27 January 2023PUT IN TO TAKE OUTWhat is the one number you'd really like to know for a happy retirement? Yup, it is how much should I tuck away each month - not percentages or formulae, just the number please?THIS NOTE IS ABOUTFinancial planning is boring but unavoidable. So start here. Plus, a note on how to build a neat and tidy spreadsheet.GOALpeople typically aim for somewhere between half and two-thirds of their final salary as their retirement income. NEEDSBy the time they retire, many people have paid off their mortgage, and their...
Friday, 27 January 2023
Saturday, 21 January 2023
GEORGIO
Georgio is seeking the voice of the island, ie the voice of the people of Cyprus. He finds what is dear to themFamilyTraditionsSeaNatureReligionFoodCostumeAnd in his own way and style, he expresses this. He is a conduit.His paintings are more naive than childish. He is not a trained artist, he is self-taught. He is honest, he expresses what he sees, for you to see through his eyes.EXHIBITION BLURB:The George Pol. Georghiou - Timeless Cyprus exhibition has been organised on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the artist's death. The title, suggested...
Wednesday, 18 January 2023
BYZANTIUM
On Byzantiumhttps://youtu.be/2JHCfe86A8UFascinating. Right from the beginning where Paul Cooper tells us how the Mediterranean Sea was created (offset Part I, 8 minutes).To his explanation of how the Eastern wing survived for another thousand years after the fall of Rome.And America has managed 80 years and looks to be on its way out, having learnt nothing of the power of diplomacy from the rulers of Byzantium.
...
MODERN LOVERS
https://youtu.be/VXMTG8prP7swhy are relationships seemingly so hard for so many people when it's the thing we need the most to feel alive to feel happy and feel connected?Love and work are the two pillars of our lives.The simple feeling of loving and feeling loved is actually a very complex thing just as nature is very complex, so too is human nature very complex. I'm a boomer and in my life I have seen Human Nature change at its fastest pace ever recorded. Human relationships today are certainly more complex and often more painful than in the...
CYPRIOT SALAD
18 January 2023I like the salad and tahini very much.
Cucumber, tomato, olives, cos lettuce, feta cheese, red onion, red peppers, dressing (olive oil and lemon juice), herbs.
https://youtu.be/0N6h_m5u...
ELEFTHERIA SQUARE, NICOSIA
18 January 2023Nicosia is "the last divided capital in Europe". It is a city with 16th century city walls and a moat and a new park in the dry moat.Amongst the many modern buildings of Nicosia today, there is Eleftheria square, known as Freedom Park. Freedom meaning freedom from invaders, notably the Turks, and the possibility for the Greek Cypriot population to live an independent life. But also, freedom in the sense of one unified island where...
Monday, 16 January 2023
SHOULD I BUY A GROWTH TRUST?
The discussion of private equity, what motivates the salespple. The joke. SMT. Scottish Mortgage Trust. There is a piece today on the high-conviction strategy of SMT where the managers admit to certain mistakes in 2921/22 going after exceptional growth companies like Amazon, Tesla and Tencent: thinking some covid-behaviour would persist more after the pandemic slow in recognising the significance of the deterioration in US-China relations.But they believe in the returns from high-tech companies and think these are not about...
Sunday, 15 January 2023
ORIGINS OF WAR IN UKRAINE
One of Rishi's ideas that is purely political is to send two tanks to Ukraine. Two! There's little discussion on military channels of its impact on the war because it will have none.The whole war dates back to 1996 and NATO's (America's) decision to renege on promises given to the Russian's to respect a security buffer in Eastern Europe. Expansion started in 1999.Russia had hope for a new joint security architecture for Europe. If you add to this possible alliance, the trade opportunities (commodities and energy for technology and finished...
Tuesday, 10 January 2023
US CHINA CONFLAGRATION
The States doesn't seem able to stock up Ukraine with equipment and supplies, what chance the capacity for a serious war?This simulation tells us thata) Strategic Ambiguity is dead - just as Ukraine is effectively in NATO, so Taiwan is in The Western Alliance, in the first island chain andb) the American military-industrial needs to ramp up preparations for World Wars 3 & 4. If I know America, their elite will have a
first-strike...
