#Jan25: The Man and the armoured vehicle

It is that time of the year and it comes in one hell of a time, the time of an economic crisis the country has not seen in ages.

It is the anniversary of the 25 January revolution or rather the start of the 25 January revolution that managed to oust one of the Middle East’s longtime strongmen solidifying the Arab Spring and relaunching it worldwide after its start in Tunisia from Cairo’s Tahrir.

It is 2023 and the quest for freedom, bread and social justice seems to be a faraway memory and yet it is the core of the Egyptian issue if not most of the Arab World and Africa as well as the third world's core issue till now

Anyhow, I am trying not to enter this Karballa-mood with the Egyptian Revolution anniversary and the same old discussions on what went wrong and the lessons we learned, let alone the favourite question of foreign journalists and post-graduate students to me and other Egyptians who lived those moments “Is it a social media network revolution ?”

Anyhow my own #Jan25 Karbala ritual is checking the photos from those moments online because it adds more to that history jigsaw.

Last year Egyptian photojournalist Tarek Wajeh released more photos recording that unforgettable moment of that Egyptian young standing bravely against a police armoured vehicle on 25 January 2011 in Downtown Cairo.

The Young man and the armoured vehicle of the police 

It was one of the iconic photos recorded in those 18 days. It was first published in Al-Masry Al Youm Daily where Wajeh works. Only in 2022, he released more shots of that moment. 

#Jan25 : Ten years gone

Warning: It is quite a depressing post but sometimes to have let all those thoughts out to think better

I am trying to avoid all emotions and memories because it is hard, really damned hard and sad to write what I feel when it comes to the 25 January revolution especially after ten years

Yes, ten years have passed and yet it seems like yesterday.

Again this is unarranged personal biased emotional post.

They call us as emotional who do not think with their brains enough, who are not realistic enough.

Revolutionaries are emotional, they are dreamers and they dream always for a better future.

Ten years ago at Tahrir square 

“Bread, Freedom and Social justice” are not emotional goals but rather realistic basic human needs.

Maybe the world can be a little better if people start to be emotional and politicians stop their cold calculations that make things from bad to worse to worst.

Again I do not know or how to organize and type all those feelings, ideas and those words I want to say.

I feel overwhelmed

And Ahmed Maher is out of prison at last

Prominent Egyptian activist Ahmed Maher, the co-founder of April 6 Youth movement and its former coordinator is out of jail. He has been released at last early Thursday after finishing a three-years prison sentence for breaking the protest law.
Maher already was released from prison on Tuesday but he had been on tour in a number of Cairo's police station for some unknown reason in the past 48 hours.
Here is the photo of Maher with his brother Mostafa and their friend Mohamed Samy from a couple of hours ago.

Ahmed Maher in the middle, Mostafa Maher on the right and Mohamed
Samy on the left " Mohamed Samy" 

The prominent Egyptian political activist is out of jail but he is still on a probation for three years and according to this he will spend 12 hours on a daily basis from 6 PM to 6 AM at a police station.
He is also not allowed to have any political activity in the upcoming three years.
He can not travel of course.
It is like that he is out of jail but he is not completely free.
According to his lawyer, he can appeal against all that ..only after 6 months !!
Maher was sentenced three years in prison along with April 6 Youth movement co-founder Mohamed Adel and political activist Ahmed Douma for breaking the protest law in December 2013.
Mohamed Adel is expected to join Maher and to be released from jail within few days.
Unfortunately, Douma is serving a life sentence in the December 2011 clashes trial in addition to three years for contempt of court "Remember Judge Nagy Shehata".
Personally, I am glad that both Maher is released without a presidential pardon. Hopefully inshallah, Mohamed Adel will join him.
I hope that they will be free soon for real.
FYI, the current coordinator of April 6 youth Movement Amr Ali is also serving three years sentence. in jail for possessing leaflets calling for the regime's overthrow.

About that so-called 11/11 Revolution in Egypt on Friday

Supposedly after Friday's prayers which are a few hours away , a so-called revolution or protests or uprising of 11/11 will erupt against the current Egyptian regime because of its so-called economic policies.

