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31 May 2011 16:33

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World: Egyptian general says female protesters got “virginity checks”

  • “Not like your daughter or mine”: An Egyptian general, speaking on condition of anonymity, has alleged a heinous violation of the women of Egypt, though he doesn’t see it that way. The general admitted that during protests on March 9th, the military performed “virginity checks” on women. The reason? “We didn’t want them to say we had sexually assaulted or raped them, so we wanted to prove that they weren’t virgins in the first place. None of them were.” It goes without saying that this rationale is nonsensical, disgusting, and beneath the contempt of a modern civil society. General Mamdouh Shaheen has denied these charges. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

31 May 2011 10:20

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U.S.: Another powerful guy in same boat as Dominique Strauss-Kahn

  • Stop us if you think that you’ve heard this one before: A prominent banking official staying at a high-class hotel in New York City. A maid comes into his hotel room. He’s inside. And he reportedly tries doing some pretty sketchy stuff to said maid. She tells authorities, and now the prominent official is in custody, waiting to be charged. If this sounds just like the Dominique Strauss-Kahn case, you’re right. If you think we’re talking about Dominique Strauss-Kahn, not so much. This, instead, is the story of Mahmoud Abdel Salam Omar, the former head of Egypt’s Bank of Alexandria, who is accused of doing essentially the same thing two weeks later at Manhattan’s Hotel Pierre. Ugh. We didn’t expect a possible copycat crime here. (photo of said hotel via edenpictures’ Flickr page) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

28 May 2011 14:02

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World: Hosni Mubarak has to pay huge fine for Egypt Internet shutdown

  • $90 million the amount Hosni Mubarak and other Egyptian leaders were fined for their role in shutting down Internet and mobile phone service for five days
  • $34 million the size of the fine Mubarak has to pay personally, an amount that has to be paid immediately to the country’s national treasury source
  • » A fine still owed, appeal or not? The fine, which the judge ordered must be paid now, still must be paid even if Mubarak and the other defendants appeal the decision. Legal analyst Aly Hassan puts it as such: “The court ordered an immediate payment and the fine may be increased by the state if the damages increase during the year as compensation for lost revenue.” When Egypt’s Internet went down in January, it was an unprecedented event on the world stage — never before had anyone thought that a political leader had the power to shut the whole thing down.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

28 May 2011 12:29

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World: Egyptian Gaza border opens, finally giving Palestinians a way out

  • Opening this door does not mean Egypt wants to allow bombs and explosives … Egypt wants to allow safe passage of individuals who want to conduct their lives.
  • Senior Fatah official Nabil Shaath • Expressing his approval for Egypt’s decision to permanently open their Rafa Border to Gaza, the region’s main outlet to the outside world. It’s all a part of the Egyptian government’s desire to build a stronger relationship with the Palestinians. Hamas’ Deputy foreign minister, Ghazi Hamad, calls this “a unique move and a positive development.” As for those allowed to leave the tiny, dense region of Palestine, they’re thrilled to finally get to leave. “The closure did not affect only the travel of passengers or the flowing of goods. Our brains and our thoughts were under blockade,” said Khaled Halaweh, a 28-year-old man who hopes to study at Alexandria University, but hasn’t been able to leave the Gaza region in seven years. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

27 May 2011 09:40

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World: G8 Summit: Arab Spring nations will receive billions in aid

  • what G8 leaders plan to pledge around $20 billion to Arab Spring countries — particularly Egypt and Tunisia, where successful protests led to the ousting of dictators and the possible rise of democracy.
  • why To put it simply, they feel that if they don’t, the countries could face economic hardships that might lead to the rise of extremism. Many G8 nations will also act on their own to help the countries. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 May 2011 15:41

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World: Hosni Mubarak to be tried for the deaths of protesters

  • Mubarak will stand trial over Tahrir Square protests: Reportedly in ill health, former Egyptian strongman Hosni Mubarak will stand trial for his alleged crimes, among them the deaths of protesters during the nation’s revolutionary movement in Tahrir Square (over 800 died before Mubarak’s departure), and the illegal acquisition of wealth during his time in office. Mubarak is in a hospital at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, while authorities also detained his two sons, also charged with corruption, in Cairo’s Tora prison. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 May 2011 20:17

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World: Middle East tepid about Obama’s Arab Spring speech

  • Obama really had an opportunity to reshape and reframe the debate and … he gave it away. This speech was an opportunity to say to Arabs, ‘We as Americans made mistakes, we did not support democratic aspirations as much as we should have, but we’re going to do better.’ Obama didn’t say that.
  • Brookings Doha Center Director of Research Shadi Hamid • Approaching Obama’s Middle East speech today from an outside-looking-in angle. The problem he and others in the Middle East see? It didn’t offer a clear strong apology for American screw-ups nor a good reason for the cynical to give up their cynicism. Obama’s 2009 speech on the Middle East received a much different response, but many in the region feel that the president broke promises and acted too slow on the Arab Spring protests. We understand where they’re coming from, and agree … but unfortunately, the push Obama made for an Israel/Palestine split based upon the 1967 lines is as bold as the president will probably get, considering how divisive the issue remains among Americans. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

18 May 2011 21:58

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U.S.: Obama’s focus tomorrow: The quickly-changing Middle East

  • Obama’s giving a big speech tomorrow. With Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu heading to town to discuss the long-gestating peace deal with Palestine, Obama will give a speech from the State Department intended for both the American public and the Middle East. There’s speculation that he may push for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s resignation … or more surprisingly, endorse pushing back Israel’s borders to pre-1967 levels as a starting point in negotiations between Israel and Palestine. What’s he gonna say? One thing that’s pretty clear at this point is that Egypt’s getting some aid money — roughly $2 billion, to be exact — possibly as an anchor to encourage support of Israel. All in all, fun day ahead. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 May 2011 01:35

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World: Egyptian counter-revolution? Hard-line Salafist Islam gains steam

  • The roots of Egypt’s sectarian violence: When Hosni Mubarak was in power, his influence repressed the salafis, a hard-line but influential Islamic sect in the country, ensuring they would not hold strong influence over the country’s militant Sunni Muslims. But with Mubarak out of power, they’re taking advantage of the opporutunity, most recently during the sectarian violence that engulfed two churches near Cairo. “There is no security in Egypt,” said Rober, a member of one of the churches that was destroyed in the conflict. “This is only the beginning. I’m afraid for my sister, for my mother, from the salafis.” Yasmine El Rashidi, a Cairo-based columnist for the New York Review of Books, recently described the scene as a counterrevolution, which might be a little strong, but nonetheless underlines the severity of what’s happening right now. Keep an eye on this. It could be bad. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

08 May 2011 10:27

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World: Egyptian Christians, Muslims in fresh sectarian violence

  • A round of sectarian violence: After a set of rumors suggested a woman was being held against her will in a Coptic Christian church in a suburb of Cairo, Muslims reacted by causing violence around the church in question — and setting fire to a nearby church. Around ten people were killed, with another 186 injured; the Egyptian government plans to try 190 people detained for the violence, which a couple of people in this video suggest was an attempt by the old regime to flare up tensions between Muslims and the Coptic Christian minority. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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