Tag Archives: Netherlands

Since when?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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The view over a distance

That is what I see, at a distance my old country (the Netherlands) is setting a new premise of pressure. In the BBC article (at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn40y9yxkgvo) we are given ‘Netherlands’ renewables drive putting pressure on its power grid’ and that is fine. For me (my intake) is that the setting is that when there is no renewable energy, they will have to resort to the old setting (like gas or oil) and there is ample reason for this. Yet we are given “In a Dutch government TV campaign called “Flip the Switch” an actress warns viewers about their electricity usage. “When we all use electricity at the same time, our power grid gets overloaded,” she says. “This can cause malfunctions. So, use as little electricity as possible between four and nine.”” A setting we comprehend, the other option is that we are ‘handed’ the setting of “Renewable energy prices in the Netherlands are not a separate category but are included in the overall electricity price, which currently averages around €0.33 per kWh” so we could end the setting that renewable energy above a certain usage is delivered at €0.99 per kWh, the rest can either adhere to the additional prices or accept that oil is the other party in the mix (at €0.33 per kWh), a simple solution for the Dutch to increase what they have going in renewable settings. And there is no blame on the Dutch admittedly we are given “it leads the way in Europe for the number of solar panels per person. In fact, more than one third of Dutch homes have solar panels fitted.

The country is also aiming for offshore wind farms to be its biggest source of energy by 2030.” And that is a time pressured setting and the Dutch political systems know this. There is no averting your eyes from the needs and the Dutch know this too well. The other nations face a similar setting, the Dutch were however a lot more hands on into finding these options and they have 18 million people in that nation, it is almost as much as the Australian population (27 million) but the area differences is that the Netherlands is only 0.54% of Australia, setting the premise that the Netherlands has the population pressure of Sydney on a national foundation, they needed a renewable energy policy in place. No one denies that. But the needs are not matching the availability. As such my solution at a premium (which might achieve the same setting) or accept that oil isn’t a thing of the past yet and perhaps in 2030 when there are the actual additional kWh available it will be possible and at that point the Dutch are still the first by a mile over all other European nations to be the first to get to a positive carbon setting, even above zero carbon (meaning that no carbon emissions are being produced from a product or service) and that is quite the achievement to have. Oh, and I reckon that these kids squandering energy as they mine for bitcoins will foot that bill as they are eager to get wealthy and those who do not, get to explain to their mummies and daddies why they need a RTX 5090 32gb AMD Ryzen 9 9900x3d to play Frogger (or Minecraft). I wonder how many excuses they will employ and in the meantime it will reduce the pressures as well, I just wonder how much as there is no real number on the number of bitcoin miners, but they do have a top100 in the Netherlands, so anything is possible.

The other part of the explanation is given to us by Kees-Jan Rameau, chief executive of Dutch energy producer and supplier Eneco. ““Nowadays we’re switching to renewables, and that means there’s a lot of power being injected into the grid in the outskirts of the network where there are only relatively small power lines.” And these small power lines are struggling to cope with all the electricity coming in from wind turbines and solar panels scattered around the country.” OK, that is a fair assessment, but those cases could be renewed or reviewed and separate cables could be set to whatever the renewable setting is to a clear hub (my lack of technical knowledge is optionally at fault here) and that could have been seen in advance to the renewable farms being designed (as I personally see it). 

We get all the excuses and not the simple setting that even as the Netherlands is already at 70% renewable, there was no way that they would be ready before 2035 and that is likely a decade ahead of several other EU nations, the only exception might be Sweden as it constructed Vattenfall some time ago, so they get to have a head start, and they only have 11 hungry mouths to supply and that is as it is 1 times larger, but the bulk of that nation is in the southern third of that country. So they are in a comfortable league to stay even with Dutch ingenuity as I personally see it. 

So whilst the BBC is correct in its article, I fail to see the applaud that the Dutch are due as they are one of the few EU nations that achieved what was needed to achieve (with Sweden in second place) I am missing that part in the article, no matter the laurels that are due Kees-Jan Rameau of Eneco. It is a side we should have been given in this all. So where do Germany, France and the United Kingdom stand in this, how far are they? Just simple questions that come to mind. 

Have a great Sunday (I am having mine with chocolate sprinkles) and enjoy the pre Monday bash you will enjoy, except Canada, they started the weekend a day early due to the Toronto Blue Jays giving the Dodgers (LA) a thrashing with their 11-4 victory. Lucky bastards, a long weekend where none was given.

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Washing sports?

