Nationalistic propaganda aside, this is something that Egypt doesn't need at all right now. Waste of precious financial resources.
While I agree with the basic premise of your point, I think we need to understand the scope of this proposed "space agency" first. I don't think the goal is to create an Arab version of NASA.
We're not going to the moon anytime soon, trust me.
Yeah, no job opportunities
That's actually improving. No one is denying that there is an unemployment problem, but a lot of new projects have been initiated to create more jobs, plus the slew of new foreign investments are going to make a big difference in the unemployment rate in the next 5 years.
What? Where did you hear this? Some areas have occasional power issues but every day? That's a major exaggeration. Aswan dam generates 10 billion kilowatt-hours a year and distributes it very well, considering the grid needs to handle 90+ million. Dabba Nuclear power plant is coming which will take care of a lot of energy needs not to mention renewable sources projects popping up left and right. There's also several new programs to make gas and sewer reach further villages which is a difficult thing to do. They're not neglecting theses problem and in fact have been addressing them. So saying that's being neglected at the cost of a space agency is way off base, sorry. And power cuts everyday? Sorry, another exaggeration.
What? Explain, please.
crumbling infrastructure,
What? Explain, please.
It's as stable as it's been in 37 years. Not sure where you're getting that from.
shitty state institutions,
Also need to explain such a broad statement.
one of the worst education systems in the Middle East,
Excuse me? You mean the best educational system in the ME. If you're referring to the illiteracy rate, that's a problem for sure, but that's a completely separate issue. Egypt has always had the best educational institutions in the ME for decades. Cairo American College one of a very few private schools among many others. Schools in every district from kindergarten through sanawiya 3ama. AUC American University in Cairo, the renowned Cairo University is one of many city universities. The most famous and reputable religious university in Al Azhar and many, many more. What you said is frankly the worst exaggeration out of all your points. In fact, it's an outright false statement.
Like I said, illiteracy is a social problem and not an institutional one.
very bad health care services
Are you referring to health care plans/programs? Because Egypt has good hospitals and plenty of clinics and doctors even make house calls, but there isn't an actual health care system as in health insurance. So when you say "very bad health care services," again, that's painting with a very broad brush and you should be more specific.
yeeeah, spending money for a fancy Space Agency is a priority.
Well, it's not looking to be the Arab version of NASA, but when you're a strategically important country in a very volatile section of the world, you need to have programs that will benefit the country scientifically and security-wise. Much of this is going to be for monitoring satellite programs for research, climate, security etc. It's not just a fad.
Be it Egypt or Turkey, this mindset is the root of all wrong doings in our societies.
Like I mentioned to you in the other thread, I think Turkey is quite ahead in many areas and will only get better. All MENA countries have their problems and I don't think any rational person can deny that. While constructive criticism is good and even essential, it must also be rational. You also have to take into consideration that this is only 6-1/2 years after a major revolution and a complete revamping of Egypt's political system which followed by 2 years of a rapid downfall under a new, democratic system and essentially a greater downfall in the year and a half under Morsi. So in reality, these are things that have only happened in the last 4 years alone. As bad as the coup was for a new democracy, I can't imagine where this country would be if Morsi had continued to be president. Need to look at the much bigger picture.
