CAMPUS - January 2012

JANUARY 2012

Dedicated to Sheikh Mon3em El Sha7aaaaat

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IN THIS ISSUE

Features 10 A Year of Violations and Broken Promises 20 In Loving Memory of Ahmed Mansour Underscore 24 Characters of 2011 26 It Wasn’t Me: The Fine Art of Making Up Excuses 28 Egypt’s Women Take on SCAF 32 The Islamists Shall Prevail Center Stage 34 Sultan Al Qassemi: The Egyptophile!

Opinionated 42 And This Is Why This New Year Is Different 46 Who Killed Humanity?

48 We’re Not Depressed, We’re Just Emo 50 The Emotional Revolution The Gay Section 54 MILFat Yama Ya Heba!

Speakers 57 The Optimism Playlist Balls 58 Real Madrid VS. Barcelona, Who Else Is Sick of Hearing That?

Chairman Shady Sherif

Editor-in-Chief Louis Greiss

Creative Director Leila Tapozada

Editors

Wessam Sherif Yasmine Zohdi

Junior Editor

Youssef Saad Eldin

Business Development Ismaeel Khoudeir

Media Executive Zeina El Alfy Ghada Zayed

Financial Manager Ehab A. Aziz

Chief Accountant Sherif El Haggar

JANUARY 2012

Accountant Ahmed Serag

Office Manager Sylvia Peter

Office Assistants Ibrahim Mansour Mohamed Eid

IT Manager Ahmed Saher

Production Executive Manager Sherif Mahmoud Mahmoud El Araby

Distribution Manager Shazly Eid

Distribution

Abdelhamed Fathy Ashraf Ramadan Gamal Moustafa Ramy Afifi Ragab Fathy Aly Afifi Aly Fawzy Waleed Gilani Abdel Aziz Abdel Rahman Mahmoud Samir

Art Director Ahmed Saad

Graphic Designers Bassem Raafat Nora El Gazzar Muhammed Abdelaal

Writers & Contributors Ahmed Amin Hesham El Kashef Marwan Gamal May Kamel Michel Antoun Omar Kassab Omar Omar Omar Refaat Shereef Mansour Sherief Hassan Yahia Zakaria

Cover Credits Leila Sherif Sabri

CTP & Printing

Sahara Printing Company

Campus Magazine's Address 24 Abdelmenim Riyad St. Mohandiseen Tel: 3749 8730/3 Fax: 3749 8736

Emails

mail@core-publications.net info@core-publications.net customerservice@core-publications.net sales@core-publications.net

Heliopolis

69, Adidas(elmarghany), Africana Café ,Auc C&CO (horeya st- elcorba), Belino Café,Blue Brry (ard elgolf ) Beano's Café (Britich Council – Alkorba – Airport – British University), Café Mo, Cairo International Airport , Coffee Roastery, Colors,Cat, Diwan Bookstore, Desire, Einstein café ,Euro Deli, EveryMans Bookstore,Farah Café , Flower Market , Gelateria Roma Café , Gravity, Harris Café, Gudy, Gallery Bel3araby (elnozha st.) ,House café , Hope Flowers, Hot Pink, Khodier, Rosso Cafe , IIPennello Ceramic Café, Kan Zaman Restauran, Linea, Liquid, ,Makani Cafe, McDonalds, Mobil Mart (elnozhaeldaery), Mori Suchi(salah salem) Musicana, Munchies Café , No Name , Nuts @ Nuts , Occo, Pottery Café Quicksilver,Schatz Café, Smart Gym(sherton Man & women - ard elgolf), Shell Mart elnozha, STR8 , Spicy, Style Gym , TresBon , Up 2 Date, Viking Cafe, World Gym, Zein Café.

Nasr City

Adidas(Genina mall), Aroma Lounge (City Stars), Beano's Café (City stars – Makram Ebeid – Abbas El Akkad) , Calvin Klein Jeans, Casper & Gambini's, Cat, C&Co(city star – Genina Mall),Esprit (city star), Farah Café(Genina mall),Kenoz Restaurant, ISI (City Stars),Madas , McDonalds (Abbas el Akkad), Musica (Abbas el Akkad), Mirror , My Day cafe, Quicksilver(city center), Ravin ,Spicy (City Center - Genina Mall) ,Tata tio , Trio (City center)Virgin Megastore (city stars).

Mohandiseen

4Get -Me -Not!, Adidas & Timberland(lebnan st,shehab st-Gezert alarab st), Alcott, Beano's Café (Gameat ElDowal st. )Beau jardin café ,Café Mo, Café Nour, Cedars café , C& Co, Ciccio café , Chess, Cilantro,Mohamed El Sagheer, Miss Coco, Cocolina, Dar albalsam Book store ,Diwan, Eventya Flowers , Harrod, Hot pink, Laguna Café, L`aroma Cafe, Makani, Marsh Café, McDonalds, Mori suchi , Multi stores, Non bookstore, Oxygen, Pasqua Café', Quick, Quicksilver, Renaissance library, Ricky's Diner, Royal Nails, Reblay , Safari Café, Samia Alouba, Silviana heach (Gezert alarab) Solitaire café , Show Room , Second Cup Cafe, Spectra café , Spicy, Sports Café , Tommy & Hilfiger , Tornado Cafe, Toscanini café, Café, Volume One, Zarina , zein café .

Zee Lounge café .

Downtown & Mokattam

AUC bookstore, Beano's Café (Mohamed Mahmoud st. – Road 9 ) Beymen ,Botry café, CIC (Markaz El Soura El Mooasra),Cilantro, French Cultural Center, Lehnert & Landrok Bookshop, Main, Maktabet El Balad, McDonalds (Tahrir), Sixteen, Ravin, Cinema Ren, Jungle Café,

Dokki

Beano's Café (Britich Council), Coffee Roastry (nadi elsaid-maka st), International Cultural Center, Mr. Joe, Makani café , Korista Café , Korista Café , Momento Café, Orange café, Quick24 (Gamet eldowel st – el thawra ) , Quick seliver , Retro Café, Spicy, Tabasco Café(mesdak-3man sq), Zein Café, Zarina , Zafer.

Zamalek

Alakhbar Bookstore, Arabica café, AUC bookstore, Bean bar, Beano's Café (Sheikh El Marsafawy Sq) Cilantro, Cocolina , Crave Café, Diwan, Einstein Café, Euro Deli, FDA, 69, Gardenia Flowers, Goal café, Googan Bookstore,Joffrey’s Café, Kodak exepres , Latverna Café, L'aubergine, Makani café Medza Luna, Mex Café , Mobil Mart, Mohamed El Sagheer, Mori Sushi, Munchies Café,Oringett café , Pizza Tabasco, Quick 24,Ravin, Romanci Bookshop,Segafredo Cafe , Sequoia Timberland, WIF Café, Zamalek bookshop , Van Gogh Bookshop , Zafer .

Maadi

Adidas(Grand mall),adam bookstore, Arthur Murray, Bakier Stationary, Bander Café, Beano's Café (Street 9 – HSBC) Books & Books , Beta Bookshop , Bookspot , Caj, Campus Euro Deli , Cat , Condentti Café , Chilis, Coffee Roastery, Gengra Café , Greco Café , Costa Café (9 st.) , El Shader Café, Dunes Lounge, Emad Beuty Centre, Ghazala Stationary, Green Mill, Gudy, Kotob Khan, Honest Book Shop ,I spot , Makani Cafe, McDonalds, Mediterraneo Restaurants, Quicksilver,Rebok , Renaissance library, Rigoletto , Samia Alouba, Second cup(9 st.) ,Shell Shop Degla , Show room, Spectra café ,The Bakiry Café , Temberland , Volume One.

October City

Beano's Café (MSA – Mall of Arabia )Beau jardin café , café mo, Melounge café , McDonalds, Maxicana café , Morisuchi café , Safary café , Second cup , Shell Shop, Solitaire , Sans soucis café , Traionon café .

Giza & Haram

Beano's Café ( Ibn Arhab st. ) Dar El Shorouk bookshop, Maxicana café ,Polo Shop

Alexandria

24Seven Café, Adidas & Timberland (Syria st, - City Center), Banna Stationary, Beano's Café ( Carrefour City Center – San Stefano Mall ), Cillomo Café & more , C&CO (San Stefano Mall )Cilantro (Kafr Abdo, City Center), Coffee Roastery, Deekom, Mazaya (City Ctr), McDonalds (Miami-Semouha), Quiksilver (City Center), The Sixties café , Tamarin Center, Rapo Gift Shop.

Tanta

Axon (Saeed Branch , el bahr st.) Pizza station ( tanta club , El Helw st.) La plato café.

EDITOR’S NOTE

The moment you smile, you win.

No matter how much pain and misery you’re going through, the instant you force a smile, you win.

Smile to prove a point. Smile, for it renders your demons helpless. Smile in sarcasm, smile in agony, heck, smile in anger.

Smile to win. ...and I have a MAJOR man crush on Ahmed Harara.

4 january 2012 CAMPUS

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Rich EDITOR’S NOTE

I had always heard of brave men, in stories. Ever since I was a little kid and my mom would tell me about Al-Shater Hassan and how he defeated the monster to have his princess, or when my uncle would recount his 1973 fighting experience with pride in each family gathering. This past year, though, I actually came face to face with brave men, after I’d only heard of them in stories. I met them, I marched with them, I saw them bleed as they got hit time and time again, only to get back on their feet and keep fighting, I heard them chant defiantly in the face of death and chase it away.

I had experienced fear lots of times; the kind of fear that came the night before a huge presentation at work, or after you’d just told someone you liked them and were waiting for their response. But it wasn’t until a few months back that fear has totally consumed me, real fear; fear of getting arrested or killed, as I ran away from charging soldiers, bullets and tear gas bombs, fear for friends who didn’t answer their phones when I knew they were in the square when it was a battlefield, fear of a vague and at times very bleak-looking future.

I had been sad before, on more than one occasion. After that horrible break-up, the day we buried my aunt, and every time I visit my grandma and notice she’s paler, thinner and less focused than the last time I saw her. But I had never felt the tight, merciless grip that specific kind of sadness has on your heart. The cruel kind that comes when you’re powerless, which I suffered each time I could see the blood with my own eyes, yet hear them claim that they had not fired a single bullet, and watch more people believe them and take part in killing the dream.

I had known of the classic battle between the forces of good and the forces of evil, but I had only seen it in Disney movies, where the villain was the villain and the good guy was the good guy. I didn’t believe such a clear line between black and white could ever exist in real life, until I lived that fierce battle between good and evil myself, was a part

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of it, every day, as I fought with those who justified torture and killing, as a brave few tried to spread the truth in a world that had drowned in lies…Never had I seen black so black and white so white, never had the distinction been so obvious, so easy, so unmistakable.

I had shared moments of bonding with friends, when we’d spend long hours working on a project in college, when we’d trust one another with ‘monumental’ secrets, when one of us would lose someone close.

But there’s no bond like that made with a friend whose hand you clung to while running from an armored vehicle with a firing soldier on top, or a friend you hugged the moment you heard Omar Suleiman announce the president had stepped down as the whole world – or so it seemed – erupted in cheers.

I had been blessed with moments of joy, like when my first article got published and I couldn’t wait to show it to my parents, or when someone got me flowers at the end of a very bad day, and when I went to Paris for the first time. But it turns out the joy you share with millions, the joy mixed with pride, the joy you know will go down in history, the joy that drove me running down the street like a maniac and screaming at the top of my lungs on February 11th, cannot be compared to anything else.

2011 doesn’t leave me entirely happy, nor does it leave me sad. It leaves me rich.

There are those who live and die without going through half of what we have gone through this year alone. It may have been tough, it may have left me feeling drained and exhausted and violated, I may feel like I’ve grown five years instead of one… but I sure as hell feel lucky.

May 2012 – with whatever it brings – leave you a richer, fuller human being.

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[ FEATURE ]

A Year of Violations and Broken Promises Compiled by Yasmine Zohdi

Resource used: Amnesty International’s report “Broken Promises”

As early as February 25th protests have been dealt with violently and sit-ins had been forcibly dispersed by military police, army soldiers and central security forces: February 25th – first time for military police to use violence against protesters in Tahrir Square, dispersing a small sit-in and detaining several protesters, including Amr El-Beheiry.

March 9th – army soldiers stormed Tahrir Square and broke up a sit-in of nearly 1,000 people. Protesters were beaten, tents were dismantled and a field clinic was attacked. Many were detained and taken to the Egyptian Museum, where they were abused and tortured, including singer Ramy Essam. 17 detained girls were subjected to virginity tests; Samira Ibrahim was amongst them.

