المحروسة

On Abdel-Fattah al-Banna - the new Antiquities Minister

2011-07-18T10:43:00.003+02:00

Yesterday we heard the delightful news that Zahi Hawass had resigned from the Ministry of Antiquities - something many Egyptians had long been waiting to hear. It was about time the Mubarak of Antiquities, who had been head of the SCA for over 10 years, be removed.

However when I heard about his replacement, Abdel Fattah el-Banna, I was shocked. I first heard about el-Banna post Jan25 when he appeared several times protesting against Zahi Hawass. He had a group of followers, mostly fresh archaeology graduates, and others who had an interest in Egyptian archaeology, that I saw several times outside of the SCA building in Zamalek. His dislike of Zahi was obvious and there were always chants calling for Zahi's resignation. Unfortunately though it seems that el-Banna is somewhat crazy. A month or 2 after the ouster of Mubarak, I heard that a group of Egyptians with an interest in protecting Egypt's antiquities were surrounding the villa of American Egyptologist Mark Lehner. They were claiming that Mark was hiding antiquities inside. Mark is a very well-known and respected Egyptologist who has worked in Egypt for a very long time. His has done extremely important work in Giza especially with the worker's settlement there. He also organizes a yearly field-school for Egyptian archeologists that offers them a great opportunity to train in proper archaeological techniques - something that many Egyptian archaeologists would never have had the chance to do. I myself worked with Mark in Luxor on one of his fieldschools and saw how beneficial his work is to Egypt.
So when el-Banna spearheads a campaign to discredit Mark and claim that he is dealing in, or hiding Egyptian antiquities inside his dig-house in Haram, then I have to automatically cross-out el-Banna as credible. el-Banna even threatened to barge into the dig-house with his 'followers' to reclaim what was inside. Apart from that he has been campaigning tirelessly to be instated as the new antiquities minister - again another bad sign. It is obvious that in his strive for power, he will do anything, such as launching an attack on a respected Egyptologist's villa.
Although I sincerely believe that whoever should head the SCA should be someone far removed from the Egyptology sector (and el-Banna is a conservator not an Egyptologist) since most of those working in Egyptology have been corrupted by Zahi, I strongly disagree with the choice of el-Banna. However, I am also not in favour of the 'general strike' being called for by staff in the SCA because those calling for this strike are people who were very close to Zahi and benefited immensly from him. They are no doubt worried about their positions after el-Banna takes over and are only fighting to hold on to the corrupt benefits they were able to attain under Zahi. They have no interest in Egyptian antiquities and could not care less about the credentials of el-Banna. They simply want someone that will allow them to hold on to their positions, and obviously Banna will not do this. Where were these same people, that are now taking mass action, when Zahi was in power and his corruption was known to all?

STOP Amer Group!

2011-06-27T18:49:00.008+02:00

We are all too familiar with the construction giant 'Amer Group' and the monstrosities they create to haunt us forever - their Porto-horrors. At Porto Sokna, along the red sea, the construction company have made it a point to completely block any surrounding mountains from view. Instead of gazing into the beautiful mountainous landscape of the eastern desert you are forced to stare at these horrendous giant pink pyramids with thousands of rooms. They seem to have been intentionally built for that purpose - to overcome the landscape of the area and be completely out of harmony. There is no construction that could have been more unfit for a beautiful place by the sea, with prominent mountains. Simplicity, harmony, environment are terms that have no place in the vocabulary of 'Amer Group'. They identify more with butchery and destruction.

Their other disasters are their portos along the Mediterranean coast which go hand in hand with the rest of the butchery that has been ongoing there for the past decade. Again they have built huge constructions that are completely out of harmony with the nature of the sea and its surrounding landscape. Again, they have created eyesore after eyesore that harm our eyes, the environment and no doubt the Roman archaeological remains in the vicinity.

But they are not stopping there. Today, we learn that 'Amer group' will go ahead with two new projects - Porto Fayoum and Porto Pyramids

Quoted from the article:

Porto Pyramids, with capital worth 5 million Egyptian pounds ($838,900), will develop a 102,000 square-metre project including 240 residential villas near the Pyramids of Giza, the paper said.

The other Egyptian-based firm, called Porto Fayoum, with 10 million pounds of capital, plans to begin a resort on 2.7 million square metres in Fayoum, south of Cairo, by the end of 2011, according to al-Borsa.

Although it is unclear how close Porto Pyramids will actually be to the pyramids of Giza, the fact that they have a view of the pyramids is already too close. At the same time, I am sure many will share my sentiment that any more 'portos', no matter where they are located have no place in Egypt anymore. Building a monstrosity like these 'portos' anywhere near archaeological sites is a catastrophe that has to be stopped.

The same goes for Porto Fayoum where 'Amer Group' is planning to build one of its huge complexes on the northern shores of Lake Qarun, on top of a neolithic site! If this project goes ahead as planned, it will completely destroy the unique environment and landscape of this magnificent place and endanger its wildlife. It will also ruin the remains of Neolithic sites scattered along the shores of the lake and that were inhabited 9000 years ago. Excavations at these sites are still helping scholars piece together what Neolithic life in ancient Egypt was like and no other area in Egypt has as yet offered so much information.

Amer Group HAS to be stopped. Enough with these greedy, selfish businessmen who will stop at nothing to make money. They have no conscience, no regard for the landscape, the environment, nature, and definitely no appreciation of our cultural heritage which they are more than happy to destroy. The group has to be taken to court and tried for its crimes.

And finally, where is Zahi Hawass in all of this? The all so-divine Minister of Antiquities, who "cannot live without antiquities, and antiquities cannot live without him"? Oh sorry, he's busy trying out his new clothing line and seeing if it goes well with his hat. Or maybe he's busy chasing mummies - quite difficult tasks he has at hand. Or making new 'discoveries' or falsifying history or.....the list goes on. Of course our mini-mubarak of antiquities doesn't have time to save archaeological sites from destruction - he only has time to blab about how great he is and how he is gods gift to 'OUR' antiquities (not his) - something he always tends to forget.

These antiquities are MINE you Egyptian bastards!

Tarek Shalaby Arrested!

2011-05-16T20:26:00.003+02:00

Last night, my brother Tarek Shalaby, was arrested by the Egyptian army along with 10's of others from in front of the Israeli Embassy in Giza. Yesterday marked the commemoration of the Palestinian Nakba, and many Egyptians were out protesting in solidarity with the Palestinians against the Zionist entity. The demonstrations quickly turned ugly, when army and riot police started firing tear gas, rubber bullets and pellet shots at the demonstrators. Tarek was taken later that night and live streamed his arrest through his phone which he managed to hide in his shirt pocket. Later the phone was switched off and there was no way of communicating with him throughout the night. Friends of his at the scene told us they had seen him being pushed into a CSF truck, and that the trucks with the detainees had driven away from the embassy. In the morning, we were advised to go to the Military Prosecutor in Nasr City. When we got there, the soldiers at the gate told us that the detainees from the 'embassy' were no longer being held there and that they had been taken downtown to the Public Prosecutor in Bab el-Khalk. However, friends asked there and found that they had not in fact been taken there. It was only when we accidentally bumped into a military officer, that he told us that the 'embassy' people had been taken to the military detention facility - Hykestep, because there had been no space for them at the Military Prosecutor's in Nasr City. We however had to obtain stamped permission to visit him at the detention facility - something we managed to do after a 3 hour wait. We finally got to the Hykestep, and after long negotiations with a very arrogant military officer, we were able to go in for a visit.

We actually only saw Tarek for about 5 mins, but he was in high spirits, much to our relief. He was wearing these blue overalls, which he thought were quite amusing, and told us that he had been treated well so far. They had arrived at the Hykestep at around 10 am and were immediately questioned by the prosecutor. They were then told that they would be taken to court the next day. Tarek was pretty optimistic that they would be released in a matter of days. A friend of his, Mosab, was also there with him, and seemed to be holding up pretty well. However, a 3rd detainee, Sadaty, was not doing too well. It was obvious from the bruises on his face that he had been beaten up pretty badly. He also looked quite terrified and was crying non-stop.

