Shalateen Part of #Egypt

Shalateen Part of #Egypt

Shalateen (Egyptian Arabic: شلاتين Šalatīn  pronounced [ʃælæˈtiːn]; also spelled: Alshalateen or Shalatin) 520 kilometres (320 mi) south of Hurghada, is the biggest city just north of the Halayeb Triangle, an area of disputed sovereignty between Egypt and Sudan. It serves as the administrative center (markaze) of all Egyptian territory up to the border between Egypt and Sudan, including the villages of:

• Abu Ramad, 125 kilometres (78 mi) to the southeast;
• Halayeb, 165 kilometres (103 mi) to the southeast;
• Ras Hadarba 200 kilometres (120 mi) to the southeast. Ras Hadarba or Cape Hadarba lies on the shores of the Red Sea to the southeast of the city of Halayeb and to the east of mount Hadarba from which it takes its name. The village of Ras Hadarba lies just north of the borders between Egypt and Sudan which run along the 22 degree north parallel of latitude;
• Marsa Hameera, 40 kilometres (25 mi) to the north; and
• Abrak, 90 kilometres (56 mi) to the west.

The first three of the above towns (Abu Ramad, Halayeb and Ras Hadarba) are located within the disputed Halayeb Triangle.

History

Egyptian ministries and authorities are in the process of establishing their presence in the area and operate in conjunction with the City Council to provide services to the local communities according to the policies and programs of their respective organizations. The military is responsible for security and law enforcement in the Halayeb Triangle. Red Sea Governorate's Popular Council, including many members from the Bisharia and Ababda, are responsible for determining what the local people need and supporting local participation in management and development of this area.

The Egyptian government also provides additional social services to the local communities, such as food, water, monetary assistance, subsidies, health care, veterinary care, housing and education. A new international Airport in Marsa Alam was built, about 270 kilometres (170 mi) from Shalateen city, which Egyptian policy makers intend to be the center of more development for the southern region included the Shalateen area.

Ethnography

Local tribes in Halayeb and Shalateen area have had little exposure to modernization under Sudanese administration and under Egyptian administration up to 1992. But after 1992, the Egyptian government started to implement a development plan when it started to build some settlements, including 500 new houses built in Shalateen and 250 in Aboramad and Halayeb, depending on Shalateen local council sources. Roads were also established, including a 250-kilometer road between Shalateen and Marsa Alam city in north, and three new electricity generators have begun operation since 1993. In 1993–94, the Egyptian government launched a plan for the social economic development of the area. Services and economic support were delivered in the main towns and villages and necessary infrastructures was built. Financial and in-kind donations were sponsored for a total amount of 1.5 billion L.E. currently; the Government is supporting local families with 70 L.E. per month, and 3 L.E. per day to each child going to school. Nowadays many high educated people, and many local people, work as employees of the government, NGOs and private sector companies, which will help in more development.

Depending on that and on the government development policy, many people from the mountains moved to towns in order to benefit from these services. They were given houses with a permanent water source, food supplies, electricity and education. So far, approximately 8,000 people have settled along the coast. As a result of the plan, communities in the urban areas have improved their livelihood.

Local community in Halayeb area has been involved in the management of Gabel Elba Protected Area as guides and also as environmental researchers in the management and conservation of the natural resources of this area; local people are also involved in the decision making process. The World Food Program project in this area "Support Bedouin Life Project" represents a good model for the Egyptian government's policy of local participation and community-based management of projects.

References

Notes

Sources

• Metrash,A.& Pozzan, E (2002). Preliminary Study of the Local Communities in Elba Protected Area,Report submitted for EIECP,EGYPTIAN ITALIAN ENVIRONMENTAL COOPERATION PROGRAM - PHASE II EEAA,Egypt
• World Food Program (2005),report about WFP projects in Egypt, also available via http://www.wfp.org/operations/current_operations/project_docs/104500.pdf

Domestic violence in Saudi Arabia made headlines worldwide

 domestic violence in Saudi Arabia made headlines worldwide

Saudi Arabia, a country not exactly known for progressive attitudes toward women, has launched its first major campaign against domestic violence  — its latest effort to embrace, at least superficially, some women’s rights reforms.

The ads in the “No More Abuse” campaign show a woman in a dark veil with one black eye. The English version reads “some things can’t be covered.” The Arabic version, according to Foreign Policy‘s David Kenner, translates roughly as “the tip of the iceberg.” A Web site for the campaign includes a report on reducing domestic violence and emergency resources for victims.

Exact figures on domestic violence are hard to come by. The State Department’s most recent human rights report cites estimates that 16 to 50 percent of Saudi wives suffer some kind of spousal abuse. Saudi law does not criminalize domestic violence or spousal rape, and social repercussions can make reporting violence of any kind difficult. Both rape and domestic violence “may be seriously underreported,” according to the State Department report.

