Tag Archives: Saudi Arabia

February 12, 2024 · 04:18

Wall, writing, you know

Before we go into details, you need to be aware of something. On the 19th of November 2023 I wrote “America has been in denial of too much we see that their ‘friends’ are reevaluating their options and there is now an optional case that Japan made the first move.” It was in the story ‘Speculating towards something?’ (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2023/11/19/speculating-towards-something/) it was not the first time and not the only time I warned of that danger and now, the Associated press gives us (at https://www.9news.com.au/world/donald-trump-american-allies-worry-us-growing-less-dependable-whether-trump-or-biden-wins/b29bc0ac-3d1a-47b4-89dc-dad1de8b6ec9) ‘American allies worry US growing less dependable, whether Trump or Biden wins’, so the Associated press came to the conclusion 90 minutes ago what I saw coming almost 3 months ago. And you think you are getting informed by the press? So when we are given a quote by Donald Trump “He said at a rally on Saturday that, as president, he’d warned NATO allies he would encourage Russia “to do whatever the hell they want” to countries that didn’t pay their way in the alliance.” I feel decently certain that at least 2 European nations are contemplating an alliance with Beijing, if not to keep Russia out, it would be to save whatever they can from their economy. And the setting is not small. With STC (Saudi Telecom Company) now set to be the largest 5G player and since last year the largest shareholder of Telefonica (Spain), their markers are ready to show themselves as the primary force in the Arabian Peninsula, Egypt, southern Europe and soon the rest of Europe. This wasn’t news, it wasn’t groundbreaking it was meant to be and as America loses more and more ground, Huawei is about to get a lot more. In addition we now see ‘Saudi Arabia’s World Defense Show ends with 61 orders worth $6.9 bln’ this matters because several of these orders aren’t going to America. South Africa’s HENSOLDT GEW, Spain’s Rheinmetall Expal, Bosnia Igman Company, Korea’s Poongsan Corporation, Qudra Industrial Company, Fahad International Company were some of the lucky ones. Several are under wraps, so I have no idea where they ended, but I have a nagging feeling that China got some too. What I predicted is coming to fruition. America is losing more and more commercial deals. Now that the US debt has surpassed $34,000,000,000,000 they lose more and more contracts and the telecom one is the killer. It allows Huawei for its vindication all whilst those supporting America’s baseless accusations are now entering empty space, no deals in front, only a vague ‘we’ll get back to you’. So how is that adding up? Well those who were ready to smear the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will not be held on hold and that is a lot more than you think. The fact that BRICS nations are now also getting orders and the option to prove themselves implies that BRICS is about to become (or already is) the place to be between now and 2028. And all this could have been prevented for well over 5 years. 

So whilst Thomas Gift, director of the Centre on US Politics at University College London states that the world is about to become “a multipolar planet in which the United States is no longer “the indisputable world superpower”.” The truth is a lot less nice. The new powers are China, India,  Saudi Arabia and the UAE. These nations aren’t just carpeting on the side of the road. Both Saudi Arabia and the UAE are just about the hottest tickets in tourism. Another income stream dwindling down for America and Europe. As such the writing was on the walls and Rembrandt painted that one in 1635. 

So now we have a new setting (as I personally see it), is it because the associated press finally found out the setting I saw months ago, or is it because they can no longer get around this setting. And when you consider the  chance that it is option two, how useless has the press become? When was vying for the digital dollar journalism? 

And all that is before Donald Trump was foolish enough to piss of his NATO allies. It sets the stage of NATO abandoning America and that opens up other paths for President Xi. Not sure if he would act on them, but I feel certain that Khan Chen Yixin (you gotta respect the old titles) from the Ministry of State Security is probably seeing opportunities here. How this pans out? I reckon we can all make guesses, but Spain and Germany are most likely to fold first. France will definitely be one of the last players to leave America, but as the others gain economic options France might not have a choice in the matter. 

So how wrong am I?
Yes, that remains the setting. I was proven correct months ago, but that does not make it all true. Yet the telecom moves are out in the open and I wrote about that too and Huawei has options now and there Germany might seek unity (partnership) with STC sooner rather then later opening Europe to Saudi Arabian telecom options and all that gives Huawei an advantage (for now). The China part remains debatable, but there is enough out there to show I might not be completely wrong. Now add the predictions that some IT brand is losing chunks to Tencent as will some other players in social media and now see the redrawn map of nations with new streams all whilst American companies are losing out on ten to twenty billion taxable dollars and consider that America is facing between 68 and 136 billion in interest in 2024. In 2023 America collected $4.44 trillion and they couldn’t make the budget fit and now they are down an additional 100 billion and revenue streams are slowing down. When BRICS nations start selling the US bonds they have the damage is almost complete. This wasn’t rocket science, you could get there with an abacus, no silicon chip required.

Enjoy your day whilst I am heading towards Monday breakfast soon. 

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February 9, 2024 · 19:46

Is Israel failing?

That is a serious question. Hamas started all this and it was the straw that broke the camels back. The response was overwhelming. Well over 50% of Gaza has been reduced to rubble. But behind all this is a second tier that needs addressing. It is the UNRWA. We saw the accusations, we saw government pull out funds. I am OK with that, but now the media is starting another track. Australian ABC gives us that politician Penny Wong has questions. That is fair enough. 10 hours ago, the Guardian gives us ‘We don’t have all the facts on UNRWA allegations, Penny Wong admits’, now it is starting to become a problem. 

