theDrahos

Baltimore burns, the current and most recent example of violent reaction to perceived injustice. It is not necessary that there is truth or guilt behind the perception in any one particular instance; it is sufficient that there is truth or guilt behind the perceived injustices often enough. This is sufficient to create the perception. There is nothing right, moral, or just about indiscriminant looting and violence – let nothing I write here suggest otherwise; yet, the fall into such violence is understandable.  It is a predictable reaction, blowback, to the policies of the right on the one hand and the left on … Continue reading →

If all of us rolled down our car windows at 5 pm on weekdays, we would hear a single great voice booming out across the land as if God himself were thundering from the heavens.  In reality it would be countless car radios beaming out in unison “All Things Considered,” sometimes known as “Small Things Considered,” so stunted is its coverage of the news.  Such jokes abound, “Boring Edition” at morning commute time, with the whole operation labeled “National Propaganda Radio” or “National Pentagon Radio.”  My contribution: “National Pablum Radio.” But NPR is no joking matter; it reaches over 20 … Continue reading →

James Delingpole, and other prominent British skeptics, have been immortalised on an art installation “wall of infamy”. According to James; I am one of several climate change sceptics to have been celebrated and immortalised in an exciting new, prizewinning art installation at Anglia Ruskin, one of Britain’s largest universities. (h/t Liam Deacon) It comprises a faux-stone slab (made out of plywood) engraved with my own name and that of five other British climate sceptics – Christopher Booker, Nigel Lawson, Christopher Monckton, Melanie Phillips, Owen Paterson – beneath the legend “Lest We Forget Those Who Denied.” The sculpture has been described … Continue reading →

I am on a journey through Vietnam with a group of American Vietnam War veterans who now live in Vietnam and work to address some of the profound human problems still caused by a war that ended 40 years ago. Known as VFP Hoa Binh Chapter 160, these men work to help people still being maimed by the estimated one and a half billion pounds of bombs (“ordnance”) dropped by the United States on Vietnam during the war that did not explode at the time they were released (7 million tons, or 14 billion pounds of bombs were dropped on … Continue reading →

I’m sure many of you remember when armed “nuisance abatement teams” from Los Angeles County, descended upon the independent minded folks who were living in the desert outskirts of the city. For the “crime” of living off the grid and growing their own food, they were harassed with fines, and forced to leave their homes at the barrel of a gun. It was probably the most dreadful moment for the prepper community in recent memory. Many of us would love to leave the city and live free of the system, but stories like that remind us that no matter where … Continue reading →

Gualfin (“End of the Road”), Argentina Dear Diary, US stocks are still near their all-time highs. Gold is still clinging to the $1,200-an-ounce mark. So, let’s return to the examination of why the 21st century has been such a dud so far. Here’s a simple answer: There are too many zombies. $75,000 a Year from Uncle Sam First, a reader explains how to become a zombie: Follow these easy, proven 13 steps to financial well-being… 1. Don’t get married to her 2. Use your mom’s address to get mail sent to 3. Guy buys a house 4. Guy rents out … Continue reading →

Survivalist communities and preppers all over America have learned that the properly tilled land can produce tremendous amounts of food. Well-balanced soil is quite generous and will give back much more than it receives. A few organic seeds, adequate watering, and some rich compost can provide even a novice farmer with a bountiful harvest. Ever since Big Agra took over the farming of America’s vast farmlands, most people are disconnected from the process of food production from seed to table. Agribusiness has so thoroughly monopolized farming and husbandry that many children in the cities think that the food comes from … Continue reading →

One man’s quest to explain his brother’s mysterious jail cell death 19 years ago has rekindled long-dormant questions about whether others were involved in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. What some consider a far-flung conspiracy theory will be at the forefront during a trial set to begin Monday in Salt Lake City. The Freedom of Information Act lawsuit was brought by Salt Lake City attorney Jesse Trentadue against the FBI. He says the agency won’t release security camera videos that show a second person was with Timothy McVeigh when he parked a truck outside the Oklahoma City federal building and … Continue reading →

I visited Baltimore once, about 10 years ago, for an academic conference.  While I remember its colonial-era architecture, the historic cathedral that once housed the great Cardinal Gibbons, and fun, chowder-laden conversations with local and visiting economists in brew pubs—the image that remains in my mind is that of the rats.  These mangy pack animals seemed to populate every garbage dumpster that I passed at night heading to and from my hotel, and it made me think about the many millions of renovation monies that flowed into Baltimore in the post-Great Society years, much of it coerced, and how such spending … Continue reading →

I was standing in Stamford, Lincolnshire on Saturday, admiring as always the architecture so splendidly Georgian it is used for filming Jane Austen adaptations. But that day the Palladian proportions were backdrop to something infinitely older in sense and sensibility. Morris dancers stomped the street, the town, with tabor and pipe and concertina – twirling in green-and yellow tattercoats, whirling watchers back to a time long before Jane Austen, and in spirit almost before England. The ‘squire’ of the ‘side’ – a tall and burly man with large gold earrings – called orders, and danced with seven others in and … Continue reading →

For as long as we have been able to, humanity has written down its thoughts and ideas, using the written word to establish a sort of immortality. Many of our early writings are lost, never to be seen or read by anyone. Yet a lucky few have made it this far, and here are 10 of the oldest. 10 The Tale Of Two Brothers Egyptian, c. 1185 BC Photo credit: British Museum Written during or slightly after the reign of Seti II, ruler of Egypt from 1200–1194 BC, The Tale of Two Brothers is seen by some as the earliest example of … Continue reading →