King Abdullah has died

wretcheddomain · 23-01-2015 12:32PM

This is a sad day for those who support human rights.

nokia69 · 23-01-2015 12:39PM

wretcheddomain wrote: »

This is a sad day for those who support human rights.

why

longshanks · 23-01-2015 12:47PM

There's a couple of Italian cookbooks on those shelves too.

Hoop66 · 23-01-2015 01:46PM

BeerWolf wrote: »

They're the embodiment of what a country with Sharia Law is.

Maybe I've misunderstood, but your original post said:

BeerWolf wrote: »

And they're supposedly the "pinnacle" of what a Muslim community is.

I'd take that to mean that they are supposedly "the best" Muslim country.

Pinnacle - the highest point or level, esp of fame, success, etc.

So, who is holding up Saudi Arabia as "the best" Muslim country? Do you mean they're the "most" Muslim, in that their legal system is derived from Sharia?

The "pinnacle" of Muslim nations, to me, would be somewhere like Jordan, Turkey or Lebanon which have secular governments and comparatively good human rights records.

nokia69 · 23-01-2015 02:00PM

Hoop66 wrote: »

The "pinnacle" of Muslim nations, to me, would be somewhere like Jordan, Turkey or Lebanon which have secular governments and comparatively good human rights records.

in the land of the blind the one eyed man is king

SpaceSasqwatch · 23-01-2015 02:13PM

BlaasForRafa wrote: »

North Korea is already bad enough as it is, just imagine if it was an islamic country!

or jewish....

Ben D Bus · 23-01-2015 02:25PM

Teyla Emmagan wrote: »

The sooner all those fundamentalist loopers are dead the better.

Yes, because the next generation of fundamentalist loopers is always nicer then the previous one.

La Mer · 23-01-2015 03:09PM

Actually he is not the worst, if you compare him to the one before him and maybe the one after him, he took care of the education there (which is IMHO the only way out of the mess in there).

The new one as i heard is the opposite of him, more religious!

In November 2002, in reference to charitable organizations accused of terrorism, Salman stated that he had personally taken part in the activities of such organizations,[35] but added "I know the assistance goes to doing good. But if there are those who change some work of charity into evil activities, then it is not the kingdom's responsibility, nor its people, which helps its Arab and Muslim brothers around the world."[35]
Al Jazeera referred to Salman's views reported in a 2007 U.S. diplomatic cable.[36][37] Salman said that "the pace and extent of reforms depend on social and cultural factors, ... that for social reasons—not [religious] reasons—reforms cannot be imposed by the [Saudi government] or there will be negative reactions, ... [and] that changes have to be introduced in a sensitive and timely manner." According to the cable, he said that "democracy should not be imposed" in Saudi Arabia, since the country "is composed of tribes and regions and if democracy were imposed, each tribe and region would have its political party."

porsche959 · 23-01-2015 03:21PM

"We have become complacent about democracy." - Tony Blair, December 2014

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B8Bmk9kCAAADPlN.jpg

the_monkey · 23-01-2015 03:31PM

Thrill wrote: »

I've read that his brother Salman, who replaces him as king, suffers from Alzheimer's and sometimes cannot even remember his own name.

yeah but he's a man, so he's above any woman for the role yeah ?

WoollyRedHat · 23-01-2015 03:35PM

Death was too good for him. Should of been flogged.

PopePalpatine · 23-01-2015 05:08PM

LookingFor wrote: »

The hypocrisy of western leaders lining up to big up this guy. A brutal country. The sooner 'we' are free of oil the better.

I'd be a bit worried that once the Saudis' oil reserves dry up (or if world leaders actually gave a shit about sustainable energy), they'd have nothing to lose.

nokia69 · 23-01-2015 05:21PM

PopePalpatine wrote: »

I'd be a bit worried that once the Saudis' oil reserves dry up (or if world leaders actually gave a shit about sustainable energy), they'd have nothing to lose.

The Stone Age didn't end for lack of stone, and the oil age will end long before the world runs out of oil

the best car in the world is the Tesla model S 85D and its 100% electric

give it five years and electric cars will be everywhere

the saudis are finished

Mollyd90 · 23-01-2015 05:32PM

nokia69 wrote: »

The Stone Age didn't end for lack of stone, and the oil age will end long before the world runs out of oil

the best car in the world is the Tesla model S 85D and its 100% electric

give it five years and electric cars will be everywhere

the saudis are finished

stupid question but is a good % of electricity created using oil. so increase electricity use = increase oil?

nokia69 · 23-01-2015 05:39PM

Mollyd90 wrote: »

stupid question but is a good % of electricity created using oil. so increase electricity use = increase oil?

no, not since the 70s

nuclear, coal, and natural gas would be the main fuels for electricity

even solar PV could generate more electricity at this stage

shruikan2553 · 23-01-2015 05:39PM

Mollyd90 wrote: »

stupid question but is a good % of electricity created using oil. so increase electricity use = increase oil?

