Category Archives: Finance

September 3, 2024 · 19:37

The Saudi Dissent

There is a premise, the utter need of the so called utter mighty to be kept in check. That is not a new saying, it goes back to the days of the roman empire. Some refer to this as ‘power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely’ This is to a larger stage true for all christian based governments. As first piece of evidence I would like to submit the Treaty of Clermont 1094, it set the beginning of the crusades under Pope Urban II. There are examples that go deep into the Roman Empire days with one year having 4 Roman emperors. But this example is the setting we get from a derivation of that saying, but more stated as ‘power corrupts, wannabe powers corrupt a lot quicker’. This is the premise and with this we get to the BBC (at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gz8934wrro) The piece has a setting of baloney (as the phrase goes) and with “We were surprised that there was a royal decree to allow the ground interventions,” Jabri says. “He forged the signature of his dad for that royal decree. The king’s mental capacity was deteriorating.” It is a stage where I left the article for the most, but as we now see this being copied all over the western media. It is time to take up the baton calling the media on their BS. You see, what evidence is there? Is it Saad al-Jabri? He is both an alleged traitor and alleged thief. For this I need to take you back to another article I wrote in 2020 (August 11th) in ‘The 51st State’ (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2020/08/11/the-51st-state/), I had an issue with him then. The media never caught on it seems. The first was the quote

Gulf News (at https://gulfnews.com/world/gulf/saudi/report-fugitive-saudi-official-misspent-11b-in-government-funds-1.72662340) gives us ‘Fugitive Saudi official misspent $11b in government funds’, and lets face it, if I walked away with $11,000,000,000 I would move to Canada, buy the Edmonton Oilers, or the Calgary Flames, buy a nice mansion in either city, train to be their goalie and live the life until I die. It is a plan, not a plan everyone will embrace, but I like that plan, especially if I have that much money.

We then get :

Oh, and the quote gives is “Al Jabri, a 61-year-old with a doctorate in computer science, was the virtual No 2 in the Saudi Interior Ministry, which was run for years by Mohammed bin Nayef. Al Jabri ran a special ministry fund that mixed government spending on high-priority antiterrorism efforts with bonuses for himself and others, according to documents reviewed by the Journal and interviews with Saudi officials and Al Jabri’s confidants,” the WSJ report read”. In all this and in fact of that accusation of corruption and through that (as well as) “spending on high-priority antiterrorism efforts with bonuses for himself and others”, who else was paid? So in this, how much investigation was done by the FBI, for did they allegedly acquire enough self-funding to be above the law? I am merely asking!

This should have given us the setting that we need to dissect anything the man gives us especially as there is a realistic chance that the Government of Saudi Arabia has a sore feeling about the west being a speaking platform for people like that. If there was ANY evidence, we were not given it and that stage has been around for over 4 years (at present)

Then we get to 2021, the eighth of December in ‘Six of one’ (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2021/12/08/six-of-one/) There we get a few items, like

So as some might remember “Aljabri gained worldwide attention last year when he filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., alleging he had been the target of a failed assassination plot orchestrated by Mohammed bin Salman”, an assassination attempt? In Canada? So why is the US courts involved? Why is this not set in Canada? Then we get “Sakab Saudi Holding Company, “had no operational business” despite receiving $8 billion US in government funding and was used “almost exclusively” as a vehicle to funnel money to the other companies”. My issue here is not merely whether this is on the up and up, it is happening under the noses (optionally with blessing) of the CSIS, this is an Unites States setting (with $8,000,000,000) and it is happening in Canada. 

As well as:

what we get is “he made at least $385M — and says there’s ‘nothing unusual’ about it”, really? Last time most people made a mere few millions, close to every tax agent within 50 miles came calling for a cup of coffee, but then I must have forgotten about the US and their $8,000,000,000 investment opportunity.

Now we get the first bullet (as the saying goes), these interviews are 4 years old, at no time was there a mention of forged signatures. And this was after 4 years of Yemeni atrocities by Houthi terrorists. So I have issues. Is this some drip-drip intelligence setting? If so, the US and its CIA, as well as the NSA have been sleeping at the wheel and this in pushed onto CSIS territory. 

He did more interviews, as far as I remember the Toronto Star, the BBC, CBC and Wall Street Journal. They all dropped the ball on journalism and now the Times is following them. I have an issue with an alleged criminal with these transgressions to get such a speaking platform. Now, there could be a case that there is evidence and I think that this needs to be shown. Oh, and I have some jealousy issues with any governmental person gets to go home with well over $385,000,000, we all would have that. Perhaps a little more transparency by the CIA would have helped that these positions of government have such pay checks. It as that simple a setting and the CIA should have seen that. These simple ad-hoc statements without evidence is something the media should know better that to merely accept them. It gives the nasty vibe that they are doing the work of governments making Saudi Arabia look bad. It is somewhat of a repetition that Clermont give us in 1094. Didn’t we basically went on a pilferage there, calling it pilgrimage? That was over 1000 years ago and we are still seeing the fallout from that event.

In a ‘fair’ space Saudi Arabia might decide to lower the delivery of oil to Europe and America by 100,000 barrels a day each and offer that to China for the same amount (no real reason that it should cost Saudi Arabia). I reckon China will happily agree and Europe as well as America? Well, you made a platform for a alleged thief and alleged traitor (the display of evidence towards the forged autograph will prove that part). I reckon that these two places will implode a lot faster then they thought. 

That is merely my oversimplification of the Gordian knot. Sometimes it is just better to burn what its tying. As people will shout that I am wrong. This is fair enough, but they opened the door of spouting news without evidence or justification. The interviews going back to 2020 are online and visible. So where is the mention? There is no stage of ‘it was complex’ a non-monarch is accused of forging the monarchs signature. In the western world that is high treason and in the near past they hung people for that (see: Nuremberg trials).

Oh before I forget, I just uncovered a wannabe mole in the CIA. Can I collect please? I know it will not be $385,000,000. Yet a $38,500,000 fee is reasonable (I think). It allows me my apartment in Toronto and a house in Golden Oaks Orlando. So I can celebrate an abundant retirement in Disney World and Universal world (both in Orlando). There is an option that the CIA will object to(fair enough), but then they should give us the evidence, don’t you agree? Lets not forget that the US courts did not allow the Saudi lawyers to present evidence in their courts. Turnabout is such a nasty feeling when you become the object of evidence. 

Still, have a great day. As the Vancouverians are joining us in this Tuesday, the whole planet is now aligned to the same day. Enjoy.

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September 2, 2024 · 14:42

A secondary marker

This is about markers and my speculation on them. I would go towards presumption, but in this instance might have the folly thought that these markets haven’t evolved since 1982 and that would indeed be folly. Still, an article in the South China Morning Post aka SCMP (at https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3276753/saudi-arabia-seeks-chinese-tech-it-reinvents-itself-car-and-automation-hub) where we see ‘Saudi Arabia seeks Chinese tech as it reinvents itself as car and automation hub’ and this goes against Trumpism to seek 60% tariff on Chinese imports. Well, China has its own solution to this. As we are given “Saudi industry and mineral resources minister Bandar Alkhorayef is leading a delegation to visit Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Singapore from Sunday until September 8, according to a statement from his office. The trip is aimed at improving relations and exploring joint venture opportunities.” 

The setting is given, but it doesn’t seem all is given (as one could accept). You see I got news (slightly unreliable) that there was a trade show recently where China had given a presentation to Arabic parties. This seems perfectly normal, the fact that Norinco is part of that seems normal enough, its a defence contractor dream and they are all hungry for Arabic dineros (aka digital currency). The parts that we do not see here is that this Chinese tech is a lot more versatile, or better stated far reaching. It implies that the tech allows Saudi Arabia to manufacture Tiger armoured vehicles with a deployment to the customers in Oman, Bahrain and Egypt to name just three. Saudi Arabia is fulfilling its promise to cater to internal manufacturing their defence needs and gain customers at the same time. As such Trumps goals are missed completely as well as losing out their own industry towards export. See how all these blocks of censorship come tumbling down? And as we take notice that Chinese is no good. Feast your eyes on this “China lacks the necessary international standards to be considered a reliable producer of foolproof weaponry” according to Euclides Tapia, professor of International Relations at the University of Panama. Yet the thing to remember is that the setting of “necessary international standards” is not clearly given and a standard that is filtered to who can be given those reminds me of the SAS standard in the 90’s ‘SAS stamp of quality’ which SAS products got. A little one sided. Still no matter what these ‘standards’ are, America, UK and the EU nations are missing out on another set of billions to the degree that now Saudi Arabia is also becoming a manufacturing party. As such the Americans woke up to a hungry tiger. With allegedly Huawei scoring the option of communication systems deployed all over Saudi Arabia both civilian and military (still unverified) we see a better relationship between Saudi Arabia and China with several middle easters nations now following suit. I reckon that Egypt is the first and most likely player to get on board with that express line. Norinco seemingly had a net income of $1.7B in 2023 with a little over $80B revenue. 

I reckon that they are hungry for more revenue, especially as in increases their net revenue and as I see it, the Saudi link get them there fast. Is it wishful thinking? Is it presumption or speculation? All great questions and yes, there is a speculative side to this. Now consider that you have a car plant, would it be such a stretch to build a second one to get the orders for the Tiger armoured vehicles? I don’t think so, especially when we consider the 2030 promise to get 50% of the defence spending in country (as was given to us 2 years ago). That one thing will not get them there, but there is more coming and this is a whopper of a delivery towards their 2030 goal.

As such there are things that need verification, or we could wait until these plants become a reality in an expected 2026 stage. So what do you think? I believe that Chinese commerce will find a way to thrive and the Trump setting made is much easier as well as make things harder for Europe. This is the consequence of arrogance when you do not have the cash to back up your actions and America and western Europe are about to learn just how much they lose out of (as per 2026/2027). So how will Norinco stock fare when this gets released?

Have a great day.

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August 31, 2024 · 13:24

Congestification

OK, I admit that the word seemingly does not exist (at present), but it could be. It reflects on our needs to get things done in a rush, a setting that invites a congestive setting, usually in traffic. A bottleneck setting if you like. That is what the Khaleej Times (at https://www.khaleejtimes.com/uae/transport/uae-traffic-would-an-odd-even-scheme-help-ease-peak-hour-jams) sets with ‘UAE traffic: Would an ‘odd-even scheme’ help ease peak-hour jams?’ Invites to. There is an even less nice issue that those who can afford 2 cars can take turns with car they would use. 

In the dozen of so images I saw, there was one stage that did not show its nice little snout. It is the setting that one lane is reserved for busses (and emergency vehicles). Not in all the images I saw is there a bus lane showing. I know too little about Dubai to know how (or if) bus lanes are used. But that is a first that came to mind. That setting might nudge more and more car drivers to public transport. And as far as I know Dubai public transportation is really good and a lot more affordable than either Sydney or London (the one in the UK). They already have a great subway system (I saw it on YouTube), but bus lanes might be a nice stage as well. And the second part is that if you are in that traffic jam for a few hour and you see bus after bus passing you by, the inner drive to get the bus might increase. I know it is not a complete solution, but if congestion decreases by a mere 10%, it could be seen as an ad-hoc solution for Dubai and Abu Dhabi (not sure if they have a congestion problem at present). Dubai has at present a little over 3.6 million people, as such it is not the most dense city (not by a long shot) but it has a decent population. And in the United Arab Emirates with 10 million people. 40% is in Dubai and 40% is in Abu Dhabi, as such a solution for both seems essential. My personal favourite would be the bus lanes to show the car users that public transportation in some cases would be preferred (by the people) and it would grant emergency services a lane in case of congestion. That two birds and one stone symbolism. The fact that public transport is already a good option in the UAE might drive the bus lane option faster. I get that some would like to relax in the traffic jam sitting cozy in a Rolls Royce Spectre, Bugatti whatever, or a Ferrari thingamajig. But there are only so many people who could even afford one of these three bad boys. And with (additional) busses in the mix, congestion might soon be a thing of the past. And when people arrive at work refreshed from the bus ride. 

