Category Archives: Corruption

Arab Politics, Bahrain, Corruption, GCC, Travel

GPS Dilemma On the Gulf: Street Name Thrilla in Manama…….

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These quaint tweets from the Bahrain Ministry of Interior yesterday (@moi_bhrain) on street traffic in the capital, Manama. Just a sample of many:

Close the left lane on Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman (al Khalifa) in both directions on Friday and Saturday from 6 am to 12 noon.

Close the left lane of Shaikh Salman Ahmed (al Khalifa) the Conqueror industrial vest region after 109 road intersection towards the industrial area on Friday and Saturday.

Close almsaralaimn of Shaikh Isa Bin Salman (al Khalifa) (UM Al Hassam tunnel) towards almnamhmn at 11 p.m. Thursday to 5 a.m. next Saturday.

PT: left lane of both sides of Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman (al Khalifa) highway will be closed on Fri and Sat from 6am to 12noon

Now do you know why sometimes it is so hard to find your way around if you are an outsider? Even with a GPS?

Street names like: Khalifa Bin Issa, Khalifa Bin Salman, Salman Bin Hamad, Hamad Bin Issa, Issa Bin Salman, Salman Bin Khaifa, ad nauseam. Most street names evolve around  a handful of repeated ruling family names (dead, alive, and almost there) over and over and over. Sort of rubbing salt into the wounds already suffered by ‘most’ of the people. Every little shaikh-let probably aspires to have his own street name someday, before he grows up into a full-fledged avaricious potentate and aspires to amass his own loot. Just like his daddy and uncles and elder brothers did.

So how could one solve this? KBS and KBI and SBK, and HBI and NBH, and KKK and SOB and ABC and XYZ?

It is a family affair…….. but gets kind of monotonous and boring after a while. Just like the honorees.

Cheers
Mohammed Haider Ghuloum

Corruption, Economics, Finance, Globalization

New Global Financial Phenomenon: from Poor Candidates to Rich Leaders…….

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All the recent talk of the Panama Papers and hidden wealth. It is, as I once observed, the tip of a huge global iceberg.

In the old days, three or four or five decades ago, when an Arab or Muslim leader (not a monarch) died or left power, he left behind only his personal belongings and (maybe) his pension. That was the case with Gamal Abdel Nasser in Egypt, Qassim of Iraq, Ben Bella of Algeria, and various other leaders. The same was true of American leaders: Truman and Eisenhower did not leave office as very wealthy men. In fact nor did Nixon. But that was then. Things are different now, especially in the past two decades.

Now there is one thing that most Middle Eastern leaders, especially Arab leaders, have in common with modern era American presidents  and with many European leaders of the past two decades. They all have the same thing in common with other Muslim leaders and with African leaders and with Latin American leaders and Chinese and Russian leaders.
Know what it is? They all leave office as very rich people, much richer than before they took office.

Americans call it “looking for number one“, and they don’t mean “the people“.  That is one risk they take when they seek office. It is a by-product of the globalization of many things, especially greed and corruption.
Cheers
Mohammed Haider Ghuloum

Arabian Peninsula, Corruption, Saudi Arabia

Oligarchy Meritocracy: Cluster Bomber Prince MBS for Everything……….

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“A less persuasive example of royal “meritocracy” is Mohammed bin Salman who, before his appointment as deputy crown prince, was already defence minister and chair of one of two decision-making bodies set up by the king on assuming the throne. Although Sawers’ article is only talking about “meritocracy” within the House of Saud, not Saudi Arabia as a whole, it does seem a remarkable coincidence that when there are hundreds of princes – and even princesses – to choose from, the one apparently best-qualified to supervise the defence ministry (and the bombing of Yemen) happens to be the king’s favourite son. But it’s not only the defence ministry. The multi-talented prince is also head of the newly-formed Supreme Economic Council, as well as chairman of the Prince Salman Foundation, head of the executive committee for the Prince Salman Charitable Housing Association, head of the financial committee for the Holy Quran Association in Riyadh, chairman of Riyadh’s non-profit schools, honorary chairman of the Saudi Management Association, honorary chairman of the Crafted Hands Association and is a board member of the Charitable Organisations in Riyadh……………..”

Saudi media and some others refer to him as MBS (Mohammed Bin Salman). Almost affectionately, so long as his father the king remains alive and in power. No doubt this new king has learned from his predecessor Abdullah, who was too timid and slow in promoting his son Prince Met’eb (Mut’eb) and thus caused him to lose out in the war of succession. Saudi opposition sources claim Meteb is about to “resign” (meaning booted out) from his powerful job as owner of the National Guard parallel army. The National Guard has always been the domain of Abdullah and his sons, until now. Just as the Interior Ministry has always been the domain of the late Prince Nayef and his sons, and still is. Just as the extremely lucrative Defense Ministry was always the domain of the late Prince Sultan, until Salman took over after his death and now his son owns it.

