Newly-discovered blog: Naijanomics

Following from yesterday's post on the new Chatham House report on Nigeria's institutionalized oil theft, I just happened to discover, via Twitter, this excellent new blog on Nigerian economics, called Naijanomics, written by Chuba Ezekwesili. I've added it the blog roll (on the right-hand side of the page) and recommend checking it out. The post from today, on 'African Time' analyzed through game theory is pretty clever.

MICAT Panel Discussions: A Decade of Peace

Monrovia marking a decade since the end of Liberia's civil war is culminating around the date of August 18th, which is when the Accra Peace Accords were signed in Ghana in 2003.

In this week leading up to that occasion, Liberia's Ministry of Information, Culture, and Tourism (MICAT), has been hosting several panel discussions, inviting members of the various delegations to the Accra negotiations to recount the events of that time. The sessions were broadcast on YouTube and I've reposted two of them below.

MICAT has a fairly decent and active Twitter feed, which has been partly live-tweeting these panel events. Many of those speaking forth are figures who are either in the present administration, or have notorious reputations from the civil war era.  I'll let the often-times candid statements and testimonies on the videos speak for themselves, but for press reactions and opinions on these conversations, I'd recommend reading FrontPageAfrica's filings, or the reporting of American journalist Clair MacDougall, who also blogs at North of Nowhere.

Liberia's Army Now, But What About Liberia's War Then?

Last week, the Economist's Baobab blog featured a story about Liberia and its army, written by a Liberia-based journalist (Australian-born Clair MacDougall, who also writes the blog North of Nowhere).

Although the focus of the post was the military dimension of Liberia's post-conflict recovery, there was only the most passing mention to the dire, hellish conditions of the country exactly a decade ago. The article passed up the opportunity to juxtapose Liberia's milestone participation in a regional peacekeeping force with the situation ten years previous, in which Liberia's government, especially its security contingents and armed forces, were attacking civilians and otherwise contributing to the violent destruction of the state in virtually every imaginable.

This missed opportunity (perhaps not appropriate for a quick blog post on a major publications' site) only further highlights the utter lack of any marking of this passing milestone, in both Liberia's domestic media and the global press, even those that source their reporting from international journalists on the ground. My posts and tweets from this past week have been the only mentions of 2003 that I have found.

Full text:

ON A drizzly morning at Liberia’s Roberts International Airport, beneath the bright yellow lights of an aircraft hanger, a brass band and 45 uniformed soldiers stood waiting for President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Past the white United Nations cargo containers and the muddy edges of the runway, the Liberian jungle stood veiled in fog. These men, from the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL), would soon be trading the rainforest for the Sahel to engage in their first peacekeeping assignment with the Africa-led International Support Mission in Mali (AFISMA).
“This is a proud day for all of us, as Liberians,” proclaimed President Johnson Sirleaf (pictured in purple). “For so long—decades, in fact—we have been the beneficiary of support from our ECOWAS [Economic Community of West African States] neighbours, and friends from far and wide, who came to our shores to help us restore the peace and rebuild a shattered nation. It is time for Liberia to give back, in whatever small way that we can.”
Following the legislature’s approval in January of the president’s decision to send troops to Mali, the infantry platoon underwent five months of training at Camp Sande Ware in the country’s northwest. American marines have acted as mentors, supplying equipment and logistics. Once in Mali the unit will be embedded within the 333rd Nigerian battalion for three months.
It has been more than half a century since Liberia committed troops to the UN’s operation in Congo, and only a decade since the end of the 14-year civil war which left 250,000 people dead and the nation in tatters. The commitment to the Mali peacekeeping mission is small, and Liberia still hosts 8,000 UN peacekeepers and police officers in bases across the country. But the ability to send troops is being touted as a marker of the nation’s progress.
Liberia’s Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which ended the civil war in August 2003 and led to the exile of the former president, Charles Taylor, called for the nation’s factionalised armed forces to be restructured. The new AFL, a 2,000-man force, was reconstituted six years ago by DynCorp International, a contractor for the United States State Department, but has been beset by attrition and complaints over wages, benefits and living conditions.
The army embarked on its first combat mission last year to root out militants who had been allegedly engaging in cross-border attacks in western Côte d’Ivoire. Now headed by a Nigerian commander, Major General Suraj Alao Abdurrahman, the AFL is due to be fully operational and autonomous from the second half of 2014.

Africæ Tabula Nova, 1570

Two details from a plate of the 16th century Theatrum orbis terrarum, depicting the African continent. This masterpiece is part of the collection of the Boston Public Library's Norman B. Leventhal Map Center, which tweeted out a link to this item last week. 

The details above show West Africa and the Guinea coast. Cape Verde and Sierra Leone are already known as such, although the Niger River is incorrectly shown to flow into the Atlantic between the two, a fallacy that would exist for centuries to come.


Benin and Biafra are labeled, as is Guinea, somewhat ironically exactly where modern-day Guinea is. I presume Dauma is kindred to Dahomey, as Melli surely is to Mali. Melegueta, the early Portuguese name for the Liberian coast, is probably the same as Melegete, which this map puts at somewhere near modern-day Ghana. Its fascinating not only that Cape Palmas is clearly labeled, but also the St. Paul River-- showing just how ancient that river's Christian name really is.

I don't recognize a single town name, (although I wonder if Gago is now Gao) and its notable that they are depicted with as tiny clusters peaked by a church spire, in the European style of the era. I love the swordfish, too.

Relda Cinema, Gone

What remained of the theater seating was piled off to be sold as scrap metal.

I was surprised and saddened to be driving down Tubman Boulevard in Sinkor on Saturday, 10 December, and come upon a gaping heap of twisted metal and broken concrete where one of the city's most beloved landmarks, the Relda Cinema, had sat forlorn for so many years.

Once a hotspot for the city's young crowd, and only one of several movie houses in Monrovia, which made the city seem so ultramodern in the midcentury (The Rivoli Cinema still stands on Broad Street, for the time being), the Relda had stood neglected and underused in the post-conflict period. It seemed that occasionally the theater was used as a cinema or other event space-- to charge for the viewing of video projects or sporting events. Monrovia doesn't have cinemas any more, merely video clubs, and even the former film palaces have been re-appropriated for the somewhat less grand past time.

Several bits of history were lost here, even if there is nothing remarkable in the 21st century about the Relda's rusted old truss frame, which provided a column-free theatre space, it is noteworthy that such technology was carefully employed so many decades ago in Liberia. The city surely has few other remaining examples. Likewise gone are a stately tree that stood in the front lot, along with a gold-painted statue, apparently called the Lappa Lady, which was reportedly removed by the original owner before the heavy machines were brought in.

Most frustratingly, no one bothered to save the gorgeous, vintage R-E-L-D-A letters from the from the building, the zinc cubes were likely torn by the backhoe and crushed by the concrete coming down on top.

Relda in its glory days, 1979. Image via Liberia77.com

Why was they Relda torn down now? Reportedly for a multistory office, retail, and apartment complex, which is the recent or near-future makeover of about half the blocks facing Tubman Boulevard in Central Sinkor. With surety of title still woefully inept for much of Monrovia's real estate, and with the city continuing to enjoy a huge boom with the influx of foreign investment and their high-salaried, ex-pat packaged executives, Monrovia continues to experience a massive building wave, especially of high-rise, full-service apartment towers, much to the expense of its heritage and historic buildings.

Ma Ellen, Not on Twitter

In the aftermath of the Presidential Run-0ff, someone from Harvard suggested that we all follow President Sirleaf on Twitter. Which might be a good idea, if anyone ever sent out messages from the account. But no one ever has.

This is perhaps interesting, given how prominent a role Twitter now plays in American politics, and media in general, and that even though there was a Presidential Debate at Monrovia City Hall, in which members of the Diaspora were able to submit questions via YouTube, and that many Liberians are either on Twitter, or, in far greater numbers, on Facebook, President Sirleaf and the UP camp saw no need to employ microblogging at any point during her reelection. She also doesn't exactly have a lot of followers, but I imagine she would if she ever sent something out.

The Top Rumors of Liberia's Elections, So Far

Monrovia is so unique in many ways, one of which has been particularly pronounced this fall: constant waves of rumor and intrigue. America may have its cable chattering classes and plugged-in pundits, but this town is all tongue-wagging and tale-trading, which can give legs to some incredulous whoppers.

Since the start of the campaign season, the Monrovia rumor mill has been churning out such frequent, fantastical tales and apocryphal episodes that this town makes a rural boarding school look like a scientific review board.

