text: EXPAT WORLD "the newsletter of international living" BRINGING YOU THE WORLD IN A WAY YOU'VE NEVER SEEN BEFORE Vol. 17 , Issue 02 www.expatworld.net and www.expatworld.org February, 2005 EW REPEATS A THEME: mero's, the local supermarket, he said, "This isn't Foodland, but it's close enough." RETIREES FIND MORE Other U.S. retirees are making similarly radical FOR LESS IN PANAMA moves, attracted by Panama's favorable tax Tax breaks, lower prices and a laid-back life- treatment of foreigners, a carrot dangled by most style draw a growing community of Americans to Central American governments; the relatively low Panama. cost of living; the lush surroundings; and the eter- Whether it's Panama City or one of the beauti- nally mild climate. ful small towns of Panama like Boquete, if you We got tired of the snow," said another have the slightest interest in "retiring" abroad, Pa- 'retiree' who moved to Panama from upstate New nama is a super choice. York, with her husband, Bill, after he sold his One of our readers who recently moved to Bo- photo-processing business. "This is as close to quete had to say this about Boquete. "It gave us paradise as you can get." the opportunity to have a great, comfortable life- In recent years, retired foreigners have been style," said Rick, 50, who with his wife Sabrina drawn to Costa Rica, Nicaragua and parts of put $6,000 down on their brand-new house with- Mexico. But Panama's moment seems to have out even seeing it. arrived. Panama has turned up on more than a Loading groceries into his car in front of Ro- few worldwide surveys of "Best Places to Retire" lists published in recent months in U.S. newspa- pers and on Internet sites. INSIDE THIS ISSUE Here is a common thread for American retir- ees to Panama: "I paid my dues, got my children • RETIREES FIND MORE FOR LESS IN PANAMA through college and decided things have got to • BITS & PIECES be better someplace else." More common themes include: People expatriating in their 50's • AROUND THE WORLD WITH EXPAT WORLD and older have strong ties to their past and recol- • FREEDOM AND PRIVACY lections of better times, nuclear families, respect for the law and civility. And they have no qualms • WAKE UP AMERICA about looking outside U.S. borders to re-create • EXPAT WORLD'S WORLD OF TRAVEL those good old days." Like most other Latin American countries, Pa- • PASSPORTS nama does not keep statistics on the number of • ID PAPERS foreign retirees living within its borders. But immi- gration officials here and throughout the region • LETTER FROM THAILAND agree that the numbers are rising. • TAXING MATTERS Panama, for example, last year granted 449 (Continued on page 2) • CRAPPER RAPPER EXPAT WORLD • 1 (Continued from page 1) real estate investment people in all of Panama so special retiree visas, nearly double the 229 you can "stake your claim "before the prices rise granted in 2003, according to the nation's immi- substantially. More on that at the end of this arti- gration office. A total of 2,500 pensioner visas cle. have been issued. Costa Rica, which has been Many of the newcomers to Panama say they retirees' favored Central American destination, appreciate the welcoming embrace of the Pana- has issued 11,000. manian government. Many newcomers say they Under the terms of the visas, the Panamanian felt driven out of the United States by the govern- government exempts foreign retirees from paying ment's intrusive policies. property or income tax, as long as they prove People are giving up their freedom in ex- they have $500 minimum monthly income. New- change for protection" back in America, said comers can bring in a car and up to $10,000 in Chuck Fross, a retired electrician from Kalama- belongings tax-free. Interest from their deposits in zoo, Mich., who bought a house here last year. Panama's banks is also exempt. Retiree visa "The government has stuck its nose into every- holders also get numerous discounts, including thing." 50% off most plane and bus tickets. Villegas, an Arizona retiree, said it felt good to Panama says the special tax status is good for be free of the "layers of bureaucracy" in the the country because retirees create jobs and in- United States, while another recent transplant ject more cash into the local economy. from Vermont, who asked not to be identified, de- A case in point is newcomer Mike LaFoley, a cried the U.S. obsession with "everything happen- Boston-area native who moved to Boquete. Since ing by the book." he and his wife, Annie, arrived there four years Medical care can be an issue when one wants ago, he has started a coffee farm and spent thou- to relocate abroad. No problems here. The level sands of dollars in construction improvements on of regular medical care is good in Panama, be- his property. "My last pay period, I handed out 11 cause many of the doctors got their training in the envelopes to my workers," LaFoley said. His stuc- United States. coed home, like most of those in the subdivisions A friend of EW felt comfortable getting a hip re- popping up in and around Boquete, looks like it placement in Panama rather than the United could have been built in an upscale Orange States - especially after finding out it would cost County suburb, replete with verdant yard, faux- $5,000 compared with $30,000 in "El Norte." tiled roof, driveway and carport. The benefits of living in Panama far outweigh Speaking again of Boquete, only about 500 the disadvantages. Many expats living high on the foreigners live in Boquete and its environs, build- hog live on US $1000 per month, a third of what ers last year took out permits to build 2,000 addi- it would cost in most city and suburban areas in tional housing units in anticipation of a real estate the USA. The biggest savings are in health insur- boom. ance. One can expect a husband and wife to pay Retirees in Panama say Panama is shining in $50 per month for government health coverage comparison to Costa Rica, which experienced an that would cost $1,200 in San Diego for example. influx of U.S. retirees in the 1990s but has lost Although many newcomers to Panama have some of its allure. Rising crime, higher real estate real concerns that the U.S. government is overly prices and controversial government proposals to intrusive, they say moving to Panama had nothing scrap or reduce retirees' tax breaks have per- to do with politics. Most still "bleed red, white and suaded many to come to Panama instead. blue. Their decision to move is mostly a lifestyle "Costa Rica got expensive, and it's going to decision. Many could have worked 10 more years happen in Panama Now is the time to stake your and gained nothing. They give up the hustle and claim. We just hope it takes a while," said Jorge bustle, sure, and the convenience of shopping Conte, who is developing a 350-home subdivision malls, but they came down here and their stress for "retirees." level drops immediately. Expat World can put you in touch with the best (Continued on page 3) EXPAT WORLD • 2 HERE'S EXPAT WORLD'S SOURCE TO YOUR Panama) to contact you via email with the whole CLAIM TO THE MOTHER LOAD: story. This is no BS, these people will do you THE FULL SKINNY good. Their business is to engage in the acquisi- Well you've been given the skinny above in our tion, management and sale of medium priced article on the dynamite reasons to put Panama on condominiums, free hold houses and investment your map of places to "retire." Now give EW a opportunities in Panama City, and around the few minutes or so to tell you about our real estate country. This is something you SHOULD do if you holdings or investments in Panama. If you want have any interest in overseas investment, over- to know the full skinny, with no obligation and a seas living, retirement in Panama or just want to low key approach to introducing you to what's be able to live the life of the rich and famous on a available in real estate either for occupation, rent- hot dog budget. Contact: expatworld@pobox. ing or investment WITH NO OBLIGATION OR com with "PanCity" in the subject heading. If you NO HARD SELL TACTICS, shoot Expat World an have a particular interest, let us know otherwise email and we will get "the Company" (A real es- we will get you the general material and work tate investment company established and li- from there. We'll take care of you. censed to do business in and by the Republic of Cheers, Gene from Expat World. ••••• BITS & PECES NEWS AND VIEWS FOR THE GLOBAL CITIZEN "THE EXPAT ARTIST" THE BEST AND WORST TIPPERS If you are a collector of paintings or just looking According to a poll in Bartender magazine: for some unusual colorful art for your home or place of business go immediately to www. • Lawyers and doctors are the worst tippers. expatartist.com - the prices are negotiable for Normally, doctors are the #1 tightwads. In reader's of Expat World.. Drop us an email at stu- rougher times, it's lawyers. The reason: "- email@example.com There are more lawyers and less work." ••••• • The biggest tippers are bartenders and "'service personnel." IN OTHER LANGUAGES • As smoking gets more restricted, cigar and The little train that could went choo- choo in Eng- cigarette smokers who are now forced to lish but in other languages he went: smoke at the bar instead of at restaurant ta- Chinese: hong-lung, hong-lung bles--are becoming notably good tippers. Danish: fut-fut • Other leading tightwads: teachers, computer Japanese: shuppo-shuppo people, musicians, professional athletes and Swahili: Chuku-chuku pipe smokers. Greek: tsaf-tsouf • Other top tippers: hairstylists, mobsters, tavern The "Roadrunner" or car's horn goes beep-beep owners, regular customers. in English but in: • Vodka drinkers are good tippers. People who Chinese: dooo-dooo order drinks topped with umbrellas are bad tip- Hindi: pon-pon pers. Spanish: mock-mock • Democrats tip better than Republicans. French: puet-peut ••••• Japanese: boo-boo EXPAT WORLD • 3 AROUND THE WORLD WITH EXPAT WORLD When signs in a foreign country are written in English, any combinations of words is possible and thus the meaning. Here are some actual signs gathered for your enjoyment: • "Guests are prohibited from talking around in the lobby in large groups in the nude." -Havana hotel • "Because of the impropriety of entertaining persons of the opposite sex in the bedroom, it is re- quested that the lobby be used for this purpose." -Colon, Panama hotel • "If this is your first visit to the USSR, you are welcome to it." -Moscow hotel • "It is forbidden to enter a woman even if a foreigner is dressed as a man." -Seville cathedral • "Visitors two to a bed and half and hour only." -Barcelona hospital • "All vegetables in this establishment have been washed in water especially passed by the manage- ment." Sri Lanka restaurant • "Gentlemen's throats cut with nice sharp razors." –Zanzibar barbershop • "Very smart! Almost pansy!" -Budapest clothes shop • "Swimming is forbidden in the absence of the savior." -French swimming pool • "All customers promptly executed." -Tokyo barbershop • "Dresses for street walking. -Paris dress shop • "We recommend the hotel tart." -Torremolinos hotel • "Go away." -Barcelona travel agency MORE FROM AROUND THE WORLD: Believe It or Not These Laws are Real • In England, it's illegal to name your pet "Queen" or "Princess" without the Queen's permission. • If you aren't a member of the royal family in Japan, it's illegal for you to own a maroon car. • In Equatorial Guinea, you can name your daughter anything you want-except Monica. • In India, women-but not men -- are allowed to marry goats. • Old English law: if an object is smaller than a husband's little finger, he can beat his wife with it. • In Canada, if a debt is higher than 25 cents, it's against the law for you to pay with pennies. • In Vancouver, British Columbia, the speed limit for tricycles is 10 miles per hour. • In Baluchistan, Pakistan, the law allows a man to "acquire" a wife by trading in his sister. • In Athens, Greece, driving on public roads while "unbathed" or poorly dressed can cost you your driver's license. • If a man is wearing a hat in Cheshire, England, the law requires him to raise it when a funeral passes. • Makes sense: in London, England, it's illegal to operate a motor vehicle while sitting in the back seat. • In Australia, the pictures of convicted drunk 'drivers are published in the Newspapers with the cap- tion, " He's drunk and in jail." • Cigarettes are legal in Nicaragua; cigarette lighters aren't. • Boxing is illegal in China (too brutal); capital punishment isn't. AND MORE FROM AROUND THE WORLD IRISH "HORSE SCREWING TAX" LOOPHOLE MAY CLOSE -- Dublin: The EU may be set to close a 35-year-old tax loophole that allows owners of Irish stud farms to pay no tax on the fees they charge for the sexual services of their stallions, a big attraction for Ireland's US $427million thoroughbred breeding (Continued on page 5) EXPAT WORLD • 4 (Continued from page 4) industry. And a proposed tax may be retroactive to 1973 when Ireland joined the EU. That would literally mean selling the farm! EU claims this is a form of "state aid" that distorts competition, the argument used to rule out Gibralter's offshore corporations. This from a group that consistently calls for uniform high taxes for all. ZIMBABWE - SHE was Zimbabwe's most successful young athlete. A multiple gold-medallist, the 18- year-old raised her country's flag in junior triple-jump, javelin, shot put and running events. The teenage athlete has taken home millions of Zimbabwe dollars in winnings to buy cattle and several plots of land in her home town. There is just one problem: Samukeliso Sithole is a man. Or both man and woman. Or, as the track star insisted, a man now but once and possibly again in the future, a woman. Confused? So was the court which charged him with indecent behavior and impersonation. At his court appearance in Kwekwe, Sithole told the judge his current masculinity was an unhappy result of a billing dispute with a traditional healer. He revealed he had been born with both male and female geni- tals and that his parents had turned to a traditional healer for help. The healer, he said, prescribed a mix of herbs that caused his male organs to disappear. Unfortunately, he said, his parents paid only half the fee. When the healer got tired of waiting, he said, he caused the male genitals to grow back spontaneously as punishment. Sithole said he had made arrangements to pay the debt and expected to revert to exclusively female status on March 3, when his trial is to begin. He also insisted that, like other female athletes, he had undergone sex- determination tests before athletics meetings. He also had a boyfriend. His appearance in court left few onlookers in any doubt that they were looking at a woman. The court has a problem," a representative for the prosecution, said. "She has everything of a woman -breasts, a woman's voice and the features of a woman." Which was why the court allowed his release on bail. It could not decide whether to remand Sithole in male or female holding cells. ••••• FREEDOM AND PRIVACY WAKE UP AMERICA Your Freedom, Right to Privacy and Pursuit of Happiness is Being Taken Away Right Under Your Nose. Expat World supports every reasonable anti-terrorist action consistent with the CONSTITUTION. . But we emphatically disagree that Americans should be forced to surrender their rights in the name of a false "security" that destroys the very rights it claims to protect. The Patriot Act, in particularly, is so inherently unconstitutional that the supreme court, if they had the guts, should throw it in the dustbin. Expat World has a primary concern with the unjustified intrusions by the government into offshore fi- nancial matters and the destruction of personal and financial privacy. But below we present an essay that gives the details of another even more ominous threat to the freedom of all Americans - Americans who through ignorance, stupidity, feeble concern or complacency allow their freedoms to be stolen from right under their noses. Increasing, intrusion by the US military into civilian life by taking over what once were domestic police activities and data gathering is becoming common place. Nick Turse, who follows the military-corporate complex regularly for Tomdispatch, offers as solid a sense as we are likely to get right now of the outlines of the new Homeland Security State being created within the bounds of the old republic. Let's face it, this is frightening stuff, but too important not to read. (Continued on page 6) EXPAT WORLD • 5 (Continued from page 5) Enjoy the article below by Nick Turse, celebrated scholar. Then get off your ass and try to change the situations described. THE HOMELAND SECURITY STATE Since ancient Rome, imperial republics have invariably felt a tension between cherished republican practices at home and distinctly unrepublican ones abroad; or put another way, if imperial practices spread far enough beyond the republic's borders and gain enough traction out there in the imperium, sooner or later they also make the reverse journey home, and then you have a crisis in - or simply the destruction of – the republic itself. The urge of the Bush administration to bring versions of the methods it's applying abroad back home is already palpable; the urge to free the President, as "commander-in- chief" in the "war on terror," from all the old fetters, those boring, restraining checks and balances, those inconvenient liberties won by Americans - so constraining, so troublesome to deal with - is equally pal- pable. Back in the Watergate era, we had a would-be imperial president, Richard M. Nixon, who provoked a constitutional crisis. Actually, it amounted to a near constitutional coup d'état - and if you don't believe me, check out The Time of Illusion, Jonathan's Schell's classic work on the subject. Now, it seems, we're in Watergate II, but without a Democratic Congress, a critical media, or a powerful antiwar move- ment (yet). All we have at the moment is the constitutional crisis part of the equation, various simmering scandals, a catastrophic war abroad, and an ever more powerful military-industrial-security complex at home. And we're not just talking urges here, we're talking acts. We're talking programs. We're talking the continual blurring of distinctions between the domestic and the foreign, the civilian and the military, between liberties at home and "securing the Homeland." The problem is, we can only guess at the ex- tent of that "securing" process because so much is clearly happening just beyond our sight (or over- sight). BRINGING IT ALL BACK HOME: THE EMERGENCE OF THE HOMELAND SECURITY STATE PART I: THE MILITARY HALF If you're reading this on the Internet, the FBI may be spying on you at this very moment. Under pro- visions of the USA Patriot Act, the Department of Justice has been collecting e-mail and IP (a com- puter's unique numeric identifier) addresses, without a warrant, using trap-and-trace surveillance de- vices ("pen-traps"). Now, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Justice's principle investigative arm, may be monitoring the web-surfing habits of Internet users - also without a search warrant - that is, spying on you with no probable cause whatsoever. In the wake of September 11, 2001, with the announcement of a potentially never-ending "war on ter- ror" and in the name of "national security," the Bush administration embarked on a global campaign that left in its wake two war-ravaged states (with up to one hundred thousand civilian dead in just one of them); an offshore "archipelago of injustice" replete with "ghost jails" and a seemingly endless series of cases of torture, abuse, and the cold-blooded murder of prisoners. That was abroad. In the U.S.A., too, things have changed as America became "the Homeland" and an already powerful and bloated national security state developed a civilian corollary fed by fear-mongering, partisan politics, and an insatiable desire for governmental power, turf, and budget. A host of disturbing and mutually-reinforcing patterns have emerged in the resulting new Homeland Security State - among them: a virtually unopposed increase in the intrusion of military, intelligence, and "security" agencies into the civilian sector of American society; federal abridgment of basic rights; deni- als of civil liberties on flimsy or previously illegal premises; warrant-less sneak-and-peak searches; the wholesale undermining of privacy safeguards (including government access to library circulation re- (Continued on page 7) EXPAT WORLD • 6 (Continued from page 6) cords, bank records, and records of internet activity); the greater empowerment of secret intelligence courts (like the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act court) that threaten civil liberties; and heavy- handed federal and local law enforcement tactics designed to chill, squelch, or silence dissent. While it's true that most Americans have yet to feel the brunt of such policies, select groups, including Muslims, Arab immigrants, Arab-Americans, and anti-war protesters, have served as test subjects for a potential Homeland Security juggernaut that, if not stopped, will only expand. THE MILITARY BRINGS IT ALL BACK HOME Over the past few years we've become familiar with General John Abizaid's Central Command (CENTCOM) whose "areas of responsibility" (AORs) stretch from the Horn of Africa to Central Asia, in- cluding, of course, the Iraq war zone. Like CENTCOM, the U.S. has other commands that blanket the rest of the world, including the Pacific Command (PACCOM, established in 1947) and the European Command (EURCOM, established in 1952). In 2002, however, the Pentagon broke new command ground by deciding, after a fashion, to bring war to the Homeland. It established the U.S. Northern Com- mand (NORTHCOM) whose AOR is "America's homefront." NORTHCOM is much more forthright about what it supposedly doesn't do than what it actually does. Its website repeatedly, in many forms, notes that NORTHCOM is not a police auxiliary and that the Re- construction-era Posse Comitatus Act prevents the military from meddling much in domestic affairs. De- spite this, NORTHCOM readily, if somewhat vaguely, admits to "a cooperative relationship with federal agencies" and "information-sharing" among organizations. NORTHCOM's commander General Ralph "Ed" Eberhart, who, the Wall Street Journal notes, is the "first general since the Civil War with opera- tional authority exclusively over military forces within the U.S," was even more blunt when he told PBS's Newshour "We are not going to be out there spying on people, but we get information from people who do." Even putting NORTHCOM aside, the military has recently been creeping into civilian life in all sorts of ways. Back in 2003, for instance, Torch Concepts, an Army sub-contractor, was given JetBlue's entire 5.1 million passenger database, without the knowledge or consent of those on the list, for data-mining - a blatant breach of civilian privacy that the Army nonetheless judged not to violate the federal Privacy Act. Then, in 2004, Army intelligence agents were caught illegally investigating civilians at a conference on Islam at the University of Texas law school in Austin. And just recently, on the very same day the Washington Post reported that "the PentagonŠ [has] cre- ated a new espionage arm and is reinterpreting U.S. law to give Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld broad authority over clandestine operations abroad," the New York Times reported that, as part of the "extraordinary army of 13,000 troops, police officers and federal agents marshaled to secure the [Presidential] inauguration," the Pentagon had deployed "super-secret commandosŠ with state-of-the- art weaponry" in the nation's capitol. This was done under government directives that undercut the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878. According to the Times, the black-ops cadre, based out at the ultra- secretive