The Undistinguished Gentleman By Jamil Shawwa

During President Obama speech before the joint session of congress regarding the historic health care reform, a voice interrupted the class and the civility of the session by shouting you lie at the president. Joe Wilson, the South Carolina Representative who sent that shout could not be spontaneous as he declared later, the tone, the face and the anger, left me with no doubt that this man is a part of a very small group in this country that do not like Obama for the person and not for the what he stands. We have disagreed with presidents and we will continue to disagree and bravely voice our disagreements but what separate this great country from other nations is that we like to be civil when we disagree. Other presidents in the past were also hated for who they are and not for what they stand; John Kennedy, Catholic, Bill Clinton, defeated the republican revolution led by Ronald Reagan and in his case, he was also hated later because of his love scandals, but still these and other presidents were never interrupted while talking before the joint session of congress. To me this is a big No No; I like my country- America- for its civility and class. I am amazed at those in S. Cralonia that greeted Wilson as the Liberator; Wilson was rude and crude and this is how he should be looked at and remmebered.

Farouk Hosni and The UNISCO Battle

Farouk Hosni- the Egyptian minister of culture who lost the title of UNICCO chief to the Bulgarian candidate- went on the attack after his loss. He spoke of a cultural war between the south and the north and between the Arabs and Israel. He moreover went on a spree according to news agency- by stating that he will declare a cultural war against Israel who he blames for the loss of the position. This tone and attitude leave me with no doubts that Hosni does not deserve the position and that his loss is logical. Hosni - again, according to agencies- has said in the past that he would burn books from Israel if he found them in Cairo. Cultured and civilized people do not say that even if they were Politicians just saying rhetoric. My position against Farouk Hosni would have been the same if he said that he would burn Egyptians books; the issue is not which country, language or culture, the issue is the principle. Farouk Hosni also represents to say the least an autocratic regime, he has never been elected to any position and he has been a minister of culture in Egypt for the past twenty years. Before that, he ran the Egyptian Art Academy in Rome, Italy. Bulgaria on the other hand is an emerging democracy, its representative to the UNICCO position never insulted other cultures and never declared conspiracy theories against anyone; the choice was clear, Bulgaria wins. The Arabs are at a cross road, they must stop using Israel as a scapegoat for their own failures; Israel is not to blame. The Arabs must start treating Israel with civility and distinguish between political disputes and cultural cooperation and integration. If they- the Arabs- cannot separate until there is a solution for the Palestinian question- then the least they can do is not to use words like Burn when talking about Israel or its culture and books.

The Flogging In Sudan, by Jamil Shawwa

The news coming out of Sudan is usually not pleasant and gets worse as time goes by. The latest episode was the flogging of a Sudanese Female Journalist for what Sudan described as a dress that contradicts the Islamic dress requirements, what a shame. Sudan government's use of this great religion as other groups and terrorists to torture their people is intolerable. Islam- bear in mind I am not a scholar- has nothing to do with the implementation of certain punishments that might exist in its punishment codes for some crimes. The Sudanese government with all it's internal problems; with it's southern people and northern rebels, does not have any legitimacy among it's people except in using Islam in the worst Hippocratic way to provide some legitimacy. The Sudanese are not dumb and they are not naive but for some unexplainable reason- to me at least- are still go along with the criminally wanted president El Bashir who promoted himself to Field Marshal El Bashir; what a shame, again. Sudan has established political families and in general its people are among the most educated in the Arab world but for the past Twenty years, since El Bashir came to power through a military coup against the democratic elected government of El-Sadiq El-Mahdi, the son of one of Sudan most prominent political and religious families, and Sudan economy, morals and status among developing nations has reach Rock bottom. Sudan once described as the basket of Africa in reference to it's agricultural potential to feed the whole continent is now nothing but separate islands of political entities with a president who is wanted to appear before the International Criminal Court to answer some genocide questions; Shame on him and I must say on some of the Sudanese people who just do not the least to say talk about these atrocities.

Rise and Shine and.... Revolt Iran, By Jamil Shawwa

The results of the presidential elections in Iran caused a massive popular uproar that Tehran did not witness since the religious scholars seized power from the Shah in 1979.

The Iranians based on media and reports coming out of the country are fed up with the status qua, fed up with the privileges these scholars have in comparison with the rest of the country and fed up with a deteriorating economic situation that should not be in a leading oil producing country like Iran.

The Iranians are also fed up with the adventurous style of their president Nejad. The Iranians want freedom, they long to the day when their country get rid of this supreme ayatollah and be just a regular country with a president and a parliament, long for the time when they can say and talk and just breath freedom.

The governing religious body in Iran has substituted the repressive Shah regime with another repressive regime, different names, but same methods. the defunct regime of the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi had the Savak as it's oppressive paramilitary to control the lives of the people and the scholars now have the Basij to keep dirty jobs going.

The Iranians do not go as far as asking for a regime change completely, they are asking for more freedom and more democracy. The future of Iran might turn to be as of its neighboring Turkey, with a liberal Islamic system and with the religious scholars going back to their natural place which is the place of education and universities.

