Tag Archives: Australia

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.

Leave a comment

Filed under Finance, Media, Politics

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

July 30, 2026 · 02:08

The start of isolation

That is at times a signal, at times a revelation and at times mere common sense. Arab News (at https://www.arabnews.com/node/2652675) is giving us ‘GCC declares full support for Saudi measures to protect its sovereignty’ which is nice to hear. I got there over a year ago, as such it is nice to see others are following my charge (my illusional moment). You see, Arab News is giving us “The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Secretary-General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi on Wednesday declared the Gulf states full support for all measures the Kingdom takes to protect its security and sovereignty. The secretary-general affirmed the Gulf states support for the Saudi measures and stressed the bloc’s condemnation to the drone attacks targeting the Kingdom’s oil facilities.” I myself was on that page on the 15th of September 2019 after the Abqaiq–Khurais attack. Iran was responsible, they might have played the ‘were innocent’ card and let Houthi terrorist make the claim, but the drones were too successful and the Houthi terrorists lacked the ability to be that effective. As such the IRGC was pointed to as the only viable suspect. As such it was nice for the GCC to finally see the need for Saudi Arabia be given the ‘all clear’ and that is the start of isolation for Iran. So whilst we get “Bahrain also affirmed its support for Saudi Arabia, saying the kingdom has all the right “to respond to any aggression and deter aggressors.” 

The remarks came after Saudi Arabia carried out precision strikes early Wednesday targeting Iranian-backed militias in Iraq. The Saudi step came in line with the Kingdom’s right to self-defense, the kingdom’s defense ministry said.” So whilst we see that the member states are Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, I have no idea how Oman is seeing this, but that might be the only remaining ‘fan’ Iran has left. The setting at present is that Oman has a partnership defined by active neutrality, geographic interdependence on the Strait of Hormuz, and a long history of diplomatic mediation. But as far as I see it, that is likely the only GCC fan it has left. On the upside, it is always good to have one ‘impartial’ setting in any case (should Iran actually resort to active diplomacy), but the setting is that Iran has no allies left beside the terrorist parties it fueled through decades of weapon sales, sold (as I personally see it) for $0, for jobs achieved and now they have only that left, but in all this. These parties were given that their setting would be active hostilities to Israel. The idea that they might face the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with additional attacks by the United States armed forces was something they did not expect. They were always ready for US forces in combination of Israeli forces. But the setting of Saudi forces, or better stated angry Saudi forces is a setting they were not ready for and a Saudi Arabia, that needs it safety guaranteed will resort to measures that they are not ready for. 

And that is the step that will be isolating Iran, in ways they were not ready. They made a bet that they were safe with the setting of asymmetric warfare and this is now coming to an end. Saudi Arabia is now getting the support of the entire GCC, as such Houthi terrorists will be scrambling for any hideout they can, because there won’t be any support from Iran coming their way any day soon. Iran is now in deep waters. They were hoping to get away with it a little longer, but the GCC support towards Saudi Arabia ends that train of thought. Even as we are getting ‘Houthi To Impose Toll Fees in Bab El Mandeb Strait’, I reckon that Saudi Arabia will be enforcing of zero tolerance on the toll setting by Houthi terrorists, so whilst we are given “Yemen gov’t says Houthis planning to impose fees for Red Sea transit, A minister in Yemen’s internationally recognised government on gave Wednesday” from several sources, most media sources ‘state’ that Houthis are considering this, like they had anything to say about this. As the strait of Hormuz didn’t pan out for Iran, they got their lackey to try this for the Suez role and in this setting it is likely that Egypt might give some kind of military support to keep its Suez revenue safe. And when Saudi Arabia has dealt with the Houthi threat, Iran will become the loneliest bully in history. 

Just a thought to consider in all this. But as I see it, the proclamation (can I call it that?) that the GCC stands with Saudi Arabia is a welcome setting in all this and as I see it, it will bind the hands of Iran and its terrorist allies. So, at present I am going with the phrase better late then never. 

So, have a good day and lets see what happens tomorrow, it beats reporting on the failure that Optus in Australia has become. 

Leave a comment

Filed under Media, Military, Politics

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

July 27, 2026 · 09:52

The gaming concerns

We all giggle at the ‘forecast’ of some gaming bosses. I am the same, so when I saw (at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9803j74091o) ‘Amazon gaming boss predicts future where players no longer need consoles’ we can anticipate “Yes, but that is not now, it will be in the not so near future” and the setting of “Amazon’s head of gaming Jeff Gattis has told the BBC he believes the rising cost of tech means people will turn to streaming games online rather than buying new consoles. He said the tech has developed a lot in recent years, making it more viable than it used to be – but accepted some people will still buy their own hardware.” The truth of the matter that streaming is the future, but the setting towards a thick client (to a console) will make the most sense close to a decade. 

