International Living

Gerard Depardieu claims world citizenship

"French actor and new Russian national Gerard Depardieu says he is applying for an Algerian passport and possibly others, describing himself a 'world citizen'. The 64-year-old star, one of the world's most prolific actors, acquired Russian nationality in January after getting into a fight with the French authorities over a new 75-per cent tax on the super-rich. 'I would like to have seven' passports, he told France's Journal du Dimanche on Sunday. 'I'm going to ask for an Algerian one and others as well,' he said. 'This will help me avoid visas.'" Continue reading →

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Travel Before Passports

"A century ago, there were no passports. We forget this. Our world would have seemed inconceivable to any free man in the Western world a century ago. People would not have imagined it possible that a person would be unable to cross a border because his nation had revoked his passport. There were no passports to revoke. The Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire, both considered illiberal tyrannies, had passport systems. World War I did more to undermine liberty in the West than any other event of the last century. European states killed about 20 million citizens, and began taking away liberties from those citizens who survived. War is the health of the state." Continue reading →

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What Real Independence Looks Like

"With confiscatory taxation at all levels, the gutting of the Bill of Rights through the so-called Patriot Act, the NDAA, secret courts, executive orders, indefinite detention, the need to be in compliance with an ever growing stack of regulations, edicts, and laws, the militarization of the police, the use of the IRS as a political weapon, assassination of US citizens without due process, indirect capital controls through FATCA, NSA warrantless spying, worldwide perpetual warfare with an undefined enemy... If history is any guide, it is not going to be pretty and I strongly recommend seeking an insurance policy before it's too late. Internationalization is that insurance policy." Continue reading →

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Traveling on a Revoked Passport…What Can You Do Next?

"In order for Snowden to depart safely from the Sheremetyevo without a second passport, he will need to procure some type of refugee travel document. So-called 'refugee passports' originated nearly 100 years ago when World War I ended. They look like regular passport booklets with two diagonal stripes in the upper left corner on the front cover. Hopefully, none of you reading this post will ever find yourself in the situation Edward Snowden is now experiencing: traveling internationally on a passport your country has revoked. But if you do, I hope that you take a precaution Snowden never did: to obtain a second passport, 'just in case.'" Continue reading →

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What’s the Better Role Model, France or Switzerland?

"The first slide, which is based on research from the Boston Consulting Group, looks at which jurisdictions have the most households with more than $1 million of wealth. Switzerland is the easy winner, and you probably won’t be surprised to see Hong Kong and Singapore also do very well. Gee, I wonder if the fact that Switzerland (#4), Hong Kong (#1), and Singapore (#2) score highly on the Economic Freedom of the World index has any connection with their comparative prosperity? The most impressive part of this data is the way Switzerland has maintained a much smaller burden of government spending [compared to the Eurozone]." Continue reading →

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The best second passport for Edward Snowden…

"If Mr. Snowden had been able to procure a second passport prior to stepping into the limelight, he would likely not be in this predicament as he could have been traveling on his other passport. This is one of the hidden virtues of having a second passport. You might never ‘need’ one. But should such a need ever arise, it can really be a life saver. In Mr. Snowden’s case, the best option on the table would have been Brazil. If Snowden had become a Brazilian (which anyone can do– via 2-4 years of residency, or marriage, or even having a child), he could be happily living out his days on the beach in Fortaleza, rather than being stuck in a Russian transit zone." Continue reading →

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Don’t Leave Home Without This

"Since 1986, the U.S. State Department has been informing the IRS of all persons who renew their U.S. passports using a foreign address. Since passport renewals require an applicant’s Social Security number, this information is also used by the IRS to see if applicants have filed income tax returns. An IRS official speaking in Zurich said a special effort was being made by the agency to track all U.S. citizens who’ve renewed U.S. passports while living in Switzerland. So, now we have two out of control U.S. government agencies that have the ability to track your private financial activity and revoke your ability to travel freely through your U.S. passport." Continue reading →

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Jim Rogers on investing in Malaysia, the century of Asia, & frontier markets

"Malaysia has a few things going for it now. It has a government that understands how the world is supposed to work and it is trying to open up so that if people accomplish something they can see the fruits of their labor. They have lots of natural resources, are right in the middle of the region, and speak multiple languages, so Malaysia has a lot going for it. I have had criticisms of Malaysia in the past, but at the moment, I have investments in Malaysia for the first time in a long time. This is a government that understands economics better than some governments, has big reserves, and has a very large agricultural component of their economy." Continue reading →

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What Currency Controls Mean for You

"Many in the First World are predicting that we are on the verge of an economic collapse that will bring about the destruction of wealth, but this is not so. Yes, there will most certainly be a collapse, but, historically, wealth is not destroyed in such situations, it merely changes hands. It is likely that the reader is already well aware that small jurisdictions, such as Singapore and Hong Kong, are attracting a share of wealth that is beyond what their size would naturally dictate. The amount of wealth per resident in these jurisdictions is high. Its presence means that opportunities abound in these havens. For every door that closes, another opens." Continue reading →

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State Department revokes NSA leaker Snowden’s passport

"The former National Security Agency contractor who disclosed a highly classified surveillance program has had his U.S. passport revoked. A U.S. official on Sunday said Edward Snowden's passport was annulled before he left Hong Kong for Russia. Snowden's travel plans could be complicated — but not thwarted — by a lack of passport. The U.S. official said that if a senior official in a country or airline ordered it, a country could overlook the withdrawn passport. The former contractor is said to be in Moscow and his allies at anti-secrecy WikiLeaks say Snowden is bound for Ecuador. The foreign minister there says he has requested asylum." Continue reading →

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