@izzythepush,
Had to laugh. Just like last time. You make really bold accusations, knowing they’re lies—bold, because the text is right here, somewhere—but you refuse to bring evidence of your accusations.
Not a good look. You really should limit your personal accusations to what you’re willing to prove with evidence.
@Lash,
You wanted to know why I didn't believe your claims about being concerned about healthcare. I've told you, if you want to pretend you said something else then that's up to you, but if you genuinely can't remember you do need medical attention.
@izzythepush,
Please stop gumming up threads with personal attacks on people. The fact that people are dying every day in my country because of the cost of healthcare and medicine is my number one political concern. Believe it, don’t believe it, but going on endlessly about whether or not you believe it seems obsessive and thoughtless to others who are sincerely interested in the topic.
@Lash,
People were dying every day due to prohibitive healthcare costs long before it became your number one concern.
And it's got naff all to do with Khashoggi, unlike the post you replied to, my post on a Briton held in the UAE.
So you could stop gumming up threads with your usual tirade about, (mostly always Democrat, hardly ever Republican) lawmakers, and stick to the bloody topic.
@Lash,
Lash wrote:
More on Saudi Arabia.
A thread on Khashoggi and the US response to his murder is incomplete without reasons why the US doesn’t take a firm stand against SA.
I supplied a very good reason.
Perhaps your memory isn’t what it used to be?
Please return to the topic.
@Lash,
That wasn't the post I referred to and you know it. After writing that you then went on to indulge your own obsession with liberal politicians.
Btw, it's a lot more than the Petrodollar it's about the fleet in Bahrain and controlling the ME by proxy.
It's also why jihadis are so popular, because they're the only group that consistently opposes Western hegemony.
Breaking news.
Quote:British academic Matthew Hedges, jailed for spying in the UAE, is pardoned with immediate effect
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-46341310
He should never have been put on trial in the first place. The UAE is not Saudi Arabia. Dubai attracts a lot of Western tourists and it was probably that which prompted calls for clemency rather than anything else.
There are still horror stories coming out. People think it's like any other tourist spot. You meet someone nice in a bar one thing leads to another and next thing you know it you're on trial for having sex outside of wedlock.
I would never go there. Morocco is something different altogether, that's where I want to go next.
@glitterbag,
Quote bbc via Izzy:
Quote:The head of Russian military intelligence agency GRU, General Igor Korobov, has died at the age of 62, Russia's defence ministry says.
General Korobov, who took up the post in 2016, is said to have died after "a serious and long illness" on Wednesday.
The GRU was this year linked to a nerve agent attack in Britain on ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter.The head of Russian military intelligence agency GRU, General Igor Korobov, has died at the age of 62, Russia's defence ministry says.
General Korobov, who took up the post in 2016, is said to have died after "a serious and long illness" on Wednesday.
The GRU was this year linked to a nerve agent attack in Britain on ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter.
Quote glitterbag:
Quote:Oh dear, The Kremlin Flu???? tsk tsk
In fairness, not necessarily. With all the vodka they down and the healhcare system a shambles, it might be a wonder that the fellow made it to 62. That's old for a Russian.
I posted the following on the Trump thread but it belongs here. I think it is telling and kind of chilling.
Jamal Khashoggi: private WhatsApp messages may offer new clues to his murder
@izzythepush,
The crown prince is a monster.
@glitterbag,
A monster who's bought the president.
@izzythepush,
The prince and his buddy putin. High five anybody.
After CIA briefing, Republicans say 'no question' Saudi crown prince ordered Khashoggi murder
By MARIAM KHAN, CONOR FINNEGAN TRISH TURNER Dec 4, 2018, 4:08 PM ET
Following a briefing by CIA director Gina Haspel Tuesday on the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, leading Republican senators told reporters that there was "zero question" that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the brutal murder.
Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Sen. Bob Corker, a Tennessee Republican, said "I have zero question in my mind that the Crown Prince MBS ordered the killing, monitored the killing, knew exactly what was happening. Planned it in advance. If he was in front of a jury he would be convicted in 30 minutes. Guilty," Corker said.
Corker called the Trump administration's claim that there is no direct evidence of the crown prince's involvement "unacceptable."