President Obama's Cairo University Speech

I was so proud as an American and as a Cairo University graduate when my president stood high addressing the Islamic world from the podium of the Grande Hall of Cairo University. The timing could not be better; The Arab and Islamic worlds are in my opinion have been going through hard labor, and no one yet knows when is the delivery date and what is the shape of the unborn. President Obama is extending America's strong hands and open heart to help the Islamic world through its labor. The Muslims and the Arabs have to return the favor by putting the effort needed to accomplish their search for their place under the sun and among the civilized and democratic world. The terrorists who live and feed on the fringes of society better watch out, there is a new kid on the block by the name of Barack Hussein Obama who can relate to the masses and in the same time able to lead this great nation to ongoing and renewal sources of greatness.

Bibi Netanyahu's Jerusalem, By Jamil Shawwa

Bibi Netanyahu-the prime minister of the State of Israel- stated that Jerusalem will forever be united and will forever be the capital of the State of Israel. The Arabs and the Palestinians reacted-no surprise- with the usual condemnation and protests that they have mastered over 60 years of the Arab Israeli conflict. A Palestinian Authority official said that this statement of Bibi Netanyahu put an end to any peace prospects; other condemnations followed, maybe different but the message is the same. I choose to differ,I do not agree that Bibi Netanyahu's statement was new or it would have any impact on the peace process in the Middle East; on the contrary, Bibi Netanyahu is brining up a very important and sensitive subject to everyone in the Middle east, and that is the future of Jerusalem, the capital of the three main and great religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. There is an informal agreement in the Middle East that Jerusalem should be united and that the city should preserve it's spiritual status and that it should be an open city with no fences or barriers as the situation was before 1967 and before Israel won that war and captured the Arab , old, section of Jerusalem. The disagreement is whether the Palestinians can have any control over the Arabic part, section and streets of the city and whether the Palestinians can declare that part as their capital and establish a municipality that can run the city, grant housing licenses and such. Bibi Netanyahu statement did not exclude the Palestinians from running the Palestinian part of the city and did not say that the Palestinian state cannot have the city-the Arab or eastern section- as its capital. The Palestinians must use new techniques in the negotiations with Israel, a technique that would look at Israel as a regular state with borders despute and not as an enemy or as a strange body in the Middle East; Israel is not. The negotiations with Israel should cover everything from borders to the idea of the right of return to those who originally left the historic Palestine during the war of 1948 following the declaration of independence of the State of Israel. The solution in my opinion to the right of return will be resolved when the settlements in the West Bank is resolved, in other words it will be this for that, no return in exchange of moving the settlers to lands inside the state of Israel. The time is now for a historic and final Conciliation between the Arabs and Muslims and the Jews in the Middle East and the world.

Jeb Bush: The GOP only Hope By Jamil Shawwa

In a long time, in the democratic world, have I seen, heard, or felt a party in such disarray as the Republican Party.

The Party looks and consists of a group of radio and TV commentators that sound like dealing with an America that does not exist anymore , a group of politicians in congress and few states governors that are lost and just wait and react to the Obama’s administration youthful and energetic agenda.

What happened to the Grand Old Party, and why it looks like a piece of ice that is evaporating so quickly that one cannot even know if it ever existed?

America in my opinion from the start of the year 2000 and until now has changed dramatically as no other great nation has changed in such sfort period of time.

America, the giant, the only super power, the dream place on earth, the Mecca of the suppressed and the hopeful from all over the world has been hit hard twice in less that 10 years.

The first hit to its pride came from the terrorists’ attacks of 09/11/2001 and the second one was the nature attack on New Orleans in 2005. The first attack shed the light on our vulnerability as an open society and injured our pride as the greatest nation on earth, a nation that we thought is away from the troubled world far from us. The second attack was from nature in the shape of floods that overcame our man made river barriers that some thought existed better in some developing countries.

These two attacks shaped the first 10 years of the 21 century and many of us still think that we could have prevented these two attacks, the first by having better security and coordination among the many security agencies and the second by just merely building better barriers by the shores of the river. The GOP led country fought and arguably prevailed against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and against Saddam in Iraq. The results were mixed, and the management of the after war in Iraq was terrible.

By the end of the Bush admiration, the country was hit by almost unprecedented economic crisis in its history. The Housing market collapsed and it dragged with it all other markets. The time could not have been more perfect for -as Senator Kennedy said in the Democratic convention - a new generation of Americans which reminded us all of the hopeful election and years of his brother John F Kennedy.

Obama was the answer. The GOP- on the other hand- Selected an elderly and seasoned Politician, John McCain, and McCain in a moment of desperation and maybe a Hail Mary shot, chose a young female Politician from Alaska. Governor Palin was a no match to Joe Biden and in many ways, she too shed the light -through interviews and insiders’ leaks- on the lack of Republican charismatic Politicians that could again capture the imagination of the American people as Ronald Reagan did.

Jeb Bush is the answer right now for the Republican Party. He is a Bush and not a Bush at the same time. He has always been different than his brother George W Bush and from his father the elder George Bush. He is a moderate, popular and has not been 'tainted' with wars or  the economy  his brother 'W' left the country struggling. He appeals to a wide spectrum of Americans including the rising power in American politics; the Hispanic population. He is married to an originally Mexican woman, he is bilingual English and Spanish and he is most importantly an inclusive Politician. We witnessed his skills in winning Florida’s governorship twice. Jeb Bush also by all accounts stayed away  while governor of Florida from the only obstacle that he could face; the voting cards debacle in Florida during the first election of his brother against Al Gore.

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.