Skynet, The city of London & More

Summary

Doug Casey’s Take – "Skynet, The City of London & More"
March 13, 2026 | Host: Matthew Smith | Guest: Doug Casey

---

Episode Overview

In this wide-ranging episode, Doug Casey and Matthew Smith delve into the intersection of corporatism, technology, and warfare, particularly the rise of AI-driven military platforms—or what Casey coins “Skynet.” The conversation then shifts to global economic and political tensions (AI data center booms and busts, failed megaprojects, the evolving nature of travel, and the fate of Cuba and Iran), perennial conspiracy theories regarding the influence of the City of London, and the practical side of investing amid chaos. Listener questions guide further discussion, spanning practical investing, privacy concerns, and the challenge of expertise in a shifting technological landscape. The episode is rich with Casey’s libertarian, skeptical tone, and candid, sometimes dark humor.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. AI, "Skynet", and Modern Warfare

• Palantir’s AI-Driven Battlefield System
  [00:02–04:23]
  Doug and Matt discuss a Palantir demo showing integrated real-time data for targeting and military operations:

  • Workflow Automation: AI systems now connect multiple data feeds into a unified visualization, streamlining targeting from detection to action—removing much of the human element.
  • Impending Autonomy: “All they got to do is eliminate that last step of the human where you hit that approve button.” (Matthew Smith, [03:33])
  • Casey’s Reaction: “It is kind of Palantir…actually pretty terrifying.” (Doug Casey, [03:16])
  • Debated if AI will eventually act without any human approval, referencing Skynet from The Terminator.

• Corporate Tech-Ethics Showdown
  [04:24–06:13]
  Anthropic’s refusal to let its AI be used for military purposes is lauded.

  • “Good for them…Anthropic doesn’t want to be put in that position where they have to say ‘we were just driving the trains.’” (Doug Casey, [05:34])
  • However, the chilling reality: unless you cooperate with government, big tech can't survive.

2. AI Data Center Race and Economic Dislocation

• Tech Hype and Bust Cycles
  [06:13–08:38]
  Billions are being funneled into AI data centers, but tech is moving so quickly these investments are at risk of obsolescence before recouping costs.

  • “They may be building dinosaurs that will be outmoded quickly, they’ll never recover the capital.” (Doug Casey, [06:13])
  • The “Stargate” project—a $500B Trump/Altman/Ellison pet project—collapsed, highlighting the risk of these “grand” infrastructure plays.

• Failed Megaprojects: The Line (Saudi Arabia) [09:12–09:51]
  Bin Salman’s 100-mile desert city is the butt of Casey’s skepticism: “Absolutely ridiculous idea that only somebody who is a megalomaniac with way too much money would come up with.” (Doug Casey, [09:12])

3. The Ruin of Global Tourism

• [10:18–18:13] Overcrowding and mass tourism destroy the original allure—and even economies—of world landmarks (Venice, Trevi Fountain).
  • “They’ve turned everything into a version of Disneyland. I think that’s true.” (Matt Smith, [15:56])
  • Travel feels more and more like a soulless consumer product, compounded by high fuel prices, war, and poor airline economics.
  • Partial government shutdown and TSA issues exacerbate the misery for travelers.

4. Privacy, Surveillance & The End of Anonymous Travel

• [19:30–22:47]

  • Biometric security (facial, iris, thumbprint scans) is now the norm for international travel.
  • “What tribal privacy. That hasn’t existed forever.” (Doug Casey, [19:52])
  • Even airlines (not just authorities) now have your face in their systems—no express consent required. “I never submitted my information anywhere, but they had my passport photo in their system.” (Matt Smith, [22:04])

• Inevitability & Wealth as Escape

  • “The only thing you can do is try to become as wealthy as possible…so you can…insulate yourself from this stuff.” (Doug Casey, [20:53])

5. Technology & The Cost of AI Data Centers

• [28:16–30:22] Doug anticipates collapse of AI data center investments as a bubble, with immense utility countered by massive costs in energy, water, and taxes.
  • “So many of the fruits of this [tech] revolution are monitoring people…But there’s nothing we can do about it. I mean it’s got a life of its own.” (Doug Casey, [29:21])

6. Investing, Gold Storage & Future Controls

• [31:08–32:41]
  • Urgency to move gold offshore before potential FX (foreign exchange) controls in the US.
  • “Do it now because you won’t be able to do it when you get FX controls.” (Doug Casey, [31:23])

7. City of London: Conspiracy or Reality?

• [32:41–36:17] Responding to listener theories that the "City of London" secretly dominates global affairs and the US is fighting an elaborate war to break free.
  • Casey dismisses it wholly as “tin hat” theorizing and compares it to QAnon-style fantasy: “That whole fringe of conspiracy worlds is...in the tin hat category.” (Doug Casey, [33:41])
  • Matt: “Any idea that basically externalizes your power…to just trust the plan…I’m highly suspicious of.” ([35:21])

8. Oil, Gold, and Stock Market Strategy

• Impact of Iran Conflict on Oil
  [36:18–38:14]

  • Doug predicts oil could spike to $200: “I wouldn’t doubt that before this is over, oil is going to spike to $200, which is what the Iranians have said. I think they’re right.” ([37:11])

• Gold Mining Equities & US Political Risks
  [38:14–40:58]

  • Advises “be right and sit tight.” Favors currently producing miners but notes that tiny juniors can explode in value with little new investment.

• Use of Stop Losses
  [43:45–45:56]

  • “Be right and sit tight…rather than trying to trade and use stop losses, I don’t believe in trading anyway.” (Doug Casey, [45:02])
  • Warns stop losses are easily “picked off” by traders.

9. Escaping the Coming Storm: Uruguay, Argentina, and Global Prospects

• [46:04–47:48]
  • Uruguay and Argentina seen as future havens for wealthy Europeans fleeing unrest.
  • “I don’t think anybody’s going to invade Uruguay…it's both Argentina and Brazil kind of like having it here in between them.” (Doug Casey, [47:15])
  • Regional neutrality and agricultural wealth deemed strong assets for both countries.

