Now that's a bit of something different. A few years back a nephew 'invited' me through Linkedin to join the site. I'd been 'invited' on earlier occasions by others whom I know. This time I went ahead and registered with Linkedin, and although I did fill out the preliminary and fairly broad statistical requirements, I just left it at that and more or less abandoned the site, having little interest in it.

But I do regularly receive these "Linkedin" recommendations, to contact others registered at the site. Without doubt it can be a useful mechanism for linking up with old acquaintances, as a tool for furthering one's career through helpful contacts, and to gain knowledge of opportunities that might turn out to be useful. I simply look at some of them with brief curiosity, but for the most part just eliminate the message.

Today's was different. The lead contact name gave me second pause. And I thought: What on Earth?!? The name is Chiheb Esseghaier, a PhD student at INRS. The name, though it hasn't been lately in the news, is rather unforgettable. The man is an engineering student and seems quite brilliant in his field of study. But he is also, unfortunately, weighted down with a pathology of hatred, severe enough that he would link himself into a network psychosis of loathing for the West. Leading him to commit himself to the sacred duty of Islamist violent jihad. What is normally termed a terrorist.

Back in April 2013 this was in the national news:

Chiheb Esseghaier, the younger of two men charged in the al Qaeda train plot, is a Tunisian-born PhD student at a Université du Québec nanotechnology lab who was threatened with expulsion for his disruptive behaviour and strict religious views that alienated his colleagues.
 
One colleague at Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS) in Varennes, Que., described Mr. Esseghaier, 30, as “a brainwashed person, basically,” who tore down posters he did not approve of, and pestered the administration to install a prayer room.
“He had very strict religious behaviour that made many people frustrated,” said the colleague, who asked that his name be withheld. “He had problems with the administration.”
His co-accused, Raed Jaser, 35, is a Palestinian born in the United Arab Emirates, who has permanent resident status in Canada. Search warrants were being executed Monday at his home in a Toronto suburb, where neighbours said they have seen a group of young men in traditional Muslim garb weightlifting.
‘‘If I was outside, or getting into my car, he wouldn’t even say hello. He was a very reserved guy. They kept entirely to themselves,’’ said Sanjay Chaudhary, 47, who lives next door.
Mr. Esseghaier has a lengthy public profile, including several academic publications on new methods for detecting prostate cancer and HIV, and a profile page on the professional networking site Linkedin that is illustrated with the black flag of the Islamic State of Iraq, an umbrella group of Iraqi insurgent groups affiliated with al Qaeda.
 The two men are charged with conspiring to carry out an attack against, and conspiring to murder, persons unknown for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with a terrorist group.

Bizarre beyond belief! What's with Linked In? What planet do they inhabit? What, precisely, are they promoting?

Just curious.