Tag Archives: Hawaii

November 5, 2025 · 04:07

Since when?

I saw a message from Semafor. It reminded me of a story that ran the news two years ago. That isn’t always a bad idea, so I checked it out. It gives me ‘ADNOC still sees a long future for oil’ (at https://www.semafor.com/article/11/04/2025/abu-dhabi-reverses-course-on-oil-phaseout) it gives me that ADNOC (the Emirati equivalent of Aramco) gave us (two years ago) “When Al-Jaber took the podium again on Monday to host ADIPEC, the world’s biggest energy conference, he emphasized that “the long-term outlook shows demand growth for every form of energy” and that oil demand will stay at or above its current level well after 2040. A number of other oil CEOs seem to share that view.” I concur and as I see the the AI disaster coming to all our doors, there is no way it can even get the waves it needs to have without oil and there is no denying that it might last until 2040, perhaps even 2050. There was more they gave “One explanation Al-Jaber cited for the switch is AI data centers, which have become Big Oil’s go-to justification for a rapid buildout of new fossil infrastructure. Lord John Browne, former CEO of BP and now managing director of a climate-focused fund at the private equity firm General Atlantic, offered another explanation: The conference, he told me by phone from Abu Dhabi, “was dominated by the American viewpoint, which is that there is no such thing as the energy transition.” The UAE, in addition to bolstering its own voluminous oil and gas production, has good reason to court the Trump administration: On the sidelines of ADIPEC, Microsoft announced it would invest $15 billion in data centers there and that it has secured the administration’s permission to export Nvidia chips for them.” A small smirk appeared on my face. I had seen the Nvidia chips to the UAE, but the side quest that that Microsoft would be investing to set up a data centre there was somehow kept quiet. But it was the last section that caught me. With “There’s still strong momentum for investing in decarbonization, Browne said. But whether, in the near term, the global oil market is in for a period of expansion or contraction, he said, “is about as clear as mud to everybody.”” I agree, there are counter actions happening. The Trump anti-renewable setting is one of them. Then there is the almost ludicrous setting of essential nuclear reactors that American needs within 3 years is another one. There are plans for several reactors, but they are the better part of 5-8 years away and that gives America an optional shortage for 3-5 years. As such AI centers will not (or mostly not) be in some operation setting, then there are the lack of data validation stations and that is merely the top of the iceberg. 

As I see it, Sultan Ahmed Al-Jaber was correct and he was so already in 2022 before I started writing about AI (as it is still a myth) and it is re-enforces by ‘Energy CEOs Warn More Investment Is Needed As Demand Continues To Rise’ by Forbes (at https://www.forbes.com/sites/gauravsharma/2025/11/03/energy-ceos-warn-more-investment-is-needed-as-demand-continues-to-rise/) where we are also given “The bosses of some of the world’s largest energy companies warned the sector needs to invest more in a range of sources, including oil and natural gas, as global power demand continues to rise. Speaking at the ADIPEC conference in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Monday, Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Group CEO of ADNOC, Abu Dhabi’s oil and gas major, said a “balanced and inclusive approach” was needed to meet the world’s growing energy demand.” A story I have been giving for almost a year, but the setting is that Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber gave us that view two years ago and that makes him the clear insightful voice in a pool of blundering blind people, which I have been illuminating over the last few months. OK, it is not that hardy. There are a few more warning the world of the fact that this will not happen without energy settings and they are massively lacking at present. As I see it, the only country that is ready for this is Canada, the merely have the sent 10% to America and keep the rest and they are fine, Americans might not like this and I reckon that Virginia with their 663 data centers will see almost 60% go out of business due to a lack of power, but that is business for you. That is when a small snippet given to us all by the Sultan becomes apparent “That’s why more than $4 trillion in capital investment is needed annually to cover grids, datacenters and all sources of energy supply, Al Jaber said.” And it suddenly hits me, America doesn’t have the funds. All the boasting and the settings of StarGate and America is out of funds. Was it that obvious that it needed Canada as the 51st state? Not merely because of the rare earths, but the water and electricity would be essential to keep the lights on in America?

Which comes with the final wisdom by the Sultan. And it is seen in “Al Jaber added that “dormant capital” tied up in existing energy infrastructure needs to be freed up.

