Observations of a Jordanian

We've Moved!

2010-02-02T13:23:00.006+02:00

After about a year and a half of being on Blogger, I've decided it's time to move this blog to Wordpress as I find their themes neater and more comfortable for reading. So if you're one of the blog readers, please follow me to:

www.jordanianobservations.wordpress.com

See you there!

#Top50Jo

2010-01-25T00:48:00.006+02:00

I don't know whose brilliant idea this originally was, but someone on Twitter started posting their #Top50Jo or the top reasons they love Jordan, and it took off. Even Queen Rania pitched in! I loved the idea because we always complain about living here but forget the reasons we love it so much. So here's my top 50, some of them from other Tweeps:

1) MANSAF!

2) Emad Hajjaj's Abu Mahjoob

3) Souk Jara in the summer

4) Antique jewelry from souk jara

5) Sunsets in the dead sea

6) How we can have snowless snow days!

7) How everyone watches JTV only when it snows and you can't get any other channels

8) How Mohammad al-Wakeel's show is our equivalent of the Oprah show

9) How EVERYONE talks about whatever cold front is coming

10) Hummus and Fool on Friday mornings

11) How you can bargain prices at local stores

12) Ka3ek with za'atar, eggs and spread cheese!

13) Local Jordanian bands like Jadal

14) How people start dancing like crazy in weddings whenever they put on national songs like "ya beiragna"!

15) Our beautiful weather. we get all four seasons!

16) Shawerma

17) Delicious summer fruits

18) How everyone you meet knows someone you know

19) How everyone has an "uncle" who's high up in the government

20) That our Queen has YouTube and Twitter. and actually contributed her #Top50Jo

21) That you can complain to the mayor @MayorOfAmman on Twitter

22) How everyone gets together in happy as well as sad occasions

23) 5 piaster popsicles in the summer or "Eskimo"

24) Ras il abed!

25) Cups and Kilos

26) The smell of jasmine in early summer mornings

27) How we combine the best of the east and the best of the west. We have falafel, and we have Sugardaddy cupcakes!

28) 1 JD DVDs from the Balad

29) Cab drivers. Love 'em or hate 'em, Jordan wouldn't be the same without them!

30) How every place in Jordan delivers. From McDonalds to Argeeeleh places

31) How you get coerced into eating till you pass out at 3azaiem (feasts)

32) How guys are prepared to get into fights in defense of “their” football team

33) How everyone has a mobile phone, from CEOs to housemaids

34) Ramadan atmosphere

35) Walking in Amman

36) The view from Jabal Amman

37) How you can buy newspapers/flowers/gum/plasters at the traffic light

38) The view of the King Hussein Mosque at night

39) Balad sights and sounds

40) How we don’t acknowledge maps or street names. It’s always next to some place you know!

41) Street cats!

42) How you don’t need to go to the car-wash. The 7ares across the street will wash it for you for a small fee

43) How older men with mustaches and a frown are considered prestigious

44) how our streets flood every time it rains

45) How you can have a tab at the local mini-market

46) How every health issue is attributed to low B12 levels

47) How it doesn’t matter how old you are, there will always be someone to tell you to put on a jacket when it’s cold outside

48) “Dora” or corn cob carts

49) Sha3er banat or cotton-candy sellers with their harmonicas

50) Barbecues with family and friends in the summer

Roba's compilation

Naseem's tweet digest

Hajjaj Cartoon of the Day

2010-01-20T22:46:00.002+02:00

Jordan's War on Terror

2010-01-15T10:21:00.006+02:00

What's been happening in Jordan for the past month has been truly unprecedented.

Hummam al Balawi, a Jordanian informant pulled off the worst attack against the CIA in over 25 years. Balawi, a trusted informant of the General Intelligence Department was recruited by the CIA to try and infiltrate the higher circles of AL Qaeda and help in the capture of Al Qaeda's second most important man, Aiman al Thawahri. Balawi, however, had kept his allegiance to Al-Qaeda all along, and in a suicide bombing, he killed 7 top CIA officials along with his Jordanian GID supervisor, Sharif Ali Bin Zeid, a distant member of the royal family.

The repercussions of this attack have been staggering. Besides resulting in immense embarrassment for both the CIA and the Jordanian government, it raised too many questions to be answered.

Should Jordan be helping the CIA in their war against terror? Some say after the Amman bombings in 2005, we had no choice but to enter such a war, while others argue that fighting a war alongside the US will only drive more people into Al Qaeda . One cannot ignore the similarity to the US's decision to fight the war against terror in Iraq after the 9/11 bombings.

Even after the Amman bombings, more than 30% of the Jordanian population was actually pro-Qaeda, and if the Sharif Bin Zeid wasn't one of the victims, the majority would've idolized Al Balawi and considered him a hero.

I have no answers on what stance we should be taking, but whatever it is, Jordanians need to be made aware of it. How can Jordan fight a war against al-Qaeda if there's a not-so-small percentage of Jordanians who are actually supporting them? Just the past week a Jordanian fighter in the Taliban was killed in an American military operation. The government says of its involvement in Afghanistan as "finding the root of where terrorists plot and stopping them there". While that is legitimate, it is also pointless if there are terrorists in the making right here. It is time for the government to address the mentality that defends terrorism, rather than pretend it doesn't exist.

Must-reads:

1) Shooting Your Foot: Jordan’s Afghanistan And CIA Connection (Black Iris)
2) Humam Balawi Video Surfaces On Al Jazeera & Other Notes From Jordan (Black Iris)
3) Photo Of The Moment | Jordanian Taliban Fighter Mahmoud Zeidan’s Funeral Contrasts (Black Iris)
4) Islamists Press Jordan to Stop Aiding U.S. Forces in Afghanistan (New York Times)
5) Jordan emerges as key CIA counterterrorism ally (Washington Post)
6) هل يؤيد الأردنيون "القاعدة"؟ (Alghad)

On University Registrations

2009-12-31T18:28:00.002+02:00

Ah registration. Ever since my first semester, it's always been a stressful event. Despite there being an online system, students always have to try to register as soon as possible before the sections close and they either end up with a terrible schedule or have to go beg someone to let one more person into their section.

Registration this time was exceptionally stressful, however. Not only did they make it on a Friday, when no one has the option of going to the university if something doesn't work out, but they also made it on Christmas day. Now it would've been fine if all we had to do was simply log in when it starts and register, but after 5 semesters of experience with our registration department, we know very well that they never start on time, so all we do is keep refreshing the page until it opens. So assuming this year wouldn't be any different, I, along with half the student body spent 6-8 hours refreshing the same page. And when it did finally start at 2 PM, turns out they changed the entire system so we couldn't register for half our courses.

It was an unbelievable waste of time, and I decided to send an email about it to both the registration department and the university's president. The registration department didn't even budge, but much to my surprise, the president actually replied a day later telling me to come see him. He told me that my comments were taken into consideration and even apologized for setting registration on Christmas day and I must say I was very impressed. We tend to complain a lot, but I felt like this time complaining actually helped in doing some good.

And this is why I urge everyone who has a problem to complain, to the right person at least. Maybe nothing will happen, but then again you might actually get your opinion heard and help solve whatever problem you and a whole lot of other people are facing.

A New Government. Yeah, so?

2009-12-10T18:02:00.007+02:00

While the decision to dissolve the parliament about two weeks ago was met with pure joy and relief, the appointment of a new prime minister was met with either disappointment or most probably indifference. Sameer Rifai, the new prime minister is the third generation of a family of prime ministers, something that probably happens only in Jordan.

I like to think of the whole thing as a game. There's this circle of elitists, the ones allowed to play, all of whom at one point or another were ministers or CEOs and every couple of years one of them gets their turn as the top player. Now this top player would proceed to "reshuffle" the current players, or if he's looking for some change, add a couple of new ones. The field that each player is in charge of is truly irrelevant to their area of expertise. Now once the parliament is elected, the game of who destroys who first begins! Fun fun fun.

So I don't really think it matters who gets picked as the prime minister, the same cycle of events seems to repeat itself regardless of how optimistic we are of the new government. But not to be part of the blame culture, because we should take the blame as well. We should be part of a responsible, incorrupt election that would result in a parliament that speaks for the citizens rather than attack them, but hey that's just wishful thinking.

Once again, Emad Hajjaj depicts it best.

Amman Stand-Up Comedy Festival 09

2009-12-06T15:14:00.006+02:00

Yesterday I went to the second night of the Amman Comedy Festival that was organized by the Greater Amman Municipality and it was a great show! First of all, just entering the place makes you feel like a VIP, with all the people smiling at you and telling you to have a great night. Not something you see in Amman everyday.

They started right on time, and we were sitting in the very first row, practically on stage that each stand up would make jokes about the people in the row (a married couple and a lady with 3 kids in particular became the targets of maaany jokes!). Dean Obeidallah from the Axis of Evil did a great job in hosting the show and Nemr Abou Nassar and of course Maz Jobrani were the funniest.

I have to give it to the municipality, they've been doing a great job with cultural events. You just feel like Amman's growing culturally, from the marathon which was very well-organized to other events like Fastwalk Jordan (it's not organized by the GAM but without their help wouldn't have been able to become as widespread as it is today).

These are a couple of videos I took, the first is of Nemr Abou Nassar and the second is a video of Maz Jobrani shaking it! A girl actually raised her hand in the middle of the show and asked him to do the infamous happy birthday dance, but sadly he didn't oblige...

City Light Hack

2009-11-09T18:39:00.008+02:00

City Light Hack is a project that was performed by the IEEE student branch in GJU in 30/10/2009 and was deemed a truly successful project, the first of its kind in the Middle East. IEEE (Institute of Electronics and Electrical Engineers) is a global organizations with more than 300,000 members in universities around the world, and the GJU branch's first project was City Light Hack.

What they did is they turned a building in Madina Monawarra St. with 6x5 windows into a big dot matrix screen by controlling the building's lights using a computer and a board. It's not as easy as it sounds, there's A LOT of programming involved and it took a bunch of 20 students about 3 months of programming and trial and error and succeeded in a project that was only performed in a couple of more countries in the world (it failed in Dubai!).

The video below shows scenes from the show, which despite the rainy whether gathered quite an audience and even caused traffic jams because the people driving would just stop their cars and watch. The police even tried to stop the show at one point!

So congratulations to the team and here's to more amazing achievements!

Event reported in Ammon

Project website

Sexual Harassment & Blaming the Victim

2009-09-15T19:21:00.006+03:00

Reading the comments on this article, I had a hard time controlling my blood pressure. The article discusses sexual harassment against women and how it is still present in Ramadan. First of all, what did ya expect? With all due respect, who doesn't have moral standards for the 11 months of the year isn't going to suddenly develop some, holy month or not. Second of all, the prevailing mentality seems to always blame the women and practically fear them for their "fitnah".

Now I understand that there is such a thing as a provocative outfit that could attract more attention to a female, but any female above the age of 12 who has spent more than one hour walking a street in Jordan will tell you, the demeaning comments will come whether you're wearing a Jilbab, a veil or a a normal jeans and t-shirt. Also, there is something very wrong with a culture that divides women into fully veiled and therefore decent and not veiled or not properly veiled and therefore have no morals.

So it really pisses me off to tell me that it's my fault for being insulted by an asshole with no manners who considers my walking down the street an invitation for him to express his carnal thoughts.

And for the commentators who blame the women, are you comparing yourselves to animals who just can't control themselves at the sight of a woman? By what logic should we lock up the women at home -several comments seemed to suggest that-, if you're the animal that cannot be controlled? I say we should lock YOU up.

I know I'm preaching to the wrong audience here, but sexual harassment is an issue that hits a nerve for each woman. It is an issue that needs to be strictly dealt with, and not by blaming the victim but by punishing the offender. I'm not one to encourage violence, but I think every woman should buy a taser and stun the hell out of any asshole who dares to come near her.

What's the Deal With Quest?

2009-09-10T02:58:00.007+03:00

Ok so it seems a lot of people are entering this supposedly lucrative business of network or multilevel marketing, namely this company called Quest. If you've been approached, probably one of your friends or acquaintances has tried to wow you with this fascinating presentation about the business. You can become a millionaire with the least effort possible, all you have to do is buy JD500 worth of their so-called unique online products and you're in. Now what you have to do is keep making these presentations for people in order to recruit them so they'd buy the products in turn. And the more people you recruit, the more money you make.

Frankly I've done some research about it, and the whole thing is just too fishy, I'm not buying it. Their products are incredibly overpriced and you can only get them if you want to get in the business. Old members have to recruit new members in order to make money, but won't this have to stop at some point? Eventually the new members will be unable to recruit any more members, the very basis of what is called a pyramid scheme. Moreover, they fascinate you with their endorsements from FIFA and United Nations (even the Vatican!) but when I actually looked it up, I couldn't find a source other than the Quest websites themselves to verify this information.

Now some people I know have actually made some money already, but I fear they're making it from their friends and family who may very well lose. So my question is, does anyone know anything about this?

Dear Orange, YOU SUCK

2009-09-09T14:05:00.004+03:00

The Black Iris is trying to make a campaign or a social experiment to see if we can do something other than complain, and I am more than happy to participate because God knows how much Orange piss me off. We don't get the speed we're paying for, if you try calling their customer services you're left to wait for a number of hours and the only thing they are persistent at is practically threatening their customers to pay. So spread this letter around if you agree that Orange SUCK.

Dear Orange Telecom (and all Jordanian service providers),

It’s been a while since I’ve written. In fact, I’m simply terrible at keeping in touch, so let me get straight to the point. You have a problem and it’s starting to affect others around you. Just like that guy at the gym who refuses to wear deodorant, we’ve started to notice. Indeed, something stinks terribly about your level of service, which I was for-warned about but was prepared to forgo in order not to deal with the hassles of third-parties. I wanted to deal directly with the source. Instead, the source has given a daily blinking red “disconnected” light.

