Meanwhile, in Saudi Arabia

General General · 04-10-2011 9:39pm #1

Fourteen people have been injured in clashes in eastern Saudi Arabia, state media say.
They said the unrest in the province of Qatif late on Monday had been incited by "a foreign country", without elaborating.
Saudi Arabia's minority Shia population is concentrated in the east, the scene of protests earlier this year.
State media said eight of those wounded were security personnel and three were civilians.
State news agency SPA quoted the interior ministry as saying that "a group of outlaws and rioters on motorbikes" had gathered in al-Awamia village near the city of Qatif, "carrying petrol bombs".
The group was responsible for acts leading to "insecurity with incitement from a foreign country that aims to undermine the nation's security and stability", SPA reported.
Saudi mentions of foreign meddling are normally veiled references to Iran, the region's main Shia power, observers say.
In March, Saud]i police opened fire to disperse protesters in Qatif, a day before planned countrywide anti-government protests.
The protesters, from the Shia minority, were demanding the release of prisoners they said had been held without charge.
Protests are illegal in Saudi Arabia, which has had an absolute monarchy since its unification in the 1930s.
Rights groups have accused the police of beating protesters during previous rallies in Qatif.
Shias make up about 10% of the population in Sunni-dominated Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia has not seen protests on the same scale as other nations in the Middle East and North Africa during the so-called Arab Spring.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15169769

Holy possibly the start of something big, Batman.

Oh for a means of stockpiling petrol & heating oil, if it does.

squod · 04-10-2011 9:41pm

General General wrote: »

Oh for a means of stockpiling petrol & heating oil, if it does.

........and sand.

dlofnep · 04-10-2011 9:41pm

I'd love to see Saudi Arabia topple like dominos.

4leto · 04-10-2011 9:41pm

Holy **** this may be very big.

Lets see will the west support the prodemocracy groups now.

starbelgrade · 04-10-2011 9:42pm

dlofnep wrote: »

I'd love to see Saudi Arabia topple like dominos.

Dominos toppled?

Bugger. Will have to go to 4 Star now.

maygitchell · 04-10-2011 9:46pm

starbelgrade wrote: »

Dominos toppled?

Bugger. Will have to go to 4 Star now.

What about Pappa Johns?

AnamGlas · 04-10-2011 9:47pm

...the straw that broke the camel's back

General General · 04-10-2011 9:50pm

starbelgrade wrote: »

Will have to go to 4 Star now.

maygitchell wrote: »

What about Pappa Johns?

AnamGlas wrote: »

...the straw that broke the camel's back

Take yer product placement bullsh!t somewhere else, ya corporate shills.. except for you AnamGlas, I too enjoy the superior taste of Camel cigarettes, a smooth smoke everytime.

AnamGlas · 04-10-2011 9:53pm

Yeah...cigarettes...yeah

El Weirdo · 04-10-2011 9:55pm

AnamGlas wrote: »

Yeah...cigarettes...yeah

Mmmmmmm.... Flavour country.

Jaafa · 04-10-2011 9:56pm

There were protests months ago which where either crushed or payed off. I suspect the same will happen again. No chance in hell the US would let anything kick off in Saudi.

Zebra3 · 04-10-2011 10:16pm

dlofnep wrote: »

I'd love to see Saudi Arabia topple like dominos.

But we all know which is of its near neighbours will be s***ting it the most at the thoughts of the Saudi dictatorship being overthrown. :pac:

SafeSurfer · 04-10-2011 10:20pm

4leto wrote: »

Holy **** this may be very big.

Lets see will the west support the prodemocracy groups now.

Don't hold your breath waiting for Cameron and Sarcozy to welcome the continuation of the "Arab Spring" and call for restraint and democratic elections.

V_Moth · 04-10-2011 10:21pm

Lol. Iran invades to "protect" Shia minority and BAM we have World War 3. Or maybe not...

