Mosque in America and the NYPD

ABC reported today that civil rights lawyers are filing lawsuit against the New York Police Department-NYPD accusing them of violating federal laws and guidelines in monitoring Muslims activities and livelihood in New York City.

ABC showed a picture of cameras surrounding a Mosque in the City, pictured in this article. The lawsuit described the police activists as “widespread and intense”.

On January of last year, The New York Times exposed and reported similar activities that need to be looked at from much larger angle and from much clearer lens. The Times talked of a film that has been widely circulated, as a training material, at the NYPD depicting Muslims as potential terrorists and warning of threats of Muslims in America trying to launch“Jihad” terrorism against the country and the government.

The film name was “The Third Jihad” and was funded by a non-profit organization as the report said.   It is well known and customary for security, intelligence and police departments, all over the world to motivate their individuals against potential terror from potential groups by showing real and propaganda- not real- materials.

However, as the Expose reported, this particular video was a complete fabrication and targeted not terrorists or potential terrorists or threats to America, but targeted a population of The United States, a religion that over 2 billions of humans believe in around the world and in the United States. Here it needs a review, and it is being reviewed and it has been pulled out as the Times article mentioned.

America again does not like to be and it is not bigot- there are of course individuals, but they are on the fringe, even across different sectors of the society, in companies, towns, cities and they could be found prejudiced against anything, could be against those that believe in Christianity or sects within it, or Judaism or Hinduism, anything or because someone wears a skirt, or have a beard- it is human, unfortunately, by nature to be prejudice.

Having said that, the vast majority of humans either keep their prejudices to themselves, are clever enough not to show them, pretend not to be prejudice, or spread them legally through freedom of speech; another legal venue until courts decide if a particular bigotry or prejudice cross the line to actually violate existing laws, and an entity or individual or individuals claim and say so and bring them to the attention of the courts system.

Those individuals throughout history, very few, that chose terror to claim a message, are the ones that societies need to target. Those that claim religions to spread a message of hate violently. The danger of these individuals resides in the fact that for the vast majority of people, just the mention of religion makes them jump.

In 2001, America was a target of individuals from Arab countries that said or claimed, before committing their crimes and terror, that they have attacked America in the name of Islam- those individuals belonged to Al Qaeda terror organization.

Now, any human being, unless they are running an agenda, should know that logically and practically this cannot be; religions do not kill or terrorize, individuals with agendas do kill, using for the most part brainwashed other individuals. Those people are everywhere, and smart intelligence in democratic countries would use smart methods to identify.

Historically, in Europe, the Middle East and most parts of the world, there have been bigots as well that spread propaganda about people of Christian faith or Jewish faith. It is very unfortunate, but exists, and it needs to be fought.

America takes on its part to be more sensitive to prejudice, more forceful, maybe, in trying to be right and smart and practical. This film and similar propaganda charge the emotions but it blinds the brains, it clouds judgment and it creates mini isolated societies within the same country.

Continue to fight those methods which say in the name of national security and safety that least not smart and not true or not helpful. In the same time, we the Americans, need  to spread a message that the country will fight against terrorism and terrorists regardless of their claim falsely of religious background that make them do what they do.

History proves that those who have claimed religious motives or religious inspirations to commit crimes have almost always been motivated by political agendas far from the religion, that the religion if it can talk, it would scream so loud…Foul Play. But things will continue, there is no utopia on earth, and accordingly, we normal and law abiding citizens, need to continue to think and expose those that falsely claim allegations that they cannot substantiate, scale or quantify.

Originally published in WSN on 02/06/2013
http://www.wespeaknews.com/features/mosque-in-america-and-the-nypd-140643.html

The Eventual Fall From “grace” of the Muslim Brotherhood

Egypt’s second revolution is underway; this time is not going to be peaceful. The Muslim Brotherhood are failing and fighting back for their own existence. Few days ago angry Egyptians torched down the soccer federation and fueled what looks like a violent protest not only against a court ruling a death penalty to accused of murders during a last year soccer game in Port Said. “The Soccer Revolution” against the Muslim Brotherhood is in progress. If it continues aggressively as it looks like it, Egypt’s generals will be back-maybe. The generals want the people of Egypt to get rid of the Muslim Brotherhood the same way they brought them to power- But the historic peaceful heads low people of Egypt will not be back. The Egyptians are having their eyes wide open and realizing that the enemy is within. The effect of the eventual fall of the Muslim Brotherhood Organization will not only be felt in Egypt but its ripple effect will reach every part in the Middle East where the political organization exists.

Even the complacent people of Gaza are starting to have life in them. They are slowly realizing that Hamas and other organizations that are offshoot of the historic Muslim Brotherhood are nothing but dictatorial regimes that have nothing to do with Islam and God and have everything to do with enslaving the minds and the souls of those they govern.

Syria will have a democratic version of the political Islam contrary to the political Islam presented by the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas. The new Syrian political class will be formed from moderate and pragmatic leaders mainly from well known Syrian Sunni Muslim families but also from all other religions… The Christian Arabs will have a say and will share power.

