The Day Obama Was in Court; The building of a Legacy.....by Jamil Shawwa

This week, couple of day apart, The US Supreme Court upheld the cornerstones of the Obama presidency; Immigration Law and Health Law. In 2008, Barack Obama became president when America was down economically but not militarily, America did not have Health system for its citizens and America did not have a comprehensive immigration policies to deal and handle the illegal immigrants flooding its borders- America until now does not have a national strong immigration policies; it has laws but not policies. It has the vehicle but not the wheels or the fuel to drive and to make it happen. Accordingly, some States within the Union decided to take matters in their own hands, for both Health and immigration- The federal government was lacking and is still lacking in taking care of business with strong comprehensive policies. But, regardless, it did not mean that the Union crumbles and it did not mean that each State can act on its own when it comes to matters that in the constitution are in the heart of the inherent American federal system. On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed the Health act into Law and since then, States and the Republican party launched lawsuits against the constitutionality of the Law; the main or the focal point has been that the federal Government cannot force people into a health system and if they do not, then they have to pay penalty; Today the Supreme court upheld the Law. On immigration, the State of Arizona and its political establishment from the governor to a sheriff of a little town, also took matters into their own hands, and issued a controversial law, that if passed nationally would have destroyed a foundation of the United States as one country with national policies handled primarily through Congress and the President. The Federal government challenged the law and yesterday it won. Obama had his days in Court, and came out not as an accidental caretaker president that in 2008 a bad economy carried to office, but came out with a legacy that probably will carry him into the ultimate goal of any US president; to be reelected. Obama was not the only US government entity that built a legacy, the Supreme Court today and its chairman, John Roberts, built a legacy  by upholding pillars and  cornerstones of the inherent powers of  Federal government.

Ahmad Shafiq; The Accidental Egyptian Phenomenal by Jamil Shawwa

Until this moment I cannot comprehend [me] using the name Shafiq and attach to it the word or the description,  Phenomenal- he has been the furthest from it, until last week . Ahmad Shafiq- the former prime minister under the deposed president Mubarak and the military and intelligence candidate for president in Egypt- despite a probable or possible defeat to the Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Mursi, did a miracle.  I cannot keep my amazement about how good this Shafiq did in the elections. I mean he was nobody, nothing, no party, even worse, was the last Prime Minister of the deposed ruler. And accordingly and from pure elections and political skills; he deserves the applause and he should capitalize on his success. Shafiq now, based on the Egyptian people and based on over 12 million votes,about 50%, and based on him beating the religious machinery, regardless of the presidential elections results, merely based on the percentage of votes he got, has a historic chance now to build a power base with the military and the majority of the Egyptian people to create a new world class Egypt. I really  cannot believe what I just said. Is it possible, a  world class country called Egypt? So Shafiq got it all; whether he is going to use it, or whether he will turn on the engine of the base he got; is another big question. Egypt's destiny is in the hands of its people, anyone who thinks otherwise, does not know or does not want to know or running an agenda, its ok. Either the Egyptians will make it or break it. "The road to hell is paved with good intentions ", the Egyptians need to work to build a country, they need to vote, then need to stay and find solutions within their country. They need to stop living as a society in conspiracy theories. The way and style and attitude Some of the Egyptians portrayed after hearing the claim of  victory in the night following the second elections day last week of the Muslim Brotherhood in the presidential elections, reminded me of the same way Egypt acted after it was  soundly defeated in the 1967 war; in other words, in complete denial. Songs and propaganda and poems- from the era of the ultimate deceiver, Abdel Nasser- the creator of the 1952 political system and the creator of the Arab countries dictatorship-and headlines that are not real. The Egyptians are not used to transparency in governing and in a way of life in general. The State is not found publicly; just read the rumors about the health condition of Mubarak and the thousands of hearsay published daily about everything; some even talk about an international conspiracy against Egypt- I’m shocked and my Jaw drop and I cannot bring it back every time I come across such nonsense. The Muslim Brotherhood might have won and results can be disputed and challenged before the Commission and the Courts but living in denial will never help-it never did. 101 Democracy and Sports teach us that  people win and people lose but you keep going and trying. Shafiq and the presidential elections proved that the Muslim Brotherhood is not a dominating power in Egypt and will not be a dominating power in the Arab countries-once those countries follow the Egyptian example of strong State system- at this stage, military and intelligence, later the moderate majority with democratic institutions. The results were so close, again, that I'm appalled by anyone who  claims or whines that Egypt is lost- to the religious apparatus. The results were a miracle-seriously. Egypt is on the right path to democracy and prosperity  but going through historic changes in a way that will prove right, down the road. Things might look messed up but Egypt is not small and is not irrelevant; it is big and it is important and it is relevant. The Army must have a role transitioning to the civic society. And democracy along the rule of law must progress and it is progressing. It is not easy but it is not impossible. Regionally, The Egyptians will continue with the State of Israel and future credible and elected Palestinian partners in the West Bank and Gaza, the ultimate quest for peace in the Middle East which is the establishment of a Palestinian State in the West Bank and Gaza, side by side  with the State of Israel.

A Clear Choice For Egypt....”.Vote For The Crook” The Lesser of two Evils....Ahmad Shafiq For President...

The Egyptians  today go to the polling stations for the second round to choose a new president;
the first real presidential elections for head of state in thousands of years; no exaggeration...The Egyptians last year ended the rule of the pharaohs that lasted thousands of years. Today they have to make a choice between a former military general and the Muslim Brotherhood candidate. The choice is clear, to millions of Egyptians as well, the military general and not the Muslim Brotherhood candidate. Ahmad Shafiq, whom I described once as a tasteless, no personality, colorless person, is the only choice now and he is the lesser of two evils. My first choice for this era in Egypt was Omar Suleiman, the former intelligence chief, and the last vice president by the time the former president abdicated last year, but he chose not to run now. In Egypt as I mentioned before two entities run the show; The intelligence and the military- like many countries in the Middle East and the world. This formula has to continue for the time being but through a democratic process, kind of.. Egypt is not a regular country in the Middle East; Egypt is a pioneer in the peace process with the State of Israel and the Palestinian people in the West Bank and Gaza, the largest Arab country, and a major if not the most important Islamic educational center in the world. *President Obama chose Egypt in 2009, two years before the revolution ended the rules of the pharaohs, as the place from which to address the Arab and Muslim countries- check link below from ArabamericanWire about that visit. Egypt borders the State of Israel, it borders the Gaza Strip, the future Palestinian State in the West Bank and Gaza. It borders Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Egypt has to transition to democracy with a military oversight- by the way it will happen even if the Muslim Brotherhood candidate wins; no other choice for now. Shafiq, the military and intelligence candidate, will be able to work with the Military leaders, of course, of the country to build a foundation for a new and democratic Egypt, will help to write a new constitution that in my opinion should establish a secular Egypt and will help in the new parliamentary elections to replace the one that the Egyptian Constitutional High Court ruled couple of days ago as unconstitutional; the one the Muslim Brotherhood had a majority. On the other hand, if the expected new parliamentary elections is held and the Muslim Brotherhood wins, then they should form the government. I expect the new president first job is writing a new constitution, and then preliminary elections. **David Brinkley, the late famous TV personality and the former ABC anchor of “ This Week with David Brinkley” once said “ Vote For the Crook” in describing the only two choices for the governor of louisiana; a former KKK leader, David Duke, and a former governor, Edwin Edwards, who was famous and on record of being corrupt. Brinkley’s quote applies to Egypt now.
*President Obama's Cairo University Speech 06/06/2009
http://arabamericanwire.blogspot.com/2009/06/president-obamas-cairo-university.htm**Poor Gaza! By Jamil Shawwa 06/25/2007
http://arabamericanwire.blogspot.com/2007/06/poor-gaza.html