Joint Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, is operating under "a secret counterterrorism program code-named Power Geyser," a program just recently brought to light in Code Names, a new book by a former intelligence analyst for the Army, William M. Arkin, who says that the "special-mission units [are being used] in extra-legal missions in the United States" on the authority of the Department of Defense's Joint Staff and with the support of the DoD's Special Operations Command and NORTHCOM. Courtesy of the New Yorker's Seymour Hersh, we've known for some time of the creation of "a secret unit that was given advance approval to kill or capture and interrogate 'high-value' suspectsŠ" in the name of the War on Terror. Some of us may have even known that since 1989, in the name of the War on Drugs, there has been a multi-service command, (comprised of approximately 160 soldiers, sailors, (Continued on page 8) EXPAT WORLD • 7 (Continued from page 7) marines, airmen and Department of Defense operatives) known as Joint Task Force Six (JTF-6), provid- ing "support to federal, regional, state and local law enforcement agencies throughout the continental United States." Now, we know as well that there are an unknown number of commando squads operat- ing in the U.S - in the name of the war at home. Just how many and exactly what they may up to we cannot know for sure since spokespersons for the relevant Army commands refuse to offer comment and Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman will only say that "At any given time, there are a number of classified programs across the government" and that Power Geyser "may or may not exist." The emergence of an American Homeland Security State has allowed the Army to fundamentally al- ter its historic role, transforming what was once illegal and then exceptional - deploying Federal troops in support of (or acting as) civilian law enforcement agencies - into standard operating procedure. But the Army is not alone in its homefront meddling. While the Army was thwarted in its attempt to strong- arm University of Texas officials into releasing a videotape of their conference on Islam, the Navy used arm twisting to greater effect on a domestic government agency. The Wall Street Journal reports that, in 2003, the Office of Naval Intelligence badgered the U.S. Customs Service to hand over its database on maritime trade. At first, the Custom's Service resisted the Navy's efforts, but in the post-9/11 atmos- phere, like other agencies on the civil side of the ledger, it soon caved to military pressure. In an ingenu- ous message sent to the Wall Street Journal, the commissioner of the Department of Homeland Secu- rity's Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, Robert C. Bonner, excused handing over the civilian database by stating that he had received "Navy assurances that the information won't be abused." While the Army, Navy, and NORTHCOM naturally profess to having no nefarious intent in their recent civil-side forays, history suggests wariness on the subject. After all, the pre-Homeland-Security military already had a long history of illegal activity and illegal domestic spying (much of which came to light in the late 1960s and early 1970s) – and never suffered social stigma, let alone effectual legal or institu- tional consequences for its repeated transgressions. NORTHCOM now proudly claims that it has "a cooperative relationship with federal agencies working to prevent terrorism." So you might wonder: Just which other "federal agencies" does NORTHCOM - which shouldn't be sharing information about American civilians with anyone – share information with? The problem is, the range of choices in the world of American intelligence alone is staggering. If you've read (or read about) the 9/11 Commission Report, you may have seen the now almost iconic figure of 15 military and civilian intelligence agencies bandied about. That in itself may seem a startling total for the nation's intelligence operations, but, in addition to the CIA, DIA, NSA, FBI and others in the "big 15" of the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC), there exist a whole host of shadowy, half-known, and little un- derstood, if well-acronymed, intelligence/military/security-related offices, agencies, advisory organiza- tions, and committees such as the Counterintelligence Field Activity (CIFA), the Defense Airborne Re- connaissance Office (DARO), the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board (PFIAB) and the President's Intelligence Oversight Board (IOB); the Department of Defense's own domestic cop corps, the Pentagon Force Protection Agency (PFPA); and the Intelligence's Community's internal watchdog, the Defense Security Service (DSS). Think of these various arms of intelligence and the military as the essential cast of characters in our bureaucratically proliferating Homeland Security State where everybody, it seems, is eager to get in on the act. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the operations center of the Department of Homeland Security. In its horse-shoe shaped war-room, the "FBI, the CIA, the Secret Service, and 33 other federal agencies each has its own workstation. And so do the police departments of New York, Los Angeles, Washington and six other major cities." In the operations center, large signs on walls and doors com- mand: "Our Mission: To Share Information"; and, to facilitate this, in its offices local police officers sit just "a step or two away from the CIA and FBI operatives who are downloading the latest intelligence com- ing into those agencies." With all previous lines between domestic and foreign, local and federal spying, (Continued on page 9) EXPAT WORLD • 8 (Continued from page 8) policing, and governmental oversight now blurring, this (according to outgoing Homeland Security Sec- retary Tom Ridge) is "the new model of federalism" in action. From the military to local governments, from ostensibly civilian federal agencies to obscure counter- intelligence organizations, they're all on the make, creating interagency alliances, setting up new pro- grams, expanding their powers, gearing up operations and/or creating "Big Brother" technologies to more effectively monitor civilians, chill dissent, and bring the war back home. Right now, nothing is closer to the heart of Homeland Security State officials (and to their budgetary plans) than that old standby of dictatorships and oppressive regimes worldwide, surveillance - by and of the Homeland population. In fact, almost every day, new examples of ever-hopeful surveillance programs pop up. Of course, as yet, we only have clues to the well-classified larger Homeland surveillance picture, but even what we do know of the growing public face of surveillance in America should cause some eyes to roll. Here's a brief overview of just a few of the less publicized, but mostly public, attempts to ramp up the eye-power of the Homeland Security State. Saying NCIX A little known member of the alphabet soup of federal agencies is the Office of the National Counter- intelligence Executive (more familiarly known by the unpronounceable acronym NCIX) - an organization whose main goal is "to improve the performance of the counterintelligence (CI) community in identifying, assessing, prioritizing and countering intelligence threats to the United States." To accomplish this task, NCIX now offers that ultimate necessity for Homeland security, downloadable "counterintelligence and security awareness posters." One features the text of the 1st Amendment to the Constitution ("Congress shall make no laws prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech") and the likeness of Thomas Jefferson, but with a new addendum which reads: "American freedom includes a re- sponsibility to protect U.S. security - leaking sensitive information erodes this freedom." Another NCIX poster might come straight out of the old Soviet East Germany: "America's Security is Your Responsibility. Observe and Report." While NCIX is an obscure agency, its decision to improve on the 1st Amendment and a fundamental American freedom is indicative of where our Homeland Security State is heading; and the admonition to "Observe and Report" catches its spirit exactly. EVERY WO/MAN A G-MAN Prior to the Republican National Convention in New York City, the Federal Bureau of Investigation sent agents across the country in what was widely seen as a blatant attempt to harass, intimidate, and frighten potential protesters. The FBI however countered by professing that "we have always followed the rules, sensitive to Americans' constitutional rights to free speech and assembly, always drawing the line between lawfully protected speech and illegal activity." By the fall of 2004, however, FBI spokespeople had moved on from such anodyne reassurances and, in conjunction with the Department of Homeland Security, the bureau was launching its "October Plan." According to a CBS news report, this program consisted of "aggressive – even obvious - surveil- lance techniques to be used onŠ people suspected of being terrorist sympathizers, but who have not committed a crime" while "other 'persons of interest,' including their family members, might also be brought in for questioningŠ" While harassing citizens at home, the FBI, which can't set up a successful internal computer system of its own (despite squandering at least $170 million on the project), began dabbling in overseas e- censorship, by confiscating servers in the United Kingdom from Indymedia, the activist media network website "with apparently no explanation." As Ward Harkavy reported in the Village Voice, "The network of activists has not been accused of breaking any laws. But all of the material actually on some of its key servers and hard disks was seized." More recently, the creator of an open-source tool designed to help internet security experts scan networks, services, and applications says he's been "pressured" by the (Continued on page 10) EXPAT WORLD • 9 (Continued from page 9) FBI for copies of the web server log that hosts his website. In addition to intimidation tactics and tech-centric activities, the FBI has apparently been using Joint Terrorism Task Forces (teams of state and local law enforcement officers, FBI and other federal agents) as well as local police to conduct "political surveillance" of environmental activists as well as anti-war and religious-based protest groups. The bureau is also eager to farm out such work to ordinary Ameri- cans and has been calling on the public to do some old-fashioned peeping through the blinds, just in case the neighbors are up to "certain kinds of activities [that] indicate terrorist plans that are in the works." Into the Wild Blue Yonder Strange as it may seem, the Air Force has also gotten into the local surveillance act as well with an "Eagle Eyes" anti-terrorism initiative which "enlists" average citizens in the "war on terror." The Eagle Eyes' website tells viewers: "You and your family are encouraged to learn the categories of suspicious behavior" and it exhorts the public to drop a dime to "a network of local, 24-hour phone numbersŠ whenever a suspicious activity is observed." Just what, then, constitutes "suspicious activity"? Well, among activities worth alerting the flying eagles to, there's the use of cameras (either still or video), note taking of any sort, making annotations on maps, or using binoculars (birdwatchers beware!). And what other patterns of behavior does the Air Force think should send you running to the phone? A surefire in- dicator of terrorists afoot: "Suspicious persons out of placeŠ. People who don't seem to belong in the workplace, neighborhood, business establishment, or anywhere else." Just ponder that one for a mo- ment - and, if you ever get lost, be afraid, very afraid… While the Air Force does grudgingly admit that "this category is hard to define," it offers a classic you- know-it-when-you-see-it definition for calling your local eagle: "The