This is a new policy introduced following a recent change in the law which requires tourists wishing to rent a car to have either a valid International Driving Permit, or a local Duba licence.

Tourists who do not already have an international driving permit, can apply for a temporary UAE driving licence at RTA branches located either at the City Centre in Deira or the Union Co-operative in Al Tawar, instead of going to the RTA head office in Rashidiya. Both branches are open from 9am to 9pm, Sunday to Thursday.

When applying, tourists must present their passports, eye test results, driving licences of the countries of their origin, and Dh110 as application fee. A temporary UAE driving licence is issued the same day.

There is one catch: this licence can be issued only to the nationals of European countries, the US, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Singapore, South Korea and Japan.

The passports were stolen from a courier vehicle in Manchester, UK while the driver stopped to buy a newspaper.

The article explains how even though the passports have high-tech chips installed, they can easily be used for a variety of fraudulent applications from opening bank accounts to getting jobs, as well as for travel in countries that do not yet have chip readers at border control points.

The final paragraph makes a chilling point:

… it’s still early in the relationship between forgers and biometric passports. One could perhaps envisage a future where businesses that regularly had to check passports (say, tourist hotels) could be ‘farmed’ by forgers for passport data, producing data banks of passports that hadn’t been stolen, but that could be cloned on demand - just pick somebody the right age and appearance. Put that together with a stock of blank biometric passports and you’ve got a nice little business there.

Your Global Nomads editors highly recommend this article!

Those two countries are The Commonwealth of Dominica (an English-speaking Caribbean nation, not to be confused with the Dominican Republic) and the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis. The difference between the two citizenship programs is that in the past Dominica required a “non-refundable investment” paid direct to the government, whereas St Kitts required the purchase of real estate, worth at least $350,000, in specific designated projects.

Many people were put off the St Kitts program due to the real estate investment. Whilst it could be a good deal long term, and there was some chance of seeing your money back again one day, coming up with $400,000 for the privilege of owning real estate on a hurricane-prone island can be a hassle, especially if you never plan to live there. For a lot of people, it was easier just to pay and get the second passport.

So, quite recently, the authorities in St Kitts came up with an alternative. Although the real estate investment option is still valid, instead of buying real estate, you can now choose to make a one time donation to the Sugar Industry Diversification Foundation. This requires substantially less up-front capital, as the contribution required is $200,000.

The Sugar Industry Diversification Foundation (SIDF) was established for the purpose of supporting the former sugar workers, conducting research into the development of industries to replace the sugar industry, funding the development of these alternative industries and providing further support to secure the sustainability of such industries.

A little history: the Citizenship Program was established in 1984, which makes this the longest established citizenship-by-investment program. Regulations regarding citizenship-by-investment are contained in Part II, Section 3 (5) of the Citizenship Act, 1984. The actual government policies with regard to the Citizenship-by-Investment program (such as investment requirements etc.) are set by Government through Cabinet Decision.

The principal advantages promoted by the St Kitts government are:

• Citizenship is valid for life, for the applicant and all eligible family members.
• Dual Citizenship is permitted, without the requirement to notify the applicants home country, and without any need for the applicant to reside in St Kitts and Nevis.
• Passports can be issued to the applicant an all eligible family members, and may be easily renewed via a worldwide network of consulates.
• St Kitts citizens enjoy a wide range of visa-free travel:- Austria, Belgium, Britain, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Greece, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and most British commonwealth countries. When a visa is required, they are also relatively easy to obtain.
• New citizens qualify for full residency status including the right to work in St. Kitts and Nevis
• Perhaps best of all: Tax Free Status on foreign income, capital gains, gift, wealth and inheritance tax

To qualify for Citizenship-by-Investment via the Sugar Industry Diversification Foundation, there are four different categories:

• Single applicant: US$ 200,000 contribution required
• Applicant with up to three dependants (i.e. one spouse and two children below the age of 18): US$ 250,000 contribution required
• Applicant with up to five dependants (i.e. one spouse and four children): US$ 300,000 contribution required
• Applicant with six and more dependants: US$ 400,000 contribution required.

In each of these categories, the total amount includes all government and due diligence fees. The documentation required for an application is strict but reasonable, and the application procedure is well organized.

If you would like further information, read the Global Nomads Caribbean Offshore Contacts Report “Offshore and Sunny” for recommended citizenship consultants and other Caribbean contacts.