10. Middle East Wars & Geopolitics

• [49:15–52:54]
  • Israel-Iran war driven (in part) by Netanyahu’s “Greater Israel” vision and US political money cycles.
  • “Both Israel and Iran are dangerous to the world order. Both of them are. So…the only thing the US should do is wish them both well.” (Doug Casey, [51:06])
  • US entanglement likened to Hatfield vs. McCoy feuding—impossible to truly untangle.

11. The Hardest Sector: Why Tech/Nanotech Beats Resource stocks

• [53:05–55:03]
  • Tech and nanotech are hardest to analyze due to the breakneck speed of innovation.
  • “The amount of technical knowledge which is changing daily…is overwhelming.” (Doug Casey, [53:29])

12. The Great Wealth Transfer

• [55:03–56:32]
  • $85 trillion wealth transfer by 2045 will fuel new services, but the best current preparation is Casey’s own book The Preparation.
  • “Read the damn book and have your kids read it and do what it says.” (Doug Casey, [56:32])

---

Memorable Quotes

• “All they got to do is eliminate that last step of the human where you hit that approve button.”
  — Matthew Smith, [03:33]

• “It is kind of Palantir…actually pretty terrifying.”
  — Doug Casey, [03:16]

• “High tech, big wreck—which nobody’s mentioning now. That’s kind of a sign of the top.”
  — Doug Casey, [29:21]

• “What tribal privacy. That hasn’t existed forever.”
  — Doug Casey, [19:52]

• “You have to assume that...your face scan from all the cameras is being put into computer banks that identify who you are as you just idly walk through a street or a corridor.”
  — Doug Casey, [21:53]

• “That whole fringe of conspiracy worlds is...in the tin hat category.”
  — Doug Casey, [33:41]

• “Be right and sit tight.”
  — Doug Casey, [45:02]

• “Both Israel and Iran are dangerous to the world order. Both of them are. So…the only thing the US should do is wish them both well.”
  — Doug Casey, [51:06]

• “The amount of technical knowledge which is changing daily…it's overwhelming.”
  — Doug Casey, [53:29]

---

Key Timestamps

• Palantir AI demo & “Skynet” fears: [00:31–04:23]
• AI ethics & government interference: [04:24–06:13]
• AI data center bubble & failed megaprojects: [06:13–09:51]
• Global tourism ‘Disneyfication’: [10:18–18:13]
• Surveillance & loss of privacy: [19:30–22:47]
• Gold & capital controls advice: [31:08–32:41]
• City of London conspiracy: [32:41–36:17]
• Middle East war, oil, and US politics: [36:18–38:14]; [49:15–52:54]
• Commodities investing philosophy: [38:14–40:58]; [43:45–45:56]
• Geopolitical safety of Uruguay/Argentina: [46:04–47:48]
• The hardest sector for expertise (tech/nanotech): [53:05–55:03]
• Wealth transfer & generational advice: [55:03–56:32]

---

Tone & Style

Doug Casey is unfiltered, skeptical, and wry. The tone blends dark humor ("travel has been turned into a consumer item, it ruins those places"), libertarian suspicion of both government and corporatism, and pragmatic investing advice that always focuses on self-reliance and being “ahead of the herd.” Matt Smith plays the thoughtful, sometimes droll, facilitator and tech-savvy foil.

---

This summary captures the essential debates, warnings, and angles that shape Doug Casey's worldview as he and Matt Smith navigate the intersection of war, tech, investment, and individual liberty in a volatile 2026.

Transcript

[A]

All right. Good morning, Doug. We're back with questions from members, subscribers to Crisis Investing and members of the File. But first, a few things we wanted to talk about. I shared this video with you earlier about how this, like how corporatism plus technology is coming together in modern warfare.

[B]

And.

[A]

And this is a video on Palantir. Let me just share this real quick. People got to see this to see where it's going.

[B]

Oh, yeah, it's fascinating.

[A]

Here we go. Just a couple minutes long, but worth watching.

[C]

This is Maven Smart System, Palantir's software as a service product that we are deploying across the entire department. As you can see, it's not just one data feed, it's multiple. And instead of having eight or nine systems for those decision makers to look at every single day in order for them to make decisions, you then fuse it into a single visualization tool. The single visualization tool allows you to select, deselect different types of data, look at different approaches to data, but more importantly, action from the same system that you're trying to develop your workflows around. Once you have a detection that you want to actually move and actually move into a targeting workflow, for example, this is what we do. Left click, right click, left click, magically it becomes a detection. That detection then gets moved into a workflow. This is standard digitized workflow, but I want to walk you through it quickly. You have different types of targets that are identified on the left there. Every single column produces a different type of decision making process. Once you have that decision and you're trying to actually action that process, we now move into coa generation, course of action generation, where we are automatically, via a number of factors, trying to identify what the best asset to prosecute a target looks like. Once we've got the different approaches and we select one, we then can move directly into how do we action that target. So we've gone from identifying the target to, to now coming up with a course of action to now actioning that target all from one system. This is revolutionary. We were having this done in about eight or nine systems where humans were literally moving detections left and right in order to get to our desired instant. In this case, actually closing a kill chain.

[A]

Doug, that's Skynet, isn't it?

[B]

I mean, that's just what I was thinking. Excuse me, I'm going forward the plug for my computer. But yes, it is Skynet. And what I. One of the things that are fascinating about that is they use a kind of a suburban office building with a parking lot and SUVs and pickup trucks. So this is like right here in America. They're monitoring you and.

[A]

Right, and they're showing that pointer with the 10 meter outlet. That's the bomb blast radius, you know, that they're doing with the pointer. I mean it's like, but they make it sound so benign too. But he's going through it. This is a workflow and it is.

[B]

And the guy delivering the talk is a kind of a mildly outer shape, middle aged suit, you know, making it all look very normal. I mean it's actually pretty terrifying. Yeah, it is kind of Palantir.

[A]

And all they got to do is eliminate that last step of the human where you hit that approve button. Yeah, right. They're going to see, you know, because he says, well the problem before is we had eight systems and humans were having to actually move things in different systems. Now the human really just needs to hit the approve button.

