War, Rumours of War, and Governance
The Great Simplification #94 with Chuck Watson
Today…
(NB: I’ve chosen to release this recording immediately because I felt it was too important and time sensitive to wait until next Wednesday).
I’ve invited risk expert Chuck Watson to return for a critical assessment of the unfolding situation around Israel which adds to the escalating dangers of our current geopolitical landscape. As tensions rise, the potential risks that any military confrontation in the Middle East poses could spill over into energy, economic systems, and our social fabric - Chuck lends his deep expertise and decades of experience to triangulate this dynamic situation.
Chuck Watson has had a long career in military and intelligence work, with a specialty in natural and human made disaster modeling. He worked for the US Air Force, was an attaché to US Ambassadors to the Middle East Robert McFarland, and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld as a Soviet expert. Chuck has worked as an advisor to the military for over four decades with a particular emphasis on big data, open source intelligence, with an emphasis on the Soviet Union and Russia. Chuck is also the founder and Director of Research and Development of Enki Holdings, LLC, which designs computer models for phenomena ranging from tropical cyclones (hurricanes) and other weather phenomena, earthquakes, and tsunamis, as well as anthropogenic hazards such as industrial accidents, terrorism, and weapons of mass destruction.
How do our individual perspectives of where history begins influence who we see as “good” or “evil” and is it even possible to find an unbiased source of ‘truth’? What does Western diplomacy look like in a world no longer based on fear - and will the United States risk being stretched too thin trying to preserve the unipolar world of past generations? How do we even begin to navigate the minefield of geopolitical tensions that seem to be growing daily so as to maintain some sort of stability that avoids catastrophic outcomes in coming years?
In case you missed it…
On Wednesday, I was joined by energy industry professional Joris van der Schot to explain the basics of oil refineries, their limitations, and other cultural narratives about energy. Oil is the lifeblood of our economies, yet most of us know so little about how it actually becomes all the different final products that we use. By better understanding this process and the state of current refineries, we can see what options are available to us for future energy needs.
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