Castanza

Haha should have said “was”. But yeah post WWII much of it went out the window with the military industrial complex latching on to politicians. Only gotten worse since then. Non-interventionism is not isolationism. It doesn’t isolate on the economic side of things but adheres to not getting involved in foreign affairs. Example “Treaty of Tripoli”. Two very different things with very different long term outcomes. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-interventionism Lets go revisit what Kennedy said after the Cuban Missile Crisis. “My God what did we almost do?!” “While defending our vital interests, we must avert confrontations that force an adversary to choose between humiliating defeat and nuclear war.”

Why is this a problem of the US? Let Europe handle it. We didn't get involved in or send aid or weapons during the French Revolution or the Napoleonic Wars. This really isn't much different. Arguable even more advantageous to us because Russia isn't relevant to our economy and we won't have to make the decision of trade partner. The last thing we should be doing is spending massive amount of money on another war and exhausting our own resources. I can get behind some spending because the consequences can be contained/identified to an extent. However I am very much against un-checked spending with no end in sight which is what we have now. Non-interventionism is a core tenant of US history and our Constitution. It's served us well in the past and would serve us well now.

It was a question. You said "it's only going to get worse" AFTER giving up Ukraine. Wasn't sure what you meant as that was kind of open ended. Seems like a lot of people in general are Hell bent on wanting this to be WWIII. It's also amusing to me how people have only now decided to be appalled by war and all the shit that goes on with it. I'd be willing to bet that 90% of the people flying Ukrainian flags here in the US have not donated a single dollar to our Veterans here in the States and Canada.

GOOG

Reminds me a bit of AAPL in 2018 when everyone was freaking out. Then @rb backed the truck up.

If I'm reading this correct you are saying that Russia is on a global conquest?

Where else is ad spend going to go in the next 10 years? Advertising will be internet based for the foreseeable future. Google isn't a one product shop just saying. You want to talk about META that is entirely dependent on their two platforms and ad rev generated on them, then sure I hear you and agree. I also agree that we haven't seen a true cycle in the social media sector. - Cloud grew 37% yoy. - Search still grew at 4%. - YouTube was down 2% (vs peers? We will see). 66B Yearly users vs FB 16B and Instagram 6B. Nobody can touch YT yet. - They have 116B in cash with 63B fcf ttm. - Revenue still grew yoy.

Haven’t had time to look but how do they compare to pre crazy covid peak?

"Math is racist" No budgetary changes will fix that. If you want to fix education in the US get rid of the teachers union and tenure. Increase the pay and make it competitive. Bring in skill focused learning at the High School level. If you're good at math or coding increase the elective count for those types of classes. It's completely absurd to me that Typing "keyboarding" is still taught at a high school level (or in general). I thought it was ridiculous I had to take it over a decade ago. The US got complacent and comfortable with education while other countries adopted new methods. US allowed the teachers Union to run the show and it has rotted the public school sector. Teachers who are good teachers are hamstrung by dumb ass curriculums. The system has a lot of rot. I had an AP Anatomy teacher in HS who took the curriculum and threw it out the window. He put his own time and money into the course and worked with a friend who was a Bio prof at Penn State. He got us as high schoolers access to human cadavers, more labs, etc. We even had a local brain surgeon come into class and walk us through a surgery he did with a video. One of my favorite classes by far and it wasn't even an area of interest career wise. When my wife took Anatomy in university for BSN she was way ahead of her peers. But the school board put an end to that type of teaching. So back to 20 year old textbooks with doodles.

Yeah I agree with this. Private schooling is the way forward. Public sector has become too political with the Unions involved and it's hurting the education quality. Even private school in inner cities with lottery admittance far out perform public schools in "well to do areas".