The graffiti of the so-called revolution "Reuters" 

As usual, Downtown Cairo is locked down and famous Sadat metro station in Downtown is closed as usual. The ambulance authorities
For months , the pro-regime media has been warning the Egyptian people of participating in the 11/11 protests or so-called revolution which seemed to be an orphaned call with no political powers claiming it.
Suddenly , those calls for protests appeared from nowhere whether online or offline.
All the opposition/Pro-January 25/Pro-Democratic political powers and parties stated that they won't participate or call the people to join those protests.

Independent revolutionary activists also denied any relation with those calls appearing online and offline. At the same time,  people from the working class began to speak about.
Pro-Muslim Brotherhood supporters seemed to support the call for 11/11 protests  , they always support any calls for protests against the regime jumping into the wagon without knowing who is behind.

Same thing when it comes to the Pro-Muslim Brotherhood media from websites , Facebook pages and TV channels.
Many activists actually suspected the 11/11 revolution or protests call was a trap by the security to crackdown protests and political powers.

And ElBaradei is speaking up about what happened in summer 2013

Recently , Egypt's former VP Mohamed ElBaradei has been very active on his twitter account criticizing directly and indirectly what is happening in Egypt. As usual , the Pro-regime media slams him spreading lies about him day and night.
There is nothing new about that but something happened on Tuesday turning the table upside down.
On Tuesday afternoon, ElBaradei issued a long statement on his official Facebook page in Arabic slamming the Pro-regime media directly and the regime indirectly.
In his statement ,the former vice-president spoke about his role starting 3 July until 14 August 2013 including his short time as the vice president of interim president Adly Mansour.
Here is the statement after the break.

The return of Mubarak living dead week !!

It was not only Ahmed Ezz or Hussein Salem who had a comeback last week , it seems that most of Mubarak cronies above them the controversial officials are back to public life shamelessly.

Amr Adeeb hosted on Sunday Mubarak's minister of planning Osman Mohamed Osman in Ahmed Nazif's cabinet who wrote an op-ed in Al-Masry Al-Youm Daily "Just like Ezz" suggesting the cancellation of subsidies.

Speaking about the cancellation of subsidies "which Adeeb advocates in his show and actually IMF demands El-Sisi to do" , Osman said  something that is very interesting.

Mubarak on 6 October waving for his fans
at Maadi hospital in Cairo "AP"

He says that the person who earns LE 20 "$2" per day in Egypt is not poor !!
In the same moment , he said that those who earned LE 16 "$1.6" per day are living under the poverty line according to the official US exchange rate in banks on Sunday "USD 1 = LE 8.88"
He forgot that the price of US dollar in the black market reached this week to LE 14.30 as far as I have heard!!
There was a joke on social media that soon after hosting Osman and Salem , Adeeb would host Suzanna Mubarak.

Former PM Ahmed Nazif is back to teaching at Cairo University and according to Youm 7 Sources he is going to supervise the post-graduates' studies in the faculty of engineering.

Look who is back to the Media scene in Egypt

The last two weeks witnessed huge and interesting acquisitions and merger in TV channels to the level that we are speaking about a media map that is being reshaped and as this takes place , we find a new or rather old face from Mubarak's era coming back making a surprise for everybody.
Suddenly , huge billboards in Cairo and Giza are seen with the ads of the new weekly newspaper Al-Zaman and her owner as well editor-in-chief Elham Sharshar , the wife of former and infamous interior minister Habib El-Adly.

The billboard of Al-Zaman newspaper and its owner Elham Sharshar

Yes , the wife of the Mubarak's long-time interior minister is having a comeback in the media with a weekly newspaper that defends Islam scared beliefs and places as well the nation !!!
The newspaper is pure Pro-Sisi and Pro-regime. You can not doubt that.