The Muslim Brotherhood organization in Middle Eastern countries including the State of Israel must to survive declares that their loyalties are to their country first and not second. Meaning; if you are an Israeli Arab or/ and an Israeli Muslim who is a part of the Muslim Brotherhood organization, then your loyalty is to your country; Israel. Same concept applies to the people of Gaza and The West Bank and all countries in The Middle East where the Muslim Brotherhood exists. The Muslim Brotherhood idea revolves around loyalty to the group and not the country; in democratic societies, this concept does not work and people usually, eventually reject it. Sometimes it takes some longer than others.

Believing in an idea, concept, religion, should never contradict the loyalty to the State people live in. The universal divine religions of Islam and Judaism and Christianity in addition to universal faiths like Hinduism and Buddhism do not contradict the above concept. However, the above, loyalty to the State, is found mainly in democratic societies where the State through constitutions and laws, and freely elected legislators protect the right of individuals and groups to think and worship freely.

The “magic” that the Muslim Brotherhood had among many for generations during its underground years is disappearing; the Arabs in The Middle East are realizing that it is just a political organization with regular politicians and regular agendas. Egypt and Tunisia are fighting back.

* Originally published in WSN on 03/16/2013 (Link no longer active)
http://www.wespeaknews.com/politics/the-eventual-fall-from-grace-of-the-muslim-brotherhood-188092.html

Political Sunni Islam and Zionism; the Historic Alliance In The Middle East

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Erdogan during the fifth UN Alliance of civilizations Forum in Vienna, Austria on 02/27/2013.

Turkey’s prime minister and its Islamist Party leader Erdogan statement equating Zionism with fascism is wrong and offensive and simply not smart and patronizing.

Erdogan’s offence is like attacking the political Islam that he claims that he represents in Turkey and tries to sell in the Middle East. Or even like attacking Islam itself. The religions Judaism and Islam both embody social and political and spiritual teachings; they can organize by the mere words in their Good Books the lives and politics of their followers.

The State of Israel and Zionism are like Turkey and political Islam or like Saudi Arabia and other countries in the MiddleEast; period. Erdogan asked the UN conference in Vienna to confront Islamophobia but in the same statement, he attacked Zionism which is the idea of the State of Israel and is found in Judaism. His words do not multiply and do not add up and do not help the cause he is leading which is to confront Islamophobia.

By attacking Zionism, Erdogan immediately discredited his demand to protect Islam from hate and attacks. If Erdogan has equated Zionism with the Political Islam and asked to protect both, then he would have been considered a world leader and would have built a momentum for his demand to protect Islam.

I’m going to put Turkey under the microscope, the Turks are playing multiple political games simultaneously; the Arab countries and the State of Israel, the EU, Syria and of course the big ones, political Sunni Islam and Zionism.

Turkey is a major player in NATO and in the overall US strategic policy in the Middle East. But Turkey also plays the role of the cheerleader of political Sunni Islam; the heart of the religion of Islam as a system of governing and not just a religion. The Turks history in the Middle East during the Ottoman Empire was one of the darkest in the history of the Arabs.

The Arab countries in the Middle East should not be fooled by Turkish political rhetoric but should voice concerns about Turkey patronizing them. The Arab countries in The Middle East are so desperate for leadership that they look at the Turks for help.

Turkey is not there to help and it should not be anyway, Arab countries in the Middle East should look inward for cooperation including building bridges with Israel and for Israel to build bridges with them. Israel is closer to the Arab countries than Turkey by engaging in tough negotiations and hard politics, the Palestinians and the Arabs are forced to face reality for the first time in their history; that reality is that you have to earn credentials and earn what you ask for through self reliance and through smart negotiations.

And in the process and through hard negotiations and tough politics, Israel is evolving and its identity is becoming more and more conclusive and it is preparing its people for the inevitable; a Palestinian State in Gaza and the West Bank….and normality with the Arab and Muslim countries.

On the other hand, the history of the Arabs in The Middle East is a history of people that love to be fooled and be patronized, I think it’s enough, probably; maybe the Arabs need to try something else and hear different voices. The time is now for the Arab countries and the State of Israel to forge historic alliance similar to the EU.  Israel is helping the Arab countries including the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank to build character. Turkey, however, is “helping” them, getting more and more patronized.

Picture is courtesy of RT for 

http://www.wespeaknews.com/politics/political-sunni-islam-and-zionism-the-historic-alliance-in-the-middle-east-149022.html 

Obama’s Inaction on North Korea

In 1992, while attending the Masters Program at the University of Iowa college of law, the professor of a course called Foreign Policy and National Security law asked us about predictions that we think would happen in twenty years, one of mine was that the two Korea’s will be unified by 2012;it did not happen, not yet, at least.

What took place and is taking place right now is a regime that is playing the nuclear game with the US and the US until now is returning the favor. A vague complicated game, to us, average Americans.

But today, it did not look like just a game; the North Koreans today announced that  they can attack the USA with nuclear missiles and that they are ready, on target , aiming, and waiting for the word “Shoot” from an eccentric, arguably mentally not stable, dictatorial  leader who inherited power in a country that says that its communist- Royal Communists.

The North Korean threat is not the problem, as gravely serious as it is; the problem is the US complacency so far, and the US reaction or lack of to this annoying game of politics. The average Americans, when we hear that a country is now threatening to fire nuclear missiles at us, the question arises as what we are going to do about it.

