The Hymen Reconstruction In Egypt

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The hymen reconstruction surgery in Egypt

My talk show is mainly about the spread of the hymen surgery in Egypt and how people like Mr. Waleed Sokkar-an account executive at Tarek Nour advertising agency-disagrees with it very much. In comparison to miss Mai el Sebaai who finds it acceptable at times when for example a girl is raped.

My Guests: Mr. Waleed Sokkar-an account executive at Tarek Nour advertising agency.
Miss Mai El Sebae- Assistant director in the Egyptian Television.

Question 1: Mr. Waleed Sokkar:
What is your opinion about replacing the hymen in Egypt?

Question 2: Mr. Waleed Sokkar:

If you were put in the same situation what would you do?

Question 3: Mr. Waleed Sokkar:

How could you make the situation of premarital sex better?

Question 4: Miss Mai El Sebae:

Are you OK with making that hymen issue to the public and can be used by any one?

Question 5: Mr. Waleed Sokkar:

Do you have any suggestion for making this situation better?

Question 6: Mr. Waleed Sokkar:

Do you think Egyptian guys think the same way as you think that replacing the hymen is unethical?

Fnal Script

This is How JRMC Students End up Being Honorable Society Members

Abnoudy

6th December, 2009

Lead in: Today, the history of AUC is remembered by the great effect it brought on its mass communication students. Our reporter Aya El Abnoudy has more.

MUSIC ( Fade out)

Looking through the glass they see a crowded round about known as Tahrir square, with the sun in their eyes; many thoughts pass through their minds. Quickly they exit their cars and rush through the American University’s Cairo downtown campus gates. This is where it all started. walking through its doors for the first time timid, hesitant, but somehow still full of hope.
Students come in two kinds, the kind that go into those gates with the mere hope of simply graduating. Maybe ending up with a career they like or one that is far dissimilar to their major even dreams.

Ultimately sometimes end up feeling like “nobody” s in the bigger picture of societal productivity. The other kind of students are initially similar yet develop very differently. From day one they strive to become better in everything they do, succeeding becomes a virtue, recognition a means, remembrance an end to making society a better haven. Those are not the figures destined for greatness, those are the figures who carved their futures by writing their own destiny.

The difference between both attitudes can be accounted to several reasons. Some of those are the lack of ambition, with no positive expectations from their college experience. Those are the ones who block out the education they receive and simply refuse to learn. whilst a select few actually want to do something influential with their lives.

Falling into the kind of students who go to college for the sake of graduating, is the quality of just graduating to get a typical job, creating a normal family, and working to support themselves and no one else. However, the other kind of students, the ones with hopes and dreams, are the ones who can not wait to graduate, in order to do something for those who taught and educated them and for the others who can not be educated at all. Also, you see them staying up all night, working hard, staying strong feeling like the world is collapsing around them; those are the ones who end up enjoying life. They even used to learn personal traits from their teachers as Ms. Badra explains,



Sound bite: Mrs. Shaimaa Badra

Back in the day, only 3 segments of Mass communication were offered. First was journalism, second was broadcasting in addition to Integrated marketing communication. Students who really worked hard flourished and proved themselves not only in university but among the whole society.

AUC is the only university in Egypt that requires its Mass communication students to take critical, scientific thinking as well as psychology and many other diverse courses throughout their years in AUC. These courses; if taken good advantage of , will leave a strong effect on the long run in terms of the students’ careers and also their personal lives.

Let me present to you a few examples of some of those people who walked through the same gates of AUC, with the typical negative attitude of the freshmen arriving each year, but worked to help those incapable of helping themselves. Those students are now the ever-flourishing figures that graduated from the Mass communication and now play significant roles in the daily lives of the Egyptians and the Arab world.

An example of success is Shaimaa Badra, who states how AUC and Mass Communication taught her a lot.

“Sound Bite: Critical thinking SB”

As mentioned in the AUC website, the mass communication department is recognized throughout the whole world by producing amazing and well-rounded graduates who play a major role of paramount importance in developing the region's print, advertising and broadcasting. Not only that, The Kamal Adham Center for Journalism Training and Research offers practical work for the undergraduates .



Sound bite : Mrs. Hamsa

It also gives courses to improve the students editing skills, studio management and electronic newsgathering. Another example of that successes is an IMC graduate Hazem Nasr,



Sound bite: Mr. Hazem


Communication and media arts cover a broad spectrum of critical perspectives on the media and introduces a range of contemporary media practices. The department's highly competitive integrated marketing communication major is a cross-disciplinary program that blends marketing education with advertising and graphic design skills.


With all the help and support AUC offers its hard working students, they finish university with good experience. It has been said as well that the Mass Communication graduates of AUC are very qualified in comparison to other students in the region to the extent that many of those graduates hold high positions internationally and locally.

Sound bite: Mrs. Shaimaa

Some graduates are now working in the news field in places like “CNN, The New York Times, International Herald Tribune, NBC, and Reuters, as well as playing key roles in the region's growing transnational media organizations, such as Al Jazeera, MBC, Dubai's Al Arabiya, Radio Sawa, Nile TV, MSNBC in Arabic and CNN Arabia“. Many of them helped in flourishing important newspapers in the region, such as Al Sharq Al Awsat, The Middle East Times, Al Ahram and Al Ahram Weekly. Alums include CNN's White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux, commentator and analyst Mona Eltahawy, senior producer and anchorman for CNBC Arabia Sami Zeidan and managing editor of Alam Al-Youm Lamees El Hadidy.

The Mass Communication program at AUC has also produced an influential generation of media researchers and professionals at universities.

Sound bite: Mr. Hazem

Thus, it is clear that the AUC influences the way of thinking and its students positively especially those ambition hard working ones. Mrs Badra mentioned that it’s because of the AUC she is where she is today

Shima sound bite : Shaimaa Badra


And when you see those students going out of those gates for the last time, you would find it hard to believe they were the same timid, hesitant individuals in the crowd, who are now our cultural leaders, they are our future.
Music (fade out)


Credits:
I would like to thank my interviewees
Mrs. Shaimaa Badra, Mr. Hazem Nasr, and Hamsa Rabiee

The sound track was the music of Jasey Rae.

The AUC website was a very influence source,http://www.aucegypt.edu/academics/dept/jrmc/Pages/default.aspx

Special thanks to Mohamed Anwar who helped me in the editing process.

Total Time: 11:30

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Religions of the world

Hinduism and Buddhism are two very influential religions, though both are not very widespread throughout the world. Both affect each other in many ways and have had many effects on India. India’s culture is primarily based on the regimes of both religions. Hinduism is the oldest and most fundamental religion in India and Buddhism is a religion solely based on just one idea: the end of suffering. Both religions are vastly respected and are subjects of deep interest throughout the countries who do not practice them. Hinduism and Buddhism can be compared and contrasted in means of their prime beliefs, routines and rituals.

Even though both religions arise from identical cultural and philosophical backgrounds. Hinduism and Buddhism were both established in India, so why are they both so diverse? There are many distinctions between both religions that depict the ways of life and the actions a Hindu or Buddhist makes.
Guatam Buddha, the founder of Buddhism was born and raised as a Hindu; this shows that the origin of Buddhism is subsequent to that of Hinduism.

The ideas Guatam Buddha achieved were all following Hindu threads however, the few yet large differences separate both Hinduism and Buddhism from each other; making two separate, unique religions. A similarity both religions share is the fact that they are both polytheistic, like many other ancient religions. Another correspondence between both religions is the fact that they believe in the idea of ‘Samsara’, meaning ‘the cycle of birth and rebirth’.
A major difference between both Hinduism and Buddhism is the fact that Hinduism is based on a series of things you should manage to complete throughout your life, and Buddhism is like a guideline for how people should live their lives in order to reach the stage of enlightenment. Another imperative difference is that Hindus aim to accomplish redemption but Buddhists believe that their main goal is to achieve nirvana during their afterlife.

Hindus follow laws called the laws of Manu, those laws convey Karma. Manu expressed his religious views very clearly in a legal code. The big picture that Karma comes to show is how there are effects or consequences for certain actions, this makes Hindus strive to be better in order to gain good karma. Karma is also existent in Buddhism. A difference between both religions is the caste system, a commonly known social structure in India. Hindus believe that people are more important than others, and the caste system is a social hierarchy; because of this hierarchy, no intermarriage between different castes is allowed, however, Buddhists have no such beliefs.

Both religions must follow certain rituals during and before marriage. Those rituals are formed and created by the people attending the wedding ceremony with a huge focus on the close family and parents of the bride and groom. The rituals are made in order to please the gods watching them, and fire is set so the wedding vows can be carried to the Gods.

A parallel aspect between both religions is their solid belief in non-violence. Buddhists must follow five precepts in their lives, and the first of those being that they should avoid harming or killing any living thing. Violence is never mentioned or used as a way of resolving conflict or ending differences in the Buddhist religion or scripts. Both Hindus and Buddhists believe that non-violence is the most vital virtue of all.

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Egypt in the 19th Century ..

European history has been affected by Egypt for more than five thousand years. Egypt, being Muslim and Europe, being Christian was one of the reasons that made Europeans curious about Egypt at the time. The negative influence by the Crusades and the ensuing wars did not enable open communication; which was why Europeans knew so little about Egypt.

Also, Egypt’s ancient Egyptian societies were lost during the Greek occupation of the coast. Many people had witnessed ancient Egyptian remains like hieroglyphics and temples, but few knew their source or purpose.

The birth of Egyptian modification was when the Napoleonic wars began. The French army, led by Napoleon, were responsible for the Napoleonic wars. They had begun when the French army landed near the Nile river in 1798. The reason for their attack was to disrupt the British trade with India. Even though Napoleon was futile, Napoleon’s army overpowered the Ottoman defenders but then the British sunk its fleet.
By invading Egypt, Napoleon had Europeans engrossed by Egypt’s ancient history. Following the withdrawal of Napoleon’s army, Muhammad Ali, an Albanian military officer, established his own sovereign government in 1811 in Egypt. Preceding his death in 1849, Muhammad Ali had taken over Sudan and Syria and founded an educational system that was a replica of the French’s. Muhammad Ali also presented new crops and technology, nationalized Egyptian farm land and, finally, expanded the Egyptian army and brought reform to it.

Britain became interested in Egypt. Their key purpose was to stabilize the region so the British government had the tendency to support the Ottoman empire in opposition to all rivals. During this time, an “overland route” was introduced in the 1840s, linking Alexandria and the Gulf of Suez.

George Stephenson’s railroad and the telegraph line accelerated contact between India and Britain. Those were put to exceptionally good service to suppress the Indian rebellion in 1857.

In 1869, when the opening of the Suez Canal occurred, it confused the British stance in Egypt. The government was not in favor of the Suez Canal production, however, this had only forced the Egyptians to enter a joint venture with the French in order to construct the canal.

The British canal adversaries were afraid that British shipping would lean towards the canal, becoming solely reliant on it, then undergo disruptions during war time because of its vulnerability.
The adversaries were not at all incorrect, in fact, the canal was immensely successful and productive. This caused merchants to migrate collectively to its direction. Passing through the canal in its first thirteen years, the tonnage mounted from beneath half a million up to five million. By 1882, British ships were in possession of eighty percent of it.

Only paying minimal fees for the passing of their own ships through the canal, owned by mostly French investors and the Egyptian government, the British government seemed to abide by this arrangement. As indicated by the British Foreign Secretary Lord Palmerston, as long as Egypt was “well-run and hospitable”, Britain had no reason to possess it. What the BFSLP meant by “hospitable” was that the British merchants could function freely there.

The Egyptian nationalist movement had only started when Egypt became dependent on French military advisors, British capital and many other foreign impacts for modernization. This presented the British government with the opportunity to get immediately and directly associated with the canal.


The Egyptian nationalist movement became operational in the 1870’s, this was when trouble arose. The nationalists began to aim at Europeans and Turks. Muhammad Ali and his successors were considered “Turks” by those nationalists. When the Ottomans were defeated in the Russo-Turkish war, nationalists were encouraged. Ahmed Arabi, one of the nationalists, accepted officer training in a school created by Muhammad Ali. Under Ali’s son, Said, he received an elevation to the rank of colonel. Ahmed Arabi and his compatriots became enraged at the huge amount of money Egypt owed to foreigners under the rule of Said’s nephew (Ismail).

Egypt was in debt by £3 million before Ismail’s reign, however, by the end of his rule (1863), Egyptian indebtedness rose to nearly £100 million. This drastic change was the result of Ismail’s endeavors to modernize Egypt. He accomplished many achievements such as completing the Suez Canal and he paid Ottoman leaders in Constantinople (now Istanbul) to consent Tewfik, Ismail’s son, to succeed him.



Before the year 1875, Egypt had returned £29 million of its loans. However, Egypt still owed £46 million and was reaching bankruptcy. The British prime minister learned that Egyptian investments in the Suez Canal were for sale, he decided to buy those shares for his government.
In 1876, Tewfik’s government asked for British advisors, specialized in finance. Stephen Case was sent to examine Egypt’s economic circumstances. Stephen Case informed Disraeli, the person who sent Case, that Egypt was stable but still required further European guidance. Britain’s and France’s governments then sent representatives to overlook the Egyptian financial position.
The existence of foreigners in the Egyptian government provoked the nationalists, even though they managed to reduce the debts. They became more aggravated when the strangely low Nile flooding instigated starvation in Upper Egypt in 1876-1877.
As the government went further into debt, it fell behind on payments of wages to the army, risking their loyalty. The first army mutiny came in February 1879 and Ismail was overthrown by a second revolt in June 1879.
Ismail's son Tewfik took over. Europeans welcomed the change because they believed Tewfik, a weak ruler, could be influenced more easily. Tewfik proved too weak to control the Egyptian nationalists, however, and his reign turned out to be a disaster for all parties.

Egyptian military officers rose up against Tewfik's government in February 1881 and again in September, both times under the leadership of Colonel Arabi Pasha. Tewfik responded by dismissing the pro-European Prime Minister Cherif Pasha and replacing him with Mahmoud Pasha Sami, a nationalist leader. Sami then picked Arabi Pasha to take charge of one of the government ministries.

Fearing that the nationalists had become too powerful, France and Britain tried to strengthen Tewfik by signing a secret "Anglo-French Joint Note" on January 8, 1882, pledging to support Tewfik against anyone who disturbed the peace. The move backfired, however, when Egyptian nationalists interpreted this as a signal that the Europeans would invade to protect Tewfik. In May 1882, France and Britain each sent small naval squadrons to protect "European interests," and on Sunday, June 11, Egyptians rioted in Alexandria and killed about 50 Europeans including three British military personnel. The British responded by bombarding Alexandria on July 11, and Arabi's army set siege to Alexandria and cut off its water supplies.


Arguing that Egypt was descending into "anarchy" which threatened the Suez Canal (located about 180 miles to the east), the British government sought international support for an invasion of Egypt. Neither the Ottoman sultan nor any European governments joined in, so in August 1882, Britain acted alone. Within two months, they captured the canal and defeated the Egyptian army at Tel-el-Kebir. Arabi and the other nationalist leaders were sent to exile in Ceylon (modern Sri Lanka).

Although British prime minister Gladstone tried to withdraw the British forces immediately, there was no Egyptian government left to maintain order, and even worse, the British invasion ignited a revolution by fundamentalist Muslim forces in the Sudan on the Upper Nile River under the leadership of a man known as the Mahdi. Under British pressure, Tewfik withdrew the remaining Egyptian forces (and their British advisors) from the Upper Nile, but not before General Gordon, a British officer employed by Egypt, was killed at Khartoum in January 1885. His death made him a martyr in the minds of the British public and for many years afterward, the cry "avenge Gordon" was sufficient to rouse enthusiasm for imperial expansion.

Gordon's death triggered endless recriminations and criticism of Britain's Egypt policy. Critics argued that the Egyptian intervention was fought on behalf of British investors using taxpayers' money. Later, others charged that Egypt was the prototype for a form of financial imperialism that used loans of questionable value to gain an interest in local affairs, and then a subsequent default as justification for invasion to protect "European interests."

PROMO "JRMC" , Script

00:25 sec


MUSIC (fade in)

Reporter:

Years of effort, months and months of hard work had a role of paramount importance in flourishing the career of the Mass com AUC graduates.

They owe it a lot for what they are today.

Be there on Dec the sixth and the ninth for more.

Sound bite: Shaimaa Badra:

“I owe the Mass com department for who I am today, I owe it for what I have achieved in work and I owe it for what I have achieved in my personal life”.

MUSIC ( fade in)

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Egypt and I

Life is so hard when there are many choices to make. Too many theories too and too many quotes. Is it all about love?, is it all about career?, or is it just a choice? I do not want to be part of the Egyptian-Algerian conflict I do not want to see Egyptians going to the embassy and destroying it. Egyptians have never been like this destruction is not the solution. What the Algerians did to Egyptians in Egypt and Sudan is unacceptable but Egyptians in the 50s were not used to solving issues that way.

Egyptians are taking that issue now as a national move, where were they when Palestinians were dying everyday I am really upset of the fragmentation of the Arabs due to football. I love my country very much, I feel so down when anyone talks bad about it. Egypt let me down a lot I take it as a best friend that I give many chances to and lets me down every time. For example my father was in the American hospital in France he was treated so good even though they did not know who he is. However, in Egypt with all the effort and the preparations they made they did not take care of moving him from the ambulance and he was about to fall off the wheel chair. That incident really ruined Egypt’s picture in my eyes. I gave Egypt another chance by winning these matches and I was very happy that we won the first match.



However, it let me down again by losing and I was cheering till the last minute and at the end I erased the flag I drew on my face with Pepsi. That was how angry I was. Back to the Algerian-Egyptian issue Egypt is not wrong in this issue however I wished that such a revolution would be for a better cause. Its amazing how all Egyptians united together why cant this be for something more meaningful.

I want to be proud of my country I want it to change I want to see progress. I want to miss my country when I leave it. I stopped getting the “missing” part. I think I will always give it chances after all it is my mother, my father, and my best friend that I cant let it go..

If the match is big issue then send a petition to the National Democratic Party to complain about the lack of health care, the housing crisis, corruption, the selling of the country's assets, the collapse of education, the pollution, traffic deaths, exploitation, poverty, unemployment, the lack of clean water, freedom of expression and religious beliefs, the oppression of women, the piling up of garbage on the streets, etc...

Digital Planet

· Who (or what company) produced the documentary?
Digital Planet, BBC World Service

· Who narrated the documentary?
Gerick Mitchell


· What was the length of the documentary

26:29


· Describe the documentary.

The documentary is discussing a major breakthrough that a lot of Arabs were waiting for. That breakthrough is that “the internet can now speak Arabic”. In Sharm El Sheikh, a meeting was held and the BBC reporter Jonathan Charles was there to report in Egypt where the Internet Governance Forum took place. The reporter mentioned that he had to stand outside the building to talk on the phone and report more about the event as mobile Phones were not allowed indoors.



In the meeting it was said that a new era of internet will launch introducing to the whole world a “.Masr” organization that is all in Arabic leading to more Arabic archives on the internet as there are 300 million Arabic users but those users need their language to be part of the internet as it will be a lot simpler for them. “Typing will be so much easier for them and they will feel more belonging” as one of the members of the digital planet said. This kind of project will help a lot of people because many people have problems typing and reading. This is a mobile-internet breakthrough that will change a lot in technology.

· Why was the documentary interesting?

The documentary was very interesting such a breakthrough in technology will help a lot of people from blind people to dyslexic readers. That device can scan a whole book and read it out loud. For me I would love to have such a device because I do not like reading. Not only that, it is MP3 format and will be useful and its life span is more that 6 years. The story was very catchy will informative sound bites about the details and options of the phone.

· Quality of the narrator’s voice?

The voice was very clear and the Nat sound as well was very influential to the story especially when they used the sound of the actual phone while reading a scanned book.
·
Was the documentary too long? Too short?

The sound bites very just right with the specific information needed. The whole documentary was a bit short for the amount of information that was being stated. However, If I was to do this piece I would have divided it into two parts. Overall the story was interesting and that breakthrough is worth that kind of focus.

A Dream or a Beautiful Nightmare?

Its been a while now since I lost hope in pursuing my dream, which was and still is acting. Since I had this dream I never stopped wanting it and I would always say, “ I know I can, be what I want to be, If I work hard at it I‘ll be where I want to be“. Every single day I would want it more and more It all started so fast I started taking a theater course and found myself Stella of streetcar named desire.

The next I acted in Arabic and studied play analysis. Afterwards I took advanced acting courses. Not only that, me and my 2 best friends acted in an AUC play which was praised by most of the theater department. My favorite part of that was acting to camera. My monologue was very interesting I never felt how sensitive I am except through this monologue it was from a movie called klute. About 3 months ago I was in Los Angeles taking courses in UCLA, when I came back to Egypt I was very frustrated and depressed as there I could do whatever I want at any time of the day plus Hollywood is there.

So I thought why not go to new York film academy in Los Angeles where you get to act in universal studios and have fun as well. I spoke to my father about it he had no problem about it but he told me that “then what” that word really made me frustrated as most of the actors in Egypt just act and by practice they improve not to good actors but to professional actors with all the characteristics and qualities they should have. 3 days ago I got the acting fever again as my I was telling Nihal my best friend that I am starting to lose hope and I don’t want this to happen, My other best friend is really excited about the idea he wants to go as well.

Both of us are trying to work on it, be actors. Our dream is Hollywood the place where we already had so much fun in going out and enjoying it. We want to be stars that people take pictures with while walking on Hollywood boulevard. That’s my dream and nothing will stop me.

Forgotten Africa

Who (or what company) produced the documentary?
Rod Walker
·
Who narrated the documentary?
Martin Plaut

·What was the length of the documentary
23:16


·Describe the documentary.

The documentary is about Africa’s forgotten soldiers who helped shape the future of Africa. The war in the Far East is overlooked, just like the fighting that took place in many regions in Africa. One million African troops participated in the conflict, fighting their way through the jungles of Burma, across the Libyan deserts and in the skies over London.
Not only that, these soldiers who participated in that still are alive and remembered and sound bites were taken by Martin Plaut including the African troops who participated in the war who played a critical part in freeing the world from the threat of fascism.



