Job Discussion Forums

johnslat · Posted: Sat Jul 10, 2010 2:56 pm Post subject:

Dear Georgetowner,

"Hey John...Good one...that's right....should someone actually disagree with you...belittle them! Brilliant. Yes, by all means ..bring up the illegal invasion of Iraq...that'll deflect any blame or criticism!"

Please don't belittle yourself. You're clearly a much more accomplished belittler than I.

"Now John ..here's my idea...as a thoughtful and sensitive person you do not want to profit off Uncle Sam's pernicious minions. So, why not donate all the money you made off Saudi... all your ill-gotten gains...every last cent...to Greenpeace or the Red Cross?"

Heck, I don't mind profiting off Uncle Sam's pernicious minions at all. In fact, given your attitude, you should be the one who doesn't want to profit from working for such Abominable People.
So, it seems that you should be the one donating all your "ill-gotten gains" (I consider mine to be "well-gotten") to charity.

Dear HunterCom,

And can i notify Greenpeace that you'll be dong the same? Surely it must weigh heavily on your conscience, considering that you seem to share Georgetowner's opinion of the Saudi people, that you have sold your soul for thirty pieces of silver (assuming, that is, that either of you actually has taken the Devil's paycheck). Good heaven's, how can you sleep nights?

Regards,
John

HunterCom · Joined: 06 Jul 2010 Posts: 18

I sleep fine after a skinful of sid and the money is the only thing of theirs worth taking.

johnslat · Posted: Sat Jul 10, 2010 4:03 pm Post subject:

Dear HunterCom.

It's good that you've managed to stifle the protests of your otherwise, I'm sure, tender conscience for taking the Devil's paycheck. But I'm certain that, like Georgetowner, you plan to donate a large portion of your ill-gotten salary to some charitable causes.

Lucky me - given the fact that I'm a PC apologist, I don't have that problem.

But please be careful with the sid; that stuff will rot your gut and your brain. While some tend to overindulge in the Kingdom, I stopped drinking there.

Regards,
John

P.S. The gold is also a good buy, and, if you know your rugs, you can get some fine deals. Also, the ladies back home are often fascinated by Bedu jewelry

HunterCom · Joined: 06 Jul 2010 Posts: 18

The rugs are crap and Dubai is better for gold. Bedouin jewllery-please-they want decent stuff. And no I have no intention of going to Qatif market or the Jandariyah excuse for a festival. Also no trips into the desert or Jeddah. Some overindulge=more like most and it is the only way to kill the pain.

lazycomputerkids · Joined: 22 Sep 2009 Posts: 360 Location: Tabuk

johnslat · Posted: Sat Jul 10, 2010 4:59 pm Post subject:

Dear HunterCom,

It seems these are dark days in the Dubai gold souks:

"Gold jewellery sales volumes plunged around 50 percent in the first three months of the year, compared to the year-earlier period, piling more pressure on retailers who saw sales plummet in 2009.

�Gold prices have gone up but people�s budgets have not."

http://business.maktoob.com/20090000455486/Sky_high_prices_spell_Dubai_gold_souk_gloom/Article.htm

Of course you may not be interested in "Arabic designs" but here's an opinion:

"The best Arabic designs come from Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, but designs of all tastes and fashions can be found here in the (Dubai) gold souk."

http://www.visit-dubai.co.uk/dubai-gold-souq.html

From what I can gather, price is generally better in Saudi whereas variety of design, much of it more suited to Western taste, is usually considered to be more attractive in Dubai.

As for carpets, well, you do have to know what you're buying. I had a carpet that I bought in Saudi appraised by Noor Oriental Rugs in Boston. I paid about $1000 for it in Jeddah, I was told that it would sell for about $3,500 in Boston.

Regards,
John

sheikher · Joined: 13 Jul 2009 Posts: 291

To return to the topic at hand, johnslat's remarks regarding the snail pace of reform may have a ring of truth.

Back in 1994 I dutifully stood in a long queue in a Johannesburg post office. Whites entering were seen to be unabashedly jumping the queue. The coloured behind me expressed vehement disappointment at the seeming inability of whites to embrace an attitudinal shift, given their nation's current socio-political climate.

I turned to remark -- something to the effect that it would take two more generations. Check your history. Didn't the Israelites wander the desert forty years preparatory to their entrance into their Promised Land? How so? To flush out their 'slavery mindset'. Allah is not so stupid after all.

Neither, seemingly, is the King. This recent photo has caused considerable umbrage within certain sectors of Saudi society. Chutzpah at its best! As has been mentioned in previous posts, King Abdullah rocks.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/saudiarabia/7669086/Photo-of-Saudi-king-with-women-could-lead-to-reform.html

Of more than passing interest may be the more "balanced":

http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2010/07/01/saudi-reforms-five-years-looser-rein-slight-gain