[HN Gopher] Saudi Arabia sentences tribesmen to death for resist...
       ___________________________________________________________________
        
       Saudi Arabia sentences tribesmen to death for resisting
       displacement
        
       Author : walterbell
       Score  : 131 points
       Date   : 2022-10-10 17:41 UTC (5 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.middleeasteye.net)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.middleeasteye.net)
        
       | SimianSci wrote:
       | In my eyes this appears to be further evidence as to why a
       | combination or extreme wealth inequality and centralized
       | authority is counterproductive to a nation's continued
       | prosperity.
       | 
       | For all its concentration of wealth and authority, Saudia Arabia
       | is clearly squandering its power in favor of misguided projects
       | of ego. I do not see a long-term future for a government such as
       | this which has decided to behave in the same manner as a spoiled
       | mewling child.
        
       | [deleted]
        
       | burntbridge wrote:
       | This should be a reminder that the U.S. cares nothing for human
       | rights violations and whenever it voices such complaints it does
       | so for other selfish Geopolitical reasons that are maybe not
       | revealed. This goes for any of the other Geopolitical powers as
       | well. Let's not be useful idiots.
        
         | the_optimist wrote:
         | The US is not monolitic. People who characterize it thusly do
         | so do not capture the intentional-by-design unstable nature of
         | the system. It remains, nonetheless, up to to 'us' to be not
         | useful idiots.
        
       | etaioinshrdlu wrote:
       | I'm wondering why the USA hasn't used its military muscle to
       | force regime change in Saudi Arabia. They have valuable
       | resources, and I don't think any major country would stand in the
       | USA's way.
       | 
       | The people already live under a brutal repressive dictatorship.
       | Why not replace it with something more tolerable?
       | 
       | My best guess is that doing so would dramatically increase
       | terrorism in the region.
       | 
       | Venezuela would be another area in need of intervention, IMO.
       | 
       | Update: I'm as anti-war as it gets, but consider: when is there a
       | moral imperative to act? If you could stop the Khmer Rouge in
       | Cambodia, should you? If you can stop your neighbor from going on
       | a murdering spree, should you?
        
         | kingofpandora wrote:
         | Why would the USA care? They get everything they want from
         | Saudi, with some bad press as the only downside.
         | 
         | You don't actually think regime change is ever about how
         | repressive the government is.
        
         | dontlaugh wrote:
         | Why would the US destroy one of its two major allies in the
         | area and the very source of petrodollars?
         | 
         | The US does regime change only against countries that resist
         | exploitation. The rhetoric about human rights or dictatorship
         | is just that.
        
           | etaioinshrdlu wrote:
           | If we install a puppet regime there, they are still an ally
           | by definition.
        
             | [deleted]
        
             | dontlaugh wrote:
             | Maybe, it wouldn't be guaranteed to be functional.
             | 
             | And why invest any effort and the considerable risk to
             | change the situation? The US ruling class already has the
             | best ally they could wish for.
        
             | coffeefirst wrote:
             | That was the plan for Iraq. It turns out nation building is
             | a lot harder than killing the bad guys.
        
         | seer-zig wrote:
         | Ah yes, the typical US solution: bomb people into submission,
         | then wonder why they're hated so much.
        
         | boeingUH60 wrote:
         | Why should they? The U.S. has left every country of recent
         | military intervention in a much worst state than before they
         | came in.
         | 
         | It's honestly scary to see someone suggesting this, even if I'm
         | no fan of Saudi Arabia.
        
         | snapcaster wrote:
         | Are you a soldier? Are you going to be the one invaded?
         | "intervention" is even such a bloodless euphemism for sending
         | men with guns, bombs, drone strikes, murder, rape, looting to
         | another place. You should be ashamed of yourself for saying
         | something like this so glibly like it was a change to some
         | programming technology or something
        
       | jshorty wrote:
       | Especially sad given that, in my opinion, this project is doomed
       | to fail anyway-- a 21st century Tower of Babel. The plans for a
       | year-round ski resort seem especially ridiculous given the
       | relatively mild climate in the Sarawat mountains.
        