Quite aside from theories involving the Nobel-prize committee rigging Liberia's elections, or any story having to do with Prince Johnson, here is a review of some of the biggest eyebrow-raisers to sweep this city since mid-September, with some follow-up, where possible, of what real and factual events might have fueled the collective imagination.

1A. A member of President Sirleaf's personal security was killed (by UN forces, other bodyguards, burglars, a lover, a rival, or himself) while attempting to:

a. assassinate the President while she was campaigning in Bong or Nimba County

b. help ambush her convoy in Bong or Nimba County

c. planning either (a) or (b) as part of the President's guard detail or advance security crew.

d. leaping in front of the President and taking a bullet for her during (a) or (b)

1B. A member of President Sirleaf's personal security died from a gunshot while:

a. fighting with his girlfriend

b. fighting over a girl

c. cleaning or toying with his gun

d. taking a bath or shower

e. falling under random attack by burglars

f. committing suicide

DATE OF RUMOR: September 24-26 and onwards

STATUS: REMAINS UNCLEAR. The only confirmed portion of this is that George WIlliams, a member of the President's special security service, died of a gunshot wound in Ganta. The extraordinary, early version of this rumor, that the President herself was shot at but only survived due to a bullet-proof vest and/or the intervention of Mr. WIlliams or another member of her security and/or UNMIL guard(s), seems to be totally untrue. Just what happened remains the subject of speculation, as timing (and location deep inside Prince Johnson's home turf) of such an individual's death from a bullet raises plenty of suspicions and details of the investigation have been little-broadcast and drowned out by later election coverage.

2. At the voting booth on election day, George Weah's vote was immediately invalidated by officials because Weah foolishly:

a. used too much ink to mark his thumb-print on the ballot, causing his ballot card to drip with ink, bleeding through the other side and causing potential invalidation of other votes in the sealed ballot box with so much gooey ink

b. dipped his finger in ink before he had voted, therefore technically being counted as having already voted even though he had yet to cast his ballot.

DATE: Story started around 12-14 October, the days after the election.

STATUS: UNTRUE. Although this tale sounds like a perfectly entertaining episode of the tired, never-ending myth, oh-that-Weah-is-just-a-dumb-jock, in fact pretty much the opposite happened in reality: Weah had taken took the opportunity of casting his valid vote to point out the shortcomings and potential pitfalls of the ink-dipping system in front of the media. The first clue that this story was off was that its not clear that poll station staff would have any authority to invalidate anyone's vote at the moment of casting the ballot.

3. Both a Unity Party District Office, and the CDC-Friendly Love FM Radio Station in Sinkor suffered fire damage within a 48 period, due to:

a. A crazed rebel mob sweeping from one end of town to the other in the middle of the night.

b. Factions of Political Parties looking to incite fear and chaos

c. The owners or the political parties themselves, trying to reposition themselves as victims of violence and chaos.

d. Looters/Apolitical Hooligans

DATE: Early Saturday, October 15th for UP office; The night of October 16/17 for Love FM Radio Station.

STATUS: CAUSE OF BOTH FIRES UNKNOWN, despite the arrest of suspects. Other than the fact that both structures suffered fire, it is unclear which of the above reasons is or are true. We can, thankfully, eliminate (a) of course, which was the apocalyptic version of choice in the early hours of Saturday when word first spread that a UP office was ablaze.

4. Ballots were stuffed and/or tampered with

DATE: 12 October onwards

STATUS: UNVERIFIED. Despite supporting photographic evidence, no independent body has confirmed these claims, which were put forth by the CDC. International monitors have largely praised the poll.

The photographs themselves have been questioned, as it seems incredible that an illegal operation to stuff or tamper with ballots under cover of night would welcome flash photography. Paradoxically, the report failed to gain widespread credibility seemingly because of its supporting photographic evidence, which was even shown on Al Jazeera for at least one news cycle.

5. The CDC Candidate, Winston Tubman, was rushed to the UN hospital with high-blood pressure, nearly having a coronary incident due to the sudden news that Prince Johnson was endorsing Sirleaf in the Second Round. Tubman was later flown to Ghana for treatment, even though this was masked as a campaign-related journey to consult with other West African politicians.

