Joe Rogan Experience #1923 - Mike Baker

Joe Rogan podcast check it out The Joe. Rogan Experience Train by day Joe Rogan. podcast by night all. day speak up for horseshit. Jamie you're just going to let them ban. [ __ ] that could be a problem for. [ __ ] some bullshit's fun I think you. advocated your responsibility some. bullshit's fun and should just be that's. the [ __ ] you like some [ __ ] is.

fun like wrestling or whatever yes but. wrestling doesn't cost people billions. and billions of dollars when it doesn't. go right well do you think that that. [ __ ] guy who crashed uh FTX the. binance guy do you think he had any idea. that he was going to crash his business. too. oh like collateral damage yeah they're. going under he's lost like15 billion do. over the last few. days yeah Pro I would say no he didn't. see it coming no but [ __ ] it.

duh [ __ ] duh you just you you. basically showed everybody how. vulnerable this money on a hard drive is. this like weird I'm mining I'm mining. for coin are you you're mining no no I'm. just kidding wonderful idea I know it's. so profitable to. mine it was either that or Cobalt and. crypto seemed easier so Jamie you were. saying that people were mad first of all. they were mad at pieter Zion for mostly. that yeah for saying.

what seems to be the case is that a lot. of crypto is just horeshit the one. comment he made that I think. they I would go against too is that it. has no intrinsic value because it seems. that like a lot of things have no. intrinsic value right so well it doesn't. have a value unless we agree it has a. value and you can buy a lot of stuff. with I mean Antonopoulos doesn't he buy. everything like pays his rent everything. with Bitcoin tons of stuff you could do. with it tons of stuff going on with it. it has uses yeah I don't know if they're. all the uses everyone thought they'd be.

by now or what's going on with it cuz. there's obviously a lot of confusion but. then people were mad at you well just. cuz I I he had to leave we had you know. fight to catch so oh they were they were. mad that you didn't Grill him so just. let him stand up like on on a whatever. no I thought they were mad cuz you. invented crypto I didn't know I wasn't. sure where this was going imagine if. that was Satoshi that'll come out later. he's the main guy all his. time all his time he's been hiding in. plain sight that's a whole another fun. story too that we'll never know I don't.

think it's kind of funny right it's like. him and Banky they're like the best uh. Escape artists ever and we've never seen. them together it's like Ringo Star and. Yasser Arafat you never saw them. photograph together so I think they look. different I think that's just one of. them fun things to say before the. internet came around look how old you. are Ringo Star y everybody's like what. the [ __ ] is he say y aaat that guy's. dead oh he is dead he's he's been dead. and continues to be dead Ringo's still.

alive though right yes he's like the. last of the Beatles is still alive other. than Paul McCartney Right just the two. of them George Harrison and God bless. him John Len oh well that is pretty [ __ ]. what am I talking about look at that. that's not bad I was not making that. [ __ ] yeah damn and never ever that's a. side by side comparing two photos but. they were never photographed in the same. room we still to this day don't know. imagine if you were a rock star but you. were also a. dictator I mean has any dictated ever.

tried to become like if anybody could. pull that off maybe the saltan of brunai. or a terrorist right right right that's. great cover to travel around the world. as a rock star and also be a terrorist. yeah or a spy has there ever is that is. that a movie there was uh about what's. his name the catcher uh not Yoki bar the. baseball guy who was a traveled as a spy. I'm thinking of that movie that was. based around the guy from the no no no. no no no the Spy the guy from The Gong. Show oh yeah Chuck Barry Chuck Barry.

remember there was Chuck Barry or Chuck. bars Chuck bar Baris right Barry is the. musician Baris is the guy from The Gong. Show there was that movie Confessions of. a dangerous mind yeah that was a fun. movie man it was a good movie who played. Chuck. Baris I forget he was great I I you know. I'm old enough to remember the gong show. oh he was so fun the guy it's when. someone's having fun when someone has. like a Perpetual smile it just uh it's. an enjoyable thing to watch Sam Rockwell.

Sam Ro's [ __ ] great that guy's great. but that show you know it was like. watching a Dean Martin concert every. time you tuned in the gong show you just. knew Chuck was half of the bag right he. was having a fantastic time Jamie far. was going to be one of the panelists. yeah anyway yeah Jamie far used to be my. neighbor no yeah my actual neighbor Liv. right next door to me super nice. guy yeah he's a [ __ ] it weirded me. out beses fam mash and the gong I can't.

name one thing that Jamie far was in I. don't think he did anything else I he. played golf yeah I think he made his. money off of mash in The Gong Show and. just played golf Cannonball Run was he. in that yeah both of them wait a minute. interesting says here I mean it's got. his the poster comes up when I Googled. his name so that's what it. means uh well Happy New Year happy New. Year yeah so uh I was reading Fox News. today cuz uh my friend Shawn told me. they were going to get rid of the IRS I. was like what.

no what is happening no he's like yeah. they're trying to get rid of the IRS I'm. like what so I go to Fox News and uh. they were saying that they're trying to. overhaul the tax system and make it a. consumption based tax and there's these. uh the the answer to the squad on the. right side is what do they call. themselves The Patriot 20 or some [ __ ]. oh the uh Freedom Forum or the I think. it's the freedom caucus or the freedom. Forum or something like that yeah it's. got to it's got to involve freedom of. some sort it's that's of you got to.

choose one from colum and then you got. to go get caucus or Forum Patriot Act. yeah no they're not get they're not. getting rid of the IRS all those all. those folks who might have gotten. excited about that it's never going to. happen they've uh they've moved to. defund you know that 87,000 agents yeah. that seemed like a problem that hiring. 87,000 new people I don't understand I. you know I have an account that handles. all my [ __ ] I don't pay attention to. that stuff but what I do know is that. there was a lot of people saying they.

weren't going to go after corporations. with that they're going to go after like. you know middle class people that maybe. skimped a little here or there and find. them hard yeah they're going after small. to medium-sized businesses I mean that's. the popular narrative was we're going to. hire 87,000 more now look does the IRS. uh do they need to update their computer. systems right well well yeah sure yeah. it's the government right every computer. system in the government needs to be. updated to protect from cyber security. problems but through they need 87,000.

more agents no but the narrative was. from the from the bid Administration was. you know we're going to go after the. ultra wealthy now [ __ ] no you know. what what they're doing they they've got. 87,000 agents think about how many. additional Personnel that is in each. state right in each region for the. IRS they're not going to be occupied. with with wealthy people all over the. place now a wealthy audit can be complex. but they're coming after small. medium-sized businesses and that's how. they you know they imagine.

the amount of money they were going to. have on this land grab to help fund. other things that they're doing whether. it's climate change or other policies. that they want to push forward great but. the problem is Congress now under. Republican control sure they can they. can say no we're going to stop that in. its tracks only until they March it. across to the Senate and the Senate says. [ __ ] you no so we're still going to have. 87,000 new agents that's not going to. change yeah that's you can't get that. through Senate and and even if they did. you know the we're probably veto it so.

we're looking we're staring down a. barrel at a couple of years of of of. that sort of activity where Congress. will will vote to do something it'll be. stopped in the Senate uh or it'll be you. know uh vetoed by the president's desk. and fun yeah it'll be fun fun it's going. to be a great time lot of hor [ __ ] and. fun what did you think about uh Biden. getting busted with uh classified. documents ah kind of hilarious it is it. is one of those funny moments right you. know regardless of.

a a I don't think they're going to uh. they're not going to knock down the. doors at the University of Pennsylvania. where they found these things right at. some think tank that they set up um and. so that's not going to happen but it is. kind of fun to to look at and think oh. really but the the truth is it happens. with every Administration right document. control isn't that difficult right you. should be able to know which documents. are secret put them in a box over here. top secret over here and then special.

code word put them over here and you. account for all those documents that's. the way that you do it but it seems like. every Administration has this problem uh. what do they do with the think tanks oh. they well there's a lot of. ruminating [ __ ] ton of. ruminating what's nearly 10 documents. almost 10 it's seven yeah it one was. incomplete one they hadn't finished yet. does that mean nearly 10 nearly 10 oh if. you say nearly a mill I go wow that's.

pretty impressive you say nearly 10 I'm. like can you count tell me the number. you [ __ ] Biden Center for diplomacy. and Global engagement that's so what. happens there what happens at one of. these things tanks is it just a way. where people get money yes yes people. you said yes so quick that's it that's. it you know people people get grants you. know or they get a position there they. get the chair to sit for a year and and. study some particular you know uh. esoteric aspect of whatever the hell it.

may be Global how much money go there. well you know some of these get a great. deal of funding and and the actually. that's a interesting point because. sometimes the funding comes from unusual. sources like perhaps the Chinese uh. really yeah that might be the soonest. I've ever brought up China really one of. our conversations so the Chinese might. be funding a think tank that has. classified documents in it oh sure yeah. I mean I don't I again I don't know know. I don't know but it's not outside the. realm of possibility it's not outside. the realm of possibility and and you. know it'd be interesting to know who or.

where funding has come from for the Penn. Biden Center um maybe you're talking. about that ah oh $54 million in Chinese. gifts gifts donated to upen home of the. Biden Center what the [ __ ] man $54. million in gifts this just like you know. yo-yos and [ __ ] Xboxes beer koozies what. the [ __ ] are they giving them red in a. total of 54.6 million from 2014 through. 20 19 wow so $110 million a year look.

that donations Anonymous gifts 23. million from oh. Anonymous $23 million in Anonymous gifts. that to me is more interesting than the. fact that he had almost 10 documents. there because again every Administration. does it it would have been amazing if. Biden hadn't had classified documents. sitting somewhere uh President Obama had. the same issue every Administration just. because again it's it's this it's this. goat rope upon uh exiting and and then.

before the new Administration comes in. right it's just like this fun house of. activity trying to box up all your [ __ ]. and get it and so that in itself is not. a surprise is a surprise that you know. with with Trump they decided to you know. use a sledgehammer to go into Mara Lago. but that's not going to happen with. Biden um and it is it's you know it's. it's it's an interesting comparison but. the Republicans thought it was an aha. moment I don't think they're going to. get anywhere with that I CU I don't. think people genuinely care but there's. nearly 10 documents. there's almost 10 and and that that one.

that's not completed yet I think it's. just missing like the pictures it say. everything's been written in what's. crazy is that the documents being there. are the big story not that China gave. them 50 plus million dollar that should. be more of a story that's a big goddamn. story and that seems to be part for the. course right well yeah whether it's the. Clinton you know Foundation or. initiative or whether it's you know any. really you know pick any think tank that. would be a really interesting study by. some Intrepid curious journalist who.

wanted to dig into the say the top 12. think tanks in America and where does. the money come from and and then compare. that to What policies are they pushing. out the door who are they trying to. influence right because you know they've. every one of these has some agenda or. some point of view so I don't know think. tank sounds good I'd love to be a part. of a think tank doesn't that sound good. what do you do work for a think tank oh. you must be smart as [ __ ] I was going to. say it makes you sound intellig makes. you sound like you're getting [ __ ] done.

I'm working for a think tank yeah I'm. you know what I'm doing I'm putting out. a policy paper oh well well now so this. uh Biden pen Think Tank what what did. they promote like what did they let's. see if we can find out what $54 million. from China gets you yeah maybe we can. find one one paper that they wrote yeah. there got to be would be that would be. good you know Huawei ain't so bad that's. the name of the tit that's the title of. the paper.

that's my Huawei yeah what's C I was. just reading about Huawei that even. despite the US sanctions despite the. fact that Google won't let them use the. Google Android system or the Google pay. Store Play Store rather they're still. killing it they still have an enormous. market share which leads me to believe. that if this didn't happen they'd. probably the number one in the world. yeah I think so I mean well yeah it it's. Apple's got a nice wall Garden thing.

going on where it's like a buddy of mine. my friend Tony just switched over to. Apples I love when I get those new blue. text from people I'm like H you went. over to the dark side you [ __ ] he was. one of the last hold outs of the green. bubble but it's they they're so good at. keeping you in there because your photos. all go to the eye photo and you know I. use notes you know like for comedy it's. like the best thing but I also use. Evernote you can switch Evernote in. between platforms but it's so easy to.

keep people because there's so many. benefits to iMessage there's so many. benefits to airdrop and we're all fairly. simple right once you get into a habit. right you don't you don't want to change. it's like saying okay we're going to. upend our computer systems at the. company and and and go with a new. product no we're not we really want to. so with the phones I mean [ __ ] we got. for for Christmas we got the two. youngest ones Mugsy and Sluggo we got uh. iPhones for them um what if you got them. Android phones would they freak out they. get mad at you yeah they probably would.

have thrown them at us you know just. walked out stormed out of living room. you know you had an Android like we have. today if you had one of those things 10. years ago you were a goddamn wizard yeah. like if you had a Samsung Galaxy phone. 10 years ago like they have today it. would be the greatest thing ever yeah. but in 10 years no it didn't take long. and and then and honestly you know. everything moves at at this break next. speed and Technology obviously but you. know we we uh we debated for a while.

about the youngest one getting him a. phone right but now he's he's old enough. right he's 11 and he's he's going to. sports activities and practice and. everything so from a security. perspective you have to do it but the. problem is locking these things down. right and trying to keep them from. seeing [ __ ] you can't they just you. can't you can't they're going to see. [ __ ] yeah yeah I mean I'm amazed it's. the [ __ ] that I see just on Instagram. you know on in just on Instagram I see. people getting murdered every day every.

day I see shootouts every day I see. executions every day I see people that. get torn apart by animals every day man. you got a hell of an Instagram thing. there it's a wild my explore page is a. [ __ ] mess it really is it's. horrendous I'm I have problems yeah but. but with but with kids trying to I mean. it's like the whole Tik Tock debate. trying to trying to say okay we're going. to shut down Tik Tock in the US um or. we're going to somehow now try to enact.

regulations to keep kids from accessing. porn online right and just okay yeah in. theory that's great [ __ ] if you can. figure it out but it's it's just not. going to happen right because no matter. what you do once that kid leaves your. house and all that technology is still. out there right somebody's circumventing. it right somebody's figured out some way. and most of these kids it's incredible. how smart these kids are nowadays. they're Wizards yeah so well they just. banned Tik Tok and. India which I thought was really.

fascinating I'm like wow India is more. on the ball than America yeah well they. may I I forget what their version of Tik. Tock is but that might be also sort of a. nationalistic play there may be a. business element to that as well where. they're looking to drive more of their. consumers it's a massive obviously a. massive market so they may be looking to. drive more of their consumers to their. version right it's like it's like China. China's got its own version uh bite. dance what is it called and uh you know. so.

I I don't I don't I don't know that the. Indian government was just being you. know thoughtful about its you know folks. let's see what it says I'm it says they. actually banned it in summer of 2020. with 59 other apps originally and this. is what happened after that I was. reading that right now to see if I could. get Oh I thought it was really recent. well no so this article is from like. today or whatever just why India banned. Tik Tok and what the US can learn from. it as pressure mounts for Biden to. follow suit pressure I haven't seen any. of this pressure this was uh so like in.

2020 they originally did it it says the. after a geopolitical disp dispute with. China India banned the app entirely. citing a law that allows the government. to block websites and apps in the. interest of the country's sovereignty. and. integrity all right yeah didn't stop the. like short form video content it just. they put it the content was just going. elsewhere it just moved yeah yeah well. goes to Snapchat Instagram reals and. YouTube shorts which would be fine but. at least you know in Instagram is. controlled by meta which is the United.

