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Well, all the bread I've ever seen looks like that--regardless of the bakery

Could be rural v. urban though, since most bakers I've met come from or live in the cities.

I kind of hope it at least reduces the risks associated with the Aswan High Dam. 

The only way you can eliminate that risk, is to elminate the dam. So you're right: a second dam on the blue Nile would only exacerbate the problem: even less of that valuable silt will head up north--as well as less water.

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This is the traditional Egyptian bread we're talking about here, the triangular loaves of the heavy stuff, with loads of oil in it?  The stuff that really is a meal in itself? That makes what we call bread in North America look like a sickly child by comparison?  (This stuff goes back as far as there are records of bread in Egypt, and that's a LONG WAY.)

There's no surprise that Egypt is running out of money.  Egypt's dominant industry for bringing in foreign exchange is tourism, and there's precious little of that this year.  (Egypt INVENTED being a tourist trap, and did it in antiquity.  Romans used to go to Egypt to see the sights, many of which are still visited by modern tourists.)

It's not generally served in triangles AFAIK, but I do know it's very calorie dense compared to what you're used to, and they eat it with a lot of things:

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To give you a sense of how important this is to Egyptians: the Arab world generally calls bread "khubz"--which is just the word for bread. The Egyptians literally call it life ("3eysh").

As to Egypt running out of money: it goes beyond tourism (or lack of it). This has been going on for years. The Egyptian pound has been getting devalued since at least the Arab Spring, and many of As-sissi's new policies have pretty much guaranteed a massive increase in the cost of living, and wasted much money (one of his projects is to create a new capital/administrative center. Normally, this wouild be along the Nile, but this genius wants it in the desert. It's extra bad, because Cairo is actually the best possible location. There's a reason it's been the capital for the last 1200 years).

There's also the simple fact that Egypt's becoming less attractive a place to invest. Aside from all the other problems, Egypt's future is very uncertain. This is because of the dam Ethipia's building on the Blue Nile, just dowriver of Lake Tana. That's massively affect the amount of water going upstream (Sudan will also be eating shit from this--especially the area between Khortoum and the Egyptian Border).

Indeed: we need property laws that are simple, intuitive and promote growth. This isn't just for Egypt (which is actually one of the worst in the region), but most of the Arab World.

Anyway, I came back to post an update:

The government in Egypt has now stated that it will not increase the price of the bread subsidy. This sounds good for the poor in Egypt, until you hear what the government did instead: the bread loaves were ordered reduced from 110 grams to 90 grams.

This may seem like not much bread, but you have to consider that the average Egyptian is probably eating 4-5 loaves a day; this is a very high intake of calories--basically, it fuels the poorest Egyptians.

The government, rather than admitting that this is because they haven't the money to make the bread, instead claimed it was for the good of the Egyptians, since now everyone will lose weight from it...

(This proves the point, naturally: subsidies of this sort basically hold the people hostage to the state).

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So it looks like the government has decided that the best way to kickstart the economy, is to tear down all houses in violation of the building/property codes.

When one considers that many, or perhaps most of Egypt's modern buildings are in violation of those codes (because it's  ridiculously difficult to do it by law), a lot of people are going to have a very bad time.

The media shares in the nomination, as they've simply supported the president, without even remotely calling this into question.

And for the impoverished Egyptians, the only way out would be to somehow pay the fines. If they can't, the media suggests that the government will "help" by offering loans to the people. To add to the stupidity of the affair, everyone knows and admits there isn't the money to do such a thing in the first place!

To sweeten the shit pill, the government under as-sissi insists that the measure is meant to give the Egyptians a legal peace of mind. Acting the tough guy (as always) as-sissi has flat out stated: "if you want your affairs settled, bring your bags" (i.e. moneybags).

The severity of the measures also touches the mosques--many of which in the country (as in the rest of the Near East), are funded by Awqaf--essentially a type of trust fund. Rather than object to this, certain clerics have supported the government, by making the argument that the mosques are on "Ravaged land"*, and therefore cannot be prayed in in the first place. The law would in many cases be ex post facto, as many of the mosques predate the laws on property. I bring this up, as it illustrates how the clergy--which is normally (and traditionally) willing to stand up to the government--has now become complicit; the argument they made is actually very bad, and is clearly their attempt to please the government.


*Thet term is translation of an actual legal term in Islam, but it is absolutely not applicable to the mosques in this case. "Ravaged land" would be something like the Black Hills, for example: land unjustly taken from its previous owner. The clerics came up with this flimsy argument, because if they followed the actual rules, they'd have no choice but to stand up to the president--which they're too cowardly to do.

This was a very interesting set of tests:

https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/selectatest.html

I took some out of curiosity, as Alan Alda mentioned them (or something like them) in his preview of a podcast on the subject. TBH, I was surprised at some of the results--particularly the weapons one:

-It said I (this is all subconscious, supposedly) moderately associate white people with weapons (I was expecting to be neutral). But thinking about it, I suppose it makes sense. I grew up in the Arab World, where having weapons is a sign of power--it's the means of projecting it. So when I'm in America, it's not a short stretch to subconsciously associate weapons with the group possessing the greatest political power (so white people).

Now that I think about it, it's a very medieval way of looking at the subject. It also explains why the very first thing I think about when I hear about gun control, is that you'd be prejudicing minorities.

