Tag Archives: Makkah

June 19, 2025 · 05:50

What adults?

That was the setting I had yesterday. I didn’t act on it as I had other thoughts on my mind. Yet when it passed my eyes again this morning, something just clicked. It set of a few thoughts in my mind as the reporter from Arab News a Mr. Faisal Abbas gave me (at https://www.arabnews.com/node/2604732) ‘Iran vs. Israel: Adults in the room need to act quickly’, and my initial thought was “Is he for real? Are there adults in Iran?” You see, for the longest time Iran is like the raging (read: petulant) child who wants to be in charge and Iran just isn’t ready. They have hidden their acts (to remain in denial) behind Houthi forces, Hamas forces and Hezbollah forces. The three H’s of evil as I would presume. That setting went a lot more will in 2016 after starting on 2004 (21 years ago). In 2016 Houthi forces struck into Saudi Arabia, with 2017 attacking King Khalid International Airport. Iran had been busy using Houthi terrorists attacking civilian targets in Saudi Arabia. Colonel Turki Al-Maliki showed the world plenty of evidence, but the western press was eager to ignore it, all whilst media attack after attack was done on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, all whilst ignoring the real world around them. Last month we were given ‘Hamas document shows Oct. 7 attack aimed at derailing Saudi normalization’ (source: Times of Israel) and as a source gives us “In the years 1987–89 the party launched attacks against official Saudi targets inside and outside Saudi Arabia. After being implicated in the Khobar Towers Bombing in 1996, the party was outlawed in Saudi Arabia. The party was part of the Iranian government’s “exporting the Islamic revolution” policy.” This is all due to involvement of Iran and we were given that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia would consider having nuclear weapons when the evidence is given that Iran has them. It clearly shows that there would be one adult and it is not Iran.

So as Israel has had enough of Iran playing the crying child, they are adamant that Iran should not have any nuclear weapons and now the new stage of an escalating war on the Arabian peninsula should be avoided. 

So, as Arab News gives us “Saudi Arabia has taken swift action, demonstrating its commitment to regional peace through intense diplomatic engagement. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has personally communicated with leaders around the world, emphasizing the urgent need to de-escalate tensions and unify international efforts to prevent further violence. Riyadh recognizes that unchecked military confrontation will not only destabilize nations but also hinder progress, development and the fight against violent extremism.” Faisal Abbas forgets to mention that Iran has to be stopped and as he is seemingly unwilling to do this, Israel has another frame of minds. You see, the moment that Iran has a nuclear weapon, it will be deployed to Israel making peace not longer an option and the timing of that moment merely takes an egg timer from completing the weapon until it is released from a deniable source by one of the three H’s (to be in denial whilst the blame is shifted to a member of the IRGC who will then spend the rest of his live in a palace being revered by all Israeli hating muslims) Did I make that to simple?

I get the response we see in “The Kingdom has unequivocally condemned the attack on Iran and the violation of its sovereignty, denouncing it as a clear breach of international laws. However, Saudi Arabia understands that words alone are insufficient. Proactive measures must be taken to prevent the situation from deteriorating further. Riyadh is rallying diplomatic channels to reduce tensions, working to ensure that strategic decisions prioritize stability over reckless militarization.” Iran is after all a Muslim nation, I get that and siding with Israel is as I see it not done by any Muslim nation, but their is a setting that they have had enough of Iran, so I am speculating that in many Saudi houses a glass is raised not in support of Israel but in the ‘accidental’ downfall of Iran. As I see it, the larger failing is that Iran gets mentioned four times, including under the photo that shows the impact of a location in Haifa. 

