Re: Laserlights "holdings"

>Seriously, the implication
> seems to be that these guys are heavily
> ascetic or fundamentalist.

Fundamentalist, yes.  Ascetic, no.

> Now, is this trend the result of the power
> of mullahs? A genuine trend on behalf of
> the populace? or just a convenient cover
> for the Emirs land grabs?

The short form:
The Sa'udis got overthrown by the radicals; a few months later, that
mullahs' government was taken over by a coup, in which the figurehead
became the Khalif, and the actual man running the coup became the
Sultan.  The Sultan is officially the protector of the Khalif--in much
the same way that the Shogun was the offically protector of the
Emperor.  The new Sultan quickly created emirates, which gave the
powerful clans an incentive to support the new order.  While the
peasantry isn't exactly thrilled with the situation, they're
comfortable enough and it's certainly better than the interregnum when
the mullahs were running things.

> [Tomb] You forgot "a pod of dolphins, an
> ungodly amount of compute power, and a
> few nameless men who keep things orderly"

Didn't forget, but I was looking for something shorter.  I've included
a list of some of the better known sovereignities (and a couple which