New research has revealed megastructures lie underneath the Great Pyramid at Giza in Egypt. Of course, the archaeologists are having a hissy fit about this. Their so-called reputations depend on propagating the various tall stories they've peddled endlessly. Whole careers are riding on the lies that have been told.
As time goes by, eminently qualified individuals with qualifications in hard sciences, not pseudo-science like archaeology and anthroplogy, are having a look at Giza and seeing other things no-one is meant to know. These real scientists and engineers cannot be discredited, so they're just ignored - funny that.
In North Canterbury, New Zealand, David Dicker is building his superfast cars, called Rodin. He's also the owner of Rodin Motorsport in the UK which campaign cars across several formulas, and he sponsors many young drivers, including Liam Lawson who now races in F1 for the Racing Bulls team.
David Dicker owns Dicker Data (ASX - DDR), which does something with data. No idea what, it's all well above my paygrade, but good for him, he's living the dream. On his property in North Canterbury he's built a full racetrack, and along with Rodin cars, he has a collection of Ferraris.
Here's an idea for David Dicker: if intending to produce a road legal car, how about the Falcon F7 as inspiration? It's a very good looking car, but only seven were made:
Or, how about buying out TVR and produce a car with the engine at the front and driving the rear wheels, you know, where the engine and drivetrain should be!
I read somewhere that David Dicker missed out on buying Williams F1, and that when making a submission to the FIA applying to join the F1 grid, he was refused. I note that Cadillac were accepted. But Dicker was reported as saying he'd make a spot available for a woman, and I am aware he sponsors female drivers, all of whom are very talented. But here's the thing, the FIA don't want a female driver on the grid. They're a bunch of misogynists, face it. The European elites would have listened to his pitch, sounded sympathetic and then crossed his name off the list. Let's not kid ourselves.
Be aware, digital ID's and the cashless society are still very much on the agenda of governments worldwide. This has to be opposed by all right-thinking people. Banks appear to be on board with the moves, and if you've been awake you'd have seen all kinds of new measures being introduced, to keep you safe of course. What banks don't seem to realise, is they're bringing about their own extinction as once the complete system is introduced, governments will have complete control and banks will become pointless.
A bit of prejudice here and huge generalisations, but today I was explaining to someone the situation with Iran. In the last 25 years they've developed a lot. Everyone remembers the 1980's, but that's not Iran today. All those old warmongers are retired or long since passed away.
I explained it like this: Iran looks at its neighbours, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan can be an exercise in trying to get along at the best of times. Pakistan are OK but a bit of a problem too. Armenia shares very little in common, and Azerbaijan relations are frosty as Iran competes for the Caspian Sea against them. Turkey is distrusted, but Iran has grudging respect and needs them for stuff. Iraq is a cousin, maybe even a half-brother, the border is a colonial invention.
Of the major powers, China is a long way away and a source of nice food and cheap stuff, especially electronics. But they're too far away and too different to be fully trusted. Russians are not liked at all and deeply distrusted. Even more hated are the British, they are despised. How so? Look back at the Great Game played out throughout the 1800's. The two Great Powers competed for the region. Britain came out of it controlling Persia, now known as Iran (Afghanistan was found to be uncontrollable). In the early 20th Century, Britain formed the Anglo-Persian Oil Company and began stealing their oil. That company is today branded as BP - you may have heard of it.
But Americans, Iranians quite like them. They hate their government but they like their people. That's why Iranians when moving overseas head to Los Angeles. See Shahs of Sunset as a reality TV show looking at the phenomenon. It was hilarious, almost as good as the Kardashians.
Basically, Iran would like to be left alone, and then they'd start buying American stuff. That's because Americans tend to make stuff that works and it almost always turns up on time. Think Boeing and Caterpillar tractors.
Long term, how do Iranians see themselves living? Deep down I believe they desire to be Italy, just not the religion. So, they'd end up living like Istanbul instead.
Anyway, the better approach for the US is to bring Israel to heel and the US start doing business with Iran.
New Zealand shut down its only oil refinery and California is now experiencing a similar conundrum, with two large refineries announcing they're shutting down. The issues raised in the embedded discussion apply to NZ almost exactly. Wind and solar won't do it, and areas with oil shows and earthquake activity are ideal areas for productive oil fields. NZ has a lot of both.
Peculiarly, NZ does have a vast resource of wood waste from its large forestry industry. This could be used to produce biofuels, but I'm not aware of anyone doing it. Weird huh. Yeah, not so weird because the wind and solar industries hold the politicians captive, especially the Greens. Big Green capital skews the market and so all commonsense evaporates when they start talking. I hear people say wind and solar are great, but what they miss is that they do not pack enough punch.
US President, Donald J. Trump announced a ceasefire effective 4am Tuesday local Israel time. So, who won?
