Saudi Arabia: What happens when the oil stops

In a post oil era, Mohammed bin Salman would lose his power of patronage but the collapse of Saudi economy is a bad news for the region.
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) can no longer plead youth or inexperience, that time has passed.
What you see is what you get. The misrule, blunders and war associated with him as crown prince will only continue with him as king.
The full repertoire of the crown prince’s statecraft was on display in a stormy telephone call he made to Russian President Vladimir Putin on the eve of an Opec meeting last month which ended in a calamitous price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia.

A big mistake
Mohammed bin Salman can see for himself just how big a mistake that call was. The price of oil has collapsed, storage will rapidly run out, and oil companies face the real prospect of having to cap wells. The oil and gas sector accounts for up to 50 percent of the kingdom’s gross domestic product and 70 percent of its export earnings. This has just disappeared. 

As anyone who has met Putin will tell you, you can bargain as hard as you like with the Russian president. You can even be on opposing sides of two regional wars, in Syria and Libya, and still maintain a working relationship, as the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan continues to do.

But what you must not do is back Putin into a corner. This is what the Saudi crown prince did by giving Putin ultimatums and shouting at him. Putin just shouts back, knowing that the Russian balance of payments is in better shape to play that game of poker than the Saudi one is.


MBS is finding out now how weak his cards are. To be fair, before he made that call, he took advice from someone as arrogant and unthinking as he is. US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and Middle East advisor Jared Kushner listened to what the Saudi crown prince was about to do and did not object. Read Full Story

Why Princess Hend Al Qassimi of UAE is Angry with Hindu Radicals

"I'm sorry about the Islamophobia that is going on in India, but hatred is not welcome in my country," Princess Hend Al Qassimi said, in an interview with Arfa Khanum Sherwani.

The intelligentsia in India-friendly Gulf countries has been speaking out against Islamophobic tweets in India. The Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) has also issued a statement on growing Islamophobia in India.

Senior editor of The Wire Arfa Khanum Sherwani spoke with Princess Hend Al Qassimi, a member of the royal family of the United Arab Emirates, on why she decided to speak out about the state of affairs.

“This is how genocides are born. They first begin by hate that grows in the heart, comes to the tongue, and eventually turn into a genocide,” Princess Hend Al Qassimi said. “I’m sorry about the Islamophobia that is going on in India, but hatred is not welcome in my country.”

Gulf Countries and Hindu Radical Attacks on Muslims

Navdeep Suri a Distinguished Fellow & Director-CNED at ORF. Ex-Amb of India to UAE, Egypt & HC to Australia on the ongoing controversy.

A) UAE pro-actively promotes tolerance and celebrated 2109 as Year of Tolerance
B) Apart from allowing a major Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi, they are also building a Church, a Mosque and a Synagogue in the same compound.
C) UAE has strong laws against hate speech. This applies to derogatory remarks against ALL religions.
D) Ambassador to UAE Mr. Kapoor has alerted our Indian community
E) Hate speech emanating out of India is another matter. It provides fodder to those unhappy with India-UAE friendship.
F) UAE is a strategic partner - our 3rd largest trading partner, source of FDI, partner in energy security, home to 3.4 mn Indians who sent $17 bn in remittances to their families.
G) Bilateral ties are strong and will endure. But unnecessary controversy doesn’t help.

How A Middle Class Family Can Plan Finances During Corona Crisis

The coronavirus has taken its toll on society - both on the health of the common man and disruption of economic activity. And those working as consultants/in the gig economy along with small businesses/non-essential shops have been hit. In this rather difficult situation, a key question that pops up repeatedly - how does one plan finances during the crisis and the aftermath to meet both the short-term and long-term financial goals of a family?

The immediate requirement for middle class families in the short term is to draw up a budget - on one side, they need to take into account all their income streams - it could be salaries, gig income/consultancy income, rent from flat, government pension, interest from fixed deposits or government bonds, and dividends from companies etc. On the other side of the budget, they need to include their monthly expenses which typically includes groceries, school fees, rent or EMI for flat, mobile and electricity bills, costs related to running 2-and 4-wheelers, and medical expenses amongst others.

In the current scenario, most families across the country are grappling with a sudden loss of income which could be in the form of reduced/considerably curtailed salary/gig income/consultancy income. Also, for those families which rely on monthly rental income, they may experience hiccups, with tenants finding it difficult to pay rent during this pandemic.

