AP PHOTO - Street vendors sell juice to motorists on the Amman-Zarqa highway in Jordan on July 1, 2009 as temperatures rose to 38 degrees Celsius, resulting from hot and dry air mass, which originated from the Arabian Peninsula.

Last month, 7iber launched an initiative to collect citizen-generated photographs that capture Jordan from behind their lens. Throughout June we received an endless amount of pictures with the objective of picking the best 10 and printing them as postcards to be sold in the marketplace, with any profits going towards future community projects.

Then we thought, why should we do the picking? After all, this is citizen-produced culture, it might as well be left up to the people to do the selecting.

So 7iber teamed up with the good people at Ikbis.com and now it’s up to anyone reading this to help decide on the best ten photos by casting their vote. All you have to do is go to Ikbis.com and register for an account if you don’t already have one. Then head on over to the contest page and take a look at what citizens had to offer.

Ten days of voting to chose ten cards.

Citizen produced and citizen selected.

So go forth and cast your vote, and while you’re at it, spread the word!

- More information on 7iber
- Contest Page

I have a bone to pick with these government and royal motorcades that careen through the streets of the capital at stellar speeds, stopping for no one and breaking the speed limit by leaps and bounds. I know these drivers are well-trained, but you know what, the rest of us citizens never got a special course in stunt-car driving. We just drive. We use our vehicles to get from point A to point B while trying not to hit anyone in the process. We have enough to deal with besides these annoying motorcades.

Imagine a stream of giant black suburbans, cruising up to your car, inches from hitting you, and then flashing their high-beams and red-blue lights, blazing their car horn, and while one guy is shouting at you from behind a loudspeaker, another guy has half his body outside the black-tinted windows, waving around a hand-held stop sign telling you to essentially get the heck out of the way.

First of all, if you want us, the citizens of the country to believe that no one is above the law and that everyone should abide by it, stop breaking the law so obviously and so in-your-face. Not only is it in violation of Jordanian law, but it reiterates the notion that in Jordan, some people are more important than other people, and those people are above the law and tend to be in government. It is downright hypocritical to expect us to abide by rules that you obviously don’t abide by.

Second of all, you are a danger to pedestrians and a danger to motorists. I don’t care if you were trained to drive on the set of Fast & Furious - you’re just a couple of cars amidst a population of average drivers trying to get by. Swerving around them, coming damn close to hitting them, and doing all sorts of stunts that a traffic cop would have you pulled over within the first 10 seconds, is just downright irresponsible and should not be tolerated.

Third of all, if whoever you’re carrying is something that important and security is a concern, hence the speed - how about driving normally? I swear to God that if you just tried to blend in with the rest of us, no one would notice you. If the person you’re driving needs to get somewhere quickly, try leaving half an hour early. Or better yet, if they’re that important: take a helicopter.

Let it be known that I have never, and never will change lanes under the assumption that the caravan of cars driving next to me or behind me are carrying someone who is more important than I am and therefore is allowed to operate above the law, which, as far as I know, is meant to treat every citizen equally. I don’t even care if there’s a huge suburban about to ram the rear bumper of my truck: I WILL NOT MOVE. I am driving within the speed limit and well within my legal right to drive in my lane. But more importantly, I will not move for anyone who insists so blatantly on reducing me to a second-class citizen simply by a) breaking the law and b) doing it in the rudest and most dangerous manner possible.

Please, officials, whoever you are, do something about this. Please, please tell your drivers to cool it. Tell them to tell their friends. If possible, change the entire system that supports and enforces this kind of driving behavior. I, and a few other million motorists, would be very grateful if that happened.

And that’s all I have to say about that.

—-

p.s. I feel obligated to clarify that the belief that the aforementioned vehicles are either government or royalty is simply an assumption. I haven’t a clue as to whom is being driven, primarily since they are large cars with black-tinted windows that are driving at an unfathomable speed. That being said, it should also be pointed out that even that assumption is based on what I believe to be, a widely-held perception that they are government and/or royalty driven, owned, etc. This perception tends to be further solidified by the presence of security-clad people who wear an official-looking uniform and are both behind the wheel and waving that stop-sign wildly from a window. It’s the reason why the typical response of a lot of motorists is usually “shiklo 7ada mohim” (looks like someone important). I should also note that I am not against officials having security in the first place - my concern is rather with the on-the-street impact of that security.

p.p.s: I am also against tawjihi, university, wedding and funeral motorcades. Yes, I’m really not a motorcade kind of person.

Remember when the Bush administration decided to handle protesters simply by taking them to a designated “free speech zone” (also known as a “free speech cage”)? Well, Jordan’s Lower House of Parliament seems set on doing the same thing these days. Essentially, they’ve designated a room by the main entrance of the Parliament building for members of the press, who are not allowed beyond that point. When they need to do their reporting, a Parliamentary press attache sweeps in to feed them the talking points. When the press want to see an “elected” member of Parliament, the attache will organize it and questions can only be asked in the presence of House staff.

