What is going on with JordanBlogs?!

This morning and while checking my reader I came across an article by Khader Khenaan on his blog "Jordanian issues" that absolutely shocked me; apparently, Khader noticed that his posts weren't appearing on JB during the last period, he gave it some time and then contacted the administrators of JB, Khaled replied with the most shocking answer I would've expected:

"Salam Mr Kanaan,


I have enlisted you back, then we had our first meeting and we have decided that there should be few blogs taken off the list to escape any legal liability, while some of us rejected this idea and were against censorship, the other party explained it is not against anyone's ideas or way of thinking, it is merely to stay out of trouble, specially those who live in Jordan. And we decided to treat each blog case by case, so we voted on each case separately and yours did not make the cut. I'm deeply sorry to inform you that your blog has been taken off the list, and while we have nothing against your Mr. Kanaan or your blog we just want to escape any liabilities that we can avoid. I hope you understand and I'm sorry again.


Khaled

Not trying to interfere with other's own decisions, but this decision is quite appalling, as far as we all know, JB is a few months old site, established solely by Khaled as a response to the temporal closure of JP, a response we all appreciated and supported. Khader was featured on JP since ever I encountered it, probably a year ago, and during that period I appreciated Khenaan's posts more than anyone on JP, a brave voice who never showed anything but true commitment to what he believes in and to the true values of democracy and political reform inside Jordan, unlike so many others who had no real addition to the Jordanian Blogosphere including mysel at this very blog.

To those who're not familiar with "Jordanian Issues" and are wondering why would such a blog be excluded on the first meeting of a Jordanian committee I say to you: it's simply because Khader showed at some occasions a resentment towards the monarchy and had criticized certain events and incidents that are related to the King himself or other members of the royal monarchy, it's simply because Khader had and still has the guts to at least make his voice heard no matter what, and that he, just like me, had the thought that the Internet and the Blogosphere are places that are still somewhat away from the censorship of the dictatorship in Jordan, and most importantly, he and I thought that a few young smart and educated Jordanians who are administrating and running an aggregator would not under any circumstances take such a decision of excluding blogs because they simply want to "escape" any liabilities.

This incident obviously shows a lot, it is an evidence on how we as Jordanians live in constant fear, something the regime has clearly succeeded in, because here we're not talking about people from the street, we're talking about young educated Jordanians, a sect of the community that supposedly should carry the concern of making things better, not escape when it matters.

I have no idea who's behind this decision, even though I'm pretty sure it's not Khaled's decisions, but I will ask them to kindly reconsider this decision and reenlist Khader's blog on their list, I will also kindly ask another thing from them, if they meet up again and decided that Khader's blog shouldn't be reenlisted, I please them to take my blog off the list as well, because of two things, the first is that I disapprove this way of working, and the second is that I'm not really planning to share my favorite kind of chocolates or my new pair of shoes in this blog, I happen to talk about the political situation inside Jordan a lot, and with my way of thinking and attitude towards the dictatorship of the royal monarchy inside Jordan, I'm afraid I'm going to bring you some trouble also.

It's truly a huge disappointment I'm feeling right now, I can only hope that things would go in the right direction.

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24 Responses to “What is going on with JordanBlogs?!”

  1. # Anonymous Nas

    while i dont support censorship in any form or shape i still dont understand the hatred some of you have for the royal family.

    it's not criticism. criticism is an understatement. anyone who calls some of what i've read as criticism is either fooling themselves or has no idea what the word means and how it's applied. it is best described as hatred. manifested in sarcasm, insults and pure mocking, none of which pass as civilized constructive criticism.

    and from that breeds no mindset that has any desire whatsoever to make things better. it's junkfood. it returns from whence it came, into the dark void of nothingness alongside the likes of the tabloid arab times.

    that being said, khader's blog should be re-enlisted. there are no liabilities. the aggregator is not bound by jordanian law and worst case scenario jordanian authorities do not have jurisdiction.  

  2. # Blogger OmAr

    -Nas, As much as I have a lot to say on this subject as much as I'm not ready to start this conversation that will take us away from the original subject which is censorship applied on someone that resulted in his exclusion from a place like JordanBlogs.

    Believe or not (I don't care actually) I don't agree on everything Khader said along the way, and I think 80% of what Arab Times have is merely crap. That doesn't give me or you the right to act like your beloved regime and ban Arab Times and now Khader's Blog from saying whatever they have to say whether it is criticism, hatred, sarcasm, insults, or whatever.

    Let's focus on what you supposedly say we both agree on, that is, Khader's blog being reenlisted.  

