Posts tagged Features

Adam & Greed: An analysis of current global uprisings in relation to economics, history, and mythology - by Ganzeer

Foreign Agendas & Popular Uprisings

The Egyptian military truly does believe there’s a foreign conspiracy at work.

As far as they are concerned, things haven’t much changed since before Mubarak’s step down. Omar Suleiman’s comments to Christiane Amanpour, that “other people are pushing” Egypt’s young masses to revolt still ring true to Egypt’s military men and those influenced by them. Omar Suleiman may be out of the media spotlight right now -partially due to people’s discomfort with his uncanny resemblance to Darth Vader- but its hard to believe a man whose involvement with military/intelligence, which stems back to the 1950’s, would end with Mubarak’s step-down. Especially with Suleiman viewed as “the most successful element of the [CIA’s] relationship with Egypt,” according to diplomatic cables released by Wikileaks. If the United States was willing to let Mubarak go, I doubt it would also be willing to let Suleiman or any of Egypt’s old military guard go. 

[Omar Suleiman as Darth Vader]

Before Mubarak’s step-down, popular media claimed “foreign elements” to be behind the “chaos” in Tahrir. Journalists’ cameras were confiscated. Al Jazeera’s office was raided. Protestors were regularly abducted by Egyptian military, subject to torture, and asked “who put you up to this?” Officials would appear on TV and stress that the only person who can keep the country together is Mubarak.

[Egyptian singer/songwriter Ramy Essam shows scars of torture by Egyptian Military.]

Today, protests are condemned by popular media, “foreign elements” are still blamed to be behind any “irregularities.” Al Jazeera’s office was raided again. Protestors are regularly arrested by Egyptian military and subject to torture. The only difference is that officials appear on TV and stress that the only thing that can keep the country together is “the army”, instead of Mubarak.

[Members of Egypt’s Supreme Council of the Armed Forces on public television explaining that the military is the people’s last line of defense.] 

Ah, and there’s one more difference. The only sit-in not condemned by popular media and not dispersed by Egyptian military is the small “Islamist” sit-in right in front of the American embassy. Y’know… before the sit-in ever started, I sat there once, on the side walk, waiting on a friend of mine. Security there were quick to come and tell me to move along.

This leads me to believe that the strategy undertaken by the Egyptian military is two-fold:

1. Create enough of a sense of insecurity in the masses to drive them to entrust the military with everything.
2. Allow Western powers, namely America, to believe that an Islamist movement is on the rise, leading the West to entrust the Egyptian military with everything.

The former point is further emphasized by instigation of additional threats such as:

1. Nile river countries bent on limiting Egypt’s share of water.
2. Israel’s attack on Egyptian soldiers at the border.
3. The collapsing economy.
4. The internal security vaccum.

The result? Popular domestic and international support. The Egyptian military wins.

Funnily enough, it is the same strategy undertaken by the ruling power in every single country to see an uprising. Qaddaffi’s popular line “Mnn antom?!” (Who are you?) is now carved into the funny sides of our brains, and will likely be a popular internet meme for a long time to come, but it has not stopped other countries from taking the same stance. Syrian foreign minister Walid Mouallem issued a statement saying “There are groups carrying out acts of violence in Syria and who have killed a great number of martyrs. The West speaks of a peaceful revolution and does not admit these groups exist but arms them anyhow.” These views have even led to a number of pro-Assad demonstrations outside of Syria. Sultan Assour, a pro-Assad protestor outside the Turkish embassy in Amman, asserted that “there are foreign entities trying to destroy the Syrian regime because it has been successful,” as reported by the Jordan Times on October 10, 2011.

[Qaddafi’s “Mn Antom?” speech remixed by Youtube user Blackjack101.]

When protests erupted in the eastern Saudi Arabian town of Qatif in early October, dominated by chants that apparently condemned the Saudi court’s sentencing a woman to 10 lashes for breaking the country’s ban on female drivers, Saudi authorities didn’t act much differently. “You Coward, you coward, you who hit women,” chanted protestors, before being attacked by Saudi police, and resorting to physical measures, which led to 14 injuries, 11 of which were Saudi security forces according to reports. The Saudi Ministry of Interior issued a statement on October 5th claiming to have “thwarted an attempt by foreign elements to destabilize national security.”

In Jordan, authorities have managed to weaken the position of the country’s pro-reform uprising by suggesting that Palestinian interests are behind the movement, tapping into society’s collective memory/knowledge of 1970’s Black September. This has succeeded in subduing the inertia of Jordan’s pro-reform sentiments.

When Bahrain’s February uprising took place, not only did authorities, together with Bahraini media, heavily suggest the involvement of foreign elements, but the Bahraini government even claimed in a report to the UN in April 2011 that Lebanese political organization Hezbollah, considered a terrorist group by the US, was actively involved in organizing the unrest.

The sad truth is that these claims find resonance with portions of the population, leading to much societal conflict in regards to sentiments towards a regime, no matter how brutal or unjust it may be. The result is, instead of being in a situation of the people against the regime, it turns into a situation of some people against most people and the regime. The regime wins.

Now, if I have the common sense to see that the Tunisian uprising was not caused by foreign elements, or to see that the Libyan people’s rise against Qaddaffi only stemmed from a legitimate need to overthrow the idiot, or that Saudi Arabian protestors are merely agitated by a life of oppression, or that Syrian protestors have simply had enough of Assad’s reign of terror, why would I assume that the Egyptian revolution is any different?

I’m With Stupid

There’s a consensus among every Egyptian military man I’ve spoken to that this is an obvious Israeli ploy to weaken the Arab states. “Look at Libya”, I’ve been told “Military men have defected. Look at Yemen; Military men have defected! Look at Syria! Military men have defected! By weakening the armies of its neighboring Arab countries, Israel will have the upper hand, and the entire region will be up for grabs!”

Yes, I’ve actually been told that. The problem with that argument is that it assumes that Arab militaries have been a threat to Israel’s security, when in fact, Arab militaries have been the only thing ensuring Israel’s safety, and keeping millions of angry Arabs from marching there and ripping the Jewish state to shreds! Israel has enough problems dealing with Palestinians living in sub-horrible conditions. The last thing it needs is unleashing the wrath of millions from Libya, Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen, Syria, Jordan, and whoever else decides to hop on the bandwagon of vengeance. 

That’s the first reason why igniting-mass-uprisings-as-an-Israeli ploy is the stupidest explanation anyone can ever think of. The second reason would be that courage is obviously contagious, as has been demonstrated by the emergence of uprisings all around the world, including Israel itself. What may have started as a massive protest against Tel Aviv’s housing shortage and cost of living, eventually turned into a call for social justice. Israel is known for its racism against its own people; Druze, Bedouins, and Ethiopian Jews serving in Israel’s military force are systematically stationed at the front lines of heavy conflict zones, for example. Protests numbering in the hundreds of thousands giving Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu the ultimatum of making “real and serious recommendations” or “on October 29, just before the Knesset returns to session, we will take to the streets in full force” cannot at all be good for the Israeli government’s stability.

Not to mention the other 1500 cities that have seen mass protests on October 15th alone! Madrid, Barcelona, London, Berlin, Athens, Rome, New York City, Dallas, Toronto, Vancouver, Auckland, Mumbai, Tokyo, Seoul, Taiwan, and more! It’s happening everywhere!

So why is there so much conviction amongst Egyptian military men that this whole revolution thing is an Israeli plot? Well, It’s obviously a way for Egyptian military masterminds to discourage men in the ranks from defecting. 

So Arabs Want to Rip Israel apart?

Pretty much, yeah. But Israel has nothing to worry about anyway. Unless seriously provoked, there’s no way a dozen-million-Arab-march to Tel Aviv will ever happen, because people will be people, even Arab people. And what Arab people want, just like the people of Israel, is a secure life where true social justice roams.

It is, of course, believed by Israel and the United States of America, that once social justice is achieved in the Arab world and a better education system ensued, the result would be a smarter population with a better economic status, less domestic worries, and a higher capability of wiping Israel off the face of the planet!!

Now, before we jump to that conclusion one must sit down and think about where this Arab “hostility” towards Israel stems from. Aside from the obvious reason of Israel mainly being a military-driven occupying presence, and aside from the escalating addition of settlements on Palestinian land, and aside from Israel’s discrimination and regular injustices towards Palestenians, aside all of that,  Arab governments, even those that have healthy diplomatic relations with Israel, have for decades been cultivating the notion of Israel-as-the-enemy in the minds and hearts of Arab people.

Take Egypt for example; since Sadat’s peace treaty with Israel, regular trade and business has been established between both countries. Israel has exported $181 million worth of goods to Egypt between 1994 to 2000, with $58.1 million in year 2000 alone. Egypt’s exports to Israel, on the other hand, have totaled $1.6 billion during the same six years. Although Egypt’s revenue from trade with Israel surpasses Israel’s, the Egyptian government has been subject to heavy domestic criticism for the sale of natural gas to Israel at the significantly reduced price of $1-$3 per 1000 cubic feet, whereas the lowest value natural gas has ever reached elsewhere is actually $7 per 1000 cubic feet.

