Yugi's Blog : Source Lines Of Code Of My Life

Wadi Amman: Urban Regeneration Proposals

2009-11-07T17:52:00.007+02:00

I have found these proposals for the urban generation of Wadi Amman on http://www.urbanexchangelondon.co.uk . The following description was added:

The jabals and wadis of Amman have been the scene of settlement since the Bronze and Iron Ages. The Ammonites made it their Amman, the Romans made their Philadephia. The Seil wadi is a serpentine river bed lying between the steep banks of the valley. Evidence of its past history gives the area a cultural richness to be treasured.

This urban strip stretches between the Roman Theatre and Forum to the Ottoman inspired Hedjaz Railway at the other. Because of intense urban growth and traffic streams, a succession of routes has been established over the years leaving the Strip impenetrable, lifeless and stranded.

Its strategic location and its regeneration potential, has made the Strip an ideal hub of activities.The project is a collection of buildings and public open spaces sitting in the valley landscape whose rhythm is articulated by a series of functional zones. The intention is to bring a sense of vibrancy to the area. Massing creates vistas and enclosures. The space between buildings tempting the user to visit beyond - a glimpse of more to explore. The trace of the Seil is reflected in the architectural composition, building details and the open spaces.

And now a bunch of photos: The Business Center

Conference Center - Day

Conference Center - Night

Business Center - Day

Building in the Business Center

Business Center - Night

Concert Plaza Theme Park (?)

See the animation! http://www.urbanexchangelondon.com/video.htm

The Democratic JUST New Website Design

2009-06-20T21:30:00.000+03:00

My university, Jordan University of Science and Technology decided to change its website design again. The current design was first announced by the university's computer center in July 2007, I blogged about it and I suggested changes, some of them actually took place.

Things are even better this time, the university is asking students to vote for their preferred design. They presented three different templates and people can vote on the one it looks better in their opinion, voters are also asked to express their suggestions.

It is good to see that JUST realized that the website should be first accepted by its students as many complaints came about the user interface, cross-browser compatibility and lack of some functionalities. Asking users' feedback is always good and of course it will result in a better looking and more functional website.

If you want to vote: http://www.just.edu.jo/vote

Jordanian Traditions Help Swine Flu Spread

2009-06-16T15:30:00.000+03:00

The warnings come from Al-Arab Al-Yawm columnist Taher Adwan, who wrote yesterday about several Jordanian traditions that can be considered dangerous, especially now after the first two Swine Flu cases were found in Jordan.

The writer theorizes that Jordanians should stop some of their social traditions and activities in order to prevent spreading of Swine flu in Jordan.

The traditions "accused" by the article are:
1- Eating Mansaf by hands. Mansaf is the national dish of Jordan and is eaten exclusively by hand, but according to the writer this is the right time for Jordanians to stop.
2- Cheek kissing and hand shaking. In case of "necessity" hands should be cleaned with anti-germ soap.
3- Use of the same coffee cup. Coffee is probably the most important symbol of hospitality in Jordan, when served, it is put in a single tiny ceramic cup and offered to several guests, especially in important occasions like weddings and funerals. According to Adwan Jordanians should refuse drinking coffee in these situations.

I know that what the article asks for is widely acceptable in terms of hygiene and health, but are Jordanians ready to say good bye to their "bad" habits and accept this? I hope that.

Jordanian Celebrations not so Jordanian

2009-06-12T21:00:00.001+03:00

It seems that the organizer of the show in the stadium was a UAE-based company and the cameramen and TV crew were from Holland and France... So, does this mean we suffer from a shortage in skilled people?

At least, I suppose that the army men and 'Shabab Kulluna al Ordon' were Jordanians.

If you are interested, you can see full-length videos of the celebrations from the jordaynet Youtube channel.

Wadi Amman Project vs. Hamzet Wasel: Restoration or Demolition?

2009-06-06T00:33:00.004+03:00

For sure, Amman cannot be considered the world's most respectful city toward its architectural heritage. 1920's and 1930's old buildings in King Faisal street are demolished to be replaced by ugly concrete buildings and scary skyscrapers are scheduled to grow like mushrooms making Amman not the "white city" anymore.

Amman's inattention to its heritage and calls for modernization (or more exactly "Dubaization") are making us lose parts of old Amman, piece by piece.

What do you know about "Wadi Amman Project"?

We will not call it "Solidaire Amman" reassured mayor Omar Maani. But the 475,000 square meters project looks similar in principle; a multi-million regeneration plan for the downtown with a public-private partnership, it aims to "bring massive socio-economic benefits" to the area.

The project will comprise three main areas:
1) Wadi Philadelphia:
Includes the Roman Amphitheater, the Old municipality building (that will be rehabilitated into a hotel), the Poets house (Bait al Shi'r) that will remain the main cultural center with musical and cultural activities, and the old Raghadan terminal (converted into a commercial area with a public library and a hotel). Et oila: A funicular that connects the Amphitheatre with the Citadel (Area around 9 Hectares).
2) Wadi Raghdan:
Public gardens (Palace Gardens, since they are near the Royal Raghdan Palace). Mixed-use buildings (including a bazaar) and a pedestrian path. 22.5 hectares of "affordable housing", in addition to a Souq and a hotel.
3) Wadi al-Mahatta:
Intermodal terminal for the Amman-Zarqa light train.

The frontward yard of the Roman Theatre will be converted to a piazza, the Hashemite square will be revitalized with a beautiful landscape design. One of the main concepts of the project is to make Amman greener.

Good project, but will GAM take into consideration the local community in these areas? Will they try to conserve the old heritage and the old Ammani buildings? Not sure, one case is Abed Abu Mohaisen whose family produced traditional Bedouin daggers for more that one-hundred years has been asked to close down his workshop in downtown. A traditional Jordanian art may die out.

It is not clear which buildings GAM will reserve, even in the published pre-qualification document there are only three places which may be considered historical monuments and heritage buildings (Roman theatre, Old Municipal Hall building and the Poet’s House).

What do you know about "Hamzet Wasel"?

"Hamzet Wasel is an initiative by and for the citizens of Amman to encourage the diverse people of the city to build authentic relationships and exercise their social responsibility by designing and participating in activities and programs that tackle the complex challenges and explore the unique opportunities which exist within our multi-layered city."

In practice, Hamzet Wasel members protest the building of a wall around Jabal Qalaa and accuse the municipality and the Ministry of Tourism that this walls will prevent the citizens to access that part of the citadel which will be converted to a plaza for "people who can afford to rent the place" for weddings and parties.

Hamzet Wasel oppose the proposed demolition of the 50+ year old homes and suggest that the area remain open and free for all.

On the "Creative Jordan" website you can find rich and useful discussions. Dr. Khairieh Amr is an archaeologist who excavated at the same zone said there were plans to purchase an old house and convert it into a visitors center. She also asked why the government is building against its own regulations, if the people of Jabal Qalaa are under very strict regulations since the whole area is an archaeological site.

The construction will be built on Archeological ruins, revealed Faten Al-Masri Kamal from GAM, "the entire Citadel site has the potential to yield archaeological resources, and as yet, a considerable part of the site remains unexcavated. Therefore any new construction could be on top of archaeological ruins".

Sally Shalabi posted some photos of the wall and the bus terminal, it is not so beautiful.

Today a public meeting should be held with local community to discuss the issue. Fortunately the municipality is making some steps back and tries to be more cooperative with Jabal Qalaa citizens, urban architects and local community. Everybody wants a better and more attractive Amman. As we've seen, there are full of archaeological ruins at the citadel that wait to see the light, Amman's old buildings still keep centennial stories and should be reserved and the downtown hides an inestimable heritage that can be converted to a smart source of tourism and economy.

Everything can be accomplished by keeping citizen, local needs and heritage in mind.

مئة ألف مبروك للويكيبيديا

2009-05-30T14:00:00.002+03:00

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احتفلت موسوعة الويكبيديا العربية بنشرها المقالة رقم ١٠٠٠٠٠.

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على الرغم أن اللغة العربية هي في المرتبة الخامسة بين اللغات الأكثر تحدثاً في العالم إلا أن ويكبيديا العربية هي في المرتبة السادسة والعشرين من ناحية حجمها.

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قد يرجح البعض أن السبب في ذلك هو أن الشعوب العربية -لأسباب افتصادية واجتماعية- هي أقل استخداماً للكنولوجيا والإنترنت مقارنة مع غيرهم.

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إلا أن محموع مستخدمي النسخة العربية من ويكيبيديا أكثر من ٢٠٠٠٠٠. والغريب هو أن نسخاً من ويكيبيديا من لغات أخرى كالعبرية والإندونيسية تضم عدداً قريباً من المقالات على الرغم أن عدد المستخدمين هو النصف تقريباً.

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هذا يدل على أن الإنسان العربي يجد صعوبة أكثر في تقديم المعلومة ونشر المعرفة مقارنة مع شعوب أخرى.

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وما يؤسفني أكثر من ذلك هو نشوء ويكيبيديا باللهجة المصرية، على اعتبارها لغة مستقلة عن العربية. (وهنا أقصد اللغة العربية وليست السيارة).

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أكره اللهجة المصرية. وعلى الرغم أني أوافق على استخدام اللغة العامية في القصص المحكية أو الأمثال الشعبية، إلا أنني أجدها غير مناسبة للأغراض العلمية.

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هل سوف نرى ويكيبيديا باللهجة الأردنية؟

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أتمنى أن يتم "إغلاق" ويكيبيدا المصرية في أسرع وقت ممكن، وأن يتحول جميع مساهميها إلى النسخة العربية.

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أدعو الجميع إلى المساعدة في نشر المعرفة والعلم عن طريق تحرير ويكيبيديا العربية.

Computer Engineers Should Not Teach Computer Science

2009-05-28T13:30:00.002+03:00

Everything started last year, when a commission created by the Minister of Higher Education considered computer engineers unqualified to teach computer science. The decision was widely accepted by computer science departments and did not cause any resistance in most of the academic community, except for several computer engineering professors who found themselves unable to renew their contracts at the end of the academic year.

Yesterday, computer engineers protested again, but I am happy to read that the Ministry made things clear and dismissed the new claims against the decision.

Although most people do not know that, but there are relatively more differences than similarities in the two fields. Most of the computer science departments were first established from math departments, that is why computer science curricula contain a significant mathematical foundation and courses like algorithms, numerical analysis and theory of computation. It is not a coincidence that computer science is regarded as a natural science, like mathematics, physics and chemistry.

Computer engineering is different, it has its roots in electrical engineering and depends a lot on electronics, circuits and other electricity-related stuff. Some universities even find it difficult to consider computer engineering an "independent" major. MIT, one of the world's most important technology universities, has an "Electrical Engineering and Computer Science" degree. Here in Jordan, Yarmouk University provides a B.Sc. in electrical engineering with minor in computer engineering for its students. The same classification is applied on computer engineers that want to sign in the Jordan Engineers Association.

As the two subjects differ, it is very improbable that a computer engineer is able to teach a "pure" computer science course in a proper way. Even the common subjects, like operating systems, computer architecture and networking, are used to be taught by respective departments as the required approach may be different based on the target audience.

It is also known that computer engineers -generally- lack good programming skills and knowledge, that's basically caused by a smaller number of programming subjects in their curricula, in addition to the engineering focus on hardware rather than software.

I do not know why in Jordan this simple issue is opposed, but in other parts of the world a computer scientist teaches computer science and computer engineer, on his side, teaches computer engineering. Anyway, the ministry's decision is just the first step in order to improve the academic level of computer science students, a lot of other steps should be taken: First of them, allow only IT and Scientific Tawjihi students to study CS and encourage the creation of a trade union for computer scientists.

هل عاد زمن التخفي الملكي؟

2009-05-27T23:22:00.004+03:00

Source (in English)

لقد قام العاهل الأردني الملك عبد الله الثاني بالتخفي يوم الأربعاء عن طريق لبس "دشداشة" سوداء وكوفية حمراء، وذلك من أجل التفتيش على خدمات يقدمها مركز صحي في عمان.

وقام الملك الذي كان يمشي على "عكازة" بتفقد المركز واختلط مع الناس من أجل الاطلاع على نوعية الخدمات المقدمة لهم، حسب ما أكد مصدر مسؤول لوكالة أ ف ب.

"ولكن تم اكتشافه فيما بعد..."

لم يذكر المصدر تفاصيل أخرى.

ولقد مشى العاهل الأردني على خطى أبيه الملك الراحل الحسين، إذ قام بالتخفي عدة مرات منذ استلام منصبه في عام ١٩٩٩ كسائق تاكسي وكرجل مسنّ بغية الاختلاط مع الناس.

Google Jordan - Independence Day Logo

2009-05-25T16:27:00.004+03:00

I liked the Google Jordan logo on the occasion of Independence Day! Happy Independence Day to all!

Knesset to Discuss "Jordan is Palestine"

2009-05-20T10:57:00.003+03:00

This issue is very important to the Palestinian cause and it is vital to Jordan! In the last weeks, after Netanyahu's new government in Israel, more and more people are calling to create a Palestinian state in Jordan by expelling Palestinians and by denying the "Right of return" which is protected under international laws.

According to some news sources, the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Knesset discussed a proposal to evict all Palestinians to Jordan. The proposal was submitted by Aryeh Eldad, a member of the right-wing secular party Hatikvah.

In a recent article published in the party's website entitled "Jordan is Palestine", Eldad said:

Between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean, only one country has a right to exist, the State of Israel. Palestinians have a state across the river. They are 70 percent of its citizens.

Unfortunately, Eldad's voice is not the only one which asks to destroy two states, both Jordan and Palestine, in order to create a Greater Israel, that will include all the land between River Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea. Including, of course, Jerusalem in a "Jewish-only" state.

Our government is asleep. Jordanian officials are mute, they do not talk about this issue. Please can someone wake them up!

قيل في "هبة نيسان"

2009-05-15T09:56:00.005+03:00

أقكار وخواطر ومقتبسات من مقالات تناقلتها وسائل الإعلام والإنترنت حول "هبة نيسان" على بعد عشرين عاماً من حدوثها.

"غني عن القول ان هبة نيسان كانت الرد الطبيعي على السياسات التي أدت إلى انفجار الأزمة الاقتصادية والتنكر للحريات العامة وحرية الرأي والتعبير وحرية التنظيم النقابي والسياسي ، وسياسة القهر والاعتقال والحرمان من العمل والسفر وفرض القوانين الاستثنائية والأحكام العرفية، وغياب الشفافية وتفشي مظاهر الرشوة والفساد والسطو على المال العام، فيمكن اختزال المطالب الشعبية بكلمتين من اجل الخبز والحرية، لقد دافعت الجماهير الشعبية عن حقها في الحياة الكريمة مقدمة أغلى التضحيات فسالت الدماء الزكية على ثرى الوطن، وتحملت عذابات السجون لتدشين مرحلة جديدة في تاريخ البلاد، بهدف إجراء تحولات عميقة تسهم في تصويب الأوضاع السياسية والاقتصادية."

فهمي الكتوت

"وعلى الرغم من الهبة الشعبية الواسعة التي انطلقت من الجنوب واتسعت لتشمل أنحاء البلاد كافة إلا أن الحركة الوطنية باستثناء مساهمات للحزب الشيوعي الأردني، لم تكن في وضع يسمح لها بالاستفادة من الاحداث فبقيت الحركة ذات طبيعة شعبية عفوية بل ان الاسلاميين وجدوا فيها فرصة لتعزيز تحالفهم مع الحكم عبر وقوفهم ليس فقط على الحياد وانما الى جانب القصر عندما هددوا بعدم السماح لاحداث معان بالوصول الى عمان."

"في هبة نيسان كما في المفترقات السياسية الاخرى التي مرت بالاردن مثل احداث الكرك وانتقال ولاية العهد من الامير حسن الى الملك عبد الله الثاني وقف فلسطينيو الاردن المستندين الى تاريخ تراجيدي يعود الى احداث ايلول على الحياد ، لتكتشف مؤسسة الحكم ان فلسطينيي الاردن باتجاهاتهم المختلفة يشكلون حليفا بديلا في اوقات الازمات ضد الحلفاء الدائمين من المؤسسة العسكرية اوالمؤسسة العشائرية ، وهو ما دفع القصر الى توطيد تحالفه مع النخب الفلسطينية الاقتصادية الجديدة غير المعنية بالسياسة ودهاليزها مبتعدا عن النخب الفلسطينية السياسية ذات الاطماع السياسية ، وهو الامر الذي تمت ترجمته على ارض الواقع عبر زيارة عبد الكريم الكباريتي للمخيمات الفلسطينية في لحظة الذروة عندما اندلعت احداث الكرك عام 1996 ."

"اليوم ونحن نستذكر احداث معان نجد ان المسؤولين عن دوافعها لا زالوا في السلطة ، زيد الرفاعي الذي اقيل تحت الضغط الشعبي بعد ان تلقى رسالة شكر لطيفة من الملك حسين في الواجهة ، بعكس عبد الكريم الكباريتي " بطل " احداث الكرك الذي اقيل في رسالة تعنيف فريدة لم يوجهها الملك سابقا لاي من رؤساء وزارته ."

"ولايزال عبد الهادي المجالي الوزير السابق في حكومة الكباريتي وقائد الامن ابان هبة نيسان واحداث جامعة اليرموك عام 1986 يسيطر على مجلس النواب ، ولا زال الخبراء الاعلاميون والاقتصاديون يطمئنون المواطن الاردني بان الوضع الاقتصادي في البلاد بخير وانه لم يتأثر بالازمة الاقتصادية التي ضربت في كل اصقاع الدنيا باستثناء ـ على رأيهم ـ الاردن ."

خالد كساسبة

"ومما يؤسف لهُ في هذا السياق أن الأسباب الموجبة لهبة نيسان هي اليوم ذات الأسباب بل تفوقها بأضعاف كثيرة، فقد ارتفعت معدلات الفقر والبطالة بسبب تواصل الإذعان لوصفات صناديق النقد الدولية وتعاظم حجم المديونية لهذه الصناديق، وعلى صعيد الحريات نلاحظ ازدياد القبضة الأمنية للبلاد، وإقصاء الشعب عن المشاركة في اتخاذ القرار، لأنهُ وبكل أسف قد ركن استسلاماً لهذا الواقع الأليم بعد ان عجز عن التغيير وسلم نفسه طواعية لمخالب اليأس والإحباط."

بلال العقايلة

"ونحن نحيي تلك الهبة المجيدة فإننا لا نزال نعيش الأزمة ذاتها فالبطالة في ازدياد وموازنة يزداد العجز فيها وباعتراف وزير المالية بوصول هذا العجز إلى 1.1 مليار دينار وتدهور في معدلات النمو بسبب اعتماد سياسة اقتصاد السوق والاندفاع في سياسة الخصخصة الذي أدى إلى تراجع في دور الدولة وقاد إلى تنامي قطاع الخدمات وإهمال للقطاعات الإنتاجية واتساع دائرة الفقر إضافةً إلى الفساد.".

سعيد ذياب

"كان ذهب البنك المركزي الذي كان يغطي الدينار الأردني قد ارتحل بقدرة قادر إلى خارج البلاد، وارتحلت معه سلة العملات التي اعتُمدت للحفاظ على القيمة التبادلية للدينار. وخلال أشهر كانت قيمة الدينار قد هبطت بما يزيد على 50%... ورأت حكومة زيد الرفاعي أن ... لا بد مع هذا من رفع أسعار السلع الأساسية لتغطي معدلات انخفاض قيمة الدينار التبادلية الناجم عن السياسات الاقتصادية لإعادة الهيكلة، وتالياً الخصخصة. فارتفعت أسعار المحروقات وعدد من السلع الأساسية بصورة لم يستطع أهالي معان السكوت معها. فهبوا هبة رجل واحد وأحرقوا بعض فروع المصارف، وهاجموا سيارات الحكومة والشرطة عندما تصدت هذه لهم، واندلعت، في واقع الحال، انتفاضة ذات مضمون طبقي بأفق سياسي لا ترفع أي شعارات فلسفية. انتفاضة أشبه بانتفاضة الباستيل من حيث عفويتها، ولكن دون أن تصل إلى الباستيل الأردني. وامتد الغضب الشعبي إلى الكرك والطفيلة، ومن ثم إلى مادبا والسلط، ولكنه توقف على أبواب عمان، كما توقف من قبل ماجد العدوان."