The US Department of Justice recently filed papers in a US Court seeking to allow the IRS to ask for what is known as a John Doe Summons, otherwise known as a ‘fishing expedition.’

They claim a violation of US law migt have occurred and are thereforeasking the court to let them get into Swiss bank records, violating bank secrecy and completely disrespecting Swiss law, to find any guilty party. In this case they are looking for possible tax fraud for by unknown parties that are US citizens.

The IRS is trying once again to make a foreign sovereign state comply with a requirement that would destroy the integrity of their banking system, built up over centuries. All so that maybe a handful of people can be convicted for tax fraud.

The Swiss have some bad tax treaties with the USA. The things that UBS did were apparently stupid - and worst of all, they did them inside of the USA at that which gives the USA jurisdiction. It appears as if Germany started a chain reaction when they obtained data stolen from a bank in Lichtenstein. For a regular person that would be a crime – possession of stolen property - but the Germans consider themselves to have an exemption from criminal statutes regarding possession of stolen property even when they knowingly buy the stolen property.

The Swiss Banks provide excellent service, but their jurisdiction (Switzerland) is faulty and has been faulty for some time. It was years ago that Bill Hill, of PT fame, wrote that Swiss banking secrecy had “more holes than Swiss cheese.” We have been warning people about the lack of real secrecy and privacy in Switzerland for years.

USA citizens, when accepted at all as clients by Swiss banks, have been asked to provide their social security numbers for some years, alongside signing a disclaimer and waiving bank secrecy rights. Other serious offshore banks never ask for this information. It is all based on the underlying tax treaty calling for cooperation in the instance of a person failing a false tax return by intentionally understating income on the tax return.

The use of the “John Does Summons” is unlikely to work with the Swiss authorities, which will reduce the case to a few individuals who the USA may have specific information about. The John Doe Summons does, however, serve its intended purpose which is to scare US citizens into full compliance. The mainstream media does not accurately report the facts, nor do they discuss the law. What the USA courts say or do still has little effect if any on what the Swiss government allows. This simply contributes to the atmosphere internationally making it very difficult for Americans to get offshore accounts in their own personal names. This makes IBCs and foundations more popular, and drives productive American citizens towards renunciation of citizenship and acquiring a second passport.

This article is reproduced with kind permission of Peter Macfarlane and The Q Wealth Report. It was originally published on Peter’s blog at http://www.petermacfarlane.net/2008/07/15/analysis-of-the-recent-us-attacks-on-swiss-banking/

You can see the letter itself in pdf format here:

http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-files/Guardian/documents/2008/07/02/IDCardsHomeSecretaryLetter300608.pdf

Kuebler is the military lawyer assigned to the defence of Canadian Omar Khadr, who was arrested at age 15 in Afghanistan and has been held illegally by US forces in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, ever since.

Having recently criticised the Canadian government for failing to do enough to help Khadr (in fact they did absolutely zero, preferring to sacrifice an individual Canadian citizen in order to keep on the right side of the US government),  Kuebler has reportedly just signed an affidavit confirming that a 2003 Standard Operations Procedure manual for interrogators at the so-called Camp Gitmo, recently seen by him as part of standard disclosure, instructed them to destroy handwritten notes of interrogrations:

 ”The mission has legal and political issues that may lead to interrogators being called to testify, keeping the number of documents with interrogation information to a minimum can minimize certain legal issues,” the document is quoted as saying in an affidavit signed by Kuebler.

If ever you needed evidence that government can’t be trusted to play fair, this is it! This is news that will outrage the world. You read it first at Global Nomads!

Click here for the full story 

They go on to report that “whatever their motives, employers are becoming more dependent on mass-produced background reports that rely heavily on anonymous, and sometimes inaccurate or unfair, sources.” Bosses who have fired managers report information, which is then verified by call center employees working desperately to check numerous cases in very little time.

The four page article is well worth reading and mentions a number of companies by name, mainly covering ChoicePoint, part of the Reed Elsevier group. Based in a leafy Atlanta suburb, ChoicePoint says it checks applicants for more than half of the country’s 100 biggest companies, including Bank of America, UnitedHealth Group, and United Parcel Service.

To paraphrase the arguments these reporting agencies use in their defence, their point seems to be that they are only reporting allegations provided by third parties. They can not of course be expected to decide on guilt or innocence, much less the merits of indiviudual cases. That is up to individual employers. So it’s much like if the police gave up investigating crimes, and simply started reporting to the Courts what other people say about them, without taking responsibility for the content of the evidence.

