Saudi Arabia to allow women to drive for the first time

American is hardly a democracy. Get real.
There are just 2 parties!

And when they get to pick between a dotard trump or crooked Hillary...
You just know it's hardly a democracy.

 

I made a mistake, it seems the Shia's are not in a majority, unless the Saudi Arabians are lying. I did come across an article that says fighting has been going on in the Eastern Arabian city of Awamiya for months, and most of the city has been destroyed. Seems like the Shias are the ones who live in the oil rich part of Saudi Arabia, and to make sure they never profit from it, the House of Saud is ethnically cleansing them.

They mostly live in the east of the country - where much of its oil is located. But Shiites have profited little from the country's wealth, and they have been denied access to participation in political life in the kingdom. They are also put under increased pressure by the fact that the majority of Saudis are adherents of Wahhabism - and therefore view Shiites as apostates.

Largely ignored by the rest of the world, heavy fighting has been going on in the tiny city of Awamiya in eastern Saudi Arabia for three months: Satellite images show that entire sections of the city have been destroyed. Images of firefights and flattened buildings are making the rounds on social media. Independent reporting is not possible because the government has denied foreign journalists access to the area.

Sebastian Sons, a Middle East expert from the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), told DW he was skeptical that Riyadh would actually carry out infrastructure measures that would improve the lives of residents. "It seems more like a relocation project," he said. "They are trying to disperse and dissolve the Shia minority that is so dominant in the area by removing its base. That coincides with the fundamental marginalization of Shiites that Saudi Arabia has been pursuing for years, and which has essentially become part of its official propaganda."

Repression and marginalization are the deeper roots of the conflict. Some 10 percent of Saudi Arabia's 30 million citizens are Shiites. They mostly live in the east of the country - where much of its oil is located. But Shiites have profited little from the country's wealth, and they have been denied access to participation in political life in the kingdom. They are also put under increased pressure by the fact that the majority of Saudis are adherents of Wahhabism - and therefore view Shiites as apostates.
​

http://www.dw.com/en/is-saudi-arabia-waging-war-on-its-shiite-minority/a-40045513

 

They live quite well.. KSA made a huge financial push to improve housing in the Eastern Province around 1960... and have kept it up over the years. Shia are well represented in the merchant class and in oil workers from roust abouts to executive mgmt.

 

Jeannette, what did you think of Ali Naimi's career? Did you ever know him?

 

I wonder if the USA put some pressure on Saudi Arabia to increase their women's rights??? We are oil independent now, so we don't need their oil. Now we can step on some toes and get them moving in a positive direction.

 

NO.. .. This has been in the works for 17 years since the Saudi centennial when Abdullah was crown prince and Salman was deputy crown prince. The Saudi leadership promotes an idea and then they sit back and wait for a sea change.. for the people to catch up. They have done since the radio was introduced.

Saudi Arabia is ready for this.. More women in universities.. more of them pursuing studies in Medicine, architecture and engineering.

 

Actually, it has always been western Europeans who have tried to impose their standards on the rest of the world ... and this goes back to the Crusades, and a time when they were bashing people's heads in to remove the demons.

This is the problem Washington and Europe has with Russia. Russia's foundation is Constantinople so its base is Greek/Roman, and not German/Latin like Western Europe. If you notice all the aggression, and imposition of things on the world like liberal democracy, gay rights, woman's lib, etc., etc., comes from the West. If Russia tried to impose its standards on others, there wouldn't be 123 languages spoken today in the Federation. Nor would they be able to live peacefully with their large segments of Sunnis and Buddhists when a Christian renaissance is going on.

Russia is hated by the US and Western Europe because it has never bowed to Western arrogance... so it's looked on as an enemy. In addition, Russia also protected the other Orthodox Eastern European countries from Western aggression for centuries. This is why Putin told Obama that he will never speak to him, unless he is treated as an equal. He wasn't talking for himself or Russia, he was talking for all the countries in the world, since equality is specified in the UN charter.

 

Margot I don't know him, nor do I know that much about Saudi Arabia. I trust the source though, and I believe it's true. It's logical that the Shia's would be seen as a threat by the Sunnis, and that their reaction would be the same as the Turkish reaction to the Kurds in their own country. This doesn't mean that the revolutionists are angels. I'm sure they're not.

 

It is still technically democratic, although the two parties are in a position that has kind of circumvented a part of that, and I blame that on the system that we have. I think parliamentary systems do a better job, as evidenced by how many parties they have and how minority groups/interests end up being represented.

 

There is very little difference between the US and China.
One country got 2 parties, the other got 1.
That's how technically democratic it all is.

 

So you wouldn't know the difference between a Shia and Sunni if you were in a souk or shopping mall in Dammam? Neither would anyone else.

 

I did not know Hitler either...but I KNOW he was a scumbag. Same with Stalin.

The Saudi Royal Family rules one of the most repressive, horrible regimes in the world.

http://www.feministezine.com/feminist/international/Ten-Worst-Countries-for-Women.html

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/w...ghts-across-the-world-last-year-a6892911.html

Are you actually saying the Saudi Royal family are running Saudi Arabia humanely? Are you that delusional on this?

 

I like the Sudeiri Seven as do most Americans who actually live in the kingdom. I have known them since the 1950s and followed their careers closely over the years.

They have an amazing track record and collective depth of experience.. That's how they have moved KSA forward a thousand years in less than a century.

What is your experience of them?

