“A man can live and be healthy without killing animals for food; therefore, if he eats meat, he participates in taking animal life merely for the sake of his appetite. And to act so is immoral.” Leo Tolstoy

“The thirst for power and possessions knows no limits. In this system, which tends to devour everything which stands in the way of increased profits, whatever is fragile, like the environment, is defenseless before the interests of a deified market, which become the only rule.” – Pope Francis

“Join the company of lions rather than assume the lead among foxes.” – Talmud

“Life is a storm, my young friend. You will bask in the sunlight one moment, be shattered on the rocks the next. What makes you a man is what you do when that storm comes.” – Edmond Dantes (2002 adaptation)

“The twentieth century was the bankruptcy of the social utopia; the twenty-first will be that of the technological one.” – Nassim Nicholas Taleb

“Is it progress if a cannibal uses knife and fork?” Stanislaw Jerzy Lec

Destined for war? China, America and the Thucydides trap – (Hat tip Lao Ho) – ““If Hollywood were to make a movie pitting China against the United States, central casting could not find two better leading actors than Xi Jinping and Donald Trump. Each personifies his country’s deep aspirations of […]

We’re short on links as we are trying to adapt to a new life schedule (work). Given that we already spend most of the day learning new things (financial analysis, new markets, new industries…) we have much less curiosity left at the end of the day and focus on entertainment […]

“The forest is a peculiar organism of unlimited kindness and benevolence that makes no demands for its sustenance and extends generously the products of its life activity; it provides protection to all beings, offering shade even to the axe man who destroys it.” – Gautama Buddha

“It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education.” – Einstein

How unenlightened self-interest corrupted democracy and undermined capitalism

“When the mind is in a state of uncertainty the smallest impulse directs it to either side.” – Terrence

“Dieu est d’ordinaire pour les gros escadrons contre les petits.” – Roger de Rabutin, Comte de Bussy

“Morally, it is wrong to suppose the source of evil is outside oneself, that one is a vessel of holiness running over with virtue. Such a disposition is the best soil for a hateful and cruel fanaticism. It is as wrong to impute every wickedness to Jews, Freemansons, “intellectuals,” as it is to blame all crimes on the bourgeoisie, the nobility, and the powers that were. No; the root of evil is in me as well, and I must take my share of the responsibility and the blame. That was true before the revolution and it is true still.” – Nikolai Berdyaev

Australia benefited from China’s incredible demand for hard commodities, especially iron ore. In recent years, China economic health has started to

“Every Communist must grasp the truth: Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.” – Mao Zedong

“Many forms of Government have been tried and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.” – Winston Churchill

“Bad money drives out good.” – Gresham’s law

“Our work is never done. The American experiment in self-government gives work and purpose to each generation.” Barack Obama

“The blunt truth about the politics of climate change is that no country will want to sacrifice its economy in order to meet this challenge.” Tony Blair, 2005