Kapitalust

"Do as I say, not as I do." ;D

I thought this article provided very good insight on the election: Democrats, Trump, and the Ongoing, Dangerous Refusal to Learn the Lesson of Brexit Some quotes I found interesting:

Actually, if you mark the khc investment what you get P/B=1.26 on sept 30. Taking Sep 30 BV/current cap => P/B=1.24. However currently P/B is probably higher due to losses in the stock portfolio. One of a few things is going to happen: 1. Stock will move up 2. Buybacks kick in 3. It's elephant time! Edit: It's so amazing, after doing an elephant last year they're ready for another one. Only at Berkshire. The should change the ticker to BHL for Blackhole. Interesting - thanks for pointing that out! I was going strictly by reported book value.

Book Value per B Share sitting at $109.19. As of close today, B Shares trading at 1.31 Book Value. Perhaps we will see shares dip into the ~1.2 (or below) range with more volatility.

I think these lines from B.O. from the Frontiers Conference last month are relevant to the conversation on the "you didn't build it" discussion:

I tried this on the weekend and can attest that it is good. Koch talked up a big game on the design of the can and the quality of the brew inside these nitro beers and it met expectations. I workout regularly and I assume that the ~1 beer a day I enjoy is balanced out by the exercise. I basically work out so I can enjoy some of the less-healthy-yet-delicious food/drinks in life.

Agree on the importance of history and culture as to why China maintains their particular political system. China is also an enormous country - the western regions resemble very little of what most people think of "China" when they think of China, i.e. Han Chinese of the eastern coastal region (Beijing, Shanghai, etc). But we generally only hear about the Han Chinese because they are the ones who control the country; they also control the media so dissenting information is not readily and abundantly available. For example, Xinjiang is culturally and historically very different from the culture and history of the Han Chinese - there have been lots of resentment and conflict in the region associated with Han Chinese rule. So in a country as immense as China, it would be too much of a generalization to assume that the country accepts the current ruling political party flat out. We'd have to define what we mean by accept - accepting but secretly objecting out of fear of reprisal; accepting as a true believer; openly objecting; etc. - and where they accept it. But then, this becomes a difficult task, as stated before, the image we get of the country is heavily censored and curated - it is difficult to see clearly because of active obfuscation by the state. Perhaps it's a combination of history, culture, state and media manipulation, ignorance of dissenting opinions in regions outside the core of Han Chinese China, nationalism and nationalistic pride, rejection of Western ideas and concepts tied to the humiliation of China by Western powers in the past, and I'm sure many, many other factors.