And in all this America didn’t do too much in stopping Iran either. See, speaking words do not hold the bacon (as the expression goes). And the actions of Iran has been a clear setting that acts were inbound on Tehran from the many transgressions that Iran had undertaken in the last 20 years alone. And in the last hour we were given that “this is the dirty work Israel is doing for all of us, words from German Chancellor Friedrich Merz”whilst two minutes ago the Washington Post gives us “Trump demands Iran’s ‘unconditional surrender’ as strikes continue” things are escalating all over the place all whilst the world seemingly has had enough of that petulant child called Iran. And as most of the world believes that Iran getting nuclear weapons is one tantrum too many and I tend to agree because it puts both Israel and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in harms way. Consider that “On 27 October 2016, a Yemeni Houthi ballistic missile known as Burkan-1 was launched towards Makkah City. The missile was intercepted and destroyed by Saudi ground forces 65 kilometers from the city. A similar attack by the Houthis was carried out on a Saudi Airbase in Taif on 10 October.” I personally wonder if there is any evidence that Iran supplied the hardware for an attack on Makkah, but I have little doubt that it was just as it was seen and that was the point where western media should have clearly stated that Iran is the larger danger to Islam, but did they? Now that Israel has had enough the western media (and Russia) are trying to ‘limit’ involvement. And for Russia it is not good news as this limits the acts it can do on Ukrainian civilian populations and if America does get involved, the options for Iran will fade away really fast (especially their oil reserves) and that might be good news for other oil producing nations. And that is important as only minutes ago I got the news that ‘The Houthis join Iran’s attacks on Israel’, as I see it, it is the escalation no one wanted but we all get the impact of this and no-one is asking how Houthi forces (after waging war for 21 years) where these missiles are coming from. Because there is merely one source where they could have come from (my personal speculation), they are coming from Iran. Can you truly believe that there is any scenario where Iran could be allowed to have nuclear fight capacity? I reckon that it will be in hour one where Iran transports a missile into Iraq and when that thing flies towards Israel and Iran will be in denial claiming it came from Iraq and that is where the egg times comes in as it will hit Israel, near Tel Aviv a mere 20 minutes later. That is what s at stake and Israel is speculatively unwilling to be a nuclear target and that is at stake and we need to realise that Iran shouldn’t be seen as an adult. The setting that a child is given a nuclear pacifier is equally unacceptable. As such when you consider the dangers we all face, that is the larger setting and I was there in 2007 (as an opposer of Iran having any nuclear weapons) when Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (as 6th president of Iran) became a larger supporter of nuclear weapons.

That is what is at stake, as such the article is fine, but it is lacking a massive amounts of mentions of Iran having an impossible mindset. And as the Daily Mail (not the greatest source of information) gave us 7 minutes ago that a Iranian government jet had diverted to Oman we are given “Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei threatened an attack on U.S. naval ships and troops if Donald Trump authorizes strikes on its nuclear bunkers” as it seems, Iran is rather scared that this will be met with issues and he feels safer in another country. As such we can assume that he feels happier being the petulant child in another place whilst Iran gets hit with all kinds of attacks. That is not the person who should be allowed to have any kinds of weapons, least of all the nuclear variety.

As I personally see it, the adults are acting, that being said. I feel that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia did nothing wrong, even as they have plenty of reasons to act, the refrained from acting. That too, in many situations is the act of an adult. 

As such the words ‘Adults in the room need to act quickly’ is a little presumptuous. Sometimes it is important for adults not to act. As we wrestle told by Sun Tsu “He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight” words that were given to us 2500 years ago and the second part “when not to fight” is too often ignored. A small part that Faisal Abbas seemingly overlooked.

Have a great day, I am now 129 minutes away from breakfast.

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May 27, 2025 · 05:22

Battle against the sun

That is at time the hardship that any organizations faces and for Saudi Arabia it tends to be heat. Yesterday I saw in Arab News (at https://arab.news/w7bxj) the setting ‘Eco-friendly and safer walkways expanded by 33% at Makkah Hajj sites’ with the subtext “Saudi authorities have announced the expansion of roads made of flexible rubber asphalt by 33 percent this year. (SPA)” 

I personally do not believe to have ever seen such improvements to any event anywhere else in the world. And when you realise that the setting is stated to be “with work on the road extending from Namirah Mosque to Al-Mashaer train station in Arafat, raising the total area to 16,000 sq. meters” you will be baffled by the improvements made. I myself have walked almost 5729km within the last year, I have some experience with distances, although I have to admit that I never walked those in the Saudi sun in summer. In light of the statistics that we are given “Hajj 2025 is expected to start on June 4, subject to confirmation by Saudi Arabia’s official moon-sighting authorities.

As of May 21, 2025, 755,344 pilgrims had arrived in the Kingdom from abroad through air, land and sea entry points, according to the General Directorate of Passports, also known as the Jawazath” as well as “Saudi officials expect the number of pilgrims for Hajj this year to surpass last year’s figure, which the General Authority for Statistics counted at 1.83 million. Of that number, 1.61 million arrived from outside the Kingdom, while 221,854 were internal pilgrims, including citizens and expatriates.” These improvements will matter. You might find this strange that I am impressed with these statistics as a non-Muslim. Yet I have seen walks from all kinds of locations. Yet less than a year ago I completed the Saint Frances Way (Florence to Rome), which was 503km, so you can say that I am somewhat familiar with the concept of walking. And it will a very international event with Indonesian pilgrims are expected to form the biggest delegation again for Hajj 2025. Last year, 221,000 Indonesian pilgrims arrived in the Kingdom for Hajj, followed by Pakistan with 180,000. India was third at 175,025, Bangladesh was fourth at 127,198, and Nigeria completed the top five with 95,000 pilgrims. The expected Saudi support system is likely to baffle the world to see it in action. I saw on YouTube a video on the support system at the Hajj. It was called ‘How Millions of Hajj Meals 🍝 Are Cooked Daily In Makkah 🤍 Incredible 🤯 Hajj 2025’ by ZubairRiazz (at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlHO_1XF_zU&t=100s), these meals are prepared three times a day in the Arafat Kitchen Makkah. I don’t speak Arabic, so the information wasn’t clear to me, but the view on this kitchen is totally unbelievable. I have never seen an operation like this put to view, not one Army kitchen view of this size have I ever seen before and this kitchen is there to service 1.83 million meals three times a day for the duration of the Hajj. I am not certain if this is the only kitchen working on this Hajj. But the needs of the Hajj pilgrims is well catered and cared for. 

And before you start thinking that this wasn’t done last year, think again. People are shouting about the lives lost during last years Hajj better remember that the bulk of these losses were people who didn’t have a Hajj Visa, they illegally invaded the Hajj. Even though they would have likely received food, the tents, and resting facilities are only for the owners of a Hajj Visa and they are strictly enforced. So those people miss out on the resting places (away from the sun) as well as water fountains. I wonder if any of the criminals peddling these ‘travel arrangements’ of fake Hajj permits were ever arrested and prosecuted. 

I guess we will have to see, what is clear is that the 16,000 sq. meters of new flexible rubber asphalt will improve the hardship on the elderly making the pilgrimage this year. 

Have a great day and take a walk for the bloodstream if needed.

