Revolutionary Art Galleries

Several days have gone by and I regret not writing. Here I sit in Roberto's crib as I await my ride back to university. Thinking about what to write, I am seriously awed by the revolutionary art work that is up on the walls around me. What I really like about this trendy artwork is that it has a story behind it. It reminds me of Banksy's artwork, which advocates against violence and injustice. What I also really like how it is quite satirical of society. Its a mix of revolutionary communist propaganda. What's also really amazing about this stuff is that much of it has an oriental twist to it. Check the artwork at The Giant and Obey's website.

This is obviously very underground art work, but what's interesting is that this communist style propaganda is that it came back during this presidential election. Some might take it as a scary cult like Obama propaganda that emulates the kind of propaganda of Maoism, but its actually really influential artwork that depicts Obama as a visionary, idealist, and whatnot... Anyways, below is a photo I took at the Obama Campaign Office downtown. Even though the election is over, it still hangs high.

Egypt in a Microcosm: Wust El Balad

My previous post inspired me to include one last post for the day. This is about the underground band that I previously mention. They give a new meaning to music in Egypt, one that truly reflects Egypt's clamorous and chaotic environment that I so dearly love. They are truly revolutionary when it comes to giving Egypt a new beat that it can dance to. They are artsy, original, and sophisticated. What I love most about their music video is that it takes place in the heart of Cairo, Wust El Balad. Scenes of Midan Tahrir and Masr El-Gedida remind of when I would stroll around aimlessly with Amr and Mark in the heat of Egypt's sun. Oh how I miss it all!

This music video is such a relief from the all-the-same-sounding arabic pop music that is so detached from reality and filmed abroad with foreign girls that doesn't represent Egypt at all. This music video talks of everyone in Egypt, from the garbage collector to the intellectual. This is the true Egypt and reminds me of Naguib Mahfouz's Midaq Alley, which is truly representative of Egypt in a nutshell.

Enjoy the true heart beat of Egypt through Wust El Balad's music!

Guevara Graces Egypt With Her Presence

Never would I have imagined that the legacy of Che Guevara would survive with such flare to this day, and especially in my homeland. Approximately one week ago, Alieda Guevara, the oldest of Che Guevara's daughters and revolutionary internationalist was received with much rave in Egypt. This wide media coverage is unprecedented for a Latin American.

What was the hype all about? Well, as trivial as this might seem, it was a mere expression of gratitude from the Egyptian masses to the legacy that Che had left to all those struggling in the Third World. Alieda follows in the footsteps of her father, who would frequently convene with Egypt's foremost revolutionary, Nasser, to conspire against imperialism. The fraternal relationship between these two revolutionaries still defines Egypt's unique reverence for Cuba's revolutionary struggle against imperialism that Che's legacy spearheads to this day. Egypt had been a revolutionary hub at the time, and its importance is marked by Che's visit to Cairo the same year as the triumph of the Cuban revolution.Alieda's visit to Egypt ends today, but her visit means something special to me. It was her words that I first laid my eyes upon when first discovering who this Che Guevara was. Curious, I purchased a copy of The Motorcycle Diaries on my way to China, knowing that my father was is also an admirer of Che. The first words I read about Che Guevara came from her pen. During my read of the preface of The Motorcycle Diaries, I was mesmerized by how she had shed light on the exemplary model Che had set for revolutionaries out there.

Although I may be a lone star in my reverence of Che, at least I know that back home I can share this revolutionary frevor with others of my generation. Che is still widely celebrated today in Egypt. The above video is one of my favorite Egyptian bands called Wust El-Balad, which means downtown or middle of the country because they are in touch with the social conditions of Egypt's masses. They are especially talented because they improvise all of their music. They usually perform in Sa2yet El Sawi, which is this really neat concert venue under a bridge in the heart of Cairo. I have been to this venue twice before, but have never had the opportunity to enjoy Wust El-Balad live. Above is honestly one of my favorite tunes; its a upbeat elegy to Che Guevara and how his legendary spirit continues to inspire.

Its always pleasures me to have an event occur that shows me that the solidarity of between the struggling people of the Middle East and Latin America and how Che Guevara's mere image is what could keep that fire burning.

مزاج رومانسي

اليلة، شهدت فلم يوم من عمري بسبب عدم النوم.
شعرت بالحنين لايام مصر عندما كنت دامان اشاهد افلام ابيد و اسود في منزل جدتي.
علاوة علي ذلك ، اغاني عبد الحليم تذكرني بايام مصر الرومانسية الفتتني و لكن هذه الافلام تعيشني فزمن عميق اعشر ان ولدت في و لكني مرحل في زمن اخر.
احب مشاهدة هذة الافلام قبل النوم لاني داما اريد ان احلم عن هذة الايام و اهرب من الواقع. الان انا نعسان و النوم و امزاج الرومانسي احتلني.
ساوداعق الان.
و لكن ساتركك بصوت عبد الحلويم الجمعيل

Solace

Another sleepless night.
Despite a weary body, the mind remains racy.
Antsy, it is struck with raging frenzy.
Why?

Poe's poetry from the bookshelf remedies the unease.
Seeking inspiration, I flip to Spirits of the Dead.
Ironically, the despondency comforts me.
I'm not a loner in my emotions.

The chilly breeze refreshes my senses, sharpens them,
As I commence reflection upon the befallen misfortune
That only my brother can relate to.
I shall not divulge into matters whose sole guardian is the heart.

But let this be a stark reminder that in times of solitude,
Your soul shall not be alone if you can fill the void with another.
Silence is gold. Embrace it in solitude.
Revive his spirit. Embrace his presence.

The fire of my restless subsides
As melancholy yields to the bliss of memories.
Hitherto, melancholy has intensely clung itself to me.
As I console thee, solace trickles into my heart.

Images of Prince in fields of gold.
Divine winds ventilate the heavens.
Radiant as ever is your soul.
Grandeur, loyalty, and valor define your posture.

I am a mere emissary of light.
My sole vocation is to provide you with consolation.
Yet, the key to true serenity is in thou heart.
Cease looking for him. He is in your heart all along.

Dreaming of Istanbul

Just about to head to bed, I couldn't help but write one last entry for the day. The entry isn't about the day, but what I am to expect as I drift away in my sleep. Lately, I've been dreaming a lot more about Istanbul and the only symptom that I could attribute to this tendency is nostalgia. Every night before I go to sleep, I stare for a couple of minutes at the collage of vintage postcards of Istanbul I have on my wall before my eye lids become heavy and I doze off. What's truly bewildering though is that I dream of passages from my Istanbul diaries, where the words jump out and replay the memories that enriched my memories of Istanbul. What's more, I hear them calling out to me to return to the jewel of the Ottoman Empire. Nowadays, I seldom write in my diary because my days are monotonous, but in my dreams, I hear the words of my diary whine like little children needing attention. They call for me to finish writing their story, or rather my complete my Istanbul memories. They miss the days when I would frantically strive to record every valuable memory so that it wouldn't slip away. More than ever, I have been revisiting a short entry that I wrote during my last night in Istanbul:

"Never have I been so enchanted, so hypnotized by a city's charm before..."

Actually, I realize that I am unable to continue... There are some memories of Istanbul that are too sacred to and too personal to expose. Maybe I'll have the opportunity to disclose them when I reunite with my beloved city...
Goodnight.

Goethe & Impressions

Today's discourse divulges a truly interesting notion, regarding human nature, that hit me as I was reading Goethe's Faust, his magnum opus and an essential cornerstone of the Western Cannon. My true motif behind reading the drama was what I'd call my "homework" for today's viewing of La Damnation de Faust that I attended today with Tim.

I initially picked up Goethe's works not because he is dubbed as one of the last true romanticist renaissance men to walk this planet, but because of his profound insight into human nature and reading Faust truly changed my perspective of how the human mind works. As a polymath, Goethe mastered the dynamism of how the mind can shift from style to another with absolute fluidity. His different works each display a unique literary style and he was quoted for saying, "only those who continue to change remain my kin."

To make a long story short, the point Goethe truly bestowed me with subsequent to reading part of Faust was that ideas are mere embodiments of things that are abstract, and thus must be represented in some form of idea or model. In representing human nature through Faust, Goethe transcends that realm of mere idea and though by writing of impressions. Impressions are what I consider to be supernaturally inspired emotions or feelings. The nature of such emotions is that they may be sensual, romantic, daunting, and any other avenue that explores the multifaceted dimensions of human nature. What is the source of these impressions you may ask; well, they may range from being a spark of genius to mere creativity or imagination. Unlike dry ideas and models of the sciences, these impressions are intangible, timeless, and priceless. Unlike ideas that may be transfered from person to person through education and can be effectively mastered, impressions are bestowed upon poets, artists, and the like in the form of visions to produce via their works. These works bring these impressions to life by allowing others, i.e. me and you, to receive and feel these impressions even though we may not have the capacity to express them personally.

What I truly loved about Goethe's work though was that hi provided the reader (i.e. the recepient of these impressions) the freedom and flexibility to interpret and experience these impressions by his own freewill. Unlike what we were taught in IB World Literature that almost every work had certain motifs and messages that the writer aimed to get across, Goethe is flexible when stating, "The more incommensurable and incomprehensible for the understanding of poetic creation may be, the better." Experience it as you will is the essence of his message. Actually, Goethe even went as far as explicitly declaring that his drama is not a tool to get a specific message across.

