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johnbburg t1_j20c4ip wrote

Is it just me, or has Saudi Arabia announced a lot of very lofty plans lately, that don't seem likely to actually happen?

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DefNotANerd t1_j20m402 wrote

Theyre all multigenerational projects

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sotonohito t1_j220vgk wrote

Yeah, and the oil money will be gone in 20 or 30 years, there's no time for all those huge megaprojects they're talking about to be built.

The Saudi citizenry mostly does no work at all, almost all labor is performed by imported workers who are kept in near slavery conditions. They don't have an economy outside pumping oil out of the ground, and they have no workforce trained to do anything.

Once the oil is gone Saudi Arabia will collapse to become an impoverished nation.

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werdnak84 t1_j22ivpo wrote

This the same reason why they're trying to develop tourist attractions on manmade islands, and why they're starting a golf league to compete with PGA. Oil is on its way out, and they're panicking.

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sotonohito t1_j23p2dk wrote

Which is why they're doing stupid things like golf courses. No one wants to travel thousands of miles to a sand pit to play golf. And the water requirements of a golf course are expensive in a place like Saudi Arabia.

They'll always have at least some tourism simply because of Mecca, but I'm doubtful that they can sustain an entire national economy on that.

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werdnak84 t1_j23tkum wrote

No one. Except the wealthy. Attract the billionaires and that's the easiest in to getting what you want.

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sotonohito t1_j23v5y8 wrote

The wealthy only go to Saudi Arabia because it's rich, money has a gravity. Once Saudi Arabia is a poverty stricken nation the world's rich will go elsewhere.

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bdonasam_1 t1_j23hrp4 wrote

I guess me my 9-5 job as Saudi is just a dream

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Jahobes t1_j21dswl wrote

You know if any type of government in the modern era can do multigenerational missions... It's probably near absolute monarch rich in valuable resources.

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Assadistpig123 t1_j21jsn3 wrote

This is around the eighth or so mega project that I can remember in the past thirty years.

All of em have been bust. If this pans out in any shape, it’ll be then buying a company and tacking “Saudi” in the name.

The country doesn’t really produce much in terms of intellectual, mechanical, or academic material. They don’t have the brainpower to achieve this from the ground up.

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Jahobes t1_j21mooo wrote

If you think about it the very country itself is a ibn Saud mega project. I mean the current king is only the son of the founder of Saudi Arabia. Before they discovered oil in the 1920s the country didn't have anything more sophisticated than mud huts or the occasional palace/mosque that would fit in fine in the 16th century.

To basically accomplish going from goat herders in mud huts to sky scrapes and global relevancy in a single monarstic generation would inflate the egos of any family.

I'm not saying that they will succeed, but I am saying that you didn't count all the mega projects they actually succeed in such as building multiple modern cities in the desert and they did so within a generation.

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stormhawk427 t1_j24tsyu wrote

Ironic considering algebra was invented in that part of the world. But that was before fundamentalism ruined everything.

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DefNotANerd t1_j21k6ei wrote

Is there anything wrong with trying?

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jdragun2 t1_j21nd3x wrote

Only for the individuals who die in attempts to launch from faulty equipment and logistics. They need to bring in a lot of outside talent, probably all of the technical talent, to even begin to think about this. Not to mention test pilots. The endeavor could cost a lot of lives if they don't do it right. So yes, there is harm in trying. Especially if done so poorly.

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DefNotANerd t1_j225tqw wrote

Hmm if we took this approach with everything would we accomplish anything in life?

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jdragun2 t1_j23naux wrote

Yes. We would not only accomplish things, we would do so without anyone dying due to a lack of insight or information. What a stupid fucking comment, mate.

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DefNotANerd t1_j23q8hy wrote

Sorry maybe you misunderstood what i was asking.

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jdragun2 t1_j23thda wrote

It appeared what you were implying is that caution means no progress. Where caution means progress without deaths due to stupidity. There is a huge difference between being careful and not doing anything out of fear. No matter how you try and spin that "question" it doesn't get any better.

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DefNotANerd t1_j24cxkx wrote

Im 100% on team measure twice cut once

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jdragun2 t1_j24m5ui wrote

Not to mention, applying smart progress towards space flight to operating oneself day to day is comparing apples to rockets.

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TheKingsPride t1_j23e2h8 wrote

Only if you find slave labor and an incredible death toll to be something wrong.

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DefNotANerd t1_j23fewr wrote

Are these things that have happened?

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TheKingsPride t1_j23fi1y wrote

Have happened, continue to happen, will happen.

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DefNotANerd t1_j23guyg wrote

I guess my point is it seems a bit defetist attitude for this subreddit. We should dream big

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TheKingsPride t1_j23gxuc wrote

I think dreaming big is a great ideal. I just don’t think you should trust the Saudis of all regimes with those dreams. Not with their long history of oppression, corruption, and human rights violations. You’re basically trusting the dingo with your baby at that point.

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DefNotANerd t1_j23hg3y wrote

Im not saudi so i cant comment. I know what the media says but ultimately i also know how reliable the media is in my field of expertise (its not)

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TheKingsPride t1_j23hsa6 wrote

All you need to do is look at the Burj Khalifa or Palm Islands to see how this will turn out. A massive vanity project built on blood and serving no purpose. The Burj Khalifa is actually a massive joke. It has a constant line of trucks pumping septic waste out of the building because they didn’t even bother making a sewer for it. It has a fucking poem dedicated to its own might and glory in the lobby. It’s entirely the vanity project of rich princes, the product of oil and blood. They’re not going to make this happen.

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LPulseL11 t1_j21mice wrote

Yea but they can just pay companies in other countries to do it.

They seem like the rich tech companies I am contracted by. They get sold a dream by a designer, come to us and say "can we do this" and we say "yes, but...". Anything is possible with time and money, and likely some concessions from the designer to make it realistic. You end up with a costly product that takes longer than expected and doesn't look / function as smooth as it was drawn up.

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Attila_the_Hunk t1_j21m8fj wrote

Of course they don't have the brainpower but they also don't need it because they can pay other companies to make it for them and learn along the way.

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Persianx6 t1_j2359yb wrote

History details that Kings love real estate scams, it's a great way of separating idiots from their money... so they could continue living like kings.

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No_Bet_1687 t1_j21jtg7 wrote

Seems like a lot of oil rich middle eastern nations are doing that these day. Instead of improving the lives of the ppl in the region they turn it into a theme park for the rich and stupid.

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Imperial_12345 t1_j23ctd2 wrote

They’re trying real hard to prove that they’re more then just a oil country

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ammonium_bot t1_j245m95 wrote

> they’re more then just

Did you mean to say "more than"?
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Mikinl t1_j24c4fc wrote

They don't know anymore where to spend all that cash.

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johnbburg t1_j24dmvt wrote

I guess they got bored pushing dirt around off their coast.

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stormhawk427 t1_j24tb05 wrote

The Line (Clearly never heard of Spec Ops). Turtle Megafloat, and now space stations. The Saudi Royals and oligarchs have run out of terrestrial ideas so there’s no where to go but up. Burj Khalifa IN SPACE!

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JaboyMaceWindu t1_j239a4b wrote

You underestimate the saudis wealth, they don’t have to list their money made

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lgnsqr t1_j1znesc wrote

Each space station will have sections for families and single men. Women will only be able to move around the space station with written approval from a male.

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Realeron t1_j1zzh94 wrote

No, those fabled space stations will be male-crewed exclusively, which incidentally will keep their ages old custom of, er..., dating each other

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bk27465 t1_j21wwoz wrote

Sorry to say this but you're a decade behind the times. Look up Saudi now. Just look up MDL beast

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-CoachMcGuirk- t1_j23n2ff wrote

How does that music festival still change the fact that the Saudi government still performs mass executions to people who were probably tortured to confess?

