BFF This morning I thought of Newt Gingrich, not sure why. I Binges him (I don’t patronize only one search engine) and clicked on his Twitter link. Here is some of what I read:
“If we reestablish the constitutional basis of America this election will be historic-your help at newt.org makes big difference”
“The tea party movement should seek to educate the protesters-the tea party has it right-return to constitutional government”
“Looking forward to the debate tonight. But today I’m taking questions from you. Use #LeadNow to ask me about the issues.”
As I read his seriously witless remarks (tweets), my thoughts traveled back toward my home region, back to the Middle East, moving along the coast of my (Persian-American) Gulf and farther north, well past the Gulf. I focused on the common northeastern border between Iraq and Iran. I wondered if Newt Gingrich has given up on the idea of taking a hike along the Iraqi-Iranian border (in the Kurdish region). (Actually it was my suggestion to him, my contribution to his campaign posted here last week). It would be a great way to shore up his (non-existent) foreign policy credentials before the Iowa Republican caucuses. Nothing like a hike straddling the Iranian border, preferably in an undersized business suit that would accentuate his body curves. The mullahs may be thrilled: the prize this time would not be three crazy hapless students seeking innocent adventure. Newt, like most Republican political and radio warriors, never served in the military. They are so good at evading service yet sound more patriotic than Democrats who did. He will come out of Tehran almost as another John McCain but not as thin and not as injured. Of course the cuisine in Iran, even in Evin prison, is better than the Hanoi Hilton. Cheers
mhg
Watched CNBC early this morning. This is the post Erin Burnett CNBC (she left for CNN). Before that they lost Dylan Ratigan (for MSNBC), as the network moved even more to the right. Now they have the ‘questionable’ Jim Cramer all over the place. The network of Erin Burnett has become the network of Jim Cramer, chief cheerleader of the Goldman Sachs fan club. It is a true downgrade, and not just for esthetic reasons. Cheers
mhg
“The British government is facing a potentially explosive decision over whether or not to block a criminal investigation into a new bribery scandal involving a two billion pounds contract to provide communications and cyber warfare capabilities to Saudi Arabia. Dominic Grieve, the attorney-general, will have to decide whether to intervene in an inquiry concerning the payment of millions of pounds in alleged bribes from a British defence firm to the Saudi royal family, according to The Sunday Times. He is to consider whether the investigation by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) into a two billion pounds contract to provide communications and cyberwarfare capability to Saudi Arabia is in the public interest. According to the report, Grieve has been briefed on the case after officials at the SFO traced secret payments from the defence firm into a bank account in Switzerland controlled by a member of the Saudi royal family……… The case echoes the political scandal that hit Tony Blair’s government when he pulled the plug on a criminal inquiry into alleged bribes by BAE Systems, the British arms firm, to the Saudis. Then the SFO was investigating allegations that millions of pounds had been paid to a Saudi prince to help BAE clinch a 40 billion pounds contract to sell jets to the kingdom. Downing Street killed off the investigation after the Saudis threatened to ditch the contract…………..” If there is one thing I have learned about European governments, including the British, it is that they will fold in the face ‘financial’ threats by rich Arab despots, be they a Colonel in Libya or a tribal absolute dynasty in Riyadh. It is the money, stupid. Tony (the poodle) Blair killed the earlier SFO investigation into BAE Systems’ bribes of US$ 2 billion to Saudi Prince Bandar Bin Sultan al-Saud. At that time, The Economist headlined with a mocking “Bribe, Brittania, Bribe…..”. Of course the Saudi people paid that money which was added to the cost of the contract. Blair was also instrumental in the release of al-Megrahi of the Lockerbie bombing. Regardless of the merits of the case against him, he was released for financial reasons, something Tony Blair seems to be good at these days. Tony Blair worked for JP Morgan at the time, which had Libyan deals.
Now a similar Saudi case is in the hands of the SFO (British Serious Frauds Office). That was predictable: the thousands of Saudi leeches princes have boundless greed, and they actually believe that they own the Arabian Peninsula, its petroleum, its people, it camels, and everything else on it. Even its Holy places like Mecca which they are turning into a Las Vegas style money machine. I am betting the British government will also kill this investigation, one way or another.
(You will never read or hear about this scandal in Saudi media. You will never read or hear about it in Gulf GCC media either).
The semi-official Saudi dailyAsharq Alawsat reports that Ahmad al-Tayeb, the Shaikh of al-Azhar and a former functionary of Mubarak’s ruling party, has met with the Saudi Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs in Cairo. The newspaper headlines that the two have reached an agreement to stand firm in the face of any attempts to “touch (or is it fondle) Sunni societies”, a blatant sectarian statement if there ever was one. They did not specify who or what was threatening to touch “Sunni societies”, no reference was made to Hip-Hop, Rap, or Angry Bird. I know the Saudi muftis frown upon Barbie and Sponge Bob. An official invitation for Egypt to join the GCC will not be far now, unless the Egyptian ‘uprising’ becomes a true ‘revolution’ that sweeps away military rule.