Biggest thing is mindset. Most people get bored with typical body building type stuff (can't blame them). What Cubs is doing is a good program but if you want something more variable, try implementing some dynamic stuff in a circuit with no rest between. Most people won't get results doing simple body building type stuff (standing in front of a mirror doing bicep curls). Do something that gets your adrenaline pumping, makes you sweat your balls off and your lungs feel like they're on fire. Mix it up and keep it fresh. The other day it was raining and 52 degrees so I decided to go trail running instead. Came back soaking wet, muddy and freezing my ass off. Wife told me I was F&*%ing crazy. Felt great. I am by no means a Gym Rat and have no desire to spend hours there every day, evening or weekend. I want to get in, get it done, and get out. Embrace the suck. Example (doable with an hour lunch break). Tue & Thur Warmup 100 Assault Bike (quick pace but not exhausting) Muscle Endurance (no rest between) A) (3-5 sets) Kettle Bell Swings (60lbs) x 10 Dumbell Squats (80lbs) x 10 Burpees x 10 Dips x 15 Pull-ups x 10 B) Incline Situps (45lb) x 25 (4 sets) Flutter kicks 30 sec x 5 Plank 60 seconds x 5 Jump Rope 10min (1x at end) Strength A) (2-5 sets) Bench (225) x 5 Clean and Snatches (135lb) x 5 Deadlift (275) x 5 Split Squat (135) x 5 B) (2-5 sets) Bench (85 %max) x 1 Dead (85% max) x 2 Squat (85% max) x 2 Cardio (mix up as you please) M - 5 mile road running (8:30 pace fastest) W - 1 mile flat ground running (As fast as you can) F - Trail run 3-5 mile (9:30 pace) Sometimes I just walk for an hour at a 19min pace Sat/Sun rest Over the last few years I've learned I really like to be regimented/consistent (within reason) and I'm happier when I am. So I eat the same exact thing for breakfast and lunch every day M-F. Most people go overboard on supplements and protein powder. Shit will make you fat if you really aren't exerting yourself. Just eat good whole foods imo. Breakfast 6 - whole eggs with mushrooms 1 Slice Ezekiel toast (with real butter) 1 glass OJ 2 Cup Coffee Omega 3 vitamin Multi vitamin Lunch (post workout) Two Cucumbers 1 Cup cherry tomatoes 2 Hot Italian Sausage Links 3/4 cup Crumbled Feta Chick Fil-A Sauce (don't knock it till you try it) Dinner Whatever

The misconception is that they (Blackwater) are just ruthless mercenaries. Both President Obama and Biden used them for FID and personal protection many times. A lot of the standards in the organization are even higher than what the US military has. Blackwater became an easy scapegoat for the US government over seas. Media jumped on specific instances without context and well that's pretty much how they got labeled. The last one though about Pineapple Express is something I think you'd like since you seem to enjoy Middle Eastern History etc. Also shows the complete lack of competence of the US govt (Kamala Harris asking unpaid volunteers footing the bill to get their friends out of Afghanistan to help get her people of interest out). Anyways sorry that's off topic from the thread.

A lot of misconceptions about Black Water out there. US government used them and then threw them under the bus many times. A few interviews I think you would enjoy. Long but it’s unfiltered info from actual sources. https://youtu.be/nwK_XLFOm_I https://youtu.be/DUvO0yO7N5I And a bonus one with insiders about the Afghan pullout. https://youtu.be/nwK_XLFOm_I

Communism is a hell of a suppressant. Story used to be “Russia probably has some crazy technology!”. Turns out they didn’t either. There is some good discussion on this in the Intel thread on this. Idk if it’s they can’t, vs the barrier to entry and accumulated knowledge base on process makes it extremely difficult to catch-up.

Thanks for laying that out. Have to admit you make a compelling argument with an easy to justify thesis. Beyond iSavings bonds (which I own) I haven’t done much work after seeing the real returns. Perhaps I didn’t dig enough. What can I say, I like what looks easy when it comes to investing. At the very least you’ve given me a new way to think about it.

My thinking as well. I honestly don't see the attraction to bonds. I mean what are you getting in real terms with them? 1-2%? Who tf wants that? I'll either reach for better yields over the long term with fairly priced companies or I'll put my money in some other investment area (real estate). Maybe I don't understand the logic behind it?

If it ain't broke don't fix it! Sounds like a solid setup with a good group of members and a simple no nonsense investment strategy. Win some lose some, long term it sounds like you've done well. thanks for sharing

Added to BRKb, GOOG Starter in COST

How did you guys go about picking stocks to buy in? Members present their thesis individually then you put it to a vote?

Similar to that Gas Station Attendant/Janitor who ended up leaving the local school 5m and was worth 8m. @dealrakerthanks for the insights and stories

SMH (still not comfortable INTC), BRKb, GOOG

Added to PCYO, BRKB, MSGE, MSGS, JOE, ALCO, GOOG in the Roth

Yup I think you're right. Was contemplating hanging around and seeing if the deal gets sweetened with a special divy but with the market down again today their I'd rather not have the cash tied up. Cutting this one lose.