PRISM and the NSA? Snowden flagged it for us, but there are bigger issues...

Watching you?
Yes, because you
agreed to it.

There has been a lot of hoopla about Edward Snowden and his role in (and ultimately distaste for) the actions of the NSA and the Prism project.

What HAS come of it are a couple of really good articles that describe the mechanics of how data-profiling work.

One of the more spine-tingling observations is the "revelation" that a program called Accumulo is a system used by the NSA as part of the PRISM project.

Well, the surprise is not about the Accumulo system itself, just that such a system is actually in use.

Without getting all hyper-geek,  the guts of the system is this - stick with me, I'll keep it short.

The weeds of hatred: Observing the Islamic silence.

It's been a few days since Lee Rigby was murdered in Woolwich by two fanatics who thought they were doing something good in the name of their deity.

Because of where I live I am exposed to Muslim's and their way of life every day - not at all surprising when one lives in the Middle East.

As a result of living here I have gained a lot of Muslim friends, many of whom I interact with on my daily trawl through facebook. Also not a surprising thing - after 4.5 years of living here it would be a tad odd if I hadn't formed such relationships.

What IS surprising is the almost total silence on all of my social media feeds from those who have the most to lose because of the actions of a couple of extremists.

Not even the much used but largely impotent statement: "The actions of those men were not reflective of my religion, for Islam is a religion of peace" or it's various derivatives was uttered into the ever present data-ether.

Nothing.

Just silence.

But things are getting ugly. Really ugly.

My own response when I heard the news about Mr Rigby was something visceral.

A way of thinking flashed briefly into life that is far from how I usually view the world. A thought process that is the opposite of how I wish people would interact, so abhorrent that I am glad that I live in a country where my view, if published last week, would have had large and heavily armed men at my door with a request that I might want to spend time in an undisclosed location to think about things a little more.

While I am not one to hate things in other people, I am one to hate things within myself - and the murder of Lee Rigby awoke something so hideous and vile from the depths of my psyche that now, with the benefit of time and contemplation, I am glad I didn't post earlier. Not due to the potential ramifications of writing that wanted to be let loose, but because now that the white-hot light of anger has dulled, I am ashamed at how I reacted. Even if it was only for a moment, and in totally in private. To have that shame publicly dissected would have only compounded the guilt that I feel now.

What has this to do with Islam, and my silent friends?

Everything.

I am a despiser of war and of the thousands of deaths that it causes... but if I could for even a moment have such unreasonable and cruel thoughts last week, then I can guarantee that there are thousands of people that might also have had uncharitable moments as the news ticker fed them the latest information.  Probably a number far greater than thousands -  many of whom might not have the gift of introspection.

They have heard about Lee Rigby, and they are likely to mobilise in ways both subtle and demonstrative - not against the two men involved, but against the religion they said they were practicing.

Still more people who previously had no real opinion on what it is to be a Muslim made a decision a few days ago. They might not have spoken it aloud. They might not have even entered into some of the abhorrent anti-Muslim vitriol that filled the social media streams.

They just quietly made a judgement.

And something in them changed.

A seed was planted, and like a fungus it will grow unless the light of reasonable Muslims around the world is shined upon it.

It is time for peace-loving Muslims to stand up and demand  that whatever dark and poorly interpreted hole Lee Rigby's murderers crawled out of be eradicated from their religion.

It is time that the believers of peace shake off the fear of reprisal from the darker parts of their religious community and spoke loudly of their desire to resume their peaceful practice and follow the tenets of their belief without saying to themselves "Please don't let the wacko be a Muslim" every time something awful happens.

If nothing is said or done about the actions of those that seek to further hatred and misunderstanding, then those who do evil will continue to have the loudest voice and boldest actions, and THEY will be the ones who will dictate how the rest of the world feels about Islam.

If ever there was a time for peaceful Muslims to stand up, now is that time.

Right now.

If not, there will be trouble ahead and  it will be ugly and it will be destructive...

...but the tide can be turned - with the strength of peace, introspection, and a real and public admission that there it is a problem AND that work toward a resolution needs to be commenced.

It needs to be done now though.
The weeds continue to grow,
and silence only feeds them.


A.T.H. Webber is an Australian writer currently living in the Middle East. His first novel "Erasure" was released in June 2012 to great reviews and is fast growing a solid fan-base. Erasure is available in paperback or Kindle (or just about any other e-reader format) see side bar for further details or head over to amazon.com or amazon.co.uk to grab a copy.

The ever-changing casting call...

The response to Erasure has been great and the reviews have been positive. A situation that doesn't cease to amaze me.

One of the most common statements made has been something along the lines of:
"Erasure would make a great movie, it's reads like one.. you should TOTALLY make a movie.."

I tend to agree, I mean what writer wouldn't?

Americans, they are all just so...AMERICAN.

The Great American Adventure.

We are fresh back from a trip to the states, a trip that we had talked about for a very long time (10 years is a long time to be planning an event, by any measure) and now, all too soon, it is over.

We got remarried in Vegas, saw some nice stuff, spoke to people about my book, and was heartened as to how well it was received.

I won’t bang on with the whole itinerary, but just know that in the 3.5 weeks we were there we saw a sizable chunk of the country.

Not all of it.

Not most of it.

Just a sizable chunk.

Thought I’d clarify that in case any of my US fans felt the need to weigh in with assertions that one CAN’T see all of America in 3.5 weeks.

I agree, hence keeping my estimate at “A sizable chunk”.

Enough of the geographical semantics. I’ll get to the point.

Which is:

Java Cabana - Memphis open mic night.

During the epic journey that was the great American adventure, (more on that in another post) while in Memphis we found ourselves staying in the fabulous Cooper-Young district...

... and fell completely in love with the area. An eclectic mix of bars, bookshops, art spaces, a cat rescue center and the fabulous Java Cabana coffee house.

Private?

A welcome reminder of why I write...

If you've been visiting the blog, and perhaps the facebook page, you might notice since the release of "Erasure" in early June that many of the posts that I've added tend to speak more from the "What's wrong with publishing" than anything else.

I really haven't set out to do that, it just seems to be the natural way of things. 

Generally when I sit down to work I don't follow a plan, so to speak. I just write, and pick up the pieces after. But write I do, and the next book in the series is well under way.

When it comes to blogging I take a different approach. If I have nothing to say, I don't blog.

It goes against the grain, I know. 

"You HAVE to blog, if you don't your book will die." Is the slightly exaggerated version of what all the author forums seem to preach. I didn't sign up for that sermon, and yet I still hear it ALL the time.

Today I have something to blog about. 

A solid reminder of what it really means when I say that I'm a writer.

I woke up Saturday morning, thankfully hangover free, and logged on to check out what was happening on that bright sunny day.

I was greeted by this message via facebook - and it made me smile (Thanks Gemma C.):

I have just read an awesome book, I can't remember ever being so taken by a book. I had chills, tears, laughs... the works. needless to say I double locked all my doors tonight and kept the lights on. Check it out guys - the book is called ERASURE www.athwebber.com BIG TIME WOW! and all you computer junkies totally gonna dig this one!

I've just started smiling again as I pasted the message.

I didn't set out to be some kind of writer-rockstar (although I'm not against the idea should the mantle be trust upon me). I write because it is what I do. I find it entertaining. I find the process incredibly detailed and frustrating at times, but while it (the process) might backhand me every now and then, the sense of achievement is a nice thing to feel.

This message reminded me that people do actually read my work.
It reminded me that the work is worthwhile.
It reminded me that someone I didn't know while I was writing the thing would ultimately turn the final page and feel like they had read, really read, what they probably say is a great book.

This whole writing thing can be an unbelievably lonely existence, but little beacons like this message stretch out of the gloom and reach me on my little hill. It is a connection I didn't know I needed until now. If I stand on tip-toe I can almost see the little hill top from where the beacon came, and can see many other little hills around it, all with their own singular inhabitant. 

I hope others see the beacon too. So that one day this valley will be ablaze.