http://www.black-iris.com A Jordanian Blog Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:23:46 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en 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. http://www.black-iris.com/2009/07/02/photo-of-the-moment-heat-potion/ 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 ... http://www.black-iris.com/2009/07/02/7iber-cards-let-the-voting-begin/ Jordanian men play chess in their neighborhood in Amman. AP PHOTO http://www.black-iris.com/2009/07/01/photo-of-the-moment-your-move/ 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 ... http://www.black-iris.com/2009/07/01/government-and-royal-motorcades-in-jordan/ 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 ... http://www.black-iris.com/2009/06/30/how-jordan-brought-the-house-down-on-freedom-of-the-press/ 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 ... http://www.black-iris.com/2009/06/29/gadget-review-nokia-n97/ "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 ... http://www.black-iris.com/2009/06/29/verbatim-thriving-in-the-financial-crisis/ A black stripe is seen on an advertising panel in Amman, on Saturday June 27, 2009, promoting the upcoming concert that Michael Jackson was supposed to have performed in London. Associated Press - Also, check out this funeral posting in Swefieh. Here as well. http://www.black-iris.com/2009/06/28/photo-of-the-moment-micheal-jackson-mourned-in-amman/ "He was just shouting at soldiers but then one soldier decided to attack him, so they beat the hell out of him - riffle butt to the head". - Israeli soldier, identified only as "A.", on the beating of a mentally-handicapped Palestinian man by Israeli forces. "We were sent to ... http://www.black-iris.com/2009/06/28/verbatim-how-to-beat-a-mentally-handicapped-palestinian-and-get-away-with-it/ Paris Hilton, the socialite and celebrity, hugs a camel in Dubai while promoting her reality TV show. (Getty Images) http://www.black-iris.com/2009/06/28/photo-of-the-moment-the-hilton-dubai/ While the Internet and mainstream media has turned its attention to Iran in the past few weeks, it's almost difficult to see the country in non-political terms. In the name of comedy, The Daily Show sent Jason Jones to Iran to do a series entitled "Behind The Veil". So far, ... http://www.black-iris.com/2009/06/25/behind-the-veil-the-daily-show-takes-on-iran/ 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, ... http://www.black-iris.com/2009/06/24/movie-review-transformers-revenge-of-the-fallen-and-on-filming-in-jordan/ 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 ... http://www.black-iris.com/2009/06/21/movie-review-lemon-tree/ A while back, I decided to change up mosques for Friday prayer due to a lack of inspiration. Essentially, I've spent the past two years trying to find one that had something to offer but alas, it seems recycled material is what passes for a good khutba (sermon) these days. ... http://www.black-iris.com/2009/06/20/the-jordanian-imam-who-googled/ 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] http://www.black-iris.com/2009/06/17/photo-of-the-moment-health-minister-suits-up/ 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. ... http://www.black-iris.com/2009/06/16/movie-review-garbage-warrior/ It was perhaps with great pleasure that I read about government plans to exempt computers from taxes in Jordan around two months ago. Sources at the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology leaked such plans in late April, and the Minister, Bassem Roussan, seemed to confirm it at a meeting ... http://www.black-iris.com/2009/06/16/computers-and-the-sales-tax-fiasco/ Flying in from Cairo the other day I had a bit of a run in with the Jordanian Customs on my way out. After a friend asked me to purchase cigarettes from the newly-expanded Duty Free Shop, I was pulled over by customs but in the most abrasive of manners. ... http://www.black-iris.com/2009/06/15/jordanian-customs-beuracracies-at-the-airport/ 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 ... http://www.black-iris.com/2009/06/07/movie-review-tyson/ 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 ... http://www.black-iris.com/2009/06/06/obamas-speech-to-the-muslim-world-the-view-from-jordan/ Leaving a meeting in Abdali yesterday morning, I got a call informing me that a protest was taking place on the 6th circle. Second-hand information indicated that a crowd, angry with the safety conditions of the Jordan Gate towers lately, had gathered on the circle to launch a protest. I ... http://www.black-iris.com/2009/06/03/the-sixth-circle-will-return-after-these-commercial-messages/ Well tonight should be an interesting night. Jordanian bloggers via 7iber, have teamed up with some amazing artists to put on a never-before-untypical-unprecedented show tonight at the Al-Hussein Cultural Center in Ras Il-Ein. It's a show that makes an attempt of merging the online and offline worlds in Jordan - ... http://www.black-iris.com/2009/05/30/jordanian-bloggers-at-third-space-concert-tonight/ 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, ... http://www.black-iris.com/2009/05/28/king-goes-undercover-again/ So scared of getting older I'm only good at being young So I play the numbers game To find a way to say That life has just begun/ Stop this train I wanna get off And go home again I can't take the speed it's moving in I know I can't But honestly Won't someone stop this train? "Stop This Train" ... http://www.black-iris.com/2009/05/27/twenty-six/ 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 ... http://www.black-iris.com/2009/05/25/pondering-jordans-63rd-independence/ @QueenRania Dear Your Majesty, I hope this tweet finds you well. I should mention right off the bat that this tweet will be longer than the 140 characters typically allocated to me, but I'll try my best to keep it short and well-worded as is often the case when addressing ... http://www.black-iris.com/2009/05/20/queen-rania-on-twitter/ It's a hot and dusty day here at the dead sea but in case anyone's interested, around eighteen 7iber-trained, young, citizen journalists from all over the Arab world, are right here at the World Economic Forum covering the three-day event and its sessions. We've got bloggers, live bloggers, flip cameramen, ... http://www.black-iris.com/2009/05/15/live-at-the-world-economic-forum/ 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 ... http://www.black-iris.com/2009/05/03/world-press-freedom-day-jordanian-media-in-numbers/ It perhaps goes without saying that the most defunct and notoriously futile arm of the entire Jordanian government apparatus, is the Lower House of Parliament; the very small government body that "the people" actually get to "vote" for. The Lower House never ceases to amaze me in its imbecility and ... http://www.black-iris.com/2009/04/29/jordanian-parliament-shutting-the-door-to-journalists/ Talking to a few people recently I've discovered that most, including myself, know fairly little about the swine flu epidemic that western media says is going to kill us all. I emphasize western media here simply because I'm not seeing the same kind of attention or reaction from Arab media, ... http://www.black-iris.com/2009/04/28/jordanian-pig-farms-the-swine-flu-epidemic/