At this point it is unclear if this is a coup attempt or something related to Crown Prince Muhammed bin Salman’s purge from last November or something else entirely. Moreover, as far as I can tell it isn’t being covered by any of the western news stations or platforms. I’ve just checked CNN, MSNBC, BBC, and Fox – no one is covering this. Neither are their social media feeds.
#BREAKING NEWS: Very Tense Situation
Explosions and heavy gunfire currently ongoing near the Royal Palace in #Riyadh, #SaudiArabia. The King has been evacuated#Saudi #Yemen #UnitedStates #Trump #Syria #IRAQ #Kuwait #SAA pic.twitter.com/85Rl3yx99r
— Salvin Yula (@SalvinYula) April 21, 2018
Breaking: heavy gunfire in #Saudi king palace #Riyadh via @GhanemAlmasarir https://t.co/Ci2rczkS6P Ghanem holds a treasure trove of secret #Saudi official documents @simeonkerr
— Ali AlAhmed (@AliAlAhmed_en) April 21, 2018
صادق يابوغانم وهذا الفيديو الإن pic.twitter.com/Y5JPwI67xg
— فيصل القحطاني?? (@qatar_F9) April 21, 2018
Confirmed by @GhanemAlmasarir . #Saudi @KingSalman moved to King Khaled military base. @ForeignAffairs
— Salvin Yula (@SalvinYula) April 21, 2018
I honestly have no idea what is actually happening as none of the news media outlets we’d expect to be covering this are.
I’ll update if more information becomes available.
The Jerusalem Post has this brief report:
Gunfire and explosions have been reported outside the home of the Saudi king in Riyadh, the country’s capital. Sources on Twitter have posted photos and videos of the situation and have said that the gunfire is part of a coup attempt. The king has reportedly been evacuated.
The Jerusalem Post has not been able to independently verify these claims.
This is a developing story.
Open thread!
Cheryl Rofer
This is the smartest take I’ve seen from a Middle East expert.
Baud
So the Revolution will not be televised?
Adam L Silverman
@Cheryl Rofer: That’s pretty much what I wrote.
trollhattan
Sounds menacing. Fundys upset that women get to go to the movies?
Always wondered how things would turn out if strict Islamists got control of the Saudi arsenal. Here’s hoping we don’t find out.
BBC has nuttin’.
Adam L Silverman
@Baud: Periscope!
Mary G
Says a lot about freedom of the press in Saudi Arabia – no one there to cover it – it never happened.
Irresponsible speculation leads me to conjecture that one or more than one of the princes MSB had locked up in the Ritz Carlton isn’t taking it lying down.
Duane
Thanks for the usual great job of keeping us informed. I constantly learn things here first.
Villago Delenda Est
There’s something happening here.
What it is ain’t exactly clear.
You know, for what it’s worth.
Baud
@Mary G:
that Hillary is responsible. /NYT
Cheryl Rofer
@Adam L Silverman: yep, just agreeing
bystander
I had heard Twitler referred to Sessions as Mr. Magoo, but I hadn’t heard he referred to Rosenstein as Mr. Peepers.
I found this out when I turned on MSNBC to see if they might suspend broadcasting psoriasis medications for news, but, alas, no.
Adam L Silverman
@Villago Delenda Est: I know a whole lot about the Kingdom and none of the usual suspects – news media outlets or on social media – seem to have either any information at all or any idea what is going on.
SiubhanDuinne
The Mirror (UK) has this:
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/heavy-gunfire-reported-near-saudis-12404855
Roger Moore
Isn’t it such a great idea to sell this country nuclear technology without all the usual anti-proliferation safeguards? No risk of anything there falling into the wrong hands!
germy
Jared!
Adam L Silverman
Tom
It would be nice if one of the outcomes were the disclosure that Jared has illegally shared top secret US information with the Young Prince, leading to Jared’s conviction on charges of treason. (I’d settle for a lesser crime as long as it leads to life in prison without the possibility of parole).
