UAE Political Stupidity

Barring the Israeli Tennis champion, Shahar Peer from participating in the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championship is another show of ignorance and a disastrous PR on the side of the UAE. Sports are sports; either you do it all the way or do not do it at all. The UAE is showing political stupidity and immaturity. The Arabs need to wake up. Preventing a female athlete from Israel is the worst publicity any country can have. The time has come-we can start with sports- for the Arab World to gradually reaching out to the Mediterranean neighbor-Israel- and sports is a formidable way to build confidence, trust and understanding among the people of the region. The excuses that the UAE presented from the protest over Gaza to security fears over the presence of the Israeli athlete are nonsense. Climbing the mountain of trust could have started by this very small yet giant step; allowing Israel to participate in the international sports event in The Middle East.

Respond to Time Magazine: Why Israel Can't Win-01/08/2009

It is not that Israel cannot win in Gaza or before that in Lebanon in 2006 but that Israel might not want to win completely and decisively. Israel had an ample chance- militarily- to dismantle the Hezbollah organization and end it from Lebanon finally as it did to the PLO in 1982. For some reason, it did not want to complete the job. In Gaza, Hamas obviously started this action, it continued to bombard the Israeli bordering cities with no reason-Israel withdrew completely from the Gaza Strip in 2005. As I’m writing this comment , I just heard that Israel unilaterally decided to stop it’s actions in Gaza without completing the mission- the rockets are still flowing from Gaza, albeit not as many as they used to be but still The situation in Gaza resembles the situation that occurred this summer between Georgia and Russia. Georgia started it and Russia finished it. The only difference maybe between Israel and Russia is that Russia had forces or observers in Georgia and Israel did not have anybody. We- America and the world- can dismantle the terrorists’ organizations – maybe not individuals- from The Middle East- we can do that politically and militarily. The Middle East is not geopolitically complicated as Pakistan and Afghanistan. In the Middle East, everybody knows who are who and his or her whereabouts. In Afghanistan and Pakistan, the whole population is mixed up which explains the difficulties in finding bin-Laden and dismantling AlQaeda.and other terrorist organizations.

The Arabic Media and The Attack on Hamas

The Arabic media's response to the war that is going on against Hamas- and not Gaza- in The Gaza Strip reminds me of the demagoguery of Ahmad Said- The Egyptian Radio by the name of Sawt El Arab- The Arab voice- in the 1960s anchor- who portrayed the biggest defeat the Arabs had in 1967 as the biggest victory in Arab history. What is going on in Gaza-Israel attacking Hamas infrastructure- is a direct result of the idiots running the show in Gaza? The history of the Arabs is a history of self-defeat, demagoguery and hypocrisy. The Arabs will continue to be hit hard as long as-among other things- we have a media like this running the show.

A Scared Farm Girl In The Spot Light, By Jamil Shawwa

Governor Palin's debate with Senator Biden has inspired the title of this article. What I am hearing and heard as I write this comment is a person who happened to be a female that was picked by a desperate candidate to sway the eyes away from a staled campaign by a dinosaur Politician. Governor Palin even could not pronounce Iran and Iraq properly. She kept pronouncing them as I raq and I ran. I suspect that before she was picked up to run as McCain's running mate she even never heard of them except that we are at war in Iraq. Governor Palin and Senator McCain might have had a chance in some other past time but not now. They are facing a gigantic historic significance in the Obama-Biden ticket. When she spoke, she sounded clever, not smart, and did not give me the class and dignified demeanor that I am looking for in a potential president of the USA.


Disclaimer: Some of the best and the brightest came from farms; Palin is not one of them.

The Occupying Pattern of Gaza, By Jamil Shawwa

The Story of Gaza!