[B]

Well, maybe not even that because.

[A]

Exactly.

[B]

AI knows so much and is becoming so competent. But you really should just leave it to AI. Oh, or Skynet if you wish.

[A]

Exactly. Well, even their things where they're, where they're matching up the assets, you know, we've got this Predator drone in the air, We've got this A10 over here, you know, matching capabilities, knowing where it's fuel levels, I mean, I'm sure AI is doing all that and I just think this stuff is way further ahead than people imagine. I think.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Crazy.

[B]

Well, I, I'm rarely proud of anything that goes on from a moral point of view in the tech world, but there's this recent dispute between the Trump administration and Anthropic which says that it doesn't want its software used in ways that are evil. I approve of that stance, but the Wall Street Journal today had an article that pointed out that unless you go along with the government, you're not going to get government contracts and you're really going to get hurt because the government's involved in everything.

[A]

Yeah. And you know, I think that how this emerged with Anthropic in the beginning was apparently somebody at Anthropic after the Venezuelan thing called their liaison, the Department of War and asked them if Anthropic was used. Claude essentially was used in that operation and they confirmed that it was. And then that's, that's what sort of triggered the conversations around, you know, what all they're using it for within the Pentagon.

[B]

Well, I'd say good for them because it was, you know, one of the defenses in the Nuremberg trials after World War II, many of which were a sham, but one of the guys was being tried, famously said, well we were just driving the trains. So Anthropic doesn't want to be put in that position where they have to say well we were just driving the trains.

[A]

That makes sense. But what does it say about the fact that a big or a, a, A company cannot be successful in today's day without, you know, unless, unless the DoD approves of them, you know.

[B]

Yeah, it means we're on, we're on the edge of destruction from a number of points of view. So it's not good. I mean, not good. And we were, you know, talking about the, all these AI data centers that are being built at huge expense, not just billions, but tens of billions, scores of billions of dollars to build these things. And not being a computer guy, which you are, much, much more than I am, it occurred to me that as quickly as this area is advancing, I mean these things, they may be building dinosaurs that will be outmoded quickly, they'll never recover the capital, hundreds of billions of dollars.

[A]

I think that's true. And I think, you know, there was a moment last year where the deep Seq model, this Chinese model was released that didn't require the billions of dollars of training in order for it to be really amazing. I mean it was caused like at the time, you know, the, these stocks, the real AI stocks to crash a bit. At least they pulled back a lot and people got started to get really spooked by it. But then they came out with this narrative, oh well, they just, they were using hardware they weren't supposed to have because of sanctions to do it and they were really just doing essentially leveraging chat GTP in order to build their. So kind of copying in a way and, but I think, I think those are just excuses. I think it's nonsense. I actually think there has been a leap in the way these things, the models are built in China and I think we're gonna, and if, and if we hadn't seen it already, I think we're going to see it again. I mean I think it's just moving so fast. There's so many smartest people in the world that are essentially working on this right now, you know, that it's an, you know, like a two year advanced construction decision isn't going to be, isn't, isn't. It's too slow to keep up with

[B]

it and perhaps the capital will not materialize promised but won't arrive because people will start to see, I think This, a bit of writing on the wall. Writing on the wall as opposed to data centers, right?

[A]

Well, no, some of that's already happened. I mean this, on the second day of the Trump administration, he had brought in Larry Ellison and Sam Altman into his office and they announced this 500 billion dollar program to build this gigantic data center they called Stargate. Well, that's all falling apart completely. So, you know, that's one plan that's already been scuttled. The other thing is that a lot of the money coming to fund this was planned to come from the Gulf countries and I don't think they're going to have the free cash flow to do it anymore.

[B]

No. Well, at least they have abandoned the, the line, which was supposed to be a approximately 100 mile long city in the middle of nowhere in the desert. I mean that was, that was when. Listen, I'm all for big ideas and high technology in the world of Star Trek, I love that stuff. But this impressed me. It's just an absolutely ridiculous idea that only somebody who is a megalomaniac with way too much money would come up with. Like the, like Bin Salman in Saudi Arabia, right?

[A]

Exactly. Yep, I think so. So that's kind of fallen away.

[B]

Listen, but I always look at the bright side and the good news as you know, and a couple hundred years from now people will have a wonderful set of ruins to look at and marvel over.

[A]

Right? Yeah. Dig it up as archaeological, find and go. What were these people thinking?

[B]

Yeah, that's right.

[A]

Yeah. Pretty crazy. So you, you mentioned that I know you had some people over last night, conversation about a lot of things, politics, I don't know. Anything you want to share from?

[B]

Well, yeah, I guess I've mentioned here in the past that I'm in Buenos Aires right now and I'm a member of a couple of social groups here in ba. One of them, last night I put on a dinner party here at the apartment for 18 guys that came over that are members of what's called the Round Table. Now this could be interesting to a few people that are listening very directly. The Round Table is an organization which is about 110 years old and it has. Clubs in a few of the major cities in the world. Here in, here in Argentina, the Round Table at our meetings is one a month. We have eight Brits, eight Americans and eight Argentines. And every month somebody will give a paper on something that they have researched or are expert about. And then there's a. Comments, people discuss the paper and we all have a very Gamut, like dinner with each other. So it's a very nice institution. But here in Argentina, the British contingent is not as robust as it used to be. And instead of having eight members, we only have five and we can't seem to find suitable Brits. So anyway, to those that are listening now, if you, if, if you live in or around Buenos Aires and you think you'd fit in, it's pretty high powered group. The people that are members of it, it really is a pretty high powered group. You can talk to us. Well, not me. Basically talk to the British delegation. We'll make the decision and, and join it. And you may not know about it because the boys are looking for suitable Brits or members of the Commonwealth. So Canadians or Kiwis or Aussies or anybody. Commonwealth people are members. So anyway, it's an opportunity if you're a local British person and if you

[A]

want to, you could send an email to helprisisinvesting.com I'll look for those and I'll forward them along to where they need to go in order to consider it.