Israelis regularly travel to the Sinai peninsula for tourism, and Sinai bedouins regularly travel to Israel for trade and tourism. I, however, a Cairo resident would not be able to travel to Israel so easily, and heavy interrogation by Egyptian intelligence upon return would occur without question. Egyptians have grown up with the notion that Israel is ready to attack Egypt at any moment. They teach it to you at schools and they talk about it at the coffee shops. They show it in films, television series, and talk shows. 

My buddy Sherif did obligatory Egyptian military service for a whole year, half of which he was stationed in Aswan at an air-defense base near Egypt’s High Dam. When a high ranking officer doing check ups would pass by the base and see something that was not in order, he would scuffle the troops and typically shout “What’s wrong with you, soldier?! What if Israel decides to attack The Dam right now?”

[A recruitment poster published in American magazines throughout World War I, featuring Daughter of Zion, a representation symbolizing the Jewish people. The text reads “Your Old New Land must have you! Join the Jewish regiment.]

Now although I, during my 29 years of existence in this here world, have never got to experience any hostility from Israel first hand, but have in fact been subject to many injustices by my own government on a regular basis, my idea of the enemy is still emblematic in Israel’s Star-of-David. This is my government’s way of controlling its people. By cultivating the fear of an exterior enemy, people will let go of certain rights and liberties in exchange for a sense of security at home. This may also be said about Israel’s government.

Therefore, complete dismantlement of both the Egyptian and Israeli regimes may very well be the salvation of both people.

Show Me The Money

Such insecurity suits Israel just fine though, because it’s how it makes the big monies. Without insuring at least a sense of hostility from its neighboring countries, Israel would no longer be legible to receive the annual $3 billion military aid from the United States, 25% of which is actually spent on purchasing equipment from Israeli manufacturers! Of course, a condition to receive this aid is for Israel to “seek peace.” If, of course, peace is actually accomplished, there will be no unachieved peace to seek out, and no basis for Israel to claim hostility from its neighbors. No more aid.

Moreover, Israel’s acquiring of U.S. military technology is giving the Jewish state a chance at reverse engineering U.S. weapons, quickly becoming a top weapons innovator and manufacturer, ranking itself as the 10th largest exporter of arms in an industry estimated at over $1.5 trillion annually.

It isn’t in the Egyptian regime’s interest either to resolve the Israel/Palestine conflict, as that would mean a very possible end to US aid to Egypt as well, accounting for $2 billion annually, much of what probably goes into the pockets of corrupt Egyptian officials. As long as there’s unrest at the border, and Egypt is keen on facilitating “peace talks” between Israel and Palestine, then Egypt is legible to receive aid. Also, as the 11th largest cement producer in the world, Egypt regularly exports cement to Gaza after Israeli attacks to be utilized for rebuilding efforts. It has also been reported that 20,000 tons of Egyptian cement were sold to Palestinian Authorities and then resold to Israel at humungous profits for use in the construction of Israel’s apartheid separation barriers.

This signals that even the Palestinian Authority benefits from this bad situation. It’s known, for example, that the Palestinian Authority incurs serious “taxes” on the smuggling of goods through the Rafah Tunnels between Egypt and Gaza.

The same applies to Jordan, as it is the 4th largest recipient of U.S. Military aid, valued at around $209 million. Together with other aid packages, Jordan receives an annual sum of around $500 million. Add to that, one of Jordan’s main sources of income today is made via Qualifying Industrial Zones that were set up in 1998, allowing Jordan to export goods to the United States on the condition that some input material comes from Israel. Jordan has since signed a Free Trade Agreement with the States, but 75% of all articles entering the United States from Jordan are still produced in Qualifying Industrial Zones. Egypt, too, exports to the United States from the production of its Qualifying Industrial Zones.

This explains why the peace talks we’ve been witnessing for decades have been nothing more than exactly that: talks. Because anything beyond that would not be of interest to the politicians at hand, but the show… the show must go on. This means that Egyptian, Jordanian, Palestinian, Israeli, and above all, American politicians are directly responsible for the gruesome situation that Palestinian and Israeli people have to live in today - most especially the Palestinian people.

Ah, but why would the United States spend so much tax money on benefiting the politicians of Egypt, Jordan, Israel, and Palestine, you ask?

Well it just so happens that the Middle East accounts for 1/6 of the world’s arms imports, the bulk of that going to Saudi Arabia, Algeria, and the UAE. That is approximately $250 billion annually. A lucrative client to anyone in the arms business. And indeed, 50% of all U.S. arms exports go to the Middle East, which accounted for over 40 billion in 2010.

All U.S. aid in the Middle East is valued at $6 billion. If you add Afghanistan and Pakistan to the equation, the number would jump to no more than $16 billion. If you’re making 40 billion off the situation in the Middle East, then spending $16 billion isn’t such a bad investment, is it? Do the math. That’s a $24 billion profit, not even considering the profits made from oil and other goods.

Now, without the presence of an occupying nation right in the center of the Middle East: Israel, these rich Middle Eastern countries would not feel the need to stock on such an outrageous number of weapons, and the United States would lose the biggest contribution to its economy.

So basically, the world’s largest superpower has taken advantage of Zionist aspirations and the self interest of Arab dictators just to make some money. And millions of innocent lives are left to pay the sick price.

Capitalism Versus Democracy

The United States of America has somehow managed to create the illusion of a powerful link between the notion of democracy and the practice of capitalism. This can, in part, be credited to America’s successful dominance over mass media for the past few decades, as well as the sheer bleakness of what had seemed like the only possible alternative: communism.

It’s true that capitalism has offered much more freedom than its communist counterpart; in a capitalist society, one would be free to wear jeans, drive an air-conditioned car and buy a remote control robot for his/her kid. Albeit, work pretty damn hard to be able to afford those things, but still, the possibility exists. Under known communist structures, those things were in no way attainable, and no matter how hard you worked, your only option was to work for a government that provided an array of incredibly basic products for its people.

With these being the only options in sight, its no surprise that the majority of the world would seek to endorse capitalism. Upon closer inspection, however, it isn’t difficult to see that capitalism is in no way related to democracy. For democracy, whose origin is the greek word dēmokratía -which means “people power”- does not prevail under capitalism, which provides varying levels of power to different types of people, depending, for the most part, on financial income. Moreover, the adoption of capitalism by a number of hardcore dictatorships such as Egypt, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Dubai, and China is proof of capitalism’s false association with democracy.

Also, come to inspect how communism has come to be applied and understood, it totally contradicts its theoretical basis of “Everything for everyone,” or as Karl Marx would put it: “a classless, stateless system based on common ownership and free-access, superabundance and maximum freedom for individuals to develop capacities and talents.” 

The way things have actually went down, communism was a way for governments to give nothing to anyone, and keep everything to itself. This, in strong contradiction to true communism, should more accurately be referred to as Leninism.

Ironically enough, it seems that true communism and true democracy are, in fact, two sides of the same shiny gold coin.

Bob Dylan Said

In Martin Scorsese’s documentary on Bob Dylan, No Direction Home, there’s a scene where Dylan recalls being called a communist at times in the 60’s for singing about civil rights and walking around with a guitar. Dylan admits he “didn’t even know what a communist was.” The same can probably be said about most people today, but that won’t keep the masses from ending capitalism and seeking out social justice anyway.

And chances are, it’ll probably be called something else anyway. Moses may have called it Judaism when freeing Egypt’s large slave population of Israelites. Christianity, as Jesus Christ’s teachings are called, initially spread throughout the Roman Empire’s massive slave and under-privileged populations for its popular notions of equality and social justice. Muhammad of Mecca called it Islam when his proclamations that all people were equal before the eyes of God found resonance with Mecca’s youth, unprotected immigrants and slaves, as well as tribesman who had failed to attain first rank.

[A Roman slave, persuaded to convert to Christianity, distributes his master’s bread to the poor and needy. From Alejandro Amenábar’s film: Agora.]

The sheer success of what could arguably be the biggest “revolutions” in human history can probably be attributed to revelations that were beneficial to underprivileged majorities as opposed to the ruling minorities of any given time.

This means that the current Global Uprising in the making, soon-to-become Global Revolution, is deemed for success, for the world’s majority is definitely underprivileged, against a minority of politicians and capitalists who’ve had complete carte blanche in shaping the world of today. Alas, capitalism has failed humanity, and no number of reforms will alter that.

Take Me to Your Leader

The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces in Egypt has continuously criticized the Egyptian uprising for not producing a unified leader to speak on the people’s behalf. This has lead to a continuously increasing number of coalition and political party formations, many of which have rendezvoused with the Supreme Council to sign agreements in hopes of putting the revolution to rest.

Demonstrations, strikes, and other forms of protest carry on regardless, because today’s revolution, unlike revolutions of the past, is leaderless.

If Muhammad of Mecca had agreed to the proposition offered by the powerful merchants of the time to abandon his preaching in exchange for his admission into their inner circle and an advantageous tribal marriage, that would’ve been the end of the “Islamic revolution” right then and there.

This revolution -this Global Revolution- unlike those historically helmed by a single leader,  is the type of organic manifestation of a shepherdless proletarian revolution that Karl Marx predicted. Stating it would take place upon the development of productive forces that would lead to a superabundance of material wealth.

For such a development to happen, the Industrial Age needed to copulate with the Digital Age. Only the development of sophisticated programming softwares, together with hi-tech manufacturing facilities could produce highly automated production capabilities. Combine that with the Information Age, and you have global “enlightenment,” a mass population immune to propaganda, and a society that interacts on a stateless level.

