America Wants You to Be Selfish…..by Jamil Shawwa

America right now is on a mission, in fact, America has been on a mission since this great nation was formulated from people from all over the world, the mission right now is to actively transfer the American values to every part of the world; it fits the American political and social model of win- win situations. America does not think that the world would be better off by surrounding itself with losers; it believes  that it needs to surround itself with winners. America is selfish here; because it believes that if each individual believes in themselves, does their best; succeed, that ultimately the group will be successful. Same applies to countries surrounding America and ultimately every single country on earth. America is the only superpower on earth And I believe it has the ingredients to continue to be the number one, and I believe it is in the humanity best interest to have the American model, a universal one with of course each country having its own version of it. Mesh the American model, I like to mesh things, when you do such things, you get new colors and new flavors and new ideas. Rigidity, stupidity, lack of imagination, the Win-Lose situations, and colonialism, ended and destroyed every single empire that existed since the beginning of time as we know it or learned about it. America does not have that model; America does not believe in expansionism or colonialism, America wants you to succeed. The United States helped the human race to survive and some actually would go as far as saying that America saved the human race twice in the last century, when America decided to intervene in World War I and did the same but more forcefully in World War II. America. Contrary to ideas and politics of isolationists within its Congress, Press, America saw- through grand presidents- Wilson, Roosevelt, and Monroe before that- that the oceans are no longer barriers, and that the US is not immune if it keeps itself confined within its borders thinking that those wars were not of its concerns. America's leadership as a super world power started in 1914 and was confirmed and engraved in an unbreakable rock during and after World War II. In 1945 and before America convinced and confirmed that humiliating Germany as the allies did after World War I would not benefit anyone, it would only plant the seeds for another war, and same applied to Japan. Actually during the famous Versailles conference in 1919, America worked hard to convince the Europeans allies that isolating the Germans and imposing humiliating compensations on Germany, will only be a prelude to another war, no one listened then, retribution and revenge were the name of the game, and what America warned from happened, when criminals took over the power in Germany, democratically, and turned the world into hell, millions were killed. After the second war, no one had the choice not to listen to America, and America made it clear, that Germany to be included, and rehabilitated, as in Japan, America kept the emperor. America worked to create the IMF and the World Bank and the United Nations to be places and models where countries can talk, emulate regionally, and agree and sometimes be forced to accept decisions that they do not like. Exactly as individuals in the US can reach to Banks and credit companies, and investment groups and courts as needed. America’s pursuit of world peace is not a dreamer’s quest, it is an action plan, and it is a plan that believes in talking, containment as it did with the Soviet Union and ultimately conclusion. America is inclusive, America is not conclusive, But America will use its military might as needed and in any place on earth to ensure that this successful model thrives. It will go after anyone and anywhere that would seek through terrorism and aggression, to destroy the way of life, the human way of life, the American way of life, all the same, and end in the same place. America right now is helping the Arab countries to seek their freedom, to have democratically elected governments; it is helping the Israelis and the Palestinians to achieve peace, a smart, practical peace with a Palestinian State in the West Bank and Gaza, and a secure, safe, vibrant State of Israel next door. America’s associates are the following to ensure Win- Win situations all over the world; Germany, see the genius of the Americans, is leading and integrating Europe’s Economically, Britain and France leading the military actions of NATO where is needed, in particular in the Middle East and Europe, China in Asia with Japan and South Korea, soon to be one Korea, Russia is helping here and there. The emerging super power, India, and the emerging regional powers in the Middle East as Turkey and the integration of Israel and Palestine in a Middle Eastern organization. America is everywhere and this is how it should be and should continue. But do not expect America to jump every time you or others think that you are right, or that "it is the right thing to do", or "it is the moral thing to do". America does not function that way, America is a deliberate and collaborative system, it moves methodically and it acts with a wide lens and multiple perspectives that those that ask for action every time an "incident" here and there takes place, will be very disappointed. There has never been a power on earth that has the ingredients of survival and continuity and evolving as the United States; Happy birthday America.

Jerusalem: Divided….Never, Shared…Forever, by Jamil Shawwa

In an expose last Sunday on the CBS 60 Minutes program, Leslie Stahl, one of the program anchors, went to Jerusalem and to Silwan, adjacent to the city, and interviewed people managing the City of David project, a tunnel that the owners of the project say that David, the divine prophet, had his city in while in Jerusalem or it is the old city of Jerusalem, the biblical one that David built and lived in. The project is sponsored and owned by “EL-AD” an investment group based in the State of Israel with global offices; very successful team. The expose was not about the tunnel or the benefits of this project to people and tourism and the enhancements that it could bring to the City of Jerusalem, although the Mayor of Jerusalem, correctly and cleverly so, have focused on the financial and tourism benefits of the project. The whole focus was on as Leslie Stahl put it, the division of the city and the rights of both people, the Palestinians and the Israelis to the historic city that is cherished by the followers of all three divine religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The El-AD project manager focused on the religious dimensions to the tunnel and the Palestinian speaker, that 60 Minutes chose to represent the Palestinian side was a local resident of Silwan the city by the city with majority residents of Palestinians, chose to blast the project and act as victim rather than showing vision or practical solutions- I only saw anger on the Palestinian side, I did not see empowerment or solutions. The whole discussion was fruitless in my opinion, as I mentioned it focused on a moot issue that no one discusses anymore, which is the division of the city, the focus should have been though, in my opinion, about the future solution, the only solution for Jerusalem, which is the sharing of the city among it’s residents and the sharing of the city among the two states that will have Jerusalem as their capital; The State of Israel and the State of Palestine in the West Bank and Gaza. I personally do not mind the project, the City of David, and I looked at it from the point of view of Mayor Nir Barkat of Jerusalem, that it is good for tourism. Now, of course such projects usually involve the local residents, and need to have their opinions and their involvement- City Hall discussion. The City of David might end up after the final solution either shared by both the Israelis and the Palestinians exactly like the Eurotunnel between France and England or it could fall under one authority, either way, it should be preserved and in the process, preserve and maintain all the holly sites in Jerusalem, the Jerusalem of tomorrow.

The Killer and His Accomplices----Al-Assad and the Syrians…by Jamil Shawwa

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       The stories coming from Syria are horrifying, terrifying and exceed all imaginative and unimaginative terror that many of us humans knew about Al-Ba’ath party and the criminals that run Syria now. Boys, girls and children in the streets are being killed and being kidnapped, mothers crying their loved ones and the stories go on and on. It has been an endless nightmare since 1963.  This the gratitude Al-Assad is providing the Syrians for allowing him to stay in power for generations, for allowing him to turn the Syrians into the worst in the Middle East, and making them ashamed of calling themselves Syrians. Al-Assad killed the Syrian mind and personality and turned his people into machines and mouthpieces for his sick propaganda, using his own sick logic and living and breathing conspiracy theories against Syria. What conspiracy and for what; Syria now is nothing, it is not a threat to anybody, it has no political weight, and it has nothing to do with the Palestinians or the Lebanese, The Golan Heights will wait until a democratic Syria is formed, no one needs Al-Assad anymore, his services are no longer attractive and his price is no longer a bargain, and he has no talents to bargain to start with. But Al-Assad is not alone, he has accomplices, has partners in the crime, he has the Syrian people. If you listen and hear many of them, you feel how they have been brainwashed; everything around them, in their mind is about conspiracy theories and metaphorical nonsense. They talk like him, they inject in their conversations, these illogical, sick minded challenging concepts and theories, trying to show logic or a trend in something that is so bizarre and so chaotic.  The face of Syria is a fascist, destructive, divisive face; it is the face of the propaganda machine of Al-Assad. I want to hear the voice of the Syrians, the ones that have resisted the brainwash that has made the Syrians doubt themselves, scared of their shadows, questioning their logic and their mental capacities to think.  The Syrians need to start thinking, and using the human logic, and see if things make or do not make sense- their sense and not Al-Assad sense. The Syrians have been drugged for generations and have been in coma for generations, and the time is now to wake up, and the time is now to start looking up, with head high and it is the time now to tell that sick, criminal, Al-Assad and his mini criminals in the Ba'ath party to go. It will take the Syrians some time to clean up after him, they even might need multinational organizations to clean the garbage he is leaving in every Syrian home and street, but the most importantly, who can clean the garbage he planted in the Syrian mind, and the Syrian logic and the Syrian personality and the Syrian reputation and the Syrian soul.

                            

For Israel and For Palestine; Bibi goes to Congress….by Jamil Shawwa

Everything Bibi Netanyahu of the State of Israel said in Congress yesterday came to no surprise to those that know that the ultimate strategic goal of the state of Israel is the establishment of a Palestinian state in Gaza and the West Bank; he did it Bibi style.  He performed well, politicians must be performers, and must be smart public speakers, and must have the charisma to motivate their audience. The audience was very friendly, and the atmosphere was festive for Bibi to do his best. Bibi acknowledged publically and enthusiastically, in my opinion, the genuine desire of the majority of the Israeli people to have peace with their neighbors in the West Bank and Gaza, and with their extended neighbors in the Arab and Muslim countries, Bibi acknowledged- correctly- that Jerusalem will not be divided; it will not, Jerusalem will be shared by both the Israelis and the Palestinians. Bibi talked about the Palestinian style of missed opportunities, and he was right, so it is up to the Palestinians to think of changing style, see, maybe it will work. Basically, Bibi gave advices, and if you listen and watch the speech again, the road map is already there, the car is already there, the passengers are in the car, the tank is full and the car is ready to move, the drivers to the destination can help each other, the car has two drivers, but once it reaches it’s destination, each driver will have their own car. The borders will be drawn but will be open, political parties will be established and will play the game of politics. He acted and represented his country, the State of Israel, and he spoke on behalf of those who elected him. No one expected Bibi to talk on behalf of the Palestinians, he should not, the Palestinians need to have their own, leaders like him, who cares about their country, and who strongly and enthusiastically represent the views of the people that entrust them and choose them for such responsibility. See, the Palestinians have a political model in Bibi and actually other Israeli leaders; the model is that when you are elected, you are powerful, even if you have different parties and different point of views. You are the head of the state- in Israel, the prime minster is the executive, and the president is a ceremonial post- although the influence of the president has varied through out the history of the state starting with the first president, Haim Weisman, until now with Shimon Peres playing the elder statesman role very positively for his people. For generations the Arabs and the Palestinians expected the Israelis to succumb to their demands, why should they, the Arabs rejected them since 1947, why should the Israelis hand to the Palestinians on a silver platter what the Palestinians are asking for, I personally would have made the Palestinians work for it, and this is what Israel, the US and the world are doing; make the Palestinians appreciate this historic opportunity to have their own homeland side by side of the State of Israel. The Palestinians need to help themselves first, need to clean their house, and need to get their act together, and need to hold elections, and need to have a national referendum, maybe, on how to proceed and need to have clear answers to the refugees issues, and Jerusalem and need to create a goal and a political agenda, and finally, need to act like business people; in business- as I once read in a magazine- you do not necessarily get what you think that you deserve, but you get what you negotiate. People who want to see a Palestinian state do not send suicide bombers, do not fire rockets across the border at a neighboring state and do not talk about the right or not of this country or that to exist. The State of Israel is not a Palestinian business, the Palestinian business is the West Bank and Gaza; shift the focus inward, and you will have your state.

