#Egypt’s flag rises 20 meters high in #Tahrir Square

Egypt’s flag rises 20 meters high in Tahrir Square!!!

Experts plan to fix King Tut mask after glue gaffe

Experts plan to fix King Tut mask after glue gaff

The head of the conservation department at the Egyptian Museum was demoted to a low-profile post in the wake of an inappropriate restoration of the 3,000 year-old funerary mask of King Tutankhamun using household epoxy glue.

Elham Abdelrahman, who supervised restoration work at the museum of over 180,000 artifacts, was transferred to the Royal Carriages Museum in the Citadel of Saladin, Antiquities Minister Mamdouh el-Damaty announced Thursday.

Damaty also referred other conservators involved in the irresponsible repair of the golden mask to investigations, and stressed that legal proceedings would follow.

Abdelrahman was replaced by Saeed Abdel Hamed, who was head of restoration department at the Coptic Museum.




 Images of the mask showing conspicuous globs of glue around the gap between the braided beard and the chin recently circulated on social media and drew sharp criticism.

Last week, media outlets reported the mask’s beard broke off in 2014 and was hastily glued back on by conservation staff. Moreover, the piece was reattached with epoxy, which, while sometimes used, is considered a debatable material among conservators.

Damaty said in a press conference Sunday that Tutankhamun’s mask is safe and the reaction to the incident was “overexcited and unjustified” and would have a negative impact for Egypt’s reputation and tourism sector.

STATE OF WAR IN #YEMEN #UPDATE

حرب اليمن

STATE OF WAR IN #YEMEN #UPDATE 

و هل من جديد!! اليمن دائما فى حالة حرب من وقت انضمام الجنوب و الحدة ودائما (الدولة) تحارب من يقف فى طريقة و (الدولة) فى اليمن ما هى الا عائلة الاحمر و حاشيتة فقط ,,,, فهمى ملكية لكن تحت اسم الجمهورية و اليمن دولة فاشلة بكل المقيايس من فساد فى كل نواحى الحياة و السلاح ارخص من الطعا و مخدر القات اهم من اى شئ لليمنين 

القات هو من الاسباب الرئيسية فى تدمير اليمن حيث دمر الاقتصاد ة دمر زراعة البن فى اليمن وانهاء المخزون المائى فى اليمن كلة حتى ان اليمن اصبحت اول عاصمة فى العالم بلا موارد مياة.

و ال سعود من اكثر من 60 عام و هما يحاربون اليمن من خلال مرتزقة من السياسين و المحاربين فى كل موسسات الدولة العفنة, حتى ال سعود استعلوا امريكا نفسة لتدمير الجمهورية فى اليمن, و دفع مليارات لزعماء القبائل لشراء سلاح وافتعل الفتنة فيما بينهما.

و زرع الخلافات فى ما بين اهل الجنوب و تحريضهما على الانفصال, حتى قامت ثورات التقسيم للشرق الاوسط الجديد و النظام العالمى و اهمية اليمن فقط فى باب المندب و البترول و الغاز ال>ى تحارب السعودية من اجلة حتى لا يكتشف ولكى يكون اليمن فقيرا.

و من بعد خلع على عبدالله صالح وهميا فقط وافتعل رئيس وهمى و لكن الحاكم الحقيقى هو صالح وعائلة الاحمر الى تحارب من اجل السيطر على خيرات اليمن البكر, اليمن دولة ليست فقيرة ولكنة دولة منهوبة وخيراتة تحت الارض لم تكتشف حتى الان.

و تدخل ايران لمساندة الحوثيين ماديا و عسكريا وكانت اقصى طموح مجموع الحوثى هى حكم محافظة عمران فقط.

وطبعا ال سعود حاربوهما حيث اصبح الحوثثين يد ايران فى اليمن وبالتالى لن تقف ال سعود متفرجين.

الحوثييين يتحركون باوامر صالح و ايران الان ولكن الان اصبحت حالة الحرب رسميا و ضاع اليمن السعيد بسبب الخونة والعملاء و المرتزقة دمروا اقدم دولة فى التاريخ.

و دور قطر الخبيث فى تدمير اليمن و مصر و تونس 

الحوثييون..
عجزوا عن احتلال قرية دماج والتي تبلغ مساحتها3 كم
فـ كيف اليوم يسيطرون على اليمن!!!
لاتقولون إيران!!!!!

Early today: Empty sentry post normally used by presidential guards outside Pres. Hadi's home compound #yemen pic.twitter.com/vTURmGCaN6
— Yara Bayoumy (@yarabayoumy) January 21, 2015

RT @sinanyiter: Tribal leader Sheikh Hamad bin Waheed: ''Mareb is not Amran! we are ready to face with Houthis'' pic.twitter.com/XNN0L8VEIJ
— Iona Craigأيونا كريج (@ionacraig) January 21, 2015

The real frontline in the Houthi conflict MT @sinanyiter: Tribal soldiers in #Marib, protection from Houthi attacks pic.twitter.com/R8PvVYZ653
— Iona Craigأيونا كريج (@ionacraig) January 21, 2015

#الله #يسر

A video posted by Akrăm Al Jăhmee 😏 (@akram_aljahmi) on Jan 18, 2015 at 11:26pm PST

#اليمن Tweets #yemen Tweets يتابع ......

