Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak says he has asked the government to resign, and that he will appoint a new government Saturday. He gave no indication that he would step down or leave the country.
Talk about as stubborn as Pharaoh. Somehow I don't think Mubarak is going to remain in power much longer. He hasn't got a friend in the world right now and if he thinks people are going to settle for him remaining in power, well.
Meanwhile, protests are spreading east to Yemen and Jordan, where the people are demanding Prime Minister Samir Rifai step down.
In the third consecutive Friday of protests, about 3,500 opposition activists from Jordan's main Islamist opposition group, trade unions and leftist organisations gathered in the capital, waving colourful banners reading: "Send the corrupt guys to court".
The crowd denounced Samir Rifai's, the prime minister, and his unpopular policies.
Many shouted: "Rifai go away, prices are on fire and so are the Jordanians.''
Another 2,500 people also took to the streets in six other cities across the country after the noon prayers. Those protests also called for Rifai's ouster.
Members of the Islamic Action Front, the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood and Jordan's largest opposition party, swelled the ranks of the demonstrators, massing outside the al-Husseini mosque in Amman and filling the downtown streets with their prayer lines.
King Abdullah has promised some reforms, particularly on a controversial election law. But many believe it is unlikely he will bow to demands for the election of the prime minister and Cabinet officials, traditionally appointed by the king.
Rifai also announced a $550 million package of new subsidies in the last two weeks for fuel and staple products like rice, sugar, livestock and liquefied gas used for heating and cooking. It also includes a raise for civil servants and security personnel.
Things are getting ugly, folks. The big fat domino at the end of this 2,500 mile chain that started in Tunisia is Saudi Arabia and our oil producing OPEC pals. If the unrest goes that far, we're going to have all kinds of problems on our end and damn soon. Last thing you want to see is Zimbabwe style hyper-inflation in an OPEC exporter.
Tunisia's down, Egypt's on the brink. The whole of North Africa into the Middle East is looking bad. Stay tuned, folks. This isn't one song on the jukebox, it's a symphony of chaos and it's been warming up for years.
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