"في هذه الأثناء، وجَّه (الرئيس الفلسطيني) أبو عمار رسالة مفتوحة إلى فلسطينيي الأردن بثها الإعلام الرسمي الأردني، وخلاصتها أن ما يحدث في معان وفي الأردن عموماً شأن داخلي لا علاقة لهم به، وأن الأردن (أي النظام) هو خير صديق للفلسطينيين."

عصام التل

Follow Queen Rania on Twitter!

2009-05-08T18:27:00.006+03:00

After the Youtube channel, the Queen is now a twitterer! This is what she has just twittered after Pope's arrival:

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

If you want to follow Her Majesty the (micro-blogger) Queen :)
http://twitter.com/QueenRania

Lack of Vision and Expertise Plague Economic Policy in Jordan

2009-05-05T15:31:00.003+03:00

Some important points of the last article of Yusuf mansur, published today in the Jordan Times.

It really is baffling how lack of vision and expertise plague economic policy in Jordan today.

Not only do we have failure in dealing with the self-imposed and created negative impact of the global credit crisis, we also come up with major policy proposals that are not warranted at this stage, ineffective in dealing with the current slowdown, and which, even when implemented, will be too late in coming and may worsen the situation.

...[M]ost recently, the new minister of finance decided to merge the income and sales taxes into one piece of legislation of over 800 articles. Not only is this new law in contradiction with the dictates and vision of the leadership, it also brings into focus a practice that is utterly unconstitutional.

The proposed law lowers farmer income tax exemptions by half, from JD100,000 to JD50,000. This comes in a country where 86 per cent of all food items are imported, and the Ministry of Agriculture budget is insignificant, R&D on farming lacks funding, subsidies are non-existent, water is scarce (Jordan is among the five water poorest countries in the world), and farm labour and land are expensive [...]

In addition, the draft law proposes that the first JD24,000 of household income is fully exempt, the next JD10,000 is taxed at 6 per cent and for the remainder, there will be an income tax of 12 per cent. Thus, the writers of the draft law believe they have achieved consistency with Article 111 of the Constitution, which requires the tax burden to be progressive (rises as income rises).

Moreover, the sales tax is kept at 16 per cent and its spread is further increased, making its impact on prices, consumption and production even more worrying.

There is a basic rule in economics: tax burden on an entity (citizen or corporation) is analysed taking into account all taxes paid by the entity, not one tax alone [...]

A quick reading of the draft law shows that it is definitely unconstitutional. This can be demonstrated as follows: let’s assume, for simplicity, that there are two citizens, one with a salary of JD6,000 per year (JD500 per month), the other earning JD60,000 yearly (JD5,000 per month). Neither salary is outrageous in Jordan. The tax burden on the person making JD500 per month is simply the sales tax, since his/her annual income (JD6,000) is less than JD24,000. Since he/she will consume all the income, the tax burden is 16 per cent of the income, which is exactly the sales tax burden.

The wealthy (the person making JD5,000 per month), having the luxury to save, will spend only JD2,000 per month (JD24,000 per year) and save the remaining JD3,000 per month (JD36,000 per year). His/her tax burden is 16 per cent in sales tax on the JD24,000 spent annually, 6 per cent income tax on the JD10,000 that follows, and 12 per cent on the JD26,000 that follows. In total, the rich person has a tax burden of JD7,560 per year, or 12.6 per cent of his income. Thus the poor person pays 16 per cent of his income, while the well off (who makes ten times the poor person’s income) only pays 12.6 per cent of his income in sales and income taxes. This is the very definition of a regressive tax. Surely this is neither humane nor acceptable, and it is outright unconstitutional.

Now, to practices around the world. The vast majority of countries have their sales tax at almost half the income tax - one can easily verify this with a quick Internet search. They do so in order to ease the tax burden on the poor.

The government in Jordan is introducing legislation under the guise of helping the poor. If best practice around the world, simple economic analysis and long-established doctrine show how unreasonable the proposed law is, wisdom dictates that we should refrain from looking and sounding wrong to the world and in history.

[...] Furthermore, this law has an impact on investment and business planning, and it should not be callously suggested every time we change guard. It destabilises, impoverishes and humiliates the very core of economic reform we have espoused since 1989.

But the single most significant flaw in the suggested piece of legislation is its arrogance. It is probably the most important piece of legislation to be introduced in the Jordanian economy, yet it emerges with no assessment of the short- and long-term effects on the various groups of society, especially the disenfranchised.

Creative Commons Jordan - Facebook Group

2009-05-02T19:37:00.005+03:00

Do you think Creative Commons and "Some rights reserved" are good ideas? Do you want to know more about Creative Commons licenses? Do you want to socialize with other CC-supporters in Jordan?

Join the "Creative Commons Jordan" Facebook group:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=76228837413

Russian-Jordanian Weapon a Threat to US Security

2009-04-24T21:45:00.003+03:00

The Russian-Jordanian Hashim RPG-32 rocket launcher system is considered a threat to US Security and it was listed by the US Army as part of its intelligence brief on 'Asymmetrical Threats to Current and Future US Forces'.

Back in 2006, Jordan Russian Electronics Systems Co (JRESCO) revealed the development of Hashim as a new 105 mm rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launcher system. JRESCO is a joint venture between the KADDB and Russia's Rosboronexport.

In a recent news story, the Arabic version of CNN reported that Hashim RPG-32 represents one of the security threats for the United States of America, together with other ballistic missiles which can destroy all types of military tanks. The Hashim RPG-32 is the result of cooperation between Jordanian and Russian engineers, CNN stated.

Globalization: When Bedouins Drink Nescafe!

2009-04-18T07:59:00.003+03:00

How much time does it take to convert Jordanian Bedouins from "gahwa sada" with cardamom to Swiss-made Nescafe?

(Photo from Nescafe page on Facebook).

Jordan - NATO Cooperation: We Discovered the Wheel!

2009-04-15T22:48:00.002+03:00

Even if the Jordanian-NATO ties might be something new for some bloggers, stories of Jordanian troops in Afghanistan were on everyone's lips (even official media) for years!

The Jordanian blogosphere inexplicably reported this story some days ago, and we were enchanted by titles like "Blogger Exposes a State Secret" as well as links which flourished everywhere, from girls-only forums to the official Muslim Brotherhood website, all of them claim to expose a terrible secret, a secret that Jordanian officials are trying hard to defend.

The supposed secret is that there are Jordanian troops in Afghanistan (wow!), it was found written in an unclassified NATO document uploaded by an anonymous user on Wikileaks. By reading the related blog post, it seems that it was very difficult and hard to find the document (probably Google was not used) and publishing this kind of information will get the blogger "in trouble".

Reality is different. The truth is that the secret is not so "secret". Jordanian-NATO cooperation was always considered a glory for the government, joint US-Jordan military exercises make the headlines of local newspapers and Arab TVs reported about the presence of Jordanian special forces back in 2001!

Imagine that the state-run news agency Petra, revealed the "hidden state secret" and provided a nice photo of Jordanian soldiers leaving to Afghanistan...

Now it is my turn and I want to expose some state secrets: There were important relations between big Jordanian officials and Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, there is a cooperation between the Jordanian intelligence and CIA and, this is brand new, we have American nuclear waste in Jordan!

مغامرات أبي الحروف

2009-04-11T12:39:00.001+03:00

أبناء جيلي يعلمون جيداً من هي شخصية "أبو الحروف" ويكون من السهل لهم تردد هذه الكلمات بصوت جهير: أقوى من الشدة... أطول من المدة... أحدّ من السين... أهدأ من السكون...
أسرع من لمح العين... إنه الرجل الطائر... إنه أبو الحروف...

وتعلمنا جيداً المصائب التي قد تنتج من استبدال حرف الطاء بالصاد أو الضمة بالفتحة. وكم كنا نكره خربوط!

كل ذلك عرفناه عندما كنا صغاراً وكانت دقيقتان فقط من برنامج "المناهل" تبعثان فينا البهجة والسرور. وكنا بعفوية وبراءة نتعجب مما يبث في ذاك التلفاز. لقد مر الوقت ولم تبقى إلا الذكرى في الأذهان، ولمن يريد أن يتذكر قليلاً من تلك المغامرات هذه الحلقات الست الأولى:

نشكر alyasey!

King Abdullah's Dog Wasn't Treated in Israel

2009-04-07T14:26:00.003+03:00

Yedioth Ahronoth apologized its readers and corrected a previous story that reported King Abdullah's dog was treated in Israel.

The newspaper reported the story on April 1st. (Was it an April's fool?). It said that the dog's treatment was strictly hidden by Jordanian officials and added that the dog was sent to an Israeli veterinary hospital during the Israeli attack on Gaza.

Yedioth Ahronoth now says the report was "incorrect". This is not the first time an Israeli newspaper reports news stories about Jordan that are then revealed wrong.

Jordanian media remained silent about the Israeli paper's story, a single exception was AmmanNet that displayed the report on its front page for a short time. The blogosphere was very careful not to post stories like this that, true or not, are still considered "taboos" here in Jordan. Exceptions were Jordan Reform Watch and Naseem in his Del.icio.us Pickings.

Starsucks Coffee

2009-01-14T09:39:00.003+02:00

From the demonstration in front of Starbucks Coffee in Sweifiyeh.

(Other images here)

Police Used "Expired" Teargas

2009-01-11T13:43:00.002+02:00

Police dispersed protesters planning to march on the Israeli embassy in Amman on Friday, the protesters tried to reach the Israeli embassy and demanded the government to expel the Israeli ambassador (or literally to "kick out the Zionist pig").

Anti-riot police fired tear gas at the protesters near Kalouti mosque in Rabia district, some online pictures show that the used tear gas canisters expired in July 1995 (before 14 years).
It is not clear how many canisters have been used. Expired tear gas may be dangerous and ineffective, inhaling this gas can cause lungs infection and severe skin allergies.

Back in December 2008, a 68 year old man has died in Greece from inhaling expired tear gas.

ويحكم يا أبناء يعرب قد نالت منكم سايكس بيكو

2009-01-09T16:17:00.001+02:00

هذه التدوينة بقلم الصديق يوسف حداد:

إن المسرحية الهزلية التي تدور أحداثها في ركن الأسلاك الدبلوماسية العربية في هذه الايام ما هي الا تأكيد على حجم المهزلة التي تنال من الجسد العربي يوما فيوما...

هذه الايام الدموية التي تعصف بالواقع العربي ماهي إلا تأكيد عملي على نجاح اتفاقية سايكس بيكو... نعم سايكس بيكو هذه الاتفاقية التي أكل عليها الدهر وشرب هذه الاتفاقية التي قسمت الهلال العربي الخصيب كما تقسم البطيخة إلى حصص تذهب إلى يد الاستعمار..

ما عاد للعرب وجود بل أصبحت الأرض العربية الواحدة دويلات متناحرة متخاصمة في كل دويلة دويلات أصغر حتى أصبح الانسان مقسوما حتى على نفسه ومتناحرا حتى مع ذاته..

لقد حلت بالعقول العربية التي انجبت يوما المع العلماء واكبر الفقهاء ثقافات مما هب ودب فاصبحت عقولنا مستهلكة منهكة منتهية الصلاحية.. الثقافة العربية تحتضر.. لقد نجح الاستعمار بسلبنا ليس فقط اراضينا بل ماهو اهم واكثر حساسية من ذلك سلبنا عقولنا وفكرنا.. الاراضي العربية التي احتضنت في يوم من الايام أمة جلست على عرش العالم ليس بقوتها بل بفكرها وعلمها وحضارتها.. اصبحت تحتضن اشباه عرب ممتلئين من ثقافة غبية بليدة نجح الاستعمار في زراعتها في العقول..

الاصوات العربية التي نادت بكل ماهو مقدس ونزيه حل مكانها اصوات تنادي بكل ماهو ذليل ورخيص.. الاعين التي كانت تنشد نشيد موطني وبلاد العرب مع زقزقة عصافير الصباح حل مكانها عيون كسولة جاهلة تجري وراء لذاتها.. اللسان العربي الذي انشد اجمل القصائد التي تتغنى بالارض والعرض والكرامة الانسانية حل مكانها السنة عجمية مرخبة وتافهة تنطق بكل ماهو سفيه.. فمن قال ان الاستعمار هو بسلب الاراضي والموارد الطبيعية فقط ان الاستعمار الحقيقي والفعلي هو استعمار العقول .. هو التنويم المغناطيسي الذي نوم أمة المئتي مليون.. فما الحل؟....

ما الذي جرى لنا في العشرين سنة الماضية..ما الذي جرى لنا حتى بعنا الدماء العربية واستبدلناها بزجاجات الخمر المصفى.. ما الذي جرى للصف العربي الموحد القادر على مواجهة كافة عكننات الزمان.. ما الذي جرى لنا حتى بعنا ابنائنا واستبدلناهم بحفنة من الجواسيس والمرتزقة..

سايكس بيكو لم تمت بل هي حية.. حية في جسد الأمة المريض.. حية ترزق في فكر الأمة.. والقادم اصعب........

مظاهرات

2009-01-01T13:00:00.005+02:00

استعددت يوم الاثنين لكي ألبي "نداء الواجب"، وأضم صوتي إلى صوت عشرات الآلاف من الأردنيين الذين نزلوا إلى الشوارع وعبروا عن شعورهم بالحزن والغضب عن طريق التظاهرات والاعتصامات.
كانت هناك مظاهرة كبيرة انطلقت من مجمع النقابات إلى رئاسة الوزراء، إلا أنني فضلت الانضمام إلى المظاهرة المنظمة من قبل حركة اليسار الاجتماعي والتي من المفترض أن تشمل مسيرة إلى السفارة الإسرائيلية والتظاهر عندها (أو حتى اقتحامها). وعلى الرغم أنني على يقين أن طرد السفير الإسرائيلي من عمان لا يعني إحلال السلام أو حتى إيقاف العدوان، إلا أنها أكثر ما لدينا الآن لإظهار غضبنا واستنكارنا لما يجري، (بالإضافة أن برأيي الخاص من غير الملائم أن نتظاهر أمام السفارة المصرية وننسى كلياً أن سفارةً لإسرائيل هنا).
الشرطة منعتنا من الوصول إلى السفارة.

(١)
تاكسي.. تاكسي
ركبت سيارة تاكسي لكي أذهب إلى موقع المظاهرة، وما أن طالبت من السائق الذهاب إلى "مسجد الكالوتي" بدأت ملامح وجهه بالتغير، فهذا الجامع معروف إنه منطلق للتظاهرات ضد السفارة الإسرائيلية والتي هي على مقربة منه.
"عشرين سنة"... هذه جملة حكاها السائق بعدما سألني إذا ما كانت مظاهرة هناك...
"عشرين سنة"... كررها بعد أن لاحظ أني كنت غير مهتم بما سيقوله.
مرت لحظات صمت، والسائق ينظر إلىّ... ربما لينتظر أي رد مني...
طال صمتي، إلى أن كسرته... "أه يا زلمة... مالها العشرين سنة؟..."

"قبل عشرين سنة كنت في فتح المجلس الثوري... أنا كنت مع أبو نضال. احنا كنا نخطف طائرات، قبل عشرين عام خطفتُ طائرة في مصر... أبو إياد؟ أبو إياد نحنا إللي قتلناه لأنه خائن... كنا نتدرب في العراق... الله يرحم صدام... رحت على الشام؟ الشام؟ دمشق؟ روح على فندق (----) ولسه بتلاقي أثار الرصاص... أبو مازن... هذا بهائي! انت رحت على حيفا؟ أنا لما كنت في حيفا رحت على المعبد تبعهم و(شخّيت) فيه..."
وأنا أردد في نفسي..."ليش خلّيتو يحكي!"

(٢)
السفير
ورحنا لكي "نسفّر" السفير.
لننهي العدوان الشرير، وواقعنا المرير.
لاأدري إذا كان السفير يعرف عنا. ولكن ما أظنه أنه لا أحد بلغه أنه كنا هناك نتظاهر، ولا هو حسّ فينا. حتى بدأت أشك أن سفيرا هناك. فعلاً، هل نحن متأكدون أن هناك سفير إسرائيلي؟ السفارة نراها ولكن أين السفير؟ لماذا لم يُسمع عنه شيئاً. (أعتذر ولكن غالباً ما تراودني هذه الأسئلة عن "الوجود")
وبدأنا نصرخ...
نعم لطرد السفير!
حتى أصبحت: نعم لطرد الحقير!
إلى: نعم لطرد الخنزير!
الله على بلاغة العرب! وضعوا لكلمة "سفير" سجعاً وقافيةً تناسب عدة مسبات وشتائم.

(٣)
أعلام
كان من اللازم أن تكون يسارية، إلا أن اللون الأصفر كان منتشراً... والشرائط والأعلام... صفراء فاقع لونها تسر الناظرين.
يهتف البعض لحماس، وأخرون لحزب الله... أمة ضحكت من جهلها الأمم...
ماذا أقول ومعظم من كان هناك لا يحمل أي فكر سياسي؟
رائع.. أحدهم رافع راية الثورة العربية الكبرى... وكأنه يقول (توحدوا يا عرب!)... نعم ولكن لحظات الأمل ماتت عندي عندما جاء شاب وسأل صاحبه: ما هو ذلك العلم؟... وصاحبه حتى لم يعرف!
وشاب آخر كان يحمل علماً أردنياً. إلا أنه كان يحاول أن "يقبع" النجمة حتى يظهر كعلم فلسطين...
وأهل غزة يُقتلون...

نحو فكر أناركي أردني

2008-12-13T10:24:00.002+02:00

أقولها بصراحة، لن أستغرب إذا أصبح الطالب الأردني ينظر إلى زميله اليوناني بعين الحسد والغيرة.

كل شيء بدأ عندما قام العديد من طلاب الجامعات اليونانية بالتظاهر رداً على خطة الحكومة اليمينية بتقليل حجم النفقات التي تخصص للتربية والتعليم. اشتكى المتظاهرون من أن "الصفوف بلا تدفئة" وبعضهم طالب الحكومة بإيجاد حل للبطالة -مطالب معقولة ومنطقية- ولكن ازدياد العنف جاء نتيجة مقتل متظاهر عمره ١٥ سنة على أيدي رجال الشرطة.

المظاهرات اليونانية تختلف عن تلك التي تحدث (؟) في الأردن، ومقتل صبي في الخامسة عشر من عمره قد يكون له صدى مختلف هنا. فالجامعات في اليونان كانت موطنا للمظاهرات والإضرابات منذ القِدم، تكللت بثورة طلاب الهندسة ضد نظام الجنرالات والدكتاتورية العسكرية، هذه الثورة التي أدخلت البلاد نهج الديمقراطية والحرية.

وأما في الأردن، فعلى الرغم أنه لا تنقصنا "ثقافة سياسية"، إلا أننا ما زلنا غير مقتنعين بجدوى المظاهرات وأصبحنا ننظر بعين الريبة إلى ما يمكن للشعب أن يحققه إذا يعلو صوته. فالجميع يعلم أن مظاهراتنا -على قلتها- أصبحت فعلاً مجرد للتظاهر لا بنيّة التغيير، فبدأ ينقصها كل من الإرادة والحماس والثبات. وبالتالي نرى أن مظاهرات الخبز ومظاهرات عام ١٩٨١ (أو ما يعرف بهبة نيسان) أصبحت جزءاً من ماضينا لا أكثر، على الرغم أنها هي التي دفعت وطننا إلى التقدم إلى الأمام وشكلت أكبر عنصر قوة ضد ممارسات الحكومات السابقة.

ويبدو لي أن هذه المظاهرات حققت نجاحها لأمرين، فكانت عفوية بحتة وغير مسيّسة، بالإضافة أنها كانت إنسانية بالدرجة الأولى إذ كل ما دعت إليه كان يلمس الآدمي من حيث إنسانيته واحتياجاته وتطلعاته.

كانت تقاوم "السلطة" ولم تكن وراءها أية "سلطة".

وربما قد انتبهتم أن معظم وسائل الإعلام العربية لم تذكر كلمة "أناركية" أو ترجمتها العربية "لاسلطوية - لاتسلطية" في أخبارها عن أحداث اليونان، على الرغم أن الكلمة نفسها كانت تذكر وبكثرة في أجهزة الإعلام في الخارج. لا أعرف لماذا باتت هذه الكلمة محرّمة في مجتمعنا، أو الأغلب مجهولة تماماً بين مختلف فئات الشعب.