“Ultimately, the long-term outlook shows demand growth for every form of energy across every market,” he noted. So, when it comes to the energy transition, growing power demand and managing the trilemma of sustainability, security and affordability, Al Jaber called for a “focus on the data, and not the drama.”” That is a worthy quote to keep in all out minds “focus on the data, and not the drama”, as I see it, my new hero. A quote that is worthy to enclose in our hearts. I could never have said it better. I would have gone with “Drama is found where data is ignored”, that is how I am at times, but I reckon that is why I am not the board member and CEO of ADNOC, and the Sultan is. OK, ADNOC was never in the Netherlands, but Shell was and I never amounted to anything there either. So there is that to consider. But the largest setting is that Semafor alerted me to something that was said two years ago and now that is becoming the reality of today and we need to take notice, because it seems to be painting the walls of several nations and it because we let the drama overwhelm most of us. The others (like me) who focussed on the data mostly saw the setting and we are now less and less being drowned out be media as they are waking up to the reality that is about to hit their front doors and their party ended last year, now they either adjust or become obsolete, because the millions of consumers of that media are waking up to the fact that they are entering a nightmare where they can no longer afford to watch TV or charge their mobile phones. That is the price of seeing the price of 16.07¢ per kWh be adjusted to 82.27¢ per kWh, which basically sets the price to almost 100% above the price of electricity on Hawaii, but when that becomes the national norm, 340,000,000 Americans will oppose it (to put it mildly), revolt is the most likely operational setting and there is no way out for this Administration. They made their bed with lousy decisions and I reckon that they will need an escape clause to a place like Argentina soon enough after that. 

So as we see this fiasco evolve, it seems that I was right all along, but someone was there earlier, they saw the setting that was going to be and now as more and more Americans realise that the party is closing, they will need a new directive and they need it sooner rather than later. 

Have a great day, and remember, we got by with candles and their illumination. From that we got the 3 hour rule, which advises against burning a candle for more than 3 #hours at a time for all kins of security reasons. Well, in winter you are a bit stuffed, but open fires will light the way and I just remembered that I have over a dozen books to read. It would become a good time to do so.

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May 1, 2025 · 05:00

Marky Mark (PMMC for short)

Yup, the man, the plan and the action. I got to (kinda) know Mark Carny when I named him Marky Mark of the British Bank. The simplest reason is that England sees the need for certain people to be made into pop stars and Mark Carney fit that bill. When Brexit was going on, I was for a long time on the fence and what I read (hat he evidently said) put me square in the Brexit field. He did nothing wrong, he made no promises, but together with the actions of Mario Draghi I held in mind that Brexit was the only way for England to get things done. Let’s not forget that the desperate political moves of the other nations is why in part things went from bad to worse for England. It showed to me that the EU was petty and vindictive, but in all they never set a foot against Mario Draghi who became Prime Minister straight after that. Mark Carney did a good job (better then most I reckon) as such he has my respect. So now it should become Marky Mark of the Canadian side of the Commonwealth. Yet Canada is not so much on the pop star frame of mind, so Prime Minister Mark Carney it is. 

