Hidden Secrets

Would it happen to you?

10th Grade:

As I sat there in English class, I stared at the girl next to me. She was my so called “best friend”. I stared at her long, silky hair, and wished she was mine. But she didn’t notice me like that, and I knew it. After class, she walked up to me and asked me for the notes she had missed the day before and handed them to her. She said “Thanks” and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I wanted to tell her, I want her to know that I don’t want to be just friends, I love her but I’m just too shy, and I don’t know why.

 

11th Grade:

The phone rang. On the other end, it was her. She was in tears, mumbling on and on about how her love had broke her heart. She asked me to come over because she didn’t want to be alone, so I did. As I sat next to her on the sofa, I stared at her soft eyes, wishing she was mine. After 2 hours, one Drew Barrymore movie, and three bags of chips, she decided to go to sleep. She looked at me, said “Thanks” and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I want to tell her, I want her to know that I don’t want to be just friends, I love her but I’m just too shy, and I don’t know why.

 

Senior Year:

The day before prom she walked to my locker. “My date is sick” she said; “He’s not going to go well, I didn’t have a date, and in 7th grade, we made a promise that if neither of us had dates, we would go together just as “best friends”". So we did. Prom night, after everything was over, I was standing at her front door step. I stared at her as she smiled at me and stared at me with her crystal eyes. I want her to be mine, but she isn’t thinking of me like that, and I know it. Then she said “I had the best time, thanks!” and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I want to tell her, I want her to know that I don’t want to be just friends, I love her but I’m just too shy, and I don’t know why.

 

Graduation Day:

A day passed, then a week, then a month. Before I could blink, it was graduation day. I watched as her perfect body floated like an angel up on stage to get her degree. I wanted her to be mine, but she didn’t notice me like that, and I knew it. Before everyone went home, she came to me in her smock and hat, and cried as I hugged her. Then she lifted her head from my shoulder and said, “You’re my best friend, thanks” and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I want to tell her, I want her to know that I don’t want to be just friends, I love her but I’m just too shy, and I don’t know why.

 

A Few Years Later:

Now I sit in the pews of the church. That girl is getting married now. I watched her say “I do” and drive off to her new life, married to another man. I wanted her to be mine, but she didn’t see me like that, and I knew it. But before she drove away, she came to me and said “You came!”. She said “Thanks” and kissed me on the cheek. I want to tell her, I want her to know that I don’t want to be just friends, I love her but I’m just too shy, and I don’t know why.

 

Her Funeral:

Years passed, I looked down at the coffin of a girl who used to be my “best friend”. At the service, they read a diary entry she had wrote in her high school years. This is what it read: I stare at him wishing he was mine, but he doesn’t notice me like that, and I know it. I want to tell him, I want him to know that I don’t want to be just friends, I love him but I’m just too shy, and I don’t know why. I wish he would tell me he loved me! `I wish I did too…`. I thought to my self, and I cried.

Aurora

And you just reminded me of the Northern Lights,
Its beauty mirroring upon your sweet face,
Where their elegance seems to radiate,
Unlike any other mystical place.

Why worry now when I’m here with you.
There’s none other I’d want to be with more than you.
So mellow is your presence,
Against all fading and evanescence.

And your heart throbs,
Are what makes me tick.
Laminating my soul,
Undoing it’s sick.

Sparkling of green;
Two emeralds always seen.
Giving away feelings of keen,
Of a love that long has been,

Awaited for by her.
Foreshadowing her fate,
Would she have ever wondered?
Of it never being late?

For I had found her,
And loved her.
She’s all that I am…
A distinction of glam.

The Military & Journalists During #Jan25

This was sent to me on February 5th during the height of the #Jan25 Revolution by a Spanish photojournalist friend of mine, we were supposed to meet in Cairo if not for the unfortunate circumstances which he had to go through after he arrived at Cairo, his name is Martyn Aim, and this is his message. Quite similar to a report made by the NY times on two journalists who had a similar experience with the military during their time in Egypt.

I’m writing to recount an experience which may be added somehow to a long list of transgressions against journalists. I do of course realize that much, much worse happens to Egyptian people all the time but I wanted to share this with you….

I was detained by army patrol right out of my taxi about 10 minutes into journey to city from airport. Admittedly it was during the curfew at about 9.30 PM by the time the flight managed to arrive.

I spent about 15 hours detained: Firstly, for about 6 hours with army then onto the security forces. With army was hit (not seriously) prodded with bayonets and robbed of my cash and forced to kneel hands-over-head for a couple of hours while two lads held their rifles in my direction and predictable intimidating gestures.

I was then taken into a room to wait for about three hours. I was then handed over to three guys wearing sub-machine guns and was immediately blindfolded. I was then forced to crouch in the back of a van and told that if they discovered I could speak Arabic they would shoot me. Of course, I had absolutely no idea where I was going and what would happen at end of it.

I was relieved when the van stopped and I could hear foreign voices and realised I was to be questioned. My mind had run a little wild and paranoid during the journey in the back of the van. I spent another ten or so hours at this installation, blindfolded and sitting on concrete floor outside the building for the near entirety – excepting two short periods of questioning in a room with a security officer. Of course I was not offered any water throughout the experience.

As I said I am recounting this treatment not to say “poor me” but because this one of the major stories from this situation in Egypt as you well know. Those fucking scum have to be stopped.

An expensive lens of mine, my cf cards, rolls of film, etc, were taken. Normal and has happened to scores of people of course. Security guys forced me to sign a waiver claiming I received all my gear back regardless of the fact I didn’t. OK this happens…but the level of intimidation and their paranoia was crazy.

I flew out as well as some other foreigners because there is no way we could figure out how to have worked in Cairo as journalists in the days following. I was followed around all day at the airport and I know what would have happened if I tried to go into the city.

Anyhow, although we haven’t met (yet)…I hope you and your friends come through this ok. Ill be thinking of you all.

