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Someone doesn't have the first notion of diplomatic protocol. The House of Saud is pernicious, and we'd be much better served by rapprochement with Teheran. Still, it would serve no good to graveshit officially on the still-warm body of an official ally's monarch. Vanilla Ice seems butthurt no one is interested in self-congratulation and high-fives. Yeah, the Saudis suck. I commend you for bravely taking such a controversial position here on D&D with this OP.
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Jan 24, 2015 17:21
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Powercrazy posted:Saudi Arabia is probably the only country in the world that is worse in all ways then the US. This is simultaneously one of the most hilariously provincial and delusionally resentnik claims I've ever read here. These things keep me coming back.
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Jan 24, 2015 17:24
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etalian posted:All the other countries on the peninsula are hilariously evil too like the UAE. The Emirates definitely have culture. Cities like Dubai are crass and vulgar on the expat side, super traditional on the Emirati side. (Also a nice place for expat jobs.) They are built on the labor of indentured servitude or worse, but it's again really provincial and ignorant to say places you're never been have no culture. 'Culture' is not limited to modern Western mores. It's not necessarily good either - I'm not deeply interested in traditional Emirati culture, but it's far superior to what the Saudis have, for example. Oman is probably the only relatively bright spot in Arabia.
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Jan 24, 2015 17:52
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Also, any likely alternative to the House of Saud would likely be much worse. Arabia is not fertile ground for liberal democracy (or Marxism - this is D&D after all) in 2015.
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Jan 24, 2015 19:12
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Typo posted:Has there being any real better alternatives to the House of Saud since maybe Nasserism in the 60s, or the Muslim brotherhood before whenever they got suppressed? Did Nasserism ever really take root in KSA?
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Jan 24, 2015 20:34
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blowfish posted:king abdullah founded the king abdullah university of science and technology so he is cool for all eternity~ Because s/he was a third-rate primary student in KSA or a Gulf country, and unconnected. Those oil monarchies engage in very heavy social spending. They invest in education - stipends to spend abroad for the connected; cheap or free but low-quality institutions at home - large grants to newlyweds, etc. It acts as a sort of bribery, in which those unconnected to the elite accept not to engage in dissent or otherwise disrupt the status quo. The same tacit agreement extends to Western expats. My experiences are in the UAE and Qatar. In exchange for an excellent salary with low taxes, you agree not to engage in political activity, flout conservative Islamic values (you can drink at home or in hotel bars, and the expats in places like Dubai and Doha quietly hook up and gently caress like bunnies via Tinder and OkC) but public drunkenness is forbidden. If you are a laborer from a Third World country (South Asia for construction, Philippines and certain African countries for services), you are an indentured servant who often earns enough to send remittances home. KSA (I'm constitutionally barred from the country) is supposedly similar, but socially much less tolerant of expat behavior. I have heard it described as a paradise for gay men on the DL though. It's a recipe for disaster, resulting in exploding populations accustomed to a high standard of living that is unsustainable.
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Jan 25, 2015 17:38
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blowfish posted:Yeah, though KAUST seems to attract some westerners. Are those likely to be all expats who are already in Saudi Arabia or do people actively go there to study? No idea. KSA is among the last places on earth I'd want to live. Most qualities which make Dubai tolerable (a certain cosmopolitan air, booze, beach, nightlife, sex) aren't options in KSA. I wasn't aware there was a significant number of Western students there. Maybe it has a feeder program for Aramco.
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Jan 25, 2015 18:44
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PT6A posted:Out of curiosity, is there some reason why the crown has been passed from brother to brother, instead of from father to son? The sons (he had dozens) of Abdulaziz, who founded modern KSA, are seen as having more legitimacy than his grandsons. Salman is the last one, and things will be very interesting after him. Soon. Effectronica posted:The Saudi royal line follows agnatic seniority for succession, as opposed to the agnatic-cognatic or absolutely cognatic primogeniture common in most of Western Europe. Has anyone ever called you pretentious? You are more a try-hard, writing English like someone who ate a thesaurus, but hasn't been able to digest it. You should take a laxative and aim your sights lower, because this isn't working for you. You might manage to impress teenagers though, so there's that.
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Jan 27, 2015 17:29
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Adroit sesquipedalianism would require aplomb comme il faut.
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Jan 27, 2015 18:30
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Effectronica posted:No, it wouldn't and doesn't, and it's depressing the schemes you're using to try and get your dick sucked now. The implied qualifier (note my use of the conditional in the original) was if one wishes to be considered a graceful writer. I know these are Important Battles for you. Have a cookie. It signifies Internet Victory, over something. Or some shi, er, merde like that.
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Jan 27, 2015 18:39
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