The re-conquest by Colonial Ecuador.

Checking in with Bill Bonner....real Democracy and Capitalism...

2012-02-22T13:51:00.002-08:00

Hillary Clinton calls up Egypt, Syria, Libya, and China to “democratize.” But democracy, as practiced by the US and other developed countries, is a fraud. It is just a way for the insiders to scam money and power from the outsiders, by pretending that the voters are in charge.

Just ask how many taxpayers would vote to spend about $10,000 each on the war against Iraq?

How many would vote to spend $1.60 cents for every dollar in tax revenue?

How many would vote for the latest mortgage deal...where homeowners who saved their money and paid their mortgages are forced to make up for those who bought houses recklessly...and then couldn’t make their payments?

How many would vote to bail out Goldman Sachs...Bank of America...or Citigroup?

But voters never get a chance to vote on the issues. They vote for candidates...financed by insiders, with agendas the outsiders cannot even imagine.

The word ‘democracy’ arose in small, Greek city states, where the voters actually voted on the concrete issues, not just the slippery candidates. Citizens voted to go to war...knowing not only that they would have to pay for it...but that they could be killed in the battles themselves. War was a matter of life and death, not just a campaign slogan of a chubby, middle-aged draft-dodger.

The Italian city states practiced real democracy too. In 15th century Florence, for example, citizens voted on whether or not to build a cathedral... Then, they voted on what shape it should take.

A scale model was built. Citizens knew what it would look like. They understood how it was built and how much it would cost them. They cast their ballots and took responsibility for the outcome.

American democracy, circa 2012, has no more in common with real democracy than American capitalism has in common with real capitalism. Both are degenerate...corrupt...and geriatric.

*** We spent a week at our place in Nicaragua...and we wonder why we don’t spend more time here.

“Because life is a struggle,” said our friend. “Here, there’s nothing to struggle against...except your worst enemy, yourself.”

Hmmm...

The climate is benign. No need to fight against the elements. The views are the best in the world. Nature has made this coast her chef d’oeuvre; it would be a sin to complain, ingratitude to ask for more.

But more is just what we can’t help asking for...

The food is delicious. The pace is relaxed. We wake up...the sun shines in the window... Outside, the surf pounds the sand. We take a walk along the beach...often seeing no other human being...splashing our bare feet in the warm water.

Returning up the steps to the house, Tere, our housekeeper has already put breakfast on the table...fresh fruit, coffee, eggs...

Later, we sit on the porch...overlooking the ocean...and do our work. No commuting. No traffic. No parking. No snow. No ice. Nothing disturbs our work...or our thoughts...

What’s not to like?

“Well...you can’t sit still and enjoy things. You need to look for challenges. And if you can’t get mad at other drivers or God, you’ll have to get mad at yourself.”

Hmmm...

What kind of world is this? We work to make it better...and then, when it is nearly perfect, we can’t resist improving it.

..Or making it worse.

Regards,

Bill Bonner
for The Daily Reckoning

Market Meltdown Warning: Institutional Investors Are Offloading Stocks to Retail Buyers (That’s Us)

2012-01-30T06:07:00.001-08:00

As the Dow Jones appoaches 13,000 and continues to break through multi-year highs, reports over the last several months suggest that the smart money, including major trading houses and hedge funds, is heading for the exits. The latest report comes to us from none other than government bailout darling Goldman Sachs:

Earlier today we got our first clue that the smart money has stopped “distribution” and is now offloading to retail after we saw the first equity fund inflow, however tiny, in months, and only the second one out of 37 outflows since April, as reported by ICI. The second and far more important one comes from today’s Goldman sales roundup, which confirmed that following today’s latest borderline ridiculous meltup, retail investors looking for the sucker at the poker table, wouldn’t be able to find one. Here’s why. Quote Goldman: “As has been the recent trend, our cash flow remains better to sell, both from long-only and hedge funds.” And there you have it: smart money (well, relatively so) has “recently” been using every melt up chance it gets to dump the bags with the E*Trade baby. Third and final proof: “ETF flow however skewed toward better buying.” At this point retail investors may want to ask themselves: what do they know that the others, who are actively selling to them, don’t.
Source: Zero Hedge

In late November 2011, it was reported that a silent run on the banks in Europe had already begun:

As is generally the case in the financial community, the big investors which include large sovereign wealth funds and behemoth financial institutions, are one upping the public by getting out while the gettin’ is good. While mainstream media makes it seem like we are moving in a positive direction with respect to Europe, one thing should be clear: it’s a sham. This the same thing we were being told two years ago, a year ago, a month ago, a week ago. Nothing could be further from the truth.
…
Business Inside reports that a run on Europe has begun, and large institutional players are liquidating their exposure to European bonds and other assets:
Until recently, the concern about Europe has been mostly theoretical–a potential train-wreck that would occur if/when the world’s lenders decided that the continent’s problems extended beyond the basket case known as Greece and cut lending to Europe’s “core.”
Well, that concern is no longer theoretical.
It’s happening.
The world’s lenders are increasingly deciding that it’s better to be safe than sorry, and they’re pulling their money out of Europe.
Source: The Daily Sheeple

Best Places in the World to Retire

2012-01-30T06:03:00.001-08:00

By the staff of International Living

If you had $20,000 a month to retire on — you could live lavishly pretty much anywhere on the planet. But we’re interested in the places where you can live that lifestyle on one-tenth the budget...

Places where you can have a maid clean for you...hire a gardener... wake up to a view...have great health care, eat well, enjoy the finer things in life — for less than $2,000 a month. You may be surprised how many there are...

Months ago, our far-flung editors and in-country advisers began collecting all the data and details that inform our annual Retirement Index.

To compile it, we evaluate and rank countries around the world according to eight crucial categories: real estate, special retirement benefits, cost of living, ease of integration, entertainment and amenities, health care, retirement infrastructure and climate.

This is a qualitative assessment, based on real-world data gathered on the ground. For each category in our Index, we looked closely at what matters most to you when you’re considering an overseas retirement spot — everything from the price of bread to how easy it is to make friends or stay in touch with family.

We considered a vast range of data points, from the average humidity to the cost of a taxi. And with costs in mind, we examined prices for real estate, rentals, and utilities like water, electricity, and cable TV. We looked at costs for groceries, eating out, even specific medical procedures. We took into account what kind of discounts retirees can get on travel, taxes and entertainment. And we considered whether there were direct flights back home...how many and how long they are, too.

And we asked: What is the Internet like? Do you need a car? Can you catch a movie in English? Are the people friendly? Does it rain? In effect, we asked all the questions you should ask when you’re considering a retirement overseas. This year’s Top 19 foreign locations are listed below:

Numbers and rankings don’t tell the whole story, of course. When it comes to relocating overseas, there is no such thing as “one size fits all.” So the staff and global correspondents of International Living also recorded a wide range of boots-on-the-ground testimonials from folks who have retired to these various foreign locales.

Take Daphne Newman, who lives in Caribbean Honduras. She’s spending just $1,400 a month to live yards from a white-sand beach on the island of Roatan. Only a three-hour flight from the US, English- speaking Roatan with its world-class reef just offshore, is an easy place to make friends and fit in. It lands mid-table in this year’s Index.

Jack Griffin and his wife Margaret have opted, by contrast, for city life in Nicaragua. When the stock market crashed and the value of their home in the States plummeted by 30%, they began to worry about how to fund their retirement. The final straw came with a 37% hike in their annual health-insurance premium. At age 60, they felt they deserved the retirement they had worked for all their lives, so they found a new home in Managua, the country’s capital.

Today their international medical insurance costs them 62% less than their policy did back home (yet their local hospital is internationally accredited and the doctors speak English). Retired now without money worries, they spend their days exploring, horseback riding, going to the beach or gym, and doing yoga. They have a full-time maid and a gardener and, says Jack, “We do it all for less than half the cost of a moderate lifestyle back home in Atlanta, Georgia.”

Chuck and Jamie Bilbe, ready to retire in Florida, found themselves in a situation similar to the Griffins’. “We were concerned that our retirement savings wouldn’t see us through, so we began looking overseas for a place where our ever-shrinking nest egg might last longer,” says Chuck. Now they live in Corozal, Belize, their cost of living is much lower than it was in the States, but that’s not the greatest appeal. What they say they like most is the Old-World lifestyle. “Like Florida in the 1950’s,” they say. “We’re eating better, sleeping better and enjoying social activity much more now than we did before.”

It’s not just destinations south of the States that appeal. Pam Griner Leavy and her husband Jim are just two of the more than 100,000 American expats living in France. They’re retired in Paris on a reasonable $3,149 a month. “There are so many things for free here, or reasonably priced...big-city life is good,” says Pam.

In Asia you can live comfortably for less than $1,000 a month on a powder-sand beach in Thailand. Up the budget just a bit and you can afford First-World comforts and conveniences in colonial Penang Island, Malaysia. Keith Hockton and his wife Lisa live there, where they rent a sea-view apartment for $1,000 a month — it comes with a shared pool and gym — and they eat out five nights a week, keep a small sailboat, enjoy cycling through the botanic gardens. Their total budget is $1,719 a month.

In Brazil, expats with $2,150 a month can live a block from the country’s best beaches in Fortaleza. In Boquete, Panama, Karl and Liz Parker need just $2,000 a month to fund their life in a place that provides lavish highland views in a near-perfect climate. Panama’s retiree-benefit program provides them discounts on nearly everything, too, which helps keep their costs down.

In Cuenca, Ecuador, Douglas Willis, his wife and two children live on just $1,000 a month. In Costa Rica’s Central Valley, Sharon and Lee Harris bought a townhouse in Heredia for $75,000, and pay only $40 a month for healthcare coverage as members of the Caja, the country’s excellent national healthcare system.

Wherever the locale they’ve chosen — beach, city, highland, valley — these expats all have one thing in common: They’re living the lives they’ve always wanted for much less than they ever dreamt they could.

This 2012 Retirement Index covers all the bases, revealing a wealth of choices when it comes to comfortable retirement living abroad. Choices you don’t have to be wealthy to take advantage of.

Regards,

The International Living Team
for The Daily Reckoning

Bill Bonner on "Christians" and politics......

2012-01-30T06:01:00.001-08:00

** “Hey Bill,” writes a Dear Reader, “How can you say America is going to Hell? We’re the most Christian country in the world.”

The trouble with Christians is that from time to time they render unto Caesar far more than he deserves...and lose sight of their own faith. Hardly had the martyrdoms stopped under Emperor Constantine than early Christians began pointing the figure, calling one another heretics...and then murdering each other.

Christian crusaders sacked the Christian city of Constantinople on their way to the Holy Land ...where they did even worse mischief. In the 15th century, Lutherans under Charles V gave Rome a worse sack than the barbarians had a thousand years before. They raped nuns, murdered priests, and stole whatever they could carry off.

And now, once again, Christian mobs are calling for blood. Jon Utley, who we met Tuesday night, explains why America’s evangelical Christians are an ungodly bunch. Logically, they should support Ron Paul. He opposes abortion, gay marriage and promiscuity. He’s never been divorced. Two of his brothers are ministers. And he’s a Baptist. What more could they want?

What they want, Utley explains, is to live by the sword:

Why...are evangelical leaders now opting for Santorum, and before him Gingrich? The one big area of disagreement with Ron Paul is war; foreign wars and the domestic one against drugs. For this they oppose him. Santorum supports unending war in Afghanistan, backing Israel without limit and a new war against Iran.

Earlier there was a major far leftist candidate who supported all the issues that evangelicals oppose, and was a vocal proponent for expanding Israeli settlements on the West Bank and promoting the war on Iraq. He was overjoyed when open homosexuality became allowed in the military, he supports abortion, gay marriage and the leftist agenda for big, intrusive government; power to labor unions as well as expanded, unconstitutional police powers within the US. Evangelicals adore him and went all out to support him 2006, when he lost his primary race and ran as an independent for the Senate. He is Senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut.

All this shows how evangelical leaders put support for wars ahead of their social values. Their support includes every new law giving Washington ever greater police powers over American citizens, such as the Patriot Act, Military Commissions Act and the recent National Defense Authorization Act which tear asunder much of the Bill of Rights. Most also supported torture of prisoners of war (with the notable exception of Chuck Colson of Prison Fellowship). All this comes with their “social values.”

They loved George Bush. They were major supporters of the two wars against Iraq and the occupation of Afghanistan. Fear and ignorance of the outside world joins together with a belief that God uniquely favors America. Mostly poorer Southerners they also have strong affinity for the American military and its industrial complex. In addition, author Chris Hedges has written about how they are joined by many Northern blue collar families hurting from new technology, globalization, and poor schools in seeing government as out to undermine their communities and social values. Their solace is to hope for Armageddon.

Evangelicals like to quote a biblical text that God favors those who favor the Jews. However, for them they mean only Jews who make wars and contribute to chaos in the Middle East. Jewish peacemakers are cursed in their view. No tears were shed for Yitzak Rabin who negotiated peace with the Arabs until Israeli fanatics killed him. Indeed Pat Robertson said that Rabin was killed because he was trying to thwart God’s plans.

Herein lies their antipathy to Ron Paul, who in all other respects is a family values conservative. Indeed, most of them are Baptists who used to look upon Catholics with suspicion. Today they would prefer Senator Santorum or Newt Gingrich, both Catholics, to Ron Paul, who is Baptist. Santorum is no libertarian believer in limited government (he would use government to enforce his social values) and urges absolute support for Israel and the military industrial complex. These evangelicals don’t want peace because it would mean postponing Armageddon. That’s why their leaders oppose Ron Paul.

Jon Basil Utley is Associate Publisher of The American Conservative.

Regards,

Bill Bonner
for The Daily Reckoning

Tax Laws, Corruption and Other Reasons to Expatriate

2012-01-30T06:00:00.000-08:00

Reporting from Buenos Aires, Argentina...

Quote of the day "Only to say that, as a general rule, people find themselves treated much better as guests in one country than slaves in another."

ere’s a meaningless abstraction for you, Fellow Reckoner. You ready?

US GDP grew at an annualized rate of 1.7% for 2011.

Now, what does that sentence actually tell us? What does it reveal about life or the quality of it; about the long arc of history and where we are along it; about the Heavens above us, the Hells below and our place in the present somewhere in between? What useful piece of information does this arrangement of letters and numbers divulge that has this morning’s news wires so abuzz with excitement?

What, if anything, does it really say?

Nothing. Well, nothing important anyway. It simply tells us that a measurement with no meaningful connection to reality has, in an attempt to quantify the size of something that does not exist, moved in a direction that does not matter.

Frank Shostak, an adjunct scholar at the Mises Institute, sums the GDP fraud up nicely:

“The GDP framework gives the impression that it is not the activities of individuals that produce goods and services, but something else outside these activities called the ‘economy.’ However, at no stage does the so-called ‘economy’ have a life of its own independent of individuals. The so-called economy is a metaphor — it doesn’t exist.”

But let us imagine for a moment that there was such thing as an economyindependent of the individuals who comprise it. The GDP metric still provides, at best, a shoddy way to measure “it.” There is no accounting, for example, for the immense time, effort and natural resources that go into building a good/providing a service that nobody actually wants. Consider the infamous Cash for Clunkers disaster that goosed 2009’s GDP reading...or the payroll numbers of Census employees that pumped up 2010’s read.

According to the first example, the more goods that get destroyed prematurely...the higher GDP goes up! Likewise, in the second example, the more people are employed to perform meaningless tasks...the higher GDP does soar! Following this twisted logic, why not simply bulldoze every house in America and put the population to work rebuilding them from scratch?

Sure, nobody would have a roof...but everybody would have a job fixing one! Plus, GDP would be sky-high. Welcome to your workers’ paradise, comrade!

But we’ve been down this rabbit hole before. And it’s Friday. The sun is shining here in Argentina’s capital city and the pretty people have already taken to the plazas for their afternoon cafés and cervezas. We’re not in the mood for tussling with statist newspeak jargon, for disentangling the government’s web of misleading euphemisms and dysphemisms, for straightening out crooked statistics and setting right wrongheaded theories.

We’re in the mood for some good news today...something to welcome the weekend along a bit. Thankfully, this world is rich with uplifting stories. Ah, why here’s a piece of news that brought a smile to our dial earlier in the week:

According to National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson, approximately 4,000 people gave up their [US] citizenship from fiscal year 2005 to FY 2010. Numbers were up sharply since the Great Correction began in 2008, “from 146 in FY 2008 to 1,534 in FY 2010” said the article we read. The rate quickened further last year, with 1,024 Americans ditching their citizenship during the first two quarters of FY 2011 alone.

To be sure, the number of Americans “making the chicken run” is, in absolute terms, still very small. But the trend is still young...and, in our opinion, likely to continue to gather pace as the empire crumbles. Not that we have anything against one or the other government in particular. They’re all comprised of thugs and phonies. Only to say that, as a general rule, people find themselves treated much better as guests in one country than slaves in another. Besides, freedom takes small victories when and where she can find them these days.

The study cites the “confusing complexity” of the US tax code and “bait and switch” tactics used by the IRS to lure in victims behind on “payments” as the primary two reasons for the uptick in permanent expatriation.

As to the first reason, we harbor no doubts. Last year’s US tax code weighed in at 71,684 pages in length. According to the website, Political Calculations, that’s up from roughly 500 pages too many (read: 500 in total) in 1940. We have no idea if those numbers are correct...but they seem sufficiently absurd to be at least approaching the truth. Which causes us to wonder, as it did a Fellow Reckoner earlier in the week... If something that takes the equivalent of 55 War and Peaces to explain does not satisfy the qualifications of void for vagueness, we’re not sure what does.

“As a business owner who has survived 2 IRS audits,” writes our tortured reader, “I can personally attest that no one person alive on this earth understands the entirety of the IRS code; no lawyer, tax advisor, IRS agent or justice of the court. Literally thousands of terms and conditions in the code are so convoluted and confusing to the point that 5 accountants (or agents, or judges) considering the same point in question come to 5 differing conclusions proves my point.

“After both of my audits I received a nominal refund from Uncle Sam, and wrote a larger check to my CPA. The US tax code is completely corrupt, and certainly should be ruled ‘Void for Vagueness’.”

Nor do we doubt, for a moment, the second reason cited for the increase in citizenship renunciations. Apparently, reads the article, the naughty boys and girls at the IRS have been “telling Americans they can resolve their unpaid taxes under...‘older voluntary disclosure programs with the promise of reduced penalties, only to find themselves subjected to steeper penalties.’”

Well, what did you expect, Fellow Reckoner? It’s called honor among thieves, not honorable thieves. These are people who would turn in their own grandmothers if they found a dotless “i” or a crossless “t” on the ol’ dear’s tax return. You have to beamong them if you don’t want your own pockets picked.

But then, what kind of horrible fate is that...where one becomes the very evil they despise in order to protect themselves from it?

Hmmm...we don’t know. Try writing your congressman. He surely will.

Joel Bowman
Daily Reckoning

Getting your hands around Quito

2012-01-28T13:39:00.000-08:00

Publicado el 27/Enero/2012 | 14:54

miamiherald@hoy.com.ec

Quito, Ecuador's capital city, conquered 476 years ago by the Spanish, is considered to be the best preserved Spanish colonial city in the Americas. Designated more than thirty years ago as one of the first World Heritage sites by UNESCO - the United Nations cultural branch - its invaluable architectural and cultural symbols in old town form a labyrinth of tangible and intangible treasures.

Explore "El Centro" and then get to know many of the other attractions throughout the city, from spacious parks to countless churches and museums.

La Ronda A Must Visit For Everyone

One hundred years ago when Ecuadorian poet Hugo Aleman wrote: "Undoubtedly Calle de la Ronda symbolizes the absolute bustle of disoriented humanity," Quito was a nest for bohemian activity and a gathering of all walks of life. But today the bustle is more of a a calmer spontaneity that can include serenades, street artists, and a host of great flavors and aromas.

A diverse mix of people can be found roaming La Ronda in the 21st century. They are the tourists who are drawn to this emblematic, colonial street.

Though officially known as "Calle Morales" (Morales Street), the name La Ronda derives from the Spanish verb "rondar," which means to patrol. When Quito was settled by the Spanish, La Ronda was the southernmost boundary of the city and, as such, was part of the patrolled perimeter.

Today, La Ronda is part of the city center, offering a melancholy stroll in the afternoon along a narrow, cobblestone street filled with colonial style architecture. At night, it is by far the happening place in the central historical district, especially on weekends.

La Ronda offers more than 40 different restaurants, bars, and coffee shops and is a bit of a cultural center, with artisan craft workshops like Hojalateria Silva, which makes handmade, galvanized tin miniatures, and Humacatama, a maker of custom hats, some of whose designs spirit you back to the livliness of a different era.

Quito Information

Principal Museums

1. City Museum,   Garcia Moreno 572 & Rocafuerte, open Tuesday-Sunday, 9:30am-5:30pm, Admission $3 adults, 228-3882

2. Miguel de Santiago Museum (San Agustin),   Chile 924 & Guayaquil Streets, 295-5525. Monday-Friday, 9:00am-12:00pm & 2:00pm-5:00pm. Saturday 9am-1pm, Admission $2. www.migueldesantiago.com

3. Metropolitan Cultural Center,   home to the Alberto Mena Caamano Museum.   9:00am-5:00pm, $1.50 adults, 295-0762.

4. Casa Del Alabado Museum of Pre-Colombian Art,   Cuenca 335 between Bolivar & Rocafuerte, Tuesday-Saturday 9:30am-5:30pm, Sunday 10am-4pm, Admission $4, www.precolombino.com miamiherald@hoy.com.ec

5. Capilla del Hombre (Chapel of Man),   Lorenzo Chavez Ea18-143 & Mariano Calvache (Bellavista-El Batan sector), Tuesday-Sunday 10:00am-5:30pm, Admission $4, 244-8492, www.capilladelhombre.com

6. Mindalae Museum.   Reina Victoria & La Niña, 252-7240 Monday-Saturday, 9:00am-6:00pm. Admission $3

For Kids
7. Ecuadorian Natural Science Museum, Carolina Park, Monday-Friday 8:00am-1:00pm, 2:00pm-4:30pm,

Admission $2,

244-9824.

8. Yaku Museum of Water,   El Placer Street Oe 11-271, Tuesday-Sunday, 9:00am-5:00pm, Admission $3, 251-1100, www.yakumuseoagua.com.

Other Attractions
9. La Ronda Street, Historical Center, liveliest Thursday-Sunday after 6pm.

10. Junin Street,   Home to 3 more museums: Architectural Museum, Manuela Saenz Museum, and National Watercolor Museum.

11. Panecillo Monument,   Pancillo Hillside, Monday-Thursday, 9:00am-5:00pm, Friday-Sunday 9:00am-9:00pm, Admission $1.

12. Artisan Marketplace,   Jorge Washington Street between Reina Victoria & Juan Leon Mera, Open everyday 10:00am-7:00pm.

13. Botanical Garden, Carolina Park, Monday-Friday, 246-3197. 8:00am-5:00pm, Admission $3.50. www.jardinbotanicoquito.com.

14. Cable Car - TeleferiQo of Quito & Volcano Park,   Cruz Loma Slopes of Pichincha Volcano, Everyday. 222-1996. 8:00am-8:00pm, $8.50.

More Ways To See Quito

Quito Eterno (Historical Tours),

Historical Walking Tours

Flores N40-21 & Junin

228-9506, www.quitoeterno.org

Sunday Bicycling

Fundación Ciclópolis (Bike rentals available, call to reserve)

322-6502 / 223-4475, www.ciclopolis.ec

info@ciclopolis.ec

Every Sunday from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. along 29 km of streets from North Quito to South Quito. More than 50 volunteers provide hydration stations and bike rentals.

TOURISM HELP

Information Points

Main office (Historic Centre) Palacio Municipal, Plaza de la Independencia, Venezuela & Espejo.Monday - Friday from 9:00am to 6:00pm, Saturdays 9:00 to 5:00pm. 257-2445.

Galería Ecuador Gourmet

Reina Victoria N24-263 & Lizardo García Tuesday to Sunday:

10:00 to 8:00pm,

255-8440 / 223-9469

Ministry of Tourism of Ecuador

Monday to Friday from 8:30 to 5:00pm Eloy Alfaro N32-300 & Carlos Tobar, 399-333 ext. 1007

Tourist Safety Service

Main office in La Mariscal Corner of Roca y Reina Victoria, Edif. Relaciones Exteriores 24/7, 254-3983.

Historic Center Plaza Grande

North side of the square on Chile, between Venezuela and García Morenom Edif. Casa de los Alcaldes, 24/7. 295-5785

Helpful Numbers
Information, 104

International Long Distance, 116

Airport, 244-0080

Post Office, 256-1940

GETTING AROUND

Mass Transit:

Trolebus, Ecovia, and Metrobus.

In the north, the routes run along the arterial avenues, 10 de Agosto, 6 de Diciembre and América.

For visitors staying in La Mariscal or in the north, the Trolebus and the Ecovía are the lines you are most likely to use, particularly when getting to and from the Historic Centre. Free transfers at the northern terminals of 'Río Coca' and 'La Y,' respectively.

To travel to the valley of Cumbaya or Tumbaco, head to 'La Y' on the Ecovía, then change to take the "RC17 Cumbaya" bus. Cost: $0.25, $0.12 for concessions.  From there, numerous bus lines cover various routes amd are divided into 'populares' which are blue and 'selectivo/ejecutivo' which are red.

Taxis

Taxis are plentiful in Quito and are very useful for getting around. All should be yellow, licensed and have a taximeter. Fares begin at $.35 and min. charge is $1.

Most trips of 10-20 minutes within the city cost about $2-4. A ride from La Mariscal to the Old Town costs no more than $3, depending on traffic.

EMERGENCIES

Emergency Numbers:

National Police, 101

Emergencia, 911

Hospitals:

Hospital Metropolitano Av. Mariana de Jesús & Occidental, 243-1520.

Hospital Militar Queseras del Medio & Av. Occidental, 256-8152

Voz Andes Villalengua 267 & 10 de Agosto, 224-1540.

Clinica Pichincha Veintimilla E3-30 & Páez, 256-2408

Women's Clinics (Clínica de la Mujer) Av. Amazonas 482 & Gaspar de Villaroel, 245-800

Getting out of Dodge

2012-01-26T13:36:00.000-08:00

An Interview with Doug Casey
(Conducted by Louis James, Editor, International Speculator)

Louis: Doug, a lot of readers have been asking for guidance on how to know when it’s time to exit center stage and hunker down in some safe place. Few people want to hide from the world in a cabin in the woods while life goes on in the mainstream, but nobody wants to get caught once the gates clang shut on the police state the US is becoming. How do you know when it’s time to go?

Doug: Well, the first thing to keep in mind is that it’s better to be a year too early than a minute too late. David Galland recently read They Thought They Were Free: The Germans, 1933-45, by Milton Mayer. He quoted a passage in his column of last Friday. It goes a long way in explaining why Americans appear to be such whipped dogs today. They’re no different from the Germans of recent memory. For those who missed it, let me quote it:

“You see,” my colleague went on, “one doesn’t see exactly where or how to move. Believe me, this is true. Each act, each occasion, is worse than the last, but only a little worse. You wait for the next and the next. You wait for one great shocking occasion, thinking that others, when such a shock comes, will join with you in resisting somehow. You don’t want to act, or even talk, alone; you don’t want to ‘go out of your way to make trouble.’ ... In the university community, in your own community, you speak privately to your colleagues, some of whom certainly feel as you do; but what do they say? They say, ‘It’s not so bad’ or ‘You’re seeing things’ or ‘You’re an alarmist.’

“These are the beginnings, yes; but how do you know for sure when you don’t know the end, and how do you know, or even surmise, the end? On the one hand, your enemies, the law, the regime, the Party, intimidate you. On the other, your colleagues pooh-pooh you as pessimistic or even neurotic... the one great shocking occasion, when tens or hundreds or thousands will join with you, never comes. That’s the difficulty. If the last and worst act of the whole regime had come immediately after the first and smallest, thousands, yes, millions would have been sufficiently shocked... But of course this isn’t the way it happens. In between come all the hundreds of little steps, some of them imperceptible, each of them preparing you not to be shocked by the next. Step C is not so much worse than Step B, and, if you did not make a stand at Step B, why should you at Step C?”

The fact is that the US has been on a slippery slope for decades, and it’s about to go over a cliff. However, our standard of living, while declining, is still very high, both relatively and absolutely. But an American can enjoy a much higher standard of living abroad.

On the other hand, if I were some poor guy in a poverty-wracked country with few opportunities, I’d want to go where the action is, where the money is, now. Today, that means trying to get into the United States. The US is headed the wrong direction, but it’s still a land of opportunity and a whole lot better than some flea-bitten village in Niger.

L: By the time things get worse than some Third-World dictatorship in the US, such a person could have remitted a whole lot of cash back home.

Doug: And you’d have a whole lot of experiences that would give you a competitive edge back where you came from, or in the next place you go to. The one-eyed man is king in the valley of the blind. People have to lose that backward, peasant mentality that ties them to the land of their birth. Sad to say, although the average American has somewhat more knowledge of the world — mainly due to television — his psychology is just as constrained as that of some serf from central Asia or some primitive villager in Africa. It’s all a matter of psychology.

But if you’re not poor, you want to go someplace that is safe, nice — whatever that means to you — and with a lower cost of living. As most readers know, for me that’s Cafayate, Argentina, but one size does not fit all. It needs to be a place you actually enjoy spending some time, with people whose company you enjoy.

L: Fair enough. But our readers want to know if your guru-sense is tingling yet, or how close you think we are to it being too late to leave — or at least too late to leave with any meaningful assets.

Doug: I’m a trend observer. This is one of the advantages of studying history, because it shows you that things like this rarely happen overnight. They are usually the result of trends that build over years and years, sometimes over generations. In the case of the US, I think the trend has been downhill, in many ways, for many years. Pick a time. You could make an argument, from a moral point of view, that things started heading downhill at the time of the Spanish-American War. That was when a previously peaceful and open country first started conquering overseas lands and staking colonies. America was still in the ascent towards its peak economically, but the seeds of its own demise were already sewn, and a libertarian watching the scene might have concluded that it was time to get out of Dodge —

L: [Laughs] That would have been a bit early...

Doug: [Chuckles] Yes, that would have been way too soon...So, when did the slide — politically, economically, and socially — really start for the US? When were there no more trends going up?

L: FDR? The New Deal was really a moral, economic, and political turning point.

Doug: You could make that argument, but the US still grew economically, despite the roadblocks FDR threw in its path. US military power and global prestige continued growing from that point, although, paradoxically, the accelerating growth of the US military was directly responsible for the decline of the US economically and in terms of personal freedom. One reason for the ascendancy of the US after World War II was that we were the only major country in the world not physically devastated by the war.

L: Ah. Right.

Doug: So it seems to me that the peak of American civilization was in the 1960s. As for evidence, well, I like to put my finger on the 1959 Cadillac. Those twin bullet taillights, the opulence of it... In terms of then-current technology, things couldn’t get much better. That was the peak, in my mind. Though things continued getting better for a while, the US started to live out of capital.

L: Had to pay for guns and butter.

Doug: That’s right. The Johnson administration’s so-called Great Society created vast new federal bureaucracies that promised Americans free food, shelter, medical care, education, and what- have-you. Americans became true wards of the state. But the real, final nail in the coffin for America was in 1971 —

L: Nixon taking the US off the gold standard.

Doug: Nixon taking the US off the gold standard — open devaluation of the dollar, combined with wage and price controls for some months. And that was not long after the so-called Bank Secrecy Act, which abolished bank secrecy, and required the reporting of all foreign financial accounts...Since 1971, some things have improved largely due to technological advances, but the America That Was has been fading into the past. It was a decisive turning point. You can see that in the accelerated proliferation of undeclared wars we’ve had since then. I don’t just mean the penny-ante invasions of Granada and Panama — the US has always lorded it over Caribbean and Central American banana republics; those are just sport wars. But Iraq and Afghanistan are alien cultures on the other side of the world — apart from never posing any threat to the US. Now it looks like Iran and Pakistan are on the dance card, and they’re big game. The War Against Islam has started in earnest, and it’s going to end badly for the US. I explained all this at great length in the white paper, Learn to Make Terror Your Friend, that I wrote for The Casey Report last month.

To be continued...

Getting out of Dodge, Part II

2012-01-26T13:31:00.000-08:00

An Interview with Doug Casey
Editor, International Speculator
Doug: Stating that the US is turning into a police state when you started this conversation was quite accurate. You can see more and more videos spreading over the Internet, not just of police brutality, but demonstrating the militarization and federalization of police, who are being inculcated with both disdain for and paranoia about ordinary citizens.

In the old days, if you were stopped for speeding, the peace officer was polite — you could get out of your car, meet the cop on neutral ground, and chat with him. You didn’t have a serious problem unless you were obviously drunk or combative. Now, you don’t dare make a move. You better keep your hands in plain sight on the steering wheel and be ready for a Breathalyzer test without probable cause. The law enforcement officer will stand behind you with his hand on his gun. And you’re the one who’d better be polite.

