Castanza

Eh this stuff is hit or miss. I got a quote on a new roof March 2022 and March 2023. Average price was 6-7k cheaper in 2023.

In a Roth IRA? Aren't these all self managed for the most part?

Haven't seen anyone mention Buffett dumping his TSM shares yet. Seems to be more open to the idea that conflict could arise. Maybe nothing more than just hedging his portfolio risk.

Google alerts is still the a great simple way to do this. TIKR is also a pretty good service that condenses headlines around companies you want to follow on your watchlist.

They are likely there to train troops. Unconventional warfare is what they do best and training up troops from unconventional backgrounds is their bread and butter. Ukrainian forces have been struggling with medical triage and communication. Both two things SOF excel at. US SOF has operated in that region for decades already so it’s not really surprising. Typical ODA is a 12 man team so it seems even more likely thats what it is with maybe two additional heads to report two. If they were there to kick down doors it likely wouldn’t be SOF units but more likely Spec Ops units like the SEALs. Seems like direct action would be a poor use of those multi million dollar troops though so I’d keep my guess with the training side.

Time will tell but I bet you’ll be wrong on the numbers. This is very much wing crammed into the minds of young kids by adults who have personal fetishes with stuff. As I said I don’t care what two consenting adults do. But leave the kids alone. I don’t think it’s appropriate to have Drag Queen story hour. Do we have strippers going to schools and dancing for kids or having talks with them? No Its a weak argument to say “well this has always happened in humanity so why not now.” Pedophilia, incest, molestation, etc. have also always happened. Doesn’t mean we should allow it now. I also don’t really understand the drag thing and to a greater extent “trans”. Are they not in the same line as say Blackface or other cultural/racial appropriation. They are appropriating women not just in looks, but activates, scholarships, etc. Men are winning women of the year awards. It’s hurting real women’s achievements which is absurd. I mean there is literally a guy who says he is a young woman that is getting sponsors from Budlight, Nike, L’Oréal, etc. The forced speech and attack on intellectual integrity bothers me most. This group cannot even define what a “Woman” is but yet they can rewrite and redefine basic human biology? I think it’s nonsense. And I don’t understand why people are feeding into it. On the medical side there is a lot of money to be made. Look up the Vanderbilt situation. Threatening doctors who don’t agree with the surgeries. Making 50k a pop off young kids. Personally I’m not going to use your pronouns or call you a woman if you think your a man. The same way I’m not going to tell you you’re fat if you struggle with Anorexia and see yourself as overweight when you look in a mirror. ————— No comment on the second part of my above comment regarding the riots of this movement?

I don’t care if you’re gay or into drag. Keep that shit to yourself and out of public schools. Keep it away from kids. Last I checked the Mormons and other religious leaders don’t have full blown indoctrination lessons in public school. Can’t buy a beer till you’re 21 but hey let’s give kids sex change surgery at 14 and younger. If you can’t see the difference of now vs 20 years ago the YOU are the one who is being ignorant. It has always been around, but it has existed on the fringe of society. I mean are you ok with men pretending to be women and ruining women’s sports? You’re ok with parents letting their kids take Lupron which chemically castrates them? Or how about getting their dick mutilated, turned inside out and shoved in their body and calling that a vagina? Their breast cut off. It’s unscientific nonsense. Again, you can call me an ignorant twat. I really don’t care. There is objective truth in the world. And the majority of this LGBTQ nonsense doesn’t fit the mold. It’s an ideology and it’s brainwashing kids. The chart speaks for itself with regards to historical norms. Where is the line in the sand for you Sanjeev? Do you even know who John Money and Alfred Kinsey are and what they did?

Yup just like the UK. Ban guns ok, then end up with increased stabbing and burglars with a license to rob knowing they have nothing to worry about. UK solution: metal detectors on sidewalks.

Idk man this time feels different. Leaders of the free world embrace this shit below. The internet and technology has exacerbated the worst of humanity. A society that can’t even protect its kids is a failed one imo. Drugs are rampant all over as well. Stores are big. Looted in masses. None of this has happened before. Kensington Ave

Yeah and how many kids die from drinking and driving every year regardless of the price restriction on purchase. It's the same argument you make that "because guns are available it creates problems." Well so does alcohol....you are picking and choosing what you want to live with. 18 = Adult in case you forgot. Congress can send an 18 year old to war to die for their country.