It is not the setting we start with, or ever if it comes to me. Almost a decade ago there was no setting where Saudi Arabia would be connected with football. Not that I care (I am not a football fan), but I did grow up in the Netherlands where the bulk of the population (around 99%) is madly passionate about football. And in the 70’s there was nothing but the national football setting (KNVB) and as we grew older (a pesky side effect of time) we saw that there was a football setting that was international. And until 2010 nearly no one had heard of Saudi Football. So when I saw last night Arab News giving me ‘Saudi Arabia book place at 2026 World Cup finals after hard-fought draw with Iraq’ the setting changed. Yes I had heard tot the KSA was into football and FIFA appointed the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to host the 2034 world cup event. I like the idea because sports gets people together and that is never a bad thing. In addition, the more play football the more tings we all get to have in common with one another (yes, it is a naive view) but it is the one I sport (to give it a name). So when I saw that Saudi Arabia made it to the finals of 2026 I was pleased to say the least. And with the starting paragraph of “Saudi Arabia secured a place at the 2026 World Cup on Tuesday with a goalless draw against Iraq in Jeddah in the fourth round of the Asian qualifiers. The hard-fought point was enough to give the Green Falcons top spot in Group B and guarantee their seventh appearance at the finals”, we see the truth of those calling events sport washing. Saudi Arabia has fought and earned its place at the World Cup, even if some do not agree, they made it and whilst there is a definite setting of ‘they’ll never make it’ the truth of the matter is that 20 years ago we would not have considered Saud Arabia to get anywhere near the World Cup and see where that thought has gotten us. They are now here and they are massively set to be here for a long time. No sport washing was required.

So congratulations to the Green Falcons (aka Al-Suqour Al-Khodhur) and show the other football nations what is possible in 2026.

And as that news passes us by, Canada also had news. CBC (at https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/kelowna-aiport-9.6938860) where we see ‘Screens and PA system at 2 B.C. airports hacked with pro-Hamas, anti-Trump messages: officials’ with the sub text “Kelowna International Airport and Victoria International Airport confirmed the incidents in emailed statements. Transport Canada said it was aware of those hacks, along with another incident at Windsor International Airport.” Is anyone still doubting my view on the essential need to eradicate Hamas? The setting might not be entirely accurate as we get that it comes with anti-trump messages but these do not need to be mutually exclusive. The larger setting that some go for the ‘it is only Kelowna’ might need to reassess their settings because the airport was hacked into and that needs a massive rectification. There is no ‘freedom of speech’, this is a direct pro-terrorist setting and certain people (like Daniel Rogers, CSIS) to hunt down and prosecute (a 9mm prosecution) of mentioned terrorist.  There is only so much we can stomach and this setting is not about anything else than making Canada a terrorist target and there comes a time when we all need to stand up and say “You went too far here”, OK, I grant you that the same thing can be said about my resolution. Yet I remain in the mindset that too many people think that these pro-Hamas people just go away, they do not and they are ready to resolve anything that a speculative Iran makes happen. I personally still see Iran as the fingers wielding the Hamas puppet and when they get out of their territory into Commonwealth borders. The time to be nice ends. This is not speech, this is overlapping terrorism and whatever person responsible needs to be dealt with, rather harshly I say. 

So why the two messages?
I personally ally think that Hamas and their sympathizers will come to any sport event to be ‘heard’ through terrorism and whatever happened now will most likely happen in 2026 at the FIFA world cup at that point hosted by North America, Mexico and Canada and there is no way that players like Hamas will not try to exploit this and with the pro-Hamas in play all over Europe and the Commonwealth a clear path needs to be created to deal with the aforementioned terrorists.

America and Mexico can clean their own backyard, but Canada needs to do something and I think it is imperative that the Commonwealth steps in, not because they cannot, but because we have to stand by the Canadian intelligence players. Personally I think that Vancouver will be the larger target as it is close to Seattle, but that does not mean that Toronto is in the clear and the CSIS will need all hands to keep a tab on these two places and likely they will, but that means that these terrorists who hit Kelowna International Airport and Victoria International Airport might have been setting a dry run and to do this at this stage might make sense to some, but it also means that they have ways into the systems and that might spell trouble next year. This is the setting that some call the “smelling a red herring”, which is not my cuppa tea, but people (like Daniel Rogers) will likely know what to do and perhaps these settings are already made. Lets not forget that the CSIS has 48 hours and they tend to get really active in less then 30 minutes, so whatever I think has already been done by those inside that circle.

So whilst some are ‘nervous’, I know that the people at CSIS, ASIS and MI6 would have had things under control and they were setting whatever was needed already yesterday (and as expected the media has nothing) which is fine and expected. Still there is a setting that is within me and not within certain others. There is a fine line between ‘freedom of speech’ and ‘endangering others’ that is no longer a setting of debate, when you do the first you get to speak, in the second setting the 9mm prosecution comes your way. It is that simple and I get it that some will not herald this thought with lots of smiles, but I think that the last 740 days of Hamas are illustrative enough. If you have doubts call Mossad (at +972-2-6775671) we have seen 740 days of evidence and it is up to Canada to stop them now, but I do agree we all (the Commonwealth) need to step up to this task. And I personally feel certain that a soft touch is no longer needed. They have had enough warnings and even now they haven’t handed over the hostages. We are not ‘impressed’ with “Hamas and other Palestinian factions may not be able to locate all the remains within the given timeframe”, if you think that Hamas did not have a setting on ALL their hostages, you are largely delusional. It is just another cog of the game they are playing and now it is up to the Commonwealth to show them what we do with terrorists, because next year the entire world will be watching and it will be (speculatively through third players parties) that it is the time for Hamas to shine and I say it will be somewhere else, not now, nor ever in our Commonwealth. 

Have a great day, it is Time for lunch for me (that meal between breakfast and dinner).