L: There has been a polar reversal. The cops used to address citizens as “sir” or “ma’am.” Now, the correct response in a traffic stop is: “Yes, sir! I would love to inspect the bottom of your boot, sir!”

Doug: [Laughs] That’s right. My friend Marc Victor gives out magnetized business cards. People ask, “Why?” He answers that it’s so clients can put them on the bottom of their cars or refrigerators, so they can see it when the cops throw them to the ground.

L: Marc’s a good man. There’s a handy video on Marc’s website, offering advice on what to do if you’re pulled over by the police in a traffic stop.

Doug: A good public service announcement. At any rate, I think there’s no question that the US has turned the corner on every basis: politically, socially, morally, and now, economically...

L: Okay, but, Doug, you said that in 1979 too. The question is, how do we know when the door is going to close?

Doug: [Laughs.] Well, sometimes I feel a little like the boy who cried wolf. But Roman writers like Tacitus and Sallust saw where Rome was going before it got completely out of control. Should they have said nothing, for fear of being too early? Here in the US, it should have gone over the edge back in the 1980s, but we got lucky. There was still a lot of forward momentum, which can last for decades when you’re speaking of civilizations. There was the computer productivity boom. The Soviet Union collapsed, China liberalized, and Communism was discredited everywhere except on US college campuses. The end of the Cold War opened up vast areas of the world to the global market. And most surprising of all, Volcker tightened up the money supply and interest rates went high, causing people to save money and stop borrowing to consume.

L: That’s not happening this time.

Doug: No. We got lucky back then. Since the ’90s we’ve had a long and totally phony, debt-driven boom that’s now come to an end. I feel very confident that there’s no way out this time. There are huge distortions and misallocations of capital that have been cranked into the system for two decades. And not just in the US this time, but in Europe, China, Japan, and elsewhere.

The US is very clearly on the decline. The fact that in spite of bankrupting military expenditures to no gain for the American people, those in power are talking overtly and aggressively about attacking more countries — Iran and Pakistan in particular — is extremely grave. The fact that they attacked Libya — which, incidentally, is going to turn into a total disaster, a civil war that will last for years — shows it’s not stopping. Sure, Obama brought troops home from Iraq — another disaster that’s going to remain a disaster for years to come — but at the same time he put a company of combat troops in Uganda, of all places and Marines in Australia, to provoke the Chinese.

Back home, I’ve read reports that people are being stopped for carrying gold coins out of the US, in Houston in particular. Now we have authorization of the military to detain US citizens, on US soil, with no trail, and indefinitely, on the verge of becoming law. And Predator Drones have been used to hunt down farmers on their own ranches.

I could go on and on. This is not like spotting early signs of decay in America’s expansionist wars of the 19th century or things getting worse with FDR. Most people can’t see it with all the noise and confusion, but we’ve reached the edge of the precipice.

L: Don’t worry about exactly where the edge is, just assume it’s there and take appropriate action?

Doug: Yes. It really is there. It’s a clear and present danger. But most Americans are as oblivious as most Germans were in the ’30s. In fact, most of them support what’s going on, just as most Germans supported their government in the ’30s and ’40s.

L: So... don’t worry about figuring out exactly when the gates will shut. Assume they are shutting now?

Doug: That’s right. One should be actively and vigorously looking to expatriate assets, cash, and even one’s self. A prudent person will always be diversified politically and internationally.

L: What about people who have jobs they can’t continue doing from abroad and who need the income?

Doug: They should still prepare, as best they can, to be ready to go on a vacation when things get hot — a vacation from which they might not return for a long time. All that needs happen, with the hysteria that’s building in the US, is for a major terrorist incident — real or imagined — to occur. Homeland Security will lock the country down.

Look, I know it sounds extreme, and the comparison to pre-WWII Germany has been made many times, but it bears repeating. Germany was the most literate, civilized, and even mellow, in some ways, country in Europe. It was much admired all around the world — a nation of shopkeepers, small farmers, and scholars. But the whole character of the place started changing in 1933, and it just got worse and worse. By the end of 1939, if you weren’t out, you were done.

L: [Pauses] Well, not a cheerful thought. Actions to take?

Doug: Things we’ve said before: Set up foreign bank accounts in places you like to travel, while you can. Set up vault arrangements for physical precious metals outside the US. Buy foreign real estate that you’d like to own, because it can’t be forcibly repatriated. Offshore asset protection trusts are a good idea too. Become an International Man. Let me emphasize that US taxpayers should stay within all US laws, because the consequences of breaking them are unbelievably draconian.

Generally, one simply must internationalize one’s assets. The biggest danger investors face, by far, is not market risk — huge as that will be — but political risk. The only way to insulate yourself from such risk is to diversify yourself politically and geographically.

L: Right then... words to the wise. Thanks for your insight.

Doug: You’re welcome.

Currency Play to Defeat Iran

2012-01-18T15:33:00.000-08:00

By Sean Hyman, Editor, Currency Cross Trader

Tensions are heating up in Iran and it could affect your portfolio ... especially if war breaks out between Iran and the U.S.-Israel.

Israel and the U.S. are decidedly uncomfortable with Iran “going nuclear.”

But when the U.S. told Iran to halt its nuclear program, the Iranians basically told us to “stick it.”

Then, on the Christmas Eve, Iran began 10 days of naval drills in the Strait of Hormuz - the point through which 20% of the world’s oil passes.

Now Iran has threatened to close the strait, which would stop the daily flow of around 17 million barrels crude oil from the region.

So, the beating of the chests has begun!

This is serious business, because parting from its control over the Strait of Hormuz, Iran is the second-largest OPEC oil producer behind Saudi Arabia.

In response, President Obama signed into law on December 31st a bill that would place sanctions on Iran and any financial institutions which did business with Iran’s central bank.

Meanwhile, the Saudis have now pledged to boost the kingdom’s oil production by as much as 2.7 million barrels a day, more than Iran exports, should be a market demand for more oil.

In response, Iran has warned Saudi Arabia that it should “reflect on and consider” that pledge.

At the same time, the West is ratcheting up pressure on the Islamic Republic and tensions continue to builds as each side ups the ante.

Whatever the outcome, the price of oil is going up - and as investors, we should act upon this important trend.

The Geopolitical Complication

The geopolitical oil web is complicated.

China imports about 22% of Iran’s oil while Japan imports 14% and the European Union imports 18%.

The U.S. needs these countries to boycott Iranian oil to enforce a proper clamp down. Japan and Europe will likely be up for that, but China won’t be so willing - and that will certainly be a problem for Obama.

Of course, another complication is that someone just bumped off another Iranian nuclear scientist - the third one recently, but the fifth over the past few years. I’m sure that chaps Iran’s rear-end and just makes them even more determined to close the Strait of Hormuz.

Now Iran has announced its next round of “naval war games”, which will be conducted by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps next month.

Meanwhile, the U.S. has moved its next chess piece too by moving its second aircraft carrier into the Arabian Sea, where Israel and the U.S. will continue their “war game” operation called “The Great Prophet”.

At the same time, the U.S. has given Iran a “final warning,” signaling that if it closed the strait, such a move would be regarded as declaration of war.

So what’s an investor supposed to do? A war would undoubtedly rattle portfolios. A number of positions could nosedive.

However, in a tense geopolitical crisis like this, there are few certainties - and one is that oil will go through the roof.

We all know that if oil goes higher, gas prices will also rise. We also know higher oil prices act like a broadly dispersed tax on consumers.

Think of the wholesaler who has to get his products to the retail outlets so consumers can buy them. If transport costs rise, it’s easy to see why either the consumer has to pay more or retailers profit margins are squeezed - or both.

Most likely, it will be you and I who pay the price - through the fuel we use to get to work, church, home, etc, and also in the rising cost of the goods we buy in stores. So, we’re getting hit twice.

Higher oil prices also act like a weight upon corporations. When profit margins are squeezed, companies often cut costs, which can then translate into layoffs.

Any way you look at it, trouble in the Strait of Hormuz will be tough for everyone... well, almost everyone, with the exception of oil exporters and smart investors.

How to Benefit if Oil Goes Through the Roof

If the Strait of Hormuz gets plugged, more demand will be placed on supplies of oil from other, more peaceful places like Canada.

And that’s where investor opportunities can really be found.

High crude prices are great for oil-exporting nations, because it means they get more money for their chief product and their profit margins have also widened.

I’ll have my Currency Cross Trader subscribers prepared if war breaks out. In the meantime, I’ve got them in a Canadian dollar trade right now as these tensions of war rise. Make sure that you, too, defend your portfolio.

You can do this by buying the Canadian dollar ETF (FXC) through your stock brokerage account... or you can also do it in the Forex market, like many of my subscribers are doing, to grab even greater profit.

Either way, it’s important to be proactive. Don’t just sit around scratching your head when war breaks out and the price of oil surges. My subscribers and I are snapping up the Canadian dollar.

Neither you nor I make the call on whether war will break out, but be prepared to take action if it does.

Have a Nice day!

Sean Hyman
Editor, Currency Cross TraderJanuary 2012

Blackout Wednesday: The Time Has Come

2012-01-18T15:24:00.000-08:00

Wikipedia, that ever-evolving monument to human collaboration in the cause of global enlightenment, goes completely black today, Wednesday, Jan. 18. The blackout is a choice, and a brilliant one, made by founder Jimmy Wales in consultation with the whole Wikipedia community. It is a protest, a statement, a symbolic warning to the world of what can happen if governments attack the free flow of information.

The online protest is directed, in particular, against two bills roiling around Congress right now, called SOPA in the House and PIPA in the Senate. Early versions have been tabled. The Obama administration has said that it opposes the current versions, but the opposition was weak and suspiciously nuanced.

People who are digitally aware and politically savvy know that this is only round one. The attempt by governments to block information flows on the Web will continue in new and different bills and regulations. No new laws are even necessary; government possesses the power now to crush the information age on a bureaucratic whim.

In fact, this goes on every day. That’s because governments everywhere, in all times and places, want to control information and will use all their power to do it. It is also because the legal framework that rules how information is produced and distributed is fundamentally corrupted by the fraudulent notion of “intellectual property,” which, if consistently enforced, would put an end to the Internet as we know it...

Just this past week, a judge ruled that a 23-year-old British college student can be extradited to the US for a 10-year prison sentence, all for linking to other servers that illicitly host copyrighted content;

Late last year, US officials shut down 150 domains without hearings or trials on grounds that they were suspected of selling goods that violate trademark law. It was done on “Cyber Monday” for a reason: It was an announcement to the digital world that government is in charge;

In the spring of last year, the FBI arbitrarily shut down every online poker domain they could find and seized the bank accounts of some of the largest and smartest people who play online poker — and all of this happened before the recent announcement that online poker is being re-legalized;

Earlier in the year, the Department of Homeland Security seized 84,000 domains and put up an announcement that each was trafficking in child porn. Problem: It was all a mistake. Not one was actually guilty. To date, there has been no explanation of how this could have happened;

In 2010, the feds seized some 73,000 domains for the crime of linking to content that was said to be distributed illegally in violation of copyright.

Already, the damage of this sort of thing is enormous. Ten years ago, the Internet represented liberation, a new frontier of innovation, commerce, opinion sharing and spontaneous organizing. Today, more and more people are consumed by fear. Bloggers are unclear about what existing law does or does not allow. No one knows for sure how to define “fair use.” The deepest pockets are winning case after case. Faced with this uncertainty, many are choosing less over more content — which is exactly what the government and private monopolists want.

The Wikipedia protest is a way of saying: If this kind of thing continues and ends up institutionalized in new legislation, there will be no more Wikipedia, which is the No. 1 content-rich site on the Web and the main way people learn today (how far we’ve come from the debunking that was common only five years ago).

And this is just one example. Individual blogs would only contain government-approved content. Search engines would only produce only government-approved sites. Digital entrepreneurship would be suffocated by fears of threats, confiscations and jails. It is hard to see how even Facebook and Twitter could survive.

It is just marvelous that Wikipedia has taken this bold direction, and it is only possible because of the unique nature of the media in question. Many large businesses during the 1930s tried their best to protest New Deal price controls. But they could hardly shut down their giant stores. The revenue loss would have been devastating, and the victims would have been the employees. So in the end, the private sector was forced to submit to the controls. It was the same in the 1970s with wage and price controls. How could the merchants resist?

But digital enterprises are in a different position entirely. They can vanish with a few clicks, giving the world a conjectural look at what happens when the state attacks the lifeblood of innovation and progress. Small changes in the law can have a gigantic effect. Just as one click can shut down this site, one law can do the same.

It is not only Wikipedia. Others are doing the same. WordPress, the open-source platform that powers nearly a quarter of new websites and has the most-popular content management system on the Web, has also stepped out in front with a call for action: “Normally, we stay away from... politics here at the official WordPress project...Today, I’m breaking our no-politics rule...How would you feel if the Web stopped being so free and independent? I’m concerned — freaked right the heck out about the bills that threaten to do this, and as a participant in one of the biggest changes in modern history, you should be, too.”

There are many such examples. And even if successful, it is not enough. With or without SOPA, digital freedom is under attack. For example, ICANN, the gateway for all domain registration, is now requiring a verified official identity, supplied by government, for domain ownership. This change sets the stage for continuing shutdowns and strangulation.

The struggle is intensifying, and the sides are very clear: It is the government and old-line media companies that depend on the state’s laws versus everyone else. Everyone else consists of the independently active, privately owned global society that lives and thrives in the digital age. The astonishing innovations of this age have taught an entire generation about the miraculous power of information generation and delivery, about the capabilities embedded in the spontaneous actions of individuals, about the capacity of people around the world to generate order and progress through cooperation and exchange.

The notable thing is that the Web as we know it has been built by private hands working together, not by bureaucrats and politicians. This is the great lesson that our Jetsons world has taught us, and it points to a truth that all governments want to suppress: namely, that order is the daughter of liberty. How dare the bureaucrats and politicians presume to be the lords of what they had nothing to do with creating!

If government gets its way with this legislation and these overall trends, the costs will be immense and tragically unseen. Digital media and information freedom is directly and indirectly responsible for most of the economic growth we’ve experienced over the last 20 years. Without it, government controls, taxes, regulations and wars would have instituted a new dark age by now.

For government to attack Internet freedom today would be akin to burning the seventh-century manuscripts of St. Isidore of Seville, who produced, in the hardest times, the book that summarized all the knowledge of the ancient world (a Wikipedia of his time) and remains a primary source today.

It would be like murdering Venerable Bede in the eighth century, so that he could not have written his history of England that passed on knowledge and wisdom in the darkest of times.

It would be like smashing the 15th-century Gutenberg presses so that printing could have never gotten off the ground.

Historians constantly remind us that all great leaps in human history are inspired by the sharing and spreading of information. This is the precondition. When the first crusaders returned with new manuscripts from the ancient world, we began to see the first signs of the birth of modernity in the West. When populations moved to cities where they could leave behind their isolation and collaborate with others, economic growth followed. And when the Internet blasted down the barriers around the world and allowed anyone to discover new ideas, we saw a new dawn of technology and efficiency.

Information is the most-valuable commodity, and one that so happens to be infinitely reproducible. But today, governments have rallied around this notion of “intellectual property” and used it as an excuse to set up monopolies and censor ideas. We’ll never be safe from this kind of legislation and arbitrary dictate until this fallacy is pulled up from its very roots and we are better able to distinguish between real and fake property rights.

The two dominant trends of our time are, on the one hand, the darkening of the physical world ruled by governments and, on the other hand, the re-enlightening of the world thanks to the spontaneous order of digital media controlled by everyone else. Governments are seeking to drag it down and shut off the lights. The protests against these proposed controls constitute a mighty statement that we will not let the raiders, the barbarians, the vandals, have their way.

Regards,

Jeffrey Tucker
for The Daily Reckoning

Pissing in the wind.......

2012-01-18T08:02:00.001-08:00

And more thoughts...

It is amazing what you find in the newspapers. In Johannesburg was the story — if you can believe it — of a man who threatened three men with a pistol and forced them to rape and mutilate his wife. Then, he shot and killed his son.

He then fled into the bush...only to reappear when he ran out of food and water a few days later.

In Sydney, Australia, the “Elvis Express” left the station last week, without a single unsold seat. The train takes Elvis fans to the 5-day Parkes Elvis Festival, held once a year for the last 6 years.

