SharperDingaan

We live in a world where we have the technology to both greatly manipulate and fine tune a minority message in real time. If I tell you that black is white, millions of times over, via an increasing number of different sources, and periodically reward for accepting the 'new reality' ..... you will eventually accept it. A standard interrogation technique, and well documented in the various propaganda manuals. Of course it isn't new, there have always been people very good at it, but control largely remains the same; problems encounter an untimely end. Before the Russians switched to high buildings, bathtubs were very dangerous places. Friends advise that the radical is only as good as their chief publicist/strategist; conveniently kept out of the public eye. A small 'elimination' in the 'brain-trust' often has a disproportionate chilling effect. Would the French far-right leader Marine Le Pen really have the same influence, were some of her key people suddenly no longer there? Statecraft. Back in the day the British were losing to the 'troubles' in Ireland; until they eventually learned to stop playing nice, and bug the coffins of prominent opponents. Everytime a prominent opponent got shot, the leadership would use the opportunity to publicly meet around the coffin and discuss 'business'. Not long thereafter there would be another sudden organisational change, and another coffin. Point? It would appear that the pendulum has begun to swing back, and playtime is over. SD

The Oxford Student Union intentionally has these controversial debates so that students can see proponents challenged, hear/see what they say and do, and make their own minds up. Students from multiple disciplines, researching current approaches, who may well have to engage with their generation of these controversial proponents when they graduate. Many an extreme proponent is very good at making their views seem 'normal', because they can both present extremely charismatically, and are very good at crowd manipulation; so much so that you have to see it, to believe it. Very few thought that Trump might make president during the early days of his first run at the presidency, 'cause how could anyone possibly go along with this idiot! But had you attended even just the odd rally of his, the presentation charisma and crowd manipulation would have been obvious, and it won him the presidency. Oxfords invitation to speak at a Student Union event, little different to attending that rally. Politics is a blood sport and the winner takes all, so hardly surprising if charismatic proponents are targeted for 'special interest'. As in the drug trade, there are rivals, and in most countries; in the rise to the top, problematic potential rivals are prone to 'accidents/assassinations'. When the other guy has a savant making your life difficult .... the savant is made an offer they cannot refuse. State craft. 3rd world stuff ... and maybe just where the US political processes actually are today? Different PoV. SD

Netanyahu made it socially 'OK' to use assassination as a tool, by which to systematically remove your opposition, and their 'infrastructure'; wherever, and whenever you choose. While a long standing tool in the toolbox, usually executed 'discreetly', Netanyahu made it a social media event. Doha as a more recent example. It has also been a long standing tool in the US toolbox (4 assassinated presidents), and would seem to have been similarly 'revived'. Hard to imagine there are not going to be more of them, if you do indeed reap what you sew. SD

You are the master, money is the servant. Money is to be used; either as capital to build something lasting, or as ongoing dividend/interest money towards day to day experiences. The casino is also fickle; so take chips out while you're a hero, 'cause tomorrow you will be a bum. It is the only drug addicts and pushers who cannot leave. Just be mindful that withdrawals cumulatively corrupt, hence proactively manage. When everybody leaves university debt free, has no mortgage, etc, etc ...... it is not how the real world lives, and screwed up families are a common result. Enjoy the pool, and take dividend/interest money to pay someone to maintain it. Our nephews are older; when they were younger, capital repatriation would often pay for 'once-in-a-lifetime' trips, plane tickets/spending to visit, grub stakes in various enterprises , and concert tickets to see the world's best .... when they were at their best. Experiences they would not otherwise have had. SD

Orsted - Free falling share price as the bail-out and uncertainty collapses investor confidence (too far on the right hand distribution). Any kind of significant positive change in their business environment (Trump has a heart attack ), and it takes off. SD