Overall we are not exactly sure what will happen next. From the beginning of this ordeal, nothing whatsoever has been clear or transparent. We had to run around the city in order to find out where he was being held, and no one at these military facilities offered any kind of assistance (although the soliders at the Hykestep were quite cooperative and friendly). However, until now we do not know anything about what procedures are followed, and what we should except next. But inshallah we are optimistic that Tarek and the rest of those that bravely protested at the Israeli embassy will be released soon.

Muhammed Radwan Arrested

2011-03-26T23:02:00.003+02:00

My cousin Muhammed Radwan @battutta has been arrested by the brutal Syrian regime. They claim that he has been receiving money in exchange for sending photos and videos from Syria. They also accuse him of being connected to Israel and of being in contact with a Columbian who took the photos and videos from him for 100 LE! These are all blatant lies. Mohammed is an engineer who has lived in Damascus for about a year and has never been to Israel. He was in contact with a Columbian journalist who works for a radio - therefore they do not need photos. The Syrian regime is just like all the other authoritarian regimes in the Middle East that fabricate stories and arrest innocent people just to cling on to power. To hell with Bashar el-Asad and his bloody regime.

State Security Officials Exposed

2011-03-11T08:31:00.009+02:00

Two DVDs with photos of State Security officers were found by Hossam el-Hamalawy when protesters stormed the headquarters of the notorious State Security building in Madinat Nasr last Saturday. These photos have been uploaded by Hossam onto flickr here and here, and will hopefully get as much exposure as possible. As Hossam writes: "Each member of SS has to be brought to justice. This was an agency devoted to spying, surveillance, torture and murder. Every member of this organization from the informer all the way up to the generals should be prosecuted. SS has to be dissolved. It cannot be "restructured" like what the current PM is calling for."
I sincerely hope that one day all these pigs will get what they deserve, and exposing them is just the first step.
As I browsed through the pictures, I was really dumbfounded by the number of officers who have prayer marks on their foreheads (zibeeba). Hypocrisy really has no limits with people who torture and murder for a living.

This picture was also interesting: The army and the SS, one hand together?

That's A LOT of State Security officers. And to think they are still roaming around freely is scary.

Oh, there's another zibeeba person. This guy actually has two!

These photos speak for themselves. They are all part of the same system:

Thanks Hossam for finding this treasure trove. We need to go get them one by one.

Protest at the Supreme Council of Antiquities

2011-02-15T02:12:00.003+02:00

Around 200 archaeologists gathered today at the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) in Zamalek to protest corruption, low wages and lack of contracts. They had a list of demands they were hoping to present to the newly appointed minister of Egypt's Antiquities, Zahi Hawass, but failed to do so when he slid out of the building from a side door to avoid confrontation with the protesters. An army tank showed up at the front door of the SCA building at around 4pm, and about a half hour later, Hawass had left the building.
Although the protesters grievances were mostly focused on low wages and lack of jobs, there were chants against Zahi Hawass himself, whom they see as a self-promoting dictator of antiquities, as well as chants against the rampant corruption that plagues the SCA institution. The protesters decided to give their list of demands to the army in hope that they would follow through - these included 1. Prosecuting Zahi Hawass for corruption and accountability for the theft of 18 masterpieces from the Cairo Museum 2. Demanding a minimum wage of 1200 LE 3. Demanding jobs for new graduates

The Sphinx-less Avenue, Fabricated Luxor

2010-12-17T17:36:00.012+02:00

We have to congratulate Samir Farag, the Governor of Luxor, for his tremendous work in creating Disney-Luxor. I was there just about 2 weeks ago and was lucky enough to be able to walk along the newly uncovered 3 km sphinx-less avenue that connects the Luxor temple in the south, to the Karnak temple further north. Here are some of the photos I took:

The paving and sphinxes are all reconstructions; they were not there last year

Not a single sphinx appearing in this hole; Luxor temple in the background

Bases of the sphinxes are visible in this hole, but no sphinxes (this is actually what the whole avenue looked like when it was uncovered); 100-yr old church in the background earmarked for demolition

This entire empty space used to be a residential area. All the houses were demolished.

Another stretch of the avenue being rebuilt (notice the non-existent sphinxes) after everything in its way was destroyed. You can see the doomed church and the Luxor temple in the background

More reconstructed sphinxes can be seen in this photo, and we actually have some original paving. You can make out the Luxor temple in the background, but can you imagine walking along this avenue in the summer heat? bad idea.

This is the final stretch of the avenue. You can make out the Karnak temple in the background where there is a crane.

And finally a view of the whole avenue looking towards the Luxor temple, with my back to the Karnak temple. The number of houses that were destroyed for Disney-Luxor must have been quite significant to say the least.

This ludricious undertaking, spear-headed by Samir Farag, is all part of his open-air museum vision for the city of Luxor - a vision that I find to be extremely harmful to Egypt's rich heritage and which also has had negative effects on the city's local residents. From an archaeological point of view, this project is a disaster. No clean and proper archaeological methods were used to uncover the avenue - the governor prefered to use bulldozers and in the process successfully destroyed an enormous amount of archaeological data that would have undoubtedly added to our knowledge of the city's history. Not to mention of course the amount of damage the bulldozers must have done to the sphinxes themselves.

In addition, to this, there has also been a systematic removal of the city's 19th century architecture. I myself saw the destruction of several beautiful mudbrick houses that dared to be in the way of the avenue, and which were torn down without any hesitation on the part of the authorities. These houses in themselves represent a significant part of the history of the city and it's local architecture - they cannot just be removed without even proper documentation. More and more of these old houses and villas will most certainly be destroyed, until a significance part of Luxor's history will just have been effectively erased. An early 20th c. mosque was removed, and a church will be next.

The local residents themselves are being thrown out of their own city. Those who were unfortunate enough to live in the area where the avenue runs have lost their homes and have been forced to move to areas at the city's outskirts. It is no surprise that the governor wants to hide the 'offending' locals from the poor tourist who is only here to see ancient things.

The fact that none of the sphinxes, or the avenue itself has even survived, makes this endevour even more ridiculous. There is nothing there to preserve in the first place! I would have maybe understood if a small part of the avenue was exposed and preserved as an example of what had existed before, but to uncover 3 km of a completely destroyed avenue and have it completely rebuilt, is essentially what people in Disney-land do - it shouldn't be happening here. Plus, what is the use of the avenue now? So people can walk along it and suffer sun-stroke? In antiquity, it had a purpose - a religious one, and there was therefore a need for it. What kind of purpose will it serve now?

What is happening in Luxor today is a massacre of it's history - a history that has been manipulated and fabricated by those who believe that history ends with the end of the ancient Egyptians. But this is not and will never be the case. One individual with absurd and fantastical ideas should not have sole power or authority to reconstruct a city's history according to his own vision. May god save us from any of his future visions.

Rebellion in the Neighbourhood

2010-08-19T16:50:00.002+02:00

I found this paper posted on the entrance to my building in Mohandeseen. It's calling on everyone to participate in a demonstration this Saturday, at our famed Medan - Medan Anas Ibn Malak - to protest rising fruit, vegetable and meat prices. They ask to boycott those 'greedy' fruit and vegetable vendors who have increased prices on everything irrationally. It's quite funny to see this in a neighbourhood where everyone seems to be going about their business unaware of what's happening elsewhere in the country. Always good to see some rebellious behaviour where least expected.

Lifeless Museum

2009-12-15T17:26:00.003+02:00

My article in al-Masry al-Youm about recent developments in Luxor:

Luxor--A few years ago a decision was made to turn the city of Luxor into an open-air museum and give it a complete make-over. Luxor is known for its extensive ancient history, having been one of the most important religious and administrative capitals of ancient Egypt. It boasts a large number of temples and tombs, both on its east and west bank, and is a hot spot for tourists from all over the world. Although Samir Farag, the governor of Luxor and mastermind of the city's development scheme, speaks continuously of his great achievements, many question his reasoning and wonder who the true beneficiaries of his scheme really are.

