I recently received the ZzzQuill VoxBox from Influenster. Coincidentally, just a few nights before receiving this VoxBox I had a terrible time falling asleep. I was up until 4 AM! I haven’t used this product yet but I’m excited to. I’m saving it for a night I’m struggling to fall asleep.
Degree Deodorant Spray
This spray is a must have! It is easy to apply to your underarms and leaves you feeling fresh all day. I was a little tentative at first to switch from my usual roll on deodorant but Degree helped me to quickly convert. Well worth the money.
Flashmob TONIGHT!
ATTENTION! Tonight on St. John Fisher College campus in the main Dining hall located next to Haffey residence halls a FLASHMOB is taking place! Don’t miss out. It begins at 5:45. This isn’t just any flash mob.. it is going to be a Congo line!! Spread to word and make sure you come!
What Now?!
What are Egyptian citizens concerned with now that the riots have ended?
Well, there is an investigation going on which is looking into Mubarak and the assets he and his family have. There have been many speculations made that his family’s wealth is up to anywhere between $1 billion to $70 billion. It has also been said that Mubarak has given special treatment to his top officials. Such treatment supposedly includes unique land contracts, which enable them to increase their wealth enormously.
Mubarak has made no comment on the issue.
Researchers have also been looking deeper and finding that Mubarak and others are listed as board members for offshore companies and funds based in Cyprus, Bahamas, British Virgin Islands and Cayman Islands. They are stating “Mubarak holds an 18% share in a subsidiary.” They have been doing research and downloading bank documents from Mubarak.
This issue going on can cause many problems. People are starting to say that any business or company that was involved with Mubarak may be in trouble as well. They need to get things straightened out quickly.
I think it is important to recognize what a large role the media has had in the Egyptian protests and stepping down of President Mubarak. The protests began solely on a technical level. People were creating blogs and using Twitter and Facebook in order to express their opinions on the way the Egyptian government was running things. The government was not pleased with such an outcry and attempted to suppress their voices by blocking Internet connections as well as cell phone service. Then, the protests continued on the streets. This drew large media attention as news outlets from countries all over the world began broadcasting what was going on in the streets of Egypt. Pretty soon it was obvious that the voice of the citizens was going to be heard. The constant television broadcasts, newspaper stories, Twitter updates, Facebook status updates, blogs and Internet news sites helped to spread the voices of the Egyptian people that were crying out in protest.
Reporter Injured
When I was looking online for more information about the Egyptian riots I found an article that was really eye opening. Not only are Egyptian citizens being hurt, but American reporters have been too.
CBS News correspondant Lara Logan is currently in a United States hospital recovering after brutal attacks. Logan returned to the United States this Saturday. Logan was reporting on the events in Cairo, Egypt when she and her team were surrounded by a mob of over two-hundred people. Sadly, she got seperated from her team and suffered from “a brutal and sustained sexual assult and beating.”
Logan was eventually saved by a group of women and soldiers.
A scary statistic said that Logan is only ONE of ONE-HUNDRED AND FORTY correspondants who have been either injured or killed since January 30 and covering the Egyptian crisis.
I had never once even thought about the danger that United States reporters were in being in Egypt during such a tumultuous time. I think this just goes to show that protests such as those in Egypt affect many many people, and not just those directly involved. I think it goes to show what a strong emphasis our country has on being aware of what is going on in the world. People are constantly updating their Facebooks and Twitter accounts and watching the news just so they can stay connected, and stay knowledgable about what is going on. But what price do individuals have to pay in order to keep the rest of us informed? Should people risk their own lives in order to do so?
Egypt Stock Market Reopening is Delayed
What is going on in Egypt now that the riots have ended?
The stock exchange has also been closed since January 28th. As of right now, in Egypt, the stock exchange is still closed. The public sector bank workers are going on strike because of the challenges facing in the country. The workers are demanding better pay and better benefits.
“We’re generating more than 3.7 billion pounds ($638 million) in net income before tax, and 2 billion ($340 million) in net income after tax,” Amer said. He also added that the bank could afford to pay the projected 30 million to 40 million pounds ($5.1 million to $6.8 million) and that it would cost to boost salaries and provide other benefits to workers. (www.cnbc.com)
In two days, the stock exchange has lost about 17%. Some analysts are saying that the economic growth could continue to drop a good amount after these battles in Egypt are over. This won’t be good for the economy.
It will be interesting to see what happens and the other effects the riots will have on Egypt in the next couple of weeks.
Unrest Has Spread
Now that the riots have ended, I am curious as to what is going to happen next and i’m sure all of you guys are too. When searching the Internet for what is going on in Cario, Egypt today, suprisingly I could not find a lot of information. I can currently update you saying that the streets are mostly empty. Honestly though, I really couldn’t find a lot of information in regards to what is happening in the country right now.
Do citizens have access to the Internet now? Do they have full use and service for their cell phones?! Wasn’t that part of the reason why the riots and protests began in the first place?
What I do know though, the unrest has apparently spread to different countries.
