Tag Archives: Saudi Arabia

August 30, 2025 · 04:36

Vindication of a sort

Yup that is the setting we face today. I feel a little vindicated. You see, when we look on the American Tourism seeing, we see the ‘fact’ that the damage would amount to 29 billion. It is a setting we faced for some time now. But I wrote on August 11th 2025 ‘The setting stage’ (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2025/08/11/the-setting-stage/) where I wrote “that the expected damage to American Tourism would be a lot worse than $29 billion. I speculatively expect it to be at least 80 billion” that was over two weeks ago. Now MSN gives us ‘Study Warns Trump Tariffs Could Deliver $64 Billion Hit to U.S. Tourism Businesses’, I reckon that when they start considering the bankruptcies in Florida and California are added, they will get a lot closer to my 80 billion, they might even surpass my predictions as I used simple arithmetic to this equation. As such I feel a little vindicated. And there is something else, we are given ““When there’s trouble in the economy, the first thing people cut is their travel budget,” Jonathan de Araujo, owner of Florida’s Disney-focused travel agency Vacationeer, told the Washington Post — noting he fears more of that reaction if consumers see the wider negative effects of tariffs materialize. “They wait until it’s time to pay in full, and they say, ‘Actually I can’t afford this.’ That’s what I’m worried about.”” The one element they ‘overlooked’ is that Yas Island in Abu Dhabi (UAE) is almost ready to replace Florida as a destination. Next year Harry Porter will be introduced and two years after that Disney comes calling and with that, a full blown alternative for Florida comes into play. So, yes my numbers were ‘conservative’ in nature, I merely learned of Disney coming to the UAE after my calculations, so there.

So whilst we bicker about what hardship America faces, we need to consider that Florida will be feeling the pinch in several ways. They just invested over 7 billion dollars into the EPIC universe park and the cost to be there is up to $139 per adult. As such the UAE has better prices, several alternatives and several pleasure packets that end up being up to 60% cheaper. So yes, with a family of 4 (mum, dad and two brats) the cost savings start to add up, add to that the VISA costs of America and the savings are clearly made. Now add the fact that the UAE is a zero tax nation, as such there are a few apples that come to mind. Yes, Florida and California now have a problem and I reckon that a bandaid  of 80 billion dollars doesn’t cover the losses they face. And yes I did take the hardships of New York, Chicago and a few other places into account.

As a bonus to me, I just saw the predictions that Saudi Arabia has upcoming gaming (projected to be over $1.5 billion) and I predicted to Kingdom holdings a setting that will grant them an additional 6 billion annually. So I am feeling a little great, well I will be if I my IP is bought.

Oh, and the blasting of the UAE goes on, we now get a Florida publication giving us (at https://www.cubaenmiami.com/en/turistas-estadounidenses-deben-estar-atentos-los-emiratos-arabes-unidos-permiten-solo-90-dias-de-estancia-en-180-dias-de-viaje/) ‘US tourists should beware: The UAE allows only 90 days of stay in 180 days of travel.’ Which a little silly. You see, the UAE visa “60-day visa costs AED 300 plus VAT” (which is like $84). And since when have you ever had a vacation for more than 60 days? A 30 day VISA is even cheaper than that (like 30%). So why on earth does this article serve any purpose? If you can afford a 90 day vacation, you can apply for a decent residency. But that is merely my thought on this. I would love a permanent residency there, but it requires the Kingdom Holding to acquire my IP (that would make me happy too). So as such anything more than a 3 week vacation is not in my budget of expectations (at present). And if my IP is acquired I will seek permanent residency anyway. 5 theme parks and a giant mall? Yup, that is the life for me.

As I see it, America felt the ‘need’ to blast the UAE as their tourism hardships are getting out of proportions. They need every American to spend money in America. That is the only way they avoid total collapse of their tourist industry. As I see it, for every tourist visiting the UAE in the next three years, they will convince at least 2 tourists to go there too, as such all these people will not visit America any day soon. With the immense amount of tourist opportunities, They will capture the imagination of global tourists. Formula one, beaches, a waterpark, the Harry Potter fans and the Disney lovers. All over them will set their sights on Yas island and Abu Dhabi and that is before you consider the other attractions and museums Abu Dhabi has to offer, as well as zero tax shopping. Florida and California just got outclassed by a lot and it is all in one city, that being said it is a 30 minute train ride from Dubai and the biggest mall on the planet. I think enough has beed said. Still we should mention desert here are the prices on Yas Island. It comes down to under $5. 

So how much do you pay in Florida or California? The calculations are easy and the added benefit is that the UAE is almost come free, women comment that they have been able to walk in the UAE free of fear. That in itself is worth the ticket. So whilst the die is cast, I feel kinda great today. I have bee right all along on a few items and if that second item can get me my income I might be able to retire on Yas Island as well. What a luxury thought to have on this Saturday at 04:45 almost a whole day of feeling bliss this Saturday. Have a great day today. I know I will.

