theDrahos

The recent situations involving racial tensions, police criminality and violence in Ferguson, Baltimore and elsewhere have solutions just waiting to be implemented. And those solutions involve freedom, believe it or not. For example, if free lives actually did matter, it is doubtful that a government’s monopoly over policing and security could be justified. The same could be said for restrictions on the right to self-defense. When free lives matter, there would not be white police shooting and killing black victims, because anyone involved in community policing or security would be civilians, either as paid workers or volunteers. No one would … Continue reading →

We predicted it would happen. A year after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) scuttled plans to build its own nationwide database of vehicle license plate data, the agency is seeking bids from private contractors to provide the agency access to the same information. DHS canceled last year’s plan in the wake of TSA domestic spying revelations and subsequent outrage over increasingly intrusive government surveillance. At the time, we predicted DHS would find another way to track every single car on the road, likely by relying on the services of private companies like Vigilant Solutions, one of the largest aggregators … Continue reading →

In the aftermath of the Nav Sarao scapegoating farce, one week ago Zero Hedge decided to give the confused CFTC a helping hand and launched a daily series highlighting the constant spoofing and “manipulation” (in the CFTC and DOJ’s own words) that takes place in every asset class, but mostly in the E-mini futures (“Dear CFTC: This Is The Market Manipulating “Spoofing” Taking Place In The E-Mini Just Today“). Virtually every day since then we presented the “regulators” at the commodity trading commission a clear example of stock market manipulation, with the exception of Tuesday, when with the exclusive help … Continue reading →

The Bill Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation has taken millions of dollars from foreign governments attempting to buy influence with a woman who might be the next president. The $2 million contribution from Saudi Arabia, however, is the most troubling.  Putting aside that the Saudi’s oppress women, denying them the most basic human rights, the self styled “women’s advocate’ should still return that cash.  Money from foreign nationals and foreign governments is illegal in US political campaigns.  So the Saudis are using their petro-dollars to buy future influence. It is worth taking a moment to examine how the Saudis have … Continue reading →

The most well-known geoglyphs in the world are undoubtedly the Nazca Lines of coastal Peru. Yet, scattered across the globe are thousands of other geoglyphs that are equally as impressive.  The earth carvings remain one of archaeology’s greatest mysteries. Despite a plethora of research on these amazing creations, the purpose of geoglyphs continues to elude researchers and remains a matter of conjecture. Some scientists believe they are linked to the heavens, representing constellations in the night sky. Other experts believe that the lines played a role in pilgrimage, with one walking across them to reach a sacred place. Yet another … Continue reading →

In one picture, Red Army soldiers stand guard outside a burning building in the east of Berlin with machine guns at the ready. Seven decades later, another shows a man cycling past the same scene, seemingly without a care in the world. These astonishing photographs compare Berlin in 1945 – when the city was falling to the Soviets as they marched on Adolf Hitler’s last line of defence – to the peaceful German capital now. The incredible pictures from the end of the Second World War – in Europe, at least – were taken by Red Army photographer Georgiy Samsonov.  The … Continue reading →

The first citizens will arrive on Friday to populate the world’s newest self-declared country – Liberland, a tiny patch of woodland and fields on the sandy banks of the River Danube. The establishment of the pocket-sized nation was declared earlier this month on land wedged between Croatia and Serbia which, its founders argue, was never properly claimed by either country. • Ten bizarre micronations • Mini-states Down Under are sure they can secede Liberland has its own flag, which features an eagle and a sun, a constitution, and a motto – “To live and let live”. Its self-appointed ruler is … Continue reading →