Urval Goradia

Here for insight on investing, politics and foreign policy. And the memes ofc!

[God @TheTweetOfGod]

Messi? Almost unbeatable.

Messi plus the refs? Completely unbeatable.

#ArgentinaVsSwitzerland #ARGSUI

[Tim Isgro @TimIsgro]

The endearing description of Michael Burry starting Scion Capital after leaving medicine. He got a cold call from Joel Greenblatt, who flew him and his wife to New York first-class and bought 25% of Burry's new firm for $1,000,000 (after tax!).

Burry was so green he didn't know what to wear to the meeting. I think this would have been in the year 2000 when Burry was 28 or 29 years old.

[Joy Bhattacharjya @joybhattacharj]

Tendulkar was a true great, but played for an increasingly self confident country on its way to becoming a cultural and economic superpower.
For most of his career Sunil Gavaskar batted for the self respect of a third world country and its despairing middle class whose ultimate ambition was a government job or a green card. The Sehwags, Gangulys and Dhonis who followed have given us ample reason to celebrate, but for most of his cricketing career Sunil Gavaskar would just make sure that millions could get up and face their bus or train commute the next morning.
Happy birthday Sunil Gavaskar.
You were the original rock.

[Tim Isgro @TimIsgro]

7 minutes, and worth a quick review if you’ve never heard it before. I love reviewing classics as a way to keep my mind focused and grounded.

[Urval Goradia @Urval]

@Greenbackd @cooperstainbroo And a lot of consumer surplus potentially in countries that don’t actually build/invest in the infrastructure (as opposed to railways, etc.)

[Urval Goradia @Urval]

@Greenbackd Also, since US building AI for the whole world (or most of it), perhaps measuring against just US GDP not the right approach.

[Mohamed A. El-Erian @elerianm]

Look what popped up on my phone this morning.
Am full of such deep admiration for Warren Buffett -- an extraordinary mind and exceptional human being whose wisdom and kindness have had, and continues to have a wonderful impact on so many.

[Marianne 🔆 @GreatAbysmal]

Jim Hacker: Humphrey, I'm told there's a situation at Diego Garcia.

Sir Humphrey Appleby: Only geographically, Prime Minister.

Jim Hacker: Geographically?

Sir Humphrey Appleby: Yes. It's still in the Indian Ocean.

Jim Hacker: Humphrey, Iran fired missiles at it!

Sir Humphrey Appleby: Towards it, Prime Minister.

Jim Hacker: Towards it?

Sir Humphrey Appleby: One missile ceased to function and the other was intercepted. So the island remains entirely where it was.

Jim Hacker: I'm not worried about the island moving! I mean the implications.

Sir Humphrey Appleby: Ah. Strategically speaking, the implications are extremely stable.

Jim Hacker: Stable?!

Sir Humphrey Appleby: Yes. Since nothing actually hit us, we can express grave concern without the administrative complications of retaliation.

Jim Hacker: But the base is on British territory!

Sir Humphrey Appleby: Indeed, Prime Minister. Which means we are in the enviable position of being attacked in principle while remaining uninvolved in practice.

Bernard Woolley: It's what the Foreign Office calls a very tidy situation, Prime Minister.

Jim Hacker: Tidy?

Sir Humphrey Appleby: Yes. Untidy situations are the ones where the missiles land.

[Marianne 🔆 @GreatAbysmal]

Jim Hacker: Humphrey, we have to do something about Iran.

Sir Humphrey Appleby: Prime Minister, the government is already doing a great deal.

Jim Hacker: Such as?

Sir Humphrey Appleby: Monitoring developments, coordinating with allies, reviewing contingency plans and expressing concern.

Jim Hacker: That all sounds like nothing, Humphrey.

Sir Humphrey Appleby: On the contrary, Prime Minister. In diplomacy it is vital to appear active without becoming involved.

Jim Hacker: The Americans are bombing things, the Iranians are firing missiles, the Strait of Hormuz is practically closed and we’re… appearing active?

Sir Humphrey Appleby: Precisely.

Jim Hacker: Innocent people are dying, Humphrey!

Sir Humphrey Appleby: Yes, Prime Minister. That is why the Foreign Office is drafting a very strongly worded statement about it.

Jim Hacker: A statement won’t stop a war.

Sir Humphrey Appleby: No, Prime Minister, but it will ensure that we are on record as having been extremely concerned while it was happening.

Bernard Woolley: If I may, Prime Minister — the Cabinet Office has identified six possible courses of action.

Jim Hacker: Good! What are they?

Bernard Woolley: We can condemn the escalation, call for restraint, urge negotiations, support our allies, assist defensive operations or participate directly.

Jim Hacker: And what do they recommend?

Sir Humphrey Appleby: Supporting our allies.

Jim Hacker: That sounds suspiciously like participating.

Sir Humphrey Appleby: Oh no, Prime Minister. Participating means fighting. Supporting merely means allowing others to fight from places that technically belong to us.

Jim Hacker: Humphrey, if Iranian missiles hit one of our bases, we’ll be in the war anyway!

Sir Humphrey Appleby: Yes, Prime Minister, but we shall have entered it with the invaluable diplomatic advantage of being surprised.