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August 24, 2025 · 10:28

In other bad news

That is how it reads, is this the reality of things? That remains to be seen, but as I see it, there is a rolling effect. A news source gave me this morning that IndiGo is starting two new routes. One between Abu Dhabi and Visakhapatnam, the other one is between Abu Dhabi and Bhubaneswar. They represent populations up to 3.2 million people, and that is the direct surroundings of these places. It is important to see that, as that implies that the setting that I predicted that America will lose more and more tourists is starting in this kind of situation. You might give credence to the ‘mumblings’ that this will soon pass over, and perhaps it will. But the direct setting is that those that rely on their one vacation a year, they are choosing Abu Dhabi (and Dubai) over American destinations. So when you decide to trust ‘The US tourism slump that never happened’ (source: Financial Times), or perhaps ‘Desperate U.S. Hotels And Tourism Operators Continue ‘Come Back’ Deals For Canadians’ (source: The travel) you are looking in the wrong direction. Yes, in a few years travel to the USA will bounce back, it is the next three years that matter and in the meantime the UAE is gaining traction in many ways. And over the next three years it will develop into a main destination for the better part of the globe. In the meantime America will be bleeding losses on all sides. And when the bounce back ‘fails’ or more precisely is delayed. The losses for America will merely add up to a lot more. 

That is beside the larger setting. You see, Visakhapatnam was in 2020 a finalist in the Living and Inclusion category of the World Smart City Awards. As such travel is interesting both ways, it also has its own share of beaches and it is the 5th busiest port in India, as such commerce is likely to blossom between the two nations. As for Bhubaneswar, is a hub of sports and IT in the country. As such there is a larger interaction possible between the two places. All options that are now a moot setting for the EU and America. And the fact that IndiGo is a low cost airline, the tourists cluster that will have the UAE on their international dreamless will increase rather sharply. We might look at all the ‘wealth’ that travels. But for every wealthy traveller the UAE sees, there will be 50 non-wealthy tourists and this amounts to a lot of visitors. I reckon that IndiGo is merely the first to see that influx of tickets sold. I reckon that by late November everything Indian who dreamt of seeing a Formula 1 race with his or her own eyes will flock to the UAE and that is just for starters. As I see it tickets for Yas Island will be the hottest ticket of the year. With all the extras you get to enjoy, the need for hotels and especially low cost hotels will explode in no time flat. 

Just two settings that America is currently missing out on and for the next three years. Have you considered the impact that VISA’s and ‘integrity fee’ options that America thought to help to guide them through. And more bad news in this category (as stated by some for 2026) are discouraging more and more tourists to America and now they have a stellar place to go from March 2024 onwards. And now the setting becomes that more and more are discouraged to visit America as it is seen. The larger setting becomes that Saudi Arabia will from 2027 onwards the next competitors for all these tourists who need a place to go. I reckon that some will chose China as a destination, but the numbers on that remain speculative and is not supported by factual data at present.

Have a great holiday to come in 2025

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August 15, 2025 · 18:08

Walking back needs

I was in a rush to find another topic to look at and no sooner was it said when my brain told me to look behind me and no sooner was it done when I noticed a Bloomberg article 

This sounds odd (and correct) as the Houston Business Journal gives us a little less than 18 hour ago ‘Texans face potential electricity price surge as power demand skyrockets’, it is odd as I noticed that term was a setting a mere 2-3 years ago. I gave the setting towards an IP idea I had. It was clear that this setting would be needed in Dubai, London and a few other places. I gave the Texan setting of Austin as a reference. As such I gave the idea that a few people should talk to Elon Musk as he is sitting on a trillion dollar idea and it would be needed all over the world. So, as some ‘now’ see that there is a larger problem, which I illustrated in ‘Is it a public service’ on November 16th 2024 (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2024/11/16/is-it-a-public-service/) where I clearly stated that the energy is mission for a lot of this. We get the setting three months later in Bloomberg and now we get the Houston Business Journal giving us “With new data center developments, population growth and the electrification of oil fields, power demand growth is tightening the electricity market. Here’s what experts predict for the coming years.” As well as “With a rise in data center developments, population growth, and the electrification of oilfields, power demand growth is tightening the electricity market.” The latter part is a little hilarious. A setting that could be construed as the headline for the new comedy capers. What makes it a lot harder is the need Bloomberg gave us (and me months before that) that as I see it, corporate America has to foot that bill as the Data Centre needs will be required to get filled from day one, and as I see it the people of Texas need to pay ZERO. I do like the idea that corporate America will decrease the cost of living for Americans, especially when they are ‘required’ to remain carbon zero and 30 nuclear reactors are not the way to go. And this is given a lot more urgency as Americans are faced with the needs to make more electricity and the timelines to not align, especially in light of the news by Houston Business Journal given less than 24 hours ago. The other setting is that nuclear reactors require time and experience to build. As I see it, the Need for at least 3 GEN3+ reactors require at least 5 years and that is setting the reactors close to Houston and Austin. The third one should be right next to the data centre that Texas is handed. Oh, and these reactors need to be started within the next 3 months. So, when were these plans approved that fast? If not, there is little reason for a data centre when the electricity is apparently missing. 

The fact that the American people (the HBJ too) were apparently missing this information whilst I using a simple slide ruler (classic model shown below)

Got there in mere seconds almost a year ago, and I was courteous enough to write about it. So there is that to consider. Funny enough America has the solution employing the solutions by Elon Musk. I advice then to act, before the UAE (and Saudi Arabia) asks for all the batteries that Elon has in stock. That is one idea, there are more ideas and they are out there. Yet the settings are now given by the HBJ and will set Texas on a stampede for solutions I reckon no later than coming Monday. 

So when it does come, I would advice some people to walk back the needs of energy requirements and see where that leads them. The funny part is that this was a given BEFORE the Stargate project was on everyones retinas. Even as I gave my setting BEFORE Stargate, the setting becomes on why this wasn’t clearly given as project Stargate was drawn up? As we see the answers, more questions are shown on our eyes and this is the mere start of this. At present there are two operational nuclear power plants: Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant and the South Texas Project. Each plant has two reactors, and together they provide about 10% of the state’s electricity. So when we see this, we might understand the crazy presentation on AI and the setting of available energy. So when I gave my feelings on the three reactors, we see a much larger need, but is that a given? I know that I can be wrong, even if I am proven right months later. Causality does not mean proven effect, that requires a whole different setting of statistics and proof leading to this. 

So feel free to doubt me, but there are the stories and there are the newscasts and the data that nuclear reactors require time is pretty much a given. So feel free to doubt it all, I don’t mind. Just consider the setting that the Data centers require energy and who do you want that energy to get? Your fridge and microwave or an AI data center whilst we know that AI isn’t real. I leave it up to you.

Have a great day and feel free to look around you. The data is all around us all.

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August 10, 2025 · 15:25

An upcoming stage

There is a new, or better stated upgraded stage on the Horizon. Arab News (at https://www.arabnews.com/node/2611276/business-economy) gives us ‘Saudi Arabia’s drive to build a defense powerhouse’ Where we see “Saudi Arabia’s military equipment manufacturing sector is undergoing a significant expansion, emerging as a pivotal element of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 economic diversification strategy to boost domestic industrial capacity.” It is not new, we were alerted to this years ago. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia made it clear that near 2030 it needed to be able to create its own defense needs. This was clear from the beginning and as Such I kept tabs on this as anyone working in this sector tends to make clear and precise coin and a lot more than anyone else does. It is not greed, but it is the ethical need to get more money the traverses the need of the many. And it is not that I want to do things, but the need to create financial independence is pretty strong in any of us. But I looked deeper. I looked at the options of the day after tomorrow, not the next hour or the next day. Plenty can do that, it is the deeper look and the settling of possible accounts is where AI cannot take us. I can only look from the data it has and the ability to look to the day after tomorrow takes a lot more, it requires the ability to look at lateral processes, to see what comes after next and I reckon that I am seeing a few options here. 

The Arab News gives us “Under Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia aims to localize 50 percent of its military spending by the end of the decade. The sector’s regulator, the General Authority for Military Industries, reported notable progress, with localization rising from 4 percent in 2018 to 19.35 percent in 2024 — reflecting steady advances toward self-sufficiency in defense manufacturing.” This is fine and predictable as most of it was advertised by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia years ago. Yet at present I was thinking what comes next. You see, this is what I expect to come next (after 2027) Saudi Arabia completes its first factories in Saudi Arabia, I expect at least one in Jeddah. When that is up Saudi Arabia will create larger client drives. I expect Egypt, Pakistan, Oman and Jordan are an expected first. They will grow and get the contracts. I reckon that Pakistan is the greater challenge as China has a lot of goods and effort put into that place. But the setting everyone is forgetting is that there is one sizable pie and what Saudi Arabia gains, others will lose. So consider that America is losing Tourism, Technology and Finance, so as we get closer to 2027/2028 and America also loses out on chunks of Defense, which was $117.9 billion for the FY2024. As such I reckon that a mere 10%-20% should push America over the edge and it is not only Saudi Arabia, The EU is also fishing for the billions in contracts that are up for grabs and as America is alienating it former allies, they will fish for larger snacks from that dinner plate there is every chance that not only will Saudi Arabia succeed, but there is the chance that there will be a stronger union between Saudi Arabia and Europe. After the G5 settings we now get a larger defense stage. And in all this, it simply weaken America to an other stage.

Am I right? Am I wrong?

I reckon that the ‘AI surfers’ will tell you that I am wrong and that is fine. But the signs are already there and I do know data. I worked on such a setting for decades. So as we are given “According to its April 2024 report Trends in World Military Expenditure, SIPRI said global military spending exceeded $2.7 trillion in 2024, marking a decade of continuous annual growth and a 37 percent increase between 2015 and 2024” everyone wants in and it merely makes America weaker. Don’t get your hopes up that it ends for America. This is too big for anyone. The setting that follows is that America will need to compete for contracts with Saudi Arabia and Europe for contracts that ended up being for America by default. When that stops we see yet another field where it must compete, a setting they haven’t had for decades and soon there will be another player vying for the $2.7 trillion. In this field “Saudi Arabia led the region with $80.3 billion, ranking seventh globally, just $1.5 billion behind the UK.” And the setting here is that by 2030 the rest of the world will be default lose $40B that Saudi Arabia will now keep in-house and it also means that their defense spending will go down. But when at least two of the aforementioned nations will get their defense spending at least partially from Saudi Arabia. The pie parts will take on new dimensions. And that is before we consider that some player might get access to materials they never had access to.