These are not alone. We see news from Channel 4, CBC and other sources making similar claims. Now, for the most the media has lost pretty much all credibility with me, so I have doubts. Yet in all this Israel has one option. To make this document public knowledge through all the sources it can trust. In the mean time, the new Arab (at https://www.newarab.com/news/no-evidence-israeli-unrwa-claims-six-page-dossier) gives us ‘Channel 4 says ‘no evidence’ for Israel’s UNRWA claims in six-page dossier’, so what gives? 

As I said, Israel’s (pretty much) only option left is to make that dossier public. If it is evidence (clear evidence mind you) the media becomes even less reliable than it already is. And lets not forget the UN Essay that newspapers used to smear the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. I poked holes in that one in under an hour. I am pretty sure I can do the same here if it does not hold up to scrutiny. 

So the question remains, is Israel failing here? The fact that the UN sacked a dozen or more workers implied that there was an issue. They weren’t set to zero hours, whilst an investigation was done, They were sacked immediately. This implied something was wrong, something was afoot. But now we get that this so called dossier does not hold evidence. It does not sound like Israel, but that accusation should be investigated as well. We are also given “inconsistencies have since appeared in Israel’s narrative, with documents shared with Sky News by Israel naming 6 rather than 12 staff as allegedly involved in the attacks. No explanation has been provided yet for this.” Now, I get that the other 6 might have intelligence value by not naming them, as such it might have been not documented (might being the operative word). Yet why mention these people at all? There are question marks and I am happy to hand the ace of spades to the media, but too many (some very respectable) are making similar mention. As such Israel needs to do something. Hamas is a blight on all and soon they will become a blight on the Muslim world. As such, should Israel deal with them now, it is fine by me. Later when they play these games to wring power away from Saudi Arabia and the UAE towards themselves and Iran it becomes a whole new mess of destabilisation and these dumb individuals are one trick ponies. They know no other way. Better to deal with them now before they create chaos in Saudi Arabia and the UAE afterwards, then These two will have to deal with them and that is a larger problem. Gaza is almost gone, Hamas will spread via Qatar all over the Arabian peninsula, it will flame all the nations there. It is my view, but I feel that I see this anticipated view correctly. So Israel needs to show the evidence to everyone, so that politicians and media cannot hide behind “I misread that? It was a simple miscommunication”, we need to get ahead of this and I reckon that this dossier once printed in the Times of Israel, Jerusalem Post and Haaretz will be picked up by everyone else. No matter what happens next, time is running short for Israel. They might have created waves, however the media is counter waving them with their own waves and the people are caught in the middle. NONE of them have produced the dossier or used clear quotes on what the dossier says, as such Israel has an option left and I reckon it might decide the fate of the UNRWA. 

I agree that it is my view, but I feel that I am seeing it all correctly. I will let you decide which view is the correct one. I am getting close to Saturday, in Vancouver Friday just started.

Enjoy the day.

 

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February 7, 2024 · 22:41

Once more for fun

This started with a headline that caught my attention. It was ‘Top US consultancies face scrutiny over role in Saudi Arabia’s sports push’ (at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/06/consultancies-saudi-arabia-sports-us-senate-disclosure-subpoena) there I immediately saw that it was written by everyones favourite Saudi basher Stephanie Kirchgaessner. Before I go out and draw first blood (always fun) I wanted to see if she had learned her lesson from the previous few times I slapped her silly online. So I decided to have a closer look. Here we are given “Major US consultancies who have advised Saudi Arabia on its global sports spending spree – including its proposed takeover of golf’s PGA Tour – are coming under fire in Washington for possible violations of federal disclosure laws.” That got my attention, but there are a few sides that need clarification. You see what exactly are the ‘federal disclosure laws’? It comes with the added “the senator has also strongly suggested that the consultancies could be violating federal disclosure rules – known as the Foreign Agents Registration Act (Fara) – by not formally declaring to US authorities that they are acting as agents of the Saudi government.” And now we have a problem. You see, when we consider that the “The Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) was enacted in 1938. FARA requires certain agents of foreign principals who are engaged in political activities” This is not politics, this is a bloody sport organisation and Kirchgaessner should know better than to be the willing tool of Richard Blumenthal. As such, The FARA Unit of the Counterintelligence and Export Control Section (CES) in the National Security Division (NSD). This implies that Matthew G. Olsen, Assistant Attorney General of the NSD should be part of this and he is not mentioned, not once. So what is this about?  

