Tag Archives: Syria

July 7, 2022 · 19:44

Interestingly unknown

It was the BBC that got me here. Their article ‘Arabs believe economy is weak under democracy’ (at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-62001426) has a few debatable sides, but these debates come from a preset mind that did not have access to all the evidence (read: raw data). Yes, that would be my mind, but the setting is interesting. And the mental race get tarted with “Michael Robbins, director of Arab Barometer, a research network based at Princeton University which worked with universities and polling organisations in the Middle East and North Africa to conduct the survey between late 2021 and Spring 2022, says there has been a regional shift in views on democracy since the last survey in 2018/19.” And when we get to ‘Rise in people who agree the economy is weak under a democracy’ we see that nearly all of them went up, only Morocco remains under 50%, the rest is higher and Iraq gets up to nearly 75%. It is interesting that a question ‘This country needs a leader who can bend the rules to get things done’ There too Morocco is in a doubt, but so are the Palestinian territories, the rest is largely in favour of that statement. In most cases, the economic challenges are on most minds and that makes sense. Only in Tunisia, Iraq and Libya is corruption a much larger fish than other nations. It is when we get to the question ‘More than one in three people ran out of money to buy more food’, the question seems trivial, but the fact that it is 68% in Egypt seems OK, it is the fact that the same question scores below 50% in Lebanon, Jordan, Morocco, and Palestinian Territories when we see the News from all kinds of sources the fact that food prices and hunger is not on the forefront in at least 2 nations comes across as weird to me, yet as I stated. I never saw the raw data and these results should be scrutinised. The lack of an N is several charts give rise to debate, Also, it seems nice to see percentages, but if Jordan has an N of 3500 and Libya has an N of 12500, the setting becomes slightly warped and weighting data is dangerous, especially when you compare different groups. There is a lot more, but that is not up for discussion without seeing the raw data and the complete report. But I am speaking too soon, you see at the end we see “The project interviewed 22,765 people face-to-face in nine countries and the Palestinian territories” yet the one thing I do not see it that the cultural stage towards government changes per region. You see Tunisia, I see Kibili, Sfax and Kef. And we can do that for each of the nations. Now it is possible that the Arab Barometer took all that in account, but I cannot tell at present and lets be clear. I am not attacking the article, or the results. I like the setting, but at all times I keep a skeptical mind awake. The setting that clearly shows the desire for strong leaders is nothing against a democracy, it is that democratic nations have largely shown nothing more than indecisiveness and ‘corporate corruption’ to coin a phrase. There is a lot more going on and the fact that the media is part of the problem is also a debatable setting in all this and the Arab nations have seen too much of that too, but that too is a debatable side in all this. In the end, the article is good reading and it does refer to sources and methodology. If only the BBC had thought a few matters through and added a few more parts, but as I stated, these thoughts are debatable, so I am putting myself under similar scrutiny, because I would hate to judge anyone on items that seem incomplete. And it is one of the final parts “It is of Arab world opinion, so does not include Iran, Israel or Turkey, though it does include the Palestinian territories. Most countries in the region are included but several Gulf governments refused full and fair access to the survey. The Kuwait and Algeria results came in too late to include in the BBC Arabic coverage. Syria could not be included due to the difficulty of access.” So the question is raised with “several Gulf governments refused full and fair access to the survey” Did that include Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Yemen? Yemen might be excluded for a few natural reasons, but the others? 

A setting that requires scrutiny, because the Arab voice with 6 missing voices? It does not make the other views invalid, merely debatable and optionally one sided as the UAE, Oman and Saudi Arabia are Monarchies, but that is merely my view on the matter.

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April 18, 2022 · 06:04

Escalations

Things escalate, this happens and sometimes it is part of a plan, at times it is not. The Ukraine issues can only escalate. If Vladimir Putin states that it is up to the other side we can safely conclude that he is massively delusional. In between headlines like ‘Russia’s unspeakable horrors in northern Ukraine: Torture, murder and cluster bombs’, ‘Russia’s mass rapes in Ukraine are a war crime. Its military leaders must face prosecution’ and ‘Second British soldier captured in Mariupol is paraded on Russian TV’ we see little other path than the path of escalation. Of course there was good news too. 

As speculation goes, the Russian navy is just as dependable as Russian tanks. They are both equally effective in adhering to gravity and the Russian cruiser Moskva is giving testimony of that at the bottom of the Black Sea. The Slava class, Soviet designation Project 1164 Atlant, a class of guided missile cruisers designed and constructed in the Soviet Union for the Soviet Navy, and currently operated by the Russian Navy. Well there were two, now there is one, so 50% of their guided missile class has been destroyed. Is that what they mean with ‘Slava Ukraina’? 

