10 March 2009

Escape the System Like Jason Bourne

Multiple passports, moving assets, lock-picking, escape and evasion, foraging, even how to cross borders without detection (one preferred location: McAllen, Texas, page 390)–it’s a veritable encyclopedia of for those who want to disappear or become lawsuit-proof global citizens… _ 4DWW
The author of the best seller "The 4-Hour Workweek" devoted a recent long post on his blog (via Keelynet.com) to the topic of how to slip the system:
I took Spencer’s advice and opened an account with a Canadian bank that had a branch in St. Kitts. Since both Canada and St. Kitts are part of the British Commonwealth, he’d explained, I would have easy access to my money if anything happened in America. Unfortunately, in the process, I discovered that keeping international accounts secret is now illegal: the IRS requires Americans with over $10,000 in foreign accounts to file an annual report disclosing not just the amount of money and the banks it’s kept in, but the account numbers.

Meanwhile, Spencer was moving forward with his ten-year plan. He started an Internet business in Singapore, enabling him to open a private banking account in the country, which he claimed was fast becoming the new Switzerland. Though he hadn’t gotten his St. Kitts passport yet either, Spencer had done more research into buying an island.

“I’m looking at islands in the north, around Iceland, because no one will think of looking for anyone there,” Spencer said, his thick lips spreading into a self-satisfied smile. “If I can get some other B people [billionaires] to go there with me, we can build underground homes and use geothermal energy.”

“What about your submarine?”

“It’s a great way to move between islands undetected, but we’re running out of time. We need to move faster. This is only the beginning.”

“How bad do you think it’s going to get?” Spencer seemed to understand the economy at a higher level than most people did, perhaps because he knew so many of the people who ran it.

“I don’t think the whole country’s going to collapse, but we’re looking at the worst economic disaster in America since the Great Depression. What I’m also concerned about is the increase in violent crime that’s going to accompany this.” _4-HourWorkWeek
To get the information straight from the horse's mouth, check out the book "Emergency" by Neill Strauss.
I’ve begun to look at the world through apocalypse eyes. It usually begins in airports. That’s when I get the first portent of doom. I imagine explosions, sirens, walls blown apart, bodies ripped from life. Then, as I gaze out of the taxi window on my way home, I see people bustling around on their daily routine, endless rows of office buildings and tenements teeming with activity, thousands of automobiles rushing somewhere important. And it all seems so solid, so permanent, so unmovable, so absolutely necessary. But all it would take is one war, one riot, one dirty bomb, one natural disaster, one marauding army, one economic catastrophe, one vial containing one virus, to bring it all smashing down.

We’ve seen it happen in Hiroshima. In Dresden. In My Lai. In Rwanda. In Baghdad. In Halabja. In New Orleans. Our society, which seems so sturdily built out of concrete and custom, is just a temporary resting place, a hotel our civilization checked into a couple hundred years ago and must one day check out of. It’s an inevitability tourists can’t help but realize when visiting Mayan ruins, Egyptian ruins, Roman ruins. How long will it be before someone is visiting American ruins? _Emergency
Update: Dennis Mangan has also taken a look at this topic and has some interesting comments.

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4 Comments:

Blogger yamahaeleven said...

"We’ve seen it happen in Hiroshima. In Dresden. In My Lai. In Rwanda. In Baghdad. In Halabja. In New Orleans."

These places either rebounded within an eye-blink (Hiroshima), or people simply went away to do their business somewhere else (New Orleans). The activity Strauss saw is the one permanent condition of humans. We simply go elsewhere when the local conditions do not allow our activities to continue. Most survivalist actions are simply wasteful, but the markets are happy to provide for their perceived needs.

Tuesday, 10 March, 2009  
Blogger al fin said...

Yes, up until this point survivalists have tended to overreact badly -- whether to Y2K, Peak Oil, Global Warming, or what have you.

This particular variant of "survivalism" is more in the nature of helping one's assets to survive in the face of an oppressive and overly confiscatory government. Obama and Pelosi have not been reassuring on that score, in terms of their thus-far revealed intentions.

For the ruling clique currently in power, either you're one of them or you're prey. Some people are considering ways to avoid becoming prey.

Tuesday, 10 March, 2009  
Blogger yamahaeleven said...

I agree, asset "survivalism" is a valid reaction to overbearing government economic interference. Although, there may be more efficient alternatives and natural societal reactions that could serve to curb Washington overreaching. I'm leaning more to the likely hood of tax revolts (massive tax evasion) leading to federal collapse and the rise of regional government entities that better serve local conditions, yet offer some benefits of larger nations. If the US were to break up into 4 entities, each would be much bigger, GDP wise, than the entire US not to long ago.

An interesting topic to speculate on....

Wednesday, 11 March, 2009  
Blogger kittitianhill said...

Very interesting. The islands offer investment opportunities for peace and quiet for large companies.

economic citizenship st kitts

Friday, 25 February, 2011  

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“During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act” _George Orwell

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