The Egyption-Gaza Tunnels

Background on the following article: Abed Atwan the owner of an Arabic newspaper, Al-Quds Al- Arabi, published in London wrote an article on 12/27/2007 talking about a needed support to Egypt in the face of news reported Israeli pressure on the Egypt ion government to stop the smuggling of weapons from Egypt to Gaza through tunnels underneath the borders.

My reply:

Abed is an, no doubt about it, artist in what I call the demagoguery journalism. Abed for years has been attacking the Egyptian regime of Hosni Mubarak and accusing it with all what Abed calls the disasters that took place in The Middle East. Now, Abed is turning the tables upside down and started to give Egypt's regime support and cheers. Maybe because Abed pretends and wants us to believe in this case in the popular saying, Ana Wa Akhoya, Egypt, like any other country, must stop the export of terrorism, that is if does, to it’s neighboring states through the so called tunnels. As for Israel, Abed said that it is a corrupt society, I personally do not believe in that for a simple reason, a corrupt society can not be a dominant and progressed society. Of course like any other country from time to time corruption arises but it is not a social phenomenon; otherwise Israel would not have survived. As for Gaza, poor Gaza, it is under the famous hypocrisy, Hamas, after it was under the famous corrupts, Fateh. Abed was right though in one point and that is his description of the Egyptian soldiers at the border. They are poor and they want to serve well but the means are scare and not organized and it was just such a painful view to see the difference between the Israel side of the border and the Egyptian side. The Israelis were clean, upbeat, and civil. The Egyptians were poor; the facility was old, and dirty. The real problem is not in Israel but it is in the Image the Arabs have across the board. Abed Atwan reminds me of the famous Ahmad Said of Sout Al Arab radio during Nasser’s rein of Egypt. He, Said, among others was a cheerleader for a fake victory.

A pack of Cigarettes= 2 Small fries+3 apples+$2.00 Car Gas

The other evening I was torn apart, due to some financial mishaps, between buying my usual pack of cigarettes and buying few other things. The other things were my kids demand to have fries after school. I just could not resist the request or the demand and said to myself, forget It., when it comes to the kids, cigarettes come second. I know it does not sound very nice but as a smoker, a cigarette has some sort of a priority in my book. Any way, I bought the small fries, and the following days I went and bought exactly 3 apples and then finally in the same morning I put $2.00 worth of gas. All this for the price of one pack of cigarettes. I have never looked at life from that angle; I did not need to. Now, this angle has become my compass and hopefully, it will help directing to the right place

The Morning of 10/25/2007

I saw and witnessed America going to work this morning and I got jealous. What a view, people of, literally, all walks of life, walking, crossing streets, opening doors and just going to work. The view in the morning is, to me, more surreal than the view in the evening, when leaving work. In the morning, there is no way you can see a smiling face going to work, people are walking like robots, faces are flat and straight, marching towards something they have to do. On the other hand, the evening march is different, people are walking slower, and faces are worn down, yet a little relaxed. The morning to me has a special flavor; it's a start, new beginning, a new chance, a new hope, a new opportunity. It's morning again in Virginia and in America.

PS: I did not get the job I interviewed for that morning.

Give The Kurds A Country, By Jamil Shawwa

The Kurds who reside on the borders of Iraq, Turkey,

Syria and Iran deserve their own state. A Kurdish

state will add another layer of foundation towards

stability and long term peace in The Middle East. 

A new Middle East consists of the traditional Arab

states: Israel, Iran and Afghanistan will help to

diversify interests, nationalities, religions and

eventually will shift the focus of the people there

from struggle and conflict into cooperation. I see the

Middle East with Kurdistan and Israel besides the

older Middle Eastern states as the new Europe that

Will have all the European countries into the EU

despite the differences in religions, languages and

cultures. 

The main focus of the new Middle East will

be on economics. That is the long term goal. The short

term goal of having a Kurdistan is to minimize the

ability or the prospect of Turkey, Iran, Syria and

Iraq to in any way be an aggressor in the area,

meaning having Kurdistan as a buffer zone will help to

create a more peaceful or an oasis in the middle of

all these countries. 

