Queen Rania wins YouTube Visionary Award

I don't know how well-attended (or should I say e-tended) the first annual YouTube Live was last night, but I do know that Jordan got major positive PR when the Mayor of San Fransisco presented the YouTube Visionary Award to her majesty Queen Rania of Jordan. To describe my feelings as "pleasantly surprised" would be an understatement.
He spoke so much and so well of the Queen's work, and because she obviously couldn't be there in person, she sent in a video giving 10 reasons why she had started her own YouTube channel. 9 of the 10 reasons were funny stereotype-destroying and comic one-liners, the final reason was:
"Because suspicion, intolerance and mistrust are driving us apart."

There was also a video compilation of clips from her channel, including scenes by Dean Obeidallah and Hanna Gharghour. Her channel primarily challenges people to come together and break stereotypes of Arabs and Muslims.

I wish I could post the clip here but there's no embedding link is provided yet by YouTube. The clip is available on www.youtube.com/live under the title "Gavin Newson Presents..."














Artists who performed at the live online broadcast were big names like Akon, Will.i.am and Katy Perry.

UPDATE:

Now the clip is out:

Difference between critic of Israel and antisemitic

It is rare to see US mainstream media make the distinction, so eloquently and unequivocally, between being a critic of Israeli policy, and being antisemitic.

Far-right Zionists, defined as those in favor of maintaining a severely unbalanced US policy that would continue to deny Palestinians their human rights, have always been successful at smearing critics of Israeli policy as racist Jew-haters. While some critics may very well be antisemitic, this blanket tactic serves to discredit any voice calling for a balanced policy on the Israeli-Palestinian issue.

Palestinian = antisemitic?

Right-wing Zionists such as Michael Goldfarb attempt to scare pro-Israel voters into abandoning Obama. The latest jab comes in the form of associating Obama with Rashid Khalidi, who is by the way a respected and successful American academic, writer and professor.

Watch how Rick Sanchez squeezes Michael Goldfarb who's probably trying to contain his anger over the McCain (his boss) decision not to bring up Jeremiah Write.



John McCain actually served as chairman of the International Republican Institute during the 1990s which provided grants worth $500,000 to the Center for Palestine Research and Studies, co-founded by Khalidi. A copy of the grant was published online.

Collective Punishment, again.

REUTERS/Ammar Awad

Israeli "border police officers" (looks like occupation soldiers to me) stand at the entrance to the home of Ghassan Abu Tair in Umm Tuba July 22, 2008. A Palestinian rammed a bulldozer into vehicles on a busy Jerusalem street on Tuesday, ahead of a visit by U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, and wounded 16 people before being shot dead. Israeli police identified the driver as Abu Tair, a 22-year-old Palestinian from a village in an area of the occupied West Bank that Israel considers part of Jerusalem and whose residents have freedom of movement in the city and Israel.

This looks like its leading up to the collective punishment of the boy's family, ie destroying their home, ie rendering them fucked. Just as Israel did two weeks ago. See this article:

Israel to destroy attacker's home

Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak has ordered the army to prepare to demolish the home of the Palestinian who killed three Israelis in Jerusalem.

The order follows advice by Attorney-General Menachem Mazuz that the proposed demolition could create legal difficulties, but would not be illegal.

An Israeli rights group has said such a move would be collective punishment.

B'tselem says it has written to Mr Mazuz demanding that he prevent the attacker's home from being demolished.

The group argues that the demolition would, as collective punishment, be illegal under international humanitarian law.

Hussam Dwayat went on the rampage at the wheel of a front-loader vehicle, or bulldozer, killing three people and wounding dozens before security personnel shot him dead.

Demolitions abandoned

On Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that Israel should destroy the homes of "every terrorist from Jerusalem".

The demolition of houses is a clear case of collective punishment, which violates the principle that a person is not to be punished for the acts of another B'tselem

Mr Mazuz said in his legal opinion: "In light of repeated rulings over the years by the Supreme Court, it cannot be said that there is a legal objection… to the demolition of houses in Jerusalem, but the move would create considerable legal difficulties."

Mr Mazuz warned that apart from legal challenges in Israeli courts, a resumption of the practice of house demolitions could draw international condemnation.

