Buddhists and Muslims in Myanmar....by Jamil Shawwa

I'm getting first hand exposure on this tragedy that has been going on in Myanmar for actually almost two hundred years. Based on reports, the Muslim minorities known as the Rohingya, in the Arakan state, have been denied citizenship and basic human rights since the province officially has been part of Burma, Myanmar now. According to news reports, the recent tragic escalations and bloodshed in the relations between the majority Buddhists and the minority Muslims started when three Muslim men allegedly raped a Buddhist woman. The president of Myanmar, Thein Sein , today, said that the bloodshed is not sectarian but it is about revenge. The Noble Prize winner and human rights worldwide famous Suu Kyi is not involved and does not want to be involved, based, again, on reports. Basically and by taking first look, obviously, there is tragedy and injustice, somewhere and somehow, more to come.. Status updates via VOA, Pakistan Daily times, The Nation and others.

The Monkey In The Middle …....by Jamil Shawwa

I was so naive, thinking that I can set in peace, try to chill, and mind my own business, for a change, that  all of  sudden  I  was awoken by a loud shout out, but not one of those motivational  shout outs for doing a good job, no, but a shout out that beneath it  lies  events that need to be unfolded and completed. The kids had a conference, not sure if the evil power was part of it, but the decision was to reject and deny daddy  moments of peace, harmony and tranquility that I thought that I can smuggle away for myself for just few moments or so. The kiddies, God bless them, refused to leave me in peace, of course not, daddy in peace, no way, must interrupt the old man’s thought process and quietness.. and they shouted again, no, this time, they gave an order, in a unified voice; hey, daddy, come over, so this time I jumped and I complied without questioning, bad habit- but I did not want to shout back, I'm trying to reduce the shouting process in this household- and went to the shouts source and looked at them in silent protest, and  without moving my lips, but with anticipation like George H. W. Bush, Read My Lips, to the democrats, but instead of the lips, I used the eyes, I thought my looks would substitute for my hesitation to ask, expecting as usual something that might not be in my best interest...They looked back in challenging eyes and started, and said, come and play with us, we are playing Monkey in the Middle and we want you to be the Monkey. I said first thanks for the compliment, Monkey is not bad after all, I expected a worse term, a  favorite animal of mine that I often use to describe “ smart” politicians and it starts with the letter "Jack", but thanks God, this time I was spared the resemblance and the reminder. I said ok, what is monkey in the middle, do I have to dance or something or sing, or what. They said nothing of that and those things that you have mentioned are the last  things  we want you to do. We heard you singing and we saw you dancing and they rolled their eyes, looked at each other and back at me and said, all you have to do is to stand in the middle and try to catch the ball that we are tossing back and forth. Ok, I thought, not bad, it could have been worse, like asking me to go for ice skating or something but monkey is ok, monkey is good. And I stood in the middle, baffled, expecting the worse, again, looking  like Peter Sellers in that scene in “Shot in the Dark”, when he went to arrest an alleged perpetrator and found himself in a Nudie Colony and did not know what to do. Anyway, the middle it is, a good place to be, you can see how the ball is going and where and why, you can see the parties playing the game, but there is a problem which is that you need to focus on the ball and not the players, because if you have more than two players, which is how it is usually with a game like this, you cannot keep swinging, or circling to see who is doing what, but if you  focus on the ball up in the air, it is much easier to catch, and once you catch the prize, I mean the ball, then its your turn to be on the aisle and throw the ball to the other parties like Ping Pong and the monkey in the middle is like the net in the middle. Middle Grounds, is it good or is it bad, usually you do not get paid to be in the middle, but you get the joy and the freedom, but then, once you catch the ball, if you choose to catch it or if you get an invitation to be the monkey in the middle and take turns, you are no longer in the middle but you are a party of a game from the inside and not from the outside, so its like a cycle or a circle, it does not have clear rules, except for playing the game, and exchanging roles back and forth....and everyone at some point has to be the Monkey in the Middle..of course that is if you decide to catch the ball and not just standing in the middle avoiding on purpose or not, catching the ball..