[B]

So, yeah, it's very nice if you're the right person in the area. And apropos of that, one of the conversations that came up, a couple of the guys had been to Rome fairly recently. You and I were, how long ago were we, you and I?

[A]

I think it was like 2014, something like that.

[B]

Okay, 10 years ago or. Yeah, or something like that. So I thought everything was, was fine on the tourist level then. Things were not too crowded. It was okay. Maybe not like the old days when you could Tour Europe on $5 a day. I don't know how many people remember those books that were popular, but I used them when I was running around Europe in the 60s anyway. And anyway, two of the guys mentioned that, well, you can't go to the Trevi Fountain anymore because there are these metal barriers that have been put up around the fountain to keep the crowds out. And if you want to get closer, I, I didn't pursue this. We didn't like throw a coin in the fountain. You have to pay two or three euros to get through the metal gates keeping people away from the Trevi Fountain, which is a long way from that movie of the 50s. Three coins in a fountain. Yeah, because I, maybe one of the reasons for this, you don't do that anymore is because the migrants, you know, scoop all the coins out of the fountain at the end of the day, which is not supposed to happen. So that, and at the Pantheon, apparently there's lines around the block to get in. We just walked in even 10 or 12 years ago.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So this, this whole tourist thing has exploded. And actually I can't wait until cheap airfares go away and people that really shouldn't be flying, they should take buses. Well, I guess the buses must be. Must be much worse than the planes because the planes are really terrible these days. I mean, and you don't even have to fly Spirit Airlines to find out that that's.

[A]

Yeah. You know, they've just turned travel into a consumer product to such a degree. Everything's packaged, everything feels like a managed tour. You go and check, you know, the box that you saw the site and it's been. Yeah, it's just been. It's been turned into a consumer item and it's kind of ruined tourism for sure. And I think it actually ruins those places.

[B]

It was.

[A]

Distorts the economy. So it's 100. It goes all to tourist dollars. Focus on that.

[B]

Yeah. I mean Venice is, I guess an outstanding example. Has been ruined by the tour boats. Where you go and you see the damn tour boats in the harbor and disgorging thousands of people rummaging around everywhere. I mean, what's the point of going. You might as well go to Disneyland.

[A]

Exactly. They've turned everything into a version of Disneyland. I think that's true. Well, you. I think you might have your wish with. With cheap flights going away. I don't know if it'll. I don't know if that alone will solve the problem. But it's know jet fuel prices are apparently up 50% already based upon what's happening in the Gulf. Now that's like 30% of an airline's costs. I mean that's gonna. And airlines. I wouldn't be surprised if we see airline bankruptcies very soon. You think about. They sold tickets six months ago based upon. None of them hedge anymore the fuel costs, you know, and so every. Every time, every flight they're doing right now, they're losing money on it. Some of them are always on that fringe anyway.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah. Assuming this war is as serious as we think it's going to be, which is to say very serious. And it's just getting started. I mean, you can forget about owning an airline stock at this point.

[A]

I think so too.

[B]

I'm fortunate in that having been to over 150 countries and lived abroad a good part of my life, I'm pretty fed up with travel the way it's become. I really don't want to get on a Plane and go anywhere. I really don't anymore. So, I mean, it doesn't affect me personally that much. I don't really give a damn. But it's too bad for people that might have worked.

[A]

It's definitely bad. I mean, there's a huge opportunity around the world to see and understand and opportunities that you wouldn't have necessarily. I think it's really unfortunate. But you know, the other thing, and I don't know if you know this, but there was, you know, there's a partial government shutdown going on right now. I don't know if you.

[B]

Yes, I've heard about that in, in the TSA people.

[A]

Right. So they aren't paying TSA people. And so you see, the wines for security are insane right now in the U.S. and you know, it's, it's funny right now and you have all these other problems going on. You also have that happening at the same time. I don't think there's many coincidences, but either way, it's a bad situation, making air travel just worse and worse in every way they can.

[B]

Yeah, especially in some cities which have been particularly bad hit. I understand, like three hour lines for tsa, which is just security theater anyway because the TSA people are sicking out or whatever the hell. I mean, nobody's thought about abolishing tsa. But wait a minute. That would never fly at this point. Better make TSA even tougher because now that we're in a war with an Islamic country, you know, people are going to be especially paranoid. This is just so screwed up.

[A]

Right. And as far as I know of tsa, as you know, continues to fail all audits of its security, where people are able to get things through it regardless. Right. I mean, they do these tests all the time.

[B]

Yeah, it's a mess. It's an expensive nuisance. And the only kind of airlines that I would not be short at this point are, well, are private. So you fly private. And it's very expensive. But since America is bifurcating into an upper class and a lower class and the middle class doesn't even exist anymore. Yeah, that's what's happening.

[A]

That is what's happening. Yep. Okay, Doug, let's get to some of these questions. This one, this first one's about travel. It says, Doug, as biometric borders expand, what's your line in the sand on travel privacy? And what practical plan B, like how and where you would travel would you actually implement once that line is crossed?

[B]

Well, that's a nice segue. We were just Talking about flying private, which is very expensive. But what tribal privacy. That hasn't existed forever. And there's eye scans now in most airports and thumbprints now in many, many countries and airports.

[A]

So facial scanning, travel privacy. Yeah. And there hasn't been before they start doing all this biometric stuff, I mean, since 9, 11. I mean, you know, if you're flying into the U.S. your passport has to get cleared essentially by U.S. authorities before they allowed you to board. Yeah, that's been that way since, you know, for a long time.

[B]

So. Well, and I remember decades ago, Larry Ellison said when asked a question about privacy, he laughed and said, what are you talking about? This was decades ago. He said, it doesn't exist. And of course, it's much, much more true today. So, no, forget about it. The only thing you have to assume that.

[A]

Go ahead, go ahead.

[B]

I'm just going to say I think the only thing you can do is try to become as wealthy as possible, if that's a priority. So you can, to some degree insulate yourself from this stuff.

[A]

Yeah, Those numbers start to get pretty massive, though, if you have to do like, private. Private aviation. I mean, that's like the ultimate absurd expense, you know, do it. So it is.

[B]

But I'm so glad I hate travel.

[A]

Yeah, well, they're making everyone hate it, I think, on purpose or not. But I. You people have to imagine that Palantir battlefield system is everywhere. Right. So you think that you moving through an airport is not somehow monitored by a similar system? Your cell phone ping, you know, to the closest tower or the geolocation through your apps, like, they don't know who you are and exactly where you're moving, you know, and you think you're being. You're moving around privately. I think that's all nonsense.

[B]

Yes. And your face scan from all the cameras is being put into computer banks that identify who you are as you just idly walk through a street or a corridor, whatever. Yeah.

[A]

Two years ago, I was boarding a flight, coming, leaving the US Coming back down here, I think. And the airline. Not, not, not TSA and not, not Customs, but the airline had a facial scanner, so it knew my passport information, you know, walking up to us. So there's, there's. And I never submitted my information anywhere, but they had my passport photo in their system, apparently, and recognized me when. As I was boarding the plane. Now, that's the only time I've ever seen that, but that happened. And so that was. That was at least two years ago. So I think it's Far gone.

[B]

This is not the type of thing that endures major corporations to the public. And increasingly people have with good reason come to hate the big corporations as much as they should hate the government. Although many of them love the government because they think the government's here to defend you from the big corporations.

[A]

So well, and if you remember during COVID the enforcers were the corporations. All the rules around travel that you had to, you know, be tested or vaxed, like those were enforced at the airline level. They were not enforced at the border crossings.

[B]

Yeah, well, what are you going to do? The average person is a whip dog. So that's the world we live in.

[A]

All right, Doug, what do you think of technology? Or it was. The question is, can technology produce lab grown gold, real gold? I saw an article on the YouTube that it's now possible.

[B]

It's been possible for a long time. Look, I mean it must have been 30 years ago. Well, it was, I think it was in my book Crisis Investing for the rest of the 90s. Poorly titled book publishers do that, not authors. But I talked about the three reasons why gold eventually would fall to the price of lead. One of them, this is probably a, you know, a junior cub reporter was asked to write an article like that because it's very dated, you know, eventually. And they've done this. You can transmute elements and including gold, you can really turn most elements into most other elements just by real. By rearranging the number of protons and so forth. This has been done. It's done all the time now. Very expensive, totally uneconomic science. Experian. But that can happen. Another reason why gold could be mined in massive quantities is immense amounts are dissolved in seawater. And just as it's well known that kelp concentrates iodine and spinach concentrates iron, Popeye can tell you that kelp beds and so forth can be genetically modified to concentrate gold. You harvest the kelp, make money on the kelp, you get gold and other minerals out of it. So that can happen too. And eventually this is all future stuff. Okay, the, the asteroids, I mean, there have been lots of them that have been designated as full of heavy metals, platinum and other in that part of the periodic table. So they'll be exploited at some point. So I'm not worried at all about gold for a long, long time. But eventually, yeah, that's, that's all going to happen. So,

[A]

okay, the question, let's see, the administration is saying Cuba's next. So it would appear Cuba's going to get some Democracy. What are your thoughts on that?

[B]

Absolutely. You don't have to invade it or anything. It's going to collapse. It's just going to collapse the way the Soviet Union collapsed.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. I saw a note this morning on the current Cuban dictator announcing on national television, I guess yesterday that they had yielded to pressure and were officially in negotiations with the U.S.

[B]

Yeah, the collapse of Cuba is inevitable. And listen, there's always a silver lining to every cloud. And Trump's special military operation in Venezuela, well, at least have some positive fallout. So. Well, who knows where these things lead. I mean, probably with a gigantic flood of more emigrators from Cuba to the U.S. good thing, bad thing, I don't know. All the smart Cubans have already left. So come. The ones that come here now are probably just the, the welfare recipients. But yeah, it's going to, that's going to happen.

[A]

Yeah. It's hard to see the, I mean, that was a pretty, pretty economically depressed place a long time ago when I was there. And it's hard to see any negotiation between the US and them not meaning that the US Is going to take on a new economic burden with it.

[B]

Yeah, pretty much. It's going to be a question of you broke it, you bought it, and the US Will be accused of having broken it, which we actually had nothing to do in. Our sanctions against Cuba were stupid and counterproductive because for many, many years it gave the regime a reason why their standard of living was collapsing. It's the Americans fault, which was ridiculous because the Cubans could buy anything they wanted from any European or South American or oriental country. So the fact they couldn't deal with the US was inconvenient and costly, but that wasn't why the place collapsed. So, yeah, we're going to wind up with Cuba as a welfare recipient country too, undoubtedly.

[A]

All right, kind of relates to something we already talked about, Doug, but how do you feel about the proliferation of AI data centers with their astronomical demand for water and electricity, groundwater, noise, pollution, and an increase in state and local taxes and utilities?

[B]

I'm confusing our conversation before we started this. Did we answer this already in this.

[A]

We didn't answer the question, but we did talk about the AI data centers might, you know, them proving to be uneconomic because of. During this conversation we talked about that and that they might just, you know, end up being, end up failing failed projects. But we didn't talk about like, you know, what do you think of the, the, her question relates to the costs really, essentially the trade offs of these Massive facilities going in that are already driving up electricity prices for people, you know, and it is that. Yeah. What do you, do you think it's worth it? Even if they prove to be not a boondoggle investment, is it worth it for people?

[B]

Well, I do think it's a bubble at this point. Of course the entire economy is a bubble at this point. And the old dictum, high tech big wreck which nobody, since tech is where all the action is in the stock market today. Nobody's, nobody's mentioning that old dictum which is kind of a sign of the top actually they'll mention it after the market crashes. It'll be obvious at that point. So look, these things are mostly double edged swords, aren't they? I mean there's some good that comes out of, out of AI and all these centers. I can see it, you know, advances in medical technology and space technology and engineering, it's immense. But so many of the fruits of this revolution are monitoring people, monitoring the plebs even more closely. So. But there's nothing we can do about it. I mean it's got a life of its own. I think it's going to collapse. Just an opinion.