On February 11th, former president Hosni Mubarak resigned, handing power to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. A state of euphoria engulfed the whole country, and with every promise the uniformed army generals made during that first month, we grew hopeful we were on the right path towards the free, democratic nation we longed for.

April 9th – Thousands had gathered in Tahrir Square after Friday prayers to demand the trial of Hosni Mubarak and other symbols of the regime.

After midnight, not more than 1,000 were left in the square, when army soldiers and CSF stormed the square once again using excessive violence to disperse the gathering. At least two people were killed.

However, by now, one full year after the people of Egypt have revolted and toppled a dictator, it is obvious that the SCAF is not only stalling the transition to a civilian, democratically elected government, but also taking us back to square one, maintaining the very same old regime techniques, and at certain instances being even more evidently repressive.

May 15th – Protesters gathered by the Israeli Embassy in commemoration of the ‘nakba’ and denouncing Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories. Central Security Forces and military police used rubber bullets and tear gas to break the protests, resulting in a number of injuries. 160 people were detained that night to face military trials, including blogger Tarek Shalaby and photographer Mosaab El-Shamy.

What follows is merely an attempt to showcase the frequent contradiction between SCAF’s statements and actions throughout the past year – as well as their recurring violations against human rights - in once place.

SIT-INS AND DEMONSTRATIONS SUPPRESSED “SCAF will perform its leading role in protecting protesters regardless of their views as a commitment from SCAF to what it began in the previous period.” - SCAF statement 1 – February 18th, 2011.

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June 28th/29th – After families of January 25th martyrs were attacked – some of them detained and beaten - by security forces at Ballon Theatre, thousands gathered to protest against police brutality by the Ministry of Interior. Security forces charged at the protesters and violently dispersed the demonstration using sticks, tear gas and shotguns. Clashes between police and protesters lasted till the next day.

July 23rd – A march from Tahrir Square to the Ministry of Defense was

blocked by central security forces and military police. Clashes took place in Abbasseyya and citizens opposing the march attacked it using bladed weapons and Molotov cocktails. Over 100 were injured, and 1 person – Mohamed Mohsen – died later. Blogger and human rights activist Amr Gharbeia was detained. SCAF issued out a statement accusing the 6th April movement of creating a rift between the people and the armed forces.

August 1st – The peaceful sit-in that had been taking place in Tahrir Square since July 8th was violently dispersed as army forces stormed the square, chasing away protesters and assaulting many, including women.

Protesters hiding inside Omar Makram mosque were reportedly attacked there. It was the first day of the holy month of Ramadan.

September 9th – Protests by the Israeli Embassy were once again violently dispersed using tear gas and rubber bullets. Protests spread to the area around the Giza Security Directorate and turned violent. Clashes with the security forces left 3 dead that day, while 130 were detained.

October 9th – Peaceful protests organized by Copts (after they had been granted an official permit) around the Maspero building were savagely repressed by army forces, CSF and some ‘thugs’. 27 people were killed that night; 17 of them after being run over by army vehicles, the rest by live bullets.

November 19th to 24th – On the 19th, a peaceful sit-in by injured victims of the January uprising was violently dispersed by CSF who fired tear gas and rubber bullets. Clashes intensified as the numbers of protesters increased upon hearing of the violence being practiced by the police. The battle between protesters and security forces was moved to the Downtown street of Mohamed Mahmoud. On the 20th, Tahrir Square was stormed and emptied by army soldiers and CSF, who beat and terrorized protesters and burned their tents. Meanwhile, the battle on Mohamed Mahmoud was ongoing and lasted for 5 days straight. The Mohamed Mahmoud massacre and storming of Tahrir left 45 dead and over 1000 injured, many of them losing their eyesight.

December 16th to 20th – Peaceful sit-in by Cabinet building was violently dispersed by army forces, after one of the protesters, Mohamed Abboudy, was detained and tortured in the Parliament building. Army soldiers accompanied by people in civilian attire threw rocks, pieces of ceramic, furniture, utensils and Molotov cocktails at protesters from the rooftops of the surrounding government buildings. Soldiers also savagely beat protesters using sticks and batons, and the violence against women was very remarkable this time in particular. Women were dragged by the hair across the street, beaten so savagely they were stripped in the process, and even sexually harassed. The battles were centred in Qasr El Aini and Al Sheikh Rihan streets, both leading to Tahrir. The square itself was stormed 3 nights in a row, where CSF used rubber bullets and live ammunition against protesters. 19 people died, more than 900 were injured.

Legislation suppressive of freedom of assembly has been passed: April 14th - SCAF decreed the law 34 of 2011, prohibiting strikes, sit-ins and protests and any sort of assembly that would ‘obstruct the work process of any state institution or public or private workplace’ was issued. The law was officially enacted in June.

September 10th – SCAF extend the Emergency Law restricted by Mubarak to include only terrorism and drug trafficking. The cancellation of Emergency Law was one of the main demands of the January 25th Revolution.

MEDIA RESTRICTIONS “SCAF has made sure from the beginning of the 25 January Revolution not to interfere with media policies for all forms of visual, audio and print media.” - SCAF statement 42 - April 27th, 2011.

And although article 13 of the SCAF Constitutional Declaration guarantees “freedom of the press, printing, publication and media” and forbids censorship except in times of “national emergency” or “war”, what actually took place is the following: Scores of media personalities and public figures have been summoned to military prosecution: May 14th - TV presenter and potential presidential candidate Bothaina Kamel was questioned by a military prosecutor after publicly criticizing the authorities on a show on Nile TV which was cut short right in the middle after the station owners abruptly ordered the presenter to end the episode.

May 31st – Journalist, activist and blogger Hossam El-Hamalawy was summoned to military prosecution after condemning head of the military police, General Hamdy Badeen, on the show ‘Baladna bel Masry’ on ONTV. Reem Maged, the host, was summoned along with him as a ‘witness’. Journalist Nabil Sharaf El-Din was summoned for criticizing the way SCAF was handling the transitional period on the same show as well.

June 2nd – Military prosecution summoned Al-Wafd reporter Hossam Al-Suwaifi and editor Sayyid Abdel Ati after the newspaper published an article claiming a deal had been made between the Islamists and the authorities.

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FEATURE

June 19th – El-Fagr editor Adel Hammouda and journalist Rasha Azab were interrogated by military prosecution after publishing a report on a meeting between SCAF and the ‘No Military Trials for Civilians’ group.

September 25th – Printing of the Sawt El-Ummah edition was halted by the printing house because of published criticism of the Egyptian intelligence services, according to editor Abdel Halim Qandil.

August 14th – activist Asmaa Mahfouz was detained and charged for a tweet that allegedly ‘incited violence’ against SCAF.

September 27th – Rose El Youssef was prevented from printing because of an article about the Egyptian intelligence.

October 27th – Activist Sherif Al-Rouby of the 6th April Movement reported that he had been arrested and interrogated for 3 days about the sources of funding of the movement.

September 28th – Edition of El-Fagr newspaper was confiscated for including an article calling for Field Marshal Tantawi not to run in presidential elections.

Several newspapers and TV shows have faced pressures and interference from authorities when it came to discussing SCAF’s performance in running the country:

October 5th – Many journalists showed their objection to military censorship by publishing blank columns or short statements against censorship.

July 24th – TV presenter Dina Abdel Rahman was fired from Dream TV after an intense on-air argument with an ex-army official over SCAF.

October 21st – Popular talk show host Yosri Fouda announced he was suspending his show in protest to increasing restrictions by the ruling military council.

September 7th – SCAF stopped issuing licenses for new satellite channels.

Offices of local and international news channels have been broken into by army and police forces more than once: September 11th – The Cairo offices of Al Jazeera Mubasher Misr were raided following the station’s reporting of the violence that had taken place by security forces during Israeli Embassy protests on September 9th, and engineer Islam Al-Banna was arrested and detained.

September 29th – The same offices were raided again and journalist Mohamed Suleiman was arrested and detained.

October 9th – During violent clashes between the army and protesters in the Maspero area, the offices of 25TV and Al-Hurra channel were raided by army forces along with members of the CSF (Central Security Forces).

DETENTION, TORTURE, AND MILITARY TRIALS “SCAF has clearly announced its position from the beginning of the revolution and that it has sided with you and has not and will not deal with the sons of this great society with any form of violence.” - SCAF statement 24 – February 26th, 2011.

Unlawful arrests and incidents of torture and forced virginity tests under SCAF rule have been reported ever since March: March 9th - During the violent dispersion of the sit-in, a number of protesters were detained and tortured at the Egyptian Museum. A number of them, including singer Ramy Essam, journalist Rasha Azab and actor Ali Sobhy, testified that they had been severely beaten, whipped and electrocuted. 17 of the girls detained were accused of prostitution and forced to undergo invasive virginity checks.

May 15th – Ramy Fakhry, 27-year-old petroleum engineer, was not detained nor tortured, but murdered. He was shot at by army forces in while driving away the area where a chase between the army and drug traffickers was taking place. He got one live bullet in the head, one in his neck, and another in his chest, killing him instantly.

May 26th – Graffiti Artist Mohamed Fahmy (Ganzeer), filmmaker Aida El-Kashef and activist Nadim-X were arrested for putting up anti-SCAF posters Downtown.

June 3rd – Mohamed Said, a taxi driver, was beaten to death in Azbakeya police station after a dispute with a senior officer over traffic violations. The Ministry of Interior announced he had died as a result of low blood pressure.

June 28th – Activist Loai Nagati was detained along with others during clashes with the security forces near the Ministry of Interior and was beaten and threatened to be raped. He faced military trial but the charges against him were dropped in August.

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September – A video was posted on YouTube showing army and police officers torturing and electrocuting a man and his brother accused of dealing in illicit weapons, and laughing in the process.

October 19th – Ali El Halaby, member of 6th April movement, was arrested and detained for painting a graffiti calling against voting for exNDP (National Democratic Party) members in the parliamentary elections that were set to take place the next month.

October 27th – 23-year-old Essam Atta, was tortured to death in Tora prison while serving time after he had faced an unfair military trial. Official reports claimed he had died as a result of ‘swallowing a joint’, the same reason that was used in the Khaled Said case in 2010.

12,000 civilians have faced grossly unfair military trials; only three of them, however, have relatively garnered considerable media interest: March 1st – Amr El Beheiry was sentenced to five years in prison by a military court. He had been detained and beaten by the army along with several other protesters during the forceful dispersion of the February 25th protests. They were later released, but Amr was arrested again shortly afterwards, apparently because his injuries had been filmed by protesters. His trial lasted for only minutes, the court refused to allow the lawyer his family had appointed in and assigned their own lawyer for him, and he remains in Wadi Al-Natroun prison to this day. His brother has testified that Amr has told him that he is beaten and never allowed to leave his cell except once a day to go the bathroom.

April 10th – Blogger Maikel Nabil Sanad was sentenced to three years in prison on grounds of criticizing the military institution. His arrest came after he had written a blog post titled “The Army and the People Have Never Been One Hand”. Maikel has been retried a number of times, but continued to be detained. The last time he was retried, in December, his sentence went down to two instead of three years. Maikel has been on a hunger strike ever since August 23rd, and his health is severely deteriorating.

October 30th – Activists Alaa Abdel Fattah and Bahaa Saber appeared before military prosecution to be questioned about their role in the Maspero events. Both refused to answer the questions, rejecting the authority of the military judicial system over civilians. Bahaa was released on bail, while Alaa served almost two months in jail and was then released pending further investigation. Activists, political commentators and human rights organizations believe Alaa was in fact detained because of his influence as a blogger and activist with an assertive stance against SCAF. The charges against them might claim otherwise, but the truth is all of the above cases are prisoners of conscience, imprisoned for nothing but their opinions.

PRESSURES ON CIVIL SOCIETY “Citizens have the right to form associations, unions, syndicates and parties according to the law.” - SCAF Constitutional Declaration – Article 4 The SCAF has made it a point to warn people of ‘groups receiving foreign funding’, stating that such groups were the reason behind the constant instability in Egypt.

A number of NGOs – namely human rights organizations – were accused of receiving foreign funding, in an implicit implication that such groups may be causing unrest in the country: June - The National Democratic Institute, International Republic Institute, and Freedom House were investigated by the ministry of justice on charges of receiving foreign funding.

July 23rd – Independent political movement, 6th April, was accused and defamed by the SCAF in an official statement, claiming they received illegal foreign funding and were creating a wedge between the people and the army.

December 29th - Egyptian security forces as well as public prosecutors stormed the offices of six NGOs: the NDI, the IRI, the Arab Center for Independence of Justice and Legal Professions (ACIJP), the Budgetary and Human Rights Observatory, Future Centre for Judicial Studies, and Freedom House as well. Police forces searched through staff members’ papers, laptops and computers. They were warned against using their cell phones and were prevented from contact with the outside world.