States company and you know so is. YouTube yeah the creepy thing is the. data the the and their their policy. right when you you agree to sign up for. Tik Tok and you read like The use policy. like whoa which nobody does you did you. did that you read that and it's like. people say what the [ __ ] is it actually. says that and and I'm sure you drove a. lot of people to that user agreement. probably the first time anybody's ever. read a user agreement right on all I. couldn't [ __ ] believe it and I was it. I was like is this you wait a minute.

they have access to other computers that. aren't even on Tik Tok they can share. with government yeah right and now and. that's and that is the thing look people. say well [ __ ] you know Google you know. all sorts of platforms gather all sorts. of information unless you opt out and. even when you opt out you know there's. there's still accessible information. there so but the but the big Point here. is it's a Chinese state sponsored entity. right and if the government wants wants. something that company is going to.

provide it and the idea that they that. the US reps would say n it's not the. case is just horeshit it's there's there. would never be a moment where a Chinese. company would refuse to share data with. the Chinese regime it's not going to. happen and so you know believe what you. want you know but if if if you actually. think that there's a firewall there then. you know it's it's incredibly ignorant. or naive or both or whatever I think. most people aren't even aware. of the fact that the Chinese government.

completely controls all. business you really can't have a major. corporation without some sort of. interaction with the Chinese government. yeah that's and that's yeah there's. there's a couple of truths there there's. there's no rule of law really to speak. of in in China there's no recourse for. companies outside of China that are. operating there and anything you take. there I give you an example it's. actually this is this is very. interesting well maybe it's not. interesting to everybody but um the end. of this past year so I think it was mid.

November or so uh the Department of. Justice you know released some. information about a long it it been a. fairly long-standing case that the FBI. had been involved in and doj and. others um about a uh Chinese. intelligence officer now the interesting. thing about this case was this. individual right XU Yang Yang jangu was. the first uh Chinese intelligence. officer to be um to be extradited to the.

US and the story behind this guy is. fascinating he was he was a fairly. senior he like a deput a director within. the ministry of State security there in. China so a career intelligence. officer and he'd had about 20 years of. experience he started 10 years ago or so. targeting specifically us uh Aviation. companies both on the private and the. defense side and the government and he. went after as just one example of and. he's he he was now sentenced to 20 years.

in prison uh just at the end of the past. year so as an. example if you look at what he did it's. a perfect case study of how the Chinese. intelligence uh Works to gather up. information right to steal excuse me. economic intelligence so hold. on remember that clip where Marco Rubio. reached for his water I don't remember. that clip I don't follow CNN or like you.

follow you follow like I follow the UFC. that's when reach for the water remember. it's fantastic I know I know what are. you. doing yeah there you go here. safeguarding human rights the world is a. better place when America is the. strongest Nation on Earth but we can't. remain powerful if we don't have an. economy that can afford it in the short. time that I've been here in Washington. nothing has frustrated me more than. false choices like the one the president.

laid out. tonight the choic isn't just between. whoever told him you should do that. don't do first of all drink out of a. goddamn mansiz bottle of water what's up. with that little [ __ ] ass siiz bottle. of water like somebody took off an. airplane yeah that's ridiculous so uh a. little kid's little kindergarten table. and that's all that people talked about. after this uh oft we're Petty yeah I. know but anyway uh so he um he targets. uh us Aviation interests and as an.

example he was using everything he was. using aliases he was he was using cover. businesses uh he was targeting. universities he started looking at. identifying targets within us Aviation. uh and as an example found a guy in in. GE. Aviation and what he would do is he. would just say look you know can you. come to China and make a presentation at. the University about something. completely innocuous right it's not. classified by any means or whatever but. oh you know you're so important and. you're so smart we'd love you to come.

over and present to our University um. we'll pay your travel and a stien so so. they do. that so he starts doing this around 2013. around 2017 they get this one GE uh. Aviation employee to travel to China and. give a. presentation and by this time luckily uh. the FBI had had uh tweaked on this guy. and figured out there was something. wrong with him so in cooperation with. the company the FBI started posing as.

him right because Jew's not having. face-to-face meetings with this guy he's. doing this all online so they start. posing as this guy after a year of just. you know sort of random nonthreatening. contact with this Aviation employee he. starts asking them for specific details. right of their engine technology ge's. got some incredible engine technology. and. so the guy with the cooperation FBI. sends a document right and on the.

document at part of it it just says you. know you we not allowed to disclose this. outside company it's proprietary data. what does that do well the reason why. they they released that is because they. wanted to they set the hook on this guy. on this Chinese Intel officer and so he. gets this and he goes uh it's working. right he thinks I got this guy now I've. tasked him with something that's. actually interesting and important he. knows he's breaking a rule he's given me. this document so now he accelerates the. tasking a little bit and he gets the guy. to say look how about during one of your.

trips over to Europe you know we. meet so this is where Zu made his. mistake he goes to Belgium and gets. arrested there right um and it took a. while but he was finally extradited to. the US and finally charged but he was. doing other things he was handling he. was the Handler for a kid working as a. student came over here as a student visa. in Chicago gave him targets said here. are some individuals again Within in. aviation industry said I want you to.

start looking at them and maybe some of. them are interesting and we might want. to start developing some of these. targets running this kid you know who's. living and working and studying in. Chicago and the targets were all of. Chinese or Taiwanese descent which is. typical right they kind of hone in on. that uh you know and So eventually that. kid got got wrapped up once we started. to figure out what was going on with zo. then obviously started to unravel his. network but this was also doing the same. thing was targeting under the direction.

of Zu and the Chinese. Intel um other things he did to I can't. you again I know I Disappeared down a. rabbit hole here but to the point we. made earlier in terms of operating in. China he was also targeting other. countries so he went after a French. Aviation company that had a facility in. China what does that mean well that. means that every every employee every. local employee is probably going to. respond if you knocks on the door and. says I need your assistance you're going. to have to be my asset they're probably. going to say yes right because they're. operating there in China. now they're working for a foreign.

company does that really matter when the. Chinese regime knocks on your door so. they did and what they did was with the. cooperation of this internal asset they. were able to place malware on a visiting. Frenchman's uh computer with the hope of. taking it back to France and then you. know uh affecting their entire. system so anyway long story short I. guess the point of that exercise is. um the aggressiveness right the ability. you think about the years that they. spend going after.

targets and and yet we want to believe. somehow Tik Tok you know that they're. not going to touch that well it's a lot. of data there but we're not going to go. after Tik Tok data that's what kind of. data do you think they're really. accumulating the thing that's Disturbed. me is that this uh discussion that. they're getting biometric data they're. getting facial recognition data and. fingerprint data from both uh you know. fingerprint readers from Android phones. and biometric facial data from iPhone. you know the face opening thing what are.

they doing with all that [ __ ] well um. some of it isn't of much use to them in. the present time right but they don't. care so their their ability because of. their resources uh and their motivation. is to just Hoover up everything and. maybe there's no use for that biometric. data right now but maybe there will be. right so maybe they they're collecting. all of this and they're thinking okay at. some point we're going to develop a. technology whereby we can use this for a. reason you know maybe we can remotely. you know using facial recognition um.

unlock access to who knows you know just. just coming up with that but but the the. the the point at 30,000 ft is they don't. really care they Hoover it all up and. then they look at it at some point they. say okay well this can be used by Huawei. or this could be used over here or you. know our MSS or the State security. service could use this they'll figure. out a use for it and if it doesn't have. a use fine doesn't matter right put in a. box and marked maybe you know check back.

later and maybe they will have a use for. it uh it sounds like it's it's one I we. we tend to not think in those terms we. everything we do is tends to be targeted. right so we'll say uh this is our. requirement let's go do that you know. the Chinese are are are they they you. know they're looking 30 years 40 years. 50 years down the road and so you know. they've got a different approach to to. information collection which is why a. lot of companies get caught on a cuz. they think I'm not doing [ __ ] you know. I'm just making a widget right why would.

they be interested in me so you know. whatever but I you know I I realize. people are saying oh God he's [ __ ]. banging on about China again but you. know if you if you think about it we're. all occupied with Russia and Ukraine. right now but China's the bigger issue. right in the long term and and we just. need to we need to be able to multitask. and yeah we got to worry about Russia. Ukraine conflict and does that get out. of control or just you know. you know where's it going I guess that's.

a bigger question where do you think. it's. going yeah um I don't think anybody's. got a plan in Washington right now uh or. in NATO I don't think anybody knows I. think they're all being basically. reactive as opposed to you know what. what's the end game here what is what is. the the final way that we wrap this up. and I mean look we've spent the US has. spent I don't know as of the end of. 2022 and that was that's almost a full. year because it started in February so.

almost in a full year the US spent about. $50 billion in assistance and about half. of that is military aid right in a. variety of forms right the high more. systems all the way to protective body. armor right so it's it's it's all over. the map and training um if you compare. that $50 billion in Aid. to and so what's that about $25 billion. in military aid if you compare to. previous year or the year before we were.

probably spending on the Ukraine we were. probably spending 250. 270 million. dollar in military assistance that's it. right so that ramp up is incredible and. then that doesn't include what the eu's. put into it what the UK's put into it. and everything else so how do you back. out of that right how do you say okay. we're we now we're putting a patriot. missile battery in there um and you know. France and and we have AG I think we're. looking towards you know more advanced.

um armor technology we're going to give. them tanks that they've been hankering. for. hankering I said hankering um and so. that might be a Ukrainian word um I I. don't know when you I don't I have no. idea where it's going to wrap up Putin's. not going to give up crier so what does. that mean well you got to create some. Middle Ground then where it's not going. to be a complete victory for the Ukraine. and that's going to make a lot of people. unhappy who are just standing around. waving Ukraine Flags right.

and so where do you go from there I I. don't know you know hopefully there's. some serious negotiations happening off. the radar screen but there doesn't seem. to be a lot of evidence to that effect. and Putin doesn't seem to show any. interest in it um and he's been able so. far to Tamp down on the dissident at. home and really much like with China the. only thing Putin would really fear is. losing power and he loses power if he. loses the population and so far that. really hasn't happened there's been.

protests uh people un happppy with the. uh sorry that was my your phone that was. my sports in alert I get you get a yeah. exactly whenever there's something big. happening in the World of Sports um and. uh so anyway I I to answer your question. in a very lengthy rambling way uh who. knows where it goes but it would be nice. if we had more open discussion about it. at least in Washington and and open with. our NATO allies about what's going to. happen we can't keep up I don't think. the same pace of.

support you know I it's it seems. unreasonable to think that we can but. has there been any discussion as to like. how long we do this. for uh not really I think there's a oh. thanks I think there's. a there's a general sense because. everybody's got add there's a general. sense of fatigue to some degree in some. circles but um saying you want to know. where it's going isn't saying that. you're in support of Putin and that's.

part of the problem in today's world if. you say well so where is this all going. people say well [ __ ] you you're a Putin. puppet well no [ __ ] you I just want to. know what's happening so yeah it's weird. like that isn't it I mean it's it's so. strange that you're either with them or. against them and you can't just be going. what are we doing what is it not working. lift the top it live the top [ __ ]. hell do you not know how to work a cigar. lighter uh it's teach you that in the. CIA it's technical nowadays look at this.

it's not really it's really [ __ ] easy. I look like a [ __ ] monkey [ __ ] a. football here with your lighter do you. know how to do it help top I'm trying to. lift the top but it's like a give me. that [ __ ] top oh no I'm going to. figure this out you're not going to. figure out I'm going to spend the next. two hours trying to figure this I think. you're on the wrong side flip it over oh. for [ __ ] sake Jesus Christ there you. go look at that I'm trying to open the. bottom C I'm not paying any attention. I'm not paying attention and and besides. the fact I use a Zippo oh remember the. Zippos the ones that leave that nice.

smell yes that gasoline smell and I got. and I got a couple of Bick lighters too. and you know the nice thing about them I. don't have to [ __ ] with the top that's. true so right but anyway that that was. uh there you go that was modly. embarrassing but I'm too old to be. embarrassed about anything. anymore so I mean worst case scenario is. this breaks out into nuclear war the top. lifts up um yeah um that's the worst. case scenario right yeah if you look at. if you I mean maybe this is a good time.

to say okay 2023 here we are what should. we pay attention to what are we going to. look at with Russia Ukraine you're right. if it if if suddenly Russia. decides I'm going with an unconventional. weapon right it's time it's time to. break out you know the nuke um and let's. see what let's see what that does to the. community of of Nations um so there's. that potential in terms of how does this. escalate something happens in terms of. NATO and it drags NATO into it that's a.

way this thing escalates um a cyber. security attack in the region maybe. maybe initially targeted at uh at. Ukraine but then it somehow it you know. goes off into uh into NATO allies. creates a major issue shuts down Power. Systems in Poland and surrounding region. so there's ways that this thing could. could uh escalate get a little bit out. of control. um maybe as we talked about maybe. there's increasing protest movement in.

Russia maybe and that threatens Putin's. regime and that makes him decide to do. something a little bit more drastic what. is the the general consensus from the. Russian people do they they have a lock. down on the media in Russia right and. and even on the internet right yeah they. do they've got um and they've done. they've been very successful and you. know it's not like the old days and and. during the Cold War you know you could. put a complete blanket over right and. and that was it there was no way for. them to get new news they're not. completely shut off right so they they.

know what the hell's going on Russian. people you know the population in. general you know they're very switched. on pragmatic they suffer well and what. that's part of the problem they suffer. well but my friends from Russia have. always told me that nobody believes the. media that you know it's kind of like a. nod and a wink as to what what the the. media tells you and that people kind of. know that they [ __ ] you right much. more open the the the reaction to the. media is much more open and United. States like if you're one of those. people that listens to MSNBC you're all.

in you know you're all in with Rachel. Mano she's gone now right whoever the. [ __ ] is over there now you're all in. with those people if you're on Fox News. you're all in with those people right. right uh no the the Russian general. population always had kind of a dry very. sarcastic sense of humor towards. information in general right what. they're being told by the authorities. and that includes the media so you know. he can't control the population the way. they used to but they still you know. it's still a dictatorship and so he's.

still got a significant State control. and the state media is still very good. as is the security apparatus at. controlling the message so they're. they're very good at that right and so. that's kind of balanced against and. they're they're constantly in this this. battle against you know increasing. technology and its ability to spread. information it's outside the. bubble and so yeah I mean there's. there's dissent there's a feeling of. dissatis faction but you know Putin's.

been he's been very good in the past at. finding the bogey man right whenever. he's threatened of pointing to some. outside force you know usually us um and. saying look what they're doing to us and. kind of rallying the troops getting. everyone to to yeah you know the. motherland. so you know I wouldn't it's like hoping. that the the the mulus it's like hoping. the Iranian regime topples under the. weight of this current protest I. wouldn't you know hold out a lot of hope.