However, it seems insidious that individuals’ careers and lives may be affected by reporting of allegations that are not proven… or even, in some cases, have been disproven in a court of law.

Where will this go in the future? One commenter on the Business Week website points out:

ChoicePoint is also one of many firms that Homeland Security and other government departments use to gather information on US citizens that they are otherwise prohibited from obtaining directly. Getting errorneously ensnared by ChoicePoint’s machinery would be bad enough — imagine getting crushed by government bureaucracy as well.   Link to this comment

We at Global Nomads would add, expect to this this trend towards spying on your neighbor extended soon to other Big Brother countries, starting with the UK and Australia.

Here’s another comment:

Why would background checking agencies let allegations that have not been proven in a court of law carry the same weight as a conviction? Personal opinions and finger pointing are inadmissible in court as evidence, so why would they be a-ok during a background check? More alarming is that employers are placing all their trust in reports of personal gripes and unproven allegations when making their decisions. Who knows if your former boss is in a bad mood and decides to smear you in an interview? He could kill your career while venting his frustration on a random day. That’s just plain scary. Link to this comment

Just plain scary: that’s a good way of putting it. Protect your privacy today by refusing to allow such background checks. If you run a business, don’t get talked in to unethical background checks by some smart-talking salesman. Read up on Global Nomad privacy techniques at this site!

Originally, the proposal was for people to be fingerprinted at a passport office, but now the government has announced a plan to allow the “open market” capture citizens’ biometrics, effectively outsourcing the cost of enrolling people on to the ID database. “You could end up getting your fingerprints taken at a supermarket, rather than at a passport office as originally proposed,” explains Philip Johnston in the article.

The article makes interesting reading, using convincing evidence to reach thew final conclusion:

Given the gradual removal of the security walls around the proposed ID database, it is clear that this scheme has nothing to do with protecting our identities. It is about setting up a glorified population register to keep track of us.

There are some interesting comments posted by Telegraph readers, too.

“It’s just so unbelievably sad what this country is coming to. And it’s clear that the problem is the government meddling in everyone’s lives. We’re becoming an authoritarian country where nanny knows best, so you’d better ‘just shut up and do what you’re told’” says Silent Hunter.

While Tom Bowden makes a good point:

I don’t know why we have to go to Tesco’s for the technology to be implemented. The UK government has given so much personal data to the US Homeland Security, they could easily pay some exhorbitant fee to the US to rent some of the data back.

All in all, a scary situation… not just for Brits, but all the rest of us too. The Telegraph is right. This is about serious population control. It has nothing to do with protecting us from terrorism or anything else of that nature. Civil disobedience won’t work because, as the old master W.G. Hill is often quoted as saying, “You can’t fight City Hall.”  PT and living off the record with offshore bank accounts, anonymous mobile phones, encrypted communications and the range of other Privacy Tools is the way forward.

[This is the original P.T. article by Grandpa. It has been in the public domain for around thirty years and has been reprinted on countless websites. A few parts have been updated to reflect historical developments. It may be reprinted without permission if you give the publisher credit for this version, i.e. From Bye Bye Big Brother, By Grandpa & Others, Newest Digest Edition Published 2008 by Verba Verba.]

Do you want to escape the control over your life and property now held by modern Big Brother governments?

The PT concept could have been called Individual Sovereignty, because PTs look after themselves. We do not want or need authorities to dominate every aspect of our existence from cradle to grave.

The PT concept is one way to break free. It is a coherent philosophy, a plan for a stress free, healthy, prosperous life — not limited by government interference, the threat of nuclear war, the reality of food and water contamination, litigation, domestic conflicts, taxation, persecution or harassment. Whether your problem is an unacceptable child custody decree or an unwarranted accusation by some Gestapo style government agency, PT offers escape. It is a way out of any negative situation created and imposed upon you by any government. Many individuals choose to vent their frustrations with acts of violence. The PT merely avoids conflict by refusing to play where the rules are unfair to him. We move our ass and our assets out of the forum.

WHAT DOES “PT” STAND FOR?

PT stands for many things, Perpetual Traveler or Permanent Tourist, for instance. However, a PT need not travel all of the time, nor any of the time for that matter. A PT merely arranges his or her paperwork in such a way that all governments consider him a tourist, a person who is just Passing Through. In the eyes of government officials, the PT is merely on a temporary sojourn or vacation. The advantage is that by being seen as a person who is only Parked Temporarily, the PT is not subjected to taxes, military service, lawsuits or persecution for partaking in innocent, but forbidden pleasures. Unlike most citizens or subjects, the PT will not be persecuted for his beliefs or lack of them.