The Saudi government has begun to address the problem, at least in name. In 2008, a prime ministerial decree ordered the expansion of “social protection units,” its version of women’s shelters, in several large cities, and ordered the government to draft a national strategy to deal with domestic violence, according to the United Nations. Several royal foundations, including the King Abdulaziz Center for National Dialogue and the King Khalid Foundation, have also led education and awareness efforts.

None of this changes the fact, of course, that Saudi Arabia remains an often difficult place to be a woman. The World Economic Forum ranks the country 131st out of 135 for its record on women’s rights, citing a total lack of political and economic empowerment.

The country has a strong record on women’s health and education, however: On metrics such as enrollment in higher education, Saudi Arabia actually scores well above the global average.

Some of those well-educated women are leading the fight against domestic violence now. Maha Almuneef, a pediatrician, directs the National Family Safety Program, an anti-violence effort that has also benefited from the patronage of Saudi Arabia’s Princess Adela.

“Reporting violence and abuse should be compulsory, and there should be a witness protection program,” Adela said at a 2009 conference on ending the country’s domestic abus

A Man Dresses As A Woman To Experience Cairo's Street Harassmen

 

Hackgate - The IPCC and Surrey's "Collective Amnesia"

Hackgate - The IPCC and Surrey's "Collective Amnesia" 

 

Published in late April '13, the Independent Police Complaints Commision (IPCC) Commissioner’s Report entitled 'IPCC independent investigation into Surrey Police’s knowledge of the alleged illegal accessing of Amanda (Milly) Dowler’s mobile phone in 2002' runs to just 6 scathing pages.  Its key observation is that

former senior officers at Surrey Police were 'afflicted by a form of collective amnesia' in relation to the force’s failure to investigate an allegation in 2002 that the voicemail of Amanda (Milly) Dowler had been hacked by the News of the World (NOTW).

The relevant documents in the public domain consist of a letter from Surrey Police to the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee (CMS) on Surrey's own investigation (Operation Baronet), evidence read-in to the Leveson Inquiry from the Metropolitan Police Service (MET), as well as that IPCC Commissioner's Report.  The latter specifically focused on the referrals of Maria Woodall and Craig Denholm for potential recordable conduct.

MARIA WOODALL

Then: In 2002, Maria Woodall was Detective Sergeant and Action Team Manager of Surrey Police's investigation Operation Ruby into the abduction of missing teenager Millie Dowler. She appears to have been frank with the IPCC that the hacking of Millie's mobile phone by NOTW was known by several on the investigation team - for example, DC John Lyndon's 23rd April '02 log entry (p14)

...in light of the News of the World revelation that they or a third party has accessed the voicemail it is possible that the messages had previously been listened to by unknown persons and deleted.

Millie's mother Sally recounted to the Leveson Inquiry (p14) her own suspicions that NOTW had intercepted family phones to get a particularly intrusive story for publication ('The Longest Walk').

Woodall's referral to the IPCC  however was not about 2002. She was investigated for allegedly failing to pass on knowledge of NOTW's hacking later during the investigation which led to the convictions of Clive Goodman and Glenn Mulcaire (p4):  

The case against her rested on her actions and knowledge in 2007, when the first phone hacking convictions took place. It is clear that at that point she accessed the HOLMES system to view documents from 2002 associated with phone hacking.

Though the IPCC investigation "concluded that there was no case to answer for misconduct."  From 2006, Operation Ruby's Senior Investigating Officer (SIO) was Detective Chief Superintendent Mark Rowley. It is not known if Woodall informed him of her HOLMES searches.

Now: Temporary Detective Superintendent Woodall is about to leave Surrey for a new job with the City of London Police.

STUART GIBSON

Then: Detective Chief Inspector Gibson was the initial appointed Senior Investigating Officer (SIO) when Millie Dowler disappeared in March 2002.  It has been alleged that Gibson was one of the Surrey officers who met with NOTW senior journalists and were told of the hacking. (here)

Documented evidence of his meeting(s) with NOTW are missing.  Within a few weeks, Gibson was removed from Operation Ruby. The conclusions from a progress review by Sussex Police undertaken in the summer of 2002 are here.

At the same time, there was adverse criticism from the press - one "describing the investigation under DCI Gibson as 'rudderless' and this media coverage has since been described by (then Deputy Chief Constable) Peter Fahy as 'a factor in replacing the SIO for [the investigation]".  (p9)

Now: Stuart Gibson is retired.

The IPCC Investigation also states that amongst senior officers interviewed were those at Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) level.

