Tag Archives: Belgium

January 31, 2025 · 20:44

In the mind of creativity

It’s always fun to show the shortcomings of Microsoft and others (Not Sony or Nintendo) and as such my mind created a new piece of IP. In this case I had to make a selection of sets (literally) And that setting took a little flight. In the game you start the game as a child (boy or girl) to make it more than cosmetic the boy and girl will have different abilities. Some will be alike, others decidedly different. Both have a disability. They cannot resort to violence or killing. As such stealth is your only weapon. 

I am still deciding if the first level is all in black and white (for the most) and as I saw it (in my mind)  when looking at important items, they become color when you focus on them. 

In the first mission, the intro mission you were taken by hoodlums, the have your sister (if you play the boy) or vice versa. They want you to steal something and only a child can get passed the blocks that would stop a grown man and it would make then visible to all.

As such the mission is simple. Take the item(s) and get out. Of course there are hints that this will never end, so you have your work cut out for you. This sets out the game and is not very remarkable. So lets add the stages. In level one the setting is the location for Rear Window (1954) with James Steward and Grace Kelly. In all it is close to a perfect reflection of the movie with all the people and as such you have your challenge. Stay out of sight of James Steward with his camera and avoid all other people. The achievements a few per level makes you the envy of Hollywood. As such you need to find a way to imply the criminals and you need to set the police on them (another challenge). So whilst you learn the game, we get to see the setting of observation icons (what others see), and we need to set the stage of where Jimmy is looking at. 

Another level is Petra which was used in Indiana Jones and the last Crusade (1989), but at that point both genders have additional powers. So that is what I ended up with after 2 hours of mesmerizing on what could be. Just a larger setting of gaming. So if you are an indy developer and you do NOT develop for Microsoft feel free to use the idea I set out here. In other thoughts I came up with locations. There is Salzburg, Nijo Castle in Kyoto, Grand Budapest Hotel in Görlitz, Duke Humfrey’s Library at Oxford, Ischia island in Italy, Café des Deux Moulins in Paris, Savoca in  Italy, Bruges in Belgium, and a few others. The idea is to set them in sets for of the age stages of the children. 

In this case I haven’t worked out the details yet for powers and the storyline. I want the storyline to have a twist of some kind and let the story unfold. As you are unable to free yourself from the hoodlums in level 1 you will get different missions and locations than if you are free to see the world. The additional setting if you lose your brother/sister you are more likely to become evil. That gives the game a few iterations to replay the game to get the achievements that you might want to get (some completionists are bound to for that goal) and that is all I got in 2 hours. So do you think that some game makers are innovative (not calling out the one I should). There is a business upside to buy it all, but it is murder on creativity and innovation. And the sneaky one (me) thought it was a good idea that after Microsoft bought some company for $69,000,000,000 (all cash), as such I would hand out free IP to others, so that they do not feel deserted (or ignored). that is my sense of humor in action.

Have a great day

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January 29, 2024 · 15:40

Pushing buttons

That is the name of the exercise and this time it is not just having a go at Microsoft, it is time to call Apple to attention as well. You see we have been pushing buttons on a keyboard for years, optionally for decades. Yet when did we see ACTUAL evolution in these contraptions? The most interesting evolutionary step was seen in CSI Miami in 2002 when an episode evolved around a laser keyboard display.

It didn’t go far enough, but it was a start, since then for 20 years. two hundred and forty months no less, both Apple and Microsoft have been spinning all kinds of innovation, but leaving a larger gap. You see, the world is globalising and both were part of that, but they never embraced the world, they merely pushed American values which are not the same.

Now consider this image below. The black keys are small LCD screens (or something similar). 

This is not a leap, this technology, all parts exist. On the iMac you can literally change the keyboard on your screen, a decent case can be made to make the iPad the Keyboard to ANY other Mac, but that is a different conversation. You see, the next part makes sen se if you know more than one language, this example shows us an Arabic version.

A setting that many have seen (millions actually). Japan, China, Korea, Arabic Nations, Pakistan, Ukraine and that list goes on for a while, even in Europe (France, UK) they have different setups. 

So here is the screen below

A simple example from Hiragana. With a home font (the white character) and Hiragana. This was not rocket science. The elements have been around for DECADES and Apple kept itself asleep at the wheel (no one cares about that snoring dumbo Microsoft). A setting that is strangling market research, Advertising and any corporations with foreign needs. I get it, such a keyboard (for now) isn’t cheap (expected $399), but over time as these edges of technology are explored more and more, the prices will go down and two multi trillion companies couldn’t figure this out? And Apple is even in more hot water. They could have set this up by having an iPad (which has 99% of these abilities) at the ready, to make that iPad a Bluetooth keyboard for any other Mac (MacBook or iMac) and they just didn’t look that far? Too many blinders mister Timmy the Cook? 

I wrote about these part (not to the complete degree now) a few years ago and none of these two entertainment jollies (clowns seem too harsh an expression) didn’t catch up? This is the issue with those proclaiming innovation and iterating themselves into the next decade year after year. Innovation comes from making the jump no one else considered and commerce is nice. You see when Apple comes with this idea at $399, someone will reengineer the idea into a $129 solution that works. It is iteration grown from innovation, but Apple made the innovative step, from there evolution comes. Was that hard? 

Are there issues?
Of course there are. Pricing might be a problem, but the keyboard has been neglected for decades, time to open that rusty door. In the end Apple can only start the setting, what comes next is up to the actual innovator. At the ready the iPad could become the start of new Bluetooth technology, which could lead to iPad based keyboards (more rectangle) and with a decently stronger screen. All options in front of the eyes of the Apple cook who seemingly overlooked it all and never looked beyond the blinders they all had. And as for the issues. Is it my job to fix all their shortcomings? Nope it is not, but with the IP at the ready and optionally a massive pay package, I can hand over some idea showing the others that I have a much stronger hand that is not out in the open (Amazon take notice please). You see Amazon could see this too, which means that multi character set design systems will take a much larger stage next, a stage that Azure/Oracle doesn’t actively has and that gives opportunity. You see the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is investing $200,000,000 in all kinds of IT solutions, the UAE has a $2,000,000,000 portfolio ready for startups. 2.2 billion and Amazon has options, so who else is asleep at the wheels (plural intended). Is it all to be had? Of course not, but gaining a slice of a 2.2 billion dollar cake is better then nothing and some people need to realise that the Middle East is here to stay and it is investing. So why not wake up, have a coffee and see where that could lead you? 

It is merely a thought, but who else gave you the option to consider a slice of a 2.2 billion yummy cake? And it all started with a keyboard, so where are these so called innovators now?

Enjoy Monday. 

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January 26, 2024 · 17:00

What is the real fear?

That was the first thought that hit me when I saw several articles like the one (at https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/jan/25/emirates-backed-stake-vodafone-security-risk-uae-uk-government) where we are given ‘UK says Emirates-backed stake in Vodafone poses national security risk’ and my first thought was ‘What?’ Now, lets be clear, I have no idea how true the statement is, for the longest time I saw Vodafail as a joke (I was a victim of their not so nice side a decade ago). Vodafone is almost everywhere (EU, UK, Australia) so why is the UK the only one crying foul? 

The article gives us “The Cabinet Office issued a notice late on Wednesday warning that the 14.6% stake held in Vodafone by Emirates Telecoms, amounted to a security concern given Vodafone’s strategic role in the UK’s telecommunications services.” Now, I don’t see the danger, but that might clearly be me. This is not my cup of tea. But all these companies whoring for dollars and investors have been playing on every field and now it is an issue? How about the board of Vodafone not whoring for investors? And why is the less than 15% a security risk? Then we are given “That move triggered the government to look into the deal under the National Security and Investment Act 2021, owing to Vodafone’s importance as strategic supplier of the UK government and being involved in the country’s cybersecurity infrastructure. However, the government had not previously made any public announcements saying it was looking into the partnership.” Now, as I personally see it, that act is 3 years old. At the moment of creation, why was there not a clear message that anyone involved in investing in infrastructure is prohibited in ‘courting’ investors? There is a clear case that if this is indeed stamped a security risk, there is a chance that the UAE can reclaim investment plus 50% damage bonus and Vodafail better cough up that dough (obviously they will charge the UK government for that).  

My question becomes ‘What is the real fear?’