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January 11, 2025 · 08:49

The Hardship coming

I got hit by an article in the New Arab. The article (at https://www.newarab.com/news/saudi-arabia-prepares-another-hajj-menaced-extreme-heat) gives us ‘Saudi Arabia prepares for another hajj threatened by extreme heat’ and it brought a few thoughts from last year around. In 2024 we were given “at least 1,301 people on the Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca died due to extreme heat, with temperatures exceeding 50 °C (122 °F). Extreme heat caused heat stroke and dehydration, leading to the deaths.” As well as “At least 2,764 cases of heat-related illness, like heat stroke, were reported on 16 June alone.” What is abundantly missed is that the bulk (83%) of the fatalities were caused by people who did the tour without the permit, they took the ‘cheap’ tickets and these tour operators never had the permits for these people, I wonder if any of them were ever caught. Anyway, we now get via the New Arab “Saudi Arabia will implement extra precautions to avoid a similar incident to last year where hundreds died due to the extreme heat.” And we are also given “The vast majority of hajj pilgrims come from abroad, and diplomats involved in their countries’ responses to last year’s crisis told AFP at the time that most deaths were heat-related.” It is interesting that there is no mention of the exploitative moves the tour operators made, which caused the deaths of their customers. We are given “Saudi authorities “need to make arrangements not just for registered numbers but also for additional numbers”, particularly cooling and emergency health facilities, he said.” I cannot disagree with that, but how many extra provision does one need to make? 2024 had 1.8 million pilgrims. So how many extra is enough? And for that matter, Saudi Arabia had a decent system, as such pilgrims need a pilgrim pass. That part seems simple enough but what of the tour operators? Those who pushed for an excuse tourist visa and told them that there would be options for them? Those are the real criminals. In a pilgrimage where Saudi Arabia provides for 1.8 million is not the bad partition, they provided as good as possible. The larger issue that the weather was murder last year, with temperatures exceeding 50 °C. The hottest temperature ever recorded in Saudi Arabia was 53 °C (2021). So what will happen this year? Will the Hajj 2025 be burdened by extreme temperatures? 

So now we are given “But even for those who can obtain them, the steep costs spur many to attempt the hajj without a permit, though they risk arrest and deportation if caught.” As such the ‘risk deportation’ seems like small fries when compared to ‘weather assisted suicide’, but that is just me. 

And the one part I never saw answered anywhere was that 83% of the death are survivors that means that means that a little over 200 cases were people with permits, which taken with 1.8 million pilgrims is pretty amazing. Now the part I never saw was how many without permits survived the ordeal, as such there are scores of people who never had permits, used resources and were handed assistance by caretakers. So how much more is enough? Personally on route I would suggest more care tents and the tents should be twice the size. There is only so much anyone can do, but that might be a decent start. There is little more I can think of. The problem is that there are numerous places where problems could arise, the pilgrimage is a long road and there are the stretches and bottlenecks. It is the bottlenecks where I fear many fatalities could occur. Especially when the caretakers need to chose between Hajj permit and non-Hajj permit, it will be the agonizing hardship that any caretaker faces. One glass of water and who to give it to? His instructions might be clear the permit holder gets it and he will comply, but he will be torn inside. Any care taker would. I will be looking into the Hajj this year but not for religious reasons and I wonder how many will watch the event and more important when will something be done about the exploitative tour-operators? Consider the alternative, What if the general tourism visa would not be possible from one month pre Hajj, until one week post Hajj? Would that solve a lot of issues? There is a side in me, always trying to solve problems, solve puzzles. But that is just me. 

Have a great day.

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March 18, 2020 · 15:14

Pray for the incantation

As we prayed in the circle of light, we were given the clue we needed to proceed. Yet, for a lot of people that does not make sense and it does not need to be the case. Those who ever played the RPG Ultima 3 will know what I mean. It was an ‘other’ action that was required. It was the first thing that popped into my head when I saw ‘Saudi Arabia suspends prayer in mosques, exempts holy Makkah and Madinah sites‘ (at https://www.arabnews.com/node/1642761/saudi-arabia),in this I wonder what the churches are contemplating. We see ‘Most Vatican offices open, but adapting schedules in wake of pandemic‘, it is there where we see the first iteration of who prays towards the need for greed and who does not. Even as we are informed in the very first paragraph to “Vatican offices will remain open to ensure “essential services for the universal church,” but each office is being asked to evaluate the best ways to provide those services while observing health precautions and guidelines on safe distancing to prevent the spread of the coronavirus“, it is nice that the clergy is adapting towards ‘evaluate’ even as we all realise on how they are absent of medical knowledge, they are also a little unaware of the cases in their surrounding Italy with 31,506 cases and 2,503 non-living people, increasing their nonliving population by 345 in the last 24 hours. All this whilst the Vatican has a reported 1 case of the disease and as far as we can tell that person is still alive, yet in that given environment “Pope Francis ignored the lockdown of Italy amid the country’s severe coronavirus outbreak, and shocked two churches with a special visit to soothe fears and pray for the end of the disease spreading across the planet“, what can I say? The man is a proven ideologist.

