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Re: Egypt Revolts; Islamists have Killed Tourism Industry

Posted by Olog-hai on Wed Apr 3 21:02:10 2013, in response to Re: Egypt Revolts; Islamists have Killed Tourism Industry, posted by RockParkMan on Wed Apr 3 19:15:07 2013.

fiogf49gjkf0d
Thanks for showing your open support for the Muslim Brotherhood, rocKKKparKKKnazi.

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(1050040)

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Re: Egypt Revolts; Islamists have Killed Tourism Industry

Posted by Olog-hai on Wed Apr 3 21:04:16 2013, in response to Re: Egypt Revolts; Islamists have Killed Tourism Industry, posted by SelkirkTMO on Wed Apr 3 19:53:56 2013.

fiogf49gjkf0d
In the back of the lib-wackos' minds with the rest of the lefty bogeymen/strawmen.

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(1050051)

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Re: Egypt Revolts; Islamists have Killed Tourism Industry

Posted by SelkirkTMO on Wed Apr 3 21:17:46 2013, in response to Re: Egypt Revolts; Islamists have Killed Tourism Industry, posted by Olog-hai on Wed Apr 3 21:04:16 2013.

fiogf49gjkf0d
LOVE to watch you guys twirl when your shit falls apart. :)

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(1050096)

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Re: Egypt Revolts; Islamists have Killed Tourism Industry

Posted by RockParkMan on Thu Apr 4 07:11:41 2013, in response to Re: Egypt Revolts; Islamists have Killed Tourism Industry, posted by Olog-hai on Wed Apr 3 21:02:10 2013.

fiogf49gjkf0d
The FReeperFReaks are the greater threat,

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Egypt Revolts—One Dead in Coptic Cathedral after Islamists attack repeatedly

Posted by Olog-hai on Sun Apr 7 13:42:40 2013, in response to Egypt Revolts!, posted by JayZeeBMT on Fri Jan 28 16:01:55 2011.

fiogf49gjkf0d
Egypt Independent

One reported dead at Abbasseya cathedral

Sun, 07/04/2013 (April 4) – 19:10
Heba Afify
After four Coptic Christians were killed in the Qalyubiya Governorate town of Khosous Friday, a funeral held for the victims at St. Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Abbasseya Sunday quickly turned into armed clashes after unknown assailants reportedly attacked attendees.

One person was reported dead at the nearby Demerdash hospital, according to head ambulance services, and 29 people were injured, satellite channel ONtv reported Sunday evening.

Clashes also erupted at the church in Khosous, and live ammunition was heard being fired from an unknown source, ONtv said late Sunday afternoon.

Amid chaos and panic at the Abbasseya cathedral, a pickup truck full of men drove into the cathedral’s back entrance, and a man on the truck said the assailants were “killing us,” an Egypt Independent reporter at the scene said. Men showed their cross tattoos to get into the cathedral from the back entrance to defend it, and a bystander shouted, “This is democracy,” suggesting democracy had resulted in attacks on Copts.

By 5 pm Sunday, the clashes in Abbasseya had renewed after a temporary halt, and Maspero Youth Union spokesperson Nader Shoukry told Al Jazeera Mubasher Misr that tear gas had been fired inside the cathedral there “without clear reason.” DPA news agency has reported that 25 people have been injured in the clashes.

Some mourners refused to leave the cathedral despite the heavy tear gas, which was fired from the cathedral’s main gate, Egypt Independent’s correspondent at the scene reported. Copts who were in the cathedral mourning the deaths of the Khosous clashes victims say they are afraid the cathedral would be attacked if they leave.

Large numbers of young Christians arrived at the cathedral to defend it. Only a small back door was open, guarded by Copts to ensure that the attackers stay out.

Copts present at the cathedral resented the failure of police to protect the cathedral, the most revered symbol of Christianity in Egypt. Police were only present at the main gate, firing tear gas, while the building was left vulnerable to attack.

One of the cathedral workers recounted that unknown assailants, whom she suspected were Islamists, started insulting and attacking the mourners as the funeral procession left the cathedral.

“We don’t have a place here [in Egypt] anymore; they want to drive us out,” she said, as she walked away from the cathedral with dirt marks on her black clothes.

Standing inside the cathedral with a can of Pepsi that she sprayed at her face to ease the burning of the tear gas, an elderly woman refused to leave.

“We won’t leave the cathedral for them. Our youths are arriving now to protect it,” she said.

Panic spread in the cathedral among mothers who were afraid their sons now at the front line may face the same fate of those they came to the cathedral to mourn.

Already feeling wounded by the Khosous incident, the attack on the funeral increased the feelings of oppression among the mourners.

“No religion accepts this. We have learned since we were kids that death has its respect,” said one mourner, Moheb, as he escaped through the back door of the cathedral.

Moheb recounted that as the procession left the cathedral, it was attacked from above neighboring buildings. The mourners then rushed back in the cathedral and its door was closed, he said.

Earlier in the day, independent Al-Tahrir newspaper reported that its photographer Emad al-Gebaly sustained birdshot injuries while covering the clashes at the cathedral.

DPA quoted witnesses as saying earlier that attackers pelted the funeral procession with stones before security fired tear gas in an attempt to control the situation. State-run Al-Ahram newspaper’s website also reported the tear gas, but security source told the newspaper that some mourners had set fire to parked cars nearby, sparking the unrest.

Meanwhile, Ramy Kamal, a member of the Maspero Youth Union, a coalition of Coptic activists, told DPA that following the funeral, some participants attempted to start a march from the cathedral to the Defense Ministry to submit a memo demanding more protection for Copts, but were surprised with unknown attackers shooting at them and throwing Molotov cocktails.

The clashes spilled onto surrounding streets as the funeral procession marched from the cathedral. A number of cars were smashed, and gunfire was also heard. Traffic heading both ways on Ramses Street ground to a halt.

Activists participating in the funeral unsuccessfully tried to calm the situation by asking mourners to go back inside the cathedral.

Most stores in the area closed their doors, as well as the gas station adjacent to the cathedral.

The initial clashes Friday broke out after a group of boys vandalized the wall of an Al-Azhar-affiliated building with graffiti. A confrontation that followed swiftly degenerated into armed clashes between groups of Muslims and Christians that continued until early Saturday morning, killing five people and injuring several others.

Attendees were earlier angrily chanting slogans against President Mohamed Morsy and the Muslim Brotherhood, including “down with the supreme guide’s rule,” reported satellite channel Al Jazeera Mubasher Misr.

Bishop Moussa, the youth bishop for the church, and Bishop Raphael, the secretary of the Holy Synod, performed the funeral mass for the four victims in the cathedral after Pope Tawadros II failed to attend, something which angered the families of the victims.

Bishop Raphael said in his sermon, “Not by bloodshed that the country will prosper, and not by the lack of security. A message to Copts: Stick to our faith, our ethics and our love, and we will not compromise on the ethics of the Gospel.”

Sectarian tensions have often flared into violence, particularly in rural areas, where rivalries between clans or families sometimes add to friction. Love affairs between Muslims and Christians and differences over the building of churches have also sparked clashed in the past.

Since former President Hosni Mubarak was ousted by a popular uprising, Christians have complained of several attacks on churches by radical Islamists, incidents that have sharpened longstanding Christian complaints about being sidelined in the workplace and in law.


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Egypt Revolts: New Coptic Pope Blasts Morsi over Attacks on Christians

Posted by Olog-hai on Tue Apr 9 12:15:12 2013, in response to Egypt Revolts!, posted by JayZeeBMT on Fri Jan 28 16:01:55 2011.

fiogf49gjkf0d
Associated Press

Apr 9, 11:05 AM EDT

Egypt's Christian pope blasts Islamist president

By Hamza Hendawi
Associated Press
CAIRO (AP) — The leader of Egypt's Coptic Orthodox Church on Tuesday blasted the country's Islamist president over his handling of recent deadly sectarian violence, including an attack on the main cathedral in Cairo.

