Saudi Arabia's King Fahd admitted to hospital for medical tests, according

[auntAgonist]

to official Saudi news agency SPA. Details soon.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/05/26/pantano.charges.ap/index.html

[Benhurst]

1. Yeah, they probably found out he had been dead for months

and was in an advanced state of decomposition.

[Zorra]

2. Does the King have health insurance? n/t

[bluestateguy]

3. Anyway...

who won American Idol, again?

[htuttle]

4. He's a fat old drunk!

He earned every one of the health problems he has today. I'm amazed he made it into his 80's.

[tjwmason]

9. He's a good pious Muslim and would never dream of drinking

How can anybody even think such a thing :sarcasm:

The only problem is that the Crown Prince is probably even worse that Fahd.

[htuttle]

12. I could tell you stories, but they'd be third hand

I used to know a Palestinian fellow (through the taxi business) whose relatives delivered aforementioned booze to the King's residence on a regular basis.

They also mentioned that a fork lift was needed to get the King up and onto an airplane... At least that's what he told me back in '87.

The King is fink.

[tjwmason]

13. I've heard plenty of stories already.

I think it's pretty well known that the cancer is cirrhosis.

Ironic given the booze ban - ironic but unsurprising.

[420inTN]

5. Wrong link, here's a couple

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/8006302/

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2005-05-27-saudi-king_x.htm

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2005/May/middleeast_May753.xml§ion=middleeast&col=

[norml]

6. Saudi king hospitalized with pneumonia

Friday, May 27, 2005 · Last updated 11:05 a.m. PT

Saudi king hospitalized with pneumonia

By ABDULLAH AL-SHIHRI
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER





Saudi Arabian King Fahd looks out during an audience for German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh in a file photo from Oct. 5, 2003. King Fahd was taken to a Riyadh hospital on Friday for medical tests, the Saudi Press Agency said. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)


RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- King Fahd, who moved Saudi Arabia closer to the United States during his two-decade rule, was taken to a Riyadh hospital on Friday for medical tests, the Saudi Press Agency said.

The official news agency carried a royal office statement saying King Fahd, who has been in frail health for years, was admitted to King Faisal specialist hospital in Riyadh for medical tests.

"We ask God ... to preserve and protect" the king, the statement said.

One official said doctors believe the monarch has pneumonia. The official requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of his position.




snip




http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apmideast_story.asp?category=1107&slug=Saudi%20King%20Hospitalized

[elvisbear]

7. If Fahd croaks, will the chimp declare all US flags to be at half mast?

:puke:

[antonialee839]

8. Good word croak.

He looks like an over-sized bullfrog.

[UpInArms]

10. related: Saudi Arabia declares state of alert-reports

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/newsfinder/pulseone.asp?dateid=38499.6109819444-835956959&siteID=mktw&scid=0&doctype=806&

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Saudi Arabia on Friday declared a state of alert, according to media reports. Dow Jones Newswires reported that King Faud, believed to be 82, is in the hospital and that there are political jitters amid fears of a popular revolt should he die. Faud's half-brother has effectively run the oil-rich nation for years because of the king's poor health.

...very short newsblurb...

[napi21]

11. CNN said rumor was he has pneumonia.

That's NOT good for an old man.

[amandabeech]

14. Perhaps this is the reason the the Navy is hurriedly sending

five assault ships to the Med and Red Seas. Bandar Bush may have given the Chimp a heads up.

The ships could be used to secure the Yonbu (sp) oil terminal on the Red Sea. Or to evacuate U.S. personnel from wherever.

It is also possible that those ships will end up in the Persian Gulf to help secure the oil fields and refineries. Do we have other amphibious assault ships in the Gulf?

Perhaps other USN vessels in the area will be changing stations.

This really could be a major problem if the Saudi leadership turns away from the U.S. Not only would the Saudis be less interested in helping us, but also they might not agree to remain neutral in the event of a proposed U.S. attack on Syria or Iran. Although the Saudis and the Iranians don't like each other, a radical Saudi leadership might think that supporting another Muslim state to be more important that helping us, particularly if the death of Fahd emboldens the Al Quaeda/Radical Wahabi rebels already in S.A.

Stay tuned. Junior's long weekend could be a little less relaxing than he had planned.

[megatherium]

15. This sounds scary.

Last year, Memorial Day proved to be very frightening, as I hid in my basement through two tornado warnings in the span of two hours.

I read Sleeping With the Devil, by Robert Baer. He's a former CIA analyst who says that the Saudi royals are "circling the drain" and that the US has long been prepared for the contingency of having to seize the oil fields. If memory serves, the Saudis produce more than 10% of the world's oil. This could be scary indeed.

[KittyWampus]

16. King Reportedly Dead Since Wednesday

[bemildred]

17. Saudi King Fahd doing well in hospital - agency

I thought this could go with the "al Zarqawi is back at this post" story.
Makes me think of Schrodinger's cat, somehow.

RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's King Fahd, ruler of the world's top oil exporter and a close ally of the United States, was taken to hospital on Friday but officials said he was doing well.

Fears about the king's health had heightened earlier after a royal statement urged the monarch's subjects to pray for his recovery. Medical sources said he had pneumonia and high fever.

But the official SPA news agency quoted an official as saying: "King Fahd is well, thank God, and the medical tests he is undergoing are proceeding in a normal way."

In a separate statement, SPA said that the kingdom's Crown Prince Abdullah had reassured Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in a telephone call that "the king's health is good."

Reuters

[benburch]

18. Too bad.

I was ready to celebrate in the streets.

[PartyPooper]

19. So, I guess this means the earlier reports of his demise are premature.

I'll call the florist now and cancel the floral arrangement.

[Maple]

20. He's in great shape

for someone who's dead.

http://www.wpherald.com/storyview.php?StoryID=20050527-044817-9984r
--

[CottonBear]

21. Damn. Those guys just won't die already.

:evilgrin:

[Midnight Rambler]

22. Yasser Arafat/John Paul II redux

Does this have to happen every time one of these guys gets sick?

[thebigidea]

23. so if his health is good, why is he in a hospital? The food?

[bemildred]

24. His health is good because they aren't ready to deal with him being dead.

:popcorn:

[IChing]

25. He's doing well dead

[maddezmom]

26. Saudi King Fahd in Stable Condition

By ADNAN MALIK, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 40 minutes ago



RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - King Fahd, Saudi Arabia's monarch for the last 23 years, was said to be in stable condition Saturday, a day after he was hospitalized for unspecified tests.


But in the capital, where the talk was all of his health, many people said they feared for the worst.

"I'm asking God to protect King Fahd for us and his family," said businessman Ebrahim Al-Khudair, 39. "The stability of the kingdom comes with his name."

Fahd, king since 1982, suffered a debilitating stroke in 1995. His half brother, Crown Prince Abdullah, has been Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler since then, and is expected to become king should Fahd die.

~snip~
more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050528/ap_on_re_mi_ea/saudi_king/nc:736;_ylt=As0ZlImDAOHGlltPsfqT2J0LewgF;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl