#bin salman

[nando161mando]

21,000 slave labourers killed by a brutal fascist dictatorship propped up by the USA.

[originalleftist]

Over half of anti-Heard tweets were bots or paid trolls, many linked to Saudi government bots.

"According to an investigation by Tortoise Media, which examined more than one million tweets, more than 50 per cent of anti-Heard messages in the run-up to the 2022 defamation case were "inauthentic' - either from automated "bot" accounts or people hired to attack the actress."

"Bradley Hope, author of a book on Bin Salman, told the podcast that the pro-Depp tweets emanating from Saudi Arabia appear to be produced by "flies", a name for Saudi bot accounts."

"An intelligence professional who tracks online disinformation campaigns, said there was only a "0.1 per cent chance" that the hate directed at Heard was from genuine Depp fans.

The investigation also claims that bot networks in Thailand and Spain tweeted large numbers of pro-Depp messages."

"...more than 100 Twitter accounts sent 1,000 identical messages at exactly the same time to any company that had worked with Heard, reading: "This brand supports domestic violence against men."'

"The makers of the podcast argue that the criticism of Heard could have affected the jury in the 2022 US defamation trial which found in favour of Depp."

"So, if you couldn't tell the difference between a real-life Johnny Depp fan and a bot in 2022, then you probably won't be able to tell a Russian troll from a US election official in 2024. And that represents a serious problem for the security of our democracies."-Alexi Mostrous, presenter of the podcast.

"Johnny Depp and the Saudi Embassy did not respond to Tortoise's request for comment."

[girlactionfigure]

Bahrain's Crown Prince is the first Arab leader in the region condemning Hamas and October 7.

[canadianabroadvery]

[deadpresidents]

How many absolute monarchs are there in the world?

•King Salman of Saudi Arabia •Pope Francis •Sultan Haitham bin Tariq of Oman •Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei •The King of Swaziland (now Eswatini): King Mswati III of Swaziland (AKA Eswatini) •United Arab Emirates: Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed (Each of the seven Emirates that form the UAE have their own absolute monarch and Sheikh MBZ, as leader of Dubai, is the overall ruler of the nation.)

Did I miss anybody? I think those are the only absolute monarchs still in power today. The rest of the world's royalty are constitutional monarchs, so they reign but do not rule.

(There's an argument for including Kim Jong Un on the list of absolute monarchs despite the fact that he's not a King and North Korea is a Communist country. He's obviously a dictator, but the Kim dynasty has virtually ruled North Korea like a secular monarchy for nearly 75 years with the supreme leaders inheriting their power through hereditary succession. Kim Jong Un took over immediately upon the death of his father, Kim Jong Il, who had assumed power when his father -- North Korea's first paramount leader, Kim Il Sung -- died in 1994. Of course, North Korea isn't officially considered a monarchy, but the manner in which the Kim family has ruled the country and transferred power from father-to-son for three generations and counting resembles the structure of an absolute monarchy more than a "traditional" totalitarian dictatorship.)

[alliluyevas]

on the general subject apparently grace kelly briefly dated the shah of iran a fact that i didn't know until like two days ago and which now haunts me.

[odinsblog]

Some evil, greedy, treacherous mother fuckers associated with LIV Golf, all the way around

👉🏿 https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/07/sports/golf/liv-pga-tour-saudi-arabia.html

👉🏿 https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/19/world/middleeast/jamal-khashoggi-case-facts.html

[royal-confessions]

“Pls don't troll me for saying this, but OBJECTIVELY speaking, I think Mohammed bin Salman is one of the most good-looking royals out there. He's very tall around 6ft1, has a masculine build, beautiful brown eyes, full lips, great skin, nicely shaped eyebrows, sweet smile, great features overall. He was even more handsome when he was younger. I remember being mesmerised by his manly voice, watching live on TV when he had given a speech in english during a visit to my country, Pakistan.” - Submitted by Anonymous

[vyorei]

Saudi Arabia's Prince calling for an end to operations in Gaza again

[anthroxlove]

Guess Who's Johnny Depp's New Bestie?

