Tag Archives: UK

November 16, 2023 · 20:24

Just a tally

Yes, we like our tallies, it gives us a feel of accomplishment even if what is behind that tally is beyond our control. I have tallied my way through life and even as some was directly applicable to me, some was not.

Yet there is a realisation and it sets off at the very beginning. The realisation of comparison. I might have a tally that includes 2 21 year old women, 1 22 year old and 4 23 year old, without comparison and meaning it is a little hollow. If it is your ‘black book’ some will applaud, when it is your achievements in a retail shop a lot less so, especially when it involved a mall.So one with out the other is meaningless and the other way around it tends to be pointless.

So here we are looking at

And we are given the numbers. But what does it mean? You see the Dutch Army had at the height of the cold war age 1000 tanks, at the moment according to some sources it merely has 18 tanks (no idea how correct that is). And as you see, the Russians have lost 5,362 tanks during its Ukrainian offensive. This becomes a whole different crumbled cookie when you consider that (according to one source) has 12,556 tanks. Now the tally becomes a much larger consideration. This implies that on what I consider to be a meaningless war, a war of terror they lost 42% of all tanks, as such the Russian armoured assault power has almost diminished by 50%, that ain’t nothing that is half the battle gone against an armed force that was considered 21st on the world ranking list. As such the tally continues and when you consider that they lost 22 warships, all whilst the UK has a total of 70 warships. This might not seem much against the 290 that Russia is supposed to have, but if the spread of that navy is anything to go by Russia is indeed in trouble on several fronts. Now we might giggle and expect scenes from the battleship Potemkin to become a reality. The supply and support issues we have seen in recent days might not make that setting too unrealistic. Now that Ukraine has access to more modern airplanes, the 322 they lost will up by a lot soon enough. Yet they were supposed to have 900 of these bad boys and well over q third is now gone and that was before the F16’s were roaring over Ukrainian sky. A meaning less war, based on lies and Russia seemingly have lost 50% of its tanks and 33% of its fighter jets and that is all before we see the losses of helicopters and 313,000 troops. On the other hand that means that over 250,000 Russian women are cold at night. Can we reintroduce the concept of prima nocta in St Petersburg? 

I might not be a monarch, but at times I am just like any other horny little teenager. Is it fair? Nope, but they weren’t fair on Ukraine either so something needs to give. In addition, this might be the first time in history that Russian gender imbalance was so outspoken, as such beyond the military parts, the Russian social parts will also see changes and impacts all over the field. In addition, as the gender curve changes, the jobs that have been overwhelmingly male will also change. It will not immediately meltdown the economic vibe in the larger cities, but there will be a larger impact. There is no upside for Russia, the dead do not contribute and it cost the Russian government nothing. Conscription is up and when over 17 you can now be drafted into the Russian army. On the other side we see “aims to increase spending by around 25% in 2024, with record amounts going on defense” yet that is also a loaded stage. You see tanks ned time to get assembled, planes need assembly and the labour force required is currently down by a lot. All that I saw coming close to a year ago. We are also given (source: ABC News) “Record low unemployment, higher wages and targeted social spending should help the Kremlin ride out the domestic impact of pivoting the economy to a war footing, but could pose a problem in the long term” and no one considered the impact of no tenants, the pricing bubble of apartments, especially in St Petersburg and Moscow and several other linked factors. All that was optionally visible with a mere tally. 

When you diminish 300K people it might not seem a lot on the scale of Moscow (12 million) or St. Petersburg (250K) but overall that impacts start counting in several ways and there is one little thing the Russians overlooked. The dead do not pay taxation, so how will that increased budget come to pass? Something will have to give way and that doesn’t spell well for the current population of Russia. Suddenly my reference towards prima nocta doesn’t sound too weird, does it? You see we overlook that in WW2, the Nazi’s relied on 34,000 women over 500 Nazi-run brothels across occupied Europe to keep their troops in check. So how long until Russia takes a page from that charter? 250,000 women all manless and all serving mother to be Russia. The tally does not make sense, but to some it starts adding up to a new setting and behind all that is Bratva, a group overlooked by too many and now that their bosses have lost their capital in the west and their homes all over the west they will start getting creative fast. When you see the tally and what it connects to you get new iterations of what could be, not what should be and the nice thing about a tally it is a one dimensional application of simple numbers. 

I get it, some will frown, some will say I am wrong, but they will all be worried. I took the simplest application of numbers and took a gander on where it COULD lead to. In my defense, the path of the greed driven tends to be highly predictable, but that is merely my view on the matter.

Enjoy the day.