         | hinkley wrote:
         | The tricky thing about calling something a Tower of Babel is
         | that it's one thing to build the first one, it's quite
         | something else to build a second knowing about the first. This
         | linear city idea is worse than the planned city they built in,
         | Brazil? That was more 2 dimensional at least.
         | 
         | So this one goes up instead of out, but you'll notice for
         | instance the gap for the stadium. Stadiums are a bottleneck in
         | regular cities. All traffic in the whole city has to drive past
         | the stadium if they want to get somewhere on the other side,
         | and with the gaps it's a double choke point.
         | 
         | The Architect's Sketch, Monty Python:
         | 
         | "Are you proposing to slaughter our tenants?" "... does that
         | not fit in with your plan?" "[...] no it's just that we wanted
         | a block of flats, and not an abattoir" "Yes, well of course,
         | that's just the sort of blinkered, philistine pig-ignorance
         | I've come to expect from you lot of non-creative garbage."
         | 
         | The other candidate's scale model breaks twice, and catches
         | fire and then explodes. They decide that thin, sedentary
         | tenants should avoid those problems.
        
           | h4n1 wrote:
           | It wouldn't be the first linear city. The idea was popular in
           | the early 20th century for industrial settlements.
           | Magnitogorsk was orginally planned as such. None of the
           | planned linear cities have stayed linear, to my knowledge. It
           | only makes sense for when the whole point of living there is
           | to operate a massive production line.
        
       | hulitu wrote:
       | > Neom: Saudi Arabia sentences tribesmen to death for resisting
       | displacement
       | 
       | Whatever they do, they are still our friends and that's all that
       | matters. /s
        
         | brabel wrote:
         | Yep, they're helping Europe replace some of the oil and gas
         | from Russia. Best European friends these days! As long as they
         | don't invade a neighbour they're great... oh wait, weren't they
         | heavily involved in the worst war in the world at present, in
         | Yemen, with over 150k dead and the prospect of 10 million dead
         | of starvation directly caused by that [1]?! Right, but those
         | people dying are not white European so no one gives a shit.
         | 
         | [1]
         | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yemeni_Civil_War_(2014%E2%80%9...
        
         | selectodude wrote:
         | They're really stretching that friendship right now by cutting
         | output to bail out Russia.
        
           | beloch wrote:
           | They're actually importing Russian oil for domestic use to
           | free up more of their own for export.
           | 
           | https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/exclusive-saudi-
           | arab...
        
             | hondo77 wrote:
             | > They're actually importing Russian oil for domestic use
             | to _bail out Russia_.
             | 
             | FTFY.
        
         | JumpCrisscross wrote:
         | > _they are still our friends_
         | 
         | If you care about this, now is the time to call your
         | representatives. There is a sea change underway in Congress on
         | Riyadh [1]. It's on a precipice. This isn't campaign-issue
         | material. If Americans don't care to reach out, the _status
         | quo_ will hold.
         | 
         | [1] https://www.politico.com/news/2022/10/09/murphy-saudi-
         | arabia...
        
           | UncleOxidant wrote:
           | Not sure calling your congressperson will have a lot of
           | effect. Do everything you can to minimize your use of oil. If
           | enough of us do that then oil prices will go down and that
           | will effect SA.
        
             | JumpCrisscross wrote:
             | > _Not sure calling your congressperson will have a lot of
             | effect_
             | 
             | It does because most people don't do it. So you get aides
             | tallying phone calls to help an elected take a position on
             | a fringe issue (Saudi relations are fringe in most
             | districts and states) possibly a day or two before the
             | vote.
             | 
             | > _Do everything you can to minimize your use of oil_
             | 
             | This is harder and less effective. (You should still do it,
             | for the environment.)
        