It will grow the Saudi Arabian slice a lot more than ever considered and that is before we consider the parties that once turned to Iran, Saudi Arabia will grow into a defense power player (to some extent) and will gain larger momentum in the industry. So don’t look at tomorrow, plenty of people do that, consider what could happen the day after tomorrow, where others aren’t looking for now and where predictive analytics does not work because the data does not yet exist. Will it help me?  I don’t know. The simple setting is that traversing any path where it merely serves you will project the simple setting of delusion. That is not my path or goal. So whilst she will go in an islamophobia rage, others might see that this is exactly how others lost revenue and this path is not nearly done yet. 

Have a great day.

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August 10, 2025 · 02:10

The emotional grab

That is at times a setting. I got this article two days ago in my sights, but I rejected it for the obvious reasons. But today I had some second thoughts, so I took a hold of it. There are a few settings that I need to explain. When a newspaper needs 7000 words to give you the issues that you could have gotten from 700 words, we usually see that there is something under it all. In this case we see all these ‘emotional’ settings, because there is basically nothing to be seen. This isn’t entirely true, but the gist of it comes to that. The Guardian (at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/07/long-read-british-bribery-britain-arms-deals-saudi-arabia-ian-foxley) gives us ‘Very British bribery: the whistleblower who exposed the UK’s dodgy arms deals with Saudi Arabia’ and the headline gives us ‘dodgy arms deals’ and that takes some explanation. The United Kingdom is a nation, a monarchy no less. As such it can sell weapons to other nations. Saud Arabia is a monarchy too, as such is there something dodgy going on?

And in that story, we see one photo of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, which was taken in Riyadh, May 2009. It is the only time that his royal highness is mentioned. There is no mention of him anywhere in the article, I checked. So why is he there? Because of the mention of Saudi Arabia? 

Then we get the wife Emma, she is mentioned four times, and twice by name. What is her involvement? Or is she merely dressing (like a Window) making this story more ‘humane’ The more I read it, the less it makes sense. The first is that it took 7000 words to say nothing, the second that it is lacking a few items. The first is that Declassified (at https://www.declassifieduk.org/britains-secret-saudi-military-support-programme/) gave us a lot more information which was RELEASED in 2019. A simple setting is that the London School of Economics had 24 alumni working there. So at what point did the Guardian interview, or at least try to interview any of them? The 2019 story also gives us “Earlier this year, another US military official, Colonel Kevin Lambert, manager of the US’s own SANG modernisation programme, confirmed that the SANG was “executing combat operations in the Yemen conflict”.” The Guardian article doesn’t even mention Yemen once. In addition, the story is riddled with emotion. Things like “an accountant called Michael Paterson, was “a madman”” this might be true, but what purpose does it serve? If it is about dodgy deals, why is the wife involved? I get that she gets to be mentioned once (at the beginning) optionally twice (at departure), but the other two mentions? As I stated, the more data you see, the less is valued and it is not valued because there is more useless data, at times more data is to hide that you have none. So, then we get the ‘abundance’ of data. In this I refer to “Another time, a colleague casually joked about a Saudi general being willing to sign anything GPT suggested, on account of something called “bought in services”. Foxley didn’t recognise the term and when he began asking about it, he received only vague non-answers about “things we buy in”.” 47 words that could have been set through “GPT used ‘bought in services’ to hide acquisition of Saudi top military signing for services” I simplified it in 15 words, one third and then I would set the situation to evidence, which is massively lacking here. Then we get the word ‘bribery’ used 13 times, but how? Once is to mention the Bribery Act which was passed in 2010. It is important three times. The first is “Foxley could not have known bribery was rife in Saudi Arabia” (i’ll get to this later) and “Not only had the government ratted him out to GPT when he discovered the bribery conspiracy”, so who did rat him out? And is ratting him out the correct phrase here? The third time is “The MoD and the government “had been running the scam, the bribery, since 1978, ever since the project was set up”” So, exactly what scam were they running? A scam implies that criminal acts are being committed by the UK government. What is the scam exactly and who is involved? Then we get the one setting where it is important. It is given with ““Do you know about the Cayman Islands?” Paterson asked. Over the following 90 minutes, the accountant set out a series of discoveries that implicated GPT in years of bribery and corruption. What neither man knew was that the scheme they had stumbled upon had been overseen and authorised for decades, in both Britain and Saudi Arabia, by the highest levels of government.” Here we get the following settings. The Cayman Islands and what evidence is there of bribery and corruption? The setting is given in the article as well. “It doesn’t invalidate the invoices and the payments to Simec” as such, bribery is merely a smudging word and there is no evidence of bribery or corruption. 

