Essays

Dissolve the Federal Government

"I cannot be comprehensive, but I can mention a few reasons why you'll be better off without the Federal Government (which is the U.S.A.). You won't pay any federal taxes. This includes the Social Security tax, the income tax, any tariffs, any excise taxes, any Medicare taxes, telephone taxes, gift taxes, inheritance taxes, capital gains taxes, dividend taxes, and others. You won't have to use fiat money. You won't have to support a bloated military/industrial complex, an agricultural complex, an education complex, a Wall Street complex, a banking complex, a scientific complex, or any federal crony capitalist complex. Your won't have to worry so much about foreign wars." Continue reading →

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Using Metadata to Find Paul Revere

"I have been asked by my superiors to give a brief demonstration of the surprising effectiveness of even the simplest techniques of the new-fangled Social Networke Analysis in the pursuit of those who would seek to undermine the liberty enjoyed by His Majesty’s subjects. This is in connection with the discussion of the role of 'metadata' in certain recent events and the assurances of various respectable parties that the government was merely 'sifting through this so-called metadata'. I will show how we can use this 'metadata' to find key persons involved in terrorist groups operating within the Colonies at the present time." Continue reading →

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Paul Rosenberg: Top 5 Reasons I Stopped Caring About Politics

"When I was young, I felt a need to understand politics, and I spent time studying. But as time progressed, I received diminishing returns on that investment. And in the past few years, I have given it up altogether. These days, my concern with politics is limited to things like these: Who is making war, and where? Where is the crime occurring in my area? Are there laws that will force me to move my businesses offshore? Beyond that, I’m really not interested. I see the headlines, but I seldom read the stories. And I’m very happy saying, 'I haven’t looked into it,' when people ask my opinion on the day’s ‘news.’ Here’s why." Continue reading →

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Tobacco Speakeasy: Prohibition Lite Is Making RYO Cigarettes All the Rage

"A month ago, I was sitting with some college students for lunch. After we ate, two of them took out loose-leaf tobacco and rolling papers, with filters and all. They started rolling cigarettes at the table. In some way, it looked more like poverty than a charming anachronism. Puzzled, I asked why they were doing this. The answer was what I feared: Thanks to taxes, no student can really afford pre-rolled cigarettes anymore. You can avoid those taxes by rolling your own for a fraction of the price. And so it has come to be. Students are equipping dorm rooms with rolling machines. Kids carry pouches and filters. It strikes me as very strange, like a reversal of time." Continue reading →

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The Next American Revolution

"The next American Revolution will not be an event, it will be a process. Springtime for the Savior State/cartel-capitalism partnership will be brief, and by 2018-19 all the systemic flaws and disruptive trends will reassert themselves with renewed vigor. The entire current model of governance, social order and the economy will be revolutionized not by overthrow but by the process of irrelevance. The new system will be better, more humane, more flexible, more transparent, with more opportunity, for it will be everything the current corrupt, sclerotic, parasitic and exploitive system is not." Continue reading →

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Chile is on the Cusp

"Chile isn't just a safe place to park some savings (e.g., with Chilean real estate), it's also a country with lots of economic opportunity – where entrepreneurs and investors have the potential to make fortunes. More services are becoming readily available, and jobs are plentiful. Professionals from all sorts of fields (engineering, geology, medicine, etc.) have been arriving from 'first world' nations, and the country is beginning to have a much greater international feel than ever before. This will most likely pave the way for another, larger wave of newcomers that wouldn't have been willing to make the move previously." Continue reading →

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Why Foreign Real Estate is an Internationalization Grand Slam

"Obtaining real estate in a foreign country is an internationalization grand slam – it can accomplish four key goals all at once: 1. Move Savings/Wealth Abroad; 2. Create Other Internationalization Options; 3. Portfolio Diversification; 4. Privacy and Tax Benefits." Continue reading →

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The Imaginary Trial of Dietrich Schmoller

"Dietrich Schmoller: I plead Not Guilty. Presiding Judge: (screaming) What do you mean, 'Not Guilty'? The facts are crystal clear and undisputed! You disclosed to a journalist for a foreign newspaper what we were doing to inmates inside the Auschwitz concentration camp. As a camp guard at Auschwitz, you took a solemn oath to the German state to keep what we doing inside that concentration camp secret. You knew full well that everything we were doing inside that camp was classified 'Top Secret.' You knew that German law required you to keep such matters secret. You are guilty, guilty, guilty!" Continue reading →

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Surveillance Self-Defense International [2010]

"The Internet remains one of the most powerful means ever created to give voice to repressed people around the world. Unfortunately, new technologies have also given authoritarian regimes new means to identify and retaliate against those who speak out despite censorship and surveillance. Below are six basic ideas for those attempting to speak without falling victim to authoritarian surveillance and censorship, and four ideas for the rest of us who want to help support them." Continue reading →

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You’re Not That Important

"Americans like to think that they’re the world’s most-important consumers. While that’s true now, our reign is coming to an end. Here’s the news: By 2015, Asia will have more consumers than all of the West combined, reclaiming its spot as #1 for the first time in 300 years, largely thanks to the emergence of China and its rapidly rising middle class. With anemic economic growth in the U.S. and many developed euro zone countries now slipping back into recession, multinational retailers have been angling for expansion elsewhere — and they are now targeting increasing numbers of consumers from emerging and frontier markets." Continue reading →

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