And all over the world, the press is howling for the heads of the marines seen urinating on the bodies of dead Taliban soldiers on YouTube. Everyone is appalled. Defense industry chief Leon Panetta says he disapproves. And Al Qaida is said to be using the video already and getting a terrific response to its recruiting efforts.

Here at The Daily Reckoning we rise to defend the downtrodden, the diehards...and those too dumb to speak for themselves. Of course, the marines did something disgusting. They should be court- martialed. And put before a firing squad...along with their commanders...right up the chain of command to the commander-in- chief. They all sabotaged America’s war effort.

But we have mixed feelings about the marines. They were sent to fight a savage war. Is it any surprise they act like savages?

A friend of a friend...a doctor in the Army Reserves, just returned from Afghanistan, offers this perspective:

“It was such a waste. It was so expensive, keeping us all there. Most of the time, we did nothing. Then, we would go on patrol. The Afghanis would try to kill us; we’d try to kill them. And they were just drug dealers and goatherds; what was the point?

“I’d get two kinds of patients...those who had just stepped on a landmine and lost a leg...and those who had injured themselves playing football in our camp. Both were a waste...”

Part of the reason the press is so disgusted by the marines is that they show America’s war in Afghanistan is a fraud. Far from cuddly nation-building, the marines act like soldiers always act when they are put to such nasty tasks. They are not fighting a heroes’ war. They are not defending the country. Instead, they are fighting a mean, dirty war — like the French in Algeria...or like the Russians in Afghanistan before them.

It is not an honorable war, in our opinion. It is not a decent war; not a war good men should not be sent to fight. It is a zombie war. It is the sort of war America’s two most celebrated generals — Washington and Eisenhower — warned against. Its only purpose is to enhance the power, wealth, and status of the military industry. In his farewell address, General Washington warned against getting entangled in foreign military adventures. General Eisenhower made the same point: beware the “military industrial complex,” he said.

And yet, here we are. Entangled...for the benefit of the military industrial complex.

The marines were pissing on the wrong people.

Regards,

Bill Bonner
for The Daily Reckoning

10 reasons the US is no longer the land of the free

2012-01-18T07:51:00.000-08:00

The Washington Post, Jonathan Turley

Every year, the State Department issues reports on individual rights in other countries, monitoring the passage of restrictive laws and regulations around the world. Iran, for example, has been criticized for denying fair public trials and limiting privacy, while Russia has been taken to task for undermining due process. Other countries have been condemned for the use of secret evidence and torture.

Even as we pass judgment on countries we consider unfree, Americans remain confident that any definition of a free nation must include their own — the land of free. Yet, the laws and practices of the land should shake that confidence. In the decade since Sept. 11, 2001, this country has comprehensively reduced civil liberties in the name of an expanded security state. The most recent example of this was the National Defense Authorization Act, signed Dec. 31, which allows for the indefinite detention of citizens. At what point does the reduction of individual rights in our country change how we define ourselves?

The list of powers acquired by the US government since 9/11 puts us in rather troubling company.

Assassination of US citizens

President Obama has claimed, as President George W. Bush did before him, the right to order the killing of any citizen considered a terrorist or an abettor of terrorism. Last year, he approved the killing of US citizen Anwar al-Awlaqi and another citizen under this claimed inherent authority. Last month, administration officials affirmed that power, stating that the president can order the assassination of any citizen whom he considers allied with terrorists. (Nations such as Nigeria, Iran and Syria have been routinely criticized for extrajudicial killings of enemies of the state.)

Indefinite detention

Under the law signed last month, terrorism suspects are to be held by the military; the president also has the authority to indefinitely detain citizens accused of terrorism. While the administration claims that this provision only codified existing law, experts widely contest this view, and the administration has opposed efforts to challenge such authority in federal courts. The government continues to claim the right to strip citizens of legal protections based on its sole discretion. (China recently codified a more limited detention law for its citizens, while countries such as Cambodia have been singled out by the United States for “prolonged detention.”)

Arbitrary justice

The president now decides whether a person will receive a trial in the federal courts or in a military tribunal, a system that has been ridiculed around the world for lacking basic due process protections. Bush claimed this authority in 2001, and Obama has continued the practice. (Egypt and China have been denounced for maintaining separate military justice systems for selected defendants, including civilians.)

Warrantless searches

The president may now order warrantless surveillance, including a new capability to force companies and organizations to turn over information on citizens’ finances, communications and associations. Bush acquired this sweeping power under the Patriot Act in 2001, and in 2011, Obama extended the power, including searches of everything from business documents to library records. The government can use “national security letters” to demand, without probable cause, that organizations turn over information on citizens — and order them not to reveal the disclosure to the affected party. (Saudi Arabia and Pakistan operate under laws that allow the government to engage in widespread discretionary surveillance.)

Secret evidence

The government now routinely uses secret evidence to detain individuals and employs secret evidence in federal and military courts. It also forces the dismissal of cases against the United States by simply filing declarations that the cases would make the government reveal classified information that would harm national security — a claim made in a variety of privacy lawsuits and largely accepted by federal judges without question. Even legal opinions, cited as the basis for the government’s actions under the Bush and Obama administrations, have been classified. This allows the government to claim secret legal arguments to support secret proceedings using secret evidence. In addition, some cases never make it to court at all. The federal courts routinely deny constitutional challenges to policies and programs under a narrow definition of standing to bring a case.

War crimes

The world clamored for prosecutions of those responsible for waterboarding terrorism suspects during the Bush administration, but the Obama administration said in 2009 that it would not allow CIA employees to be investigated or prosecuted for such actions. This gutted not just treaty obligations but the Nuremberg principles of international law. When courts in countries such as Spain moved to investigate Bush officials for war crimes, the Obama administration reportedly urged foreign officials not to allow such cases to proceed, despite the fact that the United States has long claimed the same authority with regard to alleged war criminals in other countries. (Various nations have resisted investigations of officials accused of war crimes and torture. Some, such as Serbia and Chile, eventually relented to comply with international law; countries that have denied independent investigations include Iran, Syria and China.)

Secret court

The government has increased its use of the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, which has expanded its secret warrants to include individuals deemed to be aiding or abetting hostile foreign governments or organizations. In 2011, Obama renewed these powers, including allowing secret searches of individuals who are not part of an identifiable terrorist group. The administration has asserted the right to ignore congressional limits on such surveillance. (Pakistan places national security surveillance under the unchecked powers of the military or intelligence services.)

Immunity from judicial review

Like the Bush administration, the Obama administration has successfully pushed for immunity for companies that assist in warrantless surveillance of citizens, blocking the ability of citizens to challenge the violation of privacy. (Similarly, China has maintained sweeping immunity claims both inside and outside the country and routinely blocks lawsuits against private companies.)

Continual monitoring of citizens

The Obama administration has successfully defended its claim that it can use GPS devices to monitor every move of targeted citizens without securing any court order or review. (Saudi Arabia has installed massive public surveillance systems, while Cuba is notorious for active monitoring of selected citizens.)

Extraordinary renditions

The government now has the ability to transfer both citizens and noncitizens to another country under a system known as extraordinary rendition, which has been denounced as using other countries, such as Syria, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Pakistan, to torture suspects. The Obama administration says it is not continuing the abuses of this practice under Bush, but it insists on the unfettered right to order such transfers — including the possible transfer of US citizens.

These new laws have come with an infusion of money into an expanded security system on the state and federal levels, including more public surveillance cameras, tens of thousands of security personnel and a massive expansion of a terrorist-chasing bureaucracy.

The framers lived under autocratic rule and understood this danger better than we do. James Madison famously warned that we needed a system that did not depend on the good intentions or motivations of our rulers: “If men were angels, no government would be necessary.”

Benjamin Franklin was more direct. In 1787, a Mrs. Powel confronted Franklin after the signing of the Constitution and asked, “Well, Doctor, what have we got — a republic or a monarchy?” His response was a bit chilling: “A republic, Madam, if you can keep it.”

Since 9/11, we have created the very government the framers feared: a government with sweeping and largely unchecked powers resting on the hope that they will be used wisely.

Beware the IRS Amnesty

2012-01-16T14:20:00.000-08:00

Imagine this very real and somewhat disturbing scenario…

You open your front door to an official looking gentleman, briefcase in hand, who says: “I’m from the IRS and I’m here to help you.”

Well, your natural reaction may be fear, then perhaps concern, then disbelief – the last because you know your visitor’s statement ranks with other classic assurances such as, “The check is in the mail,” and the dentist’s “This won’t hurt.”

Well, it’s back…

To the surprise of some tax experts with whom I talked, U.S. Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Douglas Shulman a few days ago “reopened the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP) to help people hiding offshore accounts get current with their taxes,” as he so artfully phrased it.

The real reason behind reopening the OVDP may be Shulman’s questionable claim that the IRS has collected more than $4.4 billion so far from the two previous tax amnesty programs in 2009 and 2011.

Now they want more.

Of course, the dutiful American “news” media swallows all this IRS numbers baloney without question. For them, it’s a lot easier than thinking and checking accuracy.

Nothing but a Numbers Game

But that’s a little beside the point. Even if the IRS really did collect $4.4 billion owed in its two most recent amnesty programs, let’s compare that amount to the total tax collected by the IRS in 2009, the latest year for which the always-behind-the-times IRS has numbers.

The total tax collected in 2009 was around $2.7 trillion. So the $4.4 billion collected in late offshore taxes figures out to be 0.16% of the total.

Gasp! Wow! And how many millions did the IRS spend collecting this magnificent sum that might finance the running of the U.S. government for a few hours at best?

Anyway, few tax experts believe that Shulman’s numbers are reliable. (If you want a refresher course on that last 2011 IRS tax “amnesty,” which was more tax than amnesty, check out the expert opinion of my colleague, Mark Nestmann).

The total number of 2011 amnesty filers was “more than I expected,” said Mark Matthews, a Washington, DC-based tax attorney and a former IRS deputy commissioner. But those who came forward, Matthews said, are “still only a fraction of the people who have these (offshore) accounts.”

A Regime of Perpetual Punishment

And so now a new continuous and possibly unending IRS collection program of offshore back taxes takes its place alongside other IRS collection programs, only the penalties are far worse.

The new program, according to the IRS press release, has “…no set deadline for people to apply. However, the terms of the program could change at any time going forward” and “the IRS may increase penalties in the program for all or some taxpayers or defined classes of taxpayers – or decide to end the program entirely at any point.” (A calculated scary threat!)

I believe this latest IRS tax “open door for sinners” is based on a manufactured myth.

The IRS and a flock of big spending leftist U.S. politicians, Obama included, has perpetrated the myth that almost all American engaged in offshore banking or other financial activity are probably tax evaders.
That big lie fits nicely with Obama’s 2012 re-election class warfare campaign to convince the 50% of Americans who pay no taxes that he won’t let them bear the burden of the other half who he claims aren’t paying their fair share.

When the HIRE Act legislation created the inane Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act in 2010, the congressional Joint Committee on Taxation estimated that the new law would raise only $8.7 billion over 10 years, not the $100 billion that Obama claimed could be collected every single year!

Be Very Careful

As with past IRS amnesties, this latest program will require delinquent taxpayers to give full details of past arrangements, identify banks and promoters and pay all back taxes plus interest. Any binding IRS guarantee that criminal charges won’t be filed is unlikely.

Evaluations will be on a case-by-case basis, depending on whether the taxpayer fully cooperates in the investigation.

The publicity generated by the successful efforts of the IRS to pry information out of Swiss banking giant UBS and pending investigations of a number of other offshore banks has led to many “quiet disclosures” by U.S. taxpayers.

This occurs when a taxpayer simply files amended returns and forms, and pays all back taxes and interest, plus penalties. That route may be available to some under the new program.

The question is: Should you participate?

The answer is “maybe,” but only after you consult with a qualified tax attorney (not an accountant). This arrangement provides attorney-client privilege for your discussions. The attorney can retain an accountant to prepare the necessary returns if you decide you should participate in the program. Never contact the IRS on your own!

For our members, the Sovereign Society has available three leading U.S. tax attorneys who serve on our Council of Experts, located in New York City, south Florida and California. They can recommend others in your area, domestic and foreign. Contact us for information.

Last Word

As much as I deplore the Leviathan State, I also respect the rule of law. I have no sympathy for Americans who willfully cheat on their taxes at home or abroad.

I certainly hope that honest, taxpaying Americans and others who desire real financial privacy, true asset protection and expert investment advice will continue to employ qualified offshore banks, attorneys, investment advisers, insurance and annuity specialists.

Don’t be frightened from using qualified professionals and the very real benefits offered by some the world's leading offshore financial centers with which the Sovereign Society has worked for 14 years now. We can help you “go offshore” legally

Faithfully yours,

Bob Bauman, JD

The Cheap, 'Local' Way to See Galapagos

2012-01-16T13:58:00.000-08:00

It never ceases to amaze me...

...when I meet foreigners in Ecuador who come for a week or two, and don't even visit the highlight of Ecuador... the Galapagos Islands.

Where else can you walk along the edge of the ocean and see enormous manta rays and sharks swim right next to you in the transparent water below.

Or turtles the size of cars, and lava tunnels on Santa Cruz Island.

Or scuba with whale sharks and hammerheads off Floreana.

Or see thousands of types of endemic birds, including the world's smallest penguin, on Baltra.

But many say it's too expensive, or too far (actually it's part of Ecuador and only an hour flight from Guayaquil).

The key is you have to know how to see it, the way local Ecuadorians do it.

Most foreigners buy 5 or 7 day cruises over the net, often costing around $2-10,000 depending on the class of the yacht.

But there's a much cheaper way to see the Galapagos.

Don't make ANY reservations on the net.

Fly to Santa Cruz, the main island, from Guayaquil for around $350 round trip (seniors get a discounted rate).

Then upon arrival go to the port of the town of Puerto Ayora and walk around and look for one of the several simple, budget hotels, like the one I stayed at, the New Elizabeth Hotel which charges $25 per person per night. For longer stays you can negotiate a bit cheaper or even find a local willing to rent you a room in their home for $10-15 a night (look for "alquiler" signs and ask around).

Once accommodated, go to the port once again to one of the MANY mom and pops travel agencies where you can buy day tours starting from around $60-$80 per day per person right from the source with lunch included.

In other words, use Santa Cruz as your base staying in one of the cheap hotels in the port, and take day trips to the other islands.

Isabela is a must for the wildlife and Bartolome for landscapes like you've never seen before.

There are also cool things to do on Santa Cruz, like rent a bike and all day it from Puerto Ayora to the secluded, gorgeous beach of El Garrapatero, be sure to try the fresh breads and sweets in the bakeries in the small towns along the way! Tortuga Bay is the most impressive beach on Santa Cruz.

You could also make Isabela your base if you'd like to get even further off the beaten path on truly picturesque, white sand, turquiose water beaches (the only ones like that in Ecuador).

Now you know how to see Galapagos without breaking the bank!

Domenick Buonamici
Investor, Entrepreneur, Traveler, Manager

Get a Safe Deposit Box Overseas

2012-01-16T11:57:00.001-08:00

By Bob Bauman

I still remember the Broadway musical Fiorello!, based on the life of the popular New York City mayor, Fiorello LaGuardia, a reform Republican who served three hectic terms from 1934 to 1945.

In one of the musical’s songs, an investigative committee demands to know how Mr. X, a minor city official, can afford a private yacht...

An offended Mr. X bursts into song:

I am positive your Honor must be joking!
Any working man can do what I have done.
For a month or two I simply gave up smoking,
And I put my extra pennies one by one
Into a little tin box...
That a little tin key unlocks.

Like Mr. X, it might be worth getting your own “little tin box.” It gives you greater personal and financial privacy, and it’s also a good protection against theft or destruction of cash, valuables, important papers, or stock certificates.

A safe deposit box is just a lockable metal box or drawer, inside a bank or private vault, which is used for safely storing your valuables. And the annual rent for a safe deposit box can be as little as $500.

On a traditional safe deposit box there are two different keys, both of which must be used to open the box. One key (usually two copies of it) is given to you as the box renter. It is up to you to safeguard the key. Typically, the key will not have a box number or bank name on it.

The second key is known as the “guard key.” It is not a master key like those used in hotels and office buildings to open all rooms. Instead, it is the second half of the security on the safe deposit box. The box cannot be opened solely with the guard key. Both your renter’s key and the guard key must be used.

If you lose your keys the box lock must be drilled and a new lock supplied. Not surprisingly, under the contract, you have to pay for drilling and re-keying the box.

This key system provides some protection against a dishonest employee pilfering boxes. But nowadays, safe crackers like those Sherlock Holmes encountered in the “The Red-Headed League” or crooked bank employees may not be the greatest threat.