Yet we see the sober act in Saudi Arabia “Saudi Arabia has decided to suspend congregational prayers across all mosques in the Kingdom, except for the Two Holy Mosques in Makkah and Madinah“, it is an act that makes sense. In addition we see a second part that makes sense “Mosque doors will be closed temporarily but they will be allowed to recite the call to prayer“, OK, I understand that, if there is one part that the Vatican and Saudi Arabia have in common it is their approach to faith, and as such we see “an amendment has been made to the call in which the usual phrase “come to prayer” in the Arabic call has been replaced with “pray at home”. The new phrase can also be translated as “pray where you are”.” It makes sense and the fact that I got this almost only from the Arab News gives rise to how large the cliff between christian media and other media is. This is all being written by me as I am listening to ‘Wish You Were Here‘ by Pink Floyd, mind and ears are in sync and we are all giving welcome to the machine that is within us. Even as we see that, we see the beginning of a new problem, one that I saw coming (ha ha ha) ‘UK mobile phone networks report problems as Brits start work from home‘, they might be the first, but they are not the only ones. I reckon that some of the networks all over Europe,all now pushed to the brink of maximum, they are all in a stage where they are close to the point of buckling. And in that light where we see governments shouting to firms that they should embrace ‘working from home’, we will see a much larger collapse. And as we are being told “Customers of all the major networks including EE, O2, Vodafone, Three and GiffGaff, reported problems. Downdetector, which monitors network problems, said outages were in cities across the UK“,
I see a much larger collapse. Even as Reuters gives us ‘Can networks cope with millions working from home? So far, yes‘. I am doubtful, when the work from home takes on larger proportions, the German and French networks will buckle like a 90 year old with a bad back. In the middle of the 5G push no one has a seemingly sober head in making sure that one does not replace the other at this stage. The timing for them is too much out of balance and it is more likely then not that we will see larger interruptions in the big 4 economic nations of the EU. 

And this is merely the beginning. Stephanie Kirchgaessner (the one that made Saudi accusations on Jeff Bezos) gives us “Google has been accused by two US senators of seeking to exploit consumers fear over Covid-19 for profit following allegations that the company is targeting “predatory” and “price-gouging” ads for scarce goods, including protective masks and hand sanitiser, to vulnerable users“, one of them Mark Warner gives us screenshots and even whilst I am not saying that he is intentionally misinforming us, my search gives us [see image], and even as I am not saying that he is misinforming us, the images are part of a much larger issue, it is the issue that some people do not understand the mechanics of a larger system, the abusers do and it seems that certain politicians (some journalists too) will always be outfoxed by abusers of any system. 

It is in that ‘christian’ view that we do not understand the setting we see in Saudi Arabia and even as I access the ‘Work-from-home policy set to help contain virus in Saudi Arabia‘ (at https://www.arabnews.com/node/1642931/saudi-arabia), that part and the ‘Saudi health minister outlines Kingdom’s preventive measures against coronavirus‘, I personally belief that we all have a lot more to learn, and even as some are in prayer (both Christian and Muslim) for optional wisdom, we ened to wonder how many politicians are in it for the common good and not for personal gain, as I personally see it, there is a larger drive towards factual information, in this I am not stating that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia give out more information, but they do seemingly give out less misinformation, which is a win for all who read it, no matter what your religion is. The lack of greed is seen in “Pregnant women and new mothers, people suffering from respiratory diseases, those with immune-system problems or chronic conditions, cancer patients and employees above the age of 55 are to be given 14 days compulsory paid leave, which will not be deducted from their annual entitlement“, which companies in the EU, US or Commonwealth give that as an option? A few do, but that list is really limiting to see. 