You see, some might remember the Microsoft failure Crackdown 3 where we see “Crackdown 3 uses a cloud-based compute system for its multiplayer mode (Wrecking Zone) to offload physics and environment destruction calculations to Microsoft Azure servers, multiplying local hardware power by up to twenty times. It is also fully playable via video streaming through Xbox Cloud Gaming with supported subscriptions.” But the results were “However, this data-streaming system frequently triggers micro-stutters, texture pop-in, and occasional fast-travel freezes on PC and base consoles.” And be clear, I am not having a go at Microsoft here. I actually applaud that they took this leap in 2019. It could have been better to some extent, but it was clear that the hardware was nowhere near ready even for strong servers using distributed technology. And we haven’t gotten much better at it in gaming at this time. Yes, distributed streaming is the wave of the future and I whole support this, but we are not ready, none of the gaming systems are at present to exclude a console. So when we see “While cloud gaming has long been billed as the future of video games, previous efforts have failed to gain widespread adoption – leading to the high-profile closure of Google Stadia in 2023.” I saw a future which could have gotten Google $6 billion in annual revenue, but they had closed the Stadia a week earlier. As such I offered that solution to Amazon (Andy Jessy) but he never got back to me, as I see it, his loss. Now I am still awaiting Tencent with their solution to nibble on that setting and there is no doubt that my prediction of $6 billion is real and I wrote about it in my blog (go look for it) I am not the person to hand out solutions to any wannabe that asks. And it was a real setting with gaming options to over 50 million gamers in the first phase. I predicted (as clumsily as I could what would happen after) but I have nothing real to offer after that revenue hits $12 billion – $15 billion annual. And I based it on a three pronged solution, because as I see it, a console is there for more than one reason and it would be a shame merely to offer one side. Google made the most sense as they had developed two of the solutions, but these could be remade and I wholly believe in streaming technology.

So when we see “Gattis argued there was still a huge untapped audience beyond traditional console owners which Amazon was trying to reach. “There are somewhere between two-and-a-half and three billion people who play games around the world, but only a fraction of those own dedicated gaming hardware,” Gattis said.” I find these numbers a little debatable, because as I see it, those relying on their mobile are not really gamers, that requires a large screen (or TV) and a decent console or home computer but that might be merely my view and in all this there is a future for distributed gaming, but it requires what is referred to as a thick client (console/home computer) because these millions of people will flood the internet when they are merely use a think client and I merely have to point out the issues Sony had a mere two days ago, to see the setting of “Thin clients require a stable internet and thin clients are network-dependent” that is the setting and before 2040, there is no non console setting to be had, even then you will be catering to metro people and the rural gamers are left behind. A setting I find completely disgusting and unsavory. Gaming is for everyone and even if (at times) we see that there is a lot to be had from these ‘metro’ gamers. It is completely unacceptable to stop catering to rural gamers. If only to consider France, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Italy, Greece and that is merely Europe. Actually Sweden has the bet internet nationwide, but if we consider nations like Saudi Arabia, USA, Canada, Australia, and a few other places. How many rural gamers will be thrown into gaming darkness because of this? I boggles the mind I say. The BBC gives us more (read th article) and a lot makes sense in all this, but the setting of ““Gamers are willing to trade a little fidelity for convenience, but not to pay premium prices for something they don’t own which stutters when the Wi-Fi dips,” he said.” Is also something that needs addressing and it is done through the subscription model, as I see it, when you are a member, you get to won a game for all time, but it requires a thick client, so games at the end of their cycle need to be downloaded to the console, with an optional SD Card, to unclog the console. That might be a first setting that will gain the favour of gamers and the idea that they have at times a month to get a simple SDCard, is not to taxing on their wallet.

A simple card that supports the total of a Blu-ray can be gotten for a mere $33, as such storage becomes near obsolete as well. As such there are options but I see it for the far future, no matter what I believe that my solution holds, it will require a thick client, as the internet at present is a little to unsafe and insecure to count on. And that is before the upcoming rematch of net neutrality, a setting so intense and massively hedged against gamers, that a thin client is too dicey a choice to make at present.

Well, that is it for now. So tune in later today for a story that will make pyromaniacs water their mouths. Have a great day all and to all have a great day gaming.

Leave a comment

Filed under Gaming, IT, Media, Science

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

July 16, 2026 · 17:37

Casual connection

In the last 24 hours I saw two articles, they might have some casual connection and I leave that up to you to decide. First up we get an article with the staged setting of ‘Why Muslims Will Suffer Most When The AI Bubble Bursts’ (at https://www.islamicfinanceguru.com/articles/ai-bubble-muslim-investors) the first thing going through my mind is that you need to get out before disaster strikes. Get out when the going remains optional, and I would personally phrase this setting that those ‘money diggers’ make claim that you are not a pussy, make sure that he is not tying his benefit to your welfare. Because those who need your money have their own agenda. So as I read “In the late 90s, everyone was piling into internet companies. The stock market was booming, and it felt like free money. Then in 2000, it imploded. Companies worth billions became worthless almost overnight, and an estimated 100 million everyday investors lost a combined $5 trillion. Now people are worried AI could be the next bubble. And if they’re right, Muslim investors could be hit the hardest, even though most of us don’t realize it yet. Here’s why, and what every Muslim investor should be doing right now to prepare.” With additional “Over the past few years, the stock market has been on an absolute tear, and almost all of it has been driven by a handful of companies: the Magnificent Seven, Microsoft, Apple, Nvidia, Amazon, Meta, Alphabet, and Tesla. All making big bets on AI. Share prices going up isn’t itself a problem. What makes people nervous is the valuation. Take Nvidia. It’s now one of the largest companies in the world, and investors are giving it a price-to-earnings ratio of around 50. That means at current earnings, it would take 50 years of profits to earn back what you paid for the stock today. That’s an enormous amount of faith in future growth. That faith might well be justified. These companies are genuinely transforming industries. But history tells us that when the story gets ahead of the fundamentals, eventually something snaps. We’re not saying it will, but it’s worth asking: what’s the most fragile part of this whole thing? What’s the single point of failure? Because there is one.” And there is one that beckons reading (the link is at the beginning) and I agree with him. But the one thing that I take from the rest of that story is ‘acknowledge the concentration risk’ there is a downside of that, when it goes, it goes almost spectacularly (the investors don’t think out is spectacular) but I have other things against this AI setting, because from my point of view all AI is Fake AI. (Read my other works for elaboration, merely go see Google and ask: 

Lawlordtobe + “AI” + “AI bubble”

You should get over a dozen articles bringing this out and it merely my personal setting, but I believe that is an almost pertaining truth in all this that no one wants to acknowledge. When you come to the end of that rainbow, which did not start at a pot of gold and does not end with a pot either, you see why I believe that this is coming to an end (and right quick). Don’t get me wrong, I believe in DML (Deeper Machine Learning) and LLM (Large Language Models) these are strong tools and a lot more will be coming from this. But it al all down to the knowledge of the programmer and it just isn’t AI, not even close. So I did not give the Muslim investor much rope. I am not Muslim and I have never been an investor. Not even close, I am not even an early adopter. So whilst we now see Sam Altman in quotes all over the internet from ‘Sam Altman: ‘It also takes a lot of energy to train a human’ — a staunch defense of the cost of AI training’, so if this was real (read: true) AI, what did he have to defend? Then there is ‘“Thought It Was Satire”: Sam Altman Takes Dig At Anthropic’s New Ad Amid Online Backlash’ where we are told that:

“Anthropic’s latest advertising campaign, “There’s Hope in Hard Questions”, was designed to show that the AI company is willing to confront difficult questions about artificial intelligence and its potential risks. Instead, the ad has sparked widespread criticism online, with many viewers describing its tone as unsettling, creepy and overly bleak.” 

As I see it, some people are starting to crying about the still missing ROI and that is not even getting close to the fold whilst some give us 

“AI Return on Investment (ROI) is highly debated and highly variable. While many companies report time savings and efficiency gains, a large percentage of executives struggle to see direct, bottom-line financial returns due to high infrastructure costs and a lack of proper workflow integration.” 

All whilst the ‘highly variable’ is driven towards a timeline which is (by some) decades away. As such some need to worry when they are given the image of a Cadillac, whilst they are buying an Edsel. This might not be completely accurate, but it is what I see. When the court cases are driven towards that the setting that “DMLA Submission to the US Copyright Office argues against rash “data mining laws.” They state that because a robust licensing market already exists, creators should not be forced to subsidize AI technology by allowing free text-and-data-mining (TDM) exemptions” and when you are at this point, you are likely to lose a massive bundle ofd your investment. All whilst the Tech Policy Press gives us that:

“A dedicated legal database known as the AI on Trial dataset has tracked at least 500 cases globally across 39 countries, encompassing intellectual property, privacy, discrimination, and platform regulation”

Sounds like a good place to keep your investment, because when these cases settle (I’m hopefully hoping for some coins from that equation) you are done with whatever you thought you had. But (there is always a but) there is an optional outcome and it was given to me at (https://maritime-executive.com/article/uae-plans-to-build-a-new-jebel-ali-to-bypass-strait-of-hormuz) by the maritime executive. With the headline ‘UAE Plans to Build a New Jebel Ali to Bypass Strait of Hormuz’ with the setting that UAE had left OPEC, they might be sitting pretty on some coins and that place might need investment. As oil is a commodity that the planet needs, there is every chance that your optional investment goes back from 50 years to up to 5 years with a decent spillage of coins coming your way. So when we read “The Financial Times has added to a number of reports that the UAE is planning to expand its port and freight-handling capacity on its East Coast, accessing the Gulf of Oman and bypassing the Strait of Hormuz. The Financial Times says that DP World is planning not only to build an entirely new port on the Fujairah coast, but also to expand capacity at the existing Fujairah container terminal. It is not clear what coordination arrangements DP World has made with the existing Fujairah terminal, which is operated by the AD Ports Group under the brand name Fujairah Terminals, following the signing of a 35-year concession agreement in 2017 with Fujairah Ports, which in turn is controlled by the Fujairah Al Sharqi Royal Family.” It is my firm believe that these players would accept Muslim investment and that means the setting that you might come out as a winner, because this place outside of the Strait of Hormuz would give the UAE (read: ADNOC) give a larger setting of up to 5,000,000 barrels of oil per day with the small grocery customers like India, Australia, Indonesia, Japan and China. It feel (read: me is not being an investor) like an almost sure thing and that tends to breed opportunity. And whilst we are given “Plans are already afoot to speed the completion of a second crude pipeline to parallel the Habshan–Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline (ADCOP), doubling capacity from 1.5 to 3 million barrels per day. Fujairah Ports also operates a bulk products terminal at Dibba, on the border with Oman’s Musandam Peninsula, and Dibba has also been slated for development and upgrade.” It might allow the UAE to double that doubled setting, which is personally vision, not fact based analyses. But in this, Muslims investors are likely to see another opportunity, they might move out of that Fake AI setting whilst the leaving is good. But don’t take my word for that, it is a mere view coming from academic and personal vision on IT and a personal view on where I see the world going and I have more than 500 reasons for my views and those 500 reasons are the most likely dampers on your return on investment. #JustSaying

So, have a great day today and I am on route to kill a few Metroids, because those critters are getting out of hand on my Nintendo Switch.

