> That's what Iranian masses rejected, in favor of Ahmadinejad's
> platform. Since then, Ahmadinejad has poured "Iran's ballooning oil
> cash into wage and pension increases, cheap loans and debt
> cancellations for farmers" (at
> <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/05/AR2006050501663.html>).
>
> That's far beyond populist "rhetoric" -- that's populist practice.
So is this:
"Since the monarch succeeded his brother King Fahd, who passed away Aug. 1, he has issued a series of edicts that have made the popular king even more well-liked. He pardoned three democracy activists who were sentenced last year to prison terms of up to nine years. He raised government employee salaries by 15 percent for the first time in over 20 years, and earmarked more than $ 20 billion for housing loans, education, and welfare." ("Saudi king tiptoes toward more openness," Christian Science Monitor, Oct. 6, 2005.)
And I'm sure you'll find similar things going on in all the Gulf oil states. Maybe you can get Castro to persuade King Abdullah to drop his anti-Semitism and give in to his inner socialist.
Seth