Egyptian News

Currently writing for 'Egypt Today' please follow links for news on the hepatitis C epidemic and WWE's Egyptian premier:

http://www.egypttoday.com/article/artId:978/WWE-Comes-to-Cairo-this-October/secId:49

http://www.egypttoday.com/article/artId:977/Hepatitis-C-Prevention-and-Early-Detection/secId:4/catId:35

Jubilant Thrissur Pooram Celebrations 2012

Troy Dumais: USA Olympic Diver Profile

You’d never guess Troy Dumais possesses an exceptional portfolio of diving titles, medals and awards upon talking to him. Although Troy has represented the USA in three Olympics, is a world cup and world championship winner with no less than 33 national titles, he is almost unnervingly down to earth. The 2012 London Olympics could very well be Troy’s last chance to get an Olympic medal. When asked about competing Troy said: “Give me a medal or don’t give me a medal, I’m gonna work just as hard.” It appears he’s not just in it for the glory.

Surrounding Troy in the background of the new aquatics centre in Stratford, London, are echoes of perfect splashes from divers hitting the water at up to a terrifying 40mph. He is wearing a zipped up, shiny blue divers tracksuit, is well tanned and has pleading sharp blue eyes. As he talks he looks straight at you in an intensive pursuit of your full attention.

He’s also been to London many times in his sporting career; however, this is the first time the 32 year old has got to enjoy London. Also, you’d assume one of the world’s best divers visiting London experiences the top calibre hotels, restaurants and entertainment, but Troy said “I learnt the DLR and the Jubilee line!” genuinely seeming impressed and finding his new public transport skills entertaining. He then more soberly explains; “Enjoying London seemed like everything. I got to ride the London eye; even though it was raining it was a great experience.” He flashes a pristine white smile. Good to know not even traditional English weather can’t dampen this athlete’s grin.

Like all world renowned athletes, preparation is a vital aspect. All athletes are different, but Troy doesn’t have a premeditated list of lucky tasks to perform before a big competition, but simply: “I like to talk to people I care about, play around and get ready to rumble and listen to music.” Sounds simplistic enough, but Troy then explains there’s a bit more to listening to your favourite tune in between nerve-wracking dives in front of millions of spectators: “It blocks your thought process; instead of listening to you think, you’re listening to something else. One of your senses is being blocked so instead of hearing the score or people clap, you are staying inside yourself.” The art of staying ‘inside yourself’ seems to be a very important aspect of diving, as Troy describes the best tactic for performing well and diving immaculately after 30 years of training is to “just shut your mind and do them, just do them, don’t even focus.” So for any would be Olympic divers, all you have to do is train meticulously for 30 years and just shut your brain off in the middle of a gut wrenchingly important, career changing competition, in front of a massive judging crowd – whilst in speedos. Easy right?! But of course in Troy’s own words “the road of Troy Damais has not been easy, “it has so many drops, loop de loops, corkscrews - its highs and lows. I try to enjoy the highs and learn from the lows, it’s a continuing process.” This autobiographical confession comes after revealing when Troy first set his eyes on the high board – he was told he couldn’t dive. Due to insurance restrictions on a swimmer of Troy’s ability then, when Troy first approached the diving board, he was faced with a mental brick wall to climb: “they wanted me to learn how to swim, and do so many laps in the deep end and then so many in the shallow end, that was protocol - but it bought me down.” Luckily Troy took this experience and used it as motivation to learn to swim so no one could pester him away from the diving board.

Troy’s resilience in overcoming obstacles is from “being around my family, it has taught me how to keep pushing through.” A father that was a French Canadian ice hockey and tennis sporting star, Troy describes his childhood as “unique” and that his dad “didn’t want us to choose a sport, we just grew up doing whatever sports we wanted.”

The successful diver from the sporting background is, however, now thinking of leaving diving! But only when he can’t physically dive anymore, saying “until that day I’m gonna give it my all.” So we’ll have to wait and see what Troy does next.