Everyone seems caught up nowadays in trying to identify with an ideology, religion, culture, idea, etc...but what I have discovered is that this reveals insecurity, uncertainty, and complication. Why don't we submit to our impressions and not have someone preach to us what model we should emulate? I feel that it is through Goethe's works that one can truly be discover the impressions that allow humans to be moved, inspired, and elevated to something that cannot be expressed in some fixed, bounded model or ideology. To an extent, Goethe's works remind me of Sufism and the works of Rumi. Impressions allow one to transcend the mundane. For all you know these impressions may be greater than Einstein's theory of relativity because they explore something that is almost divine. Goethe's saying is a case in point: "Do not always think that everything is in vain if it is not some abstract thought or idea!"

The point I am getting at is that in our modern society, one is pressured to conform to a certain philosophy and to embrace it wholeheartedly. Radicalism is encouraged; moderation is looked upon as weak. I believe that the most important lesson I have taken away from Goethe is that no single ideology can be serve humanity from A to Z. Similar to the Gestalt theory in psychology, although several perspectives (i.e. schools of thought) exist in psychology, the human being is a holistic creature where the dualism of the mind and body merge into one. Similarly, in the realms of politics, religion, and culture, the human nature cannot be reduced to a set of boundless principles and concepts that one has to embrace totally. Hence, when one enters the world of literature, nothing is fixed and all is eternal. In this world, the vagueness and irrationality of the human mind and nature is embraced, where impressions flourish because of the different interpretations that occur during the transmission of an emotion from the writer to the reader. Every interpretation is neither right nor wrong, except that the impression that one takes away, if truly felt is never wrong. Holistically, the culminations of different interpretations from a piece of literature is what defines the writer's philosophy. To extrapolate this notion to a larger scale (i.e. the real world), one realizes that no one way of life is the right way, but a culmination of different elements, from different disciplines, is the only way to essential to strike a certain harmonious balance. The same principle applies to politics, economics, psychology, religion, and culture to name a few.
Now that I've bored you enough with my dry philosophical discourse, I shall recap my outing to the Paramount Theater this Sunday morning. After speeding through a copy of Faust I'd bought a couple of weeks ago from Blue Whale used book store, I had been anticipating the Metropolitan Opera performance of Faust in the Paramount Theater. Tim, who also takes a fancy for classicism, decided to join me for the viewing of Faust. I think many other viewers we also hyped about the screening of the opera show considering that the box office was pretty packed today. Apparently the opera itself didn't use Goethe's version of Faust, but that of Hector Berlioz, but all the same, the storyline and motifs were very similar. The only difference was the poetry and drama. I won't disclose too much regarding the storyline of Faust simply because I wouldn't dare ruin it for prospective viewers and I am sure that my synopsis would not do justice to Berlioz's masterpiece. Essentially, the moral of the drama questions the morality of human nature and whether it exists at all? If yes, is it sensible? In a word, the play reveals the chasm between good and evil that has plagued the human mind since the dawn of creation. Obviously these issues and questions and issues cannot be sufficiently be answered in a blog entry, but the only way to stop these philosophical questions from circulating in my mind was to spill my thoughts into words.

While at the theater, I was awed by the grandeur of its ambiance and design. It fell just short of comparing to the magnificent Ottoman palaces of Istanbul, but I snapped a couple of shots to share:



The theater was of course a replication of some grandiose theater in Rome, but I am glad that I have access to something that can satisfy my intellectual cravings. I look forward to the next showing of course, but I don't think that anything can compare to today's show!

Cafe Cubano: My New Sanctuary

I'm a sucker for Cuba and I admit it. Almost everything Cuban appeals to me, from the Cuban Revolution to Salsa music. Just yesterday, I discovered a tucked away cafe called Cafe Cubano. After a stroll down the Downtown, I escaped to this Cafe with my book and enjoyed a good cup of Chamomile. Of many of the cafes I'd been to, I liked this one because of the ambiance that was very simple, yet very reminiscent of my readings of Cuba. The walls were painted in vintage orange, and they had classic coffeemakers that blow steam every other minute. I literally felt as if I'd walked into Cuba. All of the sudden, the cold freezing cold of Charlottesville disappeared, and the smell of freshly roasted coffee tantalized the atmosphere.

From the framed photos on wall, I imagined myself walking down the alleys of Cuba, where the colonial remains of the Spaniards still stand. I felt very much at home in this new atmosphere. Although I spent most of my time doing reading an Arabic play for class, I truly enjoyed the refreshing cup of Chamomile while listening to Cuba's best: Buena Vista Social Club. I can't wait to bike down to Cafe Cubano for another refreshing reading session among the gallery of vintage photos of Cuba and atmosphere that truly brings Cuba and its Caribbean atmosphere to life midst the cold of Charlottesville.

Poking, the new blogging tradition.

So I've just got the latest piece of advice from my blogging guru. C* just taught me a blogging tradition, i.e. poking. So I'm testing this out, so hopefully I'm doing the tradition correctly. The tradition is that someone pokes you and you write about a specific issue. So the issue of the day is to write about what I have in my fridge and mp3 player. Well, let's have a look.

My fridge seems to contain soy milk, rice milk, California dates, grapes, Morrocan hummus, garlic hummus, vanilla yogurt, Swiss cheese, pepper jack cheese, walnuts, and thats pretty much it, but that's because I haven't gone shopping in a while because of the cold...

As for what's in my mp3, hmm... A lot! But let me give you a sample: Hed Kandi, Mozart, Justice, Gotan Project, Seal, Paul Van Dyk, Coldplay, Gipsy Kings, Paco Pena, Manu Chao, Bach, Juanes, Aventura, Niyaz, Wax Poetic, Henri Mancini, Candan Ercetin, Kaskade, Cafe Del Mar, Fujiya & Miyaga...

But by far the most played song on the mp3 is Lilac Wine by Jeff Buckley;)

Cruising Micronesia

While blanking out in statistics class today, it hit me: school is a mere disillusion for what is ahead in life; come it think of it, its a game. That's the conclusion I came to today. School is a measure for how well you can play the game. I experienced this awakening in the midst of my contemplations of the purpose of school. Omar, a brilliant friend of mine, mentioned this to me during one of my reading sessions in the Mudhouse Cafe. He and I exchanged some thoughts on life, which he remarked was "a bright change from what we're used to...just about everyday here." I concur, but I reflected upon our discussion based on snippets of Omar's words that circulated in my mind. I realized that school has less to do with broadening our imagination and horizon and more with instructing us how to work within certain constraints of this conformist, industrialist society.

In an ideal world, I would drop out right now to implement the changes I see fit by my own freewill and not having some professor tell me how I ought to live my life. There is a famous rebel saying that goes something like this: "Do your own thing, wherever you have to do it and whenever you want. Drop out. Leave society as you have known it. Leave it utterly. Blow the mind of every straight person you can reach. Turn them on to beauty, love, honesty, fun."

Its sad to see how school drives us to do everything for a grade and not for the sake of learning. Its simply a precursor for how to live our lives. They're basically feeding us with advice to do everything for money and not for the passion of hard work and loving what you do in life. Unfortunately is almost impossible for us to break away from this system after over a decade's worth of a rigid, dictatorial schooling, where we are told how to think and what to think. Any deviance or creativity is discouraged. Its depressing how we've become mindless sheep, unable to think for themselves. Its crazy how university could be such a bubble that leads you not to question your existence or purpose once in the whole four years. You never question how you could improve your world. You never even think of your fellow man who may be starving in some distant, disease-burdened land. Isn't that what university is for, to make us better citizens of world? Instead of exposing us to the world, university seems to keeps us in capsules, too stressed out to contemplate "out side of the box".

At times, I feel that we cannot accomplish any this unless we break out of this bubble. I like to think of it as the bamboo tree analogy. A bamboo tree does not grow whatsoever four years that your nurture it. After graduation, which would be the fourth year of the bamboo tree, do we truly begin to grow and so does the tree. It is these days after our we are free from being told what to do do we begin to see life face to face. We become free.

Unfortunately, for many, after college is over, they have become to entangled in the system's institutionalized framework that they are blinded from realized how to live on their own terms. It is for this reason that we must act now. Whether it is a Motorcycle Diaries excursion through South America or diving into the real knowledge that books have to offer, we must breakaway from the status quo. It is for this reason that if I find that reading the works of the Goethe, Rousseau, and Voltaire to be more insightful and fruitful, I will prefer to do so over doing mere busy-work for a grade.

