Tag Archives: USA

February 25, 2025 · 04:35

It’s in the air

I saw an ‘article’ and I was momentarily stunned. It was merely a moment, but the headline got me. It gave me ‘Saudi Arabia Air Conditioner Market to Hit Valuation of US$ 5,969.25 Million By 2033 | Astute Analytica’, it was a surprise as Saudi’s have a much better resistance than almost anyone else on the planet. And i’m fine that they prefer a less desert heat feeling. But then I got to wonder about that premise. You see it comes with a ‘sample’ page and for $ 4250/- you get a one seat license. They do hand over a free sample (if you submit your email and phone details, and when did that EVER go well?) You see, now the article is set to a simple sales page. 

And the sales people have a decent grasp of the need. They start the story with:
“The air conditioning market in Saudi Arabia stands as a testament to the interplay between climatic necessity and economic prosperity. In a country where temperatures can soar beyond 50°C during summer months, air conditioning transcends luxury to become an indispensable aspect of daily life. This necessity is reflected in the staggering statistic that approximately 75% of the electric load in Saudi Arabia is consumed by air conditioning systems, with air conditioners accounting for about 52% of the total electric energy produced in the country.” There we have the words ‘Staggering statistic’ but there is no underlining evidence. Well there might be if you pay the $ 4250/- or hand over all your details (and I am not THAT stupid). You see, it might have value if they had submitted that report without wanting anything, but that never happens in this world as they see it. And here I found some details “BSI Business Park, Sector-63, Noida UP- 201301 – India” this doesn’t invalidate them, it merely gives voice to their ‘aggressive’ sales technique. Then we get the ‘run-down’. You see they are given their ‘great companies’ in just too small graphics, but it is too small. At some point you see logo’s like Google and the rest? I couldn’t make this out. So what are these ‘experts’? According to searches I did, we see that they “rated 4.7 out of 5 stars on AmbitionBox, based on 7 company reviews”, and a place called AmbitionBox gives us more, these 7 reviews are 7 people in Noida (likely employees), so which people at Google trust them? 

That is merely the start of it. Then we get to “approximately 75% of the electric load in Saudi Arabia is consumed by air conditioning systems, with air conditioners accounting for about 52% of the total electric energy produced in the country” so on what data is that based? Oh, right, for $ 4250 or handing over all your data you get to know that part. Yet I have questions. You see, There is a side that I consider valuable. They give us that America and India are the larger supplier of AC systems, but that is not the side I looked at. The one sentence I looked at. It was “High energy consumption straining the national grid”, it is the one setting that has value to me. There is a need to look at what makes an AC system operate. There is a need to reengineer these systems so that the power consumption goes down by 50% that is the actual challenge. You see there is a need for cold air, not merely cool air. The romans (you know the ancient Italian bunch) did it in reverse for hot houses in two stages, can this be reengineered to keep things cool? I reckon that you need a lot more power to get something from 50 degrees to 20 degrees than you need when you get 50 to 35 degrees in stage one and 35 to 20 degrees in stage two. Now, this might not apply to all houses. But consider malls and apartment buildings they could use that approach. You see 50.60% of the total housing are apartments, that means thousands of apartment buildings. Now consider that they might get free building AC reducing power drains. Then consider that they have 107 malls in Saudi Arabia (according to 2025 counts) and they set the same setting. A few years ago I set the premise for Dubai in a new setting of power distribution. That could apply to malls as well. So downing the power drain seems to be a first requirement. I did this on June 28, 2022. Almost three years ago in the story ‘Will you feel frisky?’ (at https://lawlordtobe.com/2022/06/28/will-you-feel-frisky/). Is it foolproof? No, but it is a large step in the right direction and power consumption will hit the planet on a global setting and I saw Dubai as one of the first places to get hit with requirements. I never tried to sell anything. I am merely trying to contribute to the solution. So take that and add a reduced power drain through air conditioning. Seems that I partially solved the energy drains, and it didn’t require anyone to hand over their details or ask for $ 4,250. You merely had to read the piece and see if you could improve on it, or even implement it, partial or not.

Yet, no matter what the motives of Astute Analytica are, they seemingly handed the world an issue. You see, a salesperson might see opportunity in ‘Valuation of US$ 5,969.25 million by 2033’, yet others will see infrastructure and support jobs by then and others still will see that something needs to be done about power drains by 2033. You can get solutions in more power or you can get solutions into getting better power systems and more power efficient AC solutions. It is up to the instigator to see what is best. The AC supplier wants to sell, but at some point it becomes a redundant setting, especially if power needs are rising. America gave us some numbers late last year when they gave us “Five-year US load growth forecast surges 456%, to 128 GW: Grid Strategies. U.S. electricity demand is forecast to increase 15.8% by 2029”, I wonder what happens when we look at Texas and someone did. A mere two weeks ago we were given “it’s possible that the grid would not have enough power to meet peak demand during the summer and winter seasons starting next year.” As such getting some systems more efficient might be the way to go. And I for one saw an option which was found in ‘cheap’ Slovakian fridges. Considering the two step solutions it might be a way to go, especially in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Optionally more places as well. But I will leave this to the properly educated civil engineers in the land to see where they can take this idea.

Well I earned my sandwich today. Have a great day.

