Tag Archives: Egypt

June 4, 2025 · 12:32

About the setting of prayers

This is about the Hajj, it is not a negative piece as I refuse to put any religion negatively. Perhaps the Catholic side as I was raised a Catholic. So as we get the the Hajj, which starts in a little over 12 hours. We start with the Bangkok Post (at https://www.bangkokpost.com/world/3038397/no-permit-no-hajj-says-saudi-arabia) where we see ‘No permit, no hajj, says Saudi Arabia’. I get that and as we see “Last year, 1,301 pilgrims, most of them unregistered and lacking access to air-conditioned tents and buses, died as temperatures soared to 51.8 degrees Celsius (125.2 degrees Fahrenheit)”, as well as ““Since the end of last season, we realised the biggest challenge is preventing unauthorised pilgrims from undermining the success of the hajj season,” said one official helping organise the hajj, requesting anonymity” I get that, I pointed this out in my lest years writings, even as many did not, they were all about blaming the Saudi governments of that failure. In addition, these settings of media never dug into the tour operators fleecing profits and living these tourists to their doom. But the media ignored that side of the equation as they reported their blame settings. Even with these unregistered Hajj seekers, the casualty list remains below 0.1% of the visitors, and when we filter this out we get a setting that the casualties in a setting of 51 degrees heat celsius remains a mere 0.018%, which is nothing short of absolutely astounding. I reckon that any western nation has yet to reveal a setting with over 600,000 people (half of what the Hajj got) and that little casualties. Consider that the Saudi government does nearly everything to keep people safe. A remarkable setting to say the least. 

Then we get to the second item, which is given to us by News Central Africa (at https://newscentral.africa/saudi-arabia-tightens-crackdown-on-unregistered-hajj-pilgrims-after-deadly-heatwave/) where we see ‘Saudi Arabia Tightens Crackdown on Unregistered Hajj Pilgrims After Deadly Heatwave’ and here we get “Saudi Arabia is intensifying its efforts to prevent unauthorised participation in the annual hajj pilgrimage, a year after extreme heat led to the deaths of over a thousand pilgrims, most of whom were unregistered.” With the additional “One organiser, who wished to remain anonymous, said that since the end of last year’s pilgrimage, preventing unauthorised worshippers has been a top priority. The hajj is one of Islam’s five pillars, and Muslims who are physically and financially able must perform it at least once in their lifetime. However, due to a quota system, permits are limited and distributed via a lottery, making the costly official route unaffordable for many. As a result, some pilgrims opt for cheaper, unofficial alternatives” I personally see why this person wants to stay anonymous. As I personally see it, their ‘sales staff’ seemingly saw a way around the permit setting and sold them using alternative settings. It is a speculatively view, but the setting makes sense when you consider the 1100 casualties without a permit and the 14 countries that has the ban are India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Nigeria, Jordan, Algeria, Sudan, Ethiopia, Tunisia, Yemen, and Morocco (according to a source). It makes a lot more sense when you consider the facts that ‘Nearly 270,000 pilgrims without permits stopped from entering Mecca’ (source: Euro News) where we see “Saudi Arabia has stopped nearly 269,678 pilgrims without authorisation from entering Mecca during the annual Hajj pilgrimage. The government blames overcrowding at the Hajj on participants without permits. It also says they made up large numbers of the 1,300 people who died in last year’s searing summer heat.” So, so you think the pool of an additional 15% all came to the thought by themselves, or were tour operators involved? The Guardian gave us last year that tour operators made promises that caused the deaths of several, and as I see it (at least through western media) this was never investigated. This does not mean that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia didn’t investigate this, it merely means that I don’t know what happened in that specific scenario. My view that I had last year is also seemingly proven correctly as Euro News also gave me “Officials have also imposed penalties on more than 23,000 Saudi residents for violating Hajj regulations and revoked the licenses of 400 Hajj companies.” I get that over the cuties there are a lot of companies involved, but the setting of 400 Hajj companies clearly astounds me. 

And with this I salute the Hajj 2025 participants and wish them a blessed and meaningful Hajj, and I hope for Allah’s acceptance of their pilgrimage, or in shorter terms Hajj Mubarak. Let their journey be a safe one and their pilgrimage a fulfilling one. Have a great day you all.

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June 2, 2025 · 16:59

The obvious under attack

I have my own views on settings. In the first I am certain that Hamas needs to be eradicated. It is not for Israel, although they benefit massively. It is the fact that Hamas is the nameless animal that Iran uses to inflict pressured on parts of The Arabian peninsula that do not go their way. And I see that certain Hamas leaders are getting funds from other parties as well. In short, they will attack Saudi Arabia and the UAE at some point as they gain more and more certainty in the world. This does not sit well with Iran. I voiced their eradication as they are likely have ‘tools’ to influence the structural integrity of several parts of NEOM. It won’t be big, just a concrete ‘anomaly’ but one that will cost the KSA millions to fix and it will make them look bad. That is my personal believe and it might or might not happen. But as I see it, under Qasem Soleimani it would have definitely happened. Yet now, Israel is shooting themselves in the foot by setting the premise (according to Al Jazeera, at https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/6/1/saudi-arabia-calls-israel-barring-arab-ministers-west-bank-trip-extremism) ‘Saudi Arabia calls Israel barring Arab ministers West Bank trip ‘extremism’’ It leaves me with several questions. So according to the byline we are given “Foreign ministers from Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE had planned the visit to discuss Palestinian statehood and end to war on Gaza.” As we take a look at the second article giving us (at https://arab.news/bm5bm) ‘Arab ministers denounce Israeli ‘arrogance’ over blocking West Bank visit’ where we are given “Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said the Israeli government’s refusal to allow Arab ministers to the occupied West Bank showed its “extremism and rejection of peace.” His statements came during a joint press conference with counterparts from Jordan, Egypt, and Bahrain in Amman.” The question I have is why Israel is involved, they could enter the West Bank from Jordan. The ‘legalized’ setting is that “As of June 2024, 146 (75.6%) of the 193 member states of the United Nations have recognised the State of Palestine within the Palestinian territories, which are recognized by Israel to constitute a single territorial unit, and of which the West Bank is the core of the would-be state.” I actually get that Israel has to be involved, but this setting shows that there is a much larger stage where Israel is getting kicked around and the has to stop and Hamas made this impossible with their hostage situation. Even as they should not be part of this, the shouts of ‘Palestine should be free’ by radicals who have no idea what is happening and this is where they can rely on a million plus anti-Semites, and as their troops are dwindling, they use whatever they can. As such I see that there are issues, but Israels setting to block this visit isn’t helping anyone, not even the state of Israel (as I personally see it). 