At this point, you must be asking: What does any of this have to do with sailing Micronesia? Well, during my contemplations, I realized that simply breaking away will not suffice in the real world. Unfortunately, there is a trade-off between learning for the sake of living and learning for the sake of money. Thus, to strike the balance, one must play the game, and play the game well for that matter... I have to admit that I learned the rules of this game from a truly insightful essay Omar referred me to on Reddit. The essay calls the game stupid, as in really really stupid. The game turns life into a vicious cycle where you strive to survive in a Darwin's theory of Survival of the Fittest with no end in sight. The game gradually takes a hold of you, slowly crushing you, until you become a slave to the system. The catch is that you can play the game by the rules laid out by the system, or you can play the game by your own rules. In order to do the latter, it is essential to that you spend your time doing something that is both lucrative and fun. Work=Fun? This must sound like blasphemy, but if you search hard enough, you're destined to find something that fits the formula. Its a risky experiment, but its worth the gamble. The challenge is to find something that you find fun, educational, and lucrative... If you fail at finding something that fits the formula, then its time to resort to plan B, which is you must work hard, smart, and quickly in order to make as much money as you can in the shortest time possible so you can do less of that that you don't enjoy and maximize doing things that you enjoy! Thus, your objective should be to minimumWorkTime=maximumLeisureTime.

Having said this, I have chosen the theme of this entry to be the analogy of cruising Micronesia, because that is the highest form of breaking away from the system. The essay gives the example of people who would bust their tails for two years straight, and sail Micronesia for five years.

The point of all this, is that no matter what degree the system confines you, it is essential to follow what makes you blissful, drives you, motivates you, and inspires you.

Although sailing Micronesia might be a bit far-fetched for me right now, I know that I can start by biking to the Downtown with Goethe's Faust for another exhilarating Friday reading session. Au revoir for now!

Breathing Revolution

Recently I've been thinking a lot about it, and it hit me, I feel like I'm stranded on the wrong side of history. I would die to live for a second in the 1960s. I wish I was a contemporary of likes of Tito, Nasser, Ben Bella,Che, Nehru, and the like. I wish I lived in a brave world that where a feeling moderinity was in the air, where there was a movement, a revolution, and the momentum of wanting change the world to be a better place. Where there was to potential to establish a new world order. When real change could happen, and not just a slogan to win a presidential election. These were the times when revolution was still in the air, air I wish I could breathe. Unfortunately, people have become so apathetic in this age we live in. We are so preoccupied with life that we care less about revolution.
The Beatles remind me of this age in history that I sadly missed out. There was revolution on all scales, whether it was music with the Beatles who revolutionized music with the introduction of Rock n' Roll or Picasso with his introduction of cubism in Art. Revolution was definitely in the air back in the 1960s and 1970s. Back then, there was a greater sense of involvement among the youth generations. Now I think that the hippie lifestyle may be too Bohemian, but it had a point. At least the youth had the nerve to question the system, to defy the government. I think the greatest voice to this revolution was music. In a country that posses the greatest opponent to revolution, the Woodstock Music and Art Festival exemplified the beacon of revolution with its call for an idealist vision of world peace and love. I think the song that best hits the nail when it comes to calling for peace was Scott McKenzie's San Francisco, which truly defined the Summer of Love.

These were the days when real revolutionaries existed and revolution was in the air. I strive each day to learn more about the revolutionary lifestyle that my father's generation led, and I strive each day to better myself so I can come close to emulating the standards they set. I would like to conclude by a quote by that exemplifies what it means to be a revolutionary:

"The Revolutionary is a doomed man. He has no private interests, no affairs, sentiments, ties, property nor even a name of his own. His entire being is devoured by one purpose, one thought, one passion - the revolution. Heart and soul, not merely by word but by deed, he has severed every link with the social order and with the entire civilized world; with the laws, good manners, conventions, and morality of that world. He is its merciless enemy and continues to inhabit it with only one purpose - to destroy it."~Bakunin & Nechayev

Embracing Escapism

Drifting away in my daydreams, I snap back to reality as the school bell signals the end of the day. This had become common place in my youth, as I have been a captive of escapism for as long as I can remember. For some reason, I always found the distant worlds that my imagination takes me to far more interesting than what reality had to offer. It was for this reason that I was always dubbed "a dreamer" by my early acquaintances.

For most people, escapism slowly fades from their lives as they mature and become entangled in the stressfulness of daily life. For some reason, I have not undergone this transition yet. And quite frankly, I don't ever want to.

I embrace escapism for everything it has to offer. It is my outlet, my liberty for the greyness and dullness of this world to one that takes me across seas and decades. Unfortunately, life gets the best of us, and we can easily get bogged down by how face paced life can be, therefore, I find it imperative to freeze time, chill out, and reflect. For me, retreating on a tree on a tree, sitting down and relaxing is what I consider the ideal escapist mechanism.

In my eyes, escapism comes into forms. The first being one which requires must contemplation, reflection, and imagination. In this flow of escapism, I am a student of life, out to learn about different worlds, cultures, and knowledge. The haven of this world of escapism is primarily my book shelf. Also, commuting far from the university to a tucked away cafe is the best environment to let my mind flourish with ideas and thoughts. In this environment, I conjure up a different reality, a reality where the worries of life vanish and all I see in my mind's eye is the waves crashing on the shores of a remote island in the Pacific, where I come to embody a castaway, where all is gone but the most fundamental necessities of my life: books, tea, music, incense, and my vast imagination. Only then can I consider myself completely emancipated from "life."

Realistically speaking, I realize that this fictitious world of mine is only a substitute and procrastination from action. The heroic classics that I devour take me to a world where it is possible for my idols to triumph over evil. I admit, unfortunately, that these are a mere childish substitute for the revolutions that bubble inside me, but they allow to express my deepest desires in a world where everything is possible. A lawless, boundless, and perpetual world of satisfaction.

The second form that escapism comes in is one of absolute freedom of thought. I only discovered this form of escapism yesterday subsequent to entering my first meditation/yoga class. For the first time of my life, I wasn't thinking for myself, but was being thought for. As we practiced several breathing exercises, the yoga instructor read aloud from a Buddhist scripture, "Imagine a candle, where you breathe in the warmth of the flame. Inhale as far deep in your belly as you can. When you come to exhale, imagine that you are breathing out this flame of love and compassion to all of those whom you love, and even those whom you may dislike. Share your warmth and love with the world." It was this exercise of physical breathing and the notion of love and peace that caused me such relaxation that I never fathomed was possible. I began to tremble with stress midway through the exercise. I was deeply stressed in life and had not known it until I was in a complete state of submission and meditation.

I found escapism to be the most effective form of sublimation the mind can offer. Whether it is a four hour reading session in a cafe, an hour of meditation, or a mere 30 second pause in life to close my eyes and reflect, I have found that in such a fast paced life where everyone is in a rush, one must counteract the natural tendency to be reactive, one must control his natural adrenaline rushes, and do the exact opposite. One must reflect, relax, and embrace escapism.

Here's Why We Have More Life

During my contemplations and observations about American society, I managed to theorize this stark contrast between it and that of Egypt and the developing world. The conclusion I came to is that we have more life.

Sure, one may argue that the political and economic situation in the Middle East is much more dire than that of the US and that people here live the most comfortable world, but we truly love life for its simplicity; we don't need the lush green back lawn, the 50 inch rim pick up truck, and the hollow materialistic assets that the modern consumerist in the US lives on.

It saddens me to see how we try to imitate the American model of living the large life. It is now trendy to proclaim one's self as an "Americani", to wear a certain clothing line and to identify one's self with certain subculture. I would hate to see us turn into them. Americans live in their small bubble of supporting their local sports team, listening to a certain genre of music and identifying with a certain culture (e.g. the ghetto, southern, punk, blah blah blah culture). Why can't one identify with them self, why can't I be my own culture in this country?! This need to identify with a certain culture demotes originality and creativity since you are constantly driven to conform with something. You are looked down upon for being yourself. Talking about insecurity complexes?!

On the contrary, when I think of the ordinary Egyptian or person from the poor world, I feel like there is so much life in their smile. We know that we have been around for thousands of years, so even though this period of time may be dire, we know we'll get through and survive. For Americans, everything is a defining moment. Its sad that the only way for them to stir patriotism in a nation like this is to rally people around some national cause, such as launching a war or a presidential election where people vote for who assimilates more to their "culture".

For us, we have so much to appreciate. We have families that love us, we have traditions that are timeless, we know that our identity is carved in the stones of time, we don't have any insecurities about life. Sure, we might be anxious about what is ahead of us. We might even be frustrated. But the gravest problem that I see about Egyptians is their negative attitude and outlook at life. If you look at what you have around you, if you take the time to look at the Nile, the sunset, the old Parisian buildings of Cairo, the mild weather, the Kornesh of Alexandria, even the smiles of children playing football in the slums of Cairo, you'll realize how much life we have, how we take pleasure in the simple things about life.

Personally, I have become so nostalgic. I miss cruising around Cairo with friends, hang out in cafes in near the Nile and in Heliopolis where we can just lay back, relax, puff on Shisha and enjoy a good meal.

Or, I might be wrong. Maybe life is about enjoying your huge HDTV, you amazing sound system, and all the materialism that comes with consumerism. Isn't that all we have come to think about here in the States. As for me, I have come to see such a subtle beauty in poverty and simplicity in life. I wish life weren't so harsh on those who represent these values so that they are constantly preoccupied with how they are going to make their next pay check and take the time to enjoy the intrinsic beauty of the environment they live in.

Autumn: Nothing Gold Can Stay

Autumn at UVa reminds me of an all time favorite of mine by Robert Frost.
I share a couple of shots I took along with the poem:

Nothing Gold Can Stay
Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.

