No more, دي بلدهم* ..........by Jamil Shawwa

No more, دي بلدهم*

The Egyptians have dropped this one and dropped other stigmas that have been attached to the Egyptians reputation for thousands of years. The Egyptians however continued to have two things that they have maintained for thousands of years, civility and peace. They uprooted the dictator with class, and tact.

* Translation: “their country” always referred to the ruling class.

Mubarak’s Last Hurrah, Part III, The Last Dance...by Jamil Shawwa

President Mubarak is playing it as he planned it and is working according to the plan; basically he is going to drive the Egyptians nuts before he leaves, he is gone, again, he is done, and he is out, but the formal announcement has not been yet delivered. Its‘s ok, let the Egyptians and Mubarak dance the last dance, let Mubarak work his way and his style and let the army announce their prepackaged declarations and announcements, and let Suleiman, the VP, continues to show the respect to his president. The bottom line, let everyone continue to do what they are doing, it is a  political symphony, watch and learn. 



Check the previous Mubarak’s Hurrahs here and on http://arabamericanwire.blogspot.com

"Morality, Purity and Virginity"..An Afterthought by Jamil Shawwa

Where, we, humans, can start when talking about morality, maybe the Ten Commandments is a good place, also the same teachings that are found in Al-Quran and The Bible and other religions and beliefs and philosophies. But what if we do not want to use or cite the divine religions and others, where should we go and is it that important, I mean we already have established teachings as to what is considered moral or not and these principles more or less are found in every nation on earth and embodied in every political system imagined, regardless of course if these teachings are applied always or not. So where else would we go, the laws is a good place, the constitutions of the countries, again, even if they are there for decoration  and façade purposes or not. The big question I have after that long ambiguous introduction, to me at least, is why do we equate morality with virginity and why do we equate purity with it. I do not think they are related and if there is any relation, I do not think it should be mentioned because there is no direct connectivity or link or an unbroken process or experiences that can establish without any reasonable doubt that there is such connection. The obvious answer is virginity equals not touched but is a virgin better than a “tested person”, and if it is the case, who is qualified to decide. Maybe personal experience, probably, a good start, but most dangerously, we equate the three, morality, purity and virginity because we are raised to believe this way, we were raised, all humans, these are human trends and not related to any particular culture, that virginity is purity. It could be but why do we just pinpoint to that part in the human body, the reproduction area, and make it equal to either good or evil, why that human function is equated with virtues. I think one might say that I just answered myself, because it tied the area that keeps the human race going. What about other behaviors, or not, what if I meet a wonderful woman who has few experiences in life, same of course applies to the male, meaning a woman meeting a man who has few experiences in life, does it mean that these persons are not virtuous. Now, I am not going to involve the religions directly here although they are in the conscious and subconscious of most humans on earth. However, even the divine religions, they, and I am so scared to venture here, equate virginity with purity but they did not ignore other virtues. Therefore, the man or the woman, the girl or the boy, could be virgins until married, as religions require, but in the same time, they could be as far from purity and morality as the sun from the earth. I can meet a divorced woman for example or a single woman; this woman, same can be applied to a man, can have the strength of solid steel to resist anything that she considers immoral or not appealing. See, to her, if she loves someone, then she can practice what she feels a moral thing to do; she is not hurting anyone, she is not breaking a law, and she is not committing a crime- take into account that certain places in the world could criminalize what is considered in other places as personal freedom. I also could meet a topless woman in a topless beach or regular beach, it depends on the country and the laws, that woman could have more morality than a woman that is covered from head to toe. See, the bottom line here is that we can have many sets of morals and virtues and we can have all kinds of people, and we can have all kinds of behaviors, and accordingly it is not up to us, humans, to just set back and render that this person is virtuous or not, it is not up to us, unless we are in a position of judicious nature or law enforcement, in a democratic society, to decide on a case that is presented before us, we are not qualified, no one is. Even then, courts, depends on the society might not apply these human virtues to the case, it will or should apply the law, which is sometimes has nothing to do with the definition of virtues, there is a difference between legal and moral, they can be the same but also they might not be related. To conclude, the above are general statements and thoughts, if you represent a certain political or religious or social domination or party or agendas, then your views of morality, purity and virginity would for sure differes and usually, you would apply that scope to your views, some people nevertheless could be part of an agenda, but they still can have broader views of things. Those are the pragmatic, the practical and usually the leaders in their societies.

“The West Bank and The Gaza Strip…..Rise”….detour by Jamil Shawwa

The Palestinian people in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip need to revolt as the Egyptians and the Tunisians. But they need to revolt not against the State of Israel; Israel is not part of the problem and Israel is not the oppressor. They need to revolt against the historic dictatorship of the PLO and the emerging dictatorship of the famous hypocrisy, Hamas. They need to demand the elections in the West Bank and Gaza of reliable and credible leaders that can set side by side with the State of Israel and work a final, realistic, and practical solution for the establishment of a Palestinian State in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian and Arab leaders so far and by large and in general have manipulated the Palestinians to serve their own narrow and selfish needs. The Palestinian question has fed into creating excuses for the oppressive regimes in the Arab countries to stay in power. In the name of Palestine, The Arab leaders have caused millions of their people to live like subhumans, no more, let the Palestinians learn the lesson of the Egyptians, and just rise, go to the streets and demand elections and demand leaders who can negotiate without pretentious and hypocrisy the final solution. Oh, one more thing, and they, the Palestinians, need to send a message, a strong one, to Iran, to butt out of their business.


Go to http://arabamericanwire.blogspot.com/   and type Israel and Palestine in the search tool for more information and articles.

"A Word To the Wise Guy"….Another Detour by Jamil Shawwa

 The Grand and Supreme Idiot of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is trying to get credit for something that is going on in Egypt that has nothing to do with what took place in Iran in 1979. After 32 years of the clerics revolution in Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is saying that finally, Iran is getting some traction and people in the Arab countries are learning from it. Those Iraninas never stop to amaze me, you have though to admire their thick skin, I wish I have thick skin, they do not give a damn how retarded they sound, and they keep going like that battery ad, keeps going and going and if we are lucky….they will be gone…gone soon:)


Go to http://arabamericanwire.blogspot.com/  and type Iran in the search tool for a history of articles about it.