Well, we get an idea in the article with “The Saudi public investment fund (PIF), a sovereign wealth fund chaired by the crown prince and de facto Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman, and is worth an estimated $776bn, is at the heart of Blumenthal’s inquiry” and my question becomes. ‘Why is the investment fund of a sovereign nation the interest of Blumenthal?’ Anyone? You see what does a democratic United States senator from Connecticut got to do with this? We never see that explanation. Don’t get me wrong, this man has done plenty of good for America and for his constituents. I merely wonder what is going on. Part of this is seen in the Financial Times (at https://www.ft.com/content/7009a1a9-8e07-4113-a47d-ee4724d3d427) when we are given “You say you are between a rock and a hard place but you have chosen sides; you have chosen the Saudi side, not the American side” with the added “US PGA Golf Tour” is a global sports organisation, PGA stands for Professional Golfers’ Association of America. Yes, the term America is in there. But the side we do not see is “Overall, the PGA Tour reported $1.9 billion in revenue in 2022, up from $1.59 billion the previous year, thanks to new multibillion-dollar TV deals. Expenses rose as well, with the organisation reporting $1.87 billion in costs, up from $1.55 billion in 2021.” So this is about $300,000,000 in debatable profits. And in all this we see certain people in the dock for explanations. Yet at what moment in time did Richard Blumenthal and Stephanie Kirchgaessner look at its board of directors? This includes Ed Herlihy (lawyer), Jimmy Dunne, Mark Flaherty, Joe Gorder and Mary Meeker? When were questions asked of them? McKinsey is a consultancy firm, gold is a sport, it is not any kind of bloody intelligence with foreign agents. That shallow ice allows me to slap Kirchgaessner yet again. And all this is out in the open, she merely reported like a meek little sheep making the Guardian a bigger joke. I saw the wreck unfold in under 10 minutes. 

So when we get to “The PIF has routinely objected to being subjected to US laws and has rebuffed repeated requests by the Senate committee to hand over documents subpoenaed by the panel. To get around the issue, Blumenthal looked to gather information from the US consultancies that have advised Saudi Arabia for answers.” It is the ‘to get around the issue’ that matters. Blumenthal wasn’t ready, wasn’t prepared and was out of his depth in this case. The first question in a senatorial interrogation would be ‘How does FARA apply to golf?’ Then I would go towards issues like outsourcing. America outsources to China for well over $23,130,000,000 billion all so that they end up with an average workforce spend of $29.10. Yes, that is America. But no one steps in on that step of greed, not even towards China, so the PGA is outsourcing itself to Saudi Arabia for the opposite reason, not to get the cost down, but to get profits up and it seems that McKinsey and Company investigated and reported on this for their client. All settings that are out in the open and the joking duet called Kirchgaessner/Blumenthal missed this? 

So when we get back to “Major US consultancies who have advised Saudi Arabia on its global sports spending spree – including its proposed takeover of golf’s PGA Tour – are coming under fire in Washington for possible violations of federal disclosure laws.” Why aren’t we seeing the board of directors of the PGA tours in the limelight? And when it comes to the US consultancies, if they are advising, there is the question will others follow that advise and if so is the acting party not up for optional consequences if laws are BROKEN? Were laws broken? Not as far as I can tell and we can point at ‘to get around the issue’ implies that Richard Blumenthal wants something else. Perhaps dip his …. In the PIF (Public Investment Fund) and slurp up whatever he can. Oh and a thought just occurred. What do you think happens when Saudi Arabia retracts all fundings from America? Did you work that out? When Saudi Arabia sells all the US treasury bonds they have, will the heartbeat of America be measured in Weeks, or seconds? If Saudi Arabia offloads $107,000,000,000 in bonds the US economy will face a harsh reality that it needs money overnight and when others leave America to get by it is all over. Perhaps the ultimate nightmare for Wall Street that desperately requires some kind of soft landing at present. And it could have been averted, just like the losses that the US defense providers face to the extend of many billions (up to 50 of them close to immediate). How much losses can America survive? If there was a clear case of national security I would be fine with this all, but the Guardian gives us no information other than a Saudi hater who is out of her depth and no clear information on the entire McKinsey setting. Too much alleged emotions and no relevant information. 

So this was one more slap just for the fun of it. Enjoy the midweek.

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February 6, 2024 · 00:51

At the start of round two

I have stated more than one that America has a problem, it has a few, yet this was about defence spending and others aren’t spending it on American soil. I have been called crazy, cranky and delusional (no idea where the cranky part came from). Anyway, today I see that Saudi Arabia has a MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) with Leonardo defence.

From one source I am getting “The Ministry of Investment (MISA) of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI) of the Kingdom and Leonardo announced yesterday the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the intention to discuss, develop and evaluate a range of investment and collaboration opportunities in the defence and aerospace sector.” Some will say ‘so what?’ and until recently I would have agreed. I never heard of them, that doesn’t mean anything, but when you consider that the amount (unverified) is rumoured to be around a billion dollars, the case starts to give a different stage. China is taking a massive slice, Germany and the UK are on the pie hunting side and now Italy takes a billion too. This means that the pie that America one had, what is left is a lot smaller and a lot less impressive (for America that is). 

So the pie that was overwhelmingly America (Raytheon, Northrop and a few others) is now set to at least four additional players and even as we do not know the slice of China, there has been a few indicators (unverified) that it amounts to billions. As I personally see it, this is the result of biting the hand that feeds you and I never saw any clear evidence of what happened to that columnist no one cares about. That is the larger station. In addition to this, one source gives us ‘Fifteen Spanish companies compete for a slice of Saudi Arabia’s military pie’. There is no way to see how far they get and the defence market that is going on right now has 700 arms manufacturers trying to get a slice of $71,000,000,000. It is anyones guess how much is left after China gets its slice. All indicators give me that they are succeeding, in least in part, in securing that revenue and that is revenue that is lost to America. I feel certain that players like Raytheon will get a slice, but as far as I can tell it is rumoured to be the smallest slice they have gotten in a decade. 

And a lot of this could have been prevented, but feel free to think that my delusion. 

I wonder what news we will see next week when the trade fair is over. Yet I feel that a few European firms will be happy on what they were able to achieve. The largest setting That I expect at some point is that FN Herstal and/or the Herstal Group will place facilities in Saudi Arabia to see the setting that Saudi Arabia has advocated for close to 3 years to have 50% to be produced nationally. I reckon that FN Herstal/Herstal Group might reconsider that setting and move some of that to Saudi Arabia, not only for the slice of pie, but as part of Brics their dance-book will open up to several players. There is no data showing this to happen, it is pure speculation but that move makes sense to me. You see if FN Herstal doesn’t China and their AVIC, CASC, CETC, CASIC, CSSC, CSGC could get a lot more revenue. Norinco is unlikely to make that cut as it has been a really bad boy, but that could be my personal view on the matter.

Enjoy the day.

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February 3, 2024 · 22:47

What are sports to you?

A question I have been pondering. It started a week or so as the Swift hatred entered my Twitter account. I have no idea why there was so much hatred. She is gorgeous, she is a singer and from one photo I saw she has the muscle tone of an olympic athlete. So, what is not to like or love about that youthful young sprout? But this is about sports and for this we need to go back to early 2003. I got my Xbox with a new mobile subscription. I wasn’t looking for it, I had my PS2 and I was happy. I had nothing against the Xbox, gaming is gaming. And on a nice summer 5 friends and me making a team of 6 decided to have a little American Football match. With the EA game that as possible, so on Saturday we started the elimination game each a 15 minute game (I believe) and I ended up 4th. I lost the last game against the Steelers and the steelers went to the podium to get 3rd. The final that was to be played Sunday (we were all tired) was set to noon (a Gary Cooper reason). And the final match a two times 30 minutes game was set between packers and raiders and the raiders won. It was perhaps one of the nicest weekends that year. There were snacks, there were suds, there was cake in-between and we were all having a great time. Even now 20 years later I still remember that weekend. Gaming and sports. I was playing the 49ers for the most nerdy, dorky reasons of all. I saw one of their cheerleader calendars that year and San Francisco seemed like a cool city. 

Does there need to be another reason? I like my hockey, my NHL games. So as the 49ers are due towards the Super Bowl these thoughts came flooding back to me. 

And as I was looking at the news I see how Taylor Swift could make the flight back from Japan with the words ‘You need to calm down: Taylor Swift can fly from Tokyo to Super Bowl in time, says Japan embassy’ (source: The Guardian) is the world mad? First if she can’t make it, she can watch it on TV. She has a jet with TV. She is a multi billion dollar business woman and she has her brand, just like Travis Kelce has his job and his job is on the line that day. He might not be the quarterback, but this is the game of a lifetime and he is just as important as the other players. This is one match when being a team matters. Prima Donna’s never make it to the finish line. They need their team and this is the grand slam of finals in sports. 

I doubt I’ll see it, I am not a football fan and I am not sure if it makes the Australian TV. I will keep an eye on the Google Scores. And it all matters, as I see “Big name advertisers from Netflix to Google paid as much as $7 million for a 30-second spot during the game, seeking to capture the attention of the roughly 100 million viewers who tune in each year.” Everyone wants to cash in, everyone wants to see part of that 100,000,000 audience. I get it, but it is about the sports (and perhaps the halftime show)

But what does it mean to you? You see EA has its franchise, but when did they go out to make it about a friends sphere? Not what THEY believe it to be, but what you believe it to be. You see, I never got to safe that game (and now It doesn’t matter as I do not have an Xbox), but the option to set that match in PDF, or perhaps the game created a social media page. When was that done? We underestimate the connection of sports and play and the franchise holders underestimate it even more. In a global view it matters to people in Pakistan and India to keep scores of their achievements in cricket and I reckon in other games too. 

Saudi Arabia and the UAE are not far behind them. These 4 make up for a 2 billion population, not all are into sports, but it ends up being a lot more than the population of America. These franchise holders have been catering to the wrong cluster as far as I can tell. Now that sports are going to be a much larger presentation all over the Middle East these people need to consider changing gears and they need to do this before their next games come out. Whomever does it will have options to really become a larger player in sports. But it all reflects back to ‘What do sports mean to you?’ It is not the easiest question. Even kids misalign their views because of what they feel of any sport. But ask any Pakistani Kid and for the most their will answer that Cricket is their life. And Cricket (on PS5) heard that call. Yet we also get The user score for NHL 24 on Metacritic has the game received as “generally unfavourable”. Not a good thing. And it gets worse for them. The Middle East has no representation as far as I can tell and in the upcoming years it will matter. It might not be NHL, the Emirates Ice Hockey League (EHL) is starting to get noticed and that implies fans and youthful players. I believe that gaming can head it off giving the young players something to care for. And in all this sport is caring and caring is sports. You might think I am wrong and that is fine, but consider the numbers. How many people play the Cricket game per nation? I never found these statistics and now they matter. You see there is a shift and it is turning towards the Middle East. Not for American Football and not for the Super Bowl, but this even shows how much sports have been in decline in the west. Soccer players will disagree and I hand that to them, it is all about Europe there. Yet there is a shift there too. We are catering to the wrong crowds and these franchises better wake up soon because that is how rifts start. That is optionally how new and better franchises are created. By the way, in 2003 I could set my entire game towards a SF49 interface. Later it was dropped. Why? Consider the thought behind that change and wonder how there is not a shift amongst gamers. The NHL games never gave me that option, other then my home stadium and a collection of players and outfits. But the interface was generic. Why not appeal to their fans? Why can’t actual scores not be added to the game tweaking statistics? All ideas that have been floating around for at least a decade, but we aren’t seeing any of it in the NFL, NHL or NBA games. Why is that? What are games to you and what are game to them? When you consider that these franchises are merely interested in money, where does that leave you? I let you ponder that and you all as you enter the last week before the Super Bowl. Sports are more than one game, but this is their moment, their aim for the throne of footballs. We can merely sit by and watch it on TV (or if you are rich and lucky) watch it in person. 

