Saudi Arabia: The Arab Spring With A Media Blackout
Guernica notes that while recent uprisings in Egypt, Syria, et cetera received plenty of sympathetic press coverage, the third rail seems to be Saudi Arabia, with the Western media refusing to report on serious unrest that has occurred there this year:
Hear the one about the Arab Spring in Saudi Arabia that nobody noticed?No, this is not a joke. With the Syrian regime, long out of favor with the West, we heard about the uprising from the beginning. In the case of Libya, run by the fiercely independent and eccentric Qaddafi, much of the world’s press credulously rushed to print every rumor about regime excesses.
In the case of the mother of all petro-allies, Saudi Arabia, however, protests have been met with near silence by the media and no expressions of sympathy for the dissenters by Western governments.
Here’s the background: On November 21, government troops opened fire on demonstrators in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern…
Saudi Royal Family Linked to 9/11 Hijackers
WhoWhatWhy discusses a link between the 9/11 hijackers and the Saudi Royal Family via a Saudi family living in Florida before the attacks in 2001. Evidence seems to suggest Esam Ghazzawi used his Florida home as an operational base for the hijackers, before fleeing to Riyadh just days in advance of the attacks and Ghazzawi’s extensive connections to the highest levels of Saudi power:
In early September of this year, [investigative journalists] Summers and Christensen reported that a secret FBI probe, never shared with Congressional investigators or the presidential 9/11 commission, had uncovered information indicating the possibility of support for the hijackers from previously unknown confederates in the United States during 2001.
As reported in the Herald, phone records documented communication, dating back more than a year, that connected a Saudi family then living in a house near Sarasota, Florida, with the alleged plot leader, Mohammed Atta, and his hijack pilots — as well…
Saudi Arabian Women Protest Driving Ban
Jason Burke writes in the Guardian:
At just after 10 o’clock on Friday morning Maha al-Qahtani swapped places with her husband, Mohammed, and took the wheel of the family car.
For the next 50 minutes, she drove through the Saudi capital, along the six-lane King Fahd Road, through Cairo Square, down the upmarket Olaya Street with its shopping malls, Starbucks, Apple store and boutiques.
“No one tried to stop us. No one even looked,” the 39-year-old civil servant said. “We drove past police cars but had no trouble.”
In fact, the biggest problem for Qahtani was her husband sitting next to her in the family Hummer. “He kept telling me to slow down or speed up. He was very fussy,” she said.
This is Saudi Arabia, the only country in the world that bans women from driving motor vehicles.
Saudi Police Open Fire At Protest – What Next?
Source: Norman Einstein (CC)
Did shit just hit the fan? Those keeping up with the Middle East protests and oil prices are well aware of the powder keg that is Saudi Arabia.
Yahoo News reports:
CAIRO – Saudi police opened fire Thursday to disperse a protest in the mainly Shiite east, leaving at least one man injured, as the government struggled to prevent a wave of unrest sweeping the Arab world from reaching the kingdom.
For full article, see Yahoo News.
“Oil will go up ‘ballistically’ if unrest shifts to Saudi Arabia, says Marc Faber”. Business Intelligence Middle East reports:
Brent crude futures could hit US$200 a barrel if political unrest spreads into Saudi Arabia, Societe Generale said on Monday.
Under what the bank called Geopolitical Scenario 3, “unrest spreads to Saudi Arabia and threatens Saudi crude exports and any remaining spare capacity. Brent price range of US$150-US$200 a barrel,” it said in a research note.
“In this most…
Saudis Hold Conference On UFOs For World Leaders
Saudi Arabia is a very conservative nation, so if they feel the need to hold a conference about UFOs to discuss the effects on business, maybe they have something interesting to say… stay tuned! Michael E. Salla reports at Exo News:
A leading business forum discussing global competitiveness will in its annual conference host a panel discussing UFOs and extraterrestrial life. The Global Competitiveness Forum is hosted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and discusses business trends and insights essential for future business investment and competitiveness. The panel is titled: “Contact: Learning from Outer Space”, and features famed astrophysicist Dr Michio Kaku and a leading Islamic scholar, together with prominent UFO experts Stanton Friedman and Nick Pope. The Global Competitiveness Forum is poised to introduce, perhaps for the first time, many world business leaders to key issues concerning UFOs and extraterrestrial life, and how these impact on economic competitiveness.
The Global Competitiveness Forum…
Saudi Arabia Captures Israeli ‘Spy Vulture’
Via the Telegraph:
The large bird, which was carrying a GPS transmitter and a tag bearing the identification code R65 from Tel Aviv University, strayed into rural Saudi Arabian territory at some point last week, according to a report in the Israeli daily Ma’ariv.
Residents and local reporters told Saudi Arabia’s Al-Weeam newspaper that the matter seemed to be linked to a “Zionist plot” and swiftly alerted security services.
The bird has since been placed under arrest. The accusations went viral, according to the Israeli Ha’aretz newspaper, with hundreds of posts on Arabic-language websites and forums claiming that the “Zionists” had trained the birds for espionage.
The incident comes amid growing paranoia among Israel’s neighbours over the nation’s growing military might.
Jon Stewart on the Questionable U.S.–Saudi Arabia Relationship (Video)
All due to WikiLeaks, at around 2:15 in this Daily Show clip. Finally, some more goddamn truth on television:
U.S. Announces Largest Arms Sale Ever to the Country Most of the 9/11 Terrorists Came From
AFP reports, via CommonDreams:
In its biggest arms deal ever, the United States announced it will sell up to 60 billion dollars worth of warplanes, helicopters and other weapons to Saudi Arabia, partly to help it counter Iran.
