General Middle East & North Africa Thread

I thought it was Nitro Zero. And seeing as it somehow ended up in the news, I doubt executing it would be an option anymore, especially since we could invite such an attack on ourselves.

I Bring Doom,and a bit of gloom, but mostly gloom.

I doubt any nation on Earth could withstand the cyber capabilities of the US. They only need to change their approach.

More on the Iran missile launch. I get the feeling the IRGC is soloing right now.

Si Vis Pacem, Para Perkele

The Arab League just declared Hezbollah a terrorist organization. Wonder how well that is going to go down in Lebanon?

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-35789303

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.

The Gulf has already abandoned them. They just told Iran it's open season on Beirut.

As you said, it's a problem throughout Islamic society - I don't see us fixing it in the short term unless you want to propose colonizing the Middle East and liberating the shit out of them. So I wouldn't consider the clerics to be the source of Iran's anti-gay animus, just a symptom of it. (Yeah, I just defended a bunch of anti-gay bigots there. Unless you want me to take an uncompromisingly absolutist America Fuck Yeah position, that's the best option.)

As I said, liberalization in Iran will come from, A, exposure to Western entertainment and goods (which is already happening, particularly in Tehran) B, from the revolutionary generation dying off, and C, from increasing demands for democracy from the people once the Guard have been curbed (and thus can no longer be used to crush protestors). The processes are happening; just take a look.

Eh, don't over sell it. Yeah, the zeal will wane as the old guard dies off, but the Mc Donald's school of empire isn't going to work out too well long term either. And again, it doesn't matter what kind of regime is in power, they will still act pretty much as they do now in terms of their foreign policy.

I'd add this here since some Air France stewardess are majorly concerned if they'll be forced to wear headscarfves when official flights to Tehran is a go from Paris.

Saudi Arabia and Egypt are to be linked by a bridge across the Red Sea.

edited 9th Apr '16 11:33:32 AM by JackOLantern1337

I Bring Doom,and a bit of gloom, but mostly gloom.

That isn't even a sentence, Jack.

Egypt has ceded the island of Trian to Saudi Arabia Oh poor poor Egypt.

I Bring Doom,and a bit of gloom, but mostly gloom.

Another headache for the map makers.

Well now we know Saudia is willing to buy others sovereign land for money. Leads me to wonder if they'll try the tactic elsewhere in the neighborhood....

Except that the island is too small to show up on most maps; the only map makers who will have any headaches are the ones who are assigned to do close-up maps of the Straits of Tiran, like this one◊.

edited 11th Apr '16 7:33:51 AM by MarqFJA

Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.

I imagine, now that we can see a map of the area, that its easier for mapmakers now, if they ever need to get around to drawing that border.

Yeah that's not exactly the Egypt-Sudan border or the Saudi-Yeman one, there are hundreds of tiny border disputes like that a round the world, it's only the big ones that matter to map makers.

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran

Crossposting from the Women's Issues thread:

Tasneem Salim of GCON on running a women's games convention in Saudi Arabia

I have disagreed with her a lot, but comparing her to republicans and propagandists of dictatorships is really low. - An idiot

In other Saudi related news the eligious police have apparently lost the right to carry out arrests.

[1]

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran

... Which almost certainly will translate to nobody getting arrested unless they're committing "non-religious" crimes such as rape (you don't need a religious law to tell you that rape is wrong).

On the other hand, I distinctly remember that the religious police guys were always accompanied by police officers expressly for the purpose of arrests. Or were those guys not seconded from the actual police force?

Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.

Regardless it's good news to see those fuckers getting reigned in. Maybe Salman will continue with Abdullah's reforms after all?

The Hell after ISIS On the other hand it looks to be a while before poor Iraq finally hits rock bottom.

I Bring Doom,and a bit of gloom, but mostly gloom.

Speak for yourself. There cannot be good from trying to fix one problem by going all the way to the other extreme. They served a purpose in our society, in spite of the excesses that their more ultraconservative members committed, and now the gap left by their loss of legitimate power will only accelerate the epidemic of moral decay that is spreading among our youth.

Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.

What purpose did they serve?

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran

Cutting down on sexual harrassment in public, sexually loose behavior by reckless youth (both male and female; you should hear the stories my mom tells me every now and then of what she sees when she goes to the mall), blatantly immodest modes of dress, and other things of the sort.

Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus.

Maybe it's just me, but if law enforcement needs to be called in to police youth behavior, wouldn't that mean that the parents and teachers have messed up somewhere?

I have disagreed with her a lot, but comparing her to republicans and propagandists of dictatorships is really low. - An idiot

That is an interesting point of view.

Si Vis Pacem, Para Perkele

X3 But why have them deal with it instead of the regular police?

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran