Tag Archives: Medina

August 27, 2026 · 22:01

Just a coincidence

That is what it looks like and that is what I think it is. You see, two days ago I wrote ‘Haters will be haters’ (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2026/08/25/haters-will-be-haters/) and I wrote more going back all the way back to May 2025. So when I saw Al Jazeera giving us ‘France, Saudi Arabia agree on $7bn theme park project near Paris’ (at https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/8/25/france-saudi-arabia-agree-on-7bn-theme-park-project-near-paris) I felt relief. You see, France might be the first step, but there is every chance that Saudi Arabia is taking that knowledge to parks in Saudi Arabia. So it was not what I did, I merely foresaw what would happen and the setting towards the United States losing the advantage had in theme parks is now at an end, and all whilst they paid $7 billion to $7.7 billion is the estimated cost to build Universal’s Epic Universe in Orlando, Florida just a year ago. And whilst this US administration is making matters worse, the world is uniting to make it more appealing to visit theme parks outside of the United States. Abu Dhabi with its Yas Island already achieved near perfection in theme parks and as I see it, Saudi Arabia is doing the same thing and optionally in different ways I still believe that an Arabian fairy tale park in Riyadh or Jeddah. My guess is that Jeddah might be the next thing. It has 4 million and it could divert congestion in Riyadh. Jeddah is ‘merely’ 955 km away. Should a high speed railway be added to this track that trip could be reduced to 3 hours and open up (allegedly) other settings as well. 

So as we read “France and Saudi Arabia have announced plans for a six-billion-euro ($7bn) amusement park near Paris, following talks between French President Emmanuel Macron and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the Elysee Palace.” This is good for both countries. Knowledge and dividend go hand in hand here and I reckon that this will also have an appeal to the 6 million muslims in France. So as the setting increases the dividends also increase and too bad for the United States, less income for them. But that is baking up the wrong tree as they now proclaim ‘U.S. Remains World’s Largest Travel & Tourism Market But WTTC Warns That the Country is at a Crossroads’ with “The United States remained the largest Travel & Tourism market in the world in 2025 but is losing market share according to the World Travel & Tourism Council’s (WTTC) latest Economic Impact Research, sponsored by its Lead Research Partner, Chase Travel.” (Source: World Travel & Tourism Council’s) and as I see it, they will lose a lot more in the years 2027/2028. Especially when the EU, Saudi Arabia and the UAE up the ante for tourism. So whilst I was right all along in a few ways, I cannot take credit for these actions. I feel certain that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, as well of mist of the people in charge have never heard of my blog and I believer that this is the truth (no matter how much I need those coins) the truth of the matter is that I saw these settings come up and whilst some are in denial and ‘editing’ their numbers I saw the bigger game and that is why the United States with all their ‘toddler’ acts of changing Lake Ontario to Lake America these distractions are putting the media on the wrong foot, the real setting is that America is losing money and they are losing more and more and I was happy to help them lose money. You really shouldn’t attack people I care about (I meant Canada) and whilst we see more and more losses for America, I also thought it was important that the Commonwealth and the EU had places to go as such I saw Saudi Arabia and the UAE as the most likely candidates. The UAE had Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia had Riyadh and I think that they could use a second setting as such Jeddah and Dammam came up. Jeddah is bigger, as such more likely to have a lot to offer and the draw back of Dammam is that on the other side of the Sea of Dammam is Iran, not the best place until they are deleted from existence. On the other hand Jeddah is a mere 400 km from Medina, the place where the prophet Muhammed established the first Islamic state, united the local tribes, and built the political and religious center of early Islam. As such this place should be have a large appeal to the 1.9 billion Muslims and that needs to be taken into account, especially if there is a tourism growth in Saudi Arabia. 

So I felt relief and actual happiness to learn that Saudi Arabia is growing its footprint in the EU. That this footprint is transferred to Saudi Arabia is merely simple sense in the matter. And my ego likes the feeling that I have been right all along in more than one way. I will admit that I did not see this setting come, but in light of what I learned in the Al Jazeera piece “The project stemmed from a discussion between Macron and MBS in December 2024 in Riyadh, where they discovered their “shared passion” for manga, “and in particular Dragon Ball Z”, an adviser to the French president told reporters.” And in my ‘haters will be hater’ story (see link above) I wrote “optionally the Boulevard City (Riyadh) if they could set this to famous Arabic cartoons.” So suddenly that part and the part where we see ““shared passion” for manga, “and in particular Dragon Ball Z”” are starting to take shape in a few connected ways. But that might merely be me. I didn’t know about the one and I am still believing that this coincidence was insightful, but nothing more than that. So whilst we look at these ‘coincidences’ we need to see that my insight has a setting that is driven to the growth of ideas and IP’s and my stories bare that out, so when other elements are proving me right, there is relief and I feel slightly less nuts (because for the most I am). So whilst the people give credence to calling a place that was appearing in maps and records by the mid-17th century and it is set in Canada and it is now ‘delusionally’ opted to be named Lake America, where are the crazy vibes coming from? I feel happy to give The United States more to worry about and hand tourism ideas to places outside of the United States and apparently French President Emmanuel Macron is on that same page (for obvious local reasons)

So have a great day and consider where you are now and where you need to be after 2028, because when the American dream comes crushing down, you are left with nightmares and that is not me, it came from Andrew Sheng, a prominent Malaysian banker who stated that in the documentary Inside Job (2010) he literally said “When those dreams turn out to be nightmares, other people pay for it.” As such it makes sense that you are away from that place when the nightmares come calling. But that might merely be me. Have a great day.

