Category Archives: Viva!

Good readings on the Qatar crisis

Nervana

In my latest piece, I wrote about western media’s imbalanced coverage of the recent crisis between Gulf states and Qatar.  There are, however, some balanced pieces about Qatar  that are worth reading:

First, here is Richard Spencer’s very detailed piece  published in Britain’s The Times Magazine

“It is this willingness to dally with all sides that has led to the recent rifts with its neighbours, and President Trump’s apparent preference for siding with them against the host of his own Central Command. Despite Qatari denials about terrorist funding, allegations of a relationship with al-Qaeda persist. As the group, now separate from Isis, grew prominent in Syria’s civil war through its local branch known as the Nusra Front, a similar pattern emerged. Its leader gave interviews to Al Jazeera. The group seemed suspiciously well funded – America alleged that some of the money was coming from an influential Qatari called Abdulrahman…

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This Week in Egypt: Week 25 ( June 19-25)

Nervana

Top headlines

  • Egypt to extend state of emergency for three months
  • Egypt’s Sisi ratifies contested deal handing Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia
  • Egypt’s constitutional court temporarily halts all verdicts on islands transfer deal
  • Interior Ministry kills three leading figures of ‘Hasm’ militant group
  • Egypt’s police repel major militant attack in North Sinai
  • Egypt says 7 militants in connection with recent attacks on Christians were killed in raid on desert camp

 Tiran and Sanafir via BBC

Tiran and Sanafir Red Sea Islands via BBC

Main headlines 

Monday

Tuesday

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Cecile Richards on Planned Parenthood, the Resistance, and Galvanizing the Next Generation of Activists – Vogue

Cecile Richards strides into the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, student union in a hot-pink dress and a black cardigan. As she walks past me I notice that her toenails are also pink—a color that precisely matches the “I stand with Planned Parenthood” pins and signs and T-shirts that are all around the room. She is uncharacteristically late this morning, and before she arrived I was a little worried: There was only a smattering of local media, and the energy was muted. But as soon as she walked in, the air crackled—as if, in her presence, every atom gained an electron. There is just something about Richards—her height and carriage, her husky voice, that startlingly blonde boy-cut—that makes you sit up and pay attention.

Source: Cecile Richards on Planned Parenthood, the Resistance, and Galvanizing the Next Generation of Activists – Vogue

فيروز …لمين

نادية حرحش

فيروز لمين

من الصعب الكتابة عندما يتعلق الامر بفيروز . فتاريخها يتم كتابته باستمرار ، وصوتها لا يزال يدلي بشهادته لذلك التاريخ العتيد .

فلا يهم ما يخرج من فاه الفيروز من كلمات ، ولو كانت بضعها، بسؤال لمين، الك او الي او مش لشي او لا اي شي . فالمهم ان فيروز هي التي تقول هذه الكلمات وبصوتها الفيروزي الذي لا يزال يغرد بنفس الانسياب وكأنه قطرات غيث لا تكف عن ري الارض العطشى لغيث يرويها لا يغرقها .

اذكر قبل ما يقارب على الثلاث عقود عندما عادت فيروز بعد غياب بكيفك انت ، والتي كانت كالثورة في عالم الطرب الذي لطالما سمعناه او تعودنا عليه من فيروز. وكأنها تركت درب موليها ومشت في درب ابنها واثقة انه المستقبل ، والمستقبل يحمل ما لم يعد هناك في زمن سابق والفن جزء منه. كانت اشبه بثورة فيروز نفسها على تاريخها .

وعلى الرغم من الانتقادات ، بقيت كيفك انت واستطاعت…

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The Real Reason Senator Kamala Harris Made AG Jeff Sessions “Nervous” | Dame Magazine

What we saw during that exchange between Sen. Harris and the good ole boys, was White fragility personified. You see, most White people live in environments where they are shielded from race-based stress. They’re not used to be challenged by people of color. And so when they are confronted, they get triggered, defensive, hostile, guilty, fearful.It’s not hard to read these hearings in the context of an overwhelming fear of Black bodies, along with the paranoia of Sen. Harris’s clear authority as she refused to let Sessions filibuster through, taking up all of her time with his rambling non-answers. Viewed against the historical backdrop of anti-Black racism, it’s easy to see how low they’ll go when their White male dominance is challenged in any way—even by a Black person working strictly within the rules and policies of the machine that they created and control. It is no wonder they’re nervous: their undeserved power and unearned advantages are on life support.

Source: The Real Reason Senator Kamala Harris Made AG Jeff Sessions “Nervous” | Dame Magazine

Sadiq Khan – Mayor of London: The Finsbury Park imam’s heroism shows where London can find its strength | Opinion | The Guardian

I want to assure Londoners that this attack will in no way distract from other urgent work the police and emergency services are currently dealing with – including the vital recovery work at Grenfell Tower, the efforts to support the victims and local community in Kensington and the vital work ensuring we get justice. Like the terrible attacks in Westminster, London Bridge and in Manchester, the attack in Finsbury Park is an attack on us all – our shared values of tolerance, freedom and respect. We must crack down on extremism of all types – whether the twisted ideology of Islamist terrorism, or other forms of extremism.

Source: Sadiq Khan: The Finsbury Park imam’s heroism shows where London can find its strength | Opinion | The Guardian

This week in Egypt 2017 – Week 24 ( June 13-18)

“Egypt bans scores of news websites in growing censorship crackdown” Fake and hateful news can only be controlled by exposure, not darkness.

Nervana

Top Headlines

  • Egyptian lawmakers approve Red Sea Islands transfer to Saudi Arabia 
  • Egypt bans fishing, diving at Tiran island in preparation for handover
  • Al-Wafd MP declares resignation over Parliament’s approval of Red Sea Islands deal
  • An Egyptian court sentences 31 to death in public prosecutor’s case
  • Egypt bans scores of news websites in growing censorship crackdown 
  • In long-awaited move, Egypt’s central bank scraps currency transfer limit
  • An Egyptian policeman was killed and four wounded by a roadside explosive near the Cairo suburb of Maadi 
  • Egypt removes mention of 2011 and 2013 uprisings from school curriculum
  • Spokesperson for the Egyptian presidency denies Egypt sponsored agreement between Hamas and Dahlan
  • Egypt weightlifting doping scandal deepens as new cases are revealed

Salman-in-Paraliment-8

Photo via Daily News Egypt

Main Headlines

Monday

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Death of Brexit at the Hands of Theresa May – SPIEGEL ONLINE

Great Britain may be an island, but economically it is the most interconnected country in Europe: The financial center in London, the country’s carmakers, what’s left of British industry and even the country’s infrastructure. France delivers electricity, water sanitation facilities in southern England belong to Germans and large airports such as Heathrow are owned by Spaniards. One quarter of the doctors who keep afloat the NHS — Britain’s comparatively deficient health care system — come from the Continent.The promise of Brexit was steeped in ideology from the very beginning, a fairy tale based on dark chauvinism. The Spanish Armada, Napoleon, Hitler and now the Polish plumbers who allegedly push down wages — when in reality they ensured that, after decades of lukewarmly dripping showers, the country’s bathrooms gradually returned to functionality. Brexit was never a particularly good idea. Now, following the most recent election, Brexit is defunct. That, at least, is what a member of Theresa May’s cabinet intimated last weekend. “In practical terms, Brexit is dead,” an unnamed minister told the Financial Times.

Source: Death of Brexit at the Hands of Theresa May – SPIEGEL ONLINE