So, what is going on here?
Yesterday we saw the BBC give us two parts towards the setting that Canada is facing and after giving my issues with America these last few days, but is time to set the view to the Northern Border, the homestead of the Maple Leafs and the place where Ice Hockey largely shines. In the first article we see ‘Carney wants to lead a G7 fightback on Trump tariffs’ (at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx27d89z0qdo) which is much better then Prime Minister Anthony Albanese giving us that he wants to ‘talk’ about exemptions on trade barriers (good luck getting reelected in two days). Here we see “The global significance of Mark Carney’s election as Canadian Prime Minister is he now sits at the centre of an alternative pole of global economic thinking. Everything but Trump. There was a half expectation here that Carney would immediately sue for peace with President Trump when the polls closed on the election. It has emphatically not happened.” That is the making of a real consigliere (in stead of a counselee) and he is the consigliere of Canada, the one nation who has been bringing the fight to America (being called the 51st state helped), the bulk of the people think that polite is a form of appeasing to bullies and perhaps it partially is, but America crossed the line and Canada had enough of that and the rest of the Commonwealth (mainly me here) agree. As we see a larger Commonwealth uniting we now see the larger impact (and my personal favorite thought is that FiveEyes, will soon be Commonwealth Eyes, the intelligence alliance consisting of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, now without the United States). My second thought is that this will push the corrupt all over the world to the top as America will scramble to not be blind to the situation, which means they have to overspend a lot. Still, PMMC (Prime Minister Mark Carney is too long) gives us “PMMC is also very adept at understanding the nexus between markets and headlines. He made a number of announcements as PM about rethinking the purchase of US fighter jets, slightly changing the purchases of US government debt, all of which would have quickly focused some minds in the US” which might not be bad, but I reckon that the Commonwealth needs to come across uniting behind Canada, to offer whatever America did and take America out of the equation for the whole of the Commonwealth. We need to realise that India is a powerbroker of retail power and we aren’t using that enough. In addition Canada can fuel our oil needs replacing America even more. The plus for the others is that all the consumer needs for Alcohol will be fueled by its Commonwealth neighbors, I wonder it we have the automotive parts that Canada needs, so that they can continue work without skipping a beat. The UK has shipping (to a degree) and here the connection with Europe becomes important, which allows Canada to remove more of American influence. The simplest setting is that you cannot tariff what isn’t there and even as we get the quote “Underpinning this approach is absolute conviction that the US is making a mistake that will primarily and visibly backfire on itself, its companies, and its consumers. The fact the White House is attacking Amazon for “hostile acts” in publishing tariffs is a cast-iron example of this. President Trump’s gun is pointed primarily at his own feet, the thinking goes.” Whilst Canadians own PMMC gives us ““We’ll have a partnership on our terms. There’s a win-win possibility there, but on our terms, not on their terms,” he said. A key part of that is forging new strategic alliances elsewhere, with Europe, and the UK. “One would assume” that Canada and the UK could do a free trade agreement that has been stalled, he told me. Co-operation on defence and Canada’s abundant critical minerals is also on the table. He also dismissed President Trump’s territorial ambitions not just for his country, but Greenland and Panama too.” I would like to offer that a setting that a free trade agreement with Australia and New Zealand should be pursued (if it does’t exit) as these two brothers of Canada is only separated by the Pacific River. A nice thought is that this could fuel the passion of the Hawaiians to become truly independent and here Australia and Canada might be of assistance (for me the giggle point is that it allows America to become 49 states) and that is hilarious as it directly backfires on Trump, a new setting he never saw before (he has missed a lot in the last two weeks). But the BBC saved the best for last ““America’s leadership of the global economy is over” and that was a “tragedy”. Implicitly, he is saying, with the help of the rest of the G7, he will step up. And by an incredible quirk of fate, it is he who will host the G7 summit in Alberta in June, just days before the expiry of President Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs pause. Will Trump attend on the land he both tariffs and covets?” As such it is nice that PMMC is on my page, I mentioned that America as a global economy leader was over close to two years ago when the debt crossed the point of no return and with revenues faltering the good ship lollipop (oops America) is drifting straight for the abyss, no anchor on the planet will stop that move. As I see it as we (Australia and New Zealand) increase options for Vancouver and its harbors will increase, which will fuel work and better options. So with the G7 and Canada, All roads lead to Kananaskis in the middle of June and as such it is time for the Hockey ignorant population to meet the Calgary Flames.

And this is merely the start, as such I present to you the second BBC article (at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c14xydjzn5eo) giving us ‘Canada will deal with Trump ‘on our terms’, Carney tells BBC’ (my mind still goes ‘yay Marky Mark’) and here we see “Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has said his country deserves respect from the US and will only enter trade and security talks with President Donald Trump “on our terms”. Speaking exclusively to the BBC as the polls were closing, Carney said he would only visit Washington when there was a “serious discussion to be had” that respected Canada’s sovereignty.” Which is probably better then my thought to take Hawaii away from America, but I am willing to kill the bear to save the salmon and I never had any use or respect for bullies. And with ““The leaders agreed on the importance of Canada and the US working together – as independent, sovereign nations – for their mutual betterment,” the statement reads.” Which is why he is PM of Canada and not me (I am also not Canadian, so that helps) as I was willing to throw America out of Five Eyes to make his reconsider the huge mistake he was making and as the bulk of the Commonwealth is furious about the tariffs I thought I could get this stage ‘my’ way. So as the one we love to [censored text] gives us ““The election does not affect President Trump’s plan to make Canada America’s cherished 51st state,” White House deputy spokesperson Anna Kelly said.” A setting that was dung, stupid and shortsighted all at once. And now with Mark Carney, this might go pear shaped in a short time. You see, it is true that “Canada accounts for a much smaller 17% of US exports.” But what are the numbers with the United Commonwealth nations of the world? Add the UK, Australia and New Zealand to that, how large is that number becoming? Logistical retrenching tends to be expensive and the Commonwealth is willing to go there as we are fed up with the bully (optionally bullies) on Pennsylvania Avenue and in our case, the business case needs to be done. The UK has a massive debt and when America falls the EU, UK and Japan are next, fortunately Japan is on that very same pacific river, so we have options that work for use come to think of it, so is Hawaii and wouldn’t it be nice to have them unite in this partnership? (My giggling way to loud).