"If you guessed MBS, congratulations. I guess you had that on your 2024 bingo card.

In case you forgot, Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud ordered a hit on journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was chopped into little pieces by Saudi agents at a consulate in Turkey."

(full post)

[t3dd]

[imkeepinit]

[originalleftist]

Johnny Depp is reportedly dating a new girlfriend- a 28 year old (Depp is 61) Russian beautician and model named Yulia Valasova (this is not the first time in recent years that Depp has dated a much younger Russian woman).

Now, I'm not saying that anyone from Russia is necessarily an agent of the Kremlin. But:

The Kremlin has been reported to use agents, posing as ordinary Russian citizens, to make friends with prominent Westerners and influence them.

It is also known to seek out powerful, influential Westerners with big egos and lots of baggage (ie, Kompromat) to groom as assets, the former President being the highest-profile example.

And Depp's chief fixer Adam Waldman* previously worked with/for Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, Julian Assange, and Russian foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, and was involved in efforts to cover up Russian interference in the 2016 US election.

Depp is a bit of a has-been now, but he has lots of powerful friends in Hollywood, and his cause is celebrated by the MRA/incel crowd on the right, while also having some crossover/fandom appeal to other demographics (a little-known fact is that polling around the trial showed Depp's support was strongest with women and youth).

And we already know Depp is friends with the ruler of Saudi Arabia, and that a lot of the online hate directed at Heard has been traced back to Saudi bots, so evidently a foreign government thought they could use the intense hype around the trial as part of an influence campaign.

So, from where I'm standing, it looks to me VERY much like Depp is being groomed as a Russian asset.

*Its a shame that Waldman is mostly known only for his involvement in Depp v Heard (and even there, he largely flew below the radar due to being kicked off the case early on by a judge for leaking information to the media, with Camille Vasquez getting most of the attention from Depp's legal team). Waldman is a DEEPLY shady and dangerous man who has been closely-involved in efforts by a foreign enemy to undermine the United States and install fascist government, and deserves far more rigorous scrutiny (and serious legal consequences, starting with disbarment, and ending in prison).

[mnera94]

🫡🤍

[deadpresidents]

You have mentioned your interest in reading about Saudi Arabia and I share your interest, so I want to know if you think the crown prince will actually become king eventually?

Yes, without a doubt. The Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), is already the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia and has instituted major economic, cultural, and religious reforms over the past few years that have dramatically changed Saudi Arabia. (Of course, he has also been responsible for some impulsive foreign policy disasters and brutal human rights violations.) With the possible exception of the Emirati leader, Mohammed bin Zayed (MBZ), the Saudi Crown Prince is already the most powerful leader in the Arab world.

King Salman is still alive (at least he was a few minutes ago), so he is officially in charge, but the King is nearly 88 years old and it is believed that he has been in failing health for a while now. It's not unusual for there to be a de factor ruler while the Saudi King is still living, and in every instance that de facto ruler ultimately succeeded the King. King Saud was forced to hand over power to the future King Faisal because Saud was utterly incompetent and unfit to effectively rule the country. King Khalid, who had assumed the throne when Faisal was assassinated in 1975, handed the reins over to future King Fahd because his health was failing. Fahd suffered a massive stroke in the 1990s, and future King Abdullah stepped in as de facto ruler until he was proclaimed King upon Fahd's death. So there's a lot of precedent for the de facto ruler to eventually become King in his own right. MBS has taken about as much control over Saudi Arabia as possible while still respecting the position of his father, but he's undoubtedly the person calling the shots and he's seemingly (and, in some cases, publicly) sidelined any potential threats to his rule once King Salman dies or abdicates.

Unless there is some shocking turn of events -- and it would probably take nothing short of a revolution at this point -- MBS will eventually succeed his father as King. That will make him the first grandson of Ibn Saud, the founder of the modern Saudi state, to become King. Since the death of Ibn Saud in 1953, every one of his successors as King of Saudi Arabia has been one of his roughly 50 sons. And because MBS is still so young (he's only 38 years old right now), he will likely have the opportunity to rule Saudi Arabia and become the most influential leader in the Middle East for decades to come.