Al-Zaman newspaper 

Egyptian websites and newspapers are speaking that she would open a TV channel as well.
Elham Sharshar was a journalist in State-owned Al-Ahram Daily newspaper in its Crime section.
I do not remember reading anything significant for her before the revolution.
Already , the first I knew that she was the wife of El-Adly when she appeared on the cover of Nisf Al-Donia Magazine in some first lady pose. "I can not find that cover online"

Talk to me about corruption in Egypt in time of Mubarak

This very important news or rather saga that came at the same of the fifth anniversary of the 25 January and it is a reminder to all of us on why the revolution happened in Egypt on 25 January, the national day of police in Egypt.
On 28 January 2016, we found news spreading throughout the news websites that the state restored back LE 178 Million in the ministry of interior corruption scandal that goes back to 2011.
The news goes like that: The public fund prosecution lifted 80 names of state officials from the travel ban list after returning back LE 178 Million back to the state. The state officials in that list are mostly from the ministry of interior in Mubarak's time.
In statements to Al-Masry Al-Youm that to be denied later, the investigative judge assigned to the case stated that those 80 officials returned back the LE 178 million after proving that they got it legally as "Rewards and bonuses" and that there was no criminal evidence against them.
Okay if they were legal "rewards and bounces", why would they return back !?
You must know that in the original case that is resurfacing in a very unexpected time speaks about state officials working in the ministries of finance, transportation, interior and the Accountability State Authority "ASA" who are accused of their influence to acquire gains amounting to LE 1 billion illegally during the time of Mubarak.
Anyhow from those former state officials, there are 73 officials from the ministry of interior alone. 17 names stand out above them the former minister of interior Habib El-Adly.
Among other names we got the following:

• Former high state security police general Mohsen El-Faham returned to the state LE 37,540,313. El-Faham who is related to late Omar Suleiman is currently the leader of a new Pro-regime /Pro-Military party called "The Homeland's Guardian" which got 17 seats in the House of Representatives. An anti-25 January revolution advocate, El-Faham claims that he got all that money as bounces !!

Remembering #Jan28 in 2016 : A total different experience

Many Egyptians commemorated the fifth anniversary of the 28 January 2011 online, the true day of the Egyptian revolution in the 21st century to be precise and honestly, it was different this year.
It was different thanks to those tiny yet strong boys and their 1.59-minutes video that was the talk of Egypt in the past 48 hours.
Thanks to that campaign against Shady Hussein and Ahmed Malek in the media, most of the 25 January supporters remembered all those unbelievable moments on the 28 January 2011 where the Egyptian people revolted against Mubarak's security forces.
People saw the old faces that used the revolution in the 18 days are having a comeback to slam Shady and Ahmed and memories of those days were back.
Videos and photos were shared madly like fire as #Jan28 hashtag on twitter was trending for many hours in Egypt. People shared photos and memories of that Friday of rage from all Egypt, from all governorates attacking the ministry of interior reminding it that they have not forgotten .. nor forgiven.
The political powers and parties did not commemorate the Day of Rage and its martyrs nor did they organize any related event.
Egypt's minister of defense Sobhi Sedky visited Tahrir square only to check the security measures there.
Already army units have been protecting it since last week.
There was only one Pro-Sisi supporter holding a banner in Tahrir square on Thursday congratulating the Egyptian police for its day on 28 January and the police was standing against the Muslim Brotherhood and terrorism.

Pro-Sisi supporter in Tahrir square on 28 January !! 

Still few blocks away, a small family from Giza stood alone to commemorate the #Jan28 and its martyrs in a silent stand on Kasr Al-Nil bridge which witnessed an epic battle between protesters and security forces.

The family on Kasr Al Nil
reminding the people with Jan28

That small family is the family of Sabah "Um Ali" and her children Sara and Ali.

Mr. President , I beg to differ !!

In an interview on CNN aired on Monday with Wolf Blitzer, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi said that Egypt “enjoyed unprecedented freedom of expression”.

I do not want to exaggerate but I want to assure that Egypt enjoys  unprecedented freedom in the media. No one in the Press or TV was barred.   It has never happened in my presidential term that someone was held accounted for what he said whether a journalists or not.

I highly and seriously beg to differ.
It is true that officially the Presidency does not get involve in harassing the journalists and non-journalists from prominent figures expressing opposite views to the regime. The President’s loyal supporters from newspapers owners, channels owners as well journalists and TV hosts do that.
We have a lot of examples.
Starting with Bassem Youssef whose show “AlBernmag” was stopped after one episode from the after the Presidential elections then he was fined LE 50 millions.

