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 8, 2026 · 20:14

Should speculation become presumption

This is why is at stake, but not for me, it is clear that I am merely speculator. However others could have a presumptuous setting. It was given to us through Ekathimirini (at https://www.ekathimerini.com/politics/foreign-policy/1311965/greece-shifts-saudi-patriot-mission-to-monthly-review/) where we see ‘Greece shifts Saudi Patriot mission to monthly review’ with the text “Greece has changed the extension of its military mission in Saudi Arabia from an annual to a monthly basis, reflecting what officials describe as the rapidly changing geopolitical situation in the region. The Greek Armed Forces’ Patriot air defense battery has been deployed in Yanbu, a Red Sea port city in western Saudi Arabia, since 2021 under a bilateral defense agreement.” You see, there are 2-3 settings. The first one is that the United States only have (according to some) the United States currently has an estimated 759 to 827 Patriot missile interceptors remaining in its active stockpile. And when we consider that “Manufacturers produce fewer than 1,000 interceptors per year, creating intense international competition for supply between Middle Eastern allies, European partners, and Ukraine.” All whilst the current settings (according to some) that at least 1,200 to 1,400 Patriot missile interceptors have been fired by the U.S. and its regional allies in defense against Iranian missile and drone attacks during the ongoing conflict. As such in 6 months the patriot depletion has been set to merely a 3 months stockpile left. And that is not good for the United States. As such there is a chance that it is ‘pressuring’ all other NATO members to hand over its patriot missiles (possible buy them) so the setting of “The Greek Patriot battery helps protect critical infrastructure in Yanbu, including facilities linked to the kingdom’s East-West oil pipeline. The pipeline carries about 60% of Saudi Arabia’s oil from the Persian Gulf to international markets, while the area also has major refineries.” So the other setting is that Greek politicians are trying to stay out of the Iranian setting and it is nice to show yourself as an optional savior for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, until there is an actual pressure point appearing, then setting becomes hard for politicians to face. That is how it usually goes. The third one is almost like the other two but it is the EU/NATO that pulled the strings and the depleted US patriot missiles are likely the setting stage, especially as more and more EU nations are convinced that they are heading for a war with Russia. At that point they will need all the patriot missiles they can lay their hands on. As I see it, the EU/USA/NATO will sell the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia down the river instantly for mere self preservation. 

As I stated it, my side is merely speculation, it requires someone with political and military gravitas to either debunk my setting or optionally hand over the presumption that will raise my levels of speculation. And in all of this the Greek settings and the critical infrastructure of Yanbu are on the line. Bit what is actually happening and the setting of “its military mission in Saudi Arabia from an annual to a monthly basis” yet, as I do not see the missing part “increasing the mission” is why I got to the setting of the three scenarios I am currently banking on. In an age where we are so upset about doing the right thing, too many are avoiding the needs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the UAE in all this. Which is why I gave them my military IP. I believe in doing the right thing, especially against the terrorist state of Iran. 

So have a great day and if you think that my speculation is pure BS, I accept that, but too much has passed in the last week to not set the speculative setting I am giving you.

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August 8, 2026 · 02:10

Disaster through media

That is how I see it, it is not that they are wrong because as I see it, it fits directly in the views of a terrorist state and that directly hits towards their target. So what am I talking about? It is the article that the Guardian launched about an hour ago (at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/07/iran-war-trump-midterm-ballot) where we see ‘Iran plots to deal Trump a blow in midterms by keeping him entangled in war’, so whilst we saw again and again that a deal was coming through soon, which I always doubted, we now see this and with “Tehran has set out a protracted negotiating timetable designed to keep Donald Trump embroiled in the Iran conflict until the midterm elections, in the hope of inflicting the same ruinous blow on his presidency as Jimmy Carter suffered over the 1979-81 US embassy hostage crisis. For many inside Iran, inflicting meaningful revenge on Trump is a legitimate and self-standing war aim, reflected in the mood of those attending the funeral of the supreme leader Ali Khamenei where demands for retribution were ubiquitous.” The move makes perfect sense and I think that this will be the case. But we also saw about hour ago (at https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/8/7/saudi-arabia-pakistan-and-turkiye-sign-defence-deal-amid-regional-turmoil) that Al Jazeera gave us ‘Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkiye sign defence deal amid regional turmoil’ as such Iran is in a bind because these three will attack Iran if any of them is attacked. This leaves me with two thoughts. The first one (of a humorous nature) is that this might be the first time in history where Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Turkey and Israel have the same enemy, as such walking the streets of Tehran might be massively dangerous now. The other thought is that this puts the UAE standing alone and there is every chance that Iran will temper its false rage on the UAE, which is not a good thing. I feel better that I basically gave my military IP away to the UAE as well. Perhaps they can use it to sink the Iranian navy (it was a prototype, so it is not usable instantly). But this setting is now evolving, because the Guardian is also leaving us with “But the focus on the midterms became more obvious this week when the deputy foreign minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, told the official IRNA news agency that after agreeing a route for commercial shipping through the strait of Hormuz, it would take two to four months to reach the second phase of negotiations on Iran’s nuclear programme. The original plan – to commence the nuclear phase of the talks within 30 days of signing June’s memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the US – had been jettisoned by the Trump administration, Gharibabadi said. To get to that second stage, he laid out an obstacle course including the lifting of sanctions, the end of the US blockade of Iranian ports, the unfreezing of Iranian assets and new commitments on non-belligerence in a process that could last well beyond the midterms.” It also came to me yesterday as I wrote “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 then 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.” (see previous article) and I wrote that story 10 hours ago, so I got to the setting of the midterms before the Guardian did, being it for different reasons. And all this gives us that either the United States uses what missiles they have to give Iran a one way ticket to the stone age, as such President Trump has a massive problem and if social media is to be believed, the setting of President Trump comes with prison time after he loses the Midterms. I have no clue if that could even be achieved, but that setting might be a disturbing one. Not for me, he has been massively nasty to Canada, so he would be getting what he deserved.