In 2007, as part of the governor's plan to beautify the city and preserve its ancient monuments, the historic village of Gourna had its residents forcibly removed and relocated to a modern residential area further north. The authorities argued that the village's 100-years old mud-brick houses were built on top of ancient Egyptian tombs that were being looted by the residents on a regular basis. Following the relocation, bulldozers were mobilized to tear down the houses and salvage what remained of the looted tombs. The decision to use bulldozers to level the homes contradicted what was meant to have been an effort by officials to protect and preserve these monuments.

Regarding their new homes, the relocated ex-Gourna residents have much to complain about. “The houses are all crammed together. We have no more space to raise livestock,” says one local resident, “now we must buy many things from the souk [market], when before we used to have our own chickens and we could bake our own bread.” Many cracks have already appeared in the walls and ceilings of their new homes, and many believe it is because the houses were built with very cheap material. “No one is happy about their situation here,” affirms the resident.

On the east bank, the situation is changing very rapidly as more and more buildings are being demolished. Part of the governor's plan in this part of the city is to give greater exposure to the approximately 3-kilometer avenue of sphinxes that had previously linked the Luxor temple with the Karnak temple further north. However, since it fell out of use by the Graeco-Roman period, over 2000 years of the city's history would need to be removed first to achieve this plan, though that clearly does not seem to concern the governor much.

The bulldozers are already busy at work. The area in front of the Luxor temple was recently cleared, with layers of historical property removed to uncover the sphinxes, of which only the bases remain. The use of bulldozers to uncover delicate antiquities is a process that is disapproved of by any credible archaeologist, since it results in the loss of important straigraphical information. To the east and west of where the avenue runs, old mud-brick houses with intricate woodwork were also demolished to provide more space for the avenue.

To the north of the Luxor temple, more demolition is underway in a large residential area behind the Evangelical Presbyterian Church and the Virgin Mary Church. The residents were given some monetary compensation and asked to look for alternative housing. “My apartment was worth more than LE 250,000 and I wasn't compensated for even half of that,” says Emad, a resident whose house was demolished recently, “now my family and I live in a rented apartment after we had owned a flat. Here, antiquities have always been more important than the people.”

The area's churches, historical property in their own right, have also become a subject of controversy. They lie directly in the line of the sphinx avenue, and would therefore have to be removed if the governor intends to fully realize his plan to uncover the entire length of the avenue. At present, only the areas surrounding the churches have been cleared away, and no official notification of demolition has been given to the churches. With the Virgin Mary Church having recently celebrated its 100-year anniversary, it's likely that the church will be adamant about preserving its spot in the city and its history, and will not be going anywhere anytime soon.

Numerous other parts of the city have also been destroyed or earmarked for destruction. These include one of two old classical-style villas that adorn the corniche near the Luxor temple. While the villa belonging to the Andraus family was spared, the other was swiftly torn down for no apparent reason. The 100-year old garden of the Chicago House, an important Egyptology center belonging to the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, was also truncated to make way for a wider corniche. Local media recently noted a LE 250 million figure allocated for the development of the Luxor corniche, leaving many of the poor residents baffled at how much money the government is able to spend on accommodating tourists while they are left to struggle and fend for themselves. The area around Karnak temple was also demolished a couple of years ago and a large piazza built in its place, with it's lack of shading or apparent function eventually driving tourists away.

Turning Luxor into an open-air museum, while an interesting concept, has in reality turned out to be a huge cost borne mostly by the city's inhabitants. It is development that does not take into account the needs of local residents, or ask for their input in "modernizing" their city. It only pushes them, forcibly, to the periphery where they will not be seen or heard. But is not the local population, and its homes, mosques and churches, many over 100 years old, as much a part of the city 's history as the dilapidated sphinxes? Perhaps, as seems to be the case in Luxor, history ends with the end of the ancient Egyptians.

It is difficult to imagine that even tourists would welcome the forcible relocation of residents or the razing of the old and charming architecture that once adorned the streets and alleys of Luxor. The result will eventually be a long uneventful avenue of sphinxes (ironically with no sphinxes), an open platform in front of the Karnak temple that is only good for sunburn, a gaping hole where the village Gourna was once a testament to the area’s local architecture, and hundreds of needless shops and bazaars. Luxor may perhaps one day become an open-air museum, but the concern is that it will be one that is bare, lifeless and uninviting.

Abandoned Cotton Factory in Qanatir

2009-10-31T22:29:00.005+02:00

Qanatir is home to one of the largest cotton factories in the delta, built in the early 20th century. It was closed down in 1995 and has been left to decay ever since. A few of the guards who have remained on site told us how important this factory was once to the city of Qanatir, producing very high quality Egyptian cotton. It was later with the introduction of synthetics onto the market, that Egyptian cotton was no longer as profitable and the government decided to close down the factory - much to the dismay of the workers and residents of Qanatir. The annexes of the factory follow the same style as the famous 'Qanatir khayreya' with very beautiful architectural elements. The factory itself houses a number of large machines that had been in use until the mid-1990's, and which the people we spoke to said were in perfectly good condition and could still be put to use today. Such a waste.

Porto Aswan

2009-09-17T08:31:00.005+02:00

An article in al-youm al-saba3 newspaper reports about a possible Porto Aswan opening up in Aswan! If anyone is familiar with the other Porto disasters in Ayn Sokhna and the North Coast, they will quickly realize that this would signal a complete destruction of Aswan's natural and archaeological heritage.

This is a photo showing Porto Ayn Sokna. Not only is it disgusting piece of architecture, it also completely covers the mountains behind it. It seems to have actually been built for that purpose - to hide the surrounding landscape. People who go to this resort will therefore see nothing but this ugly building which could not be more out of harmony with the place. So I'm assuming the same investor wishes to commit the same crime in Aswan. If this happens, this is going to be a really sad day not only for the residents of Aswan who have seen their beautiful landscape massacred over the years by greedy investors, but also for anyone who has been to Aswan and appreciates the calm beauty and the rich historical heritage of this ancient city.

Men wearing Galabiyas turned away at the museum

2009-08-08T13:02:00.003+03:00

Last week while I was on my way to work in the morning I noticed about 8 men standing at the security entrance that leads you to the main gate of the Cairo Museum. They were all wearing galabiyas and were obviously being denied entry into the museum by the police officers at the security gates. This is not the first time I have seen such an incident whereby Egyptians who are not considered 'civilized' enough are denied entry into the museum so as not to tarnish Egypt's image infront of foreigners! At the same time tourists are allowed to roam freely in the museum with bare chests, and wearing bikni tops and hot pants in complete disregard to the country's culture.

Angry Arab

2009-05-23T09:16:00.001+03:00

The Slaughter of Egypt's Pigs

2009-05-18T20:55:00.002+03:00

Poster by Yasary Masry

Prime Minister Nazif adds to the destruction of Luxor

2009-02-27T12:45:00.004+02:00

According to an article by al-Masry al-Youm today, PM Nazif, who is currently visiting Luxor, ordered the removal of two historic houses situated on the corniche next to the Luxor Temple. These houses are at least 150 years old, and apart from being important historically and much more architecturally pleasing than any of the horrific new buildings currently being constructed, they are an intergal part of the history of the city. This is a picture I had taken of the houses when I was there last year.

Not only that, but apparently, according to the article, the PM was personally observing the expansion of the Queens Valley hotel, which I can only assume is the extremely ugly hotel I had to stay in for a week, and which is located right across from the newly exposed sphinx avenue next to the Luxor Temple.(Picture below)
How on earth can someone in their right mind think it is a good idea to remove two beautiful historic buildings, and expand an absolutely disgusting depressing concrete block - in a historic city! But then again, this is Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif - you can't really expect much more from him.