Additionally, authorities restricted access to the entire buildings where they are located, preventing people from entering or exiting. ACIJP offices have been closed and sealed by red wax. C

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ENGINEEREX CAIRO

CAREER FAIR ON THE 18TH-19TH OF NOVEMBER, ENGINEEREX CAIRO WAS LAUNCHED, MAKING IT THE FIRST EMPLOYMENT FAIR HELD EXCLUSIVELY FOR ENGINEERS. The job market has always been a very tough place and it’s certainly not getting any easier with the current political and economic instability Egypt is experiencing.

Fresh graduates always feel a bit confused about their career options, and don’t know where to start their career search, while experienced professionals sometimes face difficulties in exploring new options and opportunities to further enhance their careers.

Employment fairs offer a platform for the applicants to show their skills and potential, and for the employers to explain the different career paths they have to offer the applicants. This is done in order to match both the employers and the candidates with the options most suitable for them.

However, most employment fairs are always too crowded and host employers and applicants from all different fields and industries. This makes it harder for the employers and the applicants to fully take advantage of the available time in order to get to know each other and make the right choices for their mutual benefit.

Engineerex Cairo managed to fix this, creating the largest gathering of engineering employers – including 25 of the world’s best - and offering hundreds of careers and opportunities.

16 JANUARY 2012 CAMPUS

In loving memory of Ahmed Mansour‌ FEATURE

By Hesham El Kashef

I had just finished a lecture on Friday (16/12/2011) at 2 pm when I went to hang out with my friends. Not much later, Ahmed walked towards us smiling as usual; it was a habit of his to come and say hi whenever he saw me. So, I asked him how he was and he told me that he was a bit overwhelmed with work but wanted for us to catch up, so I told him that I was free and we agreed to meet up some time that week and we both went on our separate ways.

A few hours later, I was informed by a friend that Ahmed was killed at the Cabinet protests! After a couple of seconds of shock, my instinctual reply was that it must have been a case of mistaken identity and that it couldn’t possibly be true. A friend of mine seemed to believe this explanation as well, but nevertheless we both remained silent for a while. After making a couple of calls I found out that the news was true. The Ahmed Mansour who died was the same person I was with a few hours earlier, it was the same person who smiled at me and told me to expect a call to arrange a get-together.

I was left with the many memories I shared with him. I remember the first conversation we had, when he asked me who I preferred, Sadat or Abdel Nasser. I remember him telling me how much he loved the student activity we were part of and how hard he had tried joining it and how interested he was in meeting new people and creating a team spirit. I remember talking to him about books, stories of his

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adventures during the revolution, his brief experience while detained by the authorities and the stories of the Tahrir sit-in. I remember the heated political discussions we had, his generosity and the time he invited us to have lunch with him and his family after the revolution.

I remember the funny stories he told us about his cycling team, his ambition to graduate from the faculty of mass communication to work in media alongside his political aspirations. I recall his constant enthusiasm to be at the heart of the events, to know firsthand what’s going on and to convey the truth. I’ll never forget his smile, and the many pictures we took together for the past 2 years.

When you think of it, all those memories were killed by someone who had nothing but a gun; this energy and spirit were taken away by someone with a gun. In a fraction of a second, a trigger was pulled, signaling the end of endless shared dreams, ambitions, hopes and memories, resulting in the anguish of hundreds of people. Pulling that trigger didn’t just kill Ahmed; it also killed a part of our spirits. I take consolation in the fact that he died an honorable death, and that he’s in a better place where we want to join him. And that at the moment he was shot, he was the man I always knew; trying to protect others from danger, warning them that shots were being fired. Ahmed gave his life for his country, a country that unfortunately doesn’t know the value of what it lost. C

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“SCAF will perform its leading role in protecting protesters regardless of their views as a commitment from SCAF to what it began in the previous period.�

SCAF Statement #1 - February 18th

11 protests suppressed.

Law 34 issued, which prohibits strikes, sit-ins and protests.

Emergency law extended.

Rip it and spread it.

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2011: 2011: Bringing Bringing Fame Fame to to the the Ordinary Ordinary

By May Kamel

So long, farewell, adieu, 2011 ‫بالسالمة‬. I make sure that I bid this year enough farewells to ensure I send it off appropriately… That eventful, kick-ass, victory-tinted, phenomenal, singular, madness-drenched, son of a motherless goat year. Along with this unparalleled year and its events came the raconteurs, those who shaped the events. What’s new this time around is that the movers and shakers were not the familiar faces, but rather inconspicuous, ordinary people.

After decades of being exclusive to certain old regime allies and puppets, 2011 unleashed fame to be available for absolutely everyone.

Day in and day out, more names emerged on the scene. We had our fair share of fresh-faced newcomers, but some of this year’s biggest breakout stars were long-overlooked veterans as well. Some are true additions, while others are just enjoying their 15 minutes of fame, men nefsohom. Love them or hate them, they still made headlines and shaped what 2011 turned out to be. This time around, we’re after the ones who were not known to us before 2011. The list of 2011 breakout stars is long, but those are the most controversial of them all.

Wael Ghonim – The Face of the Revolution

Mohamed Bouazizi – The Butterfly Effect

Amr Hamzawy – The Veteran

Before December 17th, 2010, Bouazizi was yet another Tunisian street vendor. But as of that day forward, he symbolizes dignity and is considered to be the spark that started the Arab Spring. His fame was one that cost a bit more than one would plan for himself, but it sure isn’t just the casual 15 minutes everybody is entitled to during their lifetimes. He might have lit the match in 2010, but this very minute is what shaped 2011 in many Arab countries.

Unless you studied Political Sciences and Economics at Cairo University between 2004 and 2007, you wouldn’t have noticed that name had it not been for 2011. Unlike some other prominent figures on the scene now, Hamzawy is no stranger to politics. His career as a political scientist, a professor and a research director and senior associate at the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut gave him the credibility, while his expertise in democracy, Islamism, social unrest

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Although I hate claiming that the Egyptian revolution has a face, Wael Ghonim has got to be one of the key players here. On one side, he was the marketing manager of Google Middle East, and on the other, he was this patriotic Egyptian who wouldn’t let Khalid Saeed’s incident slide. Without going into much detail about this controversial name in specific, it’s enough to recognize the role of ‫كلنا خالد سعيد‬ in getting people off their couches and onto the streets to turn the page on the days of a power-grabbing dictator and force him to step down.

e

and political reform gave him the edge. Despite being constantly attacked for his clear-cut opinions and for advocating a civil state in Egypt, Hamzawy endured and achieved a clean sweep in the parliamentary elections to represent Heliopolis as the first liberal in the post-revolution Egyptian parliament.

Abdel Moneim El Shahat – Yamma!

The Masked Guy ‘‫’الملثم‬ Not once, not twice, but ten times this man has made headline in local and global newspapers for blowing the pipelines that export Egyptian gas to Israel. Ten times with no one able to stop him. Ten times without even knowing who the hell pushes him to do that! Agree with the cause or not, but you must respect the guts this man has!

Hmm, I’m not very sure if I can find all the politically correct terms here, but hey, he didn’t do an effort regarding that either! Belonging to the Salafi party and considered to be one of the recent symbols of extremism, Shahat left the whole country speechless with a series of moonstruck statements that not only were baseless, but also helped widen the gap between Islamists and, well, pretty much the rest of the people. Perhaps his most destructive statement of all was claiming the Pharaonic civilization as “rotten” and demanding to cover the faces of statues with wax! Noteworthy is his pre-revolution statement denouncing democracy not only as haram, but also as blasphemy!

Yes, that very same democracy that he was using to win that parliament seat… We spared you the trip to hell, sir. You’re welcome.

SCAF – It’s complicated

Bassem Youssef – Bright Eyes

Before 2011, most of us didn’t know what activism was to begin with.

Turns out there are people just like us who are man enough to stand up for their rights… ah wallahy. Egyptian activists have played a key role in the revolution and continue to as we speak. I don’t want to forget any names so I won’t mention any. I just want to add a special salutation to our heroes behind bars in military prisons. Stay strong.

A heart surgeon by day and a TV presenter at night, Bassem Youssef is truly one of the highlights of this revolution. Being obsessed with TV, The Daily Show and The Colbert Report for example, Youssef wanted to incarnate it. And he did. Starting off online with B+ Show and taking it up a notch or two now through El Bernameg, which, I believe, is the true voice of the revolution with his series of wisecracks that dig deep in the gold mine that is fake and unnerving information broadcasted by most of the media just to reveal the truth with a much-needed hint of humor. Sarcasm and witticism may be characteristics that Egyptians are no strangers to, but what makes Youssef stand out, in my opinion, is his eye for details and his unmatchable take on current events. Let them talk all they want; John Stewart has got nothing on our very own Bassem Youssef!

To most of us, the Egyptian army was summarized in 6th of October shows, Suez newly constructed road and many “dar el mesh 3aref eih” spread across nation. Only this year did we learn past this. Turns out there are 19 generals who actually run this thing! Although this relationship started off with flowers, cheering and a frenzy of pictures of people with the tanks (which I am proud to not have participated in), things took a wrong turn and we ended up learning their names by heart for all the wrong reasons.

The Activists

‫ان ان اااان‬.. ‫الطرف التالت‬ He sees you when you’re sleeping; he knows when you’re awake.

He’s imperishable. He has all the answers. He’s probably the only one who has an idea what the hell is going on here. He has the power of the dark side. He might not be known to us, mortals, but for all we know, the force is strong with this one.

Tawfik Okasha – Of Those “In Health” In all honesty, I don’t think I have much to say. But hey, I’ll do it for the sake of his fan base. Michael Coren once asked how people can coexist with people with such mentalities. I assure you, sir; we can NOT. His daily talk show, which is sadly followed by millions of Egyptians every night, is yet another reason why this revolution isn’t over yet. His constant accusation of public figures is baseless and lacks any common sense. More dangerously, his dissection of the political scene is mostly biased to the old regime and includes false information and direct and indirect instigation against the revolution and the revolutionaries who are demanding their rights. Okasha also happens to be the Godfather and discoverer of Ahmed Zbydar, which I see as another unforgivable crime entirely. People lightheartedly claim him to be Gaddafi’s successor for he’s the only person alive who is as equally mentally unhinged, but I for one see his presence as alarming given how much he manipulates the masses. Okasha, 2oum nam w haneb2a nesa7eek e7na…

N.B. Had it been a bit earlier than January, my first and sincerest mention would have gone to protesters around the world. But I believe that Time magazine honored them the best way there could be. Prime makers of history, you’re the real celebrities this year. C

Salafyo Costa – Beards & Lattes Let’s all agree that our introduction to Salafism wasn’t exactly as well as it should be. In fact, I’m not even sure that what they claim to be Salafism is what it really should be. All this aside, I find it compelling to pay respect to Salafyo Costa who have taken it upon themselves to show the true side of being a Salafi sans the scary thoughts and the shameful political stands. In a fairer parallel universe, people like you mesh mafroud ye7asbo 3al mashareeb, la2a.

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IT WASN’T

ME!

By Youssef Saad Eldin

The fine art of making up excuses

Ever since the Supreme Council for Armed Forces (SCAF) started their crackdown on Egyptian political activists and protestors, people started thinking over SCAF’s stance.

It has come to my attention that some of those have been way too harsh on SCAF; they never even took the time to objectively evaluate what SCAF had to say about what happened. I mean, objectively speaking, none of what happened was ever SCAF’s fault; it’s always the fault of traitors, conspirators, crusaders and sometimes homosexual zombies who come to wreak havoc.

So, for the next few lines I’ll step into a SCAFian’s shoes and try to depict how these genius masterminds see things…

Yes, I know that in March, 27 girls among those who were detained by SCAF, have been forcefully subjected to virginity tests, 28 protestors were brutally murdered in the infamous Maspero events, 42 killed and over 2000 injured during the Mohamed Mahmoud uprising and last but not least, 15 dead (death toll rising as I write this) during the Occupy Cabinet sit in. That is in addition to the excessive use of force against protestors (including the brutal beating of women to the extent that they got stripped in the process). But you have to answer a question; does any of this really matter?

I say no, it doesn’t. I’m talking about the bigger picture; I’m talking about the future of an entire nation. So what if people are killed by the dozens and thousands are injured, if you claim to be patriotic then be up to it and suck it up.

What gives you the right to be furious about people getting killed and humiliated to the point where you can’t hear the sound of reason?

What, you think you’re some sort of a human being?

Only virgins get to protest… ma3roofa!

In March, when 27 girls were subjected to virginity tests, it was because SCAF wanted to eliminate any chance for any of them to falsely claim that they were raped during their period of detention. That was pretty convincing, I mean it’s a well known fact that if a girl is not a virgin, then she cannot complain and nag about being raped; that right is only reserved to virgins!

