Category Archives: Finance

August 11, 2026 · 04:43

News for the Indian tourist

That was the setting less than an hour ago. In this, I saw two posts that give a clear sign that the UAE is tinkering with the tourist setting (in a good way). So first there was FirstPost, give gives us that ‘Abu Dhabi is offering free UAE visas to Indians: Check eligibility, dates, and rules’ (at https://www.firstpost.com/lifestyle/abu-dhabi-is-offering-free-visas-to-indians-check-eligibility-dates-and-rules-14037280.html) where we see “Abu Dhabi is offering complimentary UAE entry visas to eligible Indian tourists. Check the dates, three-night stay rule, flight requirement and eligibility” the setting was not that steep (this is not the United States of America after all) which gives in addition “The emirate has launched a limited-period travel initiative under which eligible Indian passport holders can receive their UAE entry visa free of charge when they book a qualifying holiday in Abu Dhabi through participating travel partners. The offer, introduced by the Department of Culture and Tourism, Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi), runs from August 1 to October 31, 2026 and is designed to encourage Indian visitors to stay longer and explore the UAE capital. The initial programme is expected to support up to 20,000 visas.” The setting is pretty simple, to get this complementary visa, you need to adhere to the following three rules:

  • A minimum stay of three consecutive nights in an Abu Dhabi hotel
  • A return flight from India
  • Booking through a participating travel partner or online travel agency

Sounds simple, doesn’t it. And for those staying merely a week, it might be viewed as a luxury, because even if it isn’t expensive, the price given is “AED 252 – AED 400 ($68 – $110 USD)” for 30 days, is not that expensive, but considering that this is per person, it is good to have that discount in your pocket. And the time is from August 1, 2026 until October 31, 2026.

As said, it is a simple, but effective package to drown one of the costs of a vacation away and right along with this, we get CN Traveller giving us ’The Abu Dhabi islands worth visiting for beaches, wildlife and luxury stays’ (at https://www.cntravellerme.com/story/the-abu-dhabi-islands-worth-visiting-for-beaches-wildlife-and-luxury-stays) where we see “Made up of more than 200 islands, Abu Dhabi is an archipelago that’s abundant in diversity. The emirate’s islands are both natural and man-made, featuring natural wonders and areas purpose-built to increase the city’s footprint. Whether you want to unwind to the rhythmic sounds of the Gulf lapping sandy shores, explore the capital’s cultural landmarks, or get out into nature and explore rugged greenery and powdery desert dunes.” Awe then get a run down of the 10 islands prominently mentioned, with the 10th Yas Island (one that graces my first position on my bucket list) with “As the host of the star-studded Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Yas Island is all about the glamour and adrenaline. Yas Mall is the biggest shopping centre in Abu Dhabi and the second largest in the UAE, while the elegant bars and restaurants of Yas Bay are some of the liveliest in the emirate. [2] Stay at slick W Abu Dhabi – Yas Island (the only hotel in the world built directly over a Formula 1 racetrack) and take on the same fairways as the world’s top golfers at Yas Links, the golf club that stages the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship every winter.” Where I did miss the setting which I would have placed at [2]:

[2] “Enjoy by yourself or with the entire family a visit to one of the 4 amazing pleasure point. SeaWorld giving you a view on the oceans through engaging media and a view on the mazing animals all over the world. A show of breathtaking aquaria and surroundings that need to be seen to be believed. WaterWorld is the place to get wet with slides, pools, a lazy river and even a rollercoaster totaling up to 45 rides, a day magnificently spend there. Then for the speed lovers, the Yas Mall gives direct access to Ferrari world. With the fastest coaster in the world and 9 hectares of Ferrari history and several views on the subject. Then we get the Warner Bros. World which is globally the largest indoor world with present participation by Looney Tunes, Tom and Jerry, Batman (joker too), Green Lantern, the Flintstones and Scooby-Doo. The adults can loudly claim a “Yabadabba do” and the kids will go nuts on all the rides and an introduction to Scooby Doo himself. It will be a view unlike others and next on that list will be the Harry Potter world which is currently being built, as such you should see this a first gander on your next vacation, because Yas Island can keep you busy for at least a week and you never have to see the same event twice.” There is an upside to this, several hotels give you a complementary day ticket to one for these four parks even day, so you can relax with the benefits that this daily ticket give you and you get one for every day you are there. So feel free to check whether your hotel has this perk and there are no costs for the Yas Mall, so you get a shopping moment like no other and in all this, it is showing that the UAE and Abu Dhabi are now setting the larger focus on what India could enjoy and this is a start to increase the record 26.6 million visitors over the course of 2025, supported by strong performance in hotel revenues and international arrivals and it is only getting better for Abu Dhabi.

So when I saw these two articles, I knew that Abu Dhabi wasn’t tinkering on the side of the road letting the Iranian terrorist actions get a handle on them, they are actively getting the upper hand in their settings, as they are (remember: approximately 99% of all Iranian missiles hit nothing at all)

So it is good to see the UAE making a better setting and I wouldn’t be surprised to see the 20,000 free visas get passed onto tourists before the ink of the offer is even cold. Have a great day today.