Dman
@margheritamvs
Reports is a drone being shot down
No coup attempt in Riyadh. A toy drone/plane got too close too the King’s palace and was shot down. #SaudiArabia #Riyadh
Mandalay
A WSJ reporter either has a remarkable scoop or made a complete ass of herself:
Roger Moore
@Tom:
Unfortunately, it’s going to have to be a state crime rather than a federal one to make it without possibility of pardon.
No Drought No More
“Where is Jared Kushner? He’ll know what to do”.
Baud
And I was in the mood for a coup. :-(
Tokyokie
I figured when MSB got the tacit approval of Kushner, and, by extension, der Trumpenführer, to pull his power move a few months back, something like this would occur. MSB mistook being in the good graces of the shitheels in the White House meant they’d have his back, and they don’t believe in having anybody’s back. Since he turned the Ritz Carlton into a prison for his family members, when I’ve seen MSB referred to as the country’s future king or some such, I’ve thought to myself, “If he lives that long.” Making useless allies doesn’t negate making powerful enemies.
satby
Even Al-Jazeera doesn’t have any breaking news on it up yet.
Villago Delenda Est
@Adam L Silverman: Not even Al Jazeera seems to know anything…nothing about this on their feed.
Replay of ’79 and the Siege of Mecca, as far as the coverage goes?
kattails
@Roger Moore: Damn. I was just going to say to Tom “see you and raise you 50 years”.
M. Bouffant
WSJ reporter announces Saudi Party Line:
Adam L Silverman
We have an actual citing of the current First Lady smiling a real smile in public. As a result of something President Obama has said to her. Executive time is going to be ugly!
Fair Economist
@Mary G:
Seems the likeliest cause to me, although who knows; there are literally thousands of “princes” plus clerics, military, and foreign agents. It’s not good guys vs. bad guys – with the Saudis they are all bad. We’ll just have to find out who is the worse guys and who is the somewhat less bad guys.
Josie
@Dman: It sounded like a lot of shooting on that video to take down one toy drone.
Baud
@Adam L Silverman:
“You deserve better.”
jo6pac
more
https://www.rt.com/news/424786-gunfire-royal-palace-riyadh/
SiubhanDuinne
@Dman:
Well, that de-escalated quickly!
Adam L Silverman
@No Drought No More: It’s Saturday. He’s shomer shabbot. So he’s out of the loop.
Baud
@SiubhanDuinne: Right. What am I going to do for the rest of the day now?
Adam L Silverman
@SiubhanDuinne: I’ve seen the clips. And listened with sound on. That’s a lot of sustained automatic rifle fire to respond to a toy drone.
Roger Moore
@Dman:
Nothing to see here. Please disperse.
Baud
@Adam L Silverman: I can’t believe Saudi officials would lie.
Mary G
Communication lesson from a young master:
germy
@Adam L Silverman: We’ve got the actual dialogue:
Mike in NC
The important question is who has control of that glowing orb that Trump and all the Saudis were touching?
Corner Stone
Are we supposed to believe this was really due to a fucking toy drone? Either a)the House of Saud is scared shitless or b)something nasty went down and the House of Saud is scared shitless.
Chyron HR
@Mike in NC:
You’ll have to wait and see in Disney™’s Marvel™’s Cinematic Universe™’s Avengers™: Infinity War™!
Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady)
@Roger Moore: I’ve been trying to decide what Trump fate that’s within the realm of the possible would satisfy me. I concluded I could accept an end like Nixon’s. Multiple associates go to jail, including in Trump’s case family members. He escapes with resignation but is a social outcast. No TV, etc.
Chyron HR
@Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady):
I like how you think, but even inmates get TV privileges.
sukabi
@Josie: they were trained by the same folks who train our cops. Expend all your ammo, attempt a clean up, make a statement.
germy
@Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady):
I remember in his later years, Nixon was slowly transforming into “elder statesman” status, being asked his opinion by various conservative newscasters. If he’d lived long enough, Fox News would have made him a full time commenter.
Fair Economist
So the king evacuated to a military base because of a toy drone? Methinks somebody can make money selling bridges to people who believe that.
Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady)
@Chyron HR: I was thinking along the line of no TV appearances for him, which I think he’d find painful but if he’s an inmate, that’s good too. Maybe twitter could ban his account.
