What Happened When They Had Stayed

What happens if we leave 

The Time magazine has a published a very shocking cover that it will be from the historical covers of the famous American magazine
A shocking effect the cover will create ,no one can't tolerate a picture of a young girl with chopped nose but unfortunately when you read the title of the cover story , you will be angry on how the US army Eagles are trying to justify  their invasion to Afghanistan using the Women's human rights !!
"What happens if we leave Afghanistan !!??" honestly I do not know what had happened when the coalition forces stayed in Afghanistan all that time. If you look to it , I do not see a huge improvement in the country , yes Taliban was downed in certain areas , yes women had retrieved some of their basic rights back in certain areas but let's remember that :

• Thousand Afghani civilians including women and children have been killed by coalition forces
• Afghanistan has returned to be the major exporter of Opium worldwide
• The spread of the Bacha boys under the eyes of coalition forces , I do not know where are the human rights especially I read that some sick soldiers and officers are engaging in that practices themselves.

The timing of this special report is interesting because it comes directly after the Wikileaks' exclusive Afghan War diary from 2004-2010 , the timing is exposed actually trying to create a sympathy , it is not about war on terrorism anymore but about human rights issue 
The timing of this report comes after the decision of the American congress to ratify the Obama escalation of war in Afghanistan as if it were justifying this decision to the American people who are in need all those billions to create jobs instead of bombs. 
Obama has got now one year to leave form Afghan swamp according to what he claimed , neither Alexander the great nor British forces in their golden ages managed to control this nation , this is a fact that the American army hawks should understand this because they are not greater than Alexander the great nor the British empire which technically ruled countries larger than the United States for two centuries in two different continents.
It is not about war on terrorism to the rest of this talk , the CIA made Taliban along with all other these groups , it is about the game of interest , America  is on the black sea , Iran from one side and Russia , mostly important Russia from another side and please do not forget the trillion wealth hidden underneath the rocky environment of the poorest country in the world  ; the American army can't leave the next Saudi Arabia of lithium so easily so I just wish that they leave that human rights alone because no one buys this like in the past.

Back to the time magazine cover , I compare it to the iconic cover of national geographic and I wonder if it is going to live and to be remembered in the same way especially it has not been long time and everybody is speaking on how the time magazine or rather the American army hawks are using the Afghani women human rights to their interest.
The Afghani women will not receive their rights in two or three years , we are speaking about hard core tribal traditions and customs that will change through education , it will take generation or two or three or even four to have a real change in Afghanistan without the help of invasion forces and in order to stand against the radical ideas of Taliban.

Technorati Tags: Citizen Journalism,America,Afghanistan,Photos,women,media,Economy,War,human rights,time Magazine

Lebanon Is At The heart of The Arab World And Egypt Is No Where near it

Have you been watching the news today !!?? Did you see the historical Arab summit held in Beirut currently that is forcing the wonderful people of Beirut to stay at their homes because of the security measures !!??
Did you see how the King of Saudi Arabia is sending a clear strong message that his country is leading the Arab world now !!?? Did you see how the prince of Qatar will join the King of Saudi Arabia despite their huge long families disputes !!??

Al Assad , Abdullah with the three leaders

Did you see how the king of Saudi Arabia and the Syrian president have reconciled and becoming the new S.S duet in Lebanon !!??
Did you see how Egypt is absent from the Lebanese scene now !!??  Yes King Abdullah visited Mubarak in Egypt to tell him his plans but just for the respect of the historical past role of Egypt in the Arab world , you know as a respect visit no more no less. Of course our hypocrite press will say that King Abdullah is moving by the directions of Mubarak and an Egyptian blessing !!!

Egypt , Syria and Saudi Arabia is how it should be not Qatar , Syria and Saudi Arabia with my all respect to the Qataris
We have put our bets on the wrong horses in Lebanon and our regime refuses to go back to join the Arabs for real despite the States currently will not say no. "In normal circumstance we should not care what the American administration thinks , it is our best interest that should tell us what to do "
Mubarak 's greatest past achievements from 20 years ago was to return back in to the Arab world yet it seems that by the end of his rule we are returning to where President Sadat had left us 'May Allah bless his soul' before he was killed.
Hats off to King Abdullah of  Saudi Arabia for trying to protect his country's leadership in the region in front of Turkey and Iran by not attacking them but rather through hard powerful diplomatic initiatives that will save the region from the wrath of another Lebanese civil war Israel loves to see. "Please do not repeat the Israeli claims that Saudi Arabia is working with Israel on Iran's strike "
As much as I am happy for this meeting and this summit , I am sad that my country is absent from it.
When will we return to play our role as real Egypt in the middle east??

Technorati Tags: Citizen Journalism,Egypt,Arab,Politics,Syria,Lebanon,Beirut,Mubarak,National Security

Fake Popularity

This week we have been introduced to ugly pro-Gamal Mubarak posters "seriously he looks no so good in that poster" in certain popular areas in Egypt , we did not know who was behind except that it was "The Egyptian Popular coalition for Gamal Mubarak support " !!
Yes there is a coalition that supports Gamal Mubarak publicly.

