Talk Elections

General Politics => International General Discussion => Topic started by: MASHED POTATOES. VOTE! on January 11, 2020, 06:25:46 AM



Title: Sultan Qaboos is dead
Post by: MASHED POTATOES. VOTE! on January 11, 2020, 06:25:46 AM
This is pretty big news.

http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/gulf/2020/01/11/Sultan-of-Oman-dies-Oman-state-media.html


Title: Re: Sultan Qaboos is dead
Post by: 😥 on January 11, 2020, 07:23:39 AM
Massive FF. Rest in peace


Title: Re: Sultan Qaboos is dead
Post by: MASHED POTATOES. VOTE! on January 11, 2020, 08:11:46 AM

I'd rather say a "model modern enlightened despot".

Very inconvenient timing.


Title: Re: Sultan Qaboos is dead
Post by: Frodo on January 11, 2020, 03:08:53 PM
Curious to see whose name he wrote down in that letter he left before he died.  Hopefully it will be someone just like him. 


Title: Re: Sultan Qaboos is dead
Post by: MASHED POTATOES. VOTE! on January 11, 2020, 03:11:51 PM
Curious to see whose name he wrote down in that letter he left before he died.  Hopefully it will be someone just like him. 

It's alredy been sorted out.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haitham_bin_Tariq_Al_Said


Title: Re: Sultan Qaboos is dead
Post by: Paul Weller on January 11, 2020, 07:39:37 PM


Title: Re: Sultan Qaboos is dead
Post by: World politics is up Schmitt creek on January 11, 2020, 10:15:16 PM
I'm going to interrupt the lovefest on a Middle Eastern absolute monarch and say RIP, HP.


Title: Re: Sultan Qaboos is dead
Post by: PSOL on January 11, 2020, 10:27:18 PM
I'm going to interrupt the lovefest on a Middle Eastern absolute monarch and say RIP, HP.
Thank you. He was an autocratic despot that suppressed the Omani people twice, once in the 70s and again during the Arab Spring. Are all you people gushing over Qaboos going to say the same about Gaddafi?


Title: Re: Sultan Qaboos is dead
Post by: Paul Weller on January 11, 2020, 11:26:11 PM
I'm going to interrupt the lovefest on a Middle Eastern absolute monarch and say RIP, HP.
Thank you. He was an autocratic despot that suppressed the Omani people twice, once in the 70s and again during the Arab Spring. Are all you people gushing over Qaboos going to say the same about Gaddafi?

I'm not usually one who buys into the "strongman being necessary for the development of his country" trope, and I think it's untrue in most cases, examples being Park Chung-hee and Lee Kuan Yew. However, in my opinion Qaboos is an exception. He could've chosen to be like his father and done nothing to better the country, but instead he proved himself to be far better than he had any right to be. The internal improvements he made to Oman are obvious and well-known, but he also distinguished himself internationally by maintaining a position of neutrality and serving as a mediator in many instances. He refused to get Oman involved in proxy wars, and played a crucial role as an intermediary during the Iran Nuclear Deal negotiations. Also, unlike the other Gulf states of Bahrain, Qatar, and the UAE, Oman isn't a filthy rich petrostate, built off the backs of abused migrant workers, that uses its cash to fund terrorism. The Middle East would be a much better place if there were more rulers like Qaboos in charge.


Title: Re: Sultan Qaboos is dead
Post by: PSOL on January 11, 2020, 11:39:47 PM
I'm going to interrupt the lovefest on a Middle Eastern absolute monarch and say RIP, HP.
Thank you. He was an autocratic despot that suppressed the Omani people twice, once in the 70s and again during the Arab Spring. Are all you people gushing over Qaboos going to say the same about Gaddafi?

I'm not usually one who buys into the "strongman being necessary for the development of his country" trope, and I think it's untrue in most cases, examples being Park Chung-hee and Lee Kuan Yew. However, in my opinion Qaboos is an exception. He could've chosen to be like his father and done nothing to better the country, but instead he proved himself to be far better than he had any right to be. The internal improvements he made to Oman are obvious and well-known, but he also distinguished himself internationally by maintaining a position of neutrality and serving as a mediator in many instances. He refused to get Oman involved in proxy wars, and played a crucial role as an intermediary during the Iran Nuclear Deal negotiations. Also, unlike the other Gulf states of Bahrain, Qatar, and the UAE, Oman isn't a filthy rich petrostate, built off the backs of abused migrant workers, that uses its cash to fund terrorism. The Middle East would be a much better place if there were more rulers like Qaboos in charge.
A Democratic Oman would have done the same, without spending the people’s money on royal yahts And having one of the highest defense spending % in the world, nor would they have suppressed the movement of Oman further into a better era.