The remarks by Pope Tawadros II underscore rising Muslim-Christian tensions in Egypt. They were his first direct criticism of President Mohammed Morsi since he was enthroned in November as the spiritual leader of Egypt's Orthodox Christians. They are also likely to fuel political turmoil that has been roiling the country since the ouster of autocrat Hosni Mubarak two years ago.

Egypt is already divided between two camps, with Morsi and Islamist allies in one and moderate Muslims, Christians and liberals in the other. The political schism is essentially over Egypt's political future after decades of dictatorship, a divide that has been compounded by a worsening economy and tenuous security.

An open conflict between Morsi's government and the church could add a new and potentially explosive layer, pushing Egypt to the brink of civil strife.

Tawadros also warned that the state was "collapsing" and described Sunday's attack on the St. Mark Cathedral in central Cairo, which serves as the Coptic papal seat, as "breaching all the red lines."

He said Morsi had promised him in a telephone conversation to do everything to protect the cathedral, "but in reality he did not."

Asked to explain, Tawadros, who spoke in a telephone interview to a political talk show aired on the private ONTV network, said it "comes under the category of negligence and poor assessment of events." It was not clear whether he was accusing Morsi himself or whether he was addressing the president's government.

Presidential spokesman Ehab Fahmy said Morsi was in "constant contact" with the church over Sunday's violence and had dispatched three top aides to offer condolences to victims.

In the violence, an angry mob of Muslims threw firebombs and rocks at the Coptic cathedral in Cairo, leaving two people dead. One of the two was identified as a Christian.

The attack followed a funeral service for four Christians killed in sectarian clashes in a town north of Cairo early the day before. A fifth person, a Muslim, was also killed. It was the deadliest sectarian violence since Morsi came to office nine months ago as the country's first freely elected president.

"The church has been a national symbol for 2,000 years," Tawadros said. "It has not been subjected to anything like this even during the darkest ages … There has been no positive and clear action from the state, but there is a God. The church does not ask for anyone's protection, only from God."

Tawadros also criticized the president over his decision on Monday to revive a state body mandated to promote equality between Egyptians regardless of their religious and ethnic background. Morsi's decision was in response to the sectarian violence.

"Enough already of formations, committees and groups and whatever else," Tawadros said.

"We want action not words and, let me say this, there are many names and committees but there is no action on the ground," he added.

Morsi has strongly condemned the recent violence and said that he considered any attack on the cathedral to be an attack on him personally. He also ordered an investigation into the violence.

"Should we wait for instructions to start an investigation when something happens?" Tawadros said in response to Morsi's order. "Egypt's laws must be adequate to deal with the situation. This is a society that is collapsing. Society is collapsing every day."

The office of Morsi's assistant for foreign relations issued a statement on Tuesday shortly after Tawadros comments, saying that the "Egyptian presidency would like to affirm its full rejection of violence in all its forms, and under any pretext, and affirms that all Egyptians are citizens who should enjoy all rights and are equal before the law."

The statement said the presidency "will not allow any attempts to divide the nation, incite sedition, or drive a wedge among Egyptians under any pretense" and added that it has been "following these unfortunate events with great concern and has instructed all authorities concerned to exert their utmost efforts to contain the situation and protect the lives and property of citizens."

Christians make up about 10 percent of Egypt's estimated 90 million people. Copts have complained for decades of discrimination and issues such as the building of houses of worship or inter-religious love stories often ignite Muslim-Christian violence.

But attacks against Christians have increased since Mubarak's 2011 ouster, including more attacks on churches and at times forced evictions of entire Christian communities from small towns and villages.

With Islamists politically empowered since the overthrow of Mubarak's regime, Christians have become increasingly worried about their freedom of worship and belief.

During Sunday's funeral service at the St. Mark Cathedral, mourners chanted against Morsi, calling on him to step down. Witnesses say a street brawl broke out when Coptic activists tried to stop traffic to stage an anti-government march.

A mob, described by witnesses as residents of the area, pelted the Christians with rocks and firebombs and fired birdshot at them, forcing them back into the cathedral complex. The mob outside and the Christians barricaded inside then exchanged rocks and firebombs for hours into the night Sunday.

Many of the Christians denounced what they called a lack of protection for the service. When police did arrive in greater numbers, they fired tear gas, causing panic among women and children when some canisters landed inside the cathedral's grounds. Those outside the church cheered.

Some firebombs thrown from near the church landed at a nearby gas station, while witnesses said some in the church lobbed firebombs at the crowd outside.

Police said they have arrested four people implicated in the violence, but didn't provide details. Tawadros was not in the cathedral at the time of the siege.


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Re: Egypt Revolts: New Coptic Pope Blasts Morsi over Attacks on Christians

Posted by Dan Lawrence on Tue Apr 9 12:17:43 2013, in response to Egypt Revolts: New Coptic Pope Blasts Morsi over Attacks on Christians, posted by Olog-hai on Tue Apr 9 12:15:12 2013.

fiogf49gjkf0d
A Coptic Pope has NOTHING to do with the Roman Catholic Church.

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Re: Egypt Revolts: New Coptic Pope Blasts Morsi over Attacks on Christians

Posted by Allan on Tue Apr 9 13:15:18 2013, in response to Egypt Revolts: New Coptic Pope Blasts Morsi over Attacks on Christians, posted by Olog-hai on Tue Apr 9 12:15:12 2013.

fiogf49gjkf0d
It is probably only going to get worse.

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Re: Egypt Revolts: New Coptic Pope Blasts Morsi over Attacks on Christians

Posted by SLRT on Tue Apr 9 14:31:05 2013, in response to Re: Egypt Revolts: New Coptic Pope Blasts Morsi over Attacks on Christians, posted by Dan Lawrence on Tue Apr 9 12:17:43 2013.

fiogf49gjkf0d
WTF? Where does the article say anything about the Roman Catholic church? Where are you coming from?

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Re: Egypt Revolts: New Coptic Pope Blasts Morsi over Attacks on Christians

Posted by AlM on Tue Apr 9 14:53:48 2013, in response to Re: Egypt Revolts: New Coptic Pope Blasts Morsi over Attacks on Christians, posted by SLRT on Tue Apr 9 14:31:05 2013.

fiogf49gjkf0d
His statement was true and completely irrelevant. :)


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Re: Egypt Revolts: New Coptic Pope Blasts Morsi over Attacks on Christians

Posted by Mitch45 on Tue Apr 9 15:03:13 2013, in response to Re: Egypt Revolts: New Coptic Pope Blasts Morsi over Attacks on Christians, posted by Allan on Tue Apr 9 13:15:18 2013.

fiogf49gjkf0d
Why wouldn't it? Everyone with a single functioning brain cell knows that militant Islam respects no religion or holy place but its own. To these barbarians, every non-Muslim is a heretic deserving of death and they feel that they are religiously obligated by Allah to carry out that punishment. Period.

As the "canaries in the mine", the Jews would probably get it in the neck first but there probably aren't enough Jews left in Cairo or anywhere else in Egypt to make it worth their while. So, the next target are the Christians. In their case, the militants have an additional reason to kill - revenge for the Crusades and the Spanish Inquisition. True, those were carried out by the Roman Catholic Church and not the Eastern Orthodox Church but the militants don't care - if you believe in Jesus, you're a heathen. Everything else is detail.

I think that Christians are a little stunned by what is going on - for centuries Christians were the religious aggressors and non-Christians were the targets. Now the shoe is on the other foot.

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Re: Egypt Revolts: New Coptic Pope Blasts Morsi over Attacks on Christians

Posted by Spider-Pig on Tue Apr 9 15:05:25 2013, in response to Re: Egypt Revolts: New Coptic Pope Blasts Morsi over Attacks on Christians, posted by Mitch45 on Tue Apr 9 15:03:13 2013.

fiogf49gjkf0d
What does the Eastern Orthodox Church have to do with anything? Why are you bringing them up?

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Egypt Revolts: Muslim Brotherhood gets shipment of tear gas from US

Posted by Olog-hai on Tue Apr 9 18:57:12 2013, in response to Egypt Revolts!, posted by JayZeeBMT on Fri Jan 28 16:01:55 2011.

fiogf49gjkf0d
thecommentator.com

US teargas arrives in Egypt for Muslim Brotherhood use

Tear gas canisters from the United States have been sold to Egypt, arriving on Sunday in the Abadeya port in Suez

by The Commentator on 9 April 2013 10:39
A shipment of tear gas canisters from the United States arrived at the Egyptian Abadeya Port in Suez on Sunday, according to official documents obtained by the Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper.

Five containers carrying around 140,000 tear gas canisters were apparently shipped to the Egyptian Interior Ministry by the Aramex International courier service.

The Egypt Independent reports that the shipping documents state that only the Egyptian government may use the canisters, and that they are forbidden to re-export the shipment or sell it to third parties.

The documents state that the shipment set sail from the port of Wilmington in Pennsylvania on 14 March on board the SS Jamestown. A letter of credit was forwarded without specifying the name of the bank. The Egyptian government paid the freight fees.

In February this year, Al-Masry Al-Youm reported that the Interior Ministry agreed to import teargas canisters for $2.46 million, to be shipped by an Egyptian military cargo plane.

Interior Ministry spokesperson Hani Abdel Latif said that the ministry imported the grenades in order to protect state facilities.

Egyptian authorities have recently used tear gas against various demonstrations, including a recent crackdown on protests on Saturday, when demonstrators threw fireworks and reportedly attempted to gain access to a court and the prosecutor-general's office in central Cairo.


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Re: Egypt Revolts: Muslim Brotherhood gets shipment of tear gas from US

Posted by SelkirkTMO on Tue Apr 9 19:00:18 2013, in response to Egypt Revolts: Muslim Brotherhood gets shipment of tear gas from US, posted by Olog-hai on Tue Apr 9 18:57:12 2013.

fiogf49gjkf0d
And you said we weren't doing anything. lol

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Egypt Revolts: Radical Imam claims Boston bombings "meant to send a message"

Posted by Olog-hai on Thu Apr 18 04:09:28 2013, in response to Egypt Revolts!, posted by JayZeeBMT on Fri Jan 28 16:01:55 2011.

fiogf49gjkf0d
De-facto confession.

INN

Radical Egyptian Cleric: Boston Bombing Meant to Send a Message

A radical Egyptian Salafi cleric said that the terror attack in Boston was meant to tell the West that terrorists are alive and well.

By Elad Benari
First Publish: 4/18/2013, 6:15 AM
A radical Egyptian Salafi cleric said that the terror attack in Boston this week was meant to send a message to the West, that terrorists are alive and well.

The cleric, Sheik Murgan Salem, also warned that similar attacks were expected in France. Salem made the comments during an interview on Tahrir TV on April 16, 2013. The interview was translated and posted to the internet by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).

“Obviously, I do not know who carried out that operation, but if it was done by the mujahideen, it serves as a message to America and the West: We are still alive,” he said.

“Contrary to what you say, we have not died. The [Americans] wanted to send a message to the entire world that they had finished off the mujahideen — not just the mujahideen of Al-Qaeda, but the mujahideen all over the world. I do not know who carried out this attack, but if it was indeed the mujahideen, it was meant as a clear message to America and to the West,” continued Salem, who said the terror attack “was not up to the standards of Al-Qaeda. It was extremely amateurish. The standards of Al-Qaeda are much higher.”

The cleric goes on to say that he was “like one family” with both former Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden as well as current leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri.

“From what I saw on the news,” said Salem, “this was the work of amateurs. I do not know who did it, but they have managed to get the message across: We can reach you whenever and wherever we want.”

“I do not rule out the possibility that this was carried out by people born in the U.S. I do exclude the possibility that it was done by the Al-Qaeda organization. This is not the work of Osama Bin Laden or Ayman Al-Zawahiri. I think it was done by people resentful of the policy and arrogance of America and Europe. It is not just America,” he said.

“The Americans have passed their arrogance over to France. France, which led the first Crusade, is now leading the war against Islam and the Muslims. They must taste the bitter retribution for their deeds. This is not a threat, but a warning of what might happen to them,” said Salem.

“France has accepted the banner of arrogance and enmity to Islam, so it will taste what it deserves,” he continued. “I cannot be held responsible for over one million [Muslims] in the West, who were harmed by French and American policy. More than one million [Muslims] were born in the West. I cannot be held responsible for them. I do not know what they may do. The [Westerners] are facing a deluge, and they will be destroyed.”

Three people were killed in Monday’s explosions, which U.S. President Barack Obama condemned on Tuesday as "an act of terror."

Investigators said the bombs were hidden in pressure cookers put in backpacks. The attackers packed the bombs with metal pellets and nails to cause maximum suffering.

An eight-year-old boy who was killed in the bombing attack was identified as Martin Richard.

He was waiting, together with his mother and sister, to give his father, who was participating in the race, a hug as he crossed the finish line when the bombs went off.

In addition to killing Martin, the bomb took his sister’s leg and injured his mother.

Massachusetts resident Krystle Campbell, 29, was also named as one of the dead. The third victim was a Chinese student.

A leader of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood on Tuesday linked the Boston bombings to an anti-Islam conspiracy.

In a post on his personal Facebook page Muslim Brotherhood Vice President Essam el-Erian suggested the attack was part of a global plot to discredit Islam, citing violence in Mali, Syria, Somalia and other Muslim nations.

“Our sympathy with the families of the victims, and the American people do not stop us from reading into the grave incident,” he wrote.

The Freedom and Justice Party officially condemned the Boston attacks, saying they “categorically” rejected the “intolerable” attack, claiming it violated the principles of Islamic Sharia law.

The Pakistani Taliban, meanwhile, denied involvement in the Boston marathon bombing, but openly applauded the heinous attack.

“Wherever we find Americans we will kill them, but we don’t have any connection with the Boston explosions,” Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesman Ihsanullah Ihsan said, according to reports.




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Re: Egypt Revolts: Radical Imam claims Boston bombings ''meant to send a message''

Posted by AlM on Thu Apr 18 08:44:48 2013, in response to Egypt Revolts: Radical Imam claims Boston bombings "meant to send a message", posted by Olog-hai on Thu Apr 18 04:09:28 2013.

fiogf49gjkf0d
De-facto confession.

...

Obviously, I do not know who carried out that operation



You haven't missed a career as a police detective.


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Egypt Revolts, goes to Russia for assistance to jump-start nuke program

Posted by Olog-hai on Tue Apr 23 02:14:55 2013, in response to Egypt Revolts!, posted by JayZeeBMT on Fri Jan 28 16:01:55 2011.

fiogf49gjkf0d
Hmm, one of the places Iran gets assistance with their nuke program. (Just in time for Lenin's b'Earth Day too.) Egyptian bomb?

Reuters

Egypt says Russia to help revive nuclear program

Mon Apr 22, 2013 11:53am EDT
CAIRO (Reuters) — Russia will help Egypt develop its nuclear power program, Trade and Industry Minister Hatem Saleh said on Monday, signaling that the Islamist-led state will press ahead with its quest for atomic energy.

Egypt froze its nuclear program after the 1986 nuclear disaster at Chernobyl, but in 2006, the government of deposed President Hosni Mubarak announced it would revive the program.

Five months before Mubarak was swept from power in February 2011, his administration announced plans for an international bidding process to build Egypt's first nuclear power station at Dabaa near the Mediterranean coast.

The agreement on Russian support was reached during a visit to Russia by President Mohamed Mursi last week.

"We spoke on this issue and agreed that the Russians will help us in conducting studies at the Dabaa nuclear station and to develop the experimental reactor in Anshas," Saleh said.

"There will be a Russian delegation to lay out the details of these issues as soon as possible," he added.