[A]

Yeah, I think this, this constant data center expansion is going to collapse from, because of, for financial reasons. But I don't think that the technology behind it is going to collapse. Yeah, yeah, it's coming no matter what I think. All right Doug, we've says you've repeatedly recommended SWP Cayman for gold storage and I currently have mine and there' Zurich, Switzerland vault. Do you have any thoughts on the best of the SWP vaults to store one's golden or does it not make much of a difference? Would it make a difference if gold is confiscated again in the US Assuming confiscation does occur, what are your thoughts about gold redemption once owning gold is again illegal for US citizens?

[B]

Well, anything is possible in today's world and I think we are going to get foreign exchange controls in the US for a number of reasons which will make it very hard for you to send money out of the country to have it stored by SWP or anybody else anywhere. So the first answer to the question is do it now. I don't think it makes any difference which situs that you ask them to. Zurich fine. Cayman's fine. Singapore fine. So take, take, take your choice. That's all, that's all good. But you should do it now because you won't be able to do it when you get FX controls. And I might point out that if you want to buy a crib in some backup country. And I think Argentina, the real estate values down here, the cost of living in Argentina has gone way up, but real estate values are still lagging a lot. I mean, this apartment I'm in now, in real terms, what did I pay for this place? Back in 2007, I paid $950,000 for it. And today, if I wanted to sell it, I might be able to get 1.5. Well, a taxable profit, yes, but in real terms, I've lost money. So real estate's still. But, but wait a minute. I don't mean to go off on a tangent. I'm just saying if you want to do it, you should do it now while you can still get your money out of the country. To answer the question.

[A]

Okay. All right, good. Here's an interesting one for you. He said, what is this talk I'm just learning about that the US and much of the world is actually controlled by the city of London, especially the powerful bankers. A number of people. I won't mention names, actually. Well, maybe I should. Such as Tom luongo. And some YouTube channels like Promethean Updates are claiming all this chaos from Trump is part of his plan to free America and the world from the city of London. If he's successful, the country will be free and prosperous again. They claim the invasion of Venezuela cut off resources to the city of London and by extension will cause Cuba to eventually collapse. And the war in Iran is part of taking control of another resource of the city of London via control of their oil production and shipping. Does Doug believe there's anything to this?

[B]

No, I don't actually. Look, just like all of Europe, England is a sinking ship, and they can make believe, but the British Navy, you know, is. Is like, non existent. The British army is non existent. Financial power. No, this is. People love conspiracy theories, and maybe it sells newsletters, but that whole. That whole fringe of conspiracy worlds is. I kind of put that in the tin hat category.

[A]

Yeah. You know, I. I look for. I go, I've tried. I've looked at says. Well, okay, if this were true, like, then where can I find some evidence of this? And a lot of. And I. And. And what evidence do I have to ignore for this to be true? You know, and it just seems that no matter what happens, everything that happens is a perfectly executed plan to take down the city of London. And when. When that's true, when there's no, like, no error from that at all, that everything is a perfectly executed plan, essentially, to take down People, we behind the scenes who are actually the problem. It just reminds me of the whole Q phenomenon, which at its core was, listen, the white hats are in charge. They're fighting for you behind the scenes. They're, they're, you know, they've, they're, they're invading the underground tunnels right now. Hillary's in Guantanamo Bay. Like the. We're winning. So just sit tight. You know, this is the vibe it gives me. And like, I think anything that any idea that basically externalizes your power, you know, that you have as an individual to shape your life and to make and make real improvements around you and to just trust the plan. I mean, I'm highly suspicious of.

[B]

Yeah, well said. I totally agree. And as far as the increasing power or any power of the City of London, like I said, the round table can't even find three Brits here in Argentina. So they're not like expanding over the world and growing in power.

[A]

Right. And if people say that part of it, say, well, City of London, we're really talking about the banksters, you know, and it's like, well, aren't those guys in New York? I mean. Yeah, you know, so isn't that us? I mean, you know, it's confusing. It's confusing.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

All right. So with the recent attack on Iran by the US And Iran's counterattack on oil tankers, what changes does Doug anticipate in his current recommended stock portfolio?

[B]

Well, we've recommended over the last few years a number of oil stocks which I think was prescient. Petrobras, Ecopatrol, Marin,

[A]

White Cap Resources, which

[B]

is certainly one of my bigger holdings. Yeah, exactly. So these have all done very well. They're not international, they're not. They're not oil companies that are involved in the part of the world where this is a problem. So, yeah, that's just fine. And my personal opinion is that although I'm sure the US Government is doing everything it can to keep the price of oil down, which is at this point perhaps artificially low, I wouldn't doubt that before this is over, oil is going to spike to $200, which is what the Iranians have said. I think they're right.

[A]

Yeah. And in the FT today, it was confirming that people inside the oil trading business were wondering who the mysterious big seller was of oil futures, and it appears to be the U.S. treasury.

[B]

Well, they can print up as much money as they need to cover their margin calls, so, yeah, makes sense. Trump definitely wants to keep the price of oil within what he thinks is A reasonable range. It's funny, he had an announcement the other day that said higher oil prices are a good thing. We're going to make a lot of money. US Oil business.

[A]

I know, it doesn't matter. It's like ignore the cognitive dissonance feeling you get, you know, by listening to them.

[B]

You know, it's like I constantly. Yeah, these are not the droids you want.

[A]

Yeah, it's bizarre. Okay, let's see this long question. I'm trying to get the. So even with the extremely strong outlook for gold, given the way politics are going in the United States and the strong chance that the Democrats could take control of the midterms and potentially next presidential election, wouldn't you only want to own currently producing minors or juniors that are speed running the permitting and approval process with a short term likelihood of going into production? With the idea being essentially that once the new administration comes in that they're going to quash down on the. The mining opportunities that are out there.