I have not heard a reaction so far except for a UN Security Council condemnation and sanctions this morning, which could be translated to nothing really. Or it could reach war as it happened in 1950 but this time North Korea has nuclear power.

President Obama in the middle of all these threats are nowhere to be found. The US is threatened, which to some might be a joke, but not to me, and Obama did not appear on TV, did not hold a press conference telling us how he intends to defend America in the remotely extreme  possibility that North Korea pushes the button and fires the missiles.

President Obama needs to address the American people of what he is doing, if any, if such crazy thing happened, what if North Korea fires, God forbid at us, how are we going to defend, do we have a net that would prevent any missile from reaching America. The politics in East Asia is not clear; politics is never clear, but the clear thing is that we have a quantifiable, measurable, and actual publicly sent threat to bomb America with nuclear weapons, and so far I do not see or hear a reaction. Obama needs to act now, not tomorrow.

The Evolving identity of the State of Israel : Yigael Yadin and Yair Lapid

Picture of Lapid is courtesy of Haaretz

In 1977 Yigael Yadin changed the Israeli political landscape that has been dominated by the Likud and the Labor parties since the independence of the State in 1948.

Yigael Yadin, a former general, former Army Chief of Staff, formed a political party that won 15 seats in the Knesset. But Yadin did not play the card well, and by the following elections the party almost disappeared from the Israeli political scene.

The Prime Minister of Israel then was Menachem Begin, the former head of the Likud. Now, yesterday, a new comer, same like Yadin, to the political scene, Yair Lapid, and his party changed thirty six years later the political formula, by winning 19 seats of the knesset which could very well make him king maker of the next Israeli government.

Now, the Prime Minister is Bibi Netanyahu, the head of the Likud and the devout student of Menahem Begin and the conservative yet pragmatic school of politics in the State of Israel. Both Yadin and Lapid considered being on the left of the Likud and the religious parties, but both considered by many Israelis as progressive and practical and centrist.

Yair Lapid, the former broadcaster has broadcasted his message, and the Israeli society responded back and echoed his message and sent a strong signal against the reign of the religious parties.

The other strong message is peace with the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank and ending the stalemate in negotiations and move in the direction of establishing a State for the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. The Israeli voters message could not have been clearer; Bibi Netanyahu does not have a mandate but has a chance, a chance inside the State and outside the State in the neighbouring Gaza and the West Bank.

The move inside the Israel is to preserve the rights of women in religious sectors and against the humiliation of asking a woman to leave the bus or to sit at the end of the bus. And in managing better or withdrew government funds to religious schools and asking the religious apparatus to serve in the military like the rest of the society. The next Israeli government could be as vigorous as the 1977 government led by Menachem Begin.

*Routine Insider Killings in Afghanistan..by Jamil Shawwa

**Fox News Reported this morning that the policewoman that killed a US contractor from the American firm DynCorp was originally an Iranian that came to Afghanistan ten years ago and obtained a fake Id through her husband- no more information so far about what kind of an ID or if her husband is an Afghani or an Iranian. Fox news stated that this policewoman has shown "unstable behavior". So again and again, if the signs were there, why was she kept in the force and what kind of a background check did we, the US, run on her and who ran the background check, if any, was it the same contractor's company that she killed and we outsource business to, or was it the government or the military or the CIA-many unanswered questions. The US needs to investigate and publish those investigations. We the public have no idea about what is going on with those attacks. Who knows, maybe this contractor tried to play around with this woman..I mean anything is possible when the facts are not clear and when the circumstances of these incidents are not revealed and when no investigation is published and when chaos rules, and when our top general in Afghanistan, General Allen, is busy playing around with a Lebanese American vixen that claimed and she is a US citizen a fake and unfounded diplomatic immunity to keep reporters off her property...and through her FBI backdoor connections revealed a sexual relations between a writer and the CIA director, General Petraeus, and forced him ofcourse and correctly so to resign. The president needs to jump on the security apparatus of the US, to order investigations of all those "insider attacks", publish them, move to bring to justice or retirements, whatever comes first, those involved and responsible and start to have a focused well organized, lean and well lubricated and oiled machinery in Afghanistan. Enough is enough.

* Read in relations The Khost Incident http://arabamericanwire.blogspot.com/2010/01/khost-incidet-by-jamil-shawwa.html

**http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/12/25/afghan-official-policewoman-who-killed-us-contractor-is-iranian-with-no-known/

Hillary's Journey..by Jamil Shawwa

Hillary Clinton, the departing Secretary of State will leave a legacy, usually politicians do leave something after they leave. Mrs. Clinton will leave a State Department that is in shambles and disarray. The Benghazi incident highlighted incompetence and arrogance at the highest levels at the State Department. It showed a place without a leader. Again, No to a Hillary presidency in 2016 or ever. However, Hillary Clinton has proved throughout her career and personal life a formidable human being and a very strong woman and person. But always as number 2, Hillary cannot be number one and cannot and is not qualified to lead America in the future.
picture is via ABC

The First War; The Liberals Vs. The Muslim Brotherhood

Well, it was bound to happen; The liberals in Egypt are uniting and taking action and standing up to the Muslim Brotherhood and their allies; the Salafi, the Wahhabi, and the rest of the groups that began politically to surface in the Middle East by the end of the 1970s. The confrontation is important and its the first, in this magnitude, between the two dominant forces in the Middle East, and the Arab countries. The most important aspect here, in my opinion, is that the Liberals are no longer on the sidelines, the moderate middle class, teachers, Judges and the rest who believe in the civil society, are no longer on a stand by waiting for someone to call their names and direct them to which gate they need to go. They are taking action. Iran as well needs to watch out, if the Liberals in Egypt succeed in gathering momentum, then the effect will be felt all over the Middle East, including Iran and Afghanistan, and even as further in Asia as to Pakistan.

http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/13472035-the-first-war-the-liberals-vs-the-muslim-brotherhood 

Hamas and The Muslim Brotherhood; Political Parties But Not a Way Of Life

The Egyptians in a twist show of force are revolting against each other and against the Muslim Brotherhood. Very interesting, It's the first time in the Middle East that anyone actually revolts against the Muslim Brotherhood. Now, it's Gaza's turn to revolt against Hamas. Maybe this time a good example that is happening in Egypt will have a ripple effect across the Middle East. Again, the Muslim Brotherhood can be a regular political party But not a way of life or a manipulator or a dictatorship. Same of course applies to the famous hypocrisy and the Gaza kidnappers, occupiers, rockets at neighbors firing, and manipulators; Hamas. 


http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/13460941-hamas-and-the-muslim-brotherhood-political-parties-but-not-a-way-of-life 

*Hamas and The People of Gaza, Possible Cross Road, Part II

Hamas is like Taliban in Afghanistan, a terrorist organization, that's main goal is to advance its own agenda and not the advancement of its people. Hamas job has been to delay an establishment of a Palestinian state, in Gaza and the West Bank, and to kill the people of Gaza. Through its rockets diplomacy and negotiations through terrorism, Hamas is somehow being considered a party to deal with. For now, and meanwhile, Hamas continues to destroy, through its rockets, the people of Gaza and its infrastructure. Hamas and its leaders have no interest in anything called the Palestinian people. Now, politics is not a benign game, so these terrorists of Hamas could eventually turn into politicians and work a deal with the State of Israel, as Taliban is doing, on and off, so far in Afghanistan. But again, it will continue to destroy Gaza in the process. The other possibility is the complete destruction of Hamas which it seems is not right now on the US or Israel's agenda.

* I first published this perspective, on my page on Facebook  before the announcement of The Egyption brokered truce between the State of Israel and Hamas in Cairo yesterday during the visit of the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Hamas and The People of Gaza----Possible Crossroad by Jamil Shawwa

The thing about this latest Hamas escalation is that it cannot be isolated from the overall Palestinian Israeli march towards peace. There are no middle grounds here, either a genuine project among the Palestinians for peace based on Gaza and the West Bank or no peace. Hamas style of rockets diplomacy and its style of committing terrorism in order to get a voice might work for its selfish needs and might help the organization in having a voice in Palestinian politics,but the people of Gaza are those that have been suffering from its political games and pretentious terrorism and suicide bombing. The Palestinians need to rise and elect leaders that are focused on the best interest of the Palestinian people which are immediate negotiations, no preconditions, just a goal towards building a viable state in Gaza and the West Bank and peaceful relations with the State of Israel.

Negotiations Through Terrorism...by Jamil Shawwa

Negotiations through terrorism is what Hamas is doing right now. It could work and make the West Bank and Gaza get glued together again or it could result in a defeat for Hamas and negotiations as well by getting, through defeat, the West Bank and Gaza together to the negotiating table with the State of Israel. Either way the rockets of Hamas are killing innocent Israelis and innocent Palestinians. Hamas triggers a normal reaction from Israel to defend its population. It's the Palestinians that never had anyone to defend them from their own rockets and suicidal politics. There is an example of Hamas in the Taliban, the US is trying to get them or some of them to the negotiating table to become a regular political power in Afghanistan. In the same time, Taliban continues in its terrorism and the US in responding and attacking and negotiating.

