Reporting from: Bangkok, Thailand I've often said that I love spending time in Asia for one simple reason. While I love the big cities, the hustle and bustle, and the great food,...
The rise and fall of societies and the death of the Constitution
Reporting from: Angkor Wat - Siem Reap, Cambodia I love to walk, but I have to admit yesterday’s journey through the temples of Siem Reap - including Angkor Wat - has left my...
Is the Cambodia second passport a scam?
Dateline: Siem Reap, Cambodia In Khmer, Siem Reap literally means "Siam defeated". It's an old tribute to the great expansion of the Khmer Empire, which covered most of...
Why I choose flight over fight
Reporting from: Phnom Penh, Cambodia Last month in Vietnam, a local business owner told me a story about doing business with the Vietnamese. He talked about just how important...
The government slaves that couldn’t get a Cambodian passport
Reporting from: Phnom Penh, Cambodia I'm not a big fan of the United Nations. If you don't know just how ridiculous, condescending, and useless the UN is, go take a tour of their...
A reminder of big government power and Manifest Destiny
Reporting from: Bavet, Cambodia I’ve always found borders to be an interesting thing. As an eight year old, I would stand in my bedroom and stare at the large world map my mother...
Is “transparency” overrated? Is political corruption good?
Reporting from: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam There’s a notion in the western world that “transparency” - a word largely co-opted by western governments to prove their superiority to...
Are Taxes the Price We Pay for Civilization?
Last updated October 15, 2020 Dateline: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam US Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. claimed: “Taxes are the price we pay for a civilized...
Shadow statistics: why government statistics are lies
Reporting from: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam The idea of a census has been around for thousands of years. The Babylonians are believed to have taken the first government census over...
Thank You for Smoking: A Vietnam Smoking Ban No One Follows
Reporting from: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam This past Saturday night, the scene was dizzying. The taxi driver here in Ho Chi Minh City didn’t know where the relaxed, chill “Skybar”...
Nationalism made them slaves in life… and death
Reporting from: Hue, Vietnam The Citadel here in Hue is the central part of the city, and the basis from which the rest of the city grew. As the capital city of Vietnam’s Nguyen...
The Hanoi Hilton: why you shouldn’t trust a surveillance state
Reporting from: Ha Noi, Vietnam Some people are willing to forgive anything the government does. While I tend to avoid engaging with a lot of tourists while I travel, I happened...
Is this third-world country the best example of voluntarism?
Reporting from: Ha Noi, Vietnam I almost got killed today. Actually, I almost got killed a lot of times. If I had to guess, I'd say it was close to 87. Truth is, I lost count...
Vietnam’s entry tax is a more honest tourist tax
Reporting from: Ha Noi, Vietnam I arrived in Vietnam from Hong Kong on Saturday night, just missing the beer fest that seems to take over the central city's bustling Lan Kwai...
No Currency Restrictions or Reports in Hong Kong
Dateline: Hong Kong-Macau Ferry Terminal Update 2020: This article was originally written in 2013 when I first began traveling and exploring offshore options around the world. To...
It’s Time for a New Declaration of Independence | Freedom
Reporting from: An undisclosed location in The Land of the Free 237 years ago, fifty members of the Continental Congress ratified their shot over the bow; a declaration of...
“You’re dead to me”, Love, the United States Government
In 1851, American physician Samuel Cartwright dreamt up a racist bit of psychology to explain why black slaves were fleeing the plantation. Drapetomania, as he called it, was...
Big Government is Your New Mommy – Here’s Your Escape
If you had involved parents like mine, you know how difficult it was to get some of the stuff you wanted as a kid. Growing up, kids tend to figure out which parent will give them...
A surveillance state spies on more than phone calls
If you're just becoming disturbed by the National Security Agency listening to your phone calls, you're in for quite a shock. The gravity of news about the "Security" statists in...
All propaganda is equal, but some propaganda is more equal than others
I pre-recorded some radio interviews today so I'd have time to meet with a top business contact of mine who's meeting me this weekend to discuss some exciting projects for Nomad...
