Commentary
Advice for the sniper
(cairolive.com, October 24, 2002) An Al-Ahram cartoonist gives the US's sniper issue a twist in a recent issue of the paper. His cartoon shows a US policeman sending out a televised message to the sniper. The message is: "We are ready to fulfill all your requests... but please, we beg you, direct your next shot towards Iraq..."
The joke reflects the Egyptian view that US officials are desperate to go to war with Iraq at any cost, and is also a direct reference to news reports that the US is seriously considering assassinating Saddam Hussein.
In general, Egyptian papers' coverage of the sniper issue has been somewhat low key (in comparison, of course, to how US papers are covering it.) Today's Al-Wafd does, however, include  a map of the DC suburbs with symbols indicating the who, what, where and when of the sniper's many hits. Interestingly, Al-Wafd has been consistently calling the sniper "Al-Lahwo al-Khafee" after the movie of the same name about a sniper. 

For more on the sniper visit shrinkingglobe.com

For more Arabic headlines go to zahma.com

Ad watch
Boosting a sagging market
(cairolive.com, October 24, 2002) The Egyptian stock market, like many of its global counterparts, has been going through some pretty rough times. Thursday's Al-Ahram reveals that plans are underway to pump up investor interest in the lackluster market.
The paper features a rather large, 9-page supplement called "Al-Boursa: Khatwa bi khatwa" (The Stock Market: Step by Step).
The creatively designed front page of the supplement features photos of about a half dozen regular-looking people with bubble quotes coming out of their mouths which are mainly the standard cliches people use regarding why they wont invest in the market. Things like, "I don't understand it...", or "You know you can lose all your money in a day...", etc...
Actually, the ad says, you shouldn't knock something until you learn more about it. And conveniently enough, the supplement is being published in tandem with a major exhibition of the same name that is meant to make the market more use friendly for people with opinions like those expressed in the ad -- by providing a simplified way of understanding how stock trading really works. The exhibition takes place from the 24th - 27th of October at the Nasr City's Exhibition Grounds.

Miscellaneous
Paying dues
(cairolive.com, October 24, 2002) Al-Wafd provides coverage of US actor Sean Penn's highly critical letter -- published in the Washington Post a week ago --  regarding George Bush's plans to strike Iraq. The paper however, neglects to mention that Penn paid a whopping $56,000 for the privilege of publishing the letter in the Post. Mentioning that fact may have given the item more credibility and perspective (after all the actor's opinions are rather similar to the way most Egyptians feel about a possible US strike on Iraq, and US attitudes after 9-11 in general) -- instead, Al-Wafd places the item in its varieties page, somewhat belittling its importance. Penn's letter appeared prominently in the front "hard news" section for the Post.

To get linked directly to Penn's letter, visit shrinkingglobe.com

Television
Anticipating Ramadan TV
(cairolive.com, October 24, 2002) Plenty of coverage has begun to be dedicated to the upcoming Ramadan TV schedule. The holy month begins on November 6 and is always accompanied by great fanfare on TV.
Today's Al-Akhbar features a story on the popular children's' cartoon Bakkar, which only appears during Ramadan. The paper says Bakkar's producers are "racing against time" to be ready for Ramadan. 120 artists and 8 directors are taking part in this year's production, the paper says, which will feature four new cartoon girls who will be joining the lovable Nubian boy Bakkar as he travels through Egypt's major urban centers. Also new this year are child characters from several Arab countries who will be joining Bakkar on his adventures.
Other than Bakkar, what will this Ramadan's biggest shows be?
There is already some controversy surrounding Mohamed Sobhi's "Horseman without a horse", which is supposed to be based on The Protocols of the Elders of Zion... (see Egypt Headlines for more) Comedian Ibrahim Nasr is also back again with Candid Camera, but this time, he actually looks like he took some time out to come up with a costume that nobody will recognize him in... should be interesting.

Check out cairolive.com's coverage of Ramadan TV 2001

...and Ramadan 2000

For links to these articles and much more from the world of Arabic media go to www.zahma.com!

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