The Forward on Abdullah, the puppet-king of Jordan — how many countries’ leaders do you think are regularly spoken about in this manner?
Even Jordan, one of the most pro-Western, anti-fundamentalist regimes in the Arab world, is testing the waters. Jordanian defense officials met with senior officials from Hamas over the past few weeks to talk [...]

From the Committee to Protect Journalists:
Jordan blocks newspaper edition over story on ‘secret’ Palestinian plan
New York, April 30, 2007—Jordanian authorities should lift their ban on today’s edition of an independent paper, the Committee to Protect Journalists said. Fahd al-Rimawi, editor of the weekly Al-Majd, told CPJ that security agents moved Sunday to prevent printing of [...]

So it appears from this Haaretz interview of King Abdullah “PS2″ (like most people he can’t find a PS3) that Jordan is joining the fast-growing gang of Arab countries with civilian nuclear programs and an ambiguous attitude as where there is going to be anything more than just civilian. The boy-king says Jordan has to [...]

OK so it’s only been a few hours:
Jordan king complains of Israeli odors
JERUSALEM - Jordanian King Abdullah II has complained of bovine odors coming from the Israeli side of the frontier along the countries’ shared southern border, Israel’s environment minister said Monday.
Speaking to Israel Radio, Gideon Ezra said the smells, from a livestock quarantine facility, [...]

Carnegie has a new paper on how Jordan, er, should be more democratic. I have an idea: get rid of the Hashemites. Perhaps they should rule Saudi Arabia instead, it’s bound to be an improvement and anyway it’s the Hegazis’ turn again. More seriously, it’s nice to see an establishment think tank like Carnegie take [...]

The diversity of attempts to normalize relations between Israel and Arab states always astounds me:
The Red Sea Institute of Cinematic Arts is in line with His Majesty’s efforts to harness the skills of Jordanian youth by exposing them to the latest technologies in filmmaking and production. The institute would also contribute to His Majesty’s vision [...]

Finally, someone does a decent article on Jordan! The LA Times’ great Borzu Daragahi makes an unconvincing parallel between the Shah of Iran and King Abdullah “PS2″, but his article his shock full of interesting tidbits:
Numerous parallels exist between the shah’s rule and that of Abdullah. Like the shah’s SAVAK security and intelligence service, Jordan’s [...]

Modern slavery in Jordan:
Tens of Thousands of Foreign Guest workers Stripped of their passports, trapped in involuntary servitude, sewing clothing for Wal-Mart, Gloria Vanderbilt, Target, Kohl’s, Thalia Sodi for Kmart, Victoria’s Secret, L.L.Bean and others.
In the Western factory, which was producing for Wal-Mart, four young women, including a 16-year old girl, were raped by plant [...]

Abu Aardvark has an interesting post on an attempt to pass a law in Jordan that would forbid disrespecting the state. It started as a response to Syrian mockery of the really rather ridiculous “Jordan First” campaign launched by the Hobbit-King Abdullah. Usually when countries adopt a me-first policy, it means that they’re about to [...]

Bizarre: Jordan Plans to Start Its Own New England-Style Prep School.
What, Harrow and Sandhurst not good enough anymore?

Yesterday, a senior Israeli military official, Major General Yair Navah, predicted that King Abdullah might be the last Hashemite monarch, causing a stir in Amman:
Naveh noted that at least 80 percent of Jordan’s citizens are Palestinian and said that, due to regional threats including Hamas’ rise to power, King Abdullah is liable to be [...]

News from the Hashemite Kingdom of Boredom:
AMMAN, Jordan (AP) - A new Islamist weekly was launched in Jordan on Wednesday aimed at promoting moderation and countering militant “takfiri” ideology, which brands other Muslims as infidels, the chief editor said.
The weekly Fact International emerges at a time when Jordan’s King Abdullah II has called for a [...]

Sigh.
Amman - A Jordanian man shot dead his divorced sister after seeing her photo on his friend’s camera-equipped cellphone in the latest “honour” killing in the kingdom, hospital officials said Monday.

Abu Aardvark explains why Jim Hoagland is going after Jordan’s King Abdullah. Disgraceful. There are so many better reasons to go after Abdullah.

The second MERIP article I want to link to (here is my post about the first) is by Gary Sussman, a professor at Tel Aviv University. In this important article, Sussman articulates what I’ve always thought about Sharon’s withdrawal plan from Gaza: that it’s a sham designed, as Dov Weiglass famously said, to put the [...]

Fascinating story in the New York Times today about the Jordanian man allegedly responsible for last week’s huge suicide bombing in Hilla in Iraq and the consequences that it is having on Iraqi-Jordanian relations. Raad Mansur al-Banna’s family thought he was looking for work abroad until they received a phone call from Iraq last [...]

Chris McGreal of the Guardian has written an interesting analysis of the water problem in the Middle East in light of a recent water deal between Israel and Turkey.
Last week, Turkey agreed an extraordinary plan to ship millions of tons of water in giant tankers to Israel in a deal linked to hi-tech weapons shipments [...]