Early NBA

I notice more early NBA footage is available online. The standard of play was really high and very competitive. I rarely watch the NBA these days as it has become a snore fest. The three point shot has killed the modern game, and a host of other rule interpretations haven't helped either. I still think a three point shot light needs to be introduced. That would mean a three point attempt can be made when the light is illuminated but not when it is off. One way this could work is if a three point shot is missed, the light goes off and no further three pointers can be made until the team makes another basket (1 or 2 pointer).

Was Maduro Betrayed?

A bit obvious, I'd have thought, how else would Delta Force know exactly where Maduro was? He had to have been served up. 

The latest news coming out of Venezuela sounds as if they're going to start fixing their oil infrastructure and start pumping oil. A figure I saw has their output at about 750k barrels per day, down from their usual one million, which is even far worse than their 1990's output of three million barrels per day.

Venezuela has gone from being the richest country on Earth per capita in the seventies, to abject poverty today. If regime change lifts the standard of living, then that's good. I'm fairly sure that behind the scenes the two sides have been talking and the deal was that Maduro has to be given up, and America gets involved once again in their oil industry. 

Nice Little Rant

 Enough of the crap...

Prediction 2026

I've got just the one prediction for 2026, and that is, Australia is going to fail. That's because they're heavily indebted and faced with a slowdown in China. That means less coal and iron ore sales to China and less exports of food there as well. 

The mortgage market in Australia will suffer serious reversals in all the major cities, wiping out homeowner equity. Smaller banks may fail. Unemployment will skyrocket.

Remember, you read it here first.

Venezuela Oil

What I said back in October 2025 is starting to look pretty accurate right now:

I said:

I've been thinking of a reason the US may be about to take Venezuela, and the only explanation I can think of is that they want its oil. Venezuela has the world's largest oil reserves by far, yet it only pumps daily about 10% of what it should be pumping. That's because, after decades of economic failure, their oil equipment is broken.

Right then, so what I think the US could do is take control of Venezuelan oil. To do this, they wouldn't need to occupy the whole country. All they'd do is control those areas where the oil fields are located, and also control pipelines and port facilities. Study the map to see where those assets are located.

Venezuela is surrounded by adversaries. Guyana is part of the Commonwealth and a former British colony, and likewise, so is Trinidad and Tobago. Then, to the west is Colombia, which is now fully developed and a member of the OECD. Only Brazil may be an ally of Venezuela, but it's through a jungle and undeveloped areas too far south.

The scenario would be to first crush all of Venezuela's oil exports, then occupy the oil fields. They'd need to take out Venezuela's military assets as well, and leadership in Caracas. But they'd just destroy the government and military assets, not take them on head-to-head.

Why is this a brilliant strategic move? If the US does this, then China is cooked. What has this got to do with China?

China controls the so-called renewables sector, wind and solar energy generation, and it controls EV battery production. If the US starts pumping Venezuelan oil at ten times its daily rate right now, the price of gasoline will halve and wipe out the renewables sector overnight. Why would anyone buy an EV, or install solar panels, or a wind turbine when oil is cheap and limitless?

Venezuela's Oil Assets

Maduro Captured

US President Donald Trump is claiming to have captured Venezuela's President Maduro. This sets a bad precedent. I wonder if the US has thought this through?

Update: it has occurred to me that Maduro's people were so sick of him that they simply gave him up to the US. This allows for regime change, it'll be interesting to see how the story unfolds.

US vs Venezuela

Reports are coming in that the United States has started action against Venezuela.

Iran Uprising

Very confusing what's going on in Iran right now, but it did occur to me that China's downturn may have caused the crisis, as Iran's income may have dried up as a result of China buying less oil. But then again, economic protests don't usually cause regime change. 

For those interested in the Shah of Iran and his descendants, if ignoring male primogeniture rules, the man currently promoting himself as rightful heir, wouldn't be. A woman living in Switzerland would be the rightful ruler (if applying modern rules) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shahnaz_Pahlavi

Remember California

The exodus from California is real, businesses and people are leaving the state as its economy and crime rates worsen.