I wouldn't put a lot of money on it um. the Iranian regime that what they're. doing scares the [ __ ] out of me yeah. it's really scary they just tortured and. murdered a a karate champion and for. protesting and yeah rappers disappeared. now I mean they really don't care. they've they've killed depends on the. estimates you read but you know 450 500. people on the street during protests. much less all the people who have just. disappeared right and they're sitting. held in prison somewhere so but everyone. over here are so distracted by Ukraine.

and Russia that we rarely talk about. Iran well yeah we that's yeah that's a. great point we um we're very sort of. singular in our attention right and so. it's like again we can't multitask so we. should be worried about Iran we should. be I mean really where are the big flash. points Russia Ukraine obviously is one. Iran because what what what's going to. happen if. Iran Here's a thought right if you if. you think about the breakout potential. for Iran to develop a a nuke at a.

weapon um some estimates now are about a. week one week right to develop enough uh. enriched uranium you've got to uh enr a. week from right now if they yeah they're. basically saying look if they make that. decision they need what 20 25 kilograms. of inv uranium at like 90% that's that's. weapons grade so they could do that. within a week is is uh a number of. estimates legitimate estimates they. could and that's for one you know and. okay so you know is there value in that.

well from their perspective perhaps they. could do three weapons in maybe a. month's time so that breakout that we. used to talk about in terms of you know. year years um at least at least many. months now is is shrunk right and so the. idea is as a flasho people say well why. should we still be worried about Iran. well. because you know there's a a high. likelihood that if the Israelis get you.

know the sense that that's where they're. heading that they're going to do then. they may take action right kinetic. action to stop it they've done it in. Iraq they did it in Syria gone after you. know these these capabilities and that. could obviously cause a flash there that. spreads out of control right and draws. us into it so you know there's reasons. why because people you know sometimes. people say why why I I care about Taiwan. why do I care about Iran what do it's. because of the potential for for a. problem that we can't get our hands.

around we can't control and so with with. Iran it's you largely comes down to this. issue of you know what is their breakout. now aside from just en wrenching uranium. they got to come up with the. weaponization of it all right and that. could take longer right that could take. months and months right. but you know it's a heavy lift to figure. out what their plans and intentions are. so and and you know we kind of backed. out of this Biden Administration was. clear that they wanted to get back into. the nuke agreement from 2015 they was. like yeah we got to we got to do.

everything we can and so they started. those talks when they got in and now. they've kind of shut them down basically. because the Iranians you made some. demands that weren't realistic and also. yeah the protests right and also they're. selling [ __ ] weapons to Russia right. so you know Russia's turned to Iran and. North Korea to resupply their hardware. and and and get gear that they can't get. drones in particular from. Iran so do we really want to be talking. you know a a nuke deal with Iran at this.

moment you probably not you know whether. it's pragmatic or not but certainly from. a political perspective I don't think. the Biden Administration wants that heat. so there's there's a lot of [ __ ]. happening that's very interesting we. haven't even touched on Harry and Megan. yet. God that's the big distraction that's. the big distraction right there there's. a war room apparently in England where. they're they're trying to figure out. what to do oh really I heard they did. you hear about that no. yes there a war room the Royals roal War.

have got they they're about to go to. war well the the wanker is you know he's. put out this book uh spare or whatever. it's called. um yeah I guess everybody falls down one. side or the other do you support Harry. and Megan do you not you know here it is. Royals set up a war room to discuss. Prince Harry's memoir. a war room I do like that yeah what a.

[ __ ] war room full disclosure I I I. do think Harry's a Wanger but um well he. seems to be and it seems like uh that. lady is a temptress she's a siren she's. lured him into the Rocks I haven't heard. that term she's a harlot almost she's uh. harlot's bad right she's just powerful. she's uh actually that's a good point. Harlot and tempst yeah I think harlot's. are compar melons to Apples the. definition of a harlot is a prostitute.

yeah that's a whole word I take that. back. I yeah I don't think she's that what she. is no wasn't there some speculation that. she was on Epstein's yacht at one point. in time there was like photos with her. and prince Andrew way back in the day. when she was like in her early 20s wow. uh no I haven't heard that one that's no. no um that whole [ __ ] thing that. thing but yeah I the war room I guess it. makes sense look these people are in a.

you know under a microscope and you know. they got to figure out what their. messaging is from moment to moment with. him and you know they probably don't. like the idea this is all playing out in. public and but he's just kind a [ __ ]. lost a plot right now he's come out he's. I mean the book is like he's talking. about his dick and he's talking about. you know Afghans that he killed while he. was there on duty and you know there's. actually something funny I uh somebody. sent me I don't know if it's true I. haven't had time to look into it but. somebody sent me that uh some Taliban.

Commander is now trolling Harry over his. talk about the Afghans that he killed. and uh I I got to look it up but what. has he said about the Afghans he killed. this is why he was a pilot yeah this is. why he was over there on duty I don't. know to what degree i i i i Again full. disclosure haven't read the book halan. leader responds to Prince Harry's. reported claim in spare that he killed. 25 fighters in Afghanistan I mean who. does that who talks I mean again very. strange it's very strange but it's also. very strange that he was I mean.

essentially infiltrated by a very. ambitious. actress you know I mean she used to be. on deal orated she was one of the deal. or no the way it works is he infiltrated. or was she infiltrated well it depends. on who's getting pegged yeah it depends. on uh the methods and now we've and now. yeah look she was on Deal or No Deal. yeah that's right yeah with the. briefcases she didn't like being. objectified on deal did you think it was. an executive position. ma'am you're one of the hot ladies.

holding up a. suitcase for [ __ ] I mean it's a game. show like how are you objectified I. forgot about that show that's literally. the show wow um yeah well you don't get. this sort of analysis just anywhere on. the Harry and Megan situation um. nobody's talked about pagan before as. far as it goes so well that's just pure. speculation I put it out I think it's. important to not. I apologize for that speculation it's.

just a joke but but I mean who again why. why did well I know why he felt the need. to talk about some of this [ __ ] in this. book is because otherwise no one's. paying him money for this right disclose. some wild [ __ ] if you want to sell a. book yeah so and if you want to talk. about killing 25 bad. guys it's not going to set well with the. people that he he uh was serving with. yeah yeah that's. that's God I anyway I guess you know. what is it unusual that they let a.

prince fight in active. combat. um yeah I mean you know it it isn't it. isn't it used to be more common because. there used to be more conflict and it. was a British Empire and you know off. you'd go and and they wanted to take. that box right they wanted to get that. so they could wear the ribbons and you. know and they you know there was a sense. of um you know if we're going to be in. charge we need to show that we've. actually taken part in these these camp. campaigns and so uh no look God bless. him for for serving I think it's great I.

just you know I think that that part of. it you know you can't deny fine great I. think that is that's. admirable uh it's just everything else. it's just kind of you know bizarre and. um and I admit to being a bit of a. royalist I still have my British. citizenship and you know one day we'll. retire to a small cotswalds village and. solve murders for a living um you know. that'll be my job with a pipe with a. pipe sitting in your study yes people. will knock on the door I'll bring me a.

new case you know like Daniel Craig in. those Knives Out movies yeah I think or. or you know maybe uh maybe like PUO I'm. thinking more you know who yeah her H. PUO you know who the [ __ ] that a. Belgian detective do you know who that. is boy that's. obscure you're in marcoo drinking water. ter like there's only like three famous. belgians and and PR Ro is definitely one. of them he was a fictitious character of. Agatha Christies the only Belgium that. I'm aware of is the giant lady who's the. minister of. Health do you know about her yeah but.

she almost never comes up in the list of. famous belgians well she should that. lady's enormous he's an fictional. character he's a fictional Belgian. detective created by British writer. Agatha Christie oh I didn't know about. that one of Christy's most famous and. long-running characters appearing in 33. novels two plays and more than 50 short. stories yeah between 1920 and 1975 how. old are you oh well I was I was born in. 19150 so this was right in my sweet spot. um but that character David Su uh he.

played the character P for like 25 years. on TV really yeah if you do you know. about this no J has I've heard of some. of these stories but I've never watched. them like a murder on the or Express. death on yeah there you go okay yeah no. it's it's you know anyway but yes that. will be one day when people say whatever. happened to Baker he'll be living in a. small cottage in a small English. Countryside Village how much time do you. think you got left ah God would you. really want to do that do you ever think. about that I mean you do the math and.

you think what you that yeah I think you. really do it when you have kids I think. you know I just think it's a smart thing. to do anyway just to like think about if. you enjoy what you're doing I just hope. I live long enough to figure out you're. [ __ ] lighter from but I think it's um. I do think about it and I think about it. because I got young kids now right. and you know I want to live you know I. want every [ __ ] year I can get and I. know some people say well I go when I'm. 80 that's fine and I think no I want to. squeeze every bit of life out of this.

thing and um but I do I do the math all. the time when I'm however old my. youngest kid will be this old. and you know well you have adult. children too I do I have a daughter who. you got like two sort of two groups I I. do two yeah two groups not at the same. time I legitimately got divorced and you. know yeah the Remar so it's not two. families uh which would be much more. interesting I suppose in the end of the. day to talk about but uh yeah my. daughter's almost 30 talk about stress. those people how do they do that yeah I.

don't think they realize they're doing. it until they're doing it and then. they're just like oh yeah life is. complicated enough I'm always amazed at. like CU I have had a handful of friends. who have. been what's what I'm looking for. Fidelity is a problem for them and so. they they have this they and they. usually they have stressful jobs and. then this this whole other thing where. they're balancing their wife and they're. balancing you know two or three. relationships I'm thinking how the [ __ ]. do you have time or energy or the.

ability not to you know you just [ __ ] I. don't know how people compartmentalize. like that I think it's I think it's just. a distraction I think the people that do. that they they generally are very. stressed out overworked they're usually. working insane long hours and they make. poor choices because they're they're. just looking for constant distractions. and also they're probably excitement. junkies they're probably not getting. enough through work or their work grinds. on them and they need something to Jazz. things up yeah yeah it's like it's like.

when I talk to people they say all I'm. going to take up skydiving and I'm. thinking is somebody paying you to jump. out of that plane cuz unless you're. getting paid for it I'm just like I. don't know I just I you know it was fun. but you know it's time to move on I'm. not interested in that yeah yeah I'm not. interested in things that can. accidentally kill you that give you just. a quick little jolt of adrenaline yeah. no it's it is too but I I I take your. point yeah I guess that's part of it is. that and and you know it's just you just.

look at it and you go I KN I knew one. guy in particular years ago who just had. this juggling act going on constantly. and I'm just thinking what the [ __ ] dude. it's an addiction it's an addiction like. gambling like anything else they they. get addicted to the thrill of pulling it. off yeah yeah Life's Too Short you just. keep it uncomplicated 100% interfere. with whatever you're really trying to do. whatever your actual work is it'll 100%. interfere with that and [ __ ] it up if. you don't I always tell people that you. know concentrate on stupid [ __ ] like if. you concentrate on like people that get.

mad at you on social media and stuff. like that like you only have a hund. let's say if your mind you let's call it. units you have a hundred units of of uh. information of bandwidth that you can. utilize anytime you allocate any of. those units to other things now you have. less units for the things that you care. about yeah yeah I I I I've apparently. given away most of my bandwidth to. lyrics from early 80s alternative rock.

songs no that's just data that's just. data still taking up space it's in there. but it's not I mean I've got a lot of. that I got a lot of stupid information. floating around my head for sure you. know I have obscure uh jiu-jitsu fighter. records bouncing around my head I but I. think that you know so many people don't. think about their mind as like if it was. your money if you had a certain amount. of money and this is all the money. you're ever going to have like how much. money are you going to donate to stupid. [ __ ] how much money are you going to.

allocate to dumb things that don't help. you at all only only ruin your life yeah. I I guess there's there's a sense of um. you know from my I I think the way I. think about it is um I I just want to. have an uncomplicated life right I've. been very fortunate um from work I've. certainly been very fortunate in in uh. relationship right I mean I'm I'm. married to the greatest person on the. planet and I just I just want an uncomp.

that's what I want I just want that. uncomplicated life I don't have to work. for the intelligence agencies you work. for the CIA how the [ __ ] is that. uncomplicated it's one of the most. complicated things a person could ever. be involved in international relations. and cyber Espionage oh that was all that. was done by the smart people yeah but. you're aware of it all you have to. process all that you're aware of it but. I think if you I mean it was kind of. like looking at at that world also I was. always amazed at some of the people and.

again I had a great time it was a great. organization I I loved the work um. respect my colleagues um why' you get. out uh cuz my daughter was uh getting. older and I needed to be home uh cuz I. was at that point it was just me and her. um and it was time to figure something. else out um and. so. H yeah but I I just think there was. there was something about that job on. the operation side that I found just. very easy right to compartmentalize some.

people found it very difficult in the. terms of the sort of like I don't know. whether they were thinking of moral. quandry in terms of what we were doing. and I don't know if this is you know I. just never thought you know just just. tell me what the objective is right give. that information to me yeah know let's. Point ourselves in the right direction. and just do it now let's move on to the. next task so I I tend to be very. simplistic when it comes to uh that and. I think that helped with the the the. business I never sat around you know. staring at my [ __ ] Naval. wondering you know where I fit in in. terms of the big machine of the.

intelligence Community well that makes. for a good company man yeah I think so a. good operative yeah I think it I think. it's if you just simplify things down. that way and uh no one ever accused me. of being a really big deep thinker right. so I'm good with that um but uh as a. matter of fact this leads us into a very. interesting subject which how the CIA. killed. Kennedy no I'm about to I'm about to. spend 10 seconds promoting a book that's. about to be released oh oh I know I know. this is shameful but I thought let I'm.

going to get it in here and then get out. of it and we can go back to more. interesting things but on the uh on the. 18th of January uh scribed s c r IBD is. going to be releasing a book called. company rules um it's my first Venture. into books it's an audio book and so. it's an easy listen but the idea is it. has nothing to do with the agency right. it has nothing to do did you read it I. did I narrated it that's good yeah I. used to fake voice I sounded like Gru. from Despicable Me I just used that. Voice for the [ __ ] of it and uh it's so.

it has nothing to do with agency it's. about business life right but what. happened was I got out people were like. why are you leaving and what the hell. are you going to do and as it turns out. over the years it occurred to me that a. lot of what I was doing in business were. just some ideas that I had kind of. settled with me from the agency days so. that's that's where the company rules. comes up but frankly there's no there's. no book of company rules look at that. company rules. new from Mike Baker W so what's in there.

so there's just you know there's. basically nine rules don't I couldn't. come up with a 10th I wasn't smart. enough to come up with a 10th so there's. there's nine basic rules everything you. start out from you know um Define your. mission right that's pretty much the. first one it's kind of like what we. talked about so in business you it's not. just saying okay our mission is make. money right you got to so you've got to. Define your mission then you've got to. clarify you got to explain it to your. personnel I'm a big believer and once. you do that hire smart people get the. hell out of the way right and that's. worked out very well but there's there's. other principles in there how do you.

make a decision uh with imperfect. information that's one thing that that. the agency you're not really realizing. it at the time but you you realize when. you're in there and then you leave that. you know what the agency is very good at. is is teaching people to just get off. the X make a decision what do you mean. by how do you make a decision with. imperfect information give me an example. yeah um if you wait around like if. you've if you wait around for all the. data to come in about before let's take. with business before an investment all.

right somebody else is going to come in. and take that opportunity right you've. got to be able to say it's not like the. movies it's not like a Tom Clancy movie. where you've got all the [ __ ] details. that you want before you go in on the. Target right you're not looking through. walls and you know you don't have an. asset sitting in there telling you. exactly you know where the target's. going to be you don't know there's 12. people over there and there's one person. at the door that never happens you never. know everything right and if you wait. for everything to to show up it's never. going to happen but if you wait then. something bad's going to happen and it's. the same in in business which is.

basically so these ideas that I that I. eventually and I you know again anybody. who worked for the agency I'm sure they. got their own ideas they're going to. look and go well those aren't my ideas. or my principles or my rules I have. these but these are the ones that I took. away and I used them to build a business. and so all the examples are basically. business oriented right so you know this. is not a book about my time in the CIA. and you know I don't think I'd ever. write one of those cuz there's enough of. that out there and I don't think anybody. needs more of that um but I just found.

this was interesting because nobody. really expected me to be able to build a. business and keep it breathing for as. long as I have uh because I really had. no business experience and part of it is. there's an element of luck you know I. never worked in an operation where there. wasn't some element of luck and it's. been the same with business you know. just in terms of you know good fortune. or whatever you want to call it so. anyway there's these these these. principles and and it comes out on the. on the 18th and scrib as the netf of. books as they say what made you decide. to do this um I had thought about it and.