After 1939 Britain began a program of recruiting soldiers from across its African colonies. Some were put in by force, others wanted to sign up.

The Africans soldiers were put in a new place and it was the first time for them to had eaten processed food, the first time they had seen the ocean, the first time they had been taught to read and write,and transported thousands of miles from home all that to fight on a land that does not belong to them and is so far away.

It took many and many years for them to return to their homes. When they retured they found that their homes did not change much. The experiences they had were very new to them and the people they know. Many of these soldiers used the techniques they used there to liberate themselves.


Why was the documentary interesting?

· The documentary had many interesting and rare sound bites as Martin Plaut hears first hand from the African troops who participated in the war and who played a critical part in freeing the world from the threat of fascism.

Not only that, the content of the story was very interesting discussing the struggle those African soldiers went through and how that event changed their lives and the fate of Africa and how influential they were but the big role they played is forgotten by the world and the history of man kind.

Quality of the narrator’s voice

The quality of the narrator was very clear and the language was simple and that kept me engaged to the story and made me understand how that clarity affects the listener and keeps them committed to the story. However, the sound bites were a bit unclear due to the different accent they were using. The songs of the war was very influential and helped in picturing the story.

Was the documentary too long? Too short?

The documentary was a bit long not the narration, but the sound bites were too many. Even though the sound bites were very effective they were long. If I have done this story I would have deducted many parts of them.

Other observations/suggestions

Overall the story was unique in terms of its content and I found very interesting to re-visit such a forgotten part of history.

Music Life

I really like music; it is the connection between what I am feeling and what I cannot express with my words. It always seems that the lyrics, beats and genre put me in a very good mood. I really do believe that it is a blessing that we can access the music industry so easily nowadays, If we look at the history of music and compare it to now, it is truly amazing that there are so many genres now and different mixes between genres. Back in the days of Jazz, classical and country were very famous. However, now genres range between pop,hip hop, rock, acid rock, heavy metal, techno and rap. Each of these types of music tailors to different tastes. You can be defined as who you are by the music you listen to if you listen to emo punk, then you wear tight jeans, lots of makeup, and your hair flows down straight to cover your face.





Even artists express themselves through their music, like Kayne West a hip hop artist who dedicated a song to his mother after she passed away. It was a therapeutic tool for his grieving. You can also as an artist reach out to your audience; there were many people who listen to Kayne and related to losing a special someone in their life.

It is probably well known that a party, birthday, event and celebrations would be very boring without music, a party in a club would be different without music . Music is important and essential to enhance moods, if you hear a very enthusiastic song that says get up and dance, you are most likely to dance to it.

What I mean is that music is all around. Life would be very different in this lifetime without music. You go to a cafe, bar, club or even driving your car and you will hear songs. Music can also serve as an apology to someone, expressing love to someone and sharing memories.

Radio Wrap, Script: Downtown Make-over 2009

Downtown Make Over 2009 Wrap
Abnoudy
10-7-2009

Lead in: Back in the 50s the Egyptian downtown was tahrir square and the area surrounding it. Now it became a very chaotic and crowded place. Naguib Saweeris, a very successful Egyptian business man, now has a plan for re-constructing that area. AUC news’ Aya El Abnoudy reports.

(choas of the cars Nat sound)



Nagiub saweeris has a plan of re-constructing downtown Egypt from what it is nowadays which is a very crowded and messy place into a closed partition with no cars passing through and designer stores all over the place.
Not only that, Saweeris’s plan is to put cafes in the street for both foreigners and Egyptians to enjoy their coffee or food while sitting in this historical place without feeling frustrated from the chaos of the cars in Egypt.

As a plan such an idea it is very intriguing to tourism says Figen Kocaman a Turkish tourist visiting Egypt for the first time:


Kocaman: “that would be really an interesting idea because like most of us like to relax at night we don’t like to stay at the hotel or do something so in that case we could go out and do something so we could go like go out enjoy the beautiful scenery in the street instead of like watching cars in the street. We could enjoy good drink or coffee or maybe dinner. And I think this supports tourism in a lot of things it would be much more fun and entertaining for other people instead of going to the malls or just sitting in a café. It would be really a very nice touch“. (:40)




On the other hand, people owing places there have a big problem with that innovation as it will affect the customers for the time that the downtown will be reconstructed as Tarek el Marsafy the manager of “After eight” a bar located there stated.
Marsafy: “ I think that the project is not very useful for me because as you can notice from the Egyptian society reconstruction takes a very big time, and this will cause loss to my company as a general manager and I am not sure for either circulation people may not be easily circulated around the building so they will not have accesses to the inside and that might bring difficult consequences and loss to my company and for the parking this is not useful for the people to come which makes another disadvantage for me. I am not as well sure if this is a good project or not so circumstances should be considered when reconstruction this part again”




Opinions are very paradoxical many are against and many are fore. This issue is causing so many conflicts not only in the downtown region but in the whole city. The owners of the shop’s destiny are now dependant on whether this plan will be accomplished right or not.

Aya El Abnoudy, AUC News.

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Michael Jackson and “This Is It” Script

Michael Jackson’s behind the scene movie “this is it” wins first place at the weekend box office.
This is it, earned 23.3 million dollars from the day it started showing which was Friday till Sunday.

The movie is a behind a scene documentary of the legendary Michael Jackson and it expected to generate more than 100 million dollars world wide.

This is it was a planned series of 50 concerts by Michael Jackson to be held at the 02 arena in London, beginning in July 2009 and ending in March 2010. Less than three weeks before the first show Michael Jackson died.

Most of the people who saw the movie this is it,expected a biography of Michael Jackson and lots of interviews, but there was none of it and that was admired by most of the viewers.

The making of the concert was the theme of the movie and how a small family of the crew were all working to make a big project come true.

The movie does not stop there it has little sense of humor, love, and insight to the world’s climate problems.




R.I.P Michael Jackson, the legendary artist with the unique style.

Michael Jackson and “This Is It”

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Friendship :)

Friendship can never be defined as a word, it can never be said either as a fact. Friendship only appears in situations not only hard ones but joyful and happy ones as well. A friend is the person who will always find a way to help you. A friend does not have to tell you they love you or treat you well all the time.

A friend will help you with action; they will cheer you up by taking you for coffee or even distracting you by taking you out to dinner. Sometimes people have the tendency to be selfish and only want to talk about themselves and that is fine but that won't be the usual if they are real friends. When friends are disappointed at each other they always need to solve the problem by talking to each other not escaping from the issue and stopping to communicate. It's more of a pattern than a random relation a friend completes the other. A friend might sometimes treat you as a pet only wanting you for themselves and will be jealous when they feel that someone is taking their place even if it is work. Friends love is a unique kind of love something that completes a missing part. A friend is kind of an element to happiness a tool for joy that can never be replaced by a boyfriend or a girlfriend. Friends will calm you towards your parents when you are mad at them and will in one way or another fix what is going on. A true friend will know your weak points and will avoid putting you in situations that would make you weak.

When a friend stops talking to you for something you did in order to make them happy and they misunderstood it they should apologize or at least talk about it to make things clear. A friend is the person who makes you happy and you feel there is something wrong when they are not around. What I'm saying is a part of our daily life an experience we go through everyday.

The bad part of such relationships is the boy-girl one when one of them falls in love with the other due to day to day talking and communication as that mostly ruins the relation and it has been said and proven that between men and women there is no friendship its either worship, love, or hatred but not friendship which I kind of disagree with it as there are some rare cases of pure brotherhood with men.
In the end of the day, to me friendship is a very sacred relationship even more sacred than marriage as a true friend will not cheat, will not lie, and will be truly and purely in love with their friend.