Before the 2001 PATRIOT Act became law, as a general rule, in the U.S. only a court could issue a search warrant authorizing access to a safe deposit box. That warrant had to be based on a finding of “probable cause” that the box might contain illegal substances, stolen property, illicit cash, or documents or other evidence required by the court.

But Now the IRS Can Gain Access...

But now the U.S. Internal Revenue Service can gain access to a domestic safe deposit box when they freeze all a person’s assets, including bank accounts and the box contents as part of the collection process. For this method of IRS collection, they do not need a separate search warrant to access the box. (In the United Kingdom, police have staged massive raids on safe deposit boxes in the London area, which have been hotly contested in court.)

One easily-available defense against unwarranted police or legal actions is to rent a safe deposit box located in a foreign country.

Many offshore banks offer safe deposit boxes for private custody of cash, securities, diamonds, gem stones, gold bullion, and other precious metals. This is usually an associated service that goes along with an actual bank account; if that is the case, it is reportable to the U.S. Treasury on the Foreign Bank Account Reporting Form (FBAR), also known as TD Form 90-22.1, which is due by June 30 each year.

Most banks require you to open an account first before you can rent a box. But provided you keep the account value under the $10,000 limit during the calendar year, you don’t have to declare it on the FBAR.

To avoid having to make a personal visit to your offshore safe deposit box each time you wish to add or remove valuables, you can give a local offshore attorney or other trusted intermediary a limited “Power of Attorney” to perform this function for you.

But banks are not the only places that offer safe deposit boxes. Non-bank safekeeping is available through private vaults. Since private vaults are not financial institutions, they are subject to fewer record keeping and disclosure requirements. Vaults permit anonymous safekeeping arrangements and they honor Power of Attorney arrangements. For added security and confidentiality a box can be rented in the name of your LLC or corporation.

Since private-vault safe deposit boxes are not associated with a bank account and do not constitute a “financial account,” they are not FBAR reportable.

It’s a good idea to insure your valuables against theft or damage. Bear in mind that a domestic insurer will have to know what’s in the box. Some private vaults do offer their clients insurance.

One foreign private vault I recommend is in Austria.

.....France loses AAA-rating in blow to eurozone

2012-01-13T13:35:00.000-08:00

PARIS (AP) -- France's finance ministry says Standard & Poor's has cut the country's credit rating by one notch to AA.

France's loss of its AAA-rating deals a heavy blow to the eurozone's ability to fight off its debt crisis. The country is the second-largest contributor to the currency union's bailout fund.

S&P in December put 15 eurozone countries on creditwatch and other downgrades were expected later Friday.

The cut in France's creditworthiness could also hurt President Nicolas Sarkozy's re-election chances.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

ROME (AP) -- Europe's ability to fight off its debt crisis was again thrown into doubt Friday when the euro hit its lowest level in over a year and borrowing costs rose on expectations that the debt of several countries would be downgraded by rating agency Standard & Poor's.

Stock markets in Europe and the U.S. plunged late Friday when reports of an imminent downgrade first appeared and the euro fell to a 17-month low.

The fears of a downgrade brought a sour end to a mildly encouraging week for Europe's heavily indebted nations and were a stark reminder that the 17-country eurozone's debt crisis is far from over.

Earlier Friday, Italy had capped a strong week for government debt auctions, seeing its borrowing costs drop for a second day in a row as it successfully raised as much as euro4.75 billion ($6.05 billion). Spain and Italy completed successful bond auctions on Thursday, and European Central Bank president Mario Draghi noted "tentative signs of stabilization" in the region's economy.

A credit downgrade would escalate the threats to Europe's fragile financial system, as the costs at which the affected countries — some of which are already struggling with heavy debt loads and low growth — could borrow money would be driven even higher.

The downgrade could drive up the cost of European government debt as investors demand more compensation for holding bonds deemed to be riskier than they had been. Higher borrowing costs would put more financial pressure on countries already contending with heavy debt burdens.

In Greece, negotiations Friday to get investors to take a voluntary cut on their Greek bond holdings appeared close to collapse, raising the specter of a potentially disastrous default by the country that kicked off Europe's financial troubles more than two years ago.

The deal, known as the Private Sector Involvement, aims to reduce Greece's debt by euro100 billion ($127.8 billion) by swapping private creditors' bonds with new ones with a lower value, and is a key part of a euro130 billion ($166 billion) international bailout. Without it, the country could suffer a catastrophic bankruptcy that would send shock waves through the global economy.

Prime Minister Lucas Papademos and Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos met on Thursday and Friday with representatives of the Institute of International Finance, a global body representing the private bondholders. Finance ministry officials from the eurozone also met in Brussels Thursday night.
"Unfortunately, despite the efforts of Greece's leadership, the proposal put forward ... which involves an unprecedented 50 percent nominal reduction of Greece's sovereign bonds in private investors' hands and up to euro100 billion of debt forgiveness — has not produced a constructive consolidated response by all parties, consistent with a voluntary exchange of Greek sovereign debt," the IIF said in a statement.
"Under the circumstances, discussions with Greece and the official sector are paused for reflection on the benefits of a voluntary approach," it said.

Friday's Italian auction saw investors demanding an interest rate of 4.83 percent to lend Italy three-year money, down from an average rate of 5.62 percent in the previous auction and far lower than the 7.89 percent in November, when the country's financial crisis was most acute.

While Italy paid a slightly higher rate for bonds maturing in 2018, which were also sold in Friday's auction, demand was between 1.2 percent and 2.2 percent higher than what was on offer.

The results were not as strong as those of bond auctions the previous day, when Italy raised euro12 billion ($15 billion) and Spain saw huge demand for its own debt sale.

"Overall, it underscores that while all the auctions in the eurozone have been battle victories, the war is a long way from being resolved (either way)," said Marc Ostwald, strategist at Monument Securities. "These euro area auctions will continue to present themselves as market risk events for a very protracted period."

Italy's euro1.9 trillion ($2.42 trillion) in government debt and heavy borrowing needs this year have made it a focal point of the European debt crisis.

Italy has passed austerity measures and is on a structural reform course that Premier Mario Monti claims should bring down Italy's high bond yields, which he says are no longer warranted.

Analysts have said the successful recent bond auctions were at least in part the work of the ECB, which has inundated banks with cheap loans, giving them ready cash that at least some appear to be using to buy higher-yielding short-term government bonds.

Some 523 banks took euro489 billion in credit for up to three years at a current interest cost of 1 percent.

A Brooklyn Tea Company Backed by a "Socialist" President

2012-01-12T12:58:00.000-08:00

Note from this blog......We grown this great tea on our farm! But what this article does not tell you is that guayusa tea is great for fertilization for women and ENERGY for men.......

By JESSICA BRUDER

Forget its mild-mannered reputation: tea is not for the faint of heart. Last year, the United States tea industry brought in $6.5 billion thanks to a roster of heavy hitting, fiercely competitive brands, ranging from Honest Tea to Tazo and old-time stalwarts like Lipton.
So what are the chances that Runa – a start-up company peddling an obscure Amazonian leaf called guayusa – can elbow its way into this already crowded scene? Combine seemingly long odds with Runa’s unlikely provenance: In 2008, a pair of Brown University undergrads, one doing linguistic research in the Amazon, the other studying marine biology, rerouted their career paths to become entrepreneurs after encountering the caffeinated guayusa leaf, which steeps into a potent brew, and realizing it hadn’t yet been commercialized.
Founders: Former classmates Tyler Gage and Dan MacCombie, both 26, founded Runa and are the company’s president and executive vice president, respectively.
Employees: Runa has 5 full-time employees in Brooklyn, 30 in Ecuador.
Location: Headquartered in Brooklyn, N.Y., with Ecuadorian offices in Quito and Archidona.
Pitch: “We’re a beverage company that creates livelihoods for indigenous farmers in the Amazon,” Mr. Gage said, “and we produce beverages made from guayusa tea, which has more caffeine than any tea and double the antioxidants of green tea. It’s an energy offering in the tea space.”
On top of providing income to some 1,000 farmers, Mr. Gage said Runa puts money into a “social premium fund” the workers can tap collectively to finance local development projects. “Runa” means “fully living human being” in Kichwa, an indigenous language spoken in Ecuador and Colombia.
Traction: Runa’s first big boost came in 2009, when the company won two contests in quick succession: a business plan competition at Brown University’s Entrepreneurship Program, and the Rhode Island Business Plan Competition, bringing in more than $70,000 in cash and services.
Runa’s tea bags and loose tea went on the market less than a year ago and are now available at some 1,200 stores nationwide, including Whole Foods, Kings, the Vitamin Shoppe and Wegmans. Runa also sells loose tea to larger companies — Stash and Oregon Chai, to name a couple — that use the leaves in their own blends. In March, Runa plans to introduce a line of bottled beverages, focusing at first on the New York and Boston markets.
Revenue: Runa’s revenue for last year was $277,000, according to Mr. Gage. He expects Runa to surpass $1 million in sales for 2012.
Financing: Runa has received grants totaling $500,000 from the United States Agency for International Development and Corporación Andina de Fomento, a Latin American development bank. In November, the company closed a $1.6 million round of angel investments. Now, Mr. Gage is seeking $2 million in a Series A equity round, which he hopes to close by the end of the fiscal year’s second quarter.
Runa’s most unusual backers so far? The government of Ecuador, led by socialist president Rafael Correa. In October, the country’s Ministry of Production put $500,000 into the company through a national investment program.
“The social aspect of the company’s business model — the high wages to farmers, the social benefit fund, and support for sustainable farming — are the real reason Ecuador is wise to play venture capitalist to a Brooklyn business,” wrote Alex Goldmark, a GOOD magazine contributing editor, in a recent post about the unusual investment.
But the government’s direct influence, Mr. Gage said, is limited. “They’re very much in the backseat,” he said. “They have one of six board seats.”
Marketing: “We sponsor a lot of events, everything from design challenges to fundraisers, anywhere we can donate tea,” Mr. Gage said. The company targets young professionals with “office drops” of product samples and holds frequent tastings in grocery stores, along with guerilla offerings at concerts, in parks and on the street.
Competition: Though Runa claims to be the lone exporter of guayusa, the company faces stiff competition from purveyors of other kinds of tea, along with energy drink manufacturers and companies selling yerba mate, another South American tea-like caffeinated beverage.
Challenge: “The biggest challenge right now is marketing,” Mr. Gage said. “We’ve actually done more than we expected in terms of getting the product on the shelf. It all comes down to getting people to try it.”
With so many teas and energy drinks already on the market, do you think Runa can build – and keep – a niche of its own?

Obama Eyeing Internet ID for Americans

2012-01-12T12:55:00.001-08:00

By Declan McCullagh

STANFORD, Calif.--President Obama is planning to hand the U.S. Commerce Department authority over a forthcoming cybersecurity effort to create an Internet ID for Americans, a White House official said here today.

It's "the absolute perfect spot in the U.S. government" to centralize efforts toward creating an "identity ecosystem" for the Internet, White House Cybersecurity Coordinator Howard Schmidt said.

That news, first reported by CNET, effectively pushes the department to the forefront of the issue, beating out other potential candidates, including the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security. The move also is likely to please privacy and civil-liberties groups that have raised concerns in the past over the dual roles of police and intelligence agencies.

The announcement came at an event today at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, where U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and Schmidt spoke.

The Obama administration is currently drafting what it's calling the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace, which Locke said will be released by the president in the next few months. (An early version was publicly released last summer.)

"We are not talking about a national ID card," Locke said at the Stanford event. "We are not talking about a government-controlled system. What we are talking about is enhancing online security and privacy, and reducing and perhaps even eliminating the need to memorize a dozen passwords, through creation and use of more trusted digital identities."

The Commerce Department will be setting up a national program office to work on this project, Locke said.

Details about the "trusted identity" project are remarkably scarce. Last year's announcement referenced a possible forthcoming smart card or digital certificate that would prove that online users are who they say they are. These digital IDs would be offered to consumers by online vendors for financial transactions.

Schmidt stressed today that anonymity and pseudonymity will remain possible on the Internet. "I don't have to get a credential, if I don't want to," he said. There's no chance that "a centralized database will emerge," and "we need the private sector to lead the implementation of this," he said.

Jim Dempsey of the Center for Democracy and Technology, who spoke later at the event, said any Internet ID must be created by the private sector--and also voluntary and competitive.

"The government cannot create that identity infrastructure," Dempsey said. "If it tried to, it wouldn't be trusted."

Inter-agency rivalries to claim authority over cybersecurity have existed ever since many responsibilities were centralized in the Department of Homeland Security as part of its creation nine years ago. Three years ago, proposals were circulating in Washington to transfer authority to the secretive NSA, which is part of the U.S. Defense Department.

In March 2009, Rod Beckström, director of Homeland Security's National Cybersecurity Center, resigned through a letter that gave a rare public glimpse into the competition for budgetary dollars and cybersecurity authority. Beckstrom said at the time that the NSA "effectively controls DHS cyberefforts through detailees, technology insertions," and has proposed moving some functions to the agency's Fort Meade, Md., headquarters.

One of the NSA's missions is, of course, information assurance. But its normally lustrous star in the political firmament has dimmed a bit due to Wikileaks-related revelations.

Bradley Manning, the U.S. Army private who is accused of liberating hundreds of thousands of confidential government documents from military networks and sending them to Wikileaks, apparently joked about the NSA's incompetence in an online chat last spring.

"I even asked the NSA guy if he could find any suspicious activity coming out of local networks," Manning reportedly said in a chat transcript provided by ex-hacker Adrian Lamo. "He shrugged and said, 'It's not a priority.'"

Cyber War Against U.S. – China Involved In “The Greatest Transfer of Wealth In the History of the World”

2012-01-09T13:52:00.000-08:00

We are at war with China. Most Americans don’t realize it and high level government officials will not admit it publicly, but the Chinese are actively monitoring and compromising critical components of our nation’s infrastructure including water and electric utilities, military assets, and commerce.
While bullets and missiles may not be flying over conventional battlefields just yet, soldiers on the digital battlefield are no doubt engaged in conflict. ABC’s George Stephanopoulos reports on the latest infiltration, which involved some three million accounts being compromised at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce:

There’s a war going on every day that you may not know about and today we learned a lot more about it.
China striking at the heart of our economy. Iconic American companies like Ford and Google – the Pentagon too.
Spies from China have also infiltrated the computers of America’s largest business organization. One with millions of members and they’re stealing corporate secrets worth thousands of jobs and billions of dollars.

In September the Wall Street Journal reported that cyberspies from Russia and China “have penetrated the U.S. electrical grid and left behind software programs that could be used to disrupt the system, according to current and former national-security officials.” In October DHS Deputy Undersecretary Greg Schaffer warned that there have been intrusions into essential infrastructure systems, and the same day we published this report we learned that the U.S. military’s drone fleet was infected with an unknown virus.
And while China is actively working to gain access to data and even control physical elements of our private, public and military networks, they have also been taking direct aim at our economic, financial and foreign policy, as well as intellectual property.
ABC News continues:

For more than a year, hackers with ties to the Chinese military have been eavesdropping on U.S. Chamber of Commerce officials involved in Asia affairs, authorities say.
The hackers had access to everything in Chamber computers, including, potentially, the entire U.S. trade policy playbook.
“The Chinese have attacked every major U.S. company, every government agency, and NGO’s. Their attacking the Chamber of Commerce is part of a pattern of their attacking everything in the US. If you’re working on U.S.-China relations with an NGO, government agency, you can be sure the Chinese are reading your emails and on your computer,” Richard Clarke, former White House counter-terrorism adviser, told ABC News.
At one point, the penetration into the Chamber of Commerce was so complete that a Chamber thermostat was communicating with a computer in China. Another time, chamber employees were surprised to see one of their printers printing in Chinese.
…
“You stack all of that up and I think there’s a case to be made that this may be the greatest transfer of wealth through theft and piracy in the history of the world and we are on the losing end of it,” said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island.
Overall, the U.S. is hemorrhaging economic espionage to the tune of $250 billion.
“This is a national, long-term strategic threat to the United States of America. This is an issue where a failure is not an option,” said Robert Bryant at the National Counterintelligence Executive.
Source: ABC

By all accounts, our systems are under attack. These intrusions are not being initiated by loosely knit groups of hackers. The sophistication of the attacks, that they originate from China, and the fact they target critical components and nodes of the entire infrastructure of the United States, strongly suggests these activities are state sponsored. Considering that the average Chinese citizen can’t even access a blog that is critical of internal politics or policy due to heavy monitoring and restrictions by the Chinese government, we find it hard to believe that the thousands of attacks against the United States are not being directly controlled by the Chinese military. If China wanted to stop hackers, they should have no problems doing so on their networks.
China, of course, denies the allegations, and we have found no reports of hackers originating from China ever being arrested for these activities. Yet another indication that it is the Chinese government and military that is behind the infiltration.
Piece by piece, node by node, the Chinese are mapping our systems. They may already be dropping trojans, viruses and malware onto these systems, just in case this warm-war ever goes hot.
Frank Gaffney of the Center for Security Policy recently warned that a cyber attack targeted at our electrical grid would be devastating. Similar to an EMP detonation over US airspace, a coordinated attack on our grid could potentially lead to domestic casualties of 90% as critical transportation, food, water treatment, power generation and law enforcement infrastructure crashed.
This is a serious threat, and one that if executed quickly and with brute force, could reportedly take down our entire country in less than 15 minutes once initiated.
In the event of a serious disagreement with China, say over resources in the middle east, monetary policy or trade agreements, the first shots to be fired may not involve ICBM’s. They may focus directly on the computer systems like those that make commerce and the American way of life possible. The target will be the US population and the mission will be maximum confusion, chaos and panic.

