Tag Archives: Iran

February 20, 2026 · 10:56

The way of the dodo

Yes, that is a path that I am walking at present. You see, I am (originally) a Catholic. As such I tend to miss the Islamic markers around me. And this year I was aware of Ramadan, even though I do not practice it. So the news given by Morocco World News (at https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2026/02/279298/impossible-moon-saudi-arabia-faces-scrutiny-after-declaring-wednesday-as-1st-day-of-ramadan/) caught me unaware for two reasons. The first setting is that the accusation that Saudi Arabia made an Islamic booboo (as expressions go) is out of the realm of my conception of Islam. In this I am biased. I see Shia Islam (Iran) as evil and Sunni Islam (Saudi Arabia) as good. As such I see Islam of the UAE on the same footing as Saudi Arabia. If people want to convict me of these thoughts, that’s fair (as long as they are Muslim)

So the news given to me was ‘Impossible Moon: Saudi Arabia Faces Scrutiny After Declaring Wednesday as 1st Day of Ramadan’, I was own a different footing. I got that it was Ramadan as Google informed me it was, nothing complex about this. But then I tend to rely on Google on many matters, like the Horoscope, Chinese days and a few more like this and Ramadan fits in that setting for me. So a the News from Rabat is given to me In the form of “Another year, another controversy as experts and observers across the world are surprised and nearly shocked over Saudi Arabia’s decision to declare Wednesday as the first day of Ramadan 2026.

The Gulf country aligns with other nations in the region and beyond, who are facing scrutiny over their decision, with experts and astronomy centers stressing that the crescent moon, called the “hilal”, was impossible to sight last night.” This kinda caught me unaware. I am not a Muslim and as such I am in the dark of these matters. I for one (with my scientific mind) was thinking that as the world is almost a sphere that some will not see what some do see. So, what is visible from Mecca (or Riyadh) might be out of view for Rabat , Casablanca and a few more places. But that is thrown upside down as we are given “Critics say the declaration is against all available data contradicting declarations from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and beyond, which started fasting for Ramadan today. Astronomers had warned prior that highly unfavorable celestial conditions would make it impossible to sight the moon yesterday, February 17. Astronomy calculations suggest the moon sat before or simultaneously with the sun in most Islamic countries. This would serve as an obstacle to leave an observable crescent above the horizon, with both the moon’s age and angular separation from the sun also far below globally accepted visibility thresholds.” I am merely posting what Morocco World News is giving me, because in the first I am not Muslim, I am also neither a astronomer and I wouldn’t be able to do these calculations without an additional 4 years of University level of mathematics and calculus. So I lose out three times. And when we get to the setting of “According to Evrim Agaci, a Turkish science and education organization, the moon was supposed to disappear a mere 42 seconds ahead of the sun’s descent last night” it seems a matter of less than a minute and that is the slimmest of all astronomical settings as I personally see it. And my lack of knowledge and insight into science (as given above) I heralded with “The same source detailed how the moon will set before the sun in many cities, including in Abu Dhabi, where the moon sets one minute before sunset. “In Riyadh, it will set 37 seconds earlier,” Gulf News reported. Several other countries like Jordan, Oman, and Egypt announced Thursday as the first day of Ramadan, acknowledging the impossibility of sighting the moon. Saudi Arabia’s controversy is not limited to this single incident, especially as the Gulf country has long been treated as a reference point by many Muslim countries that model their own calendar decisions on Saudi announcements.” And my comical setting of a town proclamatory walking through Yas Mall (in Abu Dhabi), ringing a bell proclaiming ‘Ramadan has started’ brings a small grin to my mind knowing that the sin goes down a mine later and everyone can enjoy their foods until sunrise. But that is me, always trying to see the bright spot on the moon (its right between Ptolemaeus and Mare Nectaris) And yet, this article gives us another setting, one that I had no knowledge of and no expectation of. It is seen in “Observational data consistently show Morocco is among the most accurate in determining the start of lunar months, as they base their Islamic calendar on actually sighting the crescent moon with the naked eye. This approach relies on different methods, including engaging clerics, astronomers, and armed forces units in a coordinated effort.” I did not expect that to be a strength of Morocco. As such we might say ‘Calculate it again, Sam’ with a small wink at Casablanca. So even as I go the way of the Dodo, I do see that we are all fallible and we all come to conclusions. I am not judging Saudi Arabia, the UAE or even Morocco. But a setting of this magnitude happens. We might think bad, good or anywhere between there and uncaring. But the fact that this happens brings a smile to my face. Because we are all fallible and someone wanting to enter Ramadan a day early should be heralded into doing the best for his or her faith. It is seemingly that simple, at least that Is what I think.

You all have a lovely day and abstain from offering any Elderly Muslim water between dawn (Suhoor) to sunset (Iftar), I would want to do this for humanitarian reasons, but apparently it is not an option to Muslims, knowing this makes my heart hurt a little more than I am comfortable with.

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February 13, 2026 · 14:59

As the world grows smaller

That is at times the setting, not because we are shrinking, but people leap with larger bounds, seek more distant settings and as distant settings become more and more reachable we seem to be shrinking. For the world this also means that other means become available. And here The United Arab Emirates take a leap, more specifically the ADNOC (Abu Dhabi National Oil Company) seeks to deliver LNG, more even better stated more LNG to the world as we are handed that “Abu Dhabi National Oil Co.’s shipping arm is evaluating the purchase of liquefied natural gas tankers as the state producer accelerates its push into global gas trading. Adnoc Logistics & Services may order four to six vessels to support the group’s expanding international business, Chief Executive Officer Abdulkareem Al Masabi said in an interview Wednesday. The order would come in addition to 14 LNG carriers already contracted to serve export projects in the United Arab Emirates.” this comes with the added setting of “Some of the new tankers could be ordered this year if a decision is taken to buy them, Al Masabi said without disclosing the potential cost. The company said Thursday that it continues to monitor developments in the global LNG market, but no orders for additional LNG vessels have been decided. Expanding the fleet would give Adnoc greater flexibility to market cargoes internationally rather than relying solely on long-term contracts.” Come to think of it, I wrote ‘Sinking a dilemma’ on February 1st 2026 (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2026/02/01/sinking-a-dilemma/) seems like a nice coincidence, because that tunnel might avoid several pressures. And as we are given “Al Masabi also said tensions in the Red Sea have “calmed down,” though the route remains sensitive after months of attacks by Iranian-linked Houthi forces prompted many shipping companies to avoid the area. Some operators have recently resumed or increased voyages through the corridor.” This doesn’t cover the pressures there were, but it is related. If there are more options, more and more countries will hammer the Houthi forces with drones (and optionally actual aircrafts) to keep the Houthi population down (preferable close to zero). But these forces rely on Iranian support and at present Iran is walking a fine line. I personally am still open to the destruction of their oil reserves as an empty coffer wouldn’t allow them to buy any DLE-170 170CC Twin Two-stroke part, as such the problem also goes away. Yes, I know it is a figment of my imagination, but the idea that the Iranian Credit Card is no longer allowed to be used to buy any weapons is a nice dream to have. And as we are also given “Adnoc L&S is adding vessels to handle rising domestic export capacity. The company will take delivery of two LNG carriers this year — adding to four already received — to transport gas from Abu Dhabi’s existing export terminal at Das Island. A further eight ships will serve the Ruwais LNG terminal under construction on the Gulf coast, which is scheduled for completion in 2028.” As such (as I see it) Emirati export is going nicely in an upward setting. 

But personally (which might rely on flawed logic) there is every chance that people working in the oil and gas industry might also find employment there. It comes with all kinds of settings (not all seen as positive) as you might find yourself doing a tour on Das Island which is around 173.4 KM away from the party centres of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, but I reckon that its airport makes that trip in under an hour (call for specifics +97126063622). And that is the symbiosis you would want, work hard all day and twice a week (or a weekend) splash it around in either two places. But I might be oversimplifying the problem. 

What does matter that ADNOC has a growing availability of something almost the entire world needs and that makes it a sellers market. So get your orders of LNG in quick, once the contracts are signed the abundance goes away for you.

Have a great day, time for me to seek out the coolness of ice coffee and take a small walk.

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February 1, 2026 · 14:14

Sinking a dilemma

It was what I was thinking not just this morning, but in the past as well You see, people are so ‘upset’ about the danger towards the setting of Iran, that they seemingly are overlooking the obvious. The Strait of Hormuz is seemingly the blockade that Iran would like to ‘enforce’ if at all possible, but when you consider that the solution to this might be a lot less when you consider that a canal could be dug, starting north of Sharjah, going south south east towards Adhen and after that east towards Sharm and then out and straight into the Gulf of Oman. I reckon that this will also give the UAE several financial options. 

First there is the toll that ships have to pay to avoid any complications with Iran, then there are options for crew and vessels to optionally restock and refresh what they have in either Umm Al Quwain, Adhen or Sharm. This setting might bring several opportunities and there is the national pride of a canal though the UAE which might be an eye-catcher to all those yachts getting to Dubai. And there are risks but some can be levied beforehand and I reckon there might be plenty of oil companies happy to avoid the Strait of Hormuz, especially if there are any complications with the American clambake in Iran (they are trying to have one, but getting anything reliable form the White House is dodgy at best. And as a non-geologist, I have no idea what these hills (optional mountain ranges east of Adhen) will bring. But the professionals in this business will be able to ascertain what are dangers and what are mere complications that can be ‘negated’ and the Salmon canal I drew is a bit arbitrary (read: random) perhaps a canal more south towards Sharjah would be preferred. There are plenty of other thoughts, but I looked at the problem and I thought “What if we just avoid the Straight of Hormuz?” A simple thought and drawing a line is also simple, but I reckon that is when the professionals come into play and they have their own settings. Another benefit is that the Al Bidya Mosque is likely to get hundreds more visitors and there are multiple other opportunities, but also I think risk, because when tourists suddenly swarm a area, other not so nice settings come out the woodwork. But those are thoughts for another day. I am merely happy that I had another idea in a non-related area of expertise. For me it means that my brain is working creatively and optionally correctly. 

