I’m predicting that Mr.Abbadi will be found not guilty, perhaps not all of the charges will be thrown out, perhaps he won’t be getting an out right acquittal but his conviction will be on a much lesser charges that may or may not carry jail time other than what he already had served while in detention awaiting the trial. I think that his lawyer’s resplendence idea of inserting the hacking issue into the mix will prove to be a huge mitigating factor. If the judges don’t somehow doubt the credibility of the defendant’s attorney, they will have no choice but return a not guilty verdict. The letter is considered the fulcrum with which the persecution case rests’. Abbadi denied writing the letter, and further more says that he was framed by someone that wanted to harm his interest, and hence wrote the letter and attributes it to him. He also testified that he would never harm Jordan’s interests abroad and he is a loyal citizen and former law maker dedicated to the service of the Hashemite regime and the country of Jordan. If that defense is not convincing enough I don’t know what else would be. This new turn of events had changed the entire make up of the case and shook the ground underneath the prosecutor’s general feet. Had Mr. Abbadi insisted that he is the one that wrote the letter, and had he insisted that he wrote it because he was exercising his freedom of speech rights, he would be convicted with no if and or but about it. Nevertheless, having found an outlet to get him off the hook will prove to be a brilliant thinking on the part of his attorney. There is no way in the world the prosecution can prove with an absolute certainty that Mr. Abbadi wrote the letter, the IT experts that testified the other day on behalf of the defendant clearly stated that possibility of hacking the cite exists and it may very well be that someone had inserted the letter into the web site and made it look like Mr. Abbadi wrote it, in other words, the implication is that he was framed. When I reviewed this case few months ago I was thinking in my mind that it is going to be for sure 100% conviction, it is crystal clear that the letter which was allegedly written by Mr. Abbadi sounds like it is intended to harm the Jordanian interests and sully its reputation abroad, needles to say, the subsequent turn of events and particularly the framing allegations turns the whole story upside down and throws the ball back in the prosecution court. And despite the fact that the prosecutor asked that Mr. Abbadi be found guilty as charged, I’m sure the judges are much more sagacious than the prosecutors and they will take the issue of the denial as well as the issue of framing very seriously. Let us wait and see what the verdict is going to be but I have a deep visceral feeling that it is going to be favorable to Mr. Abbadi
http://www.jordantimes.com/?news=2575
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Monday, October 01, 2007
It must be the end of time
http://www.jordantimes.com/?news=2547
I can’t believe that Fahed Fank, one of the most ardent opponents of the National Agenda; long even before it was even published, is now calling for its revival. The end of time must be drawing near. He questioned in his daily column published in AlRai newspaper on October 20, 205 whether the goals of the national agenda were obligatory or merely hopes and expectations, he questioned the hypothesis with which were used as a fulcrum for the national agenda, he stated that the fundamental issue in the economic development in Jordan is based on outside influences and not under our will and determination, he cited the Palestinian problem, the future of Iraq, the stability of the region, fluctuating oil prices, out side grants, the gulf market, and other reasons that will hinder the launching of the national agenda. Mr. Fank went on to say that the most farcical item of the agenda’s ten main items is the one that pledges to turn the countries budget deficit into a surplus even prior to having to take into consideration the foreign grants. According to him even if this economic surplus goal was achieved it would have caused as much damage to the economy as the budget deficit itself since it will demand an increase in tax levies.
I can’t believe that Fahed Fank, one of the most ardent opponents of the National Agenda; long even before it was even published, is now calling for its revival. The end of time must be drawing near. He questioned in his daily column published in AlRai newspaper on October 20, 205 whether the goals of the national agenda were obligatory or merely hopes and expectations, he questioned the hypothesis with which were used as a fulcrum for the national agenda, he stated that the fundamental issue in the economic development in Jordan is based on outside influences and not under our will and determination, he cited the Palestinian problem, the future of Iraq, the stability of the region, fluctuating oil prices, out side grants, the gulf market, and other reasons that will hinder the launching of the national agenda. Mr. Fank went on to say that the most farcical item of the agenda’s ten main items is the one that pledges to turn the countries budget deficit into a surplus even prior to having to take into consideration the foreign grants. According to him even if this economic surplus goal was achieved it would have caused as much damage to the economy as the budget deficit itself since it will demand an increase in tax levies.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Jordanian Initiative
I’m surprised that no one particularly those amongst us that make it a habit of theirs to address these issues bothered to mention about the project lead by former president Clinton entitled “Clinton Global Initiative”. This link gives some back ground about the project.
http://www.clintonglobalinitiative.org/NETCOMMUNITY/Page.aspx?&pid=1399&srcid=-2
I’m personally impressed by what I have read about it especially that it covers four topics that are very near and dear to my heart. A) Education b) Energy c) Health d) Poverty alleviation.
I think that an initiative like that would be very helpful for country like ours, we hear about so many initiative that were created in Jordan over the last decade or so, sadly most of these initiatives either die in their infancy, never see the light, or never develop all the way until fruition.
I don’t pretend to have any answer but I’m just trying to toss some ideas around so hopefully it will stimulate a discussion about how can we lift Jordan to a higher standard better and more improved than the current one. Can we emulate the global initiative, better yet, can we localize or domesticate the global initiative with a similar initiative called the Jordanian initiative.
I know I sound like I’m too influenced by the global initiative and to tell you the truth I’m, but why not, I guess I’m extra ordinarily utopian individual, or a big day dreamer.
http://www.clintonglobalinitiative.org/NETCOMMUNITY/Page.aspx?&pid=1399&srcid=-2
I’m personally impressed by what I have read about it especially that it covers four topics that are very near and dear to my heart. A) Education b) Energy c) Health d) Poverty alleviation.
I think that an initiative like that would be very helpful for country like ours, we hear about so many initiative that were created in Jordan over the last decade or so, sadly most of these initiatives either die in their infancy, never see the light, or never develop all the way until fruition.
I don’t pretend to have any answer but I’m just trying to toss some ideas around so hopefully it will stimulate a discussion about how can we lift Jordan to a higher standard better and more improved than the current one. Can we emulate the global initiative, better yet, can we localize or domesticate the global initiative with a similar initiative called the Jordanian initiative.
I know I sound like I’m too influenced by the global initiative and to tell you the truth I’m, but why not, I guess I’m extra ordinarily utopian individual, or a big day dreamer.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Help Wanted
Help Wanted
The Jordanian press and publication department is looking for qualified candidates to fill in a number of vacant positions available for a recently enacted domestic surveillance program.
Positions entail spaying on electronic media websites, blogs, web pages, electronic news beaurues, correspondences, news bulletins, comments, chats, announcements, and electronic press releases.