Lecture: Gaza, Victory for the Resistance?

2009-01-29T08:58:00.003+02:00

Public Lecture at the Center for Socialist Studies

Gaza: Victory for the Resistance?

Speakers:
Palestinian Leftist Writer, Abdel Qader Yassin
Political Economist, Samer Suleiman
Journalist and Activist, Hossam al-Hamalawy

Monday, 2nd of February, 6 pm
At the Center for Socialist Studies, 7 Murad St. Giza

يدعوكم مركز الدراسات الاشتراكية لندوة بعنوان
هل انتصرت المقاومة في غزة؟

انتهت الحرب الصهيونية على غزة رسميا ولكن تبقى تساؤلات ما زالت تتردد في الساحة السياسية المصرية حول أسباب ونتائج الحرب... النظام المصري: وساطة أم تواطؤ؟ هل تحول الصراع مع إسرائيل إلى صراع أديان في الوقت الذي يتصاعد فيه الخطاب الديني على جانبي الخط الأخضر؟ هل هناك تعارض بين التحرر الوطني ورفع المقاومة لشعارات دينية؟ ما الموقف الذي يتوجب على اليسار المصري اتخاذه تجاه حماس؟ مستقبل حركة التضامن المصرية مع فلسطين بعد نهاية الحرب؟

المتحدثون
الأستاذ عبد القادر ياسين.. الكاتب والمفكر الفلسطيني صاحب عدة مؤلفات عن تاريخ المقاومة الفلسطينية
الدكتور سامر سليمان.. الأستاذ المساعد بقسم العلوم السياسية بالجامعة الأمريكية، والناشط بالمركز الاجتماعي الديمقراطي
حسام الحملاوي.. الصحفي والناشط بمركز الدراسات الاشتراكية

345 DEAD and 1450 INJURED IN GAZA

2008-12-29T18:54:00.004+02:00

345 dead and 1450 wounded in Gaza as Israel continues its massacre for the third consecutive day. Fuck Mubarak, the Egyptian regime and Israel.

GAZA MASSACRE

2008-12-27T23:33:00.003+02:00

Cartoon by Latuff

200 killed and hundreds more injured after Israel bombs Gaza today. This as the corrupt US-backed Arab regimes offer their support. After its complicity with the attacks, the Egyptian government, headed by the US-backed pig and dictator Mubarak, 'opens' the Rafah borders to help injured Palestinians. They kill the Palestinians and then walk in their funeral.

GAZA MASSACRE

2008-12-27T23:21:00.004+02:00

A photo of the miserable Egyptian foreign minister, Ahmed Abou el-Gheit, who was laughing with Livni, Israel's foreign monster, just a day earlier and knew of the upcoming massacre of Gaza which took place this morning. In a statement by him today, he said he had warned Hamas of the attack, and since they did not heed to the warning, they are to blame. He makes me sick.

Egypt court convicts food price protesters - 15 Dec 08

2008-12-15T22:28:00.001+02:00

The corrupt judicial system in Egypt convicted 22 people to 3-5 years in prison for the Mahalla riots. Down with the Egyptian dictator Mubarak.

Neolithic site in Fayum under threat

2008-11-22T22:01:00.003+02:00

Survey of Neolithic arrow heads and other flint
tools by a salvage excavation project

The northern shore of Birket Qarun in the Fayum is rich with Neolithic sites that can be up to 9000 years old. It is one of the few places in Egypt where we have remains of largely untouched areas of Neolithic settlement, storage areas and other activities. Survey and excavations that have been carried out at these sites are helping scholars piece together what Neolithic life in ancient Egypt was like, as no other area in Egypt has as yet offered so much information. But, as is usually the case with important and rare sites in Egypt, this unique Neolithic landscape is under threat from ubiquitous investors who hope to create a series of touristic resorts along the northern shores of the lake. According to what I recently heard, the investors are hiring consultants from the Red-sea resort of Hurgada to replicate the horror that is Hurgada along the shores of the lake. Besides the fact that they couldn't have chosen a worse resort site to replicate, the actions of these investors will surely destory this rare, quite extraordinary landscape, eradicate any traces of Neolithic activity in the area and do away with its peaceful nature. It is hoped that something can eventually be done to stop this frightening encroachment before its too late - but then again it's difficult when money, politics and greed are involved.

Destruction of the Chicago garden in Luxor

2008-11-14T23:33:00.003+02:00

They've begun destroying the century old garden. From Luxor News.

UNESCO endorses the "development" of Luxor!

2008-11-04T01:18:00.003+02:00

View of Luxor; workers dismantling early 20th c. house in the foreground

In an unbelievable article, al-Masry al-Youm reports that a delegation from UNESCO is planning to visit Luxor within the next two months to contribute to the transformation of the city into an open-air museum! The director of the Heritage division in the UNESCO, Francesco something, even went as far as telling Samir Farag (mastermind of this disastrous project and Governor of Luxor) that he wishes they had an army general like him in Venice who could help them get rid of all the shanty houses. It is really sad to see UNESCO endorsing someone like Samir Farag who is rapidly destroying the city of Luxor and turning into a dead city full of concrete and tourist bazars. It is also really worrying that UNESCO is actually planning on helping in this 'development' - meaning that the destruction of the rich history of the city will proceed even more rapidly. Horrible news.

Media firm fined after showing trampling on Mubarak's poster

2008-10-26T22:40:00.003+02:00

Photo by Nasser Nouri

The US-backed dictator of Egypt, Hosni Mubarak, attacks freedom of expression again.

From Daily News Egypt:

CAIRO: An Egyptian court on Sunday fined a television agency boss LE 150,000 ($27,000) after his company broadcast images of food rioters tearing down portraits of President Hosni Mubarak in April.

The court fined Nader Gohar, who owns the Cairo News Company, LE 100,000 for operating a broadcast network without the necessary permits and LE 50,000 for operating unlicensed broadcasting equipment, Gohar told AFP.

The case was brought following a complaint by the government-owned Egyptian Radio and Television Union, which owns all broadcast signals in Egypt.

Gohar, who could have faced up to five years in prison after broadcasting images of Mubarak posters being torn down during deadly riots in April, said his equipment had been confiscated, effectively putting him out of business.

Journalists on hunger strike after being denied Syndicate membership

2008-10-21T21:15:00.003+02:00

Makram Mohammed Ahmed, Syndicate head and government puppet

In yet another blow to Egyptian journalists, the government-run journalist syndicate, has denied membership to about 40 journalists from independent newspapers. The decision is clearly politically motivated, discriminating against those not affiliated with governmental newspapers and who have views that oppose that of the government. Makram Mohammed Ahmed, the syndicate head behind the denials, is of course a mere puppet of the ruling NDP.

Photos of the sit-in here.

Torturing citizen's in Mubarak's police state

2008-10-21T00:25:00.003+02:00

From Daily News Egypt:

Nine people gave testimony during the seminar; two Alexandria-based police officers, Ahmed Osman and Ahmed Melissy from the Sidi Gaber police station, were implicated in two of these incidents.

Samah Khalil described the injuries received by her father, Khalil, at the hands of a police force seeking the arrest of her brother, Shabaan.

“On Oct. 24, 2008, a huge group of men wearing civilian clothing arrived at 11 pm at our house. They looked like a criminal gang, carrying sticks, knives and bottles of petrol,” Samah Khalil told the seminar.

“As soon as dad opened the door, they threw a Molotov cocktail at him. His hands and legs set on fire and he ripped off his clothes as he tried to escape onto the roof.

“They followed him and got a piece of metal from a clothes-line and used it to break his leg before dragging him down the street by his legs for more than 150 meters while they kicked him in the head and hit him using their sticks,” she continued.

In a testimony carried by the Nadim Center for the Victims of Violence from Ahmed, who was not at the seminar, the victim said that he was beaten and tortured in the microbus on the way to the police station and in the station itself.