CRAIG DENHOLM  (ACPO level)

Surrey Police's evidence to the CMS Committee and the Leveson Inquiry came from Assistant Chief Constable Jerry Kirkby. Normally, both might have warranted the attention of the force Chief Constable.  However, Surrey's Chief Constable Mark Rowley had just left for a new post with the MET and Temporary Chief Constable Craig Denholm was himself implicated as the focus of Operation Baronet.

Then: In 2002, Detective Chief Superintendent Denholm (Head of Crime) was Overall Officer in Charge (OOC) of Operation Ruby - the immediate superior officer to SIO Stuart Gibson.

The case against Denholm "rested on his claim to have had no knowledge about the alleged hacking of Milly Dowler’s phone before this was revealed publicly in 2011. Given the extent of knowledge within the investigation team, and Surrey Police as a whole, and the fact that this was referred to in documents which he is known to have received, the investigation found it hard to understand how he, the officer in charge, could not have been aware of the alleged hacking. But despite detailed examination of all extant documents and interviews with all relevant witnesses, the investigation was unable to find any witness or documentary evidence that contradicted Mr Denholm’s own repeated assertions to the IPCC that he did not know, and had not made the relevant connections. In view of that...there was insufficient evidence to support a finding of a case to answer for gross misconduct."

Now: Denholm has just been appointed Deputy Chief Constable of Hampshire Police. Its Chief Constable Andy Marsh said: "Craig is an experienced and very capable DCC with a good track record of leadership and delivery of excellent policing services to the public."

MARK ROWLEY (ACPO level)

Then: Rowley joined Surrey in 2002 as Chief Superintendent to command West Surrey Basic Command Unit.  Previously (Guardian)

as a detective superintendent at the National Criminal Intelligence Service, he 'led on the national deployment of covert techniques to combat organised crime such as telephone interception' 

Rowley became Surrey Assistant Chief Constable from November 2003 and assumed the role of OOC for Operation Ruby in 2006.  He was appointed Chief Constable in 2009. Following the conviction of Levi Bellfield in 2011 for Millie Dowler's murder, Rowley iniated Operation Baronet under AC Jerry Kirkby.

Now:  Rowley is Assistant Commissioner at the MET. For some time he was direct superior officer of DAC Sue Akers command of Operations Weeting, Elveden and Tuleta.  Responsibility for these investigations was subsequently transferred to AC Cressida Dick.


PETER FAHY  (ACPO level)

Then: Throughout 2002, Fahy was Deputy Chief Constable of Surrey Police under Chief Constable Denis O'Connor. Fahy left Surrey in Dec '02 to become Chief Constable of Cheshire Police.

Now: Knighted in 2012, Sir Peter Fahy is currently Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police.

DENIS O'CONNOR  (ACPO level)

Then: In 2002, O'Connor was Chief Constable of Surrey Police. In all available evidence, O'Connor has been very keen to distance himself from the NOTW phone hacking in 2002.  Instead, he has consistently emphasized his heavy reliance on Peter Fahy's responsibility to have informed him:

You will understand that as a discipline authority, not everything reaches the Chief Constable, who must sit in judgment of things. So I may have been partially safe from it, but I would have expected and, you know,my sort of --my concern with the mission of policing and its credibility, that people would have drawn -- my senior staff, my professional standards department -- if there was anything significant, they would have told me... Particularly my Deputy Chief Constable at the present (sic) time, Peter Fahy, I had absolute faith in his integrity. I thought he would make the right judgments

Lord Justice Leveson did however challenge O'Connor on this strategy of continuing, unsighted insulation (pp 98-100).  His witness statement added (1st witness statement, p7):

I am not fully sighted on the details of the alleged contact between the News of the World and my staff during the Amanda Dowler investigation (I have deliberately limited my contact with Surrey Police pending current investigations) so cannot comment on the specifics of this issue.

Now:  Knighted in 2010, Sir Denis O'Connor is currently Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary.

And STILL there are inconsistencies emerging on the hacking of Millie Dowler. Note the investigation of Maria Woodall "rested on her actions and knowledge in 2007, when the first phone hacking convictions took place. It is clear that at that point she accessed the HOLMES system to view documents from 2002 associated with phone hacking."

Yet it is debatable just how much documentation was on the second generation HOLMES (Home Office Large Major Enquiry System) in 2002... or even in 2007. The - redacted - Sussex Review of September 2002 made Operational Recommendations:

Recommendation 56
That Surrey Police in general ensure that sufficient analysts are trained on the HOLMES 2 system.
Recommendation 57
That Surrey Police formulate an appropriate policy regarding the typing of at least the most significant 'other documents' onto HOLMES 2 during any enquiry.