As I see it, the United Kingdom needs to walk a fine line to make deals with some nations and these high ranking officials are entitled to a commission, or a consultancy fee and as Generals were mentioned they are most likely allowed consultancy fees. I am using ‘most likely’ because I do not know Saudi law in these matters. In case of Simmer, that is up to the Saudi government. This article is a simple act of slinging mud, see what sticks and I fear it is very little as this article is missing all kinds of connections and evidence. So when we see “Eight Saudis received a collective £10m between 2007 and 2012 alone” and weirdly enough, this article doesn’t name these people as we are also given “the British government had authorised the entire scheme – had won out.” As such 7000 words to fulfill the setting that was decided over a year ago. So, what exactly was the meaning of this? Seems a fair question as there are settings that are not given, too much emotion in the entire article and a massive amount of facts that just aren’t there. 

So what was exactly the call for this article? To smear the Saudi Government? To smear the British government? As such we also get both Cook and Mason were acquitted. Then a mention that one of them is separately convicted for taking kickbacks, while he was a civil servant at the MoD, before he became part of the GPT. A simple unrelated misconduct offence.

In the end I wonder what this article served. It was not the truth (too much emotion and too little evidence for that), was this another anti-Saudi smear campaign? I am not sure but as we see the lack of evidence and no reference to the declassifieduk site, which could have been used to spice up the article. I reckon that this counterbalanced the article and the article would make even less sense. But that is merely my view on the matter.

Have a great day, 360 minutes until breakfast.

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August 8, 2025 · 04:49

What the flip?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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August 6, 2025 · 14:17

The implied stage

This is not fact, but it is implied and I will explain the logic behind this. Less than 24 hours ago  Time and Travel World (TTW) gave us ‘Tunisia Joins Spain, Mexico, Brazil, Costa Rica, Greece, Saudi Arabia, and UAE in the Booming Tourism Sector with Record Tourist Arrivals and Earnings in First Half of 2025: New Report’ (at https://www.travelandtourworld.com/news/article/tunisia-joins-spain-mexico-brazil-costa-rica-greece-saudi-arabia-and-uae-in-the-booming-tourism-sector-with-record-tourist-arrivals-and-earnings-in-first-half-of-2025-new-report/) Here we see among more given facts “Spain has been one of the top performers in the global tourism recovery of 2025. The country welcomed nearly 25.6 million international tourists in the first four months of 2025, marking a 7.1% increase compared to 2024. Spain’s tourism numbers have surpassed pre-pandemic levels, highlighting the nation’s enduring appeal. Notably, April 2025 set a record with 8.6 million visitors, marking a 10% rise from the previous year. This surge was driven by a strong recovery in both leisure and business travel.” This doesn’t seem like a lot. But take the slightly more complete setting of

This gives us 80,000,000 tourists most of them only able to pay for one vacation a year and they are not going to America. As such (and taking notice that this does not include Canada) I feel certain that the damage to American tourism will surpass the $29 billion we are currently given. How much more, that is hard to say. So whilst we are now given smash articles (as I call them) to voice applause for all the efforts that Epic Universe gives us in Orlando (and I do agree what I see on YouTube does look amazing) the American tourism industry will face at least until 2027 to return to some kind of normal and that is optimistically speaking. I reckon that it will take 3 years after President Trump leaves office for this to get back to some kind of normal. And I get that Florida is now casting the heave rods to get national tourism up. Yet without international tourists it will become a nasty time of hardship for the places that rely on international tourists. 

Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Florida, New York will all feel the pinch that these millions of tourists used to bring with fat wallets and they are now going anywhere else. That is money no longer in the bank of America and likely these people are unlikely to revisit America at present. A lot needs to change for that.

The most conservative calculations I get to implies that the losses for America start at $80 billion and might get to $115 billion by the end of the year. I also think that the Winter vacations are less likely to be affected. The snowboard and ski population tend to rely on what they know and slopes can be dependable. As such people who were bound for Aspen will return to aspen (the largest part), people tend to ski what they know and it makes for a loyal crowd. Places like Aspen have in addition a social side and these two make for a dependable setting. And it is not that place. Likely places like Deer Mountain Village (South Dakota) have a similar stage. But this implies that America needs to regain most of their losses from the winter vacation people. At this point there is no predicting on how the winter locations will be hurt by what is called the “visa integrity fee” and now we get the visa bond which will hurt winter tourism as that is a young persons game and they are massively unlikely to dish out ‘US to charge some foreign travelers up to $23,000 in visa bonds’ (source: ABC News), as such there is no way to tell how it will affect winter tourism, yet I feel certain that Whistler (Canada, B.C.) and Blue Mountain (Canada, Ont.) will be able to accommodate these people, and beyond that there is Europe with their snowy hills (aka mountains). 

So, at present I feel that the damage is likely to be the conservative number I gave earlier and it might be higher, but there is no data on this. This is a setting that has never happened before and as America is getting confronted on the silly notion that you can keep any hotel filled to over 90%, that cluster of delusional thinkers are getting a massive boost of reality at present. Three days ago we were given Las Vegas is empty, given to us by a ‘tourist’ wearing a Vegas Golden Knights polo. Now we see: ““Las Vegas is empty”: Viral video sparks alarming questions about US tourism decline” this is a bit late, isn’t it? I predicted some of these elements almost a week earlier. I never discussed Las Vegas airport, but that should have been done by the local people and now we see “Viral video sparks alarming questions”? How delusional do you need to get to the ostrich effect (bury your head in the sand) to avoid clear settings? This is setting the larger stage (source: money control) “The viral moment comes on the heels of an official report by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA), which noted a 6.5% drop in hotel occupancy and a fall in average room rates from $194 to $163. Even more alarming was a 41% year-over-year decline in traffic at Harry Reid Airport, according to the same report.” So, who had been sitting on these numbers? What doesn’t the American administrations want Americans want to know?

Simple question, yet are the answers as simple as it seems? When will Florida present the numbers and when will they sound the alarm? I simply crunched the numbers and I saw this a month ago (July 9th) in ‘Age of BS (Bill Sightseer)’ (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2025/07/09/age-of-bs-bill-sightseer/), as such where did you see this in American media? Only 14 hours ago, the American people were given ‘Orange County Tourist De­vel­opment Tax col­lec­tions surge 10.3% in June from a year ago’ and I need to give the larger setting. A Disney Tourist blogger gave us on May 25th “Epic Universe is almost empty. Dead. Devoid of guests. A ghost town.” Someone on YouTube gave a similar story but that is about it. Americans are allergic to bad news. I get that, none of us like this, but when the bills can no longer be paid as people al over Florida get the axe is news people need to know, but that might just be me. 

So the stage isn’t set, it is implied. A set stage has proper numbers and the media is giving half stories (as I personally see it) but the signs are clear. This doesn’t make it set stage, a mere implied stage and when the numbers come out in Q4 2025, a lot of people get a rude awakening and when they have invested in a bad and breakfast solution they might require a larger stage to survive the 3-8 quarters that follow. There is no way to be more precise than that.

Try to have a great day today.

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August 5, 2025 · 13:12

Where the coins are

Yup, there it is, I said it. The article (at https://ara.tv/4eecj) gives us ‘US, Saudi Arabia hold high-level defense meeting at the Pentagon’ and right of the bat, we are ‘fed’ a lie (as I see it). We are given “The Pentagon’s top policy chief called Saudi Arabia a “critical, longstanding defense partner” working to become more capable and self-reliant.” Why is it a lie? Well, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been waiting for inclusion into the F-35 program. So, even as Belgium is included into that program, they are still awaiting delivery. Belgium a European nation that was overrun by the German army in 18 days (it took so long as most German soldiers were on foot or on bicycle) that country is more prestigious than Saudi Arabia? #JustSaying

I reckon it is the reason that China is making massive headways into the Arabic nations. And there it is, the additional quote ““The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a critical, longstanding defense partner for the United States that seeks to grow more capable and self-reliant in its defense. We are working hard to partner with Saudi Arabia to enable it to do so,” Colby said in a post on X.” I wonder when the defense department relies on X instead of the world wide news to disperse that information. It is a hard thing to comprehend.

I reckon that America is so desperate for cash (now that they damaged their tourism industry) that they can only turn to China and Saudi Arabia for additional funds. As Saudi Arabia has a lot more oil, the UAE was overlooked. But the setting is here America needs coins and as such I would have thought that someone in the Pentagon (it is rumored that this is managed by people at 1690 Air Force Pentagon, Washington, DC 20330-1670)

That being said, someone should have whispered to them to include Saudi Arabia to the F-35 list, but who am I saying this? I am still happy to get a nice bonus from the Chengdu Aircraft Corporation (CAC) (at No. 88, Weiyi Road, Huang Tianba, Qingyang District, Chengdu City, Sichuan, China, postal code 610091) If you can’t beat them, join them I say. And I was always happy to get a nice (optionally fat) check. The new apartment will set me back $7M and there is the need to get some cash to the UAE (my optional Yas Island retirement location), as such bringing a customer the size of Saudi Arabia might get me my dream retirement.

As such you might wonder why this byline? That is easy as we are given “Colby welcomed Saudi efforts to build up its self-defense capabilities and “to make greater contributions toward achieving shared regional objectives,” Parnell added. The meeting came amid a series of recent US arms sales to the Kingdom. Earlier this year, the Trump administration approved a $3.5 billion weapons deal that included 1,000 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM) and 50 AIM-120C-8 guidance sections.” I say that either Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby has a doofus (aka dodo) as a personal assistant, or he has been missing briefs for years. Saudi Arabia steered to self reliance in several fields (including defense) even before 2019, so the response you read before might be seen as nothing less than a joke. As for the ‘funds’ already spend, as I see it, Chan is just as willing to receive such payment for its abilities for Saudi Arabia to defend itself. I get that there is one stronger and one weaker. But I do not know who that is between these two. As such it might be anyones guess. I suggest you ask someone at Raytheon who has the better equipment and why.

