Integration Contract, Really?

Quoted from the BBC Article: Europe's identity crisis

"In future an immigrant arriving in Germany and wishing to stay may have to sign an "integration contract". That is the idea of the Integration Minister, Maria Boehmer.

The contract would set out basic German "values," including "freedom of speech" and "equal rights for women". The idea behind this is the club: if you join you have to accept the rules. "Anyone who wants to live here for a long time," says the minister, "and who wants to work has to say 'yes' to our country"."

I was very surprised when I read this today. It came as a bit of a shock to me to see how clueless people can be especially when they are in positions of power.
The mere 3 people that commented on the Article all seemed to disagree with this, and so do I.

I think that idea is so off point it's ridiculous! The idea that a contract is the thing that will govern the way immigrants choose to live their life shows how weak of a grip Europe really has on its integration problems. You cannot sit on the outside and watch a hot mess and think you can solve it. The people thinking of solutions need to understand how those immigrant communities think, understand without passing judgement. Once you understand a problem, then you can start to fix it, and it's obvious that some countries are no where near understanding things.

I think if they take a few examples of well integrated immigrants and compare their characteristics with those who are not well integrated they might get some idea as to why people behave the way they do. My feel is that they will find that the reasons are closely tied with the goal one has for immigration. There are those who seek immigration for financial reasons and those who seek immigration to improve their quality of life. Those who cannot survive in their countries seek immigration to the EU since they will be able to survive off of the minimum wage and will reap the benefits of a good social welfare system. Then there are those who seek immigration in order to fulfill career aspirations, better quality of life and a good future for their children. The main things that differentiates those two groups are money and education.
Generally, well educated and well off people are more respecting of women's rights and freedom of speech.
I'm not saying a clear cut solution is obvious, but I think some understanding of the realities of immigrants is necessary before jumping into actions that will not add any value.

Another problem I see is that - to Europeans - the sight of a veiled women, more often than not, represents female oppression, devout religiousness - sometimes even fundamentalism - and inequality. This is not always the case, some women are open minded and independent and choose to wear the veil. The problem is that a person's looks already alienate him/her when they are different from the main stream, add to that all the social factors and religious ones too and you find that people on both sides prefer this separation, and would much rather stick to their own world than be open to challenging their own views and perhaps changing or adjusting their convictions.

Finally, I think we need to acknowledge how difficult is it for human beings to change. Expecting a middle aged man/woman to change his/her ways is not realistic. Change is gradual. For immigrants to develop ownership to their new country and integrate with them and adjust their values and belief systems takes generations not years. Which can also indicate that maybe a big part of the problem may be resolved in time.

I think it's sad, how little progress has been made to understanding - not even solving - a problem that has been out there since as long as I can remember. You'd think the developed world would do a better job at handling their problems.

Love and Pride - two different things

I've finally been able to pin down exactly how I feel towards Egypt - given recent events.

I've realized that one does not have to be proud of something to love it. You can love something and still be very ashamed of it.

And while I love my country dearly and i feel frustration over its wasted potential, i am not very proud of it.

They say your true character shows only in difficult times. Time and time again we're faces with difficult situations, and we just throw it out of the park.

Historically, there are things that I am proud of, things that Egyptians a very very long time achieved, but since then have rotted in ignorance and apathy. Many of the great things we see today that bring national pride are works of non-Egyptians.
The Rosetta Stone may have been written by Egyptians, but was discovered by the French. The Metro system that has so far been sufficiently consistent is done by the French. The streets and squares of down town Cairo were mapped by the French. The railway system that is slowly decaying was done by the British - the 2nd railway built in the world! Even the Suez Canal was not built by us.

But if we put the past aside, what in today's modern word do I have to be proud of? Not much.
When Egyptians go on a mad riot frenzy and claim they want to declare a war on a country, because a bunch of hooligans allegedly attacked 20-something fans - i feel appalled, not proud. When the President of the country takes time from his schedule to mention it in his public televised speech, I feel sad, not happy.