Magdy El-Kurdy's card

The posters made the local and international media search and know more about that coalition  and what it found was even more interesting. The general coordinator of that coalition is called Magdy El-Kurdy and he said that he represents a large sector in the society that wants Gamal Mubarak to run for 2011 presidency race even if he does not want so because it is not an option thing !! It is a delegation from Egyptian people !!! Mr. El-Kurdy does not want Mubarak ,the father but rather the son even if it would create a crack in the Mubaraks house !!
Here is Magdy El-Kurdy's card , I do not know why that coalition logo reminds me with the industrial associations !!??
El-Kurdy claims that his coalition will collect 5 million signatures that will support Gamal Mubarak's candidacy and that they will start with areas outside Cairo in the governorates like Mansoura where Gamal is so popular !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Mansoura is known to be stronghold for the NFC by the way. 
Strangely nobody has removed these posters and even more stranger nobody in the official media reminded us that this is illegal group and that the signatures it gathers are illegal !!          
Despite the claims of El-Kurdy that coalition is independent from the NDP ,the NDP is actually behind it , we are not naïve to understand that this is a pathetic attempt to compete with the NFC especially that it has been founded at the same time the NFC's signatures are increasing rapidly with the help of the Muslim brotherhood. The regime knows that the increasing number of signatures will encourage more people to sign and so it is better to create some diversion.
I believe this is coalition will collect signatures for real ,the signatures who are in debt and sold their souls to the NDP businessmen charities.
From what I see as public reaction ,hopefully this coalition will not succeed in what it wants to achieve.  
P.S I have found these photos above some in twitter and I do not know their owners.

Technorati Tags: Citizen Journalism,Egypt,Politics,National,News,Media,Photos,Mansoura,Gamal Mubarak,ElBaradei,NFC,Presidential race 2011

Another Victim of Police Brutality

Honestly I wish to post more cheerful news in my blog yet I can’t ignore that sort of news : a police officer scalps a citizen !!
So Ashraf was beaten by the police officer Ahmed Mustafa because he asked him why he was being treated  , he is suffering now from facial lacerations, bruising around the eye socket, a broken nose, and a scalped head.
This is the photo of Abdel Rahman Ashraf , a student at the Egyptian cinematographic institute and independent documentaries film maker before the attack

The Usual violence in Protests at Khaled Said’s Trial

It has become a usual scene to see clashes between protesters and the police forces in any opposition protest in Egypt , it has become a usual scene to see a brutal attack on the peaceful protesters from the police first and so it was not strange to see clashes started by the police forces in yesterday’s Khaled Said trail’s protests. Of course the clashes were between Khaled Said supporters and the police.
Ian Lee of The Daily News Egypt was there and made a nice comprehensive video report in English, you can watch it below.

Khaled Said Protest in New York

You can see here the photos of Khaled Said protest that was held in NY in front of the UN last Saturday at Mona ElTahaway's Facebook page , yes we do not agree with all her opinions but we must admire her stand from Khaled Said's case.

 
Of course we all must respect and admire those few Egyptians in NY that decided to organize this stand , yes they were few but may be next time they will be more.

Technorati Tags: Citizen Journalism,Egypt,Khaled Said,Follow Up,Politics,Photos,Media,Human rights,New York,UN,Mona ElTahawy,Mideast,Middle East,activism

What Happens At Almost Every Police Station in The Arab World

This video below which Nawaa published is from Facebook activist "Tounsi Libre Free" and it shows a Tunisian citizen after being tortured at a Tunisian police station , it seems now the custom in almost every police station , the royal treatment any citizen will get whether he was innocent or guilty.

I do not know much about the details of that incident and I hope that Tunisian activists tell us more about the background of this incident.

Define The Role of the Media

A group Students in Cairo university the faculty of mass communication , the radio and television department made a documentary as a graduation project ; this documentary was discussing Sufism in Egypt and they named it as " The people of interior".

Instead of having an "A" for their final project , instead of praising them for choosing a very interesting topic , a daring topic and a prefect balanced presentation ; this group is now facing what is like an inquisition trial by the administration of the faculty itself !!???

The administration of the faculty accused the documentary of defaming Islam and banned from participating in the final contest of documentaries at the faculty.

I have seen that documentary and I do not see it defames anyone , on the contrary it discusses the famous controversial practices in balanced way presenting the different views in a wonderful manner. "Unfortunately it is not translated despite it should"

You can see the documentary below

Follow Up : Khaled Said Trial "Day 1" Live

From an hour ago the trial of the year , the trial of Khaled Said was supposed to start in Alexandria yet according to journalists there the trial itself has not started yet till 9.30 AM.We do not know the number of Khaled Said's case in the role. For the record the two police agents are facing excessive use of force charge and not murder charge , also officer Ahmed Othman , who came to the crime scene according to the eye witnesses is off the hook.
Amnesty international called for the protection of witnesses in Khaled's trial after the attack on Tamer Abdel Manam last week.
There are thousand of police elements whether in the uniform or undercovered in the street.
Youm 7 is transferring the trial on air through Qik , you can watch it below :

Hours later The Real Trial of The Year Will Begin

Sorry for the belated post but hours later Alexandria will witness the real trial of the year : The trial of Khaled Said murder.

It will start at 9 AM Alexandria local time.

I do not know why I have the feeling that we will a gag order in the middle of this very important trial.

Technorati Tags: Citizen Journalism,Egypt,Politics,Khaled Said,Follow Up,Alexandria,democracy,National,News,abuse,Mideast,Middle East,trials,human rights

Follow Up : N.Sinai Governor : Sinai Bedouins Ahsan Nas

In a very expected reaction from the regime , the N.Sinai governor is trying retiring from what he has said in the Al Shorouk interview with its two parts  in a very weak way :  The tribal chiefs had an effective role in October war !!
The governor tried to deny that he said what he had said about the tribes' chief at the official NDP website but unfortunately this is Al Shorouk not a cheap tabloid.
The N.Sinai governor can't claim that Al Shorouk daily fabricated the interview because it is not a tabloid newspaper and for sure the journalist recorded this interview and so they claim it is unreal.
What the governor has said today will not make the Bedouins forget his insults in the last two days and surely it will be always brought up when we discuss the current regime wrong policies in Sinai.
The solution to all Sinai problems is solution to all Egypt's problem : Democracy , it is enough that the tribes chiefs are appointed by the regime or rather the ministry of interior just like mayors across the country in time of Mubarak. 
P.S Sinai Bedouins Ahsan Nas means Sinai Bedouins are the best , "Ahsan Nas" is an Egyptian term to glorify a certain area and yes Sinai Bedouins are truly Ahsan Nas.

