I had a 2 year contract with ATT. The contract just ended last month and I thought that I had to renew it or else I will lose the service, and more important my number. I surfed the ATT website to see what kind of deals they have, and it took me some self restrain to stop myself from renewing with a cool cell-phone and a 2 year commitment (they charge some hefty fee to cancel your service while in contract). Finally, I did some research online and found the following:
1- You don't have to call to renew your contract. What will happen is that they will keep charging you with the usual terms month by month.
2- Cell phone companies have some cheaper plans that they don't promote. So I called ATT (CB7017) made sure that the service will remain there, on a month per month basis, as long as I am paying my bill, and no cancellation fees since I did respect my 2 year contract.
I was able to get a 200 minutes (with 1000 minutes for weekends and nights) plan for a monthly rate of 29$ instead of my 450 minutes plan that I hardly use and was able to save 10$ per month! I only lost the roll-over I used to have and I never needed to use.
This looks closer to a slight victory, but I am a deep believer in optimizing my needs and in informed consumerism. And since my old cell-phone is still running, I might as well invest a bit in it or just enjoy the 240$ I will save in 2 years.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Changing you cell-phones battery
My singular8125 started to act up few weeks ago. It will die on me after 10 minutes of usage and it keeps rebooting each time it searches for a signal. Before tossing of my 2 year old investment I decided to consider getting a new battery.
It was a bit surprising to see a range of prices from 2$ up to 30$. So I decided to get something around 10$. My purchase was done at Buy.com. The service was good, but it took USPS almost 2 weeks to arrive!
Yesterday I tried the new thing and it seems to be working. I did some research to see the best way to use a new battery, only to discover the following facts:
1. First off, if you need a new battery after following all the recommendations below, make sure you buy a new battery. Most online resellers are selling used batteries and calling them OEM. The battery you will receive will be wrapped in bubble wrap or paper. Make sure your battery comes in a retail package. You don't want to replace a used battery with someone else's used battery. And that was my first mistake since I got something that was manually wrapped in a plastic bag.
2. DO NOT fully discharge a lithium-ion battery! Unlike Ni-Cd batteries, lithium-ion batteries' life is shortened every time you fully discharge them. Instead, charge them when the battery meter shows one bar left. Lithium-ion batteries, like most rechargeable batteries have a set amount of chargers in them.
3. When buying lithium ion batteries, be aware that oxidation begins at the time of manufacture, not the time of first use. As such, older lithium batteries will have reduced capacity (about 20% per year stored at room temperature). If you buy a battery at a clearance sale price, expect that you will get less life out of the mobile phone.
I felt a bit concerned after reading such material. But it is only 10$ after all, I will see how long this battery will last me. I guess one more year will be acceptable. Then it might be the time to switch to a new phone.
Sourse: http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Your-Cell-Phone-Battery-Last-Longer
It was a bit surprising to see a range of prices from 2$ up to 30$. So I decided to get something around 10$. My purchase was done at Buy.com. The service was good, but it took USPS almost 2 weeks to arrive!
Yesterday I tried the new thing and it seems to be working. I did some research to see the best way to use a new battery, only to discover the following facts:
1. First off, if you need a new battery after following all the recommendations below, make sure you buy a new battery. Most online resellers are selling used batteries and calling them OEM. The battery you will receive will be wrapped in bubble wrap or paper. Make sure your battery comes in a retail package. You don't want to replace a used battery with someone else's used battery. And that was my first mistake since I got something that was manually wrapped in a plastic bag.
2. DO NOT fully discharge a lithium-ion battery! Unlike Ni-Cd batteries, lithium-ion batteries' life is shortened every time you fully discharge them. Instead, charge them when the battery meter shows one bar left. Lithium-ion batteries, like most rechargeable batteries have a set amount of chargers in them.
3. When buying lithium ion batteries, be aware that oxidation begins at the time of manufacture, not the time of first use. As such, older lithium batteries will have reduced capacity (about 20% per year stored at room temperature). If you buy a battery at a clearance sale price, expect that you will get less life out of the mobile phone.
I felt a bit concerned after reading such material. But it is only 10$ after all, I will see how long this battery will last me. I guess one more year will be acceptable. Then it might be the time to switch to a new phone.
Sourse: http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Your-Cell-Phone-Battery-Last-Longer
Friday, July 17, 2009
Things to do to solve "honor" crimes.
Honor Crimes still exist in many countries including the Middle East and Pakistan. Where the law gives preferential treatment to the murderer so that they will end up with reduced sentences. Unfortunately these crimes are still popular and have support to some extent in the society. I think it is a fight for the intellects to change such believes. Few suggestions include:
1- Find a more expressing name rather than "Honor Crimes". It should be a name that gives a negative label to this crime.
2- Show condemnation in public while these people are courted. This might include protesting in front of the court or at the murderer's house. and posting the pics of the victim in public places.
3- Send a clear message that this killing is against Islamic believes, the scripture is clear that only the governor can apply punishments after a court. Ironically, KSA - one of the most radical Islamic counties, has no tolerance to this crime.
We all have a part in this relatively reasonable confrontation with one of the most striking signs of repression.
1- Find a more expressing name rather than "Honor Crimes". It should be a name that gives a negative label to this crime.
2- Show condemnation in public while these people are courted. This might include protesting in front of the court or at the murderer's house. and posting the pics of the victim in public places.
3- Send a clear message that this killing is against Islamic believes, the scripture is clear that only the governor can apply punishments after a court. Ironically, KSA - one of the most radical Islamic counties, has no tolerance to this crime.
We all have a part in this relatively reasonable confrontation with one of the most striking signs of repression.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Losing your SIM card abroad
I had a visit to Jordan and I ended up staying for 4 months over there. Before leaving the US, I called my wireless provider AT&T asking for the cracking code for my cell phone as I was intending to use a local cell phone provider. The tech support representative was kind enough to offer the code after offering me an international roaming plan that I declined using.
Once I arrived Jordan I took off the SIM card and kept it in my camera's case. I was following my bills every month since I was on a plan. The day of my travel I discovered at the airport that I lost my SIM card. I didn't think it was a big deal back then and assumed that I must have misplaced it home when i was packing for my return trip.
I went to AT&T local branch and was a bit upset that I had to pay $25 for a new SIM card but I was glad that my cell phone is back running. This turned out to be my least problems since I received a bill of the amount of $7500 for the month of March. I felt a bit numb once I read the amount, and I realized that I must have lost my SIM card while doing a trip to PETRA in late march. The detailed calling list showed that the SIM was used from the last 3rd of March. It appeared that the person that found it treated himself well doing so many calls in 10 days or so, and my account was charged for that using a large international roaming charge.
I called the customer service at AT&T and I was starting to freak out. The guy answering the phone was shocked by the amount as I was, and he started filling a case to dispute that amount. he was a nice person to soothe me and to tell me that he thinks that I will end up paying nothing. After that call I went home and made some Online research about similar cases and I was really worried. Here you are with cases of people ending up paying at least a portion of their bill after a huge fight with those multi-million dollar companies. But I got some very good tips such as this web page. What I also found while reviewing the case of one guy with Cingular that one of his strong basis to dispute the charges was the he didn't authorize international roaming! I felt very happy about that since it was my case and now instead of begging for sympathy I have some legal basis for my claim. I also learned that is VERY IMPORTANT to keep a written record of all your phone correspondence with the company (time of the call, name and ID number of the receiver and a summery of the call, and the number of the case). You also need to check if these guys are doing their job. In my case I called the next day asking if the case was submitted, it appeared that it was lost in the system! So I ended up submitting another case. I also got the company to flag my account as being under dispute so that they won't disconnect the service before a resolution is there. I was informed about the expected day of resolution and I got a phone call few days before that stating that my march bell has been resolved and all int. charges are dropped.
Time to celebrate? Not yet! since the mis-usage was done between late March and the middle of April, and my bill covers only the end of March, there was the possibility that my April bill will have the same issue.
And it sure did; I got a bill of almost $5000. This time I had a bit more confidence and I called for a dispute and made a case. Seems that there was a mistake in filling the case since they called back saying there were some missing details and that I had to file another case, that been done and I made sure to refer them to the previous resolution. The next day I got a SMS from the company that my case was resolved. A $5000 worth SMS.
If there is one practical lesson to learn it is that you have to treat your cell-phone just like a credit card. i usually put a lock on my phone but now I will try to learn how to lock my SIM card so that no one can use without the phone. One other thing is the value of a good customer service. When I bought my 2 year plan I felt that I was paying a bit too much for minutes that I hardly use, but now seeing how AT&T was gracious in dealing with this crises it made me value their service even more. And this will weigh in my decision in renewing my plan with them or simply go to a pre-paid option, where even if the SIM was missing you won't freak out.
