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

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

The Morning of 10/25/2007

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

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

Give The Kurds A Country, By Jamil Shawwa

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

Syria and Iran deserve their own state. A Kurdish

state will add another layer of foundation towards

stability and long term peace in The Middle East. 

A new Middle East consists of the traditional Arab

states: Israel, Iran and Afghanistan will help to

diversify interests, nationalities, religions and

eventually will shift the focus of the people there

from struggle and conflict into cooperation. I see the

Middle East with Kurdistan and Israel besides the

older Middle Eastern states as the new Europe that

Will have all the European countries into the EU

despite the differences in religions, languages and

cultures. 

The main focus of the new Middle East will

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

term goal of having a Kurdistan is to minimize the

ability or the prospect of Turkey, Iran, Syria and

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

meaning having Kurdistan as a buffer zone will help to

create a more peaceful or an oasis in the middle of

all these countries. 

It will also help to reduce the

drug trafficking which is very active in the area. As

the domino effect of having the Kurds state continues;

the countries in the area will have less ethnic

conflicts and will focus on economic stability within

their regions and the rest of the world.

Farouk al-Kaddoumi

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

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

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

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

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

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



Dear Abu Zalaf Family,

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

Best,

JS

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

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

Here is Mr. Atwan's Article in Arabic:

عبد الباري عطوان 11/06/2007

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

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

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

Here is Mr. Oren's article:


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

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

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

Iran Hostage Diplomacy, By Jamil Shawwa

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

Mash Potatoes!

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

Israel, The Arabs and Al-Aqsa Mosque

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

The Washington Redskins 2007

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

Admit Turkey to the EU

Turkey should be allowed in the EU but after the end of the Cyprus problem. Cyprus is an EU member but as the Greek Cyprus and not all the island. The EU and Turkey should work together in a transparent way to resolve all the problems and the EU as a group has to vote and set the conditions once and for all regarding the admission of Turkey or just come forward about this matter and say if they do not want the Turkish nation to be part of their union. Turkey right now is the moderate, democratic Islamic state that could be the bridge between Islam and the rest of the world as it is geographically the bridge of Asia to Europe and vice verse. A European, Islamic Turkey would be a pillar and concrete foundation for stabilization in the most important and volatile piece of real estate in the world; The Middle East.

Gallaudet University Uniqueness

The demonstrations that are happening at Gallaudet University to protest the appointment of Dr. Fernandes, the provost, as it's new president is unique to Gallaudet. Almost no other university has this special bondage the students feel about the school and the people in charge. Few years ago the same student body brought a president that they felt is close to them and their plight if we are allowed to use this term. Dr. Fernandes might be qualified to be president but so far she failed to understand or act upon this special bondage that the body students feel about the school. The majority of the student and faculty are against the appointment; Dr. Fernandes describes the events as 'anarchy and terrorism'. The problem here is at Dr. Fernandes attitude. Obviously she had never been popular with the students or faculty and this might be somehow normal at other schools but not at Gallaudet. The university is unique, the students are unique, and it is the Mecca of the deaf people all over the world. The board of trustees should have taken these points into account before appointing Dr. Fernandes to the job. The talk that she, Dr. Fernandes, is not deaf enough is just one of the issues with Dr. Fernandes. The main problem is that she never been close to the students and the way she approached the demonstrations shows that she still does not get it.

The Pope and Islam

The Pope of the Vatican mentioned Islam in a speech few weeks ago that basically blasted the religion. Muslims around the world protested and continue to protest as of now. The pope said that he felt sorry for the reaction that these remarks caused and then offered his apology for hurting the feelings of the Muslims but stopped short from apologizing completely for the remarks he made. The big question is why would the head of the Christian Catholic Church blasts a religion that has over one and a half billion followers. Why now and for what purpose. The pope and the church are not dumb and obviously the pope wanted to send a message to the world that in his opinion, although he was quoting, that Islam was built on wars and that it is not a religion of peace. Every one is entitled to his opinion but not the pope! Unless he believes in what he said and then he should not apologize but again he should be upfront about it. If the pope blasted any other religion the reaction should be the same, which is to protest. Religions are words in books that the believers believe that they are words of God. Behaviors are different; they are acts of humans that belong to this sect or religion. If individuals that belong to a certain religion attack and terrorize then the job would be to fight those and not their religion. I'm talking here especially about the three divine religions which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Of course we can include religions that have millions of followers as well. The pope made a mistake when he attacked a religion rather that attacking methods used by humans that claim to belong to this religion or that. As an individual the pope is entitled to his opinions, as a Pope, unless he wants to send a message that he believes that Islam is a religion of war, then he should not mention such things or attack any other religions, The message of the legitimate religious leaders like the pops is to spread understating and not vice versa.