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August 16, 2026 · 18:06

The idea that came

So, there I was day dreaming, when a thought just occurred to me. It happened when I was watching a Dubai Festival City Mall YouTube video and I saw saw the Tim Hortons stand. I asked for a cappuccino (in my mind) and I mentioned that I was peckish (a term I never use in real life, but I might from now on) I asked them for fried beaver tail (jokingly) and they did not have them, they did have a Double Sausage & Egg with Cheese Muffin which I ordered and devoured (scrupulously) but it set a few cogs in motion, which this is about. I noticed a fresh meat sandwich and that hot me going. There was a show of the Carrefour earlier in that video and this got me to give Carrefour a boost. You see, Dubai is rather warm (so is Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Riyadh, Dammam, Medina, Jeddah and Mecca) and as I have never seen this option in any Carrefour, I thought it was time to shine a light on this option. 

First we get the refrigerated bags (they have those, but the idea is not the bags, but what goes in).On the Inside we see:

A patch with three slots, these slots will fit cooling elements precisely. Now we get two settings, either they buy these cooling elements or they exchange them, The exchange might cost them 3-5 dirham per cooling element, they sell for whatever the norm is. Consider that these people might take an hour to get to the mall, they have a coffee and by the time they get to grocery shopping, these cooling elements are no longer able to cool. I reckon that they need to come in a satchel, and consider that they might come in Carrefour colours with the name ‘Carrefour’ on the pack. Now consider that this service will drive all kind of customers to the shop, especially tourists and out of town people. The idea that you can exchange (conditionally) of the woolpacks might drive a lot more people. Consider the lemonade and refrigerated items that you can sell when you offer a service like that. 

So whilst I am decently certain that the service does not exist. I wonder why no one thought of that. These packs need to be clean and when they are in their own satchel that is extremely likely to be the case. And I reckon that Carrefour has space for a small freezer at the cashiers holding up to 400 cooling packs and optionally a lot more in the back of the store. I see it as an essential service that places like this in the UAE (Saudi Arabia too) could offer. And as the revenue increases, it might become a free service of exchanging cooling packs (with certain demands) but here I am wondering why no one thought of it. I watched several Carrefour YouTube in Dubai (I did not see one of the Yas Mall) and the option was not given. I wonder why not, perhaps there is a good reason, but I cannot see it. 

So I sign of of this Sunday to become a lumberjack until Monday (snoring the night away), it is only 18:00 so I might kill some orcs and goblins to get sleepy. One Orc (hack), Two Orcs (hack), Three Orcs (hack), you get the process, its like counting sheep.

Have a great day. I will write more in about 15 hours. 

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August 8, 2025 · 04:49

What the flip?

Roughly 10 hours ago the TTW (Travel and Tour World) released an article (at https://www.travelandtourworld.com/news/article/saudi-arabia-joins-france-turkey-uk-mexico-and-egypt-as-australia-issues-new-travel-advisory-amid-unstable-security-conditions/) called ‘Saudi Arabia Joins France, Turkey, UK, Mexico, and Egypt as Australia Issues New Travel Advisory Amid Unstable Security Conditions’ and my first thought was “what the hell”. You see, American tourism is mostly at an all time low and now we get that these countries are called ‘dangerous’?

Lets be clear, EVERY country has some risk, this is nearly undeniable. The two exceptions as I see it are the United Arab Emirates and Iceland. For Iceland there are two risks. The first is falling into a volcano (yes, it happens) and being attacked by a Arctic tern because you got too close to its nest. For the UAE it is a little larger and involves cobra’s and scorpions, but unlikely to be in any of their cities. 

But back to the article and lets keep a few things clear.

Saudi Arabia
I get that some parts of Saudi Arabia are not the greatest settings to go view and we get “Travelers are advised not to travel within 30 km of the border with Yemen due to ongoing conflict in Yemen and the associated risks of missile and drone strikes.” With the additional “Australians are encouraged to read the general advice on terrorism risks and personal safety during conflicts.”

Now, first of all, when you are as dim as a soup plate, you need to realise that common sense is expected from EVERY person on the planet. You might be one of the biggest idiots and featured in YouTube videos for doing stupid things, but that doesn’t make it the problem of that nation. You are expected to get an apartment with a balcony and spend your vacation in said balcony. As such when considering the distances from Yemen “approximately 200 km for cities like Jizan and Abha to over 1,000 km for Riyadh.” As such if your vacation is in Medina, Riyadh (most likely), Dammam or Jeddah, you are unlikely to travel within that 30 km. In the second part (it is said) that “personal safety during conflicts” is a bit vague. A conflict could exist during a misunderstanding in a shop or restaurant and that is not a likely case. Muslims are proud of their shops (restaurants too) and they have a set standard of hospitality (something you are less likely to experience in London) in further noticing ‘conflicts’ Saudi Arabia strikes down any military conflict in Saudi Arabia with extreme prejudice. As such you are seemingly less safe on the Sydney Harbour bridge in Sydney during a pro-Palestinian rally then ever in Saudi Arabia. 

Turkey
Here we see a more changing setting. I went to Istanbul once and I never ever felt unsafe or unwelcome. But it is the only part of Turkey I have ever see and as there are issues. The one that strikes me as a plausible setting is “Smart Traveller has specifically warned Australians to avoid public demonstrations and large gatherings, as these events are often strictly enforced by the government, with severe penalties for suspected participants. Monitoring local news and following the advice of local authorities is crucial.” And this setting makes sense on a few levels as you need to be fluent in Turkish to avoid certain complications, as such this travel advice makes sense.

