Lee

For the record. Trump’s Iran Gambit and the New Great Game Donald Trump’s Iran war is not really about Iran. It is a live‑fire demonstration for a larger audience: China, Europe and every state that still depends on U.S.‑policed sea lanes and dollar finance. Trump’s Art of the Deal meets Kipling’s Kim: transactional brinkmanship fused with a ruthless sense of the Great Game. His coercive sequencing with Tehran – pressure, “winding down”, peace feelers, a 48‑hour ultimatum on Hormuz, threats to “obliterate” power plants – is meant to show that the U.S. can still dominate escalation ladders in a critical energy theatre. Iran’s new 4,000km missile, capable of reaching European capitals, only vindicates his argument that this is not a local irritant but a system‑level threat. Europe’s instinct to respond with process and paper echoes Chamberlain more than Churchill. The real inflection point is what happens if Iran can no longer serve as a staging ground or energy back door for China. If crude again clears overwhelmingly in dollars, and Washington effectively controls the main flows out of the Gulf. The geometry between the U.S. and China changes dramatically. Beijing would face a world where its industrial lifeblood remains hostage not to “multipolarity” but to American tolerance. Gulf monarchies are already betting on this outcome, distancing from Tehran while recommitting long‑horizon capital to the U.S. That is not sentiment; it is positioning for a system in which American security guarantees and dollar energy are, once more, the only game that really counts. If President Trump holds his nerve, IMHO he will, Iran is boxed in rather than appeased, the peace dividend will be akin to the fall of the USSR. State sponsored terrorism take a significant hit, cheaper and more predictable energy, risk premia declines, and a strategic map in which China must live inside an order Trump has just proved Washington can still enforce. Yes, Iran is a sideshow. And yes, The Great Game evolves.

Canada has observed the largest decline in happiness in the world (along with the UK)

Not sure how Nvidia becoming a big player in self-driving cars isn't a mortal threat to the Tesla valuation case. Tesla's valuation only makes a trace of sense if they're the only one who solves self-driving (at least any time soon) and they get to have the market to themselves.

A CS professor at a mid-tier state university just sent me their internal placement data Fall 2023: 89% of their graduates had offers by graduation. Average starting salary $94k Spring 2024: 71% placement rate. Average dropped to $78k Fall 2024: 43% placement rate. Those who got offers averaged $61k Spring 2025: 31% of graduates employed in software roles six months out This semester? 19% placement rate and falling Faculty meeting last Tuesday got heated when the department chair suggested "pivoting curriculum toward AI collaboration skills" One professor stood up and said "we're teaching students to build the systems that eliminate their own jobs" The career fair last month had 12 companies show up. Half were MLMs and insurance sales Students keep asking why they're learning data structures when the job postings all say "3+ years experience with LLM integration" Professor told me the hardest part is the parent meetings "My daughter took out $140k in loans for this degree and she's working at Starbucks" Meanwhile the university is still running ads promising "94% job placement rates in high-growth tech careers" The disconnect is crushing everyone involved Faculty knows the industry has fundamentally shifted but the marketing department is still selling the 2019 dream These kids mortgaged their futures for careers that evaporated while they were in class