Jimmy's Corner

George W. Bush and Osama bin Laden are having a conversation via Al Jazeera television. Bin Laden tells George Bush, "There is no point of engaging in further war. I can see total peace in the future!"

George Bush replies, "Oh yeah and tell me what you see?"

Osama answers, "I can see New York, with new great buildings on one side and beautiful new buildings on the other side, and everything is peaceful and wonderful."

George Bush says, "Wow is that what you see? Well I'll tell ya what I see for the future of Afghanistan... I see a house here, a house there, a small building here and small building there, but there are signs hanging in the middle of the street."

Osama asks, "And what do they say?"

George answers, "Hell, I don't know. I can't read Hebrew!"

Labels: afghanistan, america, israel, joke

I love it, Dolly.

Labels: america, democracy, france, sticker

Well this is the first time I bring up a topic that actually affects me personally. Egypt needs scholarships. In every 'respectable' country in the world there are businessmen, companies, institutions, individuals and governments who give scholarship grants to their countrymen. In Egypt it is totally different.

Being an Egyptian young man that is actually dreaming of the day he has the chance to study abroad in a 'any' university where he can have his masters degree, I have come to face the truth that you have to be a millionaire or superman to win a scholarship in Egypt. My wish was to study applied linguistics in either the States or UK, a simple dream that actually puts me a step ahead to the future I want to live. I found out that I have to have at least 250.000 Egyptian pounds in order to achieve my dream. And keep in mind, a 250.000 Egyptian pounds to an Egyptian is like a 250.000 US dollars to an American or a 250.000 Sterling pounds to a UK national. So I am talking a lot of money here, money that a young man like me cannot afford because unfortunately my father is not Bill Gates of Arabia and my mother is not Queen Elizabeth and I am not living in Utopia. Therefore, I started searching for a scholarship as I know my academic record is quite honorable. And here I smash into the truth.

The Egyptian government does not offer scholarships but to very very very few people and they have to be working with the Egyptian governmental universities. Therefore, I am out. Egyptian businessmen do not offer scholarships, except for Onsi Sawiris who offers a scholarship to a handful of engineers. And I am not an engineer. Therefore, I search for the foreign scholarships:

• British Council, you have to have experience (not less than 2 years), outstanding academic record and be lucky.
• Fulbright Commission, you have to have experience, outstanding academic record and be ready to stay at least a year till your role comes in if you have the power to pass and be chosen.

I have spent the whole past year looking, applying and trying to get anything. I miserably failed. And there are thousands like me who are ready to what it takes to have the chance of going on a scholarship abroad to achieve their dreams.

The question is: why do not the Egyptian businessmen offer scholarships like the way things are all over the world? Why does not the Egyptian government give a helping hand to those who really want to serve their country by have the chance of receiving an education that helps them grow rather than be buried? It goes without an answer.

Labels: businessmen, egypt, egyptian, government, personal, scholarships

If you are living in Egypt do not be surprised if a cop stops you in the street asking for your ID and starting to search you with his hands. It just happened tonight, 3 hours before I start writing this, I was in a taxi on my way to Hadayek El Kobba (a district in Cairo) and just in front of the Presidential Palace, a police patrol stopped the taxi and asked us to step out. The taxi driver obeyed instantly. As we stepped out, two low-rank officers came, one searching me and the other searching the taxi driver:

LRO: Your ID
I take out my wallet, get my ID out and show to him. He snatches it and looks at me and says

LRO: I am going to search you.
Me: OK.

Then he started searching me, from 'neck' (as if I can hide some marijuana in my neck or something) to shoes. Then he started putting his hands in pockets, took out my mobile and told me: Hold this. Then in my other pocket, took out some money and my keys and said: Hold this too. Then he started to put his hands near my pants' back pockets. At this point I was fuming already.

Me: What are you doing?
LRO: Just a second.
Me: You are not putting your hands in my back pockets.
LRO: Are you hiding something in there?
Me: No and you are not doing this.
LRO: If No why don't you just resist searching?
Me: Look, you wanted to search me, you did it. You wanted to see my ID, and you did it. You put your hands in my pockets and taking out my own mobile, money and keys, and I let it go. And that is the end of it.

Another Low-rank officer comes.

LRO2: What's wrong?
Me: Nothing wrong, he has finished searching me and that's it.
LRO2: What do you do?
Me: University Teaching Assistant.
LRO2: Okay but this is our job...
Me: And you have done it and it is over.
LRO2: May I see your wallet.
Me: Why?
LRO2: To search it.
Me: I can open it for you and let you see what's in there.
LRO2: Ok go ahead.

I take out my wallet and open it, he snatches it and starts searching every pocket in it quickly. I snatch it back and shout.

Me: What is your name?
LRO2: Why?
Me: You will fucking know later. What is your name?

Here comes the Officer in charge of the patrol.

Officer: What's wrong?
Me: What is wrong is that you have two people who want to search my back pockets and snatch my own wallet to search it.
Officer: OK this is our job. Let me see your ID.
Me: Oh really, show me your ID and badge too. (Our police officers consider this very insulting)
Officer: What?
Me: Your ID and badge. This is my right, the same way you are right to do your job.

He takes out his ID and holds it away. I can barely see anything. So I ask him to make it clear.

Officer: Are you kidding me? Show me your ID.
Me: Make it clear. (He puts it 1 inch nearer and takes it back quickly, and I give him my ID)
Officer: What do you do?
Me: University Teaching Assistant
Officer: Which University?
Me: ******************
Officer: This is our job and this is what we do whether the people like it or not. We once had a diplomat's son who had weed in his pockets.
Me: I let you search me well, and when this one (pointing at the other officer) asked to see my wallet, I took it out for him respecting what you call your job. But to snatch it out and to search it pocket by pocket is so disrespectful and intruding any privacy I should cherish. Do your job without disrespecting people.
Officer: We do our job whether THE PEOPLE like it or not. Hop in and leave.
Me: Enjoy it!

As I get back into the taxi, the driver was shivering in fear.

Driver: You are so brave to do that, they could have arrested you.

I looked at him in silence and turned my head away. I wish I could smash it through the windshield.

Labels: cairo, personal, police, shit

In Algeria, Sarkozy says he is ready to acknowledge the savage atrocities done by the French against the Algerians during the French occupation of Algeria, but he will not regret it. He thinks the Algerians should forget about the past and look forward to the future. So it is just like "a drunk" punches you in the face and causes you good deal of damage and then come out saying "I know I have hit you, but I do not regret. Just you forget it".

Hypocritically, France has a law against those who are against the existence of the Turkish massacres against the Armenians, despite the fact that such massacres are not quite confirmed historically. I believe I said it before to one of my friends, I don't like that guy. To me he is just another 'bush' in the jungle we are living in.

Labels: algeria, france, massacres, sarkozy

It has been almost 4 months since I last posted on the corner. What actually pushed me to come back to writing is the fact that I am feeling provoked by many incidents taking place around us. However, I am not coming back with the same views I had almost two years ago when this blog was first created. To cut it short I will not be merely commenting on or analyzing the events on the political realm. In fact I will also tackle points that matter to me as an Egyptian young man that has just had a part of him awakened, a part he never thought it was there.

Anyway, for the few who still log to see the updates, I must thank you for holding on all this time and promise you to be back hard.

Labels: back again