Irani The Israeli and Abraham The Egyptian by Jamil Shawwa

Irani is at his usual place, with his touristic gadgets and antiques- few antiques, mostly new stuff- and souvenirs; he is the first thing that greets tourists buses visiting the Clock Tower in Ashkelon, in the State of Israel-about ten miles away from Gaza. Buses line up, tourists go down to enjoy this small Mediterranean City hospitality and buy from Irani, One of the best Falafel sandwiches and Pizza in Israel were in Ashkelon, last time I was there probably not after 1989-I came to America in 1990. The drive from Gaza to Ashkelon is about 17 kilometers, imagine, how close Gaza to Ashkelon, and vice versa. Actually living in America; a US citizen, and driving miles and miles, sometimes daily, every time the 17 kilos, about 12 miles come to mind, I get shocked, so close;nothing. Exactly like driving from where I live in Northern Virginia  to downtown Washington DC. Irani is a good pleasant hospitable man, like the city he is from; always welcoming and we always greeted him by his name; Irani, maybe because he was originally from Iran and immigrated to Israel- I do not think though that was his real name. He was in his mid 40s. We never bought anything from Irani, we were not your typical tourists visiting the State of Israel, we used to drive often from Gaza for a change and to enjoy the city and to shop around- like many Gazans at that time. At some point I had a hairdresser- once I found few relatives at her hair salon having haircuts- I forgot her name, she used to have a salon in downtown Ashkelon, or the old part of the City. The Clock Tower, was the new Ashkelon, with fancy houses overlooking the Mediterranean and couple of country clubs. Irani always talked about peace but never in details, always in general terms, maybe because he was so kind that he did not feel that he needed to engage anyone in debates, also maybe because he was a merchant and a businessman, and as a businessman, he does not want to take sides. The bottom line is that he kept saying to us why we fight- The Palestinians, the Arabs and the Israelis- there is enough land for all of us to live in peace.  Abraham the Egyptian is another story; he is an American now lives in the DC area and works in a convenient store with other Egyptian youth, they are all over the place now-in DC. I go there, and Abraham is kind, he knows the order, delivers it as soon as he sees me and then he would ask the question, Mursi or Shafiq- the two candidates for president in Egypt- and I would not answer but say, what do you think Abe, the abbreviation of Abraham, he would answer with ( explicit) ...both of them..and he would say the same thing that Gregory the Greek told me, check the previous article here, that thanks God he is in America and away from Egypt. Before the first round of the Egyptian presidential elections that took place last month-the second phase this coming weekend-Abed and other Egyptians at that convenient store wanted Amr Moussa- Former Arab League Secretary General and former Egyptian Foreign Minister- to win; none  of those Egyptians wanted the Muslim Brotherhood candidates to win. I’m not sure if this is actually how they felt but it was what they communicated to me. Abe used to say before the first round that there is no way that the military in Egypt would allow a Muslim Brotherhood to be president, he used to say, hey, the military will be screwed if one of the other candidates win;he would continue to say, and another reason, how could Egypt elect president  that was in jail; that was Abe’s logic. Abe was referring to the fact that most of the Muslim Brotherhood leadership were at some point in jail during the era between 1952 and even before and 2011, and  especially during Hosni Mubarak, the last Egyptian president that represented  the continuation of the 1952 generation that ended the monarchy there and established a military regime that formally ended in 02/2011, but still governing through a transition period. Abe would ask and say, hey, Jamil, would or could such thing happen in America; where a person who was in jail could run for office; and I answered and say yes, they could run after they pay their debt to society and its up to the voters, technically, to decide; yes, it could happen. Now in Egypt the accusations to the Muslim Brotherhood leadership that were in jail, were  all political, they were under arrest for defying or being a threat to the state security as prosecutors used to claim. Some though were accused directly for being involved in terrorists attacks, especially the ones that took place in the 1990s. Abe still would look at me with suspicion not believing that a “criminal” as he would describe them, would run and could win. I dropped by the other day and there were two of them, Abe-Abraham- and his co worker Magdi, and both just started to say that they went and voted at the Egyptian Embassy but emphatically refused to say for whom they voted. I’m personally glad that they voted, and that is the bottom line, in my opinion, to vote.

Egypt and the Peace with the State of Israel..... today 06/04/2012....

Egypt should move beyond the 1950s and the 1960s demagoguery slogans that made Egypt lose its dignity before losing its assets,  to the 2012, to today. 


