More fun & games in the Magic Kingdom
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My usually reliable source tells me that Fitz endorsed a workforce walkout if conditions in one of the workshops exceeded certain temperature and/or humidity limits. When the inevitable happened, he was asked to choose between aisle and window seats for his trip back to Blighty.
I am a figment of my own imagination
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Just curious, a 'Master Green' RSAF Tornado came into Khalid Int this afternoon and then taxiied into the private aviation ramp, call sign intrigued me and hadn't seen Tornados landing and coming in to the KKIA before, but then haven't been around Riy for a while, is that common practice nowadays. Do know that quite a few Academy were up this evening when we came back past there.
Best keep your heads down out there - BBC is reporting that terrorists are in the final stages of planning some sort of terrorist operation in the Great Sandpit.
The Foreign Office are advising UK nationals not to travel to Saudi unles they are confident about their security arrangements.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/3212769.stm
The Foreign Office are advising UK nationals not to travel to Saudi unles they are confident about their security arrangements.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/3212769.stm
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My spies say that BAe employees and dependants in Riyadh are restricted to their compounds unless absolutely necessary. Each BAe compound has an armoured vehicle outside. No camping or motor biking trips to the desert are allowed.
There's also a rumour of Pakistani troops being bought in to proyect the Royal family.
The Australian Dept. of Foreign Affairs has advised that all non-essential travel to Saudi Arabia should be cancelled. I also understand that the US government has issued a more strongly worded warning.
As for as I'm concerned, the writing was on the wall for Saudi Arabia ever since the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Centre.
There's also a rumour of Pakistani troops being bought in to proyect the Royal family.
The Australian Dept. of Foreign Affairs has advised that all non-essential travel to Saudi Arabia should be cancelled. I also understand that the US government has issued a more strongly worded warning.
As for as I'm concerned, the writing was on the wall for Saudi Arabia ever since the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Centre.
Pakistani troops in Saudi could mean one of three things -
1) The Saudi's have agreed a deal to buy Nuclear weapons from Pakistan and/or have allowed the Pakistanis set up R&D facilities and to provide site security.
However if this were the case then Pakistani troops would be deployed when the weapons are about to be deployed which is likely to take some time as basing, dispersal procedures and methods of deployment would need to be resolved first.
It is doubtful that a sovereign nation would allow foreign troops control and security over their weapons to such a degree. This theory is briefly discussed here -
http://washingtontimes.com/upi-break...5437-7363r.htm
2) The Saudi's have done a deal for the supply of Pakistani troops to be based in Saudi. The only reason for doing this is if the govt can no longer trust its own security forces to any degree to protect it against internal dissent or insurrection.
This would be disturbing in that a nation that must rely on outsiders to protect it against its own populace, is in itself a declaring a weakness which could encourage just such action by "interested" portions of the populace.
Whilst the Pakistanis are Muslim they are still likely to be considered outsiders if/when the balloon goes up and therefore ultimately provocative to the populace. Being forced to rely on non-national troops would in itself be highly corrosive to the legitimacy of the state and counterproductive particularly if they were the only troops under meaningful control.
3) The rumors are all sloblocks and nothing of the sort is going on.
However the fact that such rumours are circulating is certainly suggestive of a loss of confidence in the regime.
1) The Saudi's have agreed a deal to buy Nuclear weapons from Pakistan and/or have allowed the Pakistanis set up R&D facilities and to provide site security.
However if this were the case then Pakistani troops would be deployed when the weapons are about to be deployed which is likely to take some time as basing, dispersal procedures and methods of deployment would need to be resolved first.
It is doubtful that a sovereign nation would allow foreign troops control and security over their weapons to such a degree. This theory is briefly discussed here -
http://washingtontimes.com/upi-break...5437-7363r.htm
2) The Saudi's have done a deal for the supply of Pakistani troops to be based in Saudi. The only reason for doing this is if the govt can no longer trust its own security forces to any degree to protect it against internal dissent or insurrection.
This would be disturbing in that a nation that must rely on outsiders to protect it against its own populace, is in itself a declaring a weakness which could encourage just such action by "interested" portions of the populace.
Whilst the Pakistanis are Muslim they are still likely to be considered outsiders if/when the balloon goes up and therefore ultimately provocative to the populace. Being forced to rely on non-national troops would in itself be highly corrosive to the legitimacy of the state and counterproductive particularly if they were the only troops under meaningful control.