point is that people know what looks right and what doesn't look right in their neighborhoods, office spaces, commutes [sic], etc, and if a per- son just doesn't seem like he or she belongs" An… ahem… urban looking youth in a suburban white community? Call it in! A crusty punk near Wall Street? Drop a dime! A woman near the White House wearing an anti-war t-shirt. Well, that's an out-of-category no-brainer! And, in fact, much of this has already begun to come true. After all, "suspicious persons out of place" now do get arrested in the new Homeland Security State for such offenses as wearing anti-Bush t-shirts, carrying anti-Bush signs or just heckling the president. Today, even displaying an anti-Bush sticker is, in the words of the Secret Service, apparently "borderline terrorism." Holding a sign that reads, "This war is Bushit," warrants a citation from the cops and, as an eleven year old boy found out, the sheriff might come calling on you if you utter "anti-American" statements - while parents may be questioned by law enforcement officials to ascertain if they're teaching "anti-American values" at home. Nick Turse Nick Turse is a doctoral candidate at the Center for the History & Ethics of Public Health in the Mail- man School of Public Health at Columbia University. He writes for the Village Voice and regularly for Tomdispatch on the military-corporate complex. ••••• EXPAT WORLD'S WORLD OF TRAVEL This month Expat World will deal with something you must have to do any serious traveling , a pass- port. But our report will not be the traditional white bread version of what a passport is. Read on: (Continued on page 11) EXPAT WORLD • 10 (Continued from page 10) Dear Expat World Reader, When one of our readers suggested we do a report on passports for the newsletter we said: "Sure no problem!". Then we realized that if we gave out Top Secret travel information on passports and other travel insider info a few things could happen: We would be shot, a minor detail we know, but we wouldn't like it. Others may have their liberty re- moved. And most importantly the loopholes in the system would be shut down. So what we have tried to tell you about is the paperwork required, the profiles the officials look for and the do's and don'ts. Plus a little known method of travel known as The Vineyard Method. This one will annoy a few people high up! We will get into that section in the March 2005 Expat World. If you use all this information and combine it with other circumstances it should provide you with some answers. After all if we were to tell you about the hole in the fence between the Finnish/Russian border it would be closed by morning. Or the border guard in North Korea who is to proud to wear glasses even though he is as blind as a bat, and we couldn't tell you about the security camera that's been used as a nest by a lovely family of pigeons on the HK/China border or even about the border guard who reads Playboy all day. Because if we did, they would all be fixed by the time you finished this article. SO OFF WE GO..... PASSPORTS The days of passports being used as proof of nationality are long gone. The passport is now used by governments as a tool to monitor the travel habits of "its" people. An example of this monitoring would be the information which is being compiled by customs concern- ing a persons "cross border traveling" or "transactions" as it is called. This information is then passed on to the tax man, Department of Justice or any other Law Enforcement Agency. The information is then used to track down: Offshore Bank Accounts and Assets. Organized Crime Connections. Drug Smuggling Connections. Terrorist Groups. Etc... It should also be noted that airlines and travel agents also allow law enforcement types to look into their computers. Big Deal. So What! Well at the very least Customs/Law Enforcement will know how well to search you when you arrive back home. But a more sinister side to his type of monitoring or in- formation gathering is when a spy agency gets involved. Here's an example of the amount of informa- tion that can be gathered by a spy agency. Customs - they can pass on information concerning luggage contents and weight, passport and visa information, how much cash you are carrying. The Airline - they can pass on arrival and departure times, passenger manifest, in house phone list- ing's, ticket payment method (for example paying in cash is a big bell ringer). The Travel Agent - they can pass on accommodation, hotel tours, payment method. Now add all this together and throw in surveillance cameras at your hotel etc. and there goes your secret meeting! The above information will give any agency a "front seat" into your travel or overseas business. It should be noted that passport checks only take about 30 seconds to complete. This really isn't enough time for the passport clerk to do any real search on you unless a flag pops up on the computer which draws attention to you in particular. If you have just received a passport it maybe a good idea to check it out using an ultra-violet light for any warning marks like an "X" or the words "Apprehend on Sight" or even 'to Be Watched", "Assassin", "Drug Trafficker" etc. (Continued on page 12) EXPAT WORLD • 11 (Continued from page 11) PASSPORTS - IMPROVING YOUR PICTURE Lots of people apply for passports every year and never give a second glance as to how their picture looks. The passport photo normally looks as it you're a Terrorist/Criminal on the run and at the very least it will be a very bad image of yourself. Nothing draws the attention of customs or police quicker than a passport photo that makes you look so bad. The reason is 99% of the population get their photo's taken using the "instant photo machines" you find in supermarkets or shopping centers. OK think about it, you sit down in a seat that's probably the wrong height. Then a flash bulb blinds the hell out of you not once, but four times and the finished product makes you look like something out of the Alien or Predator movies. And to top it all off, you were probably wearing the wrong color clothes. Now that you know how to mess up your photo lets show you how to fix it up a little. • Always wear light color tops. For men, a clean shaven face is better in more civilized countries. A day or two old beard on the face fits in better when traveling in the Mid-East. • A tan is a must. This colors the face and reduces "photo shine" or that sick look some people suffer from in photos. That's why super models and film stars have tans. Note: There are plenty of fake tan lotions on the market. Just make sure it's not too dark! There are also several good tanning tablets available, these contain mixed carotenoids and if used over a two week period the skin will take on a light golden color. Beta Gold is a good brand. • Reducing that killer flash bulb is very important. This can be done by placing a sheet of golden clear plastic wrap over the flash. A good source for this wrap is the wrapping on the large Lucozade bot- tles. Note: This method will reduce the intensity of the flash without harming the photo. It's also possible to give yourself a tanned look by placing the sheet over the camera lens. Trial and error maybe needed to get it right. On a final note. Spy agencies never use the type of machines in supermarkets. Its not for security reasons. It's because of the reasons listed above. DIFFERENT TYPES OF PASSPORT There are many types of passports. For example: * Regular Citizen Passports - issued for travel. * Investment Program Passports - issued to anyone with enough money to invest in a business in that country. * Ethnic/Religious Passports - issued to people with the same Ethnic or Religious background as cer- tain countries. Example an English Muslim could apply for a passport from an overseas Muslim country or an American with Irish parents could apply for an Irish passport. * Diplomatic Passports - issued to Diplomats. Some countries sell low level Diplomatic passports like honorary consul positions. It should also be possible to get a driving license and plates with full executor (written recognition of your position) with the consul. Important Note: Diplomatic passports like the above last for two years and can normally be renewed. Also make sure that your passport will be on the "list'. For example if you live in the UK it's the "Court of St. James List". It is also possible to earn a diplomatic passport by providing a service to the government of that (Continued on page 13) EXPAT WORLD • 12 (Continued from page 12) country. Example - It could be as simple as being able to speak a required language. But generally speaking it requires a high level skill or contacts. This route can take from 3-12 months to obtain a diplo- matic passport but there are several advantages. It is possible to obtain a much higher level passport using this route. The passport will always be rec- ognized by countries you're travelling into. Unlike the ones you just purchase and hope for the best. A high level document offers you a higher level of protection and many more business opportunities. It's also a hell of a lot simpler to renew. It can be hard to find a program like this but just for you we are working on it and in the next month or so EW may have a perfect contact. Stay tuned, * Laissez - Passer (Alien Passports) - issued to non-citizens who are being protected by a host country * World Service Authority Passport - issued to refugees, displaced persons, politicians and aid work- ers. This is a very unusual document, but has been issued to more than a million people world-wide. It was founded in 1948 by the United Nations when they passed a Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 1311. This declaration or document was to be respected by all member nations as a travel/identity docu- ment. It has been issued by the Red Cross for many years. But the people in charge are the World Ser- vice Authority. They're the one's who control the direct issuing of documents. This document is very useful indeed because it can be issued to people without proof of identity. The World Service Authority passport is accepted on a case by case basis by the USA and many South American and European countries. When applying for this document you will be required to fill out an application form and supply a fin- gerprint and a set of photos. The authority also issues World Asylum Cards", "International Exit Visa", "International Resident Permit", "Marriage Certificates" and "Birth Certificates". For complete details and application form, please send an email message to firstname.lastname@example.com * Camouflage Passport - this passport is sometimes used by travellers who wish to enter or leave a "Hot Location" or 'War Zone". As for the passport... well it's an excellent fake. The actual passport book is genuine, but the country that issued it no longer exists. So why use it? Well, it can be used in times of war to make you look unimportant to your aggressor and cover your real identity. An example of this was a story told to me during the first Gulf War. During the war a group of oil workers managed to leave Kuwait on these passports passing through Iraqi checkpoints without being stopped. The Iraqi let them pass because they appeared to be from a country which wasn't involved in the war. Note: To back up this passport you will also receive two other forms of ID. An example of this would be: A club membership card. A state insurance card. A driver's license. All this adds to the credibility of your passport. For complete details and an application form, please send an email message to firstname.lastname@example.com with CameoPP in the subject heading. PASSPORTS - WHERE TO GET THEM Regular Economic Citizenship Passports can be obtained from a number of legitimate sources. The current sources are always changing. Expat World can give you information on a very good one that is the best value for money today in second nationalities. Email email@example.com with GPP in