Deflating trapped air...

I often wonder what the difference is between people who write "haha" and those who use LOL. Though emoticons provide an ample array of graphic representations for various emotional states of being, initialisms in internet slang like RFL (rolling on floor laughing), LOL (in capital letters for emphasis) and haha are the most common performative utterances used to describe states of jubilation. Personally I find the locution "haha" to be ineffective and rather "testicular" to use a favored Egyptian expression. I only use "haha" when the desired effect is sarcasm, and even then I make sure to add a third ha as I find two has alone to be too weak to transmit a sufficient degree of denigration. In expressing spontaneous rapture I consider LOL to be most effective and more genuine in that it informs the interlocutor of the subject's state rather than merely describe it through onomatopoeia.
I must confess that I sometimes use "hehe" to impress a sneaky-coy temperament (note that in this case two hes are sufficient), this is because the e in the hehe transmits a softer less imposing sound.

Anyway, haha sounds more like the braying of a donkey than the laughter of a human being.

Referendum Blues

Maria Golia's latest...

Egypt’s ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) should be congratulated for its expeditious handling of the March 26th referendum. Well-scripted, timed, and executed, it also fulfilled the public’s expectations. Everyone knew the yes-no vote would favor the institution of 34 constitutional amendments drafted by the state. They knew it so well that only an estimated ten percent of registered voters, the bulk of which are, in all probability, employed either by the state or NDP backers, bothered going to the polls.

While the usual accusations of fraud have been leveled, they are as empty as the voting boxes. Since the opposition, including the Muslim Brothers, encouraged their constituencies to boycott the polls, they have little grounds for calling foul. Had they participated, they might have more legitimately contested the results.
Granted, the state ensured that there was no time to rally. Yet, if notoriously bungling administrators could mobilize a nationwide election in a few weeks, the Muslim Brothers, feared by the regime for their widespread popularity, could surely have gotten the word around. It may be that in the current depressed atmosphere, even the Brothers figured they would make at best, a poor showing. Then too, there is the justifiable fear of arrest for challenging the state.

Another opportunity has meanwhile been lost. Most Egyptians say, with a rueful laugh, that their opinion doesn’t matter, that the outcome would have anyway been fixed, that they are too busy trying to put food on the table to take time out for futile exercises. Nevertheless, the government has afforded them a valuable lesson in democracy, Egyptian-style, i.e. you had your chance, such as it was, to say ‘no’ and you blew it. So don’t come crying to us.

On the eve of the referendum, another of the ruling party’s tutoring sessions took place as a few dozen protestors tried to assemble and march the two blocks between Tahrir and Talaat Harb Squares. Along the way they were harassed and several were arrested. Those that made it to Talaat Harb were outnumbered twenty to one, surrounded and pressed against the mirrored windows of the Air France office on the square.
There is a very tall, sad-faced, plainclothes cop who oversees these gatherings. When politely but fervently requested to let the few demonstrators, including women and journalists, out of the tortuously packed circle, he gestured with one hand: wait. When asked again, ten minutes later (while women bleated, ‘let us out’, and someone struck up the ‘down with Hosni Mubarak’ chant before either losing or being deprived of his breath), the tall man motioned calmly again to wait.

It became clear that the police were training these young people, these very few brave ones, accustoming them to the idea that they are vastly outnumbered, showing them how being roughed up, much less going to jail, is not fun and probably not worth it. Yes, there were slaps, kicks and punches thrown in the melee, but the prevailing police tactic in these situations consists of encircling protestors and tightening the circle, piling people on top of one another, suffocating them, exemplifying the notion that there is no space for them in Egypt, no air for them to breathe unless they tow the line.

It is likely that the tall sad-faced man felt he was going easy on the protestors; he had all the air of a disappointed father. Likewise, when President Mubarak defends the constitutional amendments, saying ‘the security and stability of Egypt and the safety of its citizens are a red line which I have not allowed and will not allow anyone to cross’, he no doubt speaks what he considers a beneficent truth. Egypt has in fact remained admirably quiet despite economic hardship and regional turmoil; you might even say dead quiet.
The ruling party, which sees itself as Egypt’s benefactor, cannot grasp that by denying civil rights it has condemned people to lives of painfully slow attrition, where each day brings fresh loss, of possibilities and self-esteem. In precisely the same way, America’s Bush regime, blinded by wealth and privilege, serves but a few in the name of democracy.

When Condoleezza Rice offered her pallid criticism of Egypt’s constitutional referendum, Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit retorted, ‘Only the Egyptian people have the right to say their views…[this] is our country’. But whose country was he referring to, if not the ruling party’s? Which views can be fully expressed, if not theirs?

The first article of Egypt’s new constitution now reads that ‘the Arab Republic of Egypt adopts a democratic system based on citizenship.’ But what does it mean to be a citizen, what are the rights and responsibilities attached to that title, aside from obedience and mediocrity?

Several articles of the constitution related to personal freedoms have been overridden by article 179, which is meant to replace the Emergency Law, and grants the executive branch a free hand in dealing with whoever it perceives as terrorists. These articles (41,44,45), demanding warrants for arrests and surveillance, were added to the constitution under Sadat, an era known, ironically, for its tapped phones and opened mail. The constitution is hardly sacred writ in Egypt, where actions speak louder than words. Indeed, the new amendments merely formalize existing conditions.

Similarly, while much opposition to the constitutional amendments centered on the notion that they facilitate Gamal Mubarak’s succession, it hardly matters. Whoever Egypt’s next president happens to be, he will be cast in a familiar authoritarian mould. Unless the space for alternative leadership is not only opened but creatively encouraged, it will not magically appear, and the NDP is presently incapable of rising to such a challenge.

One of Cairo’s polling stations is located in an old villa that has been used as a school since the Officer’s Revolution, a splendid building with graceful proportions. Traces of fine Egyptian craftsmanship are still evident in the woodwork, tiling and stained glass, despite a half-century’s accumulated grime and general gratuitous decay. When asked to whom the villa once belonged, the NDP apparatchik-in-charge, perhaps embarrassed that he did not know, said sorry, but he had strict instructions not to answer any questions. ‘What matters’, he said with a hint of menace, ‘is that now it is a school’.

Dastoor

Visit the Center for Socialist Studies to sign the petition.

بيان تضامني
ندين هجمة السلطة على قوى المعارضة ونرفض المحاكمات العسكرية
الموقعون على هذا البيان، على اختلاف مشاربهم السياسية ومواقفهم الفكرية وانتماءاتهم الحزبية، يعلنون رفضهم القاطع لقرار النظام الحاكم إحالة عشرات من الأعضاء القياديين في جماعة الإخوان المسلمين إلى المحاكم العسكرية وحرمانهم من المثول أمام قاضيهم الطبيعي، ويعلنون تضامنهم التام مع المحالين ومع المعارض الليبرالي أيمن نور الذي يعاني الحصار والحرمان من الحقوق القانونية في محبسه، وذلك بغض النظر عن أي اختلافات فكرية سياسية أو فكرية مع كل منهما. ويرى الموقعون أن قرارات الإحالة للمحاكم العسكرية والحصار الذي يخضع له نور، وغيرهما من الظواهر والتطورات، كلها تشير إلى إصرار السلطة على مواصلة نهجها الاستبدادي القائم على قمع الحريات وتزييف إرادة الشعب وحصار القوى المعارضة الحقيقية. من هنا يعلن الموقعون إدراكهم الكامل لمدى خطورة الإجراءات الحكومية الراهنة، حيث أنها تعكس عزم الحكام وحوارييهم على تأبيد سلطتهم وتعزيز مواقعهم، وإصرارهم على مواصلة نهجهم الديكتاتوري. إن المسئولية السياسية تدعو كل الموقعين إلى اعتبار الهجمة على الغد والإخوان هجمة عليهم جميعا ينبغي، بغض النظر عن الاختلافات السياسية، التضامن ضدها بكل الأشكال والوسائل السلمية. متضامنون معا ضد هجمة السلطة على المعارضينمتضامنون معا ضد إحالة المدنيين إلى المحاكم العسكرية

I feel the earth move under my feet

I've been deliberately avoiding writing for a while . I needed distance...from myself...as psychotic as that may sound. I think I want to try and write again now.

Hakuna Matata

Seems some doubt has been cast on my being the proprietor of the cuddly giraffe picture below, so to dispel the rumors, here are a few more pics I took in Nairobi.
Yes gentlemen I can take pictures.

Karibu Kenya

A morning cuddle...

Loosy Goosy

I tried to let this slide but I can't...

