Who is King Salman?

The King is Dead. Long live the King!

Or so the saying goes. King Abdullah of Saudi passed away in the early hours of the morning, and was immediately succeeded by his brother, Salman Bin Abdulaziz.

What this means for a region in the middle of uncertainty is not immediately clear. The threat of ISIS throbs against the Saudi borders, while the low price of oil has promised a shock to the country's economy for the coming period. Add to that regional tensions following the "Arab Spring", as well as Saudi's own internal tensions, and you've got a ticking time bomb.

Let's take a look at the new monarch, King Salman, and who he is:

- Born in 1935
- Governor of the Riyadh Province from 1963-2011
- Saudi Minister of Defence since 2011
- Appointed as Crown Prince and Deputy Prime Minister in 2012

Headed the Al-Saud Family Council, and is considered to have a conciliatory and diplomatic nature, being actively involved in mediating many internal family disputes.

Strong advocate for philanthropy in poor Muslim countries such as Somalia, Bangladesh, Sudan, Bosnia, and Afghanistan.

He is regarded as intelligent and hard-working, honest and law-abiding (his governance of the Riyadh Province was reportedly corruption-free).

Very involved in media, with his family owning Asharq Al-Awsat and Al Eqtisadiah newspapers, as well as a percentage of the Saudi Research & Marketing Group (which publishes Arab News and others), as well as having connections to liberal e-newspaper Elaph and strong alliances with many journalists and TV-News directors in the region.

In terms of views on reform, King Salman had previously said that reforms, for social reasons and not religious reasons, cannot be imposed by the Saudi Government as there will be negative reactions, and the pace and extent of reforms depends on social and cultural factors.

He is considered to take more of a diplomatic approach to opposition figures as compared to other Saudi royals, but is not necessarily a political reformer. He is also considered to be, as King Abdullah before him, more focused on economic improvement of the country rather than political change.

With all that being said, how the new King handles the country for the next coming years will be a very significant factor in the development of the immediate region, and will have repercussions regionally and globally. Long live the King!

Justified Stealing?

Ok everyone, let's have a bit of a morality check up:

1- Stealing, is it right or wrong?

I'm assuming most of you reading would say wrong. A few would probably think it's fine, and some might even enjoy it, although deep down you probably all know that it's wrong.

2- Let's say someone was making money from an immoral activity; selling drugs to children, ripping off an old woman from her retirement money, or anything else.

Now, is stealing the money from this person right or wrong?

Here, i'm assuming some would be divided, let's hear your ideas and thoughts on why you think it's right or wrong.

3- Now, if you thought stealing money from those people is WRONG, let's say you use it for some random good purpose; ie, helping the homeless, building a childrens hospital (musta been a lot of money!) or anything else good.

Is it right or wrong now?



PS. Don't worry guys, i'm not stealing, or planning to steal, anything from anyone. Just a weird dilemma I thought up in my head full of twisted ideas, and I think it would make for very interesting discussion! So let's hear your thoughts; drop a comment below and tell us what you think.

Discussion; which is better?

Is it better to be...

1- a specialized expert in something specific (ie, really good at it, whatever it is), with minor knowledge of other subjects in general.

OR

2- to have a good overall knowledge in a number of subjects, being reasonable at all of them, but not quite spectacular at any.


It is not relevant whether this question is related to study, work, play, or life. Just answer the question with what you think, in general, and why.

Discussion; Happy with Life?

The last one went well, so we'll do another. I would appreciate everyone pitching in a little, giving some feedback, comments, and discussing the issue. It's pretty open ended so feel free to say whatever you like.

Discussion 2:

How happy are you with the life you are living right now? Are you content where you are, with the people around you? Job? Money? Relationships? Do you feel your life is fulfilling or do you feel some sort of emptiness? If you could, what would you change? Or would you change it completely, be somewhere else doing something totally different?

(Click on "comments" below to read what others wrote or to add your point of view)

Discussion; Poor or Rich?

I'd like to start a discussion topic; would appreciate everyone pitching in a little, giving some feedback, comments, and discussing the issue. It's pretty open ended so feel free to say whatever you like.

Discussion 1:

Which would you rather be? Poor, financially unstable, yet surrounded by friends, family, and love?

Or would you rather be Rich, unbelievably to the point where you can get anything you want at the tip of your fingers. Yet you have no real friends, no close ties with family, and so on.

I want to know everyones point of view, and why you think that way. Can the money make up for the other things? What makes a happy life?

UPDATE;

Some excellent discussion and viewpoints raised, thanks everyone for participating. Click on 'comments' below to read how it went.