The Script

Lead: This is Aya El Abnoudy reporting to AUC news. Today our guest is a TV presenter, Nehal Kamal, Nehal kamal had spent 25 years working at the Egyptian television presenting entertainment shows, and woman oriented programs and was a representative of the Egyptian television in many international festivals. Now she is vice president of the Egyptian T.V.
Anchor: Mrs Nehal kamal, Last week the newspaper mentioned that your idea of a new program you discussed with the minister of information was given to another anchor. What can you say about this?
Interviewee: unfortunately this happened with me after all these years and when I think of a new idea and I presented it to the minister himself not any other person I just was surprised to find that my idea was given to another presenter. I tried to object to this but no one made any reaction so I had to go to the newspapers not any news paper but a very respectful one that always publish true and truthful stories off course I had to publish this because this is not right concerning copyrights and concerning the code of ethics.
Anchor: So what are your next steps in solving this problem?
Interviewee: off course I will keep on saying my story and I will see what the reaction because I will not leave my idea to be taken by other persons because this is my effort and I will not stop till I get what I really deserve.
Anchor: in order for this not to happen again what do you think should be done?
Interviewee: I think the law should be applied on all people whether it is a minister or a normal person law should be applied firmly on everyone. Law should be applied firmly.
Anchor: so are you going to do any further action or is it just the newspaper?

Minister of Information violates Copyrights

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Journal #3: Long Form Audio Documentary #1

Who (or what company) produced the documentary?

-BBC

Who narrated the documentary?

-Henry Henry Bonsu

What was the length of the documentary?

23:05 min

Describe the documentary:

The story is mainly about how bad Nigerians as citizens. Reporter Henry Bonsu interviews Nigerians who are really angry by poor infrastructure, lack of jobs, extremes in wealth and poverty, and government corruption.

Nigeria is campaigning for a new image and a new reputation in an effort to attract some much needed investment. That idea started as opposed to the movie district 9 that portrays Nigerians as gangsters and prostitutes who have sex with aliens and eat their flesh afterwards. Not only the movie, for years and years now Nigeria had a very bas reputation as a corrupt and violent place.

The minister was convinced as he stated that the media is disturbing the image of Nigerians and that Nigerians should be able to tell their own stories by themselves to the whole world.

Afterwards a lady was confident enough to say in a sound bite without Nigeria there would have been no Africa what we did years ago is still affecting us till now the lack of resources, poverty, and wars.

Not only that, she as well said that RE- branding Nigeria is not a dream based on nothing its an organization that has profound thoughts and the rules and hard work will re build Nigeria and improve its image.


Why was the documentary interesting?

The content of the documentary was very interesting though it was a bit long. I really was fascinated with what the Nigerian film maker said about feeling that she is sick of feeling that wherever she decides to live she never feels like it is her home.

Not only that, knowing that everyone asked about Nigeria always mentions the bad and that is very shocking. Moreover, the film maker as well said that she wants her children to go anywhere in the world and be proud to be Nigerians.

Quality of the narrator’s voice?

The narrator’s voice was mostly clear what I felt was not that clear were the sound bites however they were very influential and emotional to the story and even though the quality was not that good I kept listening.

Was the documentary too long? Too short?

The documentary was too long many information and many speakers which confused me for a while and towards the end I was bored but the last speaker really grabbed my attention with the bank account story where banks do not accept opening accounts for Nigerians.

But if I were the reporter I would have at least shortened the sound bites as there were unneeded parts in them.

Is it overrated?

I know for a fact that a few days back I would have never said what I'm about to say now and that even if I had heard someone say it I would have probably thought that there is something wrong with them.. Love is overrated!!

You know when you live your whole life having in mind a certain idea that you refuse to question or having this specific image when suddenly the spoiler alert hits you!!

Its always a party in Vegas

Las Vegas is in comparison to the most exotic tourism places one and only as Vegas has every thing. Las Vegas has the greatest clubs which has the greatest music and Djs. Not only that, for celebrity lovers it will be a blast because they are all over the place. Vegas is the place where you have to go for 2010 New year's eve you will enjoy your time and have an unforgettable experience.

http://www.filefactory.com/file/a054g8e/n/Untitled_Narration_0002_avi_wma

Stress Stress and more Stress

Stress has always been a main component of college days but this semester I’m going through a kind of stress I never experienced before. As a person I take everything very lightly nothing causes me stress even if I have a midterm or a final and I did not study for it will not irritate me because I know I did well through the semester. However, this semester I’ve been working for the first time going to classes as well having assignments and work to do at home. How can a person be “multifunctional”? Not only that, I as well have to spend time with parents, my mother who lives with me and my father who lives 2 hours away. In addition to friends, whom I have to see not only in university but in outings as well. I tried time management however; sleeping more than 4 hours is not an option, so how I live on coffee.
At the same time I’m trying to have time for myself so I dedicated half an hour of reading before sleeping and now I’m reading a book called the Zahir by Paulo cello which is a very interesting book that takes me away for a while but as soon as I close the book and look at the clock I snap back to reality, prepare my clothes for the next day, and sleep. I wake up the next day worrying about every single detail of the day even little things like putting fuel to my car, what coffee flavor will I drink, where I will park at university, where I will park when I go to work, I worry about making it on time to class and on time to work. Moreover, and that what provokes me the most that everything is expecting me to do everything at the same time spend time with my parent, eat, drink, read, work, and study.
This kind of phase I’m going through is one I never experienced before. Every now and then I try to convince myself that this is ok this is normal and I believe that lie for a while but afterwards it does not make sense. I need a break I need some time with myself that I’m not even allowed to have. Everyone is putting more stress on me I don’t even listen to what my friends talk about anymore the things that are bothering them, I became very aggressive and everyone does not know the reason. The reason is the stress phase I’m in. its too much for one person to handle and no one understands. Worries are endless because at that point of life I now think about my masters what do I want in life too much thinking and no major accomplishments. Thus, I have decided that when this semester ends I’ll just take a break from everything and everyone and go to a place called Basata in the red sea where there is no internet connection or a phone signal and relax and think logically about my life about what I want and what goal do I need to achieve.

Public Service Announcement #1

Local Contact: Aya El Abnoudy, 0106557273, aya.elabnoudy@aucegypt.edu

National Contact: Omnyea Moussa, Public Relations Director

Organization: Ministry of Transport

Contact Info: JRMC 460, aya21@aucegypt.edu, www.ayaabnoudy.blogspot.com, http://www.nwp.gov.eg/

Heading: First Aid Car Kit Campaign

Airdates(s): October 13, 2009 – December 15, 2009

Time: 30 seconds


SFX: A girl and a guy singing and listening to Gwen Stephany in the car

SFX: Car Crash

Music: My immortal music

Music: Fade out of my immortal (overlapping Announcer 1)

Announcer 1 (Omnyea Moussa): Thousands of people die every year because of car accidents. Do you know how many children lose their parents? How many parents lose their children?
When the time comes and someone needs your help you should be prepared for the situation.

Announcer 2 (Aya El Abnoudy): The first aid kit should always be in your car.
Whether you are planning for a long distance drive,

Announcer 1: or even daily rides.

Announcer 2: First aid kit is an important item to bring along, learn how to save yourself and save others.

Both Announcers: Road safety is everyone’s business.

Music: My immortal fades out.