The Pond

Ducks in The Pond

Tree near IRC

Columns of the Rotunda

The Rotunda

Caracas: A New Revolutionary Hub?

For the first time in decades, leftist revolutionaries unite in a display of solidarity. It almost seems like a distant flashback from the days of the Tri-Continental in Algiers during the days of Ahmed Ben Bella.

As I was flipping through the New York Time over breakfast, I was astonished to end up on a page titled "Venezuela Positions Itself As a Salon for the Left." I always had a hunch that a international revolutionary fervor was bubbling from below, but I never thought that it would actually solidify into forum to discuss the Latin American socialist model. The conference has attracted everything from Maoists from Nepal to authors from Egypt, and everything in between.

This conference could not have taken place at a better time, during the wake of the Western financial crises, but there's more to discuss than economics. This conference seems to have more an revolutionary twist to it with discussions ranging from women's rights to poets. I was also astonished to see how flamboyantly radical some of the comments made were, such as "We must help the current capitalist model collapse, for on its own this will not happen," a Spanish economist was quoted. It might seem a bit conceited of me, but I actually took pride that Egypt took a part in this conference with the contribution of Mostafa el-Gammal, who wrote a widely acclaimed book on Chavez. His reflections on the conference were, "It's wonderful to be in Caracas. The city has some nice nature and less traffic than in Cairo."

My perception of the whole conference is that Venezuela must be the ideal revolutionary tourist destination. If I could, I would jet my way there right away, but instead I am stranded here in Yankee land. In any case, this is a mere indicator of the Left's revival on the global level. As an Indian revolutionary put it, "The important point is that Chavez has taken on the mantle of crystallizing forces in opposition to the [American] empire."

وجهة نظري عن اللسلام من عيون ملكم لكس

اليوم، عندما تبعت الختبة في سلاة الجمعة، امبهشت بملاحظة تذكرني بتقدير من السيرة الذاتيه تبع ملكوم اكس

"There were tens of thousands of pilgrims, from all over the world. They were of all colors, from blue-eyed blonds to black-skinned Africans. But we were all participating in the same rituals, displaying a spirit of unity and brotherhood that my experiences in America had led me to believe never could exist between the white and non-white."

هذا نموذج من قوة الاسلام و ليس هناك قوة عندها نفس التاءثير علي الانسان. ثم، عندما انظر المسليون، الاحظ انهم من انتماءعرقي و من كل وطن. ايضا تذكرن السورة القران التالية:
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنَّا خَلَقْنَاكُم مِّن ذَكَرٍ وَأُنثَى وَجَعَلْنَاكُمْ شُعُوبًا وَقَبَائِلَ لِتَعَارَفُوا إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِندَ اللَّهِ أَتْقَاكُمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلِيمٌ خَبِيرٌ
هذة الملاحذة اساس التفكير ان الاسلام ليست للعرب فقط ككثير من الناس يفكرون. الاسلام لكل انسان و يجمع كل الناس بشكل فريد. انه تناقد ان الامركان يقولون ان هم قلب التنويع . هل لم يدركون ان الاسلام هو اول دين يطبك علي كل البشر؟عندما اري هذا التنويع كل جمعه، افخر انني مسلم و ان ديني اساس التنويع و التحمل

The Pond: Reflections of Life

Nowadays, I feel as if there is immense pressure to deliver. More than every is life fast pace! The weeks fly by and yet, life is more monotonous than ever. When will change come about? We are told to keep our noses drowned in books, but what's next?

Today, as I sat reflecting by the pond, I began to question life. We are told that we must study hard to get a good job to make lots of money to be happy. Therefore the formula is:
hard work = good job = $$= :)
right?

No, not in my eyes. By day, I am an engineer/economist who is studying how to be as profitable as possible. But by night, I am an artist, a poet, a writer, and an intellectual. I live a dual life. One that is realistic and one that is idealistic. One face of my coin is that of a pragmatist, while this other is a dreamer.

I have become an individualist who embraces escapism. Yes, that's right, I enjoy getting away from it all. I enjoy my reflective moments by the pond, where I can enjoy my leisure of photography, reading, and writing. The pond is my bubble, where my revolutionary ideas flourish boundlessly! In this bubble, there is no longer the worry of work, money, and the heavy demands of money. The only worry I have is that of the sun setting on me.

I am sure if I had the same interests in money and my studies, I would be the most successful person in the world, but I enjoy being a pupil of life who learns more from his daily interactions with his environment. Some might consider all of my leisure readings to be futile, but believe me: I am who I am because of my passion and mission to understand humanity, and not how to make money. Life cannot be dictated by the money=happiness formula! I cannot understand those who work on Wall Street to look at numbers all day to see how to make money out of nothing. I like to see a product, a creation, or a way of helping humankind. Only then will I accept money, but money should never be the incentive driving work ethics.

Unfortunately we live in a world where money is the evil despot that rules all, so I guess all I can do is balance between my two lives, but mark my words, once I make enough money to live comfortably, I will blow it all away by sailing the seas to see the world!

Rest In Peace Mama Afrika

Miriam Makeba sings Dahla Ayounik in Arabic. Although she passes away just this week, her revolutionary spirit against racism, colonialism, and for egalitarianism are eternal...

في منتصف الليل

في منتصف الليل و اشعر بالاكتاب
لسءل نفسي ماذا افعل في هذه الغربة،
في هذة الوحدة،
في هذة ظلمة العميقة
هل وقعت في هاوية بدون واع؟
ثم افتكر نجاحي و مجدانجزاتي
ثم اتذكر مسؤولياتي لوطني
اشعر برغبق الرجوع اليكي يا ام الدنية
في منتصف الليل كل ازكاري بك ترجعلي
و لكن الحماس و الحب اليكي يعطوني الثقة للنجاح و النصر
في منتصف الليل

The Million Color Revolution

Revolutions can come in more than one form.

118 Pyramids Strong

Its quite mind boggling to think that 118 pyramids sprout on a land once inhabited by the greatest civilization seen by man. Despite the veil of the sand that covers most of Egypt, this land is one of true untapped potentials and treasures. As time passes and sand storms blow, we slowly begin to discover what lies in this land we take for granted. Just today, Egypt's land gives birth to a new Pyramid. Today, the legendary Zahi Hawas, secretary general of Egypt's Supreme Council on Antiquities, discovers another pyramid in Saqqara to tally the total number of pyramids in Egypt to 118. I remember first reading about Hawas in an edition of Discovery Kids back and hearing about my father work with him on the recovery of stolen Egyptian antiquities in the US back in the NYC days, but I never would have fathomed meeting the man himself in front of the Sphinx. He left the impression on me that he was always in a hurry to make more and more discoveries, but it was an privilege even having him take the time to chat with a bunch of kids about how rich their motherland is. This was during my excursion with the Egyptian American Group, a social organization composed of mainly of second generation Egyptian Americans. Since that moment, I'd been following Hawas' discoveries on the Discovery and History channels and he never fails to make me proud of the ancient heritage of my country.
Today, history will record the discovery of yet another pyramid of Egypt. This one dates back 4,300 years and was discovered near Saqqara's famous step pyramid, which I recently visited in the summer 2007. It is during this time that I was truly grasped by the idea that "man fears time, but time fears the Pyramids." The eternity of these magnificent structures is reminder of man's ingenuity and Egypt's longstanding position in the world.
The moral I'd like to take away from today's discovery is that Egypt is a gold mine with much more to discover than pyramids. Although Egypt's greateness may have waned since 7,000 years, it still has so much untapped potential that if realized could flourish an era as great as our forefathers. It is merely a matter of contemporary Egyptians realizing the greatness which defines their identity. It is for this reason that I am a faithful reader of Naghuib Mahfouz's early writings of Ancient Egypt. War at Thebes is a case in point, but there are so many more. This is a topic to divulge about in another entry, but I believe that once the Egyptians begin recognizing the eminence of their heritage and identity, only then will they be able to rise once more.

Words Of Wisdom From A True Revolutionary

I was truly honored to have a true revolutionary discover the merit in my blog. This inspiration came from someone to whom I look up to and esteem tremendously since my youth. Although I have not reunited with this comrade in ages, the impact he's had on me since my youth and continues to have on me today is unfathomable. This is is none other than my cousin Timothy! I was humbled his comment which I display below:

"You've an excellent writing style, and you seem to clearly express your views as being a young man of ideas, and not a man of ideologies, a man of ideas has passion for learning, and creating new and innovative ideas but is willing to change their opinions and ideas when new information and facts are encountered, men of ideologies follow ideas frozen in time, they become inflexible, rigid, and eventually crumble with the winds of change and time, men of ideas however, are constantly adapting and progressing, men of ideas learn to survive if not in body but always in spirit…"

From these words of wisdom, I shall pay heed to the fact that it is essential for me to keep an open mind and not get bogged down and tangled in ideologies just yet until I've experimented with different ideas. I must be open to change so that when an idea that comes my way is better than the one that I already possess, I must let go of the former and embrace that which is new and convincing. This reminds of a specific quote that I learned from Timothy and it goes by the words, ""Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense." This quote originates from Buddha, but it is a clear reminder that one must use his God-given intelligence in order to distinguish what principles and views he is to adopt wholeheartedly and those to reject vehemently due to their ignorance.