Saint Samaan #Church #Christian #Jew #Islam #egypt #Coptic

Saint Samaan #Church  #Christian #Jew #Islam #egypt #Coptic 

In the Mokattam, every Thursday evening mass and public exorcisms take place in one of the cave churches. Dive into an area where miracles are often, and the people extraordinary.

By Louise Sarant, Community Times

Mansheyet Nasser is mostly a Coptic area situated on the lowest slope of the Mokattam hill. This is the residence of the Zabaleen, or slum dwellers, who cart away the rubbish of Cairo metropolis. Apart from a dozen houses inhabited by Muslims and a small “masged” (mosque) among the dusty roads deprived of asphalt of the neighbourhood, mostly Copts are installed there.

The main road of Mansheyet Nasser, lined with cram-full garbage bags that reach impressive heights, bakeries, butcheries and other religious shops, climbs steeply to what the residents call “el dir”, the monastery, even though no monastery is to be seen. However, five amazing churches are established in this secluded and final area of the neighbourhood. A curvy paved road leads to a wide area back by the impressive raw, colored rock of the Mokattam, carved with holy images of the Christ carried out by Marcos, a polish sculptor.

Partly because of the round cafeteria packed with youngsters, who seem to enjoy this moment of rare freedom, and also the huge cave church know as “Saint Samaan Church” excavated in the rock that can host 20,000 people, the common sense of proportion starts to diminish. Thursday evenings sermons of Abouna Samaan, the priest of Mansheyet Nasser, attract thousands of people each week, some from the Mokattam, others from Cairo.

Microbuses also bring faithful Christians through the narrow and smelly streets of this tiny village. The contrast between the pristine and no-smoking area of “el dir” and the smelly streets of Mansheyet Nasser is startling, and gives an impression of sudden serenity and harmony.

THE STORY OF SAMAAN, THE SHOEMAKER

In order to understand why the father of the neighbourhood, whose name is Farahat, has chosen to baptize himself, as well as the church, Abouna Samaan, it is necessary to go back in time, while keeping in mind the legendary aspect of this tale.

A thousand years ago in Egypt, a rather tolerant Caliph encouraged Muslim, Christian and Jewish teachers to debate controversial issues without anger. A battle of wits started between a Jew and a Christian upon religious matters, and the Jewish teacher, in order to force the Coptic patriarch Abraham to the wall, quoted an excerpt of the Bible that says: “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to the mountain move from here to there, and it will move”.

The Caliph was thrilled because through the accomplishment of this miracle, the Christian faith would be validated and there would be a way of expanding the city eastwards, blocked by the mountain. In case of failure, the future of the whole Christian community would be doomed.

The patriarch was granted three days to achieve this miracle, and started by warning the whole community of the imminent threat upon them, inviting them to pray and feast through the day. On the third day, the patriarch, hopeless, had a vision of the Virgin Mary that unveiled the identity of the man who will accomplish the miracle: Samaan, the shoemaker. Indeed, at sunset on the same day, the mountain rose up three times, and while it rose for the last time, the sun was seen under the mountain. The history, or legend, of the miracle that saved the whole Christian community from an assured extinction is still vivid today, which explains the name both of Farahat and the church.

Many miracles happen in those churches of the Mokattam, which also justify the use of the shoemaker’s name.

THE EXORCISM PROCESS

On Thursday evenings, the first hour and a half is devoted to praying in the massive church of Saint Samaan and listening to the sermon of Abouna Samaan.

Around 9 pm, the huge assembly parts in two, those who go back to their homes and those who will follow the mass exorcism that is to take place right after the sermon in Mar Girgis Church. This church is considerably smaller than the previous one; still around 2000 people can be seated without a feeling of claustrophobia.

Originally, this church was a cavern filled with 140,000 tons of rocks. The auditorium-like shape of the cave is filled with rows of quite uncomfortable folding seats. In the middle stands a stage where the acts of exorcism are performed, and on both sides of the central stage, two neat queues (one for women and one for the men) are forming. Dressed in black with a bushy grey beard and a wooden cross in the right hand, Abouna Samaan radiates an impression of solemnity and wisdom that is quite striking to the audience.

A tiny orchestra, led by a dynamic choir and a few instruments is lightening the atmosphere by playing a whole repertoire of songs glorifying Jesus while the exorcisms take place. The lyrics can be easily followed on a big screen that is hung on the wall of the cavern, scrolling on images of happy people. A woman is on stage, standing in front of the priest. Her body is shivering while he firmly presses his wooden cross on her forehead while whispering a prayer. In an instant, she is lying on the stage floor, almost unconscious.