All in all, I feel bamboozled. Swindled. Cheated. Robbed. And to a large extent, those adjectives are not far from the truth. For the 2MB connection that I receive from you, and which I pay a generous 50JDs a month for - has now, on average, gone down to around 0.60MB. It’s still the beginning of the month so I know I haven’t used up any of your very limited download capacity. I know that much.

I’m writing to you now about how your problem is affecting me, because you are someone who has been consistently communicating to me your own needs, and a good relationship always requires a two-way street when it comes to communication. You constantly send me your news in the form of an SMS. Something that states:

Dear Orange internet customer you have reached 70% of your download capacity, to extend your download capacity & avoid speed downgrade, please call our customer care at…

or…

Dear Orange Customer, we would like to kindly remind you to settle the bills due on your internet service within 1 week. Thank you from Orange internet.

See? You’re always communicating your needs to me. And I would kindly oblige to your requests but see, our relationship has sort of become like that broke uncle who’s always asking to “borrow” some money, and you just know you won’t get it back. As far as I know, that’s not how our relationship should be. Our relationship is supposed to be based on give and take: I give you something, you take it, and I expect a little giving in return.

To put it bluntly, I expect to get what I paid for.

And please do not ask me to call your customer service because that’s like asking me to explore new levels of frustration and I’m just not in to masochism. The person on the other end of the phone never knows what they’re talking about and you end up wasting 15 minutes with them (which I suppose is good for Orange Telephone), and this is after waiting 30 minutes to get through to a representative. They end up arranging for a visit by one of the technical crew, and that is a visit that requires at least a week of being Internet-less.

No, it’s not just you. I have met few people who are genuinely happy with the level of service they receive from the telecom sector in general. It seems the only good thing these companies are excellent at is taking their customers’ money. And by the way, even that requires me to line up for 40 minutes while tellers are busy servicing other people who are shopping around for a phone; why counters dedicated to bill payments cannot be arranged, I don’t know.

So how can I help but feel cheated?

And I won’t even mention my dropped cell phone calls in this letter.

If there’s one conclusion to be drawn from experience in the Jordanian sphere, it’s that we are relatively good at providing a serivce but terrible at delivering a service. In other words, we’re great with coming up with the next great marketable idea and taking money for that idea, but exchange is never mutual. We never get what we paid for.

And I know. This post might fall on deaf ears as others have. After all, why should any company that makes a great deal of money every year bother listening to its customers?

But fellow blogger Jad may have been on to something when it comes to starting an online campaign. It might need a better name, but I’m betting that bloggers and their readers alone can force a change simply by blogging about a company such as yours, and simply by putting Orange Jordan in their post titles, a little bit of tagging, a little bit of twittering, digging, Facebooking and other nifty weapons at our disposal, we can probably have our posts reach Google’s top ten ranking. So every time someone searches for your company, some of the most pertinent results they’ll get involve unsatisfactory reviews from your customers. And if you think that’s never made a difference, well, Google around and see if it ever has (try Dell for starters).

How else is a customer supposed to react when their satisfaction is no longer guaranteed? When they can no longer communicate effectively with their service provider?

I wanted this relationship to work out; I really did. But I feel like you haven’t given me any choices. It’s just been one bad thing after the other and I’m writing to let you know that I might be ready to move on. I know, I know. Our relationship didn’t last too long, but we all deserve a little happiness in our life. You once wrote to me that “Internet = Life”. I saw your message all over town in fact. It was sweet. But if that equation is true then I’m afraid, it seems, I can’t have that kind of happiness with you. So I want you to know, just so this is all out in the open, that I am starting to look for other people.

But whatever happens, I promise to stay in better touch with you (depending on the stability of my connection).

Yours Sincerely,
Naseem Tarawnah

Cervical Cancer Vaccine: The Controversy

2009-09-05T23:59:00.002+03:00

Last month's "Living Well" had an interesting topic over Gardasil, the vaccine against cervical cancer. Definitely one of the greatest breakthroughs in the medical field over the past few years has been the development of this vaccine which prevents 70% of cervical cancer cases, the second most common form of cancer among women worldwide. The vaccine should be given to girls ages 9 to 25 as three shots over the course of 6 months with each shot costing 150 JD if memory serves.

So what's the problem? We've come up with a vaccine for cancer! Why would any parent refuse such a vaccine for their daughters? All cervical cancer cases are caused by strains of a virus called HPV which is sexually transmitted. And when the words sexually transmitted are involved, the average middle-eastern parent will become utterly offended by the fact that they're even offering a "sex shot" as it was referred to in the magazine. Such a vaccine will be seen as a green card for girls to start having sex, as if the only thing standing between them and promiscuity is the chance of contracting cervical cancer. One interviewed mother said she would not give the vaccine to her daughter, but were they to develop it for males she would give it to her son.

Tell me one thing, though. Do you tell your child to go play with rusty nails after giving him a tetanus shot? Would you kiss a flu patient because you've had your flu shot? Of course not. A vaccine is not a green card for anything, it is simply a rational precaution against a known disease. And to have anyone die from something completely preventable is absurd, in my opinion. One woman said "I'd rather live with the unfounded suspicion of my daughter sleeping around than to bury her one day because of my irrational decision".

I think at least there needs to be awareness about the subject so parents can know about it before it's too late. I for one had no idea the vaccine was available in Jordan.

So what do you think? Should Gardasil be given to girls? And for the ladies under 25, would you take it? For the parents, would you give it to your daughters?

My Thoughts on CEDAW

2009-08-04T17:39:00.003+03:00

A little late to the party, I suppose. I honestly didn't think the discussion would keep going till now, but people can't seem to give it a rest. And by people I mostly mean organizations pertaining to the Islamic Brotherhood.

Firstly, let me state something very clearly, I KNOW that Jordan is an Islamic country. I know that the personal status law which applies to people of all religions living in the country follows the Islamic law. I do know that.

What seems to bother the Brotherhood and more recently the Council of Ifta' are articles 15 and 16, which in a nutshell, guarantee women the freedom to travel and reside freely, as well as equal rights in marriage, occupation, etc. I will not go into discussion as to why would Islam disagree with the previous notions, because in the end it is a personal opinion. But this i will say: Jordan is not Saudi Arabia. We don't apply Islamic teachings to every part of our lives. We don't force women to wear headscarves, we don't force people into mosques at prayer time and we won't chop your hand off for stealing. The Jordanian constitution guarantees freedom of religion, and by that I don't just mean the right for non-Muslims to practice their rites of worship, but also the right for Muslims to choose whether to apply the teachings of Islam to their lives or not.

And that is why I don't think CEDAW should pose a problem. If certain women don't believe it is their right to travel freely, then by all means, don't. No one is forcing you to. What CEDAW does is guarantee this right for people who don't agree with that. What it does is provide women with the choice. I find nothing wrong with that, and if truly there is no compulsion in religion, then this shouldn't even be an issue.

Go ahead now, proceed to chopping my head off in the comment section xD

About the Recent Swine Flu Outbreak in Jordan

2009-07-27T20:27:00.006+03:00

It's all in the newspapers by now, 13 teenagers have come back with swine flu from a camp in Ajloun, the largest number of people to contract the disease at once so far. I know a couple of people who were at the camp so I have a second-hand account of the events.

Firstly the camp, organized by Christian churches, takes place each summer and a couple of times throughout the year, and most of the participants are about 16 or 17 with older leaders and supervisors present as well. After the camp ended on Friday, two of the participants tested themselves after coming down with the symptoms and were found positive, so all those who took part in the camp were brought to the Prince Hamza Hospital, and those with a temperature of 38 or higher were quarantined and had samples taken to be tested. The results take about a day to come out.

From what I heard, the parents and those who were kept at the hospital were very disappointed with the way things were handled. The hospital is not well-equipped, conditions are far from sanitary and the section where they stay is very understaffed, with only one doctor and two nurses. The parents struggled to find a doctor to answer their questions. It makes me wonder if we really are as ready to handle an influx of cases should they happen as the Ministry of Health has been saying.

Contrary to what's being said in the newspapers, there weren't any participants from the UK, and only one from the US and one from Lebanon, and both tested out negative, so till now the source of the outbreak is still unknown. And with 6 new cases discovered today, I doubt the disease can be contained any longer.

Anyhow, Tamiflu was distributed to those who tested out negative and their families as a precaution, and those who do have swine flu are quarantined and prohibited from seeing anyone for the next 5 days. They're all doing fine though, they've got their laptops, DVDs and cards to entertain them! If you're going to go down with swine flu you might as well end up with your friends, I suppose!

7amdella 3al salameh to all.

Free Hugs in Jordan!

2009-07-06T14:45:00.006+03:00

Yes, yes, I'm a terrible blogger I know it. But this I just have to blog! Remember this video? It's one of my favorite videos ever. Well apparently the Sunny FM people got one of their employees to dress up in a ridiculously stupid costume and carry the Free Hugs sign around different places in Jordan, just like Juan Mann, the man who originally started the campaign. I kinda wish I would've bumped into them, but man what's with the costume?

But Jordanians, you need to get better at the hugging business. Maybe what we needed was a free cheek-kissing campaign. Now that we would be good at! Anyway kudos for Sunny for thinking this up! And for the brave dude who went around Jordan offering hugs. Maybe the purpose of the costume was protection against being beaten up? Kidding, kidding, we're very friendly people. Most of the time.

Souk Jara and Jadal

2009-05-23T13:33:00.016+03:00

One of my favorite things about Amman during the Summer is Souk Jara, the annual summer flea market in Jabal Amman. This year it kicked off just last week. Booths situated on each side of one of the oldest streets in Amman, selling unique merchandise, from antique jewelry to locally made Jo Bedu t-shirts. There are also small tables reminiscent of a "kan zaman" setting where you can sit and munch on saj sandwiches and have yourself an argeeleh. The best thing about it though are the concerts by local bands every week. We've got some seriously talented Jordanians!

Yesterday's concert was by Jadal, an Arabic rock band formed a couple of years ago. It was my first time seeing them in concert, and I loved it. Listening to the combination of slang Arabic lyrics and electric guitar tunes while enjoying the view overlooking the Citadel and al Balad was really quite an experience. Plus, the drummer is the cousin of a personal friend who requested her name be mentioned here (so here you go, Diana :D).

My favorite song is "Salma", I've been playing it non-stop since yesterday. You can download it at their website. Here are the lyrics as well.

سمِّي سلمى يا أختي سلمي أمرك و اتكلي
سلمى صغيرة راح تبكي من أول وهلة راح تشكي

سلمى عيونك يشوفوا الخير يشوفوا أمك بتصلي
تشوفي و تسمعي كل خير ما يهمك خالك بيغني

سلمى صغيرة راح تبكي و راح تملى بيوتنا بالضحكه
و بأعلى صوتها راح تحكي أنا بحبك يا أمي

Chorus:
سلمى عيوني بتستنى تشوف عنيكي و تتمنى
العمر كلو يا سلمى العمر الي بتمناه
العمر الي بتمناه العمر كلو يا سلمى

Verse :
سمِّي سلمى يا أختي سلمي أمرك و اتكلي
سلمى صغيرة راح تبكي من أول وهلة راح تشكي

سلمى عيونك يشوفوا الخير يشوفوا أمك بتصلي
تشوفي و تسمعي كل خير ما يهمك خالك بيغني

Chorus:
سلمى عيوني بتستنى تشوف عنيكي و تتمنى
العمر كلو يا سلمى العمر الي بتمناه
سلمى عيوني بتستنى تشوف عنيكي و تتمنى

سلمى عيوني بتستنى

P.S. Uploading photos to blogger is a major pain effft.

Good Blogger. Nice Blogger.

2009-05-21T17:30:00.001+03:00

Exploring the weird species that is bloggers.

If Zain Send Me One More Message....

2009-05-14T22:53:00.002+03:00

No I don't want to know the Manchester Barcelona game score or whatever that message was about, I don't want to receive your health tips and I most certainly don't want to send a joke so I can be "rewarded" by receiving two free jokes (oh joy!). So STOP sending 10 stupid message a day, or take your wonderful world and shove it somewhere. Jeeeez.

Queen Rania Joins Twitter!

2009-05-08T21:14:00.009+03:00

I have a LOT to complain about when it comes to how our country is run, but one thing I love is how the Royal Family are humble and try to stay connected with the people, especially technologically speaking. First a YouTuber, now Queen Rania has moved on to the next popular internet craze, Twitter, the microblogging website. She started her account only yesterday and has updated her status over 17 times. It's the real deal, in case you're wondering, her account has been confirmed by the Royal Court.

It seems that as with her YouTube page, the Queen intends to use this website to raise awareness about certain issues, this time being educating children. In her first and second tweets she says: "Salaam! Last time you heard from me, we worked together to breakdown stereotypes. This time, I want us to tweet together to get every child an education."

But what will probably interest you more are the personal tweets which give people an amazing insight into her life as a royalty. Check these out:

Wknd begins for us, watching Matthew McConaughey in Ghosts of Girlfriends Past. Glad I'm not single. It's vicious out there!

Nice movie to watch with girls; husband (real life action man) mumbling "chickflick!'' under breath. Spoilsport. Just kidding! Watch it... (haha my favorite)

Just choppered to airport to receive Pope. Husband piloting, he got acrobatic to quiet butterflies in stomach :) told u he was action man

Taking kids 2 meet Pope, just about convinced eldest 2 wear suit. Now negotiating with my 4 yr old!

Queen Rania is following 23 people at the time of this post, including Oprah, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Al Gore. She has over 3000 followers, and is personally replying to some of the messages people are sending her. Can't wait to see what she's coming up with next! I sure hope the King makes his own account.

Oh and in her bio, she describes herself as "A mum and a wife with a really cool day job.." Haha, you gotta love her!

h/t: The Observer

Swine Flu? Nah, They're Just Kidding

2009-05-05T09:44:00.004+03:00

I don't understand this poll on Alghad's website. It's asking if people think Swine Flu is an actual disease in reality. And over 30% so far have voted that they do not. They don't think it's a real disease? So what is it?

