Dweller on the threshold

Natasha’s recent highlight of the situation in Jordan’s QIZs really hit home with me. Working for some while at The Jordan Times and dealing regularly with features and stories about the creation of the QIZs and the hopes that those involved had, I worried then that what has come to pass, would come to pass. Those of you familiar with Naomi Klein’s No Logo [this FAQ has some excellent ’sweatshop’ tidbits] have doubtless recognized many of the key issues with Free Trade Zones and QIZs in Jordan. The US of A seems to be doling out these free trade zones all over the globe. So what do these zones and the Free Trade Agreements (FTA) do? Well, look at Jordan. While some of those inside these zones are Jordanian businesses, many are not. These “outside” businesses come to Jordan for cheap labor and to take advantage of the low/zero import duties to the almighty US market.

Does it benefit Jordan? Well, that is a long debate. What you can see clearly and easily is that the awarding of free trade zones allows multinational corporations to go around the world and cherry pick little constituencies that have cheap labor for the production of their goods. In essence, the US opens the doors to cheap labor in some of these countries and puts a good spin on it with the “FTA” moniker — breaking down the resistance that was growing in areas where there was no US cover, like Bangladesh and the Philippines. So, these factories pump out the Land’s End, the Victoria’s Secret and the rest of it on the backs of people that — even with the increase in the minimum wage — still make less than $200 a month!

Just think of the connections here. The US wants to help business, so it opens FTA zones in areas where there is ample cheap labor plus these companies don’t have to pay any import duties, allowing them to have the best of both worlds: They don’t have to pay a living wage but they also don’t have to pay import duties for using developing world labor. It’s a pretty twisted system. And, there’s more to this still.

While I know in a number of instances Jordan is working hard to improve some of these circumstances — through work programs that train and get more Jordanian labor involved — but the wages still suffer. And as the article illustrates, in the interim a little cottage industry has sprung up importing the world’s cheapest labor to fill the bill. I think the end plan from Jordan’s perspective is to get rid of the imported labor and only use domestic. Natasha wrote about this once before and I’d remarked then about the curiuos social changes that might come of this, as young girls move into dormitories and become their family’s primary breadwinner.

The bottom line remains, whether it’s the poor, abused “guest” workers, or whether it’s the Jordanians that one day may replace the whole of them, the wages being paid are far from fair. And the blame does not rest solely on the shoulders of the multinational corporations that exploit this system, or the US and it’s FTA. It’s also partly on those that purchase the products and continually press for cheaper prices and a continuing upward trend in corporations’ profits; the stock must rise. As we press for more cheap goods and pack Wal-Marts, Targets and Carrefour’s buying these goods, we are creating a huge press for cheap, exploited labor. It’s a vicious cycle.

I only hope to see Jordan slowly press out the imported labor, to integrate Jordanians into the ownership process and to slowly watch the unions do what they can — and do in many instances — and press for wages and benefits that jibe with the cost of living in the kingdom. Natasha posted recently that Amman was one of the most expensive cities in the Arab world. Imagine! This goes on while some Bangladeshi or some Jordanian is slaving away in a factory making crap for Wal-Mart for either a few dollars a day, or in some of the cases highlighted by the NY Times — nothing! I’m not sure how this “system” got its roots but after living in the Gulf for a while, I think I see where some early seeds were sown. The WaPo’s Anthony Shadid has written two wonderful articles examining similar issues in Dubai here and here.

It’s been a bit since the last entry. Sorry. But it’s been busy around here. And it only makes sense that it’d be a film that motivates a posting. I promise more meaty posts in the future. Actually, the wife deserves all the credit for all this, as I’d never even heard of this one. The Final Cut managed to really get me thinking actually. It excited me, in fact, for a number of reasons.

I enjoyed it more than expected, particularly knowing nothing of the plot, etc. The idea of sampling or saving memory somehow electronically is unique but not entirely new. It first popped up in Brainstorm, a freaky little flick. But then was used to varying degree in the truly oddball Cronenberg flick EXistenZ and somewhat in Minority Report. The closet comparative though, has to be Strange Days, a favorite of mine.