Technorati Tags: Citizen Journalism,Egypt,Follow Up,Media,National,National security,Politics,Sinai,Muard Mwafi,North Sinai

Follow Up : Weinstein Reportedly Not To Be Found in Egypt

Carmen Weinstein is believed to have fled the country after the court order against her.

The secretary of the Jewish community in Egypt Rauf Tawfik stated to YNet News that she did not leave the country , she was in a visit to the States before the court and that she will come back to Egypt. I hope she comes back where she can appeal the court order and I hope more that other countries do not interfere in our internal issue for real because they will harm Weinstein and the community that paid a lot because of Israel , the public in Egypt look in suspicion to the Jewish community thanks to the Israeli Embassy support.

Technorati Tags: Citizen Journalism,Egypt,national,politics,america,minorities,Israel,Carmen Weinstein,follow up,Mideast,Middle East

Sinai Saga Goes On : Assassination Attempts , Interviews and Press Conferences

In the past 4 days there was a lot of a drama in Sinai , it is actually another episode in the Sinai saga starring the regime’s stupidity. Nobody understands exactly what the regime wants to achieve from these policies which according to all experts and to the locals of Sinai is against of national security.
First we got a very interesting confession of 18 years old boy that the state security and local NDP parliament member  in North Sinai blackmailed in to poisoning Salem Abu Laavi and Moussa El-Dalh “the spokesperson of the Sinai runaways group” .
The underage driver was promised to get LE 30,000 and his father’s release from jail in return. His father had been sentenced 25 years in jail. Thank God the attempt has failed because nobody imagine how the reaction of the locals will be if Abu Laavi and El-Dalth were poisoned.
In a video confession to Dostor daily , the boy confessed and revealed this dirty deal.

Have Some Dignity and Leave

Kuwaiti newspaper claimed that the Israeli Ambassador Itzhak Levanon that insisted to dine at restaurant in Maadi despite being asked by the manager to leave !!

I suspect this newspaper because it does not make sense to have this news in Kuwait before Egypt also this newspaper claimed that the MB fakes the signatures in their NFC website , already I do not know why the Kuwaiti press interferes in the Egyptian internal affairs and stands with the regime , do they think that Hosni Mubarak related to their ruling family !!??

Again I do not know if this incident was true or not but if it was true then  I advise Levanon to have some dignity and to leave when he is asked to leave and not to call the police , he is not welcomed with his body guards.

Anyhow back to the news I just wonder how the Kuwaiti newspaper knew about it before the Egyptian press.

The Israeli ambassador and his security have turned Maadi in to hell whenever they move already.

FYI the glorious past of Levanon's mother has not been fully discussed in the Egyptian media. 

Technorati Tags: Citizen Journalism,Egypt,Media,National,Israel,Politics,Society,Itzhak Levanon,Mideast,Middle East,Maadi,Cairo,restuarants

Follow Up : 23rd of July Khaled Said's silent Revolution

May be it was not a silent revolution in Cairo but it was huge silent revolution indeed in Alexandria.

As agreed activists across the country held the usual weekend silent stands for Khaled Said ; of course this weekend was very special as it was the 58th anniversary of the 23rd of July revolution/coup/movement "you name it as you see it" with all what it holds from political meaning.

Cairo silence :

There was a silent stand at the Nile Corniche at Shubra as agreed , of course I went there to cover the stand , I found a group of activists at Arcadia mall /NBE HQ/ WTC Cairo area ; due to important urgent sudden family obligations I could not stay too long , in fact I only stayed few minutes to take some shots and I did not ask or chat with the participants in the stand why they were there as I wanted. I was lucky to arrive in time in the first place to be honest.

Here are couple of photos I took while my very short stay.

What If She Were An African Supermodel !!??

I am following with huge admiration the current campaign in Lebanon against racism especially racism against domestic workers whether from Africa or Asia. It is not a new campaign but now it is getting more powerful and is heard more.

Domestic workers in Lebanon can't go with their employers' families to private beaches , this is a fact I was surprised to know because as a touristic country we all know that families from Gulf go everywhere with their maids so I wonder if that rule is implied also on families from Gulf that go everywhere with entourage of domestic workers.

The activists filmed how a private beach refuses to let in a maid without giving a proper or logic explanation for their racist rule. The activists knew in advance the answer they would get from the cashier and this is why they filmed this incident secretly. Thank god that this video is translated in to English, I wish our activists in Egypt do the same thing in our videos. You can watch the whole incident below

Follow Up : Khaled Said 23rd of July Silent Stand

Today is the big day which Khaled Said campaign wants to achieves something from , today is the 5th weekend in a role the campaign organizes a silent stand across the country dedicated to Khaled Said and the campaign against torture in Egypt.

There are demands for today's silent stand presented by Khaled Said Facebook :

1- End the Emergency law (Martial law state declared for more that 30 years ), since it is used extensively by the Police in all cases even in cases where there are no drugs or terrorism involved and used heavily against all political opponents of the Egyptian Government. The emergency law is still used against civilians not involved in drugs or terrorism despite the Egyptian government promise to limit its use to these two areas.
2- Alteration of the penalty on police officers involved in torture cases, to include permanent dismissal, and repealing compassion with those officers.
3- Commitment of public prosecutors to regularly inspect police stations to reveal and stop the systematic torture crimes and detention of innocent civilians in the so-called “Bureau of Investigation’s Fridges” i.e. unofficial detention rooms inside police stations.
4-Expanding the notion of torture, because the current law restricts the definition of torture to ‘Beating the suspect to get a confession’. This enables most of those criminals who commit torture to walk away without penalty.
5-The final demand is that the Egyptian government should officially sign the Anti-torture Protocol, which the government has refused to sign in the International Council for Human Rights. This protocol allows Egyptian Human Rights Organizations to inspect police stations and reveal torture cases, in order to prosecute officers involved in torture.

