Category Archives: Saudi Arabia

Arab Counterrevoltion, Arab Revolutions, Egypt, GCC, Saudi Arabia

A Call on the People’s Democratic Kingdom of (Saudi) Arabia to Guide Egypt………….

   Rattlesnake Ridge   Follow ArabiaDeserta on Twitter   

 
      BFF

“What Egypt is witnessing today is a revolution against the coup and a new beginning for the revolution of change. There are new rules for the game from now on and it is important for all players inside and outside of Egypt to return to the strategy-drafting table. The United States and the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) should be playing essential political roles right now. The necessary investment that must be made in Egypt cannot wait until after stability is restored, but rather the opposite. There is an opportunity for influential countries like the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to help Egypt’s youth shape the future of their country under a secular civilian government away from ideologies, religious and sectarian struggles. Egypt is not alone in the balance. The Arab future all together is largely dependent on what Egypt’s future turns to be. The GCC is now playing a prominent role in shaping the new regional order in collaboration with the League of Arab States not by sidestepping it. The Arab League is fundamental in securing that the regional order does not get shaped exclusively by the likes of Turkey …………..”

These writers and analysts of the Saudi semi-official media can’t help pushing the Saudi model. This Lebanese writer is from the Saudi semi-official daily al-Hayat, owned by Prince Khaled Bin Sultan al-Saud (deputy defense minister). She is here pushing for the Egyptians to look toward the People’s Democratic Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for help and perhaps as a role model. Maybe by now the people of Egypt have forgotten the time when the Saudi king called them “foreign infiltrators and agents”. That was only last January.
(She forgot here to insert something appropriate about the role of Hezbollah, the favorite bête noire of the Saudi media).
Cheers
mhg


[email protected]

Arab Revolutions, Corruption, NATO, Russia, Saudi Arabia, U.S. Congress, US Foreign Policy

Russia’s Wars and Deficits, Chinese Awards, Arab Woody Allen Awards, Prince Yin bin Yang……….

   Rattlesnake Ridge   Follow ArabiaDeserta on Twitter   

 
      BFF

“Un groupe de professeurs d’université chinois a décerné à Vladimir Poutine un «prix de la paix» copié sur le prestigieux Nobel, en saluant les «remarquables» talents pacifiques du premier ministre russe, notamment son opposition au «bombardement de la Libye par l’OTAN». Le nom du lauréat du «prix de la paix Confucius» a été annoncé mardi à l’AFP par l’un des organisateurs, Qiao Damo. M. Poutine était notamment en lice avec la chancelière allemande, Angela Merkel, ou Yuan Longping, le père du riz hybride chinois……………”

Interesting that the Chinese decided to give Russia’s Putin a peace prize. I suppose because his country has not been engaged in any foreign war for decades. The Russians have had no Iraq, no Afghanistan, no Yemen, no Pakistan, no possible Iran, no nothing: I wonder how the Russian budget deficit is faring.
In our region of the Middle East the potentates give each other prizes all the time. Prince X bin Y awards Prince Z bin W the award for the most wedded. Prince S bin OB awards shaikh B bin S the award for humanitarian thinking (not doing). Prince Yin bin Yang awards Prince Yang bin Yin the Prince Yin bin Yang bin Ying award for just “showing up”. You can call them Woody Allen awards: remember what he said about “showing up is 80% of life”?. After the ceremony they all leave by driving up the Prince Yang bin Yin bin Yang Al Yong Avenue. In the new township named after Prince Polygamous bin Greed bin Bribe bin Nepotism. Mutual incestuous awarding of prizes.
Now about that hybrid rice…………
Cheers
mhg


[email protected]

Arab Counterrevoltion, Arab Media, Bahrain, GCC, Hezbollah, Iran, Kuwait, Media, Saudi Arabia, Terrorism

GCC Breaking News: Plots in Bahrain, Plots in Kuwait, Hezbollah under Every Bed, Shi’as Occupying Mecca……….

   Rattlesnake Ridge   Follow ArabiaDeserta on Twitter   

 
      BFF

Breaking News: the government of Bahrain has not announced the discovery of any new Iranian or Hezbollah terrorist plots today. They have not identified any installations or individuals who may have been targets of today’s uncovered plot. This is an unusual development for Bahrain.The regime and its imported mercenarise are slowing down
On the other hand, the Kuwaiti-Saudi daily rag alseyassah is taking up the slack. (I find alseyassah entertaining, although not as humorous as, say, The Onion). It reports that Hezbollah has put its sources on alert around the region, and that there was in fact a terror plot in Bahrain and added an extra-credit bonus: that the latest Bahrain plotters got financing from some Kuwaitis, meaning Shi’as in Kuwait (apparently the Iranians and Hezbollah ran out of money!).
Alseyassah, like a couple of other rags in my hometown, fits well into its Saudi patrons’ propaganda drive to divide the Gulf region along sectarian lines.
It also dropped a bombshell that only our overfed “faithful” would believe: it reported that Iranian and Syrian agents were plotting to assassinate three Gulf GCC foreign ministers, no less! Alseyassah has not yet report that Hezbollah and Iran are planning an invasion of Mecca to take over the Kaaba, after blowing up the Vatican. Not yet, but stay tuned.
Saudi media are not as dumb as their Gulf surrogates. They have become smarter, more subtle, with the exception of Alarabiya which is openly sectarian on its Arabic website.
Cheers
mhg