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February 17, 2025 · 09:07

The war in Saudi Arabia

Yes, that sounds a little confusing, but that is the work of America. The BBC reported (at https://www.bbc.com/news/live/crr0gngkjrvt) ‘Ukraine not attending US-Russia talks in Saudi Arabia, government source tells BBC’ and that is not all. You see, as reported “Trump’s closest foreign policy advisers, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, are traveling to Saudi Arabia to begin negotiations with their Russian counterparts – without Ukrainian involvement” and that is not all. You see at this point can anyone tell me how any negotiation without the aggrieved party went well? In further news “As our international correspondent Lyse Doucet writes, there’s a realisation in Europe that the old transatlantic partnership between the US and Europe is “broken”.” And to add to that smoldering fire which is picking up: “JD Vance uses his Munich Security Conference speech to scald European democracies, almost entirely ignoring Ukraine – the conference’s key focus” it is a larger setting that might befuddle you, but the larger extent is in the first America is broke. Their infrastructure is at the point of collapse. To make matters worse the 25% tariff on Aluminum and steel will hurt America more then Europe as reported, but is that true? You see as things fall to a zero point of budgets America has no ability to pay for any of that. I admit this is a personal view and all media will tell you that I am wrong, but when these issues hit they will proclaim that it was a much larger problem and they have (from ‘reliable’ anonymous sources) that other factors were much larger. I reckon that the media will translate ‘reliable’ to ‘sources close to to the matter at hand’ we will never get any names, but that is how they will play it.

The other setting that was given was “At the Munich security conference this weekend, where much of the diplomatic action around Ukraine has unfolded, Zelensky called for an “army of Europe”” That might be an issue. As America will shun its duties a lot more and delay matters with questionnaires Europe must act. Europe is the next stop for Russia and America sees that it will take Russia decades to set the tone there, in which the American rich boys (girls too) will have vacated to a nice retirement in a zero tax place. In the meantime the decades of mess that Europe now faces needs to be with a ready army and as America is unlikely to foot that entry, Europe seemingly has very few options. The first option is that they align with China and that is an option as JD Vance stated through the media as “He accused European governments of retreating from their values, and ignoring voter concerns on migration and free speech.” Well if that is the case, a case can be drawn up to create a fraternity with China in the house and America exiting the house. Perhaps America can make a deal with Russia, you see, when Europe and its 743 million consumers fall away, what is America left with? Canada is already shunning American goods whenever possible and when Europe does the same thing? The massive loss of €503 billion worth of goods, €319 billion worth of services as well as 2.3 million jobs in the US. Do you think China will shy away from that much? That will boost their economy in a massive way and that is before you realize that the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group is making leaps into the Middle East and Africa. So what do you think will happen when the first EU nation signs an agreement with the Chengdu military hardware groups?

As I personally see it, America merely needs to lost 20% of all that to collapse. The race instigated by Wall Street is now having dire consequences. And they did not ‘fall victim’, they threw it away in stupidity. Just like the setting the BBC gave us 8 hours ago with ‘US government tries to rehire nuclear staff it fired days ago’ with the notable quote “The US government is trying to rehire nuclear safety employees it had fired on Thursday, after concerns grew that their dismissal could jeopardise national security, US media reported”, which made me giggle as we saw that danger pop up in hundreds of episodes of the Simpsons. So as we see these events unfold, we have one more BBC story to give you. At https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgl27x74wpo we are given ‘‘Army of Europe’ needed to challenge Russia, says Zelensky’ there is a larger setting to this. You see, we might focus on “He also said Ukraine would “never accept deals made behind our backs without our involvement” after Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin agreed to start peace talks.” But you would be wrong, the issue we see is found at “Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine also said Europe would be consulted but not take part in talks between the US and Russia, if and when they happen.” You see, the talks are to be had between the two bullies of the world and do you actually trust the outcome of that? Zelensky is right, Europe must get ready to counter Russia and that time is not far off as I speculatively see this. In this I have seen reports from Generals all over Europe and France is worried, the UK is worried and others are too, but Western Europe is about to become ground zero to the Russian expansion effort. So when I said that there was war in Saudi Arabia, it is the simple fact that two bullies, one mental and the other broke. That they are there to slice the world with America hoping for a 51st state. Living Europe to Russia. This is my speculation, but it fits with all the data we are exposed to. Europe only option is to either side with BRICS or align with China. I reckon the second is better and that comes with new agreed settings by the EU and as America needs to talkback the stupidity they invoked over the last week there aren’t too many takers for that conversation. 

How wrong am I?
I agree, I could be massively wrong, but that is what the data makes me think and in this case I solely used the BBC data available. But in light of the too speedy announcements out of America, can you show any other path? I reckon that as this unfolds America has a few more problems. I reckon that the UK, Germany and France will not openly welcome China in their Intelligence settings and that makes sense, but the Chinese side will be that America is cut off completely, so now the CIA, NSA and other alphabet groups (not Google) will be cut off as well. That will be likely their first demand in that and Europe will comply, UK likely as well and that sets a new premise. American intelligence will falter in Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia. That is the second step in the American economy buckling. America has a larger dependency to lose and soon no way to influence the flow of data. 

So feel free to debate and ignore what I say here (which is fair), but ask yourself a simple question. How can anyone deny participation of an aggrieved party? It is a simple enough question. Have a fun day.

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February 5, 2025 · 13:25

News to me

That happens. I do not know everything and it is not my business to know everything. I learned that early in life, before I know thought I knew everything, I learned as I took the oath of a radio operator, that there is a price for knowing too I much and as such I tried to ‘calm’ the need to know too much. When it is in my business to know, I try to know the materials pretty thoroughly. I tech support there was one program I had to know, but I had to know it on dozens of systems and  for the most I knew the goods. This is not some spreadsheet or a presentation program and you know the in’s and outs of the program (not dissing these software solutions) but in one program know the issues on IBM MVS, DEC digital VMS, AS/400, Sun systems, Unit systems, Windows Systems and a whole lot more, and every mainframe had its own coordinators handbook. For the most it was OK. The dealers could help its own customers but when working deeper they came with questions on installation, data cleaning, syntaxes of the system and of course the limitations that existed per system. In an age where there was no system (it was promised, but was always a month away) I kept my head above water. So what does this have to do with the current issue?