These latest happenings, first dreamt up a few weeks back, have been seen as an escalation to the ongoing battle between the mainstream media and members of Parliament, which saw its climax last week after the four major dailies declared a boycott on reporting from the Parliament in protest of them upholding the Cultural Tax bill, which would see a 5% tax levied on media and anyone else who makes their money through advertising.

Something interesting happened during those few days of boycotting: Jordanian politics did not come to an end.

In other words, no one cared.

In other words, it showed us just how defunct the entire parliamentary institution is in this country. Whether the government passes laws properly through the legislative branch or implements its own temporary laws, no one cares. The public has long deserted the government and its parliament. No expectations are set thus no expectations are met.

Beyond the purely symbolic, participatory act of voting every four years in a fraudulent electoral process that resembles an act out of the Moscow Circus, Jordanians have benefited nothing from their so-called “elected” Parliament - a branch of government so insignificant that when four major daily newspapers stop reporting on its activities for a week, no one notices. The movie goes on and no one in the audience has any idea. In fact, as columnist Jamil Nimri might argue, the only reason any one ever cared about something Parliament did was because the press was there to report it.

In other words, if something happens in Parliament and no one is around to report it, does that mean it ever happened?

I mean really, when your presence as a legislative body has been reduced to a long-standing philosophical argument, you have to wonder, were you really ever that important in the first place?

This recent boycott, whether one approves of it or not, was a clear demonstration at just how defunct this branch of government is. And it’s not their fault. This is like blaming a mentally-challenged child for being mentally-challenged. The reality of the situation is, his mother was a drug addict and nine months in that womb did not make for a healthy growing environment. In other words, the reason our Parliament is in the shape it’s in is largely due to the powers-that-be. In other words, it is what it is, because that’s how people want it to be.

This isn’t just about Parliament, but the entire political system that has integrated this body of government, and often times used it as a scapegoat. We forget that the bigger problems actually lie in the executive branch. We forget that being a useless member of parliament isn’t really a crime (unless they’re signing our laws), and is in no way comparable to, say, ministers who should be under investigation for much larger crimes.

What’s the solution. Unfortunately, there is none. Anything we can think of right now, including the dismissal of the Parliament or the declaration of new elections or strengthening an independent judiciary to induce greater transparency and accountability - all of these would be nothing short of band-aid solutions. As long as people are not allowed to truly elect who governs them, then all of these details are just futile arguments designed to distract us from the larger problem.

But if band-aid solutions are all we have, then Parliament should be dismissed. Let the media go after the executive branch for a while instead of chasing red herrings.

As for free press. Well. Nuff said.

Back in December I had the opportunity to get a first look at Nokia’s new flagship device, the Nokia N97. The mobile phone, or as Nokia likes to call them: “mobile computer”, was just released in the market recently, selling for about 450JDs in Jordan. I’ve been fortunate enough to play around with it for the past few days and discover what it has to offer.

The N97 is a touch-screen phone, with the touching feature being a massive improvement over Nokia’s previous touch-screen phones. You don’t have to press as hard as say the 5800 Xpress Music phone, although there are some buttons that require a double-touching, which takes a bit of getting used to. However, the most apparent feature of the N97 is the QWERTY keyboard that pops up from the side and tilts upwards at an angle designed perfectly for typing. It makes typing simple for human beings; a species that prides itself on the use of its opposable thumbs.

The second feature is the home screen, one that is incredibly user-friendly and customizable. Essentially, the screen consists of widgets that you can edit, remove, add and even drag around to position them where you want them to be. The main widget, and one of the most useful, is the “favorite contacts” list. Four of your most commonly used contacts rest atop the screen and with a tap on their icons you can instantly choose to call or message them, without having to scroll through a contacts list. You can add a second widget of another four contacts as well.

Other interesting widgets include Accuweather, to get instant weather updates, as well as Facebook, allowing for easy access to the social network as well as a widget that displays your current status update. The Gmail is another useful widget that can update itself to display the latest emails. A whole other series of widgets include, AP news, Amazon.com, Bloomberg and the Music Player. You can also customize shortcuts to access applications instantaneously. This home screen is really what turns this device in to a genuine mobile computer, connecting you to the online world quickly and easily. You’ll need to be connected to the Internet or have a data plan with your local carrier, but it’s well worth it if you like to stay connected while away from your computer.
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“The country that uses this crisis to make its population smarter and more innovative — and endows its people with more tools and basic research to invent new goods and services — is the one that will not just survive but thrive down the road. We might be able to stimulate our way back to stability, but we can only invent our way back to prosperity.” - Thomas L. Friedman. June 27, 2009. [source]

- Also, check out this funeral posting in Swefieh. Here as well.

