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http://egypttoday.com/news/display/article/artId:706/Q-A-With-Abul-Ezz-El-Hariri/secId:34

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Supporters of disqualified presidential candidate Hazem Salah Abu Ismail, an ultraconservative Islamis, to to the streets in protest. AS a result 11 people were killed and more than 160 wounded. This all  occurringnear the defense ministry in Cairo as they were demanding an end to army rule. 

The Supreme Council has said that they would hand over power by May 24. If and only if there was a clear winner in the presidential elections in the first round. This is not hte first time they have said something along these lines. They seem to want to hold on to power for as long as they can, and have been quoted saying that they would leave power by June 30. Although this recent attack has taken the shine away from the election, and seems to be prompting several candidates to suspend their campaigns. A television debate between two leading candidates – former Arab League secretary-general Amr Moussa and Islamist Abel Fotoh – scheduled for tomorrow has been postponed until 10 May.

The people are in protest again, against the military rulers. It is all going down in Cairo, while the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice party called for a one-million man march on Friday. When will the violence stop?

(Source: Guardian)

    With all of the fighting going on, the people sometimes for get the children. Egypt it it’s current state has been using military courts in order to try children. At this point about 43 children have been tried over the past year. This includes the pending trial of 16-year-old Ahmed Hamdy Abdel Aziz who was involved with the Port Said football riots. These  Children do not have access to  lawyers, their families, until after they have been sentenced. Since coming to power in February 2011, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) has has been sending children to the military  courts. 

They are mixing children  with hard criminals. they have a juvenile system, so why are they using it? “It’s bad enough that the SCAF is trying civilians in military courts, but to put Egyptian children through the military justice system is an even graver injustice,” said Priyanka Motaparthy, Middle East children’s rights researcher at Human Rights Watch. “The military has brought children before military courts without even the most basic protections, like access to lawyers or their families. Even worse, authorities have abused them in detention.”

This is an issue of international importance, when ever children are under fire it is up to the rest of the world to do what they can in order to keep them safe.

(Source: hrw.org)

The Muslim Brotherhood is the largest and the most organized group in Egypt right now. From the very start they were at the for front of the revolutions against Hosni Mubarak. So as Egypt goes in tot he next stage, what role does the brotherhood have?

Very simply they are an outlawed party in Egypt. Although they do have another charters around the Muslim world they are not a large organization. When they did come they brought with them first aid stations, food smuggled in through bared wire, even set up a microphone in the square. With that they could control in part what the people heard. 

Ahmed Abdel-Rahman, is a 21-year-old law student who felt the Brotherhood was “taking over.” He was one of the first who answered the first Jan. 25 call from Facebook to come to the Tahrir Square. 

“The Brothers … They want it to be Islamic like Iran and this. But we don’t want it to be like that. We are liberal. That’s the way they think … They have the biggest crowd in here. That’s why they can control it.” Abdel-Rahman said with fear, while smoking. 

When a young brotherhood member was asked about this he simply said “We do not want to take over. Just the opposite. We only want to be a part of this, not control it,” said Abbas.

(Source: globalpost.com)

- They have been a strong US Ally since 1970. When it comes to aid from the US, they are the nation that is given the most US aid aside from Israel.

- They help keep the “peace” between Israel and Palestine. They are one of the few Arabic nations that were willing to get involved in the mess between the two countries. 

- If we allow Egypt to fall then there is a chance that the group called the Muslim Brother hood would take over. They are not on friendly terms with the US, so if they were to gain power, the US would lose an ally.

- Since the start of the protest, the Egyptian stock market has fallen. This  in turn effects Saudi Arabia, which effects our oil prices. Lately all the oil has gone up and no one seems to really be able to afford it. 

These are most of the reason from the Huffington post as to why Egypt is of value to the US. For me though I feel that there are less political reasons as to why we should protect and help these people. We should help them all that we can because they simply needed it. We should not be in support of a man that they did not deem fit enough to rule them. 

(Source: The Huffington Post)

Every day women fight to survive in the wars around the world. There are the women in the field, community and the journalist. They use their femininity to the best of their abilities. Yet it plays to both their advantages and their disadvantages. They take greater risk then the men of their field.  

Women can tell the stories of women in a manner that men can not. We can come from a point of understanding about the protesting of forced marriages, rape, and child marriages. As women we can have a better understanding of the living condition and torment of women around the world. 

We can get in to places the others can’t, such as the vehicle of the chief justice of Pakistan. Kim Barker, left her car and raced in to a crowd of a 1000+ men, trying to report what exactly was going on. While the men made their tribute to the Chief justice who is known for standing up to military rule, she was harassed. As she walked through the crowd her ass was grab, she was pinched and squeezed. Although she did fight back and caused quiet a scene, a scene that got her invited in to the Chief justice’s car.

Most report’s like this go unreported. The rape of women journalist if reported by the women comes off as weak. Those women are pulled off top jobs in order to keep them “safe”.

(Source: The New York Times)

Since the Uprising and outcasting of Mubarak, the former leader of Egypt, British Prime minister, David Cameron, is the highest ranking government official to come to Cairo. He met with many different civilian leaders as well as military leaders in his time there. The prime minister also met with the current temporary leader of the country, Hussein Tantawl, as well as the Prime minister, Ahmed Shafiq.

During his stay in Cairo the Prime minister is also going to meet with people of the opposing side, in order to make it fair and equal. Al though he will not be meeting with the Muslim Brotherhood. Essam El Erian, a top Brotherhood official called this decision “astonishing.” The Prime minister does have his reasons for this decision, although they were not made clear. 

Although he does have his goals of ending the 30 year emergency rule and to discuss further trading. 

(Source: Mother Jones)

The turbulence that began in Syria almost a year ago now. It all started out as simply a protest for the reform of the state. For them to move out of the dark ages that they were held back in. It has begun to be a full uprising against President Bashar al-Assad’s rule. 

Nothing has been untouched by these protest and uprising. The people can no longer stand by and allow criminal acts to be made against them. As the government cracks down more and more the people fight back harder. They fight against a man whose family has been in power for decades. For some this, family’s rule is all that they have ever known. 

(Source: aljazeera.com)