I am very hopeful to be able to get back to Jordan one day, and maybe I will do some effort to locate that rascal that started all this.
Once I arrived Jordan I took off the SIM card and kept it in my camera's case. I was following my bills every month since I was on a plan. The day of my travel I discovered at the airport that I lost my SIM card. I didn't think it was a big deal back then and assumed that I must have misplaced it home when i was packing for my return trip.
I went to AT&T local branch and was a bit upset that I had to pay $25 for a new SIM card but I was glad that my cell phone is back running. This turned out to be my least problems since I received a bill of the amount of $7500 for the month of March. I felt a bit numb once I read the amount, and I realized that I must have lost my SIM card while doing a trip to PETRA in late march. The detailed calling list showed that the SIM was used from the last 3rd of March. It appeared that the person that found it treated himself well doing so many calls in 10 days or so, and my account was charged for that using a large international roaming charge.
I called the customer service at AT&T and I was starting to freak out. The guy answering the phone was shocked by the amount as I was, and he started filling a case to dispute that amount. he was a nice person to soothe me and to tell me that he thinks that I will end up paying nothing. After that call I went home and made some Online research about similar cases and I was really worried. Here you are with cases of people ending up paying at least a portion of their bill after a huge fight with those multi-million dollar companies. But I got some very good tips such as this web page. What I also found while reviewing the case of one guy with Cingular that one of his strong basis to dispute the charges was the he didn't authorize international roaming! I felt very happy about that since it was my case and now instead of begging for sympathy I have some legal basis for my claim. I also learned that is VERY IMPORTANT to keep a written record of all your phone correspondence with the company (time of the call, name and ID number of the receiver and a summery of the call, and the number of the case). You also need to check if these guys are doing their job. In my case I called the next day asking if the case was submitted, it appeared that it was lost in the system! So I ended up submitting another case. I also got the company to flag my account as being under dispute so that they won't disconnect the service before a resolution is there. I was informed about the expected day of resolution and I got a phone call few days before that stating that my march bell has been resolved and all int. charges are dropped.
Time to celebrate? Not yet! since the mis-usage was done between late March and the middle of April, and my bill covers only the end of March, there was the possibility that my April bill will have the same issue.
And it sure did; I got a bill of almost $5000. This time I had a bit more confidence and I called for a dispute and made a case. Seems that there was a mistake in filling the case since they called back saying there were some missing details and that I had to file another case, that been done and I made sure to refer them to the previous resolution. The next day I got a SMS from the company that my case was resolved. A $5000 worth SMS.
If there is one practical lesson to learn it is that you have to treat your cell-phone just like a credit card. i usually put a lock on my phone but now I will try to learn how to lock my SIM card so that no one can use without the phone. One other thing is the value of a good customer service. When I bought my 2 year plan I felt that I was paying a bit too much for minutes that I hardly use, but now seeing how AT&T was gracious in dealing with this crises it made me value their service even more. And this will weigh in my decision in renewing my plan with them or simply go to a pre-paid option, where even if the SIM was missing you won't freak out.
I am very hopeful to be able to get back to Jordan one day, and maybe I will do some effort to locate that rascal that started all this.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Things to say about being detained/imprisoned in Jordan
In The Black Iris today, Nas gave a good point about the case of human rights in Jordan. Personally, I believe that Capital punishment should be eliminated unless there were indisputable evidence or unforced confessions. I also think that 10 years should be given before the execution to give time for any further developments and that judges should investigate whether confessions were made under torture or not.
Regarding the issue of torture and miss-treatment for prisoners and detainees I think that the country did take few good steps towards fixing the problem. The most comprehensive coverage is given by Amnesty International and Amman Center for Human Rights Studies. The later has a very detailed account on the problem and the steps taken to fix it, few steps are:
1- Building new prisons that are more adequate. This point was kinda surprising for the authors since "the building structures in most prisons appeared adequate, with the exception of Juwaida and parts of Qafqafa, and sanitary facilities." So instead of fixing a small problem, our Gov. decided to build things from scratch hmmm...
2- One new prison is going to be a Super-maximum security prison (in Muaqqar). These became trendy in the US starting from the 80's and human rights organizations have many issues with them. But I guess it's a step to separate dangerous prisoners from other less-violent detainees...Don't be so sure since the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Interior Mukhaimer Abu Jammous said that this prison is for certain crimes, not for certain criminal natures...After concerns being made, the gov. stated that this facility will be used only for violent criminals. I wonder if we will start seeing criminals in orange suits.