Yet the larger setting was opened in 2002 where we were given “However, the “Road Map” states that in the first phase, Palestinians must end all attacks on Israel, whereas Israel must dismantle all outposts.” I personally see that the attacks need to end is essential, the dismantling of the outposts is not. I get that Israel needs to keep its outposts (on Israeli soil), so why is this so hard? They should have seen that 23 years could have been much more constructive if these two parts were kept in the first place. As I see it, in the last 20 years several Americans had ‘their’ view on matters, solving nothing. So why not give this Arabian party of ministers a try in getting things resolved? If Hamas strikes now, they will be building their own coffin and their end is pretty much assured. The second setting is that there are two areas, Area A and B. They are themselves divided among 227 separate areas (199 of which are smaller than 2 km2), this is almost insane. At some point someone needs to back off (implying that this is Israel). These 199 areas makes for an impossible setting and simplifying that might be a first step in resolving issues. So when we see that 11 governorates used as administrative divisions by the Palestinian National Authority, Israel, and the IDF and named after major cities. This setting is shouting ‘disaster is imminent’ and if I get called that I am dead wrong. I will agree, I know too little of this setting to call this, but at times a fresh set of eyes are needed (I am not claiming that I am that view), but I am willing to bet that Egypt (Badr Abdelatty), Jordan (Ayman Safadi), Qatar (Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani), Saudi Arabia (Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud), and the UAE (Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed), they might see solutions that break through some concepts and if it gives the area peace, why block it? 

I personally think that Israel made a bad call in this instance, but then, what do I know?

Have a great Monday, time for me to hit the pasta preparation shelf.

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May 12, 2025 · 16:58

America’s shifting phase

This morning Arab News (at https://arab.news/9hjca) gave us ‘First Saudi-made THAAD system parts completed in Jeddah’ Saudi Arabia has been aiming for the need of internal national interests to have this done. We are given “Saudi Arabia has completed the first domestically manufactured components for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system launcher in Jeddah, marking a significant step forward in the Kingdom’s ongoing efforts to localize its defense industry.” And as we are given “Tim Cahill, president of missiles and fire control at Lockheed Martin; Nawaf Al-Bawardi, assistant deputy of the General Authority for Military Industries; and Wasim Attieh, president of AIC.” We seemingly are all OK with this, this is not really news. Saudi Arabia was aiming for this all along. In this case the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system launcher (THAAD) was on show. But the story goes beyond that. I reckon that the FEINDEF 2025 (Spain) as from today was the second initial kick off, but there were other symptoms. There was the (DSA 2024) in Kuala Lumpur and the International Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEX/NAVDEX) in Abu Dhabi, UAE. I personally believe that Saudi Arabia kept close eyes on the ready date of this system as it allows them to gain interest from Bangladesh, Egypt and Indonesia, they might not be ‘big league’ material, but Bangladesh and Egypt represent almost $5 billion each and Indonesia represents $11 billion. Now, they don’t spend it all in one go, but Saudi Arabia is said to get a speculated part of that and even with a mere 200 million (over all three) that becomes a massive boost for the Saudi Defence industry, even more so, it would be revenue that America and Russia loses. Gives the expression “when two dogs fight for a bone, the third runs away with it” a new side to that equation. So as Lockheed Martin is locking in their services and consultancy for close to another decade, Saudi Arabia’s first delivery system is gaining strength in the defence industry. Bangladesh being 35th, Egypt 19th and Indonesia 16th. They are giving strength to the Saudi Defence industry. So as I saw that market evolve in February 10th 2022 in my story ‘Oh darn, I am missing out’ (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2022/02/10/oh-darn-i-am-missing-out/) with those decrepit tea grannies, it took Saudi Arabia a mere 3 years to evolve their own market. They now have their own industry. So cry “stop arming Saudi Arabia” all you like, the only thing they’d hurt was the British defence industry. And as I see it, they are about to do a lot more than hurt ‘the British business’, they are gaining political power by giving the Arabian nations and Asian nations their own voice, not hindered by America, Russian or British political powers. Now they (meaning Saudi Arabia) become the global political power player.

As I see that, I am reminded of the old setting that my granny complained about the essential need of the young to rely their technology, so I switched off her life support. How’s that for fun?

The world is getting smaller and the reach of every nation is increasing and now we see clear settings (not through alleged sport washing) that Saudi Arabia is becoming the larger power in the global arena. In the 2025 edition of “The Military Balance” from the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) is currently on the 7th place, yet if this takes off Saudi Arabia will be in a position to become 5th, optionally 4th and their defence industry will be making a profit as the Arabian nation will see that Saudi Arabia is the ‘friend’ to hold in esteem, as that starts happening Pakistan might also change vendor it is at present a mere $10 billion, but as it is only 12% of India, it might see reason to switch if Saudi Arabia is willing to talk shop and that is another slice of pie that will not end in America’s or England’s budget. As I personally see it a start has been made for Saudi Arabia to become less dependent on their oil industry. Starting ‘small’ is a beginning, so as Saudi Arabia creates more options. I reckon that they would likely evolve their drone industry next, Saudi Arabia is becoming a much larger industry. Only 5 years ago we would have seen an industry with America, Russia, China and the United Kingdom as players. Now even at 5th place, Saudi Arabia becomes the new player in town and that sets a new premise for global economies. Russia and America never had to share that revenue pie and I guess they will have to content with less as per 2026 onwards. 

A nice setting for Saudi Arabia who is likely to seek more revenue from Pakistan as it is outmatched to India at 2:1 in the best settings they can hope for and that allows for larger business benefits for Saudi Arabia. We tend to forget that war is business and their business is war. A little outdated setting, but we forget that it isn’t ugly to some, it is a payday. An essential need for any nation is to defend itself from enemies hostilities and that setting is over 2000 years old. It was given to us by Julius Caesar (that Italian dude). He did so in Commentarii de Bello Gallico at 50BC.

I reckon that the Saudi defence industry will be more than a simple blip by the time we get to 2027, still three years ahead of the schedule we saw 5 years ago. 

