“Want to Read Arabic News? Click Here”

“Change your language and you change your thoughts.” -- Karl Albrecht (born 20 February 1920) German entrepreneur and co-founder of the discount supermarket chain Aldi

Tunnel vision is an occupational hazard for the technologist. Inoculate yourself with a dose of general news. And if you’re in the oil business, that news should include the Middle East. Here’s an interesting site that I found in a recent article published by the Christian Science Monitor (http://www.csmonitor.com/)

Christian Science Monitor, April 19, 2010, p. 13
“Want to Read Arabic News? Click Here”
A new translation Website links English and Arabic speakers
By Tom A. Peter
[Excerpts from the article]
“Despite a post-9/11 surge of Westerners learning Arabic … English and Arabic speakers are largely segregated on the Web.
“A new translation website called Meedan (www.meedan.net ) aims to close that gap. Meedan is creating a public forum for English and Arabic speakers to translate, read, and debate Middle East news.
“Relying on a combination of machine and human translation, the site offers Middle East news on pages split between English and Arabic. When users comment on a story, responses are automatically translated into either English or Arabic.
“Unlike automated sites such as Google Translate, Meedan utilizes humans as well as computers to provide clearer translations.”

Check out the Meedan Web … and while you’re at it, take a look at the Christian Science Monitor.