So as we read the end of the article with “Canada is also America’s largest foreign supplier of crude oil. America’s trade deficit with Canada – expected to be $45bn in 2024 – was mostly driven by US energy demands.” Wouldn’t it be great if its brethren get to work on that deficit with local products in exchange for Canadian oil? It’s up to the PMMC to see if that fits the bill (I lack accountancy skills), but the idea has merit (a quote from an iconic Arabian person). 

Have a great day. Today I am treating myself to a slice of Tiramisu.

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February 22, 2025 · 00:48

The edge of what could be

That is what it is, it is perhaps perception, but at this time I am unable to trust any media, not Newspapers and definitely not social media. That issue has larger interpretations. As media ‘sides’ with one or the other, the reporting is not to be trusted. Twitter (say X) is filled with people who are trying to get some of the limelight and that is nearly always tainted. As such, I need to set my feelers out there and try to make sense of it all.

You see, the first perception is that the Grand Old Party (Republicans) have a perceived new logo

It might be right, it might be wrong. Yet as the media is no longer willing to give us the clear news we see a tainted media. I tend to trust the BBC, but other voices are no longer willing to do that. The BBC is on the same kind of revenue through populistic news that tends to hamper things. I see the news around me and as such it sounds that the BBC is setting themself on the same pile that several Murdoch Media branches are on. So there is that. 

But the last news on the BBC (at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ceqjn74gdwzo) is giving us ‘Trump ‘very frustrated’ and Zelensky must strike minerals deal, says adviser’ and this is coming after we were given by President Trump himself that Ukraine attacked Russia and that is not all The Guardian is giving us ‘Stop criticising Trump and sign $500bn mineral deal, US official advises Kyiv’, it comes over like the US is whoring for mineral deals and after they tried to ‘annex’ Canada as the 51st state. Different thoughts were washing my brain and they could be wrong. But the debt the US has and the outstanding ‘accusations’ against President 

Volodymyr Zelenskyy is taking a nasty turn. Let me explain to National Security Adviser Michael Waltz how to approach any courtesan (I apologise Volodymyr). You play nice at least until the courtesan signs over her cherry (mineral rights). On one side in this economy there is a clear setting that help doesn’t come for free. Yet appeasing Russia whilst calling Ukraine the bad apple is beyond stupid. And then the quote “White House officials have told Ukraine to stop badmouthing Donald Trump and to sign a deal handing over half of the country’s mineral wealth to the US, saying a failure to do so would be unacceptable.” Is arrogant and stupid beyond believe. It is almost that Russia its seeing the setting that America is in and decided to change the game a little. I still believe that behind these closed doors President Trump and President Putin struck a deal. America gets Canada and Russia gets Europe. This might be wrong, but when we see America go after water and minerals to this degree, I feel that the final option is that I take all my IP and hand it over to the UAE and strike a deal there, it might be the last safe space together with Saudi Arabia. 

So am I wrong?
The ‘fact’ checkers say I am right about president Trump, but as I do not trust the bulk of the media, I need data and trustworthy people to tell me and one source confirmed my thoughts at least in part (he was not completely on board on the ‘broke America’ setting). That is fair enough. And the rest is puzzled to gather with all the Trump settings covered in several newspapers. And then the setting where the Ukraine and Europe were left out of the talks and some vice president calling Europe all kinds of stages, was that a good idea? You see, when the dollar bottoms out, they will need Europe and they might not be willing to help after all that has transpired over the last two weeks. I am not on the stage where people try to make sense of President Trump, he threw this away when he decided to make Ukraine the bad player while appeasing Russia. At this point I am on the UK side, ready to join them on the battlefield and I am 63 years old. 