These reports are lacking one crucial point; They didn't tackle the claimed torture during crime investigations in police departments and other security services. In that field I can say that the General Intelligence Department (GID) had taken few referendums in it's ways and they are trying to come back from a notorious reputation. I had a friend that got arrested by them and spent 4 days in their hospitality. He was satisfied with the treatment he got: He had his own cell, own clean bathroom, meals on time, he had his holly book and they told him that he can fast if he wants and they would cut his breakfast and lunch and give him a double dinner at breakfast time! Now that's impressive. He seemed by far less happy about the following days in "Preventive Security" cells where he reported torture and the few days he ahd to spend in Al-Jafer (which is closed now). A relative of mine reported on his visit to the GID by saying: "it was something close to a job interview". Few questions about some people he knew and then off you go.
To sum things up. I think that Jordan did take few good steps in this historic soar thumb to our image as a modern civilized country. Further processing must be demand and monitored, especially on issues regarding detention.
Regarding the issue of torture and miss-treatment for prisoners and detainees I think that the country did take few good steps towards fixing the problem. The most comprehensive coverage is given by Amnesty International and Amman Center for Human Rights Studies. The later has a very detailed account on the problem and the steps taken to fix it, few steps are:
1- Building new prisons that are more adequate. This point was kinda surprising for the authors since "the building structures in most prisons appeared adequate, with the exception of Juwaida and parts of Qafqafa, and sanitary facilities." So instead of fixing a small problem, our Gov. decided to build things from scratch hmmm...
2- One new prison is going to be a Super-maximum security prison (in Muaqqar). These became trendy in the US starting from the 80's and human rights organizations have many issues with them. But I guess it's a step to separate dangerous prisoners from other less-violent detainees...Don't be so sure since the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Interior Mukhaimer Abu Jammous said that this prison is for certain crimes, not for certain criminal natures...After concerns being made, the gov. stated that this facility will be used only for violent criminals. I wonder if we will start seeing criminals in orange suits.
These reports are lacking one crucial point; They didn't tackle the claimed torture during crime investigations in police departments and other security services. In that field I can say that the General Intelligence Department (GID) had taken few referendums in it's ways and they are trying to come back from a notorious reputation. I had a friend that got arrested by them and spent 4 days in their hospitality. He was satisfied with the treatment he got: He had his own cell, own clean bathroom, meals on time, he had his holly book and they told him that he can fast if he wants and they would cut his breakfast and lunch and give him a double dinner at breakfast time! Now that's impressive. He seemed by far less happy about the following days in "Preventive Security" cells where he reported torture and the few days he ahd to spend in Al-Jafer (which is closed now). A relative of mine reported on his visit to the GID by saying: "it was something close to a job interview". Few questions about some people he knew and then off you go.
To sum things up. I think that Jordan did take few good steps in this historic soar thumb to our image as a modern civilized country. Further processing must be demand and monitored, especially on issues regarding detention.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Names of Jordanian Territories and there "Translations"
The difficulty
العقبة
Blue City
الزرقاء
Rounded
المدورة
Clouds City
مدينة سحاب
Units
الوحدات
Immigrants
المهاجرين
Green Mountain
جبل الاخضر
Clean Mountain
جبل النظيف
Mars Mountain
جبل المريخ
Crown Mountain
جبل التاج
Picnic Mountain
جبل النزهة
Iron Mountain
جبل الحديد
Vinegar Blasphemy
كفر خل
Heaven's Eye
عين جنة
Goat's Eye
عين التيس
General's Eye
عين الباشا
Linttellete
العدسية
Fork
المفرق
Starch triangle
مثلث النشا
Immortal hospital
مستشفى الخالدي
The lowerer area
حي نزال
Dust Monastery
دير غبار
The Chair
الكرسي
the decent of the camper
نزول الخيام
The ceiling of the stream
سقف السيل
The hole
الجورة
The station Street
شارع المحطة
Happy Preacher Street
شارع سعيد المفتي
The furnace
المحرقة
The Blue
الأزرق
The hot
السخنة
The Egyptian Area
حي المصاروة
The reservoir Circle
دوار الحاووز
Internal Circle
دوار الداخلية
Horses
الحصن
The round belt
الحزام الدائري
Traffic Vally
وادي السير
Rain Vally
وادي الشتا
The Bar
العارضة
And still looking for the translation of
(قفقفا)
العقبة
Blue City
الزرقاء
Rounded
المدورة
Clouds City
مدينة سحاب
Units
الوحدات
Immigrants
المهاجرين
Green Mountain
جبل الاخضر
Clean Mountain
جبل النظيف
Mars Mountain
جبل المريخ
Crown Mountain
جبل التاج
Picnic Mountain
جبل النزهة
Iron Mountain
جبل الحديد
Vinegar Blasphemy
كفر خل
Heaven's Eye
عين جنة
Goat's Eye
عين التيس
General's Eye
عين الباشا
Linttellete
العدسية
Fork
المفرق
Starch triangle
مثلث النشا
Immortal hospital
مستشفى الخالدي
The lowerer area
حي نزال
Dust Monastery
دير غبار
The Chair
الكرسي
the decent of the camper
نزول الخيام
The ceiling of the stream
سقف السيل
The hole
الجورة
The station Street
شارع المحطة
Happy Preacher Street
شارع سعيد المفتي
The furnace
المحرقة
The Blue
الأزرق
The hot
السخنة
The Egyptian Area
حي المصاروة
The reservoir Circle
دوار الحاووز
Internal Circle
دوار الداخلية
Horses
الحصن
The round belt
الحزام الدائري
Traffic Vally
وادي السير
Rain Vally
وادي الشتا
The Bar
العارضة
And still looking for the translation of
(قفقفا)
Friday, April 3, 2009
You know you are an Arab if
You know you are an Arab if :
You go to Arabic restaurants, tell the owners you're Arab, and think you're
going to get free food.
You have to constantly remind your American friends to take off their shoes when they enter your house.
You flip out when someone mistakes you for a Mexican or Indian.
You say "bolice" instead of "police".
You inherited or will inherit land in your country.
You brag about your kids even if they are bad.
Your spouse is also your first cousin.
You're fat and blame it on the kids, or you're bald and blame it on the stress.
Your aunt asks you when she can dance at your wedding.
You smoke as if it were your last day on earth...and you only smoke Marlboro.
You think its cool to dance and smoke at the same time.
You wear more cologne than deodorant.
You fight over who pays the dinner bill.
You pronounce "comfortable" cun-fort-a-bull.
You say the letter "h" like "etch."
You put olive oil in and on everything and brag about how healthy it is.
You gossip about your own family...with members of your own family.
You cook a meal that lasts 3 days.
You pity anyone who is not an Arab and think all other cultures are morally corrupt.
You have fruit trees in your backyard and when they are in season you live off them.
You don't use the word "tease" in English cause you feel weird.
Your father swears at you with words that effect himself (Ibn-Kalb).
You have 500,000,000 cousins.
Your relatives alone could populate a small city.
At weddings it takes the bride and groom 4 hours to kiss all the guests.
You "get down" from the car instead of "getting out" of it.
You have a gold necklace of your name written in Arabic.
Your middle name is your father's first name.
If you are male, you're named after your grandfather or great-grandfather.
You play cards till the break of dawn.
You can't have a meal without bread.
You never run out of bizzir.
You get offended when Americans call Arabic bread "Pita bread"
If you are an Arab woman, you dye your hair an obviously fake shade of blonde that is nonexistent in nature and swear that it's natural.
You feel proud when someone famous or a celebrity has any Arabic blood in them.
You teach your American friends Arabic words (mostly bad ones) and get happy when they use them in normal conversations.
Your Mom has a creative nickname for you like "Natoosheh," or "Tuntooneh."
You have a difficult Arabic name so you come up with an Americanized version of it like "Sam" or "Mike."
You have someone tell you your fortune through your coffee cup.
You love Um Kalthoom and if you don't, your dad makes you listen to her and tries to translate the words into English so you can appreciate her as much as he does.
Three or more relatives live in your neighborhood.
If you're a single Arab guy, you tell women you're a "successful businessman" or that you "own a successful business back home" even if you're an unemployed goat herder.
You get real happy and call the whole family to the room when there is a special or documentary on Arabs or anything Arabic related on CNN or PBS.
Your mother yells at the top of her lungs to call you to dinner even if you're in the next room.
You arrive one or two hours late to a party and think it's normal.
You are standing next to the largest suitcases at the Airport.
You talk for an hour at the front door when leaving someone's house.
You say bye 17 times on the phone.
Your parents still scream at the top of their lungs when making long distance calls.
You always say "open the light" instead of "turn the light on".
You've had a shoe thrown at you by your mother.
When your parents meet strangers and talk for a few minutes, you discover they know one of your uncles back home.
