Essays

Jacob Hornberger: Replacing The Welfare-Warfare State With A Free Society

"We live under a governmental system in which the president, the military, the CIA, and the NSA now wield powers that the greatest dictators in history have wielded. The powers to assassinate people, to indefinitely detain people without due process or trial by jury, to kidnap and rendition people, to torture people, to subject people to LSD experiments, to invade and occupy foreign countries, to support coups in foreign lands, to install, train, maintain, and support brutal dictatorial regimes, to spy on and monitor the activities of people everywhere. In other words, the dark type of things that Americans used to complain that communist or totalitarian regimes were engaged in." Continue reading →

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Bill Bonner: How to Disappear Without a Trace

"Twelve years ago – when the 'homeland' was first invented (a smooth adaptation of Hitler's 'fatherland') and TSA agents began frisking grandmothers – the whole thing seemed like a joke. It looked as though America's leaders had gotten themselves into a hysterical panic. They thought al-Qaida really existed... that there were terrorist sleeper cells in every hamlet and burg... and that these infiltrators were about to wreak havoc on the nation. It was a preposterous lie, but we figured they'd come to their senses soon. Instead of coming to their senses, America's leaders began to see the advantage of a war that could neither be won nor lost." Continue reading →

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Michael Hastings’ Final Article Before Car Explosion: ‘Why Democrats Love To Spy On Americans’

"For most bigwig Democrats in Washington, D.C., the last 48 hours has delivered news of the worst kind — a flood of new information that has washed away any lingering doubts about where President Obama and his party stand on civil liberties, full stop. Glenn Greenwald’s exposure of the NSA’s massive domestic spy program has revealed the entire caste of current Democratic leaders as a gang of civil liberty opportunists, whose true passion, it seems, was in trolling George W. Bush for eight years on matters of national security. 'Everyone should just calm down,' Senator Harry Reid said yesterday, inhaling slowly. That’s right: don’t panic." Continue reading →

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India: Emerging from Poverty or Stuck in the Past?

"India's problems are a result of the country's collectivist system, which detaches people from the consequences of their actions. Economic feedback in India is warped – costs are socialized, while benefits are not. Trickery and heavy-handedness are the norm in India, and they work. Real wealth creation feels unnecessary. From an individual's point of view, time and capital are better spent making political connections and offering bribes, both of which are more lucrative and efficient than making an honest living. India has been like this for forever. There has been nothing to shake India from its philosophical slumber and force its citizens to re-evaluate outdated precepts." Continue reading →

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Name That Black Swan

"You might argue that a black swan event could occur at any time. That's true. But our current fiscal, monetary, and economic circumstances are so tenuous that the possibility of a black swan event hitting our economy is greater than usual. Indeed, the number of anomalous events that could take place is large enough that collectively they represent a high probability. And since we all live and work within an economic system and use money every day, the impact to us as individuals could be severe. So the question is this: what data are available now that show where we are most vulnerable to experiencing a black swan event?" Continue reading →

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Bitcoin: Internationalization’s New Best Friend

"Bitcoin makes it easy to move funds around the world and convert it into and out of fiat currencies in a very private fashion. There's nothing to declare at borders, as with cash or precious metals, since the value exists 'out there' in the Internet. All you have are the keys to access those funds when desired. And, best of all, it allows frequent travelers and permanent travelers (PTs) to build up a readily accessible 'emergency account' that can't be easily identified, let alone stolen. However, the trick to getting all these privacy benefits is to use it properly." Continue reading →

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When You Need To Disappear

"Whistleblower Edward Snowden needs to disappear if he is to avoid kidnapping, assassination, extradition, or deportation to the United States. If you’re ever faced by a situation in which you need to disappear, right away, what would you do? Perhaps someone is bent on revenge and has threatened to kill you. Perhaps you’re caught in an impossible personal or financial situation and you feel that 'going underground' is the only way out. Or perhaps like Snowden, you find yourself an enemy of the state. If you’re in such a situation, privacy may be a matter of life or death. You need to be prepared to act quickly, and when the time comes, not to hesitate." Continue reading →

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How The USA Captures Whistleblowers And Other Political Enemies

"Snowden’s case would likely fall under the political crime statute of the U.S.-Hong Kong extradition treaty. Any extradition request would be difficult, complicated, and probably ultimately unsuccessful. However, if Snowden succeeds in fighting extradition from Hong Kong, the United States can revoke his passport. It’s also possible that because of the likely difficulty of extradition, U.S. authorities will simply revoke Snowden’s passport and demand his return, and bypass the extradition option entirely. Notice of the revocation, meaning that the suspect would then be illegally in the country, would be sent to Hong Kong authorities who could then deport Snowden." Continue reading →

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The World’s Greatest Investor is Dead Wrong

"Contrary to the wisdom spouted by people like Mr. Buffett, gold’s movements are not about the economy. They’re not about geopolitical tensions. They’re not about inflation (and they’ve never been about inflation— a fact that four decades of correlation statistics handily prove). They’re not about what central banks are or are not buying. They are, instead, entirely about the direction of the U.S. dollar as a reflection of the U.S. fiscal situation. And as the last four decades have proven, the dollar will go down as America’s finances worsen. And that makes gold a buy." Continue reading →

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Don’t Dismiss the Possibility of Gold Confiscation

"If you hold precious metals in your portfolio, there is a good chance you fear hyperinflation and the crash of fiat currencies. You probably distrust governments in general and believe they are self-serving and have no interest in your economic well-being. It is likely that your holdings in gold are your lifeline – your hope to get you through these times while holding on to your wealth. But have you ever given any thought to the possibility of having this lifeline confiscated by the authorities? It's an interesting thought that the greatest threat to gold and silver investment might not be the possibility of losing on the speculation, but the government taking it away from you." Continue reading →

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