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August 10, 2026 · 11:39

Moments to drink to

So, as I took notice to the settings in the CBC (at https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/us-booze-bans-canadians-9.7300293) where we see ‘U.S. booze might end up back on Canadian shelves, but have we lost the taste for it?’ Where we see “Majority of Canadians say they won’t buy American alcohol if it becomes available again, recent poll shows” and that is merely the beginning. I (as an Australian) am also shunning American drinks and I am not alone in this. Optionally a fair share of people in the UK are on that same setting. And there are options for us. I for one am a fan of French Cognac (Martel/Hennessy), Australian Rum (Bundaberg), London Gin (Bombay Sapphire) Finnish Vodka (Finlandia), Swedish Vodka (Absolut) and there is Scottish Whiskey, prettier stated Scotch (Glenfiddich), Italian Limoncello (Villa Massa) and optionally Ice Wine from British Columbia (never had it, but I am curious) and there are plenty of Wine suppliers in Australia, Germany and France to have a clear setting of shunning American alcoholic goods. If there is 1-3 ‘essential’ drinks that are unique to the United States we can avoid them and shame all the friends who will go to that venue. That is the effect of the bully tactics with his 51st state remark. So even as we are given “So when she read on Friday that Canada was prepared to lift a ban on American alcohol sales as part of its trade negotiations with the Trump administration, Anderson says she felt disappointed. “But just because it goes back on the shelves doesn’t mean that sales are going to go back to where they were. The damage has been done,” she told CBC in an interview.” As such I am willing to bet that this was an empty point in the settings of the Prime Minster (Mark Carney), because he knew how much Canadians and Commonwealthians were shunning alcoholic good from the United States. A bully tactic that is costing that industry their foothold in several nations. So his beautiful big bill of bankruptcy is coming along fine. So when I see “Support for a continued boycott of U.S. alcohol was highest in British Columbia, where 80.9 per cent of respondents said they were unlikely or somewhat unlikely to buy U.S. booze again if it’s made available. That was followed by 74.7 per cent of people in Ontario and 73.9 per cent of Quebecers who said the same, the poll found.” I merely wonder how steep the decline is in the Commonwealth as a whole. So while we see “Trump has threatened to impose 50 per cent tariffs on some Canadian goods on Aug. 19 if Canada fails to lift some retaliatory trade measures against the U.S., including the alcohol bans. Those bans date back to early last year, when several provinces removed U.S. alcohol from the shelves at their respective liquor boards in response to Trump slapping a 25-per-cent tariff on Canadian goods.” There is a larger setting because as industries are failing to make revenue, more and more brands shutdown and they can all put the blame on the Trump Administration and even as Canadians remember how Howard Lutnick was (almost crying) like a little girl, they feel no sympathy and they remember the words given to them in “U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick criticized the current version of North America’s free trade agreement on Friday, calling it a bad deal and taking aim at Canada’s trade strategy ahead of upcoming negotiations.” And as I see it, it was what there was, in light of the 51st state banter and they reacted. So whilst the Prime minister might concede to lifting that part, the population of Canada to buy it, is another matter, it could merely gather dust on the shelves, right next to the elves there who will not be called into service for another 14 weeks. As such I wonder what will be left of the America distilleries and breweries in December 2026. Let alone (I believe) that Monty Python remarked that American beers were like making love in a canoe, it was fucking close to water. As such they could resort to Canadian, German and Belgium beers and there Canada could make trade deals too. A setting that set disaster all before President trump opened his mouth and whilst we see another dump of tariffs, the legal side will prove him wrong twice again and that is the setting of another nail of defeat in the bat of midterms. It all could have been avoided with proper respect and tally the losses that the United States are currently facing. So, as the Financial times is giving us ‘Will US inflation be cool enough to trim bets on a September rate rise?’ We have to wonder what the story is with all this whilst we also see ‘Greenback drops as weak US jobs data pushes out Fed hike expectations’ and we see “The US economy lost 23,000 jobs in July, the Labor Department said, compared with economists’ expectations for an increase of 80,000 jobs, according to a Reuters poll. The US unemployment rate fell to 4.1 per cent as the labour participation rate fell to a near five-and-a-half-year low of 61.4 per cent.” I am not sure what numbers to believe, but the overall picture puts the United States in a harmful place and the danger of self harm is clearly there, so whilst we get pumped up results in one area, the setting of ‘unfair treatment’ (a cry story from Howard Lutnick) give me the shivers, because if the media to a larger extent is pushing overhyped results in one area, whilst drowning out the negative stories on the other side there is seemingly no good US economy, it is (figuratively) an economy above a sinkhole and that tend to lead to disastrous settings. As I see it, the Trump administration should have played a different game from the start and as we see ‘The US has collected about $19b of Venezuela’s oil money. Where is it?’ (Source: AFR) with “The Trump administration has collected more than $US13 billion ($18.6 billion) in revenues from Venezuelan oil sales this year, according to FT calculations, but has said almost nothing about what has happened to the money.” The sinkhole it is set above is becoming more and more distinct and there is no escaping the fallout of that event and that is before the other elements start playing out, because they will come in the worst time possible. So we could say “We’ll drink to that”, but for the 340,000,000 citizens of the United States it is not good news. As such there is a rather large issue forming and it is not tendered to by American alcohol. Merely by other nations suddenly getting a windfall coming from American insults and those people at any given time will stand with Canadians and that lesson is about to hit hard in Washington DC. 

So have a great day this day.

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August 9, 2026 · 16:10

Flame on

That is the setting I saw a few days ago, for the most I ignored it for obvious reasons and I will get to that. But ‘suddenly’ the non-book readers are in a bind, someone is destroying books and Anthropic is pointed at as the guilty party. So here is the first thing. When you acquire a book, it is your property and it is up it you what you do with it. Anthropic bought millions of books, they cut of the back of the book and then scanned the book, after which they destroyed the book they had acquired. So far so good and it leaves me with a few questions. And whilst the (so called) book lovers go for the Fahrenheit 451 scenario, the people who oppose AI are in a fritz. I have different questions. 

  1. Is an owner allowed to set a book to digital format?
  2. How rare is the book?

The second question is linked to the rarity of the work. We can assume that hell breaks open if Anthropic does this to the Magna Carta (1215) or the Gutenberg bible (1454), but how many will cry havoc if someone does this to Joop ter Heul (1889) or a famous five book (1942) or even a Harry Potter (1997) book? There is a setting that the editor is responsible for keeping the book available and if they do not, it is what there is left. And when this happens it means no one is interested in that book. The first question is linked to the rights set in the settings of copyrights. Can a book be replicated digitally? And if so, what is the problem? 

