I have been quite busy lately with my independent side business. I have noticed that some logistical arrangements did not give me all the guarantees I wanted. This required me to do a lot of design work again, then to implement it. Now, I am fully operational again and I am now ready for the future. In terms of customers, it still does not meet my expectations. My Google Ads marketing campaigns are certainly having an effect, I am recording more and more clicks and contacts, but this is not translating into new prospects for the moment. I am hopeful, however, that in time it will start to take hold. I need to be sure that I am capable of converting customers. This is the last moment I am waiting for to give my notice letter.
I don't know yet how long it will take, but if all goes well, it's a matter of a few weeks. At the beginning of this long journey, I calculated my goal in years. Lately, I've been talking about months. Now I can see the finish line, almost right in front of me. It's very exhilarating, I must say. I will soon no longer have to go to work, do meaningless tasks, put up with paradoxical injunctions and work overtime. On the contrary, in my future sideline, I will do a job that I like and that is useful. I will be autonomous in the accomplishment of my work as well as in decision-making. I will also limit my activity to a good ten hours per week.
The paradox is that until recently, it was my desire to escape the professional world that mainly guided my quest for financial independence. Today, shortly before leaving employment, even if the disenchantment with my job is still very present, it is more the desire to achieve something that I am truly passionate about that guides me. In short, I am leaving within the framework of a positive dynamic. This makes a big difference and fills me with confidence for the future.
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It is certainly easier to close a debate than to respond with arguments.
What does it matter to respond with arguments if one is immediately convicted of manslaughter without any evidence to support it?
You accuse me of playing with people's lives. Still others say that we, the unvaccinated, are selfish or irresponsible.
Before judging, one must know. But we do not know ourselves.
Just a few months ago, we were all the same people, unvaccinated and following hygiene and distancing standards.
Then came the first insistent "So, vaccinated?", in private, in public, during professional sessions, sweeping aside medical confidentiality.
These inquisitorial inclinations then quickly gave way to clumsy innuendos, then to unfounded accusations and even insults.
Today we are strangers, worse enemies. What was valid yesterday, is no longer valid today.
What has this vaccine done to provoke so much hatred in you?
No, I am not selfish, dangerous to others or irresponsible. I am at least as supportive, cautious and reasonable as a vaccinated person.
We are not all extremist anti-vaxxers and conspiracy theorists.
We only question the unusual, curious and unhealthy eagerness of THIS vaccination with THESE vaccines.
If you force us into the same camp as the others mentioned above, then yes, there is a good chance that by default or obligation we will come to support them.
But that's only because we won't have an alternative.
Not all unvaccinated people are public dangers, plague-ridden, hysterical or idealistic. Quite the opposite. We think BEFORE we act.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, no scientist has been able to agree on the proportion of asymptomatic people. Some say they are extremely rare, while studies claim that there are nearly 90%. It's hard to see clearly. What is certain is that Covid could never have spread so quickly without a preponderant proportion of perfectly healthy carriers. Since these people have no symptoms, obviously, they do not know that they are carriers of the virus and are therefore mostly excluded from official statistics.
The proportion of asymptomatic people is, however, essential to understanding what is going on. If we do not know it, all the other statistics are unreliable: incidence of cases, proportion of hospitalizations and mortality rates. A significant proportion of asymptomatic people greatly relativizes the danger of the virus. Of course, each death is one too many. I also understand that it was, at one point, a public health problem, given the contagiousness of the virus, because of the overcrowding in hospitals.
But are we sure that it was Covid that killed these people? I mean, didn't this virus just deliver the final blow? When we see the age and especially the underlying diseases (cardiovascular diseases, cancers, obesity, diabetes, hypertension, etc.), wasn't the hammer of the revolver already cocked on the last chamber with the bullet? You who like to make analogies with Russian roulette?
Who questions the miserable and aging state of health of our populations? Every summer I am shocked to see more and more obese people by the pool. I hardly see people panicking about this or because our immune defenses have become catastrophic. Normal, questioning this would amount to questioning many things in our industrialized societies: junk food, sedentary lifestyle, pesticides, and so on. On the contrary, the vaccine: here is a juicy business for our pharmaceutical companies and which allows us to maintain this entire system. This same system which has also led us, in one way or another, to the emergence of this virus. This is not a conspiracy theory. Just a reality. Humans have, voluntarily or not, allowed Covid to emerge. It is even a miracle that it did not appear more quickly.
Coming back to the share of asymptomatic people, not only does it put its dangerousness into perspective, but also the effectiveness of the vaccine. A few percent gained on not much is still not much. So, yes, of course, FOR PEOPLE at risk, this not much is essential. There is no doubt about that. For others, it is much more debatable, given the little perspective we have.
I don't know anyone who has died or been hospitalized from Covid. I know many, however, who have had very mild symptoms. And I especially know two people who have serious and lasting side effects from the vaccination. I also notice that Israel is now tackling the third dose in a few months for people at risk. This smacks of a bit of a mess, not to say the drift of an entire system. Especially when we know how this country got the first shot at the vaccine... However, this country is ahead of all others in terms of vaccination coverage, which should, according to your theories, protect the entire population.