[email protected]

Arab Counterrevoltion, Arab League, Arab Revolutions, Saudi Arabia, Syria, UAE, US Foreign Policy

Chutzpah of the Arab League: Saudis and Bahrainis and Emiratis Monitoring Syrian Human Rights……..

   Rattlesnake Ridge   Follow ArabiaDeserta on Twitter   

 
      BFF

“BreakingNews Breaking News: Arab League offers to send 500 human rights and military observers to Syria, says Egypt TV -@BBCWorld…………….”

This is what I read Monday. The Arab League will send “human rights” observers to Syria! No doubt it will include Saudis, Bahrainis, Emiratis, and maybe Yemenis. Or maybe they will be supervised by these countries. All regimes that have shown great respect for human rights, allow free speech, do not kill protesters, do not arrest people without warrants and do not hold them for months either without charges (Saudi Arabia) or on trumped up charges (Bahrain).
I think the word “chutzpah” should be incorporated into the Arabic language.
Cheers
mhg


[email protected]

Arab Counterrevoltion, Arab League, Arab Revolutions, GCC, Saudi Arabia, Syria, UAE

From Libya to Syria and Yemen and the Gulf: No-Fly Zones, No Freedom Zones………….

   Rattlesnake Ridge   Follow ArabiaDeserta on Twitter   

 
      BFF

Arab media are increasingly mentioning the N-F word, for No-Fly zone in terms of Syria. Apparently some factions of the Syrian opposition want Western no-fly zone established over Syria. Hoping it will be a prelude to the arrival of Western Special Forces of the kind that helped defeat Qaddafi in Libya.
Some Arab regimes have already established their own No-Freedom zones. The Saudis had long established an absolute No-Freedom zone in their own part of the Arabian Peninsula and they have recently extended it to neighboring Bahrain. They would also like a No-Freedom zone in neighboring Yemen where the people are in rebellion. Actually, if they had their way, they’d like No-Freedom zones all over the Arab worlds, from the Persian-American Gulf to the Atlas Mountains of Morocco.

Cheers
mhg


[email protected]

Healthcare, Muslims, Religion, Saudi Arabia, Theocracy

Fatwa: Quranic Cure vs. Obamacare, about Freud………….

   Rattlesnake Ridge   Follow ArabiaDeserta on Twitter   

 
      BFF

Alquds Alarabi quotes Saudi media reports that a Saudi cleric (they call him ‘Aalim Deeni) has issued a fatwa that it is alright for non-Muslims to be cured through the Quran. Shaikd Dr. Ali al-Twuaijri, professor at the Holy Quran College at Islamic University said that the Quran has several benefits as a method of cure through the use of its verses. He added that is “behooves a Muslim to rely on the Holy Quran for his cures from physical and non-physical illnesses”
Fine and dandy, no doubt the Quran has many “preventive” health benefits if followed, most holy texts do. Now non-Muslims have access to the Quran as well. But I assume non-Muslims have always had access to the Quran: nothing stopping me from using the Bible or Torah if I wish.
Then there is the sensitive of the issue of the royal princes, the so many Custodians of the Holy Shrines, and their sidekicks, who eschew Quranic preventive lifestyles as well as cures for the worldly cures of Mayo Clinic or the many other exclusive medical centers in the West. All at state expense, of course. They also eschew Quranic method for recuperation and convalescence for the worldly diversions of resorts in North America, Europe and parts of North Africa.
Now about Sigmund Freud and Obamacare………
Cheers
mhg


[email protected]

Arab Counterrevoltion, Arabian Peninsula, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Weapons deals

Saudis to Intensify Arms Race and Commission Race within the GCC…….

