Op-eds & Commentary

We heard the faint ringing of gunshots from Mohammed Mahmoud street, and the panicking sound of stampeding feet, as we stood safely in Tahrir square.

We knew that those on the front lines were the ones putting their lives at risk to protect protesters and curious onlookers occupying the square. As we breathed in wisps of teargas at the field hospital, we saw a steady stream of wounded coming in from side streets where clashes still raged.

During my schooltime, one of our writing-exercises was called "re-narration".

You had to listen very attentively to the teacher telling a story, and then retell it, as they put it, „in your own words".

The marvel that this task was meant to bring about was: speaking in one's own voice, not by starting from oneself, but by saying what someone else had said.

After all these years, I still prefer to write what I have read and tell what I have heard. And yes, I still hope that it will teach me speaking in my own words.

If there's something to learn from our transitional period it's that F. A. Hayek, a central economist from the Austrian School of Economics, was wrong.

What Hayek advocated was the weakening of central governments regarding economics, and freedom of the markets to do what they will without regulation. In other words, if people take loans they can't handle, if asset values are going to plummet; and if the market is in a recession, governments do nothing.

The trial of Khaled Said's killers last Thursday, where they received seven years of maximum security imprisonment, only served to reaffirm what many Egyptians already know: the system is flawed beyond reform.

The argument presented is that seven years is the maximum sentence possible considering the charges.

However, if it weren't for a corrupt prosecutor general and interior ministry, the officers charged with killing Said would have been charged with murder through torture, something in accordance with international anti-torture legislation Egypt is signatory to.

A few days ago, I went with a friend to listen to some famous musicians. After the concert was over, I asked him, if he had liked it, and he replied: "The group that accompanied the singer was quite good, but I didn't like him because his singing didn't go further than his throat."

"No further than his throat"? Something made the sounds stick there and prevented the whole body from singing?

I would like to say a few words in praise of insignificance. I know, it's not popular and it's not easy. Not popular because we are constantly asked, trained, or even forced to pay attention to „what is significant." So many things are crying: "Look here! Look at me!

I'm not voting in the upcoming parliamentary elections. There I said it. As it currently stands neither I nor anyone else should vote in this election. Why should I vote for any of these would-be rulers? Well, here are a few reasons why anyone shouldn't.

Personally, I'm sick of the platitudes all these parties are telling us such as: "vote for me because I believe we should all be good Muslims", or "vote for me so I can protect our freedoms"; and the list goes on and on.

Plato compared the soul to a musical instrument, more precisely, to a string instrument. All you guitar- or oud-players know: you pluck a string and it causes other strings to resonate. Plus, there are many tones that sound with the tone of the resonating string. These are called overtones. Overtones are difficult to locate. They are not really "behind" and not really "in front," nor "over." Nor "under"the dominant tone.

In recent news, Field Marshall Mohamed Hussein Tantawi testified at the most exciting trial in Egypt's history, since Hesham Talaat Mostafa. The testimony seemed like it would not take place as through out the past few weeks. Tantawi failed to appear on September 11th and attempted to submit a written testimony instead. Unlike the previous sessions that were held in August, this session was not televised or open to the public. This could prove to be a potentially lose lose situation as both the public and Mubarak could suffer from this.