The Hashemite kingdom of the Refugees... by Jamil Shawwa

The Palestinians in Jordan according to realistic data count to 70% of the population and according to official Jordanian data count to 45% of the same population were not the first refugees to settle in Jordan.

The Palestinians who fled the war torn pre-1948 Historic Palestine, the State of Israel except for the West Bank and Gaza,  were the second wave of refugees; the first refugees that came to this piece of land East of the Jordan river were the Hashemites themselves, who rule Jordan now. Prior to their move to Jordan, The Hashemites ruled what is known now of the Saudi Arabia- to be precise part of it.  They for generations, ruled the revered Muslim cities of Mecca and Medina, and they according to them and other historians are dissident of the prophet Muhammad who himself  came from the premiere tribe in Mecca, known as Quriesh.The Hashemites at some point  in the 20th century and through the late 1950s ruled Jordan, Syria and Iraq. The Hashemites, talented and gifted politicians but with not much luck. They were kicked out of Syria, and then they were massacred in  Iraq by a bloody coup in  1958. They  now rule Jordan, which is surrounded by the State of Israel, The West Bank and Gaza- as a one unit- Iraq, Syria-tough neighborhood as  the current king, Abdullah, says anytime he has a chance to face the media and talk about the Middle East and the Palestinian issue. Here we get to the thrust of this article and the entrance and a conclusion; tough neighborhood and politics. The king wants to change the reputation of his kingdom to something else, to a country ,that if he could, has nothing to do with the Palestinians in the West Bank- Gaza is gone, does not count, and actually was never part of the Jordanians domain, although some individuals were loyal to the Hashemite, they, the Hashemite have never been popular, nor did they ever claimed Gaza, they played the United Arab Kingdom in the early 1970s but that it was just that, a play, a political maneuver that preceded the October 1973 war-  the same way they claimed the West Bank and its heart Jerusalem. Gaza had an Egyptian presence until Egypt was defeated in the Six Days War  in June of 1967 with Israel and was kicked out of Gaza and  from its own Sinai by the Israeli forces. But the king cannot escape history and cannot escape the Palestinian presence and cannot so far melt them in a Jordanian identity that would have nothing to do with a word called Palestinians. The reason is simple, they the Jordanians cannot stand  the word Jordanian- Palestinian like to say for example Arab- American, or Irish -American or Palestinian or Israeli American; they just cannot. Jordan with Lebanon, have been the only two Arab countries, clearly, that their politics directly attached in steel chain links with the Palestinian problem or solution. The reason is again the Palestinian refugees- generations of them since 1948- living in both countries in numbers that if added to the original population, would, theoretically change the demography drastically in the favor of the Palestinians- in theory only, again, but with democracy and one identity; it should not, because the loyalty by large will be to the new identity and not to something that does not exist or cannot be gotten back or even, the majority do not want it back and does not make sense even in thinking of getting it back- but of course historically the Arabs and the Palestinians played the refugees card, blackmailed their own people, the Palestinians and the Arabs, in the name of Palestine. Arab dictators and their local puppets and cronies in Gaza and the West Bank and other Arab capitals, Amman-Jordan one of them of course, claimed legitimacy because as they said- deceivingly and hypocritically- that they are there, in power, absolute corrupted power, that there is no democracy, because there is a bigger fish to fry; who else but  the Palestinians and they were right here; they did fry the Palestinians and also fried their own.
Both Jordan and lebanon had civil wars directly because of the Palestinian armed presence there, Jordan in 1970 and Lebanon, just five years after, in 1975, and after the PLO was kicked out of Jordan and moved to Lebanon as a result of the Cairo Agreement in 1969 that the Maronite lebanese president and Army commander- both Christian Maronites agreed on with the top Arab dictator at the time, Gamal Abdul Nasser of Egypt; who else could it be and with a rising star in Arab and Palestinian politics that went  by the name of Yasser Arafat.  The Arabs involvement in the Palestinian problem since 1948 brought only disasters to the Palestinian cause. But the Arabs were not the only convicts in the affair, the Palestinians leadership was involved directly in making the Palestinian case or cause, a lost case. and a lost cause. Not until Yasser Arafat took over in the late 1960s that the Palestinian problem took a Palestinian direction, gained momentum in the international arena; first through what some called terrorism, others called struggle, but then gained momentum through peace and then through peacemaking the Palestinian issue or question became headed by a Palestinian and created an identity around it, and that it was no longer a refugees issue but bigger than that, it became a journey to establish a Palestinian State based on two UN resolutions, 242 and 338, which state a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza; the rest is the State of Israel . The  Golan Heights will be resolved and with arrangements with the State of Israel,  will be returned back to Syria. So the future will consist of states that already exist in the Middle East but will add a state or two, Palestine in the West Bank and Gaza, and maybe at some point a Kurdistan, which I personally think will be strategically fantastic to have for all the countries involved, Turkey, Iraq and Syria. The Middle East though this perspective will be a land of practical peace and not a dream peace, why dream it, why sing it, if you can actually make it happen. Jordan will no longer be the country of the refugees,Palestinians, Iraqis, Syrians, Chechens, Armenians, kurds, and all other kinds, but will be a Jordanian state with the Hashemites, possibly, as the non governing constitutional monarchy and a symbol to have for the bedouins there and as a stabilizing factor in the area.

California....a developing country...by Jamil Shawwa

I read somewhere sometime ago that if California were a country by itself, it would rank as  one of the biggest economies in the world: in the first Ten largest economies in the world. What happened...California for over 20 years has been suffering from layoffs, chronic budget deficits, flamboyant governors who do not know their Behinds from their Front and politicians in Sacramento, the state capital, who keep fighting not over how to make the State the biggest economy in the world; imagine, one state in America, but fighting over the number of layoffs they need to do and the taxes they need to increase. As if layoffs, higher taxes and budget cuts especially in education, as it has been going , are the solution. I’m not an economist, but again, if I bring someone from the street, and give them California and its unbelievable resources and infrastructure and corporations and everything, and tell them, please, you do not have to do anything but to manage, to observe...I’m sure this street person would do a better job than our friend here that the Californians brought from an antique museum; Governor Jerry Brown, or the one before him, the Muscles brains, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and the one before him, who the Californians ousted actually, and recalled -kicked him out of office in referendum in 2003-Gray Davis. Now, the governor and the state government are scrambling to understand why there is 15 billion dollars budget deficits; the answer is simple; you, the governor and the politicians in Sacramento. In the picture is governor Brown discussing a "Tax Hike". picture is via AP.

