In the era of neo-liberal economic analysis and decision-making in Jordan, supported by many "economic analysts" writing in newspapers and leading our economy it is really refreshing to see articles written by prominant economists with a social heart focusing on social and environmental dimensions of economic policies. I think the most active and convincing economic analyst in Jordan is Dr. Yusuf... [read more]

The first wave of blogs in the Arab World were naturally based on personal insights and perspectives with a dominance of political flavour in some cases. My own assumption is that the next wave will introduce thematic blogs that will focus on one or two particular issues and be designed as a service oriented blog media. In the past couple of months I have followed the global professional blogs... [read more]

"You are an opportunists. When was the last time an opportunist got jailed, tortured, or killed in Jordan? At worst you will get lots of free trips to speak on our behalf in conferences. At best, you will get some really nice “NGO” with US funding or a cozy government position where you can pontificate and keep on attacking political and intellectual oppositions."   This is the comment I just... [read more]

Last week, Omar Hashem Majali (10 years) called the Watan FM radio to declare that he wants to donate 50 JDs of his own pocket money for the national campaign for Cornea donation in Jordan. He then asked Mohammad Al Wakeel who was guiding the campaign whether he can donate more. Al Wakeel told the little boy that he has done more than enough and he aknowledges his generosity and patriotism. Five... [read more]

Amongst the many blogs and online networks that claim expertise and understanding of Jordan and Middle East political and socio-economic complexities, I was thrilled to see a genuine source of deep and well articulated analysis. Jeb Koogler from Seattle maintains a very interesting blog entitled "Foreign Policy Watch". He is a student  of international relations and Middle Eastern studies at Brown... [read more]

I guess each and every Jordanian blogger did read and contribute to the horrific family ordeal felt by our fellow blogger Who-sane and his family in searching for their missing father for 9 days before knowing that he was being badly treated at Prince Hamza Hospital. If this ordeal was really bad then some of the reactions to the open publishing of the story online and in print media were really heart... [read more]

This is another nice economic article by the Oxford Business Group. Short, concise and based on facts and figures. This one provides an insight to the aspirations Jordan has for developing a nuclear energy programme for electricity generation. This is the full text of the article   Jordan has reaffirmed its commitment to developing a nuclear energy programme, one that will meet much of the kingdom's... [read more]

Bibliotheca Alexandrina is not only a library. It is a place for creativity, cultural dialogue and tolerance. It is a platform for the imagination of the human mind and simple a temple for knowledge. The BA has an area of 40,200 square meters composed of 11 levels. The Library's main reading area can accommodate up to 2000 users and contains 200 study rooms equipped with computers. The library... [read more]

Last week I have been privileged to visit the magnificant Bibliotheca Alexandrina. This is one of the few places in the Arab World, and maybe the whole Globe that can be conisidered as a cultural acheivement. I was participating in a workshop organized by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) about new learning for sustainability in the Arab World, where I have presented the case study of using blogs... [read more]