the subject heading. It's also possible to buy passports from overseas embassies. Another method is to use a "passport broker". These are individuals or companies with contacts in overseas passport offices and also pos- sess a good knowledge of the laws required to obtain a passport. Prices range from $5000 - $1,500,000. A superb report that holds your hand through the process of obtaining a second passport is available by ordering the book Passports by Mail from Expat World. Visit the site at www.expatworld.net. Diplomatic Passport - Legally sold by East European/SA embassies and others, can be purchased direct or through brokers. Expect to pay $30,000-$50,000 dollars upwards. (Continued on page 14) EXPAT WORLD • 13 (Continued from page 13) Laissez Passer Passport - Issued by host countries. Department of Defense or Foreign Affairs. World Service Authority Passport - Send an email message to wsapassport@dangerousbooks. com. Note: Be warned! There are a lot of so called "brokers" claiming to be able to obtain this docu- ment – most cannot! On a final note while we're talking about obtaining passports. Sometimes a charity issues passports to its aid workers. Example: Medical Staff, Admin Staff and Reporting Crews. Camouflage Passports - Full details and an application form can be obtained by sending an email message to firstname.lastname@example.com with CameoPP in the subject heading. This passport can be from the following countries: British Honduras, British Hong Kong, Eastern Sa- moa, Burma, New Granada, South Vietnam, Netherlands East Indies, Zanzibar, U.S.S.R, British Guiana, Spanish Guinea, British West Indies, Dutch Guiana, Rhodesia, New Hebrides, BWI (British West Indies) EXTRA PASSPORT INFORMATION & WHAT'S NEEDED Australia - Business migration program available. Austria - Lots of cash and assets to back it up. Brazil - Naturalization can take four years. But it's possible to achieve it in one year and obtain a green card in about 3 months. Belize - Offers excellent privacy. Canada - Very easy passport to obtain. There are six different categories to apply to for passports. Cape Verde - Very cheap programs - discontinued Dominica - It's possible to get Dominican Citizenship under a different name. VERY expensive now a days. Ecuador - Instant passport programs available. Good treatment of overseas investors or migrants. Gibraltar - High net worth required, very low tax rate. Grenada - Six week program available through the post. Minimum investment E30,000 sterling. Discon- tinued under Uncle Sam's pressure Guatemala - Instant citizenship plus passport available. Very cheap to live there. For 200 sterling per month and you can live like a king. Hungary - Instant documentation available to Russians, East Europeans with Hungarian business part- ners. Ireland - Business investment program or Irish ancestry. New Zealand - Points system. Was very liberal but tightening up. Panama - QUICK PASSPORTS, LOW TAXES. St. Kitts - Instant passports, tax haven, visa free access to nearly eighty countries. But now very expen- sive. Ukraine - Try marriage, good business prospects. USA - Business programs price $500,000- 1,000,000. SECTION 2 - ID PAPERS In this section, we'll cover both travel identity documents and work/lifestyle identity documents. Both types are of equal importance in what we call the ID Ladder. TRAVEL IDENTITY DOCUMENT OR NATIONAL ID CARD These cards are issued in the USA and certain EU member countries as well as many other coun- (Continued on page 15) EXPAT WORLD • 14 (Continued from page 14) tries around the world. Originally these ID cards were issued to control the flow of immigrants into a country. There are other "Big Brother" type reasons, but they don't apply to this report which is mainly based on travel. Few people realize the travel potential of national ID cards, and that they can be used instead of a passport. For example its possible to cross borders in most EU countries that also issue ID cards with- out using a passport. All that's required is an identity card. The main advantages of ID cards is that the whole issuing system is riddled with legal loopholes. This makes it possible to obtain ID cards from sev- eral different countries without breaking any laws. After you are in possession of these cards, a whole new way of traveling becomes a reality. Some countries which issue ID cards are Holland, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Austria and Germany to name just a few. Also Ireland may start issuing ID cards soon. ID CARDS, LIFESTYLE IDENTITY DOCUMENTS, WORK/LEISURE ID'S These are a very important document for a number of reasons-. They can be used to add credibility to passports or ID cards like National Identity Cards. They allow a person free movement in a new coun- try. For example, if you're stopped by local or military security at a city checkpoint it provides as good identity. They may provide work opportunities. They're very easy to obtain. They can be used on the ID Ladder for obtaining Higher ID's TYPES OF CARDS AVAILABLE Club Membership - (Sports are best). Work Cards - (Locksmith, not good). Private Investigator - (Not always useful). Travel Agent Pass - (Useful at customs). Press Passes - (Handy for getting out of places). Religious Missionary - (Very useful). Aid Worker - (Life saving at times). Union Card - (Very useful at checkpoints). Freelance Photographer - (Very, very useful). A company called P.S.I. in Gibralter can supply advise on obtaining National ID cards, as well as life- style or work cards legally obtained through their consultants. Do a Google on them for current informa- tion. Well that's all for this month. More next month on borders and checkpoints, customs, unchecked routes, and more. ••••• "THE PAPER PT" FOR THE 21ST CENTURY SECRETS REVEALED - Live a life free of government interference. Information your lawyer won't tell you even if he knew. Get your money out of the country before your country gets the money out of you. All can be done via the "PT" manner and philosophy as prescribed by the late, great, W.G. Hill. This book takes "PT" one step further by not necessarily voting with your feet but using a "paper highway" instead. Freedom and privacy is possible in the 21st century with this book.. This book is NOT FOR SALE. The ONLY way to get a copy of the 109 large-page PAPER PT is to subscribe to the of the EXPAT WORLD newsletter or renew your present subscription in the next 60 days. We will send you the PDF format file via email with the complete book on it. It's readable on line or print it yourself for reading at your leasure. So cutting to the chase, this book is yours free if you subscribe to the Expat World newsletter. Subscribe today to the Expat World newsletter. Be sure to put 'PaperPT' in the "Gift Certificate" box. EXPAT WORLD • 15 INTERNATIONAL SNIPS AND CLIPS "Our study is frightening unless you're Bill Gates, you're just one serious illness away from bankruptcy" the first of its kind, Weyco last month began DR DAVID HIMMELSTEIN an associate pro- testing its 200 employees for smoking. And the fessor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, company put workers on alert: In the future, who led a newly released study which found that they will be subject to random testing. If they medical bills are the cause of one third of all per- fail, they will be fired. sonal bankruptcies in the United States. It was Rather than take the mandatory breathalyser published online by the journal Health Affairs test, four employees left the company. ••••• And while Weyco's strict no-smoking policy is drawing the ire of civil liberties groups, it is PHONE MOANS FROM AN EXPERT within the bounds of employment law in Michi- This is one cellphone you might not want to set gan. The state is one of 20 that has no laws to "High & Vibrate". preventing employers from firing workers who Porn star Jenna Jameson is now hawking her smoke even when away from work. "moan tones" "What's next" asked Ms Kary Moss of the For US$2.50 (S$4), fans of the ubiquitous porn American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan, queen can choose from a variety of moans, speculating on other behaviour that could cost grunts and lurid sexual noises all recorded by the workers their jobs. blonde bombshell. "Sitting in the sun? Getting pregnant?" If that is not enough, Jameson will talk dirty to In fact, employers in 46 states have signifi- you when your phones rings, in English or Span- cant legal leeway to tell workers what they can ish. and cannot do once they leave the office, in- Jameson, who recently wrote a bestselling cluding srnoking. memoir, has launched the venture with Wicked ••••• Wireless, a mobile music and entertainment com- pany. BRITISH KIDS MOST CASH-RICH "Rock stars make music tones, porn stars BRITAIN: British kids get more money than make moan tones," said Mr Dennis Adamo, head any of their peers in Europe, partly because of Wicked Wireless. they are the best at pestering their parents for ••••• cash, according to a news report. Children in Britain aged from 10 to 17 get IT'S "PUT IT OUT" OR LOSE THE JOB AT US FIRM £775 (S$2,300) a year on average, market ana- Warning: Cigarette smoking may be hazardous lyst Datamonitor was cited as saying by BEC to your job. News On1ine. That is what employees at Weyco, an insur- The bulk of the money is spent on personal ance benefits administrator, found out. care, soft drinks and food, Datamonitor said. Under a new policy that legal specialists say is (Continued on page 17) EXPAT WORLD • 16 (Continued from page 16) ducted by researchers at Texas A&N University. ••••• ••••• CANADIAN CLINIC TO GIVE ADDICTS HEROIN "Israel has five million people, six million entre- preneurs and 15 million opinions. Singapore has Vancouver: Depsite harsh US protests, a Ca- five million people, six entrepreneurs and one nadian government clinic will give out free heroin opinion." to hardcore addicts after opens today, a stone's - ENTREPRENEURSHIP GURU GUY KAWA- throw from the US border. SAKI, as quoted by Dr Bruce Avolio, director of The clinic in this western coastal city will test, the Gallup leadership Institute and main author of for the first time in North America, whether pre- a Gallup study of leadership in Singapore, sug- scribing heroin can cut overdoses, HIV and hepa- gesting that corporate leader here need to make titis infections, ans reduce hardcore addicts' de- the environment conducive for their people to air pendence on crime to obtain the drug. alternative views. Local CEOs were rated poorly Several European countries have run similar by the study and were found to be "accidental studies, but the clinic's proximity, 37 km to the leaders" parachuted in by circumstances. Since United States, has made Canada's trial especially they never planned to become CEOs. they also controversial. don't plan for their workers, he surmised. Officials at the White House anti-drug office have called it unethical and an "inhumane medi- ••••• cal experiment". IT'S FUN TO SHOOT IRAQIS, SAYS GENERAL Others, however, hope the clinic will help des- A GENERAL has been publicly upbraided by perate addicts free themselves from lives of the United States Marine Corps for describing crime. shooting people in Iraq as "fun". ••••• Lieutenant-General James Mattis, who com- BRITISH PUBS CAN STAY OPEN 24 HOURS manded troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, made the comments at a conference on Tuesday in San LONDON: Pubs, clubs and other drinking ven- Diego, California. ues in England and Wales can apply to stay open "Actually it's quite fun to fight 'em you know. 24 hours a day under new laws that came into ef- It's a hell of a hoot," he said. fect yesterday. "You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who Currently, many British drinkers imbibe as slap women around for five years because they much as they can as quickly as they can before didn't wear a veil. You know, guys like that ain't pubs shut at 11pm. Then heavy drinkers all