In sight of “Under the terms of the strategic partnership, Emirates Telecom can increase its stake to just under 25%, while also having the opportunity to add another executive to the board if its ownership tops 20%.” I merely wonder what the danger (if any) there is. I honestly don’t know. You see Vodafone is in 16 countries and is stated to have over 160 million customers. If I had the money I might consider that and there has been several messages over the last 2 years that Vodafone cleaned up their act and services. There are several deals, mergers and investigations in place that give rise to the simple fact that certain people are placing their chess pieces (corporations) and they are (my speculation) in a stage that they do not want the UAE to be part of any of this. There is of course another option for the UAE. They could start to collect other telecom corporations and chisel the Vodafone slice down to a manageable size. I personally would start by grabbing places that give access to Germany and France, Vodafone has too much power there (and in some places too shoddy reception) and form there grow the market. France and Germany when properly grown would give access to Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Austria. From there Germany allows growth towards Poland and Czech Republic. It is a much slower path, but I reckon that these loud mouthed politicians will run for cover when Vodafone suddenly is worth 25%-35% less. Let’s be clear, I have no idea how there is a security risk ad we aren’t given that in any clear way, but as I personally see it “a security concern given Vodafone’s strategic role in the UK’s telecommunications services” if that was really true, why was Vodafone allowed to start partnerships? Is it to attract American dollars alone? I have no idea but the UAE and the KSA are the only ones with a credit card that is not maxed out at present. 

I am not telling you this is wrong, I cannot tell. I am asking what is the real fear? Because that is the larger issue in this instance. Just my €0.02 on the matter.

Enjoy Friday that is about to start for most of you and it is gone for 71% for me at the moment, but Saturday is just behind it.

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December 31, 2023 · 07:56

Here come the drums

That is the setting I saw yesterday. In the Netherlands We hear from the General of the army, or as some would say ‘hoogedelgestrenge generaal Martin Wijnen’ In most not so Dutch linguistic settings we can suffice with General Martin Wijnen. (At https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1850033/dutch-army-war-russia-eu-nato), in the article ‘Dutch must prepare for war! Army boss BEGS nation to arm up ‘as Russia getting stronger’’ we see the clear warning. There are too many indicators that Russia has no intent on stopping with the Ukraine. I used the British Newspapers Express. They weren’t alone, but at times we need to change venue. Whilst we might not agree with “The Dutch army chief has raised the alarm that “Russia is getting stronger” and that leader Geert Wilders, and his counterparts in the EU, needs to better prepare the Netherlands for war with Putin’s forces.” The clear truth of the matter is that Russia is about to mobiles up to 2.2 million soldiers. It is the old ‘dumb marketing strategy’ throw enough resources at a problem and the problem goes away. No matter how strong the Ukraine is, with that many additional soldiers they can just throw themselves at the Ukrainian battlements until the Ukrainian bullets run out. Not really the humane approach, but we never bothered to call Vladimir Putin out on that quirky detail did we? 

We were also given “The Netherlands should not think our safety is guaranteed because we are 1,500 kilometres away [from Russians].” I tend to agree. The fact that several nations are now sending weapons to Russia is also a factor. Russian junk is about to be replaced by working materials. The Ukrainians might have sunk a boatload of drones, but that is not all that is going there, is it? 

In addition we were given “The Netherlands is one of the founding members of NATO and is a staunch backer of Ukraine. Last week, outgoing PM Mark Rutte announced that his country would be sending Volodymyr Zelensky 18 F-16 fighter jets to fight the Russians.” Russia is unlikely to take kindly to that and there is no indication just how ready Germany and Poland are for an direct conflict with Russian forces, that 1,500,000 meter barrier is not going to last long is it? The best outcome is to make sure that the Ukraine wins this war, but at the speed that Russia is bombing the Ukraine, there might not be much left of it in the next 26 weeks. After that? I fully believe that the Ukrainians will fight for every inch of the Ukraine, but when there is nothing left one of the few options remaining is to fight Russia in Russia and that is a very different war, one they are less equipped for. 

As such I believe there is a lot of merit to the words of Martin Wijnen. The fact that the new Prime Minister of the Netherlands is pro-Russian will not help matters much, although the moment one assault on the Netherlands takes place he better change direction, or become the first Regent to face the deadly mobs since the execution of Johan de Witt on August 20th 1672. But not to worry, I feel certain that the media, YouTubers and TikTokkers will be there to cover it all in 4K.

The words of the general sound true. There is a worry and the worry should not be trivialised. No matter how it continues with the Ukraine, Russia needs a win, it needs one soon and Putin needs one to appease his Kremlin cronies. 