Best, Martyn.

I was reminded to post this after reading Tantawi’s testimonial, specifically the part where he talked about any ‘foreigners’ not being arrested in Tahrir Square during the revolution.

Tantawi… A Liar & A Culprit

The long awaited testimonial of Tantawi, expected by many to contain useful information, has turned out to be a major disappointment for the multitudes of Egyptians out there.

What did those people expect? That Mubarak’s right hand would easily give away critical information that would lead to the indictment of Mubarak or anybody else who was involved in the massacring of protesters in Tahrir Square and other parts of Egypt during the revolution? Chickens would have to learn how to fly before that happens.

In short, the series of questions given to Tantawi by the Judge have been leaked on the internet along with Tantawi’s answers (translated to English) by Mohammad el-Garhey, head of the news department in the Tahrir newspaper and Editor-in-Chief of ‘Manchet’ TV programme. Which you will get to read in a bit, but ask yourself before you start… What did you really expect out of this?

Judge Q1: There was a meeting on the 22nd of January, was the President informed of all the aspects of that meeting including what was it about and the results?

Tantawi A1: The meeting was headed by the Prime Minister and I think he informed Mubarak.

Judge Q2: Since the beginning of the events of January 25th till February 11th, were there any meetings between you and former President Hosni Mubarak?

Tantawi A2: No direct meetings, but on the 28th of January when we took orders from the President, there were calls between the President and myself.

Judge Q3: What did the President show in those meetings?

Tantawi A3: The meetings were made to find out what the Armed Forces would do on the 28th of January and when the Armed Forces were tasked with taking to the streets and aiding the police in completing their tasks. The Armed Forces had training in such exercises and when the police needs aid and is unable to do their job. The order was given by the President to the Commander of the Armed Forces for them to take to the streets and secure all the key important buildings and institutions, and that’s what happen.

Judge Q4: Did the former President Hosni Mubarak give orders to former Interior Minister Habib al-Adly for the police forces to use excessive force against the protesters though the use of rubber bullets and live ammunition from the 25th of January till the 28th of January?

Tantawi A4: I don’t have any information on that, and I think it didn’t happen.

Judge Q5: Did the President instruct for them on any methods to deal with that situation?

Tantawi A5: I don’t have any information.

Judge Q6: Did you receive any reports or information on the behavior of the police?

Tantawi A6: This is related to the police force and its training, but I know that dispersing protests is done without the use of gunfire.

Judge Q7: Did the Armed Forces manage to tag any snipers used by the police in the past events?

Tantawi A7: I don’t have any information.

Judge Q8: The investigations showed that many protesters were killed and injured from the use of buckshots, have you been informed about this and how do you explain it?

Tantawi A8: I don’t have any information like that, the possibilities are many, but I don’t have any information.

Judge Q9: Are the police forces solely responsible for causing casualties and injuries amongst the protesters?

Tantawi A9: I don’t know what happened.

Judge Q10: Can you confirm if other elements were involved?

Tantawi A10: They’re unconfirmed information, but I think that other elements have been involved.

Judge Q11: Who and what are those other elements?

Tantawi A11: They could have been outlaws.

Judge Q12: Have  you been informed that foreign elements might have been involved?

Tantawi A12: I don’t have any confirmed information but the possibility remains.

Judge Q13: On a general basis, does the President interfere according to his authority to maintain the security and the safety of the nation through giving orders or assignments on how to act?

Tantawi  A13: The President could have issued orders, its his right but everything is planned in advance and everybody knows his job.

Judge Q14: And who does the President give such orders to on a general basis?

Tantawi A14: The assignments are known to those who execute them, but the President can undoubtedly give new assignments.

Judge Q15: And must one when given an order absolutely follow that order no matter the consequences?

Tantawi A15: Of course there’s discussions and the one to execute the order discusses it with the President. Critical orders have to be discussed.

Judge Q16: Is the former President Hosni Mubarak held responsible directly or solely along with who executed his direct orders on dealing with the protesters?

Tantawi A16: If he gave that order, which is the use of gunfire. I think the responsibility is shared and I don’t know if he gave that order or not.

Judge Q17: And do you know if the former President had any information from his sources on the killing of protesters?

Tantawi A17: His assistants should be asked on whether they relayed such information to him or not.

Judge Q18: And do you know if the President in any way had intervened to stop the the blood spilling?

Tantawi A18: I think he did interfere and gave the order to investigate what happened with the killings and asked for a report.

Judge Q19: Can you beyond any doubt and with full certainty determine just how much the former President is responsible for all the events that lead to the killing and injuring of protesters?

Tantawi A19: This is the responsibility of the investigators

Judge Q20: Is it allowed – according to your expertise – for the Interior Minister on a general basis to adopt whatever procedures and methods he sees fit to counter protests alone without discussing with the President?

Tantawi A20: Such procedures are planned and well-known to everybody in the Interior Ministry but in every case, he gives information to the President regarding the protests. However dispersing protests is a usual training that is done by the Interior Ministry.

Judge Q21: And did Habib al-Adly take the decision of dealing with the protests along with his assistants in a way that resulted in many deaths and casualties according to what you’ve been informed?

Tantawi A21: I don’t have any information on that.

Judge Q22: Assuming that you’ve been informed on the events of January 28th that lead to the police using live ammunition rounds and vehicles to run over protesters, was the order to use them given by Habib al-Adly and his assistants alone?

Tantawi A22: I can’t determine what happened, but he might have taken such procedures. I don’t know, whoever did that is responsible.

Judge Q23: Is it true to say beyond any doubt that the former President had absolutely no knowledge on the way the police forces acted or that he did not give orders or instructions to them on the how to deal with this given that he’s entrusted to the affairs of Egypt and the keeping of its security?

Tantawi A23: I don’t know what happened, but I think that the Interior Minister does give reports, maybe he doesn’t. I really don’t know.