United Kingdom
We are given “The national terrorism threat level in the UK remains substantial, indicating that an attack is likely. Smart Traveller has warned travelers that the possibility of terrorist activities, particularly in crowded public places, is elevated.” As well as “Travelers are reminded that petty crime, such as pickpocketing, mobile phone snatching, and theft from cars, is widespread across the UK. Visitors, especially in busy areas like London, should be extra cautious with their belongings.” There is no contest in any of this. But this was already the case for years. Still it requires mention.

France
Has a similar spread of issues, so there is no contest. But people traveling to these places should have been aware from them at least two years. There is no contest on any of this. You tend to get unlucky when you get in this situation. You would be in a similar setting when traveling to Amsterdam or Berlin.

Mexico and Egypt have their own settings and these are fair as I know the published facts to be (I have never been to Mexico).

My issue is why Saudi Arabia was added, was it because Saudi Tourism grew by over 100% and America is losing dozens of billions at present? The Netherlands (Amsterdam) and Germany (Berlin) are not on this list and I reckon a lot less safe than Riyadh, Dammam, Medina or Jeddah are. There is something of being too prepared for bad luck (as I call it) and I am not saying that this was bad advice, but you tell me, how likely are you to go within 30km of Yemen? The fact is that as far as I can tell, every major city in Saudi Arabia is well over 200km away from Yemen. Even the Neom projects are way too far away from that setting. As such you are likely to walk into the desert getting stung by a scorpion or ripped apart by a pack of hyena’s long before you get close to Yemen. So why the mention and why the instillment of fear towards Saudi Arabia? Now, lets be clear. There is some need to be aware of terrorism, but as I personally see it, these tend to be ‘confined’ to Houthi terrorist attacks and so far there has not been any serious incidents in the major cities of Saudi Arabia. So why the addition of Saudi Arabia? These terrorist issues have been in play for over 10 years. So, why the addition now?

Is it to make other places to seem less appealing over America? This is pure speculation from my side, but I reckon someone saw the 102% tourism growth I illuminated yesterday and someone must have seen that number in the source article and thought, lets make Saudi Arabia less appealing. This might be the wrong thought, but it is the speculated one I am having. You see, the warning given were in play for at least half a decade, so why now?

Have a great day and don’t get mauled by a pack of hyena’s today.

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July 18, 2025 · 18:35

The path of New Technology

That was the setting that I had in mind. You see, some time ago I saw the ‘idea’ that Elon Musk allegedly has. There is nothing wrong with the idea, but in this day and age, with all the settings going on, who is interested in going to New York? Been there, done that I say (in 1999), but the larger setting isn’t the place. There is nothing wrong with the place. Yet as I see it, like the HS2 (UK) the hyper-loop from London to New York seems to be a less then stellar idea. I know that allegedly Elon Musk is setting the stage so that he can get everything as much tested as possible before he is off to Mars (the planet, not the candy bar) and that is fine. Good luck to him.

Yet the setting of a hyper loop in NEOM makes a lot more sense. As I see it, three lines in NEOM seems to be the idea that could attract even more people and more advanced travel options.

Consider the first line connecting Sindalah, the Line and Aquellum (optionally more), the second line connecting Neon bay Airport, the line and Trojena. The third line would be over the length of the line itself allowing people to traverse west to east line in a little over 30 minutes. Optionally with a few stops. 

Basically allow the larger places in minutes. From Sindalah to Aquellum in less than an hour and that is just for starters. It would also allow the people in the line to go towards their destinations in mere minutes. There could be additional benefits too, consider that the people over the larger part in Neom could be off to the ski-resort in an hour, driving the desire to Trojena towards an all time high and the same could be said for Sindalah. 

This is not the easiest setting and perhaps that Elon Musk has the required equipment already as I reckon that these drills don’t grow on trees (I checked) the fabrication of these drills takes several months (if not longer) and we are in 2025, as such the creation of these lines might take more than  the 5 years required, so some haste is due. And with that setting Saudi Arabia will create a new worlds first. A hyper loop that connects these places would also push tourism to a larger degree, with additional connections that allow travel to Riyadh, Jeddah and Medina could grow tourism beyond anything they had expected and  considering that there are 1800 million Muslims, only 33 million living in Saudi Arabia could expand on expectations, desires and wonder and that would make it another first in the world. There are additional considerations as the hyper loop could transport the injured over a larger area, reducing the needs for a more equipped Hospital to the line and several smaller hospitals to other areas. That is, if the setting of a hyper loop would appeal to the Saudi government. 

There were some additional thought to combine lines one and two, but that is hat some would call the micro management (not meant for me) and the idea to live in the line, work in Aquellum and play in Trojena has massive appeal. I wonder how many Canadians might like the idea of skiing there. The setting seeing Neom would be great, if only I am still alive when these places were completed (five years with my butterfingers?) 

Still, the thought of hyper loop trains in Neom should spark any person who enjoys trips on the train. Ill try to get other IP thoughts sorted out tomorrow. Have a great day.

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April 3, 2025 · 07:27

Seeking the moon

I was surprised by awn article in the New Arab last night stating ‘Did Saudi Arabia announce the start of Eid al-Fitr a day too early?’ (at https://www.newarab.com/news/did-saudi-arabia-get-eid-al-fitrs-date-wrong). Now there is one little setting that needs vocalizing. I am not a Muslim, so I can hide behind ignorance regarding Muslim matters, but to accuse one of the more conservative nations like the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia of this seems a little wild. So I had to look up a few matters before regarding the outcome. So let’s get my non Muslim readers a little up to date. We know that Islam is set to five pillars. One of them is Ramadan, the time of fasting. It lasts for a month and that implies no food or drinks between sunrise and sunset. I think there are rules for some, so that they can have water during the day, mainly the old and the sick. The end of fasting is set at a specific date. 