Author: Mac Slavo
Date: December 22nd, 2011

Who´s number 1?

2012-01-09T12:51:00.001-08:00

***Who’s number one?

Depends on what you mean.

Who’s number one in steel production? China.

Who’s number one in mobile phones? Well...China again.

Who’s number one in manufacturing output? That would be China too.

How about car sales? China!

How about exports? China.

Patents granted? China.

Energy consumption? China

Fixed investment? China

The Economist:

The country that invented the compass, gunpowder and printing is also challenging America in the innovation stakes. We estimate that in 2011 more patents were granted to residents in China than in America. The quality of some Chinese patents may be dubious but they will surely improve. The World Economic Forum’s “World Competitiveness Report” ranks China 31st out of 142 countries on the quality of its maths and science education, well ahead of America’s 51st place. China’s external financial clout also beats America’s hands down. It has total net foreign assets of $2 trillion; America has net debts of $2.5 trillion.

Wait a minute, the US must be number one in something.

Yes, dear reader, we can hold our heads up high. We are still number one in zombies. When it comes to consuming, rather than producing...we’re in the lead. Out in front. We buy more and import more than anyone.

And we’re way ahead on the most zombie industry of all — the military. Heck, China won’t catch up with us on military spending until 2025, estimates The Economist.

Then what? What will happen when China spends more on its military than the US? Hmmm....

We’re not going to think about it. Too far in the future. Here at The Daily Reckoning we take it one day at a time. Day after day...we follow the news. Day after day, we try to make sense of it...we squint and try to see what is going on. And day by day, we think we see it more clearly. It is like the early morning. In the half light we can barely make out the shapes. A house in the distance could be a small hillock. A tree could be a cloud on the horizon. And what is that moving...?

Then, the light comes and the figures become more distinct...2012 comes into focus...

..and then it grows dark again.

Regards,

Bill Bonner
for The Daily Reckoning

Quito Tour Bus: The tour we have been waiting for

2012-01-04T10:39:00.000-08:00

By LANCE BRASHEAR

The city of Quito has just launched what is certainly their greatest tourism initiative in recent years, perhaps ever. It is one that has been long overdue: City bus tours.

Taking a city tour in Quito was never difficult. Those who have done so know that many private agencies charge $30-50 for a spin around the city in a large, comfortable bus that introduces visitors to the principal attractions of Quito.

And for a couple of hundred dollars those with a sense of adventure can always rent a chiva - the party vehicles that traditionally crowd the streets of Quito during the city's fiestas in early December.

Walking tours have also been part of the general sight-seeing menu, offered by municipal tourism police officers as well as private organizations. What has been missing, though, is a genuine effort by the city to combine the best of all offerings and give it to citizens and visitors alike at a fair price. They have now made their amends.

The Quito Tour Bus is a double decker bus that runs a three-hour route through Quito making eleven stops at some of the principal attractions of the city between Naciones Unidas Boulevard and the Panecillo hillside.

And there is not just one bus, but three, which means one passes by each stop every hour. So, if you wish to get off and walk a bit or do a little shopping, you can catch the next one sixty minutes later. Never have tourists had the option to see Quito in such a convenient, comfortable, and economical manner. The cost for a day pass is $12 and can be used between 9:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.

Luz Elena Coloma, General Manager for Quito Turismo says, "This is a safe and comfortable way to see the city."

The double decker buses seat 80 people and with an open air second deck they are more reminiscent of London red buses and less like the chivas of Ecuador.

Chivas have their place, to be sure, but riding atop the Quito Bus is legal and much more secure. And with its affordable price the Quito Bus Tour takes the best and removes the worst from traditional tours in Ecuador's capital city.

QUITO TOUR BUS

- 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

- Seven days a week

- $12 adults, $6 children

Purchase passes:

A. El Quinde Shop, Palacio Municipal (Venezuela & Espejo)

B. Botanical Garden, La Carolina Park

C. Galeria Ecuador Gourmet (Reina Victoria N24-263 & Lizardo Garcia)

D. On the bus

Quito Bus Tour Stops

1. Naciones Unidas Boulevard.

2. Botanical Garden2

3. Mariscal District- Av. Amazonas & Calama

4. El Ejido Park - Av. Amazonas & Av. Patria at Hotel Hilton Colón

5. Contemporary Art Center, San Juan Neighborhood

6. La Basílica Church, Matovelle Street

7. La Compañía Church, Amador Comercial Cente

8. Panecillo Hillside

9. Ave. 24 de mayo, Venezuela y Loja Streets

10. Plaza Grande (Independence Plaza)

11. García Moreno Park, Vargas Street.

A gift from the nuns of Carmen Bajo

2012-01-04T10:33:00.000-08:00

By LANCE BRASHEAR

Once again a cloistered religious order in Quito is opening its doors to the public for the first time ever as part of a baroque art exhibit.

In July the nuns of the Santa Clara Convent hosted a baroque art exhibit and now the Carmelite nuns of El Carmen Bajo Monastery have opened their doors for the holiday season to share their famed Nativity scene.

The Carmen Bajo Monastery and Church are enormous structures built between 1705 and 1745, which occupy almost an entire city block in Quitos historic district.

The Carmelite nuns, formally known as the order of Carmen de la Santisima Trinidad, are originally from Latacunga. They relocated to Quito following a devastating earthquake in 1698 and were received by their sisters of Carmen Alto in Quito, where they remained for three years before acquiring the land where their monastery now sits.
The names El Carmen Alto and Bajo derive from the difference in altitude between them, a result of Quito's irregular topography (In Spanish, Alto means high and bajo means low).

The Carmelites belong to a mendicant order and live cloistered lives. This is particularly important from an architectural and artistic standpoint, as the monasteries not only shelter the nuns from all exterior contact, but protect some of Quito's most valuable art works. The nuns wish to share that artwork with the residents of the city.

Sister Marcia de Jesus, who has lived in Carmen Bajo since 1986 explains, "We are conscious that this monastery has pictures, works, sculptures from the 17th, 18th, and 19th century nobody could enter due to the cloistered arrangement. So now we are giving part of our space and opening [to the public]."

The names El Carmen Alto and Bajo derive from the difference in altitude between them, a result of Quito's irregular topography (In Spanish, Alto means high and bajo means low).

Pablo Viteri, architect for the Metropolitan Institute of Patrimony for Quito (IMPQ) explains that the opening of the monastery has been a work in progress. He says years ago the Carmelites have had the idea and intention of sharing their heritage. I

In recent years IMPQ restored part of the convent and church, including the nativity scene.

"We changed the ceiling and the floor. This obligated us to dismantle the nativity scene. We took advantage of the dismantling to restore every piece," said Viteri.

The restoration cost $200,000 according to IMPQ.

Opening the Carmen Bajo nativity scene to the public is part of the larger process of preserving the intangible heritage of the city.

Viteri explains, "At one point there was an idea to remove the Carmelites from Carmen Alto," but he insists, "This is not the idea. Right now we have a concept of Quito the central historical district of Quito is beautiful because of this, because it is mystical."

Viteri recognizes that the beauty of Quito derives from its unique heritage and if not careful it could disappear someday.

"Every two blocks you have a church...you have religious monks transiting through the bustle of the city, every day you see Franciscans, Jesuits, Dominicans. You have these cloisters and though you cannot see the nuns you know they are there and you have access to them, to buy their natural medicines, a shampoo, a series of thingsWe must preserve this heritage which, although small now, still exists."

Historian Jorge Moreno who has studied El Carmen Bajo and was on hand at the opening of the convent described the baroque nativity set as an accumulated memory of images.

"It is a scene that is mounted to represent the birth of Christ, but not just these scenesincluded are themes related to the life of Jesus, the life of the Virgin, and in our case, daily life."

Spending only a short time in the room one quickly sees that the nativity scene of Carmen Bajo is not only an expression of reverence and spirituality, but a reflection of life from the two centuries during which this large collection of art was amassed.

The scene is filled with European figures, Spanish characters, indigenous personalities, and "mestizos." all produced during the 17th and 18th centuries.

Architectural elements within the nativity reflect the times. A scene shows Mary visiting her sister and is surrounded by African descendants in Ecuador.

Class differences are illustrated through the dress of different figures some with shoes and some without. And in one of the most interesting illustrations, a balsa wood construction mounted on the wall shows pre-colonial Yumbo Indians, one of whom transports a Spanish priest on his back, a common practice from the time.

Barrera says, "These are stories of life. This is the baroque construction where more than just a loyal representation of history, our affections and sensitivity towards others is reflected."

Tours of El Carmen Bajo Monastery

Entrance: Olmedo Street between Venezuela & Manabi

Open, Tuesday-Saturday,

9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. / 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Cost: $2.00
Whereas the Santa Clara Convent closed its doors after their baroque art exhibit, Carmen Bajo's opening seems to be a first step in welcoming the public more frequently.

Viteri says a series of agreements has been made and studies for a permanent museum are underway. "There is an intention by the mayor's office to share this entire heritage that is in the hands of a few persons, to open it to the community."

Quito mayor, Augusto Barrera, recognizes that the cloistered convents of Quito are some of the greatest repositories of colonial art from the Quito School, particularly from the baroque movement.

"We not only have the marvelous outer façadebut we have a marvelous inner façade and probably the greatest wonder is still there," he said.

World pays Ecuador to save forest

2012-01-04T10:23:00.000-08:00

John Vidal

January 2, 2012

AN ALLIANCE of European local authorities, governments, US film stars, Japanese shops, soft drink companies and Russian foundations have stepped in to prevent oil companies from extracting 900 million barrels of crude oil from one of the world's most biologically rich tracts of land.
The ''crowdfunding'' initiative had raised $US116 million, said the United Nations, enough to temporarily halt the exploitation of the 1870 square kilometres of ''core'' Amazonian rainforest known as Yasuni National Park in Ecuador.

The park, which is home to two tribes of uncontacted Indians, is thought to have more mammal, bird, amphibian and plant species than any other spot on Earth.

Development of the oilfield, which was planned to take place immediately if the money had not been raised, would have led to ecological devastation and the eventual release of more than 400 million tonnes of CO2.

Ecuador agreed to halt plans to drill the oilfield if, over a 13-year period, it could raise 50 per cent of the $US7.6 billion revenue being lost by not mining the oil.

While the world's leading conservation groups pledged nothing, regional governments in France and Belgium offered millions of dollars - with $US2 million alone from the Belgian region of Wallonia. A New York banker donated her annual salary and Bo Derek, Leonardo DiCaprio, Edward Norton and Al Gore all contributed.

The idea of asking people to pay for something not to take place was widely dismissed by national treasuries as holding the world to ransom.

The German Development Minister, Dirk Niebel, said the principle of paying for the oil not to be exploited ''would be setting a precedent with unforeseeable referrals''. However, Germany has now contributed $US48 million in ''technical assistance''.

The former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi was widely criticised after he wrote off $US51 million of Ecuador's $US10 billion external debt as Italy's contribution. Other pledges include Chile, Colombia, Georgia and Turkey ($US100,000 each), Peru ($US300,000), Australia ($US500,000) and Spain ($US1.4 million).

Supporters argued the scheme could be a model for change in the way the world pays to protect important places. The money raised is guaranteed to be used only for nature protection and renewable energy projects. Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon and other states with oil reserves have investigated setting up such schemes as an alternative to traditional aid.

The biological richness of Yasuni has astonished scientists. One 600-hectare sector was found to have 47 species of amphibians and reptiles, 550 of birds, 200 of mammals and more species of bats and insects than anywhere in the Western hemisphere. Scientists said it would take 400 years to record the 100,000 or more insect and 2000 fish species.

Guardian News & Media

Five Strategies for Going Offshore‏

2012-01-03T13:18:00.001-08:00

More than two decades ago, an interesting character with the nom de plume, “Bill Hill” wrote a popular escape manual for freedom advocates titled “PT—The Perpetual Traveler.”

Hill outlined his PT ideas with a five point plan “...for those,” he said, “with courage enough to pursue freedom.” He memorably illustrated his plan with something he called The Five Flags of Freedom.

Hill wrote: “People of intelligence and wealth owe it to themselves and their descendants to have more than one flag. No one with common sense should give all their assets or allegiance to just one.”

Confiscatory income taxes and suffocating government regulations have caused many independent-minded Americans and their European counterparts to seek new flags.

They are discovering that, as business owners, expatriates or tax exiles abroad, they need not belong to any particular country nor participate in its senseless policies and politics.

An individual’s relationship with government should be a matter of choice, an option. The passport you hold and the country where you live or were born need not determine your fate forever...

Why the Greatest Wealth Migration
in U.S. History Has Begun

Today, millions of the wealthiest and most productive Americans are leaving home to relocate various aspects of their lives in the best possible places.

They view governments as providers of facilities and services, like hotel keepers. If they offer good accommodation and make you feel comfortable and prosperous, you stay. If your government becomes too demanding or too nosey, or if a competitor offers a better deal, you can move on.

A few years ago, U.S. News & World Report confirmed, “A wave of native born citizens are going abroad in search of new challenges, opportunities, and more congenial ways of life.”

Some are seeking full-time residences... others find part-time tropical vacation homes where they can live like kings for $20,000 a year... while some move their businesses to slash their taxes.

No one government can or even should be trusted to control all your money. Experience shows us that government does not have your best interests at heart. Americans have learned with a vengeance how much politicians love to redistribute other’s wealth. In the end, they also will succeed in redistributing taxpayers. The major portion of all liquid private wealth, the smart money, already should have been moved offshore. As Bill Hill would say, it has been “re flagged.”

And these days, it’s not just the wealthy jumping ship. Every day, middle-class folks are re-flagging themselves to get the government they want and to gain access to economic opportunities that no longer exist in America.

Individuals can remove themselves from the control and jurisdiction of any government by acquiring dual citizenship, investing internationally and becoming human multinationals.

In order to accomplish this you have to arrange your assets according to the following simple outline:

Your Five Flags: A Strategy to Live as
Close to Government-Free as Possible

Flag 1: Second Passport and Citizenship: You should obtain citizenship and a second passport from a country that does not tax non-residents on their worldwide income. The U.S. taxes its citizens without regard to where they live in the world. Your second passport should be issued by a country that is unconcerned about its offshore citizens and their outside activities. It can act as the ultimate insurance policy during times of war, persecution and political upheaval.

Flag 2: Business Base: You need a place in which you can form a corporation or limited liability company and invest and earn money with minimal restrictions. This should not be where you legally reside, thus it excludes your personal fiscal domicile. Some countries grant free land, interest free loans or tax holidays to promote new local business and jobs with minimal regulation. Such places include the Cook Islands, St. Kitts & Nevis, Uruguay and Panama. I write about these jurisdictions often in Offshore Confidential, a monthly research series that offers offshore wealth protection solutions to every day Americans.

Flag 3: Residence and Domicile: Obviously, the best place to live is where you’re happy. But as a practical matter it also should be a place with a territorial tax system that does not tax outside income. You should live in a tax haven with good infrastructure and communication systems where wealthy, productive people can be creative, live, relax, prosper and enjoy themselves, preferably with maximum bank privacy and a stable government. Panama, Monaco, Andorra, Singapore, Hong Kong, Liechtenstein, Austria and Switzerland should be considered.

Flag 4: Asset Management: In spite of all the negative publicity, Switzerland remains the world’s best place from which assets, securities and business affairs can be managed by proxy. It is one of the best for an offshore bank account, life insurance and annuities. The Swiss have highly competent independent financial managers, and there is little or no taxation of non residents or non citizens. Other possibilities include Austria, Luxembourg, Denmark, Liechtenstein and Hong Kong.