This would mean that machines, Information Technology, and the World-Wide Web… the products of capitalism itself… are to be the very death of capitalism.

How gorgeously mythological.

On Mythology

What we are ultimately facing here today is the culmination of humanity’s struggle to find justice while confronting the temptation of greed. 

An astonishingly resonating quote by ancient Egyptian pharaoh, Akhenaton, reads “To be satisfied with a little, is the greatest wisdom; and he who increases his riches, increases his cares.”

A continuation of this struggle can be found in the stories and works of Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad. Aristotle. Plato. Buddha. Al-Farabi. William Morris. Ambrogio Lorenzetti. Thomas Moore. Robin Hood. Leonardo Da Vinci. Laozi. Zhuangzi. Proudhon. Enragés. William Godwin. Thomas Jefferson. Ahmed Orabi. Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Josiah Warren. Mikhael Bakunin. Karl Marx. Ernesto Guevara. Woody Guthrie. Bob Marley. Martin Luther King. Joey Skaggs. Noel Godin. Constant Nieuwenhuys. Angie Zelter. Charlie Todd. Vanya. John Jordan. Rage Against The Machine. Chuck Palahniuk. March Achbar. Adbusters Magazine. Michael Moore. Ahmad Fouad Nigm. Banksy. Naomi Klien. Tanya Stephens. Jeff Howe. And many, many more.

This revolution has been a long time coming.

Hello, World War III

We are bound to be subject to a lot more than just slurs and smear campaigns. For the guardians of capitalism will not let go without a hard, hard fight. Driven entirely by greed and fear, they will have no choice but to resort to violent measures against the revolting masses. And because fear is as contagious as courage, many will be swayed to protect capitalism and/or the old guard in the name of security and the well-being of humanity. Those guided by hope for human justice will press on.

The brutality of regimes against their own people will lead other governments to forcefully intervene. Other Powers with interests in these regimes will have to take harsh military measures. Massive alliances will be made -Allies and Axis style- and the many idle weapons of doom, produced by capitalism and sold throughout the world, will be put to their designated use.

The biggest war in human history will scorch the Earth and end in widespread destruction and despair. Super-boundless atomic radiation of epidemic proportions will throw the Earth’s ecosystems off balance. The limited human population remaining will be forced to scavenge the Earth for survival in a turbulent post-apocalyptic world. 

After millennia of recovery, the Earth will be reborn as the lush green paradise promised to humanity by our ancestors a long, long time ago.

———————————————————————————————————— 

References:

Watt, The Cambridge History of Islam (1977), p. 36.

Israel-Egypt: A Review of Bilateral Ties - The Jewish Virtual Library:

F.A.Q. on U.S. Aid to Egypt: Where Does the Money Go - And Who Decides How It’s Spent? - ProPublica: 

James L. Williams (1998-10-02). “Graph of Natural Gas Futures Prices – NYMEX”. Wtrg.com. Retrieved 2011-02-06.

U.S. Military Aid and the Israel/Palestine Conflict - If Americans Knew

U.S. Arms Sales to Israel End Up In China, Iraq by Jonathan Reingold - CommonDreams.org:

World Military Spending by Anup Shah - Global Issues:

List of countries by cement production - Wikipedia:

The Chaos of the Corruption: Challenges for the improvement of the Palestinian society

 The Tunnels of Gaza by Sara Flounders: 

 UAE, Saudis, Egypt, Algeria top ME arms buyers - Jerusalem Post:

 America’s hottest export: Weapons - CNN Money

  Arms Industry - Wikipedia:

Outside In - by Ursula Lindsey

After nine years living in Egypt I would say that Egyptians have no problem with actual foreigners, but huge ones with imaginary ones. 

During the 18 days of the revolution, the demonstrators were foreign agents and foreign infiltrators. State TV ran interviews with hopped-up teenagers swearing they heard people in Tahrir speaking Arabic “but their accent was not Egyptian!!” 

[illustration by Ganzeer]

“We get your message,” the presenter would say, nodding gravely. My zabbal* told me matter-of-factly: “Those boys and girls are all trained by Israelis. Everybody says so.” Meanwhile, almost every foreign journalist I know was beaten or barely escaped a beating, by a real or a stage-managed mob. Mubarak said he wouldn’t step down because of “foreign dictates.” 

But also, late one night, leaving Tahrir Square with my husband, we heard someone running up behind us, and as we turned somewhat nervously, a young man we didn’t know caught up with us. “You must be the ones with the foreign agenda!” he laughed. Omar Suleiman** had just gone on in an interview about the “foreign agendas” behind the protests, and some demonstrators had brought actually agendas to shake mockingly in his face. 

[Omar Suleiman in an interview saying its the Islamic current that has pushed the young to revolt, that El Baradei does not count as opposition, that Egyptians are not ready for democracy, and any ideas they have about it are not their own and comes from abroad.]

Every single Arab regime in crisis has done the same: called its people traitors, trying to make them outcasts. It’s first and foremost a declaration of contempt: Only foreign minds could conceive of such bold change. 

It was to be expected, but I have to admit, I’m surprised by how this charge has persisted past its expiration date, the foreigner/activist/journalist/spy/agent/saboetur/thug/protester category continuing to morph and expand and confuse, cast its emotionally charged, intellectually sloppy shadow over every conflict. Sectarian clashes, street fights, terrorist attacks, general instability — it is all the work of unspecified outsiders.

Generals who receive a $1.3 billion allowance from the US are launching a special investigation into foreign funding to local human rights NGOs. One of Mubarak’s lawyers, Yousri Abdel Razeq, says it was foreigners — Iranians and members of Hamas —who shot the demonstrators.

 Of course this is all shameless bait-and-switch. While the SCAF drones on about “foreign hands,” the same gallery of grotesques still colonizes the airwaves with their choked-up, amnesiac hysterics. Patriotism is the last resort of a scoundrel, etc. I’m looking at you, Amr Adeeb***. 

But if this manipulation works, that must be because it speaks of and to something that is actually there — a wounded dignity, a persistent fear, a fantasy of closing ranks. (Islamists have it particularly bad, condemning the total corruption of Western society and in the same breath earnestly demanding that that very West recognize the superiority of Islam). 

In recent months, some Al Azhar students I contact on Facebook — where they have set up a public group demanding reforms — accuse me of “foreign interference” for asking for an interview. A lawyer who I want to go to court with says she is afraid people there will take me for a “spy.” 

I take it as a sign of both how assimilated I’ve become and how helpless I feel that I now fantasize regularly about appearing on Egyptian TV talk shows to demolish the bombastic fraudulent xenophobia of the moment. (I have long entertained similar fantasies about making guest appearances on Fox TV, to stump its screeching liars. The Egyptian version is a more intense fantasy, however, since in it I speak Arabic fluently). 

It’s not just foreigners but many Egyptians who — because of their haircuts, their fluent English or their political opinions — are dismissed as khawagas****. In the days I spent in Tahrir, more than once I stood by while Egyptians yelled at each other: “You’re not Egyptian! No, you‘re not Egyptian!” 

Today the country is continuing to play this dangerous game, banning Egyptians with a foreign grandparent from running for president; most likely not allowing Egyptians abroad to vote in the upcoming elections; smearing activists and youth groups for allegedly receiving foreign funding. Shrinking what it can mean to be Egyptian to the narrowest, stingiest definition. 

The Egyptian revolution — despite what both lobbyists in Washington and paranoids in State Security and demagogues on TV talk shows would have you believe — was 1% foreign interference (and that mostly in the form of Tunisian inspiration) and 99% Brave Angry Amazing Egyptian Crazy. 

So why this lack of confidence? The fact that Egypt has been the victim of real conspiracies and real attacks is no excuse. Of course foreign powers will meddle. But Egypt can write its own history. 

I’ve always felt it’s in poor taste to complain about my host country. I’ve written all this well knowing Egypt has bigger problems than my comfort level; well aware of my freedom to leave anytime, my expat privilege and my country’s shitty foreign policy in the region.

I’ve never had much patience for the sentimental, nostalgic literature of a Robert Solé, the laments for a lost cosmopolitan pre-1952 salon where the natives were little more than picturesque wallpaper. But I believe Egypt will be the richer for engaging with its foreign elements, with the full spectrum of what it has meant and means to be Egyptian.Look at Beer in the Snooker Club, that Egyptian masterpiece written in English, a grapple with the class-politics and the politics-politics and the plain humanity of a tragi-comic khawaga complex. 

As someone who has gained so much by living in Egypt, I can’t help but feel how much Egypt has to gain by living in the world. And how much to lose by knee-jerk nativism, by building national identity on the shaky foundations of being aggrieved and self-righteous and suspicious. 

During the revolution, when Egyptians asked what I thought of what was going on, I tended to modulate my support, out of a certain professional coyness, that pretense journalists affect of not taking sides. Now, I also hesitate to express my enthusiasm for fear of tainting its object— my foreigner’s solidarity not only impugned, but incriminating to others. 

But of course I supported and I support the Egyptian revolution. On the first morning of it all, with the NDP building still billowing smoke, we expats wandered around Tahrir like everyone else, dazed and elated, taking in a reality set electrifyingly askew. But in the following weeks, among the crowds, I moved at a certain clip — pausing inevitably attracted too much attention, too many questions, the first of which was always: “Where are you from?” Then, “Why are you here?”

