Tarek Atia's web log
Find
out how
the world media sees Egypt...
OCTOBER
2003
7 continents?
Egypt is set to be
a part of a historic quest to run 7
marathons on 7 continents in 7 days by an English adventurer. The
Egypt leg is supposed to be Friday night, this rather offbeat article
says.
Nice pic
3 boys, 2 girls -- a picture of the new quintuplets
courtesy of AP and Yahoo.
Travel news
Egypt's astounding
post-911/Iraq war tourism recovery feted
at global tourism conference...
Egypt Air and other African
airlines urged to form
alliances to better compete with US and European carriers...
Meanwhile, the low
frills airline concept is still not picking up in Middle East...
"Air Arabia's first commercial flight was only 10% full."
Controversy beckons
Are we about to see Horseman without a Horse 2,
but this time on Hezbollah's Manar TV?
Supermarket
meltdown
Egyptian partner
sues Sainbury's for mismanaged pullout from Egypt, and the British
press is relishing the forthcoming fight...
Web
posted by Tarek Atia Friday, October 31, 2003 12:00 CAIRO
Cairolive in NY
I'm quoted
in an interesting story from the New York Post about the Cairo
International Film Festival...
Very
interesting...
Will
US AID to Egypt be reduced by the $2 million Egyptian diplomats owe New
York City in parking tickets?
The parking tickets
issue has been in the news for some time now, with Egyptian diplomats
topping the list of delinquents, with 17,000 tickets totaling some $2
million in fines.
Now, none other
than NY senator Hillary Rodham Clinton has introduced a bill in the
Senate that would reduce US foreign aid to countries by the dollar
amount of the tickets owed -- so that NY city gets its money...
Unfortunate
loss
Nigeria beats Egypt 2-0
in Olympic soccer qualifier.
Six babies
5 survive as rural couple suddenly have a huge
family!
Meanwhile, twins...
Wednesday: More progress as the hospital's official
update page indicates...
Give peace a
chance
Maher urges that new Geneva initiative to help resolve Israeli
Palestinian dispute should be given
a chance...
Seeking
supremacy?
An obscure web site speculates about Egypt's
military ambitions, citing various think tanks' claims that
Egypt wants to be a dominant regional power again, perhaps filling
the vacuum left by Saddam's fall.
Tour
transformation
The Washington Times does a mildly offensive story on the recent
return of Israeli tourists en masse to Sinai...
Web
posted by Tarek Atia Wednesday, October 29, 2003 15:00 CAIRO
Controversy in
Italy
An Egyptian
immigrant in Italy is leading the charge to secularize that
country's institutions? Take a peek into Adel Smith's quest to ban the
cross from his son's school.
Friedman out on
a limb
The esteemed, controversial columnist suggests Egypt
as a useful addition to NATO.
Twins
see each other!
Sunday: Here's an update on the twins from the hospital itself,
with the first official post
operation picture: The twins are sitting across from each other for
the first time in their lives!
Forward and back
Interesting comments
made by Zahi Hawass upon the return of the Ramsis mummy from America.
He announces a wish list for a special exhibition in Egypt. It includes
the Rosetta stone. He softens the request, however, by saying, "I
am not asking for these five pieces to come back for good. These
museums have the right to these objects because they bought in the time
when antiquities were sold, and we do not have (the) right to return
them."
Money matters
Here are some of the details on Orascom's
awarding Motorola a 40 million dollar chunk of its Iraq GSM contract
Web
posted by Tarek Atia Monday, October 27, 2003 12:00 CAIRO
Nancy, Haifa et
al...
Very interesting article on the different reactions to all the sultry
new female Arab video clips on satellite TV. There's a lot of talk
about religious and cultural sensibilities being skewered by the new
East-West pop culture dynamic.
I had written a
cairolive.com column expressing something somewhat similar just as the
war on Iraq was coming to a close.
