Time, the most precious thing that a human can ever have, and the most precious thing that is wasted. I dont know how many zillions of hours are wasted by zillions of human beings for the sake of having fun or under any trivial human activity which is not useful for anybody but ourselves entertainment…
I dont know, but I think myself as one of the biggest time wasters of the Entire History…but recently (like since two years ago) I tried to be focused…getting enrolled into activites, some were time wasting, some were not…
But these activities which I consider time wasting, made me know new ppl, made me go through different experiences, good and bad, smooth and hard, made me realize how can life be…and the most important, it made me able to observe other activites which are really benefetial for me, these activies of which I think I will know people who will become good friends of mine. The thing which I always search for…
CIMAL, SIFE, maybe TeenStuff magazine (this last one is still into consideration of wasting or not, but I guess it will be worth giving it try), the Culture Wheel…
When time is consumed in a way you like and in a way you think it is useful for yourself or for others, I guess this is the best thing students can do in a vacation fter exams.
Friends vs Social Intelligence
Dear Soceity,
I wonder about this society I'm living in a lot, and I always think about my availability of staying in it for so long. Will I be able to stay here? At least till things erupt in this ultra-stable country? Is my character more adobted to stability? or maybe more able to adopt to constant change. I just don't know. The state of constancy paralyze me, destroys me from inside. The problem is that how things change worries me a lot, because usually things change using undecent or injust ways. Must I be a hypocrite to be a someone inside a certain society? It is really against my nature, against my character. I have the trend of negative anger, things build up inside me till I explode. This scenario just happened exactly and till now I'm not fully aware of the consequences that resulted.
I dont know, most of the I think i did the normal right thing, in myself I think this is the best thing I did, it showed how people really react when they exposed to a 2 options test, the eternal american slogan, take it or leave it. Unfortunately, people tend to get away from complications, they remind me of the escape of the Israeli soldiers when their base was down. The defective value of escaping complications. People are weak, ignorant, easily deceived due to the eternal state of lack of information and I'm not that kind of dirty to reveal all the thing, I'm not that one who can scandalize a person unless I'm REALLY fed up. This revolunist spirit which urges me to close the door behind me and throw away the key.
"Crazy, over the rainbow, I'm crazy, bars on the window"
Listening to The Trial by Pink Floyd. The eternal song expressing the value of justice, the revolution. The shout: "TEAR DOWN THE WALL" I hear it in my dreams…I heard that Waters sang it in Israel and they was about to kick him from the country for this line. How the Judge us represented by a worm, to represent the sarcastic idea of the size of justice applied in this cruel world we are living in…The application of Justice, is it crazy to promote this application? In some cases it doesnt need jury or judge to apply the full penalty of he natural law. But…things doesnt always go like this. The power of money, fame, social position…
"Tear down the wall"
Getting away with murder, physically and emotionally. I wondered earlier about the meaning of emotional murder, separation of two living human beings, so be it a couple, a mother and her kid, or whatever method it was. It is still killing, and still it was never punished, how can a material law punish it?
Cultural Clash
Egyptian people coming back from a long time work abroad, esp in the Gulf where most Egyptians who are abroad work in. When the families return with their students coming to Egyptian Schools or Universities, these students always clash with the old egyptian students. Teasing, refusing, not adopting, this really make them feel really isolated, and suffer low esteem and so. One of my friends is suffering this and I guess I'm lucky to find someone like those who lived abroad who can be really near to my mentality, I hope all of them come in my way lol.
Free Mohamed el Sharkawy and Karim El Shaer
http://www.manalaa.net/sharkawy_petition_english
On the 5th of July 2006, the imprisonment of Mohamed Sharkawy and Karim El Shaer, Kefaya activists was extended again for another 15 days, because of their participation in the solidarity movement with Egyptian judges and despite the release of the remainder of Kefaya activists who were arrested during the same events.
Sharkawy was arrested on the 24th of April and was released on the 23rd of May to be arrested again two days later upon his participation in a protest rally in front of the press syndicate. This time, and during his arrest Sharkawy was subject to brutal beatings. He was then taken to Kasr El Nil police station and there he was tortured to the extent that his head and face were disfigured, as well as his sexual abuse in a shameful event that adds to the list of shame and brutality of Ministry of Interior and state security officers who carried out this torture or who have supervised it. Despite the obvious effects of torture on the face and body of Sharakwy when he was summoned to the state security prosecution (on the evening of the 25th of May), yet the prosecution was reluctant to refer him to forensic medical examination. Furthermore the prosecution did not refer Sharkawy to medical care except one week after he was transferred to prison!
Also, the prosecution did not until now undertake any measures to investigate the attack on Sharkawy, despite its documentation and the availability of eyewitnesses.