Mubarak's Last Hurrah...Part II The Muslim Brotherhood is On The Line

by Jamil M. Shawwa on Thursday, February 3, 2011 at 1:52pm

 It is very interesting to watch how Mubarak’s departure evolves; in his style to say the least. Check my posts below. Now, he basically divided the Egyptian street, and playing the Muslim Brotherhood card. When the uprising started, the Muslim Brotherhood were nothing or nowhere to be found.  Mubarak is giving them a momentum they only dreamed of….. Will continue with  Mubarak’s Last Hurrahs.

Egypt Under Suleiman.... a quick Detour by Jamil Shawwa

Internally:

A transition of power that could result in a Turkish/French style political system, with the prime minster- the majority in the parliament- and the president as the executive authority.

Externally:

Continuation of Egypt’s role in leading the Arab countries in the peace process with the State of Israel and the efforts to establish a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.  The peace with Israel is as solid as the pyramids.

Continuation of Egypt’s role as a moderate country with the continuation of the special relations with the United States. I heard the other day a wannabe by the name of Tamim Barghouti- identified himself as a Palestinian poet in Al-Jazeera- who claimed that and I quote “America lost Egypt forever” end of Quote. I think that guy is lost himself, he does not know what he is talking about and he better off just focusing on growing up, read a book, two, or something.

The democratic reforms will extend to other Arab countries and will affect every single Arab country one way or the other.

Basically, Egypt is on the right track and the talk is now the future and not the past; Mubarak is the past.

Mubarak’s Last Hurrah… By Jamil Shawwa

I wrote before on “Arab American Wire” on 01/03/2011 “Why Egypt Will Not Revolt” which is yet to be seen if wrong or right- the measure whether it is true or not will be if the people directly will force the ruler out of power. I still think that president Mubarak is in his way out but not in the style of the Tunisian president, running away. Mubarak will not run away but will transition to his vice president who might form a national unity government or attract opposition figures in the government. According to news reports, ElBaradei, the Egyptian international figure who headed the IAEA might also have a role, some even said he might form the national unity government under “president Suleiman” The bottom line is that Mubarak is a thick skin but not an idiot, he very cleverly have built a momentum to show the chaos, and he is playing the fear factor, he is scaring the Egyptians of what might happen if he disappears all of a sudden; the looters and the outlaws and some say the bullies of his regime, his own peoples, in the streets. He ordered the police to run away, he ordered guards and police at prisons to just abandon posts; he intentionally let thousands of convicted felons and criminals to breakout. Mubarak is scaring the Egyptians, he is playing it smart- according to his way of thinking- and some might say playing it harsh, but he is playing the game and he is telling the Egyptians that it is ok, fine, I’m leaving but not so soon and only on my own terms. Mubarak hold grudges, no doubt about it. This is Mubarak and this is how he has been all along. He knows his people; he knows that the Egyptians used to say” It is better to be called a coward rather than to be called May Rest in Peace” meaning, live and not die for any cause or nothing is worth dying for. But the Egyptians are breaking away slowly form that stigma and they are revolting. Mubarak -years ago- would not have cared about all this and would not have blinked but not anymore, the world has changed 360 degree since the time he took power in 1981 after the assassination of President Sadat. The Soviet Union just collapsed in days, Eastern Europe disappeared, and the bills of freedom are ringing all over the world. Smart communications as I like to call them are everywhere, it is now Mubarak vs. Facebook, and Mubarak vs. Twitter and Mubarak Vs. the internet, and you have guessed it, they, the media the smart ones, are winning. Mubarak is leaving, he is gone already, but the actual departure will not be a coward one, again, according to how he thinks, it is not his style and probably there is no rush for him to be kicked out or for the US to demand it without due diligence, so and accordingly, he wants at least to leave like King Farouk left in 05/26/1952, when the Egyptian military saluted him while he was dressed as the sea admiral on board of his yacht “El Mahrousa” the translation, “the protected” a term which is the Egyptians usually refers to their country.

*"The Palestinian Papers"...A View from Jamil Shawwa

The leaked, it is so fashionable now to have things leaked, about the alleged “Palestinian Papers” in regard to Jerusalem and the refugees looks like that leak in the 1990s about a proposed Golan Heights deal, “The Rabin document” which states a preparation from the side of the State of Israel to withdraw from the Golan in exchange for full relations with Syria. First, again, Syria is nothing to worry about, it will oblige as needed as it did when the order came to withdraw from Lebanon in 2005. As for the Palestinians, you have to worry about few things; lack of credibility, lack of representation, lack of transparency, and of course the ultimate Palestinian stigma; cowardness. The issues of Jerusalem and the Palestinian refugees are so simple, and in my mind, they are resolved and they just need Palestinian politicians who are elected properly or bold enough to spell them out. All these leaks are just test balloons to prepare people mentally to things that might be coming their way. Usually such things happen and in that magnitude in societies where hypocrisy is paramount and where people like to fool themselves and where the defeat is called "Nakba" and "Naksa", and accordingly, there is one place so far on earth that fits that criteria; The West Bank and the Gaza Strip. I saw excerpts from that Al-Jazeera in English report that talked about that deal from the Palestinians negotiators. See, here is another problem, Saeb Erekat and Yaser Abed Raboh and others are no body, they have as most of the Palestinian politicians, no credibility and no substance and no respect. You listen to them, of course this includes Hamas, and one thing comes to mind, forgive my Korean, the bathroom. The solution is easy, go and talk to the people in the West Bank and Gaza, Jerusalem is an open city, no need to dismantle any settlements anywhere, which is administered by the State of Israel and the State of Palestine, each within and with modifications around the 1967 line. If settlements fall within the State of Palestine, then they are residents of the state and it applies to any Arab population that falls within the State of Israel. The refugees issue is resolved, No Return, it does actually defies logic, unless they go back to lands in The West Bank or the Gaza Strip. If the Palestinians have a bold leader that for once would level with them and spell it and talk about it with the courage and the humility that it requires, the Palestinians will no longer continue to feel the victims that they are not, will not continue to cry and weep and will stop cursing everything and every body. See, the Palestinians are so lucky right now, the world including the State of Israel want to give them a state in the West Bank and The Gaza Strip, although they are the most expert in trying to tell the world not to give them a state. Two idiots run the show in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, the PLO and Hamas. Can you imagine any nation on earth as unlucky as the Palestinians, their history by large, is a history of idiots running their politics.