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November 4, 2023 · 22:16

Voice of the Peoples Republic

It is not a voice we hear often, most times we try to ignore that voice on a multitudes of given premises that are by some account unverified. We merely accepted it and for the most we see the Tiananmen square image. We were all lulled into a state of denial and sleepiness. Now I am not stating that the pavements of President Xi are innocent, that is not the case I am going for. Consider that well over a dozen communities in the America’s are now extinct, all due to the greed of the Vatican. How do YOU see the Vatican? That is a serious question and you should ponder it. You see, some of this surfaces when we consider the BBC article (at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-67305453) giving us ‘China and Australia: Frenemies who need each other’, I get the premise, yet this premise is incorrect for us. You see, as far as I know China has never engaged in hostilities with either Australia or New Zealand. We are also not at war with them. We merely boastingly push them away because of America. The article gives us “In recent years Australia and China have accused each other over human rights violations and perceived threats to national security. Public perceptions of the other side are more negative than they have ever been. But when it comes to trade, they cannot afford to let go of each other. At the peak of their trading relationship in 2020, almost half of Australia’s exports went to China.” It is true, we (Australia) do need China. America has less an less options to fund whatever they overspend. For China Australia (optionally New Zealand too) is a path setting a trade and commerce setting with the entire Commonwealth, with Canada optionally abstaining due to the borders of America. But that gives them Australia, New Zealand, India, Bangladesh, Bahamas, Jamaica, and in the end the United Kingdom and optionally Tuvalu. Tuvalu sounds like a joke, but the moment China gets to place a base there, Hawaii becomes an interesting setting. A place where the USA is no longer safe and it impacts most of the Pacific Oceans strategic area. 

The article is also giving us “Sure enough, a string of Chinese tariffs and restrictions followed on an estimated $20bn (£16.4bn) worth of Australian goods. Among the many products affected were barley, beef, wine, coal, timber and lobster. “Basically the Chinese government was sending a message. They were unhappy with the Australian government and decided to use economic coercion to make that point,” Professor Golley added.” Getting back to that, did we ever see a complete document on the origin of Covid-19? We saw that the media whore itself to all the digital dollars we can get, we saw some of the accusations, but were we ever presented a clear version of what actually happened? Preferably from an independent source? We have acted or presumed acting against China for the longest of times, but it is time to disregard certain media, disregard certain politicians (US politicians) and start listening to what we (in a national sense) need to get ahead. The fintech people made that abundantly clear and most of them are on Wall Street. Then we get something that gives me a question mark. We are given “He reminded Australians that trade with China was worth more than with Japan, the US and South Korea combined. Clearly, normalising relations between what he called “two highly complementary economies” would be a priority for his government. Whether China’s so-called economic coercion was successful is doubtful. Australia is still openly critical of Beijing on several fronts – but there is no question that Australian businesses and workers took a hit because of China’s trade restrictions.” The first is that America is becoming a liability. As its economic value decreases, so does the voice it holds and lets be clear America has used its own version of coercion for the longest of times. Its defence apparatus, the hardware we were ‘allowed’ to obtain and that list goes on. There is a question on economic-coercion from China, I am not saying it isn’t (or wasn’t) happening. I am stating that as the media has remained silent on too many sides, it is also the least reliable one. It is the cross that players like the Sydney Morning Herald (and other Australian papers) will have to carry. There is truth that China needs Australia, I reckon it needs New Zealand too. In all this BRICS will win and America will lose more and more ‘allies’, the economy has pushed for that part. I reckon that once the they acquire a clear business setting with the United Kingdom, the settings for Margrethe Vestager (EU commissioner) will change a lot. Her digital age will change from a field of dreams into a harsh pitfall as EU members will side with the UK hoping to salvage whatever they can, the EU will soon thereafter collapse, it is on the brink of failure right now. The EU had in March a total debt exceeding $14,689,200,000,000. So how long until more banks will have to pull the plug? I gave you all part of this in ‘The finality of French freedom’ which I wrote (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2017/03/17/the-finality-of-french-freedom/) on March 17th 2017. I saw the dangers SIX YEARS AGO. I compared the EU economy kept in place by 4 anchors, with the UK gone it would be three anchors. So the moment China gets the setting to woe the Commonwealth to the BRICS organisation, the EU anchors will collapse. I even mentioned that that economy cannot be maintained with two anchors and I believe that France will buckle before Germany will. The greed and gravy train embellished economy will not support itself when the gravy train collapses, these politicians will side with whatever pays their food stamps and America has none left at present. So yes, we might call China a frenemy, which sounds clever. Yet where is the evidence? We see a mention of coercion, but is it not the customer who is allowed to decide WHERE to buy? Were trade agreements broken? It might be, I merely do not know and the media is not properly informing us. This BBC article is good, it gave us more questions then answers and that is not a bad thing. The issues for a place like America is that the straws are now escaping their grasp and with each iteration we see BRICS gaining strength. It alas means that Russia will be in a stronger position and I reckon that for Chine, for them to win the long term gain they will need to remove Russia out of the equation. Russia is seeing that and is trying to set up more partnerships. But the overall picture with the players is somewhat clear. America and Russia fought so long that the sum of them is now less than the total power of
China and it is now fuelled with Middle East trillions, the one player that had all the cash was shunned and rejected on ego driven factors by America, how stupid was that and I have warned about that stupidity for well over a year. 