These videos are all worth a watch:

Minarets of Menace: where are all the Iranians who hate Americans?

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This isn’t one of those normal drawn-out movie reviews. A movie like Transformers doesn’t need it really. It’s a summer blockbuster that costs a lot to make in hopes of making a lot of money, which it probably will. Director Micheal Bay packs in a whole bunch of action sequences, enough to blow you away at what technology can do these days. The storyline and even a lot of the dialog that tried to go for the constant big laugh was at best unreliable and at worst, just didn’t add up. But again, it’s a blockbuster. It doesn’t have to make sense. As long as the cars, the girls and robot fights all look great, no one in the audience will notice. And indeed, it’s packed with all of that to the point where it feels like junk food: you know it’s bad for you but it tastes pretty damn good. Also, Micheal Bay’s trademark spin-the-camera-around-the-protagonist will make you dizzy till you drop in this movie. It’s much more racy than it’s predecessor so it’s not exactly a family-friendly film with all the profanity and sexuality. In the end, you walk out two and a half hours later high as a kite, believing you just had a great movie-going experience, only to wake up the next day and wonder what you were thinking. You start thinking strange things like, why did some of the robots speak like Rastafarians?

The rest of this review is dedicated to the issue of the movie being shot in Jordan and may contain some spoilers.
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In 2009’s “Lemon Tree”, Israeli Director Eran Riklis takes the story of a rather ordinary situation under occupation and turns it into a fairly extraordinary journey into life under occupation. Salma Zidane (portrayed by Hiam Abbass), a 45-year old Palestinian widow who spends her time tending to her family’s lemon grove finds herself living next to an unexpected neighbor when the Israeli minister of defense moves in next door. As expected, the minister’s secret service personnel decide to cut down the grove, which has been in Zidane’s family for 50 years, in the name of national security, fearing that would-be “terrorists” could use it attack the house.

What follows is a legal battle as Zidane sues the minister and, along with her lawyer, Ziad, played by Ali Suliman, attempts to take the case all the way to the Israeli supreme court. Media attention begins to shine its spotlight as the minister’s wife starts to take an unexpected position on the issue.
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But last Friday, I went back to the mosque that I once abandoned simply because I was short on time and it remains the most geographically-convenient mosque.

And I was surprised.

To start with, I was half-expecting the khutba to be about swine flu since it has hit Jordan recently. I expected to hear about the divine wisdom of forbidding the consumption of swine and how the current pandemic may be Godly retribution of some sort.

Instead it was a khutba about, believe it or not, brain drain.

The imam started through storytelling, a rare art these days in religious sermons. He described a young man who was an orphan and quite intelligent, who was offered a scholarship to study in the US. He was eventually offered American citizenship and he turned it down to go back to his country. Upon returning he went through a sequence of never-ending hassles and obstacles that ranged from ministries rejecting his degree, to experiencing an environment of bad work ethics, to the lack of fields requiring his high-level education, to losing out on job opportunities due to the presence of wasta (nepotism), etc.

Eventually the young man returns to the US where he finds a decent job (at NASA no less) and takes up the American passport.

The story, whether fiction or not, highlights the vast array of similar stories we’ve all heard or even personally experienced. To be honest, at this point I’ll take any story that is remotely contemporary, speaks to my issues and does not involve what someone did 1,000 years ago.
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Health Minister Nayef Al Fayez visits Swine-Flu infected patients and fulfills his ceremonial duties of shaking hands with sick people. I wonder if he’s wishing right about now that he had a different job.

Any other caption suggestions are welcomed.

[source]

Garbage Warrior is a rather fascinating documentary centering around the life of Mike Reynolds - a 60-something year old architect who, with his long and gray hippie-like hair, has spent the better part of his career out in the New Mexico desert trying to create a different way to live. Nearly obsessed with the science of sustainable living, Reynolds has made a living (or not) off of attempting to build sustainable homes that require no external utilities such as water, electricity, heating or sewage, and are made almost entirely out of resources that include everything from beer cans to old car tires. He calls them “earth ships” and to an extent, they look almost exactly like you would imagine them to look like.

The film takes us through Reynolds work and the obstacles that naturally come with dedicating a life to building a physical and tangible entity so outside the box that it garners enough enemies in both the private and public sector that have grown accustomed to the norms and comforts of conventional living, to say nothing of being financial beneficiaries of such norms. Reynolds is insistent that the world has been set on a path towards self-destruction, a path fueled largely by ‘us’ and the way ‘we’ choose to live. While living in a home made almost entirely out of “garbage” may sound strange, if not eccentric, Reynolds, over a career spanning at least 30 years, has almost perfected it down to an art form, the result of which is a sustainable home that looks interesting enough for anyone to want to live in. Especially if there’s the advantage of never having to pay another utilities bill in your life again.
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In the weeks that followed the announcement, sales for PCs dropped as buyers held off on making any purchases they would financially regret later. This of course meant bad business for computer vendors; very bad business.