               | UncleOxidant wrote:
               | Ok, so you call your congressman and tell them you don't
               | like SA and that we should... do what? Have our
               | ambassador file a protest? That's going to be effective
               | how?
               | 
               | Yes, using less oil is harder than calling your
               | congressperson because you actually have to change
               | behavior and perhaps live with some inconvenience. But
               | it's hard to see how it's _less_ effective at this point.
               | 
               | Go ahead and to both. The call is easy. But the
               | underlying reason that the US has been overly
               | accommodating to SA (including selling them military
               | equipment) is because we are heavily dependent on oil and
               | oil is a global market so we need SA to keep production
               | up.
        
               | JumpCrisscross wrote:
               | > _so you call your congressman and tell them you don 't
               | like SA and that we should... do what?_
               | 
               | Unless you know the policy space, expressing a broad
               | position is enough. If you know something about the
               | policy space, _e.g._ see the _Politico_ article in my
               | last comment, you can specify bills. But that's
               | complicated and prone to misinterpretation and generally
               | only productive when coordinated.
               | 
               | > _it 's hard to see how it's less effective_
               | 
               | Oil demand is elastic [1]. Its supply is manipulated. A
               | barrel of oil not consumed by you reduces marginal prices
               | and cracking spreads. That, in turn, spurs demand. For
               | Riyadh, it would take a massive amount of demand
               | destruction to him up their revenues given their
               | influence over OPEC.
               | 
               | [1] https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/44920224/Dynami
               | c_panel...
        
               | selectodude wrote:
               | We should cut them off militarily. They buy American
               | weapons because they have infinite money and the
               | Americans have the best shit. That's what the bill
               | floating through Congress is trying to accomplish.
               | Calling your congressman to tell them to vote yes on
               | cutting off Saudi can move the needle here.
        
           | petre wrote:
           | As long as we use their oil, it doesn't accomplish much.
           | President Biden practically begged them to increase oil
           | production in the wake of the Russia/Ukraine war and they
           | refused. It's time the US at least stops approving weapons
           | sales to SA.
        
         | datavirtue wrote:
         | Everybody already knows about the impending breakup. All that's
         | left is for the two parties to make it official.
         | 
         | The US is tired of the relationship, the Saudis are sort of
         | getting along with Israel, and they are quipping about how they
         | can get thier weapons from Russia.
        
       | rany_ wrote:
       | The thing I find most heartbreaking is that I'm 99% sure this
       | will go the way of the Jeddah Tower (too much
       | corruption/dictatorship for clever plans to be made and the
       | project gets cancelled).
       | 
       | It's also not the smartest project, a quick look at their website
       | shows you genius ideas like this 170km long line they want to
       | build in the middle of nowhere: https://www.neom.com/en-
       | us/regions/theline
       | 
       | Not to mention that Saudi Arabia doesn't even have any issues
       | with population density. They are building these cities like they
       | have some overpopulation issues, such a waste of money. A shame
       | it's not being spent on things that would help Saudi Arabia in
       | the long term.
        
         | rany_ wrote:
         | Neom might just be the best argument against totalitarianism,
         | such stupid ideas wouldn't even be up for consideration in a
         | free(er) country. Just looking at the website makes me so sad,
         | it legitimately feels like some passion project of a
         | megalomaniac who doesn't care for the wellbeing of his people.
        
           | humanistbot wrote:
           | I'm going to Godwin's Law this thread and say that the cases
           | at the top of this list are probably the best arguments
           | against totaliarianism: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of
           | _genocides_by_death_tol...
        
             | rany_ wrote:
             | Well, Hitler had his Germania megacity project to stoke his
             | ego. They aren't too dissimilar;)
             | 
             | I guess dictatorships and stupid planning/construction
             | projects go pretty much hand in hand.
             | 
             | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germania_(city)
        
         | dirtyid wrote:
         | If Ryugyong got finished, so will Jeddah. It's not smart
         | investment, but in general monuments aren't. Yet, humanity
         | learns to appreciate them non the less, even fully appreciating
         | the "folly".
        
