Saudi prince buys $300m stake in Twitter

Saudi prince buys $300m stake in Twitter

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A member of Saudi Arabia’s ruling royal family has become a significant shareholder in Twitter, one of the online tools used by protesters who staged the “Arab Spring” uprisings this year.

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This is very worrying to me. As we already know, Twitter is monitored closely and they're preparing now to place all Tweets into the National Archives.

Here, we have a very rich man from a royal family who has everything he needs, but seems to want more power. Sure, Twitter will increase his wealth, but is he also in it for spying purposes and gathering information from the masses? I sure hope not.

www.ft.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

"CIA admits total monitoring of Facebook and Twitter"
www.abovetopsecret.com...

"AP Exclusive: CIA following Twitter, Facebook"
www.abovetopsecret.com...

"Library of Congress to Receive Entire Twitter Archive"
www.abovetopsecret.com...

I just wanted to bring special attention to one of the paragraphs within the article to justify my concerns.

Please read between the lines:

Twitter and Facebook have at times been used by activists inside Saudi Arabia to support campaigns there. A Saudi law that came into effect in February – just after the start of the Arab awakening – expanded state control so that online news and commentary websites could be fined or blocked if deemed to be offensive, compromising the nation’s economy or security, or violating Islamic sharia law. Some activists have also been detained over their posts on the web.

I think he wants more power in twitter so that he has a say in everything when terrorists start rebelling in his home town.

reply to post by novuslibertas


Yes, indeed. Such terrifying terrorists they are, too!

Here's some information I feel is pertinent to this thread.

www.huffingtonpost.com...

CAIRO — The Saudi billionaire whose investment firm is one of the biggest stakeholders in Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. said he is looking to expand his alliances with the media giant, in the latest indication that his appetite for growth remains robust even as his company retrenches.

Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, a nephew of the Saudi king and who was listed last year by Forbes as the world's 22nd richest person, met with News Corp.'s chief executive Rupert Murdoch on Jan. 14 in a meeting that "touched upon future potential alliances with News Corp.," according to a statement released by his Kingdom Holding Co. late Saturday.

Media reports have indicated that News Corp, parent to Fox News and Dow Jones & Co., among others, may be thinking of buying a stake in Alwaleed's Rotana Media Group, which includes a number of satellite channels that air in the Middle East.

Neither company has commented publicly on the possible deal, but the talks offer an indication yet that such an agreement may yet be in the offing.

Prince Alwaleed and Rupert Murdoch as business partners? This can't be good.

Then, he's also bedding down with Citigroup (from same source):

The Saudi royal also met last week with Citigroup's chief executive Vikram Pandit, according to a statement by Kingdom Holding e-mailed Sunday.

Alwaleed told Pandit that the "honeymoon is now over," a clear indication that one of the banking giant's largest investors wants solid results this year, according to a transcript of an interview that aired Thursday on Fox Business News.

"I told him that clearly the market gave you two years leeway, but I think now it's time to deliver," Alwaleed said. "And 2010 is really for him is year to make it or break it, and he has to deliver. "

Alwaleed raised his stake in Citigroup to 5 percent in late 2008 from less than 4 percent in a move that came as the company was facing a possible collapse. Kingdom Holding says Alwaleed is the single largest shareholder in Citigroup.

The above article is from January of 2010. We can clearly see that he has a great interest in benefitting from the American economy and wanting to keep a close eye on the banksters, too.
Just wonderful.

Good way to track Saudi women (wives) on twitter, and when caught saying and doing things against Islamic laws, have them arrested and stoned to death.

Hey, gotta get something for $300 million.

reply to post by Fractured.Facade


Thanks for making another good point as to how dangerous this may become.

Also, don't forget about all the little girls attending underground schools and the danger their teachers are putting themselves in. I'm sure they'd love to know who these people are and where the schools are.

Hmm, I do wonder..

Does 300 million buy a person editing power in twitter?

And if so, what does 500 million buy you.

reply to post by wiredamerican


The presidency of the United States?