There is merely the setting that could open the eyes of others and considering what could be gained, I reckon it is something from the UAE who needs to do this. Another setting is that with the Straight of Hormuz out of the way, plenty of other yachters might consider setting their eyesight on Dubai. And optionally through the Suez Canal, but that might be overthinking it. It is merely the other side of opportunity that is at times the drag we all have. 

Have a great day and enjoy your coffee today (I am resorting to ice coffee as it is 30 degrees in my room now).

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January 24, 2026 · 06:19

Where are we heading?

That is the setting that I foresee and it worries me. I ‘accidentally’ stumbled upon an article (at https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Saudi-Aramco-Dismisses-Oil-Glut-Narrative-as-Seriously-Exaggerated.html) where we can watch a disturbing element. The headline given is ‘Saudi Aramco Dismisses Oil Glut Narrative as ‘Seriously Exaggerated’’it paused me as oil glut is defined as “An oil glut occurs when the global supply of crude oil significantly exceeds demand, resulting in an oversupply that cannot be fully consumed or sol” it would drive prices down, now we are always ‘in the market’ for cheap oil and even as I never gave credence to a car, I get why we need it. So the article gives us “The International Energy Agency (IEA) this week raised its oil demand growth estimate and expects growth at 930,000 barrels per day (bpd) in 2026, up by 70,000 bpd from last month’s assessment”, so who is the IEA? As given (at the IEA site) “The IEA family is made up of 32 Member countries, 13 Association countries, and 4 Accession countries seeking IEA membership” now for the interesting setting. This setting does include the United States (Brent oil) but does not include Saudi Arabia (Aramco) or the UAE (ADNOC), how do they get to drive down the price and talk about ‘oil demand’? Especially with the two largest contributors missing, oh, and it is also missing Iran and Venezuela. So is this a place where whining individuals start doing the Oliver Twist (please, can I have some more?) And where is the justice in making anyone produce more? Oil is a finite commodity and the nations who have it have every right to get their stock valued as high as possible (which is not in my best interest) but I gather that the United States have their stock in this through Brent Oil. As we are ‘given’ that “In 2024, the U.S. exported approximately 10.7 million barrels per day (b/d) of petroleum, while importing roughly 8.4 million b/d. The U.S. primarily exports light sweet crude and refined products like gasoline and diesel to over 170 countries.” As such they export 100% of what they import, as such they want the oil as cheap as possible, so their profit margins go up as much as possible. And for them 10,700,000 daily barrels where the price goes down 10%, whilst selling goes u by 5% makes for an interesting spreadsheet. But I do not see that part reflected anywhere do I? As such I wonder who will speak up for Saudi Arabia or the UAE? I personally don’t care that much about Venezuela or Iran but there you have it. A micro economy that is ultimately bending to the will of America and its need for greed. A setting that is not in the interest of either Saudi Arabia or the UAE and we are passing that by for the need of greed?  And when you realise this oil glut is a scenario that the IEA prefers, because they want to spike their profits and that is only possible when they bring oil prices down, but oil will spike and sooner than you think. With these data centers popping out nearly everywhere, the setting gets a much larger spike, because the planet is low on energy resources. And the IEA has you covered there too. They give us “Global electricity generation to supply data centres is projected to grow from 460 TWh in 2024 to over 1000 TWh in 2030 and 1300 TWh in 2035 in the Base Case.” Consider that setting when you consider that the Energy requirements of data centers will more than double over the next 4 years. That comes down to 25% growth a year and the nuclear facilities that are under construction will not come online before 2035. So where will oil stand in that case? I might not care about oil, but when the population of nearly every country will bitch when their petrol prices keep on spiking, year after year.

That is the reality and as I see it, the people ‘needing’ data centers also need oil prices to go down, so how is this fair on Saudi Arabia or the UAE? We seemingly forget on what is fair. The setting is as I see it jumping into the proverbial exploitation setting of the United States and after Venezuela and Greenland, sod we need to give in to the United States, more over can we even consider giving in to this American Administration and its need for greed? They wasted to opportunities they had and they now have a $38,600,000,000,000 debt. I think we have given enough, time to bail out and time to find more responsible people, because some say that greed is eternal, and until now I really never saw it that way. 

We are in a dangerous time and adjusting the ‘economic’ sentiment to what greed America and its vessels have is clearly the wrong move. So whilst the oilprce article gives us “But the market continues to be oversupplied, the Paris-based agency noted. “Indeed, benchmark crude oil prices remain $16/bbl lower than a year ago, reflecting the large global supply surplus that built up over the past 12 months, in line with our forecasts,” the IEA said.” As such the response “Oil glut predictions are seriously exaggerated,” by Aramco’s Nasser seem to be spot on. And it seems he is alone preaching against the choir of greed driven individuals. And as I see it, the IEA seemingly agrees with him. 