So it is nice to see this article and there is no blame on AlArabiya, but until it refers to America seeing Saudi Arabia as a full fledged partner in global defense by selling them the F-35, these stories come across like that moment in Oliver Twist asking for some more. Charles Dickens wrote about that little orphan in 1838, so it might have been a while. Still the setting of America bothers me, not the meeting with Saudi Arabia, but the building of not-so-good moments in several areas in America going from tariffs to tourism. America is bleeding and through their own actions they are bleeding allies just as quickly as anything else. Not even the penguins on McDonald Island are happy to see President Trump.

So as we are given the final quote ““Both leaders recognized US-Saudi defense cooperation as a force multiplier for regional security, and reviewed opportunities to deepen cooperation,” said Parnell, the Pentagon spokesman.” Well, as a non-Pentagon source might I suggest including Saudi Arabia as another party for the F-35? That should deepen cooperation by a lot. #JustSaying

It is moments like these that I wholly embrace the old saying “Sarcasm is great, when it backfires it become irony” and that is important too, so just in case AlArabiya is hungry for more stories, the address of the Chengdu Aircraft Corporation can be found in the story. 

Have a great day this Tuesday, it’s still Monday in Vancouver, so they get this article in about 14 hours.

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August 4, 2025 · 13:16

Saudization

A term I got introduced to last week. It stands for “the Saudi nationalization scheme and also known as Nitaqat, is a policy that is implemented in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by the Ministry of Labor and Social Development, which requires companies and enterprises to fill their workforce with Saudi nationals up to certain levels” I think it is a great idea. I think more countries need to embrace such a scheme for a few reasons. I believe it is essential that skills are moved locally to avoid being at the massive risk of an American need and that is a bad idea on a few levels. Now, this is not an anti-America sentiment, but the media (America too) have left us with the notion that we cannot be certain of almost anything and there is the larger setting that it goes to other countries too. Perhaps there is an Emiratization, an optional Indonesization (these two words might not exist) and several others (Pakistan, Bangladesh) and so on. So why is there not an open video channel with options on both YouTube and TikTok handing these skills? If I merely push this to myself. There is the option to train people (non-Arabic) in IBM Statistics (formerly known as SPSS) I trained people for over a decade and that is a skill that can be taught. Edit the movie with a localised soundtrack and you have a solution to optionally train dozens of people.

If we create a few hundred videos we could optionally train a whole legion of people and as the elder generation (including me) could leave a footprint handing this knowledge out to others we continue training people after we are gone. I also worked in call centers and whilst the world is filled with silliness and chases after AI, the skills that are out there will be lost soon enough. As such we (read: some)  need to create the stages for the next generation. Whilst all are on the AI train we might see a setting of dwindling down sources and in a decade when AI misses its target the world will suddenly see that they lost more than they bargained for. As such a video station that allows Saudization to grow into the people who cannot see what they need and can freely learn to grow their own future is a proper way to harvest talents where they freely grow.

So you might think that this comes for free and that might be the case. Yet the older generations feels that they can contribute to any setting that will listen. As such these skills will require verification so that quality will prevail. Yet is it such a hardship on the older generation? They contribute to all kinds of non profit organisations. Is it so hard to believe that they would assist in creating the future generations? The world is not what big corporations believe it to be, it is what the next generation wants it to be and as such this idea stands a chance. In the setting we see now it might benefit Saudi Arabia. Yet when these movies get a larger setting in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Uruguay and other places, we grow the knowledge in all kinds of directions and as it should be offered free knowledge will emboss all people, not just the ones who can afford it. 

It is just a little idea I am playing with, but I reckon that some governments will embrace what hundreds of people could contribute to their national causes.

Have a great day

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July 24, 2025 · 05:35

An interesting morning

This morning I was given an article by Amway media (at https://amwaj.media/en/article/why-china-cannot-sway-saudi-arabia-to-shift-away-from-us-weapons). It took me a second to let it sink in, but as it did, it took me back to May 27, 2023 when I wrote ‘Ding Ding, the premise is set’ where I gave my view on the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group and the dangers to America as it would be able to get the Government of Saudi Arabia as a new customer. The story (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2023/05/27/ding-ding-the-premise-is-set/) was not the first one that I had set and here (two years later) we get the setting “if Chinese weapons are more or less on par with their western equivalent, why does Riyadh still spend billions on American weapons?” Was that really the case? I believe it was that Saudi Arabia wanted to play nice so that they could get the F-35 stealth fighter, it is beyond me that America took that card out of the deck and as I stated that the Chengdu version could be ready to get China as a customer for it would have been a massive hit for America, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, BAE Systems, Pratt & Whitney and Raytheon. It would have been a massive coup for China and the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group. So as I read “When Pakistan’s Chinese-made J-10 fighters reportedly downed India’s advanced French-made Rafales during dogfights in May—including one confirmed by US officials—it marked a turning point: Chinese weapons had proven themselves against western counterparts in real-life combat” I actually read a simpler setting. Are the sales teams of the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group (and optionally Governmental China sales teams not hacking it? 

