To Where Do Jordanians Immigrate?

"The problems of the Arab world are almost always the fault of it's leaders and politicians"

That is King Hussein as quoted in Lion of Jordan by Avi Shlaim. The book so far has been very interesting and "asskinssingless"! Recommended.

On the Jordanian Political Parties law

A quick read of Jordan's Political Parties Law reveals how arbitrary the permission granting process is. Section B1 of article 5 says the following:

ب. 1. يجوز لعشرة من الاردنيين على الاقل من الراغببين في تأسيس حزب ، التقدم للوزير بالمبادئ والافكار الاولية للحزب ، وللوزير الموافقة على ممارسة انشطتهم السياسية التحضيرية والترويج لهذه الافكار على ان يتقدموا بطلب التأسيس عند استكمال الشروط المنصوص عليها في هذا القانون وخلال مدة لا تزيد على ستة اشهر من تاريخ تلك الموافقة

B. 1. It is permissible for at least ten Jordanians, who have a desire in founding a party, to submit to the Minister [of interior] the principles and preliminary ideas of the party, and it is up to the minister to grant consent to exercise their preparatory political activities and the promotion of these ideas so they could submit the establishing application upon completion of the conditions Set forth in this law, within a period not exceeding six months from the date of such consent. source

In a country where joining political parties is still a stigmatized taboo, the government is still making it more the harder on average jordanians to found a political party that has a chance in being approved, let alone changing the status quo. The law puts too much power in the hands of the Interior Minister to decide what suits the public and what is allowed to be promoted as principles and ideals. Jordan has a little chance in advancing the tiny crumbs of democracy into a real and competent force of change if the whole process is carried out in the most undemocratic manner.

Why Language is Jordanians' main factor in deciding where to Immigrate?

Jordanians are certainly one people that would like to get the hell out of the country in search of prosperity in many parts of the world. The chronic economical, social, and civil rights problems are the motivation behind almost all those lining up in front of various embassies in Amman. A few of the 65 Consulates/Embassies receive the lion's share of interest. Aside form the typical Arab destinations, such as UAE and KSA, English speaking countries are the most popular. Countries like the US, Australia, and Canada are the top preference.

It just seams to be a huge limitation to confine the search for a better life to a place where you would still need to learn the way the language is spoken locally (believe me. MOE English curriculum is garbage). Saying "How do you do?" in the US won't get yo punched in the face, but will put the letters "FOB" on your forehead immediately. And that not to mention that European countries are actually closer culturally to Jordan than the US and Canada are.

Take for example Spain. The Spanish language is very close to English, contains more words of Arabic origin than any other language, and it already includes the sound TH (as in ثغرة عصفور)! In addition, the people are great, still celebrate the Islamic mark in their history, and it is home to a lot of North African Arabs. Also, Scandinavian countries have been shown to be the best in terms of happiness, least Corrupted,and Human development. And, Most European countries are within 6 hours of flight time and not 12-20 hours as is the case with the US.

So, there are other destinations in the world that actually welcome immigrants more than others. Some countries are struggling to coup with a declining population, such as Italy and Spain and others would like to enhance their communities with diverse cultures. And, although the US, Canada, and Australia remain good choices, let's not ignore others that might prove better in the long run.

The New Political Reform and the Monarchy

The new political reform “road map” being prepared by Political Development minister, Mousa Ma’aytah, has one huge fallacy as if the minister, who is a staunch supporter of political parties’ rights in Jordan, finally succumbed to the pressures of being part of the same government he opposed. The fundamental error in the road map is the prominence given to the institution of the monarchy:

“آن الاوان لاعتماد (خارطة طريق) لاصلاح سياسي آمن ومتدرج يأخذ بعين الاعتبار أسس الالتزام بالثوابت الوطنية الاساسية وعدم المساس بها وهي مؤسسة العرش والدستور والاردن وطن لجميع أبنائه”

[Time has arrived for the adoption of a secure and gradual (road map) of political reform, taking into account the foundational commitment to the basic national principles and not compromising the institution of the throne, the Constitution, and Jordan as a home to all its citizens.] source

Due to the role played by the monarchy, and the royal family for that matter, and taking into account the history of limiting political freedoms and the taboo that is “political party membership” amongst youths, expecting this reform to take on solid steps and wide participation is impractical.

As long as the king is the Executive Power, little is possible in way of changing the perception of political parties to those most in need of having a say heard.