So where do we go now?

Have a great day today, I am a mere 150 minutes from breakfast at this time.

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December 31, 2025 · 10:06

The direction doesn’t matter

That is a weird stage to set things on, but for me in Australia, I am looking to events in the NW (actually WNW to North), Canada looks at it as events in the East (actually ESE) and Europe sees it as events to the South (actually SE), we look at things from a different perspective and in this the ABC (at https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-12-31/uae-saudi-arabia-yemen-strikes-port-weapons-shipment/106188568) we get ‘UAE withdraws personnel from Yemen after Saudi Arabia air strikes’ and the headline matters, but this is not the most important part. You see, I partially take offense to “The United Arab Emirates is pulling its personnel out of Yemen after Saudi Arabia’s bombing of an alleged shipment of weapons and vehicles it claimed had been going to a separatist group. The UAE Ministry of Defence said it would withdraw its remaining “counter-terrorism teams” from southern Yemen after Saudi Arabia issued a 24-hour deadline to the Emirates to leave and cease sending weapons and money to any group in the country.” This follows the issue I have with “Both Saudi Arabia and the Emirates intervened in Yemen’s civil war in 2015, as the major players in a coalition fighting the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in the north.” The ABC is wrong here, these aren’t Houthi rebels, they are Houthi Terrorists and they better realise their wrongful setting of the euphemism brush that they use in cases of Yemen events. As I see it,“A terrorist is an individual who uses or threatens violence against non-combatants (such as civilians) to create widespread fear and thereby achieve political, religious, or ideological goals.” And in all this Iran is equally guilty for enabling these terrorist events by delivering hardware and knowledge to the Houthi terrorists. We merely get “On 9 October 2021, Houthi forces launched two suicide drones on King Abdullah Airport in Jizan, Saudi Arabia. The attack left 10 wounded; six Saudi nationals, three Bangladeshi and one Sudanese as well as and minor damage to civilian property.” Yet, if the media took the trouble to question Colonel Turki bin Saleh al-Maliki of the Royal Saudi Air Force, they would get a number a lot higher and more recent of the attacks these terrorists made on Saudi Arabian soil, even though Yemeni hardware could never enabled these actions, neither was it possible to see the attacks on 14 September 2019, where drones were used to attack oil processing facilities. Houthi forces never had the knowhow and precision to follow through in that, making Iran the most likely culprit (I use culprit loosely as I never saw the evidence) and the western media is massively shy the reports on this, because that would enable Saudi Arabia to get the backing from the global population and that is a second setting the world was not ready for. It is all nice if one party is show to be the bad apple, but when too much evidence is showing to be incorrect, the people will ask questions and the media set themselves up for that stage. And there are developing stages here. As ABC gives us “But Dr Kendall said the Saudis and Emiratis supported different factions in southern Yemen, with Saudi Arabia preferring a united Yemen and the Emiratis supporting the separatist STC, which wants to create a new state in the south. That rivalry has intensified, especially after the UAE expanded its influence and military presence across southern Yemen and its islands, while Saudi Arabia responded by bombing the STC in Yemen’s eastern provinces last week. “Clashes have erupted in the past, most notably in 2019, but now is the most serious clash yet. This is a very serious disagreement about how, when and if the south should break away,” Dr Kendall said.” It shows that my knowledge is lacking involving Yemeni events and I blame the media for not keeping us up to date and that is the function of the media. ABC has been properly advising its readers (listeners and watchers too) of these events, but they likely have limiting resources. And as I see it, ABC stands mostly alone, whilst American, British and European news agencies let that chapter slide as (as I personally see it) Yemen isn’t sexy enough for the news. But that also implies that too many hand the bad card to Saudi Arabia whilst that is not the proper thing. As I see it, Iran is a lot more guilty of these bad cards than Saudi Arabia would have ever been entitled to.

We are also given ““The UAE categorically rejects any attempt to implicate the country in tensions among Yemeni parties and strongly denounces allegations that it exerted pressure on, or issued directives to, any Yemeni party to undertake military operations that would undermine the security of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia or target its borders,” the Emirati government said in a statement.” I cannot counter that because the media never gave us the real deal, but I am willing to color both nations in happy green, whilst keeping Iran in evil red (as colours go in my view of things) and that makes coloring the borders a problem, because I have seen close (thought Arabian news sources) to half a dozen attacks on Saudi civilian targets, making the Houthi terrorist the guilty party. So why is the ABC labeling them ‘Houthi rebels’? 

It is a setting that due to one sided and limited exposure a setting of question and whilst we might see the UAE and Saudi Arabia as the noble sides, there is more going on in Yemen and that could give us a setting of doubt and we are able and willing to be in doubt, because as I see it, most of the media isn’t doing their job (as I personally see it).

All whilst ABC gave us this image which is striking. There is a whole range of elements in action, some in the hearts of the Yemeni and the media just won’t give us the real deal. Why is that?