  3. # Blogger OmAr

    btw naseem, I think I made it clear by saying "Khader showed at some occasions a resentment towards the monarchy" that what he says isn't just criticism.  

  4. # Anonymous Batir

    It is obvious that I have always been in comlete contradiction to Khader and we have confronted each other in his blog. However I still think he has the right to be in the list of Jordan blogs in a theoritical and principles-based perspective. However, remeber that JB is a voluntary activity done by a few Jordanian bloggers who also have the right to be worried of the fact that some views may end up with closure of the aggregator although this is a very unlikely scenario. I will write about this issue in-depth soon.
    The feelings of people towards the regime are their right. What i do not like is exchanging accusations. Some people are free to hate the regime and some people are free also to love. What is not acceptable is twisting facts, which is something that Khader is accustomed to.  

  5. # Anonymous Nas

    omar, my "beloved" regime hasnt banned khader's blog.

    like batir said, the aggregator belongs to a single person who has the right to enlist and/or delist anyone.

    and you're right, my comment was intended more of a sidebar wonderment rather than the actual issue which is something we agree on.  

  6. # Blogger OmAr

    -Nas, you're right on this, it's not what I wanted to say, of course your beloved regime didn't ban Khader, I mean not yet. I was trying to say that what happened to Khader is somewhat like what happened to Arab Times, I mean for the same reason. My apologies to you and to who ever banned Khader from JB.

    -Batir, You're absolutely right, but the thing is, banning Khader's blog even if it was from a voluntary website shows a lot, it's exactly my point on how everyone in Jordan lives in this constant fear from the regime and from getting into troubles especially when it comes to the monarchy and the King. This isn't about loving or hating the king, it's about censorship and freedom of expression, of course it's their own decision at JB, I hope we focus on this point.  

  7. # Anonymous Shaden

    I don't know if there are any kind of liabilities, but if Khaled believes that's the case I think he has the right to protect himself legally.

    I'm not with any sort of censorship, but the committee voted and sadly, away from any fear of legal liabilities, those who think Jordanissues should be removed outnumbered the rest. That's democracy for those who believe in it. So it's not the regime's fault, it's ours.  

  8. # Anonymous passerby who has lost an interest in blogs after this censorship

    thanks for the mention omar, glad somebody finally noticed this. if you look harder you will also notice that they removed abu shreek.  

  9. # Blogger moi

    Omar, thanks for bringing this to our attention.

    I totally disagree with the removal of Khader's blog. In all the cases of blogger intimidation by governments that we have heard of in Egypt, China, and other places, the blog aggregator was never held accountable or even involved in the issue. There is no reason for JB to fear that they will be held accountable for what Khader says on his blog. They could simply add a disclaimer that says JB is not responsible for the personal opinions of bloggers.

    I think we've faced problems with some aggregators as it is hard to draw the line between the aggregator being 'privately owned' and it being a 'public service'. I will surely discuss this in a future post because I think it affects many of us.

    Shaden, I disagree with your characterization of such a vote as being democratic. If it was indeed democratic, then everyone who has a share in the entity (ie- all bloggers on JB) should have the right to vote. Also, you don't 'vote' on fundamental rights such as freedom of expression. That is something that should ideally be guaranteed by any democratic entity, as you indicate JB is.

    Nas, I don't think there is any way that you can claim that someone's criticism goes "too far" or is not considered criticism at all, but "hatred". This is a purely subjective issue, and while you can claim it's hatred, Khader may consider it criticism. Even if he does express hatred, that should be his right as well, that is, if he lived in a democratic country, which Jordan does not claim to be.

    Frankly, I fail to understand these contradictions that people express when it comes to freedom of expression, especially in sensitive situations like this. I understand that there is fear and the threat of intimidation, but instead of coating this fear with attacks on others and attacks on freedom of expression, one should simply admit that they live in an environment that does not promote nor tolerate such a freedom. There is nothing wrong with admitting that.  

  10. # Anonymous Shaden


    Shaden, I disagree with your characterization of such a vote as being democratic. If it was indeed democratic, then everyone who has a share in the entity (ie- all bloggers on JB) should have the right to vote. Also, you don't 'vote' on fundamental rights such as freedom of expression. That is something that should ideally be guaranteed by any democratic entity, as you indicate JB is.


    How are all bloggers on JB have shares in the entity? As a matter of fact, the aggregator belongs to Khaled.

    You have to understand that I'm against any kind of censorship, and it's not a secret that I didn't vote against Khader's blog even though I surely disagree with him and his way of expressing himself big time. BUT Khaled is the owner of JB, he chose the members of the committee and we did indeed vote. If you're going to argue that that's not democracy because bloggers did not elect the committee then let me tell you that I don't think it is. No JB as an entity is not a democracy but again, we're doing our best and in the end of the day, it's just an aggregator and we are humans who could be right and could be wrong.

    And just out of curiosity What makes you think Websites should be democratic anyway?  

  11. # Blogger OmAr

    -Shaden,

    1- "away from any fear of legal liabilities", please do read Khaled's reply again, it was all about fear from legal liabilities.

    2-"That's democracy for those who believe in it", you have the right to say JB is privetly owned by Khaled and he gets to do whatever he wants, but for God's Sake! DON'T SAY IT'S DEMOCRACY!

    "What makes you think Websites should be democratic anyway?" You say now it's not democracy?!

    -Thanks for your valuable share moi.  

  12. # Blogger moi

    "How are all bloggers on JB have shares in the entity? As a matter of fact, the aggregator belongs to Khaled."
    Shaden-- I am well aware the the aggregator belongs to Khaled. The bloggers have a share in this entity because they make up the aggregator. Without blogs, there would be no aggregator. That's why I'm saying it's hard to determine whether we are really considered active members of this entity, or we're just subscribers or something like that. For example, when you join a social club or a political party, you as a member have a say to a certain extent on how that club/party functions. You may not have a big say in the decision making process, but you have some say.

    I have a great deal of respect for you for voting against the removal of Khader's blog, even though you disagreed with what he says. That is the essence of the belief and practice of freedom of expression. I may not agree with what X blogger has to say, but I will defend their right to say it.

    As for websites being democratic, I didn't say they should be. Let me remind you that you were the first commentator to bring up the word democracy: "That's democracy for those who believe in it." I simply challenged your argument that there was anything democratic about your vote. It's one thing to say that JB is democratic, then turn around and stomp on a blogger's freedom of expression, and it's another thing to say "we own JB and we can do whatever we want." I'm not sure that I understand which of these you subscribe to.

    As an administrator of JB, I would hope that you take my comments as constructive criticism and not an attack on the service you provide and the work you do. Most of us appreciate having JB and I thank those who put it up and have maintained it.

    "in the end of the day, it's just an aggregator and we are humans who could be right and could be wrong."
    Exactly! Which is why you should be open to suggestions because we all make mistakes :-)  

  13. # Anonymous Shaden

    Omar, no it's not a democracy. I was referring to the voting process as democratic. And BTW, I do not speak for the committee or Khaled, I'm just giving you my personal opinion and understanding.  

  14. # Anonymous Shaden

    moi, I subscribe to neither. I'm just trying to be fair here and defend Khaled because no matter how wrong some might think of the deletion decision, Khaled brought us all together by establishing JB and I know for a fact that he had the best intentions when he asked us to vote on that. So instead of attacking him or his decision, give him credit for hosting all of us on his aggregator first and admit that he has the right to run this aggregator the way he wants (please note that he didn't do that).

    Based on a single decision, Khaled, the committee and even the Jordanian regime were attacked and that's simply unfair. Try to understand that JB is less than 1 month old, at least the committee is.

    As for voting by all the bloggers, don't you think it's inconvenient if not impossible?!  

  15. # Blogger moi

    Shaden, I didn't attack Khaled or JB, and I already said how much I appreciate Khaled's efforts in bringing the bloggers back to JB. I don't need to publicly state my thanks to him as I have done so in private long ago.
    But that does not prevent me from calling upon him and others when I see something I consider to be wrong and an injustice. I think we're mature enough to discuss an issue like this without having to attack one another personally, which I have not done.

    "As for voting by all the bloggers, don't you think it's inconvenient if not impossible?!"
    No, I don't. You can see on Toot there is a voting system for favorite blogs, for example. The same can be done when a questionable blog emerges and the JB members can vote on it.

    As I said before, please take my comments as constructive criticism and not an attack on JB.  

  16. # Anonymous wedz

    what im sure from it that if khaled did something or decided something it means that he is sure from it 100% and he studied the case from all parts....... at the end its his responsibilty and his reputation...  

  17. # Anonymous Nas

    "This is a purely subjective issue"

    no, that's thing, it's not. this is the same sort of thinking that says well, you know, maybe bin laden isn't a terrorist and he's actually a hero.

    there is a universal absolutism to these sort of things. but one can't go to an extreme and then declare it the new middle ground just because they're too cowardly to cop to it.

    there are universal lines to be drawn.

    it's not art. it's not subjective.  

