I Got Shivers

... when I read this article about his late majesty, his bravery shone through, he lived in an atmosphere that was with no doubt nerve-wrecking, and he was 22, just as old as I am today, instead of learning of the world, as any young man would like to, he had to manipulate it for the benefit of Jordan.

..but in London there was increasing talk of a "villa at Lausanne" as a suitable reward for Hussein. For Jordan, a melancholy excuse for a nation, is unable to support its people without subsidy, unable to protect its government without outside help. If it continued to exist, it would only be because everyone, at the summit or elsewhere, decided that its eradication would be worse.

Imagine a 22-year-old reading that his stay, his kingdom and the future of the region was to be weighed against the "villa at Lausanne" option. Imagine having your country called "a melancholy excuse for a nation." I am sure Jordan is now known as the last stand of moderation in the Middle East, and that's its eradication would be much worse, almost detrimental to the region.

One thing that didn't change much over the years is that Jordan is "unable to support its people without subsidy." Hopefully in the next few years, with the Petroleum prices freed, we will have for once financial independence, a pre-requisite for a meaningful political independence.