Here's an excerpt:
"On a new
Arabic entertainment channel modeled after MTV, I caught a video called
Dirty by pop star Christine Aguilera, where muscle-bound men surround
the scantily clad singer as she writhes and wiggles to the beat. A few
minutes later, on yet another new Arabic entertainment channel modeled
after MTV, I saw a video by Nancy Agram where muscle-bound men surround
the scantily clad Arabic pop singer, as she writhes and wriggles to the
beat. As I saw that scene, I felt fairly certain that wherever else I
went, there would be a new entertainment channel modeled after MTV,
where muscle-bound men surround a scantily clad
Asian/Indian/Brazilian/Australian/Polish/etc pop singer as she also
writhed and wriggled to the beat."
The rest is here.
Meanwhile, here's a
focus on the clashes
that took place at a Nancy Agram concert in Bahrain.
Nostalgia
Madame Chaing
Kai Chek, who passed away recently, is commemorated in a file photo
from 1943 in Egypt during a meeting between herself, her husband
and Roosevelt.
Outraged writer
Novelist Sonallah
Ibrahim stuns literary world with rejection of prestigious state prize
and harsh criticism of regime, reports Islam-Online
Political
jump-start?
The NDP-opposition
dialogue begins...
TWINS
It had to happen. Someone
decided to do a political article about the twins. Has the
operation improved US-Egyptian relations? The doctor in Texas's answer
sums things up best, I think:
""This is
pediatrics, not geopolitics," said Dr. James Thomas, chief of
critical care at the medical center."
Web
posted by Tarek Atia Saturday, October 25, 2003 14:00 CAIRO
Interesting
dates
With
Ramadan just around the corner, several news agencies do the
traditional date-naming story. Here, al-Jazeera focuses on the most
expensive dates -- named
after French president Jacque
Chirac, while Islam Online looks at the Limby
and Nancy dates named after today's most famous pop stars of music
and film...
Political
quagmire
As Powell met Mubarak it became clear that the US and Egypt differ
on who is to blame for Palestinian-Israeli violence.
Meanwhile, the new
Palestinian
PM arrives in Egypt for talks.
For his part Amr
Moussa says it is "absurd"
to talk of peace as Israel continues to build its separation
wall.
Foreign Minister
Maher feels
the same way.
Tension at
home
Democracy committee upset
about about rally being banned...
Mummy magic
Expensive cedar
oil used in mummies, scientists finally discover..
Meanwhile, what
remains of a mummy of Ramsis I is being returned
to Egypt from Georgia, reports AFP.
Twins
update!
Tuesday: Twin's father is on "cloud
nine"... Meanwhile, AFP reports that "One of the
formerly conjoined Egyptian twins, who underwent separation surgery
nine days ago, shook
a rattle and smiled at his mother..."
Thursday:
One the twins -- Ahmed -- put
back on medical ventilator after minor complications. Doctors
still reassure that boys are alright neurologically...
Web
posted by Tarek Atia Thursday, October 23, 2003 14:00 CAIRO
Brief stop
Powell
to meet Mubarak on Wednesday
as his plane refuels in Sharm El-Sheikh
UPDATE:
Medal count
As the controversy increases over the final
medal count in the All African games, Egypt launches an official
protest alleging "flouting of the rules and computer
manipulation."
Mahatir
fall-out...
"Egyptian
minister supports Dr M" is the title of a story in The Star
about Ahmed Maher's defense of Mahatir's widely criticized remarks
about the Jews ruling the world. Maher points to the lack of criticism
for an American general's anti-Islam remarks, and ends up being
included in a Washington Post editorial about the issue as well (see
today's Shrinking
Globe)
TWINS
UPDATE
Monday: One of the separated
Egyptian twins sat
up for the first time in his life
Although the boys'
condition may soon be upgraded from critical to guarded, "it will
take weeks to see if the boys suffered any brain damage..."
"One of the
major challenges for doctors will be reconstructing the area at the
top of their heads where there is no skull -- but there is a flesh
covering. Both boys will soon be fitted for protective helmets."
Sunday:
Reuters reports that "One week after doctors separated 2-year-old
Egyptian twins conjoined at the crown of the head, one
of the boys has been removed from a mechanical ventilator and
their condition may soon be upgraded from critical to guarded, doctors
said."
Global success
Cairo photographer Sherif
Sonbol's exhibition in New York city gets rave reviews from the
International Herald Tribune
In transit...