STATUS: MOSTLY TRUE, except for some important details. The early, theatrical rumor of Friday, that Tubman swooned with a near heart-attack because of the PYJ news, was easy to dismiss-- how would anyone know the cognitive trigger that causes another person's cardiac episode?

All the same, this is perhaps the most annoying and endless rumor episode, because (1) it was denied but was true at the time, and was otherwise handled poorly in terms of media and public relations by the Tubman/CDC camp (2) there is a big difference between, on the one hand, getting malaria or some other common ailment in Liberia and going to see a physician, who happens to work at a hospital, and on the other hand being rushed to the hospital with a serious condition which requires airlifting for treatment in another country.

With its outright denials of what was days later confirmed to be true, and otherwise lack of timely messaging on the situation, the story stayed way out in front of the CDC, to the point of open speculation in the press and social media that Tubman would withdraw from the run-off, and George Weah would move to the the top of the ticket in the second round.

5A. A major coalition of leading opposition parties, including the CDC is withdrawing from the elections.

5B. The CDC is withdrawing from/boycotting the run-off.

DATE: The coalition withdrawal was announced on 15 October, with threatened boycott by CDC being a constant refrain from then until the present.

STATUS: ???? As to the first part, News of a coalition withdrawal was true, even up to having put the declaration in writing, except a few days later the CDC and other small parties continued to be in.

Despite constant, strenuous, and confusingly contrary claims, the status of the second part is unclear, with daily reports that the CDC is serious, including a recent announcement of an official withdrawal--although its Presidential candidate Winston Tubman is publicly complaining that he wasn't consulted. Standing in a poll is sort of a binary position of either being in or not, but in this case, there is no point speculating on the ultimate outcome, despite official pronouncements. Only November 8th will tell whether the CDC is in fact part of the run-off.

6. National Elections Commission Chairman James Fromayan is being fired or is resigning, because:

a. it is the demand of the opposition due to fraud (see for example #4 and #5A/B above)

b. he mistakenly sent a letter to the CDC mixing up their results and misstating that they had the most votes in the first round

c. it is the behest of President Sirleaf and the Unity Party, to take the fall and undermine complaints about the close connections between NEC and the UP.

d. A combination of b and c.

DATE: Howling over NEC impartiality transformed into calls for Fromayan's resignation after the sloppy letter was circulated on 27 October. First broadcast of word of Fromayan's resignation came on the afternoon of 28 October, apparently on True FM, but no official announcement came until the afternoon of Sunday, 30 October.

STATUS: TRUE. Confirmed about 48 hours after it was everyone's lips, including talk radio in Monrovia, and the Chairman claimed the backwards-letter was not reason enough to resign, and the NEC's public information chief was sacked. Remarkably, the reasons stated in Fromayan's quote are basically all the above. His removal undermines the CDC's cries of injustice, and makes President Sirleaf look decisive and democratic. It is uncommonly frank anywhere to admit to falling on a sword for the sake of a patron, but especially for this town.

Ripped from the International Headlines: Nobel Peace Prize Winner Seeks Reelection

The last 72 hours started on Friday morning with the bombshell announcement of President Sirleaf and Leymah Gbowee's Nobel awards, and is now wrapping up under a late rainy season Sunday evening thunder-downpour as crowds clear out of the streets and stadiums from the last official day of campaigning.

Twitter blew-up early Friday morning after the Nobel announcement, with a wide range of messages, many excited congratulations, but some reacted with a bit more caution:

@penelopeinparis, Penelope Chester, went on to file a post in UN Dispatch: Could the Nobel Peace Prize Hurt Liberia President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf's Changes at Re-Election Next Week? which incorporated a more nuanced reflection of the counter-intuitive liability of the win:

The reactions concerning Sirleaf’s award have been mixed, however. While many believe that this is a great day for Liberia, some are concerned that the timing of the prize actually plays against Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s re-election bid, a mere four days away. Indeed, among Liberians, there is a persistent notion that Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is not truly dedicated to the welfare of her country.

There are a number of reasons for this: the Liberian Truth & Reconciliation Commission put her on a list of individuals who should be barred from public office because of their role in the civil war. In Sirleaf’s case, it had to do with her early support for Charles Taylor at the beginning of the war...

On Twitter, expats based in Monrovia see the announcement of the Nobel Peace Prize as bad news for Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Some argue that this will play in the hands of the opposition...

To a remarkable degree, the torrent of global press that followed over the weekend repeat much the same story. While, many foreign journalists covering the elections seem to be familiar with the reality that Sirleaf's international celebrity plays very differently here in Liberia, but others seem to have startled by this aspect, treating it as a late-breaking development:

Reuters: Liberian Vote a Stress Test for Fragile Gains

But her critics have said the prize is evidence only of her international fame -- not her domestic record, which includes controversy over her temporary support to a rebellion by notorious warlord Charles Taylor against ex-president Samuel Doe and impatience with the slow pace of reconstruction.

New York Times: Prize or Not, Liberian Faces Tough Race to Keep in Office filed by Adam Nossiter:

But analysts say more tangible benefits are harder to pin down. Corruption “remains pervasive at all levels” amid “widespread claims of malfeasance in government circles,” a recent report on Liberia by the International Crisis Group noted.

A leading anticorruption official was not reappointed, and Mrs. Johnson Sirleaf has ignored a report by a commission set up to investigate crimes committed during the war. It recommended that she be banned from office for 30 years because of her early involvement with the warlord Charles Taylor, which she later said she regretted. There have been no prosecutions, rankling many voters.

The Associated Press: Nobel-Prize Winning Sirleaf to face stiff Competition at Tuesday's polls, as published in the Washington Post:

Pervasive corruption, criminality and the slow progress of national reconciliation have undercut her support on the home front, critics say...

Sirleaf also sidestepped last year’s recommendations from a South-African-styled Truth and Reconciliation Commission that said she should be banned from public office for 30 years for her early financial support of former rebel leader Charles Taylor. Taylor is currently awaiting judgment from the International Criminal Court in the Hague on charges of war crimes in neighboring Sierra Leone.

AFP: Nobel Power Marks Feverish End of Liberia poll campaign [sic?] by Fran Blandy:

Despite ushering in much-needed foreign investment and getting billions of dollars in debt-relief, Sirleaf is criticised for failing to implement the recommendations of a South African-style Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) report naming her on a list of people who should be banned from public office for 30 years for backing warlord-turned-president Charles Taylor.

The Independent: Feted on the International Stage, but Accused of Hollow Promises At Home. Filed by Daniel Howden:

Beyond the debilitating graft that many Liberians blame for holding back the country's recovery from 14 years of conflict, some of the most serious concerns centre on Ms Johnson Sirleaf's alleged role in those wars. Liberia's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was set up to deal with the legacy of those ruinous wars and was initially lauded for its work by Ms Johnson Sirleaf's government...Ms Johnson Sirleaf faced questions at the time about her relationship with the warlord-turned-President Charles Taylor...Ms Johnson Sirleaf admitted to a single meeting with Mr Taylor and to making a small financial contribution to his then-rebel movement, which she later came to regard as a mistake.

She had in fact met Mr Taylor on more than one occasion and is alleged to have had a much deeper role in support of his armed group, the National Patriotic Front of Liberia...

When the report was published, some people were recommended for prosecution; others who had shown adequate contrition were publicly forgiven and a third category of people was to be barred from public office for 30 years. Ms Johnson Sirleaf's name was in the last category. Her administration hastily invoked her constitutional immunity and the TRC found its recommendations largely ignored by a newly hostile government.

While all this background is certainly important context, it is misleading to cite the TRC report and Taylor history as any sort of significant liability that Sirleaf has had to overcome to win. Sirleaf's explanation of her support for Taylor seems adequate enough: she thought Taylor was the right option at the time, and like many was desperate to get rid of Doe.

To say that she should be disqualified from office because she supported Taylor completely disregards how widespread support for Taylor always has been, and still is. For all the perhaps-unfortunate, inconclusive manner in which the report was unceremoniously shelved, that is simply not a topic that is very common to hear anyone in Monrovia bring up as a factor in which party or candidate they support.

Equally incorrect is the concept that the Nobel Prize would reverberate quickly through the electorate, shifting voter opinion. While it is a potential point of argument which is totally unhelpful in such a fragile environment as the election period will be, it is not being internalized by the populace. No need to repeat what I said with brevity on twitter:

The major obstacles that Sirleaf faces, as many of this weekend's articles make a point to mention, if not properly emphasize, is that such an overwhelming majority of Liberians exist in jobless misery, with the daily prospect of just finding enough resources for a single meal posing a significant challenge, aside from accessing other basics such as healthcare, sanitation, or a minimally decent education.

