Links of the week

I don’t care if its the middle of the week. All my diction is dripping with disdain today anyway.

First up, check out the sister and Sepoy’s brilliant summary of the FIA Red Book.  Why hasn’t this book been nominated for the Commonwealth Writers Prize, hainjee?

The strangest music video I have seen in a very, very long time.

The greatest film of all time (/end sarcasm) is sparking a strange political wave in Bahrain. (Via Fahad)

Screw nuclear weapons. Pakistan has a FACE READER on its side.

From Qifa Nabki: the iPhone app store comes to Lebanon.

And now, a special mention for the New York Times, which has a truly ridiculous article about sidewalks and benches in Amman. I kid you not. The streets in question are Wakalat Street (an ode to consumerism, if there was ever one) and Rainbow Street (where Brangelina bought ice cream) and marvels at how ‘benches’ seem to have changed this city.

It also features a quote that I personally found quite hilarious:

If you’re a girl and you’re just hanging out on a regular street or sitting on a sidewalk, it’s considered inappropriate,” said Reem al-Hambali, 20, as she sat in the bright winter sun along the first pedestrian plaza built here. “Everyone will look at you and ask, ‘Why is this girl sitting there?’ But here it’s O.K. We can sit here and it’s normal.

What Amman is this?! Its definitely not the Amman I lived in, where sitting on the street – any street – was perfectly fine. The only time I had a ‘strange’ experience trying to hail a cab in Jordan while sitting on the side of the road was, err, this.

Reads and rants of the week

I was going to post an update on my life, but then I realized no one wants to read that. There’s nothing fun about descriptions of crying while babysitting my cat or sitting in the dark during an electricity blackout discussing the merits of the various kinds of Cornettos. That’s not what you come to this blog for. (Well, according to the stats most people are here for pictures of giant rabbits, Michael Jackson and Bilawal Bhutt0-Zardari) But anyway, here’s the list of things you should read.

Firstly, the brilliant George Packer piece on Richard Holbrooke and the war in Afghanistan. I think I’m going to end up re-reading this several times during this week.

The Masood Hasan op-ed published in The News last Sunday. Masood Hasan is always incredibly acerbic, but it was worth reading the paper just for this quote:

Wearing the flag of Pakistan on their imported designer suits impresses nobody, because this kind of patriotism is not worth a rat’s ass.

And this:

The prime minister thunders as drones waltz in Pakistani airspace. No one will dare mess about with Pakistan’s virginal sovereignty, he roars. I am sorry to shatter the dream, but this ain’t no virgin. In fact it’s been had by just about everybody and the rates hit rock bottom years ago. So shout as much as you like. No one is fooled.

Also, Newsweek redeems itself whenever it runs stories like this one: The Taliban in Their Own Words, comprised of quotes from Taliban leaders on their lives post-9/11. Reads like an unbelievable film script.

Writing in the Guardian, Dan Gillmor proposes 22 new rules of news.

On a personal note, I am fairly upset that I never ran into a Hollywood A-list couple while walking on Rainbow Street in Amman. I saw that road being built,  inhaled the dust, walked over the mountains of sand amassed at the site, broke in a pair of heels there, used it about 10 times a day and the only celebrity encounter I had was finding someone who resembled Saddam Hussein.

Meanwhile, I continue to be amused at the critique of the Emanuel Ungaro S/S show and Lindsay Lohan’s role as artistic advisor. I compiled some of the comments for a desk story today (mental note: repeat to anyone who thinks they got a bad review) and my favourite so far is by Hilary Alexander:

My heart goes out to Lindsay Lohan. Right now, she is getting a taste of just how brutal the fashion jungle can be when the claws are unsheathed. . .and it is not a pleasant experience. Judging from some of the comments I heard as I left the Ungaro show this afternoon, she can expect a savaging.

Not just coffee – your food is made of blood too.

It ain’t just Starbucks. Jordanian activists are calling for a ban on Nestle, McDonalds and Coca-Cola as well.

