Throughout my online-virtual life, which I think became fully aware of itself in 2002, I have been a member of online Jordanian discussion forums (such as Mahjoob dot com) as well as Facebook groups more recently. Both such arenas of mass discussion have a high joining rate and a high turnover rate. I used to […]

A recent poll has revealed that while a high voter turnout for next month’s municipal elections, political parties will do poorly as most people are destined to vote for “independent candidates”, i.e. their relatives. And this is how you press the repeat button.
The poll, conducted by the Jordan Centre for Social Research, found that […]

I ran across the article in today’s Jordan Times and I don’t want to go into some type of long winded analysis of the subject. I’d rather post the highlights and pose the obvious question. I’m sure after reading it you’ll have a few you’d like to pose to your Member of Parliament as well.
Poll […]

Who do you trust these days?
The tug-of-war between the government and the IAF in Jordan is a traditional centerpiece of Jordanian politics. It’s a back and forth effort and it has just gotten to a point where one cannot trust either and it merely becomes a question of who can be trusted less.
There are […]

In today’s Jordan Times:
AMMAN (Petra) — The Public Security Department (PSD) announced on Tuesday that PSD environment and traffic officers issued a total of 1,409 tickets for smoking while driving and in public places where smoking is banned, the first quarter of 2007. Last year, 6,645 tickets were issued for these violations, while in […]

The BBC Reported: “The interior ministry said he (Syrian President Bashar al-Assad) won the backing of more than 97% of Syria’s 12 million voters in Sunday’s referendum.”
Question: If Bashar Al-Assad was running unopposed, who were the other 3% voting for?

addthis_url = ‘http%3A%2F%2Fwww.black-iris.com%2F2007%2F05%2F29%2Fthat-other-three-percent%2F’;
addthis_title = ‘That+Other+Three+Percent’;
addthis_pub […]

I came a bit late to the Arab-Israeli session but I managed to capture this moment of an exchange that took place on stage between Shimon Peres and Saeb Erekat. There’s a moment right at the beginning of this video that I felt was interesting.

You can read more about the session […]

So far I have to admit the experience has been quite interesting. I’m hesitant to using the word ‘amazing’ because this isn’t exactly a roller coaster ride; well, maybe it is. But blogging live from the event on 7iber dot com has made the experience worthwhile to say the least. So if you haven’t checked […]

“Naseem, what do you want from Starbucks?”
“No, that’s ok. I don’t drink Starbucks”
“Why? For Political reasons?”
“I guess you could say that”
“Yeah, me too but…”
I’ve had this exact exchange of words with 3 different people in the past 5 months. What follows the ‘but’ is almost always amusing and includes everything from “…there’s no alternative” to […]

“Taking part in the elections is a national obligation” - Government Spokesperson Nasser Judeh told reporters during a weekly press briefing yesterday.
The government on Monday urged citizens to register for the forthcoming municipal elections before the May 23 deadline. Minister of Municipal Affairs Nader Thuheirat last week said that 589,097 citizens have so far […]

Mona Hussein Abu-Bakr, the first Jordanian women to lead a political party, attends the first general conference of the Jordanian National Party in Amman. Amman April 14, 2007. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed.
p.s. this is absolutely not a joke in any way.

addthis_url = ‘http%3A%2F%2Fwww.black-iris.com%2F2007%2F04%2F26%2Fi-am-not-making-this-up%2F’;
addthis_title = ‘I+Am+NOT+Making+This+Up%21′;
addthis_pub […]

Ok. First of all. Take a breath. Because you’re gonna wish you had in a second.

addthis_url = ‘http%3A%2F%2Fwww.black-iris.com%2F2007%2F04%2F19%2Fthere-are-no-political-problems-in-jordan%2F’;
addthis_title = ‘There+Are+No+Political+Problems+In+Jordan’;
addthis_pub = ”;

With inflation what it is these days, not to mention taxes, maybe this is the only benefit of election time in Jordan this year. By the way, be sure to read Oula Farawati’s article in Jordan Business on the tax hell we’re living in.

Not mentioned above: Turkish delights (or ra7a)

addthis_url […]

First read this.
Then read this.
Then read this.
And then read this…

دعا مدير الأمن العام الفريق الركن محمد ماجد العيطان وسائل الإعلام الى التصدي لكل من يتهم الأردن بانتهاك حقوق الأنسان، مشيرا الى أن الإعلام هو السلاح الذي يتم من خلاله النهوض بكافة المجالات الاجتماعية والسياسية والاقتصادية، اضافة إلى توعية المواطنين في مجالات حقوق الإنسان
I don’t know […]

I was reading Tololy’s post on the government’s decision to tax cell phone users 1JD to go towards public universities. And while to a single consumer this may not seem like much to part with, it does add up and the question that emerges is obvious: why? Why should we continue to be taxed on […]

The seasons are moving forward, the weather is moving forward, and the clocks have all sprung forward for spring. But controversy is in the air these past few weeks on the Jordanian blogosphere…
The Arab Observer has a bone to pick with people who harass women on the street, while Hala looks at the double standards […]