Saudi journalist disappears in embassy, believed murdered

[quadraginta]

Not sure it had to be short notice; even the Saudi government (reluctantly) concedes the entire killing was premeditated. So, this isn't a case of people suddenly finding themselves with a body to dispose of and going "oh shoot, what do we do now?" They would have brought the acid with them, or otherwise made sure it was available when they needed it.

Who doesn't pack a few barrels of acid whenever they bring their bone saw somewhere, just in case?

I know I always do.

 

[The Great Zaganza]

TBH, this really gets me:
US forces have sometimes gone to great lengths to allow relatives access to the bodies of fallen fighters or civilian victims; and when that was not advisable (as with bin Laden), they took pains to give a proper burial at sea.

But the Saudis, supposedly the Best Muslims to watch over Mecca, don't think twice about literally flushing a devout fellow believer down the toilet.

I know this has been a big scandal, but somehow not big enough...

 

[wasapi]

My fear is that gradually this story is forgotten about and no one has to take responsibility.

 

[Babbylonian]

My fear is that gradually this story is forgotten about and no one has to take responsibility.

One has nothing to do with the other. The person responsible (the current de facto head of state in Saudi Arabia) will almost certainly never be held accountable for his crime, regardless of whether or not anyone remembers what he did.

 

[Childlike Empress]

Erdogan has claimed today that Turkey has given the audio recordings of the murder to the Saudis, the US, UK, France and Germany.

The French foreign minister said today they haven't gotten any recordings from Turkey.

Asked if that meant Erdogan was lying, Le Drian said: “it means that he has a political game to play in these circumstances.”

“The truth isn’t out yet. We want to know the truth, the circumstances of his death and the identity of the culprits. Then we will take the necessary actions,” Le Drian told France 2 television. “If the Turkish president has information to give us, he must give it to us. For now, I don’t know about it.”

 

[Andy_Ross]

Jamal Khashoggi murder: Canadian intelligence 'has heard tape'

Canadian intelligence has heard an audio recording of the killing of the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has confirmed.

"Canada has been fully briefed up on what Turkey had to share," he said.

Mr Trudeau is the first Western leader to confirm his country has listened to the purported tape of the murder at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

Turkey's president said on Saturday that he had given copies to the US, UK, Germany, France and Saudi Arabia.

"We gave them the tapes," Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters before flying to Paris for a gathering of world leaders commemorating the 100th anniversary of the end of World War One. "They've also listened to the conversations, they know it."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-46183630

 

[The Great Zaganza]

this is utterly fascinating: all the Western Powers want to keep plausible deniability about having heard the evidence, as to not having to do anything about the murder.

 

[Childlike Empress]

Yeni Safak is also quoting Merkel's speaker on the topic, but with similar hearsay to Trudeau.

German government has confirmed intelligence sharing between Turkey and Germany about the recordings of the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Asked about recent media reports over the weekend, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman confirmed that they have received information from Turkey.

“I can tell you that there has been an exchange of intelligence service information on that,” Steffen Seibert told a regular news conference, but declined to give any further details. [...]

So do we have any non-Turk who claims to have listened to them directly? Gina Haspel (idk)?

edit: Quickly checked (never believe anything by Yeni Safak): Seibert was not asked about the recordings, just generally about information on details shared by the Turks (also not mentioning "reports over the weekend"), so the headline and the first paragraph I quoted are untrue. He just gave a typically weasel-worded answer to a very broad question.

edit2: Oh, and needless to say the Turks are foaming at the mouth over the French statement.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's communications director said on Monday it was unacceptable for French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian to accuse the Turkish president of playing political games in the case of the slain Saudi journalist.

Le Drian said on Monday that France was not in possession of recordings related to the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi as far as he was aware, contradicting remarks by Turkey's president.

"If there is lack of communication between France's state institutions, they will be the one to solve the problem," Fahrettin Altun said.

"Turkey keeps on revealing all details of the Khashoggi murder, including the mastermind giving the order. If it weren't for Turkey's determined efforts, the case would already have been covered," he added. [...]

 

[Puppycow]

I guess we have "bigger fish to fry" now. Oh well.

Saudi Crown Prince outlasts US' moral outrage, with a little help from soaring gas prices

Biden to meet with Saudi crown prince despite 'pariah' pledge

What exactly was this "pariah" pledge?

But while a presidential candidate in 2019, Biden vowed to make Saudi Arabia "pay the price, and make them, in fact, the pariah that they are" over the killing of Khashoggi. The White House has said, as recently as this month, that Biden's view has not changed.

A senior U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that if Biden "determines it's in his interest to engage with any particular leader, and if such an engagement can deliver results, then he will do so."

