TresSugar

Obama: US Cannot Impose Values on the World

TresSugar — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 07:00:00 -0700

"The danger, I think, is when the United States, or any country, thinks that we can simply impose these values on another country with a different history and a different culture."

President Obama responded to the criticism he's received for his upcoming high-profile speech in Egypt, a country with few political freedoms. Obama told the BBC that although there are obvious human rights issues in the Middle East, it is not the US's job to lecture countries; instead, the US should lead by example and help countries embrace universal principles as part of their own national identities. Obama also said that Iran has a right to nuclear power, so long as it proves that it proves its peaceful intentions.

How do you like this new brand of "freedom spreading"?

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Front Page: Hillary Clinton Pushes For Peace in Middle East

CitizenSugar — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 07:49:17 -0800

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton began her first visit to the Middle East as top diplomat, meeting with international leaders in Egypt. - CBS News
Severe snowstorms have hit the Eastern United States, canceling flights and causing deadly car accidents and power outages. - ABS News
President Obama has chosen Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius for health and human services secretary. He will announce the pick later today. - AP

The latest US consumer spending figures show a rise in January spending, ending six months of consecutive drops. - CNN
The US government will give insurance giant AIG an addition $30 billion "as needed" after the company claimed $61.7 billion in losses. - AP

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Fate of Germany's Most Wanted Nazi Found in Egypt

CitizenSugar — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 14:00:53 -0800

The hunt for Germany's most wanted Nazi, Aribert Heim (aka Dr. Death for his "medical" procedures) began in 1962 after he barely escaped capture. It only ended recently when a briefcase containing the details of his post-Nazi life and death was found in a hotel where he lived in Cairo.

The New York Times and the German television station ZDF obtained the briefcase and found the following:

An article about his own manhunt and trial in absentia (underlined and annotated)
His medical and financial records
Drawings by the children he left behind in Germany
An application for Egyptian residency under the name Tarek Hussein Farid, who had the same birth date and place of birth as Heim.

Investigators now know Heim fled to Egypt, converted to Islam, and died in 1992 as Tarek Hussein Farid. The Middle East has been an oft overlooked hideout for exiled Nazis, but countries like Egypt actually welcomed them for their military technology knowledge after World War II.

Until the briefcase discovery, Heim was believed to be alive in South America. In fact the Simon Wiesenthal Center - a Jewish human rights organization - had searched for him in Chile last year and was about to raise the reward for information leading to his arrest from $400,000 to $1.3 million.

Below, check out where Dr. Death lived until his own death.

View 4 Photos ›

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Flirting With Jail? 400 Egyptian Teens Arrested For Flirting

LibertySugar — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 14:30:13 -0800

A not-so-playful police sting in Cairo netted about 400 teenage boys accused of flirting with girls. Just yesterday, law enforcement rounded up the underage wannabe-seducers in front of schools, universities, or other public places where teens hang out. The teens will most likely face fines.

While a crackdown on innocent flirting seems oppressive, something beyond prudish attitudes motivated the sting. Egyptian women deal with an extraordinary amount of sexual harassment and assault in public. In Egypt, two-thirds of men admit to harassing women in public.

Last month, an Egyptian court handed down a sentence of hard labor and three years in jail for a man convicted of groping a woman in public. Now it looks like officials want to teach younger males a lesson before they graduate from flirting to groping. Do you think the Casanova roundup will work?

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Egyptian Groper Receives Hard Labor, Jail Sentence

LibertySugar — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 03:00:37 -0700

Sexual harassment in Egypt won't get you a slap on the wrist, but it will get you years in jail time and a sentence for hard labor. In what was most likely the first jail sentence for sexual harassment in Egypt, defendant Sharif Gomma was also ordered to pay his victim $895.

While in his car, Gomma drove slowly next to his victim, groping her as she walked on a sidewalk. The victim fought back, eventually hauling him into the police station herself. After much media attention showered on the case, the judge handed down a harsh sentence to prove that such behavior will not be tolerated in Egypt, where two-thirds of men admit to harassing women in public.

In New York City, one chronic groper, arrested 53 times, faced life in prison for his latest offense on the subway. Do you think three years in prison and physical labor for a first sexual harassment offense would count as cruel and unusual punishment in the US?

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Front Page: Bailout Goes to House Vote, Abducted Tourists Freed, Floods Kill 41 in Vietnam

CitizenSugar — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 07:00:34 -0700

Bailout Goes to House Vote:
The US House will vote on the Wall Street bailout bill today. President Bush spoke this morning urging the House to pass the measure. He said, "I'm confident that this rescue plan, along with other measures taken by the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve, will begin to restore strength and stability to America's financial system and overall economy." Both candidates cautiously support the measure.

Abducted Tourists Freed:
A group of Italian and German hostages, abducted 10 days ago in Egypt, have been freed and are on their way to a military base in Cairo. No ransom was paid though the German government had been negotiating with them. Few details are known about the conditions of their release, though the Egyptian defense minister said half of the captors had been "eliminated."
Floods Kill 41 in Vietnam:
Typhoon Hagupit has triggered flooding in Vietnam killing 41 and injuring 60 more according to disaster officials. The typhoon made landfall last week and has caused severe landslides in mountainous provinces. The damages so far have been estimated at $60 million. An additional typhoon in Taiwan has killed two and injured 58 as well as forcing the closing of schools and the financial market.