Leave a comment

Filed under Finance, IT, Law, Media, Science

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

June 7, 2026 · 21:46

Great idea from Canada

So here I was (this morning) watching a vlog by the famous Canadian vlogger Johny Strides. This time he was vlogging about the Do West Fest festival and he showed it on the camera, so 19 minutes into that walk I saw something I had not seen before. It might make for a good setting for Australia, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia to name only three. I think this could be a massive hit with these three and I have no ever seen this. Not on any walkthrough. 

So consider the Formula one races in Abu Dhabi in December and Boulevard Riyadh City & Boulevard World in Riyadh. We can tell people to take of themselves, or we could set 2 of these trailers at the beginning and end of these locations. Each of these trailers have 10 bottle fillers (5 per side) and 10 taps for water (also 5 per side), the information can be found (at https://www.toronto.ca/services-payments/water-environment/tap-water-in-toronto/request-an-hto-to-go-water-trailer/) where we see that these are managed by the city of Toronto, with the following settings:

  • stainless steel troughs on each side
  • 10 drinking water taps (five on each side)
  • 10 taps to fill water bottles (five on each side)
  • step stools and cups, if needed
  • water bowls for pets
  • information booth featuring Toronto Water programs and services

Now, not all these items might have appeared for the intended city council, but the idea is great and I think that both the UAE and Saudi Arabia could set this up making their tourism more and more appealing. The idea that a person could find a rehydration point that is free (I know that Dubai has many all over the city) but to add 1-2 of these trailers at events, might be the ticket for more tourists for them and it might take another turn for the businesses that might want to show their appeal, without having to go several rounds of drink stands. I have nothing against those stands, but to offer another setting is always good. So, Johnny Strides video was (at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoNajkErOgc) which should be a nice look at a festival in Toronto and his videos are always a good view on Toronto.

No matter how you slice it, Toronto (I am assuming it was their idea) has something more to offer the world and I reckon that several nations might be interested in this. 

Have a great day. I am off to see the F1 races in Monaco, I can already here the roar of the engines. Yay to YouTube for this.

Leave a comment

Filed under Media, Science, sport

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

June 5, 2026 · 01:30

Out of nowhere

Yup, that was the setting as I see it. I was getting frustrated with the man on Pennsylvania Avenue 65000 who just doesn’t get it and now we get tariffs in Australia too. Gone are the days when we discussed a real solution. But for now we can rely on the Commonwealth to come together and make the United States the pariah. According to ABC News we are facing  “Australia is among 45 countries facing the higher 12.5 per cent rate, alongside China, Japan, India, South Korea, Brazil and Switzerland. Another group, including Canada, Britain, the European Union and Mexico, would face a lower 10 per cent duty.” And I suddenly realised that this was not about forced labour laws and according to legal insiders, Australia has world-leading laws to combat forced labour. So what is this about? These are merely bully tactics to create a gap within the Commonwealth, because as I see it, the Commonwealth has likeminded laws, they are not identical, but likeminded. So this is another bully tactic from the intellectually challenged person in the White House. I reckon that there will be some kind of blunt call where Australia surrenders rare earth minerals, the man is blatantly transparent. He merely want to force settings and he needs the EU a lot more, so Australia gets dealt the ace of spades (I think that was a proper use of that expression). From the wielder who has no morality at all. But as I see it, the commonwealth can come together and sell to the EU, Canada, UK and Middle East for what was meant for the United States. We all still sell, but we merely sell it to someone else. How long will it take the United States to realise that they are setting themselves up for Self-flagellation?

Still, there is more to come, but I suddenly had a thought in the gaming IP selection. You see I decided to replay the first Nordic God of War, because I had not played that game since it came out, so basically I played it into 2019 and that was before I had a 4K TV and it was glorious, now in 4K, the graphics are even more amazing after 7 years and it feels so amazing to play that game. But it also made me consider a few things. You see I have always been a great fan of Dungeon Keeper (1+2) and I also loved Black and White, but what happens when you play a god game and you do not get to wield the players? Merely influence them? So I started to think and as such the game ‘Worship’ was born. You are a deity, a slightly less than mortal person (aka a god) and the first setting are the nordic gods. But here is the kicker. You get the first few games where you learn the game and as such you start playing all the gods, so you can learn the mechanics. You start playing Odin, Thor, Freya and Loki I decided on four gods, because as the game goes deep, you can get 3 other gods involved, the other two tribes get one of the other gods. The game will let you play all the gods so that you learn the mechanics. These tribes are always at each others throat and there is the rub, the game starts with someone praying for mercy at the shrine and that is how you start and the mechanics (even in the learning phase) is about randomization, so you do not know what god you are and there are three tiers of powers, tier 1 is direct and give the least delay for your powers to restore. Tier 2 has a medium cooldown and tier 3 a long cooldown. And the powers you wield will realist in a person, or a small group in a Vé (shrine) you can affect more people and the cooldown is reduced. But beyond that you can not influence the game, the people in the game are like little computer people, all doing their own thing. But part of the settings that as you influence the people in ‘your’ village, you need to see how this is interpreted and how it affects how they face the other village. And through that whatever god ‘aids’ them, they will have both a direct and indirect effect on the interactions. 

I am still working out some of the settings, but in my mind, it shows promise and when the settings are finished the real game begins and you are taken through the stages with the Nordic gods. I thought that after that you get the Greek gods and Egyptian gods. I reckon that after that it will become a mix and match, so village 2 might be one of those pesky Greeks with a sneaky Martian playing Odysseus. You know the kind. And village 3 might be devoted to Sobek. A setting that might turn out to be highly addictive. I am now contemplating how any of the gods could affect the other villages with something like a curse. It is interesting, but the cooldown for the god is also rather nasty, so you want to do that sparingly and only when it becomes essential.

The fun part is how to create the DML engines for the villagers. And as I see it, it requires a separate engine for each village. The computing power is already there, but then I would like this to become a PS5/Switch2 game. This idea of a novel gaming IP is rather invigorating, because there is too much franchise gaming going on. No matter how original and novel Lara now looks. It is still a new version of robbing a tomb (no disrespect meant or intended), Lara got me through some rough times in 1996. But the idea to put something out there that is totally new is rather fun. And even now as I am looking at the game in my mind, I am also setting the interface to a new look for the Nordic/Greek/Egyptian gods. Not merely something that looks fresh, but completely different in the way it looks. You see, the interaction would also be strange (for the player). But this setting leaves me with the randomizers and the choices available to the player. When it ids all nordic, it seems simple. Even as these gods all have different options. How to get the villagers to come to terms with the new equation (to coin a phrase) it is something to consider. That opens up a whole new stage. As the Nordics get into the UK (before they had tea) they had their settings of druids and a few other settings, So there could be a lot more to this game as I see it. Still there is more to do and it is more enjoyable then to look at what other stages the new hands us, because in the end I am not a journalist, I am an IT person and gaming is in my blood and the leads to a lot more interesting puzzles than Washington DC is able to hand us. But that might merely be me. Oh, I just realised that the powers they hand to the villagers could be active or passive, so  wielder of weapons or a thinker of new weapons. That also gets us to the old equation in martial arts, attacking without defense is pointless and defending without attack is useless. So there is more on this game coming to a blog close to you (read: my blog) 

Have a great day, it is Friday here for me now.

Leave a comment

Filed under Gaming, Media, Politics

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

June 4, 2026 · 10:33

Kettle calling chopstick black

That is the setting and it is given to us by the BBC (at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq6peqrnzpro) where we see ‘MI5 warns Chinese spies using job websites to target government staff’, as I see it, it is time to go into Monty Python mode with ‘Howls of deriving laughter’. You see NSA, MI5, MI6, DGES and I suspect the BND have been doing the very same thing for over 30 years. They sugarcoated it through certain captains of industry to ‘offer’ interesting jobs and then after additional vetting, they gave these people a second income and until 2010 that was a safe trip, but as I see it President Trump put his oversized clown shoes in that setting messing things up. In addition the Western economy took a nose dive. So the previous settings do not hold water and the NSA is confronted with ICE, MAGA and Karen’, so their job is a little harder still. The article gives us “In a joint warning issued in a bulletin by the Five Eyes alliance, made up of UK, US, Australia, Canada and New Zealand agencies, it warned undercover operatives are using legitimate sites including LinkedIn, Indeed and Upwork to advertise fake analyst jobs. Applicants are then pressurised into revealing “non-public” information which can be used by the Chinese military intelligence service.” And there are two elements missing from all that. The first is that there is little need for pressurization, the second one is that places like LinkedIn seems to have cornered the stage where industrials have been for some time Ghosting job applicants, or putting fake jobs out there. So, in comes Huawei or Tencent offering optional jobs? These applicants are suddenly roaring with intent to do well. So I don’t think ‘pressure’ is needed. 

Then we get a few other settings. As I (optionally delusional) see it, Sergey the Oogly Googly Googler Brin with his two hundred and fifty thousand millions owes me $3M (post taxation) and yes, it is delusional, because as I see it, Google uses my written words to train its Fake AI called Gemini. And I am super pro Google, but as I see it all AI is fake. True AI doesn’t exist yet (not for at least a decade) and I gave several articles pointing that out. Someone said that (about two months ago) that per article this amounts to $1.5 million and over 5000 transgressions on my articles sets the ‘expected’ (and optionally delusional) stage that I am due at least $3,000,000 post taxation. I’m not claiming that I have any right to his fortune, merely to what might optionally be mine. Make of it what you will. And there is more. Australia housing is rubbing people the wrong way (not intentionally) there is housing crises and people cannot afford anything. Some are identified as refusing an allocated twice, whilst the second event was that they were in heart surgery. How is that fair? Then we get the stage where in Australia we hear about experience underpayment or are denied mandatory leave. So in this setting and I reckon the same setting is seen in the United Kingdom people are willing to listen to job offers from Tencent and Huawei (China), Aramco (Saudi Arabia) and ADNOC (UAE) and these people are seriously looking for talent and the latter part is mostly Australia and the United States, but after all the bad news people are seeing, China now has a real option to put pressure on the workforces in the west and there is need for these skills. So whilst we see that jobs are los to AI (which is utter bogus) the reality is that bosses keep friends and their friends employed because the budgets are dwindling and they need people to sit in that same place so that they are safe and that is how an entire workforce is valued out of a job and these people are often the true innovators. Not their bosses or the friends that they have. They are in it for themselves and it is seen all over the workforce in a near global setting. So there are more people willing to listen to the people who are actually talking to them. 