Already volunteering back home in America, maybe Troy will go into metaphorically passing the Olympic torch as a teacher, describing his “greatest gift” as “the ability to help others” then elaborating: “I wanna see everyone do their best, when I see someone smile doing what they wanna do and they are happy, it makes me happy.” Troy’s main philosophy for aspiring athletes is to “never give up if someone tells you: you can’t do it, dig deep and show them that it’s possible.” Intense, but obviously passionate about what he does, it was unexpectedly educational and really infectiously positive to talk with the Olympian - and really surprising to think he gets the DLR, just like everyone else.

You can see Troy competing next June, for Olympic trials in the USA – if you can’t get a plane ticket “just google USA diving trials, you can watch it online.” And of course you can see Troy compete with his partner in the 2012 Olympics, let’s hope he gets a medal this time so he can progress to spreading more thought provoking wisdom to the next generation of athletes.

Degree Subjects Soon To Be?

This is more of a feature piece as recently the American site: http://www.bestcollegesonline.com/blog/2012/04/05/12-college-majors-we-hope-to-see-soon/ came to my attention. It highlights a massive gap in current education. Unfortunately degrees are often written by and decided when, in today's cheetah paced globalised world, they can be out of date by the time students open their books. This is a vital issue of discussion to make sure that students (especially as they are now paying astronomical prices in the UK!) get the best education that provides the skills wanted by employers and needed in the workplace of tomorrow. Politicians and employers complain that young people often don't have the skills needed for the jobs they want, so, when can we see the below subjects added to universities subject portfolios to give them the skills they need?

1. Content Engineering - The creating and harnessing of quality content for blogs, websites and social media has become a wallowing gap employers want to fill. It requires the ability to write to a high level, marketing, demographics and analytical skills of a high degree to be really good at this. The gap in the job market means this would be a highly employable degree that would provide a broad range of transferable skills in lots of areas.

2. Sports - Now this was suggested on an American site, in the UK there is sports coaching and sports science. But if you're very athletic it make sense to be able to study sports of a wide genre without having to specialise in science or coaching.

3.I.T for Medical Technology - I don't know anything about medical things, but I do know my health is important, I also know that technology is rapidly changing across the spectrum of subjects, but medicine is a science that leads in technology. So it makes sense to make sure we have specifically well-trained staff specially for operating medical technology. As patient data-bases to new cancer treatments excel in technological bounds, I want my doctor to have someone next to him who knows exactly how it all works. I am also sure that hospitals are in need of such qualified technicians, making it a highly employable degree subject, again with transferable I.T skills.

4. Social Media Studies - Some may think of such a degree with the similar disdain media students meet. But do not underestimate the enormous importance of social media. As a journalism student, in many work placements I have taken I have had to show my peers and superiors how to use social media. This skill most certainly gives me an advantage over others at the moment, it is one of my most employable, valued assets to be able to confidently navigate around social media and use it to my, or my employer's advantage. Degree students of social media will be snapped up immediately in the current starved social media jobs climate.

5. Mobile Phone Apps - I have friends who study design and graphics, who are now designing phone apps. This is the future, any one who wants to be taken seriously in the professional world has a smart phone now. This means successful, innovative phone apps are always going to be in demand. Just look at the creators of angry birds and the escalating popular 'draw something' app, whoever can come up with the next ones are simply the millionaires of tomorrow, so what better than to get a degree in such an opportune, prosperous subject.

6. Climate Change - I think this speaks for itself, as I look out the window every day with more and more extreme weather, I personally want some dedicated geeks on the subject now! There are courses in environmental science, but this is the planet we're talking about. We need people to be specifically, degree trained experts in this subject, this should have been a subject available to study ages ago!

7. Digital Publishing - Encompassing all the new ways information is published, online, e-books newspapers and magazines, social media etc. a detailed education in the digital publishing world is currently slim pickings for employers, despite it being vital to success for any business now to have a well functioning, good looking website with expertly engineered content.

8.Online Branding - Wow, online branding is so essential for profitable business! What successful brand can you think of that doesn't have a prominent online presence? That's right, none. Online branding is so easy to get wrong, the internet is like a permanent publishing forum for all the world to see, which is why it is essential to get expert branders who know their marketing, advertising, social media and online networking to make the most of your brand.