Encounter With a Creep

2009-05-03T07:56:00.004+03:00

One thing I like to do is walk. I usually go for a walk early in the morning, at like 6, when the air is still crisp and the streets are relatively empty. I mostly circle around the neighborhood. I've done it for the past three years I think and today for the very first time, I've had an incident with a creep.

I was walking like usual, with one of my iPod headphones in my left ear, so I can still hear any approaching cars or so. I am always aware of my surroundings. I noticed that there was a man walking behind me but didn't think much of it. He was medium built, wearing black pants with a black jacket, clicking away on his mobile. At some point I notice that he's walking exactly behind me, as in two steps away, so I thought it be best to just turn around, go in the other direction and let him go past me, what I usually do in such situations. So I turn around, but the bastard turns right with me. Staring at him I watch him put his phone right in front of my face. I realized at that point that he's been following me, presumably shooting a video or photos. Why else would he stick the mobile in my face. I flipped out. Screaming at him, I snag the mobile out of his hand but he manages to take it back and starts running. I start running behind him and chase him down for half a street but then he takes a turn, so I decide to turn around so I'd catch him from the other side, but he had disappeared. I'm thinking he hid in one of the garages of the apartment buildings in that area.

Why the hell was he photographing me is beyond me. I was wearing black, baggy sweat pants and my older brother's over-sized hoodie. Other than the pony tail, I swear I looked like a teenage boy.

A man driving in his car saw what happened and asked what's the matter and said he would drive around and see if he can find him. I kept walking around in the area hoping I'd run into him. I'm not sure what would have happened if I had caught up with him. I wish I had snatched his mobile so I'd be able to find out who he is. I don't think I've ever gotten this angry in my entire life. I wanted to beat the shit out of him so bad. I think he was surprised when he saw that I was chasing him. He wasn't expecting that.

But all is well. The whole thing is just a tiny incident, and other than a cut in my finger (I think from when he snatched the mobile back), nothing happened. I'm gonna keep taking my morning walks as usual. I hope I run into him again, though.

This is just to say to all you ladies out there to be careful. Be aware of your surroundings. And fight back. Creeps do exist.

Arab Stand-up Comedy!

2009-04-08T23:20:00.004+03:00

Apologies about the lack of blogging, people, I've been kind of busy with midterms and the such. But check this out. After the huge success of the Axis of Evil comedy tour, Showtime put together Minority Rules, a stand-up comedy show of Arab comics. I'm posting a couple of my favorites.

Here's a video of Egyptian Ronnie Khalil describing the stages of "ya lahwi" that Egyptian women experience!

And this is one of Wonho Chung. Yup, Won Ho. LOL. Wonho is a South-Korean who's lived in Jordan all his life. So i'm guessing it's part of our genetic structure then, that we are unable to breed funny people.

h/t: Laura

Earth Hour In Jabal Amman

2009-03-29T19:49:00.009+03:00

Yesterday I joined the candlelit march across the Rainbow Street in Jabal Amman and I must say I thought it was really nice. People gathered up at Wild Jordan Cafe where they were showing Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth", then at 8.30 the switch was turned off -really, there was a switch to turn the light off the entire street- and people walked around the street a couple of times with their candles and gathered back again at the Cafe till the lights were turned back on. The Minister of Environment Khaled Irani was also there and he walked along with the crowd.

Although the weather was pretty cold, and keeping the candles lit was almost impossible, the scene from Jabal Amman with the lights turned off and with the ambiance of the candles was beautiful. Maybe overall, it didn't provide the awareness it ought to have, but I think given it's our first year doing this, it wasn't so bad. Baby steps, I suppose.

I couldn't take any pictures (the grainy one on the right is the best thing I could take with my mobile camera), but I'll post if I receive any.

Earth Hour 2009: Turn Your Lights Off!

2009-03-28T11:39:00.004+03:00

Where?

Amman

What?

Turn your lights off

When?

Today from 8.30 till 9.30 PM

Why?

To raise awareness about Global Warming, Amman is one of the participating cities in the global campaign Earth Hour. Several streets in Amman will be turning off their lights.

There will also be a candlelit march in Rainbow St. in Jabal Amman at 8.30.

The irony is that I have two electric circuits exams tomorrow. Ugh.

Stop Getting So Offended

2009-03-27T12:22:00.015+03:00

Ah, just another boycott, this time against Alghad newspaper. I woke up today to find several invitations to a facebook group calling for the boycott of Alghad for publishing the Imad Hajjaj cartoon shown here.

[Cartoon shows Abu Mahjoob welcoming and baptizing Tony Blaire with filthy water in the baptism site, with the minister of water on the other side announcing that the contaminated waters did not affect the drinking water and were rerouted to the Jordan River.]

The cartoon spurred the catholic union to send a letter to Alghad's editor denouncing the cartoon because of the "hurtful insinuations it carries that offend not only Christians, but every good-willed citizen", also mentioning that this isn't the first time they've been offended by a Hajjaj cartoon.

This in turn caused Hajjaj to post a clarification on his website, that the caricature was not in any way a mockery of Christians or their traditions, but a sarcastic commentary of how the minister of water and irrigation announced that the water contaminated by Israel was disposed of in the Jordan river just a few days after the opening of the baptism center with Tony Blair attending the ceremony.

هذا الرسم لا يستهدف من قريب أو بعيد الإساءة للديانة المسيحية وأتباعها. ومن المهم هنا التأكيد على القضية الأساسية التي يبرزها الكاريكاتير وهو إعلان وزير المياه أن جميع المياه الملوثة قد تم التخلص منها في نهر الأردن بعد أيام من تدشين معمودية مغطس نهر الأردن بحضور السيد توني بلير. أي أن حل مشكلة التلوث كان بتلويث النهر المقدس الذي يتعمد فيه الحجاج المسيحيين من كل العالم، وهذا ما يرفضه رسام الكاريكاتير شكلا وموضوعا.

The cartoon was posted yesterday and already 3 groups have been created calling for boycotting the newspaper and Imad Hajjaj, created by people who, I'm sure, have no idea of the underlying meaning of the cartoon. The sensitivity of people when it comes to anything bordering religion is unbelievable. You do not object the fact that what you regard as a holy site is being pumped with sewage but a cartoon offends you? Seriously save your energy and outcries for bigger things, like oh I don't know, drinking sewage and radiation infested water.

[On a completely unrelated note, this is the 100th post on this blog!]

Honor Crimes: Enough Is Enough

2009-03-24T22:25:00.011+02:00

Yes I've been trying to ignore the subject lately. Because every time I read about another case, I feel like a little part of me dies inside. We're watching innocent victims die every other day and we're doing nothing. I feel so angry at the fact that there ARE people who can be doing something about it but they're not. I've said this before and I'm going to say it again. There's no point of trying to make Jordan look like the modern country where equality prevails when women are being murdered frequently and their killers are set free. I couldn't care less if we have female police officers or plumbers as long as a father can kill his daughter for wearing makeup and be guaranteed to get away with it. The last time somebody tried to do something about it was almost 10 years ago. A decade ago. Since then nothing has been done and this disgusting charade continues. What scares me is that we've gotten so used to them to the point where no possible story could shock us. We ALL need to become outraged by this. We should never accept it as the status quo.

So here's a start. Join in Kinzi's initiative to flood the Jordan Times with emails about the subject expressing our anger. Just send in whatever feelings you have about this subject at jotimes@jpf.com.jo.

I've attached here Narmeen Murad's article in the Jordan Times.

A father and his two underage sons tortured and killed their 19-year-old daughter and sister because she reportedly was caught wearing makeup while out on an errand with her younger brother. Her uncle, who caught her apparently walking in an area other than the one she said she was going to, brought her back to her father and reported her “crime”.

I want to repeat this news. A young girl, a teenager, was relentlessly beaten with water hoses mercilessly and continuously by three men until she died. Initial reports indicate that the police arrested the three after she was declared dead by the doctor. The father, who led the two-hour beatings, shared his hose with his underage sons and encouraged them to join in the beating. Now this has been designated as an “honour crime”.

Welcome to Jordan in the 21st century. This case underlines the paradox of messages from this apparently modern country that has taken a leading position in the region with its progress despite its limited resources, yet still allows its human resources and future to remain hostage to archaic practices that have no relevance to the majority of society.

Parliament has rejected amendments to a law that would have banned the use of a ‘fit of fury’ clause to stop the practice of letting the perpetrators of crimes against women go free. Instead they have continued to support heartless and unnecessary murder, which is masked as a claim to have cleansed the honour of their families. This is the same Parliament that has failed women repeatedly thereby institutionalising open discrimination and the subordination of women to their male “guardians” as well as condoning violence against women.

The fact that Parliament does not fairly represent the makeup of society not only serves to maintain the integrity, and therefore supremacy, of only a certain category of people in the country politically - which is obviously the aim of the legislator - but it also allows this mentality to continue derailing all efforts to improve the legal status of women in the Kingdom. This Parliament, which was elected to serve all the people, has silenced half of the population because of their gender.

Women activists, including some of the most influential women in the country, have spoken out and advocated against what can only be described as stark legislative discrimination against women in Jordan, to no avail. The reason behind their failure is not that “society” is intrinsically against these changes, but because the cause of women has not been taken up by our male leaders who have left gender issues to women and forgot that it is the responsibility of societies as a whole to ensure that all members of that society are treated fairly and with justice.

When was the last time the prime minister made statements about improving the situation of women in Jordan? When was the last time the government intervened with Parliament and used its considerable clout to ensure the passing of laws that would change the lives of women for the better? Clearly there is no political will to improve the status of women in Jordan or even extend them the minimum protection against violence and inexplicable discrimination. As long as that political will is absent there will be no change.

An adult woman has the right to make choices in her life including personal ones. We all know this. We all know that men and women are equal in their humanity, their intelligence and their needs. We all know that it is not acceptable for any man to use force on a woman. We all know that the majority of Jordanians would not stand by idly and quietly and watch a woman being beaten to death without stepping in to stop it or even prevent it in the first place.

If we the people can’t stand to watch murder being perpetrated, how long are we going to accept that the government does exactly this? The government is watching the murder it has condoned.

Every single member of the Cabinet and every single senior official and every single journalist, judge, lawyer, activist and citizen who isn’t doing something to stop this “horror show” of crime against women, is doing exactly that: watching the long episode of torture and murder without batting an eyelid or lifting a finger. We watched this show 18 times last year. We have watched it seven times already this year. In every show a human being is robbed of their chance at life by an apathetic society.

I think we should all be ashamed of ourselves.

I really admire her courage to candidly speak about this. All I have to add is this: for all of you in a position of power, shame on you. From leadership to government to the parliament, shame on you. Do something. ANYTHING.

SuBerstar the Video

2009-03-23T18:08:00.003+02:00

I just loved this video, it's so creative and original and perfectly describes the lives of West Ammanis! It's a spoof of Nickelback's "Rockstar" song by Jordanian artist Humam Amari. Make sure to check it out!

Also check this bloopers video, it's hilarious!

Becoming A Cynic

2009-03-19T23:14:00.006+02:00

Usually I would spend a minimum of an hour a day reading up on newspapers online from alghad to ammon and so on. But lately I haven't been in the mood at all. Lately everytime I open the homepage of the news site, I'd just get frustrated and exit. I'm so sick of politics and I'm beginning to believe it's not the way to change anything around here. I wouldn't even know where to start. I don't know what's the way to change anything around here. I'm becoming more and more pessimistic everyday.

I didn't expect to become a cynic so soon.

Against Cyber Censorship: Why I Will Continue to Speak

2009-03-12T19:10:00.006+02:00

Reading Naseem's post really got me thinking. People continue to ask me about why I insist on writing on subjects that are considered controversial or somewhat sensetive (i.e. anything that relates to criticizing officials and the such). Just yesterday I was warned by family members that I need to be more careful about what I write, because there can be dire concequences, and that it's just not worth it. That it's pointless.

But it's not pointless. Not for me. Everybody knows there can be dire consequences and we are all reminded of that very often. But we HAVE to say something because otherwise we're basically pretending to live in this bubble where everything is okay and it's not. There can be no progress whatsoever if people are unable to criticize whatever it is that determines their lives. How can you NOT speak out when you're not okay with how things are decided for YOU?

“We are at a point where the state isn’t being tested to the extent of which it should when it comes to free speech online, and those boundaries need to be pushed. As Jordanians, we should be taking the opportunity to use the net in a manner that allows us to critically analyze our country from a political, economic, social and cultural perspective - constantly.”

And that's why I will continue to speak out. I don't mean you should go on bashing people but how about we start thinking about how our lives are being run? We are lucky that we have the opportunity to speak. And we should use it.

BAJD: I Love Jordan

2009-03-12T16:53:00.017+02:00

Skimming through my previous posts, I sometimes think my blog can give the wrong idea about Jordan for someone who doesn't know a whole lot about life here. I use this blog mostly to vent about things that drive me insane, but the truth of the matter is that I really love this country. It's where I was born. It's where I've spent my 19 years of existence. It's part of my identity.

But see for me, it's not about being a Jordanian. It's about loving this country and wanting to be a part of its progress. And people who complain about everything here without actually doing something bug me just as much as those who don't want to admit we have problems. We do, there's nothing wrong with that as long as we're willing to do something about it.

I've been thinking for a while about how I could possibly explain why I love Jordan, but I'm still not sure how I can.

It's the place I will always come back to.

It's home.

BAJD

Press Freedom Hits a New Low: Journalist Referred to Court for an Online Article

2009-03-08T22:31:00.013+02:00

““In Jordan there will be no detention of any journalist for carrying out his/her duty.”
“Detention of journalists is prohibited. I do not see a reason for detaining a journalist because he/she wrote something” or for expressing a view."