Bernard Woolley: It’s generally considered the safest way to enter a war, Prime Minister.

Jim Hacker: How on earth can that be safe?

Sir Humphrey Appleby: Because if the war goes badly, we can say we never meant to join it. And if it goes well, we can say we were there all along.

[Mark Carney @MarkJCarney]

Today, we unveiled Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s official portrait in Ottawa.

Mr. Harper served as Prime Minister of Canada for nearly a decade — the sixth longest tenure in our history. In a political climate increasingly buffeted by noise, he brought composure, intellect, and decisiveness to public life.

He was a conviction politician. But he was also, when circumstances demanded, a pragmatist. He came to Ottawa as a balanced-budget conservative. Yet when the financial crisis struck, he did not let ideology prevent him from doing what was necessary to support the Canadian economy through the worst global downturn in generations.

Mr. Harper’s portrait, painted by Phil Richards, will soon take its place alongside those of Macdonald and Laurier, King and Diefenbaker, Trudeau and Mulroney. Builders of our country in the past, examples to our country for the future.

On behalf of all Canadians, I thank Mr. Harper for his remarkable service to Canada, and for the legacy upon which we are now called to build.

[Christopher Bloomstran @ChrisBloomstran]

Warren Buffett retires today, most likely in his mind at the closing bell, just minutes from now.

Congratulations to the greatest investor the world will ever know. The returns speak for themselves - Berkshire earned 6,118,651% or 19.9% annually over his 60 years running the company. The S&P 500 returned 46,491%, or 10.4%. Berkshire’s shares could decline by 99.2% and still have outperformed the market. The record is even greater when including the partnerships he ran through 1969.

However, it is not the returns but the way Warren did it that matters most; with integrity and morality - and with humility and humor. He didn’t have to teach, but he did. On behalf of so many of us, thank you, sir.

[Morgan Housel @morganhousel]

My favorite Buffett stat is that Berkshire stock could drop 99% and he still would have outperformed the S&P 500 since he took over.

Enjoy retirement.

[Urval Goradia @Urval]

@BenSasse May we all learn from your courage, Senator. Merry Christmas to you and yours.

[Andrew Ross Sorkin @andrewrsorkin]

Great, great piece by Seth Klarman in @TheAtlantic…https://t.co/RmZVHvWDcy

[Richard H Thaler @R_Thaler]

Oh my, how have we survived without the millions of people who used to take restaurant reservations, book airline tickets, operate toll booths, and print folded maps! How was it to hail a taxi in the Bay Area? This is the anti-abundance agenda.

[Toronto Blue Jays @BlueJays]

SERIES TIED. #WANTITALL

FINAL: Blue Jays 6, Dodgers 2 https://t.co/dlTd9XPBFf

[Mark Carney @MarkJCarney]

Never in doubt. What a start @bluejays
#WANTITALL 🇨🇦

[ArchaeoHistories @histories_arch]

Catherine Dior, a French Resistance fighter and the younger sister of fashion designer Christian Dior....

During the darkest years of the Nazi occupation, one woman proved that resistance is fought not only with weapons, but with information. Catherine Dior, younger sister of the celebrated designer Christian Dior, joined an underground network in 1941. Her work was perilous: collecting intelligence on German troops, sheltering resistance fighters in her brother's apartment, and keeping the pulse of hope alive in a besieged Paris.

In July 1944, the Gestapo arrested her. She endured days of torture without revealing a single name. Deported to the Ravensbrück concentration camp, she was stripped of her identity and became number 57813. She survived forced labor in Torgau, Abterode, and Leipzig.

Liberated in 1945, she was a ghost of her former self, her body transformed by suffering but her spirit unbroken. Two years later, Christian Dior launched his first fragrance. He named it "Miss Dior" in his sister's honor—not merely a gesture of affection, but a tribute to the woman who resisted when so many remained silent.

Catherine was awarded the Croix de Guerre, the Medal of Valor, and the Legion of Honor. She never sought the fame, catwalks, or luxury that surrounded her brother. Her legacy lies elsewhere: in the dignity of those who refuse to bow their heads, and in the memory of a silent, steadfast fight.

Her story reminds us that behind a glittering triumph, there is often a shadow that resisted. Catherine Dior never paraded on a catwalk, but her courage is forever imbued in the perfume that bears her name—an enduring essence of courage, freedom, and memory.

#archaeohistories

[litquidity @litcapital]

Cumulative shareholder value created: 0

[Mark Carney @MarkJCarney]

Deeply saddened to learn of the passing of the Hon. Ken Dryden, a Canadian hockey legend and hall of famer, public servant and inspiration. He was a 6-time Stanley Cup Champion, 5-time Vezina trophy winner, Minister of Social Development, and dedicated Parliamentarian.

Ken Dryden was the reason I became a goalie, although I never mastered his ability to lean on his stick let alone keep the puck out of the net.

His return to university at the height of his playing career taught the importance of balance in life. His post-hockey career demonstrated the value of public service.

Few Canadians have given more, or stood taller, for our country.

Ken Dryden was Big Canada. And he was Best Canada. Rest in peace.