3) The rumors are all sloblocks and nothing of the sort is going on.
However the fact that such rumours are circulating is certainly suggestive of a loss of confidence in the regime.
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CSD,
Not true us being restricted to the compounds. We can travel, go biking etc... with no restrictions.
Everyone is reading the warnings and perhaps not going out much unless they need to. Otherwise it is ops normal here (depending on your definition of normal).
Not true us being restricted to the compounds. We can travel, go biking etc... with no restrictions.
Everyone is reading the warnings and perhaps not going out much unless they need to. Otherwise it is ops normal here (depending on your definition of normal).
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Ops normal eh?..........
"THREE explosions rocked a residential compound in the Saudi capital Saturday night, and a government official said the blast came after gunmen broke into the compound and exchanged fire with security guards.
The manager of the targeted compound estimated that 100 people were wounded, the Al-Arabiya television channel said. Diplomats reported one big explosion about midnight, followed by two smaller ones 15 seconds apart.
The U.S. Embassy had issued a warning Friday that terror attacks could be imminent in the tense Gulf kingdom, and American diplomatic missions in Saudi Arabia were closed Saturday as a result. The official Saudi Press Agency referred to a single blast, and called it a "terrorist explosion."
The streets were crowded with late night crowds because of Ramadan, the holy month when Muslims fast during the day.
A woman living in the compound told The Associated Press in a telephone interview that "there is lot of blood" at the scene of the explosions.
"I am extremely terrified; I am really scared. I felt it was an earthquake," the woman said without identifying herself.
"Lots of houses are damaged, windows shattered and police echoing with sirens of ambulances," she said. "The ambulances were picking up lots of people. It looks like there are lots of people who died."
The Saudi official said the explosions took place in the Muhaya compound. He said the attackers exchanged fire with the guards and he said there were apparently three explosions.
He said most of the wounded were believed to be children because their parents were out shopping during Ramadan. Most of the residents are Saudis and few Westerners live in the area.
Dozens of police cars and ambulances raced toward the direction of the blasts, sirens wailing, and helicopters hovered overhead. Traffic was tied up across the city.
Hanadi al-Ghandaki, manager of the targeted compound, told Al-Arabiya that about 100 people were wounded, mostly children "because most adults were outside the compound at that time." She did not elaborate.
Al-Ghandaki said the compound has 200 residential villas occupied by Arab tenants, plus four others occupied by one French family, two German families and a British family.
Rabie Hadeka, a resident inside the targeted compound, told the Al-Arabiya television network that "about 20 to 30 people have been killed and 50 to 60 injured."
She told Al-Arabiya that "shattered glass was spread everywhere after we heard three very strong explosions."
Police said the explosions were five kilometers (three miles) from one of the entrances to the Saudi capital's diplomatic quarter.
Almost all the foreign embassies in Riyadh and most diplomats' homes are inside the diplomatic quarter, an isolated neighborhood whose entrances are guarded. But there are several residential compounds housing Western business people relatively near the diplomatic quarter.
"We heard a very strong explosion and we saw the fire," Bassem al-Hourani, who said he was a resident at the targeted compound, told Al-Arabiya in a telephone interview.
"I heard screams of the children and women. I don't know what happened to my friends if anybody was injured," he said. "All the glass in my house were shattered."
A Western diplomat said he got a call from a friend who reported seeing smoke rising from a building on the other side of the diplomatic quarter near an area where the palaces of the royal family's senior princes are located.
The city's main palaces, including those of senior princes and the king's sprawling Riyadh residence, are just outside the east side of the diplomatic quarter. Each of the palaces is behind a high wall, with automatic gates for cars to drive through, and guards.
A May attack on western residential compounds in Riyadh killed 35 people, including the nine attackers. Since then, Saudi authorities have arrested hundreds of suspected militants throughout the country."
............good luck.
"THREE explosions rocked a residential compound in the Saudi capital Saturday night, and a government official said the blast came after gunmen broke into the compound and exchanged fire with security guards.
The manager of the targeted compound estimated that 100 people were wounded, the Al-Arabiya television channel said. Diplomats reported one big explosion about midnight, followed by two smaller ones 15 seconds apart.