More often than not, I am left ashamed at how we - Egyptians - handle ourselves.

Jimmy rolls up his sleeve, Mobi won't back down

Hold on to your seats everyone, it's about to get interesting!

The Ahram Newspaper is Egypt's leading newspaper, even though it's full of absolute Bullshit! It reports growth, when no body else does, it omits news that everyone should hear, and if you were on a deserted island and didn't know the state of the world today and only got Al Ahram Newspaper dropped from the sky every day, you'd think Egypt was in the G8.

Despite all of that you can get a lot of insight into what's happening in Egypt, even if you admittedly only read the headlines, & look at the pictures like yours truly.

Being mentioned in the Ahram newspaper is good - but where you're mentioned is what says a lot! You can be mentioned in the front page (Mubarak related news), page 3 (other worthy news), the middle pages (Egypt related news) or in the last page (a.k.a the seen and heard page)

Gamal Mubarak (aka Jimmy) was mentioned in the Ahram a lot over the past few years. Early on it was in the seen and heard page, then he jumped up to the middle section pages - news about his Party, the decisions he makes etc.

This week he has consistently been on Page 3! A nice upgrade for little Jim! He's made headlines on plenty of other places too - and has therefore become the latest topic by the watercooler! Jimmy is rolling up his sleeves and getting ready to take in the limelight.

Everyone thinks it's with the support of his loving father (aka Moby) but a look at the Ahram newspaper would show that Mr. Moby is none too happy about Jimmy's rise up the Ahram-page ladder. Every time there's an article about Gamal Mubarak's vision for the future, right next to him and even bigger one is showing Moby in full swing 'running' the country. Moby, whose news generally fill the first page, now fill the first and 3rd page as well.

Now, if you were trying to support your offspring's rise to the throne, wouldn't you take a step backward and let you boy take in some of the limelight?

If Moby truly wanted to pass down his throne to Jimmy, shouldn't he be sorting him out while he's still in power? Why leave it up in the air when Moby's number could be up any minute now? So he tested fate and tried for 5 more years - a risk i would call stupid when you're eighty something - you'd think he'd get wise and start easing Jimmy in before it's too late!

Based on the news coverage, this is not happening - and it looks like Jimmy's patience with his father has ran out and he's taken matters into his own hands.

It seems as though things are in fact going to get interesting...Moby vs. Jimmy is not what everyone expects, but it might just happen!

P.S. I found this on Masrawy just as i published this post - if you read Arabic check it out.

Summer hibernation - over!

Summer is finally O-V-E-R! I know it's still like 30-something degrees out there and the electricity bill is still triple its usual amount but it's Autumn now - move over summer!

It's also the end of Ramadan...

Now, let me take a moment and do a little happy dance...

Ok, i'm back!

Over the weekend I made some purchases: Pink Reebok's, Membership at club next to the office, cheap-but-funky-looking squash racket

Sunday I finished work and headed over to the Gym then hit the Squash courts. Monday morning I realized I have muscles in places i never knew. Tuesday morning did not feel any different. Today I was able to laugh without wincing with pain - and like the diligent person i pretend to be i'm heading over the gym & squash court again today.

TV has started again so my couch potato blog should be showing signs of life as soon as I finish my Lost marathon (man, Season 5 is good!)

Game on!

Scrabble nights have been happening for a while, even though they're not as frequent as they once were.

Lately Nis and I have had our asses handed to us by Adrian - who, much to Nisrin's dismay, happens to be Canadian!

So Adrian decided to help us and sent us this to help us beat him - it's funny:

Captain Jack is back!!

* happy dance

Great news from EW.com! Pirates of the Caribbean 4: On stranger tides

Now we have to wait till Summer 2011 - :(

AIESEC influence reaches the Oscars!

Apparently the Academy Awards have decided to rely on AIESECers to help them vote for the Best Motion Picture.