Flag 5: Playgrounds: These are places where you physically spend time, where quality of life is a top priority. Normally, because of legal restrictions on how long one can stay without being considered a resident for tax purposes, it is necessary to have several such places, although, depending on the place, legal and political deals usually can be made if you want to stay in one place. But for tax purposes, one should avoid spending more than 90 days per year in any one country. Factors here are matters of personal choice: climate, seasons, geography, leisure activities, culture, history, security and prices.

Stay Away from “Home”
To Maximize the Benefits

One point to remember: governments only have power and jurisdiction over their citizens when they are within their home territory or colonies. For this reason, one generally should stay out of the country on whose passport one travels. Your major financial assets should be invisible and far away from the country in which you actually make your home. And keep your lifestyle as unremarkable and humble as possible, never flamboyant and attention-getting.

By using the Five Flag strategy, you too can get the most out of life. Once you have your new second passport and money enough to survive comfortably at your chosen destination, security is yours.

Faithfully yours,

Bob Bauman, JD
Chairman, Freedom Alliance

Ecuador's Coastal Gem‏

2012-01-03T13:14:00.000-08:00

Ecuador's Coastal Gem
By Dan Prescher

When my wife, Suzan Haskins, and I visited the Ecuador coast recently, one of the nicest surprises was Bahia de Caraquez.

It’s hard not to describe this little city of 20,000 people as a gem.

For one thing, it sits on a sandy peninsula jutting out into the Pacific like a gemstone pendant at the end a necklace… but in this case the necklace is the Chone River, which winds down from the Manabi highlands and flows into the ocean in a wide estuary next to the town itself.

For another thing, the city looks like it has been worked in polished stone due to the many condo towers stretched along and in back of the beautiful seafront malacon (boardwalk). Once a wealthy trade and shipping port with rail connections to the rest of the country, Bahia has evolved ov er the years into a favorite coastal vacation and getaway spot for many Ecuadorians.

It’s not hard to see why. The estuary where the Chone River meets the ocean is a spectacular expanse of water and majestic headlands. Bahia has taken advantage of both natural blessings… restaurants, parks, and shops line the banks of the Chone on the north side of town where pleasure boats and commercial crafts ply the river and crowd the docks. And on the west and south sides of town, the Pacific ocean stretches out from the waterfront walk into the vast distance. The best condos in Bahia sport both these stunning river and ocean views.

The town center is a hive of activity during the day, but thanks to its small population and seasonal popularity, vehicle traffic is so light as to be almost non-existent outside the town commercial center. This makes strolling the river walk and the oceanfront malacon a quiet and relaxing pleasure at almost anytime of the day or night.

We spent a lovely evening at a riverfront restaurant enjoying local ceviches and cold beers and got the feeling that during the traditional Ecuadorian family holidays of Christmas/New Year and Holy Week, the place would be packed with people from Quito, Guayaquil, and Cuenca enjoying the mild weather and beautiful setting. But outside those holidays, we were pretty confident that there would be no crowds to fight at any restaurant or bar you wanted to try in town during the rest of the year.

And Bahia has recently had another gem added to its setting… a new bridge across the Chone now eliminates the time-consuming ferry ride that used to be the only way to get across the river to San Vincente and the stunning beaches to the north. Bahia is now more than ever a natural base from which to explore newly accessible beaches from the surf mecca of Canoa all the way up to Pedernales and another great surf destination, Mompiche in southern Esmeraldas province.

In between are long stretches of incredible Pacific Coast beachfront that has, until now, been known only to the fishermen and farmers who live here, surfers who venture out for the perfect waves, and the most adventurous Ecuadorian and foreign travelers. The bridge at Bahia has changed all that, and it will change Bahia as well, making it a readily accessible town for services and shopping for those who will inevitably explore and settle along those northern beaches.

Merry Christmas and ¡Feliz Navidad!

2011-12-22T13:57:00.000-08:00

Although we understand that "Merry Christmas" has practically been outlawed in our former country....we are proud to maintain our heritage here in Ecaudor. We wish all of our readers and followers a Merry Christmas and in these difficult and uncertain times to look beyond all the material anxieties the modern world inflicts on us and remember the real reason we celebrate this Season! Untill next year!

Obama Claims More Tyrannical Powers Than Hitler or Stalin

2011-12-22T08:46:00.000-08:00

Submitted by George Washington on 12/09/2011 13:31 -0500

By Washington’s Blog

Former judge and adjunct professor of constitutional law Andrew Napolitano pointed out in March that the president's claim that he can indefinitely detain prisoners - even after they are acquitted of their crimes - is a power that even Hitler and Stalin didn't claim:

(While I strongly dislike Fox News and its barrage of disinformation, Judge Napolitano knows his constitutional law, and gives very hard-hitting analysis of the current state of the rule of law in America.)
Similarly, Chris Floyd wrote Monday in connection with the new indefinite detention bill:

And whatever the outcome of this particular bill, the reality will remain the same: the President of the United States will continue to claim — and exercise — absolute arbitrary power over the life [yes, the government has also claimed the power to assassinate American citizens without trial or even oversight] and liberty of every person on earth. As we’ve said here before, not even Adolf Hitler or Josef Stalin at their most megalomaniacal ever dreamed of asserting the kind of universal power now asserted by American presidents and the lickspittlish lackeys in the United States Congress.

In case you think I'm being hard on Obama, please remember that progressive constitutional lawyer Glenn Greenwald has long argued that Obama is even more brutal than Bush, and has trashed even more of the Constitution than Bush.
STRONGMEN HAVE BEEN SCARING THEIR PEOPLE INTO SUBMISSION FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS
Of course, Obama - like Bush - claims that tyrannical measures are necessary to fight the war on terror. But FBI agents and CIA intelligence officials, constitutional law expert professor Jonathan Turley, Time Magazine, Keith Olbermann and the Washington Post have all said that U.S. government officials “were trying to create an atmosphere of fear in which the American people would give them more power”, and even former Secretary of Homeland Security – Tom Ridge – admits that he was pressured to raise terror alerts to help Bush win reelection.
And Hitler, Stalin and other strongmen throughout history have also claimed that tyrannical measures were necessary to fight their wars on terror:

“This and no other is the root from which a tyrant springs; when he first appears he is a protector.”
- Plato
“If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy.”
- U.S. President James Madison
“Terrorism is the best political weapon for nothing drives people harder than a fear of sudden death”.
- Adolph Hitler
“Why of course the people don’t want war … But after all it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship … Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.”
- Hermann Goering, Nazi leader.
“The easiest way to gain control of a population is to carry out acts of terror. [The public] will clamor for such laws if their personal security is threatened”.
- Josef Stalin

Mmmmmm….roasted Andean Rat(a.k.a Cuy)! Weird Ecuadorian Foods

2011-12-20T14:10:00.000-08:00

Written by brian on December 19th, 2011

So the topics around the dinner table revolved around two topics: religion(Catholicism) and food(rodent). I was consuming a rather thick-cut of sirloin topped with blue cheese and mushrooms(yum) and the rest ate fish. It was a friday and guess who was the only non-practicing Catholic. Now religion is an easy topic to slip into. To paraphrase Dostoyevsky’s Grand Inquisitor from The Brother’s Karamosov, “give me a child for the first 6 years and I’ll have him for life.” Really, though, the only thing that could make me shudder more than sitting through another mass is of eating vermin. That being said, both the Catholic Mass and rodents are enjoyed everyday in this largely Catholic and Andean nation.

I’d like to think that I am adventuresome when it comes to travel, but rather on the strait and narrow when sampling local cuisine. But for those traveling in the Andean regions of Ecuador such as Banos, Cuenca and Otavalo, you will eventually see one of those oversized rats being skinned, butterfly split and skewered, roasting in the open air markets. I am referring to the Cuy(a Quechua word, pronounced Kwee) or as we call them, guinee pigs. Hailing from the same famed family of the fabled bringer of Dark age European population erosion, the black rat, these rodentia are so-called for their large incisors. The root of rodentia, rodere, literally means to gnaw. And so it is that when you see them skinless and brazen it is their white shiny incisors shinning out at you that will probably turn your head away and shy from adventuresome experimentation.
Now, I’ve been confronted with fertalized chicken eggs in Cambodia, crispy cockroaches in Thailand, raw chicken in Japan, from which I have always balked, so why back from a good system. Look, I know, meat is meat and the Donner party would not have shied away from eating these vermin, neither would your average starving Somalian. and neither would I if it came down to munching on rat or my the shank of my aunt or uncle. But should you want to partake and do as those Quechuans when in old Quechua, than just say the magic word: “Kwee, por favor!” And you’ll get led in the right direction.
Anyhow, when not being roasted, Cuays will be found roaming around the homes of Andean People. They are said to bring good luck, heal the sick and help keep the house warm. A survey amongst most who have eaten Cuy is that it tastes like(yes, you guessed it, chicken, albeit very oily and chewey chicken. A plate is popularly served up with potato and cholclo(corn) and the meat is actually very healthy and low in fat, though in some areas they do deep fry it.
A plate will set you back from 5 to 10$ whether you eat on the streets or in a restaurant

Christine Lagarde "And it’s about to get worse....."

2011-12-20T13:56:00.000-08:00

Stock market volatility has been crazy lately!

Stocks dropped 21% from May to October of this year. But most of that drop happened within two to three weeks. That means investors saw 20% of their investment wealth disappear in a matter of days.

Why the market scare?

It’s the dreaded European debt crisis that keeps infecting markets from here to China. And it’s about to get worse, according to the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Christine Lagarde.

IMF’s Lagarde Paints an
Ugly Picture of 2012

On Thursday, Christine Lagarde gave some alarming comments about where the market is heading. She said, “the European debt crisis is growing to the point that it won’t be solved by one group of countries.”

She went on to say that countries had better work together or “there is no economy in the world, whether low-income countries, emerging markets, middle-income countries or super-advanced economies that will be immune to the crisis.”

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

It’s just one more sign that the volatility to stocks will likely get worse before it gets better as we head into 2012.

Sean Hyman
Editor, Currency Cross Trader

British Prepare Evacuation Plans Ahead of Spain and Portugal Collapse

2011-12-20T13:43:00.000-08:00

Mac Slavo
December 19th, 2011
British Foreign Office personnel have proposed emergency evacuation plans for their citizens living throughout Europe, especially in Spain and Portugal. As tensions over the survivability of the Euro mount, the government warns that a collapse of the banking sector and the European monetary unit may make it impossible for those with assets in affected countries, including bank deposit accounts and homes, to access their funds and evacuate to Britain.

The drastic proposals emerged as a former Security Minister warned expats could be left stranded and destitute by the break-up of the single currency.
Brits who invested their savings in their adopted countries may not be able to withdraw cash and could even lose their homes if banks call in loans, worried ministers are warning.
The Foreign Office is preparing to bring them back from Spain and Portugal if the two countries are forced out of the euro, triggering a banking collapse.
…
Commenting on the evacuation plans, she added: “I think they are right to be doing that. I think this is a real contingency that they need to plan against – very, very worrying.”
Officials are braced for a nightmare scenario where thousands end up penniless and sleeping at airports with no means of getting home. Planes, ships and coaches could be sent, with some expats being brought out through Gibraltar.
The Foreign Office could offer small loans while piling pressure on the banks to give Brits access to their funds.
Spanish and Portuguese banks guarantee the first 100,000 euros deposited by savers but many put limits on withdrawals in a crisis.
Source: Mirror

Still think a European collapse is implausible?
The British would not be making these plans if they didn’t expect the entire system to devolve into chaos. We’re not just talking about inaccessible bank accounts here, but political and social upheaval. The kind that topples governments.
This is serious. Entire nations are collapsing.

Oblivious Because of Mainstream Media

2011-12-20T13:38:00.000-08:00

By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com
I think most people are simply oblivious to the enormous dangers the world economy faces. Oh, I think we will all get through Christmas and New Years without a meltdown, but all bets are off in 2012. A new acquaintance of mine told me last Friday, “Isn’t the economy getting better?” I just looked at her and shook my head in the negative. Then she said, “I guess if it was getting bad, the media wouldn’t tell us the truth.” I shook my head in the affirmative. My new friend is 75 years old and gets a Social Security check every month. She’s pretty sharp, but I don’t blame her for being misinformed. She gets her news the old fashioned way—from the mainstream media (MSM).

There is no wonder so many are in the dark and completely unprepared for the next crash. The front page of USA TODAY, last week, touted a headline that read: “Are We There Yet?” The article said, “The economic signs are encouraging, but we’re a long way from a comeback.” It covered recent upticks in auto and home sales. It also said the unemployment rate recently fell to “8.6%.” The USA TODAY story went on to say, “Although the decline was partly due to a 315,000 drop in the labor force as discouraged job seekers simply gave up, employment is up an average 321,000 a month since August, according to the Labor Department’s household survey. Most encouraging: Much of the hiring appears to be by small businesses, which typically fuel job growth in a recovery.” Wow, the fact that 315,000 people “simply gave up” seemed completely glossed over. Why did more than 300,000 people give up? Maybe it’s because there are precious few jobs. And what about the 400,000 people every week filing unemployment claims? Never let the facts get in the way of positive spin to please the advertisers. The USA TODAY story closes with a business professor who said, “I have a lot of confidence in the future.” (Click here for the complete USA TODAY story.)

I am happy for him, but for a little balance and more accurate reporting, maybe the newspaper could have also quoted an economist who wasn’t so optimistic? John Williams of Shadowstats.com can provide that balance. In his latest report, Williams calls the recent unemployment numbers “nonsensical hype,” and “. . . help-wanted advertising has been in monthly decline since May of this year.” The report goes on to say, “November retail sales and industrial production both showed renewed faltering in the U.S. economy, reflecting the impact of the structural impairment of consumer liquidity. Although the headline CPI inflation number was flat for November, underlying detail showed the still spreading impact of high oil prices. Inflationary pressures continue to be from Federal Reserve polices, not from strong economic activity. As the Fed increasingly is pushed to support the banking system, the central bank’s actions should accelerate the pace of U.S. dollar debasement, as well as the pace of rising U.S. inflation and precious metals prices.” (Click here for the Shadowstats.com home page.) Inflation, by the way, is running at 11% annually. (According to Williams, that would be the true inflation rate if it were calculated the way Bureau of Labor Statistics did it in 1980 or earlier.)

The economy is so weak, the Fed is going to be “pushed to support the banking system!” That means the Fed will print money to continue bailing out the banks, and not just the banks here, but overseas as well. The Fed recently opened up a new round of bailouts for European banks with what are called dollar swaps. The head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Christine Lagarde, warned last week of the global damage that could happen if the sovereign debt crisis in the Eurozone spun out of control. FT.com reported, “There is no economy in the world, whether low-income countries, emerging markets, middle-income countries or super-advanced economies that will be immune to the crisis that we see not only unfolding but escalating.” (Click here for the FT.com story.)

One escalation could be the long rumored credit rating cut of French sovereign debt. The Guardian UK reported over the weekend, “France could be stripped of its triple-A credit rating before Christmas, raising new doubts about the survival of the euro, analysts have predicted. Standard & Poor’s – one of the three top rating agencies – is expected to cut France’s rating within days, in a move that would weaken its ability to raise funds on financial markets.” (Click here for the Guardian UK story.) A rating cut to Europe’s second largest economy is not a sign of a turnaround—quite the opposite.
Finally, the USA TODAY story mentioned housing making a significant comeback next year. The story said, “After adding virtually nothing to — or subtracting from — economic growth in recent years, “You’re talking about housing finally being a meaningful contributor to the overall economy” in 2012, Mesirow Financial’s (Diane) Swonk says.” I guess the editors didn’t think it was important to mention the gigantic ongoing foreclosure crisis in the U.S. On the same day as the USA TODAY story was published, CNBC reported, “Despite a seasonal slowdown in overall foreclosure activity, and a process still bogged down and backed up by the “robo-signing” processing scandal, the U.S real estate market is about to be hit by another surge of bank repossessions, according to a new report from the online foreclosure sale site RealtyTrac. As banks resubmit millions of documents and courts begin hearing cases again, the backlog of over four million delinquent loans will start surging through the pipeline again.” (Click here for the complete CNBC story.) What effect will these foreclosures have on home prices and retail sales? I’ll bet it will not be positive for new home sales.

Listen, there is nothing wrong with putting positive facts or quotes in a story, but when you ignore something as big as a foreclosure crisis with “more than four million delinquent loans,” you are not writing an unbiased story. You are creating propaganda that gives a completely false picture of the economy. If you are reporting the news, your job is not to make people feel good. It is to give them the facts and analysis that delivers a clear picture of what is truly going on. The MSM is simply not doing its job. In the next meltdown, the excuse “Nobody saw this coming,” will not be credible and neither will the MSM. After all, that was what they said in 2008.