But none of them did quite what Naim did here. His master stroke was this idea of an editor for these stored memories. That unique concept took this movie to a more complex emotional and narrative level and made it unique even though similar in concept to these others. It seems that unique take on the concept really excited some A-level talent.

How lucky could this first time director be to get Williams and Sorvino. But then to get the folks behind the camera that he got is just amazing. Tak Fujimoto is the one that really floored me. This guy was the one behind the camera on Terrence Malick’s amazing Badlands. Heck, he was second unit photographer on Star Wars in 1977. But he also shot things like cult classics Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986), Miami Blues, The Silence of the Lambs and The Sixth Sense. He finished Cut and went and shot Manchurian Candidate (2004).

Naim had the script that brought them all out. Hollywood really is just starving for creative, innovative work. That’s what Naim brought. Boy, the talent was just there salivating for a chance to explore something other than another Bruckheimer-Bay behemoth, packed with big explosions and small ideas.

I think Naim’s masterstroke was sort of making the behind the scenes talent of movie-making part of the story through this idea of the "cutter." Fujimoto even followed the visual cues that Naim penned and Williams’ character discuses: clean and balanced.

The film’s only real low-point is that it never really dials up the drama. Things are so low-key and, reflective really, that the final death really isn’t much of a shocker. The "making of" had Sorvino saying that it was a hard to predict storyline. Well, it wasn’t that hard but more to the point it wasn’t a plot shocker ending really; it just folded out in a way that seemed natural.

What seems most exciting of all, however, is that this guy is now "in" and some well known Jordanian filmmakers are his buddies. That can only mean good things for Jordan and its budding film scene. The more Jordanian talent in Hollywood the better and the better for film-making generally as new and creative sensibilities get a chance to show what they’ve got.

It got me thinking about Robert Rodriguez and his El Mariachi beginings. That reality always gave me a bit of hope as a closet filmmaker myself. Naim has reawakened those thoughts and that’s a very wonderful thing.

The scenes out of Beirut are heart-breaking. It was just over one year ago that, for the first time, I walked those same sidewalks with my new bride as we were toured about by my brother and sister-in-law. Both the wife and I just love Lebanon. It is such a beautiful country with such tremendous people. I’m sitting here today aghast, watching the most terribly complete coverage from Lebanese networks like “New TV” and “LBC” that are providing open, un-cut coverage with live mics of the tragedy. It reminds me of the spooky Russian coverage (received via satellite TV) of the Beslan massacre aired as the terrible events unfolded.

It looks like the shadowy “they” were after Rafiq Hariri and apparently they got him. Like him or not, a great deal of the reconstruction of this lovely city and elsewhere throughout Lebanon was due to his direct efforts. His move to oppose the Syrian presence is what most see as reason for the attack. So much destruction, it makes my stomach just knot. And for what? A country dying to put itself together and stand on its own without outside influence. What is so wrong with that?

With memories of that trip still fresh in my head and all respect to our favorite Lebanese pal, Amal, I prefer to remember Libnan as it truly is. Click here, here or here if you prefer, like I, to remember these kind of images instead of the horrible destruction wrought this Valentine’s Day.

Although much has been made about the differences between men and women on the psychological level, little is ever heard about the astounding similarities found biologically. Perhaps that is because men turn out to get the short end of the stick, so to speak.

Consider this: The Y chromosome that determines maleness is tiny in comparison to the X and much of the genetic material on it has very little impact on development. But smaller still is the gene that turns women into men.

Think of it this way: If the genes of the body were a string that stretched from London to Moscow, the Y chromosome would only be the first 20 miles of that journey. The ‘male’ gene, symbolically, would only be the first step.

In essence this small gene kick starts the production of testosterone, which in turn motivates the production of testes and the development of a male. Without this kick start, estrogen in the body would produce a womb and ovaries.

At six weeks of development in the womb, the sex of a baby cannot be determined because this process is underway; no ‘decision’ has been made.