Back to MBS and his sudden manna fallen from his father’s palace. He is reported to be quickly amassing all the strings of power in his young hands: 

  • Crown Prince to the Crown Prince (for now). Soon to become full Crown Prince to the king, according to Saudi opposition speculation. But I am guessing Prince Mohammed Bin Nayef (not so affectionately known as MBN) is not as easy to depose and dispose of as some other princes.
  • Minister of Defense: no job in Saudi Arabia is better for amassing new billions than control of the Ministry of Defense and its huge budget. The late Prince Sultan (who was Crown Prince briefly but mostly Defense Minister) was credibly reported by the opposition to have amassed a fortune of over $200 billion during his decades on the defense job. His sons Bandar Bin Sultan and Khaled Bin Sultan did quite well, tyvm. But those were the days, my friend…..
  • Head of Supreme Economic Council, wtf that be, etc etc.
  • Master of ARAMCO, the giant state oil company. The main source of state (and family) revenues.
  • Bomber in chief (cluster bombs and conventional bombs) of Yemen, the poorest Arab country outside of Africa. He probably can be called chief Cluster Bomber.

He is not yet chairman, honorary or otherwise, of the Saudi branch of the Students for a Democratic Society- SDS- or the Saudi branch of the Hell’s Angels or the Black Panthers. If they existed he would be. But he is probably on track to get the John McCain-Lindsey Graham Medal of Cluster-Bombing Honor.

How about head of FIFA (World Soccer Federation)? Sepp Blatter is quitting.

Cheers
Mohammed Haider Ghuloum                          Follow ArabiaDeserta on Twitter
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Arab Revolutions, Arabian Peninsula, Corruption, Saudi Arabia, Yemen

Bentleys for Bombs: a Saudi Prince Treats his Pilots as Bounty Hunters……..

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Saudi Prince Al-Waleed Bin Talal, a nephew of the king, is into money. I mean really into it, not just through his Kingdom Holdings. Like most of them he believes he can buy it all with money, and maybe he is right. Immediately after the terrorist attacks of September 11 he showed up in New York with a big cheque of several millions. He was doing fine until he opened his mouth about “Jews” and “Jewish” influence and how it affected the attacks. The mayor of New York correctly returned his cheque, possibly told him where to shove it. Later on, the prince initiated a lawsuit against Forbes Magazine for underestimating his true wealth by a few billion. It must be nice being a Saudi prince, provided you are also born with the mindset.

One month after their military onslaught against the Yemenis, he did it again, in typical Saudi royal fashion. He flashed money at their military men. Prince Al-Waleed tweeted that he was gifting 100 Bentleys to the one hundred Saudi pilots who bombed the hell out of Yemen. An obscene gesture from one of the richest Arab princes to reward the men who destroyed the poorest Arab country outside Africa. He treated the pilots like they were ‘bounty hunters’ of the Old West: essentially a bounty for killing and destroying a poor country. The prince quickly erased this offer from his Twitter account: either he was strongly advised against it or he realized there has been no victory yet. Or maybe he had not realized how much a Bentley costs. Most likely someone higher up than him thought the prince was trying to steal the limelight, or the thunder, from him.

I can’t imagine Al Sisi of Egypt or Erdogan of Turkey or Nawaz Sharif of Pakistan offering their pilots a Bentley each. Or affording such obscenity: bounty for killings. Maybe that is one reason they declined to join the war on Yemen. It is a rich man’s war against the poorest of Arabs.

And that is where it stands…..

Cheers
Mohammed Haider Ghuloum                          Follow ArabiaDeserta on Twitter
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Central Asia, Corruption, Tony Blair, Uncategorized

Have No Morals, Will Travel: More on Tony Blair’s Sordid New Labor Deals………

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“The Kazakh despot who bought Blair for £16million (and Cherie for £320k): How ex-PM sold himself to a ‘virtual gangster’ linked to torture, money laundering, bribery and murder ………. Tony Blair makes a business out of providing consultancy to mostly unacceptable and disreputable clients. How else to explain the work he does for President el-Sisi in Egypt — who obtained his power by a military coup — or Joseph Kabila of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, not to mention the consultancy he provides, at great expense no doubt, to the unelected leaders of Gulf countries………. Since leaving office, in the wheels-within-wheels world that he now inhabits, Blair, in his turn, was recommended for the job of promoting Kazakhstan and its president by one of his most influential contacts — Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi…………”

He has become a specialist in promoting despots from the Persian Gulf to Central Asia and Africa. It is not so much the ‘consultancy’ as using whatever political and public capital he has left to lobby for their political agendas. The motto of his business empire should be: “Have no morals, will travel“.