King Abdullah/November 2008

Today, Journalist Khalid Mahadeen, was referred to court by the general prosecutor, for "defamation" after criticizing the privileges given to parliament members in this ONLINE article. I may, therefore, want to choose my words carefully, but nah, the hell with it, just explain this to me. Are the King's words considered bupkis now? He says something one day, and the next day people do the EXACT OPPOSITE?? If people are scared shitless of opening their mouths when it comes to royalty, how come there's no inclination to implementing what is being said every couple of months?

Sky's the limit, eh?

Tell that to Mahadeen while he's being dragged through courts and humiliating interrogations, probably to be eventually paid off at some point.

Newspapers Appoint Women Editors for International Women's Day

2009-03-07T21:17:00.006+02:00

Thought this was pretty interesting. Ammon is reporting that it is appointing the editor of the english Ammon as the official editor of the online news site for tomorrow, March 8th, in celeration of International Women's Day. Other major newspapers are also participating such as the Jordan Times, Alrai, Aldustour and Al Arab Al Youm.

It's good to see something actually being done, even if just for one day.

After Doubling Ministers' Salaries, PMs to Receive a JD2000 Raise

2009-03-07T08:56:00.012+02:00

I think what surprises me the most is that I continue to be surprised at what can only be described as pure corruption. Not an ounce of decency left. Not so much as simple reservation or consideration towards the average citizen suffering to make ends meet.

About a week ago, a recommendation to raise Parliament Members salaries from JD2500 to JD4500 was approved. This took place during a meeting between Lower House Speaker Abdul Hadi Majali and Prime Minister Nader Dahabi, who not only approved it, but encouraged it as well. But such a raise, if instated, is suspected to be faced with objection from the majority of the members.

This is because Parliament members who are eligible to a pension before having become a member of the Parliament can combine both their pension and the member's salary, which definitely amounts to more than JD4500. This is applicable to about 75 members- those who reached retirement from previous jobs. With the rest feeling all left out, the government sees this raise, provided that combining the salaries is no longer allowed, as a solution to those feelings of hostility and resentment among parliament members, resulting from the "whose salary is higher" complex. This "solution" will cost an extra 1 million JDs, paid for by janabna, the taxpayers.

Getting elected into the parliament is quite the lucrative business. Not only do they receive two huge salaries, one of which encounters a raise at least twice a year (last raise was in June), but they also receive university scholarships, an exemption from duty tax, which they can sell, and a quota for Hajj. And for what? Working a maximum of 5 months a year for 4 years (mostly spent fighting with one another).

And if you haven't heard already, the ministers of the new government have doubled their salaries from JD1500 to JD3000.

We should all be mad as hell. And we shouldn't take this shit anymore.

Are You Prepared?

2009-02-27T11:36:00.006+02:00

Can't wait to hear radio stations refer to snow as الزائر الأبيض (the white visitor)

Or to watch JTV for that one time a year when your satellite dish has accumlated snow and doesn't receive any other channels.

Or to watch everything come to a halt regardless of whether it actually does snow. The anticipation of snow is enough to do that here.

Or to call the electric company 15 times a day to get them to send someone to fix that wire across the street.

I love this time of year!

Why Smoking Bans Will Be Ignored

2009-02-20T04:41:00.006+02:00

When the Parliament, the place where "representatives" of the people create laws , implements a smoking ban, maybe people will start taking this a little more seriously.

A Jordanian Valentine

2009-02-15T22:40:00.005+02:00

HAHAHAHA! That would be a donkey painted red in Ramtha to make fun of people's obssession with Valentine's Day.

Poor donkey.

[Source]

The Assassination of Khalid Mashaal

2009-02-11T10:49:00.010+02:00

This is a story that has always fascinated me. It sounds like a plot taken out of some espionage movie but happened right here in Jordan, and fairly recently as well: in 1997 (though I have no recollection of it at the time). Before the expulsion of the Hamas movement from Jordan, Mashaal, currently chairman of the movement, was the chief of the Jordanian branch and resided in Amman. He was the target of an assassination attempt under orders of then Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. But what’s weird is that I stumbled across two completely different accounts of the actual attempt. Behold:

Scenario 1: Mossad agents, in the country posing as Canadian tourists, broke into a home where Mashaal was sleeping and injected a deadly poison into his neck. Jordanian authorities arrested two of the ten agents who were engaged in the attempt. [Source: Wikipedia]

Scenario 2: And this is the story that I had previously heard. This one took place in broad daylight. On September 25th, 1997, two Mossad agents brushed past Mashaal on his way to office and attached a device to his ear that unleashed the poison into his body. The agents quickly got into a getaway car but were captured by the police after being cornered by Mashaal’s bodyguard. They were found to be carrying Canadian passports which turned out fake. [Source: The American Jewish Yearbook 1998]

Both scenarios had the same ending though. As Mashaal lay dying in a hospital bed, a furious King Hussein demanded that Israel deliver the antidote to the untraceable poison, which at first Netanyahu refused but then turned over after increasing pressures, and Mashaal survived the attempt.

The Mossad agents in custody were later released in exchange for the release of Ahmad Yassin, the founder of Hamas who was serving a life sentence in an Israeli prison. The entire episode helped Mashaal’s rise to power in the movement.

Pretty fascinating, huh?

It's pretty ironic that if Netanayahu wins, he would have to deal once again with the same man he tried to kill.

In Remembrance

2009-02-07T13:40:00.003+02:00

"All what we hope for is that a day will come, when we have all gone, when people will say that this man has tried, and his family tried. This is all there is to seek in this world."

King Hussein (1935-1999)

A Thought

2009-02-05T16:42:00.003+02:00

Just like we wouldn’t label a child as liberal or conservative, democrat or republican, shouldn’t we, by the same logic, refrain from labeling children as Muslim, Christian or Jewish? If they are too young to understand politics, aren’t they just as young to understand religion? You could argue that while politics is something one would choose, religion is not. But shouldn’t religion, something that determines one’s way of life, be taken out of conviction and not by inheritance?

I’m not looking to start a discussion on religions here, I am merely pointing out the absurdity in labeling children of a certain religion, or in teaching them JUST their parents’ religion.

Critical Thinking

2009-02-04T22:27:00.011+02:00

What is critical thinking?

The disciplined process in which you analyze, reflect and apply prior knowledge (making connections and using schema) to get the best answer possible. It's about learning "how" to think rather than "what" to think.

Why is critical thinking important?

All actions, decisions and judgments spring from assumptions-if they are unchecked or inappropriate, we will make poor decisions and wrong judgments.

Answer with a yes or a no: (think of it first before you check the answer!)

Police: Sorry, but only people with a special ZZ permit can park here

Driver: Well, since I have a ZZ permit, that means I can park here.

Is the driver right?

When the police officer told the driver, "Sorry, but only people with a special ZZ permit can park here," the driver thought "Well, since I have a ZZ permit, that means I can park here." But, as it turns out, the driver is incorrect in thinking that this follows. Now, can you explain WHY the driver's inference was faulty?

Answer: the important little word here is 'only.' When the parking policy is that only those with a ZZ permit can park in the lot, that means that having a ZZ permit is necessary in order to park there, but it doesn't state that having a ZZ permit is a sufficient condition to park there. So, while the driver may have met one condition for parking in the lot, there may be other conditions that are yet unmet that are barring them from parking. The word 'only' is quite technical. When the IRS says "only those who have done such-and-such are eligible for a deduction," that doesn't mean that doing such-and-such automatically gets you that deduction. Knowing how the word 'only' behaves is very important!

A whole bunch of other tricky questions here.

Where's That Judicial Reform?

2009-01-30T13:25:00.019+02:00

I wanna scream bloody murder at this point.

"A 19-year-old man walked free from the Criminal Court on Wednesday after receiving a six-month prison term for murdering his sister and her alleged Syrian lover in Azraq last year.
The defendant was released as he had already served over six months while on trial.
The court declared A. F., a shepherd, guilty of shooting to death his 23-year-old sister and the 17-year-old Syrian after spotting them walking together in the early hours of March 8, 2008.
The same court acquitted the defendant's two cousins, aged 31 and 33, of complicity
in murder charges for lack of evidence."

[Source]

Ma 3aleina. We've seen a lot more shocking crimes than this. Plus the details or the motives are pretty much irrelevant during the actual trial. "Ah, you murdered your sister, you say? To reclaim your honor? No problem! Acquitted!"

But you see this is what's making me fly over the cookoo's nest here:

The court decided to amend the premeditated murder charges to a misdemeanour as stipulated in Article 98 of the Penal Code, because the defendant "committed his crime in a moment of rage".

Constitutionally, the fit of fury crap piece of law should only be used in cases which are NOT PREMEDITATED. Hear that? Not freaking meditated, as in not previously planned, as in saw something, happened to have a weapon at hand then INSTANTLY committed a murder.

But from yesterday's Alghad story:

وأوضح ان المتهم الأول اتصل بأبناء عمومته المتهمين الثاني والثالث وأخبرهما بالأمر، حيث اتفقوا على أخذ أسلحة نارية والبحث عن المغدورين وقتلهما فور العثورعليهما.
وتابع القرار أن المتهمين خرجوا بواسطة سيارة "بكب" يعود للمتهم الثاني وبعد البحث عثروا على المغدور داخل محمية الشومري، حيث قاموا بوضعه في صندوق الـ"بكب" وأجبروه على دلالتهم على مكان المغدورة، وعندما وصلوا اليها أشهروا جميعاً أسلحة نارية غير مرخصة وبدأوا بإطلاق النار على المغدورين الى أن أردوهما قتيلين.

The suspect called his two cousins, and they agreed to take firearms, look for the two victims and kill them when they find them.

The three defendants took a pickup truck and found the victim in Al-Shomari Reserve, put him in the trunk and forced him to disclose the female victim's location. When they found her, they drew their unlicensed guns and shot them dead.

[Source]

This is not premeditated?

THIS IS YOUR JUDICIAL SYSTEM? These are the people entrusted to ensure JUSTICE? Is this JUSTICE?

I swear I am pretty close to committing a crime "in a fit of fury" over this.

Where's your judicial reform, Jordan...?

Mother of Six Gives Birth to Octuplets

2009-01-30T12:54:00.005+02:00

Octuplets as in 8 children. No seriously, what the hell is wrong with people?

" The mother of a woman in California who gave birth on Monday to octuplets said her daughter already has six children at home and was undergoing fertility treatment.

The Los Angeles Times reported on Thursday that Angela Suleman said her daughter had the embryos implanted last year, resulting in the eight births.

Suleman said she was concerned about her daughter's homecoming because her husband, a contract worker, is due to return to Iraq. "
[Source]

So you have six kids, your husband is getting deployed to another country and you implant yourselves with multiple embryos? Yes, I realise I'm being judgemental here but this is insane!

Honor Crimes in 2009: Two & Counting

2009-01-25T18:46:00.012+02:00

“ Zarqa criminal prosecutor has referred a 17-year-old youth, who confessed to murdering his younger sister over the weekend, to a juvenile court for further questioning.
The suspect, confessed to stamping on his 13-year-old sibling’s head several times with his boots, then stabbing her 30 times at their family home on January 21, to defend his family’s honour, a senior official source said.

The suspect then headed to the nearest police station and handed officers on duty a dagger which he claimed he “used to stab and kill his sister”, according to the source.

In his initial testimony, the suspect told investigators that he killed his sister after learning from his friends that a man gave her a piece of paper with his phone number written on it.
“The victim informed her mother about the paper and when the suspect came home he grabbed a knife and stabbed his sister, who denied any wrongdoing,” the source said.
The victim was rushed to hospital with multiple stab wounds to her chest, stomach, liver and back, but she was declared dead on arrival, according to the official source.
A postmortem conducted by government pathologists indicated that the victim was not sexually active. ”

What's going to happen to the brother? Well since he is a juvenile, he'll spend some time in some juvenile correctional centre at best then leave with a clear criminal record.

Meanwhile,

“ Criminal Prosecutor has charged a 73-year-old man with the manslaughter of his younger divorced sister in the second reported so-called honour crime since the beginning of the year.
The 19-year-old victim received three bullets to her head and chest.
The suspect claimed that he killed his sister due to “accusations by her ex-husband that she had a bad reputation and because she went missing from her home on several occasions”.

He told investigators that he shot his sister after seeing her attempting to leave the house without his knowledge, and also claimed that he had carried a gun for the past 30 years.
“These are all claims by the suspect, but we have expanded our investigations and are currently questioning the victim’s family members,” the official source said.
A senior judicial source confirmed to The Jordan Times on Saturday that 18 people were killed in so-called honour crimes last year in the Kingdom. ”
[Source]

The same disgustingly violent, ridiculous rituals of these crimes happening over and over again and nobody is doing a single thing about it. It's like honor crimes have become integrated into the country's traditions and customs.

And nobody is doing a damn thing about it.

And I don't understand how are we to change any stereotypes about us when murderers of innocent women are being set free.

It's sickening.

How You Can Still Help Gaza

2009-01-11T10:06:00.003+02:00

Reposted from the Black Iris.

A lot of people have been wondering how they can still help do something on-the-ground in Jordan when it comes to the situation in Gaza.

Here’s three things you can do:

First: 7iber needs volunteers who are willing to help sort and package goods just like last time, at the Aramex warehouse.

Second: 7iber is raising funds for urgent medical equipment. We’ve got 15,000JDs worth of equipment so far, but we’d like to have a significant leap in the number this week so we can send it as soon as humanly possible.

Third: Spread the word! Blog it! Repost it! Facebook it! Email it! SMS it!

For all the details JUST CLICK HERE

Something's Going Down Today

2009-01-09T11:23:00.009+02:00

Riot police are lining up all the way from the protest tents in Rabieh up to the hill leading to the embassy. They're all holding batons and shields, and carrying in small boxes what I suspect to be teargas. There's a tank at every exit and some roads leading up to the embassy are closed.