How is your weekend going?

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November 2, 2023 · 08:47

The flag of me and my parents

The Khaleej Times stopped me in my tracks today. There was nothing critical about it, no reference to Gaza, no reference to British anti-semitism, it was a simple story of pride. The article (at https://www.khaleejtimes.com/uae/dubai-over-200-items-in-uae-flag-colours-sold-in-supermarkets-as-nov-3-draws-close) gives us ‘Over 200 items in UAE flag colours sold in supermarkets as Nov 3 draws close’. I have seen these events before. Queens day/Kings day in the Netherlands April 30th, National Day of Sweden on June 6th, The Queen’s birthday on 21 April (United Kingdom) and I have seen how people tend to react in very positive ways. As such I took notice of the fact that we see “The spirit of patriotism is taking over Dubai yet again, as Flag Day (November 3) draws closer. The vibrant hues of red, green, white and black have taken over souqs, supermarkets, and grocery stores in the city” gave me pause to smile. I reckon that with all the achievements in the UAE, including two astronauts namely Sultan Al Neyadi and Hazza alMansouri that nation has a lot to be proud of. Tallest building, biggest growth, consistent growing economy and even an Olympic gold medal in 2004 by Ahmed Al-Maktoum. They might not have competed in any Winter Olympics yet, but I reckon that this is no longer of the table. The fact that Saudi athlete Fayik Abdi is the first to do this is an indication that he will soon no longer be alone. As a little comparison consider that Fayik is now 44th on the Men’s giant slalom. The 44th position belongs to a citizen of Saudi Arabia, ahead of people from Norway, Sweden and Switzerland. 

The fact that the UAE competed in the 2023 IIHF World Championship Division II is a decent indication that more is to come, as such the UAE has plenty to be proud of. We all (those who have been to Dubai) will buy a T-shirt like below and a hat, but that tends to be as far that we as tourists take it. 

There are plenty of other options and I have seen how nations take pride in their country and for me it was always nice to see how other nations did this. I have been through Australia Day with a hat and beer stubby, two things I would never have bought in other conditions, but on Australia Day? Absolutely. 

We all have these moments, but if you travel, or on vacation, take a look how other nations celebrate it and see if you can add one or two items to your souvenir range.

I for one now know that the UAE celebrates November 3rd which is on a Friday this year. I wonder what other things I will see on the YouTube walk around tours for Dubai that day. It would be nice to see people go enthusiastically nuts over their own nation. We see the Dutch go absolutely orange on April 30th, they even have a special orange bitter that sells out on that day. We all have our points of celebrating our roots. Some have Canada day and worship a syrup tree, America has its 4th of July. We all have our moments, but the larger fun part is not the commercialisation, it is seeing the pride that people take in their own nation. And when you see how people take pride, are you on par with your own nation, are you more or are you less devoted to your nation and your nation of origin? 

Simple questions, but the answer tends to be less simple. We all have that and we all adhere to certain values, even if they are hidden under our skin. 

Enjoy the day.

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November 1, 2023 · 11:54

is their governmental fence broken?

That was the first question I had when I saw the events in Dagestan evolve. The BBC Article (at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-67269477) gives us ‘How social media fuelled antisemitic violence in Dagestan, Russia’, yet that is merely one symptom. You see, we might accept “At the designated time, hundreds of young men arrived at the airport, overwhelming security guards. They made their way onto the runway; some even got on to the roof.” I believe that is less than half the truth. I believe that Russia has OK’ed anti semitism and could be fuelling it. Their war is going south fart and they need new scapegoats. Israel fills that bill for them.

We are given “We also found other local Telegram chats sharing similar antisemitic rhetoric and calling for violence.” I believe that the FSB (Federal Security Service) has been told to stand down.

Consider the following video (at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-odGhIBoCXA) the fact that such a mob got through and no actions were taken by the FSB (or at least a mere minimum) is concerning for two sides. The accusations by Russia are a joke. The fact that western powers would have such an impact on the FSB and the Russian army implies that there is no Russia left. The larger picture is that it is seemingly clear that the Kremlin is now relying on populist agenda’s to take views away from the Ukrainian – Russian events. In his (translated) words he is now siding with Palestine. The second part is seen with “its posts provided detailed instructions for those gathering at the airport, including forming a crowd to block the exit when passengers arriving from Israel left the plane” this implies (no proven) that airport officials are involved. The FSB and the army did not intervene. A mob got complete access to the airport and of course criminals and drug dealers got access too, and a simple way to walk out. The Telegram messages implies more than mere anti semitism, it implies government steering as the FSB would have had access too and they did not intervene. 

As such I wonder what comes next, because if Russia starts supporting Hamas, the setting for a much larger war stage with several added players. The other side is that by these acts they get access to all kinds of pro Palestinian lone wolves. 

