theDrahos

‘Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the destruction of some 400 newly-built Palestinian homes in the occupied West Bank, reports say. The move came after the British newspaper Daily Mail in a report alleged […]

I am glad to see a number of commenters at LewRockwell.com discussing the significant survival rate in modern industrial countries of those who contract measles.See: Lew Rockwell and Ryan McMaken. I had the measles when I was a child and I seem to recall that pretty much all the kids in the neighborhood did. On the first sign of spots, Dr. Tony was called and he visited the house, doctors made house calls in those days. He confirmed it was measles, and it did not send my parents into panic. Back then, all parents seemed to know that  kids were going to … Continue reading →

Are you desperate to lose weight but constantly hungry when dieting? Does the thought of going to the gym fill you with dread? A new diet promises to avoid all of this – while allowing you to eat foods traditionally banned on weight loss plans. Called The High Fat Diet, it claims to facilitate up to 10lb of weight loss in just 14 days. Developed by nutritionist and personal trainer Zana Morris, the diet is a combination of high-fat nutrition and high-intensity training. The premise is that rather than fat being demonised, it actually makes you thinner. In a nutshell, … Continue reading →

February 5, 2015. There is a brouhaha underway about an American journalist who told a story about being in a helicopter in a war zone. The helicopter was hit and had to land. Which war zone and when I don’t know. The US has created so many war zones that it is difficult to keep up with them all, and as you will see, I am not interested in the story for its own sake. It turns out that the journalist has remembered incorrectly. He was in a helicopter in a war zone, but it wasn’t hit and didn’t have … Continue reading →

Claims that Saudi Arabia was behind the 9/11 attacks on America have  been circulating  since 2001. The Saudis have denied all such claims even though 15 of the 19 aircraft hijackers were Saudi citizens. This week, allegations of Saudi involvement reignited as one of the men convicted in the 9/11 plot, Zacarias Moussaoui, reasserted the allegations. Moussaoui, who is in US maximum security prison, charges senior Saudi princes and officials bankrolled the 9/11 attacks and other al-Qaida operations. He may have been tortured and has mental problems. Among the Saudis Moussaoui named are Prince Turki Faisal, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, … Continue reading →

Mystery Solved! The “Lime Mill” that Built the Tower Discovery of Newport’s Missing Industrial Lime Kiln Gunnar Thompson, Ph.D. New World Discovery Institute January 22, 2015 Introduction At some distant and controversial point in Newport’s Past, a team of experienced stone builders from the British Isles constructed a round tower in the scenic preserve that is known today as Touro Park. Were these renegade artisans the same bunch of Colonial philosophers who bequeathed to Rhode Island a passion for freedom of religion and justice? Were they a band of marooned Templar Masons from 14th century Scotland? Or were they just … Continue reading →

It’s the “bells and whistles” that get the headlines – and grab your attention. But they might also grab your wallet once the warranty runs out. A classic example from long ago is the aluminum block four-cylinder engine GM trotted out back in the mid-1970s. It was a revolutionary design based on a high-silicon alloy that eliminated the need for pressed-in cylinder liners. It was also very lightweight, which promised to improve both the fuel economy and the handling of the car it was built for – the Chevy Vega. Stop me if you know where this is going… No? Well, the … Continue reading →

Methadone is a legal drug that is taken by former heroin addicts. It eliminates the “rush” that heroin offers, but it also eliminates withdrawal symptoms. It lets heroin addicts escape the need to buy the expensive illegal drug. Methadone is for heroin addicts who just cannot bring themselves to go cold turkey from an addictive drug that distorts their perception. That is what a 401(k) retirement plan is for middle-class workers. Most workers have no retirement program other than Social Security. About 55% of American workers are eligible for a 401(k) plan, but only about 38% participate. This, according to … Continue reading →

Have you ever shouted at the wireless when a guest on Today begins his first answer with the word so? Are you more shocked by greengrocers’ use of the apostrophe than by the cost of Little Gem lettuces? Do you never have less than seven items, but sometimes fewer? Were you annoyed by my use of the word wireless just now? Your answers will indicate whether you think there’s anything at all weird about Bryan Henderson, aged 51, having corrected the same ungrammatical phrase 47,000 times. He does not like the construction “comprised of ”, and changes it where he can. … Continue reading →

Bloomberg News finally did something useful this morning by publishing some startling graphs from McKinsey’s latest update on the worldwide debt tsunami. If you don’t mind a tad of rounding, the planetary debt total now stands at $200 trillion compared to world GDP of just $70 trillion. Source: McKinseyThe implied 2.9X global leverage ratio is daunting in itself. But now would be an excellent time to recall the lessons of Greece because the true implications are far more ominous.Today’s raging crisis in Greece was hidden from view for many years in the run-up to its first EU bailout in 2010 because the denominator of its reported … Continue reading →

The “perfect-storm” of geopolitical instability, diplomatic isolation, severe currency depreciation, and economic decline now confronting Russia has profoundly damaged Moscow’s international standing, and possibly for the long-term. Yet, it is precisely such conditions that may push the country’s leadership into taking the radical step that will secure its world-player status once and for all: the adoption of a gold-exchange standard. Though a far-fetched idea at first glance, many factors suggest that remonetization in gold may be a logical next step for Moscow. First, for years Moscow has been expressing its unwillingness to remain at the monetary mercy of the US … Continue reading →

It’s one of my personal frustrations that I am naturally terrible at remembering names. I place great value on truly connecting with other people, and I know one of the simplest ways you can make someone feel recognized is to remember and speak their name. Plus, let’s face it, blanking on someone’s name whom you’ve met before — or worse, just been introduced to — is borderline rude, and fully embarrassing. How many of us have been there, awkwardly trying to get someone to repeat their name so we can make a proper introduction, or using all sorts of nonspecific … Continue reading →