Qualified candidates must posses an excellent command of the English language, must be willing to engage the bloggers into a lively desirable discussions for the purpose of entrapping them. This isn’t a nine to five position, a designated spy must be available on a twenty four to forty eight hours shifts. When the story breaks so will the spy be ready to report on the flurry electronic activities about it.
The position offers a basic salary and plenty of commission incentives, the more people you turn in the higher your income will be. Our goal is to shut the mouths as well as the spirit of those nonconforming so called electronic media journalists.
In the past we have been successful at shutting the print journalists as well as defining delineated borders for the video and audio journalist personnel, we expect to have the same level of success if not better, faster, and more swifter at the electronic media.
For immediate consideration forward “ironically” via electronic media your curriculum vita outlining your qualification, interests, and goals. Only applicants that demonstrate the highest degree of becoming excellent spies will be considered for the positions, and will be invited for further processing and training on the best methods of how to spot violators of electronic media journalists and bring them to justice.
If you aren’t self confident well rounded spy willing to turn in the most intimate person to you;then you need not bother applying for any of these open positions, this isn’t for the feign hearted individual.
Interested applicants need not worry about public exposure, confidentiality is of a paramount importance to the press and publication department, all reporting and turning in people will be done in highly covert operations, you need not worry about being exposed.
We encourage young talented English proficient male and female Jordanians to take advantage of this rare opportunity, applications will be reviewed on first come first serve order, don’t let this excellent opportunity pass you by, hurry, the time to become a highly paid spy is now. Experience is not necessary, nor is it a requirement.
The Jordanian press and publication department is looking for qualified candidates to fill in a number of vacant positions available for a recently enacted domestic surveillance program.
Positions entail spaying on electronic media websites, blogs, web pages, electronic news beaurues, correspondences, news bulletins, comments, chats, announcements, and electronic press releases.
Qualified candidates must posses an excellent command of the English language, must be willing to engage the bloggers into a lively desirable discussions for the purpose of entrapping them. This isn’t a nine to five position, a designated spy must be available on a twenty four to forty eight hours shifts. When the story breaks so will the spy be ready to report on the flurry electronic activities about it.
The position offers a basic salary and plenty of commission incentives, the more people you turn in the higher your income will be. Our goal is to shut the mouths as well as the spirit of those nonconforming so called electronic media journalists.
In the past we have been successful at shutting the print journalists as well as defining delineated borders for the video and audio journalist personnel, we expect to have the same level of success if not better, faster, and more swifter at the electronic media.
For immediate consideration forward “ironically” via electronic media your curriculum vita outlining your qualification, interests, and goals. Only applicants that demonstrate the highest degree of becoming excellent spies will be considered for the positions, and will be invited for further processing and training on the best methods of how to spot violators of electronic media journalists and bring them to justice.
If you aren’t self confident well rounded spy willing to turn in the most intimate person to you;then you need not bother applying for any of these open positions, this isn’t for the feign hearted individual.
Interested applicants need not worry about public exposure, confidentiality is of a paramount importance to the press and publication department, all reporting and turning in people will be done in highly covert operations, you need not worry about being exposed.
We encourage young talented English proficient male and female Jordanians to take advantage of this rare opportunity, applications will be reviewed on first come first serve order, don’t let this excellent opportunity pass you by, hurry, the time to become a highly paid spy is now. Experience is not necessary, nor is it a requirement.
Thursday, September 06, 2007
New ways of looking for a job
Nowadays eager job seekers are turning to places like You Tube to tout their marketable skills, prospective employers are reacting positively. A decade or so ago, the same people were sending in video tapes of themselves to companies that they hoped to work for, in a recorded two to three minutes segment they would outline their career goals, education, training, professional experience and even hobbies. When those video tapes ended up being too bulky and require video cassette players to view them, employers lost interest in them and soon enough they have become extinct. Not long afterwards the compact discs emerged as the favorite tool for sending one's blurb about him and his job prospects. While I concur that the cold calling is dead but so is the web sites that people post their resume on it 'on line' in hope of trying to locate a job, it too caught up with the frenzy of job searching for a number of years .Regrettable, the trend didn't last and the force of the imposed technology caused it to move on as well. Check this out: In any given day there are millions of resumes circulating on the internet, even those resumes that are job specific number in the hundreds of thousands, employers don't have the necessary time to sift through these job applicants in order for them to select the right candidate. Often times even human resource managers are under intense pressure to staff the vacant positions as soon as they possibly can in a relatively short period of time line, though, to do so in a hasty manner would do the company disservice and result in hiring the wrong candidate. On the flip side of the coin, watching an already uploaded segment on You Tube can be achieved with relative ease by a click of the mouse. Only then the employer can get a very clear idea about the person's character by watching him/her introduce themselves on You Tube or similar website, and if they don't like what they see they never have to see them again. There are no reams of resumes to go through, no highlighting of important facts, and no narrowing down of three, two, and finally one candidate. When the human resource manager watches the You Tube like video he/she will decide on the spot whether that particular candidate in the segment is suitable or unsuitable to work for their company. They will be able to watch his appearance, listen to his voice, and determine his nationality, color, body language and so on. These are very important characteristics for employers. By contrast, posting a resume on the internet is going out of vogue; soon it will be extinct just like the video cassette and the compact disc before it. People should realize that technology is changing the face of how we should be looking for a job now and in the future. Remember once upon a time when finding a job was solely based on referral. A friend of yours, your neighbor, or your uncle used to recommend you for their boss and then the next thing you are hired based on their recommendations. Then there was the job ads appearing in the newspaper, and answering them via the postal services, followed by an invitation for an interview, and finally the hiring. Then there was the cold calling, the walk in, and even the stopping of managers in the middle of the street begging them to give you a chance for an interview. All of these styles have gone out of business; they are no longer effective in locating and landing a job. While I do wish the best of luck for the founders of this new online job seeking company in Jordan, I think that they have arrived into the market too little too late, the digital divide had caught up with them, and unless they add some new innovative features to go a long with merely posting a text resume they will be doomed. One must be mind full of all of the changes that are occurring around him, what used to be fitting a couple of years ago may not be fitting these days. The key word for Akhtaboot is innovate- before-it -is too- late.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Stone care techniques
I was reading this column published on Friday August 31,07 http://www.alghad.jo/index.php?article=7016&sub#msg in alghad jordanian daily-- and then I decided to speak my mind on it.
