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THE STATE WE?RE IN DATE: September 20, 2008 PRODUCTION #: HOST: Jonathan Groubert SPECIAL ON TECHNOLOGY AND HUMAN RIGHTS SEGMENT A: ?Social networking as a means of protest in the Arab world? (12:30) PROGAM TAG: (:29) EGYPT: Egypt has been under a continuous state of emergency for the past 30 years. There is tight control of the press and gatherings of five or more people are illegal. These restrictions are difficult if not impossible to impose on social networking sites like Facebook. Jonathan speaks to Ahmed Maher, an Egyptian who started a Facebook group to protest against rising prices and government corruption. SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi Arabia blocks over 400,000 websites and the watchdog group Reporters without Borders calls it one of the world?s ?Internet enemies?. Despite this, a 24-year-old student in the capital still manages to moderate a popular English-language blog, Saudi Jeans. He tells Jonathan about how he uses his blog to promote social change and political reform. MENNASAT: The Beirut-based Middle East watchdog group, Mennasat, has been monitoring the use of social networks in the Arab world. Internet analyst Alexandra Sandels tells Jonathan that many Middle Eastern governments are getting nervous and cracking down. The Egyptian authorities are even thinking of establishing a special police squad to monitor Facebook. TEASER B: Jonathan tells us what?s coming up in the B segment MUSIC BED (1:30) SEGMENT B: 18:30 THIS WEEK?S THEME IS ?Technology and Human Rights? FACEBOOK DEBATE IN TURKEY: This past summer, Turkey?s constitutional court heard a case about whether the governing Islamic-based AK party was seeking to overthrow the secular state and introduce Islamic rule. The case divided Turkish society, and it still does, with both sides claiming to defend basic human rights. As Dorian Jones reports, the social networking site Facebook is playing a key role in that debate. PE BODY COUNT: The state of Pernambuco in northeastern Brazil has the highest murder rate in the country. The homicide rate is even higher than Iraq?s. A group of four journalists working the crime beat in Pernambuco, have decided to use the Internet to wake up the authorities and their fellow citizens to the tragedy unfolding in their state. Jonathan speaks to one of the founders of the site, Eduardo Machado. INTERACTIVE RADIO FOR JUSTICE: A local radio programme in the Democratic Republic of Congo is trying to raise awareness about human rights, justice and reconciliation. Interactive Radio for Justice records questions from ordinary people and then puts them to DRC authorities or representatives from the International Criminal Court. As Jonathan hears from the programme?s director, Wanda Hall, Interactive Radio for Justice also gets questions via mobile phone text messaging. TEASER C: Jonathan tells us what?s coming up in the C segment MUSIC BED (1:30) SEGMENT C: 19:00 HUMAN RIGHTS NEWS: Correspondent Eric Beauchemin joins Jonathan to recap the top human rights news of the week. BAGHDAD CALLING: Cell phones are helping Iraqis to stay in touch with each other and to stay safe in their war-torn country. They have also become a medium for documenting life in a conflict zone. Iraqis love to take pictures with their mobile phones ? photos of everything from family parties to bombed out buildings. Acclaimed Dutch war photographer, Geert van Kesteren, has compiled some of these pictures and tells Jonathan about his new book Baghdad Calling. LETTERS CLOSING MONTAGE: MUSIC BED (1:00) PODCAST RUNDOWN: This week in The State Were In, we look at the role of technology in promoting human rights. First, Facebook and blogs in the Middle East. Then, a site that counts the murdered in a Brazilian state, radio for justice in DRC, and a collection of mobile phone images of violence in Iraq.