The plan allows for the sale of 84 F-15 fighter jets, 70 Apache attack helicopters, 72 tactical Black Hawk helicopters and 36 light helicopters, assistant secretary for political-military affairs Andrew Shapiro said.
The sale, which also includes the upgrade of 70 used F-15s, is “not to exceed 60 billion” dollars, Shapiro told reporters as President Barack Obama’s administration notified Congress of its plans to make the deal.
Congress has the authority to amend or delay the agreement, according to Shapiro, who said he did not expect Israeli opposition to the sale.
The delivery of the weapons to oil-rich Saudi Arabia would be spread over 15 to 20 years.
“It will send a strong message to countries in the…
Finally, Some Goddamn Truth Expressed on U.S. TV News
Don’t freak with the BS topic of yesterday in this clip, wait until around 2:45 minutes in where Dylan Ratigan (the only mainstream journalist as far as I’m concerned has been calling out these Wall Street crooks for some time) goes on a well-deserved rant on MSNBC’s Morning Joe regarding the unsaid truth about America’s “War on Terror” — he directly calls out the “extraordinary failure of our politicians and our media” to explain the money route behind these operations.
Thank you, Mr. Ratigan.
Text Alert When Your Female Leaves Saudi Arabia
Just in case mahrams, or male guardians, in Saudi Arabia needed a shorter leash. If you’re a man in Saudi and are worried about your woman leaving the country, well, there’s an app for that. Aside from the cultural aspect of gender segregation, this seems like a waste of technology for “keeping tabs” on women. The Guardian reports:
Want to know whether your wife, sister or daughter has left the county? Well, in Saudi Arabia, there’s an app for that. Reportedly, male guardians or mahrams in Saudi Arabia are now receiving text message notifications when their female charges leave the country unaccompanied. “iMahram”, a friend of mine jokingly called it.
According to Wajeha al-Huwaider, a Saudi female activist, when she left the kingdom for a holiday with her family, her husband received a text message from the foreign ministry notifying him that she had departed.
“It is sad how Saudis use technology in a…
Saudi Clerics Tell Women To Feed Their Breast Milk To Male Friends
Not that this kind of thing is restricted to Saudi – remember the New York City chef who’s serving his wife’s breast milk cheese? – but still! From AOL News:
Women in Saudi Arabia should give their breast milk to male colleagues and acquaintances in order to avoid breaking strict Islamic law forbidding mixing between the sexes, two powerful Saudi clerics have said. They are at odds, however, over precisely how the milk should be conveyed.
A fatwa issued recently about adult breast-feeding to establish “maternal relations” and preclude the possibility of sexual contact has resulted in a week’s worth of newspaper headlines in Saudi Arabia. Some have found the debate so bizarre that they’re calling for stricter regulations about how and when fatwas should be issued.
Sheikh Al Obeikan, an adviser to the royal court and consultant to the Ministry of Justice, set off a firestorm of controversy recently when he said…
TV Presenter Gets Death Sentence for ‘Sorcery’
From CNN World:
Amnesty International is calling on Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah to stop the execution of a Lebanese man sentenced to death for “sorcery.”In a statement released Thursday, the international rights group condemned the verdict and demanded the immediate release of Ali Hussain Sibat, former host of a popular call-in show that aired on Sheherazade, a Beirut based satellite TV channel.
According to his lawyer, Sibat, who is 48 and has five children, would predict the future on his show and give out advice to his audience.
The attorney, May El Khansa, who is in Lebanon, tells CNN her client was arrested by Saudi Arabia’s religious police (known as the Mutawa’een) and charged with sorcery while visiting the country in May 2008. Sibat was in Saudi Arabia to perform the Islamic religious pilgrimage known as Umra.
[Read more at CNN World]
Saudi Child Bride Drops Fight to Divorce 80-Year-Old
Via AFP via Google News:
RIYADH — A 12-year-old Saudi girl unexpectedly gave up her petition for divorce from an 80-year-old man her father forced her to marry in exchange for a dowry, Saudi media reported Tuesday.
Despite support from human rights lawyers and child welfare advocates, the girl and her mother, who originally sought the divorce, withdrew the case Monday in a court in Buraidah, in Al-Qasim province, newspapers said.
The girl told the court that her marriage to the man was done with her agreement, according to Okaz newspaper. “I agree to the marriage. I have no objection. This is in filial respect to my father and obedience to his wish,” she said.
Saleh al-Dabibi, a lawyer supplied by a charity group to help the girl, said her mother did not inform him of the change of heart, Okaz said.
An unnamed official of the government’s Human Rights Commission, which was originally asked…
Saudi Court Upholds Child Rapist Crucifixion Ruling
I have pretty strong feelings about this as a parent, so I can’t say I feel that the animal who was convicted deserves to be treated any better, but is crucifixion after beheading truly necessary, or is it just playing to bloodthirsty appetites? Story from Reuters:
RIYADH (Reuters) – A Saudi court of cassation upheld a ruling to behead and crucify a 22-year-old man convicted of raping five children and leaving one of them to die in the desert, newspapers reported on Tuesday.
The convict was arrested earlier this year after a seven-year old boy helped police in their investigation. The child left in the desert after the rape was three years old, Okaz newspaper said.
International rights groups have accused the kingdom, the birthplace of Islam, of applying draconian justice, beheading murderers, rapists and drug traffickers in public. So far this year about 40 people have been executed in Saudi Arabia…
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