This is another wonderful piece from Mohammed al-Qadhi and a great companion piece to today’s article by Khaled al-Hammadi.

This is just one of many reasons why the government is losing legitimacy in Yemen – it can’t provide basic services to large segments of the population. Trust me chewing qat by candlelight is only romantic the first couple of times, and it is especially annoying if your host – some young American kid – forgot to stock up on candles before hosting a large chew.

On the plus side, most Yemenis think they can judge the president’s schedule based on where the rolling blackouts are taking place. The president is in Aden; blackouts in San’a. He makes a stop in Mukalla; watch out Ta’izz.

But my favorite part of the whole piece is this wonderfully understated quote by Taher Hizam:

“Since 2005 and they have kept telling us they will address this headache of power shortages this or that year. The work started in 2003 but they had problems with the implementing company. I am not optimistic.”