In the UK alone that implies added dangers from thousands of lone wolves and Russia would love that. Then there are the lone wolves that ‘grace’ America and with one attack Russia has gained eager recruits in the Australia, Canada, United Kingdom and United States. One action achieved that, as such tactically a brilliant operation, for the west a lot less so. The problem is that this will set a new breach between left and right and makes socialist parties nothing more than communist tools and after the gutting of intelligence operations all over the Commonwealth, I reckon that they aren’t ready for what comes next and I believe that was exactly what Russia have been waiting for, A smoking gun that they could exploit without it slamming back on them.

So, I wonder what happens when these socialists learn they were played by some top people for reasons they do not understand. I wonder what happens when they see again and again the simple truth “An apology is no defense” and they are prosecuted for acting for hostile states. These people when they are Palestinians will see their residency revoked. It is all good until you sign up for living in a war zone, because that is the reality that some protesters (the non no-violence protesters) will face in London, Toronto, Sydney and all over the USA. That is the stage we face and it is up to the political powers to make decisions, because they just unleashed the setting where they could be bothered by hundreds of lone wolves for years to come.

Enjoy today.

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October 13, 2023 · 02:12

What is what?

That is the question and the Guardian brought it to the surface. The article (at https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/oct/12/human-rights-experts-warn-against-european-crackdown-on-climate-protesters) gives us ‘Human rights experts warn against European crackdown on climate protesters’ the story here is triggered by “The crackdowns have come in spite of calls by senior human rights advocates and environmental campaigners to allow civic space for the right to non-violent protest” I get it, it sounds acceptable, but it is not. By blocking roads these eco-terrorists decided to stop commerce. Especially in the UK, where there is a larger mobile workforce. These labourers are stopped as roads are stopped, as public transportation is blocked and these people often merely getting by with the smallest of margins miss sales points, miss consultancy points because of Just stop oil and the people have had enough. These labourers are now in a stage to work two jobs merely to get by, merely to feed their families. You see, a terrorist is described as “a person who uses unlawful violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims”, as I see it “a person who uses threats and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims” equally applies. The threats are given by stopping people to make a living, endangering the living of the people relying on these craftsman. It becomes eco-terrorism. But I am willing to give these human rights people a chance. In accordance to the needs of just stop oil. Lets sign over 100,000 barrels a day, meant for the UK and hand it to China. You see we get two distinct settings. In the first the UK economy comes to a halt. These Just stop oil fools will win and that is fine. You see these 100,000 barrels of oil will be used. Now by China and now we see the larger picture. The Just Stop Oil fools gained nothing, merely the downfall of the British economy. But let’s leave this to the Human Rights experts. This was a setting that was clear from the very beginning. This world rotates around the commodity oil, there is no escaping it and when change was possible, the politicians acted against that and the USA is still acting against that. This is why the western economies are on the verge of collapse. In an age where every little margin counts the Just Stop Oil fools are just too stupid to realise that they have become part of the problem. 

Those in denials need every week they can get and these eco-terrorists are in the way of this. 

So, when we are given “Michel Forst, the UN rapporteur on environmental defenders since June last year, described the situation in the UK as “terrifying”. He added that other countries were “looking at the UK examples with a view to passing similar laws in their own countries, which will have a devastating effect for Europe”” It is my personal view that Michel Forst isn’t working with a full deck. Governments have overspend their credit cards by billions, several by trillions. This implies that the only way out of this (deeply delusional) is to keep the economy working on all thrusters, whomever interferes with this is a problem for any government and that is the short and sweet of this and the people who are on the short end of that stick are happy to put eco-terrorists in jail for years to come. The larger station becomes who is fuelling these idiots at Just Stop Oil? You see, the papers (many) are calling this ‘civil disobedience’, yet the larger station isn’t that. They are disrupting places that are not part of the Just Stop Oil focus. How is disrupting a play, or a World Snooker Championship an protest against oil use? This is about unsettling the simple pleasures some people have and some want to watch world snooker. This is what makes them eco-terrorists. Threatening intimidation to gain points towards political aims and that isn’t working. Even the marriage of the former prime minister George Osborne was disrupted as an action. Some were eager to deny events, but the damage is done. The little sympathy they had in the beginning is all used up. The people have had enough and governments are not in an accepting state, their debts are adding to too much and that is a stage where whatever human rights values are out there, the moment it goes against the bottom dollar it is disregarded and people like Michel Forst should have known that. So it isn’t terrifying, it just is and it is the consequence of too much inaction. Too much inaction in the UK, in the EU and in the USA, optionally in Canada too and those boffins at the Human Rights Watch better realise that some things can no longer be tolerated all over Europe. It has gone so far that the total debt of the EU is suddenly nowhere to be found. We have the debt of nations, but I reckon someone is in a state of mind that we will not investigate. So consider Germany with a debt of 2,699,152,920,239 €, France has a debt of 2,699,527,284,525 € and Italy has a debt of 3,010,345,598,675 €. These are merely three nations of the EU. Three out of 19, the total debt of the EU is staggering, it now almost dwarves the debt of Japan and I reckon will equal the total debt of the USA within 5 years. That is how bad it is and you think these governments will allow Just Stop Oil to continue on its path? You must be joking. 