The Art Of Political Bluntness; Bibi’s style..By Jamil Shawwa

Many were shocked at the way, style and words of Bibi Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister during his meeting with the US president in the Oval Office couple of days ago. The range of the reaction has varied from describing him as obnoxious, to just describing him as being frank, honest and straightforward. Bibi Netanyahu was blunt but this is the style of the political school that he was raised in, the school of Menahem Begin, Yitzchak Shamir, and Ariel Sharon. Some also said that Bibi is influenced to a large degree by his father that is considered an ultra conservative in Israeli politics, and that Bibi was raised on hard line politics when it comes to peace with the Palestinians. Bibi also carries the burden of his brother, Col. Netanyahu, who was killed while leading the rescue operation of the Air France plane hijacked to Entebbe, Uganda in 1976. Also he has a deep rooted sense of responsibility to ensure that the people of Israel are protected and secure in an area that is technically still hostile to them. In addition, if we go a little more back in history, it is the school of Ze'ev Jabotinsky, the revered political leader in the beginning of the last century that inspired many leaders from the right in Israel. Having said the above does not mean that Bibi rejects a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza, he does not, and he knows that it is coming and that the final solution will be a two state solution. Menahem Begin, before Bibi, swore many times by his mother’s grave that he will never withdraw from Sinai and that he will never dismantle Yamit, the main settlement in Sinai, Begin did both. Ariel Sharon did the same before withdrawing from Gaza in 2005.  What people expect Bibi to do is what Bibi is doing right now, which is to be a hard liner and to sound tough and to be adamant in regard to certain concessions in the West Bank or the withdrawal to the 1967 lines. It is an art, it is politics, and it is mainly rhetoric that analysts and observers know that it does not mean much. If Bibi did not talk the way he talked to Obama, people would have thought that there is something wrong with Bibi, so he must rise to the occasion, and he must rise to the expectations of the right and the conservatives and the religious leaders in the State of Israel.  Bibi could be very well the Israeli leader that will sign the declaration of independence of the state of Palestine in Gaza and the West Bank. The conservatives have done it before and they are the ones most capable- or have the power and the confidence of the Israeli people, according to many- to handle a revolution that the ultra religious might stage once the painful process, to many Israelis, of the withdrawal from the West Bank starts, and once the more painful process for many Israeli starts, which is having to share the city of Jerusalem. There is no country in the Middle East that deserves to exist more than the State of Israel, and there is no country in the Middle East that deserves to exist more than the State of Palestine in the West Bank and Gaza.

For Israel and For Palestine, The Obama Speech by Jamil Shawwa

The president in his Middle Eastern speech tonight restated the declared and the ongoing US policy and strategy in the Middle East which includes the establishment of a Palestinian State in the West Bank and Gaza within the 1967 borders; all agree on this one. The differences are on certain technicalities that can be resolved if there is a political will to move forward and to stop the bickering, the haggle and the rhetoric about this and that from all parties. We need to look at the big picture, it is not only that geographic area that consists of Israel, and the West Bank and Gaza, but it is the surrounding Arab countries and beyond that to the Islamic countries. It is the new Middle East and the end of the dysfunctional Arab League and the establishment of a viable Middle Eastern organization or union, maybe, similar to the EU that will have Israel and Palestine as prime members. It is time as well for Israel and Palestine to compete within their continent; Asia, for world sports, no need for Israel to compete with the Europeans- Israel is a Middle Eastern/Asian country. Basically, peace means peace, and means historic and larger view of the region than just looking at Israel and Palestine. Israel will withdraw from the West Bank and will recognize Jerusalem as capital for both states, an open city, but must have the rest- Arab and Islamic countries- do the same with Israel, recognize, establish peace and normalization. The Palestinians need to have a strong elected parliament and leadership that can embrace the only way to achieve the state which is the negotiations with the State of Israel. It is there, and it has been there for generations but the political blindness, the hypocrisy and following the Arab discredited regimes, lack of vision and confidence and the lack of determination to keep the eye on the prize which is statehood side by side with the State of Israel and Jerusalem as an open city and capital for both states, have made the case for the Palestinians ridiculous; if they cannot help themselves, who will, and why should anyone help those that are not willing to help themselves.