PT is a concept, a way of life, a way of perceiving the universe and your place in it. One can be a full time dedicated PT or a part time PT. PT is elegant, simple and requires neither accountants, attorneys, offshore corporations nor other complex arrangements. It’s the Perfect Thing.

The Threat Called Government

Governments, under the guise of protecting us, have intruded into every area of life, taking the largest part of our earnings in taxes and then rewarding us with little aside from restrictions and harassment. All modern governments these days have virtually eliminated individual privacy. They continue to increase limitations on freedom of choice in many areas of human activity. Each country has its own unique restrictions. Even Western democracies are growing increasingly fond of keeping their citizenry on very short leashes, if not completely shackled.

The constitutions of most nations give lip service to the absolute freedom to travel, but in practice every government severely limits travel with passport, visa and other requirements. A few passports even bar their holders from visiting certain nations at all. By imposing entry restrictions on foreigners, most nations invite tit for tat measures. Personal finances, currency controls, domestic situations and job requirements make the freedom to go anywhere at anytime just a dream for most people.

PTS OPERATE LEGALLY, BUT OUTSIDE THE USUAL RULES

The properly equipped PT operates outside the usual rules, gaining perfect mobility and a full slate of human rights. PT is the logical and natural path to freedom from proletarian dictators, ambitious politicians, emperors, occupying armies, ruling classes and the tyranny of the majority. Indeed, freedom from the arbitrary whims of sometimes deranged politicians and the destructive powers of rampant bureaucracy is the essence of PT.

PTs, People of Talent, can, at a few strokes of the pen, be truly free of Big Brother. Oppressors and exploiters in the modern world exercise control with paperwork and computers: One of your first and prime objectives is to get your (real) name off of all computer lists. customer lists and official registers of any kind. This is easy to accomplish. PTs first drop off voter lists, then vanish from the roster of property owners or taxpayers. Your present government will no longer be interested in you if they think you have left the jurisdiction and have ceased to be a citizen or subject. It is the goal of the PT to achieve invisibility by taking on a new nationality and acquiring an offshore address. For some citizens, like Germans or Swedes it is necessary to first acquire a legal residence elsewhere. For others, Americans, for instance, just notifying the home country that you are no longer living within their jurisdiction is enough.

Being a PT opens up all sorts of previously unknown possibilities for the PT. For instance, US banks are not permitted to encourage or even tell US customers that they can keep accounts abroad in foreign currencies. Foreign banks are not permitted to advertise such accounts in the US. Regulated financial institutions are forbidden to advertise the fact that when the dollar or any currency is devalued, all local bank accounts, stocks and real property decline predictably in relative value. A dollar decline of 50 per cent against most other currencies occurred between 1985 and 1987. Similar predictable declines in the dollar and most other major currencies have happened many times since then. The vast majority of US citizens are kept in the dark about the simple procedure for avoiding very predictable losses. PTs made a sure 100 per cent or more on their money in one year by buying property or “things” in the places where currency had just been devalued — or by switching from dollars into yen, Swiss francs or Euros.

PT freedom extends much further than monetary concerns. Neither the PT nor his family need be inconvenienced by government instigated wars or military service that they would rather avoid. The flexibility and mobility inherent in being a PT means that one will never be an unwilling draftee, victim, jailbird, concentration camp inmate, casualty, refugee or displaced person. PTs choose their own fights and surroundings. They are not swept along in torrents of hysteria caused by forces beyond their control.

Rest assured that by making PT theory, your secondary religion, you will be able to remain comfortably beyond the reach of Big Brother’s ever extending grasp. It is impossible for any government to attack or wipe out PTs. Why? Because we are an amorphous group without consistent behavior patterns. From the point of view of any government official, we appear to be the most desirable kind of tourist, respectful of local laws and authority, low profile and prosperous. PTs cannot be identified, classified or isolated from the general run of tourists. Thus, unlike some publicity seeking individualists or tax rebels, the PT courts no danger and invites no confrontations.