In all this Saudi Arabia is still important, when we realise that they have 171 cases (38 more than yesterday) and no reported deaths, it seems that whatever track they have in place is seemingly delaying the larger impact on the people, even as Iceland has no fatalities, that isolated island already has 247 cases (48 more than yesterday). So something is working in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and perhaps it is merely the dry heat, we just do not know at present. 

There is a larger story and it comes from a few, not just me. The conversation (at http://theconversation.com/what-islamic-hygienic-practices-can-teach-when-coronavirus-is-spreading-133221) gave us 2 days ago “The recent Netflix docuseries “Pandemic: How to Prevent an Outbreak” illustrates how the Islamic ritual washing, known as “wudu,” may help spread a good hygiene message“, and I am reminded on how my ‘accusation’ on how pragmatic Islamic law is, I actually did not see this coming. the fact that the pragmatic approach to Wudu is still in a stage of superiority over the Coronavirus. Is that the wrong thought to have? Perhaps, but the health experts (I am not one) are agreeing on the factual benefit that Wudu has. It is almost the stage where the Wilder humor takes over the stage (as seen in Blazing Saddles): “Now go do that Wudu that you do so well” and it becomes a much larger stage to behold. If the cleaning of one has a much larger benefit, what else did Christians optionally get wrong?

So as we are told “Wudu is to be performed, as was done by the Prophet Muhammad, in a specific order before praying, which takes place five times a day. Before each prayer, Muslims are expected to wash themselves in a certain order – first hands, then mouth, nose, face, hair and ears, and finally their ankles and feet“, we (most christians) are in the belief that we are right and others are wrong (even the ones they removed from existance), in all this we see the effect that the Coronavirus has and fear takes over, as such, is this the time to see if we can cross the gap between Christianity and Islam? Even Muslim institutions are open to adjustment. That part is seen in “Muslim institutions have begun to recommend that people make sure to wash their hands for 20 seconds with soap before doing wudu. Emphasizing that wudu alone cannot prevent the virus from spreading, other Islamic institutions recommend that mosques supply extra soap and hand sanitizer near the washing area“, they never claimed to be the wisest, merely that they were as wise as anyone can be, and in that light the Christians sneering at this part should consider ‘KENTUCKY MAN WHO TESTED POSITIVE FOR CORONAVIRUS GUARDED AT HOME BY POLICE AFTER HE REFUSED TO QUARANTINE‘, as such we see that there is a larger stage of stupidity and it is not limited to politicians, anyone can get on that stage. it seems interesting that the law allows for this and then sets the stage where a police force is required to stop this person from infecting others, was the bible his inspiration? 

No matter what faith we have, we can only hope to hear an inner voice when we pray for wisdom, whether you have a faith or you are an agnostic, we all have a need for wisdom. And in that light, when we see the clear benefits of Wudu, how much time the western media took to give the light to this practice? 

There is a much larger disruption and I believe not illuminating the things we can properly do is at the heart of this disruption. We see governments dousing panic driven flames, yet the larger fire is unattended, please feel free not to believe me, but this article is riddled with optional evidence. I say optional, because a lot of it is fueled through a lack of clarity, as I personally see this Mark Warner being one of them. When 144 characters is the maximum for an accusation, and what he sees as a ‘Google Search’ all whilst we see “These ads, from a range of different advertisers, were served by Google on websites for outlets such as The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Washington Post, CNBC, The Irish Times, and myriad local broadcasting affiliates,” in this we see the accusation, yet not the critical look that the mentioned “a range of different advertisers” are set to, the lack of Google Ads knowledge is at the heart of that foundation. 

The image I am showing is in none of the Wark Warner images, is that not weird too?