Toronto and Vancouver built thousands of one BR condo's in a big way, that were sold to investors as AirB&B 'starters'; 50%+ of many an entire new build condo tower. Zero/minimal build of 2-3 BR units that new families could actually afford to live in; if you needed the space you had to move to the burbs and pay the commuting/time costs to get to your job. OK if you could primarily work from home .... not so much anymore with return to office mandates. Thanks to Trump, today it's a different world. Greatly expanded family housing pushed in a big way, pre-fabrication vs custom to reduce build time, reassignment of the laid-off workers (Trump policies) to both build that new housing, and Canada's new infrastructure. Ongoing changes in immigration policy to find the necessary workers, and build the housing they need to live in. We all know the immigrant story ... but it is not just about mom/dad, it is also about the future opportunities that their older kids can participate in. When you have the social/geographic space, there are more moose than people, and Canada's near-north/north is being opened up, the opportunities for the young and open minded are almost limitless. Enjoy your freedoms and do! , vs just watch what others do .... Not too many people get to ...... dart a garbage polar bear into temporary slumber, check the teeth and health, transport the sleeping bear out of town in a net suspended under a helicopter, then wake it up at the destination! Great job for a young vet! lots of opportunity for bears to wake up early, and VERY unique! Great job for young pilots too! Two tons of wide awake and very pissed bear in a net, dangling under your helicopter, that knows how to climb Ain't doing any of this in Europe or the southern US .... boring as sh1te! Europe, and much of the southern US, has its immigration issues largely 'cause there isn't the social/geographic space; stay in your lane, know your place, live only in certain places, do as you're told, and follow the rules that others have imposed on you. Hardly surprising there is resistance. SD

This is just flat out wrong ..... All the senior level managers in the Asian subsidiary of your global US company, selling into Asia, should be Asian. Simply 'cause you ain't selling squat if you cant speak the languages, and don't understand the various cultures and practices of the Asian markets you are selling to. The DEI hire is the hybrid Asian-American, as ability to straddle both cultures is a business requirement. The higher you go the more political, strategic, and time sensitive it gets. Asia is very good at the political, strategic, and long game; the US ... not so much (short game orientation). The DEI hybrid Asian-American, able to competitively straddle both approaches, is a business requirement. Substitute Asia with South American, Middle Eastern, African, Indian, European, etc. ..... same requirements. Different levels, different requirements,higher the level the more influential; they all look the same for a reason. SD

The otherwise qualified who did not apply just got better deals elsewhere ....... so much so that over time it wasn't worth the time or application fee to even bother applying to this school. The school had to lower its admission standards 'cause it just wasn't competitive; market response. When I'm the top-tier student, it's all about how much are you going to pay me (guaranteed funding) to attend your school; it ain't be f****** grateful, that we've made you an offer to attend our prestigious institution! Similarly when I graduate, if the prospective employer ain't top tier (& associated comp), it'll be a short discussion; market response. SD

DEI has existed across multiple cultures and for centuries, but the reality is that it isn't scaleable. Typically, the privileged found the best & brightest amongst the commoners (the few), sent them to the best schools (class bullying the norm), and parachuted the survivors into senior administrative positions running the 'empire'. Mostly the same process ... whether you were Chinese, Egyptian, or a more modern day colonialist via the Rhodes or Fulbright Scholar route. When very independent, smart hard asses, far out of sight, with chips on their shoulders are running your outposts ...... Compare that to the scaled mass volume DEI of today; quite a difference. Just 'cause one is different isn't enough, one still has to build/hold a reputation upon a pile of skulls, via a culling process that limits the numbers. Look no further than the black markets. SD

Nah ... FPRT is an equal opportunity company! that will happily make and sell fuel to either side. It's just that in Russian devices ... it is prone to premature ignition SD

Trump suffered a stroke? Wild health rumours, body double theories and new concerns swirl after #Trumpisdead trends https://www.msn.com/en-in/health/health-news/trump-suffered-a-stroke-wild-health-rumors-body-double-theories-and-new-concerns-swirl-after-trumpisdead-trends/ar-AA1LLXrT 79, still got that diet, and all the kings men now having difficulty hiding the symptoms; those out of the money options are looking up! Face on Mt Rushmore as the first president to croak on twitter. Only in America SD

It's 2025; both Google and Chat GTB already do this a lot better than many students Now .... were some of reading list replaced with the likes of The Dictators Handbook, or The Rules of Power ... there might actually be something Big picture application! SD