Anyway, escalation. The Dutch are possibly restoring their active duty needs, and many nations are adhering to this as well. There is every thought that Russia woke up a setting they were not ready for and their Nuclear arsenal is all they might have between defeat and utter defeat. With all the Nazi claims they made, we see more and more that their actions represent the Nazi activities. So in the end, will we see a Nuremberg like trial in Strasbourg where the defendants will all respond in the same similar way? We will hear all of them state “Я выполнял приказы”, but in the end in Nuremberg 161 were convicted, and 37 were sentenced to death. I wonder how many Russians will end up with a death sentence. We see rape, torture, murder of civilians, we see the bombing of hospitals, the deployment of cluster bombs and the indiscriminate executions of people trying to flee the war-scene. The drones recorded a lot more than that and the Russians will face the rim reaper in many ways. That and the stage that life of a Russian outside of Russia (or Cuba) is now a thing of the past. These are all escalations that are happening now and will be happening more in the next month. Even now as Forbes is contemplating a G20 without Russia, we see the long term damage and that turns Russia in a 3rd world nation. It was going good and then it turned nearly every nation on the planet in another direction. You see commerce requires trade and how much trade can Syria, Belorussia and Cuba offer? That and the end of Gas-exports are making for a nasty treasury coffer and whilst Russia depends on its army, the hardware that army needs is sinking, destroyed or out of gas. Escalations can go in any direction, yet history shows us that most escalations go in the wrong direction and Russia is experiencing this the hard way. We sometimes forget WW1. My Grandfather was there and as such I keep tabs on that event. Does anyone remember the fallout of WW1? The Treaty of Versailles (signed in 1919) and the 1921 London Schedule of Payments set a massive bill for Germany after WW1, I reckon that Russia faces an even steeper bill on the damage they did to Ukraine. I reckon that 90% of al Russians will pay 20% taxes on their income for 30 years to Ukraine. That is the setting of escalation and that is the consequence of waging war, its invoice has always been the harshest message. And as I consider what might be next, we might see a new NATO, an EU army with France leading it, it is the most ready and the best equiped at present. A setting both the UK and Germany would not have held possible a year ago. What a difference 53 days can make. 

I wonder if older and very grey Vladimir Putin has any idea what is coming his way in the short term?

They say that confidence cannot escalate to arrogance, it only happens if the blood of pride is running through your veins. Knowing that picking a fight with Ukraine was not the best idea to have, but it seems he is learning that the hard way. You can doubt me and it would be fair, just ask the captain of the Moskva, he is in the Black Sea somewhere. 

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April 5, 2022 · 19:13

The joke that was once CCCP

I grew up in the aftermath of the cold war. My friends and myself, my street friends as well as myself, we feared Russia, we worried about what they were able to do. Russia was regarded as very dangerous. Then the 90’s came. The stories of collaboration came, the stories of acceptance came and we rejoiced in part. There was an option of co-existence. We rejoices and we saw and hoped for the best. And for 30 years that continued. At some point there were sides in me that had a pro-Russian side. I abhorred the Chechen attack on Moscow civilian buildings. There was a side we all saw that Russia was not as bad as the Americans made them out to be. An afterthought of McCarthyism and I was wondering if America would ever learn their one sided hatred.

March 2022
The Ukrainian invasion is going on for about a week, for about a week we have questions, we wonder what set this in motion. What did the EU do, what did NATO do? But there is no clear answer and within a week we get to see the other side, the side that sanctifies the position of America. At present a dozen sources show me the Putin monster. The Russian acts of crime, transgressions of the articles of war, transgressions of humanitarian war and we see this all happen and we see governments do too little, or nothing at all. They send equipment, they send hardware, they send software but the Ukrainians fight by themselves (largely) and the 21st largest army on the planet is pushing back the second largest army in the world. The Russia we feared is losing hardware, people and morality. They lose on much larger scales than ever expected and Russia merely changes what the truth is on their TV stations and via trolls all over the world. There are some who fights these parties, but too little of them are there to make sure the people get to see the truth. The Guardian gave us in one instance “He said in one interview: “You see these atrocities and you are still not ready to do anything to make Putin lose his appetite for these atrocities. How can you sleep if you find strong words after these pictures, but do nothing? What else should happen so that the toughest sanctions are put on the table? Chemical attacks, or what is it you are waiting for?”” What is it you are waiting for is a generic question, it applies to governments as well as others and it applies to a lot of governments. Russia is done for. It could start a nuclear war, but all nations will turn on Russia that much they do know. China will not act until provoked but when they do it will be the end of Russia and it is not even close to the near end. 

