Yesterday I had E.M. Burlingame on the podcast to get his perspective on what is going on in the Middle East. We talked about why he thinks there is a method to the madness in Iran, why the level of the S&P is a matter of national security, and the other chaos nodes around the world. We also covered the long term future for the US and the problems that we need to address with the economy, the population, and the political system. You can find EM on Substack and on Twitter.

Podcast Summary

* The method to the madness in the Middle East and why Trump is injecting chaos into the geopolitical chessboard.

* How the financial system is built on algorithms that factor in centuries of risk modeling, and the controlled volatility creation we are seeing.

* Why the S&P being elevated (and rising) is a matter of national security.

* The problems facing Europe as far as the production of commodities and energy, and the problems they have as far as immigration.

* What the US has to do to rewire the financial system and flush out the corruption and fraud, and why it starts at the local level.

* Why we need to stop using GDP as a measure of success, and why 100 million people need to be sent back.

* Why there is no incentive for the bureaucracy to enforce laws on the books and remove people from the country.

* How a rewiring of the economic system to real production will naturally fix the relationship between men and women, and why 90% of women’s jobs are make work.

* Why we need to nuke the healthcare and food industry, and why we need to make the Sherman Antitrust Act great again.

* The chaos agents in Venezuela and Iran, and the other points of interest with the Strait of Malacca and Cuba that will probably be solved diplomatically.

* Why Somalia and Canada are two other potential chaos nodes to watch.

* The problem with the Trump administration’s messaging on recent events.

* Book Recommendation: As Rome Burns by E.M. Burlingame (his first fiction novel).

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