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All_Usernames_Tooken t1_j1zyh4b wrote

Saudi is faker than China, so I don’t see this happening on their own.

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woolcoat t1_j1zyw39 wrote

They'll just pay China for the privilege of doing this. See:

UAE already paying China - https://astronomy.com/news/2022/10/united-arab-emirates-expands-lunar-plans-with-chinese-collaboration

China just completed it's first real space station and is thinking about expanding it - https://spacenews.com/china-is-considering-expanding-its-tiangong-space-station/

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MasterpieceBrave420 t1_j206fn4 wrote

It does make sense to try and diversify the economy. Oil days are numbered and even they can see that. The weather and it's proximity to the equator make it a decent launch site.

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SnooHesitations8174 t1_j21c8wt wrote

I’d be surprised if they aren’t heavy investing in materials research to build a space elevator.

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Herbadoo t1_j23cbau wrote

Unless the sun wants to take a big fat shit. Then oil is king for another 20 years

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EclecticKant t1_j23my0z wrote

That's an extremely short time when those countries' prosperity/existence entirely depends on it

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EclecticKant t1_j23n3h3 wrote

But they won't develop a space sector of their own, they will just throw money at someone else to solve the problem

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totally_anomalous t1_j1zir10 wrote

Guess they are getting bored with visiting Dubai.

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ForscherVerrat t1_j21a54v wrote

Sounds like the lamest space station ever. “Fun is illegal, and even in space we will try to push our religious bullshit on you.” No thanks.

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unquietwiki t1_j23b5sh wrote

Serious question... has anyone figured out how you do a salat in orbit? How do you prostrate? Which direction to face Mecca, if you're going around the planet at a speed you'd have to spin yourself like a compass to match? Can there be an exemption, given the State's religious obligations?

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zeeblecroid t1_j24699b wrote

That's actually been talked about quite a bit over the years. The general consensus is "schedule things based on the time zone you launched from, face towards the Earth's surface, and do your best to approximate the physical motions given you're in microgravity."

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redd-this t1_j22j293 wrote

Before you jump to the “space age”, SA.. can you please update your current state to modern age and give women equal rights.. fucking morons.

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FayOriginal t1_j239bqs wrote

Seriously though what rights women in Saudi Arabia still don’t have?

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domods t1_j2415zx wrote

According to Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, women in Saudi Arabia experience discrimination in relation to marriage, family, and divorce, despite recent reforms. The Saudi government continues to target and repress women's rights activists and movements.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_rights_in_Saudi_Arabia#:~:text=According%20to%20Human%20Rights%20Watch,women's%20rights%20activists%20and%20movements.

Looks like gender mixing is forbidden but also allowed, so like 50% chance ur gonna get killed for hanging out with the opposite sex. Jobs for women are almost entirely in the secretarial/office work sector and they can tell you to go home we don't employ women at any time because its technically still the law. You also can't divorce a husband unless you have solid proof of abuse or infidelity, even then there's a good chance the whole fam will disown you for dishonoring the family name.

So...Not the worst....but also not as awesome as they think they are. An absolute monarchy supported entirely on oil money and slave labor tends to do that.

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FayOriginal t1_j24m2ud wrote

Wikipedia isn’t really a reliable source. Since like 2019 No one is coming for women for hanging out with men.

Women can also work as a nurse, doctor, athlete or even in the military since 2021.

Women can definitely file for a divorce for any reason, A recent study shows that every 10 minutes a couple get divorced. You also said Women can ONLY file for a divorce if the husband proven to be cheating or abusing which is not true at all, in 2019 the most common reason why women divorce their husbands is because the husbands “were against letting them drive a car”.

Saudi Arabia’s system isn’t really an absolute monarchy although it appears to westerners in that way. I wish my English was better to explain it but It’s more of tribes pledging allegiance every year to a leader to rule them, and it’s been used for thousands of years so you can’t say “it’s because of oil” The king still doesn’t have full power he still needs to keep good relations to the leaders of each tribe and not piss them off.

