tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84393172011-04-21T16:04:20.151-05:00sticking to the Egyptian government like glue...Cairo in Heelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09042169720254755116noreply@blogger.comBlogger471100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8439317.post-1148994792462750672006-05-30T08:02:00.000-05:002006-05-30T08:13:12.470-05:00

 Attending a conference on women’s empowerment. The cell phone of a lady sitting next to me rings—her ring tone -- “We wish you a merry Christmas.” I wonder if she knews the words to the song. ……………… My Coptic Christian friends are often bemoaning the discrimination they face. Although the National Council of Human Rights (read: total joke) 2005 annual report stated that the complaints of the

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Will the Mother of the World Give BirthFor all you armchair Egyptophiles,Sandmonkeycatches the mood of the streets and salons of Egypt in a May 24 post, ,Labor PainsLabor pains The atmosphere in Egypt is strange these days. There is some weird energy in the air. This feels like endgame. Something is coming. Everyone is torn between anticipation, hope and fear, but no one knows for sure how the

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The Egyptian newspaper, Dustor is issuing stickers that show support for the judges. Buy your copy today! I can't wait until the t-shirts come out. EgyptEgyptian judges

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The African Egyptian Human Rights Organization has made a site for Egyptian to log in and share their stories of corruption, harrassment, and the usual litany of abuses of an authoritarian regime on its people. The Arabic version has a lot of good pictures: www.shayfeen.comThe English version offers a slightly pared down version, but still lets you see what the site is about: www.aehro.orgPower

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An elegant but empty rebuff The May 18th European edition of the Economist features a letter from the press secretary of the Egyptian embassy in London, Ayman AlKaffas, in which he defends Egypt's broken processes of reform, including the extension of the security law, due to the ever looming terrorist threat. (see below for the full article) This is not the first, nor the last time that the

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Message from the 3 female political activists from inside the El-Kanater prison: ECWR received a message signed by the three political activists - Asma'a Ali, Rasha Azab, Nada El-Kasass - and was asked to send it as their voice from behind the bars of El Kanater prison. Irrespective of the contents of the message and whether or not ECWR agrees with it, we must send their message and demand

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Free Essam Al-Arian   Dr. Essam el-Arian, a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood and no relation to Sami, was one of the hundreds of proestors arrested in the May 18 Cairo protests. This marked the third time that he has been in jail. Although soft spoken, he served as the the spokesperson for the Brothaz, al-Arian has stated his group's democratic ideals. Read NY Times Article About him

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   Something peaceful for a change.Japan

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Straight from the RSO at the US embassy, "Downtown Traffic Advisory"In what promises to be a repeat of the gridlock associated with last week's protest, another large protest is planned for Thursday morning, May 18, at the Supreme Court Building situated on the corner between 26th July and Ramses St. and the Judge's Club on Abdel Khalek Tharwat Street. The police will close the streets in the

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Many of you who have decided to look past the funny headgear, stereotypes, and suicide bombings, into the humanity of a people when it comes to Palestine. Even though the author of the following letter is a Palestinian Christian, she supports Hamas and wants the world to know that they have a truly peaceful agenda... Peace of God be with youI hope that everything goes well with you in every

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According to the blog Ordoesitexplode , Cairo has the most police per capita in the world. This is great if you like men in uniform, but not when you're trying to start a human rights movement. Yes, desperate housewives living in North America, whose only solace comes from the UPS man in shorts, come to Cairo. You can choose from traffic, security, tourist, and protection, and white, black,

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Click on this link for Alaa

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   Perhaps you’ve been taken for a ride?Sputtering down Salah SalemIn a 26 year old modelLurching across lanes.A worn frameOf mostly black and some white UniformsKeeps it from falling apart.Rust at its edgesWarns of tetanus.You wonder how it keeps going?The sickly engine is fueled byMilitary aid. In the old daysThe driver didn’t needTo adjust his seat so far backAn ever expanding paunch of bullet

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The common joke about the grunts of the Egyptian security forces (amn il-markezi) goes as follows: The officers of the security forces went to a poor Egyptian village (and there are many) to find some men to work as security troops. They had all the men gather in the square, and asked them to divide according to the following directions. "All men who can read and write, step to the left." A

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the road is life. Jack KerouacIn a city with a population of 16 million, the city swells to more than twice the size during working days—Sunday to Thursday for most institutions. as workers sit, stand, or cling on to the buses, minivans, taxis, and occasional ass (driven cart) to reach their place of employment somewhere in the city or its near periphery. It is here, in the buses and minibuses,