He called for a detailed consideration of the circumstances surrounding each case by the internal security service, Shin Bet, the army and the justice ministry.

In February 2005, Israel abandoned the demolitions of homes of Palestinians involved in attacks against its citizens after human rights groups challenged the practice in Israel's Supreme Court.

Reports say about 20 people live in the home of the attacker Hussam Dwayat in the Sur Bahir area of East Jerusalem. They all insist that they had no prior knowledge of his intentions.

The Israeli authorities have said that Dwayat acted alone and was not connected to any Palestinian militant group.

In a statement about the anticipated demolition, rights group B'tselm said: "The declared objective of this policy is to harm innocent persons - relatives of suspected perpetrators, who are not accused of any criminal wrongdoing themselves.

"The demolition of houses is a clear case of collective punishment, which violates the principle that a person is not to be punished for the acts of another. Collective punishment is therefore illegal regardless of its effectiveness."

The group pointed to the findings of a committee appointed by a former chief of staff, Moshe Yaalon, as finding house demolitions did more harm than good to Israel's security. Published: 2008/07/04 15:41:17 GMT © BBC MMVIII

Israeli casually shoots a handcuffed blindfolded Palestinian

I read about this incident yesterday on a Palestine online forum amongst a plethora of anti-Israel posts, and thought to myself.... I've read so many reports of outrageous Israeli acts which I believe are true, but many people don't think they are true, partly because they were not reported by mainstream media. Today I was browsing the Aljazeera English page on YouTube and saw the incident on tape, filmed by a human rights individual linked to B'tselem. When you SEE something like that happen(in contrast to reading about it), it sends a shock down your spine and your entire being shudders. Here's the video:

Waw

This is from a CNN article:

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Sunday that his country's disagreement with Britain over expanding settlements in the West Bank "should not stand in the way" of a peace agreement with the Palestinians.

"You criticized our settlement policy and I tried to explain to you the restraints which we put on ourselves on the one hand and the need to keep the pace of life going on, on the other hand," Olmert told visiting British Prime Minister Gordon Brown at a joint news conference in Jerusalem.

"And while you disagree with us, at least I hope you understand better the position of Israel on some of these issues."

Earlier in the day, Brown said Israel's expansion of settlements in the Palestinian territory of the West Bank "has made peace harder to achieve."

"It erodes trust. It heightens Palestinian suffering. It makes the compromises Israel will need to make for peace more difficult," Brown said at a news conference with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank city of Bethlehem.

"So we are very clear, not just Britain but the whole of the European Union, what should be done. We are also clear that the violence must stop too.

No comment.

Blacks, Arabs and Obama

On the road to the White House, has Barak Obama strategically and intentionally compromised certain issues to hedge against potential challenges ie. getting enough votes to win it? Naturally.

I refer specifically to issues dear to the hearts of Black voters, and Arab & Muslim voters; issues of social justice: civil rights for African Americans, and human rights for Palestinians.

Recently, and especially since Jesse Jackson's surprising comments, discontent amongs Blacks over Obama continued to surface into the mainstream. An NAACP board member said it's unfortunate that few civil rights activists have held Obama accountable for his lack of a civil rights agenda: "I think black America should have had this conversation a long time ago. The truth is in the early days of the campaign, not everyone was on board with Obama."

On the Palestinian rights issue, Obama's now infamous declation of an undivided Jerusalem for Israel was a slap in the face of Arabs and Muslims not only in America but accross the world. His statement came during an AIPCA speech he gave the day he clinched the democratic nomination. He set out to dispell claims by pro-Israel supporters that he was not fully committed to suporting the Jewish state, and what better way to achieve that than by trumping all previous presidential declarions of support?

The medie reported suggestions that the rift between Obama and Jackson might help Obama with white suburban voters. "If Jesse Jackson is against you, then [white people] figure you must be a good candidate," claims Melissa Lacewell, associate professor of politics and African-American studies at Princeton University (reported by Baltimore Sun). The same rationale goes for the Jewish and pro-Israel vote: If Arabs and Muslims are disappointed with a candidate, then ... this guy's our man!

