For more details, read Gamal Eid’s statement here.
The move, as expected, drew the wrath of Egypt’s bloggers. Blogger and friend Amr Gharbeia is offering some tips for Al-Ahram journalists on how to bypass the filters.
Kefaya is also organizing a children’s march on the same day in Damanhour, capital of the Beheira governorate, to express solidarity with the Lebanese children. The march will start from the Al-Hassan And Al-Hussein Mosque, following the Friday prayers.
On Saturday, 12 August, the Hilaly Association for Defense of Civil Liberities has called for a demo in solidarity with Lebanon and Palestine, 12 noon, in front of the Lawyers’ Syndicate in Ramses Street. The Hilaly Association–headed by veteran leftist lawyers Ahmad Seif and Mohssen Shasha–was formed during Marxist lawyer Ahmad Nabil el-Hilaly‘s last July memorial. It includes rights lawyers from the left, Nasserists and Islamists.
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.
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
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
Via Elijah and his Flickr account.
(AP) WASHINGTON Eleven Egyptian students who arrived in the United States last month are being sought by authorities after failing to turn up for an exchange program at Montana State University.
The Egyptian men were among a group of 17 students who arrived at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York from Cairo on July 29 with valid visas, according to U.S. authorities and university officials.
While a terrorist threat is certainly nothing to overlook, I bet they’re finding undeclared jobs (an incredible number of cab drivers in New York appear to be Egyptian) and having a great time. In other words, pursuing the immigrant to America’s dream for the past 200 years.
An Egyptian military flight arrived in Beirut Tuesday carrying relief aid and 70 officials and public figures _ including President Hosni Mubarak’s son Gamal _ who joined the trip to express their support for war-torn Lebanon. Egypt’s ministers of information, health, and industry and foreign trade; the leaders of several minor opposition parties, and top actors departed Cairo for a visit of several hours to deliver medical supplies to Lebanon and visit the wounded at hospitals. The Egyptian delegation was scheduled to meet Lebanese President Emile Lahoud, Prime Minister Fuad Saniora and Parliament speaker Nabih Berri.
Update: Here’s a lengthier Haaretz story.
Yep, seems he had a disagreement with an officer (the one bending over him, having just kicked him) so he and a few friends dragged him behind the 4X4 (this is quite close to a big tourist hotel and within sight of the US Embassy) and punched and kicked him for a while. After they were done smacking the guy around, the officer smoked a cigarette and one of the boys in black brought him a bottle of water.
Welcome to Egypt—don’t forget your camera!