It’s well known that Jordanian universities’ students are more politically vocal than most other age/demographic groups in the country. However, having to concentrate their indignation at those in the cabinet and the parliament has little to do with concrete political reform. Basically, political reform has a much better chance at succeeding, however gradual, if no person/institution is above criticism.

When law is legislated with the monarchy in mind, the law doesn’t have peoples’ interests as its top priority. When judges hand out convictions and sentences while having the government in mind, little credibility is given to the judicial system. In addition, when the government tells citizens to go ahead and join political parties because it’s encouraged and healthy, their response is: “yeah, right!”

was also posted on 7iber.com

why should Constitutional Monarchy be implemented as soon as possible

King Abdullah made it clear a few years back that he intends on reforming the governing system in Jordan into that of a constitutional monarchy instead of an absolute one. Along with many reforms aiming at decentralizing governance and regulating political parties, constitutional monarchy is the most pressing.
Everyone in Jordan can agree that king Abdullah enjoys a relative popularity in the country. That popularity has seen a decline, I believe, due to the increase in reporting on government corruption and a wide spread dissatisfaction with the parliament. With the ascent of online news portals and the obvious attention given to those sites and their news, Jordanians are more vocal than ever before.
This decline in popularity, if left unchecked, might lead to chaos in a country that has grown accustomed to a head of state figure of a true king. I don't mean that King Abdullah is otherwise. But, the perpetuating high level, major corruption cases might lead the average Jordanian to the thought that the king himself is "aware but doesn't care."
The expedition of the transfer to constitutional monarchy, along with an elected government and both houses of parliament, might be what's needed to salvage that popularity or what's left of it.

What are the real reasons behind the "Regions Plan"?

I have been following the regions plan (مشروع الاقاليم) since its inception. Until this moment, I just can't come up with benefits that are concrete enough to rationalize the project. The government has been so vague in discussing the project that it allowed other players in the country to jump in and offer their own versions of reasoning and analysis that have elevated the subject to national level. The discussion, however, is of the uninformed, marred with persistent mistrust, and overwhelming variety.

I would very much like to give the government credit for actually doing things and being busy. But, it stops right there. I just can not help but think of this project as a way to keep people busy. Government employees or average Jordanians, both are trying to sort out the thought process bringing upon them this looming project, with no avail it seems. Being busy, I am afraid, Jordanian style.

In light of the government's understanding that the new American administration would apply more pressure onto political and civil rights progress, the government, I reckon, is trying to keep one front asleep. Just a few years after the "Jordan First" campaign, which had the goal of diverting Jordanians' attention form regional events, comes the Regions Plan to keep people in the sand box.

"One of the project's main goals is to achieve sustainable, comprehensive development across the Kingdom and a fair distribution of services in all governorates within the same region," Qadi said.

If you can't do that in a country with 6MM people and already 12 governorates, what makes you think it could be done with 3 regions?
Come think of it, Jordan is tiny; it doesn't need further division to better manage it; it already suffers from a substantial amount of tribal and national origin discriminatory deeply rooted cultures; and Jordanians already vote "tribalistically."

sometimes I wish we could call for live "senate" hearings.

Arab Summits: What a Joke.

If the final statement is already out, what is the point of meeting?

Jordanian Media Continues with its Failed Journalism

There is a new enemy weaving a conspiracy against Jordan and Jordanians. M. H. Heikal is the new target for many Jordanian "journalists" in their quest of "informing," "analyzing," and giving their "opinion" of happenings in and out of Jordan. To put it bluntly, most Jordanian lost their credibility a while ago by sidestepping simple and very much needed basics of reporting.

To write a credible news story one must be able to back up the claims put forward. It doesn't differ much from a student writing a research paper, where quotes must be referenced, the opposing argument given a chance, and for sources where further readings could be found.

The current "who can write the most and be more righteous" competition in Jordanian media against Heikal (Alrai, Al Dustour, Al Dustour, Alrai, Alghad,...) produced numerous opposing accounts in dailies and news sites. The attack on Heikal followed the usual Jordanian, or rather Arab, journalism techniques of nullifying all and every bit of information Heikal said and announcing the usual support to the Royal family.

I personally didn't see the program. I would have had a better idea of its content, however, had Jordanian journalist presented a balanced counter-argument to what Heikal had to say. I would have, as well, given more credibility to Jordanian quasi-government controlled media/journalists had they given their audience the chance to read a transcript or to link to a podcast of the show.

