I have a bone to pick with these government and royal motorcades that careen through the streets of the capital at stellar speeds, stopping for no one and breaking the speed limit by leaps and bounds. I know these drivers are well-trained, but you know what, the rest of us citizens never got a special [...]

A while back, I decided to change up mosques for Friday prayer due to a lack of inspiration. Essentially, I’ve spent the past two years trying to find one that had something to offer but alas, it seems recycled material is what passes for a good khutba (sermon) these days. I even started a pet [...]

It was perhaps with great pleasure that I read about government plans to exempt computers from taxes in Jordan around two months ago. Sources at the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology leaked such plans in late April, and the Minister, Bassem Roussan, seemed to confirm it at a meeting with members of the ICT [...]

Flying in from Cairo the other day I had a bit of a run in with the Jordanian Customs on my way out. After a friend asked me to purchase cigarettes from the newly-expanded Duty Free Shop, I was pulled over by customs but in the most abrasive of manners. To begin with, I have [...]

Leaving a meeting in Abdali yesterday morning, I got a call informing me that a protest was taking place on the 6th circle. Second-hand information indicated that a crowd, angry with the safety conditions of the Jordan Gate towers lately, had gathered on the circle to launch a protest. I figured it was probably the [...]

It perhaps goes without saying that the most defunct and notoriously futile arm of the entire Jordanian government apparatus, is the Lower House of Parliament; the very small government body that “the people” actually get to “vote” for. The Lower House never ceases to amaze me in its imbecility and it is a constant reminder [...]

“If Bush and Blair can spin the truth about WMDs to justify bombing innocent people, then why can’t I spin Dalia’s story to save women from being murdered on a daily basis?” – Norma Khouri on fabricating her novel “Forbidden Love” about honor crimes in Jordan. This quote comes by way of a review of [...]

While I still appreciate that the concept of Earth Hour has finally come to Amman, I am overwhelmingly disappointed with the outcome. Last night, several locations were supposed to turn their lights off in honor of Earth Hour, between 8:30 and 9:30pm, along with the rest of the world. What happened was nothing short of [...]