About 3 years ago, I believe after breaking up with Mad N (who is now incidentally married and with child) I ran into R at the Heliopolis club. This was during my healthy jogger phase so we kept running into each other, no pun intended, completely coincidentally, which was nice. We knew each other from school but had never really developed any real friendship despite the fact that she briefly dated a very good friend of mine (who later broke her heart and who is now incidentally married and a father). She was energetic, quirky, smart, funny, in short I began developing an interest in her. After the second or third week it became obvious I liked her and I decided to invite her out for coffee, (and dessert , always dessert), to test the waters.

It was disastrous. I had just about as much charm as a cup of Cole slaw; I was nervous, sweaty, anxious, my timing was all screwed up, everything about the night was off. To make things worse, R, who apparently was still quite scorched from her previous experience, decided to shoot down all hope by bringing up the ever morbid topic of marriage. She didn't have time for any advances she said, especially those made by gits I thought. We spoke a little about relationships in general and the conversation dwindled into the usual flaccid statements people make when things get awkward. She knew exactly what my intentions were and she made it quite clear she wasn't interested. Ok, got it, thank you very much, moving on. And I did, but obviously not before trying to reach her a few more times just to make sure that I embarrassed myself adequately enough.

Fast forward two years, Jester receives a phone call in the early hours of the night, the voice sounds vaguely familiar, she jokes and giggles refusing to let on, he finally comes to, "Yekhreb beitek elhlly fakkarek beyya"!

They talk for a half hour, her questions are precise invoking details she'd apparently retained for two years. He's flattered and asks to see her. They decide to meet the following Friday. They go for a walk, he guides her through his favorite Heliopolis side streets pointing out favorite buildings, trees, and "quaint pockets of beauty amongst the rubble". They talk about African music, she dreams of Mali, he perspires as he recounts his trips to Dakar, Cape Town, Accra and Stone Town, obviously trying to impress her. It's almost romantic.

She tells him she's leaving again to continue her doctorate, shame she didn't call earlier, he thinks. He tries to see her again, sending seemingly casual messages inquiring whether she has time to sneak away from family obligations. Her response is curt, brusque, almost impatient "Brother and wife coming to visit...", no harm in being flexible he thinks "I'm free later... let me know...", "Very busy, will ring you". She doesn't.

She does manage a farewell message before she flies out, Jester feels a little redeemed, a little disappointed.
...

There's a dream sequence in the Hulk where the Hulk and Bruce Banner stare at each other through a mirror and suddenly the Green Behemoth punches through it, shards of glass flying, he grabs a terrified Bruce by the neck and with loathing exclaims "Puny human!".

Petition for Academic Freedom

On December 14, the Egyptian State Security Police conducted mass arrests of students and faculty members associated with the Muslim Brothers organization at al-Azhar University in Cairo. Reports about the number of those arrested vary between 140 and 180 people. Under the current emergency laws, those arrested could be detained indefinitely. It is common knowledge that the State Security Police often use torture in their investigation of political detainees. The arrests were made in the wake of a demonstration organized at al-Azhar University on December 10 in which the demonstrators wore headbands that resemble those worn by members of the Palestinian and Lebanese Islamic resistance and demonstrated their skills at Karate and Kung Fu. The government press has presented the demonstration as a militant and violent act and has called thestudents “al-Azhar militias.” Not a single act of violence has been proven against the students and the disputed government claims revolve only around minor property damage. The demonstration was part of a larger series of protests by Egyptian university students on many campuses, including the two largest, Cairo and Ein Shams. These protests, which have included other demonstrations, strikes, sit-ins, and petitions, are directed against the persecution and harassment of active students and faculty members critical of the current regime, and their exclusionfrom student unions and university faculty and administrative committees. Such persecution continues to be carried out by security personnel on and off campus. We, the undersigned students and faculty, express our solidarity with the detainees and affirm our belief that university studentsand faculty are entitled to freedom of expression, regardless of their political views. We demand the immediate release of the detained Egyptian students and faculty of al-Azhar and other Egyptian universities and the exclusive use of due legal processesin their prosecution should it be proven that they have been involved in illegal or unconstitutional activities.
http://www.PetitionOnline.com/Cairo07a/petition.html

I hung out at the Greek Club tonight after attending Amal Kenawy’s opening at Karim Francis gallery. If you don’t know her work you should check it out; nightmarish, emotionally disturbing and very sensual. Despite its mercurial quality and deeply personal symbolism, her art isn’t complicated. It isn’t a rational process that her work invokes but rather a guttural intuitive connection that leaves you jaded, as though falling in a dream you suddenly awake before hitting the floor. Or perhaps I’m just a dumbass and I don’t know what I’m talking about, either way, this isn’t the purpose of this post.