Now that I heard a big part of it and read the report linked to below, I can say that there wasn't anything new or major in what Heikal said. He actually praised King Hussein.

You can Listen to most of the program here and read a report of it here. (Finally found it after writing the post, I will update this post if needed)

A German Study Telling Jordanians to Lay Off Wasta

"The impact of favouritism on the business climate: a study on Wasta in Jordan" a study done by the German Development Institute and published in 2007.

The study’s recommendations are addressed first of all to the Jordanian government and to businesspeople and others in Jordan who have the power to contribute to the fight against favouritism in their country. In addition, the findings of this project may be of interest for foreign donors who are willing to support Jordanian initiatives against the use of favouritism as well as, of course, for academics.

The Arab world is a particularly instructive example of the consequences of a lack of transparency. Rulers there enjoy immense discretionary powers. They favour clients and cronies in many ways by their political, bureaucratic and judicial decisions. As a consequence, the fulfillment of formal rights depends to a large extent on the ability to carry favour with decision- makers.

The impact of favouritism on the business climate: a study on wasta in Jordan / Markus Loewe … – Bonn : Dt. Inst. für Entwicklungspolitik, 2007 – (Studies / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik ; 30) ISBN 978-3-88985-358-5

Can Jordanians Live Without Family Names?

Having a prominent tribe's name is something many people envy in Jordan. belonging to a tribe, such as those going back to the years preceding the establishment of the country, is something to be proud of. Tribes in Jordan lend to their members a backing in many occasions and happenings. However, tribalism has been a main drag on the country's development. Wasta is the main qualification of those ascending the government, parliament, and even the judicial ladders in a country with a dire need for reform on all fronts. Worse it becomes if the king does not practice what he preaches, evident by the tribal make up of the cabinet and the senate. It goes without saying, in Jordan, that the offsprings of current ministers, members of parliament, and the high ranks of the armed forces are the future ministers, memebrs of parliament and leaders of the armed forces.

The question that begs to be asked: If tribal affliation is hampering Jordanian chances of becoming a nation of laws and institutions, is it time to shed that fourth name off offical documents?

A lawsuit telling of the whole story behind Petra Bank (Chalabi vs. Jordan)

Its a right that Jordanians, and all Arabs for that matter, still lack: Transparency and Freedom of Information. Someone can argue that Journalists also lack professionalism and curiosity, since there are laws in Jordan allowing for requests of information that many journalists don't know about. But, when Journalists are still afraid of asking questions, still adhere to decades old bureaucracy, still speak in the name of the government, and never employ true investigative journalism, Jordanians would never learn what goes on behind the curtains.

This is the lawsuit filed by Ahmad Chalabi in Oct of 2008 against the Jordanian government in regard to Petra Bank that sheds the light on his side of the story of what went wrong and why he fled the country. I am not defending anybody here. I could care less about Chalabi. But information should be free to those who want it. People would have better formulated opinions if they knew all sides to any conflict.

The bank's headquarters remained empty for many years in the 1990's. Its the big building in Wadi Saqra, next to hayat Amman. Now its Amman Cairo Bank.

Desalination (new Jordanian Technology) a Viable Alternative to Disi Water Project

The new topic on the block these days has been the Disi water project and the new study revealing naturally occurring radioactivity in underground aquifers. The Jordanian government, continuing its sacred traditions, contravened and decided to live the lie and go ahead with the project. This behavior, coupled with many Jordanian jouranlists', paid and otherwise, subconscious effort at agreeing with the government, opened the door to conspiracy theories fueled by the mere presence of Israeli scientists in the team that had undertook the study.

All the while, the Jordanian government, people and journalist as well, went past news reports of a Jordanian Scientist, Mohammed Rasool Qtaishat, inventing a new desalination method that would drastically reduce the cost of the process of desalination. Current technologies cost about 50 cents a cubic meter, as in an Israeli desalination plant.

The Disi Project, as it stands now, will cost $875 Million to construct. The government, however, will not get possession of the project for another 25 years. This brings up the issue of opportunity cost given up to Gama Enerji, the contractor constructing and owning the project for its first 25 years of its life. If we were to assume a 20% annual return on investment for the 25 years Gama is the sole owner of the whole project, that would be, discounted to present value, around $2 Billion dollars. (don't ask me to show you calculations! Well, at least give me the benfit of the doubt)

Poseidon, a company in San Diego, CA, has already started work on a desalination plant that will cost $300 Million and produce roughly half as much water as what the Disi project would produce.