A khadeema immediately covers her body with a white sheet and Abouna Samaan crouches close to the distressed women. Her body is struck by spasms, and her high-pitched screams fill the whole cave. The attention of the audience is total. After hitting her many times with his wooden cross so that her body calms down, he grabs the microphone and asks to the evil spirits inside her: “How many of you are there?” She screams louder, the audience stiffens.

“Six”, she answers.

The priest starts praying for her in the name of Christ and in the name of the cross, then orders her to lift her left leg. “Irfa!” he yells, while the leg of the young woman begins rising under the sheets, thus creating a very unnatural shape. “Put it back down!” yells the priest, and she obeys promptly. On the third time she lifts her leg, he addresses the devil and tells him that now is time to leave this body, and that he will let go of her when her leg touches the floor for the last time.

At that moment, one of the numerous khadeemas on the stage pours “Baraka” water (from a real Baraka bottle) into the priest’s palm. As soon as the poor woman’s leg is back on the floor, Abouna Samaan sharply splashes her face with the holy water, prompting the immediate release from the evil spirit that inhabited her. She is helped to stand on her two feet again, and is invited by the priest to stomp her feet in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. She then readjusts the veil that has been crumpled in the exorcism process, and leaves the cave.

It could sound unconventional, but many Muslim men and women come to Abouna Samaan for an exorcism. It also happens in the Mar Girgis Cathedral in Ramses, where Abouna Makary Younane proceeds with exorcisms every Friday evenings.

#FreeSpeechStories #France accused of 'double standards'

Tens of thousands of fans of the French comic Dieudonne - often criticised as anti-Semitic - are making claims of hypocrisy and double standards after French authorities opened up dozens of cases against people accused of justifying terrorism.

Fans of the controversial comedian reacted angrily after he was arrested and charged with condoning terrorism for a remark on his a Facebook page: "je me sens Charlie Coulibaly" ("I feel like Charlie Coulibaly").

The remark, which has since been taken down, was a mash-up of the#JeSuisCharlie tag and the name of Amedy Coulibaly, the man who killed a policewoman near a Jewish school and four people at a Jewish supermarket in Paris. Dieudonne later defended the remark by saying he felt like he was being persecuted by authorities as if he were a terror suspect.

"Freedom of expression is dead, but its funeral on Sunday was pretty!!" said one of the comedian's Facebook fans, referring to the enormous march through Paris in support of Charlie Hebdo.

"WHAT HYPOCRISY!!!!!" shouted another commentator. "You can legally caricature and insult the prophet and the Muslim world: the oligarchy calls this freedom of expression ... We are in a pseudo-democratic dictatorship."

Dieudonne is a comedian with a history of making crude jokes about the Holocaust (and occasionally getting into legal trouble). He has a huge following on social media including more than 900,000 Facebook fans. Most of the comments on his page were in support of the comedian, and his name was trending briefly on Twitter earlier in the week, but there were a few fans who thought Dieudonne had crossed a line.

"There is a big difference between freedom of expression and incitement to hatred," said one fan. "He knew what to expect ... Charlie Hebdo made caricatures of the prophet that I haven't agreed with, it has made a mockery of the prophet, made some laugh, shocked others, but there was no incentive to hatred and this is a big difference."

The arrest of Dieudonne was just one of dozens of cases - up to 100according to one estimate - opened by the French authorities since the attacks. Some people have even been jailed already under fast-track legislation that was passed last year.

In a typical year, only one or two people are arrested for speaking out in favour of terrorism, said Emmanuel Pierrat, a French media lawyer and member of PEN International, which supports free expression.

Pierrat told BBC Trending that free speech is an idea at the core of the French nation, but one that in his view has been eroded over the years by exceptions for things including hate speech.

"We have weakened the principle of freedom of speech, for good intentions, but without thinking about the consequences. We need to think about how we can recover the idea of freedom of speech after an event that is so emotional, like the one in Paris (last week)," he said.

He cautioned however, that Dieudonne's statements could not be directly compared with the Charlie Hebdo cartoons showing the Prophet Muhammad.

"One thing is for sure, in France you can make drawings or speeches against ideology or against religion. The French revolution of 1789 abolished the crime of blasphemy" and courts have consistently upheld the legality of speech directed at religions or historical religious figures, he says.

Pierrat, who represented Michel Houellebecq when the author wascleared of charges of religious hate speech against Muslims in 2002, says the Dieudonne case will be difficult to judge given the ambiguity of the comedian's outburst. But he says he believes the authorities are made a mistake by arresting him. A trial is scheduled for next month.

"If Dieudonne wins, he will be like a hero," Pierrat says. "It will gives a lot of young people the idea that he is a champion of Muslims or immigrants ... he's no longer a comedian or an actor, but instead his audiences are far-right sympathisers."

"What makes me somewhat afraid is that French justice is speeding up when it comes to these questions," he says. "Like Americans after 11 September, the worry is that judgments are coming too quickly, and influenced by a very emotional event."

Blog by Mike Wendling