Judge Q24: Has been been deaths or injuries of Army officers?

Tantawi A24: Yes, there were martyrs.

Judge Q25: Did the Interior Minister cooperate with the Armed Forces to secure the protests:

Tantawi A25: No

Judge Q26: Were you informed on the loss of ammunition belonging to the Armed Forces?

Tantawi A26: Nothing was lost, there was some damage with some equipment but they were all fixed.

Judge Q27: Were you informed on the entry of Hamas or Hezbullah agents through the tunnels to cause disrpution?

Tantawi A27: This did not happen during the protests, and we are dealing with this sort of thing and whoever is discovered is destroyed and if there’s anybody under trial (military trial that is), this wasn’t during the days of the protests.

Judge Q28: Were foreign agents arrested in Tahrir Square and transferred to military prosecution?

Tantawi A28: No, nobody was arrested.

Judge Q29: On the meeting that took place on January 20th, were orders given to cut off all means of communication?

Tantawi A29: No, it did not happen.

Judge Q30: Some Major Generals had told us that they were given orders to disperse the protests using excessive force, were the Armed Forces asked to do the same as well?

Tantawi A30: I said in the Police Academy during the graduation ceremony that I tell history that nobody from the Armed Forces would ever use gunfire on the people.

And there you have it ladies and gentlement, the full script of the testimonial of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Tantawi as reported by journalist al-Waleed Ismail and relayed on Twitter by Mohammad el-Garhey. Obviously it would seem that Tantawi’s answers are basically either deliberately denying knowing anything about basic standard procedures in the chain of command that a man of his position should be well informed of, or simply just red herring after another red herring that ends up distracting you from what should be the actual answer to the question. Which is never given by Tantawi.

This testimonial was given under oath, by the currently highest ranking military man in Egypt, one who supposedly should have enough integrity to help this nation (which is not the case sadly enough). But it works to our advantage, as time passes by, the inadequacy and lies of the SCAF come to the surface, showing more people the SCAF for what it really is.

Let’s even assume he’s telling the truth for arguments sake, if a man of his position doesn’t really know anything about what happened during such critical events in Egypt, then how is he really the head of a council that is supposedly taking Egypt through a major transitional phase that will determine Egypt’s future for the next couple of decades. If he doesn’t know about basic protocol and how orders are usually passed in states of emergency, how the hell is he capable of leading an army, let alone a nation? How is this man still a Commander-in-Chief?

Cows & Politics Explained

One of the oldest political and economical jokes with a few bit of my own… Nothing personal against cows though.

Here goes.

Socialism: You have two cows. The government takes one and gives it to your neighbor.

Communism: You have two cows. The government seizes both and provides you with milk.

Fascism: You have two cows.  The government seizes both and sells you the milk. You join the underground and start a campaign of sabotage.

Nazism: You have two cows. The government seizes both and shoots you dead.

Democracy (American): You have two cows.  The government taxes you to the point you have to sell both to support a man in a foreign country who has only one cow, which was a gift from your government.

Republicans (American): You have two cows. Your neighbor has none, so what?

Capitalism: You have two cows. You sell one, buy a bull, and build a herd of cows.

Bureaucracy: You have two cows. The government takes them both, shoots one, milks the other, pays you for the milk, then pours the milk down the drain.

An American System: You have two cows. You sell one to buy hi-tech equipment, and force the other to produce the milk of four cows.  You are surprised when the cow drops dead, and demand an analyst to assess the situation.

A Canadian System: You have two cows, the English one is boring and the French one wants it’s own farm.

A French System: You have two cows. You go on strike because you want three cows.

A Japanese System: You have two cows. You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk. You then create clever cow cartoon images called Cowkimon and market them World-Wide.

A German System: You have two cows. You re-engineer them so they live for 100 years, eat once a month, and milk themselves.

A British System: You have two cows. They are mad.  They die. Pass the shepherd’s pie, please.

An Italian System: You have two cows, but you don’t know where they are because the Church took one, and the Mafia took the other one. You break for lunch and eat pizza.

A Russian System: You have two cows. You count them and learn you have five cows. You count them again and learn you have 42 cows. You count them again and learn you have 12 cows.  You stop counting cows and open another bottle of vodka.

A Swiss System: You have 5000 cows, none of which belong to you. You charge others for storing them.

A Brazilian System: You have two cows. You enter into a partnership with an American corporation.  Soon you have 1000 cows and the American corporation declares bankruptcy.

A Jamaican System: You have two cows. You stare at them for a while then go roll another blunt.

A Mexican/Columbian System: You have two cows. You feed them coca leaves and the cartels sell their milk.

A Sub-Saharan African System: You have two cows, with their sun-baked skeletons in the sand. You put the pictures on TV and get donations of powdered milk.

An Indian System: You have two cows. You worship both of them.

A Chinese System: You have two cows. You have 300 people milking them. You claim full employment, high bovine productivity, and arrest the newsman who reported on them.

An Israeli System: There are these two Jewish cows, right? They open a milk factory, an ice cream store, and then sell the movie rights. They send their calves to Harvard to become doctors. So, who needs people?

An Australian System: You have two cows. That one on the left is kind of cute.

An Afghan System (Taliban): You have two cows. You declare their milk to be unholy and vile and threaten to blow up everybody else’s cows.

A Lebanese System: You have two cows. One is owned by Syria and the other is controlled by the government/Hezbullah militia.

A Saudi System: You have two cows, since milking the cow involves nipples the government decides to ban all cows in public, declaring it as ‘haram’. You just buy the milk from everyone else and pay them extra to leave your cows alone.

A Pakistani System: You have two cows; you give the milk to the military, eat the cows in a massive Qorma/Nihari party and have fun watching all the lawyers riot in the streets.

An Iraqi System: You have two cows, they belonged to Saddam. Outsiders help you get them back, you end up with one cow that you can’t milk.