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Balance of the matter

That is the setting as I see it, the balance and in particularly the Sheets balance is under attack. As we saw in Social Media

We are given “With distressed exchanges, Wall Street has found a way to restructure balance sheets that avoids Chapter 11” does this mean that financial means are no longer to be trusted in America? We get that people want to avoid their business to be seen as bankrupt, but to rebalance their books and with the approval of Wall Street is taking it a little bit far. I am not completely surprised with this action as I have said on several occasions that America is bankrupt, but to see it in action, for financial institutions like Wall Street to sound the clarion call to make it so that they appear not to be in ‘distress’ is a first clear setting for other people to take their investments out of America as soon as possible. And I get it, it is merely my point of view. So, tell me how do you react to the setting that the Financial Times is giving you? I did not read the article as it is behind a paywall, but the gist of the story is clear. And it is not about the ‘subtle’ setting of tax avoidance versus tax evasion. It is about restructuring your balance sheet. Like the Dutch banks did in 2013, the SNS bank put all the buildings in their care under a ‘bad investment’ book and the Dutch bank SNS Reaal and its banking operations, which was nationalized by the Dutch government on February 1, 2013, to prevent its insolvency and support the financial sector. As it was said (from sources) This action led to shareholders and subordinated bondholders losing their entire investments, as the Dutch state stepped in to prevent a larger financial crisis. The bad investments, primarily in real estate, led to substantial write-downs and ultimately forced the government to intervene and restructure the company. That happened before and I never accepted that action, now we see this in America on a much larger scale and it would be my (non-expert advice) to get out of their as quick as your legs (and privet jets) can take you and invest it somewhere more worthy.

This now gets me to the second setting I saw in Social Media. As some might say, Microsoft is at it again.

With ‘Microsoft said to block IDF from cloud system over use in surveillance of Palestinians’ we are given that “unit 8200 ‘violated terms of service’ in storing of phone recordings; military officials say unit backed data up ahead of time, no info lost” it is a simple setting that the backups are set towards ‘other’ sources like MySQL (or something like that) and fir the record, what evidence is there? I am not saying it isn’t true, I am asking what evidence did Microsoft have? Were they looking into the accounts of their customers? I am asking because that would be the first reason that people would drive their business to Amazon/Google/IBM/Oracle/Snowflake at the first light of day. I personally think it is the Microsoft way to make political statements and as they can slap Israel around and looking good doing it, that is what they are likely to do. Not an innovative bone in that rotten carcass (at present). And the media display is on my side of the cookie. They give us “Microsoft recently terminated the Israeli military’s main signals intelligence unit’s access to some of its services, after it allegedly used the Azure cloud platform for expansive surveillance of Palestinians, according to a Thursday report. According to the UK’s The Guardian, Microsoft told Israeli officials last week that the IDF’s Unit 8200 had “violated the company’s terms of service by storing the vast trove of surveillance data” on Azure.” (Source: times of Israel) and how was this data ‘begotten’? I reckon that the IP engines are running 24:7 to get the next iteration that Microsoft doesn’t have (this is speculative). As such there is a massive run for all IP holding cloud users to run away from Microsoft and go somewhere else. I already listed the top 4 above (in alphabetical order) and that is before we consider MySQL and whatever else is in the field. I reckon that the IDF needs to reevaluate its connections to Microsoft. I remember the IDF to be massively aware of what its technical abilities were and to see “far-left activist outlet +972 Magazine said Microsoft’s Azure software was used by Unit 8200 to store countless recordings of mobile phone calls made by Palestinians living in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip” implies that either Microsoft has too many zero day issues or there is an informer in Microsoft. My personal view is that there is no Israeli stupid enough to give +972 Magazine a hand. So my view is a little biased, but the is where I am at this time. And that will impact America too. Perhaps Amy Hood and Satya Nadella need to have a meeting with Wall Street and the Financial Times to restructure their balance sheets too, as is, they might need that assistance before too long. 

And this is where the American economy is heading it seems. So whilst we are ‘given’ ‘US economy expanded at a surprising 3.8% pace in significant upgrade of second quarter growth’ I have to wonder, is that because of the new balance sheet settings?

And if you have not used the new balance sheet methodology, have a great weekend and enjoy your coffee, for the rest I say, are you sure you can afford the coffee today?

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Reasoning as is

That is at times the setting. We always THINK we know the reason, but do we really? I had my given settings on Abu Dhabi as early as 2025, August 2nd. I spelled it out in ‘As Hogwarts expands’ (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2025/08/02/as-hogwarts-expands/) and I stated “Yas Island becomes the most appealing choice for a whole flock of tourists, now definitely deciding that there will be a viable alternative for Orlando, and when Disney arrives in 2027/2028 also on Yas Island, Florida will see the largest downfall in economy they have ever had.” That was the setting I expected to see. Now we see Forbes (at https://www.forbes.com/sites/carolinereid/2025/08/17/the-real-reason-for-building-disneyland-in-abu-dhabi/) giving us two weeks later “It is no secret that Abu Dhabi is building theme parks to diversify its economy. Its fortune was built on fossil fuels but as its reserves are beginning to run out it has brought global theme park giants to its shores to drive tourism revenue. That’s far from the only magic touch they have. Although Abu Dhabi and neighboring Dubai are seen as being playgrounds exclusively for the world’s wealthiest people, the vast majority of their residents are far from billionaires. There is good reason for this.