Two Generals and Two women; Petraeus and Allen Last Battles

We have two women, so far, and two generals, so far. Two of our top 4 stars and decorated generals- we do not have any five stars Generals- Petraeus and Allen, both served in Afghanistan, Allen is the current commander there and Petraeus resigned the CIA on Friday. Both know the long and difficult terrains of that mountain country and both fell, Allen is in the way, to a battle that has nothing to do with Afghanistan, Al Qaeda or terrorism. A story is evolving that has various covered and uncovered, yet, events and people. We have a told story of jealousy and probably competition between two women that unveiled this whole steamy relations. And we have an evolving and related story that these two women might have known or revealed military secrets and information through these relations including a connection to the Benghazi attacks as some news reported that Paula Broadwell - Petraeus inamorata-might have  mentioned in a lecture. “The other woman”, Jill Kelly, of Tampa Florida, originally a Lebanese American from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with a maiden name of Khawam,  might not be too "innocent" after all- her emails with General Allen were of sensual nature as various news reported and might have revealed leaked secret military information . We will see how it goes. However, for our generals, the episode or episodes also reveal a hidden and protected underground culture among top officers in the US Military, the FBI, and the Secret Service; a web of sexual encounters and favors. In addition to watching each other's back and keeping the politicians away. The affair between Petraeus and Broadwell have been known to the FBI for sometime as The Republican majority leader Congressman Eric Cantor revealed through a whistle blower at the FBI but this revelations never reached the president until last week when Petraeus resigned and no information yet from the FBI director, as if the whole matter is none of his concern. Moreover, Both women, somehow, have been involved with the military establishment  either by graduating from a military academy like Paula Broadwell, or as working at the Pentagon as a liaison in the case of Jill Kelly. This is not new to the defense and national security establishment, few months ago, The Secret Service Personal in charge of protecting the president in and outside the US were caught in Colombia having parties with call girls while the president was on an official visit. Few years ago, in December of 2009, a year after being elected president, a couple, uninvited-  crashed the first State dinner that the Obama hosted and it happened to be for  the Indian Prime Minister Singh and the visiting Indian delegation; trespassers that managed to go through all types of security to reach the room where the president was hosting the formal dinner. The Secret Service confirmed then that this wise couple- The Salahis- were not on the guest list. So how did it happen, and where were the Secret Service. The head of the Secret service is still in place. Back to the “Allen Petraeus Kelly Broadwell”  A conclusion  might be reached that these  uncoordinated events might hide some sort of contempt and lack of  respect for the presidency and maybe in particular to the presidency of Barack Obama. No conspiracy theories here, just a chain of events and similarities for few years now. We have many crossed lines and we need clarity and transparency and answers.  So is it just the classic Women, politics, scandals, add to that Generals now or is there more to it than meets the eye.

A Legacy President; Not an Accidental President, Obama 2012...by Jamil Shawwa

The election of Barack Obama in 2008 was historic, no doubt about. He was the first African  American to be elected  president in a country that is still struggling with the way it looks at race relations, but at the same time a country that went the long way, and took the long haul to correct itself and do right to those that it did wrong.

America though elected Obama not because he was black, but because there was then no choice but his; McCain was seen as an extension to the failed Bush economics and politics.But America still crossed a bridge and jumped over a barrier, and elected Obama because he looked and sounded like the right choice. So it was not difficult for America to move beyond race to elect someone it thought that can change things around and clean the mess left behind.

Obama’s election today was not about the economy, it was about him, about Obama, and nothing else.America tonight, across race lines, sent the strongest message ever in race relations, it made it clear, that the legacy of a dominant race or ethnic group is finished in America, done, does not exist.

**The Romney campaign was all about race, and ethnicity and keeping the status quo. The Romney camp made it clear, indirectly, that it is Obama and nothing else, and the American people were confronted to choose, either Obama, the African American, or Romney, the son of the good old boys network who went to furthest destination to rally the disgruntled white vote and made his bid that those whites will turn things around not because they are the majority but because they vote as a majority.

The whole Republican establishment during the election went after Obama, talked again about his birth, and whether he is an American, Trump offered  five million dollars if Obama can produce his birth certificate and school credentials.

In a strong statement, the renowned Barbara Walters was so fed up with Trump that she asked him to drop it, people across the spectrum felt that he made and continue to make a fool of himself and in the process making more Americans fed up with his politically motivated ploys. But he was hardly alone, the purpose was to continue to cast doubts on Obama and show him as some sort of “not one of us”.

The election tonight erased all this, Obama is no longer the accidental president that got lucky in 2008, tonight it is Obama that made history and built a legacy by just getting reelected. It is today, the new day in America, its importance is not less than  independence day or the day after the civil war. America tonight ended forever the so called old boys network, no race any longer can claim America to itself. Obama claimed it tonight and earned it  for all those that bear the US Citizenship. A legacy is in the way and a new America is in the making.

** Update: 09/03/2016-Trump is the Republican nominee for 2016 presidential campaign, Romney denounced Trump divisive politics using the strongest terms to descreit his campaign. In comparison to Trump, Romney now comes across as a first rate politician.

Check Trump here:

A Different 4th of July for America 2016 by Jamil Shawwa

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg Endorses Obama

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a leading former Republican party figure, independent since 2007, and the mayor of New York City has endorsed the Democratic candidate for president, Barack Obama, to be reelected as president of the United States.

This important political endorsement that comes a day or so after the worst hurricane to the East Coast of the US, in over 80 year is very significant for many reasons; he is the mayor of New York City but Bloomberg also is a leading conservative business entrepreneur in America and by endorsing Obama, he is discrediting the whole Romney platform that Obama is against business owners or free enterprise and for big government.

Also, by talking environment, Bloomberg sounds like a progressive conservative candidate that could have a role, as an independent or on the ticket of either party, in the 2016 presidential elections.

There is a momentum for Obama now among moderate undecided Republicans and independent voters that are witnessing improvements in the economy, decrease in unemployment numbers and an overall rebound of the housing market, which is a crucial index that the economy is on its way to recover.

The Bloomberg endorsement will be echoed by many of them on 11/06/2012, especially  in Florida and Ohio; two states that are a must win- or one of them at least with other states like Michigan, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Colorado- to win the presidency.

