A University of Louisville professor who’s from Egypt says President Hosni Mubarak is facing massive demonstrations because he’s been in office too long and has failed to address the country’s crippling poverty.Ali Farag is an engineering professor who left Egypt in 1979, but frequently visits and has family there. "Naturally, any official who stays too long in power will create lots of enemies, and the president of Egypt has stayed for too darn long. He has stayed for 30 years. He needs to go, and he knows he needs to go," he said. Mubarak announced Tuesday he would not run for re-election in September.Farag says Mubarak’s presidency has been marked by great accomplishments in diplomacy, infrastructure and education, but he has turned a deaf ear to calls for political reform and the needs of the poor. Farag says he and other Egyptians in Louisville are closely watching developments in the country.
Rick Howlett was midday host and the host of LPM's weekly talk show, "In Conversation." He was with LPM from 2001-2023 and held many different titles, including Morning Edition host, Assignment Editor and Interim News Director. He died in August 2023. Read a remembrance of Rick here.