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Fri, 19 Oct 2018 15:45:00 -0400 Not The Onion: Internet Memes Are Making Teenagers Fat
Adding to unfit parents, "sexy at any size" fat-acceptance movements and the abundance of hormone-laden fast food in every corner of the world, there's a new culprit in town for teenage obesity; internet memes
According to five UK professors, memes which glorify fatness or make self-deprecating jokes about unhealthy eating habits can program impressionable young teens with the notion that it's ok to just give up when it comes to their health.
For e
Read more.....
Adding to unfit parents, "sexy at any size" fat-acceptance movements and the abundance of hormone-laden fast food in every corner of the world, there's a new culprit in town for teenage obesity; internet memes
According to five UK professors, memes which glorify fatness or make self-deprecating jokes about unhealthy eating habits can program impressionable young teens with the notion that it's ok to just give up when it comes to their health.
For example:
The authors suggest that fat-centric memes are dangerous becuase memes in general invoke a sense of happiness:
"It is worrying that Internet meme content - which, by definition, has come to represent the Internet-fuelled propagation of items such as videos, jokes, rumours and websites (Shifman 2014) – produces a predominate sense of happiness regardless of the underlying tone or image used (see the appendix for examples of health-related Internet memes). If this is the broader case then we run the risk of normalising and accepting ridiculing and stereotyping of “non-normative”, “fat”, “unhealthy”, “irresponsible”, “at fault” individuals because of cultural ignorance."
In other words, because most people get a kick out of memes, the ones which make suggest that it's ok to be fat run the risk of normalizing poor habits. The study specifically cites two dangerous memes:
A picture of an overweight child with the caption "Free food? Count me in!" was sent along with the letter as an example of a meme the researchers found dangerous.
The academics were also concerned by a meme that created a human-like body from pictures of pizzas and hamburgers, with frankfurters used for limbs and a smiley-faced potato for a face.
The body was captioned "me" and placed alongside images of three well-defined bodies for comparison.CNN
The authors note that obesity costs the UK's socialized National Health Service £4 billion (USD $5.2 billion) per year - second only to smoking at £5 billion, but ahead of alcohol (£3.5 billion) and physical inactivity (£1.1 billion).
They also suggest that memes should be filtered in order to prevent wrong-think:
Internet memes are generally viewed as entertaining but they also represent a body of cultural practice that does not account for the specific needs and rights of teenagers (Livingstone, Carr, & Byrne, 2016). If Internet memes carry political, corporate or other agenda s without priorities tailored to the needs of 13-16-year-olds then they have the potential to do harm on a large scale (Wartella et al., 2015). We need to know the types of health information/knowledge that teenagers are exposed to because social media is an increasingly central aspect of their daily lives and social interactions .
And while teenage obesity is undoubtedly caused by multiple factors, including not being fat, just big boned - the kids of today wouldn't do well just two short generations ago.
1960s:
VIDEO
Today:
VIDEO
Read the paper below:
?
Close Fri, 19 Oct 2018 15:30:00 -0400 'Meddling' In Midterms - DOJ Accuses Russian National Of "Information Warfare"
On the eve of a planned trip to Moscow by National Security Advisor John Bolton to discuss election hacking, the Department of Justice unsealed an indictment Friday afternoon charging a Russian national for her alleged involvement with another "troll farm" that US prosecutors say attempted to tamper with the midterm election.
Read more.....
On the eve of a planned trip to Moscow by National Security Advisor John Bolton to discuss election hacking, the Department of Justice unsealed an indictment Friday afternoon charging a Russian national for her alleged involvement with another "troll farm" that US prosecutors say attempted to tamper with the midterm election.
Source: DoJ
According to the Washington Post, the charges - the first alleging meddling in the midterms - have been brought against Elena Khusyaynova, 44, who was accused of conspiracy to defraud the United States.
Khusyaynova is believed to manage the finances of "Project Lakhta," a "foreign influence operation" that prosecutors say was intended to "to sow discord in the US political system" by pushing "arguments and misinformation" about "immigration, the Confederate flag, gun control, and the NFL national anthem protests."