Hidden fingers? Seems legit After the Maspero events, there were several allegations that the army vehicles that ran over protestors were not manned by army personnel but were stolen and used by whoever stole them! Alaa Abdelfatah, a political activist, is currently facing several charges and one of them is attacking an army soldier in an attempt to steal his weapon.

26 JANUARY 2012 CAMPUS

If you ask me, it seems legit. A recent study shows that an average of 7 out of 10 people, are in fact able to take out a well trained army soldier, rob him of his weapon and steal his vehicle in order to use it to run over Coptic protestor. Don’t look at me, it’s a statistic that says that and statistics never lie!

As for the events that took place in Mohamed Mahmoud and in the Occupy Cabinet sit in, look at the bigger picture. SCAF announced in a press conference that “hidden fingers” are to be blamed. Many people seem to take the “hidden fingers” argument lightly, and do not appreciate the gravity of the situation; they keep asking who those hidden fingers are and who they work for.

Who are they working for?

Well, if those people made the effort and got off their asses instead of being cynical they would’ve had their answers. Merriam Webster dictionary defines “hidden fingers” as: “Any group of people that’s planted in any demonstration that takes place in Egypt, murders protestors, sabotages government’s buildings and magically frames the security forces to take the blame. The hidden fingers always work for a foreign country (usually USA, Israel, or Iran)”.

If you think about it, you’ll find out that it is in Israel’s best interest to overthrow the army’s rule in Egypt and create a failed state in its neighboring country, because that would stop the control over the borders from getting any worse nor would it remotely facilitate the transfer of weapons into Gaza.

And if it’s not Israel then it’s definitely Iran, those people don’t have any form of internal political instability to worry about. They don’t even have the entire international community breathing down their necks on counts of their nuclear program. So what’s better to do than plant the seed of instability in good old Egypt?

Never mind that the hidden fingers card was used by Mubarak during the revolution and it turned out to be complete and utter bullshit. Also disregard the fact that Gaddafi (allah la yer7amo) and Bashar el Assad have said the exact same thing about foreign agendas and hidden fingers, because SCAF really means it this time… honest to god.

Those are not the good men and women of Jan 25 revolution When it comes to the “those people aren’t the Jan 25 protestors” argument, well, Mina Daniel, one of Maspero’s violent protestors and one of the people who died after being run over by an army vehicle in Maspero, wasn’t one of the people who took part in the revolution, and wasn’t one of “mosabeen el thawra”.

As for Alaa Abdelfatah, he doesn’t come from a family of political activists and had absolutely nothing to do with the revolution. Both are saboteurs and are not associated what-so-ever with the good people of Jan 25.

You want to know what I honestly think? I don’t know which is worse, the fact that SCAF is more brutal than Mubarak when it comes to handling protestors and that they are in fact responsible for the all those deaths, or that there were hidden fingers all this time, and SCAF knew it but were too incompetent to do something about it. If that latter is the case then my grandmother would do a better job running the country… and she’s dead!

Truth is, SCAF has started to sound a lot like Shaggy in his “it wasn’t me” song, whatever it is people said they did and no matter how solid the proof is, they will play the Arabic version of the “it wasn’t me” card… the hidden fingers, and the saddest thing is that people believe it. C

Š Shereef mansour

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Egypt’s Women Take on SCAF ‫؟‬...“‫”ﻣﺎ ﻳﺠﻴﺒﻬﺎ إﻻ ﺳﺘﺎﺗﻬﺎ‬

By Yasmine Zohdi

OK, FIRST OF ALL, LET IT BE KNOWN THAT I AM NOT A FEMINIST. I ACTUALLY NEVER GOT FEMINISTS OR THE TERM ‘WOMEN’S RIGHTS’. I BELIEVE IN ‘HUMAN RIGHTS’…

AND AREN’T WOMEN HUMAN? I’VE ALWAYS HAD THE CONVICTION THAT PLACING WOMEN IN A SEPARATE CATEGORY IS ACTUALLY A SORT OF DISCRIMINATION ITSELF. AND I’VE ALWAYS BEEN CONVINCED THAT THE PROBLEM WITH WOMEN HERE IS NOT A GOVERNMENTAL OR LEGAL PROBLEM, BUT A CULTURAL ONE, THE CENTRE OF WHICH IS HOW WOMEN THEMSELVES UNDERESTIMATE THE ROLE THEY CAN PLAY IN EVERY ASPECT OF LIFE IN THIS COUNTRY.

28 JANUARY 2012 CAMPUS

Yet last month, when thousands of Egyptian women proudly and willfully marched around Downtown Cairo to denounce the brutality that several female protesters were exposed to at the hands of the Egyptian armed forces, I was pleasantly surprised. I believe that, years from now, future generations will be hearing about how the women of Egypt stood up against oppression that day, just like we’ve been told stories of great Egyptian women like Hoda Shaarawi and Safeyya Zaghloul ever since we were little children.

Egypt’s ‘Day of Shame’

The night before the march, I came across this interesting – and a bit depressing - conversation on Twitter:

Repent11: Tomorrow there is a “Million-Woman” protest in Tahrir starting at 4pm against the beating and dragging of female protesters by military.

omarkamel: For which, unfortunately, I expect maybe 20 women to show up.

kikhote: I believe you are optimistic.

omarkamel: 20 is too much, eh? I should’ve said 3.

rago_legal: Sorry to intrude, but you will all owe me tomorrow as the number will be bigger… ‫بنات مصر مبليون رجل‬

kikhote: I absolutely agree that some ‫ بنات مصر مبليون رجل‬but I’ve seen too many promises and then only a few come.

I didn’t fully agree with Pierre (@kikhote), but I didn’t share Ragia’s (@ rago_legal) optimism either. Turned out all I had to do was wait until the next day… and man, am I glad that she was right and he was wrong.

Egyptian Women Speak out – and the World Listens The women’s march turned everything around. While international news agencies and newspapers all around the world shared endless reports on how thousands of brave Egyptian women took to the streets in defiance of the ruling military council, tweets – after having been incredibly sad and angry only the previous day – were suddenly hopeful and filled with pride.

To put it mildly, the world was shocked at the outrageous display of force by the army in Cairo on the 16th and 17th of December, and the practiced brutality against female protesters in particular, which was clearly deliberate and strategized.

On December 19th, United States Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, gave a speech condemning the violence used against protesters in Cairo. “This systematic degradation of Egyptian women dishonors the revolution, disgraces the state and its uniform and is not worthy of a great people,” she said.

The British Daily Mail, meanwhile, sported the headline: “Day of shame in the Middle East: Female protesters beaten with metal poles as vicious soldiers drag girls through streets”.

“The shockingly violent scenes of recent days must not be repeated,” said Amnesty International Middle East and North Africa Interim Director, Philip Luther. “Women human rights defenders and activists must be allowed to stand up against violations of human rights by the SCAF. The authorities must not use force against peaceful protesters and not target women with gender-based violence.”

Never had things seemed bleaker for the country, never had we felt more frustrated, never had the state been criticized so publicly, not even when the Mubarak regime used violence to repress mass protests last January.

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nothing has. Which brought me to two conclusions concerning our society:

1) Nothing is as taboo as an uncovered female body.

Historians have categorized the march on December 20th as the biggest women’s march in modern Egyptian history ever since a similar one first brought women into the sphere of political activism in 1919. It’s true that ever since then women have played crucial roles in politics; there are many prominent female Egyptian activists that have been fighting against oppression and injustice for years, and the involvement of women in this revolution has been crucial and indispensable. However, there is no denying that there are certain sectors of Egyptian women – such as housewives with minimal educational background in poor areas, for instance – who have been marginalized and have taken no interest in public matters over the years. This march, however, included even those.

Many of the women participating were old or middle-aged homemakers who admitted it was their first time to protest, stating that they were there in solidarity with the women who were beaten and dragged; that they viewed them as their ‘daughters’ or ‘sisters’. This made me realize that while the army had terrorized those women protesters with the aim of scaring away other females from taking to the street, they have only succeeded in pushing other women, who had previously been oblivious, to join the fight against military rule.

In All Fairness to Egyptian Men

One thing kind of pissed me off, though. The accusatory tone that some people have been using against men, criticizing them for their lack of a proper reaction to the crimes that had been committed against women, and claiming that Egyptian women had turned out to be ‘argal million marra’ than Egyptian men. I strongly reject this position; I don’t think there is any need to detract from the role men play in order to prove how massive women’s contribution to the struggle is, it’s just not fair. Because in all of the videos I watched, a man always came to the rescue of the girl being attacked, only to be viciously beaten, clubbed and stomped on.

Because the legendary women’s march was surrounded by protective human chains of men from every side. Because Egyptian men have been fighting at frontlines and taking on tear gas and bullets with the bravery of trained warriors for a whole year now. Because I have seen teenage guys and grown men cry at the sight of the half-naked girl’s body being dragged by army soldiers – and I could tell nothing had ever hurt or angered them more, and that they would give anything in the world to be able to shield and protect her.

The Blue Bra

Speaking of which, that specific picture’s effect has really got me thinking.

Although pictures of women being beaten and savagely dragged by the hair had been circulating on the internet for two days, it wasn’t until that now infamous picture of the girl lying on the ground, her abaya open to expose her blue bra as army soldiers kicked her in the chest, came forth, that all hell broke loose. That picture moved many, including me, like

30 JANUARY 2012 CAMPUS

Although more than one girl experienced the wrath of the army during the recent Cabinet events, and many of them told the details of what had happened to them – some had been dragged across the asphalt, some had been beaten with batons and sticks, some had been sexually harassed and verbally assaulted, some had been kicked so hard their bones broke, some had had their hair burnt and their scalps branded, while some had survived all of the above - none of it shook the public like the girl who had been stripped of her clothes as she was attacked. Other girls might have been subjected to more violence and more physical damage, but the picture of that girl in particular is the one that was used everywhere to represent the systematic violence practiced by the army during this most recent crackdown, and it instantly became an icon. Which goes to show this society’s obsession with the idea of the female body – the fact that the girl was uncovered was to most viewers the most enraging; a woman getting a more violent beating while fully covered is not as shocking.

2) Nothing is as effective as visuals with the public.

Nine months ago, we heard that 27 girls among those detained by military police during the violent dispersion of the March 9th sit-in were forcefully subjected to invasive virginity tests. Yet nobody moved. Nobody took to the streets; I couldn’t even sense any angry vibes in the air. Sure, we weren’t happy about it, but we treated it like it was just an unfortunate event there was nothing we could do about. And when I recall that now, it makes me angry. Because being forced to take a virginity test as a bunch of demented army officers and sexually frustrated soldiers stand by and watch, is – to me at least – a lot more degrading and humiliating than the beatings that female protesters got this time around – as inhumanly violent as they were.

Yet there wasn’t a picture of a girl being subjected to a virginity test all over newspapers, and so no matter how many human rights activists denounced it, and despite Samira Ibrahim’s tears as she recounted her horrible experience, none of it was as effective as that one picture. Nothing gets to people the way visuals do – nothing. And as happy as I am with that recent women’s march, I feel guilty for not having reacted with such anger earlier, when 27 Egyptian women were unrightfully exposed to such degradation. I can’t help but feel that the chant ‘Egyptian girls are a red line’ came just a bit too late.

One Cause ‘Egyptian girls are a red line’… yes, they are. So are Egyptian men. And Egyptian children. Egyptians, period. Again, I come to the same point from which I started this piece. We should not make the mistake of thinking that this is only about women. It’s not; just like Maspero wasn’t about Christians alone. This is about human dignity, and the crimes SCAF have so far committed all serve to show that they will stop at no one; that their boots and guns and batons don’t differentiate. Yes, women face undeniable oppression in this country – but doesn’t everyone? If this iconic woman who was dragged and stripped in the street was insolently called a slut by some heartless bastards and was attacked for dumb notions such as wearing nothing underneath her abaya but her bra, well, men are beaten, dragged, and murdered – only to be dubbed ‘thugs’ and accused of drug abuse and burning down government buildings. We have all been victims of the same disgraceful lies and smear campaigns for a year now; we are all at war with the regime and with the ignorance and intolerance rampant in this society of ours. The image of the girl in the blue bra – beaten, assaulted, violated – is, and will remain, a symbol of what SCAF is doing to this country… all of it.

Not this girl, not women, not revolutionaries. All of us.

And that’s why this is a fight we must see through as one, and see through to the end. Down with SCAF.

“SCAF has clearly announced its position from the beginning of the revolution and that it has sided with you and has not and will not deal with the sons of this great society with any form of violence.�

SCAF Statement #24 - February 26th

2286 martyrs and counting.

7811 injured (including 324 inoculation cases and 658 cases of bone fractures).

