twitter and democracy. things that bother me!

twitter has been adopted by many celebrities and other big shot names as a way to stay in touch with the masses. But, as they keep on racking up followers, they don't seem to be following as many. Come think of it, these big names appear to be following themselves. So, nothing really changed by adopting new social networking venues. These people keep on dispersing the same messages towards the public and receive the messages of the elite few. I really despise these arrogant personalities that take on twitter, for example, and become friends with the same few they would be associated with in the real world and still pepper the public with the same headlines, slogans, and stale quotes. examples: @queenrania, @HHShkMohd, & @SenJohnMcCain

the other thing that keeps bothering me is the glorifying of Arab leaders. How could they accept, and in many cases demand, such unsubstantiated respect and admiration. In all democracies the world over leaders are often grilled over deteriorating economic and social conditions and are usually not reelected for subsequent terms if things don't improve. For Arab leaders this concept never seems to be an option. for ones that allow elections, the result seems to to always be in the %99-%99.9 range. for others, the throne is a god given right. and, in both cases, the amazing, make believe accomplishments are always paraded and celebrated in a very sad way!

The new online media ruling

If you haven't been under a rock the past few days, you probably heard of the new Censored Jordanian court ruling that's making online content fall under media laws. These stone age, Censored laws, even though they were recently amended, are already limiting the freedom of Censored press, let alone limiting the extent to which people can express their Censored opinions online.This Censored government, which came into office with high Censored hopes, is trying to curtail the success of many online news outlets and the space that many people flock to to express, discuss, and debate. However, the Censored Judicial system in Jordan, which is no where near being Censored independent from the Censored executive branch, is merely acting on تنسيب from those with Censored influence.
What I really think of this law is that it's a Censored Censored Censored Censored Censored Censored Censored Censored Censored Censored Censored Censored Censored Censored Censored Censored Censored Censored Censored Censored Censored Censored.
Thia law if isn't official censorship, it will lead to it. People will be afraid of truly expressing their opinions and will resort to writing in code and/or not write at all. They will not be exposing shortcomings, investigating wrong doing, or critiquing government policies. And, in the absence of a parliament, any parliament, this law is in effect a way to cancel out the space between floor and ceiling. eh, raising ceilings my Censored!

My Goals for 2010

It's said that not writing your goals renders them wishes. If you do write them, you will always have a reminder, a chance to revisit and adjust, and a way to monitor your progress. Therefore, this year I am writing my goals for next year, عل و عسى I stick to them and hopefully accomplish something worthy. Here we go:

1. Punch an elderly person in the face (cane/walker user preferred)
2. put glass bottles behind the wheels of parked cars
3. throw a bag of nails on the highway
4. scream racial slurs at random people while driving
5. fill out ratemyprofessors.com with nasty reviews for all my former professors
6. borrow books from the library and tear many pages out from the middle
7. park next to the cemetery on Sunday and play "it's good to be alive" loudly
8. pick up all the flowers from #8 and sell them
9. walk up to a parent and tell them their baby is hideous
10. Implement and add to my How to be an أخو شلن post

I urge you all to think about and write down your own goals. Also, remember to use a tool in setting your goals, such as SMART/SMARTER.

Jordan's Next Prime Minister

There are a few families in Jordan that are in complete control of local politics in the country. These families, to the trained eye, seem to be playing a game of musical chairs, when it comes to the position of Prime Minister. As the news of Sameer Al Rifai's appointment starts to subside, and given the short lives of Jordanian governments, one can only speculate on the identity of the next to hold the position. However, mab3oos has made a pledge to never spread rumors, only researched facts. Therefore, after many nights of deciphering and fact checking, the three who will be running around when the music starts again are:

• Al Masri (possibly Nashat)
• Al Majali (Sahil or Shadi)
• Naser Al Lowzi

Have your say because you can't otherwise (i.e. actually vote for a PM):

p.s. the above names were the result of a major assumption: that King Abdullah continues with tapping the younger generation of the same old faces.

For less important positions, such as ministerial, there seems to be talk that Reem Badran will test the waters for the trade minister position as a stepping stone to be named the first female prime minister in the Arab World. This will definitely enhance Jordan's spurious claim of gender equality.

Who is not an entrepreneur

Being an entrepreneur is not something that is taught. It definitely takes on many shapes and many routes lead to it. Although it is hard to describe how to become one, generally an entrepreneur is defined as someone that starts a venture and assuming, in the process, all risks associated with it. However, since it's hard to pinpoint the intrinsic qualities of an entrepreneur, defining what is NOT is a lot easier.

• If you are tweeting links of yesterday's tech and startup news, you are not an entrepreneur
• If you spam your social network connections with famous quotes from the basement of your parents' house, you are definitely not an entrepreneur
• If your daddy is a big-shot prime minister, who connected you to big-shot CEOs to help you start a company, you are not a freakin' entrepreneur
• If you stole your idea from a successful company and bragged about being able to have a 1% market share, you are an IP thief, not an entrepreneur
• If you technically live in conference halls and auditoriums and participate in workshops for topics you're interested in, but actually do not understand because you're basically an iPhone next to a لوح, you are not an entrepreneur
• If you are reading this post and got angry because it conflicts with your fake sense of entrepreneurship, you are not a god damn entrepreneur

This post was brought to you by the mab3oos Center for Entrepreneurship.