SafeSurfer · 04-10-2011 10:24pm

V_Moth wrote: »

Lol. Iran invades to "protect" Shia minority and BAM we have World War 3. Or maybe not...

I'll bet Ming and his turf cutting bogmen have masterminded this.

General General · 04-10-2011 10:28pm

SafeSurfer wrote: »

I'll bet Ming and his turf cutting bogmen have masterminded this.

I've heard previously of the burgeoning biofuel cartels based in Roscommon & Leitrim... do you think that THEY are behind this?

4leto · 04-10-2011 10:32pm

If it is serious we will feel the see the effects immediately. The oil just has to flow and its production can't be threatened.

04-10-2011 10:38pm

Jaafa wrote: »

There were protests months ago which where either crushed or payed off. I suspect the same will happen again. No chance in hell the US would let anything kick off in Saudi.

There are stories about Riyadh airport having extra capacity to enable the US to airlift in sufficient forces to "stabilise" any situation if needed, either that or for the Hajj.

Saudis will just buy off the population as they've done in the past and set a floor on the oil price, as they've done in the past.

Zebra3 · 04-10-2011 10:52pm

4leto wrote: »

The oil just has to flow

It doesn't have to flow.

4leto wrote: »

and its production can't be threatened.

It can be threathened.

V_Moth · 04-10-2011 10:54pm

Deleted User wrote: »

There are stories about Riyadh airport having extra capacity to enable the US to airlift in sufficient forces to "stabilise" any situation if needed, either that or for the Hajj.

Saudis will just buy off the population as they've done in the past and set a floor on the oil price, as they've done in the past.

Something I read about recently is that each "prince/princess" in the royal family automatically gets around a million quid a year. There are now so many (several hundred) princes and and other assorted hangers-on that the rulers are in danger of going bankrupt despite taking in trillions from oil.

4leto · 04-10-2011 10:55pm

Zebra3 wrote: »

It doesn't have to flow.

It can be threathened.

Then watch the price rise and then the price of everything else very quickly.

That is if this is something along the lines of the Arab Spring.

04-10-2011 10:59pm

4leto wrote: »

Then watch the price rise and then the price of everything else very quickly.

That is if this is something along the lines of the Arab Spring.

It was the shortage of oil revenue & the price of food that triggered the Arab spring in Egypt.

The government could no longer subsidise the cost of food as they had previously done due to the fact that their oil exports had dried up.

SafeSurfer · 04-10-2011 11:04pm

Higher oil prices on the way. Also the euro has weakened against the dollar in which oil is valued.

4leto · 04-10-2011 11:04pm

Deleted User wrote: »

It was the shortage of oil revenue & the price of food that triggered the Arab spring in Egypt.

The government could no longer subsidise the cost of food as they had previously done due to the fact that their oil exports had dried up.

I thought it was general worldwide food inflation due to Chin's and India's increase in demand?

If I remember right the price of oil dipped but then went back up fairly quickly. Besides Egypt and as far as I know Tunisia are not oil exporters.

Zebra3 · 04-10-2011 11:33pm

4leto wrote: »

Then watch the price rise and then the price of everything else very quickly.

That is if this is something along the lines of the Arab Spring.

Why would I want to sit around watching prices rise?

If they're gonna rise, they're gonna rise.

General General · 04-10-2011 11:48pm

Zebra3 wrote: »

Why would I want to sit around watching prices rise?

If they're gonna rise, they're gonna rise.

Read the Forum Charter. Taoists are forbidden from posting.

General General · 04-10-2011 11:51pm

4leto wrote: »

I thought it was general worldwide food inflation due to Chin's and India's increase in demand?

If I remember right the price of oil dipped but then went back up fairly quickly. Besides Egypt and as far as I know Tunisia are not oil exporters.

I've heard from sources that are frankly 'weak' (i.e: the media) that the food inflation is more to do with the world being flooded with cheap dollars.

Also, Egypt is very much a oil/gas exporter.

amacachi · 04-10-2011 11:53pm

dlofnep wrote: »

I'd love to see Saudi Arabia topple like dominos.

