Liberal writer Gamal el-Banna, brother of the Muslim Brotherhood’s founder Hassan el-Banna, had a fantastic op-ed in today’s Al-Masry Al-Youm, where he slammed members of parliament for devoting their energies to discuss Farouk Hosni’s remarks about the veil… Instead, they should focus on torture inside police stations, he insisted, referring to leaked police brutality videos [...]

Kefaya is calling up on civil society and environmental activists to join the movement’s anti-corruption demo, Sunday 3 December, 1pm, in Matarriya Square to protest the unfair garbage collection fees.
دعوة عامة الى كل القوى الوطنية الشريفة واحزاب المعارضة ومؤسسات المجتمع المدنى والجمعيات الاهلية وجمعيات حماية البيئةتدعوكم الحركة المصرية من اجل التغيير كفاية وبمشاركة لجنة الاحياء [...]

I received news that leftist academics are holding a protest tomorrow Wednesday, from 11am to 12 noon, at Ain Shams University to protest the state-sponsored thuggery against activist students over the past couple of weeks. The professors will assemble in front of Qasr el-Za’afarana, the university’s administration building.

In recent weeks, Ain Shams University campus has [...]

From Ha’aretz…
The Cease-Fire / A tunnel at the end of the light
By Ze’ev Schiff
Hamas’s strategy worked. In return for symbolic concessions to Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas - and due mostly to its employment of force against Israel and the Israel Defense Forces’ failure to put an end to the launching of Qassam rockets - [...]

Egyptian blogger Rami Siyam, a.k.a. Ayoub, posted a testimony about his four-day odyssey spent recently in detention…

In what more or less has become a routine, Mubarak’s regime decided to extend the detention of two Muslim Brotherhood activists, I have so much respect for. They had been arrested around six months ago for leading demonstrations in support of judicial independence from Mubarak’s executive authorities.
I’m really sadened by this, and even more upset [...]

As’ad Abu Khalil says it as it is…
There are three Left(s) in Lebanon:
1) A rightist movement funded by Hariri inc, but is too embarrassed to admit it is actually Rightist (the Yasar Dimuqrati, so-called).
2) A Leftist movement that is embarrassed by its Leftism (Lebanese Communist Party).
3) Individuals and groups who are embarrassed by Yasar Dimuqrati [...]

A Lebanese Christian supporter of the Shiite resistance group Hizbollah…

More interesting pix could be found here…

Waleed Jumblatt to Rumsfeld during their meeting last month at the Pentagon: “Sorry, I was a warlord. Now I’m a democrat…”
This was said when “old memories” were brought up between the two about how Jumblatt’s militia bombed the Beirut airport when Rumsfeld arrived as President Regan’s envoy during the Lebanese civil war.

[Above: Photo I took [...]

I can’t stand the hypocrisy and the crocodile tears everyone is shedding over Pierre Gemayel.
Some forgot that the Gemayyels-founded Phalange was, has been, and is a fascist party whose share of massacres outnumbered all other parties during the civil war.
I dedicate the following poster–produced by the Phalange in the 1970s, part of AUB library collection–to [...]