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(my PGP key, and you can get PGP from here)
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The Saudi people are fed up seeing all the money that is earned from the production of the oil go to the Royal Family and the US. ...Yes, it's the Saudi royal family in cahoots with those greedy American oil companies. Oh, wait, what's this?
Sunday, 16 November, 2003Ah. So the production of Saudi oil is entirely in Saudi hands with the exception of a small, recent Anglo-Dutch and French involvement. I'm not sure how so much of the money that's earned manages to go to the US then. Surely the opposite is true, with the US paying Saudi Arabia.
Royal Dutch/Shell and Total have signed a long-awaited $2bn deal to develop Saudi Arabia's huge gas reserves.
The two are the first western firms to win energy rights in Saudi Arabia since the industry was nationalised in 1975. ...
The men on Arab streets are filled with hatred and anger on the American policies in Iraq. Had it not been for the strict Saudi Government; no American would have been alive here. ...That's nice.
Every foreigner involved with drilling, collection and distribution of oil in the Middle East needs to leave. Now. It's not like they have any right to be there.Yeah. It's not as if they're legally employed doing anything useful like providing a whole load of skilled labour needed to drill, collect and distribute the oil on which the region's economy largely depends.
The Oasis compound is an ultra-luxurious Western compound, no doubt fuelling feelings of resentment in those who oppose Western presence in the Kingdom ...I can understand how foreigners living it up in luxury might create a certain friction, but surely not quite enough to cause anyone to storm their residence and go on a killing frenzy. Wealthy foreigners live in luxury next to relatively poor locals in many parts of the world (tourist resorts in Latin America and the Carribean spring to mind) without anyone killing anybody else.
The USA sows hatred across every continent and now they are reaping their rewards. Sadly only civilians suffer.The USA are "reaping their rewards" for sowing hatred. That certainly explains the death toll of 8 Indians, 3 Filipinos, 3 Saudis, 2 Sri Lankans, 1 Egyptian, 1 Swede, 1 South African, 1 Italian, 1 Briton and 1 American doesn't it, Vajid? It looks like, if Afreen Baig's angry friends had their way, there would be no Indians or Filipinos left alive in the country.
At The Oasis, Life in Saudi Arabia is not what it used to be!That's not much of a selling point any more.
When reports first started appearing on the internet questioning the authenticity of the video apparently showing the beheading in Iraq of the US civilian Nick Berg, they could easily be passed off as wild conspiracy theories. ... But it is another matter when a respected news outlet such as al-Jazeera picks up on the speculation and posts the headline "Berg video filmed from inside Abu Ghraib prison", as it did on Monday. ... Despite the blunt matter-of-factness of its headline, however, Al-Jazeera takes a much softer line in the story, saying the video "has raised numerous questions concerning its authenticity as evidence grows that the event took place from inside the US controlled Abu Ghraib prison".Now I'm on tenterhooks waiting for al-Jazeera to report "numerous questions" and "growing evidence" that shape-changing alien lizards are using mind-control beams to manipulate the stock market, or something.
 Spiky tropical leaf. |
 Wall with pipes. |
 Lakeland sheep. |
Tony Blair has lost the election. It's true he wasn't standing, but we won't split hairs...Now that's what I call quality punditry! "Tony Blair has lost an election in which he wasn't standing, in a foreign country with a different history, different economy and different political parties. But let's not get obsessed with mere details..." I stopped reading after the opening two sentences but I've scanned the rest of it, and he manages to mention General Pinochet, the Adam Smith Institute, Bernie Ecclestone, the Hinduja brothers and "the world's most dangerous economic experiment". No sign of the kitchen sink, though.
The White House tried to halt the making and release of Michael Moore's new film Fahrenheit 9/11, the film-maker alleged in Cannes on Sunday. The director told a Cannes audience the Bush administration wanted to keep the film off screens in the run-up to November's US election. ...Now that is serious stuff. Please, do tell us more:
... He has given no evidence to substantiate his allegations, but said "someone connected to the White House" and a "top Republican" had put pressure on film companies not to release the film. ...Let's recap the gist of what he's said here: "The government's trying to censor me by leaning on film companies, but I won't give you any details that you might be able to check. This is being done by someone connected to the White House in some unspecified way, but I won't tell you their name or anything else about him or her, other than that they're in the same party as the president."
...The video showed five men wearing headscarves and black ski masks, standing over a bound man in an orange jumpsuit who identified himself as an American from Philadelphia.I suppose that would rather seem to show him being beheaded, then. Or maybe it was all done with camera angles ("seen that latest jihad video - the special effects are fantastic!").
After reading a statement, the men were seen pulling the man to his side and cutting off his head with a large knife. They then held the head out before the camera.
