Monday, March 20, 2006
On a happier note?
If anyone has been following, I had previously published a post on the Model United Nations at the University where I used to study. Something happened today that made me think: well hey, maybe there is a light at the end of the long, dark tunnel!
A good friend of mine was chosen to be Secretary-General of the conference; the big honcho of all honchos. Knowing that the person running against her, technically speaking, really had no chance to make it as Secretary-General (Sec Gen), I really shouldn't have been this happy. Not happy in the sense that I should have known that she was going to win, and would have been preparing my congratulations.
Not so. Usually, the person I root for ends up not getting it. I am not sure if this is because I support them (morally, since there is really nothing else I did or could have done for that matter) or because I generally choose the person who is less qualified or my understanding of the criteria upon which the choice is made is highly skewed.
Either way, Nouran became Sec Gen, and I believe a new dawn will light up the land of MUN. I percieve her as someone who might bring change in the way she deals with her secretariat and organizing committee (OC) members and heads. Postive change. Positive here meaning: no pretentiousness and sticking to the old ways just because they are the old ways. Positive also meaning that she might listen to her secretariats' needs and not feel the urge to blindly enforce her views. She, thankfully, hasn't been tainted by excessive exposure to those MUN-ers that I consider tainted.
Sadly, the battle is not over. After choosing the Sec Gen, there comes the choosing of the Graduate Advisor (affectionately called the Grad Ad) and the OC Head. As for OC head, I have no major problem with the two applicants I am sure (personally, and not officially) will apply. But there is a problem with the Grad Ad part of the matter. Another friend is applying for that position. Regretfully, the person running against her is a pretentious little fool who gets off on showing people that he knows it all and who always makes stupid stupid jokes. Worse than mine. Believe me when I tell you that if you're jokes are worse than mine, then you're in trouble.
I say sadly because my friend has fewer MUN experiences than pretentious little fool. I want her to get it, but tradtional MUN thinking would have it that experiences are strongly valued (which isn't a bad thing in and of itself). It also means that the personality aspect is not stressed as strongly. Nor is the ability to use your head instead of your ass to think (which is what I think he does).
I'm crossing my fingers and hoping that Nouran makes the right choice. The situation looks grim. I was day-dreaming about actually going up to the faculty advisor (who gets a say in these matters and is the de facto last word on the issue - so it's more than a say really) and informing her that pretentious little fool shouldn't be chosen. It went along these lines:
*I Enter the Faculty Advisor's office after knocking*
Me: Good Morning Doctor.
Faculty Advisor: Good Morning.
Me: Doctor, I've been wanting to talk to you about something.
Faculty Advisor: Go on.
Me: I don't think you should choose pretentious little fool as Grad Ad. In fact, I think you should stand whole-heartedly against it. (I actually say pretentious little fool and she manages to understand who I'm talking about, since its my Day-Dream).
Faculty Advisor: And why is that?
Me: Well, I'm sure you noticed that he's a pretentious little fool.
Faculty Advisor: Yes, as a matter of fact, I did.
Me: Then you should veto him being chosen. Better yet, he should not be allowed to run for this position.
Faculty Advisor: I think I'll take your word for it. *Erases his name with a pen from a paper conveniently placed in front of her* It's done. You don't have to worry about it.
Me: Thanks Doc!
Faculty Advisor: That's alright, what you said makes complete and utter sense (Hurray for her understanding!)
Yeah, I know I have serious psychological issues but...
That's just the way I see it.
What's up?!
Today, I read an article in an Egyptian Newspaper, El Masree el Yoam (literally translated to The Egyptian Today), with the following headline; 'A Prominent Official to "The Egyptian Today": High-level instructions to uncover the corruption of former Ministers and High-level Officials'.
The article discusses, in brief, the case of a particular Egyptian former Official, Ibrahim Nafea, the former Chief of the Board and Editor-in-Chief of the government-owned Al-Ahram newspaper (the most widely sold Arab newspaper in the world). The article explains that the newspaper's source claims that Nafae's diplomatic immunity will be lifted as soon as the evidence against him is completely compiled. This will occur when the Egyptian Shura Council (Egyptian Parliamentary Higher Council for Advising)** convenes a session with Nafae in the presence of the Parliamentary Committee on the Constitution and Legislation and discuss the matter with him.