“One of them sat on top of me and strangled me while someone else said ‘kill him.’… He tried to strangle me three times and they took turns punching me in the head,” Ahmed’s testimony reads.

“[In the police station] they hit me again … then Ahmed Osman put his finger in my anus and then Ahmed Melissy did that, too … then they demanded that 14 others in the room do the same thing. The beating eventually stopped at around 10:30 pm.”

It eventually transpired that the police officers had got Ahmed mixed up with another, similarly-named man, wanted in connection with criminal charges.

He and his two sons were threatened with criminal detention if he brought charges against the police officers.

It eventually transpired that the police officers had got Ahmed mixed up with another, similarly-named man, wanted in connection with criminal charges.

He and his two sons were threatened with criminal detention if he brought charges against the police officers.

Columbus day, excerpt from the canary effect

2008-10-14T00:50:00.001+02:00

Why do Americans celebrate Columbus day?

More disasters to hit Luxor

2008-10-07T00:00:00.006+02:00

It seems the governor of Luxor is continuing with his radical replanning and 'development' of the city. This time he plans on removing the 75 year old garden of the Chicago House, along with other gardens along the east bank corniche in order to widen the asphalt road and create a 4 km touristic zone along the waterfront! This man is completely infatuated with cheasy touristic bazaars. His ideology (if he has one) is one that only caters to tourists (most of whom are probably less likely to come back to Luxor following all these tacky transformations) and one that lacks any regard to history, authenticity, aesthetics or anything nice for that matter. Here are parts of a message I received through EEF (Egyptologists' Electronic Forum):

It has come to our attention that a new development program is about to be launched in Luxor by the Government of Egypt that focuses on the east bank Corniche Boulevard. The goal is to double the width of the Corniche to alleviate traffic congestion, create a pedestrian walkway along the Nile, and establish a four-kilometer touristic zone along the riverfront between Luxor Temple and Karnak Temple.

It is hoped that the Luxor City authorities will reject this unecessarily extreme plan for a less radical approach that is also being discussed. Building the riverbank outward would allow room for a widened Corniche but still preserve the buildings and gardens presently along the Nile that give Luxor so much of its charm and character.

Slated for removal are several older gardens: one part of a military club, one in front of a mosque, and another in the front of a Coptic Catholic rest house. The historic Chicago House garden in particular would be a terrible loss. Over 75 years old, its 24-meter palm trees and dozens of trees and flowering bushes were donated as cuttings from the botanical gardens of Cairo and Aswan in the 1930s, and are unique in Luxor. Two rows of royal palms along the front walk imitate the 14 open papyrus columns of the great Colonnade Hall of Luxor Temple, and symbolize the archaeological preservation work this institution has accomplished in partnership with Egypt for over 84 years.
Workers dismantling an old house in Luxor

عيلة واطية ونصابة

2008-10-06T11:36:00.002+02:00

بمناسبة 6 اكتوبر

Proxima Parada Egipto

2008-10-06T10:57:00.004+02:00

My brother's new website offering tours to unconventional places in Egypt, especially along the Mediterranean coast. Stops include Alex, Rashid, Lake Borolos (where you can go bird watching), PortSaid and Nuwebia.

Dreadful ارحمونا يا حكومه يا وسخه

2008-10-06T01:29:00.006+02:00

A replication of ancient Egyptian reliefs at the toll station on the Zafarana road that leads to the Red Sea from Beni Suef through the eastern desert. The replications are so disgusting and shameful that I felt a need to photograph them. These modern ancient Egyptian replications that the government and army are so keen on utilizing in all of their architectural endevours is so sickening. They should be banned from completely disfiguring our history in such a horrendous way.

How the markets really work

2008-09-30T13:38:00.001+02:00

Ibrahim Eissa Protest

2008-09-30T01:48:00.003+02:00

Journalists and activists gathered today in front of the Press Syndicate in downtown Cairo to protest the courts decision to imprison al-dustour's editor, Ibrahim Eissa, for two months. There was a large turnout and chants ranged from condemning Mubarak, Gamal and their corrupt regime, to calls for free unions and a revolution.

Nasr City, ewwww

2008-09-20T22:06:00.003+02:00

How ugly is this suburb of Cairo? Even its name is ugly - victory - victory of what, I'm not so sure. It consists of building after building of concrete - I mean, just a glance at the photo reveals the utter tastelessness of the place. It reeks of the army everywhere you go - their 'fine' touches are everywhere. And they don't even have a single bar there. All they have are malls - really horrible ones, like Ginena mall, and wonderland. What kind of names are those anyways. And lets not forget Teeba mall......the ugliest of all. And why the hell do they have so many malls in the first place? And it is always crowded, it doesn't matter what time of day it is. It seems as soon as people enter this god foresaken place, they immediately want to u-turn and leave, thus the traffic jam. And let me not get started with the people that live there - those are another story altogether. It seems they actually think they're 'cool' because they live there, not realizing that no one in their right mind would even consider having a meal there, let alone live there. I think if I was given the choice of living in Nasr City or living in Saudi, I would have to choose Saudi - yes, it is THAT bad.

Kafr Elw residents

2008-09-20T21:40:00.007+02:00

A year after their houses were demolished by the Egyptian government, the residents of Kafr Elw were given housing in the Muthalath neighbourhood of Helwan. Their plight began when the government decided to demolish their houses with bulldozers and usurp the land 'for the good of the country'. The men were imprisoned to make the demolition process easier and the families were told to go find somewhere else to live. Finally after a year of continous protests by the residents in front of several governmental offices, the residents were given these apartments in Helwan. Of course this is not the first such case and will not be the last. This gentrification process is ongoing, as big business men, big hotels and the like expand and forcibly take over locations at the expense of the often very poor inhabitants. The residents of Kafr Elw will hopefully set a precedent for others who will also find themselves in the street at the hands of Hosni and his buddies.

3arabawy taking photos of the Kafr Elw residents in their new flat.

Old newspapers

2008-09-20T20:31:00.007+02:00

A friend of mine working in Darb al Ahmar came across a pile of old newspapers, mostly Ahram and Akhbar, dating from the late 60's and the early 70's. They had been placed in a big plastic bag and left next to a rubbish dump in the area. I looked through a number of them and found some interesting propaganda pieces - an indication of how much has changed over the last 40 years.
Sadat asserted during a conference (with history as his witness) that he was only going to serve as president for one term, and would not run again for the presidency. Of course all those attending this conference screamed out, saying that they were completely against the statement issued by Sadat and that they wanted him as president forever. Sound familiar? [on the front page of Al-Akhbar, 27 July 1971]

I thought this one was really funny. The title under the photo says something along the lines of how all members of parliament have faces full of joy as they listen to President Sadat give his speech about the constitution. I tried in earnest to find one happy face amongst the crowd but couldn't. [al ahram, 21st May, 1971]

This piece is about a meeting that took place between the Mahalla workers and the Minister. They asked him to forbid women workers from wearing mini-skirts in the factory because the sight of the women's legs and knees hinders the men's ability to produce! A discussion ensued between the men workers and the minister, without the participation of the women workers. It was decided in the end, that this was a personal matter and that only the husband's or brothers of the women workers could solve such an issue. I was just really happy to read that once, not so long ago, women working in factories wore mini-skirts. It sounds so alien to us now. [al gomhouriya, 26th April 1968].

Overheard at the museum

2008-07-31T01:31:00.004+03:00

Two interesting incidents happened at the museum the other day.

The desk I sit at is next to a large wooden solar boat from the Old Kingdom (not THAT large though). Two men came up to me as I was working, and after looking at the boat intently, asked me with a very serious tone - "Is this Noah's ark?". I didn't really know how to respond, especially since the question couldnt have been more sincere. When they realized it was a 'faroun' boat, they were very disappointed and walked away.

I overheard another group of tourists ask their guide if the Pharaohs were Muslim.

Strange.

