Speaker 1: Why don't we go next to.
Oh, you know who I want to speak to?
Hey, Snake from Moscow.
Welcome.
Are you there?
Speaker 5: Hi.
Can you hear.
Speaker 1: Me?
Yeah.
You know, Snake, people in the audience were worried about you because we learned last
week or the week before that a Russian teacher had been prosecuted and sentenced for telling
her students her view on what's going on in Russia.
And you and I, when we last spoke, you said if the if the government figured out who you
were, you're a teacher as well, that it could be very bad for you.
But I'm so glad to find out that it is not you that has been prosecuted and sentenced.
Speaker 5: Yeah.
Unfortunately it in again has received a five year suspended sentence.
Yeah.
What makes this particular case very heartbreaking is that basically during the I think it's
called the discovery stage of the case, it was found out that a group of eighth graders
that she was teaching, they basically goaded her and provoked her into that type of conversation.
And then they submitted the recording of that session with the help of their parents to
the investigative committee of Russia, which is not great.
Speaker 1: Wow.
It's almost like entrapment by by 13 year olds, in a way.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
I mean.
Speaker 5: People usually think that, oh, teenagers, they are just, you know, they're
so innocent.
But no, some teenagers are not benevolent.
They're outright malicious and malevolent.
Speaker 1: Wow.
Well, what's on your mind today, Snake?
Speaker 5: Basically.
I just.
Today's the first day of it.
I'm back on the server and a bunch of people told me that you all thought that I got arrested.
But now I'm just down with COVID again.
And, oh, basically.
Basically, what I wanted to tell you is a very weird thing that has been happening in
the Russian educational system when it comes to higher education in universities.
Okay.
So this some are considering that they need to hold back the sympathies of all the soldiers
and all the policemen, all of us.
Guajira Russian government has created special quotas for children, family members of those
particular law enforcement officers, as well as a special quotas for people that are being
deported from Ukraine into Russia.
Basically, it was a card blanche that allowed people to enroll into any university, onto
any program without passing any type of exams that would signify that a person has graduated
from school.
Hmm.
So 43,000 or more such quotas were created across Russian universities.
And considering just how lenient this admissions process is for such people from those categories,
it's really surprising that those quotas have not been filled at all.
For example, in my university, we received 150 such quotas.
We had 120 applications, and only over 90 people actually got enrolled.
Huh.
Speaker 1: And what do you think is going on?
Why why are people not not attending?
Speaker 5: First and foremost.
Another thing you have to know about the admissions process in Russia is that you register for
the admission process using your pension number.
So every person who achieves a certain age receives a card called seniors, which is your
future pension, how to say identification card for your pension.
So it's very, very easy to dox a person if you take their pension ID number and then
look through various government registries.
So I think that a lot of those people get really scared that they will be really heavily
dorks, too, and will face some sort of retribution in this society.
Speaker 3: Wow.
Speaker 1: Wow.
That's an incredible situation, Snake.
One question for you.
I recently finished reading an extraordinary book by Ben MacIntyre about a Russian Russian
intelligence officer who was spying against Russia for the UK named Oleg Gordievsky.
Is that a name you are familiar with?
Speaker 5: Unfortunately, I'm not in that particular period of historical studies, but
I will try to email you if I find any relevant information.
I'm very skeptical of anybody that's a former spy because spies can be bought and traded
on average.
Speaker 1: Oh, yeah.
No, this is a Y.
It's not.
No, I'm not.
I'm just wondering if it's like if people within Russia know about him, because internationally
his story has been extensively documented.
He's still alive.
I think he's in his seventies.
But something to look into, Snake.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I will.
I will look.
So MacIntyre on Gridiron Curve, right?
Speaker 1: Uh, yes.
Oleg Gordievsky is my Anglicized pronunciation of the gentleman's name.
Speaker 5: Okay.
Thank you.
Speaker 1: All right.
Snake from Moscow.
Stay safe out there.
A lot happening.
A lot, a lot, a lot happening.
Let's go next to Guilherme from Montreal.
Guilherme, I am anxiously and imminently waiting to go to Montreal.
I will be there very, very soon.
Speaker 3: Do you hear me?
Speaker 1: I can hear you, Fine Gael.
Speaker 3: Fact.
Thank you, David, for having me.
Big fan.
Been been following you for the last two years, I believe.
Speaker 1: Thank you.
Speaker 3: And quite frankly, if you do have to visit around Montreal, just make sure to
let us know what events it's about and I'll try to attend.
Speaker 1: It's actually just visiting family is what it is.
It's there's no events planned right now.
People asked, would I be willing to do a montreal meet up?
I would in theory, but it's you know, it's a lot to plan, as I'm sure you can imagine.
Speaker 3: Yeah, that's definitely that definitely is, because the venues tend to be a bit it's
a bit more on the expensive side and it really.
And anyway, my question is a bit of a hypothetical, okay, with a bit of a preamble, but I think
it's an interesting question to provoke thought.
Speaker 1: Okay.
If we can limit the preamble because there's 40 people waiting on chat, that would be great.
Speaker 3: I want that actually helps.
Keeping that as a hypothetical instead of assuming that I have a secret method or something.
Speaker 1: Okay.
Speaker 3: So the hypothetical is, let's say in a random thrift store, you find a copy
of the U.S. Constitution, and by reading it, you are granted the power to add one amendment
to it to fix most of the issue in the law, probably that the U.S. is having.
What would be the amendments you would magically constitution?
Speaker 1: Oh, I have I am terrible at these things.
I mean, we have so many problems in this country.
I don't know that there's one.
I mean, maybe it would relate to the financing of politics.
But these questions are so tough because they're so unrealistic.
And so I don't know.
I mean, I think I would I would declare myself a dictator.
That would be the one amendment that would fix all of our problems.
Guillaume.
I don't know.
Speaker 3: I know, I know.
I've been thinking about it.
And one that have been floating about in my friend group regarding that was essentially
forcing term limits on anything that holds a position of power.
So Senate.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that occurred to me.
Term just term limit everything.
Yeah.
Speaker 3: So at the end of the day, you know, if you want to be a politician, you have to
buy more than the one price.
Speaker 1: Make it expensive to buy politicians.
Now that's an interesting one.
Yeah.
Let me devote more thought to it and I'll come back with something more substantive.
Speaker 3: All right.
Well, on that lovely note, thank you for the call.
That's the only question I had.
So have a great day.
And.
Thanks for the great show you put your you provide on a daily basis.
Speaker 1: Thank you so much.
There is Guilherme from Montreal.
We are going to take a very brief break.
If you're holding, don't hang up because we will be right back to the phones momentarily.