AVOID TAXES LEGALLY

A Canadian investor with a large income from his stocks and bonds would normally be obligated to sacrifice almost half of his earnings to the Canadian government. He could choose to reduce his tax burden in the most common, but ill advised way, the fiddle. He would then become a criminal — at least in Canada. Many countries have only civil penalties for tax violations, but Canada, the UK and the United States have made tax evasion into a criminal offense, resulting in what are in effect debtors prisons for those who refuse to pay taxes. It would be far more sensible for this Canadian investor to break free and become a PT. Similar possibilities exist for all citizens of all Big Brother governments.

HOW TO BREAK FREE

By merely moving themselves and their assets abroad (possibly by establishing a legally recognized residence and domicile in a tax haven), most investors are able to legally avoid handing over half their income to the bureaucrats. As a PT, he would then also be free to roam the world as desired, provided he did not remain anywhere outside of his new tax haven home long enough (or in such a visible way) as to be considered resident for tax purposes. Thus, the PT avoids all income taxes without resorting to fraud. [Publishers Note: There are of course other ways to handle the situation depending upon individual circumstances and desires. Find an existing PT to be your mentor. Contact the publisher or see the resource list. If you are flush, contact Grandpa <gramps@hotbox.ru> or <grandpa@secureix.com>, and hire the Grand Master himself to personally hold your hand while you transcend from ordinary mortal to P.T.]

YOU NEED NOT AND SHOULD NOT BREAK THE LAW!

Fraud is not necessary. A theoretically perfect PT need never file tax returns, government required disclosure forms nor any other paperwork.
The major exception to this scenario is if you are a US passport holder. Americans, to become PTs, may have to divest themselves of what is commonly known as “the most expensive passport in the world.” [Publishers Note: Bye Bye Big Brother will discuss the particular problems faced by Americans in greater detail elsewhere. But as a general rule, Americans who earn (as a couple) over roughly $160,000 a year or any “unearned income from dividends or interest” are taxed by the USA at the same rates whether they reside within or outside of the USA. It is not illegal to acquire a second passport and possibly give up USA citizenship. But it’s a complicated issue and how to handle depends on individual needs.] Grandpa has a few excellent ways to “work around” the issue — for his personal clients.

If you don’t enjoy forcible extraction from your bank account or restrictions on your basic human rights, then you can easily move and either register in a tax haven or declare yourself to be a legal resident of anywhere you please. If you don’t like paying taxes, they can legally be avoided. There is no government that has the legal right or the practical ability to tax a PT who neither lives within its borders permanently nor has any assets there.

The PT is free to enrich the world with his talent, skills, invention, industry or artistry and then enjoy 100 per cent of the fruits of his work or enterprise. Unlimited, untaxed wealth and the power to dispose of it as you please is one of the major benefits of becoming a PT. PTs can produce good things, be paid in full without withholdings or deductions and then spend their earnings on what gives them pleasure.

PT POSSIBILITIES

As PTs, only restrictions imposed by ourselves can keep us from experiencing the wonders of the world. The PT can and will drive, fly or sail across international frontiers when and where he wants, alone or with anyone he chooses. PTs move freely without exit permits or visas. As PTs we should be mentally, financially and physically prepared to leave anywhere we happen to be and go to the other end of the earth at the first whiff of danger — or just in search of greener pastures. The PT is able to move fast and decisively; to disappear and resurface anywhere, anytime.

As PTs we can read what we want to read, eat what we want to eat, see what we wish to see, imbibe or ingest as desired and invest anywhere in anything. We are completely free from restrictions placed upon us by governments. We can buy or sell what we please. We can associate with, employ or live with people whom we find agreeable and pleasing. If we want to change friends, employment or climate for any reason, we can do so almost instantaneously without the need to get any sort of permission from the state. Until you become a PT, the range of opportunities denied to you is inconceivable. We don’t miss the things of which we are unaware. This report will raise your consciousness as to the nature of freedom. It is one way to rid yourself of limitations. This includes mental baggage as well as the restrictions imposed by Big Brother.

Upon becoming a PT, I discovered that I could drive at top speed on a public highway without ever getting a ticket. The secret was merely the German autobahn where there are no speed limits. Fast motoring may not be your cup of tea, but the point is whatever your particular pleasure or peculiarity may be, there are always going to be several places in the world where it is legal and available. In Germany, the land of BMW and Porsche, the vast majority of the locals feel that it is their inalienable human right to zip along as fast as their cars can go. A PT need never be tempted to break any laws. If he feels like doing something illegal, like smoking a joint or playing a hand of high stakes poker in a town where gambling is not permitted, he simply goes away and does it where it’s legal. A PT seeks out places where he can do as he pleases, legally and openly.