Really, is that the sort of statement that can only be given on condition of anonymity? Seems like a pretty bland statement.

This is just old-fashioned realpolitik: there are no permanent allies, only permanent interests.

 

[theprestige]

Ah, so we've been paying more for gas because Biden wants to stick it to Saudis.

Glad that's been cleared up. Now all Biden has to do is explain it clearly to the American public, and all will be well.

 

[Puppycow]

Ah, so we've been paying more for gas because Biden wants to stick it to Saudis.

Glad that's been cleared up. Now all Biden has to do is explain it clearly to the American public, and all will be well.

There's an argument that we should embrace higher gas prices. It gives people an incentive to make better choices when they buy a car. Don't buy a gas-guzzler. Buy an electric car, or at least something that gets better mileage.

I'm not saying it would be politically popular, but in the long run it would actually be good policy. I'm in favor of carbon taxes too. I think Norway has the right idea. Gas is $10/gallon there, if you convert to US units and currency. Venezuala has the opposite approach. The government has subsidized gasoline to make it practically free there (about $0.10/gallon). Which country has achieved superior results?

 

[Lplus]

There's an argument that we should embrace higher gas prices. It gives people an incentive to make better choices when they buy a car. Don't buy a gas-guzzler. Buy an electric car, or at least something that gets better mileage.

I'm not saying it would be politically popular, but in the long run it would actually be good policy. I'm in favor of carbon taxes too. I think Norway has the right idea. Gas is $10/gallon there, if you convert to US units and currency. Venezuala has the opposite approach. The government has subsidized gasoline to make it practically free there (about $0.10/gallon). Which country has achieved superior results?

Before you laud Norway to the heavens, remember that Norway has about 98% of its electricity generated by hydropower. Plus they have generous oil/gas reserves to sell to generate foreign exchange for purchasing the electric cars.

 

[Orphia Nay]

Update:

"President Donald Trump on Tuesday dismissed U.S. intelligence findings that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman likely had some culpability in the 2018 killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi as Trump warmly welcomed the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia on his first White House visit in seven years."

Trump dismisses US intelligence that Saudi prince was likely aware of 2018 killing of journalist

President Donald Trump is dismissing U.S. intelligence findings that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman likely had some culpability in the the 2018 killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

apnews.com

 

[Chanakya]

Yep, saw that.

No surprise, in dystopia. Where Putin's feted. Where Kim whatsisface is courted. Where Netanyahu is feted, and his exoneration demanded. Where Bolsonaro is lobbied for. Where Tate is given sanctuary. Where the seat of power is straddled, grotesquely, by a sex pervert and swindler and ...all manner of vile and crazy. No wonder this creature twerks his vile fat booty for Salman whatsisface's pleasure, and his dinars.

 

[acbytesla]

Before you laud Norway to the heavens, remember that Norway has about 98% of its electricity generated by hydropower. Plus they have generous oil/gas reserves to sell to generate foreign exchange for purchasing the electric cars.

Norway is easily the richest per capita nation on earth. Vast oil and mineral deposits. The Norway sovereign fund, Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG), is the world's largest sovereign wealth fund, established in 1990 to manage Norway's oil and gas revenues for future generations. It invests the surplus petroleum revenues in a diverse portfolio of global equities, bonds, real estate, and renewable energy infrastructure to generate income and support the Norwegian state budget, which can withdraw up to 3% of the fund's value annually. This for a nation of 5.6 million people.

 

[a_unique_person]

Norway is easily the richest per capita nation on earth. Vast oil and mineral deposits. The Norway sovereign fund, Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG), is the world's largest sovereign wealth fund, established in 1990 to manage Norway's oil and gas revenues for future generations. It invests the surplus petroleum revenues in a diverse portfolio of global equities, bonds, real estate, and renewable energy infrastructure to generate income and support the Norwegian state budget, which can withdraw up to 3% of the fund's value annually. This for a nation of 5.6 million people.

The politicians in Australia keep telling us if we try that work as our mining resources everyone will just pack up and go home.

It's utter bollocks.

 

[Vixen]

Yep, saw that.

No surprise, in dystopia. Where Putin's feted. Where Kim whatsisface is courted. Where Netanyahu is feted, and his exoneration demanded. Where Bolsonaro is lobbied for. Where Tate is given sanctuary. Where the seat of power is straddled, grotesquely, by a sex pervert and swindler and ...all manner of vile and crazy. No wonder this creature twerks his vile fat booty for Salman whatsisface's pleasure, and his dinars.

And publicly insults and disrespects Zelenskyy, who has enough on his plate.