It will also help to reduce the

drug trafficking which is very active in the area. As

the domino effect of having the Kurds state continues;

the countries in the area will have less ethnic

conflicts and will focus on economic stability within

their regions and the rest of the world.

Farouk al-Kaddoumi

Farouk al-Kaddoumi, a PLO operative and one of Fateh leaders, is one of the worst hypocrites that still exist on the Palestinian arena. He is a light weight with no importance and no popular backing. Fortunately what he said show the dangers of having demagogues and hypocrites among the Palestinians and Arabs that do not have anything to lose or suffer from just saying retarded things. The people in Gaza and The West Bank are suffering not because of Israel but because of having people like Farouk al-Kaddoumi who still talk the talk but never walk the walk.

In an interview with Al Quds Al-Arabi 10/05/2007, an Arabic language newspaper published in London, Kaddoumi said that Iran can defeat Israel and that the right of return to the Palestinians in the diaspora is more important that establishing a Palestinian state in The West Bank and Gaza.

Poor Gaza! By Jamil Shawwa, J.M. Shawwa

Gaza this silky clear sand Mediterranean beach City that could have become, and maybe still could be, like Cannes or Hong Kong, has fallen in the hands of darkness, ignorance, fanaticism, and hypocrisy. The problem of Gaza is not only that it has fallen to the hands of the famous hypocrisy but before that it was governed by the hands of corruption, nepotism and complete in your face robbers. Poor Gaza, it fell in the hands of Hamas after it has fallen in the hands of Fateh. David Brinkley, of the ABC show This week with David Brinkley, once said, in one of his famous end of the show statements, and I quote, vote for the crook. Brinkley at the time was talking about a Louisiana elections where the two candidates were, a former KKK leader, David Duke and a former governor, Edwin Edwards, who was famous and I think has a record of being corrupt. Brinkley’s quote applies to Gaza.

The Unholy Blood and The Unholy War- A Response to Al-Quds Newspaper

Fateh and Hamas, two factions that have dominated the Palestinian political scene for the past 14 years, from the start of the Palestinian Authority following the Oslo Accords between the PLO and Israel and the return of Yasser Arafat and his team to the Gaza and the West Bank. Now we see that Hamas has kicked the historic PLO agents from Gaza and declared it is dominance over the Gaza Strip. The Arabs all over the Middle East started crying, screaming and denouncing what they called the killing of Palestinians in the hand of other Palestinians. The Arabs are decrying this fact and saying that the Palestinian blood is holy and cannot be shed internally. This means that if a foreign country did the same it is ok but not the Palestinians themselves. What happened in Gaza was expected from the first day the Palestinian authority has been formed. Hamas was and is a country within a country, a militia that the Fateh people came to disarm. Clashes between the two occurred over the years but the culmination occurred last week when Hamas took control of Gaza. The Palestinian Authority has been in a situation that led to Hamas dominance. Israel because of what it said a systematic support from the Palestinian Authority to arms smuggling and suicide bombers has attacked the Palestinian authority infrastructure and this resulted in Hamas feeling that it has the upper hand; it was a correct feeling that resulted in the Gaza take over. The Palestinians are in a cross road to decide on whether they want to continue on this hipocratic path of supporting the peace process and in the same time praising the suicide bombers that spread havoc on them as much as they do on the Israelis. The Palestinian authority must make a clear commitment to peace and negotiations with Israel as the only way to create a viable Palestinian state in The Gaza Strip and The West Bank.



Dear Abu Zalaf Family,

Please stop this horror called your front page. You have been filling the page with black boxes and black shadows. You do not need to do that just to prove that you are patriots. Al-Quds, again, is a famous paper, learn from the leading papers all over the world and see. If I were where you sell your paper, I would never buy it with the way it looks. Please stop depressing all of us. As for the fighting, these things could happen and happened in almost all developing countries or countries on the verge of ruling themselves. It's a power struggle as everybody knows and political business. The Palestinians are like any other, not better and hopefully not worse.

Best,

JS

Syria and Israel- Reply to Abed Atwan, Alquds Alarabi, By Jamil Shawwa

Abed Atwan, the editor of Alquds Alarabi, advised the Syrians not to rush into peace with Israel in exchange for getting back the Golan Heights and for Syria to abandon its alliance with Hezbollah in Lebanon and Iran. Atwan's article reminded me of the Arabs before 1948 and the Arabs before 1967. In both cases, Arab countries refused the voice of reason and logic to make peace with Israel in exchange for two states solution where both the Arabs and Israelis can live side by side. Sadat and Arafat of both Egypt and the PLO rejected these backward defeating voices and resorted to reason when it came to the Israeli Arab conflict. Mr. Atwan goes on and on in his article spreading dark thoughts and deep seated conspiracy theory hypothetical to explain why Syria should not accept this alleged offer or at least why it should hesitate to accept. The Middle East is such an unpredictable and volatile piece of Real Estate; anything could happen in a second. Governments come and go and so on and so forth. The one thing that is predictable and undisputed is that of the right of the Palestinians and the Israelis to live side by side in secure borders. It's the fate of the sons of Abraham in the Holly Land. As for Hezbollah, and the Mullahs in Iran and the likes; their fate to be as of others who faded into history and people read about them as mere footnotes in the eternal book of life.

Here is Mr. Atwan's Article in Arabic:

عبد الباري عطوان 11/06/2007

تكثر هذه الايام الاحاديث والتسريبات عن اتصالات سرية اسرائيلية ـ سورية تتم بطرق غير مباشرة، اي عبر وسطاء، من اجل التوصل الي تسوية سلمية. ايهود اولمرت رئيس الوزراء الاسرائيلي اعلن انه بعث برسائل الي الرئيس بشار الاسد يعرب فيها عن استعداده لاعادة هضبة الجولان السورية المحتلة بالكامل مقابل ابتعاد سورية عن ايران، وفك ارتباطها بحزب الله وحركة حماس ، والانضمام الي حلف المعتدلين العرب. القادة الاسرائيليون ليسوا معروفين بكرمهم تجاه نظرائهم العرب، خاصة عندما يتعلق الأمر بالتنازل عن الارض، وهي بالمناسبة كلها عربية بغض النظر عن تاريخ احتلالها، ولذلك فان السؤال الذي يطرح نفسه بقوة هو عن الدوافع التي تكمن خلف هذه الاشارات الاسرائيلية، ومدي جديتها، والآليات التي ستترتب عليها في حال التجاوب معها. اولمرت قال انه لم يتعلق بعد اي إجابات من القيادة السورية علي رسائله والعروض السخية التي تتضمنها، بينما يلتزم الجانب السوري الصمت، و يتلعثم معلقوه عندما يتحدثون عن هذا الأمر بدعوة من الفضائيات العربية، ويغرقون في التنظير والتكرار، واعطاء اجابات مبهمة، تفسر الماء بالماء في نهاية المطاف. القيادة السورية كانت هي التي تبادر بجس النبض الاسرائيلي، وترسل الوسطاء، وحملة الرسائل من العرب والاجانب، وكان الصد يأتي من الطرف الآخر، لاسباب امريكية، ولرغبة في عزل سورية، بتشجيع من اطراف عربية، اعماها النصر الامريكي الزائف في العراق، بإطاحة النظام البعثي الآخر في بغداد. للسلام شروطه ومواصفاته، وهو غالبا ما يأتي بعد حروب، ينتصر فيها طرف علي الآخر، او تتساوي الكفتان، وهي مرات نادرة، ولا نعتقد ان الظرف الحالي في المنطقة يوفر المناخات الملائمة لاستئناف مفاوضات سلام، بل انه يرجح احتمالات الحرب وفي فترة زمنية اقرب مما يتوقعه الكثيرون. معاهدة كامب ديفيد بين مصر والدولة العبرية جاءت بعد حرب تشرين الاول (اكتوبر)، واتفاقات اوسلو جري التوصل اليها بعد انتصار الرئيس جورج بوش الاب في حرب تحرير الكويت ، وعزل منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية، وتجفيف منابع الدعم المالي الخليجي لها، وتجميد اعتراف اكبر حليفين بها وهما مصر وسورية. صحيح ان الغزل الاسرائيلي الحالي لسورية يأتي بعد حرب الصيف الماضي التي تعرض فيها الجيش الاسرائيلي لهزيمة مهينة علي ايدي قوات المقاومة الاسلامية اللبنانية، ولكنها حرب محدودة، ولم تشارك فيها اي قوات سورية، مضافا الي ذلك تمخضت عن تواجد قوات دولية في الجنوب اللبناني فرضت واقعا جديدا يصب في مرحلة التهدئة. ہہہ القيادات القوية هي غالبا التي تصنع السلام، ولا نعتقد ان ايهود اولمرت، الذي لا تزيد شعبيته عن خمسة في المئة في اوساط الاسرائيليين في افضل الاحوال، يملك الرصيد الذي يؤهله لتقديم تنازلات في حجم الانسحاب الكامل من هضبة الجولان السورية المحتلة، فهو ليس مناحيم بيغن، ولا هو اسحق رابين او آرييل شارون ولا حتي ايهود باراك. الثمن الذي ستقدمه القيادة السورية في مقابل استعادة هضبة الجولان اذا جري التوصل الي اتفاق باعلان مبادئ يحكم مسيرة المفاوضات لاحقا، باهظ بكل المقاييس، وسيجرد النظام السوري من اهم اوراقه الاستراتيجية، وربما يهدد شرعية بقائه في السلطة. الاسرائيليون يريدون ان تتخلي سورية عن ايران، وتفك تحالفها مع حزب الله، وتوقف دعمها لحركات المقاومة الفلسطينية مثل حماس و الجهاد ، ولكن ماذا لو انقلبت ايران علي سورية بعد ذلك، واستضافت او دعمت قوات متطرفة تريد الاطاحة بنظامها انطلاقا من العراق، وربما من لبنان ايضا، بل ماذا لو جري تحريض جماعات داخل سورية نفسها لرفع السلاح ضد النظام، وما اكثر هذه الجماعات التي تتربص بالنظام السوري، وترفع شعارات اسلامية لإخفاء اهدافها في اطاحته؟ ہہہ المنطقة تعيش حالة من الضبابية وعدم الحسم. وجميع الاطراف يعيش حالة من الأزمة وعدم الاستقرار، ولذلك هناك مؤشرات ان الحرب قادمة، وحتي تحقق هذه الحرب اهدافها لا بد من اتباع خطة لتفكيك التحالف في الخندق المضاد، لضمان الفوز فيها، او تقليص الخسائر في حال حدوث رد فعل انتقامي. بمعني آخر، الحرب المقبلة في حال حدوثها، تستهدف ايران، لتدمير طموحاتها النووية، وتغيير نظامها الحالي علي غرار ما حدث في العراق وافغانستان، وحتي تنجح وتكتسب بعض الشرعية الاقليمية، لا بد ان تكون بين العرب والفرس. بين السنة والشيعة. ووجود سورية الي جانب ايران، وليس في خندق دول المعتدلين، الذي ستكون اسرائيل عضوا فخريا او شرفيا او اصيلا فيه، سيفسد هذه المواصفات الضرورية، ولهذا لا بد من اخراجها بكل الطرق والوسائل من خلال القاء جزرة الجولان هذه. اسرائيل تعيش هذه الايام اضعف مراحل وجودها، فهي ما زالت تعيش صدمة الهزيمة في لبنان، وتشعر بانحسار الدعم الدولي لها، وتبلور قناعة لدي حلفائها، في الغرب بانها باتت تشكل عبئا علي امنهم، ومصدر تهديد لمواطنيهم، وأحد الاسباب الرئيسية لاتساع دائرة الارهاب ووصول جماعاته الي اراضيهم ومدنهم واسواقهم. والأهم من ذلك انها، اي اسرائيل، بلا زعامة تاريخية، احزابها متشرذمة وجبهتها الداخلية منهارة نفسيا، وكان لافتا ان ابراهام بورغ رئيس الكنيست والوكالة اليهودية الاسبق، اشار علي مواطنيه بضرورة البحث عن جنسية اخري لان الحلم الصهيوني بدأ في الانهيار في فلسطين في احدث كتاب اصدره اخيرا. هذا الضعف ربما يكون سببا اساسيا للدخول في حرب، وليس الانخراط في عملية سلام، وقد يكون الحديث عن المفاوضات هو خدعة لاخفاء هذا الهدف، فالاستعدادات العسكرية الاسرائيلية علي الحدود السورية واللبنانية في تصاعد. والشيء نفسه يقال عن نظيرتها الامريكية في الخليج، فقد انضمت غواصة نووية الي ثلاث حاملات طائرات، وعشر سفن حربية اخري، والبقية تأتي، وليس من الصدفة ان يكون هذا هو العدد نفسه من السفن وحاملات الطائرات الذي تواجد في المنطقة قبيل غزو العراق واحتلاله قبل اربع سنوات. ہہہ اسرائيل ربما تخرج الخاسر الأكبر في حالة الحرب، لان الانتصار في الحروب في المنطقة لا يعني فرض سلام المنتصرين مثلما جري في الحرب العالمية الثانية علي المانيا واليابان، فها هو الانتصار الاسرائيلي في حرب الايام الستة يتحول الي وبال علي اصحابه بعد اربعين عاما من تحقيقه، وها هو الانتصار الامريكي في العراق يكلفها اكثر من 500 مليار دولار واربعة آلاف قتيل و25 ألف جريح، وكراهية متزايدة في العالم الاسلامي، وتضاعف قوة تنظيم القاعدة اكثر من عشر مرات. القوات الاسرائيلية قد تصل الي ابواب دمشق مثلما وصلت قبل ذلك الي قلب بيروت، ثم ماذا بعد ذلك؟ فاذا كانت هذه القوات عجزت عن السيطرة علي قطاع غزة الذي لا تزيد مساحته عن 150 ميلا مربعا، ومحاصر من جميع الجهات، فكيف ستستطيع السيطرة علي دمشق؟ واذا كان حزب الله اطلق اربعة آلاف صاروخ علي حيفا وعكا وطبريا، فكم صاروخ ستطلق سورية وفي ترسانتها اضعاف اضعاف ما في ترسانة حزب الله ؟ الصيف هو دائما الفصل المفضل لمعظم حروب المنطقـــة، والانـــقلابات العسكرية فيها، ولا نعتقد ان الصيف المقبل سيكون استثناء. ونصيحـتنا للقيادة السورية ان تتريث وتفكر مليا قــبل ان تتجاوب مع الغزل الاسرائيلي وتفرط بأوراقها الاستراتيجية، وهي التي تميزت عن غيرها بجمعها، واتقان كيفية توظيفها، فقد جربت التفاوض مع الاسرائيليين في ميريلاند، وخرجت منها سريعا بأقل قدر من الاضرار، ولعل درس الفلسطينيين في اوسلو وما انتهوا اليه من خيبات يقدم ارضية لمزيد من التأمل والتفكير.

Egypt and Israel-Reply to Amir Oren, Haaretz 06/06/2007

The writer did not add anything new except his dark conclusions. My opinion here is not a pro or against Egypt but just an observation. Egypt now and in the future will continue to honor the peace with Israel as it's the only way possible. The Arabs and the Muslims realize, even if they do not admit it on the popular level, that Israel is here to stay and be part of a larger more conclusive Middle East. I will not be surprised to see Israel as at least an observer in the Arab League some time in the near future. If we look at the world affairs and diplomacy we can see that countries do not have, among themselves, continuous warm relations. Politics play a great role on how countries react to each other without going to war any time there is a dispute. The writer also was not objective at all in his Analysis as the Middle East is a unique place and the Palestinian Israeli conflict is still with no acceptable solution yet. Mubarak of Egypt knows more than anybody else the importance of peace with Israel to the livelihood of his country. I also can say that all the Arabs, official and popular, have reached the same conclusion some time ago.

Here is Mr. Oren's article:


When the lid is afraid of the pot
By Amir Oren
The year 2007 does not only include the 40th anniversary of the Six-Day War; it also contains the 30th anniversary of Anwar Sadat's visit to Jerusalem. Israel's most glorious military achievement, the defeat of three states and the occupation of major segments of their territory, is set against an even greater diplomatic achievement, breaking through the wall of Arab hostility. In both cases, the enthusiasm gradually turned to disappointment and the promise held out by the short-term results never came to fruition. The view that Egypt is a moderate, peace-seeking country is an optical illusion. Cairo, which purchased its ticket to Washington through Jerusalem, is once again not thrilled to be part of the camp affiliated with the Americans. The Egyptian people, who are not eager to get involved directly in a war, are instead encouraging war from the sidelines. Israel's awakening from the illusion of Egyptian influence over the Palestinians has been taking place for seven straight years, from the Camp David summit in 2000 to the anarchy on the Egypt-Gaza border under Hamas rule. Even during its 19 years of military rule over the Gaza Strip, Egypt was more concerned about Palestine than the Palestinians. Contrary to the Hashemite Kingdom, which annexed the West Bank and undertook a process of "Jordanizing" the Palestinians, Egypt avoided adding the refugees from Jaffa and the residents of Khan Yunis to its own tens of millions of poor. In the prisoner exchange that followed the Six-Day War, the Israel Defense Forces released thousands of soldiers who served in the Palestinian brigades of the Egyptian army and sought to transfer them to the western bank of the Suez Canal. But Egypt refused to accept the released Palestinians and demanded that they be returned to the Gaza Strip.
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The promising idea of an exchange of territory involving Sinai, the Negev, Gaza and the West Bank might have had a chance of succeeding in the Sadat era, or at the height of the Oslo process, but has since fizzled. Egypt will not contribute a grain of sand, a drop of sweat, or a drop of blood in order to further peace. In the best-case scenario, it will continue treading water in the current impasse. The more realistic scenario is that after Hosni Mubarak, the repressed hostility will become open and active. Ironically, the reason for this is democracy - not the American model (since efforts to instill that in Cairo failed exactly as they did in Damascus, Riyadh and every other Arab capital), but the popular version found in political cultures where an authoritarian and rigid regime refuses to relinquish its exclusivity and privileges, but also will not challenge public opinion unnecessarily. That the regime, or parts of it, has come to terms with Israel is a diplomatic fact that the Egyptian public cannot erase. However, this public has great power to keep the relationship cool, limited to air-conditioned rooms where diplomats meet. Opinion polls show that Egypt - the largest Arab state, with the most advanced and powerful military - is also the most hostile to Israel, the United States and the West. This is not a matter of hairsplitting interpretation or passing trends: The data are unequivocal, and as frightening as a storm of religious fanaticism and prejudice. Last month, the American House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs received the results of an international survey conducted by the University of Maryland. The survey examined public opinion in four Muslim countries: Morocco, Egypt, Indonesia and Pakistan. On every questions, Egypt led - in opposing an American presence in the Middle East, in supporting attacks against it (more than 93 percent), and in accusing the U.S. of aggression against Islam in its entirety, as opposed to just the fight against Al-Qaida, the Taliban and Saddam Hussein. Even those who expressed reservations about Al-Qaida's activities, particularly its targeting of civilians, supported the audacity of global jihad in confronting America and raising the flag of protecting "Muslim honor." Many doubt the American version of what happened on 9/11 and attribute what they saw with their own eyes, and what was described in tapes by Osama Bin Laden and his aides, to Hollywood special effects. Israel, of course, is derided as a collaborator and a protectorate. The pot boiling under the regime is threatening - if it boils over - to throw the lid off, and with it, also the peace with Israel. The resulting security tensions will not immediately escalate or lead to a new war, a sixth war, between the two countries. But there will be no deeper, broader peace than the one that currently reigns on our southwestern border.

Daimler buys Chrysler for 40B, sells it for 7.4Billion

The Business world is amazing and full of contradictions. In 1998 Daimler the German giant automaker bought the number 3 American automaker for a record 40 billion dollars, today, 05/14/2007, Daimler is selling it for 7.4 billion dollars. The chairman of Mercedes-Benz is cheering the deal and saying that because of their passion for great cars, Daimler did what it did. I'm trying to find words to describe a deal like this which obviously was a flop for Daimler and maybe for Chrysler. I'm not an economist but it amazes me to try to do the mathematics here. No CEO should be allowed to stay in office if they have done a deal like this. Even if the deal was in stocks or even if the wizards of accounting have used what politically correct is called legitimate accounting maneuvers. My four years old daughter, God bless her, would have looked at me as if I'm an idiot if I have mentioned Mercedes news to her. Daimler was, no doubt, brutish in making the buy, now we know, but brutish in selling it is still out there for the jury to decide.

Iran Hostage Diplomacy, By Jamil Shawwa

We should add a new diplomatic term to the glossary of diplomacy and that is the hostage diplomacy. Iran since it's revolution in 1979 has resorted to all kinds of blackmailing to get it's way. It started with the US embassy seizure and the hostage taking to today's event of kidnapping 15 British sailors that Iran claimed drifted into it's waters. Iran not only is using those sailors to continue to engage the west but also in making political statements that do not relate to the incident and I mean making the sailors issue a statement asking the US and Britain to withdraw from Iraq. Amazing, what this has to do with the claim that the sailors were in it's regional waters. The west has been accommodating Iran for some reason but the message we are sending is horrible. We are telling the world that it's a legitimate way to take hostages and it's ok to be a terrorist because then and only then you will be eligible to sit with us on the negotiating table. The credentials for this honor, negotiations, is to be a terrorist. This is the message that Iran is sending.

Mash Potatoes!

One of the most horrific things that civilization has ruined is the mash potatoes. What happened to the good old mash potatoes that was a favorite to almost everybody. The other day I went to one of those restaurants that call themselves, Trendy, and I asked for a fillet with mash potatoes. I got a second rate fillet and a weired looking mash potatoes. It tasted it like some sort of a vegetable lump far from the mash potatoes as I knew it. When I asked about it, I was informed that it was a combination of potatoes, mushrooms, chicken stock, etc. What a shame. Even the mash potatoes got upgraded or downgraded depends on how you look at things. The mash potatoes is potatoes, milk and butter, it should be creamy white or a little off white. Period.

Israel, The Arabs and Al-Aqsa Mosque

The events at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem in regard to Israel's removal of a small hill by one of the gates leading to the Mosque and the Arabs Muslims reaction to it culminate and show what has been going on between the sons of Abraham for the past hundred or so years; which is gross mistrust, misunderstanding and a psychological barrier, as the late president Sadat of Egypt once said. Both parties are at fault here, in this particular incident. Israel should have conducted a press conference, before it started the construction, to explain that what it is doing is just improvements to the road leading to the gate, as it finally did today through the foreign ministry and the Arabs should have asked for logical explanations to what it is going on. Neither party has been conducting itself in a way that help to build confidence among themselves or at least ease the misunderstanding. This has been going on for decades. Israel as the administrator of the east part of the city has a responsibility to first its Arab residents, and the Muslim world, to explain and maybe conduct town meetings as we do here in the US on the town and city levels. The holy places in Jerusalem are extremely sensitive to the three religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam and a good PR is necessary before doing any business that could hurt the feelings of any of the three religions. The Arabs, again, should not just wait and hunt for an opportunity just to attack Israel but need to engage Israel in the regard of the holly places. These small steps are vital until a more overall comprehensive peace is achieved in the Middle East.

The Washington Redskins 2007

The team needs to be motivated to win! It seems that for some reason they have not had the fire in the belly nor the motive or the proper coaching. Once they get motivated, they will win. The team needs to have a GM and a head coach. Gibbs is the past. The team needs a new coach who knows how to spark the fire from within and create a team that believes that it can win. It was not a Snyder problem per say but it became. The team has been on a losing streak even before Snyder took over. Snyder has managed to create a very profitable organization out of the Redskins but continued to have a losing team. The Redskins have become famous of doing a good job until the very near end but fails to win or to close the deal. Snyder has been a master salesman and now he needs to find the right formula to win both commercially and on the field.