Happy New Year!

May God make year 2007 peaceful,Joyful,healthy for everyone. May the people of Iraq,Palestine,Afghanistan,Sudan,Africa,and people all over the world have a better year this year. May the world resort to peace not war. May God look upon the sick,needy,and troubled.

On a personal level.I am very thankful to God for my husband,children,my health and our extended families for all their support and for all the blessings of 2006.

Twosret signing off!

Happy Reading

Guardian

Woman wins payout for slurs on blog

Ed Pilkington in New York
Thursday October 12, 2006

Guardian
A jury in Florida has awarded a woman $11.3m (£6m) in costs and damages after a former acquaintance accused her of being a crook, a con artist and a fraudster on an internet talkboard.

The award, believed to be the largest verdict of it sort relating to individual postings on bulletin boards or blogs, was handed down by a jury in Broward County, Florida, against a woman from Louisiana. The sum included $5m (£2.7m) in punitive damages.

Sue Scheff, who runs a small educational business in Weston, Florida, filed the lawsuit in 2003 claiming she had been subjected to 10 months of ugly criticism on the internet from Carey Bock. Ms Bock, from Mandeville, Louisiana, had posted the comments on Fornits.com, a board used by parents of troubled teenagers. Ms Bock did not attend the final hearing.

How would a court react to someone posting libel comments like "alcoholic,death threats,habitual liar?"

O Canada

Ontario Court issues injunction against Internet defamation
Bradley J. Freedman | Current to: June 4, 2004
Posted: Tuesday, July 06, 2004

In the June 4, 2004 decision in Barrick Gold Corporation v. Lopehandia, [2004] O.J. No. 2329, the Ontario Court of Appeal ordered increased damages and issued a permanent injunction against a British Columbia resident responsible for "a systematic, extensive and vicious campaign" of Internet libel against Barrick. The decision demonstrates that, in appropriate cases, Canadian courts will issue injunctions prohibiting Internet defamation even though the responsible persons are outside the court's territorial jurisdiction.


Bloggers beware

Writing the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth can keep you out of trouble — both in your personal and public life — only to a point. While truth is the defense for libel and slander, it is NOT a defense for invasion of privacy and the Internet is the new frontier where not everything is clearly defined.

And even if you consider your blog a diary, that doesn't keep you safe from character defamation charges - and the cost could be as much as 23 years of your life.


Death threats

New York man pleads guilty to Internet death threat
By Carson Walker, Associated Press
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — A former Veterans Administration law enforcement officer from New York state will serve six months of home confinement for threatening to kill a Rapid City woman through e-mail.

Edward S. Grenawalt, 47, of Yonkers, N.Y., pleaded guilty Monday in U.S. District Court in Rapid City to one count of making a threatening communication and was sentenced to two years probation.

Besides the home detention, U.S. District Judge Karen Schreier also restricted his use of the Internet.

FDA Expected to Rule on Cloned Food This Week

Bush our great Christian president whom God speaks through him will allow the FDA to rule on cloned meat, milk and dairy products. Those products will be in my grocery store without a label to identify them. I'm ready to puke!

ABC news Dec. 27, 2006 — The Food and Drug Administration is expected to make an important ruling this week on the future of meat and milk from cloned animals.

Just 10 years after Dolly the sheep became the first mammal to be successfully cloned, food products from cloned animals could soon become available on grocery store shelves nationwide.

In what is seen as a preview of an FDA ruling expected this week, FDA scientists say in a new study that they have found that food from cloned animals is safe to eat.

"Meat and milk from clones and their progeny is as safe to eat" as food that isn't produced through cloning, the report said.

Regardless of the FDA's decision, it's not expected to quell the controversy over cloned foods.

"We are not convinced that this is safe food," Jaydee Hanson of the Center for Food Safety told "Good Morning America."

"And we haven't seen the facts that would convince us," Hanson said.

Some farmers and ranchers already clone animals, but a voluntary moratorium imposed by the FDA has kept that meat and milk off store shelves.

The public seems skeptical about changing that. In a poll taken earlier this year, 65 percent called cloning animals morally wrong. Another poll found that 45 percent opposed using cloning in food production.

If FDA approval goes through, the question is how and whether cloned meat and milk will be clearly marked so consumers know what they're buying. Experts say that may be unlikely.

"It's very possible that these products will end up on the grocery store shelves without any specific label identifying them as having come from cloned animals," said Michael Fernandez, executive director of the Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology.