But as I see it the dangers to the UAE remains and I expect that they have no intent being the target of Iran any longer. As such I agree with the Guardian who gives us “From this perspective, the outcome of this war will not be played out on the battlefield, but at the ballot box. The agency suggested the outcome could affect the course of American domestic and foreign policy for years to come.” And we can all agree with that, because no matter how you see it, the worst case scenario is that Democrats start being nice to Iran, something that is globally unacceptable, still I have no interest looking into the mucky waters called American politics. And that reflecting pool will have its own set of disasters bound by time. So when we look at the end of the Guardian Article, we see “The bigger question is what Iran itself wants to achieve. Agreeing to keep the dispute simmering until November is not an answer to that question – one that Iranians are better at debating than resolving. Pezeshkian, working in alliance with Mohammad Ghalibaf, the chief negotiator, repeatedly says he does not want endless war, and insists that almost all the supreme national security council concur. He still has faith in the MoU, saying it should be the cornerstone of Iran’s foreign policy. But the conservative newspaper Kayhan describes the memorandum as worthless since the US always breaks its commitments. “Accordingly, officials should know that the strait of Hormuz is not a bargaining chip and should not be opened as a passage for America,” it said.”“ The only part I see happening is that price of oil will remain high and as I see it, it will not decrease nowhere near the midterms. That is a setting that the ‘speeches’ of President Trump also needs to bring him and I feel decently safe that the teleprompter will fail and President Trump will state that this was all a conspiracy theory (my turn to make a funny, Prime Minister Carney).

But the stage is not resolved, because as I see it (using the Al Jazeera article) where we see “The conflict has imperilled Saudi Arabia’s oil exports and ambitious development plans, and raises big questions about the reliability of its longstanding US security umbrella. While Turkiye and Pakistan have avoided significant direct attacks, both are anxious to calm regional conflicts that threaten their security and economies. The deal, named the “Mecca Joint Defence Agreement”, follows nearly a year of negotiations. Sealing the agreement in Mecca, the holiest site in Islam, adds symbolic heft to a pact that builds on longstanding bilateral military ties.” As such we see the this deal took the better part of a year to set, which means that this started all before the strikes on Iran started and that is good for the nations, but in that same setting it implies that they have had enough of Iran and I wrote about in on the second of June with “which was based on a 2019 idea on stopping Iran. With blocked harbours Iran becomes the isolated party others needed it to be” (in my article ‘Defeated by the timeline’) since then I added a few military IP’s to my arsenal, because we all have to remains creative at times. But it kinda shows that the UAE needs to evolve its military tactics and not always in a diplomatic way. Because the 537 ballistic missiles and 26 cruise missiles are evidence to that setting and there is a decent chance that the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait were all attacked in the near future and as Iran is a cowardly terrorist state, these nations will face more attacks. The “Mecca Joint Defence Agreement” are likely to keep three nations decently safe, the others might not be that lucky and that requires attention as well. And as I see it, they should not face attacks for the next 12 weeks, because Iran will suddenly play the little crying girl when the Trump danger has been settled and I don’t think that being nice to Iran is going to be an option before 2028, but that is merely me thinking and I think that enough gulf states are on the same page I am currently on. Yet this is not all, Al Jazeera raised a decent part with “Al Jazeera’s Osama Bin Javaid, reporting from the Qatari capital, Doha, said the pact “essentially puts three of the largest Muslim populations together”, marking the beginning of a “different security architecture” in the region.” It might make a large difference, but personally I would have liked that the UAE was included in that deal and with that I possibly show my complete unawareness of Muslim politics, but that might be my weakness in all of this as I am not Muslim. So to all a great day and I am (alas) still 300 minutes away from breakfast.

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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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