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There is a temptation, when you are around George Friedman, to treat him like a Magic 8 Ball. Does North Korea really have the bomb? No. Will America's feud with France deepen? Yes. Will Bush win re-election? Ask again later.

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hey are the financial traders and investors who get advice from Stratfor's Web site or from Friedman himself. In the global economy, unrest and uncertainty cloud the market like an Arabian sandstorm, and the Wall Street guys desperately want to know: Will oil be up or down? Is the E.U. a friend or an enemy?
''We're a place you can go,'' Friedman told me, ''to get the mysteries answered.''
The strangest thing about George Friedman -- and this is by no means an easy call to make -- is that he wouldn't know Wall Street from Little Italy.

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