This was followed by other officials at the ministry claiming that the tax exemption was not for sure leading to a great deal of confusion.

Two months later and suddenly the Income and Sales Tax Department issues a public statement claiming that there will be no exemption, while the ministry insists it’s still being discussed.

Disturbing confusion to say the least.

The issue has hung in the air for over 7 weeks and we are yet to see a clear indication from the government as to whether such an exemption will happen or not.

According to the local media, sales have already dropped by at least 70% as people wait on a Jordanian government that has the ability to speak with one clear voice.

If the issue needed deliberation then why leak it in the first place? Why prepare customers, buyers and sellers for something that’s not even sure?

Moreover, the government had several weeks to come out and either deny the news or affirm it. Instead, it chose to wait, throwing the entire local market in to mass confusion at a time when it’s probably the last thing the struggling-to-be-larger-than-life ICT sector needs.

The whole situation only serves to highlight this inherent policy (or lack there of) within the confines of the Jordanian government, to avoid addressing rumors, which are, under normal circumstances, and in the Jordanian context even more dangerous given the country’s size and the ability for rumors to spread and become “factualized” within a matter of hours or days.

This time last year we saw a series of rumors floating through the local media channels that caused so much confusion and protest that the King had to step in an clarify things. The sale of the Medical City was one; the involvement of a pro-Israeli company in the organization of the Jordan Festival was another.

Which brings me to my main point:

In a political system where accountability and transparency are in rare form, and citizens have almost no control over the happenings of their government, is the most one can hope for from one’s government simply their ability and willingness to learn from past mistakes?

And, if such a hope is too much, what’s left?

A rather brusque Customs officer was busy rifling through people’s bags as they exited the machine and those ahead of me were already dividing their purchases amongst their friends and family in order to avoid getting taxed, as is customary. The officer was in fact slowing down the line, which was a strange sight, or at least one I wasn’t used to seeing at the Queen Alia Airport, so I commented out loud that “this must be some sort of new system.”

To which he sharply responded “!…شكلو مش عجبك”, “it seems you don’t like it…!”

Prompting me to assure him that I didn’t mean to be sarcastic.

He of course quickly grabbed on to my bags amongst the flurry of other yellow Duty Free bags and asked if the cigarettes were mine, to which I answered yes. And of course, he asked me to follow him to the counter where he would then proceed to tax me.

Now, I have no problem being taxed if it is within a consistent law that applies to everyone, but I did feel at the time that I was being picked out of a crowd for daring to issue a comment, be it actually sarcastic or not. Especially when the act of taxing me specifically meant that this Customs officer would have to leave his post at the x-ray machine unattended as travelers continued to leave with their own “duty-free” items, unchecked and untaxed.

Since I was guilty of alleged-sarcasm anyway, I noted, out loud of course, the irony of buying something tax free at the airport only to be taxed on it several-meters-away later. This of course did not impress him as he started to take my purchases out of the bag and then open up my suitcase to discover nothing more than dirty laundry from a four day trip.

He then told me that I was only allowed to bring in one box of cigarettes, as he waved one of them scoldingly in my face and saying how I should know this was the law. Alright. Fine. If that’s the law then I’ll take the other three back. At this point I was reciprocating his stubbornness, and if he was prepared to tax me according to a law then I was well within my right to return my purchases and avoid taxation, keeping in mind that eventually, it would be my friend who would be paying for them anyway.

At the Duty Free shop the person “in charge” refused to take back any of my purchases. At first I thought there was a no-return policy but apparently the manager wasn’t available and he’s the only one who approves returned goods. The employee also asked if the cashier had told me that I would be taxed to which I responded no. He also took the time to point out that I was only allowed to cartons. I told him that customs said I was only allowed one, and of course he disagreed.

So I headed back to the Customs table where a supervisor was standing next to the officer who was filling him in on my shenanigans. At this point the supervisor said, once again, that I was only allowed a single cartons. I told him that the Duty Free shop just told me that I was allowed two, to which he said “…ما ترد عليهم”, “don’t listen to them…”

At this point I’m thinking how cigarettes can really kill you, even if you don’t smoke them.

He then asked the officer, in a condescendingly “pleading” tone, to tax only two cartons instead of three, as if he was doing me a favor, while the officer, with a giant frown on his face, insisted on taxing the three. It was like a terrible good cop-bad cop routine that was designed to either provoke me or to waste my time, both of which they managed to do, at least enough for me to tell them not to do me any favors and to tax me for the whole damn thing.