This is probably why.

Allah yostor.

UPDATE: After two hours of being allowed to protest, clashes between the protesters and the police started taking place. The protesters threw rocks at the police and tried to advance toward the embassy, so the police dispersed the crowds with teargas and water cannons. For updated info check 7iber's watwet channel.

Why I'm Against Annuling the Treaty

2009-01-02T23:22:00.020+02:00

Disclaimer: Before you go on to make a comment, bear in mind that I am an avid supporter of the Palestinian cause. I have not been "washed away" by Israeli propaganda nor can I begin to explain my fury and frustration at what is going on in Gaza right now.

I was reluctant to speak about this at first, because of all the vicious fights that I've observed around the blogosphere whenever this subject is discussed. But I'm putting my opinion out there so people can see the other side of the equation. The other opinion, that everybody I've met seems to be terrified to disclose.

I am very much against the annulment of the Jordanian-Israeli peace treaty, the closure of the Israeli embassy or the expulsion of the ambassador, and I cannot see what good it could possibly achieve or contribute in ending the massacre the Palestinians are currently facing.

Here's the thing. I understand the feelings of frustration and anger, I really do. I understand the feeling of helplessness that takes over you as you see the lives of over 400 people, 400 human beings just like you and me being taken away in a place not so far from what we call home. I understand how the Arab nation feels like something has to be done, something needs to be done, so that we stop feeling so inferior to the rest of the world, to do something after being persecuted for so many years. I understand that it was OUR land to begin with, and that the Israelis were the ones who came here and unrightfully took over what's not theirs. I understand all of that.

But here's what I also understand. This dreaded treaty between us and the Israelis, the treaty that protests have been calling to annul for at least 3 times (that I can remember) , is what's preventing Israelis from starting a war with us. It's also what's enabling us to send in the donations to help those in the battle-zone. I honestly don't understand those who want to go into "war" and start a "jihad" against the Israelis. We are a country of 5 million, we have very few resources, and to put it simply and clearly, there's no way in hell we can win a war against Israel. The reason Jordan has remained quite a safe country (considering the fact that we live in a war zone), is not exactly a miracle. It's because we've accepted the presence of the Jewish nation as a fact and let's face it, it's not going to go away anytime soon, and if you think otherwise, you are either affected by your emotions, or grossly overestimate the abilities of the very country you're criticizing.

And this is why I can't support the riots that have been breaking out all over the place. i couldn't be more angry about what's happening, but I frankly think you're a hypocrite if you tell me you're willing to sacrifice your freedom and safety to go into a battle, to go into a war, that you KNOW there's no way you can win. I like the fact that I live in a safe, secure country, where I can go about my daily life without fear of having my house brought down over my head. This doesn't mean we've given up. I'm not giving up. I make my voice heard to let the people around the world, who aren't being told the whole story, know that a massacre is taking place. There are other ways we can fight this war, and sacrificing this country is not one of them. We've done that once before and lost. We'd just be hitting the self-destruct button.

Also posted on 7iber.

Deja Vu

2009-01-02T16:40:00.008+02:00

"Scores of riot police blocking roads to the embassy complex fired teargas at around 1,500 demonstrators, forcing them to retreat.

Worshippers chanting: "No Jewish embassy on Arab land" left the Kaloti mosque in the Rabia district of the Jordanian capital after noon prayers and headed to the nearby Israeli embassy. "

For more links.

How You Can Help Gaza

2008-12-29T16:49:00.004+02:00

The folks at 7iber and Action Committe are organizing a drive to help out the people in Gaza. So if you've been watching the news the last couple of days, and are feeling frustrated and helpless and would like to do something, here's your chance:

Drop off clothes (specifically blankets and jackets) that are in good condition or canned goods (except meats) at Cozmo or Books@Cafe tomorrow, December 30th between 6.30 and 8.30 PM. Try and package your donations in boxes or at least double-bag them. They will be delivered to the Hashemite Charity Commission, which is the only convoy allowed to cross the border this week. Here's the link for the facebook event.

Also if you’re looking to give blood (which is in demand right now), you can go to the places mentioned in the list below.

- National Blood Bank branch, behind the Khaldi Hospital, just off the Fourth Circle
- University of Jordan Hospital, contact: 00962788607870

Full details at the Black Iris.

On Ghaza

2008-12-27T21:02:00.007+02:00

"There is only one difference between the attacks between Israel's IDF forces and Hamas's rocket launches: Israel's are effective. Both sides fired rockets/missiles into regions populated by civilians. Both sides claim their opponent's civilians to be legitimate targets because of their support for their respective regimes. Hamas fires 20-90 kg unguided rockets. Israel fires Air-to-Ground precision guided missiles in the 130-150 kg range. It should not be surprising that one side produces an irritant while the other produces death and destruction."

Israel Versus Gaza: A Ridiculous War Dictated by a Lack of Alternatives

And while over 200 Palestinians are dead and over 400 injured, you got Israel vowing to expand the attacks and Washington calling on Hamas to stop the rocket attacks, attacks that are so inaccurate and so ineffective that sometimes end up killing the Palestinians themselves, but are being used as an excuse for the Ghaza attacks. The Israelis come off looking as poor and helpless, and that all they're doing is defending their people. How many more people must die in the name of this power struggle?

Christmas Pictures!

2008-12-25T12:52:00.017+02:00

Christmas around Amman:

A couple of pictures around town that I managed to snap whenever I had the camera on me.

Christmas around the house:

And some pictures I took last night.

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

2008-12-24T20:12:00.005+02:00

I'll post some pictures later but for now I have a turkey dinner to get to! Have a wonderful christmas everyone and enjoy the holiday :D

Some Professor Claims Revealing Clothing Leads to Breast Cancer

2008-12-24T18:13:00.011+02:00

Check out this ridiculous piece in today's Alghad. Some professor (professor, NOT doctor) is claiming that there is a direct relationship between the type of clothing and breast cancer, and that women who wear revealing clothes (who knows what's his definition of revealing clothes), are more prone to breast cancer. According to him, cells in the breast area receive more energy than other cells (huh??) which would lead to cancer. How this relates to clothes in any way is not mentioned.

But hey, I'm no doctor, so to give him the benefit of the doubt I did a little googling, perhaps I will find something that will remotely support his claims. Nothing. But a little googling about Mr. Professor reveals that he studied mechanical engineering (yes, not medicine) in the Hashemite university (no not any German university anywhere, for whoever wrote this sad excuse for an article), then went on to study biomedical engineering (again, not medicine) and is very-religiously affiliated to say the least.

He unveiled his revolutionary findings in a lecture that he gave yesterday at the Jordanian Society for Scientific Research, which is quite ironic (and pretty sad) given the fact that he made no research nor came up with ANYTHING to support whatever theory he has to scare women into dressing conservatively in a shameless attempt to get women to blame themselves for contracting such a terrible illness.

Who allows these people to lecture? Can anybody just come up with a piece of junk theory and go preach to ignorant people about it? (just check comment 2 to see how they can have an impact). And then we go reporting it as actual facts? This is downright infuriating. If this is our idea of scientific research, then boy are we in over our heads.

Thabahtoona, Lay Off GJU!

2008-12-16T20:48:00.004+02:00

Thabahtoona, The National Campaign for Defending Students' Rights has issued yet another statement criticizing GJU, the German Jordanian University, this time because of the decision to remove it from the unified admission program. This means that students have to apply to the university separately, unlike with other public universities, where the student would send a list of choices of preferred universities and majors in descending order to the coordination office, and then depending on the student's average, the number of students applying, etc, the student will be accepted in one of the choices they have listed.

Now before I delve into the reasons the university it is not listed along with other universities I'll give an overview about it. GJU, where I'm a second year student, was founded only 3 years ago. It is partly funded by the Jordanian government and partly funded by the German government. Since the official campus near Madaba is still under construction, the temporary location is at the Royal Scientific Society, in 3 buildings that are rented by the university.

The reason why it is not part of the unified admission program is very simple: the university's fees and programs are different from other universities, and when it was included, a large percentage of students who registered backed out later because they were surprised by the requirements and the fees. The higher fees, another subject of criticism, are attributed to the different educational approach used by the university. The maximum capacity of students to eventually be reached is only 5000, a maximum of only 30 students are allowed in one class, students are obliged to study German and must spend their fourth year in Germany, to name some of the features that distinguish the university.

I'm not saying this to promote the university (believe me, I'm not one to do that), nor to criticize the campaign, because they do have a good purpose. But I'm sure there are other more important things to push for. Wastas in universities, improving the quality of education itself or biased professors off the top of my head. So lay off!

Iraqi Journalist Throws Shoes At Bush!

2008-12-15T00:14:00.003+02:00

Hahahahaha! I think he just articulated the feelings of millions around the world.

Extremely Immature Post

2008-12-07T01:39:00.004+02:00

Yes, very immature I know, but I literally teared up from laughing at this!

h/t: Qusai Sawalha

This Vacation's To-Do-List!

2008-12-04T12:59:00.010+02:00

I finished my morning lectures a while ago, and my vacation has officially started. While I look forward to a 10 day vacation just like any other normal person, I'm kind of dreading the whole spending time with your family thing. Don't get me wrong, I love my family and everything, but 10 days of family time? No, thank you! (at this point I kinda wish my parents didn't know of this blog, but oh well.)

So anyway I made this list of stuff to do over the vacation. I make to-do-lists all the time, even though I almost never do anything I had planned to do, but I feel like I need to have a list. This vacation's list includes:

Finish reading the Divine Comedy. I've been meaning to read it for quite some time now and so I downloaded the story version along with the the poem, since it's easier to follow. It includes Gustav Dore's illustrations which are just fascinating.

Finish 1984 by George Orwell or at least get back to reading it. I started reading it back in June, but I only finished like 30 pages and then forgot about it. I'm not a very good reader I admit it, I'm very easily distracted.

Put up the Christmas tree! Although I absolutely hate New Year's (something about the pressure of having to make resolution and new starts), I love Christmas time, and I get very excited about putting up the tree and watching the Christmas movies and making the cookies! But the weather has got to stop being sunny and warm. Start raining! We're in December!

Watch a lot of TV. And I mean a lot. Maybe have a Gilmore Girls marathon with a couple of friends.

Crash my friends' houses for Eid treats :D

See if I can sign up for some activity with Cycling Jordan or Terhaal or something, seeing as I'm a member in their facebook groups and they send me messages each week about the activities they're offering but I always delete them because I think I never have the time.

Finish the multitude of assignments I have to get done, which I just know I'm going to end up doing on the very last day. My procrastination habits will never die.

Blog a little more often perhaps :$

So what will you be doing this vacation?

What Is Up With Zain?!

2008-12-04T12:35:00.004+02:00

The network I mean. Lately, I haven't been able to make a decent phone call either because of the error in connection which forces me to dial again, or because I can't hear anything from the other caller until I step outside or something. And it's not even Eid yet! Anybody else having problems?

20% of Women Face Domestic Violence, 19% Have No Problem With It

2008-11-25T07:46:00.005+02:00

The stupidity of the human race never ceases to amaze me, really. A recent scan conducted by the Department of Statistics revealed that 20% of married women suffer from domestic violence, and that 19% of women believe it's a man's right to punish his wife. As in beat her whenever he damn chooses. So if we assume that those 19% are married, only 1% have a problem with having the crap beaten out of them.

Sometimes I think what's the point of feminism here if women are content with all the injustice they're facing. Then I think that maybe it's their way of dealing with such an awful reality.

But here's something to feel optimistic about. In 2005, statistics showed that 87% condone violence against women.

Hilarious Video By Queen Rania

2008-11-23T23:51:00.003+02:00

Brilliant! Just brilliant!

h/t : Roba

Just In Case You're Going to Thailand

2008-11-11T18:24:00.005+02:00

..don't fall asleep in a bus.

“ A 23-year-old Thai man who woke up with a cockroach in his ear on a public bus has sparked a public health drive to improve sanitation. Kittipong Khamdong, who had taken an overnight bus from Khon Kaen province to Chiang Mai Monday, awoke in the middle of the night with an unwanted passenger lodged in his left ear, the Bangkok Post reported.

At the first pit stop in Phitsanulok, Kittipong dashed to the bathroom and managed to remove the cockroach with a cotton bud but suffered a severe ear bleed and tinnitus, a roaring sensation in the inner ear. ”

[Source]

Yeeesh.

Patriotism or Pretention?

2008-11-09T23:00:00.004+02:00

Today, in commemoration of the 9/11 attacks, my university had planned to observe a minute silence outside the university building. But what was intended as a respectful ceremony to pay homage to the victims seemed to have turned into spectacle of festivities. From students dancing dabkeh to the songs of Omar Al Abdallat on car speakers to the loud and sudden chants of ya3eesh jalalat il malak il mo3atham (long live his majesty the king).

Now I have nothing against pledging allegiance to your country, heck I listen to the same songs on Mohammad il Wakeel's show in the car whenever I have early classes (better than coffee to wake you up... well, almost.) But I wonder if this public display of chants and patriotic slogans is genuine, or is it just another show for us to sing and shout at? I wonder if the same people wearing their hattas oh so proudly wouldn't toss it away in the blink of an eye for a chance to move to the US let's say. I'm not one to judge here, but I think there's more to patriotism than chants and songs.

It bugged me how a sad memory was made into a parade.

On This November 9th

2008-11-09T21:36:00.004+02:00

I remember how 3 years ago, over 60 lives were lost and many more were left to suffer to this day. While terrorist attacks in neighboring countries have happened before, nothing could have prepared us for the shock. It's not the same when it hits home. The disbelief that even Jordan, with all it's mighty intelligence was not immune to the sick, brainwashed terrorists who claim religion as their motive.

I remember the strong feelings of patriotism that seemed to have been awakened in everyone, the anger and incomprehension that united us.

You will not be forgotten.

It's Obama!