17 girls were forcefully subjected to virginity tests.

Rip it and spread it.

© Marwan Gamal

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32 JANUARY 2012 CAMPUS

‫ف‬

‫�ض‬ ‫ف‬ The

Islamists

shall prevail…

You hypocritical bastard…

By Wessam Sherif

A BEARDED, FROWNING ZEBEEBA-STAMPED FACE. THAT’S ALL YOU THINK OF WHEN YOU HEAR THE WORD “ISLAMIST”; AN OPPRESSIVE FIGURE THAT’LL FORCE YOU TO PRAY AT THE MOSQUE OR WEAR A VEIL (IF NOT NIQAB), ALONGSIDE MANY COLORS OF RELIGIOUS OPPRESSION THAT WILL EVIDENTLY ROB YOU OF YOUR NOW-COMFORTABLE LIFESTYLE. You hypocritical bastard.

Poor fool; the Islamists have been ruling this country for as far as you and I can remember. You just never realized it nor took proper note of it.

And as you might’ve noticed by now, I’m definitely not referring to the Brotherhood or the Salafis; the Islamists I speak of are far simpler and desire no political power.

The Islamists I speak of are those who taught you at school that, when it comes to Muslims and Christians, there’s an “us” and there’s a “them”.

They are the ones who harassed you on a daily basis even when you were as decently dressed as possible, just because they saw you to PROBABLY be an “indecent” girl who deserved what she had coming.

They are the oppressive boyfriends who banned you from talking to other guys, told you what to wear and forced you to take permission before you went out. It’s your friend who tries to convince you that you’ll never be successful unless you find God and that even if you become successful, it’ll go to waste because you failed to commit to the “most important aspect of your life”.

It’s the education that planted a simple idea in your head: every Jew should be killed. It’s the education that taught you brilliantly how to be xenophobic.

They are the parents who forced you to pray when you never really understood why, fed you verses that made no sense at the time and explicitly told you that there are things that should be taken for granted.

They are your friends who nagged and nagged for you to get veiled, because “it’s the one thing that you’re missing”. It’s your neighbor who installs audio from the Quran in your building’s elevator or spreads prayer stickers all over your living vicinity. Islamists are the parents who gave you the luxury to choose which car you wanted, but not your religion.

Islamist is the cab driver that hangs a blue stone on his car’s mirror to protect himself from envy and says the “riding prayer” upon firing up his car’s engine.

Islamist is the media that used to end every day with a reading from the Quran and kept thousands of viewers glued to the T.V. screens as they

solved Islamic trivia. Islamist is the media that made an entertainment industry out of what originally should’ve been a month of worship.

Islamists are the politicians who speak in the name of God, who start their speeches with verses from the Quran about the importance of unity.

Ironic, no? Islamists are the talk show hosts who interview Islamic figures and take their socio-political opinions. Heck, even the musicians/actors that thank God for their success are Islamists!

And worse of all, Islamist is the person who’d judge you for thinking outside religion’s framework.

And you come now and tell me of your fear of an Islamist rule?

Pff, you hypocritical bastard.

This country is based on religion; it is enmeshed so deep in our culture that it has become a second nature to the most of us, a subconscious.

Whether the Islamists end up ruling the country is still in question, but that would the tangible manifestation of religion’s cold grip on this nation.

Religion has had us by the necks since we’ve been born. You’re only noticing it now because your personal interests are at stake.

You see, you never had to be a member of party or an Islamic movement; you were brought up with an idea, an inception, if you will. True, many break free of this “matrix”, but compared to the general masses, they are not a number to be reckoned with. Almost every single one of us was, or still is, an Islamist.

Just like it took decades for this religion-bedazzled culture to be created, it will a few more decades for it to be neutralized.

Don’t get me wrong, I have no problem with religion, nor do I have a problem with Islamism as a dogma, it’s how people apply it in this country that pisses me off. Those neo-Islamists, who give themselves the right to judge, preach and evaluate others’ virtue in the light of religion.

This is the culture that needs changing.

And that will only happen when the big dogs who play politics start screwing up. Because the second they publicly appear to your average Egyptian citizen as human, not God’s soldiers, people shall follow the voice of reason and not that of a bearded douche.

I say let them fail.

They might be without sin, but they are not without fault.

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[ Center Stage ]

Sultan Al Qassemi

The Egyptophile!

By Wessam Sherif

“I believe that I was on the right side of history, even if it looked for a few days that I wasn’t”- Sultan Al Qassemi He’s in love with everything about Egypt, he’s as optimistic as they come and he’s a very trusted source of news on Twitter due to his impartial coverage during the Tunisian and the Egyptian revolutions. In fact, his tweets are considered

by Time as one the best 140 feeds!

And I’m personally glad that he chose to be on that side of history.

CAMPUS: So how did it all start?

Sultan: In January when I had a disagreement with my publication, I had a lot of free time on my hands and it was just then that Bou Azizi had passed away on the fifth of January. So, there were a lot of statements coming in English and French being circulated and I thought that it would be interesting to translate what was being said. It was completely spontaneous and I did not plan it in any way.

34 january 2012 CAMPUS

For example, I translated the hilarious speech given by Gaddafi in which he referenced the “Bookface” after Ben Ali fled. The thing is, when news agencies broadcasted this speech they’d say “Gaddafi warns of dissent”, but there’s a lot of fun stuff that he said that they missed and there was also scary stuff. It sounds insane, but some people were actually interested in the absurdities that he was saying and I was actually laughing while I was typing the tweets.

At the time I had around 3 to 4 thousand followers and I wasn’t checking the mentions because I was so caught up in typing that I managed to find a way of saving seconds; I was actually told that I was tweeting every 40 seconds! By the end of the two hour speech, however, my followers had tripled! And when I went over some of the mentions (300 - 400 mentions) I found people saying “follow this man, he’s translating the mad dog’s speech”, including journalists. And that’s how it happened.

C: What about Egypt’s revolution?

S: I’m an Egyptophile, I love Egypt! I was actually here two weeks before the revolution but I left before it began. Around that time I took time off from work and I was on the internet 24 hours a day, I slept 2 and half hours at night and took maybe a half an hour break because there was so much happening and I had to capture it all!

C: And can you sense a difference between Egypt before and after the revolution?

S: There’s a huge difference! There’s so much more pride; Egyptians have always been proud, but now there’s all these pronouncements, you feel that people are walking confidently. And I think that I have come to Egypt at a time where these sentiments have been repressed a little bit but if I had come a month or two after the revolution I would have felt them even more. Nevertheless, I do feel that change since the moment I arrived at the airport; media now can make fun of anybody. And this phenomenon is only available in two countries in the Arab world; Tunisia and Egypt.

C: But do you not see that only a certain niche of society still follows the revolution whereas a lot of people are still in love with SCAF just like they used to be in love with Mubarak?

S: I think that the Egyptians are not in love with SCAF, the Egyptians are proud of their army, which they should be because while you might have corrupt elements with the ranks but the army itself commands a lot of respect from Egyptians, even from those who are against SCAF. However, according to Jack Shenker of the Guardian, there are elements who’ve been trained, brainwashed and given huge compensations (LE 200 a day) to suppress protests. They are not representative of the half a million to one million members of the Egyptian army, plus, the army means stability and a lot of Egyptians want stability. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re happy with the military rule. Obviously, some think that the power transition process is too slow, taking Tunisia as a reference, but remember that Egypt is ten times bigger than Tunisia. So, if the handover to civilian rule happens by next summer, which is 8-9 months after Tunisia, it is still not so bad. The skepticism here revolves around the word ‘if’; if the handover is complete.

C: Which of the presidential candidates do you think has the biggest chances of winning?

S: I don’t think anyone can predict. Between the Brotherhood and between SCAF, someone would be elected that is acceptable to both sides. Perhaps Abo El Fotouh who is the most popular candidate I came across here in Egypt; I spoke to atheists, I spoke to Christians and I spoke to Muslims and his name kept getting mentioned without

El Baradei stands no chance. anybody actually dissing him outright, unlike some other politicians.

So if he can mend ties with the Brotherhood and give assurances to SCAF he stands a strong chance. Also, Ahmed Shafiq could become popular once again, which would be the irony of all ironies.

El Baradei stands no chance.

In any case, whoever gets elected president isn’t the most important person, what happens after that is more important. Egypt is not a democracy yet and I think that it would become one not before two or three cycles, so we’re looking at another dozen years. That’s when you’d feel that the country is on the safe base, because now people have been told who to vote for now during the parliamentary elections but I believe that we’ll see less and less of that in the future. I think that the Muslim Brotherhood should be given a chance to fail; the right to fail shouldn’t be taken away from them. So by the next elections people will hopefully vote less with their hearts and more with their minds.

35

CENTER STAGE

But here’s an interesting story, the other day I was at the Mubarak trial, and Al Fara’een journalist was chased out by around a hundred people of the anti-Mubarak attendees. He just walked in towards the second they saw the name of Al Fara’een on the microphone they chased him out!

C: Did anything else of significance happen at the trial?

S: What we learned yesterday at the trial is that the defense lawyer wanted to include the Maspero, Mohamed Mahmoud and the Occupy Cabinet clashes in the case to show that people have been killed even after Mubarak’s time, so you can’t put all the blame on him.

C: So did tweeting get you in any trouble?

S: Well, I was warned of visiting a number of countries, including Egypt, but I eventually visited them all. Also, during the police withdrawal in Egypt, I tweeted that there was no police presence in a certain area in Cairo and a friend of mine, who works in a mall in that area, called me and told me to stop tweeting because he was scared that people would come and attack them. So, I tweeted that a friend of mine called me and told me to stop. I didn’t stop, though, because hundreds of people asked me not to. As a result, I got into a disagreement with my friend. Because while I do understand that he could be in danger, there are people who had family going to that place and they were in peril, so I had to keep disseminating the information. Later though, my friend sent me an email thanking me for ignoring him.

At the end of the day I believe that I was on the right side of history, even if it looked for a few days that I wasn’t.

C: And we’re thankful for your presence during the revolution.

S: I did nothing; it just became an interesting story how someone who wasn’t in the country was able to - on a very miniscule atomic level - feel as though he was part of this. Everywhere I go since I got here I get invited to drinks, to parties and people are very friendly!

C: Are you single?

C: What about state media, has it at all changed after the revolution?

S: The policy hasn’t changed, but the rhetoric has. For example, if you become president, they’ll use Maspero to praise you, that’s part of their manifesto. So, the next day after Mubarak was toppled was just another working day! The statistic that I heard claims that there are 40,000 people working for state media! Why such a large number?

I know friends who work in Maspero who tell me that in the worst cases it is only the top department bosses who get replaced, then his/ her assistant takes their place. Which is a continuation of the same culture.

S: Yes, I am.

C: Well there’s your chance then!

S: (Laughs) Honestly though, this past week in Egypt was the best week of my life. I actually tweeted it; there’s Egypt and there’s the rest of world! C

C: On the other hand we have a guy like Tawfik Okasaha.

S: I think he’s popular just because of the controversy that he makes.

In all countries there are right wingers, so it’s only natural for a country of 80-90 million people to have right wing elements. I’d be surprised provide very entertaining comedy, but for other people he plays a more sinister role; a lot of people are gullible and they believe him.

Nevertheless, he doesn’t provide any education; he only provides entertainment that looks like politics. People will see through this, I don’t know how long that will take though, plus there will always be fringe elements that agree with him and you have to accept this.

36 JANUARY 2012 CAMPUS

We learned at the Mubarak trial that the defense lawyer wanted to include the Maspero, Mohamed Mahmoud and the Occupy Cabinet clashes in the case to show that people have been killed even after Mubarak’s time, so you can’t put all the blame on him.

‫ال�صياد‬

‫فرباير ‪2012‬‬

PRESS RELEASES

“Masrena”: A group of Egyptian youth inaugurates a new movement that stands out from the rest

Zeitouna Lebanese Bistro brings the fare and flair of Lebanon to Cairo

On the 27th of December 2011, a group of Egyptian youth announced the inauguration of a popular movement called “Masrena” which, according to their website (Masrena.org), aims at creating an entity for the youth where their forces can get together to make the Egypt we dream of a reality.

The movement’s board of trustees includes Al-Baraa Ashraf (documentary film maker), Khaled Mansour (salafi political activist), Ziad Ali ( leading business pioneer), Shady Sherif (media expert), Mohamed Diab (film director) Mohamed Omar (founder of “Zedny” human development team), Moataz Abdel-Fattah (Professor of Political Science at Cairo University), Moez Masoud (Islamic preacher), Wael Khaleel (leftist political activist) and Wael Ghoneim (the creator of the “We’re all Khaled Said” Facebook page).