The article goes on to mention that up to three former Ministers and a larger number of former officials will, or might - it doesn't make it clear, be tried for similar charges of corruption as well as waste and mismanagement of Public Funds. There are two things that irked me when I read this article.
First of all, why are there only a few officials on trial for corruption in a country which reeks of it?
Second, and more important, why do we not see Public Officials being charged before the word former is appended to their titles? This has almost always been the case in Egypt, as far back as I have been monitoring the news closely (about nine years). I will discuss in length other instances of obvious corruption and mismanagement in separate posts, but for now I will comment on the use of the word "former".
First though, I have to admit there was a tinge of happiness when I read the article. Not only because these people have been, or are being, brought to justice but also because I felt that they have been used as scapegoats or, at least, they've been abandoned by the Egyptian "Old Guard"***. The reason it makes me feel happy is because I get the feeling that the old ways, the old order of politics in Egypt so to speak, is dying out. When former partners in crime are being sacrificed, this speaks of instability. Either the Old Guard are being replaced by the new (headed by the President's Son Gamal Mubarak) or a change of methods and system has come about in such a way that some have to be sacrificed to give the illusion of change and reform.
On the issue of "former", the situation is much clearer (to me at least). As with most Authoritarian systems which encourage crony-ism, you cannot risk charging someone in office as it might come back and bite you in the ass. Ibrahim Nafae was replaced about a year ago. His replacement was expected by many, but still came as a surprise to me. The man has held that position for well over a decade, possibly surpassing two (I am not sure about the exact number). As a child, I did not think it possible for anyone else to become Editor-in-Chief of Al-Ahram, and I am not exaggerating.
I'm guessing that the "case" against him was being built by certain people in power before his replacement. Egypt is a state where political players, especially those directly involved in the shaping of policy, are quite shrewd. Most know how to adapt to a changing situation quite efficiently (if you think about it, most of the Old Guard were members of Former President Nasser's National Socialist Party - hardcore advocates of Socialism... or so it seemed). In fact, and this does not require any level of political maturity or knowledge, they moved from position to position and adopted ideology upon ideology as their political survival dictated. So they were first Socialist and now they are hardcore capitalists. Yeah, so? Who cares?
Only self-delusion can convince one that they are, in fact, supporters and advocates of these ideologies that they perpetuate, spread and market; these people want power and money... how they get it is a mere detail.
So yeah. Try Ibrahim Nafae, convict him (or not) of those charges of corruption, bribery and whatever else you care for. Yay to the Public Prosecutor and all those Policemen involved in the investigations! You've bagged a big fish my friends. Just know this: it's obvious that that Egypt, as a political system, is at the beginning of the end. The Decline starts here. I'm guessing that there will be more violence and dissent as time goes by. This is the only the beginning, and I'm sure they know it.
I don't want the peaceful transfer of power; this would leave too many low and mid-level bureaucrats in positions that would effectively cripple (as it does now) the Egyptian bureaucracy. I want major upheavel... possibly a revolution. It will be bloody, that cannot be denied.
But it would be worth it.
And that's the way I see it.
--------------------------------------------------------------
** Please keep in mind that this is my name for the body, as it is officially recognized and known as the Shura Council. They have no effective power in parliament and merely recommend. Most members are either long-time professionals or holders of Ph.Ds. They are members of many specialized committees in parliament. I wish the Egyptian government would give English names to all public institutions... it isn't that difficult. Thank god the Military academy isn't called: El Koleya El Harbeya.
*** The Old Guard are those people directly involved in decision-making at higher levels and have been so for uptil three decades, many since Former President Gamal Abdel Nasser. Most have been members of Nasser's National Socialist Party, Sadat's Egypt's Party and Mubarak's National Democratic Party. Many are former police, army or intelligence officers. Almost all are acknowledged as being extremely corrupt (never verified officially through a court-room ruling.. though many who have fell out of favor do get charged with committing a plethora of offences).
The article discusses, in brief, the case of a particular Egyptian former Official, Ibrahim Nafea, the former Chief of the Board and Editor-in-Chief of the government-owned Al-Ahram newspaper (the most widely sold Arab newspaper in the world). The article explains that the newspaper's source claims that Nafae's diplomatic immunity will be lifted as soon as the evidence against him is completely compiled. This will occur when the Egyptian Shura Council (Egyptian Parliamentary Higher Council for Advising)** convenes a session with Nafae in the presence of the Parliamentary Committee on the Constitution and Legislation and discuss the matter with him.