If you've ever been in a PAI election or a National election in AIESEC you'd instantly understand the system they've derived - in fact you'll think it makes complete sense. For others, it seems a little complex.

And given the fact that PWC is a big AIESEC Partner, and also the company that counts the ballots for the Academy Awards, i'm thinking my theory is not too far fetched.

Here's the new procedure according to ew.com:

"In the past, once the nominees were announced, Academy members voted only for the one film they thought should win the award, and the film with the most votes won. But with so many nominees next year, it’s feasible that a movie could have won Best Picture with only 11 percent of the vote, which seems crazy. So now, once the 10 nominees are named, voters will rank the films from 1 to 10. All the No. 1 votes will be counted, and if no film has more than 50 percent of the vote (which will certainly be the case), the last-place film will be eliminated and the voters who voted for that film will have their No. 2 votes counted instead. That process will continue until one film has a majority of the votes. As Pond points out, there is a chance that the film that ends up winning won’t actually have the most No. 1 votes, but will instead emerge the victor in the second, third, or fourth rounds. "

Now tell me that it's not an AIESECer who came up with this!

CNN likes juice!

No body likes to twist the facts a little to get some juice like CNN does! Especially when it comes to Muslims and Arabs. It's like a big lucrative punching bag right there in your face, and of course they'll want to take a swing.

So the article was discussing some Nigerian player in Italy who was fasting because it's ramadan, and didn't perform well in the match. The Coach was not happy. This is of course a valid discussion - I understand the Coach's concerns. Personally I think the player should fast on his days off to make up for his Ramadan, he needs to eat to be able to earn his living. This, however, is not what ticked me off.

At the end of the Article CNN says:

"Meanwhile, the Egyptian team preparing for the under-20 World Cup in their home country have turned down the chance to break their fast. The country's religious authorities gave the squad members permission to avoid fasting during Ramadan, but the team ignored the instruction.

The competition starts just a few days after the end of Ramadan, but the team is in strict training in a bid to claim the prestigious title."

Religious authorities don't have a say in whether you're allowed to break your fast or not. This, much like daily prayers, is up to each person. So the team does not need "permission" to not fast.

Why throw something like that in there that would just send the message that this mean evil religion is starving its people and they need permission from religious authorities to let them eat? The truth is that religious authorities give their opinion - not an instruction or permission!

But hey, this sells more doesn't it?

blame it on the

HEAT!

Life's been quiet, and a little boring if you ask me. I blame it fully on heat...

I'd like to start walking and maybe potentially move to Racewalking coz it's got this cool hip shaking action. However I hate sports, and I hate heat. So it's hard to start something you hate in conditions you hate. I'm claiming that if it were fall/winter I'd have happily hopped off my ass and gone Racewalking...

So far I've bought a stop watch and i'm looking for new running shoes and sports clothes - all in preparation for when the weather is a bit more bearable.

Another thing I'm blaming on the weather is how i've ignored the Piano sitting in my living room for the past month. My un-air-conditioned living room is just too hot. Adding a new A/C is not an option, and the Piano won't fit in my room. Yesterday I tried playing and turns out I've forgotten the little piece i'd busted my ass in learning earlier in the summer.

I blame it on the heat

Mysteries i'm dying to un-ravel

1) Did man really step on the moon when they said he did
2) Was there a plot to kill Diana and Dody
3) Did JFK and Marilyn Monroe have a thing (although i can guess!)
4) Was Darwin right

and finally
5) And how the HELL is Windows so successful?!

ahhh, a little bundle (read: attachment) of joy was left in my email today

Seems like someone's been listening to my advice about CVs!