talked about it um years ago years ago. and then like everything else you know. you set the idea aside because you get. wrapped up in everything else that's. going on and I never did and then. finally um I work with uh a great guy. Kenny snik over at AGI entertainment and. he's worked with me for years on TV [ __ ]. and and other things and he's always. been a a great friend but he finally. said you know you told me about that. idea that one time I mentioned it the. script and they were very interested you.

know and and again it's an easy thing. it's a sort of thing you can you can. dial up as an Audi book you can listen. to it on a two-hour road trip and Bobs. your uncle and if you take away one idea. I think that's a great thing right I. mean cuz you know there's a lot of [ __ ]. out there where you don't really learn. anything I'm just hoping people take. away one thing and and they're good so. did you write it because you feel like. you have some unique Insight or did you. write it just purely as a financial. Venture like oh no no this is not now. there's no you know there's no real in. the scheme of things it took me a lot.

longer right it's not long it's like uh. 15,000 words but that was like [ __ ]. pulling teeth right to get to 15,000. words and for me anyway I'm sure that no. other people look and go that's like an. opening sentence and uh no so from a. financial point of view no I didn't do. it that way I did it because um I. genuinely am still surprised that I've. been able to keep a business moving. right and I've got some of the people. that have work with me have been with me. now.

for 17 years right and they've had kids. and they've raised their families with. the company and they've done and you. know that's probably more rewarding than. anything else I've done in a sense aside. from my family um and so I guess I just. wanted to put it on paper and then. there's also that idea that um this. sounds stupid but it's the same reason I. like to do TV shows like the black FY. classified series is because at some. point. my kids you know can sit down when. they're older and they can watch it or. they can read this or listen to it and.

they got something right you know and. you know anyway that's man search for. meaning man search ex yeah it never ends. it never it never ends anyway that's. yeah now I've I've gotten that out of. the way uh they did send they sent uh to. Jamie a 60-second audio excerpt I said. no I'm not going to sit here listen to. myself read oh we should definitely. listen to No we don't want to do that. what is it about no it's it's it's it's.

about it's sort of the no we don't want. to do that it's it's the opening it's. not it would just be weird to sit here. and listen I would like to get weird. it'd be like J saying when we watch one. of your interviews on the screen and. we're sitting here watching and you're. watching yourself talk you know so I'm. used to that I'm used to that kind of. weird though yeah I like how you're. squirming though a little bit. yeah yeah it was an interesting. experience but uh anyway it's been it's. been a good one and and hopefully uh. hopefully people find something.

entertaining in it I think the thing. that people are U weirded out by when it. comes to intelligence agencies in this. day and age that they kind of act. autonomously they kind of act outside of. what we think of as the government we. you know like we think of the government. as been a bunch of people that get. elected and those people do the the rule. of the people but the the people that. are in the intelligence agencies they. they're there forever and that's the the. term the Deep state that everybody's so. concerned with right that that's a a.

common phrase that's been brought up. over the last you know decade or so. where people are very concerned about. the Deep state that there's a government. that has its own rules and its own. ability to enact things that are outside. of elected officials and and the will of. the people yeah and I and I and I can. see why people think that way um having. been behind the curtain for all that. time um I guess there's there's two.

parts to this is one is Never Say Never. right I mean I I you never want to. Discount the idea that that um the Intel. Community or law enforcement or whatever. could you know uh essentially develop a. mind of its own work uh separate from. whatever government Administration that. people think they've elected into. office so never never say that couldn't. happen because you always want to be. wary of that I've spent enough time. overseas in places where that happens. right every and and it and worse than.

that is where you know a dictator comes. in he goes out wholesale cleaning and. then he the new guy brings in all his. people right and they're just basically. doing the will now in a way that's more. transparent right because you know what. you're getting right you're getting that. guy's Intel service or that guy's law. enforcement um but having work behind. the curtain um at least the time that I. was there the agency was unique. apolitical right I all the people that I. traveled around the world with or the.

people that I met worked with in various. parts we never talked about politics it. was just not it was not an issue we. never think that changed during Trump I. think I think it was probably even. before Trump I think it's just been a. process where uh and I I have no idea. why maybe in part. because no I don't know I was going to. say because it's become a little more. transitory you know in the old days and. what the old days are you know through. the Cold War and whatever 70s and early. ' 80s people would join and and you know.

the idea was I'm here for good I'm going. to retire you know and and now it's you. know somewhat of a stepping stone to. other things and and so people move. through these organizations on their way. to somewhere else and and maybe that. creates you know. um some of this but I don't want to say. it couldn't happen I just want to say. yeah it it's it's something you have to. be always aware of I think that there. have been individuals in various offices.

who got too close or too comfortable. with political access um like with the. CIA you always want your director to. have a a a good line of communication. with the President right used to be more. important when the agency when the. director had a seat at the table right. now they pushed below the dni so the dni. is guy that talks and and the agency. director doesn't have the same access. that they used to have when dides that. change uh after 9/11 you know when they. recreated the you know home Homeland. Security became the buzzword and you.

know how do we reorganized because you. know clearly it was it was a [ __ ]. knee-jerk reaction to 911 was the idea. was oh something happened we [ __ ] up. so now let's reorganize the entire thing. right and so they toss a baby out of the. 30th floor and and uh um wasn't an. actual baby people are going to be like. making notes you know we they get it. find a baby and uh. and so then they created this dni. position and and they kind of what does.

dni stand for uh Director of National. Intelligence and so then they subjugated. the subjugated the CIA director below. that but the point being is you want. that access well you know if it gets too. cozy or if the person in charge whether. it's the agency or the FBI or whoever. becomes too much of a political animal. now you got a problem right that's when. bad things can happen um but the the. career people that I dealt with that I. met with over over the years and the. people that I still know the career. people they you know for the most part.

they they just want to do the job right. and I know people are going to say well. of course that's what you're going to. say and I say that all the time but [ __ ]. it it's it's what I saw so I got you. know not I'm not blowing smoke up. anybody's ass but when you see [ __ ] like. uh Tucker Carlson on Fox News saying. that the CIA killed. Kennedy what do you think of. that. um what how did he phrase it someone. knew so they talk to someone who knew uh. I have the quote here because they have.

withheld some of the files in the. Kennedy assassination I mean doesn't. make why would they do that Carlson. tonight so not long after Jack Ruby shot. Lee Harvey Oswell on camera in the. basement of Dallas Police Headquarters a. lot of Americans started to have some. questions about the Kennedy. assassination it was you'd have to admit. a pretty extraordinary sequence of. events a lone gunman murders the. president of the United States and then. less than 48 hours later that lone. gunman is himself murdered by another. lone gunman what are the odds of that.

it's one thing if you get struck by. lightning rare but possible but if every. member of your family also gets struck. by lightning all on different days you. might begin to suspect these are not. entirely natural. events but oh replied the US government. they are this bizarre chain of killings. was all entirely natural so less than a. year after the JFK assassination the. Johnson White House released something. called the Warren Commission report and. the report concluded that while their. motives remained unclear both Lee Oswald.

and Jack Ruby had acted alone no one. helped them there was no conspiracy of. any kind Case Closed time to move on and. many many Americans did move on at the. time they had no idea how shoddy and. corrupt the Warren Commission was it. would be nearly 50 years before the CIA. admitted under duress that in fact it. had withheld information from. investigators about its relationship. with Lee. Oswald but even then at the time before. that was known the government's.

explanation didn't seem entirely. plausible and some people started asking. obvious questions about it it was at. that point As Americans started to doubt. the official story that the term. conspiracy theory entered our lexicon as. Professor Lance de Haven Smith points. out in his book on the subject the term. conspiracy theory did not exist as a. phrase in everyday American conversation. before. 1964 in 1964 the year the Warren. Commission issued its report the New. York Times published five stories in.

which conspiracy theory appeared now. today of course the term conspiracy. theory appears in pretty much every New. York Times story about American politics. it's wielded now as then as a weapon. against anyone who asked questions the. government doesn't feel like. answering but despite 60 years of name. calling those questions have not. disappeared in fact they have multiplied. with time and here's one of them in. April of 1964 a psychiatrist called Le. joyn West visited Jack Ruby in his. isolation cell in a Dallas jail MK.

according to West's written assessment. he found that Jack Ruby was quote. technically insane and in need of. immediate psychiatric. hospitalization those are conclusions. that puzzlingly no one who had spoken to. Jack Ruby previously had reached Ruby. had seemed perfectly sane to the people. who knew him Lewis joyan West pronounced. him crazy but what what West did not say. was that he was working for the CIA at. the time Lewis joyan West was a contract. psychiatrist for the spy agency he was.

also an expert on mind control and a. prominent player in the now Infamous MK. Ultra program in which the CIA gave. powerful psychiatric drugs to Americans. without their knowledge so of all the. psychiatrists in the world what in the. world was this guy doing in Jack Ruby's. prison cell the media did not seem. interested in finding out in fact the. New York Times in an extensive 1999. obituary of West never mentioned the. fact that he had worked for the CIA much. less his time in Jack Ruby's cell which.

seems. relevant so you can see why non-crazy. people would wonder about what really. happened and of course many have. wondered in 1976 long forgotten the. House of Representatives impanel a. special committee to reinvestigate the. JFK assassination their bipartison. conclusion Jack Kennedy was almost. certainly murdered as the result of a. conspiracy but the question is a. conspiracy by whom well the obvious. suspect would be the CIA why else would.

the agency withhold critical evidence. from investigators is there a benign. explanation for that for maintaining. this level of secrecy for this many. years not that we're aware of and it is. illegal in 1992 Congress passed the. President John F Kennedy assassination. records collection act and that act. mandated full disclosure of all. documents by 2017 50 4 years after JFK. was killed the last Administration. promised to comply fully with that law.

but under intense pressure from CIA. director Mike Pompeo withheld in the end. thousands of pages of CIA documents. today this afternoon the Biden. Administration did exactly the same. thing that would be thousands of pages. of documents after nearly 60 years after. the death of every single person. involved but we still can't say see them. clearly it's not to protect any person. they're all dead it's to protect an.

institution but why well today we. decided to find out we spoke to someone. who had access to these still hidden CIA. documents person who was deeply familiar. with what they contain we asked this. person directly did the CIA have a hand. in the murder of John F Kennedy an. American president and here's the reply. we received verbatim quote the answer is. yes I believe they were involved it's a. whole different country from what we. thought it was it's all.

fake it's hard to imagine a more jarring. response than that again this is not a. quote conspiracy theorist that we spoke. to not even close this is someone with. direct knowledge of the information that. once again is being withheld from the. American public and the answer we. received was unequivocal yes the CIA was. involved in the assassination of the. president now some people will not be. surprised. they suspected at all I think um I'd. like to know who the the source is I.

mean when you say um I believe right and. supposedly he's got access to the the. documents he his his comment as I. believe that might be a tell um he talks. about you know it was all fake sounds a. little bit like a conspiracy theorist. even though Tucker says he's not one so. you know without knowing who this source. is and why he's got access to this and. how they managed to find him I'm I'm. skeptical about everything anyway. doesn't mean that there couldn't be some.

connection right again Never Say Never I. don't know um but look Oswald you know. there was when you say why would the. agency not want papers. released you know my mind immediately. goes to well maybe because there's. something related to Oswald's dealings. with the Russians right I mean oswal. lived in St Pete he traveled down at one. point down to Mexico to meet with the. Russians he was desperate to try to. prove his Worth to the Russians right. that was part of his motivation part of. his what he was. doing um so I don't know I'm just saying.

I'm I'm I tend not to be um the sort of. person that would watch that and go oh. my God it's true my thought is well who. the [ __ ] is the source right and so. unless you know the guy is willing to. out himself and at this stage if you. know given what Tucker said hey. everybody's dead. um fine come forward if you guys if. you've got information like that then. maybe it's incumbent upon you to come.

out and talk about it right um and if. that's the case and it turns out to be. true then yeah [ __ ] yeah yeah I thought. it was weird that he put that on. television and just said a source who. had Direct information direct access to. these documents still has a deep. knowledge of what's in there all right. it's a little bit it's a little weird. it's a little weird he's given this. Source incredible credibility and then. there's nothing there right it's believe. that this is what happened MH okay well. theoretically you've got access to the.

documents so how about you give us. something more than that so I you again. I look at it with a you know take it. with grain OFA but I understand why look. I I i' I've told you this before I tend. to be more inclined to think that there. was a you know there was a conspiracy. around Martin Luther King than there was. around Kennedy yeah you've talked about. that you go into that because when you. were investigating that it seemed like. um was the gentleman who killed uh. Martin Luther King. again what's his name again oh uh [ __ ]. I'm drawing I'm drawing a complete blank.

now um it's a it's a product of age. that's why I can't open your Fu cigar. lighter too many words too many so many. words many so many yeah I've even sat. down with the guy's brother I almost. want to say John wilss Bruth. but that's right yeah I sat down with. his brother God I can't believe yeah see. this is what happens when advaning down. with his brother yeah talk to him and. and what is his brother thing his. brother's convinced that he was he was. set up um.

and set up but he did pull the trigger. did pull the trigger yeah yeah this. there there's two things it's like okay. did he kill him well yeah you know did. he pull the trigger yes but you know I. my feeling with with with with him is is. that it doesn't add up what he was. before and then what he was leading up. to the assassination of Martin Luther. King and then what he was shortly. thereafter making his way to Europe and. this this kid was a or this guy not a. kid but this guy was a like a a a failed.

Petty criminal he couldn't even be a. petty criminal successfully right he was. in and out of prison he just it was. nothing going on for him and his ability. then to turn himself into an apparently. more successful individual right um. leading up to that going off the grid he. disappeared for a period of time um and. then he ends up in Europe where he's. arrested afterward. words you know the guy was never on a. plane now he's flying to Europe right he.

never had any money to speak of he's. buying a car and cash I mean there's. things that that seem very odd and not. to mention just the the general uh. atmosphere mood context of the time and. no I don't I have no idea what you know. what organizations might be involved but. I'm more inclined to think that to me is. something where I think there was a lot. more to of the story I'm not saying. again I'm not saying that there isn't. more to the Kennedy assassination I. think it'd be great to find out that you. know the whole story um but you know you.

compare the two and I for some reason I. just find the the king issue more. disconcerting what was the official. story about his motivation to kill. Martin Luther King. Jr just a he just a racist that's yeah. basically there was no and and that was. racist highly motivated racist who you. know. um decided somehow he was going to you. know engage in this activity um look you.

know there was plenty of information. about where King was at the time right. he was on the news I mean [ __ ] the the. evening news before the day he was. killed showed him standing outside at. the Lorraine Motel outside his room on. the balcony so you know he had if you. just look at that and say okay well he. had information he had access he had the. ability to gather that information. um just like Oswald did with Kennedy. right and you know. Oswald you know again this his.

connection to the Russians is the. Soviets at the time very interesting. but you know I'm not the sort of person. to say absolutely not right uh that that. there was some involvement I'm just. saying I you know I haven't seen the. credible sourcing yet and that to me. with what Tucker did is you know you. can't say I've got a credible sour it'. be like if I wrote an Intel report you. know I told the the agency I'm working. on something you know back in the old. days and WR down I got this great source. he's got access to this you know the the.

foreign Ministry of this country and. then I give him [ __ ] for you know. there's no Insight right no name I just. say he believes that this is what. they're going to do well the the. response would be from just an. operational perspective why does he. believe it who told him what would be. the motivation that the CIA would have. to kill Kennedy I mean part of it was. supposedly that Kennedy was interested. in disbanding the CIA right yeah I again. that and and that had happened you know. you think about it recent terms right.

CIA was or OSS was disbanded at the end. of World War II right so you know there. was precedent for it um It's Not Unusual. that there's that talk in Washington on. occasion I mean [ __ ] after the fall of. the Soviet Union there were very. credible people in Washington DC talking. about getting rid of the CIA because we. got a peace dividend now right we don't. have to worry about the Soviet Union. anymore do we really need this you know. and and these were credible people. people inside of inside of the politics. and the government um so I you know that.

cycle seems to every now and then. there's this regularity of like you know. the agency you let's put it up on a. pedestal and fire a rocket at it right. so what is what's what's important about. keeping the CIA. around. well it's not a benign world right there. is nothing benign about the way this. world works and we'd love to think it's. a community of Nations but it's not. right. so if we want to fly blind without any. insight into what countries that are.

hostile to our interest and there are a. number of them are doing then I guess. yeah you could get rid of the agency the. agency's primary function is information. as intelligence right and you gather. that intelligence to understand the. plans and intentions of others right and. whether it's the Russians or North. Koreans Iranians Chinese whatever and. they are incredibly aggressive at doing. it right so we could we could be very. self-righteous and Pat ourselves on the.

back and say Hey [ __ ] it let's disband. the CIA and why do we need it you know. it doesn't sound like it's a very good. activity and you know I I think we'd. feel better about ourselves if we did um. nobody else is going to do that right. it's not like it's it's not like this. again the Chinese aren't going to say oh. you're you're right right Obama had a an. agreement with XI uh back in the day to. uh you know cease and desist on the. synan economic Espionage and cyber. Shenanigans and and of course they.

didn't right in fact they they more. aggressive now and in more of a. sophisticated manner than they were even. a few years ago. so you know I guess it's it comes down. to uh protecting our own National. Security interest and if people don't. give a [ __ ] about that uh then fine have. an open discussion about it but I. guaranteee you um you know we'll get. hosted you know nine ways to Sunday if. we do that because you've got to have. Insight it's how you develop your long. longer term strategies right it's how. you inform the the the administration.

whichever Administration as to where the. next threats are coming from hopefully. you're anticipating those threats and. you're not reacting so yeah I but again. you know it's that sort of thing look I. obviously I've got a particular point of. view right people expect that but um I'm. just here to tell you you know it's not. it's not that sort of world where we can. say let's shut it down and I'll bet. things will work out fine there's. there's a lot of actors out there who'd.

like to [ __ ] us over so that's just you. know I can't I don't know other eloquent. way to say it I should have used that. line in the book what we're worried. about with other countries is them. infiltrating our education system. infiltrating businesses sabotaging us. with some long plan do you think that. United States intelligence agencies. utilize the same sort of strategy with. other countries. sure yeah yeah and we better hope we're. better at it right um we we better hope.

we're we're the best there is at it. right so uh the answer is yeah there's. nothing new Under the sun when it comes. to um gathering information right it's. not like you know yes technology changes. that how you can you know signals. intercepts and all the things that you. can do and cyberspace but um ultimately. what are they looking to do what's I. what's what's Chinese uh Intel apparatus. looking to do well they're looking to. provide any information to the Chinese.

regime that will allow them to get to. and firmly sit a top the food chain. right the global the global ladder of. success uh and at the same time they're. they're looking to as part of that. they're looking to Hoover up this. information that will help their. companies succeed right in a in a. shorter fashion bypass all that heavy. cost of research and development and. just go straight to the product or. whatever it may be um they're looking to. look they dominate I mean I there's I. don't know how many different ways we.

can go into this they dominate the the. world's Global Supply of rare earth. minerals right now that's not the same. as you know most people have no I mean. Rare Earth minerals are not like Cobalt. or or lithium or copper or whatever sits. in your but they dominate that too right. but uh well they they have been busy uh. yeah trying to snap up as much of that. as possible um if you look at um Cobalt. I mean what the vast majority of cobalt. is mined in Congo right you look at U. copper it's where Chile China um Peru um.

lithium is is wherever uh Australia I. think uh China um there's but the rare. earth minerals and rare earth minerals. are found in everything from smartphones. to Aerospace industry uh guidance. systems for missiles that's a good one. um Electronics medicine. you you pick anything uh nuclear power. so what what what minerals are you. discussing when you're talking about. rare rare earth minerals yeah uh I'm not.

smart enough to tell you but I know that. there's there's a list of rare earth. minerals that are uh almost. unpronouncable as far as I'm concerned. but but they are um you know there's. only a certain quantity and if you look. at where those exist right vast majority. exists in China right and they're mining. actively they're mining all of that. because again these these particular. minerals are used in a variety of of uh. products that are critical both to.

security purposes and defense purposes. and also just success right uh but. that's separate from people sometimes. talk about like uh well we want to go. electric we want to build more batteries. and you know the minerals that are used. in batteries are not the same thing. we're not talking about Rare Earth. minerals there we're talking about you. know nickel and other things there so um. but anyway the point being is is that. the CH whether it's a Chinese or whether. it's a Russians whether it's Iranians. whether it's North Koreans. um you know or look south of our border.

right Latin America has gone through a. sea change recently and you know um Lula. being back in Brazil is just one example. of the number of of governments who have. gone from you know right or or rsh to. left or Social Democrat and so they may. not have our best interest at heart. either and and. so anyway I'm I'm not a a buyer of the. idea that we can be altruistic and just. shut down our our efforts to keep.

ourselves as informed as possible about. where the next threat comes from we have. to be able to do that and so when people. say well you know we can't criticize. China for doing this because we do it. too yeah you're right [ __ ] a. relatively speaking they put in the same. amount of resources and and money or. more than we do in in these. Endeavors um I argue they put in more. resource um that's different from. defense spending right I me but when you.

talk about intelligence intelligence. operations I mean you just I again just. you look at that um Huawei I mean we've. talked about Huawei before and. um there was a case and towards the end. of this past year also again you know. where where we've uh picked up two. Chinese Intel agents who were busy. uh trying to bribe what they thought was. an asset who could give them information. about the government's position.

prosecution of Huawei uh it turns out it. was a an informant working for the FBI. thank goodness um but you know they were. just they were these guys simply working. uh to find assets who could tell them. what is the US government what's the doj. doing to prosecute. Huawei I mean that's again now do you. think we can operate China in the same. way well no it's a much more restrictive. environment so we have to be more clever. more creative in the way that we gather.

information about China's Intel and uh. plans and intentions than they do they. there also isn't there also a difference. in the way they've infiltrated the. universities in the education system in. the United States versus what we have. over there yeah yeah they the university. system here is a is a is a really good. uh uh trolling ground for them and and. it's been that way for decades and and. look there's there's you know this this. case that I mentioned where they just. sentenced this fellow we extradited you. know he he was using the university.

system going out and finding um both. private sector employees and also people. in academics right who were engaged in. business related to Aviation whatever to. entice them and again and it tends to. follow a pattern right if you're if. you're a Chinese American or a Taiwanese. American and you're approached by. someone who you know spends time. buttering you up and telling you how. smart you are and you know we sure could. use you to come over to China to give a. presentation uh you might want to think. about that right there's a reason for it.

and yet you know they're very good at. what they do look this guy uh uh Zoo. when he would take somebody over or he. would have somebody come over to give a. presentation Ministry of State security. under the guise of you know academics or. whatever would take these people out to. dinner meanwhile they'd bang up his. hotel real you know copy his laptop do. everything that they you would imagine. they would do that's what they do um and. again there's I don't I know people are. going to disagree with this and they're. always going to argue about this but I.

don't and maybe that's because I'm. simple I never viewed there as a moral. equivalency between their operations and. our operations we have firewalls we have. limits we have things that we can't do. right and they don't if it works it. works right and if they think it's got. potential to work as an operation uh. then they'll do it same with the. Russians and others I think the real. fear over here is the only way we can. compete with them is do what they do. with our with our. people yeah I mean we you could I mean. we're doing you could argue that one of.

the things that we do is is try to. harden our defenses right part of that. is making people aware of it and you. know FBA you know they've been taking a. kick in the ass for a while now because. of you know the potential for um playing. politics but the bureau has done you. know some things really very well one of. them is in this Counter Intelligence. area right they spend a lot of time. talking or trying to talk to private. sector companies about how do you. improve your security posture against. these threats and that you know that was. not something they did before so it's a.

relatively new initiative they go out. and they talk and they try to share best. practices it's not necessarily a two-way. conversation right it's not like the. company is getting inside information. from The Bureau about investigations or. whatever but they're they're trying and. and the reason for that is the same. reason why you you know from a technical. perspective you harden your it systems. it's because you you got to arm. everybody you got to what I mean the. critical. infrastructure is owned in the US 80% by. private companies 80% right so we can.

talk about you know trying to improve. our security posture because our. infrastructure again that's it right you. talk about these things like I I said. you know where's the potential for. conflict in 2023 Russia Ukraine China. well an attack on us infrastructure. that's right up there at the very top. and so you know you have to do what you. can but when 80% of the critical. infrastructure is owned by private. companies you have to work with the. private companies you have to go out and. create a dialogue create an awareness.

and that's always been a problem in the. past so they're trying to do that um and. then yes we try to to uh be better at. collecting information on what the. Hostile nation states are doing against. us. um but you know that's where I draw a. line I you know I'm always willing to. say okay maybe yeah maybe there was. something there maybe I I haven't seen. evidence to say absolutely not so maybe. there was a conspiracy maybe all all. those things that's fine but I always. draw a line at saying [ __ ] you we need. you know we need the Intel Community we.

need them to be. apolitical that it should always be the. case um but we need them to be out there. and aggressive and proactive in. defending national security interests. and you know I'm not going to shift off. that line well what one of the things. that a lot of people get scared of when. it comes to overstepping boundaries is. uh some of the [ __ ] that we hear like. with the FBI. like the uh the governor of Michigan. thing oh yeah yeah where there was 14.

people involved and 12 of them in. involved in this uh kidnapping plot 12. of them were FBI informants that seems. kind of crazy yeah entrapment is a is. that's a that's a different [ __ ]. bucket there that's a yeah um is that. just a function of them trying to get. something done and you you give people. autonomy you let them make their own. decisions and then they they do. something that a lot of people would.

feel like is entament and these guys who. got arrested who were doing long bids. you know one of them was saying that it. was all just fantasy he's an idiot he. wasn't really interested in it at all. but they organized it they instigated it. they designed it kept calling about it. yeah yeah yeah I mean I think um the way. that. you the way that you avoid problems. typically is by it's by having your your. uh Frontline managers right being um. very experienced and asking questions.

and stress testing every potential. operation and activity or investigation. and you know I I can't speak to that one. because I wasn't in the bureau and and. don't know but um you know I I do know. that if you don't have um management at. at pretty much every level of the. organization which whatever organization. it is. that stress tests these things and says. okay why why do you think this why is. that important who told you this what is.

you know what is the purpose um then. yeah it's got the potential to spin out. of control and part of it then becomes. okay you've got some you know smart. prosecuting attorney out there and you. know thinks hey this is going to be. great right this is high-profile you. know look at that and and so then they. run with it and you know every. investigation needs to be built on a. very sound Foundation right if you start. investigating with an idea like you know. I bet these guys might be interested you. you've got to have evidence at the very. bottom otherwise it's just sitting on.

this pile of sand right so I think. that's you know sometimes where these. things go aride because there's such a. desire. to um you know develop that opportunity. or that that case right that that people. forget to say well how did this even get. started you know what was the first. piece of evidence or what was the first. thread right let's go back to that and. look right I mean right was it the idea. of the two people that are being. prosecuted or was it the idea of the 12. people that instigated it yeah I mean.

you can argue about it it's it's no. different it's it's whether it's that. sort of thing or whether it's going back. to Sam bankman freed uh if somebody. early on it just said let's go back and. do due diligence from the ground up. right look I you know for all your. information and security needs Portman. Square group that's pretty good um we. have people that do nothing but fraud. investigations and due diligence and I. will. say I maybe once or twice but over years.

now going on a couple of decades there. have never done a major fraud. investigation where the due diligence on. that entity or people uh or opportunity. was done properly at the beginning right. it just doesn't happen if you do the due. diligence properly at the beginning and. then occasionally you revisit that right. because you know people change and. you're always going back and looking at. you know the current status of events. and the company's you know structure and. abilities and you know is what they say. they do what they do if you do that due.

diligence at the outset you don't end up. with a Bernie maid off or a Sam bankman. freed right but all these frauds at at. this level particularly. those it's it's driven by I don't want. to necessar say greed but the fear of. missing the boat right so it gets to a. certain point a little momentum and. nobody asks the questions nobody would. go back and says well wait a minute. let's go back to the beginning you know. why is this successful who is this. person what does this company do you.

know are they are all they doing is just. wash trades what are they doing what is. the you know how is the success built at. the very beginning and so but people. don't do that because they get they get. excited and again there's this fear that. I'm going to miss the boat and so the. next thing you know you've got Shaq and. all these other people out there. promoting it and then people say well if. they're promoting it it's good that's. all the due diligence I need Tom Brady. says it's good let's go that is a. problem yeah and I should point out that. I have passed up on doing things like. that things with crypto things with uh.

nfts I I right away I was like uh-uh I. don't believe in it I think there's a. lot of potential for horseshit here and. when it comes to something like. FTX you're dealing with crypto right. which. is relatively. unregulated right at least to a certain. extent how would one even investigate. that and if you got to the point where. it got to like FTX where I mean it looks. so legit right they are they're they put.

their name on Arenas they had the FTX. arena in Miami they have huge Superstars. doing ads for them there's billions and. billions of dollars in assets and then. you have this um origin story of this uh. genius wizard kid who figures all this. out and I mean it should have raised. some red flags they found out they were. just doing amphetamin and [ __ ] each. other in an apartment in the Bahamas.

like what are the odds of that's 100%. legit wow I'm surprised yeah they're in. this polyamorous uh Love Fest in a 40. million doll Penthouse apartment that's. not a [ __ ] word we heard 15 20 years. ago polyamorous yeah yeah where did that. come from uh just like some somebody. came up with it but yeah look the how is. one how would one even like once okay. let's let's say once that's that ball is. rolling you got all these investors you. got all this money rolling in and here's.

a there's a major Point here they were. the number two contributor to the. Democratic party yeah which is an. enormous amount of money and there was. this one Conspiracy Theory what was it. on Michael Savage's web page there was. this one conspiracy theory that the. United States government donates money. to Ukraine Ukraine buys stake in FTX FTX. donates money to the Democratic party. and that there's this direct chain now. he removed that right and there it's a.

conspiracy theory unsubstantiated. conspiracy theory but when you've got. that kind of money moving around like. billions went to alme research group and. they don't understand and he was saying. I have no knowledge of this and you got. money that's just flying all over the. place and billions are missing right. where is it going and how would one even. step in and sort of try to get an. assessment of that and in doing so would. you [ __ ] up the whole thing and would.

all those people lose out on billions of. dollars of legitimate money that they've. invested millions and millions of. creditors right well if it's built on. Sand they're going to lose anyway at. some point so you know it's always. better to expose and create transparency. I would argue on when you're talking. about something like this couple of. things first of all if if a company that. you're looking at investing in suddenly. names an arena uh gets a corporate jet. um you know uh buys a yacht uh has uh.

