james22

Sure. And that's why democracies field the most murderous armies and win wars - they take it personally, being taken away from their lives. https://warroom.armywarcollege.edu/special-series/dusty-shelves/soul-of-battle/

No doubt. And the war's outcome as well, of course. But still hard to hate an unwilling 19yo conscript. The 40yo war criminal is another thing.

You'd think. But that may be an assumption only a citizen of a democracy would make? I was pretty surprised when visiting Tbilisi several years ago when a girl I met said I'd love the Russian girls who visited Georgia. As she'd just shared that her brother had fought against the Russians when they invaded ten years earlier. When I asked her about it, she said no one held individuals responsible for their governments.

1. The low unemployment rate isn't offsetting inflation for retirees. 2.

Your guess? AAPL @ $135? AMZN @ $2,000? GOOG @ $2,000?

Good thinking.

VGPMX 25% PM/PME, 75% infrastructure (utilities, telecommunications, etc.). 50/50 US/International Should hedge inflation (even stagflation) pretty well.

Idiotic.

One explanation for the "attacks" inside Russia: Imagine that you are a colonel that has been selling military supplies on the black market. Imagine that you are a politician that pocketed graft instead of actually buying supplies for the military. Imagine that you know that someone is going to come looking for those supplied now that a war is on. Oops….I’m sorry, comrade…all the evide…I mean the supplies burned up. https://instapundit.com/517609/ Heh.

Burn me once...

I'll take the ads with young girls in skimpy bikinis, please. The watch ads I get are becoming expensive. (Thanks for all this, Parsad. And Gregmal's idea is a good one.)

It is easy to bemoan the "woke" degraded Western military, but at least it is fundamentally professional. As Instapundit says: Russian procurement makes ours look like a model of thrift, honesty, and competitive efficiency. https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=51256

Luckily, Ukraine has no military formations.

So why is Russia losing so many tanks, so many crewmen? The answer can be found in two things: Russia’s ongoing demographic collapse and the Russian military’s sad lack of training. https://pjmedia.com/vodkapundit/2022/04/13/ukraine-war-have-missiles-made-tanks-obsolete-n1589423 ...consider the last time Russia suffered such a humiliating naval defeat, in the 1904-1905 Russo-Japanese war, that defeat precipitated massive loss of prestige, unrest, military revolt, and revolution in 1905 and was a major nail in the coffin of Tsarist Russia... https://smallwarsjournal.com/index.php/jrnl/art/why-russias-navy-ukraine-war-doomed-or-irrelevant

HP!

For defeat brings worse things than any that can ever happen in war.

It will be interesting to see if the $16.1 billion fixed income book is immediately liquidated and added to Berkshire’s cash position when the transaction closes. If so, Berkshire will actually end up with more cash after the acquisition given that the deal is for $11.9 billion. https://rationalreflections.substack.com/p/what-does-buffett-see-in-alleghany?token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjoxNzU0NjIxMSwicG9zdF9pZCI6NTA3NzQwOTUsIl8iOiJuQ3FmaSIsImlhdCI6MTY0NzkwODQyMiwiZXhwIjoxNjQ3OTEyMDIyLCJpc3MiOiJwdWItMTA5NzgzIiwic3ViIjoicG9zdC1yZWFjdGlvbiJ9.KMhRQoEK4bVVEiak-ghMa8duyB259HWYl5at8_f51aQ&s=r

Anyone buying OXY ahead of a buyout? Warren Buffett has been buying bunches of Occidental Petroleum stock. Will he buy the whole thing? That is the question that some investors are asking after the aggressive purchases by Berkshire Hathaway (Ticker: BRK/B) during the past two weeks of Occidental Petroleum (OXY) stock. https://www.barrons.com/articles/oxy-stock-occidental-petroleum-warren-buffett-berkshire-hathaway-51647221753?mod=article_inline

Or (say the evidence and facts) he fucked up (overestimated his capabilities, underestimated the Ukrainians).

Putin has called the collapse of the Soviet empire “the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century.” Pretty sure we can assume its reconstitution his aim, rather than defense against a threatening (LOL) NATO.

MKL?

Putin’s failed coup in Ukraine reminds me a bit of the failed German coup in Norway in April 1940. Of course the Germans ended up taking control of Norway, just as Putin can end up in physical control of Ukraine if he is willing to take the necessary steps and pay the price. But Hitler had wanted the same kind of clean coup in Norway that he had achieved in Denmark — the King and royal family held hostage and a formal surrender from the legitimate government, with no exile government or forces. He didn’t get that because the Norwegian resistance was unexpectedly strong, and one cranky old officer on the verge of retirement and a bunch of raw 18-year-old conscripts managed to sink one battlecruiser and put another out of action, incidentally drowning the 1000-man special forces team that had been assigned to capture the King, Parliament, and treasury. By throwing the German schedule off by six hours and losing the element of surprise, all of those targets got away and eventually made their way to London where they set up an effective government in exile. The Nazis had to do with a makeshift puppet regime headed by the nutjob* Quisling, who had very little credibility with the Norwegians or anybody else. https://instapundit.com/505936/

*loses all respect*

ESG May Be an Antitrust Violation The biggest antitrust violation in history may be in plain sight. Wall Street banks and money managers are bragging about their coordinated efforts to choke off investment in energy. It’s nearly impossible to raise money to explore for oil and gas right now, and we may all be experiencing rising energy costs because of this market manipulation. Russian and Chinese aggression overseas also is exacerbating inflation. Here’s what is happening: The biggest banks and money managers seek to implement a political agenda, such as compliance with the Paris Climate Accord. Then a group mobilizes: Climate Action 100+, for example, comprised of hundreds of big banks and money managers that together manage $60 trillion. The group uses its coordinated influence to compel companies to shut down coal and natural-gas plants. The activism can include pushing climate goals at shareholder meetings and voting against directors and proposals that don’t comport with the agenda, even if other decisions may benefit investors. Firms report their plan to carry out these activities back to Climate Action 100+ headquarters. This helps ensure maximum coordinated effort toward the common goal of overhauling the energy industry. Money managers wield influence over these companies because they represent investors who are shareholders, often through their 401(k)s or pension plans. In other words, your retirement funds are likely helping facilitate these political campaigns to advance far-left policy goals, with consumers bearing the costs of increased energy prices. Climate Action 100+ is one of many activist groups that operate like this, with a significant impact on critical investments in America’s energy infrastructure. Decarbonization of capital expenditures is one of their major goals. Investment in oil and gas exploration and production in 2021 was nearly 25% below 2019 levels. One private-equity CEO described trying to raise wide-scale capital for drilling oil as almost impossible. An axiom of economics is that if you produce less, the cost will go up. The price of Brent crude hit $114 a barrel last week, an eight-year high, amid tensions over the Russian-Ukraine war. This hurts the pocketbook of all Americans, especially lower-wage workers, who spend a greater percentage of income on fuel. While climate activists believe they know best, the U.S. can’t maintain its security while depending on foreign dictators and oligarchs to supply its energy. Current economic trends and international tensions heighten the need for domestic companies to maximize efficiency and productivity. Proper corporate governance is good not only for shareholders but for the stability of America and the world. As attorney general of Arizona, I have a responsibility to protect consumers from artificial restrictions on production. That’s why I’ve launched an investigation into this potentially unlawful market manipulation. https://www.wsj.com/articles/esg-may-be-an-antitrust-violation-climate-activism-energy-prices-401k-retirement-investment-political-agenda-coordinated-influence-11646594807

Yeah, maybe so.