Monday, 9 January 2023
WHY THE WEST IS BEST
The top race, according to average achievements/capita, must surely be the Je*s.Then come the European whites, Anglo-Saxons on top. Why?1. We doubled life expectancy by introducing antibiotics insecticides and vaccines to the world. Nine out of 10 Indonesians would not be here today if it hadn't been for that !2. Holland did not get rich by pillaging Indonesia, or maybe it did, but Holland was already rich and powerful, which is how it was able to colonise Indy.And in so doing, Holland gave value to the spices they could grow there, that the people...
Sunday, 8 January 2023
AMERICA APPRECIATES FULL WELL WHAT IT IS DOING
9 January 2023I would love that people appreciate the real cause of this war.As a patriotic Englishman, I care and I want the best for my country and for Europe as a whole (which incidentally includes that part of Russia where 80% of Russians live).https://youtube.com/shorts/r8vvbOxAwKI?feature=sharehttps://youtube.com/shorts/r8vvbOxAwKI?feature=shareIt was made plain to America as long ago as 1997https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=huL4mTx55Kw&feature=youtu...
Wednesday, 4 January 2023
THE GOALS AND STRATEGIES OF AMERICA, RUSSIA AND CHINA
4 January 2023AmericaAmerican policy as explained by Mearsheimer is to remain regional hegemon in The West; with no hegemons in other regions. This is the brutal and ruthless truth, but an ideological soapy cover story is provided by America's liberal democracy rhetoric.Reality is America will tolerate neither Russia nor Germany in Europe; nor China in Asia. The goals of these latter are national independence and full sovereignty, therefore since America wants to dominate and since Russia and China will resist, ultimately negotiation is impossible...
THE DESTRUCTION OF OUR BEAUTIFUL BLUE PLANET
4 January 2023America and NATO have been provoking Russia for decades. The EU - Merkel, Hollande - have weakly, blindly, allowed America to bully them.America's paranoid leadership sees a weakened Europe (esp. Russia & Germany) as in its interests - take out potential peer competitors - but The West's real collective best interests are currently in trade deals and an alliance with Russia, countering the threat from China, promoting security and prosperity.I'd imagine America is trying to break up Russia, move in to that country and contain...
Monday, 2 January 2023
THE VIRUS: THE CHINESE HAVE BEEN PANICKED INTO RUNNING THE EXPERIMENT THE WEST REJECTED
2 January 2023https://www.ft.com/content/fb879510-c2bb-4a04-8e36-182078ae15ec?sharetype=blockedhttps://www.ibtimes.com/new-covid-model-predicts-over-1-million-deaths-china-through-2023-3648316 Opening up was delayed pending Xi's reelection. China's zero-COVID policy may have been effective at keeping earlier variants of the virus at bay, but the high transmissibility of Omicron variants made it impossible to sustain. Public protests were decisive in getting the leadership to understand this.You've got to ask what...
Sunday, 1 January 2023
END GAMES IN UKRAINE
1 January 2023
The Wagner has taken on the mission of destroying the
Ukrainian army in Bakmut (spelling). The purpose is to demilitarise
Ukraine* - looks like this will mean wrecking the whole country (energy,
comms), whilst the popn flees to Russia or Europe (Poland).
*Denazify, no NATO, autonomy for Russian East - was built by Catherine the Great late 18C.
Most likely scenario
Then Ukraine will fall to Poland in the West, back to...
PENAL UNITS
1 January 2023 https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2023/01/01/russian-police-hunt-armed-convicts-who-fled-mercenary-training/
An interesting bit of gossip, this article, using
criminals not without precedent in Russia nor closer to home, common
practise throughout history....other examples
The Fr foreign legion was originally a fighting force
made up of criminals and other undesirables. Its purpose being to remove
disruptive elements from society...
UKRAINE: YOUR THOUGHTS (NOT ON A POSTCARD PLEASE) ARE REQUESTED
1 January 2023Ukraine runs sorties deep into Russia daily, but if it starts with American weapons or NATO troops, that would provoke a third world war.For the moment, it is "only" a proxy war. Ukraine is losing its army, pretty soon if this continues it will be dismembered, whether you agree or not.How much better would be peace. If you have Russia as a neighbour, it's like being in bed with an elephant: better take care! (That's just a fact, whether you like it or not.)The Americans are on to another disaster here, quite possibly their biggest...