It was given to me in the Conversation (at https://theconversation.com/trumps-trade-war-is-forcing-canada-to-revive-a-decades-old-plan-to-reduce-u-s-dependence-248433) where we get ‘Trump’s trade war is forcing Canada to revive a decades-old plan to reduce U.S. dependence’ it is here that we are given “After threatening Canada and Mexico with illegal tariffs, and Canada with annexation, United States President Donald Trump has agreed to hold off on imposing tariffs on Canada for at least 30 days. This decision came after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke with Trump and committed to strengthening border security” with the added “Early responses seem to have coalesced around two policies: for Canada to trade less with the U.S. and more with other countries and to strengthen the internal Canadian economy.” This implies that the free trade agreements were signed up with that in mind and to ‘diverge’ Canada to go that way. It seems weird that the ‘councilors’ of this US administration did not hammer on this, or seemingly did not hammer this. You see, as I see it President trump shot himself in the foot here. And then watered all over himself. Two distinct settings that could have been avoided. Now America faces tariffs themselves and come to boot Allies of Canada are signing up deals on all markets which will cost America dearly. It also means that the Commonwealth will become stronger as one together. I don’t know (at present) where India stands, but in retail and pharmaceutical solutions there is every chance that Canada will seek solutions in that field. So as we see “But it will impose significant costs on Canadians and require a fundamental readjustment in how we think about our economy and society.” This might be fair, but that all depends on what India could help save Canada costs, if that is achieved (though pharmaceuticals mainly) the net savings for Canada are a lot greater then expected. There will be cost in the beginning yet in the end it might work out cheaper (not easier) for Canada.

Then we are given “In 1972, then-Secretary of State for External Affairs Mitchell Sharp wrote a paper called “Canada-US Relations: Options for the Future.” At the time, international politics were in a moment of transition, and the U.S. was recalibrating its understanding of its national interest.” It is here we are given (at https://gac.canadiana.ca/view/ooe.b1557737E_001/329) a lot more then we bargained for. It is a 332 page paper, as such the 46MB file is not here, but in its original location. As such I would surmise that American administrations forgot about ‘the U.S. was recalibrating its understanding of its national interest’ it seemingly forgot about this. I prefer to think that the setting of pending bankruptcy is making them knee jerk themselves into the next month and the next and the next. Yet there is a rather nasty hindsight to this (not for me). There is a rather urgent need to reassess criminal behavior. So the settings we see in London and other cities (like Los Angeles) imply that a more Venezuelan setting will come to America (thanks to Steve Inman) his comments are setting a new side to the debate. There is no doubt that these ‘free $1000 thefts’ will result in a need to shoot to kill escalation and for the most no one has a problem with that. This escalation is right on the horizon now. The $1000 misdemeanor setting will  (according to some) take care of the freeloaders and especially shopkeepers are fine with that. So as America does away with its freeloaders we still have an issue in Canada and for the most part I hesitate to consider what made America consider its tariff setting, especially as Canada was considering the paper in 1972, it might have been long, but not too long and in light of current trends this setting was on the horizon as were other options and now that America is feeling its first brunt with BRICS, there was a cautious tale on the horizon. And now that the US administration is setting up a ‘Sovereign Wealth Fund’ with the underlying ““We have tremendous potential,” Trump said while signing the order from the Oval Office on Monday. “I think in a short period of time, we’d have one of the biggest funds.”” (Source: The Guardian) I personally disagree. They HAD tremendous potential and now that they started the tariff wars (it doesn’t matter if it is on hold for 30 days). Canada is now looking at setting additional channels with the Commonwealth, whilst diminishing trade and we now see that there is a 1972 paper who did the hard stuff. The question is how much of that is still valid. I actually don’t know that, but I left the link for your reference. Then there is the options that America left on the floor and now China has an inner track to set a lot more towards the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. I mentioned it more then once in the last two years. As America stifled the sale of their F35, China has been active on at least two weapons trade shows to give rise to the Chengdu J-20 from the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group. Did you think that China left a call for a few dozen billion unanswered? At $110,000,000 that implies at least 3 squadrons and guess what, they will not be compatible with whatever Northrop Grumman or Raytheon has to offer. As such there could be a bigger shift in that setting. And as soon as China ‘proves’ that the Chengdu J-20 is at least equal or even superior to the F35, America loses that game too. You see, China only have to prove it is at least equal, a much lower threshold. Add that to the Canadian setting and as Canada can prove goods to the UAE and Saudi Arabia (optionally Egypt and Bangladesh) that are a few more markets where Canada will get slices of pizza that were meant for America. All that for a tariff? So how much more does America have to lose to show its ‘Sovereign Wealth Fund’ to be close to irrelevant. Yes, others will profit too. Yet Canada never wanted this setting in the first place and that is where short term considerations make some lose ‘their’ war. And just for consideration. Fentanyl is not new. As given by some “Fentanyl was synthesized in 1960 as an intravenous anesthetic and went on the market in the U.S. in 1968. Transdermal fentanyl was developed in the 1980s and was subsequently used for pain management in cancer patients” it was invented by the Belgiums and it has been on the market over half a century. So it is not new, the (speculated) non-actions by America made it an easy drug to score big on. In addition, it is a pharmaceutical  with a boxed warning. So why is it not a controlled substance set to a narcotic? Lets consider that narcotics were ‘outlawed’ in 1914 and went to the American market in 1968. So why was it even allowed? And even as we see in the Conversation where we are given “For the Third Option to be viable today, Canadians must embrace an independent Canadian identity based on respect for democracy, pluralism, the rule of law and human rights. It likely requires consensus that U.S. authoritarianism is wholly unacceptable to Canada.” And this third option point is now reached and so far (as is visible) nearly all the Commonwealth nations. As I see the Australian parties weaseling (my personal assessment) as “Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell is seeking talks with America” (source: News) where we see no clear message to Canada in support as a Commonwealth nation (like weasels as I personally see it). At this setting Scotland shows itself as a much more honorable Commonwealth nation, but the larger issue will be India, as that is where the massive parts of retail goes. I get that India is playing a sensitive game but something must give at some point, Canada needs us now. From a personal note, Canada was there for the Netherlands in WW2. As Dutch born I will stand with Canada on this.