Hurricanes, Politicians and Elections..by Jamil Shawwa

With the lack of preparations and unpredictability of the 2005 Hurricane Katrina still in mind, Hurricane Sandy could not have chosen a “better” time than now to land; at the height  and final days of the presidential elections.

The country for days has been talking and getting ready and preparing for the huge landfall, that it put the best “reception” possible to face an adversary that the US cannot defend or marginalize or prevent. But it could minimize its damage, both human and physical.

Picture Credits: Reuters

President Obama and his challenger former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney put on their best behavior, Romney disappeared, cancelled all campaigning and the president did the same but also made a statement and a TV briefing and asked the country to obey evacuation orders where warranted and needed. He stressed the coordination with states governors and local authorities and appeared comforting and presidential to a population that is in panic- Indirectly Obama showed America the much needed federal government in times of distress, a federal government that Romney wants to minimize and cut.

They both stopped being the attack dogs, for now, for couple of days until Sandy moves on and takes off again or just heads to ocean and disappear. So the worst hurricane in over 80 years is bringing the best of America and the country is facing it with humility that it did not face Katrina and with a bow to nature that the superpower is not used to have when dealing with an adversary.

Also on http://www.wespeaknews.com/politics/hurricanes-politicians-and-elections-108064.html

*Hamas: Enemy Number One...by Jamil Shawwa

Away from the name calling that probably best describes Hamas and its “wars”; and in depth analysis in its today’s actions could sound a little more focused.

Why would Hamas all of sudden and in the verge of the biggest holiday following the pilgrimage season, fire rockets at the neighboring Israeli towns and cities.

What triggered this out of the blues, yet not an unusual action by Hamas. The Emir of Qatar just visited , and started projects worth around 250 million dollars As news reported that will enhance the much historically depressed Gaza Strip , the Muslim Brotherhood government of Egypt showed willingness to open the borders, people started to hope for some peaceful time to work and build, so again why.

There is no other than the usual political maneuvers that for decades sat back the Palestinians away from their dream state in Gaza and the West Bank. Hamas though while terrorizing its people in Gaza; it’s terrorizing the people of the neighboring Israel and in the same time helping the Israeli military to test its new Missile defence interception system called the Iron Dome- the Israelis have to defend their people, unlike Hamas that kills its people.

So according to Hamas actions and rockets, it is waging two wars, a war against the Palestinian  people in Gaza and simultaneously another war against the people of the State of Israel . By bombing Israeli towns, Hamas triggers a response which is the right of countries to defend their citizens which is what Israel doing. Again, based on its actions, Hamas is an enemy state not only to Israel but also to the Palestinians in Gaza. The time is now for the people of Gaza to revolt and throw out their enemies; Hamas.

Picture is courtesy of BBC

Also on: http://www.wespeaknews.com/politics/hamas-enemy-number-one-106606.html

Mitt Romney; A dangerous Choice For America...by Jamil Shawwa

The more Mitt Romney gets exposed, and it takes guts to get him where he has no choice but to show the real him, and where he stands on policies and plans, the more we know more about who he is , and how he thinks, and how he looks at other people and other cultures. And the more we know, the more we get to realize how dangerous he is to America and Americans. Mitt Romney's style throughout the two debates with president Obama indirectly has focused on one thing , not a plan for America, not a clear choice policy to show how he can turn things around for America, but on "I'm the opposite of Obama, I'm the all American, I'm the blue blooded American and Obama is the “foreigner”. Romney's style and words have been so vague as to what he intends to do and how he is going to do it except for one thing he was clear in showing; he is the opposite of Obama not on policy but on heritages and looks. Romney rallied a base that consists of course of good Americans but also it consists of hateful Americans, those Americans that still look and call Obama a Muslim- as if it is a curse- they call  him a foreigner, they say that he was not born in America, and as someone who looks like him that should not be in the White House. The Romney campaign has been running ads and commercials warning employees that if Obama is elected,that they will lose their jobs. That campaign that is still running cannot be called anything but a smear and fear campaign that could mount to blackmailing the voters and if it was done by regular individuals, those perpetrators could be convicted in a court of law. During the whole campaign Romney never talked clearly on policy-I do not think any major newspaper could freely endorse Romney for the simple reason the *Ohio paper mentioned ; we do not know which Romney to endorse Unless you are a Republican voting along party lines, endorsing Romney is risky- but on who is in the White House now and who really should be there. During the  debate with Obama, Romney pointed at the president few times to make the above case, that Obama is “not one of us”, indirectly of course, he sounded like the death doctor Kevorkian who killed people claiming that he was curing them from chronic pain. Romney pointed at the president and said Foreign to describe his plan, the president’s plan, to move the economy forward, and pointed at the president while talking  about his “Welsh heritage”- he did not mention his African or Asian heritage, I looked at it as if he was trying to kill two birds with one stone, patronizing the president and showing his “un american” ,from his views, heritage, and then instead of using the politically acceptable terms of Middle Eastern and South American oil , he said " Arabs and Venezuelan oil”. Now, I'm not reading too much into this because I'm an  Arab American , I'm reading into this because I'm an all American and see how dangerous and ethnically divisive the Republican party campaign has been this elections. The strategists at the Republican party knew that if they have any chance to win this one, it would be by playing on the distinction, ethnically , between the two. Some among them still blame the McCain 2008 campaign for not “smartly playing” the race card.