Have a great day and today is the last day of the year here, tomorrow will be another year.

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November 18, 2025 · 11:34

A story to consider

That is the setting and it is all based on a story. As I see it, it could be a script. A script not written as a technicolor setting in the likes of The Bourne Identity with the one and only Jason Damon. No not like that, it is more like a documentary that his brother Matt Damon narrated in 2010. The movie Inside Job. You see, it is not about the story, it becomes about the narration and the storyline and people look at a documentary differently when it involves people like Bruce Wayne and Tony Stark. Yes, the story can be wielded in many ways. So as we recall the setting of September 14th 2019 where Houthi ‘forces’ attacked Aramco. It was immediately clear that Houthi forces could not have facilitated to that. They lacked infrastructure, trained personal and technical know how to do this. In the end there were three options and I came to the conclusion that Iran and their IRGC were the culprits. So my mind went considering the innovations available to me (my nog) and I came to a few innovations that at that time were merely on a drawing board. So here it is the story of Master Blaster DJ Intelligence and the scoundrel settings of tomorrow. Quite the narration isn’t it?

So as the DJ takes up the mic to blast a few settings. We see that innovation was not standing still. First there was the drone carrier and a reaper drone. The reapers could drop of each two careers at a safe distance. Then the carriers took over and they went on their merry way to deliver the drones. They were also the eyes for an overseer, all whilst the reapers went ack on their merry way. The carriers were strategically placed and from there the drones (six per carrier) were released. So as these drones are set to a target, and for the most it is set via satellite pictures and from there, the drones would be released. The automatic setting would do most of the job, but at times it needs a human eye as pictures can only see so much. And there we have it, The Abadus refinery

A setting we know that it is the largest refinery that Iran has. And now we see 9 targets, each get hit by two drones, explosive drones. And the mess that Iran is settled with is not to be seen as enviable. Basically 18 drones at $4K per drone, a little over $70K will cause billions of damage and the impact of that is seen all over Iran. As such the setting that the IRGC opened themselves up to is not the prettiest sight, it is a setting where a refinery pushing out 429,000 barrels per day and the oldest refinery, taking care of 25% of the fuel production will take millions, if not billions in damage and that is setting Iran back for decades. If there is a second refinery, like the Bandar Abbas Refinery you could cripple Iran for years (optionally) and also production comes at a stand still. So, do you still think attacking Aramco was a good idea? You see, two can play that game and I have plenty of innovative ideas in that regard. Take the reaper drones where two of them could release two careers each and they have up to 6 drones and not all are explosive drones. 1-2 could be spy drones who land at a seldom looked location and spy on the surroundings. And whilst the two reaper drones fly back to load up 4 more carrier drones you could hit both Abadus and Bandar Abbas in that same instance. Just the innovative me tinkering with ideas. 

I wonder how deep that setting exists? You see, they want to do it all, but if the distance is too great, the reaper drones are a safe way to get them to nearby whilst the carrier drones do the last 10% of the trip and release the drones of war. And that story would sound great as the voice of Master blaster DJ Intelligence (go practice you voice Matt). And that setting is an optional new way to bring a story and I reckon that the Saudi’s and in particular Al Saudiya TV would love to bring that story to the Saudi’s. Yes, there was a greed setting, but never in the way you think it was. Entertainment set in motion through the setting of a documentary. I don’t think I have seen that before (the Blair Witch project does not count). And it is all done in the setting of entertainment. The IRGC has been entertaining its population through Hezbollah and Hamas long enough. Time to give them a little entertainment themselves and it tends to come from a direction you never see coming. 

So, what do you say Mr Damon, you on board for this? Have a great day, I am off enjoying my own kind of oil, it is called coffee. 

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November 8, 2025 · 16:33

Is it a bird, it is Superman?

Nope, it is a plane and it is heading for Saudi Arabia as we read (at https://aviationa2z.com/index.php/2025/11/08/saudi-arabia-to-buy-48-f-35-worth-142-billion/) ‘Saudi Arabia to Buy 48 Most Expensive Fighter Jet in the World Worth $142 Billion’, as such the first hurdle of the Pentagon has allegedly been passed. We are given “Saudi Arabia’s request for F-35 Lightning II stealth fighters is reportedly progressing within the Pentagon, according to sources cited by Reuters. The move could make Riyadh (RUH) the first Arab nation to field a fifth-generation stealth jet, breaking Israel’s exclusive control of the platform in the region.” And let’s face it, they can afford these bad boys. And it would make any Russian equipped Iranian flight force obsolete. Some say the best air force is one you never have to fly. I disagree. I say  “I prefer the air force  you only have to fly once. That’s how the veterans did it, that’s how allies do it, and it’s worked out pretty well so far” (yes, I stole this quote from Iron Man, so sue me) it is like Australia being attacked by New Zealand in Sopwith Camels in the past, it never went anywhere. As such these 48 birds will await with baited breath for Iran to make a silly mistake and it will be the last mistake they will ever make. I reckon that these 48 can take on at least 98 of their Sukhoi Su-57 and Russia (at present) seemingly only made 29 of them, the rest is outstanding, as such Iran will no longer have options in the air as soon as the first set of these bad boys arrive. 

I never understood the reluctance to sell these planes to their own ally, but in the end it seems that Saudi Arabia is getting them. And when we see “The potential sale aligns with former U.S. President Donald Trump’s defense agenda, as his administration approved a $142 billion arms package for the Kingdom in May 2025. Although the F-35 was initially excluded, the latest discussions suggest it has now advanced to the Defense Secretary level, signaling renewed momentum.” This event started in 2017 and it appears that Prince Khalid bin Salman Al Saud (who was elected to this position in 2022) did not wander in the situation, as it seems he went in and got the job done. This is no attack on its predecessor as the American administration had been dragging its feet since day one (a presumption that I am making) but now the good news is flying all over the Arabian peninsula and as I see it a defeat by horse no show through Iran. 

In opposition I see “Tel Aviv has repeatedly emphasized its right to maintain military superiority under U.S. law, which restricts Washington from supplying equivalent systems to neighboring states”, I am in opposition here as Iran is the danger and Israel knows this. Saudi Arabia had been adamant on protecting its own borders and this will do this. And as I see it, the Israeli response is (seemingly) ludicrous. With “Israeli officials and defense analysts have voiced concern that F-35 deliveries to Saudi Arabia could erode this advantage. They warn that potential technology transfers to Russia, China, or Iran—however speculative—could compromise sensitive systems.” It is a decent preemptive fear to have, but as Iran is no friend of Saudi Arabia and handing any technology to Russia would only make it stronger seems to be a weird fear to have. I get that Israel has these fears but as Saudi Arabia needs its own borders secure, I reckon that this is too far fetched a fear to have. It’s like I would have a fear being attacked by Piranha’s, all whist the closest lake is miles away. 

So I reckon that there will be salutes and felicitations going all over Riyadh at present.

Have a great day and don’t have too many dreams on Australia being attacked by Sopwith Camels, they don’t have the range to make it from Wellington to Sydney.

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October 18, 2025 · 19:52

The eye on the other things

That is me (to some extent) I was in hospital for the last 30 hours getting rid of skin  and er on my eye lid, the most ridiculous place to get it I say and as such I wasn’t able to keep an eye on things (whatever will I think of next). The clear setting it gives is that I was able to mesmerize on a few of the old IP things I had designed and consider a few ‘alterations’ of this. From Sushi shaped power packs plus to Real Estate enhancements, they all passed the queue. So as I am listening to Bear McCreary’s soundtracks of Battlestar Galactica (the stomping grounds of Edward James Olmos) I am reading Al Jazeera’s piece ‘Trump expects expansion of Abraham accords soon, hopes S Arabia will join’ (at https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10/17/trump-expects-expansion-of-abraham-accords-soon-hopes-s-arabia-will-join) and a thought was slamming my mind. There are two issues. The first is the byline “Widespread regional anger over Israel’s war on Gaza, and beyond, will likely prove a major obstacle to any further signatories to the accords.” The name Hamas is mentioned once, once after all the atrocities they did to the Palestinians ad no word from all these pro Palestinian losers all over the world. It seems that Hamas scored too large a victory and something needs to be done. As I said several times in the past. Palestine is only possible AFTER Hamas is eradicated. And I am not at all certain that Iran isn’t still addressing THEIR needs to Hamas. 

The second thought that came to mind was that there is nothing on ‘What is important to Saudi Arabia’ as it stands there is no real certainty that Qatar (Al Jazeera) isn’t addressing its own needs and shuffling it to their audience giving it a non-Iranian paint job.

So as the eye is on what is important to Saudi Arabia we are given “one week into the all-encompassing and fragile Gaza ceasefire between Israel and Hamas” which has the one mention of Hamas, but the setting of ““I hope to see Saudi Arabia go in, and I hope to see others go in. I think when Saudi Arabia goes in, everybody goes in,” Trump said in an interview broadcast Friday on Fox Business Network.” Is a setting that is ‘innocently’ undersold, but the stronger sense remains. When did President Trump, or the players in the EU address what was important to Saudi Arabia? So when we get the larger setting of “The “Abraham Accords” secured agreements between Israel and the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan” we optionally only see the UAE as the larger player and I tend to agree that any balance in the Arabic Middle East will require the UAE and Saudi Arabia see eye to eye on matters as such the article doesn’t lies, but it largely misrepresents what is required and whatever Accords that are named after the Israelite people is a nice touch of presentation, but it is like the flim flam artist wants you to think and not to think too much about. Yes, there is a larger setting for Israel, but it is what Saudi Arabia needs now, and we get that Israel wants you to think that this is what all of the Arabic peninsula wants, but what does Saudi Arabia want? I actually do not know and I reckon a lot of you do not, but no one is asking that question of the ruling lines of Saudi Arabia and I reckon that their words are misrepresented at nearly every turn with “Is this what you meant?” Whilst diminishing the words spoken. As a reference I will give you the massive quote spoken by UAE foreign minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed in 2017 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dV4m43xZmY) That is the setting we are swimming against with the Pro-Palestinian losers all over Europe, USA, Canada and Australia (and other regions) and me for one wants to see where are the interests of Saudi Arabia. What do they say? 