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Egyptian police and security...This morning, the usually teeming streets of Cairo seemed vacant of both car and human traffic, making the increased police presence all the more palpable. Yesterday there were 3 or 4 tourist police guarding the street that leads to the Egyptian museum. Today they now swarmed the courtyard in front of the ochre building, their white uniforms and black berets

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The motives of the perpetrators are unclear. At this point (2 hours after the bombing), the more than 10 victims’ nationalities as well are unclear. It is high season for international tourism. Also, many Egyptians had traveled to the Red Sea for the on vacation the combined Coptic Easter/Shama Nassem holiday, a celebration with Pharaonic roots that commemorates the first day of spring. The

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The sessions of the “The Role of Judges in the Process of Political Reform in Egypt and the Arab World,” held in Cairo April 1-3, featured noted scholars, members of the Muslim Brotherhood, and judges from around the world debate and focused on the role of judges, in promoting reform and democracy and Egypt, as well as inspiring efforts across the Arab world. Hon. Hisham Bastawisy,

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Hey Mad Cow Trails--The premier place for sandsurfing in Egypt is close to Siwa Oasis, a mere 20 kilometers from Qadafi's (I love those crazy hats!) Libya.To reach Siwa, a lovely spot in its own right, from Cairo, involves a 13 hour train/bus ride along the north coast, with a transit in Alexandria. Once you arrive, a number of safari companies would be happy to take you out to the desert and

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I didn't mean to take a young readers book on Hamas out of circulation from my local library. That’s not to say I didn’t want to. Rosen Publishing House’s book Inside the World’s Most Infamous Terrorist Organization paints a picture of a movement driven only by bloodthirsty and aimless violence. This contrasts with its more innocuous titles: Watson and Crick, Lung Cancer, and, my favorite, Tom

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for PeterMidwest to MideastFollowing three years in Egypt and Japan, I spent a six-month furlough in Middle America, in a rural hamlet next to a village that claims to be the "world capital of swiss cheese." I returned in January to Cairo, which its inhabitants declare as “mother of the world.” Smoking a water pipe one balmy winter afternoon in the Islamic quarter, I thought of all the ways this

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To exis is to resist--A part of the separation wall near Bethlehem  

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The Separation Wall nears completion  

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Dear reader, TGN may be back in the Dairy State, but that crazy city on the Nile continues to inspire...It wasn’t until 6 PM that I would leave the air-conditioned caverns of the development organization where I worked, stepping out into the potholed streets of an Nozha El Gedida, an upscale Cairo suburb. Little beads of sweat on my forehead marked the contrast of indoor/outdoor, as the warming

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A car culture almost unfazed by expensive gas prices shows its underside: People have curbed most non-essential travel, however, most Americans outside of the big city must still commute to work via vehicle, as they have no other options. For America's urban poor, souls that rely solely on public transportation, such as in New Orleans, come hell and hell water they are left stranded.

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KENDER: see "Red Rover Red Rover" for a response to your comment. xx-Lachlyn

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World66.com offers a neat travel tool: any weary traveler can create a personalized map of the countries she/he has conquered. The software also give you a percentage of the number of countries who let you in. The results are a bit tricky, don’t let them get you down. After obtaining passport stamps for the following 23 countries below, I have been to 10% of the globe. When I added China and

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Dear reader—After spending three years on three continents, the Global Nomad now returns to the bucolic environs of her childhood home in rural Wisconsin. You would think that after Tokyo glitz, pyramids, and British manor homes, green acres is no place for this girl. The figures almost put this case to rest: a town of 800 people, in a county with no stoplights, winter temperatures known to

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Red rover, red rover, send another martyr right over 

Cairo in Heelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09042169720254755116noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8439317.post-1115036402620508782005-05-02T07:06:00.000-05:002005-05-03T03:53:14.666-05:00

On April 30, two more acts of tourist terrorism hit Cairo's crowded streets. One, a primitive nail bomb in the arms of a suspect for the April 7th bazaar bombing; the second, two ladies opening fire on a tour bus. Unlike the attacks on tourists in the the 1990's by large Islamic fundamentalist groups, These incidents are unique in that they were supposedly committed by much smaller

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In the past few weeks the Global Nomad's er...dedicated readers have posted some really good comments on reform in the Arab world. This week, Peter, future ad mogul and Armenian poet laureate, asks about the extent of bureaucracy in Egypt, and whether we want a group of militant Muslims taking over another country... 1) are you saying that the modern Arab "intelligence state" (in this case Egypt)