Yutsano
@Corner Stone: Way too much ado about nothing. Something is not passing the smell test.
Corner Stone
@Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady): I see the “the realm of the possible” there, but we have to face facts that at some point we have to extract serious penalties or they will just continue on. Nixon begat all the ratfuckers that led to Reagan/Iran-Contra to GHWB to GWB + Cheney and now to Trump. Trump does not feel shame, only resentment. Lots of personal pain and consequence is the only answer.
Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady)
@germy: Trump is 71 so he won’t have the same kind of time Nixon did. OTOH, Fox didn’t exist when Nixon resigned, so their presence could shorten the time required for the elder statesman transformation.
I do want to see Ivanka in an orange jumpsuit, able to wash her hair only every few days.
Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady)
@Corner Stone: I hope that can happen while I’m still alive to enjoy it.
satby
@Corner Stone:
Absolutely. The next generation of ratfuckers is being trained now. Time to disrupt the heritage of greed, corruption and hate before it continues.
The Midnight Lurker
Silverman rocks! Even Juan Cole at Informed Comment isn’t on this! This is why I read Balloon Juice. Well, that and the pet porn.
satby
@Baud: go back to the morning thread and read the answer I gave you hours later? That should kill about four seconds ☺
Corner Stone
@The Midnight Lurker:
It’s OK to be feeling the things you’re feeling. All of that is perfectly natural. Everyone goes through something similar. But, umm, I think we may need to have a talk about a few things…
Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady)
@The Midnight Lurker: Silverman is unbelievably plugged in. Between him and Cheryl, we are bunch of well informed jackals.
ETA: I add Anderson on health insurance as someone who knows what’s what and tells us.
Ruckus
@Chyron HR:
Bet they don’t get the channel clicker.
RandomMonster
@germy:
Melania: I just call him Rod.
Ruckus
@Fair Economist:
I’ve got a bunch of bridges that I can let go cheap.
And I’d bet we’d need a bunch, considering who would believe that bullshit.
Betty Cracker
Has that ginormous shipment of US-made weaponry Trump sold the Saudis arrived yet? What could possibly go wrong?
Roger Moore
@Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady):
My major demand is some end to the whole thing that makes Trump’s guilt clear cut. That could be an actual impeachment and trial, it could be a prosecution after he leaves office, or it could be the whole corrupt gang fleeing into exile before any of that happens. But I want it to be impossible for anyone with any ability to think for themselves to see Trump and gang as anything but a bunch of criminals and the rest of the Republican establishment as having enabled their crimes. Otherwise, they’ll just try the same thing again with a more competent cast.
rikyrah
A drone???
We’re supposed to buy that?
rikyrah
@Roger Moore:
ICAM
J R in WV
Whoever made that video up top has big stones!!! That was a lot of shooting, and it got closer and closer, and he kept shooting video. Not me, dudes. I’m so not a war photographer. Flowers, whales, landscapes, birds, that kind of stuff. No riots, no gunfire, no battles with revolutionary guards. Nope.
Chet Murthy
@Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady):
They say that the first priority of a candidate is to get elected. B/c if you can’t govern, then you can’t get your agenda enacted. But even before that priority, is to ensure that the system is democratic. B/c without a democratic system, you’ll never get elected.
This is an existential moment for our democracy. We should be demanding prison time for every perp, including the Head Preznit. And if that produces a constitutional crisis, so be it. B/c better a crisis now, when our side is energized and angry, than 20yr from now, when we’re back to trying to live our lives, get our jobs done, and those fuckers take away our democracy and our freedoms with it. So I’m with @Roger Moore: it’s gotta be clear that they conspired to take away our democracy, and it’s gotta be clear that it was the Rethugs, not just Shitmidas and his family.
We need it all to come out. All this moral embezzlement has to come out, so we can finally decide what we are, out in the open — a republic, or a banana republic.
rikyrah
@Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady):
I have to ????
For this comment.
We get a lot of good info with great analysis here at BJ.
J R in WV
@Roger Moore:
My correction to your major demand is a minor but important addition:
PIGL
@Adam L Silverman:
rikyrah
Just dust ???
https://twitter.com/OregonJOBS2/status/987342348374835200?s=20
currants
Al Jazeerah still says it was security forces firing on a drone….
Librarian
Just checked CNN and Msnbc, nothing about SA.
Baud
@RandomMonster: Rod has big hands.
Tom
@J R in WV: This times 1,000.
Starfish
Are the 4channers already trying to insert fake leaders into this coup? I am seeing a couple of people being accused, but I don’t trust the people doing the accusing.
germy
@rikyrah: A few threads ago you mentioned you were following Black Lightning. Here’s something I just realized: Lady Eve was played by the great Jill Scott! I didn’t recognize her or make the connection until my wife pointed it out to me.
Another Scott
@Cheryl Rofer: Reuters:
FWIW.
Cheers,
Scott.
Corner Stone
@RandomMonster:
“Even though his name is actually Gerald.”
Steve in the ATL
@SiubhanDuinne:
Lawl. This is why you’re a top 500 poster here.
germy
Verne Troyer has died. He was 49.
sharl
The NYT’s Tom Friedman is my go-to expert for all things KSA; I’ll await his definitive evaluation of the situation, thankyouverymuch.
schrodingers_cat
@sharl: He has impeccable sources. Cab drivers in Bangalore know everything.
rikyrah
@germy:
Speaking of Black Lightning..
They just finished their first season.
They got renewed, so if you need a show to binge watch, I think you might like it.
I love Black Lightning. Just trying to spread the word about it.?
fuzz
@germy:
Weren’t his family calling the police worried about him a few days ago?
Also on KSA, even if it was a coup the people or person who replaced the new guy would be from the same extended family in all likelihood, I don’t think much would change at all.
Ohio Mom
I’ve been busy all day — any Lily news?
Also, since I don’t spend any time thinking about Melania, it surprises me that I feel relief at seeing her really smile. It is a reflection of what a mensch Obama is, that he got that smile out of her.
Mary G
@sharl: I was all indignant until I realized you were joking. You were joking, weren’t you?
p.a.
I have it on rock solid info that it was one of Saddam Hussein’s nuclear weaponized drones. ISIS finally found the stockpile he hid in the 30 minute intervals our spy satellites were out of range* and sent it to S.A.
*A wingnut relative (cousin, by blood not marriage unfortunately) actually made this argument. His own brother told him to STFU. Same person tried to argue with me that a lime is an unripe lemon. I generally try not to call someone 15 years my senior a fucking moron, but in this case I failed.
SiubhanDuinne
@Adam L Silverman:
I was at the library all afternoon, so had sound muted. Will try to remember to listen to it later this evening.
Gelfling 545
@Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady): Don’t you have to have been a statesman of some type before you can be an elder one? Elder grifter doesn’t carry the same clout.
Anotherlurker
@Fair Economist: Remember, the Saudis are fundie Muslim Religious, so that will buy into nonsense .
Purchaseing a bridge is not unlikely.
sharl
@Mary G: Yeah, it was snark; hanging around irony tweeps so often has ruined me for serious discourse, I think.
But I did find Friedman’s November post-MBS exercise in literary ass-kissing comical (or maybe tragicomical). And Isaac Chotiner’s professionally executed interview/foot-shooting of Friedman brought out some classic TF dancing, so there was at least that.
SiubhanDuinne
@Steve in the ATL:
I would be in the top 487, but look at the competion here!
West of the Rockies
@rikyrah:
Thank you for posting that, Rikyrah. That was so sweet and touching. I’ve already shared it with others.
SiubhanDuinne
@Ohio Mom:
Have been hoping to see an update, but nothing so far as far as I know. I’m going to cling to the old wisdom that no news is good news.
I know many, if not most, BJ posters are quick to slag Melania because she went along with the birther shit. And maybe it’s deserved. But I can’t help thinking that she’s been in what must have seemed an impossible situation for most of her married life. The Obamas seem genuinely fond of her, and I tend to trust their judgement. Happy to see an authentic smile from her, and I wish her many more smiley moments.