9. Organic Agriculture - Similar to climate change as a degree subject, organic food is the future. Now available in all supermarkets and small catering businesses thriving with organic produce, organic agriculture is major for the future of the planet and sustainability as well as being desperately needed by employers and consumers.

10. Patient Relations - Is Bupa struggling in the recession? No. Because they know their patients are the ones they rely on for income, so they look after them. Patient relations is something I personally think has slipped, with new restrictions on prescriptions because of pharmaceutical monopolies, government restraints on G.P's and constant demand on the NHS to be better, it's no wonder patient relations are under duress. Patient relations is a key skill that health care is very reliant on, how can you help someone without relating to them first? Again, I personally would like to receive medical treatment with well educated, professional patient relation.

11. Web Journalism - As a blogger and journalism student, this is definitely a subject that is pretty much self taught at the moment, with many of my peers falling through the gaps. Web journalism is the future of news, print is still important and has some time left for sure, but web journalism needs to be precise, it needs to be created by experts, as it has such a wide audience - the entire world. Having knowledge of the industry, web journalism is the future, the skills needed to be a successful web journalist are the ones that will get graduates employed.

12. Distance Education - I started my degree via distance learning with the Open University, I am also whilst interning trying to engage my peers online with distance learning - it's hard. I certainly think more research needs to be done on the people studying long distance, the strategies and teaching ideas used currently. More and more people are taking it upon themselves to distance learn to compete in today's workplace, to save money or juggle a hectic lifestyle, it's a growing industry that will need trained graduates to keep it growing and help educate more people. Essential for tomorrow's world.

So there you have it, if you're thinking about studying or already studied and found a gap in your education when it comes to finding a job, or employed and wondering what's holding you back form that promotion - let's hope these subjects are implemented into universities and available to study to help bridge the gap from today, to a much brighter future.

Again, the original blog this is based on can be found here: http://www.bestcollegesonline.com/blog/2012/04/05/12-college-majors-we-hope-to-see-soon/ please take a look, it gives more detail on the subjects mentioned!

NUJ Discuss the Future of Journalism

The National Union of Journalists held a conference in London to tackle media barons on Saturday. After 40% of jobs lost in five years, journalists, professors and students, authors and the public gathered to debate the damage media barons, like Rupert Murdoch are causing to journalism.

Guest speakers all communicated a need for the capitalism and monopolising in journalism to stop: academic James Curran said at the conference ‘we need to be politically brave and introduce anti-monopoly controls, there are economic solutions, a 1% levy on search engines that profit from news, and an independent public trust with press regulation that works.’ He called for a ‘culture change away from where journalists are scared of losing their jobs.’

Speaker Harriet Harman, Labour deputy leader and Shadow Cabinet member for Culture Media and Sport opened the conference stating: ‘Good journalism is vital for democracy.’ She also accused News International of ‘dehumanising’ celebrities in ‘pursuit of profit’.

Other speakers throughout the day included general secretary for the NUJ, Michelle Stanistreet who claimed the NUJ were not involved in talks with media barons and the ‘relentless pressure to make goods regardless of the cost’ meant drastically slipping standards in journalism came as 'no surprise’.

New socialist worker models of journalism were proposed. Examples of Co-op papers, such as the Camden New Journal, Islington Tribune and West End extra, were presented as examples of newspapers running independent of shareholders and media barons. They are run by the workers for the local people.

‘Hacked Off’ campaigner Thais Porthilo-Shrimpton was one of many to say ‘journalism is a service to the public that needs to be free of the shackles of commercialism.’

The destructive relationship between politicians and media barons was also described by left wing paper The Morning Star’s editor, Richard Bagley: ‘I cannot believe the relationship between Murdoch and Tony Blair leading up to the Iraq war.’ The conference is one of many across the globe where journalists are standing up to media barons and capitalist monopolies of the news.
More information on the event can be found at: www.tuc.org.uk

The UK Will Be Next Greece

A Greek journalist came to speak of the revolutionary takeover of his employer’s paper at the University of East London on Friday.