 

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June 22, 2019 · 11:35

There is a start

Yes, there is a start, yet it would be presumptuous that the race has started. The news (from CNBC) gives us: ‘Verizon’s new 5G network is ‘confusing’ and ‘difficult,’ according to early tests‘, in addition we are given: “Early tests by tech publications CNET and The Verge of Verizon’s new 5G network in Chicago suggest it’s not fully ready yet“, as well as “The network is brand new and rollouts take time. It took a few years for 4G LTE to become widely available, for example“, I have been warning people on this for months, going back to 2018, now we get to see how USA is no longer in the race for anything. The entire ‘National Security’ issue on Huawei was bogus from the start and now that the goose has come home to roost, we will see a political stage to roast the goose before it has roosted.

American 5G speed

It gets to be worse when we consider: ““Even carefully positioned a few feet away from the 5G node, the large on-screen icon exclaiming Verizon’s 5G network toggled back and forth from 4G to 5G,” CNET said. “After two hours, we had run maybe one clean Speedtest.net app side by side with the Galaxy S10 Plus.” Samsung’s phone is a 4G LTE device” and finally: “CNET found download speeds for a game took about the same on 5G and LTE networks, and downloading a movie on Netflix didn’t work. The site said the network felt like a “rush job” and called the experience “frustrating,” “confusing” and “absolutely insane,” even though it noticed download speeds coming in toward 600 megabits per second at times, on par with what Verizon is promising.” It is a system with proper infrastructure in place, and it gets to be worse, most infrastructures that are NOT Huawei are massively inferior (at present), so the long term issues remain and they will get worse. This level of setback, once congestion sets in because of a lacking infrastructure will drive potential customers away, the very first rules of commerce were ignored from the start by sales people with dollar signs instead of pupils and now that they entire matter is polarising, we will see more issues, and we will witness more frustration.

In opposition

The Saudi Gazette gives us (at http://saudigazette.com.sa/article/569469) ‘STC officially launches 5G service‘, as well as “In the first phase, the 5G network will now be available in the Kingdom in specific areas in a number of major cities using home routers that will be available at specific STC outlets in accordance with customer needs. Al-Nasser said the launch is an affirmation of Saudi Telecom’s pioneering role in delivering innovative technologies and services to customers across the Kingdom.” Yet let’s not get overly optimistic. There is also “By the end of February 2018, the telecom operator inked a deal with Huawei to collaborate in the field of 5G wireless networks and technology. In the beginning of March 2018, STC signed a memorandum of understanding with Cisco Systems to develop the 5G networks across the Kingdom. STC has subsequently completed the first global Multi-Vendor-Integration-Verification (MVIV) for its Huawei and Cisco core infrastructure with Ericsson and Nokia supplied 5G Radio Networks“, and that is just the beginning, yet how does it work? What has been achieved (speed, reliability)?

To see this we start in April when Arab News gave us: ‘Super-fast 5G mobile to launch in Saudi Arabia within months‘, as well as “Saudi Arabia has about 1,000 telecoms towers already supporting 5G and the super-fast mobile services will be available within months, a senior government official said. The next-generation networks will allow smartphone users to download a movie in seconds“, so far it is marketing, we all heard it before in several nations, it is the realisation we see with: “The STC launched the service after completion of its experiments for the first time in MENA region since launching the test drive in 2017 and this was in cooperation with the telecom giant’s strategic partners” and Huawei was at the centre of that. It is the two year head start that everyone ignores, even as we have no real numbers to work with, Saudi Arabia, like all other nations are stating they have 5G and it is commercially available, there are no tests showing just how fast and how reliable their network is, but they do have a two year head start and if what we see with Verizon will last at least two years, their start of 5G is not a great one. The sales need for getting their first, whilst ignoring the support and customer care issues is just baffling. STC reported: “the STC 5G services are available in Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam (Eastern Province), Makkah, Taif, Madinah, Abha, Jubail, and Tabuk” Which is close to a complete urban 5G coverage, the US and many other nations are nowhere near that ready.

