Buy low, sell high!

And you might have missed the wonderful news this morning, but it appears that New Zealand has defeated the novel Coronavirus, finally bringing an end to such a wild, unprecedented era in human history. The entire globe shuttered, surfing outlawed, surfers becoming Enemies of the State no.1, social distancing laws ruthlessly enforced, facial masks now de rigueur all to slow a Chinese crafted disease that brutally targeted the obese, diabetics and those with underlying heart conditions.

Well, leave it to Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand’s Prime Minister, the most popular leader to ever lead, to beat the dang thing but now that the war is over a scorched economic earth is left behind. Business out of, restaurants saddled with debt, movie theaters catching on fire, mysteriously, families huddled together unable to afford, or find, chow mien.

The World Surf League.

And how will professional surfing’s home even begin to rise out of these ashes? Things were not… let’s say “super bright” before the collapse. A revolving door into the CEO’s office, shifting raison d’être, sponsors not renewing, suspect viewership numbers, missing Ambassador of Stoke and Leisure, wave pool technology that has been superseded by others suggested the business was not… let’s say “viable.”

Will co-Waterperson of the Year and billionaire owner Dirk Ziff continue to hemorrhage? Who else could possibly interest in his… let’s say “distressed asset?”

Jacinda Ardern?

Unfortunately she is busy consolidating power for a well-timed run at Master of the Universe but what about Saudi Arabia’s plucky Prince Mohammed bin Salman?

It was reported today that his sovereign wealth fund has just purchased a 5.7 percent stake in Live Nation, the “people standing within six feet of each other at concerts, sporting events etc.” company that has been devastated by the Chinese Flu and all of our social distancing.

Per The Hollywood Reporter:

The investment in Live Nation is the second by the Saudi government this month in an industry hit hard by the pandemic. The Saudi Public Investment Fund also took a $775 million stake in Carnival Cruises.

Saudi Arabia has been trying to bolster its tourism industry before the pandemic upended international travel, and live events and concerts had been a big part of that strategy. Last October the K-pop superstars BTS became the first foreign band to perform a solo stadium show in the country.

Meanwhile, in Hollywood, many firms have been reluctant to take investment from the fund following the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Endeavor returned a $400 million investment it received from the fund last year. Many notable names from the world of media and entertainment also canceled an appearance at a major conference to be hosted in Riyadh called the Future Investment Initiative.

Live events and cruise ships, eh?

You see what I’m seeing?

Sure, the kingdom is currently fighting a proxy war against its United Arab Emirates neighbor in southern Yemen but adding professional surfing into the portfolio, bringing Kelly Slater’s Surf Ranch to Riyadh, Jeddah… even Mecca or at least Medina, having Joe Turpel, Ron Blakey and the 1989 World Champion Martin Potter broadcast events live from the Abraj al Bait mall?

What would the price tag be for the World Surf League to build its patented and unassailable Wall of Positive Noise around a handful of murders here and there?

10 million?

20 million?

More as the story develops.

A champion for The People™!

The war on surfers and those who enjoy eating Asian fusion outdoors has reached a critical phase. Our kind has been driven underground, chased by the jackboot, flogged from sea to shining sea.

Hated by The State.

But as in all times of crisis, unexpected heroes rise and who could have ever guessed that we would have Robert F. Kennedy’s son, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on our side. Holding our mantle high.

Robert F. Kennedy, or Bobby, you certainly know, was brother of JFK, civil rights icon, United States Attorney General and presidential hopeful gunned down in hail of bullets. The Kennedy family is as close to royalty as once-free America has and now we have one as our very own champion and let us go to Instagram where RFK, Jr. lays our scene.

Yesterday, Malibu police gave a dozen $1000.00 tickets to surfers on Point Dume. Meanwhile, LA hospitals are empty. None have issued a “Divert” notice since this crisis began. So what is the end game? I’m happy to comply with the quarantine but is there a rational plan?

Political leaders told us we would quarantine initially to flatten the curve so as to prevent a surge that would overwhelm our health care system. We would give hospitals time to gear up; beds, ventilators, masks, tests and therapeutic treatment protocols. Then we would end the general quarantine while continuing to isolate and protect the elderly and immunocompromised.

We would allow the virus to spread through healthy populations until we establish natural herd immunity that protects everyone. “Mission creep” has moved us into the Gates/ Fauci scheme: Quarantine until we have a vaccine.

It’s not a prudent bet.

Despite decades of effort and hundreds of millions of dollars spent, no one has ever developed a functional coronavirus vaccine. Due to peculiarities unique to coronavirus, earlier efforts have produced vaccines that seemed ideal until they caused cataclysmic side effects including death. The top virologists from the US, China, and Europe have all succeeded in creating COVID vaccines that promote robust and durable antibody response-the metric by which vaccines are licensed-but when vaccinated individuals or animals encountered the wild disease, those antibodies actually worsened the infection-often with lethal consequences.

Furthermore, COVID-19 is mutating with extraordinary rapidity-Chinese scientists recently found over 30 strains in a single hospital. A vaccine that offers protection against a single strain may do little to control spread of the contagion. Finally, WHO has warned that frequent observations of reinfection suggests that coronavirus antibodies may offer meager protection against the disease. This revelation casts doubt on the entire vaccine enterprise.

Our political leaders need to stop putting faith in Tony Fauci and begin applying common sense A prolonged quarantine might kill more Americans than COVID-19.

And amen.

Or do you disagree?

Extremely Homeric.

The Coronavirus Gestapo’s iron grip on the world’s surfing community has loosened, slightly, this past week with beaches opening or whispers of them opening soon. The Reign of Terror being, at least momentarily, paused.

Oh, many will flock to the sand, to the waves, and try to re-create the simple pleasures of days before a Chinese bat destroyed freedom but those in Cocoa Beach, Florida should exercise extreme caution and probably not surf at all for it is there that a savage 10-foot Great White shark is swimming in a lagoon very close to people.

Very close to their toes, ankles and calf muscles.

But you certainly know Cocoa Beach as hometown of the world’s greatest surfer Kelly Slater. He is not there. He is in Australia not being allowed to look at the ocean and the shark is certainly mocking him. Mocking him exactly like Odysseus’s suitors mocked him whilst he was on his great Odyssey, trying to get with his wife and whatnot.

Per the shark tracking organization OCEARCH:

Surprise Brevard County! A near 10-foot male Great White Shark named ‘Cabot’ has registered inside the Indian River Lagoon near SR 528 in Cocoa on Saturday, according to Ocearch.

The ‘ping’ came in at 11:14 a.m. on Saturday which registers a satellite tracker attached to the shark’s dorsal fin when it breaks the surface of the water.

‘Cabot’ was recorded as a 9-foot-eight inch, sub-adult white shark, and weighing in around 533-pounds when it was tagged October 5, 2018 in Nova Scotia.

Ocearch’s partner, SeaWorld, named him using suggestions from Nova Scotians after the explorer John Cabot.

Since being tagged in 2018, ‘Cabot’ has logged more than 6,700 miles of distance covered.

This is the first known recording of an Ocearch tagged Great White Shark pinging inside the Indian River Lagoon, since Ocearch began tagging sharks in 2007.

Great mockery seeing that Kelly Slater had a very lousy 2007 only winning the Boost Mobile Pro across the country at Lower Trestles.

But how will Kelly respond? Like Odysseus and eventually coming back to claim his rightful place as husband and lover or like Steve Harvey and just leave the old gal behind forever?

Much to ponder.