The Aldeassa Duty Free shops operate within the Customs law (chapter 4, article 132), however, there are no signs or indicators detailing the tax-free quantity one is allowed to actually purchase at a Duty Free shop. As was pointed out to me by this particular Customs officer, you are simply expected to know. Especially if you’re a smoker, which I am not.

The Customs department is notorious for its excessive bureaucracy that have made the lives of many people miserable, and fortunately enough, my run-ins with them have been few over the years. Nevertheless, it would be appreciated if someone put up a clear sign somewhere that informed customers and travelers at these Duty Free shops of the Customs law. But more importantly, it would be more appreciated if Customs officers were trained to a bit friendlier and not abandon their posts simply to fulfill a person grudge against someone.

I actually gave Aldeassa a call and it turns out that they do have signs placed by the door of their shops, but not where they should be, by the cash register where you’re actually going to go to make your purchases. Moreover, apparently the shop that I had visited didn’t have a sign anywhere due to its recent expansion.

Putting it back up would be a good start.

Likely one of the most interesting documentaries of 2009, “Tyson” is a fascinating elegy to one of the greatest heavy-weight boxers of all time. Once a vicious fighter in the ring, Mike Tyson is now a 42 year old man, still struggling with drug and alcohol addictions, still massively in debt, and a father. Director James Toback merges a lengthy interview with the former boxer, and footage from his boxing days to portray Tyson as he is - no more and no less. From his days as a young criminal on the streets of Brooklyn (arrested 38 times by the age of 13) to becoming the heavyweight champion of the world by the age of 20, “Tyson” is a documentary that picks apart all the details of Mike’s life and exposes them, both good and bad. In Mike’s case, it tended to be more of the latter. At the top of his game, Tyson was undeniably a brutal fighting machine in the ring, however, unlike the story of other heavyweight greats such as Muhammad Ali, his is a tale that is more tragic than anything else.
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At this point, the reviews are already in regarding Obama’s speech to the Muslim world and there’s little I can say that wouldn’t sound redundant. Was his tone different from that of his predecessor - also known as ‘he whose name must never be spoken”? An overwhelming yes is the only answer to that question.

However, as most have pointed out already in this region, words come cheap. Words are as abundant as sand and actions are as rare as water - and at this point, this region is in need of the latter (including the metaphor if possible). The words emerging from the corridors of the White House over the past eight years were laced with hostility towards the people of this region. The actions that complemented those words were downright villianous and their aftermath continues to resonate to this day. So an American President going to Cairo a few months in to his term, and calling for a “new beginning” is a radical step in the opposite direction.

All that is left are the actions. We continue to wait to see how Obama will put his money where his mouth is.

At the same time, taking a closer look at his words is something worth considering. Obama has positioned any change in the region as being manifested in a two-state solution. And those of us closest to this conflict, Jordanians included, are slowly beginning to realize that this solution is becoming increasingly difficult to implement. Actually, difficult may be an understatement when we consider the amount of checkpoints, walls, land confiscations, and illegal settlements Israel would be required to dismantle if such a solution were to take shape. Impossible may be a more accurate description of such an undertaking, one that Israel is likely to refuse, especially with its current right-wing government. Which of course takes us to the next point: if a two-state solution were indeed a viable option, and if indeed the current American administration is willing to put the appropriate pressure where it’s needed, who’s going to deliver? The current Palestinian government is, at its best, weakened by constant Israeli and foreign interferences, and at its worst, engulfed in its own infighting. The current Israeli government is lead by right wingers who are more likely to cut off their own ear just to spite their faces, especially if they’re required to implement all the aforementioned conditions of creating a Palestinian state.

It’s getting harder and harder for a two-state solution to come about, and Israel will never accept a one-state solution if it means an inevitable erosion of its Jewishness. Which leaves them with one option: continued occupation.

Is the new Obama administration aware of these realities? Probably. If not, then they are waddling in to a conflict in a region they know little about, and that’s something that’s never worked to America’s benefit.

However, I do give him credit for attempting to tackle this mess of an issue so early on in his presidency. Most American presidents tend to avoid it, or shelf it until it’s time to go legacy-hunting in their second term. It is an issue that only manages to piss everyone off, including congress, which makes the ability to pass any form of legislation on a president’s agenda even more difficult - and the result tends to be making matters even worse as if that were even possible. So I’m forced to give him credit for even addressing an issue that has been shelved for the better part of a decade.

As for the democratic ideals entwined within Obama’s speech: the poetry was fantastic but the delivery is another stretch away from the historic realities of this region. Obama and any other American president for that matter can preach all they want about wanting true democracy in the region, but every time they do it comes out in the form of chastising a population that has no control over those democratic values the US constantly speaks of. There is only one historic reality at the helm of this ship and that is the simple fact that the US has always, and will likely continue to financially, economically, and politically support all Arab regimes that fall in line with its policies. Those same regimes that suppress the freedoms Obama is so keen on promoting are supported if not entirely reliant on US support in order to exist and continue to suppress those very freedoms.

