Chart, page-1528

Interesting comments CB. These are exciting times for KCN, especially with Trump at the helm. If I ever wanted to see fire and brimstone, Mr Trump is there to supply plenty. While China circumnavigates our shoreline in defiance of our territorial waters, they can take us any time they want. Trump sits back and ignores the South Pacific as a potential hot zone, as more and more Island nations fall into the Chinese camp. My point here is that we are alone in the Pacific, and this also adds to global tensions in our region.

How many wars are currently going on? I had to look it up and was amazed at tensions in the Middle East and the sub-Saharan region of Africa.

There are numerous ongoing conflicts worldwide, ranging from full-scale wars to localized insurgencies. Some of the most significant conflicts include:

• Russo-Ukrainian War (Ukraine)

• Israel-Palestine Conflict (Middle East)

• Myanmar Civil War (Myanmar)

• Sudanese Civil War (Sudan)

• Ethiopian Civil War (Ethiopia)

• Terrorist Insurgencies in Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Mali, and other regions

• Drug Wars in Mexico and Colombia

• Various Civil Wars in Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan, and Haiti2.

Source: worldpopulationreview.com

It is correct that we use "Sword of Damocles" to refer to complex and unsettling times with KCN-Thailand TAFTA negotiations, but lately I have been looking at a bigger picture of things to come.

The Doomsday Clock is currently set at 89 seconds to midnight2, the closest it has ever been to global catastrophe. This change was made in January 2025 by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, reflecting heightened risks from nuclear tensions, climate change, and emerging technologies2.

It’s a stark reminder of the world's precarious state—though, as always, the Clock is a symbolic measure rather than a literal countdown.
Source: thebulletin.org

If nuclear armageddon comes, it will come in a tactical nuclear exchange, not a megaton war. Like, there's a difference, right? I wonder how excited we would all be if gold approached $4000+ an oz in hindsight of a world plunged into chaos?

My point is that gold's high prices are here to stay for a very long time. And KCN's position will always be robust. The only negative is our host nation, Thailand and how long they will play nice with us?