Mr. al-Tayeb was appointed by former dictator Hosni Mubarak from among his ruling party functionaries, whereby he promptly dropped the civilian suit for a cleric’s robe (not thobe). The Saudi Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs is yet another Al Al Shaikh, this time Abdulaziz Al Al Shaikh. Readers of my blog know by now that there are many Al Al Shaikh in top Saudi government positions, including ministers, the chief Mufti, and the chief justice. My readers also know by now that all the Al Al Shaikhs are descendants of Imam Mohammad Bin Abdulwahhab, after whom the Wahhabi sect was named. The Imam Abdulwahhab was a close ally of the Al Saud from way back in the days before the early Old West. The two clans have intermarried over generations (but it is usually a one-way traffic if you know what I mean).
The Salafi Imam Abdulwahhab is not to be confused with the late great Egyptian musician and singer Mohammed Abdel Wahab who was never a Salafi or a fundamentalist. Not even an Evangelical nor one of the Hasidim. Cheers
mhg
BFF “Dubai’s flagship Emirates airline will sponsor Britain’s first urban cable car, spanning London’s river Thames, saying it hoped the new addition to the city’s skyline would be ready for next year’s Olympics. The 60 million pound project, due to be completed next summer, will link the 02 arena, which hosts concerts and sporting events on the south bank, with the ExCeL conference center on the north side. Both arenas will host events during the 2012 Games. Emirates will sponsor the cable car river crossing in a 10-year-deal …………….”
Northern Emiratisal-Nahayan: Southerm Emirati
The picture above shows a bunch of Emiratis who run the airline. Funny, they don’t look like any al-Nahayan or al-Maktoum I have ever seen. They must be from one of the northern Emirates. Compare the photo of Shaikh Khalifa next to it (definitely a southern Emirati).
BFF
“Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday announced that Saudi Arabia had decided to free a number of Egyptian prisoners currently languishing in Saudi jails within the next few days. “There are only a handful of Egyptian prisoners in Saudi Arabia, divided into two groups,” said Ahmed Rageb, assistant foreign minister for consular and immigration affairs. “The first are those who received jail sentences for crimes committed. We can’t do anything about these, because they’re being treated according to Saudi law.” “Those in the second group, however, will be released before the end of October, in line with an agreement we reached with Saudi ambassador to Cairo Ahmed Al-Qattan,” added Rageb……..” The first group of Egyptian “had received prison sentences and are treated according to ‘Saudi’ law‘” (they are lucky they were not beheaded). Then the “second” group, that will be released soon, was held for what? There is no explanation of why and for how long they have been held. Are they held according to Saudi lawlessness? I know many Saudi citizens are also being held according to the country’s lawlessness (no charges, no trials, no lawyers). Some of the Saudis have been held for months, some for years. The Egyptians may be more fortunate than many of the Saudis: they have a government that looks after their interests if they are arrested without charges. The Saudis have no one to look after their interests if they are arrested without charges (the U.S. State Department wouldn’t dare). Khaled al- Jehany has been held since March without a trace, without charges, others have been held for years. Saudi law is what the king and the princes decide since the courts are peopled by tame palace judges and clergy. Wahhabi faux-liberals in Gulf media tend to overlook these ‘nuances’ of human rights in the region. But they probably have no choice.
American media raised a storm last week when an Evangelical religious pastor supporter of the Texas Governor called the Mormon (sect) of Mitt Romney a “cult”. Initially, having been conditioned back on my Gulf to certain derogatory remarks, I was surprised at the media storm. In recent years on my Gulf people often call each others’ sects and faiths things that are worse than a mere “cult”. This has been especially the case since growth of the imported Salafi Wahhabi cult. It has exasperated sectarian divisions into open hostility. This pastor must have been reading the website of the sectarian Saudi Alarabiya network, or maybe he has been watching the extremely sectarian-baiting television and other media of the Bahrain government. At least he did not call Mr. Romney a terrorist plotter and an agent of a foreign regime (not the Saudi regime). And he does not need to import foreign mercenaries and import officially-approved American weapons, all with Saudi money, to shoot at Mr. Romney.