* Search here under Israel and Palestine for more related articles.

*Divorce Socrates Wife, Part III....by Jamil Shawwa

He deteriorates anytime he is around her.

He feels that he loses part of his humanity anytime she opens her mouth.

She is not evil but evil would be scared of her.

The best communication they have together is when they do not talk to each other; silence with her is heaven. Once she talks, it is hell on earth.

She is selfish, obnoxious, and rude, with an inferiority complex to compliment them. No tact, no finesse, no class and she likes herself that way, or maybe she thinks that being all the above protects from the outside world, gives her some shield or cover so people cannot see the scared human that she is.

He is not much better, probably, he is not perfect, far away from perfection for sure, he does not want an equal in selfishness, he does not want an equal in other things that he despises, he wants something different, but he is lazy.

She is completely wrong for him and he is completely wrong for her.

What brought them together is the worst human trend, just the worst; laziness, settling for the easiest, accepting the available at a moment of despair, and a moment of weakness, not following the guts, not following that inner radar that never fails, not following that big No that came looming across his eyes as soon as that female showed him the real person she was and it was in the first two days of their meeting. See, she did not hide it, she did not pretend to be someone else; it was not her fault; it was his. And it was not too late; it is never too late to correct the wrong, to drop the bad, to open a new page, a new window, a new door. He did not do it then, he did not see it, he thought it was something normal, a regular human trend. He was blind, it takes so long for this human to realize his surroundings, maybe laziness blinds him, or maybe he thinks that the universe revolves around him.

It is never too late, even for that lazy person. To him, nothing equals the companionship and the courtship of a woman.

*Human observations, for entertainment purposes only. Type Divorce in the search tab on Arab American Wire to read the first two parts.

*Lingerie...Part II, The Sequel...by Jamil Shawwa

No candlelight; they are not into candles, roses, or flowers. They are into warm setting, cozy surroundings complimented by the natural heat of the body traction. They are together, she is staring and he pretends as if nothing has happened, he is playing it cool, but in fact, she is the cool one. Her eyes are so comforting that he cannot look at them. They are so confident that he melts from just passing by her sight. She is a dangerous creature; she can contain him in a second. He thinks that he controls the action but she in fact is the predator and he is the prey, she never makes him feel it, he thinks that he scored, but he did not, he made love. Lingerie is no longer anywhere to be found, they are something from the past, no one thinks of them any more, and no one wants to leave the setting to search for them; maybe they vanished, in their minds at that moment. He must leave the location, temporarily, for a cigarette, the idiot, how could he leave such a treasure for just a cigarette. No drinks around, just two small bottles of mineral water. It was not a battle but a symphony, she calmed him down, no rush she said, he looked baffled after these words, as if she had caught him in the act. Maybe he did not expect her to be so direct or so in control. Basically he is there managing something, but she is the conductor. He was the instrument, but she was the gatekeeper, the bed of roses and a gate it was, well done, well trimmed and so smooth that a mountain of butter could melt on it, and well positioned as every part of her landscape. Everything was well put and prepared, it is not a beauty per say, but everything was just right. It was not a job that they had to finish, it was not a mission that they had to accomplish, and it was not a process that they had to complete. It was a discovery, an exploration; every location needed to be touched on, and every hill and river needed to be climbed and crossed, but the sailing and the climbing were simultaneously, natural and not constructed. The river is hugging the sailor and both are indulged. In the shower, the water was dancing and singing, and all they did was to move to its tunes, and to comply with its rhythms. Nothing more, just the water under that little shower telling a story that never ends.

 

* For entertainment purposes only.

Breathe Tunisia Breathe….by Jamil Shawwa…

The winds of change and freedom are blowing all over the Arab countries in the Middle East and North Africa. Iraq was the first and now Tunisia with a popular uprising that within less than a month forced the brutal dictator "Bin Ali" to flee the country. Few demonstrations ended a rule of almost quarter of a century. Nothing stopped the people; the army could not shoot at the unarmed, the poor, the hungry, the suppressed and the oppressed. The voices of the hungry in the streets of Tunisia was as thunder that no military apparatus could have stopped, and even if they could, they would have not. On a Facebook post dated 01/10/2011, just four days shy from Bin Ali’s departure, I wrote the following-In the mid 1980s the ailing late Tunisian president Bourgeba appointed Bin Ali to be minister of interior, few months later in a coup d'état, Bin Ali removed the historic yet senile leader and appointed himself president. It is time now for Tunisia to remove Bin Ali, hold elections and appoint a new president. North Africa is crying for reforms, and it is just the beginning of historic reforms in the Arab countries in the Middle East and North Africa. It is time for those corrupt dictators to retire- and to my surprise, the dismissal of the dictator came much sooner than I expected. I knew that he is gone, but not that fast. Tunisia is starting to breathe fresh air that it never had before, it kicked out a manipulative dictator. The rest of the Arab countries are watching, and learning and reading the story of courage to apply it and copy it to their own versions of Bin Ali. The Arab kings, presidents, princes and oppressive commanders are now scared, contemplating in their palaces of fear about their next step or planning an exile, they are hoping to escape and be as lucky as Bin Ali and run rather than be put on trial- if they are that lucky- and be exposed on their crimes against their people. The hungry have spoken, the oppressed are talking and the deaf are listening. The world is watching a story that consists of twenty two chapters, the number of the Arab countries, and so far two chapters have been completed and in the process of getting finalized, the Iraq chapter and the Tunisia chapter. Not long, the whole story will be done, and the whole twenty-two or twenty-four chapters will be completed. The big domino effect has started and there is no way to stop it or go back to business as usual.