36% of Egyptian men are beaten by their wives

Yes, women also beat their husbands! That was the conclusion of a study of spousal violence conducted by the Dialogue and Development Center in Egypt. According to Al Arabiyah Television Channel, the study analyzed all stories published about spousal abuse in Egyptian Newspapers for the last six months of 2005.

One Al Arabiyah reporter said, “The results were surprising.” It turned out that women had committed 111 crimes against men (85 homicides, 15 thefts, and 11 beatings).”In contrast men committed 172 crimes against women,(150 homicides, 13 attempted homicides, and 9 beatings).

Saed Abdel-Hafiz from the Dialogue and Development Center and who conducted the study told the Al Arabiyah television: “We always hear about women poisoning their husbands because it enables them to avoid physical confrontations, but women are also becoming more creative. Some inject their husbands with poisonous substances, while others use simple household products like hair dye.”

Although the results revealed that men were still ahead in committing crimes against their wives, the study created a lot of controversy, which was evident in the headlines in the Egyptian Newspapers. “Husbands Massacre,” “Men are victims of the Soft Hands,” and “By poison, Choking, Kicking, Boxing and Severe Beating--- Women Respond to Verbal Abuse,” are some of the headlines.

Said Abdel-Hafiz, “the study results were surprising because they reveal an increase in violence committed by women. They committed only sixty less crimes than men in a period of six months.”

Nazic Nasir, a professor of social science in the American university in Cairo, believes that women are pushed to use violence because, “they have to deal with injustices and abuses. And they have no agencies to turn to for help in getting out of their unhealthy situations.”

According to Najad Alberie, secretary general of the Democratic Development Organization, “Women beating their husbands are not a new phenomenon. Researchers tend to make mistakes because they tend to base their research on data acquired from local police departments. But men often are ashamed to make a police report if they are physically abused. In reality many men are beaten by women.”

Alberie also said that wives who are subjected to beatings have to make a police report because that is the only way for them to be able get divorced from their husbands. Husbands, on the other hand, can divorce their wives anytime they want.


On the other hand,somewhere in America an American woman is raped every 2 minutes

Statement by the Patriarch and Local Heads of Churches In Jerusalem

"THE JERUSALEM DECLARATION ON CHRISTIAN ZIONISM" - Statement by the Patriarch and Local Heads of Churches In Jerusalem

"Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God." (Matthew 5:9)

Christian Zionism is a modern theological and political movement that embraces the most extreme ideological positions of Zionism, thereby becoming detrimental to a just peace within Palestine and Israel. The Christian Zionist programme provides a worldview where the Gospel is identified with the ideology of empire, colonialism and militarism. In its extreme form, it laces an emphasis on apocalyptic events leading to the end of history rather than living Christ's love and justice today.
We categorically reject Christian Zionist doctrines as false teaching that corrupts the biblical message of love, justice and reconciliation.

We further reject the contemporary alliance of Christian Zionist leaders and organizations with elements in the governments of Israel and the United States that are presently imposing their unilateral pre-emptive borders and domination over Palestine. This inevitably leads to unending cycles of violence that undermine the security of all peoples of the Middle East and the rest of the world.

We reject the teachings of Christian Zionism that facilitate and support these policies as they advance racial exclusivity and perpetual war rather than the gospel of universal love, redemption and reconciliation taught by Jesus Christ. Rather than condemn the world to the doom of Armageddon we call upon everyone to liberate themselves from the ideologies of militarism and occupation. Instead, let them pursue the healing of the nations!

We call upon Christians in Churches on every continent to pray for the Palestinian and Israeli people, both of whom are suffering as victims of occupation and militarism. These discriminative actions are turning Palestine into impoverished ghettos surrounded by exclusive Israeli settlements. The establishment of the illegal settlements and the construction of the Separation Wall on confiscated Palestinian land undermines the viability of a Palestinian state as well as peace and security in the entire region.

We call upon all Churches that remain silent, to break their silence and speak for reconciliation with justice in the Holy Land.

Therefore, we commit ourselves to the following principles as an alternative way:

We affirm that all people are created in the image of God. In turn they are called to honor the dignity of every human being and to respect their inalienable rights.

We affirm that Israelis and Palestinians are capable of living together within peace, justice and security.

We affirm that Palestinians are one people, both Muslim and Christian. We reject all attempts to subvert and fragment their unity.

We call upon all people to reject the narrow world view of Christian Zionism and other ideologies that privilege one people at the expense of others.

We are committed to non-violent resistance as the most effective means to end the illegal occupation in order to attain a just and lasting peace.