And as I personally see it, these tea grannies (CAAT) are still drinking tea, but the option for a biccie with that tea will soon be done for, because the revenue you hurt also impacts what you can have and they vied for less, so they will have less. I take my learning from someplace else. America decided to hurt Huawei as they were a threat, now we have HarmonyOS entering version 5.0, and Reuters gave us last November that ‘Huawei wants 100,000 apps on Harmony OS within a year’, and set that against Alphabet (Google) had announced plans to cut 12,000 jobs, or 6% of its global workforce In January 2023, Amazon laying off 14,000 people in name of efficiency? (Source: MSN) and in 2023 Microsoft laid off approximately 10 000 employees followed by an additional 4 000 roles being cut in 2024. So with these big three ‘decimated’, who will counter Huawei? As I see it no one and now Huawei will have another industry to set foot in. Because all these Saudi systems require automation (as well as other options) as such HarmonyOS will be seen almost everywhere and that is only the beginning. Those who push to limit others, merely limit themselves and we have plenty of evidence there.

As I see it the shifting space of America is seeing that they never wanted other to be in certain places. This sounded like an idea in the 80’s when America was a global power, but they no longer are. They are mere steps away from becoming a third world country. You cannot remain a 3.4% military spending of GDP whilst being seen as a 37% of global spending. A 997 Billion invoice where in the fiscal year 2024, the U.S. federal government collected $4.92 trillion, not whilst you have $36.21 trillion in federal debt (and they cannot pass a budget either), it just cannot be done. As such the America setting will implode all whist their tech is set to impossible markers. 

As we consider this and we consider that the Russian stage merely sounds better (whilst it isn’t) there is every possibility that be 2027/2028 Saudi Arabia could become 4th or 3rd as a defence industry by that time. The idea that Saudi Arabia surpasses or equals America in three years is making me giggle. How the mighty fall, so how’s that for looking great, President Trump? It started on your watch in 2020 and almost a decade later you become allegedly surpassed by Saudi Arabia by 2027, a nice footnote in your memories and I reckon you will blame everyone but yourself in that writing. I am curious what the World Defense Show 2026 in Riyadh International Convention and Exhibition Center will give us. I reckon that Saudi Arabia will have a few nice surprises in that show. I am willing to bet that Huawei will have a stand there to in showing us what the Internet of things driven by HarmonyOS will give the world.  I reckon you need to reserve tickets for the event  on February 8-12, 2026 now. As I see it the first day will be for the larger customers, so February 8th has been sold out to preferred customers. So, when will you optionally go? 

I won’t be invited, so let me know how the snacks were, they tend to be magnificent at these events. Now I’m hungry, time for some peppered crackers. Have a great day.

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May 3, 2025 · 02:25

Where is the gem?

That is the setting I am faced with. You see, like McCarthy had his Russian phobia, Trump is now delivering the Chinese phobia, also known as the yellow fear. We can argue how right McCarthy was in light of the events from the last few years (and a decade before that), But as the yellow fear is grasping America, the question becomes, is it a valid one? I am not denying that there are issues, the larger setting is now on big tech. You see Apple known for its multi trillion dollar value is now under the hammer. The article (at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c86jx18y9e2o) gives us ‘Apple says most US-bound iPhones no longer made in China’ the issue is not that they aren’t made in China. The stage becomes where are they made now? At present Apple is giving us that “It comes as the technology giant estimated that US import taxes could add about $900m (£677.5m) to its costs in the current quarter, despite Trump’s decision to spare key electronics from the new tariffs.” Yet as I see it, the focus is in the wrong area. It is not where it is build now, the question becomes “At what loss?” And it is not money I am speaking of. These plants are Chinese in nature (as far as I can tell), and now we get a very new stage. No matter where they are set. China might not like it that certain IP manufacturing settings will leave China, which would be an acceptable move. Not for Apple and the losses they will receive because of it, and there the tariff war takes another bite out of the meat that is American Revenue. I am not stating that this will be great, but even at a mere 2% loss of quality it will impact numbers and it will hit Apple’s customer satisfaction. A simple setting that will impact the Apple revenue bottom line and it will be more than dollars. This could (could being the operative word) impact customer care numbers too. A whole new area for Apple to maneuver against the economic currents it is fishing in.

As Timmy the Cook gives us “He also said Apple is shifting its supply chain for US-bound products away from China, but it is India and Vietnam that are poised to be major beneficiaries of that move.” It is the setting that I fear, as China is pushed out, whomever gets the new ‘victory’ is likely to be no more than 95% of what China delivered and that impacts, so even if there is merely 1% impact (I fear it is larger) it impacts numbers of produced iPhones, as well as the QC of the product. So not only will Apple see less results, if this holds up the loss of quality (with an impact of more service patches) will upset its customers to no end and the speculative result is that this more merely impacts the need for a Huawei phone (I would be OK with the jump from Apple to Google), which will feel good for Google, but Apple will not be pleased. 

So as we consider “China will remain the country of origin for the vast majority of total products sold outside the US, he added.” With the setting that Made for America will not have the rosy stage that President Trump is hoping for. I might think that Apple will not like it either. And with “However moving production lines to India will take time and significant investment, costing billions of dollars”, with the added “Apple have said they want to invest $500B over the next few years.” And that still comes with my speculated expected loss of quality, a setting that Apple never wanted, or never opted for. 

So what is the real threat? Is it China or has it become President Trump?

Even as the Financial review gives us ‘Apple and Amazon have no idea what’s coming’, I myself don’t agree. They are very much aware that they know. The American Administration howling like little puppies that Amazon was making moves to give their customers a look at what the tariff was doing to their goods with ‘Donald Trump slams Amazon’s rejected plan to display cost of tariffs on goods’ (source: ABC News) I wonder when people will figure out to ask questions from an administration bend on hiding additional charges (to customers) and consider that the quote “US President Donald Trump has labelled a reported plan by online retailer Amazon to display the cost of US tariffs on its products as a “hostile and political act”.” Is clear evidence that this America Administration is all about a lack of transparency. It is the statement from Shanti Kelemen, chief investment officer at M&G Wealth where I have issues. I do not deny that her statement is true, but lacking “There will still be tariffs that impact the supply chains [for Apple] and a cost to move them and build new factories” It took years to get the Chinese factories to work at the level they are now working at. The other factories will have to go through all these pains to get them running and that is before you consider that there would also be staffing issues. China and India have different settings in mental achievements. So the pain for Apple is merely beginning. 

A setting that the bulk of people are overlooking, I wonder why.

So as Amazon scrapped the tariff mention on its pricing, the call was heard by a lot of people and they are now looking at Temu and Alibaba. Alibaba mentioned a net income up by 237.53%. Today the Alibaba group is up by 3.83%. I cannot say how much of an impact the tariff has had there, but as others are merely scraping by and some are even reporting losses, the view on Alibaba might not be seen as a good thing, yet Wall Street seems optimistic about Alibaba (not that I know anything about that). 

So this is where the gem requires seeking. Is it still Apple? And there is a second setting. Will there be a larger call to reject the Apple for American markets? This is not easily answered because it is all depending on what is yet to happen. But Americans might be required to smuggle their new Apple devices into America. All because of a setting that the American administration itself is hunkering down on the lack of transparency. The one weird thing I am noticing is that the tariff solution is setting the minds of others towards what is the right path and at present it is not an American First item. And there is more bad news on the horizon (for America) as we seek gems we should be aware that Huawei is a much larger gem than expected. You see, Huawei is making larger captures revenue that expected. The headline ‘Indonesia is hooked on Huawei’ (Source: ASPI) is important as Indonesia is 3% of the planet. This might not seem much, but it gives Huawei larger importance to get into Bangladesh which gives them another 2%, so in a few short weeks Huawei gets an improved 5% goalpost. They already had visibility all over the Arabian peninsula and as Egypt is becoming a larger slice of their business, we see that America basically lost out of a 7% market share. As I see it America First is having a few corners they slice off from themselves. As these stages are evolving and the setting for Europe changes, as America is fumbling the ball. They are now ready to ignore American ‘advice’ and reopen doors with Huawei (likely with conditions) and as I see it Huawei is likely to respond favorable to that. As I see it, the game is changing andAmerica is losing several base stations in delivered ‘revenue’, a state that was almost unimaginable  less than a year ago. That was shown a mere two months ago with ‘German telcos pool efforts to retain more ‘open’ Huawei – sources’ and as this is realised, the rest of Europe is likely to follow, at least the EU is. 

The gem were not the tech companies, they are found where these companies were not, mainly through the pains given to these companies. Apple was not the focus, the companies that profited by the pain given to Apple. The moment you see that, is the moment that you realise that this chaotic setting is giving Chinese companies the open doors they were waiting for. I have no idea what Russia is up to, but this reminds me of the Toshiba settings. I wonder if this is what was supposed to happen, but no matter what. It seems that Huawei is profiting because of this. And with HarmonyOS now at version 5, Apple and others don’t only have to deal wit Android, they now have a competitor in HarmonyOS devices. This is a time to remember the words of Richard Yu who stated that all Huawei devices the company will launch in 2025 will be powered by HarmonyOS Next. You might have forgotten that, but I did not. So as Apple and Google were given settings of diversification, Huawei combined all the strengths they had and that will also impact market share. 

So as some will be given and accepted that the gem is America First. Others might not agree with that and as some sources are diverted Chinese corporations are now focussed on Asia, Arabian countries and Europe (through TAWAL). A setting I warned for almost two years ago and now it is seemingly happening. So where were these captains of industry?

Have a great day and enjoy the smell of coffee in the morning.

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April 30, 2025 · 04:03

Omitted resources

That is the exercise of this morning. As Reuters treats us to a story (at https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/uaes-adnoc-supply-us-lpg-india-following-china-us-tariffs-sources-say-2025-04-29/) giving the reader ‘UAE’S ADNOC to supply US LPG to India following China-US tariffs, sources say’ A setting I saw coming a mile away. As we are given “The move will enable ADNOC to ship more of its own LPG to China, where buyers are paying higher premiums to replace U.S. supply after Beijing imposed steep tariffs on U.S. goods, and reduce LPG costs for India, the world’s No. 2 importer”, so I saw this and the high payed economists in America did not? In my story ‘War of trades’ (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2025/02/01/war-of-trades/) I gave on February 1st (almost 3 months ago) “We set the same to India who exports oil to the United States. Set that to Europe (to a much larger degree) and all its Commonwealth allies and America suddenly gets a much larger problem. Well they can import it from Venezuela and Russia I reckon. So, how is that going now President Trump?” This setting was oil and it was from India, so now we see that the UAE is replacing America with India as a new destination. So for America it is no longer about revenue, it becomes a lack of resources as the UAE is now shipping more of its own LPG to China (via India). It is the cumbersome situation involving tariffs. It almost seem like a new puzzle game, not unlike mixed currency deals on the internet. And now (as I see it it) America is losing more than one side in this. So as we read “ADNOC, through its trading units, has agreed to supply some U.S. LPG cargoes to India refiners under the annual contracts from June-July, said sources” as I see it, America is losing tariff revenue that ay and this is merely one step towards a new setting where America is replaced as a resource, and this also means that the political and diplomatic powers of America is dwindling down. In this way the UAE is gaining power both political and diplomatic as India is reassessing what allies they have and who no longer seems to be an ally. In this tariffs will get cumbersome on more ways then one. Soon America is losing additional revenue streams, because this setting is merely a first step. When China sets up new stages with Europe and the Middle East America can go bobbing for apples all they like, but it seems that the apples are being replaced and that sounds a lot like the old premise of murder. Segregation, Separation and Assassination. The stage that we see was made by America, they merely didn’t consider that it could be used against them and as I see it, both China and Russia like the new setting immensely. As I wrote lately that the interest on debt is costing the annual tax revenue to be 15% less, so the belt was already being tightened and now the revenue streams are missing the point they needed to make and another 10% will diminish. So how long until the American economy can no longer afford it? We can believe what Irwin Stelzer (The Times) told us that America’s economy is good. But as CNBC gave us yesterday ‘Empty shelves, trucking layoffs lead to a summer recession in Apollo’s shocking trade fight timeline’, then we also got a few hours ago ‘Port Of Los Angeles Warns ‘Difficult Decisions’ Ahead As Shipments From China Cease’ (source: Investor’s Business Daily) and 17 minutes ago CNBC gives us ‘Pfizer CEO says tariff uncertainty is deterring further U.S. investment in manufacturing, R&D’ as such, how much more bad news do we need to see before people in media start considering that the economy of America has gone topsy turvy?

And in the meantime as the Commonwealth is strengthening their walls the group of five might soon have one less member (yes, it is America). As such the new costings for the CIA will drastically alter and as the NSA is equally losing access to international intelligence the stage becomes how much money is America willing to pay for less reliable data? 