So here comes the article (at https://mashable.com/tech/anthropic-ai-book-training-destroy) in Mashable with the headline ‘AI companies keep destroying old books. Here’s why.’ And as I see it there is so much white noise in all this, that the bottom question is ignored. Does Anthropic have the right to replicate a work into digital format, if so, what is everyone crying about? If they are not allowed to do that, the law is broken, but merely in the digital setting. It is still their book and they could shred it for all they cared for. It is the cold reality of commerce taken legally out of context. And you all know this (especially the previous generation). How many have recorded an album to tapes? I know I have. I prefer the actual CD, but before 1980 I had no income and for the most no music. So when we see this setting, how many have copied a book? (I admit I have copied a few manuals in that past) but that went away when Borland released its products with manuals and it felt really good to have Turbo C with a manual and all for $249. But that was then and now we do not see ‘value’ in books and it is often rejected with the Fahrenheit 451 label, but the reality is there. This leads me to a simple question. Ask yourself, how often have you been to a library in the last month? That should give you the part you need to know, so whilst the article gives us “AI companies looking to build better AI models are hungry for fresh data from any source that isn’t the internet. Books — generally better edited and more cogent than your average Reddit thread — make AI sound smart. (There’s a premium on books published before 2022, ironically because we can’t be sure if books were written by AI after that date.)” as well as ““legally-binding nondisclosure agreement” that would hide an AI company client’s “identity and strategy.” Why? ISBNdb explained: “Destroying millions of books evokes images of burning libraries … the optics problem is real. ‘AI company destroys two million books’ is not a headline that generates sympathy.”” But in all this, are they breaking any law? If that is not the case, why get fussy about it? For the sold book is revenue for the writer and the publishing house, so the issue remains, is there permission to reset a book to a digital format? Because that hurts the writer and the publishing house in their pocket and lets be clear. Writing is a commercial enterprise. In doubt ask JK Rowling. Apparently “She earns an estimated $60 million to $80 million per year from book royalties and digital sales alone, with total worldwide sales for the Harry Potter series surpassing 600 million copies and grossing over $7.7 billion globally” giving us a clear view that she made more than the writers of the bible, which is said to be “a collection of 66 books written by about 40 different human authors over a span of roughly 1,500 years” and I leave you to wonder how many of those 40 writers ended their lives in the poor house (just to make a point).

And then we get to the part that (kinda) impacted me “But Anthropic was caught, and has admitted to using millions of pirated books to train Claude. That class action lawsuit, in which a record $1.5 billion copyright settlement was just approved, also revealed the scale of Anthropic’s physical book-destruction operation. Anthropic “became convinced that using books was the most cost-effective means to achieve a world-class LLM,” wrote U.S. District Judge William Alsup in a lengthy legal order dated June 2025. The company was “not so gung-ho” about using pirated material from 2024 onwards, to quote a memorable internal email in evidence, but still wanted to train Claude on “all the books in the world.”” As such, as I did write over 4000 literary (an exaggeration to be sure) works. Not the number, I am now at 4100 articles, so where is my money ($5M post taxation would be decently nice and highly appreciated) and there is clear view of the transgression, no one reads 1700 stories in an hour, it just doesn’t go well for the brains (not even my brain and I wrote the stuff) But the issue remains, and there is no clear setting. Is there ‘policing’ on the scanned works? Is there a copyright issue? Because that matters. If that issue does not exist, why are we crying over a book no one has read in years, optionally not read in decades?

Makes you wonder, doesn’t it?

So have a great day and feel free to dream about burning all the books you have to keep warm today, or even warm up your mother in law to 451F. 

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August 7, 2026 · 14:49

By presidential appointment

This is a situation that happens, it usually doesn’t intent on that president making it happen against his will, but here we go. This morning I saw an article by the BBC that made me giggle. It was (at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy8mjd19xm7o) where we see ‘Trump denies US weapons shortage and says information ‘leakers’ being ‘hunted down’’ So what gives? Well, first lets take a look at a few categories. You see a ‘leaker’ gives us “a person who gives secret or private information to the public or to news reporters without permission.” We then get “Whistleblower: Someone inside a government, military group, or private company who exposes hidden or illegal actions” but the most critical setting is that this person wasn’t called ‘liable’, ‘a fraud’ or a few other settings. President Trump called that person(s) was called “suspected of leaking information” the implies that the numbers might be right on. In addition we see “The U.S. has massive amounts of ‘munitions,’ especially of certain types”, so what types? We see “The US had over 3,000 Tomahawks before the Iran war” and “The stockpile could be back to 3,000 by 2031” and the chart it gives is from the Center for Strategic and International Studies. With these numbers are based on “Figures based on requests made in 2026/27 US military budget but not yet passed” this is just the numbers of the tomahawk, as stated 1000 have apparently been fired, I cannot vouch for that, but I am willing to go with these numbers and that doesn’t mean that there is a shortage, but this clambake has cause the United States to fire one third of its missiles, which is another problem. 

So then we get that “Trump posted on Thursday morning. “Additionally, large amounts are being manufactured and shipped to the US as needed.”” This is contrary to what I saw, because as we are given that the replenishment of the Tomahawk will take 6 years, that flies against the statement of the president. So then we are given “Trump and the Pentagon face mounting questions about the state of the military’s arsenal, with the war now in its sixth month and a peace deal remaining elusive. Iran responded to reports of shrinking US supplies by saying its locally produced weapons gave it the ability to respond to “any threat”.” This is funny, because the Pentagon is facing questions on its arsenal and I gave Saudi Arabia and the UAE ‘ideas’ that could do parts at 2.7% of the current cost. In addition to this I came up with one additional idea that could ‘scuttle’ its navy (including submarines) with little effort, no missiles required. Merely using the achilles heel of these forces. 

Then we get “CBS News, the BBC’s US partner, reported the US has gone through much of its global stockpile of long-range precision missiles during the war, citing two unnamed sources with direct knowledge of the subject.” As well as “Meanwhile, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday evening that Trump had confronted Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth last week over a possible weapons shortfall, also citing unnamed sources. The BBC has not confirmed the report.” Which implies that other weapons are depleted. I would gather that there is a paper trail (but I never cared for that), but there is something in all this and it is attuned by watching the words of the president and seeing how he ‘misdirects’ the setting of “large amounts are being manufactured” as I see it, it all sounds correct (and pretty dicey), but that is what 40 claims of victory gets you, you need to mull over your words because any proven lie will hurt you in the midterms (as I see it). So then we get ““The ‘leakers’ of these treasonous statements are being hunted down,” Trump said in the post on Truth Social. “Long term jail sentences will be sought!”