Russia's Energy Minister Alexander Novak was quoted by Russian news agencies on Friday as saying Egypt had proposed that Russia participate in construction of a nuclear power plant and in development of the country's uranium deposits.

Mursi met Russian President Vladimir Putin last week during an official visit to Russia. Saleh denied that Egypt had sought financial support from Russia to ease a severe economic crisis, which saw its foreign reserves drop to a critical low of $13.4 billion in March, less than three months' worth of imports.

Egypt has also been talking to the IMF about a $4.8 billion loan to prop up the economy, shattered by the turbulent transition from Mubarak's rule that has driven away tourists and investors alike, as well as accepting help from Arab allies and emerging powers.

Qatar and Libya have agreed to provide $5 billion in support. Turkish economic officials and banking sources have said Ankara will transfer within two months the remaining $1 billion of $2 billion it pledged last year.

Russian officials said on Friday that Moscow would consider an Egyptian loan request — which one Moscow-based source had put at $2 billion — and that it might also increase grain supplies to Egypt if its harvest reached target level this year.

However, in response to a question on the loan, Saleh said: "There was no request or plea for any assistance from the Russian side and what you heard in some of the media is news that does not deserve a response and is untrue."

When asked about the loan from Russia on Friday, Saleh said: "We have reached no conclusion on that loan."

He also said Egypt had not requested aid in the form of wheat. Typically the world's biggest importer of wheat, Egypt has cut back on wheat imports this year and is hoping for a bumper crop that the agriculture minister said on Sunday could be close to 11.023 million metric tons.

(Reporting by Yasmine Saleh; Writing by Asma Alsharif; Editing by Tom Perry and Alison Williams)


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Re: Egypt Revolts, goes to Russia for assistance to jump-start nuke program

Posted by Fred G on Tue Apr 23 07:44:49 2013, in response to Egypt Revolts, goes to Russia for assistance to jump-start nuke program, posted by Olog-hai on Tue Apr 23 02:14:55 2013.

fiogf49gjkf0d
Aswan part 2.

your pal,
Fred

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Re: Egypt Revolts, goes to Russia for assistance to jump-start nuke program

Posted by WillD on Wed Apr 24 00:57:41 2013, in response to Egypt Revolts, goes to Russia for assistance to jump-start nuke program, posted by Olog-hai on Tue Apr 23 02:14:55 2013.

fiogf49gjkf0d
If we were smart we'd offer them non-proliferating nuclear power technologies. That'd jump start our almost moribund small modular reactor program without the DoE's 1950s mindset being a burden, and position ourselves as a viable alternative to the Russians and Chinese.

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Egypt Revolts; Muslim Brotherhood proceeds with plans to purge judiciary

Posted by Olog-hai on Sat Apr 27 03:42:58 2013, in response to Egypt Revolts!, posted by JayZeeBMT on Fri Jan 28 16:01:55 2011.

fiogf49gjkf0d
Associated Press

Egypt proceeds with judiciary law despite uproar

By Maggie Michael
Apr. 24, 2013 5:07 PM EDT
CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's Islamist-led parliament on Wednesday pushed ahead with a law that could force into retirement many of the nation's most senior judges, despite an uproar by the judiciary over fears the president's allies want to control the courts.

The country's Judges' Club, an organization representing Egypt's judges, warned they would not recognize the law or even the discussions in parliament about it. They vowed to turn to international organizations, such as the United Nations and African Union, to investigate what they said are violations against the judiciary.

More than 6,000 judges from around the country gathered in Cairo Wednesday to decide on a strategy in their power struggle with President Mohammed Morsi.

The crisis over the judiciary is a reflection of the deep polarization that has split the country.

The judiciary, with mostly secular-minded professional judges, is seen by many Egyptians as the one of the only remaining buffers against Islamists' monopoly on power following the ouster of authoritarian ruler Hosni Mubarak in 2011. Since then, Islamist parties have swept elections and dominated legislative councils and the presidency.

President Mohammed Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood party counters that many judges are holdovers from the Mubarak era who must be replaced. Morsi's supporters engaged in violent street clashes last Friday with opponents over calls to "cleanse the judiciary."

In an escalation of the crisis, the legislative committee of the upper house of parliament voted in favor of three draft laws on the judiciary proposed by Islamist groups. It opened the floor for further debate.

One, proposed by Morsi's Freedom and Justice party, the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, drops the retirement age for judges from 70 to 60, which would affect nearly a quarter of Egypt's 13,000 judges and prosecution officials.

The draft also would forbid the courts from reviewing or overturning presidential decrees issued by Morsi late last year, including his appointment of a new top prosecutor. The prosecutor remains in place despite a court order last month annulling his appointment.

The opposition vowed to step up its campaign against the bill. Activist groups who helped topple Mubarak, such as the April 6 Movement, are demanding reform of the judiciary and support its independence. April 6 warned in a statement against replacing remnants of Mubarak's regime with Morsi's loyalists.

The head of the criminal court in Cairo's sister city of Giza, Fahmy Munir, was among those at the Judges' Club meeting.

"We tell them, don't transgress against the judiciary," he warned the government, adding that violations against the judiciary are akin to "a challenge to the people."

Presidential spokesman Ihab Fahmy told reporters Wednesday that the Islamist president respects the judges.

"The president wants to contain the judiciary crisis," he said. "The president firmly stressed that it's unacceptable to hurt or encroach on the judiciary."

Among the setbacks the judiciary dealt the president's backers was disbanding the Islamist-dominated parliament last year, citing unconstitutionality of the election law. Last month, the courts challenged a law governing parliamentary elections that were supposed to begin this month, delaying the vote indefinitely. The president's party was pushing for early elections.

The proposal in parliament by the president's party also calls for punishments for judges who refuse their duty to oversee polling stations. Last year, during the vote over a contentious draft of the country's new constitution that was written by Morsi's allies, many judges boycotted the vote to protest a decree that temporarily granted Morsi's decisions immunity from judicial review.

The head of the Judges' Club, Ahmed el-Zind, said they would not go on strike as many did last year, but they would seek international help.

During the parliamentary session, independent lawmaker Tharwat Nafaa ripped up a letter sent by the Judges' Club. The letter demanded the parliament stop debating the law because it said the constitutionality of the body was in dispute.

Before thousands of judges late Wednesday, union chief el-Zind questioned Nafaa's political affiliation. "Are you really independent?" he shouted during his lengthy speech.

The crisis over the judiciary also has prompted the resignations of top Morsi aides.

On Monday, the Morsi's top legal adviser, Mohammed Fouad Gadallah, resigned, saying he wanted to shed light "on the extent of the danger facing the country" at a time when "personal interests are overwhelming national interests."

Two days earlier, Justice Minister Ahmed Mekki submitted his resignation. He was a pro-reform judge under Mubarak before becoming a minister in Morsi's Cabinet. He was criticized by liberals for continuing to serve under Morsi, while Islamists chided him for not supporting the disputed bill.


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Re: Egypt Revolts; Muslim Brotherhood proceeds with plans to purge judiciary

Posted by WillD on Sat Apr 27 12:21:48 2013, in response to Egypt Revolts; Muslim Brotherhood proceeds with plans to purge judiciary, posted by Olog-hai on Sat Apr 27 03:42:58 2013.

fiogf49gjkf0d
Guess they got the idea from the Dubya administration.

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Re: Egypt Revolts; Muslim Brotherhood proceeds with plans to purge judiciary

Posted by Olog-hai on Sat Apr 27 12:46:59 2013, in response to Re: Egypt Revolts; Muslim Brotherhood proceeds with plans to purge judiciary, posted by WillD on Sat Apr 27 12:21:48 2013.

fiogf49gjkf0d
Still stuck in the 2000s and its lying propaganda, I see. I wouldn't even say that about Obama and his judicial appointees.

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Re: Egypt Revolts; Muslim Brotherhood proceeds with plans to purge judiciary

Posted by WillD on Sun Apr 28 02:15:11 2013, in response to Re: Egypt Revolts; Muslim Brotherhood proceeds with plans to purge judiciary, posted by Olog-hai on Sat Apr 27 12:46:59 2013.

fiogf49gjkf0d
Better to be stuck in the the 2000s than the 1950s. Actually, I guess it'd be better to be stuck in the 90s, back when things actually worked, before Dubya's economy took a nosedive.

And no, you couldn't say anything about Obama's judicial appointees, because he's been doing what he's supposed to with his judicial appointees. It was Dubya's firing of left leaning DOJ employees that was at issue.

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Re: Egypt Revolts; Muslim Brotherhood proceeds with plans to purge judiciary

Posted by Mitch45 on Sun Apr 28 06:24:30 2013, in response to Re: Egypt Revolts; Muslim Brotherhood proceeds with plans to purge judiciary, posted by WillD on Sun Apr 28 02:15:11 2013.

fiogf49gjkf0d
The economy "worked" in the '90s because of the internet boom - people were becoming millionaires overnight. Once there was a glut of internet startups, the boom faded, just in time for the end of the Clinton presidency. And the "Bush economy" didn't start to nosedive until his second term.

And how has Obama exactly fixed things? He's kept it status quo, at best.

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Re: Egypt Revolts; Muslim Brotherhood proceeds with plans to purge judiciary

Posted by SelkirkTMO on Sun Apr 28 22:38:42 2013, in response to Re: Egypt Revolts; Muslim Brotherhood proceeds with plans to purge judiciary, posted by Mitch45 on Sun Apr 28 06:24:30 2013.

fiogf49gjkf0d
Probably could have done a lot better if the republicans hadn't killed every possible thing that would have helped.

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Re: Egypt Revolts; Muslim Brotherhood proceeds with plans to purge judiciary

Posted by Olog-hai on Sun Apr 28 22:50:42 2013, in response to Re: Egypt Revolts; Muslim Brotherhood proceeds with plans to purge judiciary, posted by SelkirkTMO on Sun Apr 28 22:38:42 2013.

fiogf49gjkf0d
. . . nothing of which you can name.

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Re: Egypt Revolts; Muslim Brotherhood proceeds with plans to purge judiciary

Posted by Olog-hai on Sun Apr 28 22:52:11 2013, in response to Re: Egypt Revolts; Muslim Brotherhood proceeds with plans to purge judiciary, posted by WillD on Sun Apr 28 02:15:11 2013.

fiogf49gjkf0d
LOL! You really are confused, aren't you.

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Re: Egypt Revolts; Muslim Brotherhood proceeds with plans to purge judiciary

Posted by SelkirkTMO on Sun Apr 28 23:10:04 2013, in response to Re: Egypt Revolts; Muslim Brotherhood proceeds with plans to purge judiciary, posted by Olog-hai on Sun Apr 28 22:50:42 2013.

fiogf49gjkf0d
Stimulus (the full amount), extended unemployment benefits, increase in AFDC or better yet, not killing it, infrastructure investment, R&D grants, tuition assistance, and a cast of thousands. And PAYING for it by taxing those who stole the economy.

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Re: Egypt Revolts; Muslim Brotherhood proceeds with plans to purge judiciary

Posted by Edwards! on Sun Apr 28 23:28:09 2013, in response to Re: Egypt Revolts; Muslim Brotherhood proceeds with plans to purge judiciary, posted by SelkirkTMO on Sun Apr 28 23:10:04 2013.

fiogf49gjkf0d
TROLL didnt understand a word you wrote..perhaps you might help him out a S-P-E-L-L I-T O-U-T for him.

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Re: Egypt Revolts; Muslim Brotherhood proceeds with plans to purge judiciary

Posted by SelkirkTMO on Sun Apr 28 23:49:49 2013, in response to Re: Egypt Revolts; Muslim Brotherhood proceeds with plans to purge judiciary, posted by Edwards! on Sun Apr 28 23:28:09 2013.

fiogf49gjkf0d
Nah ... that doesn't work either. Nor do pictures. :)

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Egypt Revolts; Morsi declares end to privatization of state companies

Posted by Olog-hai on Tue Apr 30 13:22:39 2013, in response to Egypt Revolts!, posted by JayZeeBMT on Fri Jan 28 16:01:55 2011.

fiogf49gjkf0d
They are all Islamic Socialists now.

Associated Press

Apr 30, 2013 9:24 AM EDT

Egypt's president says no more privatization

CAIRO (AP) — Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi says that there will be no further privatization of state-owned companies.

Egypt's economy is hard hit by the more than two years of turmoil since the ouster of longtime president Hosni Mubarak in a mass uprising in 2011. Losses to the vital tourism sector have depleted government revenues and public sector companies are an additional burden on the budget.

In a Tuesday speech on the eve of May Day, Morsi — an Islamist from the Muslim Brotherhood group — said there would be no selling of the public sector. He did not specify whether this was a temporary or permanent measure.

Egypt privatized key companies in the 1990s under Mubarak, but the program stalled in recent years. Critics say the sales were tainted by corruption.


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Egypt Revolts; Activist to be tried one week after arrest, charged with "insulting" Morsi

Posted by Olog-hai on Thu May 2 14:26:09 2013, in response to Egypt Revolts!, posted by JayZeeBMT on Fri Jan 28 16:01:55 2011.

fiogf49gjkf0d
Associated Press

May 2, 2013 1:38 PM EDT

Activist to be tried for insulting Egypt president

By Adel Dorra
Associated Press
TANTA, Egypt (AP) — Prominent Egyptian activist Ahmed Douma was arrested and immediately referred to trial for allegedly insulting the country's president in a TV interview, a prosecutor said Thursday.

Douma is to stand trial on Sunday — less than a week after being arrested. He is the first prominent opposition activist to be tried on charges of insulting Islamist President Mohammed Morsi.

There have been a myriad of complaints levied against journalists and TV personalities, including well-known satirist Bassem Youssef, for insulting Morsi.

Rights groups say such charges restrict freedom of expression.

"The crime of insulting the president is vague and undefined," the Egyptian Organization of Human Rights, one of Egypt's oldest such groups, said in a statement on Thursday. "Most criminal codes in the world have abolished such crime."

In Egypt, such a crime is punishable by up to three years in prison. A teacher in southern Egypt was sentenced to six years in prison in September for insulting Islam's prophet Muhammad and Morsi in comments posted on Facebook. A prominent TV presenter was acquitted on charges of insulting the president and spreading false information following an appeal.

Government prosecutor Mohammed el-Taneekhi said Douma was arrested Tuesday after a member of Morsi's party, the Muslim Brotherhood, in Tanta complained that Douma had called Morsi a "killer" and a "criminal."

In his comments, Douma, a prominent activist who was among those at the forefront of the 2011 uprising against longtime autocratic leader Hosni Mubarak, blamed Morsi for a violent security crackdown on protesters in the coastal city of Port Said that left 40 people dead. Douma, in his interview on Sada el-Balad private TV in February, also held Morsi responsible for an attack by Brotherhood members in December on a sit-in by anti-government protesters outside Morsi's office.

"He is a president that is lacking legitimacy after the first blood was shed in the streets during his reign," Douma said in the interview.

"He is ruling Egypt forcefully. … I don't see a president ruling Egypt. I see someone called Mohammed Morsi, a criminal evading justice, who is hiding in the presidential palace," Douma said, prompting a co-guest, a pro-Morsi lawmaker, to leave the studio in protest.

"There must be respect for state symbols," lawmaker Leila Sami, said before leaving.

Douma, who is also a poet, has been a vocal critic of Morsi and his government since the president was elected last summer.

He was beaten up in March during a rally outside the Muslim Brotherhood's office by the group's guards for painting graffiti they deemed offensive. The incident prompted a major rally a few days later leading to the worst clashes between Morsi supporters and critics in months. Following these clashes, Douma was summoned for questioning on accusations of inciting violence, but he refused to turn himself in, questioning the legitimacy of the order by the prosecutor general. A court order recently annulled the presidential appointment of the chief prosecutor, a decision that he plans to appeal.