The article goes on to mention that up to three former Ministers and a larger number of former officials will, or might - it doesn't make it clear, be tried for similar charges of corruption as well as waste and mismanagement of Public Funds. There are two things that irked me when I read this article.
First of all, why are there only a few officials on trial for corruption in a country which reeks of it?
Second, and more important, why do we not see Public Officials being charged before the word former is appended to their titles? This has almost always been the case in Egypt, as far back as I have been monitoring the news closely (about nine years). I will discuss in length other instances of obvious corruption and mismanagement in separate posts, but for now I will comment on the use of the word "former".
First though, I have to admit there was a tinge of happiness when I read the article. Not only because these people have been, or are being, brought to justice but also because I felt that they have been used as scapegoats or, at least, they've been abandoned by the Egyptian "Old Guard"***. The reason it makes me feel happy is because I get the feeling that the old ways, the old order of politics in Egypt so to speak, is dying out. When former partners in crime are being sacrificed, this speaks of instability. Either the Old Guard are being replaced by the new (headed by the President's Son Gamal Mubarak) or a change of methods and system has come about in such a way that some have to be sacrificed to give the illusion of change and reform.
On the issue of "former", the situation is much clearer (to me at least). As with most Authoritarian systems which encourage crony-ism, you cannot risk charging someone in office as it might come back and bite you in the ass. Ibrahim Nafae was replaced about a year ago. His replacement was expected by many, but still came as a surprise to me. The man has held that position for well over a decade, possibly surpassing two (I am not sure about the exact number). As a child, I did not think it possible for anyone else to become Editor-in-Chief of Al-Ahram, and I am not exaggerating.
I'm guessing that the "case" against him was being built by certain people in power before his replacement. Egypt is a state where political players, especially those directly involved in the shaping of policy, are quite shrewd. Most know how to adapt to a changing situation quite efficiently (if you think about it, most of the Old Guard were members of Former President Nasser's National Socialist Party - hardcore advocates of Socialism... or so it seemed). In fact, and this does not require any level of political maturity or knowledge, they moved from position to position and adopted ideology upon ideology as their political survival dictated. So they were first Socialist and now they are hardcore capitalists. Yeah, so? Who cares?
Only self-delusion can convince one that they are, in fact, supporters and advocates of these ideologies that they perpetuate, spread and market; these people want power and money... how they get it is a mere detail.
So yeah. Try Ibrahim Nafae, convict him (or not) of those charges of corruption, bribery and whatever else you care for. Yay to the Public Prosecutor and all those Policemen involved in the investigations! You've bagged a big fish my friends. Just know this: it's obvious that that Egypt, as a political system, is at the beginning of the end. The Decline starts here. I'm guessing that there will be more violence and dissent as time goes by. This is the only the beginning, and I'm sure they know it.
I don't want the peaceful transfer of power; this would leave too many low and mid-level bureaucrats in positions that would effectively cripple (as it does now) the Egyptian bureaucracy. I want major upheavel... possibly a revolution. It will be bloody, that cannot be denied.
But it would be worth it.
And that's the way I see it.
--------------------------------------------------------------
** Please keep in mind that this is my name for the body, as it is officially recognized and known as the Shura Council. They have no effective power in parliament and merely recommend. Most members are either long-time professionals or holders of Ph.Ds. They are members of many specialized committees in parliament. I wish the Egyptian government would give English names to all public institutions... it isn't that difficult. Thank god the Military academy isn't called: El Koleya El Harbeya.
*** The Old Guard are those people directly involved in decision-making at higher levels and have been so for uptil three decades, many since Former President Gamal Abdel Nasser. Most have been members of Nasser's National Socialist Party, Sadat's Egypt's Party and Mubarak's National Democratic Party. Many are former police, army or intelligence officers. Almost all are acknowledged as being extremely corrupt (never verified officially through a court-room ruling.. though many who have fell out of favor do get charged with committing a plethora of offences).