As such we get a new stage of omitted resources. America is losing revenue in several settings and the outcome of that is not really visible, but it will cost a bundle. A lot more than the tariffs are bringing in. In addition to that they pissed of the largest ally they had for decades and as such are losing more ‘friends’ as they are equally hurt and these ‘friends’ are willing to row it alone without the two dinghies called CIA and NSA. As such more power, revenue and friends are lost. But feel free to think it is all honky dory. And that changes when oil will g missing, so will America keep on selling their own oil, or is that a new revenue stream that will become largely lost soon enough.

You know, I am hesitant to blame President Trump for this setting. The question becomes who pushed this agenda? Are these elected officials blind, or will we see soon see articles with titles like ‘He bullied us and we were afraid’, I have no idea. Just floating an idea here. And when we have added these facts as well as add the fact that the The Arab Weekly gave us yesterday ‘Trump further strains Egypt ties by calling for US ships to cross Suez canal ‘free of charge’’ the story (at https://thearabweekly.com/trump-further-strains-egypt-ties-calling-us-ships-cross-suez-canal-free-charge) gives us ““American Ships, both Military and Commercial, should be allowed to travel, free of charge, through the Panama and Suez Canals!, ” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.” Its was the only source I saw, so keep that in mind. And the response in the same article was “Egyptian MP Mustafa Bakri criticised the remarks, describing them an “attempt at blackmail.”” Do you still believe that America isn’t close to default on all their loans? I wonder who will survive that 36 trillion bad bank setting. 

So, you all have a possible great day and relax if there is still coffee on the shelves. And don’t forget the former governor of the Bank of England works for the Commonwealth, well, actually he works for Canada, not America. Ciao!

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April 29, 2025 · 23:22

News and self reflection

That happens, we all have to reflect on ones self. And I was given, by Arab News (at https://www.arabnews.com/node/2598647/business-economy) ‘Saudi Arabia’s non-oil exports surge 113% since Vision 2030 launch’ here we see “Saudi Arabia’s non-oil exports reached an unprecedented SR515 billion ($137 billion) in 2024, marking the highest value in the Kingdom’s history.” It comes with the added “The robust growth spanned all export sectors. Merchandise exports climbed to SR217 billion (+4 percent), fueled by respective increases of 2 percent and 9 percent in petrochemical and non-petrochemical exports.” As such it seems that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is doing well. For me the quote “In 2024, the Kingdom exported goods, re-exports, and services to over 180 countries, with 37 countries registering record import values, including the UAE, Bahrain, Iraq, Oman, Algeria, Spain, France, Poland, Libya, and Syria. Other countries, such as Indonesia, Thailand, Morocco, Pakistan, Nigeria, Germany, Greece, and Bulgaria, also achieved record import volumes” was important. You see, one of my IP ideas would add Egypt, Bahrain and Bangladesh to that list. Indonesia, Pakistan and Oman were already on that list.

As I see it, the first phase might be a simple $6 billion (﷼22,500,000,000), but after that, I personally believe that the annual revenue could grow to $20 billion (75,000,000,000﷼) I might have gotten the placement of the Saudi riyal symbol wrong. The nice side effect of mixing left to right and right to left issues, but that is what it amounts to, as such a nice 6 to 20 billion annual added to the frame, but neither the Saudi Consulate (or Amazon for that matter) was taking the bait and it was such a nice bait. Still the setting of creating IP with a phase one setting of 6 billion is nothing to laugh at. I wrote about it before and that was merely one of a few IP settings (the rest is not that valuable). Still, I feel strongly about this idea and it fits the Muslim stage for a few reasons and that is beside the idea that it might unite the Muslim nations. 

Still I wonder in light of this news, is my idea really worth that much and will it work? I believe so, the one factor I cannot predict is how Epic Games (the maker of the Unreal Engine 5) will react, because I am not certain if they ever considered other venues beside gaming, as such Tencent becomes a factor as they too could carry the IP and in light of TGP Box (Tencent Games Platform) could it support the stage? With the initial 50 million consoles and in a non gaming condition could they consider the new venture it goes along? With the data centre in Saudi Arabia they might. The setting is diverse and it gives them access to a whole new cluster of users. Then there is the secondary stage of gaming, with a strategy that gives this solution over 1000 games pushing them on par with Sony and Nintendo, are they ready for what comes? In this, on par is pretty much the stage as they will not replace these systems, but ride alongside with them. I don’t know enough of the strategists that Tencent has, I know that I cannot trust Microsoft, but Amazon was a first thought when Google dropped their Google Stadia. The internet of things and Cloud gaming had their pay offs as I saw it, especially as no one was looking in that direction and as two streams were taken from the Google ship it made sense to go to Google first (but they dropped their stadia), so the Luna was the only solution for me. Now that Tencent is up and running there is another option, but it is still a little dependent on what Saudi Arabia will do, they are the corner stone of this solution. 

So as I see this article, I wonder if I am right. Self reflection is important, especially when you are talking about billions, and I do not want to be wrong, which is why I try to be as conservative with the numbers I have. On the other hand, the thought that I have the jackpot idea and I cannot sell it is pretty much killing me and I don’t want Microsoft near this, they have screwed up too much IP as I see it as such I don’t want them near the ideas I have and there are a few more. Still the doubt  grips me, how could I have come up with the idea of billions whilst all the others cannot see what I see. Am I missing something?

The doubt can be debilitating. In other news of the good kind. Mark Carney won the elections, so that is at least something. Now if we could only make Donald Trump shut up about the 51st state, that would be really nice. So have a great day and if you are in Canada, raise your coffee in cheers for Mark Carney (it is 6:00 in Vancouver, way too early for alcohol). 

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April 25, 2025 · 17:25

Changing the reason

That is the setting and it is not a bad setting. The reporter, the spokespeople, no one broke any laws and no one created harm in the process. The latter reason is merely my reason, but with the tariff setting it matters. I am talking about the article in tech radar (at https://www.techradar.com/pro/pc-makers-are-planning-plants-in-saudi-arabia-to-try-and-avoid-us-tariffs) where we are given in the headline ‘PC makers are planning plants in Saudi Arabia to try and avoid US tariffs’, you see, it is not about tariffs at this time (perhaps partially).