The Planned Wars: Israel 5- The Arabs 1

It's amazing how sometimes wars just happen. As if the fighting parties decided that well, it's time to make a war. A great example is the Arab-Israeli wars. Going back to 1948, it looks as if the children of Abraham decided then that they are so bored by whatever they are doing and that the best way to overcome boredom is by waging wars. It's interesting to look back to see the sequence of these wars. In 1948, the UN and the major powers recognized the State of Israel, the cousins, the Arabs rejected and waged a war. The Arabs lost, Israel won. So far 1-0 for the other Semites. In 1967, the 1956 war is not counted as it was not really between the Arabs and Israel, a questionable Arab leader with childish behavior and ambitions by the name of Nasser, former president of Egypt, decided that the cousins in Israel can not use the straits of Teran on the Red Sea for their business. Israel rejected, Nasser got stubborn,and took actions in Sinai, including the closure of the straits, that almost constituted a wage of war. Israel attacked and won. The Arabs lost the rest of the land that they lost in part in 1948 due to another childish behavior. The score now is 2-0 for Israel.In 1973 the Arabs, according to Egyptian president Anwar Sadat who succeeded Nasser in 1970, needed some sort of a moral victory over Israel to permit them to negotiate with dignity. The parties felt compelled again for another war. The Egyptians and the Syrians attacked. They won a little in the beginning and then Israel under a commander by the name of Ariel Sharon rebounded and took care of surrounding the Egyptian third army in Sinai to improve Israel negotiating stand. I will give this war a score of 1-1, a draw for the cousins. In 1982, somebody in London got creative and decided, why not assassinate the Israel ambassador there and score some points against Israel. Israel, to the astonishment of the world, responded and invaded Lebanon and ended the Palestinian presence there and lift. The score now is 4-1 for Israel. By the early 1980s a new/old player came to the scene, the Iranians and the Shiite behind them and under there black turbans. A new militant organization was created in Lebanon to substitute for the kicked Palestinian militia. Lebanon since it's independence has always had some sort of quasi government, someone who claimed to fight for some reason. Hezbollah was created and took it on it's own, the Lebanese government as has always been is a guest in it's own country, to fight Israel. It did for few years. Israel lift the whole Lebanese territory and Hezbollah got some credit. I'm not going to score this one because the withdrawal was not part of a direct war but because i believe Israel just did not intend to stay. This Shiite militia continued to harass the Israeli and negotiate with them and then cry foul and such. In 2006 for another mysterious reason, this militia decided to go inside the Israeli territories and kidnaps some soldiers, very smart. So they did and before them Hamas did the same in the Israel-free Gaza. Another big question: Why? besides the obvious stupidity. Israel responded in both incidents, surprise surprise.. and attacked Gaza and Lebanon. Both places were rebounding and now engulfed in wars that do not make any sense except that Hamas and Hezbollah's goals are to create havoc and that this is the only way to keep them and Iran as active players in the insane game of wars. The war is still on and we do not know, us the commoners, how it will end and what will happen to those fighting parties. Until then the game is on.

