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Something is definitely going on in Saudi Arabia:
Saudi authorities arrested at least 11 princes, several current ministers and dozens of former ministers in a sweeping move reportedly designed to consolidate power for the son of King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud. According to media reports citing Saudi-owned television network Al Arabiya, an anti-corruption committee ordered the arrests hours after King Salman directed the creation of the committee, headed by his favorite son and adviser, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The committee was established by the royal decree, The Associated Press reports, "due to the propensity of some people for abuse, putting their personal interest above public interest, and stealing public funds." Billionaire investor Prince Alwaleed bin Talal is among those detained, The Wall Street Journal reports. Alwaleed holds stakes in some of the world's major companies, including Apple and Twitter.
Remember Prince Alwaleed? Bitcoin could outlive him.
It's unclear what those arrested are accused of doing, but Al-Arabiya reported that new investigations into the 2009 Jeddah floods and 2012 MERS virus outbreak have been launched.
Separately, the heads of the Saudi National Guard and Saudi Royal Navy have also been replaced.
BBC notes that the reform faction is in control here:
BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner says Prince Mohammed is moving to consolidate his growing power while spearheading a reform programme. [...] Prince Mohammed recently said the return of "moderate Islam" was key to his plans to modernise Saudi Arabia. Addressing an economic conference in Riyadh, he vowed to "eradicate the remnants of extremism very soon". Last year, Prince Mohammed unveiled a wide-ranging plan to bring social and economic change to the oil-dependent kingdom.
Some Soylentils have been skeptical of Saudi Arabia's recent moves towards liberalization (some listed below). Has this apparent purge of internal political opposition changed your mind about the viability of these reforms?
Also at NYT and Recode, which notes that the arrest of Prince Alwaleed bin Talal is a potential setback for Saudi Arabia's tech ambitions (Alwaleed has had stakes in Apple, Twitter, and Lyft).
Previously: SoftBank May Sell 25% of ARM to Vision Fund; Chairman Meets With Saudi King
Saudi Arabia, UAE to Donate to Women Entrepreneurs Fund
Saudi Arabia to Lift Ban on Online VoIP and Video Calling Services
Saudi Arabia Will Lift Ban on Women Drivers Next Year
Saudi Arabia Planning $500 Billion Megacity and Business Zone
Robot Granted "Citizenship" in Saudi Arabia, Sparking Backlash
Saudi Arabia Announced Plans to Extract Uranium for Domestic Nuclear Power Program
(Score: 3, Interesting) by looorg on Monday November 06 2017, @04:58PM (2 children)
I'm less certain this is anything positive about this or a move towards liberalism. I think this is the usual or some normal "Game of Thrones" like schemes where all the royalties and pretenders are trying to off or outmaneuver each other to attain, more, power.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 06 2017, @05:28PM
The crackdown is from the king. And the people he's cracking down on are some of the most egregiously corrupt individuals. And he's privatizing the country's oil resources. I also remain cynical, but only because it's Saudi Arabia. Outside of my own personal biases, all evidence directly supports the stated purpose of these actions.
And, I don't think many people appreciate the Saudi system of succession. There are currently 15,000 [economist.com] living highnesses and royal highnesses. And those are people with direct lineage from the king. Start adding in cousins and increasingly distant connections and you probably have hundreds of thousands of players. Gotta remember the whole have 30 wives and 100 children trick. It multiplies fast. The Al Saud sequence own the Fibonacci sequence. In spite of regular succession and even an occasional critical event, anything on this scale is completely unprecedented. So again, I think the onus of arguing why this is not what it seems is on the people making such claims - even if they're the one naturally want to believe as it certainly confirms our own biases.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Monday November 06 2017, @06:24PM
I guess that depends on whether you think an increase (slight, but still an increase) in personal freedom as part of these games is a move towards liberalism or not. Some people don't, choosing instead an imaginary "communal" freedom [soylentnews.org].