Mosque in America; Joplin, Missouri Style... by Jamil Shawwa

Multiple domestic terrorists/criminals/mentally sick, hitting people and targets in the US; a Mosque in Missouri that keeps “getting burned” after a federal judge said that its ok to build a Mosque in the community of Joplin. *The second, a terrorist, criminal, mental case, call him whatever you want, goes to a movie theater in Aurora Colorado and kills dozen and injured dozens. A confirmed domestic terrorist, gender and race self- claimed supremacist, goes to an American temple, Sikh, Indian, and kills people. So what do we make out of these incidents, all besides the perpetrator, show complete incompetence in predicting the times we live in, the necessity to have some sort of security and surveillance, you cannot depend on the goodwill of the people, although the “normal” are the majority humans all over the world. **As for Joplin, the State of Missouri and the FBI need to provide - if proven there is criminal motives behind the fires and there is based on the evidence and facts from the FBI itself-, protection for this place of worship and place of God, or the Mosque and the community need to create some sort of surveillance or community protection. The time is now for America to
have its eyes wide open; terrorism does not have a specific shape, or color, or background, or religion; it comes in all colors and all sizes and all shapes.

**facebook from 07/18/2012 http://www.facebook.com/jamil.shawwa
*ArabAmericanWire from 07/30/2012 America America; Gun control is out of Control by Jamil Shawwahttp://arabamericanwire.blogspot.com/2012/07/america-americagun-control-is-out-of.html

Syria's Update Now ….08/06/2012 by Jamil Shawwa

That is it for Syria’s Al-Assad; there is no way that the Summer will end and Al Assad is still in office. The whole regime is collapsing, the top person below Al Assad, the prime minister, ran away, defected today, and few weeks ago, the whole security apparatus, including Al-Assad’s brother in law, the husband of his eldest sister, Bushra, got killed in bombing of their meeting location. The regime is vanishing and collapsing  like tiny soldiers on a Chessboard. Aleppo, to everyone’s surprise, might be the last nail in Al Assad’s coffin. The Summer of Syria is underway, and the Middle East is on a verge for the first time in its history, ready for the historic conciliation among its countries and among its followers, the sons of Abraham, the followers of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

Terror in Milwaukee Wisconsin …...A Crime against America By Jamil Shawwa

We are not talking here about just Sikh, we are talking about American citizens that have been murdered by an American citizen. So the direct motive based on the background of the murdered Americans and the background of the murderer, and the reports thus far, is hate, domestic terrorism based on national origins, ethnicity and way of life, an American way of life, that is the bottom line. This crime  was against America and what it stands for and not just about a Nut going to a temple and commiting a crime.

من شفيقة القبطية لمصر الإخوانية اليوم 08/04/2012 بقلم جميل محمد الشوا

من شفيقة القبطية لمصر الإخوانية اليوم 08/04/2012 بقلم جميل محمد الشوا

شفيقة القبطية النهاردة مصرية...

و لسة كمان، شفيقة القبطية، كانت مصرية قبل مصر ما كانت مصرية...

شفيقة بالصوت اليوم رقعت و ندهت و قالت انت يا عبيد  يا مكرم وانت يا نحاس  يا مصطفي وأنت يا ساويرس يا نجيب..

مين دول، اللي حرقوا و قتلوا و نهبوا و سرقوا  في ابو العلا بولاق ،و  في دهشور وقبل كدة في الزاويه الحمرا وفاسيوط..

نط ساويرس و قال، يا خالتي، و نط النحاس و مكرم و قالوا يا ختي...

بيقولوا مصريين و جدودهم سلفيين..

و الأقباط غرب ماهماش مسلميين و لا مصريين و مصر اليوم إخوانية .وعل جبينها زبيبة  سلفيه...

و شفيقة بأعلي صوت شخطت و بعلو حسها ردحت..و قالت بس ، انتوا إيه اتجننتوا و في دمغاكم اتطاسيتوا وتناسيطوا، إخوان أية و سلف أية و مسلمين بس, ليه..

مش ممكن دانا كنت بمصر الفرعونيه والاسراىيلية  والمسيحية والإسلامية و كلهم كانوا صحاب و خوان و جيران..،

دانا خواتي فاطمة و ماريكا و راشيل...

روحوا قبل الفطار دلوقتي و اطرودوهم، دول أنا فكراهم، من دوقنهم فاكراهم...

روحوا وانا القبطية شفيقة....

عل الفطارفي رمضان للمدفع  مستنية، بس أوعوا في السكة تتوهوا و عن الكنيس و الكنيسة والجامع تزوغوا.