There is no good new, there is no relief. You see we all need oil and we do not have it. You can shout all you want and we can accept this. We can also give the reigns to Just Stop Oil and hand the oil to China. China will love this, yet the fact that the EU and UK economies collapse as oil becomes a non-option? Did anyone consider that? Also as the EU is now heading towards winter, the lack of oil will have larger impact on the citizens of the EU and UK, but I reckon everyone considered that part already, did they?

When human rights are set against the practicality of an economy, the economy will win every time it happens. And that is what we are seeing in action at this very moment. 

Enjoy the day, the weekend is about to land on our timelines. 

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September 30, 2023 · 21:27

I tend to disagree

There are a few issues and they all relate to the CBC articles. I do not think that the CBC is doing anything wrong. They merely report on a point of view I disagree with and we all have that at times. It started earlier, but what set me off was the article (at https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/national-security-canada-military-defence-ward-elcock-1.6963391) where we see ‘Canada needs to ditch the complacency and get serious about national security, experts say’. My initial question is ‘Who are these so called experts?’ I know I am not one, but I think these claiming to be could be seen as Monday morning quarterbacks. We are then pushed onto “something unexpected happened last week when the Business Council of Canada issued an urgent call for the federal government to develop a national security strategy with economic security as one of its pillars”. So who exactly are the members of the Business Council of America? It gets worse from here. You see, when we go back several weeks we get (at https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/foreign-interference-china-russia-csis-business-council-canada-1.6958627) ‘Business council says CSIS should start warning private companies of foreign interference’. This sounds nice, but we have two issues at this point.

  1. The validity of Business Intelligence
  2. The issue of American linked businesses.

The CSIS (aka the Client Server Integrity Society). If the NSA is allowed its ‘different’ version (No Such Agency) then the CSIS is allowed the same thing. My larger issue is “One of the country’s leading business voices warned Thursday that Canada’s economic security faces external threats — and called on Ottawa to give its spies the power to share intelligence with private firms being targeted for foreign interference.” The direct linked question becomes “Who exactly is that leading business voice?” And which idiot yahoo decided to throw sharing intel with places that have leaks larger than any sif into the mix? You see, there is a larger station here. ‘Targeted for foreign interference’ is a large setting. We tend to think China and what the reality is, is that Wall Street is also a source of foreign interference. Those people do not play nice. In addition too many  Canadian businesses would have to up their cyber security by a lot. I merely showed one aspect earlier this week, one of close to half a dozen. Microsoft cannot stop emails leaking, what gives you the idea that Canada is any different? 

So when we get to “The group — which has a long, influential history of pushing for policies like free trade, fiscal responsibility and tax reform — said it believes Canada is deeply vulnerable in this era of renewed great power competition.” We get to the larger disagreement. Canada is not more vulnerable, it is less interesting to a lot of power players. It is roughly 10% of the US and merely 50% of the United Kingdom and is spread over a whole area. In all this the larger station is not merely foreign interference, it is the danger of American interference for its own need for greed and that takes a different approach and until the Business Council of Canada gets its members to up their Cyber Security by a lot, any action is a wasted one and the CSIS keeping its actions secret is the best course of action at present. This might not be the right view, but it is my view.

Then we get to the interesting quote “CSIS jealously guards its sources and methods of collecting information. In one espionage case, it even kept the RCMP in the dark about a former sailor who was stealing classified information for the Russians.” The CSIS is confronted with too may leaks. There is no factual evidence that it amounts to corruption, but that word was mentioned more than once in sources I looked at. The important question was whether that traitor was caught in time. How long was that person active and how was that person (in the end) caught? It was not jealousy, that is the word of a reporter out for flames. The larger station becomes that Canada has vulnerability issues and not all of them are from China or Russia. American businesses are ready to expand and get the Canadian corporations as well, some politicians seem to cater to that need and the CSIS for sure does not. As such whatever the CSIS is doing now, it is seemingly doing right. From here we get to the dangerous statement “Neiman said Canada’s allies have found ways to strike that balance between secrecy and disclosure.” I believe it to be dangerous, because  Canada’s allies are all catering to big business. Microsoft, Google, Amazon, IBM and Meta. You name it, it has a stakeholder trying to find a balance of intelligence at their exposure and risks they can mitigate and Intelligence at the expense to mitigate risk is not sharing Intel, it is giving nations options away to greed driven people and the CSIS, in particular that person with grey hairs (aka David Vigneault) needs to cater to the need of Canada and its citizens, not the needs of a Business Council and its friends.

That is how I see it and I might be wrong, but so far in history whenever a business person wanted intel to be shared, we were confronted by a leak the size of the Grand Canyon right behind it. So before we rinse, shave, grate and repeat Trevor Neiman and optionally these non mentioned friends of his, we should be told who they were EXACTLY. In that the CBC missed the plank by a fair bit.