RandomMonster
@Baud: Big hands I know you’re the one.
Gelfling 545
So I am now fully awake after yesterday’s surgery, as compos mentis as I ever get & minus one gallbladder. Don’t recall a lot of yesterday, though. About to enjoy a gourmet meal of dry toast & possibly some jello. Yum ?
Jeffro
@Chet Murthy: how about just a forced march across the continental United States, being tarred and feathered all the while ?
sharl
I hope you are not referring to the Wahhabi folks, because Crown Prince Muhammed bin Salman informed The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg that he had never heard of ’em, and besides, they don’t exist anyway:
In summary: LOL.
Outside of MbS’s absurd denials, this earlier op-ed in Al-Jazeera seems to do a good job of explaining what kind of bind MbS is in with his efforts at reform when going up against the Wahhabists and other politically powerful reactionary forces.
SiubhanDuinne
@Gelfling 545:
May your complete recovery be swift and comfortable. Enjoy the feast of toast and Jell-O.
Mary G
@sharl: Wow, he really looks like an idiot in that Chotiner piece, and the reply/rebuttal he sent about Yemen was horrendous. I hadn’t seen it before, and he did get fenestrated, which I enjoyed. I read Daniel Larison, who wrote“Friedman’s Love Letter to a War Criminal,” which is scathing:
The UN, Oxfam, MSF, and the kitchen sink have all been screaming for three years now that Yemen is on the brink of mass starvation, not to mention the cholera and dysentery, and it still gets ignored. Friedman could do so much good for them with his audience, and he just blows it off with it’s all “villains and victims.”
Mnemosyne
@Adam L Silverman:
G had to come over and take the phone out my hand to look at that picture because he didn’t believe me that she had an actual smile on her face.
StringOnAStick
@Gelfling 545: Wow, you got an overnight stay? When mine went code red I was in a remote part of CO; longest hour of my life getting to the tiny 29 bed hospital. I told the surgeon that he could take it out with a rusty penknife, just get it out! I was on my way 6 hours later, maybe because I was 39 and otherwise in good health. A bad gall bladder can be miserable; I likened it to a spinning ball of white hit magma embedded with giant fish hooks. I hope you recover quickly and completely!
Mnemosyne
@Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady):
And with her roots showing. Please, like anyone thought she was a natural blonde.
SiubhanDuinne
@Ohio Mom:
Assume by now you have seen John’s update, one post over.
Steve in the ATL
@Mnemosyne:
Meow!
Mnemosyne
@Steve in the ATL:
You must have missed the late-night hair discussion. It was pretty epic.
Immanentize
@SiubhanDuinne:
This describes how I see it perfectly. Especially about the Obamas. Michelle has spoken eloquently about how hard it is to be a White House inmate. Even if it is an attempt by them to lighten Melania’s load just a bit — good for them.
And I really don’t like how people (men) sexualize Melania and get all rapey about her.
Adam L Silverman
@The Midnight Lurker: Juan Cole is good people!
Gin & Tonic
@SiubhanDuinne:
You know what, she’s a big girl, and she signed up for this gig.
rikyrah
@SiubhanDuinne:
Don’t give a Phuck about the trophy wife birther.??
Steve in the ATL
@SiubhanDuinne: I’m not going to make moral judgments about being a Slovenian escort who got involved with the Russian mob, but I’ll bet she’s a much more intelligent and interesting person than her husband.
germy
@Gin & Tonic:
She was “the other woman” during drumpf’s second marriage. Did she think he’d be faithful to her when she became #3?
RedDirtGirl
@Gelfling 545: Congrats! Enjoy those delicacies!
Adam L Silverman
@germy:
Fixed it for you!
patrick II
@Gin & Tonic:
I get that people here don’t like Melania, but I don’t particularly dislike her either. She is from a middle class family, not particularly well educated, and like many attractive women she married for money. It happens all of the time. She expected to put up with Donald, live in a nice place, raise her kid, and look good on her husbands elbow. She couldn’t have expected to be first lady. She clearly admires the Obamas, and probably wishes she could be more like Michelle, which says something about her. But her background and her husband make that an impossible task.