2008-11-05T06:40:00.007+02:00

So the Americans did it and made history as the first African-American was elected president of the United States and I can't help but feel joyful and excited. I think Obama's message of hope and change has spread here, to our side of the world, and we desperately need a change after what can only be described as a catastrophic presidency of George Bush. It's no longer about how will benefit this region, it's about who will cause the least harm.

And so here's to hoping the world will become a better place, even if just a little. And adieu to the mavericks. Frankly, I would've shot myself had I had to hear Palin's you betchas and say it ain't sos for the next four years. But most importantly, goodbye George Bush, you nutjob. May we never see the likes of you again.

P.S. McCain is quite the gracious loser, I have to say.

If McCain Wins

2008-11-04T22:45:00.003+02:00

19

2008-11-01T14:40:00.006+02:00

You are only young once, but you can be immature for a lifetime
John P. Grier

It's been a very good year.

What's On My Mind This Week

2008-10-31T17:25:00.024+02:00

I'm pretty shocked that police in Jordan are actually setting traps to arrest alleged homosexuals. According to "sources", this crackdown is to prevent the increasing numbers of gays, whose number is approximately 600, from spreading STDs. Where they obtained such a number is beyond me. Now I'm not campaigning for LGBT over here, but i find this inhumane and stupid, especially when they put it under the excuse of "preventing STD spread". You want to prevent STDs? Make sex education a part of highschool curricula. The way I see it, this "campaign" is just to win easy points with the public.

I can't believe Jordan is one of the four water-poorest countries in the world. We sure don't act like it. We use water like we have an infinite supply of it. Just observe the streams of soapy water running down the streets from people hosing down their cars every morning. It's ridiculous.

17 honor crimes have occurred to this day since the start of 2008. Four only this month.
I love the cold weather. Despite the fact that people sort of freak out and the streets become crazy from the combination of stupid drivers and a practically non-existent drainage system. I love the rain, the jackets, the scarves, the blankets. It's all very cosy. I even don't mind being cold. But I don't understand why only my right hand gets cold, mostly when I'm working on the computer. I'm right-handed, so if anything, shouldn't it be my left hand that gets cold? So every 20 minutes or so i go to the kitchen and stand over the stove for a minute, till my hand gets warm, after which i resume my computer session.

Cups and kilos is an awesome place. Even though I've been introduced to it fairly recently, like 2 months ago, I've been an addict ever since. I especially like any banana-flavoured drinks they have. Last week they had a concert featuring college students playing cover songs and jazz tunes, it was really nice. A friend of mine has been going to the same Cups and Kilos branch for 25 consecutive days now!

I've been a terrible blogger and I know it. I'm feeling pretty guilty about it, and I've been kicking myself for it especially since toot added a new bunch of bloggers about a week ago. It's that i can't seem to get back to the blogger mode I was in when I first started this blog. That's when you automatically start writing posts in your head and start categorizing everything into bloggable or non-bloggable. Hmmmmph.

And now that my right-hand has become cold again, I'm going to go.

Bloody Murder

2008-10-22T20:30:00.008+02:00

Is it me, or are murder stories in Jordan becoming more and more common? Everytime I open the newspaper there seems to be a new murder in the headlines, each one more violent and shocking than the next.

So I took a look at the archives, and over the last 10 days the following took place:

A 61-year old shot his 17-year-old daughter to death in an "honor crime" in Al Balqa. Upon questioning, the father said his daughter allegedly confessed to having consensual sexual relations. A source said he saw the victim's family members congratulating each other after the murder.
A 44-year-old man murdered his married 42-year-old sister by strangling her with a "dishdasheh" (the traditional robe), in yet another so-called "honor crime". The victim, who has been living alone for the past 5 years because her husband is in prison, was murdered because "she would often leave the house without her family's approval". The victim became the 15th person killed for an honor crime since the beginning of the year. You think we'll be able to reach our yearly average of 20? 2 more months to go!
A body of a man in his thirties was found stabbed in the King Abdullah Gardens. The suspect, who confessed, reportedly killed his friend over 200 JDs.
The body of a newborn baby was found attached to a tree in Wadi Il Seer. I don't know what to say about this one. This is just beyond despicable and sick.
A chopped up body turned up in Marka in Amman. The police apprehended the suspect, an Egyptian worker for the victim in his factory, who killed his boss for refusing to give him a raise, and them disassembled the body into four parts to facilitate moving it.
A man was sentenced for 10 years in prison for poisoning his neighbor unintentionally. The man wanted to kill his father by poisoning his tea, but a number of neighbors happened to drop by and drink the tee. Ah the irony.

Not to mention the multitudes of car accidents and hit-and-run accidents which seem to have become everyday news by now. Are we becoming a more violent society?

Just Who the Hell Is Joe the Plumber?

2008-10-18T07:06:00.005+02:00

So the press seems to be smitten with this "Joe the Plumber" guy, who's apparently been mentioned by Obama and McCain a multitude of times. Check out this Jon Stewart video!

So who is he? He's your average American who when encountered Obama, asked him about and criticized his tax-plan. Enjoy your 15 minutes of fame, Joe.

What Your Tax JDs Are Paying For

2008-10-05T18:57:00.005+02:00

مجلس الوزراء قرر في الجلسة التي عقدها قبل اسبوعين منح اعفاءات جمركية لسيارات اعضاء مجلس النواب. وبموجب القرار فان آلية حصول النواب على الاعفاء ستكون بالحصول على كتاب بهذا الخصوص من دائرة الجمارك اعتبار من اليوم للتوجه لشراء ما يرغبون من انواع السيارات.وحصل نواب في المجالس النيابية السابقة على اعفاءات جمركية فيما حصل نواب المجلس النيابي الرابع عشر على تسهيلات جمركية ومالية فقط للحصول على سيارات

[Source]

As if a JD2460 a month salary is not enough, now our lovely Parliament members are entitled to duty free cars, all paid for by us, the naive Jordanians who helped elect them in the first place. And to do what? To go and throw water and juice cups on each other. Great. Long live democracy.

Bab El 7ara Mania

2008-10-04T01:41:00.013+03:00

Silly me, I thought it couldn't get any worse than the obsession with the notorious Noor and Muhannad. But we sure take our entertainment very seriously.

Attempting to recreate the famous show, a group of youngsters renamed two areas in Tla'a il Ali, Amman into "7aret Shaker" and "7aret al Bostan" after the tv show Bab il 7ara, and then ignited a fight between the two "7aras" that was broken up by the police.

Now I understand the show's popularity with the older demographic: the nostalgia towards old values and traditions in a modern society now, but I really wonder why so many young people find it appealing. I mean, even my 11 year-old cousins were avid followers of the show.

But like Noor, this show's popularity will also remain a conundrum that baffles me. Oh well.

Stupid News Stories

2008-09-27T19:30:00.006+03:00

I honestly don't know what Alghad editor was thinking when he approved this news story which is now placed in the front page of their website. The entire news piece basically describes the life story of Areen, a 24 year-old born in the Israeli occupied Joulan, and is leaving her family and home to wed her cousin in Syria.

سارت عرين بخطى حذرة في ثوب زفافها الابيض عبر الأسلاك الشائكة التي تحيط بهضبة الجولان لتلتقي زوجها في الجانب الآخر من الاراضي السورية. وقبل ان تبتعد التفتت بعيون ملؤها الدمع لتلقي نظرة اخيرة على ارض مولدها التي لا تعرف ان كانت ستعود اليها يوما

ولدت عرين الصفدي قبل 24 عاما في قرية عين قينيا الدرزية في منطقة تشرف على الاراضي اللبنانية والسورية على هضبة الجولان الاستراتيجية التي تحتلها اسرائيل منذ 1967.وقبل عدة ايام، بدأت عرين الاستعداد للرحلة التي تقودها الى سوريا حيث تتزوج الاحد ابن خالها ربيع الذي يعيش في بلدة جرمانا القريبة من دمشق.

اما تحضيرات الزفاف فبدأت قبل اكثر من اسبوعين. ولدى مصفف الشعر قالت عرين التي كانت ترتدي بنطلون جينز ضيقا "انا بالطبع سعيدة لاني ساتزوج، ولكني حزينة لاني ساغادر عائلتي". ووسط زحمة تحضيرات العرس تمكنت عرين من زيارة صالون للتجميل للعناية بزينتها وطلاء اظافرها الطويلة. ولكن رغم انشغالها وفي حين كانت اخصائية التجميل تكحل عينيها السوداوين بدا عليها القلق. "كلما اقترب الموعد احسست بصعوبة الامر لكني احبه وهذا خياري".واضافت "سأبدأ حياة جديدة. من الصفر".

كل ما تعرفه عرين عن سوريا هو ما سمعت عنه او شاهدته على شاشة التلفزيون، وهي تعرف ان "حياتهم بالطبع مختلفة عن طريقة حياتنا". ولا يزال اهل الجولان يحافظون على تقاليدهم مع بعض الانفتاح بسبب التواصل مع المجتمع الاسرائيلي.

في اليوم المحدد للسفر، استيقظت عرين في الرابعة صباحا وتوجهت الى اشهر محل لتصفيف الشعر في بلدة مجدل شمس المجاورة من حيث خرجت وهي تضع تاجا وترتدي طرحة العرس وثوب الزفاف. كان جميع الاهل والاصدقاء مجتمعين في منزل العروس لوداعها. بكت النساء وانطلقت حناجر بعضهن بالزغاريد. ولم يتمكن بعض الرجال من مقاومة دموعهم. تم تحميل امتعتها وملابسها واغطية السرير المطرز في شاحنة سترافقها الى دمشق. وقف ابوها يحيى بعينين دامعتين صامتا في ركن من باحة البيت. قال ودموعه تخنقه وهو يشاهد افراد العائلة يقتربون منها لوداعها، "لم انم طيلة ليلة البارحة. لقد ربيتها وشاهدتها تكبر".

حانت ساعة الرحيل فتحرك موكب طويل من السيارات باتجاه مركز القنيطرة الحدودي. وقف جنود اسرائيليون مسلحون يضعون نظارات سوداء على عيونهم لحمايتهم من الشمس يلتقطون صورا للعروس والموكب. حتى تتمكن من مغادرة ارض آبائها المحتلة كان على عرين ان توقع مضطرة على ورقة تقول انها تتنازل عن حقها بالاقامة في الجولان. قالت الشابة بعدما وقعت تلك الوثيقة المؤلمة "اتخلى عن حقي واعرف اني قد لا اعود الى اهلي في غياب علاقات دبلوماسية بين سوريا واسرائيل".

لقد انتهت اقامة عرين في الجولان فبدأت رحلتها الجديدة عبر الاسلاك الشائكة وابراج المراقبة المموهة باللون الكاكي لملاقاة ربيع عند نقطة العبور في المنطقة العازلة بين البلدين. التفتت عرين وهي تحمل باحدى يديها باقة زهر ولوحت بالاخرى مودعة. اجتازت عند الساعة الحادية عشرة والنصف صباحا البوابة الكهربائية الصفراء التي اغلقها الجنود خلفها ببطء

[Source]

Seriously? I would understand if this was a story in a magazine perhaps, but to run it in a daily newspaper? This is just an attempt at sensationalized journalism to attract readers. Like what good could it possibly do me to know that the bride-to-be was wearing tight jeans as she told her sad sad story? Are you kidding? And then we talk about improving the quality of journalism in the country. Scoff.

Here We Go Again!

2008-09-15T19:08:00.003+03:00

The past week, head of the Royal Court, the very controversial Bassem Awadallah was once again under attack, this time for his alleged involvement in a human trafficking case that led to a lawsuit. I say once again because back in May, Awadallah was also viciously attacked by Parliament member Nariman Roussan for the land sales issue, who went as far as to compare him to Israeli spy Eli Cohen. And well, if you thought she won't be making another appearance amidst the chaos, you were highly mistaken.

This time, Roussan had questions for the government regarding an Independence day celebration that was aired on Jordan television. Apparently she is angry over cameras' focus on Awadallah during the event, and also because she's wasn't shown on television while greeting the King. The government sent her a detailed response saying that the cameras' positions are not determined on who will be standing in front of them, and that while a number of attendees (including Roussan) were coming in, one of the cameras encountered an error, which is why she wasn't shown on television. But she remains unconvinced.

Following what happened with writer Nahed Hattar, she may want to consider toning down her attacks on Awadallah a bit. See in the same week Hattar went on TV and attacked Awadallah, he also "resigned" from his post at a bank, stopped writing in his column in the newspaper and then suffered a health crisis that put him in the hospital. One of the commentators suggested that next news piece will read "Roussan suffers unfortunate car accident"!

You gotta love Jordanian politics.

Action Alert | Ramadan Food Drive!

2008-09-14T21:45:00.003+03:00

So it’s that time of the year again folks and hopefully we can rally together to make a difference in the lives of a few citizens. The Action Committee has started its food drive for Ramadan and your help is needed! The Ramadan food package is going to cost 20JDs and will contain:

3 kg Rice
3 kg Sugar
2 kg Beans
2 kg Lentils
6 Packs of Pasta
2 Cans Tomato Paste
1 kg Tea
2 A’mar Eldin
1 Oil
½ kg Dates
12 packs Maggie

The drive is underway and will last for the next week or so, depending on the donations. The Action Committee is targeting the last 10 days of Ramadan for distribution.

So tell a friend, tell a family member, tell the neighbor, tell the people at work, even the weird guy who sits in the corner of the office and who no one talks to; this could be your chance.

For bloggers: Forward this message. Post about it. Spread it. Mobilize!

You can contact Sara at 079-5154498

Facebook group

[Source]

Matrix Aborted!

2008-09-08T10:26:00.010+03:00

Hilarious Hajjaj cartoon about the recent developments with the investment company Matrix.

Now That's What I Call Irony

2008-09-03T00:09:00.002+03:00

Check this. Did they call for an ambulance for the ambulance? Hmmm....