The U.S. Embassy had issued a warning Friday that terror attacks could be imminent in the tense Gulf kingdom, and American diplomatic missions in Saudi Arabia were closed Saturday as a result. The official Saudi Press Agency referred to a single blast, and called it a "terrorist explosion."
The streets were crowded with late night crowds because of Ramadan, the holy month when Muslims fast during the day.
A woman living in the compound told The Associated Press in a telephone interview that "there is lot of blood" at the scene of the explosions.
"I am extremely terrified; I am really scared. I felt it was an earthquake," the woman said without identifying herself.
"Lots of houses are damaged, windows shattered and police echoing with sirens of ambulances," she said. "The ambulances were picking up lots of people. It looks like there are lots of people who died."
The Saudi official said the explosions took place in the Muhaya compound. He said the attackers exchanged fire with the guards and he said there were apparently three explosions.
He said most of the wounded were believed to be children because their parents were out shopping during Ramadan. Most of the residents are Saudis and few Westerners live in the area.
Dozens of police cars and ambulances raced toward the direction of the blasts, sirens wailing, and helicopters hovered overhead. Traffic was tied up across the city.
Hanadi al-Ghandaki, manager of the targeted compound, told Al-Arabiya that about 100 people were wounded, mostly children "because most adults were outside the compound at that time." She did not elaborate.
Al-Ghandaki said the compound has 200 residential villas occupied by Arab tenants, plus four others occupied by one French family, two German families and a British family.
Rabie Hadeka, a resident inside the targeted compound, told the Al-Arabiya television network that "about 20 to 30 people have been killed and 50 to 60 injured."
She told Al-Arabiya that "shattered glass was spread everywhere after we heard three very strong explosions."
Police said the explosions were five kilometers (three miles) from one of the entrances to the Saudi capital's diplomatic quarter.
Almost all the foreign embassies in Riyadh and most diplomats' homes are inside the diplomatic quarter, an isolated neighborhood whose entrances are guarded. But there are several residential compounds housing Western business people relatively near the diplomatic quarter.
"We heard a very strong explosion and we saw the fire," Bassem al-Hourani, who said he was a resident at the targeted compound, told Al-Arabiya in a telephone interview.
"I heard screams of the children and women. I don't know what happened to my friends if anybody was injured," he said. "All the glass in my house were shattered."
A Western diplomat said he got a call from a friend who reported seeing smoke rising from a building on the other side of the diplomatic quarter near an area where the palaces of the royal family's senior princes are located.
The city's main palaces, including those of senior princes and the king's sprawling Riyadh residence, are just outside the east side of the diplomatic quarter. Each of the palaces is behind a high wall, with automatic gates for cars to drive through, and guards.
A May attack on western residential compounds in Riyadh killed 35 people, including the nine attackers. Since then, Saudi authorities have arrested hundreds of suspected militants throughout the country."
............good luck.
I am a figment of my own imagination
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Pakistani troops have rotated through the kingdom for years. Used to be some units up in Tabuk.
Special forces on compounds down in Jeddah now and the strength tripled since yesterday, security much tighter which is hardly surprising considering they are going to be standing close to the bangs.
Not many westerners in last nights do and I think the message has sunk in that these guys are indiscriminate.
Special forces on compounds down in Jeddah now and the strength tripled since yesterday, security much tighter which is hardly surprising considering they are going to be standing close to the bangs.
Not many westerners in last nights do and I think the message has sunk in that these guys are indiscriminate.
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BBC reporting a financial scandal with a senior manager living with his mistress. SFO investigation, Robert Lee International involved in financial investigation.
Also a Hansard answer earlier in the year.
Also a Hansard answer earlier in the year.
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Yep that sounds like OPs normal 
Well should be interesting to see what happens in the coming month as the "extraordinary bonus" date comes up. I wonder if there will be a line of folks at izze 5 getting their papers to depart?
Well should be interesting to see what happens in the coming month as the "extraordinary bonus" date comes up. I wonder if there will be a line of folks at izze 5 getting their papers to depart?
Not strictly relevent but there was a story in todays Guardian about BAE washing bribe (oops commissions) through Swiss banks and the steps they took to hide the cash.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/armstrade/...100517,00.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/armstrade/...100517,00.html