In the context of endless rounds of violence on university campuses throughout the Kingdom in recent weeks, the Minister of Higher Education has reportedly proposed a plan to “stomp out” violence in university campus. The plan consists of the following steps in the SHORT TERM: 1) “…making changes to the admission system and criterion that […]

In the past 48 hours, the lengthy article published in The Atlantic, based on various interviews conducted with HM King Abdullah, has been making the media rounds. (For those who haven’t read it, please take a look here, as my goal is not to summarize it). Suffice to say, it’s made waves locally despite the […]

In the past few weeks and months it has grown increasingly difficult to understand where Jordan is going. For anyone relying on western media they would be inclined to think that Jordan is next on the Arab Spring target list. For anyone actually living in Jordan, they would be inclined to think that the reality […]

It’s been awhile since I’ve written anything on the black iris and that’s largely due to being a bit jaded with the political scene of the country. So, instead, the following is an incoherent rant on a completely different subject that has long annoyed me. photo credit If there’s one thing I’ve learned about entrepreneurship, […]

“For those who want additional reforms or want to develop the Elections Law, they can work from under the Dome of Parliament and through the ballot boxes, which are the true representative of the will of the people.”- HM King Abdullah in a speech on Tuesday 23rd, 2012. The King’s speech was quite interesting, and […]

By now, most of the world has become well aware of an alleged terror plot driven by 11 Jordanians, which sought to target key places throughout the Capital. At a time when Jordanians, and indeed much of the immediate region, is on high alert when it comes to security – given the bloodshed in Syria, […]

I cannot say I am surprised at the news of the royal seal approving amendments to the press and publications law. There was, deep down, a part of me who thought this wouldn’t happen and felt that this was perhaps another state policy that would get knocked down by the King after public pressure. But […]

Photo Courtesy of: Jordan Open Source Association Once upon a time, the Jordanian government thought that censoring the Internet was actually a bad thing. In fact, the government felt that the best regulators of what content users should consume were the users themselves, in the form of the community – parents, schools, etc. Government recognises […]

Today, amendments to the Press and Publications law will be coming out of committee and on to the Lower House floor for a discussion and a probable vote. All signs point to these amendments passing, and for that we will be gathering tomorrow between 9:45am and 12pm outside parliament to mark the death of an […]

This is a subject that, I admit, I have avoided writing about like the plague, and for good reason. After months of witnessing a group absurdly demanding the government actually move in to censor porn sites, and after months of a counter movement trying to convince people that self-regulation is the key and that any […]