Word Cup 2006: Vulgarity Vs. Class

The vulgar action of France football player and Team captain Zinedine Zidane during the second and last over time of world cup championship match with Italy is beyond any shame. It's an act of vulgarity. Zidane, famous of his head butts, reached the peak of vulgarity and stupidity when he head butted an Italian player with no provocation whatsoever. He will forever go down in history as probably the player that caused his country to lose the 2006 World Cup. It has been the eternal question since the beginning of man kind on why people drive themselves to ruin. History gives us unlimited number of successful people and leaders who just for some reason drove their success down the drain. Zidane is one of these people. In 1998, he helped his team to achieve the world cup in football, soccer, and in 2002, he did not play at all due to an injury which might have caused his team to lose. In this year,2006, world cup games, Zidane excelled in more than one occasions, although some of his penalty kicks were questionable- the blame in this case goes to the referees whose responsibility is to make sure that they have not been fooled by the players into getting penalties that are not warranted- drove his team, and country into a shame. Some psychologists and motivation coaches attribute this to a human nature that drives some people to just quit or destroy themselves for no apparent reason. Is it that we, some of us, just get bored of success or want continuously to be challenged that we chose a road that would challenge us in a n negative rather positive way. Having raised these questions, I noticed, as in Zidane's example that some of these successful people have had a pattern of just doing things that affects their careers negatively. Michael Jackson comes in mind as well as President Bill Clinton and others.

It was not a game, it was a shame

The defeat of the US team in Germany's 2006 World Cup in Soccer was the culmination of an illusion we had in America that Soccer has become a popular game. It is not. Almost the majority of the people here did not know that the most famous and popular sport in the whole world was taking place in Germany. We will talk about the whys later but now will focus on the defeat. All commentators up to and until the start of the first shocking game against the Czech republic predicted and said that this team is the strongest team the US has assembled ever! and even some predicted that the US might win the cup. I was shocked to hear these predictions specially that we really still do not have the strong foundation like other sports that can produce a strong well trained cohesive team. Sure we have good players that play out side the US but that is all we have, good players and not a good team. We must start by looking inward and strengthen the MLS and popularize it by all the means necessary. Second we must have a strong foreign coaching team preferably Brazilian, or German that will put focus and not politics into the team. Then we must choose from the stars of the MLS and who plays abroad a team that will train regularly even if takes to travel from their respective playing countries to the US.It's normal to be defeated in sports,but it's not normal to be so ilusioned about our capabilities.

Rotate The Power in Lebanon

In a previous article, Lebanon 2005, I talked about the problems Lebanon faces in the aftermath of the assassination of its former Prime Minister Rafik Elharrir. I then voiced concerns about the nature of the Lebanese people and if they will ever have the national integrity to create a country, a real country. In this article, I’m more of a pragmatist. I see hope in Lebanon’s problems by starting to reform the political system. This system was created primarily to navigate the various religious groups that make up the Lebanese social life and in some opinions was created to protect the Christians. It does not make sense anymore and it needs to be changed to create the new Lebanon that can survive and be a normal country. We still can not ignore the hard feelings each religious sect feels about its own group; in Lebanon the tribe or the religion loyalty is more important that the country itself even if the Lebanese pretends otherwise. The ideal solution for Lebanon as I have mentioned before is the Switzerland example but until the Lebanese people reaches such maturity, we need an interim system that preserves the rights of the different sects. The solution is to rotate the power at the helm, meaning the presidency, which is the most important symbol especially for the Christians as they have been giving the position since independence. The solution is for the parliament to elect a representative of each sect, Muslim, Maronite Christian, Shiite, etc for one six years term. Right now the parliament does this function but elects only a Maronite Christian. The rest of the positions in the government should be left to the elections and to the winning party personnel as in all democratic systems. The system now allocates the presidency to a Maronite Christian, the premiership to a Muslim Sunni, and the speaker of the parliament to a Muslim Shiite. This current system is unfair and unrealistic. The fact is that the majority of the population is Muslims contributes to the need to change the system. Having said that, Lebanon is kind of a unique system in the Middle East, almost, now Iraq looks like Lebanon when it comes to sects fighting over power, and Lebanon needs to relax the fears of the Christians from losing their privileges. Another issue is the presence of almost 300,000 Palestinians who live in Lebanon and where the idea of giving them citizenship status creates a nightmare for the Lebanese in general and the Christian Lebanese in particular. However I think that those Palestinians that most of them were born there need to have the Lebanese citizenship and needs to move on with their lives. Those people will not go back to their original land in Israel and Palestine and any way it does not make sense to keep talking about the right of return. Palestinians in the Arab world need to be nationalized with the citizenship of the country they live in.