Putin's Visit To Saudi Arabia - Hey, what's Going On Here?

Discussion in 'Latest US & World News' started by Jeannette, Oct 15, 2019.

  1. Moonglow

    Moonglow Well-Known Member

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    Then you should have done it the Mafia way..It is how we operate in the Ozarks hill country...
     
  2. Iranian Monitor

    Iranian Monitor Well-Known Member

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    All I can say: you and the sources you rely on live in a fantasy world which simply doesn't exist.

    I am no fan of the JCPOA, but for opposite reasons than you. But lets be clear: Iran had somewhere around an estimated $100-$120 Billion sitting in various foreign bank accounts which, due to financial sanctions on Iran, it could not access. The money belonged to Iran and because Iran couldn't access that money, it had already put it down as collateral for various non-UN embargoed purchases (most of it junk from China which was hurting various Iranian domestic industries anyway). By the time the JCPOA was negotiated, only $50-55 Billion of that money was even available to Iran. Even that money wasn't transferred back to Iran but simply was now available and credited to accounts for Iran's National Reserve Fund (which is kept in foreign accounts).

    I will let you in a secret. If the sanctions on Iran only targeted Iran's oil exports, I would be in favor of them! Much of that money is gone to waste and is simply a vehicle for massive corruption that funds and feeds a huge army of people key institutions in Iran who have a vested interest in doing a lot of things that aren't in Iran's interests anyway. And I am not talking about 'funding terrorists'.

    The sanctions against Iran which bite more than the corrupt and inefficient practices in Iran's government, are the financial sanctions which prevent anyone from Iran (even housewives) from conducting any form of transaction with anyone outside of Iran through the international banking system. I don't think these sanctions affect Iran's ability to finance any of the groups it finances as Iran carries out those transactions the same way it bypasses even more stringent restrictions to prevent it from arming and training these militia, but they certainly affect Iranian businesses who want to engage in trade and commerce with people outside of Iran's borders.

    At the end, the primary focus of the "maximum pressure campaign" was on the Iranian people and the Iranian government and its bureaucracy. The Iranian economy, despite all the negative reports (and the IMF report just released predicting a 9% downturn) is doing alright. Indeed, Rouhani even claims Iran's economy is going to have positive growth this year (see his press conference yesterday). Talking to people in Iran, it is clear that while some businesses and professions (including mine) which are dependent on foreign trade are adversely affected, and while some low income or marginalized people are under even greater pressure than before, for most of Iran little has changed. Some have grown richer, some have managed to stay where they were. I personally don't know anyone who is really much worse off than before, except myself! And I am much worse off because I was stupid enough to believe that Iran's economy will indeed tank under these pressures, sold some property and assets in Iran, and moved what I had outside. In the process, I lost half of of my savings whereas if I had not done that, I would have seen the property I sold in Iran selling for much more than the price I sold the property even in US dollars.
     
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  3. APACHERAT

    APACHERAT Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    I thought the Arab Spring started in Tunisia.

    But, I really don't care...do U?

    [​IMG]
     
  4. APACHERAT

    APACHERAT Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    I thought all Muslim Brotherhood sects were just Islamic fascist.

    Well anyways the Muslim Brotherhood was well embedded in the Obama White House and the Clinton State Department.
     
  5. APACHERAT

    APACHERAT Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Which Mafia ???

    The Sicilian Mafia ?
    Dixie Mafia ?
    Mexican Mafia ?
    Clinton Crime Family Mafia ?
    DNC Mafia ?
     
  6. Jeannette

    Jeannette Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    I know that many nations wanted to destroy the Petro dollar so that Washington's wars would stop, but didn't feel they had the political clout to do it - that is until Russia entered the fray with the second group of sanctions. Moscow began dropping it's usage of the dollar with every group of sanctions, and today the trade between countries like China, Russia, Turkey, Iran, Venezuela and others is done in local currencies. This attack on the American dollar, is the main reason that Russia, China, and India are buying up all the gold.

    Other than the desire to deny Washington the funds to start wars, the dollar is also being dropped so Washington can't keep track of all the transactions - which it does via SWIFT. By knowing what nations are doing, Washington can sanction nations and people at will. To lessen the inconvenience of not having SWIFT, Russia and China have created their own domestic system.

    Creating an international one with different currencies though is very difficult. I foresee a cryptocurrency - but I'm not very knowledgeable in these things.
     