The BBC gives us ‘Ukraine war: The Syrians signing up to fight for Russia’ (at https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-middle-east-60931180) there we are given “Social media in Syria has been flooded with requests for people to join Russian troops in return for up to $7,000 for deployment” how long do you think Russia can set this game? If these troops get paid after 6 months, they are stupid and they will die stupid, their families will get nothing. If they get paid ahead and they hand it to their families, the Ukrainians will end their lives and we will see two parts, A Syria without men, women with money and nowhere to go and Russia with even more debt. And that is not the end. Nations like the Netherlands are showing themselves to have too many pro-Putin people in too powerful places and that should worry NATO, when FVD party leader Thierry Baudet states that there is no Russian aggression. When we see the dozens of photographs, the cadavers burned, shot in the streets, the setting of a government too dangerous to be part of any decision maker stream involving NATO. There is a clear stage that this merely involved 2-3 people, but they have too much power and any intelligence going to Russia is not acceptable. We need to set a much stronger example and we need to make sure that politicians, just like the WW2 NSB politicians are set to example. If they want to run to Russia fine, but they better leave fast and no argument on ‘the stage of nuance’ will be accepted, not when one states “there is no Russian aggression” and we see dozens of photographs, videos of civilian bombings, shooting of civilians in the streets will be accepted as some form of nuance. I will personally hang that traitor in a tree and if I have to spend the rest of my life in jail for that, then so be it. 

And we are nowhere near the end yet. You see the Russian army is about to become a joke, a bad one at that and the deployment of Syrian troops in Ukraine merely because the Russians do not have the ability makes me wonder why we were ever nervous about Russia. It makes me wonder what the Russians are about, when they have such a political and military engine, when they openly and knowingly support inhumane actions against civilians, what is left of a once proud nation is not worthy of writing down. I believe that Piers Morgan stated it best “How much of a cowardly society have we become?” As I see it, the Russian bear was defeated buy Paddington bear and the other nations were for the most on the sidelines watching. And lets not forget, their inactions is what Russia is using to gain Syrian fighters and that is the next round of slaughter we get to see and it is clear that Putin is not about diplomacy, it is to satisfy the need for blood, to make sure that if Ukraine wins, it will be on the premise of scorched earth. 

And we all have front row tickets to watch these events unfold. 

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March 23, 2022 · 23:28

Obsessed with doubt

We all have that at times, doubt comes in and does not leave. Sometimes it does not matter, trivial settings, unimportant settings and settings we do not care about. Then we get the important settings, the ones we care bout, we are passionate about, even if it is in the second degree. In some cases we can program around it if it is our own design (like IP) sometimes we cannot and it gets to us, because we would want to know. If it matters on a larger scale and I have been stumped on a few matters. The circle completed when something passed my eyes that was unrelated. The parts just clicked and for anyone that is a different path and a different way of resolving. We all have our tools and methods to deal with doubt. 

The resolving part
Around 4 hours ago (at https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-60843262) we are given ‘Evan Neumann: US Capitol riot suspect gets asylum in Belarus’, so one of the man connected to the Trump Tantrum in the US Capitol on January 6th 2021. He got asylum in Belarus, one of Russia’s tools. The man could have gone to China, the Russian Federation, Namibia, the United Arab Emirates, North Korea, Bahrain, Belarus, chunks of the Middle East, chunks of Africa and a few other places. This man went to the place that directly supports Russia and their Campaign, so why is that? The entire BBC article reads like a lie, which is not on the BBC. Yet when I see ““I do not believe that I have committed any crime,” he said. “One of the accusations was very upsetting. It is alleged that I hit a police officer. That is baseless.”” I wonder how stupid this all sounds and how on earth the Republican Party keeps on protecting in what I personally see is a loser who keeps on running to court ‘Trump files appeal against Manhattan judge in latest bid to overturn subpoena’ and the American people do not catch on? How stupid can people get? 

An earlier stage
In the earlier stage we see (at https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/1/9/saudi-arabia-may-run-out-of-interceptor-missiles-in-months-ft) a stage weeks ago when we are given “The situation represents the latest test for US-Saudi relations, which President Joe Biden’s administration has sought to reshape in light of the October 2018 murder of Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi operatives in Istanbul.” The stronger language that followed was an American sign to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Which in light of ‘US sends Patriot interceptors to Saudi to ease tensions’ (at https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/21/us-sends-patriot-interceptors-to-saudi-to-ease-tensions-reports) 8 weeks later seems odd, well not if you take into consideration oil prices. Which as I mentioned in earlier articles aligns with biting the hand that feeds you. And the mention of “Riyadh has also voiced anger over the Biden administration’s decision to remove the Houthi movement from its list of “international terrorist organisations”, although Washington in recent months has mulled reversing the decision following a series of drone and missile attacks on the United Arab Emirates (UAE)” does not help the US of A, especially as the mention of Iran is slimmer than slim. The absence of simple investigations like How could Houthi forces manufacture these drones is blatantly absent, Iran is deeper involved and denying that any longer is no less than an absolute insult, but the media does not seem to think that matters, the US and the EU do not seem to think that matters. They still believe that a deal is possible all whilst that was never was a deal in the making. Iran is simply watching how the Russia setting plays out to see if there is a weaker deal to be made, and the stage is not done playing. 