Kudos for adding a few crativity points:

- Colors! Yes, pink, red, green and blue are the new Arial & Bookman Old Style of professionalism

- Kiss ass comments - Yikes! Coz we all love to get our asses kissed by potential applicants - ahh my self-actualization needs have been fulfilled - eat that Maslow!
- Not leaving out important details: Just coz you took an ICDL and Introduction to Computers course doesn't mean you know how to use windows and internet! It is, therefore, necessary - even mandatory - to list down the sophisticated applications you can use, like word, excel, windows and internet!

Finally, I'd like to give double Kudos for the currage this dude has in showing how he's moved jobs every year! Seriously, nothing makes an HR manager happier than hiring someone who will leave after one year - talk about Return on Investment!!

I will print screen and post below because what's a good laugh if it's not shared among loved ones (read: the few people who actually read this)

Enjoy :)

The Clinton's still got it goin'

Even more evidence has risen that proves just how much of the "it" factor the Clintons have:

While in Kenya, Hilary received a renewed offer from Godwin Kipkemoi to marry her daughter. The lucky girl would receive 40 goats and 20 cows as dowry. That's apparently the second time he's offered to marry her.
So fret not Chelsea, you'll never become a spinster - there will always be some takers. And you'd get a handsome dowry out of it too!

Hilary has promised to convey his kind offer to her daughter, and the hopeful suitor is now waiting for his answer:
"She promised that she will take the proposal to the daughter and I am now waiting," he said.

Read the BBC Article here

Wouldn't it be cool if a whole bidding war started between us African countries? I can see an Egyptian camel herder going: I see your 40 goats and 20 cows and raise you 20 camels; then a Congolese going: I see your 40 goats, 20 cows, 20 camels and raise you 15 Elephants!

Now there's some Emmy-worthy reality show material in there!

not even enough time for prayers

If your name is Nora Hamdy please do not – I REPEAT DO NOT – read this. If you do, don’t worry – flying is a safe and a fun and amazing experience only a fraction of the world population experiences – so savor these few hours and enjoy your reclining chair, posh menu and in-flight movie (pick the Hangover, it’s hilarious and Bradley Cooper – YUM!)

Nora, I’m serious, stop reading…

Someone mentioned the Egyptair Flight 990 that crashed into the Atlantic 10 years ago and started a discussion about whether the co-pilot actually crashed the plane or not; which I found out later was quite a big deal in the investigation. I haven’t exactly followed that accident at all. So I put my googeling to task and found out all about the investigation.
So yeah, it seems like the dude did in fact crash the thing,,, I’m not big on conspiracy theories, and yes, we’ll never know, but evidence point to where evidence point.
I ended up reading the transcript of the audio tapes of the cockpit; and I found them quite haunting.
The last minute the audio tapes shows the co-pilot repeating something you’d typically say when you start doing something. The captain’s last words were him basically asking what was happening and saying repeatedly “pull with me”.
I have no idea what brought me to read such a disturbing document, and now I can’t get it out of my head.
I don’t really think about the co-pilot, or the passengers; it’s that captain trying to pull the plane up that is stuck in my head. While the passengers were saying their prayers, that captain had no time to say his prayers – his mind was probably racing trying to find out what the hell went wrong while he was in the toilet, wondering if he should have just held it in, hoping his pulling efforts would work. He didn’t even have time to say his prayers!

I should stop googeling things…..

Our very own Miley Cyrus!

two posts in one day? i know!

Hamid El Shaeri is an Egyptian/Libyan singer/songwriter/producer.
He posted a video on Facebook of his 10 year old daughter singing 'The Climb' by none other than Miley Cyrus. (Notice how she imitates Miley's imitation of Celine Dion with all the hand gestures?)

The kid is good - little nasal - but good.
However, much like Miley Cyrus's videos, the video has auto-tune written all over it.
In case you're not familiar with auto-tune it's a pitch correction technology that makes people like Miley Cyrus, and in the future Nabila El Shaeri, able to get record deals. That and the fact that daddy is a music industry guru...