I don’t have bad wishes for her.
ruemara
@Dorothy A. Winsor (formerly Iowa Old Lady): not to be maudlin but my gut says either natural causes or very unnatural except due to treason. My gut’s quite accurate, strangely.
ruemara
@patrick II:
She’s not innocent. So stop treating her like there’s something nice about her. Jesus, barely pretty weasel in hot pants & folks bend over backwards to reason out why she’s sympathetic. She’s a nasty birther who could’ve spoken up at any time about the treasonous garbage bag she cuddles at night. Just stop it.
The Midnight Lurker
@Adam L Silverman: I just watched the footage with the sound on. You’re right — way too much fire for a “toy drone”. And too sporadic. And yes, I’m a huge fan of Dr. Cole.
Steve in the ATL
@Gelfling 545: wife had the gall bladder out a couple of years ago. After feeling bad for a long, long time, she felt almost 100% when she woke up for surgery. Hope your recovery is equally speedy!
The Midnight Lurker
@sharl: I can’t wait either for the “Mustache of Understanding’s” take on this. The problem is, we have to wait “about another six months.”
Adam L Silverman
@The Midnight Lurker: I know what the official Saudi line is. I also know there’s speculation on Saudi and other social media from the region that this was an attempt by Muhammed bin Nayef, who had been crown prince until pushed out by his much younger nephew, to reassert control. Whether this was bin Nayef or not, I think the drone story is a very thin cover. I’m also not sure we’ll ever know what really happened.
rikyrah
Uh huh
Uh huh ?
Good question about Wilmer
https://twitter.com/AsperGirl/status/987690957293400064?s=20
germy
germy
@patrick II:
There’s a clip on youtube of her on The View, arguing that Obama may not be an American citizen. She questions the authenticity of the (recently released) birth certificate.
Frankensteinbeck
@Gin & Tonic:
Yep. I don’t look down on her for the decision, but this is the deal she made.
@germy:
I seriously doubt it. I would be surprised if she doesn’t take his infidelity as assumed. Whatever she’s discontent with, I don’t think it’s that. Then again, supposedly Trump was nervous about the pee tape upsetting her.
@rikyrah:
While I’m mostly sure she was saying it to play the role she’s paid for, I’m not sure that makes it any better. If you peddle horrible racist bullshit, you peddle horrible racist bullshit no matter what your motivation.
The Midnight Lurker
@Adam L Silverman: Same as the old days — anytime you’re trying to get a look at the House of Saud, it’s always “though a glass, and darkly.”
germy
@ruemara:
Facts not in evidence. Separate bedrooms, according to what drumpf told Stormy.
Mnemosyne
@ruemara:
The main thing I think about Melania is that she’s in way over her head. She probably never even imagined she would end up sitting with the Obamas at government functions, so she could say whatever she wanted about them on teevee. She does seem to genuinely admire Michelle Obama and wants to be like her, to the point of plagiarizing her.
That’s when I bother to think about Melania at all, though. She’s such small potatoes compared to the rest of the shitstorm that I rarely do.
EBT
@patrick II: She shacked up with a shithead and goes along with it. Staying with a shitty person (and shitty person is so beyond generous to donnie) when you have the means to leave, which unless she’s a bravta tool, she absolutely does, is an active agreement of the means to get your own spoild ends.
Corner Stone
@Frankensteinbeck:
Trump was nervous about the pre-nup conditions. He doesn’t give a shit about her and never has. It’s his straight cash, homey.
Before he milked being Pres…nope…he probably did not have the liquid assets to pay her off if they got divorced.
afanasia
@EBT: She’s clearly no heroine, but she’s also married to a bully – that is exhausting, disorienting and humiliating, and bullies tend to get worse over time. My ex-husband was quite nice to me until I was 6 months pregnant. I’m sure she gets enough insults at home to satisfy all her critics. Tbe Obamas seem to have forgiven her for her part in the birther nastiness, and treat her kindly – they usually display good judgement.
Adam L Silverman
@The Midnight Lurker: Yep.
Hkedi [Kang T. Q.]