[B]

Oh, that's a reasonable possibility. And the fact of the matter is is that as much as well as these junior mining stocks have treated us and they've treated us immensely well. Like for instance, one of the members of the roundtable here that I got to know is a major shareholder and etc. Etc. In a company down here in Argentina called Patagonia Gold. And you know, we were talking about the mining business and he told me about this little company which at the time was five cents and now it's trading for a dollar. That's a 20 to one shot on, on a company like that. So you know, the higher these things get, the less prone I am to buy them. But the retail public is. I've said this before, despite the fact these things have run up from me way too cheap to. Are they, where are they now? The retail public is uninvolved, totally in these, in these small stocks. It's just the cognoscenti and institutions are still not buying them. So it's not too late to get, to get in them. Although I get more and more cautious. And that's true of oil stocks too. People don't chase this stuff after they've had a good track record. But with stuff like commodity stocks, I'm not talking about a well run business where track record is important because managers

[A]

are executing well over time.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, this is, this is different. These stocks run up because the commodities gone up. So a good track record is not a sign of something you want to buy. It tends to be a sign of Something you don't want to buy or maybe sell. We're not there yet, but.

[A]

Right. And that's just because of the boom bust cycle in commodities. You have overinvestment, then you have underinvestment, and that's just, just that cycle.

[B]

Answer to the question though. Yeah, I, I, I, I do like companies that are actually mining now because they can make a huge amount of money now as opposed to a year or two years or three years or four years down the road when maybe they get into production. But at the same time, those Explorers and the small developers have such tiny market caps that just a little bit of money going into them will double and triple them. It takes a lot more for the producers.

[A]

So it's as Patagonia Gold is a good example of. Right. They're set to go into production this year. Really And.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly.

[A]

Okay. There's a question about how to access the Canadian stock market. He says he only has a Charles Schwab account, so he ends up buying US trading versions of the stock. And you know, they have limitations on it that the best discount brokerage I, I found for buying, getting access to international markets is Interactive Brokers. It's very simple, very easy, low cost. The other option is you, you know, go to a full service brokerage like Canaccord or Raymond James or something like that. Right?

[B]

Yeah, exactly. And I personally only use full service brokers, which from one point of view is uneconomic because the commissions are much, much higher. But they're the only ones that can effectively do private placements for you. And that's the preferable way to invest in these Canadian markets. And the brokers that I work with are actually really knowledgeable guys that are worthwhile talking about. But if you go to Merrill lynch or whoever it is and they assign you some broker, you don't know who you're going to get.

[A]

No. And the most senior people are not taking new clients either. Unless you're bringing a big book with you.

[B]

Yeah, exactly. So it is a quandary,

[A]

but Interactive Brokers is the easy way. If you just want to buy the stock, you can get it there. Yeah, okay. All right. Another question from the same person says there have been sign, there have been warnings about a significant stock market drop coming. And we mentioned in the past that you don't use stop losses in the portfolio of gold and silver stocks. Would you recommend in these volatile times to start using a stop loss? Says I tried it, but then I tend to hit the stop loss and my stock Sell. The issue is that I'm a nurse and she explains a personal situation, so it's difficult to keep track of it. So do you recommend considering using stop losses now? And if so, if not, why not?

[B]

Well, the thing with stop losses is that it provides a discipline where you make a plan beforehand and the stop loss forces you to follow the plan. Okay. That's the bright side. On the other side, you know, the stock losses are in somebody's book. And the guys that are trading and watching these things on the floor, electronic floor, know where it is and they'll do their best to pick you off so they could work against you too. My personal view on this is buy stuff that's cheap. You have to wait a while. Which we've certainly had to do with these golden oil stocks. That was true for a long time. But be right and sit tight. I love these old market aphorisms because there's a lot of truth to them. And I don't really plan on dumping my stocks. Not to say you shouldn't take a free ride after you've made some money. So you take some money off the table. That's the best way to solve it in a bull market. But listen, rather than trying to trade and use stop losses, I don't believe in trading anyway. It's that I'm waiting for that big indicator or something that looks like it when all the magazines in the drugstore. Of course there aren't any magazines in the drugstore now. You have to do that electronically too. But the equivalent of slime or Newspeak magazines having that golden bull tearing apart the New York Stock Exchange on the front cover. And that's the tip off. So. But that's the way I play it from a long term point of view. So answer to the question. Yeah, I understand stop losses can be a good idea. I don't use them.

[A]

Yeah, this was when I, when I tried to use them in the past. I noticed that I would. My position would be taken out at like the low of the day. You know, it was like started off way above it. Somehow during the day it managed to get all the way down to where my stop was, take me out and come back up to where it was before we started the day. So it's dangerous, they used to be

[B]

called, getting picked off by a specialist. And of course that's kind of ancient history, but it still happens just in a different form.

[A]

All right, Michael Yan speaking about global famine. And Uruguay has a high capacity of food producing. It's a high capacity Food producing country. But how does the future look? Pressure from the rest of South America on a small country are basically the best place to be. Any other perspectives?

[B]

Well, I don't think anybody's going to invade Uruguay. It doesn't have a lot of low life immigration and I think what's going to happen both in Argentina and in Uruguay I've been waiting for, it hasn't happened yet is you're going to get thousands and thousands of wealthy Europeans that are going to get the hell out of Europe for all kinds of reasons and come here where the life is better and cheaper and much mellower. So that's kind of my answer.

[A]

Yeah, I mean, yeah, a lot. Plenty of food here. Hard to see that being a problem.

[B]

No.

[A]

You know, pressure from other South American countries. It's like, I mean Uruguay doesn't have anything that are their neighbors. Don't have more of.

[B]

True, that's right. Nothing. So yeah, it's both Argentina and Brazil kind of like having it here in between them.

[A]

So yeah, serves a useful purpose for our, for the big neighbors. But I mean I don't think there's any place in the world today where there is no risk of potential problems. But my, my view is still that this is the probably this, this is still the right place to be. You know, this is still lower risk than anywhere else I can think of.

[B]

Yeah, I, I agree. And during wars Argentina and Uruguay have both done well because they, they've been neutral, they've been way out of harm's way and they got good stuff to export to people that are busy fighting. As opposed to farming.

[A]

Right, exactly. See a question about these experts Roundtable sessions that we do. Do we intend to update those sessions with updates if you or other attendees actually make the investments of any of the presenting minors.