Were those Sussex Police recommendations ignored? Or if significant 2002 Dowler phone hacking documents were in the HOLMES system, were they still there when Woodall looked in 2007? Had some disappeared by the time of the 2012 Operation Baronet?  Given that one of the aims of HOLMES is to facilitate crucial information access across force boundaries, was cross-force access to HOLMES 2002 documents volunteered by Surrey to Operation Caryatid (the MET 2005-6 investigation into Goodman and Mulcaire)? If not, why not?  Alternatively - following the high profile convictions of Goodman and Mulcaire in 2007 - Woodall may have tried to access cross-force MET HOLMES databases on NOTW phone hacking.

There were none. The MET did not enter details of the key Mulcaire Archive into HOLMES during the Operation Caryatid investigation in 2005. Or 2006. Or post-conviction in 2007.  It was only in July 2009, following intense criticism, that the MET's John Yates ordered the phone hacking data entry into HOLMES to enable victim notification. It was costly, protracted, and poorly executed.

The IPCC confirms "widespread knowledge uncovered in this investigation, we consider that it is scarcely credible that no one connected to the Milly Dowler investigation recognised the relevance and importance of the knowledge that Surrey Police had in 2002...There is no doubt, from our investigation and the evidence gathered by Operation Baronet, that Surrey Police knew in 2002 of the allegation that Milly Dowler’s phone had been hacked by the News of the World. It is apparent from the evidence that there was knowledge of this at all levels within the investigation team  ...former senior officers in particular appear to have been afflicted by a form of collective amnesia about this"

All this is highly reminiscent of the (contagious?) 'omerta' culture at the News of the World. Surrey Police seem to have demonstrated the self-same collective amnesia and willful blindness of NOTW senior executives, the plausible deniability of Andy Coulson, the trusting reliance on subordinates of Rupert Murdoch, the inability to read a log/email chain of James Murdoch, the document preservation abilities of News International's Datapool 3 team, and the reputational management skills of Colin Myler.

To date, six have been charged with conspiracy to intercept the voicemail messages of Millie Dowler in April 2002 - Rebekah Brooks, Andrew Coulson, Stuart Kuttner, Greg Miskiw, Neville Thurlbeck and Glenn Mulcaire.  Unless all six defendants plead guilty, these charges will have to be defended in open court. So there is much more evidence yet to emerge on the Dowler hacking, including the potential for former senior officers of Surrey Police being called as prosecution witnesses.

The short IPCC Commissioner's Report is a much-truncated and redacted version. The full IPCC formal Investigation Report "contains full details of the evidence supporting the findings and conclusions and the report into this case is not being published at this time at the request of the Crown Prosecution Service, in view of ongoing criminal proceedings."

This sorry Surrey saga is not over yet.

Happy Easter 2013

Happy Easter 2013

Happy Easter to all those celebrating it all over the world today especially in Egypt ,Yemen and Syria.

 

45 Life Lessons, written by a 90 year old

45 Life Lessons, written by a 90 year old

  

1. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short not to enjoy it.
4. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and family will.
5. Don’t buy stuff you don’t need.
6. You don’t have to win every argument. Stay true to yourself.
7. Cry with someone. It’s more healing than crying alone.
8. It’s OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for things that matter.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.
12. It’s OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn’t be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye… But don’t worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful.  Clutter weighs you down in many ways.
18. Whatever doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It’s never too late to be happy.  But it’s all up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don’t save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Overprepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don’t wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words, ‘In five years, will this matter?’
27. Always choose Life.
28. Forgive but don’t forget.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give Time time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn’t do.
35. Don’t audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old beats the alternative — dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d
grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time. Accept what you already have, not what you think you need.
42. The best is yet to come…
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
44. Yield.
45. Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift.

World Press Freedom Day

Journalists who have died while pursuing their trade have been remembered on the 20th annual World Press Freedom day.

In Mexico supporters rallied for crime reporter Regina Martinez. The correspondent for news magazine Proceso was found beaten and strangled to death in her home in Xalapa, in eastern Veracruz state in 2012.

Last month, Jorge Antonio Hernandez Silva was sentenced to 38-years in prison for her murder during an apparent botched robery.

But colleagues of Ms Martinez maintain that she was killed because of her journalistic work.

Meanwhile American Marie Colvin and Mika Yamamoto of Japan have been named “World Press Freedom Heroes” by the International Press Institute.

They are among 39 journalists killed in the Syrian conflict last year.

Those who have been incarcerated because of their work by authoritarian regimes are also being remembered, such as the 16 journalists kidnapped in Iran recently.

UN secretary General Ban Ki-moon, praised members of the media and spoke of a new inter-governmental plan to protect them: “There is more that we can do, including greater protections through the rule of law. I urge all involved to do their utmost to translate the words of the plan into actions on the ground that will create a safer environment for the press.”

There have been some good news stories for press freedom however.

For example, since last month people in Myanmar have access to private daily newspapers for the first time in half a century.

