Cancer in Jordan

Jordanians:

• spend more on tobacco products than on health care and education combined
• eat fruits and vegetables that aren't in season and larger in size than organically possible (huge tomatoes anyone?)
• consume animal fats (سمن بلدي، زبدة بلدية مع سُكر، لية خروف) like there's no tomorrow
• rival Americans in obesity
• look at exercise as a childish activity
• use plastic for everything from storing water in the fridge and freezing foods to microwaving leftovers
• have an unmatched rate of diabetes

what do Jordanians say about Cancer in Jordan?
Israel and its Dimona Nuclear Plant

this post was brought to you as part of NBC's "the more you know" campaign."

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Arab trivia

• Arab Adult men's beards grow at an average of 1mm every 24 hours
• Arab men kiss an average of 7.3 men a day. Arab women: 8.2 women. The average Arab kisses 9.8 Arabs of both sexes, strokes the hair of 3.6 children, and makes gogo-gaga noises at 2.8 babies a day.  
• Arabs have the highest concentration of uni-brows in the world. Other countries of the Mediterranean round up the top five
• Arabs' spending on tobacco products in the year 2009 was greater than the national domestic product of the countries Samoa, Vanuatu, Saint Kitts and Nevis, American Samoa, Guinea-Bissau, Dominica, Tonga, Micronesia, São Tomé and Príncipe, Cook Islands, Palau, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Anguilla, Tuvalu, and Niue....combined
• 70% of Arabs read less than one book a year but are able to wrongly debate you for 23.2 hours straight
• the average Arab creates 3.7 email accounts a year
• 5 out of every 6 Jordanians will name Mansaf as their favorite meal of all time. Under oath, only 1 out of 3 remained faithful to the Mansaf
• The average Jordanian facebook user has 87 friends on the site but can only name 20% of them if shown a photo

You are welcome to add your own vital statistics pertaining to Arabs in the comments section. 

35% of this post was brought to you by a مكرمة

the rest was bootstrapped! 

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Palestinians need to launch operation "إللي بيستحي بتروح عليه"

in order to get things going and build a solid future for the people of Palestine, the Palestinian government needs to do the following:

1. declare a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders
2. solicit recognition from as many countries as possible
3. put together a security force that will kick out settlers and IOF personnel
4. since they are no match, the UN will intervene along with other peace keepers
5. Urgency will be given to the situation

if you've been following the situation, Israel doesn't seem to be caring at all to the pleads of the American government or any other; they haven't accepted a 100% normalization with all Arab countries guaranteed by the Arab peace initiative; nor have they showed any sign that they are willing to be a good neighbor.

it's time to go "all in" and get it over with. the Palestinian government could either be a legitimate force and actively end the daily humiliation and the slow, but sure, decimation of west bank land, or they could just learn how to speak Hebrew.

for over 60 years, Israel has been taking over land in every direction. it's actually a more viable country than all Arab countries put together, i.e. there is no annihilation possible with sling shots and Hamas fireworks of rockets. therefore, Palestinians need to stop relying on other Arab leaders' slogan and statements of condemnation and play for all the marble once and for all.

مبعوص يشجب و يستنكر و يدين التصريحات الاسرائيلية المشينة الداعية لزعزعة امن و إستقرار المنطقة و يناشد تدخل المجتمع الدولي للحيلولة دون الوقوع في دوّامة الصراع الاقليمي

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the need for a "Habitat for Humanity" in Jordan

Habitat for Humanity is a worldwide non-profit organization that aims to build housing for those in need. The houses are not given away. People to whom the house is built pay a down payment and a monthly mortgage. The overall cost, however, is a lot less than the commercial method of acquiring a house. The savings come by way of volunteer labor, homeowners' own work on the house, and a lot of material and monetary donations.

Habitat for Humanity operates in Jordan. In the past nine years they've helped 539 families into becoming homeowners. The worldwide numbers are about 350,000 families.

The numbers are very impressive given the non-profit nature of this organization. At the same time, I couldn't but think of the miserable failure the "decent housing" project ended up being. It was a project to build 100,000 housing units for an average cost of JD 35,000, which is JD 3.5 Billion (~$5 Billion). However the greed of some government officials put the kiss of death on a project that was supposed to solve a huge societal and economical problem facing Jordanians.

The streamlining of a national habitat for humanity project, on steroids, employing Jordanians, to build housing for other Jordanians is a sure way to alleviate the suffering of those living the harsh winters and grossly unhealthy housing conditions.

After looking at the website of the Jordanian chapter, I think it has been in hibernation mode for a while. I am sure that partnering with fresh blood (i.e nakhweh.com) would revitalize their mission and help many in the process.

This post was brought to you by wa7ad zahgaaaaaaaan, but the message he's trying to convey is 100% sincere

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#FreeNetJo

In a country that parades the accomplishments of Maktoob, et al, it's a shame that we still have to fight for the simple right of expressing our opinions.

For a King that spent most of his life in a world that made of censoring what people say and withholding the information they seek a major sin, to do just that to his own people is a great disappointment.

For a Queen that is an avid user of web2.0 social media, who tweets about solving world problems in Educating youth, women rights, and interfaith understanding, it's a shame that her own people still are afraid to openly speak their mind and question the status quo.

I am probably the least qualified to write about the subject of Internet censorship in a place where I don't live. However, I, on a daily basis, experience the disgrace of Jordanian policies to build a cloak between the people and the truth and, at the same time, threatening those that do cross the ignominious lines of "free speech" with misery in the name of national security. I experience it through the lives of my fellow Jordanians that have to many times reread everything they wish to post, comment on, or merely view on the web for fear of persecution. I feel for my people who live a constant state of doubting their opinions and in many cases resort to abandon the subject matter all together.

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The Amazing Jordanian Spring (B4JO)

It's that time of year when hills turn green, the weather is perfect, and the sun shines from behind the few passing clouds. It's those days preceding the official closure of Winter and ushering in the beautiful Jordanian Spring, when flowers sprout up, leaves cover the trees, and the smell of jasmine fills the air.

Wait a second, did you seriously think I was going to continue with a lame ass, gay post about how great Spring is in Jordan? The same crap happens every freakin' year in every country around the world. So, why I am writing about Spring, you may ask? Well, there's a saying in Arabic attributed to Al Hajjaj Al Thaqafi (الحجاج الثقفي) that goes:

إني أرى رؤوسا قد أينعت و حان وقت قطافها

Loosely translated: I see people that are exceeding their authority and it's time to break their necks!

That's exactly what's happening in our beloved Jordan. To help you visualize the situation, think of Jordan as one pie, (or a سدر منسف, if you prefer!), and many forces, including the royal family, are vying for a piece of said pie. However, some people have called shotgun a long time ago, and those that ignore the roles of the game get arrested and tried, by the National Security Court nothing less, have their assets frozen, and their names dragged through the mud.

So, are we finally seeing a proactive and effective Anti Corruption Commission?

The easy and truthful, albeit painful, answer is: No. See, our esteemed Jordan is owned, literally and metaphorically, by the same corrupt few that are calling for an end to corruption. You might get all patriotic and go all Hashmi-Hashmi on me, and I really would hate to burst you bubble, but that is what it is.

Therefore, next time you are in charge of a major project, some useless commission, or just sitting on your ass at the fourth circle just like every other inept adviser, every time you do that make sure fat Tony is happy. Because if he is not, he might just as well make you an offer you can't refuse.

this post was brought to you with a generous donation of صرر مصاري from:

جهات خارجية تعمل لصالح فئات معينة تهدف لزعزعة استقرار و امن الوطن

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عرمرم

In the history of Arabic media, I don't think there was ever a news organization that sincerely cared about what the people had to say. That was the norm until aramram.com showed up. Not only in the area of content, but also the medium of delivery. Being broadcast on the web, its audience could be thousands of miles away, but couldn't be any closer for the spontaneity of the topics handled and the frank opinions of the people interviewed. No government ass-kissing, no hidden financial gains to go after, and no hidden goals. (Just to clarify, I read somewhere that they're funded by a USAID grant. That shouldn't be a reason in anyway to lessen of the importance of the outlet they've created to let Jordanians voice their opinions)

One particular episode that cemented their effort of presenting both sides of a story was a video about the slaughtering of pigs in Al Karak.

Although the imagery isn't the most appetizing, the underlining hypocrisy of the government is shown in the brightest of colors. My favorite was when the spokesperson for the Ministry of the Environment said that those pigs were slaughtered in a humane manner. The immediate scene following his words was that of a slaughtering worker "humanely" kicking a piglet across the barn in a very gentle, mother like kick to the abdomen that sent it flying a few meters.

Of course aramram.com has already amassed an enormous library of great videos depicting life in Amman and other parts of Jordan and numerous interviews with Jordanians, where they are asked to voice their concerns and opinions. One great thing is that not once have I heard the words "الحكومة الرشيدة" being uttered by any one in those interviews. Also, I just have to mention Taxi Man and his hilarious take on Jordanian traditions and the daily life of a taxi driver in Jordan.

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Qatar Announces Plans for World's Highest Building

A name for this Mile-high tower is still in the deliberation stage. However, sources tell mab3oos that Sheikha Mouza is very involved in the naming committee and a name should be revealed in the coming days.

this post was brought to you by a generous contribution from Dr. Phil

"I could be making a killing treating Arab leaders of FUSE*"

*Freakishly UN-Solvable Egoism

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