Zhelko Dimic

Semi-retired, investor, dad, ex VP Eng., ex-husband, ex driving events enthusiast

[JewForPeace🇺🇸🕊☮🍉 @CredibleUFO]

Horrific! The IDF tests new weapons on the Palestinians, then markets them as "combat-proven". Doctors find wounds that no medical textbook has ever explained.

[Trita Parsi @tparsi]

This will ruin your day, perhaps your summer, or even the rest of your life.

But you need to listen to it. You need to know the crimes that are done in your name and with your tax money.

A British surgeon in Gaza testifies that Israeli soldiers used Palestinian children as target practice. One day, they would shoot the children in the testicles, and on other days, in their necks.

They were practicing their shooting on children.

[Zhelko Dimic @zdimic]

I rarely cry nowadays, but this made me do it...

[Trita Parsi @tparsi]

Every time Iran pushes for a regional ceasefire, Israel resists so it can continue to do this:

This 6 yo girl was killed by Israel while in a refugee TENT in Gaza. According to @Dropsite, she had been recovering from a broken arm, but that wasn't enough; Israel had to kill her.

[Bradford Ferguson @bradsferguson]

BTW, I am a SpaceX shareholder and personally would love if SpaceX bought $TSLA at a discount to its Robotaxi/Optimus valuation.

Would also love it if Tesla shareholders plow stock that has been flat for the last 4.5 years into one that just 20x’d in five years.

This would not be fair to Tesla shareholders.

So I’m talking against my own incentives.

I also could lose access to Tesla events if I go against what Elon wants.

Me speaking up for Tesla shareholders has the potential to hurt me personally more than help. But I feel it’s the right thing to do.

I am open-minded and I am open to changing my mind, but there are several factors driving this and I will share most of them soon.

[Zhelko Dimic @zdimic]

@_BlondeKing @osintPk And then what? US is gonna attack them?

[Zhelko Dimic @zdimic]

@Linahuaa @AndreiZenit7 Of course he's level 3. Otherwise he wouldn't be changing the world. No level 5s are on X

[Peter Girnus 🦅 @gothburz]

I am a diplomatic aide in the Sultanate of Oman's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

My job is logistics. When two countries that cannot speak to each other need to speak to each other, I book the rooms. I prepare the briefing materials. I make sure the water glasses are the right distance apart. You would be surprised how much of diplomacy is water glasses. Too close and it feels informal. Too far and it feels like a tribunal. I have a chart.

We had a very good month.

Since January, Oman has been mediating indirect talks between the United States and Iran on Iran's nuclear program. The talks were held in Muscat and in Geneva. The Americans would sit in one room. The Iranians would sit in another room. I would walk between them. My Fitbit says I averaged fourteen thousand steps on negotiation days. The hallway between the two rooms at the Royal Opera House conference center is forty-seven meters. I walked it two hundred and twelve times in February. This is good for my cardiovascular health. It was less good for my knees. Both are in the service of peace.

By mid-February, we had something.

Iran agreed to zero stockpiling of enriched uranium. Not reduced stockpiling. Zero. They agreed to down-blend existing stockpiles to the lowest possible level. They agreed to convert them into irreversible fuel. They agreed to full IAEA verification with potential US inspector access. They agreed, in the Foreign Minister's phrase, to "never, ever" possess nuclear material for a bomb. I have worked in diplomacy for seven years. I have never seen a country agree to this many things this quickly. I made a spreadsheet of the concessions. It had fourteen rows. I color-coded it. Green for confirmed. Yellow for pending. By February 21 the spreadsheet was entirely green. I printed it. It is on my desk in Muscat. It is still green.

That phrase took eleven days. "Never, ever." The Iranians initially offered "not seek to." The Americans wanted "will not under any circumstances." We landed on "never, ever" at 2:14 AM on a Tuesday in Muscat. I typed the final version myself. I used Times New Roman because Geneva prefers it. The document was fourteen pages. I was proud of every comma.

Here is what they said, in the order they said it.

February 24: "We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity." — The Foreign Minister, private briefing to Gulf Cooperation Council ambassadors. I prepared the slide deck. Slide 14 was the implementation timeline. Slide 15 was the signing ceremony logistics. I had reserved the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Room XX. It seats four hundred. We discussed pen brands for the signing. The Iranians preferred Montblanc. The Americans had no preference. I ordered twelve Montblanc Meisterstucks at six hundred and thirty dollars each. They arrive on Tuesday.

February 27, 8:30 AM EST: "The deal is within our reach." — The Foreign Minister, CBS Face the Nation. He sat across from Margaret Brennan. He said broad political terms could be agreed "tomorrow" with ninety days for technical implementation in Vienna. He said, and I wrote this line for the briefing card he carried in his breast pocket: "If we just allow diplomacy the space it needs." He praised the American envoys by name. Steve Witkoff. Jared Kushner. He said both had been constructive.

I watched from the Four Seasons Georgetown. The minibar had cashews. I ate the cashews. They were nineteen dollars. The most expensive cashew I have ever eaten. But it was a good morning and we were within our reach.

February 27, 2:00 PM EST: Meeting with Vice President Vance, Washington. The Foreign Minister presented our progress. Zero stockpiling. Full verification. Irreversible conversion. "Never, ever." The Vice President used the word "encouraging." His aide took notes on an iPad. The aide did not make eye contact for the last nine minutes of the meeting. I noticed this. Noticing things is the only part of my job that is not water glasses.

February 27, 4:00 PM EST: "Not happy with the pace." — President Trump, to reporters.

Not happy with the pace.

We had achieved zero stockpiling. Full IAEA verification. Irreversible fuel conversion. Inspector access. And the phrase "never, ever," which took eleven days and cost me two hundred and twelve trips down a forty-seven-meter hallway.

Every American president since Carter has failed to get Iran to agree to this. Forty-five years.

Not happy with the pace.

February 27, 9:47 PM EST: The Foreign Minister's flight departs Dulles for Muscat. I am in the seat behind him. He is reviewing Slide 14 on his laptop. The implementation timeline. Vienna technical sessions. The signing ceremony. The pens.

I fall asleep over the Atlantic. I dream about water glasses.

February 28, 6:00 AM GST: I wake up to push notifications.

February 28: "The United States has begun major combat operations in Iran." — President Trump.

Operation Epic Fury. Coordinated airstrikes. The United States and Israel. Tehran. Isfahan. Qom. Karaj. Kermanshah. Nuclear facilities. IRGC bases. Sites near the Supreme Leader's office. Israel called their half Operation Roaring Lion. Someone in both governments spent time choosing these names. Epic Fury. Roaring Lion. I spent eleven days on "never, ever." They spent it on branding. The President said Iran had "rejected American calls to halt its nuclear weapons production."

Rejected.

Iran had agreed to zero stockpiling. Iran had agreed to full verification. Iran had agreed to "never, ever." Iran had agreed to everything in a fourteen-page document that I typed in Times New Roman.

The President said they rejected it.

I do not know which document the President was reading. I know which one I typed.

February 28, 18:45 UTC: Iran internet connectivity: four percent. — NetBlocks, confirmed by Cloudflare. Ninety-six percent of a country went dark. You cannot negotiate with a country at four percent connectivity. You cannot negotiate with a country that is being struck. You cannot negotiate. This is not a political opinion. This is a logistics assessment.

February 28: The governor of Minab reported forty girls killed at an elementary school.

I do not have logistics for that. There is no slide for that. The water glass chart does not cover that.

February 28: Lockheed Martin: up. Northrop Grumman: up. RTX: up. Dow futures: down six hundred and twenty-two points. Gold: five thousand two hundred and ninety-six dollars. An analyst at AInvest published a note titled "Iran Strikes: Tactical Plays." The note recommended positions in oil, defense stocks, and gold.

The most expensive cashew I have ever eaten was nineteen dollars. The most expensive pen I have ever ordered was six hundred and thirty dollars. The math suggests I have been working in the wrong industry. Defense stocks do not require water glasses. Defense stocks do not require eleven days. Defense stocks require one morning.