More than ever do I feel like I am a student of life, learning the A, B, Cs every day that goes by because of I feel like the more knowledge I acquire, the more I realize I don't know. I am forever grateful for the the words of wisdom that Timothy has endowed me with. Thank you.

My Dream Destination: Cuba

Being the revolutionary nut that I am, I've always dreamed of visiting Cuba to relive the history. I hear that Cuba could be viewed as an egalitarian paradise as the guerrilla legions envisioned it, or it could be a nightmare like Orwell imagined in his 1984. In any case, I know from what I've read thus far that Cuba is like my homeland in many ways. Its very rich in culture, diverse in ethnicities, and filled with passive, life-loving people, just as one would imagine a Mediterranean country like Egypt to be!
But to get to the bottom of it all, what really inspires me to visit it is the fact that it is an unfolding revolutionary experiment that the likes of Che and the Castro brothers and conceptualized and implemented. Many look to Cuba as the backwater of North America and that its dictatorship is the source of all its ailments. In my eyes, I look at the U.S. as the culprit that's strangling Cuba's economy by the throat. I think that if Washington gave Cuba a chance and not painted it in red unconditionally, then this country would flourish like no other simply because it is so rich in culture. I like to imagine it as a pearl that has yet to be discovered in the heart of the Caribbean.
I know that my father has a good friend there and I hope that I will be able to visit Cuba one day to smell the tantalizing aroma of Cuban cigars, stroll the colonial streets of Havana, listen to the rhythmic tunes of Buena Vista, and most importantly visit the memorial of Che in Santa Clara. Till that day, I guess books and music are what will help me continue to imagine Cuba as a paradise.

The Many Faces Of Egypt

My nostalgia got the best of me again. Its been over two years since setting foot on Egypt, and I'm ill with homesickness. To alleviate my sickness, I've been skimming through album after album of photos from Egypt. I recently even compiled a bunch of photos from Egypt that were taken by my father and me and posted them on facebook in an album I titled مصر, but I found some really neat photos that really mirror what I truly love about Egypt: its people. I first happened to find a collection of portraits taken of Egyptians on the Egypt Travel Guide of the New York Times

This page features several amazing photos of Egypt with different themes, such as Weekends in Cairo, Alexandria Rising, the Coral Reef of the Red Sea, but by far my favorite was "The Face of Cairo" collection, which can be found on the bottom-left corner of the page. I truly feel that its the Egyptians that give life to Egypt. Their simplicity, hospitality, ambition, humor, light heartedness, but most importantly their smile. Yes, merely looking into their simple smile can make truly make one experience of emotions!

One of the photos I've posted is of a Faluka captain! Falukas are sailing boats used since Ancient Egyptian times, and sailing on them through the heart of Cairo is one of my favorite past times.

The reason that I enjoy browsing through portraits is that they can tell you just as much about a country's culture, history, and spirit as cliche monuments. 3arabawy, an amazing blogger also has a superb collection of portraits of Egyptians in his البوم.

I believe that anyone whose been to Egypt would agree with me that Egypt is a photography heaven. A nation so clamorous that there's always the perfect shot. Well, anyways, I leave you to enjoy the photos that really touch my heart and alleviate me of my homesickness when seeing them.

Guerrilla: A Veracious Revival Of Che?

Scanning the magazines section of Clemons Library for a photography magazine while on the phone with Omar, one magazine in particular caught my attention. On its cover, the unmistakable image of Commandante Che Guevara, or at least an impersonator for the image of the revolutionary hero has become iconic!
I couldn't believe how coincidental it was for this magazine to fall in my hands since I'd become a flamboyant revolutionary blogger, but I knew one thing was for sure: this was a sign! After picking up the magazine and flipping through it, I realized I was looking through FilmComment, a film critique magazine based in the universe's heart of art and film culture, New York City-specifically the magazine is published by the Lincoln Center Society. I had been anticipating the release of Che, which is compilation of two lengthy film series that document the life of Che Guevara. Luckily, a magazine that shed light on the choreographic art that was put into the documentation of the world's most revered fell into my hands. I've been following the news of this film for quite sometime and have been anticipating its release. I'm glad it hasn't gone mainstream and has remained underground in the independent movie sphere so that Che doesn't become another modern day fad, or even worse, a stigma if the movie movie demonizes him.
Before reading the article this magazine entailed, I was even more concerned that since this movie is an American production, the very essence of which is to generate money, and in a society where he is portrayed as a cold blooded killer, I worry that this may not be an accurate depiction of Che, but I have yet to put it to the test by watching it.
Now, flipping through the article, I happen to find its quite interesting as it takes an artistic approach towards evaluating the movie, i.e. is looks at the movie's film making on an epic scale.
Subsequent to the film's premiere in Cannes, Steven Soderbergh, the director remaks that his fascination with Che was his will. Che's willpower is virtue that I strive everyday accomplish. From the moment I awaken and I see his idealist, visionary eyes stare into the horizon rising outside my window, till the moment I pull the blanket over men and turn off the lights.
Obviously, one must take this film with a pinch of salt considering that Che is meant to live as a dream for all revolutionaries and cannot be holistically captured in some movie or poster. I must admit though, that it was subsequent to watching the Motorcycle Diaries with my father in the winter of 2007, 40 years since Che's death in 1967, I was inspired to pick up a diary of my own and pen my revolutionary ideas, so I can't completely rule out that a good film production does have a life lasting effect on someone. If anything, my readings of Che's biographies, where the like of Anderson truly try to conceptualize Che's supernatural being and drag him back from history to the pages of today are what inspire me to be who I am every day and write so devoutly as I do before your eyes. Just as I imagined myself sitting on a hammock in the jungles of Bolivia reading Che: A Revolutionary Life, just by looking at the amazing photography that the magazine displayed among me, I was captivated and swept off my feet to a far and distant land, where Latin passion for love of life and revolution burns vividly and to a time when the rattling staccato of AK-47s could be heard expressing the cries of revolutionaries worldwide!

Back to the article: halfway through I was quite disappointed with all the cinematography jargon and film industry gossip of how successful the movie was and how its rating was to turn out. I find it detestable to think of rating someone's life story at the expense of a movie. Any mishaps of the movie should not be reflected upon the life of the legend. That's the one thing about such biographical films, the director must meticulously emulate the divine spirit of the life that the subject led or else its a failure. Its all or nothing.

Now the review literally put me to sleep when discussing the financial aspects of the movie. "The definition of what is financial success for us in this country may not be good enough for people who write about movies, but if the movie does $5 million and then sells a couple hundred thousand units on DVD, we'll be very happy with those numbers." There is no doubt that there was no real motive behind the movie's production but sheer capitalism.

What a betrayal to the movie's subject. This contradiction to the Marxist sense of portraying Che truly disgusted me at this point of the article and I felt completely dissuaded from reading on. The only worlds that sprung to mind at this point were Che's own: "I have a fucking repulsion from money; its a fetish." But back to a more lightly spirit of portraying the movie, it is worth noting that the film was based on Che's Reminiscences of the Cuban Revolutionary War and Bolivian Diary. The actor is Benicio Del Toro, who I believe would have performed with a true conviction, for anyone who would be put in such a role would.

What pleases me was that the script was written by a contemporary of Che, Terrence Malick, who had been to Bolivia to work on a story about Che's revolutionary struggle as it was happening in 1966. Malick was even involved in directing the movie, which makes it more so true to its part. The movie's script dealt with Che's adventures in Bolivia, Cuba, NYC, and Mexico City and covered the different events that saw Che on the forefront of the political arena to that of the revolutionary and guerrilla one. I find it humorous that the custom-made camera prototype made for filming the guerrilla warfare scenes was dubbed "The Red One." So at least the camera stayed veracious to Che. The film's production also reveals fascinating facts about the guerrilla lifestyle, which is that the guerrillas had lived in the wild for almost two years during the Sierra Maestra Campaign. The movie also goes inside the daily life of the guerrillas by showing daily activity on the ideological and emotional level and not just the historical events that count. Something that I have to rave about was that Che, although the nucleus of the story, was never focused on alone and this was truly veracious to his comradeship attitude where Che's image was one that was one among others representing the true essence of the collective struggle. The director described this motif as "It never occured to me to isolate him the way you would in a normal movie because it felt, frankly, un-Che-like. His attitude was that this is a bigger than any of us individually. And therefore, to isolate him in close-ups is in ideological opposition to his entire set of principles." I love how this loyalty to Che sinks in on those who learn more about his enigmatic character. I sometimes feel the Che-ism has become an ingrained sense of morality and code of life that I have come to live by. Another saying of Che that comes to mind is that, "If you shiver at every injustice, then you are a comrade of mine."
In response to a very touchy issue, which is the whole "Che's a murder" bullshit that people spill all over the place, the director cuts out the executions at La Cabana. When asked whether he thought all the people Che executed in the military tribunals were innocent, he says no. The same exact Anderson gives in his biography. This quote really drove the point home: Does every regime when it feels threatened at some point act excessively? Yes. The firebombing of Japan? The dropping of a second atom bomb? I think those are excessive." This springs to memory that I need to write a diary entry on the showing of Dr. Atomic that I attended this weekend at the Charlottesville's very own Paramount Theater, but back to the director's response: "I think those are on a par with the kind of thing we’re talking about. Che says in his speech to the U.N., ‘This was necessary for our survival.’ Would that have fit your definition of due process? Probably not. You could say that in a lot of trials in the United States prior to 1964, due process was something that only applied to white people.”
They omit Congo, but I feel like it is essential to include because one cannot fully fathom the determination that Che underwent to launch another campaign in Bolivia after such a miserable failure of the Congo. Che was self critical and that is what led the director to believe: "His ability to sustain his outrage is what is remarkable to me. We all get outraged about stuff, but to sustain it to the point of putting your ass on the line to change what outrages you, to do it consistently for years and years, and to twice walk away from everything and everybody to do it, it’s not normal." The movie ends with the Jesus-like figure that defines Che's death. Soderbergh's mere conception of Che that brings him back to life once more; I personally like to think of it as the Second Coming, if you will.