Here is how I feel about it :
The market is awash with stone care products but the owners of these stone buildings are unwilling or unable to utilize these products that keep their building aesthetically sound. Stone surfaces can very easily be maintained by power washing them annually with 1500-300 psi power washing machine. However when the dirt is allowed to dwell on the surface for a number of years it first penetrates into the porous stone surface, hardens, and builds up just like the plaque that adheres and builds on the human teeth. Once the dirt on the stone surface hardens and gets exposed to hot and cold and rainy weathers, removal of the dirt becomes that much more difficult. The key to maintaining beautiful looking stone surface is preventive maintenance, power wash the exterior of the entire vertical surfaces from all four sides of the building at least once a year and you can rest assured that your building will look as good as the first day you built it for many years to come. Conversely, ignore power washing your building surfaces for five or more years and your building will look very ugly. In any event, even those who ignore the preventive maintenance stage can still get their building back in shape by moving into step two of stone care and that is called corrective and restorative maintenance techniques. In this stage the building surface must be cleaned using a number of ways among them acid based chemical to etch the surface, sand blasting, or poultice, any of these methods would take care of the cleaning part, after the surface had been thoroughly clean, an impregnator would have to be applied on the stone surface by using either a spray gun, a soft wool lamb applicator, or hand brush. In some instances more than one application would be needed especially if the stone surface had gone into vigorous cleaning prior to the application. Once the impregnator dries up the stone surface would look like brand new again and all it would need is a regular hosing with a garden hose about twice a year. I'm amazed about how much the Jordanians ignore the maintenance of the exterior stone surfaces of their buildings, I even once thought about opening a stone care business in Amman consisting of washing all the intolerable ugly looking permanent grime adhering to the buildings stone surfaces.
Here is how I feel about it :
The market is awash with stone care products but the owners of these stone buildings are unwilling or unable to utilize these products that keep their building aesthetically sound. Stone surfaces can very easily be maintained by power washing them annually with 1500-300 psi power washing machine. However when the dirt is allowed to dwell on the surface for a number of years it first penetrates into the porous stone surface, hardens, and builds up just like the plaque that adheres and builds on the human teeth. Once the dirt on the stone surface hardens and gets exposed to hot and cold and rainy weathers, removal of the dirt becomes that much more difficult. The key to maintaining beautiful looking stone surface is preventive maintenance, power wash the exterior of the entire vertical surfaces from all four sides of the building at least once a year and you can rest assured that your building will look as good as the first day you built it for many years to come. Conversely, ignore power washing your building surfaces for five or more years and your building will look very ugly. In any event, even those who ignore the preventive maintenance stage can still get their building back in shape by moving into step two of stone care and that is called corrective and restorative maintenance techniques. In this stage the building surface must be cleaned using a number of ways among them acid based chemical to etch the surface, sand blasting, or poultice, any of these methods would take care of the cleaning part, after the surface had been thoroughly clean, an impregnator would have to be applied on the stone surface by using either a spray gun, a soft wool lamb applicator, or hand brush. In some instances more than one application would be needed especially if the stone surface had gone into vigorous cleaning prior to the application. Once the impregnator dries up the stone surface would look like brand new again and all it would need is a regular hosing with a garden hose about twice a year. I'm amazed about how much the Jordanians ignore the maintenance of the exterior stone surfaces of their buildings, I even once thought about opening a stone care business in Amman consisting of washing all the intolerable ugly looking permanent grime adhering to the buildings stone surfaces.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Blogging---again ?!
I think that the bloggers need to coalesce over one single issue at the time and try to break it open inside out in the public view so it can turn into the talk of the town. This is the only way that public officials will begin to pay attention to what the bloggers are saying. At this point in time each blogger is blogging about anything and everything, there is no one particular issue [except may be for the snow] that would attract a collection of bloggers to debate in a deliberate fashion and prosecute a particular issue from A to Z.
The bloggers can if they want to- become the lobbying voice- the public defenders- if you will for- the general public, they have the ability to understand the issues more than anyone else, they have the necessary education to fathom the most intricate details surrounding the issues, and they have the technology to spread the word around with relative ease.
I think that the bloggers can operate as a pressure group by explaining the pros and cons of every issue that affects the citizens of the country, be that health care or lack of it, education, immigration, taxation, foreign labor, and so on and so forth.
So why aren’t they doing it?! I think that part of the reason is apathy, and part of the reason is their impotence toward believing that no matter how hard they try they aren’t going to be able to change anything and business will continue running the way it has been running for the past several decades.
The final part is probably fear of retribution by the government against them personally or against members of their families. Perhaps some of these concerns are quite legitimate and others are just imaginary.
Where do we go from here? I say we go toward coalescing, toward a synergy like effort, toward parsing every issue in a manner that is comprehensible to the average citizen of the country.
If we continue to blog with no aim in sight we are going to be blogging for the rest of our lives about things that no body read except the authors themselves. By contrast, if we can show that we are dead serious about plowing the rugged fields and prepare it for reform, we are serious about seeing a change taking place in the country during our life time not our children or grand children’s time, then just may be and that is a big may be somebody out there will begin paying attention to what we blog about and why.
There are a lot of grievances’ out there; there are a lot of people that don’t know what is going on and why they have arrived at where they are at right now. There are a lot of people that were better off five and ten years ago.
There are people that lament the good old days and wish that they are still living in the past. All these feelings combined need to be articulated and simplified. It doesn’t take a lot for the people to be content in Jordan, but the constant influx of foreign workers, regional immigrants, refugees with no refugee status, sky rocketing real-estate prices, have put the Jordanian citizen in a state of shock and bewilderment.
Bloggers can and should collectively discuss and parse some or all of these issues, they can help put the citizen’s mind at ease by creating a group of informed citizens, ones that know what to do to find jobs for their children, where to go to get an annual check up, how to apply for a scholarship, how do you get a tax relief and exemption.
I guess I’ll stop here before I veer too much away from my main objective which is the need to coalesce toward a primary issue and stay with it from A to Z.
The bloggers can if they want to- become the lobbying voice- the public defenders- if you will for- the general public, they have the ability to understand the issues more than anyone else, they have the necessary education to fathom the most intricate details surrounding the issues, and they have the technology to spread the word around with relative ease.
I think that the bloggers can operate as a pressure group by explaining the pros and cons of every issue that affects the citizens of the country, be that health care or lack of it, education, immigration, taxation, foreign labor, and so on and so forth.
So why aren’t they doing it?! I think that part of the reason is apathy, and part of the reason is their impotence toward believing that no matter how hard they try they aren’t going to be able to change anything and business will continue running the way it has been running for the past several decades.
The final part is probably fear of retribution by the government against them personally or against members of their families. Perhaps some of these concerns are quite legitimate and others are just imaginary.