Not so much more to say here about Blair, this former British prime minister who is the least respected of former British PMs. Friend and enabler, nay servant, of corrupt despots and princes worldwide. Now why can’t he just vanish from public attention? Like the others, from Churchill to Wilson to Major to Lady Thatcher? It almost feels like an insult mentioning him in the same sentence as Churchill and Wilson.

Mohammed Haider Ghuloum                          Follow ArabiaDeserta on Twitter
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Corruption, Jordan, Mecca, Money, U.S. Politics, US Foreign Policy

New Religion: American Leadership Courted by Israeli Money and Jordanian Bakhsheesh…….

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“Gov. Chris Christie likes to live large on other people’s dime, The New York Times reports. Christie let King Abdullah of Jordan pay for a family trip to the country, which included a stay at a hotel that cost around $30,000. In 2012, Christie flew to Israel on a luxurious private jet loaned to him by mogul Sheldon Adelson, who was also opposing legislation to legalize online gambling in New Jersey at the time. Christie later signed that bill into law………..”

The king of humorless Jordan could only pay for Governor Christie’s hotel and food and booze, Jordan not being nearly as rich as Sheldon Adelson of Las Vegas vice and the Likud. Mr. Adelson is famous for his genocidal suggestion, I believe in 2013 (google it), that the U.S. should drop nuclear bombs over parts of Iran. Republicans, like Democrats, are hungry for campaign money, any money. What else explains why I should suggest that the Washington Redskins be renamed, if anything else, the Washington Lobbyists?

It is possible the king of Jordan was just doing what Arabs traditionally do for guests, especially prominent guests; he was being hospitable, as only Arabs from tribal societies naturally are. The Governor, being a governor and a politician, could not refuse, not such a large amount of money: many people in his state earn much less every year.

The hunt for money is the only great bipartisan unifier in America now: even foreign policy and national security are divisive now. Money is almost a religion: it makes leaders of both parties bow down and pray, not only five times a day as we Muslims do, but full-time 24/7. And not toward Mecca or Jerusalem or Bethlehem. They pray toward where the money is: be it Las Vegas or Tel Aviv or the nearest Mujahideen Khalq offices in DC. The supremacy of this religion was edified and affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court ruling a few years ago (Citizens United vs. FEC).

The monarch of the Humorless Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan could only pay a paltry 20k or 30k for hotels and booze and food, just like a little bakhsheesh, a little royal tip. The King of Las Vegas and Tel Aviv (or is it Jerusalem) can buy these ‘American leaders’ wholesale. Just imagine what it would be like if some of the kleptocratic oil potentates of our Gulf could openly buy some of these leaders, just as Mr. Adelson buys them. Imagine the possibilities: the sky would be the limit……….
Cheers
Mohammed Haider Ghuloum                          Follow ArabiaDeserta on Twitter

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Arabian Peninsula, Corruption, Justice, Saudi Arabia

Saudi Justice: Chopping Hands for a Small Theft While Ignoring Billions Stolen……….

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Have Yourself a Merry Little——-> Kenny G. Holiday 

“Saudi authorities on Monday severed the hand of a Yemeni national convicted of repeated theft, under the medieval interpretation of Islamic law enforced in Saudi Arabia. A court had ordered the amputation of Ibrahim Abdulrahman Hazbar’s right hand after convicting him of a “series of thefts,” the interior ministry said. The punishment was carried out in the western city of Mecca, home to the holiest sites in Islam. US-ally Saudi Arabia implements a wide range of brutal punishments, including flogging, hefty fines and exaggerated prison sentences, for minor crimes……………”

This sounds fair and square. You rob a few Rials, get your hand chopped, especially if you are a poor Yemeni or another foreigner. The princes and princelings steal and embezzle and expropriate billions of public property, and it is okay. It goes with the job of being a prince and a potentate.

Cheers
Mohammed Haider Ghuloum                          Follow ArabiaDeserta on Twitter

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Corruption, Syria, Tony Blair, Uncategorized

Corruption Associates: Middle East Envoy Blair and the Royals……..

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“Tony Blair’s company is alleged to have brokered multi-million pound deals that earned £41,000 a month and two per cent commission on each transaction with an oil firm founded by a senior Saudi royal family member………The leaked 21-page contract apparently shows that the former Labour prime minister’s umbrella company, Tony Blair Associates, agreed in November 2010 to arrange deals for PetroSaudi with his senior Chinese officials contacts during his visit to Beijing that month, as reported by The Sunday Times. ………. PetroSaudi, which is registered in the Cayman Islands tax-haven to legally avoid 85 per cent oil and gas company taxes in the Middle Eastern nation, was jointly founded by Saudi businessman Tarek Obaid and Prince Turki bin Abdullah Al Saud, one of Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah’s seven sons………….”

Middle East envoy. Pray tell, what has he done about the Middle East problems? (If I were rude and crude, I’d say “whatthefuck has he done” but I ain’t rude, so I won’t). Besides urging more war on behalf of his Persian Gulf benefactors, the absolute princes and potentates.

Tony Blair introduced the ‘stuff’ about New Labor. And it was “stuff” if you know what I mean. Just as Bill Clinton was touted as a New Democrat. Both terms mean moving halfway toward the right, gutting certain programs and introducing extreme deregulation that increased economic instability and widened income and wealth gaps to unprecedented levels.
Cheers
Mohammed Haider Ghuloum

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Arab Politics, Britain, Corruption, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates

From the Gulf to London to Paris, Corruption Inc Rules……….

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“The problem is that Sir John failed to reach the conclusion that the Prime Minister, Prince Charles and their vociferous Middle Eastern allies wanted. They had hoped for confirmation that the Saudis had been correct in their assessment of the Brotherhood. Sir John Jenkins’s exculpation has caused grave affront to powerful interests, and has led to a long, vicious Whitehall battle that began over the summer, persisted throughout the autumn and shows no signs of ending. Publication of the Jenkins report as originally written would infuriate the Prime Minister’s Saudi allies – and not just them. The United Arab Emirates have long been agitating for the defenestration of the Brothers. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed has the Prime Minister’s personal telephone number, and does not hesitate to use it to voice the UAE’s anxiety that Britain is not taking a firm enough line. The former prime minister, Tony Blair, is another who has been agitating on behalf of the UAE against the Brotherhood………..”

The Saudi monarchy is hopelessly corrupt, that is a given, a fixed variable here. The British establishment of most stripes desperately wants to get its hands on some of the billions the Saudi (and Emirati) princes and potentates can spend on anything they want, another given. There you have the makings of a perfect marriage.
Funny that this article should mention BEA Systems and Tony (the Poodle) Blair. These two names and the word corruption seem to go together well. Have been for some years.

No need to rehash the French efforts to get their hands on some of the Saudi loot. I have posted on that a few times earlier.

Cheers
Mohammed Haider Ghuloum

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Asia, Communism, Corruption, North Korea

Cute Leader and Waldo: Kim Jong Un Goes AWOL……….

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“Have you heard? Kim Jong Un is missing. Which can only mean one thing: He has been overthrown! His little sister, Kim Yo Jong, now runs the showin the most isolated nation on Earth. Or is it that the entire Kim dynasty, steward of North Korea for decades, is now out? It was a coup! The North Korean grand poobah finally got too big for his britches, what with ordering men to mimic his haircut and feeding his uncle to wild dogs, and was deposed. Boom. Wait a minute. Kim Jong Un is sick! It’s true, he has been “getting fatter lately”…………….”

Of all this speculation one thing is true for certain: Un has been getting fatter in recent months. Or maybe I should say “he HAD been getting fatter”. The Cute Leader probably easily outweighs (outweighed?) his father and grandfather, the Great Leader and the Dear Leader, combined. I doubt that even Dennis Rodman knows anything about his whereabouts. Certainly South Korean media rumor-mongers don’t know jack about this.

Once some years ago when Osama Bin Laden went AWOL I speculated that he could be in Las Vegas, dealing or just hitting the tables. Un could be in Macao right now, living it up within a different life-style, with pierced lips and nose and eyebrows. I shall not speculate about other possible pierced, er, extremities.

It is not too far-fetched to expect that a socialist revolution in Pyongyang may have overthrown him. It happens all the time to absolute ruling dynasties. Think Charles I, Louis XVI, Nicholas II, Shakhbout I, Saud I, Haile Selassie, the Pahlavis, among others. Some North Korean generals and functionaries may have gone back to Marx, Lenin, Stalin, Mao and discovered that these dead Communist worthies never advocated or started absolute hereditary family dynasties. Nor were they fond of exotic expensive imported Swiss cheese.
Or maybe he has discreetly sought asylum with another notorious absolute ruling dynasty: the Al Saud. Un could be ensconced in a secluded villa in Jeddah, across the road from some other former Arab or African despots.
Maybe in Pyongyang the jig is finally up.

Or, Un could be in seclusion, playing Halo with Waldo. He could be laughing his head off at the frantic search mounted by the international media. The Cute Leader may be a prankster at heart.

Cheers
Mohammed Haider Ghuloum

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