Since then state security prosecution continued to extend Sharkawy and Shaers imprisonment, in the absence of any reason other than to subject them both to psychological intimidation hoping that Sharkawy would be forced into giving up on his complaint of torture, or isolate him from anybody who could help him seek justice or keep him in prison until the signs of torture have disappeared.
All those events reveal the complicity of the state security prosecution and proves that it is part of the state security apparatus itself and not an independent investigation body. State security prosecution is known for using extended periods of detention as a punishment for dissidents, with no basis in the law.
The undersigned organizations:
Demand the immediate release of Sharkawy and Shaer and an immediate investigation in their complaint of torture and maltreatment.
Call upon all humanitarian and human rights organizations to send urgent appeals to the public prosecutor demanding the release of Sharkawy and Shaer and an immediate investigation in their complaint of torture and maltreatment.
Undersigned organizations
El Nadim Center for the Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence
Egyptian Association against Torture.
Hsiham Mubarak Law Center
Arab Network for Human Rights Organizations
Association for human rights legal aid.
Civil Monitor
The Egyptian Movement for change (kefaya)
The Final Cut
A member of the security apparatus at Tora Mahkoom prison where Kefaya activist Mohamed Sharkawy (member of youth for change) is being held in detention, has threatened him with murder, he was told that it would be really simple to inject him with a contaminated syringe and claim his death had been caused by some natural disease.
Sharkawy is being targeted by prison authorities, his hours out of his cell are shorter than those of other prisoners, detainees charged with criminal offences harass him at the instigation of state security, those who are friendly with him are themselves harassed, and he is being kept from sharing a cell with Kareem El-Shaer or even communicate with him.
Friends and family who have visited Sharkawy are deeply concerned for him, even if these threats are not serious they constitute a form of psychological torture.
Background: Mohamed Sharkawy was arrested for demonstrating in support of Egypt's reformist judges. He has now been in detention for 90 days. While being arrested he was beaten up and sexually violated by state security officers.
Killing Democracy…
Today I saw the movie Omar AlMokhtar. I saw it many times before, but it is the first time for me to see it from a very different prospective. When I was in the CIMAL session we discussed the principle of the one person rule in the history of Arab countries, and I really realized that even in the times of Arab dignity and proesperity, there was a rare chance of talking about democracy or Shoora within the minds of our Arab people. We always depend on certain people to defend us, and thus giving away this precious right to others while in the mean time we are the ones who mustnt ever give up this sacred responsibility.
When people who oppress us torture, or harm, or even kill the symbols of this fight for freedom, for this sacred of responsibility of defense against the destruction of the sacred right of being secured, the sacred attack towards corruption in all the principle fields which the country is based upon. Imagine how can this fight against corruption and authoritianism be of great use to your own self, to your feeling of being secure. Financially, physically, and in all other aspects of your own life. How can this massive amount of public money to be in the hands of real economic projects. How can this stolen taxes and loans to be in the hands of the people, in the hands of its owners. How can we give the right of management to people who just use us without any kind of service return. How can these kind of people ever happen to understand that ruling is just mere Civil Serving, which means that they are servants to US, the people, not the US the states. Not just to be the little good dog that is thrown a bone for being a good defender of any rights other than the Egyptian rights. Dont you think that Egyptians dont have these most powerful amazing powers of observations? These powers which is going like blowing air in the air, no use at all.
And again, we see our own defenders of freedom assulted in diffeent aways in front of own eyes and we are afriad to speak our own voice in this narrow space available to us in the internet.
I hope to feel that Egyptians are human anymore, not to be in the state of nobody home, like Pink Floyd is saying:
I've got a little black book with my poems in, got a bag, got a toothbrush and a comb.
When I'm a good dog, they sometimes throw me a bone in.
I got elastic bands keepin my shoes on.Got those swollen hand blues.
Got thirteen channels of shit on the T.V. to choose from.
I've got electric light and I've got second sight.Got amazing powers of observation.
And that is how I know when I try to get through on the telephone to you there'll be nobody home.
I've got the obligatory Hendrix perm and the inevitable pinhole burns.
All down the front of my favorite satin shirt.I've got nicotine stains on my fingers.
I've got a silver spoon on a chain. I've got a grand piano to prop up my mortal remains.
I've got wild staring eyes. And I've got a strong urge to fly. But I got nowhere to fly to.
Ooooh, Babe when I pick up the phone"Surprise, surprise, surprise…"
There's still nobody home.
I've got a pair of Gohills boots and I got fading roots.
But who knows, maybe I wont find any surprise.
CIMAL. 2nd Session.
24th of June, 2006. Today we had a wonderful session of the Egyptian Affairs Council in the American University in Cairo. We had the oppertunity of discussion of different issues concerning current Egyptian political scene.
