One of the things Egypt has excelled in for millennia is bureaucracy.

Ever since Egyptian scribes learned how to write, and use that skill to became a servant of authority rather than toiling in the fields, they took that a step further and used their skill and position to exert control over the peasants.

Now, we see another example where the Egyptian customs officials are demanding $40,000 for allowing a fossil to be returned where it originated!

Egypt consumes 19 billion cigarettes a year.

Alexandria is the first Egyptian city to ban smoking in government buildings.

The cynic in me sees grumpy government employees getting more grumpy, and not being on their desk for smoke breaks.

But overall, this is long overdue. As someone who can't stand tobacco smoke, I hope this is enforced for the better health of everyone.

A new sensation in Egyptian songs is Nader Abou El Leef.

His real name is Nader Anwar Gaber, and he is from Alexandria.

The Arabic Wikipedia has a biography of him and the Egyptian dialect wikipedia has another.

I received this photo via email (thanks Yehiya!)

The Arabic sign is بيع الدواجن المذبوحة for which the correct translation is "Sale [of] Slaughtered Chicken", meaning that they are not sold alive, already killed according to Islamic law.

The creative translator of the sign decided to use "Sale of Chicken Murder", not knowing how to express that they are already slaughtered.

حديقة الحيوانات بمصر

يحكى أن فتاة اسمها ثناء حاصلة على بكالوريوس تجارة 1998 ظلت لعدة سنوات تبحث عن عمل دون جدوى
فأشار عليها أحد أقاربها بالذهاب معه لمقابلة مسئول يعمل بحديقة الحيوان ليسأله عن عمل مناسب لها
فاعتذر لهم المسئول ولكنه بعد تفكير قال لثناء أن زوجة الأسد ماتت وأن الحديقة لن تأتى بأخرى الا بعد شهور بسبب الإجراءات الروتينية
وعرض عليها أن ترتدي جلد زوجة الأسد وتجلس في القفص مكانها يوميا من الساعة الـ 9صباحا حتى الساعة الـ 2 ظهرا لقاء مرتب جيد
وطمأنها أن الأسد في قفص ملاصق لها وان بينهما باب مغلق وظلت ثناء على هذا الوضع لمدة شهر

The BBC has an article on how the Military in Egypt is still seen as a savior and hopes for it to intervene. This even comes from educated classes and intellectuals, not just the general populace.

If the "hereditary scenario" plays out, where Gamal Mubarak being installed as president in a "charade dressed up as a democratic vote", some are hoping for the army to interfere and prevent such a thing from happening.

Optimism — the expectation of a better tomorrow — is universal, according to a new worldwide Gallup poll. Around the world, 95 percent of people expect their lives in five years to be as good as or better than they were five years ago.

Notable by the pessimism of its people is Egypt. Joining Egypt are Bulgaria, Haiti and Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe and Haiti are understandable, the former having witnessed severe economic and political strife recently. The latter is the poorest nation in the Western hemisphere.

One of the culture phenomenons everywhere is the emergence of unlikely entertainers suddenly, gaining fame in a short time, and everyone listening to their music/performances.

In the USA this is often a result of a mighty marketing machine behind mediocre talent, coupled with tabloids gossiping about the latest juicy rumor (e.g. Britney Spears).

A word of caution for female tourists visiting Egypt: be careful of the many of the men working in tourist areas in Egypt.

Although the vast majority of Egyptians have a high sense of honor and good conduct, it seems that tourist areas seem to attract a relatively high concentration of people with lax morals, who would exploit tourists in many ways. It can manifest itself as persistent aggressive begging, peddling cheap goods, charging 10X the normal prices for services and goods, and what this article focuses on: exploiting female tourists.

There are lots of changes at the OLPC project lately. A top executive shakeup has happened, and it seems to coincide with a ship in direction from being Open Source to allowing Windows as an alternative.

Walter Bender, President of Software and Content for the OLPC was first sidelined then resigned from the project.