As a result, an immediate financial planning requirement for most middle class families would be to review and curtail unnecessary/avoidable expenditure. For instance, in middle class families, one does find two or three cable TV connections in a home, and if practical, it could be reduced to just one. The above measure could result in savings of Rs 700 -1,000 per month. Source

Backlash Over "Islamophobia" Posts In India

Coronavirus - Indian Envoy's Tweet Amid Backlash Over "Islamophobia" Posts In India

The tweet came amid anger in Arab countries, including UAE and Kuwait, over instances of Muslims being targeted in India amid the COVID-19 crisis.

New Delhi: 

India and UAE share the values of non-discrimination on any grounds, the Indian ambassador to the country tweeted on Monday amid growing resentment in the Arab world over reports of Muslims being targeted in India over the coronavirus pandemic.

"India and UAE share the value of non-discrimination on any grounds. Discrimination is against our moral fabric and the Rule of law. Indian nationals in the UAE should always remember this," Ambassador Pavan Kapoor.

He quoted a tweet by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in which he had said, "COVID-19 does not see race, religion, colour, caste, creed, language or borders before striking. Our response and conduct thereafter should attach primacy to unity and brotherhood. We are in this together."

Read Full

::::Huthis and Shi`ism::::

The Saudi and Qatari Wahhabi media are purposefully confusing the issues about the religious affiliation of the Huthis: 
they are purposefully confusing Huthism with Zaydism and with Jardism and with Shi`ite twelvers. 
Huthis are Zaydis but it is a political movement with its own agenda. 
It is not part of the Shi`ite twelvers religiously. 
It is also not the same as Jarudism. 
But for the bigoted Wahhabi media, they all are the same.

Joke of the 21st century

Presidential elections in Afghanistan: A Joke of the 21st century

"Afghanistan’s American and other international supporters have made a democratic transfer of power a precondition for the continuance of extensive foreign aid programs to the country." 

WHAT? 

Condition for continuance of foreign aid? 

When did Afghanistan ever had a decent presidential election under US occupation? 

The last one which brought Karzai? 

Or this one?  

What do you say about a presidential election where the two sides agreed to keep the results secret?

Weapons of Mass Destruction Supplied by EU and US

EU and America are supplying arms in Middle East to escalate the crisis.
Arms shipped to FSA, ISIL the Syrian rebels to fight president Assad
Arms to Libyan Rebels
Arms to Sudan Rebels
Arms to Somalia
Arms to Israel to kill Palestinian children
Arms to Iraqi Kurds
These arms are supplied to kill people by the Nobel Laureate for establishment of Peace, his excellency "Barack Obama" the president of the United States.

लोकतंत्र और ओबामा

 

Surrender By Modi

Modi accuses EC of failing to stop poll rigging and violence, Proves his dream for PM post shatters. His 5000cr down the drain.

Shashi Tharoor: Minister for the Cattle Class

Shashi Tharoor, who had to quit as the minister of state of external affairs in April 2010 in the wake of allegations of wrongdoing in buying stakes in an IPL team, made a comeback as the minister of state in the human resource development ministry.

Remember that Shashi Tharoor has tweeted for the economy class as a "Cattle Class" in the airplane, implementing the austerity plan by the UPA government. He was  the minister of state of external affairs at that time.
He is re-inducted as the minister of state in the human resource development ministry. "He will now have to look after this same "Cattle Class."

IQ controversy of Nitin Gadkari

BJP president Nitin Gadkari said the intelligence quotient level of Swami Vivekanand and Dawood Ibrahim was almost the same, but the spiritual leader had used it for nation building while the underworld don for pursuing crime.
Gadkari has equaled the status of Vivekanand the reformist and Dawood the 'Wanted' by the Interpol. He wants to stay in NEWS by his silly statements.

Gadkari forgot to mention the even IQ of Narendra Modi and Ajmal Kasab. The common Killer instinct.

The IQ of Nitin Gadkari and the IQ of a Prostitute is the same.
They both are willing to sell their Morality for HARD ........................ CASH.

Idiotic Talk of Erdogan

After arming the Syrian rebels with the help of US, EU, Saudia, Qatar the Turkish PM talks the below nonsense.

"The countries that directly or indirectly support the terrorist organization's acts will one day face that gun themselves," he said in Ankara on Saturday.

