Trends & News

Comedian fined $35k for offensive joke

Are you ready for this week’s absurdity? Here’s our Friday roll-up of the most ridiculous stories from around the world that are threats to your liberty, your finances, and your prosperity.

Canadian Comedian fined $35,000 for joke


A Canadian comedian must pay $35,000 to a disabled man he made fun of in some of his acts.

A Quebec appeals court upheld the decision by the Quebec Human Rights Tribunal. It said Mike Ward exceeded[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • December 6, 2019
  • Gros Islet, Saint Lucia

Gold has outperformed the stock market over the last year

For more than a year, I’ve been strongly encouraging readers to consider buying gold.

In fact, almost exactly one year ago to the day, I wrote that gold was cheap relative to just about every other asset class in the world.

Since then, gold has been one of the best performing investments in the world.

Over the last 12 months, the price of gold is up 21.1%, handily outperforming everything from the[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • December 4, 2019
  • En route to Saint Lucia

British government to decide how children can decorate their bedrooms

Are you ready for this week’s absurdity? Here’s our Friday roll-up of the most ridiculous stories from around the world that are threats to your liberty, your finances, and your prosperity.

Crackdown on homeschooling coming across Great Britain


A few weeks ago we talked about how the Labour Party in Great Britain wants to eliminate private schools.

Now, in addition to that, regional governments across Great Britain are launching an assault against homeschooling.

[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • November 29, 2019
  • Bahia Beach, Puerto Rico

Why Elizabeth Warren wants you to be poor

Late last week, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos gave away nearly $100 million to more than a dozen charities across the United States.

It would take the average person more than 1,000 centuries to accumulate that much money. Yet Bezos gave it away in a single day.

And it’s not like that was the first time he’d ever given to charity. Bezos has already donated billions of dollars to other philanthropic endeavors.

You’d[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • November 26, 2019
  • Bahia Beach, Puerto Rico

Newspaper will stop reporting any news “traumatic” to snowflakes

Are you ready for this week’s absurdity? Here’s our Friday roll-up of the most ridiculous stories from around the world that are threats to your liberty, your finances, and your prosperity.

College newspaper will no longer report “triggering” news


Northwestern is one of the finest universities in the world and is particularly renowned for its journalism school.

The Daily Northwestern student paper, staffed by these aspiring journalists, recently apologized for covering a “traumatic” event[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • November 22, 2019
  • San Juan, Puerto Rico

Who knew 2 cents could go so far?

About a week and a half ago I had a terrible sinus infection… I’m talking -really- bad. My sneezes were so ferocious that I half-expected the US Geological Survey to register them on the Richter Scale.

In the midst of all that misery, I became acutely interested in the health care plans of leading US Presidential contenders… and stayed up late at night when I couldn’t sleep combing through their solutions.

Most of[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • November 21, 2019
  • San Juan, Puerto Rico

The five scary new rules of upside-down capitalism

Roughly 23,000 years ago in modern-day Israel, a small tribe of ex-cave dwellers built a tiny village near the Sea of Galilee that may have been one of the earliest agrarian societies in human history.

Archaeologists discovered the site more than thirty years ago.

And they found tens of thousands of well-preserved seeds and agricultural tools, suggesting that the people who lived there planted a great deal of food in the fertile lands[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • November 20, 2019
  • San Juan, Puerto Rico

Retired man’s home seized over $8.41 in unpaid property taxes

Are you ready for this week’s absurdity? Here’s our Friday roll-up of the most ridiculous stories from around the world that are threats to your liberty, your finances, and your prosperity.

County government seizes home over $8.41 in unpaid tax


When an 83-year old retiree paid his property taxes late, he miscalculated the interest owed to the county government.

All told, he was $8.41 short. Yes you read that correctly, i.e. less than nine[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • November 15, 2019
  • San Juan, Puerto Rico

Just in case the Fed ignites the atmosphere…

In early 1940s as World War II raged in Europe and the Pacific, the most powerful person in the world was NOT Adolf Hitler. Nor Franklin Roosevelt. Nor Winston Churchill. Nor Josef Stalin.

Not even close.

The most powerful person in the world was a Nobel Prize winning physicist named Arthur Compton.

Compton had been tasked by the US government to lead a group of scientists in developing a plutonium-based nuclear weapon--[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • November 14, 2019
  • San Juan, Puerto Rico

You have 49 days left to come to Puerto Rico

Over the past two decades, one of my hobbies has been chronicling my family history.

It started back in the early 2000s right around my first military deployment. I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it home, so I had a strong desire to know more about my ancestors.

I was fascinated by what I found-- not just names and dates, but the stories of their lives. And the more I[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • November 12, 2019
  • San Juan, Puerto Rico

UK Cancer charity: Biological females are now ‘people with a cervix’

Are you ready for this week’s absurdity? Here’s our Friday roll-up of the most ridiculous stories from around the world that are threats to your liberty, your finances, and your prosperity.

Apparently it’s not just women who can have babies...


It all started when a British cancer charity decided to drop the word “women” from their pap smear ad campaign.

It seems that suggesting “women” should get pap smears to test for cervical cancer[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • November 8, 2019
  • San Juan, Puerto Rico

When they can take your children away… how free are you?

George Reby was driving from New Jersey to Tennessee to pick up a car he had purchased on eBay when he was stopped for speeding.

Like many Americans, George felt he had nothing to hide from the police. So when the officer asked him if he was carrying any large amounts of cash, he admitted he had $22,000 on him because he was buying a car.

George was able to show the officer[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • November 5, 2019
  • San Juan, Puerto Rico

Confused about your gender? You can commit crimes without punishment in Australia

Are you ready for this week’s absurdity? Here’s our Friday roll-up of the most ridiculous stories from around the world that are threats to your liberty, your finances and your prosperity.

Appeals court overturns child pornography conviction because criminal is transgender


Right up front-- to be absolutely clear, we have absolutely no issues whatsoever about the personal decisions that people make in their lives.

We couldn’t care less if someone chooses to identify as[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • November 1, 2019
  • San Juan, Puerto Rico

How you can save tens of thousands of dollars in taxes by moving abroad

Milton Friedman, one of the most influential economists of the 20th century, once said that “nothing is more permanent than a temporary government program.”

The same can be said about temporary taxes.

Take 1861 for example, when the first-ever federal taxes were levied on American citizens to help pay for the Civil War.

At first these taxes were levied only on residents living in America. But the people in power argued that[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • October 31, 2019
  • San Juan, Puerto Rico

Tanzania: Come for the nature, stay for the stock market

[Editor’s Note: Today’s Note from the Field comes from Sovereign Man Team Member Joe Jarvis who recently climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.]

For some people it starts with loss of appetite. Others get a headache and nausea.

Pole, pole is the motto, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro-- slowly, slowly. At an altitude of 5,895 meters (19,340 feet), you can definitely feel the lack of oxygen on Africa’s highest mountain.

And while the tourists huff[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Sovereign Man
  • October 29, 2019
  • Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania

Hey Air Force, the 1960s called: they want their floppy disks back

Are you ready for this week’s absurdity? Here’s our Friday roll-up of the most ridiculous stories from around the world that are threats to your liberty, your finances and your prosperity.

Air Force Missile Command finally retires 1960s era Floppy Disks


I suspect our younger readers might not know what a floppy disk is, let alone have ever seen one.

Whereas today we have USB drives etc. to copy and store files, the standard[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • October 25, 2019
  • San Juan, Puerto Rico

WeWork: one moron ruining it for everyone else

In 2010, New York-based entrepreneur Adam Neumann had an idea: to lease office space to companies all over the world on a short-term basis.

Usually when a company leases office space, it has to sign a long-term contract; but Neumann wanted to lease space to businesses for terms as short as one month.

It wasn’t an original idea. Companies like Regus have been doing that for decades. But Neumann had two key twists:
[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • October 23, 2019
  • San Juan, Puerto Rico

Now even Sex Robots have rights

Are you ready for this week’s absurdity? Here’s our Friday roll-up of the most ridiculous stories from around the world that are threats to your liberty, your finances and your prosperity.

Singapore officially bans ‘fake’ news


Singapore is great for a lot of things-- banking, business, trade, etc. But it ranks rather poorly for civil liberties.