Source: DoJ
The charges follow warnings by President Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and the Director of National Intelligence that Russia and China have sought to interfere in the midterms. Trump has claimed that this interference has been directed against Republican candidates as part of China's retaliation for his disruptive trade war.
"This effort was not only designed to spread distrust towards candidates for U.S. political office and the U.S. political system in general, but also to defraud the United States by impeding the lawful functions of government agencies in administering relevant federal requirements."
Source: DoJ
In a statement, he DNI clarified that the US has "no evidence" that this "Project Lakhta" tried to infiltrate the US's voting infrastructure in a way that could actually sway vote totals.
In a statement, the Director of National Intelligence said officials “do not have any evidence of a compromise or disruption of infrastructure that would enable adversaries to prevent voting, change vote counts or disrupt our ability to tally votes in the midterm elections.”
But the statement noted, "We are concerned about ongoing campaigns by Russia, China and other foreign actors, including Iran, to undermine confidence in democratic institutions and influence public sentiment and government policies. These activities also may seek to influence voter perceptions and decision making in the 2018 and 2020 U.S. elections."
The announcement, which was joined by the Justice Department, FBI and Department of Homeland Security, comes on the eve of a trip National Security Advisor John Bolton is making to Moscow, where he is expected to raise the issue with his counterparts.
The indictment claims the operation was financed by oligarch Yeveniy Prigozhin and two companies he controls. Prigozhin - better known as "Putin's Chef" - was targeted by sanctions in March. Prigozhin also allegedly controlled the Internet Research Agency, the troll farm that was the object of a Mueller indictment earlier this year.
Court papers said Khusyaynova’s operation was funded by Russian oligarch Yeveniy Prigozhin and two companies he controls, Concord Management and Consulting LLC and Concord Catering.
A criminal complaint filed against the woman charges that she managed the finances of Project Lakhta, including detailed expenses for activities in the U.S. such as paying for activists, advertisements on social media, registering domain names, the purchase of proxy servers, and promoting news postings on social media.
Finally, and perhaps most terrifying, is the fact that the operation's budget was a mere $35 million - it is now apparently a lot cheaper to manipulate the American mind than Hillary's billion-dollar spend tried to (or perhaps, just perhaps, this is a mickey-mouse operation merely using trolling to gather traffic and not some mysterious effort to disrupt America's democracy).
Given the timing, this appears to be yet another attempt by deep state operatives to force the Trump Administration to take a more aggressive tack with Russia. While we imagine the charges will cast a shadow over Bolton's trip and his meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the big question now is whether charges will be forthcoming against China .
Close Fri, 19 Oct 2018 15:15:00 -0400 Trader: "Well I Think There's A Problem Here"
For those looking for key market inflection points, BMO's Brad Wishak highlights a divergence that was a key tell for recent market action, and may portend even more pain in the coming weeks.
Accordng to Wishak, one place that telegraphed the recent market turmoil was the venerable New York Stock Exchange: the NYSE is the worlds largest stock exchange by market cap (21 trillion) yet "seems to get very little main stream attention for reasons I'll never understand."
And, Wishak
Read more.....
For those looking for key market inflection points, BMO's Brad Wishak highlights a divergence that was a key tell for recent market action, and may portend even more pain in the coming weeks.
Accordng to Wishak, one place that telegraphed the recent market turmoil was the venerable New York Stock Exchange: the NYSE is the worlds largest stock exchange by market cap (21 trillion) yet "seems to get very little main stream attention for reasons I'll never understand."
And, Wishak adds, "when the largest stock exchange in the world throws up a few negative divergences, I want to listen " for the following three reasons:
While the other major indices are hugging their 200 dma, the NYSE is firmly through it
Additionally, the 2018 Channel trendline support broken
But the biggest tell for me took place in September....while all the other majors were marking fresh all time highs, the largest exchange in the world wasn't even close to confirming ....this doesn't happen often.........another one for the radar
Close Fri, 19 Oct 2018 15:00:00 -0400 Caravan Showdown: Migrants Tear Down Guatemala Border Gate, Rush Towards Mexico
Migrants in a 4,000-strong caravan traveling north from Central America have trampled the Guatemalan border and are currently preparing for a push into Mexico.
Migrants in a 4,000-strong caravan traveling north from Central America have trampled the Guatemalan border and are currently preparing for a push into Mexico.
Daily Mail
Word of the border breach conflicts with earlier reports that the bulk of the caravan, approximately 2,000 - 3,000 people, turned around two blocks from the Mexican border with Guatemala earlier Friday.
They were two blocks from the border line in the Guatemalan town of Tecun Uman when they retreated. It is not an indicator that they have changed their plans, but demonstrates the obstacles the group is facing. On Thursday and Friday, the group clashed with police in the town and fought with them as Mexican man who was supporting the march was arrested.
They are now making their way towards a bridge which traverses the Suchiate River. One migrant said: 'One way or another, we will pass.' -Daily Mail
Thursday evening, US and Mexican officials agreed on a plan to handle the appropaching caravan, according to Fox News
Under the deal, which was developed over the course of several months, Mexico requested that the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) establish shelters along its southern border with Central America, the official said. -Fox News
"Just today, the Mexican government, and this is a very important step, requested the intervention of the U.N., the Office of the High Commissioner on Refugees, to help Mexico review any asylum claims from the members of the caravan," Gutierrez said. "That will allow us to have a process by which in our border we will make sure that of serving human rights, respecting international law, if there are legitimate claims to refugee, those can be processed in a very clear way."
***
On Thursday, Mexico deployed hundreds of riot police to intercept the caravan, following demands by President Trump that Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador intervene before he has to deploy US troops.
"I must, in the strongest of terms, ask Mexico to stop this onslaught - and if unable to do so I will call up the U.S. Military and CLOSE OUR SOUTHERN BORDER!” Trump Tweeted Thursday morning.
On Tuesday, Trump threatened to cut off aid to Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador if they "allow their citizens, or others, to journey through their borders and up to the United States."
Mexico said in a Thursday statement that it would also seek assistance from the United Nations refugee agency for help coordinating with Central American governments of countries from which the migrants originated.
Hundreds of federal police in riot gear fanned out on the international bridge in Suchiate, on the Mexican-Guatemalan border, as the caravan of several thousand Honduran migrants trekked toward the crossing.
Guatemala also sent police reinforcements to its side of the border, after Trump threatened to cut aid to the region , deploy the military and close the US-Mexican border if the migrants were allowed to continue.
A first group of several hundred migrants arrived late Wednesday in the border town of Tecun Uman, Guatemala, where they overflowed a local shelter, leaving many to sleep in the town square or on the street, an AFP correspondent said. -AFP
The new caravan, which began in the Honduran city of San Pedro Sula with 150 migrants, is the second caravan from Honduras this year. The first caravan was largely disbanded, though a few asylum seekers successfully made it to US soil and were taken into custody.
Close Fri, 19 Oct 2018 14:44:59 -0400 Stocks Hit With Massive Sell Order Just After 2PM
Last Thursday, October 11, the market selloff accelerated shortly after 2pm when as we reported at the time , the market was unexpectedly hit with the biggest sell order since the May 2010 flash crash, when the NYSE uptick minus downtick index, hit a print of -1,793. The result was a 600 point plunge in the Dow in minutes.
Read more.....
Last Thursday, October 11, the market selloff accelerated shortly after 2pm when as we reported at the time , the market was unexpectedly hit with the biggest sell order since the May 2010 flash crash, when the NYSE uptick minus downtick index, hit a print of -1,793. The result was a 600 point plunge in the Dow in minutes.
Why do we bring this up? Because recall that earlier today, when discussing Marko Kolanovic's latest bullish forecast on the market, according to which the systematic selling was over and index options hedging was "pointing in an upward direction", we said that "all eyes now turn to ... the last hour of US cash trading, when risk weakness has emerged in recent weeks."