Where do we go from here? I say we go toward coalescing, toward a synergy like effort, toward parsing every issue in a manner that is comprehensible to the average citizen of the country.
If we continue to blog with no aim in sight we are going to be blogging for the rest of our lives about things that no body read except the authors themselves. By contrast, if we can show that we are dead serious about plowing the rugged fields and prepare it for reform, we are serious about seeing a change taking place in the country during our life time not our children or grand children’s time, then just may be and that is a big may be somebody out there will begin paying attention to what we blog about and why.
There are a lot of grievances’ out there; there are a lot of people that don’t know what is going on and why they have arrived at where they are at right now. There are a lot of people that were better off five and ten years ago.
There are people that lament the good old days and wish that they are still living in the past. All these feelings combined need to be articulated and simplified. It doesn’t take a lot for the people to be content in Jordan, but the constant influx of foreign workers, regional immigrants, refugees with no refugee status, sky rocketing real-estate prices, have put the Jordanian citizen in a state of shock and bewilderment.
Bloggers can and should collectively discuss and parse some or all of these issues, they can help put the citizen’s mind at ease by creating a group of informed citizens, ones that know what to do to find jobs for their children, where to go to get an annual check up, how to apply for a scholarship, how do you get a tax relief and exemption.
I guess I’ll stop here before I veer too much away from my main objective which is the need to coalesce toward a primary issue and stay with it from A to Z.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Blogging
I just learned that there are more than fifty million blogs out there and the number is expected to double by year end. Most blogs are read by the author only and by no one else. Most blogs don't generate any type of profits.The Blogger isn't recognized as journalists. Bloggers are called pajama journalists because most bloggers blog while they are at home, they don't go out on the field looking for stories to report about. Bloggers can be considered as an add on, an accessory, a supplement to real journalism. Journalists aren't worried about the bloggers taking over their jobs. I guess the bottom line is that bloggers aren't being taken seriously by anybody. Their future is unknown, some have already run out of the passion for writing and others are on their way out as well. It would be interesting to find out what will become of blogging five to ten years from now.
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Garden variety of choices
People ask me why do I love living in the United States ? I say it is the choices that are present in the United States & can't be found any where else are the main reason.
It is up to the individuals themselves to make whatever choice they want to make, and when the choice turns out to be a bad one they have no one to blame but themselves. Why? Because it is they who made the choice in the first place, the parents don't make choices for their children in here, the teachers, the doctor, the lawyer, or your next door neighbor don't make choices for you, it is you who make a choices for yourself.
If you don't like your present job, quit and look for another job somewhere else, the opportunity is there for you, you just have to look for it and it isn't too much to ask for.
If you don't like living in this part of the town, then pick up your stuff and move to whatever part of the town that suits your need, you need not be stuck living in the same place or same neighborhood for the rest of your life.
If you don't like your appearance change it, either by changing the way you dress, the way you style your hair, or you can even change your entire facial expressions if you really want to do that.
If you don't like your car then sell it and buy another car with another model and more horse power to it, you need not stay stuck with the same car for ever.
I mean all of these are just samples to give you an idea about the wide variety of choices that exist in America, they are by no means representative of every choice but I'm sure that you get the jest of it.
It is very nice in my opinion to be able to decide for yourself, it gives you a sense of empowerment, a feeling of boldness, and when the choice turns out to be great you feel the ecstasy emanating out of you. By the same token when your choice turns out to be bad you feel the agony of defeat, but still it isn't so bad because it was you who made those good and bad choices in the first place.
I recently made a choice to be involved in the lives of the gifted and academically enriched children ages 11 to 14, and what an exciting experience it turned out to be, those gifted children have a lot of talents hidden underneath their sleeves, you be surprised how much of cognitive skills they have, sometimes they keep me on my toes throughout the period that I spend with them.
This is by the way totally volunteer program aims at helping to further the knowledge and depth of abstract reasoning for children in sixth through eighth grade.
Some people may have a choice of working with senior citizens, some may choose to work with people that are physically and mentally challenged, some people choose to do nothing and live their life without doing any paid or unpaid work, the choice is still yours.
In America the choices are endless, the menu of choices is so long it could be wrapped around the entire globe several times and there would still be more choices written on it for you to choose from.
Endless choices
It is up to the individuals themselves to make whatever choice they want to make, and when the choice turns out to be a bad one they have no one to blame but themselves. Why? Because it is they who made the choice in the first place, the parents don't make choices for their children in here, the teachers, the doctor, the lawyer, or your next door neighbor don't make choices for you, it is you who make a choices for yourself.
If you don't like your present job, quit and look for another job somewhere else, the opportunity is there for you, you just have to look for it and it isn't too much to ask for.
If you don't like living in this part of the town, then pick up your stuff and move to whatever part of the town that suits your need, you need not be stuck living in the same place or same neighborhood for the rest of your life.
If you don't like your appearance change it, either by changing the way you dress, the way you style your hair, or you can even change your entire facial expressions if you really want to do that.
If you don't like your car then sell it and buy another car with another model and more horse power to it, you need not stay stuck with the same car for ever.
I mean all of these are just samples to give you an idea about the wide variety of choices that exist in America, they are by no means representative of every choice but I'm sure that you get the jest of it.
It is very nice in my opinion to be able to decide for yourself, it gives you a sense of empowerment, a feeling of boldness, and when the choice turns out to be great you feel the ecstasy emanating out of you. By the same token when your choice turns out to be bad you feel the agony of defeat, but still it isn't so bad because it was you who made those good and bad choices in the first place.
I recently made a choice to be involved in the lives of the gifted and academically enriched children ages 11 to 14, and what an exciting experience it turned out to be, those gifted children have a lot of talents hidden underneath their sleeves, you be surprised how much of cognitive skills they have, sometimes they keep me on my toes throughout the period that I spend with them.
This is by the way totally volunteer program aims at helping to further the knowledge and depth of abstract reasoning for children in sixth through eighth grade.
Some people may have a choice of working with senior citizens, some may choose to work with people that are physically and mentally challenged, some people choose to do nothing and live their life without doing any paid or unpaid work, the choice is still yours.
In America the choices are endless, the menu of choices is so long it could be wrapped around the entire globe several times and there would still be more choices written on it for you to choose from.
Endless choices
Monday, December 11, 2006
Investing 101
Following is my reader response to Mr. Mohammad El Huseini, program Editor for Business News at Al Arabiya . The article in question was published in Jordan Business monthly Magazine. Their link was posted by Oula yesterday. The link to the article itself appears at the bottom of the page.