Even earlier we saw
It all came after the story (at https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/21/ukraine-war-exposes-cracks-us-ties-middle-east-allies) giving us ‘Russia-Ukraine war shows cracks in US ties to Middle East allies’, I had issues here. Russia is part of OPEC, as such they have the table in places. The US wants Saudi Arabia and the UAE to take stands, but why should they? It is not THEIR war, it might become so, but for now it is not and if people have an issue with that, talk to Syrians and Yemeni’s who have been waiting for the US and the EU to make moves for years. Inactivity is not so much fun when you need and answer is it? So when we are given ““Al-Assad coming to the UAE, shortly after the Gulf Arab country voted to abstain from a UN Security Council resolution condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine last month, tells us that the Emiratis are very serious about asserting their autonomy from the United States,” said Giorgio Cafiero, CEO of Gulf State Analytics, a Washington, DC-based geopolitical risk consultancy.” We can accept the line “the Emiratis are very serious about asserting their autonomy from the United States”, I am not convinced that this is the real reason. The plays give us that these nations are making the plays that do not box them in and Syria is a larger player and it makes sense that the UAE will have questions that no one would set to a simple call, a face to face meeting between two heads of state makes sense. I agree that there are cracks, yet that stage was set by the US, and it was done on a collection of moves, all populist actions and they are now biting the current administration and the current administration made several of these moves.

Yet these are the thoughts as I ended up with and they have doubts here, they do and I admit this. Yet the media is no longer a reliable source and I feel uncertain who will give us the truth not the political play and it involves the media and the United Nations. But what do you do when the sources are a source of doubt? It is not a puzzle, it is a question, I have some ideas but for now they are mine to have and you need to find yours. 

For me the situation is simplified. If there is too much doubt in one direction, see what truths another direction can give you and this is not a simple matter, some give credence to sources when others see debatability in those sources. And with me doubt is an obsession, I need to take doubt apart piece by piece and see what cogs are getting hindered, that is how I roll. You might have different methods. We all have our ways.

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March 20, 2022 · 13:33

Coin number two

Yes, after the first coin (previous article) the second coin becomes a reality. Yet this coin is a lot more speculative, there is a side we do not know, we cannot know because we are not in the know. Anyone not part of their operations, is not privy to a lot of it and those who are not and make claims are lying to you. That is a simple truth. I am not in the know, I do not know and I speculate, or I make educated guesses, and I tell you that I do, but the truth of the matter is that I am NOT CIA, so I cannot tell what they are doing. 

Yet here we hit a snag. You see the BBC gave us yesterday ‘Ukraine: How crowdsourcing is rescuing people from the war zone’ (at https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-60785339), so there we see that civilians are more successful and more clued in than the CIA is? How screwed up is that? So in the article we get “They, in turn, send information in real-time about safe roads to drivers who can rescue busloads of people”, as well as “they are crowdsourcing safe passage out of a war zone.” And this differs from CIA extractions… how exactly?

A stage that could have been set up from the very beginning and the US did not do this. A stage that would have been on the forefront of GCHQ and MI6 from the beginning. But there is a seemingly large lack in activities by a few intelligence operators aren’t there? Is this evidence that there is a lack of funds, an indication that there is a larger lack of resources? Or is it mere speculation from my side and are they operating through crowdfunded operations? It is all speculations and it is less about the speculations and less about who is right and who is wrong. It is about what can be done and what should be done for the Ukraine. I get that, I am not singular or selfishly driven. But some out there are and their game is costing lives. I understand that governments for the most cannot get directly involved. But between full in and not in at all there is a difference and I am starting to rack up the questions on how governments did not act in Syria, how they knowingly and intentionally delayed nearly all actions in Yemen, now we see too many players dragging their heels in Ukraine. The jet setting between Poland and Ukraine and the connected US and Poland actions should have raised a lot more questions then were actually asked. The stage is larger, I get that. Yet the connected inactions should raise questions. Reuter gave us three days ago ‘UK says there is “very very strong evidence” Russia’s Putin behind war crimes in Ukraine’. Really? Very strong evidence? How is that for flaccid? And the UN, on March 2nd they gave us that Russia committed war crimes, yet how many actions were taken by governments? When we rack those tallies and we see inactions we can (speculatively) conclude that governments are either too poor, or too poorly stacked for any actions. And we wonder why China does not act and why Russia does not care?

Questions are coming and no answers are coming forward, not even by the media on either side of that equation. That’s just a thought for Sunday. 

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March 18, 2022 · 21:22

Don’t we have enough problems?

This started this morning. It started when three messages passed by my Chromebook. The first was (at https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/16/un-aid-drive-to-avert-yemen-catastrophe-falls-far-short) called ‘UN aid drive to avert Yemen catastrophe falls far short’, so in short, the UN cannot get it done, big surprise here (not really). The second one was from a different corner. The second one was Arab News (at https://www.arabnews.com/node/2044566/saudi-arabia) which gives us ‘Saudi Arabia pumps $19bn into Yemeni aid program: KS relief chief’, so if I see this correctly, the UN was unable to get it done raising only $1.3bn at Wednesday’s conference in Geneva, a little short of the $4.24bn they had hoped to get, a mere 30%, so we see the failure of one, all whilst the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is pumping $19,000,000,000 into that place. And of course it comes with “He added that Saudi Arabia would continue to support Yemen through relief and humanitarian programs in coordination with international and local partners.” Yet the other side, the UN did not really give any notice of the efforts of Saudi Arabia does it, even as Arab News gives us “The event was also attended by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, President of the Swiss Confederation Ignazio Cassis, Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs Anne Lindy, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths, and Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador to the UN in Geneva Dr. Abdulaziz Al-Wasel”, I saw no mention in the end in western papers. I did however find something else. 

