Saudi King Dies, Aged Ninety.

[BrettNortje]

 http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/22/saudi-arabia-king-abdullah-dies

 

Abdullah’s half-brother Salman pledges to continue predecessors’ policies after ascending to the throne 

 

It seems that this new leader will carry on in the vein of his brother. i suppose that he was a good king, because we never heard any bad news about him, and, if i recall correctly, he allowed women to drive 'unattended' at one stage.

 

I find him much like the pope in terms of influence. people should give more attention to the royal family of Saudi Arabia if they want to change things there. i am not talking about telling them what to do, i am encouraging debates and dialogue. i know that Saudi Arabia is very traditional, and, they want to keep it that way.

 

So, the new king is in charge. if he was to have found his way to heaven, then that is good, as nobody had a problem with him did they? if he is mourned, then his family and people should remember the good things he did, after they find nothing wrong, yes? then, they should think of their children, as, there is no point in devoting one's life to the dead, except for history scholars.

[Eclogite]

 i suppose that he was a good king, because we never heard any bad news about him,

You mean apart from the beheadings and the torture?

[BrettNortje]

You mean apart from the beheadings and the torture?

 

Well, if someone is caught killing someone else in the west, they go to jail and get into a life of organized crime. here they deal, do and make drugs. then, they have to kill other people in jail, sometimes. these times amount to far more than the amount of be-headings there are. torture is the same, heard of water boarding? they do not cut off things if they don't need to. this is the tip of the iceberg.

[Eclogite]

So, your argument is: two wrongs do make a right.

[BrettNortje]

So, your argument is: two wrongs do make a right.

 

Well, this be heading wrong is righter than the wrong of contaminating the lives of many into a murderous venture.

[Eclogite]

Perhaps so. I was merely pointing out that your belief that there was no "bad news" about the King was faulty.

 

Personally, he does seem to have done a great deal to move Saudi Arabia closer to a modern state, but there is such a very long way to go I doubt if the transition can be made peacefully. There is then the potential for a nation that rather than  becoming more open, retreats into Islamic conservatism, with one of the most heavily armed military in the world and custodianship of the key Muslim holy places. (And an option to acquire nuclear weapons.)

[CraigD]

Well, if someone is caught killing someone else in the west, they go to jail and get into a life of organized crime.

While it’s true that many states, such EU members, have abolished capital punishment (execution), many states in America still sanction it.

 

they [saudi Arabian courts] do not cut off things if they don't need to.

I disagree.

 

According to this Wikipedia article, Saudia law allows execution for many crimes, includes: Adultery; Apostasy; Armed robbery; Blasphemy; Burglary; Carjacking; Aircraft hijacking; Drug smuggling; Fornication; Home invasion; Sodomy; homosexuality; lesbianism; Idolatry; Murder; Rape; Sedition; Sexual misconduct; Sorcery; Terrorism; Theft; Treason; Waging war on God; and Witchcraft.

 

While many of my neighbors believe execution is a just punishment for murder (I don’t, considering execution, like suicide, a irreversibly permanent solution to an often temporary problem), none with whom I’ve spoken about it agree that it’s just for all the crimes for which one can be executed under Saudi law.

 

Saudi law also allows various amputations, blinding, and other bodily mutilation as punishment for crimes. I don’t believe such laws are just, or necessary.

[pgrmdave]

Waging war on God

I can't be the only person who thinks that if your god needs the government to mete out punishment for waging war on it then your god must not be that powerful.

[Eclogite]

I can't be the only person who thinks that if your god needs the government to mete out punishment for waging war on it then your god must not be that powerful.

Delegation. It's a hot topic on Mount Olympus.

[Deepwater6]

I read recently King Salman has quickly installed and given lavish gifts to many of his friends and relatives in key positions to help his cause. This also sidelined some former power brokers in the old regime. I agree with Eclogite's comment that Islamic conservatism makes change in this country difficult.

 

I haven't read anything about the new King himself. Is anyone familiar with Salman? Is he considered a progressive leader with the means to make real change, or is he completely hemmed in by the hardliners of the country? I'm interested to see where the country will go under him especially in regard to woman and their right to drive.