Leading Indicators? Cyber, Yemen, and how Islam is portrayed in Texas textbooks
One of the most sophisticated pieces of malware ever detected was probably targeting “high value” infrastructure in Iran, experts have told the BBC. Stuxnet’s complexity suggests it could only have been written by a “nation state”, some researchers have claimed. It is believed to be the first-known worm designed to target real-world infrastructure such as power stations, water plants and industrial units. MORE
SUNDAY UPDATE: “The Iranian government agency that runs the country’s nuclear facilities, including those the West suspects are part of a weapons program, has reported that its engineers are trying to protect their facilities from a sophisticated computer worm that has infected industrial plants across Iran. The agency, the Atomic Energy Organization, did not specify whether the worm had already infected any of its nuclear facilities, including Natanz, the underground enrichment site that for several years has been a main target of American and Israeli covert programs. But the announcement raised suspicions, and new questions, about the origins and target of the worm, Stuxnet, which computer experts say is a far cry from common computer malware that has affected the Internet for years. MORE FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES
Yemeni forces have laid siege to a southern town believed to be a militant stronghold in what amounts to an intensified effort to combat terrorism, a senior defense official said Thursday… In an exclusive interview with CNN, Rashad al-Alimi, Yemen’s deputy prime minister for defense and security, said Yemeni forces have surrounded the village of Hawta in southern Shabwa province, a stronghold for the offshoot terrorist group al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. MORE
SUNDAY UPDATE: Yemeni security announces end of clashes in Huta, militants manage to escape. MORE FROM NewsYemen and the Associated Press.
According to the Houston Chronicle:
As a Muslim who grew up going to Texas public schools — and sees challenges facing today’s Muslim students — Imam Islam Mossaad said he was taken aback by a resolution to be considered Friday by the State Board of Education asserting the need to fend off a pro-Islamic, anti-Christian bias in textbooks.
“There are Muslim students who even feel they have to change their name. They have to create some other ethnicity, so that their classmates don’t say, ‘Oh, here comes Osama,’ or ‘Watch out, he’s got a bomb,’ ” Mossaad said at a Monday news conference with other clergy members against the proposed resolution. Critics say it inaccurately describes current social studies texts. MORE
SATURDAY UPDATE: ”Publishers were put on notice on Friday when a divided State Board of Education vowed to reject textbooks with a pro-Islamic and anti-Christian slant, sending a message that critics say promotes fear and prejudice. The resolution, approved by a 7-6 vote, says that multiple world history textbooks are tainted with views that demonize Christianity and favor Islam.” MORE FROM THE HOUSTON CHRONICLE