“According to a certain hadith, these festivals were initiated in Medina after the migration of Muhammad from Mecca. Anas ibn Malik, a companion of Muhammad, narrated that when Muhammad arrived in Medina, he found people celebrating two specific days in which they entertained themselves with recreation. Muhammad then remarked that God had fixed two mandatory days of festivity: Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha.”

Eid al-Fitr begins at sunset on the night of the first sighting of the crescent moon. The night on which the moon is sighted. If the moon is not observed immediately after the 29th day of the previous lunar month (either because clouds block its view or because the western sky is still too bright when the moon sets), then the holiday is celebrated the following day. Eid al-Fitr is celebrated for one to three days, depending on the country. It is forbidden to fast on the Day of Eid, and a specific prayer is nominated for this day. As an obligatory act of charity, money is paid to the poor and the needy (zakat al-Fitr) before performing the ‘Eid prayer’.

That is as far as I got, so the festivities around the end of Ramadan is important and that is the debate, did Saudi Arabia call that mandate too early? And the byline from the New Arab is ‘showing’ “Reports and rumours online said Saudi Arabia got the timing of Eid al-Fitr wrong, but there has been no official statement from the kingdom saying this.” I cannot say that this is the case, but the fact that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia got this wrong is close to stunning. The Kingdom and its inhabitants live for Islam and such an accusation cannot be ignored, for me personally it seems not a biggie, but for an Islamic? It comes with the added “While some Arab countries announced Eid al-Fitr falls on Sunday, others said it was Monday. Egypt, Jordan, Syria and several other Sunni-majority countries broke with the Saudi announcement and celebrated on Monday. Shia-majority Iran also declared the festivities to begin on Monday, as well as Oman’s Ibadi religious authorities.” It comes with the added “Many astronomers and experts had rejected the idea that Eid al-Fitr could take place on Sunday, saying it was impossible to sight the moon on the preceding Saturday. The Abu Dhabi-based International Astronomical Centre said a Saturday sighting would be have been impossible from the eastern hemisphere using any type of method.

Saudi astronomer Bader al-Omaira also told Gulf News that the sighting of a crescent would have been impossible, largely due to a solar eclipse which took place on Saturday, after which sightings of the moon are not possible for several hours.” And the added setting gives it weight, according to some that the sighting of the moon was not possible for several hours makes it the debate. I for one seem to shrug at the accusation. But in the setting of not being a Muslim, I do not care that much and I am ‘heavily’ opposed to fasting, but then I need to turn every dollar around and sometime like a real accountant, I squeeze a dollar bill until it releases three 50cent coins. Life is hard at times. So I don’t celebrate too much. Yet I do understand the Muslims that have an issue with the setting of stopping their pillar of fasting a day early. Off course I do see the ‘accusation’ of “In 2011, there were reports that Saudi authorities who observe the skies to record the sighting of the moon mistook Saturn for the moon. This reportedly happened again in 2019.” That is the idea that I can see Saturn and mistake it for the pancake that hangs over our heads. I kinda find the idea to funny to ignore. There is the little setting that at the closest setting (we move in eclipses) Saturn is 746,000,000 km away, the moon I mere 360,000 km, as such I want to wonder who looks for the moon?  And that is before I’m ‘entertaining’ a few other parts. 

And here is the surprise I got, there is a difference between Sunni and Shia in Islam.

“As ritual dictates, Sunnis praise God in a loud voice while going to the Eid prayer:
Allāhu Akbar, Allāhu Akbar, Allāhu Akbar. Lā ilāha illà l-Lāh. Allāhu Akbar, Allahu akbar, wa-li-l-Lāh al-ḥamd.
Recitation ceases when they get to the place of Eid or once the Imam commences activities.”

It s the first time that I am made aware that there is a difference between the two versions of Islam. The other part is the detection of the moon, “While some countries use astronomical calculations and technology like telescopes, others insist that it must be seen with the naked eye.” I understand that in the past like pre 1650, we had to rely on the naked eye, and to some degree I am on board that it should be done with the naked eye, but is it a sin to let technology aid us, in these matters? I am merely voicing the question and perhaps there is an Imam giving us a resounding yes to that question, as I said I am not Muslim.

The fact that Saudi Arabia was accused of something so profoundly Muslim startled me to some degree and I am not on anyones side. I merely found the occasion strange and as such I devoted a blog page to the effect.

Have a lovely day and at present I don’t see a moon, the sun got in the way of that at 07:23

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September 6, 2024 · 13:48

As the situation changes

The Middle East Monitor made me rethink somethings that I gave the audience (read: you). In this article (at https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20240905-saudi-issuing-licences-for-new-airlines/) we see ‘Saudi issuing licences for new airlines’ with the underlying text “A Saudi official said yesterday that the kingdom is working on issuing new licences for airlines to operate within the country. The statement was made by Abdulaziz Al-Duailej, president of the General Authority of Civil Aviation in Saudi Arabia, during his participation in the Egypt International Aviation and Space Exhibition in the Egyptian New Alamein City.” It is a setting that makes sense in a few ways. But as this setting ‘explodes’ the stages of tourism in Saudi Arabia, there is another side to consider. I raised it on the 25th of January 2024 in ‘Those happy dreams’ (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2024/01/25/those-happy-dreams/) there I have an image