 جميل 

Chick-fil-A Mission; Religious Straight Chicken...by Jamil Shawwa

Chick-Fil-A can probably use freedom of speech in the first amendment to voice opinions, but if and once the company starts to discriminate based on sexual orientation or based on its own religious and political beliefs, then here where advocates can step in and file lawsuits. Nevertheless it is not something that we hear every day or even every decade, that a business would do something like this. We should not probably discard the profit factor here; the owners know based on their calculations that using the religious card is profitable and has been profitable. the owners of Chick -Fil-A are claiming God’s message to increase traffic at their doorsteps.http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-chick-fil-a-day-20120802,0,1647505.story

The Tea Party...a footnote in a footnote...by Jamil Shawwa

The Tea Party Movement in America is nothing but a passing footnote in the history book of  American politics. Such movements appear from time to time in democratic countries as a wake up call, a shock and a serious reminder to the establishment, the Democratic party and the  Republican party in the US, and politicians who get too comfortable and too cozy with politics as usual that they become so complacent with the status quo and become so stale and take their voters and constituents for granted. The Tea Party technically is on the Right of the Right, the Right of the conservative Republican party, and it does have supporters in sporadic parts in America, but nothing more and nothing less. Check it out here on ArabAmericanWire from 11/03/2010 “Report Card To Obama......By Jamil Shawwa”
http://arabamericanwire.blogspot.com/2010/11/report-card-to-obamaby-jamil-shawwa.html  

America America..Gun Control is Out of Control....by Jamil Shawwa

On Friday 07/20/2012, a masked man in a Batman movie character costume, went to a movie theater in Aurora Colorado at the midnight premiere of the new Batman movie, not carrying a movie ticket to watch the show but an AK-47 to kill people, moviegoers, innocent spectators.


He went through the ticket line, I'm assuming that he bought a ticket, and went through the doors, no security and no metal detectors, just young boys or girls clipping tickets, or elderly senior citizens doing the same thing, nothing in between except for greedy theater owners that have no regard or sense for minimum security to provide their patrons, or city and state and country that are not aware of the need to monitor, minimum monitoring- no freedom infringement- places where thousands of people attend to enjoy and not attend to be killed.


In the same night, hours laters, Michael Bloomberg, the Republican Mayor of New York City confronted in frank way the politicians running for offices and especially the presidential candidates, The Democrat Obama and the Republican Romney, to start to do something about this issues, gun control, and to stop sidestepping what is, according to millions of Americans, detrimental to them to feel safe in malls, movie theaters, schools and streets.


Today, 07/30/2012, Reuters released a poll, a survey, showing that almost half of Americans asked, support some sort of gun control and purchasing. We are no longer talking about a hobby to hunt, but  sickening minds that want to kill.


On 07/22/2012, president Obama interrupted his campaign, and flew to Aurora to offer his condolences and support to the families of the victims. There, Obama said, "AK-47s belong on battlefield, not streets" .The following Thursday Time had the gun control matter and the Aurora murders on the cover with a cover story title of " How Guns Won" stating from Time’s perspective that Americans are not for gun control and basically it is an issue that will not be resolved in favour for  the advocates of gun control.


The US Constitution Second amendment grants Americans "the right to bear arms" and the Supreme Court largely and historically has uphold this amendment but has interpreted it with variations ,occasionally, based on lawsuits and challenges to it.


After the failed assassination attempt of president Reagan in 1981, the Brady Law was introduced to require background check before purchasing guns. But it did not factually prevent crime, most murders that were in the style and magnitude of the Aurora killings and killer were by individuals with no criminal record, mostly people who "suddenly" decided to act.


Now, what is the solution, we have a constitution that grants the right but it does not say what type of weapons and for what. I mean what if someone decide to purchase a canon, can they just claim that the constitution grants that to them.


Today it was reported that James Holmes, the alleged killer, of the Aurora movie theater purchased 6000 round of ammunition online;ammunition that he used to kill people and not hunt birds and dears.


What about the online gun purchasing and ammunition being delivered to killers and psychopaths doorsteps. Can advocates and politicians and even regular citizens through their elected officials, if the politicians dare to challenge the strongest lobby in America, the Gun lobby, the NRA, raise the issue, and try if not to redefine the gun laws and second amendment, but limit the types, the means and ways that people can purchase guns and ammunitions.


