Egypt: from the Energy Information Administration "Country Analysis Briefs"

Daylight savings begins on Sunday April 2, 2006.

In 2002, the following countries have not ratified "The Rome Treaty", which created the International Criminal Court: Iraq, Israel, Libya, China, Zimbabwea & the USA.

In the city of London, the Mayor and the US Ambassador exchange words over road toll (BBC)

Part time revolutionaries? A NYT reporter looks at student uprising in France over the proposed youth labor laws.

Arabic documents retrieved from Iraq are on the web now (NYT)

Q & A about avian flu (NYT)

A NYT article claims that President Bush was set on path to war. This just reinforces all what was suspected earlier. The memorandum, on which this article is based, shows that all the current problems in Iraq were raised and dismissed without discussion.

So the story of Abdul Rahman, the Afghan who converted to Christianity, has ended over a technical question. Meanwhile, Muslims have missed a great chance for a deliberate debate over the question of "ridda". I dread to see this question come back, at a time when no technicalities will be in sight.

Inside Man: Denzel Washington, Clive Owen & Jodie Foster (Spike Lee)

Joyeux Noell (Merry Christmas): Diane Krüger, Benno Fürmann, Guillaume Canet, Gary Lewis, Dany Boon, & Daniel Brühl (Christian Carion)

Napola (Before the Fall): Devid Striesow, Joachim Bissmeier & Justus von Dohnavi (Dennis Gansel)

Temporada de Patos (Duck Season): Enrique Arreola, Diego Catano, Daniel Miranda & Denny Perea (Fernando Eimbcke)

Bound, Blindfolded and Dead: The Face of Atrocity in Baghdad. (NYT)

Memoirs of an Afghan woman (NYT)

Delighted to read the WP editorial about the Darfur genocide. The editorial condemns the actions of Egypt & Libya. The paper echoed earlier feeling expressed on this blog when it said "Don't these Muslim countries care about the genocide slaughter of Muslims?" Don't expect any answer soon from the despots in Cairo & Khartoum.

Duct tape or duck tape, the wonder tool (Wired News) Look for more stories about duct tape on Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor.

Will 3G cell phones change social habits? (BBC)

The hunt for genes that causes nameless diseases in the bedouins of Gaza & Negev. (NYT)

Brokeback Mountain may not have won an Oscar for best film, but it certainly has found its way in the American culture. Maureen Down used the line "I wish I knew how to quit you" in her NYT column today.

Here is the quote "One administration official says that Rummy does not hold the same sway in meetings anymore, that he's treated as an eccentric old uncle who pops off and is ignored. But why can't W. just quit him? Instead, the president praised him for doing "a fine job" on two wars and transforming the military, when Rummy actually bullied the military to go along with his foolish schemes in Iraq and has sapped the once-feared fighting machine. "

Three film related stories. The first, from the Lebanese Daily Star, is about a joint BAFTA and Zenith Foundation festival of Arab cinema in London. The second is from Arab News of Saudi Arabia, a country where there are no movie theaters. It is a story of a movie about a man traveling abroad to see movies. The third story is from the NYT about the New Directors/New Films festival

Two new sites. The first belongs to Niki Mukhi the youngest son of Anil Mukhi of Dubai. Niki is a budding musician in England. His sites includes audio files of some of his recordings.

The second site is the "War News Radio" from Swarthmore College. Includes audio files of earlier shows.

Three stories about men on three different continents and covering three different subjects.
From the Saudi Arab News, the story of the demise of males sales persons in lingerie shops. The effect of the drought on marriage (dowries) in East Africa from the WP. And the plight of black men in the USA from the NYT.

Daniel Williams of the WP reviews movies, plays and other cultural activities in Egypt. Can't figure out who is the bell dancer/actress that plays Condoleeza Rice in the film "The Night Baghdad Fell."

Dongxiang, China is a remote, isolated, poor and pious Muslim enclave (NYT)

At the Movies

Ask the Dust: Colin Farrell, Salma Hayek & Donald Sutherland (Robert Towne)

Tsotsi: Presley Chweneyagae, Mothusi Magano, Kenneth Nkosi & Terry Pheto (Gavin Hood)

V for Vendetta: Natalie Portman, Hug Weaving, Stephen Rea, Stephen Fry & John Hurt (James McTeigue)

NYT editorial calls for US Secretary of Defense to step down. Here are excerpts.

"Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is not competent to lead our armed forces. First, his failure to build coalitions with our allies from what he dismissively called "old Europe" has imposed far greater demands and risks on our soldiers in Iraq than necessary. Second, he alienated his allies in our own military, ignoring the advice of seasoned officers and denying subordinates any chance for input.