  7. Giftedone

    Giftedone Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    This whole thing is disturbing on many levels. What is it that "Al Qaeda - ISIS" and other radical Islamist extremists want ? - Answer - they want the world to be one big Islamic State ... "Sharia for all". These groups HATE "Secularism" - they hate individual liberty - and believe that they are justified in forcing their religious beliefs on others through physical violence (Law).

    The western "infidel" is one thing - "Secularism" in a Muslim nation in the ME is a cancer from within.

    Iraq was such a nation - hence why Bin Ladin and Saddam were blood enemies - and there was no significant Al Qaeda presence in Iraq.

    1) Osama never dreamed the attack on the towers would be so successful in bringing the world empire to its knees - its citizens begging to trade individual liberty for security - over a risk of harm that is 400 times less than the risk of harm from "walking". A nation whose motto " Give me liberty or give me Death" transformed into "It is our Patriotic Duty to trade liberty for security".

    2) Then - we fulfill another of Osama's wishes - by attacking Iraq - attacking the evil Secularism - turning that nation into a Jihadist wonderland - rather than going after the root ideology - the cradle of extremist ideology that fuels these radical groups - the nation whose brainchild is Al Qaeda - Saudi Arabia.

    Then - barely 10 years after 911 - the world empire - rather than fighting Al Qaeda and going after the supporters of Al Qaeda - is arming and supporting them - using them as a proxy army (and others of the same ilk) in Syria.

    and guess what - Syria just happens to be - you guessed it - a "Secular Muslim Nation". The goal of the Islamic Jihadists (whether it is Al Qaeda, ISIS, Islamic Front , Martyrs of Allah .. and so on) is to turn Syria from a Secular nation into an Islamic State.

    From the New York Times
    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/28/w...-create-dilemma-for-us.html?pagewanted=all&_r=

    This was in 2013 - prior to various Jihadist groups coalescing and forming an Islamic State - IS - ISIS. This was prior to ISIS - our dog in Syria - going off its leash and going into Iraq in 2014. Now we had a problem - we were fighting ISIS in Iraq - but on the same side of the war as ISIS in Syria.

    This necessitated Obama's preposterous "Moderate Rebel lie" Something his own VP - Biden contradicted when answering questions after a talk at Harvard.

    https://mideastshuffle.com/2014/10/04/biden-turks-saudis-uae-funded-and-armed-al-nusra-and-al-qaeda/

    The Defense Intelligence agency stated directly - that there was no moderate presence left as early as 2012.

    http://www.judicialwatch.org/wp-con...12-DOD-Release-2015-04-10-final-version11.pdf

    The CIA was already moving weapons from Benghazi to Syria at this time - something Hillary Lied to congress about during the Benghazi hearings.

    The Times then quickly forgot its previous reporting - and touted the Establishment false narrative - "moderate rebel lie".

    The people of Syria fighting for Assad did not like Assad much. They fought for Assad because they wanted to keep their freedoms - and did not want to be an Islamic State.

    Freedoms such as - Drinking Alcohol and dancing in Bars - women in skirts and proper bathing suits - no strict sharia - no death penalty for Apostasy - Adultery - Homosexuality. Women did not need permission from a man to be educated - and did not need to be accompanied by a male relative to go out in public. There are Christian Churches and relative freedom of Religion - Assad has Christian Generals in his Army.

    The Hard line Islamists "HATE" this .. they HATE individual liberty and HATE secularism.

    Osama could not have been happier when we chose to side with the radical Islamist Jihadists - against a people fighting to keep their individual liberty.

    As you stated - we also handed Libya over to the radical Islamist Jihadists.

    In Yemen we fight on the same side as Al Qaeda - and for the ideology that drives Al Qaeda - for the cause of turning Yemen into a Strict Sharia Totalitarian Nightmare. And no amount of war crimes and crimes against humanity is enough to deter us in this goal.
     
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  8. Margot2

    Margot2 Banned

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    What's with these lies about the MB in the White House?
     
  9. APACHERAT

    APACHERAT Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    The Islamic Republic of Iran is a rouge state.

    In 1980 Iran committed an act of war against the United States of America when they attacked American sovereign soil on the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and then kidnapped American citizens.

    Just that international crime should carry a $10 trillion dollar fine with interest (15%) compounded daily.
     
  10. EarthSky

    EarthSky Well-Known Member

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    With US foreign policy in chaos and so unpredictable in the hands of amateurs and incompetents, Putin sees an opportunity and SA sees a source of stability if things go Kaboom..........simple.
     
