News Commentary

More Dark Side From The Empire

"It was interesting to learn that when everyone thought that Snowden was on his way to Ecuador via Cuba, American journalists were not permitted to fly to Cuba from Russia because they didn’t have visas. Perhaps they were lucky because if they hadn’t secured a 'license' to spend money in Cuba, they were subjected to being prosecuted for a felony offense by … their own government! Yes, the U.S. government—the government that was poking fun at China and Russia for their systems of government—actually puts Americans into jail for traveling to Cuba and spending their money there. How’s that for a little 'Thank God I’m an American because at least I know I’m free'?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMore Dark Side From The Empire

QE Won’t End—It Will Increase

"Bernanke and the Fed are going to reconsider the end of QE, and then decide against it. And eventually, if yields continue to rise (that is, if bond prices continue to fall), Benny and the Fed will up the dosage on the QE. Whatever it takes to keep yields down and interest rates low. Remember, Bernanke and the Fed are convinced that higher interest rates will kill any sustained recovery. Nothing will shake them from that idée fixe. Therefore they will do anything to prevent high interest rates—including walking back this talk of ending QE, and upping the dosage as need be to achieve their goal of sustained, consistent zero-percent interest." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingQE Won’t End—It Will Increase

A Social Phenomenon: Protests Erupt in Brazil

"A girl organized a protest, expecting a few hundred people to attend. Instead, there were tens of thousands, and then a million. It was like throwing a seed crystal into a super-saturated solution and causing crystallization throughout the whole body of liquid. It was like a wildfire spreading. This is what we so far have NOT seen occur in America. This is, however, what the authorities are preparing for. They know that the array of grievances of Americans is growing by the day, week, month and year. They know that they have not addressed these grievances, and they know that when the promises of government cannot be kept, these grievances are going to spill into the streets." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingA Social Phenomenon: Protests Erupt in Brazil

David Galland: What the Hell Is Wrong with Obama?

"It sure seems like we are following the script set down by the neocons (Kristol, Wolfowitz, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Abrams, et al.) that years ago infiltrated the US military-political complex. This is the 'Might is right' crowd who believe in exercising US power proactively to knock down the dominos of all Middle Eastern countries Israel feels threatened by, with the end goal of remaking the Middle East as a region dominated by friendly democracies (or, in the case of Saudi Arabia, friendly dictatorships). Failing functioning democracies, turning the outcast countries into failed states that pose no real threat to US or Israeli interests." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDavid Galland: What the Hell Is Wrong with Obama?

US Senate to retroactively punish runaway tax slaves

"Years ago, it was virtually unheard of for someone to give up his/her US citizenship. Then, one by one, a handful of famous cases surfaced… like Sir John Templeton, who renounced his US citizenship in 1964 and moved to the Bahamas. At the time, Templeton was able to save $100 million in taxes to the US government. But anyone view Templeton poorly for his lack of patriotism, it’s important to note that the man was one of the greatest philanthropists in history. And, rather than finance more bombs, guns, and military folly at the height of the Vietnam War, he chose to channel his wealth into improving the lives of millions of people around the globe." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUS Senate to retroactively punish runaway tax slaves

By Global Standards, The US Education Bureaucracy Gets the Most Money With Mediocre Results

"America has a very costly and inefficient government school monopoly. The strongest piece of evidence is an amazing chart put together by a Cato colleague. It shows that education spending has skyrocketed while educational performance has stagnated. We’ve now surpassed Switzerland to become the biggest spenders on education. But we still get a crummy return on all that money that is spent. One reason the system is so expensive is that we squander so much money on bureaucratic overhead. But I guess we need all those paper pushers so we can stop little kids from engaging in terrorist behavior." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBy Global Standards, The US Education Bureaucracy Gets the Most Money With Mediocre Results

The best second passport for Edward Snowden…

"If Mr. Snowden had been able to procure a second passport prior to stepping into the limelight, he would likely not be in this predicament as he could have been traveling on his other passport. This is one of the hidden virtues of having a second passport. You might never ‘need’ one. But should such a need ever arise, it can really be a life saver. In Mr. Snowden’s case, the best option on the table would have been Brazil. If Snowden had become a Brazilian (which anyone can do– via 2-4 years of residency, or marriage, or even having a child), he could be happily living out his days on the beach in Fortaleza, rather than being stuck in a Russian transit zone." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe best second passport for Edward Snowden…

Edward Snowden and Joshua Glover

"The comparisons to Edward Snowden are obvious: 'why did Glover flee Missouri? Why didn't he stay in Missouri and 'work within the system' to gain his liberty?' Yeah, the same way so many other slaves had secured their freedom! With the help of its lapdog media - with which neither Booth nor Glover had to contend - the federal government demands of Russia what it demanded of Wisconsin in the mid-19th century: the return of one of its subjects." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEdward Snowden and Joshua Glover

UN Releases 2013 World Drug War Report

"I found this paragraph absolutely stunning: 'We have to admit that, globally, the demand for drugs has not been substantially reduced and that some challenges exist in the implementation of the drug control system, in the violence generated by trafficking in illicit drugs, in the fast evolving nature of new psychoactive substances, and in those national legislative measures which may result in a violation of human rights. The real issue is not to amend the Conventions, but to implement them according to their underlying spirit.' Read that again and realize the enormity of what he is saying." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUN Releases 2013 World Drug War Report