Cleaning The House of Saud?? Mayhem + Madness In The Middle East

Why the Ritz roundup matters ...and turmoil and tension catch fire over the downing of an airplane with Saudi dignitaries aboard and another Crown Prince dead

"[T]he crown prince has cowed businessmen and royals across the kingdom by taking down the undisputed giant of Saudi finance," the N.Y. Times' David Kirkpatrick writes: "Apolitical scholars who used to speak freely in cafes now look nervously over their shoulders, as Crown Prince Mohammed has achieved a degree of dominance that no ruler has attained for generations." Chas W. Freeman, a former United States ambassador: ""It is the coup de grâce of the old system ... Gone. All power has now been concentrated in the hands of Mohammed bin Salman." Be smart ... AP points out: "The moves in Saudi Arabia mirror those in China, where President Xi Jinping has used corruption charges 'as a battering ram to consolidate his own power and authority.'"