Meaning, presidential candidates who inject maliciously and intentionally the peace with the State of Israel which is the way of now and the future, in any campaign, should be exposed and dropped, it is as easy as dropping an empty plastic cup, in the recycle bin, I do not want to say the trash can. The path to a Palestinian State in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip is now the responsibility of the Israelis and the Palestinians and no one else.


Egypt’s grand movement towards peace is a not a campaign slogan, but it is the normal and the only way for every and any country in the Middle East. The New Middle East will witness a Palestinian State in The West Bank and Gaza and will witness a Jerusalem, the city of peace, as an open city for all and a capital for both the State of Israel and the State of Palestine, in the West Bank and Gaza.

Gregory the Greek...by Jamil Shawwa

Gregory the Greek told me while leaving the house, after installing two ceiling fans that took him six hours to finish- I did not pay by the hour, I paid by job completed: Thanks God, I’m in America, Greece is like a third world country -Gregory’s words not mine- he continued to say that the same thing- Europe bailing out Greece- happened few times in Greece’s history, he mentioned 1946, when the US lifted the economy there through building military bases and employing people. 

Gregory continued blasting the Greek political system and society and said that the Greeks are doing nothing, they have no resources, that their economy is going to continue to collapse, and that they have to depend on someone else to survive. 

Gregory was tired- once done with his work and did not want to talk anymore in his way out. I tried, but then he looked at me and said, c'mon you came originally from the Middle East, you know how it is. I did know exactly what he meant and I did not answer or knew how to answer. 

The Middle East is very rich, and I believe Greece and Turkey are the same; its is just the usual corrupt politicians in Greece, or incompetent, to say the least, and in the Arab countries, in the Middle East, it's the dictators that thought that their people are nothing but animals, or sheep, or subhuman and did not put the policies to develop, and some dictators deceived them with socialism until production halted, and the unemployment skyrocketed- then the Arabs decided last year in their respective countries in the Middle East to revolt and throughout the dictators; a process that is bringing results incrementally. 

Gregory said again, hey man, forget it, thanks God I’m in America and not in that terrible corrupt Greece, and then just left. I could not get more information but probably I got the bottom line; the dissatisfaction, the disappointment in politicians who never cared to build a strong, evolving and renewable economy- I like the word Renewable, I keep using it left and right, it became like the other word that I love; But.. 

Gregory felt that the job probably was more than what he bargained for or thought it would take, and I did not give any tips; you do not give tips in America for plumbers, electricians, and so forth and so on; just the set upfront agreed upon fees, usually. 

Another Greek, a plumber this time, told me before that the Greeks are “Crooks”, that they want to bleed Germany to death from aid and that they want to revenge Germany’s atrocities during the Second World War! Costa, real names as Gregory, might have been out there, much more than Gregory but still, there is a problem in Greece and Europe. 

In the USA, Europe has become a punching line, and a butt of jokes on late night TV shows, it has become like dogs chew toys in politicians campaigns; just google and check what and how Mitt Romney the Republican presidential nominee to be,is talking about Europe; with disgust and humiliation and a condescending tone. 

Today, president Obama in a speech, warned Americans from what he described as “economic headwinds from Europe”. What is next, Europeans are talking emotionally but they are not talking pragmatically, and this is the main difference between America and Europe, here we talk how can we do it, and not why we cannot do it, in Europe, they talk about nationalistic narrow minded interests, and nationalistic historic sentiments; the British are actually and geographically still think that they are an island in Europe and still afraid to be invaded by someone; Germans! the French are trying to stay alive by aligning themselves with Europe's Iron lady, Frau Merkel of Germany who might lose the next federal elections because the Germans are tired from paying for the rest. the Italians are screaming, the Spanish are warning of a similar Greek crisis, the Greeks are drowning, the Scandinavian countries look at all as if they are not part of Europe; in a word or so, Europe is a Mess, a big Mess. The solution, how would I know; but I think Europe cannot have it halfway; either full fiscal integration across the board with a strong European Bank or this, what we are seeing right now and what Gregory the Greek is predicting.


Check: It is the Old Greek Ploy Thing By Jamil Shawwa