It is time now for the Palestinians to know that Palestine is and only the West Bank and Gaza Strip, there is nothing else called Palestine beyond Gaza and the West Bank. There is a next door neighbor called the State of Israel.

The Ultimate Terrorist Killed....The Demise of Bin Laden and a Word to the Palestinians...by Jamil Shawwa

The ultimate terrorist has met his destiny; a destiny he wrote with blood and murders. Today, I have a message to those lowlifes in Gaza- the Hamas organization and its idiot, Ismail Haniya- shame on you praising the ultimate terrorist, Gaza needs to put those "mini terrorists" and pretenders in the garbage cans now. The Palestinians need to start living like humans, need to be smart, enough of your sickening pretentious, and enough of your stupid hypocrisy, enough of allowing the criminals of Hamas and other so called organizations to manipulate you. Refuse to be mouthpieces to those semi humans, rise and reclaim your shredded dignity and kick them out once and for all. The choice is yours, go now to the streets of Gaza and kick them out and kick out any of your leaders who continue to manipulate you in the name of the Palestinian cause. The path is clear and the road to a Palestinian state in Gaza and the West Bank is clear, as long as you have the right map and the right flash light so you can differentiate the evil from the good. Actually, you know who is who; the problem is the stupidity of not taking action.

The Trial of Pharaoh, Seven Thousand Years After, by Jamil Shawwa

Mubarak of Egypt’s bad luck brought him to govern in the era of the Internet, and facebook, and Twitter but mostly in the era of freedom and in the era of the Arab countries turn to breathe and feel what most of the world has been having for some time; democracy and human rights. Mubarak otherwise would have gotten away or at least would have not fallen the way he did. His predecessors were luckier, will, maybe not Anwar El-Sadat, he was assassinated, but at least to some it is better than to be overthrown by the same people that the Egyptian leaders for thousands of years never respected, never took into account and never felt that they even deserve any kindness or consolation. Mubarak’s  bad luck made him the sacrifice for the Egyptians thousands of years of suffering, and humiliation.  He is probably the least evil or the lesser evil among many. One of the worst was Gamal Abdel Nasser, whose stupidity and demagoguery made him wage a war that was in its idiocy worse than the war of 1948 that the Arabs waged and lost but still did not learn. Mubarak and his sons are on trial, dragged to jail, waiting for their prosecutors, 80 million strong, the population of Egypt, and millions of other Egyptians through out the history of Egypt and since those poor Egyptian slaves that built the pyramids,. The defence attorneys are few, they are disappearing, the Pharaoh fell, and the friends and the pretenders are gone. Ramses, and all the other Pharaohs are crying Hosni Mubarak and are cheering him in the same time, they did not have to go through what he and his family will go through. They do not want to be in his place. Mubarak however showed class when he left, I  predicted that he will leave, but did not predict that it would be that way, a revolution that no one, at least not us the ordinary people thought of, I still  encouraged it not only for him but for all the non elected Arab leaders. I personally understand how the Egyptians feel, and lived in Egypt and used to see the humiliation in their faces every day, everywhere, in police stations, in the streets, in the cafes, in the overcrowded buses, in living in grave yards, in the lines for a loaf of bread-if they could get even that and was not filled with screws and other stuff- in the lines for cigarettes, human lines were Egypt’s daily routine. But Mubarak did not invent that system, Nasser did, still, Mubarak shared the responsibility. But I do not encourage humiliating him, not Mubarak, show him grace, if you need to put him on trial, let it be, but do not try him on behalf of all the Pharaohs and do not try him on behalf of hundreds of millions of Egyptians through out history that have never been respected in their country. Treat Mubarak as Russia treated Gorbachev, let him live in peace for the remainder of his life. He did not kill his people as Saddam did, or Qazzafi the psychopath, or the king of Bahrain or the president of Yemen, or the butchers of Syria. He represented a system he did not create, he did not reform or change it and he bears responsibility, otherwise the rest would say the same thing, we did not create the system but found it. He just played a game and thought that he will get away with it, but once all was done, and the game was over, he left, he did not fight.  Let the last pharaoh rest in peace. There will never be again another pharaoh.

The Cowards of Gaza, the Cowards of Damascus, The Cowards of Tehran and the Cowards of Hezbollah…..…An X-ray by Jamil Shawwa

In the Middle East, right now, there are four "groups" that to call them human would be an insult and humiliation to humanity, to call them political groups, would be an insult to politics, already an insulting word, so we cannot add insult to injury. To call them parties, would be an insult to all the legitimate political and social parties around the world, to call them leaders, would be an insult to the word and meaning of the word leader which usually points out to those that inspire and those that motivate. So let us call them with a word they love, a word they respect, and a word that belongs to them, that is attached to them, and that is identified for them, Cowards.  Let us start with the Cowards of Gaza, Hamas, they are firing rockets, why, and now they are begging and kissing the feet and the behinds for restraint, but this is how cowards live and operate. They are lowlifes, no respect, although they won an election, but they won it because the other alternative, the PLO, was arguably, worse, politely putting it, corrupt. Again, the people of Gaza should rise against the terror of Hamas and the rest of the TV and multimedia terrorists groups, they are the occupier, not Israel, Israel withdrew from Gaza, was ready to withdraw from the West Bank and was ready to talk about Jerusalem and the Golan, but the cowards disappeared, they prefer to live in the dark, they are the night bats, they cannot survive the light, they prefer to fire rockets, and dig tunnels, and live like animals. They have taken the Palestinian people, who have been as complacent as anyone can be through out their history in this crime, as hostages. The Palestinians can drop all this trash, and can start anew, and can bring respect to people that have never had respect, the Palestinian people.  Throw out Hamas, now.

In Syria, we have worse situation, maybe, See, it is a competition as who the worst is, who is the most criminal and who is the most terrorist, and who is the most hypocrite and who is the most demagogue; this is an x-ray of the garbage of the Middle East. The Alawis, a fraction, less than 5% of the population, a gang, a mafia, a group of suicidal maniacs, they commit suicide if the party decides so, hijacked a country that matches the Palestinians in hypocrisy, and a country that has a reputation of having ill reputed merchants and politicians and a country where the majority Muslim Sunnis are weak, and where the grand Syrian Sunni families were unrealistic, naive and idiots, basically. The Ba'ath mafia rules Syria, but a group of Syrians are fighting back now; those are the freedom fighters that Syria never had or known, they do not want to be anymore attached to that garbage. Throw out the Alawis and Al-Ba’ath and that helpless, poor, irrelevant, disillusioned, Al-Assad, now.

Finally, so far, I am going to combine two trashcans in one, Hezbollah and Iran that is the lowlifes, the Mullahs, the Rasputins that run Iran. The two are interconnected and intertwined and they are the cousins of another sect, the Alawis in Syria, so you can see the connection, the three feed into each other, and the three live through each other. The Shia power has already risen in the Arab countries, and why not, but it is a twofold problem, first is  a Sunni majority that are so tyrant and ignorant that it never treated the Shia well- Check the Gulf countries, and the other is  Iran and the powers of the political hypocrisy, they are really are guns for hire, not sure how to explain it though, basically, I know that they act pursuant to political agendas and not ideology; yes, I think this is a good explanation. Hezbollah and Iran, again, pursuant to certain political agendas, as it seems or turned to be, might drag a semi country-Lebanon- into chaos as they did in 2006. See, if you look around, you see that once the Arab countries start cleaning up their trash, peace is here, Israel has no problem, the US, the EU, Russia, China, no one has a problem in granting the Palestinians their rightful place among the civilized nations, and grant them a state in the West Bank and Gaza side by side with the State of Israel, no one, except for the cowards, Hamas, Hezbollah, Al-Ba’ath and Alawis and the ultimate losers, the ultimate hypocrites and the ultimate joke and the ultimate clowns, the Mullahs of Iran, they do not want to see a Palestinian state in Gaza and the West Bank, they want to see destruction. The Mullahs enemies, their only enemies, are the Arab Muslim Sunnis. That is Iran, nothing more and nothing less and that concludes our X-ray for the day.

Go ahead; Make My day. Shut Down the Government...America America...by Jamil Shawwa

In 1981, and after the sounding defeat of Jimmy Carter, the new president, the Grand Old Party lifesaver, Ronald Reagan declared, “government is not the solution, government is the problem”. In 1993, Bill Clinton declared, “the era of big government is over”. Both presidents, a republican and a democrat, used that rhetoric during economic downturns like the one we live in now. Since then every president, every candidate for office tried to emulate and imitate and tried to get into this wagon or off the wagon of blaming the federal government for everything that goes wrong in this country, from their perspective. Almost all has been and is political rhetoric, no substance and false. America is the federal government; it is the glue that made America the greatest country on earth. The federal government is the government of the people and for the people and by the people and it is the fifty states combined and it is the union that we all live and breathe through its healthy and renewed veins. America loves to discuss, talk, argue, deliberate, and convince, this is how this country was built and this is how the constitution was crafted, out of excruciating years, months, days, and hours of deliberations. America’s lifeline and foundation is there for everyone who is interested to read, in the federalist papers and in the drafts of the constitution and in the bill of rights. The founding fathers of the republic, The United States, put the power over the purse in the hands of the elected body, the congress, and not in the hands of the elected executive, the president. They wisely knew that you need more than just one individual, even if that individual was the elected president of the United States, to decide what money can and where to be spent. We have witnessed an impasse like the one we are witnessing right now back in 1995, when few republicans, infuriated by the loss of George H. Bush and the winning of a little known southern state governor by the name of Bill Clinton, that they created what came to be known, for couple of years and then disappeared, as the republican revolution when bill Clinton got reelected in 1996 and defeated a good man but with no charisma, Bob Dole. They shutdown the government, showed people that they are meanies, they did not intend to, but republicans come across- in general- in the American psychic as inconsiderate meanies, and sometimes according to some as bunch of SOBs. Americans felt then, in 1995, and now, that they were out of touch, did not care about the elderly, women, children, all they cared about was to tell Americans, that you need to depend on yourself only, that it is you that can make or break things, that the government is not a babysitter, that if you do not work hard, no one really can carry you or your burden. The republican party’s message then and now is that America cannot afford to be a welfare state, America cannot pay for women abortion clinics; this one actually resides deep in religious reasons, many of them are religious christians that feel that clinics that cater to abortion and unwed mothers are sinners, and that the government cannot support such sin. In that particular one, they forget or try to forget the separation of state and religion or the separation of church and state, or the synagogue and state or the mosque and state, America now is for all and not only for church goers or mosque goers or synagogue goers. The news just updated of a tentative deal between president Obama and the republicans to avert a shut down of the government, but until when, no one yet is sure. The issue is not that, it is the blackmailing of America that some in the republican party use every now and then to get their way, but in the process and in the midst of all the political spinning and rhetoric, those extremists do not realize that they are hurting the very same country that they claim to defend and pretend that they care about. The government is the people, it is the women and children, it is the parks and the museums, it the military and the troops that stay day and night all over the world to make sure that we are safe here and that we have freedom here, and that our foundation is solid. The federal government is not a strange body that you need to fight, on the contrary, it is the very heart and soul of this country that you need to nourish like a baby, and protect. The problem is not the government, it is us, we the people who make the rules, and write the bills and the laws and create the policies and the politics. Do not attack the government, do not shut down the system, reform it, protect it, and keep it alive. Those tactics of shutting down the livelihood of the people will not work, they never did, in the past the republicans lost and they will lose again if the tactics continue.