Your mother does everything for you if you are male.
You do all the housework and cooking if you are female.
You refer to your dad's friends as Amoo.
You still came back home to live with your parents after you graduate.
You have an endless supply of pistachios, dates, and pumpkin seeds.
Your parents say you're becoming westernized anytime you get into trouble.
You curse at your teachers or strangers in Arabic.
You have at least thirty cousins.
Your parents want you to become a doctor or engineer.
You use your forehead and eyebrows to point something out.
Your parents drink 6 cups of tea a day.
You can spot an Arab a mile away and they have spotted you because they keep staring.
After a family meal, the women fight to the death over who should wash the dishes while the men sit on their behinds and discuss politics, waiting for their tea.
You have to constantly remind your American friends to take off their shoes when they enter your house.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Poetry Reading in Darat Alfunun, Mourid Barghouthi
Today was a fine day for poetry! I arrived at Darat Alfunun few minutes late. never-the-less they started 10 minutes after my arrival. The place was kinda easy to reach without a car! just go to Al-webdih Service line and let them take you there (or you can enjoy a 15 minute hike!).
Dar Al-funun is a very small place, it got crowded with the 50+ people that were in before the evening starts! It took us few minutes to go around the building and sit in the other room (usually designed for the audio equipment and logistics).
The poet Mourid Barghouthi is actually one of the known Palestinian voices in modern literature. His recital was very good and the poems were great. He presented a collection of his poems through his 25 year old experience. Some of his famous poems where included such as: صنمٌ رخاميّ (A Marble Pagan) and فكرة أعدائي (My Enemies Thought). The audience seemed to enjoy the poems that directly talk about the Palestinian cause. But his last recital, the best one in my opinion, was his ode to Mahmoud Darwish it it was a grand finale. I certainly hope to hear it one more time.
To sum things up, it was a decent evening. It could have been better if it was more publicized (I only knew about it from a friend and 7iber. This guy certainly deserved to read in the Roman theater. I know that Darwish - Whom the evening was dedicated to - would be happy about it.
Dar Al-funun is a very small place, it got crowded with the 50+ people that were in before the evening starts! It took us few minutes to go around the building and sit in the other room (usually designed for the audio equipment and logistics).
The poet Mourid Barghouthi is actually one of the known Palestinian voices in modern literature. His recital was very good and the poems were great. He presented a collection of his poems through his 25 year old experience. Some of his famous poems where included such as: صنمٌ رخاميّ (A Marble Pagan) and فكرة أعدائي (My Enemies Thought). The audience seemed to enjoy the poems that directly talk about the Palestinian cause. But his last recital, the best one in my opinion, was his ode to Mahmoud Darwish it it was a grand finale. I certainly hope to hear it one more time.
To sum things up, it was a decent evening. It could have been better if it was more publicized (I only knew about it from a friend and 7iber. This guy certainly deserved to read in the Roman theater. I know that Darwish - Whom the evening was dedicated to - would be happy about it.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Earth hour in Amman
Couple of weeks ago I read in some Jordanian Blog that Amman is going with the trend of turning the electricity off for an hour on the 28th of March. Between 8:30-9:30PM, all participants will turn of their lights as a sign of awareness. the initiative web site reads:"For the first time in history, people of all ages, nationalities, race and background have the opportunity to use their light switch as their vote – Switching off your lights is a vote for Earth, or leaving them on is a vote for global warming. WWF are urging the world to VOTE EARTH and reach the target of 1 billion votes, which will be presented to world leaders at the Global Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen 2009."
The Jordanian official side decided to turn the lights off on few streets and to organize a candle march in Rainbow street. This event went unnoticed by most people and many environment advocates were disappointed. And most of the population knew nothing about it and probably won't participate even if they did.
Should we get disappointed by this outcome? You shouldn't!
Jordan ranks around 85 in the world consumption of energy per capita! So why would a Jordanian man turn the light off and use a candle (probably a more expensive thing to do) just to be involved in this global Hippocratic lets-share-the-guilt kind of act? The first way to solve a problem is to find the real causes, and in this case it wasn't us, then you need to use effective ways to solve it. Most of the nations involved are Democratic nations. So their leaders will only listen to their votes, in their national elections. Not some symbolic - immeasurable - act of turning your light off at night (many people sleep at that time by the way!).
Jordan needs environment awareness of its own problems such is recycling and water preservation. And if Jordanian pro-west and West-Amman based intelligentsia couldn't realize that, then they ought to be...disappointed...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)