So have fun and watch out for that wicket this day.

 

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January 31, 2024 · 00:11

Forbes Foreboding Forecast

Yup, it happens. Sometimes the others are all on your train ride, but that does not make your prediction true. Yet to see this we need to take the whole image into consideration. For me I saw this come towards us like a freight train without any brakes when I wrote about it as early as September 2020. I wrote several times that these settings were a really bad setting and the outcome would not be a nice one. Then I warned that the US economy had nowhere to go, not when they insult and offend Saudi Arabia (and to some extent the UAE), as such China would gain billions in revenue. We saw last month (could have been 2 months ago), news that America was ‘worried’ about China making so much headway into the middle East. And now Forbes (at https://www.forbes.com/sites/digital-assets/2024/01/29/the-us-dollar-is-finished-wall-street-legend-warns-trumps-and-bidens-china-nightmare-is-suddenly-coming-true/) gives us ‘The U.S. Dollar Is ‘Finished’—Wall Street Legend Warns Trump’s And Biden’s China Nightmare Is Suddenly Coming True’. Really? First off, this isn’t suddenly, I made mentions for almost 4 years that this stage was underway. The fact that the dollar is finished is not entirely wrong, but not to the degree we see predicted. Wall Street will take any stance to diminish that danger. People will end up with nothing, but the almighty dollar will sail on, even though the galleon it once had will be replaced by a simple sloop (as piracy goes). 

So whilst we get “The U.S. dollar is “finished as the world’s reserve currency,” analyst Richard X Bove told the New York Times just days after his retirement from a storied 54-year career as a Wall Street analyst.” I initially tend to agree. Yes the dollar as a reserve currency is pretty much a bye bye black sheep operation. It is the “Bove, who sees bitcoin and cryptocurrencies as winning in a post-dollar dominant world, predicted that China will overtake the U.S. economy” part I do not completely agree with. You see the Yuan is and will be an important part of the global economy, but China has its own skeletons to deal with. Evergrande is one and that $300,000,000,000 issue will hinder the Chinese economy to a massive degree. Not to mention the Chinese population that is hurt by that loss. I reckon that being related to Shawn Siu in China is a lot more dangerous than being a loudmouthed disrespectful American in that region, but that could merely be my take on that situation. You see, China needs both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to get the traction to push forward. Yes, they will push the dollar of its throne and Americans with their arrogance did this to themselves, but without the Middle East China has no real momentum. That was the larger station we needed to see. I tried to warn people, but to them I knew nothing. And true, I have no degrees in economy, but I have looked into numbers for decades and I have both a creative mind to see beyond the numbers and a critical mind to question any hypothesis I have. As such I saw what is now being published as ‘suddenly’. My timeline has three years of warnings of the dangers the US and its dollar were facing. I do not have the knowledge or insight to discuss or oppose the digital currency changes, but I can tell that the ego of ex-presidents with his opposition to the digital dollar will be the end of the American economy. The digital dollar would allow Wall Street to diminish the impact the slam the dollar is about to make. If that stops the damage will be enormous. I don’t think the US economy will have any cards to play. Especially now that the EU nations are vying for the same defence contracts that were once almost uniquely America alone. With France, the UK and Germany vying for whatever spending dollars they can, China might end up with a little less, but they still have a lot of billions coming their way, all billions lost to America now and the EU is trying to get a few as well, an indoor fight between the US and EU is not one they were ready for and overall the American evangelisers are now starting to be a lot more quiet. Money talks and the US has none left. Now that the Ukrainian Russian military debate is now three weeks away from two years. A short term prediction by the Kremlin is now a setting that they could actually lose. A stage not considered a year ago and that also brings a lot more problems to the EU nations as well as America. America that has been catering to Russian needs no less and that is important as the people are now a lot more eager to accept China as the new leader. This is not some Nixon fantasy, this is the case of Wall Street deciding on what is best for the world and that is not how it works. That only has any value in the delusional mind of some. So whilst we see what happens next, we see that the power players are vacating towards the UAE. Some will go to other destinations, but the mess that they are leaving behind (not all due to them) will leave the American population without anything left. So what do you think happens when the dollar collapses and 200,000,000 Americans see that their savings are gone. Do you really think they will will side with Trump and his multiple multi million lost lawsuits? Consider that no one has a clear view on how much he owns. Some state that he only has now less than 3 billion and he was dropped from the Forbes 400 list, he came up $300,000,000 short (a lot more with the lawsuits he lost). To give you some reference, Elon Musk is apparently 96 times wealthier. He has 9600% more wealth than Donald Trump and that is the person Americans pissed off, all whilst he has the foundations of a solution for the energy shortage they face. So how is ego holding up? When the UAE engages with that solution, America will come up short in funds and energy. So the ‘suddenly’ setting wasn’t there. This has been out in the open for up to 4 years. And that picture goes from bad to worse soon enough. 

