Trends & News

The government gave her son a sex change without parental consent

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

Can’t sue cop for breaking domestic violence victim’s bones


It all started when a boyfriend playfully tried to push his girlfriend into the pool.

Most people would see that as harmless horsing around. But one lady saw domestic violence. So she called the police.

Police came and arrested the boyfriend. His girlfriend,[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • August 23, 2019
  • Bahia Beach, Puerto Rico

There are some enormous benefits in setting up a Solo 401(k)

Earlier this year the US government reported that Social Security’s long-term, unfunded liability now exceeds $50 TRILLION.

Moreover, they forecast that the Social Security and Medicare trust funds will run out of money in 2034.

This is the government’s own calculation.

(And the government’s math is based on rosy assumptions that there will be no more wars, recessions, financial crises, major disasters, etc. which could make the problem even worse.)

Bottom[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • August 22, 2019
  • San Juan, Puerto Rico

Just when you think you own your own private property…

The year was 1967. Ronald Reagan had just become governor of California. Aretha Franklin was belting out R-E-S-P-E-C-T on the radio. Marxist revolutionary leader Che Guevara was captured and executed in Bolivia.

And a restaurant chain called The White Spot opened its newest location in Denver, Colorado.

It was a popular diner; the White Spot served pancakes and milkshakes to customers for decades, and ownership of the Denver location eventually changed hands when[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • August 20, 2019
  • San Juan, Puerto Rico

The latest sign that absolutely nothing makes sense

In the latest sign that absolutely nothing makes sense anymore, WeWork filed formal regulatory paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission last week, officially notifying the world that it will soon be going public.

If you haven’t heard of WeWork (or it’s parent-- ‘The We Company’), it’s a real estate company that owns practically zero real estate.

Instead, they lease vast amounts of office space in commercial buildings on long-term contracts, and then[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • August 19, 2019
  • Dallas, Texas, USA

Medical patient falls off the examination table, sues his physician. . .

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

New Zealand officially legalizes paying employees with crypto-currency 


New Zealand issued a tax bulletin this month officially recognizing that it is legal for employers to pay employees with crypto-currencies like Bitcoin.

The crypto-currencies just have to be able to be converted into fiat currency… which is typically the case with every major crypto.
[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • August 16, 2019
  • Dallas, Texas

Italy was the world’s superpower TWICE. They screwed it up both times

In 750 BC, according to ancient legend, the twin brothers Romulus and Remus founded a tiny hilltop settlement in central Italy.

Romulus slew his brother for violating a magical superstition, and then named their new city after himself: Rome.

And for the first several centuries of its existence, Rome was nothing special. It was one of many minor kingdoms on a peninsula controlled by the Etruscan civilization… and existed at a time when[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • August 14, 2019
  • Rome, Italy

The Federal Reserve might as well use carrier pigeons

In the early 1760s, Mayer Rothschild began building a banking dynasty that would last for centuries.

The elder Rothschild sent his five sons across Europe to establish banks in cities like Paris and London.

One son, Nathan Rothschild, took the lead and expanded the family’s banking dynasty.

With siblings in different countries, the family now had a trusted network of lenders with whom they could finance large government projects like infrastructure and[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • August 13, 2019
  • Spoleto, Italy

Dad sued for slander because he criticized the education system

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

Dad sued for slander because he criticized the education system


Careful what you say about your kid’s public school curriculum.

The company behind a controversial common core math program in North Carolina is suing a dad for libel and slander.

The parent of a high school student has been on a “crusade,” the[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • August 9, 2019
  • Spoleto, Italy

When in Rome, get Italian citizenship

It was probably after 2am last night when I walked up the stairs to bed after a marathon seven hour dinner.

But that’s pretty normal here. This is the eighth year in a row I have spent my summer holiday at this 400 year old villa in the Italian countryside.

I invited a number of my close friends, family, and Total Access members to relax and break bread. We always end up engaging[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • August 8, 2019
  • Spoleto, Italy

Why this is one of my favorite cities in Europe

I feel like a complete broken man right now.