Sunday, March 12, 2006
(No Title)
Hmm. Lets see, I really think that you have made some MAJOR leaps in logic. Out of insane curiousity, I am wondering how it is you are so sure that the Israeli girl was being fake? I mean for all you know the girl was just trying to get along. And what's more she had one Egyptian girl and two Jordanians with her in the same room!! Come on, she had to, at the very least, feel extremely awkward. You can't really blame her for trying to get along. Not to mention that that was the whole idea of the project, she must have been terrified.
Now lets get to the guy who "respected" your hatred. For all you know he could have been checking out your ass, or thinking the he can score one for Israeli males.
Sorry if I am slamming your blog. It ain't personal.
Now lets get to the guy who "respected" your hatred. For all you know he could have been checking out your ass, or thinking the he can score one for Israeli males.
Sorry if I am slamming your blog. It ain't personal.
Friday, March 10, 2006
The only two Israelis I know
I'm writing in reference to Faisal's conclusion on Israelis.
I'm late I know…but it just reminded me of my own contact with Israelis…
My friend Heba has been active in a peace organization called CISV, which organizes camps for kids and teens from various countries. I joined for a while, although it became very clear to me that I'm not the type that will work hard for the sake of world peace. For I can find many other causes that I think are much more worthy of my efforts. That's because I don't believe that world peace is realistically achievable. By this I don't mean that one shouldn't at least try to make some change, since that would mean that we shouldn't work on the environment either. But I just don't think that some Arab and some Israeli children should meet and become friends, for the only thing that this creates is an inner conflict which can become really painful in case those two countries should get into war again. That is, if the kids really learn to become friends in the first place. My experience showed otherwise.
I was a late teen at the time when I was sent to a CISV project management workshop in Italy. It was a lot of fun and I learnt a lot. I must add that the main reason I had joined CISV was the amazing organizational skills of the junior branch of which I was part.
Due to Egypt Air, I arrived in Italy 12 hours too late. So I didn't get to choose my bed. The bed I got was in a room with 2 Jordanian girls and - in the lower bunk of my bed – an Israeli girl. The Israeli girl was being too nice for my taste and it just felt too fake. She was the first Israeli I had ever met and I hadn't thought about how to deal with such a situation before. So I just played her game: great cooperation at work, extreme kindness and friendliness, if a little cool, and expressed religious and national pride – as if there was no problem at all. But we had a secret that flowed between us: there was no peace, we hated each other. And we were secretly lobbying for our cultures. Of course the Arab side – parallel to reality – had the advantage of larger numbers. I just couldn't like her. I caught myself expressing my dislike in very secretive ways, like by jumping off of the bunk bed in the early morning, making sure she woke up from the thump. Having her around and in my own room was very uncomfortable. I had to let it out in some way.
Then there was the Israeli guy on board. With him it was different. We kept our communication to the minimum. We kept our distance, acknowledging and respecting our mutual hatred.
But in both cases, our conflict was kept very silent.
When it was time to leave, the girl hugged me "warmly" and i thought she was carrying our fake friendship too far, so I didn't hug her back. I said goodbye to everyone else and at the end, the Israeli guy, passing me by, thumped me on the back in a rather kind way and gave me a half smile. For some reason, I was really touched. I liked the way he handled the situation. That thump on the back kind of meant it was all not personal, but that this was the way it was and we didn't have to force it or to pretend it was otherwise. That thump was a "thank you" for not faking it. There was a mutual understanding. So for some reason, by the end of the camp, I liked the not-nice Israeli more than the overly friendly one.
A camp can't remove hatred towards Israel in general, it just teaches you to hide it well and play it right. And if you do get to like one of them, it is an exception; it doesn't make you reconsider your feelings towards Israelis in general. It rather makes you forgive the fact that he's an Israeli, and treat it as a flaw that you learn to tolerate.
I'm late I know…but it just reminded me of my own contact with Israelis…
My friend Heba has been active in a peace organization called CISV, which organizes camps for kids and teens from various countries. I joined for a while, although it became very clear to me that I'm not the type that will work hard for the sake of world peace. For I can find many other causes that I think are much more worthy of my efforts. That's because I don't believe that world peace is realistically achievable. By this I don't mean that one shouldn't at least try to make some change, since that would mean that we shouldn't work on the environment either. But I just don't think that some Arab and some Israeli children should meet and become friends, for the only thing that this creates is an inner conflict which can become really painful in case those two countries should get into war again. That is, if the kids really learn to become friends in the first place. My experience showed otherwise.