If we got unprecedented press freedom
why are not those guys on TV ? 

third season in 2014 on Saudi-owned MBC Misr
Youssef said loud and proud that he would not accept to lower AlBernmag show’s ceiling so he could have once again on air.
Now Bassem Youssef is living abroad and could not come back to Egypt to the level of missing his own father’s funeral and burial for fear he would be arrested.
Youssef wrote in Arabic why he did not want to come back mentioning how journalists are harassed in Egypt for expressing their opinions in a long reply on a Facebook post by writer Samer Amr Atef on why he does not come back. 
Close to presidency journalists like Ahmed Moussa and Mostafa Bakry as well El-Sisi supporters were happy that Bassem Youssef’s show was cancelled and continue to attack accusing him of being a traitor.
FYI according to the alleged Sisi leaks, Sisi’s office in the ministry of defense was annoyed from that “boy”.
TV host Reem Magued’s TV show was cancelled on ONTV after two episodes only because the guests spoke about January revolution. The channel claims that it was about the ratings, but everybody knows it is untrue.
In the end, she resigned from the TV channel.
TV host Yosri Fouda’s popular and successful TV show was ended or cancelled to be accurate because of pressure according to the ONTV founder and owner Naguib Sawiris.
TV host Dina Abdel Rahman’s TV show was cancelled as well on CBC TV channel.
None of those TV hosts was approached by any Egyptian TV channels because they are branded to be Pro-Jan25 TV hosts who dare to criticize the government and the regime.

Sisi pardons 100 “youth” imprisoned in protest law-related cases including Fahmy and Sanaa

Egyptian Presidency announced earlier Wednesday that Abdel Fattah El-Sisi pardoned 100 “youth” imprisoned in protest law- related cases and charges including Sanaa Seif and Yara Sallam as well.

اصدر الرئيس قرار رقم 386 لسنة 2015 بالعفو عن مائة من الشباب المحبوسين في قضايا تتعلق بخرق قانون التظاهر وبعض الحالات الانسانية والمرضية.

— Abdelfattah Elsisi (@AlsisiOfficial) September 23, 2015

The president has issued the decision No.386 for year 2015 to pardon 100 detained in cases related to Protest law violations as well some of the humanitarian and sick cases.

The pardon includes Al-Jazeera staff, Mohamed Fadel Fahmy and Baher Mohamed. I think Fahmy will be deported to Canada.

Baher Mohamed and Mohamed Fahmy "Reuters"

I am happy that Baher Mohamed will return to his cute kids.
The pardon also included the 33 activists and protesters imprisoned in the Presidential palace case including Sanaa Seif and Yara Sallem.

A New Minister of Justice , More Controversial Than the Old one

I do not know how they think at the presidency, but they surely do not think straight. Earlier today it was announced that Judge Ahmed El-Zend, the head of Judges’ Club as the new minister of justice replacing Mahfouz Saber who resigned after his classist statements. The irony is that Ahmed El-Zend is classist and controversial more than Saber.

Sisi and Zend "Egyptian presidency" 

Many people are shocked that El-Zend was chosen for this position but actually I believe appointing him means that the government exposes its  true anti-Jan25 agenda knowing El-Zend political views and statements. Already we should not forget that El-Zend represented the opposite current supported by Mubarak’s regime in the Judges Club against the Reformists judges in the first place.
Now this post celebrates El-Zend’s most controversial statements in the past couple of years  :

• Judges want Islamic Sharia “ February 2012”

In a meeting with Salafist preacher Mohamed Hassan at Judges Club in Cairo , El-Zend stated that the judges in Egypt were dying to have Islamic Sharia fully implemented in Egypt but they do not have a legislative power.

• The United States is a “dirty” country and Egypt should stop the visit of foreign delegations 

After ousting Morsi in July 2013 , there were many visits to Egypt by foreign delegations from African Union and European Union. This did not make El-Zend happy and so he called SCAF then to stop those foreign delegations from entering the country. He also called the United States as a "dirty"  country in an interview on CBC TV channel. I can find the video but the websites covered his statements.

• The Holy March of Judges’ children in Judiciary “September 2013”

In a meeting at the Judges club in Monufia , El-Zend criticized those who spoke about nepotism in judiciary describing them as envious. He also added that nobody would stop that holy March of Judges’ children.