There is, however, something else that protects us, in a reliable way from the virus, much more than vaccines. Natural immunity. Why does no one talk about it? Perhaps this is also because there is nothing to say, do or spend. It happens all by itself, thanks in particular to the large proportion of asymptomatic people I mentioned above. Since the beginning of this pandemic, this proportion has been puzzling me. What if I too were one of the asymptomatic people? I could have been contaminated without knowing it. As soon as I had the opportunity, I had a serology test which turned out to be positive. I insist on this: ZERO symptoms. Luck? Maybe. I mainly think it is because I have a healthy lifestyle. I am never sick, I eat healthily, I do a lot of sport and take vitamin D and zinc supplements. No one talks about this either. Not lucrative enough.
I can already see the criticisms coming like, “You took reckless risks and unknowingly infected a lot of other people in return.” I shut them down right away. My wife and I have always scrupulously followed hygiene and distancing standards. Except with children, of course. Apparently they very rarely transmit the virus (another theory that scientists disagree on), but I don’t see who else would have passed it on to me. In any case, they are always the ones who bring germs home to us, I don’t see why it would be any different here.
I recently did another serology test, and I still have antibodies. So, unless you dare to claim that the vaccine protects better than natural immunity, I don't see why I would get vaccinated. My antibodies protect me, just as they protect others, certainly much more effectively than the vaccine.
So no, I'm not selfish, irresponsible or dangerous. Stop making us out to be people we're not.
The worst part is that my natural immunity is not recognized by the government, despite a serology attested twice by a certificate. The health pass is reserved only for vaccinated people... Frankly, in the genre of giving ammunition to conspiracy theorists, it's pretty strong.
So, it will be without me. I will not participate in this charade. And if I have to go and isolate myself on top of a mountain as I was kindly offered, then I will do it.
Because frankly this two-speed society, with one group that is afraid and separates itself from the other, does not interest me.
In my case the analogy is more stock market... comparing the risk and the benefit it seemed obvious to me that this vaccine was an interesting "investment".
Nothing else on the vaccine, it was obvious that this post was going to be confrontational and divisive. However, happy are the people who do not know others who have died/suffered. Regardless of age or physical condition, they probably all had a few more years ahead of them.
Sorry if I hurt some people in passing, that was not the goal. I underestimated the conflictual aspect of the post. I realize that this subject is still too hot and emotional for us to be able to exchange freely and calmly. I also say this for myself. In the future, I will limit myself to talking about the stock market and financial independence.
I see that firstly, my main argument about vaccines being the only treatment that has been able to make an infectious disease disappear has not been attacked. Which shows whether you like it or not, the power that this treatment has shown in the past and now.
The share of asymptomatic people in the population is one of the most difficult questions to decide, whatever the disease (plague, flu, corona, etc.). Indeed, asymptomatic people (or healthy carriers) are the main source of spread of the disease because they do not isolate themselves because they are unaware that they are carriers of the disease. You claim to have been, you were lucky to be able to escape the symptoms of this disease and no, I am not accusing you of putting the lives of others in danger because you were not aware of your illness. However, some rare carriers are super contaminators like the woman who brought her daughter to the hospital in Israel who managed to contaminate the doctors despite wearing a mask and the social distancing that the doctors put between her and them. Barrier gestures are an aid and not an all-risk insurance. Especially since the delta variant would be more contagious than the previous ones with an R0 close to that of chickenpox according to the CDC. Which shows, contrary to what you say, that vaccinating asymptomatic people is the cornerstone since, as you yourself say, "What is certain is that Covid could never have spread so quickly without a preponderant proportion of perfectly healthy carriers." So it is important to vaccinate them to slow the spread of the epidemic and protect those who are not asymptomatic?
Of course, knowing the proportion of asymptomatic people is interesting to know the proportion affected by the virus, but when hospitals are overwhelmed, I don't think that putting the danger of the virus into perspective is a priority.
“But are we sure that it was Covid that killed these people?”
So you are questioning the ability of thousands of doctors to know how to make a diagnosis, that's rather bold of you. The figures in France show an excess mortality in 2020 compared to the previous two years, which is statistically significant. So is it due to covid or has the population aged as much in 2 years? In general, the curves of new cases match those of deaths with a lag of one to two weeks. Coincidence?
In your opinion, no one is alarmed by pesticides, junk food or a sedentary lifestyle. However, there are rather publicized cases of pesticides triggering leukemia, that they cause infertility. Moreover, products such as glycophosate or neonicotinoids regularly come back into the news to know what their real effects are on our health or that of nature. In France, the State has launched "eat, move" campaigns to encourage people to do sport or "eat 5 fruits and vegetables". Everyone knows that obesity kills, scientists and doctors regularly remind us of this but often in a vacuum.
In fact, our immune system is weaker than before when we were in contact with bacteria, viruses or parasites more often, this is the hygiene theory.
