Category: Aggregated

You’ve tried a warm bath, a hot, milky drink and even counting sheep, but you’re still lying wide awake wondering why you can’t fall asleep. Now, one scientist claims he has a way of getting insomniacs to slip into a slumber in just 60 seconds – and it doesn’t involve prescription drugs or strange lighting. Dubbed the 4-7-8 breathing technique, the method is described as a ‘natural tranquiliser for the nervous system’ helping to reduce tension in the body. It was pioneered by Arizona-based Dr Andrew Weill who says on his YouTube channel: ‘It is utterly simple, takes almost no … Continue reading →

Picture a scene in the ancient wild: a time when drought and famine have taken the land, food is scant and predators are near, and staying alive depends on being active, alert, and quick-witted — and asking, “Where did I find those nuts last year, and where was that water hole?“ A protein called SIRT1 in our brains may explain how our ancestors lived through such nutritionally scarce situations by protecting neurons and keeping the brain smart in extreme situations of survival. Additionally, recent research in animals suggests that through calorie restriction, periodic fasting, taking compounds such as resveratrol, and … Continue reading →

Old man Power didn’t want his sons to be cannon fodder in the First World War. Jeff Power told his boys, John and Tom, not to register for the draft. The rich man’s war had nothing to do with them. In 1918, the Power family, originally from West Texas, had a gold mine to work in Arizona’s Gila Valley. “They reacted the way Texans would react,” historian Jeff Robenalt says in the documentary Power’s War. “They didn’t cause the war… they didn’t make the draft. Why should they register for it?” The young brothers planned to remain in the Galiuro … Continue reading →

The government wants to control your car – how it’s made, what it comes equipped with and (of course) how you’re allowed to drive it. Now comes the other half of the pincers: The car companies want to prevent you from working on the thing. Modifications – performance enhancements – and even routine maintenance are to become illegal via the application (and enforcement) of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) to cars.    They are claiming propriety rights to the software embedded in the computer – technically, the Electronic Control Unit or ECU – that pretty much runs a modern car.  They … Continue reading →

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If you plan to visit a college campus this month, don’t be surprised if you see signs and placards encouraging you to “Restore the Fourth.” Restore the Fourth is not about an athletic event or a holiday; it is about human freedom. The reference to “the Fourth” is to the Fourth Amendment, and it is badly in need of restoration. In the dark days following 9/11, Congress enacted the Patriot Act. The Patriot Act has many flaws, including its prohibition of certain truthful public speech, but its most pernicious assault is on the constitutional right to privacy. One of its … Continue reading →

Thanks to countless books, movies, and trashy TV shows, most of us have a fairly firm mental image of the ancient world. Togas, feasting, gladiatorial combat . . . the standard stuff. Yet step back in time, and you’d be confronted with a world that confounded your expectations. Far from being a close approximation of the truth, our collective mental image of the ancient world may be nothing like reality at all. 10 Ancient Britain Had African Citizens Although London is one of the most multicultural cities on Earth, it’s only been in the last century or so that minorities have become a familiar … Continue reading →

In addition to the federal estate tax (which is fourth highest in the OECD), many U.S. states levy their own estate and inheritance taxes.  While estate taxes are charged against the estate regardless of who inherits the assets, inheritance taxes are levied on the transfer of assets to heirs, based on the relationship of the inheritor to the deceased. In the case of inheritance taxes, spouses, children, or siblings often have different exemptions, which we list in detail in table 35 in the 2015 edition of our annual handbook, Facts & Figures. Currently, fifteen states and the District of Columbia have … Continue reading →

Good and Bad News Today, we have bad news and good news. The good news is that there will be no 25-year recession. Nor will there be a depression that will last the rest of our lifetimes. The bad news: It will be much worse than that. On Monday, the Dow rose another 43 points. Gold seems to be working its way back to the $1,200 level, where it feels most comfortable. “A long depression” has been much discussed in the financial press. Several economists are predicting many years of sluggish or negative growth. It is the obvious consequence of … Continue reading →

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