'Sphinx' in 'orange' to celebrate the coronation of a new king of the #Netherlands

the Ministry of Tourism, a special celebration at the pyramid, marking the culmination of a new king of the Netherlands to succeed his mother, Queen «Beatrice» after 120 years of rule by queens, and the courtyard of sound and light, where lit three pyramids and Sphinx orange, the color of the royal family in the Netherlands.

يا معشر الأعراب هيا عودوا إلى خيامكم

من هم الأعراب!?

قوله تعالى {الأَعْرَابُ أَشَدُّ كُفْرًا وَنِفَاقًا وَأَجْدَرُ أَلاَّ يَعْلَمُوا حُدُودَ مَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ عَلَى رَسُولِهِ وَاللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌ }

(السعودية- الإمارات - الكويت - قطر - البحرين )

بمعنى اصح دول الخليج فقط. 

على صحراء قاحلة شحيحة كانوا يسكنون ..كانوا قوماً حفاة عراة يئدون بناتهم و يقتلون صغارهم عند وقوع مجاعة ما وكان الرجل منهم يرث حتى زوجات أبيه ، وكان إذا سافر يُقيّد زوجاته إلى شجرة حتى يرجع من سفره

كانوا مفكّكين مبعثرين يُغيرون على بعضهم البعض ..كانوا لا يُؤتمنون على أماناتهم ولا على أعراضهم ..كان القويّ منهم ينهش الضعيف ..يعلنون الحرب لأجل ناقة ويُورّثون هذه الحرب للأجيال المتلاحقة ..


كانوا يُمثّلون بجثث أعدائهم ويُعلّقون الرؤوس على مداخل مدنهم ..كانوا يلبسون ما رثّ وما بليّ ..كانوا يجلسون على التراب ويتّخذونه نمارق ويتبرّزون عليه وينظّفون به عوراتهم ..


كانوا لا يعرفون لا قراءة ولا كتابة يتناقلون ما يقرضون من الشّعر شفوياً ..كانوا يُصَعلِكون شعرائهم ويُحلّون دمائهم ويحرّمون الحب ويقرنون بينه وبين الإثم والخطيئة .


كان الرجل منهم يجمع كبار قومه أدباً ونسباً ليطؤو زوجته حتى تلد له ولد يكون وارثاً لكل صفات الجمال والكمال التي يحملها أولئك الرجال ..


كانوا قطّاعا للطرق سلاّبين نهّابين ..يعتبرون العمل مهانة واستصغارا لذلك يوكلون الأعمال من فلاحة وحدادة وحياكة للعبيد والجواري ..


جاءهم محمد إبن عبد الله ( صلى الله عليه وسلم ) علمهم حتى نتف الإبط من شدة جهلهم وتخلفهم ..

أتستغربون بعد هذا أن يختن الرجل ابنته ويجلب صديقه حتى ترضعه زوجته بعدما يفاخذ صغيرته ؟

لم يُنجبوا ابطالاً فقد كان إبن خلدون من تونس وكان إبن الجزار من القيروان وكان الفارابي من بلاد ما وراء النهرين وكان الرازي وإبن المقفع من بلاد فارس وكان سيبويه من البصرة وكان إبن سيناء من بخارى وكان الغزالي من نيسابور وكان النووي من سورية …


ربما كان بينهم أدباء وشعراء فطاحلة لكنهم اُتّهموا من قبل هؤلاء الأعراب بالزندقة وبالإلحاد وبالشذوذ .. فحتى إذا أنجبت أرضهم القاحلة اِسثناء كفّروه أو قتلوه ..


كان هذا دأبهم ؛ لو حدّثتهم عن النساء لقالوا لك : جواري وختان واِرضاع الكبير ومفاخذة الصغير وبكر وعذرية ومثنى وثلاث ورباع ومتبرجة تبرج الجاهلية وعورة وما ملكت أيمانهم وهل يجوز النكاح قبل البلوغ …


ثم يقولون هذا رجس من عمل الشيطان ولا يجتنبونة ..أسَرُهم مفكّكة تملؤها الصراعات والمظالم…

الجنس في كلامهم وفي وعيهم وفي لا وعيهم في مدارسهم وفي ملابسهم وفي هواتفم وفي حواسبهم ..يزنون مع عشيقاتهم ثم يرجمنهن بالحجارة ..


ولا يكتفون بهذا بل يمزجون الجنس بلحاهم وبأفكارهم ويحاولون تصدير كبتهم عبر فتاوى شيوخهم المهوسون به ..


