You know that lockdown going on everywhere, like the one in dreary Melbourne that restricted inmates to an hour’s exercise per day?
In sunny Spain, 80% of hospitalized Covid patients were deficient in vitamin D.
I’ve lived in Asia for most of my adult life. I’ve visited a lot of countries and met people who’ve lived in others. That said, this is just my opinion.
I have not spent a lot of time in all these countries, as reflected in the ‘epistemic status’ star rating. If you know more, please contribute in the comments. Or keep it secret if you’d prefer not to be swamped by desperate readers of the People’s Blog.
You might find that a lower-ranked country actually suits you best. For example, Japan is my personal preference but I’ve downgraded it here for cost of living.
I’m thinking, for the average Westerner wanting to flee at short notice, what’s the cheapest, easiest, nicest and least challenging option? If expense, difficulty and challenge are cool with you, your ranking will differ.
I knew the rule. I knew it by heart, I knew it backwards, I knew it upside down, I knew it well enough to write a book about it. I knew it all.
And yet, I thought I knew better.
I reckoned I could time the market.
Back in 2018, I was shifting my funds around according to my asset allocation strategy. I got to the bit where I needed to move some bonds over to shares – and I balked.
I couldn’t do it. Read More
It’s now clear that China engaged in a propaganda campaign to manipulate the rest of the world into imitating its strict lockdown policy. The linked article is one of many – even rags like the NYT ran the story.
We knew they were lying at the time but we never guessed that they might be exaggerating the risk of the virus.
First China used its newfound influence in the WHO to elicit absurd praise for its extreme and untested policy – a policy that the WHO would have roundly condemned had it been attempted anywhere else up to that point.
A lockdown which, curiously, did not prohibit residents of Wuhan traveling overseas for a good week.
Then there were the dodgy accounts on Western social media (blocked at home) disseminating videos of people in Wuhan collapsing in the street. We got totally stooged – we assumed this was a catastrophe China was covering up when in fact it was a fake catastrophe staged by the CCP for an overseas audience.
An article describing the dark arts of NBC’s Witchfinder General:
Not only does Zadrozny brag about doxing Trump supporters, she actually wrote the book on it. Incidentally, there is one group of people Zadrozny does not support doxing — pedophiles. Allow us to explain.
The UK is protected by four submarines carrying Trident nuclear missiles. The officer in charge of one of these vessels was relieved of his command after stumbling in drunk and carrying a bag of BBQ chicken.
I’ve had a few inquiries about what life is really like in the Philippines. I hope the following informs and educates.
Note: some of my posts are password protected. If you’ve lost your password feel free to ask me for it again, as many times as you like. You will find no one more sympathetic than me to the forgetting of passwords.
As for new readers, I generally give it out to fellow bloggers, regular commenters and people who are in email contact with me. Contribute here for a while to join the exclusive club.
Starting off with some local news that I can’t link:
The Zman has an excellent post that summarizes what many of us are thinking: the West needs a peaceful separation.
He reminds us that many people moved to America, or moved further west, to get away from those they didn’t like and to live their own way.
Much financial advice is of poor quality, even when you take out all the commissions and corruption. Why? It’s because too many advisors fall into the same five errors that everyone else falls into. Understand what those five mistakes are, and you’ll be much better able to find good advice and avoid bad advice.
This is an extract from my book, The Poor Man’s Guide to Financial Freedom: A Realistic, 10-Step Manual to Building Liberating Wealth on a Low to Medium Income
How Good (or Bad) Are Financial Advisors? Read More
There have been several recent events which indicate that reason may be soon take the upper hand regarding mitigation measures against Covid-19.
There are other signs that totalitarian controls are here for good.
Before we look at these, I suggest reading this article about why the Hong Kong Flu was dealt with very differently despite having a similar fatality and infection rate to Covid:
I notice teenagers are also much less mopey about going on family holidays.
Sigma Frame notices something I’ve noticed: there’s much less generational conflict in Asian countries:
After I started traveling around Asia, I found that most young adults accompany their families to go to the temple and to participate in other regular cultural and religious traditions.
After living abroad for many years, I have been amused to discover that there are no such pendulum swings in east Asia as there are in the West. Younger Generations live in harmony with preceding Generations. They share the family wealth and other resources as needed.
Endless Victorian lockdown is driving people to drink.
It’s been said before and it can’t be said enough: don’t join a movement.
Thirteen possibly slow-witted men were arrested by the FBI for plotting to kidnap the governor of Michigan.
Yes, one of them clearly has an anarchist flag in the background of his video and criticizes Trump and the police.
