Replace ‘the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’ with, for instance, the State of Connecticut, and the paragraph above would still read just fine, which is remarkable. Okay, I concede that the decisions of the council are no more than recommendations to His Highness and must be implemented by feet-dragging bureaucrats. However, with the Kingdom growing ever more complex and an independent judicial system in place, the council is well poised to take on a much larger role in Saudi politics.

Called Majlis al-Shura, which translates roughly to the Consultative Council, the quasi-legislature was formed in 1992 and is in its fourth term. The representatives are all commoners rather than royals; they include tribal representation from the likes of Rashid, which is quite the equivalent of a Cherokee seat in the US House. What’s more, members also include Shi’ites, who enjoy(ed) similar political legitimacy as Communists during the Red Scare.

Skeptics will hurry to point out that the members of the Majlis are all appointed by King Abdullah. But considering His Highness is actually older than the Kingdom itself, appointing “rebels” and “heretics” to give him advice is progressive to say the very least. I am among the optimists who believe the Majlis holds great potentials for representation for groups traditionally marginalized in the Kingdom. You know the word I’m alluding to.

Bo-yun Liu

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Among the most controversial donors are the government of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Brunei and Oman. The pundits are now questioning Hillary’s ability to stay independent of external influences when it comes to making decisions on her would-be job.

What I find interesting is that donors like Norway, Jamaica, and Italy barely caused a stir, even though Norway is run by communists, Jamaica smokes funny things, and Italy was the bad guy in WWII.

In all seriousness, how influential can Saudi Arabia’s donation to a book shed in Arkansas be? Do the Clintons desperately need to start Clinton Foundation 2.0 that they would try to please all 205,000 donors any way possible? Come on, America, it’s just charity and good will.

Besides, how many of us think twice about the Chrysler Building? ‘Cause that’s owned by Abu Dhabi.

Bo-yun Liu

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Charging or paying interest is forbidden by the Sharia, which, technically, should be the law that governs the Kingdom.

Saudi Arabia is feeling the effects of the international financial crisis. One of the country’s flagship development projects, King Abdullah Economic City, is definitely feeling the pressure from the drying up of investments.

Bo-yun Liu

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Some of the progress includes a multi-faith dialogue recently held in New York, sponsored by King Abdullah.

One of the most significant involvements of HRC is perhaps its intervention in court cases that are relevant to the human rights issue in the Kingdom. It has been involved in over one thousand cases from April to August 2008, many with notable results.

Bo-yun Liu

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One of the prime culprits is that not all of the countries follow production quotas. This erodes OPEC’s internal cohesiveness and its external credibility.

Falling oil prices present an especially difficult scenario for OPEC. Many of its member states rely on petro income to survive, so are disincentivized against a production cut. This, of course, enrages larger producers like Saudi Arabia, which has to suffer fiscally from lower production without seeing the intended rise in price.

Previously, Saudi Arabia has pumped production to drive down the price of oil to as low as $10/barrel, effectively starving the more oil-dependent regimes of income. It proved to be effective, but will Saudi Arabia do the same this time? We consumers can only hope.

Bo-yun Liu

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What’s for sure is that the billions of dollars are not stuffed under a mattress. In a recent report, Saudi Arabia alone holds a 878 billion-dollar portfolio of of foreign assets. To put this figure in perspective, it is comparable to the entire GDP of Turkey in 2007 (IMF Data).

That may not impress most people, but it implies significant economic ties between Saudi Arabia and the rest of the world. It may not be a physical relationship, but the ramifications are significant.

This figure, which, by the way, exceeds Saudi Arabia’s own GDP by 300 billion or so, represents the reality that the country can no longer aspire to a policy of isolation.  As mentioned in a previous post, this also presents a catch-22 situation for the state’s petro pricing policy. Whatever the implications are, one thing is for certain – Saudi Arabia’s welfare is absolutely inseparable from the rest of the world.

Bo-yun Liu

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The mufti, without any known academic accomplishments in the area of finance, could easily be dismissed as ill-qualified. However, one could perhaps interpret the message less literally.

As clichéd as it may sound, the root cause of the 2007 sub-prime mortgage crisis is greed. The bankers were too greedy for commissions and on the other side of the table home-owners were too greedy for big houses.

The Sharia may not be quite up-to-date for governing modern financial voodoo, but peel away the words and the right basic ideas are all pretty much there.

Bo-yun Liu

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In Jidda, four college-age Saudi girls have formed a rock band, Accolade, and has released their first single “Pinocchio,” which became an instant sensation among Saudi youth. The members of the band sport body piercing much like their rebel counterparts in the West, only they are afraid of giving out their last names in the interview in fear of consequences.

The religious police, once ubiquitous, has largely retreated from the streets, signifying more tolerance. The rock movement is gaining traction in the most cosmopolitan city in the Kingdom, and so is hip-hop.

The band is named after a painting by Edmund Blair Leighton, an English painter, which depicts a noblewoman knighting a young warrior. Though the band provokes controversy among the conservative within Saudi Arabia, the members themselves proclaim that they respect traditions.

The rock scene in Jidda started about 20 years ago, understandably, with opposition. More recently, though, people have grown increasingly comfortable with expressing themselves with music. One can some times spot performers with their guitars outside cafes.

The girls’ parents are supportive of their daughters, though they advise them to keep their activities low-key.

Bo-yun Liu

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Holly MacGillivray

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Holly MacGillivray

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