Enjoy the weekend.

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September 16, 2023 · 02:30

Sentimental Journey

I just had one. Not the one you think. In the 90’s movies and games were relatively expensive in the Netherlands. In the Netherlands a company named Homesoft had control of video games, and as such in 2000 I got Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation and Diablo 2. One for the Dreamcast and one for the PC. The ferry from Hoek van Holland to Harwich (plus train to London) was around $59. The two games in the UK saved me around $40, so for $19 I went to London for the day, bought the 2 games (and a few other items) and took the night ferry back. 

I was able to upgrade to a cabin for around $30 more. It was the cheapest weekend trip and I got to walk on Regent Street, Picadilly, went to the Virgin Megastore and did a few other goofy things. I spend the day in London (from around 09:00) and for one day I felt like a king until the train around 17:00 took me back to Harwich for the night boat back to the Netherlands. 

This sentimental journey was recalled through the Khaleej Times who (at https://www.khaleejtimes.com/uae/uae-iphone-pre-booking-draws-shoppers-from-india-pakistan-europe-to-dubai) gave me ‘iPhone pre-booking draws shoppers from India, Pakistan, Europe to Dubai’. It is here that we get “In places like India and Pakistan, iPhones can be quite expensive because of the taxes”. OK, I get that. Yet I am a little surprised that people from Europe are equally signing up for that, as we are given “A European tourist arrived in Dubai last week to get his hands on the new model. “There’s a big demand for iPhones in my country and I can get them at a relatively cheaper price here.”” It all makes sense, but I was unaware that it pays to travel to get the iPhone cheaper. It was around 6 years ago when I was ready to upgrade my old Huawei but the mobile stores did not have the 64GB edition, only the 32GB edition. Even thought here was a 64GB edition in existence. I speculated that the mobile providers wanted people to upgrade their phones every year, which would not be initially needed with a 64GB phone. In the end I found a way around it and now I rely on my Google Pixel to get me by and so far it has not let me down. The iPhone is not the cheapest and the iPhone 14 pro max is $2100 here, so I reckon that if we can get it at least 25% cheaper in Dubai it starts making sense. A flight from Sydney to Dubai (with one stop) is $961. The iPhone 15 Pro max is in Dubai $2155. You think it is the same and it is at present (I gave the 14 price as that is in the shops). You can preorder it for exactly the same price. So from Sydney a trip to Dubai makes no sense. Yet in the Netherlands it is €1.479,00 which comes down to $2,450.74 with an additional flight of around $500, so it is not that cheap, but you do get an iPhone on day one and the difference almost makes for the flight. So the math works out well for some and a little less for others, but if you have to have that version 15, a flight to Dubai suddenly makes a lot of sense. You could see it as a cheap short vacation to Dubai. When I was going over the text and I was doing the math my sentimental journey came back to me. Especially Diablo 2, which ended up giving me a massive amount of joy for a very long time. So when will people consider getting their new MacBook Pro or MacBook Air in Dubai? When you do the math, these additional items make for a free trip. A simple MacBook Pro (€ 4659) ends up being $7717, in Dubai we get it for $6961, so now we are already breaking more than even with the flight. And customs can’t do anything, just put a local sticker on the top of your new apple and it is your own already owned MacBook Pro (with non UAE stickers on top). 

I have no idea how much the people save when they get the iPhone and the MacBook Pro, yet I reckon that some might save even more. Making this and perhaps others too a really nice deal. And lets be honest. When you can get exactly the same stuff down the road or in Dubai. Who would not be willing to fly to Dubai? Even if it is just to have a shawarma in the mall (not the worst reason to go to Dubai). 

At this moment I am just smiling. It was been 24 years and we still try to get the best deal for ourselves and in this case a little more than a good deal. I remember in the 80’s it was cheaper to fly to America to get a car there then to buy an American car in the Netherlands. I never got one, but that setting also (to some degree) applied to get a car in Germany (a German model), then commerce houses started to strangle parallel imports and with the EU that all stopped. I wonder what they will do next. You see they might safe in one side, but some aren’t paying taxes, so why not get it in a tax zero nation? I reckon that this could drive commerce up in Luxembourg and Monaco. And a flight from Amsterdam to Nice is $133 (with an additional train ticket to Monaco) now the math really tanks in your favour. The train to Luxembourg is around $55, so people have options. In this day and age when the bills bite saving is key and we all try to find a cheaper way, don’t we?

Enjoy the upcoming weekend.

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September 13, 2023 · 01:19

The rivers Wept, Wimper and Whine

So this is a story with an edge and with a side that I am ill suited to respond to. Yet, when I saw the Guardian with ‘Megacities in the desert: the human cost of Egypt and Saudi Arabia’s bold new projects’ (at https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/sep/11/egypt-saudi-arabia-megacity-human-cost) I just had to respond. You see, we might give weight to “In their rush to claim the future and concrete over the past, these vast rebrands are demolishing people’s homes and their heritage” but did anyone remember the people and the heritage demolished around London, around Paris, Im most of the United States, parts of Canada, massive parts of Australia and we could go on for a long time to come. How much consideration were they given? So now as Saudi Arabia is pushing borders in unimaginable directions, now we complain? Go whine me a river (pretty please).