He directly addressed the Washington Post’s story in a later post, saying: “I really believe their fake ‘reporting’ is treasonous!”” Again we see the word ‘leaker’ which implies that the shortages are apparently real and it comes not from the ‘leaker’ but from the president of the United States. So we now see a shortage by presidential appointment, sound fair, doesn’t it? 

But then we get a difference. It is seen at “Using publicly available data, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a national security think tank, estimated that by the end of July, the US had between 759 and 827 Patriot missiles left – about a third of the 2,330 available before the conflict began.” So did anyone ask the exact numbers of the patriot missile? We saw the Tomahawk chart, but did anyone give us the patriot chart? How many are made a day? Where are they coming from? And the Guardian last week told us ‘Ukraine war briefing: Trump says he is ‘not sure’ about letting Ukraine build Patriot missiles’, which might be fair, but if the American numbers are so depleted, seeing up a Ukrainian missile manufacturing base, optionally in the United States, United Kingdom France or Germany to let the Ukrainians get their feet wet whilst being in somewhat control of the creation of these patriot, all whilst there is a steady stream of reinforced creation of missiles. Did they not think of that? Which comes right along with “A drone factory in Kyiv destroyed by a Russian ballistic missile was owned by a US corporation, in what appears to be the first time Moscow has targeted a US company in the conflict.” As I see it, the United States is in deep waters than we think. Because it already depleted a third of their Tomahawks and a large amount of their Patriots. I would think that they needed all the help they could get, especially if they are about to face off to that bar called Russia. But that could merely be my ‘wrongful view on the matter’ and I am not a military expert (haven’t been one in over 44 years). 

So as we get “Trump told the Wall Street Journal last month: “We have far more munitions than anyone in the world, and far more than we need.”” Which beckons the setting for the midterm, because the military has its own share of democrats and when even one comes across with the actual numbers of all the stockpiles they no longer have, it is the opinion of this small, useless, humble blogger that the Midterms are set to the ‘inaccuracies’ surrounding those statements. A political deal done and it started with the actions surrounding February 28th 2026 and it wasn’t even a leap year. 

So have a gander, mull over what I saw and consider a setting where the United States will be facing of Russia with its alleged depleted amounts of ammunition. I reckon the US will need Ukrainian reserves a lot more than the other way round and that is before we realise that this will set a new marker, A war on two fronts and I thought that was last with a Frenchman named Napoleon. How did that turn out? If only one of those 40 peace deals were true it wouldn’t be that bad, but apparently it is. 

So have a great day and now it is time to get some coffee for this decrepit body of mine.

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August 7, 2026 · 03:28

UAE making Japan bigger

OK, a little exaggerated but it sounds true, which is what the Japanese Times tells me (at https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2026/08/06/uae-fund-data-center/) where we see ‘UAE fund weighs $6.3 billion AI data center investment in Japan’ Japan has approximately 250 data centres, making it a top 10 player in data centres and now that the UAE is setting the funds for “Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment would lead the investment into a 500-megawatt project in Akita Prefecture, which may include other foreign and domestic investors, the person said, asking not to be identified because the information isn’t public. Once completed, it could become the largest data center in Japan. The talks with the Gulf state underscore growing global interest in securing critical AI assets in countries viewed as relatively insulated from geopolitical tensions.” In addition we are given “Total investment surrounding the project, including by suppliers and other companies looking to establish operations nearby, could reach as much as ¥2 trillion, the person said. A consortium of Japanese companies would likely handle construction and related infrastructure, they added. As U.S.-China tensions escalate and wars in Europe and the Middle East reshape supply chains, Japan is increasingly viewed by global investors as a stable market with relatively low geopolitical risks.”

That all makes sense and for the UAE to diversify its coffers makes perfect sense to me, so as the article ends with “Tokyo’s policy has rendered some substantial results. Major chip firms including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Tower Semiconductor and Micron Technology have invested billions of dollars in the country in recent years. The oil-rich UAE, meanwhile, has emerged as one the leading global investors in AI and its underlying infrastructure. State-backed investor MGX, a joint venture between Mubadala and G42, has been a key vehicle through which Abu Dhabi bets on AI. MGX recently completed its acquisition of Aligned Data Centers, which has an enterprise value of $40 billion, alongside BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Platform and the Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure Partnership.”

As such we might come to the conclusion that the UAE and in specific MGX is making headways in data centres and I can only speculate on the recent acquisition with BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners who now have taken over 100% of Aligned Data Centers from Macquarie Asset Management, as such I reckon that there are more settings to come and I can only speculate regarding the where and the why.

So whilst you mull over this tiny gem of information, I wish you all a good night, its now 03:25, so another 240 minutes until I get to enjoy breakfast. I wish you all a marvelous day.

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August 6, 2026 · 11:47

The coils are unwinding

That is a setting, it is not the stated setting, but the larger brief was already seen by me in a few ways. As such Antara News, only three hours ago, I was given ‘Indonesia, Saudi Arabia sign MoU to boost direct foreign investment’. For clarity (to some) Antara is the state owned news agency of Indonesia. And they give us “The agreement was signed on Tuesday (August 4) by Indonesian Minister of Investment and Downstreaming/Head of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) Rosan Roeslani and Saudi Arabian Minister of Investment Fahad bin Abduljalil Al-Saif. According to Minister Rosan, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia share a close relationship built on mutual trust, respect and long-standing people-to-people ties. This partnership is now expanding into various strategic investment cooperation to generate concrete economic benefits for both nations, Rosan said in his statement on Wednesday (August 5). Between 2021 and the first half of 2026, the Ministry of Investment recorded that Saudi Arabia’s realized Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Indonesia reached US$126.2 million.” And it was no surprise as I wrote about this in my views on November 30th 2022, I saw it months before that and we see that Saudi Arabia is making its move to get to the hearts and minds of 273 million muslims. As I see it, Al Arabiya, stc tv and SBC TV will now move into a ‘new’ area and there is a lot to be had, if your explode Saudi TV interests. And I saw this almost 4 years ago. I had some IP connections to this idea, because when I have an idea I tend to mull things over. Now we see “The partnership also outlines mechanisms for private-sector consultations, joint investment promotion campaigns, expert delegation exchanges, and technical knowledge sharing. Furthermore, it serves as a platform for strengthening institutional coordination between the investment authorities of both countries.” As I see it, this implies that Huawei and Saudi telecom and broadband streaming idea are about to make a larger inroad into East Asia. I reckon that the north of Australia and its Muslim and Indonesian population might like this as well. 