The presence of nipples on men, serving no biological purpose, is simply evidence of the beginning of this process, which is then sidetracked, if you will, by the presence of testosterone and the subsequent development of testis.

Far from Eve coming from the rib of Adam and men serving and standing as the primary building block of human society, men are an adaptation of women. It is a biologic fact.

Initially it was believed that male and female tendencies during play — the dolls and makeup versus wrestling and guns — were the result of environmental factors — external forces. But research has found that it is the presence of testosterone or the lack of that hormone that determines this development. Scans of brain activity can show the difference in male and female thinking, the advantages (male spatial, women verbal for instance) and disadvantages of either sex. Those changes develop in early childhood due to the presence or absence of testosterone.

How close are things? There are strong suggestions that the simple presence of higher than normal levels of testosterone in the womb during early development in women has a great deal to do with those women having more male inclinations: The tomboy effect.

And even as fully developed females, the addition of testosterone alone can produce radical changes. Over a one year period, testosterone can not only reshape female bodies — relocating fat cells, broadening shoulders, promoting hair growth — but it actually changes the way the brain functions, moving brain activity from typical female levels to male levels, in essence changing the way a person thinks and responds to stimuli.

It all gives a man something to think about, or at least it should. My thanks to BBC for getting me to think about it.

Well, today we finally took down the Christmas tree. I never could remember what the “allowed” time-frame is for keeping it up after the holiday. I find it fascinating that such a thing exists. We just loved it up, maybe me more than the wife. Even though the red, green and blue lights were not quite the color they claimed, they were happy and nice. This was such a wonderful holiday. We had such a good time from finding our little sleepy city embracing it this year to picking up a tree to a most wonderful trip to Amman for what proved to be such an eventful couple of weeks.

Christmas has always been my favorite time of the year. Our family had made a near tradition of going out and picking out a tree and cutting it down from a nearby Christmas tree farm. There were many wonderful trees. But I’ll always remember getting too close to a fire barrel (where they put wood inside a big oil drum and light it so folks can get around and warm up) and melting my Sears coat and glove. I was so embarrassed and sad. Plus I had to wear that sucker for another four months or so. It wasn’t a total loss, but it definitely didn’t look as new as it was.

There are many gifts I remember as well: Racetracks from Santa, my first bedroom stereo, etc. And we always had such wonderful stockings, my brother and I, each filled with sweets and other nick knacks.

As I got older somehow I got further from the joy of the holiday. It may have been my time in retail, always working right up to the last moment of the holiday, I’m not sure. Somewhere in there it became less special. Certainly our time in Doha last year was a topper. I remember feeling it was different when first in Amman, although I did enjoy this big drum and bagpipe explosion that happened at midnight Christmas Eve up the street from me at a local Catholic school.

Doha last year was stripped of any holiday cheer. We found a tree that year to pose with at a local “American” hotel, but there was hardly a decoration to be had in any store and nothing to note the season on the street. This year, I’m thankful, it was so different. It’s funny but I found that little fake Chinese tree made all the difference, connecting me with home and the holiday I so loved as a boy. It was a bit sad to take it down but hell, it’s practically February. I can’t keep it up forever can I?

Well after a huge long wait during which the company was bought up by Google, Picassa has finally released a new version and it’s still free.

For those who follow my doings, I’m a shutterbug, constantly on the lookout for new tools to post and manipulate images. I’m a huge fan of Picassa. I use it as the program to import my images from the digital cameras I’ve used over the years. It’s simple red-eye reduction tool is the best around in my opinion. It’s quick, simple and does a pretty decent job, even on prints but particularly for web stuff. Now they’ve got a whole new raft of photo manipulation tools, including ones to fix color temps and levels.

They’ve added legions of other features as well, making it a really great upgrade and, I’ll mention it again, it’s free. I’m not sure what Google has up it’s sleeve with all the free email and now software, but for the moment, it’s nice. I’ll sound off later with my take on all things new and improved.

Here’s the link to go get your free copy. Enjoy.