Mohamed Omar, the movement’s official spokesman, confirmed that the movement will collaborate with all political forces and youth movements present on the scene, in order to reach a harmony that contributes in completing the revolution’s objectives, and mobilize the efforts putting Egypt on the road to development.

Omar pointed out that the efforts spent at first, would be focused on familiarizing the biggest possible numbers of Egyptians with the movement, in order for them to join and form an administrative structure that would help achieve the movement’s visions and objectives. Omar also confirmed that the movement will provide a democratic model based on the members’ input in the decision making process.

Introducing the taste of Beirut to the shores of the Nile, International Restaurants Group (IRG) proudly announces the opening of its in-house developed concept Zeitouna Lebanese Bistro. The company that brought you Cairo’s favorite restaurant-café, Casper & Gambini’s, will now be serving up the best of Lebanese fare and flair in the heart of the capital.

Authentic Lebanese cuisine with a twist has found a home away from home at the Nile City Towers on Corniche El Nile this November. A true Bistro atmosphere and savory dishes keep guests on the edge of their seats with bursts of color and culinary treats straight from the gastronomical imagination of Lebanon’s top chefs.

Zeitouna Lebanese Bistro’s unrivaled dining is embodied in the creativity of each dish presented. The whole range of Lebanese cuisine is cooked from scratch, starting with ingredients picked straight from Lebanon.

Transformed by the talent and ingenuity of its chefs, each mezze, entrée, sandwich, dessert and drink is as Lebanese as it gets.

With this new brand of fun Lebanese fare, IRG is looking to continue a tradition of acquiring and creating the best of global cuisine to Egypt.

Zeitouna Lebanese Bistro: 1st floor at Nile City Mall, 2005 Corniche El Nil

SAXXS – Welcome to the Machine!

SAXXS is the new scooter sensation set to launch this month and take the country by storm.

There are many reasons why you should start thinking about using scooters as an alternative means of transport, and especially SAXXS scooters.

First off, scooter ownership offers considerable savings over alternative vehicle ownership when costs such as purchase price, fuel, registration, insurance and maintenance are considered.

Moreover, scooters are efficient and perfectly suitable to your fast paced lifestyle. No more hours wasted looking for parking spots; while the increased maneuverability a scooter offers in traffic can save travel times significantly.

Riding a scooter is also - quite simply - fun. Whether you choose to join an owners’ club, ride with friends or simply commute, riding a scooter will bring a smile to your face.

It’s also no news that scooters are much more environment-friendly than cars and other vehicles; they produce only a fraction of the greenhouse gases that cars and buses do. So how about you start reducing your carbon foot print?

And with SAXXS scooters in particular, you’re bound to make a fashion statement and stand out from the crowd; each one is a unique, sleek masterpiece on its own.

A SAXXS scooter is probably guaranteed to change your life. Try it out; experiment.

We all need that from time to time.

40 JANUARY 2012 CAMPUS

© Omar kassab

41 JANUARY 2012 CAMPUS

[ OPINIONATED ]

… And This Is Why This New Year is Different

By Omar Refaat

It is a new year all over again and as always, it is one of those elusive occasions where we are cornered to actually sit back and see what we think we have become, where we are going and all that. Maybe throw in a roster of resolutions we seldom see through, maybe reach out to something beyond us for some clarity, for a whiff of guidance or atonement or just burst out inside with an outright, convoluted yet muted cry of rebellion. Basically the way I used to see this occasion, beneath the empty wishes for a ‘better’ year to add to the stack, is that it is a chance to draw some sort of illusionary line in this crazy journey of ours, some kind of closure, some kind of a beginning, some tinge of hope if we find it in us somehow. This New Year, however, is, to put it simply, of a slightly unusual breed.

42 JANUARY 2012 CAMPUS

Forget the current ordeal we have found ourselves in because of the eternal scar called SCAF plaguing the already intolerable air we struggle to breathe, forget the unshocking rise of beards across an anemic, disgusting political dynamic, forget the majority refusing to let go of staring at lethargic feet and pointing fingers in all the wrong directions, forget the puppet government and fiasco elections, forget the undercurrents of ignorance and long lasting oppression and corruption side effects, forget the bleak prospects flagged in our searching eyes…forget all this noise.

I look around me now and I see bones breaking just to sprout trees instead, flesh torn just to turn into demigods. I bow down to the spirit of love rising up from the heaps of decadence, swarming far and wide across the sickening fumes of ruthless guns, swallowing the pain for the rest to become one A silent harmony is slowly sifting the swamps of this inglorious age, a sparkling spring is ready to break away from the depths of the unseen earth.

And that is why this New Year is different; it is not just about us any more.

It is no longer about the ‘I’, as if anyone knows what it is at the break of day. It’s no longer about right, left or center farce of politics, no longer about the twin failures of capitalism and communism, no longer about mutilated religions, petty chauvinism or any of the shit blinding our eyes from the moment we are thrown in this maddening circus to the moment we flow back to where we were.

Why am I digressing? We still have a long way to go to play there.

But wait a minute; maybe we are not that far. Could this be the crux of the enigma? Maybe it is just a matter of opening our eyes to who we really are, gracefully transcending the shackles of hatred and ill intent, realizing that God, Brahman, Nirvana and that beautiful sunset that moved you to tears once are the same thing. Maybe it is only a matter of looking in and seeing the unity of creation with the eye we rarely use. It doesn’t take a genius to realize that this system is about to explode. From every conceivable angle the experiment has surely taken a rather unsavory turn and sadly, we are the problem and its solution.

For whether we like or not, we are here for a reason. Maybe we find it too harsh, too unfair, too hollow, maybe we think it is the best thing that ever happened to us. Doesn’t matter, doesn’t change the fact that we are here, now, throbbing madly under one thoughtful, impartial sky, sharing much more than the elements of nature we rape as if we are the ones who put them there in the first place. Doesn’t change the fact that in spite of all the hubris, something beautiful still lurks far deep in the hearts of men, something pure, as perennial as the cry of a child, an island we sometimes reach then stupidly hop off with the first wind of fear or the first fit of greed to float across our disastrously unkempt and hideously uncontrollable minds.

Freedom. Dignity. Justice. Equality. Peace. Don’t think it could get any clearer than that. This is where we took aim and chanted at the parading stars we never see in Cairo, floating in this once meaningless downtown square, and this is what rocked the whole world out of its stupefied inertia. This could very well be what it is all about. This is how and why we shaped religions before we massacred them with the poison of worldliness, insularity and unawareness; this is the real fight simmering throughout our history from the axial to the Wikileaks and Anonymous age. There is an undeniable stroke of symbolic genius in all this. There is a reason why it happened here, on this very soil we seldom appreciated but mostly spat on. Go back a little bit in history.

Who set the stepping-stones for this cycle of human civilization? Who made sure to warn us that the dead shouldn’t rule the living? Who found out that there is more to life than deceitful senses and limited minds and that the whole point of this world could easily turn out to be to transcend its flaws if we can? Who preached that life and death are but two sides of the same coin? And this is why this New Year is different.

I used to wonder why something was always amiss even in the midst of a perfect sunrise. You searched inside pondering why it is so hard to see the futility of violence and aggression and the ludicrous unnecessity of man-imposed suffering. Where is the meaning when every wall is built to separate and eventually fall? Is anything worth the horrifying howl of a grieving mother staring blankly through the colorless flowers on her child’s tyranny-visited corpse? Is any gold worth a single tear drop of the oppressed, flooding the barren lands of gluttony and apathy we blindly tread upon? Isn’t it clear blood sticks, doesn’t wash away? Isn’t it obvious the nagging noise in our minds is bound to detonate into screams that shake the whole universe bare in the spirit of defiance sustaining the essence of who we are?

I look around me now and I see bones breaking just to sprout trees instead, flesh torn just to turn into demigods. I bow down to the spirit of love rising up from the heaps of decadence, swarming far and wide across the sickening fumes of ruthless guns, swallowing the pain for the rest to become one. So where does the road bend? If this God they gave us hasn’t worked for us, maybe we need to make up our own, improvise, gaze inside, and there is no doubt we’ll find Him. So no matter what happens, I think by now some of us know or at least suspect that one day we’ll get there. But that remains to be seen and for better or worse, there is only one way to find out. And this is why this New Year is different.

So yeah, to sum up, suffice it to say that I used to bemoan being born in this tasteless, self destructively rational time of ours and I’m pretty sure I wasn’t alone. I no longer stick to that. But how was I to think otherwise, things just didn’t make any sense. They told us we are a great nation when all I could see was an immanent satirical decay.

They taught us the Great Pyramid is just a tomb, turned out Plato got initiated there.They told us the man in the sky is omnipotent and good and to leave it at that when all I could see was unnecessary suffering.

They told us we need to look up to our parents when all I could see was a lost generation, molded in prefabricated pipes of inexplicable subservience to a wrong norm. They fed us you and me, turned out we are all tongues of one flame. They told us that’s how the story goes, turned out it was just a chapter. They told us not to lie when most weren’t even truthful to themselves. They told us the righteous would go to heaven, turned out it could be already here.They told us to be law-abiding citizens, but the one thing they forgot to tell us was to be human. And this is why this New Year is different.

Happy New Year. C

43

“SCAF denies the allegations of an arrest campaign conducted against protesters and activists.�

SCAF Statement #45 - May 3rd

12,000 civilians detained, facing grossly unfair military trials, many of whom tortured upon detention.

Rip it and spread it.

‫عدد خاص‬ ‫عن عـام‬ ‫من حكم‬ ‫العسكـر‬

‫يناير ‪2012‬‬

OPINIONATED

Who killed humanity?

Sad truth is, we’ve always been insensitive

By Ahmed Amin

It strikes me how to most people it’s not instinctual to oppose and greatly disagree with the killing of innocent, weaponless civilians. It’s actually a fact that some people might be morally at peace with people dying just because they don’t agree with their actions.

Human consciousness has grown so deformed to the extent where –at times- the majority is at peace with a middle-aged pregnant woman or your dad or his cousin getting shot down point blank merely for the fact that they were shouting something, regardless of the legitimacy of their shouts. How can protesters voicing their opinion about lawless killings and arrest campaigns be punished with death; under which religion or which moral value can anyone voice his support for this?

46 JANUARY 2012 CAMPUS

Which side are you on?

Some “humans” for lack of another word, have found ease with the new 21st century media shaped morality. Action movies have made it rather OK to see bloody scenes; so what if someone is killed? We see it in the movies all the time; we’ve become accustomed to the sight, not to mention the numerous past wars. So it becomes a problem of which side you’re on, because death in abstract terms is a completely random subject and cannot be fathomed without context.

Where are we headed as humanity? Heck, I used to think that global warming and the likes were our biggest mistakes as humans but it turns out that things are so bad that some of us have evolved to be devoid of feelings and morals. Now we only care about those who relate with our interests and opinions and everyone else we don’t give a f*ck about. Hitler was so scary and phenomenal because he was just one inexplicably very brutal man; now I can’t help but notice that most of the people around us can give Hitler a tip or two in dehumanizing himself and steeping to new record lows.

Hitler had a goal, a target with which he justified his killings, but what about those who justify it simply because it’s happening to “them”, anyone that isn’t “me” or “we” or “us”, because those are prefixes we care about. All the “you” or “them” or “those”, however, we’re perfectly fine if you kill all of them folks.

We have grown empty of the appreciation of life in general, we have been brainwashed, programmed and wiped clean of any dignity without even noticing We’ve always been that way I might’ve misled you into thinking that this is a new change in humanity, that people all of sudden have become beasts and in the past they were monks. It’s not true and I’m sorry for misleading you, all that has changed is that we now have more and better cameras so the drama spreads fast and unfiltered.

All that’s changed is that now we see these atrocities in a public display system, whether in protests or through videos, but the fact still stands that this was going on a lot more and way more brutally than we have recently witnessed. Governments and armies have always been brutal; no war was fought with pink daisies and daffodils.

Remember Hiroshima?

of our homes, putting everything behind us and settling down and in some way or another we manage to block out all the cruelty in the world. Our very basic survival system is to live on our piece of land and have protection against the savages that want to invade us and while doing so we try our best to be happy!

I don’t know about you but this very basic concept of state security and nationalism breeds intolerance. So it’s very natural that when some form of altercation happens between the people of the same country, some of them will be OK with the others being killed. We can see where we’ve learned that; we are more proud of our war victories than we are of our scientific achievements!

The Brainwash Unfortunately we have been brainwashed to only think of ourselves as part of our countries and nations and we got caught up in the pointless naive competition of nations. We haven’t been taught to think of our lives in terms of humanity and life. Not just our lives but life in general, life in whatever form it comes in, may it be a cockroach or a tree. Life itself and its sustainability aren’t of much relevance or importance to us. We are citizens of our passports, we belong to our countries. We can now dehumanize anyone else if we need to and we can be tyrannical when dealing with others if it’s in our interest.