You see, the article gives us “Major PC makers like Lenovo, HP and Dell are reportedly exploring building new manufacturing plants in Saudi Arabia in order to avoid high US tariffs on Chinese-made goods.” I reckon that ASUS is doing the same thing. There is a larger prospect. Consider NEOM Sindalah, NEOM Oxagon, NEOM Trojan, NEOM the Line, NEOM Magna and all its 12 subdivisions then we get the Mukaab project in Riyadh. These settings represent thousands of computers and most of them laptops and netbooks. A setting I predicted in January 2024 (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2024/01/25/those-happy-dreams/) on the 25th of January 2024 I implied the need for Saudi Arabia (and the UAE) to change the way customer service was done in these places. With NICE as an example, Saudi Arabia could create a Muslim solution for this and considering the growth of travelers which is supposed to surpass 100,000,000, at present (last year) was over 800,000 people and NICE has that covered, but as it is an Israeli solution, it might not fly in Saudi Arabia or the UAE and as such the premise needed to be changed and in that article I set the premise out a little better (I had retyping my own words).

As such with these thousands of systems required, it makes perfect sense for Lenovo to get into the game on a local setting, I might not be a huge fan of the Lenovo, but plenty of people love them and as such I see tremendous strides forward for Lenovo, my personal vote goes to ASUS, but that does not make Lenovo a bad choice, it is merely not my cup of tea. 

As such when we see “DigiTimes says HP and Dell have also sent teams to Saudi Arabia to scout out potential factory sites following local government invitations. The biggest attraction for manufacturers to relocate to Saudi Arabia are the 10% reciprocal tariffs, compared with 245% for China.” As I personally see it, it needs close tracks to each of these centers, likely it needs to favor Oxagon and Riyadh, but that is merely my point of view. Likely there will be service centers in each of the 4 locations, and relying on how Magna plays out, a larger setting is required there, but other with more geolocating intelligence is required. 

As Lenovo goes there and as the others (DELL, HP) come too, the setting for Saudi Arabia increases, there is at the near coming time a setting where these brands could service clients in Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon and Syria as well. It could explode service and sales settings a lot more for these regions than the EU and USA can. So when I see the quote “However, the PC market’s immediate future remains uncertain. “In addition to the direct impact of tariffs, the stop-start nature of announcements and delays have cast uncertainty around pricing for consumer electronics this year,” Canalys Analyst Greg Davis explained.” I merely mention “Go pull the other foot”, you see the tariffs are merely an excuse and an optionally bump in revenue for these companies. I reckon that these reasons Trump (oops typo) the tariff reason at present and as Saudi Arabia makes strides to completing these settings the need for systems increase a lot and the need for servers in these locations would explode the need for CISCO equipment as well. 

This is a larger setting in the need for these companies to get ready as they might require localization and as I see it, the one who is there will get a larger options and a larger slice of the revenue stream. But that could merely be me.

Have a great day and enjoy the weekend. I have to kill hundreds of people in a place called Cyrodil this weekend and I am buying a nice house in Skingrad, but they tell me that I have weird priorities.

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April 11, 2025 · 06:42

Nuance in Black and White

That is what we get, nuance, is it black or white? That is the definition of nuance for some and in this particular case Newsweek. Don’t bother with the 16 or 256 gray scales there are, because that is where their digital money is. But I took offense and that comes with a price. I am talking about the article we see (at https://www.newsweek.com/hajj-visas-saudi-arabia-travel-2056781) with the headline ‘Saudi Arabia Bans Travel Visas for 14 Countries’. It is here we see “Saudi Arabia has banned certain types of visas for travelers from 14 countries, weeks before the annual Muslim pilgrimage known as Hajj”, so far, so good is my view on this. The added “The country is clamping down on visa numbers by temporarily halting travel documents for visitors from a string of countries, with the suspension due to remain in place until after Hajj has concluded in mid-June. Officials made the move to address overcrowding and safety concerns, according to reports.” As such I see it a something that happens and I am OK with this. The issue is seen a little further down where we see “While last summer, Hajj coincided with a vicious heatwave, and more than 1,000 pilgrims died as a result of searing temperatures of up to 125 degrees F.” The issue is that the bulk of all these departed souls came from tour operators who sold them visas on ILLEGAL reasoning. As such they had no Hajj permit and as such there were no provisions, no busses and no shelters for these people. That is the nuance that I see as ‘intentionally skipped’ by Newsweek. I wonder how it feels to be the one intentionally misinforming the people. The nations who are temporary banned from visas are Algeria, Bangladesh, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sudan, Tunisia, and Yemen. I presumably gather that when we look at the thousand or so victims of tour operators bungling the jobs are showing the numbers that make up these victims. Oh, and I have not ever seen any of the news outlets looking into the tour operators who ‘mis sold’ the travel arrangements for the people who went on their one way trip to Makkah. We do get that in another way “The Times of India reported that people are known to enter Saudi Arabia on visitor or Umrah visas and then overstay in order to perform Hajj without registering officially. This allows them to bypass a quota system, which allocates a set number of Hajj places to each country to help control pilgrim numbers. It is hoped that a crackdown on all types of visas until after Hajj will prevent the problem.” And Newsweek sets the second problem of misinforming their audience What I stated on issues like no provisions, no busses and no shelters for these people is skipped. The Saudi Arabian settings has settings for their pilgrims. There are shelters to temporary hide from the blazing sun, busses to take them to places (which set to be 20 miles apart) and there are water provisions all for those with the Hajj pass. These were all skipped by some and as this is set up for the 2 million pilgrims. As I personally see it, these tour operators became murderers for even entertaining that setting and those who by self interest avoided the Hajj settings did this to themselves, but I fail to see that these were all self serving. The only self serving option I saw was a tour operator making a quick additional buck or two. And Newsweek did nothing to point that out either. There were no investigations by the western media and that is offensive, especially as over a thousand people lost their lives. 

We are given in the end “Muslims with the appropriate visas will be preparing for their trip, while others may have to delay their plans until next year. Meanwhile, the kingdom’s officials will be gearing up for the annual influx of Hajj visitors.” And I like this, but the simple setting of ‘appropriate visas’ is massive and needs to be shown in these places. I reckon that Saudi Arabia needs to make a small movie, optionally on YouTube and TikTok showing the dangers of the wrong visa and optionally letting these people know that these tour operators need to be reported. I wouldn’t hurt to put the fires to the ankles of these tour operators, who I personally see as the number one culprit. 

Have a great and safe day. 

