Archive for June, 2009

3arabawy BookMarx 06/30/2009 (p.m.)

• BM News: Tanta, police violence and workers’ strike « Bikya Masr

  tags: Egypt, Workers, Twitter, Tanta, Flax, Oil, Strikes, Media, police, pigs

• bitlyFF :: Add-ons for Firefox

  Useful FireFox Add-on for shortening links. It’s very helpful with Tweeting.

  tags: Firefox, Add-on, Plug-ins

• “التحضيرية للعمال”.. تنظم فاعليات للمطالبة برفع الحد الأدنى للأجور | مركز الدراسات الاشتراكية – مصر

  tags: Workers, التحضيرية, اللجنة, Minimum, Wage, Egypt, Postal, Tanta, Flax, taxcollectors, Unions

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Police ban journalists entry to Tanta Flax and Oil Co

Police banned Al-Masry Al-Youm (E) journalist Joseph Mayton today from entering the Tanta Flax and Oil Company to cover the ongoing strike. Police agents stopped the traffic in front of the factory’s compound in Mit Hebeish and shoved Joey and the other journalist into a microbus that dropped them off in the city of Tanta later.

I received a phone call however shortly after 3pm from one of the workers saying the microbus driver was detained, and that the police is freaking out about the sudden media attention to the 31-day-old strike, and is now searching for Joey and his colleague.

UPDATE: Here’s a blog posting by Joseph on what happened today…

…

Strike for your free unions لا سبيل سوى الإضرابات لننتزع نقاباتنا المستقلة

President of the Independent Union of Real Estate Tax Collectors, Kamal Abu Eita, slams the state-backed General Federation of Trade Unions, calling on workers to strike for free unions, during a public meeting at the Press Syndicate…

3arabawy BookMarx 06/30/2009 (a.m.)

• U.S. treads carefully with Honduras crisis – Los Angeles Times

  tags: Honduras, dirtywar, USA, Military

  • The administration’s approach appeared designed to avoid damaging Washington’s ties either to U.S.-allied backers of the coup that forcibly removed President Manuel Zelaya or the regional powers that have universally condemned it.
  • But while condemning the overthrow, U.S. officials did not demand the reinstatement of Zelaya. The administration left its ambassador to Honduras in place, while several governments in the region recalled theirs.
  • And the U.S. military has strong ties to the Honduran military, which sent troops to Iraq in a sign of support for the U.S. effort there. About 600 U.S. military personnel are stationed at the Soto Cano Air Base, about 60 miles northwest of the capital city, Tegucigalpa.

• The Angry Arab News Service/وكالة أنباء العربي الغاضب: Deputy Israeli chief propagandist at the New York Times

  tags: Isabel, Kershner, Israel, Media, NYT

• The Angry Arab News Service/وكالة أنباء العربي الغاضب: When are they heroes? And when are they not?

  tags: Iran, Media, Honduras, NYT

  • A demonstrator confront a tank of the anti-democratic coup soldiers in Honduras. Why are those demonstrators not heroic? Can you imagine if this tank were Iranian or Syrian or Cuban? And notice that in the New York Times, the pro-democracy demonstrators become mere supporters of the ousted president.

• Breaking BM News: ISM member abused by Egyptian police at Rafah border « Bikya Masr

  tags: ISM, Egypt, Police, Palestine, Rafah, HumanRights

  • Natalie Abou Shakra, a member of ISM and the International Movement to Open the Rafah Border Crossing, was physically assaulted by Egyptian border guards on Monday night, she said in a text message sent to a Bikya Masr contributor. According to initial reports from the area, she attempted to cross into Gaza via the Rafah Border Crossing on Monday after she had been given the appropriate credentials required to enter the Palestinian territory.
  • “They dragged us on the floor out of the crossing. We resisted.. They continued to drag us on the floor outside. The man in the crossing told me “You are not going to cross. Who will sue me??” read the message.

• Military Coup in Honduras by ~Latuff2 on deviantART

  tags: Honduras, dirtywar, Cartoons, Latuff

• بالصور اضراب عمال شركة طنطا للكتان والزيوت فى اليوم الثلاثين TANTA FLAX&OIL STRIKE

  tags: Egypt, Tanta, Strikes, Flax, Oil, Photos, Bloggers

• يانظيف يانظيف المحافظ مش نضيف #egyworkers 30th day,Tanta flax & oil co. strike

  tags: Egypt, Tanta, Strikes, Flax, Oil, Photos, Bloggers

• أجر عامل النظافة فى طنطا 96 جنية

  tags: Tanta, Workers, HumanRights, Egypt

• Egypt and beyond: Hypocrisy Beyond all Imagination

  tags: Iran, Elections, Media, Egypt, Dictatorship, hypocrisy

  • Interesting from the LA Times: “The Egyptian state-managed Al Ahram newspaper has published a number of articles that represented the government’s position [on Iran]. Most of those articles asked the international community in general and Western countries in particular not to stand and watch the Iranian regime’s oppressive tactics against demonstrators.”
  • This from a government that bans all protests and tortures its own people, while routinely accusing opposition activists, independent journalists or critical bloggers of being “foreign agents”? That’s priceless.

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Blogger harrassed at Cairo Airport

Blogger Wael Abbas is currently staging a sit-in at the Cairo International Airport. Wael was heading back from Sweden where he was attending a social media conference. His plane arrived around 3am in Cairo. His passport was taken by State Security Police for four hours, and was only returned to him after he staged a sit in with a banner. Now the customs agents have taken his laptop and said they won’t be returning it except after investigating it.

Wael is still at the airport. Follow his updates on Twitter…

UPDATE: Wael left the airport after retrieving his bag, however authorities have confiscated his laptop for “inspection.”

No Victimization of Strikers! لا لتشريد العمال

Mostafa, a 37-year-old Tanta Falx and Oil Co worker, shouting he was unlawfully sacked two years ago after taking part in a strike. The reinstatement of nine sacked workers, including Mostafa, is one of the demands of the ongoing strike.

Nationalize! Nationalize! التأميم! التأميم

The Tanta Flax and Oil Company strikers staging mock funeral for their bosses, calling for renationalizing the privatized firm…

Nationalize! لا سعودي ولا ياباني.. كتان طنطا راجعة تاني

There is an overwhelming support for re-nationalizing the Tanta Flax and Oil Company among the workers. One of the chants the strikers were shouting: “No Saudi, No Japanese (investors). Tanta Flax is returning (to Egyptian ownership).”

Strikers إضراب عمال طنطا للكتان

Tanta Flax and Oil Company workers on strike since 31 May…