Where does he really stand:

1. Is Obama playing the game to maximize his votes while planning to rescue these 2 issues at the core of many Blacks and Muslims needs, once he becomes president?
2. Do his positions on these 2 issues reflect his actual personal feelings about them?
3. Or, does he believe in rectifying these issues but plans to never do so, to continute to appease key political forces for the remainder of his career in public office?
   

A young Jordanian lady's new blog

Thanks to nas for pointing out this new blog called Observations of a Jordanian by a certain 18 year old Farah.

I usually check out 3 or 4 Jordanian blogs on a weekly basis, and I welcome the arrival of another high quality blog to quench my thrist for more.

Ibn Warraq admits to volunteering for the Israeli Army

Apparently this happened while living on a kibbutz in 1967. I must admit I was always curious to read Warraq's "Why I am not a Muslim" (1995) but after learning of this chapter in his youth and to hear it so proudly admitted.... I don't think I can take him seriously as a scholar. To volunteer for the Israeli Army as a total outsider, rather than to volunteer as a humanitarian aid worker on behalf of the Palestinian victims is a sign of moral confusion and poor judgment. Check out minute 6:

Israel Never Accountable for Anything

Israel denies injuring reporter

Israel has denied allegations by a journalist from Gaza that he was injured by Israeli security personnel.

Mohammed Omer says he was detained for four hours as he crossed from Jordan into the occupied West Bank on 26 June.

Afterwards, Israeli officers summoned a Palestinian ambulance to take Mr Omer to hospital in the West Bank.

Mr Omer emailed the BBC the following day, saying he had "difficulty in breathing and pain in my chest" because of the treatment he received.

He is now back in Gaza, where hospital doctors have diagnosed several broken ribs. They also say Mr Omer suffered a nervous breakdown.

The journalist, 24, was returning from London, where he had received the Martha Gellhorn prize for journalism. He has also contributed to the BBC news website.

An Israeli spokesman told the Reuters news agency that Mr Omer received "fair treatment" during his detention at the Allenby Bridge crossing.

He said officials carried out the body search because they suspected the journalist of smuggling.

"Humiliation"

Mohammed Omer, 24, says he was forced to strip to his underwear by an Israeli officer who then "snatched it down off me".

"They wanted to humiliate me. They asked silly questions about everything I had done during my trip to London and Europe and they made fun of me".

He says two officers dragged him by his legs, with his head on the floor, in front of other passengers. He says he then vomited and fainted.

The Israeli official said at the end of the search Mr Omer "lost his balance and fell, for some reason unknown to us".

"A team of medics, an ambulance and a paramedic were summoned and he was transferred for treatment to Jericho".

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/middle_east/7483801.stm

Published: 2008/07/01 18:30:02 GMT

© BBC MMVIII

System of a Down

If System of a Down were around during my teen years, they would have been a much bigger influence on me than the Nirvanas and the Metallicas of the early 90's.

Here is one of their lesser known songs called Radio/Video:

Discover System of a Down!

Obama over compensates at AIPAC

The barrage of accusations and pressure toward Obama's for his alleged lack of commitment to Israel, naturally caused him to go all out at the AIPAC Summit this week. I very smart move, as any faltering or hesitation here would have raised eyebrows, especially considering the high profile nature of this particular speech; the first as the presumed democratic nominee.

In this speech, he handed Israel everything but his first-born son, including Jerusalem as its undivided capital.

Israeli Fascism in Gaza

While I'm on the topic of Gaza, or rather Israeli crimes there, here's what happened yesterday while the international community slept.

"Residents in the Beit Hanoun area were summoned to a local square by Israeli troops with loudhailers before dozens were taken away, witnesses said."

According to a BBC article.

Fulbright Denied - Collective punishment continues

If we in the West were fuzzy about the concept of the Gaza strip being a virtual prison, or as Bishop Tutu called it "an abomination", Israel's inhumane and daily human rights crimes continued today in a more high profile fashion.

The US Fulbright Scholarship was withdrawn this week from 8 Palestinian residents of Gaza; young bright students who were awarded this prestigious and once in a lifetime opportunity to pursue higher education at American universities.

The reason?

Israel's ban on travel out of Gaza. Google News the word Fulbright today and you'll get 500 hits from news sites on the topic.

The US appears to be trying ot get Israel to reverse the decision, according to several articles. I expect the students will get to go eventually, and Israel will repair its image as the oppressor and denier of education.

