Trouble in River City

 - There are two kinds of people in this world. Those who have loaded guns and those who dig.

- Blondie: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

Culture and AI

The title is from the Music Man. The words of wisdom is from big, Clint Eastwood. The two cultural hit movies carry inter-generational realities. The lead character in the Music Man is a con man. He cries a half-truth that resonates. This is happening in politics around the globe. The strong military nations know the loaded gun today is nuclear. Their problem is when politics crosses over with economic burdens. The intersection becomes like a chemistry lab experiment that turns combustible. 

AI has a danger of bots spreading propaganda and misinformation that comes in half-truths. If it resonates, the consequences could be more than fatal. 

Geo-Political Picture...

...at the moment it is reaching the crossover point of half-truths of politics along with economic worries to violent actions. This is a dangerous intersection. You can see the effects.

The war in Europe is escalating. The war in the Middle East could only hold a cease fire for a few hours. Syria has reexploded. After the dictator was disposed and before the new Syrian leader could demonstrate his intentions for the nation, the war-monger, Netanyahu began bombing Syria and annexing land. Netanyahu says Israel needs more buffer space. His actions only foretells more tension and conflict. Israel needs to get rid of this man or they will never see peace. There are other conflicts like in Sudan. The list of political disturbances and violent outbursts grows each week.

Recap:

There are three nations in southeast Africa that have serious political unrest. Mauritius has economic problems everywhere. Mozambique had protestors cause a blackout. Somalia is up and down. The loaded gun is aimed by China with its Silk Road project. China is using the Greek Trojan Horse. They come offering financing for pet projects and when the bill comes due, they steal what they were after. Russia also has an appearance. The two (bad bandits) are seeking natural resources. 

The ugly has the rope around the neck throughout Europe. There are political problems in France, Germany, Poland, Hungary, Moldova, Italy and Romania. In South America, Argentina always has inflation and economic situations. Brazil is playing cat and mouse with China and the US. The Korean peninsula has the disconnect of government with its citizens. The situation in South Korea has the eyes of North Korea, but that nation also has a serious disconnect between its government and citizens. In the communist nation, the internet is opening the eyes and mind of the lies of its government. This knowledge is already known in Hong Kong, but China has a strong hand of oppression. Where is the good when we need him?

The US is caught between the transformation of a new government and the old administration. We will soon learn the phony promise by Trump of ending the war in Europe on day one. We will soon find out what we stated in the past. His tariffs will be tokenism.

Meanwhile...

The stock market shows its disconnect to reality with its Santa Claus rally. The con men of Wall Street are giving half-truths about firms that have PEs off the charts. The only index that is not in sync is the IWM or small caps. This is a market tell. If the economy was truly strong, the small caps would be out-performing the large caps.  The one important indicator is the dollar. In Europe, the Polish leading candidate seeks cheap money as does Trump in the US. The Fed has their next meeting on the 17th and 18th of December. They have already given three rate cuts which was their dot plot forecast. Whatever the Fed does will not change the trouble in River City.  Peace.