links for 2009-08-27

• FT.com / Comment / Editorial – Mubarak’s return to Washington
  good lines:
  "The national security regime, with its backbone in the army and its nervous system in the intelligence services, is incapable of adapting politically. Sincere attempts by successive governments to liberalise keep on hitting this wall of vested interests, reinforced by layers of businessmen operating under state patronage. Respectable economic growth has opened up huge wealth disparities, with food rioters and conspicuous consumers sitting cheek by scowling jowl in Egypt’s teeming cities. Behind it all lies the debris of ideological bankruptcy
  [..]
  Like many of his Arab peers, Mr Mubarak relies on the clerical establishment to outflank the Islamists, thereby expanding the influence of their ideas."
  (tags: egypt mubarak united-states policy)
• Abdelmonem Said – Road to Mideast Progress Runs Through Cairo – washingtonpost.com
  In the midst of failed states and regional challenges, Egypt remains the exception since it has a functional state and maintained peace with Israel. Egypt and US must work together:
  "Washington and Cairo must recognize that staving off further state deterioration in the Middle East will require new international and regional solutions and creative statecraft. In this endeavor, Egypt is an ally and an example. "

  Example.. hahahahahah

  (tags: egypt obama MiddleEast mubarak politics united-states)
• BM Women: Egypt’s Soad Saleh calls for protecting married rape victims « Bikya Masr
  "She said that the ministry should allow a third option to be written on the license that reads “never been married” as a means of protecting the honor of women who have been raped.

  Currently, it is legally binding in Egypt that women must write “virgin” or “divorced” or “widow” – the latter two considered one category – on any marriage license in the country.

  By adding a third option, Saleh believes it will be able to hide any past actions by a woman and “describe the case of any raped girl that is about to get married.”
  "

  (tags: egypt society law religion marriage)
• » The Egypt we have Middle East Strategy at Harvard
  discussions of the outcomes of the mubarak visit esp re obama ME policy and palestine/israel issue.
  (tags: egypt mubarak obama politics international MiddleEast palestine israel)
• BM News: Somali pirates to be tried in Egypt « Bikya Masr
  (tags: egypt somalia pirates law security)
• BM News: Egypt Doctors Union threatening mass resignations « Bikya Masr
  (tags: egypt activism union labor finance)
• BM Business: Outsourcing in Egypt « Bikya Masr
  (tags: egypt economy ICT business cairo technology)