Leave Egypt and conquer!

well, that is if you are Dr. Magdy Yacoub.
Read yet another one of his ground breaking procedures here

Dissed and Dismissed!

and by that I mean the "Broadway comes to Egypt" show.
The title is quite misleading, I initially thought that some genius has finally convinced some Broadway troupe to come perform here for the weekend. So I decided, it's ok to shed out some considerable amount of moolah, since let's face it, my efforts to make it personally to Broadway have been unsuccessful for a few years in a row now.
My first hint was when my friend told me the tickets were for 25 pounds, and that's when I smelled foul play. At first i thought she forgot a zero, and I was happy coz 250 pounds for a Broadway show sounds pretty cheap ( Stomp cost 1000, so did lord of the dance, and Bocelli)
Then it was confirmed to me that it was in fact only 25 pounds.
I wasn't too disappointed with the show, since i had pretty low expectations. And for 25 pounds, i was not going to complain.
But now that i'm reading the Daily News Egypt's review of it, I can't help but be very amused.
In general i'd put my music abilities no better than being able to keep a tune; turns out in the Cairo Opera House keeping a tune - barely keeping it at some points - can get you quite far.
I was planning to stay quiet about this. I'm a part of a local amateur singing group that does Musicals, the operative word here is amateur. So it was a clear case of glass house vs stone scenario, but then again the Opera House claims to be professional so bring on the stones.

Here are some excepts from the review which I found so amusingly true:
"Despite being blessed with a truly remarkable voice, Hany El-Shafei (in the role of Tony) was clearly out of element in here. Donning a white shirt and jeans, El-Shafie looked like an 18th century count plunged by accident into 1950 New York while his intonations were distractingly off in several parts."

Imagine you get the three tenors and ask them to vocally coach the singers to sing 'Anything You Can Do'. Do you think it would really turn out like this? or more like this? Can you really call the second one Broadway?

For those who attended it, why don't you treat yourself to a version of Maria that doesn't sound like it was a song written for Pavarotti (excuse, the glitch with the last Mareeaaah)

"The night’s single most remarkable performance was of the banter-filled “America.” Nesma Mahgoub sang her half of the song with natural mastery, lending her voice the desired lilt and bounce to complement the jabs in the lyrics. All skirts and flounces, heels-clicking and pose-striking, the dancers took to the stage as if the repartee inherent in the song were second nature.

Later, amid “Grease” numbers, a convincing performance of “Sandra Dee” was given by — no surprise, Mahgoub again! — though dressed in dull black, it carried only half the charm of the bouncy skirt and frolicking dance of the earlier “West Side Story” number. "

Funnily (well more like tragically) enough, the two most remarkable performance (yes, they were my favorites too) are by "Nesma Mahgoub" who is the amateur AUC student, not the professional Opera-House-employed singers. Barvo, Opera House!

"With Ibrahim Hany’s looking and dressing up for the boxing ring than as a dreamy Danny, and Maysa Orensa as Sandy smiling through “summer dreams, ripped at the seams” the ever-popular “Summer Nights” was laid to rest, and turned in its grave."

At this song, I was undoubtedly happy: My sister, who is quite stingy when it comes to giving compliments told me that I can do a better job that that. I secretly rejoiced their suckiness, and patted myself on the back for finding someone even more mediocre than I am! That person sings for the Opera House! Oh, the dreams I had forgone!

This is how the journalist chose to end his review:
"Broadway sadly stayed where it was, and you wonder what part of it came to Egypt. “West Side Story” did not carry aptly the heartbreak of divided lives and loves, depriving the songs of their story. And while “Grease” was more successful in conveying the atmosphere of juvenile high-school drama, the achievement was more likely effortless."

The reason I found that tragically amusing i because the Opera House has consistently showed us it's true colors, I mean have you listened to our Orchestra or seen our Ballet group? Why would a musical be any different?