You see, Saudi Arabia might be a little better off changing the service industry, or better stated the way it works. It might have made sense in older western days. Everyone wanted crumbs of the pie, but in this new stage a new system where we see one arrival and one departure, the NICE (an Israeli system) approach used in their cloud solution makes more sense and as such an Arabic designed system that has a cloud approach to tourism as well as a new ‘decentralised’ system might make a lot of sense. Consider that Saudi Arabia has the following settings either already there or coming soon. Trojena, Sindalah, Magna,  and Medina. After this we get the links with the UAE and Egypt. That is a multitude of hundreds of thousands of tourists. It will require a whole new way of doing business. Not the side of cashing in. It requires a new way of infrastructure, and Tourism is for the most replicating the same idea over and over again. It the past it made sense, in this setting it does not. They can all make claims that it is the way to do business. I disagree, this is how I saw the image in January. In the lower left the Arrival box and in the upper right the Departure box. In between there is nothing (at present), The setting is changing however. In stead of all replicating the same stage, have everyone access the same cloud, but with the difference that the customer is central in all this. The tourist will not have to register a multitude of ways, over and over again. They are in a cloud and everyone with the a booking for that tourist will have access to that tourist’s records and they can add their settings. 

In the end the tourist had to register mostly once, the rest will have the records and they can add their parts, a link in the record base with the reference to their own system where they can keep their records secure. There is still works that needs doing, but I had years in mind to evolve this antiquated system. Now as we see that “Saudi saw a surge in tourism in 2023, with around 27 million international visitors spending over 100 billion riyals, while domestic tourist numbers reached 77 million.” A new tourist recording stage made by Saudi’s and it is all in local hands. A new system that caters to the Arabians, and those who do not want it, will have to find another way to make money. As this setting gets developed we see that Saudi Arabia, the UAE and optionally Egypt get a new system with the tourist in the centre. In the second sight is that intelligent LLM models will be catering to the specific person, the data will be more up to date and more to the point of the tourist. I foresee that this new system will break borders in many ways and whilst some will sell an ‘AI’ system for the tourist, whilst merely braking even for the caterer in that system. This system will actually have one tourist in mind. The one it is catering too. I came to that conclusion over 6 months ago. Now that the borders are moved to include millions more tourists, this system will be clearly superior as it caters to that person, or that family in a stage that it aligns all new places. 

As I see the article in the Middle East Eye, the situation I drew came up again. A setting that is drawn from the tourist, not the hotel or flight event. There are still hurdles. Like how can this system align with other systems? My question becomes ‘How can we make things easier for the tourist?’ You see, in the next 10 years we can either address this or se the tourist go the path of comfort and that is where this approach can make a change for thousands of tourists. The centre piece in this is that the tourist is on a vacation, they want comfort and that can be approached by giving them a different ride towards their initial destination and beyond.

You see, the larger tourist group wants a unique view on their entire trip and Saudi Arabia (as well as the UAE) are delivering it to a lager degree. Now it is time to set the stage to a complete overhaul and 2030 is a mere 8 years away. If Saudi Arabia gets to have the other venues as well (Olympics to name but one) it will have to consider this larger change now or face near inhumane pressure points on several occasions. You can address the venue on its own or cater to a system that can reduce pressures all over. It would also call in a national call centre that takes care of all venues from a few points. I see opportunities all over, but I realise that there would be initial design flaws (from my side). It becomes a larger issue when some will see reason to drown this idea as they see a failing revenue point for them. In this I call to a place like Ticketmaster. How hard was their start until venues started to trust their setting? It could be a genuine opportunity for Saudi Arabia to guide and light the way to countries like the China, UAE, Egypt and Indonesia. And when more countries align to that setting the tourist industry gets a real overhaul optionally gaining more and more countries to that way of thinking.

Have a great day.

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November 11, 2023 · 13:27

Wandering thoughts

We all have them, and I am no different. As I was contemplating more sides to yesterday’s story. As I was thinking through new levels of intelligence (machine learning) on grouping impact of NPC characters I saw the article in the Khaleej Times (at https://www.khaleejtimes.com/travel/saudi-e-visa-demand-for-umrah-from-uae-soars-trips-start-from-dh600) where we see ‘Umrah demand in UAE soars; trips start at Dh600’ As such I wondered about a few things. You see, Saudi Arabia is busy increasing its tourism footprint. Then I learned that there is no train connection between Dubai and Riyadh. Consider these 1050 Km and tell me which tourist, religious or not wouldn’t consider doing that trip by train. From there we see two new options. The train from Riyadh to Mecca which does exist, as does the train ride from Riyadh to Medina. But the train trip from Medina to the Line does not yet exist. So now we have more than merely a religious trip. The Line – Medina – Riyadh and Dubai. A new way for tourists, Muslim and non-Muslims to see the nation of Saudi Arabia. People who can see that land without checking in and out of airports, see the lands of Saudi Arabia, its deserts and much more. A new tourist attraction if you will and a new way, one not blemished by western exploitation to see and learn about Islam. 

And even as these are mere thoughts, when we see “These budget-friendly packages start at just Dh600 per person and are not only economical but also convenient, as they are designed for travel by bus. DoJoin App is offering this 10-day package with travel by bus and is for residents who already possess the 1-year Umrah e-visa.” The small upgrade from $163 (Dh600) to Dh750-Dh999 might have the right appeal for a lot of people to take the train, optionally seeing Medina and the Line, two stops they might never have considered before, all whilst growing tourism in several directions. I reckon that I am not stating anything new, I feel certain that both the United Arab Emirates as well as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are working on this and with Saudi Arabia working on Hyperloop technology, we might see a lot more options in the coming years. I reckon that once Emaar and Virgin Hyperloop One (VHO) crunch the numbers, the line that comes after Riyadh – Jeddah will possibly include Medina and the Line giving Saudi Arabia, a new achievement and a worlds first. That will be the 3rd or 4th time they surpassed any expectation and that is another setting where we see that America as well as the European Union has politicised themselves out of the game. In 2019 we were given the quote “MEMBERS of the European Parliament spend £60 million of taxpayers’ cash on gravy train, plane and taxi services getting to and from work” and another source gave us ““This is not value for money and, as the second largest contributor to the EU gravy train we should get a grip on reality, pull the plug and pull out of the European Union” it is not the reason that I see is reason to disband the EU, but what is happening is that non-EU members are creating a real train ride that is very much value for money, whether it is the current train technology or the coming Hyperloop, others are showing that there is plenty value for money and that is weirdly enough one of the first things a tourist is looking for. Well over 90% of the population gets to spend their vacation money only once a year, so they try to make it count and there is plenty to see in Saudi Arabia (in the UAE too), even as too many media has been trivialising that for way too long.