I was hanging out with some friends, chunking on a Greek salad and sipping on an insipid glass of lemon juice when lo and behold a blue eyed beauty with chestnut colored hair and a shy wandering gaze waded in with HL.

HL is adorable, I love her, but I didn’t move to her table half an hour later to talk about her plans for new years', a fact that didn’t escape her sharp wit. A couple of minutes into the conversation she turned to blue eyed girl and said M this is Jolie. I don’t care how cheesy your name is Jolie, Good God you’re cute! HL asked for the bill, SHIT, they’re leaving; I had to make a move, “So what are you doing in Cairo Jolie?”…to which Jolie smiled, stared into the ceiling with a wide eyed look, sighed and responded in a mousy French accent "I dunt no”… ridiculous really but my heart sank. I said some nonsense about how we’re all confused, realized I was blabbering and ended my remark with a murmur. They said their goodbyes and Jolie gave me a wide smile as she walked away.

I moved back to my table to find M had devoured my salad “Eh mish 2oltelak 7akol ma3ak”. M was wearing her trademark fishnet stockings; I pulled on them for revenge.

The entire episode doesn’t amount to more than being a nice little quaint encounter, except of course Jolie was cute and you see I have this thing for cute women, a thing I recently coined with Gayyash as the Arthur Miller syndrome. Now Jolie could be mentally retarted for all I know, I mean seriously, who has any more tolerance for inane responses to simple questions dressed up as wise and other worldly...did I mention Jolie was cute!

M once accused me of being a superficial git, well not in so many words but that was the gist of her diatribe (if you read the previous post you’ll realize that our friendship is characterized by mutual, slow, gentle, character assassination). I have no qualms with the claim, if simply for lack of energy to refute it. Attraction with me starts with the physical…it doesn’t obviously end there. Indeed if anything it has been my obsession with all the other things that has thus far been the cause of many breakups in my life and that continues to hinder me from meeting and falling for someone...but that's another story.

Now if only Jolie would turn out to be smart, witty, intelligent, fun, humorous, compassionate, available and willing to date a sod like me, hmmm, Arthur Miller eat your heart out!

Mamosay Mamosama Makossa

Warning, self absorbed ramblings ahead...


About a week ago, whilst enjoying a pleasant evening at M’s, the subject of my condition came up. M and I almost always approach everything with an air of flippant tomfoolery, so when you consider that we were listening to Disco hits from the seventies at the time, you can be sure the discussion that ensued was anything but serious.

M exclaimed: “You can’t wake up every single morning and re-question the basics of your existence! It’s not sane!” She further elaborated the point with superb comedic flair by impersonating me waking up; a quizzical frizzled look on my face: “This is earth, I live in Cairo, I am human, this is my room, my name is…” get the point?! After establishing initial bearings, I would then step out of my room and begin affiliating myself with the elements that shape my life and identity. The skit was actually quite funny, and not only because M is a scathing comedian by nature, but because her words rang with a particular din of veritas.

We laughed at the idea; it seemed like a great premise for a movie. I’d of course be played by Johnny Depp. I vote Jenna Jameson for M.

My capacity (and evidently M’s) to poke fun at my torrent affair with existence has developed into a sort of self-administered substitute for clinical therapy. In the past however, different reasons forced me to seek professional help, none more imperative than the desire to “get better” and the realization that I was unable to do it alone.

My life has greatly been shaped and influenced by the ongoing dynamic of confronting, dealing, and dancing with depression, and I do believe that I am better for it. I used to question whether my depression may not in fact be a self perpetuated myth, some sort of bogey man I’ve raised and fed to add intensity and substance to my life. Back in my dark philosopher phase in college I actually believed that my depression gave me an edge, an esoteric persona. But somewhere along the way I recognized that my mood swings, my troughs and crests weren’t necessarily symptomatic of a particular possibly curable condition, but an indication of a volatile character. This was a first step towards seeing the truth behind the fiction so to speak, and I eventually learnt to acknowledge and deal with the nature of my character, its flaws and its perks.

I’ve had a successful track record with the battle against depression, but there remains much room for pontification on the frequency of its occurrence…which brings us to M’s little comedy act.

