…Along with Tom & Jerry and the rest of my childhood…

Well, it should be pointed out that I think the brief second of hesitation towards the end suggested the he was aware Mickey is a cartoon and so was being somewhat satirical about the killing of him. Because really, how do you kill a cartoon? […]

“It happened so quickly that all his rights were flouted.” - KHADIJA RIYADI, of the Moroccan Association of Human Rights, on the arrest and conviction of Mohammed Erraji, who was sentenced to two years in prison for writing in a blog that King Mohammed VI’s charitable habits were encouraging a culture of dependency. [source]
Not only […]

You have to admit, it was kind of inevitable…
Three Rivers police have arrested a man who they say tried to steal posters and other items related to the new Batman movie from a cinema lobby while dressed up as the Joker….police officers who were dispatched early Sunday to the Three Rivers 6 theater arrived to […]

A few hours ago (11pm Wed.) saw the shooting of what the news is reporting as “six tourists” in downtown Amman after the “Opera Under The Stars” concert at the Roman Amphitheater. The gunman then killed himself. The targets seem to be all Arab, with four Lebanese nationals, a Palestinian and a Jordanian. Technically, I’m […]

The US chain Dunkin’ Donuts has pulled an advert following complaints that the scarf worn by a celebrity chef offered symbolic support for Islamic extremism.
The online advert for iced coffee featured the well-known US television chef Rachael Ray. She was wearing a black-and-white checked scarf around her neck that resembled a traditional Arab keffiyeh.
This fashion […]

At first I thought Independence Day had come early this year, or that Jordanians were just overly-eager to start the celebrations early. But lo and behold, in the middle of an unexpected, unavoidable traffic jam, it was soon made clear to me that a Jordanian by the name of Qwaider was a finalist on the […]

A letter written by Albert Einstein is sold in auction, describing belief in God as “childish superstition” and that Jews are not the chosen people. Meanwhile, the Vatican makes it OK for Catholics to believe in Aliens.
But by far, the most interesting news on religion this week has to be the unexpected Darth Vader attack […]

I don’t know how true this is…
Jordanian authorities have banned all events marking the “Nakba,” or Catastrophe, as Arabs refer to the creation of Israel 60 years ago. Several pro-Palestinian groups and Jordanian opposition parties has been planning to hold a rally in Amman on Friday.
But the authorities informed the organizers of the decision to […]

AMMAN (AFP) — A teenage woman was jailed for 15 years in Jordan on Wednesday for murdering her parents and two brothers by poisoning their orange juice, a court official said.
Hana al-Shamali, 19, was sentenced to prison and hard labour for the February killings in the city of Irbid, north of the Jordanian capital Amman, […]

Let me put aside the obvious shocking factor of being utterly disgusted by the event (is there a way to be shocked and yet not surprised), but there is something that interests me here and that’s the international media’s reaction. Did anyone notice that this crime took place in August of 2007 and is only […]

Well, how about everything?
I know it would be easier to read my own summary of this Washington Post article, but I truly thought it would be funner if you just read it for yourself. Trust me, you’re going to enjoy it.
MUWAQQAR, Jordan — A U.S.-funded program to train and equip Palestinian security forces is mired […]

As the story continues to develop, it has taken quite an interesting turn. Hospital staff at the Prince Hamzah Hospital staged a one-hour protest yesterday in defense of the X-ray doctor who has been accused by the Prosecutor General for being involved in the death of Hassan Hafnawi last week. More insight into the case […]

This might sound like deja vu, but this is Jordan and that feeling is consistent with our inability to solve the same problems. So, by now, everyone (specifically on the Jordanian blogosphere) is aware of blogger Who Sane’s dilemma last September when his father went missing for several days before being discovered at the […]

I’ve been following this story since early February and waiting to see if and when Mourtada would be charged by the Moroccan government for creating a Facebook profile of Morocco’s Crown Prince. I had initially thought he would eventually be let go for such a silly thing, since it wasn’t like he was blogging about […]

Human Rights Watch has appealed to Saudi Arabia to halt the execution of a woman convicted of witchcraft. In a letter to King Abdullah, the rights group described the trial and conviction of Fawza Falih as a miscarriage of justice.
The illiterate woman was detained by religious police in 2005 and allegedly beaten and forced to […]

I’ve always wondered about this infatuation we have with license plate numbers. I mean it’s one thing to pay for specialty or vanity plates that have customized words/names, but the idea of paying thousands for just a pretty average number is kind of crazy. It’s been less than a year since license plates were changed […]