The equation seemingly solves additional problems as well. A simple setting to an overly complex problem as I see it. Will it solve all? I doubt it, but if it lowers congestion, the real question becomes, is the problem solved to an adequate level? That is the question that lingers. And the solution lies in creating two additional lanes (one for each direction) on one road where there is enough congestion. I think that it is a solution worth exploring. If it isn’t a solution, that part of the road ends up with two additional lanes. Optional an additional path to lowering congestion. 

Well, that is my Saturday with an optional solution set on paper. Now just one more thing to work on today. Have a great weekend.

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August 25, 2024 · 22:28

When one bank wins

This is the setting I am facing. It is set to the speculative setting of we all have a certain amount of money (me not that much), still the Arab News (at https://www.arabnews.com/node/2568749/business-economy) gave me something to ponder. 

So it all starts with a certain amount of speculation. In any given en time there is an amount named X. X is a little fluidic, but X represents a real number, what that number is, will be known to just a few people, it tends to shift a lot on a day by day basis. So when we are told ‘UAE banks see 8.9% rise in short-term deposits to $14.7bn by May’ it infers that someone else lost this, optionally several players a part. Natixis made a profit and several other banks do. As of July 2024, the United States government has a monthly interest rate of 3.33 percent on its debt of over $34,000,000,000,000 dollars, which amounts to 11.2 billion. If you say that fast it doesn’t seem so much. As I personally see it, the chains around the debt driven economies are about to choke the living daylights out of its population. Yet, as some are trying to avoid to become another Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and two months after that the First Republic Bank. That was in 2023. So what (or who) handed the UAE-based banks such as neat little profitable setting? Wouldn’t you like to know? I would and there is every indication that it was all on the up and up. And the article ends with “Profitability surged to 21.5 billion dirhams, driven by higher net interest income and a significant drop in impairment charges, according to New York-based global professional services firm Alvarez & Marsal” it is interesting that we do not get where these funds originated. I can understand that banks do not wash their laundry out in the open, yet after the SVB debacle, the media should hand us the goods, or at least partial goods. It is nice to see all the banks do well, yet the setting is that it comes from somewhere and the people have a right which banks are not performing as well as they should.

I reckon that this is a dangerous stance and it could fuel several other bank runs, but the reality is that the western media is not to be trusted, so where can we get the goods?

We get that debts seen all over the planet also inclines that someone is making a bundle out of that. Merely the US needs to make good on $96.8B EVERY MONTH to keep their image of ‘we are doing so well’ up, but who pays for that? Especially now that business is going to China and some to Europe. Soon, I believe that this point was already passed, to US cannot even keep up the interest payments, then what? As I see it, the big players and billionaires will place their trust funds in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Monaco and Nassau. So what happens then?

I have no idea, but it will not be pretty, not for Europe, not for Japan and not for the USA. Japan has $9.2T debt, Europe has accumulated an impressive €12,732,445,200,000 debt, if the percentages are the same, we see Europe needing to find €35.3B each month and Japan a mere $25.4B a month. That money come from somewhere, does it not? Last year the US collected $4.44 trillion, this sets a dangerous premise. The interest in the US over a year is $1.16T, a simple 26% of the tax budget, lost to nothing (read: banks) and this implies that to break even the budget needs to set to 70% of the money and as we were told “The U.S. government has spent $5.60 trillion in fiscal year 2024 to ensure the well-being of the people of the United States”, which implies that not only are they not keeping a budget, they haven’t been able to keep it for years and now we see other nations getting a larger slice of the revenue pie. So, how much longer can this game be played? You think Russia is bad? I wonder how bad the USA can become when this setting implodes on America. Are the two connected? Not directly and it floats on my assumption that if one bank wins, another bank loses, which bank loses is unknown to me, I don’t have a clue, but as I see it, the media faltered in their jobs to inform the public. 

And should I be wrong, I apologise. Yet I believe to inform the readers when I can. Have a lovely Sunday, which is now starting in Vancouver, they are ready for breakfast (it’s 5AM there). 

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August 24, 2024 · 21:06

The price of fake stability

It is the question that flew my mind as I read a BBC article (at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwy3lxqlwl1o) here we are given the ‘plight’ (for the lack of a better word) of Boeing. The once heralded brand of a saviour of technology. Most will wonder about “A US campaign group has accused Boeing of concealing information about electrical problems on a plane that later crashed” , as well as “The organisation said more than 1,000 planes currently flying could potentially be at risk of electrical failures as a result of production problems. The foundation’s claims relate to an aircraft which hit the ground minutes after take-off from Addis Ababa in March 2019” yet whether the truth is a given here, remains the question. We are given a host of other settings in this partial boxing ring, which leads to “among the apparent issues indicated by the documents are a lack of electrical parts, missing and improperly installed wiring, and employees being placed under extreme pressure to rework defective parts” It is anyones guess how accurate these settings are, and my thoughts are that the once great airplane brand has fallen so far. Yet at this point my speculating self started to fill doubt with conjecture, a partial presumption on my side with a larger dose of speculation. And let there be no doubt, I am about to speculate, which is what one does when the facts are not completely to be trusted and when you fail to optionally see the good in people. Yet the BBC does not entirely fail to give the goods. And it does so in the last paragraph of the matter. We are given “Mr Pierson said reports from people within the factory alleged that efforts to improve conditions on the production line had so far been “woefully inadequate” – largely because FAA inspections were known about well in advance and could be prepared for”