In sum, he has shown himself incompetent strategically, operationally and tactically, and is far more than anyone else responsible for what has happened to our important mission in Iraq. Mr. Rumsfeld must step down. "

Calabasas, A town in California bans smoking in all public places, indoor or outdoor, where anyone might be exposed to secondhand smoke. (NYT)

Detainees abused before and after Abu Ghraib (NYT)

100 Iraq war veterans talk to the WP.

Found sites this week

• Acronym Finder (Link)
• Muslim Heritage (Link)

Hazarat Syed Baba Bahadur Shahid shrine in Varanasi is a place where Hindus and Muslims come together. (NYT)

A lot of talk this past week about the side-effect of the sleeping drug Ambien. It turns out some users of the drug, eat and even sometimes drive, in their sleep. Here is what Maureen Dowd had to say about Ambien in her column in NYT today.

"The next mishap is sure to be sleep-governing. A headline on Wednesday read "Study: Ambien Users Invade Countries in Their Sleep; Wake Up With No Memory of Reasons for Invasion, No Exit Strategy." The story was written by the humorist Andy Borowitz, who also imagined that an Ambien side effect might be a tendency of some politicians to concoct incomprehensible prescription drug programs while asleep.

But real life once more outstrips satire, as the military in Iraq conducts Ambien air assaults. The president and some Pentagon officials have no memory of authorizing the strikes, and the generals in Iraq have no memory that they've already used these tactics without lasting success."

Ärzte bestreiken zehn Universitätskliniken (DW)

"al-Munadi" and "hombres del trapo rojo", two slices of life similar, yet miles apart. The WP story about car parkers in Mexico City conjured up similar images in my Cairo.

Maps for Mars and the Moon from Google .

Hunter, cook and writer Steven Rinella discusses his new book, The Scavenger's Guide to Haute Cuisine. Inspired by a famous 100-year-old cookbook by the king of haute cuisine, Auguste Escoffier, Rinella decided to cook a three-day, 45-course feast that included wild boar head cheese, skewered elk livers, and a variety of delicacies poached inside of animal bladders. Rinella explains the adventures that led to the feast and the philosophy behind such a challenging menu. (From NPR's All Things Considered with audio link)

March 15th (Ides of March) this year marks the 2050th anniversary of Caesar's death. An MIT chemistry professor calculated that when Caesar exhaled for the last time, he released 05x6x10 to the power 23 molecules of carbon dioxide.

Over the years, a number of scholars have tried to figure out what typically would happen to all those molecules. They figured some were absorbed by plants, some by animals, some by water -- and a large portion would float free and spread themselves all around the globe in a pattern so predictable that (this is the fun part) if you take a deep breath right now, at least one of the molecules entering your lungs literally came from Caesar's last breath.

I sent the story above (from NPR Morning Edition) around this morning to a few friends. AAS wrote back:

"Truly fascinating. It reminds me of the fact that every male that ever lived has a Y that came from Prophet Adam (though some mutations may have rarely occurred along the way )"

Jumah al-Dossari, a Guantanamo detainee, tried to kill himself several times. At one point he handed his lawyer a letter written in Arabic. Here are some of his words.

"Farewell . . . farewell with no hope of seeing me again," he wrote. "I thank you for everything you have done for me, but I have a final request. Show the world the letters I gave you, let the world read them, let the world know the agony of the detainees in Cuba."

(From WP article by Josh White)

In her NYT column titled "What's better? His empty suit or her baggage?", Maureen Dowd wrote the following.

"W. had the foreign policy "dream team," and it shattered our foreign policy, ideals and self-image. Despite hundreds of years of combined experience, the Bushies rammed through cronies and schemes that were so destructive, it will take hundreds of years to straighten out the mistakes."

Interviews with former Guantanamo detainees were broadcast on Democracy Now (DN) and This American Life (TAL).

Amy Goodman interviewed Moazzam Begg in today's DN episode. Transcripts, audio & video are available at this link.

Last week's episode of TAL includes interviews with Abdullah al-Noaimi and Badr Zaman Badr. Audio file for episode 310 (2006) later this week at this link.

Iraq Body Count, 14 March 2006

Reported civilian deaths by military intervention in Iraq: Min 33,638 - Max 37,754(IBC)

A comprehensive photo file of Abu Ghraib atrocities appeared this week in salon.com

The dash to Baghdad left the US Generals divided. (NYT)

Accoona.com, a new search engine (NYT)