Well, at exactly 2:02pm ET - when the market in recent weeks has started to get wobbly during the afternoon session - the NYSE TICK Index Uptick minus Downtick suddenly tumbled to -1,303 when what until now was quiet day in terms of coordinated stock market selling was hit by a spasm of sell orders as Bloomberg's Andrew Cinko noted.
The massive sell order almost instantly sent the Dow, which had been gradually fading all day, into negative territory.
The reason the low print was noticed is because readings of more than 1,000 in either direction get attention as a sentiment indicator. "Specifically, multiple selling or buying spasms accompany meltdowns and meltups, and that's certainly true of last week's tough drops."
So with Friday's first major sell order having passed, and the Dow rebounding back into the green, the question is whether this was it for today's selling, or are even more aggressive sell orders on deck as we enter the last hour of trading.
Close Fri, 19 Oct 2018 14:30:00 -0400 Judge Dismisses Remaining Charges Against Paul Manafort
Amid reports that former Trump campaign executive Paul Manafort has been spending an awful lot of time in the special counsel's office (visiting at least nine times in the last four weeks, according to CNN ), the Virginia judge who presided over the summer trial where Manafort was convicted of 8 counts of tax fraud and failing to disclose foreign bank accounts Read more.....
Amid reports that former Trump campaign executive Paul Manafort has been spending an awful lot of time in the special counsel's office (visiting at least nine times in the last four weeks, according to CNN ), the Virginia judge who presided over the summer trial where Manafort was convicted of 8 counts of tax fraud and failing to disclose foreign bank accounts has dismissed the 10 remaining deadlocked counts against against the political operative, the first indication of how Manafort's efforts to cooperate with prosecutors (turning over information that some believe could lead to one more bombshell indictment from the special counsel) has benefited him.
Manafort appeared in an Alexandria Federal Court Friday in a wheelchair, and his lawyer complained of his client's ill health, and asked that he be sentenced as soon as possible. Judge T.S. Ellis then set a date for Manafort's sentencing was set for Feb. 8.
Manafort's lawyer, Kevin Downing, said this expedited sentencing was for Manafort’s safety. Moving up the pre-sentence investigation would allow Manafort to move as soon as possible out of a local jail and presumably to a federal prison, per the Washington Post.
Mueller's team of prosecutors approved the dismissal after Ellis criticized an arrangement between prosecutors in Manafort that would delay dismissal of his remaining charges as "highly unusual" after Manafort pleaded guilty to charges in a separate case in Washington and agreed to cooperate.
Under the deal, the special counsel did not have to decide whether to prosecute Manafort on the remaining 10 Virginia charges until after he was done cooperating. But Ellis called that agreement "highly unusual" and told the special counsel to make a decision now.
Lawyers with the special-counsel probe agreed, saying they would accept a dismissal of the counts and prepare for sentencing as long as it remains possible to refile the charges in the future. (It is also possible for charges to be dismissed “with prejudice,” meaning they can never be filed again).
We still don't know what Manafort told Mueller, but reports have speculated that he could have provided information on a range of issues, from the Trump campaign's relationship with Russia to the Republican Party's decision to soften language in its convention platform pertaining to Russia and Ukraine.
Close Fri, 19 Oct 2018 14:15:22 -0400 "These Are All Starting To Crack": Bank of America Spots 4 Bearish Anomalies
In the latest Flow Show report from BofA's Michael Harnett, the Chief Investment Strategist notes that, as expected, there was a major flow capitulation during the last week following the worst rout in the market since February. To wit, there was a massive $15.8BN outflow from equities, coupled with $8.1BN out of bonds.
Broken down by category, there were big outflows from US stocks ($14.8BN), mutual equity funds ($15.5bn) and, of course, Europe where some $4.8Bn fled following the la
Read more.....
In the latest Flow Show report from BofA's Michael Harnett, the Chief Investment Strategist notes that, as expected, there was a major flow capitulation during the last week following the worst rout in the market since February. To wit, there was a massive $15.8BN outflow from equities, coupled with $8.1BN out of bonds.