To have specific demands like the mentioned above is considered a new upgrade to what has started as small angry Facebook and reached to the biggest political Egypt Facebook group. "Over 200,000 members".

The silent stand of today is approved and protected by constitutional article no.54 :

The freedom of Egyptian citizens to gather and meet in a peaceful manner without violating rules and laws and without the need to inform the Police.

Here are the locations of the silent stands in 15 governorates across the country.

More coverage insh Allah to come after 6.30 PM

Technorati Tags: Citizen Journalism,Egypt,Democracy,Follow Up,Human rights,National,Media,Politics,Khaled Said,torture,silent stands,mideast,middle east

Happy 23rd Of July

Despite it is not our independence day yet it is our national day , very few really celebrate the day while other few hate it for what they believe it brought to this county and the majority consider it a holiday they are waiting for in the hot month July. "Unfortunately this year it comes on Friday"
Regardless of having a mixing feeling about today and its significance in our modern history and its results , I would like to tell you all : Happy 23rd July

Nasser , Mohi El-Din and Amar; the cool officers at Borg Al Arab beach

When Egyptians woke up on that day from 58 years ago , most of them did not think for one moment that the man they hanged his pictures on their walls would no longer rule the biggest kingdom made of two countries in the Middle East.
Have faith. 

Technorati Tags: 23rd of July,Egypt,Citizen Journalism,History,politics,Coup,Revolution,change

Corruption and Conspiracies surrounded Her Army

The title of this post is from the first statement Mohamed Anwar Al Sadat had said on the 23rd July 1952 addressing people in Egypt and Sudan to announce the 23rd July movement/coup,this is from the same paragraph of the famous historical statement.

I remembered that statement and that part in specific while I was thinking about our army now. Do not get me wrong , I am not speaking about heavens forbid a coup "which unlikely it would happen now because the Mubarak regime for sure is keeping its eyes on the army " but I am speaking how our army is doing in this corruption.

The army is just like any organization in the country , like any institution that reflects the society with all its problems and fiascos then it is logic to ask about how much the army is affected by this current corruption.

What makes us sure that the army is the only institution corruption free in this country now with all what we suffer from !!?? The fact that many A and high middle class boys skip their military service using their families' connections makes me fear on the army , yes the army does not need bunch of lazy asses who believes that their life will be wasted if they serve their army but the principle is dangerous , this is a small example.

It is not about loyalty to the president and above him the country and its people but it is about the ability to resist the temptations of corruption  , Heba Salim's fiancé was working as the secretary of the commander of the special forces and he spied for Israel because he could not stand living in this country despite all the privileges he enjoyed in what was considered the golden time of the army in Egypt then , this was in early 1970s , what about now with all what Egypt suffers from ; the military is the end a civilian in the suit. 

The army now is in the center with all the talk about Mubarak's health abroad , it is well know since the July 23rd the president of Egypt comes from the army and the future of the ruler of this country depends on the army then the people as we are third world country.

I will say it honestly ; I fear the day will come and the army will give its blessing to Gamal Mubarak and this is why I fear on the army , on its officers 'not the high rank' and its soldiers from corruption and the conspiracies surrounding them as they are the force that protects this land and its people.

Technorati Tags: Citizen Journalism,Egypt,1952,Democracy,Presidential elections 2011,Politics,National,army

The Syrian Ban of Burqa, Older Than You Think

The Syrian government has decided to ban Burqa in universities , a news that has been making headlines around the globe especially it came after the French decision to ban Burka in public places.

The world may be amazed from such decision in an Islamic country despite it is not the first as Egypt has also banned Burqa in universities and knowing the Syrian regime and its history ,one would say that this is something normal.

It does not do with human rights but rather the beliefs of the Syrian Baath regime.
From 10 years ago there was technically no veil at all in the streets of Damascus despite the nature of the Syrian society as conservative one thanks to two decades of religious repression policies the Al Assad socialist Baath had practiced. An old Egyptian friend married to a Syrian told the family from two decades ago on how the Baath agents went after any veiled lady in early 1970s to pull the veil from her head.

When Bashar Al Assad inherited the Syrian throne , he allowed some of the lost rights to the Syrian people to create popularity including : Veil. It has returned back to the Syrian street.

The regime started to use religion more to its own interests , for example those huge protests in Damascus following the Danish cartoon crisis using the anger of the people there to deliver a political message to the EU during the international tribunal. Yes the Danish government did a huge mistake during that crisis but the Syrian regime was the last one to speak about insulting prophet Mohamed "PBUH" when hundred thousands are in jails for no reason at all.

I believe this ban expresses the fear of the regime that not only the Syrian Muslim brotherhood would return back but also other fundamentalist groups that regard the regime as secular Baath one that needs to be fought ,already the Syrians saw technically war between the Muslim brotherhood and Al Assad regime that end with a semi genocide the world seems to ignore boldly.

The ban of Burqa is just the tip of the ice berg in the violations of human rights in Syria for a very long time. Like father like son , it is not and was not new thing on the Syrian society.

Technorati Tags: democracy,arab,human rights,politics,syria,religion,burqa,Bashar Al Assad,Hafiz Al Assad,Islam,Muslims,Mideast,Middle East

There Will Be A Kind of Hash Tag For Khaled Said All Over The World Starting From Tonight

To make Khaled Said a global trending topic , we have to start tweeting using #Khaledsaid Hash tag from Thursday night in order to create more awareness and reaction online.