         | cameronfraser wrote:
         | the line looks like the citadel interior from mass effect
        
       | lnsru wrote:
       | Sounds like normal day in Belarus or other less democratic
       | country. I really don't understand why these people choose death
       | over other alternatives. It's not that they didn't know what is
       | awaiting them. Killing some protesters is absolutely normal is
       | less democratic country.
       | 
       | While Neom project is cool for sure I am not so sure if it's
       | clever one. But let's see how this car-less city in a desert
       | experiment ends. It's better in my eyes than stealing all the oil
       | money and buying yachts for the buddies like russian government
       | did it.
        
         | seer-zig wrote:
         | Not sure what democracy has anything to do with this. Remind me
         | again how many lives were taken by the USA, Canada, UK,
         | Germany, et al in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Libya, etc? Note
         | that I am not defending any tyrant anywhere.
        
       | [deleted]
        
       | the_optimist wrote:
       | Banks and investment managers supporting this megadevelopment are
       | complicit. It'll be in your pension fund soon, unless you speak
       | up.
        
         | klyrs wrote:
         | I don't have a pension fund but they hold a major stake in my
         | employer and probably yours too.
        
       | yabones wrote:
       | The "line city" is possibly the worst idea of the 21st century. I
       | will honestly be shocked if it goes over any better than the
       | "world islands" they tried to build in Dubai.
        
         | GauntletWizard wrote:
         | I had not read this concept before now, but it really sounds as
         | if someone played too much halo and didn't understand the real-
         | world math that makes that a "good idea" in space.
        
       | edmcnulty101 wrote:
       | Their leader MBS completely got away with murdering Kashoggi in
       | cold blood and having absolutely no repurcussions not even
       | politically. The USA treats them as a first class political ally.
       | 
       | Most of 9/11 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia.
       | 
       | Between murdering reporters, hosting terrorist groups, and
       | horrible human rights abuses....There's literally nothing Saudi
       | Arabia can do to get any repercussions for anything.
        
         | aerostable_slug wrote:
         | > Most of 9/11 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia.
         | 
         | Yes. Similarly, Pakistani intelligence knew where Bin Laden
         | was. Oh wait, SOME Pakistani intelligence knew. The issue we're
         | seeing is internecine conflict and a lack of effective
         | governance. Saying the hijackers were Saudis so therefore the
         | entire House of Saud is liable is reductive at best.
         | 
         | I'm not defending said House, but OTOH blaming the most public
         | power base for everything associated with the country ignores
         | the fact that they don't have control over their own power
         | bases (much like Pakistan, a total s-hole that I can't wait
         | until we're disengaged from).
        
           | edmcnulty101 wrote:
           | I wish you would edit your comment to indicate that the
           | country of Pakistan is not a s-hole but the current
           | government is and possibly also the fanatical religious
           | culture is.
        
           | throwaway2203 wrote:
           | I'm Pakistani, it's not a s-hole. It's a lovely country full
           | of lovely people who are helpless against the burden of
           | colonial legacy, corrupt landowners and a way-too-powerful
           | army.
        
             | rastignack wrote:
             | Lovely people who overwhelmingly support death sentence for
             | apostasy.
        
               | jfax wrote:
               | I remember Zakir Naik pointing out that the US has the
               | death sentence for revealing military secrets and no one
               | blinks an eyelid; that apostasy is a kind of treason that
               | people don't so much support, it's just a matter of fact.
        
               | stealthcat wrote:
               | Religion is easy [0]. Those who commit apostasy are given
               | time to reflect and repent to become muslim again, it is
               | not like they are not given chance to turn back and live.
               | 
               | [0] https://www.abuaminaelias.com/dailyhadithonline/2011/
               | 04/30/i...
        
             | WirelessGigabit wrote:
             | Bullshit. In World War 2 when the Nazis invaded Western
             | Europe my grandparents joined the resistance. I have no
             | respect for people who just let things happen. What's worse
             | is all those who flee from Pakistan to Western countries
             | are all able bodied males. The ones that evolutionary
             | speaking are best set up to join the resistance.
        