-Another surprise was the religious preference; the test left out Islam, so it was really about which religion on offer in the test do I "prefer": Judaism or Christianity? Now, my family's from Hebron, so you'd expect a strong bias against one of the two (no prizes for guessing). Turns out--according to the test, anyway--I have no preference for or against either. I would have expected at least a slight bias against one of them, but apparently not. I wonder what would happen if Hinduism or some other religion were thrown in the mix. (as to what I conscience think: I don't care one way or another. Just don't be involved in giving my people a shit time).

-And in other news: I do--shock-gasp--have a preference toward Arab Muslims than I do people who aren't. But it's not as strong as you'd think (the test says it's a slight preference), but it's there.

And yeah, it shows I hold Trump in contempt.

So what do you guys think? Personally, I'm not sure how useful it is. I can see a person taking the test gaming it, or trolling it.

Jerry Corbyn's son Tommy was running a company called NHS (National Hemp Service) and managed to loose about 200 000 pounds and go bankrupt.  How bad do you have to be with money to go broke selling drugs?

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7716123/amp/Jeremy-Corbyns-sons-firm-goes-liquidation-owing-100-000.html?ico=amp_articleRelated

For extra value, Jerry Corbyn had bragged about giving his son business advice.

Never take advice on business from anyone like Corbyn.

Or dad. Never take advice from dad either.

It is an interesting read. Also, she was a bitch. It's kinda funny that she railed on "Orientals" and "Indians" considering orientals (assuming she's referring to East Asians) and Indians are some of the most economically successful people in the US.

I would be careful when siting NYT tho. They are a very slanted source themselves.

That's why I'm trying to get a discussion going: how accurate is all this?

Discuss:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/14/us/anti-immigration-cordelia-scaife-may.html?utm_source=pocket-newtab

Canada's laws are restrictive in some ways, but they are also less stringent than the US in other ways. For Example: You can buy short-barreled shotguns more easily in Canada than the US, which require ATF approval and a 200 dollar tax. One of the articles I posted, did say that Montreal is home of Canada's gun registration scheme and has the strictest laws in North America so I guess that could be an incentive. Another one could be demand for fully-automatic weapons (if these really are full-auto, because the articles don't really go into detail).

Also, I think we are seeing this because of the proliferation of technology. 20 or 30 years ago computer aided machine tools were limited to large scale industrial operations And now they could be had for less than 3 grand in some cases. I think this is only the beginning of what is to come.

Speaking of Europe, it really depends on your location. Guns are more readily available in Serbia than the United Kingdom, for example. In fact in much of the former Yugoslavia there are still many weapons leftover from the wars during the 1990s. Many of them were hidden away by private collectors, people who thought it would not be wise to turn in their weapons in case another conflict breaks out, or sold to criminal groups who want to make quick buck.

Yes, it was admittedly a generalization, that doesn't apply either to the Balkans, or the Chzech Republic and Hungary.

Hey there, I am back again.

A relatively sophisticated gun manufacturing plant, using an actual machine shop as a front, has been discovered in Montreal, Canada.

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Bellow are some articles and blog posts on this subject.

https://www.guns.com/news/2018/04/19/photos-surface-of-canadian-underground-gun-factory

https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2018/05/28/these-guns-were-used-in-gta-crimes-their-manufacturer-said-he-thought-they-were-for-paintball.html

https://homemadeguns.wordpress.com/2018/04/20/photos-of-illegal-tec-9-submachine-gun-factory-operating-in-montreal/

https://homemadeguns.wordpress.com/2015/12/17/tec-9-dc9-copy-seized-in-canada/

Quite surprising to see it in Canada--if only because, restrictive by US standards as they are, firearms are still easier to get than in Europe.

Then again, I suppose any restriction creates incentive for this.

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I mean, that's all I got. It's that impressive!

See the conqu'ring hero come!

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He and a handful of others have all helped to bring down a poisoning ring in Uganda: I hope Myles' efforts will continue to yield success, and bring justice about for the victims!

The part about Hitler thinking he was saving the world alone is worthy of a favorite quote. Everything from TIK cracking up when he points this out, to the music, to his continuing to point out the dangers of getting your premise wrong:

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So Morsi died just a couple days ago, and the Egyptian new media has spun all manner of stories on the subject:

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This video from the Joe Shoe has all the sources and clips you need: I can provide a translation, should this make it into the podcast.

The man was clearly maltreated and abused, and this doubtless hastened his death. Yet they refuse to confront the government, and the government is spewing one lie after another.

To me this touches on the subject of political repression--as it does for Joe here  (of Joe Show fame). This is a topic I think needs greater exposure, so that no one forgets the struggles of those who do truly want liberty and decency (I know, Morsi himself wasn't one such, but still).

If possible, I'd like to be co-host for this one this Saturday.

The Joe Show made a video on Morsi's death. For once, he cut the comedy (which is normally what he does--well), and instead cut to the point: Morsi--for all his faults--stood for something: the hope and opportunity for a better future in Egypt: he was, afterall, a civilian elected in a free and fair election. That he was an asshole doesn't mean one shouldn't take pleasure in his death, nor try to cover up the obvious torture and mistreatment he underwent in his confinement.

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