We have seen the damage that the Ukraine has dealt Russia, but they have a lot more and some of it actually works. My biggest fear is that Putin takes a lesson from the Hitler playbook and takes out a city in the Netherlands, not unlike was done on May 14th 1940. To think of that, how long until France, Germany and Belgium face that very same danger? I have no idea, and I reckon the rest of the world would instantly turn against Russia, still, there are too many ‘what if’s’ in that equation and I (for the most) hate what if settings. It fuels too much super good, or super bad thinking, extremes away from the expected and most unexpected norms. It fuels the wrong part of the thinker, which I personally believe is never a good thing. 

In all this General Wijnen is not alone in this setting, but I do believe too many nations remain silent on the matter. Germany spoke out for strengthening their armed forces, but in this setting the United Kingdom did not, neither (as far as I am aware) did France and for the most their Legion Etrangere is the only one ready to face whatever comes their way. And these 9,000 troops, their Legio Patria Nostra (or as I gigglingly call them, the well educated fathers of the night) could deal with about 40% of the total of Russian forces, but what would be left for the Dutch? OK, still enough, but France and Belgium better get ready to consider the darker setting of Europe as we consider the words of General Wijnen. 

So now on a lighter tone, it is time for the same joke I have been telling friends for well over a decade.

Q: Do you know the definition of sex 2023?
A: Todays is the last day to find out.

Enjoy this final day and stay safe around fireworks.

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April 30, 2023 · 17:12

You wanna be this stupid?

Now this comes from a place of frustration, optionally leaning to anger. The BBC (at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-65409971) gives us ‘What Europe’s royals could teach King Charles’ by Katty Kay. Now she could do all kinds of things (like taking care of 4 kids), she could focus on pumps, on corsages and on many things. But the idea that a yank is telling the UK what its king ‘could’ do is definitely no on with me. You see, His royal highness King Charles III has an example. A role model if you wish. His mother was Queen Elisabeth II, from 1952 until 2022, one of the longest reigning monarchs in history and perhaps the greatest monarch in human history. But the rather stupid person forgot about that part. What was this a simple article to get some money? With examples from Norway, Denmark and Belgium, so what about the Netherlands? What about Spain? Not good enough examples? So how about “After 21 years at the BBC, Kay left in May 2021 to join Ozy Media as its senior editor and executive producer. However, she resigned six months later from the digital media company following a New York Times report from Ben Smith alleging Ozy executives committed securities fraud”? What happened after that? Tail between your legs back to the BBC? This is a script by someone who made her own mistakes and that is fine, we all do. Yet this article without a mention of his mother who by a lot of people is regarded as the greatest monarch in history is one article too far. If only she had included her in this whatever you want to call it. The UK monarchy has had its share of issues, including a deceptive BBC journalist, who by my assessment is guilty of enabling the death of the Princes of Wales, formerly known as Diana Frances Spencer until her untimely demise in 1997. And it was that BBC shit Martin Bashir who had a hand in her death, you should have considered that before you opened your stupid mouth and decided to start writing silly articles. Katty might have gone further in her career writing about the latest style of pumps. 

Personally I see that it becomes more and more important to sanitise the BBC and see what other stupid people are there. It is turning into a second Fox News and we should prevent that whenever possible. 

Wow! I don’t think I have been this angry in a while, it feels good to let loose and we should. No matter how we see the coming reign of King Charles III and the challenges ahead of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth, but the greatest role model was the greatest monarch in human history, his mother. I think we can just sit back and relax whilst he gets a handle on matters. His family has earned that much (and much more).

So you all enjoy Sunday. I am going to see what more I can find. 