These two issues: the Arab-Israeli conflict and democracy seem to be the focal point of regional issues. Iraq has all but been forgotten, if not abandoned to its own subservient realities. But what ties all these issues together is one common denominator that has the ability to make words feel a little more tangible: economics.

Limiting funding to Israel and even Arab governments that refuse to undergo proper, transparent democratic reforms, is probably the easiest thing a president can do. If Obama truly wants to offer actions over words, and truly wants to make history, that, in my opinion, should be the first foreign policy move to consider.

Since it was on my way home anyway, I came up to the 6th circle but was faced with a whole crew of police cars that had shut down the circle. While making a quick U-turn I saw a whole bunch of people running around the circle so I naturally figured this might turn out to be rather interesting. I figured there’s no way they got a license from the governor to hold a protest against a project that the government was or has been involved in from day one, let alone holding one in the middle of one of the busiest traffic circles in the entire country, in broad daylight in the middle of the week.

So I drove around and parked and walked up to the circle armed with my camera, already out of its case. People were all holding huge posters that were a bit blurry to me, while encircling police closed off the circle and diverted the heavy traffic flow away from the circle.

All of a sudden, someone came up to me and asked what I was filming to which I asked “what’s going on here?”

“We’re shooting a commercial!,” he exclaimed.

At that exact moment, as if it to highlight my surprise, a nearby van loaded with large-scale speakers blared out dramatic music while these people ran around the circle with these giant posters in hand.

I went back to the car shaking my head.

Who in their right mind allowed an advertising company to shoot a commercial for at least two hours on one of the busiest traffic circles in the entire country and in the morning of a busy workday!?

I can almost guarantee that these people managed to get permission through wasta. And if they didn’t and someone was in fact idiotic enough to stop traffic unexpectedly for at least two hours on a Tuesday morning, forcing motorists to take unexpected detours, then that’s even worse!

What’s wrong with these people?

Detours cause enough havoc on our streets when they’re planned for let alone when they are random and unannounced, at least to my knowledge.

The public lost time and money because their public space, which their taxes pay for, were utilized by a company that wanted to shoot a commercial to make money for itself. As if this was something they couldn’t have done at 6am. Or better yet, come up with a better idea that doesn’t involve using up highly-used public spaces. What’s worse is that they were obviously given permission by officials and had police support to divert traffic.

Suffice to say, I drove home disappointed yesterday morning.

Someone should publically apologize for it.

Each photo will be brought to life by bloggers and speakers, as well as musical pieces by award-winning pianist Tala Tutanji and world renowned pianist Mikhail Kazakavich.

Mohammad Al Qaq, aka Khobbeizeh, will be there, as will Wael Attili and the 7iber gang.

Show starts at 7:30pm tonight. Tickets are 7JDs with proceeds going towards future art projects. You can get them at Cozmo, Books@cafe, and Al-Qasr Hotel, with a limited number sold at the door of the Al-Hussein Cultural Center.

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His Majesty King Abdullah paid an incognito visit to the Health Ministry’s Patients’ Affairs Department on Wednesday to check on services it offers citizens, sources told The Jordan Times. Wearing a black thobe (traditional dress) and a red-and-white kuffiyah, and sporting a black beard, the King arrived at the department, located in Shmeisani behind Le Meridien, at around 10:00am, sat in the waiting area, then obtained an application from a front desk official, one source told The Jordan Times.

As he was waiting for the application, the source said, the disguised King, leaning on a walking cane, talked to those in the waiting area about services offered by the department, which helps cover medical fees, mainly for surgeries, of citizens not covered by any health insurance scheme.

“After filling in the application, the King queued up to see a doctor,” the source added.

Mingling with citizens, the King was discussing procedures at the department with citizens also waiting for their applications until some of them recognised him. While at the department, the King helped a citizen fill up a form, another source said. [source]

Here’s the thing about these visits. While a part of me can only tip my hat in respect to such moves by the King, which have been done a few times in the past decade, another part of me is only reminded the extent to which our policy systems are skewed. First of all, these visits might start losing their appeal simply due to the amount of mainstream publicity they seek out. This is usually fueled by leaked statements from the Royal Court, followed by a local media frenzy with everyone tripping all over themselves for credit and no one stopping for a second to take a step back and look at the bigger picture.

This brings me to my point.

These visits are a reminder that some times, things are so bad in Jordan that it actually takes a King to wear a costume and try out some of the common services we are all accustomed to. And this wasn’t even a big deal. The King filled out a form. Imagine having to undergo the lengthy and burdensome process of about 100 other government services in this country, some of which make absolutely no sense at all (why the heck are we still using postage stamps on forms!?). The kind of services, which in their best case scenarios (i.e. you have the money, time and patience), are week-long journeys of frustration.