I would gladly ship a lot of these useless, entitled and lazy conservatives and liberals somewhere else in exchange for individuals who want to work and make a life for themselves. The difference between now and the early 1900's is we've moved from a largely industrial/agricultural society to a consumer/intellectual one. There simply are not the type of jobs for every uneducated person coming here to have a good life. In the end the lowest jobs just give you a floundering life with ever increasing costs. the cards are stacked against you in the "Land of Freedom" which leads to crime, gangs, drugs, Violence. Yes there is a big need in the trades, but much of this could be solved from within if out shit education system, didn't tell the last two generations that an Accounting/Business degree is far more valuable than learning to be a dumb plumber or electrician. I think the US specifically is in a place where it needs to be picky with immigration. Recruit the best and bring them here. I'm sorry but you simply can't bring large amounts of people from third world countries here and expect them to fit in. At least not without some type of program etc. As I said above, I work with some and let me tell you they STRUGGLE hard at first. It takes a shit ton of effort to help them understand simple societal norms. But being they are human beings, they are able to learn and generally adapt. But it can take years. When I was in HS, I had a summer gig driving a Jeep Wrangler around to Shale pads and testing water in their retention ponds. There was a story I was told by a few gas workers about some well guys from Bolivia who hit a deer in a company truck, then took it to their hotel bathroom and gutted it in the bathtub. Grocery store across the street and a TGI Fridays below.

I'm not talking about standard banana immigration (see prior post above). I have zero issue with that. I've been working with a group locally (Thrive) who is helping Syrian and Ukranian refugees get settled in my immediate area. Canada does not have the cartels and gang problems that the US has. Much of which is from illegal immigration. The buffer zone Canada benefits from is Priceless. Poorly managed immigration (legal and illegal) has brought down countless empires throughout history. That is the only point I am making. It's not a but that China has been around for 5k years while always having a heavy hand on new cultural entrants in their lands. I am not saying the US should be China in any way shape or form. I think a lot of their policies are detrimental. But you can see things that they have identified and are cracking down on because they know the danger they pose to the greater structure of society. Social Media nonsense: While our High School and College age adults are busy twerking in the Taco Bell and making TikToks about being "mis-gendered" China is having more kids graduate with American Law, Engineering, and Healthcare degrees than we have in total college population every year. Strong Family Values: While China is incentivizing family building we here in the west are telling young women that having a child is one of the most disadvantageous things you can do in life. Never mind the nonsense of Men can have babies. My Nephew was told by their 10th grade biology teacher that men and women can be born with the wrong brain. This is not a recipe for long-term success in the West. relating this back to "cities" .... they lead the way and are the indicators of life here in the States. Things happen there first and then everywhere else. There is a sickness of the mind destroying the Western nations. Look at people and the general lack of respect people have for each other. A man got stabbed to death at Starbucks and a guy sat there in the background sipping his coffee as he bled out in front of his child. Look at the artwork, the cinema, the architecture and the institutions....shambles To channel my inner @Dave86ch the West could benefit from some Marcus Aurelius: "If it is not true, do not say it. If is should not be done, do not do it."

Yup, people bitch and moan about so much in the US. Anti work, reparations etc. it’s hilarious. I bet most of these troglodytes don’t know that there are more slaves globally today than any point in history. 40 million. Should send them over to work in the Pakistani brick fields for a day.

Ban alcohol Cheers!

Yes I am aware of this but it is a silly talking point. It’s a correlation of convenience. Ban production in the US and the gun problems go away? Wrong. They will move to another part of the world where criminals will simply shift their supply lines. Same reason the “war on drugs” has never worked. I wish guns didn’t exist. But they do and they aren’t going away. You can 3D print a half dozen very reliable firearms. You can buy machining tools and make a Glock clone with little effort.

Strange world to live in. Maybe it's my walnut sized brain but I can't help but see how Post Modern thought has almost completely destroyed the trajectory of the "Western World". Countries and empires don't survive without agreed upon thought, honest discourse, rational thought and some objective truth (outside of religion). It's truly bizarro world when you can look at any news feed and see more nonsense than a South Park episode. I've come to the conclusion that most of these issues are impossible to solve. Our leadership hasn't been good or honest in decades. Politicians are more dishonest and uninformed than ever. There is far too much polarity among individuals. Blame is no longer directed towards the individual. Personal responsibility has gone completely out the window. The loudest individuals in society are currently the Rich who are trying to preserve their status. The Lazy who are trying to elevate theirs through theft. The Ignorant Intellectuals who blindly follow whatever nonsense the two former groups sell them. My personal solution. Direct my full attention to my family, friends and local community. At some point, this stuff will either implode or self correct. Neither I have any control over.