Our one month long workshops for 2010 commence on January 4th and cost $1000+ materials. But, we give you a certificate to frame and hang in the above mentioned basement proving you're a sucker, not an Entrepreneur.

Jordanian media, social media, and general garaf

الصحفي: آه يا حجة، شو رأيك بالحكومة؟

الحجة: الله يكصف عمرها الحكومة. إحنا شو جاينا غير خوازيك من وراها هالحكومة. رفع أسعار، كذب بنكّط تنكيط، و نهب من كل جهة. من وين بدنا إنكرّي العيال، منو بده يجي هان و يسمع صوتنا و يفك كربنا. يا خالتي خلّيني ساكته. هذي حكومة لناس و ناس

التقرير الصحفي: "هذا و عن سؤال إحدى المواطنات عن الاحداث السياسية الاخيرة في المملكة، اجابت الحاجة أُم علي وفي قلبها حسرة بأن الاحوال الاقتصادية لم تبرح مكانها جراء البرامج الحكومية المتتالية لكنها و جهت شكرها و إمتنانها للحكومة الرشيدة على الجهود التي تبذلها لكف الآثار الناجمة عن الازمة الاقتصادية العالمية. و ثمنّت الحاجة أُم علي دور الحكومة في تطبيق القوانين و السعي على شمول جميع طبقات المجتمع في سياساتها الاقتصادية و التنموية في ظِل القيادة الهاشمية الميمونة

Social Media:

• Join our "Umm Ali group" on facebook
• Join us on Thursday for a workshop on Investigative Journalism
• Join us next month for the first annual "poverty and politics" conference at the Mövenpick-Dead Sea to discuss how we can bring attention to Umm Ali's concerns. Speakers to include rich people, high level government officials, and representatives of regional NGOs

This post was brought to you by a garfan citizen who really cares but disgusted by the incompetence of Jordanian media, social media, and people's love affair with good for nothing "conferences."

Jordan: the 30 year old still living with his parents

Not just that. His parents also live with their parents. This 30 yo projects a picture of independence to his peers, but goes home every day to get his allowance from the parents and grandparents. He is not allowed to make major decisions, he is not allowed to veer off the family's prescribed route, nor he is allowed to have friends over without a prior consent from the home owners, the grandparents.

Jordan is this guy that says he's independent, but still has to run things by those in the position of parents, i.e. Saudi Arabia and Egypt, and the uninvited, spoiled uncle that doesn't really give a damn: Israel. These, consequently, turn to the grandparents for protection, money, and influence to tell them what to do. The grandparents are the US, EU, and lately, more increasingly, China.

This 30 yo is not single, he's been married since the age of 7 and never got a grasp on going for it alone and learning of a way to gain real independence. Despite their burning desires to progress and be like the grandparents' overseas children, Jordan's children are always told stories of horror that happened to the ones that ask too many questions and disrupt the calm of the living room. They dream of the day that their father would just pack and leave to a place where he's the real master of his domain. However, their father has always been made an offer he has until today not refused.

Beware of what Identity you assume!

Throughout the time I was enjoying being me,I never thought that being myself sometimes will limit what I can do and who I can contact.

Recently I started working on a project that requires networking with Arabs in a certain area of expertise. many of those Arabs know me as mab3oos. They're on facebook, twitter, and they actually read this blog. The question I am dreading is:

How did you know about us?

this post was brought to you by a generous donoation from the Gallab Think Tank.
"we are full of it"

The Elitism of Jordan's Social Networking

Since the very beginning of my days on fb and blogging, I've had this feeling that Jordanians on Social Networking portals, be it fb, twitter, or blogs, belonged to the mid-high or high class of Jordan's society. The make up of Jordanians on such social networks, therefore, is not a true representation of Jordan as a whole.
Facebook might portray a more comprehensive picture, however, it remains captive to the younger age group, such as high school and university students. Also, given the low rate of Internet penetration and ownership of Internet-connected computers in Jordanian households, the presence of Jordanians on Social Networking sites remains reserved to those financially able to own a computer, maintain an Internet connection, and have the "network effect" to dynamize their presence and contributions.

I know the above is not a finished thought or that it shows actual data. But, I thought of writing it down here and share.

Any thoughts?

Migrate vs. Immigrate vs. Emigrate

Migrate: for humans and animals. It conveys the seasonal or periodical movement. It signifies the actual action of movement from a place to another.

Emigrate: The prefix e- (or ex-) usually means "out of" or "from."

Immigrate: The prefix im- (or in-) often means "in" or "into."

If I migrate from Germany to France, I would emigrate from the point of view of Germany and immigrate from the point of view of France

Therefore, emigrate means "to move out of" and immigrate means "to move into."

here