I’m exhausted. Sleep deprived. Malnourished. My muscles are sore. My back is killing me. I’m so hoarse I can barely speak.

Yet despite all that I couldn’t possibly be feeling more excited and exhilarated.

My 10th annual liberty and entrepreneurship workshop just ended yesterday here in Lithuania. And as you can tell, it’s a physically and mentally draining event.

The workshop is[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • August 6, 2019
  • Vilnius, Lithuania

10 year old charged for assault… with a dodgeball

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

10 year old charged for assault… with a dodgeball


A ten year old boy will be brought to juvenile court on assault charges.

His heinous crime was hitting another 10 year old in the face with a dodgeball at recess.

He originally got suspended from school for one day… which seems like a[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • August 2, 2019
  • Vilnius, Lithuania

The Treasury Department is in desperate need of a sucker

Ten years ago, at the peak of the global financial crisis, the Board of Trustees which oversees Social Security in the United States issued a stark warning:

They projected that Social Security’s enormous trust funds would completely run out of money in 2039.

Naturally nobody paid attention. Back in 2009 the economy in shambles, so focusing on a future economic crisis that was more than three decades away was a low priority.

[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • July 30, 2019
  • Vilnius, Lithuania

The federal government sold your Social Security Number for FIVE dollars

The federal government sold your Social Security Number for FIVE dollars

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

Equifax fined $700 million… for 147 million person data breach


Do you remember back in 2017 when Equifax (the giant consumer credit agency) admitted that it had been breached?

Hackers broke into Equifax’s databases and stole personal and financial records of 147[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • July 26, 2019
  • London, UK

Here’s a phrase you’ll never hear again in the USA

“Gentlemen... the National Debt... is paid.”

That sentence has been uttered in Washington DC exactly one time ever, by a Senator announcing that the US government was officially debt free.

That was on January 8, 1835 when the debt that the United States government had accrued since its birth was finally paid off.

Never again would the United States be debt free.

It took 174 years for the debt to rack[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • July 22, 2019
  • Sovereign Valley Farm, Chile

US teacher’s union prioritizes “white fragility” over children’s education

Here’s our Friday roll up of the most bizarre stories we’re following this week.

Mom can’t sue cop who accidentally shot her child


On July 10, 2014, a Sheriff's Deputy from a rural county in southern Georgia was in pursuit of a suspect when he wandered onto the property of Ms. Amy Corbitt.

Corbitt’s ten year old child was playing outside with several other children (as young as 3 years old), under the supervision[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • July 19, 2019
  • Sovereign Valley Farm, Chile

Living like a Hollywood king in Bangkok, Thailand

The first time I met Steven Seagal, it was in the lobby of a posh hotel in Bangkok, Thailand.

He came downstairs sharply dressed, complete with his yellow-tinged ‘Tony Stark’ sunglasses, ready to hit the nightclubs for the evening.

My friend Adam introduced us. Steven bowed to me, and, slightly puzzled, I bowed back, unsure if we were saying hello or preparing to engage in ritualistic combat.

Fortunately it was the former,[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • July 18, 2019
  • Sovereign Valley Farm, Chile

Insanity: Now even JUNK bonds have NEGATIVE yields

75 years ago this month, a group of 744 delegates from around the world gathered at the very posh Mount Washington Hotel in New Hampshire to build a brand new global financial system.

The year was 1944. World War II was still raging in Europe and the Pacific.

But with the successful invasion of Normandy well underway, the Allies knew that Hitler’s days were numbered. And they needed to start preparing for a[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • July 16, 2019
  • Santiago, Chile

British schoolteachers want price controls for vacation packages

Here’s our weekly roll-up of the most absurd and concerning articles we came across this week from both sides of the Atlantic.

8th grader gets 3-week suspension for picture of airsoft gun


Airsoft guns are toy guns which shoot little plastic BBs.

As long as kids are wearing safety glasses, these guns pose no actual threat of injury. And their painted red plastic tips make it obvious they are toy guns.