Your claim that migrants aren’t doing the brunt of the backbreaking work in Oman are also false. (https://www.hrw.org/report/2016/07/13/i-was-sold/abuse-and-exploitation-migrant-domestic-workers-oman)


Title: Re: Sultan Qaboos is dead
Post by: Famous Mortimer on January 12, 2020, 01:13:28 AM
I'm going to interrupt the lovefest on a Middle Eastern absolute monarch and say RIP, HP.
Thank you. He was an autocratic despot that suppressed the Omani people twice, once in the 70s and again during the Arab Spring. Are all you people gushing over Qaboos going to say the same about Gaddafi?

I'm not usually one who buys into the "strongman being necessary for the development of his country" trope, and I think it's untrue in most cases, examples being Park Chung-hee and Lee Kuan Yew. However, in my opinion Qaboos is an exception. He could've chosen to be like his father and done nothing to better the country, but instead he proved himself to be far better than he had any right to be. The internal improvements he made to Oman are obvious and well-known, but he also distinguished himself internationally by maintaining a position of neutrality and serving as a mediator in many instances. He refused to get Oman involved in proxy wars, and played a crucial role as an intermediary during the Iran Nuclear Deal negotiations. Also, unlike the other Gulf states of Bahrain, Qatar, and the UAE, Oman isn't a filthy rich petrostate, built off the backs of abused migrant workers, that uses its cash to fund terrorism. The Middle East would be a much better place if there were more rulers like Qaboos in charge.
A Democratic Oman would have done the same, without spending the people’s money on royal yahts And having one of the highest defense spending % in the world, nor would they have suppressed the movement of Oman further into a better era.

Your claim that migrants aren’t doing the brunt of the backbreaking work in Oman are also false. (https://www.hrw.org/report/2016/07/13/i-was-sold/abuse-and-exploitation-migrant-domestic-workers-oman)

Well he stopped a communist takeover, increased literacy and life expectancy, kept out of other people's wars, and advocated for peace but he didn't let people cast a ballot for the pro-IMF party or the slightly less pro-IMF party every 4 years so screw him, HP.


Title: Re: Sultan Qaboos is dead
Post by: Devout Centrist on January 12, 2020, 02:31:16 AM
I'm going to interrupt the lovefest on a Middle Eastern absolute monarch and say RIP, HP.
Thank you. He was an autocratic despot that suppressed the Omani people twice, once in the 70s and again during the Arab Spring. Are all you people gushing over Qaboos going to say the same about Gaddafi?

I'm not usually one who buys into the "strongman being necessary for the development of his country" trope, and I think it's untrue in most cases, examples being Park Chung-hee and Lee Kuan Yew. However, in my opinion Qaboos is an exception. He could've chosen to be like his father and done nothing to better the country, but instead he proved himself to be far better than he had any right to be. The internal improvements he made to Oman are obvious and well-known, but he also distinguished himself internationally by maintaining a position of neutrality and serving as a mediator in many instances. He refused to get Oman involved in proxy wars, and played a crucial role as an intermediary during the Iran Nuclear Deal negotiations. Also, unlike the other Gulf states of Bahrain, Qatar, and the UAE, Oman isn't a filthy rich petrostate, built off the backs of abused migrant workers, that uses its cash to fund terrorism. The Middle East would be a much better place if there were more rulers like Qaboos in charge.
A Democratic Oman would have done the same, without spending the people’s money on royal yahts And having one of the highest defense spending % in the world, nor would they have suppressed the movement of Oman further into a better era.

Your claim that migrants aren’t doing the brunt of the backbreaking work in Oman are also false. (https://www.hrw.org/report/2016/07/13/i-was-sold/abuse-and-exploitation-migrant-domestic-workers-oman)

Well he stopped a communist fascist takeover, increased literacy and life expectancy, kept out of other people's wars, and advocated for peace but he didn't let people cast a ballot for the pro-IMF party or the slightly less pro-IMF party every 4 years so screw him, HP.
"He who feeds you, controls you" --Thomas Sankara* --Snowstalker


Title: Re: Sultan Qaboos is dead
Post by: Co-Chair Bagel23 on January 12, 2020, 02:46:19 AM
Rip ff, the one good gulf Arab country, I love you Oman :).