Judges, People's assembly activity, Egypt's foreign Policy, Bloggers Detaination…One of the cool things that I guess will never happen again, we were discussing the Judges Independence from the Government in the same the time the real People's Assembly were discussing it.
Hoping for more improvement.
The detained blogger Alaa Seif is out, and WORLD reactions to it.
Alaa Seif, an Egyptian blogger which was detained a month ago for blogging against the government, was released.
Here are some non-Egyptian comments from his blog www.manalaa.net, i'm posting this to let the readers know how can paying the price of liberty be really rewarding within this short time.
Joanne
Alaa
I am so happy you are home with Manal now
I was going to say free but I am not sure you will ever be free again unless this regime is toppled.
Your journey has been an arduous one but thanks to Hosny Mubarak you have had the chance to grow emotionally and learn about human nature the warmth and care for you of the people around the world, you have learned about your own strenght of character and now it seems that your future path has been carved out for you too
You might not have choosen it but you have become not only to me but I know to many around the world the symbol of resistance in Egypt A true Hero !
An Internet warrior fighting with words, words which are taking effect and eventually will conquer, it is the beginning of the end of Mubarak regime's hold on the people of Egypt and he knows it.
I would like to alert as many people as possible its a campain from Amnesty International http://irrepressible.info/addcontent Add irrepressible content to your site
If you have a website or blog, help us spread the word and undermine unwarranted censorship by publishing censored material from our database directly onto your site.
The more people take part the more we show that freedom of expression cannot be repressed.
Simply follow these 3 easy steps see website
_______________
Chaostorm
Dear friend Alaa,
I respect greatly what you are trying to accomplish in Egypt. I know what you're going through now and I pray that you stay strong even during these hard times.
I live in Serbia (a part of ex-Yugoslavia) and I have seen terrible things here under our own dictator, Slobodan Milosevic. After practically succeeding another dictator, Tito, Milosevic visciously attacked any sign of opposition and many people were imprisoned or lost their lives during the '90s just because they thought differently.
Even though we fought against him with civil disobedience acts and protests, it seemed that his rule would never end and that all of us who lived in Serbia would stay imprisoned within our own country for many generations to come, devoid of any liberties and rights. However, it was not to be. In 2000, when it looked he is the strongest so far, we finally toppled Milosevic and ended his reign of terror and lies once and for all.
My advice for you is to keep faith, bide your time and know that you are not alone. My advice for your friends and relatives is to spread the word and educate people of Egypt whenever possible, so that they would know that a better future can be achieved.
Don't grieve – I know in my heart that a better, brighter future is waiting for you and your people.
Friendship and support from Serbia,
Chaostorm
Freedom and Censorship
Freedom…
We are in Egypt, the country of non-freedom, the country of censorship…
u no this can be acceptable when r dealing with governmental places…we can somehow in a way or another get the point of freedom capturing, but…when u are in a place which is supposed to be a place for discussion, and u discuss the concept of freedom against governmental actions, and then this discussion is censored? you know this really sucks. This means that this supervisor is really against freedom.
I believe that if things remained like that in our dear country, we will be facing a tough bloddy revolution, maybe worse than the french revolution. Egyptian people must be encouraging each other to face governmental illegal acts, paying the price of freedom, cause we are the ones who will pay it, not the USA, not Europe, not the World General Opinion. It is just us, free Egyptians who will pay the dear high price of freedom. The freedom which will ensure and gurantee our prosperity, wealth and superiority to this world we are living in.
What makes me really upset and frustrated, when some Egyptians just like me become afraid, unable to get the courage to face our real problems instead of talking about trivial problems with trivial people. We are really heading to a catastrophe in the speed of light, I didn't know that the governmental mentality is having some success in some minds, killing patriotism and freedom in our souls, our most precious place which is the only precious thing we have now after the devaluing of all the things we believed in within running time. Or do we just compensate our freedom in the figure of the football discussions which just go like blowing air in the air.
When women from the age of 20 to 60 are physically and sexually assaulted by the armed forces which are supposed to be protecting us from evil, and we find out that these forces protect criminals and attack the most respected people on Earth, JUDGES. All that, and when I talk about BLOGGING you just censor it? This is a crime I tell you, a crime.
I will be waiting your regret when the revolution comes, will be really waiting for it.
Finished…
Finished my exams…but…still not feeling that free…the feeling i always longed for…
i feel like being closed losing the ability to open again…is it i'm afraid that i'm closer to facing real life and wave goodbye to my years of no responsibility? is being twenty bad? dunno…
i never imagined that the tens digit in my age will be number 2…never…but now…i imagine myself as being a husband…to a hopefully loving wife…with hopefully nice children…i feel the massive responsibility that will be held on my shoulders…will be able to find a good wife? will i be able to be a good father if i had children?
i dunno…