Do people need battlefield guns to feel safe in their homes and use if needed for self defense , or do they purchase battlefield guns to substitute and supplement a dangerous and deadly inferiority complex and a mind that is ready to snap at any provocation or to imitate any movie villains.


We are basically giving people a licence to kill and not license of self protection. Same applies to our laws that provide people a licence to kill such as “ Stand your Ground law” that allowed a killer in Florida back in February of this year to track an innocent teeanger, an unarmed walking person and  kill him in cold blood.


Does killing other humans became so easy and so simple that societies cheer to a certain extend killers with licensed guns, or say at least the killer did not steal the gun, but bought it legally like any commodity.


Are we having killers treated like movie stars, with protection and entourage wherever they move and bunch of lawyers on their side complaining  about how “harsh” society was on them.


Few months ago, in Norway, a deranged, hateful person, went on a killing spree and “eliminated” over seventy souls claiming that he is doing it to “clean” his country from foreigners changing the lifestyle of his country. That killer is now so close to run for office with all this media frenzy around him, saluting the press Corp, and making statements that news publish as if coming from an “authority” in human relations.


The time is now for a new contract that does not depend on the goodwill of humans, but on laws and regulations that do not eliminate the US constitution’s Second amendment, but makes it human and fair and just and competent and finally proactive and preventive.


Check updates and related since first published:

Chris Kyle

A Profile of a Terrorist; a homegrown terrorist: The South Carolina Black Church Murderer

Sandy Hook Elementary School

Umpqua Community College

The Lafayette

Sandy Hook Elementary School 2

Republicans and Democrats

South Carolina Black Church 2

Norway Killer Anders Behring Breivik

Norway Killer Anders Behring Breivik 2

..بنت من حلب بقلم جميل محمد الشوا ..07/26/2012

البنت الحلبية اليوم .. شامية. و حمصية       

والأسد والعلوي  والبعثي بالدبابات بحاصرا بدو  يؤدبا

والبنت الحلبية بتصرخ هالمرة صرخة حقيقية، مو  صرخة دلعية و عل عوايدا غنجية،   ولجوزا بتقول ,  ابن عمي، مين هيدا اللي بالصاروخ والدبابات  بصحن البيت  بيؤمر و بيتعنتر..و بيدق عل الباب     

دقة همجيه ...شبيحية...

روح ابن عمي و اطرد السوري الهمجي الغريب، بدي روح عل السوق اتسوق. الكبة الحلبية عل النار والفحمة يا دوبك مستويه...

ما نقصا  الا شويه و شويات ابن عمي...بس الغريب بصحن البيت بالدبابات مانعا...

اطلع ابن عمي، خياتي   بالشام و حمص و أدلب ودرعا شروا الكوسا الجاهز المؤور  والاكله اكلوا، ما ضل  الا بنت حلب عل السوق تروح و بخياتا تلحق ..  

و تحط الطبخة عل النار و تخلصا...

جميل محمد الشوا

Open Borders; The Palestinians, The State of Israel and Egypt...by Jamil Shawwa

The expected decision of Egypt to open its borders, with no permits or visa needed, is commendable. The people of Gaza and the West Bank should have the “Freedom of Travel”. But in the same token, the neighboring countries;The State of Israel, Jordan and Egypt, have also the right to demand like any other country in the world, that borders are for people and goods to cross and for business to flourish and not for suicide bombers and enraged terrorists to kill and attack. Every country has the right to protect its borders, and frankly speaking, if those TV fanatics and their puppet masters in the Middle East did not send suicide bombers into Israeli territories, Israel, probably, would not have imposed such restrictions on the borders, or build walls. The Palestinians now have a golden opportunity, again and again,  to not get manipulated, by lowlives that only want to see them  fall further into the abyss...Do not close your lifelines...open roads, and build bridges..

من مصر الثورجية لمصر الإخوانية ....بقلم، جميل محمد الشوا 07/23/2012

و في الصباحية؛ صباحية ٥٢، والشلة اللي هيا...ظباط صغار في غفلة من الزمان، قاموا و قالوا للي قاعد في المنتزه و عابدين و راس التين، قوم و روح ، دي مصر دلوقت بقت حرة و انت يا وعدي غريب عليا و مصر مش تكية..

قام شال تاجة وأعطاه لناصر و الشلة هدية...

و تعظيم سلام لملك  ورق الكوتشينة..

وابتدأ المشوار بكلمه في الراديو للسادات..

والشعب هلل و قال فرجت ، اهو حاكمنا نجيب و الشلة...

و في ليله ضلمه القمر فيها استخبى, نجيب بعد ما شرب الكأس ،اتشال خلسه.. 

و ناصر و عامر كلوا الكحكة، و عامر بالحشيش بعدها حبس الحتة..

و قام ناصر يبرطع بالحته و قال للفلاح بالغيط، قوم ياصحبي دا نت بقيت صاحب الحتة...

وروح جروبي ، دة في مارون جلاسيه و حاجات حلوة

و راديو و مترو دول بقوا ملك الحتة ..

والمصري بطيبته صدق الكدبه..وفي السكة يا عيني اتبهدل واطرد واتضرب

و اتزل و برضة قال لناصر والشلة ، فين الحته، دانتوا برضة اهل بلد..و إحنا اتوعدنا بالكحكة...رد ناصر و قال ، يا غشم يا عمي انتوا صدقتوا الكدبه، دي كانت من ابو ذيد الهلالي حته  و خلصت التوتة...روح بيتك و سك عل اهلك و بابك لبعتلك نصر و بسيوني والشلة يخلوك تشوف في عز الضهر نجمة و كحكه...

و في يناير في عيد الشرطة.. وقف الشعب و قال أنا عايز الكحكة اللي اتوعدت من ٥٢ و ليها و بيها اتعشمت و حطيط في عيني كحله ...

و مشي في الميدان و زعق و قال كفاية...دانتوا لا اهل بلد ولا حكاية...  

دانتوا فراعنة و حدوتة راحت

بره بقي روحوا طرة و سكوا عل الباب من غير رجعة.. 

و المشير و  الفريق والجيش قالوا ماشي، خدوا الكحكة بس إحنا قاعدين نحرس الحته...

والشعب كحل صباعة و خد الكحكة ...و عل الجبين رسم زبيبة.،،

و قال يا مرسي الزناتي يا بوالعباس يا فتوه أنا عملتلك من جبيني و عل جبيني زبيبة، خدها واذا عايز كلها بس اوعى تنسى الحكاية، حكاية الكحكة و صبرنا من ٥٢  و الاف السنين عل الحته...

بقلم،

جميل محمد الشوا 

The Curse of Alexander Haig; Romney's Edition by Jamil Shawwa

In 1981, President Reagan was  subject to an assassination attempt; his VP George H.W .Bush was not immediately available so the Secretary of State  Alexander Haig and the third in command in the administration, in a press conference before the White House Press Corps, announced "I'm in now in control" and that was it for him, few months later, he resigned and was forgotten and outcast from American politics. Now Romney is saying that "I'm  not in charge" of the Bain investment firm that he owned, and that as of 1999, he owned but did not manage, that he had nothing to do with the decisions the firm made or outsourcing or closing businesses in the US and laying off people. The curse of in charge and not in charge is coming back to haunt another Republican politician . Haig was a Republican presidential material as many thought but Romney is different , he is going to be the Republican party nominee for president and if Haig was done after that episode, Romney to the contrary still have a chance to manage the " in charge or not" by the time of the Republican Convention, otherwise it will add to other hurdles waiting for him by the time of the first debate with the democratic nominee for president Barack Obama. The time is not in favor of Mitt Romney;Bain is in the shadows.

Circumcision in Germany...by Jamil Shawwa

Headline: "**German circumcision ban unites religions, worries doctors"

Reporting Vehicle: The Chicago Tribune

My Note:

Circumcision for boys is not only a tradition but a world wide practice. In the United States, and based on what doctors and nurses told me personally, 99% of the boys born in America get their extra part removed immediately after birth. This is a fact across the board, meaning it covers all religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam; The Divine religions. And it covers others faiths, Hinduism, Buddhism, and so on and so forth. In Europe and the Middle East, my understanding is that the practice is mostly done through followers of Judaism and Islam. Now, it seems based on AP and this article attached from the Chicago Tribune, that the law in Germany in not clear regarding this matter and accordingly society leaders  particularly of Judaism and Islam need to raise it legally and demand clarity. Circumcision according to medical reports is healthy, normal, and does not and never affected any performance whatsoever or any human aspect. For girls, it is a different story, no religion or faith allows it, and it is practiced in backward pockets in the Middle East and other parts of the world, as far as I’m concerned, and it violates -again according to all doctors and medical scholars-the female right to have normal healthy, emotional and sexual life.

**http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-germany-circumcisionbre86b0xf-20120712,0,2634170.story 

Washington DC and Suburbs: Two Nights and Day Two No Electricity Update by Jamil Shawwa

Lines and lines in front of Gas stations;lines and lines in front of the grocery stores; not sure why, we cannot put anything in the refrigerators.

Not much police presence; America is handling itself without much authority on the road..

We the drivers and the commuters are organizing traffic at crossroads; we are more than usual courteous, we go in turns, and we turn in turns...

Virginia and DC; the most affected declared emergency, deployed the National Guards, but we do not see them, they are there, I think, if we need them...

Congress and the President are silent; they live here, but it would not be prudent to talk electricity now, and they have electricity although living in no electricity zones...But I’m not going to play politics here, our Federal Government and constitutional departments must function regardless if the other neighbouring streets have or have not electricity. National defence is the bottom line friends, or Mates as the Aussies would say...

The electric companies, Dominion, PEPCO and others are issuing hourly progression reports; they never talk about what happened or how, they never talk about where it happened, they never talk about what are they going to do to prevent it from happening again. They just talk that they are repairing, and they are. But the other information, we Americans, do not need to know.

The lucky ones  have generators; very few though, in my neighbourhood, only one, others .luckier, probably, flooded hotels around here, The Ritz Carlton and the Four Seasons are fully booked..and Motel 6 as well..But again, not to play politics,  it could be because the 4th of July holiday on Wednesday..Wait a minute; it cannot drag that long, on the fourth of July we celebrate America’s birth, no way without electricity, no way without fireworks...but the electric companies are telling us that it could take weeks before full restoration....

Average Americans like me flooded McDonalds and Starbucks for free electricity, free Air Conditioning and free Internet...But as a courtesy at least order something...

Public Libraries are open, Cooling centers are open;and this is America. You have or you have not, there is a place for you. But  you need to learn, and you need to go to that place and try at least to reach it..

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

The Hashemite kingdom of the Refugees... by Jamil Shawwa

The Palestinians in Jordan according to realistic data count to 70% of the population and according to official Jordanian data count to 45% of the same population were not the first refugees to settle in Jordan.

