Russian President Vladimir Putin has drafted a bill that aims to eliminate the US dollar and the euro from trade between CIS countries. This means the creation of a single financial market between Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and other countries of the former Soviet Union. “This would help expand the use of national currencies in foreign trade payments and financial services and thus create preconditions for greater liquidity of domestic currency markets”, said a statement from Kremlin. The bill would also help to facilitate trade in the region and help to achieve macro-economic stability. Within the framework of the … Continue reading →

Following Monday’s historic stock market downturn, many politicians and so-called economic experts rushed to the microphones to explain why the market crashed and to propose “solutions” to our economic woes. Not surprisingly, most of those commenting not only failed to give the right answers, they failed to ask the right questions. Many blamed the crash on China’s recent currency devaluation. It is true that the crash was caused by a flawed monetary policy. However, the fault lies not with China’s central bank but with the US Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve’s inflationary policies distort the economy, creating bubbles, which in turn … Continue reading →

When someone reads the right book at the right time in their life, it can have a profound effect. Such is the case for the people on this list, who come from all walks of life. These people have singled out a book that they read which had a life-changing effect on them. They, in turn, affected the worlds of popular culture, science, technology, and politics. 10 Competing Against Time – Tim Cook After graduating from college, Tim Cook got into computers when he landed his first job with IBM in 1982. In 1996, he started to work for Apple when they … Continue reading →

Since China devalued its currency 3 percent, global markets have gone into a tailspin. Why should this be? After all, 3 percent devaluation in China could be countered by a U.S. tariff of 3 percent on all goods made in China, and the tariff revenue used to cut U.S. corporate taxes. The crisis in world markets seems related not only to a sinking Chinese economy, but also to what Beijing is saying to the world; i.e., China will save herself first even if it means throwing others out of the life boat. Disbelievers in New World Order mythology have long … Continue reading →

In 2008, Greg Thomas, a cardiologist from California, was in Cairo for work. While there, he visited the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities with another cardiologist, Adel Allam of Al Azhar University in Cairo. They came across the mummy of King Merneptah, a pharaoh who lived 3,200 years ago. The description on Merneptah’s case said he had suffered from atherosclerosis, the buildup of plaque on artery walls. Both men were sure this must be wrong. How could an ancient Egyptian have had heart disease, when most of the risk factors for the disease – obesity, unhealthy diet, smoking and lack of … Continue reading →

When I was a teenager, I was a fan of the Rolling Stones. I bought their 1971 album, Sticky Fingers, immediately after its release. Unfortunately, the record was unplayable. The slider of a working zipper on the cover had pressed into the vinyl – making the third track, “Wild Horses,” skip. As a result, when Mick Jagger sang, “Wild horses couldn’t drag me away,” the record went no further. “Wild horses couldn’t drag me away” played over and over again until I physically picked up the tonearm and moved the needle beyond the indentation in the vinyl. I thought of … Continue reading →

According to W. Somerset Maugham, materially one must live on the razor’s edge between poverty and minimal subsistence in order to cultivate the life of the spirit. I’ve always respected Maugham’s wisdom and understanding of human nature, and Larry Darrell, in search of a Tao, is among my favorite fictional characters. Maugham wrote The Razor’s Edge in 1944, at age 70, an extraordinary achievement and way ahead of the times. The world was at war and here was an old closeted homosexual writing beautifully about the West’s inability to promote the good life through wealth. Twenty years later some people … Continue reading →

Chrissie Hynde has committed the ultimate sin for a former feminist icon: she has offended the Sisterhood. The Pretenders singer, whose sultry looks graced a million teenagers’ bedroom walls in the 1980s, has perpetrated the terrible crime of speaking her mind about rape and sexual assualt. For that she must now pay the price and be cast out of the Sisterhood. The exact details of her transgression have been angrily spelt out by professional feministas who lined up to attack Miss Hynde for daring to talk about her own personal experience of sexual violence. So what did the 63-year-old say … Continue reading →

Innocuous phrases Alison Parker used every day to describe her job may have led to her death, simply because Vester Lee Flanagan thought they were racist. The 24-year-old TV reporter who was shot and killed by the disgruntled ex-employee on Wednesday somehow angered him by using terms like ‘swinging’ by an address or going out into the ‘field’ while she was an intern at WDBJ. It sheds further light on the murderer’s erratic behavior, details of which have emerged since he callously gunned down Parker and cameraman Adam Ward live on breakfast TV. Flanagan, 41, clashed repeatedly with photojournalists, belittling … Continue reading →

“If the freedom of speech be taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.”—George Washington The architects of the American police state must think we’re idiots. With every passing day, we’re being moved further down the road towards a totalitarian society characterized by government censorship, violence, corruption, hypocrisy and intolerance, all packaged for our supposed benefit in the Orwellian doublespeak of national security, tolerance and so-called “government speech.” Long gone are the days when advocates of free speech could prevail in a case such as Tinker v. Des Moines. Indeed, it’s been 50 … Continue reading →

Wheels can be hot in more than ways than one. The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) has released its annual report detailing the most stolen vehicles for the past year in the U.S. It also offers some tips to keep your car out of the hot wheels lot. The vehicle at the top of the top ten used hot wheels list is the Honda Accord with 51,290 Accords stolen in 2014. The Accord is closely followed by its little sibling the Honda Civic with 43,936 stolen last year. The Accord and Civic are not only the hottest nation wide models, … Continue reading →

It’s impossible to please everyone. Even the finest institutions struggle to make every guest happy—just look at the reviews complaining of long lines, large crowds, and curt security guards on sites like Yelp and TripAdvisor. But the toughest customers to leave reviews seem to have missed the point of the places they’ve visited entirely. 1. “I HATE ART, I HATE TOUR GUIDES, AND I HATE THEM FOR TAKIN DOWN THE ROCKY STATUE.” Dali. Degas. Manet. Monet. All of these artists are present at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. But the best piece of art at the museum, according to this … Continue reading →