Chinese American actress Bai
Ling gets interviewed by the New York Post's gossip page during the
Cairo International Film Festival. She describes a visit to the
Pyramids.
Mid century Alexandria
hailed as a utopia of inter-civilizational bliss in a Gulf News
opinion piece
Revelations
"I
think al-Qaeda is dead," said Islamist lawyer, Montasser el-Zayat,
in an interview with AFP, which was very quickly picked up by
everybody else. El-Zayat claims to be in e-mail contact with Ayman El-Zawahiri.
Democracy
delay?
Pro-democracy committee's symbolic
attempt to hand a letter to President Mubarak rebuffed by Interior
Ministry.
Web
posted by Tarek Atia Tuesday, October 21, 2003 14:00 CAIRO
Twins doing
okay
Saturday: "Twin Egyptian 2-year-old boys who were
separated at the crown of their heads have both regained consciousness
from a medically induced coma and have
movement in all of their limbs, doctors said on Friday."
80 gold medals
Egypt sits atop All
Africa games
Not necessarily
Egyptian woman's reaction
to the awarding of a Nobel prize to an Iranian woman activist makes
the news.
Juxtapositions...
Daily Star reviews interesting book: Street
Graphics Egypt covers ancient, modern images
Bad news
Fire
on Nile tourist cruise
injures 15 people.
Web
posted by Tarek Atia Sunday, October 19, 2003 14:00 CAIRO
Twins...
Thursday: One
has seizures, other fine...
Friday:
AP says "Doctors temporarily increased his dosage of the drugs,"
and quotes one of the doctors as saying that both twins are "
doing
extremely well."
Meanwhile,
AP does another feature about a Texas
couple that has befriended the boys' parents...
Bread lines
Will the shortages
continue through Ramadan?
A longer AP
report links the whole thing up with the NDP
and political commentary on reform
Out there...
Reuters does a story on Muslims
attending a Christian muliud, to try and exorcize demons...
Israel calls
Egyptian military buildup "wild",
pesters US to stop selling Egypt certain armaments.
Web
posted by Tarek Atia Friday, October 17, 2003 14:00 CAIRO
First, an
update...
Separated
Egyptian twins in "truly remarkable" shape
Controversy
rises
Egyptian
filmmaker faces wrath of colleagues over Israel
Bad news
Fire
swept through at least six buildings in the Cairo suburb of Dokki
late Sunday...
Diplomacy
attempt
"Egyptian Information Minister Safwat al-Sherif has met
Libyan leader Colonel Moamer Kadhafi to press him to abandon
plans to pull out of the Arab League, Egyptian state television
reported Sunday.
Crazy story
This jazeera.net item (their new English site is up it seems)
recounts the story of a desperate
wife who sold drugs and informed on herself in order to join her
husband, a drug dealer in prison. She failed, needless to say.
Far out...
Ancient Egyptians fashion
on the runways in Paris.
Web
posted by Tarek Atia Wednesday, October 15, 2003 14:00 CAIRO
Twins separated!
The
first part of the long-awaited operation to separate the two young
conjoined Egyptian twins in Texas was successful. But the twins
remain in a drug induced coma to reduce brain activity.
The next few weeks
will be critical as doctors perform post op procedures that will
determine baby Ahmed and Mohamed Ibrahim's future..
Meanwhile, in Qus
near Sohag, where the twins are from, residents
pray that the two little boys will be okay.
Holding the
regime to its word
Jackson Deihl talks tough about reform,
the NDP and Gamal Mubarak in a new Washington Post op-ed.
Meanwhile, this
New York Times piece is quite blunt about the impetus for increased
USAID allotments to education in countries like Egypt:
"On the
theory that ignorance and poor education are among the reasons that
young people are drawn to radical Islam, the Agency for International
Development has been revamping its programs in Muslim countries in the
last two years to spend more on schools and less on other things,
including family planning."
The quote may
provide further fuel for those who are protesting vehemently -- in
both parliament and the media -- against this new directive.
Web
posted by Tarek Atia Monday, October 13, 2003 14:00 CAIRO
Trouble next
door
As tension builds up between Israel and both the Palestinians and the
Syrians, several interesting developments have taken place in Egypt.