My grave concern is that we would have to wait until a new government is formed to know who is actually behind the Disi project and why is it being pushed so hard. We all remember the Dead Sea Casino [or]deal.

How Could Ammonnews Become the Huffington Post of Arabia?

There is no doubt that The Huffington Post has become one of the most influential political blogs in the World. It has, in the almost four years of its existence, become the 89th most visited website in the US. For a private blog to reach that feat in a market such as the US is very admirable. The Hufpost was able to do so by following a few measures to enhance its standing and offer an alternative to the mainstream media. Although most of the contributors to the site do so free of charge, that does not lessen from its credibility. With more funding being reported, the Hufpost is becoming more able to hire its own reports and work on the site's interface to improve usability and reader interaction. In addition, a large percentage of the material is from reputable news sources, such as the NYT, WSJ, and other more prominent source.

Hufpost's ascent to its current position was a testament to people's changing preferences when it comes to reporting news. The same could be said about Jordan. In the Jordanian media market the picture is changing as well. More grassroots websites are becoming popular as they deviate from the decades long status quo of tight government control over what gets reported and which opinions are given sound waves. The below graph, from Alexa, shows how web-only, government disaffiliated news sources are surging in the popularity and are close to overcome more traditional Jordanian news outlets:

the graph shows the growth (slope of the drawn line) in rank of two web-only Jordanian news sites is outpacing that of older, more established newspapers.

In a private, community fueled website the issue of monitoring content is very crucial. Readers would basically say anything they wish without any repercussions. As well as writers, who are free to report about subjects they deem important. At the same time, allowing contributors to explore new areas of reporting and have initiative when it comes to investigative journalism.

What ammonnews could do to enrich its content and build a better reputation is to rely more on the community of readers it was able to amass to monitor content and comments. For the former, a Digg style mechanism could be employed to let readers make worthy news stories become more prominent on the sites home page. This way the site's editors are able to focus on what readers are looking for and what is more important to them. At the same time, readers can vote for comments to "bury" the offensive ones containing fowl language. Fowl language should be the only reason a comment is buried/deleted. If the silent majority is in fact ammon's concern, their voice must be heard regardless of what they have to say.

Read more >> Options >>

If you're clueless, Inexperienced, and Technologically challenged, you are wanted at the Royal Hashemite Court!

Yes, I monitor who comes into my blog. Big Deal!
After labeling all the frequent visitors, you kind of get an idea of what they are looking for. One of these visitors الأشاوس hails from the Royal Court. With the IP in hand, the links that brought them in, the pages they visited afterward, and the posts they read, you can't help but develop a certain idea about the person stalking your blog and visiting you this many times in two days:

the adjectives of the title refer to the following:

1. this person has the out-in-your-face "Royal Hashemite Court" as the ISP
2. does a "blog search" for the word "Jordan." Really?
   
3. Very slow. Clicked on the same post at least 7 times
4. Still uses IE 6. 6 for gods sake.
   
5. with an IP search, I found out these too: (I deleted the info by the way)

• person: 
  organization:
  address:
  address:
  phone: 
  fax-no:
  e-mail:

I swear, if only I could serve you coffee digitally, I would.

What the World's Media said about the new Jordanian government

Foreign Policy

Cabinet shuffles in Jordan are a fairly routine business. Real power (especially over foreign policy) is concentrated in the Royal Court, and no government shuffle will ever touch the core of policy. The King is really his own Foreign Minister. Governments generally go until they start to wear out their welcome, and then shuffle the deck to buy another six to nine months until it's time for the King to designate a new Prime Minister to start over. But government shuffles can serve as important signals of the King's intentions and preferences, with the personality or profile of the new cabinet members or Prime Minister suggesting where he wants policy to go.
Salah al-Din Bashir, confidante of the controversial Bassem Awadallah, is out as Foreign Minister.
Nasir Joudeh, who has held a variety of government positions over the last decade and had been Minister of State for Information, is known for a good relationship with the King. He doesn't have a lot of baggage in inter-Arab politics, but he most definitely does with Hamas (Jordan Watch). The new Interior Minister Nayif al-Qadhi presided over the expulsion of Hamas leaders from Jordan when he held the same position back at the end of the 1990s. Their elevation likely suggests the deep concern about rising Hamas and Islamist power in the Kingdom and in the region. So the signals are mixed: An openness to bridging Arab divides which may not extend to warming with Hamas, and perhaps a recognition of tough domestic times ahead.
The primary focus of the new government will likely be the devastated economy.
the specific changes seem to be intended to meet the new challenges posed by the new right wing Israeli government and by the moves towards Arab and Palestinian reconciliation.