They are[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • July 12, 2019
  • Bangkok, Thailand

Why Singapore is an outstanding “Plan B” option

Every time I come to Singapore I can’t help but marvel at its spectacular rise.

I have a number of local friends who have been living here since independence in the 1960s, and they tell me the most incredible stories about how impoverished and underdeveloped Singapore was back then.

Things were so backward back then that people would literally throw their own human waste out in the middle of the street. There was[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • July 8, 2019
  • Singapore

US government mulls banning encryption

Here’s our Friday roll up of the most absurd and concerning articles we came across this week.
US Government officials consider banning end to end encryption
Leaders from US government agencies are rumored to be pursuing a ban on end-to-end encryption.

Tech companies like Apple and Google often build encryption into their technology to prevent data from being hacked and stolen.

Apps like Whatsapp and Signal also encrypt communications so that even if[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • July 5, 2019
  • Manila, Philippines

Three solid ideas to help you get started

In October of 2008, a plumber from Ohio named Joseph Wurzelbacher made national headlines when he confronted US Presidential Candidate (then Senator) Barack Obama at a campaign rally:

“Your tax plan’s going to tax me more,” Joe told Senator Obama.

The confrontation sparked a sensation, and Joe became known nationwide as “Joe the Plumber”.

He was right-- his new business would be subject to a tax increase under Obama’s plan to raise[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • July 3, 2019
  • Manila, Philippines

The Bolsheviks aren’t coming. They’re already here.

The average Westerner who hasn’t traveled very much believes Moscow to be a cold, bleak, desolate capital city that’s filled with Stalinist-era architecture and a population that lives in utter misery.

But the reality of this place is nearly the complete opposite.

Moscow is a bright, beautiful, cosmopolitan city. I’ve always found Moscow to feel more European than most European capitals, with gorgeous architecture that never seems to end.

Moscow is easily[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • July 1, 2019
  • Moscow, Russian Federation

The ridiculous return of the Zimbabwe dollar

Here’s our Friday roll up of the most absurd and concerning articles we came across this week.

Jail time for offensive image in Great Britain


Recently some idiot teenager in Britain edited an image of Prince Harry into something that was stupid and racist.

This moron clearly intended to be offensive. His photo depicts the prince (who married Meghan Markle) with a gun to his head and the caption, “see ya later race traitor.”
[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • June 28, 2019
  • Moscow, Russian Federation

Not quite ready for investment… but still Disneyland for nature lovers

In the spring of 1937, a young Scottish diplomat named Fitzroy Maclean embarked on a two year journey across the Soviet Union.

It was something that no Westerner had done in more than two decades, and this was well before any modern conveniences, so Maclean had to travel by any means necessary-- including donkey cart.

Years later he published a wonderful book about his experience called Eastern Approaches.

To give you a[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • June 24, 2019
  • Almaty, Kazakhstan

Texas wants to make sex jokes illegal

Here’s our Friday roll up of the most absurd and concerning articles we came across this week.

UK bans advertisement with “harmful gender stereotypes”


UK bureaucrats will now decide if ads and commercials are too offensive.

New regulations ban advertisements with gender stereotypes "that are likely to cause harm, or serious or widespread offence."

So a woman cleaning while a man is being lazy-- banned.

Suggesting a poor physique caused other failures--[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • June 21, 2019
  • Almaty, Kazakhstan

Yikes! Japan has more people over the age of 80 than under the age of 10

Earlier this week the United Nation’s Department of Economic and Social Affairs released its 2019 world population report… and there were a number of very interesting findings:

1) World population continues to grow slightly, but the rate of global population growth is at the lowest level since at least 1950.

 2) Global population growth rates are unevenly distributed. Developed nations (including the US, Japan, Western Europe) suffer from alarming declines in fertility rates,[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • June 20, 2019
  • Osaka, Planet Japan

Rejoice. The end of Banking is nigh.

On January 3, 2009, about six months before I launched Sovereign Man more than a decade ago, the Bitcoin blockchain came into existence.

50 bitcoins were mined by the network’s creator in that very first transaction. And within a few days, the first open-source Bitcoin software was released.

