American Teacher Stabbed To Death In Abu Dhabi Restroom

Why do you think the secret service backstory is? And why do you think it's a man and not a woman? I've been around burqa-clad women for several years, and there's really no way to tell if it's a man hiding underneath. I lost a family member because the highly-trained security (either Garda or G4s) at the front couldn't tell there was a terrorist hiding underneath a burqa even though they'd been briefed about the possibility. Now, the checkpoint a hundred metres in front of the building specifically screens anyone dressed so.

 

I don't know, I'm totally speculating. It just seems weird. What also seems weird is that there seems to be some sort of communication between the burqa person and at least two of the security personnel. Maybe I'm imagining it because of the creepy music.

 

Hmm I can't find anything yet about the mall security guards. From the body language, it seems as if she asked where the bathroom is. We'll have to wait to see what she said to them. And yeah, I watched another video instead because that music was inappropriate.

 

Dutch guy was chased down in his car and shot in Riyadh not too long ago as well.

We are now on compound lockdown. One more week until vacation...

 

Yeah, I read about that. He was hit in the shoulder as he drove away.

Scary stuff. And sad.

I grew up in KSA.....and consider it a home away from home. And I'm currently awaiting to hear if I'm chosen for an opportunity they contacted me about with in the kingdom.

It is what it is.....there are crazies all over the world.

 

reread it carefully, partner. "keep foreigners coming into the company".
Multi-national companies, foreign investment and a huge expat community run the UAE economy- not oil. Oil is a small part of their revenue. The UAE has an extensive history in deception and cover ups to keep these foreigners feeling safe. Below are a FEW, not close to half, select incidents regarding them lying to the public and not following international protocol.

2007- UAE government attempted to cover up information on the rape of Alexandre Robert, a 15 year old French-Swiss national, by three Emirati locals, one of whose HIV-positive status was hidden by Emirati authorities for several months.
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/01/w...ei=5087&em&en=a89b7518628ebf83&ex=1194062400&

2009- video tape of torture smuggled out of the UAE showed Sheikh Issa bin Zayed Al Nahyan torturing a man (Mohammed Shah Poor) with whips, electric cattle prods, wooden planks with protruding nails and running him over repeatedly with a car. The trial ended on 10 January 2010, when Issa was cleared of the torture and rape of Mohammed Shah Poor. Human Rights Watch criticised the trial and called on the government to establish an independent body to investigate allegations of abuse by UAE security personnel and other persons of authority.
Source: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2010/01/2010110164651985697.html

Link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8453280.stm

2013 - A video was uploaded onto YouTube, depicting a local driver hitting an expatriate worker, following a road related incident. Using part of his head gear, the local driver whips the expatriate and also taunts him, before other passers-by intervene. A short while later, Dubai police announced that the person who filmed the video had been taken into custody. It was also revealed that the local driver was a senior UAE government official - he was released and no charges filed.
Link: http://www.arabianbusiness.com/senior-uae-official-arrested-over-driver-attack-509289.html


Annual Freedom House report on Freedom in the World has listed the United Arab Emirates as "Not Free" every year since 1999 (the first year for which records are available on their website). Freedom House have also condemned the UAE for imprisoning human rights defenders.
https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2013/united-arab-emirates#.VIJCwlZH3Hg

Basically, it's a profit driven dictatorship. Don't expect transparency when they feel like tilting the odds in their favor. Nothin' democratic or just about the country whatsoever, unless you're bringing money into it and even then it's a business arrangement. How easily muslims believe the world of a pathological liar-ie the govt, is beyond me. Maybe that's another reason the Islamic world is struggling to adapt to modernity.. a strong sense of denial.

Here's a book you should read if you want to pick up on warning signs and clues of government cover ups based on recent history. Regarding a MODERN ECONOMIC CLIMATE. http://www.amazon.com/Confessions-Economic-Hit-John-Perkins/dp/0452287081

 

a) I apologize. My mistake. I agree with that premise to an extent. In my experience, almost every expat there knows beforehand where they're moving to.

b) You are not correct on that. Oil and gas account for just under 2/3 of the Emirates' economies, last I checked. And believe me when I say I'm quite aware that human rights and transparency are sorely lacking. I have several relatives and old friends who live in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. In fact, I was there two months ago.

I know who runs the show, and it ain't who you think. It's the royal family with armies of people from South and Southeast Asia who are a notch above indentured servitude. The MNCs and wealthy expats are merely glossing - in some cases accomplices - who turn a blind eye or shrug at the social conditions. Everyone is there because the hydrocarbon economy is a powerful magnet that spurs construction, real estate, manufacturing, retail and service industries. There's a killing to be made there for foreigners.

Every expat knows it goes on, although some are in denial. You'd be amazed what people will ignore as long as the place they live in has a nice villa, brand new German cars out front, great salary and benefits, servants/chauffeurs/etc. I met a man from Nebraska (freedom-loving, NRA, GOP, veteran-turned-mercenary/consultant) who regaled me with tales of torture/rendition, executions, and stifling of dissent. He didn't care: they paid him 4x his salary in America. If I don't take the job, someone else will so why refuse good money, he told me. Same goes for the workers. They come from very poor countries so the UAE in spite of the shortcomings is still a dream for them. They send back most of their money to families back home. They don't give a damn about being treated like cattle because it's that or starving in India.

c) Don't assume too much about who I believe, or whether my beliefs speak for the entire Muslim world. Skepticism is healthy. It's one thing to have a conversation about UAE's coverups and other conspiracies, however it's different when you say you know this and that happened. For now, we have to 'trust' what the official sources say like any news report.

And yes, there is extreme denial amongst Muslims, but realize one of the reasons extremist groups come into power is because of oppressive governments like the UAE and Egypt. There are several reasons for Islam's current condition which I've posted on here before. We can bump the old threads because it'll derail this one.

Btw, I read that book when it came out. I think Perkins exaggerated and skimmed over several things including his own role and significance. I used to work in a capacity where I dealt with people like him and his employers. I don't buy everything he said there. It read more like a way for people to say "Oh you're not so bad. You were just doing your job and after making a whole bunch of money despite misgivings from the start, we forgive you." Reminded me of Henry Kissinger and Robert McNamara's whitewashing tendencies.

 

Except for that American teacher who got stabbed to death in a public toilet.

 

My medical colleagues @RKH a few years ago were targeting each other's with deadly weapons ...they were a part of drug smuggling gangs. They were mainly British ,
I can't think of Riyadh as a dangerous place

 

That's exactly who everyone thinks runs the shows. And it makes for an easy life for expats, especially the EUROPEANS who escape steep tax conditions in their countries. That is common knowledge.

And this somehow justifies a government with no interest in human rights or transparency? i mean i don't expect them to set a precedent or anything, but to think a dictatorship is looking out for the best interest of it's people is silly.

it likely had some creative licensing on Perkins' part, but the premise was very, very real. To the point I heard it from other sources in the 90's. it is tame compared to the modern history of nations in positions of power and manipulating the media/rest of the world . why edward snowmen is going to be hounded for the rest of his life no matter what international agreements or treaties are passed. There was a followup novel -- "A Game as Old as Empire: the Secret World of Economic Hit Men and the Web of Global Corruption" that wasn't as NY Times bestseller-y, but gave a more detailed analysis of practices used and I believe 15 or so authors contributed to it and used certified reports... so it's not all in his head.

 

lol really? weak.