And when we consider the amount of people who ‘lose’ a part in Saudi Arabia and Egypt, which I am happy to consider is true. Let’s put them against lists of people in the UK, France and the United States, who had to give it up for progress. There is also a chance that Japan unsettled scores of people building through their industrial age, so that list might dwarf the events in Egypt and Saudi Arabia to almost nothing, almost I said. When you consider that NEOM and the Line are projects never undertaken ever before. When you consider that NEOM will be 22 times the size of New York, making it the biggest city on the planet. We need to consider that this has never been done before and it dwarves the achievements of the USA, Russia and china to several degrees. Yet, the Guardian gives us “Hussein Omar’s mother, as well as some eight generations of his family, are buried there, and he hoped one day to lie next to them. He tells me that for years his family has been in deadlock with the state over what rights they have to visit, but that has now escalated, as the graves themselves have come under threat of removal” As such one source gave me the 10 Cemeteries that were relocated to make way for human progress. So how much thought did the Guardian give for these events? How many in the UK, how many in France. You get the idea. And the fact that Saudi Arabia has 36 million souls (living), the UK has 68 million souls (sort of living) and in this case Saudi Arabia is (roughly) 782% larger. As such, how many people are really being ‘dislocated’ and how many were dislocated when the UK decided to put in the train tracks, the subways and we can go on a little while longer. The same could be said for France and a lot can be said against the US who made a whole lot of native Americans extinct in the name of progress. 

Progress has been the handle to use by many, as such it will be handled by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as well. But who is giving us a clear top-line of numbers and areas as each nation is affected, yet we do not get that will we? It pushes the story of Hussein Omar and its writer Nesrine Malik in a different category. I am not stating that the story is wrong, or should not be given, but should we not get the real picture? Should we not get the real impact and optionally the amount of jobs created, the amount of economy served to better the setting for that nation? Just a question, feel free to give it a swing to your own liking. I am merely trying to keep it real, did I succeed?

Have a great day.

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September 8, 2023 · 09:28

Has the world gone mad?

Yup, this was my very first thought, it was not a nice thought (I’ll admit to that) and it was given to me by Al Jazeera (at https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/6/us-eu-uk-officials-visit-uae-to-discuss-russia-sanctions-cnn-report) where we are given ‘Western officials visit UAE in efforts to halt exports to Russia: Report’ the byline of “The Wall Street Journal initially reported plans to jointly press the UAE to halt shipments of goods to Russia” does not help much. In all honesty, who the fuck do they think they are? You see, we were only given a week ago ‘Beer giant Heineken sells its business in Russia for one euro’ (at https://www.news.com.au/finance/business/beer-giant-heineken-sells-its-business-in-russia-for-one-euro/news-story/1f6e65254890bfbd6d1757d70deb351c). In part I think that it is nice that it happens after well over a year when things should have stopped, but let things flow (especially beer). You see, the largest problem is that places like Align Technology (USA), Cloudflare (USA), BT Technologies (UK), Fenzi group (Italy) and a whole range more are according to sources still operating in Russia. Yale is giving us a list (at https://som.yale.edu/story/2022/over-1000-companies-have-curtailed-operations-russia-some-remain) where we find ‘Over 1,000 Companies Have Curtailed Operations in Russia—But Some Remain’ after 560 days of war. I admit that the list is from 2022, yet there Heineken wasn’t even on the list. So I would kindly like to request that the representatives from the United States, British and European Union who are visiting the United Arab Emirates amid concerns regarding shipments of goods, including computer chips, to Russia that could help Moscow in its war on Ukraine would kindly ‘Shut the fuck up’ and clean their houses first. This group of snivelling little clowns do not get to tell anyone anything until their citizens and corporations seized all operations. I think that same message could be given to anyone visiting any Middle Eastern nation with a similar request. I do not disagree with the sentiment, but to do that whilst your places are still operating in Russia is just too hypocritical for any consideration. And even after that, there is still China to consider, they will never consider that request beyond certain levels and as such, why is this request coming to the UAE? Are the American parties making money of puppets in the UAE to keep their hands clean? I cannot say that this is happening, but there are plenty of ways for zero tax nations to make a bundle being the front person of a large deliverer. Oh, and by the way in 2021 on September 20th, Jesse Benton and Doug Wead pleaded not guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to charges of making a straw donation to the Trump campaign in 2016 on behalf of a Russian national. So is that case going? I am just asking, because On February 17, 2023, Jesse Benton was sentenced to 18 months in prison, the other one died in time to avoid conviction. With the US in shambles and the US setting up all kinds of foundations of avoidance by US Republicans into stopping assistance to the Ukraine, I think that envoy should take a breather and stop being silly. Some of that ‘anti-assistance is less than a month old’, as such I wonder who on earth would be this stupid. So when we are given “The senior Western officials arrived in the Gulf nation this week to discuss sanctions on Russia, as concerns mounted that Moscow was bypassing them through various means, a US embassy spokesperson told CNN on Wednesday.” All whilst the US, UK and EU are still very much invested in Russia is just too crazy for words. 