The Palestinians who fled the war torn pre-1948 Historic Palestine, the State of Israel except for the West Bank and Gaza,  were the second wave of refugees; the first refugees that came to this piece of land East of the Jordan river were the Hashemites themselves, who rule Jordan now. Prior to their move to Jordan, The Hashemites ruled what is known now of the Saudi Arabia- to be precise part of it.  They for generations, ruled the revered Muslim cities of Mecca and Medina, and they according to them and other historians are dissident of the prophet Muhammad who himself  came from the premiere tribe in Mecca, known as Quriesh.The Hashemites at some point  in the 20th century and through the late 1950s ruled Jordan, Syria and Iraq. The Hashemites, talented and gifted politicians but with not much luck. They were kicked out of Syria, and then they were massacred in  Iraq by a bloody coup in  1958. They  now rule Jordan, which is surrounded by the State of Israel, The West Bank and Gaza- as a one unit- Iraq, Syria-tough neighborhood as  the current king, Abdullah, says anytime he has a chance to face the media and talk about the Middle East and the Palestinian issue. Here we get to the thrust of this article and the entrance and a conclusion; tough neighborhood and politics. The king wants to change the reputation of his kingdom to something else, to a country ,that if he could, has nothing to do with the Palestinians in the West Bank- Gaza is gone, does not count, and actually was never part of the Jordanians domain, although some individuals were loyal to the Hashemite, they, the Hashemite have never been popular, nor did they ever claimed Gaza, they played the United Arab Kingdom in the early 1970s but that it was just that, a play, a political maneuver that preceded the October 1973 war-  the same way they claimed the West Bank and its heart Jerusalem. Gaza had an Egyptian presence until Egypt was defeated in the Six Days War  in June of 1967 with Israel and was kicked out of Gaza and  from its own Sinai by the Israeli forces. But the king cannot escape history and cannot escape the Palestinian presence and cannot so far melt them in a Jordanian identity that would have nothing to do with a word called Palestinians. The reason is simple, they the Jordanians cannot stand  the word Jordanian- Palestinian like to say for example Arab- American, or Irish -American or Palestinian or Israeli American; they just cannot. Jordan with Lebanon, have been the only two Arab countries, clearly, that their politics directly attached in steel chain links with the Palestinian problem or solution. The reason is again the Palestinian refugees- generations of them since 1948- living in both countries in numbers that if added to the original population, would, theoretically change the demography drastically in the favor of the Palestinians- in theory only, again, but with democracy and one identity; it should not, because the loyalty by large will be to the new identity and not to something that does not exist or cannot be gotten back or even, the majority do not want it back and does not make sense even in thinking of getting it back- but of course historically the Arabs and the Palestinians played the refugees card, blackmailed their own people, the Palestinians and the Arabs, in the name of Palestine. Arab dictators and their local puppets and cronies in Gaza and the West Bank and other Arab capitals, Amman-Jordan one of them of course, claimed legitimacy because as they said- deceivingly and hypocritically- that they are there, in power, absolute corrupted power, that there is no democracy, because there is a bigger fish to fry; who else but  the Palestinians and they were right here; they did fry the Palestinians and also fried their own.
Both Jordan and lebanon had civil wars directly because of the Palestinian armed presence there, Jordan in 1970 and Lebanon, just five years after, in 1975, and after the PLO was kicked out of Jordan and moved to Lebanon as a result of the Cairo Agreement in 1969 that the Maronite lebanese president and Army commander- both Christian Maronites agreed on with the top Arab dictator at the time, Gamal Abdul Nasser of Egypt; who else could it be and with a rising star in Arab and Palestinian politics that went  by the name of Yasser Arafat.  The Arabs involvement in the Palestinian problem since 1948 brought only disasters to the Palestinian cause. But the Arabs were not the only convicts in the affair, the Palestinians leadership was involved directly in making the Palestinian case or cause, a lost case. and a lost cause. Not until Yasser Arafat took over in the late 1960s that the Palestinian problem took a Palestinian direction, gained momentum in the international arena; first through what some called terrorism, others called struggle, but then gained momentum through peace and then through peacemaking the Palestinian issue or question became headed by a Palestinian and created an identity around it, and that it was no longer a refugees issue but bigger than that, it became a journey to establish a Palestinian State based on two UN resolutions, 242 and 338, which state a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza; the rest is the State of Israel . The  Golan Heights will be resolved and with arrangements with the State of Israel,  will be returned back to Syria. So the future will consist of states that already exist in the Middle East but will add a state or two, Palestine in the West Bank and Gaza, and maybe at some point a Kurdistan, which I personally think will be strategically fantastic to have for all the countries involved, Turkey, Iraq and Syria. The Middle East though this perspective will be a land of practical peace and not a dream peace, why dream it, why sing it, if you can actually make it happen. Jordan will no longer be the country of the refugees,Palestinians, Iraqis, Syrians, Chechens, Armenians, kurds, and all other kinds, but will be a Jordanian state with the Hashemites, possibly, as the non governing constitutional monarchy and a symbol to have for the bedouins there and as a stabilizing factor in the area.

California....a developing country...by Jamil Shawwa

I read somewhere sometime ago that if California were a country by itself, it would rank as  one of the biggest economies in the world: in the first Ten largest economies in the world. What happened...California for over 20 years has been suffering from layoffs, chronic budget deficits, flamboyant governors who do not know their Behinds from their Front and politicians in Sacramento, the state capital, who keep fighting not over how to make the State the biggest economy in the world; imagine, one state in America, but fighting over the number of layoffs they need to do and the taxes they need to increase. As if layoffs, higher taxes and budget cuts especially in education, as it has been going , are the solution. I’m not an economist, but again, if I bring someone from the street, and give them California and its unbelievable resources and infrastructure and corporations and everything, and tell them, please, you do not have to do anything but to manage, to observe...I’m sure this street person would do a better job than our friend here that the Californians brought from an antique museum; Governor Jerry Brown, or the one before him, the Muscles brains, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and the one before him, who the Californians ousted actually, and recalled -kicked him out of office in referendum in 2003-Gray Davis. Now, the governor and the state government are scrambling to understand why there is 15 billion dollars budget deficits; the answer is simple; you, the governor and the politicians in Sacramento. In the picture is governor Brown discussing a "Tax Hike". picture is via AP.

