A big proportion of wealth is a fiction. Before your natural instincts kick in, take a look at how much of finance works. Let’s use the example of Bitcoin, which until January 2009 did not exist. As of today, the total market capitalisation is over half a trillion US$[1]Bitcoin. And yet it’s nothing. It all… Continue reading We’re still not over the 2008 financial crises
The UN is past its sell by date
After Ban Ki-moon, the outgoing Secretary General of the United Nations announced that he was standing for Korea’s presidency, based on his performance at the UN, I wrote an article giving prospective voters an insight into the reality of that performance[1]UNacceptable. Nothing to do with the article, but he stood down pretty soon afterwards. The… Continue reading The UN is past its sell by date
Why America lost the war in Afghanistan
When you throw money at a problem, you end up with an expensive problem. I spent four years on and off in Afghanistan. My first trip was as a technical advisor for the voters registration leading up to the 2009 presidential election. The existing voters register had failed all of the four primary tests as… Continue reading Why America lost the war in Afghanistan
Sleep tracking
I’ve always been able to sleep well, until I couldn’t. It happened while I was in Vietnam where I’d been living for a couple of years. Vietnam has the second highest road mortality rate in South-East Asia. In a space of six months, I’d seen five, which made my favourite pastime, cycling, a bit of… Continue reading Sleep tracking
Are we being lied to again?
Switzerland’s Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) has recommended NO Covid vaccination for Spring /Summer 2023. Their reasons are that nearly everyone in Switzerland has either been infected, or been vaccinated, and the the current version of the virus is mild. Even people who are in the high risk category are not advised to get… Continue reading Are we being lied to again?
Our problem with the FOPH
When I first read Health2030 – the Federal Council’s health policy strategy for the period 2020–2030, I was excited at the prospect of a government agency that understood the challenges it was facing, and had a clear plan of how to address them[1]The Federal Council’s health policy strategy 2020–2030. It seemed to have objectives for… Continue reading Our problem with the FOPH
Buying votes
In August 2005, Raghuram Rajan, at the time a virtually unknown economist at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, predicted the financial crisis[1]Larry Summers vs. the long-termers. He was at a conference of high-powered economists who had convened in part to honor Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan. Larry Summers[2]Served as 71st United States… Continue reading Buying votes
Hungerstreik
Die Gesundheitsversorgung in der Schweiz kostet heute mehr als 11.000 US-Dollar pro Person und Jahr und ist damit die teuerste der Welt. Gemäss KVG, dem Krankenpflege- und Krankenversicherungsgesetz, ist die Versicherung obligatorisch, und die Ärmsten werden vom Wohnkanton subventioniert. Abgesehen davon, dass es eine Lücke zwischen dem Gesetz und der Praxis gibt. Ich falle in… Continue reading Hungerstreik
Grève de la faim
Les soins de santé en Suisse coûtent désormais plus de 11 000 dollars par personne et par an, ce qui en fait les plus chers au monde. Dans le cadre de la LAMal, la législation sur les soins de santé et l’assurance-maladie, l’assurance est obligatoire et les plus pauvres sont subventionnés par le canton dans… Continue reading Grève de la faim