MSNBC

The outgoing government was widely criticized for being unable to control soaring inflation, which doubled to 13 percent, and an across-the-board spike in prices, particularly for food and fuel.
Government officials had initially denied there was any negative impact on the economy from the global financial crisis, angering the public. Jordan relies heavily on U.S. aid to keep its small economy afloat.
The most significant non-economic change was the appointment of Nayef al-Qadi as the new interior minister. He held the same portfolio in the late 1990s when he deported four leaders of the militant Palestinian Hamas which rules the Gaza Strip.

Radio Netherlands

Jordan's Prime Minister Nader Dahabi has announced a cabinet reshuffle in an attempt to combat the country's social and economic problems.
Mr Dahabi is hoping that the reshuffle will reduce attacks on his government by the conservative opposition, who have frequently criticised him for following a 'Western' economic course.

Reuters

Pro-reformist Labour Minister Bassem al-Salem, who has strong business credentials, was appointed finance minister, replacing Hamad Kassasbeh and sending a strong signal to Jordan's donors and the International Monetary Fund of its commitment to free market reforms.
Pro-Western reformist Foreign Minister Salah al-Basheer, who has been a target of criticism by conservatives, was replaced by Nasser Joudeh, a veteran information minister and government spokesman.The new interior minister, Nayef al-Qadi, succeeds Eid al-Fayez, who had antagonised civil rights campaigners and the Islamist opposition by using heavy-handed police tactics to clamp down on dissent during parliamentary elections in 2007.The long-awaited reshuffle became more urgent after the resignation last September of the monarch's closest reform adviser, Basem Awadallah, whose Western-style free market policies had challenged the conservative establishment. The conservatives had accused Awadallah, a confidant of the monarch, of seeking to give the monarchy wider powers by setting up a shadow administration that interfered with the day-to-day functioning of the government. The new 27-member line-up, sworn in by King Abdullah on Monday, includes four women among a total of 10 new ministers in a reshuffled cabinet dominated by tribal figures. Jordan's own majority Palestinian population is under-represented.

AFP

A new ministry of political affairs will be headed by Mussa Maayta, a left-leaning political activist who will be entering government for the first time, the official said.

Arabs and discrimination are Synonyms

You might argue otherwise trying to be a proud Arab. But calling it at face value is whats logical. Examples are abundant of how far reaching and infested the ideology of racism and other discriminatory behaviors are in the Arab world.

• Jordanians and Palestinians
  
• Western Arabs and Berbers
• Arabs and non Arabs in Sudan
• Sunni's and Shia's
  
• Lebanese and Syrians
• Gulfers and Egyptians
  

The list goes on without even getting into the misery Women live in Saudi Arabia, for example. So, why is it that we take on such barbaric behaviors and accuse the West of controlling and patronizing us? Why do we always try to play the victim role in a world that we brought a lot of discrimination into?

I don't think much could be gained in the Arab world without self-awareness. unless equality is guaranteed to all, not just under the law, but also in the hearts and minds of the people, we should not be complaining of how we are treated by others.

BS aside, this is how the Jordanian government works

Every time there is a new government, Jordanians start the usual talk of who is qualified and who is not. Basically, no body is. I have posted before on the qualifying standards of Jordanian cabinet members. There is no reason that we will ever see much deviation from that rule.

People need to understand that the prime minster is not the one that appoints his team members. It is the King. King Abdullah wants people that never say "No." He wants people that always say: أمرا و طاعا. But, if anything goes wrong, the ministers must accept the blame. Most of the cabinet members in Jordan's history qualify under these rules. That's why academic and professional experiences are secondary. For if you dare to think while in office, you might find yourself without one. Pretty soon.

Imagine yourself in the position of minister. You would probably be exposed to huge amounts of information of the inner dealings of the higher-ups. You would see how much gets embezzled and how much gets siphoned off. You would get your blood pressure through the roof and would almost get a heart attack because you see but can't do. This of course assuming that you are an honest person. So, why do these people desperately "serve" the country?

The position of minister carries a lot of status in a corrupt and backward society, such as Jordan's. Therefore, it is natural the make up of governments shows a distribution amongst the tribes and those power brokers in the Kingdom.

If your tribe is represented, you are representin'.

و كُل حُكومة و إنتوا بخير

It's good that Members of Parliament are fighting

It shows that they are passionate about something. That they would like to voice their opinions and make their stances clear. Also, it happens in many other parts of the world, where MPs would throw ash trays, shoes, and other projectiles at each other. The bottom line is that I think it's healthy.

However, I have a problem with the subject matter of their disagreements, which causes such infighting, when Jordanian MPs fight because of he said/she said gibberish. As in the latest episode, the fighting broke out to show who is more patriotic than the other, which is ass kissing of royal proportions.

The hell with government's corruption, I am patriotic!
Screw poor people, long live the king.
What miserable education system? Health services? Food security? Water scarcity? Malnourished population? Unemployment? هاشمي هاشمي، و انا اشهد هاشمي

-I love Jordan more than you do......No I do......No I do......No I do...

Screw both of you!

Conspiracies Against Jordan

I am really sick of those in Jordan that keep on riding the ass kissing wagon. A few weeks ago, the king mentions that there was a conspiracy (مؤامرة) aiming at permanently settling Palestinians in Jordan. Since the interview with Al Jazeerah, political and tribal personalities had nothing else to do but voice their support. Support that nobody knows for what. Just mere support. Someone said something, the rest of Jordan must get behind them and try to score all possible political points with the Royal Family.

All that without mentioning that Palestinians in Jordan are citizens; that they have all rights granted to the rest of Jordanians; that they have been in the country since two years after independence. Therefore, Palestinians in Jordan have already been settled a long time ago.

Jordan is tiny, poor, and it stinks. Give it up people!

It is important for people to have national pride. It forms their identity and it announces to the world their allegiance to a nation. Also, it gives them a sense of belonging. However, Jordanians go too far in many ways. 

I mean the country is tiny, poor, and if you have been to Zarqa, it stinks! 

Jordan is so tiny that you can drive from extreme north (Ramtha) to extreme south (Aqaba) in about 4 hours; less if you don't count a couple of check points and peoples' urge to take breaks as if they're driving the whole length of Hwy 80.  I remember those school trips we took to Aqaba in the early 90's, when, at arrival, students would race to the main post office to call home and yell at the top of their lungs that everything is OK and they arrived safely. I did that too. But to think of it, you just saw your family three hours ago. Is it necessary to call them right away as if you flew across the atlantic. Give it a rest. they are probably happy they got you out of the house. 

And, don't get me started on the Dead Sea. On a visit to Jordan I asked if anybody wanted to go the Dead Sea "now." The look on their faces was like a little kid being told there is no Santa, you're adopted, or "let's go to the dentist." 

Let's leave it to the weekend, they would say after the shocking looks on their faces have subsided. Have in mind that the Dead Sea is less than 30 minutes away from Amman. A 30 minutes trip does not require the devotion of a whole weekend. 

I guess my family's idea of a trip is waking up at 4am, cook magloubeh and sfee7a, and ride donkeys and camels until we reach El Ghour in time for lunch, then pack up and head back. 

Jordan is so poor, thanks to الحكومة الرشيدة و المسؤولين الكفوئين . Think about it. I remember paying 3.15 JDs ($5) tuition for a whole year of public schools' education. Textbooks included. You might say that this cost is more expensive than that of US public schools, which are free. But, when your family "qualifies for a discount" from that 3.15, then you're poor living in a poor country. 

Jordan stinks so bad. I had the unfortunate experience of living in the stinkiest parts of the of the stinkiest city. I lived in the area surrounding the only refinery in the country. Aside form the dreadfully polluted air, the daily, very loud 7am horn sound, and the slippery and dangerous streets going in and out of the refinery and it's neighbour: King Hussein electric station, Aside from all that is محطة السمرا للتنقية. Imagine those hot summer nights' breeze bringing you the pungent aroma of what used to be the above mgloubeh! 

I also had to go through the Zarqa transportation complex. Anybody who was ever courageous enough (or had no other option) to cross into the complex on a daily bases deserves وسام الاستقلال من الدرجة الاولى more than those disappearing ambassadors. 

There you have it. Jordan first or not, sometimes you have to sit back and take a look at your country and stop electing your second cousin's uncle's brother in law to the parliament and elect somebody who has the guts to demand change!

The only good thing about Gaza

was the timing.