The Maestro…..the Obama doctrine…... by Jamil Shawwa

Everyone right now talks about the two doctrines, well, maybe not everyone but those that are nosy like me. The Bush doctrine was based on “either with us or against us" no other choices. That doctrine came to life after the terrorist attack on America. At that time, in my opinion, the US did not have any other choice. We needed to confront that wave of terrorism and we needed to act immediatly. We did not have to negotiate, convince, or wok to find common ground. We still managed to form a huge alliance much bigger than we did in WWII when we confronted other groups of criminals against humanity. Now the situation is different, we do not need to use the Bush doctrine, we are doing a fantastic alliance building against a psychopath in Libya. The Maestro is taking position and is taking center stage, the orchestra is ready, he has to lead, there is no other choice, but he cannot lead alone, the orchestra has to match, has to play the right tunes, and has to deliver the right rhythms. America will continue to be the leader in world affairs, and in the Middle East, there is nothing but the US. Having said that, it is not a blind leadership, but a smart one, it is a leadership that based on many pillars, the UN is one, NATO, and within those two, we have the European alliance with Russia's tactical silence and the Asian's with China's always accommodating. England right now is managing the political efforts to topple Qazzafi and it is working very well. Cameron and Hague are transforming England back to world stage after years of irrelevancy. They are polishing the old empire, and they are renovating a role that is important to be palyed right now in the Middle East. France and England are the leading players in the orchestra with the Maestro making sure that they deliver the best they can. Qazzafi is already gone in my book; it is just a matter of time. But the doctrine will not go, this is the new role of America in the world, to lead with partners and with groups and with alliances, it has been like this but now America is giving more respect to those important partners and the partners just love the new American style. America’s strength resides in its ability to move and maneuver, in its ability to create win-win situations, and in its ability to preserve the balance of powers and in its genius in inventing ways to inspire others. Behind all this is a talented maestro that needs to continue to show his talents daily, or at least until November of 2012. If he is reelected, very possible, I do not see so far any other viable candidate on either side, Obama’s doctrine will flourish in ways that will make the 21 century another American century.

For Israel and For Palestine...a Table for Two. By Jamil Shawwa

The forces of darkness, evil, and hypocrisy continue to drag this poor but not naive people, the Palestinians, into the abyss. They go to homes and kill families and they expect the world to watch and say hurray. They are Satan in long dirty beards and without beards, wearing the flag of peaceful divine religions and brainwashing the innocent and the not so innocent. They blow buses, launch rockets and expect the world to sympathize and applaud. They are and the rest of those lowlifes, are the ones that keep making sure that the West Bank and Gaza never even come close to enjoy what the rest of the humans are enjoying; an independent state in the West bank and Gaza, where people can go to work, dream of the future, plan vacations for themselves and their families, travel and see friends and relatives and explore the world and it's beauties. The forces of evil and despair that are wearing the beards of hypocrisy are killing every hope in the land of peace and in the land of the three divine religions and they keep delaying the final status. But they are not alone, on the other side of the Isle, in the State of Israel, there are those that match them in fanaticism and hypocrisy, Their job- elements in the two societies- is to silence the moderates on each side and make them as despair as the rest and make them believe that the two cannot live together in two states and make them believe that an eye for an eye to the rest of it.  Abbas is crying and weeping like a  boutique girl in Amsterdam getting caught in the act, not ready for the next client, asking this and that to save him or asking this or that to tell Israel to do this or stop that. Those forces of darkness, some in their lousy, pretentious beards, in their deceiving appearance, in their criminal minds, are the wardens of the Israelis and the Palestinians and they are the tyrants that make sure that the Palestinians never wake up, make sure the stigma of terrorism is their name or their middle name. The Palestinians and the Israelis- maybe unintentionally- are helping the forces of evil; in Palestine, they are electing them, and in Israel, they are not clear on the policy and the future. Imagine the hypocrisy of a people, or maybe not, maybe it is not hypocrisy, maybe it is despair, maybe the Palestinians are desperate but they are afraid, they look around and they are afraid, they do not want to be called that they have forgot the forgotten cause, and that they do not want to be called the generation that has allowed what the previous generations did not allow. Well, I have news for the Palestinians, rise, and rise now, look around, and throw out your jailers and your wardens, kick them; vaccinate yourselves against them so they do not infect you again. Rise, go to the streets, no one can stop you, you, the Palestinians, can now make a difference, can now get rid of Hamas and the PLO and can now, elect people and can now call Bibi and Ehud and Shimon- as a sign of respect to the elder statesman- and tell them, I want to set now with you- I can provide the table and four chairs, ok maybe five but not more than six- and we are not going to leave the room until the Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza is born and we are not going to leave until every Arab and Muslim country recognize the ultimate right of the State of Israel to live in peace in it’s  internationally recognized borders with Jerusalem as it’s capital and the same Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Palestine in the West Bank and Gaza…What are you waiting for- I'm almost done- go to the streets, you have been manipulated by choice, for tens of years, maybe it is enough, maybe you will start dropping hypocrisy and self-deceive for other choices. Try, the Palestinians and the Israelis, something else, a new approach, and a new perspective and see if it works; you might be amazed beyond your wildest imaginations. Now is the time to act, because if not now, when.