I think I do have a tendency to constantly question my identity…except, not really. True I tend to doubt myself a lot, but that’s just my inbred insecurity not a deep philosophical introspection into the essence of moi…Ultimately, it’s just about being happy. But while I’m aware of how fickle happiness can be, I’m all too aware of the very real possibility of attaining it. I’m distinguishing here between the perpetuation of fleeting moments of pleasure, and the visceral contentment that is the result of making peace with time.

If we accept that there exists the possibility of attaining happiness in life, then it should follow that the attainment of happiness must not only be a worthy goal to pursue, but that it must surely be the ultimate goal of every living individual.

One of the most important steps towards the realization of this goal is the acceptance of one’s responsibility towards oneself, and while I recognize the absolute primitiveness of this notion I find it necessary every once and again to remind myself of it. Perhaps this is what M meant in her skit, “This is earth, I live in Cairo, I am human, and I intend to be happy…!”

"It is not necessary that whilst I live I live happily; but it
is necessary that so long as I live I should live honourably."

Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) German philosopher

Land of the brave...

From Ha'aretz

The IDF canceled a planned air strike on the home of a militant in the northern Gaza Strip on Sunday after several hundred Palestinians barricaded themselves inside the building, an IDF spokesman and witnesses said. Palestinian sources said the protest against the planned IAF strike was first of its kind to have in effect prevented an air strike. An IDF spokesman said the strike had been called off so to avoid inflicting civilian casualties. Hundreds of Palestinians formed a human shield around the home of the militant in Beit Lahia late Saturday to prevent an Israel Air Force air strike on the building, residents said. "The attack plan was canceled because of the people there," the spokesman said. "We differentiate between innocent people and terrorists," he added. The spokesman vowed Israel would continue its strikes against militants, and accused gunmen of using the civilians in the camp as human shields. People flocked to the home of Mohammed al-Baroud after he received a warning from the army late Saturday giving him 30 minutes to leave the house. Barhoud is a commander in the Popular Resistance Committees in the town who is in charge of firing homemade rockets at Israel. Crowds of people stood on the rooftop and in the yard of the home. Israel routinely orders occupants out of homes ahead of air strikes on suspected weapons-storage facilities, saying it wants to avoid casualties. The incident in Beit Lahia was the first time Palestinians have tried to prevent such an airstrike.The crowd chanted anti-Israel and anti-American slogans, and people said they were prepared to give their lives to protect the home. "Yes to martyrdom. No to surrender," the crowd chanted."We came here to protect this fighter, to protect his house and to prove that we are capable of defeating this Zionist policy," said Nizar Rayan, a local Hamas leader who joined the protest...

VETO THIS!

Last Saturday The US expectedly vetoed a draft resolution for the UN Security Council to condemn the killings of 19 Palestinians in the northern Gaza Strip by Israeli Defence Forces.

This is the second time this year the US vetoes a draft resolution on Israeli military operations in Gaza.

Ten of the council's 15 members voted in favor and four -Britain, Denmark, Japan and Slovakia - abstained.

Various news sources reported Rice and Bolton saying the draft was "unbalanced" and "biased against Israel and politically motivated".

The US has a long history of its own "politically-motivated" vetoes and negative votes against resolutions condemning Israeli actions in the Middle East.

The draft called for Israel to cease hostilities and withdraw from Gaza but also urged the Palestinian Authority to act to end violence - including rockets fired at southern Israel. The draft also called the Quartet – UN, US, EU and Russia– to take immediate steps to stabilize the situation, including through the possible establishment of an “international mechanism for the protection of the civilian populations.” It also urged the Secretary Genral to conduct an investigation into the recent Beit Hanoun killings which Olmert and the IDF are claiming was a technical error. A claim which independent United Nations human rights expert Miloon Kothari has rejected saying the attack indicated premeditation. He also urged Israel to stop destruction of homes and infrastructure, and called the international community to impose military sanctions against Israel.

In response to the ongoing crisis, the United Nations Human Rights Council will hold a special session this Wednesday on Israel’s recent military actions in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

According to Palestine Campaign's website, casualties since 25 June 2006 include:

- 342 Palestinians, mostly civilians, 64 children and 15 women, killed by Israeli Forces.
- At least 1186 Palestinian civilians, 344 children and 49 women, wounded by the Israeli Forces gunfire.

More statistics and in depth information can also be found on the Israeli human rights group, b'Tselem's, website.

On a lighter note, the Arab League announced it would lift the financial blockade on the Palestinians in defiance of the United States. What I'd like to know is what the fuck were they doing endorsing it in the first place!