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April 16, 2023 · 23:21

Ripping apart international needs

There are a few things happening. In the first thee is Dutch politician Hoekstra trying to make Energy agreements with Saudi Arabia, but do not fear, there is every chance that extremist Edwin Wagensveld has been able to stop this effort, lets face it, the Netherlands is so small, they do not need any energy agreements. You see, one source gives us “An official statement said the suspect, 54, who resided in Germany, tore up the Quran in front of the Dutch parliament in The Hague on Jan. 22, while saying things such as: “The Quran is a fascist book. Just as bad as (Hitler’s biography) Mein Kampf. Its followers are pursuing the same ideology as Hitler.”” All whilst CNN gives that news in Bahasa (CNN Indonesia) and it seems that CNN has decided that this news does not matter, so over the last 4 hours no English version of this news was given to us. So what makes the western news this unreliable? And this is not the first setting, there was Sweden before this and now we see the stage where Edwin Wagensveld is making headway in separating options away from nations through religious discrimination. Their movement PEGIDA (Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the West) has been around for almost a decade and they will not learn. The people are sick and tired of paedophilic Catholic clergy, they are sick and tired of being lied to and being shoved fake values and norms through their throat. More and more are considering Islam as a worthy pursuit. When you consider that Christianity is at 2.382 billion and Islam is now at 1.907 billion. Yet these numbers shift further when we consider that Neo-Paganism is making its way back and that might be slow, the Nordic people have had enough of Christianity. No matter how that slices, the Christian values are seen as unacceptable and the anti-Islamic parties like PEGIDA are a joke, bullying with discrimination, whilst more and more into the realm of starting their own extreme version of Christianity which should never be seen as one. And the Dutch government? Well the quote “Dutch police granted an extreme anti-Islam extremist permission to tear the Quran without burning it, but he tore it and defiled it with protection from them, and later burned it.” Is saying something. A German is telling the Dutch where it is at (a WW2 reference). And I reckon that the Saudi Government is in a state where it might tell the Dutch politician where it is going unless people like Edwin Wagensveld are dealt with. This is not new. The Islamic population have THEIR rules on the image of Muhammed, the Quran and this is not new, this has been around for centuries. And in a stage where Christianity is declining all over the planet, the extremists are trying to stop the turn by inciting hate. And after the non-caring bosses all over the planet, they have had enough and they are seeking a better and more truthful way of life. Is it Islam? I cannot tell, but the information comes more and more clear that Christianity is not the way and that is a massive turn since the turn of the century. The people have been lied to since 1095 when Pope Urban II was waving the Vatican sceptre. They remained mostly silent during WW2 and after that the numbers went from bad to worse, you only need to see the film Spotlight (2010) and check their numbers to see how bad it got. 

But in the end, this EU needs to reassess the laws they are pushing. Now that Religious discrimination against Islam and the state of Israel keeps on growing, the laws are no longer acceptable. So consider “Saudi Minister of Energy Abdulaziz bin Salman and Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra met to discuss the possibility of making the port of Rotterdam the gateway for clean hydrogen exports from Saudi Arabia to Europe” Rotterdam is the best solution, but with the events around the Quran and with at least three ports that could be the considered destination, what do you think that an Islamic nation will chose? It is a serious question, because I do not have the answer. I do not have the answer, especially as the bulk of the Western Media decided not to report on it, as such those protecting the Quran will have to consider where THEIR faith will get the most respect and it could be that in the end the Hydrogen deal could go to France or Belgium before it goes to the Netherlands. It is a valid way to rip apart international needs. It starts with holding both sides in equal respect and people like Edwin Wagensveld are making sure that this does not happen, so what happens to people like that who consistently revert to religious discrimination? Aren’t there EU laws in place to stop that? And if not, why not? 

Simple questions to see you through the day.

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April 8, 2022 · 02:22

Dedicated discrimination

Yes, it is a weird term, but it happens. It is happening all around you and you might not be aware. It hit me in the last week. Two events took place and it shone a limelight on the event. Yesterday morning I got drenched. In 10 minutes I faced more rain (without an umbrella) than in the sum of rain events over the last 17 years. So you better believe that there was not a dry thread of clothing on me. This started the train, but the train was already on its tracks leaving the station. You see, the second train is not that obvious. I saw a copy of Dante Alighieri’s Inferno. I really liked the pressing, the cover, the way it was all depicted (with images). It was a fine piece of work. So I enquired about the other two parts. Purgatory and Paradise. But the other two parts were never released. I never got that part. It was not the first time, yes to part one and no to parts two and three? An incomplete work? It seems odd to do this. My mind stored the information, but I did not know what to do about it yet. It was yesterday when the trains collided. You see I needed a rain coat, a waterproof coat and I went to the best place for this. Kathmandu. The coats are not the cheapest, but they do tend to be the best. 