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Front Page: School Shooting in Finland, Iran President Blames Economy on War, Germany Bids for Hostages

CitizenSugar — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 07:00:39 -0700

School Shooting in Finland:
Nine people have been killed and the gunman wounded after he opened fire at a vocational school in western Finland this morning. Chaos ensued after the hooded gunman entered the school and began firing with what appeared to be an automatic weapon. The superintendent of police says, ''The incident is over now." The gunman had posted video of himself on YouTube prior to the attack.

Iran President Blames Economy on War:
In New York for the opening of the UN, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said today that the economic crisis could be blamed on global US military intervention and President Bush's "logic of force." He said, "The world economy can no longer tolerate the budgetary deficit and the financial pressures occurring from markets here in the United States." Bush says he's confident Congress will quickly pass a bailout bill.
Germany Bids for Hostages:
Germany continues efforts to free 11 foreign tourists kidnapped in Egypt on Friday. The kidnappers are holding five Germans, five Italians, and one Romanian tourist for a ransom of $15 million. Germany has formed a "crisis team" to deal with the situation as the kidnappers have threatened to kill the captives if any aircraft attempt to reach them.

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Front Page: Cheney Gives Palin Nod, Fannie and Freddie Takeover, Cairo Rockslide Death Toll

CitizenSugar — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 07:00:01 -0700

Cheney Gives Palin Nod:
From the man who may know best, Cheney says Sarah Palin has no restrictions from being a great vice president. In Italy today, Cheney told reporters that he ''loved'' Palin's speech to the convention, especially tickled by her joke about the difference between hockey moms and pit bulls being a coat of lipstick. He said, ''I thought her appearance at the convention was superb." He went on to add, ''There's no reason why Sarah Palin can't be a successful vice president in a McCain administration.''

Fannie and Freddie Takeover:
The US government takeover of mortgage giants Frannie Mae and Freddie Mac caused stocks to rally in Europe and Asia. A provision in the bailout plan where the Treasury buys Fannie and Freddie securities in the open market has economists optimistic saying, "it means the US is serious about fixing the problems in the market.”

Cairo Rockslide Death Toll:
With reports saying hundreds more could still be buried and 47 left dead, a rock slide has decimated a Cairo shanty town. Eight boulders barreled down from high in the Muquattam hills and rescuers are criticizing authorities for delays in sending heavy machinery. Some are using their bare hands to search for survivors. One survivor says, "We saw a boulder coming down on us, on our houses, on the children, our belongings, and our neighbours and they pulled them out dead. Just as you see, no one has done anything to help since yesterday."

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Women-Only Beach in Egypt Allows Modesty and Tanlines

CitizenSugar — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:00:42 -0700

Long Muslim scarves and lots of clothes worn on the beach can make a woman feel like a fish out of water. One resort in Egypt is making it safe to dive in. Called "La Femme," its women-only status means that women can swim, breast feed, and lounge in bikinis safe from the prying eyes of men.

Given the guidelines of the growing conservatism in the mostly Muslim country, more and more women opt to follow the strict Muslim guidelines of covering their heads and skin. This beach is one of the only ways they can frolic and still be fiercely religious. One woman in her 60s basking in the sun says, "Sometimes I turn around and look behind to make sure there are no men. And, thank God, there aren't any. It is 'haram' (forbidden in Islam) to strut around in front of men in a swimsuit. It is an excellent idea to have a beach reserved for women only."

To see how they guard the women, read more.

It costs money to sunbathe safely - it is mostly upper-class women who can afford the $14 for a weekend's entrance into the gated beach club. With thick branches shielding the women from view and guards at the entrance searching for cameras that might be used to post pictures of the women on the Internet, the women are delighted. One bikini-clad gal says, "It is wonderful here. We don't have to put up with the prying eyes of men. But on the mixed beaches it is unbearable."

I don't know about you, but the idea of women-only places like beaches (or gyms!) sounds just peachy to me. Would you sunbathe sans dudes?

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Book About Finding Mr. Right Disprupts Egypt's Boys Club

LibertySugar — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 15:45:08 -0700

Young Egyptian men work years to save enough money for marriage, an event that certifies manhood. But Egyptian society often treats women as mere objects to marry, and teaches young girls that their futures rely on becoming a bride. Twenty-nine-year-old Ghada Abdelaal has turned the tables - the female author wrote I Want to Get Married, a fun book which challenges Egypt's patriarchal norms, showing that Egyptian women have desires similar to men. The popular book about looking for Mr. Right, began as a blog, and Ghada is now making her story of entertaining Egyptian characters into a sitcom.

The book speaks to the crises surrounding marriage in Egypt. Young people cannot get married until they save enough to buy a pricey apartment. Marriages are often arranged between strangers and Egypt's newlywed divorce rate is high. One Egyptian sociologist believes high levels of sexual harassment of women and rape result from conservative norms, including no sex before marriage. Others blame violence on gender disparity, instead of sexual frustration.

Perhaps the humor and entertainment featured in Ghada's book will help Egypt shed some of its oppressive norms.

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