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My high school prom date/Harvard graduate recently posed the following comment. He's pretty smart, and obviously has good taste. Read on, dear reader for info on what you can do to support Arab reform without necking with Neo-cons. "bush is claiming credit for a wave of democracy sweeping through the middle east in the aftermath of the invasion and occupation of iraq. demonstrations against

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bring your baby to work day 

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Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak’s speech February 26 called for an amendment of Article 76 of the Egyptian constitution, which will allow other candidates besides himself to run in the upcoming October elections. The stringent rules involved in the new candidacy process almost guarantee that Mubarak, or his son, Gamel (known by his friends as “Jimmy”) will win. Regardless, domestic and

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Nile sunrise 

Cairo in Heelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09042169720254755116noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8439317.post-1109656326591031102005-02-28T23:34:00.000-06:002005-03-01T00:00:41.906-06:00

The New York Times writes the following about urban haiku: Urban Haiku is about modern life, city life, workplace life and news items using traditional form of three lines of verse: five syllables, seven syllables, five syllables for a total of 17 syllables.Cairo Haiku: city smog and hazeyet I can still see the stars black snot from my nose

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for my girls, Anna and EmilyI walked out of Cairo’s crazy downtown traffic into the quiet, palm-lined courtyard of St. Andrew’s. The sense of sanctuary stunned me straight away. Its four stone walls had somehow insulated me against the endless cries of car horns and cares demanding to be heard. I wasn’t the only one basking in its unusual serenity. (in Cairo, this is often qualified by the

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Sandboard babe 

Cairo in Heelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09042169720254755116noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8439317.post-1106151192774523332005-01-19T10:05:00.002-06:002005-01-24T00:10:55.653-06:00

Siwa Oasis Shali, a 13th century desert fortress. In this blog, the Global Nomad heads to sand swept Siwa, a tiny oasis on the Egyptian-Libyan border. Read on... Siwa, famous for its dates and olives, engulfed by the Great Sand Sea, doesn’t try hard to be charming. It just is, people have been drawn here for millennia. Even Alexander the Great visited Siwa’s oracle to affirm his divinity

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A cross-cultural, cross-human phenomenon Washington D.C , 1993: Ibrahim, a middle-aged Egyptian man who is now my Arabic tutor, was commuting home from work to his temporary stateside home, when he was suddenly rear ended at the corner of _______ and 33rd street. As the immediately contrite offender rushed up out of his car to apologize, the soft-spoken Arabic instructor said, "If you were in my

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“I am one of the short people,” Dgazima Abdul said to me with pride, introducing himself to me at the Thursday tutoring program of St. Andrew’s Refugee Ministry. “How the hell did you get to Cairo,” I thought, pondering a journey of 1500 miles. Remembering that this was a teen session, I chose a new, invective-free question. “Oh, so you’re a Tutsi.” Abdul had somehow made it out of Burundi,

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I joined the queue for Dr. Hasan’s downtown Urology clinic even though I had an appointment. After signing my name, I looked around, my senses in relief from the journey up 6 unlit flights, ad hoc litter boxes of sand and spare parts sticking out from the shadows. I had bypassed the spearmint green door of the elevator, designed to make even a claustrophile phobic, deferring early death in the

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An American colleague of mine was at the Taba Hilton Thursday night when the explosion occurred.She and her son escaped with minor injuries; as in any tragedy, the routine of their lives has been permanently altered.We worked in an air-conditioned office together, wear sweaters to the office, even in summer. She drives a Corolla, unscathed of the dents or scratches inevitable from trips down

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Under the oppressive Egyptian sun, my friend and I braved not only the heat, but the shady men, to carry out our weekly errands. We headed down the interminably crowded thoroughfare leading to the metro, now even more packed because school had let out. (There are 5 juice bars in a 100 meter stretch, serving up fresh squeezed mango, strawberry, pomegranate, whatever you want, at less than thirty

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The Citadel at night, Cairo 

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Camels on Mt. Sinai 

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Just two months ago I was living the good, clean, and efficient life in J-land. Now I reside in a sooty dorm between two expressways. Inspired by this transcontinental shift, here are some shameless preliminary observations between Japan and Egypt.Japan vs. Egypt Traffic LawsTokyo: Pedestrians wait for the walk sign at intersection, even if no one is coming.Cairo:One of the only cities to espouse

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