عندما كانوا ينسجون أساطيرهم بوادي الجن وضع أجدادنا العظماء أول دستور في البشرية ..كان أجدادي يسكنون القصور ويشربون الخمور في أواني الفضة والذهب كانوا يشيّدون المعابد والمسارح ويلتقون فيها للتٌسامر وتبادل المعارف وإقامة الألعاب و المسابقات والمناظرات الفكرية ..كانوا يبنون المكاتب قبل المطابخ ..كانت روما أعتى الإمبراطوريات تَرهَبُهم وتغار من تقدّم القرطاجين و الفينيقيين و من اِنفتاحهم ..
لو كتبت بحراً من الكلمات لم وصفت حضارة أجدادي ..


يا معشر الأعراب هيا عودوا إلى خيامكم وإبلكم واِنكحوة ما لذّ وطاب من جواركم وغلمانكم واِبتعدو عن أرضنا وشمسنا وبحرنا فأوطاننا أطهر من أن يدنّسها أمثالكم.

Egyptian Parliament Deals Blow to IMF Loan

 

Egyptian protesters hold placards with the Arabic inscription reading ‘danger’ and shout slogans as they demonstrate against the International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation visit, in front of the General-Prosecutor's office in Cairo, April 3, 2013

 

Egypt's parliament halted its reading of a new income tax law on Monday, saying the government had not shown who would be affected by the measure that is needed to secure a badly needed $4.8 billion IMF loan.

Lawmakers criticized the government's competence in drafting the legislation, adding to uncertainties about the IMF deal just days after a deputy finance minister who was a key negotiator with the International Monetary Fund resigned.

Speaker of the upper house of parliament Ahmed Fahmy appeared visibly frustrated as he announced that the chamber would halt what had been scheduled as its final reading of the law because it did not have the necessary government data.

“What finance ministry or tax authority does not know how to calculate the income bracket or who benefits and who is harmed? This is not worthy of the council,” Fahmy said, as members clapped their support.
     
Fahmy said that debate was suspended "until the government provides correct data, otherwise this government can go wherever it wants to go."
     
In addition to cutting fuel subsidies and raising sales taxes, Egypt has said it will rein in its soaring budget deficit with measures including tax changes targeting the wealthy.

Two weeks of talks in Cairo between Egyptian officials and an IMF team earlier this month failed to produce an agreement.

Diplomats told Reuters at the time that President Mohamed Morsi had yet to endorse required tax increases and subsidy cuts that prompted him to halt implementation of an earlier IMF deal in December.
  
Cairo has said it hopes to get an IMF deal by next month. 

Saudi Reportedly Expels Men for Being Too Handsome

Attention handsome young men: you might want to reconsider any trips to Saudi Arabia.

Earlier this month, the Saudi religious police expelled three men from the United Arab Emirates, apparently for being “too good looking.”

The men were in Riyadh attending the Jenadrivah Heritage & Cultural Festival, and according to Time magazine, they were minding their own business when the police entered the pavilion and whisked them away.

According to the Arabic-language newspaper Elaph, they were removed for fear that women would not be able to resist them.

“A festival official said the three Emiratis were taken out on the grounds they are too handsome and that the Commission members feared female visitors could fall for them,” the newspaper said.

The United Arab Emirates issued a statement after the incident saying the Saudi religious police may have been on alert because an unnamed female artist made an unplanned visit to the pavilion. There was no indication the two events were related.

One of the men named in the incident has become an Internet sensation. Photos of Omar Gala, who, according to his Facebook page, is a “fashion photographer, model, actor, poet” from Dubai, have been plastered across the web.

Egyptian Shias keep low profile in face of defamation

"Have a look upon us, have a look upon us... you who were given the precious knowledge."

Thursday marked the birthday — Mulid — of Al-Sayeda Nafisa, wife of one of Prophet Muhammad's grandsons. The air was filled with eulogy poems, music and Quran recitations by thousands of her devotees from across the country who travel annually to her mausoleum in Old Cairo. They ask her for guidance and to grant the wishes they whisper to her tomb.

Hundreds of large tents were erected around the mosque to accommodate the visitors. Each tent carries a banner that shows the Sufi sect that manages it and the governorate it comes from.

One tent in particular, with a sign reading, "The Khalilia Sect — Giza" was quieter than all the others. It catered food and beverages for the poor and needy, but offered no music nor dhikr dancing.

"Of course not all those who are celebrating the Mulid are Sufis, many of them are Shias," said Khaled Alatfy, editor-in-chief of "The Arabic Family" newspaper, who was sitting inside the Khalilia of Giza tent. "But most of them don’t wish to be identified."

Sufism and Shia Islam share many characteristics, including the deep love and glorification of Prophet Muhammad's bloodline, Ahl al-Bayt.

"Many Shias prefer to practice their faith under the umbrella of Sufism," said Alatfy. Sufism, he said, provides a tolerant safe haven while carrying a more socially and politically acceptable label.

Hundreds of Shia were hunted, imprisoned, and persecuted under the rule of the toppled president Hosni Mubarak.

There is no law that prohibits one from being Shia, but police and prosecutors have chosen from a variety of "disrespecting religion," and "disrupting the social harmony" charges that can be stretched to fit anyone who belongs to a non acceptable faith or ideology. 

Alatfy spoke in a low voice; he didn't want to attract attention. Media were not welcomed inside the tent, and photography was strictly prohibited.

Many members of this specific sect, Alatfy explained, had been arrested and subjected to constant police surveillance and harassment. In 1996, Hasan Shehata, an imam in Giza, gained notoriety for publicly preaching Shia Islam. He was frank and spoke up harshly and satirically against Sunni Islam.

It wasn't long before he, hundreds of his followers, and many who were suspected to be followers were arrested without charge under emergency law.

One of the strictly Sufi members of the sect, who wished not to be identified, said that he spent five months in prison and was summoned several times for security checks for no apparent reason.

"I had some friends who happened to be among the audience of Hasan Shehata, and that was my only crime," he said.

The agonizing past of Egyptian Shia in the past two decades is not the only reason that keeps many reluctant to speak.

Mohammad Al Hussieny, a Shia primary school teacher, grabbed from his pocket a leaflet distributed in the streets of Cairo few weeks ago. It read: "Shias are the enemy of God and the spies of Iran. They are more dangerous to the Islamic Nation than the Jews. Shias must be expelled out of Egypt."

The Salafist rise after the Arab Spring uprising in Egypt evoked an unprecedented anti-Shia wave of hatred. The new Egyptian constitution has an article that limits the interpretation of Sharia law to the sources and jurisprudence of the Sunni doctrine.

That article is viewed by Shias as a gateway to ban the celebration of Al-Sayeda Nafisa's birthday, and hundreds of similar Mulids commemorated in every corner of Egypt, and enforce more hostile policies against their freedom to express their faith.

In September 2012, the Supreme Administrative Court rejected granting a permit for Al Tahrir Party, a socialist party founded by several Shia figures, because it was "based on religious principle." This wasn’t an obstacle for the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party, nor for the Salafi Al-Nour party, both of which have strong declared Islamic affiliations.
Since Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited Egypt last February, Salafist movements have initiated an ongoing campaign against Shias. They have called for marches to counter the "Iranian-Shia tide," and organized conferences about the "dangers of Shiism."

Two weeks ago, there were clashes between Salafist demonstrators and the security forces surrounding the house of the head of the Iranian mission in Cairo.

The reasons for the Salafists’ hostility are not merely religious, but also political, according to Khaled Saeed, spokesperson of the Salafi Front, one of the hardliner Sunni groups who took part in the latest anti-Shia campaign.

"Look at the east of Saudi Arabia, the south of Lebanon, and what's happening in Bahrain and Iraq. Iran spreads havoc everywhere they reach," Saaed said in a phone interview.

Saeed claims that Egyptian Shia are not the target.

"As long as they are fully integrated inside the Egyptian society, they are not an enemy,” said Saeed. “It is a different story if they tried manifesting the Iranian agenda."

Saeed asserts that some Salafist groups are using the anti-Shia rhetoric for political gains.

"It is a way of attracting more followers and strengthen[ing] their unity in front of a common enemy," he said.

Saeed added that it is possible some Salafist forces are using the Shia card to pressure the Muslim Brotherhood regime trying to normalize diplomatic relations with Iran and allow Iranian tourism, which has been suspended since the seventies.

It is hard to draw a strict line between where religious motives end and electoral strategies begin. The results are the same: the majority of Shia are keeping a low profile, and continue to practice their faith with a great deal of secrecy and caution, yet with a strong belief that their community shall survive the difficult circumstances.

"Isn't it ironic to see leaflets calling for kicking Shias out of Egypt, while they were the ones who built its capital?" asked the teacher Al Hussieny bitterly.

Cairo was built during the Fatimid Shia dynasty that ruled Egypt in the 10th century. Shrines and holy sites like that of Al-Sayeda Nafisa are spread everywhere in the historical parts of the capital and remain a source of comfort and strength to Shia and Sufis.

"We built it, we will stay in it, and so will our sons and grandsons," said Al Hussieny in a resilient tone.

#UNICEF 's Numbers Unemployment in #Egypt

UNICEF: 13% unemployment rate in Egypt and 90% of them are carrying certificates of medium and high

Anonymous Calls for CISPA Internet Blackout April 22nd - April 19th, 2013

We are Anonymous

We are Legion

We do not forgive

We do not forget

Number one source for Anonymous/activistic news.

Anonymous operations will be posted here; along with videos related to Anonymous, protests, or any other forms of activistic activities.