Report from Ramallah.....By Jamil Shawwa

Reports and people are telling a story of a city that is thriving, some call it the capital of the new Palestinian state and others call it the temporary capital until the eastern part of Jerusalem is ready to be declared as the capital of the Palestinian state, with the western part of Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel; both parts open and free for all residents and visitors. Ramallah since 1994 has been the actual capital of the Palestinian authority; being few miles away from Jerusalem gave it that importance. Gaza really has always been the other city, the girlfriend, or the companion, or the second wife- If you are in the Middle East, you could qualify to have**four wives at a time- or the city in the waiting to be on its own. It happened in 2006 when Hamas kicked the Palestinian authority and declared Gaza as a separate governing part from Ramallah... Two elected authorities, one in Gaza and one in Ramallah tell the story in brief of the Palestinian people. A story that is filled with disappointments, mistrusts, conspiracies, and pain. The Palestinian politicians fight, conspire and the people suffer. However, the people also are not so innocent; they are to a large part a reflection of the leadership. It looks like they are somehow do not expect more of their leadership, as if they expect them to fight and mistrust each other, otherwise the story would not ring true. Throughout their history, the Palestinians never had a leader, except for one, Yasser Arafat, that took historic and monumental, in some views, in mine, natural, steps to ensure the real and normal course of evolution. The Palestinians in the 40s of the last century had the worst leader, the most terrible by the name of Amin El-Husseini, a demagogue, opportunist with no morals or any values or at least any political skills, who went to the criminals the Nazis to plan some sort of post world war II German influence in the Middle East. El-Husseini like most of the Palestinian leadership has always read history wrong, has always been on the side of the losers and the defeated. If you look objectively at the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since the *UN partition of the pre 1948 historic Palestine, you cannot but notice that the Arabs and the Palestinians were the aggressors, those that missed all the opportunities to have a Palestinian state side by side of the state of Israel. The UN and the international community gave the Palestinians a state over 60 years ago on a silver platter, but they reject it then and continue to reject. Their history has been the history of the self-defeat; Israel has nothing to do with what the Palestinians think that they did not achieve.  Yasser Arafat read history well, saw the signs and understood the clues. The present and the future of the Palestinian people and the future Palestinian state does not reside with the way the Palestinians are within their Arab neighbors but most important on the relationship with the State of Israel. The future of the Middle East is the future that will have the State of Israel as a vibrant participant and part of it. The Palestinians will have a part too. The interest of having a Palestinian state in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip is an Israeli national and strategic interest, the Palestinians, some of them must know this fact, but they must be careful not to try to twist arms with Israel; It will not work, and it is if it happens would be just dumb politics. The most help to establish the state of Palestine will come from the neighbor to the north, the State of Israel. Anyone, whoever they might be or position, that would say otherwise, or contradict the importance of the State of Israel either in the Middle East or in establishing and supporting the Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza, is either does not know anything about anything, or are pursuing an agenda that needs to be ignored, the least to say. The Palestinians need to hold elections, and if Hamas wins, then let it be but must first have a national project or a national model that identify the principles of the future of the state of Palestine in the West Bank and Gaza, which is a secular government, no other way, and a government that knows, identify, recognize, believe that the Palestinian state means only and nothing more and once and for all just the territories in the West Bank and The Gaza Strip. Anything other than that would be done for demagoguery and hypocrisy purposes and in this field, the Arabs and the Palestinians compete with the Iranians. Also those that would deny the previous, are those that do not want to see a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza, and those, the Palestinians, need to ignore. My telephone speaker from Ramallah all of sudden asked, when was the last time you were here, I said just recently, twenty six years ago, maybe around 1986, I remember I went to Abu Iskandar for Shawerma sandwich and then to Rukab for ice-cream. I told her, you know Ramallah is Ramallah, a small town. She interrupted and said; forget about it, it is now looks like Tel-Aviv, Cairo, Amman or Beirut. She talked of hotels, conference halls, restaurants, nightclubs, banks, embassies, everything right now is in Ramallah; it became a mini capital and country by itself. I asked one more time, but please, answer this one, what happened to Abu Iskandar, she said he is there; the sons took over after the passing of the father. I said fine, if Abu Iskandar is still in Ramallah, then Ramallah might not be too bad.

*UN Resolution 181, 1947. 
**The strict rule of the Quran allows a man to have four wives at a time with the absolute precondition of complete equal treatments among them in everything. According to scholars, basically, it is something almost impossible to achieve, and thus the four wives cannot in actuality be materialized. Therefore, as any society, one wife at a time is the prevailing Islamic preference :)

