by Natasha Tynes | Jan 29, 2005 | Weblogs
UPDATE: Disregard this post as the BABA awards turned out to be a mess! Polls
were rigged and had to be shut down. Thanks for all who took the time
to vote for me!
Monday is the last day of voting for the BABA (Best Arab Blog) awards. Mental Mayhem is nominated in seven categories. If you think this blog is worth a vote, please follow these links and vote:
- Best Jordanian Blog
- Best Photography Blog
- Best Arab Blog (English)
- Best Blog Design
- Best Essayist Blog
- Best Everyday Life Blog
- Best Personal Blog
Remember, you can vote once each day for the next three days. Thanks for your support!
by Natasha Tynes | Jan 29, 2005 | MM Vote
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Well it seems that the majority of Mental Mayhem readers support the Iraqi polls. This is a good sign and a great way to start the day!
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by Natasha Tynes | Jan 28, 2005 | Tidbits
Women Propose, Man Disposes
JEDDAH — When a 25-year-old Saudi recently placed an ad in a local newspaper to sell his apartment, he was overwhelmed with the response. Ninety percent of the calls were from women asking about the apartment. Twenty-two of the women who called to ask the price of the apartment, also wanted to know if he was interested in marrying them. One of the female callers offered to pay for everything if he agreed to marry her. She also offered to pay him SR5,000 as a monthly salary. The exasperated youth said: “Such calls are very strange and annoying at the same time. The irony is that I am getting married next week in Makkah.”
Source: [Arab News]
by Natasha Tynes | Jan 28, 2005 | Shutterbug
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Here is a highlight from our recently launched photo gallery.
This picture was taken in Downtown Beirut almost exactly one year ago.
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by Natasha Tynes | Jan 28, 2005 | Jordan, my nation
Arab Bank Helped Saudi Charity Pay Bomber Families, Suit Says
A Saudi charity that has collected more than $100 million for Palestinians made payments to the relatives of suicide bombers through Arab Bank Plc, which has a branch on New York’s Madison Avenue, according to a lawsuit.
The Saudi Committee in Support of the Intifada Al-Quds paid $5,316 to relatives of Izz Ad-Din al-Masri, who killed himself and 15 others at a Sbarro Inc. pizzeria in Jerusalem on Aug. 9, 2001, according to the complaint by the families of U.S. citizens slain by Palestinian terrorists. Payments to the families of five other bombers and gunmen are also on the group’s Web site, according to the Jan. 21 filing in federal court in Brooklyn.
Amman, Jordan-based Arab Bank knew the payments were designed to encourage terrorism, according to the civil complaint, which seeks $2 billion. The lawsuit follows a similar action filed in July and contains more details about the payments. The bank called the allegations in the first suit "unfair and untrue."’
Source: [Bloomberg]
I don’t know if these allegations have even a smidgen of truth to them, but regardless, I thought I’d vent a bit about what really annoyed me about Arab Bank during the three years I had an account there. I could not stand their run-down, dirty, smoking-friendly branches! They didn’t appear willing to invest even a little of those big dollars they’ve got in the branches. They didn’t seem to care at all about providing customers with a more comfortable environment. Unlike many banks in Jordan that are constantly refurbishing and improving their offices, Arab Bank branches always seemed to be at a standstill. Grrrrr!
