World's Best Journalist Dies.

[Hafiz]

Egypt’s Most Famous Journo. Dies.

Ibrahim Nafie - Well he wasn’t a journalist instead he ‘managed’ the decline of al Ahram and was more a media manager – but we shouldn’t get bogged down in truthful details. He did work for Reuters for a year or two but the rest of his career was entirely in the state owned and controlled media. In reality he caused a sinking ship to sink.

Al Ahram was a great newspaper…..whilst owned and managed by the Lebanese Takla’s. Nasser stole it from them and kicked them out.

Nafie was’ seen off’ by the current Chairman of al Ahram whom some think is just a mouthpiece backed by the most unsavory types. https://marsad-egypt.info/en/2017/03/20 ... ournalism/ including a ‘journalist’ former state security agent Moussa who famously said “I would say anything the military tells me to say out of duty and respect for the institution,” He is incoherent but the sense seems to be a desire to be an orifice. Wonder which one. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/ ... si-mubarak

This is what his old employer al Ahram says about the dead Nafie.

‘iconic Egyptian journalist and former editor-in-chief and chairman of Al-Ahram,’

‘He received wide acclaim throughout his long career, conducting interviews with leading political figures and Arab and world leaders’ – which is odd because he won no awards – neither in Egypt nor anywhere else. He was close to nothing.

“He also authored a number of books, including Riyah Al-demokratiya (Wind of Democracy) and Sanawat Al-Khatar (Years of Danger).” Neither seem to be in print nor ever translated into English. http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent ... s-at-.aspx

No international media noticed his death – even regional media and the media ‘organs’ in the Gulf didn’t much notice.

He was close to Mubarak and ‘exited’ the country after the fall (he may have been in ‘exile’ from 2005 for fear of prosecution) and died in Dubai.

When he fell out with Mubarak in 2006 Haaretz did a large, detailed profile on him. Extreme corruption, personal extravagance with public money and nepotism are only the short version. His total theft in 2006 dollars was estimated at $US600 million which is about $US1 billion in current value. https://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/f ... n-1.184612

His corruption, now concealed, (as all corruption should be and any discussion of it a criminal offence) was published at the time in Egyptian media and even the low standards of 2006 meant that he faced trial if his immunity as a member of the Parliamentary Shoura Council would be lifted. It didn’t happen because the Parliament protected a criminal in their midst. The media stories at the time said his salary was a little bit less than $US10 million a year. He surrounded himself with corrupt journalists. When he was kicked out the al Ahram group was drowning in debt. https://dailynewsegypt.com/2008/08/22/t ... e-dropped/

Because glorious fictions must be maintained at all costs to ensure the population worships its leaders, journalists were imprisoned for defaming him – they alleged ‘financial malfeasance’ https://cpj.org/2003/03/attacks-on-the- ... -egypt.php. How you can jail a person for defamation where the allegation is true is something known only to an Egyptian judge. How can it be defamatory if it is true?

Missing from the al Ahram obit of their old boss was a news item from 1 August 2017. Four former CEO’s of al Ahram were referred to a criminal court on graft charges – including the then alive Nafie. Wonder why they forgot to include that. https://enterprise.press/stories/2017/0 ... t-charges/

Wonder whether any of the remaining three former CEO's of al Ahram will be convicted – do Egyptian courts ever convict powerful people?

To describe him as a criminal would be too flattering. Countries with a conscience would allow him to be buried quietly but not with expensive publically funded pomp and glory to conceal his evil. Even at the end he was still stealing from the taxpayer. Still he left a legacy in the scores of journalists he taught corruption to. I wonder what a ‘great man’ in Egypt has to do to be disgraced? Are there no standards other than disobedience? Is it the case that any species of low life can get to the top?

The whole story is a lesson in using propaganda to conceal the truth. It works because people are stupid/easily deceived.