If they hit that bullseye, the rest of the dominoes should fall like a house of cards. Checkmate.

05-10-2011 8:04am

General General wrote: »

I've heard from sources that are frankly 'weak' (i.e: the media) that the food inflation is more to do with the world being flooded with cheap dollars.

Also, Egypt is very much a oil/gas exporter.

Egypt was an oil exporter, until their oil fields depleted to the point there was nothing to export. They still have plenty of gas for the moment.

Food prices are tightly linked in with the price of oil, due to the fact that modern agriculture uses huge amounts of fuel in the machinery for sowing and harvesting, plus all the chemicals used as well.

Saudi have in recent years have been forced to abandon agriculture, because their water supplies were being depleted at an alarming rate, they now import almost all their food.

pajunior · 05-10-2011 8:49am

amacachi wrote: »

If they hit that bullseye, the rest of the dominoes should fall like a house of cards. Checkmate.

When playing the game of chess you must never let your opponent see your hand.

ejmaztec · 05-10-2011 9:03am

Bullsh1t is the answer to our energy needs, and there's a limitless supply.

4leto · 05-10-2011 9:08am

Oil is actually 75 dollars a barrel which is the lowest it has been for quite a while now.

stylie · 05-10-2011 9:54am

I have been there a number of times recently and the majority of Saudi's will not protest. The current king and his brother are very well liked and they are forward thinking, well more forward thinking than you would normally get from a Saudi royal.
However the two of them are old and the third in line is more of a traditionalist, so if he were in power now I could imagine the common Saudis protesting and getting cracked down on, but he is not much younger than the two brothers.
Still with the amount of money and work over there the average Saudi will not protest, when you can get minimum wage from three jobs and not have to go to work in any of them I dont see why they would be protesting at all.
Someone mentioned earlier they import a lot of food, but while I was there they were one of the biggest exporters of grain(or something like grain) in the world. Just driving through the desert and you would see the massive water pipes from the de-sal plants heading into the interior and you would fly over some pretty vast farms and crops.
Now I could see the work force protesting, poor guys are basically slaves over there doing all the work and getting paid a pittance but they would be put down pretty brutally. Basic human rights are not important when your an Afghani, Paki or Bangladesi. The way they are treated by the Saudis is horrible

kraggy · 05-10-2011 10:00am

pajunior wrote: »

When playing the game of chess you must never let your opponent see your hand.

They've got checkers to make sure that doesn't happen.

But to become one of them you have to make the draught.

Corkboi · 05-10-2011 11:01am

dlofnep wrote: »

I'd love to see Saudi Arabia topple like dominos.

Why? So you can end up spending 5 euro on a litre of petrol. Stupid statement.

4leto · 05-10-2011 11:11am

Its not really whether they are popular or not, the inherent weakness of an autocratic system is, when there is trouble as in "food inflation" it has an inability to change, so the autocrat becomes the focus for the gripe.

So the choice is either to step down or suppress.

Chuck Stone · 05-10-2011 11:46am

Corkboi wrote: »

Why? So you can end up spending 5 euro on a litre of petrol. Stupid statement.

He didn't say he wanted to see Saudi Arabia nuked from orbit.

Also, putting petrol in your pimped out motor would likely be down the list of your problems if the price of oil trebled overnight.

Corkboi · 05-10-2011 12:07pm

Chuck Stone wrote: »

He didn't say he wanted to see Saudi Arabia nuked from orbit.

Also, putting petrol in your pimped out motor would likely be down the list of your problems if the price of oil trebled overnight.

Wish I had a pimped out motor but Oil would only be the start of it, im in Saudi at the moment. They are now the biggest producers and exporters of plastics in the world so the cost of living would sky rocket if this place fell apart. All the food producers would have to up their prices to cover the cost of packaging due to the increased demand on the smaller plastic producing nations.

Meanwhile, in Saudi Arabia

Comments