But more importantly, I’m concerned with the process story that probably no one will talk about.

Let’s face reality for a minute: the outcome of such a visit will likely be a sudden improvement of these public services, with new systems being implemented, and new technology being introduced. And then, a few months or years later, all of that is abandoned in favor of the inevitable return to the status quo. It’s almost elastic.

Why?

Simple.

Because, unfortunately, to a large extent, this is how public policy works in Jordan. One man, one vision, one command, one policy, and then the trickle-down effect - and that’s usually where things go wrong. There are no systems or mechanisms, nothing you can hold anyone accountable to. It is the distance between point A and point B. Success and failure is measured between those two points and no more or less.

There is no process. We pretend there is one, and the state tells us there is. But there isn’t. And anyone who has ever been on the receiving end of government services knows it. In other words, the majority of the country.

And because all of that doesn’t exist, because the traditional mechanisms of a democratic machine are absent, we will continue down the same path. The King will be wearing a costume for years to come. The person you expect to be leading a country is reduced to custodial roles that should, in all honesty, be run by a system - a mechanism. Something that will outlive the King and anyone who is reading this right now. Because that’s what systems are meant to do. Something the people have a direct say in. Because when that machine goes askew, when it breaks down, there is a system that allows the people to have some control over its functioning and maintenance and upkeep, as opposed to having to wait until the King realizes its a problem - or in this case experiences it firsthand - in order for it to be considered an actual problem.

In other words, when it comes to public services in Jordan, for the most part, a tree falling in a forest does not make a sound unless the King is around to hear it.

But again, those mechanisms don’t exist. The connection between the citizen and the public services he or she is entitled to, is non-existent. There are no mechanisms for accountability, thus no incentive to improve, thus no progress.

We, as citizens, have the right to complain but we know nothing will ever improve until the King pays a visit, whether incognito or otherwise. Yes, the entire public sector is one giant suggestion box that no one on the other end reads. And if you think I’m being metaphorical, well…

In most of these places, they don’t even bother with a fresh coat of paint on the walls until they know the King is coming. And if the Royal Court has planned the trip well ahead of time, those facilities might even lay down some grass and water the withering plants. And if you still think I’m being metaphorical…

And that, unfortunately, is how things work in this country.

And will continue to unless some drastic changes are made.

Twenty Five
Twenty Four
Twenty Three

Happy Independence Day everyone!

So Jordan celebrates its 63rd Independence Day today, and I know mainstream media will probably effectively cover all of the Kingdom’s achievements over the past several decades, which usually entails copying and pasting information from last year and then throwing in a Jordanian flag sticker with every newspaper copy. So there’s really nothing left to say about it if you know what I mean. But don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to be a killjoy or anything, but independence day is meant to be a retrospective journey isn’t it? Or is it all about the banners, the flags and the fireworks?

Maybe a bit of both.

But this independence day, I find myself wondering what independence truly means for a country like Jordan. Is independence “synonymous” with “freedom”? Because if so, then I’m forced to wonder the extent to which we are truly, truly “free”. What does it even mean to be free?

Does it mean to be part of a free global community?

To ensure citizen freedoms, rights and equality?

To be a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?

What does it mean for Jordan to be free?

Free from British rule? Because much of our political sphere, along with the rest of the Arab and developing world, remains dominated, if not at times dictated, by foreign powers.

The two main branches of government, including the Cabinet (executive) and the Senate (legislative), are all appointed by the King, and if you factor in the corruption of elections in the Lower House, you could also reasonably argue that that half of the legislative branch is also “appointed”. In other words, as Jordanians, we still have ways to go before achieving any freedom to choose our own representatives.

Only recently have women in Jordan been granted the freedom of movement, and even that is highly questionable and debatable at the highest levels.

Not everyone born in Jordan or born of a Jordanian mother is entitled to carry the Jordanian nationality, so technically not everyone has an equal right to a nationality. In other words, not everyone is born equal. This has also meant a significant number of kids born to Jordanian mothers, who have to pay fees for public education as foreigners, which many cannot afford. In other words, not everyone has the right to an education.

When it comes to freedom of speech, well according to a recent poll, 94% of mainstream journalists in Jordan practice self-censorship, and that number is an obvious reflection with obvious conclusions.

As for freedom of assembly and association, well a quick look at the number of permits that are denied by the state for any party or group of people looking to hold any sort of public political event should provide some sort of testament to the country’s realities.

What about economic freedom?

With at least half of the country’s 101 municipalities living under the poverty line and at least 20 of them being considered “extremely poor,” it’s safe to say that the majority of Jordanians have yet to gain any freedom from poverty.

Officially, 13% of the country has yet to gain its independence from unemployment. Unofficially (i.e. more accurately) that number is actually 30%.