The talking point is that a Liberal Arts background teaches one to think; so how come the various trades (baker, plumber, brewer, etc.) are not considered Liberal Arts? Apparently, there is no think involved in determining how to do something?? Propaganda. A Liberal Arts engagement is intended to ‘round out’ the learner, NOT be the degree that earns your crust. Many an aspiring Engineer or Quant is forced to take them for exactly this reason, and will fight through the entire process; me included! I ended up taking Anthropology, Political Science, and Economics/Music. Decades later; I’m glad I did … but at the time, they were an utter waste. Short-term vs long-term. A Liberal Arts engagement is intended to complement ‘life experience’. Supposedly, you saw XYZ while you were experiencing life/working; this is how it works. You did the summer backpacking experience to both get that ‘life experience’ and cut the apron springs. Maturity. Within business, most people are never going to make it to the senior levels; those that do will typically have further specialisation (MBA, Designation, etc.). At the lower levels, business is primarily about working with people (staff, customers, etc.), and a Liberal Arts engagement was relatively advantageous. Less so today, as we use technology. Liberal Arts courses are typically badly taught, the instructor often a PhD student teaching the course as part of their guaranteed funding, with a chip on the shoulder. Supplemented with the occasional tenured professor, either teaching as a condition of employment, or on the runway to retirement. Immature students, instructors with limited life experience. Liberal Arts exposure didn’t go well for me! Way too much life experience, too much exposure to the more colourful people of the world, and far too practically orientated. Proudly thrown out of Political Science twice (Propaganda Course, Ethics Course) and Music. Sadly, I was beyond redemption, and was never going to be able to play the drums like Keith Moon (the original Animal ). Anthropology was useful, primarily because it clearly demonstrated how to manipulate via the use of propaganda. Very different takeaways when you have actually lived in the area being studied, and your textbooks were written by the colonialist power of the times, for empire consumption. Mental models. Similarly, Ethics was useful, primarily because it demonstrated how you could paralyse otherwise rational people, simply by repetitively citing from an iffy source (textbook). Very different thing when actual experience across cultures, and situations is quite different, and the focus is on how one might actually write that textbook Mental models. Point to all this? Liberal Arts isn’t going to support earning the daily crust, but it will aid with pattern recognition. However your ability to exploit it, is to you to work out, and compare against your own experiences. No textbooks. SD

Lot of those in Windsor (car manufacturing), Sous St Marie (steel), Quebec, BC, etc, are being helped out by federal aid programs intended to lessen the impact; they will survive, but everyone is doing whatever they can to avoid anything to do with the US, wherever they can. The more radical would like to stop voluntary cross-border assistance (water bombers putting out fires), the let 'em burn. The other name for Trumps Washington announcement today is Martial Law. It usually doesn't age well, and indicates a nervousness around public protest/rioting. Washington crime is at the lowest it has been in 30 odd years, and that's a problem? Those who can afford to, don't buy anything from the US, travel to/through the US, or use US product unless they have to. No US booze, US internet commerce, US tourism, purchase of US product in grocery stores, etc, etc. Surprisingly there are quite a few fairly good substitutes. It is doubtful that it will ever go back to what it was, and a US signature on a purchase order is not as bankable as it once was. It is highly unlikely that our humble craft brewery is ever going to buy US cans again, and the same goes for most of the other things that go into our beer. While beer will cost more per can, customers are OK with paying more for a quality product as long as the money stays in Canada; the drink less, drink better. Of course, if you're a BUD selling on price ... it's an entirely different problem. SD

Within the propaganda world, it's called intentionally changing the topic .... 'cause you don't want to talk about it. A very aggressive 'anti-Trump' video, released on Saturday, yet still not (2 media cycles later, as of late Monday) all over US media? How does that happen? .... unless the story has a gag order on it ???? Dictators Handbook ... I'm told somewhere around the 3rd/4th chapter. SD

Don't want to talk about it, eh It is also pretty clear that Scotland was just a live demonstration ... of the 'TEMPLATE', what can be done with it, and how the US will actively suppress it within the US media. Back in Tom Lehrer's time (1967) there was no social media .... today there is, viral is normal, and there are lots of people very good at making it happen. I understand that the 're-done' version, after everyone had a few pints... was much more direct and entertaining! Of course, the big prize is something similar, much bigger, and from simultaneous protests in different parts of the US ... released during the US Mid-Terms, and from entirely outside the US. It's gonna be ... HUGE bigger than Springsteen!, better than MJ!! FOMO the big show!!! No different to how the US interferes in other countries elections ... but with images of ICE/US Marines doing aggressive crowd control... on AMERICANS, across America, under rifle barrel. Scotland also demonstrates that the pendulum has begun to swing back, and that it is has now become acceptable to collectively take back what used to be a very nice place. As successes mount, the pendulum will swing back faster; the Keep Orange Fizzy, Not Fascist The American people are not the same as the American government; have to think the remaining ice cube now has a very limited shelf life, and that his people are worried. SD