Finally, slave labors to extract oil?? Whattt? Where is your source please. Saudis been doing this by themselves since the 30s until recently but still the company which is responsible for extracting oil is ranked as the 46th best company for employees

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ferrel_hadley t1_j1z9ynh wrote

Not a lot of information here. Not sure who they are planning on working with.

Though this image in the article:

https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/yV2MdcI2s1hAsBUXHr3MkCvM9Lo=/800x0/filters:format(jpg):quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/thenational/7Z5UVOJD6JBHPIFXD7HWWPJAXI.jpg

Reminded me of this image

https://shortyawards.imgix.net/entries/8th/glow_shortys_header_expanse-1.png?auto=format&fit=crop&h=300&q=65&w=500&s=f18123e0d4c53b04e661fe44a25083f3

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Normal-Professor2876 t1_j20coto wrote

We need to start making space regulations that protect the space around our planet and not make the same mistakes we made with our environment on this planet

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MadFish4736 t1_j212ovo wrote

Looking at the pictures, NASA has the better idea of a lunar gateway

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sailing_steve t1_j212wfg wrote

KSA needs to be ostracized from the world community under MBS is brought to Justice for the murder of Jamal Khashoggi under diplomatic cover. No one should do any business with them, again, until the murderer MBS is brought to Justice

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Lenexer t1_j25vwf4 wrote

That is really rich for someone from a country that killed a million Iraqis for no reason lol, what a hypocrite.

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sungod-1 t1_j20r8li wrote

We must stop buying all oil from Saudi Arabia and the Middle East

The US, Canada, Venezuela, Guyana and Mexico can supply oil to the world

We don’t need Saudi Arabia anymore

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FayOriginal t1_j239fe4 wrote

Who’s we?

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sungod-1 t1_j24wagx wrote

We as in the EU and USA

WE have enough oil to supply the world with Canada, Venezuela, Guyana and Mexico

WE can finally stop money from flowing into the middle east

It’s funny but Russia and OPEC+ don’t understand that China is a bigger threat than the US or EU

China is starting to flood the world with cheap electric vehicles and solar cells

China uses LFP battery technology which does not require nickel, cobalt or manganese. It uses lithium and iron

The world has massive iron supply lines and can just recycle old ICE cars into LFP batteries

Hahahaha hahahaha, so OPEC+ and Russia are friends with China. The country who is literally putting them out of the oil business

Hahahaha hahahaha hahahaha

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HungryTreasure t1_j22m2lw wrote

I get the feeling that space is going to be weaponized pretty soon. Maybe I’m paranoid though.

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Herbadoo t1_j23chva wrote

Why do you think we made a space-force….. yall shit on it like its a bad idea.

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Glaborage t1_j238fb2 wrote

That's a great plan, but before that, maybe they could try to build a fucking car for a start? Just to display their engineering prowess.

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Herbadoo t1_j23c16i wrote

Yea okay. They gonna use leaky Russian rockets and make use their own oil

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budfox75 t1_j23q0jn wrote

KSA trying to have it both ways is ridiculous and I don’t know why the world even pays attention anymore…the constant “we’re advancing all of our National capabilities to be super modern and advanced” with all these generational timelines “2030 Vision” blah blah. These motherfuckers just started to let women drive! They are so far behind the rest of the modern world in basic human rights, equality, education etc. and continually launch these bullshit “KSA will lead the world in technology and innovation” while not having the fundamentals of human existence post enlightenment. Look at the thug that runs the country does anyone think innovation and future economic leadership will come from such people? They are on third base because of the black gold in the ground and they act like they hit a triple

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TheBobInSonoma t1_j21mk0s wrote

Looking for ways to make money once people start moving away from oil.

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robboblobbo t1_j2205p7 wrote

I wouldn't trust them as far as I could throw them.

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