Now, I can’t say I watch a lot of Middle-Eastern TV, but according to the Globe and Mail, “Political debate shows are a popular feature on Arabic-language satellite television and some hosts frequently book guests with radically opposed views and reputations for volatility.”  Sounds like Fox News would go over well over there—cept for that whole hatin’ terrorists bit.  But no matter how heated the debate, it clearly crosses the line when someone brings a gun to a war of words.

As seen in this video, Jordanian MP Mohammed Shawabka pulled a gun on his debate opponent, Mansour Seif-Eddine Murad, who called him a “mafia thief” and probably some other things that were lost in translation.  Seems to me that pulling a gun on someone who accuses you of being a Mafioso does nothing to dispute that claim, but I digress.  Shawabka is now facing a potential murder charge, depending on whether he actually pointed his piece at Murad.  I take it they don’t have a handgun registry in Jordan—and wonder whether Jordanian law has an equivalent to Stand Your Ground that views a political talk show as a dangerous event.  (I know I’d be packing if I ever went on O’Reilly…)