I might not be an able front line person, but I feel certain that I can still take out a few officers (and tank commanders) with the doohickey (aka Barrett) shown above. I reckon that is the one thing I should still excel at (I haven’t take a shot in over 44 years). As the Commonwealth (UK and Canada) side with the Ukraine, I should be willing to do the same. So what are our options? There is the setting that America is setting its ‘aid’ to the terms of signing over $500 billion on rights. It seems like a waste as you saw in yesterdays article that StarGate (also $500,000,000,000) is pretty much a waste of money when you consider that it is based on incomplete elements and these elements are years away. So there is that part.

And for the Russian side of peace? That is a lesson that Hezbollah and Hamas taught us. They are merely willing to talk until they resolve their logistics for ammunition and weapons. There is reliable intelligence out of the UK, France, Germany and the Netherlands that President Putin has no interest in peace. I wonder when America realizes that their setting was hollow from the very start. I reckon that Europe needs to get ready because Russia is willing to go all out, President Putin will not be tolerated when the European setting goes equally wrong (and it has every chance of going wrong) as West Europe has been getting ready for some time and the are as motivated as the Ukrainians were in year one and now that Russia has lost as much hardware as we have seen a mere 8 hours ago:

We shall see what Russia can bring to the fight, they still have plenty, but they lost oil, infrastructure and plenty of people. They have not considered the willingness of Western Europe to stay ‘Russian-free’ and when Germany invades Russia, the losses for President Putin (President Trump too) will be complete. It will isolate America and sets a dangerous precedent as China will ‘offer’ help to Canada and the other Commonwealth nations. With Australia and New Zealand they pretty much ‘own’ the Pacific and now we can have a sense of humor and take Hawaii as the ninth state. Well, it will be self managed by the Native Hawaiians, they merely accept King Charles III as their sovereign, but for the rest they rule Hawaii themselves which might already be a step up from today. I reckon that Americans will not really like that. They wanted Canada as their 51st state and in the end they lose Hawaii and end up with 49 states. Karma is a bitch, ain’t it. 

Oh and now America (if China comes in) used to have China 11,359.64 km away, in the new setting they could have China a mere 230 km away (Vancouver-Seattle), so how is that intelligent call from President Trump hitting you all now?

Seems to be a nice day, and it is weekend. So what will happen on Sunday and Monday? I have no idea but if President Trump does more of this, next week might not be that great for Americans. Have a great day.

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May 30, 2018 · 11:39

Be not stupid

There is an article in the Guardian. Now, we all agree that anyone has their own views, that has been a given for the longest of times, and those reading my blog know that I have a different view at times, yet for the most, I remained neutral and non-attacking to those with a different view, that’s how I roll.

Today is different, the article “‘Easy trap to fall into’: why video-game loot boxes need regulation” by Mattha Busby (@MatthaBusby) got to me. It is time for people to realise that when you are over 18, you are responsible for your actions. So I have, pretty much, no patience with any American, Reddit user or not, who gives us “a Reddit user who claims to have spent $10,000“. If you are that stupid, you should not be allowed to play video games.

The Setting

To comprehend my anger, you need to realise the setting we see here. You see, loot boxes are not new. This goes all the way back to 1991 when Richard Garfield created Magic, the gathering. I was not really on board in the beginning, but I played the game. The issues connect when you realise how the product was sold. There was a starter kit (which we call the basic game) it will have enough cards to start playing the game as well as the essential cards you need to play it. To get ahead in the game you need to get boosters. Here is where it gets interesting. Dozens of games are working on the principle that Richard Garfield founded. A booster would have 9-13 cards (depending on the game), It would have 1 (read: One) rare card (or better), 3 uncommon cards and the rest would be common cards. I had several of these games I played and in the end (after 20 boosters) it was merely about collecting the rare cards if you wanted a complete set. Some would not care about it and they could play the game. So this is not a new thing, so if you truly spend $10,000 you should not complain. If you have the money it is not an issue, if you did not, you are too stupid for words. In games it is not new either. Mass Effect 3, the best multiplayer game ever (my personal view) had loot boxes as well, I am pretty sure that they were the first. Yes, you could buy them, with money, or with Microsoft credit points. The third option was that you could gather points whilst playing (at the cost of $0) and use these gained points to buy loot boxes, the solution most people used. Over time you would end up with sensational goods to truly slice and dice the opponents, all gained through play time, no extra cash required.