I was a late teen at the time when I was sent to a CISV project management workshop in Italy. It was a lot of fun and I learnt a lot. I must add that the main reason I had joined CISV was the amazing organizational skills of the junior branch of which I was part.
Due to Egypt Air, I arrived in Italy 12 hours too late. So I didn't get to choose my bed. The bed I got was in a room with 2 Jordanian girls and - in the lower bunk of my bed – an Israeli girl. The Israeli girl was being too nice for my taste and it just felt too fake. She was the first Israeli I had ever met and I hadn't thought about how to deal with such a situation before. So I just played her game: great cooperation at work, extreme kindness and friendliness, if a little cool, and expressed religious and national pride – as if there was no problem at all. But we had a secret that flowed between us: there was no peace, we hated each other. And we were secretly lobbying for our cultures. Of course the Arab side – parallel to reality – had the advantage of larger numbers. I just couldn't like her. I caught myself expressing my dislike in very secretive ways, like by jumping off of the bunk bed in the early morning, making sure she woke up from the thump. Having her around and in my own room was very uncomfortable. I had to let it out in some way.
Then there was the Israeli guy on board. With him it was different. We kept our communication to the minimum. We kept our distance, acknowledging and respecting our mutual hatred.
But in both cases, our conflict was kept very silent.
When it was time to leave, the girl hugged me "warmly" and i thought she was carrying our fake friendship too far, so I didn't hug her back. I said goodbye to everyone else and at the end, the Israeli guy, passing me by, thumped me on the back in a rather kind way and gave me a half smile. For some reason, I was really touched. I liked the way he handled the situation. That thump on the back kind of meant it was all not personal, but that this was the way it was and we didn't have to force it or to pretend it was otherwise. That thump was a "thank you" for not faking it. There was a mutual understanding. So for some reason, by the end of the camp, I liked the not-nice Israeli more than the overly friendly one.
A camp can't remove hatred towards Israel in general, it just teaches you to hide it well and play it right. And if you do get to like one of them, it is an exception; it doesn't make you reconsider your feelings towards Israelis in general. It rather makes you forgive the fact that he's an Israeli, and treat it as a flaw that you learn to tolerate.
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
Corruption, Organizations and People
When I started this Blog in May 2004, it was a personal Blog. I discontinued the project after realizing that I did not have the time (then) to update it often as well as not being able to put my thoughts into words short of writing a 10,000 word post.
I then switched this to what I would call a Socio-Political Blog. Socio-Economic and Political or just a Blog about things in Politics and Society and all matters (that I can think of) affected or related to these things.
This post supposedly follows that trend though I fear that I might have increased the dosage of the personal (and I don't mean my personal opinion because that's what I have been sharing - rather, events of a personal nature that would not be posted on this Blog were I more stringent in my standards).
Either way, its time for the Model United Nations at the AUC (American University in Cairo) where I used to study as a student. I have been a member of the organization this year as part of MUNAP (Model United Nations Awareness Program). I've joined councils before as a delegate and as a President of one of the councils. Let's put this aside for a second.
I have grown, over the years, to absolutely positively hate what MUN stands for. You see, when a pretenious idiot decides that, along with a large group of other pretentious idiots, that they know what's best in the world... I start feeling nauseated.
It's not even that, because now most secretariat (the group of pretentious idiots) and the Secretary General (THE pretentious idiot) have become a lot more "cooler" and less "book-wormish".
But hey, this isn't even my main objection to the existence of this organization.. I have many others;
1. They choose to blacklist anyone that makes them look bad (read: corrected them on informational mistake they made).
2. They already know who they're going to choose yet still continue the farce of having interviews and so on and so forth.
3. The Sec Gen generally decides to interfere in the individual council's work.
4. The Council's Director (the Top Honcho when it comes to information and matters of substance) sometimes just writes the resolution him/her self in order to "Look Good".
5. They deify people regularly. I'm surprised some of the secretariat and former Secretary Generals have not been cannonized as Saints yet. Let me see, St. Menza of the Lamp. St. Gabr. St. Yasmine. Yes indeed, has a nice ring to it***.
6. The secretariat always maintain a facade of "We love you all and care for you". Sadly, you can only be loved in their way.
There are other reasons, but most are too minute to mention here.
(Contd. the next day)
It's amazing how MUN manages to transform people... having friends inform you that you weren't chosen as a delegate because their team mates didn't agree and how they couldn't argue with them while in fact those same "friends" didn't have the guts to tell you that they didn't think you were good enough or that you didn't have what they were looking for.
This happened to two friends of mine so many times, it was pathetic.
Thing is, this is an exact reflection (in much simpler terms of course) of one of the many traits of the Egyptian bureaucracy... two-timing and general deceit behind people's backs while continuously praising them.
This is one of those things that I just cannot stand, in a friend, an acquaintance... in anyone and least of all in organizations that claim to be doing a service to others; MUN, MAL (Model Arab League) and the Egyptian Bureaucracy.
I could write more, but... I'm just too annoyed about it.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
*** Strangely enough, the names of the three people I chose to include when talking about deification were the names of three people that I actually like and respect very much. It has to be made clear the I am not talking about some Simulation Mafia here, rather, Im just talking about a lot of corruption. I would say wholesale corruption, but that would be an exaggeration.
I then switched this to what I would call a Socio-Political Blog. Socio-Economic and Political or just a Blog about things in Politics and Society and all matters (that I can think of) affected or related to these things.
This post supposedly follows that trend though I fear that I might have increased the dosage of the personal (and I don't mean my personal opinion because that's what I have been sharing - rather, events of a personal nature that would not be posted on this Blog were I more stringent in my standards).
Either way, its time for the Model United Nations at the AUC (American University in Cairo) where I used to study as a student. I have been a member of the organization this year as part of MUNAP (Model United Nations Awareness Program). I've joined councils before as a delegate and as a President of one of the councils. Let's put this aside for a second.
I have grown, over the years, to absolutely positively hate what MUN stands for. You see, when a pretenious idiot decides that, along with a large group of other pretentious idiots, that they know what's best in the world... I start feeling nauseated.
It's not even that, because now most secretariat (the group of pretentious idiots) and the Secretary General (THE pretentious idiot) have become a lot more "cooler" and less "book-wormish".
But hey, this isn't even my main objection to the existence of this organization.. I have many others;
1. They choose to blacklist anyone that makes them look bad (read: corrected them on informational mistake they made).
2. They already know who they're going to choose yet still continue the farce of having interviews and so on and so forth.
3. The Sec Gen generally decides to interfere in the individual council's work.
4. The Council's Director (the Top Honcho when it comes to information and matters of substance) sometimes just writes the resolution him/her self in order to "Look Good".
5. They deify people regularly. I'm surprised some of the secretariat and former Secretary Generals have not been cannonized as Saints yet. Let me see, St. Menza of the Lamp. St. Gabr. St. Yasmine. Yes indeed, has a nice ring to it***.
6. The secretariat always maintain a facade of "We love you all and care for you". Sadly, you can only be loved in their way.
There are other reasons, but most are too minute to mention here.
(Contd. the next day)
It's amazing how MUN manages to transform people... having friends inform you that you weren't chosen as a delegate because their team mates didn't agree and how they couldn't argue with them while in fact those same "friends" didn't have the guts to tell you that they didn't think you were good enough or that you didn't have what they were looking for.
This happened to two friends of mine so many times, it was pathetic.
Thing is, this is an exact reflection (in much simpler terms of course) of one of the many traits of the Egyptian bureaucracy... two-timing and general deceit behind people's backs while continuously praising them.
This is one of those things that I just cannot stand, in a friend, an acquaintance... in anyone and least of all in organizations that claim to be doing a service to others; MUN, MAL (Model Arab League) and the Egyptian Bureaucracy.
I could write more, but... I'm just too annoyed about it.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
*** Strangely enough, the names of the three people I chose to include when talking about deification were the names of three people that I actually like and respect very much. It has to be made clear the I am not talking about some Simulation Mafia here, rather, Im just talking about a lot of corruption. I would say wholesale corruption, but that would be an exaggeration.
The Blog
I believe that any blogger wants to be appreciated. Whether for writing style, information, ideas or anything else... people who "own" Blogs seek some sort of web-user's acceptance or appreciation.
I am a Blogger.