WHY SOME WEALTHY PEOPLE LEFT IRELAND

Many men and women in Ireland were forced to become PTs because divorce is not allowed. The thought of being forced to stay married for life to a much disliked spouse was enough to send them far across the seas. The Irish still consider many types of physical contact between two consenting adults to be a crime. This list includes adultery (even if one party was deserted by his or her spouse thirty years ago), fornication (sex before marriage) abortion (even if the result of a rape) and even oral sex between married couples. All of these activities are punishable by jail terms in Ireland. Many other Christian and Muslim countries controlled by God fearing fundamentalist moralities have restrictions on human behavior that we believe is a private matter. Ireland is a great place for a PT to have a passport from, but in marital, sexual and reproductive matters they are still in the Middle Ages.

WELCOME TO FREEDOM!

With PT, gone is all the fear of fines, censure or jail for victimless crimes. Gone is the fear of eating certain natural vitamins, turtle soup or roast pork or drinking wine — illegal activities in almost half the world. Gone also is the fear of violating such laws as prohibition against peeing in a toilet reserved for members of a certain race or category. Goodbye to all such laws. Goodbye also to all censorship and managed news. Goodbye to government forms in quintuplet. Our personal finances, the medical treatment we need, our personal domestic life and relationships are strictly our private affair, not objects to be manipulated by government against our personal interests.

PT MEANS REAL FREEDOM

As PTs we can study any philosophy, raise and educate our children in our beliefs and opinions without contradiction from our government controlled school curriculum. We can pass on our knowledge and point of view according to our inner lights. We need not follow the dictates of an obtuse school commissar who bans our favorite books and forbids mention of those truths we find most self evident.

As PTs we finally become able to invent, improvise, abandon, reject or follow any religion, personal morality or way of life we choose. We can shop, have a drink or eat when we want, not just when the local laws allow restaurants and stores to be open. For those with unconventional thoughts, habits or beliefs, PT is the answer. Life can be lived spontaneously, free, without state imposed restrictions. Becoming a PT means never again having to ask permission or submit to any higher authority. Life is free of permits, licenses, exit permits, visas, currency restrictions, taxes, record keeping, bureaucrats, social workers, litigation, filing and reports.

PTs need not put up with rules, regulations or laws they find personally offensive, inconvenient or immoral. Thus if it suits him or her, without any government or church dispensation, the PT may have as many spouse equivalents as can be managed. The range of possibilities for greater freedom is expanded to whatever can be conceived. A PT may be celibate and need not own a car or acquire any other status symbol — unless so desired.

On the other hand, the PT can live in a highly controlled society if he so chooses. Perhaps for some reason this sort of community gives him a sense of security or perhaps even superiority. PT is all about options. The more options you have, the more free you are. A PT can live under whichever system suits him best.

This freedom, however, does not mean that a PT should be or can be irresponsible by causing problems, injury or pain to others. The message of PT is not to encourage greed, lust, irresponsibility, immorality or any of the other seven deadly sins. On the contrary! To avoid government’s heavy hand is to avoid violating local laws and morality. We must go physically to those places where doing what we want to do is accepted as ordinary behavior. No point in spending time where our lifestyle, appearance or conduct will cause moral offense or get us into difficulties with local authorities. Thus, a PT who likes to drive fast can push his Ferrari along at 175 mph on the German autobahn where it is legal. But when in California, the PT will poke along at the legal limit.

The PT concept involves discovering those places where your particular pleasures are legal and accepted. Fortunately, there are few possibilities in human behavior, no matter how bizarre, that are not considered “normal” somewhere on planet earth.

You need not worry any longer about what the neighbors might think because you can move to where your neighbors will think you are just terrific, or better yet, where they ignore you. You need not worry if your local laws or politics seem to be irrational. Is the mainstream morality incompatible with your own needs? Do you not like litigious lawyers? Nosy social workers? Alimony prone ex wives? Misconceived programs for the “good of society”? Why put up with them?

As PTs we vote with our feet, but the trip doesn’t have to be irrevocable or permanent. A PT can leave until things get better, then return. A PT gains the world, while giving up nothing except, of course, his rut, his treadmill.

