Article

2004-06-08 Arabia

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Posted by tipper 2004-06-08 05:19|| || Front Page|| [6 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 This is a better link (to the post itself, not the start of the comments):

http://timblair.spleenville.com/archives/006913.php

Posted by Bulldog 2004-06-08 5:26:55 AM|| 2004-06-08 5:26:55 AM|| Front Page Top

#2 The Saudis are definitely complicit in some of this - they should certainly consider allowing westerners to arm themselves within their residences and possibly without, too. I have a couple of mates over there running businesses and I'm supposed to be attending a weddding there - this has now been postponed. Personally I wouldn't go near SA with a shitty stick in the current situation.

Posted by Howard UK 2004-06-08 6:18:47 AM|| 2004-06-08 6:18:47 AM|| Front Page Top

#3 That report concurs with the information that a friend's husband, whose is a doctor at Saad Hospital, was given us as the events were taking place.

Posted by Anonymous4617 2004-06-08 6:37:33 AM|| 2004-06-08 6:37:33 AM|| Front Page Top

#4 I heard something interesting on the BBC about the two journos who were shot in Ryhad(sp) that maybe someone who has been to Saudi could comment on.

The BBC said they were shot by men riding in jeep. In my experience riding around in military style vehicles is purely a Western affection. No self-respecting Asian who can afford wheels would be caught dead in that kind of vehicle. So do civilians in SA drive jeep like vehicles?

Posted by Phil B 2004-06-08 7:16:48 AM|| 2004-06-08 7:16:48 AM|| Front Page Top

#5 Phil B - Not commonly. They like Caprice Classics, Crown Victorias, Suburbans, Range Rovers, SUVs, and then all the Japanese cars. You would not believe how many Caprices are there - that's where they all disappeared to. Dating back to 70's models. They love the big 350's, heavy-duty radiators, super A/C, lots of steel, lots of room.

The joke among Expats was, if you were going to buy a car, you wanted big air, big 8, big steel.

Jeep Wagoneers & Cherokees, but I saw (remember) no open-top or rag tops.

Posted by .com 2004-06-08 7:29:43 AM|| 2004-06-08 7:29:43 AM|| Front Page Top

#6 Thanks .com. The implication is that riding in a Jeep means the shooters were part of the Saudi security forces.

Years ago when I lived in the USA I had a Caprice for a while. Man, could those things guzzle gas.

Posted by Phil B 2004-06-08 7:35:30 AM|| 2004-06-08 7:35:30 AM|| Front Page Top

#7 But at about 50SR / liter ($0.136 USD) that's no problemo - and we're not talking self serve, either, no waaay. Most stations have 4-5 Pakistanis on-station in the driveway who live to fill your tank. Weird place.

Posted by .com 2004-06-08 7:40:32 AM|| 2004-06-08 7:40:32 AM|| Front Page Top

#8 no rag tops? In Soddy?

Posted by Frank G 2004-06-08 7:48:36 AM|| 2004-06-08 7:48:36 AM|| Front Page Top

#9 Oh, forgot to mention - that's all Premium 93-94 Octane. Hi-test, bro! They don't even HAVE anything else but diesel.

Posted by .com 2004-06-08 7:54:17 AM|| 2004-06-08 7:54:17 AM|| Front Page Top

#10 Frank: Soddies come with built-in rag top.

Posted by Howard UK 2004-06-08 8:18:01 AM|| 2004-06-08 8:18:01 AM|| Front Page Top

#11 Howard got it

Posted by Frank G 2004-06-08 8:18:39 AM|| 2004-06-08 8:18:39 AM|| Front Page Top

#12 Failed to see the irony - as a Brit, I feel duly ashamed.

Posted by Howard UK 2004-06-08 8:24:32 AM|| 2004-06-08 8:24:32 AM|| Front Page Top

#13 Lol! *golf clap* *snicker* Better? Lol!

Believe it or not, I weeded that term out of my vocabulary before I went over. Now it's just not in my list - so your reference went right by me, duh!

Posted by .com 2004-06-08 8:26:28 AM|| 2004-06-08 8:26:28 AM|| Front Page Top

#14 how about table cloth and a couple fan belts?