At this time yes. It only really becomes better when we have enough electricity being generated by renewable sources. It is improving though.

Minjor · 23-01-2015 06:03PM

Westminster Abbeys flag is flying at half mast as a sign of respect to him I see.

Mental, just mental. Irony not lost on them being a Christian church and how they would be tolerated in Saudi Arabia.

doubledown · 23-01-2015 06:04PM

Minjor wrote: »

Westminster Abbeys flag is flying at half mast as a sign of respect to him I see.

Mental, just mental. Irony not lost on them being a Christian church and how they would be tolerated in Saudi Arabia.

Erm, here too! Madness

http://www.thejournal.ie/government-buildings-flew-flags-today-1899212-Jan2015/

Karl Stein · 23-01-2015 06:08PM

nokia69 wrote: »

the saudis are finished

Nope.

A few decades ago a US analyst described Persian Gulf oil as:

“a stupendous source of strategic power, and one of the greatest material prizes in world history.”

That hasn't changed much. The US's 5th Fleet isn't parked in the Persian Gulf for the laugh.

nokia69 · 23-01-2015 06:11PM

Karl Stein wrote: »

Nope.

A few decades ago a US analyst described Persian Gulf oil as:

“a stupendous source of strategic power, and one of the greatest material prizes in world history.”

That hasn't changed much. The US's 5th Fleet isn't parked in the Persian Gulf for the laugh.

its the ICE that gives oil its value

and the ICE is finished you just can't see it yet

in the future most forms of transport will be electric

Ben D Bus · 23-01-2015 06:17PM

doubledown wrote: »

Erm, here too! Madness

http://www.thejournal.ie/government-buildings-flew-flags-today-1899212-Jan2015/

Realpolitik

BoJack Horseman · 23-01-2015 06:20PM

nokia69 wrote: »

in the future most forms of transport will be electric

Then the Lithium wars begin.

"No blood for batteries!"

nokia69 · 23-01-2015 06:34PM

BoJack Horseman wrote: »

Then the Lithium wars begin.

"No blood for batteries!"

plenty of Lithium to go around and who knows what the next generation of batteries will be made of

Karl Stein · 23-01-2015 06:42PM

nokia69 wrote: »

its the ICE that gives oil its value

No it's not. Oil has intrinsic value. The power in a barrel of oil is equivalent to 23,200 hours of human work output. The price fluctuates on supply and demand, like any good, but oil itself is a valuable commodity and will continue to be long after your '5-years-time' prediction.

bnt · 23-01-2015 06:59PM

Mollyd90 wrote: »

stupid question but is a good % of electricity created using oil. so increase electricity use = increase oil?

Even if only 10% of the electricity is from renewables, that's 10% less oil used in charging the car. That would be assuming the car uses the same amount of energy per mile, which is definitely not the case: petrol engine cars have about 15% efficiency - meaning 15% of the energy from the petrol is used to power the vehicle - while electric cars are around 80% efficient.

bnt · 23-01-2015 08:09PM

Also, this BBC article has a diagram of the main House of Saud members and their positions. Next in the line of succesion is Crown Prince Muqrin (Deputy PM), who at 69 is the youngest son of founder Ibn Saud. After that is Deputy Crown Prince Mohammmed, eldest grandson of Ibn Saud.

Starting with Muqrin, the line of succession is no longer purely by order of birth, but partly decided by an Allegiance Council using other factors. Muqrin has older brothers who are not happy at being passed over in the succession, but they need "young blood" ... :rolleyes:

AllGunsBlazing · 23-01-2015 09:21PM

doubledown wrote: »

Erm, here too! Madness

http://www.thejournal.ie/government-buildings-flew-flags-today-1899212-Jan2015/

Je suis Saudi?

The_Valeyard · 23-01-2015 09:47PM

As a matter of interest do they lower flags when a European head of State dies?

jank · 24-01-2015 03:36AM

Egginacup wrote: »

Faked satellite photos and fabricated claims by the House of Saud were added to the list of excuses along with imaginary babies being thrown out of incubators.

You mean Kuwait was not invaded silly me.

opiniated · 24-01-2015 06:44PM

ballsymchugh wrote: »

i wonder will his daughters be allowed out now

http://www.channel4.com/news/saudi-princesses-sahar-jawaher-king-abdullah-barack-obama

My first thought on reading this was W.T.F? The guy was a nutter!

Now I'm getting round to wondering how come marriages weren't arranged for his daughters, as is common in Saudi.
There's more to this story than meets the eye. I'm just not too sure what to make of it? Not defending his locking them up, btw. Just curious as to why none of the four are married. Anyone have any more details?

King Abdullah has died

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