[B]

Well, maybe it's, maybe it's a trick we're missing. So we'll have to ask the attendees to send in comments if they feel like it. So people can update that on the website. So it's a good suggestion.

[A]

Yeah, we do know in some cases like people vocalize, you know, whether or not they're, they like something or don't like it. Some said, you know, that they already own the stock in the past and some we know afterwards have bought it. We know for sure but we don't monitor that specifically at this stage. But we can, you know, I don't want to force those guys to do it but I think asking them to share any updates would, it could be

[B]

useful that, yeah, we'll have to do that.

[A]

Okay. Since American support for Israel has been slipping steadily for the last few years, especially among young. The young. Is that the main reason for the war with Iran now?

[B]

No, I don't think that's the reason for it. I mean,

[A]

what is the reason for it, do you think?

[B]

Well, Israel or Netanyahu and the crowd around him feel that, well, they're surrounded by enemies and they would want to listen. It's been said with some truth that Greater Israel should be from the Nile to the Euphrates, and it sure looks like it's moving in that direction. So that's kind of a trend. And Iran has been the most hostile continuing power against Israel and that Yahoo and his crowd would like to eliminate Iran or have severe regime change. So.

[A]

But why is the US doing it? Why is the US part of it, though?

[B]

Oh, well, listen, why should, why should you get involved fighting a country that's 10 times your population when you can get somebody bigger and stronger to do it for you? So my answer to the question is, hey, I, I don't wish ill to anybody, frankly. I think both Israel and Iran are dangerous to the world order. Both of them are. So the only thing that the US should do is wish them both well. I don't know, I don't know how you say this in Farsi, but in Yiddish or Hebrew you'd say zeigazunt, live and be well. But I don't want any part of this. And that's what the US should say.

[A]

So would you say that Trump is doing all this just at the behest of Israel, or are there other motives that he might have? I mean, besides the City of London, of course.

[B]

Yeah, don't, don't discount that, of course. No, I can't think of anything. I mean, look, it happens to be a fact that most of the congressmen get lots of money from apec and their main mission in life is to be re elected and money helps doing that. So, yeah, I think it's really stupid and it's, it's really, really criminal spending all this money and it taking all this danger and creating all this trouble to defend a little country that has got, well, nothing we can do about it.

[A]

No. And whose creation apparently was part of the City of London's ideas, by the way.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. Decision so weird.

[A]

It's conflicts, this is a conflicting fact in the City of London thing. So Israel's creation of City of London, but then now by attacking Iran or going against the City of London, which the people that were created by the city of London are, you know, we're doing on their behalf. You know what I mean? You see the conflict there?

[B]

Yeah, I, I do, but I don't think anybody can figure out the politics of the Middle East. We can't even figure out the politics of the Hatfield McCoy War, which is just between two families here. We're talking about hundreds of groups that none of them like each other. So thank God it's none of our business or shouldn't be.

[A]

It is now, Doug.

[B]

Yes, it is. Yeah. Like Michi said, you may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you.

[A]

That's the way it is now for sure. All right, Doug, just a couple questions for you. What sector of stocks do you think are most difficult to become an expert in?

[B]

Well, it's not the resource stocks. I mean, they're relatively straightforward. I mean, you learn some geology, you learn some engineering, but it's relative to tech.

[A]

It's. It's.

[B]

These are, they're. They're like grade school level. So I'd say that it's all the tech. Tech areas. And we're look. Trying to look into nanotech right now. I know that you've activated AI to examine a lot of nanotech companies, which is some of really pretty. Pretty interesting. But the amount of technical knowledge which is changing daily that you need to analyze these stocks, it's. It's overwhelming. So I kind of consider it. Listen, I consider myself the original nanotech bull, actually having written a long chapter on that in crisis investing for the rest of the 90s and why it would be huge, and it's just starting to be huge. But just because I'm bullish doesn't mean that. How can you be an expert? It's in it, frankly.

[A]

Yeah. Just looking at the surface level that we've done so far, I'm just like, man. To really understand what they're doing here, it's. You have to. The. The level of science you have to comprehend to begin to grasp. What was that one? It was like. It was. They were the leader in spintronics or something like something I never even heard of before. This is a company with great cash flow and it's. What is it?

[B]

Yeah, yeah, it's. It's highly specialized. How many rabbit holes do you have the time to go down looking to hopefully find an Easter egg at the bottom of it? That's the problem.

[A]

Yeah, I agree. Okay, last question. An estimated 85 trillion will be transferred to family, heirs, families, charities and the like by the year 2040. 5. So aside from private banks, fund managers and lawyers, what is the service that will be provided in 2045 that currently is unnecessary? I guess just to help facilitate that, you know, this supposed wealth transfer that's going to occur.

[B]

Yeah. And I'm afraid that there will be a gigantic wealth transfer. And the question is, to whom kids? Or will the baby boomers leave it to institutions and NGOs?

[A]

Well, or to the health care system that. That milks them dry?

[B]

That's right. That'll have. That'll happen too. I think the best answer to that question is, I don't have a copy of it here on the table in front of me. But if you want to prepare for that and have your kids prepare for it, you should have them read the preparation. We haven't promoted that book for, for a month. But. Yeah, go on Amazon, buy the book. And that is actually the best answer there is to that question, how to prepare for the future. And it's a really good answer. So read the damn book and have your kids read it and do. Do what it says.

[A]

Okay. All right, good. Okay. So buy the book. If you're a Commonwealth prospect for this roundtable [e-mail] and I think, yeah, if you're not subscribed to Crisis Investing in general, go at least get on the free list there. If you're interested in the stocks that Doug talks about that we like, you become a paid subscriber and you get the monthly newsletter there as well. And I think that's. That's our. That's it. So anything else you want to add today, Doug?

[B]

I don't know. Did we sum up our whole hour long conversation in 30 seconds?

[A]

I tried to.

[B]

Not a bad job.

[A]

All right, well, good. We'll leave it there and be back for more next week. Thanks, Doug. Have a great weekend.

[B]

Same to you, Matt.