Beit Hanoun Massacre

I ran with my husband into the road outside. I was hit by shrapnel on my side. There was smoke and dust everywhere. It was like a fog. It was hard to breathe. There were heads decapitated. I saw my aunt Jamila's leg flying. I tried to help her but she said, 'Run for your life'.

Haneen Athamneh, 20, one of the few members of the Athamneh family to escape the shelling with her life.

Eighteen Palestinian civilians, most of them women and children from the same family, have been killed on Nov 8 as they tried to flee a barrage of Israeli artillery shells fired on and around the house where they had been sleeping minutes earlier.

More than 50 people were wounded, 14 of them are in serious condition. All but one of the dead were members of the Athamneh family and included six children under 16. They were killed when they rushed out into the dirt road beside their four-storey building after the first shell struck, punching a hole two feet in diameter through the roof.

Large puddles in the road were still dark with blood five hours after the attack.

Extracts from The Independent

Gaza

EXPERT ON HUMAN RIGHTS IN OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN
TERRITORIES SAYS URGENT SECURITY COUNCIL ACTION
NEEDED ON SITUATION IN GAZA

8 November 2006

Prof. John Dugard, Special Rapporteur on the situation
of human rights in the Palestinian territories
occupied since 1967, issued the following statement
today:

On 25 June 2006 Israel embarked on a military
operation in Gaza that has resulted in over 300
deaths, including many civilians; over a thousand
injuries; large-scale devastation of public facilities
and private homes; the destruction of agricultural
lands; the disruption of hospitals, clinics and
schools; the denial of access to adequate electricity,
water and food; and the occupation and imprisonment of
the people of Gaza. This brutal collective punishment
of a people, not a government, has passed largely
unnoticed by the international community.

The Quartet, comprising the United Nations, the
European Union, the United States and the Russian
Federation, has done little to halt Israel's attacks.
Worse still, the Security Council has failed to adopt
any resolution on the subject or attempt to restore
peace to the region. The time has come for urgent
action on the part of the Security Council. Failure to
act at this time will seriously damage the reputation
of the Security Council.

Alexandrian blogger arrested...

Check Karim's blog here. I personally don't agree with a lot of his opinions but his arrest is unconscionable and expressive of the regime's persistent violations of basic rights like freedom of expression. You can find links and more information on the Free Karim campagin website.

Extracted from 3arabawy:

CAIRO, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Egyptian security forces have arrested a student blogger whose writing was critical of Islam and the government, security sources and rights activists said on Tuesday. Arabic blogger Abdel Kareem Nabil Suleiman, a 22-year-old aspiring human rights lawyer, was arrested in the coastal city of Alexandria on Monday. His detention was the latest crackdown on political opposition by Egyptian authorities following arrests and beatings at street protests earlier this year, despite calls from Egypt’s U.S. ally for political reform. “The accusations directed against him are that he published opinions aimed at disturbing public order, insulted the head of state and defamed Islam,” said Sally Sami Program Officer at the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (HRInfo), which is representing him. “It is becoming more and more obvious that the government is not keen to reform or allow true democracy where differing opinions can be voiced.” Security sources did not detail exactly which comments prompted authorities to hold Suleiman, who his lawyers said was expelled this year from al-Azhar University, Egypt’s most prestigious seat of Islamic learning. Suleiman has criticised al-Azhar’s dominance in religious thought and said Muslim clerics were partly responsible for sectarian strife that followed a knife attack on Christian worshippers in Alexandria in April, according to Gamal Eid, Executive Director of HRInfo.

INTERNET FREEDOM Suleiman was the latest of several bloggers to be arrested in Egypt, where news of his detention came shortly after rights group Reporters Without Borders added Egypt to a list of worst suppressors of freedom of expression on the Internet. Egypt joins 12 other countries on the list including Cuba, Myanmar, Iran and Turkmenistan. RSF said it was also concerned at an Egyptian court ruling that an Internet site could be shut down if it posed a threat to national security. Suleiman was due to appear before prosecutors on Wednesday. His arrest was unusual in that he was arrested solely because of comments made on the Internet, activists said. Other bloggers were mostly picked up during anti-government protests earlier in the year. Several have spent weeks or months in jail.

The early bird catches the earthquake

It's 6:30...can't sleep, all of a sudden I feel dizzy and my head twirls, I think ok this is it I'm finally collapsing from weeks of insomnia...then I see the lamp-stand next to me wobble, I can't be imagining that!...yep, it's an earthquake. It was short but I reckon no lower than 5.