Europeans should assert the right to bear arms

Laws that forbid the carrying of arms, disarm only those who are neither inclined, nor determined to commit crimes. Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants. They serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man. – Thomas Jefferson

On Friday, 13^th November Paris witnessed the worst terror attacks in its modern history. As if on cue, President Hollande led the western establishment’s predictable knee-jerk reaction in calling for greater security, more intrusive surveillance and diminished civil liberties. Within a few days the European Commission (EC) adopted a package of measures including stricter controls on sale and registration of firearms and a “ban on certain semi-automatic firearms which will not, under any circumstance be allowed to be held by private persons…”

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Our energy predicament

In the wake of last year’s oil price collapse we are once again reassured about an overabundance of cheap oil. This could only be a temporary aberration. Below I present the reasons why the prospects are grim and the price of oil is likely to rise multi-fold in the next few years. The consequences for the western societies will be serious.

During the 19 years of my career in commodities I have observed time and again how significant price changes shape the prevailing market narrative. By narrative here I mean a shared interpretation of the way key causal forces affect market events. Market fundamentals – available bits of relevant data and information – are the building blocks that mould our understanding of what’s going on, but what we do with them depends on how we evaluate their relevance and credibility. This is never a straightforward process, so at any one time we can entertain more than one possible interpretation of market conditions.

Understanding inflation

There is no subtler, no surer means of overturning the existing basis of society than to debauch the currency – V. I. Lenin

The financial and economic attack on Russia by Western powers led by the U.S. have led to a dramatic collapse of oil prices and of Russian Ruble. This has triggered a flurry of commentary and analysis which is, more often than not, long on conjecture and short on clear understanding of the problem at hand. As a hedge fund manager running an inflation hedging fund, I have some qualification in this respect. At the moment, it seems that Russian leadership’s approach to this crisis is to let market mechanisms work rather than trying to “combat” inflation. I think this is a remarkably wise strategy and many of the commentators likening Russia’s central bank as West’s fifth column are probably mistaken. The text below is the article “Understanding Inflation” by Dan Blatt published by online magazine FutureCasts – I believe this is one of the best and most concise texts about inflation supported with much empirical and historical research. It may be a bit long but the problem of monetary inflation is absolutely vital to understand. Here goes:

What money can’t buy – a 3-minute video

Nicely done!!

Love on St. Valentine’s day

Erich Fromm wrote that love is the only satisfactory answer to the problem of human existence. Erich Fromm was spot on. In our world we’ve dedicated one day to it and celebrate it in a way that reeks of consumerism. How about making every day St. Valentine’s? How about cultivating love as the most important way we relate to one another, to ourselves and to the world we inhabit?

I dedicate this post to my wife.

CNBC: Congressman Ron Paul is a big fat fraud!!

Anyhow, that’s what CNBC would have you believe, hoping that you are as gullible and airheaded as they must assume you are. Working in the financial industry, I have the unhappy privilege of having CNBC running continuously on TV screens scattered around the office.