Eman El-Shenawi: Bailing out Greece has tipped it over the eurozone’s edge
Tuesday, 15 May 2012
Greece was bailed out under rules it wasn’t ready for. The attempt to save the country from defaulting has actually tipped it over the edge and foreshadows a eurozone exit. Why? Because the bailout never ensured the country’s fiscal stability. If anything, the rescue package, as I have noted in a previous blog, was more a ... Read More
Eman El-Shenawi: The anti-Zionist and the fascists enter England’s mayoral race
Thursday, 03 May 2012
Racial and religious tensions are shrouding Britain’s mayoral elections this month. They have leapt onto the electoral scene in a two-pronged attack; one concerning a left-wing mayor accused of overtly displaying an anti-Zionist attitude, the other is in regards to the recent rise of far-right movements across the country. ... Read More
Eman El-Shenawi: For lessons on how to sin ‘quietly,’ refer to Britain’s colonial files
Thursday, 26 April 2012
It was always naïve to assume colonial legacies, no matter how prim and proper they may appear, had controlled the lands of others without brutality, human rights abuses and so on. Despite being familiar with Britain’s colonial history, I still would not instinctively draw parallels with the sort of crimes or “quiet sins” the ... Read More
Dina al-Shibeeb: On U.S. foreign policy failure in Iraq and conspiracy theories in Gulf
Wednesday, 25 April 2012
American foreign policy in the Middle East failed to achieve what it had hoped to do after the toppling of Saddam Hussein’s dictatorial regime: it did not create a strong U.S.-Iraq alliance and it did not weaken Iran’s resolve in pursuing its “suspicious” nuclear program. Students of political science are aware how the ... Read More
Ayman Qenawi: President Abul Fotouh
Tuesday, 17 April 2012
The Presidential Election Committee jolted the Egyptian political scene on Saturday when it disqualified 10 hopefuls, including front-runners Khairat al-Shater, of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hazim Abu Ismail, a very popular Salafist, and Omar Suleiman, a former vice president and intelligence chief. Each of the 10 has been ... Read More
Noora Faraj: Put down your guns and let’s go have breakfast
Friday, 13 April 2012
“For a few to be immortal, many must die.” That was one of the last sentences Henry Hamilton said to Will Salas before jumping off the ledge. I recently watched an in-flight movie titled “In Time” ─ which features the above dialogue ─ and it wasn’t an intriguing movie just because former teen-pop sensation turned actor ... Read More
Rana Khoury: Islamism: For scare, sale or hate?
Thursday, 12 April 2012
When Frenchman Mohamed Merah murders children in Toulouse, he is portrayed as a ”Muslim terrorist.” When Anders Breivik commits atrocities by killing children in Norway, he is also a terrorist, first having been diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic then, more recently, as a sane “mass killer.” Cho, a senior English major, ... Read More
Carina Kamel: The Race is on to be Egypt's next president and it's one heck of a show
Tuesday, 10 April 2012
Watching events unfold in Egypt's presidential race over the past few weeks has been like watching a riveting television political thriller of the many episode variety. Countless twists and turns, high drama and spectacle, and just when you think you've figured out a piece of the puzzle something totally unexpected ... Read More
Ayman Qenawi: Egypt’s presidency … The Amazing Race
Sunday, 08 April 2012
Following Egypt’s presidential race with its twists and turns over the past 10 days has become no less breathtaking than watching epic and action movies on MBC and the local Panorama Action. Every day, literally, brings something new. The surprises started with press reports that the mother of front-runner Hazem Abu ... Read More
Eman El-Shenawi: Building ‘superpower’ BRICS with a global bank?
Tuesday, 03 April 2012
At first, it wasn’t immediately obvious to many what a BRICS bank would achieve. The group of fast-growing emerging markets – Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa – having a joint bank to their name … Why? Who would stand to gain? Up until 2010 it was not yet clear how the countries were moving forward as one, let ... Read More
Ricardo Guerra: Muamba’s medical mystery
Monday, 02 April 2012
For the last two weeks, the world has been following the recovery of Bolton Wanderers midfielder Fabrice Muamba, who collapsed in the March 17 match against Tottenham. The fact that Muamba is alive following cardiac arrest, where he was shocked 15 times in the 78 minutes he was without a pulse, is astounding ─ very few people ... Read More
Ayman Qenawi: This is why I’m NOT voting for Khirat El-Shater
Sunday, 01 April 2012
The Muslim Brotherhood, which currently controls the two chambers of parliament, has decided to field a candidate in the upcoming presidential election, in flagrant violation of a repeated promise to the Egyptian people not to do just that. It declared Saturday that its deputy leader Khirat El-Shater will be its one and only ... Read More
Danielle Angel: Let’s not forget U.S. student loan debts
Thursday, 29 March 2012
As most Americans focus on the Trayvon Martin investigation, the Supreme Court health care hearings, and other sensational stories, another potential crisis is looming that experts are comparing to the 2008 economic crisis and the housing crisis: rising student loan debt. Experts may disagree on what to do to amend the ... Read More
Eman El-Shenawi: Raising a brow at the Syrian death toll
Sunday, 25 March 2012
It’s March 2011. The Egyptian and Tunisian revolts have been and gone, while the Libyan episode is underway, but still relatively fresh. The media had already been citing deaths during the regional unrest when anti-government protests erupted in Syria. Naturally, death tolls began to measure the mounting scale of the conflict ... Read More
Ayman Qenawi: Pope Shenouda: Patriarch of Arabia
Sunday, 18 March 2012
Millions of Egyptians are shedding tears over the demise of Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria and Patriarch of Saint Mark Diocese, a man hailed as a great patriot. The frail pontiff passed away on Saturday at the age of 88 after a years-long battle with multiple illnesses. For years, he shuttled between Egypt and the U.S. to ... Read More
Dina al-Shibeeb: Looks are deceiving ─ even in politics
Saturday, 17 March 2012
Let’s just face the truth: looks do matter. It is no surprise that better looking people enjoy higher salaries than others who are less fortunate in the aesthetics department. People who want to climb the social ladder, do try to don the best attire, invest in perfumes and magically never have a bad hair day, because ... Read More
Angela Simaan: Notes from Super Tuesday in Ohio
Wednesday, 07 March 2012
Ohio put the “super” in Super Tuesday. During the past few days of covering the Republican primary in and around the city of Columbus, the state capital, we talked to voters, experts, and other generally opinionated people who provided good perspective on this bellwether state, and explained a lot about why leading Republican ... Read More
Eman El-Shenawi: Israel, Iran, America: Our opinion matters?
Sunday, 04 March 2012
You have lived and been brought up in a democracy; learned and identified the worth of your opinion, you know when to voice it and assume it should be heard. All your life you’ve heard mantras such as “power to the people” or have found yourself giving comebacks such as “Why not? It’s a free country.” But then the politics kick ... Read More
Rana Khoury: In Syria, children die and live too early
Thursday, 01 March 2012
If Tunisia has its Mohammad Bouazizi, Syria has its Hamza el-Khatib, the Syrian boy who died allegedly while in government custody. On May 25, 2011, his body was delivered to his family, having been badly bruised, along with burn marks, gunshots and other horrifying signs of torture. Hamza was just a child when he was ... Read More
Eman El-Shenawi: The Eurozone’s coup d’état in Greece is complete
Sunday, 26 February 2012
Greece has not been bailed out; the eurozone has. This is an agonizing point analysts are continuing to drum home to a world which eagerly follows the thespian events in the country’s debt saga. Last week, Greece was readying itself to endorse a debt swap with private bondholders to slice €100 billion off the ... Read More