not another blog

Is Islamic Finance The Answer?

2009-07-05T14:36:00.003+03:00

I stumbled upon this article this morning and thought I might share it with you.

Experts in Islamic finance believe their way of doing business has shielded them from the global credit crisis. But how does it differ from conventional Western finance?

A former executive director of the International Monetary Fund, Dr Abbas Mirakhor, says wider Islamic economics relies on God's guidance, handed down almost 1,400 years ago.

There is a "consciousness of a supreme creator and a system that he has provided", he says. What we know as the conventional Western way does not have that, which is "really the major difference between the two", he adds.

In practical terms, the most significant difference is that charging interest is not allowed in Islamic finance. Neither are most forms of speculative investment permitted, such as hedging or derivatives trading.

[source]

George Galloway On Israel

2009-07-05T10:09:00.004+03:00

George Galloway was always a great man who stood up for the Arabs when they were attacked by Israel and the United States. But what made him great was that he knew how to talk and defend his opinions. Here is a video that was made popular back when Israel invaded Lebanon in 2006.

The Terrorists Win

2009-07-04T21:52:00.004+03:00

[source]

One of the best passive aggressive notes I seen in a while. What a rather creative way of getting people to replace toilet paper. Then again, I imagine it must be a pain when nature calls and there is no toilet paper in sight. Oh, dear.

Now, imagine the Jordanian version of this note. Post your version in the comments below. The best one will get a pat on the back! I have a feeling Garfan will win this one though.

If you don't replace the toliet paper rolls, you will be accused of cursing his majesty! Do you hate your entire family?

Xbox Live Renewal

2009-07-04T12:48:00.011+03:00

If the Xbox 360 was not good enough when it first came out, people would have been won back by the multiplayer feature, Xbox Live. This feature is not just another way to get more money into Microsoft's account, but it rather makes the multiplayer experience much smoother and enjoyable.

For example, Xbox Live lets you use one account - your profile, for every game and through your profile you can connect to friends and talk to them via a headset, or invite them to parties through which you can move together from one game to another with ease.

Its a rather hard job to find an Xbox Live membership in Jordan, due to the fact its not really supported by Microsoft. Instead I hooked up with a freelance modder for the Xbox 360, who turned out to be a great person who modded my Xbox and sold me a three month membership to Xbox Live.

The guy himself is a little younger than my father, and for some reason is a dad but mods Xboxs. I can now play on the Xbox online without having to worry about buying more games from abroad for high prices.

For those of you wanting to game with a fellow blogger, my gamertag is InboundSage. I use that one for online gameplay, but for offline gameplay and talking to friends I use the rather creative gamertag of NotAnotherBlog.

You'll find me playing either Call of Duty 5, Far Cry 2, or Sid Miers Civilization: Revolution. Sorry, but no Halo 3 people - I never liked the game and Call of Duty is better than it in multiplayer. Add any multiplayer suggestions to the comments!

Israel Inflicted Wanton Destruction

2009-07-02T08:56:00.011+03:00

A report released earlier this day by Amnesty International details many war crimes carried out deliberately by Israeli soldiers during the twenty-two day war on the Gaza strip. Here are a few excerpts from the news articles describing the war crimes. I leave it to you to choose if Israel will ever be punished for these crimes or if this report will collect dust in the United Nations archives cabinet.

Hundreds of Palestinian civilians were killed using high-precision weapons, while others were shot at close range, the group Amnesty International says.

Amnesty cited evidence that Israeli troops put children and other civilians in harm's way "by forcing them to remain in or near houses which they took over and used as military positions".

Amnesty said: "Much of the destruction was wanton and deliberate, and was carried out in a manner and circumstances which indicated that it could not be justified on grounds of military necessity."

It says "disturbing questions" remain unanswered as to why children playing on roofs and medical staff attending the wounded were killed by "highly accurate missiles" whose operators had detailed views of their targets.

The document also gives details of several cases where it says people - including women and children posing no threat to troops - were shot at close range as they were fleeing their homes in search of shelter.

Although rockets fired by Palestinian fighters from the Gaza Strip rarely caused casualties, they often sowed fear and panic amongst Israeli citizens and their use was "indiscriminate and hence unlawful under international law," the report said.

Amnesty said it found no evidence to support Israeli claims that Hamas fighters deliberately used civilians as "human shields" during the conflict.

