You want a message from the king?

Here is one: the newly named crown prince accompanied his father in his visit to the Bani Hasan tribes..So much for moving beyond tribalism…
The prince reportedly was wearing a ttraditional Jordanian outfit..I mean come on, the theatrics, the location, and the whole production is enough of a message..
Got it?
P.S: How do you think the new crown [...]

A $12,500 Watch gift..

I mean come on now..Do we really need this? Don’t they learn that all the gifts end up in a warehouse..Don’t they also realize that their generous gifts will eventually shame them in the eyes of their people?
I mean isn’t this more risky politically than, lets say, repealing the not-so-tough penalty for honor crimes…
I guess [...]

King Abdullah II on Iran

In his visit to London the king jointly expressed with Gordon Brown their shared ”concern at developments in Iran following the contested election. They said the regime needed to react to protests with restraint and to avoid violence.” [Source]
That leaves one wondering if his Majesty would have had the same reaction if the Jordanian people took to the [...]

Regions? Political Reform? Scratch that..

The regions “project” was introduced as the King’s idea for “our gradual” approach to “reform”. After its introduction the “idea” has been under attack from different fronts. Just today the king met with some officials and journalists, and the names suggest that they are mainly the people who were vocal against the idea.
Basically, the king [...]

Your Jordanian Conspiracy Dose(s)

An internal crisis is brewing and a huge backlash is beginning to take place on the Jordanian “political” platform. The root of this is the government’s move to remove its reservations with regards to the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). 
They basically opened Pandora’s box; the IAF (Islamic Action Front) says that [...]

King Abdullah on Torture

I don’t have the exact text yet, but basically his answer  should make us pause for some time and think about his policy in governing.
In response to a question about the HRW report on Jordan being a proxy interrogator, the king said that he asked “his people” if it was true, and they denied, but [...]

The king to dissolve the Parliament?

The king to dissolve the Parliament?
Given the unlimited power that the king have(an issue beyond the scope of this post), will he have the guts to do it? Can he challenge Abdel Hadi El majali and his neo-con allies? Does he have the true will to pursue the reforms that he has been promising since he [...]

Another win for the forces of…

we-shouldn’t-talk-about-how-Aids-can-be-transmitted because this might give the youth an idea on how to go ahead and have sex. It is the same logic behind the catholic church’s stand, where they say that you shouldn’t use condoms because you are not supposed to have sex in the first place. Thus if you were to go ahead and [...]

Abdel Hadi El Majali: I am the state.

In his interviewwith Alghad news paper El Mmajali who got to the parliment by collecting less than 4,000 votes offered his diagnosis of the current state of affairs in Jordan.
- Only islamists will benefit from changing the one-man 0ne-vote law.
OK, Mr. Majali, only you and your alikes are benefiting from not changing the law that is specially designed to [...]

On institutionalizing racism, favoritism, and sexism at the same time.

Another Excellent pieceby amman net on the issue of granting citizenship to the children of Jordanian women. 
When taken from the perspective of equality between Jordanian men and women the issue can be viewed through a sexism lens. But when viewed from a HUMAN perspective it becomes a broader issue that epitomize racism and favoritism in our society, and as [...]