Could I be wrong?
It is a fair question and I ask myself that question pretty much every day. It is not indecisiveness, it is not doubt. It is about verifying the numbers again and again from whatever reliable source I can find. Verification is everything. Richard X Bove and I got to the same conclusions via different ways and as such I wonder why others were never on that page. Why was the media not all over this? They were so ready to protect Elizabeth Holmes and Sam Bankman-Fried, but this they didn’t see? Ask yourself that question and wonder what else they got wrong and more importantly why did they get that wrong. You might come to some conclusions that will scare you. Mainly because you all worked towards your retirement, but how many funds saw the golden future that the dollar bonds brought? When that falls flat your retirement will be gone and there is no coming back from that. I think that a few banks in America, as well as Credit Suisse Group AG (now part of UBS), isn’t it interesting that none of them were properly investigated by the media? They all gave the same story, but no one looked into how many dollar bonds these banks had. It might be nothing, but I doubt it. You see, Credit Suisse was handed a $54 billion lifeline. The fact that ANY bank needed THAT MUCH money was never properly investigated and it wasn’t just them. We see all the claims, but to need a 54 billion lifeline implies that that piece of rope is made from weaved platinum threads with diamonds. When did you ever need a lifeline like that?

And these places all matters, because that is to some extent the impact that the dollar pushed for, at least that is how I personally see it. There will be plenty of people stating that I am wrong, but after 4 years I have been proven correct too many times. Let them come up with verifiable data and clear sources to prove me wrong. I dare them.

Enjoy the day, my Wednesday just started.

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January 29, 2024 · 15:40

Pushing buttons

That is the name of the exercise and this time it is not just having a go at Microsoft, it is time to call Apple to attention as well. You see we have been pushing buttons on a keyboard for years, optionally for decades. Yet when did we see ACTUAL evolution in these contraptions? The most interesting evolutionary step was seen in CSI Miami in 2002 when an episode evolved around a laser keyboard display.

It didn’t go far enough, but it was a start, since then for 20 years. two hundred and forty months no less, both Apple and Microsoft have been spinning all kinds of innovation, but leaving a larger gap. You see, the world is globalising and both were part of that, but they never embraced the world, they merely pushed American values which are not the same.

Now consider this image below. The black keys are small LCD screens (or something similar). 

This is not a leap, this technology, all parts exist. On the iMac you can literally change the keyboard on your screen, a decent case can be made to make the iPad the Keyboard to ANY other Mac, but that is a different conversation. You see, the next part makes sen se if you know more than one language, this example shows us an Arabic version.

A setting that many have seen (millions actually). Japan, China, Korea, Arabic Nations, Pakistan, Ukraine and that list goes on for a while, even in Europe (France, UK) they have different setups. 

So here is the screen below

A simple example from Hiragana. With a home font (the white character) and Hiragana. This was not rocket science. The elements have been around for DECADES and Apple kept itself asleep at the wheel (no one cares about that snoring dumbo Microsoft). A setting that is strangling market research, Advertising and any corporations with foreign needs. I get it, such a keyboard (for now) isn’t cheap (expected $399), but over time as these edges of technology are explored more and more, the prices will go down and two multi trillion companies couldn’t figure this out? And Apple is even in more hot water. They could have set this up by having an iPad (which has 99% of these abilities) at the ready, to make that iPad a Bluetooth keyboard for any other Mac (MacBook or iMac) and they just didn’t look that far? Too many blinders mister Timmy the Cook? 

I wrote about these part (not to the complete degree now) a few years ago and none of these two entertainment jollies (clowns seem too harsh an expression) didn’t catch up? This is the issue with those proclaiming innovation and iterating themselves into the next decade year after year. Innovation comes from making the jump no one else considered and commerce is nice. You see when Apple comes with this idea at $399, someone will reengineer the idea into a $129 solution that works. It is iteration grown from innovation, but Apple made the innovative step, from there evolution comes. Was that hard? 

Are there issues?
Of course there are. Pricing might be a problem, but the keyboard has been neglected for decades, time to open that rusty door. In the end Apple can only start the setting, what comes next is up to the actual innovator. At the ready the iPad could become the start of new Bluetooth technology, which could lead to iPad based keyboards (more rectangle) and with a decently stronger screen. All options in front of the eyes of the Apple cook who seemingly overlooked it all and never looked beyond the blinders they all had. And as for the issues. Is it my job to fix all their shortcomings? Nope it is not, but with the IP at the ready and optionally a massive pay package, I can hand over some idea showing the others that I have a much stronger hand that is not out in the open (Amazon take notice please). You see Amazon could see this too, which means that multi character set design systems will take a much larger stage next, a stage that Azure/Oracle doesn’t actively has and that gives opportunity. You see the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is investing $200,000,000 in all kinds of IT solutions, the UAE has a $2,000,000,000 portfolio ready for startups. 2.2 billion and Amazon has options, so who else is asleep at the wheels (plural intended). Is it all to be had? Of course not, but gaining a slice of a 2.2 billion dollar cake is better then nothing and some people need to realise that the Middle East is here to stay and it is investing. So why not wake up, have a coffee and see where that could lead you? 

It is merely a thought, but who else gave you the option to consider a slice of a 2.2 billion yummy cake? And it all started with a keyboard, so where are these so called innovators now?

Enjoy Monday. 

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January 28, 2024 · 19:59

Uproarious Nonsensical players support terrorism.

This was a stage I saw last week, but I didn’t trust the source. Now that the BBC is joining that list, the game changes somewhat. The story (at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68119268) gives us ‘UN agency condemns aid halt over alleged help for Hamas attacks’. Now, I haven’t had a great deal of trust in the UN and it melted down close to nothing when that UN essay writer Eggy Calamari launched her attack on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and in particular His royal highness Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud. I debunked her fiction (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2021/02/27/that-was-easy/) in ‘That was easy!’. Now, I am not saying he was innocent, because I CANNOT prove that. Yet a person is regarded innocent until proven guilty and that document shows massive gaps and no clear evidence of guilt. I will go even further that the UN took its time AVOIDING one piece of evidence and for the most no one has ever seen it. The document is added to that article, so feel free to read up on it. This matters as we saw similar acts on the UN avoiding the guilt of Houthis and the acts by Hamas. The United Nations (as that joke goes) is less useful than a crack dealer in a schoolyard. This all matters because now we see “The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, has urged the countries that halted funding to reconsider their “shocking” decision.” My somewhat less than politically correct response is “Are you out of your flipping mind?” This is not some ‘misplaced’ act of doubt. This is a direct accusation that members of the UNRWA have actively been assisting Hamas with a terrorist attack. So the UN better wake the folly up and start properly investigating. The quote “The agency says it is investigating and has already sacked those employees” I understand and I accept that the UN needs to properly investigate things, but this comes from several sides and at present Australia, Canada, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States have suspended funds to the UNRWA, so this is serious. These are nations with an effective intelligence network. As such the UN has its nightmare scenario running amok (no idea how one runs a muck), but this is not a setting lost in translation and this is an accusation, not some half baked allegation. I rely on evidence and I have not seen any, but these are organisations that have all kinds of connections, as such I tend to accept the allegation until proper presentation is made. The issue is that the allegations against Saudi Arabia by the UN and FTI Consulting (which the UN used)  had holes in them, several and both reports were used even though the people behind it should have known better and the fact that I showed holes in these reports in less than 24 hours implies that others would have done so quicker, but they remained silent. And now the UN has a problem. Through the UNRWA they stand to lose a lot of fundings and until they clean their houses (plural) the world has pretty much had enough of that UN gravy train. The fact that we are treated to “It would be immensely irresponsible to sanction an agency and an entire community it serves because of allegations of criminal acts against some individuals, especially at a time of war, displacement and political crises in the region.” You see, this is not some ‘criminal’ element. These are people ACTIVELY supporting terrorists and terrorist goals. One might state (might being the operative word) that the attacks of October 7th might not have been possible without direct support by UN staff members. I know it is a stretch, but it might not be far from the truth and the UNRWA conveniently sacked these people. So how will they be prosecuted? A missing question. 

Today we see the start of nations at large demanding accountability from the UN. They kept silent on Houthi attacks on Saudi civilians. The kept silent on terror attacks by Hamas and that is merely the tip of the iceberg. This all reminds me of an old saying and I used it against a few companies in the past. When you cater to everyone, you please no one. It does not seem fair, but that is the reality we face. We cannot please all and the lesson will be a hard one to learn by the United Nations and we will see that soon enough (I reckon before March 1st).

Enjoy your Sunday, mine is mostly gone by now.

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January 27, 2024 · 22:48

That one sided conversation

We all have them, we tend to have them with ourselves. We see things, at time we extrapolate and we come to singular conclusions. I did too. You see, ever since we have been treated to Pretty Woman (1990) we al wanted to see Rodeo drive, we wanted to see the shops and during the first covid we all took that option and had a look. However, most of us felt slightly betrayed. The view was not what we expected and today I looked at three other YouTube videos. The bulk is concentrated on the block surrounded the via Rodeo. The shops seem empty, some shops show nothing outside (or very little) and Rodeo drive is diminished to a crowd of tourists and vloggers with here and there a person quickly walking to or from their jobs. The other side is that Dubai has the mall of the emirates, the Nakheel mall that are on par with Rodeo drive and the Dubai Mall outshines Rodeo drive by a lot. And you might wonder why Dubai is such a sought after destination? The Americans let things slip all over the place and the turning point is just about here. I reckon it is already here for Las Vegas and as we see what tranquility, cleanliness and amazing views we get from these malls, as well as malls in Riyadh and you wonder why. London might have Harrods and it is amazing, but London is showing additional issues making Harrods and the streets surrounding it unsafe for tourists and shoppers. The downfall will be harsh and it is getting worse. The malls in the UAE and KSA have options towards driving engagement, making these places even more appealing. Places like Rodeo Drive and London have waited too long and there is a clear indication that their revenues cannot be maintained and the solution was online (my blog) well over two years ago. It was creating engagement. Engagement is only working if you have a population that you can serve and that is missing outside the middle east. Where was the Rodeo drive diner, preferably filled with people? Where were the real shoppers? They might show revenue for now, but when did we see a real stage of physical versus online revenue? In the Dubai mall I see shops and well over 75% show shopping and buying people during the YouTube pass. People eating, people drinking, people walking (not vlogging) dozens of eateries and many of them filled with people. The vlogging and posing women on via rodeo aren’t showing too much shopping, are they? Now, lets be clear. I could be wrong, but I feel certain I am not. I warned about creating engagement, they did nothing. I warned about creating awareness and too little was done. Now we see things changing. Even the Eaton Centre Mall in Toronto shows more live and living shoppers than Rodeo drive does, so how’s that for leaving it in the middle east? I get the distinct feeling that should Riyadh and Dubai embrace engagement, the impact on London, Paris, Amsterdam, New York and Los Angeles will be felt to a much larger degree. The equation was not a mystery, it was simple and it has been simple for over a decade. The customers expect more and too many places aren’t showing any. Engagement was key in this and it was ignored. The moment some of the jewellers in Dubai show the engagement solutions I had thought up the change will be close to immediate a race in time will happen. Oh, I almost forgot about Monaco. They are good for now, but they too need to embrace an engaging nature. They recorded 218,400 tourists and they are not doing bad, but the idea is to address this before it turns bad and so far they (seemingly) haven’t done enough. The dozen of hot women and fast cars videos seem nice, but one video tells it nearly all. Monaco has a lot more to offer and videos clearly show this, but when the  numbers dwindle the act of engagement is shoddy and optionally too late. These solutions tend to work when there is too much to see, too much to do and too many places left that alone for too long. Optionally they relied on the wrong numbers and the wrong stories, but this is pure speculation from my side.

