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Al-Ahram Weekly 12 - 18 August 1999 Issue No. 442 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 12 - 18 August 1999 Issue No. 442
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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To err is human
Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Profile Books Features Travel Living Sports Time Out Chronicles People Cartoons Letters Sir- I have no doubt you will be willing to rectify the following two items:
1- In Naguib Mahfouz's column "Rational Demands" (Al-Ahram Weekly, 15-22 July), it said that "El-Aqqad was the political writer who had described Saad Zaghlul as the Colossus". I am sure it was the other way round, and that it was Saad Zaghlul who described El-Aqqad as the colossus, as was accurately mentioned in the same column in the Al-Ahram Arabic daily (15 July).
2- The statue that "oversees the renovation of Al-Manshiya Square" in Alexandria, (Re-dressing the bride, Al-Ahram Weekly, 22-28 July), is that of Mohamed Ali Pasha, while the statue of Ibrahim Pasha was last seen in Cairo's Opera (formerly Ibrahim Pasha) Square.
Thank you, and keep up the good work.
Mohamed Hussein Salem
Alexandria
Photo wanted
Sir- The other day I was having a glass of tea with a friend at a baladi café on the corniche just before Montazah.
While enjoying the breeze our conversation turned to politics and I expressed my doubts that Ehud Barak would prove any better than his predecessor despite his promises.
My friend reminded me that Barak, dressed as a woman, had led a group of Israelis on a special assassination mission in Lebanon when such operations were quite regular. The result was that a few Palestinian leaders were eliminated!
I wonder if the Israeli Embassy in Cairo would be kind enough to supply me with a colour photo of Barak in drag! I promise to look after it and hang it in an appropriate place in my modest flat!
Mamdouh El-Dakhakhani
Alexandria
New tricks, old dog
Sir- I am surprised at the suggestion made by the American ambassador to Egypt that the Egyptian media, theatre and film industries tone down their pejorative and personally insulting references to US President Bill Clinton.
How can the ambassador admonish us in Egypt for ridiculing Clinton? After all, there is hardly a comedy show on American television that does not feature a Clinton joke these days. Besides, doesn't America sell itself as the champion of free speech and democracy?
It is particularly difficult to heed the ambassador's request at a time when new sordid details have been revealed in a recently-released book by Christopher Anderson. It would now seem clear that Monica Lewinsky was just one in a long line of paramours. Clinton behaved badly, and should pay for his sins. He connived with his staff, who aided and abetted his extramarital relationships. His aides brought him women and whisked them away with not a shred of respect for the feelings of the First Lady and the Clintons' daughter Chelsea, who has been hospitalised three times for stress-related conditions since Monicagate hit the headlines.
If we are to believe recent reports, Clinton dated Susan McDougal, the wife of one of his supposedly closest friends. He also apparently seduced a 25-year-old on the night of her engagement -- which he had the nerve to attend. The man is shameless, and his behaviour shameful. Even his wife told Talk Magazine that he is "a hard dog to keep on the porch".
Karim Gamal
Maadi
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