An Iranian System: You have two cows. You use them to produce radioactive milk.

A Dubai (and the Gulf) System: You have two cows. You create a website for them and advertise them in all magazines. You create a “Cow City” or “Milk Village” and sell off their milk before the cows have even been milked to shady investors who sell the non-existent milk for a 100% profit in two years time.

An Egyptian System: You have two cows. They both vote for Mubarak. (pre Jan25#)

An Arab Spring System: You have two cows, they own the ranch.

Tank Men: From China to Egypt & Syria

Some say that man is always reproducing what he does, no matter the history, or the time. And its completely true, sometimes you can go through your entire life and never get to see something like this, never get to see how some people can be extraordinarily courageous. You can go to many protests and demonstrations and sometimes there’s always this one person that pushes the limit in a display of bravery, which becomes inspirational to all those who get to see it.

Throughout modern history, a phenomena that began in China which had become famous Worldwide, came to later be called the ‘Tank Man’, basically referring to a civilian protester who is able to muster his courage to walk up there, standing in front of a tank or an APC in an attempt to block its path and keep it from moving, despite the peacefulness in the act, it shows great strength and power.

It was first seen in China during the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989 after a revolutionary spring that began in the Eastern European bloc against the Communist parties.

A Chinese man stands alone to block a line of tanks heading east on Beijing’s Cangan Boulevard in Tiananmen Square on June 5th, 1989. Even as the front tank moves away from him, he moves again to counter its path and later on climbs on the tank. It was a sight that froze the entire World in their seats, something they had never seen before. What happened to him later, remains a mystery to this day, some day he was arrested and executed, others stay  he still lives.

However the years had passed, and talk of this act of heroism died out, until it resurfaced back again during the #Jan25 revolution in Egypt.

An Egyptian man crosses Kasr al-Aini street leading to Tahrir Square to block an armored truck armed with a water cannon, which proceeds to shoot the water at him, as others later join him in an effort to stop the armored truck from moving. When this was seen on camera, it was immediately compared to the incident that happened in China in 1989, and the man was dubbed the ‘Egyptian Tank Man’.

And to my surprise, it was meant to happen again. This time in Syria.

A Syrian man in Baniyas, takes up the task of walking up the road to block a tank’s way, despite the warning shots he keeps moving, and eventually gets to the tank. The video isn’t really clear on showing what happens afterwards, but I think he either sits down or sleeps in front of the tank.

It’s sad that such heroism in Syria hasn’t been highlighted enough by the media compared how it was done in both Egypt and China, due to heavy media censorship in Syria. But this act deserves to be broadcasted on the news in the same way, this man should be dubbed the ‘Syrian Tank Man’.

Saturn: The New Moon

After the 30th of August had been marked as the first day of Eid by Saudi Arabia, all the Arab countries followed suit, with the exception of Oman who had declared Eid to be on Wednesday. Until the Jeddah Observatory stunned the Muslim population in the Arab World by saying that the waxing crescent that was sighted on that day might be Saturn instead.

The dark disc of the Moon might have been faintly illuminated last Monday and Tuesday given the skies were clear enough, that’s mostly because of a phenomenon called earthshine.

I’m an amateur astronomer, I’ve had my experience with stargazing a lot in the past. So I took the liberty of posting a couple of sky charts/simulations to give people a clear idea on what happened.

Cairo's Western horizon on August 29th at 6:00 pm

On August 29th, the Moon was too close to the sun and its glare and remains in the new Moon phase, clearly showing that the lunar month of Shawwal had not begun yet. Also it presents great difficulty in being able to observe the Moon, whether binoculars or a telescope was used.

Cairo's Western horizon on August 30th at 6:00 pm

On August 30th, the Moon was just emerging from the Sun’s glare, so it formed a thin waxing crescent low in the Western sky at sunset. That was the night that marked the beginning of Shawwal and the first day of Eid.

For more confirmation on such a conclusion, here are the results of the Moon phase calculator,

Moon Phase on August 29th

Moon Phase on August 30th

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is exact science, the same laws of physics and math used to calculate the Moon phases and simulate sky star charts, are the same laws used to calculate prayer times, solar and lunar eclipses and a lot of other things

Saturn however, being a ‘golden planet’ is usually seen as a steadily shining yellowish object in the sky. Its quite easy to distinguish how Saturn looks from the Moon, even to the naked eye. I honestly do not know how the Jeddah Observatory had made such a mistake also given the distance between the two objects, but I am glad they came public about it after discovering the error of the moon-sighting.

An Eid Of Blood

It was a new kind of celebration of Eid in 2011, for it was made with blood. Quite unlikely for the nature of the celebration, usually Eid is celebrated with happiness and rejoice that the fasting month of Ramadan is over. However, this was not the case in some parts of the World.

In Syria, Syrian security forces have shot dead at least seven protesters on the first day of the Muslim Eid al-Fitr holiday. Protests erupted in many towns and cities on Tuesday morning, after Muslims performed the Eid prayer marking the end of Ramadan then took to the streets in mass protests against the Assad regime and the atrocities it had been committing against the Syrians for the past five and a half months. The Local Co-ordination Committees (LCC) activist network said six of the deaths occurred in the southern province of Daraa and one in Homs in what continues to be a harsh crackdown imposed by the Assad regime over protesters and activists ever since the eruption of the #Mar15 revolution in Syria.

In Bahrain, a 14-year old boy with the name of Ali Jawwad has been reported killed by Bahraini security forces during a protest in Sitra against the al-Khalifa regime after he was directly hit by a tear gas canister on his head fired at a close range, Bahrain’s Ministry of Health stated that a 14-year-old boy was killed but gave no details as to the circumstances of his death. This marks as the 32nd civilian that has been killed by the regime ever since the beginning of a civil uprising in Bahrain on #Feb14 that had been oppressed by both the al-Khalifa regime and the GCC’s Peninsula Shield forces.

