Carl in Cairo

I'd planned to see one of my professors lecture at the weekly CMRS seminar, but am instead at home in my apartment curled up with my old friends thesis and fever. My throat is no longer sore, but my head kills. Happily, it isn't the sort of headache exacerbated by honking, drumming, cheering, or chanting, all of which are filling the air in Cairo tonight ahead of the Egypt-Algeria playoff in Sudan. Hopefully no one's killed in whatever happens when the game is won and lost.

Meanwhile, an undergraduate AUCian was diagnosed with H1N1. Though this is likely another nail in the coffin of resuming a normal class schedule, the university claims that it will "close for the Thanksgiving and Eid holidays as announced on the academic calendar. The Eid break will not be extended and classes will resume on December 1st".

News & Issues

• Egypt tries to ban smoking in public...kind of...if people feel like it
• Sudan tightens security ahead of Egypt-Algeria showdown
• Apparently Egyptians have always eaten unhealthily— heart disease detected in mummies
• Egyptian songstress claims she didn't recognize her songwriter's use of term 'Nubian monkey' as racial slur
• Rights groups oppose Egypt-US UN resolution to restrict freedom of speech