Notes on a Historical verdict

Today an Egyptian Criminal court made another history as it sentenced for the first time an Egyptian president to death.
Oh yes and this is what I am going to speak about , about short notes and facts in the Morsi’s prison escape and espionage trials on Saturday where he was sentenced to death.

• Mohamed Morsi is the first Egyptian president sentenced preliminary to death in modern

  

  By Khalil Al-Baih 

  Egypt.
• Mohamed Morsi is the first Elected Egyptian president sentenced preliminary to death.
• This is  a preliminary death sentence as the Judges in court asks the grand Mufti of Egypt to revise the case according to the law to see if the defendants should be executed according to Islamic Sharia.
• The grand Mufti’s decision is not binding to the judges
• If the grand Mufti agrees with the judges that those defendants should be executed then the court will uphold the verdict finally.
• Because this is case involves a death sentence, there will be an appeal and a retrial which is expected in our case here like other cases involved death sentences and Muslim Brotherhood leading figures.
• The case  involves Mohamed Morsi and 105 other defendants including defendants who stood a trial in an absentia.
• The case involves members of Hezbollah Lebanese militant group and political party as well members of Hamas Palestinian militant group.
• The Prosecution in the case believes that Lebanese Shia Hezbollah is part of the international organization of the Muslim Brotherhood !!!
• The Convicted defendants facing death sentence in Cairo include two deceased Palestinians and another imprisoned Palestinian !!
• The Palestinians who are facing death sentences in Morsi’s jailbreak case are : Hossam El-Sanae “ A member of the Islamic Jihad who was killed in an Israeli attack in 2008” , Tayseer Abu Snema “ A member of Hamas who was killed in an Israeli attack in 2011” and Hassan Salama “ Currently serving endless life sentences in Israel since 1996”
• When confronted with those facts about the Palestinian defendants , Judge Shaaban El-Shamy “who made history in this trial for real” told press that it was not his “business” as we do not have official evidence in Egypt regarding the status of those guys !!
• Political sciences professor Emad Shahin , who is sentenced to death in “espionage” case is not a Muslim Brotherhood member contrary to what is claimed in the media. Here is Shahin’s statement on his official website. Here is the statement from FB account as I see now his website is down.

Posted by Emad Shahin on Saturday, May 16, 2015

• Emad Shahin’s students in the AUC launched on Twitter and Facebook a solidarity campaign with their professor who is currently in the United States.On Facebook it is #SolidarityWithProfShahin and on Twitter it is also #SolidarityWithProfShahin

Of course the question remains here: If Morsi was in the eyes of the state and security authorities as well the army a fugitive, why they let him run for presidency and win the elections ??? If Morsi and his brothers were in the eyes of that deep security state a fugitive, why then SCAF cooperated with them !? Please respect my mind as an adult who uses her brain and stop saying that the legendary Egyptian deep state wanted to expose the Muslim Brotherhood and other traitors in front of the public because this contradicts logic.
In the end I will quote Dr. Khaled Fahmy’s words about his colleague Dr.Emad Shahin because it is not only about his colleague but more about Egypt and how I honestly feel right now.

“As a student of modern Egyptian history, I can hardly think of a darker day in Egypt’s recent past. Sadly, with all signs showing the regime determined to stay the course, more ominous days lie ahead.”

I can not say anything more. I am so tired. I will speak later about Morsi’s jailbreak case.

Reem Magued’s Show suspended on ONTV after two episodes only

TV host Reem Magued’s new TV show discussing social and feminist issues has been suspended by orders of authorities in Egypt after only two episodes on ONTV.
It started Friday afternoon when news hit the internet that ONTV will suspend the broadcast of the show. The news was confirmed by tweets from ONTV TV host Lilane Dauod.

وتأمر "الجهات" بايقاف برنامج ريم ماجد #جمع_مؤنث_سالم . ليوضح لنا عاقل ما يحدث والى اين سيقود. #مصر

— liliane daoud ليليان (@liliandaoud) May 15, 2015

“Authorities” order the suspension of Reem Magued’s show “Feminine plural”. We would like some “sane” explain to us what is happening and where that would lead us in Egypt.