Why Egypt Will Not Revolt...by Jamil Shawwa

The Egyptians never revolted against their rulers. For thousands of years the Egyptians learned to cope with their rulers, to manage them, to make jokes about them, to play the system, to work around the system, and to get by without violence. The Egyptians, the masses, like to play the superhero, but in fact, they are not like that, they are hard working people but when they talk loud, it is just like that, loud, and only loud. The Egyptians in fact are among the most peaceful nations in the Middle East. The biggest example is the historic peace with Israel when their late president Sadat took the initiative and visited the State of Israel and broke or crossed what he accurately described as the psychological barrier between Israel and the Arabs. The Egyptians were behind him, in general, and since then all the Arabs have been trying to follow his footsteps. Egypt's role as the biggest Arab country, requires it to do things that the rest of the Arab countries feel relieved that they do not have to be the first to do or they do not have to pioneer, one of them that is coming is the painful transition that Egypt might be required to succumb to which is being the first Arab country that will actually experiment with the Muslim Brotherhood as the elected government with the military as the guardian of the secular society. Egypt has pioneered almost every field in the Arab countries, and if the trend continues, it will again be the first to introduce the inevitable, which is the participation of the group that the political system in Egypt and the Arab world have been fighting for almost ninety years. *The Egyptian scholar Murad Wahba, and he is just one of many but one of few that still talk freely, confirmed in an interview with Nile TV that Memri carried, what other people and I have mentioned before that the Muslim Brotherhood would win any free election in any Arab country, maybe with the exception of Lebanon that that has a Shia version of the Muslim Brotherhood but Iranian style, which is the militant style that you do not have in any other Arab country, but that is Lebanon. Lebanon  plays in the Shia/ Iranian/ Iraqi side of the business rather than the Egyptian side, which is dominated religiously by the Muslim Brotherhood. Recently, Egypt and Jordan held parliamentary elections and both countries one way or the other had “asked” or “made sure” or arrested or chased members of the biggest political group and most influential right now in the Arab countries, The Muslim Brotherhood.  In Egypt, there is right now a sense of despair across all classes and the atmosphere there ranges from very skeptic to very cautious or very weary of the Egyptian president Mubarak. He is 82 years and does not want to leave the chair. Mubarak may feel it is an insult to leave the presidency early, maybe early to him means as long as he is alive. I predicted before that Mubarak would not be president of Egypt beyond 2012, but who am I to say or decide, I am just predicting based on logic and as we all know logic and politics are not on good terms and never will be. Hosni, as the Egyptians like to call him, has the tact, the shrewdness and the thick skin that needed to govern Egypt. This situation anyway cannot last forever; there must be a new president for Egypt soon. The change in Egypt will not be violent no matter what, it is just against the nature of the Egyptian people and it never happened before in their history that the people just jumped or revolted and changed the political system. Change has always been either internally from within the ruling class or the military. The only way for the Muslim Brotherhood to govern will not be other than by winning an election.  The armed forces will not allow a revolution and the Muslim Brotherhood will not ignite one. The Brotherhood knows that violence means their end and the end of their claim to have legitimacy.  I personally do not have a problem with the Muslim Brotherhood ruling countries in the Middle East as long as the group embraces the secular society and civil liberties and the historic choice of having two viable states in the holy land, The State of Israel and the State of Palestine in the West Bank and the Gaza strip with Jerusalem as capital of both, an open and vibrant city for the three divine religions and the city of peace to the whole world. Jerusalem is the only city on earth that is revered among the three divine religions; no other city has such a majestic and divine status.  It is ok to have Islam as an inspiration to political parties; we have the same thing in Turkey, Israel, Europe and the United States where some political parties embrace the religion, Islam, Judaism or Christianity, as a general inspiration or for overall moral guidance.

*Check Facebook post 01/03/2010

Lingerie...by Jamil Shawwa

It is so powerful, so inspiring, so motivating and so disarming. Its power resides in what it hides or keeps. It is the climax of a journey or a destination. Lingerie represents that final frontier, the last resort, the last line of defense, the Berlin wall, the Great Wall of China, The demilitarized zone, you name, I will probably agree with it. It is in a relationship, or in an intimate encounter the line of the transparent wall that the female companion tells you that you have arrived but not yet completely, that she is still holding the final card, the Joker, and she is still in control, and that if you do not behave well or act right, that transparent line will not fall, and that clip will not click and that little piece there will stick to it’s boundaries and that last line of defense will be like the no man land; no one can enter and no one can cross. It is almost always there in an encounter, I mean we, the male gender, just drop everything as if it is now or never or as soon as the opportunity arises saying here we are, and usually you would get that quick glance that make you feel as if time had stopped, and as if a snow storm or blizzard has arrived.  Women have more dignity than we do do, they keep their options open until the last moment, until that last second, until the final breath and the final touch and the final word. You are in complete suspense,  you do not know what is next, you do not know if you should touch that clip or that thread or that would just eliminate you from crossing the line, from cutting the ribbon, from reaching the warmest of all and the kindest of all and the most secured and patented place. Some say, that is why the first thing you do is just cross that line, jump over that fence, get rid of the wall even before you start, because once you start, you do not want the Great Wall of China all of a sudden to rise or that curtain to fall.

The locker Belongs to Me....Short Story ..by Jamil Shawwa

Girl: what would you like to have?

Boy: not sure yet

Girl: why, didn’t you get the list?

Boy: what list,

Girl: the usual weekly list

Boy: sorry, I do not understand...

Girl: the list of things that your friends like, and you usually buy to put in your locker

Boy: I did not get a list this week..

Girl: Why? Anything wrong

Boy smiling: Nothing wrong, I just realized that the locker belongs to me.

Prince Bandar, Machiavelli, and the Future of the Kingdom by Jamil Shawwa

The “legend” says that the founding father of the modern Saudi Arabia,” Abdel Aziz Bin Saud”, captured the current Saudi Capital, Riyadh, with a group of only forty men.

He moved after that and defeated his arch enemies the Hashemites, the family of the current rulers of Jordan, and captured Mecca and Medina- the heart and soul of Islam- and the heart and soul of the Hashemites.

Ibn Saud, as he was popularly known, was a politician by nature, a perceptive, clever and devious Bedouin, a tribesman who knew how to work and make alliances throughout the Arabian Peninsula either by multiple and calculated marriages from various competing tribes, bribery or force, as needed.

Ibn Saud was actually setting on the engine of the modern civilization, Oil, which was discovered just after he established the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He went ahead in the early years and made the two most important alliances that kept the family until today in power; the first one was internally with the Wahhabis, an extreme sect and interpretation of the Sunni Islam which the Wahhabis created and marketed as the true religion; in fact, it is the political version of their view of Islam.

The second alliance was with the rising and to be dominant world power since the beginning of the 20th century, the United States of America. Very ironic and significant alliance between two extreme contrasts; America outside and the Wahhabis inside.

As a matter of fact, the Saudis were the first to establish the political Sunni Muslim religious movement best known as El-Ekhwan- the Brothers or Brotherhood- of which the most famous one sprung, the Muslim Brotherhood that has become the nightmare of the Arab political secular regimes and now is the democratically elected rulers in both Egypt and Tunisia-In Tunisia, they do not call themselves the Brotherhood but it’s the same ideology and style.

Two monumental events reshaped Saudi Arabia in the last quarter of the 20th century and the very first years of the 21st century, the first took place in 1979- same year when the clerics of Iran took over the country from the Shah- when a group of militant Saudi extremists seized the Grand Mosque of Mecca for over two weeks with allegations that the seizure could not have taken place without the direct help of the Bin Laden family which had sympathizers among them to those fanatics. In addition, the Bin Laden family at the time was in charge of the renovations to expand the Grand Mosque of Mecca.