My Memories of the King

- My earliest memory of Michael Jackson was his Black and White song - that was the first time i heard about him. I think i was about 9 or 10. I always associated the song with United Colors of Benetton; did they put it in their ad? Or was that just my imagination? I remember thinking what an absurd song to sing for someone who 'changed his color' coz he didn't like the one he was born with (it was what the gossip mags were saying at the time - I was into celeb gossip early on). Whenever I’m shopping at Benetton I find myself humming Black and White..
- I remember googleing his different looks trying to find out how it changed - i guess i yahoo-ed it, coz Google wasn't there at the time. I might have even used Lycos or webcrawler.
- I remember taping his single "Scream" off the radio on a mix tape from the show 'At your request' on the European radio broadcast channel. The show came on from 10 to 12 every Friday - my sister and I woke up especially for it on the weekends. The presenter, Hala Hasheesh, spoke over the end of the song; and on my mix tape the next song after (or maybe the one before, i can't remember) Scream was Bryan Adam's 'To really love a woman'. We didn't leave enough space between the two songs, so they were almost merged as one song. Whenever i hear the Bryan Adam's song i think of MJ's Scream and vice versa. I also still remember the words that the presenter spoke during the song...
- I remember watching 'Free Willie' in the movie theater, and later renting it from the video store next to my house (for 3 pounds) and from the video store at the sporting club and singing along to "Childhood". Whenever i listen to the song i think of the scene where Willie jumps to the other side of the ocean with the little boy standing underneath him. I remember being a little apprehensive the second time I watched thinking the whale might end up squashing the kid. The first time I watched I was emotionally invested in the scene, i.e. crying my eyes out
- I remember the school band singing 'we are the world' - with Susi (my class mate) on the Drums and doing the back up vocals
- I remember buying the HIStory cassette tape by the label 'Voice of America’; I was captured by the song "Little Suzy". One of my frenemies at the time was called Suzy (not the one in the band that one is still a friend) and found it very disturbing that he was singing about the murder of a little girl called Suzy. I was about 13 at the time.
- HIStory, along with some Whitney Houston album and Elvis Greatest hits were my favorite Voice of America cassette tapes at the time. 'Help' was my favorite movie at the time - i would go watch it at the British Council right up the street from my house.
- I remember loving all his collaborations with the Beatles - especially 'The girl is mine' with Paul McCartney. I distinctly remember the line 'Paul, I think i told you, I’m a lover not a fighter'. I think i've quoted that in a conversation once.
- I remember the chain emails where peole claimed he said "if i had known muslims would listen to my music, i would not be singing". I thought these emails were ridiculous.
- I remember following all his gossip online (still do now)
- I am a big fan of a movie called 'Center Stage' which is all about Ballet. Their final act is with MJ's 'the way you make me feel' - it was really good! I remember thinking if I were a Ballerina I'd want to do that dance with this song.
- Earlier this year I downloaded his King of Pop album and put it on my mp3 player. I read about his concerts and was sure they would be an amazing success and he'd be back in no time. Around that time American Idol had a MJ theme in one of their episodes. I had never heard P.Y.T till then, and the girl who covered Dirty Diana did it very well. Goes without saying that Adam rocked Black and White...
- I checked out the tickets for his concert and took a pen and paper and saw if I could make it up there, but decided: It's ok, he's still young, there'll always be next year. I was even more sure of that after they increased his concerts to 50.
- I followed two friends (Sherif and Shireen) on Facebook because I thought they would definitely go and I admit I was a little jealous. I remember reading their walls and statuses where they complained about how they couldn't get tickets coz it sold out only hours after the tickets went on sale. I might have evil eyed them, but I doubt that was true since i was very confident i'd see him live in the next couple of years...
- Last week I tried to enter the Nile FM raffle for a trip to the UK to see him live, I remember thinking 'if i win, i may have to ditch my friend who was coming to visit me in July'; I tried to make up what i'd say to her in that case. It seems so long ago now.

Life is short

Iran shows us how it's done!