stum- got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot ble into the streets at the same time, often leading of fun to shoot them.' to fights and other drunken misbehaviour. The Marine Corps said Lt Gen Mattis had been The government says that the new laws will "counselled". help curb the problem as people will drink in a more reined manner and leave at different times. ••••• The new hours will not come into effect in Eng- ABSTINENCE LESSONS NOT WORKING land and Wales until November. Scotland is con- HOUSTON: Abstinence-only sex education ducting its own review of licensing laws. programmes, a major plank in President George ••••• W. Bush's educational plan, have had no impact ELEPHANT CLEARED OF KILLING MAN on teenagers' behaviour in his home state of Texas. KIJALA LUMPUR: Pepsi, a six-year-old per- Despite taking courses .emphasising absti- forming elephant which killed a man who teased it nence. only themes teenagers in 29 high schools with a piece of sugarcane, has been "acquitted" of became increasingly s sexually active, mirroring any crime arid will not be put to death, Malaysian the overall state trend, according to a study con- (Continued on page 18) EXPAT WORLD • 17 (Continued from page 17) whole world was in love with Japan and that Ja- police said. pan would take over the world financially. The sweet-toothed jumbo, part of a five- So he decided to sell his Japanese shares. At elephant show troupe from Thailand performing at the time, the world was quite down on the United a Buddhist temple in Kedah, gored and trampled States, so he reinvested his proceeds in US a 50-year-old rubber tapper after he tormented it stocks and some technology stocks. during a break in the show on Friday. And so again he took 10 years off and came ••••• back in 2000, and saw this mania in Nasdaq stocks. Of course, he sold' out. "Many actors want to play Hamlet and Mac- But as I told you, unfortunately, he died shortly beth, and ever since I became an actor from the thereafter — that's why you get the US$100 mil- very beginning, I just wanted to play a Shetland lion. pony. I can't explain why.' There is one condition attached: You are sup- - TWO TIME OSCAR WINNER DUSTIN posed to choose only one asset class and you HOFFMAN, talking about his new role in the have to invest in it for 10 years. movie Racing Stripes, where he lends his voice to ••••• a cranky Shetland pony ••••• DRUG DEALER'S TSUNAMI SALES PITCH BANGKOK: A drug dealer tried to boost his STICK TO ONE ASSET CLASS AT A TIME business by offering to donate 30 per cent of his Marc Faber – Investment advisor sales to help Thai tsunami victims, police said IMAGINE you have a rich uncle and he has yesterday. just past away and left you US$100 million (S Nopporn Thongthammchart, 30, was arrested $164.7 million). yesterday in a police operation in which 210 tab- He retired in the late 1960s and lived on one of lets of methamphetamine were seized. Colonel the islands in the Pacific. He didn't read newspa- Chirasak Khamkong said the drug dealer told his pers, he didn't have a fax machine or a tele- customers he had already sent the victims 13,000 phone. But he was a smart investor. baht (S$560). In 1970, it occurred to him that gold at US$35 ••••• was relatively inexpensive compared to the rate of inflation in the 1950s and 1960s. ONE-MAN SHOW AT CHINA'S Oil at US$30 per barrel struck hum as being ANTARCTIC POST OFFICE very, very inexpensive so he put all his assets, IT WAS a typical winter's day on Jan 14 when then about US$1 million, into gold and oil and he Mr Yong Gaoqian, a postal clerk with the Beijing took a 10-year holiday. International Post Office, reported for work at his Then he came back in January 1980 and saw new office. the price of gold at around US$800 an ounce and The only thing was that the new workplace is oil dose to US$50 per barrel. not in Beijing, but sits 17,000km away in Antarc- He also realised that the Dow Jones was not tica, the southern most continent where the mer- higher than it had been in 1964 and he felt that fi- cury never rises above zero. nancial assets were relatively inexpensive com- Mr Yong is now the lone worker at the new pared to commodities. China Antarctic Great Wall Station Post Office, So, he sold commodities and he looked at the Chinese state media reported. It officially opened economies and studied for a week. He decided to for service on Jan 20 and shares the same wind- invest all his proceeds in the Japanese stock mar- swept premises as China's Chang Cheng, or ket. Great Wall, scientific research station. Then he took off again for 10 more years. He Both are situated on the frost-bound King came back in 1989 and saw that the Japanese George Island, which lies about 160km northwest market had gone up seven times and that the (Continued on page 19) EXPAT WORLD • 18 (Continued from page 18) HOMER'S DUFF BEER: IT'S A BLUFF of the Antarctic Peninsula. AN AUSTRALIAN mother has been charged The post office is making a comeback after al- with trying to sell non-existent cartons of Homer most 20 years, when China decided to pull the Simpson's favourite beer on eBay, :an online auc- plug on a temporary service on March 1, 1986. tion site. Tara Edith Woodford, 28, was paid A For now, Mr Yong's only source of work comes $1,951 (S$2,450) by three separate buyers for a from Beijing, where letters and postcards -- bogus carton of Duff Beer. mostly sent by philatelic enthusiasts — arrive Duff Beer is a collector's item that was pro- weekly via Chile. duced by an Australian brewery before production His job is to affix the coveted Antarctica post- was shut down by The Simpsons' creator. mark to the mail which would then be sent back to ••••• the Chinese capital. Postage for each letter weighing 20g and be- KUWAIT FATHER SLITS THROAT OF DAUGHTER low is set at 7 yuan (S$1.40) for a single trip, the A KUWAITI killed his 13year-old daughter by most expensive category under international air slitting her throat in front of her siblings because mail charges. Postcards incur a standard fee of he thought she was not a virgin, only days after 4.5 yuan. he performed the annual Muslim haj pilgrimage, China's state media has so far given little indi- newspapers reported yesterday. . cation of the popularity of the service, jointly run The 38-year-oId father identified only as Ad- by the State Post Bureau and the State Oceanic nan, blindfolded and handcuffed his daughter, As- Administration (SOA). maa, before murdering her late on Tuesday as The post office joins other existing services of she pleaded for her life, Al-Rai Al-Aam said. the United States, Britain, Australia, Chile Argen- After cutting her throat a first time, the man, a tina and about 20 other countries with research civil servant at the Islamic Affairs Ministry, swop- bases in Antarctica. ped the knife for one with a sharper blade while But it is clear that the Chinese post office was his three other children watched. revived more for symbolic than practical pur- The daily said forensic examinations proved poses. the girl was still a virgin. In a congratulatory telegraph to the post office, ••••• SOA director Wang Shuguang was quoted by the official Xinhua news agency as saying: 'We would like to record our history of Antarctic exploration by mail record? This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Chang Cheng Station. China's first permanent presence in Antarctica. The country celebrated another milestone on Jan 18 when Chinese explorers hoisted the five- star red flagon the highest peak in the South Feel free to contact Expat Pole. Mr Yong's tour of duty ends on Feb 20, when World for any of your wants or he will leave Antarctica with the fourth and final needs. Visit our website for pre- bag of processed mail. liminary information and if that's Collectors need not wait another 20 years for not enough email us and let us the next delivery though. The post office will re- know how we can help you. sume operations at the end of this year, during www.expatworld.net the next summer on the White Continent. and ••••• email@example.com EXPAT WORLD • 19 LETTER FROM THAILAND THE BEST THING YOU CAN DO FOR PHUKET IS RETURN FOR A VISIT SOON! Expat World visited Phuket a few weeks after the Tsunami hit. We were flabbergasted by how soon the resilient Thais have got Patong Beach nearly back to normal. Outside of the beach road, the other 98 percent of Patong Beach was up and operating as normal but with only about 15 percent of the nor- mal tourists. Value for money is at its highest. Everything is discounted. We encourage all our readers to plan a trip there ASAP for even though money has been donated from all over to help the Thais get back on their feet there is nothing like contributing directly by spending your money in the local econ- omy. I don't know if most of our readers know that Phuket and Patong Beach in particular got off very lightly relatively speaking. A lot of loss of life unfortunately, but not that much physical damage to prop- erty. In places like Khao Lak, the water went up to 1.5 kilometers back from the beach with massive de- struction. There were brand new two story hotels that have totally disappeared without trace. There are also a lot of homeless and heaps of orphans unfortunately. When Expat World was in Phuket on January 13th, Paul James, owner of the Expat Hotel held a raf- fle and fund raising bazaar one evening to raise funds for the more badly hit areas of Phuket as men- tioned above. Some of the funds will also go towards housing and fishing nets for the Bang Tao area of Phuket, which was quite badly hit. It must be noted that the Thais have been tremendous through all of this and their disaster cleanup operation has been terrific. You couldn't plan a better vacation then to be with the Thais in Phuket. See you there! REVELATIONS IN THAILAND * There's a bar in Lamai, Koh Samui, Thailand, owned by an Irishman that has the following on his blackboard: BBQ's at the drop of a hat Fishing trips arranged Bad jokes in a strange dialect EW says they are certainly right about the last bit. * A group of expats were on a pub crawl through Patpong beach in Phuket. In one group was a Scots- man who was very tight with his money in buying his rounds of drinks. As the night went on visiting bar after bar and pounding more than a few beers and whiskies one of members of the group bet the Scots- man 3000 Baht that "David" - another member of the group – upon entering the next bar to be visited - could within 60 seconds of entering be getting a blow job. The bet was taken. The team leaves for the new bar minus David who about 10 minutes later on enters. "David", drunk but on task, walks over to a girl in a dark corner and low and behold in about 45 seconds the job's done. The Scottish visitor was to- tally shocked and paid up. What he didn't know was that one of the group had previously told the rankest bar girl in the "next" bar that if she could get "David" in the required position within 60 seconds of arrival she would get 1000 baht for the job. So the girl got the 1000 baht and we used the balance of the money to drink the rest of the night on the Scot. (Continued on page 21) EXPAT WORLD • 20 (Continued from page 20) * A good friend of mine in Phuket has an interesting marriage to a Thai in as much as it seems to be fairly "open." He even maintains two homes – one for his wife and another in a village in the next beach town for his "away games." One night he got uproariously drunk, came home, made love to his wife, and still feeling very tipsy got up in the morning and went to work. That evening he came home and his wife asked him "how was your evening last night?" "Oh, Not bad," he said, " A couple of drinks with the boys...then straight to bed." "Then why did you leave 500 baht on my pillow?' she asked, still a bit mystified. * It's the habit of many male tourists coming to Thailand to "keep" a girl they have taken out from a bar for the duration of their holiday. A friend who happened to be with a girl now for 3-4 days was told by her that she wanted to take him to her home. Fine he said, where is it? Bangalore, she said What? Isn't that in India? That's a helleva way from Bangkok. :Don't worry she said, we will go in the morning. I know how to get there, but we must take some food with us." So early the next morning she gets us a tuk-tuk and I'm thinking we're on the way to the railway station. Fifteen minutes later we stop. "This one," she says. "We are here." "What is this then," I ask. "Is this supposed to be Bangalore." "Yes," she says, pointing proudly to a single-story house. "My very own Bangalore." I'm thinking: OH BUNGALOW! How stupid of me! * On the phone to my female travel agent one morning in Bangkok, who happens to be Filipino, the travel agent asked me, " are you interested in the fuckage deal, sir?" Fuckage deal??? Yes, it sound rather interesting... sign me up. OH, package deal! No wonder they can stamp out sex tourism there. * I walked down Soi Post office in Pattaya which is full of girlie bars. I spotted this really delicious young girl standing outside a bar, so I decided to stop and talk with her. "Hi beautiful girl, what's your name?' "Five hundred baht," she says. Obviously, a newcomer from the provinces. * AND FINALLY - I was walking around a market area in downtown Phuket City and saw this hand painted sign. 