[source: bbc news, al jazeera english]

Arab Stereotypes

2009-06-30T15:46:00.000+03:00

People have been manipulated by the media into believing what they see in films about Arabs. There has been an Arab stereotype in the West about how they think Arabs are. To a majority of Westerners, an Arab...

Lives in a tent in the middle of a vast desert filled with sandstorms.
Has ten wives each of which wears a burqa and has ten children.
Wears a red keffiyeh and has an uncombed beard from one ear to the next.
Goes around his daily life with a suicide vest strapped to his chest.
Rides on a decorated but smelly camel from one village to the next.
Has wives that go around the tent holding large pots of water on their heads.
Lives on nothing but falafel for his breakfast, lunch and supper.
Carries a sword on his back or on his waist and uses it to behead people.
Has extremist views on killing all the West and burning their bodies.
Earns a living by robbing nearby villages late at night.
Writes in hieroglyphics and worships large statues of ancient pharaohs.
Has a name of "abu" followed by either "abdul", "mohammad", or "mustafa".
Come to the west with the only intention of blowing up a crammed bus.

Here's a video from Queen Rania's Youtube channel about Arabs in the west and how people there see them.

The Blame

2009-06-25T13:19:00.004+03:00

From time to time, you will meet people that in certain situations will have messed up, but will put the blame on everything possible except themselves. Here are a few examples from day to day life were people have put the blame on everything but themselves.

Speeding Drivers
I was moving with the flow of traffic. I needed to get to the shop to buy falafel for my hungry sons. I didn't know because my speed meter is broken. I didn't sleep last night properly. I was catching up with a wedding. I was in a wedding driving like a maniac and honking randomly. My foot slipped on the gas pedal. I'm a stupid taxi driver with no manners or respect for others.

The reality: the guy saw the speed limit sign but couldn't care less, he thinks he owns the road legally and he can go as fast as he likes.

Rejected Brides
She has no money. She comes from a poor family. She is cursed. She doesn't want to get married. She has been envied by everyone in her university. We need to pay the other family more. She does not own a large car with a personal driver. She was cursed long ago by that old witch with a large nose. She was born on the same day that we saw the crow on our windowsill. Our Filipino maid wrapped her photo in bandages and cooked them at midnight with a newts eye and a mosquito's brain.

The reality: the bride is uglier than an ogre, but the family will lie to themselves and blame it on the innocent maid trying to earn a living.

Iranian Elections
The vote was rigged. The votes were miscounted. There were more votes than the population. There was a foreign intervention. The vote was rigged by Israel. False Twitter accounts were made on the internet to aid protesters. There is a media clampdown to stop the world knowing what really happened. Britain and America had something to do with the rigged vote. The vote did not turn out how we wanted it to be and that means it is unfair.

The reality: when will we Arabs ever have elections that come out with everyone happy? Problem is, if Mousavi won, supporters of Ahmadinejad would have protested saying it was an unfair election.

Fox Attacked Obama

2009-06-23T15:01:00.004+03:00

Do you remember the Obama media hype was before the elections? But what's more important, is how the media covered him. Many news channels claim to be unbiased no matter what the coverage, and will report all news without giving opinions and will verify all sources claims.

That’s were Fox news comes in, in which post election it was extremely against Obama. Although not directly stating so, it was clearly obvious that it was backing his rival John McCain throughout the entire elections. Video after video on the internet shows how this happened.

Here is a one of those videos from YouTube. Fox news, which claims to provide balanced and unbiased news coverage, clearly did not live up to that claim post election. Its news reporters freely gave their opinions when they were supposed to be reporting, and what's more alarming is what they picked on.

The channel mocked Obama when seen in a swimming shorts, found the middle name of the president so alarming, claimed he did nothing for black people, picked on the fact he was a cigarette smoker and said he went to a extremist 'madrasa' when he was young. As a side note, always watch Al-Jazeera International for fair news coverage in English.

Dabshaat: Part Three

2009-06-22T00:22:00.013+03:00

مرة أستاذ عبقري راح على مدرسة للمتميزين منشان يختبرهم.