Here we have a larger issue. You see One report gives us “In 2017–18, an estimated 2 in 3 (67%) Australians aged 18 and over were overweight or obese (36% were overweight but not obese, and 31% were obese). That’s around 12.5 million adults” and this is the link. I am not a small person, I am well above 3XL. Shops like Kathmandu, David Jones, Country Road and a hell of a lot more they will not cater beyond 2XL. Now consider that they are all catering to one third of the population, how screwed up is that? It is like they merely cater to a margin and let the rest drown in rainwater. It is not the first time I witnessed this, but it is the first time I was in actual need of something waterproof and the shops told me in no uncertain way to stop being a fat fuck. It is not that three heart attacks are not motivational. It is not the fact that my medication has side effects. But it is the shops who knowingly and intentionally set the premise of discrimination. In 5 other shops visited I got the same news “We do not have anything beyond 2XL”, so when these places get some kind of bankruptcy deal, I will be happy to register a complaint that such places are not eligible for protection due to a matter of discrimination. And it is time for the governments to make sure that this rule is stamped on the premise of application for bankruptcy. It is time for those who walk on margins to lose their appeal. Yes, I do get it, it might merely be me (and 67% of the rest of Australians), but it is happening all over Europe, all over the US and in many other places. Those above 2XL are not allowed to be fashionable, why is that? 

Why is the stage that we merely learn about inferno, yet Purgatory and Paradise are stricken from the stage of learning? In a stage where a complete body of work is important a stage of partial filtering, a form of dedicated discrimination is merely allowed and merely overlooked by too many.

As such when you can no longer get a complete set of Harry Potters, a complete set of Dune books.  How long will it take for people to realise that filtering has been part of their lives for decades. They might not realise it, they might not care, but when the missing parts become adamant, how will people react? 

Go to a store and you will find 38 David Bowie albums ranging from $10 to $55. And yes limited editions are a bit more expensive, there is no objection to that. Yet now seek the Soundtrack to Dune, that has become import only for $55. When we seek a game like NHL22, we see none in Australia, and it makes sense. Yet you cannot order it either. Yet the game store in Canada does have NHL22, and they offer it $40 cheaper for PS5. We are already being filtered. We are becoming redacted as margins and in an age of online shops this does not make sense. Yes, we get it, no EBGames in Australia will have a stock of the stuff, but not to be able to order it? And it is not the first time this is happening. We see more and more filtering of goods, limiting what we are ‘allowed’ to buy as a consumer. Try getting a cricket game in Belgium or Sweden. Yes, they will have NHL, hockey is big in Sweden, but the filtering is on the road, it is growing and it is taking global proportions. We accept it to some degree, that is logic, but when the margins of logic are bordering our movements? When will we shout out? Dedicated discrimination is as dangerous as filtering the news, the problem is that not everyone sees it that way and when it is too late, it will merely be too late. A stage of choice is moving all over the place, but the question becomes, who is making the choice, and who is making choices FOR us? 