Your article is both; informative and entertaining, the last paragraph about your mom's shares sums up the investment industry in an eloquent fashion. An average investor should never go wild trading on a daily or even weekly basis, he should learn from the institutional investors by waiting it out and stick to the original premise, buy low and sell high. When the average investor starts going wild with his investments techniques such as taking a loan on his house or mortgaging a piece of land that he owns in order for him to make a fast dollar in the fast moving stock market, he would be doing nothing but risking his nest egg that one day will crack and splash him right in his face, and that is what happened to many of the average investors who were investing in Amman stock exchange over the past year and a half or so. Investing is supposed to be a long term upward wealth building up project not a short term fast buck making. Those who fall victims to the get rich quick schemes have no one to blame but themselves. Buying stocks, bonds, and mutual funds ought to be incremental first and diversified second. No one should put all of his eggs in one basket, shares need to be bought in small parcels from variety of sources and companies including blue chip companies, emerging markets start ups, and even capital ventures' shares. It should never be limited to this company or that company because if this company goes down all of the purchased shares go down with it such as what happened with Enron, world com, and some of the others that went bankrupt over the past couple of years. Buy and hold is the key to investing, a 10% average annual return is a reasonable yield expectation. Any thing above that would put the investor into a higher degree of risk taking. We all heard moderation is the best modus operandi one ought to take, guess what; it applies to investing as well. Invest only the amounts that you can afford and you don't need to convert it into liquid cash on a short notice, set a side different budget for that kind of spending. When one enters the world of investing in the stock market one ought to understand that he is in it for the long haul.
Hatem Abunimeh
habunimeh@yahoo.com
http://www.jordan-business.net/magazine/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=66&Itemid=40&msgid=8#akotext
Your article is both; informative and entertaining, the last paragraph about your mom's shares sums up the investment industry in an eloquent fashion. An average investor should never go wild trading on a daily or even weekly basis, he should learn from the institutional investors by waiting it out and stick to the original premise, buy low and sell high. When the average investor starts going wild with his investments techniques such as taking a loan on his house or mortgaging a piece of land that he owns in order for him to make a fast dollar in the fast moving stock market, he would be doing nothing but risking his nest egg that one day will crack and splash him right in his face, and that is what happened to many of the average investors who were investing in Amman stock exchange over the past year and a half or so. Investing is supposed to be a long term upward wealth building up project not a short term fast buck making. Those who fall victims to the get rich quick schemes have no one to blame but themselves. Buying stocks, bonds, and mutual funds ought to be incremental first and diversified second. No one should put all of his eggs in one basket, shares need to be bought in small parcels from variety of sources and companies including blue chip companies, emerging markets start ups, and even capital ventures' shares. It should never be limited to this company or that company because if this company goes down all of the purchased shares go down with it such as what happened with Enron, world com, and some of the others that went bankrupt over the past couple of years. Buy and hold is the key to investing, a 10% average annual return is a reasonable yield expectation. Any thing above that would put the investor into a higher degree of risk taking. We all heard moderation is the best modus operandi one ought to take, guess what; it applies to investing as well. Invest only the amounts that you can afford and you don't need to convert it into liquid cash on a short notice, set a side different budget for that kind of spending. When one enters the world of investing in the stock market one ought to understand that he is in it for the long haul.
Hatem Abunimeh
habunimeh@yahoo.com
http://www.jordan-business.net/magazine/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=66&Itemid=40&msgid=8#akotext
Saturday, December 09, 2006
1 state or 2 states
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3329865,00.html
The writer of the article In his sagacious analysis didn't factor in all the usurpation that has been taking place in the Palestinian occupied territories since June 1967. If he adds up all of the Israeli settlements blocks, the Jewish settlers only roads, the areas taken by the apartheid wall, and the newly planned additional housing units slated for expanding the existing settlements, it will leave him with only 45% of the land existed prior to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank in 1967.The residual land represents only about 10 to 12% of the historical Palestinian land. In addition, the realities on the ground nowadays tells a different story, Israel already has a total and complete control of all of the Palestinian territories, the three noncontiguous Palestinian enclaves as well as Gaza Strip are cut off from the outside world. In order for a viable two state solution to be implemented a complete reversal of everything that took place in the occupied territories need to be taken into consideration, a tall order that is impossible to achieve given the current circumstances. So yes a two state solution is equally as bad as one binational state solution. The only solution that is doable and achievable is the one that tells Israel to comply with the international resolutions spelled out in the United Nation Security council resolutions 242, and 338. While this demand may sound like a broken record since it usually falls on deaf ears, it remains to be the most powerful & the most widely recognized solution. Advocates of the one state and the two states may continue their dialogue in the coming months and years, unless Israel comes to the realization that the Palestinian people must be given their independence, we will continue with our futile haggling over one binational state and two state solution until dooms day.
Hatem Abunimeh
habunimeh@yahoo.com
The writer of the article In his sagacious analysis didn't factor in all the usurpation that has been taking place in the Palestinian occupied territories since June 1967. If he adds up all of the Israeli settlements blocks, the Jewish settlers only roads, the areas taken by the apartheid wall, and the newly planned additional housing units slated for expanding the existing settlements, it will leave him with only 45% of the land existed prior to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank in 1967.The residual land represents only about 10 to 12% of the historical Palestinian land. In addition, the realities on the ground nowadays tells a different story, Israel already has a total and complete control of all of the Palestinian territories, the three noncontiguous Palestinian enclaves as well as Gaza Strip are cut off from the outside world. In order for a viable two state solution to be implemented a complete reversal of everything that took place in the occupied territories need to be taken into consideration, a tall order that is impossible to achieve given the current circumstances. So yes a two state solution is equally as bad as one binational state solution. The only solution that is doable and achievable is the one that tells Israel to comply with the international resolutions spelled out in the United Nation Security council resolutions 242, and 338. While this demand may sound like a broken record since it usually falls on deaf ears, it remains to be the most powerful & the most widely recognized solution. Advocates of the one state and the two states may continue their dialogue in the coming months and years, unless Israel comes to the realization that the Palestinian people must be given their independence, we will continue with our futile haggling over one binational state and two state solution until dooms day.
Hatem Abunimeh
habunimeh@yahoo.com
Thursday, December 07, 2006
I'm inspired by the following eye catching headline report that I read in Alghad Newspaper today's issue http://www.alghad.jo/?news=139686دعوة للتعر
I'm inspired by the following eye catching headline report that I read in Alghad Newspaper today's issue http://www.alghad.jo/?news=139686دعوة للتعرف على أصحاب الصور التالية
I'm really amazed by this report which states in so many words that there are at least 3 people the authority is aware of their presence in their custody, but nonetheless, no one else had come forward to identify any one of them.