Just my thought in the weekend, still 35 hours to go in this weekend, whatever will I think of next.

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March 24, 2023 · 01:02

Simple curiosity

It all started with one word. I was browsing the Middle East Monitor (at https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20230322-saudi-arabia-is-retelling-the-hijrah-and-shaping-a-new-narrative-through-art/) and the word retelling. Now in media the word retelling has a negative connection, especially when the word narrative is in that sentence, as such the title ‘Saudi Arabia is retelling the Hijrah and shaping a new narrative through art’ drew my attention. Now, I had no idea what Hijrah was, so I had to look it up. Hijrah gave me “the Prophet Muhammad’s migration (622 ce) from Mecca to Yathrib (Medina) upon invitation in order to escape persecution”, as a non-Muslim I had no idea of that, as such I was interested to learn more. It must have been quite the trip as it is about 450Km. Which on camel implies about 3 days travel. But back to the article. There we are given “The exhibition “Hijrah: In the Footsteps of the Prophet” and the documentary “In the Footsteps of the Beloved” are embracing historical and scientific evidence, signalling a change in Saudi Arabia. There is a long sequence in the movie where a Saudi archaeologist, very thin and emaciated, is walking up a mountain in the desert. A black man is bravely holding an umbrella sheltering him from the sun, and going up the hill with him. It’s a long sequence, that seems almost to stress the suffering of the two men. The archaeologist in the film is actually Dr Abdullah Alkadi, a scholar who — according to a guide at the King Abdulaziz Centre for World Culture (Ithra) — travelled in the footsteps of Prophet Muhammad more than fifty times in order to retrace the Prophet’s 8-day journey from Makkah to Madinah in 622, known as the Hijrah.” Now that is a worthy side for anyone to see and as Dr Alkadi is focussing on historical evidence, aided by science and modern technology we get to see the a side of Islam that anyone would, or should be interested in seeing. And then the jackpot comes from Idries Trevathan, curator of Ithra. He gives us “bringing scientific evidence through the medium of art allowed us a bit more freedom of exploration” that is one art show I should try to visit (well, when it comes to Sydney), perhaps it never comes to Sydney and we would have to visit it in Saudi Arabia. Scientific views through art is a noble endeavour, no matter what the narrative tends to be. No matter how I see it, this is something all non-Muslims need to take notice off and I feel certain if this movie makes it to BluRay I will seek it out. With my extremely limited knowledge of Islam, I had nothing more than the movie ‘How to assassinate a politician’, I wonder what people with actual knowledge of Islam can create and the title ‘In the footsteps of the prophet’ seems a lot more worthy. Even as it is seen a more arthouse and lacking action, it gives a larger population an insight towards the prophet. Anyone who wanted to learn more about Islam should be on the first line of a place that sells the movie after its cinema release. I reckon that sales numbers will go through the roof in Bangla Dash, Egypt, Indonesia and Turkey as well. 

And I did not seek this out, one word drew me into the article and I learned a whole lot more that hour than merely something about a narrative. There are times when simple curiosity pays off in the most unexpected ways. 

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July 24, 2021 · 13:45

The power to teach

I wrote about the idea in the past, I wrote about it specifically on one side, yet it dawned on me (whilst watching Star Wars) that I wasn’t looking at the larger picture. This happens, you, me, we all tend to focus on our own street. Yet the streamers (Google, Amazon and optionally Netflix) allows for a new setting of teachings. Just as I saw my mind create a game based around the Vatican, there is nothing stopping a nation like Saudi Arabia to create a game of education around the Quran and Islam, Israel a game around the Torah and the Jewish teachings. And these are games for all. Consider people actually learning about the Quran through playing a game, To walk the streets of Medina (optionally Mecca too) whilst rebuilding the Al-Masjid an-Nabawi. And as we unlock conversations, as we unlock teachings and historical figures, we also unlock more of the Quran, and this is not something I can do, this Neds to be done by Muslims, together with Muslim clerics to give the proper allocation of passages allotting to the entire Quran, a true face of islamic teachings. If we accept that the statement “Islam is a major world religion, with over 1 billion followers worldwide (1/5 of the world population). It is considered one of the Abrahamic, monotheistic faiths, along with Judaism and Christianity. Although usually associated with the Arabs of the Middle East, less than 10% of Muslims are in fact Arab. Muslims are found all over the world, of every nation, colour, and race. The most populous Muslim country today is Indonesia, a non-Arab country”, an educational game with an interest base of 1,000,000,000 and optionally growing. Why didn’t anyone else think of this? The same for Christianity and all the other religions. 

But I personally feel that teaching people about Islam and the Quran will be an option to fight Islamophobia. Fight religious discrimination through a game, who considered that application of streaming systems? There is nothing stopping the games coming up on other consoles, but the exclusivity applies strongly to streaming solutions, and this is not a game that is done in a year and it will take growing steps, it is a large undertaking, no matter what religion is the focal point. 