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March 5, 2025 · 14:37

Le désert Arabe

Yes, that is the setting. It is not a desert, it is the final course in a meal that has been brewing since 7 October 2023, like a slow boiled Slow Simmer Beef Stew, but one with a distance, it took 16 months for this stew to come to fruition and now, the final course is up to serving. An Arabian plan that was according to the BBC (at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjd32xyjg4eo) where we get to see ‘Arab leaders approve $53bn alternative to Trump’s Gaza plan’, a plan agreed upon by some. We are given “Egypt’s President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi also called for a parallel plan alongside the physical reconstruction to move towards what is known as the two state solution – a Palestinian state alongside Israel. This is widely seen by Arab states, and many others, as the only lasting solution to this perpetual conflict, but it is firmly ruled out by Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies.” I have reservations. In this my one issue is the setting that we are given as “Some Arab states are known to be calling for the complete dismantling of Hamas; others believe those decisions should be left up to the Palestinians. Hamas is said to have accepted it will not play a role in running Gaza but has made it clear that disarming is a red line.” I reckon it will take a few months until Iran will ‘bolster’ the response given by Hamas as some existential joke in serious form and that is when the parties accept that the given “Wealthy Gulf states appear willing to foot some of the colossal bill. But no one is ready to invest unless they are absolutely convinced buildings won’t come crashing down in another war.” This is the larger difficulty and truth of the matter. We are given “It glosses over the issue of what role, if any, Hamas, will play. There is a vague reference to the “obstacle” of militant groups and said this issue would be resolved if the causes of the conflict with Israel were removed.” Their is never going to be a ‘peace’ setting with Israel. That is the larger problem. And the others (the Arab states) see that this is the larger setting that will require setting. We are given that “Egypt had produced a detailed blueprint, with a 91-page glossy document including images of leafy neighbourhoods and grand public buildings, to counter a US scheme labelled as a “Middle East Riviera” which shocked the Arab world and beyond.” But that merely looks nice. Gaza could have looked that way decades ago, if not the issue of Hamas was given and that will never seize. It will take a little whilst until Hamas is regrouped and when Iran comes with the likely ‘accusation that Hamas has become a flaccid loser to Israel’ and Hamas suddenly gets a new incentive of weapons and missiles the whole thing starts again. I personally believe that neither this plan and the ruffled plan of President Trump would ever have worked. Iran does anything to ‘remain’ islamic relevant (which is a version where Iran and not Saudi Arabia and the UAE are at the head of the Islamic table, that is the primary concern for Iran and they will play the three terrorist teams (Hamas, Hezbollah and Houthi forces) to progress ‘their’ view on what should be. So this 91 paged plan seems nice for Palestine, but they are the tools of Iran, all Palestinians are. That is the over-sounding problem.

We might want to digress with ‘it could work’ and what do the Palestinians want, but this game has been played close to a near century setting, going all the way back to 1936. A setting that is 89 years old. And if we get to the nitty gritty part of this. The British wanted a solution for the decades of murder and lynching they were facing by jewish mobs getting back at collaborators and traitors all over Europe and Germany. That was the largest fear England and Western Europe faced in the time of 1944-1960. I personally believe that this was the push for the State of Israel. I am not debating that it was the right thing to do and Jews had that part of the middle east (actually more than that) and now we see the latest view and it is all upbeat and we are eager to accept it because it is an Arab plan, making realising this more likely than any other plan (including any plan that President Trump hands the world) and now the game changes for the next  aggressive action of Hamas will place the Islamic world against them, it will not matter for Iran as I personally see it, because any plan that decreases the hold they want over the Middle East will be directly rejected and soon terrorists from Houthi and Hezbollah will scream foul and ‘come to the aid’ of Hamas. That will exclude another bash in Gaza and at that point Israel will have had enough and will indiscriminately attack Gaza no longer worrying about killing the ‘innocents’. They will kill as I personally see it anything in Gaza ending to a larger extent Palestine life in Gaza and they will become the new Nazi’s (my darkest view on the matter). 

As I see it this plan has merit providing Hamas is destroyed, not merely no weapons, but no Hamas is close to the only setting that is close to acceptable in this.

So whilst we accept that we are given ““The Egypt plan is now an Arab plan,” announced the secretary general of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit at the end of this hours-long gathering.” There is a reflective part in this. What did Iran have to say in the matter? They are the tinderbox for Gaza and Hamas. So whilst we might readily accept “This new plan proposes that Gaza would be run, temporarily, by a “Gaza management committee under the umbrella of the Palestinian government” comprised of qualified technocrats” it is my worry that this comes across as a death sentence to these ‘qualified technocrats’. They are either Hamas, or Hamas minded and if not Hamas will ‘accidentally’ set a new setting of Palestinian traitors (as they are likely to be named). There is one additional setting. There is a larger chance of success when a coalition of Saudi and UAE forces are placed in Gaza (temporary) to oversee safety and security until Palestinian forces are ready to take over. I don’t think it will work, but it has the benefit that Hamas would have to directly attack these forces and that might stop them. It depends on how powerful the Iranian hold over Hamas is. I actually do not know that part of the equation.

The plan is bold, the plan is better than anything there is and the plan leaves enough of Palestinians considering if Hamas was ever a solution, that last one is important for Hamas to be seen as redundant. Will it work? Like many others I hope it will but I remember 1982 Rafah (I was there), so I have concerns. 

Try to have a great day.

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February 5, 2025 · 13:25

News to me

That happens. I do not know everything and it is not my business to know everything. I learned that early in life, before I know thought I knew everything, I learned as I took the oath of a radio operator, that there is a price for knowing too I much and as such I tried to ‘calm’ the need to know too much. When it is in my business to know, I try to know the materials pretty thoroughly. I tech support there was one program I had to know, but I had to know it on dozens of systems and  for the most I knew the goods. This is not some spreadsheet or a presentation program and you know the in’s and outs of the program (not dissing these software solutions) but in one program know the issues on IBM MVS, DEC digital VMS, AS/400, Sun systems, Unit systems, Windows Systems and a whole lot more, and every mainframe had its own coordinators handbook. For the most it was OK. The dealers could help its own customers but when working deeper they came with questions on installation, data cleaning, syntaxes of the system and of course the limitations that existed per system. In an age where there was no system (it was promised, but was always a month away) I kept my head above water. So what does this have to do with the current issue?