@Adam L Silverman: Have you ever met Juan Cole face to face? You two seem to move in similar circles. I discovered him sometime during the early days of the second Iraq war. He’s been a go-to source for over a decade for me when stuff happens in the middle east.
Frankensteinbeck
@Corner Stone:
He fools around a lot. He knew he would continue to, and not be subtle. Melania knew. For the prenup to give her options to use adultery against him would require monumental stupidity on his-
Point made.
Scamp Dog
I have no trouble believing they’d do a lot of shooting trying to take down a drone. Hitting a flying target is tough, and drones are tiny. Not sure what to say about the reports of explosions, though.
Hkedi [Kang T. Q.]
@Scamp Dog: eh, one of my personal theories is that it WAS an attack on the palace, using a drone. Other members of the blog probably know if it’s happened before, but a suicide-drone-bomb seems like a pretty logical step for asymmetric warfare on the less powerful side. I imagine that most head-of-state security services have a standing “shoot first, ask questions later” directive for unknown flying drones in security fraught regions.
Corner Stone
@Hkedi [Kang T. Q.]:
IMO, it could also have been a low-tech Denial of Service (DDOS) attack. Just like leaving an empty suitcase in a restroom in Heathrow Airport. What is the reaction? What is the reaction time? And so forth.
Chet Murthy
@afanasia: Patty Hearst was sentenced to 7yr for her role in the SLA’s crimes. It seems like (a) if Melania has knowledge of Shitmidas’ crimes, that’s much graver than what Hearst did (on the -most- uncharitable judgment of Hearst), and (b) clearly Melania is under no compulsion other than greed, whereas there’s good reason to think that Hearst was under serious duress (or worse).
I’m just sayin’: if we believe there was -any- basis for Hearst’s culpability (if we even believe it was a reasonable argument to make) then we ought to also believe that Melania is culpable.
Yeah yeah she’s married to the man. That’s a business arrangement. She as much as said that, but shit, that -is- what it is.
I didn’t start out in this position. But as I see my republic start to tremble and shake, I have less and less sympathy for people whose argument consists in “but she’s married to him” or “they’re his kids”, or whatever-the-fuck.
Hkedi [Kang T. Q.]
@Corner Stone: Very possible. It all hinges on the source of the drone. 1) It could be idiocy and an over-reaction of the palace security. 2) It could also be meant as a trolling attack to strike at legitimacy. 3)It also could have been a drone attack like I suggested. 4)It also could have been a strike on the palace with people.
All we have are a handful of press releases, and a couple of cellphone videos (I feel for the people who recorded, I imagine that S.A. security people will soon have words with them).
I got way over my skis on posting my last comment. Shit happened in a country that is less opaque than North Korea, and more free than North Korea. As Adam said, we may never know the truth.
afanasia
@Chet Murthy: She does have a child, and she seems devoted to him. It’s imaginable that her husband would demand shared custody if she left, out of spite if nothing else. I’d never leave a child in that man’s care, even for short amounts of time. She may be incredibly greedy as well, of course.
I don’t think Ms. Hearst should have gone to prison & I don’t really see how her sentence supports the idea that spouses should be responsible for each others crimes, sans proof. There’s no sign that Mrs. Trump has been moneylaundering Russian loot in Azerbaijan. If paperwork emerges that supports her guilt, I will dutifully call for her head on a pike.
PIGL
@Immanentize: agreed. She’s not responsible for the failure of America’s institutions, or America’s electorate.
No One You Know
@Chyron HR: The remote is in the custody of the Crips, and only shows three channels, of which two show only cartoons.
Boomzilla
@Ruckus:
I think you’d be shocked to learn how many white prisoners are hardcore conservatives. Maybe you wouldn’t be. I was. I expected a bunch of very anti-government, left-leaning, if not left-bent, liberals. Not even close.
The TV, if it showing news, is tuned to Fox. At least that was the case in the truly Red state that decided I needed to sit down for a bit and consider my evil ways.
BroD
Hey Adam. I find it unsettling that this post seems to have been, as far as I could see, a bit of a nothing burger. I value Balloon Juice enough to think that maybe there should be a follow-up post surveying what really happened here.