All Bets are Off

This photo was made in November by Oli Scarff/Getty Images.

Quite telling indeed, a slice of time just a few months ago with a relaxed cool smile as if life were actually good, and not a series of real awareness transfers. Now, right now, independent reports coming out of Libya are saying that the death toll of Libyan citizens at the hand of Qaddafi (seen above with the same hand held by our commander in chief) and his military is well into the thousands, with thousands more injured.  

All bets are off.  King Abdullah stands to the right and behind President Barack Obama.  Photographer unidentified. 

King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia recently returned to the Arabian Peninsula after being abroad receiving the world's best medical treatment for that which ails him.  That means he was out of the country early last week when he ordered the 50 mile pull back of the Saudi Arabian border with Yemen and the evacuation of around about 100,000 Saudis.   Those paying attention in Germany are aware that Yemen's American backed government and military are finished, it is down to a matter of only a few weeks. Once that happens, Saudi Arabia is logically next.  At that time all bets on oil prices are off and within hours crude could easily hit $200-300 In God We Trust Units a barrel, or 6-7 at the pump if it could be found at all.

The King knows this, as does the rest of the world.  In an effort to change the now, the King recently announced that he was throwing $35,000,000,000 at the problem.  That's right $35,000,000,000 (with a 'b'), has been given to the Saudi people by their King in the form of benefits supporting the four pillars of life.  Something like 20,000,000 Saudi citizens are qualified to start applying for what is in it for them.  The list of benefits is long, as you can imagine with the account holding $35,000,000,000.  Just one example of the new plan that started yesterday: If you are a Saudi citizen anywhere in the world, you can walk into any University and receive your education paid for by the monies the King has put up.  Monies that has come from the sale of oil.

Saudis in general should be okay with this plan as they move through life trying to figure out what they can get.  The question is, what about all of the extremely poor immigrants living in Saudi Arabia doing the jobs that the Saudis do not want to do, like trash removal, landscaping and so on?  That class of human will not be part of the $35,000,000,000 Arabian Bail Out.  Will they simply sit back and watch everyone else prosper or will we eventually start hearing about protests in Saudi Arabia?  For sure we will not be able to miss that one when it happens because we are obviously intrinsically attached to the outcome, we have been for a long time.