             | rayiner wrote:
             | It's possible for people to be "lovely" but also the reason
             | for why the country is in bad shape. I'm Bangladeshi, and
             | folks there are very kind. My dad has stories of traveling
             | through rural parts of the country and a villager walking
             | miles out of his way to make sure he got back to his car
             | without getting lost.
             | 
             | But they're also a big part of the reason why things are
             | the way they are. From the tolerance of corruption, to the
             | lack of organization. You can say the exact same things
             | about parts of the US that other parts of the US would
             | regard as "shit holes" (rural Georgia or Mississippi).
             | People are very nice! But that's not sufficient for a
             | developed civilization.
        
             | Veen wrote:
             | There comes a point where you have to stop blaming
             | colonialism for the corruption of your own people. Pakistan
             | has been an independent country for 75 years.
        
             | AareyBaba wrote:
             | It's a country that committed genocide against its own
             | people.
             | 
             | "3,000,000 people were killed during the genocide, making
             | it the largest genocide since the Holocaust during World
             | War II"
             | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1971_Bangladesh_genocide.
        
             | aerostable_slug wrote:
             | That's a fair statement, and I should have been more clear
             | about separating views of the government, sects of the
             | government, and many of the actual people.
        
       | deworms wrote:
       | Israel doesn't even pretend to go through the quasi-legal
       | motions, they just bomb Palestinians to the ground.
        
         | [deleted]
        
       | Abderrhmane wrote:
       | I have lived in this country for over 10 years, they do the most
       | craziest things ever.
        
         | Lendal wrote:
         | "Craziest" is not really an appropriate word for this case.
         | Awful, or shameful, or disgraceful are some more accurate
         | words. Or _insane_ if you want to emphasize the psychotic
         | aspect.
        
         | mrwnmonm wrote:
         | Like what?
        
       | tibbydudeza wrote:
       | I wonder if they will be cut up into pieces with a saw ???.
        
       | nickpinkston wrote:
       | If you ever get invited to the "Future Investment Initiative" aka
       | "Davos in the Desert", NEVER GO THERE.
       | 
       | More like "Despots in the Desert".
       | 
       | I feel for the Saudi people, but fuck their corrupt, useless
       | monarchy. They could at least aspire to be Singapore, but I guess
       | 100 gold-plated Rolls Royces and stupid giant infrastructure
       | projects strokes the ego more - lame as fuck...
       | 
       | Sic Semper Tyrannis
        
         | nxmnxm99 wrote:
         | They are a powerhouse geopolitically, one of the fastest
         | growing economies in the world and their citizens are happy
         | 
         | Why would they want to be Singapore?
        
           | sangnoir wrote:
           | > Why would they want to be Singapore?
           | 
           | To move up the value chain and not have all their eggs in the
           | oil basket, for one.
        
             | Maursault wrote:
             | For two, they may want to establish a parliamentary
             | republic to safely avoid the fate of those from which the
             | Saudi family's ancestors originally usurped executive
             | power. Currently, there is only one method of establishing
             | a new government in what is only tenuously Saudi Arabia,
             | which is using the old ways of sneaking into the palace at
             | night with jambiyas and assassinating everyone. My
             | suspicion is that this inevitable coup will be composed
             | entirely of women.
        
               | LargoLasskhyfv wrote:
               | How do woman learn to effectively handle a jambiaya in
               | such regions? Are there woman sports gyms teaching self-
               | defense, martial arts of any kind?
        
           | LargoLasskhyfv wrote:
           | And the tribesmen from the headline aren't 'citizens'?
           | 
           | Just some retarded hillybillies which are in the way of
           | 'progress', and _have to go_?
        
         | gremlinsinc wrote:
         | So long, I've awaited this honor...
         | 
         | * Looks longingly at my invite to Davos in the Desert. *
         | 
         | * Let's it gingerly slip from my fingers into the fire pit, as
         | a single tear falls in the flames. *
         | 
         | /jk.
         | 
         | Sarcasm aside, I don't understand why the West kowtows to
         | Saudi's. I feel like maybe they were more culpable in 9/11 than
         | previously thought, they are constantly doing shit, that even
         | China would think twice about (they'd reeducate and do
         | concentration camps, but perhaps not straight up executions).
         | 
         | I know it probably involves money, etc - but we need to put our
         | partnerships with others to a smell test, if that country that
         | wants to partner up, or do business with Americans has a
         | horrible human rights record, they should be on the banned
         | countries list like NK and Iran.
         | 
         | If only politics weren't legal organized crime, perhaps we
         | could instill some values in our nations leaders and businesses
         | to cease supporting despots.
        
       | iancmceachern wrote:
       | I will protest this, and their other human rights abuses by never
       | traveling there, for any reason, ever.
        
         | UncleOxidant wrote:
         | I don't think that not traveling to Saudi Arabia will effect
         | them at all. It's never really been a tourist destination
         | unless you count Muslims on the haj. If you really want to
         | protest then stop using oil. Sure most oil sold in the US isn't
         | from SA, but if we started using a lot less of the stuff prices
         | would go down and that would effect SA.
        
           | einpoklum wrote:
           | I'd say if you really want to protest them, then petition the
           | US government to...
           | 
           | 1. Stop selling KSA and UAE weapons.
           | 
           | 2. Reduce or cancel sanctions sanctioning on Iran, Syria and
           | Lebanon (regimes the KSA has tried to undermine).
           | 
           | 3. Make public arguments against the Saudi occupation of
           | Bahrain.
           | 
           | 4. Yemen:                  4.1 Arrange a weapons embargo on
           | KSA while their Yemen campaign continue             4.2
           | Ensure safe passage to naval and air vessels to Yemen
           | 4.3 Send some humanitarian aid to Yemen (they need it at
           | least as much, and probably more, than Ukraine)
           | 4.4 Recognize the Houthi grievances in Yemen and support
           | peace talks and a federated resolution of the Yemeni civil
           | war.
           | 
           | 5. Join the ICC and sue MBS' ass for chopping up Jamal
           | Khasokgi. (Ok, the US will never do that, it has too much
           | culpability of its own.)
        
             | fakedang wrote:
             | You're wrong on a number of points:
             | 
             | 1.) While the UAE and Qatar were initially in the Saudi
             | camp at the start of the war, they have both since left the
             | field - Qatar because their plan was a token response from
             | the start, and the UAE because of significant casualties
             | (and a petition from the mother of a slain soldier).
             | 
             | 2.) Iran is currently beating up and killing their own
             | population for protesting. Syria used chemical gas against
             | their own population for protesting. Lebanon is basically
             | Iran's little Mediterranean bitch. You would like us to
             | unsanction these regimes??
             | 
             | 3.) Saudi Arabia hasn't been occupying Bahrain - KSA and
             | the UAE "monitor" it on behalf of the Emir of Bahrain. A
             | better way to rephrase this would be: force the Emir out
             | and let the people of Bahrain decide for themselves.
             | 
             | 4.) Yes, the West should embargo the Saudis on weapon
             | sales. Not that it would affect them much since they'll
             | just buy from Russia and China, but that is the moral path.
             | 
             | 5.) Ask the Houthis for safe naval and air passage in
             | Yemen. They're the ones causing disruptions in the area.
             | 
             | 6.) Any humanitarian aid to Yemen somehow ends up with the
             | Houthis.
             | 
             | 7.) Houthis don't have any "grievances". Yemen has been
             | divided between a Sunni half and a Shia half since the
             | start of Islam. For the most part historically, Yemen was
             | largely Sunni-dominated. It's only recently that the
             | Houthis are able to put up a fight, and that's largely due
             | to Iranian support and funding.
             | 
             | 9.) Leaving the Houthis alone will only let Iran's
             | theocracy impose their own puppet in the area. That is not
             | something the world needs.
             | 
             | 10.) Sure, sue MBS, but that's just opening a whole other
             | can of worms.
             | 
             | Like it or not, Iran is just as bad as Saudi Arabia. Both
             | countries rely on a modus operandi of training terrorists
             | and spreading them abroad to cause chaos and fear, and
             | ultimately acquiescence. On that front, Saudi Arabia is
             | still a better ally, since most of the Gulf monarchies have
             | come to the realization that supporting religious
             | fundamentalists abroad has been a retarded thing to do
             | because they'll return to fuck up their monarchical systems
             | later on.
        
