Is popcorn halal?
Abdullah was a reticent monarch, with none of the flamboyant outreach of his predecessor, King Fahd. But within the kingdom, he was deeply respected. He was seen by many Saudi women as their secret champion in a society that rigidly suppresses the rights of women. He was also seen as a modest and pious man who lived by Muslim ideals better than many of his predecessors. He didn't reform Saudi Arabia, but he was able to maintain a measure of stability.
The nightmare for moderate Saudis is that the extremists of the Islamic State have a significant following among young Saudis, say analysts who follow the Arabic Twitter and Facebook platforms. Young Saudis are among the world's most active users of these social media, which indicates the pent-up desire in the kingdom for political and social involvement. Attempts to suppress this activism, in the uncertainty of the leadership transition, could be very dangerous.
More - The monarch, believed to be 90, was succeeded by his brother, Crown Prince Salman, according to state television. That put the region's most important Sunni power and America's closest Arab ally in the hands of a 79-year-old who is reportedly in poor health and suffering from dementia.
I know the king's death is serious and likely is not good for the west. But I can't help but singing "Ding Dong" at the beginning of your title of this piece, Kate.
He suffers dementia?
How would they measure that ? /s.
He was the one-eyed man in the land of the blind.
Wasn't the King suffering dementia? If I'm not mistaken he was being taken care of by a group of Drs., including Canadians, going back to pre 9/11 days and he was suffering from dementia then. The Crown Prince was effectively the King at that time.
Could be wrong, but I remember talking to one of those Drs. about his desert experiences after working with the Royal family back in the late 1990s.
Coul D. Bewrong
Popcorn is insufficient.
This requires pork rinds!
Re: The King is Dead and the new King has dementia??
I'm sure Shell and Exxon will guide him in the right direction!
I was quite surprised to learn that Canada exports more oil to the USA than Saudi Arabia!
http://www.eia.gov/countries/country-data.cfm?fips=sa
And our king is OK!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBCOri8GyaI
King Salman has denied responsibility for Islamic "charity" funds being used for terrorist purposes.
Good times ahead.
Not sure that's a job I'd want at 79 - like, man, why would I want it?
How long before King Salman swims upstream to spawn?
(denounces self)
Abdullah was the crown prince....at that time. He more or less ran things for about a decade.
A large portion of Obama's retirement fund just died with Abdullah.
That put the region's most important Sunni power and America's closest Arab ally in the hands of a 79-year-old who is reportedly in poor health and suffering from dementia.
The USA, by contrast, is in the hands of a 53-year-old who is reported in good health and suffering from terminal stupidity, dishonesty, and hatred of the USA.
I hope the place vanishes in flames with IS attempting a coup - burn baby burn! SA was the financier for most of the ME's (and our)terrorist problems.
Alberta PM Jim Prentice was just on the news stating that oil will remain in the $60 range for two years and may not exceed $70 until 2017 in an apparent attempt to drive investment from Alberta (probably on advice from Stelmach)and to justify a tax grab. If an Islamist government takes over Saudi or Iran gets a nuke, we could see $150 oil in a week. Where is the Wild Rose when we need them.
"Not sure that's a job I'd want at 79 - like, man, why would I want it?"
I guess you didn't see Mel Brooks' "History of the World".....IT'S NICE TO BE KING.
Except fer revolutions and coups....
Salman "who is reportedly in poor health and suffering from dementia" - still miles ahead of the Western "leaders".
HE'S DEAD JIM
King Abdullah came to the throne in 2005. So the king being treated would presumably have been his (?half) brother, King Fahd, who reigned 1982 - 2005. All kings (the kingdom was established about 1932) are as follows:
Abdul 1876 - 1953
Sa'ud 1902 - 1969 - reigned 1953 - 1969
Faisal 1904 - 1975 - reigned 1969 - 1975
Khalid 1912 - 1982 - reigned 1975 - 1982
Fahd 1921 - 2005 - reigned 1982 - 2005
Abdullah 1923 - 2015 - reigned 2005 - 2015
Salman 1935 - - reigned 2015 -
They're all sons of Abdul who seems to have had "many many concubines and many many wives".