And we know that when a rich Saudi feels he ought to do something to store up points, he spends money to strengthen and spread and protect Islam. He gives money to groups. Those groups in turn conduct Da'wa all over the Western world. He gives money to pay for mosques and madrasas, all over the Western and the already-islamized world. He pays for academic programs that are designed to make sure that the Saudis, and Muslims generally, keep a lock on the teaching, in the West, about Islam and all matters related to Islam. He helps pay, directly or indirectly, for the Western hirelings -- journalists, former diplomats (including ambassadors), former intelligence agents, businessmen angling for fat contracts -- who for the past half-century have presented a picture of this primitive, malevolent place as a "staunch ally" of the West, constantly on the verge of modernizing and reforming and god knows what else. It's all nonsense. Believers in Islam, Believers in Wahhabi Islam, are not and can never be "staunch allies" of any Infidels. Oh, they can smile and hand out keys to a Jaguar, or offer money for "consulting," or any number of other tangible expressions of a desire to curry, for their own ends, favor in the capitals of the Western world. The Age of Corruption fits them to a T.
And of course it is the Saudi Lobby in Washington that has prevented, for nearly four decades, the formulation of a sensible energy -- and environmental -- policy, based on taxing oil and gasoline, in order to depress demand, encourage the use of other sources and kinds of energy, and in order -- for those who understand how the Saudis have set their prices when they were still, as they no longer are, the swing producer -- to recapture oligopolistic rents (for more on this, google "Jihad Watch" and "oligopolistic rents" and "Hugh").
It is the Saudis, and other rich Arabs, who should be reimbursing the Americans for getting rid of Saddam Hussein. And now it is the Saudis who should be paying the Americans for protecting them from Iran. And if a nuclear shield is offered by the American government to the rich Arabs, that offer should not be free, but should be charged for, because we really have no stake in the survival of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, the U.A.E. Protecting them is something for which we should demand, and get, payment. How about two hundred billion a year, from here to eternity?
Yes, that sounds about right.
And as for the Jizyah of Foreign Aid that America and Europe have for decades been giving to Egypt, Jordan, the "Palestinians," Pakistan, and so many other Muslim countries, that Jizyah is bad psychologically for us, and its continued giving only encourages the Muslim recipients in their belief that this is their due, that it is theirs by right. Certainly there is not the slightest gratitude exhibited by any of them, and there never will be, although here and there some ruler, sensing annoyance in Congress may, like Maliki, while saying nothing to his own people, will in Washington, before an American audience, utter a sentence or two of phony gratitude. It's happened.
No, make the Saudis, and the Emiratis, and the Kuwaitis, and the two-faced Al-Thanis of Qatar, pay for their fellow members of the Umma. Let's see how much real solidarity there is, when it comes time to actually give aid, not only to fellow Arabs -- Jordan, Egypt, the "Palestinians" -- but also to Pakistan, and Indonesia, and sinking Bangladesh. Yes, that will be a test for the solidarity of the Umma, in a situation other than that of the shared hostility and hate toward all Infidels.
That should be a main task for all those who want "peace" or rather, "peace with justice," in the world. Stop the Saudis. Diminish the amounts they have available to use in the Jihad of Wealth.
And whenever any Saudi dares to say the kind of outrageous things that were said by "the head of the Saudi delegation Mohammad S. Al Sabban" when he "dismissed the IEA figures as 'biased' and said OPEC's own calculations showed that Saudi Arabia would lose $19 billion a year starting in 2012 under a new climate pact. The region would lose much more." Simply show by icy silence, or expressed contempt, that their fantastic greed, their disgusting assumptions about what they are entitled to, after all that they have received without doing a minute's work to earn it, and after the spectacle of Saudi palaces and arms-buying and private 747s outfitted for this or that prince or princeling of the Al-Saud, and the sexual debauchery that is such a feature of the lives of the rich Arabs, especially in the Gulf, and even more, among those Arabs and Muslims when they travel to the West, which they regard merely as a Fun-Fair-Cum-Brothel where Anything Goes.
From the article Hugh linked to:
Saudis ask for aid if world cuts dependence on oil
“We are among the economically vulnerable countries,” Al Sabban told The Associated Press...
.....................
*Why* are they "among the economically vulnerable countries"? The huge infusions of unearned wealth over the last decades should have led even a country with stagnant economy to diversify.
When whaling ended, New England did suffer a downturn, but they already had other industries such as fishing and manufacturing to cushion the economic blow. They quickly expanded manufacturing and technology, and are now one of the centers of high tech in the country.
The region certainly didn't ask the rest of the country for financial aid.
As disturbing as it is that the West is fueling (pun intended) the Jihad against itself through its spending of petro-dollars, how much *more perverse* would it be if we were to start funding that Jihad through foreign aid meant to compensate Saudi Arabia for any future loss of oil revenue?
Madness that anyone would even consider it.
Retool.
I thought that the Saudis could always go back to camel racing............
Just thought I would point out that "sinking Bangladesh" is a myth, it's largely a river estuary, and both gains and loses surface area each year.
Currently, analysis from satellite era photos shows it growing at about 100 sq kms a decade, gaining territory, not losing territory.
Pay the Saudi's in a climate hoax scheme? Yes, everyone has their hand out these days, it all has a shrill "Y2K" feel about it to me, the idea that we would need to "compensate" the rest of the world has gotta be the stupidest thing I've heard of yet. Well maybe our German friends for setting the bar for your total carbon emissions at 2.7 tons was stupider, last time we were that "carbon intensive" in North America was back in the early pioneer days, think how prosperous we'll all be living just like those folks from "Little House on the Prairie".
Can't believe people are falling for this crap, it's worse than demonizing DDT.
They could always open the Kaaba up as a tourist attraction.
I'm sure I'm not the only one who would love to have a few pints at the 'Club Kaaba' and urinate up the side of it after last orders.
“We are among the economically vulnerable countries,” Al Sabban told The Associated Press...
boohoo we might have to spend some of the unerned oil money imo is what they are realy saying well the time has come to tell them you have the income you DO NOT NEED AID
"...the head of the Saudi delegation Mohammad S. Al Sabban...said OPEC's own calculations showed that Saudi Arabia would lose $19 billion a year starting in 2012 under a new climate pact. The region would lose much more." -- from Hugh's article.
Well, Mohammad, given time Western ingenuity will completely eliminate the need for Saudi oil. That's the whole point, isn't it? You should have been planning for that inevitable day by plowing back your obscene oil profits into infrastructure and creating new industries instead of expecting to live off the fruits of someone else's labor in perpetuity. The Prophet was neither a very good visionary nor a very good economist if he thought caravan raiding or any version of it would be a solid economic model that would lead to permanent gains. Despite centuries of your following this model and some short term gains, the end is in sight. Best start thinking of a Plan B.
This is even stupider than corporate welfare.
If western governments swallow this crap, then every real citizen of a country ought to demand personal welfare payments.
Tell 'em to make the immigrants work to support us.
Why not? It's how our Kuwaiti "friends" operate, isn't it?
Besides, a country's own citizens deserve welfare far more than a bunch of foreigners sitting around picking their noses in the desert.
But watch. Especially when it comes to Muslim countries. They'll pay to prop them up by SLASHING SOCIAL SERVICES AT HOME.
If Canada has any problems with its social service/health care network, it's because immigrants and foreigners are lapping up OUR money that's supposed to pay for the succor of OUR citizens.
Down with foreign aid, and up with home-grown services (from which immigrants should always be excluded.)
It's especially disgusting when this money that could be better used at home is directed toward Muslim countries that want to destroy our entire way of life. And well, isn't that why they demand our social service money in the first place? So that our civilization collapses around us, because we went broke trying to help their sorry asses?
From the article:
The head of the Saudi delegation Mohammad S. Al Sabban dismissed the IEA figures as “biased” and said OPEC's own calculations showed that Saudi Arabia would lose $19 billion a year starting in 2012 under a new climate pact. The region would lose much more, he said.
Only $19bn/year? Wow, such a piddly amount. Sounds like the average annual budget for keeping all of the Saudi princes and princesses in the newest model of Mercedes-Benz or upgrades to their personal Boeing/Airbus personal jets. Spare me the sob story.
“We are among the economically vulnerable countries,” Al Sabban told The Associated Press on the sidelines of the talks ahead of negotiations in Copenhagen in December for a treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012.
Economically vulnerable? Oh, boy, what a whopper that is. As Hugh has noted many, many times here on JW, the Arabs have been the recipients of somewhere in the area of $12 TRILLION over the past 35 years. I'm assuming that 'wealth' went towards building a viable and self-sustaining infrastructure other than hundreds and hundreds of shiny skyscrapers and man-made islands in the shape of palm fronds?
“This is very serious for us,” he continued. “We are in the process of diversifying our economy but this will take a long time. We don't have too many resources.”
Poor A-rabs. Seems to me that they had 80+ years to find some uses for sand other than glass. But, hey, who am I to criticize all of the other "resource poor" countries who were forced to buy basic raw materials to build up their economies.
Cry me a f*cking river, Saudi Barbaria: If it weren't for oil, you bunch of bedouin savages would still be living in tents in the middle of the desert, without a clue what it means to have electricity, running water, cars, cell phones, airplanes, A/C, fresh food,....
Oh, and BTW, it is NOT a conspiracy by Western nations to try to protect our planet; It is, however, a well stated and well demonstrated plan for Islam to destroy this planet all for the 'love' of a delusional, psychotic, demented pedophile rapist murdering thieving mad man -- The Profit.
If the Saudis really want to prepare for reduced oil revenue, they should: (a) reduce expenditures on terrorism and the promotion of hatred; (b) cut back on the extravagant subsidies given to the royal family; (c) shift the focus of their educational system away from Islam and toward science, engineering, and business; (d) educate their entire labor force, including women and (e) accelerate the effort (toward which they have taken some steps) to create a legal system conducive to foreign investment and trade.
The Prophet was into parasitic occupations. He was incapable of running his first wife's business after she was gone, so he had to pursue other career options. Mohammed was very good at living off of others.
Like the prophet they live to this day as parasites in the west, we foot the bill for their every indulgences.
Cheeky Bastards.
2005:
The world's largest exporter of crude, Saudi Arabia has been cold to the Kyoto process of cutting gases that may contribute to global warming and has argued in the past for compensation if clean energy projects mandated by Kyoto reduce global petroleum consumption...more
The Saudi's have been obstructing progress in alternative fuels and environmental projects for decades. It's not just the money, it's the power that oil dependency and the money buys on the world stage and at home they fear losing. Their invitations to the big "balls", private heads of state meetings, important global conferences, ME leadership, etc. would dry up, leaving nothing but the silly men in their funny dresses with no where to dance.
The Sowdi Barbarians have only to invest in alternative energy technology themselves in order to hedge the risk of losing oil revenue.
If they had any sense they would be working out how to use solar energy to desalinate seawater in quantity and use it to irrigate the Empty Quarter and turn it into a vast market garden.
If not that then there are many other possibilities.
It would help too if they were to borrow the French Madame Guillotine and hold a French/Arabian revolution to thin the ranks of those parasitic 'royals'
There. Problem solved. I'll submit my account for a consultancy fee and split it with Hugh.