With urgency we warn that Christian Zionism and its alliances are justifying colonization, apartheid and empire-building.

God demands that justice be done. No enduring peace, security or reconciliation is possible without the foundation of justice. The demands of justice will not disappear. The struggle for justice must be pursued diligently and persistently but non-violently.

"What does the Lord require of you, to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God." (Micah 6:8)

This is where we take our stand. We stand for justice. We can do no other. Justice alone guarantees a peace that will lead to reconciliation with a life of security and prosperity for all the peoples of our Land. By standing on the side of justice, we open ourselves to the work of peace - and working for peace makes us children of God.

"God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation." (2 Cor 5:19)

His Beattitude Patriarch Michel Sabbah
Latin Patriarchate, Jerusalem

Archbishop Swerios Malki Mourad,
Syrian Orthodox Patriarchate, Jerusalem

Bishop Riah Abu El-Assal,
Episcopal Church of Jerusalem and the Middle East

Bishop Munib Younan,
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land

Born is the King of Israel

The Nutcracker

What a great day I had today! Splendid,wonderful,refreshing, and a lovely performance of the nutcracker. I'm also a very proud Mom of my two very young girls who did wonderful in their first big theatre experience considering they are only two and three.

Picture of the week

This is the first time in the history of the United States that the White house decided to celebrate Hanukkah.

""Laura and I are honored to have this Hanukkah menorah here at the White House," Bush said. "It's a symbol that the White House is the people's house, and it belongs to Americans of all faith."

I mark your words Dubya, if America belongs to Americans of all faith then we are looking forward to see you celebrating the next Muslim holiday.

Apology for lack of posts

Thanks to all of you who sent me e-mails and offline messages to check on me. I have been very busy with the holiday season,I was appointed to volunteer as a chair in one of the committees in my daughter's school, this is my first year in the school and holding such position wasn't easy. I was very glad that the big event went well and I felt very positive about helping the school and the community (it was really nice to deal with adults above the age of 3).

I had a sick mom visiting me that consumed some of my time,and my youngest daughter is going through her terrible two's. In addition my family and I are making very important business decisions that requires analysis,research,and time consuming business meetings.

I apologize for lack of posts and blogging will resume shortly. I wish all of you a happy Hanukkah,happy Kwanzaa,peaceful and joyful Christmas and a happy New Year.

Peace

Christmas childhood memories

Christmas Creche



Decorating the tree



HH Pope Shenouda's Christmas midnight mass



The Legendary Fayrouz Christmas carols,Laylet Eid (Jingle bells)



St. Nick's and the spirit of giving




Buche de Noel

Egyptian actors

In a previous post, I noticed some comments that were referring to my Egyptian countrymen being not good looking or gay. I couldn't help but defend my countrymen.




The legendary Saleh Selim



Hany Salama



Ahmed Ezz



Khaled Abol Naga



Khaled Selim

Thanksgiving

History of thanksgiving.





This is thanksgiving now

Jad Choueiri

Oh well!

UCLA student tasered by Police in California for not showing ID

Daily Bruin

Watch the video


CPD officers shot a student several times with a Taser inside the Powell Library CLICC computer lab late Tuesday night before taking him into custody.

No university police officers were available to comment further about the incident as of 3 a.m. Wednesday, and no Community Service Officers who were on duty at the time could be reached.

At around 11:30 p.m., CSOs asked a male student using a computer in the back of the room to leave when he was unable to produce a BruinCard during a random check. The student did not exit the building immediately.

The CSOs left, returning minutes later, and police officers arrived to escort the student out. By this time the student had begun to walk toward the door with his backpack when an officer approached him and grabbed his arm, at which point the student told the officer to let him go. A second officer then approached the student as well.

The student began to yell "get off me," repeating himself several times.

It was at this point that the officers shot the student with a Taser for the first time, causing him to fall to the floor and cry out in pain. The student also told the officers he had a medical condition.

UCPD officers confirmed that the man involved in the incident was a student, but did not give a name or any additional information about his identity.

Video shot from a student's camera phone captured the student yelling, "Here's your Patriot Act, here's your fucking abuse of power," while he struggled with the officers.

As the student was screaming, UCPD officers repeatedly told him to stand up and said "stop fighting us." The student did not stand up as the officers requested and they shot him with the Taser at least once more.

"It was the most disgusting and vile act I had ever seen in my life," said David Remesnitsky, a 2006 UCLA alumnus who witnessed the incident.