PTS AND POLITICS

PT is merely an arbitrary set of initials we have chosen to identify a certain lifestyle, belief system or whatever you choose to call it. There are no dues to pay, no membership cards and until recently there were no meetings or conventions. However, quite a few PTs exist already, perhaps a million, perhaps ten million. No one will ever know how many PTs there are, because we are all invisible. Many PTs have not heard the initials PT, nor would they use them to describe their lifestyle. Many will never read this report. They are nonetheless PTs, though they have stumbled into this path of enlightenment and freedom on their own.

In terms of politics, the PT may be a supporter of any party or political philosophy. Most likely he is not a registered voter anywhere for he certainly never marches in demonstrations. He probably believes in free trade and minimum government. Fascists, democrats, socialists and communists all end up producing centralized bureaucracies with severe restrictions on personal liberty. Most PTs tend to be individualists of libertarian stripe interested in maximizing their own personal freedom. PTs seek the full and free enjoyment of life without robbing, defrauding, exploiting or leaning on anyone else.

A PT may be religious, but unlike most governments who sponsor official religions he will (hopefully) not force his views or personal morality down anyone else’s throat. A PT may, and certainly should, be moral according to his own lights, but he need not retire at night with gnawing fears that someone somewhere might be enjoying life more than he is.

PT is all about opening up options, avoiding coercion. It is not about cowardice. If you want to fight for some cause, preferably freedom, you can certainly do so, but as a willing volunteer, not a draftee to be sacrificed as cannon fodder. Harry Schultz, the originator of the PT concept became the honorary commander of an anti-Russian Communist Afghan rebel military unit in 1987 at great personal risk to himself. This was long before the Afghan Freedom Fighters were a popular or winning cause. “Some things we must do, because they are right,” said Harry at the time. But considering what happened when the anti-Russian forces won power and became the Taliban, Harry has since decided that any involvement with guns or bombs is never a good option for a PT. Personal survival and prosperity is the only rational mode for a PT.

All changes wrought by man have beneficiaries and perceived victims. Since PTs are tolerant people who do not impose their will on others, more harm than good must inevitably come out of our activities. Cutting loose from a strait jacket, escaping from a life of parochial limitations has to be a good thing for the individual. It will not harm society at large to have a few more rugged individualists and original thinkers doing their own thing. Not everyone can seek or handle such complete freedom. PT is for an elite minority. A PT needs inner direction and the ability to operate within reasonable, self imposed limits.

By exercising reasonable judgment, PTs unlock the best kept secret of the modern Big Brother era: PT or Individual sovereignty is a path for all people who know and understand its concepts to be truly free from bureaucratic shackles. There is no need to become a hermit or a recluse. You don’t need to abandon civilization to eliminate its negative aspects.

The PT Lifestyle

A PT can be any age, gender, race, size, shape or religion. PTs can be married, attached or single, with family or without. The PT will not work at a conventional job but can and will make infinitely more money than those who do. As already mentioned, without any income taxes or other government deductions, we keep 100 per cent of what we earn from providing others with valuable things. As a result, the PT standard of living and quality of life is stress free. A PT will be more healthy, materially richer and should always have the best quality of life obtainable on earth.

The PT philosophy releases creative souls from the many burdens of coping with Big Brother. Hopefully, once governments realize that they cannot afford to lose their best and most productive citizens, they will become more responsive to the needs of their people. The only historical precedent for individuals going off on their own due to dissatisfaction with government was in Central America. The ancient Mayans of the artisan and productive classes, apparently without any leadership or destination, simply said No to high taxes; No to the sacrifice of their young virgins. As individuals, having better uses for their money and their virgins, they just drifted off into the jungle. A ruling aristocracy was then left without a population to pay its bills. The Mayan Empire disintegrated. Cities with eight lane boulevards, palaces and impressive monuments were abandoned. It happened within a few years.

WHAT IF EVERYONE BECOMES A PT?

The reality is that not enough people will become PTs for it to make any noticeable difference in the world. Paris, Rome, London and New York with populations in the millions will not become ghost towns. Mass migrations have been going on for thousands of years. One of the big realizations for PTs is that as foreigners, we are treated better and usually have an enhanced legal status better than in their native land. If everyone with a taste for travel, an independent income or a portable job became a PT there would probably be nothing more than temporary international exchanges of talented and productive individuals. The best talent, the most productive people are always drawn to places offering peace, prosperity and a suitable climate for creativity. Major cities, economic opportunities and good weather will continue to attract many non conformists and individualists. Becoming a PT expands the mind and increases the list of possible destinations. Virtually anywhere in the world can be a good destination for a PT as long as it is NOT at the place you are starting out from.