In Nigeria, tensions between Christians and Muslims over the Muslim holiday Eid have resulted in the deaths of at least 20 people in the central Nigerian city of Jos. Sectarian violence broke out after Christian youths attacked Muslims trying to perform worship in a mosque that had been burned in previous clashes in that city, the military was called in to put an end to the violence and shot at the crowd, most of the deaths are reported to be caused by the military forces. The clashes are part of ongoing violence that began with last Christmas Eve’s bomb blasts in two Christian communities in Jos, the state capital that lies on a faith-based fault line between Muslim-dominated northern Nigeria and the mainly Christian southern Nigeria, ever since then both Muslims and Christians have been killed based on their religious identity.

In Denmark, one man was killed and two more wounded in a shoot-out outside a mosque in central Copenhagen, the attacks came as worshippers left the mosque after the Eid prayers, according to witnesses it was a drive-by shooting and around 20 bullets were fired from what seemed to be a hand gun. The police confirmed that the man had died within minutes after he was shot three times in the head, and that a second 50-year-old man was being treated in hospital. A third person, who rushed away in a private car, was shot in the leg.

What a sad way to mark the end of a holy month and begin what should have been the festivities of a beautiful Eid. What should have been a day of celebration will be a day of mourning for all those families, whose loved ones ended up in the morgue rather than at their homes.

Egyptian Heroes: Forgotten By Many, Not By Some.

In light of today’s upcoming protest at the Israeli Embassy and after recent events in Sinai, more light is being shed on Egyptian historical figures that lived through the Arab-Israeli conflict and were left for too long to be forgotten by the Egyptians. None of them were read about in history books in school (at least I haven’t).You’d only get to know about them if you spend time doing research on your own on the internet. Why are such marveled characters kept from remembrance? Kept from history? For what purpose has that been done other than to cover up the truth of how corrupt the past regime has been in Egypt. What does the SCAF have to say about what had been done to these people? Absolutely nothing, because it is a shame that they have to live with.

Lieutenant General Saad Eddin el-Shazly, Chief of Staff of the Egyptian Armed Forces

Lieutenant General Saad Eddin el-Shazly, born on the 1st of April 1922, was an Egyptian military general. He was Egypt’s Chief of Staff of the Egyptian Armed Forces during the October War, born in the city of Basyoun in the Gharbiya Governorate, to a landed family from Shobratana in the Nile delta. His grandfather fought in the Khedive Ismail Pasha’s campaign in Sudan, where he had died. His uncle,  ِAbdel Salam El -Shazly Pasha, was a Member of Parliament, Minister of Religious Affairs, the founder and first Minister of the Social Affairs Ministr and the Governor of el-Beheira and Cairo, and also had been an outspoken critic of King Faourk’s policies. Members of the Shazly family had also participated in the Egyptian Revolution of 1919 against the British occupation of Egypt.

He founded and became the commander of the first Paratroops Battalion in Egypt from the period of 1954 to 1959. He was also the commander of the United Arab Forces in UN mission to Congo from 1960 to 1961, after which he became a military attaché in London from 1961 to 1963. He was later stationed as the commander of the Infantry Forces from 1965 till 1966.

El-Shazly had distinguished himself in the Six Day War in 1967 his unit being the last unit to exit Sinai through the Khatmiya pass after maneuvering throughout Sinai with communications cut between him and the Egyptian High Command, he had finally managed to get the unit to cross back through the Suez Canal into Ismailia. After that, he was appointed as the commander of both the Egyptian Special Forces and Paratroopers from the period of 1967 to 1969, where his unit was stationed at the city of Port Fouad and had carried out most of the sabotage, raids, ambushes and missions of the Attrition War, Port Fouad was the only part of Sinai to have remained under Egyptian control. El-Shazly then assumed command of the Red Sea sector from 1970 to 1971. The Red Sea sector was almost 200,000 square kilometers, roughly a fifth of Egypt’s total size and he had the task of defending it against enemy airborne commando operations, which were conducted mostly at night.

As the Egyptian Chief of Staff during the October War, Saad was the mastermind behind Operation Badr, that had eventually led to the breaching of the Bar Lev line on the 6th of October in 1973, allowing Egyptian control over the Suez Canal and the advancement of the Egyptian troops for 10 miles further into Sinai under the umbrella of the Egyptian air defense front, which prevented any confrontation between the Egyptian ground troops and te Israeli air force, which had been superior at that time. It was that victory that had been celebrated by Egyptians and glorified for many years by the Egyptians and the Arabs as well.

Then it happened, during the early days of the war, the Syrian front was under heavy pressure from the IDF, and so Syrian President Hafez al-Assad made an explicit request to Egyptian President Anwar Sadat to advance the Egyptian forces deep into Sinai as an attempt to release the pressure on the Syrian side. El-Shazly said it was a wrong decision as it would not release the pressure on the Syrian side and would subject the Egyptian forces to danger. However, when Anwar El Sadat against the advice of his military leadership, ordered his ill-fated attack deep into Sinai, away from under the air defense umbrella, which culminated in the penetration by Israeli forces through Egyptian lines after heavy losses suffered at the Egyptian front, at Devresoir into Egyptian territory and the encirclement of the Third Army. the Kilometer 101 Negotiations which set in motion, one concession after the other done by Egypt until the Camp David Treaty was put in place. In the middle of all this, Sadat had relieved el-Shazly from his post as Chief of Staff after he had sent him to the front lines to evaluate the situation and falsely stated that el-Shazly had commanded the withdrawal of all the Egyptian forces from Sinai although he had only suggested the withdrawal of four armored brigades, a fact that was also seconded for by Field Marshal el-Gamasy, Commander-in-Chief of the Egyptian Armed Forces who was also appointed by Anwar Sadat the head of the group that participated in the disengagement talks on October 28, at “Kilometer 101″.