As the student and the officers were struggling, bystanders repeatedly asked the police officers to stop, and at one point officers told the gathered crowd to stand back and threatened to use a Taser on anyone who got too close.

Laila Gordy, a fourth-year economics student who was present in the library during the incident, said police officers threatened to shoot her with a Taser when she asked an officer for his name and his badge number.

Gordy was visibly upset by the incident and said other students were also disturbed.

"It's a shock that something like this can happen at UCLA," she said. "It was unnecessary what they did."

Immediately after the incident, several students began to contact local news outlets, informing them of the incident, and Remesnitsky wrote an e-mail to Interim Chancellor Norman Abrams.

DEMOCRATS WON THE SENATE AND SWEPT THE NATION!

Democrats seal US Senate victory

Former Republican Senator George Allen
Mr Allen had been tipped as a future presidential contender
Republican George Allen has admitted defeat in the Virginia race for the US Senate, sealing Democratic mid-term victories in both houses of Congress.

"The people of Virginia have spoken and I respect their decision," Mr Allen told a crowd of supporters.

He confirmed the victory of his opponent, Jim Webb, giving Democrats a 51-49 majority in the Senate.

The Democrats had already captured the House of Representatives in Tuesday's US mid-term elections.

The Independent cover page

Democrats got the Senate AP reports!!!!!

DEMS GOT THE SENATE

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Democrats wrested control of the Senate from Republicans Wednesday with an upset victory in Virginia, giving the party complete domination of Capitol Hill for the first time since 1994.

Jim Webb's squeaker win over incumbent Sen. George Allen gave Democrats their 51st seat in the Senate, an astonishing turnabout at the hands of voters unhappy with Republican scandal and unabated violence in Iraq. Allen was the sixth Republican incumbent senator defeated in Tuesday's elections.

The Senate had teetered at 50 Democrats, 49 Republicans for most of Wednesday, with Virginia hanging in the balance. Webb's victory ended Republican hopes of eking out a 50-50 split, with Vice President Dick Cheney wielding tie-breaking authority.

The Associated Press contacted election officials in all 134 localities where voting occurred, obtaining updated numbers Wednesday. About half the localities said they had completed their postelection canvassing and nearly all had counted outstanding absentees. Most were expected to be finished by Friday.



The new AP count showed Webb with 1,172,538 votes and Allen with 1,165,302, a difference of 7,236. Virginia has had two statewide vote recounts in modern history, but both resulted in vote changes of no more than a few hundred votes.

An adviser to Allen, speaking on condition of anonymity because his boss had not formally decided to end the campaign, said the senator wanted to wait until most of canvassing was completed before announcing his decision, possibly as early as Thursday evening.

The adviser said that Allen was disinclined to request a recount if the final vote spread was similar to that of election night.

The victory puts Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., in line to become Senate majority leader. He has led the Democrats since Tom Daschle, D-S.D., was defeated two years ago.

Madam speaker of the house Nancy Pelosi have spoken

The American people voted to restore integrity and honesty in Washington, D.C., and the Democrats intend to lead the most honest, most open and most ethical congress in history. The American people voted for a new direction for a fairer economy, and Democrats intend to work for an economy where all Americans participate in the prosperity of our great country.

And nowhere did the American people make it more clear that we need a new direction than in the war in Iraq. “Stay the course” has not made our country safer, has not honored our commitment to our troops, and has not made the region more stable. We cannot continue down this catastrophic path. And so we say to the President, “Mr. President, we need a new direction in Iraq.”

Bring the troops home!

Go democrats Go!

Can't wait for the results! Go home republicans we had enough!

UpdateI:-America Blog is in Tryst cafe in DC giving us updates. Tryst is the place to be for the slumber party. I envy you guys!

UpdateII:- Results

Update III:- DEMS WIN HOUSE Can't wait to see Bush addressing Madam speaker Nancy Pelosi.

This comment got me laughing hard someone is reading my mind.

"Madam Speaker.....

I rise this morning.....

SIT your fat arse DOWN!"

Bush is having a press conference at 1:00 tomorrow and he is "very disappointed." LOL!

Ten types of Republicans

I can't stop laughing watching this. Enjoy!

Free Abdel Kareem Egyptian blogger

Egyptian authorities needs to adopt the freedom of speech concept before claiming democracy. Abdel Karim story is here. Please help spread the word and sign the petition to help Karim fight for his basic rights as an Egyptian citizen.

Update:- My support to free Abdel Kareem is not in anyway agreeing with his views about Islam.

Republican Congressman accused of corruption by the F.B.I.

F.B.I. Searches Home of Congressman’s Daughter.

F.B.I. agents searched four homes and other locations in the vicinity of Philadelphia and two other sites near Jacksonville, Fla., as the part of the inquiry. Debbie Weierman, a spokeswoman for the bureau’s Washington office, confirmed the searches, but would not say why the locations were searched.

Mr. Weldon’s residence and his Congressional office were not among the locations that were examined, but other law enforcement officials said Mr. Weldon was the subject of a growing corruption inquiry. Affidavits citing why agents wanted to carry out the searches were sealed.

Request to God!

Please God, protect my lovely country and the Egyptian people from this guy and end the suffering of Egyptians on the hands of dictators.

Qahwa Sada

I was glad to read about Qahwa Sada. Best wishes to the team for a successful Political analysis,with a cup of Qahwa Sada. Read there mission statement here.

Why a new blog-journal by Middle East experts? Because Middle East studies specialists have a phenomenal amount of quality knowledge about the Arab and Islamic world: deep knowledge about the history of the region, detailed empirical knowledge of political and social trends, sophisticated theoretical insights into their meaning. Many are out there in the region, seeing things happen and talking to people over a sustained period of time. But they often have trouble getting that knowledge out into the public realm. Part of the problem is that there just aren't nearly enough of the right kind of outlets. Academic journals are not well suited to getting information and analysis out to a wide public, and many have yet to adapt to the internet era. Blogs are wonderful, but not everyone wants one or has the time to run one. The op-ed pages are a crapshoot. MERIP and the Arab Reform Bulletin can't do it all on their own. That means that debate is too often dominated by people with, shall we say, a less empirically rich or theoretically sophisticated understanding of the region.

Bono and Zidane

Today I will finally give in and buy a Red ipod. Maybe a Red Moto too!.


Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus invites Zidane to open a new food manufacturing project.

Domestic Priorities, where do our kids fit in?

The budget is about $2.7 trillion. Try counting that high at a rate of 2 million per hour and report back in 10, 000 years. Here are some highlights. VERY BRIEF excerpts from the Washington Post.

Y 2007 Budget Proposal: Agency-by-Agency Breakdown

The $2.77 trillion budget plan emphasizes spending on the country’s fight against terrorism, while deeply cutting domestic programs. 141 domestic programs will be reduced.

The growth in defense spending has slowed compared with earlier this decade, suggesting the defense buildup that began in 1999 and accelerated in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks is winding down.

Department of Education. The $63 billion budget eliminates 42 programs — including parent-resource centers, vocational programs and drug-free schools.

Department of Energy. The department budget is essentially flat. The budget adds money to research some alternative fuel technology. Environmental groups said the funding increases are insufficient.

Department of Health & Human Services. Bush is requesting a $58 billion increase for Health and Human Services, bringing total budget authority to $698 billion.

Two mandatory programs — Medicare and Medicaid — consume 84 percent of the HHS budget. The administration aims to squeeze $36 billion out of Medicare over the next five years, by cutting hospital payments, establishing competitive bidding for lab services and increasing premiums.

Department of Homeland Security. The president proposes increasing the Department of Homeland Security’s budget of $31 billion for fiscal 2007, by $177 million. Homeland Security would spend $869 million to add 1,500 border patrol agents and 6,700 detention bed spaces. Congress requires adding 2,000 agents per year.

Department of Interior. This department would face a nearly 3 percent cut. $100 million would be cut from the current national parks budget, putting funding for national parks at $2.16 billion. The programs that would lose the most money include land acquisition, construction and maintenance.

Department of Justice. The administration wants to cut department spending by $1.5 billion for a total of $19.5 billion. [source]



A 6 year old shoots his schoolmate. First-grader? carries a gun to school in Mount Morris, Michigan and kills his schoolmate? Here is a very disturbing list of the school shootings since 1996.In Deming, New Mexico a 13 year old girl shot dead by her schoolmate who shot her in the back of her head. A 13 year old boy doesn't know why he shot his schoolmates in Fort Gibson, Oklahoma. In Pearl, Mississippi 2 killed 7 wounded; West Paducah, Kentucky3 killed 5 wounded; Jonesboro, Arkansas 5 Killed 10 wounded and Springfield, Oregon 1 killed 25 wounded. Conyers, Georgia 6 injured.The Columbine high school massacre Littleton, Colorado 15 Killed 24 wounded


Let us examine a fact sheet about Colorado gun law :-

State of Colorado Firearm Laws

* No licensing or registration requirements related to firearm purchase or possession.