القانون: مقولب أم مقلوب

استضاف برنامج "البيت بيتك" على القناة الثانية للتليفزيون المصري ليلة السبت 11/3/2006 مستشارا وصف بأنه رئيس محكمة قضاء عالٍ. ولا يملك المرء إزاء ما سمعه منه إلا أن يشفق على الذين يقعون تحت يده؛ لأنهم لن يجدوا عنده عدلا أو إنصافا، فإقامة العدل تحتاج فهما وتفتحا واستنارة ولا تحتاج قوالب صماء ترص القانون رصا. وإذا كان القانون قد اكتسب على مستوى العالم صفة الحماقة والغباء ، فإن الشريعة هي قمة الذكاء والكياسة والحكمة والعدل والتفتح والتطور والرحمة. ومن أجل ذلك كانت مبادرة مفتي الديار بالدعوة إلى تشريع يُلزم باختبار الحمض النووي ، في إثبات الأبوة. والمستشار يفتي في الشريعة، وفي نفس الوقت يطالب ومعه كاتبة صحفية باحترام التخصص؛ ويعنيان بذلك أن لديه وحده فقط القول الفصل. وتحججه بأن الشريعة لا تقر بالأبوة إذا أنكر "الموطئ"، والذي يعتبره قانون المستشار زانيا فيدعه يفلت بجريمته : لأن الزنا في قانونه مباح رغم الادعاء بأنه ينبني على أحكام الشريعة الإسلامية؟! وعجبا أن المستشار لا يرى التناقض في موقفه وفهمه للأمور. ومن الواضح أن المستشار لا يعترف بالتوجيه القرآني بأنه "ولا تزر وازرة وزر أخرى" ويقبل بأن يعاقَب طفلٌ بريءٌ على جريمة تعاقِب عليها الشريعة بالجلد (أو بالرجم)، ويبيحها القانون الذي يستمد أحكامه من نفس الشريعة؟

وأعجب من قول المستشار قول الكاتبة الصحفية الشهيرة التي تعَد في مصاف قادة الفكر؛ إذ تعترض على مبادرة المفتي متذرعة بأن تحليل الحمض النووي لم يكن معروفا في أيام الرسول الكريم؟!! وإذا كان الاختبار يا سادة هو وسيلة يُستدل بها على تجريم مجرم فعلي، فإن الأهم من ذلك هو أن يكون الوسيلة المؤكدة لتبرئة طفل لا يتطرق إلى براءته من أي جرم أدنى شك. وليعلم المستشار والكاتبة الصحفية أنه "ليس هناك أبناءٌ غير شرعيين، وإنما هناك فقط آباءٌ غير شرعيين"؛ بالزواج وبدونه، فكلاهما واحد : لا يستحق شرف الأبوة

وفي النهاية فإن السؤال الذي يستحق الاهتمام الأكبر، حلا للعقد، هو: هل جاء الأمر القرآني إلى الذين يحكمون بين الناس هو أن يحكموا بالقانون ، أم أن يحكموا "بالعدل"؛ فيُحكِّمون في ذلك العقل : أي يزودونه ويزينونه .. بالفهم والحكمة ؟

بقلم: د. ف ع أ

At the Movies

CSA: The Confederate States of America: Evamarii Johnson, Rupert Pate & Charles Frank (Kevin Willmott)

Failure to Launch: Matthew McConaughey, Sarah Jessica Parker & Zooey Deschanel (Tom Dey)

The Libertine: Johnny Depp, John Malkovich, Samantha Morton & Rosamund Pike (Laurence Dunmaore)

Tristram Shandy: Jeremy Northam, James Fleet & Robert Brydon (Michael Winterbottom)

Before the Iraq war, Saddam Hussein saw Iraqi unrest as top threat and not the American invasion. (NYT)

Nukes for Mangoes

Whatever anyone else might say, America's new nuclear and trade pact with India is a win-win deal. India gets nuclear fuel for its energy needs and America, doing far better in what might be called a stealth victory, finally gets mangoes.

Not those pleasantly hued but lifeless rocks that pass as mangoes in most American grocery stores. Definitely not the fibrous, unyielding, supersized Florida creations that boast long shelf life and easy handling and shipping but little else. They might hint at possibilities but provide no satisfaction.

No. What America will be getting is the King of Fruit, Indian masterpieces that are burnished like jewels, oozing sweet, complex flavors acquired after two millenniums of painstaking grafting. I can just see them arriving at the ports: hundreds of wide baskets lined with straw, the mangoes nestling in the center like eggs lolling in their nests. (From Madhur Jaffrey in the NYT)

قصيدة أحمد فؤاد نجم الجديدة

مبروك يا عريسنا

يا أبو شنة ورنة

يا واخدنا وراثة

أطلب وإتمنى

وأخرج من جنة

أدخل على جنة

مش فارقة معانا

ولا هارية بدنا

ولا تاعبة قلوبنا

ولا فاقعة بيضاننا

يا عريس الدولة

إفرح وإتهنى

ما احناش كارهينك

لكن هارشينك

حا تكمل دينك

وتطلع ديننا

Yet along with international law, Israeli law was repeatedly bent or broken to allow settlement to proceed. The contradiction between keeping Palestinians under military occupation while settlers enjoy the rights of Israeli citizens has become glaring, even to the Israeli center-right. Hence the shift in Israeli politics. (Gershom Gorenberg - NYT)

Newly retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor took on conservative Republican critics of the courts in a speech Thursday. She told an audience at Georgetown University that Republican proposals, and their sometimes uncivil tone, pose a danger to the independence of the judiciary, and the freedoms of all Americans. (NPR )

Today, the NYT published an article about Dr. Wafa Sultan. It seems that her appearance on al-Jazeera has caused quite a stir. Dr. Sultan is definitely entitled to her opinion, what I have a problem with is the following remarks in the NYT article. "I have reached the point that doesn't allow any U-turn. I have no choice. I am questioning every single teaching of our holy book."