El-Shazly was removed from military service by President Anwar Sadat and appointed Ambassador to Britain and later Ambassador to Portugal. In 1978 General Shazly sharply criticized the Camp David agreement and publicly opposed it. As a result, he was dismissed from his post and forced into exile in Algeria. There he wrote this book ‘The Octobar War’, his account of the war, for which he was tried by a military tribunal in absentia and without legal representation. He was sentenced to three years in military prison. The charges were writing this book without first getting permission from the Egyptian Ministry of Defense, a charge he admitted to in the press. A second charge of allegedly revealing military secrets in his book, charges which he had denied. In 1992 he returned to Egypt where he was arrested and served out his prison sentence, little was heard from him after that until his death at the age of 88 years old on the 10th of February in 2011. His daughter Shahdan was interviewed by al-Masry al-Youm about her father and when she was asked what her father though about #Jan25, he replied saying “Nahaboona” (they stole from us).

Staff Sergeant Muhammad Abdul-Atty, 122nd Field Artillery Brigade of the Egyptian Armed Forces

Staff Sergeant Muhammad Abdul-Atty, born on December 15th 1950 in the small town of Sheeba Qash in the Sharqiyya Governorate, went to University in 1961 and later on graduated as an Agricultural Engineer to work in Minya el-Qamh. He later joined the Egyptian Armed Forces in 1969. He had joined the Special Forces, then he was transferred to the Artillery Unit, where he would spend time there specializing in anti-tank missiles.

Demonstrating amazing skill with the use of ‘Fahd’ anti-tank missiles, particularly in front of Major General Muhammad Saeed el-Mahi, Commander of the Artillery Corps. He was promoted to a First Sergeant on April 6th in 1971 by the Chief of Staff.

When the attack began on October 6th, he was one of the first Egyptians to cross the Bar Lev line in complete amazement and cross into Sinai, they managed, being a part of the 122nd Field Artillery Brigade and they managed to cross all the way to Moses’ Wells on the first day of battle. They managed to hold their position for the second day despite aerial attacks from the Israeli Air Force.

On the 8th of October, they engaged with the Israeli 190th Armored Bridgade that was led by Colonel Assaf Yagouri . In just a half hour, Abdul-Atty had managed to destroy 13 tanks and his partner Bayoumi destroyed 7 tanks, which resulted in the retreat of the Israeli forces, Colonel Assaf Yagouri was captured later by Brigadier General Hassan Sa’ada, commander of the 2nd Infantry Division (currently the 7th Mechanized Division). On the next day, another Israeli armored force was coming in, composed of APCs, jeeps and tanks, Abdul-Atty thinking that the missile would be a waste on the jeep, aimed for the APC first, hitting the target and blowing it up. The Israeli tanks attempted to move out-of-the-way and so he aimed for them one after the other, destroying four more tanks that day making the total number of tanks that he destroyed 17 tanks.

On the 10th of October, help was called from the 34th Mechanized Battalion that was under attack by 3 Israeli tanks. Abdul-Atty being always prepared with anti-tank missiles next to him, managed to destroy all 3 tanks on that day. He then later on destroyed one tank on the 15th of October and on the 18th of October, he destroyed 2 tanks and 1 APC. In total, Muhammad Abdul-Atty had single-handedly destroyed 23 tanks and 3 APCs during the war, earning the title of the ’Tank Destroyer’.

After the war, he was given the Sinai Star by Anwar Sadat, the highest medal of honor in Egypt and the Medal of Courage by Muammar Gaddafi, the highest medal of honor in Libya. Released from military service in 1974, he was later honored by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1993 and went to Mecca to visit the Kaaba in the host of the Saudi King, Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz al-Saud.

Another Egyptian hero who vanished from the history books we studied at school. He suffered from Hepatitis C later on in his life and could not manage the finances to provide proper treatment for himself neither it was provided for him by the government, and he ended up dying later on the 9th of December in 2001 and forgotten by many. Egyptian poet Abdul Rahman al-Abanody, while sick in Paris wrote a last poem dedicated to Muhammad Abdul-Atty called ‘Ism Mashtoob‘ or Struck-out Name.

Mahmoud Nur Eddin, Founder & Commander of the Organized Movement 'Egypt's Revolution'

Mahmoud Nur Eddin, born in Alexandria on the 26th of January in 1940. A former military intelligence officer and diplomat, after graduating from high school he traveled to London to work in the Egyptian Embassy’s commercial office. He studied in the University of London at the mean time and graduated with an Economics major, after which he was appointed at the intelligence office in the Egyptian Embassy.

There he was assigned to monitor Zionist activities in London as Egypt prepared to go to war with Israel. A job that he had done quite well. He was the first to save the Embassy by detecting a detonating package that was sent there. He kept serving as an intelligence officer until Anwar Sadat had visited Jerusalem in 1977. It was a major shock to Mahmoud, one that led him to resign from his post as an intelligence officer and the founding of a magazine that was strongly critical of Sadat’s policies called ‘July 23rd’.

During his life in London, several attempts were made on his life, with the burning of his house in London, from which he survived and also a car chase, that led to him having an accident but still surviving.

Contributors to July 23rd were Mahmoud al-Saadani, Fahmy Hussein and caricature artist Salah el-Laithy, but the magazine after a year was no longer issued due to financial reasons, being funded by Mahmoud himself.

Mahmoud returned to Egypt in 1983 and there he came up with the idea to create an armed resistance against the Israeli presence in Egypt. His main target would be Mossad agents who work in Egypt under a diplomatic cover and assassinate them. By 1984 the armed movement was founded and it was called ‘Egypt’s Revolution’, one of its 20 members being Khaled Abdel Nasser, one of Nasser’s sons, who was in exile in Yugoslavia and was believed to be financing the group. Mahmoud refused entirely the targeting of any Egyptian saying that bullets were better off being shot at Zionists.

