Month: January 2026

Curiositys, Money, Philosophy, PsychologyLeave a comment

Is inherited wealth bad?

Fernando Kaskais

Twins Guillaume Henry de Ramel (left) and Régis Antonin de Ramel, Newport, Rhode Island, United States, 1987. Photo Slim Aarons/Getty Images Despite associations with the idle rich, the fact that inheritances are rising is a sign of a healthy, growing economy By Daniel Waldenström is professor of economics at the Research Institute of Industrial Economics in Stockholm, Sweden. He is the author of Richer and More Equal (2024). Scan the headlines and you might think that Western economies are on the verge of an ‘inheritance explosion’. Popular narratives warn of a looming ‘great wealth transfer’ as baby boomers pass down trillions, and … Continue reading Is inherited wealth bad?

Curiositys, Media&Culture, Philosophy, PsychologyLeave a comment

“Epistemic trespassing”: Why brilliant people can say idiotic things

Fernando Kaskais

alfa27 / kegfire / Adobe Stock / Big Think Not all knowledge carries over. by Jonny Thomson Key Takeaways Linus Pauling was one of the world’s greatest chemists. He won two Nobel Prizes and was a pioneer in both quantum chemistry and molecular biology. But in later years, Pauling started to talk about medicine. In his advocacy of “mega-vitamin” therapies, Pauling argued that mega-doses of vitamin C could treat diseases such as cancer and cure ailments like the common cold. There is no reputable evidence to support this. The medical establishment did and does dismiss these claims as utterly unfounded, unproven, and … Continue reading “Epistemic trespassing”: Why brilliant people can say idiotic things

Big Pharma, Health, Living, Science, USALeave a comment

When Early Cancer Warnings Are Ignored

Fernando Kaskais

Brownstone Journal By Charlotte Kuperwasser  After witnessing, and continuing to witness, the reaction to emerging information about the early cancer signal related to Covid-19 vaccination or infection, I recalled the historical timelines of other early cancer signals. What became immediately clear is that this moment is not unique. For more than a century, society has repeatedly failed to act on early warnings linking environmental, occupational, pharmaceutical, and consumer exposures to cancer. These failures have often been framed as the inevitable cost of scientific uncertainty. But that explanation no longer holds. Today, we are not limited by analytic tools, epidemiology, or biology. In … Continue reading When Early Cancer Warnings Are Ignored

Bizarre, Freak U.S.A, Politics, WarLeave a comment

TGIF: Inept Con Man in the White House

Fernando Kaskais

by Sheldon Richman Trump is hardly the first con man in the White House, but he is by far the most flagrant, and his scale is gargantuan. He’s also rather inept. His latest confession came in a recent message to Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store: Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace, although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America. I’ve italicized confession. Here is … Continue reading TGIF: Inept Con Man in the White House

Brain, Health, Living, Philosophy, PsychologyLeave a comment

How to find your InnSæi

Fernando Kaskais

A view over northwestern Iceland. Photo by Ben Roberts/Panos Pictures In uncertain times, an Icelandic concept can help you reconnect with your intuition and follow your inner compass By Hrund Gunnsteinsdóttir, Icelandic author, speaker, thought leader on intuition and leadership, and executive leadership coach. She is the author of InnSæi: Heal, Revive and Reset with the Icelandic Art of Intuition (2024, 2025), as well as script writer and co-director of the documentary InnSæi: The Power of Intuition (2016). Edited by Christian Jarrett ‘InnSæi’, pronounced ‘in-sy-ay’, is an Icelandic concept that refers to the magnificent, complex, largely incomprehensible but fascinating world that exists within all of … Continue reading How to find your InnSæi

Big Food, Big Oil, Health, Living, ScienceLeave a comment

Scientists Just Discovered Something Horrid About Those Disposable Coffee Cups You’ve Been Slurping

