

Word of mouth or Twitter? Which do you think is worse during a commotion and unrest? Apparently Egyptian government is for the latter, as in order to block access to many social networks they have shut down entire Internet connectivity. I humbly disagree with them and their Internet blackout strategy.

Once being an involuntary element in a few riots, protests etc when I wore a younger man's shoes, I can definitely certify that word of mouth is a terrible thing. Several times, I witnessed a phrase reaching to the tail of a convoy (if I may say so) from its head and the change was beyond recognition. A simple sentence like "Police detained X and released an hour later" turned into a "Police has taken in X and been torturing him for hours." It led to unexpected events.

So, I stand firm. Spoken words vaporize, are taken out of context, are modified and reshaped to no end while the written, in whichever form, even a retweet retain its original value. Mubarak is very likely to regret his decision but unfortunately he does not read my blog. Pity!

Italy Joins Iran, Bans Books

Horrified? You should be. According to Wu Ming Foundation, Venice province has approved a proposal ordering all Venetian libraries to

1. remove from shelves all the books written by any author who signed a 2004 petition asking for Cesare Battisti’s release from jail,
2. abstain from organizing events featuring such writers (they must be declared "undesirable persons").

Any librarian who will not follow this order will be held responsible.

I do not know who Battisti is; maybe he is a serial killer or a terrorist. Nor do I have any idea what the 2004 petition was about and which writers signed it. Pushing a legislation to ban books is simply disgusting. It is an act of insolence that  dynamites the very foundation of the Enlightenment. Shame!

Rushdie Strikes Back

Iranian government has finally banned all books of Salman Rushdie, the author of Satanic Verses, the notorious book which caused quite a turmoil in the lands of the never setting holy crescent. Letting books of a writer one was determined to kill at sight circulate freely  was absurd to say the least and this anomaly has been corrected by this long awaited law.

Rushdie, however, was quick to respond: he decided to offer his novels (in Persian) free in downloadable format. This presents a golden opportunity for those who seek his head. They now have a chance to know their enemy first hand without resorting to hearsay. Getting to learn something about your target's crimes before killing him should be a moral obligation for every candidate wishing to accomplish this honorable task.