I was thinking to myself, how could that be, someone, somewhere in the kingdom has got to know one or all three of them.
How is it possible that three families that have members missing from their household and don't even bother asking about them.
Are some people in Jordan are becoming so callous to the point that they don't even bother asking about their children's and grand parents whereabouts whenever they are gone missing.
Can someone offer me some explanation about these found by the police people but never claimed back by any citizen including members of their own family.
May be I'll understand the case with the old man, perhaps he was never married and doesn't have any children, it is also possible that most of his family members live outside Jordan like in the West Bank or some other Arab or foreign country and he was living alone when he got sick and went to the hospital and subsequently passed away.
But what about those other two children, they have got to have a mother, a father, a brother, a sister, a cousin, or any relative. They got to have a neighbor or a kid from the neighborhood that can recognize them.
Heck, I have been outside my neighborhood in Amman for over 30 years but there are many people living in that same neighborhood that still recognize me until now, and I'm almost sure If any one of them sees my picture in the newspaper he/she will come forward and identify me to the authority.
I honestly don't know what to make of this highly unusual story, why no one wants to identify those kids.
Are they for instance illegitimate kids and their family members too embarrassed to come forward for the fear of the stigma?!
Have they been diagnosed with some kind of a terminal disease such an HIV positive and their families don't want to have anything to do with them and they just want to see them go away.
Were they pushed out intentionally out of their households because their families don't have subsistence to sustain living for them.
Did their families leave the country and they just left them behind without worrying about what is going to happen to them in hope that someone will take them and raise them.
I mean How--- Why-- what-- The more I think about it the more baffled I become, I better leave the topic alone before I turn into a nut case.
I hope that in the next few days or so I would read another report revealing that their families have been located or someone out there had come forward to claim them.
I'm really amazed by this report which states in so many words that there are at least 3 people the authority is aware of their presence in their custody, but nonetheless, no one else had come forward to identify any one of them.
I was thinking to myself, how could that be, someone, somewhere in the kingdom has got to know one or all three of them.
How is it possible that three families that have members missing from their household and don't even bother asking about them.
Are some people in Jordan are becoming so callous to the point that they don't even bother asking about their children's and grand parents whereabouts whenever they are gone missing.
Can someone offer me some explanation about these found by the police people but never claimed back by any citizen including members of their own family.
May be I'll understand the case with the old man, perhaps he was never married and doesn't have any children, it is also possible that most of his family members live outside Jordan like in the West Bank or some other Arab or foreign country and he was living alone when he got sick and went to the hospital and subsequently passed away.
But what about those other two children, they have got to have a mother, a father, a brother, a sister, a cousin, or any relative. They got to have a neighbor or a kid from the neighborhood that can recognize them.
Heck, I have been outside my neighborhood in Amman for over 30 years but there are many people living in that same neighborhood that still recognize me until now, and I'm almost sure If any one of them sees my picture in the newspaper he/she will come forward and identify me to the authority.
I honestly don't know what to make of this highly unusual story, why no one wants to identify those kids.
Are they for instance illegitimate kids and their family members too embarrassed to come forward for the fear of the stigma?!
Have they been diagnosed with some kind of a terminal disease such an HIV positive and their families don't want to have anything to do with them and they just want to see them go away.
Were they pushed out intentionally out of their households because their families don't have subsistence to sustain living for them.
Did their families leave the country and they just left them behind without worrying about what is going to happen to them in hope that someone will take them and raise them.
I mean How--- Why-- what-- The more I think about it the more baffled I become, I better leave the topic alone before I turn into a nut case.
I hope that in the next few days or so I would read another report revealing that their families have been located or someone out there had come forward to claim them.
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
Fat / Skinny
I have had battle with the bulge back and forth for over a decade or so.I was buying larger clothing sizes every other month, I went from size 34 in pants waist all the way to size 46, that is 12 extra sizes, I went from size 38 long in suit jackets all the way to size 46 regular, that is 8 extra sizes on the shoulders. My shoes size went from 9 to 11 triple e. I was starting to have trouble with my left knee, my lower back was aching all the time to the point where I was having trouble walking for a short distance, I was constantly having a heart burn, I would get up at night feeling like something is chocking me, my wife abandoned the bed room because she said that she couldn't stand my snoring all night long, my daughter refused to go with me to her school to pick up her report card for the fear that her girl friends would make fun of her because of her dad being too fat, I was getting to the point where I was unable to do any of the work around my house areas --such as cutting the grass, trimming the trees, and sweeping the leaves. All I wanted to do is eat and stuff my stomach with food. I was constantly shopping for food, the food was falling out of the refrigerator when you open the door while I'm still going from store to store buying more meat, more chicken, more fish, and plenty of sugar and rice. My situation was getting ridiculous by the day, every one I meet tells me that I ballooned a lot lately but all of their remarks were falling on my deaf ears. I just didn't want to hear that I was fat, I thought that I'm still in control of the situation, and while I can see that I'm a little over weight I still felt that it was manageable.. Then In February of this year 2006, that is about ten months ago, something clicked in my head and told me enough is enough, you have got to lose all that darn weight that you have been carrying around for several years now. And lo and behold, over night I stopped eating like a pig, I started by cutting down on my carbohydrates intake, i kissed the potato, the rice, and the bread good buy. Then I moved to the glucose intake, I kissed the sugar good buy, that was the most difficult one to give up since I used to love my tea and my coffee real sweet. I'm not kidding you I used to put about 4 or 5 spoons of sugar on a small cup of tea. It is a thing of the past now. From there I reduced my saturated fat intake to 6 oz per week, be that fish, chicken, or meat. I switched from eating solid food to soups. I started eating lots and lots of salads, something that I used to hate eating in the past. I added lots of fruit to my nutritional intake, oranges, apples, carrots, pears, and so on and so forth. I started drinking plenty of fluids, mainly water, about 64 oz per day, water helps flush many of the food we eat, but since I grew up in Jordan and the water was always scarce there, I wasn't used to drinking plenty of water. I started walking briskly for about an hour a day, sometimes an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening, that is on my days off. I gave up all of the sweet stuff. My meal portions have become smaller and smaller day after day. Within the first month I started feeling the difference, my waist size was getting smaller by about two sizes. In April I was in Jordan visiting my family and I happened to be there while the Jordan Planet monthly meeting was taking place. I sent an email to Roba and I advised her that I'll be attending the meeting but then on that fateful day I looked at myself in the mirror and realized that I was still fat looking and I shouldn't expose myself to the Jordan Planet gang members while I was still fat, so I decided not to go to