The Sydney Morning Herald gives us (at https://www.smh.com.au/culture/celebrity/ex-bachelorette-georgia-love-slammed-for-instagram-posts-promoting-saudi-arabia-20220317-p5a5lf.html) the stage of ‘Ex-Bachelorette Georgia Love slammed for Instagram posts promoting Saudi Arabia’ and there we see “Georgia Love and Lee Elliott, who found romance in 2016 on the second season of Network 10’s The Bachelorette, have sparked controversy after the pair posted Instagram photos of themselves promoting tourism in Saudi Arabia.” The article by Robert Moran calls for more, hiding behind commenters whilst the SMH has not informed us on more than one occasion that Houthi terrorists were attacking civilian targets. The SMH also did not inform the people on the $19,000,000,000 event from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia all whilst the UN could not get 25% done, they raised less than 10% of what Saudi Arabia contributed. If we are all bout fair and balanced, we need to start being fair and balanced. Iran executed 280 people in 2021, so where is THAT Sydney Morning Herald article? 

Is Saudi Arabia a perfect nation, no it is not. Neither is Australia, a nation who refuses to do anything about ageism. Two people promoted tourism in a nation we are not at war with, two people are doing something to open doors that others cannot be bothered knocking on. 

I think that the SMH dropped a few too many issues to be knocking on some door regarding promoting a nation. Oh, and before I forget it should I get that notion in similar ways, I would offer the 5G IP I have to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia long before I would EVER offer it to Australia! Although, I would try to sell them some other IP first, including a story on how to assassinate a politician.

See how long it takes people to consider that Telstra is an increasing problem, not some solution. We see mere greed driven responses, instead of catering to the larger setting of the people. The AFR (Australian Financial review) gave us two weeks ago “A major upgrade of NBN services in country Australia will be part of a multibillion-dollar regional infrastructure package to be included in Treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s pre-election budget.” And you think this is god for the people. No, it was because ‘Major NBN upgrade planned to fight off Musk’s Starlink’, so why is Elon Musk with his Starlink a negative thing? Is it because it is bad, or because it is bad for players like Telstra and their ‘friends’? If I look at all the issues we face, I think we have more than enough problems. And the anti-Saudi rhetoric whilst WE never did anything in that region when it mattered is just insane, but we are their for Ukraine, it is politically convenient. I reckon the Syrians and the Yemeni’s will have to live with that decision. 

So whilst news dot com dot au “Georgia Love and partner Lee Elliot have deleted their Instagram posts promoting Saudi Arabia but they can’t hide from those tagging them”, it is just another another set of bullies who do not know what they are talking about, because certain media prefers not to inform them. And in the end, do I care? Nope, I never seen of followed Georgia Love. I personally think that the Bachelorette and like minded programs are a waste of my time. But I do care about bullies and that should be on the front of the line. So how much reporting did Robert Moran do on Iranian culture? Their humanitarian efforts? You see it is more likely not his cup of soup and the fact that a person like Georgia Love made the papers (or internet) means that he had nowhere else to look regarding culture. So whilst ABC gave us ‘Women are isolated in sports media, we need more allies for real and lasting change’ three hours ago, the Sydney Morning Herald was all about bully tactics, that is how I personally see it and it is sad that some resort to that, but on the plus side, I can at least make the claim that I tried to better the world by melting down an Iranian nuclear reactor, how is that for cancel culture? In all the issues we face Georgia Love should have been a blip on the radar at present, I personally reckon certain people got upset with the effort and the SMH obliged. That is my take on the matter, but then I could be wrong. You make up your own mind on where I stood, right or wrong?

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March 14, 2022 · 21:41

Two issues connected

It is easy to see the connection, but at that point one wonders whether the real connections are made. The first article is ‘White House faces oil standoff with Saudi Arabia and UAE as prices soar’, the article (at https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/mar/13/white-house-us-joe-biden-oil-output-prices-saudi-arabia-uae) gives us “Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader, Mohammed bin Salman, and his counterpart in the United Arab Emirates, Mohammed bin Zayed, are yet to agree to a phone call with the west’s most powerful man”, my takeaway is the question whether the ‘west’s most powerful man’ is actually that. We also get “Each capital is a major supplier of oil, with excess capacity, which would soften the effect on US consumers through fuel prices before midterm elections in November that threaten Democratic control of Congress” and this is enough for article one. We see a few issues, the oil pries are still soaring and so far that so called most powerful man has not really achieved anything, has he? 