On Monday in Algeria, a group of people were cheering “change the power!” An obvious political protest. According to CNN.com, over 100 protesters were arrested. Also on Monday in the Persian Gulf nation Bahrain, protests were scheduled. These injuries occured during protests which eventually led to an attack on a police station. At least three protesters and one police officer was injured. These are just a few of the countires where protests have began. Other countires experiencing unrest include Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Sudan, Tunisia, and Yemen. Are these all following the example of Egypt?
This goes to show how powerful the media really is. Because citizens from other countries have seen video, news reports, and Tweets about the protests in Egypt, they have been infulenced to do the same in their own country. If it had not been for such constant news updates online, radio, and in the television then people in other countries likely would have never realized the full magnitude of the riots in Egypt. You can take it one step further and think, if people never realized the magnitude of the riots in Egypt then would they be so strongly infulenced to start protests in their own country?
Another interesting fact is that recently police officers told reporters that they were ordered to shoot protesters. They were threatened that they would end up in prision if they did not.
Also, I was wondering how many people were killed or injuried during these protests? I have a feeling the number is high but can not find any concrete information detailing such information.
I will update you as I find more information to share!
Mubarak Steps Down!
Today the protesters cheered in the streets of Egypt. Early today on TV a short message aired saying that Mubarak is resigning as President. When I say the message was short, I mean it was really short. The Vice President Suleiman was the one who delivered the speech.
The Vice President’s message said, “My fellow citizens in this difficult time the country is going through the president, Muhammad Hosni Mubarak, has decided to relieve himself of his position as president and the supreme military council has taken control of the states affairs. May God protect us.”
As soon as the message was delivered that he was resigning, the crowd of Egyptians errupted into cheers immediately. President Mubarak has decided to give over power to the vice President.
In the short TV message it was said that Mubarak left the county early this morning with his family.
The three weeks of protests have finally come to an end.
The voice of the people was finally heard despite the threats of being silenced. Maybe cell phone services and Internet connection is not needed in order to get ones point across. If you get enough people to stand together in protest, technology is not really needed anymore. Maybe such technology is used in order to inform people as to when and where protests are occuring but people actually standing in the streets is what made their voices finally be heard. It reminds me that there was once a point in time where there wasn’t such a heavy reliance on Internet and cell phones. It seems like a long long time ago though…
Gas Prices Going Up Again?!
I just found more information regarding the gas and oil issue within Egypt. Because of the continued riots, the gas prices might be increasing. The average gas price nationwide is $3.12 but in Rochester the average gas price is $3.31. Do you think it is right that Rochester’s gas prices have to be higher then everywhere else? Everyone is living in the same world, so what would make a difference where you are located?
As people express on their constantly updated Twitter feeds, people hope that these Egyptian riots end shortly. I honestly say that nobody wants the gas prices to increase more than they already have.
Check out a video with more information posted on our Facebook! The link to our Facebook page is to the right of this blog! It is the second link under BlogRoll.
Media Reporting on Egypt
After searching for the most recent updates as to status of Egypt, I found something that surprised me.
An article on graph.com was an in depth interview with Egyptian students. Kamir Abadir, is a student in the United States and has family back home in Cairo Egypt, just as Fisher student Marina Gerges. Gerges as updated YNN News and said that she talks to her family and friends a couple of times a day now. Her brothers have also moved in with her parents in order to keep the family together. Her brothers are also taking turns standing guard outside of the home.
In the article that I mentioned above, Abadir mentions how he thinks all the media attention is actually not helping Egypt. He said that he, and many other Egyptian students, are disappointed with the accuracy and quality of news reports that are coming out. Abadir was quoted saying that news networks are, “hearing rumors and reporting it as fact on the news.” He went on to say that most of the time the media doesn’t know what they are reporting. He mentions how rumors are spread from Twitter to Facebook and what not and that in turn ends up creating even more problems.
Another student stated that what is reported on the news and what he has heard from his family living in Egypt does not always match up.
I found this interesting because my initial reaction to hearing about Egyptian Internet being shut down, my reactions was, lets their voices be heard! I never even thought, oh wait, maybe the media is inaccurately reporting information and actually making things worse!
Continuing with the current status of Egypt though. The riots are continuing.
The Egyptian government has forced the ISP’s to shut down their networks. Internet and mobile phones are still inaccessible for many people. This has a large impact on other countries though. Egypt controls the Suez Canal which about 35,000 ships pass through it every year. Approximately 2,700 of these ships are crude oil tankers. Egypt also controls two major pipelines, Suez Canal and Sumed Pipelines. These pipelines are estimated to carry over three million barrels every day! That is every DAY!
The really scary thing is that Egypt produces enough resources to sustain the country without relying on outside inputs. A good point was made in article I found on Energy Digital. It said, “If the rioters do get their way and oust the current President and his regime, then questions remain as to how the next regime will allocate the country’s oil and gas resources.
The Egyptian riots are turning out to have a larger impact on the world than I originally thought.
EgyptCensored 