Dancing and Singing at an Airport...Lebanon 2011 by Jamil Shawwa

The Lebanese are singing for their country; they are saying that their country has civilization. I know one thing about the Lebanese, all of them, they love Beirut. But, in a minute, they can destroy it in the name of their sect, religion, their political affiliation and their love. They have done it before.  The Lebanese are dancing in Beirut International Airport. I do not want to spoil the video but the Airport in Lebanon is under the control of Hezbollah. Those Lebanese are interesting human beings, they can dance together now, and tomorrow ...the same dancers could be fighting each other. The airport now is called Rafik El-Hariri International Airport. Hariri, the former prime minister of Lebanon, was killed in 2005. An International Court is looking to subpoena Syrians officials, Hezbollah officials and Lebanese former military commanders for his murder.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ccy-EQPH3LU  

The West Bank and The Gaza Strip…Rise….Part III- No historical or Religious Claims- Ongoing by Jamil Shawwa

The news reported yesterday that a person went and committed a crime, killed a family in a settlement in the West Bank. The State of Israel has the right to defend its citizens everywhere as many countries believe and might take action against individuals or against groups either in Gaza or in the West Bank. The cycle continues, once Israel takes action, some Palestinians might feel that they need to retaliate and take action against those that took the previous action. The cycle continues, killing and retaliating and organizations and individuals claiming historical or religious rights to this piece of land or that piece of land or over the whole land. Some might say that the settlements in The West Bank are illegal as they are built on a disputed land or lands that are still waiting for the final solution, others would reply and say no, these settlements will stay regardless and the people there will be citizens of the state of Palestine in the West bank and Gaza and some will say, wait a minute, these people have the right to settle anywhere in the land of Israel. The end game, not sure, it seems that everybody or the policy makers and certain groups behind them in both entities in Palestine and in Israel are content somehow with the status quo. Satisfied with the regular interactions that take place there and has been taking place since even before 1948. The problem is not outside the control-maybe- of both Israel and Palestine. The problem is not in the international community, or the great powers, the problem is there in the West Bank and Gaza and in the State of Israel and the solution is also there in Palestine and Israel. The first step is stop the talk from some Arabs and Israelis or some religious Muslim Arabs and some religious Jewish people about historical claims to the land, it will not work, both sides not only will bring so called facts or religious verses that support each side but will also bring the continuous cycle of hatred and the continuous cycle of wars and violence and will continue to feed those monsters on all sides of the isle that do not want to see a flourishing State of Israel and a flourishing State of Palestine. Leave history behind and look at now. Now we have the State of Israel and we have the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, period, nothing else, no other countries. We also have Jerusalem as an open city and a capital for both. We also have religious places that a skilled manager can manage for both people, if things get complicated and both continue to fight about "management". History right now is irrelevant in the land of peace and history is irrelevant in the land of the three divine religions, what is relevant is now, and the people that live there and the facts on the ground. The facts reflect the ultimate and the undisputed right of the Jewish people to enjoy their country, the State of Israel, as it is now. The facts also reflect the ultimate and the undisputed right of the Palestinian people to have their state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. History can be rewritten now, and history can be remade now. History starts now and not prior to 1948.

Tsunami in the Pacific and a Tsunami in The Middle East….Shockwaves…by Jamil Shawwa

What a trying day across the shores of the Pacific, it is reaching Hawaii and maybe the beaches of California. Warnings are issued for about fifty countries as news reports stating.  It seems technology did not predict or gave early warning to this ocean earthquake. Same as in the Middle East, the Arab and Iranians dictators did not know that their people are alive and breathing and did not see the early warnings smoke. The earthquake in the Pacific is claiming innocent lives as the one in the in the Middle East. We all want to control the Pacific earthquake, although it is impossible to prevent, but easy or easier to predict, but most of us want the human tsunami in the Arab countries and Iran to continue, hopefully peacefully, to drive those illegitimate dictators out of power one by one.

The Arab Monarchies…..Red Flag by Jamil Shawwa

I think *Jordan and Morocco can lead the Arab royalties into the first constitutional monarchies where the prime minister- from the party the wins the majority seats in parliament- would be the executive like in England, Japan and other countries in Europe. The royal families in Morocco and Jordan have the street-smart politics talent and this could be an ingredient for their survivals. Very tough though but let us see how they would evolve.