In the second article called ‘Iran suspends talks with Saudi, slams Riyadh’s executions’ (at https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/iran-suspends-talks-with-saudi-arabia-nour-news-2022-03-13/), which is kinda hilarious, especially as Iran had 299 documented executions in 2021. Yet the story also gives us ““Iran has unilaterally suspended talks with Saudi Arabia,” Nor News said, without providing a reason. It said no specific date had been scheduled for a new round of talks”, not unexpected, but that is the effect of diplomacy with a toddler like Iran. You see I think there is more to it. I think Russia is trying to put the pressure on the west, the US is the weakest with its ‘nuclear deal’ ego. And as Iran suspends talks they continue to enrich uranium. Delay after delay until it is too late. 

Am I correct?
To be honest, I am not certain, I could very well be wrong. But consider Russia entanglement in the middle east and especially with Iran, it wants to play tits for dad (oops) by withholding the milk (oil) and this play seems to be actually working out. President Biden did this in part to himself. And now the larger stage is pushed into directions it should not have been going in. Yemeni’s and Syrians feel more and more betrayed by the west, and honestly, I cannot blame them for that. 

My issue is that Russia is playing a way too dangerous game, as they are now part of the delays, Iran might finish what it wants and when that goes the wrong way and Israel gets its first nuclear detonation, the bars are sealed. The USA must prove its word or be seen as flaccid and irrelevant on the political stage. And their play (as I mentioned in previous articles) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was badly managed and even worse constructed and now that the US is desperate for cheaper oil they will feel the sting of biting the hand that was feeding them. It was bad already and now there is every indication that Russia is making matters worse via Iran. 

Russia is the connection. It is souring the Nuclear deal, and it has a handle on the Middle East to some degree, how much I cannot tell, but some who can are not talking (for obvious reasons) and that sets the sliding scales for the US who is now on a worsening scale economically. Even as some state that oil prices are going down, I personally feel that it is temporary. It is nowhere near the old price and there are chances that it will go back to $123.70 (March 8th) and optionally higher than that. President Biden could influence it positively, but if he does not succeed then the first sign of failure is shown and the Russians want that because for them the Republicans are easier to deal with (allegedly). For President Biden it all hangs here, He is down in the senate, but if he loses even one more seat the senate will be overwhelmingly republican and that COULD happen. He has a majority in the house, but only by 11 seats and there is no guarantee that he can hold onto them. When the house is lost as well, the Democratic Party will find obstacle after obstacle and that is what they signed on for. 

The failures in the middle east, especially Iran will haunt this administration for a long time to come. And the oil prices? Well that is still up n the air, but there are indications that this will not go their way either, it is wholly due to the way they dealt with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. 

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March 1, 2022 · 22:51

The thin ice

We all step on it at times, at the moment it is me, I am standing on the thin ice, but I feel it is important to stand here. I see all the anti Russian propaganda and tweets and I get it, I really do. But then two events were shown that made me wonder. The first one was given to us by Reuters. It was (at https://www.reuters.com/world/us-orders-12-russian-un-diplomats-leave-by-march-7-russian-envoy-2022-02-28/) ‘U.S. expels 12 Russian U.N. diplomats over security concerns’, not just diplomats, UN diplomats. It is true, the UN value has been overrated for some time, but in this case, I am not sure it is a good idea. The article gives us “The U.S. mission to the United Nations described the Russian diplomats as “intelligence operatives” who had been “engaging in espionage activities that are adverse to our national security.”” It does have the term ‘national security’, so I reckon we will not hear the actual truth until 2042. Then we get “Those diplomats that have been asked to leave the United States were engaged in activities that were not in accordance with their responsibilities and obligations as diplomats”, I cannot oppose it, I cannot disagree with this, because I actually do not know, but it was ‘months’ in some setting of investigation and they chose today of all days to come forth with this? That does not make it not true, but it raises questions, it raises several questions and I am not the person with the answer. Perhaps they interfered with the US shakedown on oligarchs, perhaps they were actual spies. And when I saw it I initially shrugged and let it go. But then David Heroux (CBC) gives us the image below and it is important to see it. 

You see, I have always been a fan of the idea to keep politics OUT of sports. Sports are to be left alone, now that does not mean that it is always possible, but really? Throw the Russian Paralympic committee out? Of all the places they COULD have been thrown out, that was the Paralympic place. And at present the least said about the UEFA and FIFA their actions the better, these money grabbing dodo’s are not worth any consideration at all.

You see, this is not merely about the Russians, it is about us. What did WE actually do in Syria? What did WE do when there was a chemical attack? The US was cowardly enough to keep to the left and out of it, yes that was not what they investigated. The doctors reported, the US has several satellites overhead, but NO ONE saw anything. Then we see a similar setting in Yemen again. How many actions AGAINST Iran were taken, I am not talking about economic sanctions. I am talking ACTUAL actions. Some might have seen news (somewhere in 2021) that Iran exported more oil, yet did not make more money, they stated that middle men gained more profits, so the CIA and FBI can hand over a list of those middle man people can it not? I reckon not. A nation that is bankrupt needs every coin they can get and this game has been going on for years.

