Yosri Fouda's comeback on Akher kalam

Yosri Fouda made his first show in 3 weeks on his regular show Akher kalam yesterday evening. The guests are the same that was supposed to be on the last show that was taken of screen hours before it was supposed to be aired live on ONTV, the show was going to be about the interview with two SCAF members on the Maspero massacare among other things, that interview was an in depth show co-aired by Dream 2 and al Tahrir hosted by Mona al Shazly and Ibrahim Eissa.

The original Akher Kalam show was to have two guests, Ibrahim Eissa and Alaa al Aswany, do to pressure the show was canceled , and Yosri Fouda took a stand on media freedom , promise not to return to the show before things got better. Anything but the same guests on this comeback show would have been unthinkable. and that's exactly what happened.

A very warm welcome back to Yosri Fouda! Enjoy the show!

Bokra

Bokra feels like an atempt of doing another al helm al 3arabi , with mainstream artists like Kazem al Saher, Saber al Rabeieh and Tamer Hosny , but also more artists with an activist perspective like Rim Banna and Souad Massi.

2011 has seen a new genre emerge , revolution songs , this is not one of them, but it still tries to capitalize on that trend , but in the end one could hope that tommorow will bring a much better future. The voice and the mindset of the people throughout the Arab World has , and will change even further. That is the great gain of 2011 , the year of the Arab Revolutions.

The Maspero Massacre - What Really Happend

Over a month has passed since that Sunday, and i still can't look at the pictures from the Coptic Hospital or see the scenes with the APG's running over people without getting the exact same feeling of anger, disbelief, and hate.

The aftermath has not helped in curbing that feeling, on the contrary. The way it's been handled is nothing but a disgrace and it will change the way ordinary Egyptians look upon the 20 men that leads the country at this point in time. History will judge them harshly and the events at Maspero will be just as vividly known and remembered as Dinshaway is 105 years after the incident.

In support of and solidarity with Alaa

I want to express my full support and solidarity with Alaa Abd al Fattah , whom recieved a 15-day detaiment by the Military Prosecution at C28. Civilians should not be tried in military courts, full stop. The Maspero incident as such should definitely not be under the jurisdiction of any military court, while the military was an active part http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifihttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifn the incident. This case symbolizes everything that is wrong with the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, they have done a lousy job of convincing the people that they are the custodians of the #Jan25 revolution. They are the single largest stumbling block on the road to a free society , a road that was paved with the blood of the 865 + martyrs whom payed the ultimate prize. I don't have an answer to the question of what should replace the SCAF , i only know that something is terribly wrong in the state of Egypt , and it's a four letter word #SCAF

My thoughts goes to Alaa, Manal and their family.

Please read Sarah Carr's brilliant piece.

Yemeni activist Tawakul Karman , Nobel Peace Laurete 2011

The Yemeni activist Tawakul Karman is one of three Nobel Peace Prize lauretes this year, the other two being Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Liberian Women's rights and peace activist Leymah Gbowe.

The Jury's motivation was:

for their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work.

Tawakul Karman's reaction upon recieving the Nobel Peace Prize:



She dedicates the prize to the youth an women of the Yemeni and the Arab Revolution, and the peaceful way of these revolution. She celebrates at Change Square in Sanaa.

In my view, the fact that tawakul Karman recieved the prestigious award is a recognition of the crucial part played by women, not only in Yemen , but also in general in the uprisings during the "Arab Spring" This is as much a prize for Nawarra Negm, Esra Abdel Fattah , Mona Seif , Gigi Ibrahim, Lina Ben Mehenni to name but a few. It's also a tribute to the reclaiming of peoples power and an active citizenry in the Arab World as a whole.

I'm immensely proud and happy for Tawakul Karman and the Yemeni revolution whose struggle for freedom continues.

Above is a profile on Tawakul Karman from al Jazeera English series People & Power, Yemen: A tale of two protests from March 16th 2011. Another blogger's view on the matter for those knowing German from Hannes Alpen and Cristoph Sydow can be found here.

أنت الصوت

This song is written and performed by emerging Tunisian artists Yasser Jrad, Badiaa Bouhrizi, Bender Man, If Lemhaf, Ben Nawel Kraiem Bizerta and Armada to create awareness for the upcoming Tunisian Constituent Assembly election now schedueled for Oct 23rd, postponed from the original date, July 24th. Of course music played a part in the Yasmine revolution that started in Mid-December 2010, in the small rural town of Sidi Bouzid , and whose first part concluded by the departure of former President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.

More on the song can be found here.

Ladies at the MubarakTrial gives me the laugh of the week

This interview with three ladies that can' t be described as anything but hardcore Mubarakfans (probably a great understatement) at the Police Academy during the fourth court session of the Mubarak trial yesterday really made my day. It's a must see. Comedy at it's best.

Thanks to AJ Misr Mubasher for providing us with this interview that iluminates and enlighten us on what actually took place at Abdel Moneim Riad Square during the January 25th revolution... I would love to be the manager of these three ladies and go on a world tour, i'm convinced they would be an instant success, in Iran, Iraq, Lebanon , Israel and Kafr al Meselha among other places...

Free Maikel Nabil - No to military trials for civilians

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Maikel Nabil was the first prisoner of conscience in the post-Mubarak era. He was arrested on March 28, and tried and convicted in a military court that's not up to par with international standards. Maikel Nabil was given a three-year prison sentence , for publicly insulting the Army on April 8th.

He´s been on hungerstrike for the last nine days.

Since February 11, more than 7000 civilians has been tried in Military trials.

More on Maikel's case in an urgent action campaign from Amnesty International and CPJ.

A very late Eid greeting

This is a very late Eid greeting to the Fustat readers with this beutiful song from the ever so lovely Reem Banna.

A special thought goes to the families of the at least 846 martyrs of the Jan25 revolution in Egypt, the first Eid without their loved one.