Look at it like this, using a Medieval lens; when an aggressor lays siege to your city walls, but then walks back hurling insults but the aggressor stops throwing things, those behind the city walls have won, they saw off the siege.
In context, Israel attacked Iran, and the US joined in. Now, twelve days later the siege has been lifted and those under siege can stand there victorious.
Why was a ceasefire called so quickly? I have a few theories:
The US was running out of interceptor missiles. These missiles are very expensive and time-consuming to make and so there is a limited supply. Israel was churning through them at a rate of 4:1, four interceptors for every incoming. Maybe Iran wasn't even loading warheads onto their cheaper missiles.
The depleting stocks of interceptor missiles cannot be easily replaced as China no longer supplies rare earths to the US for military purposes.
Iran can shut the Strait of Hormuz, shutting off 20% of all oil used on Earth. But, that would not affect Iran all that much as they can still deal, as can China and Russia their allies. Fuel prices in the West would rise unsustainably if the Strait was closed.
Iran's midget submarines and mine technology are advanced and comprise a real threat. The midget subs can hide in the shallows, where hunter killer subs cannot go, but pounce when needed. Their mines are designed to stay on the bottom, dormant until they detect a ship above, then they explode. These mines are very difficult to detect and neutralise.
Western Europe said they weren't going to join in, as destabilising the region would mean a flood of refugees into Europe.
These are just some ideas, somewhat speculative, but you get the idea. Donald Trump has suffered a huge humiliation, he couldn't knock out Iran's nuclear capability, and Israel is on its knees.
Update: Pres. Trump has shown frustration with Israel since the ceasefire has come into effect. This lends support to the idea, that the whole choreographed exercise of strikes between the US and Iran was designed by the US to shut Netanyahu up. Having supported Israel, the US can sit back and say they did what they could, and Israel is in no position to whine. Iran, for their part get to claim victory.
Can the world get any weirder. Well, OK, time for a scamdemic now then?
Iran has attacked US bases in the Persian Gulf, but being nice about it they let the US know beforehand. This was following the favour the US gave Iran in letting them know the US would strike their nuclear research facilities, which allowed Iran ample time to move their stock of depleted uranium.
I looked at what impacts Iran if they shut the Strait of Hormuz? Well, not a lot. Their main port at Bandar Abbas sits at the entrance to the strait, so their ships could easily move in and out unaffected. However, their ports farther west would be closed down.
Iran then has three other options; they can move their oil products across the Caspian Sea and through Russia via the Volga river, utilising the Volga-Don Canal and the Volga Baltic Waterways. Both of these routes lead to the open ocean. Then, the third way is overland by using the Iran-China Overland Corridor.
Bear in mind, Americans seem to overplay the importance of oil exports to Iran. Their economy is effectively a closed loop and they only need to export to pay for those things they don't make themselves, and that's not a lot of things. Iran are fairly self-sufficient, making cars, trucks, construction equipment, steel, cement, etc. They do have an electrical energy deficiency, thus they import energy from Turkey and Azerbaijan. Add higher tech, which they can buy from China.
In a future post, I may take the time to get all historical. Already I've seen Iran referencing Cyrus the Great!! He's c.500 BC, and the man who ended the Babylonian Captivity. He freed the Jews and then paid to rebuild Jerusalem out of his own money. But then, the Jews owed the Persians so you could argue that debt was repaid when they served under Xerxes the Great when taking Athens and dealing with those heathen Spartans. Iran seem to have overlooked the latter matter, but you get an idea of how long their memories last.
Looking for a contrary view? Study the video where an academic from Tehran points out the hypocrisy of the West:
Was the US strike on Iran's underground nuclear facilities successful?
We simply don't know, there is no objective evidence showing the kind of damage that could be expected. If an underground explosion had gone off, the ground should slump above where the explosion occurred. But the photo's I've seen at Fordow do not show any evidence of slumping.
Looking around the internet, I found the following where defenses deflect blasts. I find this explanation plausible, given the technical skill of Iranian engineers. It seems unlikely the Iranians would go to the trouble of building such facilities without also taking the time to build them correctly.
Think about the trenches of WWI. The trenches were built with sharp turns in them. That was done to soak up any blast energy from direct hits within the trench. The Iranians would have used similar techniques and also profiled their underground concrete lining to deflect any ordinance.
So, it looks as if the US has belly flopped into the pool again, the same way they did in 1979. We'll see though, I'm still willing to be proven wrong.
Looking at the two belligerents, many don't seem to understand the size disparity between the two, Israel has a population of 10 million, while Iran a population of 91 million.
In terms of geographic size, here's a few images to convey scale:
Firstly, Israel if it was an island west of France, and north of Spain in the Bay of Biscay:
Then Iran if it was overlaid Western Europe, it would stretch from Croatia and Slovenia, across Western Europe, taking in most of Germany, northern France, Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark, England, Wales and Ireland:
And if Iran was overlaid the 48 contiguous states of the US:
It becomes obvious that defeating Iran is not a minor exercise, and probably not possible. A war with Iran could also close the Straits of Hormuz, shutting down the supply of oil to much of Southeast Asia and the Far East, but not China. That's because the Iran-China overland corridor is now fully operational and oil from Iran can go via rail to China, arriving much sooner than by sea, and without the Straits of Hormuz and Malacca as pinch points.
The way I see this; a strike on Iran is an act of self-harm. The cost to the western world and its allies would be major, possibly introducing a Depression, while China and Iran would just continue on. Russia appears to be sitting there watching things evolve and rubbing their hands together.
The thinking now is the US will strike Iran this weekend. Don't do it.
People just have to watch this, Tucker Carlson exposes US Senator, Ted Cruz's staggering ignorance regarding Iran. Cruz sees himself as some kind of world leader, and that's a worry:
New Zealanders reading this should urgently contact their MP's asking what the government is doing to ensure the country has fuel - petrol, diesel and jet fuel - if the Straits of Hormuz are closed.
Currently, NZ obtains all of its fuel from Southeast Asia; the region has big oil refineries there. NZ has no, literally no refinery and so cannot process its own oil.
Here's the situation: if the Straits of Hormuz are shut, China will lose a major supplier of its oil, Iran. It will still be able to get some supply over land, but that would be a trickle. So, what will China do? They'll turn to Southeast Asia and insist they make up the difference; and Southeast Asia will comply as China is their biggest trade partner by far.
That will leave NZ completely abandoned, nothing left for it at all.
People need to start screaming, this situation has become dire.
At this stage, it is looking increasingly likely that the aircraft that crashed in India experienced equipment failure. I'm embedding two theories, based on sound evidence:
And this video reveals that the RAT (Ram Air Turbine) had been deployed. The device deploys automatically when aircraft such as the 787 experience massive electrical or hydraulic systems failure, or both engines fail:
Researchers at the University of Canterbury have developed a drone capable of cutting limbs off trees up to 60mm (roughly 2 inches) in width. Drone tech is really taking off. I wonder what else they can be used for?
Cadillac are providing a live feed of the Le Mans 24 hours from inside the drivers cockpit. Influencer, Ashley Kalita hosted the feed for the first couple of hours, and she'll be back for the final two hours of the race, which is between midnight Sunday to 2am Monday, New Zealand time.
The US is six hours behind Le Mans, so this racing right now is between 8 and 9pm EST, and in Le Mans add six hours, so between 2 and 3am Sunday. Ashley Kalita will be back at about 8am EST.
I've never seen footage from inside the cockpit in real time like this. It is really incredible and a huge thank you goes out to Cadillac. Apparently they're showing this footage in showrooms too, so they might sell some cars. On the track, Cadillac are currently running in 6th, 10th, 17th and 20th. Kiwi Earl Bamber is one of the drivers of the 10th placed car, he's looking for his third Le Mans win.
Kiwi Brendon Hartley is one of the drivers of #8 Toyota Gazoo Racing in 3rd place. He's looking at his fourth Le Mans victory.
And to dispel all the mis and disinformation out there about the 1967 Le Mans victory by the Ford GT40. Ken Miles was NOT robbed of victory. I'm sick and tired of constantly reading such nonsense, spread by Americans trying to rewrite history. The Ken Miles/Denny Hulme GT40 was always in second. What Ford wanted was the first placed, the second placed and the third placed cars all in the photo together as they crossed the finish line. This would be a shutout of all other car brands. So, they all slowed down and crossed the line in their correct order, with the black GT40 with the NZ silver fern emblem on the side, driven by Kiwi drivers Bruce McLaren and Christ Amon FIRST. If they hadn't slowed down for this photo, the winning car would have been the GT40 driven by McLaren/Amon, with other lower placed cars in the photo behind them, not a good look. Do people understand this?
The winning car had been completely rebuilt by McLaren in his workshop in England, it was made in the US but set up to race by McLaren. Now please, Americans, stop with the lies.
In a few hours time, the greatest car race of them all, Le Mans, raced over 24 hours will start for the 93rd time. There are two Kiwis in the race; Brendon Hartley is driving in one of the Toyota Gazoo Racing cars, while Earl Bamber is driving one of the Cadillac Hertz Team Jota cars. Hartley has previously won three times, while Bamber has won twice.
RFK Jr just sacked all 17 members of ACIP - Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. It is part of the CDC - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Here is a very useful step-by-step guide to what might have happened to the Air India plane that crashed soon after takeoff from Ahmedabad, on its way to London Gatwick.