Yet the larger setting is missed. In the end Canada is not the larger play. It will be China and what it can grab from America on the long term from them involving Saudi Arabia, the UAE and optionally Egypt as well.

So have a loverly day and if you are in America try drinking Tim Hortons for a change. It might wake you up faster, stronger and better.

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February 2, 2025 · 17:04

The one does not imply the other

We have seen the news on tariffs, we have seen the news on DeepSeek and it has exploded the views on LinkedIn as every influencer wants to cash in on the news on DeepSeek, in one way or another.

However, we forgot about one part. We forgot that we still have a nation called Ukraine that is at war with Russia. Some time ago we saw that Russia is unable to fight this war alone, so they called in the help of North Korea. We all saw them being proud as peacocks marching in unison and it looks impressive to almost any soldier and their generals. Yet the reality is different. We are given (at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjder8zgk48o) ‘Ukraine says North Koreans may have pulled out of front line’, my first thought was “Is it merely a regrouping tactic?” That happens. We can on the offense, we can select defense or we can evade. Evasion makes sense after the losses reported, but evasion towards what? Regrouping, or pulling out. Regrouping makes more sense to me. 

The BBC reports “Western officials told the BBC that, out of some 11,000 troops sent from North Korea to fight for Russia, 1,000 had been killed in just three months.” A setting that boils down to decimation of ones troops. This is not surprising, as war is a lot different from parades. But decimation is a serious setting. It amounts to the knowledge that most opponents could do serious damage to the North Korean army. So whilst it might bolster 1.3 million active troops. A decent skirmish could cost that army 130,000 troops and that is merely in the first three months. The larger setting is that Russia mistook parade strength in actual battle strength and that is just not the case. The Ukrainians know that and also realize that the fight is not yet over, more important the smudge they delivered will also soil Kim Jong Un and he does not take kindly to get soiled. I reckon that the regroup comes with the message that they better be successful or not come back at all. This is the setting of desperation and desperate soldiers are a lot more dangerous. I am inclined to believe the quote “The newspaper quoted US officials as saying the withdrawal may not be a permanent one, and the soldiers could return after receiving additional training or after the Russians come up with new ways of deploying them to avoid such heavy casualties.” The BBC gave us. There is every chance that they will get reinforcements from Pyongyang and the clear message to succeed or do not come back alive.

That last part is speculation bordering on presumption, yet with the facade we have seen with President Putin and Supreme leader Kim Jong Un my view seems to be a decently accurate one. My biggest worry is how much damage will Ukraine get in the coming year, because this is not over, not even close and unless Russia is given a truckload of damage, this will not end. Hence my two inventions that could have woken up DARPA with the intent that they test the ‘contraptions’ before handing it to Ukraine. As such I created something to block ports (a sneaky stealth system) and smelting to meltdown nuclear reactors. If the ones in South Russia stop working that army loses a lot of power (and heating) setting the Russian army to a stand still, should places like the Port of Olya gets stopped to utilize troops and materials for the front the reinforcement setting fall short. I saw that the solution is less effective in Odessa as it is a much more spread but part of the harbor could be blocked, the Nuclear reactor solution has a few question marks and both inventions were designed to aid Saudi Arabia and take Iran out of the equation. But they work on Russian principles as such it should work for both. 

Yet, this is not about me, it never was. People don’t consider the larger window. When a near defeated President Putin runs to North Korea for help, what more will he do? Consider that he mobilizes all his troops and North Korea does theirs. Do you think South Korea will be overlooked? The larger setting is that should (being the operative word) be successful, the pressure on Japan grows immensely. Do you think that any dictator (sorry I meant supreme leader) will simply stop at one win? Do you think Ukraine is enough for President Putin? It is this the shallowness how some people think?

The reality is quite different. They see that losses are a mere hinder block to more and they both want more, they both are on the verge of seeing the loss of basic necessities in their countries and they realize that they are now on borrowed time, they both are. They need a decent win to ‘depart’ the scene with the honor of victory and that is where we currently stand. Russia and North Korea never counted on the tenacity of Zelensky and his troops. So where will this go? That depends on the support the Ukrainian troops receive in the near future and that is where we come in, preferably as soon as possible. 

Have a great day in supposedly peaceful resolution.

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January 29, 2025 · 01:44

And the bubble said ‘Bang’

This is what we usually see, or at times hear as well. Now I am not an AI expert, not even a journeyman in the ways of AI, But the father of AI namely Alan Turing stated the setting of AI. He was that good as he set the foundation of AI in the 50’s, half a century before we were able to get a handle on this. Oh, and in case you forget what he looks like, he has been immortalised on the £50 note.

And as such I feel certain that there is no AI (at present) and now this bubble comes banging on the doors of big-tech as they just lost a trillion dollars in market value. Are you interested in seeing what that looks like? Well see below and scratch the back of your heads.