And by the way, the government’s solution for both these problems has long been to create Qualified Industrial Zones, which is another way of saying tax free areas where sweat shops can enjoy the freedom to exploit the average Jordanian worker, which they’ve been having difficulty in doing considering that the majority of Jordanians are not prepared to give up on their freedom of choice, as limited as that is in the economic sense.

It goes on and on and on, I’m sure…

I’m pondering these questions because days like independence day, whether in Jordan or elsewhere, are glamorized nationalistic events that ironically force us in to a patriotic frenzy that is so far removed from the public sphere we dwell in. The same sphere where these same day-to-day realities live on and persist; unchallenged, unhindered, unleashed.

When it comes to Jordan or any developing nation for that matter, we really have to take a close look at ourselves - critically analyze ourselves, and then question whether we are truly free or not.

And then question whether we are truly independent or not.

Happy Independence Day.

And feel free to engage by leaving a comment with the live bloggers!

Ninety-four per cent of journalists in Jordan practise self-censorship, according to a survey conducted by the Centre for Defending the Freedom of Journalists (CDFJ) to mark World Press Freedom Day.

“This year, the survey highlighted self-censorship exercised by journalists in Jordan as well as the phenomenon of bloggers in the Kingdom and the increasing role of citizen journalists within the electronic media revolution,” CDFJ Director Nidal Mansour said at a press conference to announce the results on Saturday.

A phenomenon?

…Asked which issues they voluntarily avoid discussing, 98 per cent of the polled journalists said everything related to the Armed Forces, while 81 per cent cited religious issues. Meanwhile, 78 and 77 per cent respectively said they avoid criticising tribal and Arab leaders; 74 per cent said they don’t discuss sex issues, and 54 per cent said they keep away from criticising the government.

Conducted by a specialised team of independent researchers, the survey also revealed that 68 per cent of respondents believe that government interference in the media has increased in recent years, compared to less than 8.5 per cent in 2004. [source]

sigh…

Article 15 of the Jordanian Constitution:

(i) The State shall guarantee freedom of opinion. Every Jordanian shall be free to express his opinion by speech, in writing, or by means of photographic representation and other forms of expression, provided that such does not violate the law.

(ii) Freedom of the press and publications shall be ensured within the limits of the law.

You’re free to speak, express, write, and be vocal…but as long as it doesn’t violate all the laws that say you’re not allowed to speak, express, write and be vocal. Suffice to say, the practice of self-censorship by journalists has just cause.

Happy world press freedom day!

This recent piece of news that Lower House Speaker Abdul Hadi Majali has taken a decision to limit reporters’ access to Parliament is an example of such imbecility. And here is perhaps the worst part of the news:

But House Media Adviser Hamdan Hajj told reporters the speaker only seeks to regulate journalists’ access to Parliament…

“If the decision is implemented, it will facilitate journalists’ missions and their access to information and deputies,” Hajj said

Putting the words “access to information” and “regulate journalists’ access to Parliament” in the same sentence is just so oxymoronic I don’t even know where to begin. The fact that anyone with any common sense can even rationalize a government body’s move to restrict journalists to anything in this day and age, and try to do any amount of spin-control for the issue, is just so asinine, I really, really, don’t know where to begin.

But I’ll give them credit: this is something the Jordanian government, and Jordanian politicians are pretty good at: spinning anything that, by any ordinary definition would be considered authoritarian, undemocratic, regressive and even corrupt, in to something along the lines of “oh, we’re just trying to make things better.” Yes, indeed, we’re simply trying to “facilitate”.

So before we get lost in the official talking points, let’s simplify:

This is simply a disgusting show of dictatorial control over the media sector, stemming from Jordanian politicians who want nothing more than to hinder any hope for media reform in the Kingdom, and, above all, keep their so-called constituents in the dark about their daily debaucheries.

And these are the people who make and vote on the laws that govern us.

Anyways, back to the point.

Little seems to be known about the whole issue. A few years back you’d probably have to remain glued to the TV to finally get some decent information on it, but, well, suffice to say, thank the good Lord for the Internet. So here’s what I learned thus far:

- Swine flu typically affects only pigs or people who’ve had direct contact with them, but this new strain spreads from person to person without them having any contact with pigs.

- Symptoms are similar to the typical flu symptoms.

- The World Health Organization has yet to declare swine flu a “pandemic”, but it seems to be moving closer to that status. The WHO also says the virus can no longer be contained.

- It is treatable with antiviral drugs if delivered within 48 hours.

- You can still eat pork.

- Oil companies and airlines are suffering.

- Pharmaceutical companies are loving it.

- So are spammers.

- Conspiracy theories emerge.

So, what about Jordan!?

The government’s response to the virus has been the typical “everything’s OK”. And hey, maybe everything is OK. Who are we to question the government unreasonably? Plus, the whole panic thing is already over done by the media.
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