Monetizing Misery by Penetrating the Privacy Wall

Introduction to Gawker v. Peter Thiel. The initial inspiration for this article was the recent Gawker v. Hulk Hogan lawsuit, in which the famous wrestler Hulk Hogan sued the online gossip magazine Gawker for invasion of his privacy. However, there’s an even more interesting backstory that I’ll informally label as Gawker v. Peter Thiel. It […]

The Delusional Myth of Artificial Intelligence

The phrase “artificial intelligence” is a philosophical descendant of the debunked myth of the Sun revolving around the Earth: Both concepts are anthropocentric and egocentric perceptions of a false reality that humans have conjured to feed their need for self-importance. Wanting to feel important isn’t necessarily a bad thing (Who doesn’t want to feel important to […]

Will the UK Escape the EU?

The UK will leave the European Union. It’s usually not wise to make absolute statements when discussing complex future economic and political events. However, sometimes the empirical data is so overwhelming that the outcome is relatively easy to predict if we ignore all the propaganda and noise in the media. The following chart illustrates the […]

Biology to Geopolitics: Evolving International Relations

The Pain-Pleasure Principle in Geopolitics. All behavior in the animal kingdom is governed by the avoidance of pain and the pursuit of pleasure. As we ascend from the primitive animals of Earth up to the pinnacle of human creation, we can observe that the pain-pleasure dynamic still governs all human behavior, but it assumes different […]

Power, Hegemony, and Geopolitical Balance

Should a State Seek Hegemony? “Hegemony” should be defined before discussing this topic. My definition: “Hegemony describes a dominant state’s capacity to compel other states in the International System to consider the dominant state’s interests before acting in their own interest.” With this definition in mind, the answer is certainly, yes, every state should seek […]

The Truth About Iraq: No End In Sight

Whenever I watch documentaries like “No End In Sight” that illustrate the gross incompetence and corruption in the U.S. Government’s (USG) senior political leadership ranks, I feel my stomach twisting into knots and I literally want to vomit. It’s like having a family member who is always drunk and belligerent: They keep terrorizing the neighbors […]

Building a Non-Biased Political System

All Systems Have Bias. Every system created anywhere in the universe is vulnerable to various forms of conscious and unconscious bias. The philosophical reasons for this are beyond the intended scope of this article, but suffice it to say that creating a “pure, unbiased system” is an impossible and illogical goal. However, thoughtful, sincere and […]

Be the Government You Seek

What is the Perfect Political System? If you could build the perfect political system, what would it look like? How would politicians behave in your system? Would they keep their promises? How would you create trust in your political system? What life experience would politicians need before they could create laws that control your life? […]

The Political & Economic Toxic Cloud

America is Heading in the Wrong Direction. Every major public opinion poll conducted over the past several years indicates a significant majority of Americans believe the United States is heading in the wrong direction economically and politically. They are right, but many Americans don’t know exactly who to blame, what is causing the problems, or what to […]

Democracy & Capitalism Depend on Clear Language

Obscure Language Sabotages Democracy & Capitalism. Most of the content of my books and articles are written using words that are generally simple enough for a reasonably intelligent 12-year-old child to understand. This is important because many politicians, corporate executives, and financial commentators in the media frequently describe economic and political events in ways that are either technically […]