So as we see the ‘investment cooperation’ take a larger intern, there is a decent chance that telecom and TV upgrades will be coming to places like Djakarta (aka Batavia), Surabaya, Bekasi, Bandung and Medan soon enough. OK, I admit that this is speculation, but so far the ideas I had are playing out just the way I envisioned. And whilst the US economy is dead set on (fake) AI and investments are spinning out of control, all whilst too many sources are giving that no return on investments are due until at least 2029, there is every consideration that the investments of Saudi Arabia are merely a year away, and with this I mean the break even point. After that it is decently pure profit and it gets better after that. With Indonesia, Pakistan has little option but to follow that wave and Saudi Arabia get the setting from Haql to Jayapura and I am guessing that Pakistan doesn’t want to be left out, so it would join that fraternity of voices. In 4 years Saudi Arabia went from  13400 km to 11,635.03 km, as I see it, Saudi Arabia is about to become the dominant voice in South East Asia, so whilst we will be getting some BS approach from the United States about how that doesn’t matter, consider that the reach of Saudi Arabia almost went from 100% of Saudi Arabia to the stage where 1000% of the Saudi voice is being reached. And that is before we consider that they can now reach half a billion Muslims, as such Al Arabiya will be wielding a considerable bat in baseball terms and slamming that ball over the equator is what matters in telecom terms. Now consider that Saudi Arabia had a MoU with Egypt in stc as well (I believe it was 2024) and now consider that Saudi Arabia can now reach from southerns EU almost to western Japan, so do you think this is mere weakness? With Huawei it will put a stopper on all the BS that the United States with their anti-China were giving and now we see how innovation works. It doesn’t go for the wannabe technology of optionally next decade, it goes for the places that everyone is overlooking tomorrow and Saudi Arabia was there from the start. Alas no coins for me, but to see innovation elevate itself whilst these so called captain of industry are marginalizing the settings they don’t care about is a joy for the eyes and the mind. 

And all this was out in the open from November 2022. I know that because I wrote about it, which is the little sidestep of any blog, it gives (written) evidence about what seemingly is, not some TV channel who belittles what they have to in some morning TV show, because that is how miscommunications start and that is where these so called captains of industry tend to hide and often it is behold the small statement “There was some level of miscommunication in this”, so that is how they get rich? Now we see that Saudi Arabia is actually gaining wealth, because all this comes with advertising according to Islamic rules (I honestly don’t know this rules), but I feel certain that it will go according to the rules Indonesia has and whilst these people are less and less impressed with western baloney, Indonesia will now be able to advertise towards population that it does want (implying Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Qatar and the UAE). All this was out in the open and as I see it, Yesterday Indonesia made the next move in achieving that (as written in Antara). So you all have a great day and consider what other revenue is lying on the floor ignored by the powers to wannabe, because it just isn’t AI.

 

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August 5, 2026 · 20:42

Wrong footing?

This happens, we all get our footing wrong, even I. As such I had my ‘ideas’ about Ahmed Mawlana, nothing bad. But whilst we see ‘Has the UAE’s meteoric rise reached its limit?’ Which is given to us by the Middle East Eye (at https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/has-uaes-meteoric-rise-reached-its-limit), so Ahmed Mawlana is a researcher specialising in International Relations and Security Affairs. He holds an MA in international relations from Sabahattin Zaim University in Istanbul, so as I see it, he is no grocery wannabe. And I am fine with that. So as we see “In less than two decades, Abu Dhabi has transformed itself from a relatively low-profile Gulf state into one of the region’s most assertive powers. How did a country of around one million citizens acquire such an outsized regional role? The UAE’s rise is linked to its ability to capitalise on successive regional crises, beginning with the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, accelerating with the Arab Spring, and gaining strength amid Washington’s declining engagement in the Middle East.” He ends the article with “Ultimately, the principal constraint on the Emirati model is structural. The UAE possesses immense financial resources and an extensive network of international partnerships, but it remains a small state with a limited citizen population and little strategic depth – making it difficult to sustain prolonged regional crises, or to confront larger powers directly.”

I get what he write and there is logic in this, but I also see what the UAE has achieved and whilst I was never there, YouTube has been very vocal (it’s YouTube creators) to show us all what the UAE has achieved. In support of my way of thinking is the Reuters article that gives us ‘UAE non-oil growth hits four-month high in July, PMI shows’ (at https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/uae-non-oil-growth-hits-four-month-high-july-pmi-shows-2026-08-05/) where we see: “The United Arab Emirates’ non-oil private sector grew at its fastest pace in four months in July as new orders climbed to a ‌five-month high and export business rose, a business survey showed on Wednesday.” As I see it, the non-oil part is essential here. We see the growing tourism and service settings. We see additional maritime growth and that is merely the beginning. The UAE has a lot to gain in all this, which is why I have ‘issues’ with the setting of Ahmed Mawlana. He might be correct, but the term “meteoric rise reached its limit” can be explained in a few ways. One of them is that the stellar growth might be gone. I don’t think so, especially as tourism can still grow a lot more, but that is possible. Still as we see Real Estate and tourism grow, there is still the difference between strong growth and meteoric rise, so whilst the second has reached its peak the first one is still within the grasp of the UAE. Personally I think it is becoming time to make Iran extinct. A shameful thought to have, nut they did that to themselves and I created 4-5 military IP’s to make something according to that need happen (I am more of a surgical instrument) why kill when you can destroy their abilities and commodities so they destroy themselves. I am at times that simple.