Sign petition to stop the prosecution of 49 Mahalla protesters

2008-07-10T19:36:00.004+03:00

(Picture by Nasser Nouri)

From Socialist Worker Online:

The US-backed regime of Hosni Mubarak is prosecuting 49 Egyptians in the Emergency High State Security Criminal Court. It is accusing them of involvement in the recent two day uprising in the Nile Delta town of Mahalla.

Egyptian security forces occupied Ghazl el-Mahalla, the biggest textile mill in the Middle East with 27,000 workers, on the 6 and 7 April.

They were attempting to crush a strike in protest against skyrocketing food prices. The workers also demanded a raise in the national minimum wage, which has remained stagnant since 1984.

All the detainees will be tried on trumped up charges and face prison sentences of between six to ten years hard labour.

Egyptian activists have denounced the regime for using the detainees as scapegoats for the uprising. The trial is expected to begin in August.

International solidarity with the Mahalla detainees is urgently needed. Statements of support from trade unions and human rights groups will help put pressure on the Egyptian dictatorship.

For more about the petition: 3arabawy

Harrison Ford Elected to the Board of the Archaeological Institute of America

2008-06-04T20:40:00.003+03:00

After years of being identified on screen as the legendary archaeologist "Indiana Jones," actor Harrison Ford has won election to the Board of Directors of the Archaeological Institute of America.

SO SILLY.......
and the movie is awful by the way.

2008-06-03T23:44:00.002+03:00

Found this on a main street in garden city the other day. It seems Abou el-Fotouh motors damaged this person's car during maintenance and later refused to claim responsibility for this damage, leaving the owner with a faulty car..........and the owner is adamant that everyone should know about it. Interesting technique.

Failed protest at Midan al-Tahrir

2008-04-07T00:33:00.006+02:00

The planned protest at Tahrir square today was quite a disappointment. Besides the few foreigners, mostly journalists, that trickled in every now and then the protest was a no show. Of course there was enough state security police stationed there to give the impression that the country had been invaded and occupied. But they actually didn't have much to do, because no one turned up. Don't know whether the reason was simply because people just couldn't make it to the square since they'd all been arrested or locked up behind their syndicate gates, or whether there was a feeling of despair after the workers at Ghazl el-Mahalla had initially failed to carry out their strike, or whether the Khamaseen just kept everyone indoors. Whichever the case, it did leave one with a feeling of desperation and increased anger at the situation - especially with the police's intimidating show of force.

Join Egypt on Sunday 6th of April in solidarity with the Ghazl al-Mahalla strike

2008-04-04T22:59:00.005+02:00

Meeting place: Tahrir Sq., Downtown Cairo
Time: 11:00 am

How ridiculous

2008-04-04T12:31:00.004+02:00

In the midst of Egypt's bread crisis, Al-Ahram has today published on its front page this romantic photo of the president checking up on Egypt's wheat fields. This is truly ridiculous and the mere size of the photo on the front page of this government newspaper is intimidating.
Does the government honestly believe that by publishing a photo such as this, Egyptians will salute the president for his tireless efforts in trying to bring an end to the bread crisis? This blatant propaganda, and endless patronization of the Egyptian population needs to stop.

Next we'll see him in one of the bakeries handing out bread to the poor.

The changing face of Luxor

2008-03-29T09:51:00.011+02:00

Having spent these past 3 months in Luxor, I was disappointed (and horrified) to witness the rapid changes currently taking place within the city under the guise of modern development. It is unfortunate that the governor of the city believes that in removing beautiful turn of the century mud-brick buildings, and replacing them with ugly pink and orange concrete high-rise blocks, he is helping to modernize and beautify the city. In reality his actions and distorted vision have only helped to speed up the destruction of Luxor's long and rich history, and are slowly creating a city that has become lined with grotesque architecture and is being overrun by unnecessary bazaars. And what a pity that these eye-sores are springing up next to some of the most important ancient monuments in the world. But what else can you expect from a retired army general?

One of the hundreds of houses being pulled down......

....to fully expose extremely unpleasant buildings such as this one.

Can anything be done to stop him before Luxor is fully transformed into an army resort?

2007-11-11T12:40:00.001+02:00

Ehaab Abdou presents Old and Contemporary Egyptian Songs, Egyptian Christian Hymns and Muslim Sufi Chanting Tuesday November 27, 2007 7pm Howard Theater, The American University in Cairo Main Campus.

Nabih again

2007-11-06T12:51:00.001+02:00

Apparently, al-Masry al-Youm reported today that the sentences passed down to the sodomizers (aka Egyptian police officers) who tortured Emad al-Kabeer, and had the entire horrific scene filmed on mobile phone, were lightened sentences because the Judge took their young age and lack of experience into account! Not only that, but Islam Nabih will continue to serve as an officer in the police force after his sentence is over! How in the world can someone who brutally tortured a civilian be allowed to continue to serve in an institution who's role is to protect people and uphold the law??!!! This is absolutely crazy and goes to show that this whole saga has been orchestrated by the government and is merely a message to current police officers to be more careful and make sure nothing goes public as they continue with their routine torture procedures.

Rendition

2007-11-05T18:48:00.000+02:00

A movie about the torture of an Egyptian 'suspect' by CIA thugs who have him shipped from America to an unidentified Arab State. A good review of the movie here and how it exposes Bush's notorious crimes. The article also brings to light the case of a real victim living in Canada who underwent a similar rendition to the Egyptian in the movie.

Islam Nabih sentenced to 3 years in jail for torture

2007-11-05T18:10:00.001+02:00

From the BBC:

Two Egyptian policemen have been jailed for three years each for torturing a bus driver during police custody.

The police officers filmed the sexual assault of Emad al-Kebir, 22, on a mobile phone. The footage eventually emerged on the internet.

The case is one of several notorious incidents of abuse by the security forces to be uncovered in Egypt, mostly driven by activist bloggers.

Could this be a real victory, or just a stunt being pulled off by the government. Time will tell.

Alf Mabrouk ya Hosni!

2007-11-04T12:08:00.001+02:00

From BBC:

Egypt's ruling National Democratic Party has opened its general congress by voting to keep 79-year-old President Hosni Mubarak as its head.

Party delegates voted overwhelmingly to retain Mr Mubarak for another five years in an uncontested secret ballot.

Wallahi firhnalak. This really made my day :)

El Tok Tok bi-yista7ammah

2007-11-04T10:58:00.000+02:00

At the Badrasheen ferry crossing - the tok tok takes a bath on the banks of the Nile.

Everywoman - Stories from Egypt - 19 Oct 07 - Part 2

2007-10-25T10:57:00.001+02:00

A video about the growing problem of sexual harrassment in Egypt, which is exacerbated by the Egyptian government's disinterest in recognizing and dealing with the problem.

The Death of King Tut

2007-10-24T15:25:00.000+02:00

"He had an accident when he was hunting in the desert," said Zahi Hawass

and broke his leg and died. I wonder if Zahi could have been a little more specific - which desert was he at?

The 'White'-slave trade in Mali

2007-10-24T14:57:00.000+02:00

While in Mali I was horrified to learn about a 'trade' that appears to go on in all of West Africa. Apparently some Lebanese immigrants in the area are making a lot of money trading in girls from North Africa. They go to countries like Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Egypt and scoop up young, pretty girls who are living in dire circumstances and who naturally jump at the opportunity of a job offer in a West African country. As soon as they arrive, the girls are scantly dressed and ordered to work in bars to lure in certain customers. The customers targeted are middle eastern men working in the country - whether in embassies, various construction companies....etc etc. It seems that what happens next is how the skillful Lebanese businessman makes the bulk of his money. Apparently these middle easterners slowly start competing against one another over the girls. If a specific girl is desired, then the middle easterner can go to the Lebanese 'owner' and negotiate a deal with him, which, after paying him a hefty sum of money, would allow him to have exclusive rights to the girl. After the Middle Easterner enjoys his time with the girl, he sets her free, and her fate thereafter is unknown. Disgusting.