The words "our holy book" and "questioning every single teaching" seems irreconcilable to me.

يقول صاحبى: رحم الله الملك

تحدث الكاتب الكبير الأستاذ وحيد حامد في برنامج "البيت بيتك" على القناة التليفزيونية المصرية الثانية منذ أيام؛ حول فيلم كان يعده عن طيّب الذكر المرحوم الشيخ حسن البنا، وتوقف لأن أحدا آخر قد تولى إعداد عمل مماثل. وجاء في حديثه أن عائلة الشيخ قد اعترضت، وجادل في أن ذلك ليس من حقها لأن حياة الشيخ هي الآن (بحكم القانون) ملك للتاريخ وللأمة بعد إذ مرت على وفاته خمسون سنة؛ وأن من حق المبدع أن يتناول الشخصية التي يختارها على النحو الذي يرضي ضميره وحده. وهناك وصف شائع جاء في رواية "أوليفر تويست" للأديب البريطاني الشهير تشارلز ديكنز بأن "القانون أحمق"، فهل يقبل أي مبدع على نفسه أن يبني إبداعه على حماقة حس هي أسوأ من الرضوخ المهين إلى حماقة فكر؟! فماذا يمكن أن يضر المبدع إذا تنازل عن كبريائه المهني وتواضع قليلا واحترم مشاعر أسرة جريحة لا تزال تعيش حياة العزيز الذي فقدت وترتبط به ارتباطا عضويا وعاطفيا قويا لم تستطع سنوات القانون الخمسون أن تمحِها؟! صحيح أن هناك كتبا صدرت عن الشيخ فيها ما ينصف وفيها ما يجحف وفيها ما دون ذلك من تطاول. لكن ما يكتب شيء والعمل الدرامي السينمائي أو التليفزيوني شيء آخر؛ لأنه يحاكي الحياة (بزيف خيال إبداعي) فيحرك آلاما ربما لا تريد الأسرة أن تعود لتجترها يوما من بعد يوم. فهل من المستحيل على مبدع أن يحترم مشاعر أسرة منكوبة؟! وهل جفت القرائح للدرجة التي لم يبق أمام المبدعين من موضوع يقيل أصحاب تلك القرائح الإبداعية من عثرتهم؛ سوى تناول حياة الشيخ الجليل؟

ومن جانب آخر هناك الحياة الخاصة للأقرباء والمقربين من الشيخ الجليل ولا يزالون أحياء أو لم تمض على وفاتهم سنوات القانون الخمسون تلك، فهل بنية المبدعين إلغاؤهم من الوجود أم أن سيرة هؤلاء قد أصبحت هي أيضا ملكا للأمة وللتاريخ؛ من واقع ارتباطها المباشر بالشخصية التي يتعرض لها العمل، ولن يكون لهم أو لذويهم بذلك حق الاعتراض؟‍

ولعل من اللافت أن الكاتب الكبير في محاولة تعزيز جدليته؛ قد ساق ما تكشف عن الجانب الإنساني في حياة الزعيم الخالد سعد باشا زغلول بأنه كان "قمرتيا"، ولم ينتقص ذلك من قيمة سيرته وزعامته الوطنية شيئا. ويتأمل المرء هذا التصريح فلا يملك إلا أن يتعجب لأمر المبدعين. فالقمار الذي عشقه وأدمنه سعد باشا زغلول الزعيم المثقف المفكر الكبير الناضج اليافع القادم من عمق الريف المصري؛ متربيا مترعرعا بين أصحاب القيم الفطرية من البسطاء هو قمار حميد ودليل ضعف إنساني لا أكثر، بينما القمار القهري الذي استحوذ على الملك الشاب المراهق الذي تولى تربيته رجال كبار ناضجون مثقفون؛ قد صوره المبدعون في أعمالهم الدرامية بأنه قمة الفساد وأنه كان يستحق عليه قطع رقبته، وليس مجرد الإطاحة بعرشه ونفيه من البلاد. وبينما كان بإمكان الذين قاموا على تربية الملك أن يقدموا له ما هو أفضل، لصالح فلاح الأمة وارتقاء الوطن؛ نجد الزعيم المبجل قد استسلم للإدمان وهو يملك كافة مقومات عدم الوقوع فيه أصلا، بل والتخلص منه سريعا بعد وقوعه. ولم يكن الزعيم الوطني التاريخي الكبير، على كل حال، هو الوحيد الذي حظي من المبدعين بالعفو غير المشروط فغفروا له ولغيره، لقاء زعامته وزعامتهم، ما تقدم من ذنوبهم وما تأخر. وهكذا فإن سعيد الحظ هو ذلك الذي يكفيه المولى شر ازدواج معايير ضمائر أولئك المبدعين

