the revised tales of Omar

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The Revised Tales of Omar

Omar Abdulaziz, that is ... not to be confused with The Tale of King Omar Bin Al-Nu'uman and his brilliant son, though the current Omar may well be "making himself renowned in all quarters of the world".

Nor is it about the Saudi Crown Prince, though there has finally been some indication that MBS may actually still be in the land of the living, which only to some is a serious disappointment, despite his reported involvement in the reported murder of Jamal Khashoggi which has turned out to reportedly be a boon to Turkey -- "a gift that landed in [Erdogan's] lap".

Moving on to the most recent appearance in the media of acclaimed Canadian friend of Jamal Khashoggi, the Saudi truth-teller Omar Abdulaziz.

But first, one of my earlier screeds about the weasel words in the early media stories about Omar might prove a useful review, the scenario having then been in its early development stages, and his story now seeming more streamlined -- and unfortunately less credible -- as his media popularity grows.

CTV now has Omar on video, looking quite the media personality himself against a background of TV screens and other tech paraphernalia. He's even picked up a bit of the hip lingo you hear in TV interviews: "So ... yep".

It's interesting that Omar presents himself as having been a danger to Khoshoggi, and not the other way around. He has derived even more notoriety from being a professed danger to his friends and family, though he doesn't intend to desist for their benefit.

In fact, Omar has become the official Canadian focal point in the Canadian play-fight with the Saudis, and increased attention has been his goal since he began Twittering about Saudi Arabian oppression.

Why do I use the term play-fight? Because there hasn't been any discernible meat in this story since Chrystia Freeland opened the proceedings in her role as initial antagonist. Lots of threats received from MBS were sold as news, but has there been any real fallout for Canada as a result? How can we possibly know, since the media have moved on to more attention-grabbing tales.

The New Yorker (Oct. 23) does give a clue as to why Trump let Canada dangle alone on the issue in its story about the real US/MBS connection, in the person of Trump's Ken-doll* (I may be old but I'm not blind) son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who seems to represent Israel more than he does America, and was clearly the driver behind the whole Jerusalem/US embassy display.

• ... Kushner provided what appeared to be a strategic rationale for going soft on the crown prince or, at least, giving him some more time to come up with a less risible cover story for Khashoggi’s murder: “I’ll also say that we have to be able to work with our allies,” Kushner said. “And Saudi Arabia has been a very strong ally in terms of pushing back against Iran’s aggression, which is funding a lot of terror in the region, whether it’s the Houthis in Yemen or Hezbollah and Hamas, we have a lot of terrorism in the region."

It seems as if the US can say just about anything it wants to about Israel's enemies, without ever having to prove a thing.

(I'm suddenly wondering about the definition of nepotism. Artha definition: "favoritism shown to relatives or close friends by those in power (as by giving them jobs)". Who bestowed on Kushner the power to give the President of the United States the job of ventriloquist's dummy?) 

As for who puts the words into Omar Abdulaziz's mouth: My personal lie-detector was activated by Omar's tendency to preface his statements in the CTV video with the word "honestly". But don't take my word for it.

From Liespotting.com:

• Liars overemphasize their truthfulness.  “To tell you the truth…” “Honestly…” ... There’s no need to add them if you really are telling the truth, so be on guard.

Earlier statements attributed to Omar:

Business Insider: (Aug. 24)

• Abdulaziz suspects that the timing of the arrests [of his family and friends] has much to do with the ongoing diplomatic dispute between Saudi Arabia and Canada which continues to escalate.

And not so much to do with his Twitter activity or his professed friendship with Khashoggi?

The Globe and Mail (Oct. 18): 

• He also alleges a Saudi government agent came to Canada to see him and urged him to return. Mr. Abdulaziz declined.

But in the CTV video, he's saying:

• "... like -- two" government agents along with one of his brothers -- which he then goes on to say is "a way to make you feel sorry ... you did something to your brother ... to your friends -- just to remain silent".

And then: "But honestly," he says, "I don't know" about friends and family members".

Could the reason for his lack of emotion regarding the earlier-stated dire straits of his family prove that last statement to be more accurate than the others?

He speaks of "having a huge audience" but then appears to correct himself by saying "having an audience in the social media is a huge problem".

What I find most disturbing is that he says: "Honestly, the RCMP contacted me and they provided me with all the help that I need".

I can't help asking: And in return?

As I said in an earlier post:

• Keep in mind that an Israeli firm was said by the researchers to be the innovator of the spyware they say may have infected Omar's phone. It's said to be very expensive, and therefore only accessible to the well-funded, but the RCMP and CSIS have proved in the past to have lots of money to throw at infiltrators.

I was referring, of course, to the funds initially paid, and the continued fame and fortune achieved by Mubin Shaikh as a result of role-playing for Canada's finest protectors of the people.

* Does the below image remind you of another famous couple?
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Real life Ken and Barbie from The Hollywood Gossip