So why does the FAA give Boeing the goods? I believe it to be the faltering lines of the American economy. Another failing setting to NASDAQ would throw the American economy in a sliding scale towards an abyss. Whilst we are given that there is a positive year to year change, the reality is that Boeing hasn’t been positive since 2019, thats a 5 year thumper of debt when we see that Boeing had a revenue of 76.5 billion dollars and a net income of minus 600 million, we see that the numbers grow to a 77.8 billion with a net income of minus 2.2 billion. As such the Boeing numbers are not a good message and now we see that the FAA allegedly tells Boeing when they are coming for a ‘visit’? I believe that these firms are against the wall. And the previous CEO Dave Calhoun, who wielded the sceptre from January 2020 to August 7, 2024 has a lot to explain. He took over from Dennis Muilenburg who was fired amid safety concerns with the Boeing 737 MAX following two fatal crashes that claimed the lives of 346 passengers and crew on board. It is here that I personally believe that Dave Calhoun allegedly played a very dangerous game, the unsubstantiated believe that he played with lives using a set of dice. And as I see it, the FAA was willing to play with the lives of people. With the safety setting of Boeing at play, the FAA had no business to give advance warning. A setting we need to give rise to, so far 346 lives are lost and the economy is seemingly more important that hundreds of lives lost. America has an apparent 334,914,895 (2023) lives. Who cares how the Americans keep their population high, a few hundred is all that is needed, so fuck around and find out. And with another (speculated) 800 lost, due to the next 2-3 planes. the media will use all the soundbites to create flammable stories. In the mean time we see a system that is all about keeping the appearance of an economy high, does it matter how many lives are lost? In the end, when Boeing goes down, Airbus and Lockheed Martin. In retrospect United Airlines is waiting on 497 planes from Boeing, I reckon that they might want to change their order to Airbus (no idea if that is a valid option). The larger setting is that Boeing makes military aircrafts making it a touchy subject. I wonder if any media will truly take a look at how (as well as why) the FAA played chicken with American lives and the American economy. Is any of it a given? No, as I said there is a lot of presumption (read: in part speculation) on the subject. But anyone in Business Intelligence would have had similar thoughts. The problem is that this article by Theo Leggett is 15 hours old. I wonder what more information will be divulged to the people in the next 5 days. In addition there is a lot we do not know about Ed Pierson, a former manager at Boeing’s 737 factory in Renton, Washington State. I speculate that the FAA will face a serious shake up, the card will most likely fall against Michael Whitaker, but that is not a given. Someone will be buried alive for playing footsie with Boeing, of that I have no doubt, who? It will be anyones guess but it will be someone high up. And the stage between Boeing and its stock for the sake of stability. A faltering fake setting of a nation that couldn’t bring its debts about and merely try to play a longer game. If they did this to Boeing, who else what given some level of protection? I don’t know, but the American media is not keen on truly digging into that hornets nest.

As I said, plenty of speculation/presumption, the facts? Well, as I see it the media is no longer to be trusted, so who is? It is anyones guess I think.

Have a great day and try to enjoy tomorrow, that is, if you are not being a passenger on a Boeing.

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August 21, 2024 · 21:05

The 9mm hard drive

This is a new side to some, the people know one side to any person and at some point that person reveals another side. This is whaat we see (at https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/how-ukraine-war-has-turned-ex-google-ceo-eric-schmidt-into-licensed-arms-dealer-6372469) and the title ‘How Ukraine War Has Turned Ex Google CEO Into “Licensed Arms Dealer”’ now some will all up in arms (to turn a phrase), but the story is a lot more interesting. We are given “Mr Schmidt said that he is now a licensed arms dealer “because of the way the system works”” there is more to this. You see at some point I had the idea to sell the idea of the Chengdu J-20 to Saudi Arabia (for China), it was merely a thought and my ideas are not merely as noble as it might seem. My simple idea was that Saudi Arabia should be able to defend itself from the aggressors (Iran and Houthi forces in Yemen). When America and Europe wanted to halt the defending options for Saudi Arabia. I saw a simple economic option. The defense budget for Saudi Arabia goes into the dozens of billions (all 127 of them)  and me getting a mere 0.1% of that gets me 127 million dollars, simple clean and a nice setting to make really strong friends in the Middle East. This was before the idea I designed, optionally for Kingdom Holding. And lets face it 127 million makes for a nice retirement package. Eric Schmidt has other reasons (he was already rich enough). He and Sebastian Thrun, CEO of Udacity, are making a new venture namely White Stork. The setting we are given is “The idea basically is to do two things- use AI in complicated, powerful ways for these essentially robotic wars and the second one is to lower the cost of robots,” I see an adaptation to the learning (read: Deeper Machine Learning and LLM’s) that Palantir currently has. I think that a union of the two has far reaching possibilities. So what if the Palantir deployed systems are directly updated by drone systems? We are also given “Mr Schmidt reportedly informed that White Stork will mass-produce drones equipped with Artificial Intelligence to identify targets to eliminate the need for ground battles with tanks, artillery and mortar.” I think it goes further (read: presumed) You see, you can set the cost down but the military are more interested in keeping the timeline as short as possible.

