David Rauschenbach

Every quarter I stop through Berlin for a week of business, and I'm reminded of what Germany does best. This breakfast spread is fairly representative of how you will be served breakfast at the average humble hotel.

In 2008, Synchronica acquired Axis Mobile, and sent me to Israel to check out the goods. Synchronica does business in Dubai, and in other places where mobile phones are sold and used, and it was explained to me that if I ever had to enter Dubai, I'd now require a second passport, because Dubai mistreats, harasses, delays, or detains those with an Israeli stamp in their passport. Does that sound like a business trip you want to take?

Notice that I did not say that Dubai cares whether you have travelled to Israel. If that were the case, second passports would not exist, and commerce would soon stop at ALL borders, worldwide, which is called protectionism, or nation-state suicide.

My wife and I recently had the pleasure of vacationing for a week in Argentina. We decided to see what Doug Casey's La Estancia de Cafayate development had to offer, so we went along with their standard 7-day itinerary. We had a great time, and Doug's crew were friendly, smart, and fun, as one might have expected.