the meeting, I also never wrote back to Roba to advise her why didn't I show up for the meeting[ sorry Roba]. Now we all know the reason, I simply was embarrassed from being too fat. At least by my own standards, as I may or may not have looked fat for some people but nevertheless it mattered what I thought of myself at the time. Any way by June which is 4 months later, most of clothes were starting to look big on me as the effect of the diet was starting to work, and all of that excess fat was melting away, only then did I start to believe that I'm inching toward my goal, so I continued with my strict food intake, daily walks, plenty of fluids diet. I started buying clothes in a reverse order, down to size 44 from 46, down to 42, to 40, 38, 36, 34, I now even can fit in size 32 pants but I don't want to push it. All of this ladies and gentlemen took place in about 7 months, I set out on one single diet and exercise course and stayed with it until I achieved my goal. Today I'm happy to announce that as of September 1, 2006 I'm fully emancipated from the dreadful heart burn that used to wake me up at night thinking that I was having a heart attack, my knee is no longer bothering me, my back feels great I can walk for miles and miles without feeling tired, my wife has come back to sleep with me in the same bed because she said that she doesn't hear any kind of snoring at night, and my daughter is proud of me for becoming a skinny dad again. I feel so much better, so much lighter, I can move around much easier, I can climb a fifty story stairwell without panting at all. I'm so much at peace with my self, carrying all that weight around was a burden that I had to contend with for many years. I'm pleased to announce that I got rid of 50 kilos. I used to weigh 140 kilos and now I weigh only 90 kilo. What a difference seven months can make. I look completely like a different person, those who used to know me before can't believe their own eyes, somebody the other day asked me: Whatever happened to the other half of you?! Some other people don't recognize me at all, some say that I look too skinny, and so on but It matters what I think and I really like myself right now more than any other time before, no one is going to be able to shake my confidence any more, I don't need to hide behind difficult vocabularies that are only discern able to the select few. I'm what I'm and I'm proud of it. May be one day I'll post the before and the after pictures and let you decide for yourselves, as for now, I'll just leave it like that.
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Memo to Salam ( Reflections )
Dear Salam:
This is the first time that I'm commenting on your blog, please don't take my subsequent observation as criticism, or at least if you do think about it as criticism, think like it is a constructive criticism. You need to start hitting the space bar each and every time you use a punctuation mark, for instance if you use a comma-hit the space bar, if use a semi colon-hit the space bar afterwards, if you use a period-hit the space bar, and so on and so forth. By doing so your text will be much clearer for the reader to read, the text will even have a better over all appearance. I read your blog all the time and now that you have settled in your new home you probably have more time to write in a slower pace and hit the space bar after each punctuation mark. Good luck and happy space bar hitting-----Peace.
Here is how your text will look like when the space bar is hit.
Abu Mhammad is the nice old man who works in the parking lot next to my office. He is such a sweet person and his genuine greetings always make my day. "Good morning bash mohandiseh , ya3teeki el 3afieh!" always with a sincere cheerful tone. I have been working in the same place for around 11 years now, I left for around a year and half, during which we lived abroad and during which I had my daughter. A couple of years ago, after having my son and returning from my maternity leave, he congratulated me on having a baby boy, he kept repeating how glad he was that it's a boy, and it was all very sweet of him. Every few days he'd ask me again, how is "the boy" doing , and never ask about "the girl". I used to think it's all very natural since this is the latest, most recent,event that happened to me and he's checking on him alone for that reason only. After two years of the same routine,where he only asked about Zaid and never Raya, I started wondering if he knew I had another child. I was puzzled and wanted to know if this was the case , or is it because he is an old man , who comes from somewhere where your mother's name is the best -well -kept secret in your life, where your wife is never referred to by her name but is called (el 3aileh-the family)or (el jama3a-the group)and where daughters are always called by the same term,even on their wedding invitations, the name is always (kareematoho-his daughter)written below the fathers name!. My curiosity took the better of me and I had to ask him:
This is the first time that I'm commenting on your blog, please don't take my subsequent observation as criticism, or at least if you do think about it as criticism, think like it is a constructive criticism. You need to start hitting the space bar each and every time you use a punctuation mark, for instance if you use a comma-hit the space bar, if use a semi colon-hit the space bar afterwards, if you use a period-hit the space bar, and so on and so forth. By doing so your text will be much clearer for the reader to read, the text will even have a better over all appearance. I read your blog all the time and now that you have settled in your new home you probably have more time to write in a slower pace and hit the space bar after each punctuation mark. Good luck and happy space bar hitting-----Peace.
Here is how your text will look like when the space bar is hit.
Abu Mhammad is the nice old man who works in the parking lot next to my office. He is such a sweet person and his genuine greetings always make my day. "Good morning bash mohandiseh , ya3teeki el 3afieh!" always with a sincere cheerful tone. I have been working in the same place for around 11 years now, I left for around a year and half, during which we lived abroad and during which I had my daughter. A couple of years ago, after having my son and returning from my maternity leave, he congratulated me on having a baby boy, he kept repeating how glad he was that it's a boy, and it was all very sweet of him. Every few days he'd ask me again, how is "the boy" doing , and never ask about "the girl". I used to think it's all very natural since this is the latest, most recent,event that happened to me and he's checking on him alone for that reason only. After two years of the same routine,where he only asked about Zaid and never Raya, I started wondering if he knew I had another child. I was puzzled and wanted to know if this was the case , or is it because he is an old man , who comes from somewhere where your mother's name is the best -well -kept secret in your life, where your wife is never referred to by her name but is called (el 3aileh-the family)or (el jama3a-the group)and where daughters are always called by the same term,even on their wedding invitations, the name is always (kareematoho-his daughter)written below the fathers name!. My curiosity took the better of me and I had to ask him:
Daily Kos
According to Yahoo search engine one of the top ten blogs in the world is a blog called daily kos, I’m not kidding you, check it out for yourselves http://www.dailykos.com/ When I was introduced to it several years ago I thought that the owner was an Arabian guy trying to play some kind a joke by naming his blog “Daily Kos” but then the more that I probed the web site the better understanding I started to develop about it. I can confess without any reservations that “Daily Kos” is one of my favorite blogs to read. I say that because I consider myself a political animal and this blog discusses nothing but politics. So if your interest is in politics I recommend that you pay a visit to the “Daily Kos”. It will give an insight look into the American political landscape, it will give you a clear picture of who is who in Washington, and It will even give you some predictions about what is going to happen next in US politics. The owner isn’t Arabian for sure and although part of the blog name constitute a forbidden word in the Arabic language [i.e. Kos] is seems that it has no relevance as far as the blog is concerned. I therefore, here by nominate “Daily Kos” for your daily reading enjoyment. Those of us with dirty minds may want to associate the name of the blog with the woman genitals, but that is alright too provided that the reader benefits from reading through the blog and learning on a daily basis about what shapes the American political scene.