The New Zealand Fieldays are underway at the moment. Fieldays is an agricultural and primary industry expo, and the largest such event in the Southern Hemisphere. It's not just about tractors and harvesters, it's also about farming technology and these days laser weeders and drone sprayers are the thing.
The largest farmer lobby group conducted a poll at the show and these were the results:
I always remind people that farmers in New Zealand consider Labour and the Greens their mortal enemy. Here is the result then, study it. When people say the 2020 election result was not rigged, I laugh at them. There is no place in provincial NZ where Labour could ever win, but in 2020 we are expected to believe they cleaned up right across the country, in every single provincial seat. Yeah, right, and I've got a bridge in Brooklyn NY for sale, super cheap.
It looks like Donald Trump's attack dogs are coming after the world's supposedly richest man, Elon Musk. Steve Bannon is calling for Musk's deportation.
Advice for Elon Musk: don't delete your tweets. Instead, release what you have on Donald Trump. Then they won't be able to touch you.
Political strategist, Rick Wilson has outlined exactly how Elon Musk can take down Donald Trump. Musk has got to let out what it is he has on Trump. By doing that now, Musk gains more power - the upper hand. Not only that, he can restrict the reach of pro Trump tweets, and run ads next week undermining all those in Congress who back Trump. What he's describing is effectively taking away Trump's ascendency and, when it comes to Congress critters, replacing their fear of Trump with fear of all those who do not like Trump.
The beautiful bromance between Elon Musk and Donald Trump has ended spectacularly. Here was me thinking it would last at least a year. Nope, they're now openly attacking one another.
The biggest claim by Musk is that the full Epstein files won't be released, because President Trump is in them. Bear in mind, if true then this could result in the removal of Donald Trump from office, and that would bring in JD Vance. Which is worse, Trump or Vance?
The world is a very strange place these days, we've got adults in positions of power behaving worse than children in the playground.
Kiwis are always innovating and here we have a machine easily towed behind a 4x4. It breaks up the surface of the road and then the same machine is fitted with a grader blade for smoothing everything out. If you want to maintain gravel or dirt roads, or even remove ruts in fields caused by irrigation equipment, then this machine deals with a lot of issues:
It was always going to happen, and now we see the predictable about to become reality. Apparently, rugby great Mike Tindall, along with a slew of rugby and sports management types are launching an F1-style rugby championship worldwide. To me, it also sounds a little like the NBA where players commit to a franchise.
The format of the competition will be all-important. There must be clear winners and losers, culminating in a playoff and grand final. Anything else will not work from a TV audience perspective.
And they'd be wise to keep the game old-fashioned, the way the NBA has to a certain extent by keeping with the traditional orange leather ball, and having tip-offs for play restarts. But one innovation they could try is having two referees on the field, the way rugby league did in the NRL from 2009 to 2020. There are too many stoppages in rugby these days, while the crooked video ref decides who has paid him the most to make the call. You need decisions made there and then.
Another suggestion: stop with changing the rules every year, it is getting hard to keep up with all the various interpretations of the 'laws' of the game. The game has potential to really entertain but the pressure will be to make rugby look like American football, and doing so would be a big mistake.
For players, it comes down to price tags, the new organisation appears to be trying to keep international rugby onside by looking at player windows; they'd be wise to just think about what suits them, not other organisations which are rivals at the end of the day.
Britain's worst ever prime minister has announced the UK is going onto a war footing. Oh really, and who is going to fight that war for you, eh? Would it be all those working class folk Labour have been vilifying for years?
New Zealand's Minister of Defence, Judith Collins has also been talking tough. NZ is to develop some kind of space force apparently. Now, NZ does have a space agency and several launch vehicles for accessing space, unlike that laggard Australia who struggle to keep up on a good day. But even the bold claim from Collins must be looked at askance, as like the UK, NZ struggles to recruit anyone.
The issue is one of trust, the people don't trust their lies, that's all.
I'm going to stick my neck out and say that I think these predictions will be 100% incorrect: The claim is that China is about to collapse, followed by Brazil. Then, the developing world will collapse.
How likely is that? Too calamitous, I've been hearing about the imminent collapse of China and Brazil for decades now, and it hasn't happened.
Tariffs alone will not see industry return to the US. That's because the Trump administration has no comprehensive plan, apart from tariffs alone.
The US has been outsourcing for decades, and many industries within the US are now effectively defunct. There is simply no mechanism where you can go back in time and make different decisions.
I'm thinking the opposite may happen, that some American companies may move out of the US and treat their original base as a branch office. The other side to this is that large American companies may receive waivers from high tariffs, while others, lacking the right connections do not. This would be the worst of all worlds, a kleptocracy and plutocracy mixed together (what would be the word for a combination of both?).
