Wisdom in fragments

HIV prevalence among injecting drug users ranges from 20-40% in some countries, and more than 40% in many others. If we estimate the number of injecting drug users worldwide as 60 million, it means that around 3 million people are infected with HIV/AIDS because of this dangerous mode of transmission.

Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

Speaking about the demand side… we have skills and techniques in drug prevention and thousands of advisors have been trained by our programmes around the world to work in the community at school level, especially with children. Children are the most vulnerable group, and we must do our utmost to protect them.

Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

The scale and scope of this threat is extraordinary. It amounts to US$320 billion per annum or, to put it another way, half a percent of global GDP. That is just the economic cost of drug trafficking. As far as the social and health risks are concerned, we believe that around 250,000 people each and every year die because of drugs.

Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

We estimate with the World Bank that US$20-40 billion each year is lost in developing countries through corruption. If you add to that $5 billion each year in stolen assets, it clearly shows that corruption is a serious obstacle to the achievement of the millennium development goals. It is also a threat to human security and human rights.

Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

Corruption is a phenomenon that has existed for thousands of years, but only now is it becoming an unacceptable event. Corruption destroys societies, hinders development and undermines security. Note what happened in the Middle East and North Africa… corruption was one of the triggers of unrest in these countries. It appears that people are fed-up of corruption, they want change, and they want it now.

Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

We have to be careful about just increasing start-up activity. If we are increasing the level of start-up activity of people who are more inclined to employ other people, fine… but I'm not convinced that is the case.

I'm very old-fashioned in the sense that I still feel you need a strong manufacturing sector in your economy. I was saying that in the late 1970's and early 80's and people just laughed at me. I think my day is about to turn.

For me, one of the big gaps is youth entrepreneurship. There are a high number of young people who want to set-up businesses, but there is a huge gap between their aspirations/intentions and the actual delivery of setting up a business.

For every example I could give you of regulations causing problems, I could give you two of regulations creating opportunities. I think this notion that regulation is causing problems is a real red herring.

It's clear to me that small businesses, particularly micro-enterprises, have been responsible for the majority of the gross job creation in the last five years… particularly through the recession.

There are a handful of families that own a very substantial degree of the economy including several companies on the stock exchange... The positive effect is through stabilising- it's very difficult for speculators to short stock here or to play tricks on the exchanges... there are simply not enough shares in free-float to do that.

Mathematician & Topologist, Solved the 4-Dimensional Poincaré Conjecture

If you are a VC or into angel investing, you can come here and literally just set up a stand in a coffee shop with a sign saying 'looking for start-ups' and you would have a string of people coming in all day long... you could literally sit in that coffee shop from now until next year and you wouldn't get close to touching the sides.

Mathematician & Topologist, Solved the 4-Dimensional Poincaré Conjecture

Bill Gates of Microsoft is on-record as saying, '...Microsoft would not function as a company in the way that it does without operations in Israel.' Intel also have a number of substantial R&D facilities here... All the chips also have Hebrew biblical names which are the original names of the chips as they are developed in laboratories here in Israel.

Mathematician & Topologist, Solved the 4-Dimensional Poincaré Conjecture

Warren Buffet has only bought one business outside the USA and that's in Israel... During the due-diligence process, Hezbollah landed rockets in the car park of the main factory he was buying! The factory owners said to Buffet that they would totally understand if he wanted to postpone the due-diligence if he perceives a risk and he said, '...as far as I'm concerned any business that's up and running within an hour of having mortars land in their car park is a pretty resilient company...'

Mathematician & Topologist, Solved the 4-Dimensional Poincaré Conjecture

What's remarkable about Israel's economy is that in the last few years we have situations which, in any other country, would have been totally disruptive. In the last couple of months alone we have seen literally hundreds of missiles and mortars fired at us from one of our neighbours... The incredible thing is that none of these threats have a measurable impact on our economy!

Mathematician & Topologist, Solved the 4-Dimensional Poincaré Conjecture

…discrimination on the basis of sex, it has been said, is the last universally accepted form of discrimination, practiced without secrecy or pretence even in those liberal circles that have long prided themselves on their freedom from prejudice against racial minorities.

Philosopher Known for Work on Animal Rights & Effective Altruism