From The Jordan Times:

Dozens of youth activists held a sit-in on Thursday in front of an American fast-food restaurant in the capital calling for a nationwide boycott of US companies that they claim are financially supporting Israel.

Gathering in front of the McDonald’s branch on University Street yesterday, participants raised pictures of Gaza victims and banners urging people not to buy US and Israeli commodities and distributed flyers listing several companies’ alleged links to Israel.

“We will boycott, we don’t care… your food is full of blood,” they chanted, in reference to the more than 1,000 Palestinians killed by the Israeli military offensive in Gaza over the last 20 days.

The protest was part of the newly formed “Move” campaign, which aims at promoting the boycott of US and Israeli products in Jordan upon allegations that company revenues go to support the Israeli military.

Organisers said the campaign aims at reviving a similar initiative that was taken in Jordan and neighbouring countries during the last Palestinian Intifada, or uprising against the Israeli occupation in 2000.

Then, Syrian colas and Arab food products gained popularity among young people in the country, replacing American items, activist Fakher Daas told The Jordan Times.

Your coffee is made of blood.

I don’t know if this actually happened – and if it did, it would be truly ironic (for a number of very obvious reasons) and makes me wonder if it happened at that mammoth Starbucks outlet in Abdoun, but an acquaintance had this as his Facebook status yesterday:

Jordanian protesters are gathering infront of Starbucks calling for boycotting companies that support Israel, and shouting “your coffee is made of blood”.

Clearly, not what anyone would like to hear as they sip their lattes. But apparently there was a protest in Beirut yesterday that caused latte-drinkers to flee. From the AP report:

About one hundred demonstrators angry with Israel’s offensive in the Gaza Strip shut down a Starbucks store Tuesday, shouting anti-Israel slogans and causing customers inside to flee.
The protesters said they targeted the store because they claim that Howard Schultz, the company’s CEO, chairman and president, donates money to the Israeli military. A spokeswoman for the Seattle, Washington-based conglomerate called accusations Starbucks supports Israel “false” and said the political preferences of one of its employees has no bearing on the company’s policies.

The demonstrators hung several banners on the shop’s window and used white tape to paste a Star of David over the green-and-white Starbucks sign.

The protesters also distributed a letter saying Schultz “is one of the pillars of the American Jewish lobby and the owner of the Starbucks,” which they said donates money to the Israeli military.

AP also quotes from a statement released by Starbucks earlier this month,

Rumors that Starbucks Coffee Company and its management support Israel are unequivocally false. Starbucks is a non-political organization and does not support political causes. Further, the political preferences of a Starbucks partner (employee) at any level have absolutely no bearing on Starbucks company policies.

AP photo – the defaced Starbucks logo

Get your keffeiyah on.

In the midst of the Gaza crisis, with over 400 people dead, Jordan Times ran a story yesterday on how the crisis has boosted the sale of keffeiyahs. The story is straight out of something one would’ve seen on The Onion.

Demand on the traditional black-and-white Arab head cover (kufiyah or shmagh) has increased in Jordan since the ongoing Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip started Saturday, as people find it a way to express solidarity with Gazans.

The scene of people in Jordan wearing the head cover has been familiar in Jordan’s streets and places of work throughout the week.

Garment shopkeepers said kufiyah sales have nearly tripled since Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip began early this week.

… acknowledging that wearing the emblematic head cover would do nothing to help the Palestinians in their plight, Qassem said: “After all, the entire Arab nation is helpless and unable to do anything.”

And wearing keffeiyahs will save the world.

Missing Ramadan in Amman

1. Having iftar with Huda’s family and eating more food than I had in a month in one evening. Topped off by turkish coffee and strawberry cheesecake. And realizing that in a different country, you make your own family.
2. Going to Jafra / Balad al Rasheed for post-iftar arguileh
3. Trying to get a table at Hashem and hearing the ‘falafel shabab!’ yells and sounds
4. Cooking my own sehri and iftar. Eating iftar on the patio under the orange tree.
5. And perhaps the most important – feeling at peace and realizing I was fasting for me.

