Actually I think Putin is a great leader for Russian people. Putin is good for Russia, which is bad for us. But Putin bad for US does not mean that Russian people choosing Putin is a mistake. Russians made the smart bet on Putin
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Hey @jil, someone just reminded us of GM bankruptcy. Can you give warning to WB about his stake there? 
Ok they are solid as diamond⌠will last forever!
Good point. My parody of your comment though was more of a juxtaposition of leaders and their efficacy for the advancement of their countryâs middle class â as opposed to the efficacy for the advancement of their countryâs interest on a geopolitical scale. There is a lot of debate that while Putin has been great for the Russian oligarchs, that his actual policies in the past 4 years have hurt the Russian middle class.
A powerful Putin and a powerful Xi can be a blessing and a curse for US. A stronger Russia and a stronger China is not good for US. But at least we donât need to worry about uncertainties in Russia and China.
Democracy is like marijuana. It makes people high, but the real work is not done by democracy,
On the contrary, real economic progress is made by the opposite of democracy.
If democracy is so useful, why didnât Manch implement democracy with his kids and expect that democracy would automatically send his kids to Havard?
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An economically strong China will bless the US. Global economy is inter correlated.
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So are you going to sell your Tencent and baba, now that China has âmoved backwardâ? 
Note my comment about no changes short term. So no, nothing changes in the next 5-10 years. Longer term I am weary.
Stocks are liquid anyway. But I may not want to buy properties in HK or China.
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Hard to manage in China. Better buy local when it comes to real estate.
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manch is a dictator.
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Not interested in a binary world view like democracy vs dictatorship and capitalism vs communism. Like everything in life the interesting part lies in the 50 shades of gray in the middle.
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So then if North Korea is at a 1, China is probably at a 5, and America is at a perfect 10
For the sake of ä¸ĺ¸śä¸čˇŻ, Xi should stay as President as long as possible.
My friend: "If he continues to carry on with his good jobs uplifting China strength and bringing good life for his People, it is good for him to serve longer term.â
Guess we are worried about post-Xi 
Quotes > Quotable Quote
Alexander Fraser Tytler
âA democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the worldâs greatest civilizations has been 200 years. These nations have progressed through this sequence: From bondage to spiritual faith; From spiritual faith to great courage; From courage to liberty; From liberty to abundance; From abundance to selfishness; From selfishness to apathy; From apathy to dependence; From dependence back into bondage
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This is a very âEasternâ way of thinking. Chinese philosophy believes in eternal cycles (note the dynastic cycles in Chinaâs timeline) of rise and fall, wealth and poverty, success and failure. However, western philosophy believes in a one way shoot up to the stars due to progress made possible by capital accumulation and technological innovation.
Every sci fi futurist movie predicts a horrible world in the near futureâŚI hope they are all wrong.
They are right! Eventually the sun will run out of fuel and explode into a red giant (or was it a white dwarf? I can never tell the difference 
) however, mankind will likely become extinct long before thatâŚ
a meteor hits earth, a volcanic eruption brings ice-age back, an alien civilization destroys earty.
or humans destroy humans.