Queen Rania (Jordan)

[kafka]

I dislike her and think she's a hypocrite, not to mention a big poseur. She is like the Iron Lady inside Jordan and behind the scenes. She has all her relatives set up with lucrative deals and businesses (for ex., if I recall correctly, they own all the BMW dealerships within the country). IMO, she does nothing for the poor Palestinians in her country, despite professing her own Palestinian blood whenever it's convenient or having arranged photo-ops. I also think she controls her husband by the balls.

As for her shopping, while that's bad, it's not half as ludicrous as the solid gold shoes she wore once to some big party. Yep, solid, 24K gold. They may have been encrusted with a few jewels but I can't remember. I used to have a link to a discussion about them but I lost it when my computer crashed back in December.

I see her as a mix between Cardinal Richelieu and Marie-Antoinette.

[Auroranorth]

I do remember someone mentioning the solid gold shoes- considering that the Jordanian official unemployment rate is 12.5% (unofficial count is 30%) with approximately 30% of households below the poverty line, I wouldn't be so thrilled with the conspicuous consumption either.

The World Factbook

Kafka, I want to marry your avatar. Or at least hug him.

[kafka]

auroranorth said:

I do remember someone mentioning the solid gold shoes- considering that the Jordanian official unemployment rate is 12.5% (unofficial count is 30%) with approximately 30% of households below the poverty line, I wouldn't be so thrilled with the conspicuous consumption either.

Neither are most Jordanians, although they don't dare say much because of the intelligence agency. The Palestinian population is particularly upset because she claims to be one of them, but does nothing for them. I can't remember what percentage of the population they are but they're the poorest lot of all, I think.

There was a guy I used to be friends with who worked with a lot of NGOs in the area and followed the Hashemites closely. He told me a lot about the numbers, figures and reality of the situation, not to mention Rania's hypocrisy and how she was so powerful behind the scenes. Unfortunately, I can't remember any details, because my mind blanks when it comes to numbers, especially if it's been several years, (plus I don't keep au courant with the Hashemite royals), so I can only recall the overall gist of things. But his information turned more than one of our group against Rania. Man, he hated her with a seething, burning passion, and spilled a lot of stuff, including the details of how she dominated Abdullah. (Who, btw, talks out of both sides of his mouth at the same time, and not solely because of Jordan's geopolitical situation.)

They're all a bunch of hypocrites and, imo, not so different from the Pahlavis. Especially with regard to cushy, comfy, lucrative deals for their relatives (read, her relatives) who just get richer, while the rest of the country gets poorer and poorer.

I also wish I could remember the details of the palace/succession coup which occurred about 2 years ago with one of Abdullah's brothers being shunted aside in terms of a top position. I think it was something about the order of succession but that doesn't seem right. There was definitely something which caused a big scandal though, with some people speculating Rania's hand behind it all. If I can hunt up the articles in the 30,000+ archives of this board I run, I'll post it.

Kafka, I want to marry your avatar. Or at least hug him.

That's my baby, and my pride and joy, on the first night I got him. And you can hug away. He adores attention, worship and adoration, which he takes as his natural due.

[Ridha]

I’m disappointed she didn’t wear traditional garb. She still looked very attractive as her face is undeniably gorgeous but the Look was underwhelming. Ditto her husband (I forget the husband’s name), he looks good in a suit but would have been wow in his robes.

My mum knows his uncle (ie the late kings bro) from uni. He and his wife were properly nice and down to earth, and sent me a care basket including arnica, which was a revelation as I use it for speedy healing in all injuries since, tablets when I broke my ribs. Rania looks a bit snooty.