I tried too get a job there once, I am not in oil (not even olive oil) but I do have a knack for IT and in alway am fluent in Dutch, a skill that I hoped would get me a job with ADNOC. Yet as America was setting the larger premise of a failed government in play, Abu Dhabi was giving me additional settings and if you pay close attention to Yas Island, it could be the lifeline of a larger setting that could given you a heralding ovation when you live there. As the UAE is massively crime free, more reasons to go there. In addition (to what I saw) its that Forbes also gives us “It explains why a staggering 88.5% of the 11.4 million residents of the UAE are expats according to Global Media Insight. The number of expats from the United States is reflected in the vast array of its stores and restaurants which have made their way to the UAE. They include everything from chains like Applebee’s, Dickey’s Barbecue Pit and IHOP to fine dining outlets such as California’s Urth Caffé and Sarabeth’s which began life as a small bakery-kitchen on New York City’s Amsterdam Avenue in 1981.” It is nice to see this, but I have to wonder why they never saw it when I saw the clear signs. And there is not the simple settings of “Although Abu Dhabi and neighboring Dubai are seen as being playgrounds exclusively for the world’s wealthiest people, the vast majority of their residents are far from billionaires.” I agree that is a clear setting, however lines like ‘Abu Dhabi’s real estate market records broad-based growth in first quarter’, ‘Abu Dhabi real estate is on fire in 2025 with deals soaring past Dhs51 billion in just six months’ and ‘Abu Dhabi and Dubai Ranked Top Emerging Global Data Center Markets in 2025 Report’ as well as the setting that 10,000 millionaires are replacing their ‘home’ towns with a proper setting in the UAE.

The is also happening in the last month alone. In support of it all we get ‘How Yas island is shaping Abu Dhabi’s real estate landscape’, as such, Forbes is telling the truth, but it letting certain parts take a backdrop to the larger picture. Abu Dhabi is the new place to be and America needs to realign the stupidity they are handling now. As I see it, their future is depending on it. 

But that is not the only parts. At this point Forbes gives us a side I never really looked at. They give us “It explains why data from the California-based Economic Research Institute shows that the average annual salary in the UAE comes to $48,993 (AED179,949) compared to $66,991 in the U.S., proving that you don’t have to be a billionaire to live there. The UAE has a wide catchment area to draw on as one-third of the world’s population is located within a four-hour flight of the country. It is also part of the largest global airline hub in the world, with 120 million passengers traveling through Abu Dhabi and Dubai each year. In order to welcome them as workers and tourists, the UAE has some of the friendliest visa regulations of any country.” Which is great for two reasons. Everyone likes a good show and an affordable show and the UAE is providing that. In addition, it shows how stupid the American VISA setting is now. As such, try to imagine millions of tourists giving up on America for the next 3 years and pointing their caps at the UAE. Millions of people who think that the hollow setting of America can be let go for at least three years. You wanna bet that this is scaring the theme parks in Orlando (and other cities) to death? 

That is the setting we see evoke the Forbes Article (in case you were willing to denounce what I gave you all). Yet Forbes gives you more. We are also given “The impact of this was laid bare in a separate report by the Khaleej Times in May which revealed that 23.7% of applications for visas to Europe’s Schengen area filed by UAE residents were rejected last year. That’s not because of the UAE, but the diversity of its residents as visa applications are based on nationality. The 11.5% of the population that holds UAE nationality benefits from having the world’s best passport, according to the Arnot Capital Global Passport Power rankings, with visa-free travel to 133 countries. The dark clouds aren’t just hanging over Europe. Recent data from the National Travel and Tourism Office revealed that the number of overseas visitors to the U.S. in July fell 4.9% on the previous year, only reaching around 86.6% of the pre-pandemic level despite it being one of the busiest seasons of the year. It is the latest development in a months-long trend which also saw international arrivals fall 6.6% in June.” As it can be seen, there is every chance that the operator on Yas Island will get a hell of a lot tourists more than it might have considered. All it needs it a great campaign and at present Warner Brothers could be chockablock full from this October until April 2026. Because people in Europe want to escape winter and as I see it, there is only Abu Dhabi as America is dealing with its political administration. As such the Canadians escaping Florida this Winter, these Snowbirds have just been advised of a much larger appealing destination this winter (and the next three years).

As this all comes to pass, America will merely see an incursion of debts, come and harassment, things the tourist does not need. 

As such I say YAY Yas Island, and ADNOC management seeking Dutch translators, please consider me as well.

The reasoning as is, is set to the joy of a vacation, As such the UAE is opening its borders to Abu Dhabi ad Dubai is a mere 30 minute train ride away. Have a terrific day today.

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Inspiring the young

That is the setting we need to move towards and that moment will be now. It started with a simple setting, the map of Europe and the alleged accusation is seen below.