  11. Margot2

    Margot2 Banned

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    Don't let one Muslim speak for all Muslims. Saudi Arabia revoked OBL's citizenship in 1994 and declared AQ a terrorist group.

    Syria has always had sectarian violence.. and so many military coups and assassinations. It was a failed state by 2006 and Assad kept promising reforms which never came.

    Benghazi wasn't about weapons..
     
  12. Iranian Monitor

    Iranian Monitor Well-Known Member

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    As long as we stick to facts, and not engage in propaganda, the rest -- including how you feel about Iran and its government -- doesn't bother me.

    In fact, since the world order is ultimately the one which has had the US at the helm, and as long as we don't confuse world order with international law (which the US/Israel breach more often than anyone else), I can accept Iran being characterized as a 'rogue state'.

    And Iran's government did endorse, albeit after the fact, the takeover of the US embassy by militant students. You can hold that grudge and think of it as you wish.
     
  13. EarthSky

    EarthSky Well-Known Member

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    Lol, you forgot Russian mafia....:gop::shh:
     
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  14. EarthSky

    EarthSky Well-Known Member

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    What about '53 when the CIA engineered a coup to overthrow the democratically elected government of Iran in order to install a western friendly dictatorship in order to keep oil revenue flowing to British and American corporations?

    1980 was not an act of war it was a revolution to overthrow and American backed dictator and his brutal repressive secret police state.
     
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  15. Giftedone

    Giftedone Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    I don't think it will be a basket of currencies - but, if this was the case it would not be valid competitor to the sole US reserve status. The petro dollar dominating is not the question here. The question is whether or not there is a valid competitor to the Petro dollar .. along side the Petro dollar -and the world reserve currency.

    Right now - almost all international transactions are done in US dollars - as such that transaction - at some point - must go through a US bank. This allows us to shut some nations banks or corporations out of the international system of payments. In the case an international bank this puts them out of business.

    What I am talking about is an alternate system of international payments - one that any nation can use - this could be based on some new crypto currency - or the Euro - or something else. What is required is buy in from many other nations for this system to be considered a "valid competitor". You then need a critical mass of nations signing on - agreeing to accept this method of payment - like what allowed the USD to become the a world reserve currency.

    This not about the US system of payments going away any time soon - it is about it not being the "SOLE" method for international transactions to be conducted. A valid competitor does not replace the US system - what it does do is act as a competitor and alternative - which weakens the US dollar hegemony significantly.
     
  16. Giftedone

    Giftedone Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    I am not going to discuss anything related to Saudi Arabia with you. I find many of your posts in other topics to be both objective and insightful - but with respect to El Saud - not so much.
     
  17. APACHERAT

    APACHERAT Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    [​IMG]



    [​IMG]
    The Obama's attending mosque in Jakarta, Indonesia.
     
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  18. Margot2

    Margot2 Banned

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    The SAG hasn't supported AQ since the Soviets pulled out of Afghanistan.

    Some people label everything "Salafy" or "Wahhabi"..
     
  19. EarthSky

    EarthSky Well-Known Member

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    So they haven't supported AQAP or extremist elements is the so-called FSA?
     
  20. APACHERAT

    APACHERAT Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    What about Iranians current piracy on the high seas or attack on Saudi Arabia's refinery ?
     
  21. Margot2

    Margot2 Banned

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    No.. They started to support al Nusra but quickly changed their minds. They remember the unintended consequences of supporting AQ in Afghanistan.
     
  22. Adfundum

    Adfundum Moderator Staff Member Donor

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    What is your position in Syria? Why is Syria so important to Russia, Turkey, and Iran?
     
  23. APACHERAT

    APACHERAT Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Yeah...the Russian Mafia. Some really big mean nasty dudes.

    You see them around L.A. wherever eastern European immigrants live or have businesses.

    They say the Russian Mafia is the largest organized crime syndicate in the world.

    I hear they make a lot of Russian porn too.
     
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  24. APACHERAT

    APACHERAT Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    That's what the CIA use to do all of the time back then.

    Today they are a little more clandestine about it after getting their balls cut off by the liberal Democrats during the early 1970's.

    One day after JFK signed off on another CIA regime change coups in 1963 it kinda backed fired and America ended up owning South Vietnam and South Vietnam became America's problem.
     
  25. APACHERAT

    APACHERAT Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Well I did visit George Harrison's home once and I was asked to take off my shoes.

    Olivia Harrison didn't have her head covered by a scarf. Pretty sure she was raised as a Catholic when growing up in Hawthorne, California.
     

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