Perhaps I was too cautious, too self-conscious. It is one of my great regrets, that I was unable to melt, to mingle, to just take it all unreservedly in. I accept it, though — this isn’t a battle or a time I would pretend to call my own. It’s an honor just to assist.  

*Garbage collector

**Mubarak’s cadaverous spy-master, appointed vice-president during the revolution

***TV presenter with a distinguished record of sycophancy and demagoguery. Egypt’s less hallucinatory but equally obnoxious Glenn Beck. 

****Colloquial term for foreigner (the Egyptian equivalent of “gringo”) 

—

First published on Arabist.net on August 29, 2001

I Still Remember - by Psypherize

I remember during the early hours of January the 29th, after hours of battling with the police all over Cairo and Egypt. It was the first time for me to see the Army take to the streets of Cairo and descend on Tahrir Square where I was. Troops and tanks and APCs. An overwhelming sight to some, not so much to others. For others had shared with me the worries of the Army’s intervention in this revolution, that eventually it would evolve into a military dictatorship imposed by the Army generals who are basically just another group of Mubarak loyalists.

I remember the delay it took the army to separate the protesters from the police and stop the killings was deliberate and that it took hours, for the fighting stopped in the later hours of the morning of that day. The army found it much more of a priority to protect things like the American and British Embassies over the Egyptians themselves.

I remember the people flocking to the streets just to watch all those army tanks, take pictures next to them, shake hands with the Egyptian soldiers and junior officers. How everybody was too happy and too overwhelmed by the presence of all those people in military uniform on the streets and how much respect they had shown towards those people in comparison to the police personnel. How the police were entirely absent from the streets and everybody had to take up their own arms and create civilian police and neighborhood watch to protect their own shops and homes, with the help of the army.

I remember the people in Tahrir Square on the very first days of peaceful demonstrations in Tahrir Square chanting ‘The people and the army are one’. So many had their hopes up that the army would listen to the voice of the people and make sure their demands are made a reality and that the regime would actually fall.

I remember the early hours of the afternoon on February 2nd, and how the army had given way for all the pro-Mubarak thugs to attack us in Tahrir Square and it remained idle as the battle raged on for more than 15 hours all around the Egyptian Museum, the overpass over Abdul Moneim Riyad Square leading to Ramses St. and the 6th of October bridge, until they had finally started to take action and set up a perimeter around Tahrir Square.

I remember how people started getting arrested by the army during the early days of the revolution under ridiculous accusations; from being a spy to supplying foreign funds to the Square, how my Spanish friend, who was a photojournalist was arrested and abused by the military intelligence under accusations of being a spy, how Egyptian fixers who worked with foreign journalists during the revolution were subjected to worse treatment by the very people who should protect us.

I remember how after Mubarak had stepped down, people celebrated for many hours all over the country, thinking that the worst was over and that the regime was finally brought down and that the revolution was finally over, how later on dissensions started to manifest between the Egyptian people on the remnants of the older regime and the continued sit-in in Tahrir Square.

I remember how we had to act to disband State Security ourselves on March 4th, when it should have been the army doing it, instead giving time for those SS officers to destroy all the important documents that would incriminate a lot of corrupt figures of the old regime if brought to light. How they prompted to act quick in the main SS headquarters in Nasr City when people managed to break their way in and photograph many documents and break into many officers and cells. How an army captain had stopped me from taking a hard drive from a server computer in one of the senior SS officers’ offices.

I remember how Amr el-Beheiry was arrested by the army when we first protested against the former PM Ahmad Shafik in front of the Cabinet Council and how he was sentenced to 5 years in military prison after being falsely accused of possessing a weapon illegally without a permit after it was planted by the army.

I remember how we were attacked on March 9th, how when the army intervened they started arresting all the protesters, had them rounded up in the Egyptian Museum and had them tortured while subjecting all the women to ‘virginity check’s thinking they were prostitutes. Many were cheering for such an incident for the army had been using the media to turn the public opinion against the protests in Tahrir Square.

I remember on April 8th, how the Free Army Officers of Egypt came to the Square and chanted with us against the SCAF, demanding Mubarak be tried and the demands of the revolution be met, how after midnight thousands of army personnel, from military police to stormtroopers to spec-ops descended on the Square, surrounding the protesters, and how the central security forces were using the army’s umbrella to attack them, how the firing lasted for 2 and a half hours, a well half hour after the curfew had ended, how Ali Maher was killed and how the April 8th officers were rounded up and sent to military prison with charges of ‘dissension and mutiny’.

I remember the death of Ramy Fakhry at the army checkpoint, how his car was shot by the army thinking he was a drug dealer and how when the truth came out, his family never got to have solace over knowing the circumstances of his death or see any kind of justice for such a killing.

I remember how the army had shown utter failure at protecting the churches that were attacked all over Cairo, especially Imbaba and Atfih, and how the Interior Ministry was attacked and set on fire, and how the old Central Bank Headquarters was set on fire as well.

I remember May 15th, and how the army had displayed such amazing feats at protecting the Zionist Embassy and attacking the protesters in Giza, how they gave way for the police to put an amazing show of their brutality and audacity in attacking the protesters using excessive force, as if we never had #Jan25 at all. How several friends of mine were arrested along with many and how they were abused by both the police and the military until they were later on released by military court only due to the large support they had from the public.

I remember May 27th and how many looked at it with disgust and malcontent, thinking that we’re instigators, only seeking complete chaos and wanting to ruin Egypt. I remember how plans for July 8th had started to take form and how before that the families of the martyrs had decided to do a head start and begin their sit-in at Maspero on June 24th.

I remember how on June 28th, they were attacked by the police and how the battle raged on for more than 15 hours in Tahrir Square and Mohammad Mahmoud St. before the army showed up later only to protect the Interior Ministry and round-up all the arrested “thugs” and had them undergo military trials, including the blogger and activist Loai Nagati.

I remember how when the July 8th sit-in had started, the SCAF kept using the state media to turn the public opinion gradually against the protesting in Tahrir Square. How they related the ‘smooth traffic flow’ in Tahrir Square to things like the country’s GDP, economy and production. How we were called thugs, rioters, spies, instigators and traitors.

I remember how on the 1st of Ramadan, the sit-in was brutally attacked by the army, in their supreme battle to “free” Tahrir Square from it’s “foreign occupation”. How many people cheered thinking that salvation had come at least, and that all the ‘trouble-makers’ were being rounded up. How they attacked the people inside Omar Makram mosque (a reminiscent of Napoleon and his army). How a mother of one of the #Jan25 martyrs was attacked and how many were arrested.

I remember how heroes like former Chief of Staff Saad Eddin el-Shazly were forgotten and exiled. Conscript Sulaiman Khater and how he was killed, Ahmad Hassan and how he was imprisoned. Mahmoud Noor Eddin and how he was betrayed, imprisoned and left to die in prison. Last but not least, Lieutenant Colonel Ayman Salem. How our own military intelligence was part of the CIA rendition program. How Omar Sulaiman and his goons were responsible for the torture of many ‘terrorist’ suspects who were handed over by American intelligence. Major Ahmad Shuman and the April 8th Officers.

I remember the thousands of people currently held in military prisons. How an activist was fined 20,000 EGPs for what she had said on Twitter. How a TV presenter was fired from her job for criticizing the SCAF. How activists are falsely accused of receiving foreign funds when it’s the SCAF itself receiving a 1.3 billion USD of military aid from the US every year. How people simply get prosecuted and jailed by the military for chanting against the SCAF.

I remember how I had a conversation with a special forces lieutenant at the American Embassy once and saw how he was brainwashed by the SCAF into thinking that this revolution is a foreign conspiracy. How a former Major General of Staff named Hussam Suwailem had accused America of paying $270 million USD for Egyptian activists to start #Jan25. How Major General Hassan el-Ruweini had been spreading lies in Tahrir Square.

I remember how the police would keep saying ‘The Army is on our side’, ‘Do you really think you did a revolution?’ while they would be beating up people that they managed to arrest during clashes with the police in different stages of the revolution.

I remember all the lies I have seen coming from the SCAF ever since #Jan25 whether it came from their own statements or the media that they control.

I remember all the lies I was taught in history class in our schools about the revolution in 1952, the Naksa in 1967 and the October War in 1973 and the Camp David Accords. All the lies about Nasser and Sadat, all the lies about Mubarak and several Army Generals. All the lies they keep feeding to young students in schools everyday and new recruits in the army everyday.

I still remember.

Civilization and the Cultural Explosion in Egypt: A view from Germany - by Carambolage

In my ongoing series of rants on  Arab culture, I offer you this:

In the venerable computer game of Civilization, the borders of your nation are set, amongst other things, by the amount of culture you produce. In this game, culture is calculated by taking the artistic, religious and technological improvement you have built in any given city, then multiplied through wonders or global improvements you have built in your capital cities. Occasionally a great artist or other personage will appear, allowing you to further enhance your cultural reputation. You can even set the national budget to support culture, which makes people happy.