CAIRO ANTI-WAR CONFERENCE

2007-10-24T13:26:00.000+02:00

(Poster by 3arabawy)

International Campaign against Zionist and American occupation

Cairo International Conference and Liberation Forum, 27-30 March 2008
Declaration of principles
For National and Individual Liberation
In support of resistance to the Zionist/American Project
Against Zionism and Imperialism
Against despotism and oppression
Against exploitation and corruption

Happy Eid

2007-10-13T14:08:00.000+02:00

عيد مبارك ونظيف وشريف
وكله سرور وجمال وكمال
مع تحيات الحزب الوطنى الدكتاتورى
جتكم الأرف

Beautiful Mali

2007-10-12T00:32:00.000+02:00

Cairo Traffic in Ramadan

2007-09-25T12:10:00.001+02:00

A great look at the services offered by the Egyptian police and their ingenious efforts in dealing with Cairo's traffic problem in Ramadan

Solidarity with the Ghazl el-Mahlla workers

2007-09-24T11:10:00.000+02:00

(Poster by 3arabawy)

More than 20,000 workers from the Ghazl el-Mahlla textile industry are on strike demanding their rights from Mubarak's government. Solidarity is also being expressed from other textile workers around the country.

Yet another torture case

2007-09-23T02:30:00.000+02:00

This time it's in Fayoum - and the victim is dead. He was an ordinary citizen that rubbed the 'authorities' the wrong way. And that's the scenario in Egypt these days. It's not only the so-called 'terrorists' or Muslim brotherhood that bear the brunt of the police's cruelty, but also the average impoverished Egyptian who happens to fall into the hands of a system that can no longer deal with its citizens without resorting to torture - the system has come to the point where it genuinely knows no other way. It has even trickled down to the streets of Cairo where a lot of people seem to believe that the only way to deal with these 'low-lives' is to torture and humiliate them. Such are some of the great legacies of the National Democratic Party - a party that recently imprisoned four editors for publishing 'naughty' stories about it.

Blackwater: Shadow Army

2007-09-18T09:36:00.001+02:00

Protest against the Egyptian government's decision to dissolve the Association for Human rights and Legal Aid

2007-09-15T14:41:00.000+02:00

Sunday 16th of Sep. at 10 am in front of the associations headquarters - 2 Maaruf St, off of Talaat Harb.

Four Egyptian editors sentenced to a year in prison for insulting the president

2007-09-14T10:44:00.000+02:00

Another ridiculous move by the government - the NDP has filed a lawsuit against these 4 editors because they dared to criticize Mubarak and his clan - which is a completely different case by the way, than the one filed against Ibrahim Eissa for allegedly spreading rumours about the president's health.

A Cairo court sentenced the editors of four outspoken tabloids to a year in prison for defaming President Hosni Mubarak and his ruling party, judicial officials said Thursday. "My first reaction was surprise. The sentence is very harsh," said Adel Hammouda, editor of the weekly al-Fagr about his sentence."The judge praised the president and his son and the ruling party while reading the verdict — it was unprecedented."

Qandil told the Associated Press that he was sued over a column he wrote attacking the president for his criticism of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, during its war with Israel during the summer of 2006.

"I will appeal. I won't pay anything because if I did, it means I recognize the court verdict," he said.

The other editors were tried for writing articles criticizing the prime minister, the interior minister and the president's son Gamal, who many believe is set to succeed his father.

Ikhs 3ala deh balad.

Ramadan is here and so are the soap-operas

2007-09-13T13:53:00.000+02:00

Apparently there are 33 series being shown on state and satellite channels this ramadan! Surprisingly enough, the Yacoubian building is among them - but which I am sure will have nothing to do with the real story. And Sha3bula is also starring in one.

Ramadan Kareem :)

Another blow to human rights by the Egyptian government

2007-09-13T13:45:00.000+02:00

From Amnesty:

Amnesty International today condemned the Egyptian government's decision to dissolve the Association for Human rights and Legal Aid (AHRLA) as a new blow to freedom of association and called on the authorities to end such practices. The organization said such measures do not bode well for the forthcoming amendments to the law on associations.

The attack on AHRLA appears to be linked to its active work in supporting victims of torture and exposing human rights violations in Egypt. The Association has been providing legal advice to victims of such violations, in particular to those who have been tortured while in custody at police stations or other detention centres, including by representing them before Egyptian courts. One of these victims is political detainee Mohamed Abdelkader al-Sayyed, who died in police custody in 2003 in circumstances suggesting that torture or other ill-treatment led or contributed to his death at the hands of an officer of the State Security Investigations (SSI). SSI officers have been allowed to commit serious human rights violations with impunity. Despite a forensic report stating that the injuries to the body of Mohamed Abdelkader al-Sayyed at the time of his death were consistent with injuries that can be sustained by being hit by solid objects and by exposure to high temperature or electric shocks, the SSI officer who was allegedly responsible for his death was acquitted by a Cairo criminal court on 5 September 2007.

And as usual they have been accused of receiving foreign funds without authorization.

Nefertiti causing trouble again

2007-09-12T23:34:00.000+02:00

Germany continues to claim that Nefertiti is not fit to travel, and Hawass is adamant that the bust should be loaned to Cairo, and if not, then returned completely. To be honest, I am fed up with the German Cultural Minister and his stance on this issue. I'm not a fan of Hawass, but I still think that Germany's take on this is ridiculous. The bust was smuggled out of Egypt when it was found in the early 20th century and now I think Egyptians have a right to see it. But claiming that due to conservation issues, the bust cant leave the country, is a load of bull - and it says a lot about what the cultural minister thinks about Egypt and Egyptians.

Rumours and dissertations

2007-09-08T11:42:00.001+02:00

It seems that pretty soon it will be officially haram to fabricate rumours against the invincible Mubarak. Clerics, or actually the government-puppet Tantawi, is calling such actions immoral and against Islam. While he is outspoken about this, I've never seen him condemn any of the numerous atrocities that have repeatedly been carried out by the president and his government - and he still wants people to take him seriously.

In another outrageous story, a student's masters dissertation was refused by authorities at Helwan university because it went against mainstream Islam. The student argues that his dissertation was dealing with the interpretation of words in the Quran according to their original meanings at the time of the Prophet. He decided he was not going to use the interpretations formulated by Islamic scholars 300 or so years later, and which have today become unquestionable. Whether or not people agree with his argument is besides the point - a dissertation should be graded according to how accurately the research has been conducted and how he argues his case, not whether the marker agrees with his ideas. But this has become so typical in Egypt, I am not at all surprised.

Main Street USA - Midland Texas - 03 Sept 07 - Part 1

2007-09-08T11:26:00.001+02:00

A great video by al-Jazeera about Bush's hometown, where people there have been holding prayers for him and the government for 8 years! It is where Bush found his faith (and then decided to use it as a justification to wage his wars). Now I understand why Bush is so messed up.

Egyptians against torture

2007-09-08T10:59:00.000+02:00

(Banner from 3arabawy)

A meeting will be organized tomorrow, Sunday, the 9th of September at 6:30pm in Cairo’s Press Syndicate located on Abdel Khaleq Tharwat Street, Downtown Cairo. More details on the Torture in Egypt website.

Witness in prominent Egypt dissident trial found hanged in prison

2007-09-08T10:34:00.000+02:00

Apparently the witness, Ayman Hassan, who was going to expose how Ayman Nour had been framed by the authorities, killed himself.

A reluctant prosecution witness in the trial of Egypt's leading opposition politician was found dead, apparently of suicide, in his prison cell Thursday, police said.

During the 2005 trial of opposition presidential candidate Ayman Nour, fellow defendant and prosecution witness Ayman Hassan abruptly announced that he had been forced by security services to implicate his former employer.

The judge at the time ignored his recanting and sentenced both he and Nour to five years in prison.

"He was found hanged by a bed sheet," said a police official on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to make statements.