It is the hypocrisy we see. I am all for Ukraine, I think they are allowed everything we can offer, but that was not the case for Syrians, that was not for Yemeni’s was it?

I get it, that some people have vested interests and that is fine, governments should keep vested interests out of it. At present Syrians and Yemeni’s wonder why the Ukraine can get help in days, whilst they were waiting for years. I cannot explain that injustice, can you? So, I here admit that I am on thin ice, I really do. Yet there is a larger injustice seen and it should not stop people from helping people in the Ukraine, but they need to understand that there have been fires going on since March 2011. I would state that we do not close ALL the doors towards Russia, which makes me wonder about the UN issue, but I admit, it might have valid reasons, the timeline is just a little too warped and there the media is optionally equally at fault. Yet at present I feel convinced we need to keep politics out of sports, there will be a time when that informal route is the only route we have and we should keep it safe, in addition we keep the athletes out of politics, games are for us all, politics are (alas) not. We are given an hour ago by the Guardian ‘Russia’s NHL hero Alex Ovechkin has a rare chance to hit Putin where it hurts’, I disagree. He is an athlete, in the NHL and he is very good. He is not someone’s political tool. We get that people need to speak out, and if he does it of his own accord that is fine, it is his right. But it is not ours to make him our political tool. A lot of people might not agree with me, but that is where I stand. I get it, in the past he was pro-Putin, his choice and at present he most likely regrets this and it is his option to alter that course (make amends seems to crass). It is not treason, he is still Russian, he merely plays a game in the US an he is one of the best on the planet. We all make mistakes, some small, some larger. Yet should he be held accountable for actions he cannot control when the CIA refuses to shine the limelight on Iranian actions because the national security agenda has different topics? There are two measurements in play and we are fed both at the same time. It is dangerous and it is wrong. Feel free to disagree (it is your right) yet also take time to ask people in Syria and Yemen how they feel about these two measurements. Just my thoughts on the matter.

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February 28, 2022 · 20:34

The new IP, the old stage

Yes, that is the station I found myself in this morning. It was not completely new to me, I did write about it in the past (too tired to find the exact article as I have written in excess of 2250 articles at present), but the stage is a little different now. Consider war (see the TV for specifics), we know it and it is now closer to many homes than it was months ago. But we nearly always played an EA or Ubisoft version with respawning NPC soldiers. What if the setting is staged finite and no spawning all over the place? What if the stage is London, Munich, Amsterdam or Paris? A stage where you get inserted into a random location and your war-zone is a 10 block radius from there. Google Maps has nearly every detail, so do other mapping solutions. And you could be defending, escorting local civilians and giving aid. You get no choice until you get to a certain rank. How long would YOU last? It is time to teach the gaming soldiers a little realism. And when you face that you think different on Call of Duty Beachhead with high realism. That is nothing! I think some people are catching on what it is like, somehow they take more notice on events in the Ukraine than they ever did in Yemen or Syria. I like games that have NEVER be done before. A lot of my IP is set to stages never done before and that is where we optionally see a side of gaming that is totally new and innovative. Others were there before you with other games (several examples in this year alone) and I believe that this is the way to go, whether it is a console or streaming system, innovation beats iteration EVERY. Time. 

And as these systems are more powerful, we get a setting where we can launch a game like that (or kart) in our own streets, redefining gaming realism acceptance on a few levels. I remember seeing Red Dawn, the Chris Hemsworth edition (I saw both editions) and when we see one of the kids state “We are living Call of duty and it sucks”, I heard someone giggle behind me stating that this would be cool. Yes, the response of a wannabe soldier. I however was in the Middle East, I saw what Hamas did, I saw the bodies. That wakes you up real fast and perhaps a game is not the worst setting to educate people. It has been done before and perhaps it is time to unite these elements. I don’t know, is it wisdom or folly to go that way? I honestly do not. On one side I am merely creating new IP, but I want something deeper in gaming IP, and amazing story (Horizons Forbidden West) is one way to go, when it goes to stories the game Portal (by Rob Swigart) is another direction and that can be equally fulfilling. Still there is a call, not one of duty, but one of fulfilment. We all have it, we want to plant our flag, set our footprint and leave some kind of legacy. When you are a dedicated gamer, we all want to be a Sid Meier, a Peter Molyneux or a Richard Garriott. Not everyone are driven to release mutant camels and that is fair, but where we will be going (streaming systems) and what is possible is almost at the touch and I personally think it is important to push Microsoft out of this market before there way remains the only gaming-less option.  The problem is that it would have been easier if Google had taken up some form of game creation department and with the fact that gaming revenue is predicted to be $138,000,000,000 by 2023 is something that seems overwhelmingly attractive, but that is me and for now my idea to sell 50,000,000+ systems remain under lock and key (on a cloud location far far from home). But it is merely one direction and there are plenty of other directions, the revenue speculation opens those doors and even as a large chunk is set to microtransactions, the people are seemingly fed up with the EA and Ubisoft stage of microtransactions. I also gave a few other options (go look for them) and they are largely set to streaming systems. So is there an upside to THIS IP I now mentioned? No, it is merely another road one could wander, and it is here because I cannot wander them all and I am handing my ideas for free use to Amazon and Sony developers. It is a choice I made as Google decided not to create games. The old stage is seemingly fading, or at least I think it is fading, and what is around the corner is almost within reach and it will be bright and exciting, that is what I think, you might think different and rely on great franchises (like Gran Turismo) to set your beaker of desire. That is fair, gaming is what YOU want it to be, I merely want there to be alternatives for you to consider trying.

