Good point, Synthia. I think to many people are blinded by the glamour of Rania and Abdullah that they actually forget the plight of the Jordanian people and that Abdullah heads a corrupt, abusive, and basically authoritarian regime, where dissent is not tolerated. I really urge you to see my posts in the thread titled Quen Rania's Gold Shoes.Originally posted by synthia@Jan 5th, 2004 - 3:18 pm
micas, what about Jordanian people shoes? Are you surprise that they have shoes? Oh, right, different from Rania s one.
I consider it a pity that Jordanians cannot publicly demand more of their monarchy without fear of retribution.
Well, Yasser Arafat lives a very simple life, actually. His wife comes from a rich family. Also, although this is not a subject I wish to get into here, there is far less corruption in the Palestinian Authority than Israel and its supporters make out to be. It is a means for the latter to justify the decimation of the PA , Palestinian infratructure, and continue to deny the Palestinians their right to statehood. Corruption is a problem in authoritarian regimes period. And the PA is far more democractic than many states in the region. Israeli politicians (a country which receives close to 10 billion in aid and guarantees from the US alone every year, in addition to preferntial trade status from the EU) too are tainted with corruption. Look at the recent scandals surrounding Sharon and his sons.Originally posted by bluetortuga@Jan 5th, 2004 - 5:22 pm
I'm surprised that the Hashemites have not learned from the examples of Iran, Egypt, Syria and Iraq (where their cousins were massacred). If the Jordanian monarchy falls to republicanism or islamic extremism they have no one to blame but themselves. The same can be said of the Palestinian Authority. Yassar Arafat and his cronies receives billions of dollars each year in aid from the UN and various other sources. I don't see where that money is being spent in the PA. It's all in Swiss bank accounts just in case the people finally get fed up and throw him out.
While I consider it a privilege to be able to live in a free society and express my opinions, I consider it a pity that Jordanians cannot publicly demand more of their monarchy without fear of retribution.
Yes, me too. I we all can be really happy that we can freely express our opinions.Originally posted by micas@Jan 5th, 2004 - 7:28 pm
I AM LOVED THAT MY FULLISH TOPIC BECAME A SERIOUS TOPIC..
That's not true and u know it. :flower:micas, what about Jordanian people shoes? Are you surprise that they have shoes? Oh, right, different from Rania s one.
Oooh, those are not pretty feet!! Thanks for the laugh though.Originally posted by kiarasecretagent@Jan 5th, 2004 - 8:15 pm
That's not true and u know it. :flower:micas, what about Jordanian people shoes? Are you surprise that they have shoes? Oh, right, different from Rania s one.
Jordan is not a democarcy. The Kig's regime is all powerful. There wasn't even a Parliament for two years, as it had been shut down by Abdullah. In any event, the RF does the Bedouin tribal leaders in Parliament favours and, in return, they vote the way the RF wants. Quid pro quo.Originally posted by madonna23@Jan 6th, 2004 - 1:53 pm
can't the jordanian parliament limit the royal family's spending? they should be able to...this is of course if the family's money comes from taxes, aid money, etc. that belongs to the jordanian people...
Jordan is not a democarcy. The Kig's regime is all powerful. There wasn't even a Parliament for two years, as it had been shut down by Abdullah. In any event, the RF does the Bedouin tribal leaders in Parliament favours and, in return, they vote the way the RF wants. Quid pro quo.Originally posted by Sean.~+Jan 6th, 2004 - 2:07 pm--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Sean.~ @ Jan 6th, 2004 - 2:07 pm)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-madonna23@Jan 6th, 2004 - 1:53 pm
can't the jordanian parliament limit the royal family's spending? they should be able to...this is of course if the family's money comes from taxes, aid money, etc. that belongs to the jordanian people...
You can not get better.Originally posted by kiarasecretagent@Jan 5th, 2004 - 8:15 pm
That's not true and u know it. :flower:micas, what about Jordanian people shoes? Are you surprise that they have shoes? Oh, right, different from Rania s one.
I have never been one to approve of Rania's image obession and money spending habits, but I have to admit that she does send a more realistic image of what most Jordanian Muslim woman are like--how they don't cover their hair, how they can be equal to their husbands and can be very powerful. I really appriciate the different representaion than the sterotyplical one that's been more prominent in the west so I have to admit that I some good comes out of her interviews with western media.Originally posted by madonna23@Jan 7th, 2004 - 4:47 pm
the thing is...she gets the press for a reason...i live in the states and rania's been on oprah, good morning america, etc. etc. but is that really her place? is that where her people want her to be? the reason we don't see asma and salma that much is because they're not doing model-like photo shoots for vogue...western media covers rania because she caters to them...
perhaps we can say that asma doesn't get coverage because she's the first lady of syria and syria does not have good relations with the west. what about morocco? morocco has EXTREMELY good relations at least with the states and yet we dont see salma and meryam doing photo shoots.
Jordan has always been well known for its strategic importance. Sure, she has made Jordan more well known to the average person by her way of dress, but having a glamerous, well known Queen does little to ameliorate the lives of the average Jordanian. At the end of the day, it is what they think tha matters. And people are not jealous of her. I think that is too simplistic a conclusion. They dislike her for more substantive reasons.Originally posted by Lia@Jan 7th, 2004 - 7:03 pm
I have Arab friends and they have mentioned that Queen Rania is not so much loved in the middle East as we all may think. Jordanians (not all) do not approve of her way of dressing and "exposure" to the West while Jordan has internal problems.
On the other hand i really like her and she has made Jordan "famous"or more known. She has tackled issues and her name is used by many charity forums, maybe the other ladies are jealous and gossip about her![]()
With my friends we discussed the reasons that Jordanians didn't really like her and its true they are deeper than jealousy etc. The last part of my post was simply to mention Royal Ladies from other countries. (in few words a joke!!)Originally posted by Sean.~@Jan 7th, 2004 - 7:07 pm
Jordan has always been well known for its strategic importance. Sure, she has made Jordan more well known to the average person by her way of dress, but having a glamerous, well known Queen does little to ameliorate the lives of the average Jordanian. At the end of the day, it is what they think tha matters. And people are not jealous of her. I think that is too simplistic a conclusion. They dislike her for more substantive reasons.
Sean
A few of my Jordanian friends have told me that the people in Jordan think that she's too snobby. That's the general impression that I got from them.Originally posted by Lia@Jan 7th, 2004 - 7:03 pm
I have Arab friends and they have mentioned that Queen Rania is not so much loved in the middle East as we all may think. Jordanians (not all) do not approve of her way of dressing and "exposure" to the West while Jordan has internal problems.
On the other hand i really like her and she has made Jordan "famous"or more known. She has tackled issues and her name is used by many charity forums, maybe the other ladies are jealous and gossip about her![]()