دخل على الصف و سألهم: إيش في إشي بطير؟

رفع ولد إيدو و قال: الحمامه يا أستاذ

قال الأستاذ: غلط. شو بشتغل أبوك؟

رد الطالب: دكتور يا أستاذ

قال الأستاذ: شايفين، إذا إبن دكتور و هيك

رفع طالب اخر إيدوا و قال: العصفور

رد الأستاذ: غلط! إيش بشتغل أبوك؟

قال الطالب: مهندس

قال الأستاذ: إغس، إذا إبن مهندس و هيك

طالب دواوين رفع إيدوا و قال: التمساح يا أستاذ

قال الأستاذ: يلعن شكلك، شو بشتغل أبوك

رد الطالب: مدير المخابرات يا أستاذ

قال الأستاذ: على فكره، التمساح إذا شد حيلو بقدر يطير

Jordans Response To Swine Flu

2009-06-20T22:20:00.003+03:00

As swine flu cases outbreak in Jordan, there is obviously going to be some gossip about it from your average Jordanians. Here are what I guess will be some quotes about swine flu from special types of Jordanians. I have written them in Arabic so I don't transliterate them and lose all meaning.

"نعم؟ إنفلونزا الخنازير؟ إيش هاظ؟ ولا؟ لاتكون بتسب علي؟ والله لأورجيك يإبن الـ" – the dumb teenager's response

"لا يجوز توخي الحذر من هذا المرض لأنه من الله و هو سيحمينا من كل الأمراض و بدون أن نفعل أي شيء، ومن لم يقتنع سيعد كافرا وسيرجم حتى الموت " – the extreme sheikh's response

"يا زلمه أنا أصلا صار معاي هذا المرض من ألف سنه و والله إزهقتوا و جسمي إتعود عليه" – the village idiot response

"يا ويلي الله يستر إمبارح شعرت بإرتفاع ضغطي و أظن أنو صار معاي المرض، من يوم ما قربت من البسه الميته في الشارع الأسبوع الماضي" – the paranoid's response

"والله هذه من علامات الساعة و جائني فلان في منامي و أخبرني أن هناك واحده مسخها الله إلى دجاجة مسلوخة بسبب عصيان الله" – the young annoying sheikh's response

"ولك يا عمي أنا ما بصيبني أي مرظ منشان أنا أبوللمرظ، ولك أنا المرظ بنفسو، ولك أنا الدواوين الصح، أوووو" – the taxi driver's response

"والله المرض كللو إشاعة إكبيره معمولة من الحكومة منشان يرفعوا سعر الدجاج و اللحم، والله كنت عارف من زمان بس خفت أحكي لحد يفكروني مجنون" – the conspiracy theorist response

"هو في إشي بحياتنا صح، لا مصاري ولا شغل ولا سيارة ولا أمن، والله الدنيا زفت بس شو إنسوي، الله يعينا – هلا عمي!" – every other Jordanian

In Case Of Fire Don't Use Twitter

2009-06-20T17:29:00.003+03:00

Strangest. Fire guidance. Ever.

[source: digg]

Not Saudi Arabia

2009-06-16T14:34:00.000+03:00

Visiting Saudi Arabia is a rather strange experience. But to make a long story short, unless you're coming to visit the holiest sites in Islam, you should steer clear of the place. This is because it is a country where…

Temperatures outside soar so high, every building must be air conditioned and you will most likely spend most of your time inside buildings or car.
Foreigners outnumber Saudis by such an amount and in so many jobs, that you'll have a hard time getting what you need when you are trying to communicate with Indians.
All prices must be divided by five to find their real life value, and you'll most likely be ripped off by prices that are considered to be normal by Saudis.
The dishdasheh is the national uniform for all men, while women must wear black tents over their heads – as well as not being allowed to drive. Conferences are a nightmare to attend, because all you will see is men in white and you will be the only person in Earth clothes.
Accents used by Saudis are so strange, that you won't recognize the language and will probably mistake it for Indian. Wide means a lot for some reason and the Arabic word for water has been somehow transformed into mooyaah.
Foreigners, such as Indians or Filipinos or even Egyptians, not only take up the manual labor industry, but also much of other industries, such as cooks and receptionists.
Skyscrapers fill areas of interest and tower above you while you navigate the cramped streets of the city. Fast food branches are so common in these areas that it's no wonder people have a hard time watching their weight.
Saudi receptionists look at you blankly when you enquire why the hotel does not offer internet services, and I must go around the place searching for a free wireless access point to read my email and update my blog.