'Haircut & Massage' 350 baht 'Circumcision' 200 baht Guess one could save a few baht by partaking of the circumcision over the haircut: take a little off the top but leave it long on the sides. **** For our readers' information there are presently about 45 baht to the dollar. **** A GRAND OLD PLACE IN PHUKET The EXPAT HOTEL - A real treasure of a find at Patong Beach in Phuket Thailand. Located near the heart of the bar and entertainment area, you'll find a quaint motel like structure locate in a garden jungle centered around a swimming pool. Some of the most reasonable rates in Patong Beach. Clean rooms, 24 hour restaurant - hotel bar, great local and European food, free video movies in all rooms, Satellite TV, home of the Hash House Harriers describe this place. For rates and reservations email: email@example.com. Tell them Expat World sent you. PS: The hotel suffered no damage from the re- cent Tsunami and Patong Beach is 98 percent up and running as normal. Come and enjoy the tremen- dous Thai hospitality. EXPAT WORLD • 21 ADVERTISERS YOUR AD COULD BE HERE -- SEEN BY THOUSANDS OF EXPATS MONTHLY Do you have a product or service that is of genuine interest to our expatriate readers. Tell them about it by using our monthly ads with their low rates and high response. Ad prices and sizes are indicated be- low. All ads must be in black and white and camera ready. Deadline for ad copy is the 15th of the month prior to the following month's issue. (January 15 for the February 15 issue) Hurry, ad space is limited to 4 pages per issue. OUR POLICY HUGE BUSINESS CHALLENGE!! EXPAT WORLD strongly supports the I have a whopper of an idea! The value of my pro- idea of Freedom of Speech, and will pub- spective product is that it would enhance security lish ANY articles which we feel are of suffi- and privacy by protecting from fraud and minimizing opportunity for governmental abuse. cient quality. These articles will often con- The service would use proprietary tain material offensive to certain people. If 'gadgets' (combining existing technologies) and a you cannot handle this, please do not read system supporting their use. It could be highly val- ued in certain markets from the outset. Success the newsletter. This information includes would increase its value to a widening market with (but is not limited to) information on getting potential for extremely high international demand. second nationalities, out of the norm inter- I'm guessing it could take five years to break even. The project requires planning & managing, r & d, national lifestyles, anti-government (Big raising venture capital, building the team, cultivating business/manufacturing partners, financing rapid ex- Brother) material, personal and financial pansion (once established) etc. privacy tactics in the international areas of I'll want some personal involvement all the way and lifestyles and ideology, anti-nationalism, would expect some reward but I'm not after a big cut and I'm happy with a 'back seat' role. Basically, I sexual values, and freedom to cross inter- want it to happen because it's good! national borders unhindered. If strong or So… This is the 1st stop on my initial quest to find deviant opinions on subjects like this of- one person with the drive, experience, qualities and substantial capital to take the project through. Is that fend you, do your reading elsewhere, do person reading this? Any suggestions as to where not read EXPAT WORLD. else and how I should look for him/her? Thank you for your attention We do not promote illegal activities - we Gareth, London, England. write about them from time to time on a email@example.com "this is what's being done basis." and a "You should not participate" point of view. japan-guide.com Everything we write is protected under the Extensive, up to date online guide on Japan First Amendment of the United States living and travel related information. Constitution. http://www.japan-guide.com/ Advertisement in the elec- Ad rates and sizes: 1" x 2" = US $40 tronic edition from US $1 per 2" x 2" = US $50, 3" x 2" = US $60 world. (minimum 25 word 3" x 5" = US $75, 1/4 page = US $100 payment - US $25) 1/2 page = US $150, F.P. = US $275 EXPAT WORLD • 22 HIGHLY RECOMMENDED CONFERENCES AND SEMINARS www.truewealth.bz TRUE WEALTH and SSK www.offshore-seminars.com All events of the Offshore Association www.china-nafta.org Business in china, USA, Canada and Mexico www.offshorespeciaslists.com/seminars Batterfield Seminars 2003 Jobs Overseas? American Tax international, Inc. Look no further than us for the best Full Service Tax Preparation for Expats overseas vacancies in the Performed by American Experts oil and gas industry Reasonable rates, Personal Service for www.expatnetwork.com US/State and UK Tax Returns for FREE job supplement contact email: firstname.lastname@example.com 38 Queen Anne Street London W1M 9LB Tel: 020 8760 5100 Fax: 020 8760 0469 Tel +44 (0) 171 637-2313 Fax +44 (0) 171 637-5787 OFFSHORE COMPANIES TRISTS-NOWIINEES-BANK ACCOUNTS-TAX PLANNING BY ENGLISH LAWYERS AND ACCOUNTANTS You can establish your own tax-free company in an offshore financial centre like Gibraltar, the Ba- hamas or the Seychelles. Many of our clients use tax-free offshore compa- nies to invoice for their services whilst working abroad. Anglo International Group Companies House, Briton Street, Bampton, Devon EX16 9LN Great Britain Great rates, Pool in a garden setting. The hotel is Tel: 01398 331061 (Int +44 1398 331061) located in the heart of the entertainment district, Patong Beach, Phuket, Thailand. Fax: -01398 331918 (Int + 44 1398 331918) For more info and reservations, E-mail: email@example.com Email: email@example.com Website: www.anglo-offshore.com EXPAT WORLD • 23 PANDORA"S BOX OPEN HER BOX FOR ALL YOUR EW'S (EARTHLY WANTS) THE PT CD – The Hill Collection INTERNATIONAL DRIVERS LICENSE -- As seen on TV. Good in over 180 countries including the USA. Four year va- $100 GETS YOU $1400 AT EXPATWORLD lidity, renewable. Why you NEED one: If you plan to travel, Beat the Bureaucracy -- Outsmart Big Brother have present "problems" with your local license, need a mo- Live a life free of bureaucratic hassle while protecting torcycle license,need a photo ID,need another form of ID your personal and financial privacy. • No documentation needed! • Good in +180 countries (including the USA) Now available, the "Bible" on living a bureaucratic free • 4-year validity life, plus 3 additional best sellers by W.G. Hill. Get • No documentation of present license(s) needed these 4 books in the W.G Hill "PT" collection , all on a • Cost US $135 single CD or 3 1/2 inch PC formatted disks: TO ORDER WE NEED: Last Name ______________________________________ 1. PT (Perpetual Traveler, etc.) First Name ______________________________________ 2. The Passport Report Country and City of Birth ___________________________ 3. Portable Trades and Occupations Date of Birth (write out completely, ie., June 10, 1955) 4. The Invisible Investor Permanent Address (city and country) _________________ These books sell in hard copy for US $100 per Type of Vehicle(s) you can drive: (automobile, light truck, heavy truck, motor-cycle, passenger bus) Circle one or book! Order today and all four books on diskettes are more. yours for US $100 total and we'll include the limited Your Mailing Address (for delivery) ____________________ edition "How to Become a Honorary Consul" abso- _______________________________________________ lutely free. (This book sold originally in hard copy for _______________________________________________ over US $1000!) TWO PHOTOS approximately 1 and 1/2 inches by 2 inches. For full details and ordering instructions email or fax: Send details with US $135 cash, check, money order or Visa email@example.com -- 65-6466-3836. Put "Hill Col- Card details to: Max Bushby c/o Expat World, Box 1341, lection" in the subject heading. (Also asked about be- Raffles City, Singapore 911745. Delivery time is approxi- mately 3 weeks from time we get your order. ing a "reseller") CAMOUFLAGE PASSPORTS LEGAL THEY'RE BACK ! SECOND PASSPORT CAMOUFLAGE PASSPORTS -- PROTECT YOUR- SELF FROM TERRORISTS AND ALSO HAVE AN A very special legal 2nd passport/ ALTERNATIVE PASSPORT ID WHICH CAN BE nationality program for less than US USED IN MANY UNIQUE IDENTIFICATION SITUA- $4500. (A small agent fee is extra) TIONS ∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗ A Camouflage Passport looks exactly like a real pass- port but the issuer is a non-existent country, but at Here's a great opportunity for readers one time did exist. It has a richly authentic vinyl cover of Expat World to obtain a legal 2nd which is embossed with gold lettering. It contains passport at a price way below par for your photo, entry/exit stamps, as well as a registration an offer of this quality. We can't say number and official seal. And that's not all! For maxi- more here but if you want to know mum authenticity your passport comes with its own security hologram. In fact, it looks just like a real the name of the country plus more in- passport. The only thing is that the country that is- formation and an application blank. sued the passport no longer exists. Fax: +65 6466-3836 or email: Our camouflage package includes the passport, two email@example.com Put Agricul- alternative ID's and a camouflage drivers license. Our ture Project X in the subject heading. quality is the best in the business and the cost is the cheapest you will find. Give us your email or fax number for To get the full list of countries available and the full in- the reply formation and application email us at email@example.com with "Cameo" in the subject line and we'll send you the info, pronto. EXPAT WORLD • 24 TAXING MATTERS SLIPPERY STEPPING STONES OR SLIMY PEBBLES COULD BE YOUR DOWNFALL Do what the big boys do: use a multi-layered set-up of offshore corporations to legally reduce your corporate tax burden. Smart offshore business operators, large and small, often avail themselves of a multinational tax- break allowed under US. tax law. It's called "stepping stones" by international tax experts, "treaty shop- ping" by a disdainful IRS. This generous tax break, for which most Americans can't qualify, proves that the US can be a tax ha- ven for foreigners, if they play their cards very carefully. The creative tax strategy takes advantage of international bilateral tax treaties. It requires at least minimal business operations in two or more countries. You simply base a defined part of your business where taxes are lowest for just such operations. The total business gross volume need not be large, but the net should be big enough to justify the accounting