The rest of the monarchies, **Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, and the other Gulf countries so far have not shown signs of the changing times, The bottom line is this; the monarchies in the Arab countries must evolve to endure.

   

*Read my piece about Jordan and the Hashemite on http://arabamericanwire.blogspot.com/2010/10/storythe-10-years-old-boy-in.html

**Read my piece about the evolution of Saudi Arabia on   http://arabamericanwire.blogspot.com/2010/12/prince-bandar-machiavelli-and-future-of.html

      http://arabamericanwire.blogspot.com

*In The Name Of The Divine Religions… A Bow by Jamil Shawwa

Compare the Westboro Baptist Church and the Congressman from New York, Peter King, and the suicide bombers in Pakistan that blow funerals. What is the common ground between the nuts, the fanatics here and the criminals in Pakistan; not much, both hijacked a religion and both in the name of a divine religion created new religions and new wave of hatred. No faiths, religions, or philosophies throughout history suffered as much as the three divine religions, not from sources strange to them but from those that claim that they belong to them. In America, the Supreme court said that it is legal for the Westboro Baptist Church to disrupt –by shouting and cursing- the funerals of the fallen soldiers, in Pakistan, they take liberty to kill themselves and others in the suspicious shadow of the silence of the law.

* facebook post 03/09/2011
Check my posts from 03/09/2011, 03/02/2011 and 03/04/2011

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

The new Palestinian State in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip should not identify itself with a specific religion. Religions are personal business; they are not a State business. The West Bank and Gaza should embrace the three divine religions in particular because the bastion of the three religions is Jerusalem, the Capital of the State of Israel and the Capital of the State of Palestine in the West Bank and Gaza side by side with the State of Israel. Hamas must understand; it is up to the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza to make both Hamas and the PLO to understand that the land does not belong to either one of them but to the people there and to their free well to elect those that can carry the message of peace and tolerance. I really believe that the time is now for the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza to rise, and rise high against the PLO and Hamas and all other organizations that failed the Palestinians in the past generations and decades and elect new people, strong, confident, popular individuals to take charge. The Palestinians live in a nightmare right now that is called Hamas. Every time they talk, Hamas, they remind me of those idiots’ hypocrites in Iran

Jamil’s note on China--------------- Across the Pacific with Jamil Shawwa

News Reports: China wants to crack down on possible demonstrations asking for freedom and democracy and the end of the totalitarian communist party rule.

My Comments: You cannot be the second most powerful nation on earth and in the same time suppressing and oppressing your people, over one thousand and three hundred million of human beings. You cannot continue to claim that politics belong to the party, the communist party, and that the Chinese should be happy by just living well, and eating well, and driving cars. Not at this age and time that you can get away with such dictatorial hypocritical slogans. The Chinese products are all over the globe, well made, cheap and practical, now the world is returning the favor and exporting to China its most valuable commodities, freedom and democracy.

“Mrs. Abdeen…..Allow Me To Think loudly" by Jamil Shawwa

I hear your voice right now, Mrs. Abdeen, telling me that Abdeen is written with an I and not double E. I still do not do it, Mrs. Abdeen, the same mistake it seems, not sure, if it is stubbornness or what or is it slow thought process, in other words, if I am out of it. But how can I be out of it if I recognize it, how can anyone  be out of something if they know what they are doing, and they know that it might be wrong but still doing it. See, I am writing it with double E again. My name could be written with an I or double E but I have always wrote it with an I, but for some reason, I write your name with double E. The point I am trying to make- about time I think- is that both could be right, so why we humans sometimes torture ourselves in trying to be perfect and usually in the process, we become far from perfection. I have many more questions, Mrs. Abdeen, but I do not want to bring back too much memories of that pupil you had in Jerusalem in 1974, who was an ok student but a student who was full of questions, probing everything you say and requesting sources and backups until your eyes would start rolling and then and only then, he would stop asking.  “Listen” that was your favourite word for us to become quiet or refocus. I do not look back, Mrs. Abdeen, I cannot, I do not live in the past Mrs. Abdeen, I just cannot, and I do not cry over something that is done, although it might have been a treasure that was lost due to stubbornness or stupidity or both. Still, Mrs. Abdeen, it is the same problem, knowing something that is not good but still doing it. Maybe it is the trial and error that we humans must live by; it is the nature of the curious human to test, to try, to examine, to push the boundaries further. I think this is how great things happen in life when we just try, when we do not stop, when we do not get timid and afraid. There is something going in the Middle East right now Mrs., Abdeen, in the Arab countries at this moment, people are going to the streets but they are not sure of the outcome, they are not sure if what they are doing is right or wrong, they are just going, and they are venting and for the first time in the history of the Arabs, the rulers are listening, they have no choice anymore, Mrs. Abdeen, but to listen, who would have thought that this day would come, who would have thought that the poor, the hungry, the disfranchised, the hopeless, the humiliated in the streets of  Egypt, Yemen, Libya, Bahrain, Algeria, Tunisia and every other Arab country would just say Enough, we have had it, and just rise like a bright summer morning sun . I wonder Mrs., Abdeen, what would have happened if the people just sat back and just thought if what they are doing or going to do is right or wrong.