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I began writing what I thought would be a report. Toward the final chapters in Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations, he wrote about Public Debt asking why anyone considered it to be quality since all governments defaulted on their debts and never paid them off. I assumed the list wasn’t that long, since everyone knew about the defaults of Spain, France, and England. The more I began to investigate since Smith merely made that statement with no reference to such defaults, the more I was left in a state of devastating shock. When it comes to research, those that know … Continue reading →

Throughout the centuries people have enjoyed games. From simple ones to pass the time to more complex ones that use strategy and challenge the participants to compete intellectually and have been called mental sports. Man’s love of competition and play has evolved over recent decades and there are far more choices now than ever before. For the list I have skipped video and online games, sticking with those that have actual physical pieces. No exclusions were made based on whether they are better with 2 or multiple players. In the 17th and 18th century, being a great gamer was admired … Continue reading →

In late February, a conference is scheduled in New York City to discuss the risk of nuclear war if computers reach the level of artificial intelligence and take decisions out of human hands. But there is already the old-fashioned danger of nuclear war, started by human miscalculation, fed by hubris and propaganda. That possible scenario is playing out in Ukraine, where the European Union and the United States provoked a political crisis on Russia’s border in November 2013, then backed a coup d’etat in February 2014 and have presented a one-sided account of the ensuing civil war, blaming everything on Russia. … Continue reading →

Only the Sheeple Are Sane This post is about an issue that is by now a bit dated (though the topic as such certainly isn’t), but we have only just become aware of it and it seemed to us worth rescuing it from the memory hole. In late 2013, the then newest issue of the American Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM for short) defined a new mental illness, the so-called “oppositional defiant disorder” or ODD. As TheMindUnleashed.org informs us, the definition of this new mental illness essentially amounts to declaring any non-conformity and questioning of authority as a … Continue reading →

First, let’s set the record straight by saying that sugar in and of itself isn’t evil, per se. It occurs naturally in plenty of foods, including fruits and milk. With that being said, adding excess sugar to your dietary intake simply isn’t necessary. In fact, you’ll notice numerous positive things happen when you decide to quit sugar for life. Although people living in the Western world have been trained to desire sugary treats, as well as foods that include copious amounts of sugar for flavoring, we certainly don’t need it. If you stop eating anything but naturally occurring sugars, you’ll notice … Continue reading →

Anyone who has been paying attention to the global economy the past years can agree with me our central bankers have conducted miserable monetary policy and have taken the insufficient measures to fight crises. All major economies have embarked in printing unprecedented quantities of money, but the only thing they bought was time.Quantitative easing on such a scale is like kicking the can determined to reach the end of the road. The future looks anything but sanguine. Where is this going? Are our leaders truly gonna allow for the international monetary system to implode? Is there no plan B? And we are supposed to … Continue reading →

When we think about setting aside emergency supplies, most of us would agree that preserved food and purified water are the essentials and everything else is secondary to these. Some might even choose to incorporate things like a manual grain mill, a water purifier, a food dehydrator, a solar cook stove and so on. But who would ever consider something as simple and humble as salt as an indispensable necessity and commodity in the tumultuous days ahead? I would even go so far as to say if sea salt is not a part of your survival provisions, it’s time to tuck … Continue reading →

Not all naps are created equal. Some naps have been shown to rejuvenate where others boost creativity. What’s more, when you nap can be as important as how you nap. Here’s how to nap like a professional, nap-taking machine. Here’s how to nap like you MEAN IT. NAP STYLES Before we begin, we need to determine if you’re napping for the right reasons. For that, we need to nail down your napping style. There are three basic categories of nap, according to the National Sleep Foundation. They are as follows: The Planned Nap (aka “The Preparatory Nap”) – It’s Saturday … Continue reading →

It’s the highway hustle. The shakedown shuffle. It’s civil forfeiture, and it’s one of the most flagrant roadside abuses motorists face today. Using civil forfeiture laws, police can confiscate property, like cash and vehicles, from motorists if they suspect the property is tied to illegal activity. The police don’t actually have to prove such a connection exists, and motorists must often fight lengthy and expensive legal battles to retrieve their property. With the Justice Department taking in a record $4.2 billion in forfeitures for 2012, civil forfeiture has become big business. And business is the operative word here because behind … Continue reading →

A quarter of Britons are said to have some kind of fear of flying, from absolute terror to simply feeling uncomfortable on board a plane. Recent air accidents, from the AirAsia Flight QZ8501 crash on December 28 off the coast of Borneo, killing 162, to the twin Malaysia Airlines tragedies in 2014, which killed 537 in total, have done nothing to reassure nervous fliers. From discussion about the roles storms play in accidents to theories about turbulence and landing plane sin high winds, there is a lot of misinformation that can needlessly worry travellers. So Captain Dave Thomas, British Airways’ … Continue reading →

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Renowned contrarian investor and publisher of the “Gloom, Boom & Doom Report” newsletter Marc Faber was on CNBC Tuesday to discuss his outlook for U.S. stocks, the Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF GDXJ 0.84% and share what he called “the trade of the century.” The Situation “I think, the S&P may make a new high sometime at the end of the month, but it would not be accompanied by the majority of stocks making new highs,” Faber said. “Last year, there were about as many stocks down as there were stocks up, and in my view we’ll have a … Continue reading →

On July 24, 2014, worshippers in Mosul were asked to leave one of the city’s most historic and famous buildings — an ancient Nestorian-Assyrian church that had long ago been converted into the Mosque of the Prophet Younis (biblical Jonah). The Islamic State then rigged the entire building with explosives, and blew it into oblivion. Tragically, it was a Shia mosque – one of many that have suffered the same fate. The UK’s current primetime TV fantasy blockbuster du jour is Wolf Hall. Everyone loves a costume drama, but there is a world of difference between fictional history and historical … Continue reading →

Source: wikimedia Today’s chart, from the folks at Crestmont Research, speaks volumes about current investor behavior. In particular, it calls into question claims being bandied about in the mainstream media that we could be at the start of a new secular bull market in US stocks. It shows that previous secular (long-term) bear market cycles tend to start when the US stock market is trading on a Shiller P/E – a price-to-earnings ratio is based on average inflation-adjusted earnings from the previous 10 years – of between 20 and 25 (blue-shaded area on the chart). This is true of the … Continue reading →

I hung up the phone with the travel agent. I had just finished booking 45,000 miles worth of flights around the world. The trip would last a year and take me to 23 different countries. Over a year of planning and saving had culminated with a phone call and everything was booked successfully. The trip took me to snowy, northern Norway past the Arctic Circle, the rainy and humid islands of Indonesia, and the sunny and sandy beaches of Australia. I hiked, swam, slept outside, ate in decent restaurants, and went out to clubs. Basically, I experienced a huge range … Continue reading →