وإذا كان الكاتب الكبير قد أنكر على الأسرة المتضررة حق الاعتراض على أساس تخوفها الخاطئ من تناول سوف يسيء بالضرورة إلى الشيخ الجليل (استنادا إلى حقيقة أن الفيلم لم يعرض بعد؛ أي لم يصبح واقعا يمكن الحكم عليه)، فإننا نجد في مقابل ذلك أن الإعلام المرئي والمقروء (على الأقل) قد عظم مخاوف المفكر الكبير الذي هدد بأن يغادر البلاد ومعه جميع المسيحيين المصريين إذا وصل دعاة الخلاص من خلال حلول عدل الإسلام إلى الحكم (ديمقراطيا)، وكذلك الإدانة المسبقة من ملياردير "المحمول في كل يد" لنفس الفئة لأنهم سوف يعاملونه كمواطن درجة ثانية ويفرضون الجزية عليه؛ فيدفعها عن يد وهو صاغر. ولم يناقش أحد من الإعلاميين أو المبدعين ذلك المفكر الكبير أو ذلك الملياردير المكين في تخوفات تنبني على الظن؛ مع أن بعض الظن إثم وهو في هذه الحالة افتراء على خلق الله وافتراض شيء لم يقع منهم، ودون سند من واقع. والأمر الوحيد الأكيد هنا أن عدالة الإسلام عدالة مقرونة بالإحسان وحفظ كرامة الإنسان؛ ولن يهم من يطبقها مادام يطبقها بشرف وأمانة

بقلم: د. ف ع أ

It seems that the special relationship between Egypt & the USA is not special after all. President Mubarak told reporters (accompanying him on a trip from the Gulf states) about a conversation he had with VP Cheney regarding Iraq. According to Mubarak he told Cheney "Listen to my advice for once'' . Good God, they have yet to listen to him. (Guardian)

This American Life with Ira Glass announced a change in this week's program. The new program is about former Guantanamo detainees. Here is the main bulk of the email.

This week, This American Life devotes its whole program to these men, including two rare and revealing interviews with former detainees."

If anybody actually met these guys," a lawyer for some Guantanamo detainees, Sabin Willett, declares, "you know, had them on tv shows and the radio, they'd be shocked. Because they've been told for four years that the people at Guantanamo are terrorists, that they're the worst of the worst. You're going to suddenly realize you've been lied to for a long time."

Reporter Jack Hitt speaks with the two former detainees, Abdullah Al Noaimi and Badr Zaman Badr, neither of whom have ever spoken before for broadcast.

Weaving together interviews with administration officials, lawyers representing the detainees, as well as former detainees themselves, This American Life presents one of the most comprehensive pictures to date of the situation at Guantanamo: how it represents a break with U.S. legal traditions, both military and civilian; and who, exactly, are the people being detained there.

As Hitt puts it in his story, "Is Guantanamo a camp full of terrorists, or a camp full of mistakes?"

This question is especially relevant in the wake of the Pentagon's release last week of five thousand pages of documents about the detainees, after a Freedom of Information request by the Associated Press.

Former detainee Abdullah Al Noaimi attended Old Dominion University in Virginia, speaks fluent English, and has fond memories of Spring Break in Daytona Beach. He was held in Guantanamo for four years, before finally being released last year.

He tells Hitt about the physical abuse he suffered at the hands of his captors, but also of the moments of connection they sometimes shared, like a contest between bored guards and detainees, to see who could turn a Styrofoam cup inside out without breaking it.

Like many detainees at Guantanamo, he was not picked up off a battlefield, but was turned over to Americans by Pakistanis. Americans paid five and ten thousand dollar bounties for captives, and Al Noaimi believes he was turned over for a bounty.

The other interviewee on the program, Badr Zaman Badr, was held in Guantanamo for over two years for two jokes he published, he believes. He and his brother ran a satirical magazine in Pashtu. One of the jokes targeted a political figure who Badr believes turned them over to the Americans. The other joke - about President Clinton - came up repeatedly in interrogations at Guantanamo.

According to a recent Seton Hall Law School study of Pentagon documents, only five percent of the detainees at Guantanamo were actually apprehended by the U.S. Military. Only eight percent have been accused of being Al Qaeda fighters.

This episode of This American Life airs the weekend of March 11th and 12th in most places. Check local listings or www.thisamericanlife.org for exact times.