END

PSA audio

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THIS IS IT

Do you know how it hurts so much when you need someone special to you beside you and he doesn’t want to be there for you anymore? When you have many problems that you cant face except if he’s there backing you up. Do you know how it feels like when you can’ stand anything anymore and all you have in mind is that you want to die.

Do you know what it feels like when you’ve lost everything and you’re trying to convince yourself that everything is just fine and ok. You fear to live one more day of this life you’re living. Do you know how it feels when you need your mom so much and she’s never there. She just works and works and then comes and says ‘this is all for you.’ But meanwhile she doesn’t understand anything that is happening to you, and you’re trying to convince her that you’re alright. Do you what is it like to hate a father. Not to stand to even see his face around, or by chance. When you want to tell him in his face ‘I hate you’ with all you heart and power. When you feel stupid and non-existent. When all you do is think about a way to die. To leave it all behind you and never look back. When you have nobody around you, and you fear making a move because you’re thinking that it may be rejected or maybe it wont.

When you want to stay alone in the dark, but afraid. When you need someone badly but you don’t even know who you’re in need of. When everything scares you so much, when you’re afraid of the unknown. When all you see is just black. When you want to destroy everything but all you keep doing is wondering and wishing. Do you ever take decisions? Do you ever do anything? No! did you ever wonder why? Is it all because you’re afraid? Or is it just because you cant? Many questions floating inside your head, but whats the use since they’re unanswered, with no decision; kept with nothing just like that. You want to change everything around you but you just cant.

You want to scream, cry, louder and louder; but who’s listening? Nobody. Everyone keeps watching you from so far away, do they do something? Do they even care? Of course not. What does it feel when you stand before the one you need and you cant do anything or say a single word. What do you do if the one that you need is the one that you must hate. What is it like when the one that usually wipes away your tears is the reason why you’re crying in the first place. What is it like when you can’t look them in the eye. What if you die tomorrow? What if you die the moment you’re looking the one you need straight in the eyes. When is it like when you’re in the lost world. What is it like when you love someone so much and you feel rejected.

What if you just close your eyes and then couldn’t open them back, because you’re simply dead. What if you want to run away, and you just cant. What if everybody around you keeps telling lies. And what usually happens is that others just believe them without even listening to what you have to say. What is it like when everyone keeps accusing you of things you didn’t commit. What is it like when you always pay a lot for things you didn’t do. Why is life unfair? This is a question that everybody keeps asking, and the answer they keep getting is ‘life is like that.’ What is it like when you don’t want to give anymore, because every time you give something precious, you just lost it without getting anything back in return. What is it like when you’re afraid to cry. When you’re in a fight that doesn’t want to end. When every time you search for the honey up the trees, the bees sting you.

When you just want to pick up a rose because it’s so beautiful, but you’re just so afraid of its thorns. When you fear to laugh over something for a moment, because you’re thinking that maybe later, it will make you cry for the rest of your life. What does it feel like, when you want to break many people’s hearts, just so that they’d feel how yours is totally broken. When you hate forgiveness. When you turn out to be a mean beast with a heart that doesn’t even know the meaning of forgiveness. When you feel very stupid and dumb. When you just want to hurt others, so that they can feel how much you’re deeply hurt. When the person you love the most dumps you. When your best friend turns you down. When you decide to be cruel. When your heart is full of darkness, hatred and fear, instead of kindness, joy and safety. When you’re in a deep hole surrounded by fire that keeps burning every piece of you, starting with your heart.

When you become the shark that is searching for its prey. When you feel that someone dragged a painful knife inside your hopeless heart. When, when, when; this is all what you keep saying, but what’s in return? You don’t know, you’re in big trouble, you need a big push to pull you back up again. Who can help? Who will help? Who would even consider? Will your questions ever be answered? Will you find a way out of your lost world? Will you ever be rescued? Will you?

NPR Newscast

Link:http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/check/worldservice/meta/tx/summary5min?size=au&bgc=003399&lang=en-ws&nbram=1&nbwm=1



Title of Feature: NPR news radio

Who produced the Feature: Lackshmie Sain

Length of the Feature: 3 min, 48 sec

Describe Feature:
The stories line up were made up of seven news. First was, accusing Taliban of the suicide bombing.
Second, Obama will sign to officially accept gays and lesbians with a voice over of president Obama declaring this publicly.
Third, two small planes collided in St. Louisiana 2 people were killed two others were injured during training.
Forth, Turkey and Armenia trying to make diplomatic ties after years of a hostile relationship.
Fifth, French physicist suspected of connection to Taliban
Sixth, championship cancelled due to snow after waiting for it for a year

Was the feature interesting?
The news cast was very interesting and what was special about it was Obama’s declaration in public and using it in the news cast. The news themselves were brief and informative and to the point and I liked that however some stories were highlighted more than others for example, the plan crash and the news about the championship was very brief.

Quality of Sound/ Nat Sound:
The quality was good as I thought and the use of Obama’s sound bite was really influential
Quality of the Announcer’s voice:
I had some problems understanding some words and looked them up then it all made sense but as for the reporter he was good as well and I enjoyed listening to it.

Was the Feature too long/ short?
The information were straight forward and to the point even the information was as brief and informative as possible. I liked that way of handling use as they are to me the most effective and it had some problems about elaborating some of the news as I mentioned above.

BBC NEWS

Title of Feature: BBC radio news

Who produced the Feature: Michel Pose plus reporters



Length of the Feature: 4 min, 56 sec


Describe Feature:
The only difference I spotted was the sound quality and NPR was better.
This a the BBC news cast and it included news such as mentioning that, Pakistani army freed 25 hostages some were killed because of the hostages was wearing an explosive belt and Taliban it is said that “Taliban is to be blamed”.
Second came reconsolidation between Armenia and turkey
Link:http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/check/worldservice/meta/tx/summary5min?size=au&bgc=003399&lang=en-ws&nbram=1&nbwm=1
Third came, Obama meeting with gays and lesbians and understands after a meeting that their rights are not given properly.
Forth, Ethiopia calls for sanctions against Eretria accusing it of supporting Islamists rebels in Somalia.
Fifth, at least 225 died due to floods leading to death of 600 in the past 2 weeks
Sixth, Louis agile famous singer and writer died at the age of 73 due to stomach cancer


Was the feature interesting?
At first I wasn’t interested honestly but by the second, third, forth, fifth, and sixth story I was so alert and I enjoyed the transition between each news. In addition, the text itself was very catchy which was something that made me keep listening and I am surprised that such news really caught my attention because of their text.

Quality of Sound/ Nat Sound:
The quality was not as good as I thought and by the time a story is playing I was hoping that a NAT sound would play but it doesn’t which really got me disappointed as there were many places for a NAT sound to be put and would have helped the story a lot.


Quality of the Announcer’s voice:
The reporters are those who had the problem I had some problems understanding their accent but as for the reporter in comparison to others I’ve listened to he can pass as one of the top 10 for radio off course.

Was the Feature too long/ short?
The information were straight forward and to the point even the information was as brief and informative as possible. I liked that way of handling use as they are to me the most effective.