It was given to me in the Conversation (at https://theconversation.com/trumps-trade-war-is-forcing-canada-to-revive-a-decades-old-plan-to-reduce-u-s-dependence-248433) where we get ‘Trump’s trade war is forcing Canada to revive a decades-old plan to reduce U.S. dependence’ it is here that we are given “After threatening Canada and Mexico with illegal tariffs, and Canada with annexation, United States President Donald Trump has agreed to hold off on imposing tariffs on Canada for at least 30 days. This decision came after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke with Trump and committed to strengthening border security” with the added “Early responses seem to have coalesced around two policies: for Canada to trade less with the U.S. and more with other countries and to strengthen the internal Canadian economy.” This implies that the free trade agreements were signed up with that in mind and to ‘diverge’ Canada to go that way. It seems weird that the ‘councilors’ of this US administration did not hammer on this, or seemingly did not hammer this. You see, as I see it President trump shot himself in the foot here. And then watered all over himself. Two distinct settings that could have been avoided. Now America faces tariffs themselves and come to boot Allies of Canada are signing up deals on all markets which will cost America dearly. It also means that the Commonwealth will become stronger as one together. I don’t know (at present) where India stands, but in retail and pharmaceutical solutions there is every chance that Canada will seek solutions in that field. So as we see “But it will impose significant costs on Canadians and require a fundamental readjustment in how we think about our economy and society.” This might be fair, but that all depends on what India could help save Canada costs, if that is achieved (though pharmaceuticals mainly) the net savings for Canada are a lot greater then expected. There will be cost in the beginning yet in the end it might work out cheaper (not easier) for Canada.

Then we are given “In 1972, then-Secretary of State for External Affairs Mitchell Sharp wrote a paper called “Canada-US Relations: Options for the Future.” At the time, international politics were in a moment of transition, and the U.S. was recalibrating its understanding of its national interest.” It is here we are given (at https://gac.canadiana.ca/view/ooe.b1557737E_001/329) a lot more then we bargained for. It is a 332 page paper, as such the 46MB file is not here, but in its original location. As such I would surmise that American administrations forgot about ‘the U.S. was recalibrating its understanding of its national interest’ it seemingly forgot about this. I prefer to think that the setting of pending bankruptcy is making them knee jerk themselves into the next month and the next and the next. Yet there is a rather nasty hindsight to this (not for me). There is a rather urgent need to reassess criminal behavior. So the settings we see in London and other cities (like Los Angeles) imply that a more Venezuelan setting will come to America (thanks to Steve Inman) his comments are setting a new side to the debate. There is no doubt that these ‘free $1000 thefts’ will result in a need to shoot to kill escalation and for the most no one has a problem with that. This escalation is right on the horizon now. The $1000 misdemeanor setting will  (according to some) take care of the freeloaders and especially shopkeepers are fine with that. So as America does away with its freeloaders we still have an issue in Canada and for the most part I hesitate to consider what made America consider its tariff setting, especially as Canada was considering the paper in 1972, it might have been long, but not too long and in light of current trends this setting was on the horizon as were other options and now that America is feeling its first brunt with BRICS, there was a cautious tale on the horizon. And now that the US administration is setting up a ‘Sovereign Wealth Fund’ with the underlying ““We have tremendous potential,” Trump said while signing the order from the Oval Office on Monday. “I think in a short period of time, we’d have one of the biggest funds.”” (Source: The Guardian) I personally disagree. They HAD tremendous potential and now that they started the tariff wars (it doesn’t matter if it is on hold for 30 days). Canada is now looking at setting additional channels with the Commonwealth, whilst diminishing trade and we now see that there is a 1972 paper who did the hard stuff. The question is how much of that is still valid. I actually don’t know that, but I left the link for your reference. Then there is the options that America left on the floor and now China has an inner track to set a lot more towards the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. I mentioned it more then once in the last two years. As America stifled the sale of their F35, China has been active on at least two weapons trade shows to give rise to the Chengdu J-20 from the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group. Did you think that China left a call for a few dozen billion unanswered? At $110,000,000 that implies at least 3 squadrons and guess what, they will not be compatible with whatever Northrop Grumman or Raytheon has to offer. As such there could be a bigger shift in that setting. And as soon as China ‘proves’ that the Chengdu J-20 is at least equal or even superior to the F35, America loses that game too. You see, China only have to prove it is at least equal, a much lower threshold. Add that to the Canadian setting and as Canada can prove goods to the UAE and Saudi Arabia (optionally Egypt and Bangladesh) that are a few more markets where Canada will get slices of pizza that were meant for America. All that for a tariff? So how much more does America have to lose to show its ‘Sovereign Wealth Fund’ to be close to irrelevant. Yes, others will profit too. Yet Canada never wanted this setting in the first place and that is where short term considerations make some lose ‘their’ war. And just for consideration. Fentanyl is not new. As given by some “Fentanyl was synthesized in 1960 as an intravenous anesthetic and went on the market in the U.S. in 1968. Transdermal fentanyl was developed in the 1980s and was subsequently used for pain management in cancer patients” it was invented by the Belgiums and it has been on the market over half a century. So it is not new, the (speculated) non-actions by America made it an easy drug to score big on. In addition, it is a pharmaceutical  with a boxed warning. So why is it not a controlled substance set to a narcotic? Lets consider that narcotics were ‘outlawed’ in 1914 and went to the American market in 1968. So why was it even allowed? And even as we see in the Conversation where we are given “For the Third Option to be viable today, Canadians must embrace an independent Canadian identity based on respect for democracy, pluralism, the rule of law and human rights. It likely requires consensus that U.S. authoritarianism is wholly unacceptable to Canada.” And this third option point is now reached and so far (as is visible) nearly all the Commonwealth nations. As I see the Australian parties weaseling (my personal assessment) as “Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell is seeking talks with America” (source: News) where we see no clear message to Canada in support as a Commonwealth nation (like weasels as I personally see it). At this setting Scotland shows itself as a much more honorable Commonwealth nation, but the larger issue will be India, as that is where the massive parts of retail goes. I get that India is playing a sensitive game but something must give at some point, Canada needs us now. From a personal note, Canada was there for the Netherlands in WW2. As Dutch born I will stand with Canada on this.

Yet the larger setting is missed. In the end Canada is not the larger play. It will be China and what it can grab from America on the long term from them involving Saudi Arabia, the UAE and optionally Egypt as well.

So have a loverly day and if you are in America try drinking Tim Hortons for a change. It might wake you up faster, stronger and better.

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