Another fascinating Al-Jazeera feature on Empire about the role of the internet in the Arab uprisings: Carl Bernstein, a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist; Amy Goodman, the host and executive producer of Democracy Now!; Professor Emily Bell, the director of digital journalism at Columbia University; Evgeny Morozov, the author of The Net Delusion: The Dark Side…
Showing all posts tagged Egypt
Portrait of a key Egyptian dissenter
Hossam el-Hamalawy has been campaigning against the Mubarak regime for years (and appears in my book The Blogging Revolution). In this Associated Press profile he outlines the oft-forgotten in the West supporters of the Egyptian revolution (away from Twitter and Facebook); the workers: “The job is unfinished, we got rid of (Hosni) Mubarak but we…
Opportunities America should grab in the Middle East (but probably won’t)
Only on Al-Jazeera. The wonderful show Empire – a news service that actually acknowledges what Washington is – discusses the changing role of the US in the Arab world in light of the various uprisings. Honest about Israeli actions and America’s real intentions in the Middle East – loving Israel to death and oil –…
Israel refuses to embrace the Arab world
What more evidence do you need that it simply isn’t happening? The Egyptian revolution has kicked open the door to a vast Arab population that, for the first time, is poised to influence the course of its country’s policies directly. For Israel’s supporters, this could mean a new frontier for public diplomacy and a chance…
Rest assured, Mubarak regime saw Obama as a friend
One of the latest Wikileaks cables just released, from January 2009, makes that clear: The Egyptian leadership is taking notice of, and welcoming, President Obama’s recent outreach to Egypt, and focus on the Middle East peace process. Safwat El Sherif, the powerful secretary-general of the ruling National Democratic Party and speaker of the Shura Council…
Mubarak should soon be forgotten
Nice: A hospital in Gaza named after Egypt’s deposed president has been renamed, officials said Wednesday. The Hosni Mubarak Children’s Hospital in Khan Younis will now be known as Tahrir Hospital, the health minister in Gaza said. Yousef Al-Mudalal said that “the change was delivered to all relevant departments. Through their revolution, Hosni Mubarak was…
Speaking about Egyptian revolution in Chinese media
During the recent Egyptian uprising, the Chinese regime blocked internet searches for the word “Egypt”, in case locals got any ideas about challenging the state. I was therefore pleasantly surprised to receive an interview request this week from Time Weekly, based in Guangzhou. During the interview a few days ago – when I was asked…
US intelligence is a contradiction in terms
The idea that Facebook and Twitter should be closely monitored by Washington to determine where the next Middle East revolution may occur simply proves the sheer waste of billions on the intelligence services annually. You have to laugh:
Obama administration keen to maintain money to Egyptian torturers
Washington is extremely happy to be funding and arming an Egyptian elite that routinely tortures its own citizens and terror suspects sent from the US: U.S. military aid to Egypt has been of “incalculable value,” helping its armed forces become a capable, professional body, the top U.S. military officer told Congress Wednesday. Admiral Mike Mullen,…