I keep a reserved distance in light of “STC did not share specific details but said that the service has been made available to customers“, so until benchmarks and speed tests have been shown, there is every chance that it possible that we see 4G+ instead of true full 5G, but until the facts are known, it is all speculation, what is a given is that the two year head start of Huawei is showing and in that regard, the short sighted American point of view regarding the unproven National Security allegations will remain allegations that slows US innovation down, and it will cost them, because the 5G pioneers that are not in the US are about to have a field day. My own IP is about to go through the roof (which is fine by me), the only consideration I am left with, is that I would have to consider an upgrade from a 55 meter yacht to an 85 meter yacht, the cumbersome burdens of an innovator with the ability to dream never ends. And there too I found new wisdom, a market that Huawei forgot about (or never considered in the first place), what a lovely Saturday it is and it is only 7 degrees at present.

Even when we consider the complications that the US is pressuring on other nations, when we consider another light towards “The complications referred to probably mean the ramping of political and intelligence pressure from the US and it wouldn’t be surprising to see the UK eventually do what it’s told with respect to Huawei“, as the UK becomes Americas bitch, if Huawei gets Oak OS right, the UK, Europe will have new problems to consider, in addition, if Google is placed out of bounds, those not strapped to Google will optionally lose a lot more than they bargained for. Let’s be clear, we do not need Facebook, most of us need LinkedIn and Indeed, yet we can access Gmail from our computers, we don’t need a smartphone for that. So at that point, when we consider the open shift that would optionally come in a different way. Google is brave to miscommunicate part of the issue they face. As several sources give us: ‘Google: Cutting Us off from Huawei Is a Security Risk‘, no it is not (not really)! You see, it is not a security risk, what is the clear danger to Google that their value is data and this situation allows Google to miss out on millions, if not hundreds of millions of phones, all lost data, data that goes nowhere (or somewhere else). The Trump administration did something really stupid here and we will see that impact within a year. Millions are questioning Google and their data, Facebook and their data and now Huawei offers an option that have neither. People might actually embrace Huawei and that danger scares Google. Its granularity is based on the data they collect and now, they will lose up to 35-95 million data points within 2 years alone and a lot more thereafter, a loss they never faced before. And as China diversifies ad as its non-Chinese customers get used to Baidu and Sogou, how much relevance would Google (and Bing) lose over time?

All elements that have an impact, all elements that Google will not voice and others are intentionally walking away from; these are questions that cost advertisement, a nightmare they all face now.

All issues that will impact in the 5G era, the fact that my IP gives power back to the shop owner and not their IT providers will make matters worse (and I do not care). The power needs to go where it needed to be, with the customer, the consumer and the factual user, all elements Google never wanted to touch, You cannot facilitate when the data is not there. It is the old premise of a system missing and a user missing and most people still do not comprehend the full impact of system missing information.

They will find out within the next 2 years, I look forward to the transformation and the long term impact that short sighted policies bring. So when you see the new Huawei phones, do not just wonder if you should get one, wonder how much better your life optionally becomes by having one. It is a loaded question, I get that and it pays to be a sheep in a really large group, but when you consider the hundreds of notifications that were useless, the massive amounts of Facebook notifications that kept you from work and promotion, consider that 5G amplifies that part by 300%, do you really want to remain a sheep , or jump the fence and see what Oak OS could bring? I am on the fence too, I have to choose, yet at present I see America pressuring everyone to become Huawei haters and there is no logic to their path, other than that I hate being a follower, I prefer to wander on the innovation line and that has risks, but it also has lucrative rewards, often resulting in a much better quality of life.

Sometimes choices are hard, and whichever path you choose, remember that it was YOUR choice, not the one others told you to go, you only get to blame yourself (or not) at this point. And I assure you when you blame yourself for making the good choice is also rewarding no matter which of the two (three if you consider IOS a choice) you make, make sure it is yours, not the needy direction of some marketeer or salesperson.

 

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