South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham said, "There's not a smoking gun, there's a smoking saw.""You have to be willfully blind not to come to the conclusion that this was orchestrated and organized by people under the command of MBS and that he was intricately involved in the demise of Mr. Khashoggi," he said.
He went on: "If the Saudi government is going to be in the hands of this man, I find it very difficult to be able to do business because I think he's crazy, I think he's dangerous, and he has put the relationship at risk."
Graham concluded that he can no longer support arms sales to the kingdom.
Given those comments, it appeared Haspel's briefing would not help the administration win back support for its military aid to the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen.
The fact that the briefing was limited to a small group angered several senators, including Republican allies of President Trump.
A furious Sen. Rand Paul lashed out as the closed-door briefing was taking place. The Kentucky Republican told reporters of the briefing, “We’re reading about it in the media."
“I think it’s wrong for the CIA to have expressed a conclusion that the Crown Prince was involved with the killing of Khashoggi and then withhold that information,” he said.
He went on: “I think the time has come for the Senate to grab back foreign policy and say that, ‘you know what, the president, no president, this president, or the previous president has the power to take our country to war with Saudi Arabia and Yemen without the permission of the Senate.’”
He blasted the move as a sign of the "deep state," tweeting, "Why shouldn't every senator know what is going on? The deep state wants to keep everyone in the dark. This is just ridiculous!"
Senator Rand Paul
✔
@RandPaul
Do you want to know what the deep state is? The CIA Director is coming to the US Senate and only briefing a select few members of the Senate. Why shouldn’t every senator know what is going on? The deep state wants to keep everyone in the dark. This is just ridiculous!
9:57 AM - Dec 4, 2018
It was not clear why the group was limited to eight senators.
"I think it would have been good to have the full Senate," Corker said Monday. Corker voted to advance the Yemen resolution to send a message to the White House and the Saudis, he said last week, but urged the administration to provide answers so that the measure wouldn't ultimately pass.
When asked why it was limited, Corker said, "I don't know."
The Senate's top Democrat, Chuck Schumer of New York, called on Haspel to testify before the full Senate after sitting in on the Tuesday briefing.
“While I will not discuss the content of the Haspel briefing, it reinforced the need for a strong response to the murder of Jamal Khashoggi. CIA Director Haspel should brief the full Senate without delay," Schumer said in a statement.
The CIA declined to comment Tuesday.
Last week, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary James Mattis briefed all 100 senators, urging them to vote down a War Powers Resolution that would pull U.S. support to the coalition, which is powered by the Saudis and the United Arab Emirates and fighting an alliance led by Iranian-aligned Houthi rebels in Yemen. Pompeo and Mattis said U.S. support for that war was vital for national security and they denied that there was any "direct" evidence that the Crown Prince was involved in Khashoggi's killing.
Senators were furious that Haspel did not show, blaming the White House for blocking her. Hours after that briefing, unhappy with the administration's lack of answers and unwavering support for the Saudis despite the murder of Khashoggi, a majority of senators voted to advance that Yemen resolution.
The Senate is likely to take up the Yemen resolution next week, but a vote could come as early as Thursday.
While just eight months ago it was voted down, the legislation now has the support of all Democrats and a handful of Republicans, likely giving it enough support to pass. The House blocked a similar bill in mid-November, but when Democrats take control in January, it is expected to be a top priority.
Despite the Saudis' murder of Khashoggi and other aggressive behavior -- their bombing campaign in Yemen, the detention of Lebanese Prime Minister Said Hariri, and their blockade of another U.S. ally Qatar -- the Trump administration has argued that the Saudis are a critical U.S. partner and a bulwark of stability in the region.
The US has had such a odd relationship with Saudi Arabia for so long. Saudi Arabia is not a friend of the US. Saudi Arabia is a friend of Saudi Arabia. Full stop.
@ehBeth,
ehBeth wrote:
Saudi Arabia is not a friend of the US.
It's a friend of rich Americans.
@izzythepush,
SA is currently and for a few decades has been the US puppet master.
@Lash,
I think that's putting it a bit too strong, but it's not a relationship that benefits ordinary people in either the US or the ME.