I actually do not know what it is and we aren’t given that setting by anyone (as I personally see it). So whilst we are pro-Trump, anti-Trump or even Trump card looking, where is the stage where we see what is important to Saudi Arabia?

So as we are given “Hezbollah’s Secretary-General Naim Qassem appealed to Saudi Arabia in recent weeks to mend relations with the Lebanese armed group, aligned with Iran, and build a common front against Israel.” No one is speaking about the atrocities of Hamas in the last week, why not? So whilst there is too much anti-Israel sentiment, there is also a lack of seeing what Saudi Arabia requires of the region. And that is (as I personally see it) an absolute requirement where the UAE and Saudi Arabia take the podium and speak their minds to all willing to listen because that is still a central piece, the willingness and need to listen what the others say, not the bullies and limelight seeking politicians of whatever nation gets the limelight, the high order of Saudi and Emirati people speaking of what is required, not filtered by pro Iranian sentiment and I personally feel that is the beginning of others seeing the stupidity they embraced by thinking that Hamas or Iran had any peace requirement. They only talked about self, the merely labelled it wrong.

So have a great day and whilst I contemplate on the optional medical setting that might have gone wrong (eye feels bad), I need to set my timeline to a healing line, not the timeline of now and immediate, because we are seeing that this goes nowhere for those concerned.

So have a great day with some coffee and may I suggest a Chicken Shawarma at 8 Dammam Branch Rd, Al Yarmuk, Riyadh? It was recommended through Google. 

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September 29, 2025 · 15:24

And for today

That is what I was thinking. I saw the news (at https://www.arabnews.com/node/2617052/saudi-arabia) where I saw ‘KSrelief undertakes new food and medical initiatives in Africa’ and I was off to the races. It is mostly because the western media refuses to give us anything on what they do. They think the boobies of Kim Kardashian are much more news worthy. So as I see that they “The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief) has launched and concluded several major relief initiatives across Africa this week, according to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).

In Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, KSrelief inaugurated a large-scale food security support project designed to help the country’s most vulnerable communities.” I will make space for this (especially as the news worthy media does not). And for that the “SPA reported that the program will distribute 38,900 food baskets, each weighing 40 kilograms and containing essential food items, reaching approximately 233,400 individuals across multiple regions. The initiative forms part of Saudi Arabia’s pledge to support the Lake Chad region, a commitment made during the 2024 Jeddah Donors’ Conference.”The idea that this touches over two hundred thousand people in multiple regions is nothing short if miraculous. I initially would like to think the massive amount of drivers that were needed to bring this to the people as that is my expectation, but I have no idea how many drivers this would take to these trips. And when we see in that same setting giving us “According to SPA, an 18-member volunteer medical team performed 28 open-heart surgeries, 95 cardiac catheterization procedures, and three transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) operations.” We need to see the massive amount of good that KSrelief does to the world and in this case to Africa. 

As for the other news, it is a little more questionable. Irani News (at https://www.iranintl.com/en/202509284910) gives us ‘Khamenei adviser urges joining Saudi-Pakistan defense pact’ I have issues here. It is nice that they want to sit under the Atomic Umbrella it provides, but Iran has been Thumbing the nose towards Saudi Arabia (and others) by setting channels of. Communication with terrorist organisation like Hamas, Houthi and Hezbollah, making them proxy members to say the least. My personal setting is that Iran at the very least will disavow these connections and stops fueling the wars that they have been. Any settings found in the future makes them automatically no longer eligible for this Saudi-Pakistani defense pact. And with the setting of “Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi told state television on Saturday night that the agreement between Riyadh and Islamabad was positive and proposed Iran, Iraq and others also take part. “Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Iraq can reach a collective defense pact,” he said, while acknowledging that US influence over Riyadh and Islamabad may limit such moves.” We should realise that there are off course stabilizing benefits to this, but the danger that Iran poses with its ‘three terrorist allies’ is no guarantee that they have the stabilizing issues that they are proclaiming that Iran could face. As I personally see it, Iran was a seat on the Muslim-majority Defense pact and it wants a bigger seat on the Islamic table and that should never be allowed before their have adjusted the points of communication they invoked through terrorism. 

The world (and in particular the Muslim setting) of a stabilizing setting with Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Pakistan are much better served with Iran on the outside of that equation. Iran did this to themselves and now that Israel has had enough of the setting that Iran provided, Iran wants to hide behind a nuclear umbrella whilst it keeps on setting fires to the middle east. I don’t think it is a good thing and it should not be allowed. As I see it Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi will have to remove the coal coals it dispensed over the middle east and in a first setting needs to remove Hamas, Houthi and Hezbollah channels of support from the table. 