* Cleveland Plain Dealer editorial board endorsing causioulsy Mitt Romney
http://www.cleveland.com/opinion/index.ssf/2012/10/on_the_basis_of_sound_leadersh.html

Egypt’s Friday Morning Movement Party..by Jamil Shawwa

I cannot help but to see a birth of a new political party in the Middle East, in Egypt, that should be called the “Friday Morning Movement party”.

It is a party that ended thousands of years of dictatorship and now is trying to make the case and put the pressure on the winning party in the last elections, the Muslim Brotherhood, not to turn Egypt, in the name of Islam , into another dictatorship but this time a religious and not as it has been, a military dictatorship.

In the Name of Islam, a sentiment that is so high and deep in the Egyptian mind but in the same time, not a sentiment that the Egyptians, many of them, are willing to condone or have it employed politically.

The Friday party does not have leaders , does not have a central committee, it’s a mixture of Egypt’s society, all religions and political affiliations, social and economic classes. The back to back Friday demonstrations -they have become a way of life in Cairo-could result in the birth of a political movement if leaders are found to lead and inspire and provide programs, on target programs, that can reach the average Egyptian and relate to them.  

I understand that many Egyptians are complaining and even frustrated of these Friday protests, but to me, they are starting to look like a significant political movement, and not only a one time historic event,  that want to put  pressure on the Muslim Brotherhood and become parallel to it- even when some of the protesters actually voted for the Brotherhood in the last parliamentary and presidential elections.

The Egyptians by nature are moderates in their beliefs , in general, a peaceful people and they have proved it when they led the Arab countries in the Middle East towards peace with Israel and moving towards establishing a state for the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. Unlike the savagery of the Syrian, the Lebanese , and  the Iraqi political systems, Egypt stands out historically as a civil country with civility in transitioning powers , even from dictatorship to democracy.

*picture is via Ahram online.

The Comeback Kid; Obama Fights Back..by Jamil Shawwa

Here is a breaking story; Obama won this one, not exactly a knockout, but he won it. He sounded a leader, confident and on target with style and performance. Romney lost big, and if Obama attacked his record more, Romney would have collapsed completely. The details are as follow:
President Obama was on target tonight during the debate with Mitt Romney, Not only did he defend his record as president but he went after Mitt Romney’s record during the Republican party primaries and after winning the nomination of the Republican party and discredited his change of words and positions to fit the different moments.

He put Romney on the defensive and forced the big one; making Romney talk about the specifics of his plan to recover the economy, on taxes and jobs creation which Romney still could not defend nor was he able or willing to go into details.

On Libya, president Obama discredited what Romney claimed that Obama did not call the attack on Benghazi as a terror act, it turned to be that Obama did call it a terror attack the following morning and the moderator of the debate tonight, Candy Crowley, backed Obama on that score.

Mr. Romney kept saying that we need to elect him because he can do a better job, but refused to talk details. I conclude with the words of John Kerry, the Senator from Massachusetts, when he said that tonight president Obama overwhelmed Mitt Romney.

Also on WSN: http://www.wespeaknews.com/politics/the-comeback-kid-obama-fights-back-104399.html?fb_action_ids=502204016465577&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=aggregation&fb_aggregation_id=288381481237582

Hillary’s Confession..by Jamil Shawwa

Hillary Clinton’s statement which was a confession more than an answer to a question about the circumstances surrounding the attack and the murder of the US ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens, showed a rise in the seriousness and the tension of the debate going on in the US now about how the US failed to provide any serious protection to a place that everyone who knows anything about Libya and Benghazi knew it was so unpredictable. Hillary Clinton in an interview today while visiting Peru took full responsibility for the attack, she said that she is the top person at the State Department and takes responsibility  for what happened to the ambassador. Hillary’s confession came 24 hours before the second debate of president Obama with the Republican challenger, Mitt Romney which will take place today. The ambassador's murder has been touted among Republicans and the Republican nominee and was expected that Mitt Romney would bring it up in the debate today although the murdered ambassador's father pled to the candidates not to make the murder of his son a campaign issue.. The confession also took place while Darrell Issa, the House Oversight Committee is preparing to initiate an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the killings. So Hillary needed to step in for the boss, Obama, and the least to do was to say; I Confess....

Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood and the peace with the State of Israel by Jamil Shawwa

The Muslim Brotherhood leader in Egypt, Mohamed Badie. equivalent-more or less- to Iran’s Supreme leader, declared today with no provocation or reason, That Israel only knows the language of force and attacked verbally Israel and the Jewish people. The Egyptian president, Morsi, who belongs to the Muslim Brotherhood, whose leader technically is the president’s boss, has been facing multiple domestic issues pertaining to what many Egyptians believe, his broken promises that in the first 100 days of his tenure, he would move Egypt forward on all levels. But instead, the Egyptian president and the group he belongs to, the Muslim Brotherhood, have been moving Egypt backward.

