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http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-30945324
Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz has died in hospital, state TV says.
The announcement, made early on Friday, said his brother, Salman, had become king.
Before the announcement, Saudi television cut to Koranic verses, which often signifies the death of a senior royal.
King Abdullah, who was said to be aged about 90, had been in hospital for several weeks suffering from a lung infection. New King is 79.
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Reminds me of the post-Brezhnev gerontocracy
EDIT: time to recycle some jokes
"Why did Abdullah go abroad, while Salman cannot? Because Abdullah ran on batteries, but Salman needs an outlet."
"Today, due to bad health and without regaining consciousness, Crown Prince Salman was crowned as the King of Saudi Arabia"
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Wow, I think OP title should show a little more respect for the departed.
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On January 23 2015 10:18 coverpunch wrote: Wow, I think OP title should show a little more respect for the departed. Reporting someone dies isn't disrespectful, it's how life works. King Abdullah was the King of Saudi Arabia, now someone else is.
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On January 23 2015 10:18 coverpunch wrote: Wow, I think OP title should show a little more respect for the departed. If we were to show the dead respect by not speaking ill of them, then there would be a really awkward silence in this thread.
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On January 23 2015 11:17 Livelovedie wrote:Show nested quote +On January 23 2015 10:18 coverpunch wrote: Wow, I think OP title should show a little more respect for the departed. Reporting someone dies isn't disrespectful, it's how life works. King Abdullah was the King of Saudi Arabia, now someone else is. I think declaring "King Abdullah Dead" is a disrespectful headline. "King Abdullah Dies" is the usual convention. It's a small change but it makes a difference, since the verb implies a moving on rather than the adjective as a label. Even your response uses the correct convention.
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RIP, from all I heard he was fairly progressive.
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Semantics imo but I've changed title to a more formal title so lets move on to actual discussion. Ty Personally i'd like to know what his passing means for Saudi Arabia and the Middle East.
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Thank you. I don't think this changes much in the short term - Saudi Arabia won't reverse course on keeping oil production high and oil prices low to help the US choke out Iran, Russia, and Venezuela (as well as choking out US shale oil), and surely they are still committed to keeping ISIS out of their country, hopefully destroying itself and the regime in Syria.
This might matter for family politics in Saudi Arabia's royal family if anyone tries to make a move during the transition, but I don't think it will have a big effect on their overall policies even if there's drama.
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On January 23 2015 10:18 coverpunch wrote: Wow, I think OP title should show a little more respect for the departed.
how is his post disrespectful? lol hes reporting current world event news..
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On January 23 2015 12:14 castleeMg wrote:Show nested quote +On January 23 2015 10:18 coverpunch wrote: Wow, I think OP title should show a little more respect for the departed. how is his post disrespectful? lol hes reporting current world event news.. It was just the title, which has since been changed. Don't worry about it.
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On January 23 2015 12:20 coverpunch wrote:Show nested quote +On January 23 2015 12:14 castleeMg wrote:On January 23 2015 10:18 coverpunch wrote: Wow, I think OP title should show a little more respect for the departed. how is his post disrespectful? lol hes reporting current world event news.. It was just the title, which has since been changed. Don't worry about it.
Well you appeared to be.
I do wonder how this effects saudi arabia though.
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On January 23 2015 11:40 rararock wrote: RIP, from all I heard he was fairly progressive.
Yeah... He gave women the right to drive, maybe. Also he allowed women certain posts on councils which have no power, and can't be put in said position without approval. Progressive indeed.
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On January 23 2015 12:44 {CC}StealthBlue wrote:Show nested quote +On January 23 2015 11:40 rararock wrote: RIP, from all I heard he was fairly progressive. Yeah... He gave women the right to drive, maybe. Also he allowed women certain posts on councils which have no power, and can't be put in said position without approval. Progressive indeed. Well that's at least... something? He apparently gave women the right to vote, so that's definitely good.
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On January 23 2015 12:48 Dark_Chill wrote:Show nested quote +On January 23 2015 12:44 {CC}StealthBlue wrote:On January 23 2015 11:40 rararock wrote: RIP, from all I heard he was fairly progressive. Yeah... He gave women the right to drive, maybe. Also he allowed women certain posts on councils which have no power, and can't be put in said position without approval. Progressive indeed. Well that's at least... something? He apparently gave women the right to vote, so that's definitely good.
Only in regards to the local Councils.
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On January 23 2015 12:44 {CC}StealthBlue wrote:Show nested quote +On January 23 2015 11:40 rararock wrote: RIP, from all I heard he was fairly progressive. Yeah... He gave women the right to drive, maybe. Also he allowed women certain posts on councils which have no power, and can't be put in said position without approval. Progressive indeed.
His power is limited, it is not like he was an absolute monarch. Saudi is one of the most oppressive countries in terms of women's rights. Even those little steps while they might not seem like much do help and took political courage to do. I am the last person to defend Saudi, their extreme religious conservatism is a blight on the freedom of humankind.
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Not sure how much this will actually change things in Saudi Arabia, the country is ruled more by the ruling clan as a whole than by any individual, afaik
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The new King is reportedly in poor health and suffers from dementia.
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On January 23 2015 12:51 {CC}StealthBlue wrote:Show nested quote +On January 23 2015 12:48 Dark_Chill wrote:On January 23 2015 12:44 {CC}StealthBlue wrote:On January 23 2015 11:40 rararock wrote: RIP, from all I heard he was fairly progressive. Yeah... He gave women the right to drive, maybe. Also he allowed women certain posts on councils which have no power, and can't be put in said position without approval. Progressive indeed. Well that's at least... something? He apparently gave women the right to vote, so that's definitely good. Only in regards to the local Councils. Baby steps forward are still steps forward. Our nations didn't embrace female equality very quickly either. Those kinds of moves are what got us to here. There turn now
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I wonder if this will have any effect on the plight of Raif Badawi. Unfortunately the only thing that is likely to happen is that oil prices will rise.
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