Mosissis Litsis is one of a group of journalists and other workers who received funding from the Athens trade union of journalists to print the paper they work for themselves. The daily which is one of the biggest in Greece – ‘Elefthrotypia’ became ‘the workers of Elefthrotypia’ after 3 months of strikes and non-payment of wages, due to austerity cuts. The first copy sold 31,000 copies – more than the original paper. The second edition selling 33,000, he told the student socialist worker meeting at UEL.

Describing the unpaid and unemployed in Greece as a humanitarian crisis, where 48% of 16-24 year olds are out of work, 250,000 ordinary people have to go to the church for basic food, and daily stereotyped arrests are made – Moissis said it won’t be long until the UK is the same. Although other countries are, or will be in the same economic crisis – the UK shares the debt of the Olympics with Greece.
Lastly Moissis called the students to ‘fight for your rights, organise worker and student solidarity, this is a real opportunity to show the governments of Europe we are united.’

More information about similar events can be found at: www.swssnet.org

Foreign Intervention In Afghanistan is Futile

‘Only Afghans can change their own society’ Guardian foreign correspondent, Jonathan Steele has said.

The author of ‘Ghosts in Afghanistan’ told a public meeting at City University that it’s ‘hopeless for foreigners to intervene’.

Steele, who first visited Afghanistan in 1981 and has reported about the country for over 30 years, called for foreign money to go towards aid not warfare.
He said foreign intervention increases weapons manufacture and killing. The continuation of foreign intervention was questioned heatedly at the meeting; Steele claimed that US combat troops will just be re-named as trainers and engineers, still armed and uniformed.

He attempted to debunk myths that military interference is a responsibility not to ‘abandon Afghanistan’ - as stated by various politicians such as foreign secretary William Hague (MoD). He also highlighted that Afghans, being ‘more conscious of ethnic identity’ fear a religious or sectarian civil war, similar to neighbouring countries like Iraq.

Afghanistan has been in a state of war since 1983, but it is not a poor country. It has more than £1trillion in raw materials. Despite this, Afghanistan still ranks 2nd in the world for poverty (UNICEF). The Guardian correspondent used these statistics to call for more international aid at the meeting.

The war correspondent described how Afghans were originally ‘delighted’ the Taliban were overthrown. They were hopeful that foreign intervention would bring money and better living conditions. However, as Steele poignantly told City University, 9 years later Afghans are now dubious of foreigners. After seeing a stalemate war with no benefits, local Afghans propose talks with their ‘brothers the Taliban.’ The Taliban have been in Afghanistan since 1986.

Highlighted as another failed attempt at foreign intervention, Steele spoke of the previous war between Russia and Afghanistan which ended when inherited to the new Russian leader, who ceased military action.

Foreigners also can’t change women’s rights in Afghanistan, Steele claims. It is ‘so deeply embedded’; Steele said when questioned about the mistreatment of women, (or ‘Baeed’ as it is known in Afghanistan) it cannot be changed by outside influence. The culture of using women like cattle is deeply engraved in Afghanistan’s culture from rural areas into the cities. The culture of abuse did not start from the Taliban; it is an age old way of solving ‘blood feuds, resulting in many child marriages’.

Child labour in Afghanistan is a major issue that was also discussed. Many children work in Opium fields. A member of the meeting asked if it could be swapped for onion and carrot picking labour, but Steele said it will be ‘a struggle to eradicate the poppy fields’ due to their profitability.
When women and children’s rights were discussed further, Steele was questioned ‘what’s wrong with foreign intervention to stop these things?’ Steele responded by stating the need for peace as a human right is far greater to Afghans than any other human right.

The veteran correspondent, who started out as a political activist when studying economics at Yale, also gave advice on reporting in countries such as Afghanistan. Giving away his motto to ‘stay angry but don’t shout’ - referring to his own motivational ‘low intensity anger’ about Afghanistan politics. Steele also advised using alternative methods of transport when reporting, being able to deal with difficulty getting through checkpoints, the need to stay committed, and to have a compromising partner. He listed occupational hazards as ‘cynicism, nicotine and alcohol’ to any aspiring to report on foreign intervention in countries like Afghanistan.

Steele read extracts from his book: ‘Ghosts in Afghanistan’ to reiterate his experiences and knowledge of the country.
More information on similar public events at City University can be found at: http://www.city.ac.uk/events.