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September 10, 2013 Bangkok, Thailand It’s a weird indicator, but I sometimes measure the strength of the US economy by the weight of my carry-on bag. You see, friends of mine who don’t have medical insurance (most of them in the US) often ask if I can bring them discounted
September 9, 2013 Bangkok, Thailand “Ladies and gentlemen. For the safety and security of all passengers, please remove your shoes as you enter the security checkpoint…” How many times have we heard that? Anyone who has traveled in, out, or through the Land of the Free, or airports just about
September 6, 2013 Singapore “At what point do we just start calling these guys the Stasi,” asked a friend of mine over coffee today. He was, of course, referring to the latest news out of the Guardian– the same British paper that published Edward Snowden’s original whistleblowing interview. First the
September 5, 2013 Singapore Asia is a damned excited part of the world. And Singapore is the financial epicenter of all of it. For the last 24-hours, banker and fund manager friends of mine have been telling me stories about oil refinery deals in North Korea, their crazy investments in
September 4, 2013 Singapore Several weeks ago, I received some disturbing news from some of my closest advisers (all professional tax attorneys) regarding IRAs. They told me that suddenly, practically overnight, many IRS employees at the agency’s call center who assign tax ID numbers were refusing to issue a federal
September 3, 2013 Singapore A few months ago, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the country’s central bank, released its annual report for the fiscal year ending 31 March 2013. And the results were ‘shocking’, at least for those of us who read central bank annual reports cover to cover
September 2, 2013 En route to Singapore After two months of criss-crossing Europe on somewhat of a bankrupt nations tour, the chilly autumn weather that has settled upon much of the continent is my cue to beat feet out of here for the steamy, humid energy of Southeast Asia. So
August 29, 2013 Rome, Italy As everyone is now completely distracted with the looming prospect of yet another illegal war to be waged by the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize recipient, let’s look at a few other things going on while no one is looking. Gun control Today, the Obama administration
August 28, 2013 Spoleto, Italy There’s a common expression that military commanders like to use in times like this– ‘you can’t be a little bit pregnant.’ Translation: you either go to war, or you don’t. You can’t halfway go to war. You can’t ‘sort of’ go to war. And if
August 27, 2013 Spoleto, Italy Nearly 2,400 years ago, Aristotle wrote one of the defining works of political philosophy in a book entitled Politics. It’s still incredibly relevant today, particularly what he writes about tyranny. The ancient Greeks used the word ‘turannos’, which referred to an illegitimate ruler who governs
August 26, 2013 Spoleto, Italy The Villa where I’ve been staying for the last week is one of my favorite spots in the world. When I first found it nearly two years ago, I couldn’t believe it. The home is exquisite– it’s a 14-bedroom chateau situated on 25 acres of
August 22, 2013 Spoleto, Italy One of the really great things about being in Italy is that this whole country serves as a constant reminder that wealth and power in the world are constantly shifting. Two thousand years ago, Italy (Rome specifically) was the pinnacle of civilization, at the forefront
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