We start with Business Insider (at https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/tech-stock-sell-off-deepseek-ai-chatgpt-china-nvidia-chips-2025-1) where we are given ‘DeepSeek tech wipeout erases more than $1 trillion in market cap as AI panic grips Wall Street’ and I find it slightly hilarious as we see “AI panic”, you see, bubbles have that effect on markets. This takes me back to 2012 when the Australian Telstra had no recourse at that point to let the waves of 4G work for them (they had 3.5G at best) so what did they do? They called the product 4G, problem solved. I think they took some damage over time, but they prevented others taking the lead as they were lagging to some extent. Here in this case we are given “US stocks plummeted on Monday as traders fled the tech sector and erased more than $1 trillion in market cap amid panic over a new artificial intelligence app from a Chinese startup.” Now let me be clear, there is no AI. Not in America and not in China. What both do have is Deeper Machine Learning and LLM’s and these parts would in the end be part of a real AI. Just not the primary part (see my earlier works). Why has happened (me being speculative) is that China had an innovative idea of Deeper Machine Learning and package this innovatively with LLM modules so that the end result would be a much more efficient system. The Economic Times (at https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/worlds-richest-people-lose-108-billion-after-deepseek-selloff/articleshow/117615451.cms) gives us ‘World’s richest people lose $108 billion after DeepSeek selloff’ what is more prudent is “DeepSeek’s dark-horse entry into the AI race, which it says cost just $5.6 million to develop, is a challenge to Silicon Valley’s narrative that massive capital spending is essential to developing the strongest models.” So all these ‘vendors’ and especially President Trump who stated “Emergence of cheaper Chinese rival has wiped $1tn off the value of leading US tech companies” (source: the Guardian). And with the Stargate investment on the mark for about 500 billion dollars it comes as a lightning strike. I wonder what the world makes of this. In all honesty I do not know what to believe and the setting of DeepSeek the game will change. In the first there are dozens of programers who need to figure out how the cost cutting was possible. Then there is the setting of what DeepSeek can actually do and here is the kicker. DeepSeek is free as such there will be a lot of people digging into that. What I wonder is what data is being collected by Chinese artificial intelligence company Hangzhou DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence Co., Ltd. It would be my take on the matter. When something is too cheap to be true, you better believe that there is a snag on the road making you look precisely in the wrong direction. I admit it is the cynic in me speaking, but the stage that they made a solution for 6 million (not Lee Majors) against ChatGPT coming at 100 million, the difference is just too big and I don’t like the difference. I know I might be all wrong here, but that is the initial intake I take in the matter. 

If it all works out there is a massive change in the so called AI field. A Chinese party basically sunk the American opposition. In other news, there is possibly reason to giggle here. You see, Microsoft Invested Nearly $14 Billion In OpenAI and that was merely months ago and now we see that  someone else did it at 43% of the investment and after all the hassles they had (Xbox) they shouldn’t be spending recklessly I get it, they merely all had that price picture and now we see another Chinese firm playing the super innovator. It is making me giggle. In opposition to this, we see all kind of player (Google, IBM, Meta, Oracle, Palantir) playing a similar game of what some call AI and they have set the bar really high, as such I wonder how they will continue the game if it turns out that DeepSeek really is the ‘bomb’ of Deeper Machine Learning. I reckon there will be a few interesting weeks coming up. 

Have fun, I need to lie still for 6 hours until breakfast (my life sucks).

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January 23, 2025 · 09:19

The dark sparkle

Well, I do not call it that, but some will. As I have stated several times before I am republican minded. Yet in this I am not a Trump fan and he has seemingly never heard of me (and why should he). I would gather that I would proudly hang the sign below on my house (if I were an American)

So, lets talk clear numbers. You see, the media is no help (most of them are chasing digital dollars) and most Americans give us a covered setting that talks into their street (you can’t blame them for that). So here is the ‘unbiased’ view of a foreigner.

The premise
The premise gives us that Donald Trump should not have been elected either time. Hold on, let me give you the details.

It started in 2016 with the term “Grab them by the pussy”, I think it was a rude and crude expression and as such he would fail. You see, 50.3% of the American population is female and that gave him 100% of their setting against him. Add to that at least 25% males being headset against republicans (aka Democrats) and we get a rough 76% voting against him. Did that happen? No, in 2016 he got 46% of the votes represented by 304 electoral votes (270 to win). In 2024 he got 49% represented by 312 electoral votes. So what is the case? Do woman like to get grabbed by the pussy? I don’t think all of them do, but I feel kinda certain some do (no wonder my social life sucks). Numbers do not lie, the insights tend to lie, the setting of information you take from the numbers are flawed. As a republican minded person I felt that Trump was the wrong setting. I also believe that republicans lost John McCain too early. I think he would have been twice the president Donald Trump ever could have been. I would never have chosen Hilary Clinton because of the Benghazi mess she left. It cost the life of the diplomat John Christopher Stevens. We later hear that there were issues with private and public servers (blaming it on IT is not the way to go) and that did it for me, she was not fit for the oval office in my personal view. 

So president Trump was elected. The news is all kinds of flawed and biased and as such I believe none of that. Consider the premise I gave above then add the ‘insurrection’ on January 6, 2021. We see the accusations and in 4 years there has not ever been a clear prosecution of then no longer in office Donald Trump. It was a democratic administration and nothing was successfully done. The proud boys and others are now released (say pardoned). So what gives? As such I don’t think the democratic ticket was the way to go, I still am not fan of President Trump, so if I were an American I might have voted for Cornel West, although I am not sure he would have been on the ballot in Orlando, Florida (I would probably live there if I was in the USA).

In this we get a rather large margin of error (mine). I am still no fan of Trump but there is a press hiatus the size of the Grand Canyon. The press is talking their street and not reporting the news. When the people desperately want to know what is what, the press buckles out and give us the voice of their stake holders, share holders and advertisers. That is the way the chase for the digital dollar goes.

So whilst the anti trump rage goes on social media we need to consider how wrong he is. He might not be my choice, but that doesn’t make him wrong and now as we see the first year in action, we will get to paint the press to a much larger degree, because they can only fool their audience so many times. After that they become redundant. My other issue with President Trump is that the tariff war he is supposedly starting on Canada and I am a Commonwealthian, as such I will side with Canada (and against Pierre Polivicious). Such is the setting that I would side with Mark Carney (as I have no clue on the other players on that side of the isle), I think Justin Trudeau did a fine job and should be regarded as one of the most famous Canadians ever. 

So as you are trying to find what ‘politically’ drives me, it is simple. Do the job good and you’ll have my vote and what you did before counts in my books as such I would vote Marky Mark of the British bank (not sure how he likes his title).

Still the focus is USA and there are issues. The woke agenda is a mess, the political setting against Saudi Arabia is atrocious and it sets their wallets towards spending in China and that is merely the beginning.

More to come I am sure. Have a lovely day, we passed the midweek.

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January 21, 2025 · 02:38

Openings to your fortune

That was the thought I had. Well, it was part of this. You see last week I saw news in the Financial Review (at https://www.afr.com/companies/media-and-marketing/saudi-arabia-nears-deal-to-take-big-stake-in-foxtel-s-new-owner-dazn-20250115-p5l4gr) and people will think “You and how many more?” And that is a fair view. But think of this “When you are competing with an increasing amount of contenders and when that levy comes crashing down, do you care?” When we see the fires in California, can you afford to be coy or emotionally vested in the needs of others? Good business is where you find it, an old expressions that the crime lord Clarence Boddicker (Kurtwood Smith) threw in our faces in the movie Robocop (1987), but what you mis is that there is a lot of truth in that. When you are trying to make ends meet, does it matter how you got into a place? Does it yield more favor with anyone when the front door seems close and there are people waiting in line, is it that important to ‘join’ them when there is an open patio door to the same location? An entrance is an entrance. So as we see “Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund is in discussions to take a stake of up to 10 per cent in global streaming business DAZN, a deal that would hand the Persian Gulf kingdom an influential voice in Australian broadcaster Foxtel.” With the added “DAZN, which specialises in sports streaming, is controlled by British businessman Len Blavatnik and last month agreed to buy Foxtel from News Corp and Telstra in a deal it said valued the local group at $3.4 billion.” Now I can be certain that Len Blavatnik might not be interested in my script, but he knows people and the small herring you throw in the pool might get the attention of the big fish you want to come to your side, either as a supporting player, or even in opposition. The price? Optionally a lousy payday for the first script. But if that gives a decent guarantee that scripts 2,3, and 4 come with a (hopefully) decent payday. And now as California is a cinderblock, it also stands to reason that the pool of scripts suddenly falls (close to) dry. Bares thinking doesn’t it? Because as you are trying to make up your mind Canadians in movies are seeing their option clear to now harvest whatever can be harvested.

So why this path? 
Well for me there is a clear option, but there is more you see, as Foxtel changes hands to British businessman Len Blavatnik, we see more than a mere change, we also see opportunity. As Saudi Arabia is setting their hands to the sport section of Foxtel, there will be people who will look at whatever is there?

And now more eyes will be hopefully looking at my script ‘How to assassinate a politician’ (aka Essay), which was written for an Islamic population and now we are off to the races. How many Islamic laced scripts has Hollywood ever delivered? And now that Hollywood s partially out of business, we can hold our heads high and allow the opportunity to make a few coins.

Is it a guarantee? 
Of course it’s not, but until this happened there were little options outside of Dubai Media and Al Saudiya for me and now there is another doorway, hence the patio door will have to do for me (at present). The simplest setting that Kurtwood Smith was offering us, becomes a doorway where the optional coins reside for us. We found business by going via the side door and it might not work. Yet I feel certain that hungry revenue people will get to see it and that is exactly the door I needed. I might have to sacrifice one script for little to get the visibility to offer the other scripts for a nice fee. And the fun part is that Saudi Arabia has its media channels, but with Hollywood (partially) out of commission, they too needs their channels to produce and now they are handed another option to look at, will it work? Does it match the quality they need? Those are questions for tomorrow. Today we (or I) at least got my way onto the premises. And that was the direction of business I needed. 

And with the quote “DAZN has been expanded aggressively, not only agreeing to acquire Foxtel – along with its streaming platforms Binge and Kayo – but also paying $US1 billion to broadcast FIFA’s inaugural Club World Cup competition.” This is not my field, but they will need to fill up spaces and that will be done with reduced options and a cheap script will be exactly what they need, especially as they will need to fill time gaps for Al Saudiya. And if you think that the last paragraph was a negative one, you would be wrong. The article gives us “But Brian Han, an analyst at Morningstar, said he was not optimistic about Foxtel’s prospects. In a note to his clients last month, he said the broadcaster was “burdened with expensive sports rights and mired in the ever-competitive streaming space against the global digital behemoths”.” You see, he has a point if you think of the way everything has worked all this time. It might have BEEN about “expensive sports rights” but Saudi Arabia has between now and 2030 a massive caliber of options, and that is all Saudi terrain. Trojena will have its own ski slopes, skating rings and so much more, all Saudi. Then there is Sindalah for the water sports. And I cannot even begin to fill the idea of The Line and all will have thousands of people who need to be entertained. I think that a lot of people haven’t even begun to consider how big the transition to Saudi Arabia will be. As such getting in there first has an enormous amount of options for the eager person seeking transition. And for the ones who missed it, when you get access to one it should open up to both (via Saudi Arabia). And that is before you consider that Bangladesh has 150.36 million muslims. That is 4 times the size of the Saudi population. Do you think that Saudi Arabia isn’t looking to service their shows in Bengali? I saw that option years ago, now it is time to seek if it has options for me as well.

So whilst the rest of the world is seeking to unwind their hatred for President Trump, I’ll be seeking the options I can see for good business.

Have a sunny and wonderful day.

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January 9, 2025 · 21:53

Is it semantics?

There is a question that the entire ‘annexation’ of Canada brings to light. Is it the setting of an unintelligent person to employ humor (I try to steer clear of the word stupid) or is there a larger setting? So what is the actual meaning of this?

The previous story gave you part of that, but CBC (at https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trump-absorb-canada-response-1.7426177) gives us (optionally) more. It starts with ‘No longer a joke: Ministers say Trump’s threats to absorb Canada need to be taken seriously’ where we are confronted with “Trump said Tuesday he’d be willing to use ‘economic force’ to join countries”, we saw that and as such it would not be enough. 