So whilst we get the setting that Reuters gives (just a few) 

  • Firms linked this to easing regional tensions and stronger activity across the Gulf.
  • Employment returned to growth after June’s steep drop.
  • Business confidence weakened for a third straight month to its lowest since March.
  • Backlogs of work rose at the strongest rate in four months, reflecting firmer demand and freight congestion.
  • Input cost inflation edged closer to April’s recent peak.
  • Firms raised selling prices again, but only mildly.

Which is also slightly debatable. For instance we see “Business confidence weakened for a third straight month to its lowest since March”, which I accept as one of the given facts, but at this point I wonder how that confidence level is when compared to the US economy setting of the United States? This question is formed as Al Jazeera gives us ‘Why did the US economy slow down?’ (at https://www.aljazeera.com/video/newsfeed/2026/8/4/why-did-the-us-economy-slow-down) where we see “The US economy slowed more than expected, but it’s not because Americans stopped spending. So what really happened? The answer lies in how economic growth is measured, and America’s massive investment in artificial intelligence”, yet the other (not given fact) is that players like Deloitte give us “While broad corporate spending is skyrocketing, tangible financial returns often take two to four years to materialize instead of the usual 7 to 12 months for standard tech” and I have a problem with that. Some sources give us “Studies indicate that up to 95% of early generative AI pilots struggle to show a clear positive financial return because tools are deployed without changing underlying workflow” and I see the class actions forming and that is messing with the RoI (Return on Investment) as well. All this is making the US Economy not a volleyball but a paintball at best and anyone who gets hit by its paint is heading for stormy weathers (not the girl), although the effect are the same, but not as pleasurable. In all this, there is optionally a cause for not seeing meteoric rise but strong growth is still on the table, no matter how muddy the United States administration makes some ‘facts’ look. And in all this, I till see plenty of options for the UAE, I merely think that they need to go of the AI horse. The AI is lousy and all AI is Fake AI (as I personally see it), so why bury yourself in 3-8 years of turnaround (I definitely disagree with the Deloitte numbers. I reckon that the UAE has a better setting throwing themselves on actual programming and creating stuff that has the turnaround time of 7-12 months. Let big tech break their teeth on tech that is over a decade away. They might survive, others will not and I do not trust the settings that the United States are throwing out there. Too much of it is not validated and as I perceive it not verified in any way. The UAE has actual issues to face (that terrorist state Iran) and holding their coffers in a 3 to 8 years wait state is no solution. 

Perhaps I am seeing this wrong, these fake AI have real options, ML and DL are great tools (I use the term DML as they are combining the two) and I have seen great solutions, but that setting in a 3-7 years setting is not a real solution. Consider the issues that some are reconsidering idea that are out there ‘How Commonwealth Bank and Microsoft are reimagining the future of customer service’, which I see as nothing more that the setting that NICE and CX One already have. So whilst that is happening. I wrote ‘Two paths to similar stages’ (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2022/03/30/two-paths-to-similar-stages/) in March 3022, so it is not a last minute idea. There was more, and in light of the Tourism settings in both the UAE and Saudi Arabia, the idea started to form to have a Muslim solution (I meant Arabic) that industry is exploding to a larger degree whilst they are all pushing American solutions which are not 100% covering Islamic rules and ideas. That should stop and I saw an opening for the UAE and Saudi Arabia to get one solution in the field that would fuel both nations, optionally Qatar, Egypt, Pakistan and a few other places. So whilst Microsoft had this inflated idea with “CBA will work with Microsoft to drive greater customer benefits through wider adoption of generative AI (Gen AI) and ongoing cyber security initiatives” I saw this idea 4 years earlier whilst not using AI, because it would be decades before we are there. 

Just thinking out loud. Have a great day today

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August 5, 2026 · 00:53

Did I see that correctly?

That was the feeling I had. I saw something and it conflicted what I knew. So I checked again, because I could easily be wrong. But it seems that Arabian Business (at https://www.arabianbusiness.com/politics/uae-economy-uk-trade-ties) gave me something that hit me like it was absolute news. Now, I do not really look into that side of things, because I am not with some elevated setting that I need to know. But the numbers were striking. You see ‘UAE economy built to withstand global shocks as UK trade ties top $30bn, leaders say’ was something that didn’t make sense. It was ‘supposed’ to be a mere $20.5 billion (approximately) and this is 50% more, which is fine, but at that point something has to give. So whilst we might consider the setting of “UAE leaders say the country’s diversified economy and UK trade relationship, now worth more than $30bn annually, position it for continued growth” and ““With non-oil sectors now accounting for nearly 80 percent of our economy, the UAE’s economic strength is built on strong fundamentals, global connectivity, robust institutions and the agility to adapt to a changing global landscape. These strengths position us to deepen cooperation with trusted partners such as the UK and to emerge stronger from today’s geopolitical challenges.” During the discussion, Badr Jafar, Special Envoy of the Minister of Foreign Affairs for Business and Philanthropy, said the country’s resilience reflects decades of investment in diversification, infrastructure, institutional capacity and global connectivity.” Implies that the finds were taken from somewhere else, or the UK is seemingly bumping someone else down the staircase as the expression goes. So last month we were given that the top exporters towards the UAE are: 

  • China: $64.7 billion
  • India: $37.1 billion
  • United States: $22.2 billion
  • Saudi Arabia: $18.7 billion
  • Hong Kong: $14.5 billion

The question becomes who is losing out? It could matter to know what was imported more and it might give the inclination who is not exporting less to the UAE. It would be fun to learn that there were additional costs to the United States to see them lose market value, but in all honesty I have no idea. So as we are given “Sarah Mooney, Consul General to Dubai and the Northern Emirates and HM Trade Commissioner for the Middle East and Pakistan, discussed the process following the successful conclusion of negotiations on the UK–GCC Free Trade Agreement. She said: “One year on from the launch of the UK’s Industrial Strategy, we are seeing stronger UK–UAE trade and investment ties, growing collaboration across high-growth sectors, and the successful conclusion of UK–GCC Free Trade Agreement negotiations – an important milestone that will help unlock even greater opportunities for businesses in both markets.”” And then we also see “Bradley Jones, CEO of the UAE–UK Business Council, said businesses are seeking clarity on regional developments and future opportunities. He said: “This briefing came at an important moment for our members and stakeholders. Businesses are seeking clarity on both the regional context and the opportunities ahead. The discussion underlined that the UAE’s resilience is not only reassuring in the present but is a strategically important factor for driving forward the next phase of UK–UAE growth.”