The daily reality of this struggle is exacerbated by the twin evils of endemic corruption and a wide inequality that still rests of the foundations of a dangerously divided nationhood. People's lives are remarkably similar to what they were in 2005, and for that matter in 2003, 1997, 1990 or 1980. The last six years haven't significantly changed that, and although it can be strongly argued that the disease of corruption is difficult to eradicate, many citizens of this country, in their daily dealings with the police, the courts, schools, and government, see no significant improvement during her time in office. This is why President Sirleaf's re-election, as sensible as it seems from afar, is so uncertain here on the ground.

Teju Cole's Remix of Lagos News

Speaking of Twitter, Teju Cole, author of the previously-excerpted excellent read Open City, has had a twitter account, @TejuCole, for a while, but only in the last few weeks has he started to light it up with Haiku-remixes of headlines and stories from Lagos's newspapers. Totally brilliant and unique. Its impossible to chose a favorite. I just wonder how much of the clever phrasing and irony is from the original editorial team, or Cole's polishing.

New Favorite Liberia Tweet

Both clever and true. Sent out by @PatrickMeier during Ushahidi and Google's iLab Liberia workshop in preparation for the upcoming electoral season this fall.

I've been in at least one of Liberia's working elevators (in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is currently acting as President's offices. After spending weeks at a time in rather dilapidated buildings around Monrovia, where even the ministries don't have flushing toilets and are powered by generators, it can be a bit of a surreal experience to take an elevator ride in Monrovia.

Photos of Harper by Aaron Leaf

Several wonderful photos of Harper, Maryland, posted earlier this by Aaron Leaf, whose year-long role supporting human rights reporting at Monrovia's Heritage newspaper, is sadly coming to an end. Also, an excellent person to follow on Twitter.

Good luck with your future endeavors, Aaron!

More great photos of Harper on Scarlett Lion.

Queen Rania's Twitter Problem

The news is dominated by Egypt, so much so that hardly anyone is talking about Tunisia, which just revolted two weeks ago. There is so much that has already been said and written, and so much that will be debated, analyzed, and put forth in the future, and so much still developing, that I would know where to begin . Furthermore, this isn't a foreign affairs blog, and I'm not an expert in international relations or Egypt, which are not really the topics of this blog.

However, I am something of an expert on Twitter, and this is being called the Twitter Revolution(s), even social media only helped lubricate any already-overboiling engine of discontent. But the ways in which Twitter is changing and even democratizing our globe and global communication is on display in interesting ways these last few weeks. It was interesting to see veteran New York Times columnist and Pulitzer Prize-winner Nicolas Kristof being mocked for his tweets about Egypt on Monday:

A more startling example of the Twitter Revolution: Queen Rania of Jordan, with her 1.43 million followers. She is a monarch. Her husband King Abdullah was not elected and is the head of state over a country where police brutality, unjustified detention and torture are shockingly common. But she is also a global philanthropy celebrity, despite the problems of her home realm, where between 14% and 30% of Jordanians live in poverty. Look at her Twitter profile, "mum and wife with really cool day job." Oh, its also so light and fun, isn't it?

But, in the middle of January, the Queen sent out a compassionate, au courant tweet about Tunisia:

Suddenly, the twin poles holding up Queen Rania's tent are being ruthlessly collapsed on Twitter. People are being openly rude to her majesty, the Queen.

This is a different situation than international development bloggers wittily sniping at Nick Kristof's tweets, or the lightning-strike outrage at Kenneth Cole's thoughtless, crass self-promotional controversy, in which its plausible to imagine the ploy was calculated in an any-publicity-is-good-publicity maneuver.

Queen Rania's case is different. She is the target of all this activity, completely unable to recast, engage, or co-opt these events. She isn't the champion of the poor, she is the symbol of their angst. That "really cool day job"? Would that be living a life of luxury while around a third of your subjects live in inescapable misery? The next few days and week will continue to amaze the world as the people of the Middle East take control of their destiny. Queen Rania has been mostly silent on Twitter since the 15th, whereas her husband has sacked his cabinet. Let's see if that's enough to satisfy her tweeps, or even an older following: the people.