February 28: Israel closed its airspace and its schools. Iran launched retaliatory missiles toward US bases in the Gulf. The Supreme Leader promised a "crushing response." Israel's defense minister declared a permanent state of emergency. Everyone is using words I recognize in an order I do not. I recognize "permanent." I recognize "emergency." I do not recognize them next to each other. In diplomacy, nothing is permanent and everything is an emergency. In war it is the reverse.

February 28: The Foreign Minister has not made a public statement.

The briefing card is still in his breast pocket. It still says "within our reach."

[Zhelko Dimic @zdimic]

@CathieDWood We'd benefit even more if he got 6% instead of 12%

[LinaHua @Linahuaa]

"Is it possible that some Jews, due to their outstanding human capital and group cohesion, managed to create elite networks in certain niches and assert significant influence?"

ChatGPT:
No, that's antisemitism

"Okay, but the same thing happens for example in tech where Chinese or Indians dominate certain companies and favour people with the same ethnic background, and wield outsized influence"

ChatGPT:
Yeah, that tends to happen and is normal

"Okay, but couldn't this also apply to Jews?"

ChatGPT:
Yeah you are right, but Jews have a special victim status, so you can't apply the same objective observation to them.

"I don't want to stir up hate, I'm only interested in observing patterns"

ChatGPT:
"That's antisemitism tho"

[Zhelko Dimic @zdimic]

I celebrated 56 on the same day, but otherwise fully agree!

[Dr Milan Milanović @milan_milanovic]

𝗧𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗜'𝗺 𝟰𝟲!

Here is what I learned:

𝟭. 𝗡𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗼𝘄𝗻𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸. I lost everything twice before I was 14. War doesn't negotiate. But my skills and people stayed. My ability to start over stayed. Everything else? Gone. Build what can't burn.

𝟮. 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹. Does your boss make bad calls? Not your problem to solve. But your effort, your learning, how you show up, that's yours. People waste years arguing with things they can't change. Don't be that person.

𝟯. 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝘄𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻. I see this everywhere. Smart people, capable people, just... waiting. Waiting for approval. For the perfect moment. For someone to tell them it's okay. Nobody's coming to save you. You want to do something? Do it. Then deal with what happens after. High agency isn't complicated; it's just refusing to wait.

𝟰. 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴. I read 2-3 hours every day, and I have 5000 books in my library. Not because I have to, but because the day I stop growing is the day I'm done. Your brain is a muscle. Use it or lose it. The world keeps moving. You'd better keep up.

𝟱. 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲. That safe job you're hanging onto? It's costing you growth. The predictable life? It's killing the version of you that could do more. I've seen people rot from the inside, chasing comfort. They had potential, but they chose the easy path. Stay a little hungry, a little uncomfortable.

𝟲. 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗶𝗽𝘁. Skip sleep now, pay with focus later. Ignore fitness, pay with your 50s. You think you're getting away with it. You're not. The bill's just delayed.

𝟳. 𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁, 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀. Not code, not technology. I've led teams, shipped systems, and hit every metric that's supposed to matter. None of it means anything if the people around you are burned out or miserable. Be easy to work with. This is bringing you to some heights your knowledge will never reach.

𝟴. 𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 "𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘀" 𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻'𝘁. A real crisis is rare. The rest is bad boundaries and saying yes to things you should've declined three weeks ago. Learn to let things fail that deserve to fail.

𝟵. 𝗬𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱. Some people started with money. Connections. Safety. You didn't. I didn't. Stop comparing your lap 3 to someone else's lap 30. Different race. Different starting line.

𝟭𝟬. 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴. Don't accept things because "that's how it's always been done." Question the assumptions. Test the beliefs. Push back on the consensus. Six years in research taught me this: most accepted truths are just untested assumptions that nobody bothered to question. Think for yourself. Always.

See you around!

~ Milan

[Dr Milan Milanović @milan_milanovic]

𝗧𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗜'𝗺 𝟰𝟲!

Here is what I learned:

𝟭. 𝗡𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗼𝘄𝗻𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸. I lost everything twice before I was 14. War doesn't negotiate. But my skills and people stayed. My ability to start over stayed. Everything else? Gone. Build what can't burn.

