Li-Beirut: Cairo activists needed for solidarity campaign

Passing on an appeal for Cairo-based activists wishing to join a solidarity campaign for Lebanon:

A group of energetic activists in Cairo have started campaigning in solidarity with Lebanon. They’re doing many activities and more are to come (see below). This effort is significant and plans to go on for months, way after TV viewers become normalized about the daily death of victims of yet another Arab country. Now that hopes are diminishing by the second that the aggression against Lebanon won’t end anytime soon. They need volunteers to help them organize the many creative ideas they’re coming up with. Those of you who would like to contribute, please email Mohammed Yousri at moyousri – AT – gmail.com

Li-Beirut is a solidarity campaign initiated by a team of independent artists and activists based in Cairo in support of the victims of the brutal aggression against Lebanon.

Li-Beirut is comprised of a series of cultural and artistic events and an interactive online platform aimed at encouraging worldwide solidarity, support and donations for the victims of the Israeli war on Lebanon.

Li-Beirut cultural and artistic series will include music concerts, film screenings, poetry readings, book signings, exhibitions and a number of satellite events organized by partner groups.

Li-Beirut.com is hosted under the umbrella of a regional Arabic portal, Filbalad.com, and is an on-going initiative to raise awareness and mobilize support for Lebanon.

Incidentally, their name, Li-Beirut, comes from a famous song by the Lebanese diva Fairouz. It has been playing a lot in Egypt lately, including at the premium number set up by MobiNil and Vodafone Egypt (1410) to raise funds for Lebanese relief efforts. I’m making the song available here for anyone who wants to listen to it.

Scissors in Egypt

It’s not exactly the topic of the day, but privatization (‘As’assa, as many Egyptians refer to it, mixing Arabic for scissors ‘As and privatization Khas’khassa), will continue to be an issue in Egypt, as this summer we can rather see the limits the government still faces in the program.This week the Ministry of Investment stated that it would not sell shares in important companies such as Egyptian Iron and Steel or Egypt Aluminium Company. Ten days before, the government stepped up its efforts to open Egypt’s National Railways to private investment. But the sharp debate in parliament casts light on the increasing resistance it is meeting in its privatization program, in particular in transportation, probably the sector of the Egyptian economy that needs modernization and investment like no other.

In my contribution to the annual review “Egypt in the year 2005� published by the French research centre in Cairo CEDEJ (which by the way contains excellent contributions, amongst others, on the Coptic question, the brotherhood and the fate of the Egyptian health reform) on the Egyptian privatization program during 2005, I argued that the government met surprisingly few criticism in public for its revival of the privatization program.

While hopefully the basic conclusions of my contribution (see below) are still valid, … Continue reading Scissors in Egypt

Poll: 30% of Americans don’t know which year was 9/11

America has much, much bigger problems than international terrorism if this poll is valid:

WASHINGTON (AFP) – Some 30 percent of Americans cannot say in what year the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks against New York’s World Trade Center and the Pentagon in Washington took place, according to a poll published in the Washington Post newspaper.

While the country is preparing to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the attacks that claimed nearly 3,000 lives and shocked the world, 95 percent of Americans questioned in the poll were able to remember the month and the day of the attacks, according to Wednesday’s edition of the newspaper.

Via Billmon.

Once Moroccan, always Moroccan

A group of Moroccan lawyers have filed a lawsuit against Israeli Minister of Defense Amir Peretz, who was born on Morocco, accusing him of war crimes and arguing Moroccan courts have jurisdiction over him since one is always considered Moroccan if one was born there. Not that Morocco’s courts should really be taken seriously, but it could potentially prevent him from visiting the country, although one assumes the palace would extend protection in that case. Israelis of Moroccan origin who hold high-level posts in the Israeli army or administration frequently visit Morocco to carry out pilgrimages to Jewish saints’ tombs in places like Ouezzane in the Rif.

While I don’t think Peretz has much to be concerned about, I do wonder about how other efforts to bring Israeli war criminals to justice in other countries (notably Belgium or the United States) now that major human rights organizations have leveled charges of war crimes against Israel.

Appeal for donations to Lebanon

Passing on an appeal for donations of food, medicine and other goods for Egyptians and residents of Egypt who want to help the Lebanese people:

Dear all,
 
The Lebanese Embassy in Cairo and the Lebanese Egyptian Friendship Society are joining efforts to collect and send medical supplies and food. In kind donation only. (Please see list below)
Continue reading Appeal for donations to Lebanon

Campaign of civil resistance in Lebanon

Have received this:

Lebanon: An Open Country for Civil Resistance Beirut August 7, 2006

On August 12, at 7 am, Lebanese from throughout the country and international supporters who have come to Lebanon to express solidarity will gather in Martyr’s Square in Beirut to form a civilian convoy to the south of Lebanon. Hundreds of Lebanese and international civilians will express their solidarity with the inhabitants of the heavily destroyed south who have been bravely withstanding the assault of the Israeli military. This campaign is endorsed by more than 200 Lebanese and international organizations. This growing coalition of national and international non-governmental organizations hereby launches a campaign of civil resistance for the purpose of challenging the cruel and ruthless use of massive military force by Israel, the regional superpower, upon the people of Lebanon.

Continue reading Campaign of civil resistance in Lebanon

Win some, lose some

Thrilled to see that Joe Lieberman lost the democratic nomination, but sad to see Cynthia McKinney lose.

The first race shows that the establishment, pro-Israel candidate, even with tons of cash, doesn’t necessarily always win (and should be taken on aggressively) while the second shows, once again, the nefarious impact of out-of-state donors to pro-Israel candidates. See Billmon on this for more.

Update: Read this Billmon post.