Mitt Romney’s 05/12/2012 Liberty University Vs. George W. Bush’s 02/02/2000 Bob Jones University....by Jamil Shawwa

Today, Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican party nominee for president of the United States went to Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia- my State- to talk family values, to face the bastion of American political Evangelism,and to sell himself; Mitt Romney, the Mormon, as the choice for the conservatives Americans to run for president. The University is the largest Evangelical Christian University in the world,. Conservatism in America, by large, means, Evangelical Christian political values and institutions- The Catholic Church  also has joined most of the times in this quest of preserving  political conservatism. But in reality, although powerful, historically, their actual voting power does not exceed, based on my own calculations, more that 20% of the overall registered  Americans who go and vote, but still, they are powerful, and among them are leaders who influence others- like any other political medium. It also has been a tradition for Republican party  nominee to go to these universities and talk, a normal political tradition, to talk and address the base- although the base and the demography in America are changing rapidly, still religious Christians and overall evangelicals and catholics christians, make a large chunk of the, politically, influential  voting population. The issues Romney addressed today were not the same issues, although the theme is the same; family values, when *George W. Bush on 02/02/200, as a the Republican party nominee, to be,  visited another, yet much more controversial university, Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina. Today the compelling religious /political issue is gay marriage and what constitutes a family, when George W. Bush visited Bob Jones University, the issue was worse, I believe, which was institutional discriminations that the university had in place; banning interracial dating. *On 05/24/1983, The US Supreme Court ruled against Bob Jones University in Bob Jones v. the United States (461 U.S. 574). but the university refused to reverse the interracial policy, not until  after George W. Bush visited that the university in 2000 dropped its policy all together. The relevance is not only, in my opinion, in visiting religious schools although the tradition is very interesting, but the controversial debate that accompanied and coincides with these two visits. In 2000, America did not have any problem with interracial dating and marriage,except  of course for  those that until now continue to struggle with their prejudices and continue to have issues with it but it is something that exist in every county in the globe, if it is not religion, it's the color of the skin, or the national background or the social class and so on and so forth. Today’s issue is much more controversial, maybe as but not as strong or near the  interracial mingling in the 1950s and the 1960s and with Bob Jones University continued until 2000- Not sure how the university was not held in contempt for not executing the Supreme Court ruling of 1983 to ban discrimination and separation of mingling together for various the ethnic groups. So in 2000, Bob Jones University was a sore thumb to the Republican party. Liberty university does not have any controversial policies or history as far as I’m concerned so the School itself today was not the issues as Bob Jones was then, but the issue is the issue, if I can use the term- there is always something in politics and if none is found, which is almost impossible, then the politicians would create one.  Gay marriage; President Obama and the Democratic political establishment and media and fundraising machines came very strong to address it and elevate it at this crucial juncture of the political debate just few months away from the presidential elections., Yet, the elevation was calculated, started with Vice President  Biden approving Gay marriage- actually, before that ,the former president, Bill  Clinton, in an interview approved it and said that gay couple can enter into a normal traditional marriage- President Obama gave it his approval afterward, but Biden apologized for putting the boss on the spot; usual political maneuvers, good cop, bad cop, style. The bottom line is that the Democrats, came out of the of the closet, and approved. and it  became a hot politically debatable issue few months before the presidential elections- but the Republicans do not like it.  Romney today, did not talk  directly about gay marriage ; very smart, anything else, would have  been a  political stupidity at this stage, he talked values, and talked about that marriage is between a man and a woman, but did not criticize other options and did not blast gay marriage or the gay lifestyle in general. Romney the Mormon, talked to the heart of  America’s Protestant evangelical, bastion, talked politics, and talked pragmatism and addressed  what America loves the most; debate the issues, keep the door slightly open, do not close it  or shut it all the way. The American Bill of Rights can be interpreted in many ways, and by many advocates or judges or politicians; the bottom line is this; nothing stays the same, and people or individuals will have their beliefs and the state will do the same and both can switch, or change or amend, or work a deal or something. Obama started reversing, including the immigration policies, policies that constitute that marriage is only an institution between a man and a woman; the way I see it, no president after him will reverse what he reversed.


*Sources: Wikipedia research on Bob Jones University and the Supreme Court decision  (461 U.S. 574).

The Two Egypt of Egypt....by Jamil Shawwa

Egypt is not at a crossroad or on a search for identity, Egypt is on quest to erase everything that reminds her  of a past that is connected with tyranny. In doing so, Egypt is in chaos for now, it is  in what could appear to some as complete self destruction as if they, the Egyptians , if they could, they would  wipe out their  seven thousand years of history in one stroke. The rulers now are the generals of the old system, the 1952 political system that ended the monarchy in that year,1952, and established a military dictatorship that expounded since 1952 and until now. Egypt has almost always had two classes of citizens, the elites, and the “commoners”, nothing in between. The elites included not only the old aristocrats and the wealthy, but also in  what other societies known of  as the middle class, the educated layer of small business owners, senior government employees,teachers, journalists, retired police and army officers, judges,  and educators including higher education. The other layer is known  arbitrarily as the “peasants” and they mostly are from the country or upper Egypt- millions of them migrated in the 1960s and the early 1970s to the big cities hoping of the better life the biggest deceiver, Gamal Abdul Nasser, the second president of Egypt, promised but never of course delivered. Actually, Abdul Nasser added to the conflict of the two classes, and fed the fire of hatred and envy against everything that was called class or family. They, the "second layer" mostly were uneducated, which in Egypt counts to over 80% of the population. Both classes always looked at each other with disrespect, leery eyes, with suspicion and distrust. Even after the generals, the so called revolutionaries of 1952 ended formally the aristocracy between 1960-1964- when Abdul Nasser nationalized everything that had life in Egypt, kicked out the class that was the engine of the economy, including multinationals that ran away from his hatred and tyranny- they, the revolutionaries, created a new class out of them that one *Egyptian writer called the “Super Pashas”. the Pasha was an old turkish title from the days of the Ottoman empire and continued until Egypt ended it in 1952, and referred to a class of politicians and business people that historically were landlords and ministers in the government of the deposed king, Farouk. The super Pashas referred to the elites that were created after 1952 from retired military officers, and judges, and top police  officers, top university and ruling party officials that through connections to the 1952 military regime, created a wealth among themselves, manipulated export and import licenses, manipulated commodities and goods, and through their previous connections as retired generals or leaders in their  field, worked for foreign entities and made it easier for investors to do business in Egypt where connections are everything and who you know or what you do or did, would  bring wealth to your circle. In the midst of all these changes, a religious minority group maintained its life and business, the Copts, they lived well, and live well,  economically and not politically. although many of them throughout history took high government positions or reached the top echelon in business; two names stand out, Boutros Ghali, and his family, the former UN Secretary and Naguib Sawiris now, the top Copt business leader, a billionaire who took a shot at the political life after toppling the last formal president from the 1952 system, Hosni Mubarak, in January 18th of last year, but quickly was put aside by the wave of extreme religious pretentious zealots from whom claim extreme or Salafi, original Islamic teachings. Of course religiously, they are zealots that the religion has nothing to do with them, but they politically are using it to penetrate through the unassumed, uneducated and the educated but most importantly the 80% of the people who are smart but oppression and suppression for generations and decades made them vote and belong to the extremists not out of ignorance as some of the elites in Egypt think, but out of revenge. They the majority of the Egyptian people are on a journey not to reform right now, maybe later, no rush, but on a journey to destroy everything that they believe belongs to the elites, and their vehicle of manipulation and destruction are in part the Muslim Brotherhood but also other opportunists in the media that are feeding into this massive resentment towards anything that reminds them of class or authority. They are attacking embassies, asking for insane things like revoking the peace treaty with the State of Israel, which they know is theirs and the Middle East lifeline and the sensible thing to do and have. They the Egyptians are doing so, not out of hatred or out of empty so called nationalistic ideologies, but out of revenge against their own, the elitist, those Egyptians, that the majority believe were the reason that for thousands of years made them live sometimes worse than the salves. And now and here, and based on the above, I introduce the Two Egypt of Egypt. The two are fighting, a minority, the elitests this time, that is trying to protect its privileges, a minority that has been,whether they admit it or not, part of the dictatorship of the military rule of the 1952 regime, and the Egyptians who think that that class has had enough. They are on an orgnized mission to discredit it and more importantly to humeliate it. It will take probably few years for the Egyptians to release all the anger that has been transferred from generations to generations. But while the 80% of the Egyptians are on their mission to humiliate the ruling class, they in the same time are claiming back  their country, actually, for the first time in their history, the 80% are making the rules, and they are calling the shots, and the elites are scared, they are even scared to drive in some of Cairo streets in their fancy cars so they won’t provoke the hungry and the desperate and the new revolutionaries of 2011. But there is pride also for the first time among the majority of the Egyptians, that they managed to dispose the pharaoh, the last president of the military regime of 1952, even though his generals are in charge.