OK, it is clear that I am no person of interest to Saudi Arabia and I do not think they would ever see me as a party of influence here, but that is what I believe. And whilst we are at it, how much support has Iran given to these three parties in the last 5 years? 

I reckon that removing these three from the ‘free oil wells’ of dollars is a absolute first in this setting and any support found from Iran will without any delay thrust them outside the Saudi-Pakistani defense pact. 

That it for today, time to enjoy a lovely coffee and perhaps a small pastry, have a a great day.

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September 25, 2025 · 12:43

Points for consideration

I was frowning when an article from the New Arab crossed my line of sight. The article (at https://www.newarab.com/news/egypt-unhappy-saudi-pakistan-defence-pact) gave me pause for thought. The title nearly demanded it. It was ‘Undermining an ‘Arab NATO’? Egypt is unhappy with the Saudi-Pakistan defence pact’ and I wondered why.

As far as I know, the relationship between the two countries have been really good for decades. And as far as I see, the relationship between Egypt and Saudi Arabia have been good as well. Some say that Egypt and Saudi Arabia share many foreign policy and regional security objectives and have a long and complicated relationship. It’s not like me and Olivia Wilde (I love her, she hates me) ;-).

So I was wondering why that setting is and the article gives us “These debates acquire special relevance after the 16 September Arab-Islamic summit in Doha, Qatar, where Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called for the creation of a mechanism for the coordination of security and defence issues among Arab and Islamic nations. “The Kingdom needs to offer a convincing justification for snubbing discussions about an Arab common defence agreement in the Doha summit,” a man wrote on 18 September on Facebook.” So A man wrote this? What man? Which man? Then we get a more settled setting with ““It also needs to mention why it turned down discussions on a unified Arab army, a proposal made by Egypt in 2015,” he added. “Why didn’t the Saudis sign an agreement with Egypt?” another man asked. “Why don’t they form a powerful Saudi army?”” OK, this warrants an explanation. In 2015 there was the stable reliance on America, that America is gone. Whether it is seemingly no longer able to pay its bills, whether the fruits and nuts in American politics (US Congress and the US Senate) have become slightly too flaky for the rest of the world. Your guess is as good as mine, but the stage that America is a shape of balancing peace is gone. If in doubt ask the Ukraine. It seems that America is catering to the Russian Kremlin (say many American voices). That setting is gone and the Arab World needs its own version of NATO. That much is a given from 2024 onwards. This is complemented with “The Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement, formalised on 17 September during a state visit to Riyadh by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, commits Saudi Arabia and Pakistan to treat any aggression against one of them as an aggression against both of them, with the aim of enhancing joint deterrence and military cooperation. The agreement builds on nearly eight decades of ties between the two countries, during which they offered support to each other on numerous occasions, including in the wake of the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran when Pakistan deployed troops to Saudi Arabia.” And this setting is also hindering Iranian interests (which is basically Iran) and that does not go down nicely (in Iran that is). So if Iran now attacks Saudi Arabia, it might need to deal with Pakistani nuclear powers, although the initial setting to grab the nearest nuclear missile tends to be overkill. The fact that Iran would be facing a war on two fronts is enough to scurry the Ayatollah and his posse to the nearest cave and park themselves at parking level -250 of that cave.

And with the quote “The pact could implicitly extend Pakistan’s nuclear deterrence to Saudi Arabia, a non-nuclear state vulnerable to threats from Iran or other actors.” The new Arab pretty much states that. 

And when we see “Saudi Arabia is wary of over-reliance on Western allies, particularly the US, whose security commitments have been questioned amid the Israel’s war on Gaza and Trump’s record in the White House over the past eight months, the same observers said.” Which pretty much covered what I said and have been saying in the last few months. The Arab News article has a lot more and all of it is clearly top notch. One part that is not covered. When Hamas strikes out towards Saudi Arabia (not entirely impossible) and it is done on the ‘kind’ request of Iran, this setting will change Whatever Gaza is called at that time, it could result the people in Gaza relying on their glow in the dark abilities whilst wearing sunblock 5000. That one setting is not covered and it is a lot more likely than Israel ever attacking Saudi Arabia.

And don’t come with the lecture of Hamas would never do that, because they want to stay in power and they will do anything to do that, even attack Saudi Arabia. I actually fear that at some point Hamas will grow a brain and ‘attack’ one of the Neom projects, optionally instilling bad quality concrete or some other measure that makes the project fail after 10 years. That is actually the biggest fear I have. Now that Saudi Arabia succeeds, but that others want it to fail and I am not sure what measures Saudi Arabia has in place at present. 

But those were the points I had and whilst everyone is shouting on the crimes of Israel, no one is looking towards the crimes of Hamas or what they’ll do next. Isn’t that interesting too? 

Have a great day and remember, Friday is at most a day away (Vancouver has the longest to go to get to that point).

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