Associated real estate you know offshore. whatever it is you might want to look at. at this thing now how do you do that I. don't want to oversimplify it because a. lot of a lot of folks in my in in in my. industry and information and security. industry will will you know try to make. things sound very complicated it's not. you ask questions right you you start by. by saying uh I want to know who these. people are right you start investigating. the people uh the company structure you. start looking at you know how do these.

companies relate to each other I mean. what do the trades look like you know. what. what what are they holding what are the. assets that they're holding in what. names you know what are the entities. what what Associated entities are there. what are their activities right wouldn't. have taken much to figure out that you. know Sam bankman freed was was you know. basically just you you know banging. colleagues and and doing whatever drugs. they were doing I don't even know what. drugs lot of amphetamines apparently lot. of amphetamines yeah yeah that's what.

the lady car Caroline Ellison gotta keep. gotta keep awake I guess if you're doing. that much banging but yeah so it's it's. the due diligence part I don't again you. know I don't want to oversimplify this. but I think I am because it's it's the. easiest thing you can do uh to avoid. getting wrapped up into a fraud or. investing in something that goes south. right so how does one do this and where. do they where does one start so like. when FTX say if you're an outsider and.

FDX is has a m how long has FTX even. been around [ __ ] what did he start in in. uh. 20 when did he start May 2019 yeah 2019. that's it yeah yeah that's wild yeah he. hadn't been around long and and they. don't even have Bitcoin right they. weren't even in is that correct Jamie. without speaking from 100% knowledge I. believe this was all about trading some. coin they made and share like a stock is. like almost equivalent to a stock yeah.

he basically he basically made his money. on what they call Wash trades in part. right which all that means is if you. look at a transaction the buyer and. seller are the same person that's a. problem right now the reason why it's. not a problem in in crypto is because. it's unregulated right right you can't. do a wash trade in the financial. industry you haven't been able to do. that in what would that be in in 80 some. odd years right wasn't part of the. problem that he was calling for some. sort of Regulation and that's where.

binance had an issue with it am I wrong. about that Jamie you're you're a crypto. gu a lot of this was saying his. donations were to help get influence in. uh regulations and anything that was. going to be happening with Congress and. crypto because it's obviously on its way. right so he wanted to have a that. exactly so he wanted to accumulate. enormous amount of money an enormous. amount of influence and protect his. money right he's looking for plans and. intentions of Capitol Hill basically I. mean if from an Intel perspective he's. looking to see where are they going to. go with this so that I can either you.

know uh somehow block that effort or. create an effort that's more. advantageous to him right it seems like. it was effective at least in its. intention because like Maxine Waters is. like you know well you know he doesn't. really want to come in and testify so. Sam's a good guy they brought him in the. White House brought him in to talk about. the pandemic apparently this is. information they said they're asking. about crypto if you can [ __ ] ask. someone about the pandemic would it be. that guy on the. right I mean I would love to see a.

conversation between the guy on the left. Biden and the guy on the right the guy. on the left is making up words the guy. on the right is on Adam fetamines come. on man come on man press secretary Jean. Karen jeanpierre conceded that four. meetings may have also covered general. information about crypto between senior. Biden officials were about the pandemic. like what yeah what could that [ __ ]. young kid doing speed [ __ ] his.

neighbors well look that here's the. thing a nobody in the White House really. understands crypto to begin with right. it's it's seems like very few people. understand crypto really but but just in. terms of looking at at this guy's. situation um it's like with Bernie molf. if you had gone and if someone had taken. the time early days with made off said. I'm going to go visit you know some. Basics I'm going to go look where his. accountant sits oh really he's sitting. in a [ __ ] small office in a strip. mall and yet this guy's supposed to be. you know king of the world at this point.

how about these guys you know what they. were. using Quick Books oh yeah yeah yeah they. were using Quick Books the [ __ ] that. like a guy uses if he has a [ __ ]. small bookstore yeah they're using that. you just I mean you compile information. and and maybe one or two pieces of it. like okay you look at the guy and you go. this guy doesn't look like a a rocket. scientist and and you know his lifestyle. you look at lifestyle issues maybe. they're bizarre but you compile as much. information about the entire apparatus. as possible and I would argue that.

anybody in their right mind if they had. taken the time to do significant due. diligence would have stepped back and. said oh no not doing this guy you know I. don't care how many celebrities he's got. putting in there and you know and he was. going after celebrities for a reason. just like your name over the arena or. because it gives you [ __ ] credibility. the same reason why he was donating so. much money yes and and you know the. donations yeah anybody who thinks he. wasn't doing that to exert leverage or. to gather information you know uh again. naive ignorant you know whatever well.

his mother was a big time Democratic. operative too right yeah so that was. probably part of his. connection yeah it's just it's a shame. because you know a lot of people were. hurt you know whether they claw that. money back or not millions of people. yeah and you know some of the some of. the folks in the Democratic party are. saying well we're going to give some. money back but how it's going to be yeah. exactly where's the money where's it. coming from if it if the money is all. nonsense which is what a lot of crypto. is it once it collapses it's nonsense.

there's no legitimate assets right right. and then you have to also ask yourself. and I think you know some of the there's. some coverage I think there's going to. be more talking about the nature of. trading again you C you know wash trades. are illegal in the financial industry. for a reason right but wash trades again. uh it's. um what's the way to it's like okay it's. like with my my book you know you might. have heard about my book comp yeah it's. being released on the 18th of January on. script uh does this have to do with. anything or you just just I'm going to.

tell you I'm going to tell you if I if I. really was desperate and I said I really. want my book to become a bestseller. right well one of the things I could do. is I could set up I could set up a bunch. of fake uh accounts on Amazon or. wherever and then I could put money into. those all those different accounts and. then I could start buying up my book I. know someone who did that you did that's. that's a it's in a sense that's a washr. is that you're on both sides right uh. it's illegal in the financial industry. but see remember crypto is what is it.

it's not a currency it's a it's a it's a. it's a piece of property it's a you know. so it's they haven't decided they're. still trying to figure it out right. which again I would argue is one of the. reasons why you know SP SPF was putting. money into politics you know if you can. get ahead of the game I'll tell you as. an example as you know there there's a. reason why I'm telling the story early. days of of Iraq I'm talking like 2003. 2004 2005 um my company had you know a.

lot of people there because we were. supporting security operations for a lot. of the infrastructure companies you know. and so they're out there trying to. rebuild parts of the country they're. doing things well they've got to have. security and they've got to have people. handling a variety of problems with them. so we had gotten out there very early we. were out there in early 2003 right at. the very beginning and uh. um it didn't take long you know at first. there was several months where it was. relatively peaceful [ __ ] started to hit. the fan out there in about September of.

2003 right really started going south. and then it started getting violent and. there 2004 2005 the security business in. Iraq just ballooned right suddenly you. couldn't swing at that cat without. hitting another security company they. just popped up out of nowhere you know. you'd be be out there and say who are. you guys with and they'd say some. company You' never heard of right and. just put together because people saw. opportunity I'm going to get some. government contracts right I'm going to. I'm going to work for these companies. I'm going to do this and they were. pulling people who had no business being. out in a hostile environment right and. providing security um so then they.

started having problems there were all. sorts of issues. well we started thinking okay this has. got to get regulated right state. department and and Pentagon they're. going to come in they're going to so no. we've got to regulate the private. security industry that's operating out. here we know we need it but it's just. unregulated so we're we're going to do. so as part of that once we realized that. was going to happen we got together with. some of the more reputable security. firms that were operating said let's. form an association right so that we can.

get ahead of the curve right and we can. help Define what the regulations are for. these security companies that are out. there operating it's in our best. interest right and I would argue it's no. different than what you SPF was doing. you know kind of spreading the cash. around so that he could understand where. the regulations were going to come from. and he could get ahead of the curve and. and you know so. hey from a Intel perspective you know. Bravo that's the right intuition but uh. again but he didn't recognize his.

vulnerability didn't recognize his. vulner because he believed his own. [ __ ] right he's he's you know he's. not a rocket scientist unlike people. thought well also he's on amphetamines. yeah which is leads people to make rash. impulsive decisions and you know you get. hyper confident yeah yeah so I think. he's you know it's it's the the amazing. thing is is if you been involved in. fraud investigations for as long as we. have there was no surprise at the point. where it happened now you know um you it.

would have been. um I guess May I'm probably the wrong. person to talk about this because I've. never been a a a real believer in crypto. right in part because it's as you can. see from the [ __ ] cigar lighter I'm a. fairly simple person right so the the. likelihood that I'm going to understand. crypto like Jamie does is is even Jamie. barely understands I don't want to claim. that I understand it fully I get what. people are saying but you know I don't. the idea I'm still watching yeah you're.

Jamie vests a little and watches from. afar but it's um the the the what's the. what the Allure of it is is. decentralized currency right so you. don't have to rely on the Federal. Reserve and interest rates getting. jacked up and all this stuff that people. think [ __ ] with fiat currency they say. well if we have decentralized currency. and then you know we allow it to. flourish and you know you give the. people power to trade and invest and and.

then you get to this point but well they. were dealing with this is where it gets. really weird right they were dealing. with not just crypto but also with. tokens MH now what are the [ __ ] that's. where it all went South right is that. binance guy yeah even I was looking. there's a story now about Tom Brady's. involvement cuz we asked you asked me. about that the other day it says that he. had he was a celebrity endorser he was. given I don't know if he put money in. and then exchange was given back. 110,000 shares or tokens MH and those.

are now devalued to zero or I don't know. I don't know what they're worth but and. isn't that that was a strategy of the. binance guy to tank it right like he. decided to unload all of his tokens. right because he had an interest in FTX. he unloaded all of his tokens they. didn't really have the capital to cover. that and then everybody went oh my God. it's a [ __ ] scheme and then like mid. off after 2008 when people wanted to. withdraw their money right you can't. people are calling and they're saying.

okay that's it and he's saying okay now. you got to use other funds to pay that. off and the next thing you know you're. you're you you're in a hole you can't. get out of is the lure that the people. that got in early go ahead go ahead put. it up uh ad blocker popped up oh is the. the aure that the people that did get in. early and did invest and then pull their. money out they did make money so PE some. people made enormous profits and there. was there's a financial institute I'll. say binance is bleeding assets 12. billion gone in less than 60 days well.

duh buddy yeah I don't know why he. didn't see this coming while he tanks. FTX and he doesn't realize that people. are going to look at the whole industry. and go holy [ __ ] this is all nuts the. outflow of cash from binance is worse. than the CEO Chang Pang Zhao indicated. last month and it's become considerably. more severe since then a Forbes analyst. analysis rather shows binance the. world's largest cryptocurrency exchange. is struggling to hold on to Assets in. the wake of the collapse of rival FTX. investors have been pulling their crypto.

in recent weeks and despite the. Assurance from CEO uh Shang Pang Zhao. that the situation is stabilized. outflows are accelerating customers. withdrew a net 360 million on Friday. according to it when I mean rightfully. so right uh according to uh data from. crypto data firm def imagine being a. crypto data firm Jesus Christ December. 13th nanson a separate crypto data firm.

broke the news that binance had lost. three billion of assets over the. previous week representing 4% of the. firm's total at the time which is pretty. wild that much money yeah Forbes. investigation revealed that in fact. binance lost 15% of its assets since. Twitter posting by Zhao uh widely known. as CZ on the same day he downplayed the. nansen report withdrawal. still nearly a quarter of binance assets. left the exchange in less than 2 months. Forbes reached out to binance seeking.

comments for this story but did not. receive a response by publication time. so they're just hemorrhaging money yeah. I mean first of all and confidence I'm. glad they they they went with CZ because. uh I I was enjoying listening to your. pronounce it was a rough one yeah that's. a tough one that's to they also use a. similar thing as FPS FTX they have a. coin called the binance coin BNB and. another one which is based off the US. dollar and those have also lost a bunch. of value you have to think and you have.

to think about the value too in terms of. what is actual value right because. Forbes also uh they're not the only ones. but there's been some study about what. is the what's the level of trade going. on in that business that is uh again. going back to the same phrase out of you. know wash trades so basically just you. know meaningless trades right the whole. purpose of doing the wash trades is up. the volume of trading right which you. know your hope is that will generate an. increase in value right so you know a.

lot of what of uh what SPF was doing as. an example was just you know selling low. and or sorry uh you know selling and. then and then buying or buying and then. selling at a little bit of a higher. price sorry I got that mix backwards so. he was doing this just to jack up his. own assets the assets of the company and. and if you think about I mean if Forbes. is anywhere near correct and some of the. other estimates are anywhere near. correct cor and 50% of of all the. activity uh in crypto trade is basically. just that right again buyer and seller. on the same you know or on both sides of.

the transaction that's what they're. saying and and again I you know what do. I know I'm the wrong person talking. about this I'm just I'm talking about it. from perspective of someone who's been. involved in fraud investigations for a. long time and I guess I go back to the. same story which is God just you know a. little bit of due diligence can save. people a lot of heartache and and loss. and and we see that no matter how big. Fortune 50 companies you know large. investment firms large banking. institutions right um sometimes they're. just they just don't do it they don't do.

the due diligence because you know I hey. look 20 years ago I worked with this guy. he was at wherever some other. institution he's a great guy let's just. you know or for whatever reason due. diligence costs almost in scheme of. things compared to a fraud investigation. costs almost nothing and so and and. everybody can do it it's not just like. you know you have to go out to you know. to a company you don't have to be a big. firm or you're a Consulting from. whatever to do it people can do their. own due diligence because there's so. much information online nowadays right. so you know but at at at some point you.

also want to dig a little bit deeper you. probably want to go out and actually. talk to people find out what their. experience is we've seen deals overseas. where people have have invested in in. large companies and have just gotten. massive holes shot in their books. because they failed to just do the. simple things go out there and actually. investigate the business and see whether. the books they're seeing are the actual. books it so it's you know I can't say it. often enough you know two things people. can do to protect their their businesses. one is is do proper due diligence ahead. of a key hire an investment uh any sort.

of venture and then the other is buy a. crosscut shredder and don't don't put. information in the in the bins and you. know like companies like mine pick it up. so so these companies that uh these. places like binance and FTX what's the. future of those things things I mean at. one point in time just a very recently. they were enormous power structures they. had incredible.

resources and now it's kind of. evaporated or at least the confidence in. it is rapidly evaporating so what's the. future of these things well I think they. missed they missed the boat in a way. right um decentralized is not the same. as unregulated right and I think they. the reluctance anytime you talked about. regulation over the past couple of years. right people would just like you know. whether they were Libertarians or crypto. enthusiasts or whatever oh no right they.

don't want to get the government. involved government but there's certain. reasons to have some regulation right. and this is a good example of of of of. how you can prevent uh you know not all. the time some people you know. occasionally there's going to be someone. who's actually really sophisticated and. smart and they're going to sneak through. but some regulation you know is you know. by definition is not a bad thing right. just by saying the word it doesn't mean. that you're you're saying I want to I. want to turn it over to the government. leave the government in charge of it all. you know no uh but you're looking to try.

to create an environment that protects. investors right but in the Bernie made. off situation he was regulated yeah and. he's an example of someone who was very. well motivated to to what he was doing. um was sufficiently experienced and. credible enough that again he got. through because the same thing that we. talked about you know just a failure to. do due diligence and greed because.

people were making enormous profits the. the return on their investment was very. high and people even in the early days. of Bernie mayoff were calling [ __ ]. they were saying that this doesn't seem. to make sense there were people out. there who were kind of screaming into. the wind talking about it and there were. people that were doing this about FTX as. well right uh yeah last so um because. they would get drowned out by the you. know no no regulation you know [ __ ]. you don't understand crypto um you know. people that were were calling [ __ ].