Yeah right. Who are they fooling.

Special Comment (9/4/07)

2007-09-06T10:47:00.001+03:00

Great commentary about Bush and his lies

What do you want from the National Democratic Party?

2007-09-05T13:27:00.000+03:00

Apparently the National Democratic Party (NDP) (Mubarak's party that has been ruling for 30 years), is conducting a survey amongst the general public, as part of its many 'new' and 'exciting' initiatives, and asking people what it is they want to see the NDP do? Last night, on the programme, al-3ashira masa2n, the same survey was conducted by Mona al-Shazly who also wanted to get some feedback but through a non-affiliated/neutral source. It was clear that about 90% of the people who were interviewed, or who had called in, had about 1000 things to complain about to the NDP. But one of my favourite remarks was a person who said that since the NDP's motto is to launch towards the future, it should just launch towards space and get out of our sights! Another guy said, Hizb eh? dah hazby--allah we na3ma al-wakil feehoum! But the consensus by most callers was, since the NDP hasn't been able to rule for more than 30 years, then maybe its time it gave other people a chance. All were aware that these new initiatives by Jimmy and co. to present the party in a new modern light, was just another way to fool the public and basically help the half a dozen people or so who run the country politically and financially.

Ana Masry - Ehaab Abdou

2007-09-04T18:33:00.001+03:00

(From 3arabawy)

Egypt editor to face prosecution after Mubarak health rumours

2007-09-04T13:15:00.000+03:00

This is ludicrous. Mubarak is the one who should be prosecuted for his long list of criminal offenses, lack of transparency in anything and everything, and his bad hair dye.
Plus, the whole population is waiting for him to disappear. It seems there are already several groups up on the social networking site, Facebook, contemplating life after Mubarak - will we ever see the day!

Islam Nabih Abdel-Salam

2007-09-03T15:43:00.000+03:00

Yesterday morning the police officer, Islam Nabih Abdel-Salam, and his accomplice, Reda Ahmed, who were both involved in sodomizing Emad al-Kabeer at Boulq al-Dakrour police station, were put on trial. Of course as with any highly publicized human rights case in Egypt, the lawyers of the defendants argued that all this commotion about the case was merely an act by Human Rights Groups to further promote themselves, and that these groups were receiving foreign funding. Read report from Masry al-Youm.
I'm not exactly sure what that means, and why it is that Human Rights Groups would try to promote themselves, but this is something that we've become accustomed to hearing in Egypt - that it's all part of a big conspiracy against Egypt by foreign forces who are trying to breed hatred among the masses. I wonder if the government is actually going to go ahead with this game and actually sacrifice one of its own precious highly trained torture officers, just to save face against the ever growing dissent in Egypt, or whether the trial, which will resume on Wednesday with the final verdict, is just another farce that will give the officers a detention sentence not worth mentioning.

Egyptian man forces his wife to be circumcised!

2007-09-02T15:55:00.000+03:00

Ridiculous! What the hell is wrong with these people. (Painting by Mohammed Buwe Osman)

Abou Sehla

2007-09-02T15:20:00.000+03:00

The Egyptian police officer who tortures and sodmizes innocent civilians. Check out this blog for more details - Ahmed Abdel Fatah.

America's new embassy in Iraq

2007-09-01T15:46:00.000+03:00

America's new embassy in Iraq is the latest symbol of the occupation of the country and has been described as the "crusader castles that once dominated the Middle East". It is apparently the largest US embassy ever built and is roughly the size of the Vatican, costing 600 million dollars! It is a potent reminder that the Americans are here to stay and that they have already started reconstructing a Middle East that caters to their needs. It's not really so far off from the American fort situated in downtown Cairo - perhaps a little bigger.

At a time when millions of Baghdadis outside the green zone receive only a couple of hours of water and electricity daily, Iraqis observe that this project has been completed on time, on budget, and is entirely self-sufficient with its own fresh water supply, electricity plant, sewage treatment facility, maintenance shops and warehouses.
Embassies were traditionally designed to promote interaction with their host communities, she says, but not this one. “Although US diplomats will technically be ‘in Iraq’ they may as well be in Washington.

Hawass's 'in'famous hat!

2007-09-01T12:01:00.000+03:00

Our very own Zahi Hawass has made yet another great discovery - this time inside Tut's tomb. Wow, what would we have done without him. Truly remarkable. Not only that, but replicas of his Indiana Jones-style hat are on sale at the Franklin Institute in Philly for only $45! What a deal! If anyone reading this is in Philly, please pick one up for me - I really need one of those hats :)

Mubarak's health

2007-08-31T19:29:00.000+03:00

Mubarak's deteriorating health has been the talk of the town for days now after he missed a number of important public appearances(and sent Jimmy instead). He has however made a reappearance, and was pictured touring the industrial site of Burg al-Arab this last Wednesday. Al-Badeel newspaper has published an article that looks into the nation's obsession with the President's health and his seemingly immortal rule, and how this reflects on the state of Egyptian politics today. New 'rumors' have also sprung up about how top Egyptian businessmen are sending their hefty millions abroad to secure banks in neighbouring gulf states - all this in anticipation of the vacuum that will be left by the ailing president and the consequent clashes that will undoubtedly erupt between opposition groups, namely the Brotherhood, and Jimmy when he eventually takes over from his father and extends the Mubarak dynasty.

Sudan’s right watchdog urges release of Nubian archaeologist

2007-08-31T13:23:00.001+03:00

From the Sudan Tribune:

The Organization condemns in the strongest terms possible the Government’s repressive treatment of the Sudanese scientist Jalal, including intimidating dictates to force him to abandon all public or personal support to the national popular campaign against the Kajbar Dam.

Archaeologist Jalal is a human rights activist who has been critically voicing the deep irrevocable protest of the Kajbar (Kajabar) people in the Northern Province of Sudan against the government’s dam construction in the area that will inevitably destroy the national treasures and all sites of the ancient Nubia archaeology, as well as forcing a new Diaspora for the natives of the area; thus disrupting the social fabric of the whole population.

The authorities’ repression of the Kajbar movement included recent attacks by armed security force resulting in deaths and injuries of innocent citizens (SHRO statement: June 19, 2007 copied below) to intimidate the protesting campaigners that have been gaining continuous momentum all over the world versus the government’s poor constitutional performance.

For more information about the archaeology of the region, read here.

Why aliens did NOT build the pyramids

2007-08-31T12:54:00.000+03:00

A great post from an Egyptologist's blog for those of you out there who still advocate the aliens theory. I met 3 Egyptian friends the other day who were challenging me to disprove the aliens theory - and they were actually serious, saying there is no way Egyptians could have built the pyramids! Even the discovery channel has gone nuts (ad to the left).

Delta being washed away

2007-08-29T17:45:00.000+03:00

Interesting, and actually scary story, about how the Delta could be on the path to oblivion if nothing is done about it soon - people's lives, crops and archaeology are all under threat. And el-hukuma nayma tab3an.

Middle East Christians Association

2007-08-28T15:00:00.000+03:00

I recently read about the Middle East Christians Association in several Egyptians newspapers, and usually under headings linked to arrests and other delightful things carried out by our Egyptian government. This was especially so in relation to the association's controversial book, called The persecuted that looks at the plights of Coptic Christians in Egypt. Naturally since I am skeptical of anything the government does, this group immediately caught my attention and I thought it would be interesting to learn more about them. Initially I thought it was an encouraging sign that there was an organization that was fighting for the rights of Christians in the Middle East, whether Copts in Egypt or elsewhere, especially amid today's growing Wahabisim that seems to be gradually taking over our societies. However, I was quite disappointed to find out that this group certainly does not practice the same tolerance it preaches as this link found on their website and entitled "Islam - the largest cult in history" makes all too clear. This growing intolerance from the faiths that make up the Egyptian fabric will never serve anyone any good anywhere - except maybe the current Egyptian government - and it is depressing to see how widespread it has become - even within international organizations.