Random weekend thoughts

The top ten things I miss about Amman (in no order of preference. except Hashem)

1. Hashem.
2. Having karkadeh and shisha at Balad al Rasheed. Free coffee refills at Books@ is a close second..
3. Lebanese pastries at 1 AM..or any other time when I was too lazy/tired to cook
4. Darat al Funun – the sheer beauty of the building, the amazing art exhibits, drinking tea next to the fountain, the films, the view..
5. Walking in Jabal Webdeih
6. The Starbucks terrace on a sunny Friday afternoon. I recently discovered Cups n Kilos in al Rabieh which was far better for working on a lazy afternoon.
7. Free concerts
8. Random kindness
9. Always being mistaken to be Arab or Jordanian.
10. Feeling like a local in a city that was not quite mine, but not quite foreign either.

And two rather differing viewpoints on moving back home – both of which have struck a chord:

Mohammad Hanif on swapping London for Karachi

..and this quote from Prozac Nation:

Homesickness is just a state of mind for me. I’m always missing someone or someplace or something. I’m always trying to get back to some imaginary somewhere. My life has been one long longing.

Why do I have to leave now when I am finally, finally comfortable with the person I have become here, when I feel like a local and am super efficient work-wise – it doesn’t seem to make sense that in a few days (fingers crossed) I will have no use for all of this, none at all.

Saturday shenanigans

Oh dear God. After days like today, I should just keep a big stash of the happy pills nearby.

I’m taking care of Nadim’s cat, Shamsy, for the weekend. Shamsy is an adorable cat – he’s actually affectionate and sleeps next to me (which I think is rather strange, having Smoky, who only follows you around if you have chocolate or a new box of Meow/Whiskas biscuits) and is generally rather well-behaved, except when he hits your nose to wake you up (seriously) or gets confused finding the litter box and pees on the floor.

This morning, Shamsy went outside into our small garden and climbed up a tree. He’s tiny and is always within arm’s reach so I wasn’t too worried..until he skimmed up the tree. And got stuck. Having a cat stuck in a tree is something I’ve only heard in cartoons, but believe me, it is not funny when it happens to you. In 30 minutes, I survived the worst panic attack I’ve ever had (22 is too young to have a heart attack, but today, it was highly possible), stood on a chair next to the tree to talk to Shamsy in Arabic, English and Urdu and get him to come down, while he meowed, perched on a branch, hissed at a bird flying overhead and played with the pears on the tree. I thought of all possible solutions: running out to find a ladder, yelling at the neighbour’s boys for help, climbing up the wall so I could reach him, cutting down the tree branches so it would be easier for him to get down..all the while thinking if something happened to him I would have to kill myself, because Nadim would do that once he got back. I put my hands on the tree so Shamsy would feel more reassured, and eventually he did manage to get down and I grabbed him, hugged him and then took him inside. Following which he promptly fell into a deep afternoon slumber, and I pondered whether 1 PM was too early to start drinking.

Obviously, the drama of my afternoon didn’t end there. I left the house and had the craziest taxi driver who was intent on having a car accident – because he seemed more preoccupied with using his phone than touching the steering wheel. I said ‘ya Allah madad’ to myself and almost had a near-miss collison, hoping all the time that this wouldn’t be the end of my sojourn in Amman. And just an hour ago, my flatmate called, her key was stuck in the door and I gave her directions over the phone on how to use a screwdriver and use that to pivot (PIVOT, Ross-style) the key. Enough drama for today..ARGH.

Rant of the Day

ARGH! I hate Amman on summer days like today. Not only is it insanely hot, but there are no taxis and the few ones that are miraculously empty, and deign to stop after flagging them endlessly will refuse to take you somewhere they don’t want to go. I’d better be out of here before the Gulfie onslaught..

Sigh. I feel better.