Title: Re: Sultan Qaboos is dead
Post by: CumbrianLefty on January 12, 2020, 05:34:21 AM
Tbh "enlightened despot" sounds about right, the point is that the second word also applies.


Title: Re: Sultan Qaboos is dead
Post by: kaoras on January 12, 2020, 06:40:10 AM
My Arab teacher said he and his friend referred to him as Sultan Kaboos (nightmare)


Title: Re: Sultan Qaboos is dead
Post by: MASHED POTATOES. VOTE! on January 12, 2020, 08:32:34 AM
I'm going to interrupt the lovefest on a Middle Eastern absolute monarch and say RIP, HP.
Thank you. He was an autocratic despot that suppressed the Omani people twice, once in the 70s and again during the Arab Spring. Are all you people gushing over Qaboos going to say the same about Gaddafi?

I'm not usually one who buys into the "strongman being necessary for the development of his country" trope, and I think it's untrue in most cases, examples being Park Chung-hee and Lee Kuan Yew. However, in my opinion Qaboos is an exception. He could've chosen to be like his father and done nothing to better the country, but instead he proved himself to be far better than he had any right to be. The internal improvements he made to Oman are obvious and well-known, but he also distinguished himself internationally by maintaining a position of neutrality and serving as a mediator in many instances. He refused to get Oman involved in proxy wars, and played a crucial role as an intermediary during the Iran Nuclear Deal negotiations. Also, unlike the other Gulf states of Bahrain, Qatar, and the UAE, Oman isn't a filthy rich petrostate, built off the backs of abused migrant workers, that uses its cash to fund terrorism. The Middle East would be a much better place if there were more rulers like Qaboos in charge.
A Democratic Oman would have done the same, without spending the people’s money on royal yahts And having one of the highest defense spending % in the world, nor would they have suppressed the movement of Oman further into a better era.

Your claim that migrants aren’t doing the brunt of the backbreaking work in Oman are also false. (https://www.hrw.org/report/2016/07/13/i-was-sold/abuse-and-exploitation-migrant-domestic-workers-oman)

I'm actually willing to defend the defense spending (pun unintended), given Oman's very important strategic location, as well as the fact its' in rather dangerous neighbourhood.

I don't think we can truly predict how would a democratic Oman act, but I agree about the danger of perpetuating the notion that strongmen are somehow a necessary or desirable precondition for development. And Qaboos was indeed a ruthless despot, and had no qualms against using his peoples' money for personal pleasures.


Title: Re: Sultan Qaboos is dead
Post by: Vosem on January 12, 2020, 05:27:22 PM
I don't think there's much of a contradiction in saying that, by the standards of a Middle Eastern sheikh, he was indeed a massive FF...but those standards are so amazingly, horrifically low that they allow a man who was in fact a brutal tyrant to be fairly described as an FF in comparison with his peers.


Title: Re: Sultan Qaboos is dead
Post by: LAKISYLVANIA on January 12, 2020, 06:53:30 PM
he was in Belgium in december for medical purposes. He rented an entire hotel in Leuven.

HP obviously.


Title: Re: Sultan Qaboos is dead
Post by: MASHED POTATOES. VOTE! on January 12, 2020, 08:08:28 PM
It's worth mentioning there were longtime rumours the Sultan was deep in the closet, which, if true, would be especially relevant, given Oman's laws penalizing homosexuals.

At any rate, sure, Oman developed a lot during his reign, and he largely kept it neutral in what is a dangerous neighbourhood. And yes, there were some small, slow political reforms, but Oman remained overall an oppressive regime.


Title: Re: Sultan Qaboos is dead
Post by: Lexii, harbinger of chaos and sexual anarchy on January 12, 2020, 09:12:57 PM
I'm going to interrupt the lovefest on a Middle Eastern absolute monarch and say RIP, HP.
Thank you. He was an autocratic despot that suppressed the Omani people twice, once in the 70s and again during the Arab Spring. Are all you people gushing over Qaboos going to say the same about Gaddafi?

