The rapid-fire invasion of Iraq and then Kurdistan by ISIS, as the Islamic State was calling itself at the time, stunned the world. For several hours, it even presented an existential crisis for Kurdistan itself as the momentum of the invasion by ISIS brought them to within mere kilometers of Erbil – with little standing …
Even in a country with a wealth of beautiful landscapes, the Valle de Cocora still stands out. The broad, emerald green valley stretches east of the village of Salento into the lower reaches of Parque Nacional Natural Los Nevados where it is framed by sharp peaks. Everywhere you’ll see wax palm, the largest palm in …
The following is straight from the notebook I had with me at the time and, I believe, helps give a feel for what it is like walking around Herat: …Wandering around Herat shafts of sunlight penetrate serpentine alleys lined by canvas-covered wooden stalls; the harsh light illuminates the faces of the merchants and their bountiful …
Perhaps not surprisingly to those that know me, I found the military dimension to Arunachal Pradesh interesting. Tensions between India and China run high in this area… Currently, India administers all of Arunachal Pradesh. However, the Chinese lay claim to the majority of Arunachal Pradesh as they believe it to be an extension of the …
An evening exploration of the streets of Damascus… “…no recorded event has occurred in the world but Damascus was in existence to receive news of it. Go back as far as you will into the vague past, there was always a Damascus… She has looked upon the dry bones of a thousand empires and will …
If you ever make it to Omdurman, Sudan (across the river from Khartoum) be sure to check out the Omdurman camel market. Or, you can just read this site… Most of the animals are brought in (on foot – like the old days of the American cowboy) from Darfur and South Sudan since these areas …
Baalbek has long enjoyed a reputation as home to some of the finest Roman ruins anywhere in the world. However, even without the Roman ruins, it would still be an interesting town… To reach Baalbek, one passes through the hot, dry Bekaa, not so much a valley as a high-altitude plain, with its Hezbollah flags …
Viewed from a distance, Port-au-Prince seems a pleasant and mellow Caribbean port city: Once one is out on the streets though, the fact that all is not well in Port-au-Prince soon becomes apparent. And the January 12, 2010 earthquake only served to push Haiti closer to the top of the Failed States Index… Destruction, dysfunction …
Zululand is an interesting place with quite a history…
Chernobyl Reactor # 4 shortly after the meltdown: Part 1: Chernobyl and Reactor # 4 Until the late 1990s it would have been impossible for me to come here. The whole area was sealed off. Now though, the United Nations is encouraging “ecotourism” to the former Chernobyl disaster zone in order to help the area …
There aren’t a lot of roads in Somalia. Those that do exist mostly pass through rough countryside, interspersed with the occasional village and frequent checkpoint. Upon arriving at a checkpoint, if you don’t have an armed guard with you, a bribe will be required and all of your passport details will be carefully taken down …
“I am usually opposed to investing in any non dividend paying stocks. I think the stock market is closer to a Ponzi scheme or chain letter than it is an efficient market. I’m not into p/e ratios, p/s ratios, etc. And I’m not going to make a big investment in a company just because I … Continue reading
Remember this video? I recently received the following email in response to my posting of the above video on YouTube that Mr. Downing filmed during our “Southern Exposure” Tour: AMILLENNIAL has sent you a message on YouTube: Subject: BAPTIST PREACHER SINGING IT IS OK NOT TO BELIEVE, OR DISAGREE AND IT WOULD BE BETTER TO … Continue reading
The Voortrekker Monument Johannesburg For some reason I got completely out of control with taking pictures at weird angles on this trip. I thought it looked cool at the time. Most of my pictures are intended to convey a feeling of what a place is like rather than to stand on their own artistic merits. … Continue reading
Anytime an American girl tells you she “gets bored easily” you should immediately scratch her off your potential girlfriend list. I am saving you a lot of headaches with this advice. Continue reading
This one’s primarily for you, Sienna, but in this week of great turmoil in the financial markets, it bears reading by us all… Today we are switching things up a bit with a guest essay: ******************************** “In the absence of the gold standard, there is no way to protect savings from confiscation through inflation. There … Continue reading
Education time, kids… For those of you that don’t know, international legal protocol surrounding the shipment of lethal weapons requires that the shipper have a certificate of “end use” in which the buyer declares that the weapons are for its use only, and will not be transshipped. The end-user certificate in this example covered shipments … Continue reading
An excerpt from William S. Burroughs’ novella The Cat Inside… ****** At Los Alamos Ranch School, where they later made the atom bomb and couldn’t wait to drop it on the Yellow Peril, the boys are sitting on logs and rocks, eating some sort of food. There is a stream at the end of a … Continue reading
The Velvet Rocket 