               | UncleOxidant wrote:
               | > Like it or not, Iran is just as bad as Saudi Arabia.
               | 
               | Indeed. Though there's much more hope that Iran will
               | experience some kind of regime change given it's young
               | population that's becoming increasingly dissatisfied with
               | religious rule.
        
               | fakedang wrote:
               | Yeah, that's a fairly recent development, and if it
               | happens, I'm all the more up for it. In my experience,
               | although the governments of both countries are equally
               | horrible, the Iranian people tend to have a much stronger
               | moral compass than the Saudi people when it comes to
               | things like in the original article - indigenous rights,
               | or labor rights of lower class workers, and obviously
               | women's rights, etc.
        
           | newsclues wrote:
           | If we stop buying oil, if you want to hurt the Saudis, we
           | also need to convince everyone else (China) to buy the oil.
           | 
           | If you want to replace oil, make the alternative undeniably
           | CHEAPER.
        
             | lambdasquirrel wrote:
             | Why the sudden China bashing? China has more EV uptake than
             | the U.S., in fact they pretty much invented the electric
             | micro-car as a market, because of the density of their
             | cities.
             | 
             | The reality is that U.S. is more dependent on oil than any
             | other major industrialized economy. We consume more than
             | the EU, and we consume almost as much as Asia, despite
             | being some small fraction of that continent's population.
             | 
             | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_oil_cons
             | u...
             | 
             | The Saudis just flipped us off. We _should_ get off of oil.
        
             | nashashmi wrote:
             | But if you don't want to hurt the other oil exporters, and
             | just hurt SA, THERE IS NO way to do that
        
               | fragmede wrote:
               | just put a global tax on oil from SA
        
               | tiagod wrote:
               | "Just" get the whole world to agree on something. Should
               | be easy, right?
        
               | nashashmi wrote:
               | That's not an option for most people
        
         | yamtaddle wrote:
         | I've been practicing this form of protest for nearly every
         | country, my entire life.
        
         | nonrandomstring wrote:
         | They're cooked. Quite literally. Let's see how long that regime
         | stays together when the daytime temperature hits 55 degrees
         | Celsius.
        
           | klyrs wrote:
           | Saudi Arabia will continue to be an oasis no matter the
           | change in climate, as long as they have enough oil to burn
           | for air conditioning. Construction projects can be protected
           | with inflatable tents, for example.
        
         | RcouF1uZ4gsC wrote:
         | Actually, the best protest of Saudi Arabia was carried out by
         | Mayoshi Son of SoftBank. He working with such people as Adam
         | Neumann of WeWork lit billions of dollars worth of Saudi money
         | on fire. A few more years of this, and Saudi won't be able to
         | afford to do stunts like this.
        
         | deworms wrote:
         | So in other words, by doing nothing in particular. A protest
         | where you don't change your behavior in any way and don't have
         | to bear any cost is not much of a protest.
        
         | Gene_Parmesan wrote:
         | At this point, who would want to? Genuinely. I haven't any
         | idea. I'm a huge F1 fan and F1 racing there feels like such a
         | bizarre move, and it's one that has almost put me off the
         | sport. Dirty money and F1 go together like mac and cheese but
         | this feels like a new low for them.
        
       | ethotool wrote:
       | And the West supposedly stands for human rights..
        
       | dirtyid wrote:
       | Personal guilty pleasure: love me some stupidendously wasteful
       | ego driven mega monuments. A mega city in the desert even better.
       | Not enough grand architecture by liberal world order. There are
       | insideous human costs to everything, and all things considered,
       | rare hubris mega construction projects are pretty good
       | generational cultural value. Even after they fall into to ruin.
        
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