  18. # Anonymous Batir

    Let us try to separate between the two core issues here. The first thing is the content and the other is liability.
    Personally I think that nothing should be censored except for child pornography and advocating terrorism. Of course Khader has done neither. he expresses his own political opinions which are peaceful and based on good analysis in some cases. In principle he should not be taken-off.
    Now we cannot exclude the issue of liability. JB is an aggregator that was started by Khaled to replace Jordan planet that was stoped with no clear reason. Khaled spent a lot of time in designing the aggregator and more time in convincing other bloggers to join him. Then a committee was formed to manage the aggregator and we should respect their decision.
    My own suggestion will be for Khaled to place a vote on JB asking all bloggers listed to vote for keeping Khader or not based on theliability" and NOT content. If the majority says yes then he should be back and each one of us wil take his/her share of responsibility in case the JB committee was harassed. Again this is a very unlikely thing in my perspective.
    To end, I belive that "freedom of expression" has limits. See what the freedom for Zarqawi and Ben laden caused. Again I say that the content in Khader blog is not the sort to be banned. Some of the posts actually are very good and the others degrade themselves without any "external" criticism, like the posts of all of us.  

  19. # Anonymous 8th circle Rules

    It is obvious that ALL the aggregators (including JB, Sawtona, Dwenn) were simultaneously notified about certain blogs that needs to be removed and it WAS NOT a personal decision by the JB administrators. Which again brings the question to what really happened to JordanPlanet?!!

    The problem is not the administrators who gets scared into submission, neither the oppression devices that tries to protect an unconfident corrupt regime that feels threatened by a few blog posts, the problem is the stupid IDIOTS who believe that such practice is acceptable and that the royal behavior that dominates the political life (and other aspects of life) should be off limits and immune to criticism.  

  20. # Anonymous yes3ed rabbak jalaton

    So Batir, I am surprised that you did not include the denial of the holocaust in your list of items worthy of censorship (oh wait, you take your cues from the Americans not the Europeans). So, in your opinion advocating terrorism--and we all now how this term is narrowly defined now--is out, but promoting state wars which are responsible for a thousand-fold causalities is still ok. How about agitating sectarianism, as done daily in the Jordanian newspapers? How about advocating racism, is that ok by you? Supporting market liberalization and “structural adjustments” that squeeze the life out of your average citizen? No problem.

    You are right about Kanan’s blog being uneven, but amongst the gems I uncovered in his blog is an anonymous comment on one of your posts (it was easy to find since it’s the last comment in Kanan’s first blog (http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=11492925&postID=115410235429738043&isPopup=true). It seems Batir that you should be censored according to your own standards (I mean for supporting terrorism; can’t say about child pornography).

    I am referring in particular to your statement that "no peace with criminals. I am secular arab who is anti-fundamentalist, but If Nassrallah and even those idiots of Al Qaeda will revenge to the children and cause the same amout of damage on Israel i will support them forever."

    Here's the comment in full:

    Jalaton said...
    آخر تفاهات البلوغرجية "الليبراليين" انه هسا بدهم ينزلوا ذبح و سلخ بإسرئيل

    أو بالأحرى بدهم حزب الله ينتقم من إسرائيل و هم بس قاعدين يتلمظوا و يعضوا على لسانهم كأنهم قاعدين يتفرجوا على المصارعة الحرة قدام التلفزيون

    لا بل مستعدين يأيدوا جماعات مجرمة طائفية قتالين قتلى مثل "القاعدة" قال إذا ببينتقموا من إسرائيل

    يعني هساع صحيتوا وهي هاي أول جريمة بترتكبها الحكومة الإسرائيلية
    ومش قبل يومين بس بقيتو نازلين رجاد على الإخوان بحجة تأيدهم للقاعدة
    و بعدين هيك يم من حمائم السلام للقاعدة عل القليل أقعدولكوا يومين في مرحلة المقاومة السلمية

    بس هاي كلها زعبرة مجانية منشان الواحد منهم يتحيد ياخذله موقف مثل الناس ينسأل عنه قدام النظام مثل إنه يطالب بقطع العلاقات الدبلماسية مع إسرائيل أو طرد سفيرهم أو على الأقل سحب سفيرنا

    يعني هذول بيقلدوا زعبرات الأكبر منهم

    و خذلك هل المثال الصارخ الناحب المستبكي


    http://batir.jeeran.com/archive/2006/7/76281.html

    After Qana: What words I can use to describe Israel?
    Sunday, July 30, 2006

    I am horrified, outraged and speechless. I can never be able to find a word of insult that can give Israel its proper description. Shall I say bastards? No, those misfortunate people who were born without knowing their fathers are not to blame and they do not kill childrens. Shall I say mother f**kers? no because mother f**kers are just people who lost their ethical principles but they do not kill children in a shelter. Shall I say "pigs"? no, pigs are an animal species that is dirty but can never kill children on purpose. Shall I say dogs? no, dogs are loyal to their friends and fight courageously and it is an insult to dogs to attach them to Israeli army.
    This is one of the worst and most horrible massacre we have ever witnessed in our life. It is a replica of the master massacre committed by the USA in Ameriya shelter in 1991 and by Israel in the same village of Qana in 1996. This massacre needs revenge, and nothing will make the soul of those innocents rest until Israelis feel the same agony and pain.
    No peace with those killers. They have chosen to label this area with blood since they first arrived. No peace with criminals.
    I am secular arab who is anti-fundamentalist, but If Nassrallah and even those idiots of Al Qaeda will revenge to the children and cause the same amout of damage on Israel i will support them forever.
    I think from now on our only reference to respect or deal with any state, any person in the world will be their position towards Israel and this masaccre. Those who chose to justify and support are criminals against humanity.
    We want revenge, nothing but revenge!  

  21. # Anonymous wal ma asfal hal makhloog

    Jad ابو ظراط instructs people leaving comments on his blog “to keep it clean” and moderates the comments to make sure they are to his liking, yet look at the comments he leaves at other peoples blogs.

    Jad ابو ظراط keeps a cheesy blurb about freedom at the top of his blog, yet he attacks Khadder for complaining when his freedom of expression is infringed upon.


    Jad ابو ظراط lists “Free as in Freedom” as his favorite book, fancies himself a crusader for free software, yet he isn’t bothered when the aggregator that lists his posts withdraws a political blog for fear of legal liability.


    Jad ابو ظراط writes comments like “مفاعل نووي يعني ممكن اذا بتشم ريحة ظراط تقول فقعع”, yet he demands “يعني انا كنت متوقع انك تجاوب و تقنع و تحكي كلام منطقي مش مجرد رد شخصي” for it.

    Jad ابو ظراط plausibly wrote the comment in which he asks for Khadder to “سلملي على الفصوص والضراط و كل بلاعات وجور الخرة”,

    يبدو أنهم من معارفه او زوار مدونته


    http://www.blogger.com/publish-comment.do?blogID=11492925&postID=117106274086067383&r=ok&isPopup=true

    Jad said...
    آله قمع ؟
    لول
    اه والله شفتها بالشارع هظاك اليوم و قلت يمكن الية نقل اشمنت لشركة المناصير, بس والله ما ميزت انها اله قمع, يا مقموع يا انتا

    عن جد, شر البليه ما يضحك

    يعني انتا من النوع الي يضخم الامور بشكل كبير, يعني ممكن اذا بتشم ريحة ظراط تقول فقعع مفاعل نووي لول



    Jad said...
    هاها
    يا اخي, طيب اذا انا سخيف لازم انتا تكون سخيف مثلي؟

    يعني انا كنت متوقع انك تجاوب و تقنع و تحكي كلام منطقي مش مجرد رد شخصي

    بعدين, انتا ليش مش عم تقبل النقد؟ حتى لو كان نقد ساخر؟ لش عم تقمعني و عم تقمع حريتي بنقد كتاباتك؟

    حرام! والله لاشيك للامينستي انترناشونال


    Anonymous said...
    حبيبي خضر

    عن اي قمع تتكلم؟

    وبعدين انت برأيك مدونتك مستاهلة انو الاجهزة الحكومية تقمعها؟

    يا حبيبي مدونتك تافهة وغير عقلانية

    ما فيها غير الضراك والفصوص\

    يعني انا ما بدافع هن الحكومة , والحكومة ممكن تقمع صحافة ومعارضة ,لكن لما تكون بتستاهل


    وسلملي على الفصوص والضراط و كل بلاعات وجور الخرة ....  

  22. # Anonymous Anonymous

    شكلة حضراتكم نسيتوا القضية الفسطينية و بتبحثوا عن وطن بديل في الأردن .....لأنة انا شايفة في حملة سعار فلسطينية مش عادية على النت اللة يباركلكم يا مناضلين يا ابطال الله يحيي النشامى الفلسطينية  

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  24. # Anonymous Anonymous
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