The second event took place in the morning of 09/11/2001, when a group of Sunni Muslim Arabs from Al-Qaeda terrorist organization led by Osama Bin Laden, mostly Saudis with an Egyptian as the mastermind, seized and hijacked planes and attacked targets in America. The first terrorist attack in 1979 had regional consequences but it should have raised red flags of the horrors to come. The second terrorist attack had a world and earth shaking consequences that are still taking place until now and will continue for the foreseen future.

The sons of Saud, who took over from the father when he passed in the early 50s, inherited a country that has been the focal point in world politics, it has Oil, it has the holiest religious places for Muslims and it produced arguably the worst and deadliest enemies to civilization in the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21 century, Osama Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda terrorist organization.

The current king of Saudi Arabia, Abdullah, is in his late 80s, the Crown Prince is in the same age group and both with health issues. It was much said about the late Crown Prince Sultan Bin Abdel Aziz that he had never been a talented leader; he had been the defense minister for over fifty years until his passing on October 22, 2011. His role and handling of the seizure in Mecca in 1979 was considered mediocre. His name was attached to the modernization of the armed forces but probably anyone could have done the same with hundreds of billions of dollars at their disposal and thousands of advocates and consultants on their side.

Besides, of course the other hundreds who made billions just from briberies to get the weapons deals passed. His son and most well know politician, Bandar Bin Sultan, likes to be known, which he is not, as the Machiavellian of Arab politics. He indirectly through a journalist published a book few years ago, “Prince”, which he mirrored on but with a different plot “The Prince” by Machiavelli, in which with the co writer thought to put some vagueness and mystery around his role in Saudi and regional Middle Eastern politics.

Anyone that ever watched Prince Bandar would have probably noticed that he is like an open book; you can tell what he thinks of before he even thinks of it, the style is so obvious. Prince Bandar was explicitly implicated in the famous British BAE weapons deal called “Al-Yamamah” in which British press said that he made hundreds of millions of dollars in “commission” out of over 40 billion pounds weapons deal.

Tony Blair the former British prime minister had to intervene personally asking the formal investigation to halt, citing British national security. The Saudis have been famous for generations in having brokers and intermediaries from the royal family and close to them getting bribes in exchange of lucrative weapons deals to their own country.

Many probably remember the most famous Saudi weapon dealer in the 60s and 70s, Adnan Khashoggi, who once made the honor of being on Time cover for his flamboyant dealings. It seems to me that the first step to reform Saudi Arabia is to transfer the powers to the cousins, the sons of the brothers, whom are the sons of Abdel Aziz; it is like a maze. The second step is to Create a Vatican like status to Mecca and Medina, the holiest sites for the Muslims and the birth place and later residence of the prophet Muhammad, and open up the rest of the kingdom gradually to a style that would make women feel like normal human beings, that can drive, travel, work, vote, without having to have a male sponsor, a husband, brother, driver, etc.

Today, 01/05/2013, a Saudi clerk, advocated that women and men should continue to be separated. The alliance between Al-Saud and Al-Wahabbeen, the strict and in my opinion not related to the original tolerant Sunni interpretation of the religion Islam, will continue but will take into a different shape if the royals in Saudi Arabia want their privileges kept; the anger at the religious police in Saudi Arabia is growing and especially among women who are standing up for themselves and refusing their insults in the streets of the country.

The Saudis need to reach out to the minority Shiite that they have been oppressing and provide them with equal rights; the Shiite in Saudi Arabia are a time bomb that can explode any moment and with it the whole oil rich Eastern section of the kingdom could explode.

The very last step which is probably needed is the establishment of a new popular system that would allow the Saudis, men and women to choose a representation and a government under the royal flag, to move closer to a constitutional monarchy that has direct involvement and guardianship with the holy places, with the rest falls under parliamentary oversight.

So far, those that call themselves reformers within Saudi Arabia are nothing but carbon copies of the current regime. They ask for political freedom for themselves and their fellow men but not the female sector of the society. The reformers need to look deeper into what is considered the root cause of the problem, which is the grand void the Saudis feel, it is as a cage made of diamonds, but still a cage.

There are numerous stories, true probably, about a hypocritical society that when inside Saudi Arabia they claim all the virtues in the book and outside Saudi Arabia, and inside within the high walls of their palaces, they live the lives of playboys and playgirls, both the Saudi men and women. The reformers ask for freedom that they deny their closest family members, their mothers and sisters and wives and “companions”.

It is a society that is so pretentious, so fanatic inside yet so tolerant to world alliances. A society whose allegations and rumors of a corrupt royal family fill the news daily. A strange secretive society closer to a cult rather than a regular country, a cult that is called a country. But a cult that is made out of clear and breakable glass.

Check the latest updates including Jamal Khashoggi alleged murder inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey and America and the House of Saud

America and The House of Saud

And in details:

The Kidnapping and possible murder: Khashoggi and the House of Saud and Mohammad bin Salman
House of Saud and Khashoggi

Trump and House of Saud
Trump and House of Saud II

America and House of Saud Holly Alliance

House of Saud and 9/11

America, the House of Saud and the America's lead war in Yemen

And More and Recap

Kabab Soltani and Dol Sot Bi Bim Bap

On November 15, 2013 CNN reported that Western nations near initial deal to halt advancement in Iran nuke program. The negotiations have intensified since the ‘historic’ September phone call between president Obama and the newly elected ‘reformist’ president of Iran, Rouhani.

Couple of weeks ago, same ‘world powers’ were scrambling in Geneva, Switzerland, and wherever they can around the new/old prize; Iran. But this time what Iran has been calling for over thirty years as ‘the Great Satan’ has joined. The United States of America joined other world powers for the first time in engaging directly and publicly Iran’s ruling Mullahs in ‘conversations’ trying to curb the Mullahs appetite to have what looks like nuclear power capabilities.