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March 20, 2022 · 21:55

A social direction

This happens, in all the stupidity, the harshness and the fatalities of war, we look in other directions, we look for the good in places, in people, in foods and in entertainment. Our bodies and our souls can only take so much negativity until we start seeking out positivity in any way we can. This is pretty much on all of us. The problem for some is that they CANNOT avoid the negativity. Through war, through social issues, through personal issues. It is a clambake of barriers that we set up and that keep us in place. We all have these moments and these time stages. We can try to avoid them, but the negativity draws in, just like positivity when it happens. So there I was sitting on the couch watching Blindspot season 4 on dvd when I saw ‘Saudi Arabia ranks 25th in UN World Happiness Report’ (at https://www.arabnews.com/node/2045881/saudi-arabia). Of all the things I expected to see, that was not one of them. To be honest  I have no idea where they were, but they moved up one step from 26 in a year. The full report (at https://happiness-report.s3.amazonaws.com/2021/WHR+22.pdf) gives us more. You see the numbers show that they are one place behind the UAE and both are really close to the scores of France, Belgium, UK and US. Yet there is also the setting that Arab News gives us “The report has been based on two key ideas: That happiness or life evaluation can be measured through opinion surveys, and that we can identify key determinants of well-being and thereby explain the patterns of life evaluation across countries,” That is a little more than I bargained for. I am not disputing the approach but how many people? The PDF does give us that. 156 countries and 1853 observations (per nation I guess). Yet if that is the case and we know Saudi Arabia has 35 million people, we might see that stage. Yet Belgium has 12 million people and the US has 330 million people, so how is there a stage of equality? How can 1853 people be a genuine stage for happiness in the US? How is the stage of opinions towards regression become a scale of happiness? How were these numbers created? Technical box 2 gives us more (page 20), but there is a larger issue. We see 2017 World Development Indicators (WDI) that came BEFORE covid. They use GDP time series from the OECD economic outlook no. 110 (edition December 2021) with the added ‘or if missing’ and there the problem lies. Statistical result connected to other statistical results. I once learned (1992) that this is a really wrong setting to work from. Apart from the stage that it could be based on very different people, there were different economic boundaries and other issues in play. But overall it took me three minutes to combine data into questions and reservations on this report. It is nice to see all these happy people pictures, but it is window dressing, and it makes me more apprehensive of the report then less. There is a feeling of orchestration. The image of a man wearing an ‘offline hustler’ t-shirt with the small caption of ‘every move won’t be posted’, it merely brings out the negativity in me. And it is ‘consistency of emotion changes across countries in the 5 weeks after the outbreak’, you see what date was used for the 5 week stage? December in China? When? It matters because covid hit us at different times, there seems to be no real explanation there. So how was Twitter used for these 1853 people? Is twitter separate, how many twitter observations per nation? The list goes on and grows. Still, it is an impressive piece of work, if there was a way to get better and more complete explanations it could work. But I hesitate when page 144 gives me “we approached the analyses by 2 interlinked hypotheses. (1) balance/harmony matter to all people; and (2) balance/harmony are dynamics at the heart of well-being. As we have seen, both hypotheses were corroborated to some extent” Really? 1853 observations out of 330 million Americans? How does that show any level of corroboration? 

The more of the report I saw, the more questions I ended up with. I wonder who else have a serious set of questions and I wonder when the media will ask Gallup more questions, Personally I doubt they will ever bother.

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March 6, 2022 · 03:13

The intelligence nightmare

Yes, that is how I see it. You think that you have seen it all? It is about to get worse and the BBC actually is showing us the start of it. With ‘Thousands of pro-Russia Serbs march in Belgrade’ we are merely scratching the surface. The article (at https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-europe-60630351) does not give much, but it gives us “Friday’s march was a show of support for Moscow after its invasion of Ukraine. Serbia has religious, ethnic and political ties with Russia that have existed for centuries” You see it is a lot worse, Serbian arms dealers are all over Europe. Paces like Rotterdam, London and Paris come to mind, but there are more and now as we see all the pro Russian events starting, we see a stage where Serbs could destabilise most of western Europe. They can fuel lone wolves tying hands all over the place and they sit back and watch the chaos unfold. A setting Moscow really likes. So how speculative is this? Well the issues with arm dealers in these three places alone are worrisome and they have been for the longest of times seeing a lot more visibility in 2020. Now with this BBC article it is still speculative to connect the two, but I am not sure that it is merely speculation. There have been issues for the longest of times and it is merely brought to the surface and a more visible pedestal now. 

The problem is that a lot was not monitored for the longest of time and now the intelligence organisations are lacking information on too many sides. Some sources (unconfirmed ones) give rise to activities in Denmark, Sweden, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, UK, Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, Luxembourg, USA, Norway, Montenegro and Austria. Do you really think it is all speculation? They have been busy under nearly everyones noses for over a decade and now that Russia is pushing the buttons, some are claiming allegiance, some are waking up and some are set to set Western Europe on fire. Which is which? I cannot tell, but there are connections on all kinds of levels. Did no one consider why Russian weaponry was relatively easy to get in Amsterdam and Rotterdam? In 2020 the Times gave us “While Serbia had a glut of Cold War-era stockpiles and a robust but underused defence industry, the Iraqi government was ill-equipped to battle an insurgency. So in late 2007 the two countries struck a £190 million deal to bring Serbian assault rifles, machine guns, anti-tank weapons, ammunition, explosives and other ordnance to Iraq”, I personally believe that these pipelines were there to also get Russian weapons into Iraq, and not merely the ones they have, to a larger degree the Russians provided hardware and that sets a new station, the station of storage. The Netherlands has been (for the longest time), a transitional port of arms, but there is also the speculation (never proven) that at times a container was ‘misplaced’ and ended on Dutch soil, a container filled with arms. So, how much of this is speculation? There is a fair amount of it, but I worked in the harbours of Rotterdam, when I was young and gullible, so anything is possible. Yet in this day and age, when serbs are ‘proclaiming loyalty’ do you want to take that chance? I will let you figure it out.