On the 5th of June in 1985, their first operation was carried where Zvi Kadar, Security officer of the Israeli Embassy in Cairo was shot and wounded in his hand during the attack. Their second operation was carried out on August 20 in 1985 where an employee of the Israeli Embassy, Albert Atraghji, was shot and killed while driving in his car. His wife and an embassy secretary were wounded. Mahmoud would later describe Albert as one who took joy in “gouging out Egyptian prisoners’ eyes”. Their third operation was done on March 19th, 1986 where Etti Tal-or, wife of an employee in the Israeli Embassy in Cairo, was killed and three embassy employees were injured in an attack on their car, near the Israel pavilion at the Cairo Trade Fair as an objection to the Israeli participation in the trade fair. In May 1987, they attacked and wounded two American Embassy staff members, Dennis Williams and John Hucke.

This resulted in the movement being pursued by the Israeli Mossad, the CIA and Egyptian intelligence all at the same time, they were deemed terrorists. Eventually a betrayal by his own brother Ahmad Essam, who went to the American Embassy and offered them information in return for the American citizenship and money. Mahmoud and the entire movement were captured and his brother Ahmad Essam, wasn’t given anything and was handed by the American Embassy along with the rest of the movement to the Egyptian authorities.

In addition to two relatives of Gamal Abdul Nasser, his son Khaled and cousin Gamal Shawki Abdul Nasser, 18 were charged in court. Mahmoud stated in trial that he was targeting members of the CIA and the Israeli Mossad who worked in Egypt under the diplomatic cover of their embassies. Khaled and 4 other others were cleared by court. However, Mahmoud Nur Eddin was sentenced to 25 years in prison, after which he was taken to Tora prison where he was systematically tortured there along with others in the movement.

Mahmoud had later suffered from illness and requested treatment abroad, but was denied that request, although his condition was not serious as according to Sheikh Hamid Ibrahim, a friend of his and who went to the same prison, he only suffered some pain in his cervical vertebrae. Mahmoud died on September 16th in 1998 after 11 years in prison, the coroner’s report stated that he was infected by a ‘bacterium’ in his brain that caused a sudden high fever leading to his death, a report which accuracy and truth is questioned till this day.

Private Ayman Hassan of the Egyptian Armed Forces

Private Ayman Hassan, otherwise known as the ‘Egyptian Rambo’, born on November 18th in 1967 in the city of Zagazig in el-Sharqiyya. While stationed near the borders, he single-handedly planned and executed the attack at al-Naqb in which 21 Israeli officers and soldiers were killed, with another 20 injured after he laid assault on two Israeli buses and a jeep.

Returning to the Egyptian borders, he turned himself in and fully confessed to his actions to his commanding officer. He was apprehended as such and subjected to military tribunal on April 6th in 1991 where he was sentenced to 12 years on charges of deliberate manslaughter of Israeli military personnel and the destruction of several Israeli vehicles. Ayman denied taking orders from any superior officers or being a part of any movement, stating that he and he alone planned and executed his operation

When asked on his motives. He responded saying that this was his response to the First Aqsa Massacre, an event that took place at 10:30 am on Monday October 8th in 1990 before Zuhr prayer during the third year of the First Intifad. Where after a decision by the Temple Mount Faithful to lay a cornerstone at the site. Clashes began that resulted in the death of over twenty and the injury of more than 150 Palestinians. An event that had come to be known later as ‘Black Monday’. Also after Israeli soldiers had desecrated the Egyptian flag near the Egyptian-Israeli borders.

Before the incident, he had told said how he held a deep grudge towards Israeli for the assassination of the Egyptian scientist and Army Colonel Saeed el-Sayyid Bedair, a specialist in microwave communications in satellites and spy satellites, who was his neighbor in Zagazig in his apartment in Alexandria and claiming he had committed suicide, even though he was preparing to travel and work in the University of Indonesia. He had also known about the story of Sulaiman Khater (which you will get to know in a bit) and called him a hero.

Although he stated that he wasn’t ill-treated during his stay in Abu-Zaabal prison. After he was released, he could not work because of his ‘bad military record’ and ‘criminal record’, after refusing a job of being a garbage man. He took on the job of being a plumber to this day in order to be able to provide is family. As usual, Ayman was forgotten by the government and was not even deemed a hero for his actions. He was yet another victim of the Camp David treaty with Israel.

Conscript Sulaiman Khater of the Egyptian Central Security Forces

Conscript Sulaiman Khater, born in the small town of Akyad in el-Sharqiyya. Sulaiman got to witness a horrifying event as a child. For him and his friend had witnessed the massacre of Bahr al-Baqar school on April 8th in 1970, where Israeli planes bombed down the school and killed 30 children, he was only 9 years old back then and took part in extracting the children’s bodies from beneath the rubble.

He had joined the military service and was situated as a conscript with the Central Security Forces at Ras Barqa at the Egyptian-Israeli borders. During the service, he was known to keep his weapon in good condition, also memorizing its serial number. He was also able to re-assemble and arm his weapon at a record-breaking time.

While stationed at the borders, he encountered a group of Israelis in swimsuits climbing over the hill on which he was stationed attempting to cross the border. He yelled in English saying ‘Stop! No passing’ expecting them to turn around, but they passed the checkpoint.

Following protocol, and as they walked their way towards a shack that contained weapons and communications equipment. Sulaiman found himself loading his gun, he and no time he said to report to his superior officer as the Israelis kept spitting on him and on the Egyptian flag and insulting both of them. Sulaiman aimed his rifle at them thinking it would scare them, but one of them responded by drawing his gun and firing at Sulaiman at which point he started firing back. On that night on October 5th in 1985, he shot and killed 7 Israelis and injured others. Among the Israelis was the Head of the Israeli Military Court and an Army officer with the rank of Major. Sulaiman had noticed a little girl running scared after the incident, so he caught her, carried her and handed her to one of his friends – after they gathered at the scene – asking him to get her back to Israeli territory.