Broken down by category, there were big outflows from US stocks ($14.8BN), mutual equity funds ($15.5bn) and, of course, Europe where some $4.8Bn fled following the latest Italian turmoil. Credit was not spared either with a "huge" $6.2 billion in IG bond redemptions, one week after what was already record outflow from investment grade.
Meanwhile, the recent reversal in investment sentiment continues with $11Bn in outflows from financials over the past 7 months, after $32bn in inflows since 1/17; in just the past 4 weeks there have been $2Bn in tech redemptions after $42Bn in inflows since January.
Offsetting the flight from risk, BofA highlights an institutional "dash to cash" manifesting in the 3rd heaviest day of volume ever in Eurodollar futures (ED1), while Hartnett also notes that private clients have been aggressively turning to T-Bills with the allocation as % debt holdings at 10-year high of 2.8%.
What these flows demonstrate is that, despite the still resilient market, investors are heading for the exits in ever greater numbers. They may have a point: as Hartnett notes, there have been at least 4 distinct bearish anomalies in recent days:
Markets oversold...yet risk can’t catch a bid China easing (the China Monetary Conditions index is at a 14-month high)...yet SHCOMP, CNY, EEM can’t catch a bid US fiscal stimulus of $1.5tn…yet US small caps now flat YTD and domestic cyclicals getting destroyed Treasuries >3%...yet bank stocks falling & US$ no longer rising To this list one can also add earnings, which are expected to post near record growth for the 3rd consecutive quarters, yet markets appear oblivious.
So with fundamentals increasingly ignored, the technicals are especially critical, as Marko Kolanovic noted earlier.
Specifically, Hartnett writes that the more fragile & volatile the market, the more technically obedient the investor: It is hardly a surprise that everyone expects a year-end rally, and if SPX & Nasdaq hold 2678 & 7485, then the BofA strategist expects a rally led by a barbell of oversold “growth” e.g. social media & distressed “value” (EM, Italy, homebuilders, banks).
However, if these key levels fail, then beware a flush lower via oil, US tech, private equity, US small caps, and US buyback winners.
To time any potential breakdowns (or breakups), BofA urges clients to always watch leaders & laggards: bear market leaders are XBT, EMD, XHB, SX7E, BKX, SOX...which are all yet to trough... at the same time, bear market laggards are oil, US$, RTY, US HY, FAANG, buyback winners, PSP: these are all starting to crack.
But perhaps the biggest question is what could stop the Fed's tightening cycle. Here, according to Hartnett, traders should watch key credit spreads that would cause Fed to stop tightening , including US IG BBB @ 147bp (v.s 115bp low Feb’18), US CLO spread @ 380 (vs 315bps low Jan’18).
Note that while the US has remained resilient, spreads have already widened in EM, and Europe (as discussed recently ) and especially Italy. Furthermore, abrupt declines in bank stocks and commercial real estate (yesterday's OZK earnings are a troubling indicator) are other Fed-stopping catalysts.
And while Hartnett warns that there is likely more downside on Wall Street for the next 6 months, it should be noted that a lot of damage has already been done:
US Treasuries : on course for 3rd largest annual loss since 1970 (-9.7%)US IG credit : on course for 3rd largest annual loss since 1970 (-3.8%)1609 out of 2767 (58%) ACWI global stocks & 876 out of 1889 (46%) NYSE stocks in bear marketsAlso don't forget the biggest surprise of 2018: the US decoupling from the rest of the world - with the S&P still hanging in there, global stock markets have been almost 9 months into bear market.
Finally, BofA's trade recommendations to capitalize on the market's ongoing weakness, at least until the Fed pauses and China stimulus bites:
Sell rallies in risk assets
Cash over bonds & stocks
High quality over highly leveraged assets
Close Fri, 19 Oct 2018 13:59:30 -0400 Jim Kunstler: Welcome To The Long Emergency
Authored by James Howard Kunstler via Kunstler.com,
Feeling The Heat Yet? The loyal opposition is the party out-of-power in a polity that stands divided into two factions - assuming the polity can still function as such, which, apparently, it no longer can. Historically in the USA, this used to allow for the tempered regulation of changing conditions d
Read more.....