   Rattlesnake Ridge   Follow ArabiaDeserta on Twitter   

 
      BFF

What does the promise of New Saudi defense minister Prince Salamn to “improve” the Saudi armed forces also means, besides fat commissions for the princes? It means bad news for the potentates of the UAE. Now the oligarchs of Abu Dhabi will have to spend more money, try harder, to catch to the Saudis in terms of being the biggest importers of weapons. And in terms of bribes and commissions paid to the potentates and their retainers. It is a race between our Gulf potentates to see who, which dynasty, can fleece the people faster and more effectively than the others.
Cheers
mhg


[email protected]

Corruption, GCC, Saudi Arabia, Weapons deals

Prince Salman to “Modernize” Saudi Military, Generate more Commissions for Princes………

   Rattlesnake Ridge   Follow ArabiaDeserta on Twitter   

 
      BFF

“Newly appointed Defense Minister Prince Salman assumed office on Saturday as the country’s chief of staff disclosed plans to modernize the armed forces and strengthen its combat capabilities in the face of growing challenges and dangers. Salman thanked Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah for the new appointment. “I take this opportunity to thank the king for bestowing his confidence in me,” he said and sought the Almighty’s help to carry out his duties in the best form. Addressing top army commanders and officers, the new minister also emphasized the need to strengthen the armed forces not only to defend the Kingdom but also to defend its holy places, its valuable resources and major achievements……..”

Oh oh: we all know what it means, all this talk about “modernize the armed forces and strengthen its combat capabilities “. More billions in weapons imports, which means, more important, more billions to Prince Salman and his kids. He probably figures that the last minister of defense late Prince Sultan and his sons have taken enough, reportedly to the tune of tens of billions in bribes and commissions and by “other means”. Now it is his, and his kids’, turn.
Cheers
mhg


[email protected]

Culture, Finance, GCC, Saudi Arabia, WTF

Innovative Drug Dealers of Riyadh, American Bankers………

   Rattlesnake Ridge   Follow ArabiaDeserta on Twitter   

 
      BFF

Saudi media report of two enterprising drug dealers, Yemeni expatriates, who were busted this week in Riyadh. Apparently they sold their dope (including hashish) on easy installments, like many other things on the Gulf. The report says they even sold dope to kids on installment. It also says they lived in luxurious hotels in order to avoid raising suspicion. They did basically what banks in the USA have been doing to kids: sending credit card enticements to students, with easy installments for the rest of their lives. What most people don’t realize is that most Gulf citizens need these “easy installment” deals and that is how they purchase almost all their needs, apparently including drugs. The Gulf potentates and retainers are the exception; they probably buy everything, including their drugs, with cash. These tow dealers did not even charge interest. In that, they were probably more Islamist than Islamic banks that charge interest without calling it so.
Cheers
mhg


[email protected]

Arabian Peninsula, GCC, Iran, Saudi Arabia, UAE, US Foreign Policy, Weapons deals

Gulf Arms Race: UAE JDAMS Bunker Busters, Bunkers of Sharjah and Fujairah……

   Rattlesnake Ridge   Follow ArabiaDeserta on Twitter   

 
      BFF

“The U.S. government may soon announce plans for a large sale of precision-guided bombs to the United Arab Emirates, a source familiar with the arms sales plans said late on Thursday, as tensions mounted with Iran over its nuclear program. The Pentagon is considering a significant sale of Joint Direct Attack Munitions made by Boeing Co, adding to other recent arms deals with the UAE. These include the sale of 500 Hellfire air-to-surface missiles about which U.S. lawmakers were notified in September. The sale of Boeing-built “bunker-buster” bombs and other munitions to UAE, a key Gulf ally, is part of an ongoing U.S. effort to build a regional coalition to counter Iran. No comment was immediately available from the Pentagon’s press office or the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, which oversees foreign arms sales. Boeing has sold thousands of JDAM bombs to the United States and its allies in recent months as they have replenished their arsenal of the popular precision-guided bombs……….”

The Unit Arab Emirates claims to have almost 1 million citizens (the rest are temporary foreign laborers, housemaids, gardeners, doctors, bankers, mercenaries, etc). There are opinions that the actual number is much less than one million. The absolute oligarchy of the UAE has been in a tough arms race, no not with Iran, but with the rival absolute tribal princes of Saudi Arabia. For several years they were the second biggest importers of weapons in the whole wide wonderful world. Last year the Saudis moved to number one and the Abu Dhabi potentates were threatened with being relegated to number two (no pun intended here). Now they are trying to catch up with the al-Saud in terms of weapons imports, and coincidentally in terms of bribes commissions that the potentates and their retainers receive.
The UAE already has American F-16 fighters that are capable of carrying JDAMS bunker busters. It is not clear why the shaikhs of the UAE want JDAMS bunker busters, and whose bunkers they might want to bust. Nobody is likely to want to attack them, not even the shaikhs of Bahrain. The Iranians most likely are concerned with bigger fish, like the Americans or the Israelis. Besides, who is going to use all these sophisticated weapons? They can keep borrowing personnel from Pakistan, or maybe even train some humorless Jordanians. Or maybe they can train their new mercenary security legion headed by Blackwater veterans and manned by Colombians, Australians, white South Africans and others.
Either way, it is not clear whose bunkers these Abu Dhabi shaikhs want to bust. Hopefully not the bunkers of Sharjah or Fujairah.
Cheers
mhg


[email protected]