Matt Sherman spent two tears in Iraq as the American adviser to Iraq's Interior Ministry. In his op-column in the NYT today his assessment of the situation is as follows:

"Perhaps most troubling, since the Shiite-led government came to power last May, militia members have entered the Iraqi Army and police forces en masse. The danger is that many feel stronger allegiance to their militias and religious sects than to the state. One group, the Badr Organization, which is led by Abdul Aziz al-Hakim and fought Saddam Hussein from exile in Iran, has slowly gained virtual control of the Interior Ministry; another, the followers of the young anti-American cleric Moktada al-Sadr, has gained significant influence over chiefs of police and governors' offices in the south of the country.

It is all too possible that these and other militias will become more powerful than the Iraqi Army and police forces. After all, during the sectarian gang attacks since the Samarra bombing, Iraqis reflexively turned to their tribes and family connections for security, having lost faith in the central government to protect them. "

His ideas for solving this problem shows a great disconnect for a person of his position.

If you travel with an entourage, find your self in Abu Dhabi and can afford $11,200 per night, the Emirate Palace is the hotel for you. (NYT)

Is the creature in Loch Ness a monster or just an elephant taking a bath? (WP)

The US State Department issued the annual human rights report. The report covers all countries of the world, except the US.

The human rights report described serious problems in countries with close American ties, including flawed elections and torture of prisoners in Egypt, beatings , arbitrary arrests and lack of religious freedom in Saudi Arabia, and flogging in the United Arab Emirates.

Amnesty International & Human Rights Watch cover the US.

Two additional installments in the NYT about Sheikh Reda Shata's work in Bay Ridge. Here are the links to the articles:

"To Lead the Faithful in a Faith Under Fire" March 6, 2006
"Tending to Muslim Hearts and Islam's Future" March 7, 2006

For the first part see Blog entry of March 5, 2006

At the Movies

16 Blocks: Bruce Willis, Dante "Mos Def" Smith, David Morse, David Zayas & David Sparrow (Richard Donner)

Night Watch (Nochnoi Dozor): Konstantin Khabensky, Vladimir Menshov, Galina Tyunina & Mariya Poroshina (Timour Bekmambetov)

الى سأسؤه فى عيد ميلادها

كل سنة وانت طيبه مع تحيات قراص الودان وخضره وبهانه والحاج سماعين

Arabs say "the most wicked of calamities is the one that induces laughter". Here are three excerpts from the papers recently released by the Pentagon from interrogations at Guantanamo. All published today in the NYT.

Scene One:
At one review hearing last year, an Afghan referred to by the single name Muhibullah denied accusations that he was either the former Taliban governor of Shibarghan Province or had worked for the governor. The solution to his case should have been simple, Mr. Muhibullah suggested to the three American officers reviewing his case: They should contact the Shibarghan governor and ask him.
But the presiding Marine Corps colonel said it was really up to the detainee to try to contact the governor. Assuming that the annual review board denied his petition for freedom, noted the officer, whose name was censored from the document, Mr. Muhibullah would have a year to do so.
"How do I find the governor of Shibarghan or anybody?" the detainee asked.
"Write to them," the presiding officer responded. "We know that it is difficult but you need to do your best."
"I appreciate your suggestion, but it is not that easy," Mr. Muhibullah said.

Scene Two:
Another Saudi, Mazin Salih Musaid al-Awfi, was one of at least half a dozen men against whom the "relevant data" considered by the annual review boards included the possession at the time of his capture of a Casio model F-91W watch. According to evidentiary summaries in those cases, such watches have "been used in bombings linked to Al Qaeda."
"I am a bit surprised at this piece of evidence," Mr. Awfi said. "If that is a crime, why doesn't the United States arrest and sentence all the shops and people who own them?"
Another detainee whose evidence sheet also included a Casio F-91W, Abdullah Kamal, was an electrical engineer from Kuwait who once played on his country's national volleyball team. He was also accused of being a leader of a Kuwaiti militant group that collected money for Mr. bin Laden.
As for the Casio allegation, Mr. Kamal said the watch was a common one in Kuwait and had a compass that could be used to find the direction of Mecca for his prayers. "We have four chaplains" at Guantánamo, he said. "All of them wear this watch."

Scene Three:
"What is GICM?" asked the detainee, who was not identified.
The tribunal president asked a clerk, "Could you explain what GICM is? I have the same question."
The clerk said he was not sure, either. Another accusation was read: that GICM is associated with Al Qaeda. The detainee answered again, "I don't know this group."
The tribunal president announced a short break so the clerk could "find out, for everyone's benefit, What GICM stands for." When the tribunal reconvened, the clerk announced that GICM stood for Groupe Islamiste Combatant du Maroc, or the Moroccan Islamic Combat Group.
To which the detainee responded, "I never before heard of all this."

عن خواطر بدرت عند مشاهدة متحف السادات

عرض التليفزيون المصري مؤخرا برنامجا وثائقيا عن "متحف السادات"، وقد لفتت نظري فيه لقطة سريعة للوحة مقبرته تحت النصب التذكاري، لمحت منها لقب "الرئيس المؤمن" الذي كان يوصف به في حياته. ولا أعرف لماذا ذكرني هذا الوصف بالحملة الانتخابية الأخيرة والهجوم الشرس على تيار المعارضة الأكثر مصداقية والأفضل شعبية، والتي كثر خلالها تهكم الذين اشمأزت قلوبهم من ذكر اسمهم؛ "الإخوان المسلمون". وأذكر من بين أكثر المشمئزين رئيس حزب التجمع ورئيس تحرير مجلة وصحيفة روزاليوسف ومذيع النيل للأخبار المتيم بنفسه والمعار للقناة الثانية كمندوب دائم لدى برنامج "البيت بيتك". وثلاثتهم كانوا يرددون السؤال التهكمي التحريضي الشهير : "هل هم المسلمون ونحن إذن الكفرة"؟!

والآن هل يمكن تفسير لقب "الرئيس المؤمن"، بنفس منطق الأقطاب الثلاثة، بزعم أن الزعيم الراحل كان هو المؤمن والبقية ممن سبق ولحق من الرؤساء هم الكفرة؟! هذا مع العلم بأن عكس "المسلم" ليس "الكافر" وإنما هو "غير المسلم"؛ فهناك بكل تأكيد بين البشر أيضا: المسيحيون واليهود المؤمنون (أو غير الكافرين)، و طوائف أخرى الله وحده أعلم بإيمانها

بقلم: د. ف ع أ

عن الكره

قدم خبراء كرة القدم المحنكون المخضرمون انتقادات وتعليقات وتحليلات على مباراة قمة الأمس بين قطبي الكرة المصرية؛ الفريق الأحمر صاحب الملعب ومنافسه التقليدي الأبيض. ومنهم من تحدثوا بكل الثقة واليقين وكأنهم علماء ببواطن الأمور قبل ظواهرها بينما الحقيقة أنهم غالبا، إن لم يكن دائما، يفصِّلون كلامهم وفق مقاس النتائج وليس وفق الشواهد والقواعد؛ ومنها تلك التي يرددونها ويبنون عليها خطابهم الرياضي. وللعدل والإنصاف، كان هناك بالأمس استثناء لافت، وإن لم يكن مستغربا؛ لأن صاحبه أستاذ أكاديمي وممارس في نفس الوقت، وهو المدير الفني لفريق أسمنت أسيوط. وكان استثناءأ لأنه جمع بين التخصص العلمي والخبرة العملية، وليست الكلامية. فلقد صرح الدكتور القدير، على القناة التليفزيونية السابعة، بأن الفريقين قدما في مباراة الليلة أفضل وأحسن عرض للقاء قمة منذ زمن طويل. وجاء تصريحه ذاك متصالحا مع ما صرح به اللاعبون أنفسهم بأنها كانت "مباراة تكتيكية في المقام الأول" ومع منطق النجاح التكتيكي؛ وإن اختلف ذلك مع كلام خبراء التحليل والمعلقين التليفزيونيين المحترفين عن نفس المباراة

فمن القواعد التكتيكية الأولية التي يرددها الخبراء كثيرا؛ التخطيط والعمل أولا على ألا يصاب مرمى الفريق بهدف. وهذا ما تحقق بالأمس للفريقين، فكان نجاحهما في ذلك مبهرا. وهكذا نتعلم بأن أنجح مباراة تكتيكيا، لمنافسين قويين إيجابيين، هو التعادل السلبي. وخبراء الأمس (باستثناء الدكتور) نفوا وجود أي تكتيك يذكر؛ بل وزادوا بأن المباراة كانت عقيمة، ومع ذلك أكدوا بأن نجمي المباراة الحقيقيين كانا حارسي المرمى اللذين صححا كثيرا من أخطاء دفاعيهما وأنقذا مرميهما من أهداف محققة. ولقد تجاهل أولئك الخبراء حقيقة أن نسبة الأهداف الضائعة لم تكن تزيد أبدا على المعتاد بالنسبة لعدد الهجمات التي فاقت المعتاد كثيرا؛ والفرص بالتالي لم تضع، ولم تضيَّع، وإنما هي أبطِلت. والفضل في هذا يرجع منطقيا، إلى التكتيك السليم الواعي والأداء العالي من دفاعات الفريقين. ومن هنا فإن وصم المباراة بالضعف والخلو من الإثارة جاء مجافيا للواقع ومنافيا للحقيقة، فكل فريق كان يسعى بجد وقوة للفوز. وخلوها من الأهداف شهادة جدارة للفريقين؛ فنيين ولاعبين. وحرام أن نبخس الناس أشياءهم

بقلم: د. ف ع أ

الى الدكتور زيفاجو فى يوم مولده

كل عام وانت والعائله بخير وكبرك الله فى طاعته. لسماع المفاجأه الموسيقيه أضغط هنا وطول بالك لأن الملف كبير

