Egypt’s road to Democracy In Serious Jeopardy. Legal Crises Ensues!

Egypt’s dissolved parliament convened on Tuesday in defiance of the powerful military and the judiciary, amid a legal crisis triggered by a presidential decree to reinstate the Islamist-led assembly.

“We are gathered today to review the court rulings, the ruling of theSupreme Constitutional Court,” which ordered the house invalid, speaker Saad al-Katatni said.

“I want to stress, we are not contradicting the ruling, but looking at a mechanism for the implementation of the ruling of the respected court. There is no other agenda today,” he added.

Last month, the Supreme Constitutional Court said certain articles in the law governing the parliamentary elections were invalid, annulling the house.

The military, which ruled Egypt after Hosni Mubarak was ousted in last year’s popular uprising, then dissolved the house and took legislative control using a document granting the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) sweeping powers.

But on Sunday, President Mohamed Morsi, a former member of the powerful Muslim Brotherhood, ordered the lower house to reconvene just a week after taking the oath as head of state.

His move highlighted the power struggle between the president and the SCAF, after the constitutional declaration issued by the military basically defanged the post of president.

Morsi’s decree was hailed by those who want to see the army return to barracks, but it was slammed by those who fear an Islamist monopolisation of power as a “constitutional coup.”

The crisis prompted US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to call for negotiations.

“We urge that there be intensive dialogue among all of the stakeholders in order to ensure that there is clear path for them to be following,” she said at a news conference in Vietnam.

The Egyptian people should “get what they protested for and what they voted for, which is a fully elected government making the decisions for the country going forward,” she added.

Clinton is due in Egypt on July 14 to express American support for the process of democratic transition in the US ally.

Islamist parties including the Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party — which Morsi headed before becoming president — and Salafist parties attended Tuesday’s parliamentary session.

But several MPs from liberal and leftist parties boycotted the gathering.

Katatni insisted during a brief opening statement aired live on television that the house “respects the law and judicial rulings.”

On Monday, the Supreme Constitutional Court rejected Morsi’s decree, saying that all of its rulings were binding.

“All the rulings and decisions of the Supreme Constitutional Court are final and not subject to appeal… and are binding for all state institutions,” it said.

The court stressed that it was “not a part of any political conflict… but the limit of its sacred duty is the protection of the texts of the constitution.”

Several groups and politicians had criticised the court’s June ruling as politically motivated.

The SCAF backed the court on Monday, saying the rule of law must be upheld.

It underlined the “importance of the constitution in light of the latest developments,” the official MENA news agency reported.

Islamists scored a crushing victory in three-stage parliamentary elections held from November last year, with the Muslim Brotherhood, Morsi’s former organisation, heading the lower house.

But the military dissolved parliament last month after the top court made its controversial ruling just a day before the second round of the presidential poll that saw Morsi become Egypt’s first democratically elected head of state.

Instead of being sworn in before parliament, the 60-year-old Morsi took the oath on June 30 before the constitutional court.

The Muslim Brotherhood announced “a million-man march in support of the president’s decision and reinstating parliament” on Tuesday.

The presidency insisted on Monday that Morsi’s decree “neither contradicts nor contravenes the ruling by the constitutional court.”

The ruling does not need to be implemented immediately, said presidential spokesman Yasser Ali, arguing that the decision “takes into account the higher interest of the state and the people.”

The United States, which has been following the matter closely, on Monday urged Egypt to respect “democratic principles.”

Washington lavishly supported Mubarak during his 30 years in power, but analysts say US officials will now have to work with multiple centres of power — including a military seen as restricting Morsi’s room for manoeuvre.

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle on a visit to Cairo held out the prospect of fresh investment and trade if Egypt continues on the road of democratic progress.

More Strife in Egypt as Muslim Brotherhood Defies Supreme Court of Egypt

- Egypt’s Islamist-led parliament reconvened on Tuesday after being summoned by new President Mohamed Mursiin an open challenge to the generals who dissolved it last month.

The assembly, dominated by Mursi’s Muslim Brotherhood and allies, was dismissed by the army in line with a court ruling issued days before Mursi’s election. Mursi took office on June 30 ago, the first civilian leader after six decades of military men in power, and recalled the parliament in a decree on Sunday.

Shortly before parliament speaker Saad al-Katatni opened the session, the United States urged all sides to engage in talks to safeguard the political transition in Egypt, a close U.S. ally in the three decades under ousted Hosni Mubarak’s rule.

“I invited you to convene in accordance with the decree issued by the president,” said Katatni who, like Mursi, hails from the Brotherhood. “I would like to confirm that the presidential decree does not violate the court order.”

The dispute is part of a broader power struggle which could take years to play out. It pits the Brotherhood, which was repressed by Mubarak and his military predecessors, against the generals seeking to keep their privileges and status, alongside a wider establishment still filled with Mubarak-era officials.