Leftist Egyptian Revolutionary Art

I've been blog-hunting all night and I ran into some real talent. The Leftist Egyptian 's gallery on flickr is some of the most creative graphic design related to modern revolutionarism I've seen yet. He goes by the theme of promoting art against the system or establishment. He uses stencil and graffiti artwork to get the message across and his work reminds me a lot of that of Banksy, except his graphics have an oriental twist as he makes use of classical Arabic calligraphy and naturalistic design. The revolutionary gallery on display is pretty hard core communist, anti-capitalist, and very critical of the authorities in Egypt. I'm not surprised to see this kid to be behind the General Strikes of may 4th of 2008, but you've still got to give this kid props. Check more of his blog at gaberism.net.

The Anthology of A True Romanticist

The Green Book of Che-One of the last possessions of the world's greatest revolutionary was released by the Bolivian authorities (namely President Evo Morales) as Argentina declared Che to be their greatest historical figure. This is an anthology that inspired Che's profound romanticist conviction. 

The notebook was merely a cheap spiraled notebook Che bought during his stay in the Congo in 1963. His recess from the revolution was to retire on a tree and write emotional poems that dealt with politics. The poems include 69 poems are by some by Chilean Pablo Neruda, one of the greatest Spanish-language poets of the 20th century, Cuban Nicolas Guillen and Peruvian Cesar Vallejo.

Che needed to put this anthology of his favorite poetry since carrying books in the Bolivian campaign was an impossibility. 

The release of the Green Book of love poetry is evidence that as one his last two possessions, Che was true romanticist who lived and died in romance. Che's passion for poetry was limited, as he humbly admits. He tried to write poetry but protested that it was unaccomplished. This is reassuring as I am a tragedy when trying to emulate the poetry of the likes of Rumi, Wordsworth, El-Khayam, and Coleridge. 

The notebook is only more evidence that love is the catalyst behind any revolutionary soul. It is in this spirit that it pleasures me to submerge myself into poetry every now and then. In any case, a sneak peak from Che's green book is a poem by Cesar Vallejo titled The Black Heralds and it reads as follows:

There are blows in life, so powerful . . . I don’t know!
Blows as from the hatred of God; as if, facing them,
the undertow of everything suffered
welled up in the soul . . . I don’t know!

They are few; but they are . . . They open dark trenches
in the fiercest face and in the strongest back.
Perhaps they are the colts of barbaric Attilas;
or the black heralds sent to us by Death.

They are the deep falls of the Christs of the soul,
of some adored faith blasphemed by Destiny.
Those bloodstained blows are the crackling of
bread burning up at the oven door.

And man . . . Poor . . . poor! He turns his eyes, as
when a slap on the shoulder summons us;
turns his crazed eyes, and everything lived
wells up, like a pool of guilt, in his look.

There are blows in life, so powerful . . . I don’t know! 

Where It All Began

I recall the first time I ever engaged in activist blogging. I've always sought a revolutionary outlet to express my political views. My first exposure to blogging was actually on facebook. 

It was the winter of 06/07 and I was visiting family in Istanbul. I had been on facebook for only a couple of weeks then and was amazed by the virtual freedom of expression that facebook offered, but I found it to be more of a social scene than a political one. What I really sought was a democratic platform of expression that would allow my revolutionary views to flourish. This type of blogging offers that. Anyways, back to the story: So I was fiddling around with facebook, I happened to stumble upon a group titled Absolut Cairo. Now I'm guessing that the title of this blog is merely a play of words to replicate Absolut Vodka. I think that the Cairo Tower in the background even represents a vodka bottle. In a word, I don't think the creator of the group expected the group to transform into a platform for political discussion, but it was prompted with the notion behind the group's description, which is "In 1925, Cairo was the cleanest city in the whole world. Today it is one of the top 20 polluted cities worldwide. [To be specific, it is the second most polluted in the world]. Corruption is everywhere. Let's all try to make Cairo one of the best cities again as it used to be." 

I believe this message prompted most of the group's members to question what they can do to contribute to help fulfill the message's aspirations. Subsequent to contemplation, members begun expressing themselves one by one. I hope to document this historical moment in my blogging experience by shedding light on the dialogue that took place and that inspired to me to blog to this day. The discussion begun as follows:

-Omar EL Badrawy (Egypt)
First, thanks Ahmed for the group...It's a great idea I hope it would help...I get really angry whenever i think of what this country had become pollution speaking, cleanliness speaking and most certainly politicaly speaking, It all comes down to corruption i think...Anyways i hope this group make a difference...
Salma Mousallem (McGill)
I think this group can make a difference but i think we all need to take initiative. i mean even if its just in terms of littering.....a large portion of people in egypt litter..and what are we doing about it? i think word of mouth is a great way of reducing it, i dont let people litter when they are in the car with me, throwing things out the window is not the way to get rid of trash. i dont mean to be harsh, and i dont mean to embrass people, but the fact of the matter is, that cairo is becoming less attractive.
Tony Menias (Chicago, IL)
It's the people in this country man...the only word for them is ignorant...The government is screwin everyone over...I don't think anything will change
Omar EL Badrawy (Egypt)
I'm with you man...I think Egypt has more to think about than littering and trash...If you read newspapers pro & anti government for maybe 2 weeks you will feel how deep in shit we are and how huge the problem is...
Mohamed Imam (AUC Egypt)
I think that the core of all the problems in Egypt is because of the free governmental education, it's a disaster and it produces out masses of ignorant people who canno't use computers, understand science of even good in any kind of hand work
Salma Mousallem (McGill)
First of all, I think that no one is going to get anywhere by being passive. After all, we are the youth of egypt and that's where change begins. Second of all, i think if this is group is to have a purpose it should be how to make egypt cleaner environment as stated in the description. While free university state sponsored education may create problems, it by no means creates ignornant people. Regardless, i dont see how this relates to the effects of pollution, and its dangers? Yes Egypt has an abundance of problems, corruption, politics, the whole thing...but is that what we are discussing here? I really think we should brainstorm over solutions over how to make egypt cleanier. instead of looking at the causes, we should look at alternatives and make a difference! because we can!
Hany Bassiouny (HKU)
hey.. I also wanna add my voice in thanking mohamed for starting this group.
what's more important though is exactly what salma is saying.. we cld all very easily just add this as a group, talk a lot, and check what other ppl r saying every once in a while when we're bored.. just like every other group..
or we cld do smthg..
I'll add a new topic on this forum (called 'This is how we do it.'), n put up some ideas on how we can move forward n get smthg done.. for those interested in getting Cairo moving, take a look n lets see if we can do this.
Ahmed Khairat (AUC Egypt)
okay...yh egypt has problems: free EDU, the unsanatary conditions of many areas, poverty, pollution, over population, weak economy market, huge gap btwn the rich and poor, i could go on forever...However, i believe that there is one MAIN problem at the core of all these and it is: CORRUPTION. corruption is destroying egypt leading to all the aforementioned problems...The leaders of the nation (those in responsible governmental positions) are not paying attention to the problems, they are ignoring them, while concentrating on how much money they can steal from the government. Egypt lacks the fund to improve its current situation because the CORRUPT officials take the countries fucking money...If change is to be observed, then the current government must be flushed (yes, completely flushed out )and a new more liberal modern, SP (secular progressive )representative government, and adequately educated government should be established...In addition, (no more space, continue l8r)
In response to Salma Mousallem: B4 we can look at the alternatives, we must comprehend the problems of EGYPT and attempt to identify any patterns so that we can more easily and more efficient come up with alternative resolutions that will solve these problems. Thus, i URGE every1 here to commit a post for one problem and if ppl would like to elaborate on a prior post about a particular problem plz do, but try to describe as many problems as possible so we can achieve our goal of resolutions
Omar EL Badrawy (Egypt)
Ahmed Khairat...man u took the words out of my mouth...thanks for saving me some typing time...if i may add corruption is like fungus, it can ruin everything around it...the flushing should start with the (mekhaleleen) politicians, the ones that have been in office for more than 10 years, and we have a lot of those and they are rotten to the very core and spreading their germs all over the place u can almost smell it in the air...
Yaseen Kafafi (Egypt)
this is a response to those addressing free governmental education (on university levels) as a problem. first of all we should be clear on one thing. is it the concept of free education thats wrong? or is it the way that it is carried out thats wrong? because the concept, in my opinion, is non negotiable in terms of right or wrong. plus i should bring to your attention that a significant percentage of the students at cairo university are still having problems paying the fees today. and when the fees got jacked up a while back, the students revolted and demanded their rights. my point is that the tuition fees + textbooks (which should both be free) are an obstacle enough as is. i would also like to add (and this i knw from personal experience) that some of the best and most talented professors at cairo university could not have gotten to where they are today if it werent for free education.
now im not saying that cairo uni is top notch, but what i am saying is that making the students pay thousand of pounds a year in order to generate some cash flow into the university is definitely not the answer. yes i agree, the problem with cairo university is the lack of funds. but that's because the the intended source is not there anymore. and THAT is the problem. believe me there are professors there who are doing everything in their power to aid the system, but there's only so much they can do. i just want to stress on the fact that public AND private universities should not be profit oriented. another point i'd like to discuss is the fact that private universities are not fulfulling their intended purpose. let me explain, from what i understand is that private unis were established in order to fund and develope itself. meaning, students pay their tuition and in return facilities are provided and so on.
but where do the professors come from? they are either foreign or professors from public universities, and not regualr professors, usually the best. there is no doubt that that approach is incredibly wrong. what i meant when i said that private unis should develope themselves, i meant that graduating students should be encouraged to continue their studies. the uni should send them abroad or locally to achieve their masters and phd degrees and hence reacquire them as professors. also a very important factor which is not in consideration, is that it must be a requirement and a necessity that every year a certian amount of scientific researche papers are produced by the uni and published worldwide. that is another source of income! this will encourage the industry to also supply funds for patents and researche papers. it is pretty obvious that in egypt as a country, we lack that connection between the industry and academia which is essential and extremely beneficial for everyone.
im interested in what everyone thinks about my comments. after all this should be a real group and not just another name on the list..
Mohamed Imam (AUC Egypt)
The problem about free education is in the teachers, they get a very very low salary, so they dont teach students what they are really supposed to know ( school wise not university wise ), students end up taking private lessons, their parents - who are from middle lower and lower classes - get screwed because they have to pay a lot in these private lessons, another point, students waste a lot of time in prvt lessons after school time (which probably they escape from and go to smoke or play street football or follow girls in streets)... I think if the education was for a higher price, say 1000 a year (which is actually the average amount paid in all private lessons allover all of the subjects) teachers might get a higher salary and teach them BE ZEMMA Shewaia, then students would have time to actually study and play sports, and corruption between teachers will decrease to at least half, and thats what I think...
& by the way yaseen, when a scientific research is published the government pays something like 70 or 80 LE as a reward :) which is ironic
Tarek Hegazy (AUC Egypt)
There is no educational system in Egypt. Schools are overcrowded, curriculums are way behind, teachers are less than qualified & their salaries only come next to nothing....its kinda absurd some kids even go to high school without properly spelling their names correctly...the key to the rise of nations is education...I won't get into the public/private education dilemma cause its too tricky, mainly cause Egypt has one of the lowest literacy rates worldwide, specially for females..Anyway, guess a good suggestion to eliminate illiteracy might be the introduction of some sort of community service instead of the regular military service where you can teach 10 people alphabet and the basics of math instead of the current service.. guess the annual number of newly recruited soldiers is pretty high, this way we might reduce our illiteracy rate, which is very important if this country would ever have a chance to make it?
Ahmed Khairat (AUC Egypt)
tarek hegazy...i agree with portions of your argument; however, there are some flaws, which must be addressed...First of all, i don't think that Egypt has the lowest literacy rate in the world...Your suggestion for community service is excellent and quite optimistic; however, again refering to my idea of a central problem, there is tooooo much corruption for this to occur. The conservative lazy government would not like to experiment and try this new community service plan. In addition, after a short period the community service program would become corrupt with ppl getting wastas (connections) to get out of serving. Furthermore, who do u think would lead this organization? Unders what ministry do you think it would fall under? - Would it fall under the out-dated, conservative idiotic and (may I add) pointless and unbeneficial, Ministry of Education? Moving on, your idea is more of a twig of hope instead of a branch of hope..What is mean is:
tarek hegazy (part 2): what i mean is that there are more important topics to be considered before your plan is to be discussed. If and only if the egyptian government can imrpove, your plan is feasable, but it will take alot of time...Back to the literacy rate, i think (too lazy to research) that Egypt's literacy rate is higher than other 3rd world countries: african countries, some Asian countries, and maybe other Arab nations, i urge you to find it out and post it on the wall...I would just like to state that i have nothing against your plan and i believe that it is partially true...By any chance are you related to Taha Hegazy in American International School?
-Mostafa Allam
Yo... Khairat... I don't believe refering to the gov. as "lazy" and "corrupt" is very appropriate, considering that we are who we are because of the government. Furthermore, I believe your parents and mine, as gov. agents, are contributing to the improvement of Egypt's government abroad. So as long as they and others like them endeavor, I assure you that it could be the gov. that could lead to a top-down, trickle down improvement effect.
Tarek Hegazy (AUC Egypt)
Dear khairat, thanx for ur comments, anyway, I said egypt has one of the lowest literacy rates & not the lowest one, I just checked the UN list and it says Egypt is in the 151st place with 55.6% literacy rate... Yemen is the only arab country below us at the 157th position....which is another clear message to anyone still living the myth of egyptian superiority over arabs or even african nations...its really sad how much we've fallen behind:)
Hany Bassiouny (HKU)
talk is cheap.. instead of complain about the government why don't u go work for it n make it change! y do u expect someone else to do it for u?
Amr Bassiouny (Egypt)
Thank you Hany, these have been my words for a while (read the note on my site). Stop complaining, go join the Hizb el Watani (or brotherhood if you're into that) and start participating (policy-making/politics).

OR

You can sacrifice a high-paying job in a foreign country (referring to those who work) and work day in and day out doing government work and helping to implement the policies created by the hizb (public administration, and the policies are actually quite good now).

Until you start doing that, as Hany said, talk is cheap.

To say something about education funding...Recently (a few months ago) the PM added 100LE to the salary of each teacher. Considering we have about 1,000,000 teachers in Egypt, that's 1,000,000,000 EXTRA Egyptian pounds spent per MONTH to pay for teachers' salaries. Can you begin to realize how much money we're talking about here?

Now considering that we have serious issues with housing and water, which is more important? Giving ppl clean water to drink, or spend billions every month to teach the kids? The questions won't be easy if you're sitting on the chair, and the decisions will never make everybody happy.
Malak, take it from somebody who actually works with these people you speak of, most of them are taking serious action now, more than you can imagine.

As for your last point, if you ever go to maglis il sha3b (the lower house of the parliment) you will see what kind of people our people elect. It is the most depressing thing about the gov't, and they are the worst part of it. They are uneducated, greedy, have no manners, and unfortunately actually represent the people! I speak out of experience and every time I go to parliment i get depressed and leave. Democracy isn't the answer when it comes to uneducated developing countries. Uneducated people will elect uneducated leaders.

I want you to take a look at the countries of SE Asia and see what they did without democracy. China, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, and so on.

-Tarek Hegazy (AUC Egypt)
Too bad this wall has turned into a place for promoting the so called (hizb) ideas instead of saying something useful ....its even worse some ppl r denouncing democracy in the 21st century as if we have real meritocracy in Egypt... this is really funny...oh god plz help me, am just a poor little blogger..don't wanna turn into youtube material soon....

Ahmed Khairat (AUC Egypt)
Hany, you previously stated that our, as in the group's, "talk was cheap"...First of all, i believe that is completely wrong. We are attempting to brainstorm, discuse, and analyze, the current problems and their solutions. Some of us are still in university and high school, so all we can do is brainstorm...Being that your the one of the anti-"cheap talk" what do you want us to do on this facebook group???? It is up to the current young (30+) educated UNcorrupted men & women of egypt to attempt to reform the government and its officials...Thus, i believe calling our discussion cheap is completely unacceptable and uncalled for...

Tarek Hegazy (AUC Egypt)
ah, you mentioned malaysia and SE Asia...u say they made it without democracy... what about us then? did we have democracy? HELL NO.... then lets try it for a change...guess some nations made it with it already.... these ppl tried for so looooooong already.... anyway, I prefer reading GOMHOREYA NEWSPAPER, it might have more legitimate arguments denouncing democracy and promoting the current TEHCNOLOGICAL government, enough said ;)

Mostafa Allam
I think people should wake up and realize that it is not only the domestic problems that have caused Egypt's decline, but give the country a break considering it is placed in the region with the world's longest on going conflict that involves mainly economic interests (namely, oil) and ideological clashes (Zionism vs. Arabism and (Democracy vs. Authoritarianism) and (Secularism vs. Rule-by-religion). I don't think its feasible for everyone to pinpoint the problems at domestic problems and say they are the sole culprit of the problem. Enlighten yourself, raise awareness, know what you are talking about from an intellectual perspective, and then take action. Don't just complain because Egypt isn't ideal for your selfish needs, but investigate how Egypt could be improved for the common good.