AFP does stories
on both Friday's Al-Azhar demonstration
over Israel's Syria strike, as well as the previous
demos that took place at Cairo University and elsewhere...
In an operation
called "Root canal", Israel cracks down on smuggling tunnels
under Gaza-Egypt border -- also reported by AFP.
Port
Said's port,
meanwhile, is being used to unload Israeli cargo at $200 per
container, this report says.
... and, Arafat is
in "good health" after examination by Egyptian
medics, reports AFP.
Dangerous day
Egyptian
conjoined twins in Texas are finally set to undergo separation
surgery today. The procedure is set to last between 18 and 24 hours,
and may result in one or both twins dying...
Web
posted by Tarek Atia Saturday, October 11, 2003 14:00 CAIRO
The everything started here first department
The BBC grudgingly gives
the Egyptians credit for the origins of Greek numbers. Notice
how the lead and first paragraph reads...
Meanwhile,
we learn that one of the first-ever written prescriptions for a contraceptive
device is a 1550 BC papyrus sheet from Egypt on display at Toronto's
contraception museum
Win and blame
Bad roads
may have contributed to the Egyptian soccer team's loss at the All
Africa games.
Meanwhile,
Egyptian chess
storms the continent.
Looking back
A Guardian writer marks the 1973 war as a defining historical moment, signifying
the true end of the 60s?
Meanwhile,
recently released documents indicate that Kissinger encouraged
the Israelis to prolong the war...
Key sentence in
transcript -- "''Even if they do...'' Kissinger added."
Tidbits
Strange international
murder mystery involves Egyptian?
An
Egyptian in the US army helped bridge gaps between the soldiers
and the Iraqis. He says he's "holding the stick in the
middle" in the US army's own Stars and Stripes publication.
Web
posted by Tarek Atia Thursday, October 9, 2003 11:00 CAIRO
Booming
communications
Telecom
Egypt's bid
to buy 16.9 percent of Vodafone Egypt is becoming a reality,
according to this report.
Meanwhile...
Orascom
is making it big in the emerging Iraqi mobile telephone industry
Free at last
Egyptian twins successfully
separated in Saudi. The operation was performed by 21 doctors
and was telecast live on national TV.
Meanwhile, an in depth feature
on the other Egyptian conjoined
twins awaiting their seperation operation in Texas.
Historical
precedent
The debate still rages over the results
and significance of the 1973 war, as this Reuters investigation
makes clear
Turning down
the heat?
Interesting article in Le Monde Diplomatique about Amr
Khaled and other modern manifestations of popular Islam... the
authors use the term "air conditioned Islam" -- first I've
heard it.
Web
posted by Tarek Atia Tuesday, October 7, 2003 12:00 CAIRO
First...
A nice Reuters pic on Yahoo of Egyptian
made Mercedes trucks in Baghdad...
...and
Germany's Schroeder
in town, opening a university and talking politics.
Interesting
According to a report in a New Jersey based media source, "SEKEM,
an Egyptian network of businesses and social civil groups," has
been selected as a recipient of an
"alternate" Nobel prize.
Royal catch
Big antiquities smuggling ring busted.
Meanwhile, AFP
picks up a Al-Wafd newspaper report about "police [having] caught
a man trying
to sell a 2,500 year-old mummy to pay off a loan he took to buy a
tractor."
Web
posted by Tarek Atia Sunday, October 5, 2003 8:00 CAIRO
The umda of New
Jersey
Interesting
article about an Egyptian politician in New Jersey
Meanwhile...
Suspected Guantanamo
Bay translator is an Egyptian-born naturalized US citizen
Presidential
advisor Osama Al-Baz is quoted as saying...
"Gamal
Mubarak is like any other Egyptian citizen and has the right to
participate in politics wherever and whenever, including the
presidency of the republic.."
Help wanted
Australia
to provide unnamed evidence in Egyptian people smuggler case
A family affair
Nasty murder
trial involving Egyptians in Australia makes the news.
Trying hard
Photo of Omar
Sharif during Egypt's bid to host the 2010 World Cup in front of
FIFA officials in Zurich
Web
posted by Tarek Atia Thursday, October 2, 2003 14:00 CAIRO
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