Hey friends, I just wanted to quickly update you on the happenings in the Eastern Mediterranean. It has been a busy time to be in the Middle East. Long time President (some might say dictator) of Egypt Hosni Mubarak has declared that he will not seek reelection following the massive street protests around the country over the last 8 days. The events in Egypt are being closely watched across the region. Today, Yemen’s long time president vowed not to seek reelection and yesterday King Abdullah dismissed Jordan’s unpopular Prime Minister. Both moves are seen as steps to prevent unrest. Jordanians had long expected the King to remove Samir Rafai, as he was charged with implementing immensely unpopular austerity measures. Contrary to what one might assume, the removal of Prime Minister Rafai is not a deviation from the norm in Jordan. King Abdullah has dismissed the cabinet 9 times in the last 11 years.
The images coming out of Egypt are scary because of the tremendous uncertainty and rise in violence, but nothing similar has occurred or is expected to occur in Jordan. I was on the University of Jordan campus today, and despite it 30,000 students I did not encounter a single sign or protester of any kind.
The internet is really poor here so I find myself unable to easily put up pictures. So instead I have added a single photo of my peers on the University of Jordan campus. For more pictures just imagine me hanging out in front of a limestone clock tower with a dozen Americans who painfully stick out among several thousand Jordanian students. It is almost as good, right?
Love you guys lots, Michael
I choose to imagine you wearing Gene's Constable jacket, and therefore I remark on how little you are.
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Ah yes thank you for reminding me... Blog viewers, a thoughtful gentlemen in New York brought it to my attention that I am in fact "a little whit boy." This was news to me, but I have come to accept that it is in fact true.
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