Douma also was imprisoned under the ousted regime of President Hosni Mubarak for criticizing the ex-president's policies and for illegally traveling to the Gaza Strip and blogging from there during an Israeli offensive.

Rawda Ahmed, a lawyer for the Arab Network for Human Rights Information which is part of Douma's defense team, said the activist was swiftly referred to trial before his lawyers had a chance to see the charges or find out where he was held. She said that instead of a customary bail, the prosecutors decided to keep Douma locked up until his trial "because he is causing them a big headache."

Ahmed said such court cases have been increasing, and were in part encouraged when the presidency itself filed such complaints against at least four journalists. The human rights network said in a recent report that the number of court cases and complaints involving charges of insulting the president during Morsi's 10 months in power is four times the number filed during Mubarak's entire rule of nearly 30 years.

Deputy prosecutor general Hassan Yassin told The Associated Press the complaint against Douma had been filed and investigated for a while, and that only after he was custody on Tuesday, did the prosecutors send it to trial. He noted that the presidency has dropped all its complaints against journalists accused of insulting the president.

At least one journalist, however, face trial in a case filed by citizens accusing them of insulting the president and spreading false information.

Morsi supporters say they find scathing criticism of Morsi offensive.


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Re: Egypt Revolts! Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood stages anti-Israel rally

Posted by WMATAGMOAGH on Fri May 10 08:21:02 2013, in response to Egypt Revolts!, posted by JayZeeBMT on Fri Jan 28 16:01:55 2011.

fiogf49gjkf0d
Story here

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Re: Egypt Revolts! Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood stages anti-Israel rally

Posted by Train Dude on Fri May 10 09:43:24 2013, in response to Re: Egypt Revolts! Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood stages anti-Israel rally, posted by WMATAGMOAGH on Fri May 10 08:21:02 2013.

fiogf49gjkf0d
Friends of obama!

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Re: Egypt Revolts! Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood stages anti-Israel rally

Posted by Olog-hai on Fri May 10 10:06:44 2013, in response to Re: Egypt Revolts! Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood stages anti-Israel rally, posted by WMATAGMOAGH on Fri May 10 08:21:02 2013.

fiogf49gjkf0d
Well, they sure wouldn't stage a pro-Israel rally.

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Egypt Revolts; Muslim Brotherhood turns Egypt into a dystopia in less than two years

Posted by Olog-hai on Fri May 24 01:56:51 2013, in response to Egypt Revolts!, posted by JayZeeBMT on Fri Jan 28 16:01:55 2011.

fiogf49gjkf0d
Business Insider

The Muslim Brotherhood Has Turned Cairo Into A Dystopia

Robert Johnson | May 23, 2013, 12:55 PM
When Egyptians took to the streets to overthrow an oppressive government in 2011, the world was on their side.

But in the two years that followed, as Arab Spring turned to Arab Winter, and Egyptians fell under the rule of the oppressive new government of Mohammed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood, the world has looked away.

This is what Egyptians told us when we visited Cairo at the end of March 2013.

Many disillusioned Egyptians say things are worse than ever. Thugs often run the streets, crime rates have skyrocketed, and police feel they're outgunned, faced with the flood of weapons filling Cairo's streets.

Making matters worse, everything from utilities to gasoline is both more expensive and more difficult to acquire than it was before the Muslim Brotherhood.


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Re: Egypt Revolts; Muslim Brotherhood turns Egypt into a dystopia in less than two years

Posted by SelkirkTMO on Fri May 24 01:59:59 2013, in response to Egypt Revolts; Muslim Brotherhood turns Egypt into a dystopia in less than two years, posted by Olog-hai on Fri May 24 01:56:51 2013.

fiogf49gjkf0d
Sounds like another revolution is in order. And you thought folks were gonna love the brotherhood. :)

Sometimes you've got to screw up to learn ...

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Re: Egypt Revolts; Muslim Brotherhood turns Egypt into a dystopia in less than two years

Posted by Fred G on Fri May 24 05:27:28 2013, in response to Egypt Revolts; Muslim Brotherhood turns Egypt into a dystopia in less than two years, posted by Olog-hai on Fri May 24 01:56:51 2013.

fiogf49gjkf0d
Making matters worse, everything from utilities to gasoline is both more expensive and more difficult to acquire than it was before the Muslim Brotherhood.

Revolution embers.

your pal,
Fred

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Re: Egypt Revolts; Muslim Brotherhood turns Egypt into a dystopia in less than two years

Posted by Dave on Fri May 24 08:37:14 2013, in response to Egypt Revolts; Muslim Brotherhood turns Egypt into a dystopia in less than two years, posted by Olog-hai on Fri May 24 01:56:51 2013.

fiogf49gjkf0d
Be careful what you wish for; you might get it.

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Re: Egypt Revolts; Muslim Brotherhood turns Egypt into a dystopia in less than two years

Posted by Olog-hai on Fri May 24 12:54:55 2013, in response to Re: Egypt Revolts; Muslim Brotherhood turns Egypt into a dystopia in less than two years, posted by Dave on Fri May 24 08:37:14 2013.

fiogf49gjkf0d
You see the photos in that link?

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Egypt Revolts; three women murdered by mob of ten men in "honor killing"

Posted by Olog-hai on Fri May 24 16:19:19 2013, in response to Egypt Revolts!, posted by JayZeeBMT on Fri Jan 28 16:01:55 2011.

fiogf49gjkf0d
Associated Press

May 24, 2013 12:39 PM EDT

Egypt: 3 women killed in suspected 'honor' crime

By Haggag Salama
Associated Press
LUXOR, Egypt (AP) — A mother and two daughters were allegedly killed by male relatives in southern Egypt who believed they'd had affairs, the latest apparent example of so-called "honor killings" in which women are slain for violating traditional morals in the conservative region, a security official said Friday.

Police believe the 10 men stormed the house of the women, strangling them and beating them with sharp tools, the official said, based on the alleged confession of one of the suspects. The men wrapped the women's bodies in blankets, weighted them with stones and throw them in the river Nile, the official added.

He said one of the men, arrested on Thursday, gave a detailed account of the killings and said they were intended to protect the family's honor.

One woman's body was seen floating on the surface of the Nile near the town of Esna close to the ancient city of Luxor, the official added. Police are searching for the two other bodies and nine remaining suspects.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters.

Egyptian papers frequently incidents in which fathers, brothers or even sons kill their female relatives on suspicions that they are having affairs outside marriage.

Such incidents of "honor killings" are especially common in the conservative south and in the countryside, where women's actions are considered to bring shame on the family.

The practice is against Egyptian law, and perpetrators are prosecuted if they are arrested. Courts are sometimes sympathetic to the accused and give lighter sentences.


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Re: Egypt Revolts; Muslim Brotherhood turns Egypt into a dystopia in less than two years

Posted by Henry R32 #3730 on Fri May 24 17:17:43 2013, in response to Egypt Revolts; Muslim Brotherhood turns Egypt into a dystopia in less than two years, posted by Olog-hai on Fri May 24 01:56:51 2013.

fiogf49gjkf0d
Looks pretty bad (saw the pictures)...



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Egypt Revolts: Egypt's youth see that the revolution screwed them over

Posted by Olog-hai on Wed May 29 03:31:21 2013, in response to Egypt Revolts!, posted by JayZeeBMT on Fri Jan 28 16:01:55 2011.

fiogf49gjkf0d
The BBC News even has to admit the truth.

Egypt's youth: 'What has the revolution done for us?'

By Shaimaa Khalil
28 May 2013 | Last updated at 10:15 ET

In this sixth and final report of the series, Egypt's Challenge, Shaimaa Khalil explores the effects the revolution has had on the very people who were at its forefront — the youth. More than two years on, is this the Egypt they had hoped for?

El Borsa is a big pedestrian area, full of cafes, near Egypt's stock exchange and right in the middle of central Cairo. It is a two-minute walk from Tahrir Square, the heart of the 2011 revolution.