* No waiting period for purchase of handguns, shotguns, or rifles.

* Handgun possession by persons less than 18 years of age is a misdemeanor. Exemptions from the prohibition on handgun possession by persons less than 18 years of age exist for attendance at a hunter's or firearms safety course, target practice at a shooting range, and other similar activities.

* It is a felony for any person to knowingly or recklessly provide a handgun to any person less than 18 years of age.

* It is a felony for any parent or guardian to knowingly or recklessly provide a handgun to a juvenile when that parent is aware that a substantial risk exists that such juvenile will use the handgun to commit a felony. Any parent aware of such a risk has a duty to make reasonable efforts to prevent the commission of the offense.

* There are no age restrictions related to possession of rifles or shotguns.





Will our children and society be more protected now that our Congress has authorized an even larger military budget?

Latest news about Republican congressman sex scandal

Disgraceful sex scandal of a Republican congressman Mark Foley who was having internet sex with a young intern (teenager). The scandal is elevating to a much higher level in the congress of the United States of America. Ex-Aide says House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert'’s office at least three years ago.

I had more than one conversation with senior staff at the highest levels of the House of Representatives, asking them to intervene when I was informed of Mr. Foley's inappropriate behavior

What does Bush say?

President Bush came to Hastert's defense, praising him as a father, teacher and coach "who cares about children. ... I know he wants the facts to come out."

I will leave my readers to judge our president whom God speaks through him.

Goodnight!

Tante Angeel and Co.

Advocates of the Coptic Christians in Egypt often voice their one-sided views of the religious intolerance of Muslims towards the Copts and ignore the religious bigotry towards Muslims rooted in Coptic society in Egypt.

Let me tell you about my childhood neighbor in Egypt, Tante Angeel ("Auntie Angel.") Tante Angeel was a very old Christian Coptic Orthodox spinster who lived in the building across from us. Tante Angeel was a very famous character in our neighborhood. In the Coptic society there are many Tante Angeels, but poor Tante Angeel herself is the victim of my story. She is now deceased so let me start by saying God bless her soul and forgive her.

Tante Angeel was Islamophobic. You would often hear her fighting with various Muslims around her. She fought with her porter and ran down the stairs with her broom to beat the Muslim kids who would play under her balcony. It was not strange to hear Tante Angeel yelling her lungs out if she discovers that the taxi driver that came to pick her up to go to church was Muslim. Yes! Tante Angeel asks taxi drivers if they were Muslims or not, and if they turned out to be, watch out, as the fight would start and the curses would fly.

Tante Angeel comes from a very prestigious and rooted Coptic background. Tante Angeel liked me very much as a child (I'm Christian of course) She was so pleasant when she wanted to and very religious and kind to all Christians around her. Tante Angeel is not the only one in my neighborhood that disliked Muslims. There were many relatives and friends of Tante Angeel that felt the same but chose to be quiet about it.

As a kid when I went to the Coptic church, Abouna (the priest) would hint about how sheikhs can be easily challenged by Coptic priests about their faith and how their religion is false. The topic of our Sunday school lesson or youth group discussions would have nothing to do with Islam but on many occasions this topic had to be brought up. When I went to church I found many old (very old) ladies like Tante Angeel that would spout hate towards Muslims even while they were still in church.

The only picture I posted on this entry is the old flag of Egypt. The three stars are symbols of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism under the state of Egypt. It represents a religious tolerance in older Egypt that has since disappeared...

Despite the phenomenon of Tante Angeel and Co., my grandmother, mother,and many others from the old generation happily existed with Muslims. My mother recalls a great environment of tolerance in her generation that we need to recreate today.

Fifteen favorite things

I was tagged by Ha Ana Za to share my fifteen favorite things and here they are:-


Felluca ride in upper Egypt where the nile meets the green farm fields


Japanese tea garden, San Francisco, CA


Sashimi, Sushi, and Sake


US virgin Islands, St. John


Jelaluddin Rumi poetry


Khan El-Khalili, Cairo, Egypt


Nutcracker Ballet


Kawkab Al-Sharq Um Kalthoum


Good cup of Italian coffee


Qanoon and Oud


Azza Fahmy Jewelry


The life of Queen Elizabeth(1533-1603), Award winning movie Elizabeth 1998


Christmas tree in NY


Yoga


Chocolate Raspberry

I would like to tag Carmen,The Libyan Queen,Leilouta,and Jannah.