on SBF I think were were doing it in. part just because of appearance right. and sort of lack of understand you know. the lack of information the lack of. transparency should be another indicator. just like you know buying a corporate. jet or you know I'd love to name an. arena after Portman Square group but. mean I don't think it's going to happen. but if you an enormous corporation like. Staple Center isn't there like a value. in in naming an arena after your company. yeah that's that's different than than.

you know uh a small crypto exchange. small if it's worth billions and. billions of dollars I mean it doesn't. seem that small I don't know if it's I. mean again it's relative value is it. really worth billions and billions of. dollars or is it well obviously not we. find out now but I mean if you think. about the fact that they were that. profitable inside of 3 years if they. really did start start in 2019 and by. 2022 the [ __ ] end of the year the the. House of Cards had already fallen down. yeah and he's given like whatever 30.

million to democratic causes and you. know the number two donor next to George. Soros which is [ __ ] terrifying like. that guy how old is George Soros it's a. good question yeah is he he's like a. vampire I had a conversation with the. governor of Texas about him about with. Greg Abbott where he was explaining to. me what George Soros does and it's. [ __ ] terrifying that he donates money. to a very aggressive very leftist uh. whether it's a DA or whatever politician. and then fund someone who's even further. left than them to go against them and.

just keeps moving it along so he's. playing like a global game yeah and that. he he enjoys doing it yeah he enjoys. doing it um but it is it's telling right. he understood early on where you wanted. to seize power right and and that's you. know we sometimes think oh I'm going to. you know you know a senator is that. that's the Pinnacle of success well it's. not really you know it's the it's the. Das and it's the it's the state level.

politicians so that's where real change. occurs and where things can happen and. before you know it it's like what the. [ __ ] how or real corrosion or real. corrosion right that's what's scary is. it seems like he funds corrosion it's. like he wants these cities to fall apart. he he wants crime to flourish it's. almost like he's an evil person in a. Batman movie. you know what I'm saying well he I mean. he he made his real fortune by almost. busting the bank of England right so. he's not yeah this this guy is not uh.

you know he's not out there for truth. and Justice and he's got to be deep into. his 80s 92 9 [ __ ] too so you got to. wonder like what keeps that guy [ __ ]. motivated we have a picture of him a. recent picture of him he got married in. 2013 nice she is she is in love with him. nice look at her slim and Young and full. of vigor wow wow do you think he like. drinks her blood to stay young is that. what's going on here I don't know I.

don't think he's staying young if he. doesn't it's not working it's not. working at all it's kind of wild she's. cute wow marry for third time look at. him man but just what a wild thing to do. with your money I mean it kind of makes. sense he fires back he he back what does. it say which one are you looking at Reed. Hoffman George Soros back media firm to. combat disinformation oh combat that. disinformation stor could be from any. time of the year uh billionaire backed.

New Media firm to combat disinformation. what disinformation. sir how much money did they put in there. why here's good why it matters good. information Inc that's the name of the. company aims to fund and scale. businesses that cut through Echo. Chambers with fact-based information as. a part of its mission it plans to invest. in local news companies there you go see. oh my God if you can influence on the. local level look at this the [ __ ] the.

company's called acronym how hilarious. is that acronym yeah isn't that. hilarious former Democratic strategist. who previously ran a progressive. nonprofit called acronym acronym. invested in for-profit companies that. built media and Technology Solutions for. Progressive causes had ran one of the. largest digital campaigns to defeat. president Trump in the 2020 election. totaling $100 million one of the. companies has invested in called Shadow. made headlines last year from.

contributing to the delayed reporting of. the Iowa caucus results. wow it's all very weird it's like I mean. this guy's obviously been involved in. politics at a very high level for. decades and decades and it seems like. it's it's like his fun little game he. plays if you had all that money though. wouldn't you do something about the bags. under your eyes I mean that was there. was that was a lot of if he can get that. lady with the bags under his eyes why. does he give a [ __ ] yeah I guess that's. I guess it's a good point I mean you.

would think that if you had that much. money you're 92 years old you just want. to go fly fishing and sit on the deck. and drink coffee and talk to your. grandchildren and just enjoy your life. but he apparently does not want to do. that I he likes being the Puppet Master. right yeah he likes pulling strings and. and he likes having that influence and. and that impact and and I guess you know. what the hell I mean it's but he's. unique public about it that's what's. fascinating it's like this is all known. information that this guy is involved in. all these different things that he has. his hands in yeah and you could argue.

that's I mean at least there's some. transparency there as opposed to you. know dark money going into campaigns and. and other things and and you know so. it's it's but it is at 92 I had no I had. no idea he was 92 good God you got to. wonder like what is it what's his. endgame like when does he uh when does. he wrap this [ __ ] project up well I. think it's it's it is an indication. though it is smart and I think um I. don't know that it's going to change. anything I don't know way I'm going with. this but I think there was an awareness. over the past couple of years maybe.

because of the pandemic and people like. sitting at home and reading more news. and and watching what's happening in. their local community because they. traveling of the importance of knowing. who your city council is or knowing who. your you know state congressman is or. you know whatever the head of the PTA. whatever it might be and being aware of. of importance of that because we all. again we were so focused and people. almost you know okay fine maybe I'll go. out and vote for a US Congressman or a. senator but I'm not going to you know.

take the time to go out for local. elections and honest to God you know if. you want to [ __ ] and moan then you know. your obligation on the other side of. that is you got to take part I don't. think people realize the implications. that it had on their actual lives what. politicians what rules they could and. couldn't enact until the pandemic until. they shut down businesses shut down. restaurants mandated certain things. mandated vaccines for children in. schools when you saw politicians doing.

things like that that's when people. started freaking out like Jesus I didn't. know you guys had that kind of [ __ ]. power yeah yeah no I think that's I. think that's we learned a [ __ ] ton about. schooling right as an example right I. know that's kind of a one of those. conversations that's been taking place. for quite a bit and it's nothing new but. I mean just from a personal perspective. you know we started looking at at you. know not just the curriculum but just. the the quality of the education itself. right and and and the process that's. involved and you know one thing we sit. go ahead oh I was going to say our kids. you know not our kids but we as as.

parents were not well suited to. homeschooling that was just never never. going to happen really motivated and. really U organized to to homeschool. correctly you got to know math yeah I. don't [ __ ] know about even my even my. 11- year-old at the time he was what. nine and 10 years old and and he knew. you know after the first couple of. efforts for getting me to help him with. his math I'm like you got to you got to. ask your mom you know and I became. basically what did I do I was like the.

PE instructor and the lunch lady that. was my two jobs I sat in my daughter's. room while she was on Zoom classes once. and I was like oh my God this is so. [ __ ] boring and this teacher is so. unmotivated and this was a private. school this is something we're paying. for I was like this is a [ __ ]. travesty because these kids are just. getting beaten down by boredom and when. they finally can shut their laptop. they're like [ __ ] and then they can't. even go outside and they can't meet with. their friends I was like this is a. goddamn disaster yeah we were lucky in. that I mean because of where we were.

right I mean God I don't know how we. would have done it if we been living in. an apartment in New York City or. something right when everyone's scared. to go outside and [ __ ] but at least our. kids could you know they go outside and. they could go up in the Foothills and. they could mountain bike and they could. you know so it we were fortunate in that. regard but it was just a it it was a. [ __ ] show we finally put the two. youngest uh into to private school we. moved them out of the public schools cuz. it just wasn't happening right and so we. put them in a local Catholic School uh. my wife is is Catholic um I'm not and um.

so we put him in there and it was. helpful in the sense that they were open. right but both of them by the time they. got in there right they had no grounding. in Catholic church or you know the mass. and they did a regular Mass every. Tuesday and I don't know if I told this. story not but but the middle boy Sluggo. uh who's who's incredibly funny but he. would go into mass and they were. standing and they were sitting and they. were standing and they were sitting it. goes on for an hour right and they have.

this priest who's great guy but it would. just just keep banging on holy [ __ ] so. anyway one day one day he legitimately I. think it was every Tuesday was the mass. he legitimately just went over right his. legs locked up he passed out right just. well so next thing you know they're. calling us they they get him he take. them to the the the nurse's office and. call us and say well you got to come. pick him up because you know he's. fainted and so we can't keep him in. school for the day you got to come get. him right think okay next Tuesday comes.

around I get a call he faints again and. I said oh [ __ ] I got third. Tuesday little son of a [ __ ] faints. again and I go in I say do you do you. think do you think maybe he's faking it. and my boy slugo was standing next to me. and it was like I I clearly I broke the. guy code cuz he's looking at like you. got to be [ __ ] me you're you're. going to call me out on this and one of. the ladies was like oh no I'm no that. wouldn't no it's it's it's legitimate. and okay anyway so he he became known as.

the as the mass fainter and um. eventually once once schools opened up. again we pulled him out of school it was. a great school but we pulled them out. put them back in public school where. they knew most of their friends and. everything were there and but it was it. was a it was an awareness almost. immediately that we were not suited to. schooling cuz we're [ __ ] busy anyway. right and that's great if you got. nothing to do other than homeschool your. kid but imagine if you're like a single. mom oh yeah or a single dad and you have.

to do this [ __ ] and imagine you're. supposed to be working too and on top of. that you can't afford a laptop right or. you don't have Wi-Fi in your home yeah. people at in certain sectors just got. [ __ ] over right and you know people. talk about the kids dropping out of. school disappearing in part because they. were going to private schools but I. think a lot of kids just of a certain. you know category it's probably just. like [ __ ] it I'm not I don't need to go. to school well it certainly opened. people's eyes to the importance of like. who is who are your local politicians. who are who is the mayor who is the.

governor who who's doing who's enacting. rules because the rules were different. all over the country I mean I remember. when they opened up things in Texas. people were freaking out everyone's. going to die and nothing happened when. did you move to Texas May of well I. started looking in May of 2020 I started. looking early because I just had this. feeling I was like I don't like where. this is going these [ __ ] said. two weeks to flatten the curve yeah and. it just seems like they're enjoying. putting the the lock down on people and.

they once people have power over telling. people what they can and can't do and. then they also if they choose to turn it. around and open things up now they're. responsible for whatever decisions they. make right so they're they're going to. hedge their bets and they're going to be. cautious even if it greatly. financially hurts the people that. they're ruling and governing right it. means you got to put your head above the. the wall make a decision and now you're. a Target if you made the wrong decision.

which which is why a lot of [ __ ] never. ever gets done because nobody wants to. take the risk of making a decision one. way or the other right so it's more it's. more that than a conspiracy I didn't buy. that it was a conspiracy like there's a. lot of people that thought this was a. conspiracy to crush America and I'm like. it's just natural human nature once. people in the beginning it was a normal. inclination to shut things down. everybody felt that was the right thing. to do flatten the curve and all that. jazz and stop the spread everybody was. freaked out cuz it was scary because it. was a new thing yeah and so it made. sense but then once it stopped making.

sense and we got more data on it like I. have a friend a good friend who's a. doctor and his initial concern was. seriously cautious and then as he. started looking at the data he goes my. understanding of this is it's about. twice as bad as the flu he goes this. reaction that we're having the way we're. treating this is absolutely wrong and he. did it like sort of in about about face. with confronted with new information it. became a yeah it became a bit of a. religion right in a way right it was a. little bit of a of a of a cult following.

as to how righteous can I be I'm going. to be the most righteous right I'm going. to follow it to to a te rather than. saying look I'm going to look at you. know science theoretically is you stress. test everything right you question. everything and you you you always look. for alternative answers and theories and. and you you you test them right that's. the that's what you're supposed to do. and I think it became one of those. things where much like you know when you. question okay what are we doing in. Ukraine what's the end game suddenly. it's ah you're a [ __ ] Russian puppet. well no I'm just asking you you know.

what's the end game and so you have to. be able to ask that when you're dealing. with something that's not enormous but. we're we're we're you moving into a a. world where um yeah it's it's it's it's. strange you can't you can't ask the. obvious questions right it's again it's. like with s SPF you ask question hey you. know why why are you invest uh you know. you obviously you don't understand. crypto or you know Tom Brady did so I'm. doing it uh it's just it's a it's a. strange environment that we live in it. makes it more difficult I think now for. people to uh at a time when.

information's at your fingertips it. makes it more difficult for people to. ask logical questions right because. they're afraid of getting kicked in the. ass you know by someone who views you as. a threat to their particular belief. system that's a big problem with social. media right there's so many people with. opinions now and then if you're if. you're cautious and you know and the. especially during the pandemic you're. it's way less push back and if you're. one of those people that's like you know. what um I think we're doing this the. wrong way and I think we need to open up. people were freaking the [ __ ] out yeah.

yeah we we uh we had an interesting. debate and IID know and and it it worked. out we were you know in a good position. like I said I think we were very. fortunate to be out there and go through. the whole process at that point but um I. I don't know I I have a feeling that. we're not you know people are already. talking about what's the next pandemic. and what's that going to look like and I. don't know that we are very good as a. society of learning lessons so the next. pandemic and there'll be another one.

right I mean it's not there always have. there always have been and so wherever. that one comes from um I don't know that. we're going to look back right and think. okay it's like with Afghanistan right we. would F can spend all that time chasing. the Soviets out of Afghanistan we knew. what they went through we saw the papers. from the Kremlin we knew what the Soviet. leadership had been trying to do and how. difficult it been and all those various. areas right what do you do shortly. thereafter we're in there for 20 years. going through the same problems so I.

don't know that we're going to it's a. weird example but I don't know that. we're going to next pandemic look and. say okay let's review again how we. reacted to the covid okay what should we. do differently I think there's going to. be a lot of people that are going to be. very reluctant to take the same advice. from the same. people I think from the same people but. people tend to maybe this is very. cynical but people like to take. instruction right they like particular. more dangerous if another pandemic rolls. around and the new disease is more.

dangerous yeah with more fear and more. anxiety because there a bunch of people. that just have a certain level of. anxiety anyway yeah boy that's a true. you know and then when something major. comes along that really rocks them and. scares the [ __ ] out of them it's amazing. how quickly they comply well some people. are very comfortable right some people. found that that whole isolation thing to. be very comforting in in an odd way and. you know they were reluctant to give up. on it some people haven't but uh some.

people still don't want to go to an. office yeah I get that I'm paying rent. on places that you know are maybe 20%. occupied because everybody wants to work. remotely people love working remotely do. you think that there is productive. working remotely or is it based on the. individual like are some people more. productive as uh remote workers and some. people just need to be in an office. environment in order to get things done. yeah I think it's I think it's a. combination of the person and their. abilities right and their their.

discipline and I think it's also the uh. structure of the company they work for. right um certain companies I think do. very well in uh having their people. remote uh others don't and I think some. people individually respond very well to. it and others it's a disaster and your. productivity drops sign ific l so but I. think there's you know look we're a. consulting firm so you know my argument. is always it's better to have everybody. together right you got to kind of bounce.

ideas off of each other talk help. collaborate crap yeah you got to be in. the room and and so we're doing what a. lot of people are doing we're trying to. say okay how about you know three days. in two days out but I know major. companies Fortune 100 Fortune 50. companies that are having a hard time. you know getting push back when they say. how about three days in and two days. home employees are saying no two days in. and three days home isn't that wild yeah. yeah it's really wild because this is a. completely new thing I mean I get the. their perspective that they don't want.

to commute and you know they don't want. to deal with all the office [ __ ] and. you want to be able to work with your. pajamas on which is nice but that's it's. amazing how quickly things change how. that becomes the norm yeah I think. what's what's going to change that. what's going to is is just sort of the. uh the state of the economy right that. um. the employment picture is changing and I. don't think I mean whereas a year and a. half. ago individuals had a lot more leverage.