Yes, they were probably egged on by at least one FBI infiltrator. Without him they probably would have talked big and done nothing, just like those ‘Islamic terrorists’ who were similarly convinced to commit crimes by agents. I recall one was sold a shotgun half an inch too short just so they could get him on that.
A reader has reviewed The Poor Man’s Guide to Financial Freedom.
Pukeko from the United States says:
Even if you are not in the target audience, get it. You will learn something, and then give it to your kids.
If you’ve also read the book, please leave the review. Unless you didn’t like it, in which case shut up.
I’m kidding, ya munchkins. Honest and balanced reviews are great because that way potential readers know they’re real.
Also available on many other platforms.
. . . not the people you want.
Luisman’s recent post (in German) made me realize that identical policies are not going to have the same impact everywhere, because the populations are different.
I decided against writing anything about the debate because Jewamongyou already stated exactly what I was thinking: we are at Idiocracy.
We (the West) no longer enjoy a WEIRD society where abstract principles are placed ahead of personal outcomes, nor is there any pressure on our elites to feign such values.
Today we see their unvarnished id: the Democrat’s power-madness, Conservative Inc’s grasping, Trump’s endless blather.
Biden is no longer a player.
It is strange that leading up to this most controversial election since Lincoln’s, it has never been so clear that the outcome makes little difference.
Sure, there will be chaos after a close election, but under Trump or Harris we know what the policies will be:
Aussies still not allowed into Australia, but rich foreigners are.
Victorian lockdown is literally driving kids nuts.
At least they’re not being taught at school by this guy.
This post is to encourage you to read a long and essential 2014 essay from Slate Star Codex about our bubbles and prejudices:
I Can Tolerate Anything Except the Outgroup.
If you ever have one of those rare opportunities where you’re arguing with a Woke person and they ask you to give them one article that could change their minds, this is the one.
Scott Alexander is in the Blue bubble looking out:
According to Gallup polls, about 46% of Americans are creationists. Not just in the sense of believing God helped guide evolution. I mean they think evolution is a vile atheist lie and God created humans exactly as they exist right now. That’s half the country.
And I don’t have a single one of those people in my social circle. It’s not because I’m deliberately avoiding them; I’m pretty live-and-let-live politically, I wouldn’t ostracize someone just for some weird beliefs. And yet, even though I probably know about a hundred fifty people, I am pretty confident that not one of them is creationist. Odds of this happening by chance? 1/2^150 = 1/10^45 = approximately the chance of picking a particular atom if you are randomly selecting among all the atoms on Earth.
About forty percent of Americans want to ban gay marriage. I think if I really stretch it, maybe ten of my top hundred fifty friends might fall into this group. This is less astronomically unlikely; the odds are a mere one to one hundred quintillion against.
There’s no perfect decision.
Now that we’re a democracy, every Tom, Dick and Haresh has an opinion on every political issue. All three know exactly how high our tariffs should be on imported vehicles, what type of submarine the navy needs, and how many skilled migrants should be admitted each year.
What they have trouble realizing is, every issue is a trade-off. Tariffs on cars will protect local manufacturers, but they’ll make prices more expensive for consumers. The more we spend on submarines, the less money we have for long-range missiles. The pros and cons of skilled migration are complex.
Jean van de Walle's blog on exploring opportunities in a fast-changing world.
The People's Blog
The People's Blog
Caveat Emptor
The People's Blog
News and investigative journalism on empire
The People's Blog
The People's Blog
Impartial Informative Always
The People's Blog
The People's Blog
The People's Blog
The People's Blog
ex vulgus scientia
The People's Blog
The People's Blog
Australia
The People's Blog
No systematic way of looking at the world can survive careful scrutiny.
The People's Blog
Sydney FC Blog - The Inside word.
The People's Blog
Strategic Defence of the Mantle of Responsibility
Getting Fit, Finding Wealth, Being Happy, Creating Significance: Now Available on Stick (@wilderbyfar on Twitter) movingnorth@gmail.com
Sopravvivere Alla Ginocrazia
Traveling along roads and brainwaves
We don't have to live like this.
Celebrating men - the image and glory of God.
Christian MGTOW
Where threads are born off-topic
The People's Blog
The People's Blog
A Fastidious Connoisseur of Empiricism
The People's Blog
The People's Blog
An increasing proportion of the industrial surplus is being absorbed by the task of masking bio-social deterioration.
Home of the FreeMatt Podcast. #1 Somalian libertarian voice
The People's Blog
thoughts about politics and the passing scene
The People's Blog
A mash up of gaming, religion, music and wooden weapons in one nice little package.