After that he requested the presence of his commanding officer, then turned himself in along with his weapon.

At the military prosecution and trial, Sulaiman stated that they had crossed the borders without permits and had refused to respond to the warning shots in the air. He said that anybody who passes through that area has to know the password, even if an Egyptian officer didn’t know the password, the weapon would have to be raised in his face and he would have to be laid down on the floor and asked why he is here.

Sulaiman also said that he was only doing his job, which was guarding that hill, he said no man should be on that hill whether he was a foreigner or an Egyptian. He also refered to a previous incident in which an Israeli woman was able to seduce an Egyptian conscript, drug him to sleep then steal his walkie-talkie along with its codes, after he invited her to the headquarters of the border unit.

When asked why he memorized the serial number of his weapon, Sulaiman replied ‘Because I love it just like the word Egypt’.

In trial, he was famously quoted for saying;

I do not fear Death nor does it scare me, but I fear that the verdict that maybe issued against me would have a bad effect on my friends in the army, scaring them and killing their patriotism

He was sentenced to 25 years in military prison, after the verdict was read. Sulaiman yelled that this verdict is against Egypt, because he was an Egyptian soldier who fulfilled his duty. Turning to his own guards he said;

Go guard the Land of Sinai, Sulaiman does not need guards

On January 7th in 1986. Sulaiman Khater was announced dead and was reported to have been found dead in his cell. The government said that he had committed suicide but it was denied by his family, who had requested a new coroner’s report explaining the cause of death, a request which was denied raising the issue of whether Sulaiman was assassinated in his cell or not. Egyptian students and political activists rose in mass protests condemning the government and accusing it of killing Sulaiman to appease Israel, a sentiment that was shared by Sulaiman’s mother.

Now in front of his house, a mosaic factory stands with the label ‘Sulaiman Khater’s Mosaic Factory’, also the Iranian government named a street after him in Tehran in commemoration to his actions and his heroism.

Such heroes have been neglected by the government and forgotten by many people for too long. But the truth is coming out and with the current protests at the Israeli Embassy and the initiative taken by the #Jan25 youth to abolish the Camp David treaty and expose the crimes of the past regime in concealing the facts about these people along with many others who were killed at the borders by Israeli gunfire. Somebody has to answer for this, and sooner or later, these people will be held accounted for.

Libya: The Rebirth Of A Nation

I remember seeing the first picture of mine for the #Feb17 revolution in Libya, it was taken at 2 am in Benghazi. Afterwards, things had taken a violent turn, with many Libyans being killed after Gaddafi unleashed his army and mercenaries at them, using all sorts of heavy weaponry to shoot at unarmed protesters. Many Libyans had died before enough dissension in the army was created for them to be able to strike back.

I’ve seen how gradually things escalated to civil war in Libya as Gaddafi hired more and more mercenaries with the rebels increasing in numbers and moving against him.

I remember how Gaddafi’s forces had superior advantage of military training and organization to the Libyan rebels and how they had managed to almost break into Benghazi if the NATO had not moved to aid the Libyan rebels there, and how it was finally able to give the Libyan freedom fighters the edge to push back Gaddafi’s forces to the West.

I remember how at times I thought that Libya would become a stalemate for quite a while and that victory wouldn’t come so soon, but now I see them celebrating all over Libya.  The freedom fighters had managed to get into Bab al-Aziziya, break down his golden statue and step on his ‘golden’ head, take his military cap and gold necklace, his gold-coated rifles and even his ‘tuk-tuk’ which he was held famous for in the Arab World.

The Green Square of Tripoli is now the Martyrs’ Square of Libya. The liberation flag has been raised on top of Bab al-Aziziya. The Libyans tore off the largest record-breaking poster of Gaddafi in the Martyrs’ Square in Tripoli. With the remaining pockets of remnants of Gaddafi’s regime, it should be too long before Libya is completely liberated from Gaddafi and his filth.

Many may wonder why Libya’s revolution had such a violent turn, but its no surprise,

Those who make a peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable – JFK

For many years, the Libyans have lived in Gaddafi’s miserable rule, watching opposition activists being executed on a yearly basis, on the day of April 7th in the Universities of al-Fateh and Garyounis in Tripoli and Benghazi respectively. They watched the Abu Saleem prison massacre in 1996 that killed almost 1,200 political prisoners. They watched assassinations done by Gaddafi and his intelligence on opposition figures living abroad.

For many years, Gaddafi has plagued Libya with his crazy policies and ideas, his flawed definition of a democracy and plundering of Libyan wealth. And ever since the Libyans rose up against Gaddafi and his oppression on February 17th and we have seen his atrocities and genocide of Libyans.

We all saw how he used anti-aircraft guns, 14.5 mm machine guns with incendiary bullets, tanks, bombers and even warships to kill the peaceful Libyan protesters, we saw how he hired mercenaries from Africa to kill Libyan men, rape their women and break into their homes.

And now he has fallen, and Libyans are celebrating Worldwide, particularly in Libya. I can certainly say that Libya’s revolution might be the most complete of all in the Arab World, for they have entirely took down the regime, and will start rebuilding their country under a new democratic regime.

But what lies next for Libya? The difficulty that Libya now faces is taking down the very last pockets of Gaddafi’s forces, and also clearing out NATO’s involvement in their policy remaking. Libya is tribal by nature and does not have civil society organizations like Egypt and Tunisia, something for the National Transitional Council to consider in the process of rebuilding the nation.

The NATO will not cease to keep its hands out of Libya, the oil investments are too lucrative for them to leave it alone. The Libyans will have to be aware of this, there’s no wrong in keeping friendly ties, but to the limit of not allowing the NATO, specifically the US to take control of things there.

The bravery and perseverance of the lions of the Sahara Desert has been an inspiration to many, they are the freedom fighters of Libya, the youth of #Feb17, the grandchildren of al-Mukhtar.