Screenshot

You will have seen this, or something like this before. You have three components, the green ones are low in cost, the red ones high in cost. You want them all to be in the red, but the stage is set that you can only have two, the third one should always be in the other field. As people chase to get high quality and fast systems, that solution will always be an expensive item. Armies are not interested in (to some degree) cheap solutions. Not as long as these solutions are fast and high quality. Now White stork is going to seek fast systems and in robotics this will mean integration of information systems, like robotic intelligence systems that can connect to a secure cloud solution, updating the cloud instantaneously by all systems all at the same time. It become (for the lack of a better term) intelligence by wire. Nations will fork over billions to get it and to that degree no one has this. Not the US (DARPA apparently has some developing stage), not Russia and not China. They all have some kind of wannabe status, but they lack a high tech captain of industry like Eric Schmidt. If I can see this correctly within a few years they would all want him White Stork could be worth a whole lot more than anyone ever thought it could be and I think getting this connected to a system like Palantir is close to the only solution out there and the people at the centre of that axial know this. As I see it the biggest bottleneck in the short term will be an evolved non-repudiation system. We can cyber strike as much as we can but that first defence is a non-repudiation system to ward of attacks and that is where Palantir optionally has the system to make it work. Not for one or two systems, but like 200 drones in different campaigns  all at the same time. These systems need more than a simple deeper machine language, it needs LLM learnings and advance machine learning. With cyber systems that cab keep track of it all. This is not a simple solution but a person like Eric Schmidt could keep track of what was needed he might not be alone, but he is the only one in the stage of these arms of technology. 

His wealth might soon equal that of Bill Gates, the arms industry will pay heavily to get this far ahead. Consider that Saudi Arabia increased its military spending by 50 percent to $69 billion in 2023, approximately 23 percent of its total budget. That is to merely get on par with the America, Russia and China. How much do you think these three would pay to get ahead of the other two? The US is requesting $849.8 billion for next year. With White Stork they could easily double that amount. It is that much money that is in the view of some. 

Just my two cents on the matter. Have a great day.

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August 20, 2024 · 03:58

What makes it a story?

That is the question that floats to the top. You see, the bulk of the media, including the BBC nowadays have lost too much credibility. The issue becomes verification, and in too many places there isn’t to much of that. So in this mindset I stumbled upon an article. This was in part funny, as I mentioned the ‘disgraced’ Al Jabri only two days ago and 11 hours ago this article was published by the BBC. I do not think the two are connected and it is clear that no such connection should be made other than the mention of these timelines (to keep my blog to some degree a valid source). But 11 hours ago (at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gz8934wrro) we see the appearance of ‘Power, oil and a $450m painting – insiders on the rise of Saudi’s Crown Prince’ by Jonathan Rugman. The article was glared over by me, until I noticed a name. This set me in a different mindset and it is time to report on this.

It all starts with “he summoned a senior security official to the palace, determined to win his loyalty” and the name Saad al-Jabri is mentioned. The man who seems to manage a multi billion portfolio for the CIA (allegedly) and was in a court case in America, whilst he is in Canada and setting the space not to allow certain evidence to be mentioned. We then get mentions like “According to Jabri” and (did I mention) that he is a disgraced official, but that part is not mentioned in the article? The mentioned stage “he was friends with the heads of the CIA and MI6” makes for ‘exciting’ reading, but in my mindset it is a dangerous connection because there is a lot of non-verification. So we get the first reference ‘Family of exiled top Saudi officer Saad al-Jabri ‘targeted’’ (at https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-52790864). There we get “Dr Saad al-Jabri, who helped foil an al-Qaeda bomb plot against the West”. My issue was that there is little verification. Now, this makes sense because it is intelligence related and they do not spout these issues in open places. But with the accusation of treason and ‘funds removal operations’ according to other Saudi sources it sets the possibility that Al Jabri made a sting using optional Al Qaeda plants and now we get the setting that the CIA gave him safe passage whilst Al Qaeda gets the optional blame for it all. I am not saying that this is what happened, but the timing of the intertwined facts are a little too convenient (for Al Jabri). This could have been all set aside with proper verification, but the term ‘according to sources’ allows for my speculation, and lets be clear, I was and still am speculating on this.

And the stage of “He was also the linchpin in all Saudi Arabia’s relations with the “Five Eyes” (US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand) intelligence agencies.” This is important because linchpin means “a person or thing vital to an enterprise or organisation”, as such Saad Al Jabri was important to the stage of some (most likely the CIA) and Al Jabri in a self professed difficult situation was eager to carry that mantle (my speculation), especially as he was accused to have taken the quick way out with billions. People have done a lot more for a mere 0.1% of such an amount. 

Then we get to “we shed new light on the events that have made MBS notorious – including the 2018 murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi” and this had issues with me. On February 27th 2021 I wrote ‘That was easy!’, (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2021/02/27/that-was-easy/) in this blog article I shot holes in an United Nations document, with a lot more issues that I was happy with. The fact that I had even one issue with a document from the United Nations should have been close to impossible. The fact that I did implies that this was a hatchet job and I added the UN document so that people could see it for themselves. In addition at a later stage I added the mention that Khashoggi was alive with a mistress spending their days on Bora Bora (I also mentioned that this came from a non-reliable source). The setting we have now is that there is a debatable story (in depth) due to at least one main source that is debatable and the mentions of Al Jabri needs to be seen as at the very least debatable. This is what you get when the lack of verification is there, there is simply no other outcome as I see it.

