Revolution in Kuwait. Legitimate? Legal? Justifiable?

[Zkribbler]

As has been said more elequently than I ever could:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.

[Patroklos]

That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government,

Agreed, but we are talking about Kuwait here, not Pakistan/India/Phillipines/Malaysia.

[Zkribbler]

Agreed, but we are talking about Kuwait here, not Pakistan/India/Phillipines/Malaysia.

All are republics.
Kuwait is an absolute monarchy.

[chequita guevara]

Che, places like the UAE are more than happey to let their foreign workers go home, they don't want them getting cozy. The other abuses are real enough.

I hope Lancer chimes in about the problems Delores cousin had in one of the Gulf states.

[Zkribbler]

I'm sure he will later, but now, it's 4:30 in the morning there.

[snoopy369]

I think that guest workers have a right to demand better treatment if their rights are being violated. I do NOT think they have a right to establish a government, however, regardless of the situation.

And anyone who thinks the French Revolution was anything other than mob mass murder needs to go back to history class.

[Patroklos]

I hope Lancer chimes in about the problems Delores cousin had in one of the Gulf states.

I do as well, so he can tell you it was the company he worked for and not the government who took his passport.

[Winston]

Kuwait is an absolute monarchy.

No it isn't.

[Dinner]

All of the gulf Arab states need the masses of foreigners to rise up and butcher their oppressors. Until then they will see no justice.

[Zkribbler]

No it isn't.

I bow to your superior knowledge.

Kuwait is a constitutional monarchy and has the oldest directly elected parliament in the Persian Gulf region. The head of state is the Emir or Sheikh, a hereditary office. The Emir appoints a Prime Minister, who until recently was also the Crown Prince. A council of ministers, also known as cabinet ministers, aids the Prime Minister in his task as the head of Government of Kuwait which must contain at least one elected member of the Kuwaiti parliament, known as Majlis Al-Umma (National Assembly). The National Assembly has the power to dismiss the Prime Minister or any member of cabinet through a series of constitutional procedures. All cabinet ministers are answerable to the National Assembly.

The National Assembly consists of fifty elected members, who are chosen in elections held every four years. Government ministers are also granted membership in the parliament and can number up to sixteen excluding the fifty elected members. According to the Constitution of Kuwait, nomination of a new Emir or Crown Prince by the ruling Al-Sabah family has to be approved by the National Assembly. If the nominee does not win the votes of the majority of the assembly, the royal family must submit the names of three other candidates to the National Assembly, and the Assembly must approve one of them to hold the post. Any amendment to the constitution can be proposed by the Emir but it needs to be approved by more than two-thirds of the members of the National Assembly before being implemented.[26] There have been several conflicts between the Emir, the government and the National Assembly over various policies. The National Assembly was suspended from 1976 to 1981, from 1986 to 1991 and from May 1999 to July 1999 due to irresolvable conflicts between some members of the government and the Assembly.

Two-thirds of Kuwait's population do not have citizenship and thus cannot vote in parliamentary elections. Additionally, prior to 2005, only 15% of the Kuwaiti citizen population was allowed to vote, with all women, "recently naturalized" citizens (i.e. those of less than thirty years' citizenship), and members of the Kuwaiti Armed Forces excluded. On May 16, 2005, Parliament permitted women's suffrage by a 35-23 vote, subject to official interpretation of Islamic law and effective for the 2006 parliamentary election. The decision raised Kuwait's eligible voter population from 139,000 to about 339,000. In 2006, Kuwaiti citizens were estimated to be more than 960,000. In 2005, the former Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah announced the appointment of the first women as a cabinet minister, Massouma Mubarak. She was designated the post of Planning Minister and Minister of State for Administrative Development Affairs.[28] During the 2008 parliamentary elections, 27 of the 275 candidates were women. However, none of them won.

[Winston]

I bow to your superior knowledge.

See, it didn't even hurt did it?

[Zkribbler]

See, it didn't even hurt did it?

Not true. I have an appointment with my chiropractor for tomorrow.

[chequita guevara]

I do as well, so he can tell you it was the company he worked for and not the government who took his passport.

The government is not innocent in this. At best, they turn a blind eye. At worst, they help the citizens of Kuwait **** over the guest workers. As I recall, Delores cousin got into trouble with her employer, and ended up in jail over it.

[Blaupanzer]

All feudal monarchies need to go. Hopefully this will happen after we've acheived of energy independence. Otherwise I suspect the US will end up on the wrong side.

[chequita guevara]

We're already on the wrong side. Gulf War I, supported a monarchy against a secular republic, remember?