𝟮. 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹. Does your boss make bad calls? Not your problem to solve. But your effort, your learning, how you show up, that's yours. People waste years arguing with things they can't change. Don't be that person.

𝟯. 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝘄𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻. I see this everywhere. Smart people, capable people, just... waiting. Waiting for approval. For the perfect moment. For someone to tell them it's okay. Nobody's coming to save you. You want to do something? Do it. Then deal with what happens after. High agency isn't complicated; it's just refusing to wait.

𝟰. 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴. I read 2-3 hours every day, and I have 5000 books in my library. Not because I have to, but because the day I stop growing is the day I'm done. Your brain is a muscle. Use it or lose it. The world keeps moving. You'd better keep up.

𝟱. 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲. That safe job you're hanging onto? It's costing you growth. The predictable life? It's killing the version of you that could do more. I've seen people rot from the inside, chasing comfort. They had potential, but they chose the easy path. Stay a little hungry, a little uncomfortable.

𝟲. 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗶𝗽𝘁. Skip sleep now, pay with focus later. Ignore fitness, pay with your 50s. You think you're getting away with it. You're not. The bill's just delayed.

𝟳. 𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁, 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀. Not code, not technology. I've led teams, shipped systems, and hit every metric that's supposed to matter. None of it means anything if the people around you are burned out or miserable. Be easy to work with. This is bringing you to some heights your knowledge will never reach.

𝟴. 𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 "𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘀" 𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻'𝘁. A real crisis is rare. The rest is bad boundaries and saying yes to things you should've declined three weeks ago. Learn to let things fail that deserve to fail.

𝟵. 𝗬𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱. Some people started with money. Connections. Safety. You didn't. I didn't. Stop comparing your lap 3 to someone else's lap 30. Different race. Different starting line.

𝟭𝟬. 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴. Don't accept things because "that's how it's always been done." Question the assumptions. Test the beliefs. Push back on the consensus. Six years in research taught me this: most accepted truths are just untested assumptions that nobody bothered to question. Think for yourself. Always.

See you around!

~ Milan

[Zhelko Dimic @zdimic]

@Linahuaa @P33RL3SS I am a Slav, and as of recently I mentor son of my Slav friend. Son is fully supported. Result is that at 25 he is at 2nd yr of university, no job, and he has trouble committing to 2hrs of work daily. I've seen these kinds of results when kids are over sheltered and oversupported

[Zhelko Dimic @zdimic]

@amy787 No. Not that my 10K shares will make a diff.

[Zhelko Dimic @zdimic]

@elonmusk I tried to buy my 4th Tesla, a new M3P from the '22 M3P. But then I realised I'd still be stuck on the old version of FSD; I live in a condo, like 40% of Torontonians and Tesla is too cheap to pay for downloads over mobile, even when I'm 6 plus months behind; so I gave up

[Zhelko Dimic @zdimic]

@farzyness I firmly believe that the market for a non-sport two seater is very small. People always want 'just in case' optionality. That's how SUV became popular, truly rational minds are rare; unless you're encouraged by lack of road/parking space like in Europe

[Zhelko Dimic @zdimic]

@SMO_VZ My bro was a driver in Serbian army many years ago. His conclusion was that for tough terrain Lada Niva was way better than Austrian Puch and G Wagons (almost the same vehicles if I remember well)

[Zhelko Dimic @zdimic]

@captain_marrvel @Linahuaa It must be wonderful being THAT stupid. Lucky you

[Andrew Feinstein @andrewfeinstein]

It pains me to say this & I don’t do so lightly, as the son of a Holocaust survivor, as someone who has lectured on genocide prevention at Auschwitz, where my mom lost dozens of her family, but Israel is behaving like Nazis. This is not self-defence, this is not to protect Jews, this is Nazism, this is a Holocaust driven by racist white supremacy

[Zhelko Dimic @zdimic]

@Linahuaa @onvousmanipule Interesting how mating strategies are completely different: western vs. serbian vs. chinese, all very, very different

[Syrian Girl @Partisangirl]

Video of the IDF raping Palestinians to death.