It’s weird, but not as exciting as you might think. It’s been a while since I looked into it, but the gist is: This sign is from a taco bell in a high-crime area where robberies are common. People wait for the door to open then force their way in and rob the place at night. If you google the words on the sign you can find out where exactly.

Yeah thats a pretty good summary of what I was trying to convey. If this didn’t levitate, no one would’ve blinked twice. But since it did, its being investigated more thoroughly to check if its one of those other things that levitate (or actually a superconductor)

What I’ve gathered from many of the discussions around this topic is that the levitation is a notable feature of superconductors due to th Meissner(?) Effect. So if it couldnt levitate, there would be no reason to suspect that it is a superconductor. Because it does levitate, superconductivity is one of a few possibilities.

There have been indicators it may be a semiconductor instead, but apparently the conditions to accurately produce the material are vague/not fully understood - so attempts at reproduction have failed to rule it in or out 100%

1. Being an Ally of the US doesn’t make a nation or regime less of a dictatorship. The United States is responsible for more than a few dictatorships around the world and certainly has no qualms about shaking hands with preexisting dictatorships when oil, currency, etc. are involved.
2. Saying Lindsey Graham endorsed someone with money is a worthless statement. If anything, it just makes people like Saudi Arabia less. Lindsey Graham is widely reviled and believed by many to be a key example of the worst of what American politics have to offer
3. I was a member of the United States military, and can confidently state that despite funding ‘counter-terrorism’ efforts in that region, there is no love between the US military and KSA. Our government is capable of compartmentalization and is more than willing to send money to less-than-ideal allies to secure other key geo-political objectives.

I have plenty of problems with Israel, including their interactions with Palestine, and am definitely not employed by them either. They have more than their own fair share of atrocities - but those atrocities do not in any way detract from the fact that KSA is a dictatorship that the US props up to maintain its interest in that region. Still ‘fuck them’. Done engaging here.

Regarding your first paragraph, I think that’s exactly what’s happening here. Companies don’t make decisions for the benefit of the populations that consume their product - public companies make decisions to benefit their share holders. Dictators don’t make decisions for the benefit of their oppressed citizens - they make decisions to benefit the small number of people that keep them in power and aid in their reign. So a dictatorship making large value deals with a company seems reaaallyy unlikely to lead to any net positive for any of the relevant populations.

Additionally, your phrasing here sounds like you’re writing for an AP exam - Saudi Arabia hasn’t ‘faced challenges’ with upholding human rights and more than the Unabomber ‘faced challenges’ with not killing people with explosives. The nation has consistently and repeatedly (and continues to) flagrantly violate the most basic tenants of human rights and has yet to be held accountable owing entirely to their vast wealth and geopolitical control of the world’s primary energy source.

One can not reasonably argue in good faith that making a nation with a long history of intentional human rights violations, slavery, political and apolitical assassinations, etc - will suddenly (or gradually) improve by acquiring more of the same wealth that has historically enabled them to commit these acts.

There are no nuances or complexities that justify these actions and no tangible benefits associated with ‘a thoughtful dialogue and critique’. Any further communication here just gives you more of a platform to shill for your employers.

So yep, ‘fuck them’ and probably you.

See, the issue here is that you keep mentioning these investment as a means for KSA to modernize its ‘economy’ - but the lemming you replied to (and most people here tbh) couldnt give a shit less about the economy being modernized, the social and cultural values (rampant human rights abuses, et al.) are the issues at hand. Unless those values change, they’ll just go from pretty evil and rich to pretty evil and mooore rich. Which isnt exactly a good thing.

Additionally, you mentioned the individuals and communities that would benefit from this, but that sounds like trickle-down economics to me.

The people who benefit from these massive deals are almost entirely mega-wealthy (like the people who hired you to comment here) and the marginalized communities that face the most difficulties in KSA wont see a dime of this. I mean, KSA is still a slave state for all practical purposes. Doubt google and Msft are going to change that by giving them more data on unwanted elements of their population.

So, like the post above yours says - Fuck them and anyone that does business with them.