That is the reality of theater and it affects the work sphere of places like MI5. But GCHQ was on this workhorse for over 30 years, so turnabout is almost fair game (MI5 will not see it that way). This situation isn’t merely UK, it is the United States and the entire Commonwealth to a larger extent. I have no idea how it affects India, because they have the most skewed workforce on the planet, but I reckon they are in a similar spot, especially the learned DML workforce. But didn’t they see this coming? Especially the United States. 

So whilst the workforce in nations is seeing raw deals and unfair treatments, these workers are willing to listen to anyone giving them a fair shake. So whilst the BBC emphasizes on “UK will not tolerate Chinese spying, minister says after MI5 alert” we get that this is a truth, but the UK has been doing this for decades and now that the UK (others too) are vulnerable the danger is a lot more real than it was pre 2010. So whilst we see “Workers who could be targeted range from security clearance holders to academics and think tank employees, it warned.” The danger is a lot more real as the captains of industry have been sidelining their aging workforce as being too expensive and that is where the knowledge is and when these people are gone to other shores the brain-drain sets in in a most unexpected way. And these sidelines people are no longer to be the willing assistant of some young upstart who had the inside track because he had the diploma that sounded awesome. A diploma without experience is merely someone holding a printed piece of paper, not the knowhow that a company needs to make the revenue real. 

So that is my bit on the matter and would I, considering what Huawei, Aramco or ADNOC could offer me? Most definitely. When you realize that being valued is good for the soul, the soul will seek sunny shores. It always does. We have learned the hard way that companies no longer rewards loyalty, not for over a decade, so the older workforce is looking towards places that allows them to be valued for a little while longer. So whilst we see that the tea kettle is calling the chopsticks black, realise that the kettle started it all in the early 90s.

Have a great day today, optionally valued too.

Leave a comment

Filed under Finance, IT, Law, Politics, Science

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

May 15, 2026 · 10:49

Two simple points

I was made aware of two events, one less than 2 hours ago. Both by the CBC, the first one (at https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/u-s-duties-tariffs-canadian-mushrooms-9.7200052) gives us ‘U.S. to slap tariffs on Canadian mushrooms as growers warn of broader risks for agriculture’ with the byline “U.S. pointing to agricultural tax exemptions as justification for countervailing duties” there is a seemingly wrong stance on this. We are also given “A U.S. Commerce Department fact sheet released this week and shared with CBC by the Canadian Mushroom Growers’ Association says that following an investigation, the U.S. government will be hitting Canadian fresh mushrooms with tariffs of between 1.6 and five per cent. Countervailing duties are slapped on imports judged to be unfairly subsidized. Similar U.S. investigations have resulted in duties on Canadian softwood lumber for decades.” So whilst we see that this is unfair, the article does bring out a few parts that might show that American mushroom growers can see that they are unfairly handled. At this point there is a setting that the US government should intervene. It is also clear that this is not due to the growers, but by clever supermarket entrepreneurs who see tax exemptions to get cheaper goods and I get that they do this, but this trap, which was always a hidden trap, might be blowing up in the faces of all. We then get “CBC news asked Agriculture Minister Heath MacDonald’s office for a statement regarding the mushroom duties. A spokesperson pointed CBC News to Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc’s office for comment. LeBlanc’s office deferred to Global Affairs Canada, which has yet to offer a statement. The U.S. also launched a separate investigation which could result in further anti-dumping tariffs on mushrooms later this year.” In this case I would hand the reader: “is this anti-dumping or clever supermarket purchase policies?” There are different angles at looking at the dice that some are playing with. And this almost directly relates to the second article (at https://www.cbc.ca/news/investigates/sobeys-loblaw-maple-washing-9.7196767) where we see ‘Sobeys, Loblaw under fire for maple washing, as Sobeys ditches maple leaf symbol in stores’ which is accompanied by “Federal regulator has identified 127 cases of maple washing by retailers since the start of 2025”, the conspiracy theorists will blame American intervention, but I am seeing a place where those purchasing for supermarkets that they are on a sliding scale of disaster and they are choosing to level that sliding scale by a lot. So when we see “More than a year after the Buy Canadian movement took root, grocery giants Loblaw and Sobeys are facing increased scrutiny over “maple washing” the practice of promoting imported goods as homegrown.” And it is where we see “The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) slapped two Loblaw-owned stores in January with $10,000 fines each for maple washing, and one month later, two other Loblaw-owned stores got formal warnings for the same violation, CBC News has learned. Sobeys is also on the CFIA’s radar. The federal food regulator told CBC it has received multiple complaints about the grocer and maple washing and has wrapped up an investigation into advertising practices overseen by Sobeys head office.” I am thinking that it is time for a change. It is time for the Commonwealth when not producing their own goods, to buy Canadian /Commonwealth. 

A combines sticker with the flags of Canada, UK, Australia, new Zealand, India, Jamaica (full be honest, I am including Jamaica to complete a set of six). When this purchasing setting is invoked there will be several changes. When we prefer our (near) local produce over American produce, there will be a change in several ways and as I see it, the supermarkets can either adapt or go under. Canada did not start this war, but with the help of the Commonwealth it can finish it. And for those having stock in Sobeys and Loblaw can either sell whatever stock they have or lose a massive amount of money. When the bulk of the Canadians walk away from these two brands, these brands will feel the hurt of no sales really quickly. Some will debate that America started all this and as such they should pay and I am not deaf to that premise, but these two providers set the change in motion and that should not be rewarded either. 

