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from the accidental-kidnapping-and-execution dept.
Saudis preparing to admit Jamal Khashoggi died during interrogation, sources say
The Saudis are preparing a report that will acknowledge that Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi's death was the result of an interrogation that went wrong, one that was intended to lead to his abduction from Turkey, according to two sources.
One source says the report will likely conclude that the operation was carried out without clearance and transparency and that those involved will be held responsible.
One of the sources acknowledged that the report is still being prepared and cautioned that things could change.
The Washington Post columnist was last seen in public when he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in Turkey on October 2. Previously, Saudi authorities had maintained Khashoggi left the consulate the same afternoon of his visit, but provided no evidence to support the claim.
Saudi Arabia could hike oil prices over the Khashoggi case. Here's why it would backfire
Saudi Arabia's not-so-veiled threat issued in a government statement Sunday emphasized its "vital role in the global economy" and that any action taken upon it will be met with "greater action". But as oil ticks upward, a look at history and geopolitics suggests that while a Saudi-driven oil price spike would bring pain for much of the world, it would ultimately backfire on itself.
"If this is something the Saudis were allowed to do, they'd be really shooting themselves in the foot," Warren Patterson, commodities analyst at ING, told CNBC's Squawk Box Europe on Tuesday. "In the short to medium term we'll definitely see an incremental amount of demand destruction, but the bigger issue is in the longer term."
Any action in withholding oil from the market, he said, "would only quicken the pace of energy transition."
Previously: Turkey Says that a Missing Critic of the Saudi Government was Killed in Saudi Consulate in Istanbul
(Score: 2) by Snotnose on Wednesday October 17 2018, @02:44AM (1 child)
I, shit. I'm not sure what to say about that. Except it would be a good thing for humanity in general, long as anyone I cared about wasn't in the blast radius. And as I, and everyone I care about actually tries to make society better, mostly out of staying as far away as possible to the Biebers of the world, odds of anyone I care about being within blast radius of a Bieber Bomb (tm) is minuscule, I guess I have to say Go For it!
When the dust settled America realized it was saved by a porn star.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by bzipitidoo on Wednesday October 17 2018, @09:50AM
That's a dangerous line of thought. Whatever the ideal world population is, likely we are above that. If 90% of humanity (chosen at random) dropped dead right now, without any collateral damage, that could be mostly good for the lucky 10% that lived. Sure, important people would be lost, and that would slow progress, but humanity would recover.
Saudi Arabia has been one of the worst offenders when it comes to unrestrained population growth. The Saudi monarchy has pursued a short sighted policy of populist appeasement. Give their people huge handouts. Why not, since they have so much wealth? Now they have a lot of young people with bleak prospects and doubtful futures. America had its Wild West times and regions. That whole "go west young man" was established family pushing the "surplus" away. So many families from the 19th century were huge. Now Saudi Arabia has those kinds of times.
I saw a video that some young Saudis made, of a crazy car stunt. On a long straight stretch of road, they swerved their vehicle so that one side rose up into the air. The driver kept the car balanced on 2 wheels for many minutes and kilometers, driving along at some 100 kph, while the passengers got out some lug wrenches and took the other 2 wheels off, to show that they could. One bump in the road, one bit of debris, one spot of bad traffic, one strong gust of wind from the side, any of that could have knocked the car off balance and resulted in an accident with almost certainly fatalities. Can't very well keep your seatbelts on if you're trying to hang out the window far enough to reach the lug nuts. Then they put the wheels back on and let the car come back down on all 4. Now think of the craziest, most risk loving maniacs you knew in high school. Was there not just one, but a large enough group of them all friends with each other and crazy enough to try a stunt like that? Saudi youth must evidently feel they haven't got much to lose.