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The man who promised to make Saudi Arabia a “pariah” now begs them for oil. What was once planned as a quick visit to Israel-and-the-Palestinians by President Biden has become a three-way affair, with Saudi Arabia not only added to the itinerary, but has become the main event, the meeting in Riyadh with the Saudi Crown Prince will overshadow his lightning visits to Jerusalem and Bethlehem. In Israel, Biden will attend the Maccabiah Games and no doubt discuss with Prime Minister Bennett ways for Israel to tamp down “tension” in the area – even though all such tension is provoked...

What was once planned as a quick visit to Israel-and-the-Palestinians by President Biden has become a three-way affair, with Saudi Arabia not only added to the itinerary, but has become the main event, the meeting in Riyadh with the Saudi Crown Prince will overshadow his lightning visits to Jerusalem and Bethlehem. In Israel, Biden will attend the Maccabiah Games and no doubt discuss with Prime Minister Bennett ways for Israel to tamp down “tension” in the area – even though all such tension is provoked by the Palestinians – and he will repeat, in his conversations with both Israel...

WASHINGTON (AP) — One month ahead of President Joe Biden’s trip to Saudi Arabia, the District of Columbia is renaming the street in front of the Saudi embassy Jamal Khashoggi Way, trolling Riyadh for its role in the killing of the dissident Saudi activist and journalist in 2018. With members of the D.C. Council in attendance, a Jamal Khashoggi Way sign was unveiled directly in front of the embassy’s main entrance. “We intend to remind the people who are hiding behind these doors ... that we hold them responsible and we will hold them accountable for the murder of our...

Nearly three years after promising to make Saudi Arabia a "pariah," President Joe Biden is set to extend an olive branch to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman following months of reproach. The White House confirmed Monday that Biden will visit the oil-rich nation this summer, the culmination of an 18-month rollercoaster that started with Biden ostracizing Crown Prince Mohammed, commonly known as MBS, and ends with his administration trying to win back MBS' affections as gas prices soar due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Attempts by US officials to convince the Saudis to pump more oil have been unsuccessful so...

President Biden will visit Saudi Arabia this month after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed Thursday to increase production, according to multiple reports. OPEC’s decision to expand production could help Biden tamp down domestic inflation, which at 8.3% was near a four-decade high in April, driven in part by soaring energy prices.

This marks the president's departure from his campaign promise of isolating Riyadh over the murder of columnist Jamal Khashoggi Joe Biden will reportedly visit Riyadh later this month and meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, abandoning a campaign pledge to make Saudi Arabia "a pariah" for the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. The Riyadh trip, first reported by the Washington Post and New York Times, suggests Biden has prioritized his need to bring oil prices down and thereby punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, over his stand on human rights. The visit will be added on to...

Jared Kushner secured a $2 billion investment in his private equity firm from Saudi Arabia's state-owned sovereign wealth fund just six months after the end of the Trump administration, a new report claimed on Sunday. Kushner, Donald Trump's son-in-law and former White House senior adviser, secured the massive deal despite being flagged for its 'inexperience' and 'public relations risks' by a panel of economics experts who screen the wealth fund's investments, the New York Times reports. During his time in the White House, Kushner was known for his close personal relationship with Saudi Arabia's de facto leader Mohammed bin-Salman and...

PHOENIX - Tensions are running high after Friday's attempted terror attack aboard an airplane, and those fears sparked a security scare at Sky Harbor Airport Saturday night -- and two men had to be pulled off a plane. The two men were described as Middle Eastern and were reportedly acting suspicious. The flight crew called ahead for law enforcement and security officials to meet them on the tarmac. When the US Airways flight from Orlando landed in Phoenix about 8 p.m., the passengers on board were told to remain in their seats. Police officers boarded and pulled the two men...

LOS ANGELES - The wave of recent films set against the backdrop of war in Iraq and post-9/11 security has failed to win over film-goers keen to escape grim news headlines when they go to the movies, analysts say. In a break with past convention, when films based on real conflicts were made only years after the last shots were fired, several politically-charged films have gone on release while America remains embroiled in Iraq. Almost without exception, however, the crop of movies have struggled to turn a profit at the box-office and in many cases have received a mauling from...

<p>This action/thriller could have devolved into a giant PC "can't-we-all-get-along" tolerance-fest. Fortunately, except for a line at the end (no, I won't spoil it), it does not. It brings home the lack of freedom present in Saudi Arabia, combined with the best in suspense and action. Although Jamie Foxx is clearly the star, the ensemble that includes Chris Cooper, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, and Ashraf Barhoum keeps the focus on solving the terrorist attack on the U.S. compound, not on personalities.</p>

Peter Berg’s new film dares to portray Americans as the good guys.The Kingdom, Universal’s $70 million contribution to the burgeoning Iraq/War-on-Terror genre, will not hit theaters until September 28, but already word on the film is immensely encouraging: all the right people hate it. A predictable early reaction—surely a harbinger of hand-wringing to come—came from Variety critic John Anderson, who damned the film as “jingoistic,” complaining that it turns “anonymous, indigenous peoples into ducks at a shooting gallery.” Having caught the film at a sneak preview this past weekend, I can confirm that lots of “indigenous peoples” get theirs in...

LOS ANGELES, June 18 — “The Kingdom,” a coming film about the F.B.I.’s pursuit of Islamic bad guys in a not particularly hospitable Saudi Arabia, appears on the surface to tread on treacherous and polarized political ground. But after a test screening before a deliberately diversified audience in the London borough of Wandsworth earlier this year, the director Peter Berg began to suspect that his terror thriller might survive its birth into a contentious world, after all. Asked who would rate the film “excellent,” eight Muslim men and women in traditional dress — presumably some of the picture’s toughest customers...

------------------------------------------------------ ##################################################### ------------------------------------------------------ THERE ARE THREE VERY POWERFUL VISIONS/DOCS BELOW ------------------------------------------------------ ##################################################### ------------------------------------------------------ Vision On The Recent G8 Summit Kato Mivule July 8, 2005 First and foremost I wish to extend my deepest sympathy and prayers to the families of the victims of the London attacks. I include in my prayers all those injured and suffering as a result of the attacks, that Jesus Christ will be their comfort and healer. I also wish to make note at this point to all who are still blinded by the Left and Right Politics that I am none of that and I...