And whilst you do the Intelligence organisations of Europe will have to take a harsh look at what they have on the Serbs in their domain, because they really do not get to have a choice in that matter, not anymore.

And me? I have found a few more cogs to add to the previous story, I like to remain creative.

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November 30, 2021 · 22:49

Notice not given

We get that, we sometimes do not inform people. Yet in a stage where lives are in danger, where lives are on a stage where we cannot say whether they live or they will die. Is it moral, or even justified not to inform the people?

That was the setting we have seen in the last few days. I took notice to some effect, but in a stage where I have no influence, I merely set myself into some setting of a wait state. Awaiting more information before I take a larger stand against or for something. 

So the BBC gives us (at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-59453842) 22 hours ago ‘South Africa’s president calls for lifting of Omicron travel bans’, you might want to say that is fair, but is it? Consider “Cyril Ramaphosa said he was “deeply disappointed” by the action, which he described as unjustified, and called for the bans to be urgently lifted”, unjustified? How about informing the people and the experts of the larger setting that omicron forms? The Dutch NOS gave us (at https://nos.nl/l/2407414) ‘Omikron is in the Netherlands, many questions on this new variant’. As such 13 of the 624 passengers have the omicron variant, so the Dutch get a plane full of the people and no one thought of making sure that these people do NOT travel? And when we see “Little is known on the omicron variant”, as such the other message on the BBC (at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-59463879) where we see ‘No need to panic, South African minister says’, I think he has got to be out of his fucking mind. And even as we see “The heavily mutated variant was detected in South Africa earlier this month and then reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) last Wednesday”, and how come the Netherlands are seemingly in the dark? The variant is seen in several nations, so it is clear that a travel ban needed to be more complete and a lot more shown across nations. It is now in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Botswana, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Israel, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, and United Kingdom. We are told that the Ditch cases come from South Africa, I cannot tell if the other nations have the same origin. Yet the stage of a new version in this many cases and South Africa crying on lifting travel bans is just too ludicrous to consider. The larger question remains. How did this variant gets out so far and so wide? I wonder if we ever get a clear answer to this. 

And when we see “South Africa reported 2,800 new infections on Sunday, a rise from the daily average of 500 in the previous week” we see a larger setting. It is not sure how this version got to be, but South Africa has been instrumental to allegedly spreading it all over the globe. In addition, the NY Times reports that scientists are trying to find out whether the current vaccines can stop Omicron, it seems that they do not know. So as such the response we see in the BBC article “Cyril Ramaphosa said he was “deeply disappointed” by the action, which he described as unjustified, and called for the bans to be urgently lifted”, is complete BS. If anything the travel ban should have ben imposed a lot sooner then it was. 

In addition, when we see “Salim Abdool Karim said he expected the number of cases to reach more than 10,000 a day by the end of the week, and for hospitals to come under pressure in the next two to three weeks”, which now implies that several nations will be in serious trouble soon enough. In this Salim Abdool Karim is the South African government adviser and epidemiologist. And from those assessments, there wee see a government person stating that the travel ban is unjust? Go cry me a river (please).

A stage that might not be blamed South Africa, but in light of what we see, I reckon that Cyril Ramaphosa needs to be clearly considering that the rest of the planet is considering that it was unjust that he let this variant spread on such a global stage. And this is not the first time that governments are slow to react, or to impose clear restrictions. Well on the upside, if this kills off another few million people the unemployment issue will be largely solved, optionally housing issues in metropolitan areas might be solved too. 

And there is a larger stage that will be there soon enough. How many houses/apartment will not be sellable until it has been biologically cleansed? How long until COVID statistics are part of the reporting governments? These are a few of the notices not given, but governments (always eager to blame someone else) might not get a choice here. If COVID is an impediment on commerce, the reporting of COVID will be regarded as important and there will be government needs to belittle related issues soon thereafter. 

What a nice week we are heading into. 

P.S. There are no numbers from Russia, China, Egypt, Qatar, UAE and Saudi Arabia. It is possible that they avoided this risk, but I do feel it is too soon for them to howl hurrah! Especially as the World Cup in Qatar started this week.

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