It doesn’t give anything more than the fact that the United Kingdom is doing well and achieving more business, but it does not reveal who is losing out. There is the additional thought that the UAE merely got $10 billion in additional trades giving us no losers in all of this, but my mind is giving me that this is still a clear loss to the United States and I reckon that we will soon learn more as this news is merely 15 hours old. 

It is also an indicator that trade in the UAE is resuming close to its old settings. So good luck to them and to all a great day today.

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August 4, 2026 · 10:27

Saved by the news bell

That is the setting. You see I was about to go nuts regarding fake AI (in this case the screw ups of WordPress) but before I got really angry CBC saved me. You see (at https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/britannia-beach-surf-park-9.7293328) we are given ‘A surf park is coming to B.C. — and it’s making waves with the locals’ which is (beside the lovely wordplay) a setting I never saw coming. You see, surfing seems to be closely linked to Hawaii and California. I never went surfing (cannot keep my balance on a skateboard), and I wasn’t about to try this on a surfboard. I am happy with the balance I can keep on a pair of CCM EFLEX 6 Ice Hockey Goalkeeper Skates Senior. I don’t mind the word ‘senior’ at this point as I am 60+ but the setting of surfing is one I like and admire, but you are not likely to see me on such a board. That ice there is too fluidic, that is more a Summer McIntosh setting, I am of the mind that Brooke McIntosh has, although she is a figure skater and I really have no figure, I am all about the puck (as a goalie I prefer it to go towards the other goalie). 

So back to the story, as we are given that in 2029 British Columbia will have its first surf pool. So as the setting s in the United States are deteriorating, Canada has another safe space for tourists. And now the surfers have a new outlook on pretty sites (nature) and healthy settings toward surfing. As it is the first one in Canada, it might get swamped straight of the bat with Canadians too. As such tourists will get a first handle on Poutine, Tourtière and of course the local delicacy ice wine (which I have never tried). So as we see these things come into play, there is another reason to come to British Columbia and it is less than an hour north of Vancouver, as such there are a multitude of reasons, beside the setting that it is smack in the middle of the road between Vancouver and Whistler, as such there are a multitude of reasons to spend the summer of 2029 in British Columbia and as I see it, you could stay in either of the three places whilst going from one to the other. As there is a bias service between Vancouver and Whistler, there is every chance that they will now in addition stop at South Britannia surf and the bus ticket from Vancouver to Whistler is a mere $33, as such it will be cheaper to get to South Britannia surf and if you are not sure where to stay, you could hedge your bet and stay in South Britannia surf whilst either place is a mere hour away and visit the other two places. As I see it, British Columbia is becoming increasingly interesting for international tourists. So whilst we relish the Beach boys sound, this might be the time for the Beach boys to make yet another jab at additional fame by creating a new Surf rock song for British Columbia. To be honest I think that this might be the greatest setting we see, because for decades surfing was synonymous with Hawaii and California and now that the Us economy is taking a massive dip, Canada will be there to relieve the people of the dangers of going to America. I reckon that this setting could be placed in either Abu Dhabi, Dubai or Sharjah all places that could replace the touristy need of going to the United States. 

So when you are considering where to learn to surf, consider British Columbia in 2029, just be aware that bears in Canada are not heavy set Bikers, they are real furry 800 pound rascals that are not of the vegetarian kind. So take any local warning serious.

Beyond that, British Columbia is breathtakingly beautiful, so there are numerous reasons to go there in place of California. And all that is even before we compare the amazingly healthy water in BC compared to the water quality of polluted sport in California. I cannot vouch for the California water quality, but the water in British Columbia is considered one of the healthiest in North America and that is saying something. 

So whilst you consider and fantasize about becoming a surf king or queen in British Columbia, I will return to the waned anger I am facing considering WordPress and will I consider Typecho or go towards Google blogger? Well, I wish you all a fine day, have a good one.

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August 4, 2026 · 00:34

Timelines of confusion

That is the setting, but before I go into this, lets recap a few articles. The first one was given to us by the Guardian (at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/02/trump-climbs-down-on-iran-strikes-after-saudi-alarm-and-threats-from-tehran) about a day ago we were given ‘Trump backs down on Iran strikes in expectation of ‘rapidly’ reaching a deal’ with the subtext “US president claims delay is also in response to requests from Iran and other countries in the region” with in addition “The deal would include the immediate and complete reopening of the strait and “an end to Iran’s nuclear threat”, he posted. It marked the latest climbdown from extravagant threats to pound the Islamic Republic in the months-long conflict.”

After that we get (several hours ago, at https://aje.news/mcmsi9) ‘Tehran says no current talks with US, Oman meetings ongoing’ with “Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei says in regards to talks with the US, there are no plans to receive a delegation or send an Iranian one. Baghaei adds that a new Strait of Hormuz shipping route being discussed with Oman will be one path with entry and exit lanes.” As well as (at https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/8/3/trump-says-new-iran-negotiations-starting-what-we-know) ‘Trump says new Iran negotiations starting: What we know’ where we see “United States President Donald Trump told reporters on Sunday that an agreement with Iran is imminent and new talks were set to begin on Monday. But at a news conference on Monday, an Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman said: “We are not going to host a delegation or be guests of a country during these days.””

