Tag Archives: politics

July 22, 2025 · 17:06

More bad news?

Yesterday I got some news from FTN News that might spell bad news for America. America is at this moment drowning in tourism ‘debts’ (for a lack of a better word). At present the downfall is set to 29 billion dollar and there are several sources who give us that there is all likelihood that this will not be reversed until 2029. And that is merely the reversal of income (if America does an about face basically today) the loss of income will continue. America will bleed tourism revenue for years to come. And the bad news that is added is seen (at https://ftnnews.com/travel-news/aviation/inside-saudi-arabias-bold-plan-for-a-low-cost-airline-with-45-planes-by-2030/) giving us ‘Inside Saudi Arabia’s Bold Plan for a Low-Cost Airline with 45 Planes by 2030’ where we see “Saudi Arabia’s bold plan for a low-cost airline with 45 planes by 2030 is the Kingdom’s latest move to transform its aviation sector and boost tourism and connectivity” Now don’t think this is a silly notion, but at present in Europe, Canada, Asia, Australia and a few more countries people can only afford one vacation a year and the sewing of cheap holidays to a place where many like to see it, it means that most will contemplate Saudi Arabia against the unwelcoming grounds of America. Considering that the bulk of Muslims (who are about 1.8 Billion, close to 20%) they all will consider Saudi Arabia over America, especially if that comes with lower costs. As such this is almost a slam dunk win for Saudi Arabia. So when we see “The new carrier will be operated by a consortium led by UAE-based Air Arabia, in partnership with Saudi companies Kun Investment and Nesma Group. According to the Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation, this alliance was awarded the contract to launch the airline after a competitive bidding process that also included Jazeera Airways and other regional players.” It sets a setting that the UAE/Saudi Arabia connection could spell a lot more bad news for certain parties. As stated, base operations might be in Dammam, yet they are aiming to carry at least 10 million passengers per year once fully operational. Its 81-route network—comprising 24 domestic and 57 international destinations will set the fall to others up to 10,000,000 passengers annually and that is merely the beginning. As I see it, the 10,000,000 will grace Dammam, Riyadh, Jeddah, Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Considering the simplest setting that many will now be able to afford a trip to Dubai with its 0% taxation and Apple growing there too I expect a boom of people trying to unite cheap vacation with cheap shopping and in that regards Abu Dhabi remains an option for these people. The could visit both with the High Speed train that takes you to the other UAE destination in a mere 35 minutes. So how interesting is that against any place in America? 

So is this a real threat against American revenue? I believe it is and after the bad setting that America pushed itself in, and the upcoming Vision 2030, I reckon that America might get a prolonged bad tourism time going through until 2032/2033, a few years after Disney and Harry Potter theme parks graced Yas Island totaling the amount of theme parks to 6 with the added Yas Island Mall and the F1 races there too. And Harry Potter to be expected to arrive late 2026 and as there is no date for the new Disney park, I expect that this will not happen before early 2027. But that sets a new danger for America getting relieve to its tourism downfall. 

The setting that SeaWorld is an unique place merely sets the premise towards a lot of tourists selecting Abu Dhabi over America and that is merely the start of this matter. So as I see it, whomever invested in the new airline (apparently The NESMA Group and Kun Investment Holding) seem to be riding an great profit venture and as this goes on the investment might turn out to be a golden one and that is before the impact is seen that Neom Bay airport will face and that means tourists will flock towards Trojena and its ski slopes. Yup, the Kun Investment Holding is looking towards the bright side of profits.

So could I be wrong? 
It is a fair question, but the reality is that nearly all people need a vacation and when the price goes down people can do more and as such these 10,000,000 annual places are 10,000,000 that America loses, pretty directly and that is after the losses it is already facing at the moment, as such I feel pretty confident that this will make it, even as it is not the only one in Saudi Arabia. There is also Flyadeal, Flynas and Air Arabia. The fact that Saudi Arabia is ready to expand the tourist game implies that they have been upgrading with a focus and I think it will drive people towards Trojena and Sindalah, which is besides the options that Abu Dhabi and Dubai offer. So as I see it, America will be facing several more hard years and that is if they do an about face on tourism as per today, when they do not, by 2028 Ski tourism will go towards Saudi Arabia as well. A nasty package is coming to the American shores. They did this to themselves, as such I feel it is their own fault. But to see this amount of damage due to the stupidity of America first is pretty laughable in any book you read.

As such have a great day and if you need a point of investment, I reckon having a better look at the Kun Investment Holding might not be a bad idea. Don’t ask me for advice, this is all I see and I am not the expert in investing, but there are good times ahead for Kun Investment Holding.

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July 17, 2025 · 22:43

A powerhouse South of Davos

Yup, it seems like a founding setting as July usually is in the setting of Davos in the desert and the setting is ‘embossed’ as we are given by Arab News as ‘Riyadh emerging as global super hub amid economic boom: Knight Frank’ (at https://www.arabnews.com/node/2608260/business-economy) this is a super setting for several players but not in a good way. 

We are given “Saudi Arabia’s capital is rapidly transforming into a leading global wealth hub, fueled by the Kingdom’s successful economic diversification under Vision 2030, a recent Knight Frank report said. The Riyadh edition of the “Emerging Wealth Hub” series noted that the Saudi capital is transitioning from an oil-dependent economy to a powerhouse for finance, culture, and lifestyle, attracting multinational corporations, investors, and expatriates.” You see, the setting is a little more complicated than that. This is shown through the paragraph that follows “A key driver has been the Regional Headquarters Program, which has already exceeded its 2030 target, with 600 global firms, including Bechtel, PwC, and Northern Trust, setting up regional bases in Riyadh. 

This influx has pushed Grade-A office vacancy rates down to just 2 percent, while prime office rents have skyrocketed by 23 percent in the past year and 84 percent since 2020.” 

When we see the dots, there is a danger that we link the dots in the wrong direction, so we can see that there are 4 dots with at least 2 options, and the more dots we have, the clearer the image becomes. But at present we see that Saudi Arabia and the UAE are rising stars in money matters and rising economy stars, also rising stars in tourism, employments and technology. In the other corner there are the parties of America, the EU and the Commonwealth to a lesser degree. The massive inclination is that America cannot remain the nice party towards both Saudi Arabia and the UAE, then there is the UAE connection to BRICS and as they both are rocking the tourism industry, a setting where they are making the dozens of billions that America is losing. A second setting is that they have the cash to make the technology work, all whilst America is allegedly having power issues, issues that this technology cannot survive, as such the upside is clear for the Arabic worlds a little less for the other players. Some players are vying for the same defence contracts as America, as such we are all facing some version of what some might see as a civil war in the ranks. And as I personally see it, America will be pulling more and more drastic settings and it is one of the reasons that the Trump administration ‘requires’ Powell needs to be shown the door. It is a mere speculation on my side, but there is a chance that America becomes more and more desperate as the tariff setting was backfiring and it seems to be the leading cause for American tourism going back towards the stone age. The thing that also rings in my head is the setting that the millionaires and billionaires that are now investing and seeing the lucrative stages that Saudi Arabia and the UAE are ‘promising’ are all founding mergers that are now not investing and seeking these options in America. As such these players and the tourism setting where people can only spend their money once, they are now vacating to other shores. These are not connected issues, but they do become accumulative issues towards the American shores. As I see it, the America first movements is slowly but surely becoming the undoing of America. 

This reminds me of a Latin expression “Post hoc ergo propter hoc” meaning “after this, therefore because of this” it is an expression that dates back to ancient Greece where it was ‘accepted’ as a truth, but correlation does not equal causation. Apparently the Romans figured this out and as such I gave the example with four points. But the setting where the non-connected events can show that it does have a negative side towards other shores and as such we see the setting towards America. One can believe or debunk the setting that in economy, the entrepreneurial mind can only spend money once, and in a separate turn ‘we the people’ can for the most merely afford one holiday a year and that was in previous years a 20 billion dollars solely from Canadians towards America. But that milk was soured by an administration with State 51 on their mind, a setting that Canadians no longer accept, it made them reject America as a destination. Moreover, other events were also detested by others (Europeans) and as such they are also going to other places, not all, but enough to America seeing this as a massive problem. Only 10 hours ago we were given that Canadian tourism to America is now down 33% in June. In an age where tourism is banking on a near 90% full setting, Canada alone is giving America a tourism body blow and that is before the European sources are considered. So in an age where the financial situation is dire to say the least, the loss of billion will be a hardship station for the near entire industry. So, whilst some are looking towards Davos in the desert, that setting might show the new stations we see as the Future Investment Initiative (FII), which will be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from October 29-31, 2025. Some will see a setting that shows for the first time just how desperate the sewing for America and Europe might be. I believe it the news will be bad (for the west), you see, over the last 5 years I have been trying to keep eyes on the Saudi Broadcast Authority (SBA) as I expected them to reach out towards Egypt and Europe, but the news has gone silent the last year. It is my believe that the world will hear news in these directions in October. It is highly speculative (on my side), but I believe that is what will happen this year. I personally believe that this is the ‘surprise’ Saudi Arabia and Huawei is getting ready for, but I have absolutely no evidence on this. So call it what you will but these elements together will show a new dot setting and we will hear it in Q4 this year. 

No matter what we will hear, it doesn’t frame well for the America First pamphlets and photo frames. But I will be the first adjusting my ‘wrongly’ seen connected dots. Because I honestly don’t know. It is more of a gut feeling towards the image that others seem to be showing us.

Have a great day.

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July 16, 2025 · 05:51

Two for two

That is the setting that I see overlapping. Now, if someone states that they have nothing to do with each other, I would disagree, but I see their point too. At times causality is as thin as the thread to a spiderweb. I just see that there is more then one thread connecting the two together. And those who disagree are allowed to do this. So it started with Kazinform International News Agency (a news agency in Kazakhstan) informing me of ‘Saudi Arabia retains top spot in MENA venture capital investment for first half of 2025’, in itself not terribly important to my scope of life, but it had mention of the MAGNiTT. I had not heard that term before and I get a lot of information, so I decided to check it out. It states “your go-to platform for verified Venture Capital & Private Equity data in Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia, Türkiye and Pakistan” that I would have remembered, as such a new term came to me, from an unknown source. The part that got my intention was “Saudi Arabia maintained its first rank across MENA in terms of Venture Capital (VC) funding in the first half of 2025, witnessing a total VC deployment of $860 Million (SAR3.2 billion), surpassing the total VC funding of 2024 (full year)” as such, I am getting the impression that Saudi Arabia is stretching its financial influence in the world, when you see a near two for one deal spanning almost a billion, that ain’t hay (as the expression goes). 

The additional quote goes “The Kingdom’s leading position in the VC scene in the region comes as a result of many governmental initiatives launched to stimulate the VC and startups ecosystem within the Saudi Vision 2030 programs. We at SVC are committed to continuing to lead the development of the ecosystem by stimulating private investors to provide support for startups and SMEs to be capable of fast and high growth, leading to diversifying the national economy and achieving the goals of the Saudi Vision 2030, CEO and Board Member at Saudi Venture Capital (SVC) Dr. Nabeel Koshak commented.” As such there is a lot to be said for being thorough and Saudi Arabia isn’t tinkering on the corner. Now considering that I didn’t get that news from the Financial Times or Reuters, I had an issue with this. So, consider that it is missing from the Financial Times, a said to be thorough news agency for all matters linked to the channel of a “Ka-Ching” nature. 

This is setting the second phase of the issue being a (what some call) AI setting. You see, I was looking as American Tourism (a daily event) as I keep my eyes on this. Here we see “Tourism in the United States is experiencing a decline in international visitor spending, with a projected $12.5 billion drop in 2025. This downturn is attributed to a combination of factors, including perceived negative impacts from Trump administration policies related to trade and borders, a strong dollar, and weaker global economic growth. While domestic tourism remains strong, the US is seeing fewer international tourists compared to other countries, and some experts predict it may not return to pre-pandemic levels until 2030.” (Source: claimed AI) what connects this is Forbes giving us ‘U.S. tourism will lose up to $29 billion as visitors plummet amid Trump policies’ a mere week ago (at https://www.forbes.com.au/life/travel/u-s-tourism-will-lose-up-to-29-billion-as-visitors-plummet-amid-trump-policies/) a mere week ago. So is this (non) AI a mere 240% off? You see, one part is the “strong dollar” but sources give me “the United States Dollar has strengthened 0.62%, but it’s down by 5.38% over the last 12 months.” As such the second part came to me. Can these sources which I define as NIP (Near Intelligent Parsing) be given programmed issues that as not taken into consideration? And that thought gets strengthened through “While domestic tourism remains strong, the US is seeing fewer international tourists compared to other countries, and some experts predict it may not return to pre-pandemic levels until 2030”, the issue is that the term before directly clashes with the Forbes quote, which is “the U.S. is a notable loser this year as tens of millions of international visitors are choosing to travel elsewhere—costing the economy up to $29 billion—and risking millions of jobs” and there is data supporting the Forbes view. I am also considering that Forbes might have missed a setting or two. The amount of bed and breakfast places that will lose close to everything as tourists stay away. Florida who just expanded is seeing less tourists from both Canada and overseas tourists. The Trump administration has made America less interesting in 2025 and likely 2026 as well. That and as we now see that Saudi Arabia, Europe, Canada and the UAE are cashing in on that negativity is giving a much larger confidence in the losses that Forbes predict. 