Mitt Romney’s 05/12/2012 Liberty University Vs. George W. Bush’s 02/02/2000 Bob Jones University....by Jamil Shawwa

Today, Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican party nominee for president of the United States went to Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia- my State- to talk family values, to face the bastion of American political Evangelism,and to sell himself; Mitt Romney, the Mormon, as the choice for the conservatives Americans to run for president. The University is the largest Evangelical Christian University in the world,. Conservatism in America, by large, means, Evangelical Christian political values and institutions- The Catholic Church  also has joined most of the times in this quest of preserving  political conservatism. But in reality, although powerful, historically, their actual voting power does not exceed, based on my own calculations, more that 20% of the overall registered  Americans who go and vote, but still, they are powerful, and among them are leaders who influence others- like any other political medium. It also has been a tradition for Republican party  nominee to go to these universities and talk, a normal political tradition, to talk and address the base- although the base and the demography in America are changing rapidly, still religious Christians and overall evangelicals and catholics christians, make a large chunk of the, politically, influential  voting population. The issues Romney addressed today were not the same issues, although the theme is the same; family values, when *George W. Bush on 02/02/200, as a the Republican party nominee, to be,  visited another, yet much more controversial university, Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina. Today the compelling religious /political issue is gay marriage and what constitutes a family, when George W. Bush visited Bob Jones University, the issue was worse, I believe, which was institutional discriminations that the university had in place; banning interracial dating. *On 05/24/1983, The US Supreme Court ruled against Bob Jones University in Bob Jones v. the United States (461 U.S. 574). but the university refused to reverse the interracial policy, not until  after George W. Bush visited that the university in 2000 dropped its policy all together. The relevance is not only, in my opinion, in visiting religious schools although the tradition is very interesting, but the controversial debate that accompanied and coincides with these two visits. In 2000, America did not have any problem with interracial dating and marriage,except  of course for  those that until now continue to struggle with their prejudices and continue to have issues with it but it is something that exist in every county in the globe, if it is not religion, it's the color of the skin, or the national background or the social class and so on and so forth. Today’s issue is much more controversial, maybe as but not as strong or near the  interracial mingling in the 1950s and the 1960s and with Bob Jones University continued until 2000- Not sure how the university was not held in contempt for not executing the Supreme Court ruling of 1983 to ban discrimination and separation of mingling together for various the ethnic groups. So in 2000, Bob Jones University was a sore thumb to the Republican party. Liberty university does not have any controversial policies or history as far as I’m concerned so the School itself today was not the issues as Bob Jones was then, but the issue is the issue, if I can use the term- there is always something in politics and if none is found, which is almost impossible, then the politicians would create one.  Gay marriage; President Obama and the Democratic political establishment and media and fundraising machines came very strong to address it and elevate it at this crucial juncture of the political debate just few months away from the presidential elections., Yet, the elevation was calculated, started with Vice President  Biden approving Gay marriage- actually, before that ,the former president, Bill  Clinton, in an interview approved it and said that gay couple can enter into a normal traditional marriage- President Obama gave it his approval afterward, but Biden apologized for putting the boss on the spot; usual political maneuvers, good cop, bad cop, style. The bottom line is that the Democrats, came out of the of the closet, and approved. and it  became a hot politically debatable issue few months before the presidential elections- but the Republicans do not like it.  Romney today, did not talk  directly about gay marriage ; very smart, anything else, would have  been a  political stupidity at this stage, he talked values, and talked about that marriage is between a man and a woman, but did not criticize other options and did not blast gay marriage or the gay lifestyle in general. Romney the Mormon, talked to the heart of  America’s Protestant evangelical, bastion, talked politics, and talked pragmatism and addressed  what America loves the most; debate the issues, keep the door slightly open, do not close it  or shut it all the way. The American Bill of Rights can be interpreted in many ways, and by many advocates or judges or politicians; the bottom line is this; nothing stays the same, and people or individuals will have their beliefs and the state will do the same and both can switch, or change or amend, or work a deal or something. Obama started reversing, including the immigration policies, policies that constitute that marriage is only an institution between a man and a woman; the way I see it, no president after him will reverse what he reversed.


*Sources: Wikipedia research on Bob Jones University and the Supreme Court decision  (461 U.S. 574).