Egypt now is on a mission, and once its completed, I personally expect an Egypt that will pioneer democracy among the Arab countries as it did, through the old system, in pioneering the  peace initiatives among the State of Israel and the Arab and the Islamic countries. 

* Hussien Moenis, I believe is the name.
Jamil’s Notes: I attended Cairo University law school between 1986-1990,

The World This Morning 03/23/2012; Three killers in Kandahar , Afghanistan; Toulouse , France; Sanford, Florida ; by Jamil Shawwa

In the last couple of weeks three individuals in different parts of the world decided to go "shopping", to kill people, other humans, other innocent civilian humans. In Afghanistan, a US soldier, with mounting troubles at home, with allegedly corrupt financial dealings and running away from court orders, decided to kill the same people, we, the US,decided to send him there to protect from Taliban and Al Qaida; instead, the soldier by the name of Army Staff Sgt, Robert Bales, decided to emulate Al-Qaida and Taliban and be as they are; a killer, he killed 17 Afghanis, and a grand jury in the US charged him with 17 counts of murders, the number of  people he killed, of course the "title" killer is formally "bestowed" upon him once a court of law rules and convicts.

On Monday 03/19/2012, one day before the Zimmerman story about killing the black teenager, Trayvon Martin, broke, another deranged, unstable, based on reports, Algerian French by the name of Mohammad Merah, "dropped" by a religious children school and decided to pour all his mental troubles, and all his frustrations with his life, on them. Of course his mental capacity was not completely incapacitated because he had to add flavor  to his murders and he had to add the usual cause of his killings; the Palestinian cause. The Palestinians, the only humans on earth that have been bought and sold politically by their own. Reports today confirmed that this killer did not have any affiliation with Al Qaida. This Merah is done, he was killed when police raided his "bunker".

On Tuesday of this week, a story from Sanford, Florida became a breaking news when a neighborhood watch captain last month decided to show his residents that he is up to the job,and decided to practice and show his credentials  by cornering an unarmed, harmless,17 years old teenager that his only crime was that he was born Black. The perpetrator by the name of George Zimmerman, shot and killed the kid, even after the police told him not to pursue him, and wait for them, the police, to arrive to handle; after all, Zimmerman, the alleged killer, called the police to report. But in Florida there is a dilemma, the corrupt police and government of the State of Florida did not arrest Zimmerman, at least to investigate and let a court of law decides if a convection is warranted. Nothing was done; the African American kid was killed, the killer is out and the law is struggling on a law called " Stand your ground" which, to translate  into understandable  English, would mean ,maybe to give the police an excuse for not arresting the killer. Basically, if in the same circumstances, it gives the pursuer the excuse to pursue the alleged suspect. But, it is for the court of law to decide and accordingly, the police should have arrested and let a judge decides. The killing is snowballing within America and the African American community as it should be. President Obama few moments ago said in a conference with the new World Bank appointee-Jim Yong Kim- that  'If I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon'.*


Three killers, and the victims were, based on reports, Muslims ,Jewish, and Christians, also they were French, Americans and Afghanis.   Three killers shaked our world this week and deprived and uprooted innocent lives. The time is now for action in Kandahar, in Sanford and in Toulouse.



*Politico.

Gaza Sporting Club, YMCA and Maccabi Tel-Aviv by Jamil Shawwa

Sunday, 1977-1982-Gaza, the West Bank and the State of Israel:

It was almost 2:30 PM and there is just enough time to either grab a cab or run to the Gaza Sporting Club for the daily Ping Pong training. What a beautiful game, until now, whenever there is a chance, I chase my first and probably favorite sporting exercise; Table Tennis, Ping pong. I did boxing for a while but it was a scandal so I quit in my prime. The trainer is a good person that had his days during the Olympics in Tokyo of 1964 where he and others represented Gaza, which then was under the Egyptians, but represented it I believe under the name Palestine. During Egypt, Palestine consisted of the Gaza Strip, while the West Bank was part of the Hashemite kingdom of Jordan, under King Hussein, the late father of the current king. Egypt on the other hand was under an Egyptian army officer who threw out the royal family in 1952, established with his comrades a republic and started another royal family but under the pretentious auspices of socialism and nationalism. I arrived there and started the training, it was fantastic, after that, went to the buffet as we used to call it, a small canteen for snacks, and then back home. The Gaza Sporting Club was and I think still the main club in Gaza, its Soccer- Football team- was one of the best in Gaza and the West Bank. Its rival in popularity in the West Bank was the YMCA in Jerusalem, on Nablus Street, few meters away from my elementary school, in the same street, the St. George School. When the two teams used to play, it used to be a fiesta, like Manchester United playing Liverpool in the English football premier league or Maccabi Tel-Aviv playing Hapoel Tel-Aviv in the Israeli premier league. The main stadium for soccer was and again still is, I believe, the Yarmouk stadium on Al-Wehda Street, al Wehda means Union or unity, something the Arabs dreamed of and never figured out what it really means. Abdel Nasser of Egypt since 1952, and until his death in 1970, kept igniting the Arabs emotions with demagoguery slogans that only brought slavery to the soul and the mind of every human being in the Arab Countries, those of course that believed the biggest liar in the history of the Arab countries; at least not since the Turks occupied the Middle East and enslaved the Arabs for hundreds of years. Now some Arabs go running to Turkey asking for some sort of support for something, but in actuality it is not support but self-humiliation. See, the Arabs never believed that they can take care of themselves on their own; always someone else to go to, someone else has to adopt them or speak on their behalf. Everything changed in Gaza in the late 1970s and the beginning of the 1980s when new people started to appear in the streets of Gaza, bearded people, strange faces and sometimes names. First they started a sport club by the name of The Islamic Association, and then the Islamic compound. They attracted big names players to play with them, had Ping-Pong team, that competed with ours, the Gaza Sporting Club. I remember with school friends visiting their location, it was very simple, the head of that association, the sporting association, was on a wheel chair, by the name of Ahmad Yassin, the person that established Hamas, the organization, that took over Gaza Strip few years later, kicked and humiliated the PLO and threw them out of Gaza. Very interesting was that organization, on occasions, it beat the Gaza Sporting Club in soccer, but then it evolved to charity, and social help, and it started to gain a mysterious reputation in Gaza. But not only that, the beaches changed in Gaza, bearded men started to walk the beaches, looking and inspecting girls and women in bathing suits enjoying the Mediterranean beach, with the soft clear silky sand, not developed though, it was nothing to compare with the beaches next door in the State of Israel, but for Gaza and under the circumstances and with no political solution, it was the best it can be probably, maybe it could have been better, who knows. The Israelis- who took over Gaza after defeating Abdel Nasser in 1967, I do not think, had any issues, if the people of Gaza wanted to develop the beach area, but there were restrictions, Gaza at the time was under the military rule of the Israelis. The restrictions were related completely to security concerns. Still the restaurants there and the fish market were phenomenal, Visitors from Israel and the West Bank used to come all the way to enjoy a nice meal of fish, roam the markets, and play around with Gaza Stock market, downtown, dealers, illegally trading foreign currency, mainly the Jordanian Dinar, and the US dollar. In that same period, 1977-1982, the Gaza local branch of the YMCS opened its doors for business, and attracted the Gazans from all walks, had the usual ping pong tables, the Canteen, a playground and a basketball field. It was not as fancy and glamorous as the Jerusalem YMCA but it did the job for Gaza, it also brought the main two populations of Gaza, the Christians and the Muslims closer. The population in Gaza had never had issues with religion except for the usual prejudices that could be found more or less in any society in regard to majority and minority residents, but I do not recall any issues, fights or any of such. They, the Christians, were successful, mainly in the fields of selling and manufacturing Gold and among them were successful doctors, engineers, teachers- I still recall a sweet and talented English teacher and her family, city administrators; just regular productive population of their city. In that same period, 1977-1982, Maccabi Tel Aviv of the State of Israel was and is probably until now, the premier sporting club and organization in Israel. It captured our- many of the youth in Gaza and others in the West Bank- imagination with is performance in soccer, but mostly with its Basketball team that competed in Europe and was champion for multiple years, as the top basketball team in Europe. I have always questioned, then, why Israel competes in Europe, Israel is a Middle Eastern, Asian country, why not competing within its geographic sphere, of course, that was an ideal analysis, true though geographically, but not politically. The Arabs and the State of Israel were in a state of war since 1948 when the Arabs rejected the UN resolution 181 to divide the historic pre 1948 Palestine among both the Israelis and the Arabs. Israel accepted the resolution, and built a world class country, the Arabs, until now, are trying to figure out what happened, do not know how and why, or pretend to not know. The Arabs are more interested in songs- watch the Jordanian TV right before the 8:00 PM Evening news to see what I'm talking about- patriotic songs showing the king riding horses and tanks and planes, same in Egypt before the afternoon 2:30 PM News, showing the president as someone with unbelievable, above human abilities and strength. Of course not to mention the usual whining and crying, and complaining and playing politics-not in a smart way, but in conspiracy theories style and of course in believing populist demagogues like Abdel Nasser who sold them the Sun in bottles- as our friends in Egypt would say. Egypt later on under one of the 1952 officers, Anwar El-Sadat, broke away, internationally, not internally, not inside Egypt, and took the initiative and with the State of Israel Menahim Begin changed history- the history of the Muslim, Arabs and the Israelis, in making or starting a peace process that is going on until now and will continue to go on until a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip is established; regardless if the Palestinians like it or not, and regardless if the Palestinians continue to act like mentally retarded and fire rockets across the border into Israeli territories, and regardless of the naked beards that govern Gaza now, and regardless of the beards that will govern, democratically, the Arab countries under the flag of the Muslim Brotherhood. See, the politics in the Middle East is not local, it is an international process, it could have been local, and maybe it can be local, or the locals can still have influence, but it is not completely local and it will never be completely local. To be fair, politics in general now and ever since the end of the Second World War, has become very interactive, very collaborative among nations, especially super powers to ensure that criminals like the Nazis of Germany do not surface again.