Rescuing A Bird

Link: World Vision Report "Rescuing the Bird"

Title of Feature: Rescuing the Bird

Who produced the Feature: Kelsey Timmerman-World vision report



Length of the Feature: 4 min, 19 sec


Describe Feature:
This feature is mainly about a Buddhist tradition in Cambodia where releasing a bird and giving it its freedom is meant to take away all the sorrow a person may feel. The reporter watches a bird seller as he takes money from a lady and in return gives her a black bird she prays and sets the bird free. The reporter watched the bird afterwards until he saw the bird falling into the sea so he looked for the man who sold the bird who at that time had sold another bird and had just released it and as the reporter watches, the bird man stalks the bird with a stick in his hand and some kind of glue over it. The man sticks the stick to the bird, takes the bird, and puts it back into the cage. At that point the reporter decides to give some kids a dollar if they would save the drowning bird and they agreed but as the reporter turns the bird man is right in front of him and at that moment the bird man goes into the sea, swims, and saves the bird by sticking it onto his head where it wont move and swims back. 
Both of them thank each other and then the bird man gives the reporter a bird as a “thank you” for the dollar the reporter gave the little kids.


Was the feature interesting?
To me the feature was very interesting as I am very eager to know about small details that cultures have. Not only that, I am as well a big fan of Buddha so such information fascinated me. Moreover, the fact that the bird man reuses the birds was quiet funny like in my opinion that act of releasing sorrow by releasing the bird is psychological it would just help psychologically.
That feature not only had interesting text, but music as well it felt like I could see how it looks like even though I have never been to Cambodia.

Quality of Sound/ Nat Sound:
Using bits and pieces of improvised Cambodian music was very influential. Not only that, the kids playing and the water splashing however the water splash did not sound real to me the whole story had Nat sound that made me have a clear picture of how its like there and it as well made me feel like I am there.


Quality of the Announcer’s voice:
The announcer’s voice was very compatible to the mood of the story. For example, the pace is the same throughout the story but it goes with the story and the music. However, his articulation is not as good because there were words that I couldn’t hear after the forth time of listening to it. Like for example when he said, if the woman cares the bird she just released. Not only that, it was not also clear to me when he described the process of putting the bird down off of the tree.

Was the Feature too long/ short?
For me the story was neither long or short as all information I had in mind were given all answers to my questions as well and before I got bored the story was in its last second.
If the story was shorter it would have been too short and vise versa. By far this is the best story time wise I have read recently.




How is FGM perceived in the Arab culture and the social pressures associated with it?

Female circumcision or female genital mutilation is considered to be a practice in which the female external genitals are partially or fully removed in order to prevent females from being sexually aroused. This practice had been ongoing for centuries and is still being practiced in many cultures and among many social statuses in Africa and several Arab countries. Amnesty International estimates that over 130 million women worldwide have been affected by some form of FGM, with over 2 million procedures being performed every year. It is common in a band that stretches from Senegal in West Africa to Ethiopia on the East coast, as well as from Egypt in the north to Tanzania in the south. The country where FGM is most prevalent is Egypt, followed by Sudan, Ethiopia, and Mali.
There are many beliefs concerning female circumcision, whether it is religious or cultural beliefs. In specific Arabs practice it without being aware of the dangerous consequences it inflects on the female’s body and psychological state since is it abusive to her rights. Regarding the religious view people practice it because of the belief that the parents should have the authority to dominate and control their daughters or the females in the family from practicing sexual activities outside of marriage. Moreover, the most important reason behind this act is protecting female’s chastity until marriage. But their ignorance would also affect her marriage life since she can’t fulfill her role as a wife while having sexual intercourse with her husband. And since most of the countries practice it follow the same religion which is Islam, you wouldn’t find as many western cultures carrying it out. This implies the lack of knowledge because such actions are not mentioned in the Quran and there is nothing that emphasizes it.
The medical consequences of such act are numerous when it is preformed without anesthetic, or the use of proper medical instruments. Because the procedure is so painful the female can actually face death from the bleeding or have an infection. Such infections include urinary and reproductive tract infections, caused by obstructed flow of urine and menstrual blood, various forms of scarring and infertility.
In addition to the medical implications, there are also psychological affects since the female no longer have self confidence as she feels that she has been violated both physically and emotionally which leaves her feeling captivated throughout her life.

in my opinion, FGM is an uncivilized act that should be terminated because it is a severe violation to women's rights.

NAT SOUNDS

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log Sheet: Nat Sounds

1- Cars Beeping 16 sec
2- Muslim Prayer 26 sec
3- Horse Carriage 15 sec
4- counting coins 13 sec
5- Walking with heals 23 sec
6- Hammering in the street 16 sec
7- Gas refill call in the street 7 sec
8- Pouring coca colla 23 sec
9- Hair dryer 17 sec
10- preparing the dinner table 15sec

Music In Contemporary Egypt

Music plays an extremely important role in one’s daily life, no matter what culture background you belong to or where a person is from it is one of the most popular elements of entertainment. There are many genres of music and the difference in generations creates different tastes in music. In Egypt, most of they elderly people admire old artists from the 1940’s-1980’s such as Abdel Halim Hafez, Fareed El Atrash, Mohamed Abdel Wahab, and Om Kolthoom. Elderly people usually refuse to listen to newly emerging music trends or singers and when they do they call it “low class” and “pointless” beats and voice. On the other hand, the youth are more prone to modern music but they are not a whole bunch who listen to the same singer or like the same lyrics they are divided into two social sectors which are low and middle-high class. In every socio-economical class there is a a favorite genre of music and some times there are some singers that stand out and become heard by both classes usually for notoriety reasons. The lower classes usually enjoy listening to sad tunes and lyrics that are about friends betraying each other , about the betrayal of life, or about being lonely using mainly “vulgar” sentences in comparison to the higher classes but these are their normal way of talking in their everyday lives. Thus, the music a lower class person listens to usually reflects the environment he/ she lives in, reflects the way they talk, and problems and miseries in their daily lives mostly family matters, economical crisis, and issues concerning the harshness on the government on people who do not have the power. Such songs are usually sang by people like Sa’ad El Soghayar, Shaaban Abdel Rahim, And Rico who used to live live in such communities and face the same problems and unfairness of the government.
As for the middle and high classes they tend to listen to love songs, songs where a lover is hurt or one party left the other and that reflects the problems they face and the love stories they live. The middle class usually listen to songs of a broken heart person due to not being able to marry the loved one because of economical reasons. Not only that, some of the high and middle classes listen to national songs which are usually sang by their favorite singers as middle and high classes are more aware than the lower classes about problems happening in the middle east. They listen mainly to Amr Diab, Moustafa Amar, Sherine, and Hisham Abbas. There is a common foundation between the three classes but mainly in the lower and the middle which is the “video Clip” phenomenon where men sit with each other on Cafés with satellites and comment about Haifa new breasts implants or Elissa's’. Men of these classes usually criticize their women about their wight and their looks in general as a solution women tend as well to watch those clips and try to imitate what they see blindly. There were as a result many cases of divorce due to men’s sexual frustration from their women in comparison to women like Haifa, Nancy, Elissa, and Dana. Therefore, music plays an integral role in people’s lives as it reflects their contemporary realities and the problems that every class in the Egyptian society faces.
Music that the lower classes listen to reflect their daily lives perfectly. For example one of the most popular singer who made their way to grab the attention of higher classes is Sha'ban Abdel Riheem. Sha'ban put the energy he had towards Israel in a simple song where he said it bluntly “I hate Israel”. Not only that, when expressing love he said “ I love you, you donkey” which is not acceptable and rarely used in higher classes. He used the words that a person from an uneducated background and a lower class would use and understand which made him so popular ( Gordon 5). Not only Sha'ban, three years later launched a singer called Sa'ad el Soghayar was courageous enough to say in a song “ Not every woman that wears a revealing top is a chick”. Such words are not common or not said bluntly in higher societies in contrast with the lower classes where this is the way a male would tease a female. Those classes are mainly composed of Cab drivers, micro bus drivers, barbers, iron-men, and mechanics who enjoy listening to simple words that describes the current situations they are in and expresses their anger peacefully. When it comes to love songs in the lower classes the lyrics are mainly about hurt as a result of not being able to be with the loved one. That reflects the economic crises the lower classes are facing in Egypt because of the low wages they take. As a result, the songs about blame appear where the loved one is forced to marry another from a higher class with lyrics like “ I will not blame you or hurt you, you have always been immoral”. When those people listen to music from the higher class like for example a documentary was made by an Egyptian director called sheriff el Adma where he interviewed a micro bus driver making him listen to Moustafa Amar a singer that usually upper classes listen to he listened for about five seconds and could not help laughing which shows how classes in Egypt are not related to each other unlike in the past where music was a common background for all Egyptians as a unit. Such songs are as well an implication of the high amount of illiteracy in Egypt as the words chosen for the songs seem meaningful and effective to its listeners regardless of the horrible tunes used in them showing that they do not have an educated taste of music they just use it as an anger release strategy. Thus, music as a pop-culture that the lower class Egyptians created after the so-called “golden age of music” that used to be the unity of all Egyptians is one that reflects their feelings of sarcasm and anger towards higher classes, shows their deteriorating economic status, the increasing rate of illiteracy, and fragmentation of the Egyptian society in a whole.
The middle and higher classes are somehow near each other when it comes to the taste of music. they usually go or work in places that gives them the chance to listen to a wider varitey of music and pick what suites and speaks out for them. Middle and higher classes of people usually listen to love songs for example those of Amr Diab, Hisham Abbas, and Moustafa Amar whom as well sing hurt