I am not a pilot (not even an aviator) as such I lack the knowledge to set the premise. But I would have given the setting of training one squadron of Saudi pilots in China on the grounds of Chengdu a very first priority. Getting pilots in the mindset of China would have been a first. Was that done? As such the quote ““One of the reasons why Saudi Arabia prefers western weapons over its Chinese equivalent is because Chinese weapons have not seen combat in recent years,” a researcher specializing in Middle East affairs at China’s Northwest University told Amwaj.media. “This may change now that the Chinese-made J-10 fighter jet has drawn its first blood”” I understand the premise, but I do not agree with it. As I see it, Russia and China are on decent par with America, They are always inching towards or ahead with each other. Don’t get me wrong, America has a great record, yet as I see it America has lately bungled a few fields. The first bungle is the USS Zumwalt, the ugliest ship in American navy (as I personally see it) and then there is issue with  key technologies, like specialized 155mm rounds, that are massively expensive. As such the Zumwalt class (that are set to just three vessels) for the grocery price of $8,000,000,000 per vessel. Making the destroyer decently more expensive than the USS Blue Ridge and a lot less operational, especially as ammunition of the Zumwalt is too expensive to afford (according to US Congress) that is a mere beginning. In 2021, I quoted (from ABC) “He said the combat jet currently had almost 900 design flaws, with seven considered critical.” This is in regards to the F35, as such China had options to get its foot in the front door (a bad manner sales technology) but at that point China gets the option to offer a solution to the Saudi government. It just occurred that this might be a reason. What if America isn’t keeping Saudi Arabia from the F35 for exclusivity, but to hide the fact that whatever Saudi Arabia gets will expose the flaws of the F35 to a much larger audience? I don’t know, I am merely postulating the thought of the reason why you want to keep an ally like Saudi Arabia away from a priced exclusive dinky toy (sorry, I just had to go there). 

The next setting is a decent one, Amwaj gives us “Yet, despite China offering cost-effective and no-strings attached alternatives, Saudi Arabia continues purchasing the majority of its weapons from the US. During President Donald Trump’s visit to the Kingdom in May, the two sides signed a historic 142B USD arms deal, the largest of its kind. This dynamic reveals the deeper truth in Saudi strategic thinking: purchasing weapons are more than commercial transactions, they are investments in a strategic partnership.” That could be the case, yet the way America treated Canada gives rise to the ‘strategic partnerships’ and that is on me, I could very well be seeing this wrong. But the flaws into America’s settings in design, in execution and in realism gives rise that Saudi Arabia needs to diversify beyond America. We are given “Eurofighter Typhoon, Rafale, and Gripen. While the Eurofighter Typhoon incorporates some low-observable features, it is not considered a true stealth aircraft like the F-35.” As such, as the Rafale was ‘defeated’, China becomes the one diversifying direction and most likely the better choice over the Sukhoi Su-57 (after all, NATO calls it a Felon). And there is a geopolitical setting against adopting the Russian variant, as such Chengdu wins. That is if America keeps on playing the F35 as a Trump card. 

I reckon that adapting Saudi pilots to the Chengdu solution is a first setting and if Saudi Arabia gets an $80B discount on overall purchases, over 3-4 years and I reckon that it would go a long way to get Saudi Arabia adapt to Chinese airplanes and that would be a massive win (for China), as it would set the stage for Egypt and Indonesia adapt the Chinese versions as well (an optional presumption). A stage where China goes from 1 to 3 customers might be very appealing to China (say: Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group) 

And this is the setting that Amwaj media exposed, well I set the premise at least 4 years earlier, but that is fine. Then we get the one true hard setting that Amwaj ‘exposes’. It is “Given Washington’s history of attaching political conditions to arms sales, Riyadh rightly fears that its predominantly American-made arsenal could become leverage to compel compliance. Most recently, this was seen in 2021, when the Joe Biden administration suspended offensive weapons sales in an effort to induce the Kingdom’s exit from Yemen.” The alternative, is that considered and correctly phased? If Saudi Arabia completely changes to Chinese weaponry, is that a hindrance or a opportunity? China will see it as a win, but it is not what China wants, it is what is preferred and what is best for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. That is the center stage and that is what matters. What is truly best for Saudi Arabia and that is up to the Saudi government. I have no idea because it requires several academic degrees and data that I have never had access to. Because if one domino topples, so will others. As such what is the Priceline and the cost of doing business. I might know some, but I have no idea on how the dominos are stacked. As such it is a bit of a minefield and whilst I would (as a commonwealthian) applaud the setting where Saudi Arabia adopts the Eurofighter Typhoon, there is a timeline to consider. It is not 5th generation and there is no real timeline for when the Eurofighter Typhoon gets to evolve into a 6th generation stealth fighter. And lets be clear, there are no clear timelines when its real enemy (the presumptuous Iran) becomes a real danger to Saudi Arabia and that is the flaw that is both a setting of hindrance and the optional danger block. These elements matter, but as I see it America needs to act, because the longer it delays, the larger the danger becomes that Saudi Arabia is forced to choice another direction and whatever direction Saudi Arabia selects would become a splinter in the board of toppling the America economy that America cannot undo, that much is clear and in this day and age, as America is alienating its allies, it needs to secure the settings it has. 

That is merely my view on the matter. Have a great day, 95 minutes until my breakfast.

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