But there is more, the setting of “Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc said Wednesday that U.S. president-elect Donald Trump’s assertions that Canada should become the 51st state should be taken seriously, after he initially dismissed them as a joke. “The joke is over,” LeBlanc told reporters in French. “The president and his allies continue to repeat this — we know it’s not going anywhere — but the fact that he’s repeating it, it’s not very constructive.”” You see, this is true. But as we have surmised several times in the past, there is a need for any politician to seek the limelight (not that this is always wrong). As such we are given and shown that Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly, Immigration Minister Marc Miller and International Trade Minister Mary Ng all have their say. Yet, they all miss a few corners. You see we are overwhelmingly confronted with ‘influencers’ all seeking limelight and they ‘know’ that outbursts of Donald Trump give them the emotional rhetoric to flame settings. Now they all get the chance to drill into 40 million Canadians, all eager to grow their ‘momentum’ that is the lose for to a lot of this. And it is a lot like the setting in the Patriot (that movie with Mel Gibson). Why swap 1 political party 5800 kilometers away when you could have 58 political players 100 kilometers away? That would make no sense and Canadians need to be aware of this. What is the optional stage oil that people like Donald Trump and Kevon O’Leary (a Canadian no less) will opt for the direct marketing of 40 million Canadians to get the upper hand. Whatever O’Leary claims, he will be in it for the money. He wants to ‘secure’ his 400 million and preferably add some (hundreds of) millions to it and as I see it, anyway will do. The man is the direct opposite of Ryan Reynolds. He is in it for his money in his own way, but a lot more intelligent. Any party he engaged with enriched him and he enriched them by a lot. And there is a social/national pride in his achievements. That is the proper way enterprising and capitalism needs to work. I wonder why no one sees that. 

The larger issue is not that, it is the setting what the Commonwealth needs to do. At some point it is forced to bulk up their borders and that is the strapping setting. The UK, Australia and New Zealand will be forced to take a stance. Optionally not New Zealand, their Sopwith Camels don’t have the range to fly to the US. And I don’t think that they have an operational Army either, good enough for humanitarian jobs and rescue operations, but actual war on another shore? I doubt that.

So the Commonwealth could start crying foul and invite China to become the aid party of choice. China will love that, now it gets army and navy posts right at the front door of America. And now we get a new Cuban missile crises, but one at the front door of Los Angeles, Hollywood (the burning one), Chicago, New York and Washington DC. Yes, a real good sense of humor, mr. President elect. And let the influencers get the blame, it was his posts (allegedly) that is setting the flames sprawling and unlike the ones in California, these flames will have a national impact. Americans asked for this, they elected the man. So what comes out is on their own heads. As a commonwealthian I share the feelings of Justin Trudeau who said on January 7th (source: CBC) ‘Trudeau says ‘not a snowball’s chance in hell’ Canada joins U.S.’ And as that setting evolves I wonder if I should swap my optional future in Toronto with a more secure lifestyle in Abu Dhabi. The idea of having an apartment next to a mall (Yas Mall) and 4 tourist attraction becomes highly appealing especially if the Harry Potter universe is added in 2025 to the Warner Brothers Abu Dhabi park. Perhaps IBM needs IBM Statistics support staff in Abu Dhabi. With a (delusional) sign on bonus of $15 million I’ll be game to witch Australia for the United Arab Emirates. Still willing to move to Toronto (for the same amount mr Ellison), so what are my options? Unless something is done with the President elect, I merely see the UAE as an option. Consider that, that people are willing to leave Canada and the beauty it holds for a different kind of beauty (UAE, Abu Dhabi). And in the end it will merely delay the bankruptcy by 5 years, which gets Trump out of deep water and after that America will drag Canada into the same mess it created for itself, well done Wall Street.

All that for a sense of delusional humor? I will let you decide, yet consider that America opened to door to grow China in near exponential size, because they could end up with options in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. As Elon Musk has shifted his interest into ousting Keir Starmer from the post of PM of the United Kingdom (which is not the worst idea), however whatever he wants to replace him with will be a person HE can control and that is not on with me.

The last country will open doors all over Europe. How is the expensionarlism of Trump hitting you now? On the upside, these four nations will see a larger investment from China in their regions. Not the best option, but taking in account what America had in mind a optional preferable one.

Have an optional great day.

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December 29, 2024 · 22:00

At the close of a year

This might be the last article this year (no promises). I have been haunted by a weird dream, but that is not what this is about. You see, the army recognition group gave us yesterday (at https://armyrecognition.com/news/aerospace-news/2024/saudi-arabia-eyes-up-to-100-turkish-kaan-fighter-jets-as-us-made-f-35-remains-inaccessible) ‘Saudi Arabia eyes up to 100 Turkish Kaan fighter jets as US-made F-35 remains inaccessible.’ I know nothing of this plane, so I am not going in that direction. The setting that the US set the inability of the F35 being handed to Saudi hands is worthy of responding to. You see, the pricing of the F35 is set to “$102.1 million for the F-35C.” This means that America lifted their nose at 10 – 25 billion of hard needed income. The planes, the support and engineering surplus and a few other options. I expected that China would ‘swoop’ in to get that money. It is decently plausible that their were more reasons. I am merely setting that this could also mean the end of the Prince Sultan Air Base (PSAB), you see, airbases on foreign ground are meant for allies and America has priced them out of that corner. As I see it Anthony Blinken has done away with that option. You see, only two months ago we got “US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday sought to make headway with Saudi Arabia on” whatever ‘his’ administration is ‘worried’ about. You need to have an ally for that and the fact that the F35 has been ‘unavailable’ since 2012. That is over 12 years, so as the F35 faces being optionally phased out by 2030, they lost one of their biggest customers and provisional ally in the Arabic peninsula as I personally see it. 