Last Friday we tried and succeeded regionally but we failed globally still we can achieve this tomorrow and the day after tomorrow insh Allah ; it will be a huge noble thing we can do to torture and police abuse victims in Egypt. Khaled Said should have been on that list from 4 weeks ago , he is more important than Lindsey Lohan and Cali Swag as he influenced generations of Egyptians by his murder in a way no one would have expected or imagined.

The world has to know more about Khaled Said and his brothers and sisters  in Egypt , we do not want the foreign regimes to act but rather the people of the world to tweet just a tweet message

We will start our twitter campaign at 6:30 PM Cairo Local /3:30 PM GMT/ 12:30 PM EST

FYI using the hash tag like that :

#Khaledsaid #Khaledsaid #Khaledsaid #khaledsaid #Khaledsaid #Khaledsaid #Khaledsaid

Will not work because twitter will it as a spam tweet.

If you have a twitter account then I will kindly ask you to tweet something about #Khaledsaid on Thursday and Friday , just two tweets about his case which you can know more about at this website and at this Facebook Fan page.

This is not for Khaled Said only but for all victims of torture and police abuse in Egypt and the whole world.

By the way a witness in Khaled Said case has been beaten yesterday by thugs hired by Sidi Gaber police station according to the eye witnesses , the witness was attacked right after testifying that he had seen police officer Ahmed Othman in the crime scene. The witness has been in the hospital for two days now according to my knowledge.

Another thing , the wonderful team behind Khaled Said websites in English and Arabic have been receiving dangerous threats online.

The weakest and simplest thing we can do is trying to #Khaledsaid among the top trends in twitter for 48 hours.

Technorati Tags: Egypt,Citizen Journalism,Khaled Said,Politics,Human rights,Follow Up,Geek,Media,tweets,twitter,#Khaledsaid,Mideast,torture,abuse,police abuse,Alexandria,democracy

The Wafd Party : A Real Opposition Or Shadow Ally

     If anyone deserves to run in the presidential elections against President Mubarak , he is Dr. Siyad Badawy.

Mohamed Ali Ibrahim said once in the Al Gomhouria and before you think that Ibrahim is trying to ridicule Dr. ElBaradei and Ayman Nour as he always does and glorifies his president, you must re-read what is the between words.

What is the between words of that silly quote is that the regime is giving and supporting the Wafd party whether directly and indirectly in order to beautify itself and to prove to the world that we really have democratic partisan life. Mubarak or his son needs a strong opponent in the next presidential elections , a strong opponent that will play according to their rules ,not to the fair rules because they know that fair play will make them lose. 

Since the victory of Egyptian businessman and media mogul Siyad Badawy in the internal elections over his opponent Mahmoud Abaza and the buzz that followed it in the official media , it was too obvious that the regime was giving its blessing to the party.

The regime is trying to create a competitor for the NFC and Dr. ElBaradei , to reinforce its tamed opposition parties so they can distract the public from ElBaradei campaign.

I will not comment on all those public figures that joined the Wafd party because I know that many of them wish to see the old glory of Wafd that Egyptians put a lot of hope on after its revival in late 1970s but I will comment on these statements from its current popular leadership that proved my theory.

In a whole page in al Ahram newspaper , Dr. Siyad Badawy stated in a media roundtable discussion held by the famous official newspaper that he refused to meet U.S Ambassador Margret Scooby at the door of the Wafd HQ insisting to meet her at the meeting hall there to prove her that they are equal !!  Of course Badawy claimed that he had taught a historical lesson to Scooby about Egyptian modern politics and that we do not need to be taught democracy or import it from abroad ; Al Ahram's Ahmed Moussa loved that part of course because it came after the news of that meeting between ElBaradei and the American Ambassador. 

Badawy moved to Muslim brotherhood insisting that there was no way that they reach in to deal just like the NDP , no deals with the regime or the NDP to secure chairs in the parliament !! I am afraid the man is disrespecting our minds , this is what can be said.

Dr. Siyad Badawy's channels used to attack Dr. ElBaradei and at the same glorify Gamal Mubarak , I can't forget the exclusive moments they aired during the final of the CAN 2010 when Gamal Mubarak was dancing and screaming that our Egyptian team was fine because the president said so !!

Dr. Badawy claims that his TV network is neutral and that it is enough that he did not appear for once at any of his channels during his party's elections or after it , it is true that he did not use his network to promote his party but it is true that his network is more biased to the NDP than for instance Dream Channels which are owned by NDP member Ahmed Bahget !!!

Already I do not know why it is bad or immoral for Badawy if he uses his network to promote his party , Lebanon has got partisan TV channels since the 1970s for God sake !!

Badawy stated that his party plan in the next parliamentary session if they win will be introducing a draft for new law that will allow more freedom to parties in Egypt "parties other than the NDP " !! I do not know if he is fooling himself or what ;the NDP will not let this law be more than a draft. He also stated that the party will have the first shadow cabinet in Egypt next month , I hope the party does it for real and not for publicity stunt 

Again I hope that I am wrong and Dr. Siyad Badawy is not that dangerous man who plays a game with the regime to secure bunch of chairs in fake parliament , I hope that I am wrong in my analysis and Dr. Badawy does not listen to the regime and joins the NFC and Dr. ElBaradei in boycotting the elections in order to force the regime in to accepting our conditions peacefully.

Technorati Tags: Citizen Journalism,Egypt,democracy,follow Up,Media,National,Politics,Siyad Badawy,Middle East,Midest,ElBaradei,News,Wafd Party

Recognizing The Elephant

Awad : As a diplomat we deal with these rumors frequently

At last the regime began to admit that there is an elephant in the room , yes the regime says it is not a sick elephant but at least it is addressing the matter after it has became an international media sensation. The minister of information El-Faki and the Egyptian presidency spokesperson today have officially addressed the foreign reports about the President's health describing these reports as rumors. The minister's statement mentioned specifically the report of Washington Times which claimed that according to international intelligence sources Mubarak has got one year to live. For the record El-Faki's statement did not say what came in the Washington Times report and ironically now all Egyptians who did not know about the report will go online and search for it !!
The presidency spokesperson Soliman Awad said today during the press conference which was held at Orba Palace that as a diplomat he dealt with these rumors frequently accusing foreign intelligence agencies of spreading these rumors to target Egypt's stability and role in the region !! Ironically these rumors come from Mubarak's regime best allies in the world : Israel and the United States. 
I knew about that report from Bahraini Al Bawaba when it claimed that NY times published an alleged CIA assessment report claiming that President Mubarak is sick and has got only one year to live ,I can't find that report in NY Times thought !! Al Bawaba also mentioned  another report in Washington Post that expresses the concern of the American administration with the future of Egypt , again I can't find it because it was not published in the Washington Post but rather in the Washington Times.
YNet News also spoke about that WT report as WP report by the way.The Israelis are still talking about the health of Mubarak more than we do now . Bibi says that Mubarak is more than fine and Mubarak's BBF the hero of Shakid says that Mubarak's voice on the phone is perfect and he does not suffer from anything  from one side while from another side you got a Knesset member who advises his prime minister not to rush to negotiate with dying Mubarak !!??
The health of Mubarak is still the talk of town in the World despite the President's very busy week from meetings and activities unlike the reports claiming that he got a terminally ill cancer with one year to live only. These activities of course are a message directed to the whole world that Mubarak is alive yet it seems the world does not believe that message like for instance Front Page Magazine which claimed that he got a terminal stomach cancer "it was first esophageal cancer"
Yes there is no smoke without fire and yes it seems that the end of the Mubarak regime seems to be knocking on the door, but I do not know why that this cancer rumor is not that convincing because here we are speaking about cancer in very old age ; even if it is in early stages , an old man like Mubarak got a terminally ill cancer , can't do all those activities.
We are having a dangerous time for sure in Cairo

Technorati Tags: Citizen Jounralism,Egypt,Mubarak,Follow Up,National Secuirty,Politics,America,Israel,Health,Mideast,Middle East

Notes on A Media Coverage Of The Salahs Murder

It is normal thing that will be a media frenzy in town if there is a murder crime committed by a TV personality especially if he murders his wife, it is natural thing and happens everywhere whether in East or West.

Ehab Salah

Last Monday morning Egyptians were shocked  to find out that a face that they used to see on the Egyptian TV for years was arrested for committing a horrible crime : Murdering his wife.
Newsreader Ehab Salah murdered his wife Magda in their house at nearly 4 AM after a huge fight that was heard by their neighbors. Salah killed his wife with a single shot from a gun that he inherited from his late father , the police general. A crazy moment for sure that changed Ehab's life upside down , from a respectable newsreader to a convicted murderer that awaits the gallows. It was a tragedy especially when you know that Salah was the one who called the police and told them that he killed his wife , then waited from their arrival besides his wife's dead body in the living room .
Since the moment the media especially the online media knew about the news , there was a frenzy and a race between the news websites that made them do horrible mistakes like for instance :

The Jubilee of A Giant Baby

15 days remaining on the launch of TV

On the 21st of July 1960 the Arabic TV or as dubbed then "The giant baby" started its broadcast from Cairo launching the era of  TV in Egypt. The Arabic TV in Egypt was not the first one in the Arab world unlike the Egyptian radio , Lebanon and Iraq had got their own TV stations yet they did not have an impact on the Arab or Egyptian life like the Egyptian TV. 

A long pregnancy 

The idea of the TV was not a new one on the Egyptian society , just like the high dam the idea of having a TV network went back to 1947 when Le Progrès Egyptien published an important news that the cabinet of Mahmoud Pasha Fahmy El-Nukrashi had allocated LE 200,00 to build studio for radio and TV broadcast but due to the war in Palestine ,the money had gone to the ministry of war and the idea was just a small news in Egypt's most famous French speaking newspaper.

Only In Egypt : The NDP Approves other parties Presidential candidates!! !!??

So even If the official parties in Egypt have fulfilled the impossible requirements of article no.76 and can run for presidential elections , they will still face a big challenge : The approval of the parties committee on their  presidential candidates !!??

So after all these conditions , the official parties can't have their presidential candidates run for presidency if the committee headed by a veteran and hardcore NDPian like Safwat El-Sharif rejects these candidates for any set of reasons !!??

Seriously we need to know if this is legal or constitutional or -more important-true !!??

Ayman Nour shared this information on his twitter yesterday after his candidacy's papers were rejected by the committee. Of course Nour's case can be justified that according to law he can't run for any public position except after a specific number of years. Nour was not acquitted , he was released for health related reasons.

Technorati Tags: Citizen Journalism,Egypt,Politics,News,Ayman Nour,Presidential elecitons 2011,NDP,Safwat Al Sharif,Human rights,Democracy,Mideast,Middle East

The Video Of The Week : A Thing Called America

That 2001 video in Hebrew may shock many Americans but it did not shock us as Egyptians or Arabs because we know that the Israeli politicians believe from a very long time that the United States of America is less than an ally , it is thing that can be easily controlled and moved as they wanted thanks to the influence of AIPAC.

Here is the video and you can see Bibi speaking in a friendly way to that family. 