As such we have options and I reckon that if the UK, Australia and New Zealand follow Canada in taking American alcohol off the shelves the impact will be seen to a much larger extent. And it benefits the Commonwealth too, Gin from UK, Whiskey from UK and Canada, Rum from Australia, and there are a few combinations that will give the Commonwealth the investment in their own products. I reckon that it will take less than a year for over a 100 brands to fall into receivership. Good idea from this US administration to cry ‘America First’ so when that implode on their plates we can move on towards cars and a few other items. There is great satisfaction in this, but there is another setting. The stage where we see that there is justice in anti-dumping tariffs and the United States has a valid point in protecting its home made produce and these two articles do not bear this out. But that might be my view on the matter. What does matter is that these two articles show that Canada is sailing a narrow margin boat across heavy waves and there will be enough casualties on both sides of the border to consider that there needs to be another way. Because that is seemingly overlooked and perhaps these two points are not as simple as they seem because there are several issues in play.

Have a great day.

Leave a comment

Filed under Finance, Law, Media, Politics

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

May 7, 2026 · 17:59

Under Attack

That is at times the setting, especially when you look at the gulf states at present, but that is not what is the setting, the Commonwealth, specifically Canada is under attack. It is under attack from the United States and Russia. We might want to be in disbelief, but the CBC (at https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/russia-and-u-s-amplifying-alberta-separatist-narratives-to-stoke-division-distrust-report-9.7189604) and we are given ‘Russia and U.S. amplifying Alberta separatist narratives to stoke division, distrust: report’ where we see “Moscow’s influence scheme is covert, while Trump-aligned meddling is overt and public”, we here in the Commonwealth need to take notice of the plight that stalks and covertly attacks Canada. We are also given “Rather, researchers discovered the now defunct website and social media accounts likely came from a Russian covert influence network known as Storm-1516, known for making fictional websites that target audiences in various countries. And here, it targeted Canada and Alberta. Both Russian and pro-Trump U.S. actors are amplifying and spreading misinformation about Alberta separatism in the hope of fraying Canadian unity and sowing distrust in key institutions and authorities, warns a new report released Wednesday.” This report, written by Marcus Kolga, Jennie Phillips, Brian McQuinn, Bartel Van de Walle gives us the goods on this. Marcus Kolga is a journalist, human rights advocate, and leading expert of foreign disinformation and influence operations. We can go over the list, it makes sense to attach the PDF at the end of the story, so that you can read it for yourself. And as I see it, whatever President Trump cannot have, he disables and we see this with “US involvement in Alberta separatism is not covert — it is overt, escalating, and converging at multiple levels simultaneously. By overt, we are referring to official engagement, where senior US government figures have met directly with Alberta separatist leaders and made public statements validating their cause, while the US is led by a president who has repeatedly expressed interest in annexing Canada. By escalating, we refer to influencer amplification, where prominent MAGA-aligned media figures with combined audiences in the tens of millions have actively promoted Alberta separatism and normalized annexation narratives. By convergence, we mean that the line between US influencer activity and Russian-funded operations has, in at least one documented case, dissolved entirely. Three converging lines of evidence establish this case.” And I for one, believe that we need to up the disruption into the United States by taking away whatever commerce it had until recently. We (the Commonwealth nations) need to unite and stand together against these attacks on Canada. We could all stop buying alcohol from the United States, we could all put change out vacation destination to Europe, Middle East and Asia. As I see it, the loss of commerce and goods would push the United States right over the edge. It is not something I would like to do, but attacking our brothers in Canada (sisters too) makes it almost mandatory to stand by Canada and use these methods. As I see it in April 2026, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has taken a confrontational stance against Canada’s trade strategy, calling it poor and attacking Canadian officials like Mark Carney. These remarks, described as insulting, have increased tension regarding USMCA, tariffs, and potential impacts on tourism and trade relations. So how much more ludicrous will his position become when we all (United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand) side with Canada and we all reject United States alcohol? From there we can reject all good from the United States? How long until their settings implode upon itself? You see, the MAGA setting was flawed from the very start, because a world founded on commerce cannot rely on export, without import it stops right quick. And now as we see that the United States is messing with Canada, we need to do something and until the senate hangs its 41st United States Secretary of Commerce out to dry, we need to stand firm, because Canada did not start this, whatever we see with his attacks on PM Mark Carney and all the rhetoric he wants, but the Commonwealth is over 2.5 billion people and even as the four nations are the important side, we could all refuse goods from the United States, you see it is our freedom to refuse whatever we want. It seems like U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has forgotten about that and the other nations that ‘revered’ American goods going back to the 80’s are now singing a different tune and a lot of them are a lot less positive about this administration and we have always been positive of the Commonwealth, as such people like U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick are on a sliding slope that leads straight to an abyss. And now we see the Canada is under attack and anyone that sides with those attacking Canada can emigrate to the United States and make a new life, sounds fair doesn’t it?

I get that Russia wants to attack Canada (even as I don’t like it), the Commonwealth was a natural enemy of Russia going all the way back to 1850, so we have been having issues longer than I remember. But for the United States to attack Canada by giving us “Steve Bannon, former Trump advisor and prominent supporter of Brexit, has also inserted himself into the Alberta separatist issue, telling his War Room audience that Albertans “are getting out of the Canadian union” and arguing the United States should recognize Alberta as an independent country and place it “on the pathway” to becoming the 51st state” I have had my views on the debatable reasons of the 51st state. I still believe that the United States is so broke (read: insolvent) that the United States does whatever it can to get revenue through any means to keep the lights on (my paraphrasing that setting) First Canada, then Greenland, then Venezuela and now Iran. I see the people stating that this is an Epstein setting, but I believe that it is merely the icing on the cake and as the United States has less and less, I fear for our Canadian brothers and sisters. As such this PDF is also an essential reminder that behind the 41 million Canadians are over 100 million Commonwealthians ready to support them (I know the Commonwealth is over 2.5 billion), but as I see it, direct action is possible from Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom and optionally India too. So what happens when Howard Lutnick loses that population for commerce as well? Do you think he will cry like a little girl stating that Canadians are mean? We see “Democrats accused Lutnick of lying and evading their questions.” (Source: GlobalNews) we don’t need to lie or evade, we can just take our business elsewhere. We can order booze from Mexico (Tequila), Bermuda and Australia (Rum) and Gin from the United Kingdom, we have options and the United States better realise that we can do this to more than booze, cars from Japan and Europe, oil from Canada, Pharmaceuticals from India. That amounts to over a trillion in commerce lost. As I see it, the United States needs to reassess its actions and stop interfering in Canadian politics. Because as I see it, the United States pissed off Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom and they are (my personal view is) extremely willing to make the United States Administration sing a different tune. But that might merely be me. So all hail PM Mark Carney (whether you are Canadian or not) and enjoy today as much as you can.

Alberta-and-Foreign-Interference-Report-Final-052026-webDownload

Leave a comment

Filed under Finance, Media, Politics

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

April 22, 2026 · 15:04

Whatever the BS indicates

So, I was looking at a few matters and some connect to yesterday’s setting. As such, this morning I was given by CBC (at https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/poilievre-losing-losing-losing-carney-trade-9.7171738) ‘Poilievre says Carney has been ‘losing, losing, losing’ on U.S. trade war’ and I personally call out this incorrect setting (calling it a lie is so crass) as I see it, PM Mark Carney has done whatever he can to make Canada less reliable on the United States, giving the country options and not to be set to the whim of a their own version of King George III and lets face it the one in the United States, looks nowhere near as good as Nigel Hawthorne (supporting evidence below).

We are given the additional “Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre launched a pointed attack on the Liberal government’s handling of the Canada-U.S. file Tuesday, saying the results so far have fallen well short of the mark and the prime minister is “losing” the trade war. Speaking to reporters after Prime Minister Mark Carney unveiled his new trade advisory council to help with the U.S. dispute — a body that includes some big-name Conservatives — Poilievre lashed out, saying the Liberals ran on settling the issue at the last election but there has been no discernible progress to this point.” And in a stage where that less than appealing person in Washington, is calling Canada the 51st state, giving it tariffs that got well beyond what is acceptable (whilst giving Russia allegedly no tariffs) and whilst we see “Carney says there’s been a ‘rupture’ in Canada-U.S. relationship, while Poilievre wants to draw closer”, so does any real Canadian want to vote for Pierre Poilievre (also known as Peter Polivicious by some)?

So whilst we see this and whilst we were given yesterday ‘Trump says he does not want to extend ceasefire with Iran’ (source: Reuters), today we get ‘Trump says ceasefire extended as talks with Tehran in limbo’ (source: Al Jazeera) and this is a person Canada wants to get closer to? Then we get that a lot of Canadians are christians, so do you want to get close to a person who attacks the pope on humanitarian issues as well as “President Trump has been lobbing insults at Pope Leo XIV in response to his criticisms of the war in Iran and appeals for peace, marking an unusually pronounced rupture between the leaders of the world’s most powerful country and the world’s largest Christian denomination. But Leo criticized the Trump administration’s mass deportation efforts both before and after he was elected leader of the Catholic Church. He told reporters in November that the treatment of immigrants is “extremely disrespectful,” echoing the views of his predecessor, Pope Francis.” So do we (Commonwealthians) ever want to get close to this (so called) king? Or are we ready to steer the Commonwealth to safer waters? In that case, why would anyone ever consider the conservative PP or any of his arguments valid? OK, I will admit that the rental issues he raised last year were valid, but as I see it, no force in the Commonwealth gives rise to closer working with President Trump. 

And this is merely my view (also shared with many in the Commonwealth) and I could be wrong, but I do not think so. As such It is time to reflect on a few things that PM Mark Carney achieved over the last year (as I am not Canadian, I reserve the right to miss a few items).

  • Economic & Environmental Policy: Removed the consumer carbon tax, and pushed for deregulation to support industry.
  • Trade & Infrastructure: Passed legislation to reduce interprovincial trade barriers.
  • Housing: Launched the Build Canada Homes agency to accelerate development.
  • International Relations: Formally recognized the State of Palestine, strengthened ties with India and China, and continued strong support for Ukraine.
  • Social Policy: Implemented tax cuts for the middle class.

And these items are merely of the last 15 months. Also he increased trade with China, revenue the country can really use and achieved a higher trade settings with the EU and NATO, optionally also increased trade with Australia and New Zealand. All options whatever the conservatives throw in to the mix would never achieve as they are most likely not equipped with the knowledge of Economy that the present Prime Minister has.

So feel free to agree or disagree, but whatever America throws at Canada (like: Meanwhile, the Americans are demanding Canada change dairy access rules and drop some protections for its cultural sector, among other demands) which is funny, because that is decided by Canada, not the United States. 

So you all have a great day and remember it is still yesterday in Vancouver.

Leave a comment

Filed under Finance, Media, Politics

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,