on protests

2 days ago a jordanian man self-immolated in front of the prime minister's office. here is an al-jazeera article about it:
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/04/2011487431621214.html

the article fails to mention a few crucial points: the man who self-immolated had an extensive criminal background; none of his crimes were political or up for debate. second, that this act was basically not political at all, despite the article's suggestions to the contrary; this criminal was trying to earn sympathy to get his record exponged. thirdly, everyone in this country thinks he's a complete moron.

from what i see, protests here are largely under control, even after the march 25 protests which turned violent, killing one and injuring 160. king abdullah responded quickly, voicing his support for reform while insisting that his people remain peaceful. it was kind of a brilliant move, actually. he said that anyone who doesn't want reform is not interested in what's best for jordan. but jordan prides itself on being one of the most (if not the most) stable countries in the region, and a lot of people are upset about the protests and the violence with which some people are responding.

personally, the protests haven't affected me much at all except blocking traffic in certain neighborhoods. life goes on as usual. i have noticed many more flags on people's cars and houses, though, and some new banners and graffitti calling for peace and unity, as well as a few more posters of the king around town.