Category: Aggregated

Ah Spring, the spring of our frost bitten age. At the Polish Club in London, a wonderful place studded with portraits of Polish patriots who have fought and sacrificed for the West’s freedom. In this beautiful and heroic setting, your High Life correspondent gave a speech about what it’s like writing for the Spectator and Takimag, with some odds and ends about my life in general of fifty years ago. The big surprise turned out to be the turn out. Packed to the rafters with fifty or so turned down at the door. This was the work of Lady Belhaven … Continue reading →

It has become conventional wisdom that the wave of the future is “smart home” technology from smart utility meters that read a houses energy usage automatically to smart lights that turn off when not in use. The industry has been in development for years, but moved to the forefront of the start-up world when Google bought Nest Labs last year for more than $3B. Nest Labs makes a variety of smart home devices including thermostats and smoke alarms. Smart home technology marries two of the most talked about trends in business right now – the internet of things and green technology. … Continue reading →

Last night I was reading a book entitled The Emergency State: America’s Pursuit of Absolute Security at All Costs by David Unger. My eyes bulged out when I came across the following sentence: “In 1941 Attorney General Francis Biddle, following Roosevelt’s new guidelines, approved FBI wiretapping of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce.” Why did that particular sentence grab my attention? Because I knew that the founder of The Foundation for Economic Education (FEE), Leonard E. Read, had served as head of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce before he founded FEE in 1946. I did a bit of research … Continue reading →

They say don’t let money printing get to your head, but for one now former central banker it is far too late. The identity of the former employee of the Dutch Central Bank in question is unknown, what is known is that the money authority of the Netherlands has fired a 46-year-old female employee who for 6 of her 8 years with the central bank made money on the side as a “dominatrix prostitute who described herself as a high-class nymphomaniac and earned €10,000 a week dressing up as a Nazi and whipping men.” While her real name remains unknown … Continue reading →