These setting are giving me a speculative setting and the middle east is part of all this deception (by the United States) and it is speculative, I could very well be wrong. This is however the setting that I see and it is important to tell you this, because as I see it, the media is laden with what might be seen as inaccuracies all over the place. These is no way to tell whether this is politically inclined or even if the media is given all the parts they needed to have. There is too much confusion out there. So one more source was added and I now ad this, to give it to you. It is IranWire and I don’t believe it is correct and it is debatable what is correct and what is not. But that is what Iranians optionally read and that needs to be seen too.

The article is seen (at https://iranwire.com/en/features/155759/) where we are given ‘Is Iran Preparing for War With Saudi Arabia?’ We are given “Figures close to the Islamic Republic have asserted that “Saudi Arabia is the most significant potential target.” Furthermore, the commander of the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters warned that “companions of the United States will burn in the fires of war,” calling on Muslim nations to “reconsider their cooperation with the US.” His warning is directed squarely at Riyadh, which currently finds itself confronting the Islamic Republic and its non-state proxy network across multiple geopolitical fronts, having previously participated in military strikes targeting positions inside Iran in April.”

I am hereby calling out these lies. Saudi Arabia and the UAE never assisted or acted against Iran, Iran bombed and used drones to all the Arabian states and there was no reason to do this. They were doing it for an unknown reason (I’ll get to that) as well as ““A ground assault from Iraq in the north and Yemen in the south would finish Saudi Arabia off. Aside from its air power, which would be paralysed immediately once its airfields and air bases are targeted, Saudi Arabia has nothing else. Pakistan cannot offer meaningful assistance due to the lack of a shared land border.”” This implies that Iran is guiding Houthi terrorists to do the dirty works of Iran. It also shows that Houthi terrorists are now also operating from Iraq, whether Iraqi government forces are allowing this or that they are too incompetent to counter these assaults on Saudi Arabia remains to be seen.

So this was the time line I saw and I had already mentioned a few settings in previous blogs. So here is the speculation. The United States are about to lose whatever they have and it is in THEIR interest to see stabilization gone in the Arabian states and they are using Iran to be the play toy or their needs. I cannot make any claim to evidence, but I asked in the first eeek of march why Iran was attacking the UAE more than it was Israel. Israel was aiding the United States in all this, so Iran had a reason to attack Israel. But they attacked the UAE with a lot more drones. This never made sense, because the UAE and Saudi Arabia gave no permission for the United States to attack Iran via their territories. 

In all this I was baffled in why Iran was wasting ammunition and drones on countries that weren’t attacking them. I already had a few ideas at that time, but I had no evidence of any kind. I still don’t but when you see the lines from the United States where we see “United States President Donald Trump told reporters on Sunday that an agreement with Iran is imminent and new talks were set to begin on Monday”, yet at present it is Monday 17:50 (Abu Dhabi time) and we see ‘Iran denies Trump claim that new talks will start Monday after he called off attacks’ (source: NBC). As such I have concluded that the initial thought I had yesterday when I stated “It is not enough that I succeed, all others must fail” is that what the United States is aiming for? Its biggest concern was that both Saudi Arabia and the UAE would propel forward and all these attacks on these nations have put a damper on their advances and It will take months to reset them. Is that what the United States are hoping for? But this is only possible if Iran cooperates here and Iran doesn’t like that Saudi Arabia and the UAE are making massive strides. It is possible, but it is massively speculative. I admit that and I have no evidence to support this. Now consider the clusterfuck the United States is involved in (as words go not a nice word, but it is used by the US Marines, so I grant the use of it). So as we count the settings, President Trump has claimed more than 40 times that the U.S. conflict with Iran was nearly over. All whilst I saw that Iran is still in talks with Oman about the strait of Hormuz and now Houthis both in Yemen and in Iraq are pushing for attacking ships in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. So, how exactly is all this won? I created solutions in the first week of march and it is now 6 months later. How is this in any way about a war? Why are refineries still pumping revenue for Iran? Why are distribution channels still operating? Did anyone in the pentagon (optionally ever) read the works of either Sun Tzu or General Carl von Clausewitz? If there is too much anti-China sentiments, they could have reverted to the lesser work of von Clausewitz. It becomes really simple. The timelines do not make sense. And I left my military post in 1982, so I might have unlearned a thing or two in 44 years. But I reckon that at present I know more on waging war than anyone in the Pentagon (I know, quite the statement, but that is what I see from over 40 declarations) and anyone who reads the messages should come to the same conclusion, even if you never served and your knowledge of armed forces is merely based on Stratego (a Dutch Jumbo Games board game). 

It irritates me that the media is not on top of all this, because both Saudi Arabia and the UAE are likely to be attacked again, there is no evidence of that, other that the IranWire article and the ‘text’ there is implying that actions are pending against Saudi Arabia. There is no way to hand any level of credibility there, but the chance is there and the acts that Houthi forces in Iraq are ready to act is there, the reliability of that is unknown to me. But with the settings we see, there are all kinds of issues and the fact that the media is glancing over this is too ridiculous for words.

I leave you with these thoughts. I cannot look at the US economy, because I have no idea whose data to trust. This US administration made all data debatable and suspicious. That is the reality of it all and the war sees to be playing in the cards of the United States, no matter what the cost for the United States is and that is actually a little scary. And I was not alone in this, Business Insider (at https://www.businessinsider.com/fed-interest-rates-kevin-warsh-mark-zandi-market-risk-economy-2026-8) gives us ‘A top economist says the Fed’s ‘opaque’ communication style is a serious risk to markets and the economy’ here we see ““If the Fed continues down this increasingly opaque path, a future meeting could trigger a serious market sell-off — putting the broader economy at risk,” Zandi wrote in a post on X on Sunday.” We get this from Zandi, the chief economist at Moody’s Analytics. So there is corroboration, but what he sees is not what I see (I am not claiming to see more, merely different parts and when someone like him says there are issues, I would be taking notice. Apart from all this, there is nothing more to say and I will leave it up to you to to see what is and what is not.

Have a great day today and if you are in Vancouver enjoy breakfast, when you are in Toronto, get ready for lunch, in Amsterdam enjoy coffee and in Abu Dhabi get ready for dinner. This all is making me hungry now, write more later.

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