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Our ship was the most unconventional seagoing vessel ever to come off a drawing board. There was a definite family resemblance to our stealth fighter. Only the floating version had no wings. It was a series of severe flat planes at 45-degree angles that sat above the water on struts connected to a pair of submerged pontoons. The ship would be powered by the diesel-electric propulsion that drives electric generators. Cables carried the current to a pair of powerful electric motors in each submerged pontoon that spun counter-rotating propellers. Careful shaping of the pontoons and the propellers cut down sharply on noise and wake.
Skunk Works
Ben R. Rich and Leo Janos
Yeltsin: Chaos and Criminality Many things changed after the fall of the Soviet Union. But as society was rapidly transformed, it became obvious that there had been no moral revolution in Russia. Communist society had taken it for granted that the individual was expendable; postcommunist Russia did as well, often to an even greater degree. Yeltsin was a hero to many Russians after he successfully led the resistance to the August 1991 pro-communist coup. But neither Yeltsin nor the “young reformers” whom he put in charge of Russia’s transformation showed any understanding of the need to establish the rule of law and the habits of respect for the individual. For Yeltsin and the reformers, the goal was to reach a “point of no return,” beyond which it would be impossible to restore socialism regardless of the will of the people. Property had to be put into private hands as quickly as possible, and this was done with little regard for who received the property or on what basis. Capitalism was created. But by carrying out the largest peaceful transfer of property in history without the benefit of law, the reformers created the conditions for the criminalization of the whole country. The new society that emerged had three outstanding characteristics: an economy dominated by a criminal oligarchy, an authoritarian political system, and, perhaps most important, a moral degradation that subverted all legal and ethical standards and made real civil society impossible. Their interaction set the stage for Russia’s drift into a regime of aggression and terror.
The Less You Know, the Better You Sleep
David Satter
Long ago, Buffett said that an investment lifetime scorecard should include just twenty punches. My funds have never, ever held so few stocks. Even when I see nothing on offer that Buffett would completely approve of, my mandate is to act. I don’t see the world in black and white, only in shades of gray. Plus, I’m curious and interested in learning, and so I often test the boundaries of my circle of competence. I try to see things from others’ perspective and uncover the good in people before I judge them. In the process, I’ve met a few bad guys. Permanence and resilience intrigue me, but experimentation and adaptability fascinate me. While I’m more patient than many, I’m not immune to the exhilaration of a sudden windfall. Still, I do want to invest safely. I won’t buy an asset unless it is: 1. Safe from rash decisions 2. Safe from misunderstanding of facts 3. Safe from foreseeable fiduciary misuse 4. Safe from obsolescence, commoditization, and overleverage 5. Safe when the future doesn’t turn out as imagined
Big Money Thinks Small
Joel Tillinghast
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