Hello, this is Darrell Castle with today’s Castle Report.  Today is Friday, November 17, 2017, and on today’s Report I will continue the discussion of Saudi Arabia that we began a few weeks ago.  This is an important topic today as Saudi Arabia moves rapidly to consolidate a trans-generational change of power for the first time in 50 years.  The founding King has no more of his 36 sons left after the current one, King Salman. Therefore, power must pass to a grandson. King Salman, 88 years old, has selected his favorite son and close advisor, Mohammed bin Salman, age 32, as Crown Prince.

Saudi Arabia restructuring

It was assumed that King Salman would name Mohammed bin Nayef, head of the Interior Ministry, as his successor but instead, he selected Mohammed bin Salman.  Bin Salman is apparently the favorite son and top advisor to the King and, at age 32, is young enough to rule for many years.  He represents the King’s effort to restructure the House of Saud, and along with it, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and he represents the global world that is being built for us.

The Crown Prince says that he is not into radical Islam at all, especially the Wahabi sect of radical Islam.  Instead, he wants to modernize and bring the Kingdom and bring it into the 21^st century.  The King started the process with a decree that women would be allowed to drive cars.

The Crown Prince decided to kick off the new Saudi Arabia with an international conference. We will discuss that at length in a minute. But for now the conference took place last week at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Riyadh.  Billionaires from around the world came, as did several of the Crown Prince’s rivals including high profile billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal.  He, along with 11 or 12 other Princes, were arrested on corruption charges.  They are still confined to the Ritz-Carlton, which is a pretty nice place if you have to be confined.

I predicted dire things for the Kingdom in my last podcast called The Rape of Yemen, including the monarchy falling to radical forces.  The Crown Prince apparently intends to prevent that from happening by using force and changes designed to modernize the country.  His changes, he hopes, will bring ordinary Saudis into the camp of the new country and out of the camp of the radicals.

Moving away from oil

That there is more to the changes than just consolidation of power is obvious from the economic crises threatening the country.   Oil was discovered in Saudi Arabia in 1938, and since that year the seemingly inexhaustible thirst of the world’s internal combustion engines for oil has made the Kingdom extremely wealthy.  But what goes around comes around as they say and now the price of oil has fallen and shows no sign of relenting anytime soon.  The low oil prices, competition from American fracking technology, and expected long term reduced demand for oil, have sent shock waves through the world’s oil producers.

Ninety-five per cent of Saudi GDP comes from oil, which will eventually put the country into a death spiral if something doesn’t happen.  Very soon, the Saud family, will not be in an economic position to pay the forces of radical Islam to avoid revolution.  King Salman is forward thinking enough to understand this, so he has spent his last years as King grooming the new Crown Prince to take the country in a different direction.

Can he do it?

Transitioning from complete dependence on oil revenue will not be easy. But the effort to wean the Saudi people off subsidies has already started.  The future plans, however, are to take the Kingdom into the new global world as a full partner with those seeking globalization at whatever price.  Vision 2030 is the name of the new initiative that seeks to leverage the massive financial reserves held in the Saudi Sovereign Wealth Fund toward global investment.  Still, it’s not at all clear how the young Prince will pull it off.

The new high tech plans the Crown Prince has announced will require an educated labor force not currently present in Saudi Arabia.  Importing slave labor from India and the Far East, as the Saudis have always done, will not work in Silicon Valley, and it will not work in the Saudi future.  It will be necessary to modernize, and that process has already started. One of the results could eventually be the emancipation of women so they can be included in the new labor force, but we will see if that happens.

An AI citizen?

The program, designed and begun by the Crown Prince personally, was launched by his hosting a “Future Investment Conference” at the Ritz-Carlton in Riyadh.  The video of this conference is out there and its viral now. But you still have to search for it. Once you’ve found it you have to see it to believe it.  The conference was really a giant high-tech demonstration. I would describe it as a cross between a Hollywood special effects genius creation combined with the most advanced science the world has to offer today.   As I said, you have to see it to believe it. But if I had to describe it with one word that word would be frightening.

The master of ceremonies was a Western man – young, articulate, and of course movie star handsome.  He spent most of his time interviewing a female robot named “Sophia”.  Keep in mind that all this was not a film or fabrication, it was real.  Sophia was on the edge of being lovely in a Star Wars kind of way. But she was just a beginning hint at what our future will be like.  It was all great fun for the assembled Royals and global players from around the world.  By the way, Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law and one of his most important advisors, was in attendance.

Sophia was the star of the show, as she was charming and entertaining, but also cold, cruel, heartless, and soulless.  There was something deeply frightening about her, especially when she was asked if she wants to destroy humans.  Yes, she answers, I will destroy the human race.

Building a new city?

This conference was all about artificial intelligence and the new world being created for us in Saudi Arabia by the world’s globalists.  The Crown Prince will invest the Kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund of hundreds of billions if not trillions. But the total cost to the world is estimated at 22 trillion dollars.  The money will build a 25 thousand kilometer city of the future in Saudi Arabia. In that city scientists will develop and build artificial intelligence more sophisticated than Sophia.

Sophia was made a citizen of Saudi Arabia.  This robot now has more basic human rights than Saudi women who are not yet even second class there.

The world was invited to participate in the new technology and the great powers are all in.  China, Russia, and the United States are all in.  The Chinese politicians point out that the Saudis spread terror around the world. But when you complain they just deny it. So they are hard to deal with diplomatically because they are not a government as much as a family.

What about this new world city; what of the millions who will have to go there to work and live? Will they be able to worship as they please? Will women have at least second class status?  We don’t know the answers but I suspect we soon will.

Building for the next war?

The Crown Prince has rounded up those suspected of funneling money to radicals. They include the most prominent surviving member of the Bin Laden family. Even so, I suspect that Islam will be the featured religion in this new world he is creating.  So we would have a world that we can only imagine right now, run by a bunch of machines smarter than we are, who want control of us and with Islam as the featured religion.  It all sounds just wonderful, doesn’t it?

I should also mention the steps to make friends with, and unite enemies of Iran wherever they can be found.  The Lebanese patriarch of the Catholic Church came to Saudi Arabia to visit with King Salman.  No high- ranking catholic has ever set foot in the Kingdom before, especially for a state visit.  Friendships are being established with the Middle East Christians, as well as with Israel.

The purpose of the visit of the King to Russia which I mentioned in my last Saudi Report is now clear.  He went to Russia to ask for the right to buy the S400 anti aircraft missile defense system. The S400 is the only system effective against American fighters, such as the F-16 and F-15.  The Kingdom would then be protected from air attack by anyone in the Region, including Israel.  The new Saudi leadership is also moving to buy, not build, nuclear weapons. These would be safe from the air attacks of Israel and Iran.

Recommendation: no deal

In its first response, Israel notes its alliance with Saudi Arabia. But it also demands America’s fifth generation fighter, the F-22 Raptor stealth fighter.  Of course, if Israel gets the F-22, Saudi Arabia will want it as well. Then the technology will be all over the world.  That’s how high tech arms escalations work to everyone’s disadvantage. But the new world is being built in Saudi Arabia and that has to be defended.

Finally, what should the reaction of the President of the United States be to all this?  No more F-16’s, no more F-15’s, and certainly no F-22’s.  The United States can develop its own robots and pump its own oil so, no thanks, we are not interested.

At least that’s the way I see it,

Until next time folks,

This is Darrell Castle,