Fernando Kaskais

Getty / Futurism As if we needed even more reasons to use reusable cups. By Victor Tangermann According to a wealth of recent scientific literature, microplastics, tiny pieces of debris anywhere from one micrometer to five millimeters in size, are absolutely everywhere in nature. They’ve even seemingly invaded our bodies, with studies finding them inside our arteries, reproductive organs, and brains. It’s hard to even grapple with everything that exposes you to plastic on a daily basis. And now we’ve got one more: according to a new study published in the aptly-named Journal of Hazardous Materials: Plastics, Griffith University research fellow Xiangyu Liu and his colleagues found that common containers, … Continue reading Scientists Just Discovered Something Horrid About Those Disposable Coffee Cups You’ve Been Slurping

Art, In Portuguese, PhotographyLeave a comment

Imaginando II

Fernando Kaskais

FERNANDO KASKAIS O mar como oráculo desde os primórdios. Há qualquer coisa no movimento da água que nos hipnotiza. Pessoas diferentes, épocas diferentes, sempre o mesmo enigma. Compreender os mistérios do tempo ultrapassa a aptidão humana. Talvez a maneira de ter uma relação harmoniosa com o tempo, seja treinar a mente para não ter pressa, para deter o ímpeto da incerteza o suficiente para permanecer curiosa, para encostar o ouvido ao coração da Natureza e escutar o palpitar de quem e o que somos. https://kaskaisphotos.wordpress.com/2026/01/24/imaginando-ii/ F. Kaskais Web Guru Continue reading Imaginando II

Bizarre, Freak U.S.A, Politics, UnbelievableLeave a comment

Greenland Is Not ‘Our Territory’ and It Never Will Be

Fernando Kaskais

The president is driven by nothing but gnawing greed. by Daniel Larison The president’s insane Greenland obsession won’t die: President Trump called for negotiations for the U.S. to acquire Greenland, saying it was vital to secure North America. The U.S. has never needed to own Greenland to secure North America, and there is nothing to negotiate. Greenland is not “our territory,” it never has been, and it never will be if the people of Greenland have anything to say about it. The president is a deranged revisionist who wants to “reclaim” territory that has never belonged to our country. The president’s claim that his … Continue reading Greenland Is Not ‘Our Territory’ and It Never Will Be

Corruption, Globalization, Media&Culture, Politics, PsychologyLeave a comment

Why Doesn’t Anyone Trust the Media?

Fernando Kaskais

Collages by Mark Harris. Source images: Silhouette © Magalí Druscovich/Reuters/Redux; building © David Zanzinger/Alamy; radio dial and children watching television © Classic Stock/Alamy; newsboy courtesy Lewis Wickes Hine, Library of Congress; paper press © Luisa Fumi/Alamy; front page of the New York Times, July 21, 1969 © magnez2/iStock; printing press, Times of London, 1827 © Lebrecht Alamy; microphone © Olga Yastremska/Alamy  Anatomy of a credibility crisis by Jelani Cobb, Taylor Lorenz, Jack Shafer, Max Tani The challenges facing the establishment media are more severe today than ever before. Trust in the press is at a record low, with only a quarter of Americans aged eighteen to twenty-nine expressing confidence in media organizations. Jobs … Continue reading Why Doesn’t Anyone Trust the Media?

Climate Change, Future, Living, Philosophy, PoliticsLeave a comment

Opinion: Who Gets to Decide How Much Is ‘Enough’ to Live a Good Life?

Fernando Kaskais

Visual: Westend61 via Getty Images The concept of setting sustainable limits on consumption faces a political challenge as it begins to influence policy. By Peter Sutoris For much of the past decade, environmental debates have been dominated by a single question: How quickly can we decarbonize — that is, reduce the greenhouse gases emitted from activities like heating our homes, moving around, and producing food and goods? The urgency is justified. But as climate policy matures, another, more uncomfortable question is coming into view. Cutting carbon emissions is essential, but it is only one part of a broader environmental challenge shaped by … Continue reading Opinion: Who Gets to Decide How Much Is ‘Enough’ to Live a Good Life?