Today, Sunday, March 11, 2012…….Gaza, the West Bank and The State of Israel

The Israelis couple of days ago fired a rocket that killed what Israel described as a terrorist; he, the assassinated, belonged to an organization called Jihad or something, I think they called it the Front for something, on record as he said, was actively trying to launch rockets and commit terrorist operations within the borders of Israel and already did operations and I believe was involved, based on news, in the abduction of Israeli soldiers. So based on record he was a terrorist or to his people- not the Palestinian people, a freedom fighter, but if you were an Israeli, then you would take action against those that harm your country and people. As a response to that operation in Gaza, Hamas started the usual rocket firing across borders into towns and cities in the State of Israel. Israel responded back, and started to bomb Hamas, not Gaza. Gaza as a city has nothing to do with Hamas, and its political games- Hamas claim of virtues is the claim of  a virtuous prostitute- I cannot come up with a better and more precise description to describe it. But it is like the remaining Arab tyrants, not better, and not worse, just different style. Gaza throughout history has been a passive witness to those that took over her across the decades, nothing more. *The families of the Gaza strip; the traditional well known families, have never really had any stand to represent Gaza, they have always been tools for others, which is fine, they are merchants, historically, so now Hamas and before that the PLO represented Gaza through people who are not necessarily part of Gaza or even the West Bank; it happens, nothing so abnormal about it. But it is strange when you think it over, the original population of Gaza never had a say, never won an election, never in fact was credible within and among its own population; weird. The majority of the population now are those Palestinians that came over from lands in the State of Israel- **the Historic pre 1948 Palestine- and the West Bank, and were treated by their brethren, the Arabs in general, and their governments, with the worst kind of treatment, and they, the Palestinian refugees looked around and found an original population in Gaza and the West Bank, and Jordan, and Syria and Lebanon that are full of hatred toward them or at least indifferent, and  manipulated them to gain political ground and leverage; that is the story of the Palestinians in a nutshell; people who have been manipulated by their own, no one else. Again, Israel has nothing to do with the plight of the Palestinian people; the Palestinians themselves are the ones responsible and now they have a choice, more than any other time in their history, to change things around, to revolt against ***Hamas and the PLO, throw them out, go to the streets and demand change like those in Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Iraq, Tunisia, and Syria; it is the only way. Of course again, the other way is to wait for the international community to establish the Palestinian state in Gaza and the West Bank, but again, then, no guarantees that the criminals that govern the Palestinians now do not stop governing them. As for the State of Israel; it is flourishing every day, and succeeding every day, and establishing itself as a regional, credible power, every day; look at the smart Iron dome that is protecting the population of the State of Israel from the rockets launchers in Gaza. Hamas is giving The State of Israel the best opportunity to show the Israeli people how their country and elected government take care of them, how their country, the State of Israel, through perseverance, knowledge, skill, and determination, is creating a fantastic way to protect its population from rockets; I have no doubt about it that other countries will learn this method; it is the way of the future, how to protect your people and take care of every Israeli anywhere within the State of Israel. And Hamas, what is Hamas doing, I tell you, it is killing the Palestinians every day, it is humiliating them, it is delaying the establishment of a Palestinian state in Gaza and the West Bank, it is butchering the Palestinian dream to live in dignity and peace. Unfortunately, it is a game that Hamas is playing with families and population within the West Bank and Gaza. The choice is clear, and the comparison is so obvious between the Israelis and the Palestinians now. A government in Israel that protects its people and a government in Gaza that kills its people.

· For writing integrity purposes, my family, The Shawwa or Shawa- as some write it- is one of the families of the Gaza Strip from Gaza.

** http://arabamericanwire.blogspot.com/2011/03/west-bank-and-gaza-striprisepart-iii-no.html The West Bank and The Gaza Strip…Rise….Part III- No historical or Religious Claims- Ongoing by Jamil Shawwa

*** http://arabamericanwire.blogspot.com/2012/02/second-reconciliation-hamas-and-west.html “The Second Reconciliation; Hamas and The West Bank Takeover, by Jamil Shawwa”

Mosque in America; Urination and Quran Burning in Afghanistan...by Jamil Shawwa

Background Information from my posts on Facebook, and ArabAmericanWire:

 1.       01/12/2012

The president and defense secretary Panetta need to immediately initiate an investigation into these allegations; we must know for sure whether or not this incident actually took place and then take action. The issue was about a picture that was circulated in the media showing US soldiers in Afghanistan urinating on Afghani Corpses. Actually, Panetta mentioned in another report that he will investigate and he condemned what he described as "utterly deplorable" behavior. We need to take action now, not tomorrow.

2.       02/21/2012

The News from CBS.com, picture through AP: “Afghan protesters in front of Bagram Air Base during an anti-U.S. demonstration, Feb. 21, 2012” protesting allegations that the US and Allies burned copies of the Quran.

My Note:

Let us not lose our heads here and also let us not ignore it, or judge it before having all the facts cleared. Now, the problem is not the incident itself; as serious as it is if it actually did take place, we do not know yet.  Anyone could incite such feelings, burn the holy books. The easiest thing is to tap into people’s religious feelings, sentiments and create huge manipulation and demagoguery to bring the results they are seeking; I mean those that are running an agenda, and they are tons, especially in that part of the world, just ask the Iranians, they are the best in no class, demagoguery, manipulation, and hypocritical politics. The problem we are facing is not the Afghans, I know them, it is ok, the problem is us, America, we are not doing a good PR job, we are not communicating, and we are just reacting and not engaging. We need people there to have Quality Control and Damage Control, people who understand and appreciate the psychology and the culture; I know we have many CIA and other national security operatives and handlers who speak the language and who are locals, but still, something is missing; the talent in handling and preventing; that is what missing. Check, The Khost Incident, http://arabamericanwire.blogspot.com/2010/01/khost-incidet-by-jamil-shawwa.htmlv  from 01/12/2010.

3.       02/23/2012

***Obama apologized on the Quran burning.  Good job that Obama apologized. The case would have been the same if the burned object had been any of the other holy books.

4.       02/26/2012

Our US ambassador in Afghanistan, Ryan Crocker, is asking to "stay the course "after the Quran burning.

Two US advisers were killed yesterday in Kabul by an Afghani colleague at the interior minister in Kabul because according to various news reports including this one from USA Today, were making fun of the burning of the Quran. The Afghani could not handle it and shot them dead. One was a colonel. The picture is for a protest by Afghanis against the burning of the Quran or maybe I should say about the handling of the burning of the Quran.

Again, check my posts on Jamil Shawwa’s Report on Facebook  from 02/21 and 02/23/2012 about how to handle the situation with the Quran burning; it seems that we, the US, still do not get it, or some of us do not. Do not play or joke with religions, do not make fun of religions, play it smart and fake it if you do not have it. The situation is snow bowling in a way that could force Obama although he apologized to see if we need to change our intelligence and military leadership in Afghanistan. It is not difficult to handle but it seems that we still have those that prefer to utilize their Behinds rather than what remained of what previously used to be called their brains.

5.     03/06/2012

In a field interview with **ABC, General Allen, our top commander in Afghanistan said that the US does not regret apologizing to  Afghanistan for the Quran burning, he continued to say that he believes that it was not intentional.

Update 03/07/2012

And the evolution of Islam continues in America. America, despite the above and the previous incidents that I mentioned in the **** Mosque in America series- on ArabAmericanWire, show and contrary to what some believe, an upward climb and inclusion to the third tier of the divine religions to America’s culture; Islam. It is not easy for some, and it is so hard for others especially that the religion has been engraved in the American mind by some Americans, Arabs, Muslims and others, as a religion that its followers are blood thirsty and a religion that its followers are not part of the civilized world and cannot believe in the democratic values that some think or preach are only found in other divine religions and faiths but not Islam. This is the best time in America for Islam. Again, the expose, although through incidents that are appalling on both sides, the Arab terrorists that attacked America on 09/11/2001 and through the actions of some soldiers urinating on corpses and burning Qurans.

America is looking at Islam now, the same way it is looking at Judaism and Christianity and other faiths and the trends continue to climb to separate between the religions in Books and those that claim that they are acting on behalf of the Books.

**General Allen Interview with ABC 
***More Half of Americans Back President Obama apologies to the Quran burning
**** http://arabamericanwire.blogspot.com/2010/08/mosque-in-americaby-jamil-shawwa.html  

Syria Today 02/26/2012….A Tale of Two Syrian women…. And a Butcher’s Referendum...by Jamil Shawwa

These two Syrian women below represent Syria today; the first is for A Syrian woman carrying her referendum voting card with two circles, the green to indicate an approval for the new constitution that the Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad- picture in the back- proposed, and a grey circle that indicates a non-approval. The second woman is carrying the freedom banner; the banner that will prevail in Syria, soon. As for the referendum, Al- Assad will continue to cook the books and rig the ballot boxes and forge the will of the Syrian people, but might fake it even more this time; might not get the famous pre Arabs Rise, 99.999% approval rating. But forget Al-Assad for few moments- he is a tiny historical footnote that will disappear soon, and look at their eyes; the eyes of these two un-known Syrian victims of Al-Assad; in the first, the one carrying the card, you see pain, and fear and tragedy. And in the second you see hope, victory, and triumph. Syrian women, throughout history, have been famous in hiding their pain from their butchers and "their husbands " and appear joyful, while inside, they are torn apart.

Now that I have presented in a professional and unbiased manner that piece of news, it is time for me to show a side, a professional side too but custom tailored and fits only Al-Assad; the dictator and murderer that he and his family, tribe and party- Al-Ba’ath -have been in a continuous state of rape to everything that exists in Syria. I’m only talking record; his record. I want to see the results of this referendum. On the other hand, let me put it this way, Al-Assad as I have been saying since March of 2011 and much before actually, since 11/02/2005, check ArabAmericanWire http://arabamericanwire.blogspot.com/2005/11/begining-of-end-of-baath-in-syria.html that Al-Assad is gone. He and his family and his party and his militia, and his gangs, and his mercenaries, and his killers and his rapist, are finished. The process now is for a transition and he is playing a game, maybe, according to some news reports, with the so called friends of Syria to transition. Let us see, who knows, maybe Al-Assad will leave without committing a suicide, like the rest of his party elites have been doing since 1963 when the axe falls.