I never really thought anything of Iran or Iranians. For some reason we're not supposed to like them, something about their Shah, Sadat and some fall out? One day when I'm bored at work I'll educate myself 'bout that - but i haven't been bored at work in 3 months so i guess I'll be ignorant for a while.

But really, what they've been doing this last week is pretty darn impressive! They've officially put us - Egyptians - to shame! I thought the protests would die out after day one or day two, but today - 6 days later - they're still going strong. I'm just at awe at these people's courage and determination. Kudos!

I've always thought Iran is one of the countries that has so much potential from the greater middle east (do we still use that now that Bush is gone?). Iran, Iraq and Egypt are in my opinion the main countries in the region who can lead this region and become the respected members of the world community they once were. If only they can just get it right!

It seems like Iranians have finally had enough. As I see all of this unfold I can't help but think just how soulless, selfish and numb Egyptians are. So it is possible to revolt? It is possible to cause major headache for your government and weaken their legality even more? It is possible to make a statement and demand a change?
People are doing it right now, and what do Egyptians do? They settle for the 50 L.E. they get for voting for the very government that has perpetually violated their human rights and have continuously made them poorer, less safe and more miserable over the last 20 something years. Da7na ma3andenaash dam sa7ee7!

Then I start thinking practically, how this could be done.
And right there my hypocrisy - and much hated elitism - makes a grand entrance: Would I storm off to the streets after an election? No, I most definitely would not. Why not? Because i think there are better way for me, and people like me, to make a difference. Jeopardizing my career and future plans is not smart, and I don't feel very guilty because my future plans all involve futile efforts to do my part in developing this country. I believe people like me should not storm the streets and instead apply themselves differently in order to achieve some sort of change.
So who should storm the streets?
I know I should be hung in a public square for saying this - but I expect the poor and prospect-less proportion of our population should do it. That's the main value adding thing they have to offer at this point. The people below poverty lines, who live in slums, beg on the streets, whose rights for a decent living, proper health care, and some sort of social welfare system are ignored.
Even though I expect it, I do feel it's wrong and hypocritical from a moral stand point and in an ideal world it should not happen, all people are equal.
But realistically speaking, people are not equal: I'm lucky. My basic needs are covered, I have no possible motivation to do something that dangerous. Bad traffic, polluted weather and poor infrastructure - the things that affect my life the most - are not exactly reasons strong enough to make me react so strongly. And I do not expect anyone with the same situation to do so either. The day I start losing those basic needs, is the day I start taking more drastic action.
It doesn't make sense to expect the educated productive working class to storm the streets given the current conditions they live in right now in Egypt. What is necessary though is more efforts to develop this country, more political presence, more use of the media to call the government on their actions and demand a change. A different kind of headache for the government, something we are very slowly getting better at - but no where near good enough.
I expect those people whose basic needs are not covered to do something more than what they are doing right now, much like I would have done myself if I were one of them. And I do not understand why these people are silent. They can't work and develop the economy, they're uneducated, they can't write in the papers and defend their opinions, they are illiterate. The main thing they can do is storm the streets and cause a riot. But here in Egypt they don't! I wonder why.
Moral grey - even black area - yes, but realistic.
The world is not fair, each person has a different capacity to make a difference, some more dangerous than others, but each equally important. Sad, but true.

I'd like to think that I'm not just another arrogant yuppie, and that if my luck turns against me and I end up living in a slum somewhere then I'd have the courage to stand up and do what Iranians are doing.

We have women in parliament, so get off our back America!

Well Hooray for us!
Starting next year we will have fifty seven - maybe even sixty four - women in the Egyptian parliament. Do we get ice cream treats for dinner tonight, mama amrika?
The Egyptian government, in what it calls a 'well thought through decision', has decided that there will be an additional 57 seats in the Egyptian Parliament held only for women in next year's election.
Women all over the world rejoice! Because the Egyptian Government, protector of the fragile defenseless "gens el na3em" (the softer gender), is stepping up to the game and will provide you with a nice fluffy soft security blanket to help you in against all those big evil bullying men. The big guys are letting you make your grand entrance on the play ground and show them that you're really worth the effort, and if not - it's ok - they'll just happily put you back on the "samna falla7i" billboard ad and the enticing Melody Arabia video clip.