BFF
“The scrublands that surround Moammar Kadafi’s hometown have become a confused patchwork of loyalties. As vehicles of the revolutionary forces patrolled the dusty villages in newly seized territory Sunday, many residents peered angrily from their homes. “The rebels are worse than rats. NATO is the same as Osama bin Laden,” said a father, his seven children crowding around him. Surt has been a primary target in the seven-month NATO bombing campaign that helped rebel forces gain control of most of Libya. The intensity of the bombing, coupled with recent rocket attacks by the opposition forces, has turned Surt into a “living hell,” several families said. Hundreds of families fled the city Sunday, anticipating a new assault. But too frightened, angry or mistrustful to flee to opposition-controlled territory, many sought refuge in nearby loyalist homes……….” The new Libyan rulers, or rather their NATO and other allies, have so far failed to dislodge the Qaddafi side from Sirte (or is it Surt) and Bani Walid. Apparently Bani Walid was a near disaster for the new Tripoli government. There are also other towns and villages and regions that are still contested in the vast Libyan desert. Neither Bani Walid nor Sirte have turned into the decisive OK Corral that the NTC and world media expected it to be. The Clantons are still fighting, the Earps are trying, and Doc Holiday NATO is getting frustrated. Told ya: Arab dictators and depots, be they royal or military, are very hard to dislodge. Bin Ali and Mubarak were surprised by the speed of the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, but the others were ready. From Libya to Syria to Yemen to Bahrain to Algeria, even to Saudi Arabia, the oligarchs were ready when the Arab Spring spread toward their neck of the woods. Cheers
mhg
“Meshal al-Zaidi says he was drawn into Kuwait’s protest movement by political ideals, not the economic grievances that helped spur revolts in poorer Arab countries. “My friend drives a Porsche Cayenne, another a Porsche Panamera, you’ll see the best cars at Kuwaiti protests,” said al-Zaidi, a 25-year-old who runs a public relations firm and attends rallies seeking the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser al-Mohammed al-Sabah. “It’s not about money, it’s not about oil, it’s about real democracy.”………” Bloomberg News
No, it is not all about real democracy. It is hardly about democracy. God knows there is plenty of corruption and mismanagement in Kuwait, although not nearly as much as in Saudi Arabia or Bahrain. Hell, they even hired Tony Blair as a consultant: now that can’t reflect any true commitment to honesty and clean management, can it? But then all that is really lowering the bar. Although some, a few, of the protesters want more freedom and accountability, there are many more among them who have no desire for democracy. Just ask almost anyone who shows up at these small events about Saudi Arabia, and they’ll either praise that country’s regime or get evasive. Unfortunately most of the so-called protesters are either of the local Wahhabi faux-liberals or the Islamists (die-hard Salafis) with a few bored-to-death others thrown in. Some may be part (pawns) of an intense power struggle within the ruling elite.
The Wahhabi faux-liberals are already tweeting and ‘column-izing’ against the currents protests in Saudi Arabia, labeling them an “Iranian” plot, just as they do in Bahrain. I don’t think they are stupid, nobody can be that stupid (or can they?). The Salafi Islamists among them have no desire to have any form of enhanced democracy, but they are great opportunists. Some of these Islamists seem to be the loudest, more media-grabbing among the “protesters”. They failed to get rid of the current prime minister through a parliamentary vote since most members voted against them (either out of conviction or for self-interest). That is when they tried the street. Many of these same Salafis have pushed for more restrictions on the freedom of expression in the legislature. They mostly look toward Salafi Wahhabi corrupt Saudi Arabia as the “model”, to the extent of pushing for some form of political ‘consolidation’ presumably under some form of Saudi rule (perhaps a satrapy like Bahrain?). This local columnist here gives a glimpse into some of the “Saudi” loyalties at work. He is too shy to mention the country’s name directly. He points out that the government is guilty and responsible for past policies that created the current atmosphere of corruption and unrest. Cheers
mhg
Sorini, Samet & Associates
“In April, the AFL-CIO filed a complaint with the US Department of Labor calling on it to terminate the Bahrain-US Free Trade Agreement in light of the mass sackings of workers in Bahrain following the protests. To formulate the response to this, Bahrain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs hired the services of Sorini, Samet & Associates LLC, a government relations firm specializing in international trade legislation. The point man at the firm is Andrew Samet, who has previously served as Deputy Undersecretary of Labor in the Clinton Administration. The Bahrain government was to pay the firm an hourly fee ranging between $100 and $550 with an initial non-returnable retainer of $25,000. One would imagine these guys helped arrange the July meetings of Bahrain’s ministers of labour and industry with US officials and policy wonks in Washington DC (after Samet visited Bahrain in May)……….”
They all do it: Republican, Democrats, Vegans, Liberals, Conservatives, Vegetarians, Carnivores, etc. Nothing personal against the people or in favor of the repressive regime. As Sal Tessio told Tom Hagen (Godfather I): It was business…….<br> Cheers
mhg
Rattlesnake Ridge 
BFF