Liberal groups – heavily outnumbered by Islamists in parliament – are also alarmed. Many boycotted Tuesday’s session, saying Mursi’s decree defied the courts. A parliamentary official said attendance was about 70 percent of the 508-seat lower house, roughly equal to the Islamist majority.

The liberal Free Egyptians party, which stayed away, called Mursi’s move “a blatant violation of the principle of separation of powers” and an attack on the judiciary.

Parliament was elected in a six-week vote that ended in January, under a complex procedure which the Supreme Constitutional Court ruled on June 14 was unconstitutional, declaring the lower house void. The then-ruling military said that meant parliament had to be dissolved, but Mursi’s backers say it should be allowed to work until early elections are held.

For now, Mursi with his election mandate may have an early advantage in the first skirmish with the army. But he cannot claim victory in a fight being contested in courts and with both sides seeking to exploit deep political divisions in the nation of 82 million.

“I have the impression that the elected president has the upper hand,” said political analyst Hassan Nafaa.

“It is a dangerous game. I hope there will be some political solution to that crisis by direct negotiations between the president and the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces,” said Nafaa, a professor of political science who was an active opponent of Mubarak’s rule and backed protests that ousted him.

Aside from rival statements issued by the Brotherhood and the army, there has been no public sign of a clash. Mursi and Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, who ruled the country in the interim after Mubarak resigned, have appeared relaxed together at public events before and since the president’s decree.

ROOM TO MANOEUVRE

In an air force graduation ceremony shown on live television on Tuesday, two aircraft left a vapor trail shaped like a heart in the sky for the dignitaries, prompting a big smile from Chief of Staff Sami Enan and a hesitant smirk from Mursi, who was seated between him and Tantawi.

How the dust settles in Egypt will have repercussions across a region where Islamists, many inspired by the Brotherhood, have emerged as powerful actors in revolts that toppled autocrats in Tunisia and Libya, and a rebellion still being fought in Syria.

Generals sought to rein in the new president’s powers in a last-minute election day decree. But short of staging a coup – a move seen as highly unlikely and certain to unite Islamists and their rivals – Egypt’s army has limited room to maneuver since handing executive office to Mursi.

The military is now reliant on favorable rulings from judges – known to have a strong anti-Islamist streak, but, like the rest of Egypt, also divided.

Generals can maintain influence by negotiating quietly with the Brotherhood behind the scenes. They met regularly during the transition, although Western diplomats say relations became increasingly tense, particularly when the Brotherhood made a U-turn on an earlier pledge not to seek the presidency. Dialogue is clearly the tactic urged by the West and liberal politicians.

“The national conscience demands an immediate meeting between the president, representatives of the legislature and the military council to reach a political and legal solution to avoid the country exploding,” reformist politician Mohamed ElBaradei wrote on Facebook as parliament met.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said: “We strongly urge dialogue and concerted effort on the part of all to try to deal with the problems that are understandable but have to be resolved in order to avoid any kind of difficulties that could derail the transition that is going on.”

Western states, long wary of political Islam but now seeking to engage with the Brotherhood, have watched Egypt’s turmoil closely, in particular the United States, concerned about the stability of the first Arab nation to make peace with Israel.

Clinton, whose country gives Egypt’s military $1.3 billion in aid each year, meets Mursi when she visits Egypt on July 14.

DEFENDING ITS ACTION

On Monday the army defended its dissolution of parliament, saying it was necessary to carry out the court ruling. In an apparent swipe at the president, it said it was confident “all state institutions” would respect the constitution and the law.

Nevertheless, the army did not take any steps to prevent lawmakers from entering parliament.

The supreme court said on Monday its decisions were final and binding, and it would hear challenges to Mursi’s decree.

More battles lie ahead, such as a debate over the writing of a new constitution. The army, in its decree last month, gave itself the right to form a new constitution-writing body if the one picked by parliament hits an obstacle. An earlier constituent assembly was dissolved by a court.

Dozens of legal cases are now before a range of courts over issues including Mursi’s decree, the validity of the constitutional assembly and the election of the upper house.

The Brotherhood says it is seeking a way to comply with the supreme court’s ruling without dissolving parliament.

Parliament voted to send a list of members to a court of appeal to determine whether or not they should continue to sit in the chamber, setting the stage for a new legal battle.

On the street, Egyptians are divided about Mursi’s move. Many hanker for stability after months of turbulence and some are surprised and frustrated that he raised the stakes so soon.

“He should have known better than to take such wild decisions at the beginning. If he wanted to take such an action, he could at least have waited until he consolidated his power and had done things to gain popularity,” said Mostafa Mohamed, a 60-year-old pensioner, speaking outside to parliament.