الأناركية هي فكر معقد ذو اتجاهات متعددة ومختلفة، وأنا بالتأكيد غير قادر على شرح أفكارها بدقة كوني لست أناركياً أصلاً. ولكن هناك نقطتين رئيستين من السهل استيعابهما واحترامهما في الفكر الأناركي:

١- الرفض التام لأي شكل من أشكال السلطة الخارجية أو الفوقية على الإنسان، سواء أكانت "إلهية" أو بشرية. ٢- تحقيق مجتمع متساو سياسياً واقتصادياً واجتماعياً. مع إلغاء جميع المبادئ التي يمكن استخدامها من قبل فئة من الناس لفرض سلطتها على باقي الناس.

يبدو من الصعب تحديد مدى إيمان الشعب الأردني بهاتين النقطتين. تخيلوا أن هناك العديد من الناس هنا يعتقدون أن "الديمقراطية نظام كفر"، فكيف عندما يكون الحكم كله بيد الشعب!

بطبيعة الحال، تعتمد الحركة الأناركية -تاريخيا- على الطلاب بشكل كبير وخاصة على ذوي الاتجاهات اليسارية، والكل يعلم أنهم في الأردن الفئة الأكثر حصاراً واستهدافاً من قبل الحكومات منذ أيام "الاتحاد العام لطلبة الأردن". على كل حال، لا بد أن نقول أن هناك عدداً لا بأس به من الأناركيين الأردنيين المستقلين الذين يحملون الفكر الأناركي دون أن يشكلوا أي تنظيم سياسي، بالإضافة إلى مجموعة الأناركيين الأردنيين ذات التوجهات الشيوعية التحررية المنضمين إلى حركة اليسار الاجتماعي، والذين يتظاهرون ويدعون إلى التغيير تحت ألوية تلك الحركة.

يجب على الحركة الأناركية ومن يدعو إليها في الأردن أن يعلم جيداً أن بقاءها وتقدمها لا بد أن يعتمدا على أمرين: أولاً، أن يكون هذا الفكر عاماً وشعبياً، وأن يبدأ من أسافل المجتمع وأن يبقى لصيقاً به ليدافع عن احتياجات ومتطلبات المواطن العادي. وثانياً، أن يبقى الفكر بعيداً عن التيارات السياسية التقليدية في الأردن، وموسساتها الضعيفة التي فقدت ثقة الشعب منذ وقت بعيد.

Jordan University of Science and Technology Mentioned in a Simpsons Episode!

2008-12-02T13:20:00.004+02:00

No, it is not a joke.

The seventh episode of The Simpsons' season 20 stars a Jordanian family whose son, Bashir, is just the new friend of Bart in school.

The most amazing thing is that the episode explitely mentions Jordan University of Science and Technology (My university) during the dinner with the Jordanian family, as the Jordanian couple met when they were studying at Jordan University of Science and Technology.

The episode gives a bright picture of the Muslim family, accused by Homer to be involved with a terrorist plot to destroy Springfield Mall.

At the beginning of the episode there are also parodies of Apple (the 'Mapple' store) as well as its CEO Steve Jobs (Steve Mobs).

Thanks to Ahmad and Jordan Mafia, who wrote about this before.

You can watch the episode here:
http://tv.spreadit.org/the-simpsons-season-20-episode-7/

Jordan Wins International Emmy Award

2008-11-25T09:30:00.003+02:00

"Mabrook" to Jordan which marked the first Arab victory in the International Emmy Awards!

Jordanian TV-Series "Al-Ijtiah", produced by Arab Telemedia Productions (ATP) won the Telenovela category in International Emmy Awards (it is the first-ever winner in this new category!).

Other nominees from the same category were Lalola (Argentina), One Night of Love (Russia), Tropical Paradise (Brazil). Britain (as usual) was the country that won the most. An award was also given to "Law & Order" creator Dick Wolf .

Al-Ijtiah is a Palestinian love story that takes place against the backdrop of the Israeli incursion in Jenin Camp in 2002. It did not represent a major success (either financially or in popularity) and the majority of TV channels were very skeptical about it, most probably for its political background and for the nontraditional topic.

Basically this TV-series is far from "Bedouin Drama", what Jordan is famous for.

Actually no one can even doubt that Jordanian drama has made a great progress in the last years, just turn on the TV to watch well-reputed Jordanian series on MBC and other Arabic channels, and expect a flood of others for the next Ramadan season.

So are we starting to produce plausible alternatives to Nour, Mohannad and other Turkish series?

المشاع الإبداعي في الأردن!

2008-10-25T16:32:00.004+03:00

انتهى عدد من الخبراء الحقوقيين في الأردن من إيجاد مسودة لتراخيص "المشاع الإبداعي" Creative Commons المتوافقة مع قوانين الملكية الفكرية الأردنية. وقد طرح موقع منظمة المشاع الإبداعي هذه المسودة للنقاش العام، وكذلك الترجمة الإنجليزية لها والاختلافات الناتجة عن هذه الترجمة.

CC By Steren.Giannini

وقد بذل المسؤولان على هذا المشروع، السيد زياد مرقة والسيد رامي علوان، الجهد والوقت وقد طبقا كل ما لديهما من خبرة لتطوير هذه المسودة. وهذا بدعم من شركة طلال أبو غزالة للملكية الفكرية والتي لديها خبرة وسمعة طيبة في مجال الحفاظ على الحقوق الفكرية. وقد ساهم كل من أنس طويلة (مؤسس العموميات العربية) وهالة السلماوي (من مصر) في الجهود الأردنية في مجال رخص "المشاع الإبداعي" وكذلك المساهمة في التوعية المحلية لتحقيق أهداف منظمة المشاع الإبداعي. يرجى من الأفراد والمؤسسات الراغبة في بدء مشروع محلي للمشاع الإبداعي في أنظمتهم القانونية، وكذلك للراغبين برفع مستوى الوعي حول رخص المشاع الإبداعي في العالم العربي الاتصال بمنظمة المشاع الإبداعي العالمية.

وكذلك سوف تقام محاضرة لعرض فكرة "المشاع الإبداعي" في عمّان بعنوان "المشاع المبدع في المنطقة العربية: ضرورة ومزايا" يلقيها المدير العام لمنظمة المشاع الإبداعي السيد "جويتشي إيتو"

المشاع المبدع: عبارة عن آلية لتأسيس ترخيص قانوني لحقوق المؤلف تمنحه بموجبها حرية أكبر بهدف زيادة الإبداع الفكري عن طريق طرح حق المؤلف في غطاء قانوني منسجم بين "جميع الحقوق المحفوظة" وإتاحة استغلال المصنف للجمهور دون قيود.

فنان أردني ينوي بناء تمثال للسلام في إسرائيل

2008-08-23T11:56:00.003+03:00

الجميع يعرف الفنان مارسيل خليفة، الذي قدم أغاني مثل "رينا والبندقية" و"ووقفوني على الحدود" وغيرها من الأغاني التي يقدمها خليفة أملاً بتحرر فلسطين ولو عن طريق الموسيقى والفن. ولكن هناك "خليفة" آخر، فنان أردني يدعى أحمد خليفة تختلف أراؤه السياسية كثيراً عن مارسيل، إذ أعلن عزمة وضع تمثال "من أجل السلام" في مستعمرة سديروت.

الخبر أصبح محل اهتمام كبير في وسائل الإعلام الإسرائيلية، والذي نشرت استغراب السفارة الإسرائيلية في عمّان لطلب قدمه الفنان أحمد خليفة قبل أسبوع والمتضمن نصب تمثال في مستعمرة سديروت الواقعة جنوب الأراضي المحتلة. وقال خليفة أنه ينوي تشكيل المنحوتة بصحبة أطفال إسرائيليين من سديروت.

وسبق للنحّات خليفة أنه قدم العديد من أعماله لمنظمة "بيريس" للسلام، وشارك في معرض في القدس المحتلة حيث أكد أنه ينوي وضع أحد أعماله هناك من أجل دعم السلام.

وقال خليفة لصحيفة يديعوت أحرونوت: "أنه من المهم لي أن أبعث رسالة ضد العنف وضد إطلاق صواريخ القسام، إنه يؤلمني كل صاروخ يقع في هذه المدينة (سديروت). أنا آتٍ لحمل رسالة سلام ودعم من الأردن. يجب أن نبين أن في العالم العربي أصواتاً كثيرة تعارض صواريخ القسام".

رئيس بلدية سديروت أكد أنه سيدعم خليفة بكل الطرق، وسيشجع جميع مبادرات السلام.

على الرغم أنه يمكننا أن نختلف مع الفنان أحمد خليفة، ولكن الجميع يمكن أن يشهد له نوعاً من الشجاعة في عرض هذه الآراء على الشعب الأردني، والذي أغلبيته ما زالت معارضة لأي شكل من التطبيع مع دولة إسرائيل.

Darat King Abdullah to Give a New Face to Ras al Ein

2008-07-27T20:17:00.005+03:00

Do you remember my post about the expected construction of an opera house in Amman? GAM changed opinion and decided to build something not restricted to opera music only, a new, more general cultural center named "Darat King Abdullah II".

This center will be built on the former location of the cigarettes factory in Ras al Ein (What is now called the GAM strip, see above).

It will be home to the Amman Symphony Orchestra, the National Institute of Music, the National Folklore Group and the Amman Municipality Group of Folk Art. The center consists of two main theatres; the first with 1600 seats and the second with 400.

GAM has previously promoted an international competition to select the best designs. The first prize winners were world-renowned architectures Zaha Hadid and Delugan Meissl. Their futuristic proposals are amazing. If you look at the good work of Hadid which is inspired by Petra, you'll find movement, innovation and creativity. The proposed shape is really captivating.
Meissl's design is hard-shaped and fits very well with the urban reality of Amman (and it is more practical and buildable).

Zaha Hadid:

Delugan Meissl:

Jordan Festival: Everybody's Gonna Love Today!

2008-06-13T21:27:00.004+03:00

Yes, I still disappointed with the unpopular decision to replace Jerash Festival with what's now called "Jordan Festival". I don't know what crossed Minister of Culture's mind to issue such decision since I've not heard justifications or good reasons. The only thing I know is that Jerash festival, which finally obtained a good reputation, has been canceled and substituted by this new (but don't think innovative) festival.

Anyways, one of the good (pop?) artists who I really like is Mika. The good news is that he will hold a concert at the Dead Sea on July 25. (The bad news –for me- is that probably I will not be in Jordan !).

Mika has three awesome songs which I adore: Grace Kelly, Love Today and Relax (Take It Easy), which I am sure you've listened to before. He's 24 year old, and only yesterday, I discovered that he's half-Lebanese.

His public performances and jobs have varied from classical performances in the Royal Opera House to writing in-flight music for British Airways and creating an Orbit chewing gum jingle. He won three awards at the World Music Awards and he's nominated for the Grammy Awards.[W]

If you are charmed by his vocal tonalities, and shocked by his unique "falsetto", this will be the good chance to meet him.

A must for Opera lovers will be the live performance of tenor Placido Domingo at the Jerash South Theater on July 21. He's well known to be one of the Three Tenors (the other two are Jose Carreras and Luciano Pavarotti). [W]

Diana Krall, who is really famous in Jazz circles, will be at Amman's Citadel on July 8. [W]

You can take a look at the program of Jordan Festival:

Open Source Day 2008: A Month Later

2008-06-08T22:25:00.003+03:00

What is was Open Source Day 2008?
Everyone knows that JUST has the highest Jordanian rate of IT nerds, technology fanatics and pseudo-hackers. What do you think they would be capable to do if they were grouped and led by a person like me?!? :)
We (i.e. JUST Open Source Group) organized an open day to promote 'open source' between Jordanian students and it seems it is the first time such an event occurs.
To realize the hugeness of the event, these are some of the things we distributed: nearly 1500 CDs and DVDs, Mozilla and SUN gifts and a lot of giveaways (1000 pens, 500 notebooks, 500 folders and 20000 stickers) 450 donuts and unlimited coffee!!

Open Source for Dummies
If you are not a geek or a computer nerd, you'll probably not know what open source means.. I will try to make things simpler by giving an example. Suppose you purchase a car... it may be a Lamborghini, Jaguar, BMW (or more probably a Kia Sephia if you are in Jordan ). However, after you bought that car you will be free to do what you prefer. You can open it, try to fix the car if it's broken, change its engine and other parts or even modify its style (in the 'Pimp my Ride' way)!
Things are different when we talk about computer applications. You do own your car, but it's impossible to "own a computer program" at the same way. A software company which sells a program allows you to only use it. You are even not allowed to see how it works or to know how it was programmed.
You can get more freedom by using open source programs. Open source means that a computer program is accessible to everybody and that the 'source code' (the orders given to the computer) can be modified and changed as you like.

Open Day Highlights
- The day started with a deep philosophical speech of Prof. Bataineh (our faculty's dean), who stated that open source is a modern revolutionary response against capitalism and corporate ownership. He didn't say this explicitely, his opinions were thinly covered by ethicism and his personal Sufi theological views. But nobody can deny that what he said in the opening ceremony was a strong attack against new economic doctrines.
- There was a panel discussion titled "What Future for Open Source in Jordan?" with three key persons: Hussein Kawasmi, who is a main member of Jordan Computer Society, Razan Khatib, an open source expert and manager of important IT companies, and Zaid Mdanat, whose company is the REDHAT partner in Jordan. Unfortunately, the discussion became similar to a struggle between some Micro$oft-lover students and the guests.
- Mr. Joseph Shomali gave a very useful presentation about using Open Source software and tools in 3D and console game development. His company is now developing a state-of-the-art 3D game (For PC and XBOX) which will be sold in North America and Japan . The lecture was a must-see for all the gamers!

Firefox and JUST mozillaclub
We made a good work to promote Firefox and other Mozilla products (Mozilla was one of our global sponsors together with SUN Microsystems). It was really nice to know that people's lives changed completely after they've discovered Firefox. Students were also shocked by the large numbers of cool and useful add-ons they can download for Firefox.
The Open Source Day was also a great opportunity to spread Songbird. Songbird is a desktop media player mashed-up with the Web which you can download from here. (Yes, it's really nice.. I love it)

Creative Commons in Jordan
I suppose the Open Source Day was the first CC-related event in Jordan . Mr. Ziad Marqa gave an extraordinary lecture about intellectual property and Creative Commons licenses. The lecture was extremely related to Jordanian laws, as Mr. Marqa is officially translating the CC licenses to Arabic to make them compliant with Jordanian laws. (Yes, he is really making a good work).
We had some wonderful guests like Donatella Della Ratta who is now working with Creative Commons to support and promote CC licenses in Arab World. Two artists, Eileen Simpsons and Ben White attended the Open Day as milestone to their wonderful project: the Open Music Archive, a database that contains free and creative music, especially that which has fallen out of copyright. (It is interesting that Jordan Times published a good article about them all).
All the parts agreed on the necessity to 'build' a CC-supporting community in Jordan .

Firefox 3 Download Day

2008-05-29T15:40:00.004+03:00

You can enter the Guiness World Records without swallowing a sword or balancing 30 spoons on your face!!

JUST mozillaclub and other Firefox fans will participate in the Firefox Download Day 2008. A way to show our passion to Firefox and to set up a new Guiness World Record for the most software downloaded in 24 hours!!!

If you are interested, check the Download Day Headquarters. You can plegde to download Firefox 3 (Select Jordan as your country) and then download Firefox 3 when it goes live on Download Day (sometime on June).

Get Involved!!
Share the Download Day site with your friends and other students. You can also put a Download Day badge on your blog, profile or website!! And don't forget to join the Firefox in Jordan Facebook group:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=14628888871

Document Freedom

2008-04-12T17:39:00.007+03:00

I am sure you edit and open PDF and Microsoft Word Document files on a daily basis. But did you ask yourself how these types of files are stored on your PC? Or why you have to use specific software to utilize them?

Take .DOC files for example, you have to purchase the Microsoft Office suite to fully edit this kind of file. No one, except Microsoft, exactly knows how these files are created and stored on a computer; also no one knows how they are elaborated and processed, this means that other programmers and developers cannot create their own programs to process this type of files without Microsoft consensus and without knowing the full specification of this format.

However, there exists an international standard regarding electronic documents, it is the Open Document Format (ODF), it is standardized by ISO and it is considered an "open standard", this means that everyone can access this type of files and can develop applications which read and edit such files.

Why using ODF?
Normal users can see many benefits of the ODF format, since it is "open" everyone can develop applications which read and write in ODF format, this means more competition between software houses and best prices and service for you.
Because ODF is a standard, you can open ODF files on multiple platforms and operating systems. You can save a file on your Windows PC and then send it to other Mac and Linux users, all of them will open the file as exactly as you saved it.
Take also in consideration that you can chose between different software applications which support ODF in writing and reading documents, this allows you to collaborate with others regardless of which software they use.
In addition, the ODF will result in major portability, more freedom of choice and lower expenditures if adopted by your government or organization. ODF files are easy to use and have a good file size.

How can I open and edit ODF files?
There are many applications which support ODF, some of them are free. Try OpenOffice.org (Windows/Linux), KOffice (Windows/Mac), NeoOffice (Mac), Google Docs…

Technically speaking, what is ODF?
A set of XML files and directories, which can represent a set of type files (word processing, spreadsheet, presentations, mathematical formulas, drawings…)
You can save in these files vector graphics, 3D shapes, forms, animations, sounds…

Are there other standards?
The most similar standard is the OOXML, but it has many localization troubles, security faults, incompatibilities and bugs. To know more about OOXML problems check www.noooxml.org.

To know more visit this site (http://www.documentfreedom.org)

نعم لمقاطعة البضائع الدانماركية!

2008-02-23T20:59:00.005+02:00

قبل أيام سمعت واحدة من أحلى النكت في حياتي، حين ظهر "محلل سياسي" على قناة الجزيرة وبدأ يصرخ ويصيح مطالباً الحكومات العربية بقطع إمدادات النفط عن الدانمرك، وذلك رداً على إعادة نشر الرسوم الكاريكاتيرية، متجاهلاً تماماً أن معظم الطاقة المولدة في الدانمارك هي عن طريق المولدات النووية ومتجاهلاً أيضاً أن الدانمارك لا تحصل على نفطها لا من السعودية ولا الكويت إذ أنها تنتجه لوحدها وتعتبر من أكثر الدول تصديراً في أوروبا!

أما نحن فنشتري "الجبنة" من الدانمارك! وصدقوني أن هذا الشيء لوحده يثير غضبي أكثر من أي رسم كاريكاتير؛ والذي يتسبب نشره (أو إعادة نشره) إعلاء دعوات المقاطعة بشكل جنوني من على قناة الجزيرة مروراً بالمنابر وبمجالس "الأمة"...

والسؤال الذي أطرحه: هل هو ضروري فعلاً أن نشتري الجبنة من الدانمارك؟ ألم نتحدث عن مشتقات حليب يمكن إنتاجها بكل سهولة في أي بلد على سطح الأرض؟

خذوا على سبيل المثال "جرش" (كونني من جرش) والتي تنتج ألبانها من أيام جد جدي (أو حتى قبله) ولا أحد ينكر أن أجبان جرش هي من الأفضل في المنطقة. وبالتالي أليس من الأفضل أن نشتري منتجات بلدنا ونساهم وندعم أبناء جلدتنا ونفضل منتجاتهم على منتجات البلاد الأخرى؟

اخوتي، هذه دعوة لمقاطعة دائمة، لا تعتمد على نشر أو إعادة نشر، بل تعتمد على الاقتناع بما هو أفضل لك وللمجتمع حولك، متمنياً أن تفضل المنتجات البلدية على ما ينتجه الآخرون، ولتكن خطوة جيدة للتحويل من مجتمع استهلاكي إلى آخر أكثر إنتاجية.

Angelina Jolie Is Now In Amman!

2008-02-06T20:00:00.000+02:00

Would we like to see more of these photos?

Many sites are saying that Hollywood star Angelina Jolie is now in Amman, reports say she boarded a British Airways flight at the Los Angeles Intl Airport on February 4 to Amman's Airport.

Jolie, whose partner is the well-known actor Brad Pitt, is a United Nations goodwill ambassador and this is not her first time in the kingdom, in fact, she attended the Arab Children Congress in Amman in July 2004.

Recent articles on celebrity gossip websites and magazines revealed that Jolie is now pregnant with twins! The couple has also adopted three children "Maddox, Zahara, and Pax" along with the biological daughter Shiloh.
Is there a chance the Jolie-Pitt twins will born in Jordan?

Anyways, Ahlan wa Sahlan :)

وأما ضيف الله فلا بواكي له...

2008-01-16T10:29:00.000+02:00

لم يخلق الله داءً أشد من ألم أم على وفاة ابنها، وأن يتم القتل علي يد رجل لا ضمير له ولا دين فإنما يزيد ذلك الألم حدةً وبأساً، ,وإن كنت لا أختلف على حق ذوي المتوفى في معرفة هوية الجاني بل وأقف بجانبهم في حزنهم ومطالبتهم للعدل، لا بد أن أعترف أنه قد حيّرني الاهتمام المبالغ من الجميع في هذه الحادثة وأن يأخذ حادث سير وبشكل استثنائي هذا القسط الواسع من وسائل الإعلام.

أنا متأكد أن هناك عشرات الحالات المماثلة تماماً تحدث سنويا في الأردن ولكل لم يهتم أحد بها، معظمها لم تذكرها الجرائد، وبعضها أدهشت المارة لبعض الساعات فأصبحت نسياً منسياً. وأما هذا الحادث نال من الاهتمام أكثر ما نالته الآلاف من حوادث السير تحدث سنويا في المملكة.

وعلى الرغم من أنه يموت نحو 800 فرد في الأردن نتيجة حوادث السير، إلا أنه وفي هذه الحالة فقط أسمع رئيس الوزراء يهتم شخصياً بهذا الحادث وتخصص كل من الصحف مساحات واسعة من صفحاتها وبرامج إذاعية تطول لساعات للحديث حول هذا الموضوع، وتشكل مديرية الأمن العام لجنة خاصة للتحقيق، ويخصص للمتحدث باسمها مساحة واسعة ضمن نشرة أخبار الثامنة ليطلعنا على إنجازات الشرطة في القبض على الجاني.

وأما الآن فدعوني أعرفكم على (ضيف الله).. وهو شاب عمرة ست عشرة سنة، ولكن لم يلتحق في إحدى المدارس الخاصة من فئة الخمس نجوم، وذات المناهج الأميركية، ذلك أن القسط الفصلي لمثل هذه المدارس يفوق ما تحصل عليه عائلة ضيف الله جميعها في عام كامل.. ولا يمكن اعتباره من الطبقة "البرجوازية" فإنه راعٍ ابن راع يقيم في إحدى قرى البادية المنسية، قد تكون صبحا وصبحية أو المنشية أو الباعج أو غيرها من المناطق التي لا يعرف "أبناء الذوات" إن كانت أساميها حقيقية أو ضرب من الخيال..

وأما ضيف الله فهو نفسه أصبح يشك إن كان موجوداً فعلاً أم لا، إن كانت المؤسسات تعامله كمواطن أو تعترف به كإنسان على الأقل، لأنه إذا تعرّض - لا سمح الله – إلى حادث سير ولاذ السائق بالفرار لن تشكل مديرية الأمن العام لجنة خاصة للتحقيق في الحادث، ولن تصرف حضرات الكتاب والصحافيين أحبارهم للكتابة عنه، ولن يحصل شرف أن يترك رئيس الوزراء جل أعماله ويهتم بقضيته...

فإن مات ضيف الله لا أحد سوف يعتني به، وسوف يكتب اسمه على قبره فقط، وسوف ينال شرف أن يصبح (عدداً) يضاف إلى أعداد المتوفين بحوادث السير...

فإن مات ضيف الله لن أبكي... لأن ضيف الله لا بواكي له..

Open Source @ JUST

2007-12-27T21:22:00.000+02:00

If you are a Student in Jordan University of Science and Technology, you use or develop open source applications, and you are interested in spreading the open source philosophy please join us at:

www.just.edu.jo/opensource

"Shutting Out the Critics"

2007-12-25T15:53:00.000+02:00

These are the six most important points I have found on the Human Rights Watch report on Jordanian Laws: "Shutting Out the Critics", you can read the entire report here (or download the pdf file).

1-Reality is in contrast with royal vision
At his keynote speech for the World Economic Forum held at the Dead Sea in May 2007, King Abdullah emphasized the priority he places on developing and promoting civil society in the country. The stark realities in Jordan contrast with this rosy picture presented to the world.

2-Jordan has no merits to be elected in the UN HR council
While the Jordanian government prides itself on its election in 2006 to the United Nations Human Rights Council and to be one of the council’s vice presidents, it has failed to live up to its pledge as a council member to “uphold the highest standards in the promotion and protection of human rights,” as the UN General Assembly resolution creating the Human Rights Council defined the responsibilities of Council members.

3-The governor can decide anything
[T]he governor of Amman denied the NGO, The New Jordan [...] permission to hold a workshop [...]
Amman’s governor, Dr. Sa’d al-Wadi al-Manasir, denied the request, which the Arab Organization for Human Rights (Jordan) had submitted six days earlier.
[...] Human Rights Watch made three trips to the governorate, but had not obtained permission [...]
On several occasions, the government has denied permission for obviously peaceful gatherings. On July 5, 2007 the deputy governor of Amman, Dr. Khalid al-`Armuti, denied approval for a conference [...] under the title “The Family is a Bastion for Values and Identity.”
At a scheduled meeting of members of GUVS from Amman governorate [...] for which they obtained permission from the governor, police entered the building shortly after it had begun and disbanded it.
[T]he authorities denied permission to hold a June 8 public celebration of the life of the former supreme guide of Jordan’s Muslim Brotherhood, Muhammad Abd al-Rahman Khalifa.
In September 2007, the IAF requested permission [...] Amman’s governor denied permission.
[T]he governor of Balqa’ denied the IAF permission to hold a demonstration marking the 40th anniversary of Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza.
[The report continues with an uncountable number of governors' refusals]

4-Old times were better... in 1953 Jordanian laws were better than now!
The new law replaced the older and relatively permissive Law No. 60 of 1953 on Public Gatherings, which largely provided for the constitutional right of “Jordanians … to hold meetings within the limits of the law.”The new law reversed the positive right to hold gatherings and prohibited any gathering that did not fulfill the law’s stipulations.
[The report exposes other examples showing Jordanian laws of the 50s and 60s were more respectful of human rights]

5-Hamas weapons
[A]fter intelligence officers briefly detained Fahd al-Rimawi, editor of the weekly al-Majd newspaper, he wrote a retraction of a story in which he claimed the king himself had spoken to him about the fact that the [Hamas] weapons cache had been found long ago.

6-The government makes fun of foreign visitors
The Jordanian government selectively applies the Law [..] to prevent its critics from publicly assembling. In contrast, meetings sponsored by the government do not encounter difficulties obtaining permission. In addition, when high-level foreign visitors come to Jordan, the government allows meetings and demonstrations critical of its policies, if only to demonstrate its “openness.”

Santa Claus Beaten Up By Israeli Soldiers

2007-12-21T21:58:00.000+02:00

An Israeli soldier tackles a Palestinian protester dressed as Santa Claus or Father Christmas during at a protest against Israel's separation barrier in the village of Umm Salamunah near the biblical West Bank town of Bethlehem. Israeli guards beat five demonstrators during the protest on Friday, organisers said. [Source]

It doesn't matter, no presents for Palestinian kids anyway.

Unusual Eid Greetings

2007-12-18T21:30:00.000+02:00

In an unordinary email received by all the students of my university, Prof. Sameer Bataineh has sent his best wishes to them on the occasion of Eid al Adha in a very unconventional way.
Prof. Bataineh, the dean of our faculty and instructor of computer ethics, has sent an email attached with a greeting card, but rather the Hallmark-style sentences the card was saying:

People may endure tons of oppression,
but the oppressor does not tolerate a single word said against injustice,
and who says this word is slaughtered
on the day of sacrifice

Is there any reference to Saddam's execution on Eid al Adha last year? Or is it a generic phrase coined for every single Arabic dictatorship?
By sure the political tone is quite high here, I greet Prof. Bataineh, who is well admired in our faculty, and I will ask him about any other hidden meanings in this unusual greeting. And Happy Eid to all!

Post No. 100

2007-12-01T12:21:00.000+02:00

This is my 100th post!!

Khaled Touqan Is No More!

2007-11-26T15:48:00.000+02:00

I am sure all you have seen that FORMER Minister of Education, Khaled Touqan, was kept off the new government formed by Nader Dahabi.

Touqan, who received a PhD from the MIT, is more likely to hold a position in the new nuclear power committee, established after Jordan's intentions to develop nuclear reactors for pacific use.

Well, we do not need exact statistics to realize that Touqan is one of the most hated public personalities in Jordan. His educational plans were considered 'catastrophic' by the majority of students as well as instructors, in fact, the 'cowboy' minister who loves excitement and likes to try anything new used to change the Tawjihi system at least once a year; the thing that made us feel like laboratory mice .

How did the net react with this exciting news? By sure several Facebook groups will be closed, one of them is the "Against Khaled Touqan" group, first created for "everyone who suffers learning because of Khaled Touqan Decisions in Jordan" as his administrator said.

Another (very) popular groups is: "ANTI Khaled Tokaaaaan", their members still greet each other for the 'historical event', one of them said: No more Abu Tawele! (a nickname given to the excessively high-grown minister), another who really enjoyed Touqan's resignation shouted: "NO F*UCKIN WAY! A dream becomes true! No More Touqan".

Naturally, as groups are being deleted new ones appears, you can now join a brand new group named "WE ARE FREE FROM TOUQAN :D"! whose creator, with little skepticism, stated: FINALLY, HE'S GONE!

Bye Bye Bakhit

2007-11-21T20:57:00.000+02:00

There is a good thing about the last parliamentary elections, PM Marouf Bakhit will be forced out, I am looking forward to hearing about his dismission :) So let's give Mr. Bakhit a warm Bye Bye, Adios, Sayonara..

And forever we will remember the five most important achievements of his government:
1- Freedom of speech in Jordan is even worse, all online sites are now under government's censorship, the close-down of ATV, a former MP and right-wing politician, Owaidy Abbadi, is now in jail for some declarations he made on a website (well, in reality no one knows of what he was accused). 2- No political freedom.. frauds in municipal elections, rejection of Toujan Faisal's candidacy. 3- Too much poisoned water, shawerma and falafel. 4- Indifference toward workers' demands, under Bakhit's government we had many riots and demonstrations in which poor citizens and workers were brutely thwarted by police, the government's cruel actions against sheep farmers were more appropriate to a Latin-American dictatorship. 5- More privatizations, price rising, and a more unstable economy.

I hope (but I am not sure) that things would be better with Nader Dahabi, he was accused(?) of corruption when he was the manager of Royal Jordanian and add the fact he is -by chance- the brother of the head of the Mokhabarat... wow!

How Many Chinese Are There in Jerash Theatre?

2007-11-16T18:51:00.001+02:00

This is the new Pepsi's Chinese commercial that was shot in Jordan. It is known that Pepsi always makes exciting ads, they spend a lot of money to get famous actors or footballers, and their ads often have special effects and a fine scenography, but this one is really amazing! Take a look..

Note that the Chinese "fighters" are well-known actors in China, by the way, I can't realize how the kid ran away from Jerash to reach Petra... yeah it's a long distance!

خواطر تسممية

2007-11-01T18:47:00.000+02:00

• اختلف العلماء في سبب التسمم، منهم من قال أن السبب هو الحمص والفول ومنهم من يلوم الحكومة ومياه الحنفية، أنا شخصياً لا أثق بالحكومة وأشك في روايتها، ولكنني أستغرب كيف أن في بلدة سكانها 15000 نسمة لم يتسمم منهم سوى 300!!! والأغرب في ذلك أن في نفس العائلات ناس قد تسمموا وناس لم يصابوا بأي أذى!

• كثير من الناس يشكّون برواية الحكومة قائلين أن لا يوجد مطعم في الأردن يبيع 300 صحن حمص (أو فول) في يوم واحد. لا أعرف إذا هؤلاء مقتنعين بإدعاءاتهم وأقوالهم وبتطبيق معادلة شخص مصاب = صحن حمص. (على حد علمي المتواضع يأكل أكثر من فرد من صحن الحمص نفسه).

• المضحك المبكي أن المطعم المتهَم اسمه ((مطعم العافية))!!

• صاحب مطعم العافية قال في مقابلة أنه بريء والسبب في التسمم هو الماء، قائلاً أنه بنفسه رأى أن ماء الحنفية كان لونه أصفر وكان كريه الرائحة ومليء بالكلور، وأنه قام بنفسه باستخدام هذا الماء في صناعة الحمص. نشكر صاحب المطعم على توضيحه لمدى معايير الجودة المستخدمة في مطعمه. المصدر

• نشكر جميع مرشحي جرش (وهم حوالي 40) الذين اندفعوا نحو المستشفى واطمئنوا على صحة المواطنين وبدأوا بتوزيع الهبات على مرضى المستشفى. ونشكر جميع من توجه إلى المستشفى من بلدة ساكب (وهم آلاف) مدعيينً أعراض التسمم، وذلك بسبب إشاعة وجود تعويضات من قبل الحكومة للمصابين!!

• أتعجب أنه في بلد متحضر وديمقراطي كالولايات المتحدة لا أحد يطالب جورج بوش بالاستقالة بسبب 5200 قتيل سنوياً و 76 مليون مصاب ناتج عن التسممات الغذائية. كم هم متخلفون!!! المصدر

مظاهرات تكناوية

2007-10-26T13:13:00.000+02:00

لقد اندهشت يوم الأحد الماضي وأنا متوجه إلى بوابة الجامعة مغادراً إلي البيت، توقفت عن المشي بعدما سمعت من مكان بعيد صراخات غضب وهتافات قليلاً ما تسمع في جامعتنا التي تمتاز بالهدوء. اقتربت شيئاً شيئاً حتى لاحظت مجموعة غير قليلة من الطلاب الواقفين أمام بوابة الجامعة ينددون بشعارات ضد "العروبة"...

مظاهرة في التكنو ضد العروبة...

ومن يعرف جامعة التكنو يعلم أن "العروبة" ليست المقصود بها "الشعور بالقومية العربية" وإنما هي الشركة الخاصة التي احكترت منذ 2005 خطوط النقل من الجامعة إلى عمان وجرش والمفرق وعجلون، والتي اتخذت في الأسبوع الماضي قراراً برفع أجرة الباصات على هذه الخطوط دون أي مبرر، والأجمل في ذلك أن الشركة اتخذت اسلوباً في غاية التهكم في الإعلان عن ذلك، إذ جاء في إعلانهم...

أعزاءنا الطلبة...لقد قامت شركة العروبة برفع الأجور...كل عام وأنتم بخير !!!

وتعالت يوم الأحد الأصوات المطالبة بالمقاطعة، ابتداءً من البيانات السياسية لكتلة الاتحاد الإسلامية (الممثلة لحركة الإخوان في جامعتنا) وانتهاءً بمراسلات "الفيسبوك" العربيزية، على الرغم أن الجميع يدرك أن تلك المقاطعة باتب أمراً مستحيلاً على ضوء عدم وجود أي بديل لهذه الباصات، إذ أن "العروبة" تحتكر جميع هذه الخطوط باستثناء خط إربد، والذي سمح لثلة من المشغلين الآخرين في العمل على هذا الخط بجانب "العروبة".

والأمر الخطير في مظاهرة يوم الأحد هو إعلان كتلة الاتحاد الاسلامي -في بيان وزع يوم الاثنين- عن قيام قوات من مكافحة الشغب بضرب عدد من الطلاب، وتعرض اثنين منهم للاعتقال، بالإضافة إلى قيام أفراد الشرطة -حسب إعلان الكتلة- بشتم الذات الإلهية على مرأى ومسمع الآخرين.

والصراحة أن ما أعلنته الكتلة -إذا ثبتت روايتهم- أمر خطير جداً، إذ أنه لم يسمح للطلاب بإبداء الرأي والقيام بتجمع بسيط مشروع ومسالم للمطالبة بحقوقهم، وبعض من هؤلاء الطلاب قد تعرضوا إلى ضرب وانتهاكات جسدية وعدم احترام حقوقهم الإنسانية. بالإضافة إلى أن ما قيل عن إهانة المشاعر الدينية لا تليق بأفراد الأمن العام الأعزاء والذي طالما عرفنا عنهم كل الخير وولاءهم لله والوطن والملك.

وحتى أكون صادقاً مع القراء، أنا شخصياً حضرت الجانب الأخير من المظاهرة، وكانت داخل سوار الجامعة، وأما دورية مكافحة الشغب فكانت في خارجها، وأنا لم أرَ دخول أي من أفرادها الجامعة، والمعلوم أن القانون لا يسمح ذلك. وهذا بالطبع ليس تكذيباً لرواية الإسلاميين ولكنه هو ما شاهدته نفسياً.

على الرغم من هذا كله، لقد أعجبني أنه اصبح هناك تحرك طلابي غير مسبوق في جامعتنا.

Happy Eid

2007-10-12T14:02:00.000+03:00

B.a.H!!!

2007-10-10T14:59:00.000+03:00

I haven't watched any Arabic drama this Ramadan, so...
I don't watch it...
I hate its stupid old-fashioned stories..
I detest people who talk about a TV drama ad nauseam..
I don't put up with TV-based social phenomena...
I don't know who Abo Essam is...
I don't like its name "Door of the Quarter"...

So please, do not send emails, Facebook messages or start pesky discussions regarding Bab Al Hara with me!!!

Top 10 Strangest Lego Creations

2007-10-08T19:02:00.000+03:00

The three creations I liked most are:

1. Lego Harpsichord
This Harpsichord was constructed entirely from Lego parts (over 100,000!), including keyboard, jacks, jack rack, jack rail, plectra, soundboard, bridge, hitch pins, tuning pins, wrestplank, nut, case, legs, lid, lid stick, and music stand. It has a range of 61 notes and weighs 150 lb.

2. Lego Volvo XC90
Built by Lego Master Model Builders, this Volvo XC90 is the official car of Legoland California.

3. Han Solo Frozen in Carbonite
Nathan Sawaya used over 10,000 Lego pieces and spent 3 months making this "Han Solo in Carbonite" masterpiece.

You can discover the other seven by visiting this blog.

Vote For Aroub Soubh

2007-09-25T21:23:00.000+03:00

From Waqt Al Farah To Jordan's Parliament

One of my childhood memories I remember with more lucidity is a JTV program called Waqt al Farah; I am sure this program has largely affected all Jordanian youth of that time. The program was quite innovative, with a naive design and a fancy red-fish mascot, all mixed with a high dosage of childish happiness, meaningless songs I still remember and a cute young presenter named Aroub Soubh.

A few years later, I have suddenly started to read her articles on Ad Dustour newspaper, which reserved her a right column on its last paper… the result was extraordinary, as her strong opinions and brilliant thoughts were going well with the other Ad Dustour's sarcastic writer Youssef Ghishan.

Aroub was expressing a new idea on different political and social issues everyday, and although I didn't expect that, the articles were well written. By sure I was not the only one who liked her personal method of exposing opinions.

I don't know the reason she left Ad Dustour, however a few posts on her blog do prove her potential, now, she defines herself as a freelance journalist, while she will (?) present a program on ATV called Samehni (or something like that).

Some time ago, I have discovered a Facebook group called Vote For Aroub Soubh, it is the Facebook's support group for Aroub's candidacy to the next parliamentary elections that will be held in November. In fact, Aroub will run for parliament in this year's elections in Amman's Third District (Zahran-Abdali) with a higher probability of success as women quota are re-approved in Jordan's electoral panel.

Even if you like her or not, Aroub's popularity is above suspicion, I was monitoring the Facebook's group for weeks and its members are increasing daily (They are now 992!).

I will not be surprised to see Aroub Soubh as a future MP, and, in reality, I hope that! Let's vote for Aroub Soubh!

WHAT DOES AROUB SOUBH WANT?

1- Approval of Child's Rights Law, always refused by previous legislators. (UN Convention on Rights of Child)
2- Ratification of the UN Convention on Eliminiation of Discrimination Against Women.
3- Change of the current undemocratic election law (Election Law No.34 of 2001), this change should be also supported from members of the parliament.
4- Lowering the age of candidacy, which is now 30 years, Soubh finds 21 years appropriate.

Arabic Graffiti

2007-09-22T17:16:00.000+03:00

This is my first attempt to draw something similar to a graffiti in Arabic. Thanks to my friends (Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop) the result is, in my own opinion, quite good. By the way, I will post what "A7la Shabab" is, and the reason I'm so busy these days in some future posts :)

Israeli-Jordanian Team Set Up First Artificial Coral Reef in the Red Sea

2007-09-10T10:06:00.000+03:00

From isreal21c.org (click for full article)

Take a dive off the coast of Eilat these days and you're liable to find yourself swimming around a huge yellow concrete and wire construction that stretches four yards up from the seabed, is four yards wide, and is full of holes. No, this isn't some strange new structure left behind by an alien race, or cargo dropped from a sinking container shop, this is the first artificial coral reef in the Red Sea.

The reef, which was developed by the Israel Nature Parks Authority and a team of academics from the National Center for Mariculture at the Eilat campus of Ben Gurion University, the Inter-University Institute for Marine Sciences in Eilat, the Hebrew University, and the Marine Science Station in Aqaba, is a unique new approach to conservation in the Red Sea and part of a joint co-operative project between Israel and Jordan.

"The number of visitors is large and the size of the reefs is limited and too small," explains Dr. Nadav Shashar, the supervisor of the research project. "Because of the increase in the number of visitors, the coral reefs are unable to overcome the damage caused and are beginning to die out. If we don't act quickly, it's only a question of time before the excellent breeding conditions in the north bay become barren. Many bodies are aware of the problem and are seeking a way to solve it."

The openings of the reef have bars to prevent divers and swimmers from entering into unsafe areas, and to preserve the reef.

In six months another artificial reef is to be added on the Jordanian side of the Red Sea, it will be followed by four more - one in Eilat and three more in Jordan. Improvements and modifications are planned for the next reefs. "We are trying to improve all the time," says Shashar.

"Within a year we will estimate whether the whole thing is a success or not, and we will go on from there," says Shashar. "If all goes well then we will go to places where reefs used to be and actually build major large scale artificial reefs there. We are trying to design a new environment. All over the world reefs are being damaged and broken down, we are trying to add surface area. So far it looks like a great success. The fish are coming, and so are the people."

Our Retarded Democracy

2007-09-08T19:01:00.000+03:00

The speaker of the Lower House, Abdel-Hadi al Majali, advised Kuwaiti politicians to put on a legislative model similar to our two-house parliament in Kuwait , he said that such model could help the Kuwaiti democracy.

After less than a day, Majali was fiercely attacked by many members of Kuwait's parliament, he was accused to interfere in Kuwait's internal affairs and one MP accused Majali to have converted the Kuwaiti democratic government into an "anti-costitutional, illegal and police government" , while other MPs criticized "Majali's intentions to arrest the development in Kuwait" . The cruelest declarations where from four MPs who said they are now afraid for the Kuwaiti democracy after the Majali's statements, the same MPs asked Majali to keep his advice for Jordan (? Jordan already has a Senate) and said the democracy in Jordan is retarded .

By sure Majali is not the man I most like on the earth's surface, I have respect to all other countries and especially Kuwait for their democratic reforms, however I find the Kuwaiti response too much exaggerated .

I do not think Majali has such a relevant influence on Kuwaitis who will make them drastically change their political system, no one can convince me that the government in Kuwait City makes its decision based on what the Jordanian House Speaker says, in my opinion, his declarations were not more than personal political visions, that are normally underestimated by other delegations, but things are different when we come with Kuwait.

All we know that the Jordanian parliament is not so beloved by Kuwaitis, we should return back in 90s and the "popular" Jordanian politics regarding Gulf War to simply know the reason. Everything becomes clearer, the attack on Majali is not caused by his successful actions to make Kuwait an undemocratic nation, the real problem is that Majali invited all parliament members to read the Fatiha on Saddam 's soul the day the former Iraqi president was hanged up; we can add to this many other actions not tolerated by our Kuwaiti brothers , also keep in mind that the Kuwaiti internal politics is not so perfect (on Kuwait's political work, there is a good article of Ahmad Jarallah, if you want to get a deeper look on what I talk about, please read it.)

My last word is about the Jordanian Senate, with no doubts, it safeguarded the constitution more than once (for example it banned the imprisonment of journalists after a law was approved by lower house), and it is known in Jordan that Senate do not represent a real democratic problem, yes, we have a lot of other problems, but, if our democracy is retarded because we have an upper house, then we should be proud that the British democracy is more retarded than ours!

Jerash Or Haditha?

2007-09-02T09:07:00.000+03:00

Do you remember the movie they shot in Jerash about war in Iraq? I've found its trailer and the behind the scenes on YouTube, both clearly shows the downtown, Jerash citizens in their daily activities and even the famous Mitsubishi pickups used in Jordan. All this makes the film's location more similar to Jordan than Iraq. (Yes, I know there's little difference, but it is so evident they are in Jerash!!)

This is the link to the trailer cut to run at Cannes Film Festival in May. Movie is supposed to premier at the end of the year.

The springy atmosphere and the green hills do contrast the tragic story, which reveals the massacre of 24 men, women and children in Haditha in Iraq, allegedly shot by 4 U.S. Marines in retaliation for the death of a U.S. Marine killed by a roadside bomb.

The movie follows the story of the Marines of Kilo Company, an Iraqi family, and the insurgents who plant the roadside bomb. New York Times asked if this film will be the Iraq's Apocalypse Now.

About the movie, its name is Battle For Haditha, it is written and directed by Nick Broomfield, and it's now in post-production.

Errata Corrige: I've mentioned before that the movie was Redacted, that is another movie shot in Jordan at the same time, I'm sorry but I've cited that citizens were not allowed to encounter the crew and ask about the film. And by the way, this morning I've read that DePalma's Redacted stuns Venice Film Festival!

Masra7yeh

2007-08-22T19:53:00.000+03:00

I've recently read a post of Roba who was clearly criticizing the Jordanian theatre scene. Well, she built her opinion after watching a low quality play at Masrah Il-Thaqafeh in Amman.

I think Roba went by herself to see the actors and their "artistic" performance, but my experience of Monday was quite different.. I was normally walking down University St. (Irbid) when I was surprised by a big crowd standing in the middle of the road and on the sidewalk in front of Gloria Donuts.

I came close to that crowd and asked one of the guys about what was going there..

He answered with a shining smile: Masra7yeh

At first, I've thought he was kidding me, I'm quite pessimistic and I suppose that's more probable to see a fight or a theft attempt in Irbid's streets, anyways, the guy was right, that thing looked like a theatre play with two guys and three women putting on their techniques in stage acting.

I've watched some acts for nearly ten minutes, all-amazed by the big group of people who were recording the play with their mobile phones and by the many cars that stopped to know the reason of all that mess.

Yesterday, I read on Alrai newspaper that the actors were not allowed to enter Yarmouk University, in which the play should have been performed, the university's security guards refused that without giving any reason.

I don't know if people were there by chance, curiosity or interest, (a Service driver sincerely told me: We thought they were psychopaths) but I'm sure they had more audience in this way than by the usual unknown performance in the university's theatre which no one attends.

And it is not wrong to have more theatre plays in our streets!

Luma Mufleh, a Jordanian Heroine in the States

2007-08-18T18:59:00.000+03:00

The lives of the young refugees of Clarkston, Georgia, have drastically changed since their first meeting with Luma Mufleh, a Jordanian immigrant from Amman, and now a multi-million Hollywood movie will tell her story to the world.

In Clarkston, soccer is not only a game, it is a political issue. Last summer, Clarkston's Mayor has issued a decree to ban soccer in the city fields, he said he will only allow baseball in his city; the difference between his city and others is the high percentage of refugees that Clarkston hosts, most of them escaped from wars in countries like Kosovo, Liberia, Gambia and Iraq.

As you can imagine, these refugees are not so estimated by original citizens, who think their American lifestyle is in danger after the new coming traditions, even soccer was accused to be something stranger and threatening, this was the time Americans discovered their fear of soccer .

When Luma Mufleh had first known about the refugees' community of Clarkston, she filled all the buildings of their quarters with Arabic, English, French and Vietnamese posters, announcing the creation of a new soccer team, the Fugees . Surprisingly, 23 young kids were present on the first day of training, a relevant number if we take in consideration the economic difficulties of their families; this was a good step to offer some technical training to the children rather than playing barefoot in empty lots.

Coach Luma, as she is called by Fugees boys, remembers when she was playing volleyball in her high school of Amman, she hated her coach because of their toughness, but after fifteen year she reveals she model herself after her school's coach, other sources of inspirations, she said, are Malcolm X, Mahatma Ghandi and Luma's grandmother that taught her to take care of others.

Some rules are imposed by Luma to all Fugees' players: good grades, short hair, no drugs, no alcohol or getting girls pregnant. If you break a rule you will be off the team. She also offers an incentive: a pair of Nikes to anyone with straight A's.

Luma's rules and training built a better life for these young refugees, now the Fugees have a respectable second position in their division, performing better than their European-trained opposing players and elite wealthy clubs. Luma has also opened a cleaning service named Fresh Start after knowing that some of the players' moms were without jobs.

The efforts of Luma Mufleh will be soon revealed to the world by a Hollywood movie, in fact, after a huge bidding war, Universal Studios acquired the right and offered a $3 Millions and a new, modern green field for the Fugees, and it's only a matter of time before we can see Luma's amazing story in the cinemas.

- Ending up with more than a dream coming true : Jordan Times Article by R. Husseini

- Jordanian coach starts refugee soccer team: In the Jordanian Blog Mental Maihem

- Luma Mufleh's interview on the UNHCR Media site.

IMPORTANT: YOU CAN DONATE TO FUGEES FAMILY THE NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION OF MS. LAMA MUFLEH HERE.

JUST Scientists Discovered Potato Chip Flavoring Protects Concrete

2007-08-10T22:43:00.000+03:00

From ScienceDaily.com:

IRBID, Jordan, Aug. 6 (UPI) -- Jordanian scientists have discovered potato chip flavoring can increase the longevity of concrete.

Awni Al-Otoom of the Jordan University of Science and Technology found sodium acetate -- the ingredient that helps give salt and vinegar-flavored potato chips a tangy snap -- is the key to a new waterproof coating for concrete.

Al-Otoom and colleagues note concrete -- the world's most widely used structural material -- is so porous that water soaks in, corroding steel reinforcing bars and meshes that strengthen concrete roads and buildings. That, in turn, causes cracks as water expands and contracts during freeze-thaw cycles.

But the scientists discovered sodium acetate easily seeps into concrete and swells when exposed to water, blocking entry of additional moisture. Under dry conditions, the crystals shrink to their original size and allow moisture to evaporate.

The net result is "a significant reduction in water permeability (that) can be expected to increase the service life of the concrete," the scientists said.

The study is detailed in the Aug. 1 issue of the journal Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research.

Municipal Elections and the Theory of Legal Fraud

2007-08-10T18:23:00.000+03:00

In my last Arabic post I've talked about my conviction of evident frauds in the municipal elections. I have also noticed that I was the only blogger to explicitly say that, most of the others did not report anything on these elections and some of them had different opinions, which I hope they represent personal convictions and not acts of auto-censorship.

"Oh my God! They are coming!"

All's well that ends well! Municipal elections in Jordan ended blissfully, if we take apart some healthy political bagarres between Bani Rusheid and Bakheet, we can state that everyone is happy and definitely there are no losers; starting from Islamists who are trying to regain some of their lost popularity.

After seven hours into voting, the 'Front' came with their decision to boycott the elections, a scheduled and well-thought political move that allowed the Islamists to withdraw the elections, say goodbye and to mantain an optimal reputation. The decision aided them in regaining a little part of their popularity, and in any case, two IAF candidates won mayorship and several others seats on municipal councils.

On the other side, leftists, panarabists and communists, who represented historical opposition and government's old enemies, got 24 unexpected seats, and some of them become mayors of the biggest cities of Jordan including Karak and Irbid. It's also interesting that Irbid's new mayor, Mr. Tell, who was 'accused' to be the candidate most cuddled by the government, is one of them.

The third part is represented by our respectful government, all we know the government is always happy, this time because there was a democratic wedding. It seems that the other 992 seats were won by the powerful government's party.

Although all the persons I cited above are sure there were some strange actions, too many Jordanians with the same name and thousands of illiterate soldiers; no one can really accuse government of illegal actions, at maximum we can say the government's style was unethical but the funny thing is that there is nothing outlaw.

On my side, I invite political scientists to go into more depth on Jordanian municipal elections, I'm sure this is the first time a government takes so open actions in aid of some candidates without breaking the law, this is a case without precedent.

"I would have voted for Abu Hudeyb"

After ten days of reflections I've came up with a sort of theory, I've tried to answer myself how alleged 'fraud' may be legal? Let's study what really happened in municipal elections.

All we know that some Jordanians are illiterate (roughly 5%); the law permits illiterate people to vote by pronouncing the candidate's name at loud voice. Are the army men punishable because they voted as illiterate? No, this is totally permitted by law.

The voters' lists are published months before the elections. Everyone is invited to denounce any irregularities on the lists, otherwise they become official, and this is what happened in Jordan.

So we can say that the right choice for a legal fraud is to interpret laws as they are better for you.

The second rule is to work against your enemy, not against all the others. If you can choose between different candidates, choose the most popular candidate not supported by your enemy, even if he is not beloved by you, he will be the most appropriate choice.

The third rule is a good dosage of debunking and not the old-fashioned cover-up; everyone watched huge buses carrying hundreds of soldiers, in front of you or on Al-Jazeera there are no problems, it's their right to vote!

Most important condition for the legal fraud theory: The main enemy does not represent the majority, at the contrary; there are a lot of people who do not sympathize for him and they are available to be with you this time.

These are the guidelines for a legal fraud, patented in Jordan, they are now available to all the other governments of the world.

Last week I've read an article of Marc Linch, he talks about the difference between Jordanian and Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, anyway he did not refer to the difference between Jordanian and other governments, all we know our government is thousand times more intelligent and slick of others!

... And our government is always right.

انتخابات نزيهة وشفافة 100%

2007-08-01T19:40:00.000+03:00

أقسم بالله العظيم أن انتخابات أمس كانت في قمة الشفافية، لا أحد يمكنه أن ينكر... عمليات التزوير أمامك (عينك عينك) وكأنه الوضع طبيعي، مئات من الجنود ألزموا على إدعاء الأمية والتصويت علنا لصالح مرشحين معينين. كل هذا كان يجري أمامك في وضع النهار، تزوير علني غير مخفي!

بالأصل ماذا كنا نتوقع من الانتخابات؟ إذا أردنا النزاهة فوالله كانت نزيهة والقوائم ذات الأسماء المكررة كان معلن عنها قبل 3 أشهر! إذا أردنا الشفافية ها قد وجدناها فوالله أمس لم يكن شيئاُ مخفياً فالحافلات أملأت البلد! أما إذا أردنا الديمقراطية .. نعم الديمقراطية.. فلا بد أن يستجيب القدر!

الحركة الإسلامية في لحظة غضب قالت "إنها لمذبحة للديمقراطية" أنا أقول في لحظة صبر أسواء مما قالت الحركة الإسلامية مئات المرات؛ أنا أقول "أمس فكرت حالي في سوريا". نقطة.

The World Will Never Forget...

2007-07-31T09:34:00.000+03:00

...That Jordan's most popular king was King Hussein, look at how ADNKrons, an Italian press agency, reported a news story of the last two days:

18 Reasons Why The Tawjihi Is Not So Wrong

2007-07-28T12:35:00.000+03:00

I have waited until 120,000 students finally get their marks, and reach today the end of the 'tragic' path of Tawjihi, to reply to the estimated blogger Saned and talk about the Jordanian general secondary certificate (Tawjihi).
Despite the fact that I agree with a large part of Saned's post, especially the social pressure and the necessity of changing the system, there were some points I find unfair and exaggerated, and some personal points that have no coincidences with my personal experience of Tawjihi.

First of all, I'm one of the Tawjihi students who made their exams in 2004, the year of the Tawjihi-gate , when some exams were stolen and sold to nearly all Jordanians students (except me), that was surely a cheap shot to the Jordanian education system, but although I agree with the need of changing something of the Tawjihi and I believe we need a total renovation of our obsolete educational system, there are some points I will discuss to explain that Tawjihi itself is like another school exam (I've understood this after years of university) and that thousands of students who succeeded in Tawjihi deserved that, and they should not underestimate their past efforts.

1- Tawjihi depends on how much you memorize and how much you understand. Personally, I have not a good memory; in addition, I think it's impossible to memorize something without understanding it. However, I've known nothing by heart and the majority of my answered question were general ideas, I was rewriting what I've learned in class or paraphrasing some sentences in the textbook and the result was almost good; I've got fine marks on these subjects, especially in "Social Studies".
In reality, there is not a Social Studies book, it is called "General Culture" and it is unscientific and totally unrelated with culture, and after many students and instructors complained about the quality of this book, the ministry finally decided to change the book this year. But we must mention that this subject together with the Islamic Studies are the two worst examples: most of the marks depend on subjects like mathematics, physics, chemistry, geology and other subjects like Arabic and English that are impossible to memorize.

2- Tawjihi marks are normal distributed, only one or two students will get a full mark on Math exam, but more students will get a 90% mark and more will get 80% and so on. And if you take a full mark, that's the fruit of your efforts and not of your teacher.

3- Tawjihi questions are sometimes wrong, well, errare humanum est , we have Tawjihi for more than 30 years, and it is normal to find two wrong questions. Take in consideration that Tawjihi exams have something like 500 questions (yearly)!
Another thing I have noticed in Tawjihi is that many teachers tell students that a particular question is wrong, but if you ask the same question to a more experienced teacher or a university professor he will contradict your teacher and will give you the right answer.

4- The last-years fashion of private tuition is ridicule, I'm sure you know a lot of people who got a reasonable mark without private tutors, and vice versa. My personal opinion is that private tuition is more a social prestige rather than an educational need.
And about some Tawjihi students and their new hobby: collecting "dosyyat". Well, it's the most time-spending activity they may have since most of these "dosyaat" are repetitive, bad-organized and not educative.

5- Tawjihi makes you study physics, and that's a good thing, not only if you will study Engineering at university. Students get in the secondary stage a scientific knowledge base ; this will help them know more about the world that they live in! Even if some scientific subjects will not benefit you directly in your future studies, or you don't like them, they will provide you some necessary scientific facts you should know and the needed information that build a common base for all sciences. Even if you will study architecture you have to know who Niels Bohr was!

6- Tawjihi's new system allows those who do not pass the exams for the first time to repeat them on the same year, so if we have 14 Tawjihi subjects we will get something like 25 exams: this means we need at least 25 days to take all of them (If we count an exam for day), this is why Tawjihi exams period is so long .

7- We also know that most students do not fail at their first exams, some exams need more preparation time than others (i.e Math, Physics), there are subjects you can take in Summer or Winter, there are exams on subject not all the students take (Islamic Studies, French.. etc); all these make the Tawjihi's schedule very complex and do not allow to have the same quantity of time before each exam. However it is practically impossible to create an "optimal" schedule for all the students.
(In Saned's post there is a complain about having 3 days before English exam and only a half day before Social Studies, what Saned pretends is a clear contradiction to students' fear of English exam shared by the majority of Jordanian students, and in reality most students fail English test and get good mark at Social Studies).

10- Students are not obligated to study in toilets; the assumption that this is one of the wrong things of Tawjihi is absurd.

11- Let's see how Tawjihi exams are corrected (I know two correctors that told me the steps as written here, you can also ask any corrector if you want more details)

a) For each exam different correctors are chosen, the correctors are instructors who work for the Ministry of Education.
b) Correctors are distributed based on what they teach: biology teachers correct biology exams, Arabic teachers correct Arabic exam, and so on. It's impossible that a physical education teacher will correct math papers!
c) An answer key is given to each corrector.
d) Personal information on each answer sheet are sealed and hidden, this operation is done right after you complete your exam in the examination hall.
I remember when we finished our exams, the answer sheets were grouped, after that, personal data were covered by folding a paper sheet on the first page and then glued. This operation was done in front of us.
e) The location of the correction operation is chosen randomly. Aqaba's instructors will correct Amman 's papers; Aqaba's papers are corrected in Irbid… There is only a minimal chance your paper will be corrected in your city.
f) An answer in your paper is first corrected by a corrector.
g) A second instructor reviews your answer and re-corrects it.
h) A third corrector finally assures there are no mistakes in the first and second correction.
i) Another answer is corrected by other correctors.
j) When all answers are corrected, the summation of your point is evaluated.
k) The score of every answer is inserted into the computer, and the data entry is warned if the computer-generated summation is different from that of step (j).

12- Tawjihi hall conditions are terrible, because many school rooms in Jordan are terrible ! Do you know that most of the students (in public schools) take their tests in their school halls, only private schools students have to go to different institutions.

13- Tawjihi defines you, only because you are obsessed with Tawjihi, right now, after three years of my Tawjihi no one asks me of my marks or if I was in scientific or arts stream.
Let's be serious! Many people with bad marks on Tawjihi get a job, an education and they reach a good economic level and have a fine social reputation, some of them only with their talent become of the most famous Jordanians. On the other side, a typical Tawjihi genius rather studies medicine to become one of the 5,000 Jordanian doctors or simply choose a faculty only for a social conviction that it's better, without any ambition! Jordan is full of these cases!