Still, it sort of dampens my enthusiasm when I realize that a Blog about Blonde Jokes (which I enjoy immensely) has more comments that my own.
(You can visit the Blonde Joke Blogger at http://bestblondejokes.blogspot.com/)
It's not bad at all.
I am a Blogger.
Still, it sort of dampens my enthusiasm when I realize that a Blog about Blonde Jokes (which I enjoy immensely) has more comments that my own.
(You can visit the Blonde Joke Blogger at http://bestblondejokes.blogspot.com/)
It's not bad at all.
Sunday, March 05, 2006
Egypt... Land of Civilisation
Egypt is unique.
No seriously, Egypt is unique.
I'm not talking about the pyramids or the sphinx. It's not the Greeks or the Romans or even the pollution levels. Egypt is unique because it manages, through the strangest and most astounding of means, to astound me.
By Egypt, I mean the government.
The school I work in is located near the Pyramids. In fact, the Pyramid of Cheops dominates most window views on Campus. It towers high above us, reminding us of how great this country once was.
So anyways, let me not digress. To come to school, I take a main highway and then exit at the Mansouria Canal (One of the main Giza irrigation canals) and travel parellel to it until, after a series of turns and twists, I reach the school. On that road, the one parallel to the Canal, there exists one of the strangest signs I have ever seen. (Sadly, I do not own a camera of any sort at the moment, and thus cannot take a picture of it at this point in time.)
The sign is one of those Yellow writing on Blue background ones. Much like the ones that one finds to the sides of highways that tell you the remaining distance you have to travel to reach the next city or rest stop or whatever. This sign is different though. The text on it is reads as follows:
EGYPT
Land of Civilisation
Note that this area is one of the main tourist areas in the country. This sign is in English and half, if not most, of the region's inhabitants probably have no clue to what it means.
That is not all. On the other side of the road there is another sign which proclaims:
EGYPT
Land of Peace*
I am guessing that some extremely intelligent person (E.I.P) at the Ministry of Tourism (Read: redundant bureaucrat) arrived at his office one day and started thinking;
*The following is a written account of his thought processes*
E.I.P. : Oh shit, if I don't finish the Nation-Wide Tourism Enhancement Study and Plan, that my Boss assigned me yesterday, by four pm today, I will forever be heralded as the employee who caused our Tourism revenues to fail. Damn those Islamists.
*Boss Comes In*
Boss: Are you done with that Nation-Wide Tourism Enhancement Study and Plan that I assigned you yesterday? The Minister asked me to brief him on it by 2:30 pm today.
E.I.P.: Oh shit, now what?! I better come up with some sort of idea right now. *Pauses* Fuckin A. I'll quote Mubarak at him.
E.I.P.: I have the perfect solution Boss. As per the instructions and words of his Royal Highness, THE Man amongst all men, the Leader of all Leaders, the Warrior in a world of Rabbits, His Beautiful Faceness, our beloved Father, Leader and Shepherd Mohammed Hosni Mubarak (May the Blessings of God be bestowed upon you for merely hearing His name), why do we not put up signs all around the tourist areas telling those finnicky tourists that Egypt is the Land of Peace and Civilization? That would be the perfect solution!
Boss (Read: Another redundant Bureaucrat): That is the perfect solution, inspired by His Beautiful Faceness... (etc).
And thus, the suggestion goes up along the chain of command to reach His Excellency, our Minister of Tourism (yeah, right) who (of course) immediately adopts the idea... and a new era in Egyptian incompetence is born!
*I found out later on (basically, the next day) that the sign actually says: Egypt is the Leader of Peace. So there you go. Egypt is in fact the Leader of Peace and not merely the Land of Peace. God have mercy on us all.
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This is the first post that I do not write in one go. Also, I have noticed that I have a general trend to just keep criticizing and bashing the Egyptian government, its people sometimes etc. I'm sorry about that. There are things that happen here that make me hopeful about a better future. Still,I will be discussing all the things that I think are wrong with this country (with a possible few exceptions). I will leave it to my fellow contributors to mention the pink, rosy side (if it can be said that such a thing exists).
Finally, to all those who expect a more academic style of writing, or more grace in my phrasing or extra verve in my wit (non-existant according to many)... excuse me for boring you, if I have, with my chaotic ideas and weak style.
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