Authored by James Howard Kunstler via Kunstler.com,
Feeling The Heat Yet? The loyal opposition is the party out-of-power in a polity that stands divided into two factions - assuming the polity can still function as such, which, apparently, it no longer can. Historically in the USA, this used to allow for the tempered regulation of changing conditions during two hundred years of a rapidly evolving techno-industrial economy that pumps out more goodies year after year while the population grows and grows.
Much of America, political leaders especially, assume that this arc of growing goodies and more people will just keep trending up forever. They are just plain mistaken about that.
Rather, the whole industrialized, wired-up world is rolling over into the greatest contraction ever witnessed. The only thing that’s postponed the recognition of this reality is the profligate borrowing of money, or shall we say “money” - data entries that pretend to represent secure wealth.
This amounts to borrowing from the future to pay for how you live today . Of course, the act of borrowing is based on the supposition that there will enough future productive activity to allow you to pay back your borrowings with interest. This is obviously not the case now, in the face of epochal contraction, especially of affordable energy to keep things running hot.
Thus, the US has decided to get through the approaching winter by setting its house on fire. The two political parties alternately in charge of things are driving around the burning house, stopping at intervals to run Chinese Fire Drills. We call these “elections.” Both parties pretend that the burning house is not a problem. Mr. Trump, aka the Golden Golem of Greatness, has taken “ownership” of the rising temperature in the burning house. “Hey, at least you’re not freezing now .” He and his party have been piling all the furniture inside the house on the fire, to keep the heat up, rather heedless that flames are starting to shoot out of the attic.
The other party has no quibble with burning down house. In fact, this has been the Democratic Party’s sovereign remedy for problems since the War in Vietnam , when it was explicit policy to burn down villages in order to save them. Seemed to work, until it didn’t - and then we just tried to forget about the whole sorry exercise. It still haunts them, though. So these days they’ve decided to destroy the culture that abided inside the burning house. They’re taking down the draperies and collecting all the clothing and Tchotchkes and framed photographs of loved ones, and piling them on top of the burning furniture, doing their bit to keep the heat up.
You might infer from all this that no matter whatever else the Republican and Democratic parties might do now is not going to prevent the house from burning down. In a month, or six months, or eighteen months, they will be left standing stunned in the ashes. How’d this happen !?! Even the clown cars they were riding around in will be smoldering wrecks. And then the rest of the people of this land can sift through ruins, seeking a few trinkets or useful tools with some remaining value. These people will be entitled to call themselves “survivors.” And they will act like survivors should act: by earnestly assessing how the house happened to burn down, and using what few assets and resources they still have at hand to shelter-in-place, while they draw up plans for a more sensible house.
If there was a true loyal opposition in this land, they would have called the fire department long ago. But they were too busy texting out their contrived grievances and sending cute Instagrams of each other in pussy hats to friends and allies while the flames of the burning house reflected off the screens of their iPhones. The vaunted technology did not save the day. It only stole their attention.
If it happens that the Democrats lose the midterm elections a few weeks ahead, they will jump up and down and holler that the elections were stolen from them, that somebody meddled and colluded to deprive them of victory, and that will amount to throwing just enough gasoline on the still-burning house for one final glorious burst of heat and flame before the rafters crash through the floor.
Welcome to the Long Emergency.
Close Fri, 19 Oct 2018 13:49:10 -0400 "Fake News" - Trump Denies Pompeo Heard/Saw Khashoggi Audio/Video
It appears ABC News did it again ...
Yesterday, ABC reported that according to a Turkish official, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo heard an alleged audio recording of Khashoggi's murder inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul .
AB
Read more.....
It appears ABC News did it again ...