Few people noticed. By October of 2009, the value of a single Bitcoin was still just $0.0009 (9/100th of a penny).

[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • June 19, 2019
  • Osaka, Japan

Celebrating 10 years from the oldest hotel in the world

In the year 705 AD, a Japanese entrepreneur named Fujiwara Mahito opened a small inn at the foot of the Akaishi mountains in central Honshu.

At the time, few people probably thought the inn would last very long.

Fujiwara didn’t know anything about being an innkeeper... he had been groomed to follow in his father’s footsteps and serve the emperor as a bureaucrat.

And the location he selected for his inn[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • June 17, 2019
  • Hayakawa, Yamanshi Prefecture, Japan

Four insane data privacy scandals, just from this month

For this Friday’s roll-up of bizarre and disturbing stories from around the world, we found ourselves zeroing-in on some ridiculous data privacy violations.

Soccer app spies on fans


The Spanish soccer (sigh, OK-- football) league, known by fans around the world simply as La Liga, knew that most pubs across Europe showing its matches weren’t paying for the subscription.

La Liga was sick of losing out on royalties from the pirated video streams. So[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • June 14, 2019
  • Kyoto, Japan

Meanwhile, over on Planet Japan

It was only a few days ago that the Japanese government’s Financial Services Agency published its oddly-titled “Annual Report on Ageing Society”.

(Like everything in Japan, English translations often hilariously miss the mark...)

This is a report that the Ministry of Finance puts out every year. And as the name implies, the report discusses the state of Japan’s pension fund, and its future prospects for taking care of its senior citizens.

Bear[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • June 13, 2019
  • Tokyo, Japan

As Hong Kong refuses to bend the knee…

Sun Tzu, the legendary Chinese general of the 6th century BC Zhou Dynasty, famously wrote in the Art of War:

“When you engage in actual fighting, if victory is long in coming, then men's weapons will grow dull and their ardor will be damped. If you lay siege to a town, you will exhaust your strength.”

Modern day governments understand this principle very well. And that’s lesson #1 I want to discuss today.
[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • June 12, 2019
  • Tokyo, Japan

Who would possibly do something so crazy? Pretty much everyone in Japan.

It was precisely 20 seconds past 9:44am on November 14, 2017 that Japan Railways train number 5255 departed from Minami Nagareyama Station on the outskirts of Tokyo.

Hardly anything seems noteworthy about a train leaving a station. It happens countless times each day all over the world.

Except THIS particular train was supposed to depart FORTY seconds past 9:44am. So it left the station 20 seconds early.

In virtually every other country[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • June 11, 2019
  • Tokyo, Japan

Not too shabby for a place with no natural resources…

There are truly so many things to love about Hong Kong.

Most visitors would probably gush about the exotic night life or legendary cuisine (the Cantonese, they say, eat anything with four legs... except the table.)

All of those things are fine and good. But at the top of my own list of things that I love about Hong Kong is that this place is a veritable monument to the awe-inspiring forces of[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • June 10, 2019
  • Hong Kong

Local government seized countless children based on falsified drug test results

Rejoice, it’s Friday. Here is our weekly roll-up of bizarre and disturbing stories from around the world.
1. Local government seized countless children based on falsified drug test results
For years, the county of Ozark, Alabama hired a private laboratory to analyze paternity and drug tests.

These were pretty critical tests… because the county would rely on those test results to determine whether or not to take someone’s children away from them.

It[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Simon Black
  • June 7, 2019
  • Bangkok, Thailand

My bank in Denmark just offered me a NEGATIVE rate of interest to borrow money

[Editor’s Note: Today’s note was penned by one of our international contributing editors.]

Yesterday I called my bank in Denmark, Nordea, and couldn’t believe what they told me…

They offered to lend me money at MINUS 0.12% for a ten-year mortgage.

In other words, the bank would PAY ME to take out a loan.

Of course, as a Sovereign Man editor, I’ve written a lot about negative interest rates. But most[...] Click here to continue reading
  • Alex Moneton
  • June 4, 2019
  • Copenhagen, Denmark