Quran App

This all started longer ago when I was trying out the Quran App, I needed to learn a little more about the Quran, I do not trust any source that is one sided telling me what is true, so I tried to learn more, but having an app with the Quran is not a decent way to teach about Islam, a lot more is needed and games are an excellent form of teaching. I have that seen to be a reality for decades, I am merely surprised that no one considered teaching the young and old more about religion this way. There are a lot of questions that I cannot answer, for one, I do (only recently) know that there are no images of the prophet, but who else in the non-Islamic community knew that? If we know that, the French secular move to have a teacher show the images of the prophet is not educational, it is merely insulting against Islam, games can offer a better stage, a global stage and in all ways an educational and optionally a cultural stage. 

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February 9, 2019 · 12:55

Moby’s Dick

5G is the phrase and the bad part is that the media is shouting what others say and they are not very informative, they are all about bashing Huawei. What is interesting is how bad the situation is in the USA. If 5G is a huge white sperm whale, we need to realise that most people in the telecom retail field are no more than a subversion of some Ahabraham and they are not even holding a spear, merely sucking its dick.

Lifewire however (at https://www.lifewire.com/5g-availability-us-4155914) gives us two elemental parts that most cannot see through all given BS online. I made mention of this setting before (last week at https://lawlordtobe.com/2019/02/03/facebook-folly-and-5g/) in the article called ‘Facebook Folly and 5G‘ where I mentioned the news by VentureBeat: “So as we are given: “As reported by VentureBeat, Verizon has detailed that it won’t have true 5G hardware for its 5G Home service ready until later this year. That means expansion to more markets beyond Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Sacramento, and Houston won’t be likely until the second half of 2019“, how many people have figured out that ‘expansion to more markets beyond Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Sacramento, and Houston‘ implies the largest part of the USA and they are not up for anything before 2020 (and that is me being optimistic)” We see Lifewire giving us both: “It’s also possible that other larger cities like New York City and Chicago will have access to Verizon’s 5G service in 2019“, as well as “However, because the company won’t have standards-based 5G hardware until late 2019, 5G service might stay within the four cities mentioned above — at least for now“. So it is not exactly news, but it is more revealing than most are giving us. Australia added to all with the article in the WA Today. There we see (at https://www.watoday.com.au/politics/western-australia/it-was-a-strange-approach-ex-navy-admiral-opens-up-over-huawei-job-20190208-p50wja.html) ““The purpose within Huawei is to oversight the way that we manage our people, look after them, etc., that’s the role it plays with Huawei,” Mr Lord said. “Everything in Huawei is done for the benefit of the people and the shareholders.” Mr Lord said he referred allegations about Huawei to the parent company in China. “Most of the allegations just don’t come with any proof,” he said. “Whenever there’s a doubt, an allegation made, I query it, I get a solid response. “I don’t from the people making the allegations. I don’t get any proof.”” With this we see a real solid response from former rear admiral John Lord, an actual person with established credibility.

In the last 2 years none of the American claims held any water, yet the press has been too reluctant to assault that part. The truth of the matter is that all media for the most merely adheres to the needs of the shareholders, the stake holders and the advertisers. America is still big business when it comes to advertisement.

So when it comes to dubious people like Rob Strayer (the US State Department’s top cyber official), when we see: “allowing Huawei and other Chinese companies into their next-generation telecommunications networks would allow Beijing to expand its surveillance state around much of the globe“, it comes lacking evidence, lacking up to the amount of 97.5% of evidence. America has become about fear, fear because they played the iterative game or a decade and when a true step forward was required the US could no longer keep up, they were lazy and complacent for too long. In addition to the previous statement we see in addition “A country that uses data in the way China has – to surveil its citizens, to set up credit scores and to imprison more than 1 million people for their ethnic and religious background – should give us pause about the way that country might use data in the future,” this is given to us whilst the US has been doing something similar to its citizens? They do not call it ‘imprisonment’, they merely set unbearable premiums to essential services and cost of living, they hand over data to third parties and let the mess run itself, limiting people and what they have access to more and more and that has been seen for a decade. Bloomberg gave us merely two days ago: “Trade should be free. The gold standard is archaic. Antitrust should protect consumers rather than punish bigness. Tax rates should be (modestly) higher for the rich. Government should run big deficits during recessions to support growth but get frugal during good times to reduce debt.” It sounds nice in theory, yet this requires commitment and Americans have no clue what commitment is, unless it is linked to the need for greed. This America is so polarised we see the protectionism of President Trump versus the socialism of Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and neither path is a great one, they both have flaws and neither will consent to the golden path in the middle, because the gold in that path needs to be sold to pay for the outstanding interest payment due on the American debt for June 2019, and every month it takes 5 weeks to acquire enough just to make the monthly interest payment, so the entire 5G part is essential for America to stay afloat, a plan that is set to fail. It is the plan behind what some call ‘fixing American capitalism‘ because the capitalists are calling the shots and they who made it into that club do not give a hoot for those outside of that club.

This is an important element, because even now, as America is on their ‘European Tour’ for the 5G anti-Huawei wave, we saw only yesterday the Bloomberg News ‘German Government Rules Out Huawei Ban in 5G Expansion, Official Says‘, you see when it is about BS (read: cow manure) versus results, results always win and Huawei has the goods, they have the result advantage and that is where the USA gets themselves into trouble. There is of course the example 2 decades ago of some Colin Powell with a silver briefcase giving us the ‘WMD presence presentation in Iraq‘, you all remember how that ended, right?