Karezza Sex: Male Practicioners Say Best Sex Comes Without Orgasm

Matt Cook hasn’t had an orgasm in seven months, and he hopes never to intentionally have one again.

The 51-year-old publisher from Virginia isn’t celibate. Happily married for 25 years, Cook said his sex life is more exciting than ever and giving up the goal-oriented climax has improved every aspect of his life.

Cook, the father of adult two sons, is a newcomer to karezza, a form of intercourse that emphasizes affection while staying far from the edge of orgasm. Climax is not the goal and ideally does not occur while making love.

“It creates a deep feeling in a relationship that is very difficult to describe — much deeper than conventional sex,” he said.

Cook is one of a growing number of men who have embraced karezza and have found it has helped heal their marriages, inject more spark into their sex lives and even shed porn addiction.

A recovering porn addict, Cook suffered from performance anxiety with girlfriends. Sex got better with his wife, but he didn’t know how much until he discovered karezza.

Now, he has sex almost every day.

“It kind of never ends,” said Cook. “Why would I want to give that up for a 15-second orgasm?”

Deb Feintech, a counselor from Portland, Maine, uses karezza to help couples repair their broken relationships.

“The people most interested are men,” she said. “It’s very radical for them, but they are finding the emotional intimacy far outweighs any of the thrill of the chase and the mating mind.”

And Feintech said the practice is not just helpful for middle-aged couples struggling with the ennui of a long marriage, but for young couples headed to the altar.

“I offer this to them as something to try for a month or so,” she said. “They wake up every single morning and they are not even thinking about genital stimulation. They are snuggling, holding and breathing with eye contact and flow. It’s very conscious — from the genitals to the heart.”

It puts puts the emphasis on attachment, not climax.

The word karezza was coined by Dr. Alice Bunker Stockham, a Chicago obstetrician and early feminist who promoted birth control, a ban on corsets and sexual fulfillment for both genders. In 1896, she wrote a book by that name — from the Italian word carezza, which means caress.

For strengthening marriages, she encouraged what was then called ”male continence,” although in the interest of equality, she asked that women abstain from orgasm, as well.

Marnia L. Robinson has carried the contemporary torch in her 2009 book, ”Cupid’s Poisoned Arrow,” and on her website, Reuniting: Healing With Sexual Relationships.

“Even for those with the highest libidos, performance can become a grind and drive a craving for novelty,” said Robinson. “Such feelings, although perfectly natural, can create projections and resentment that cause disharmony, especially after our temporary honeymoon neurochemistry wears off.”

Technique is “virtually immaterial,” she says. “It’s a practice about not doing, about getting your goal-driven mammalian mating system out of the way long enough to fall into a state of relaxed union.”

A former corporate lawyer and now a devotee, Robinson argues that karezza’s power is rooted in neuroscience.

“Orgasm really isn’t in our genitals, but actually between our ears,” she said.

In the ”passion cycle of orgasm,” the hormone dopamine rises in anticipation of sex, then crashes after orgasm, creating a biochemical “hangover,” according to Robinson.

In men, that happens almost immediately after ejaculation; for women, it can be two weeks before the brain returns to homeostasis, according to Robinson.

“Karezza turned out to be an enjoyable way to tiptoe around biology’s agenda,” she said.

Overstimulation of the pleasure receptors can also desensitize the brain to pleasure or create a craving for more. When men are addicted to pornography or have frequent orgasms, “no amount of pleasure can satisfy,” she said. “We are always looking for something novel.”

But in karezza, lovemaking never finishes, so sexual energy continues to flow, helping to prevent boredom with a partner, say advocates.

Karezza also elicits the relaxation response and encourages the brain to release the “love” hormone ocytocin, which helps in bonding behavior.

Robinson, unable to sustain intimacy, had been married twice before meeting her husband Gary Wilson, a former science teacher who helped her in her research. He had experienced depression and alcohol addiction, but after the couple explored karezza together, he was able to give up Prozac and drinking.

She found she was able to sustain a lasting and harmonious marriage.

“We sit tight, next to each other 24/7 and are never apart,” said Wilson. “I don’t feel the need to have my space, which is unusual.”

Though many other men look at Wilson “like I am crazy,” he said karezza can surprisingly help “rekindle things” in a long-term relationship.

Such was the case with Darryl Keil, a 56-year-old furniture maker from Brunswick, Maine, who has been married to his wife Annabelle for 29 years. They run a business and homeschooled two sons together.

About 14 years ago he read a book on sex and Taoism after feeling “depleted” and looking for something to rejuvenate their sex lives. Eventually, that led him to karezza.

For the last eight years neither one has had an intentional orgasm. He calls the old sex: “lick, pump, squirt, snore,” an act that was driven by the man.

Now, his wife feels she is an equal partner in the bedroom. They are having sex every day — “and it’s not boring,” said Keil, who is writing a book and runs small workshops.