Homs.....You City of Fools...By Jamil Shawwa

The tyrants are burning you and burning your children; it is their daily ritual to compensate for their manhood’s inferiority complex, and their criminal souls. The city that has been and still is to all Syrians, except for you the Homsies, probably, the village fools, is making history on a daily basis. What a shame; it is making history for being butchered by merciless mercenaries, their own countrymen.The Syrian government, army, party; in Syria, all are one and the same, left the Syrian people with no other choice but to use violence. How can you can kill peaceful demonstrators, kill their children going to schools, kill their women and mothers and men going shopping and expect nothing but Obedience and ongoing slavery style acceptance. The Syrian people have been enslaved for over 40 years, by butchers who have no mercy, and no sense of humanity. The time is now for the people there to reclaim their very basic human rights; to live as humans, free from dictatorship, free from arbitrary prosecution and illegal arrests and seizure and to enjoy freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and the right to go to the streets peacefully and ask for change. The time is now for every Arab country including Gaza and the West Bank were Hamas and the PLO rules, to hold their oppressive rulers accountable, do it now, because if not now, when. Another Syrian city, Idleb, is not letting Homs to cry alone, and is not letting Homs alone to have "the honorific" of being the only Syrian city of fools; all Syrian cities are competing- and slowly but surely, the prime cities in Syria, Aleppo and Damascus, will follow suit very forcefully-to be called the cities  of fools in support of  Hama, Homs and Idleb, they are  jumping in and in thunderous voice, to protest, a Syrian nightmare, a UN Security Council No action on the fate of Al-Assad which just added fuel to the fire that is raging in every Syrian house and every Syrian heart. The Russians and the Chinese might have tried to save what appears to be a manhood inferiority complex, has made the rest of the world aware, even more, of the plight of the Syrian people. Syria is crying this morning and every morning, but with joy of what is coming ahead and not of what looks like temporary setbacks. Al-Assad is starting to say his goodbyes and packing his luggage; but those Ba’athist, based on history, commit suicide, they do not retreat with dignity; they hate a word called dignity. The US closed its embassy in Damascus and ordered the diplomats to leave. The US Representative at the UN, Dr. Rice, said few days ago that Al-Assad days are numbered and that he is in his way out. But it is those Protesters that are taking over and setting the agenda from the politicians. Taking this human cause to the streets of the world because it is the decade and the century of the protesters everywhere. The time to act is now. The protesters are adding momentum where the politicians all over the world have failed.  And you, Homs, “the city of the fools” as the Syrians, your countrymen, call you, refuses but to stand up for the forces of evil and despair. You the city of fools are defending those that have always looked down at you and your residents. Al-Assad is a goner, a scratch note in a scratch book, but it is the book, not the scratch note that will endure. Is it destiny that the "fools" lead the historical Arab rising in their respective countries; it was that poor disillusioned Tunisian peddler that ignited the flame that started to uproot the dictators of the Arab countries who thought that they were immune and protected in their castles of fear and shame, it was those Egyptians in the cities and towns that forced the dictator to abdicate. The same "fools" in Libya, Yemen and the rest coming and will follow. I'm now looking for more “fools” in every Arab country and Iran, and the West Bank and Gaza- to face the PLO and Hamas- who can ignite the dormant flame and can bring the best in every human. The price is so high, but it  is ok, we, the self-proclaimed intellectuals have nothing to worry about, we are all over the world, and claiming and suggesting, we do not have to worry, we have the " fools" doing the job, and then we will set around and set back, and claim ownership and claim victory , and the Fools or whoever remained from them, will be there with us, smiling, and clapping and cheering ; they made it happen, and we ,falsely, will claim victory.  Long live the cities of fools; long live Homs and Hama and Idleb, keep up the sacrifices, and do not worry about us, when the time comes, we will be there for you , first to cry your courage and then to claim your victory.

Liverpool And not Manchester United by Jamil Shawwa

While in Gaza, the English  football was one of those premier sports events that I used to watch, in addition to the football in Gaza, the West Bank, and the State of Israel.  When  I went to a boarding  school in Jerusalem at 10 years old, I probably can say  that it was the time that I actually picked up a team; Leeds United, to be  a favorite. But I recall very well, Liverpool, it has always been  a team that captured the attention, at that time, around 1974-1977, it was the premiere English league top team; actually, Mancheter United did not have all that spark during those years if I remember well.  But later on, I came to know that Manchester United, historically, has been and until now, England's top team. Just to flex my muscles and show off my knowledge of football in England and Brittain- not a joke, there is a difference when it comes to football in Britain between England and Brittain; they are not the  same. England , Scotland and Wales have separate football leagues and compete in World Cup qualification. Of course, the United Kingdom is all three entities combined and still is as far as I'm concerned and know- I did not  research to see if anything has changed- too lazy this  morning to go beyond the obvious and the known.   I used I buy an English football magazines called Shoot!and another one called Football,  sometimes exchanged with other friends in that boarding school in Ramallah- the boarding school, St.George, was in Jerusalem but the boarding house was in Ramallah. In the picture from goal.com are England's top teams Manchester United and Liverpool playing this weekend, and I 'm calling this one for Liverpool, again, against all odds.

The Second Reconciliation; Hamas and The West Bank Takeover, by Jamil Shawwa

The first reconciliation between the PLO and Hamas resulted in the humiliating defeat of Fateh- the PLO main faction- in Gaza in the summer of 2007, and the Hamas takeover of that little, yet naughty, Mediterranean city. 

The first agreement was in Saudi Arabia and the second, now, in Qatar; both countries have dubious tribal political systems, of course. Qatar is a country in a news station, which is fine. Al-Jazeera, no one can deny, has changed the Arabs in their respective countries in fundamental and profound ways and became a world class, will, maybe, I should not use Class when describing Al-Jazeera, but still a worldwide best known Arabic news channel. Now they (Al-Jazeera) have an English one. 

Money can do few things, of course, but politics is the bottom line- A US approved and blessed role for Qatar in regard to missions or On-demand tasks in the Middle East. 

Back to Hamas and the PLO, both inherited and contributed to the Palestinian headaches and pain- to say the very least. Two years ago I mentioned that the only Palestinian right now that has Yasser Arafat deviousness and shrewdness, not like him though, is Marwan Barghouti,  currently serving a jail sentence for committing, as an Israeli court ruled, terrorist acts against the State of Israel.  In other words, sometimes, in that part of the world leaders or potential future leaders get "Preserved" in jail until their  moment arrives-South Africa did the same for over 24 years with Nelson Mandela and Turkey is doing now with the Kurdish leader/terrorist Abdullah Öcalan. 

So a scenario would be to release Barghouti, or electing him while in jail as a Palestinian authority president, and then releasing him, or let him “govern" from Jail. News reports continue to indicate that Barghouti is the only one that can defeat any Hamas contender. Defeating Hamas does not mean eliminating Hamas; eliminating Hamas has never, so far, been on the agenda, not by The State of Israel, or The PLO- the PLO does not have a choice probably- or The United States, but on the agenda have been maneuvers and playing politics and the give and take, and all the other stuff that make the Middle East a "very special place". 

Now, back to politics, if we have drifted, the way things are moving right now, and if history is any indication to us, it looks like, I mentioned it on Facebook, in a post from 12/22/2011, main page, Jamil M Shawwa, that Hamas will join the PLO, take over, and finalize the deal with the State of Israel. In that case, if this Scenario takes place, it would mean that the conservatives in the State of Israel will be negotiating with the so called, arbitrarily speaking, conservatives in the West Bank and Gaza, both hard in their positions about each other, and both will agree eventually to compromise with each other. 

The whole political trend in every country in the Middle East right now is moving towards so called Religious political parties winning popular elections and forming popular governments. Politics will move toward those that can muster popular support, are clever enough to reach the people; we are not talking clean politics here, if there is anything called clean politics and we are not including those that falsely claim a right to govern because they falsely think that they deserve it, or falsely believe that their families should run it- I'm in particular addressing the Arab countries and the West Bank and Gaza. We are on the verge of huge changes; this could mean that Hamas, an unprincipled, demagogue and some say smart organization will take over, the Muslim Brotherhood style, and run the Palestinian State in Gaza and the West Bank.

Once a Santorum Night ..... by Jamil Shawwa

Rick Santorum, the one I asked last week to change style because he reminded me of the most boring politician on earth, Al Gore, check Facebook-02/04/2012- Jamil M. Shawwa main page;  did exactly that, changed style, yesterday, not sure for how long though, but it paid off. Rick Santorum, the shy, little boy coming all the way from his protection, politically protected neighborhood in Pennsylvania to play with big hitters, you know, Newt and Romney and the rest, that was so overwhelmed to be among the pros and running against the pros, that he was caught in action and sounded faking an elitist accent like Al Gore, has changed things around. He went to the mountains where irrelevancy is relevant, and talked to the mountains and the mountains responded back. Of course I’m talking about Missouri, Minnesota, and Colorado- I went once to Colorado, stayed there for couple of days and left, I could not afford it, oh, Aspen and the Ski resorts, forget it, I’m a common man, I ski in my backyard- if that. What we call the mountain states; almost on the map, to the left of the Midwest, the mountain states, which Colorado is the premier one. Santorum won the three aforementioned states, symbolic, delegates to the convention can change minds, will not make a big difference but the symbols are already out there and mainly within the Republican party, Obama is ok, and watching, but the Republicans are realizing the miss they are in and realizing how hard the game could be when there are no inspiring leaders; but enough with that, I have been giving them so much clues that they might end up beating Obama in the general elections. Just look at what Santorum, the Pennsylvania spoiled boy did just by reading my note……Self-promotion, I know.