Hany Bassiouny (HKU)
Ahmed.. when i said talk is cheap.. I'm not pointing a finger at u directly.. my pt is general at everyone who's complaining n not doing anything about it.. we know the problems, we've discussed n brainstormed them a million times.. yet we do it again.. that's never gonna get us anywhere.. (obviously it still has to be done, though it shld'nt be the ONLY thing being done).. that's my pt.
Salma.. i deleted it.. i still believe that's the best way to see something happen.. I thought this group wanted to do smthg.. but it appears that it's become a forum to complain about corruption, flawed government policies, and why we're not like the rest of the world. frankly, I hear enough complaints on the street as it is.

Dina Makram-Ebeid (LSE)
Well I've 2 simple comments. 1- u don't ve to be 30+ to make a difference. In fact, if u look at history, from France in 1968, to student protests in Iran in 1999, to U.S student activism against the vietnam war , even to Egypt at different times...it was YOUNG PEOPLE, who rallied, called 4 things, named & shamed their governments, & undertook all sorts of activism. Some were creative, it's not just about demonstrating. They were playing music, organizing concerts, writing, doing films, publishing...everything. So basically, yes, u don't ve a job that can influence decision making but u ve the enthusiasm of the youth & u have less costs 2 bare. 2- Nothing makes me enraged more than Middle/Upper class Egyptians who keep on talking about change as if it'll happen alone. Well change is the responsibility of each & every one of us who is "protected", who has an exit. And if Egypt doesn't change it's because me & u r not doing anything abt it & ve decided to become observers!!

Amr Bassiouny (Egypt)
Tarek Higazy, I am not here to promote anybody, I'm here to give you the insight which I have gained recently working in this field to help you understand how this government works and what you can do to help. I am in the gov't now, and tommorow (literally) I will go join the hizb. Don't fight the system, it won't get you or your ideas anywhere but will only create resistance, work with it. Learn to use it in your favor and create something good out of it.

There is potential for both extremes in this gov't, so I hope we can start putting more of the good and less of the bad.
@ Yaseen

I beleive in this country and I beleive that change is at bay and that this is the time things will get better. I won't sit on the side and remain a spectator. I beleive in this country, and I beleive in my ability to influence its direction. Right or wrong, I'll take the many risks involved and do what I can. Sombody has to do the work, there's no use waiting till somebody comes to do it for me...I'll do it myself.

As for our beautiful cairo, the best time is actually imo sunny friday mornings, before the prayer. Just go driving or take a walk anywhere in Cairo and you just can enjoy a traffic-less, empty, clean cairo. It's my favorite time for a joy-ride in my car :-)

-Mostafa Allam
I think that there has been a lot of dispute concerning the purpose of this group. Some have argued that talk is cheap and that we should go out there and take action. Others have argued that it is beyond our capability to take such action. I think that we should compile the excellent remarks that pinpoint the Egypt's problems, brainstorm to solve them, and express our ideas in a social contract binds people and their elected government through a code of conduct that stipulates what each party has to do. So lets come up with ideas of what we citizens have to do in our daily lives. As a starting point, I say that each member comes up with a few obligations that citizens and gov. officials should respect in his conduct in a letter that we can compile this into a manual for social governance. I believe that this project is the true intellectual enlightenment that Egypt needs at this point.

-Amr Bassiouny (Egypt)
@Mostafa
Manual for social governorance? Are you proposing to completely renew our legislative, executive and judiciary codes and laws (including all the legal codes), as well as create new systems for each part of the gov't? Do you have any idea how big that could be, and how much experience/knowledge you need to even begin doing it?
Find those who will listen...

-Minardos Metri (New York, NY)
im here to listen....... whats up with the political reform talks of Egypt lol. Why do I sense a rebellion and revolution, in order for Egypt to abdicate its current constituencies and replace their old systems of legal precedings with new ones ?

-Amr Bassiouny (Egypt)
Alright well, if any of u really think that writing a new social contract will do anything...I'll personally send it to gamal mubarak or the PM or somebody big and you'll realize that you wasted your time doing it. So go ahead and I'm in with u, but don't say I didn't warn you.


-Mostafa Allam
@Amr. I believe that you misunderstood the intentions of what I proposed to be a “social manual.? I am not changing anything, I am just proposing a code of ethics, which we have obviously lost. Essentially, what are laws made for? For the betterment of society. We need the moral that makes people’s behavior carry the spirit of the law. There are societies where the individuals behavior manifests the law. There are societies where people where people need the law to guide their behavior. There are societies which have no respect for law and see laws made to be broken. We have to decide which society we want to be.
Also Amr, you mentioned that such a project would require a vast amount of knowledge and expertise. As member of such distinguished academic institutions worldwide, we have opportunities and responsibilities that others do not have, so we should be able to make a difference in our way, even if we don’t have all of the experience and knowledge that you might think. The worst thing that is happening in our country now is the indifference among people. I believe debating and criticism is what will stimulate our progress.
What I was talking about was a manual, and not the law. When you buy a device, you obtain a manual of how to use it. It does not necessary mean that you need to change the system. What I am proposing is a practical way to avoid arguments and talking and get to specifics by looking into ourselves as citizens so that the government could know our exact demands.
Egypt at this point is going through a process of labor in which Egypt is looking for a new order to be born so this is our opportunity to be part of the solution, not the problem. Even if such a project is a waste of time and energy, I am willing to exert all of that is in my power to see such reform. Our society is filled with hidden goodness. This society that build such an ancient civilization. We must pull our true potential. Others have made it. Today, it doesn’t matter whether you are rich or poor, big or small, all that matters is that you follow the prescription for success. Look at Singapore, UAE, Qatar, and even China with 1.3 billion are able to succeed in a matter of one generation . We should not lose our will to make it. Because if there is a will there is a way.
Karim Khalil (Egypt)
no matter how corrupt, polluted or just plain fucked this country might be, it can be solved, its been done throughout history in much worse situations where nations have rebuilt themselves from absolutely nothing...believing that it is possible is a step, but when you have the entire population saying fuck it cant be done, its the governments fault...you're doing as much harm as the politicians, by not doing even the slightest effort...we can change, it wont be easy, but a country full of apathetic people has no hope...

-Mohamed Imam
every citizen can easily have a million or half a million, yesterday I was standing infront of my cousin's place with some friends and then a guy passed by asking for the place of a restaurant that shut down like 4 or 5 years ago, I asked him who are you? he told me that he is a representative from the Taxation place... after a chat I knew from him that they collect yearly on average 30 billion Egyptian pounds :) now divide this number on 80 million citizens just one time and lets see how this country is going to be like :)

-Hany Bassiouny (HKU)
@mohamed imam..
just to correct u.. seems u were seriously misinformed, n the tax collector doesn't know what he's talking about.. the actual numbers are.. Pre-new tax law: 500million collected.. n post-new tax law: 3.5billion.. the problem is that people used to bribe the tax collectors.. but now they can't cause tax collectors have to sign on every paper they approve, n cld face long prison sentences if an auditor discovers anything wrong.. so definitely no where near the 30billion.
also.. if ur idea of making ppl better off is just giving them the money, i think it wld fail in a day.. then how do u invest in infrastructure? water stations? roads? sanitation? paying wages? subsidies? education? healthcare? etc etc etc etc// obviously the money isn't even enough to cover those.. u want them to give it away??
I'm a believer in the saying "give a man a fish, he'll eat for a day.. teach a man how to fish, he'll eat for the rest of his life"..
so the pt of giving ppl the money is out of the question.. u might as well burn it.
so when u reduce subsidies on gasoline to channel it to education n healthcare.. STOP COMPLAINING.. ppl only look at the bad side n completely forget there's another side to it.. electricity bill got higher, water bill, phone bill, etc etc.. that's cause the more u use these utilities the more they become a luxury.. so it's wise to not waste the government's money (YOUR MONEY) on these things, n re-allocate them to public education n healthcare so that the ppl who need it the most actually see it.. to make our country a better n safer place for everyone.
I'm also a big supporter on imposing more taxes on tobacco n alcohol.. especially sheesha.
what ur saying is right.. but ur missing smthg.. what do u think subsidies are?
plus.. if u see the president's program for this term, u'll see (and this is for a fact taking place) that the ministry of housing is giving grants of upto LE15,000 to low-income people (priority to fresh grads) buying appartments in new cities (such as 6 October, sherouk, obour, S.Zayed, 10 Ramadan, etc etc).. n also offering easy payment schemes.. this is all a way of giving it to them wisely so they can use it in the future for whatever investment they like.
u may argue that 15,000 is not enough.. but nothing will ever be enough.. n there's a million other things ppl need too.. so u cld either give LE15,000 to say 1mn ppl, or give LE100,000 to 200,000ppl, or give LE1mn to 10,000 ppl.. money doesn't come out of thin air.. so u need to see if u wld rather give more money to less ppl, or less money to more ppl.. it's a real issue being faced, so u have to think about it.

Now the blog has 1,073 posts, but the substance of the political dicussion has everything but died. I have compiled this dialogue as evidence that there is a professional dialogue among Egypt's youth and that revolutionary ideas are bubbling. I've always had the vision of compiling these thoughts into some sort of social manual to hand to some government official so that the government could get some fresh perspectives on how to run the country. Although the debate has died down, I believe that this is an ideal snapshot of a healthy dialogue of different perspectives. Unfortunately, I have not seen anything it like it since, but all we can do is pray for a deja vu!