I cannot vouch for the setting, but as you see, in most languages it makes little sense. So when any AI fumbles (and that WILL happen) the ball the damage will be a lot bigger. We hear all these ‘delusional denials’ like ‘We will prepare for that’ and ‘it can’t happen to us’ you merely need to look at the Builder.ai setting and how they used 700 engineers to allegedly ‘fool’ Microsoft who backed it to the extent of a billion dollar plus. So when the ‘bigger’ players also get caught with their pants on their ankles we will have a totally new setting. As such I thought of going back to the roots of technology. Optionally as an educational setting, an optional simulator to inspire the youn to think and become creative for themselves without any AI system fumble their thinking patterns. It might not be the most eloquent setting, but creativity cannot be set in AI, as AI doesn’t exist (yet) and before it is too late, we need to create other outlets for creativity to emerge. I still like the setting that Ubisoft gave us with Assassins Creed Origins. In one of the expansions you are taken to the Tours: Beer & Bread. It shows that Egyptians ‘perfected’ the fermentation process. In my youth (a very long time ago) I went to the Open-air Museum in Arnhem (Netherlands) and this one building still reverberates in my mind over half a century later. It was a paper mill. 

On the outside it doesn’t seem like much, a lot like a really old building, but that is the hidden part. Inside there is a completely operational paper mill and it is fueled by waterpower. Now you might think that this is too old. 

But consider that Nobel invents Dynamite for the simple need of mining, Apparently Viagra had a completely different stage. It takes one mind to think “What if we did this?” and that is the ball game. That is the setting that creates new technologies. We need to get back to the old ways. And I use the paper mill as an example. Consider the Amish (all over America) who have been doing it there way for centuries. Consider how they have no fridges, or non electrical ones. We need to reconsider what we know and what is possible without some idiot telling us how to do it, because these people will come out of the woodworks pretending to voice the deities they pretend to follow (for their personal good). 

Consider that paper mill and what to do when water stops flowing. A wind vane? Giving people the idea to take the next step. And at some point power will become an issue. We see now new ways to tarmac roads making them safer, the Netherlands are exploring illuminating forms of tarmac, making electricity less of a essential need. We see all kinds of innovations and as you think it is all covered, consider that in Australia ‘relied’ on ChatGPT (as one source stated) to phrase the law and it used non-existing cases. So how do you like your chestnuts boiled in that gravy? 

The one option is to revert to earlier settings and consider what is possible without others telling us what to do. A lot will not work, but some will be true innovative steps. And that is the ballgame. As what some call AI is telling us where to go and especially where not to go we lose the creativity we have, or merely fashion it in the way other want it to be fashioned. 

That is not innovation, that is pack mentality. 

So what stages in other fields were short cut, because it never supported the then innovative choosers? We need to protect ourselves and the evidence is all over the historical buildings. The romans had two tiered bathhouses making hot water. So even as we now think that we do better, consider what happens when electricity falls away because 500,000 systems took it away fueling their AI systems taking over 250,000 times more energy than one simple brain does. 

We need to protect what is and what was, before others remove that way of thinking from us and we can go about it in different ways, I ikon that none of them are incorrect. Another example can be seen in the old pyramids. We were given (in YouTube) “Ancient Egyptian “pyramid basalt roads” refer to a network of paved roads, including the world’s oldest known paved road, that connected basalt quarries in the Fayum region to the pyramid fields like Giza. These roads, often paved with sandstone, limestone, and even petrified wood, were used to transport massive basalt blocks, likely for paving the pyramid complexes and temples. One significant road, leading from the Widan el-Faras quarry to the shores of a now-vanished lake, represents a major engineering feat from the Old Kingdom period.” I don’t believe the hype behind it, but these roads and pavements are massive undertakings that even today are unlikely to be this perfect, apart from the settings that they seemingly lacked the tools to create these slabs and make them fit this perfectly. I am not all onboard of this, but like the Game of thrones ‘Wildfire’ we see that this reflects on what was Greek Fire and it came from Byzantine. “With the decline of the Byzantine Empire, their recipe for the production of liquid fire was lost, the last documented use of Byzantine fire was in 1187. After Constantinople fell to the Ottomans, several attempts to imitate the Greek Fire were made, but none replicated the original.” So something created 1000 years ago can no longer be reproduced? I reckon that this is one of the most direct forms of creativity lost. And the fact that it has military applications implies that plenty of governments tried to get it on their side.

As such I think we need to create genuine systems to invoke creativity in the next generation before it is all lost and we all go ‘Duh!’ At the next innovation blaming it on magic and as Vernon Dursley once said “there is no such thing as magic” as I see it, magic is blamed when we no longer comprehend the technology (like the White House and 5G technology, which comes with a small giggle from me).

So the short setting is Protect the next generation now as there is no longer any later.

Have a great day.

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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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By German standards

That is at time the saying, it isn’t always ‘meant’ in a positive sight and it is for you to decide what it is now. The Deutsche Welle gave me yesterday an article that made me pause. It was in part what I have been saying all along. This doesn’t mean it is therefor true, but I feel that the tone of the article matches my settings. The article (at https://www.dw.com/en/german-police-expands-use-of-palantir-surveillance-software/a-73497117) giving us ‘German police expands use of Palantir surveillance software’ doesn’t seem too interesting for anyone but the local population in Germany. But that would be erroneous. You see, if this works in Germany other nations will be eager to step in. I reckon that The Dutch police might be hopping to get involved from the earliest notion. The British and a few others will see the benefit. Yet, what am I referring to?

It sounds that there is more and there is. The article’s byline gives us the goods. The quote is “Police and spy agencies are keen to combat criminality and terrorism with artificial intelligence. But critics say the CIA-funded Palantir surveillance software enables “predictive policing.”” It is the second part that gives the goods. “predictive policing” is the term used here and it supports my thoughts from the very beginning (at least 2 years ago). You see, AI doesn’t exist. What there is (DML and LLM) are tools, really good tools, but it isn’t AI. And it is the setting of ‘predictive’ that takes the cake. You see, at present AI cannot make real jumps, cannot think things through. It is ‘hindered’ by the data it has and that is why at present its track record is not that great. And there are elements all out there, there is the famous Australian case where “Australian lawyer caught using ChatGPT filed court documents referencing ‘non-existent’ cases” there is the simple setting where an actor was claimed to have been in a movie before he was born and the lists goes on. You see, AI is novel, new and players can use AI towards the blame game. With DML the blame goes to the programmer. And as I personally see “predictive policing” is the simple setting that any reference is made when it has already happened. In layman’s terms. Get a bank robber trained in grand theft auto, the AI will not see him as he has never done this. The AI goes looking in the wrong corner of the database and it will not find anything. It is likely he can only get away with this once and the AI in the meantime will accuse any GTA persona that fits the description. 

So why this?
The simple truth is that the Palantir solution will safe resources and that is in play. Police forces all over Europe are stretched thin and they (almost desperately) need this solution. It comes with a hidden setting that all data requires verification. DW also gives us “The hacker association Chaos Computer Club supports the constitutional complaint against Bavaria. Its spokesperson, Constanze Kurz, spoke of a “Palantir dragnet investigation” in which police were linking separately stored data for very different purposes than those originally intended.” I cannot disagree (mainly because I don’t know enough) but it seems correct. This doesn’t mean that it is wrong, but there are issues with verification and with the stage of how the data was acquired. Acquired data doesn’t mean wrong data, but it does leave the user with optional wrong connections to what the data is seeing and what the sight is based on. This requires a little explanation.

Lets take two examples
In example one we have a peoples database and phone records. They can be matched so that we have links.

Here we have a customer database. It is a cumulative phonebook. All the numbers from when Herr Gothenburg got his fixed line connection with the first phone provider until today, as such we have multiple entries for every person, in addition to this is the second setting that their mobiles are also registered. As such the first person moved at some point and he either has two mobiles, or he changed mobile provider. The second person has two entries (seemingly all the same) and person moved to another address and as such he got a new fixed line and he has one mobile. It seems straight forward, but there is a snag (there always is). The snag is that entry errors are made and there is no real verification, this is implied with customer 2, the other option is that this was a woman and she got married, as such she had a name change and that is not shown here. The additional issue is that Müller (miller), is shared by around 700,000 people in Germany. So there is a likelihood that wrongly matched names are found in that database. The larger issue is that these lists are mainly ‘human’ checked and as such they will have errors. Something as simple as a phonebook will have its issues. 

Then we get the second database which is a list of fixed line connections, the place where they are connected and which provider. So we get additional errors introduced for example, customer 2 is seemingly assumed to be a woman who got married and had her name changed. When was that, in addition there is a location change, something that the first database does not support as well as she changed her fixed line to another provider. So we have 5 issues in this small list and this is merely from 8 connected records. Now, DML can be programmed to see through most of this and that is fine. DML is awesome. But consider what some called AI and it is done on unverified (read: error prone) records. It becomes a mess really fast and it will lead to wrong connections and optionally innocent people will suddenly get a request to ‘correct’ what was never correctly interpreted. 

As such we get a darker taint of “predictive policing” and the term that will come to all is “Guilty until proven innocent” a term we never accepted and one that comes with hidden flaws all over the field. Constanze Kurz makes a few additional setting, settings which I can understand, but also hindered with my lack of localised knowledge. In addition we are given “One of these was the attack on the Israeli consulate in Munich in September 2024. The deputy chairman of the Police Union, Alexander Poitz, explained that automated data analysis made it possible to identify certain perpetrators’ movements and provide officers with accurate conclusions about their planned actions.” It is possible and likely that this happens and there are intentional settings that will aide, optionally a lot quicker than not using Palantir. And Palantir can crunch data 24:7 that is the hidden gem in this. I personally fear that unless an accent to verification is made, the danger becomes that this solution becomes a lot less reliable. On the other hand data can be crushed whilst the police force is snoring the darkness away and they get a fresh start with results in their inbox. There is no doubt that this is the gain for the local police force and that is good (to some degree). As long as everyone accepts and realizes that “predictive policing” comes with soft spots and unverifiable problems and I merely am looking at the easiest setting. Add car rental data with errors from handwritings and you have a much larger problem. Add the risk of a stolen or forged drivers license and “predictive policing” becomes the achilles heel that the police wasn’t ready for and with that this solution will give the wrong connections, or worse not give any connection at all. Still, Palantir is likely to be a solution, if it is properly aligned with its strengths and weaknesses. As I personally see it, this is one setting where the SWOT solution applies. Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats are the settings any Palantir solution needs and as I personally see it, Weakness and Threats require its own scenario in assessing. Politicians are likely to focus on Strength and Opportunity and diminish the danger that these other two elements bring. Even as DW gives us “an appeal for politicians to stop the use of the software in Germany was signed by more than 264,000 people within a week, as of July 30.” Yet if 225,000 of these signatures are ‘career criminals’ Germany is nowhere at present. 