Jay-Z : A Master Occult Wisdom?

Link: http://npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112998783

Title of Feature: Jay-Z : A Master Occult Wisdom?

Who produced the Feature: Not Available

Length of the Feature: 7 min, 6 sec

Describe Feature:
The idea of the feature Jay-z: A master of occult wisdom is somehow the upstaging of Dan Brown’s new novel the lost symbol over Jay-z’s new record “run this town”. It has been known that Jay-z has been rapping about freemasonry and the occult for a while now and his old songs are a proof of that. People concerned with the issue have stated that Jay-z “ dabbles in the occult and that his new video “run this town” only conforms it”. Mitch Horowitz an American author stated that, Jay-z is using symbols of mystery religion and the reason Horowitz said that was because the use of the temple imagery and some other symbols such as posing his hands in the shape of a triangle in his video. In the part where Jay-z starts to rap there is a clear indication of the occult which is saying the phrase “Peace God” and that is an allusion of a mystery religion “ the five percenters”. The Five Percenters is a religion where the black man is god and all men are god. Whether Jay-z is a Five Percenter or not is a question only Jay-z can answer but because of the many jesters and some specific words in the video it is clear that he is connected someway to that environment of mystery religion.
After discussing the video Horowitz states that he does not think that Jay-z is part of a secret society. Horowitz also adds that Jay-z is a very shrewd man and an excellent observer as people who know about the five percenters and its teachings are people who are strongly aware of what is going on. Jay-z, as Horowitz stated, is an observer with great talent of expression.

Was the feature interesting?
Getting to know new vocabulary from the “rap” world was very interesting to me. Although I am a big fan of Hip Hop and Rnb music, I have never heard the word “occult” before. Through research I found out that it was a very popular word and that it meant “ knowledge that must be kept hidden”. As for those who practice it, it means the study of a deeper spiritual reality that extends beyond pure reason and the physical sciences. However, the feature was a little bit boring as there were only two people talking the announcer and Mitch Horowitz. If I would to do this story I would have interviewed more people with different views about “the occult” or at least twisted the topic and find more angles to it.

Quality of Sound/ Nat Sound:
Using bits and pieces of the track “run this town” was very influential at times. for example the part where Jay-z started to rap and used the phrase “Peace God” proved a point Horowitz was stating. However, there were parts of the story where putting the song as a NAT sound was very distracting, unimportant, and unprofessional because it gave the impression of a transition to fill the gaps in-between the story.

Quality of the Announcer’s voice:
The announcer’s pace and voice were very compatible to the mood of the story. For example, when there was an important question the announcer voices it in a sharp tone that is noticeable like when he asked Horowitz about whether he thinks Jay-z is a part of a secret society or not. The different tone of voice gave the story some balance and fun which was something I really admired.

Was the Feature too long/ short?
For one interview the feature was long, very informative yet long as there was only the announcer and Horowitz. Not only that, the occult was the only issue tackled in the feature and it could have been a better feature if it was either shorter or if it had more interviews. Not only that, going deeper into the issue would have given the story more value and it would have been more interesting.

Link for Run This Town by Jay-z, Rihanna, and Kanye west :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVA-xTBeHyM

Winehouse Blazes Trail for U.K Female Singers

Link: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18789325

Title of Feature: Winehouse Blazes Trail for U.K Female Singers


Who produced the Feature: Rob Gifford

Length of the Feature: 6 min, 34 sec


Describe Feature:
Amy Winehouse the 24 year old English singer did not attend the Grammy awards in Los Angeles as her Visa got rejected by the U.S embassy. Instead Amy spent her weekend in rehab in London for her alcohol and drug addiction. That did not stop Amy from working on her art as she launched a new song called rehab which was a very successful one. It was very contradicting of her to sing such a song with lyrics that said that she will not go to rehab and afterwards she actually did. Amy was sent to rehab after being photographed in her underwear walking in the streets and doing hardcore drugs. Despite the tragedy in Amy Winehouse’s life it has been said by many music critics that “she has changed the whole landscape of British music and paved the way for a whole new generation of young female singers”. In addition to Amy Winehouse a generation of female singers has emerged including in London Adele, Duffy, Lilly Allen, Amy Macdonald, and many more. It is remarkable that most of these English female singers sing different genres of music like Jazz, blues, and folk. As stated in the article, English music is diverse in comparison to the American music. The radio of both is a measurement for that, as in the English radio you can listen to the kind of music Amy Winehouse sings and nothing would be wrong with it in contrast to America and the music that plays in their radio. At the end, it was mentioned in the article that Amy Winehouse’s fans are hoping that she surpasses the crisis she is going through. However, some say that living on the edge with such major life crises may be the reason behind Amy’s wonderful work.



Was the feature interesting?
The feature to me was more than interesting as I am a big fan of Amy Winehouse. In addition, there were many point of views in the story one of which I really found influential and credible was interviewing the music critics and how they described Amy’s music as a breakthrough. Not only that, the flow of the story was very cohesive starting with Amy going to rehab and ending with how people appreciate her music and want her out of what she has put herself into.



Quality of Sound/ Nat Sound:
The sound was one of high quality and the NAT sound was very compatible to what was being said in the story. For example, playing songs that the anchor person was talking about such as Back to Black and rehab was very influential to the story and as a listener I was curious to know more about the story and keep on listening as well.


Quality of the Announcer’s voice:
The announcer’s pace was not constant throughout the story but there were times when that change of pace was needed and suitable. Not only that, some of the words were unclear and I had to listen more than 3 times to be able to hear those words.

Was the Feature too long/ short?
The time was neither long or short as all the points that were needed to be covered were all said. Even though there was many information stated, the story was not boring and the wording of it was simple and to the point. That was clear when the announcer was giving hints about the new English singers and a simple yet influential hint about each one of them in no longer than 10 sec. all in all.


Link for the Back to Black track by Amy Winehouse:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciV34UXODP0