Gaza over the decades has always had somebody else- from somewhere else- running its affairs. In more clear words, occupying her. Gaza- a Mediterranean city- on the Palestinian coast, nestled from the south and the north between the Israeli and the Egyptian coasts respectively might one day has it's say as any other city on the long beautiful silky clear shores of the Mediterranean Sea. The original people of Gaza are merchants, business people and smart politicians who knew over the decades how to wither all kinds of political storms. If we dig into the modern history of Gaza, going back couple of hundreds of years, we can witness the arrival of the Ottoman Empire, which occupied not only Gaza but also the modern and now called Middle East. Although the Ottoman Empire was in fact at that time calling itself the Islamic Empire of the East; it was a strange body in the Arab Middle East and the people there never felt that it was part of them or that they, the people of the Middle East, were part of her. The British Empire arrived at the shores of the Middle East by the end of the Nineteenth Century and took over Gaza in the early Twentieth Century after the fall of the Ottomans following World War I. The British withdrew from the historic Palestine, which Gaza occupies it's south part in 1947 and the first Arab-Israeli war broke following the withdrawal of the British and the UN partition of Palestine among it's Jewish and Arab residences and the declaration of independence of the state of Israel on the part approved by the UN. The Arab states rejected the declaration of independence, attacked Israel, were defeated and a new power-Egypt-emerged and occupied Gaza until its defeat in the 1967 war with Israel. Because of that war, Israel took over the West Bank, The Gaza Strip, including Gaza City, and parts of Egypt and Syria. Israel signed the Oslo agreement in 1993 with Yasser Arafat, the head of the PLO, The Palestine Liberation Organization, as a prelude to the creation of a viable Palestinian state in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The PLO under the name of the Palestinian Authority entered Gaza and parts of the West Bank. Israel in the summer of 2005 withdrew from the Gaza Strip and left it in the hands of the PLO- the Palestinian Authority and indirectly in the hands of the power in waiting, Hamas. In January 2006, Hamas won the parliamentary elections in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank and moved to form a government. The situation worsened as Hamas continued to condone terrorism especially in the form of firing rockets into the bordering Israeli cities. Israel and the United States- because of this stand- blocked aids and other forms of financial cooperation. In June 2006, Hamas took over the Gaza strip, kicked the PLO out and formed a unilateral government that controlled the Gaza Strip with another government- the PLO- in Ramallah controlling the West Bank. Hamas is now the new occupier of the Gaza strip, its' people who controls the streets of Gaza are strange people among strangers. It's Gaza's destiny again to let someone else runs its' affairs.

Sam Nunn, Joe Beiden or Warner By Jamil Shawwa

Senator Obama, the Democratic Nominee in waiting, is in the process of appointing or choosing his running mate. Next Monday, 08/25/2008, is the start date of the democratic convention. The conventional wisdom states that both republicans and democrats will choose their running mates by the start date of their respective conventions. Obama, my focus in this article, might wait until day one and spread the word or might choose the person this week before the convention. The news is and has been speculating about whom he might choose and mentioned few names, mostly of Joe Beiden of Delaware and Sam Nunn the ex senator from Georgia. My choice would go to Nunn. He represents the appeal that Obama needs to have to attract the Reagan democrats and other republicans whom are disenchanted with the party because of the Iraq war, the economy and the list goes on. Sam Nunn also has proven and diversified foreign policy and defense experience that he gained during his years as a senior US senator. His choice will give assurances to both conservatives and liberals that with Sam Nunn on the ticket, America will be safe under the, according to some, untested Obama. The only thing that might work against Nunn is that he might remind people of Dick Cheney. The looks, the style, etc. On the other hand, he can go with Joe Beiden whom has as Nunn a long foreign, legislative and political experience. Joe Beiden though was once accused and confessed to plagiarizing a speech but besides that he has a good liberal record however, I do not think that Beiden will get the same base or coalition that Sam Nunn can get. Reagan democrats do not like Beiden nor does the south and Obama does not need him to attract the liberal base; they are already attracted to Obama. The black horse whom is almost never mentioned in the campaign is in my opinion Mark Warner the former governor of Virginia and the Democratic nominee for the vacant seat for Virginia in the US senate. Mark Warner can run for both, he can be on the ticket as VP and still run for the senate seat for Virginia, remember Joe Lieberman in 2000. Warner's success as governor, his appeal as a rising star and a potential runner for the office of the presidency, his young age and overall popularly and executive experience might very well attract people across the spectrum and create a dream ticket for the democrats.


Update: CNN just confirmed, 08/23/2008, that Obama Chose Joe Beiden to be his running mate on the Democratic ticket.

The Treatment Of The Asian Laborers In The Arab World, By Jamil Shawwa

I have the following comment on the following article that appeared in Alquds-Al-Arabi newspaper that is published in London-UK. The following in Arabic, is an excerpt from the article, which the author, Abed Atwan, blasts the Arab countries for the inhuman treatment they put on their Asian labors.




ثورات العبيد و سادية العرب
عبد الباري عطوان

30/07/2008

تتهم مؤسسات حقوق الانسان الدولية المحترمة العرب باحتلال مرتبة هي الاعلي عالميا بالنسبة الي قضية الاتجار بالبشر، وهضم حقوق العمال، واساءة معاملتهم، ومن المؤسف ان هذه الاتهامات صحيحة، وموثقة، بل ونري امثلتها عمليا بالصوت والصورة في اكثر من عاصمة عربية وعالمية وفي دول الخليج علي وجه الخصوص، وهذه هي ادلتنا العملية الدامغة





My Response:

Shame on these countries the way they treat their laborers. I agree with the article about the inhuman treatment of the Asian labor in the Arab countries and I agree with the overall mentality that most of the Arabs have, and I am originally from The Middle East, that the labors are to be treated like slaves. I read an article in The National Geographic about the Asian labor in Dubai; I cannot comprehend how the people and the Prince of Dubai can claim civility with such pictures of the Asian laborers living like or less than the animals in the civilized world. Kuwait, UAE, Saudi Arabia and others should wake up and start treating people the way humans should be treated. I also hope that the laborers original countries would stand up for their citizens and protect them from their Arab masters. Again, I am an Arab American and originally from The Middle East. Abed is right here, and it is one of these extremely rare occasions that I agree with Abed.