Back in Jordan!

2008-09-01T17:00:00.045+03:00

After a month spent in Bremen, I am back again in beloved Jordan. Apologies for the lack of blogging, but I had no time to post anything. The course was great, the group I went with was great and the city itself was really nice. The weather was mostly cold, which in comparison with Amman's weather now is considered pretty good! Anyway, here are some pictures from the trip:

The Weser River, along which Bremen lies:

A statue at the City Centre representing die Bremer Stadtmusikanten, or the Town Musicians of Bremen, a Brothers Grimm fairytale about a donkey, a dog, a cat and a rooster who set off for Bremen to escape the abuse of their masters. On their way they enter a house and find a bunch of robbers, so they stand on each other's backs and make noises that scare off the robbers. The four animals have become the symbol of the city:

Pictures from the City Centre:

Hamburg:

A trip to Heidepark, one of the biggest amusement parks in Germany and Europe:

The largest drop tower in the world, appropriately named Scream, drops 71 m in 2 seconds (at a speed of about 98km/h). I rode it twice :D

....and the steepest wooden roller coaster:

The island of Neuwerk on the North Sea. During low tide, the island can be reached by foot, which is what we did. 12 KM walking barefoot, to return later by ship. Hectic, but the scenery was breathtaking to say the least:

Some of the parks in Bremen:

All in all, it was a wonderful experience. Few observations:

No food on the planet can measure up to Arabic food. Ever.
Out of of a group of 20 people from Jordan, only 4 actually came from Jordan. All 20, however, were proud to say they're from Jordan :)
Meeting people of different nationalities not only broadens your horizons, but makes you realise how similar people around the world are.
You will actually miss hearing fireworks, honking cars and trucks in the streets.
People around the world have immense respect and admiration for our King and Queen. Even if they don't know Jordan, just mention Queen Rania and they'll know where you're from.
I really do suck at directions. I should never be allowed to lead groups of people around.
When forced, I can manage to clean, shop for food, do laundry and iron. Therefore, contrary to my mother's beliefs, I will not die should I live alone.

Oh and Ramadan Mubarak lil jamee3! May it be a wonderful month with as few traffic accidents as possible!

Off to Germany!

2008-08-03T21:34:00.005+03:00

Tomorrow morning I'll be leaving to Germany, where I will be taking part in a language course until August 30th. I'll be staying in Bremen (circled red in the map below), a city in Northwest Germany. I hope I will be able to blog from there, but I'm not sure as to the Internet access there as of yet. Let's hope there will be so I don't go into withdrawal symptoms and die.

Auf Wiedersehen!

Honor Crime and No Punishment

2008-08-03T04:33:00.018+03:00

The Criminal Court attorney general on Saturday said he plans to appeal a ruling acquitting a family of an honor crime that occurred in July 2006. I know all honor crimes sound the same more or less, so I'll sum this one up for you:

16-year-old is abused by her family, so she leaves the family tent (I'm serious), and heads to the Family Protection Department and files a complaint against them.
Her family become enraged when they find out, and decide to kill her. So they tie her up, pour kerosene on her and ignite her along with the family tent.
Victim tries to scream and flee but the father, mother, and two siblings (aged 19 and 16), prevent her. After she was dead, one of her brothers starts calling for help, claiming it was an accident.
The postmortem report indicated that the woman received burns on 96 per cent of her body and was charred beyond recognition.
Victim's female sibling refuses to testify against her family.
The court decides that the family never plotted to murder the victim and that the fire was "accidental", and acquitts the four defendants. “The defendants tried to wake the victim but were unable to in time. They managed to escape the fire but the victim remained trapped in the tent,” the court said in its 10-page ruling.

And if you're not sick to your stomach yet, this should do it:

“ Criminal Court Prosecutor Saturday charged a father and son with the premeditated murder of their 23-year-old female relative in the Kingdom’s latest so-called honor crime on Thursday, an official source said.

“The victim went missing for around four months. When she was found by police, they discovered that she was living with a man,” the source said.

The administrative governor ordered the victim to be detained on charges of adultery for an indefinite period for her own safety.

But after several visits, the father convinced him that he would not harm his daughter and won her release after signing a JD5,000 guarantee that he would not hurt her.

The father took his daughter home and as she was about to enter the house, her 21-year-old brother approached her and fired six shots at her, then immediately surrendered to police claiming that he had killed his sister in order to cleanse his family’s honor.

The victim became the ninth woman reportedly murdered in the Kingdom in a so-called honor crime since the beginning of the year. She is the second to be killed in the month of July. ”

Your Moment of Zen

2008-08-01T16:53:00.003+03:00

That's John McCain hugging George Bush. Now isn't that the sweetest thing you've ever seen?

Jordan's Gender Equality Campaign

2008-07-31T07:29:00.009+03:00

Yesterday I got the chance to join Gender Equality campaigners in Al-Wakalat Street as they walked around talking to people on the street about the campaign, asking them questions about equality and handing out stickers, posters and pins. I even got to walk around with my very own writing board and talk to some people. This campaign was started by a group of young Jordanians to raise awareness about women's rights.

Here's what I noticed. Equality is such a broad subject, and the term itself has a different meaning for each person. For some it may mean having equal opportunities as to education and work, while for others it means women being able to do whatever they want without society pressing down on them. While most of the people I talked to agreed that we need to have equality in general, when you ask specific questions, like does your husband help you in household chores, or do you allow your wife to work late, they would say no.

So my thoughts would be to focus on one side of the argument, for example the injustice against women in the constitution itself, like the citizenship law or punishment for honor crimes. Because to change laws you need to change mentalities, and this is how we can start.

Bravo to all you campaigners for taking matters into your own hands and raising awareness about a very important subject! They saw something, didn't like it, and decided to do something about it. You have restored my faith in our youth. And special kudos to Dina Liddawi and Lulwa Kilani, organizers of the campaign. Join the facebook group for news and updates on upcoming events.

Preparations for the Announcement of Tawjihi Results

2008-07-31T07:13:00.009+03:00

So Tawjihi results will be out tomorrow. For those of you unfamiliar with Tawjihi, it's the Jordanian general secondary examination that determines students' university and major options. And everyone, EVERYONE, will find out your mark if you're a Tawjihi student.

Firing guns and use of fireworks -since their discovery in Jordan a couple of years ago- have become traditional celebratory festivities. Not to mention the convoys of honking cars with people sticking out the windows, of course. Which is why you should make sure you have the following if you intend to go out at all tomorrow:

bulletproof vest
earmuffs
traffic police on speed dial

Good luck to Tawjihi students, I wouldn't want to be in your shoes. As for non-Tawjihi students, bil salameh.

P.S. Who knows, maybe they'll make use out of Friday's eclipse for some early fireworks ;)

Solar Eclipse This Friday

2008-07-28T15:41:00.013+03:00

At 1.34 PM Amman time this Friday, August 1st, a total solar eclipse is expected be visible in Jordan, and a partial eclipse in other neighboring countries. A solar eclipse occurs when the moon comes between the Sun and the Earth, blocking the Sun. Now eclipse or no eclipse, you shouldn't be looking directly at the Sun because it can cause blindness, but the reason we hear so many warnings about eclipses is because people are tempted to look and assume that since the light is dimmed it would be safe to look. So anyway, don't be stupid and look at the Sun. The whole thing will last less than two hours I believe.

Update: Damn it, third update so far. Will newspapers stick to one story please? Turns out it's not a total solar eclipse, but a barely partial eclipse (no more than 1%), that won't be even visible. So go out and look at the Sun. Okay don't but just to let you know there isn't going to be anything to see.

Go Watch It

2008-07-27T08:43:00.007+03:00

The Growth of Extremism in Jordan

2008-07-22T16:05:00.010+03:00

“ Jordanian security officials say nine militants have been arrested in connection with a shooting attack near the capital's Roman amphitheater.

One of those arrested is the father of the teenage Palestinian gunman who shot and wounded six people last Wednesday before he shot and seriously wounded himself the head.

Initially, officials have said gunman Thaer al-Weheidi had no links to terror groups. But on Monday, the security officials said they were investigating possible links with extremist groups. ”

[Source]

The arrested were part of the Salafi Jihadi stream, the movement responsible for breeding many terrorists, including the notorious Abu Mus'ab Al-Zarqawi.

After the Jordan suicide bombings back in 2005, Jordan called for war against religious extremism and the whole Takfiri culture. But come to think of it, what reforms have really been made? Terrorist attacks are only symptoms of the problem, and clearly the problem, being extremism, is still prevalent and growing. In 2006, a gunman shot a Briton to death, also in the Roman amphitheater, while shouting "God is great".

We have the perfect recipe for extremism here: boredom, resentment, frustration, poverty. Drastic changes need to be made, and they need to be made now, if we are to prevent any further attacks. Like one of my commentators said, you can't have mosques preaching about death to infidels every Friday and then expect everything to be okay. What are we waiting for? Another suicide bombing?

[Ironically enough, the gunman's family has issued a statement condemning the attack by their relative and voiced their allegiance to the country and it's leadership. Yeah, okay.]

Nothing Much

2008-07-21T20:23:00.005+03:00

Sorry for the lack of blogging lately. I am definitely not helping with the boring blog status 7aki was talking about. The news is boring, same nonsense that makes you want to jump off a cliff. The difference is I haven't been in the mood to discuss it and depress myself. And I can't find anything else decent to talk about. I didn't think I'd be suffering from a writer's block this early. Ugh. But here you go, in a desperate attempt for a post, enjoy this obscenely hilarious video from Maz Jobrani. :D

P.S. I finally got my laptop. Praise the Lord. An Acer 5620G. It's a nice laptop.

Downtown Concert Shootings

2008-07-17T02:03:00.015+03:00

What's this about??!

“ An unidentified gunman shot and injured at least six musicians on Wednesday after a concert in the capital before committing suicide, security officials said.

They said the incident took place after a performance by the Amman symphony orchestra with a Lebanese choir at the Roman amphitheatre in the congested downtown area of the capital.

The gunman shot himself in the head after being chased, one witness said.

The musicians' injuries were mostly light to moderate although one was seriously hurt, a security official said. ”
[Source]

The event was "An Opera Night Under the Stars", a concert by the Amman Symphony Orchestra and the Choir of the Holy Spirit University from Lebanon. Hmmm.

Stupid people ruining our image AND our tourism. This is the fourth attack on tourists in the last two years. This may be an isolated incident, but there's some mentality behind it.

I think it's about time we outlawed possession of guns.

Here are more links for further information.

New Queen Rania Video: Wedding Day Massacre

2008-07-15T22:26:00.003+03:00

Do You Find This Offensive?

2008-07-14T13:22:00.013+03:00

Take a look at this cartoon by prominent cartoonist Emad Hajjaj. It shows a man talking to Mohannad from the hit show Noor, saying "The Arab woman is a fan. She's her own enemy in elections. She consents to beating and polygamy. She likes to have boys and not girls. She doesn't continue her education because of society's customs. She is of dark skin but with a blond complex. Modern in appearance but empty in substance." To which Mohannad replies, "Just what I needed! An Arab woman who is no match for the Turkish women! Just give her my photo and tell her much obliged."

The National Committee for Women in Jordan, represented by Asma Khader, whom I greatly admire, sent a letter to Alghad newspaper, where the cartoon was published, expressing resentment about the drawing, which according to them "portrays an unfair image about Arab women, and Jordanian women in particular, and that the negatives he mentioned are the exception and should not be generalized."

Now I agree, the drawing is overly generalizing, because of course it does not describe all Arab women, but then again, isn't exaggeration the point of most cartoons? That's how they convey their message. And let's face it, the negatives are not the exception. Most of what he said is sadly correct. Women are their own worst enemy, and I always say that. Last elections were the first time a woman won outside the designated women's quota. A step forward, without a doubt, but ONE woman. Out of 104 parliamentary seats, just one woman won. Also, many women are just looking to get married, and whether their husbands are already married, beat them, forbid them from working or continuing their education is besides the point, because society dictates they get married or else they're considered a source of shame for their families. And don't get me started on how in this day and age, people, including WOMEN, still prefer baby boys over baby girls. And the blond complex? How else could Fair and Lovely still be in business? Or the rest of Amman's hairdressers for that matter?

I disagree with Hajjaj in that not all those who watch the show are empty and superficial. I mean come on, it's just a TV show, even though I still do not understand the obsession. And half the poeple I know who watch the show are actually guys. I think maybe Hajjaj was lamenting how people became obsessed with a show and seemed to forget all the problems we have? I don't know. But I for one, refuse to attack Hajjaj. He is one of the very few openly speaking male feminists in our society and he deserves some credit for that.

Jordanian Bloggers Making the News

2008-07-14T11:16:00.005+03:00

Here's an article about Jordanian bloggers in the Star newspaper mentioning Batir from Jordan Watch, Naseem from the Black Iris and myself. It's nice to see that bloggers are becoming more known in the mainstream media. Here's to freedom of expression!

Another Victim In the Name of Honor

2008-07-13T11:14:00.009+03:00

“ Authorities are still questioning the family of a minor who allegedly stabbed his older sister to death to cleanse his family’s honour earlier this month, official sources said.

The 23-year-old victim, who was not identified by officials, was stabbed 11 times in the chest, reportedly by her 17-year-old brother at their home on July 3.

The suspect immediately turned himself in to the police claiming to have killed his sister to cleanse the family’s honour because his sister went missing from home for 35 days.

“So far, the only person to be detained is the suspect and the criminal prosecutor has charged him with manslaughter,” an official source told The Jordan Times on Saturday.

The victim was arrested almost a week before her murder, the source said, adding that the governor handed her over to her family on July 3 after her father signed a guarantee that he would not harm his daughter.

The following day, the suspect reportedly stabbed his sister to death after she allegedly informed him she was involved in an affair with a man in the area, according to the source.

