Month: January 2011

Snow boots

~ susie ~ 3 Comments

For the most part, for the last 15 years or so, we were more likely to have winter rain than snow. At some point, before that sank in, I bought these wonderful snow boots at the JCPenney outlet store. They were only $15 or so; I remember I was pretty broke when I found them but thought of them as an investment. (My niece, who at the time was attending University of Vermont, said these boots were on the recommended list they sent to new students.)

Well, we still rarely got snow — and during my last few moves, I considered donating them to the Goodwill, because they’ve heavy and take up room. But I kept them anyway, just in case.

Finally, it’s paid off. In the last two years, these babies have gotten more use than they have in the past ten! And one of my friends is out shopping today, looking for something just like them.

Torture regime

~ susie

People hate torture regimes. You think the people over there didn’t care that their neighbors and family members were scooped up and tortured, even killed? Of course they did. And now all that pent-up rage is being released:

Human rights group Amnesty International has released a highly critical report on Egypt’s record on torture and illegal detention.

The issue was recently highlighted by the emergence of mobile phone film of policemen raping a man with a stick.

The report says Egypt has become an international centre for interrogation and torture on behalf of other states as part of the “war on terror”.

There was no immediate reaction from the Egyptian government.

Egyptian officials have in the past denied that torture is systematically practised in the country.

The AI report calls for other countries to abandon “no torture” deals with Egypt.

Under such deals governments, including the UK’s, deport suspects to Cairo having been assured by Egyptian authorities that the suspect will not suffer torture.

“A ‘no torture’ deal with Egypt would not be worth the paper it was written on, and rather than bargain over illegal detention and torture the UK should unequivocally condemn torture in Egypt,” UK director of AI, Kate Allen, said.

The report says that many violations occur within the context of domestic and international security operations.

In 2005, Egypt’s prime minister acknowledged that since 2001 the USA had transferred some 60-70 detainees to Egypt as part of the “war on terror”.

Al Jazeera shut down

~ susie ~ 3 Comments

UPDATE: Still live.

This is reminiscent of the movie “Live from Baghdad,” which recreated the situation when CNN was the only news agency covering the first Gulf War war from within the Iraq capital, despite orders to leave. Will a defiant Al Jazeera pull it off? Will they leave the country?

The Egyptian authorities are revoking the Al Jazeera Network’s licence to broadcast from the country, and will be shutting down its bureau office in Cairo, state television has said.

“The information minister [Anas al-Fikki] ordered … suspension of operations of Al Jazeera, cancelling of its licences and withdrawing accreditation to all its staff as of today,” a statement on the official Mena news agency said on Sunday.

In a statement, Al Jazeera said it strongly denounces and condemns the closure of its bureau in Cairo by the Egyptian government. The network received notification from the Egyptian authorities on Sunday morning.

“Al Jazeera has received widespread global acclaim for their coverage on the ground across the length and breadth of Egypt,” the statement said.

An Al Jazeera spokesman said that the company would continue its strong coverage regardless.

“Al Jazeera sees this as an act designed to stifle and repress the freedom of reporting by the network and its journalists,” the statement said.

“In this time of deep turmoil and unrest in Egyptian society it is imperative that voices from all sides be heard; the closing of our bureau by the Egyptian government is aimed at censoring and silencing the voices of the Egyptian people.

“Al Jazeera assures its audiences in Egypt and across the world that it will continue its in-depth and comprehensive reporting on the events unfolding in Egypt.”