That in my opinion is our problem, not the political debates about protests and sit-in legitimacy, or the explanations of power abuse or state forces/ army brutality. Our problem is that we have appointed ourselves gods and bestowed our judgments upon our peers.

Granting some the right to live and rendering others worthy of death, these ideas are what created the deformation in the morals of people and have opened the door to the acceptance of brutality in general.

We should go back and observe life and observe ourselves as humans, we need to learn to live in harmony with ourselves first, with the rest of the species and life forms, with the planet as a whole. We need to go back and stick to our place in the bigger system of life that is around us and stop this weary detachment that facilitates the inhumane state system that puts a price on everything and instills the concept that everything has a price. Life is priceless and if you can’t live with that fact, if you can’t respect the holiness of all life forms then don’t be upset when police brutality hits you. People have been dying all over the world across all the ages because governments have seen it fit and the people have done nothing about it and soon enough it came down to governments killing their own people.

We have never showed disapproval for the bigger concept so the offshoot of people getting unlawfully killed in their own countries should be of no surprise to us. We have passively watched the modern world be shaped by deaths and wars and have taken advantage of it and got nice jobs and bought nice cars, we ate from the poison, and we inherently supported this bizarre mess so it should be of no surprise to us when the poison has finally made us ill. C

Fact is, we’re all accountable to what’s been happening around, whether we like it or not.

Don’t worry, I won’t go down the guilt trip lane of nowadays Tahrir revolutionary tactics and call out people that aren’t supportive or what not. What I mean is that we simply weren’t aware of the depth of these situations. We are all used to going back to the comfort and warmth

47

OPINIONATED

We’re We’re not not depressed, depressed, we’re we’re just just emo emo

By Leila Tapozada

There’s no doubt in my mind that our generation is the most “in tune with their feelings” generation the world has ever seen. At least back in the day, people would actually act upon their emotions, no matter how exaggerated or disastrous the action may be – I mean, Menelaus sent a thousand ships after Helen of Troy; he didn’t sit and write cryptic tweets about it. Romeo and Juliet killed themselves for love; they didn’t write a rambling blog post at 2 in the morning.

Obviously I’m not condoning starting a war or committing a double suicide, because that reeks just a tad of overkill, but my point is that these days all we do is moan and groan day in and day out about how depressed we are, how sucky our lives are and how terrible everything is. Hell, our generation even has its own slogan: “f*ck my life”.

A LITTLE PERSPECTIVE S’IL VOUS BLEEZ Yes, I understand that our country is going through political turmoil and horrible things happen daily, but I’ve seen happier and more

48 JANUARY 2012 CAMPUS

positive people in Filipino orphanages where they sleep seven kids on a single bed and don’t know how to use a toothbrush. Not even kidding.

Oh, and I WISH politics was the sole reason for people’s bitching and whining! Traffic, work, relationships, friendships, exams, parents and a slew of other first world pains plague our generation, and thanks to Facebook, Twitter and blogging, it’s very easy for us to announce to the world at large how VERY DEPRESSED WE ARE. But we’re not depressed. Depression is an actual disease. We’re just spoiled and emo. And I’m the worst of any of you -- my whole life’s like that saying: “a closet full of clothes and nothing to wear”.

So, just to remind ourselves that probably our biggest trouble is the fact that we’re too emotionally in tune with ourselves, here’s a friendly list that hopefully will help us keep things in perspective.

YOU’RE NOT DEPRESSED, YOU’RE JUST EMO WHEN…

• You’re exhausted all the time from fighting with your parents

• You start fixating on how you would love nothing more than to leave this country and never ever return after being stuck in traffic for three hours straight

• You complain continuously about how you never have enough money (and it never stops, no matter how much money you make) • You’re so lonely you could die

• You have the woe-is-me thoughts of how nobody understands you, how nobody can seem to get you and it’s so frustrating to have to explain yourself all the time

• You feel frustrated by the fact that there are so many freaking IDIOTS running around; politicians, random people on the street, your friends on Facebook, your ignorant relatives

• When the #foreveralone hash tag hits a little too close to home • When you have a mental breakdown over how this country is hopeless, the future is hopeless, democracy is hopeless, everything is hopeless and nothing will ever get better

• You’re dying to live alone, or if you’re living alone, you’re desperate for someone to cook and clean for you • Things like Facebook fights or Twitter followers actually affect you

• When you’re single and all you do is wish you were in a relationship

• There are just so many annoying people! Ugh! Meen mostafeed!

• When you’re in a relationship and all you do is wish you were single

• You’re convinced you’re never going to have the perfect career, body, relationship or lifestyle. Ever! Why is life so unfaaaaaaaaaair.

• You spend the day wallowing in self-loathing because you gained a few kilos • You feel over-worked and under-appreciated at your job • You’re in university and you hate your major, you can’t imagine actually working in the field, and the studying just sucks anything good out of life (like Dementors – Harry Potter joke #FTW) • You go through old emails and old love letters and get all teary about… you’re not quite sure what

These are all the usual triggers behind cries of “I’m so depressed!”

And yes these problems can cause you to shed a tear or two or punch a hole in the wall. But let’s put everything into perspective. Every day people lose their loved ones, their eyes, their limbs, their life savings, their homes, their lives. We don’t have it so bad.

That doesn’t mean I’m going to stop getting bothered by stupid things cold-turkey and suddenly turn into Suzy Sunshine. But at least I’ll know deep down that I’m just being an emo crybaby… and hope to God that I never have a REAL reason to cry. C

• You’re a guy and you realize your body will never ever in a million years look like the ripped dudes in the movies • You’re a girl watching some romantic movie (or even a sitcom for God’s sake) and you realize you’ll “never have a love like that” • You thought you’d have achieved more by now; are you a failure? Do others think you’re a failure? Does your ex know you’re a failure?

• You consider your love life just one continuous epic fail

49

OPINIONATED

The emotional revolution Why you shouldn’t play the blame-SCAF game

© Omar Omar

By Sherief Hassan

50 JANUARY 2012 CAMPUS

I WANT YOU ALL TO SMILE! AND THEN HAVE A DEEP SENSE OF GRATITUDE TOWARDS EVERYTHING THAT WENT ON DURING THE PAST YEAR. BECAUSE HONESTLY, THE AMOUNT OF GROWTH COLLECTIVELY ACHIEVED BY US, EGYPTIANS, DURING THE PAST YEAR IS QUITE STAGGERING. THE EGYPTIAN PERSONA (AN UBER-COMPLEX CONCEPT DEVELOPED BY YOURS TRULY) WAS IN A STAGNANT PHASE BUT THEN LIFE WAS BLOWN INTO AND IT UNDERWENT A MASSIVE OVERHAUL GIVING IT A NEW SENSE OF LIFE. IT STARTED MOVING AND IT DISCOVERED THAT IT HAD WINGS; IT STARTED FLYING WITH A GOAL, BUT NO VISION.

Things don’t just happen; you are in control of everything you do. A good heart is not enough vindication to achieve one’s noble greater cause. A vision must be paramount, and through that vision there must be a derived strategy, mission, goal and carefully selected battles.

Allow me to start with some basics: A) only the optimist ever achieves anything of significance. B) You can’t play the blame-game really; blaming the circumstances, your parents, SCAF or anybody is a waste of breath.

So, the biggest sin we fell into was being too emotional, thinking that getting back the rights of martyrs is via presenting those who killed to justice, which is right and all but way too emotional and untimely a mean not a cause to seek; where the cause here should be fulfilling what they died for in first place, which is building a great Egypt with dignity for everyone walking on its blessed turf, a more comprehensive revenge that adds massive meaning to their sacrifice.

Moreover, constantly ‘reacting’ to violations of human rights is always (and rightly so) done with anger and bitterness because of what our loved ones have been subjected to. That is of course very noble, but in doing so we concentrate on the humanitarian side and overlook the strategic and political because the “enemy” here is an institution whose original reason for existence was to come up with strategies and grand schemes to reach long term goals. So if we want to gain anything, we have to keep our hearts where they are and replace these reactions with actions, into proactive solid visions.

“

These basics are known but we tend to sway away from them due to one reason and one reason only; that is being emotional. Don’t get me wrong, a minimum level of emotions is needed to remain human, but when attempting to look upon a situation and run a battle of improvement and change one must look at the events in an objective manner. And since it’s quite easy to analyze events in retrospect, I can easily look back and see that, while it was all initially emotionally triggered, the urgency for change was still there and the vision was crystal clear waiting someone to grab and turn it into a united population of revolutionaries against tyranny and then transform them into nation builders. Since then however, we passionately took on each and every battle that was pushed upon without much thought. In other words, we’ve been tackling goals with a short sighted approach and no vision which inevitably left us vulnerable to the opportunist highjackers of our dream.

“

The ‘enemy’ here is an institution whose original reason for existence was to come up with strategies and grand schemes to reach long term goals. So if we want to gain anything, we have to keep our hearts where they are and replace reactions with actions, into proactive solid visions.

It is most interesting how in being human lie both our strength and our plight; while rising to the challenge of continuing our nation-building endeavour, emotion is what rallies us and ti is also what makes us lose sight of the vision, long term goals and waste efforts in side battles.

Here’s a bit of perspective to conclude, since history always tends to repeat itself:

A revolution has no catalogue; there are no set of rules to follow according to which you complete the game, kiss the princess and claim the grand prize. Nevertheless, however beautiful the cause, one must occasionally look at the results, and there are universal laws to abide by and by that I mean common sense; the manifestation of how being emotional dragged us into side battles and thus ultimately lost ground was the result time and time again in the events of the cabinet, Mohamed Mahmoud street, the elections and the list goes on.

Every time the result is the same, we have right on our side but SCAF wins because no matter how tactics may go wrong they are always amendable, however, a wrong strategy will leave you always losing.

The winner writes history, the winner/history writer is always righteous not taking a single gram of blame.

Do the “good” always win?

Take a look at the USA now after the war on Iraq and Afghanistan or Britain with no blame for the misdeeds of its empire. Did Hitler ever look into a mirror and think “I’m bad”? Now think again of how you want 2011 to be written, which side would you like to fall under?

So, back to the basics. Smile, be happy that change is happening, remain optimistic and never ever play the blame-SCAF game.

51

“SCAF has made sure from the beginning of the 25 January Revolution not to interfere with media policies for all forms of visual, audio and print media.�

SCAF Statement #42 - April 27th

10 media personalities and public figures summoned for military prosecution.

Issuing licenses for new satellite channels stopped.

Over 3 publications were stopped from going to print or confiscated upon print.

A number of international news channel offices were raided.

Rip it and spread it.

[ THE GAY SECTION ]

Yama Ya Heba!

By Mohammed Jamal

By Mohammed Jamal

It’s no myth. MILFs do exist and they are for some reason becoming very obvious, like a cult. And while many feminists may find what I’m about to write offensive, others might find it interesting. So if you’re interested in knowing more about the existence of MILFs in our rather conservative society, please read on.

Otherwise.....don’t.

You see, there are many ways through which a guy-girl connection happens; there are various terminologies, situations and names given types of relationships that none of us even knew existed. But when it comes to a MILF, the type of relationship always depends on HER; she is the decision maker and the man usually goes by her rules.

Unless of course her rules are creepy.

I’ll give you an example.

The ‘I’m not a whore’ Type A female, let’s call her Safi (short for Safinaz or Safeyya), because she’s of the older generation and their names are kinda old fashioned.

Anyway, Safi is at the club with her friends, she is almost 34 and divorced and she’s looking good. Usually MILFs like her are slightly chubby in a curvy shape that is very appealing for guys in their mid 20s. She doesn’t mind the extra curves because they make her stand out along with, of course, the huge cleavage and excessive use of perfume.

54 JANUARY 2012 CAMPUS

She’s too scared of being alone for the rest of her life. Her insecurities are building up on her shoulder like extra weight but she still wants to have fun, and perhaps someday she’ll meet the one person who will accept her the way she is and maybe end up with him, and if not, she’s willing to go crazy and wild. So she sees 7amada, a younger guy who looks “fun”. Target locked. Fire!

Three minutes later, 7amada is buying Safi a drink and a conversation is initiated. Usually the conversation with the likes of Safi goes like this: Safi: “Beteshta3’al eh ba2a?” (what do you do ba2a?)

7amada: “Morawwed Osood” (lion tamer) Safi: “Wow!” she says with a big smile “akeed 2albak mayyet!” (Wow, your heart must be dead) 7amada: “Ma3andekeesh fekra” winkat (you have no idea) and so on....