A postmortem conducted at the National Institute of Forensic Medicine by pathologist Hani Jahshan indicated that the victim was not involved in any sexual activity.

In his initial testimony to police, the suspect claimed he was sitting alone with his sister in the kitchen discussing her absence from home when she told him that she was “seeing a man”.

“The suspect told interrogators he became enraged and stabbed his sister to death in a moment of rage after hearing her confession,” the source added.

Meanwhile, a second source close to the investigation told The Jordan Times that a pathologist examined the victim shortly after the police found her and she denied being involved in any affair.

“The victim informed examiners that she left home because her family discovered that she owned a mobile phone and she feared their reaction, adding that she stayed at a friend’s house until the authorities found her,” the source explained.

The victim became the eighth woman reportedly murdered in a so-called honour crime in Jordan since the beginning of the year. ”
[Source]

I don't know what to say. I really don't. Even if the brother is convicted of manslaughter without the use of article 98, the juvenile law would be implemented which allows him to return to society with a clear criminal record after an educational training in some juvenile correctional centre.

I'm so sick of this. I'm disgusted. And I'm ashamed that this happens in MY country. OUR country. And I feel helpless.

What a perverse definition of honor we have.

Sigh.

Note: So did Arabic newspapers just stop reporting honor crimes? There was no mention of this in Alghad.

We're Never Going To Be Civil, Are We?

2008-07-12T12:53:00.009+03:00

Almost a week after the Tafileh Tech tribal violence, which put the university's president in the hospital, and involved a party of 16 firing bullets at a former MP's house, another incident of tribal violence rears it's ugly head, only this time in Kerak. After a ferocious fight between two families, the parties ended up at the SAME hospital causing the fight to reignite, and about 100 people started using knives, batons (ganwat), sticks and rocks to assault each other. Patients in the hospital had to be taken out for their safety and a lot of damage was done to the hospital's emergency department. The police eventually controlled the disturbance and took the second batch of injuries to a different hospital this time.

And now the same, old ridiculous play will repeat itself, when "distinguished leaders and academics" of one tribe will ask the other for a truce (most likely forced by someone), and the whole thing ends with no consequences for those who initiated the fight. Not as long as you know a guy who knows a guy. Nobody would have the guts to get in a fight if they didn't know a bigshot in the first place.

And so the vicious cycle continues. Doesn't matter how modern we seem, we really still have a mentality from the middle ages.

King Abdullah On Star Trek?!

2008-07-11T00:28:00.008+03:00

I can't believe I didn't know this before! In 1995, back when he was a prince, King Abdullah played an uncredited extra in a Star Trek episode. Apparently, he wasn't given any lines because he wasn't a member of the Screen Actors Guild. His Majesty? A Trekkie? This is so cool!!

One Month Blogoversary

2008-07-10T16:13:00.013+03:00

Observations of a Jordanian is officially a month-old! Don't worry, I won't be doing this every month, but it's a slightly significant milestone for me that I thought deserved a post. For some reason, don't ask me why, some people are actually liking the blog. Crazy, I tell ya. To be frank, when I made the blog, I had no clue what I'd do with it. I hadn't decided on what I would be writing about, I just thought I'd post whatever interested me. Post after post, I found myself sticking to the "serious" stuff, or local issues, and I was branded an "issues blogger", a title I find very flattering, especially considering that the Jordanian blogosphere doesn't have a lot of issue bloggers, and even fewer issue bloggerettes.

Anyway, i'm rambling. I just wanted to thank everyone who's been reading the blog, and fellow bloggers who've welcomed this newbie. Also, suggestions/ideas/criticism are always welcome. Besides, I can always delete your comments. :p

Your Dose of Sarcastic News Clippings

2008-07-09T11:20:00.012+03:00

Jordanian fails to commit suicide for the 11th time. He tried to throw himself off the fourth floor of a building while extremely inebriated, but backed out at the last minute. Oh well, 12th time's the charm.

Prime Minister Nader Dahabi appointed Minister of Media and Communications Nasser Judeh as Chairman of the Jordan Radio and Television Corporation. Judeh's predecessor, Sabri Rbeihat expressed his hopes that the JRTVC's "accomplishments" would continue. Meanwhile, ATV employees continue their protests, demanding their salaries that haven't been paid for 4 months now, and the launch of the channel that was supposed to broadcast back in August 2007. Easy on the accomplishments, guys.

By Royal Decree, the Lower House of the Parliament was adjourned, bringing the House's extraordinary session to an end. The MPs can now enjoy their much needed time-off.

President of Tafileh Technical University Sultan Abu Orabi switched with President of Balqa Applied University, Omar Rimawi. Let's hope no riots break out this time.

Update: The Ministry of Higher Education said it has no knowledge of any changes between presidents of universities, and that such changes have not and will not be discussed in the near future. Seems the "informed" source that reported the changes wasn't that informed after all. Sigh.

News Clippings

2008-07-07T10:56:00.011+03:00

The Lower House of the Parliament endorsed the controversial Societies Law introduced by the government. The law compels non-governmental organizations to declare their source of funding and obtain approval from the government to accept the funding. It also imposes steep fines, a prison sentence and seizing of the funds if the minister decides the funding is "not in conformity with the organization's goals". Don't you think it's funny all the trouble the government goes through to "legitimately" limit the Muslim Brotherhood's activities?

The Greater Amman Municipality is removing posters and banners around the capital that are in violation of the regulations. I have to say, I think the Municipality has been doing a wonderful job with improving the city. Numbering the buildings and putting up street signs. All very helpful. Suggestions by yours truly: change those archaic street names into something actually legible and ban these pickups with sound speakers selling god knows what . I can actually hear one right now. Oh, and please remove these florescent blue lights lining the streets.

The Ministry of Islamic Affairs is ordering mosques to only use sound speakers in prayer times. Mosques will not be allowed to use the outside sound speakers for Friday sermons. I think this is a very reasonable step, particularly in areas where there is more than one mosque. Clearly from the comments, people do not seem to agree.

Al-Yarmouk University is celebrating Independence Day today. Bakkeer?

As for news from outside the country: A Chemistry professor and his female student in Saudi Arabia were sentenced to prison and lashes for discussing research on the phone. The professor was sentenced to 8 months of prison and 600 lashes and the woman to 4 months and 350 lashes. The spokesperson for the human rights society in Saudi Arabia said he could not make a comment now.

Fixing Journalism in Jordan

2008-07-07T10:02:00.004+03:00

Recent events, such as the alleged McCain allegations (which some people are still convinced with, apparently) and the Jordan Festival normalization 'suspicions' that came very close to cancelling it, have revealed serious incompetence on the part of the press. The journalists are blaming the government's lack of transparency for the spread of rumors. This may have been a factor, but there's more to it than that, I'm sure.

Maybe it's because in Jordan, journalism, as a career, is not thought very highly of. The mentality that compels our high-achieving students to become doctors or engineers is still very much alive. Or maybe it's because we only used to have access to government-owned newspapers for a long time, then suddenly became exposed to online media with all its candor, which led some people to abuse it. Or maybe it's because journalists were not acquainted with journalism ethics in the first place.

Whatever it is, there have been recent steps to improve the situation. The Council of Higher Education has raised the admission average to the faculty of journalism in Al-Yarmouk University from 65% to 70%. King Abdullah has created a private fund for providing proper training for journalists to improve journalism in Jordan and push it a step forward. News websites are vowing to adhere to the standards set by the union.

Controlling media in Jordan is definitely not the answer, especially when it comes to online media, simply because it cannot be done. You ban one website, another's going to pop up the next day. It's about reintroducing ethics and standards. It's about education.

HM King Abdullah Reading Blogs!

2008-07-05T20:29:00.022+03:00

I didn't think I could have a higher opinion of HM King Abdullah, but it seems I was wrong. I was amazed to find out that today, HM had left a comment on fellow blogger Naseem's post, which was about the interview HM has given on Tuesday. In the comment, HM commended the discussion and emphasized the importance of freedom of expression, as long as it doesn't personally offend someone or works against the nation's interest. HM had also left a similar comment on Al-Dustour website.

I am absolutely amazed, that a leader of a country, who probably has a million things to do, takes the time to read the views and opinions of ordinary citizens to communicate with them. He's more humble than your average Jordanian. If only more politicians would follow in his footsteps!

Congratulations Nas! I'm only a tad jealous!

Am I the ONLY One Not Watching Noor?

2008-07-04T14:52:00.005+03:00

Seriously. I don't get the obsession. Is there something wrong with me? Man this is worse than Bab il 7ara.

Jordan Charges Geert Wilders with Blasphemy

2008-07-03T23:08:00.007+03:00

The Jordanian Prosecutor General on Tuesday charged Geert Wilders, producer of anti-Islam film Fitna with five counts of blasphemy which can carry a maximum sentence of three years in prison. The prosecutor also sent a subpoena through the Dutch embassy to bring Wilders for trial. From what I understood, seeing as he doesn't reside in Jordan, this doesn't mean much unless we ask individual countries that he visits to extradite him, which would limit his freedom of movement.

As dumb as it sounds to hold citizens of other countries accountable by our laws, I think this is a very peaceful form of protest. I'll take lawsuits over angry embassy-vandalizing mobs any day. Plus, he got off easy if you ask me. What saddens me, however, is this gap between cultures that seems to be growing in light of the recent events. Extremists from both sides instigating hatred and discrimination against the other. Whatever happened to civilised discussion?

This is depressing.

HM King Abdullah Addresses Issues and Puts an End to Rumours

2008-07-02T14:23:00.012+03:00

The newspapers are buzzing with the interview His Majesty King Abdullah has given addressing issues that have been troubling Jordanians for some time now. I did not realise how bad the situation in Jordan has gotten until I read the interview. The skyrocketing prices, the land sales, the Jordan Festival, the McCain episode, the casino deal, the vicious rumours circulated by the media, the ever-growing skepticism towards the government's actions (which I admit to have been a part of), the conflict between parties that stoops to a new low everyday. Things have gotten so bad that the King felt obligated to exceptionally speak very frankly about these issues, basically to shut people up and end the controversy, and I have tremendous respect for him because of that.

Here are some excerpts from the interview:

About Prices:

"The high prices are on everyone's mind. This is a problem the whole world is suffering from and the developing world, which we are a part of, is being hit the hardest. No government in the world, as far as I know, has found a short-term answer to completely shield its people from the high prices, anyone who claims otherwise is being unfair.

The government has taken several measures to protect citizens against the high cost of living...I am the first to admit that this is not enough and that we need to do more and we will do more, God willing."

About the Land Sales:

"Selling government land to pay off international debt, which Jordan recently did, has saved current and future generations from paying high interest payment on the debt.... I want to remind people that we have paid off $2.4 billion of our debt this year.

..the debate should not focus on whether the government has the right to sell public land or any other public asset for that matter, because it obviously does have the right to sell land, but how the proceeds from the sales are used? If the process is transparent, and if the benefit of selling outweighs that of maintaining ownership, then this represents an opportunity that the Jordanian people should benefit from.

...I welcome, and indeed encourage, public criticism when it comes to the question of transparency and to whether some government assets should indeed be sold. In any country, sale of government assets is usually controversial. But currently the level of debate in Jordan has dropped to unacceptable levels with overdramatisation, rumours and opinions that are based on total ignorance of the issues; to the point where, even mature and lucid criticism is drowned out by rumours and ignorance."

About the Jordan Festival:

"Today, Arab artists are contemplating cancelling their performances and Arab tourists who were planning on visiting Jordan are cancelling their trips. The government is now wasting its valuable time and resources trying to do damage control. All this because some so-called journalists are too careless and incompetent to do their basic work; it is shameful....Should Jordan's future be held hostage to rumours and gossip? And should false information be the reference for our Jordanian press? Should we remain silent until the truth becomes the victim of irresponsible journalism?

Let us assume for a moment that it is in fact Publicis that is helping to organise the event. In fact, I cannot think of a major company that does not do business with Israel. If all these companies are offlimits then we are in deep trouble. For example, Intel whose chips power 80 per cent of computers around the world has billions of dollars of investments in Israel; its closest competitor AMD also has large investments in Israel. Does that mean we should throw our computers away? This is nonsense. If we follow this line of thought, then we will be doing the best service to Israel. All it has to do is use the best technology and best talent in the world and automatically it would be offlimits to us. "

About Rumours:

"I am extremely shocked and dismayed at the low level of debate transpiring in some elite and media circles. Throughout my life I have grown accustomed to rumours about myself and my family, as well as Jordan; but today, I feel that these rumours are negatively affecting the future of Jordan and I simply cannot remain silent. "

"I remember once having a conversation with my father, God rest his soul, about rumours circulating around a certain government official. He told me to be very careful before repeating anything I heard, because he said the difference between a lie and the truth is very simple - proof. He said that people who make dangerous claims that can jeopardise people’s reputations and careers without any proof are either ignorant or cowards. He told me that we would never allow Jordan to be hijacked by cowards and the ignorant. Today, this is my message to my brothers and sisters, the honourable citizens, that public policy will never be held hostage to rumours and ignorance. The world is becoming an increasingly complicated and technical place. I realise that some governments’ policies may be misunderstood and may face public discontent, indeed governments may sometimes make big mistakes, but if anyone has any proof of any intentional wrong-doing, please stand up and let it be known. My door is open. I am honoured to belong to a Hashemite Family that is firmly shut to rumours and irresponsible discourse."

"We should read about the world around us before we judge ourselves and let us learn from the experiences of others, let us be open to the world and unafraid, for this is the only way we will progress. Let knowledge be your weapon and don't believe rumours, especially when someone tells you "it's from reliable sources".

Finally, know that you mean everything to me."

It is at times like these that I feel proud to be a Jordanian.

You can read the entire interview (which I recommend you do) in Arabic here, and in English here.

P.S. How ironic is it that Ammon started the news piece with the paragraph about how rumors are negatively affecting Jordan and should not be tolerated?