… an architectural and social movement promoting the reduction and simplification of living spaces.
Tiny homes have been promoted as offering lower-cost and sometimes eco-friendly features within the housing market, and they have also been promoted a housing option for homeless individuals. …
Clean, efficient, safe. An ideal tourist destination for me after chaotic Indonesia.
Almost everyone speaks English. They are very welcoming of visitors.
Yes, some things are very expensive. But you can have a great time spending very little money.
For example, Shimano Cycling World will rent you a high end road bike for $150. Or you can take one of their mountain bikes for free. Nice.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube. Drone footage I shot of myself was done in one of the parks dedicated to drone pilots. Singapore thinks of everything. 😀
Changi Airport (always ranked #1 in the world) provides free city tours if you have a layover of enough hours at the right time of day.
Singapore’s diversity of cuisine is touted as a reason to visit the country, due to its combination of convenience, variety, quality, and price.
But even more so, Terry Gou, who, in 1974, founded FoxConn in Taiwan.
Incredibly ambitious, by 2012 Foxconn made up approximately 40% of worldwide consumer electronics production.
Just one of his many huge factories in China produces the bulk of Apple’s iPhone line and is sometimes referred to as “iPhone City”.
Needless to say, there are many abused workers in those plants. They don’t last many months on the gruelling production line.
Over the years, Gou and others steadily wooed Tim Cook and Apple to move manufacturing to China.
Today over 90% of Apple products are made in China. A huge risk for the company if authoritarian dictator-for-life Xi decides to invade Taiwan. Or shut down exports.
Attempts to move production to other nations have been mostly experiments. Or motivated by politics, not business.
In the meantime, Chinese engineers — many trained by Apple — are building cheaper, better Chinese phones in China. They no longer need Apple.
It’s a precarious situation.
Apple in China is a 2025 book uniquely looking at the company from the viewpoint of China.
In her May 15, 2025 review for The New York Times, Hannah Beech called Apple in China “smart and comprehensive,” praising Patrick McGee’s clever and chronologically organized timeline of how Apple’s expansion to China manufacturing facilities under then COO Tim Cook created a global success but also an “existential vulnerability” for the United States.
An international crisis. Trump uses the excuse to declare martial law in the USA.
He suspends civilian legal processes. Commander in Chief Trump and the U.S. Military are in charge.
It could happen.
The martial law concept in the United States is closely tied with the right of habeas corpus, which is in essence the right to a hearing on lawful imprisonment, or more broadly, the supervision of law enforcement by the judiciary.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Wednesday lent some support to calls to suspend habeas corpus as part of the administration’s immigration crackdown after aide Stephen Miller said the White House was considering the idea.
We know Trump wants to be a Royal like murdering dictator-for-life MBS in Saudi Arabia.
Trump’s first international visit?
To the nation of bin Laden. 15 of the 19 terrorists in 911 were from Saudi Arabia.
Is this really America First? It looks like Trump First.
You know Elon Musk would be 100% supportive of declaring martial law. He’s already openly emulating Hitler who did exactly this in Germany ➙ February 28, 1933, effectively suspended many constitutional rights, creating a state of emergency and giving the Nazis significant control.
Here’s the best discussion on this issue, I’ve seen. Timothy Snyder is an American historian who’s an expert in Tyranny.
I’m not smart enough to explain his thinking — but here’s a ChatGPT summary of the non-fiction tomb.
Main Focus: Nexus explores the intersection of technology, human evolution, and the future of societies, emphasizing the merging of biological and digital realms.
Technological Convergence: Harari examines how advancements in genetic engineering, artificial intelligence, and biotechnology are changing humanity’s relationship with itself and the world.
Human Enhancement: A central theme is the idea that humans may soon be able to enhance their biological and mental capacities through technology, leading to “post-human” forms of existence.
Ethical Implications: The book raises questions about the ethics of altering human biology, creating artificial life, and the consequences of tampering with the essence of what it means to be human.
Social and Economic Impact: Harari discusses how these technological advancements could lead to social divides, with some individuals or groups gaining access to powerful enhancements while others are left behind.
Surveillance and Control: A significant concern is the potential for increased surveillance and control over individuals’ minds and bodies, both by governments and corporations.
Evolution of Consciousness: Harari reflects on how human consciousness may evolve or change in response to these new technologies, as well as the philosophical questions surrounding free will and identity.
End of Homo Sapiens: The book suggests that humanity might be on the verge of an epochal shift, where Homo sapiens could be replaced by a new, technologically-enhanced species—either through natural evolution or deliberate engineering.
Uncertainty of the Future: Harari emphasizes the unpredictability of the future, acknowledging that the developments discussed could lead to both utopian and dystopian outcomes.
The American economy might never have been stronger relative to the rest of the world than in 2024.
BUT more and more of that money is going to the very rich. If that continues, you can project the States will be come some kind of oligarchy. Perhaps even a totalitarian state.
The Economist still ranks the USA as a ‘flawed democracy‘ in their annual Democracy Index. Only 29th on the list of democracies.
The full democracies 2023:
Norway
New Zealand
Iceland
Sweden
Finland
Denmark
Ireland
Switzerland
Netherlands
Taiwan
Luxembourg
Germany
Canada
Australia
Uruguay
Japan
Costa Rica
United Kingdom
I want to live in a full democracy where it’s easiest to get rid of leaders the majority don’t want. As Churchill said: “democracy is the worst form of government – except for all the others that have been tried.”
The full democracies tend to have a smaller gap between rich and poor.
Russians can’t get rid of Putin. Ali Hosseini Khamenei has been the leader of Iran since 1989. Iranians can’t get rid of him.
Americans should be wondering whether they can get rid of Musk or Trump.
It’s obvious that the top 1% buy American politicians who vote in their interest. This chart is from 2014. Things are much worse in 2024.
For countries where water is plentiful (Canada) and industries where water is a huge fraction of costs, desalination is probably not viable for industry.
BUT for countries where water is already scarce, or for industries that don’t depend mainly on water, bringing desalinated water is completely plausible. Prices continue to drop.
I recall having a hot shower in Saudi Arabia. Great water pressure. … Wondering where the H2O was coming from.
Canada has some of the worst mobile phone service / costs in the world.
And I hate mobile phones at any price.
SOMEHOW I ended up paying Bell Canada $80 / month.
I’d only gone with Bell because they supposedly had the best coverage on one part of Vancouver Island. (It seemed just as crappy as the rest.). AND for their 30 day holiday add-on plans.
Bell dropped the 30 day plans in 2023, alongside the other major carriers.
WhistleOut recommended Public and Freedom Mobile as the best options for Canadians who want combined Canada + USA coverage. My bill went to $36.70 /month. Pay as I go. Cancel anytime.
No surprise ➙ once I switched I got a phone call from Bell offering me something for $40 / month. No USA coverage.
Rick McCharles 