and legal expenses. But the tax savings can be enormous. Because it has a worldwide network of tax treaties, the Netherlands is a favorite base for stepping stone business operations by companies from all over the world. Low taxes make Holland ideal for pas- sive interest or royalty income and for financing operations. Once incorporated in Holland you're covered by the US -Dutch tax treaty that requires no US with- holding taxes on interest and dividends paid from the US to a Dutch company. A Dutch company in turn can make payments without tax withholding to a German, Canadian or other nation's firm. The IRS hates such arrangements. To them it's tax evasion using phony affiliates of businesses op- erating within the US. Fortunately for astute taxpayers, if it's done right this system is legal and it works. The one key requirement is strict adherence to proper form and no corner-cutting. The moral: There are ways to save taxes offshore, but do it right and be damned sure you know what you can and cannot do. EXPAT WORLD CAN DIRECT YOU TO THE FINEST "STRUCTURES" GU- RUS AND PROVIDERS IN A TAX-FREE COUNTRY IN CENTRAL AMERICA . They can develop a le- gal tax strategy for you that will keep your money in your coffers not the tax man's. Email expat- email@example.com with "STRUCTURES" in the subject heading. ••••• 5 YEARS OF EXPAT WORLD You can get the last 5 year's back issues of EXPAT WORLD newsletter on a CD formatted for both Mac and PC computers. For readers of the Expat World Digest this is your chance to get the real skinny on international events rather than just the crumbs we send you each week free in the EW Digest to peak your interest into becoming regular subscribers, either electronically or the hard copy version, to the REAL Thing, the EXPAT WORLD newsletter. So much has changed in the amount of freedom, personal and financial privacy, international loop- holes and just the operation of the world community in the last 5 years that you need this CD to pretty much get you up to speed. But besides this instant education our newsletter is a cheeky, funny, and spot-on newsletter that leaves you waiting anxiously for the next issue. Don't miss out on this 5 year collection. It's available for only US $75. You can go to www.expatworld.net and "pay-on-line " with our secure server or send cash, check or money order payable to Expat World VIA REGISTERED AIRMAIL to: Max Bushby c/o Expat World, Box 1341 Raffles City, Singapore 911745. Get them while we still have this CD available. Order today! EXPAT WORLD • 25 CRAPPER RAPPER THE CLASSIFIEDS Have you ever been in a place where all you POINTS TO PONDER ON THE POTTIE can find to read in the bathroom is an old news- paper? Try this: Just flip to the classifieds and look for funny goofs like these. FOR SALE An antique desk suitable for lady with thick legs and large drawers. GREAT DAMES FOR SALE • Four-poster bed, 101 years, Perfect for antique lover. • Pit Bull For Sale: Owner deceased. • Eight puppies from a German Shepherd and an Alaskan Hussy. WANTED POLITICIANS - THE CRAP THEY SPOUT • Looking for hanging cage for my daughter. FROM THEIR MOUTHS IS USUALLY BEST Must have exercise wheel. READ IN THE CRAPPER SAVE THE FEW EX- • Unmarried girl to pick fresh fruit and produce at CEPTIONS HERE: night • "If hypocrisy were gold, the Capitol would be • Girl wanted to assist a magician cutting-off- Fort Knox." -Senator John McCain head illusion. Salary and Blue Cross. • "It is perfectly American to be wrong. -Newt • Man wanted to work in dynamite factory. Must Gingrich be willing to travel. • "My choice early in life was either to be a piano • Hard working, experienced farm woman. player in a whorehouse or a politician. And to Household and field work; know how to cook; tell the truth, there's hardly any difference." - must own tractor-send photo of tractor. Harry S. Truman • Hair-cutter. Excellent growth potential. • "My God! What is there in this place MISCELLANEOUS (Washington D.C.) that a man should ever • Lost: Beagle, partly blind, hard of hearing, cas- want to get into it?" -President James Garfield trated; answers to the name of Lucky. • "I think the American public wants a solemn • For rent: 6-room hated apartment. ass as president and I think I'll go along with • Illiterate? Write today for free help. them." -President Calvin Coolidge (or was it G. • The license fee for altered dogs with a certifi- W. Bush?) cate will be $3 and for pets owned by senior • "Political promises go in one year and out the citizens who have not been altered the fee will other." -Anonymous be $1.50. • The single most exciting thing you encounter in • Preparer of food. Must be dependable, like the government is competence, because it's so food business and be willing to get hands dirty. rare. -Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan • Free-Three Kittens: Siamese coloring. Will do • "You can lead a man to Congress, but you yard work. To a loving home only. can't make him think." -Milton Berle 5 FILMS THAT FEATURE FARTS • "If ... everybody in this town connected with 1. Airplane! The pilot is affected by mild food poi- politics had to leave town because of chasing soning. women and drinking, you'd have no govern- 2. Blazing Saddles. Bean-eating cowboys toot up ment. -Senator Barry Goldwater a storm by the old campfire. • "If you don't want to work for a living, this is as 3. Amadeus. Mozart rips one mockingly after good a job as any. -Congressman John F Ken- caricaturing Salieri at the piano. nedy in 1946 4. Le Grande Bouffe. A character farts himself to • There they are -See No Evil, Hear No Evil, and death. Evil." -Bob Dole, on a gathering of ex- 5. Fanny and Alexander. Uncle Karlchen aston- presidents Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and ishes children blowing out candles. Richard Nixon. EXPAT WORLD • 26 EXPAT WORLD "the newsletter of international living" It's strange but true. The more you watch TV news and read the mainstream press, the less you tend to know about important issues and events and the REAL story. This phenomena is even more pronounced if you're concerned with the international scene. Fortunately at EXPAT WORLD we have developed a newsletter that challenges the bias, inac- curacies and censorship of Big Brother, and Big Business directed and orchestrated media that masquerades as news. Our research staff monitors 100's of international TV and radio sources, the internet, magazines, newspapers, private journals, computer nets and inside sources each month to provide you information that will protect your assets along with your privacy, freedom and confidentiality on personal and business dealings on a truly international scale. We sift through the media morass, and more importantly, use our inside sources to publish EXPAT WORLD, "the newsletter of international living" in a cheeky monthly format. We constantly reveal what "you ain't spozed to know" - give you "E xpa tr ia te s Wor l dw ide , sources and know-how to maintain your privacy, keep those hard-earned bucks away from the tax man and other asset reducers. We introduce Entre pre neurs, Free dom you to tricks to sidestep Big Brother governments and bureaucracies Seekers, Privacy Seekers, keeping them from making you just a source of assets for their coffers - a human resource to be milked dry and brainwashed to follow the party Asset Protectors and all line. We free you of those "for-your-own-good laws." We show you more people fed-up with the has- loopholes than a Philadelphia lawyer for living a live of true freedom. We arm you with the knowledge needed to pursue the goal of breaking the sles of bureaucracy don't chains of bureaucrats and BIG BROTHER wherever you're living. depend on jungle drums In any one issue you may read about: tropical retirement havens on $800 per month, securing 2nd foreign passports by mail, secret bank ac- for the special information counts, starting an offshore tax-exempt business, loophole methods of they need -- THEY READ asset protection, becoming a PT (Past Taxpayer), making money in the overseas arena, instant nobility through a nobility title purchase, inside in- EXPAT WORLD." W.G. HILL formation on little known travel destinations, banking passports for finan- cial privacy, saving 1/2 or more on travel related services by becoming an instant travel agent, 100's of loopholes or well kept secrets to beat the bureaucracies and enjoy a hassle-free, inter- national lifestyle and so much more ... anything that will keep you ahead of the pack. If you're one of the relatively few who realize you've be taken to the cleaners by the powergroups behind the mainstream media every time you read a paper or watch TV news program, it's time to subscribe to EXPAT WORLD. Find an application form below or use our online order form at: www.expatworld.net/subscribe.html ORDER FORM Name: ____________________________________________________________________________ Address: __________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ Postcode; ______________________Country: ____________________________________________ Email: ____________________________________________________________________________ YES start my subscription to EXPAT WORLD by email .... US $ 30 for 1 year MAILING ADDRESS .... US $ 55 for 2 years EXPAT WORLD BOX 1341 RAFFLES CITY or EXPAT WORLD printed edition SINGAPORE 911745 .... US $ 89.95 for 1 year FAX: +65 6466-3836 .... US $ 170 for 2 years EMAIL: firstname.lastname@example.com Enclosed: cheque ..., cash ...., m.o. .... EXPAT WORLD • 27


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The man accused of killing an 84-year-old Mishawaka woman in her home late last year did not enter a plea in court Wednesday.
William Karimu, 19, was charged in August with murdering Lois Hickey. She was found stabbed and beaten to death in her home on East Donaldson, just after Christmas last year.
Wednesday, in court, Karimu's plea deadline was extended to January 22.


text:
Securing wireless networks - it's the people, not the kit
Summary: IT Priorities Conference: Wireless security vendors shone a bright light on the weakness of today's mobile communications networks, and criticised the poverty of current voice over IP authentication models
"Vendors are missing a trick," said Simmonds. "We need to build security from the ground up. You can tell a board that you've got Deep Packet Inspection and that you're secure, but it's a fallacy."
Simmonds added that companies are not doing enough to protect their mobile devices and that most companies had an immature approach to wireless security.
"I think a lot of what we do are just knee-jerk reactions," he said. "A lot of security solutions are like sticky plasters. But they do no good because they have 300 holes in so you can connect to your customers, partners and vendors."
Dutch bank ABN Amro's global head of technology risk management, Paul Stimpson, called for better management tools to control wireless security.
"It's all a balance," said Stimpson. "But the management overheads can be horrendous. [IT managers] believe they are secure, but the specific tools aren't there."
Alex van Someren, CEO for security firm nCipher, agreed that managing wireless security required better tools.
"You can get reliable service with mobile phones, but not with Wi-Fi," said van Someren. "We need to look at who you are talking to and what they send, not the medium they send over."
Voice over Internet Protocol telephony also raised many security issues for the panel. Van Someren said that he had worked with a New York bank that had deployed 100 VoIP phones to its top employees, but he thought that managing the system would be tough because identification was based on MAC addresses.
"The best thing they could think of was MAC addresses," he said. "That's not so hard to spoof and all those long numbers are not pretty. The idea could do well, but the management will be tough. It's just not an adequate authentication model."
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