In this New York Times article (which will become inaccessible to non subscribers next week), Rabbi Michael Melchior, chairman of the Israeli Parliament’s education committee is quoted as saying:

“This could be interpreted as collective punishment.”

Really?

Lebanon the Pawn

For about half the Lebanese people, Hezbollah's action is perhaps more stunning and worrying than the events of Hariri's assassination and the Israeli month-long attacks on the country. For the other half, it is a power trip, a crystallization of months, nay years, of growing power coupled with growing discontent with the status quo.

But for the West and its media, the events in Lebanon are quantified in how they effect America's progress in the Middle East; how George Bush's Middle East 'project' is faring.

This was the main page at Yahoo! News on Friday night, 22:15 EST.






















I'm not disputing the validity of the point made here, that the US now faces an even more complex challenge in the region. But is that headline worthy of a front page? It is akin to a front page headline a day after the Myanmar catastrophe describing the political situation in the immediate aftermath of the disaster instead of focusing on the thousands of victims.

Rich Arab-Americans vote Republican

From personal observation & experience - not from scientific data - I've found that wealthy Arab-American businessmen tend to lean Republican. They tend to be quite active as well.

Observe this press release that recounts how one such Arab-American was discarded, after years of campaigning for the Republican Party. And all Arab-Americans can do is "demand an apology".

Arab Americans seek apology from McCain campaign

DEARBORN 5/5/08 — The McCain presidential campaign made a major strategic error this week insulting the Arab American community when it cut a community leader and politically active Arab American Republican from its Michigan finance committee. The decision to remove Mr. Ali Jawad from the campaign effort came after protestations from a discredited blogger known for her hate language and ignorant rants against Arab Americans, American Muslims, the religion of Islam and American officals and public figures with whom she disagrees.

On Monday at 2:30 p.m., the leadership of the Arab American community held a press conference at the Lebanese American Heritage Club, 4337 Maple Road, in Dearborn to call on the McCain campaign for an apology for their hasty and insulting decision.

Ali Jawad

Ali Jawad, president of Armada Oil & Gas Company and founder of the Lebanese American Heritage Club, was cut from the campaign because of rumors begun by the discredited blogger that he has ties to Hizbullah. Jawad was one of six finance committee members listed in an invitation for a $2,300-per-ticket McCain fund-raising event next week at the Orchard Lake home of Compuware Corp. founder and Chief Executive Officer Peter Karmanos.

"The Michigan Republican Party and the McCain campaign need to be reminded that the blood of Arabs is red and the color of their money is green," said Osama Siblani, president of the Arab American Political Action Committee (AAPAC). "Mr. Jawad came to this country to live the American dream. He has been highly successful and has given much back to the community. This very week, 70 high school seniors will each be awarded $1000 scholarships by an organization begun by Jawad in the 1980s."

Jawad has contributed to many politicians, including Republicans such as Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox, 2006 gubernatorial candidate Dick DeVos and President George W. Bush. Jawad also has contributed to Democrats, including U.S. Rep. John Dingell of Dearborn and others.

source: http://www.arabamericannews.com/news/index.php?mod=article&cat=Community&article=1006

US Election fever

The American media appears to be having a ball this year, with primary election season stretching out this long, and this close. While for some supporters of and interested individuals the brutal race between Obama and Clinton is frustrating, for the masses it's pure entertainment. I think millions of Americans have actually watched more primary news than they have watches sports programing, which is in itself an achievement.

Th race is still going and Barak and Hilary are still "hitting out" at each other. Many feel that their attacks weaken the eventual winner in the contest against McCain. I disagree with that view. Say Obama advances to the final round, the amount of coverage and over-coverage of the Reverend Wright debacle has brought every possible issue to the forefront and forced Obama to deal with the controversy almost on a daily basis. Controversies, when they don't destroy a candidate's credibility, they often fade away. Obama will now have amuch easier time dealing with McCain team after overcoming the Clinton machine, and putting the Reverend garbage behind him.

Twain, Prejudice and Palestine

I was just reading Ramzy Baroud's latest article in Al-Ahram, which opened with a passage from Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer Abroad

"They own the [holy] land, just the mere land, and that's all they do own; but it was our folks, our Jews and Christians, that made it holy, and so they haven't any business to be there defiling it. It's a shame and we ought not to stand it a minute. We ought to march against them and take it away from them."

This was the voice of the fictional Tom Sawyer conversing with Huck Finn. I have not read any of Mark Twain's books, but have read that in some of his writings, including non-fiction such as The Innocents Abroad, the narration is laced with racial, cultural and religious prejudices.

Baroud's article, entitled "The US Palestine-Israel fairytale", ties in this old American attitude on Palestine with today's America, concluding with:

Until the gatekeepers of US culture are seriously challenged, Palestine will continue to reside in American imagination as a battle between good and evil, a "Holy Land" that must be wrested from the hands of those who might have owned the land, at some point, but now "haven't any business to be there defiling it."

Let them eat ka3k*

According to this Al-Jazeera report, bread shortages in Egypt are a/effecting a lot of people there. It looks like thousands have to spent all day waiting for a few loafs.. very productive use of time.
If this is the case in a a country with a thriving tourism industry and a government that gets hundreds of millions in US aid, can you imagine what it is like economically for people in Gaza? Is this the bottom of the barrel for us, the Arabic speaking peoples? Some argue the bottom was in 1967. But I think that was the beginning of the decent into humiliation, a decent that remains in effect. Even our bastions of prosperity, the Gulf states, suffer from a shortage of civil liberties and human rights, and are barren in terms of institutions of higher education, research and innovation. At least in South America and Africa you got some democratization going on... this phenomenon seems to have eluded us.



* Ka3k [Ka'k] is a larger and softer version of a bagel.

Two-term limit - but can they switch?

First I have to excuse myself for not writing about the events in Gaza, the West Bank, and the new settlement activity. For some reason many of us become speechless over the seriousness of the tagedies unfolding there. My only consolement, if that's the right term, is that I am doing my part towards overturning the ongoing injustice for Palestinians.

Speaking of terms, then, the feature topic in this post is: US PRESIDENTIAL term limits.

A person cannot serve more that 2 terms as president, we all know that. But, can the president and vice-president switch roles and do another 8 years?

There is no law stating that an 2-term VP cannot run & be president for another 8 years, Al Gore was supposed to acomplish that in 2000.

If we do get the "unstoppable ticket" of Hilary & Obama together, can they switch around after 8 years and run again?

Labor Series

In typical poor taste, combined with high fashion, we bring you the latest line of cool teeshirts, the Labor series:

Unfair coastline appropriation

Post colonial borders in the Middle East often don't make much sense. Most Middle Easterners, myself included, don't know how these borders came to be; how was the Lebanese border decided; how the Syrian-Iraqi border was decided; to name a few.

Carving Kuwait out of the northern tip of the Persian gulf is one striking example of disproportionate coastline appropriation towards Iraq. Iraq's land borders with neighboring countries are 3650 km long, while its coastline is only 58 km, giving a ration of 63:1.


























Another example of a coastline atrocity is in Bosnia & Herzegovina. The former Yugoslav state is surrounded by Croatia from the north and west, and is denied sea access by thin strip of Croatian land running along the Adriatic coast like a sick joke. B&H's land borders are 1459 km with only 20 km of beach. That's a ridiculous 73:1 ratio. Croatia on the other hand enjoys a 1777 km mainland coastline, 4058 km islands coastline.






















If I were Bosnian I'd protest.

As for Jordan, the situation is less severe. I wouldn't say Jordan was cheated out of deserved beached, after all, the south of Jordan was more or less part of Saudi Arabia at the time the Ottoman Empire fully disintegrated over 90 years ago. Jordan's current land borders are 1635 km long; coastline is 26 km long; ratio: 63:1, identical to Iraq's coastline/land-border ratio. Makes you think the British picked this exact figure on purpose when they drew our border for us! But Jordan actually was given 12-18 extra km's on the Red Sea from Saudi in a 1965 agreement.

Best Seller - Jesus is Palestinian

After my experiment 3 years ago with TeeShirtat, along with 3 other friends/partners, there is one TeeShirt that people still ask about. Indeed it was the one that caused the most discussion and debate. Here it is:

23 die on Jarash Road. See cartoon.

At least 23 killed and 33 injured on the road between Amman and Jarash. The victims remain nameless in the mainstream media, perhaps because they are too many for quick sound/text bites, or perhaps its a class thing.

Check out this hilarious video, that is apparently an effort to raise awareness and caution for safer driving:



Art imitating life? (photo by nader daoud. cartoon by.... i dunno)

Free markets, bad people

It turns out Adam Smith was very suspicious of business people, that they were always out to cheat people. But he believed that it was better for us all to be "bad" than to have one bad person in charge of us all...... mmmmmm capitalism, noble capitalism.

Hedging Donor Risk

Listen from 2:55 to 3:38

Lobbyists

Pop Culture is subconsciously pedophilic

As my wife, not me, was browsing through the Perez Hilton site, this magazine cover caught my eye as odd. Actually it was something I've wondered about recently. Are popular, mainstream standards of beauty and sex appeal so obsessed with the petite, skinny, tiny female body to the point where it looks almost like a child's body? I don't mean to impose my own or any one notion of female beauty, but I criticize this because when GQ have a celeb in a bikini on the cover, they want the photo to be flattering, sexy, classy, bla bla bla all the good stuff. Take away her head and tell me she doesn't look like she could be 14?






















Women's bodies in all kinds of media have been slimming down gradually in the last 100 hundred years. Are people's tastes for skinnier & skinnier looks dictating what the media dished out? Or is the media make us find skinnier women more & more attractive?

FOX NEWS. The F stands for Fun!

Fox News is fun, there's no doubt about it. It's trashy and sensational. Check this out:



Check out more BraveNewFilms here

Jailed Bloggers

Last month Saudi's arguably most renowned blobber, Fouad Al-Farhan was arrested and incarcertaed without access to his wife & kids.



Here's a project that is worth looking into if interested in freedom of speech, especially online:

Israel's false friends

U.S. presidential candidates aren't doing the Jewish state any favors by offering unconditional support.

By John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt
January 6, 2008

Read the article here: http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/sunday/commentary/la-op-mearsheimer6jan06,1,6831048.story?ctrack=1&cset=true

How Obama may lose

Barak Obama surprised most with his win in Iowa, although his impressive lead will most probably shrink in New Hampshire. Why? Think of the stock market. When a stock takes a beating in one day, it bounces back a little the following day (think Hillary). A soaring stock on the other hand usually comes back down to earth after a big spike.

But really the one thing that can hurt Obama the most: Support & promotion from the wrong people.

Michael Moore has already spoken against Hillary Clinton and favors Obama. But I'm talking about the nightmarish possibility that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinijad opens his mouth in support of Obama at some point down the line. What if an al-Qaeda recording is released that criticizes Clinton and praises Obama? It could happen.

Telemarketing scam?

Over the last few days I have been getting missed calls from this UK number: 08707181920

I googled it and found a series of forums with people discussing the number as they have been getting calls from it as well. Apparently it's a scam where the scammers call and hang up and entice you to call back.. How do they gain from your calling them back? I don't know... and I'm too busy to find out myself.
Here's the link to the discussion:
http://whocallsme.com/Phone-Number.aspx/08707181920

Another Bubble

Facebook: $15 billion
Ford: $16 billion

The power of YOU! Haha.
I personally think there will be a bubble bursting situation when people get over electronic social networking and start using something even more advanced and convenient.... OK maybe not in our lifetime.

WikiRaabish - WikiTravel is weak

I checked out WikiTravel for Amman and what a piece of shit entry that is.

Visit Amman's Roman Amphitheatre or study in the University of Jordan or stay in the luxurious Marriott. Malls are abundant in Jordan.

Why don't I go log in and fix it? Because it would be too tempting to vandalize the page and post funny sheep photos.

Facebook shadyness

So facebook is now tracking the activities of logged-off users., which is kinda scary , but more insulting really. My question is though, what if I use both Explorer and Firefox when I browse the web... can facebook track you across different browsers?

innit

Pee & Poo

A droplet of urine and a pile of shit are the protagonists in this brilliant moment of stuffed-toy merchandising. I want one.
To get one go to the Pee & Poo shop

The Ultimate Solution to Debt

Great ad