This metaphor is not that farfetched: Reality requires similar structures to exist for culture to become a meaningful tool of politics and diplomacy: places that represent your culture, whether it be religious, artistic or a philosophical point of view. People who identify with the flavour of the culture on display are needed to populate those locales. Every now and then one of them will gain a reputation that goes beyond the borders of your country, even though this is far more random than Civilization makes it appear.  The cultural message the population puts out is multiplied by the media and institutions located in various metropolæ.

But before looking at the broader picture,  let’s focus on the act of producing culture for a moment. The so-called creative moment. The myth of the creative spark that floats unto the artist from the heavens is much overhyped. Having said that: It usually begins with an inspiration. This is usually caused by various factors in your surroundings: The beauty or brutality of a moment. The way the light streams through the leaves of the trees. A new smell. Social injustice. You perceive something and think “I have something to say about that”. That’s about all there is to it.


Now, an idea has been planted in your head, one that will not go away. Not only do you have something to say about it, you have a rough idea what your skills will allow you to make of it. The way you approach it separates culture, in this context the arts, from politics, academia, or journalism. And again, separated into various subgenres of art. Painting, writing, singing, designing, installations, performance art – and from there onwards to further subdivision. What the initial idea finally turns into is as dependent on the person doing the turning as it is on what surrounds that person.

And now, the word revolution has been used. Specifically Egypt, as I am more familiar with the changes the Egyptian revolution is bringing to artistic thinking and the perception of the artist in what I consider to be home than in the other countries.

In interviews, cultural activists talk about the ignition of creativity in the population. Many people turned to the arts to express themselves - doctors discovered their talent for comedy, such as the brilliant Mr. Nana from India on Tahrir, the countless graffiti found decorating the walls around the plaza, the stages on which many singers and poets found their voice and lent it to their listeners, political art was created in amazing quantity by what seems from after to be just about everyone.

Not all of this art was of a high quality. This is to be expected. It takes the average or superior artist their whole life to perfect their chosen form. To expect a sudden awakening of talent to also convey the skills of someone training themselves for years instantaneously is overly optimistic.

But it also gave many artists their first opportunity to talk freely about subjects they feel passionately about. Under the Mubarak regime, very few artists managed to do their thing without government interference or fear of imprisonment. Art, and the perception of it, degenerated to a point where the entire country seemed to be producing kitschy landscapes, papyrus or pop songs. There was an underground, of course. But where can the underground express itself when the state seems to loom everywhere, even in your most secret hiding places.

And when you did produce something worth showing, you still had to present it, in most cases, to a state-sponsored censor, who would suggest changes to the work that would undermine its relevance. Even the more liberal galleries were careful not to show anything too subversive. “We would love to, but it’s too loaded, we’ll lose our license” was a commonly uttered sentence.

It felt slightly pointless, even though many persevered on principle. A good film to watch about this is Microphone, by Ahmed Abdallah. Ironically released in theaters on the 25th of January, it portrays an attempt to stage a small underground music festival in Alexandria.

The change in the perception of the role of art that Tahrir brought with it can not be understated. The long Arab tradition of political songwriting was revived, uniting the masses and giving them hope and courage to continue in their struggle. Suddenly, visual artists with political messages no longer had to hide behind facades of conformity. They are now able, repression from the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (one of the most pompous monickers to ever spring from a revolution) nonwithstanding, to display their interpretation of events and opinions freely. Political awakening, accompanied by artistic awakening. Subtle subtextual messages are no longer required to bring your point across.

The cultural production generated on Tahrir was, along with the politics of the event, the first thing to reach us in Germany. Who was writing the new songs? Where did the graffiti come from? Which minds were thinking up installations? Who are the bloggers? Which opinions were being expressed, in which language? How is art affecting popular opinion? 

Which brings us back to Civilization. The cultural border of Egypt before the revolution was nonexistent. Even though culture was being produced, most of the cultural exports were of such low quality that visiting an exhibition on the Pharaohs reavealed more about the current character of Egyptian society than visiting an exhibition of contemporary, government-sponsored art. We were aware of some breakout artists- Khaled Khamissi, Tamim Barghouti, Yasser Gaessa come to mind- but where were the others? Where was the mass of young artists those who visited the country knew existed. They did not make an impact beyond their circle of friends at home. You had to discover the hidden channels through which this culture was being published. There were no magazines, or websites openly dedicated to art. *

The perception was that Egypt was mostly being influenced by Western culture and did not add very much to global culture. Egypt was the Pharaohs, Mubarak, Khan-El-Khalili, Soufi Dancers, Om Kolthoum and Mohammad Mounir. There was no new artistic edge, nothing that warranted much discussion or particular attention, again, with some exceptions. The films and music that did make it here made it as much by hype as by the desperation of people to say “Look, we have produced a film that is being shown in foreign cinemas”. This did not mean they were particularly good, or representative. They were there, and we were somewhat proud of it. The Yacoubian Building is one of those examples, though I am presenting it through the filter of my own perception.  

Contrast this perception with the cinematic and cultural output from the 1950s – 70s and how Egypt was perceived then. A picture of steady decline, erosion of artistic freedom and dumbing down of art. The choices were to emigrate and do your thing, or stay home and be schizophrenic. Schizophrenic in the sense that you went about your day job and hid your evening activities. And in many cases, abused drugs to get over the depression this caused. Being a fulltime, young artist, was even more impossible than it is anywhere else. This has hopefully changed, even if I still hear some people have to keep up their day jobs a bankers while flying to all manner of events to perform there. You know who you are. 

[Munich Freisprechanlage]

But the fact that they are being flown to such events, the fact that many websites dedicated to art and culture have sprung up, that they are freely accessible to those outside Egypt, that the concept  Egyptian Pavillion in Venice revolved around a young artist killed, or martyred during the revolution all point to a change in the way Egyptian art is percieved outside the country. There is now a perception of a young, energetic art scene, prepared to go to great lengths to get their message across. They export current social and political opinions in ways even people who do not understand Arabic can relate to.** 

A good part of a recent poetry festival in Berlin was dedicated to young Arab spoken word performers. Panels are being held, amongst them a panel by the Anna Lindh-Stiftung in Berlin, and that of the Freisprechanlage in Munich, on the changing role of culture in Egyptian and Arab society. Do I have to mention Londons Shubbak Festival? Young artists are being flown in, along with their art, to allow us poor foreigners to catch up with the last 30 years of underground production. Even though pop culture is an important part of culture, it seldom yields deeper insights into the problems affecting a society, or the opinion of the man on the street, unless he happens to be in love or cruising in his car.  

Now, a few months later, observers of the Egyptian cultural scene cannot help but be familiar with names such as Ganzeer, El_Teneen, Mariam and Abou, Masar Egbari, Deeb,  and of course many many others, not to mention websites and blogs. They spring up by the day. They have political and social views they are expressing through art. They are reaching a global audience. 

To return to gaming terminology: Level up. ***
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* Even though this is changing on a grass-roots level, the state has yet to embrace the explosion of soft political power its people are putting out. In fact, I hear that they are trying to repress it- again. ** The use of Arabic in songs and on blogs has increased manyfold since January. Apart from a growing national pride, this also reflects whom the artists are trying to reach.  

 *** I seldom play Civilisation as the Egyptians. Their attributes are simply too weak. Let’s see what future versions bring. 

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Small disclaimer: This is a rant, put together from observation, personal impressions and discussions. I am intentionally leaving myself wide-open to critisism and discussion. 

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[This was originally published at: http://caramk.blogspot.com/2011/08/culture-ideas-revolution-all-these.html]

A Letter To The SCAF - by Psypherize

King Farouk I of Egypt; overthrown in the July 23 Revolution in 1952, with a military coup d’état by a group of young army officers who named themselves ‘The Free Officers Movement’. After which the movement had begun to establish a republic, known today as the ‘Arab Republic of Egypt’.

The Free Officers Movement’ was formed by a group of reform minded officers which, backed by the Soviet Union and the United States, coalesced around a young officer named Gamal Abdel Nasser. They used an army general, Muhammad Naguib, as its head to show their seriousness and attract more army followers.

In the heat of the revolution, Lieutenant General Muhammad Naguib wrote a letter that he conveyed to King Farouk on the 26th July upon the king’s abdication, an image of the original copy of the letter you’ll see below,

An English translation of the letter goes,

From Lieutenant General Muhammad Naguib, in the name of the Free Officers and the Army, to His Majesty, King Farouk I;

“In view of what the country has suffered in the recent past, the complete vacuity prevailing in all corners as a result of your bad behavior, your toying with the constitution, and your disdain for the wants of the people, no one rests assured of life, livelihood, and honor. Egypt’s reputation among the peoples of the world has been debased as a result of your excesses in these areas to the extent that traitors and bribe-takers find protection beneath your shadow in addition to security, excessive wealth, and many extravagances at the expense of the hungry and impoverished people. You manifested this during and after the Palestine War in the corrupt arms scandals and your open interference in the courts to try to falsify the facts of the case, thus shaking faith in justice. Therefore, the army, representing the power of the people, has empowered me to demand that Your Majesty abdicate the throne to His Highness Crown Prince Ahmed Fuad, provided that this is accomplished at the fixed time of 12 o’clock noon today (Saturday, the 26th July 1952, the 4th of Zul-Qa’ada 1371), and that you depart the country before 6 o’clock in the evening of the same day. The army places upon Your Majesty the burden of everything that may result from your failure to abdicate according to the wishes of the people.”