Check back daily for updates.

Dear citizens of the internet,

We are Anonymous.

The United States Government is again attempting to control and censor the internet. The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act has just recently passed the house.

This bill would allow major internet entities such as Facebook, Twitter, and Google to voluntarily share your personal information with the U.S. Government. This will not only effect users in the United States, but also anyone with an account with these companies.

This upcoming Monday, April the 22nd, we invite you to join Anonymous in a internet blackout. We encourage all web developers and website owners to go dark on this date. Display a message as to why you are going dark, and encourage others to do the same.

We hope, just like the successful protest over the Stop Online Piracy Act, we can encourage the senate to stop this bill.

Spread the message, and inform the world.

We are Anonymous
We are the people
We are the internet

Knowledge is free

Arab Spring Time in Saudi Cyberspace

Not more than two years ago, the concept of reform in Saudi Arabia would have been as much an oxymoron as business ethics or airline cuisine. In recent months, however, the Arab Spring’s uncertain winds of change have finally begun to sweep into the world’s last forbidden kingdom. Finding themselves alone in a crowd (of revolution) in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia’s monarchs are quickly realizing that their secret police and petrodollars may be no match for their citizens’ technology-driven empowerment.

On March 1, Saudi security forces cracked down on a woman-led protest in the city of Buraidah, known as the nerve center of Saudi Arabia’s ultraconservative Wahabbist ideology. Over 160 people, mostly women and children, were arrested after erecting a tent camp to pressure the government to free their imprisoned husbands whom they claim have been detained for years without visitation or access to legal counsel. The Saudi government claims that the detainees are part of a “deviant group,” a term given to suspected Al Qaeda sympathizers or Islamist political opposition groups across the Gulf.

News of the arrests spread like wildfire. Protests in support of the Buraidah women were called for by activists from the Shiite minority in the Eastern Province and liberal reformists in Riyadh and Jidda. The mobilization of Saudi conservatives, liberals and minorities against the government’s repressive policies bore a dangerous resemblance to the red-green alliances that toppled governments from Cairo to Tunis. While turnout at the demonstrations was limited due to the government’s ban on political gatherings, the Saudi Twittersphere was teeming with anger.

Two weeks later, the government-sponsored Arab News daily published a cover story condemning what it deemed “abusive” actions by Saudi Twitter users. The story mentioned that the authorities were mulling over a plan to link Twitter accounts with their users’ identification numbers. Soon after, the story was pulled from the online version of the newspaper without explanation.

For one of the most Internet-privy societies on the planet, any move to link Twitter accounts with personal ID numbers would result in a mass exodus to other online forums that are not monitored. Saudi Arabia ranks number one in the world for Twitter users per-capita, with an estimated 51 percent of all Saudi Internet users maintaining an account with the social media network. Analysts suggest that any such move would result in a 60 percent reduction of Twitter usage in the country — a true window onto how many Saudis are voicing dissent against their government.

Still, on March 31, the Saudi Communications and Information Technology Commission instructed Skype, WhatsApp and Viber to comply with local regulations or risk being shut down. These applications are Internet-based communications services that are both free of charge and not subject to the kingdom’s telecommunications regulations.

The Saudi government has a strong interest in limiting social media and online communications services. Protests are being increasingly organized through use of the WhatsApp messaging application. Political dissidents are able to use Skype to communicate with human rights organizations and foreign media networks without fear of government monitoring. Some government employees and those with ties to the royal family have begun to exploit Twitter to disseminate information regarding corruption in the kingdom.

The Saudi government is, however, becoming increasingly hesitant about limiting social media and other communications because of the potential for a political backlash. Freedom of speech and communication were a hallmark demand of popular uprisings elsewhere in the Arab world, with attempts to cut online activity serving to fuel discontent rather than mitigate unrest. Saudi Arabia is already a favorite target for civil rights activists across the globe, and a ban on social media would only add to a long list of reasons for further divestment and isolation campaigns.

As an alternative, the Saudi government has begun encouraging loyalists to condemn and pursue those suspected of online dissent rather than close the outlets altogether. In recent weeks, a Shura Council member filed a lawsuit against a critical Twitter user, while the government-appointed imam of the Grand Mosque in Mecca dedicated his Friday sermon on April 5 to condemning the social network, calling it a “threat to national unity.”

As the government remains confounded by its inability to control online dissent, there is no doubt that the rising tide of anger across Saudi cyberspace has begun to spill over into physical reality. Unwillingly, the government has been forced to wrestle with undertaking previously unimaginable reforms with regard to women’s rights and employment opportunities for millions of young, educated citizens. With social media as their vehicle, Saudis are threatening to take control of their country’s destiny for the first time in history, and there may be nothing their government can do about it.

By DANIEL NISMAN