“Most EU leaders, even the ones in the East who grasp the danger Putin represents, are a generation removed from confrontation and conflict. They are vegetarians in a steakhouse, wondering why there’s no salad on the menu.”

Garry Kasparov, Chair Human Rights Foundation, former World Chess Champion

‘In December 2020 Mr. Trudeau chided India for its police response to farmers’ blockades of Delhi. “Let me remind you,” he said, “Canada will always be there to defend the right of peaceful protest.” Mr. Trudeau prattles on about rights half a world away but won’t respect them half a block from Parliament.’

WSJ lead editorial, Feb 22nd

“First the Canadian government threw science and the basic principles of public health out the window. Now they are throwing democracy and the basic principles of human rights out the window.”

Martin Kulldorff, Epidemiologist. Biostatistician. Professor of medicine, Harvard, Infectious disease outbreaks.

Investment lesson/warning:

Twitter’s sales have grown from $535 million at its IPO in 2013 to over $5 billion today.
But its stock is 20% below its 1st day close in 2013. What happened? Investors were paying 41x sales at its IPO and 6x sales today. Lesson — the price you pay matters.

Eg. see Peleton, Beyond Meat, Gamestock, Tilray, Virgin Galatic

Charlie Bilello, CEO Compound Capital Advisors

The main federal agency guiding America’s pandemic policy is the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, which sets widely adopted policies on masking, vaccination, distancing, and other mitigation efforts to slow the spread of COVID and ensure the virus is less morbid when it leads to infection. The CDC is, in part, a scientific agency—they use facts and principles of science to guide policy—but they are also fundamentally a political agency: The director is appointed by the president of the United States, and the CDC’s guidance often balances public health and welfare with other priorities of the executive branch.

Throughout this pandemic, the CDC has been a poor steward of that balance, pushing a series of scientific results that are severely deficient. This research is plagued with classic errors and biases, and does not support the press-released conclusions that often follow. In all cases, the papers are uniquely timed to further political goals and objectives; as such, these papers appear more as propaganda than as science. The CDC’s use of this technique has severely damaged their reputation and helped lead to a growing divide in trust in science by political party. Science now risks entering a death spiral in which it will increasingly fragment into subsidiary verticals of political parties. As a society, we cannot afford to allow this to occur. Impartial, honest appraisal is needed now more than ever, but it is unclear how we can achieve it…read more.