Have a great day. People in Vancouver are starting their Tuesday breakfast and I am now a mere 25 minutes from Wednesday.

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As Hogwarts expands

That is the setting. We are given ‘Miral extends deadline for tender to build Abu Dhabi’s ‘Harry Potter’ land’ (at https://blooloop.com/theme-park/news/miral-construction-tender-harry-potter-land-abu-dhabi/) the quote is that “Miral has extended a bid submission deadline for a tender to build the new Harry Potter-themed land at Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi on Yas Island. Per a report from Middle East media publishing company MEED, the deadline has been extended from 28 July to 4 August.” Implying that next week the Start of a  $545 million – $816m expansion is due to begin. And in addition we are given “Three new rides in Harry Potter land Miral announced the Middle East’s first Harry Potter-themed land in 2022. It will feature iconic locations from the Wizarding World, as well as three new rides, retail outlets, and F&B facilities. The 40,000 M2 addition to Warner Bros. World will join six existing zones in the park – Warner Bros. Plaza, Bedrock, Dynamite Gulch, Cartoon Junction, Gotham City and Metropolis.” As such The staff of Hogwarts will have to endure a rush of people howling “Yabadabadoo” whilst assaulting the death eaters. These death eaters are in a pincer setting as the other side will be shouting “Yibbity-Yabbity-Doo!”, those poor death eaters won’t know what hit them (nyuk, nyuk, nyuk)

And as I see it, the quote “Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, chairman of Miral, said: “This is yet another testament to our commitment to continue to position Yas Island as a top global destination for entertainment and leisure, and a great addition to Abu Dhabi’s tourism offerings, contributing to the growth and economic diversification of the emirate.”” Is not entirely accurate. It is that international tourism will see Abu Dhabi as a much more appealing destination and with the ‘idiocy’ (as I personally see it) settings that America is setting with immigration, the costly ‘visa integrity fee’ and several other settings. So as I see it, Universal just dished out $7.7 billion USD (Hogwarts is merely a part of it) and the other park in Orlando will have a rather large problem. With the Hogwarts expansion, Yas Island becomes the most appealing choice for a whole flock of tourists, now definitely deciding that there will be a viable alternative for Orlando, and when Disney arrives in 2027/2028 also on Yas Island, Florida will see the largest downfall in economy they have ever had. When millions of tourists will select Abu Dhabi over Florida, the rest will become a mere escalation of something you could have seen coming miles away. But not to worry, I had the setting in view even as the media seems to be coming up short. In addition Abu Dhabi has the Formula 1® Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 4-7 December 2025. I have no idea yet when the 2026 race is on, but for a lot of people combining the two would be preferable. Also there is a lot more around Yas Island. And the UAE has a much better visa setting where it is offered at a mere fraction of what America offers it. The setting was debatable (at best) when America was the only option, but that hasn’t been the case for almost 4 years. So now as America is bleeding money in almost every direction, the people in Europe, Canada, UK, India, Australia, New Zealand and China will consider Abu Dhabi and Yas Island as their destination in 2026, 2027 and 2028. So how many million of people will seek their preferred choice in EuroDisney (Paris), Efteling (Netherlands) and parks in Belgium, Sweden and several others. A setting that was there from the start. 

A setting that will also propel the UAE as a global tourist destination. They already were that, but the millions of Harry Potter fans had Florida, London and Tokyo in their sight, with Abu Dhabi added to the HP arsenal, I reckon that Florida (at present) is allegedly decently  much done for.

Have a great day and when in Abu Dhabi try the Emirati Chabab, it is a famous dish and decently yummy. 

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On the cheap

That is at times a worry, when things go on the cheap it tends to be the more expensive setting you are driven to select. But as I see it, it isn’t always bad. Abu Dhabi (capital of United Arab Emirates) have a few options here. So to show this lets take the ‘normal’ setting.

You would think that this will be the master of all bills, but you would be wrong. You see when you get into the Warner Brothers hotel you automatically get a ticket EVERY DAY to one of the theme parks for that day. There are more hotels on Yas Island that give that option. In case of the Warner Brothers hotel, its theme park is across the street (WaterWorld is its neighbour). Oh, and enjoy breakfast there is to be cherished. Don’t take my word for this, YouTube is filled with walkthrough videos of the Hotel and the Theme parks, see for yourself what you could be enjoying.

There is however more. Tourists have the option of buying a 4 Park Ticket for a mere $184 which allows you to visit any of the Yas Island theme parks within 6 days of activating your pass. You have to consider this setting as this implies hundreds of dollars saved per person and you get to select which park you will select. You could spend 4 days in the same park. To give you a comparison a Universal theme park ticket will set you back $600 and that is also per person. So that implies a saving of an easy $400, so what would you select? The added benefit is that the UAE is a zero tax country, so there is a decent reason to visit the Apple Store in Yas Mall and get yourself the apple extension you always wanted. 