Yesterday, ABC reported that according to a Turkish official, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo heard an alleged audio recording of Khashoggi's murder inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul .
ABC News proudly reported that this contradicted the official White House narrative, the anonymous official said that the recording was played in meetings in Turkey on Wednesday, and that Pompeo was given a transcript of the recordings.
However, President Trump has now directly denied this:
"Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was never given or shown a Transcript or Video of the Saudi Consulate event," "FAKE NEWS!"
We wonder how long it will take for ABC to 'correct' their story, or note the denial once again. And perhaps more to the point, we wonder how long it will be before President Trump actually takes action against the Saudis.
Close Fri, 19 Oct 2018 13:44:48 -0400 Saudi Royal Family Considering Replacement For Crown Prince bin Salman: Report
The major French daily Le Figaro on Thursday published a bombshell story which reports the Saudi royal family is actively considering a replacement to crown prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) as next in line to succeed his father King Salman as the kingdom finds itself under the greatest international pressure and scrutiny it's faced in its modern history over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi — widely believed to have been killed on orders of MbS himse
Read more.....
The major French daily Le Figaro on Thursday published a bombshell story which reports the Saudi royal family is actively considering a replacement to crown prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) as next in line to succeed his father King Salman as the kingdom finds itself under the greatest international pressure and scrutiny it's faced in its modern history over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi — widely believed to have been killed on orders of MbS himself.
The Li Figaro report's unnamed diplomatic source says the Allegiance Council, which is historically the body responsible for approving the order of succession to the throne, is currently meeting in secret (translation from the French) :
For several days, the Allegiance Council for the ruling Saudi family is meeting in the utmost discretion, says a diplomatic source to Le Figaro in Paris . The information has been confirmed by a Saudi Arabian contacted in Riyadh. Composed of a delegate representing each of the clans — at least seven — of the royal family, this body, responsible for inheritance problems, examines the situation created by the disappearance, still unresolved, more than a fortnight ago, of the journalist dissident Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
The report in France's oldest top three national newspapers further suggests the ruling family is seeking to replace the 33-year old MbS with his much less ambitious and more predictable brother, Prince Khalid bin Salman .
Image source: AP file photo The council was already seen as having broken the customary rules of succession last year when it appointed MbS as the new crown prince over next-in-line to the throne Mohammed bin Nayef; however, the council's authority has tended to be seen as a rubber stamp on already decided succession by the most powerful figures within the ruling family .
The Le Figaro report further cited a Saudi source who explained the transition wouldn't necessarily be immediate, but that Khalid would gradually replace his brother.
Khalid, who's even younger than MbS at 28, is said to be popular both at home and abroad, and is generally seen as someone who can improve the kingdom's image in the West.
Saudi Ambassador to the U.S. Prince Khalid bin Salman. He was recalled last week after Jamal Khashoggi's disappearance. He's been Saudi ambassador to the United States since taking the post in April 2017 but was recalled last week , according to The New York Times . He flew directly back to Riyadh where he was present for Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's high pressure but brief visit with King Salman and MbS to discuss to Khashoggi disappearance .
Newsweek summarizes his political career as follows :
Before becoming an ambassador, the prince was an adviser at Saudi Arabia’s embassy in Washington as well as at the Ministry of Defense in Riyadh, according to his bio on the embassy’s website. Prior to that, he served as a pilot in the kingdom’s air force, flying F-15s and taking parting in more than 50 combat missions in Syria and Yemen.
When he took his post in Washington, Marcelle M. Wahba, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Arab Emirates and president of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, told Saudi Arabia’s English-language newspaper Arab News that Prince Khalid’s biggest challenge would be improving and broadening the kingdom’s image.
If the ruling family is pushing to replace MbS, it's likely to be announced fast (or at least "leaks" of the news will continue) in order to relieve the continued pressure on Riyadh.
Currently a public campaign is mounting for lobbying and media companies to pull out of Saudi events, especially the Saudi Future Investment Initiative summit set for this month — which as of Thursday US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he would not be attending , adding his name to a host of other officials.
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