Archive for November, 2006

What I always found to be interesting is when Emad Hajjaj remodels an old caricature to reflect a more updated take on it. A real fan will experience a sense of deja vu and today’s caricature is particularly intriguing as it takes on an issue that I am developing a personal taste for: political participation […]



Ikbis (Press)

21Nov06

So if YouTube and Flickr mated and the child by some act of God spoke Arabic, he would be named “Ikbis” (press). Such a birth has recently taken place in the Arab world. Everyone’s talking about Ikbis so I’m not going to go into a lengthy review. I just wanted to do my part as […]



It’s no secret that I make the best scrambled eggs ever. Five years living on your own gives you a lot of time to practice. But for dinner tonight, out of a desire to do something a tad different, I dared to add the missing quintessential ingredient: ketchup. The rest of the night will be […]



Note to self: buy new Ray Bans

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Away from the worker abuse in Jordan’s Qualified Industrial Zone’s that have made enough waves this year to force government action, there is the abuse of domestic workers i.e. maids. Considering our economy, resources and social make up, why some people in Jordan feel the need to even have maids is just beyond me. A […]



A few weeks ago I was watching a Simpsons episode entitled “Girls Just Wanna Have Sums”, based on the premise that boys are smarter than girls, specifically in math and science.

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Within a minute of boarding a plane and sitting down I always reach for the emergency pamphlet just to chuckle as I resurrect Tyler Durden’s eternal observation: Emergency water landing, 600 miles an hour: blank faces, calm as Hindu cows…

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As Israel’s massacre of 19 civilians last week disappears off the media’s radar, Israel has started taking a more PR-friendly approach to illegal assassinations. Something that would allow them to launch a missile into a refugee camp in the middle of the night without the world getting pissed off. Calling 10 minutes in advance to […]



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TRIPOLI — President Muammar Gaddafi has vowed to personally distribute Libya’s oil wealth among the poor, warning of a backlash because of the growing wealth gap.
“I will intervene in the name of the revolution and confine the [revenues from] oil to the 200,000 poor families,” he told a meeting of the General Planning […]



This was the title of tonight’s 20/20 special on Dubai. Most people in the Arab world know much of Dubai’s achievements in the Gulf when it comes to building a top notch tourist destination. For the first 10 minutes of the 20/20 episode made its American audience just as aware of these achievements. From the […]



Article of Interest at BBC News: Tears & Blame Amid Gaza Dead. Quoting: “My cousin Rami has a daughter of six months old. She was cut into pieces. They had to collect her body pieces and put them in a plastic bag. I couldn’t recognise her.”

Ladies and gentlemen, brace yourself for some irony: Trent Lott is the Senate’s new ‘minority whip’. Get it?
Since bloggers were in part responsible for his downfall a few years back here’s what some have to say. In other news worth watching: CNN’s Glen Beck interviews the first Muslim Congressman and asks him the essential question […]



I’m torn between liking this idea and hating it as well. I’ve been to Mecca and Medina (thank God) and I admit I was always taken aback by some of the hotels that were so luxurious they served as a stark contrast to their humble surroundings and humble beginnings. I feel it’s almost a contradiction […]



According to the latest “10 Foot Poll” the consensus seems to be that both Iran and Michigan are in danger of being invaded by the US as a reaction to North Korea’s nuclear test last month. Meanwhile, Syria is safe…for now.
On to more serious issues:
The Jordanian Parliament returns to a normal session at the […]



Sine 2004 about 9 Israelis have been killed by the very crude Qassam rockets that militants have fired into Israel. This past Wednesday a 57 year old Israeli woman died, the first Israeli casualty in the past 16 months. A total of 13 Qassam rockets had landed that day and during her funeral 4 of […]



It started with ‘Da Vinci Code’ and ended with ‘Deception Point’ as I’ve only recently managed to cover all of Dan Brown’s books. My conclusion? Brown is a pretty bad writer. I’m sorry, I know there are big fans of the guy out there but he’s frankly a bad writer. So what makes it for […]