Khairy Ramadan Apologizes to Khaled Said's family

Egyptian journalist and TV host Khairy Ramadan apologized publicly on air to Khaled Said's family , I think it should be highlighted this if we are  seeking professionalism in media.

Follow Up : What Is The Next Step

The number of signatories on the 7 demands statement of the NFC have reached today  in to 134,500
76,729 signatories have signed on the 7 demands statement at the Change official website at 4 PM CLT.

Signatories number in NFC website

57,771 signatories have signed on the 7 demands statement at 4:05 PM CLT at the Muslim brotherhood NFC website. Of course the number of the signatories have increased rapidly after the murder of Khaled Said and also after the lunch of the MB website , there is no doubt that the oldest official banned group got a lot of supporters.

Follow Up : Hani Sorour is An Innocent Man

Hani Sorour , the CEO of Hayedelena for Advanced Medical Industries Company has been found innocent along with all the other accused in the appeal of Hayedelena case after two years if I am not mistaken.

The famous NDPian medical supplies tycoon for sure is having his day despite the fact many now suspect in his innocence and consider it a result of his connections and powers.

Sorour's company was charged with with supplying 300,000 defective blood bags, valued at LE4 million.The case was exposed by ministry of health employee Sohair El-Sharkawy along with her colleague Sawsan Morsi which contained fungi and bacteria causing harm to patients during blood transfusion. El-Sharkawy has lost her job when she was demoted with no excuse by the orders of the ministry in a move that she interrupted as a revenge for exposing the Hayedelena affair. 

Is it the end of a famous case that made a honorable employee lose her job because she dared and exposed corruption !!?? God only knows , already if I am not mistaken the general prosecutor can appeal again against this verdict.

Technorati Tags: Hani Sorour,Society,Economy,health,follow up,national,Hayedelena,Medical supplies,trials,Mideast,Middle East,Sohair El-Sharkawy,blood,Egypt

The Economist On The Future of Egypt

The Economist has published a special report on Egypt and her future after Mubarak who has now being recognized as the 21st century sick man of the Middle East.
This report is very interesting to the level I believe we will not see the magazine in our newsstand next month thanks to its cover. 

Already Youm 7 and Al Shorouk online published a summary for the report without the iconic image of Mubarak

There is an elephant in the room , a big dying elephant to be correct and it seems the fact that the regime does not want confess it makes you wonder if it is an alienation from reality due to arrogance or it is actually fear to confess the bitter reality ; the end is so close and time is not in the side of the son who planned too much for this moment.

The report is a must read , you should bookmark it to read it carefully.

Technorati Tags: Citizen Journalism,Egypt,Politics,Mubarak,Press,Economist,democracy,Mideast

Charity For Gamal Mubarak 's Presidency

Our family's tailor has told us that in popular working class areas there are charities following a group of businessmen that have been very active promoting for Gamal Mubarak as a president directly.
I do not know how correct his claim is but he told us that these charities give loans to those in need promising them that there will be complete debt relief as soon as Gamal Mubarak becomes a president , in other words they are blackmailing them : Support Gamal Mubarak to drop your debts in the future otherwise you will end in jail !!
Our tailor did not specify charities by names but he was speaking about Suzanne Mubarak charity and another charity in Giza governorate , it is well know that MP/NDP Policies committee member and businessman tycoon Mohamed Abu El-Anin got a very active charity in Giza.
I hope that our activists check from this important information using their ways.
The NDP businessmen lobby in Egypt is trying to create a fan base for unpopular Gamal Mubarak using the poverty of the people , the poverty they are increasing with their corruption and economic policies that have widen the gap between the poor and the rich in the country. They believe that they will buy the people's support and vote to Gamal in presidential elections like what they do in the parliamentary elections , the question is : Will they get the result they want !!??

Technorati Tags: Citizen Journalism,Egypt,Gamal Mubarak,Hosni Mubarak,hereditary,Economy,NDP,Politics,Mideast,Middle East,National

Belated Cheerful News : Musaad Abu Fagr Returns Back Home

After 30 months between the Egyptian jails and after many failed international and national calls and pleas ; the Egyptian regime has set Egyptian writer and activist Musaad Abu Fagr free.
Musaad Abu Fagr , the Sinai native and activist has returned back to his home and to his family after 30 months of illegal detention in a goodwill initiative among other detainees from the people there after the attempt to blow the gas pipeline to Israel.
In the past 24 hours Egyptians were introduced to Musaad through TV channels after only reading about him in the opposition newspapers and I think the man from Sinai has changed the perceived image in our minds about Sinai locals. Insh Allah I will post his interviews in Modern TV and On TV as soon as possible. 
I am very happy that the detention did not break Musaad ,on the contrary he came out even more determinant.
Abu Fagr is still angry from the regime and refuses to thank it for his release as he believes he should not have been detained all that time. During his detention there were several court orders for his immediate release that the regime totally ignored.
Despite being in jail for 30 months , Mussad knows about the current political movement from  the press , he knows about ElBaradei whom he wants to meet , he also wants to join the NFC.
In Abu Fagr saga one must mention admirably his wife and the mother of his 5 years old daughter Ranad "I hope that I did not misspell her name" , that lady is a great living example on how Egyptian woman can act in time of hardships. During her husband absence if I am not mistaken she kept his blog online updating it with news from Sinai and news about Mussad himself.
The Egyptian regime did a huge mistake of detaining Mussad because many people back in the valley believe in and support his just cause now.

Technorati Tags: Citizen Journalism,Egypt,democracy,women,politics,National security,National,Media,Mussad Abu Fagr,North Sinai,Mideast,Middle East,Egyptians

He : spies , The Season With No Finale Ep.2

As expected the Westminster corner's court did not add anything new in the Ashraf Marwan case , it ruled out that it was not a murder nor it was a suicide , it is unexplained.