So, how are they connected?
There is a larger setting to the folly of NIP (or what some call AI), you see NIP is based on DML and that only works on predicted data that has occurred and the setting America faces, other has never faced before and certainly not in this global economy where preparation is king. Last month, merely one travel agent is giving us ‘Flight Centre is facing a $100m hit as a result’, that is merely one travel agent and some sources give us that there are an expected 571,541 operating in 2025. So how many losses will America face? It is the groundling of questions, because that also gives us the amount of Venture Capitalists that are turning towards Saudi Arabia and the UAE (to name but two). This matters as it explains why Saudi Arabia it self is leading the charge. Wouldn’t you turn to your own borders to cash in on ventures happening before 2030? So as we saw “some experts predict it may not return to pre-pandemic levels until 2030” and this is happening around that same time. With the Trump administration giving folly at nearly every corner, I wouldn’t put my money there, I would feel a lot more secure putting it in Canada to say the least. 

Kazinform gave me the setting that is playing now. Through these links there is a thought that the internet and its habitants are being spanned to through what some call AI (which it is not) by engineering markers that are ‘managed’ through some forces as to what constitutes NIP at best. Deeper Machine Learning (DML) even with LLM (Larger Language Machine) in place can only work with what is, what it has ad the world has never been given these markers of folly before. As such DML is kinda useless. They can pretend the core remains the same, but everything that this core fuels is off (by a lot) and that is setting the fake premise that it can never keep. And the end of the Kazinform story is pretty much the best, it gives us “As reported previously, Saudi Arabia ranked first globally in growth of international tourism receipts in Q1 of 2025 compared to Q1 of 2019, according to the World Tourism Barometer published by UN Tourism in May.” That makes sense as the people are turning away from America in tourism and Saudi Arabia has worked hard to buff up on being the next tourism spot to be. People tend to forget that 20% of the world is Muslim and they are done with the world treating them as a second best option. Taking into account that Saudi Arabia is growing in the tourism direction as well as all the NEOM projects completing one by one. So when winter sport season comes near, do you really want to go to America at the present setting, or will it become Mt. Whistler (BC, Canada) or Trojena (Saudi Arabia)? The choices are tough, I get it, but with the waiting lines at Mt. Whistler I wouldn’t be surprised if Trojena will have its first year with numerous Canadians there. As some say, Aspen is so passé. And that is merely one reason why Saudi Arabia will grown into a new tourism behemoth. All that before we get to actually see Aquellum, which could be a global first, a community where the architecture is inward set. I cannot give credence to any of that, but if Saudi Arabia pulls it off, it will become the next world wonder and it will show Saudi Arabia to be the next powerhouse in the world with the bulk of the Muslims world wanting to live and grow there. 20% of the population of the planet seeking growth is not to be underestimated and that is before other realise that the bulk of eager Americans want a piece of that life too. All elements in what the next decade is shaping up to be and that is the setting that neither AI (or NIP for that matter) saw coming, because the current settings are all given to us be engineers (remember builder.ai). It doesn’t adjust for something never done before and that is where the hard parts come around the corner, there is no AI (at present).

So feel free to see me as incorrect, that is fine. But also adjust your views to views currently not given and there is an overlap of matters. What is and is filtered away for reasons ‘unknown’ and what is not given to us because some cannot see the impact. It is a two for two setting.

Have a great day, I entered the middle of the week, it is still yesterday lunchtime in Vancouver.

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July 13, 2025 · 01:25

Where is the exit?

That is a question that is more often than not a valid one. We went to exit any setting, but there is the ego to consider, America has skin in the game (as the expression goes). As the Guardian gives us (at https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/jul/08/saudi-arabia-capital-punishment-executions-foreigners-drug-offences-crime-600-people-amnesty-international) last week, last Tuesday to be more exact, we are given ‘Saudi Arabia executing ‘horrifying’ number of foreigners for drug crimes’ with the byline “Hundreds put to death for non-violent drug offenses over past decade, with little scrutiny of Saudis, says Amnesty”, yup it is everyones favourite crybaby Amnesty International. I can’t really fault them here. They have a ‘strict’ setting and I get that, but the rest of the world needs to understand that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia takes a harsh views on any drug offense. So as we are given “Almost 600 people have been executed over the past decade for drug-related offenses, Amnesty International has found, three-quarters of whom were foreign nationals from countries including Pakistan, Syria, Yemen, Nigeria and Egypt.” It is like toddlers in a zoo. If you put your hand in the tiger cage, it will be bitten off. There is no ‘but’ or ‘why’ in this. It is the nature of the beast. Saudi Arabia is totally against drugs and they do not accept any other setting. You see, America might have started ‘the war on drugs’ around 1971 (optionally 1970) and for 50 years where we see that the setting should be seen as “at least $100 billion a year, and far from eliminating use, supply and production, as many as 300 million people now use drugs worldwide, contributing to a global market with a turnover of $330 billion a year” as such America has spend a generic $5,000,000,000,000 dollars on a war that has no exit strategy. Saudi Arabia isn’t falling for that trap and is not concerned for the 600 people who threw away their lives and is happy to end their seemingly pathetic lives. I am decently certain that their lives in Pakistan or Egypt would end in the same way. Although, I am certain that these two countries only give the death penalty on extreme cases (whatever that means), still the death penalty is in the cards there too. 

So, whilst every is calling the war on drug in America a lost cause and it is only in the eye of politicians who want to get coin out of this setting that they would ‘see’ an optional solution. I am of the mind that simply putting them all to death might have saved America $100,000,000,000 on an annual basis. That is the setting I personally see. 

So whilst we see “With little international scrutiny of what Amnesty describes as “grossly unfair trials” and a “chilling disregard for human life”, the rights organisation warned that the death toll would only increase.” We need to understand that Saudi Arabia sees drug use as a complete ‘no-no’ and they have strict laws in place. When we understand this, we should consider why these people go for drugs, and more important, how is this setting being supported? I think that most people in that ‘industry’ want their slice of a $330 billion cake and it is an annual cake, as such I wonder what is fueling this. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia isn’t wondering this at all. They merely execute the people who go for that dish and I get that. The American war on drugs is a stalemate for negotiations and a setting for delays and optionally some people get some out of this. Saudi Arabia sees them all as equally unworthy and treats them all to a one way ticket to the grim reaper, or towards Malak al-Maut as they call him. I reckon he is the American version of ‘Kill ‘em all, let god sort them out’ I have no real view on this. You see Saudi Arabia has capital punishment and the results are not unlike “Old Sparky,” who had been executing people since  1924 at the Huntsville Penitentiary. So is that any different? There is no setting of violent or non-violent. If you get caught with drugs in Saudi Arabia, they get a one way ticket to wherever they were supposed to go. It sounds harsh, but it is time that people realise that intentionally breaking the law in some countries has consequences and drugs have a finite consequence here. So when we see “Dana Ahmed, Amnesty International’s Middle East researcher, said: “We are witnessing a truly horrifying trend, with foreign nationals being put to death at a startling rate for crimes that should never carry the death penalty.” According to who? Is my question. You see “Saudi Arabia has a zero-tolerance policy regarding drugs and enforces its laws rigorously” as such I wonder where Dana Ahmed got her law degree. I kinda understand her. I am not in favor of the death penalty, but it is for every government to decide for themselves and as I see it, Saudi Arabia is not interested in wasting $100,000,000,000 a year on this problem. I get that too and I see that they decided to take ‘zero-tolerance’ to the next level and the people who cannot stay away from drugs, need to find a little burrow in America to see they lives through. As I see it Saudi Arabia said ‘not here’ and I get that too, I very well understand that. As such these people should have exited that country (preferably) before they got caught, they had the option between ‘leave now’ or ‘drugs now’ and they chose poorly. 

So whilst we see all parties cry their way into your hearts consider that it is well stated and openly documented that Saudi Arabia does not tolerate drugs of any kind, even as we might, we ned to learn that other countries have other values and they might not condone our recreational approach to drugs. That part I see missing here. There was a larger truth, it was there from day one and now we see that some are trying to seek other solutions, but the fact is that the other solution has proven to be a failure for over half a century and now that the funds are dwindling I reckon that America will get a new premise, it will go from ‘America first’ to ‘Healthy Americans first’ a setting we are likely to see before the years end. Especially when fentanyl is not only fueling political settings, America might take drastic steps to downsize that problem. So does that make Saudi Arabia a trendsetter?

Consider that and not merely the ‘bad’ feeling you get from a death penalty, consider what drugs and the drug market is doing to your economy. There are a few sides to this that Amnesty International does not want you to see, consider the impact of trillions on a war that never had anywhere to go. And you can afford this trillion, can’t you? 

Have a great day today.

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July 9, 2025 · 08:18

Age of BS (Bill Sightseer)

That is the setting I was confronted with last night. We have all seen the US downturn in tourism and there is a certain justice in souring your own milk. This is what we saw in the last two weeks and last night the Independent gives us (at https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/us-tourism-decline-trump-policies-b2782820.html) the repeating ‘US is the only country facing tourism decline as Trump policies to cost $29 billion in visitor revenue: study’ and for the most I was all about “seen this before” so I was about to leave it next to me, but then something happened. Travel and Tour World gave me (at https://www.travelandtourworld.com/news/article/united-states-tourism-soars-to-new-heights-with-20-million-canadian-tourists-contributing-a-staggering-20-5-billion-and-fueling-job-growth-across-140000-american-positions/) ‘United States Tourism Soars To New Heights With 20 Million Canadian Tourists, Contributing A Staggering $20.5 Billion And Fueling Job Growth Across 140,000 American Positions’ are the flipping kidding me? As we have been given from a multitude of places “Amid the president’s immigration crackdown, travel bans and sweeping global tariffs, the U.S. is expected to be the only one out of 184 countries to see foreign visitor spending fall in 2025, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council. The study suggests that the U.S. economy is on track to lose $12.5 billion in international spending this year alone – but the actual shortfall might be much greater.” (Independent, July 4th) and it matches what others have given me. But no, here comes the Travel and Tour World article giving us “A remarkable 20 million Canadian tourists visited the United States, contributing a massive $20.5 billion to the U.S.economy, while also sustaining around 140,000 jobs across the United States, as reported by the U.S.Travel Association. These figures highlight the essential role Canada plays in U.S. tourism, making it the largest source of international visitors for the country. With Canada’s population of about 40 million, this represents a significant proportion—half of all Canadians visited the U.S. last year. In fact, Canada accounted for 26% of all international tourists to the U.S., which saw a total of 77 million visitors in 2024.” And CBC on July 3rd gave us “The data shows there were 88,686 fewer recorded crossings at the Peach Arch, Pacific Highway, Lynden and Sumas points of entry throughout the month.” As such (apart from the confirming feeling), it seems that (as I personally see it) the U.S.Travel Association are beefing up numbers by the millions and no one reacts? How is this setting acceptable to anyone? As I see it, America might be in deeper waters than anyone thinks they are. It seems that Wall Street needs to be mismanaged so that they will give America the credits they desperately need. Apart from The deal that Canada now has with Aluminum provider Australia in stead of America, the setting is far worse then anyone is considering. The TTW article has a few other capers that makes for a weird setting “While Canada did not actively seek to “steal” American tourists, certain Canadian destinations are benefiting from a surge in European visitors. In fact, a recent study from Context Research Group highlights that Canada is experiencing an unexpected tourism boom, driven largely by European high-spenders who were previously considering U.S. destinations for their vacations. As the U.S. tourism sector struggles with internal challenges, Canada seems to be emerging as a viable and attractive alternative.” It is the word ‘steal’, you see, after the Florida setting where people seems to feel insecure and unsafe and there is the US customs setting where people are seemingly evicted by a owning a mere meme and then there are the numerous events that customs is scanning your social media, the land of the free now seemingly takes away free speech. I don’t care about the meme’s some other people send. I find it a waste of my time and as such any second hand meme might actually debunk the only vacation you can afford. That is a principle setting why people go somewhere else. And the internet is bustling with numbers of places that have a massive downturn, as such the TTW article isn’t even funny or actual in several settings. And as we have seen the amount of the 51st state mentions, the Canadians seemingly like Americans, their blood in particular. See what I did, I made an actual funny (TTW please take notice) The article has other things missing, the first quote didn’t give a timeline, whist other mentions do give a timeline, but these moments can be misread. So who is behind this? The TTW article doesn’t carry a name, neither does it state opinion piece, which might not be a setting that has weight as the TTW is not journalism, but in the B2B world the writer is often indicative of how serious you need to take an article. The Independent piece was written by James Liddell, a US News reporter and giving us (a little late) the facts we already had. The CBC article gives us the charts that show that as per February 2025 the numbers going to America started going down with 40K less visitors, in March the drop was over 80K and going on and on until June where it was a little over 80K as well, and this is merely the BC/Washington crossing. So where did they find these 20 million Canadian tourists? Did the TTW not vet the files they publish? Because as I see it, it is their name that comes up. 

Was it just the one?
So we can fret over this, but there was another reason to mention this. You see, I mentioned the Aluminum setting and as it was given to me yesterday, Canada is now in conversation with Rio Tinto as a new supplier of Aluminum, which might delight Coca Cola and a few others who are ‘diverting’ to Canada to avoid tariffs and other bad news towards their shareholders. The larger news was given to me by MSN (at https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/china-extends-visa-free-entry-to-more-than-70-countries-to-draw-tourists/ar-AA1I9PTl) there we see ‘China extends visa-free entry to more than 70 countries to draw tourists’, I have no idea what the impact will be, but there will be thoughts on many being interested in seeing Beijing and a few other places. The fact that China has its own theme parks, Disney has two in China, one in Shanghai and one in Hong Kong. As I see it, this might be massively bad news for America as well. I have no idea what the impact will be, but 70 countries imply a loss of thousands of tourists in a time America cannot have any more bad news. And the one thing we tend to forget, most people (as assumed 90%+) can only spend their money once and thousands going to China means that they cannot spend that money in America, more importantly, many Europeans are trying to find a place far away from America (optionally Canada too) and now China makes this move. A tactical move that could hurt America a few points more. And as I see it (through the graphics) the move will hit many in Europe, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. And I think it matters, it is the Commonwealth nations, the Arabian countries and Europe that will wield the largest punch for China. So what the TTW article to dissuade people from going to China? I think that might have been a bad move as it only shows America to be more desperate than even before. And with the Rio Tinto move Canada is showing itself more than apt to counter whatever America throws at them, I reckon that yesterday’s threat on 10% addition for BRIC’s minded governments and as a bonus President Trump soured the well in both Saudi Arabia and the UAE, what a 24 hour score to make.

As I see it, I wouldn’t take the entire TTW article too seriously, but as a part in a larger setting it gives us (optionally wrong) that there is a larger setting in America, the cracks are seemingly showing and that presents a larger setting for multiple players, all stating the same thing. Doing business in America is starting to become a folly for anyone entertaining that thought. A setting that is merely the consequence of the last 12 months. For America a bad thing, for the business entrepreneurs a new horizon they haven’t see for a long time and what is new tends to be sexy and explorable for the eager greed driven minds.

Have a great day today.

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July 8, 2025 · 11:48

O square B square

Yup, sounds like a conundrum but it isn’t one. It is rather simple. The BBC alerted me to this this morning around 3 o’clock clock in the morning. It refers to OOBB, or Out Of Breath Bully, or in simple terms ‘Trump threatens extra 10% tariff on nations siding with Brics’. You see, the setting becomes “the original group of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.” So how did I get to this? Simple, Indonesia has 260,000,000 people (say consumers). People as is now seemingly lost to America and as such they will cater to the EU and Arabic nations (which coincidentally happens to appease my IP as well and hopefully the Kingdom Holding), Iran was never siding with America, but the other two, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE)? Will America suddenly find loopholes to avoid these two? I reckon that if I can humbly suggest to ADNOC and Aramco that they set aside 500,000 barrels of oil per day from America towards China and as such I am humbly requesting a mere 1% of the additional profit by this charter change, or 5% of the additional profits should America pay for the additional ‘hardship’. I reckon that I might score $0.20 per barrel and that amounts to $1 million from either delivery channels per day, that is $2,000,000 per day towards the retirement fund for little old me, as such my dream retirement becomes a reality (living on Yas Island in a nice apartment) and a few additional perks. And there is reason to do this. Someone needs to explain to the White House individual that threats are nice, but at some point people will take genuine offense. As I see it China has already had enough and the new adversaries namely Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and the UAE pretty much has had enough of that too. They laugh now, but the world is seeing the threats of America to be a hindrance of doing global business. So as this escalates they all have a new trading partner in Canada, as well as Australia ands the United Kingdom. China and the Arabic nations will be delighted to get a 100,000,000 consumers who will turn away from America to a much larger degree and Canada gets two additional depositories for Canadian alcohol. 

Could I be wrong?
Absolutely, and that is fine, but to get an option to $2 million per day is something we should never ignore. Even if it starts being a simple courier for Aramco (they apparently have offices in Sydney), as such I could start tomorrow if at all possible. 

The setting of ‘on nations siding with Brics’ was just plain stupid and stupidity should never be rewarded. So as we take notice of “US President Donald Trump has warned that countries which side with the policies of the Brics alliance that go against US interests will be hit with an extra 10% tariff. “Any country aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS, will be charged an ADDITIONAL 10% tariff. There will be no exceptions to this policy,” Trump wrote on social media.” shows two settings. The first is that this social media call was shortsighted to say the least and the second part is that this implies (yet again) that is facing a lot more economic hardship then it is ready to admit to and getting that out is a victory all by itself as the bulk of the western media is in denial of this and I saw this months ago, actually, I saw this on October 4th 2021 (world animal day no less) in my story ‘Utter Insanity’ (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2021/10/04/utter-insanity/) no less. It was (as I personally saw it) the moment the US debt passed the point of no return. All these pretenders with settings like “Next year will be better” and “They are doing really good, I saw the plans”, the second setting reminded me of crazy Star Trek fans, who claimed that NASA was testing teleportation in secret (I am, after two decades, still laughing on that setting). And the bluffing ‘no exception’ is the candle and icing on the cake). 

So, see this for what it is but America has at present a debt surpassing $37 trillion ($37,000,000,000,000), as such they accumulated an additional 12 trillion in just 4 years. So, when the banks no longer go with the ‘we are too big to go bankrupt’ what will you have? What will you do? Because when the banks shut down America loses whatever social safeties and social security they think they still have. It was a simple setting and you could have gotten there if someone explained the working of the Abacus. A calculator that was invented a mere 4400 years ago. So whilst the article also gives us “Last week, Trump said Japan could face a “30% or 35%” tariff if the country failed to reach a deal with the US by Wednesday.” All kinds of threats we see, but acting on these threats implies that America is willing to burn the bridges it has and now that three new players enter the scene, the setting changes. Does the world need America? Canada and the rest of the Commonwealth doubt this, now that the Arabic countries are added to the masses, more will doubt that setting. So whilst America implodes through the threats they are voicing, the UK needs to find a way to get back to the majority of the Commonwealth as the rest unites with Canada. Now that America is opening a new battle ground with the BRICS nations (in all honesty, no one cares about Russia) the setting changes and America soon needs to rely on Russia and Venezuela for oil. That should be fun watching this unfold on TV. I reckon that this setting gets more viewers than the Kardashians. A simple setting that had nowhere to go from the very beginning. I know it is merely my view, but if you consider the setting and the debts and other hardships America called over itself you would see the same thing.

Consider that over the next 8 weeks as tourism in America dies, consider all the other connected services that will fail and consider then that America will need to come up with 4.06% of 37 trillion, a mere 8.3% of that due on a monthly basis and that is how America edges towards an abyss of none avoidance. That is the setting of any bully, when the invoice is due, they suddenly have people to blame and all other excuses come forth, they never fess up to the mess they clearly created. 

As I personally see it, this threat was the one he should never have made, not with Saudi Arabia and the UAE in the mix. Have a great day.

Saudi Arabia, UAE, United Arab Emirates, BBC, Commonwealth, Canada, Russia, China, BRICS, Japan, EU, President Trump, Aramco, ADNOC, Indonesia, Abu Dhabi, Kingdom Holding, 

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July 2, 2025 · 04:35

Carmine, Crimson and Sanguine

It almost sounds like a joke doesn’t it. Three colours were walking down the road claiming that they were the most blood red there was. Almost like the massive amount of idiots that keep on claiming that you have to tax the rich, especially now around the wedding of the most illustrious creator of Amazon. Let me help you remember that he went on Jimmy Kimmel and others whilst correctly claiming that he made little to no money. He didn’t and we all laughed (including me). I knew that there was more to that story, but he played his role perfectly. He adhered to the law and through that he became untouchable. So keep on shouting tax the rich and wear yourself out. 

So here we see the intense lie. You see, these are two different matters and not even remotely related. The wealth of Bezos (at present) is said to be 237,000 million. Do you think he will do anything illegal? This caper of 50 million is nothing compared to what he has. It is expected that he will make 23,500 million this year. He doesn’t need to do anything but keep it all legal. He is not attacking anything, or anyone. Trump is not cutting medicare for him in any way. It has always what I said, the issue were the lawmakers and they pathed a way for the Bezos minded people (like Sergei Brin, Andy Jesse and Satya Nadella) they are relying on the laws to be followed like nice black lettered people (their accountants and lawyers) should. The law enabled them and this has been going on since President Clinton. This is the first president to change the color of accounting ink to black. This had not happened since 1970 (President Richard Nixon) and even in this moment the tax laws had to be rewritten, but I would give him a pass as he got the books in the black. No president since has been ale to do this. And for over 15 years I gave the saying that an overhaul was needed, but the lawmakers never thought this through. Even more, those economic media people ignored it too. It is them the people should be targeting. But no one seemingly is listening, because the ‘tax the rich’ claims go on and on and on. The lawmakers have been the issue all along (OK, the financial stakeholders have likely more guilt) and nearly all fell for for that trap, mainly because the media (read: News) isn’t educating people. They all hide watching the entertaining morning shows where the news can be filtered to what gives the most entertainment.

So as we now consider that there are bills that are hurting healthcare not because of Bezos and like minded people. It is because America is broke, some say bankrupt and that starts the entertaining setting that a country cannot be bankrupt, they have too many resources and Canada has even more and as such President Trump wants it as a 51st state. But the drop dead point has now been passed. The ink of the books have turned sanguine red, blood red and it is the blood of American taxpayers that are now bleeding. It is not because of Jeff Bezos, his ship is done (apparently he has one that is massive and called Koru), no the lawmakers are now trying to please the thousands of millionaires that have less than 100,000,000 and they need to fill their pockets as much as they can before the tap is turned off, because they fear that this will not keep them and their children safe. They are now the drivers to get as much wealth as they can, so that they can evade to a none tax haven like Monaco, the Bahamas or the UAE (there are a few more) and these people do not need to rely on non-extradition as they never broke any laws, because the lawmakers made it legal from the very start.

This is why the Democratic noise is laughable and going nowhere. So as we take notice of ‘Jennifer Get In Good Trouble’ and she is raising the right alarm, because there is a massive loss of these rural settings coming to their front door. But the truth of the matter is that this is (as I personally see it) one of the final hurdles that sets the collapse of America, it can no longer continue and only if the laws had been properly adjusted America could have continued for at least a decade longer. Now the cuts start and whilst many see Bezos, Brin and Nadella as the ‘evil’ people, they are not. They adhered to the tax laws in America and in all that time no one considered adjusting the tax laws to become more fair and this is on ALL politicians, not merely the republican because since president Clinton there were two democrats in office. You will need to ask them for an explanation. 

The final straws of America are stretched beyond snapping point and that is where everything turns to a brown goo (yes, it is shit). And it could have been largely avoided by properly taxing corporations. Didn’t you consider that when Apple and Microsoft became multi trillion dollar entities? Even with all the failed setting Microsoft went through? It has a market capitalisation of 3.66 trillion, And they had a tax bill of $19.651 billion. So a company now worth 3660 billion merely pays less then 20 billion? That is 0.54% and that setting is not raising questions?

So, why not? And I merely use them as an example because as I see it, they entire FAANG group is equally ‘guilty’ and the lawmakers of America tax laws are blind to that? So be cool, leave Jeff Bezos alone and direct your anger at the IRS who is in charge of that near dead carcass. That is the setting of tax laws and tax loopholes and the law allowed people to use them and the American administrations have had decades to do something about it. It is the bed Americans made for themselves.

So you might want to blame Trump for it all, but the damage is a lot larger and it is seen on both sides of the political isle. 

Have a great day, optionally with a Canadiano.

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July 1, 2025 · 06:02

That day, today

We all have that day, the one day that is tattooed into our brains. The Americans have the 4th of July, the Dutch have April 30th, queens day going back to Queen Juliana as it was her birthday, a day that Queen Beatrix kept as her birthday was in January. The new King (aka King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands was born April 27th) so it is not to big a sidestep. Others (especially those who served) have other dates in mind. They are the dates that are in their brains and it differs per nationality, no matter if you are a Commonwealthian or not. These days matter to those who are there and now for Canadians there is Canada day, a day they celebrate on July 1st. The British North America Act (today known as the Constitution Act, 1867) creates Canada. June 20, 1868: Governor General Lord Monck signs a proclamation that requests all Her Majesty’s subjects across Canada to celebrate July 1. So they get to be thankful of Lord Monck (in a way) and remember that he instilled this setting and I reckon that today and this year it matters a lot more. Canada moved out of the scope of the American insult (aka State 51) and according to Fox News ‘Trump continues with comments about Canada being 51st state’ and “Donald Trump said Canada is a ‘very tough country to deal with’ and should be the 51st state, and that the USMCA is ‘no good.’” So, in short we were given a mere 5 years ago “The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which entered into force on July 1, 2020, is a free trade agreement that replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). It aims to create a more balanced and reciprocal trade relationship among the three countries, supporting high-paying jobs and growing the North American economy.” And as such, as I personally see it. Why did PM Carney suspend the digital services tax? I reckon that the insults give weight to instigating this setting, not suspend it. OK, I reckon that the PM has a truckload of reasons, but America is waving the ‘we win’ flag but the setting is a lot less happy for them. I still see America one step away from collapsing and the ‘news’ I saw yesterday gives me reason to re-enforce this way of thinking, when corporations like Coca Cola, GM, Alcoa, Campbells and a few more steering towards the north shore of the American plateau. Things are a lot worse than even I imagined. So why is America condoning this level of stupidity? And why is Canada resisting the coup de grace unto the near dead carcass called America? I reckon that some of these Tech firms might get a better deal in Vancouver anyways (personal reflection). And getting them people to move to ski shores a mere 2 hours away might seal the deal with the bulk of these companies.

So as I see it, some president needs to be cut down to size and the insults of the 51st state is a good enough reason. That and the tariff’s being one of the dreaded nail into a corpse collection system (coffin seems too crass) is a good enough reason for me. And as we see ““It’s very simple. Prime Minister Carney and Canada caved to President Trump and the United States of America,” Ms Leavitt said.” We need to get a little infuriated to the blonde spokesperson. The Commonwealth dies not cave to America, a lot of us see that America is about to cave to the world economy and the debts it holds. A mere $36,215,828,296,013 (as stated by sources). This set the debt to $106,112 for EVERY American individual and after the deportations it becomes  more, how much is unknown at present. So did Canada cave Karoline, or did some American Moguls plead with PM Mark Carney as this act would ensure that the dollar might actually  collapse and end the reign of the almighty dollar? 

For reference, there are voices that the successor is already known:

I personally would prefer the British pound of the Canadian dollar, but that might not be a realistic possibility. So I would advise ms Leavitt to imbue a little humility into her boss, because at some point we have had enough and we all get that house of cards to collapse. I know, it is not easy being the most debt riddles nation on the planet, but America wouldn’t reign in their horses believing that they were too big to collapse, and here is a newsflash. “When you piss off everyone in the field, including your own team, collapse is the probably the best you could hope for”

So as we look towards the celebrations of Canada Day, we all can see that Canada, at present has a lot going for it and this turnaround is largely due to the former “Marky Mark of the British Bank”, so I see this as two boxers, one dabbles in economy (President Trump to be clear) and the other is the almost undisputed heavy weight champion of the world (Prime Minister Mark Carney) and this match is about to get nasty (for America), so I would advise Ms Leavitt to seize here ‘cave’ references and just for references, as I personally see it Canada has the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand firmly in its corner. As I personally see it America seemingly losing friends a lot faster than they can. Oh, just for references can we get a real tally of what President Trump is bringing in towards its economy, because as I see it, the trillions ‘promised’ towards America is stated to be about 50% short. However, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates  (UAE) are doing well at present. So is the sales pipeline of America broken?

Have a great day and as such to all (especially Canadians) a really great Canada Day and remember:

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June 30, 2025 · 10:08

The reality of the matter

That is at times a setting we hope to see, but it is only possible if you take the western media out of the picture. I have ‘debated’ this setting a few times earlier and as we discontinue considering the western media as a source we get a very different picture. To ‘support’ my view I had the microphone (or better stated the feather and ink jar, or optionally the keyboard) to AlJazeera who (at https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/5/11/fact-checking-trumps-claim-of-securing-10-trillion-in-investments-for-us) gives us ‘Fact-checking Trump’s claim of securing $10 trillion in investments for US’ there we see “The White House reports $5.1 trillion in promised investments, with $4.3 trillion newly pledged. But experts say $2.1 trillion may not fully happen.” This setting alone gives us a few ‘issues’. Is the 4.3 trillion part of the 5.1 trillion? But AlJazeera was on the ball, the give us “We tallied the White House’s public lists of investments; they amount to $2.1 trillion in corporate investments, or at most $5.1 trillion when including promised investments from other countries. Experts cautioned that the promised corporate investments are not guaranteed to materialise in full, or during Trump’s presidency, and some of them would have occurred regardless of who was president.” I am willing to ‘ignore’ the part the “some of them would have occurred regardless of who was president” and there is the setting of that sci-fi TV series that the world is investing 500B in called Stargate. But the larger setting is that either 50%, or optionally 41% may not happen, as such we wonder how long does America really have? It is an open question because I actually do not know. The hammering of tourism and small business will have an impact and it goes massively beyond the $21 billion of direct losses that is predicted.

So why bring this up?
Now we get to the real deal, with is given to us by the Arab News (at https://www.arabnews.com/node/2606252/business-economy) where we see ‘Saudi FDI net inflows jump 44% in Q1 to $5.9bn’ as we consider that we are given that “foreign direct investment in the first quarter of 2025, up 44 percent year on year, driven by rising inflows and sharply lower capital outflows”, as such I wonder if the Saudi government might pull investments out of America (a massive speculation on my side) and as I would see it, based on fictive claims by the American administration. And in this I see both the lessened and diminished losses that America will have to fess up to as well as positive investments that are unlikely to come through. It is like these salespeople who made claims in the 90’s that their sales pipeline was almost ‘full’ and that pipeline was riddles with people who were unable to make up their minds, people who are awaiting confirmations of new releases and that kind of ‘issues’. So that ‘full pipeline’ was not considering close to 50% that seemed to be the issues that customers were unable to find peace with. And investors are customers. The sort to not take kindly to corporations (and administrations) not delivering on their promises. That is the setting we might not seem to get a clear view on. All this is happening whist the Guardian gives us “Annualized inflation hit 2.4% in May, up from 2.3% in April, as Trump pushes ahead with controversial trade plans”, so whilst inflation is bringing down the house (as the expression goes) we see the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia getting a 44% boost of FDI in Quarter 1 2025. As such I wonder how many of the not coming through investors in America have decided to alter course and invest in Saudi Arabia. I do not pretend to know, because I do not. Yet the setting that somehow the people have ‘found’ $5.9 billion. It makes muck more logical sense that these so called investors have figured out that Saudi Arabia is a much safer fertile ground for their money trees than America is. That and the report that the UAE has reported that over 9,800 high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) are moving to the UAE. They both make sense and the setting that you do not put all your eggs in one basket (a rule I tend to live by) is speculatively in place. As such these people move to the UAE but put 40% in Saudi Arabia and 40% in the UAE. They are the places where money trees have a decent chance of prospering. That is what the cold data seems to imply to me. So feel free to call my insight wrong, but I feel I have to stand with that. And when you consider the impact that ADNOC has on the UAE and Aramco has on the KSA, these thoughts are likely to be a lot more correct that a journalist claiming that America is sound and safe. The data from the last 8 weeks give me a very different picture and I wrote about it. 

Now that the gloves seemingly come off in the caper between America and Canada seemingly proves me right. In one corner America has an administration that is in conflict with its own Pentagon and a few other matters (like a boasting president) and in the other corner we see Canada with PM Mark Carney who was the former Governor of the British Bank with more degrees than any thermometer has, or as I used to say ‘Marky Mark of the British Bank’, we all assign nick names for officials. My mother told me to not use bad language as such the nick name for a particular president is avoided.

The reality of the matter is that the ‘good’ setting cannot exist when we see the investment spree into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and personally I think that the investment in the KSA is the true one and both cannot exist. As such America is in a shape that is much worse than anyone is considering. I need to keep my eyes on this as I will have to adjust my views if other intelligence reaches me and I believe I need to keep you all updated on this. That is beside the point of me still trying to get the Kingdom Holding Company to buy one of my IP’s, we all have our own agenda’s and I am no different. We all have our farming plans and I am getting close to ‘mandatory’ retirement and it is a really sweet dream to retire to Yas Island enjoying 4 themes parks and a rather large mall to live out my days is relative luxury (luxury is a inherent satisfaction stage) and as there are 9800 millionaires coming to that nation there is a drive to beat them to it (preferably with a nice stack of coins).

So make of this all what you will, but two nations are showing that they have the results that matter, so where does that leave the people who hide behind the seemingly promise that America is doing fine? As such I have a lot more faith in Canada coming through this intact. 

It is the reality of the matter that is important and those stating that the reality of the matter will be that I am absolutely bug nuts is a fair call. Time will prove my views correctly. It is the benefit of a blog, it tends to be time stamped. 

Have a great day (even if it is Monday), except Canada. It is still Sunday there.

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June 29, 2025 · 05:22

Honestly, I have a question

It doesn’t happen that often, but the Middle East Eye left me with a question this morning. The headline ‘UAE ambassador’s firm linked to Bangladesh airports data deal’ was nothing strange. These things happen and if it helps Bangladesh, why worry? It was the setting of “Top diplomat’s business links to Emirati-backed project to upgrade passenger information systems prompt conflict of interest concerns”, it was the setting of “prompt conflict of interest concerns” made me wonder why there were conflicts of interests? Perhaps I am seeing the role of Ambassador incorrectly, perhaps I am simply thrown for a loop (I get an abundance of data every 24 hours), so it might be me. Yet when I see “An Emirati state-owned business appointed to set up a new passenger information system at Bangladeshi airports sub-contracted part of the project to a company co-owned by the UAE’s own ambassador to the country. Documents seen by Middle East Eye appear to raise questions about whether the arrangement delivers value for money for the Bangladeshi government or travelers facing higher prices as a consequence of inflated costs linked to the new system.” The first question that comes to mind is “Does the press get to see it all?” I reckon that perhaps the Bangladeshi media sees more (or perhaps a lot more) and as such, is there even an issue? You see, the term “value for money” tends to have ramifications, like how was this amount arrived at? Then we do get the goods in “Iftekhar Zaman, the executive director of Transparency International Bangladesh, called for an investigation into the deal, which he said appeared to amount to “a clear case of conflict of interests and an abuse of power”. Zaman told MEE: “As a public servant, an ambassador cannot be involved in any business activity without specific approval of the government.” OK, I can get along with this. The two settings that Iftekhar Zaman gives us are “an ambassador cannot be involved in any business activity without specific approval of the government” and “an abuse of power”. So first the abuse of power. The question becomes does any foreign ambassador have the ability to abuse power in any foreign country? I would state that this ambassador paints a rather nasty large target on his or her own back. An ambassador (as I see it) promotes his own country and offers stronger ties with that country (as an ambassador paints the picture why its own country is the best option). That is how I see it. As I personally see it, the ambassador is merely a pass through option for any Emirate business and as I am personally considering, the only stated ‘abuse’ would be to the business that Iftekhar Zaman prefers. As such that is the second setting. The first setting of “an ambassador cannot be involved in any business activity without specific approval of the government” this is a larger issue. In the first it is his involvement with the company he owns 34% of. As I see it the only issue is that other Emirati corporations might optionally be taken off the table. This is not on Bangladesh, but this might be on the table in the UAE (if this situation exists) and how many contenders were there for that position? American firms need to ‘scold’ their ambassador for letting this opportunity slip by as do the British, French and German corporations. So how many contenders were there? Aside from this setting was the Bangladeshi government involved? Did it need to be involved? If this is a logistic setting for a private airport, the government might not even be involved. All questions that the Middle East Eye had to lay out in this article. As for the “They also raise questions about a potential conflict of interest on the part of the UAE’s ambassador in Bangladesh, Abdulla Ali Alhmoudi, who has promoted closer ties between the aviation sectors in the two countries.” As such the job of an Ambassador is to promote its countries options and considerations that his (or her) nation has. As such Abdulla Ali Alhmoudi seems to be doing his job, that he owns 34% of that company is merely icing on the cake. And as the airport is concerned he brought a yummy cake to the attention of the airport. As such a “an investigation into the deal” seems one, but I ask you. Shouldn’t the executive director of Transparency International Bangladesh be involved? That is if this setting had to be on his desk to decide on. The fact that the airport hadn’t ‘involved’ him might require an answer, yet if the answer is that this was not his responsibility, is this case not merely a setting that gets limelight, the limelight that Iftekhar Zaman wants more spotlight? I am asking this as MEE didn’t give you “Iftekhar Zaman, the executive director of Transparency International Bangladesh, the organisation that is responsible for all information system at Bangladeshi airports” and MEE didn’t give anything on the vetting process, or who else was involved. I see a lot of questions and not much answers. And wouldn’t it be fun if the honorable Abdulla Ali Alhmoudi makes a claim for damages because of this article? There is no issue on freedom of the press. The article missed a few balls and ignored other balls and that has consequences in a lot of settings. You see, the setting of “The new passenger information system is being implemented in order to bring Bangladeshi airports in line with international standards requiring the collection of Advance Passenger Information (API) and Passenger Name Record (PNR) data.” The question is what was the competition? I don’t know but airports all have systems and several are national based, some have IBM systems and others have other systems. So what was the pool of contenders? Then we get “Alhmoudi was serving as the UAE’s charge d’affaires in Dhaka – the second-highest diplomatic post in the country – raising questions about whether he was already using his position to advance business interests.” Ehh, small question. Isn’t that his job as Ambassador? The setting of “advance business interests” should be seen as “advance Emirati business interests” and that is seemingly what he is doing. The only setting that could evolve is the setting that he didn’t advance business interests of OTHER Emirati corporations to promote the setting of Emirates Technology Solutions (Etek) based in Fujairah, a company that is Emirati state-owned. As such it seems like he was doing his job. As such there are questions but they would be pointed at MEE and optionally Iftekhar Zaman. Then we do get some other players, but there are also issues, but as I see it MEE is off the hook (as the expression goes) and we are left with “A CAAB official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the newspaper that the aviation authority planned to implement SITA through a company charging a “comparatively higher cost” than the ICAO recommendation of $3.50 per passenger, and raised concerns that the additional burden would fall on passengers, namely Bangladeshi labourers working abroad.” And there we have the setting “A CAAB official, speaking on condition of anonymity” yes, I have seen that setting before (in other   cases) and that tends to be someone who wants fame, or wants to promotes a third person, or that person wants to be seen as ‘in the know’, which gives us all matters of issues. There is another setting. You see “comparatively higher cost” is a loaded case. You see, when we have this setting we have two issues, the initial cost let’s say a initial million setting and a pass through cost. So if corporation one charges $125,000,000 and $4 per passenger and corporation two charges $15,000,000 and $5.50 per passenger the setting goes to how many passengers pass through this setting (these are fictive numbers) only if the airport has more than 110,000,000 passengers it becomes an actual issue, and that is a whole truckload of passengers. Then there are the service fees and maintenance costs of an IT system and we see none of that here. 

As such, why are these facts missing? Did the anonymous person not have this data? As such my question to MEE is” ‘Where are these missing facts?’ And that is the question I am confronted with. 

So do with this what you want and have a great day, my Sunday breakfast is now a mere 215 minutes away.

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