Now, as a historical fact, Iran started its appetite for nuclear power since before the political Mullahs took over power from ‘ Shahenshah’ Muhammad Reza Pahlavi in 1979. Before 1979 Iran had an emperor, Shahenshah, now it has a supreme leader. Before 1979 it had the ruthless Savak to suppress its people, now it has the ruthless Basij to do the same job. The bottom line is nothing has changed in Iran except for instead of the out of touch Shah, Iran got a Mullah that calls himself a supreme leader.

Couple Of weeks ago demonstrations in Tehran against America did not mean a thing; typical politically staged demonstrations that the Iranian political system created on the verge of the massive political changes of the aftermath of the Shah. Since 1979 every Iranian move against the US has been done by religious apparatus in accordance with what they see as necessary to keep a certain image even when a ‘reformist’ president is at the helm. The Iranians are so predictable which in Middle Eastern politics means ‘ close but no cigar’.

The sequence of events that led to the Iranian revolution of 1979 show an orchestrated policy and events to remove the Shah who again was out of touch and completely distant from his people. The Pahlavi family until today probably does not understand that they brought the Mullahs to power through their political arrogance and blatant stupidity

Kamal Ataturk succeeded in Turkey because he led every single Turkish to believe that what he was doing will benefit them and will benefit Turkey. The Shah on the contrary led none and no one believed him. The hypothetical questions that come to mind are, would the Shah have accepted to be dragged into war with Iraq or would Iraq have dared to wage a war if the Shah remained in power. Second, would the Shah have accepted to create a terror organization by the name of Hezbollah in Lebanon. Third, would the Shah have accepted to verbally attack Israel in the comic way the Mullahs have been doing since 1979. The answers probably are a big No.

If Khomeini stayed in Iraq and was not allowed to leave to France, the Iranian revolution would not have succeeded. In 1979, it was clear to the United States that the Shah had cancer and he will die which he had and died one year later. The US knew that the Pahlavi family is finished and that the Shah son was not to be. Again, the Shah was a dreamer that did not reach out to his people but expected them to believe his distant voice and see his absent face telling them that things will be better and Iran will be a great nation-some day.

Iran, one of the richest countries in oil in the world was to start to play a role in Middle Eastern politics and was to assume the command of the Shiite Muslims uprising not against The United States and Israel but against their historic nemesis; the Arab Sunni Muslims of the Middle East. By verbally attacking Israel which anyone with any sense should have known that such attacks are seriously flawed, wrong, aimless and have no reason or logic or purpose except for to rally tiny populations in the Middle East and gain fake ‘revolutionary legitimacy’. The main reason of such policy is to bring together the Iranian people around a cause, even a false cause and keep feeding on and off into this cause to bring the oppressive Mullahs regime a reason to stay in power. Creating a nuclear program was another tool to keep the Iranians in line behind their oppressors.

The Shah oppressed his people and the Mullahs took over and since 1979 have been doing the same and worse. Iranian women cannot swim in public and cannot have a hairdo shown in public and cannot be human in public. Influential intelligence services in the Middle East know every single component of Iran’s much publicized nuclear program and they could bring it to a finish, to a halt, and finally destroy it if they choose to do so. But if they have done so, then the whole art of diplomacy and political science would have collapsed.

The theory since the end of Vietnam war has been that unless there is an imminent danger, the use of force-if any- to change adversary’s ‘attitudes’ should be the last resort. Al Qaeda terrorist organization was an imminent and present danger and the US acted in Afghanistan. Saddam in Iraq was not as imminent; the US took care of him in 1990, kicked him out of Kuwait, and then came back and finished the job in 2003. Now we have three regimes in three countries that the US has described for the longest time as rogue regimes. North Korea, Syria and Iran are the best example of the US doctrine of imminent and present danger. Obama promised to attack but not destroy Alassad if he uses chemical weapons. Al Assad did, Obama retracted and decided to let the international community represented by world powers and the UN to have the upper hand while pointing a stick in the face of the adversaries.

North Korea and Iran are the same story, sanctions, threat of use of force and then negotiations. North Korea and Iran did their part as well in this game of politics, North Korea has been attacking the US left and right verbally and Iran attacking Israel left and right verbally. The picture despite of all this back and forth world rhetoric is not so bleak- at the end of the day we might see diplomatic relations between Israel and Iran and a one united Korea under the free Enterprise system of South Korea. The art of diplomacy is based on conflict resolution. We safely can say that diplomacy would seize to exist if conflicts do not exist.

Accordingly, the use of force based on this theory is the last resort unless again there is an imminent and clear and present danger. The outcome of these three countries negotiations will result in many things- it could result in wars too- but most likely will result in creating precedents and SOPs -Standard Operating Procedures- for the game of engagement of similar future situations. The world cannot afford- no matter how attractive it is to just to knock down adversaries- to wage wars at the smallest provocation.

Other conclusions could include allowing Iran to have limited nuclear capacity- Korea already tested nuclear weapons but it is under full control of the Chinese- or just allowing Iran to have ’peaceful nuclear generators’ or no nuclear at all. In any case, experience, practice and politics for the last 34 years proved that Iran is not a country anyone should worry about or worry of or even have concerns that it would attack any country in the Middle East or the world. Iran is North Korea of the Middle East. So if you are a foodie, go ahead, enjoy a fantastic dish of Kabab Soltani with Salad Shirazi on the side, or swing by a Korean market and have a hot stone ball of Dol Sot Bi Bim Bap; no worries there.

*Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un. Photos by Reuters

*****Updated November 16, 2013

*The Pope, the Vatican, Act II by Jamil Shawwa

I never have a problem with any divine religion or any religion for that matter. See, I am nobody to have a problem with a religion, but I am somebody that could have a problem with the practices and practitioners of any divine religion or any religion or faith for that matter. A leak from Wikileaks was, among other things of course, a correspondence from the Pope and the Vatican objecting to consider Turkey or to accept Turkey to the European Union. The leaks revealed, no one denied anything thus far, that the Pope's objection- the Pope is German and we know that Germany has a challenge with the Turkish- German population , not that this statement has anything to do with the Pope’s decision but I thought it might be worth mentioning- to Turkey’s request is because Turkey is an Islamic country. I’m not sure if the Pope knows history or not or if he knows geography or not or if he remembers that Turkey is part of Nato and part of the overall American strategy in the Middle East and Europe or not, or if he knows that Bosnia Herzegovina and parts of the former Yugoslavia are also Islamic societies or not, but it seems that the Vatican again is swimming against the tide and against logic as it did in many stations through out it’s history from denying Martin Luther, the 16th century reformist and the war against arts and cultures during the enlightenment age and until now, in addition to the dubious role of the Vatican during world war II. I have not been fond of Turkey’s stupidity when it sent a ship to Gaza but I’m with the Turkish request, it is a European country, Eurasian and it seems that it met all the qualification; the only thing waiting is a political decision to include it in the EU. The Greek objection is fading and the American position as far as I am concerned is not objecting. You want those that represent the real, the regular, or the normal Islam, as the majority of Muslims believe, to be represented where they originally must be represented; otherwise, you leave the field to the murderers of Al-Qaeda and the mercenaries the Taliban to fill in the space. I have few issues with Turkey’s role in the Middle East but that does not prevent me from asking that Turkey be part of the EU, it is its natural place by the way and not the Middle East. I hope some sort of an Asian entity would also find a place for Iran and this way the real Middle East, as I see it, would consist only of the State of Israel, the State of Palestine, and the Arab countries surrounding them. On the other hand, if that scenario does not materialize, I can go to my original new Middle East, which would include Iran and Turkey as part of it. Maybe, I do not know, Turkey would be a major player in the Middle East and that is why it has not joined the EU, maybe. In the same time, The Pope and the Vatican really need to do house cleaning first and this house cleaning is the most serious challenge to the moral and theological authority of the Catholic Church. The house cleaning is regarding the cover up of those priests from all over the world molesting children and doing abnormal sexual acts with minor boys. So the Pope needs to focus on cleaning his house first. He also needs to bring transparency to the Church and seriously have a zero tolerance against any priest or affiliates with the Catholic Church that use the divine magic that is called the religion to manipulate people to their subhuman acts.

* Read also " The Pope and Islam" from 2006 here on http://arabamericanwire.blogspot.com/

The virtual Politician...by Jamil Shawwa

The virtual politician is taking his place behind the scene or behind a screen. He is not into too much noise, or maybe he pretends not to be so. Maybe he likes it but he does not want to admit it. He is ready to scan the world for things that he thinks are important or catchy. He feels that his job is to analyze the news, events, and the news behind the news. He wishes sometimes if this virtual politician becomes a reality in today's fast-paced world. He thinks that every country needs virtual politicians who see things from the larger perspective, from top of the mountain, from the bottom up, and the sides, from the end of the road and not the beginning or middle of the road. He thinks that in order to get it right, that is the analysis, you must look at the news from two, three, or ten angles, you must see yourself as the news maker, the reader, and the intended audience or any passing by audience. The news to the virtual politician is not about an event, but it is about the psychology behind the event, the rational behind it, and the politics behind it, if there were any. When he analyzes news from America, Mexico, Israel, Palestine , Egypt, or Russia, China, Korea, England, Brazil, India, Africa, France, Germany or any other place in the universe or the outer space, he is not himself, not at all; he is German, Israeli, Palestinian, Indian, American, English, French or even an alien from outer space; he was called alien many times. I think it is enough; we got the picture. The virtual politician of course can be opinionated, he likes to show but he usually provides the other perspective and he usually uses the comparison to make the point. The virtual politician applies science, as he sees it, to the analysis and applies logic, his maybe, to politics, and will the two ever meet. His job is not to be a role model; far from it maybe, his job is to analyze, to provide the meal and let others taste or look and smell and decide for themselves. He does not want to change opinions, but if he does, then why not. He talks beauty, he analyzes women in lingerie and without them, he is not a womanizer, just an admirer to the female body and brain; they can meet, and they can mingle together and he then connects that to politics and to society in large. He analyzes leaders and he takes upon the tough issues. He does not go with the so-called conventional wisdom, to him, it is nothing, and it is just the expected. There is no utopia on earth, he says and claims, which is true, but what if there were utopia on earth, what if each country decided to elect the virtual politician to provide unbiased analysis and unbiased advice regarding all events or regarding what ever comes to their plate, or provided to them.  He is lazy, so sometimes, news has to come to him before he starts analyzing. Sometimes though, his analysis is unstoppable, like a machine or a computer, you put in and takes out in the same time or simultaneously. If each country decided to go with their utopian idea, it still should mean that it has to be an elected position, the virtual politician is not a virtual dictator. Every four years, without mentioning any names, just presenting ideas and methodology and examples, people would go to the ballots and elect that idea and of course, behinds that idea is the virtual politician. Once in office, still anonymous, except for few as well elected officials, his job is to filter the news, suggestions, and ideas and from looking from all angles, internal and external, political and psychological, he or she of course would suggest the best course. The idea depends on the political system, would be presented to the elected body, parliament, and get it debated and approved or not. The virtual politician is not like the council of wise men or women or both as some countries might have or pretends to have. The virtual politician is not necessarily a virtuous politician; on the contrary, he is a practical and realistic politician, Wait a minute that did not sound too good. The meaning is that he or she is not immoral, no, but they look at morality from the view of the different players or participants and the different cultures and backgrounds, not an easy job at all, probably the most difficult. The virtual politician can be and should be a paid position, I mean, that person needs to eat too and live, otherwise how he can think. The virtual politician cannot be elected for more than one term, again as I said before, we do not want the virtual politician to turn into the virtual dictator or feel like he or she is above the clouds, in some sort of an ivy tower. The virtual politician is not an executive politician, he cannot order but he can analyze. His powers stymies from his ability to convince the elected ruling body or any seeker of the effectiveness and practicality of his analysis. See the checks and balances again at its best. Oh, one thing about this virtual politician, he thinks that he does not have bones hidden in his closet, so he is free as a bird, or he thinks he is. Birds can also live in cages.