Dream gone bad – a year after #Jan25

I posted this video (English subtitled version) on facebook (with a snarky comment about banning the use of requiem for a dream soundtrack music), and I think twitter. But as we close in on #Jan25, I feel the need to say a little more about it. When I was in Cairo over Christmas break, I felt [...]

Read Full Post »

On #Maspero and the Revolution Against Ourselves

This is midterm week for me, and since I have been woefully not on top of my academic game this semester, it was supposed to be lockdown for study week. But then out of left field came yesterday’s events at #Maspero and downtown Cairo. At first I was viciously angry. While my rage has subsided [...]

Read Full Post »

Short Angry Letter to the USA

Dear USA, Oh, you have an Office for Middle East Transitions now? How ’bout this: Leave us the fuck alone. We dont want your counterrevolutionary, imperial, siphoning-off-riches-for-Western-financial-institutions, creating-markets-for-the-MilitaryIndustrialAgriOilComplex meddling in our affairs. We dont want your aid or your debt. We dont want your teargas or your tanks. We dont want your fertilizers or your [...]

Read Full Post »

#endSH – a Post Against Sexual Harassment

In 2006 I wrote a rant titled Why I Hate Ramadan. I posted it in 2007 and you can see the whole post here.  The post was concerned with the hypocrisies and inconsistencies in the way that Egyptians, and particularly Cairenes, practiced this month. The bulk of the post, not surprisingly, had to do with sexuality [...]

Read Full Post »

#jan25 – Antecedents to the Uprising

This was written a few weeks ago as the first part of a much larger project. I have yet to get around to addressing the third part. So I am publishing this for the most part as it was written. The material and some of the links may seem dated at this point, but I [...]

Read Full Post »

(Re)Enter Sandman ..err.. -monkey

Enter Sandman ..err.. -monkey Sandmonkey says that as all the familiar old faces emerge to start their activism at square one again, he’s back too. I have to agree, at least partially, with the sentiment. We’re back to 2004 with all the political “actors” and activists beginning to reemerge and feel each other and the [...]

Read Full Post »

AUC Suspends Classes for H1N1 SwineFlu

Here is the notice that AUC sent out: AUC to Suspend Classes until October 3rd AUC will be suspending classes beginning Thursday, September 17 until Saturday, October 3. The decision follows a request by the Egyptian government that the university suspend its classes in line with government universities, which have suspended classes due to concerns [...]

Read Full Post »

The Egypt-Israel Gas Deal

I stumbled upon this post by Mo-ha-med and discovered a pretty good blog. I am reproducing the post in full. It’s about time someone put this much investigation into such a politically and economically critical yet entirely opaque issue. Don’t neglect to check out the first post (referenced in the first line) and the comments [...]

Read Full Post »

Arabs Lose In Any Iran Outcome

I couldnt let this one by with just a delicious bookmark. Rami El Khouri comments on Arab (regime and popular) perceptions of and reactions to the events unfolding in Iran. I think he hits a crucial point whith this article in highlighting that they’ve trapped themselves in a lose-lose situation regardless of the outcomes in [...]

Read Full Post »

AUC adds Israeli to Trustees

Here’s the announcement from the AUC website: Retired U.S. Diplomat Named to AUC Board of Trustees June 21, 2009, Cairo, Egypt – The American University in Cairo announced today the appointment of former US ambassador to Egypt Daniel C. Kurtzer as a member of its Board of Trustees.  Kurtzer, the S. Daniel Abraham Professor of [...]

Read Full Post »

H1N1 SwineFlu in Egypt

Subsequent to the confirmed AUC cases that lead to a quarantine of the Zamalek dorms and the university suspending activities for a week, there have been numerous unsourced reports of other cases. I’ve heard that the MoH announced another case in each of Cairo and Alex. There are rumors of someone being tested from an [...]

Read Full Post »

New H1N1 cases confirmed at AUC dorms

The Minstry of Health has apparently confirmed at least 5 new cases of the H1N1 “SwineFlu” virus in the AUC’s currently quarantined dorms. Press release should be at 3 pm. Source: DailyNewsEgypt on twitter. AUC has suspended campus activities until Sunday the 14th.

Read Full Post »

AUC Suspends classes for H1N1 SwineFlu

Classes suspended until next Sunday (14th).. AUC email below: UPDATE: apparently food court has been shut down, ACs turned off, masks handed out. And only one person per row is being allowed on the shuttle buses. Date: Mon, Jun 8, 2009 at 1:11 PM Subject: AUC Suspends Classes and Events Until June 14 To: allauc@mlist.aucegypt.edu [...]

Read Full Post »

H1N1 Swine Flu Confirmed at AUC

UPDATES below. New updates at this post and new confirmed cases here. It seems that SwineFlu has hit Egypt. Just when we were feeling left out. One question that i have to wonder about is: Why AUC? Did study abroads bring it in? Or is it just that these are the people with the means [...]

Read Full Post »

Petition vs Nuweiba Power Plant

Strong Objection to the Nuweiba Power Plant Project in South Sinai planned by the Egyptian Electricity Holding Company and to be financed by the European Investment Bank and the African Development Bank. We kindly ask for to join us in combating a serious situation that is arising in Nuweiba! We, and other investors, residents and workers [...]

Read Full Post »