Running For Parliment

2009-06-14T14:34:00.003+03:00

To all citizens of the great country of Jordan, I have decided to run for the parliament too and, should you vote for me, I will not only promise you with eternal happiness in your new utopia, but will also make the following changes to our country. As a side note, a thanks to Garfan for the idea of this post. He's slowly becoming my bad influence.

Increase sales tax to fifty percent. This is so everyone can be relieved of their heaps of fortune they have to carry every day, and to further benefit our erm… loyal ministers. Note that this increase in tax money will not necessarily be used for the sake of the country, but it will make your ministers happier.
Demolish "سجن سواقة" and all other useless prisons in the country. I may as well take away all emergency departments, and leave everyone to defends for themselves, and become real men for once.
Promote the building of cigarette shops, gun stores, bars and pubs, and zain and orange stores. This will further increase our economic stability, remove any monopolies in our markets, and decrease youth unemployment. But most importantly, it will make Jordanian teenagers the most "دواوين" in the Arab world.
Motivate any unemployed youngsters in Jordan to become taxi drivers - my favorite type of human beings! Special training sessions will be set up to teach them how to cheat, lie and annoy their customers. Tampering with counters will become legal and taxis will be painted glossy black to make them feel important.
National holidays will dramatically increase, as I will impose one every time I wish to move from one building to another. A curfew will be in place and all streets closed for the entire day, while "أنا و الدورية رح إنكزدر حول شوارع عمان". There will be holidays imposed for virtually no reason, much similar to when Saudi Arabia took ten days off when its football team entered the world cup - true story.
Maids will be ranked lower than single celled organisms when prioritized in the country. Families will be allowed to beat them daily and deprive them from sleep or food or the toilet. They can also not pay them if the kitchen tiles are not shiny enough or something similar. Also, Egyptian workers will not be allowed to make eye contact with Jordanians or else be expelled from the country. They also must not be seen in the same falafel shop as a Jordanian citizen.
There will a day of each year called potato couch day. Citizens will sleep during the day, and then awake late at night. Males must wear a "دشداشه" and females must wear a "عبايه", in preparation for the day. The family will gather round the television and watch Turkish soap operas for the entire night, while stuffing themselves endlessly with high calorie foods - fast food deliveries are recommended.
Improve Friday prayer. This will be done by introducing beds for sleeping in mosques during prayers, as well as people serving tea and coffee for drinking during listening to the speech. Imams will be allowed to appear via a video link from their beds directly. And did I mention all mosques will become "مختلطة"?
Declare war with all neighboring countries, including Lebanon, Israel, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. I will also make new alliances with Syria, North Korea and Iran. Also, new nuclear programs will be devised and uranium enrichment will begin. Let the world know that the force of Jordan and its great citizens. We will "نقلبها دندرة".

And there are more to follow. However, according to a recent survey, expected votes have been dismal. For this reason, I am willing to serve mansaf for every citizen that votes for me. This trick always works - vote my loyal citizens and let Jordan be recognized as the best country ever. (stay tuned for part two as well)

Improving Jordans Technology

2009-06-11T10:46:00.021+03:00

When it comes to technology in the country of Jordan, it lacks alot. This is in comparison to what this country is able to achieve. When you look at Jordan's potential for a rather large success in the technology sector, and its current position, you can realize the large difference. To make things worse, there have been very few major improvements from the ministry in recent years, except maybe the excluding computers from sales tax.

You may have seen, from her majesty's Youtube channel and Twitter account, that education has been a key aspect of Queen Rania's goals for the country. I highly support her and what she is doing for our country, but I think she can take it a step further. What I am saying is that technology has to play a major part in education so both can strive.

Let me explain further. Computer aided learning is not only a great improvement to the curriculum, it is also necessary to combat any boundaries that our country faces. Technology is possibly the biggest boundary between the twentieth and the twenty first century. If we break this boundary and recognize technology as a major aspect in our country's education, then we have taken the country out of the past and into the present.

But it is not simple as it seems. There have to be many, many improvements here and there for the idea of of technology and education being brought together. Here are a few suggestions as to how this idea could be brought into Jordan. And if you have any more suggestions, please add them by a comment. And if her majesty could read this post, that would be not only a great honor for me, but a great step forward for all of Jordan.

Recognize the relationship between education and technology. There has always been a gap between the two when it comes to governmental issues. Many counties have broke the boundary between the two matters and it is Jordan's turn to do the same.
Combat computer illiteracy after we have combated illiteracy. I, in no means, want to prioritize anything over the other. But once we have finally stopped illiteracy, there will be a time to start to solve a much larger computer illiteracy.
Introduce computer aided learning to classrooms of already developed schools to further aid them. Schools should be encouraged to add computers, not just to special computer labs, but to classrooms themselves.
Teachers should be computer literate and be able to produce presentations and use them in lessons. The school should provide laptops and projectors for any teacher that needs them, and these should be of good quality.
Computer courses, such as ICDL courses, should be government funded and provided free for everyone. Being funded by the government should not mean it would be lacking and instead should mean it would be of high quality.
Provide proper motivations for university students willing to improve technology in Jordan. Motivations should include funding and support for any project the students have. These will hopefully encourage projects to thrive and contribute to the country.

Of course, as I said, any suggestions are appreciated.

Photo Of The Day

2009-06-10T22:32:00.003+03:00

r

President Barack Obama talks with aides outside the U.S. Ambassador's residence in Paris before returning to Washington, June 7, 2009.

[source: flickr]

Twouble With Twitters

2009-06-07T17:00:00.005+03:00

A video asking the question: why do people really need to use twitter?

Twitter is one of the latest social networking tools and it is clear to us at The Listening Post that as a news delivery system, providing instant, on the ground updates via SMS texting, Twitter represents a breakthrough. But what about all the other people who tweet all the time on mundane topics? The people at current.tv threw together a little animation on Twitter that asks the same question.

Everyday Programs

2009-06-06T18:27:00.011+03:00

Subject	Examples
Browsing	Firefox	Chrome	Opera
Email	Gmail (web client)	Thunderbird	Postbox
Security	Nod32	Bitdefender	AVG
Media	KLite (video)	Picasa (photos)	Songbird (music)
Utilities	Everything (searching)	Utorrent (bittorrent)	Teracopy (copying)
Graphic design	Photoshop	Illustrator	Gimp
Video editing	After Effects	Premiere	Sony Vegas Pro
Audio editing	Soundbooth	Audacity	Audition (discontinued)
Firefox addons	Greasemonkey	Adblock Plus	Save Folder
Repair	Autoruns	Hijack This	Tweak UI

I liked Garfans post about the ten bookmarks you should have, so I went along and decided to make my own one, this time about programs. These aren't eleven, they shouldn't be chosen that way, but rather by picking sometimes one, sometimes the whole bunch. Of course, any suggestions to this post are appreciated.

Xbox 360 at E3 2009

2009-06-02T12:51:00.007+03:00

“Today with cultural visionaries at our side and controller-free gaming on our horizon, Xbox 360 authored a new page in home entertainment history,” said Don Mattrick, senior vice president for the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft. “For us, this E3 is about breaking down barriers — between generations, between games and entertainment, and most important, between video game players and everyone else — in a way that only Xbox 360 can.”

Microsoft continues to surprise and reward everyone who took the wise decision of buying the Xbox 360. Many new ideas and creations were unveiled but the most phenomenal would be Project Natal. As described by Microsoft, Project Natal is "a revolutionary new way to play: no controller required".

There are many uses of this device, like instant face recognition which logs you into Xbox Live, a microphone with a rather good voice recognition and understands emotions, and a three dimensional camera allowing rather cool models and understands gestures and objects.

This is in no way a rip-off of the Playstation Eyetoy or the Xbox 360 trying to get motion control like the Wii. To understand what I'm saying, watch the video below of painting with the Natal sensor. But the real video you have to watch is the one below that, an interaction between reality and the virtual world that "even science fiction hasn't thought off yet".

How To Ride An Amman Taxi

2009-05-29T06:24:00.000+03:00

At the end of the day, although you may not be so willing to admit it, you will have to take a taxi somewhere, someday. The only thing certain is that you will ride in a taxi with a taxi driver. Now sometimes they are nice to you even if you have the word newbie on your forehead. But sometimes, and this is usually the case, you will get punished by God and sent Amman's average taxi driver. And if that happens, then God help us all. But, for when that time comes, much similar to the zombie apocalypse, you need to be ready. Here are some tips to take when your time comes.