One of my friends is from Reem’s producers and he confirmed the news to me. At the same time channel Albert Shafik refused to comment during then.

almost all news websites in Egypt confirmed the news unofficially. The head of the TV

Pro-25 January revolution renowned TV host Reem Magued returned back to Television after a long absence. Since July 2013, Reem Magued took a bold decision to suspend her Night news Talk show on ONTV. Reem Magued supports freedoms and 25 January revolution. It is known to everybody. She used to participate in protests against military trials for civilians.

Early May Reem Magued returned back to TV with a new brand TV show discussing feminist issues and highlighting amazing and bright examples of Egyptian women. The TV show is produced by German DW-Arabic service in cooperation with ONTV. The TV show is aired on DW-Arabic and then is re-aired on ONTV.

So far Reem Magued presented two amazing episodes from that show.

Her guest in the first episode was Shahira Mehrez , the famous Egyptian folklorist and researcher. Mehrez spoke about her life and the history of women’s traditional clothes. There was no direct talk about politics except when Shahira Mehrez said in the end of the episode that the 25 January revolution day was the best day in her long life. I can not forget how Mehrez looked when she said that last word.

The guest in the second episode with Al-Masry Al-Youm talented photographer Eman Helal who recorded Egypt’s toughest moments on her camera in the past 4 years. Eman Helal spoke about women photojournalists as well her experience as photojournalist during the 25 January revolution.
Helal also described the toughest moments she witnessed in the dispersal of Pro-Morsi Rabaa sit-in.

Some say that this was the real reason why the show was suspended on ONTV. Nobody should speak about Rabaa massacre on Egyptian TV channels.
I am going to post both episodes below.

The return of the living dead in Egypt !!!

It is very promising and very cheerful when you read n the newspapers and websites that Gamal Mubarak has visited the pyramids plateau with his wife Khadija El-Gamal, his little daughter Farida and his big Nikon D4 I think.

Gamal Mubarak with his daughter Farida and wife Khadija
"Source: Youm7"

It is very provoking actually because you remember at the same time thousands of Egyptian young protesters and activists who revolted again him and his father are currently in jail like Alaa Seif, Ahmed Douma, Mohamed Adel and Ahmed Maher as well Sanaa Seif and a long list of young men and girls.
Anyhow there is sudden insistence from the Mubarak boys whether Alaa or Gamal to resurface in Egypt’s social scene once again since their release pending their trials. They appeared first in early April while attending the memorial service of famous Pro-Military journalist Mustafa Bakery’s mother at none other than Omar Makram mosque in the heart of Tahrir square in some sad irony.

When Good Middle Class boys become Bad and Join IS !!

And once again Islam Yaken is back to the news and media in Egypt. Last week the New York Times published an interesting profile and video report about ISIS hipster Egyptian spokesperson Islam Yaken and his life in Egypt featuring two of his friends and once again the debate on why the good Middle Class boys join the Islamic State militant group is back.

Yeah we are back to this old debate.

Of course it did not stop at the NY Time’s feature as IS’ PR media machine could not waste this opportunity. From couple of days ago Yaken announced on his twitter account that one of his close friends in Egypt  joined him in ISIS.

Islam and Mahmoud , Now and then
2010 in Cairo and 2015 in Levant 

That friend is yet another good middle class boy 24-years old Mahmoud Ghandour who joined Yaken in their pseudo-caliphate.The faculty of law graduate and the former football referee in the second degree football league in Egypt appeared in the NY Times video in the 2:97 minute where he and Yakan spoke about women.

Interestingly El-Ghandour was known to journalists who were doing profiles and reports about the ISIS social media face Yaken as he had a contact with his friend.

Despite he appeared not to having a problem in speaking to journalists at first, he said he did not want to speak later to them. He even warned and advised them to stay away from him and from Islam.
A quick bio about Yaken based on his social media profiles , he used to be a normal Egyptian Middle Class young man who loved music and women till Mid 2013 when he began to share Pro-IS views.

ElBaradei speaks about Arab Spring

Here is the lecture of former Vice President Mohamed ElBaradei about the Arab Spring and its lessons at Fletcher school in the United States from couple of days ago

He speaks about Arab Spring and what happened to it from ups and downs or mainly down especially in Egypt.

I can't say anything more than what he said.