Striking words! The King in the end had indeed abdicated the throne and the Arab Republic of Egypt was formed, with the Egyptian masses celebrating what was then the end of ‘tyranny’.

But on the span of 1952 to 2011, did we really change to the better? Did we live to see these words take form in reality? Did we really live to see the end of tyranny and corruption?

From the days of Gamal Abdel Nasser, till the reign of Mubarak, we lived to see military dictatorship take form, sugar-coated with fake democracy and later on enforced by a state of emergency and the police to create oppressive systems of surveillance coercing people’s conformity, telling people how to move, how to think and what to say.

#Jan25 had managed to overthrow Mubarak but in his place we had become subjugated by the redundant military mind of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which absolutely has no legitimacy whatsoever in assuming legislative, executive and judicial authorities of the country all-in-one. They had manage to legitimize their existence under the claim of protecting the revolution. But many have been detained in military prisons under the label of vandalism, thuggery and spying. The new interim Cabinet so far had not been able to take major steps to introduce political reform because of how the Prime Minister Essam Sharaf and the rest of them being held back by the SCAF. It is becoming clear now that the only way to counter the SCAF is through mass protests and civil disobedience.

So as a letter was sent to King Farouk I, the people of Egypt are also sending the SCAF a similar letter demanding them to step down and allow the people to assume control of the country. We are DONE with military rule, an army’s job is to protect and serve the country, not claim ownership over it. Egypt belongs to it’s people, not the SCAF.

It’s time to end it! Down down with the SCAF!

WikiLeaks: Simply Overrated - by Psypherize

[illustration by Ganzeer]

Throughout last year, the World had undergone political earthquakes because of the continued release of classified documents by WikiLeaks and it’s founder Julian Assange, exposing a lot of dirt on governments and living up to WikiLeaks’ slogan “We open Governments”. This sparked up many questions on WikiLeaks and the people working behind it, with people absolutely believing in their cause, and people having sneaking suspicion of WikiLeaks being a masterfully crafted ploy.

But for those who don’t know much about WikiLeaks, what is WikiLeaks?

WikiLeaks is an international new media non-profit organisation that publishes submissions of otherwise unavailable documents from anonymous news sources & news leaks. The organisation has described itself as having been founded by Chinese dissidents, as well as journalists, mathematicians, and start-up company technologists from the United States, Taiwan, Europe, Australia, and South Africa. Julian Assange, an Australian Internet activist, is generally described as its director and founder.

Now a little bit of history about WikiLeaks, in April 2010, WikiLeaks posted video from a 2007 incident in which Iraqi civilians and journalists were killed by US forces, on a website called Collateral Murder. In July of the same year, WikiLeaks released the Afghan War Diary, a compilation of more than 76,900 documents about the War in Afghanistan not previously available for public review. In October 2010, the group released a package of almost 400,000 documents called the Iraq War Logs in coordination with major commercial media organisations. In November 2010, WikiLeaks began releasing U.S. State department diplomatic cables.

As much toxic leakage as WikiLeaks had made on many Governments, a number of commentators, particularly in Turkey and Russia, have been wondering why the hundreds of thousands of American classified documents leaked by the website last month did not contain anything that may embarrass the Israeli government, like just about every other state referred to in the documents. So how would you explain this?

According to an Arabic investigative journalism website, Assange had received money from semi-official Israeli sources and promised them, in a “secret, video-recorded agreement,” not to publish any document that may harm Israeli security or diplomatic interests. The sources of the Al-Haqiqa report are said to be former WikiLeaks volunteers who have left the organisation in the last few months over Assange’s “autocratic leadership” and “lack of transparency.” Furthermore, Assange’s eagerness for headline-grabbing scoops meant that WikiLeaks had not been able to ‘restructure’ itself to cope with this surge of interest, insiders add. This has meant that smaller leaks, which might be of interest to people at a local level, are now being overlooked for the sake of big stories.

According to the Al-Haqiqa sources, Assange met with Israeli officials in Geneva earlier this year and struck the secret deal. The Israel government, it seems, had somehow found out or expected that the documents to be leaked contained a large number of documents about the Israeli attacks on Lebanon and Gaza in 2006 and 2008-9 respectively. These documents, which are said to have originated mainly from the American embassies in Tel Aviv and Beirut, where removed and possibly destroyed by Assange, who is the only person who knows the password that can open these documents, the sources added. Morever, according to another report, a left-leaning Lebanese newspaper had met with Assange twice and tried to negotiate a deal with him, offering “a big amount of money”, in order to get hold of documents concerning the 2006 war, particularly the minutes of a meeting held at the American embassy in Beirut on 24th July 2006, which is widely considered as a ‘war council’ meeting between American, Israeli and Lebanese parties that played a role in the war again Hizbullah and its allies. The documents the Al-Akhbar editors received, however, all date to 2008 onwards and do not contain “anything of value,” the sources confirm. This only goes to support the Israel deal allegations.

Looking at the cables, you would indeed notice a time gap, stretching over the period of July 2006, when the war on Lebanon took place, that lasted for 33 days. Is it really logical that US diplomats had nothing to discuss on this tissue, or even addressing more trivial political matters in the Middle East? I find it hard to believe so.

But that’s not the whole aspect of the story, one thing that I find quite paradoxical about Julian Assange is how he is annoyed by 9/11 truthers, how he discredits and dismisses any theories that postulate 9/11 being an inside job, or having both the Israeli and American Governments involved in. Given though there is overwhelming evidence that would point to such a fact, whether coming from video footage of the event, discrepancies and omissions in the 9/11 Commission Report, or many statements coming from structural engineers, firefighters, police officers and emergency rescue team members that all seem to somehow confirm the real truth that is to be said about 9/11. In fact Julian Assange was quoted to have said in an interviewwith the Belfast Telegraph,

“I’m constantly annoyed that people are distracted by false conspiracies such as 9/11, when all around we provide evidence of real conspiracies, for war, or mass financial fraud.”

Now Assange isn’t really that unintelligent, so how do you explain such a perspective coming from a man like him, who claims to be a freedom fighter, who helps the oppressed, and exposes ‘real’ conspiracies, there are 3 possibilities:

1. He is ignorant of the vast body of material evidence that demonstrates how 9/11 was a false flag run by American and/or Israeli intelligence agencies.
2. He is picking his battles and doesn’t want to deal with an inevitable conspiracy theory like 9/11, which might end up ruining his media access.
3. He is part of or running a limited hangout or honeypot.

A limited hangout, or partial hangout, is a public relations or propaganda technique that involves the release of previously hidden information in order to prevent a greater exposure of more important details. It takes the form of deception, misdirection, or coverup often associated with intelligence agencies involving a release or “mea culpa” type of confession of only part of a set of previously hidden sensitive information, that establishes credibility for the one releasing the information who by the very act of confession appears to be “coming clean” and acting with integrity; but in actuality, by withholding key facts, is protecting a deeper operation and those who could be exposed if the whole truth came out. In effect, if an array of offenses or misdeeds is suspected, this confession admits to a lesser offense while covering up the greater ones. A limited hangout typically is a response to lower the pressure felt from inquisitive investigators pursuing clues that threaten to expose everything, and the disclosure is often combined with red herrings or propaganda elements that lead to false trails, distractions, or ideological disinformation; thus allowing covert or criminal elements to continue in their improper activities. On limited hangouts, Victor Marchetti writes:

“A ‘limited hangout’ is spy jargon for a favorite and frequently used gimmick of the clandestine professionals. When their veil of secrecy is shredded and they can no longer rely on a phony cover story to misinform the public, they resort to admitting - sometimes even volunteering - some of the truth while still managing to withhold the key and damaging facts in the case. The public, however, is usually so intrigued by the new information that it never thinks to pursue the matter further.”

And that is EXACTLY what WikiLeaks is… Controlled. I hardly think possibility #2 would be the correct one of all 3. If you want more evidence for such claims to still your doubts, here is an excerpt from an article in the Haaretz Newspaper on Julian Assange.

Haaretz - WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Wednesday defended his disclosure of classified U.S. documents by singling out Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as an example of a world leader who believes the publications will aid global diplomacy. “We can see the Israeli Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu coming out with a very interesting statement that leaders should speak in public like they do in private whenever they can,” Assange told Time Magazine in an interview on Wednesday, days after his online whistleblower published thousands of secret diplomatic cables. “He (Netanyahu) believes that the result of this publication, which makes the sentiments of many privately held beliefs public, are promising a pretty good [indecipherable] will lead to some kind of increase in the peace process in the Middle East and particularly in relation to Iran,” Assange said. “I just noticed today Iran has agreed to nuclear talks. Maybe that’s coincidence or maybe it’s coming out of this process, but it’s certainly not being canceled by this process,” he added.

Such a man, who adds to the process of the continued biased demonization of Iran, whilst overlooking all the crimes committed by the Zionists in Palestine. A man who truly believes that Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu as a example of a World leader to whom people should look up to, is nothing but a charlatan, a faker. Simply a poster child for media deception. A video made by an Anthony Lawson that shows how WikiLeaks has given the mainstream media yet another opportunity to vilify Iran. A typical headline, from the New York Times was: “Around the world distress over Iran.” And, ironically, it is true, but not in the way the headline writer meant. Around the world there is distress over Iran, distress at the way it is being cast in the role of the Evil Doer, when all but the most ignorant observers realize that it is nuclear-armed Apartheid Israel that is the real threat to world peace, not Iran.” according to the video’s description.