"Humans have, voluntarily or not, allowed Covid to emerge. It is even a miracle that it did not appear more quickly." This is not the first virus to appear because humans are taking up more and more space and therefore nature has less. Before covid, there was Zika, Ebola, SARS, MERS and surely others.
"I don't know anyone who has died or been hospitalized from Covid. I know many people, however, who have had very mild symptoms." You were lucky like me, in fact I only knew two people with lasting symptoms due to Covid without going to the hospital, but no one with side effects from the vaccine.
"Natural immunity. Why is no one talking about it?" On the contrary, at the beginning of the pandemic, I heard a lot about it. The United Kingdom wanted to follow this path before backtracking when they realized their mistake. In fact, they quickly became the first European country to use vaccines on a large part of their population.
"I think it's mainly because I have a healthy lifestyle. I'm never sick, I eat healthily, I do a lot of sport and take vitamin D and zinc supplements." You're right, sport and a balanced diet will make you less likely to develop preventable diseases like diabetes or cardiovascular diseases. As for infectious diseases, you should thank your genome because you probably have effective MHC molecules. You can do all the sport you want or eat healthily when you get infected with viruses like the flu, Ebola or corona, only having the right MHC molecules or the wrong virus receptors will allow you to survive.
As for food supplements, they can be of interest in cases of deficiency, which should not be your case. They have no proven effect on health, but they are a flourishing market of 88 billion dollars in 2015 compared to 52 billion dollars in 2016 for vaccines (the investment is not the same and there is no pharmacovigilance for supplements).
Apparently the questioning of your reasoning seems to have touched you and you reacted by not wanting to be called selfish or anything else. But strangely enough you had no reaction when on your blog someone responded to me violently by calling me a collaborator and threatening me to end up like them, that is to say, partly killed. You could have had a reaction to ask for at least a certain courtesy in the exchanges, which you did not do because this person thought like you. I am responding to you because I see that you have gaps in your knowledge of how viruses work in general and of vaccination. I don't even know if you will read this message to the end and in any case I have little hope of changing your mind despite some inconsistencies in your remarks.
PS: vaccination protects the population. I saw an article that said that 85% of people in the hospital are not vaccinated, so there is a real effect. However, this is not my theory as you say but a theory defended by many immunologists and people who have worked on vaccines, past or present. I do not make up my own theory.
Thank you for your reply Olivier. I respect your point of view, even if I don't agree on everything. I read your message until the end.
It's still a shame to come and fill a site on dividends by trying to impose a vision. Everyone is entitled to their thoughts and reflections, and everyone else can agree or not. In the end, as in investing, everyone must make their own decisions. As Warren Buffet said: "You are not right because others agree with you. You are right because your facts are correct and your reasoning is sound."
And otherwise... what do you think of the valuations of banks and insurance companies which have been low for a long time...
Warren Buffet also said to stay within your circle of competence, if I'm not mistaken Agu?
Otherwise, thank you Jerome for reading to the end the response I gave you which was long.
Absolutely right Olivier, well seen 😉 That's why I ask about insurance and banks and I'd be happy to read your opinion if you have one to share 🙂
This is not my area of expertise. That's why I read various blogs on the subject and don't intervene unless a beginner or stupid question comes to mind.
I thought that scor could become an opportunity if it continues to fall but I haven't looked into it enough to be convinced.
I was a shareholder of SCOR a long time ago. It is difficult to comment on the 2020 figures, which are inevitably a little disappointing. For this year, things are looking much better, but we will have to see how they perform over the full financial year. The momentum over the last six months is not good, which encourages us to wait a little. A stock to keep an eye on.
It's my fault AGU. I'll take it upon myself.
I will relaunch a title analysis, why not a bank or an insurance company indeed.
Any particular idea?
I have two "banks" in my sights, Cembra and Valiant. On the "insurance" side, what do you think of Baloise...?
Thanks Jerome!
I'll see what it gives and get back to you. Maybe dividinde is interested in writing an analysis too, especially for Valiant which he likes?
No, sorry, no analysis at the moment. On the one hand, nothing extraordinary to buy these days (almost everything is overpriced), on the other hand, I am on holiday in Grisons and I am enjoying the beautiful nature to the fullest. Well, I obviously also passed by Chur yesterday, just to have my picture taken in front of the headquarters of the cantonal bank of Grisons! 🙂
On the insurance side, nothing that enchants me at the moment. Bâloise is ok but nothing more. On the banking side, I find Cembra and BCV interesting, not Valiant for the moment.
Otherwise I almost had an orgasm this morning seeing the breathtaking performance of Galenica, one of my big positions.
I am also very interested in Logitech since last week's correction (excellent results / "sell on good news"), it is very likely that I will buy some in the next few days at around 94-95 fr.
Everything is expensive indeed, and it's getting more and more expensive... It makes you wonder, especially when you see the inflation figures in the USA...
There are those who take selfies in front of the Wall Street bull and others who aim at the cantonal bank of Grisons. Lol. I much prefer the second version!
Well done Galenica! Another good step towards financial independence 😉