So when I see places like Venture beat (and the Guardian of course) state issues like: “some people, policymakers, and regulators — including the gaming authorities in Belgium and Netherlands — that those card packs have are gambling“. I see these statements as moronic and I regard them as statements of false presentation. You see, that is not what it is about! When you see the attached picture, you see that these cards are sold EVERYWHERE. The issue is that the CCG card games are sold in the shops, which means that revenue is TAXED. The online sales are not and now, policymakers are all up in arms because they lost out on a non-taxable ‘$1.25 billion during its last quarter even without releasing a major new game‘, that is the real issue and they are now all acting in falsehood. So, when I see “I am currently $15,800 in debt. My wife no longer trusts me. My kids, who ask me why I am playing Final Fantasy all the time, will never understand how I selfishly spent money I should have been using for their activities“, as well as “he became addicted to buying in-game perks, which he later described as ‘digital garbage’“. I merely see people without discipline, without proper control. So without any regard for diplomacy I will call them junkies, plain and simple. Junkies who have no idea just how stupid they are. And, since when do we adjust policy for junkies? Since when are the 99% who hold themselves all plenty accountable, have the proper discipline to not overspend and some (like me) never considered loot boxes in a game like Shadow of War, now being held to account, to lessened gaming impact by junkies? Can anyone answer me this?

Now, we need to take into consideration one or two things. Are the FIFA18 loot boxes set in a similar light? That is the one place where (seemingly) FIFA is in the wrong. You see I have been searching to get any info on what is in a FIFA loot box, but there is no information given. I believe that this lack is actually an issue, yet that could be resolved in 24 hours if Electronic Arts would dedicate 1 page (considering it brings them $1.25 billion a quarter) on what is to be found in a loot box (Rare, Uncommon, Common). The second part that I cannot answer (because I am not a soccer fan) is whether the game allows loot boxes to be earned through playing and finally. Can the game be played without loot boxes? It seems like such a small alteration to make and especially when we see the fuss that is being made now. Some additional facts can be seen in Rolling Stone Magazine of all places (at https://www.rollingstone.com/glixel/features/loot-boxes-never-ending-games-and-always-paying-players-w511655). So now that we get a fuss from several nations, nations that have been all open and accepting on games like The Decipher CCG games Star Trek and Star Wars, Magic the Gathering, The Lord of the Rings, My Little Pony, Harry Potter, Pokémon, and that list goes on for some time. In that regard, they are all gambling and in my view, I feel certain that these so called politicians and lime light seekers will do absolutely NOTHING to get anything done because the cards are subject to VAT and the online stuff is lost taxable revenue. That is what I personally see as the foundation of a corrupt administration.

You see, the fact is that it is not gambling. You buy something that is in 3 categories, Rare, Uncommon and Common, you ALWAYS get this in a setting of 1 rare, 3 uncommon and 5 common, which card you get is not a given, it is random, but they will always get that setting. Let’s for example state that the loot box is $7, you get one $3 card, three $1 cards and five $0.20 cards, so how is that gambling? For Electronic Arts, until they update the website to give a precise definition might be in waters that are a little warmer, but that can be fixed by the end of the day. Perhaps they do have such a page, but Google did not find it.

In addition, Venture Beat gave us (at https://venturebeat.com/2018/05/08/ea-ceo-were-pushing-forward-with-loot-boxes-in-face-of-regulation/) “EA will have to convince policymakers around the world that it is doing enough and that its mechanics are not the same as the kinds of games you’d find in a casino“, which is easy as these policymakers did absolutely nothing to stop CCG’s like Pokémon and My Little Pony (truly games for minors), so we can stat that this was never about the loot box, it was about missed taxable revenue, a side that all the articles seemed to have left in the dark.

