Category Archives: Uncategorized

The Ghosts Behind Egypt’s Sectarian Violence

I am not afraid of no ghosts! Come out in open ghosts or are you afraid?

Egyptian Streets

 

Sectarian violence has once again gripped the hearts and minds of Egyptians, following the tragic deaths of seven on the outskirts of Cairo. The small town of Kossous was shaken after its streets were left bloodied and littered with smashed cars, burnt-out shops, and shattered glass.

Yet the violence, which left mothers without their children, and daughters without their fathers, is not the first to challenge Egyptian society. For the past few decades, hundreds of Egyptians – mainly Coptic Christians – have been killed amid heightened tensions between Muslims and Christians.

The violence which impacts thousands of Egyptian lives each year is a mystery. The media is quick to show flashing images of rock-throwing, gun-fire, burning cars, and men carrying their comrades to safety, but a few days later Egyptians are left with no solution. The screams of those who were injured, the cries of the mothers of those…

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Egyptian Aak. Week 16

“The emerged videos, and photos of Brotherhood’s supporters wielding machetes and guns during the clashes, have stripped the Brotherhood from their alleged moral superiority. The group that once accused their opponents of “thuggery,” has decided to respond with an equal level of violence.

So was violence a goal? Probably yes, mainly to drain the anger of the young Islamists youth and to justify future decisions by Morsi (for example, arresting opposition figures and Christians, and charging them of organizing the violence). The rhetoric against Christians has increased recently; currently, there is a Christian militia hashtag on Twitter (in Arabic), under which many Islamists are piling sickening accusations against Egyptian Christians and opposition figures, whom in their eyes are traitors, just like the Copts.”

Nervana

Friday clashes image

(Photo from Friday’s clashes via The Daily News Egypt)

Main Headlines

Monday

Tuesday

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Can The Boston Bombing Suspect Be Deemed An “Enemy Combatant?”: Gothamist No – here’s why and dumb idea anyway

Unless Tsarnaev, who was eight years old at the time of the September 11 attacks, has some credible link to al Qaeda or another terrorist cell related to those enumerated in Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists that was passed in 2001, it’s unlikely any court would allow this designation for very long. Even Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia has forcefully argued [PDF] that an American citizen cannot be named as an “enemy combatant.”

Besides, it’s unclear what designating Tsarnaev as an “enemy combatant” would do to help prosecute him, besides discredit a perfectly capable civilian justice system, debase the Constitution, allow for questionable interrogation tactics, make Tsarnaev a point of propaganda for terrorist organizations, and extrajudicially subject Tsarnaev to cruel and inhumane punishment.

via Can The Boston Bombing Suspect Be Deemed An “Enemy Combatant?”: Gothamist.

The Myth of All Terrorists Are Muslim

Pretty savvy commentary

A Separate State of Mind | A Blog by Elie Fares

Bad luck Muslims: they drew a deep sigh of relief when the Boston bombings turned out not to be done by a Saudi citizen… it turns out they were European Muslims who, ironically, are literally Caucasian. I guess racial profiling is out the question now?

I didn’t know that a simple comment on a BuzzFeed article from yours truly would spark a debate of over 50 comments and a hundred “likes.” The article in question was simply about the Islam leaning-Youtube page of one of the bombers. My comment was: how is this relevant?

Many sided with me. Many called me overly politically correct. Many others said that even though not all Muslims are terrorists, all the terrorists are Muslims.

If you ponder on that last statement, you are sure led to believe it’s true: the Boston Bombings, 9/11, etc…. However, it turned out to be the furthest thing possible…

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El Cocinero

Through the Eye of the Needle

That big red brick chimney always caught my eye. As a girl it seemed immense to me. I imagined goblins living there. It aroused great fascination, especially since it was on a route we had to take — leading to the “scary” iron bridge over the Almendares River, which occasionally would open up like a giant wolf’s jaws to allow yachts to pass through — when we went to visit Aunt Cuca in Miramar. It was always one of my favorite walking paths.

With the passage of time and the sudden takeover the country by incarnate deities, these fantasies and dreams of childhood were abruptly ripped out by their roots in order to make way for a “new reality.” The dream-like tower remained, but it no longer sent out smoke signals. Little by little it came to seem more lifeless. My make-believe creatures disappeared along with the gray puffs that no longer billowed from its…

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Heirloom vs. Hybrid vs. Genetically Modified

Urban Gardens NYC

Among the considerations when starting a garden of your own is what kinds of plants and seeds to purchase. If you’re a beginning gardener, you might be surprised to hear that there can be several different choices when deciding what kind of seed or plant to purchase for each type of produce you buy.

The three main choices are these: heirloom, hybrid, and genetically modified. Each comes with a unique set of benefits and concerns that you’ll want to consider before making a final decision. Let’s review what each term means.

Heirloom seeds and plants are open-pollinated by insects, birds, and the wind. Plants grown from heirloom seeds can be allowed to flower and go to seed. Once that happens, you can collect the seeds and use them to re-plant the following year. They have also often become adapted to local climates, meaning they are likely to be more resistant…

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Remembering The Little Children Terrorists of Qana

A Separate State of Mind | A Blog by Elie Fares

Because not remembering the woes and wounds of this nation is part of why we are where are today, I present to you a guest post by my good friend Hala Hassan.

Qana Lebanon Massacre 1996

It was April of 1996. I was a 6 year old girl, growing increasingly scared of a month where I’d wake up to rockets getting fired every single day from the neighboring tanks over the hill and warplanes constantly raping the sky above my house.

Operation Grapes of Wrath was getting scarier, deadlier, more ominous by the minute. Just another regular day of a Southerner back then.

Random memory #1: Zaven, who currently runs a TV show on Future TV, was a news anchor then who, along with his co-anchor short haired Zahira Harb (I don’t know where she is now or what she does), were distinctive figures in my 6 year old memory.

Random memory #2: a…

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