We then see “accusing MBS of forging his father the king’s signature on a royal decree committing ground troops”, as well as “The prince was apparently so impatient for his father to become king that in 2014, he reportedly suggested killing the then-monarch – Abdullah, his uncle – with a poisoned ring, obtained from Russia. “I don’t know for sure if he was just bragging, but we took it seriously,”” my issue here is two fold, the one mention of “I don’t know for sure if he was just bragging” sounds nice, but in both cases the source is Al Jabri and in my view he is a debatable source on more than one issue and verification is missing here and that is all on Jonathan Rugman as I see it. This all takes me back to the 70’s. A writer named James Grady wrote a book that was made into a movie with Robert Redford, the movie was called Three days of the Condor. After I saw the movie I also read his sequel ‘Shadow of the Condor’ (I believe that was the book). There we come across the term ‘Gamaljoen’ (I read the book in Dutch). The term makes reference to a person that is raised to a much larger status than he (or she) should be. Because of the status those who are wielding that person are raised as well. That is the feeling that I have on Al Jabri. Now lets accept that I could be (totally) wrong, but that requires verification to see and we see no verification with the debatable doubts I throw on to the Khashoggi issue we get an unbalanced stage. And I am trying to avoid the “he said, she said” debate. This is why there are issues with an in depth story. There are other sources mentioned, but these are all to ‘trivial’ matters. 

We then get a part that reflects on my story yesterday ““He planned for my assassination,” Jabri says. “He will not rest until he sees me dead, I have no doubt about that.”” Whether he did or did not is also debatable. The ‘simple’ fact is that I created an optional plan to do just that, in under an hour no less. And I am not a professional on the matter. The fact that Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud has actual specialists on the matter and we see some ‘tiger team’ bungling it puts question marks on it all. Is there an actual execution order out on Al Jabri? It is a valid question. I have no doubt that Al Jabri is likely to face jail time at the very least is he ever goes back to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, there is a wallet with billions (allegedly) missing to support my view. 

With “The killing of Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018 implicates MBS in ways that are very hard to refute. The 15-strong hit squad was travelling on diplomatic passports and included several of MBS’s own bodyguards” the writer of the BBC story is missing the beat. You see, the setting of “implicates MBS in ways that are very hard to refute” is what I did (in part) in the UN document in the article I mentioned earlier (That was Easy!) I cast a really large doubt in the issues, in the second setting ‘15-strong hit squad’ is also extremely debatable. If it was a hit a mere 1 person would have sufficed. That there was an optional team to ‘retrieve’ is possible, but the media used the setting to explode their paper revenue, so too much of it is too ludicrous for words. The media is nowadays too much about creating emotional flames for the supportive need of clickbait, at the expense of their own credibility. 

Then we get “A declassified US intelligence report released in February 2021 asserted that he was complicit in the killing of Khashoggi” yet the linked article states “The report released by the Biden administration says the prince approved a plan to either “capture or kill” Khashoggi”, whilst we see “We assess”, which in CIA terms would be seen as fairy tale material. It lacks evidence, merely conjecture. All whilst the linked report (by the office of the US director of national intelligence) can no longer be retrieved. That’s your evidence? 

There is a lot to make up for and the BBC better do that soon, as the article ends with “Jonathan Rugman is consultant producer on The Kingdom: The world’s most powerful prince” the writer being a producer of materials as well? Whatever could be wrong next.

The amazing amounts of fairy tale materials that goes back as far as the United Nations gives pause for a larger setting, whatever you call ‘inDepth’ is almost a new kind of story with the APNews happily posting it with the mention of ‘Former Saudi official alleges Prince Mohammed forged king’s signature on Yemen war decree’ a mere 4 hours ago. Is that how the news goes around nowadays?

And to all I say have a great Tuesday, a mere 4 hours until breakfast for me, time that I snore like a lumberjack. 

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August 16, 2024 · 19:36

G-monopoly to the rescue?

Yup, that as the setting that imploded in my mind. It came at the doorstep of my sneaky sneaky creativity. You see when we consider the article at Reuters (with https://www.reuters.com/legal/us-judge-says-monopolist-google-cant-avoid-app-store-reforms-2024-08-14/) we might handle the stage of ‘US judge says ‘monopolist’ Google can’t avoid app store reforms’, we can agree, we can disagree (I disagree) but the setting is a stage that is not merely a mere ‘monopoliser’ it is quite a blanket cover of social inheritance. It comes at the dawn of a legion of Microsoft sycophants (agents of mediocrity) and that is a more dangerous stage then you realise. And always there is Microsoft trying to cut a nice corner for themselves. They failed five times over and they just can’t quit falling short of the rest of the pack where they want to ‘capture’ market share. For the non-regular readers of my blog the list is Adobe, Apple, Amazon, Google and Sony. And the loudest failures are Solarwinds and CrowdStrike. Even within the last week we saw several sources stage the boxing square using the Microsoft version of AI setting the dangerous premise of MAI (Microsoft AI) collecting the optional access of cloud systems. Now this is a premise that it is possible, not the setting that it has or currently is happening. But for reference when L’Oreal sees their revenue dwindle as one of the possible culprits namely Yatsen Holding, Estee Lauder, Avon Worldwide, Revlon, Coty, or CHANEL decides to take that short cut, L’Oreal will have a clear path what to do next. For their reference AWS can be found at Tour Carpe Diem, 31 Pl. des Corolles, 92400 Courbevoie, France. With the optional phone number is 3 315 660 2600.

Am I overreaching? 
It is a fair question, you see, I never much trusted cloud computing under Microsoft, not whilst there are valid options like Amazon (AWS), Apple, Google, and IBM available. I personally feel that Amazon is the superior provider, but I am NOT the best source of this information. I know too little about the G-Cloud, or the IBM version of that. Still the articles I read a few days ago scare my literally out of my skin. So there you have it.

So back to that, mainly judge James Donato in San Francisco. He heard Google and that greed driven Epic. You see Epic is in denial of an important factor. They accused Google of monopolising how consumers access apps on Android devices and how they pay for in-app transactions. The part that everyone seems to overlook is that Apple and Google had a similar plan in motion. This setting allowed Google and Apple to let everyone on-board. The small designers did not have to pay for massive amounts of money to get secure systems on-line. It is all done by these two providers. So they pay a little contribution and Epic immensely enjoyed that part of the equation and as they became more successful there need for more money (for stake holders and share holders) they decided to bite the had that fed them from poverty into wealth. Now that this part is over the hundreds of thousands developers can release an unbridled hatred towards Epic. But that is not merely the end of it. In this day and age of scammers and organised crime Epic is opening the floodgates towards these two players and I reckon that the first case (with evidence) that this is happening, both companies will both set a class action against Epic. So at that point where will the profits of Epic go? I reckon not too much towards their share holders, on the upside for them, litigation and trials are tax deductible. 

And whilst the media is all about the small player (multi billion Epic) against the titans of Industry (Apple and Google) I saw a new light. What if there was a new kind of monopoly game, with 4 players Amazon, Apple, Google and IBM and the board doesn’t represent streets, they represent cloud domains. There are still the utilities Electricity and Water (optionally called cooling) and the parks when all are obtained will give you a server-park item (hotel in the original game) and under that we get servers (up to 4) and the locations united will give you the upper hand in a server domain. The stations become continental backbones and they will have a secondary part. Should you get a station in a location, the servers get a +10% if you have all 4 you get a +20%. Now this is plenty of ‘over shadowing’ this game should have an educational side. So we have locations that invoke cyber security, social networking, AI and Data Warehousing. All have a -1% cost to your locations, if you have all 4 in one side of the board you get -10% costings (or 10% more efficiency). You see this might be a game, but the bulk or current users do not seem to comprehend the dangers that this case invoked. When the masses get to comprehend what is at stake and the fact that this is not completely set to a monopoly driven Google (or Apple for that matter), people might wake up to the danger they are exposing themselves to. And that part has been missing the to flame hungry (for the sake of money) media outlets. 

I always believed that games are a great way to teach people (when it is not Elden ring or Assassins creed) how to look at the image a little more clearly. So in that trend after the new movie yesterday, I decided to create a game for the occasion. It is the best move? OK, I am willing to concede that it might not be, but a free game that millions embrace tends to have a decent impact, more than we get now. And I am alway happy to engage with my sneaky sneaky creativity.

Well, the day is almost over, as such I will snore a forest into firewood and relax for my tomorrow hustle towards a morning with chicken and optionally some chili con carne. Enjoy your day.

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August 15, 2024 · 17:40

Streamers wake up

Yup that is pretty much the setting. They are all trying to reinvent the wheel and there is nothing wrong with that, in some cases the new wheel is more up to date and a good show, or movie. As I saw the second iteration of The Andromeda Strain, this time produced by Ridley the alien Scott we see a new version that is ‘up to date’ with the technology settings, the story makes sense and it is a great story to watch in two parts. So as I was brooding on different matters, I was reminded to a good movie from 1987 with the one and only Jon Cryer. The movie was called 

Hiding Out. Now this is no Oscar winning material, still the movie was thoroughly entertaining and I think it deserves a remake. 

The main reason for the remake is that with all the digital currency scams, a remake is nearly essential and Netflix better wake up, or someone else will get to it. So in comes the actress of choice (Anna Taylor Joy). 

She has something in common with an actor like Tom Cruise. You see she could appear like a teenager until she turns 50 and in light of the setting of Hiding out, especially in a high school, this matters. 

The story (roughly) goes that she fell in love with a bitcoin broker and the setting is that he is the guilty foe and a lot of bitcoins go missing, more than enough that he gets himself killed. The last thing he does to ‘save’ his hide he lays blame on the actress of choice and as such she suddenly gets chased and she does not know why. Het only escape is to hide in a place where no one would seem to know her. As she loved her summers with her aunt in Nova Scotia. Her aunt is now dead, but she remembers the place and she is off to Nova Scotia and as such she hides as an international Uruguayan student in the St. Francis Xavier University. She enters as student in journalism and communication. 

In the meantime they are still hunting her but no one knows where to look for her. We get an appearance make over in the beginning when she gets to Nova Scotia (also the one link how they find her). So as the new student she lies low and tries to figure things out. In the meantime her office becomes aware of the $2,000,000,000 loss through theft (TV item) and the death of her lover. Now we get the FBI involved. The story goes that the FBI through digital CCTV traces get a possible handle on her (the train station where she vanished) and someone at the FBI blabs that to the criminals. Her tracks are lost in Saint-Lambert. She took the bus to Antigonish. The bus ride gets us some moments of her past life. 

She is relatively safe for now. And as she ‘embraces’ her anonymity and the new life she is making for herself she (of course) falls in love with one of the teachers and as she focusses on journalism she gains new skills in finding things out, more importantly she finds evidence that the bitcoin company seemingly have been white washing currency. In the meantime, she interns at a newspaper and one of the photographers takes a liking to her. When he takes a snapshot for a column where she is placed in the paper as the new intern, the links are found and the FBI goes after her, as well as the criminals. We now get that the FBI is after her, with criminals close on her too. I still need to think of a few sidelines where she has had positive influence through journalism, like a blue tuna fishing boat (water scenes) or something like that. 

In the end we see that her locket (an heirloom from her mother) contained an SD card with the currency encryption which is still in an account that no one could find or reach because it was encrypted. The SD card was the key to unlocking it. At the end the FBI catches the mole, retrieves the mob money and find the evidence that clearly identifies her previous boyfriend as the guilty party, the movie ends with her changing her life to Antigonish with her teacher. Now, wouldn’t it be nice to give Doug Al-Maini (professor of philosophy at said university) that role? I am a corruptor of the young and innocent (so sue me). And it might make a nice setting for Antigonish. 