First off, after you hail a taxi and he actually decides you are worth stopping for, never ever lean through the window, asking him if his majesty can take you to such a far place as your home. Instead, open the door and sit in the seat, and close the door. You may not even turn to talk to him for a while, as if he was not on your schedule for the moment. Wait for when he begins to move again, this is when you tell him your destination, and this is so he cannot say a very lame excuse as to why he cannot do his job for you because he needs to go and eat, or pray at his home, or feed his cat, or drink some coffee, or save the world from an alien invasion and become a superhero.

Next, the destination. When you tell him your destination, don't say it as if you are asking. You do not ask a taxi driver to do his job, he is supposed to do it. And that's mostly the reason why everyone feels the need to boycott Unique Taxis, because you are paying them to do what normal taxis should already do. Moving on, you may wish to annoy him a little when he asks you where your going. I usually tell them to keep moving forward and I will tell them where to go, this annoys the driver as he cannot take longer routes to increase your fare.

Now we all know the driver will tell if your stupid or not to fall for his taxi fare scams, by observing your actions and analysing them using his single celled brain up in his head - well, hopefully its up there. His scams can be anything, for taxi drivers have made it a great art, scamming in all sorts of ways. For example, they could accidentally switch off the fare meter half way through the journey then guess what it should read. Or they could make up vague excuses as to why your journey fare should be higher and why it was lowered by a fault in the system - fat chance. Or that it was raining today, and he shouldn't have gone to work but he did so he could serve the citizens of his country out of the goodness of his golden heart - "bi7amlak ijmeeleh".

There a few things you can do while you are riding with him that will annoy him considerably. If he appears to be in a bad mood, talk to him endlessly about the economic crisis, the country's unemployment, and the Iraqi war. If he's too talkative and more of a chatterbox than you'd like, answer him with nods or monosyllabic answers when he asks, then return to dazing out of the window. If he asks you to go left or right, look both ways very slowly then shrug and say it doesn't matter - "3ala ra7tak ya basha". What you're aiming for is not necessarily to get the guy in a bad mood, but to show him you're not his average rider and you can't be dealt with like any other. You aren't new to the miserable world of taxi drivers.

If you are good enough at acting, you may wish to play along as well. When the taxi brakes or turns, pull back in your seat and clutch your heart for dear life, muttering words like "ya lateef", or "bismallah" or "allah yustor". When he attempts a u-turn or entering a main road, make it as if your life will end here, closing your eyes and saying the "shahadeh" - or the holy trinity for Christians, holding on the seats rests and preparing for impact. After its over, make a large overexagurated sigh of relief then scowl at the taxi driver for having such wild driving manners, or put your face in your hands as if wishing this rollercoaster ride would just arrive at the station.

If your a bit more daring, you may go for the secret service look. Taxis may appear to be careless, wreckless scumbags but they are afraid of someone, other than their reflection in the mirror - police, and even more, secret service police. Before entering the taxi, take a long look at the license plate. When in the taxi, make shifty eye movements around the place, first at the driver then at his drivers license, then at the fare meter. Talk to him about what he thinks of his majesty, the royal family and the current political and economic state of the country. When he appears to dose off, suddenly chant loudly "ya3eesh jallalet ilmalik almu3atham", arabic for "long live his majesty the king", and if he does not reply immediately, stare at him in disbelief as if regarding him as a traitor for the kingdom.

And finally, when it comes to arriving to your destination and paying the fare. The taxi drivers eyes will have become dollar signs and your forehead will have the word money imprinted and blinking like a neon light. But not if you followed my simple steps. Never ask him how much the taxi fare is, for this to the taxi is like asking him how much he wants. Look and read the counter yourself, check for a recent label of those traffic lights and the current year - this means the counter is new and works properly. What appears on the counter is what you pay, don't ask him how much he wants as a tip, just give him the money. Smile innocently and slam the door in his unworthy face.

But lets say the counter is wrong - its over the normal price you usually pay everyday. What you do is look at him and scowl, not reach out for your wallet to hand him more. Inquire why the fare is suspiciously more even though you pay the same everyday. Don't fall for an excuse such as it starts at half a dinar now, or that he has no clue, or that his family of thirty orphans is starving on two loaves of bread a week, or that he now adds his own tax. Give him what's on the counter if you have enough, but tell him that it is wrong to play with the counter and you will note his license plate down for "later use".

And that's all. Of course, as a quick side disclaimer, I with no doubt know there are many good taxi drivers that are polite and kind. I have rode with many of them, and I did not make this post for them, the minority of taxi drivers. Instead, I meant the majority of taxi drivers that you, unfortunately, have a much higher rate of finding that will cheat, lie and annoy you making all the taxi ride unbearable. Anyway, if you have any suggestions to this post you can add them in the comments. Thanks for reading, and good luck next time you face a taxi driver!

Britains Got Talent

2009-05-25T18:00:00.004+03:00

Here are some of my favorite picks from Youtube from the semi final auditions. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did. Boy, do I wish I was in Britain at this time.

Diversity

Susan Boyle

Faces of Disco

Worsening The Islamic Image

2009-05-21T11:37:00.004+03:00

What is it with newly converted Muslims living in the West and usually originating from Pakistan and Afghanistan, that suddenly believe they can change the world for the better with more bloodshed on innocent civilians?

All they do is either get caught and end up looking like fools or die and kill more people in the name of Islam, which has nothing to do with what they do. The problem is, Islam is always the blame for not only them but also the ignorant and biased media.

Ever since September 11th, terrorism has been linked with Islam. Its like they are really just different words for the same meaning. At least this is what the media makes everyone believe, brainwashing millions of viewers with carefully selected phrases that have catastrophic results.

The thing is, why do uneducated Muslims really believe they can turn the world for the better by blowing up a few buildings or smuggling illegal weapons into countries? When compared together, peaceful preaching really has much better results than violence.

Many people have been tricked into believing that the only way out is to fight. This is wrong, and what this does is make the image of Islam worse and lessen the chance of any change in the world. Even more prejudice towards Muslims.

With all this said, here is the extract from an article that came out this morning, about an attempt by uneducated people to cause more terror in the American society and effectively everywhere else in the world. Commenting on this situation is highly appreciated.

Four men have been arrested over alleged plots to attack targets in New York, US prosecutors say.

They planned to blow up a synagogue and use Stinger missiles to bring down military planes at an airport north of the city, a statement said.

The men were arrested after agreeing to buy missiles and explosives in an undercover operation.

New York has been on alert for a new terror assault since the 9/11 attack claimed by al-Qaeda militants.

Officials summarised the main charge against the four men as a conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction within the United States.

They are to appear in court on Thursday in White Plains, and face from 25 years to life imprisonment if found guilty.

[source]

Jordan TV

2009-05-05T11:00:00.000+03:00

Jordan's first radio broadcasts were received from other countries in the Middle East. Transjordan (as it was then called), did not adopt a radio service of its own until 1948. Radio Jordan first broadcast in 1956. Today it broadcasts a 24 hour Arabic service, as well as an English language service for 21 hours per day and a French language service for 13 hours per day.

That would be the definition of Jordan TV on Wikipedia. However, the Jordanian TV, in my honest opinion, is a television that was once loved, probably at the time when satellites were still stuck in the West and had not reached us, and is no longer watched as it used to be. As most people will know, at that time most people watched it and it was probably a channel worth watching at that time.

But maybe they somehow got stuck in that period. Do you know how many people still watch Jordan TV daily, maybe even weekly? Most people watch the Jordanian channel because they have no other option, ie. not having a satellite dish. But nowadays most people have a satellite dish and will stay away from Jordan channel.

Why is this? Why would the major channel, and sometimes regarded as the only channel for Jordan on many online television websites, be watched by so little of the country's population. There are many reasons, they begin with lack of content, lack of quality, lack of funding, and lack of motivation.

I'd like to toss a few points and suggestion that I believe could turn the tables on how people view Jordan TV as it is. A major disclaimer to anyone who is highly patriotic that he does not believe our country should change for the better, please don't take these suggestions the wrong way.