Consider that the Dubai Mall has all the best brands of the world, all the sought after brands and articles for purchase and they are a zero tax nation. You still think that my feel is wrong? Some people travel to Dubai just to get the new iPhone at 0% taxation. If you are willing to do that, the rest seems easy to place and engaging your customers becomes a dream ride to keep revenues up. Oh, and here (unlike in London) you can buy a watch and walk safely home. So this might be one sided, but I am leaving you with enough pointers that you can verify for yourself.

In a one sided conversation, the best you can hope for is for someone else to listen (or read), I leave it up to you to decide.

75 minutes to Sunday for me. Have fun.

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January 26, 2024 · 17:00

What is the real fear?

That was the first thought that hit me when I saw several articles like the one (at https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/jan/25/emirates-backed-stake-vodafone-security-risk-uae-uk-government) where we are given ‘UK says Emirates-backed stake in Vodafone poses national security risk’ and my first thought was ‘What?’ Now, lets be clear, I have no idea how true the statement is, for the longest time I saw Vodafail as a joke (I was a victim of their not so nice side a decade ago). Vodafone is almost everywhere (EU, UK, Australia) so why is the UK the only one crying foul? 

The article gives us “The Cabinet Office issued a notice late on Wednesday warning that the 14.6% stake held in Vodafone by Emirates Telecoms, amounted to a security concern given Vodafone’s strategic role in the UK’s telecommunications services.” Now, I don’t see the danger, but that might clearly be me. This is not my cup of tea. But all these companies whoring for dollars and investors have been playing on every field and now it is an issue? How about the board of Vodafone not whoring for investors? And why is the less than 15% a security risk? Then we are given “That move triggered the government to look into the deal under the National Security and Investment Act 2021, owing to Vodafone’s importance as strategic supplier of the UK government and being involved in the country’s cybersecurity infrastructure. However, the government had not previously made any public announcements saying it was looking into the partnership.” Now, as I personally see it, that act is 3 years old. At the moment of creation, why was there not a clear message that anyone involved in investing in infrastructure is prohibited in ‘courting’ investors? There is a clear case that if this is indeed stamped a security risk, there is a chance that the UAE can reclaim investment plus 50% damage bonus and Vodafail better cough up that dough (obviously they will charge the UK government for that).  

My question becomes ‘What is the real fear?’

In sight of “Under the terms of the strategic partnership, Emirates Telecom can increase its stake to just under 25%, while also having the opportunity to add another executive to the board if its ownership tops 20%.” I merely wonder what the danger (if any) there is. I honestly don’t know. You see Vodafone is in 16 countries and is stated to have over 160 million customers. If I had the money I might consider that and there has been several messages over the last 2 years that Vodafone cleaned up their act and services. There are several deals, mergers and investigations in place that give rise to the simple fact that certain people are placing their chess pieces (corporations) and they are (my speculation) in a stage that they do not want the UAE to be part of any of this. There is of course another option for the UAE. They could start to collect other telecom corporations and chisel the Vodafone slice down to a manageable size. I personally would start by grabbing places that give access to Germany and France, Vodafone has too much power there (and in some places too shoddy reception) and form there grow the market. France and Germany when properly grown would give access to Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Austria. From there Germany allows growth towards Poland and Czech Republic. It is a much slower path, but I reckon that these loud mouthed politicians will run for cover when Vodafone suddenly is worth 25%-35% less. Let’s be clear, I have no idea how there is a security risk ad we aren’t given that in any clear way, but as I personally see it “a security concern given Vodafone’s strategic role in the UK’s telecommunications services” if that was really true, why was Vodafone allowed to start partnerships? Is it to attract American dollars alone? I have no idea but the UAE and the KSA are the only ones with a credit card that is not maxed out at present. 

I am not telling you this is wrong, I cannot tell. I am asking what is the real fear? Because that is the larger issue in this instance. Just my €0.02 on the matter.

Enjoy Friday that is about to start for most of you and it is gone for 71% for me at the moment, but Saturday is just behind it.

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