Couldn't resist .... tough weekend for Pedo Boy last week Whatever one might think of it, it's pretty clear that the Epstein files are going to cost him support. As MAGA grows colder, Trumps grip on the GOP weakens, and the long knives reach closer .... Enjoy! SD

Scotland Hates Trump: The Music Video. Get the hell out of Scotland, you pedo! SD

Orange Boy looses the markets confidence and he's gone. Just as Biden blew it when evidence of his senility couldn't be hidden anymore, the same will happen to Trump. The Vice's can step in, but it ain't the same thing. Like it or not, Tump is US policy, good or bad; something happens tommorow ..... Should Q32025 results be as poor as anticipated, a Trump replacement could not be any economically worse! and likely a lot better. Change the monkey, markets instantly rise a thousand points+ Trump is just another trading opportunity, with a higher than normal payoff if it works out. The political chatter has little to do with it. SD

The long straddle looks more brilliant every day, and a big payday increasingly likely! Surrounded by a healthy sycophant population, it's really just a matter of time until there is a public 'Biden' moment ... the man does love twitter... and twitter does love to go viral SD

Uncle Warren just told you, in the clearest way possible, to swing trade BRK over the next quarter or so. Could be via a direct sale (at today's high price) and repurchase (at tomorrow's likely low price) that triggers taxes, sale of BRK covered calls, &/or puts on the S&P/NASDAQ and Russell 2000 Index. 'Cause if Uncle Warren thinks that most all the blue-chips within the BRK universe, are at risk ..... what does that say about the lesser quality names in the Russell 2000 Index? magnified by the Russell 2000 Beta May you do well! SD

The reality of course is that the political lying is on both sides, and both parties are about as corrupt as each other Oligarchs, that continue to exist ... only so long as the old men on both sides continue to play the game, the same way. Thing is, that for those ambitious (and not too particular) upstarts in both parties; successfully play the game very differently, and you could well be the next president As in all conflicts it is the younger generations (job/status loss, economic stagnation, domestic violence), and the retired (inflation), that pay the price; and the wealthy with the most to lose ... Lots of 'power bases' up for grabs! The ice-cube is rapidly melting, numbers are getting 'altered', excuses are going up .... tariff disruptions are now starting to appear, most would expect that Q32025 reporting will be in the toilet for near everyone, the ME/Ukraine wars are still ongoing, US reserve currency status remains a growing challenge. Maybe the Fort Knox gold is there, maybe it isn't (not audited since 1953). Maybe Orange Boy pulls out a rabbit, or maybe he just continues to blame everyone else but himself - just can't get quality help! As soon as the successful first mover steps up, the opposing second mover will be obliged to rapidly follow. Lose the mid-term, the new mob-bosses step up, the streets start to flow, and Caesar goes down to the knives. All the spin in the world, ain't gonna help him. SD

2-3 truly different sectors plus cash; 1-2 stocks per sector is typically enough for diversification. Thereafter it is all about knowing where each sector is in its economic cycle, and acting accordingly. 65% in o&g at the bottom of a cycle is a great place to be. Sales in the up cycle feed purchases in the down cycles of the other sectors, and vice versa. Rinse and repeat. SD

CRLFF on the OTC market. Warrants are on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX). CJ-WT.TO Options are on the Montreal Stock Exchange (MSX). SD

Today's selloff was unwarranted. The Reford warm-up will add around 2,000 boe/d over Q3, and will add another 2,000-4,000 boe/d by the end of Q4; there's a reason why they will be paying down debt in Q4 As the current 84% payout ratio, moves towards that of a WCP, the div yield will also drive the price to around CAD 9.00. Another 26% in gains when Q42025 is reported, plus the 10% dividend yield SD