 

a) I don't give a **** what faceless/unnamed people say.

b) my experience is in the links I posted in my last post. Every international organization worth a penny has condemned the way the Saudi Royal Family runs their country from a human rights perspective.

c) and I did not say every member were pathetic. I said,

'The Saudi Royal Family - as a group - are absolutely pathetic.'

And they are. If you think the way the SRF runs Saudi Arabia is to be admired, you are delusional (and possibly misogynistic) on that.

Are you saying that the Saudi Arabia record on human rights is anything but terrible? Yes or no?

 

The Saudi Arabian royal family is indeed governing Saudi Arabia.
But lets not forget that they are not in charge of their own religion.
And those religious clergy who run that show got some real power in that country.
It's a country full with very devoted religious muslims after all.

To implement things totally against the will of the clergy, can lead to political suicide.

 

There are lots of Muslim countries that treat their women a TON better then the SRF (Saudi Royal Family) does.

And when they (finally) gave females the right to drive, these clergy did not freak out and overthrow them...so clearly the SRF runs Saudi Arabia, not the clergy.

Plus, even if the clergy were powerful, that is no excuse. To go along with depriving people basic human rights simply because you are afraid you will lose power is almost as contemptible as being the direct cause of limiting those human rights.
That is why not stopping a murder is almost as bad as committing it - in the law's eyes.

Either way, the SRF - as a group - is terrible when it comes to their human rights record. Simply awful.

 

They might.... just might have done some diplomacy things.

You're talking about basically the papal state of 1.7 billion muslims where the clergy got nothing to say about anything. I simply find that hard to believe.

oh please. They might loose their heads over this. And it's not as if the a country like the US did such things just for the money... as in the entire theme of supporting fascism world wide to counter democratically elected left wing governments.

 

Baloney...you are just guessing now.

Fine...you show me a link to unbiased, factual proof that the clergy's in Saudi Arabia are so powerful that they can behead the leader of the Saudi Royal Family whenever they get pissed off enough and I will look at it.

(I guarantee you, you cannot)

Otherwise, you are just blowing smoke.

The Saudi Royal Family - as a group - are pathetic cowards who treat many of their countrymen and (especially) women like ****. That you are defending/making excuses for this horrific behavior speaks volumes about you, IMO.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_in_Saudi_Arabia#Role_in_the_state_and_society

Role in the state and society

The Qur'an, declared by the country's Basic Lawto be Saudi Arabia's constitution[46]
Islam plays a central role in Saudi society. It has been said that Islam is more than a religion, it is a way of life in Saudi Arabia, and, as a result, the influence of the ulema, the religious establishment, is all-pervasive.[47] Article one of the 1992 Saudi "Basic Law of Governance" states,

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a sovereign Arab Islamic State. Its religion is Islam. Its constitution is Almighty God's Book, The Holy Qur'an, and the Sunna (the authentic saying of prophet Muhhamed ) of the Prophet (PBUH). Arabic is the language of the Kingdom.[48]

Unlike most Muslim countries, Saudi Arabia gives the ulema direct involvement in government, and fields a specifically "religious" police force

 

Nowhere does that say anything about clergy beheading the King if they want to....which is what I asked for.

Also:

'The king combines legislative, executive, and judicial functions[10] and royal decrees form the basis of the country's legislation.[11] The king is also the prime minister, and presides over the Council of Ministers (Majlis al-Wuzarāʾ), which comprises the first and second deputy prime ministers (usually the first and second in line to the throne respectively) and 23 ministers with portfolio and five ministers of state.[12] The king makes appointments to and dismissals from the Council, which is responsible for such executive and administrative matters as foreign and domestic policy, defense, finance, health, and education, administered through numerous separate agencies.

...

As an absolute monarchy, the personality and capabilities of the reigning monarch influence the politics and national policies of the country.'

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_Saudi_Arabia#The_King

The King IS the law. He appoints - and fires - ALL the people who make the domestic laws.

If you want to deny the facts...please waste someone else's time.


I have better things to do then debate someone who would defend such a contemptible group as the SRF.

 

I did prove that the Saudi royal family doesn't rule Saudi Arabia just by themselves.
Let me remind you, that you were not believing this before.

Oh I never said it was the law they could do that. I said that... they MIGHT loose their heads over this.
You know they had a royal house in Iran, before the clergy took over?
That royal house fled out of the country when that one happened.
What an overexaggerated move that was, ey? lol

 

All because of religion and right-wing extremism.

 

Yes, they do. If you read my link, you will see that the King has final say on ALL laws and all those who make the laws. His word IS law.
The clergy are listened to. But they do NOT make the laws. They only can carry them out.

The King of Saudi Arabia cannot be beheaded by the clergy (as you speculated) or overruled by the clergy.

Thus, the King has COMPLETE power and responsibility for all the laws in Saudi Arabia.

Period.


I am not going around and around on this...the facts are clear - and I have pointed them out.

Why you are making excuses for the terrible things this group has done (the Saudi Royal Family) is TOTALLY beyond me.

But we are done here - for now.

Good day.

 

How about you read back what I put up in red?
Because that just contradicts it.

The Shah of Iran ran for his life when the clergy took over.
How about you take that into account?

It clearly says the clergy are directly involved with the government. So that's just not true.
I sourced it.

And you know how the Saudi Royal house pushed through this legislation?
He committed a purge 2 weeks ago mass arresting ultra conservative scholars, judges, poets, businessmen, professors etc.
It should not have been necessary if he had complete power.

 

I am saying that twerps are a dime a dozen. The penalty for drug smuggling is death.. That's the law. You evidently have a problem with the rule of law.