And the new American administrations new direction is evident by the immediate appointment of an envoy, George Mitchell, who has a lot of experience in the area and in international conflict resolution.

Who Needs Obama, when you have Saudi Arabia.

There is no reason not to expect a different, and improved, foreign policy from the new US administration. Obama built his whole campaign on promises of hope and, more importantly, change. As is the norm with politics, however, promises don't always translate into action. But, Bush messed up so bad that an improvement will be achieved regardless of who is taking the helm in DC. So, after watching Obama's inaugural speech, and hearing him mention Muslims twice, I thought that change is indeed coming.

The Middle East has spent the last eight years waiting for that change. Although Clinton had some positives going for him in regard to inching toward peace in the Middle East, he was just another ring in a chain of American influence without substance in the area. Arabs keep waiting for change from the wrong source. Change that is dearly needed on many levels and within many areas of life. Change that all the masses are calling for openly and otherwise. Change that could have been brought upon without the need for US presidents' approval or desire.

As the world witnessed during the Bush years, the influence of the US has teetered, along with Bush's approval ratings, to lows not seen since the Vietnam war. But, that same influence has kept up its weight in two countries: Egypt and Jordan. Although the two countries are of the top recipients of US financial and military aid (in 2007, Egypt was second and Jordan was fourth), the aid was a very low price to pay to quell the opposing voices to the Iraq war and the Israeli killing machine, and to convince them of a lurking Iranian threat.

Arab governments would have been in a far better position to oppose, and act, in response to the Gaza massacre had they not been “owned” by the US. After all, Egypt and Jordan between them have the majority of Israel-Arab borders. They very much protected Israel from the steaming public.

Now if one takes a look at the amount of “reported” aid. In the year 2007, Egypt and Jordan received ~$2.4B and ~$457M from the US government, respectively. At the same time, financial aid given by Arab countries has for decades exceeded these numbers. In the book The Pattern of Aid Giving By Eric Neumayer, aid from Arab countries in the years 1974-1994 has averaged 1.5% of GDP. If these numbers held up to these days, that would translate into $35 Billion for the year 2007 alone. That's $35B of aid given by Arab countries to Arab and non Arab countries throughout the world.

The following sheds the lights on the realities of Arab aid:

The Arab aid paradox

It is a little known paradox that the Arab world, despite its own, often onerous, domestic challenges, is one of the most generous providers of development finance. And, moreover, that this financing reaches far beyond the confines of the Arab world to over 140 developing countries around the globe. Many would be surprised to learn, for instance, that Arab aid has built hospitals in Albania and Senegal, schools in Jamaica and Burkina Faso, and roads in Bangladesh, Ethiopia and Honduras. And that is just the tip of the iceberg. Arab aid is responsible, too, for countless other improvements across the entire development spectrum. It has helped ease the movement of goods and people, facilitated access to jobs and social services, provided clean water, sanitation and electricity, and improved food security and nutrition. Indeed, for four decades, Arab aid has been instrumental in improving living standards and life expectancy among millions of the world’s poor. It is a record that speaks for itself, and one made all the more remarkable by the fact that the Arab countries are themselves developing and face many problems of their own. Regrettably, it is a record that has gone largely unrecognized, primarily because of the modest spirit in which the Arab donors have traditionally given their assistance.

Therefore, as seen above, given the sheer amount of Arab wealth evident in their giving to various countries the world over, it is conceivable that the influence of the US on Arab countries be minimized, and eventually reversed, if Arabs shopped around for influence (if they insist on not having influence of their own) from other permanent members of the Security Council, by re-channeling their aid to Egypt and Jordan just enough to replace that of the US.

The best article describing Gaza's Situation in US media

KUHN: When Israel expelled Palestinians:

What if it was San Diego and Tijuana instead?

Randall Kuhn
Wednesday, January 14, 2009

In the wake of Israel's invasion of Gaza, Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak made this analogy: "Think about what would happen if for seven years rockets had been fired at San Diego, California from Tijuana, Mexico."

Within hours scores of American pundits and politicians had mimicked Barak's comparisons almost verbatim. In fact, in this very paper on January 9 House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and House Minority Whip Eric Cantor ended an opinion piece by saying "America would never sit still if terrorists were lobbing missiles across our border into Texas or Montana." But let's see if our political and pundit class can parrot this analogy.

Think about what would happen if San Diego expelled most of its Hispanic, African American, Asian American, and Native American population, about 48 percent of the total, and forcibly relocated them to Tijuana? Not just immigrants, but even those who have lived in this country for many generations. Not just the unemployed or the criminals or the America haters, but the school teachers, the small business owners, the soldiers, even the baseball players.

What if we established government and faith-based agencies to help move white people into their former homes? And what if we razed hundreds of their homes in rural areas and, with the aid of charitable donations from people in the United States and abroad, planted forests on their former towns, creating nature preserves for whites to enjoy? Sounds pretty awful, huh? I may be called anti-Semitic for speaking this truth. Well, I'm Jewish and the scenario above is what many prominent Israeli scholars say happened when Israel expelled Palestinians from southern Israel and forced them into Gaza. But this analogy is just getting started.

What if the United Nations kept San Diego's discarded minorities in crowded, festering camps in Tijuana for 19 years? Then, the United States invaded Mexico, occupied Tijuana and began to build large housing developments in Tijuana where only whites could live. And what if the United States built a network of highways connecting American citizens of Tijuana to the United States? And checkpoints, not just between Mexico and the United States but also around every neighborhood of Tijuana? What if we required every Tijuana resident, refugee or native, to show an ID card to the U.S. military on demand? What if thousands of Tijuana residents lost their homes, their jobs, their businesses, their children, their sense of self worth to this occupation? Would you be surprised to hear of a protest movement in Tijuana that sometimes became violent and hateful? Okay, now for the unbelievable part.

Think about what would happen if, after expelling all of the minorities from San Diego to Tijuana and subjecting them to 40 years of brutal military occupation, we just left Tijuana, removing all the white settlers and the soldiers? Only instead of giving them their freedom, we built a 20-foot tall electrified wall around Tijuana? Not just on the sides bordering San Diego, but on all the Mexico crossings as well. What if we set up 50-foot high watchtowers with machine gun batteries, and told them that if they stood within 100 yards of this wall we would shoot them dead on sight? And four out of every five days we kept every single one of those border crossings closed, not even allowing food, clothing, or medicine to arrive. And we patrolled their air space with our state-of-the-art fighter jets but didn't allow them so much as a crop duster. And we patrolled their waters with destroyers and submarines, but didn't even allow them to fish.

Would you be at all surprised to hear that these resistance groups in Tijuana, even after having been "freed" from their occupation but starved half to death, kept on firing rockets at the United States? Probably not. But you may be surprised to learn that the majority of people in Tijuana never picked up a rocket, or a gun, or a weapon of any kind. The majority, instead, supported against all hope negotiations toward a peaceful solution that would provide security, freedom and equal rights to both people in two independent states living side by side as neighbors. This is the sound analogy to Israel's military onslaught in Gaza today.

Maybe some day soon, common sense will prevail and no corpus of misleading analogies abut Tijuana or the crazy guy across the hall who wants to murder your daughter will be able to obscure the truth. And at that moment, in a country whose people shouted We Shall Overcome, Ich bin ein Berliner, End Apartheid, Free Tibet and Save Darfur, we will all join together and shout "Free Gaza. Free Palestine." And because we are Americans, the world will take notice and they will be free, and perhaps peace will prevail for all the residents of the Holy Land.

Randall Kuhn is an assistant professor and Director of the Global Health Affairs Program at the University of Denver Josef Korbel School of International Studies. He just returned from a trip to Israel and the West Bank.

Stop the BS. Jordanians and the Government are not in Sync Over Gaza.

I am sick of hearing/reading the constant barrage of Jordanian media's nonsense promoting the alignment of views between the Jordanian leadership and Jordanians.

توّحد الصفّ الاردني
الشعب و القيادة في خندق واحد
تثمين الرؤية الهاشمية
الاردنيون يتضامنون حول العائلة الهاشمية في نصرة غزة

One virtue of being away from Jordan is the ability to see the big picture. Being away from all the brainless propaganda of Jordanian media is a helpful way of clearing up thoughts and becoming able to analyze happenings. Being away of the interference of "thought police" is important in forming ones own ideas and independent take on events.

Therefore, to claim that Jordanians agree with the government's decisions and actions regarding Gaza in particular is baseless. If it were up to the Jordanian street, the Israeli embassy would close, the peace treaty would be withdrawn, and, quite possibly, a war state would be declared. However, the wants of the people in Jordan are probably the last thing on the minds of decision makers in a country that is effectively controlled by outsiders: mainly the US.