I'm not usually one who buys into the "strongman being necessary for the development of his country" trope, and I think it's untrue in most cases, examples being Park Chung-hee and Lee Kuan Yew. However, in my opinion Qaboos is an exception. He could've chosen to be like his father and done nothing to better the country, but instead he proved himself to be far better than he had any right to be. The internal improvements he made to Oman are obvious and well-known, but he also distinguished himself internationally by maintaining a position of neutrality and serving as a mediator in many instances. He refused to get Oman involved in proxy wars, and played a crucial role as an intermediary during the Iran Nuclear Deal negotiations. Also, unlike the other Gulf states of Bahrain, Qatar, and the UAE, Oman isn't a filthy rich petrostate, built off the backs of abused migrant workers, that uses its cash to fund terrorism. The Middle East would be a much better place if there were more rulers like Qaboos in charge.
having one of the highest defense spending % in the world,


TBF, even as a pacifist myself, I can see why Oman would want a ridiculously high defense spending, considering that it's sandwiched between Saudi Arabia, Iran and the always unstable Yemen





Title: Re: Sultan Qaboos is dead
Post by: World politics is up Schmitt creek on January 12, 2020, 10:45:04 PM
Tbh "enlightened despot" sounds about right, the point is that the second word also applies.

I don't think there's much of a contradiction in saying that, by the standards of a Middle Eastern sheikh, he was indeed a massive FF...but those standards are so amazingly, horrifically low that they allow a man who was in fact a brutal tyrant to be fairly described as an FF in comparison with his peers.

Yes, these points exactly. I was certainly not trying to claim that Qaboos was nearly as much of an HP as the constellation of other Gulf potentates who ebbed and flowed around him.


Title: Re: Sultan Qaboos is dead
Post by: Indy Texas on January 12, 2020, 11:19:17 PM
I'm going to interrupt the lovefest on a Middle Eastern absolute monarch and say RIP, HP.
Thank you. He was an autocratic despot that suppressed the Omani people twice, once in the 70s and again during the Arab Spring. Are all you people gushing over Qaboos going to say the same about Gaddafi?

I'm not usually one who buys into the "strongman being necessary for the development of his country" trope, and I think it's untrue in most cases, examples being Park Chung-hee and Lee Kuan Yew. However, in my opinion Qaboos is an exception. He could've chosen to be like his father and done nothing to better the country, but instead he proved himself to be far better than he had any right to be. The internal improvements he made to Oman are obvious and well-known, but he also distinguished himself internationally by maintaining a position of neutrality and serving as a mediator in many instances. He refused to get Oman involved in proxy wars, and played a crucial role as an intermediary during the Iran Nuclear Deal negotiations. Also, unlike the other Gulf states of Bahrain, Qatar, and the UAE, Oman isn't a filthy rich petrostate, built off the backs of abused migrant workers, that uses its cash to fund terrorism. The Middle East would be a much better place if there were more rulers like Qaboos in charge.
A Democratic Oman would have done the same, without spending the people’s money on royal yahts And having one of the highest defense spending % in the world, nor would they have suppressed the movement of Oman further into a better era.

Your claim that migrants aren’t doing the brunt of the backbreaking work in Oman are also false. (https://www.hrw.org/report/2016/07/13/i-was-sold/abuse-and-exploitation-migrant-domestic-workers-oman)

What makes you say that? At this point, the only countries in the Middle East that can conceivably be called 'democratic' are Israel and Lebanon, and both have governments that are dens of corruption and dysfunction.


Title: Re: Sultan Qaboos is dead
Post by: Indy Texas on January 12, 2020, 11:23:46 PM
It's worth mentioning there were longtime rumours the Sultan was deep in the closet, which, if true, would be especially relevant, given Oman's laws penalizing homosexuals.

He was married for a few years, never had children with his wife, quietly divorced while he was still quite young, and never married again.

I'm willing to wager he wasn't a "ladies' man" if you get my drift.


Title: Re: Sultan Qaboos is dead
Post by: CumbrianLefty on January 13, 2020, 08:00:01 AM
I'm going to interrupt the lovefest on a Middle Eastern absolute monarch and say RIP, HP.
Thank you. He was an autocratic despot that suppressed the Omani people twice, once in the 70s and again during the Arab Spring. Are all you people gushing over Qaboos going to say the same about Gaddafi?