Monday, December 04, 2006
Kamel Nsirat--Youssef Gishan & Me
You probably are familiar with these two columnists because Jordan Planet publishes their columns on a daily basis or every time they enter new column on their personal blogs. I like the way these two columnists interact with their readers, for one thing they obviously are professional journalists since both of them write for major Jordanian daily newspapers, but more than that they communicate with the every day language without adding the jargons that are normally used by other columnists such as Fahed Alfanek of Alrai or Mohammad Aburumman of Alghad Jordanian dailies. So why am I writing about these two gentlemen since I’m fully satisfied with their work and fully acknowledging their competency in their field of their expertise! The reason is that they remind me of my own lousy style of writing and how much do I need to change my style in order for the average reader to begin comprehending what the hell is it that I’m trying to communicate to him or to her. I have been writing since 1981, that is longer than many of Jordan Planet personnel being on this earth, throughout all of these years I was under the mistaken impression that the harder the language, the more difficult the vocabulary, the better the topic will sound. Lately, and since I started reading for these two Jordanian columnists I realized that the opposite is true, and only scholars and academics are the only people on this earth that care for rhetorical language otherwise the every day language is fine and dandy with the majority of the people, as a matter of fact, the simpler the language the better that it will sound and more audience will be attracted to it-- as opposed to the pedantic language which will only attract the select few who in the first place don’t have the time or the desire to browse through personal blogs. I’m writing today to extend my sincere apologies for all of those readers that had difficult time reading through my thoughts or found the language too rhetorical and abandoned the reading after the first paragraph. I pledge that from here forward I’ll stay away from any difficult vocabulary or phrase that I think it couldn’t be understood by an average person with a high school diploma. I have perhaps over the years offended many people with the usage of unnecessary difficult words that I probably could have used dozen other words to express my thoughts in a more translucent way but elected to use the intricate route. I still don’t understand why I was doing that! Generally speaking I’m not a show off person and for those of you that know me up close know what I’m talking about is the honest truth, but why did it take me over 25 years to realize that my writing style is too lousy and in need of major overhaul, I have no idea. I have been told over the years by many readers on too many different occasions that I’m using incomprehensible words and phrases and I’m in dire need of restraining my rhetoric but to no avail. Only today did it occur to me that I must change and of course the credit goes to Messrs Nsirat & Ghishan, I learned from them what is it like to be humble & what is it like to communicate in a way that is understood to every reader and not just to the select few of the elite or affluent group of people. I’m going to do my best to stay away from all of the jargons that provoke nothing but anxiety in the readers mind. I’m going to pick new smooth easy to read style free from any complications from beginning to the end of every essay long or short or anything in between. The era of flexing the vocabulary prowess is over and done with. My new writing style will be user friendly full of clarity and transparency. So help me God.
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
America surprassed three hundred million
This morning 10/17/06 around 7:00 am Chicago time, the population of the United States of America surpassed the 300 million people mark. China and India are the only other world countries that have more people than the United States.
No one exactly knows who is the lucky person that made the count reach 300 million, s/he could have been born some where in the United States or could have been an immigrant arriving from another country.
If we are to guess who that person might be it would have to be a white nonhispanic -since the whites still represent the majority of the people living in this country.
The census bureau reports that one new person is born every 11 seconds in the United States. In 1967 the United States population was only 200 million, and by the year 2043 the population is expected to go up to 400 million Americans.
The birth rate in this rich country is much greater than that of many other European countries, Americans are very optimistic about having babies, the fact that fathers are willing to pitch in helping with household chores and with raising their children makes it that much desirable for American women to want to have babies.
Faith is another contributing factor that helps American women to consider having babies, Americans are church goers, and the more devout the person is the more hope the person will have & believe in better future, and the more that will push the women to have babies.
Space is one more factor, most new born Americans have plenty of space to live in, more often than not, every one have their own bed room. In other countries the space is very limited and usually a bunch of children are crammed living in one room, a very depressing and discouraging sign for moms. On the average American woman produce 2.1 children per family..
Considering all of these factors combined, the question then that needs to be answered is : Can America cope with the increasing population and the immigration by people from other countries, the answer is yes, yes, and more yes.
America is a very rich country, it has a vast fertile land, and plenty of natural resources, it can accommodate many more people than what it already has. Although there are many people living in America which are still considered poor, the average family is still enjoying a relative comfortable standard of living compared to other countries around the world.
The economy is good, the unemployment is relatively low, and the interest rate is leveling off. All of these factors are very encouraging signs for moms not to worry about the future and about having more future babies that will grow up in this blessed country.
No one exactly knows who is the lucky person that made the count reach 300 million, s/he could have been born some where in the United States or could have been an immigrant arriving from another country.
If we are to guess who that person might be it would have to be a white nonhispanic -since the whites still represent the majority of the people living in this country.
The census bureau reports that one new person is born every 11 seconds in the United States. In 1967 the United States population was only 200 million, and by the year 2043 the population is expected to go up to 400 million Americans.
The birth rate in this rich country is much greater than that of many other European countries, Americans are very optimistic about having babies, the fact that fathers are willing to pitch in helping with household chores and with raising their children makes it that much desirable for American women to want to have babies.
Faith is another contributing factor that helps American women to consider having babies, Americans are church goers, and the more devout the person is the more hope the person will have & believe in better future, and the more that will push the women to have babies.
Space is one more factor, most new born Americans have plenty of space to live in, more often than not, every one have their own bed room. In other countries the space is very limited and usually a bunch of children are crammed living in one room, a very depressing and discouraging sign for moms. On the average American woman produce 2.1 children per family..
Considering all of these factors combined, the question then that needs to be answered is : Can America cope with the increasing population and the immigration by people from other countries, the answer is yes, yes, and more yes.
America is a very rich country, it has a vast fertile land, and plenty of natural resources, it can accommodate many more people than what it already has. Although there are many people living in America which are still considered poor, the average family is still enjoying a relative comfortable standard of living compared to other countries around the world.
The economy is good, the unemployment is relatively low, and the interest rate is leveling off. All of these factors are very encouraging signs for moms not to worry about the future and about having more future babies that will grow up in this blessed country.
Friday, October 13, 2006
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