Mosque in America and The NYPD tape; Revisted..... By Jamil Shawwa

In an **Expose by the New York Times that needs to be looked at from much larger picture and from much clearer lenses, it is well known and customary for security, intelligence and police departments all over the world to motivate their individuals against potential terror from potential groups by showing real and propaganda- not real- materials. Nothing out of the ordinary here. However, as the Expose reported, this particular video was a complete fabrication and targeted not terrorists or potential terrorists or threats to America, but targeted a population of The United States, a religion that almost 2 billion of humans believe in. Here it needs a review, and it is being reviewed and it has been pulled out as I understood it. America again does not like to and it is not bigot- there are of course individuals, but they are on the fringes, even across different sectors of the society, in companies, towns, cities and they could be found prejudiced against anything, could be against those that believe in Christianity or sects within it, or Judaism or Hindus, anything or because someone wears a skirt, or have a beard- it is human, unfortunately by nature to be prejudice. Having said that, the vast majority of humans either keep their prejudices to themselves, are clever enough not to show it, or pretend not to be prejudice, or spread them legally through freedom of speech; another legal venue until courts decide if a particular bigotry or prejudice cross the line to actually violate existing laws, and an entity or individual or individuals claim and say so and bring them to the attention of the courts system. Those individuals throughout history; very few, but unfortunate, choose terror to claim a message, are the ones that you target; those that claim religions to spread a message of hate violently. The danger of these individuals resides in the fact that for the vast majority of people, just the mention of religion makes them jump. I'm not jumping though; I'm sharing as the New York Times, a perspective, something that could help America become smarter and forceful and on target regarding individuals that seek to harm it. In 2001, America was a target of individuals from Arab countries that said or claimed, before committing their crimes and terror, on tape or somewhere, that they have attacked America in the name of Islam. Now, any human being, again, with any active brain cell, unless they are running an agenda, would know that logically and practically this cannot be; religions do no kill or terrorize; individuals with agendas do. Those individuals are everywhere, and smart intelligence would use smart methods to identify. To repeat, these propaganda methods are used everywhere. Historically, in Europe, the Middle East, there are bigots as well that spread propaganda about people of Christian faith or Jewish faith; amazingly unfortunate, but it exists and it needs to be fought, period. America takes on its part to be more sensitive to prejudice, more forceful, maybe, in trying to be right and smart and practical. This video and similar propaganda charge the emotions but it blinds the brains, it clouds judgment and it creates mini isolated societies within the same country. Continue to fight those that in the name of security and safety and national security use methods that to say the least not smart and not true or about true, not helpful, to be practical here, to spread a message that is so important which is that the country will fight terrorism and terrorists regardless of their claim falsely of religious back ground that made them do what they do. History proves that those that have claimed religious motives or religious inspirations have almost always been motivated by political agendas far from the religion, that the religion if it can talk, it would scream so loud...Foul play. But things will continue, there is no utopia on earth, and accordingly, we, normal and law abiding citizens, need to continue to think and expose those that claim falsely claims and allegations that they cannot substantiate, scale or quantify.

** White House Image in this blog and background information is from the New York Times in an article by Michael Powell with the title “In Police Training, a Dark Film on U.S. Muslims “from 01/23/2012,link: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/24/nyregion/in-police-training-a-dark-film-on-us-muslims.html?emc=eta1

*The End of Al-Assad ...The UN Security Council Countdown by Jamil Shawwa

The momentums to finalize the end of the political system of Bashar Al-Assad are in place; first regional, with the symbolic Arab League sending "observers" to the UN political handling which now is taking place in the Security Council to come up with a resolution to end formally the regime of the Syrian Alawis tribe, the Ba’ath party and ideology and the president. News reports continue to point to Putin's Russia objecting, arguing that such resolution will only result in an eruption of a civil war in Syria. Russia has played the same role historically with Korea in the 1950; it pretended that its ambassador was in the bathroom or somewhere and cleverly did not use the veto to prevent a Security Council resolution and in the same time did not object to the UN Security Council sending troops to the 38^th line that separates the two Koreas. There is no way that China and Russia would veto a resolution on Syria. Syria will continue as a country but Al Assad is gone. Al-Assad is a huge liability, a burned card, a footnote in history books, a passing by trespasser, an occupier to Syria's brains and minds, and last but not least , a criminal against humanity. What could be worse than what is going on now in Syria; over 5000 dead, a sectarian divide that is getting worse where mainly Sunni Muslim cities like Homs taking the lead in resistance, a new freedom fighters formulating by the name of The Free Syria Army and political groups lining up with demands that none can be done except after the removal of the symbol of the sectarian divide; Al-Assad himself. Even within the Alawis, a minority in Syria, most are objecting to Al-Assad’s family decades of monopolizing privileges. A son of a Stalinist style dictator, Al -Assad came to power in 2000, after the death of his father, Hafez Al-Assad. Senior was an important player in the game of politics in the Middle East during and by and after the end of communism and the end of the Soviet Union itself and the cold war; with a sound victory to America and the free enterprise system. After the attacks on America in 2001, the game needed to change, Saddam and the Iraqi Ba’ath finished, the Arabs revolted against their vicious dictators, their oppressors, their dreams killers. Tunisia first, then Egypt, Libya, Yemen, and now Syria and the rest will follow one way or the other. Syria’s dictatorial political system is the last one remaining in The Middle East that belongs to the same class of dictators that Qazzafi of Libya and Saddam of Iraq. His end is inevitable; his presence defies time, and the Arabs Rise in their respective countries. If politics and logic ever meet, so rarely, they both meet in the already finalized conclusion that the Ba'ath fascist party that used to rule in Iraq and is ruling now in Syria, must disappear from the ground and the mind. Al-Assad is history before he becomes history.



*For more on Syria and Al-Assad Check http://arabamericanwire.blogspot.com / and type "Lion" or Syria, the history and the future are all there. Check as well my facebook,
Twitter and LinkedIn posts.

A Blueprint for Egypt….From a Revolution to a Constitution.. By Jamil Shawwa

Societies, following revolutions, moving to civil and constitutional based governments and countries, can  use a Blueprint to ensure a democratic process to create an accountable system at all levels of government  It  starts with a constitution chosen, written by the people and for the people.

The individuals that will write the constitution, and it applies to any country, must be elected, no other choice. Some say that a society might have revolutionaries, might have elder statesmen or stateswomen“ wise people” that some insist that they must play some role in deciding a constitution which usually a permanent document that more or less provides frameworks to all facets of life. But who decides who is who, and who can get the approval of others of their choices; so accordingly elections is the only way, other people can play an advisory role in building the constitution, based on choices of the elected team that would be actually deliberating and writing a constitution.    Now, the elected leaders, or the “the wise persons” women and men; whoever gets elected would normally have the constitutional law experts; law professors, lawyers, to actually write down the technical part of their ideas, the legal verbiages, and articles , translate the philosophy into actual constitutional materials. So accordingly, to take Egypt as an example, elect a body of 100 that represents every single city in Egypt, and those would be the ones that write down the future of Egypt. Once done, you would have a referendum on the proposed constitution, and if approved, you move to elect a parliament, and then president- the concept could apply to any political system. This is a Blueprint, for Egypt and any country in a similar situation. We have done the same in America with the founding fathers; George Washington, Jefferson, etc. It works in any society. Constitutions are not and should not be looked at as holy scripts; they are not, but they are the documents at hand that judges go by, interpret, and the legislation, correct, or add or delete with the proper popular participation. But the people must agree, in addition to the elected parliament. People therefore have in advance to know what to expect or assume based on availability to whoever is interested to know.

Egypt for a transitional period, while doing the above steps, the Supreme Military Council, the rulers of Egypt must, for now, continue to play the role of the guardian of the civil society, and can have a say in the constitution. Egypt is part of a very volatile area; the Middle East, it is a pioneer in the historic peace process between the State of Israel, the Palestinians and the Muslim and Arab countries, so there are considerations. But again, all can be done simultaneously. And an overall democratic process can start, a transparent process can begin, and it can keep moving.

Hanna the Copt............ حنا القبطي by Jamil Shawwa

He was always happy or acted happy doing the chores around the little restaurant and grocery store where he worked. The place was owned by a Lebanese man who happened to be a Christian Maronite ; Hanna who happened to be an Egyptian Christian-Copt, who left his original  home in Upper Egypt with his wife and immigrated to America. 

The Lebanese store is his home now, away from his original home, and America is his country, but he still talks about Egypt. The time was few months ago-last year, the period that preceded the fall of Egypt’s last Pharaoh, Hosni Mubarak, the last of the post 1952 revolution generation generals that ruled Egypt; the irony is that those generals are the rulers now after Mubarak left; nevertheless  the Pharaohs are gone. 

Mubarak came to power in 1981 following the assassination of Anwar El-Sadat, the leader who took the initiative and with the State of Israel’s Menahim Begin started a historic peace process that is going and moving, sometimes in multiple directions, but it is moving. 

Hanna's job at the store varied, from carrying multiple grocery bags to the customers’ cars, to helping in the butcher section, as a prep butcher, and sometimes when the cute Indonesian server is not present, Hanna would be prompted to first server; Hanna is there where needed. He sometimes gets on the nerve of the Lebanese owner, and the owner would start shouting in his Lebanese Arabic dialect " Hanna, Wlak Hanna" meaning, hey answer, or where are you, pay attention, something like that. 

Before the fall of Mubarak, Hanna talked politics, but only when I start to ask him questions about Egypt- I wrote then- here- and long before his fall, that Mubarak will not be president beyond 2012. Hanna would complain about  the Muslim Brotherhood and extremists and the Salafis as he used to call them-to Hanna, they are all the same;  are threatening his people, the Copts, in big cities, and not upper Egypt- in upper Egypt, he said, no one dares to attack them, they all are the same and can stand for each other; he talked about  how churches are being attacked and burned in Cairo and Alexandria and how the gold shops, owned by Copts, are robbed in daylight by some who claim they are doing it in the name of the divine religion of Islam. 

When I ask him about Mubarak, he used to say in his Arabic Egyptian dialect ” Aho Maogood” meaning, he is there but not effective- that his wife Suzanne and his son Gamal run the business of Egypt. 

One day, I went there, the place was empty, the familiar faces disappeared, and the loud but sociable Lebanese owner does not exist, and Hanna was gone too-the store is gone, not physically, but was gone in everything else- new owners took over. I forgot to mention, that the Lebanese owner had two Jordanian butchers, originally Palestinians, from towns in the West Bank, the cook and the servers were Indonesian women, the busboy was Hanna the Copt, the store manager was a Lebanese Druze. His place was a place for people to meet, eat and socialize; he created a Mini Middle East there. You would find customers from Israel, The West Bank and Gaza, and other Middle Eastern countries, also from  Latin American countries, Asians, Europeans, mainly French, and of course Americans, from the US, tasting the Lebanese dishes. 

The food was ok, nothing special, but the atmosphere was nice. The owner was very hospitable, offering free Turkish coffee to his special patrons- not making new ones, but the cheap ones already mixed and made; he just warmed them in the microwave. If you wanted a real cup of Turkish coffee, then you have to pay, but still, I think that was just fantastic and smart and gracious of him to even offer anything free- he would go around the tables joking around with the patrons and welcoming them to his store; his home, his address, his identity; to him the store was his life. 

Before opening the store, he worked with the Saudi embassy as a driver and anything else that was asked of him  to do. He used, in the final days of his ownership of the store, to reminisce on the days when Bandar Bin Sultan was the Saudi ambassador here in Washington DC, and the hundreds and hundreds of orders he used to deliver to the embassy. Everything has changed, he used to say, when terrorists- mainly from Egypt and Saudi Arabia- America’s most important allies among the Arab countries, struck America on 09/11/2001,  and the sequent removal of Bandar and the sudden disappearance of generous Gulf Arab tourists, not visiting as they used to. So this owner had to depend on cheap customers like me that would go there set for couple of  hours and pay around $10.00 for falafel and Hummus and in the meantime, giving him a hell of a time and pick his brains. 

He used to curse those who attacked America with all kinds of curses the Arabic language Lebanese dialect, invented. It is strange though, that when it comes to the Palestinians, the Lebanese Maronite Christians, in general, have deep resentment to anything called Palestinian, they-many of them- actually hate them, they call them, " our brothers the Palestinians", but beneath the surface, reside the images of Lebanon’s civil war and images of the PLO and the images of everything that went wrong in Lebanon and the Christians there, especially the catholic Maronite there, blame on the Palestinians. 

They, the Christians, have no issues with the Muslims per se; it is the Palestinians, Arafat's people- they still call them, Arafat’s people. Once a Maronite grocer, another one, When knew that I was originally from Gaza, refused to charge for a piece of Baklava, couple of dollars, and in a hidden tone, very cleverly presented, not insulting at all, said “this is for Abu Ammar- ابو عمار", referring to the famous guerilla name of Yasser Arafat, the PLO leader, that went later on and made peace with the State of Israel; a peace that is still in the making. 

See, in Lebanon, the Palestinians to the Lebanese Maronite Christians are like someone accepting something that they really do not like, actually they hate and resent, and object, but they cannot say it and they cannot mention it, nor they have a real say anymore about it. 

The Lebanese Maronite Christians want the Palestinians refugees  out of their country now;  over 300,000 Palestinian refugees that have been victims of the betrayal of their Arab brethren, not Israel; the State of Israel, again, has nothing to do with the Palestinians leaving their homes and running away from their cities and towns; the Arab leaders in  recent history starting from the early last century, including the Palestinian leadership starting from Amin Al-Husseini who  matched another criminal with a title of president, Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt, in their  demagoguery and crimes. The same Amin Al-Husseini- what a shame, who once had the title of Jerusalem Grand Mufti in the 1930s and 1940s- he belonged to  a well-known family from Jerusalem, a family that never liked the Hashemite of Jordan, the previous rulers of Jerusalem; actually, one of them  killed at the Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, king Abdullah, the grandfather of Abdullah II, the current ruler of Jordan but this is another story for another time,  to the rest of the leaders that followed. Not until Yasser Arafat- with dubious background and birthplace information- emerged and rose in the mid-1960s. Arafat,  a clever, savvy, some say an SOB of a leader, who  the Palestinians actually loved and he revolutionized the Palestinian question and issue and correctly moved it to one area, where it belongs, the West Bank and Gaza strip; anything else has another name; it is the State of Israel. The story of Hanna the Copt turned to be the story of the Middle East from a very narrow perspective; from the stories of Hanna the Copt.