Had enough of sarcasm just yet? Coz i sure have not!

The 57 (maybe 64 now) seats will be exclusively for women, but this is not a long-term deal, it's temporary for two years to see how it will work and then they'll take more decisions. That's pretty much the gist of what's on the newspapers these days.

- So how is this going to work exactly? Will it be like "taboor el gam3eya" one for women, one for men? Will there be two sets of elections? One to vote in 411 men into the men section and one to vote 57 women into the women section? Or will we disregard the election results and pick 57 men and tell them, yes we know you won but we're kicking you out and giving your position to women instead? Or will we pick 57 seats and only let women run? How will you pick the seats? Aren't they distributed by geographical area? So which district will be the suckers/lucky bastards who are stuck with women?
This is what the dear gov calls "thought through"?

- And this is a temporary thing to "test" things. So it's like a probation period for your new recruit? If they don't perform you fire them? So if those 57 women turn out to be the most useless and corrupt members, you'll back off and say no more?

- I know this is the same old affirmative action story which I have strongly opposed since for ever - i want the best person for the job - be it man, woman, transvestite or even monkey; you get it done best, then you're the one. Proponents argue that not everyone thinks like that and this is a step forward towards a world where people are voted in or hired according to who's best not any other attribute, to those (and to this issue at hand) i say

• Now you're the one who's idealistic! Your gender, ethnic background etc DEFINE who you are to a certain extent, we'll N E V E R get to that place where all people judge people purely on who they are. And if we do, it will not be because of affirmative action! I'd like to see a study that shows exactly how many people have changed their minds about equality because of affirmative action. My guess? It will not be that many
• Lebanon has a system like that with religions, how well is that working? You don't see Maronites, Sunnis and Shiites holding hands and singing kumbaya, now do you?
• To be fair, if we're going to assign seats for women, then all other minorities should get seats too: Copts, nubians, bahaai, sufis.
• So women go from being discriminated against to being the discriminator. She'll get the seat no matter what coz she's a woman, that poor hard working man who would have done an even better job will get the boot because he does not have a uterus? How is that fair? What good could possibly come out of that?

- What if next year 100 women get elected in the normal elections for the 411 seats? Will we add 57 to those? Or will women not run for the original seats?

- What sort of credibility will this woman voted in specially because she's a woman have, once she starts working with other members of the Parliament. How are you supposed to demand respect and equality with other members of Parliament who've been officially voted in when the reason you're there is not because the people want you more than they want anyone else to represent them, but because they were told to only pick from this group because they are women.

The whole notion that women need some law or rule to help them get ahead in politics is just wrong! They do not need a chance to prove that they - as women -can add value, each person speaks and acts for himself or herself not on behalf of all other members of a gender. We cannot judge a gender's value based on some individuals.

A huge step forward? I think not!

Twisted Brain Trilogy - Part I

Trying to untangle the inner workings of my twisted brain is no easy feat! So I'm resorting to the interweb to at least rant about my brain's ability to take the most normal things and blow them - seriously blow - them out of proportions.
It's those things that make me 'special' and not in this endearing warm and fuzzy on the inside special, more like she needs strict observation special.
On a typical day I think about explosions about 5 times, and it's never when I'm asleep, it's when I'm completely awake, sane and lucid. I imagine what would happen if the car driving right in front of me explodes, what if the gas tank in our house explodes, what if the washing machine explodes while it's on it's fastest spin, before I go to bed i think what if the A/C exploded. I don't want anything to explode or anything, but the thought is always on my mind no matter how hard i stop myself from drifting in that directions.

I guess i have to have something wrong with me!