First, couple of days ago, he fired the Attorney general, then later he found out that under the current Egyptian constitution he cannot do the firing and retracted today after demonstration in El Tahrir square, and now his boss at the Muslim Brotherhood, to divert attention, came to the rescue, and of course could not find any issue to tackle and solve inside Egypt, that he directed his attention, the wrong direction as usual, towards Israel, hoping that the simple people, that he believes, the majority of the Egyptians belong to, would give him some “credibility”.

Now, it is obvious that he is using a language that only brought disastrous consequences on Egypt. Egypt should move beyond Nasser’s 1950s and the 1960s demagoguery slogans that made Egypt lose its dignity before losing its assets, to the 2012, to today. Meaning, Egyptian politicians and so called religious/political leaders, who inject maliciously and intentionally the peace with the State of Israel which is the way of now and in the future, in any campaign and domestic problems, 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 building Sinai and keeping it clean from terrorists and infiltrators and smugglers, does not pass through Israel, it passes through a democratic, transparent and credible government in Cairo. In the same token, 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.

Biden’s Bite

Biden’s style has always helped him, and he proved to be the best Obama could have gotten as a running mate and as number two. This is Biden’s territory to support number one and in doing so, he is bringing some zest to an Obama that all of a sudden got stale, timid and scared.

During the debate with Paul Ryan yesterday, Biden attacked and attacked and attacked while keeping his cool, his smiles, and his occasional laughs and smirks; and this is what the pros in politics do. In just three weeks to the big day of elections day, the debates proved detrimental to the Obama campaign because Obama did not deliver on 10/03/2012 debate while having the agenda to deliver. Paul Ryan yesterday from the first moment appeared scared and frightened by Biden’s demeanor and personality and reputation, he finished his glass of water by the end of the debate while Biden kept going with no sips of water or rests- as if he were on a mission from higher powers or something.

During the debate, Ryan talked about themes, but no details, and even when he was pressed on details of his and Romney’s across the board 20% tax cut, he could not explain it. While talking about Afghanistan, Ryan could not tell us how and when he intends to manage the war or the withdrawal.

So far we did not hear specifics from the Romney Ryan ticket, we only heard appeals to the American people to give them a chance and they will do something better, They both are looking for a blank check, a check written to bearer, with the amount but with no address. The media after the debate by large went smoothly on Ryan’s style, talked about that he did not collapse before Biden, and some pundits even considered it as a triumph, others, very few, said it as it was, a clear win for Biden on substance and performance.

On the other hand, during the Obama Romney debate everyone talked performance and how Obama got his behind kicked, and now for the Biden Ryan debate, everyone all of sudden is talking substance, no performance, and how Ryan held his grounds. Regardless, it is now or never for Obama to deliver on the 10/16/2012 debate with Mitt Romney, otherwise, probably, he will either have a tremendous hard ballot box day on 11/06/2012 or lose altogether, and if he lost, it would be because he lost, and not that Romney won.

In the picture, Vice President Joe Biden and Republican vice presidential nominee Congressman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin shake hands after the vice presidential debate at Centre College, Thursday, Oct. 11, 2012, in Danville, Kentucky. (AP Photo/Pool-Michael Reynolds)

Mitt Romney; Performance Vs. Policy and Record by Jamil Shawwa

During a speech today that intended to outline his foreign policy and provides some credibility and credentials to his foreign affairs stature , Mitt Romney, the Republican  candidate for president of the United States, accused president Obama of “not doing enough” to keep America strong and said that “hope” is not an effective policy. Romney also said that Obama tried but that it was not enough and the time is now for change.  The whole Romney campaign right at this moment  is built not on  the previous theme " are you better off " because America on record is actually better off now than it was in 2008, but on a new theme that his team created just before and during and after his Performance with president Obama on the 10/03/2012 debate, which revolves  around a more attractive concept to certain sectors of America and especially undecided voters; " president Obama tried but failed, Obama tried but it was not enough and now it's time for change " . Romney is energized, as he should be, by his performance on that  October 3 debate against president Obama that his team is building a last minute, final hour , high noon, you name it, campaign that is so clever and so fluid and so misleading that is so dangerous for Obama  because its hard to attack or target or discredit-because it does not exist. With Romney’s, everything is changeable, his positions on anything is like fast food chains and disposable diapers. Quick and fast and ready as needed to use and throw and replace. I do not recall a debate in recent history not since the famous Kennedy Nixon debate in 1960 that had such effect on voters as the one Romney had with Obama on October third. Romney wants to be president and it shows and this is important in politics even if you are not very likable as most polls show Romney. And if you are likable and ahead in polls and has the right policies and the economy on your side like Obama , but you are not persistent and vigor in wanting the job and showing it and bragging about it, then probably the job will slip away. I mean I'm amazed, everything on record shows that Obama should have smooth sailing towards the shores  of 11/06/2012; job market that is best in 44 months according to the September Labor department report, housing, auto , financial on the rebound , outside the US, few setbacks but overall steady and strong policies and achievements  with one major setback and exception , the killing of the ambassador in Libya. So if Romney wins this upcoming November elections,  it would be because Obama failed in the debates and the performance and not because he failed on policy or record.