Lately these days, Julian Assange had desperately tried to make use of the Egyptian Revolution in order to find a way to finance his project, and with all the false claims in some of the media earlier that year that WikiLeaks was a ‘trigger’ of the Egyptian Revolution, it only gave more reason for a man like Assange to manipulate and try to commercialize our revolution for his personal benefit and gain.

Mr. Assange, you would not know anything about the Egyptian people for you to claim that it was you who sparked our revolution. Whatever it is that came from your leaked cables was already a part of an Egyptian’s general knowledge on the corruption in our country. Face it, you did not make #Jan25 nor the Arab Spring happen.

#July8: What Is Next? - by Psypherize

It’s been a week so far and the sit-in continues in Tahrir Square, with the power cut off during the day to keep us from using it to power fans and laptops. We had to get our very own generators and gasoline to power up any equipment we had in there. With small numbers in the Square during the day and many during most of the night, so far the response of the Government has been far less than satisfactory, with different cabinet changes and sacking of police officers in different provinces in Egypt, many have not found such changes to be enough for #Jan25 and are demanding that Sharaf would descend to Tahrir Square and stand with the people instead of keeping his post and serving as a puppet for the SCAF.

Today was another march to honor the death of another martyr of #Jan25, after months of lying down in a bed in the hospital, along with several marches that were calling for the sacking of the public prosecutor due to knowledge of his corruption.

So what is next for #July8?

#July8 was declared an open sit-in and that is the case so far. However, with the scorching heat of the day and Ramadan coming close, the SCAF and others are predicting that the heat would kill the sit-in slowly with the number of protesters thinning out every day. The exhaustion from the sit-in along with the disorganization that has been seen in Tahrir Square is making the sit-in not appealing to many people, even though we are there for the right reasons, to bring justice.

Justice, which is the foundation stone of ‘kinghood’ as many believe, and yet people walk through Tahrir Square every day, seeing the sit-in and all the people sleeping on the ground, or inside their tents with their demands held up high in banners all over the Square, and they ask the same arid question, “Why are all these people here? Haven’t they had enough ‘ruining’ the country? What more do they want from the present Government and the Army?” others would say the most negative comments, “Get a job!” During my days in the Square, I would see people getting taunted into a fight over such comments.

It is a sad thing to see so many people not understanding the plight of the families of the martyrs or the injured protesters of the Revolution. For most people, they would not tend to feel the suffering of others unless it becomes their own, only then do they get to experience such an awakening and start supporting the others, but why?

Me, Myself and I; it’s that philosophy of ‘every man for himself’ that had put us in such disunity and dismay for many years during the Mubarak regime. It was only when people stopped saying ‘Ana el awwal’ and started looking out for the person next to them that people had the strength and courage to take to the streets in protest and unite to eventually overthrow a dictator so powerful that nobody would have thought it to be possible. The conviction and pursuit of justice and hope was the idea that kept the people strong and banded together. An idea, with enough people can simply change the World.

Today, the idea of pursing justice however isn’t strongly sought by everybody in Egypt, only the people who are out there right now in Cairo, Alexandria, Suez and many other cities in Egypt, just staying there day and night, their spirits up high and their resolve unmatched for justice to happen.

Egyptian expats and internationals, who have come halfway across the World to join us, sleep, eat and remain with us and many who live in close proximity never even bother to spare even if at least an hour or two to join us and see the sit-in for what it really is. The ‘keyboard warriors’ that we see every day on Facebook and Twitter who find it too easy to blabber out all sorts of revolutionary slogans and statements but never bother to put the effort and join the sit-ins is but another phenomena that is quite disappointing.

[Impressions From Tahrir square after July 8th sit-in, as documented by Ganzeer]

Did people already forget what #Jan25 stood for? Did they already forget the demands that we had? Did they forget about the value of justice and pursing one’s rights? Do they not see how the SCAF and its ‘damage control’ policy to its own interests and trying to get the revolutionaries to compromise with the excuse of stability and the ‘wheel of production’? Are people still that naive to believe that all of a sudden now, the Egyptian media is still telling the truth and everything the SCAF says is true beyond any doubt?

We are doing this because it is just. Blood demands blood. Justice needs to be done as a first step towards reform; the system has to be cleansed from the roots of the corruption that was rampant during Mubarak’s regime. And we will stay and remain in protest until all the demands are met. You cannot compromise in the middle of a Revolution.

 “Advance, and never halt, for advancing is perfection. Advance and do not fear the thorns in the path, for they draw only corrupt blood. All that spirits desire, spirits attain.” – Khalil Gibran. 

From Protesting To Policy-Making by Ganzeer & Islam Mohamed

Do you still trust the government, or those who are still floating at the top? pulling all the strings and quashing those who oppose them through farcical trials and trumped-up charges?
 
Are you still hoping to raise either your hand or your voice high enough with a list of demands that they would listen to? or God forbid, embrace? Do you think they’re even concerned about what ‘we demand’?
 
Why honor an illegitimate authority placed there by Mubarak himself, one that refuses to honor our demands, listen, or even refrain from all the shit we’re fed up with. Instead they create a fertile ground for counter-revolutionary strategies and situations to thrive.
 
We should stop giving legitimacy to a goverment and powers that have stopped listening to the people. It’s the people who ARE the omnipresent legitimacy to any governing power at any point in time.

Instead of begging them to hear us out we should instead take our strength from our own numbers, formulate a roadmap for the Egypt we would love to see, and then order these ‘civil servants’ to honor the wishes of the People.
 
We propose creating a well-rounded questionnaire that covers the majority of our common concerns, and distributing it in Tahrir as an initial mass data collection process to document the major concerns that we as a people stand behind and demand- and thus forming a sound basis for possible policy formulations.

Example Questions:

هل  تحب أن يتخذ عضو مجلس الشعب قراراته دون مشاركة أبناء دائرته؟

هل لرئيس الجمهورية حق إتخاذ أي قرار دون الرجوع لمجلس الشعب و/أو القضاء؟

هل يتم إنتخاب وزراء الحكومة أم تعينهم؟

Do parliamentary members make decisions with or without the involvement of the neighborhoods they represent?

Can the president make decisions without the involvement of Parliament or the Judiciary system?

Should ministers be elected or hired?

[example questionnaire.]

 
These questionnaires can be distributed to Tahrir-goers as they enter the square, with ballot boxes placed centrally in plain view to deposit your filled out questionnaire. At the end of the day of protest, we would have won more than our angst and dissatisfaction with the powers that be, and would have gained valuable insight that may very well change the course and direction of our revolution.
 

[Civilian cordons giving out questionnaires.]

[Questionnaire should be articulated and designed in a very simple way.]

[Ballot boxes should be distributed around the square, guarded by individuals and made visible with a powerful fluorescent color and/or visual identity.]

[Transparent ballot boxes made out of tupperware.]

A policy booklet will then be compiled using the data gathered, entirely based on the input of a wide spectrum of Egyptian people who usually show up at Tahrir: different ages, classes, educational backgrounds, cultures, etc. 
 
And if the concept proves a success, it can be replicated throughout other cities, villages, and towns in Egypt.
 
Our revolution is not only backed by the voice of dissent & feelings of dissatisfaction, but it is also backed by hardcore knowledge and understanding. This in time will inevitably win more people, who may have not trusted the revolutionaries before, to our just cause.

Tahrir Square: The Strengths & Weaknesses of a Nation

“Y’see that fucker?”, says someone to me as he points to a young man on a Chinese motorbike powering a horribly wired stereo. It’s 4:00 AM in Tahrir square, Thursday, July 30. After a 2-day confrontation with hordes of aggressive and provocative riot police, a group of victorious revolutionaries call for a sit-in at Tahrir square and camp out for the night. And it’s here where the revolutionaries may no longer have the upper hand.

That “fucker” on the motorbike, along with a few others like him on motorbikes, was at the front lines of the epic street-battle between revolutionaries and riot police only a few hours earlier. Together with the rest of the gang of bikers, he whizzed through the rocks, bullets, and tear gas, risking his life to collect the injured and bike back to the makeshift clinic set up by pro-revolution doctors at the center of Tahrir square. This incredible feat of close-to-sacrificial duty was performed non-stop throughout the 2-day battle royal.

No one other than That Fucker could’ve assumed the position of front-line ambulance, for That Fucker is the only person equipped with the right vehicle, one that can move fast, take sharp turns, and avoid getting hit. That Fucker also has years of experience in stunt-like maneuvers, because getting around in Cairo traffic on a motorbike everyday involves just that. That Fucker is even used to having up to four other people on that bike with him, because sometimes you just need to give your homies a lift somewhere. Without anybody knowing it, for years That Fucker has been brought up to be the stealthiest, front-line ambulance motorbiking master. 

[Revolutionary Amublance-Biker courtesy of Reuters without permission.]

A little while later, another man strikes a conversation with me, and asks me about “the girls who look like foreigners, smoking cigarettes, and speaking perfect Egyptian Arabic.” I respond with a question “What about them?”