“It’s really alive, great sex with great feeling,” said Keil. “The pleasure goes up another level … You follow the sensation in your body, not the stimulation.”

Most men who have never heard of karezza look at Keil as if he were a “freak of nature.”

‘It’s just hard to get men to want to skip orgasms,” he said. “One guy said to me, you want me to climb 10,000 feet up Mt. Everest and not get to the top?”

Like others, the Keils experience occasional orgasms “accidentally,” but karezza guru Marnia Robinson said it does not violate any rules.

“I have orgasms and it’s no big deal — gentle lovemaking sometimes slips over the edges and that’s nice,” she said.

For each couple, the experience is different.

“The natural ‘karezzanauts’ would be committed couples who want to sweeten the harmony of their relationships,” said Robinson.

But young people, too, can try their hand at karezza, she said. In the very least, the practice is an effective form of birth control.

“I doubt any of us forget how to have conventional sex if pregnancy is desired,” she said. “You can still ride a bike, even if you drive a car.”

Female Orgasm: All in Women’s Heads? Watch Video

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Muslim Brotherhood Marches To Show Military Who Is In Charge of Egypt Now

Egypt: Muslim Brothers Gather to Support Mursi’s Decision

The Muslim Brotherhood will participate in a million-man march on Tuesday to express their support for President Mohamed Mursi’s decision to reinstate parliament, said Brotherhood’s Secretary General Mahmoud Hussein.

Hussein insisted that Mursi’s decision came in response to popular demand and in an attempt to fulfill the goals of the revolution.

Egypt’s newly-elected president decided on Sunday to halt Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi’s decision to dissolve the elected Islamist-led People’s Assembly.

Tantawi’s decision had come in light of the Supreme Constitutional Court’s ruling that the parliamentary elections law was unconstitutional.

Egypt: Katatni Refers Court Ruling to Legislative Committee

Parliament speaker, Saad al-Katatni, decided to suspend today’s session of the reinstated People’s Assembly (lower house) and refer the Constitutional Court’s ruling, that led to the assembly’s dissolution, to the legislative committee, to study its implications.

Egypt’s President Mohamed Mursi decided on Sunday to reinstate parliament, defying Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi’s decision to dissolve it. Tantawi’s decision had come in light of a Constitutional Court’s ruling invalidating the parliamentary elections law.

Katatni insisted that Mursi’s decision does not contest the court verdict but Tantawi’s decision. He noted that today’s parliamentary session was only procedural to address the court’s ruling and Mursi’s invitation for the assembly to reconvene.

Katatni insisted that the assembly respects Egypt’s judiciary and will not intervene in its work, pointing that the law allows for appeals against court rulings.

Egypt Headed to Bitter Conflict Between New President and Military and Supreme Court of Egypt

Egypt: Judiciary Gives Mursi 36 Hours to Withdraw Decision Reinstating Parliament

Egypt’s judiciary gave President Mohamed Mursi 36 hours to voluntarily withdraw yesterday’s decision to reinstate parliament and apologize to the nation and its judicial system.

“If this does not happen, we will announce measures in response”, head of the Judges Club, Ahmed al-Zend, said, expressing hopes for everybody to return to their senses.

He added that Egypt’s judiciary will not enforce any law passed by the revived People’s Assembly, explaining that laws passed by the assembly will be considered illegitimate.

Sameh Ashour, head of the Lawyers Syndicate, said that the decision to restore parliament is a political one, adding that no authority has the right to make such a decision.

Ashour insisted that Egypt who toppled a president and his National Democratic Party will not tolerate a new president or political party who aims to acquire absolute power.

Representative of the Constitutional Court, Abdel Aziz Suleiman, said that the president lost his legitimacy when he degraded the constitutional oath by considering a court decision non-existent, not just invalid.

Suleiman added that the president performed a miracle when he revived the deceased parliament, pointing out that he does not possess the authority to defy the country’s highest court.

The Supreme Council of Armed Forces, headed by Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, said that it trusts that all state institutions will respect the necessary constitutional amendments that determine the duties of state authorities and the armed forces.

Egypt: SCAF Calls for Respecting Constitution

The military council insisted in a statement on Monday that its decision to dissolve parliament is an executive decision based on the Constitutional Court’s ruling invalidating the parliamentary elections law.

The statement stressed on the importance of respecting the constitution, indicating that the military council will remain biased to the people’s wishes and will not turn to exceptional measures.

The statement denied that there is a deal between the military council and the Muslim Brotherhood.

Egypt’s newly-elected President Mohamed Mursi decided on Sunday to halt Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi’s decision to dissolve the elected Islamist-led People’s Assembly.

Tantawi’s decision had come in light of the Supreme Constitutional Court’s ruling that the parliamentary elections law was unconstitutional.