Stay true to the dreams of thy youth

Unrest adds to Egypt’s labour travails - FT

"Three hundred nurses in a state-owned hospital in the Delta town of Shebin El Kom have become the latest group to stage industrial action. They have just ended a 21-day strike after receiving promises that their salaries would be doubled. “We will see if they keep their word,” says Sara Ibrahim, one of the organisers of the action. “All we have now are promises in the air, but some of us have been transferred to other jobs, and some sacked, so we decided to suspend the protest until they give us our rights.” She says that after 20 years as a nurse her monthly pay was only E£400 ($70), of which she was spending a third on transport to and from work."

Report: Secret document affirms U.S.-Israel nuclear partnership - Haaretz

"Israel's Army Radio reported on Wednesday that the United States has sent Israel a secret document committing to nuclear cooperation between the two countries. According to Army Radio, the U.S. has reportedly pledged to sell Israel materials used to produce electricity, as well as nuclear technology and other supplies, despite the fact that Israel is not a signatory of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Other countries have refused to cooperate with Israel on nuclear matters because it has not signed the NPT, and there has been increasing international pressure for Israel to be more transparent about its nuclear arsenal. "

Gaza Flotilla Ships to Be Held - NYT

**I'm guessing they are "holding onto" all of the aid as well so they can complete their "investigation." "Israel will hold on to the six ships from the international flotilla that sought to break Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip, at least until it completes its investigation into a deadly raid on one vessel, the Defense Ministry said Wednesday. Israel towed the boats to port days after naval commandos stormed the ships, killing nine Turkish activists. The investigation, led by a retired Supreme Court justice, Yaakov Turkel, is expected to take months. “Nothing will be done with these ships until after the Turkel inquiry because they might want to inspect them,” said Shlomo Dror, a ministry spokesman. "

Police: Priest used church money on male escorts, lavish lifestyle - CNN

"To his congregants, he lived the humble existence of a pastor. But a high-flying Connecticut priest was charged this week with first-degree larceny in the theft of almost $1.3 million from his church's coffers to fund a lavish double life that included swanky hotels and male escorts, said Capt. Chris Corbett of the Waterbury Police Department in Connecticut."

Oklahoma, South Carolina and Utah may follow Arizona's lead on immigration law - Washington Post

"Legislators in at least 17 other states introduced bills this year similar to the Arizona law, which allows officers to question anyone they suspect of being in the country illegally. But most of those measures are not considered likely to be adopted or signed by governors. "

Is Humanitarian Design the New Imperialism? - Fast Company

"But should we take a moment now that the movement is gathering speed to ask whether or not American and European designers are collaborating with the right partners, learning from the best local people, and being as sensitive as they might to the colonial legacies of the countries they want to do good in. Do designers need to better see themselves through the eyes of the local professional and business classes who believe their countries are rising as the U.S. and Europe fall and wonder who, in the end, has the right answers? Might Indian, Brazilian and African designers have important design lessons to teach Western designers? And finally, one last question: why are we only doing humanitarian design in Asia and Africa and not Native American reservations or rural areas, where standards of education, water and health match the very worst overseas? "

Israel threatens to expel Palestinian politicians from Jerusalem - Guardian

"The threatened deportations are part of a wider pattern of revoking the Jerusalem residency permits of Palestinians from the city. In most cases, Israel claims that the people it strips of the right to live in Jerusalem have voluntarily relocated to the West Bank or abroad. This is often contested by the individuals concerned and human rights groups representing them. In 2008, more than 4,500 Palestinians were excluded from Jerusalem. However the case of the four Hamas politicians is the first time Israel has cited political grounds for expelling people from the city. "For the first time Israel is using a claim of disloyalty to revoke residency," said Hasan Jabarin, director of the Israeli human rights group Adalah. "The consequences for Palestinians in East Jerusalem are dangerous. This case could open a new window to revoking residency on purely political grounds.""

The Neocons’ Fadlallah Problem - Wonk Room

"Responding to the uproar, Nasr wrote “It was an error of judgment for me to write such a simplistic comment and I’m sorry because it conveyed that I supported Fadlallah’s life’s work. That’s not the case at all”: Here’s what I should have conveyed more fully: I used the words “respect” and “sad” because to me as a Middle Eastern woman, Fadlallah took a contrarian and pioneering stand among Shia clerics on woman’s rights. He called for the abolition of the tribal system of “honor killing.” He called the practice primitive and non-productive. He warned Muslim men that abuse of women was against Islam. [...] Sayyed Fadlallah. Revered across borders yet designated a terrorist. Not the kind of life to be commenting about in a brief tweet. It’s something I deeply regret."