But with MILFs like safi, there has to be some sort of relationship before any physical action takes place, because, mel akher, she is not a whore, so she has to avoid whatever it is that would make her feel like one. And of course 7amada realises that, hence the most that could happen after their first encounter is exchanging phone numbers/ BB pins etc.

Three to seven days later, 7amada and Safi are in bed together, depending on 7amada’s conversational skills in “tazbeet”.

There’s one more thing about Safi that 7amada should be aware of. If he’s not careful, she might fall in love with him, so if he plans to take this as a casual thing he has to find a way to get it through to her without hurting her feelings. Other 7amadas don’t give much about the woman’s feelings after the sex. I don’t encourage that though.

However, the thing with MILFs who are approaching their 40s is lack of flexibility and stamina. So it’s not always what you’ve had in mind.

Sometimes it’s slightly disappointing, sometimes it’s not.

So the thing with MILFs like Safi is that she’s constantly looking for a companion, someone who would last forever, the ultimate dream. She does that using the trial and error method, she meets guys, gets to know them, gets in bed with them, maybe date them for a while and if things don’t work out, she moves on to the next, and so on. Until she finds Mr. Right or the second best if she feels that time isn’t on her side.

There are two more types of MILFs that I personally do not like:

Sex only There are MILFs who only want sex with younger men. Those are most men’s favorite kind, obviously. It’s no strings attached and it’s just sex. And if the sex is good, she’ll want to do it again, but again, if the dude is not careful, she could become possessive and obsessive.

Let’s take for example, another female, let’s say 39-year-old Fifi.

Fifi has been married more than once and has finally come to the conclusion that marriage is the most unsuccessful form of social contract between men and women. So she decides that she will never get married again, she’s had her share of the whole issue and is sharing custody of her 2 kids with her ex(es) and she’s now focusing on her career, raising her kids and having fun.

Now the fun part usually consists of hooking up with men of her choice who would sleep with her with no strings attached. Of course we all know how much men of our society would love to be part of such a deal. But there are rules for MILFs like Fifi.

Fifi chooses the man, not the other way round.

Fifi will go to the man’s place, and if he doesn’t have a place he has to come up with one.

Fifi will want the man to call the next day or she will become his enemy, even if the call doesn’t mean they’ll meet again.

If she likes the first time they slept together, she’ll want to do it again, but usually this doesn’t last for long to avoid the involvement of feelings.

If the man is scared or slightly intimidated in any way, he should not proceed with the above.

Fifi always likes to be assured of her good features.

One more thing… Fifi hates clingy men.

The Cheating Wife The cheating wife, as the name shows, is usually a wife who hates her marriage, is bored of her husband and is in continuous search for enthusiasm and adventure. She’s scared that her life would pass by without anything exciting ever happening to her. She watches a lot of movies and lives in lala land in her head. I don’t blame her for that; I blame both her and her husband. Because when you’re in a marriage, it’s like a job. And if your woman is bored or unhappy, it shows, hence you should always do something about it. And if your man is not helping, talk to him.

Of course with married couples who are not in love, she’ll cheat on him anyway if she is immoral enough. Otherwise she’ll ask for a divorce and become like Safi or Fifi.

The cheating wife is usually a one-time thing. She’ll lock her target, meet somewhere far for a day use or something, and then go back to her life again as if nothing happened. Sometimes the guy knows she’s married and sometimes the cheater chooses to remain discreet about her personal life.

The Dating Type The dating type, on the other hand are MILFs who are into relationships with younger guys, in other words they suffer late adolescence (Morahqa Mota2akhera).

The problem with the dating type is that they usually want everything their way, eventually becoming the dominant partner and the decision maker. And those relationships never end well. Never.

One thing every guy should know about MILFs. It’s never like what you see on TV and the internet.

I love Egypt. C

55

“Citizens have the right to form associations, unions, syndicates and parties according to the law.�

SCAF Constitutional Declaration - Article 4

Over 10 NGOs raided and investigated from June to December 2011.

Rip it and spread it.

optimism playlist The

]SPEAKERS ]

By Youssef Saad Eldin

IN LIGHT OF THIS NOT-SO-BRIGHT YEAR, COMPILING A PLAYLIST THAT PROMOTES POSITIVITY DOESN’T SEEM LIKE SUCH A BAD IDEA. SOME OF THOSE SONGS GIVE HOPE IN THE TRADITIONAL “IT’S GOING TO BE ALRIGHT” SENSE AND OTHERS IN THE “MAFEESH 7AGA MESTAHLA” SENSE.

• It’s a good day – Peggy Lee This song will lighten up your mood no matter what (I don’t meant that literally of course); it certainly is a symbol of optimism.

• I will survive – Gloria Gaynor Personally, I’m no fan of the “I’m a strong independent woman” attitude, not that I’m sexist, but sometimes this attitude is just a bit too much! But in all fairness, this song is in fact an icon for people standing up and getting a grip.

• Eye of the tiger - Survivor Rocky’s soundtrack, need I say more? Well, in case the answer is yes, I’ll simply say that if this song doesn’t spark something in you, then you are no human being!

• Feeling good – Nina Simone This song was originally sung by CY Grant; however I find the Nina Simone version more appealing.

It’s a bit similar to the first song on the playlist in terms of making you feel like everything will be ok.

• Sunday with a flu – Yodelice This one is sort of a special case. The lyrics are a bit depressing but the music and the general mood of the song are pretty uplifting. This song delivers the typical “not a single f*ck was given” attitude!

• Can’t stop - Red Hot Chili Peppers Well, I’ll assume that whoever knows Red Hot Chili Peppers will find the title pretty self-explanatory!

But just in case you’re not familiar with the band, I’ll simply say that this song screams cheerfulness.

• Unchain my heart – Ray Charles Just another song about a guy getting screwed by a lady, only that the music along with the “Ray Charles attitude” clearly show that nothing could get to the man.

• Dream on – Aerosmith I guess the song’s title says it all!

• She loves you - The Beatles No matter how bad things are, there is always a way to set it straight (el etkasar yetsala7), and it’s not limited to relationship crap only. This concept applies to pretty much everything.

• Bourree’ – Jethro Tull and Take 5 – Dave Brubeck Quartet (Both are instrumental) Simply better than Valium or Whiskey or whatever it is you use to chill you out.

57 JANUARY 2012 CAMPUS

] BALLS ]

Barcelona vs. Madrid…

Who else is sick of hearing that?

© Olylukis

By Michel Antoun

58 JANUARY 2012 CAMPUS

JUST TO BE CLEAR, THESE ARE TWO OF THE MOST POWERFUL TEAMS ON THE PLANET, ESPECIALLY BARCELONA’S CURRENT TEAM PROBABLY BEING ONE OF THE BEST FOOTBALL TEAMS EVER. BUT FOOTBALL ISN’T JUST ABOUT THESE TWO TEAMS, AND THIS ARTICLE IS ABOUT WHY AND HOW THEY CAN BE BEATEN.

First of all, one of these teams is going to win the league, and if they put their mind to it, probably the Spanish cup, too. Honestly though, the Spanish league sucks! It’s like watching Walker Texas Ranger, the old TV show where Chuck Norris was a sheriff who came across hundreds of terrible people with hundreds of different agendas and an alarmingly huge armory, but good old Chuck always kicked their asses without using weapons! Then again, Chuck Norris is always “entertaining” to watch, wish I could say the same for the Spanish league. Barca and Real always seem to win, more like destroy, even without all their star players. Where’s the joy in watching a game when there’s no competition?

What it boils down to at the end of the season is both teams having over 90 points, scoring around a 100 goals and their closest rival being over 20 points behind, in 38 matches! They’ve both already reached the 50 goal mark with 16 matches played, and there’s really no doubt one of them is going to win the league, probably whoever wins the second match between them.

A real test to a team’s strength is the Champions League, specifically starting from the quarter finals. Both teams have been exemplary so far in the competition, but no real challenges yet and no real need to really play, but come next February the Champions league continues, and that’s where the real challenges lie in wait.

There definitely aren’t too many teams that can beat them, pretty much their only challengers for the European crown are Inter Milan (who aren’t having a good season so far but are starting to make up for lost time), AC Milan (who already lost to Barca when both teams had already secured passage), Chelsea, and my personal favorite team Bayern Munich, who have the players to challenge them and the added incentive of having the final played in their own stadium, Allianz arena. Arsenal have an outside shot, thanks to an on-fire Robin Van Persie.

REGARDLESS OF WHO THEY FACE, BOTH TEAMS AREN’T UNBEATABLE AND HAVE THEIR FLAWS, SO LET’S START WITH REAL MADRID. Cristiano Ronaldo is regarded as one of the best players in the world, and rightly so. His goal to game ratio is astounding (20 in 16 La Liga matches and 3 in 4 champions league games), he’s what you’d call a complete player with 1 on 1 dribbling skills, master free kick taker, penalty taking expert, got a great heading ability, and this season especially he’s managed to overcome his one huge flaw by becoming more of a team player with multiple assists to his name.

However Ronaldo is a notorious big game flop. In 2 Champions League finals, 2 FA cup finals, 1 Spanish cup final, and multiple matchups in between against big European names during his time with Real Madrid and Manchester United, he managed the one solitary goal in last year’s Spanish cup final against Barcelona, in a match he didn’t really impress anyone in (if memory serves, he receive a 6.0 rating on “goal.com” which is a below average rating).

You can’t really make excuses for that because great players are expected to help out their team, even if they’re having a bad match, and that one goal is certainly not enough.

2nd point is Madrid’s defense. Overall it’s not a bad defense really but the pairing of Sergio Ramos and Pepe certainly has its flaws. Pepe is a hothead who almost always loses control under pressure, especially

when the team is losing, and Sergio Ramos has his own lapses in concentration as well as being a hothead too but not as much as Pepe.

On the other hand, Ricardo Carvalho has been error-prone and actually quite the hothead himself (it’s like they enjoy getting these players!).

Left back Marcelo has developed quite well since he first came to Madrid offensively, but defensively he’s quite embarrassing actually, although he also did improve a bit this season.

Originally a left back, Fabio Coentrao has been deployed as a midfielder, before recently being utilized as a right back, and we all saw how well that worked against Barcelona a few weeks back.

While they do have a wealth of attacking and midfield talents at hand, you get the feeling that sometimes these players are being used incorrectly. For example, Mesut Oezil who has certainly made a name for himself last year at the World cup, is considered by many as underperforming this season with Madrid, while he’s being having an exquisite season with Germany and the friendly against the Netherlands where he scored a goal and had an all round great match is a prime example.

Problem is, he’s used to being the focal point in attack, while Madrid focus their attacks through wingers Ronaldo and Di Maria, which forces Oezil to fall back in order to receive the ball, limiting his ability to perform his trademark defense splitting passes. Perhaps Real Madrid should consider a different approach to the transfer market before they bury any more players.

AND NOW ONTO BARCELONA They have considerably less flaws. Pretty much their biggest flaw is the lack of depth in the squad, especially in defense. While they have incredibly talented youngsters, most of them aren’t ready for big games yet, and in case of injury or suspension, Barca has a problem; David Villa has already been ruled out with a broken leg for most of the season, leaving the team with one striker option; the injury prone Alexis Sanchez.

In the center of defense there are no substitutes for Puyol or Pique and Guardiola plays with either Busquets (if you read my article in the last issue, you’ll know I’m really not a fan of this guy), Mascherano, Keita or Eric Abidal, all who have failed to impress in the CB position. Anyone remember the Champions League semi-final against Chelsea around 3 years back? Pique was suspended for the return match and Abidal took his place only to be sent off in the first half. Barcelona managed to advance thanks to a last gasp equalizer by Iniesta, but you can’t really expect luck to bail you out in case this scenario happens again can you?

Besides, no team has ever won the Champions league twice in a row since the inception of its current form 20 years ago, so the odds are against Barcelona.

Anyway back to the point of this whole article, Barcelona and Real Madrid are indeed powerful, but not unbeatable, and I’m willing to bet neither will win the Champions League this year, for the good of both football and my sanity, which is slowly slipping away every damn time I hear a debate on who’s the most powerful, Barcelona or Real Madrid. I hate them both equally! (Well I probably hate Real Madrid a lot more but that’s a different story).

59

“SCAF denies the allegations of delaying the presidential elections to 2012 and affirms that they shall be held according to schedule (6 months as of ousting Mubarak)” SCAF Statement #28 - March 27 th

Guess what? They’re still in charge and are supposedly handing power to a civilian government in June 2012 bearing in mind that they had originally planned to hand it in 2013.

Rip it and spread it.

We promise to dedicate 2012...

to our martyrs.

to struggle.

to sacrifice.

Š Yahia Zakaria

to courage.

to Tahrir.

Y U NO STOP BEING PASSIVE AGRESSIVE?!

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