That’s how I roll.

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February 26, 2022 · 23:19

I had to take this one

I was alerted to an article in the BBC, the article was about 10 hours old and gives us (at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-60499391) in the headline, but only once and it does not replicate.

You see the setting of ‘Putin saw America has become weak under Biden’ is wrong, it did not become weak, it was weak and has been for some time. Getting a bully to talk loud does not make America less weak. The American inactions regarding: 

  • Chemical attack Homs Syria 2012
  • Chemical Attack Douma Syria 2018
  • Houthi terrorist attacks Yemen 2014-2022
  • Ukraine under Russian attack 2022

As you can see, Americans are all talk and lack actions. It is not because they do not want to act, it is because they can no longer act. A debt surpassing $30,000,000,000,000 is making sure that this cannot happen, the US has become nothing more than a paper tiger. And let’s be clear, this is not merely the US, the EU is in a similar state. How I went to school and heard these preaches and stories, that if there was ever a chemical attack, the nations would unite against the attackers. In 2012 we saw the reality of what was preached for decades, they merely united and scolded the transgressor making very sure that words like ‘seemingly’ and ‘alleged’ were everywhere in that text. We saw a repetition, with the western media not reporting on Iranian involvement and remaining silent on Houthi attacks on civilian targets, the United Nations added to this by calling out one party and not the other one (Iran). The complete view on the uselessness of western politics set in action.

So when we get ‘told’ the simplicity of “America has become weak under Biden”, it did not, it was weak and will become weaker still. It is the order of things when your credit card is telling you to stay at home whilst the neighbours house is on fire and you cannot afford to buy a bucket. You do not want to let the neighbour know that you cannot afford a bucket, so you set in motion talks, but the neighbour does not want to talk, HIS HOUSE IS ON FIRE! 

/so when Al Jazeera reports ‘New sanctions come as Yemeni rebels ramped up attacks against Saudi Arabia and the UAE in recent weeks’ (at https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/23/us-issues-new-sanctions-on-alleged-houthi-financing-network) 3 days ago, my response is that the US gets a functional navy that can stop smugglers, so far I have seen less than 3 successes over a time of 6 years (at least) and we see how the US Navy seemingly cannot stop anything. That is not their fault (I think) and there could be half a doze reasons, but let’s be clear, the western media to a much larger degree is silencing that part all over the place. And we can shelter on the setting that no one cares about Syria and Yemen, but the Ukraine is too close to home (for the EU) and now we get to see the blame game, we get to see the opposite side, just like the US and EU were silencing any issue on Iran, we now see ‘China refuses to call Russia’s move on Ukraine an invasion’ (source: Australian Financial Review). So how does that feel? The blunt question is ‘Why would China care about Ukraine?’, Why would China push for a setting that it does not need to do? I do not think it is right, I merely think it is as it is. 

We need to accept that inaction comes with consequences and a consequence now is that Russia wants EU expansionism stopped and Russia took the step it felt it could take and that sucks for the Ukraine, but the inactions of the EU and the US (economic sanctions are not real actions), and I am proven right in another BBC article where we saw yesterday “Ukraine isn’t in America’s neighbourhood. It is not located on the US border. Nor does it host a US military base. It does not have strategic oil reserves, and it’s not a major trade partner”, it was the sad truth for Syria, for Yemen and now for the Ukraine. It is what the US calls policy and that is their take on it, it doesn’t make any president weak, but as I see it, when you need to set a filter to that degree, it also implies that you are no longer a superpower, especially if you cater to Iran who allegedly is now (or will be soon) enriching Uranium to 20%, so when this escalates in the state of Israel and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, will it still a stage of inaction? I reckon so, the debt will remain for decades giving China and Russia an almost uncensored way to change the political map all over the Far East and the Middle East. Now there will be people who do not agree, and that is fair. I would merely like to point out that the past has proven me right and the present is merely continuing the stage that I am still not wrong. 

Europe is in danger of a lot more than you think and it seems that in this case the US is not playing the game to the harder degree, they seemingly no longer can.

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