Despite the court did not add anything new , the widow of Ashraf Marwan is merry because the court ruled out that he did not commit suicide saying that he can rest now peacefully in his tomb !! For sure it is a good news for Marwans as now they will be able to get the life insurance policy on Ashraf Marwan's life , rumor says it is £ 1,000,000.

Interestingly enough the court has said that there is no evidence that he was murdered which means officially the British authorities do not buy the assassination theory officially.

Technorati Tags: Citizen journalism,Egypt,follow up,Egyptian X-files,National security,National,Politics,Mideast,Middle east,Ashraf Marwan,Spy,London,UK,Europe

Follow Up : Mubarak Is Fine and Alive

To stop the rumors mills the Egyptian presidency has announced a busy schedule for Mubarak to prove that he is fine and does not suffer any health problems.

Today he attended the graduation of new batch from the air forces academy in Sharkia governorate.He still has got the graduation of the new batch from the war school and the 23rd July speech besides his trips around the country and outside it.

The presidency through diplomatic sources claimed that Mubarak has cancelled his meeting with Netanyahu to protest the razing of an Arab house in East Jerusalem !!! Of course these sources want to justify the rumors the Israeli media has been spreading for two weeks about his deteriorating health but unfortunately I wished the presidency should have chosen better excuse because with the history of the visit to Cairo and the Israeli illegal expansion in East Jerusalem and the rest of occupied territories we know that Mubarak does not care that much for the Israeli expansion.

I think the cancellation of that meeting was due to the Israeli reports speaking about health.

Now a nice historical fact , Mubarak's turning point in his career life was when Nasser paid a surprise visit to the air forces academy in Sharkia after the six days war ,he found no high ranking officer or any member of the staff there except one man : Mohamed Hosni Mubarak.Nasser as a reward of his dedication decided to transfer him from the academy to the air forces which was being rebuilt during then; of course Nasser did  not think for one moment , single moment that that man would be the fourth President of Egypt and that he would rule more than him and the man after him combined together.

Technorati Tags: Citizen journalism,Egypt,Politics,Hosni Mubarak,Health,Follow Up,democracy,National,News,Sharkia,Air forces,EAF,Israel,East Jerusalem,Mideast,Middle East

Because Egypt has Not Got Yet A Bigger Oil spill

Because Egypt has not got yet a bigger oil spill , because we need a disaster like the Gulf of Mexico oil spill , Egypt now welcomes the drilling companies which may have a rule in the disaster there !!

What will make us sure that Diamond Offshore Drilling will not cause a leak  in Egypt !!?? From the economic point of view we should depend more on the renewable sources like the solar energy.

Thanks for dear Jason for that tip.

By the way I expect that we will know huge scandals in the oil sector if this regime goes down , seriously.

Technorati Tags: Citizen Journalism,Egypt,America,Economy,Environment,National,Nature,Diamond offshore drilling,Gulf of Mexico,Oil Spill,Mideast,Middle East,Red Sea

Carmen Weinstein Faces Jail Time

Carmen by Mohsen Allam

Carmen Weinstein , the head of the Jewish community in Egypt has been sentenced  to 3 years in jail after being convicting of defrauding an Egyptian businessman of three million Egyptian pounds , Israel does not like this and considers unfair and intentional persecution to the Jews in Egypt.
With my all due respect Carmen Weinstein is being accused of acts against her own Jewish community in Egypt , she was being trusted by the Jewish community to protect its various properties but what did she do !!?? She allegedly sold buildings that is not hers to that businessman for three million Egyptian pounds . This is a full Egyptian matter , no one has the right to interfere and criticize it with my all due respect ,the Egyptian government does not interfere in the internal issue of the Arab community in Israel and their relation with the Hebrew state.
Already members of the Jewish community in Egypt used to dislike the lady and had this fight with her that reached to court if I am not mistaken.
If that verdict indicates anything , it indicates that we care and protect the Egyptian Jewish community.

Technorati Tags: Citizen Journalism,Egypt,Media,National,Israel,Politics,Minorities,Carmen Weinstein,Mideast,Middle East

Follow Up : Threats To Facebook Khaled Said Group Activists in Egypt

Very few may consider it a silly prank but the majority may take it seriously , Khaled Said Facebook groups have been receiving on online threats targeting its activists.
We all know who can be behind these threats and honestly one must wonder if the MOI has reached to that pathetic level !!

Diplomat Told The World Tribune that The Egyptian president 'is a walking corpse While the Presidency Denies

American World tribune has published this report with that shocking headline : Diplomat: Egyptian president 'is a walking corpse' . It is a powerful headline for sure for a rumor that has been roaming the internet the past two weeks and is still finding its way across the world that can't believe how persistent Mubarak is going to complete his presidential term till death.

The presidency in Egypt know how dangerous that rumor is and that is why it has denied this rumor indirectly through close diplomatic source in Cairo. That diplomatic claimed that he was not going to travel to Germany in the coming 48 hours like what As-Safir daily has claimed.

There is no smoke without fire though , he has not attended the graduation of the war school and air forces school yet and he cancelled his meeting with Netanyahu ; one must wonder what is happening.

Of course our national media will consider it an Israeli-Iranian conspiracy against Mubarak and the national security of Egypt , Israel spreads the rumors in its websites and then the Lebanese pro-Iranian press took these rumors and enlarged it.

Again there is no smoke without fire and the man is old and survived a dangerous surgery from couple of months ago , it is miraculous that he can do all that effort from travelling and meeting all those people in this age.

Technorati Tags: Citizen Journalism,Egypt,democracy,follow up,health,media,national security,politics,Mubarak,Germany,Lebanon,Israel