I am not stating that you should believe me, I added the sources that were available to me and that list, I made mention of it earlier this year (might have been in 2022), so when I saw this article in Al Jazeera I wondered why the other media are shunning investigating businesses with vested interests in Russia, there are apparently well over 1000. So why is the UAE such an issue? I honestly do not know, but the idea that there are western politicians with a ‘look there’ all whilst they are filling their pockets (the Trump Case) is just too silly for words and these representatives should take a hard look at what they are not doing at home. Just a thought to entertain.

Enjoy the upcoming weekend that is for most a mere day away.

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August 25, 2023 · 19:06

And then there were 6 more

I have been expecting this, I have been awaiting it. OK, I have a few different reasons, but the added BRICS members (from January 1st 2024) are Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. I don’t think that the people get how much of a issues this is going to be. BRICS members, just like any other membership (like EU, NATO) will give preference to its own members first. On ‘the seventh guest’ (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2019/06/21/the-seventh-guest/) I wrote “I am certain that Russia and China will use this opportunity that opened up, I just do not know how at present.” That was June 2019. There was no war looming in the Ukraine (and BRICS was not on anyones radar). This setting would be coming naturally from China and now we are about to see that play. Now consider that Saudi Arabia imports from United States was a simple US$16.22 Billion during 2021, now also consider that U.S. Exports to Saudi Arabia constitute 14.2% of total U.S. exports of those commodities worldwide. Now consider that these two numbers will diminish by at least 50% and those trades all go to China (optionally Russia too). I reckon that January 2024 will be the start where the debt levels the US currently has can no longer be allowed. Doing so will end its existence sooner and sooner. Should the US default, they will drag the EU and Japan down with them. A sentiment that China will not shed a tear about. Egypt is interesting as it propels the Saudi plans for their global G5 plans a lot further and a lot faster and it puts the EU and US out of the game pretty much overnight. As such there are signs that the latter two are racing to get agreements in play now. Something Saudi STC and Chinese Huawei are eager to block. Now consider a second part. The quoted setting was “the relationship is that the United States of America (USA) provides military protection of the Kingdom in exchange for a reliable oil supply from the Saudis, pricing of oil in USA dollars, and Saudi support for American foreign policy operations across the world” under those steps China is the most likely party to enlarge their options and they stand to get a lot more oil, oil that is likely not to go to the US and EU from January 1st 2024 (or at least a decent part of it). The latter one is a speculation, but it fits the long term play China is employing and in this I could be wrong. The KSA has long term agreements with the USA. The larger concern isn’t merely the KSA. In this new agreement Iran and the UAE join and now there is a new balancing point in the Middle East and the Emirates are part of that. So how much import does the UAE get from the USA and EU? So when they too go from “United Arab Emirates Imports from United States was US$16.88 Billion during 2021”as well as “European Union Exports to United Arab Emirates was US$37.38 Billion during 2022” and now consider that these two will go down by at least 50%, if not a whole lot more. That gives us $99,000,000,000 in lost commerce from these two places alone and that is merely the start. So how will their government credit cards go when they do not have these revenue streams continue? After that consider the damage that lost revenue from Egypt could get up to as well as increased revenue to China and this is not new, that danger existed from 2019, but certain American politicians were to ego driven and now it all comes to a speculated halt in 16 weeks. For China it will turn out to be a very merry Christmas this year. For the EU and USA a lot less so. But they were warned (not by me), these so called wannabe’s making the calls had more than information I had and they played the ostrich game. So how is that playing out for them? If you were hoping for some miracle cure from me you would be wrong. As I see it, it is too late for that. The US and UK should have adjusted their courses at least 3 years ago (7 would have been better). In the end for several players their upcoming BRICS membership is merely  business decision and that is what China and India are hoping for, because it opens their options by a fair bit starting in 2024. 

As I personally see it, the endgame will play itself, I see no moves left for the Commonwealth, the EU or the USA. Setting that should and could have been avoided for close to 5 years were never done and now with an enlarged new player on the global stage we can watch and see Wall Street implode on itself. To see the desperate go nuts on greed missed all because of some ego driven politicians will be stellar on a few levels. You see a secular population is a weird thing, the moment things go really south, they will rely on the faith of others to let them continue. Does that make the profoundly lost sentiment a drive of sarcasm or a natural wave of irony? I am not sure what applies more but as an antithesis they might be feeding each other for some time to come (especially when the media wants to get as much digital dollars as it can). 

I honestly wonder which systems will still be in play by April 1st 2024, what a joke that will be. Enjoy the weekend.

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