Digital nomads are hiring and firing their governments
"The nation state has survived wars, plagues, and upheaval, but it won’t survive digital nomads, not if people like Karoli Hindriks have something to say about it."
4 Ways Living Abroad Can Give You More Freedom
"There’s a vast world outside of the U.S. waiting for you to discover it."
The Most Basic Freedom Is the Freedom to Quit
"Freedom to quit is essential to all of these goals. I am talking here about the freedom to walk away from people and situations that are harmful to our well being."
Customs And Border Protection Clarifies: You Have No Rights While Traveling
"Their guidance claims the authority to search a traveler’s electronic devices 'with or without suspicion.' The guidance now claims passengers are 'obligated' to turn over their devices as well as passcodes for examination. If they fail to do so, agents can seize the device. That is all considered a 'basic search.' Agents must have suspicion in order to conduct an 'advanced search.' This includes copying information from devices, or analyzing them with other equipment. Finally, CBP agents can not 'intentionally' search information stored on the cloud, versus on the device’s hard drive."
Thousands of Americans’ Electronics Illegally Searched at Border
"Over 30,000 people had their electronic devices searched without probable cause or a warrant by Customs and Border Protection in 2017. This is a 50% increase from 2016. Most of the searches took place at airports when travelers were leaving the country. Imagine the helplessness of having your phone taken by an Agent, and searched without your consent. No suspicion of any crime. No probable cause. Just some thug using brute force to violate your privacy. In these settings, travelers are powerless. You just want to get home or continue to your destination, but the American police state shakes you down. Hundreds of traveler complaints about such oppression have now surfaced thanks to a Freedom of Information Request."
New US visa-free travel policy exports Homeland Security abroad
"The Trump administration put new requirements in place on Friday for the 38 countries participating in the U.S. Visa Waiver Program, including that they use U.S. counterterrorism data to screen travelers, officials said. The United States will also start assessing VWP countries on their safeguards against 'insider threats' at their airports, especially those with direct flights to the United States, officials said."
The next big industry to face digital disruption will be our nations
"Our nations are now undergoing a digital revolution, which will radically reshape them once again — this time into borderless online communities with services that can be accessed anywhere there is an internet connection."
Homeland Security Wants Facial Recognition To Identify Travelers
"US Customs and Border Protection considers its jurisdiction to be anything within 100 miles of the border, so naturally one of the privacy questions for Americans is whether this tech would be deployed inside the United States. CBP did not respond to a request for comment on this story that was sent yesterday evening. We’ll update this post if we hear back."
Bitcoin Now Buys You Citizenship in Pacific Nation of Vanuatu
"The Pacific island nation of Vanuatu has become the world’s first county to accept the virtual currency bitcoin for its citizenship program. The Vanuatu Information Centre (VIC) announced that its Development Support Program (DSP) will allow foreigners to qualify for Vanuatuan citizenship through a one-time payment of $200,000 – or its cryptocurrency equivalent. At current market prices, this puts the price of citizenship for the so-called Paradise Islands at slightly more than 43 bitcoins."
Trump’s travel ban brought back from the dead by Supreme Court
"The Supreme Court agreed Monday to review President Donald Trump’s travel ban and partially reversed lower court rulings that blocked the ban from being implemented. Trump’s travel restrictions on people from six Muslim-majority nations can be applied to individuals 'who lack any bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States,' the Supreme Court ruled." Continue reading →