14- Tawjihi is against non-Jordanians! I don't think so. First of all, correction procedures I've mentioned above do not allow to see your personal data. Then I have not noticed that number ones are Jordanians, at the contrary, all we unfortunately know Mohammad Asha , the brilliant Tawjihi student who won a scholarship to Jordan University's medical school since he was one of the "top ten" Tawjihi students, do you know he is from Hebron?
This is one case, but I invite everyone to see accurately the students with the highest marks of the last years, I have done that and I have found that non-Jordanians are the majority!

"Authorities will never hesitate to take off points from you to let the son or daughter of an Army member to be number one in school". I think it is normal not to trust in some institutions, but do you think this is a little exaggerated? How many sons of generals and commanders you know that got good marks? I know some of them and they have either studied outside Jordan or took very low grades and entered universities by the military quota.
I will ask another question: Is every number one in all Jordanian schools a son of an Army member?
For non-Jordanians: University quotas are one of the most unjust procedures of Jordanian education system, they may permit a son of a soldier, a diplomatic, a university employee in addition to some residents of rural zones and Palestinian refugees camps to get a university scholarship even if his Tawjihi's marks do not allow that.

16- Many students prefer to get ICGSE, IB or SAT not because these systems are better , but because a big part of them studied for years in private schools with American and British curricula and these exams are also easier , i.e. it is more probable you will get a high mark on IGCSE rather than Tawjihi. And that is not an opinion, it is a fact. Let's see the statistics: 9.9% of students got an A grade or above in IGCSE, the Tawjihi equivalent is 95/100, and only 321 students in the kingdom had this grade (that is 0.003% !!!! The same difference appears if we talk about SAT, 85% of students passed SAT exams in 2006 when the Tawjihi's percentage was 63.6% in one of its best years.^[1]

17- I have not memorized words in English; the glossary was 12 pages long, and I think no one can memorize 12 pages of words and definitions!

Points 8,9,15 and 18- Tawjihi kills, right, the people and the students are obsessed with these exams and the families are preoccupied for their sons. In Jordan if your son gets jailed it is normal, but his failure in Tawjihi will be the most embarrassing and shameful thing that may happen.

The main problem is that Tawjihi is connected with university admission , and the Jordanian society thinks that a university education is a must for all students.
If we will be able to create a system in which university admission is unrelated (or partially related) to Tawjihi scores, we will solve major Tawjihi problems, students and families will be less stressed, Tawjihi will have less importance and students will have a bigger opportunity to choose the college and the major they prefer.

^[1] 2006 SAT statistics from here, 2005 IGCSE statistics from here and 2006 Tawjihi statistics from the Minister of Education press conference reported in this article.

فضائية الغاز المسال - 2

2007-07-19T13:57:00.000+03:00

الأموال هي التي تطلق الألسنة وتحرك الأقلام، وقناة الجزيرة كغيرها من القنوات التجارية لا تخرج من هذه القاعدة. وأنا متأكد أنكم لاحظتم في الآونة الأخيرة وخاصةً الشهر الماضي تركيزاً من قبل هذه القناة على الجمهورية التركية.

كنا نرى تقارير عن تركيا في جميع نشرات الأخبار، وبعض منها كانت تقارير وأخبار مطولة، بالإضافة إلى برامج خاصة كانت تبث من أنقرة أو اسطنبول أثناء حصاد اليوم والجزيرة منتصف اليوم والجزيرة هذا الصباح كل هذا كان مصطحباً بإسهامات من خبراء وساسة وعلماء ومثقفين أتراك عبر البث الفضائي وعلى الهواء مباشرة، بالإضافة أنه كانت هناك برامج خاصة باسم "عين على تركيا".

ولا بد أن أقول أنه زاد إعجابي بتركيا، وكل تلك التقارير والأخبار السارة عن تقدم تركيا وحضارتها وإسهاماتها في التاريخ الإسلامي أحدثت ثورةً ما في قلبي، أصبحت أرى تركيا بعين العاشق إلى عشيقته، صرت أحب تركيا.

ومهما كانت التقارير، سواء عن إسلامية أردوغان أو عن علمانية أتاتورك، عن التطور الصناعي في مجال الألبسة أو عن مزارع الضفادع التركية "ذات الجودة العالية"، كانت تقارير مشرقة إيجابية كانت دائما تُظهر ما كانت تدعى الدولة العثمانية على أنها في قمة الرقي والتحضر.

وربما الأمر مصادفة (!) أنه ومنذ ذلك الوقت وتركيا (اقصد الحكومة التركية) تضخ في ميزانية الجزيرة مقداراً غير قليل من الأموال، إذ أن قناة الجزيرة امتلأت بالإعلانات التجارية عن تركيا، فأصبحت الليرات التركية بلا شك مصدرَ رزق للقناة التي تبث من الدوحة، والتي قل دعم الحكومة القطرية لها كثيراً.

وسؤالي البسيط هو: لماذا لا تدفع الحكومة الأردنية عن طريق هيئة تنشيط السياحة الدولارات الكثار للجزيرة لعلنا نشتريها كما اشترتها تركيا؟

JUST New Website

2007-07-17T19:09:00.000+03:00

The guys of the Computer Center have made a good job, after the more-than-six-months beta test, the new website of JUST has been officially launched : A cutting edge look, better performance and more functionality!

If you are a JUST student and you enter www.just.edu.jo on your web browser you will get a surprise, the old ugly site of Jordan University of Science and Technology changed look definitely, it has been replaced by a new site with a better choice of colors, styles and an enhanced functionality. The user-friendly interface provides two menus, the one on the top with services for students, alumni and visitors, and the right one for academic services, this one changes as you visit different sections of the site.

Based on ASP.NET technology, with a relevant utilization of AJAX features, the new site offers some newer technologies and, for sure, a more innovative design compared with the previous site, however there are a few things I think the Computer Center should work on:

1- The Arabic website, and most of the sections in Arabic are under construction.
2- Some pages on English website are in Arabic, I don't know why.
3- The documents are in .doc format rather than .pdf (I know that Micro$oft rules there, but PDF is a standard)
4- Some broken links (Ouch!).
5- New features must be added to the library page (e.g a student can see when a book's loan period ends)
6- Please make a really interactive map or something similar to a GIS, all maps on the current site are unhelpful.
7- CHANGE THE REGISTRATION SITE NOW!!.

I promise that I'll carry these points to the Computer Center (I'm in good relations with them), and if anyone has a suggestion leave a comment :)

These are some random photos on the home page, they show how JUST student are proud of their university :)

The Jihad Barbie

2007-07-14T17:09:00.000+03:00

A quick attempt to google "Jihad Barbie" will split out several pictures of an attractive Barbie doll wearing an explosive belt full of dynamite, in another photo an elegant ladies bag hold by Barbie is full of nails while a detonator is highlighted, the photos are not so different from real commercial campaigns of the American fashion doll...

I know what you are going to ask: why are you searching for "Jihad Barbie" in Google? Good question, in reality I was browsing one of the "funny pictures" sites, and the previous image was tagged as Palestine Barbie!!

Personally, I have not found it funny, at contrary they're somehow sad, the title itself is offensive as it tries to depict all Palestinians as suicide bombers, the things are even worse when these images are connected (in a cynic way) with real life situation, in fact, I was looking at how some persons use these pictures in favor of their anti-Islamic political views, the previous Google search revealed some neo-cons blogs, other results connect the pictures, in a totally illogical way, to Fulla; the Arabic doll wearing hijab, loved by millions of Muslim girls but seen as "sign of submission" by others.

Anyway, these childlike pictures are powerful, the addition of the dynamite turned Barbie -an icon of the American culture- to our more terrific enemy: the suicide bomber. Yes, Barbie our feminine icon of the western woman, daughter or mother became our scariest nightmare… and I still try to find something funny.

Malcolm's Season 5 On MBC4

2007-07-07T15:42:00.000+03:00

For all Malcolm In The Middle fans (like me): you can watch fifth season's episodes starting from tonight on MBC4, Saturdays - Wednesdays at 9:00 PM GMT (00:00 AM Jordan Time). So, I've finally found a good reason to turn to MBC4!

As I cited in my profile, this is my favorite TV show, I know that some of my friends dislike the fact I always find the opportunity to talk about Malcolm and refer to some of its stories, but, really this sitcom is GREAT!

If you don't know what formidable thing is Malcolm in the Middle, this is a good chance -even if late- to start watching it!

News on Jordan

2007-07-06T11:13:00.000+03:00

WND: JORDAN QUIETLY GAINING CONTROL ON TEMPLE MOUNT

WorldNetDaily (wnd.com) reported that Jordanian government is secretly buying lands and real estate surrounding the Temple Mount (i.e. Haram Sharif). The site cited anonymous Israeli and Palestinian officials, and quoted from Israeli newspaper Maariv that members of the Jordanian royal family has been leading efforts to purchase properties to "'to solidify kingdom's already strong presence there".

According to WND, Jordan bought or try to buy: apartments, shops, properties from Arab landowners, real estate and it recently place a bid to buy Jerusalem's Intercontinental Hotel, all this through Jordanian shell companies which have presented themselves as acting on behalf of the Waqf:

Sheik Azzam Khateeb, who was installed in February as the new manager of the Waqf, is known to be close to the Jordanian monarchy. The previous Waqf manager, Sheik Adnon Husseini, was loyal to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party and had relations with Israel and some Jewish groups."Khateeb answers directly to Jordan," a Fatah official told WND.

My own comment: Israeli press is amazing.

JORDANIAN PRISONERS RELEASED: GOVERNMENT ACCUSED

No, this news story is not about Islamic fundamentalists accusing the Jordanian government, by the way the IAF has already issued its strong sentence on prisoners' repatriation, on the opposite site, we see that Almagor - "Terror Victims Association" said that the government (the Israeli government) tried to cover up the release of Jordanian "terrorists", in addition the director of the group accused Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of "succumbing to years of pressure from the Jordanian government to free the murderers" and stated that "It is clear to all that Jordan’s intention is to release them (the prisoners) as soon as possible". [Source]

It's interesting that there's always someone who tries to complain.

"THOSE WHO CURE YOU ARE GOING TO KILL YOU"

A British priest said this was the cryptic warning made to him in Jordan by a purported al-Qaida chief months before the failed car bombings in London and Glasgow, he met an extremist man privately with a translator and sheik after holding talks with Sunni Muslim tribal and religious leaders April 18 in the Jordanian capital, Amman, and he said that "he meets regularly with extremists".

Well, personally I do not meet regularly with extremists, but if I were you:
1- I would have informed Jordanian police.
2- I would have warned UK embassy.
3- I wouldn't been silent for all this time.
4- Most important: I would have stopped meeting with "extremists". I think you the UK law can accuse you of terrorism, right?

On the same subject, the conservative party invited the UK government to stop recruiting Jordanian doctors, it's "illegal" they said. [Source]

جريمة "جمع التواقيع"

2007-07-02T22:49:00.000+03:00

استمراراً لحملة جمع التواقيع الموجهة إلى رئاسة الوزراء والمطالبة بوقف رفع الرسوم الجامعية وخفضها بما يتناسب ودخل المواطن ، قامت مجموعة من طلبة حملة"ذبحتونا" بجمع تواقيع طلبة من جامعة اليرموك من خارج أسوار الجامعة كون جمع التواقيع داخل الجامعة قد يعرضهم للفصل من الجامعة ، إلا أن الطلبة تفاجأوا بقيام الأجهزة المعنية باعتقال اثنين منهم والتحقيق معهم داخل أسوار الجامعة ومن ثم قاموا بتحويلهم إلى الأجهزة خارج الجامعة

الطالبان هما ماهر النمري وأحمد العدوان
!You Have Slaughtered Us

Tonight Let's Be a Little More Jordanian...

2007-07-01T14:21:00.000+03:00

Reunite with your friends, bring huge buckets of popcorn in front of a large screen TV, or smoke tasty argeeleh in your favorite coffee shop, do not forget the Jordanian flag and most important give a big support to the Nashama!

Jordanian debut on U-20 Fifa World Cup: Tonight at 00:15 (Jordan Time) JORDAN - ZAMBIA

The Pink Panther is Made in Jordan

2007-06-27T11:00:00.000+03:00

AMMAN -- Hollywood powerhouse Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. entered into a joint production and financing venture with a local animation company on Sunday.

The deal, signed at a gathering at the Royal Automobile Museum yesterday, represents MGM's first foray into the Middle Eastern market, and is the first agreement of its kind between any major American studio and an Arab company, according to Travis Rutherford, executive vice president of MGM.

The agreement will target three main areas -- content creation, licensing and merchandising, and the development of what is known as "location-based entertainment," which includes theme parks, casinos and housing developments.

Under the agreement, Rubicon, an Amman-based company that has specialised mainly in children's programming, will begin co-producing "Pink Panther & Pals," a new cartoon based on the iconic MGM character, in July.

It is the feline's first incarnation in 26 years, and George Wade, senior vice president of location-based entertainment for MGM, called it a "natural choice" for the studio's first entry into the Middle Eastern market.

"There's a specific need in this region for children's entertainment," he said.

Rutherford praised the Kingdom for taking "a leadership role in the region."

Executives at MGM and Rubicon would not disclose the value of the deal, citing confidentiality concerns, but Rutherford called it "a very significant amount of money."

Ayoubi (Rubicon CEO) considered the deal a major step towards achieving her company's vision, which is to rival studios like Disney's Pixar, within the next 10 years."It puts us on the map," she said. "Hollywood is a very tough place to break into. So we're very excited."

Edited from the article of Jennifer Blecher published on the Jordan Times

Shakira at Jerash Festival?

2007-06-26T22:28:00.000+03:00

Many gossips and rumors are coming out about the presence of the Columbian singer Shakira (of Lebanese origins) at Jerash Festival, these voices appear stronger after her concert in Lebanon has been postponed (or even canceled) and by taking in consideration the fact she had previously two tour dates in Egypt and in Dubai.

Personally, I think it's not probable that Shakira will have a concert in Jerash as first reported by some websites, it's more credible to see Shakira as a guest of honor as she will help to add a brighter 'international image' for the festival. However, today's edition of Al-Ghad reported that, until now, organizers of the Jerash Festival neither affirmed nor denied the future presence of Shakira in this year's edition of the festival.

But a short visit to the official site makes it clear that the edited version of the program does not refer to Shakira at all, the day of the opening ceremony has been postponed (it was first announced as 19/7) and the first concert will be performed by Ozomatli on 26/7. Ozomatli is a band from Los Angeles, their music is a fusion of a wide variety of jazz, funk, hip-hop and Spanish rock. They're known for their political activism, their English-Spanish songs and for the different ethnic origins of the members.

Visit Ozomatli Official Site

Click here to have a look at the Jerash Festival Program.

كيف يخسر الأردن الملايين؟

2007-06-26T11:05:00.000+03:00

قرأت قبل أيام مقالة للكاتب فهد الفانك، كان يقول فيها أن الموازنة الأردنية تتعرض إلى ضربات عنيفة بسبب الملايين التي تنفق على هيئات ومؤسسات وبعض مجالس إدارتها دون أن تكون لهذه المؤسسات أية فائدة تذكر...

قمت بإضافة بعض المؤسسات على المؤسسات التي ذكرها الفانك، وكلها ينطبق عليها الشرط: مؤسسات كبيرة لا حاجة لها. فمثلاً ما الفائدة أن تكون لدينا هيئة لتنظيم قطاع النقل ولدينا وزارة للنقل، ما الفائدة أن تكون هناك هيئة لمكافحة الفساد تطلب من الخزينة 5.5 ملايين سنوياً، ولدينا في المخابرات دائرة كاملة لمكافحة الفساد؟

هل الحكومة مصابة بهوس اختراع هيئات جديدة، أو ماذا؟ انظروا على يمين المقالة كم هيئة تقطع ميزانياتها العالية من الموازنة العامة للدولة، بعضها بصراحة أسمع فيها للمرة الأولى...

هل يخطر ببالكم المزيد من هذه الهيئات؟

Tawjihi and Political System

2007-06-21T15:58:00.000+03:00

Yes, Emad Hajjaj strikes again... this time about Tawjihi and its relation to the political system, and in this cartoon he didn't do that in an implicit way.

So we have big problems in our system...

1- We are not as democratic as we suppose to be, so it's strange that we demand more freedom from the government and at the same time we try to impose only our rules and points of views to others.

2- We like to gain power and we like to give orders, these things can be easily seen in our patriarchal system. In our families, schools, institutions, the man with more power is who leads, makes decisions and believes that he knows everything.

3- On the other hand, there is not a rejection culture , so anything decided by our supreme leaders is good (see Mahjoob telling his dad how he's democratic).

4- Ob9om Ob9om Ob9om... and not Odros Odros Odros, this is not only a critic of how we study and what our education system calls for, but it's a reference to the fact that we do not think , we do not use our brains, well, if everything is dictated by powerful men and therefore is good, there is no need to think.

5- We believe that limitative decisions, constraints and constrictions are a good solution to solve problems, in reality they are exactly the opposite. (If you force your son to stay at home 24 hours a day, without TV or any social activity, it will not become a good student, he will be a stupid student).

6- We are capable to transform a relative silly stupid thing like Tawjihi to the scariest nightmare in the life of a Jordanian. I think Jordanians are the first in the world for their sense of alarmism, really, I don't know why Tawjihi is for us so apocalyptic...

PS: This cartoon has a unique choice of colors; I think I've never seen Abu Mahjoob in this style.

فضائية الغاز المسال - 1

2007-06-19T19:14:00.000+03:00

لكم بعض اللقطات المضحكة لمذيعي قناة الجزيرة

نهاية الجنوب إلى اللقاء

قصة يوم أمس

2007-06-17T18:24:00.000+03:00

أنني أكتب هذا المقال القصير وهناك صعوبة بالغة في أن أضغط على زر المسافة على لوحة المفاتيح أو حتى في تحريك الفأرة. لماذا؟ بعضكم يتساءل ما الذي جرى بي حتى وصلت إلى هذه الدرجة من العناء، لمعرفة السبب لا بد من الرجوع إلى حادثة يوم أمس.

البارحة، في الساعة الخامسة عصراً تقريباً، توجهت كعادتي إلى الطابق العلوي من بيتي، حيث يوجد جهاز الحاسوب خاصتي، بدأت بالطلوع على الدرجات واحدة تلو الأخرى. كنت أجسد في مشيتي كل ما أملكه من النشاط والحيوية الناتجان عن غداء دسم وأكل وافر كنت قد ناولته قبل الحادثة المريرة بقليل... وضعت قدمي على الدرجة الأولى فالثانية فالثالثة... كل ذلك كان مصحوباً بابتسامة خفيفة على وجهي وسرعة في الأداء وبال مشغول لا أدري بماذا، سموت على الدرج شيئاً فشيئاً وكدت أصل آخره، لولا أن رجليّ خانتاني وأدّتا حركةً غريبة لا يدرك ماهيتها إلا رب العالمين، وبعد تلك الحركة البهلوانية الذي أداها جسمي بإتقان، وقعت أرضاً... وجاء رأسي ليصطدم بالجدار الذي أمامي، وفي لحظات كلمح البصر، وبعد أن تأكدت من أنني لم أفقد الوعي وأن الجدار ورأسي الاثنين بخير، بدأت الآلام تراودني ولكن ليس في رأسي، بل في يدي وخاصة في الإبهام الأيمن، الذي وقع ضحية الحادث المؤلم، وكان قد اندفع بقوة نحو الأرض، ليدافع هذا الإبهام وسائر الأصابع عني، ولكن وجدوا في طريقهم معترضاً لا أعرف حتى الآن ماذا كان...

بدأ الإبهام بالانتفاخ... وتحول مما كان عليه قبل الحادث، إصبعاً طبيعياً في الشكل والهيئة، إلى ضعف حجمه، وأصبح مهيب القامة، وزاد عرضه تقريبا عن طوله، ولم يفلح الثلج والجليد في تباطؤ هذا النمو الخيالي للإصبع، كل هذا صاحبته صعوبة في حركة يدي اليمنى، وبروز غير طبيعي لجبهتي ومقدمة رأسي...

وضعت على إصبعي مرهما كريه الرائحة عديم اللون، ولففته بالشاش لعل يخفي بعضاً من زرقته، ولساني تطلق اللعنات على الدَرَج والحائط والحفّاية وأعاتب في نفس الوقت هذا الحظ المنحوس الذي ما زال يرافقني منذ أن أبصرت النور...

استمررت في حالة الغضب تلك حتى صباح اليوم، فلقد قلـّت الأوجاع فعلاً. خرجت من بيتي إلى الشارع العام حتى انتظر الباص وإذ شابٌ أعرفه يسلّم علي من بعيد ملوّحاً يده اليسرى، لتكتشف عينيّ بسرعة أنه هو نفسه وقع ضحيةً لحادث آخر أكثر ضررا، ذلك أن ذراعه كان مكسوراً وأحاطت يده طبقةٌ سميكة من الجبس..

تذكرت في تلك الأثناء قصة الرجل الذي كان حزيناً لأنه ليس لديه المال لشراء حذاء، فكان يضطر أن يمشي حافياً، ولكن ذلك الحزن تحول إلى سعادة يوماً رأى على باب جامع عجوزاً مبتور الرجلين، فعرف حينها أنه من الأفضل أن تكون بلا حذاء من أن تكون بلا قدم، وعلى المرء أن يحمد ربه ليلاً نهاراً على ما يملكه، أو حتى على صغار المصائب التي تصيبه فهي نعمة ورخاء مقابل ما يصيب الآخرين من ويلات.

Sean Paul in Amman

2007-06-13T17:04:00.000+03:00

We be burnin in Amman?

Ok, now it's official^*... the Jamaican Raggea star Sean Paul will perform live in Amman!! This is not one of the stupid sentences of AlGhad newspaper ads.. Sean Paul concert will be in Action Target and tickets are 45 JDs and 85 JDs... for more information click here and here

MORE ABOUT SEAN PAUL
Birth Name: Sean Paul Henriques
Date and place of birth: 8/1/1973 - Kingston (Jamaica)
Trivia:
Has been the member of Jamaican national water polo team.
Sean Paul's mother encouraged his interest in music by purchasing a $30 keyboard for him when he was 13.
Likes eating pasta.
Had worked as a chef and as a bank teller before pursuing a singing career.

^*: It seems to be official, but you know in Jordan nothing is sure :(

DiCaprio a CIA Agent Working With Mukhabarat

2007-06-12T17:24:00.000+03:00

Leonardo DiCaprio will play the role of an ex-journalist, who is now a CIA agent sent to Amman to cooperate with the chief of General Intelligence Department in tracking down an Al-Qaeda leader planning to attack America. The movie is produced by Warner Bros and directed by the big Ridley Scott (director of Gladiator, Hannibal, Alien, Kingdom of Heaven...)

From Variety.com :

Scott already is scouting venues in Morocco for a film that will shoot in Washington, D.C., Europe and the Middle East. DiCaprio will play an ex-journalist-turned CIA agent who’s sent to Amman to work with Jordan’s intelligence chief to track an Al Qaeda leader rumored to be planning attacks against America. [Screenwriter William] Monahan and Scott aligned to the project last year (Daily Variety, March 13, 2006), when Warner bought the novel, then titled “Penetration,” by Washington Post columnist Ignatius.

The movie, named Body of Lies, is based on the book of David Ignatius, and it's about the CIA agent Roger Ferris, an ex-journalist newly stationed in Jordan after being wounded in Iraq. The first operation of Ferris is to eliminate a terrorist named Suleiman, but when this operation fails, Ferris is forced to adopt an innovative scheme modeled after a British plan used successfully against the Nazis. Ferris's plot to turn the terrorists against each other by sowing seeds of suspicion that their leaders are collaborating with the Americans puts his personal life in turmoil and threatens his professional relationship with the head of Jordanian intelligence.

The novel has been labeled as the best spy thriller post-9/11

Where Was Yugi?

2007-06-11T18:14:00.000+03:00

I hope someone asked this question in the last week... In any case, I was really too busy to write posts, or even to surf the net (you know I had exams, and I was looking for university training in this summer plus some programming courses and ehm.. I've just started to workout), however I'm here now and let's continue blogging...

So spread the word... Yugi is back

القول المصيب في مذاهب الترسيب

2007-05-31T12:57:00.000+03:00

إذا مررتم بقسم الفيزياء في جامعتي سوف تجدون الكثير من اللوحات المعلقة على الجدران، بعضها تتحدث عن أينشتاين أو نلسون بور وبعضها تشرح آلية عمل الـLED، ولكن تلك التي أظهرتها هنا أعجبتني أكثر من غيرها ...

مع أمنياتي لجميع من يقدم امتحاناته في هذه الفترة (مثلي) بالمزيد من التوفيق والنجاح

Pippo e' Magnifico... Pellegatti e' Pazzo!

2007-05-25T13:53:00.001+03:00

Poverino Pellegatti ha qualche problema serio, comunque due gol d'Inzaghi nella finale di Champions fanno davvero perdere la testa :)

"Sandrino Piccinini ti voglio bene sei piu' bello di Claudia Schiffer" :D

Campioni D'Europa

2007-05-24T11:01:00.000+03:00

Amman Opera House: Yes or No?

2007-05-23T00:25:00.000+03:00

"Greater" Amman Municipality is serious about the building of an opera house, it will be opened in the Muhajereen zone, where now there is a building owned by the Jordan Tobacco & Cigarettes Co.
The opera house is a part of the Muhajereen zone development plan, Al Rai reported.

It's interesting to see what people think about spending money for this project, if it is good to have a new cultular organization, or it's not opportune and it's better to build something we really need... What do you think?

The Royal Family Uses Apple

2007-05-18T13:44:00.000+03:00

Yes! The photos show that Macintosh has conquered even the Jordan's royal house. (Photos by MGA)

HM Queen Rania with a Power Macintosh 7300

Prince Faysal and family with an Apple IBook

Prince Ali and Princess Reem with an IMac (Flat Panel)

Multimedia Lab Mid Exam

2007-05-11T17:38:00.000+03:00

Yesterday I've got the mid exam for our multimedia laboratory (when we work on multimedia applications like Photoshop, Flash and Premiere). I was surprised by the exam's only question; they demanded us to design a poster for the movie Master and Commander (visit its IMDB page), I've heared about the film but never watched (this is a chance to do it), anyways I wasn't imagining such a question, in fact the other section made a poster about Jerash, we were lucky and had something less formal... in reality I always try to search for something 'strange' or out of ordinary in our curricula, lessons or exams. You know, after three years of same routine, university life becomes more and more annoying...

Let me explain how was the exam... You have an hour to utilize several (very-low resolution) photos, you have to arrange them and make the result attractive as much as possible. No internet connection, the instructor specified what text you had to write, but you are free in matter of cropping, selecting and rearranging various elements on your image, as the style you choose for text layers... Ok, all this was accompanied by Miss Ulfat -our instructor- personal review of the movie and the actors, together with her telling off not to cheat (how can someone cheat in Photoshop?)...

Ok, this was my work (I think I can do better if I'm not under pressure in a 60-minute exam) and the real poster of the movie...

غياب الطبقة الوسطى

2007-05-09T00:47:00.000+03:00

لقد طالب الصديق (وابن جامعتي) عبد حمدان من جموع المدونين كتابة ما يرونه مناسباً حول الأثرياء الذين يتمتعون بغنى فاحش وما تقابلهم من طبقات فقيرة بائسة – أو "حفرتلية" إن صح التعبير- فيما بات يسمى بالصراع بين عمان الغربية وعمان الشرقية،
وعلى الرغم أني لست خبيراً اقتصادياً ولا أدعي ذلك إلا أنني حاولت تحليل هذه الظاهرة في المقالة التالية، أتمنى لكم قراءة ممتعة وسامحوني إن كانت طويلة أو مملة ...

لقد انتقلت اقتصاديات دول العالم في أوائل الثورة الصناعية من حالة إقطاعية بحتة تمثلت في وجود طبقتين اثنتين للمجتمع هي طبقة نبيلة مالكة للأرض (الأكثر أهمية وسلطة) وأخرى احتوت مجموعة العبيد والأقنان التابعة للطبقة الأولى، إلى حالة جديدة ضمت طبقة البرجوازية الرأسمالية والطبقة العاملة التي اكتسبت حق المواطنة على مستوى دولتها، ودخلت فعلاً في البعد المدني والسياسي للمجتمع.

وإذا كان هذا الحال للدول الأوروبية عموماً فإن ثمة اختلاف بينها وبين تكوين الطبقات الاجتماعية في الأردن؛ في أوروبا قد جرت عملية استغرقت مئات السنين حتى وصلت مجتمعاتها إلى ما هي عليها الآن، ولقد شهدت انطلاق الثورة الصناعية بداية هذه التحولات الاجتماعية، وساعد في هذا التغيير لبنية المجتمع تغيير موازن في إنتاجية الأرياف، وفي مركزية الإدارة، وزيادة في النشاطات التجارية ونمو حضري ومدني متمثل في ما يسمى "الدولة الحديثة".

إذاً لا بد أن ندرك أن أي تحول اجتماعي تنشئه على الأغلب دوافع اقتصادية، فكان في تحفيز عوامل الإنتاج السبب الرئيسي لتحقيق الكسب والربح في هذه المجتمعات، أما الأردن فلم يمر من هذا الطريق، ولم يرافق انتقال البلاد من سيطرة الدولة العثمانية ونظامها الإقطاعي إلى تكوين الدولة الأردنية الحديثة أي دفع للعملية الإنتاجية. إذ أن الطبقة الثرية في الأردن لم تـحقق ثراها من خلال تكوين المصانع وتشغيل العمال وإنتاج البضائع، ولكنها حققتها عن طريق استثمارات عقارية أو عن طريق الزيادة الكبيرة لقيمة الأراضي والممتلكات، فإذا كان فرد مالكاً لأرض معينة يتمكن من خلال عشر سنوات أن يبيع نفس القطعة ولكن بسعر يفوق عشرات الأضعاف.

ولقد بدأ الأردن في منتصف الثمانينات بعد التراجع في النمو والعجز في الموازنة يتبنى برامج جديدة لتصحيح الخلل الاقتصادي، إلا أن الحكومات المتتالية زادت الأوضاع سوءاً، وهي الآن وبعد عشرين سنة شاهدة على المزيد من التدهور للمستوى الاقتصادي، وزيادة مستويات الفقر والبطالة دليل على ذلك، وبما أن الطبقات الاجتماعية تعتمد على كم هي غنية وقوية، سحبت الطبقة الفقيرة المعدومة ما كان يتبقى من الطبقة الوسطى وضمتها إليها، ورافق كل ذلك عجز من قبل الحكومة في توفير الخدمات وسبل العيش الكريم لهذه الطبقة.

حركات غير مدروسة

إذا نظرنا إلى الشعب الأردني سوف نجد بعض الأفكار والتصرفات "الغريبة"، من منا لم يشاهد موقفاً كهذا: عامل في العقد الثلاثين من عمره، تراه بائساً فقيراً تظهر على جبينه وفي بروز عروقه شدة التعب والألم، يركب بثيابه المتسخة الباص ويبدأ بالتحدث عن وضعه المالي الصعب، وزيادة الأسعار ويبدأ بالشتم على البلد، لكن بعد أن تشفق عليه يمد يده إلى جيبه وإذا هو ماسك بها جهاز موبايل من طراز حديث (أحلى 100 مرة من جهازك) وتبداً بالشك كثيراً في إدعاء الفقر من قبل بعض الأشخاص... أو مثل تلك المرة التي كنت أسمع فيها إلى الإذاعة وإذ بـ"مواطن" يشتكي من وضعه الاقتصادي فيقول حرفياً: والله مش ملاقي حق باكيت دخان... بصراحة كنت أتوقع أن يذكر شيئاً مثل لقمة خبز أو لتر حليب أو أي شيء آخر قد يعتبر ضروري، أما إذا وقفت معانتك على باكيت دخان فلا بد أن تشكر الحكومة أنها جعلتك غير قادر على شرائه على الأقل قد كسبت صحتك...

وللملاحظة هذه حالات فردية، ولكن لا يمكننا أن ننكر إنها شائعة، ولا تنفي على جميع الأحوال أن هناك مواطنين في فقر مقنع حقاً، عندها تجد من المؤسف أن الحكومة كثيراً ما تقدم خدمات أفضل في بعض المناطق الغنية، على الرغم أن المنطق يقول العكس، من المفروض أن يكون المقدار الأكبر مما تدفعه الحكومة موجهاً للمناطق الأشد حاجة، ولكن من الذي يفرض على الحكومة ذلك؟ يكفينا أن ننظر إلى معظم المظاهرات النقابية، بدلاً من أن يطالبوا برفع الأجور، إنهم يطالبون بسحب السفير الصهيوني ... فليطالبوا بالأمرين معاً على الأقل...

لنبقَ في موضوع الطبقات الاجتماعية، لا مجال للتشكيك بأن جزءاً من عملية تكوين هذه الطبقات نحن مسؤولون عنها، وإن المجتمع -حسب علم الاجتماع- يبني هذه الطبقات حسب ثلاثة أمور: الثراء، والسلطة والاعتبار؛ على سبيل المثال الوزير دخله أقل من دخل مغني، إلا أن مكانته الاجتماعية أسمى في معظم الأحيان. ولكن يبقى ثراء الشخص (ومدى علاقاته بعناصر الإنتاج) العنصر الأهم في تحديد إلى أي طبقة اجتماعية ينتمي، وبالتالي يجب تعزيز الأكثر فقراً اقتصادياً حتى يصبحوا قادرين على البقاء والتمتع بمستوى معيشي جيد، هكذا تتكون الطبقة الوسطى والتي تعتبر الطبقة المثالية والطبقة الأعرض في أي مجتمع.

حلول؟

هل هناك حل؟ دعوني أدلي ببعض النصائح التي قد تكون مفيدة...

لا بد للأردن أن يتوجه نـحو استثمارات إنتاجية جادة ، يعود بالنفع للمواطن الأردني على المدى البعيد، وإذا ما نظرنا إلى جميع الاستثمارات الأجنبية المقامة حالياً في الأردن لوجدناها استثمارات في قطاعي الإنشاءات والعقارات، وفي نفس السياق، فإن معظم تلك الاستثمارات لا تعمل على تشغيل الأيدي العاملة الأردنية ، ذلك أن معظم العمال المستخدمين في قطاع الإنشاء هم أجانب، والأمر نفسه فيما يتعلق بالمصانع الأجنبية في المدن الصناعية التي لا يمثل عدد الأردنيين العاملين فيها إلا نسبة ضئيلة، وعلى الحكومة ومؤسسات المجتمع المدني أن تلعب دوراً أكثر فاعلية فيما يخص تشغيل العامل الأردني في الاستثمارات الأجنبية، من منا لم يسمع عن المشروع الصحي الضخم الذي تود شركة كويتية الإتيان به إلى الأردن؟ هناك مشروع مماثل لنفس الشركة في دولة أخرى حيث وظفت هذه الشركة جميع الكادر من جنسيات هندية وشرق آسيوية. إذا كانت هذه نية المستثمرين الأجانب فلا بد من التدخل لوقفهم وممانعتهم.

ولكن الأهم من ذلك هو إعادة هيكلة الحصاد الضريبي ، وهي ضرورة لا بد للحكومة أن تدركها إذا ما أرادت تجنب صراع طبقي محتمل، إذ أن معظم الضرائب التي ترفد الموازنة مصدرها الطبقات الفقيرة، مما يجعل الفقراء يزدادون فقراً والأغنياء غنىً، أظن أن الكثير سوف يعارضني إذا قلت أنه على أرض الواقع الضرائب في الأردن منخفضة، ولكن المشكلة هي أنها غير عادلة . الأردن يعتمد على إيرادات ضريبية غير مباشرة، بمعنى أنه يتم التركيز على ضريبة المبيعات مثلاً بدلاً من أن نركز على ضريبة مباشرة كضريبة الدخل، والارتفاع في ضريبة المبيعات يعتبر إجحافاً بحق الطبقات الفقيرة، ويفترض على الحكومة أن تقل من مثل هذه الضرائب وتزيد من إيرادات ضريبة الدخل، والضرائب التي تخص المعاملات المالية وأرباح الشركات.

ولم لمْ تفكر الحكومة في إعادة النظر بمجموعة الرسوم الذي يدفعها المواطن مقابل الخدمات كالرسوم الجامعية مثلاً؟ وتفترض أن تكون هذه الرسوم أكثر اجتماعيةً، في كثير من دول أوروبا ما يدفعه الطالب كرسوم للجامعة يتناسب مع دخل أسرته، مستواه الاقتصادي وتحصيله العلمي. بما يضمن نوعاً من العدالة الاجتماعية (الأمر نفسه يطبق عندهم على خدمات أخرى).

وإذا أردنا أن نضيف على ذلك عمليات الخصخصة غير المدروسة، التي لم تستفد منها لا الحكومة ولا المواطنون، وعمليات استقبال ما يقارب المليون اللاجئ عراقي (الذين جلبوا معهم أموالهم) ولكن سببوا ضغطاً على الخدمات وزيادة ملحوظة في الأسعار، وتقبل الأردنيون نمطاً استهلاكياً جائراً كل ذلك أدى إلى المزيد من المشكلات للطبقات الأكثر فقراً.

وأخيراً، فإنه من البديهي أن نقول أنه لتحقيق المزيد من العدالة الاجتماعية لا بد من تحسين مستوى المعيشة للأفراد ذوي الدخل المحدود، ويجب التقارب بين الطبقة الفقيرة والغنية وإيجاد طبقة وسطى عريضة ممثلة لأغلبية الشعب، الذين لديهم المقدرة على البقاء والعيش دون الاعتماد على الآخرين، إذا تمكننا من تعزيز هذه الطبقة وليس تهميشها لوصلنا إلى حالة مثالية صحية للمجتمع.

Jerash or Fallujah ?

2007-04-30T23:53:00.000+03:00

Big explosions, large columns of smoke, closed military zones... if you've paid a visit to Jerash and you've noticed all this, don't worry, I can assure you that there are no terrorist attacks, no real blasts, and everyone is okay... well, it's all fiction! It seems that Jerash in the last two weeks attracted major Hollywood producers; in fact, the city is hosting cameras, actors and (perhaps) a popular awarded director…

Rumors say that a major production firm is filming here in Jerash, most Jerashis say that the movie is about the war in Iraq (I've heard more specifically about Fallujah), however the police and the authorities do not permit anyone to come near the set, so I haven't seen any concrete thing and unfortunately I can't take any picture for this blog :(

They are still shooting (they started April 14), making a big confusion in the city, until now we have roads closed and a lot of policemen in the zone (in addition to the explosions). Anyway, it's worth it if we can have Jerash featured on the silver screen... I mean implicitly featured since it's supposed to be in Iraq, I don't know...is Jerash so similar to Fallujah?!

A little search on the net reveals the only movie now being filmed in Jordan is Redacted, a mixture of war stories about U.S. soldiers fighting in Iraq, focusing on the modern forms of media covering the conflict with particular attention on blogs and web reporting.

Movieweb says that "[the film is] based on the recent events surrounding the rape and murder of a 14-year old Iraqi girl, and the killing of three of her family members by four US soldiers. The soldiers were sleep-deprived and living on energy drinks and sleeping pills in a situation where anyone outside the fence was considered the enemy. The killings have been the most provocative in a series of war crimes that have tarnished the reputation of US armed forces in Iraq".?

The movie is directed by Brian De Palma (wow) and produced by HDNET films, will be shot on high definition and released simultaneously in cinemas, on DVD and on TV; the release is scheduled for fall 2008.

Brian DePalma is the director of Mission to Mars, Mission:Impossible, Scarface and Carlito's Way. The cast includes some not so-famous actors as Ty Jones (he is blogging about his experiences in Jordan), Patrick Caroll and Paul O'Brien.

Harmonious China

2007-04-26T13:45:00.000+03:00

A photo exhibition entitled 'Harmonious China: Aspirations and Dreams' was held last Wednesday in my university and was opened by our president and the Chinese Ambassador, Mr. Gong Xiao Sheng.

On the way to the exhibition hall, I was discussing with some friends what exactly the word 'harmonious' in the name of the exhibition means, if it was necessary to include such a term and most important what was the goal of that word. (The Arabic translation was not so clear; this made us opening such unnecessary debate) After half an hour we have reached the hall, there were more than a hundred students waiting in the narrow corridor the reaching of the ambassador, we were really shocked for how many people were there to attend the official opening ceremony, unfortunately, after we have seen that the crowds were even increasing and other students were arriving we decided to delay our visit to Thursday.

Thursday

When you enter the exhibition a giant photo of Mount Qomolangma stays majestically in front of you, Qomolangma is one of the most impressive peaks of the Himalayan Mountain Range, and its picture was grandly covering the entire left-side wall, aside of this picture the official logo of the exhibition built up from English, Arabic and Chinese scripts. Similar graphics representing Chinese sayings and proverbs were present in different parts of the room.

The visitor is then guided to have a detailed look of the ancient civilizations that made up historical China; in this section you will see old temples, magnificent buildings and ancient ruins, these images are gently faded to pictorial expressions of the grandness of Chinese culture, traditions and folklore, the ancient legends and myths are proudly inherited by modern people, who are fine custodians of these traditions.

Modern China splits out suddenly… today's families, customs, habits are surrounded by technology and modernity, an evidence of China's economic power.

The Chinese way-of-life, the faces and the expressions of the society all materialized in these artistic photos. Good feelings are hold until the end of exhibition, when you become understanding that photos are not chosen at random, nor the proverbs, nor the name of the exhibition. Man and land, religion and atheism, technology and traditions… yes, they are conflicting but they harmoniously compose together a modern country, a great civility named China.

(Well, I'm not the only one who had enjoyed the exhibition; I was constricted to wait nearly 10 minutes before I had access to the guestbook)

You Have Slaughtered Us

2007-04-22T08:57:00.000+03:00

Well it seems that there are students in Jordan that have discovered the university fees are too high, or to be more precise, everybody knows fees are too high, they finally expressed that.

My own respect to those students that demonstrated yesterday outside parliament, I don't know how many were you, but yesterday you expressed a great form of courage, a bravery you will not find in the majority of Jordanians, who even if they are extremely poor and completely conscious of how much we pay for a fundamental right that by definition is gratis, they have not manifested with you in front of our sleeping parliamentarians and have not raised banners against our government, no... I don't mean that Jordanians are cowards, I can't never think such a thing, we know what is just and what is not, and so we know we must demand our rights, but, when you think that such a move will get you in trouble for the rest of your life, when your future is determined by how much 'loyal' you are and when your job opportunities are determined by a paper of the Secret Service, you will be sure that few people raise their voices... they stay like you; with a tape that covers their mouth, but a virtual one... they go into hiding, they try to escape from the Governor's enactments that in the age of quasi-fascist laws determine if you can use your mouth, when and how much you can open it...

Yesterday you have not paid heed to what the Governor ordered, I do not know police have paid attention to what you did, I do not know the government itself will give a response to what you asked, in these times I doubt our nearsighted powerbrokers have even heard about your demonstration, but in these times, in which no one hears and no one speaks you have broken at least that obscure silence...

Breaking News: What 'Haaretz' Published Totally Untrue

2007-04-21T16:37:00.000+03:00

Mr. A Adailah, president of Information and Media Department in the Royal Hashemite Court told PETRA that what some Israeli newspapers reported as comments attributed to King Abdullah were totally untrue.

Adailah said that some Israeli newspapers published some comments wrongly attributed to King Abdullah, these opinions were supposed to have been expressed during the meeting with the speaker of the Israeli Knesset, Dalia Itzik last Thursday.

"The words Haaretz reported have never been said by His Majesty", Adailah said and added, "These statements were amplified by some media, that was a clear offense to Jordan, its leadership and the Jordanian efforts to gain the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people including the establishment of an independent state".

The Royal Court affirmed that a future visit of the King to Israel is possible, an invitation was sent by Israeli PM, but no date for this visit was confirmed.

Adailah also said that HM explicitly said the return of Palestinian refugees to their land and some financial compensation together are a solution to refugees problem that should be solved with the participation of both sides (Israel-Palestine). The Court also expressed that the same enemy Jordan and Israel share is fundamentalism, and not Iran as Haaretz supposed.

The article is here.

So F*cking What?

2007-04-19T20:47:00.000+03:00

First they've done it with Opeth and Anathema, now with local and Lebanese bands in Rock Grip II, It seems the guys of the Da'ira are working very well to prohibit any possible clustering of metallers, so if you think national security is threatened by Al-Qaeda or Zarqawi, then you are an idiot for sure, the real threat for Jordan is Iron Maiden and James Hetfield! Yeah we must fight these Satanists that are trying to deviate young Jordanians from the right path... The worst thing is that there are jackasses who believe in these silly things !

Good Questions: Will we become a normal country within 100 years or we remain in arrears for the rest of our lives? Is it possible to show a rock concert fully permitted by our f*cking government and preferably without the presence of plain-clothes police officers that ask you a lot of stupid questions like "to what organization you belong?" or "are you Satanist?". What the hell we have to do for listening to some music different from that of Wael Kfoury ?

And all we are victims of those long-bearded hypocrites...

Why the gentle mo5abarat banned this concert? Why we're so backward? There are many things in this country that make me angry but this is on the top of the list, no for real I'm asking myself WHY ???

And to piss you off again these are some (old) pictures you'll like to see >:(

The Easter Bunny Hates You

2007-04-08T15:15:00.000+03:00

I'm sure you've already watched this video... if you haven't, you must watch it to discover what the easter bunny is doing the other 364 days of the year... sincerely, I become to have nightmares about it...

Video Games, TV and CVS

2007-04-02T19:37:00.000+03:00

My mom always reproaches me for staying more than three hours in front of PC and she scold me if I'm not at more than two meters from TV. Well, now she can be happy to read this post...

A recent article says that playing action video games for a few hours will improve the vision by nearly 20%. The study was published by Dr. Daphne Bavelier, professor of brain and cognitive sciences - University of Rochester, he had tested with a graduate student a large number of college students who had not played any video game in the last year, after that these students were given an optical test (similar to those of any eye clinic) and were divided int two groups: action-game players, those who had played shoot-'em-up action games for an hour a day, and the other group that played less visual complex games.

After this study the students were tested and it was found that those who played the action game had better results. Bavelier said that "Action video game play changes the way our brains process visual information" and he added that this findings could help patients with several types of visual defects. [Source]

Today I've found another site on the net, it contains some interesting eye-miths including the silly sayings that "eating carrots can improve vision" or "reading in the dark will damage your eyes", however it finally proved that sitting too close to the TV is not bad for eyes! The site says that:

Modern TVs do not emit harmful radiation, so eye damage due to radiation is also not an issue. As with sitting too close to the television, you may get a headache from reading in the dark, but it will not weaken your sight.

Regarding computers, a lot of sites talk about the Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS), about.com has two pages dedicated to the syndrome, an article of Cathy Wong describes CVS as a common problem (this syndrome is about 40 times more common than carpal tunnel syndrome, another health condition affecting computer users). The other article shows possible links between computer use and Glaucoma, however it clearly says that there's no strong proof of that.

JUST To Say Something...

2007-03-24T21:35:00.000+02:00

VERY GOOD THING

Elections were held Thursday (first delayed for bad weather). The good fact is that the Islamists have issued a political brochure with a big Jordanian flag and they defined themselves as 'patriots', it was a very appreciable action, this means they finally discovered there are some Jordanians here in this university... Another good fact is that my friend (a CS candidate) I strongly supported last week won with a very large margin (nearly 70% of the votes)... And most important is the fact that the deanship of students' affairs has prohibited the attachment of any form of electoral posters, for the first time we have clean walls during the electoral campaign!

GOOD THING

Our university finally decided to render public the laptop offers for students. Our president, Dr. Oweis more than one year ago announced that several laptops will be distributed to students for reasonable prices, the university has now a wireless network in which every student is able to connect to the net from his own laptop, in a near future, lectures in the IT faculty will be given 'digitally' to students, who can make and submit their works through the net.

However, it seems the prices of the pc's will be high... but, to be serious, the offer is quite good, some student-related features include an anti-theft feature to alarm students in case of notebook theft, voice recording feature with two array microphones to enable clear recording of the lectures and a finger print ID to secure notebooks from access by others.

BAD THING

Our faculty's stupidity is well known, but this time they've exaggerated... The DCCA2007 conference, one of the most important in my university during last years, was held during first exams, I've seen some instructors were not happy of the small numbers of students that have attended the sections, however, they wanted that, in the 4-day conference I had 4 exams, if there was any form of intelligence in this department they would have postponed the exams... or even better annulled them :)

Some volunteers told me they were not treated so well, the university did not offer them even a mean of transportation to the airport; in addition some said that the conference was only a promotion to put a big quantity of $$$ in one instructor's pocket (?)

ناس يحمون الوطن... وناس يمحونه - 2

2007-03-23T20:43:00.000+02:00

أتذكر بوضوح موقفاً مررنا به ونحن طلاباً في الصف الثامن أو التاسع... عندما طلب منا أستاذ التربية الفنية أن نرسم لوحة في ذكرى معركة الكرامة، ولكن قبل أن نقبض الألوان الخشبية وقلم الرصاص وقبل أن تتجول في خيالنا الأشكال والفراغات، رفع زميلي يده من على درجه ليوجه الأستاذ المسكين سؤالاً... "سمعت من يقول أن الفدائيين هم الذين حاربوا في معركة الكرامة لا غيرهم"... ارتعد الأستاذ من هذه الملاحظة السياسية التي لا تسمع عادةً في حصص الفن، ولكن من نجاه كان مدير المدرسة المتواجد في الصف مصادفةً، رد المدير على الطالب قائلاً: معركة الكرامة كانت إنجازاً التحمت فيه أطياف الشعب كافة باسم الوحدة الوطنية لمواجهة العدو الغاشم...

بعض الشباب مثلي، الذين لديهم آباء أو أقارب خدموا في الجيش، يعلمون أن هذا الكلام لم تمثل سوى أوهام في أجندة الدعاية للقوات الفلسطينية التي كانت تعمل ضمن الحدود الأردنية، واستغلت هذه القوات تلك الدعاية لرفع معنوية مقاتليها، واستغلتها من جهة أخرى للحصول على المزيد من الدعم المالي الضخم، الذي يعتبر الآن "مفقوداً" في أرصدة تقدر قيمتها بالمليارات، لا يرى الفلسطينيون شيئاً منها.

وعلى الرغم أنه الآن وبعد أربعين سنة أصبح واضحاً للجميع أنه دور القوات الفدائية كان محدوداً في معركة الكرامة، وهذا يمكن أن يكون موضوع بحث لا أتطرق إليه الآن، إلا أن هذا الأمر يستدعي أن نقوم بدراسة معمقة وشاملة للتاريخ الأردني، عسى أن نعطي كل ذي حق حقه لما فيه خير ومصلحة أمتنا.

ومن الجدير بالذكر أيضاً أنه لا يمكن لأي فرد أن ينكر دور كل من الجيش العربي والقوات الفلسطينية في مواجهة العدو، وما نستفيده من ذكرى معركة الكرامة هو شهادة التاريخ بأن هذا العدو هو سهل الهزيمة إن توفرت لنا العزيمة، والأهم من هذا هو أن هذا اليوم يعزز مرة أخرى في نفوس الأردنيين أهمية الوحدة الوطنية... ربما كانت إجابة مدير مدرستي غير دقيقة، ولكن كانت بالتأكيد إجابة مسئولة.

Robinson's Goal

2007-03-18T14:32:00.000+02:00

Wow... An attacker and a goalkeeper at the same time !!

(PS: This is his second goal).

Qaradawi Forbids... God Forbid!

2007-03-15T22:09:00.000+02:00

I presume that Arab people started waiting for Qaradawi's new fatwas as they wait for new albums of their favorite singers. This man was totally unknown until he became a fixed figure in the Al Jazeera program, Sharia and Life, in which he answers questions about everything: religion, economics, politics, physics, medicine, flower gardening…

A key member of Muslim Brotherhood, Qaradawi is also an important shareholder of Bahamas-based Al Taqwa Bank. His last fatwa is one in which he obligates Muslims to kill prisoners of war (if they are "war criminals"), just or not, this is the last religious verdict of the well-known list of Interesting Fatwas of Qaradawi:

Getting a loan with interests (riba) is permitted.
Boycott of American and Israeli products is an obligation for all Muslims. (This seems a good one)
Every Muslim must kill US civilians in Iraq (then, he changed opinion).
Muslim should re-conquer Spain, southern Italy, Sicily and the Balkans.
It's forbidden the use of airports and ports in favor of the war on Iraq, he said this in a mosque of Doha, the capital of the country with the biggest US military base (outside USA).
Some interesting 'sexual' related fatwas. (I will not cite in respect of the readers)
Going to cinema is a sin.
Women can commit martyrdom through "suicidal" operations.
He had permitted and then forbidden and then permitted again listening to music and songs.
A fatwa about jokes and another about smoking.

...Be patient! I will post about new fatwas as soon as they are issued by Sheikh Qaradawi.

An Ordinary Day In Latin America

2007-03-11T21:08:00.000+02:00

Some people are beaten up by the police, while others are dancing

I Voted For Petra

2007-03-09T17:47:00.000+02:00

I've decided to vote for Petra... more accurately, today I had the time and the determination to finally vote for the capital of Nabateans to be included in the New 7 Wonders list.

Up to now there is a large 'campaign' here in Jordan, everybody is inciting to vote for Petra: radio stations, my university, sms on my mobile, the Sims 2 forum ... Some called for voting because "it's a patriotic duty", others said not to vote (I don't know the reason), however, far away from these 'typical Jordanian' discussions, I've voted for Petra for its magnificence... is this the right term to describe a complete city totally carved in the rock, in the middle of the desert with a unique architecture and the most ingenious engineering ever? I really think that between the finalists Petra is the best.

DID YOU KNOW?

	Inside the city of the rose-coloured Petra, lies the mausoleum of the Prophet Aaron (as), located on one of the peaks of "Hour Mountain". The inhabitants of this area consider this to be an extremely sacred site and visit it to pray to God for the fulfillment of their wishes.
	Ain Musa is the place where Moses struck a rock with a branch, causing water to flow out and slake the thirst of the Israelites. It's situated near Petra.
	John William Burgon famously wrote that Petra was a "rose red city half as old as time." Although at that time Burgon had never been to Petra himself, the phrase has become strongly associated with Petra. In fact the rocks of Petra are of many hues, few of which could properly be described as "rose red".
	Near Petra, there is another Nabatean city, Al-Beidha (also called the little Petra). The ruins of this village are 9000 years old and together with Jericho it's one of the most ancient archaeological sites of all the Middle East.
	Petra is featured in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade as the Holy Temple where the Holy Grail is located.

المسلسل البدوي الكوري

2007-03-03T14:07:00.000+02:00

"جانغ دونغ غون" في دور الشيخ غليص
"غانغ هي جونغ" في دور حمدة
"هوانغ شين هي" في دور رداد
"بارك هاي إيل" في دور الشيخ مناع (اللي ما يهاب سود الليالي)

إخراج صون ييه جين

هذا ما سنشاهده ربما في العام القادم، إذا تمكنت شركة إنتاج كورية من فوز العطاء لإنتاج مسلسل بدوي، طبعاً على ذمة جريدة الغد...

"وعد رئيس الوزراء معروف البخيت، العين السابق الفنان نبيل المشيني خلال احتفال جمعية المذيعين الاردنيين بيوم المذيع الاردني يوم الاربعاء الماضي، بمتابعة ملحوظة تقدم بها حول إحالة عطاء بـ"الظرف المختوم" لإنتاج مسلسل بدوي اردني على شركة كورية".

ما المانع أن يكون هناك مسلسل بدوي أردني Made In Korea؟، لا أعرف هل هي كوريا الشمالية أم الجنوبية، أو المقصود من شركة إنتاج "كورية" أنها من "لواء الكورة" في محافظة إربد؟

Wind Power in Jerash

2007-02-28T21:28:00.000+02:00

When I first heard that Jordan will initialize a nuclear program for electricity production, I was afraid that all previous plans for clean electricity will be thrown out, but before three days I've opened the newspaper and I've found good news...

The Council of Ministers approved the establishment of a wind power plant in the Jerash governorate. Previous plans regarding wind power were put up, most of them unimportant such the turbines in Husn (Irbid), but this plant capacity is estimated to be 40 Megawatt as Ministry of Energy said. The plant will be set up in Kamshah hills and the ministry will also build similar plants in other parts of Jordan, including Tafeelah and Wadi Araba.

Renewable electricity represents less than 3% of the total electrical power produced in Jordan, so I wish this will be the first step to begin thinking seriously about clean energy.

Dibbin... Again

2007-02-24T13:07:00.000+02:00

Monastery of Our Lady the Virgin near Dibbin.

Centenary Pine Tree in Dibbin. The first Jordanian King, Abdallah I, took shade under this tree, and named it Al Hada'ah.

A Google Map showing the Dibbin National Park, also surrounding arid area is shown. Why not to build the project in this area?

As a Jerash blogger, I just wanted to have my say on Dibbin project. Personally, I have good memories of that park; school trips, picnics, passing the time under its trees with friends and family and other memories that are hard to forget. However in this post I will try to be rational as much as possible.

I'm happy that Jordanian blogosphere has different visions of Dibbin's project. The majority of bloggers invited to sign a petition against the project. However, I've read the Nasim's post two days ago, and he presented a different view of the situation and he demanded explicitly not to sign the petition.
I invite you to read his post.

Ok, let me present myself, I'm a Jerash citizen, or more accurately, I'm a "COOL" Jerash citizen, I've signed the petition and I still invite everybody to sign it. I know the petition is until now unclear; but personally, I will sign any petition that is in opposition to the current project and demands protection for our trees, even if I won't get knowledge of its secondary details. Another point is that the project itself is unclear, I'm sure you've noticed that different blogs, websites and newspapers have contradictory information on what will be built in Dibbin and how it will be built.

Anyway some intentions are evident; first of all, Jordan Dubai Capital is not a charity, so it's exaggerated to represent this project as a humanitarian action to solve all Jerash economic problems. The company tries to persuade poor people here that the project will have a key role in extremely decreasing poverty and unemployment rates. Unfortunately some of them believed in that, and found the Dibbin project as the unique way to exit from the current situation. In reality no one can bet on this, especially on the long term.

The company will also have a selective policy regarding entrances, for sure price of tickets to enter Dibbin will be high, very high. This discriminatory procedure will allow only privileged and elite class to visit the park.

INFRASTRUCTURES
Jordan Dubai Capital clearly expressed that one hotel and 200 chalets will be built, initially they aimed to construct three hotels and 600 chalets but this plan was downsized after several consultations with RSCN, which affirmed that 8% of the area covering the complex will be directly affected, and minimum 160 trees will be cut down. Imagine that… building such a complex is not so simple; electricity, water, roads and other several infrastructures will have a devastating effect on the surrounding zone.

LEGALITY
The most important matter is that the project is illegal, in fact the proposed project does not agree with the Environment Protection Law No.52 of 2006 (Articles 13,14,18) and Agriculture Law No.44 of 2002 (Read Articles 28,32,34,35). These laws prohibit the use of forests by private sector and determine the forests property as national and public, they also give Ministry of Environment more privileges in approving or refusing activities that could have any impact on environment.

SOLUTION
There's a solution for this problem and it's quite easy, I think that a good alternative is to make a tourist complex that:

Is outside the boundaries of Dibbin park, and outside forests. There are so many empty spaces here in Jerash, it will cost a little more to plant new trees, but results are the same, in addition, we will gain a new green zone, even if it is privately owned.
Protects environment. No trees should be cut down for the project, and if it will be set up in an arid or semi-arid zone, it will be good to help stop desertification. It should also encourage protection of wild fauna and flora.
Meets local community needs. Since the project is in Jerash it must be addressed to Jerashis (or Jerashians, as you like). It should really help to produce new jobs, workplaces and it should be an important investment for city's development and economic growth.
Does not monopolize forests in any way. Dibbin National Park is for all Jordanians; today we pay 1 JD as entrance fees, which 20% is directed to local people. Things should not change after the project.
Has an environment friendly architecture, promotes tourism and does not make wasteful use of rare resources.

I think this is a good alternative to all the parts; investors, environmentalists and local community. Sorry to say, many persons who pretended park's protection were accused to be averse to any form of investment, we are not against any 'Dibbin project' we're only preoccupied of the proposed project, so a project that takes the above points in consideration will gain my support. And believe me, most of the people of Jerash have the same opinion.

U P D A T E :

The Ministry of Environment had reservations on the original location, so it suggested a new location, the 'resthouse'=estiraha, that's owned by Social Security Corporation and already has infrastructures, so no trees will be cut down :) However, this zone is inside the forest itself :(

Can we say that Jordan Dubai Capital 'surrendered'?... they finally have decided to change location, on the other side, up to this time we don't know the result of the environmental impact assessment (EIA)...