HOW TO BEGIN YOUR PT QUEST

An immediate full scale PT lifestyle is appropriate only for those who have developed either a sufficient asset base or a source of income that allows them to be mobile and independent from government licenses and a permanent, full time job in a high tax country. However, there are many exceptions to this. Virtually any individual can become a PT with a few months preparation. Reading this book is the perfect way to start making your own preparations.

By adopting the unconventional but consistent and logical set of ideas set forth here, you can gain power and freedom. The enviable status of PT is available to all, but few individuals will snatch this prize. Why? Belief systems foisted upon us tend to ensure that unnecessary taxes, an aggressive military establishment, intolerance of minorities and redistribution of wealth by government, i.e., theft, will be among the many popular injustices perpetuated by most governments. Who among us has not (at one time) accepted these falsehoods?

We are told that taxes are inevitable and inescapable and that a powerful and aggressive military establishment is needed for our protection. Never mind that with the end of the cold war even military leaders find it difficult to defend the lunatic policies and military budgets of previous decades. Big Brother governments will always find a new bogey-man to justify greater control of the populace and higher taxes. Productive and creative people are needlessly forced to give away the major part of their earnings each year. What happens to this money? It is poured down the toilet, spent on huge bureaucracies that only seem to succeed in creating more of the problems they are supposed to be solving. Big Government is the problem, not the solution.

Fortunately, Big Brother need not intrude on the PT’s world. What is the PT’s world? It is an individual person, supreme, unfettered, making his own decisions, leaning on no one and allowing no one to lean upon him. If you travel, it is customary to first visit your doctor for the necessary vaccinations. How many people similarly look for an inoculation pill to avoid being harassed, robbed and possibly incarcerated at the hands of Big Brother? It is not natural disasters nor disease that has been the cause of most premature death and suffering in the last 5,000 years of recorded history, it has been Government! Is there any magic dust or silver bullet that can eliminate all government interference from our lives? PT life does not eliminate every vestige of Big Brother control, but it does free the individual PT from the most onerous parts of it.

CAN YOU AFFORD TO BECOME A PT?

PT can show you a new way to experience the world. The Germans have a word for it: Weltanschauung. Even if you dont immediately understand what this word means (roughly, World-View ), you will change your Weltanschauung as you make the transition to the PT lifestyle. For starters, as the income of most PTs is immediately doubled and most frustrations of life with Big Brother are instantly eliminated. The more logical question is, “Can you afford not to become a PT?”

This week he talks about how ‘New Labour’ has “gotten very old” by attacking tax havens within the British sphere on influence…

The Labour party has aimed their high tax attack squarely at Brits’ offshore investments, banking, trusts and asset protection plans. U.K. banks have been forced to reveal accounts of all U.K. residents with offshore financial activity.

Tax collectors have also been hounding those named. Indeed, her Majesty’s Customs and Revenue, (aping the U.S. IRS), now seems to assume that any Brit with offshore financial activity is evading taxes.

Before the election rout last week, the House of Commons Treasury Select Committee announced one more major inquiry into tax havens. Committee MPs said they wanted to look at “offshore financial centers.” They wanted to investigate whether these jurisdictions “threaten financial stability,” transparency for U.K. tax purposes and their impact on the U.K. tax collections, among other things. The committee wants written evidence submitted by June 19.

This of course has a particular relevance to our report Offshore and Sunny:
First Class Carribean Bank Accounts By Mail … and indeed in that report your Global Nomads editors do take special care to point out that if you are thinking of doing business in the Caribbean, you should probably deal with an independent-minded sovereign state, rather than a dependent territory like the British Virgin Islands.

A typical sovereign state we recommend is Dominica. Dominica (not to be confused with the Dominican Republic) is known as the Caribbean’s nature island, an eco-tourism paradise, but also displays a healthy degree of skepticism when it comes to dictates from Big Brother states like the UK and the USA. In fact, Dominica recently aligned with the Petrocaribe group, accepting financial aid from Venezuela. But it demonstrates a steadfastly free market approach too, offering one of only two “second passports for sale” programs in the world, and continuing to promote its small but stable offshore financial sector.  After all, why not accept aid from Chavez and stick your thumbs up at the UK and USA, while following a thoroughly free market program.

Dominica is one to watch. If you would like to start now, you’ll find our editors have been to Dominica and written up some useful information in the report Offshore and Sunny:
First Class Carribean Bank Accounts By Mail