@Big Mike....Ecuador is on this list.

The 15 Best Countries To Retire To In 2014 - Forbes

Top 15 Best Foreign Countries for Retirement: 2014
https://www.thinkadvisor.com/2014/01/13/top-15-best-foreign-countries-for-retirement-2014

The World’s Best Places To Retire In 2014
https://internationalliving.com/2014/01/the-best-places-to-retire-2014/

If i did not already plan to retire in Asia, and this is if turmoil does not break out over there.....i would choose South America, and based on everything i have read Ecuador looks good to me.
It ranks High in most Retirement Destinations

Latin American progressives and environmental duplicity - The Ecologist

Quoting 

While there have been important social gains, a starkly problematic result of this process is that leaders such as Correa, Maduro or Morales have deepened a model which depends on funding welfare and purchasing political legitimacy through extractive earnings. Extractive industries make up over half of exports in Ecuador, where 44% of the government's revenue stems from oil sales. In Peru, 70% of exports come from extractive industries, whereas in Bolivia, mining and fossil fuels account for 83% of traded goods. This dependency shows no sign of abating, propelled by the shale revolution enveloping the region, which holds some of the world's largest shale oil and gas reserves. Aware of this endowment, most of Latin America's governments, from Chile to Venezuela to Mexico, have either been assiduously exploring their territories for shale deposits, or have begun the process of extraction. Amid widespread protests and public concerns, they defiantly wave away any apprehensions about downstream social and environmental consequences. Miguel Galuccio, CEO of the Argentine state energy firm YPF, assured everyone that any suggestion of environment impacts from the country's shale fields was a "myth".

Yahoo!

Good long article on the Swiss gold referendum, coming up at the end of November:

This Little Piggy Bent The Market | Things That Make You Go Hmmm... Investment Newsletter | Mauldin Economics

Dubious: "There is a very good chance the motion will get passed; and I think that, when it does, it will spark calls for similar actions in neighbouring countries such as Austria, for example, or maybe the Netherlands."

AFAICT, even if this thing does pass, it then has to be ratified by the Swiss cantons individually, doesn't it. Somebody who knows about Swiss politics, please chime in here...

Backed by China, Russia to Deploy Bombers over Gulf of Mexico | Fox News Insider

This article is about the open of the Chinese stock market.

How to play the historic opening of China?s stock market - MarketWatch

I am wondering what the short term effect will be on the US index futures. Any thoughts?

I guess theres only three ways it could go.

1.Money goes out of US equities and in to China.
2.China gets a growth surge and leads the US indices higher.
3.Nothing at all.

I am not savvy enough to make a prediction. Am curious to know what anyone who reads this thinks?!

3 things White House doesn't want you to know about ObamaCare, plus 3 things coming in 2015 you aren’t going to like

3 things White House doesn't want you to know about ObamaCare, plus 3 things coming in 2015 you aren?t going to like | Fox News

CIA Insider Warns: '25-Year Great Depression is About to [AUTOLINK]Strike[/AUTOLINK] America'

Beijing set to take aim at 'weird buildings' - CNN.com

I'M VERY UPSET. THIS HURTS MY FEELINGS. I LOVE THESE WEIRD BUILDINGS AND I DON'T THINK ARCHITECTURE SHOULD TAKE A STEP BACK TO MORE TRADITIONAL DESIGNS. CHINA FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS, DON'T ALLOW A SELECT FEW TO RUIN YOUR ARCHITECTURAL STYLES!!!!

The best article I have read for a while:

We Are All Confident Idiots