He says he finds it peculiar, that’s all. That he just wonders what they’re doing around the square after 4:00 in the morning. I tell him they’re doing what everybody else is doing. They’re doing the same thing those men over there, smoking and hanging out in the square at 4:00 in the morning are doing. They’re joining in solidarity. They’re Egyptian like you, they’re smokers like you, and they believe what you believe in. They’re just not being passive about it in the comfort of their homes.

The man then proceeds to apologize for being nosy and tells me that although he’s been living in Cairo for over 15 years, he is at his heart a Saeedi man from the village and can’t help but think like one.

At that exact moment, a boy, a little rough around the edges, runs past us, chased by half a dozen men. One of them shouts “get him!”

They do get him, and upon investigating the situation, it becomes apparent that the little kid stole something off of a dude who was, well, a little more well off. Another young man then gets into an argument with one of the many tea vendors already laid out around the square to serve (make profit off) the few remaining revolutionaries camped out for the night. The young man shouts at the tea guy and accuses him of caring about nothing but taking advantage of men who risked their lives for a great cause. The tea guy shouts back in response, and claims that his life, too, was in danger.

The differences between these Egyptians are the cause of problems and disputes amongst themselves, even though only a while ago, it was these very differences that helped them overcome riot police’s brutal attacks. For without the tea guy, the injured would not have anything to drink, and without the motorbike gang, the injured would not be immediately delivered to the clinic, which would not be equipped with medication if it hadn’t been for the involvement of the well-off man who almost got robbed, who might’ve gotten injured had it not been for the young boy’s sneaky rocks hitting riot police officers from out of nowhere. Egyptians are different; some are internet-savvy and act as instant Twitter reporters, others tear out sidewalks with their bare hands to make little stones for the revolutionaries to fend themselves against attacks.

[Man tearing out sidewalk with bear hands, courtesy of @TravellerW]

In the presence of a common enemy, the differences between Egyptian people compliment each other to form a perfectly functioning fighting machine. In the absence of a common enemy, Egyptians are left to pay a little too much attention to these differences than necessary, and the differences start to become points of conflict. Authorities pick up on these points of conflict and use the media to juxtapose and induce fear.

Nobody has sat down to think about how our differences may be put to complimentary use post-protest or post-revolution. Instead, most people are concerned with how the interest-group they are associated with can gain more ground at this possibly life-determining phase, when in fact knowing what to do with our differences may be the salvation of this good nation and its magnificent people.

لا وقت للفن؟ - دعاء علي / ترجمة محمد عبدالله

لا وقت للفن - عن دعاء علي / ترجمة محمد عبد الله

يستثير عنوان مسرحية ليلى سليمان الأخيرة “لا وقت للفن – عرض مسرح تفاعلي لتكريم شهداء ثورة ٢٥ يناير” تساؤلاً: هل هناك وقت للفن؟

منذ اندلاع الثورة، والفنانون المصريون في تهافت دجاجة بترت رأسها. واتخذت مخاوفهم بعداً يكاد يكون وجودياً. ماذا نفعل الآن؟ أنستمر في فعل ما كنا نفعله قبلاً؟ أين ننتهي “نحن” وأين يبدأ فننا؟ تؤشّر تلك التساؤلات إلى جوهر العملية الإبداعية والتي طالما ارتبطت بالحياة بصورة أو بأخرى.  على الأقل بحياة الفنان صاحب التساؤلات.

يجوز القول بأن تساؤلات شبيهة قد طرحت إبان الجدل الدائر حول كيفية تقديم أعمال أحمد بسيوني في فينيسيا، حين أدمج لقبيّ الفنان والشهيد في تقويض لكليهما.  إن نزول بسيوني إلى الشارع وموته كان محتماً بغض النظر عن كونه فناناً، وبالمثل فإن قيمة فنّه ليس لها صلة بمسألة استشهاده.  هل كان مشغولاً بميراثه الفنّي حين واجه الغاز المسيل للدموع وحين تلقى الرصاصات؟ هل فكَر أي من الفنانين المعتصمين في ميدان التحرير ثمانية عشر يوماً في فنّهم؟ أعرف أني لم أفكر في فني.

يبدو جلياً أنّ هناك فارقاً بين شخص الفنان وشخص الإنسان.  قد يتصادما أحياناً ويتبادلا طاقتهما الحركيّة، فيندفعا إلى حركتهما التالية. إن هذا التصادم – لحظة التعارف العابرة تلك – يشفّ من الأعمال الفنية العظيمة، فتشاهد العمل دون أن تجرفك سرديات خبيئة، ولن تشهق متعجباً “ماذا دار بخلده/ا بحق السماء؟”.  إن الفن الذي يبتدع حين يذوب ذلك الفارق لا يترك مجالاً لتخمين دوافع الإنسان (وليس الفنان)، وسواء إن نجح في أن يقبس اهتمام المشاهد أم لا، فلن يكون هناك شكاً في توحّد الهدف.

يبدو مع ذلك أن التساؤل اليوم قد صار حول كيفية منع ذلك التصادم من الوقوع.  يفرض علينا “الزمن” أن نضع خطاً فاصلاً بين من نحن، وماذا نفعل: لا يشترط أن يكون لما نفعله علاقة بمن نحن، بينما يجب في جميع الأحوال أن يشهد على وعينا بـ”متى” و”أين” نكون.  وبما أننا فنانون، وبما أن الحاضر ردئ، فإن الاستنتاج يصبح أنه “لا وقت للفن”، ولا يلزم مجهود كبير لأن يعقب ذلك أنه لا مكان للفن.

حين نقابل الأحداث الجسام، فلا مفر من الاعتراف بها.  يكفل التاريخ مكاناً محفوظاً للفن الارتكاسي*.  إذ لا يوجد وقت للفن في أعقاب التفجيرات أو الانتصارات السياسية، بمعنى آخر: لا وقت للتفكّر المتأمل أو الفلسفة. إنه وقت العمل والتكاتف والاحتفال، وأي شيء آخر يصبح غير ملائم.  قد يفسر ذلك حالة الجمود التي تصيب بعض الفنانين وتجعلهم عاجزين عن الإنتاج وعن مواصلة ما بدأوه، ولكنه لا يسوق حججاً لفن ارتكاسي متخفي في صورة نشاط سياسي.

إن الفن الارتكاسي مكروه لا مفر منه وغير مسوغ.  إنه قربان من اندفاع إنساني يتوق للعمل والإنتاج.  إنه ضروري وشرعي، ولكن يجب أن يظل استعراضه المجزم والواعي تحت السيطرة.  يجب أن يعلم الفنانون الارتكاسيون أن تقديمهم للحياة الحقيقية بكل فجاجتها لا يقصيهم عن شئون الفن الزائدة، إذ تبقى التساؤلات حول مكان تقديم تلك الوقائع وكيفية تقديمها ومن “نحن” وكيف يحدد ذلك كله تلقينا لها؟ إن أي صورة للتمثيل الفنّي** تعود بنا إلى تلك النقطة من التفكير والتشتت، ذات النقطة التي تحاول تلك التمثيلات – بكل واقعيتها الخشنة – أن تدينها. إن إعادة استئطار واستمكان*** أي حدث حياتي وفي النهاية التوسط إليه يحيله إلى حدث متعمد، بعيد عن مقصده بعد الصورة عن موضوعها.

من هذا المدخل، يعجز أي مثال لمداخلة مسرحية تفاعلية – مؤداة على مسرح في قاعة من قبل ممثلين في مواعيد عرض مجدولة بل وملخص لما قد يتوقعه المتفرج – في أن يرتقي لشكل أصيل غير تقليدي لما لن ندعوه فناً.  بل ولا “يبجّل” حتى واقع الشهادة (ربما يبجل مفهومها). إن جاز لنا فإنها تمثّل حقيقة في شكلها الكاذب.  إن جاز فإنها تحمل في مضمونها تناقضاً ظاهرياً.  يمكن للمرء أن يستعين بأدوات الفن في نقد سطحيته، ويحدث ذلك طوال الوقت، ولكن الافتراض هنا هو أن ما يجري “الآن” لهو أكبر من قدرة الفن المحدودة على استيعابه والاستجابة له.  فما جدوى محاولة إعادة زج الفيل في الخزانة؟

ثمة برجوازية سقيمة في افتراضية وجود “وقت للفن”.  إن اقتراح أن الفن بإمكانه التواجد فقط كي يستجيب لهو فكرة مزعجة.  والأكثر إزعاجاً لهو اقتراح أن الفن لا يمكنه التواجد إذا عجز عن الاستجابة “المناسبة”.  أكان هناك فناً أبداً؟ أم ربما كان يمضي وقتاً إلى أن تندلع الثورة؟

أؤمن بشدة بأنه ليس هناك وقت للا وقت للفن.  إنه لشديد الخطورة في وقت نحن مطالبون فيه بأن نشحذ جميع مواردنا الإبداعية وأن نحرر إمكاناتنا وأن نهجر العقائدية وأن نوسع من فهمنا، أن نجد كلمة لا إلى جوار كلمة فن.

نص: دعاء علي
ترجمة: محمد عبدالله

* الارتكاس: الاستجابة أو الارتجاع – رد الفعل (المترجم)
** التمثيل في الفن يعني الاستعانة بعناصر في العمل يسهل التعرف عليها من الجميع (المترجم)
***الاستمكان: طلب المكانية للشيء (المترجم)