I wonder if those responsible for organizing traffic awareness campaigns and programs aimed at educating motorists and pedestrians have realized the role of women in the chaos characteristic of our streets and the accidents which occur there all too often. ...Memo to self: concept of driver being responsible for vehicle clearly not ingrained in Saudi society, so never fly on Saudi Airlines ("Yes I flew into the mountain, but what else could I do? The stewardess wouldn't stop asking me whether I wanted coffee or tea!"). Via Damian Penny.
If the driver finds that the woman in the back seat is in a bad mood, he braces himself for trouble. Such behavior definitely impacts upon the poor man who, knowing he cannot answer back, usually resorts to the only thing he can do — stepping hard on the accelerator ...
The shock [of the abuse of prisoners by American guards] is probably salutary [to Americans]. Since 9/11 the US has been generating some very unpleasant energies. This can be seen in such disparate developments as Disney's attempt to block Michael Moore's film Fahrenheit 9/11 (because it was critical of Bush's relationship with powerful Saudi families) and in the hysterical treatment of tourists passing through US immigration which has become inexplicably rude and vindictive towards those who simply want to see the sights in New York, LA and Florida.I've mentioned the Michael Moore "censorship" thing before, and I think Mr Porter's a bit behind the story. How does this from Michael Moore:
Friday, May 7th, 2004 ... The Disney spin machine has been working overtime dealing with this censorship debacle of theirs. I don't think they thought they would ever be outed. ... Disney has been hoping for nearly a year that they could keep this thing quiet. As I promised on Wednesday, here are the details behind my sordid adventure with the Magic Kingdom:... square with this from Michael Moore:
In April of 2003, I signed a deal with Miramax, a division of the Walt Disney Co., to finance and distribute my next movie, Fahrenheit 9/11. ...
07 May 2004... Less than 24 hours after accusing the Walt Disney Company of pulling the plug on his latest documentary in a blatant attempt at political censorship, the rabble-rousing film-maker Michael Moore has admitted he knew a year ago that Disney had no intention of distributing it. ...And I know this is anecdotal, but when I visited New York last June the man who checked my passport was friendly and polite, I wasn't beaten up once and nobody was rude or vindictive towards me the whole time I was there.
BASRA, Iraq - A senior aide of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr told worshippers during a Friday sermon in southern Iraq that anyone capturing a female British soldier can keep her as a slave. The aide, Sheik Abdul-Sattar al-Bahadli ... spoke at al-Hawi mosque in central Basra.Got to admit it's a catchy slogan, though: "Join the jihad and get yourself a slave girl!" Of course the holy warrior must be careful to treat his slave girl decently, right? Why, I'm sure the word "slave" is a mere mishap of translation. No doubt only light duties such as domestic cleaning and a spot of cookery are appropriate? Heck, let's Ask an Imam:
Q: What does the Islam say regarding intercourse with slave girls?Oh. Riiiight. I like the "slavery is not in vogue nowadays" bit at the end. The same answer, but with a long and mind-boggling justification, is given to the vexed issue of "Is having a Slave (girl) for sex nowdyas is allowed?" (remember - Allah Ta'ala Knows Best).
A: A man may have intimate relations with his wife or slave girl. This applies no matter how many slave girls one may possess. He may not have intimate relations with his servant. A slave is one whom one physically owns. Since slavery is not in vogue nowadays, this does not apply today.
May, 2003... [Miramax], part of the Disney corporation, is to provide cash in temporary "bridge" funding, which offers it less risk, although it will get a lower return.Where in that does it say, or even remotely imply, "Disney is to provide cash and distribution"? No, it doesn't. I wonder whether it was made even clearer to Michael, one year ago, that Disney wouldn't distribute the film? From the New York Times:
[Disney] said it was made clear to Miramax [which is part of Disney] last May, when it became the principal investor in the film, that Disney would not let it be the distributor.Oh, and wait, what's this... Michael's changing his story:
"Mr. Moore has had and continues to have every opportunity to either find another distributor or distribute the film himself," a spokeswoman for Disney, Zenia Mucha, said in a statement.
Less than 24 hours after accusing the Walt Disney Company of pulling the plug on his latest documentary in a blatant attempt at political censorship, the rabble-rousing film-maker Michael Moore has admitted he knew a year ago that Disney had no intention of distributing it.Hmmm. He's done this sort of thing before. He said that the police in San Diego "raided his book-signing" (oh, feel the jackboot of oppression on Michael Moore's neck!) when the pathetic truth was that the caretakers had to call the police because Michael was still busy signing books at midnight when he'd only hired the hall until 11. I saw comments nearer the time from people claiming to have been at the "raided" book-signing saying the staff had asked him politely to leave, several times, but he'd just ignored them. Idiot.
And if he's prepared to twist the truth about his film's distribution like this, why should anyone believe anything he says in the film?
Anyway, that's enough ranting from me. I'll watch the Kenya cartoon again to cheer myself up.
Lions... and tigers... only in Kenyyyaaaaa...