The Guardian has one additional gem. With: “A bill introduced in Minnesota last month would prohibit the sale of video games with loot boxes to under-18s and require a severe warning: “This game contains a gambling-like mechanism that may promote the development of a gaming disorder that increases the risk of harmful mental or physical health effects, and may expose the user to significant financial risk.”” Here I am in the middle. I think that Americans are not that bright at times, a point of view supported with the image of paper cups with the text ‘Caution Hot’ to avoid liability if some idiot burns their mouth; we know that sanity is out of the window. Yet the idea that there should be a loot box warning is perhaps not the worst idea. I think that EA could get ahead of the curve by clearly stating in a readable font size that ‘no loot boxes are needed to play the game‘, which is actually a more apt statement (and a true one) for Shadow of War, with FIFA18, I do not know. You see, this is a changed venue, when you can add a world player to your team the equation changes. Yet, does it make it more or less enjoyable? If I play NHL with my Capitals team and I get to add Mario Lemieux and Wayne Gretsky my chances to get the Stanley cup go up, yet is that a real win or is that cheating? That is of course the other side, the side that the game maker Ubisoft enabled in their Assassins Creed series. you could unlock weapons and gear for a mere $4, they clearly stated that the player would be able to unlock the options during the game, yet some people are not really gamers, mere players with a short attention span and they want the hardware upfront. Enter the Civil war with an Uzi and a Remington, to merely coin a setting. Are they gamers, or are they cheaters? It is a fair question and there is no real answer. Some say that the game allowed them to do this, which is fair and some say, you need to earn the kills you make. We can go to it from any direction, yet when we are confronted with mere junkies going on with spending $15,800, adding to a $69 game, we are confronted with people so stupid, it makes me wonder how he got his wife pregnant in the first place. If the given debt $15,800 is true then there should be a paper trail. In that regard I am all for the fact that there should be a spending limit of perhaps $500 a month, a random number but the fact that there is a limit to spend is not the worst idea. In the end, you have to pay for the stuff, so have a barrier at that point could have imposed a limit on the spending. In addition, we can point at the quote “how I selfishly spent money I should have been using for their activities” and how that is the response of any junk to make, ‘Oh! I am so sorry‘, especially after the junk got his/her fix.

The Guardian gives in addition an actual interesting side: “Hawaiian congressman Chris Lee said “are specifically designed to exploit and manipulate the addictive nature of human psychology”“, it is a fair point to make. Are ‘game completionists’ OCD people? Can the loot box be a vessel of wrongdoing? It might, yet that still does not make it gambling or illegal, which gets us to the Minnesota setting of a warning on the box. It is an interesting option and I think that most game makers would not oppose that, because you basically are not keeping loot boxes a secret and that might be a fair call to make, as long as we are not going overboard with messages like: “This game is a digital product, it requires a working computer to install and operate“, because at that point we have gone overboard again. This as a nice contrast against: “In the Netherlands, meanwhile, lawmakers have said that at least four popular games contravene its gambling laws because items gleaned from loot box can be assigned value when they are traded in marketplaces“, which is another issue. you see when you realise that “you can’t sell any digital content that you aren’t authorized to sell” and as we also saw in Venture Beat ““While we forbid the transfer of items and in-game currency outside of the games, we also actively seek to eliminate that where it’s going on in an illegal environment,”“, we see a first part where we can leave it to the Dutch to cater to criminals on any average working day, making the lawmakers (from my personal point of view slightly short sighted).

So, in the end Mattha had a decent article, yet the foundation (the CCG games) which were the creators of the founding concept were left outside the basket of consideration, which is a large booboo, especially when we realise that they are still for sale in all these complaining countries and that in that very same regard these games are not considered gambling, which sets the stage that this was never about gambling, but several desperate EU nations, as well as the US mind you, that they are all realising that loot boxes are billions of close to non-taxable revenues. That is where the issue holds and even as I do not disagree with the honourable men from both Hawaii and Minnesota, the larger group of policy players are all about the money (and the linked limelight), an issue equally left in the dark. There is one issue against Electronic Arts, yet they can fix that before the virtual ink on the web page has dried, so that issue is non-existent as well soon enough.

It’s all in the game and this discussion will definitely be part of the E3 2018, it has reached too many governments not to do so. I reckon that on E3 Day Zero, EA and Ubisoft need to sit down in a quiet room with cold drinks and talk loot box tactics, in that regard they should invite Richard Garfield into their meeting as an executive consultant. He might give them a few pointers to up the profit whilst remaining totally fair to the gamers, a win-win for all I say! Well, not for the politicians and policy makers, but who cares about them? For those who do care about those people, I have a bridge for sale with a lovely view of Balmain Sydney, going cheap today only!

 

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