right I said look I you know hey here. are my demands put up with them or I'll. go somewhere else well now people are. getting laid off right and and the. employment isn't what it was the. Market's not the way it is right it's. more of a of a you know whatever you. call it buyer seller Market I don't even. know from an employer standpoint and um. you know I think that's going to be the. thing that changes people and they're. going to realize yeah I better get my. ass back in the office right and maybe I. don't have all that leverage that I.

thought I did before but it's not we're. not there yet right you're still we're. still dealing with it but I mean it's I. get it right I mean everybody wants a. quality of life right and if you don't. have to spend all your time on a commute. I mean [ __ ] it that's why we moved to. Idaho I was spending three hours a day. uh commuting from the place we lived. before uh went out there was in. Fairfield County in Connecticut in new. Canan. I know Tony right very Posh very it is. Posh but Jesus Christ that commute is. rough it's rough you jump on the Metro. North many [ __ ] people on those.

clogged highways well I I never drove I. took to Metro north which by the way had. the so took an hour and a half there and. back hour and a half there and back by. the time you you know actually walked. into where our offices were in the time. it was Time Square uh then uh but the. Metro North rail had the last bar car in. America so at least at the end of the. day you go in you meet your friends You'. say you have a couple drink time it open. oh [ __ ] it was I mean I think it was. like don't hold me to this but maybe. 4:00 they open p.m. they'd open the bar.

oh yeah yeah so if you if you showed up. at 6:30 and you were stressed or 7:00. you jump on the 7:05 to get back to New. Canan you can knock back three genic. yeah Scot get home and I was always. amazed it yeah look at that yeah so. these people just drinking on their way. home look at that son of a [ __ ] but in. the previous picture the guy in the. fleece smiling in the background he's. hammered right he just like look at him. M yeah but still yeah it's a rough way. to live 3 days or or three hours rather. at 24 just spent commuting look at.

everybody's cheers you're going to find. me in one of those photos at some point. bet it created a lot of Alcoholics well. you you know you'd see some guys that. could knock back four or five drinks in. the course of the the train trip and. then they'd walk out go to the get their. car and drive home like really I was. always amazed if new kingan police St. didn't have a a permanent setup out. there uh outside the train station but. um but it was you know it was nice and. we got a lot of business done there and. and uh anyway so but we the point being. is it was three hours every day right so.

we moved to Idol and I like I cut my. commute down to about five minutes at. best right even when there's traffic and. that's a quality of life so I get it. when I I hear it from folks that that uh. work for us um that makes sense but. there has to be a balance because you. know if you go too far one way you're. not making the revenue to pay their. salary and they're out of a job well it. goes back to what we were talking about. before like what do you really want to. do with your life what do you really. want to do with your time and how much. time do you really have left and I think.

so many people are a product of momentum. they're caught up in whatever they're. doing and they just keep doing it and. then they don't like it but this is what. they're doing yeah and they don't really. have the time and that's one of the. things that the pandemic did afford a. lot of people it afforded people the. time to reassess and re-evaluate what. they're doing with their life a lot of. people changed occupations a lot of. people reluctantly to because their. businesses went under yeah but a lot of. people they they had a chance to say hey. you know what I realized I've been. putting all this money and time into. this company now this company doesn't. even [ __ ] exist anymore and the rug.

was pulled out from under me what do I. really want to do and how do I pursue. that yeah and I think that's that's a. natural reaction um yeah I mean we ran. flat um no earnings right but we didn't. during that whole pandemic but we didn't. let anybody off right I mean I could. have made money if IID laid people off. but I I don't think that's the it's not. like I'm running a commune or anything. but I I don't think that's the right way. to to live right so we just kept. everybody on and um and just dealt with.

the fact that there was nothing going. down to the bottom line fine you know. what do I care at the end of the day. these people are feeding their families. and y y y i sound like [ __ ] Mother. Teresa anyway uh no you sound like. you're a good boss yeah but it was so it. worked out from our perspective we kept. everybody on and and we were we were. fortunate in that regard but I I think I. I it's we're everybody's trying to. assess not and you know we're small. business but even the biggest companies. that we deal with some some of the. largest in the world they're spending an. incredible amount of time trying to sort.

this out trying to figure out what how. do we motivate this this new mindset. within the workforce right and it's and. it's a generational thing right because. the older Personnel are like I'm back in. the office you know you know and it's it. for the most part not to you know at to. you know it's not completely true but. for the most part it's the it's the. younger staff and there's also a problem. with entitlement there's a lot of. younger people that have been sort of. given this philosophy and this mindset. that you're entitled to a certain amount.

of compensation you're entitled to work. you're entitled to benefit you're. entitled to all the not necessarily that. you're providing a service for this. company and this company benefits from. having you in there like you're entitled. to things without any consideration. whatsoever as to what how this affects. the bottom line of this company that you. work for they're thinking longterm or in. terms of a group they're thinking of. themselves and this is people have been. sort of programmed to think that way now. right and I think I think that's true.

and but I think also one one thing I've. realized recently I maybe because it's. this weird world that we came out of the. pandemic and this new idea amongst the. workforce to some degree is I we need to. be more transparent about the business. right they can't be expected to. understand the strains and stresses of. running a business if they don't. understand some of the the basics right. and so sharing sort of Topline. financials explaining you know look this. is what we need to break even every. month right this is what we're making.

here look at this it's up and down you. know and so you know we're not like this. cash cow that every time you turn around. and ask for a pay rise we're going to be. able to give it to you you know maybe we. find other ways of doing it we you know. we came up with a admitt stolen idea. from a company that we we work for as a. client or they're a client and they do a. mandatory rest and Recovery uh break. right like a week off in addition to all. the other time off they say you got to. put your phones away you gota we're not. going to contact you you get this extra. week and you know what and so we've.

implemented that in a way to try to find. other when we don't have the cash at the. bottom line to keep people incentivized. right but you're constantly looking for. those things and then sometimes it's a. little discouraging because you don't. get the the the the feeling that anybody. or not anybody but some folks don't. appreciate it I want they going expect. that time off and why do I work so you. know in Europe they get months off they. get months off oh my god well I think. about it I mean you know maternity leave. now is is basically you know we do three. months right and I had a question about.

paternity leave and not that long ago. but I was like paternity leave and it. took me a second to realize you're. talking about okay take time off as the. father yes yeah isn't that wild that's. to me is wild it's very wild I know a. guy who works for a company they get a. lot of time off paternity leave and. they're also required to give that. person a raise if other people within. his group get a raise as well so if you. get and I'm talking a long time I don't. want to say the number CU I'm not sure.

but it's more than six months holy [ __ ]. yes so what happens so you get all this. time off now what if you take all this. time off and you knock your wife up. again well then which may well happen. which may well Happ the course of six. months yeah yeah I mean if you're. fortunate I think it's more than months. I think it's something like 18 months. I'll tell you the honest truth is PA I. don't see how I mean my my reaction was. paternity leave I mean unless you're a. dude with like [ __ ] milk producing.

breasts that baby doesn't want anything. to do with you right you got no purpose. in life being at home you're probably. just going to irritate your wife well. you're supposed to be there helping. you're supposed to help how many okay. how many husbands are going to be like I. I'm going to get out here's what I'm. going to do today I'm going to vacuum. the house I'm going to fold the laundry. I'm going to make dinner e well my. favorite was when Pete budded took. paternity leave yeah him and his husband. took paternity leave like okay didn't. didn't one of them have fake breast look. at this I'm doing 18mon maternity leave.

and this is why it's awesome so grateful. that Canada now offers 18mth attorney. leave option would you take a longer mat. to leave if you could make it work so. this is the thing like you're you're now. you have a baby and the company is just. paying for you to live which I mean. maternity is different what I was. talking about is paternity that's I. thought I clicked on there's one says. they have a 12 to 18 month paternal. leave. paternal okay so now it's yeah now. they're referring to it as like parental.

life but paternity is the father and. that's where it gets Bonkers yeah I. don't I don't I mean again we we'll. probably end up doing like okay you can. take [ __ ] you know a couple of weeks or. whatever I mean again I I I'm not buying. the idea that you're going to be at at. home you know running the household. while while your wife you know relaxes. and and and recovers and and enjoys the. baby I maybe list a couple weeks or even. a month whatever it is whatever. reasonable number sounds right but when. you get to like 18 months paternity.

leave if that is really happening that. seems [ __ ] insane and it also seems. like if someone was like the type of. person that likes to game a. system like you just keep knocking up. your wife and you just keep getting free. money cuz in a year and a half like. she's I mean that's Irish twins right in. a year and a half she's 6 months. pregnant with the next one and then you. know so go back to work for three months. is that what you do us is the only. country with Papa new guini that doesn't.

have federally mandated maternity leave. Papa n guini also has. cannibalism no ferally mandated policy. to give mothers paid time off well I. certainly think that mothers should get. paid time off us is one of only 15 that. does not offer paternity leave of the. top 41 rich but I mean companies do so. but what they're saying here is is is. federal law so federal law is not is not. in tune with this to to offer it I'm. sure they will um and there by signing a.

measure that grants federal employees 12. weeks of paid parental leave look you. know again you know we're doing what. three months uh maternity leave I'm sure. we'll end up settling on something for. fraternity leave um I remember you know. our UK employees um would get God I. think it was like eight months I mean. off um and you had to hold their job you. know which was great cuz our employees. were terrific and we wanted to have them. back but you had to hold their position. open. and you know it's uh when you're a small.

company that's you know that's a that's. a stress right but especially if you're. barely getting by yeah so it's yeah it's. I I just remember when you know when my. kids were were. babies I really served no purpose right. I mean there was it was not like the. baby actually you know would would wake. up and say where's Dad right I mean I it. was fun don't get me wrong and they were. great little kids right but um they want. their mom they want their mom yeah and. and uh but the idea is that you're. supposed to help the mom and that the. company's supposed to be able to sustain.

this and thank God I did I was quite the. helper I'm I'm a very tidy person so I. bet you are yeah I am I'm a very tidy. person I know it doesn't look like that. when I leave here there's like cigar Ash. everywhere well it's like everybody else. when they leave here it's normal you. know what I thought about the this is. going to sound stupid but um I forget. what triggered it something you said. just a short while ago. um I was I was thinking about oh I know. what it was when you talked about your. place in life and all that and I was. thinking I think one of the things that.

I've failed on with the. kids is it's going to sound odd is. church is. religion. and. I you know I'm not agnostic I'm not an. atheist by any means you know I think. there's something higher up there I. don't I don't I don't mean that I I. failed to take the kids to a certain. organized church every Sunday but we. don't haven't really done that right I. talk about that with with my wife and. and uh you know now that our kids are. older it's like every other family when.

you say come on kids we're going to go. to church on Sunday they're like. seriously you know I got to practice or. I got to do this or I got to do that uh. or I'm on my switch or whatever and but. I I feel like I may have dropped the. ball in giving them a sense of of. something bigger right and I don't again. I don't know whether that's you know it. doesn't matter with your church England. or Catholic or whatever Presbyterian I'm. just thinking and uh it's it's. interesting I don't I and I don't know. why I was focused on that I've been. thinking about that for a while and I've.

been you know looking at my kids and. thinking did I really did I screw up. because I I tend to be somewhat uh not. cynical but my problem with organized. religion is that idea that you know a. particular religion has a lock on the. truth right that's always kind of. bothered me right and and I think a lot. of religions do a lot of good they try. and it's and I think it's it's important. for people to think about something. bigger right and and uh whatever that. thing may be God bless him go with. whatever but I think because I'd always. had this thing about necessarily about.

organized religion that I may have gone. too far in the other direction and just. not worried about it and now as my kids. are getting older I'm thinking you know. maybe I i' [ __ ] up and should have. given them at least the chance to think. about it right I think there's a benefit. to structure there's a benefit to that. kind of structure and there's a benefit. to having like a what I would call a. moral. scaffolding and you know this sense of a. higher purpose whether or not you. believe all of it there's something to.

it and it's always existed in human. civilization it's always existed in. cultures it's a way that people keep. people together and give people a sense. of purpose I mean some of the most. disciplined people that I know are very. religious it's really fascinating. particularly Fighters like a lot of the. uh Islamic Fighters out of dagistan. they're some of the most dominant. Fighters and some of the most religious. Fighters so devout and cuz they don't. have the distractions that a lot of the. hedonists do yeah you know they're not. party like the guys at a khabib nurmof's.

camp or some of the most dominant. Fighters they're they wear their hair. all exactly the same way they practice. all they care about is like family. religion training they they they don't. chase girls they don't drink they're. just they're they're they're just. training constantly. like insanely dedicated to their craft. and they're the most dominant is there. an element there where they don't have. it's also because they're coming out of.

something where they don't have much. perhaps sure and so that drive but even. when they do have much they like khabib. is very wealthy yeah and he drives a. Toyota truck I mean he's uh he lives in. the same house I mean it's like he's. very devout in his beliefs and the way. he's raising other Fighters and now he. just got out I think he's decided to. retire completely from mixed martial. arts coaching and everything very. religious and there's something to I. mean some people say I don't want that. in my life I don't want that kind of.

control over me I don't want and I get. it I get that too but I also think there. is some sort of a benefit to having. structure and there's a benefit to. having purpose and there's a benefit to. having rituals and things that everyone. does together there's like a bonding. that that comes with that that you can't. be denied and I know that some people. say well no religion is a tool of. control and religion is a tool but it's. also self-control there's there's a lot. of a lot of discipline and a lot of. structure that benefits people yeah I.

think. it's I think for me part is also just. the idea that it it you know hopefully. it drives you to think yeah right about. some of those issues and some of the the. the bigger picture concerns um we went. to a uh went to a a local uh what is it. United Methodist Church the other day on. Sunday just just my wife and I cuz we. couldn't get the kids to unass a sofa. and um so we went and they actually they.

had a little the guy a nice guy uh. Dwayne had a had a sermon about the. Bible and sort of the way that it's. viewed and and and how. it's uh it's used in various ways in. terms of interpretation right but they. they did say one thing which was you. know the whole whole point of the Bible. is it's it's ambiguous it's diverse. right it's uh it's a collection of of uh. of of books essentially over a long. period of time and it's not intended to.

be like a manual right and so that was. the first time I'd really heard that. about the Bible where it's not an. instruction manual or a howto manual. it's more of of you know a way to pursue. in a sense don't ask what does it mean. just kind of ask you know what am I. looking for right and I think that. question about what am I looking for I. think for kids maybe because to your. point about Community yeah maybe there's. there's some value there but you know so. and I guess Never Say Never the kids. could always end up being interested in.

in religion you know for whatever reason. down the road I just uh I think my own. personal um concerns of organized. religion kind of shut that door when. they were early on and for some reason. lately I've been thinking about that and. thinking you know you know hey what do I. know uh people are like what the [ __ ]. he's having an existential crisis on the. middle of the show well I think. everybody has existential crisises from. time to time and if not you're not.

probably not really analyzing things. deeply yeah yeah that's that's a that's. a nice way to that's a nice way to put. it and on that note yeah oh God all. right Mike Baker hey what time is oh God. always good to see you my friend um so. your book is available the audio book is. available right now comedy rules or. everything I know about business I. learned from the CIA I know and again. it's not an agency book it's a book. about business but you can read it free. for 60 days you can read it free for 60. days Jamie do you have that link that we.

could throw up there that people could. go to oh look at that read it tred.com. Baker yeah try. scrip.com Baker you get. 60 days free and scribed is spelled s c. r i b d exactly and you'll get steak. knives and a set of soft luggage and and. yeah time share so all right M thank you. Mr to see you my friend see you man take. it easy bye everybody. [Music]. [Applause].

[Music].