Game of Thrones

So far the kingdoms of the Arab world have been doing better in containing the unrest than their neighbours. Most protesters don't dare to directly critisize the monarchy, only oppressive laws and reality. This has prompted some of the kings to preach reform.

A few days ago it was the king of Jordan. He spoke of a national vision. Wether his words have any weight or are simply gestures to calm things in the kingdom is better explained by a the Jordanian blogger Nas: http://www.black-iris.com/2011/06/15/and-then-the-king-spoke/

In Morocco, the king is expected to speak today about reforming the constitution of the country. It is expected that in the new constitution some power will be handed over to the prime minister, and some degree of freedom of religion will be observed:

http://mg.co.za/article/2011-06-17-moroccos-king-to-unveil-reforms/

In Saudi-Arabia, another kingdom, perhaps the most important of the region, the battle is about much more mundane issues, such as women being allowed to drive. It's the first time in 21 years that a group of women are defying the religious fatwas against women driving:

http://english.aljazeera.net/video/middleeast/2011/06/201161713200141723.html

The Facebook page in support of women driving rights:

http://www.facebook.com/Women2Drive?ref=ts&sk=wall

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I will write more when more details are known. In the mean time, here's a fun little bit of trivia. The King of Jordan was a huge Star Trek fan, and even appeared briefly in one of the episodes. Don't believe me? Here it is: