It’s unbelievable what Rosa al-Youssef is doing these days. The daily paper, which is regarded as close to Gamal Mubarak’s NDP Policies’ Secretariat, is launching a crusade against journalist/blogger and friend Wael Abbas for helping to expose the downtown Cairo molestation fiesta during Eid.
The horrific incidents went unreported by the local media, except for Al-Masry [...]

A military court sentenced today MP Talaat el-Sadat (nephew of Egypt’s late dictator Anwar el-Sadat) to one year in prison with hard labor, for “defaming” Egypt’s army in a TV interview where he claimed his uncle was killed in a conspiracy involving the Egyptian army, and foreign intelligence services.

Eight rights group had denounced the trial [...]

Bloody clashes have been going on for the third day on the row at Ain Shams University campus in Abbassiya, as student union elections approach.
Pro-government students assaulted Muslim Brotherhood activists at the Faculty of Education at Ain Shams University, and tore down their electoral posters. The MB mobilized demos to denounce the attacks, but they [...]

In a move that marks (for the millionth time) the randomness of this whole “democratic reform,” Mubarak has “surprised” us with a new announcement, stating he’s ammending Article 76 of the constitution, that was tailored by his legislators last year. There was absolutely nothing mentioned about such ammendment during the last NDP’s congress. Note also [...]

Around 50 activists from Workers For Change and Youth For Change protested for an hour, in front of the Public Prosecutor’s office, against State Security’s violations against opposition candidates running for seats in the General Federation of Labor Unions. The elections are scheduled to start on 5 November, but already government violations are rampant. State [...]

The Center for Socialist Studies will hold a seminar on Discrimination against Copts in Egypt, Friday 3 November.
The First Session, 1pm to 2:30 pm: The Roots of the Problem
The session will try to situate the historical roles of the parties involved, the Egyptian state, Coptic Church, and the Coptic masses, within the socio-economic and [...]

Police kidnapped Mohamed Hassan, an activist with Workers For Change, an hour ago in front of the General Federation of Trade Unions HQ in Cairo. Hassan was distributing leaflets denouncing the security intervention in the labor unions electoral process, and warning of serious vote rigging to come. Security personnel nabbed him, and took him to [...]

I meant to post this a while ago…
Six countries bar public from budget process-study
WASHINGTON, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Six countries keep their constituents in the dark about the state of their budgets until they are adopted, a new study released on Wednesday showed.
The International Budget Project, formed within the private Center on Budget and Policy [...]

Workers For Change are holding a meeting at the Center for Socialist Studies, tomorrow Friday 6pm, on how to resist vote rigging in the coming Labor Unions elections.
The Center is located 7 Mourad Street, Giza.

Since the first night of Eid, downtown Cairo has turned into a sex predators’ jungle, where dozens of (unveiled, veiled, and even in niqab) women were the subject of sexual assaults.
You can find horrific reports and pix by the following bloggers: Malek, GEMYHOoOD, Radwa, Wael, and Sharqawi.
The Central Security Forces, and the police officers did [...]

Hassan Abdallah, the coordinator of Sinai’s Youth For Change, has been released few hours ago and is on his way home to Al-Arish, according to Kefaya’s website.
Hassan was detained by State Security in Arish on 7 September, then transferred to Bourg el-Arab prison in Alexandria, with no access to lawyers or family visits. His two [...]

I’m away from the computer for sometime because of IT problems and work commitments. Happy Eid to all of you…
When you get the time please check out the following feature I co-authored with Al-Masry Al-Youm’s Ali Zalat, on the Muslim Brotherhood’s plans to produce a movie about its founder, Hassan el-Banna.
Hassan el-Banna Super Star?
The feature [...]

I uploaded to my flickr account some photos taken by photographer and friend Amr Abdallah, of an old poor man in Qalyoubiya, who tries to make a living by selling grilled corn in the streets. Amr called this photoset “The Old Man and the Fire”….

قمت بتحميل بعض الصور التي التقطها الزميل العزيز عمرو عبد الله [...]