All posts by nedhamson

Activist, writer, researcher, addicted to sharing information and facts.

In Egypt, watch the Nour Party

Nervana

This piece is published in Al-Monitor

It’s hard to see any winner in Egypt’s messy political arena — one that is dominated by near-daily deadly confrontations between the Muslim Brotherhood and the military-backed interim leadership. However, there’s one political party steadily reinforcing its place in Egypt’s political scene: the Salafist Nour.

Since its establishment in 2011, the Nour Party has raised many eyebrows among pundits and observers. Many did not take the ultra-conservative party seriously, despite its substantive gains in the first post-revolution parliament (111 out of 498 seats). The Salafist party is considered an indirect beneficiary of the rising fortune of Islamism in post-Arab Spring Egypt.

Two years later, the underestimation of Nour has continued. Analysts have considered the party window dressing used by the army to legitimize the coup. Some went further and predicted that Nour’s support of the military-backed government following the ousting of former President Mohammed Morsi would finish its political career. But the political…

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In Egypt, watch the Nour Party – Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

It’s hard to see any winner in Egypt’s messy political arena — one that is dominated by near-daily deadly confrontations between the Muslim Brotherhood and the military-backed interim leadership. However, there

‘s one political party steadily reinforcing its place in Egypt’s political scene: the Salafist Nour.

via In Egypt, watch the Nour Party – Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East.

Weekend Gun Report: January 3-5, 2013 – NYTimes.com

A 12-year-old boy was shot in the arm and stomach by his 22-year-old cousin as the two played with a semi-automatic pistol in Taylor, Tex., late Thursday. A 14-year-old girl accidentally shot herself in the leg at a gun range in Merritt Island, Fla., Thursday afternoon. A 15-year-old boy was shot in the head when his hunting partner’s rifle accidentally fired in Chickasaw County, Miss., Thursday afternoon.

via Weekend Gun Report: January 3-5, 2013 – NYTimes.com.

Egyptian Aak 2014 (Dec 30 – Jan 5)

Nervana

Main headlines

 Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

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Vietnam government warns against eating tiet canh; H7N9 bird flu detected in goose meat sold in Guangzhou – The Global Dispatch

Vietnam government warns against eating tiet canh; H7N9 bird flu detected in goose meat sold in Guangzhou – The Global Dispatch.

Two Asian countries reported on different strains of avian influenza being a potentialdanger in food this weekend–Vietnam advised against eating tiet canh, or raw duck or goose blood soup during the Lunar New Year (Tet) holidays because of the risk of H5N1 avian influenza, and in China’s Guangdong Province, health officials tested samples of goose meat sold at a Guangzhou market, which turned out positive for H7N9 avian influenza.

UK police step up search for 400,000 missing Romanian and Bulgarian immigrants

Pride's Purge

(satire?)

Police have launched a large-scale operation including sniffer dogs and up to 30 officers to search for 400,000 missing immigrants from Bulgaria and Romania.

The immigrants were last seen boarding planes in their hundreds of thousands on the front pages of the Daily Mail and Daily Express newspapers in the early hours of Wednesday morning but authorities say there has been no sign of any of the immigrants for the last two days.

Police have made detailed searches in the vicinity of Heathrow and Gatwick airports with officers making house-to-house inquiries in various locations around the country and alerts have been placed at all entry points into the UK for authorities to keep a look out for the missing eastern Europeans.

Authorities are concerned for the safety of the immigrants, 400,000 of whom had been expected to turn up on Nigel Farage’s doorstep, wearing scarves on their heads, old trousers tucked…

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the waiting room

Leelouz Café

Yesterday while driving home from work, my thoughts were about shopping or no shopping. During the day my phone beeped endlessly with enticing messages; up to 50% on your favorite shoe brand. 30% off on all new clothes. come and be the first to benefit from the sales… as we were the 2nd of January, I knew my bank account was happy and that I could afford splashing myself with “up to 50%” items and find stuff for my kids who seemed to be busy growing 1 size per month!

As trivial as my thoughts were at that moment, something tragic happened few kilometers away. A bomb exploded in Beirut’s southern neighborhood, blinding everyone around with its terrible light, site, noise and then silence. I cannot imagine what goes through the people around at that moment. I cannot imagine what they are seeing, hearing or feeling. smoke? sharp smells? raging…

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Goose meat tests positive for H7N9 in Chinese city – Xinhua | English.news.cn

As the wet/live poultry and pig markets build up for sales prior to Lunar New Year, the cases of deadly flu will increase, unless authorities really control cleanliness of the markets. Millions of live animals will be sold for Lunar New Year.

“According to expert assessments, Guangdong faces an extremely high risk of sporadic human H7N9 infections in winter and next spring,” said Zhang Yonghui, head of the provincial CDCP.

The cases may occur at any time across the province and the Pearl River Delta region requires special attention, Zhang said.

The province has urged local agricultural and forestry authorities to strengthen daily management, tests and disinfection of live poultry markets and crack down on illegal wildlife trade.

Antiflu drugs such as Tamiflu should be used within 48 hours by those who show flu symptoms such as fever and have been in contact with poultry, said Chen Yuansheng, director of the provincial health and family planning commission.

The Chinese mainland has reported more than 140 human cases of the deadly virus since it emerged in March, including 45 fatalities.”

via Goose meat tests positive for H7N9 in Chinese city – Xinhua | English.news.cn.