I'm not usually one who buys into the "strongman being necessary for the development of his country" trope, and I think it's untrue in most cases, examples being Park Chung-hee and Lee Kuan Yew. However, in my opinion Qaboos is an exception. He could've chosen to be like his father and done nothing to better the country, but instead he proved himself to be far better than he had any right to be. The internal improvements he made to Oman are obvious and well-known, but he also distinguished himself internationally by maintaining a position of neutrality and serving as a mediator in many instances. He refused to get Oman involved in proxy wars, and played a crucial role as an intermediary during the Iran Nuclear Deal negotiations. Also, unlike the other Gulf states of Bahrain, Qatar, and the UAE, Oman isn't a filthy rich petrostate, built off the backs of abused migrant workers, that uses its cash to fund terrorism. The Middle East would be a much better place if there were more rulers like Qaboos in charge.
A Democratic Oman would have done the same, without spending the people’s money on royal yahts And having one of the highest defense spending % in the world, nor would they have suppressed the movement of Oman further into a better era.

Your claim that migrants aren’t doing the brunt of the backbreaking work in Oman are also false. (https://www.hrw.org/report/2016/07/13/i-was-sold/abuse-and-exploitation-migrant-domestic-workers-oman)

What makes you say that? At this point, the only countries in the Middle East that can conceivably be called 'democratic' are Israel and Lebanon, and both have governments that are dens of corruption and dysfunction.

Tunisia, or are you not counting them as "Middle East"?


Title: Re: Sultan Qaboos is dead
Post by: America Needs R'hllor on January 13, 2020, 10:29:43 AM
I'm going to interrupt the lovefest on a Middle Eastern absolute monarch and say RIP, HP.
Thank you. He was an autocratic despot that suppressed the Omani people twice, once in the 70s and again during the Arab Spring. Are all you people gushing over Qaboos going to say the same about Gaddafi?

I'm not usually one who buys into the "strongman being necessary for the development of his country" trope, and I think it's untrue in most cases, examples being Park Chung-hee and Lee Kuan Yew. However, in my opinion Qaboos is an exception. He could've chosen to be like his father and done nothing to better the country, but instead he proved himself to be far better than he had any right to be. The internal improvements he made to Oman are obvious and well-known, but he also distinguished himself internationally by maintaining a position of neutrality and serving as a mediator in many instances. He refused to get Oman involved in proxy wars, and played a crucial role as an intermediary during the Iran Nuclear Deal negotiations. Also, unlike the other Gulf states of Bahrain, Qatar, and the UAE, Oman isn't a filthy rich petrostate, built off the backs of abused migrant workers, that uses its cash to fund terrorism. The Middle East would be a much better place if there were more rulers like Qaboos in charge.
A Democratic Oman would have done the same, without spending the people’s money on royal yahts And having one of the highest defense spending % in the world, nor would they have suppressed the movement of Oman further into a better era.

Your claim that migrants aren’t doing the brunt of the backbreaking work in Oman are also false. (https://www.hrw.org/report/2016/07/13/i-was-sold/abuse-and-exploitation-migrant-domestic-workers-oman)

I'm actually willing to defend the defense spending (pun unintended), given Oman's very important strategic location, as well as the fact its' in rather dangerous neighbourhood.

I don't think we can truly predict how would a democratic Oman act, but I agree about the danger of perpetuating the notion that strongmen are somehow a necessary or desirable precondition for development. And Qaboos was indeed a ruthless despot, and had no qualms against using his peoples' money for personal pleasures.

Yeah, basically why I recommended both HenryWallace's and Nathan's posts. Sultan Qaboos was certainly an overall net positive influence on the region, and was better than other Sultans would be for his country, but he can't be described as a good person, or, indeed, a very contradictory "freedom fighter".


Title: Re: Sultan Qaboos is dead
Post by: Lord Halifax on January 13, 2020, 10:48:50 AM
I'm going to interrupt the lovefest on a Middle Eastern absolute monarch and say RIP, HP.
Thank you. He was an autocratic despot that suppressed the Omani people twice, once in the 70s and again during the Arab Spring. Are all you people gushing over Qaboos going to say the same about Gaddafi?

I'm not usually one who buys into the "strongman being necessary for the development of his country" trope, and I think it's untrue in most cases, examples being Park Chung-hee and Lee Kuan Yew. However, in my opinion Qaboos is an exception. He could've chosen to be like his father and done nothing to better the country, but instead he proved himself to be far better than he had any right to be. The internal improvements he made to Oman are obvious and well-known, but he also distinguished himself internationally by maintaining a position of neutrality and serving as a mediator in many instances. He refused to get Oman involved in proxy wars, and played a crucial role as an intermediary during the Iran Nuclear Deal negotiations. Also, unlike the other Gulf states of Bahrain, Qatar, and the UAE, Oman isn't a filthy rich petrostate, built off the backs of abused migrant workers, that uses its cash to fund terrorism. The Middle East would be a much better place if there were more rulers like Qaboos in charge.
A Democratic Oman would have done the same, without spending the people’s money on royal yahts And having one of the highest defense spending % in the world, nor would they have suppressed the movement of Oman further into a better era.

Your claim that migrants aren’t doing the brunt of the backbreaking work in Oman are also false. (https://www.hrw.org/report/2016/07/13/i-was-sold/abuse-and-exploitation-migrant-domestic-workers-oman)

What makes you say that? At this point, the only countries in the Middle East that can conceivably be called 'democratic' are Israel and Lebanon, and both have governments that are dens of corruption and dysfunction.

Tunisia, or are you not counting them as "Middle East"?

North Africa is not in the Middle East, apart from Egypt.


Title: Re: Sultan Qaboos is dead
Post by: Filuwaúrdjan on January 13, 2020, 11:11:51 AM
It's worth mentioning there were longtime rumours the Sultan was deep in the closet, which, if true, would be especially relevant, given Oman's laws penalizing homosexuals.

One of the factors that led to the coup he launched against his father was his father destroying his Gilbert and Sullivan LPs. Stereotype upon stereotype (given 'Arab monarch') but such is the World quite often.


Title: Re: Sultan Qaboos is dead
Post by: MASHED POTATOES. VOTE! on January 13, 2020, 02:51:52 PM
It's worth mentioning there were longtime rumours the Sultan was deep in the closet, which, if true, would be especially relevant, given Oman's laws penalizing homosexuals.

One of the factors that led to the coup he launched against his father was his father destroying his Gilbert and Sullivan LPs. Stereotype upon stereotype (given 'Arab monarch') but such is the World quite often.

I am the monarch of the sea,
The ruler of the Royal Omani Navee.


Title: Re: Sultan Qaboos is dead
Post by: World politics is up Schmitt creek on January 13, 2020, 04:05:09 PM
It's worth mentioning there were longtime rumours the Sultan was deep in the closet, which, if true, would be especially relevant, given Oman's laws penalizing homosexuals.

One of the factors that led to the coup he launched against his father was his father destroying his Gilbert and Sullivan LPs.

Honestly, that's a mood. Qaboos would make a great, and probably very sympathetic, fictional character; unfortunately, in his capacity as a real person...


Title: Re: Sultan Qaboos is dead
Post by: MASHED POTATOES. VOTE! on January 13, 2020, 04:46:38 PM
It's worth mentioning there were longtime rumours the Sultan was deep in the closet, which, if true, would be especially relevant, given Oman's laws penalizing homosexuals.

One of the factors that led to the coup he launched against his father was his father destroying his Gilbert and Sullivan LPs.

Honestly, that's a mood. Qaboos would make a great, and probably very sympathetic, fictional character; unfortunately, in his capacity as a real person...

Ahmad Bin Yahya from the next-door country (well, next-to-next technically, since it was before the Yemeni unification) would've made a great fictional character, somewhere along the lines of Roger from American Dad. A total psychopath, bordering on insanity, and yet entertaining enough to be likeable. As per always helpful wiki:

Quote
Although he wrote poetry from his youth, he was known for his explosive temper. Stories circulated that when he was a student at law, he confronted fellow students at knife-point to swear to support him one day as Imam.

Quote
Although his father had banned aircraft after a fatal accident, Ahmad was fascinated by them and on taking the throne bought two DC-3s and another in 1951. All the planes, however, were at the personal disposal of the Imam. The Swedish crew were terrified of his inconsistent orders.

Quote
The museum which was once his palace (now no longer open to the public) supposedly contains his "bizarre collection of hundreds of identical bottles of eau de cologne, Old Spice and Christian Dior, an electronic bed, a child's KLM handbag, projectors, films, guns, ammunition and swords ... passports, personalized Swiss watches and blood-stained clothes."

Quote
His mood swings and unpredictable behavior had several sources. Chief among them was his addiction to a mix of drugs, chiefly morphine, which he took for his chronic rheumatism.


Yes, that all would be great, if it was only fiction.