We are in a kind of clash of civilizations and that is partly because of the mishandling of the last four years by the Bush administration... It preaches democracy, due process and human rights at home, but when dealing with Muslims abroad, it has double standards. Iraq has been badly mishandled with the result that a situation that was always going to be rather difficult between the Muslim and Western worlds has been made unnecessarily much worse. I don't think that we are in a world-transforming sort of apocalyptic time, but I think we're taking more risk of that developing than we need to be. (Bill Emmott, outgoing editor, The Economist) (Full interview link)

The story of Gertrude Bell, the British woman who in 1918 drew the borders of his country from three disparate provinces of the former Ottoman empire. (WP)

Jimmy Carter, Óscar Arias, Kim Dae Jung, Shirin Ebadi and Desmond Tutu, the Nobel Peace Prize laureates, share a column in the NYT in the support of the proposed US council for human rights.

From Kafr al Battikh to Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, the story of Sheik Reda Shata, a Muslim leader reconciling two worlds. (NYT)

For my birthday, my friends in Chicago (Mary & Dick) sent me a Sayyed Darweesh CD by the "Chicago Classical Oriental Ensemble". (See my blog entry on Feb. 21). On my way to meet friends for dinner, I listened to the CD for the first time. It did not take long for a strong gush of emotions to overtake me and the tears flowed.

Sayyed Darwish has seeped in the consciousness of Egypt, and is part of the society's fabric. Holding it together, yet no one is aware of its existence; until you are all alone, in a car, in a far away place like Houston Texas.

All of a sudden I could see our apartment in Zagazig in the late 40s. The family is sitting together on a wintry afternoon. My mother taking the few precious moments she had, from raising 7 children, to mend shirts and glue the fabric of our family together. This is not a singular particular moment, but a collage of happy childhood moments in a warm loving family.

My mind also went back to Tuman Bey Street , in Hadaiq al-Zaytton where we lived since the mid 50's. The tree lined street was full of the promise of a new day, moist with morning dew, the smells of a city waking up and children running to their schools.

This what I thought about when I listened to the first two tracks; Ahu dah elli Sar and Salmah ya Salamah.

Thank you Mary & Dick and may God bless Sayyed Darweesh's soul.

The WP reports "A Senate committee yesterday rejected a bipartisan proposal to establish an independent office to oversee the enforcement of congressional ethics and lobbying laws, signaling a reluctance in Congress to beef up the enforcement of its rules on lobbying."

It seems that our congressmen/women and our senators are not interested in what the average person thinks. Enough of the corruption, enough of the cronyism and take your oath of office seriously people.

I was heartened to read an editorial in the WP today titled "Persecution of a Democrat." Dealing with the ordeal of Ayman Nour, and the latest charges against him. Here is how the editorial ends.

What's striking about this single-minded campaign is that Mr. Mubarak presses it even though the Bush administration has made clear that it will damage U.S.-Egyptian relations. Mr. Nour's imprisonment already prompted the suspension of free-trade negotiations. Evidently the 77-year-old Mr. Mubarak believes the elimination of a moderate and pro-Western challenger to his son is more important than good relations with an American president in his second term. He also calculates that Mr. Bush's support for Mr. Nour and democracy in Egypt isn't shared by Congress, which soon will consider whether to continue $1.8 billion in annual aid to Egypt.

Congress should prove him wrong. Rather than continuing to subsidize Mr. Mubarak's corrupt regime, legislators should insist that any U.S. aid be channeled to civil society groups and democratic reformers such as Mr. Nour. America's support should go to those in the Middle East who are fighting for the cause of liberal democracy and not to autocrats who blatantly persecute them.

Ira Glass, the great American raconteur has a birthday today. Happy birthday Ira. If you don't listen to his "This American Life" (TAL) on WBEZ, NPR or PRI, try the archives of TAL My favorite episodes are
175 & 205.

The Council of Europe, a group of 46 governments, contends that the CIA has unfettered ability to mount covert counterterrorism operations in Europe with little regard to European legal and human rights standards. (WP)

a computer training center for girls and women in an annex to, of all things, a madrasa in the heart of Jafrabad, one of this city's teeming Muslim neighborhoods (NYT)

Push to create standards for documents (NYT)

From Paul Krugman column today titled, George the Unready. "In short, our country is being run by people who assume that things will turn out the way they want. And if someone warns of problems, they shoot the messenger." (NYT)

ريح طيبة مباركة حملت رسالته. وحملت معها عطر من الأحباب بعد غياب طويل. وكأن الدهر لم يمر ففى فحواها القليل كثير من الذكريات وتواصلا لحديث لم يتوقف بدون أن نتحدث. اليه فى رياضه سلام عاطر ودعاء بأن يحفظه الله وأهله وأن يبارك الله له فى الولد والحفيد