my buddies in saudi arabia have been busy the past few days. firstly, THEY EXECUTED 47 HUMAN BEINGS on terrorism charges. i don't pretend to be an expert on saudi arabia but from what i've read, if you happen to look at a member of the royal family the wrong way, you might end up meeting your maker a little earlier than you had planned. penalties are harsh.
after the public display of intolerance, the saudi royal family decided to RAISE GAS TAXES 50%. they didn't just raise gas taxes, all sorts of government largesse is being reined in. the drop in oil prices has put a dent in saudi finances. so it goes.
but before shedding obama-like crocodile tears for the poor citizens of saudi arabia, take a look at the perks they previously enjoyed:
-Heavily subsidized gas (It used to be 16 cents a liter. Now it's gone up to 24 cents.
-Free health care
-Free schooling
-Subsidized water and electricity
-No income tax
-Public pensions
-Nearly 90% of Saudis are employed by the government
-Often higher pay for government jobs than private sector ones
-Unemployment benefits
-A "development fund" that provides interest-free loans to help families buy homes and start businesses.
no income tax. if that isn't nice, what is?
the question is; did those darn saudis execute 47 human beings due to terrorism fears, or was it a warning to their populace to be on their best behavior and protesting government cut backs might be hazardous to their health? i'm guessing it was a case of killing two birds with one stone. get rid of a few nuisances and prepare the citizens for austerity in one fell swoop. very efficient indeed.
and what does the great obama have to say about saudi arabia:
"Sometimes we have to balance our need to speak to them about human rights issues with immediate concerns that we have in terms of countering terrorism or dealing with regional stability," Obama said in an interview with CNN's Fareed Zakaria.
i've often opined that the saudis are actually very powerful aliens and that's why they get away with all their shenanigans and why they're sitting on all that oil. here's what's gonna happen when they tire of us:
i love you sons of bitches.
13 comments:
The Ayatollah who got executed spoke up for Shia minority, which scares the Saudis because they think all Shias are pro-Iranian agents. Hell, they'd probably execute Shia Labeouf for being an Iranian spy.
I'm not working on trying to understand an insane world so much anymore but what about when they run out of oil?
We have our own trouble in our own community. Sure no one been beheaded here, as far as I know.
But there going to be a rally in my community this coming Saturday, about those who support the Syrian refuges.
Head up people...There not coming to North Idaho. Most young people are economic refuges, including my sons. That's why they left here.
Coffee is on
gb - once the saudis plunder the planet i'm pretty sure that move on to another galaxy. it's hard to figure why they don't close the spigot a wee bit and predict higher prices. could they be doing all this to screw the iranians when they're able to start shipping oil?
king - we'll never run out of oil. we'll poison and starve ourselves before the oil runs out.
dora - i think the syrians are being used by the politicians and corporations to distract us from the coming economic shit storm.
we're fucked
js - i don't think we're fucked. it you take the healthy and self reliant people from 60 years ago and give them our safety nets, they'd prosper. we just have to adjust to the new paradigm.
Actually, the youth have to adjust to the new paradigm, or make things better for themselves like we did back in our days.
king - the new paradigm includes a lot of debt which our dear leaders seems determined to increase. our new liberal government is giving their friends billions upon billions.
Well, become a politician and get in on some of the action. :-)
keeping the sauds in luxury is the reason for the country; same as us but here is more along the line of kochs & bushes. maybe they will start claiming states so they can rule like real despots.
king - too many skeletons in my closet but thank you for your support.
bob - i thought the panthers would be more than a 3 point favorite over the hawks. it should be an excellent weekend of football.
With Saudi Arabia, what's old is what's new:
All those perks & bennies come with 24 \ 7 servailance, and if someone TPTB likes falsely accused you of terrorism, you get fucking whacked...
If it sounds like imperial tyranny, that's only because it is!
Google/Bing "Saudi Culture Police" for more details
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