You might find this YT channel interesting. Basically a citizen journalist but just travels around the country and reports on what is seen. Some interviews etc. Equally critical of all areas. https://www.youtube.com/@NickJohnson/playlists The fact that people live like this in the US is incredibly sad. How it got this bad is a crime in and of itself.

Nobody wants to talk about immigration as well. I'm sorry, but when you import hundreds of thousands of people from differing cultures (many 3rd world countries) every year you're going to have problems. Notice how Canada just came to an agreement to "send back" illegal immigrants to the US. Most of the countries that have low gun violence and like 98% the same in regards to demographics across race, religion, cultural background. The US is also the only 1st world nation to border a country like Mexico and subsequently the rest of SA. Ban guns in the US and they will flood into this country through the black market. At the end of the day politicians will do what they do best. Fuck everything up.

Here is your 2020 mass shooters club. Majority.....gang related. To ban guns because the criminals use them is to tell the law-abiding that their rights and liberties depend not on their own conduct, but on the conduct of the guilty and lawless. FBI estimates that 500k-1.5m people use firearms to defend themselves every year in the US.

Yeah, I don't see a world where China and Russia are not aligned for the foreseeable future. They both offer each other things the other needs. They both have similar political/economical backgrounds. History aside, Russia has no chance of invading China or let alone taking any city. China will bankroll Russia after this war is over. They will build the alliance and build out their industry and support each others economies. China will probably want to control Mongolia and extend its influence as well. The more NATO grows, the more these other regimes will draw close together. Humanity is reaching a precipice of what's tolerable in terms of government moving forward. In the next 50-100 years it seems like a hard stance will be taken in one direction or the other. Since WWII alliances on both sides have just been growing stronger and stronger. China Brazil, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabi, etc. doing deals in currency other than USD is a big deal.

Isn’t China trying to work with Russia on belt and road policy? Something tells me after this Ukraine war is over, the long arm of China will step in and help with Russias recovery. They seem to have a knack for stepping into distressed situations as of late.

Well my perspective is more of "this is the capital I have available to invest what do I want to do with it?" I'm pretty stringent with positions and even though investors may do well in BABA or Tencent, I can't justify what I have being used towards that. At least not in the current market conditions where there is an abundance of opportunities with far less risk to worry about. That opinion could change though as the market changes. I'm not opposed to investing in China as a permanent stance. It's simply a lower tier on the priority list if that makes sense.

Thanks Saluki, that makes a lot of sense and I tend to agree. China's growth is highly impressive but the lack of property rights and ability to actually truly own anything is a glaring issue. The lack of justice in the judicial system is a tough one. Could be the same in India tbh I don't know. Overall, this has been my main issue with investing in China and why I don't have any positions in Chinese equities. I think the growth story of China continues, but how to profit from that while minimizing risk? Not sure. Tough to balance western bias and the realities of the Chinese political/economical system. Both have a lot of propaganda. India on the other hand seems a lot more open to western influence. They seem less corrupt from the top down and seem to strike some semblance of middle ground between autocratic and democratic. They seem more open to the outside world where China like to dominate from the inside out. With the insights from Prem and Fairfax I agree that there are some good vehicles for exposure to the Indian economy.

Question for those in the know. How is the shareholder treatment different between China and India? Is India much more favorable?

I do think it's good advice to read everything but taking it with a grain of salt. There is often some truth to be found. Back in college I took a bio-ethics course and the very first day of class the prof had a picture of some guy in NYC wearing a tinfoil had with a sign that said "The government is making spider goats." Everyone thought it was some meme joke etc. But then he went to the next slide with an article clarifying the reality of the situation. Turns out the government isn't making "spider goats" but instead goats that can produce milk that contains spider silk which could eventually be used in materials science for varying things. His point was that all perspectives should be heard, but it's up to you to do proper due diligence to understand the origins of the claims/data. Getting back to the source is key for any field of study. https://agfundernews.com/what-happened-to-those-gm-spider-goats-with-the-silky-milk