By the way the Pro-regime and Pro-Military media are still attacking him day and night labelling him as agent. The fact that he speaks in public lectures abroad makes many people go coco for real back in Egypt. I mean scrolling down the El-Sisi supporters' timeline on twitter tonight following the news of this lecture , I found out that they were spreading conspiracies that that lecture was a beginning for his return to Egypt to start a new revolution next 25 January 2015 !!!

I will not lie and say that I am not angry from ElBaradei for leaving the country when many including the same youth he speaks about in pride needed and still need him as a voice. Youth are angry and frustrated , they feel that they are being abondoned by older political generations including ElBaradei's generation.

I believe Elbaradei will come back to Egypt to remind the rest of the country specifically the regime and the army as well the rest of the old political powers including the Islamists to tell them " I told you so".

It is a media war "Apocalypse #Nov28"

It seems that we are going to have the apocalypse once again on Friday in Egypt at least according the mainstream media.

Tomorrow the Salafist Front "SF" will lead the Islamist youth including the Muslim Brotherhood in an Islamist Youth Uprising in order to restore Egypt's Islamic identity through protests all over the country after Friday prayers holding the Holy Quran.

Yes the SF wants to restore the Islamic identity of Egypt which was lost because of the foreign occupations and the remnants of those occupations aka the military rule of 1952.

I did short interview for work with Hisham Kamal , the spokesperson of the SF before his arrested and he told me that Egyptian people tried all the paths after January 25 revolution and failed ending up with a military coup so it was time to try an Islamic path.

Of course I do not understand how the majority of the people will take that path if they supported the ouster of Islamist Morsi and the designation of the MB as a terrorist organization. I do not know how the SF will achieve that path in the first place. Are we going to have an Iranian scenario ?

The MB joined the protests despite there were rumors today that the banned group would call the day off but the brotherhood proves to be stupid after all.

For God sake the Al-Gama'a Al-Islamiyaa , the former true militant group that terrorized people for ages rejected the protests for fear it will increas polarization in the society.

Watch CPJ's Under threat : Egyptian press in peril

New York based Committee to Protect Journalists "CPJ" released that short documentary about Press in Egypt now. It is called "Under threat : Egyptian press in peril". I highly recommend watching it.

The documentary's title is perfect to describe the situation of press and media in general now in Egypt. They are in peril.

There is something being cooked when it comes to media right now. First we got the meeting of the major newspapers editors in Chief from couple of weeks ago. They announced that they would support the state. Second we got the meeting of the private newspapers' editors in chief who declared that they would form some sort of a chamber. I do not understand the role of that chamber to be honest. I feel that there is something being cooked and its smell is not good.

Of course some of you have known that Le Monde Diplomatique editor Alain Gresh was detained earlier today in Cairo for couple of hours along Egyptian journalists Sara Khorshid and Reem Khorshid because they were speaking about political affairs in Le Poire Cafe in Garden City near the British Embassy. They were arrested after being reported by some lady sitting in the cafe who heard them talk about politics in Egypt and went mad on how they dare to speak about politics. It is more than alarming. Again hours laters Greshe and the Khorshid sisters were released. The ministry of interior apologizd to the Le Monde Diplomatique editor but damage has been done.

What happened today to Gresh and the Khorshids is a result of the Pro-regime's incitement media. It is just sad.

Great days !!!

 

Bassem Youssef speaks about the Naked Emperor

In very short but straight to the point words, Bassem Youssef spoke in the Oslo Freedom Forum 2014. You must see it.

When I think about I believe that Youssef's show was not stopped only because it spoke about the emporer and his clothes , it was stopped also because what Bassem referred in his short word in Oslo as a sorry excuse for media in Egypt was exposed to the world. Bassem exposed the propaganda of the regime in Egypt and that was enough reason to shut him down in all possible ways.

This year the Oslo Freedom Forum had really interesting set of speakers from the Middle East like Bassem Youssef and Iyad El-Baghdadi.

God knows how much Bassem Youssef and his team are missed these days.

Bassem Youssef spoke last month in UC Berkeley and he said that he was not Nelson Mandela.He also added he suspended the show because he cared for his family's safety. Youssef is not Mandela but he is one of those kids that laughed at how the emperor was naked when all the town was afraid and God knows the future insh Allah is for those kids.