So as America is setting the additional $250 visa cost, as such Abu Dhabi becomes the premiere location for people wanting the theme park experience. The news (up to recent) was that America is getting a $29,000,000,000 pain invoice from lost international tourists and as I was looking at the presented data from several sources pretty much anywhere, I reckon that by late September, the presented damage will be worse, much worse. 

So, why am I focussing on Abu Dhabi? Well, the theme parks are advertised by people who were there as top notch and when you consider the setting that the Diamond pass is annually AED 3,295 ($900) for a whole year with additional discounts all over Yas Island. A full year of access for $900? It is worth retiring there and cool down and soak twice a week in WaterWorld. Nearly all theme parks are indoors in air-conditioned settings and as I see it, next year we get the Harry Potter expansion and the year after that Disney will grace that setting too. In addition (at present) you also get a Unlimited Quick Pass Access, also there is the 25% discount on Dining (at places that support this and also the 25% Discount on Shopping and several other benefits. That implies that the price of the pass will be earned back in just over a week, as such you have 50 weeks of true profit. So what retirement setting offers that? The universal annual pass is seemingly set to $1,095 before taxes. As such Abu Dhabi is seemingly giving you a blast for your bucks. 

As I see it, Universal has blacked out dates, Abu Dhabi gives you 365 days of fun. Seems like the optimal saving.

So what is behind this? I am not paid by Miral Experiences (the operator on Yas Island), there is nothing in it for me. But this shows you the utter stupidity of the Trump administration adding a new $250 ‘visa integrity fee’ and when you consider that in 2023, Florida’s theme parks welcomed close to 77 million visitors, merely one state, so when you consider that a massive part of International tourists now have an alternative and a much bigger resentment of America, that are merely two of a bigger set of anti-America setting. Together with decreased rights of privacy at the border. To be clear, I am not anti America, I am merely anti-stupid and at present America is no longer worth it. This is beside America trying to push the 51st State into the face of Mark Carney (Prime Minister of Canada) and his 40,100,000 Canadian brothers and sisters. As such America is getting massive doses of hardship. So when Florida and California loses millions of tourists, what do you think will happen. I see the adjusted ‘videos’ that it will not get back to normal until 2026. Well, that time has gone. As I see it, as there are alternatives America will see this hardship in 2026, 2027 and 2028. There might be some revival in 2028, yet I doubt it, as America sees hardship beyond 2026, crime numbers will accelerate and the quality of life in America is unlikely to see any bright spots before 2029. And that is if America stops being stupid tomorrow morning before 03:00. After that the setting becomes near disastrous and that is merely the summer, at this point their winter seasons are not looking too great either. Winter is a different chicken, most ski and boarding fanatics have their slopes and that’s fine, but at present as places lose control over staff, infrastructures almost everywhere will be near collapse and without infrastructure the tourists will become absent. As a source gave me “Tourists, particularly from Australia and Canada, are increasingly rebooking or cancelling trips away from America due to concerns about border security, perceived political tensions, and a general sentiment of unease, leading to a significant drop in visitors to the US and a surge in interest for alternative destinations like Europe and Bermuda.” As such the setting for America looks grim, very grim. 

In an age and a stage of seeing the cheap route thee is a massive setting of people who will be resetting their vacation to the UAE and Abu Dhabi with Dubai a mere 35 minutes away per train. And when you consider that a 30-day tourist visa fee: AED 200 ($54). A 60-day tourist visa fee: AED 300 ($81), seems a lot less than the ‘added’ $250. So how was their ‘visa integrity fee’ a good idea? If my initial understanding is correct and America is utterly broke, then America stops being the place to go until far beyond 2030, but in the meantime the UAE and Saudi Arabia become places to go to. And that is not all, there is every chance that Europeans will return to places like Acorn Adventure (UK), as I see it, there are several places in Europe who will see a returning tourist option. 

For me there is this dish which I enjoyed in Ghent in the 11th century (before embarking on the Crusades) and that was possible as the Medieval times are set in the Archeon. They also have a Roman age (complete with gladiator arena and bathing house) and a prehistoric area. 

And the Netherlands has more. The Efteling, a theme park that won the biggest theme park award at least twice, making it the biggest contender for Disney parks. And it has its own charm. All places that will feel increased attention as America is slowly strangling its influx of tourists to death.

As such America is due a massive downturn, they forgot that they are not all powerful and other nations have alternatives to what they offer and as they are now raising prices by at least $250 the stage changes. Sweden, Netherlands, Belgium, France, London (UK), Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia are all in the running of welcoming the tourists who are now over the American BS (that stuff that makes grass grow in Texas). As I see it, $29 billion was a understated and that will go on for at least 3 years. With border controls impeding out privacy, the setting for business tourists will go down more and more as well. But not to fret, Canada has a welcoming position for these business vendors as well,  a visitor visa (single or multiple entry) costs CAD 100 ($72) per person, also a lot less than $250 and that setting will continue for some time. 

It is a shame for some, but if America prices itself out of the running, the impact is on themselves. Have a great day and feel free to dream yourself into the past with pastries, I am still dreaming of Dutch poffertjes. And I have an art work by Anton Pieck to assist me in this matter. 

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