And America? Well, who needs an ally who is never there? That is the short and sweet part of this all and for Turkey this might be the sweet deal of the century. At some point the UAE and Egypt will also require 5th gen stealth fighters. This will make it harder for America and China to get traction. I never expected that Turkey was on that level, but that shows you what I know of this field.

And this is not the first time America, Europe and China enter behind the fishnet only to end up with nothing. This potential purchase follows Saudi Arabia’s $3.1 billion agreement with Türkiye in 2023 for the acquisition of 60 Baykar AKINCI unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs), set for delivery in 2025 and 2026.

So, when was the last time major governments walked away from a potential 15 billion deal? America might shout tariffs and the upcoming said expansion with their 51st state (Canada), but they forget that Canada is part of a Commonwealth and in their views (the Commonwealth) it amounts to a direct assault on the Commonwealth. So when was the last time a nation was engaged with the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, India, South Africa and at least two dozen more. If they reject all imports from America, the American economy goes the way of the dodo a lot faster than the dodo did. For China it sounds like a prolonged Christmas. You see, if they get traction with the Commonwealth, a desire they never thought realistic, but going after their largest member Canada might set that deal to nominal.

That as the rejection of billions set a dangerous premise for America and Saudi Arabia can play hard to get in that instance. So the next threat by the president elect Trump will set a minefield around (presumed) Marco Rubio making his job next to impossible. 

But we will see what will happen. In the meantime we should send a congratulatory card to Turkey for this achievement.

And of course the card for the next tenant of the Prince Sultan Air Base (PSAB), but that is likely to follow in 2025/2026. As I see it, the next two years are close to essential for the next administration to avoid a governmental garage sale. But what do I know?

Still, in retrospect the dream still bugs me. The dream was a job at ADNOC, in Abu Dhabi. They had an AS400 running SPSS 6.1.3 and it had been gathering dust. It wasn’t working and the people at IBM said it was the fault of ADNOC. In the dream I merely had to remove 2 lines (reading ASCII data), two variables Alphanumeric were making a mess of things and removing the two lines solved 96% of the issue. 96% was fixed in the first hour (well for one job). I needed two additional hours to align the alphanumeric fields. And that took two hours to work out, I used Excel for that (the one Microsoft program Microsoft got right). And with that the first month was back on track. A weird setting, as I know next to nothing of ADNOC, I know that they are in oil, and that is all. I haven’t thought of that program in over 2 decades, so what gives? Well, in part technical support at SPSS was perhaps one of the most fulfilling jobs. But the powers that be didn’t see me as IBM material. O well, such is life. 

Time to head to the end of the year and see what 2025 will bring. 

Have a great day and the optional conclusion of a great year.

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December 19, 2024 · 00:50

The stage of tomorrow

Yes, many have a tomorrow stage, yet in all fairness as I can see it, the UAE is jumping forward by leaps and bounds. Only today did I see the announcement that was given in April that Harry Potter is coming to Abu Dhabi. The capital of the United Arab Emirates as about to make a dent in tourism. It already was, but now there is even more to enjoy. It already had Waterworld, SeaWorld, Ferrari World, the Yas Mall but now it is enhancing and enlarging Warner Brothers world with the setting of Harry Potter. I don’t know when it will open, but I reckon that it should be ready before the summer will be making its announcement in 2025. For America it might become a nasty shock. Orlando has put a decent effort in making the enhancements to Universal a massive project. The Epic Universe will be five parks in one right next to the original Universal park. And there is enough for all, but it is the first time that the Harry Potter fans in the Arabian peninsula get handed this world to their front door. There is more, because Universal might be seen as more of the same (it is not). But Abu Dhabi is presenting itself as the family outing of choice. This is not merely done through advertisements. The many families and couples visiting these parks are all outspoken positive on their adventure. Not through influencers, simple people. A family from the UK with mom, dad and son show the world what an amazing time they had. An Australian couple (not the Hemsworth family) do exactly the same and YouTube is filled with people who visited these parks and are outspoken positive over the experience. 

Now that Harry Potter is coming Abu Dhabi can be certain that thousands more visitors will be coming their way. In the us (2023) 1247 people were asked how they felt about Harry Potter. Only 3% was not a fan and 47% were avid fans. That implies that Abu Dhabi will be the place to be and with Yas Island where the parks are as well as some hotels are, the people would want to splurge in their 2025 vacation. With several parks in the vicinity (Waterworld and WB are neighbours) with the WB hotel between the two. And on the other side of the hotel is the Yas Mall with Ferrari world. OK, the hotel is 10 minutes from the Yas mall, but there are busses, and in all these places there are affordable food places. There is something for everyone. The United Arab Emirates seems to end the year on a high note and I reckon that there is plenty of fun to be had. 

I reckon that with Dubai being a mere 90 minutes by bus away, there is every reason to have a vacation in both spots. Week one in one place and week 2 in the other place. People could end up having the vacation of a lifetime. 

The one surprising thing for me was the UK couple where they also talk about the prices of the food places they visited. With the comparison of UK prices, the UK seems somewhat expensive in comparison. 

I reckon that as soon as the HP experience comes closer the YouTube presentations will show that Orlando might have priced themselves out of this race. I don’t think that everyone will take the different destination, Epic Universe looks too good for that, but some will rethink where to go to in 2025 and some should at least consider that path. There is no reason to compare the two, but consider that Yas Island has a Wet’n’Wild (Australia) alternative next to Warner Brothers world and with SeaWorld the alternative to the one in San Antonio you see three parks close to one another. Not too many places can offer this, but one of them is Abu Dhabi. And there is much more on this island.

Off-course there is an alternative reason, as the UAE is a zero tax country, the combination for a new Apple or some other thingamajig on the really cheap side makes this an easy choice and with a mere 90 minutes between Dubai and Abu Dhabi the choice for most of you becomes really simple. 

Have a great Thursday, for me it started 45 minutes ago.

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