SYRACUSE, Sicily – “When in doubt, go to Italy” is the saying. We are always in doubt. What better place to go? Today, a warning about why a global recession is now likely. But first, an update on Sicily… where we’ve spent the last few days exploring. Sicily is not exactly Italy. It sits in the middle of the Mediterranean, where every sleepy sailor or ambitious empire builder was bound to wash up. The Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Normans, Spanish, and French – all tried their hands at ruling Sicily. The Italians are only the most recent of … Continue reading →

Would you be interested in a brand-new, fully warranted, five-door crossover SUV built by a major, name-brand automaker that gave you 50-plus MPG with a gas (not diesel or hybrid) engine, that has a top speed around 125 mph, is capable of getting to 60 in 12 seconds (about the same as a Prius hybrid) that stickered for less than $5,000? Yeah, me too. It’s called the Renault Kwid (see here) and it looks kinda-sorta like a Nissan Juke or Kia Soul and is about the same size as those units. It isn’t a latter-day Yugo either. The Kwid comes standard with AC, power windows … Continue reading →

STRESS – It’s what most of us have too much of. Coping with day to day tasks and problems can sometimes be overwhelming. Being CALM, RELAXED, and WELL RESTED helps almost everyone be less stressed. I like to look at BASIC NUTRITION to help with stress because I find that most people are deficient in basic nutrients. Most notably, B vitamins and magnesium. Look at the following signs of B-VITAMIN DEFICIENCY: Worry, anxiety, insecurity, or highly emotional state. Trouble with concentration. Constantly fatigued. Wake up at night and can’t get back to sleep. Moody or depressed. Always tense, can’t relax. … Continue reading →

Well, I mentioned a Doomsday Falafel on here, so we might as well have a Doomsday Turkey since Thanksgiving is fast approaching. Yeah, I know, there’s the question of what stuffing to use on such a bird. It certainly won’t be stuffed with sanity, I’ll tell you that. But we won’t need to worry about it getting done quickly, since the flash from a nuclear weapon detonation will make that tricky cooking time guesswork a thing of the past. Whooosh! Ah, nice and crispy! Say, where’s the gravy? A Doomsday Turkey?! Why…yes! Have you seen the news? Evidently, there’s already … Continue reading →

The Mises Institute spoke with Associated Scholar Antony Mueller last week about recent economic and ideological trends in Brazil. Prof. Mueller teaches economics at Federal University of Sergipe (UFS) in Brazil. Mises Institute: For those of us not in Brazil, it is hard to interpret the commentary on Brazil’s economy right now. Brazil’s debt was recently reduced to junk status, and we can see that Brazil’s economy is not doing well. But how severe is the crisis? Antony Mueller: Part of the explanation is that for a large part of the population and for the government itself, the crisis came … Continue reading →

Having established a base on the Syrian coast, Vladimir Putin last week began air strikes on ISIS and other rebel forces seeking to overthrow Bashar Assad. A longtime ally of Syria, Russia wants to preserve its toehold on the Mediterranean, help Assad repel the threat, and keep the Islamic terrorists out of Damascus. Russia is also fearful that the fall of Assad would free up the Chechen terrorists in Syria to return to Russia. In intervening to save Assad, Putin is doing exactly what we are doing to save our imperiled allies in Baghdad and Kabul. Yet Putin’s intervention has … Continue reading →

It’s relatively difficult to get lost without a trace, at least these days. But history contains a number of examples of individuals (and groups) who seemingly managed to vanish into thin air. Many of these stories have become fodder for sci-fi and paranormal theories, from ghosts to sea monsters, but while the answers are probably far more prosaic, we just don’t have them—yet. Ian Crofton’s 2006 book The Disappeared, which contains 35 of these stories, provided much of the information for the eight here. 1. THE ROANOKE COLONY It may be the oldest mystery in the nation: In the late … Continue reading →

Legendary economist Thomas Sowell is as impressed with Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton’s ideas as he is with Atlantic writer Ta-Nehisi Coates’ — which is to say, not much. Sowell, currently a senior fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, is out with a new book, “Wealth, Poverty and Politics: An International Perspective.” Last week, he opened up about his new book and topics related to it in an interview on the “Hugh Hewitt Show,” guest-hosted by this writer. Asked about in-vogue author Ta-Nehisi Coates and his theory that black America’s plight can be blamed on institutional racism, Sowell said, “It’s hard to know whether to laugh or … Continue reading →

When news first broke of the U.S. airstrike on the Doctors Without Borders hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan, the response from the U.S. military was predictable and familiar. It was all just a big, terrible mistake, its official statement suggested: an airstrike it carried out in Kunduz “may have resulted in collateral damage to a nearby medical facility.” Oops: our bad. Fog of war, errant bombs, and all that. This obfuscation tactic is the standard one the U.S. and Israel both use whenever they blow up civilian structures and slaughter large numbers of innocent people with airstrikes. Citizens of both countries are … Continue reading →

In his comment on the mass shootings at the Oregon community college, President Obama said: “This has become routine.” So have police shootings of unarmed and unresisting Americans. So have numerous other undesirable and deplorable happenings, such as the foreclosure on the homes of millions of Americans, while the “banks too big to fail” are bailed out with trillions of dollars, and such as foreign policy lies that have destroyed seven countries, bringing the US and Europe millions of refugees. In addition there are the foreign policy lies that have brought the US and Europe into conflict with Russia, and … Continue reading →

Ever since the days of ancient Egypt, priesthoods of various denominations have had an alliance with the state. They trained the next generation of literate bureaucrats. The state wanted literate bureaucrats. The priesthood wanted state support. It was a convenient alliance. It still is. In our day, the priests are priests because they are certified by the state to do the training. This is called academic accreditation. The priests are agents of the state. All of this has rested on a myth: the myth of classroom education. In less than 10 years, the Khan Academy has undermined this myth beyond … Continue reading →