Erdogan also stated that no demand would ever be achieved through guns and violence. 

How cheap is a Million

Robert Vadra to NDTV: 'Cheap publicity bid by Arvind Kejriwal, Prashant 
Bhushan to launch political party'

Hundreds of millions of Rupees involved, but, Robert Vadra calls it Cheap.

No-Fly Zone for Turkey

Syria has denied Turkey civilian planes to use its air space. It was in retaliation of Turkey intercepting Syrian civilian aircraft in its territory.

How Safe the World is?

Over 64 billion watts of electricity has been produced in nuclear plants all over the globe in the past half century and over 440 nuclear power plants in 30 countries account for almost 16 percent of the world's total power supply.

Confession of al-Jazeera

Since Egypt, however, Al-Jazeera’s approach has become more complicated. “They did a marvellous job in Egypt and their reporters were very courageous in getting the storyline across but when they shifted to Libya they were campaigning there,” said James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute. “Then they ducked Bahrain. It was clear there was a politics there that was playing out.”
Al-Jazeera is funded by Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the emir of Qatar, and Foukara conceded that this patronage had an effect. Saudi Arabia had “a huge vested interest in Bahrain” and aggressive coverage of unrest and repression in Bahrain could have re-ignited tensions between Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
“What does it mean for the credibility of Al-Jazeera focussing so much on Libya but not on Bahrain? I think it's raising a lot of questions and it’s something that many of us feel kind of uncomfortable with because we want people to say Al-Jazeera has taken the same interest in every story.” Full Story

PRESS RELEASE: Bahrain – Regime targets poets, children and women as well.

Bahrain – Regime targets poets, children and women as well.

There's no Business like WAR Business

Lies, hypocrisy and hidden agendas. This is what United States President Barack Obama did not dwell on when explaining his Libya doctrine to America and the world. The mind boggles with so many black holes engulfing this splendid little war that is not a war (a "time-limited, scope-limited military action", as per the White House) - compounded with the inability of progressive thinking to condemn, at the same time, the ruthlessness of the Muammar Gaddafi regime and the Anglo-French-American "humanitarian" bombing. Read Full

Bahrain Monarchy From British Empire to US Fifth Fleet

Organized Criminal Royal Families of the Gulf

"the ruling families of the Arab Gulf states are more like a confederation of organized crime families" http://goo.gl/i1FqL #bahrain #feb14

Masked Faces

@Nabeelrajab Note difference between protesters emerging on street faces revealed in pride whilst security forces mask their faces in shame

US Military Bases In Middle East

The vast number of US military bases all over the world are intended to insure US military, political, and economic domination. That’s why there is a huge naval base, for the US 5th fleet, in the monster-kingdom of Bahrain. Will the Navy intervene on the side of the dictator if he is threatened? There is much covert CIA support for our king-dictators in Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and the UAE. Last week Admiral Mullins toured all these client states to reassure them, said a Pentagon press release. Does that mean direct US intervention?

Wahhabi Cleric of Egypt Dreams of Presidency

A group of internet users have created a Facebook page supporting prominent Salafi (Wahhabi) cleric Mohamed Hassan for presidency.
The 50-year-old influential preacher had maintained an apolitical stance during ousted President Hosni Mubarak’s rule and sometimes advocated anti-Christian sentiments, especially when the regime’s relation to the Orthodox Church deteriorated. Hassan has never criticized Mubarak, arguing that it’s religiously forbidden to oppose the ruler.

Muslim Brotherhood criticized Bahrain Authorities

The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt on Wednesday called on Bahraini authorities to listen to the demands of the people. It also criticized authorities for painting demands for political and constitutional reform as sectarian issues.
In a statement, the Brotherhood expressed its concerns about the escalation of events and the resulting casualties in Bahrain, saying this escalation "portends grave dangers."
The group called on "the people of Bahrain in all walks of life to get over their differences and to put aside feelings of tribalism, sectarianism and factionalism.”
The Brotherhood also called on the authorities to “adopt the principle of dialogue to resolve problems in a context of Islamic brotherhood, national unity and kinsmanship."
“Popular demands reflect the people’s will and officials must listen to and enforce what is in the public’s best interest," read the statement.
The group warned that turning the political unrest into sectarian issues "would ignite strife, threaten national unity, and provide a pretext for foreign interventions."