It has become known as the activists' hangout, where many revolutionaries come to talk politics and discuss the latest events. I've come to Borsa many times since the revolution, met many young people and heard numerous heated debates.

The loud conversations of the café-goers compete with the sounds of the numerous TV screens all around, some showing football games, others talk shows on Egyptian satellite channels.

Walking from Borsa into Tahrir Square, however, you can feel the mood change.

"When I enter the square now, it does not feel the same. It's not the same vibe. You don't feel safe or secure anymore. You feel like everyone has given up on this square," Tariq Mustafa, a young human rights activist, told me.

Walking around the square with Tariq, I can see what he means.

The square is a shadow of its January 2011 self. I remember well when the square was a sea of humanity. Thousands of people were drawn to it, making it hard to move around, find a place to sit or even stand, especially on Fridays.

For the first few months after the revolution, Tahrir felt like the safest place in Egypt.

Not any more.

Now, the square is virtually empty. Small groups of people gather here and there, and everywhere there is evidence of violence and destruction.

Depression and disappointment

One stark change, for me, is the graffiti on the wall of the American University just off the square.

The wall once carried motivational slogans, nationalistic song lyrics and poems. Now, all I can see there are the faces of dead people, of those killed during the two years of the revolution. Some of them are quite disturbing. The faces have been deformed, apparently beaten up. Police brutality is alleged.

Most of the faces on the wall are those of young people.

I am surprised to see a young woman leaving the American University building. Women have stopped coming to Tahrir now, especially after so many incidents of sexual harassment in the square. But Manal is here for a language course and tells me she walks with male colleagues for protection, especially at night.

"We're so tense and on edge all the time. There's a general sense of depression and disappointment," Manal says.

When I ask her if she regrets the revolution, her answer comes without hesitation: "One hundred percent, I regret it".

"What is freedom and democracy? It's about making life better," she says, "traffic better, jobs better and more things available. That hasn't happened. Nothing has happened. Everything's changed for the worse."

Rising costs

Back in my home town Alexandria, I'm sitting on the beach with my friend Ahmed Attiya.

He travels between Cairo and Alexandria for his work.

Ahmed had a chance to leave Egypt for the US on a scholarship two years ago, but when the revolution happened, he canceled his trip.

"It was history being made in my country and I wanted to be there," he told me.

He sighed when I asked him if, more than two years on, he regrets his decision to stay. "I'm very confused about it. I don't regret my decision. I fought a battle and I lost it," he said. "But if I'd known everything would get worse, I'd have packed my bags and gone."

And like millions of young people in Egypt, Ahmed's problems come down to the deteriorating economy.

"I'm planning to get married and all the prices are rising; it's getting increasingly hard to live." Ahmed said.

'Frustrated generation'

Of all Egypt's problems, mass unemployment is the most pressing, and it is the young who are hit the hardest.

Samer Atallah, an economist at the American University in Cairo, explains; "The majority of the unemployed are the people that are in the age bracket of 15 to 29. That's nearly three quarters of the unemployed."

Half of Egypt's population is below 24 years old, and despite that, Egypt is not using this youth and energy to its benefit.

"We're creating a frustrated generation. They cannot find a job, they don't have enough skills to acquire any job that will give them a decent living", Mr. Atallah says.

To reduce the unemployment, Egypt has to create between 800,000 and a million jobs a year. And in the current economic climate, the country is not achieving anything close to that number.

Egypt's official statistics agency says unemployment is now at 13 percent, but few take that figure seriously.

Most economists say the real figure is much higher. No one, however, seems to be able to give an accurate figure — not even those in power.

"We don't have the latest unemployment figures. I think it would be very difficult to find someone who can say with assurance that they have [them]", says Gehad el Haddad, the national spokesperson for the Muslim Brotherhood.

"There's a huge gap in the accuracy and availability of such information", he adds.

Despite the depressing statistics, Mr. Atallah still thinks there's room for optimism.

"The Egyptian people have changed; the next generation more than ours. It's definitely a very positive sign. I think this is our opportunity."


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Re: Egypt Revolts: Egypt's youth see that the revolution screwed them over

Posted by LuchAAA on Wed May 29 06:47:23 2013, in response to Egypt Revolts: Egypt's youth see that the revolution screwed them over, posted by Olog-hai on Wed May 29 03:31:21 2013.

fiogf49gjkf0d
who cares?

seriously?

They are no threat to us.

Why is that idiot McCain in Syria? Again, who cares about these countries?

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Re: Egypt Revolts: Egypt's youth see that the revolution screwed them over

Posted by Olog-hai on Mon Jun 3 15:04:52 2013, in response to Re: Egypt Revolts: Egypt's youth see that the revolution screwed them over, posted by LuchAAA on Wed May 29 06:47:23 2013.

fiogf49gjkf0d
They are no threat to us

The Muslim Brotherhood → Hamas → Hezbollah → Iranian Revolutionary Guard → Tsarnaevs and the rest. You were saying?

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Egypt Revolts; Egyptian women suffer from marked increase in sexual violence post-"revolution"

Posted by Olog-hai on Mon Jun 3 15:09:28 2013, in response to Egypt Revolts!, posted by JayZeeBMT on Fri Jan 28 16:01:55 2011.

fiogf49gjkf0d
Al Arabiya

Women in Egypt suffer more sexual violence under Islamist rule

Nadia Mayen, Al Arabiya
Last Update: Sunday, 2 June 2013 KSA 14:10 - GMT 11:10d
Sexual violence against women in Egypt has increased in the post-revolutionary Islamist rule, according to official reports and rights activists.

The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality said in a report published on May 23 that 99.3 percent of Egyptian women have experienced some form of sexual violence.

Nearly 50 percent of women reported more harassment after the revolution; 44 percent said the level of harassment remained the same before and after the revolution. Meanwhile, more than 58 percent of men surveyed said harassment increased after the revolution.

Egypt's general directorate of moral police at the ministry of interior reported that 9,468 cases of harassment, 329 sexual assaults and 112 cases of rape took place in 2012.

Activists say the figures released by the government are smaller than the actual ones because many women do not report cases of harassment against them to the police in fear of shame.

The U.N. study found that only 19 percent of women actually report sexual violence against them to the police. It said 32.2 percent keep quiet and move away from the scene, while 26.9 choose to insult or hit back the assailant.

Frightening women away

“What is different now [post-revolution], and why this has been brought to public and international attention, is that we’re witnessing a number of very violent assaults and rape,” Diana Eltahawy, a researcher at Amnesty International Egypt, told Al Arabiya English.

Manal Abdul Aziz Ali, a Cairo-based journalist said, “Today, neither a foreigner nor an Egyptian can enjoy a sense of safety... because of the noticeable rise in the rate of crime and harassment against women.”

The reported rise of sexual violence against women is often attributed to security deterioration and the rise of radical Islamists who seek to frighten women away from public places where anti-Islamist protests take place.

Salafist preacher Ahmad Mahmoud Abdullah said earlier this year that women protesting in Tahrir Square are “no red line” because they “have no shame and want to be raped,” a statement which was perceived as a sanctioning of violence against women.

Egyptian women now “have to think twice” before attending demonstrations, Abdul Aziz Ali said, “not because [women] fear tear gas or even bullets, but because of the harassment being practiced by some thugs and parties to discourage revolutionaries from participating in such events.”

Various groups have been formed to defend decry sexual violence against women in Egypt/ Operation Anti Sexual Harassment and Tahrir Bodyguard bring together volunteers to stop attacks in Tahrir Square, where the police are largely absent.

On Jan. 25 2013, as thousands of Egyptians marked the second anniversary of their uprising, at least 19 women were sexually assaulted, Operation Anti Sexual Harassment reported.

“These attacks aim to exclude women from public life and punish them for participating in political activism and demonstrations. They are also an attempt to ruin the image of Tahrir Square and demonstrators in general,” the group said, according to AFP.

“This phenomenon requires urgent attention and treatment, and is linked to the broader social problem of endemic and daily sexual harassment and assault of women.”

Lack of support

Despite civil-society groups banding together to ensure that women are protected, there is a general lack of legal and medical support available to victims, Dalia Abd el-Hameed, gender and women’s rights officer at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, told Al Arabiya English.

“Medically, there are no protocols to deal with sexual violence. Rape survivors aren’t being provided with emergency contraception. There’s no protocol on conducting testing for sexually transmitted infections,” she added.

“Psychological support is also not widely available for these women.”

Added to the apparent lack of emotional support, the state’s apparatus for upholding the law, the police, is also said to be failing victimized women.

“When women go to police stations to report sexual harassment, their claims are dismissed or police officers harass the survivor,” Amnesty International’s Eltahawy said.

“On the legal level, police officers aren’t well trained to receive women’s complaints, and sometimes their questions further traumatize the survivors,” women’s rights officer, el-Hameed added.

Many women are resorting to self-defense classes, which are organized for free by Tahrir Bodyguards.

The aim is to combat “systematic political suppression against women,” activist Jumana Shehata told Al Arabiya. “We’ll continue to take to the streets of Tahrir, no matter the price.”

Mursi speaks

On March 24, Egyptian President Mohammed Mursi announced a new initiative to support and expand women’s rights.

“The initiative will put an end to any attempts to marginalize women, diminish their rights, or suppress their freedom and dignity,” he stated.

However, his announcement came “without consultation with survivors or women’s rights organizations,” Eltahawy noted, questioning the viability of such a scheme.

Dr. Omaima Kamel, a Freedom and Justice Party's member and advisor to Egypt’s president, announced in May that the government plans to prepare a law designed specifically to protect women from violence and ensure perpetrators are punished, IKHWAN Web, the Muslim Brotherhood’s official English website reported.

“Experts recommended that all state institutions, civil society and religious institutions should pull together to confront the phenomenon of violence against women, as well as confirmation of the importance of developing short-term plans and long-term strategies to deal with the issue.”

Aza al-Garf, a female MP in the Brotherhood’s political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party, was contacted by Al Arabiya English but declined to comment on the subject.

Non-governmental organizations and human rights groups “haven’t been consulted in these initiatives, and we’re still not sure about their efficacy,” Abd el-Hameed said.

The way forward, states Eltahawy, is to raise awareness on the issue.

“What is needed in Egypt is to acknowledge that this is happening, and to bring perpetrators to justice to discourage other acts."

In order to make progress, there needs to be female police officers and prosecutors who can address this issue, to help women feel more comfortable about sharing their experiences, she added.


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Egypt Revolts; Muslim Brotherhood now attacking culture, the arts, music, national identity etc.

Posted by Olog-hai on Thu Jun 6 12:09:25 2013, in response to Egypt Revolts!, posted by JayZeeBMT on Fri Jan 28 16:01:55 2011.

fiogf49gjkf0d
Manchester Guardian

Egypt's culture 'under attack' from government, claim artists

Sackings of high-level arts administrators prompt fears of government bid to impose conservative religious agenda on cultural life

Louisa Loveluck in Cairo
Wednesday 5 June 2013 10.21 EDT
As the curtain rose for the evening performance at Cairo Opera House, the cast did not assemble for the opening prelude of Giuseppe Verdi's Aida as they had on previous nights. Instead, more than 300 actors, dancers and theater staff filled the stage, wearing full costume and clutching protest signs. Addressing the audience, conductor Nayer Nagi announced: "In a stand against a detailed plan to destroy culture and fine arts in Egypt, we abstain from performing tonight's opera."

Following a spate of sackings within Egypt's culture ministry, a new political battleground has emerged in the country's opera houses and theaters. The performers add their voices to a growing chorus of accusations from other institutions who believe the country's ruling Islamist Freedom and Justice party is attempting to cement control over the direction of their work.

Since his appointment four weeks ago, the culture minister, Alaa Abdel-Aziz, has dismissed three leading members of Egypt's cultural scene: the head of the Cairo Opera House, Enas Abdel-Dayem; the head of the Egyptian General Book Authority, Ahmed Mujahid and Salah El-Meligy, the head of the Fine Arts Sector.

Last week, Egyptian novelist Bahaa Taher said he would resign from the state-run supreme council of culture in protest.

"Over the past days, the minister has dismissed many valuable, highly educated and accomplished artists and intellectuals from leading positions in Egypt's culture scene," Taher, winner of the 2008 International Prize for Arabic Fiction in 2008, told a local media outlet.

"My resignation is to protest [against] those decisions, which testify to the minister's clear strategy of destroying the arts and culture of the country."

After decades of dictatorship, Egypt's artists had hoped the country's new rulers would use their influence to roll back at least some of the restrictions they had faced. The ruling Muslim Brotherhood had been particularly hard hit by limits on freedom of expression under the rule of ousted president Hosni Mubarak.

However, the artists say the sackings reflect a trend towards reimposing such restrictions, and the government's growing willingness to court religious conservatives by cracking down on methods of expression deemed "offensive" or "immoral".

Performers also fear budget cuts will limit the vibrancy of the country's art scene.

The shura council's committee on culture, media and tourism has advised that money allocated to foreign arts companies be reduced. Abdel-Aziz has also argued that the removal of key figures within cultural institutions is based on the need to root out corruption.

But performers say the cuts are based on a more pragmatic calculation. "This is not about fighting corruption," said Dalia Farid Fadel, a political science graduate and opera singer. "This is about conveniently killing two birds with one stone. Egypt is on the brink of bankruptcy and in this situation, cutting down on the arts can be presented as a natural choice. But we cannot afford to lose the arts; they are such a strong part of our identity as Egyptians."

She said the sackings and budget cuts reflected the increasingly polarized nature of Egyptian politics, in which Islamist-dominated state institutions were trying to impose their religious morals upon artistic institutions which challenge the status quo.

For example, she said, in the shura council last week Gamal Hamed, a member of the ultra-conservative Salafist Nour party, called for ballet to be banned, branding it "the art of nudity".

The culture minister has rejected accusations that he is trying to "Islamize" the arts, telling the Muslim Brotherhood's Arabic-language website: "This talk of 'Islamizing culture' is a strange expression, as if it is a slur or a charge. The majority of Egyptians practice Islam."

But the artists believe this misses the point. "The authorities are trying to change the essence of Egypt by slowly wearing away at the diversity of our culture," said Fadel.

"I have a political science degree, but I decided to become an artist because that is how I can fight for our national identity. The opera and the arts are a hub of free expression. It makes people think and it proves that our essence cannot be reduced to a specific religious identity."


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Re: Egypt Revolts; Muslim Brotherhood now attacking culture, the arts, music, national identity etc.

Posted by RockParkMan on Thu Jun 6 13:25:01 2013, in response to Egypt Revolts; Muslim Brotherhood now attacking culture, the arts, music, national identity etc., posted by Olog-hai on Thu Jun 6 12:09:25 2013.

fiogf49gjkf0d
Conservative religion should be eradicated by international law.

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Re: Egypt Revolts; Muslim Brotherhood now attacking culture, the arts, music, national identity etc.

Posted by Allan on Thu Jun 6 15:37:10 2013, in response to Re: Egypt Revolts; Muslim Brotherhood now attacking culture, the arts, music, national identity etc., posted by RockParkMan on Thu Jun 6 13:25:01 2013.

fiogf49gjkf0d
"Conservative religion should be eradicated by international law. "

Which most countries ignore anyway (unless it benefits them).

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Re: Egypt Revolts; Muslim Brotherhood now attacking culture, the arts, music, national identity etc.

Posted by Olog-hai on Thu Jun 6 16:05:18 2013, in response to Re: Egypt Revolts; Muslim Brotherhood now attacking culture, the arts, music, national identity etc., posted by RockParkMan on Thu Jun 6 13:25:01 2013.

fiogf49gjkf0d
The MB ain't "conservative", rocKKKparKKKnazi.

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