Posted by Frank G 2004-06-08 8:29:18 AM|| 2004-06-08 8:29:18 AM|| Front Page Top

#15 Well, it's just one fan belt, twist into a figure-8 and fold over - put the cross-over in the back. Original use: do the figure-8 and put on hind legs of the camel to hobble him. You don't see that loud-assed Palestinian / Italian tablecloth version or the black & white checkered very often - those you do see are mainly worn like a bandana by the PakiWakis. Hey, I couldn't get any of my Saudi "friends" to tell me anything that made sense about the various styles, like if certain ones were favored by specific tribes or clans. Just individual taste, as far as I know. Plain white and a fine white-red checkered were the norm. Limit reached, heh.

Posted by .com 2004-06-08 8:38:56 AM|| 2004-06-08 8:38:56 AM|| Front Page Top

#16 They've started doing 'PLO black check' and 'Wahabbi red check ' baseball caps - becoming quite popular amongst the disaffected minorities in SE London.

Posted by Howard UK 2004-06-08 8:57:10 AM|| 2004-06-08 8:57:10 AM|| Front Page Top

#17 Consider that a targeting aid, Howard, heh... methinks everybody be sorta disaffected, Lol!

Posted by .com 2004-06-08 8:59:28 AM|| 2004-06-08 8:59:28 AM|| Front Page Top

#18 I'm re-reading the story from the link and wonder if we'll ever know the real victim count. With about 20 bad guys, apparently, and some of the text about what went on inside Oasis, 22 dead sounds very low. And the injured must wildly exceed what was reported.

A funny thing was that the account had nothing at all about the 7 Americans supposedly freed (2 wounded) early in the Oasis standoff - or HOW the wonderful Saudi Commandos "freed" them. Bandar made a big deal out of it - and then nothing. Poof - gone from the news. Ah, the Magic Kingdom, only the perps and the Keystone Koppers know dick.

Posted by .com 2004-06-08 9:11:28 AM|| 2004-06-08 9:11:28 AM|| Front Page Top

#19 .com: the low damage/body count seemed odd to me too. All that coordination among all those jihadis and all they do is opportunistically shoot some people up? Perhaps the point was just terror, or perhaps we're missing something...

Posted by someone 2004-06-08 2:21:51 PM|| 2004-06-08 2:21:51 PM|| Front Page Top

#20 Damned Saudis - especially Nayef. Until some talkative eyewitnesses leave the Kingdom they get away with this rope-a-dope shit...

Posted by .com 2004-06-08 5:13:46 PM|| 2004-06-08 5:13:46 PM|| Front Page Top

#21 Ah yes! Big Iron! Remembering when the air was clean and sex was dirty.

Posted by Shipman 2004-06-08 5:48:32 PM|| 2004-06-08 5:48:32 PM|| Front Page Top

#22 Hey, I couldn't get any of my Saudi "friends" to tell me anything that made sense about the various styles, like if certain ones were favored by specific tribes or clans. Just individual taste, as far as I know. Plain white and a fine white-red checkered were the norm. Limit reached, heh.

One thing I remember was the young, unmarried guys tucked the sides up into the band. 'Course that was ten years ago and fads may have changed...

Posted by Pappy 2004-06-08 8:28:41 PM|| 2004-06-08 8:28:41 PM|| Front Page Top

#23 Pappy - Lol! Nope - they're still doing it... hey, anything to be different, the siren call of youth!

Ship - Pappy and others can verify this... I went to an auto auction out in the middle of nowhere where they held these things in the Dhahrah area - and there was this amazing set of concrete slabs for parking the cars on sale. One had to be about 2-3 acres square - and there was nothing but Caprices on it - ranging from late 70's to mid-90's. Never saw so many of 'em in one place, ever before. A pure memory trip, lol! Big iron, indeed!

Posted by .com 2004-06-08 11:19:51 PM|| 2004-06-08 11:19:51 PM|| Front Page Top

15:08 BMN
14:40 Antiwar TROLL
11:44 BigEd
09:31 Shipman
09:27 Shipman
07:55 Mitch H.
03:40 .com
03:29 ed
03:23 ed
02:58 Super Hose
02:56 Super Hose
02:34 Phil Fraering
01:21 .com
01:11 Rafael
01:02 .com
00:55 Rafael
00:52 Rafael
00:49 Not Mike Moore
00:48 GK
00:45 Not Mike Moore
00:42 .com
00:42 Not Mike Moore
00:38 Not Mike Moore
00:33 Not Mike Moore