McCain Will Make History By: Jamil Shawwa

Senator John McCain the Republican nominee for the November 2008 presidential elections will make history. Mr. McCain will not make history as the winner of the elections but rather as the nominee that lost to Barack Obama, the first black president of the United States.

Unless a huge surprise of a nuclear bomb magnitude happens, like the capture of Osama Bin Laden, there is no way that McCain will be the next president of the United States. America is ready and the sleeves are rolled for a new era, the Obama era.

America's challenges in the coming years will come from the developing countries, from The Middle East, Asia, Africa and Latin America; Obama will be there to take care of business and the leaders of these countries will listen.

America needs change to battle a lingering economic crisis, finding a smart exit from Iraq and maybe focus the efforts more on Afghanistan.

A Democratic president will be able at this point to take care of America’s business.

America is now looking at Obama to get it out of it’s stagnation as it did look before to both Bill Clinton and John Kennedy. Clinton, a governor of a tiny state and Kennedy, a young catholic senator.

 In the case of Bill Clinton, it was the economy and in case of John Kennedy, it was America's entrance to the world as a great power and the mere excitement of electing a youthful president with the energy to motivate a whole new generation across the spectrum.

The USA is not looking- as McCain thinks- for a seasoned politician who has known world leaders and events because of his long tenure in the senate. America feels that it needs a new shot of energy in its veins, a skilled manager, a motivator and an inspirator.  Obama will be able to provide it.

America needs to reinvent itself, cope with the changes of its demographics and its movement into a real multicultural society; Obama will be able to lay the foundation. America’s greatness stems from it's pragmatic approach to life; it's ability to see things from different lenses as life requires; it’s ability to create the first country in the world that consist of the people of the world. America's population represents every single ethnic group that the world has ever known. Thus, it is very normal for America to start the reinvention process by electing Barrack Obama.

Who Controls Your Life?

What a huge extremely philosophical question. She always expected people to do this or that and behave, talk and react in a certain way; the way she would do, or behave if the situation was hers. With this mentality, she went through life moving from disappointment to another. It is a story not about her only but about many of us-humans- I expect people, to react to situations as I would. I expect people to deal with me the way I deal with them. When someone acts or reacts in a way that I consider different or unwarranted; I revolt. I am getting over this psychological barrier; slowly, it has been over 30 years and I am still working on it. At least I know that this condition exists. The less we expect from people, the less we get surprised for the way people behave and react to situations, the more we are ready and on our toes and alert, and stronger, confident and having healthy relations at home and at work.

Moments in Solitude...

June, 13, 2008


Glances...
They are setting in opposite corners of the cafe, she pretends that he does not exist and he pretends that he is not boiling with eagerness for a moment when she would look and he would send a quick smile that might bring some results.


A Woman...

She is setting, again, in the same corner. She looks depressed, distracted, pretends that she is busy, playing with her laptop, but she is not. She is looking, searching for a soul mate.


Me...

What a shame, what a waste of talents, or maybe I think so... So far not very desperate. A prince was born but maybe not very hard working one.


He gave her a nick name...

I asked her, or told her, I created a nick name for you, what you think, do you like it... She looked at me, a long loving look, and said I do not like it, I will not allow anyone to use it, I will boycott anyone who calls me with it, but you may.

To The Washington Post ; "Clinton Urges Backers to look to November" By Jamil Shawwa

Dear Editor,

I have been, over the years, witnessing the deterioration of The Post front page with continuous disappointment. The Sunday headline, 06/08/2008, is a clear example of that deterioration.

Instead of looking forward, you are looking backward, instead of highlighting the Obama winning; you are highlighting the loser's" looking forward to November”. What does that mean to someone for example in China just reading the headline in The Washington Post? That person would think that Clinton won and looking forward to November’s general election; it is possible you know. I thought I would read something like, Clinton Endorses Obama, or Clinton Bows to The Power of The Electorates, or something, but not that huge across the page headline with a larger than life picture. Again, I have been comparing your front page with the New York Times front page and the results are extremely disappointing to you, of course. The Times front page has been looking forward, The Post front page has been looking backward. I recall that front page during the 2000 elections when the whole world highlighted Bush obvious advantage over Gore and The Washington Post kept highlighting Gore's resistance to the obvious. It is ok to be loyal, but as The Washington Post front page, you must be objective. You can dwell as much as you want on whatever in that corner called The Editorial but not in the news sections. The problem is I have no choice but keep reading your paper. Thank God I only subscribe to The Sunday edition; otherwise your front page would have given me depression.

Best Regards,

Relation to the letter: An American Voter and a reader and subscriber of The Washington Post.

PS: It was not published

Islam Is Not The Problem, By Jamil Shawwa

Background information on this article:

An Italian, Egyptian born Muslim, Journalist by the name of Magdi Allam converted to Christianity from Islam. Allam blasted the Muslims and the religion for his decision, saying that the religion and Muslims spread a culture of hate and violence.

Analysis:

What Magdi did is between himself and God. Islam is not part of what Allam did. Islam, Christianity and Judaism are divine religions that in the minds of thousands of millions of believers share a foundation built on the message of peace and togetherness. Political groups or individuals that use and even hijack religions, in this example Islam, to commit all types of terror or as some might call acts of resistance; must not be confused with the religion itself. It is not the fault of Islam that there are so called Muslims who preach the message of hatred. It is as well not the fault of Judaism and Christianity that they have the same groups or individuals that preach the same philosophy against other people. The first step to conciliation is for those who convert to stop blasting their original religions for the deeds of those who use it to commit or pursue political agendas or those who preach the culture of hatred and violence in the name of a divine religion.

When Hillary Cried. By, Jamil Shawwa

By the mid day of 01/08/2008 it became almost clear that Obama will carry New Hampshire as he did with Iowa, when all of sudden, Hillary Clinton appeared on TV crying and emotional... When election posts closed, the numbers started to come, and Hillary won New Hampshire. Hilary Clinton, no doubt about, is a very savvy Politian that will use her skills, to put mildly, to win. What Hillary did is legitimate, a Politian is like a fighter, they need to use tricks to maneuver and win. I still believe, or want to believe, that Obama will at the end of the day carry the elections and move to win the democratic nomination and then the presidency. I know that Obama is the future and Hillary is the past. The other day I was talking to some of my colleagues at work and when I mentioned that I think Obama will win, the eyes stared at me and there was silence across the board. The eyes that stared at me were the eyes of my ethnic diversified team mates. Blacks said that there is a conspiracy to "make" Obama win the nomination only to make him lose to the republican nominee. The whites said that the country is not ready for a black president. When I asked the blacks why they say conspiracy, there was no answer. When I asked the whites, why you say the country is not ready, there was no answer. When I asked myself loudly; again who is the country, and I answered, we are the country, so who is conspiring and who is not ready. There was no answer.

Go ahead ..America, Make History. By Jamil Shawwa

I'm writing this article while looking at the internet and reading huge headline news stating that Barack Obama has won the Iowa Caucus. I will go further... much further and say and predict that Barack Obama is in his way to win the presidency of the United Sates comes November of 2008. Short of a huge surprise such as the arrest, capture or killing of Osama Bin Laden which if it happens will carry the republican ticket back to the white house, Barack Obama will win the presidency. America’s challenge in the coming twenty years will be taming the shrewd and that shrewd is the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, America needs a voice, put simply, that can relate and be related to all these areas. Obama's heritage will help. This might sound and look over simplifying the huge historic significance of electing a black to the white house but it is the reality. Obama will lay the foundation for all these changes and his election will ensure America’s leadership in the world by continuing to implement America's leadership in pragmatism and the ability to adapt to change. The great empires in history have collapsed not because they lacked power but because they lacked the pragmatism and the long vision America has had since its independence. America's power and continuity resides in its unique ability to change and make change.

The Egyption-Gaza Tunnels

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

My reply:

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

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

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

The Morning of 10/25/2007

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

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

Give The Kurds A Country, By Jamil Shawwa

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

Syria and Iran deserve their own state. A Kurdish

state will add another layer of foundation towards

stability and long term peace in The Middle East. 

A new Middle East consists of the traditional Arab

states: Israel, Iran and Afghanistan will help to

diversify interests, nationalities, religions and

eventually will shift the focus of the people there

from struggle and conflict into cooperation. I see the

Middle East with Kurdistan and Israel besides the

older Middle Eastern states as the new Europe that

Will have all the European countries into the EU

despite the differences in religions, languages and

cultures. 

The main focus of the new Middle East will

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

term goal of having a Kurdistan is to minimize the

ability or the prospect of Turkey, Iran, Syria and

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

meaning having Kurdistan as a buffer zone will help to

create a more peaceful or an oasis in the middle of

all these countries. 

It will also help to reduce the

drug trafficking which is very active in the area. As

the domino effect of having the Kurds state continues;

the countries in the area will have less ethnic

conflicts and will focus on economic stability within

their regions and the rest of the world.

Farouk al-Kaddoumi

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

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

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

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