Case in point: a new law intended to stop fake news came into effect in Singapore this month;[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • October 18, 2019
  • San Juan, Puerto Rico

It’s “violence” to mispronounce someone’s name

Are you ready for this week’s absurdity? You might want to grab a drink for this one... or take a moment to listen to some soothing meditation music.

Here’s our Friday roll-up of the most ridiculous stories from around the world that are threats to your liberty, finances, and possibly your blood pressure.

It’s “violence” to mispronounce someone’s name


Let me ask you a question-- how do you pronounce the name “Shea” ?

[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • October 11, 2019
  • San Juan, Puerto Rico

Why you shouldn’t be able to drive to your bank

What is your favorite coffee shop or restaurant? Which doctor’s office and dentist do you prefer to go to?

I bet these are all within, say, 15 minutes of your home. That makes sense--who wants to drive three hours to get coffee, or take a plane to their dentist?

But what about your bank?

If you live in the USA or Europe, chances are, the banks in your neighborhood probably aren’t that[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • October 10, 2019
  • San Juan, Puerto Rico

Gold’s long-term gains have even outperformed Warren Buffett…

Warren Buffett, despite his extraordinary investment success, has a rather famous and long-standing love/hate relationship with precious metals.

Maybe it started with his dad-- Congressman Howard Buffett of Nebraska-- who, as a staunch advocate for the gold standard, argued to his colleagues on Capitol Hill that “paper money systems have always wound up with collapse and economic chaos.”




Warren himself acquired a record-setting 128 million ounces of silver back in[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • October 7, 2019
  • Santiago, Chile

You can now be fined $250,000 in New York City for saying this phrase

Are you ready for this week’s absurdity? Here’s our Friday roll-up of the most ridiculous stories from around the world that are threats to your liberty and finances.

New York City starts banning words


You can now be fined $250,000 in New York City for using the term “Illegal alien” in a negative way according to new guidance from the City’s Commission on Human Rights.

This applies to landlords, employers, and in public accommodations.
[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • October 4, 2019
  • Sovereign Valley Farm, Chile

Four rules for storing physical gold overseas

In early May in the year 878 AD, Alfred the Great of the Kingdom of Wessex fought a decisive battle against a massive Viking army at a place called Ethandun in southwest England.

Alfred won the battle, defeated the Vikings, recaptured London, and united England under his rule; he’s generally considered to be the first King of England.

One of his first orders of business was to mint silver coins so that his[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • October 3, 2019
  • Santiago, Chile

1,015,736,491,184 reasons to have a Plan B

Precisely one year ago today, the US federal government opened Fiscal Year 2019 with a total debt level of $21.6 trillion:

Specifically, the US federal debt on October 1st last year was $21,606,948,183,180.23

Today is the start of the government’s 2020 Fiscal Year. And the total debt is now $22,622,684,674,364.43

That means they accumulated more than $1 TRILLION in new debt over the course of the 2019 Fiscal Year.

Think about[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • October 1, 2019
  • En Route to Chile

Indian airline passenger caught smuggling gold in his man boobs

Are you ready for this week’s absurdity? Here’s our Friday roll-up of the most ridiculous stories from around the world that are threats to your liberty and finances.

And for our Jewish readers, l'shanah tovah tikatev v'taihatem.

NBC news wants you to confess your climate sins


Bless me media, for I have sinned.

NBC news is soliciting comments from readers on how they could do more to prevent climate change.

“Even those[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • September 27, 2019
  • Bahia Beach, Puerto Rico

This law allows hospitals to kidnap you for profit

An 89 year old man named Robert Allen was feeling depressed after Christmas.

He went to the emergency room, and told the doctor that he had thoughts of hurting himself. Using his powers under the Baker Act, the doctor sent Robert to a mental health facility called North Tampa Behavioral.

Florida’s Baker Act allows doctors, police, or judges to involuntarily commit patients to psychiatric hospitals for up to 72 hours if they show[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • September 25, 2019
  • Bahia Beach, Puerto Rico

How Anti-Fragile are you?

I arrived back home to Puerto Rico late last night after traveling back from our Total Access event in Las Vegas.

It was probably around 11:15 pm when I climbed into bed. And, within minutes, just as the sound of the waves outside was carrying me off to sleep, the whole house started violently shaking.

It turned out to be a magnitude 6.0 earthquake, about 20 miles off the west coast of the[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • September 24, 2019
  • Bahia Beach, Puerto Rico

What I learned from having my mind manipulated this weekend

There are few times in life when you have the opportunity to witness a master at work… someone who is truly the best in the world at what they do.

Whether it’s the world’s greatest chef, a champion athlete, a master pianist, or even the guy who holds the world record for being able to recite the first 70,000 digits of Pi, it’s always exciting to see the best at work.

Apollo Robbins[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • September 23, 2019
  • Las Vegas, Nevada

Swedish man fined $2,000 for someone else’s “hate speech”

Happy Friday everyone. I’m en route to Las Vegas today where we begin a wonderful weekend gathering with our Total Access members.

But I wanted to send you this quick roll-up of the most outrageous (and comical) stories we’re following which affect your liberty and finances.

Let the absurdity begin!
Swedish man fined $2,000 for someone else’s “hate speech”
There’s a Swedish Facebook group known as “Stand up for Sweden”. The group is[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • September 20, 2019
  • En route to Las Vegas, Nevada

Eating human flesh is the latest idea to stop climate change

Get ready for your Friday absurdity! Here are this week’s stories:

Professor advocates for cannibalism to fight climate change


If you’re concerned about the human impact on Earth’s climate, you could plant a tree, install solar panels, ride a bike, or eat your dead relatives.

Don’t let that sack of meat decompose. Put it to good use, save a cow, and sequester that carbon into your own body.

At a summit in Sweden[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • September 13, 2019
  • San Juan, Puerto Rico

The price of gold just hit a record high

A few hours ago, the European Central Bank announced a bonanza stimulus package: interest rate cuts, money printing, quantitative easing, the whole nine yards.

Europe’s economic growth has ground to a halt. The German economy actually shrank last quarter, according to official statistics.

So the European Central Bank is throwing everything including the kitchen sink at this problem. Their stimulus package is like a monetary defibrillator trying to shock Europe’s economies back to[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • September 12, 2019
  • Bahia Beach, Puerto Rico

It’s now “incendiary” to say there are two genders

Happy Friday everyone. Let’s bring on the weekly absurdity!

School cop handcuffs and screams at autistic 8-year-old


An eight year old autistic boy in Southlake, Texas became agitated in his guidance counselor’s office.

At one point the child became fidgety and took out a jump rope (that had been provided to him by the school). Amazingly enough, the counselor felt threatened by this and asked the school cop to come into the office.

[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • September 6, 2019
  • Bahia Beach, Puerto Rico

Think about this if you own Hong Kong dollars

On January 20, 1841, after delivering a series of military defeats to Imperial China in the First Opium War, British forces landed in Hong Kong and took control of the island.

Hong Kong was hugely important for the British economy because it ensured access to the Chinese market. And they went to war multiple times to keep control of the island.

In 1898 the two empires signed a lasting peace treaty whereby Britain[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • September 3, 2019
  • Bahia Beach, Puerto Rico

Feminist thought leader claims milking cows is the same as rape

Welcome to our Friday roll up, where we highlight the most interesting, absurd, and concerning stories we are following this week.

Local tax collector ruins children’s entrepreneurship event


Every summer, a Utah non-profit agency called the Libertas Institute holds an entrepreneurship event for children.

It’s a wonderful idea-- children as young as 5 gather together in a marketplace to buy and sell products and services that they’ve created to one another.

And parents[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • August 30, 2019
  • Bahia Beach, Puerto Rico

I can’t wait until these people are in charge of healthcare…

Last week at a Bernie Sanders campaign stop, someone ask him a question that began with, "Yesterday, oligarch David Koch passed away..."

The Bolshevik crowd interrupted immediately with ebullient cheers, joyfully celebrating the death of a man they had never met and knew nothing about.

If you hadn’t heard, multi-billionaire David Koch died last week at the age of 79 after a prolonged battle with cancer.

Along with his brother Charles, David[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • August 27, 2019
  • San Juan, Puerto Rico