[–] rwbj 1 point 13 points 14 points (+14|-1) ago
Hahaha, I don't even get this sort of logic. They just effectively announced to the world that the documents are legitimate and contain embarrassing information which will now be read by several magnitudes of more people than if they just said nothing.
[–] george_dark 0 points 2 points 2 points (+2|-0) ago
i.e. the Streisand effect. It is about to claim yet one more Net-noobie victim, this time a Government.
[–] ethicalissue 0 points 2 points 2 points (+2|-0) ago
Logic schmogic. This is a country which routinely persecutes and executes people for "witchcraft."
Atheists are lumped with terrorists.
This poor slob is getting 10 years in jail and a 1000 lashes for his blog.
But mercifully it's only 50 lashes a week. And they have doctors to make sure that he's fit enough for each batch.
[–] QuestionEverything 0 points 9 points 9 points (+9|-0) ago
There is no resistance in Saudi Arabia. Dissenters are rounded up quickly and efficiently. Let me repeat: regardless of whatever atrocities this oligarchy commits, there is no internal force capable of effecting ANY change.
Literally, the courts have told the Royal family they cannot do such things like building on public park property. Their reply was who would stop them?
[–] [deleted] 3 points 2 points 5 points (+5|-3) ago (edited ago)
[–] Green_Bay_Packers 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
Hey guys - instead of downvoting him, reply to his comment. Let's not turn this into a shithole like reddit where people downvote because they disagree.
Saudi Arabia has a lot of oil, and oil gives you a lot of power. Until their oil runs out (I.e. a very long time), they will still have that power. They and their neighbors are predicted to be the last few who will have fossil fuels once the world starts running out of them, which means they will likely have more power at that time.
It sucks that the largest and most powerful country in that region is run by people with that much authority.
[–] Caboose_Calloway ago (edited ago)
According to the Petrodollar agreement of 1973 the Saudis receive "arms and protection" in exchange of trading oil for USD only and no other currency.
So basically the Saudi army is entirely under US control and all the money that changes hands in the country is closely monitored by the CIA.
Saudi rank and file (ie non-royals) are nearly totally brain-washed by the propaganda of the ruling families. A snowball has a better chance in hell than anyone rising up internally. Now export of their extremism into other countries as part of a regional destabilization is a different matter. That chicken has come home to roost.
[–] didntsayeeeee 0 points 2 points 2 points (+2|-0) ago
there is no internal force capable of effecting ANY change
The trouble is that there is, and it's called radical Islamists.
Saudi Arabia, as I understand it, exists in a bit of tension between the wacko religious nutjobs, and the Royal Family who would rather get blowjobs from fifty Russian hookers at a time. The Royal Family gives the religious nutjobs everything they want, in exchange for being able to stay in power. But if the religious nutjobs decide they've had enough of the royals they can have that fight.
Ultimately the present situation is the lesser of two evils, and that's why we in the west hold our noses and prop it up, because if the Islamists gain proper power over (a) Mecca and (b) the oilfields then we've got a serious problem which will probably oblige another major war.
[–] Sops 0 points 2 points 2 points (+2|-0) ago (edited ago)
Not entirely true. Look at North Korea, decades ago the country was full of true believers, people with unquestioning faith in everything the government told them and would report a neighbor or even a family member to the authorities for any decent. After the famine of the 1990s and the influx of foreign media that has changed, the state still has complete power but there are fewer true believers and the government has been forced to loosen its grip. People can now begin for the first time to speak their minds within small groups and even question authorities in public.
Frontline documentary most relevant part starts at 45:10 but the whole thing is definitely worth watching.
You can't go from a position where the state has that level of completely power to something more democratic overnight, these are small but significant steps. The fact that the Saudi government issued the warning means they know this and they are concerned.
[–] [deleted] 3 points 1 point 4 points (+4|-3) ago
[–] [deleted] 1 point -1 points 0 points (+0|-1) ago
[–] Ladygnome 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
Eh, I'm a big fan of honesty and pretty anti-lying. I want a government that tells me the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, accept when that truth endangers our troops or the lives of our citizens. Now obviously, there is a lot of wiggle room that way, but the amount of secrecy wikileaks revealed from our government is unacceptable.
[–] Stoic 1 point 15 points 16 points (+16|-1) ago (edited ago)
Well, this will be more interesting that I thought.
https://i.imgur.com/NnoGhN1.gif
[–] wb 0 points 4 points 4 points (+4|-0) ago
http://i.imgur.com/kp8te.gif
[–] Brothan ago
Holy hell, this site is much better than reddit.
[–] revofire ago
This is gold.