Ask the country. It'd be rather stupid to ask the viewers since they are so little, so ask the country's citizens. What would they want to see on their national television. These suggestions should be taken into consideration.
Informative, Arabic news. We don't need neither English nor French news briefs. Make news reports that talk about Jordanian events that people would like to see. And not all the news needs to be political.
Get a proper graphical design. My god, Jordan TV's graphical design is so bad its like it was made overnight. Can't the channel invest in a big company to design at least a new layout for them?
Enough with the soap operas. Who still needs to watch some stupid dramas on Jordan TV? Even those who love that sort of thing will turn to MBC4 to watch something dubbed from Turkish. More documentaries, less pointless dramas.
Carry on were ATV failed. If it had actually been allowed to air, ATV would be a wonderful channel to watch. It had new, interesting ideas that were both creative and informative. Although, ATV was supposedly to start its test channel in January 2009.
Get a proper source of income. Anyone looking at Jordan TV's current state would know it was either badly motivated or lacked funding. Big companies should look into investing in Jordan TV for boths sake.

And the list goes on. What suggestions do you have to make Jordan TV better?

What Has Obama Done

2009-04-28T10:53:00.005+03:00

Its been almost one hundred days since Barack Obama came into power, but what has he really done. I found this article online that summaries what the president has accomplished since he came into power.

* * *

First off the economy, when Obama put $787 billion into trying to rescue the economic system. He also put $23 billion into climate change, and he claims to be aiming for renewable energy and reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

Guantanamo is set to be closed, one of the best decisions Obama has taken since he came into office according to critics. He has also banned all forms of torture and released reports which were written in the post-9/11 era of Bush.

He has determined the date to finally pull out troops from Iraq, as August 2010. He also offered Iran a new beginning in terms of its current viewpoint from Western societies and their leaders, but little has been achieved yet.

* * *

What about my opinion? What do I think Obama has done to the world?

We can look at it this way - what Obama has done outside the United States is mostly words not deeds. Although, maybe one hundred days is not enough to turn words into actions. Many critics say that what Obama thought he could achieve and what he now believes he can achieve and far apart.

* * *

What about what the world thinks on what Obama is trying to achieve?

First, a pro opinion from Grahame Smedley, France:

I think he is an honest man with his feet on the ground and an understanding of the ordinary man in the street and the poor image the USA had in world politics under the Bush administration. He needs a strong and loyal team at his side. I think he has got the majority of countries support in the world. He is a breath of fresh air and I give him 5 stars so far and wish him luck.

Then, a rather harsh con opinion from Kevin, USA:

For everyone's grandiose praise of his presidency and his talking of bipartisanship he has accomplished nothing and is actually even worse he tries to bully the opposition with a grand mandate which isn't true. He won 52% to 48% that is not a grand mandate. The country is bitterly divided and he is the main reason why. He is trying to socialize or even worse bring a form of communism to our country. He doesn't like to be labeled but that is how a lot of people see it.

And now, what do you think? What do you think Obama has really achieved since he first came into power?

Enigma Desktop

2009-04-12T17:59:00.006+02:00

There have been many radical changes in the way desktops are now compared to what they used to be when operating systems with graphical interfaces first came out. To name a few, there are now minimalistic desktop setups that focus on performance, and realistic desktops that make it look as if it were a real desktop.

But what about imformative desktops, desktops that have more functionality than just serving as a shortcut storage or your computers launchpad. There are many desktops that offer this but in my opinion one outstands them all, and this is the Enigma skin for the desktop enhancement application Rainmeter.

Whats so great about this desktop is that it combines functionality with elegance, where many other desktops have failed in doing so. It serves customisable widgets that you can place wherever you like on your desktop. I've customized my setup so I can see my three favourite RSS feeds, can launch a few programs, check the weather or time, check my system settings, and more.

This freedom of choice is what makes it unique. The setup of the Enigma skin isn't so simple though, even with the instructions file included, so I've written a simple step guide on how to get the desktop up and running on your computer.

First of all, download the Enigma skin here. After that, download the Rainmeter program here. Install it but make sure its not currently running. Then launch the setup file in the Enigma folder to install it. Now launch Rainmeter, and right click its icon in the taskbar, selecting Configs, Enigma, Welcome, Home.ini.

If you want things straightforward and prefer a premade setup, copy the file Preview.ini, in the Enigma subfolder, Templates. Replace C:\Program Files\Rainmeter\Rainmeter.ini with this template, making sure you overwrite it by renaming Preview.ini to Rainmeter.ini. Rainmeter must not be open when you do this.

The wallpaper I used can be found here. I just edited the top so my launcher fits in properly. And if you use this, leave a comment. Enjoy!

Unvieling The Sixth Sense

2009-04-04T18:51:00.003+02:00

[source: ted.com]