It’s all I thought of in less than 2 hours. Netflix eat your heart out. Anyway use this idea as you see fit, I think it would also be nice to give Jon Cryer a nice small role here, to link the old to the new.

Have a great day and try the Nova Scoria Tuna today.

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August 11, 2024 · 19:40

Setting of the day

On a good day
The Khaleej Times Jost informed me on how a good day comes to pass. Here (at https://www.khaleejtimes.com/uae/meet-the-uae-police-officer-who-uncovered-183-money-laundering-cases-in-15-years) we are introduced to Major Saad Ahmed Al Marzooqi. 

The headline ‘Meet the UAE police officer who uncovered 183 money laundering cases in 15 years’. We are also given “He was recently appointed as the first Emirati member of the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) International Cooperation Review Team” and we can be mesmerised, or brag about his abilities, but the numbers imply that he slightly uncovered more than one case a month. There are plenty of police forces all over the world where half of these numbers would imply a stellar career. As we gawk over “exposed 183 money laundering cases that are related to drugs and financial embezzlement. He had also created a database of incidents, which contributed to an increase in convictions from a monthly average of 3 to 14” we need to realise that the increase of 3 to 14 implies that this one person achieved more than any average police station in Europe. 

This is the kind of man the world needs and that will be explained in the next article, because the universe relies on balance and the imbalance we are about to see takes the cake and changes an optional day to night.

On a bad day
Yes like any hero that needs a antagonist to make things interesting, we have Microsoft in two mentions. Now this isn’t directly involving anyone at Microsoft, but the follies are a setting that makes things a lot worse.

First we get Wired (at https://www.wired.com/story/microsoft-copilot-phishing-data-extraction/) who gives us ‘Microsoft’s AI Can Be Turned Into an Automated Phishing Machine’ we get to see “Attacks on Microsoft’s Copilot AI allow for answers to be manipulated, data extracted, and security protections bypassed, new research shows” which is not good, but anything positive can me mauled into a criminal jester for organised crime. The additional “Microsoft raced to put generative AI at the heart of its systems. Ask a question about an upcoming meeting and the company’s Copilot AI system can pull answers from your emails, Teams chats, and files—a potential productivity boon. But these exact processes can also be abused by hackers.

Today at the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas, researcher Michael Bargury is demonstrating five proof-of-concept ways that Copilot, which runs on its Microsoft 365 apps, such as Word, can be manipulated by malicious attackers, including using it to provide false references to files, exfiltrate some private data, and dodge Microsoft’s security protections.” Now, I haven’t seen this, but Wired has a solid enough level of credibility to not ignore this. And that isn’t all. Bargury gives the world “the ability to turn the AI into an automatic spear-phishing machine. Dubbed LOLCopilot, the red-teaming code Bargury created can—crucially, once a hacker has access to someone’s work email” as I speculatively see it a mediocrity solution to turn the Internet of Things into a machine serving organised crime, optionally the NSA too, well done Microsoft. As I see it, the workload of Major Al Marzooqi would increase fivefold when this hits the open world, actually it already has if I understood the words from Michael Bargury correctly. In this, we optionally an even bigger problem, or at least a lot of corporations will.

You see there is a second message, in this case from Cyber Security News (at https://cybersecuritynews.com/microsoft-entra-id-vulnerability/). They give us ‘Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD) Vulnerability Let Attackers Gain Global Admin Access’ with the subtext “Security researchers have uncovered vulnerabilities in Microsoft’s Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory) dubbed “UnOAuthorized” which could allow unauthorised actions beyond expected controls” Now take these two parts together and the phishing expedition could hit every R&D system on the planet using Azure. I am certain that Microsoft will have some patch coming soon, but in the meantime the bulk of R&D (under Azure) will be vulnerable and approachable by many hacker and especially organised crime, because selling secrets to competitors tends to be a lucrative setting and most corporations aren’t that finicky in acquiring something that raises (and assures) the bonuses of the members of their boardroom. OK, this is speculative on my side, but wonder what some will do to get the upper hand in business, especially if there is a bonus raise involved. 

I wish I had a solution, but my personal feeling is that Microsoft has too many holes, loops and a whole rage of other issues and switching to either AWS, IBM cloud or Google Cloud tends to be an essential first step coming to my mind. Now, if there are sceptics who think that I am anti-Microsoft here, they are probably right. Therefor the Links to the two articles were added letting you look at the stories yourself. In the meantime I remember a story in April and it should be my ‘duty’ to inform SAMI that ‘BAE Systems and Microsoft join forces to equip defence programmes with innovative cloud technology’ had a nice article and with the two articles mentioned, SAMI could lay its hands on a truckload of BAE IP. Not sure how far they will get, but free IP is the way to go I say. So when you realise that a large corporation like British Aerospace with all the civilian and military hardware can be accessed, what chances do you think that Novo Nordisk (Denmark), LVMH (France), ASML (Netherlands), SAP (Germany), Hermez (France), L’Oreal (France) have? I do not know if any uses Azure, but it is a good moment for them to select one of the other companies. They could after the event sue Microsoft for damages, but Delta Airlines is already suing CrowdStrike and I am not sure how that will go. In the end it is my personal opinion that this could potentially bite Microsoft hard and it is one of the reasons I do not let them near my IP.

As I personally see it, the companies racing the be the first to launch their (fake) AI will now have a much larger impact. There were already fake data issues, but now the phishing options that are mentioned and when that gets linked to what Cyber Security News calls “UnOAuthorized” the entire IT game changes dramatically and I have no idea how that will play out. 

As my Sunday is almost over and Vancouver only just started there’s a chance we postulate that the next 72 hours will be an interesting one. Have a lovely day (when you are not on Azure).

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