As Germany and others adapt the “subjecting all potential service providers to stringent security standards”, America sees that they are in another presentation war and they are about to lose that one. If they had only stopped being complacent about their technology remaining in an iterative field! So when I am all about selling my IP to either Google or Huawei, I am no longer in a place where I am certain that Google is the best solution of the two, it is after all in America. Even as a global company that will optionally bite for them down the road. In addition we see: “Telecommunication companies have warned about costs that would arise if Huawei were cut out of supplying 5G equipment. Germany’s Deutsche Telekom AG has warned that Europe would fall behind the U.S. and China in 5G with such a move” a stage that the Australians are already watching becoming a reality, there only Telstra wins and that is fine by too many people who are seat holders in the capitalist game, for them the playing field is never allowed to be plain and level.

And there we get to the true issue, the issue that Bloomberg (one of the few) gave proper light to (at https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-01-24/huawei-stokes-u-s-fear-with-low-cost-networking-gear-that-works)  : ‘Another Reason U.S. Fears Huawei: Its Gear Works and It’s Cheap‘, marketing can hide behind levels of deception the AT&T issue) relabelling 4G LTE ‘5G Evolution’ an event that is gaining momentum in the news, especially as Sprint is suing AT&T now over deceptive conduct. Lifewire and others are showing that outside of a few cities there will be no actual functional 5G until at least 2020 and that whilst we now see that Zain Saudi is using Nokia for their: ‘Zain Saudi, Nokia conduct 4.9G pilot to boost capacity and customer experience with 5G-ready massive MIMO active antenna on 2.6 GHz‘, they are clear it is not 5G, it is 4.9G, yet the infrastructure is set now to run the pilot, it gives users above 700 Mbps, which is extreme broadband whilst the hardware will need replacement to make it true 5G, we see that parts of the infrastructure are now actively being tested. They are merely one step away from the stat that was given last year august, the then given claim “Saudi Arabia’s Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) is expected to commercially launch the fifth generation (5G) network by mid-2019” is now almost there, on time and with the 3GGPS specs. America is not merely falling behind; it is starting to trail the entire stage at best. With their non-actions on AT&T for too long, for their claims on national security that have not been met with ANY evidence on all this. They are all hiding behind the claim makers with pretty degrees and actual evidence did not present itself in any way, shape or form.

When the Saudi even is the success, we will see the EU making a very sharp turn in another direction, they cannot afford another American fuck up. After the Iraq WMD, 2004 and 2008 collapses, America is playing with a strike three against them. And it gets to be worse. Reuters confirmed only a few hours ago (at https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-hungary-pompeo/pompeo-visit-to-focus-on-us-concerns-over-huawei-in-central-europe-idUSKCN1PX1RS): ‘Pompeo visit to focus on U.S. concerns over Huawei in central Europe‘ with “U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will voice concerns about the growing presence of China’s Huawei Technologies in central Europe when he visits Hungary, Slovakia and Poland next week, a senior U.S. official said on Friday as Washington tries to bolster ties with a region it acknowledges it has neglected“, America has resorted to playing its political game. Going to places with beads and baubles trying to impress the people they can still impress with a suit, another silver case presentation, yet this time around without the silver briefcase. They hope to get discord in the EU by playing the individual members against one another, from my personal point of view it will be because the US is soon out of options to pay their interest on the 21 trillion debt they have no way of dealing with. Their greatest option would have been to dispose of their iterative play, but the capitalists in charge decided that it would cost them too much, now it will optionally cost them everything.

So even as Moby’s dick is out in front, the players know that is expected, they do not need to grab their ankles, they merely have to swallow whatever comes next, there will be an aftertaste, but that is what they signed up for, if that is not what they wanted, they should have embraced innovation a lot more than they did. So, now we will (optionally) get to watch the people in Riyadh, Jeddah, Mecca, Medina and Dammam watch their 5G connection, making it one third of the Saudi population with optional mobile access to 5G, consider that stage where Huawei, Samsung and Nokia being the only three options in 5G mobiles, now see that in the earlier light where the US will only have partial 5G in less than a dozen cities. They can cry ‘we are larger’ for all they want, yet the stage is not that they are larger, they were surpassed by what Americans describe as ‘a third world nation’, so how is that as an achievement?

So as Americans hide behind “The United States was particularly worried about Huawei’s influence in small eastern and central European countries where it was easy for China to penetrate state systems, the U.S. official said” without any supporting evidence, we are merely watching that nation lose footing, a nation that merely embraced greed and the need for greed without the consideration that a greed game is one sided and never ever goes the way of anyone but a small group that merely cares about self above everything else.

It fits the bill rather nicely, Ahab and his obsession, willing to sacrifice everyone else, willing to set reason aside in all this. That is what we see with the 5G whale, we see accusations without proof, without proper vetting of evidence, and the media to a larger extent is just as guilty, eager to get the goods from all without properly vetting the stage, and as papers basically repeated what they were given, like the T-Mobile case, whilst it is out in the open that “In a 2017 civil lawsuit, Huawei was ordered to pay T-Mobile $4.8 million in damages. The two companies later reached a private settlement. In a statement, Huawei, which denies wrongdoing, says allegations in the Tappy case were “already the subject of a civil suit that was settled by the parties after a Seattle jury found neither damages nor willful and malicious conduct on the trade secret claim.”” America has become that desperate. So how does it help anyone to feed that machine of desperate stupidity, even as it was decided that: ‘a Seattle jury found neither damages nor willful and malicious conduct on the trade secret claim‘.

When we give weight to the elements, how obsessed has America become in regards to their White Whale? Why is the media not properly looking at that part or the equation?

 

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