Dwindling Freedom

2011-12-20T06:51:00.000-08:00

How US Policymakers are Making It Hard to Live Almost Anywhere

“Poor America...” writes a French friend. “It’s not the land of the free anymore. Now, it’s the land of slaves.”

The FATCA law (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act) will force banks across the globe to collaborate with the IRS. An explanation of the huge repercussions this legal precedent will have on banks and banking clients.

Once FATCA — Foreign Accounts Tax Compliance Act — is enacted on January 1, 2013, banks worldwide will find themselves subject to the American tax administration bureau known as the IRS (Internal Revenue Service). Adopted in March, 2010, FATCA is a facet of the broader Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act which is designed to promote employment opportunities in the United States. In order to finance the HIRE Act, fighting tax evasion is even more in the spotlight than it has been in the past and Washington wants to use its political clout to get its message across this time. What this really means is that foreign banks — or FFIs (Foreign Financial Institutions) — will be obliged to conform to a long series of procedures designed to identify US Persons (US citizens & Green Card holders) subject to American taxes. This naturally concerns American citizens but likewise extends to American nationals’ foreign spouses. However, the l ong arm of the US administration will even be going so far as to include foreigners residing outside American borders, some of whom may have never even set foot on US soil. This is due to the fact that non-American banks will be obligated to report portfolios which include American assets even if they belong to foreigners with no ties to the US.

“We used to be so happy when we got to the US,” said another European. “We felt we could breathe more freely. The country was so big...so prosperous...and so open.

“That was what I remember from about 20 years ago. But now it is quite different. I dread coming to the US. We came through US customs in Atlanta a few weeks ago. My wife had a half-eaten sandwich in her bag...which she had forgotten about. They put us in a special room and treated us like we were criminals. It was ridiculous...and humiliating.

“But there’s always something. Someone is always yelling at you. Everything is illegal or forbidden. It just doesn’t seem like the same country it was a few years ago. So, we only come here when we have to for business reasons.”

*** “There goes the republic,” says an article at Truthdig, by Robert Scheer.

The defense authorization bill that Congress passed and President Obama had threatened to veto will soon become law, a fact that should be met with public outrage. Human Rights Watch Executive Director Kenneth Roth, responding to Obama’s craven collapse on the bill’s most controversial provision, said, “By signing this defense spending bill, President Obama will go down in history as the president who enshrined indefinite detention without trial in US law.” On Wednesday, White House press secretary Jay Carney claimed “the most recent changes give the president additional discretion in determining how the law will be implemented, consistent with our values and the rule of law, which are at the heart of our country’s strength.”

What rubbish, coming from a president who taught constitutional law... Sadly, this flagrant subversion of the constitutionally guaranteed right to due process of law was opposed in the Senate by only seven senators, including libertarian Republican Rand Paul and progressive Independent Bernie Sanders.

Regards,

Bill Bonner,
for The Daily Reckoning

Do you disqualify for health insurance in Ecuador? -

2011-12-19T06:42:00.000-08:00

I've heard enough."

"There's no reason for us to keep talking to him." My friend said this week as we chatted with an insurance agent in Ecuador.

"If I can't get health insurance for myself and my wife, Ecuador's not an option."

Thing is, my friend who was looking for insurance is 70 years old (although he looks younger than me) and both he and his wife of 64 have some pre-existing health problems.

Most health insurance providers in Ecuador will only admit folks to new plans until age 65, like the agent we were talking to, effectively disqualifying my friend.

But we kept looking and looking, and we did find two insurance companies here that will accept you over age 65.

BMI and Cruz Blanca. Now, both have several years in business in Ecuador with many affiliated clinics nationwide and have good reps locally.

In fact, Cruz Blanca is the ONLY insurance company I know that has no age limit on new applicants looking to get into a health care plan.

For my 70 year old friend and his wife the quoted cost of BMI insurance was $540 per month total to insurance both of them for $150,000 of coverage per year in mecical treatments and up to $15,000 a year in perscriptions and non-necessary medicial costs like check ups. With a $200 deductible.

Cruz Blanca has health insurance plans for folks 65 + starting from $105 per person for full coverage against accidents and necessary medical treatments.

But you should know a few things about health insurance in Ecuador.

As for insurance companies in Ecuador, pre-existing conditions found in the initial medical exam and their subsequent treatments are not covered in a newly opened plan.

But your initial exam probably won't be too rigurous, or may not even be necessary, unless you are over 65.

For example, if you are detected to have a minor medical condition in the initial exam, meds and treatment for that ailment will not be covered. And for several health issues, like Diabetes, most providers in Ecuador will simply disqualify you.

Now, Ecuador health care is CHEAP.

$20 for teeth cleaning. $5 for a doctor check up. $150 when you split your forehead open playing tackle football without pads (don't ask).

Some just pay as they go living without insurance, like me.

Others keep their US plans although they live in Ecuador.

For instance, Blue Cross Blue Shield on some plans covers half of all medical costs incurred when outside their "home" country.

Saludos until next week, feliz navidad!

Domenick Buonamici
Investor, Entrepreneur, Manager

Gold and Money in Extremis... One Man’s Story

2011-12-16T15:14:00.000-08:00

By Rich Rabkin

My economics education was started as a child by my grandfather, Marion Szablicki, who was a living testimonial to the value of gold. Notably, toward the end of his life at 99 years of age in 2010, he felt there was simply too much debt, and that a long downward spiral was underway with difficult times ahead. He had lived through times of “extremis” and his account of fiat money, war, gold and survival should serve as a reminder to all people that those who choose to ignore history’s lessons do so at their own risk.

On September 17, 1939, Russia invaded Poland, and over the next year over 1.7 million Poles were deported to labor camps or sent into exile into Kazakhstan and Siberia. Their only crimes at the time were being Polish citizens. None of the land or homes taken by the Russians was ever returned to these Poles after the war, despite their release from the Gulag in 1941 to fight with distinction under the British army. Per the 1943 Tehran Declaration, post WWII, Eastern Poland remained a part of Russia. Winston Churchill said of Poland in 1946, “We who went to war on her behalf...watch with sorrow the strange outcome of our endeavors.”

Fiat currencies are particularly vulnerable during war and often become rapidly worthless as countries fail. Such was the case for my grandparents, who in 1939 resided in eastern Poland. This is their story as told to me by my grandfather, Marion Szablicki:

Early morning on September 18th, 1939, I learned the rumors of the Russian invasion of eastern Poland were true. Just three weeks prior, we had been attacked by Germany. Russia now attacked Poland from the east. In a matter of weeks, Poland was overrun. I had re- enlisted in the army after the Germans invaded, but upon hearing this news, those of us from the east were told to go home. I had a wife and a three-year-old daughter to protect. I left to go back to our village immediately, covering the 40- kilometer journey on foot in a day.

We lived near the Russian border and I knew the soldiers would arrive soon. I was a working-class man; however, my wife’s family were better off, and we had a very modest amount of gold and jewelry kept by her family. I hid it carefully in a hole in the ground. I knew our currency (the Zloty) would not last and I knew that gold would be the only money I would have to try and save us.

Poland’s great inflation (1923) happened when I was a boy and was concurrent with the Weimar hyperinflation in Germany. My father, brothers and I bartered for food, goods, services, and gold. Gold was preferred then to cash. My father was well versed in history, and often cited the great inflation in pre-revolutionary France. It was he who taught me that gold was the only money that knows no sovereign borders.

Russian soldiers arrived at our village two days later. Having been born in far eastern Siberia, and a boxer in Russia years earlier, I was fluent in Russian. I remembered the Russian revolution; anyone who was not a common peasant or was in any way educated was in danger. I spoke with many soldiers seeking clues about our fate.

Two weeks later, my wife’s father, a recently retired Polish officer and landowner, was arrested and taken away by the NKVD. We never saw him again. He was likely executed at the Katyn massacre, where thousands of other Polish officers were later found to have been killed.

I immediately sent my wife’s mother away. We would never see her again either.

Winter came in earnest with a scarcity of goods and whisperings of mass deportations. In February of 1940, policemen and landowners, and many educated people, were arrested and deported along with their relatives. Late one night I received a knock on my door. In walked four armed Russian soldiers. One of them was a man I had spoken with several times over the previous months. I greeted them all politely in Russian.

I was ordered to get my coat and accompany them. I was taken to a station and asked many questions. It was a stroke of luck for me that the Russian soldier to whom I had spoken in the past was here among them. After conferring with the others, he said: “Because you were born in Siberia, speak Russian, and you’re an uneducated worker — much like us — we will not detain you further. You may go for now.” He then gently grabbed my elbow and said very quietly, “Go back to your family, Marion. Get prepared for deportation to Siberia.” I ran home.

At dawn, I retrieved the gold and jewelry. I found my largest boots and heaviest jacket. I lined the bottom of my boots carefully with small coins and put leather over the insoles. I slit the heels, carefully hollowed out what I could and stuffed larger gold coins inside the cavities. Finally, I opened up various parts of my jacket and distributed more gold chain and coins in it — with great care so they did not rattle and were hard to detect.

Several days later, we were awakened by a knock at 4 a.m. and told we were being deported to Siberia. We were given 15 minutes to gather any personal belongings needed for immediate use. Our land, homes, and possessions were now property of the Russian state. My wife, my three-year-old daughter, and I were put into a truck with a group of others and taken to a railroad station.

We would never see our parents, our siblings, nor set foot on Polish soil, again. I was greatly relieved that they did not check my jacket or my shoes. My small cache of gold was going with me.

When the train arrived many hours later, we were put into cattle cars. The trip to Siberia took almost three weeks. It was hellish: we were cramped in overcrowded cars with no toilet, and only a hole cut in the floor, with scarcely any food or water. We were given dark bread and water every few days. Many died, and they were simply thrown off the train, be they men, women or children. I recall the last time I wept during those years: a baby had been born in our boxcar during the journey; it had died and was cast off the train by the soldiers like rubbish.

We arrived in Kazakhstan, near the Siberian border, at a rundown village. This was to be our new home. The Poles could not leave under the penalty of death. It was freezing cold — 20 degrees below zero. The locals were told they must shelter us, but they were also very poor; the NKVD allocated three or four families to a house. The Russian people were as good as they could be to us under the circumstances.

I needed to use my gold immediately, as things were dire: I bartered with a man to acquire better living quarters; and then I exchanged, with another better off man, some gold chain links and coins for a fair sum of rubles. I used these to get bread and food for the remainder of that first brutal winter. I bought tools and worked cutting wood, fixing stairs, or any other odd jobs for a few rubles or just food. I sometimes went days without food, so that my daughter and wife could eat. We managed to survive winter and summer, despite my coming down with malaria and my wife nearly dying of typhus. We were able to get medicine and food from those who had it — as long as we had some gold. Polish currency (Zloty) was not accepted, Rubles were, but gold was now preferred over anything.

Finally, one day in 1941, the exiled Poles were summoned by the local NKVD. We were being released. Suddenly, we were free to go, but no reason was given. (Germany had attacked Russia on June 22, 1941 and the Poles by agreement were to be released from the gulag to form an army in Persia.)

I asked a Russian official I knew. He said, “Marion, get to the train station and get on a train as fast as possible before they change their minds.” We left within hours. Many were too weak to go anywhere and simply remained. At the station, we learned the Polish Army was being reformed, but the man in charge was telling everyone that the trains were already full.

I very quietly made my way to the man in charge and offered him three gold coins, among my last, one for each of us for passage on the next train. He agreed. When the train arrived, he quietly motioned us around to the far side, spoke with another official and they put us on the train citing “special orders”. We were finally on our way out of that terrible place and were now among thousands of exiled Poles all racing south as fast as possible to get into General Anders’ Polish Army.

We then crossed the Caspian Sea in a ship and arrived in Persia (Iran). We were lucky to be on that train, and hence on an early ship; as some later boats were turned back, the quota deemed filled, those aboard were turned back to Russia. We arrived in Persia emaciated. Local people took our family into their home during the first weeks and they nursed us back to health. They were among the kindest people I have ever met.

I joined the Polish Second Corps under General Anders. There was now a glimmer of hope for us. My wife and daughter were evacuated.

I thought they were on their way to South Africa, but instead they were sent to India. I didn’t see them again for six years. For a long while, neither of us knew the whereabouts of the other, or if we were dead or alive. I fought in Africa and Italy, and most notably at Monte Cassino. I have never witnessed so much blood and determination. We led the decisive final charge on the German-held Abbey. I was very proud to be a Pole on that day.

The war drew to a close and I found out my wife and daughter were alive and still in India, but that they would be moved somewhere near London. I would be going there, too, after I finished my service. When we were finally reunited in London two years later, it was a miracle. Thankfully, Mr. Churchill did not force repatriation upon the Poles. All of my brothers had died in the war in the Resistance. Without the knowledge of history and money imparted to me by my father, we would not have made it. I owe my life to a handful of gold coins and chains. Several days before we were to leave for Australia to emigrate, I received a call:

“Marion, we have an open slot for America — do you want it?”

I told him, “Yes.”

He said, “Then get here as soon as possible.” I ran the entire way.

Victoria Szablicki passed away on June 5, 2011. Marion passed away just 11 days later, on June 16, 2011, at 100 years of age and less than two years after receiving his last medal, the Siberian Cross, from the Polish government. They had been married for over 76 years.

Regards,

Rich Rabkin
for The Daily Reckoning

Growing number of French miss the franc

2011-12-12T14:22:00.000-08:00

By Joseph BAMAT
France 24

As President Sarkozy scrambles to convince international markets and rating agencies that the euro is on the path to recovery, the single currency is suffering from a growing lack of confidence among the French.

As French President Nicolas Sarkozy scrambles to avert a credit downgrade of eurozone countries and win back the confidence of international markets, the euro is facing sinking popularity among the French. A new study has revealed that one in three French people would like to restore the franc as the national currency.
“The survey shows a growing distrust of the effectiveness of the euro in overcoming the economic crisis,” said Vincent Dusseaux of the Ipsos Public Affairs polling agency which conducted the study. According to the poll, 36% want to abandon the euro, and 44% thought the euro was a handicap in dealing with Europe’s current credit crisis.
A majority of the French people surveyed - 60% - said they still favoured holding onto the euro, but this overall fading confidence in the single currency is unprecedented, Dusseaux stated. The amount of people who want to leave the euro has increased “by around ten percent in recent months,” Dusseaux told FRANCE 24 on Tuesday.
The survey also found that the desire to dump the euro was stronger among blue-collar workers (65%) than among managers and white-collar workers (12%). Conducted between November 18 and 19, the poll interviewed 941 voting-age individuals.
Dusseaux went on to explain that a small percentage of people have consistently expressed a desire to leave the euro since it was introduced over a decade ago, but that this idea has gained traction since the eurozone crisis began. A similar poll in the Netherlands last month found that a majority of Dutch think the country should have kept the guilder, its old currency.
Far-right gains legitimacy
Observers in France expressed concern that the study could lend credence to the far-right less than five months before presidential elections. Reinstating the franc has been a major party platform of National Front (FN) candidate Marine Le Pen. On Tuesday, her campaign spokesman repeated that it was time to “close the parentheses” on the “failed experiment” of the euro.

“Until now the [FN] has lacked a certain credibility in the areas of economic and public policy. Le Pen constantly predicts the collapse of Europe’s economy, but she is not capable of explaining the reasons,” said Sylvain Crepon, a professor of Sociology at Paris 10 University and an expert on the far-right in France. “This could lend her a legitimacy she has not been able to establish by any other means.”
Another presidential candidate, Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, publicly joined Le Pen’s anti-euro position on Monday. In an opinion piece in the leading French daily Le Monde Dupont-Aignan, a staunchly conservative MP representing Essone near Paris, said the euro was not worth rescuing. While the presidential hopeful has less than one percent support among French voters, his call to quit the euro means Le Pen is no longer isolated on the issue.
Marine Le Pen polled 17% in a December opinion poll published by Ipsos, putting her third in the race behind Socialist Party frontrunner Francois Hollande (32%) and incumbent president Nicolas Sarkozy (25.5%).
Confidence in EU strong
After bitter criticism from politicians and economists, Le Pen recently re-evaluated her position on completely quitting the euro. Speaking on a French radio talk-show on November 27, Le Pen insisted she wanted to return to the franc, but also adopt a parallel “common EU currency” to replace the current single currency.
According to leading economists, if the franc returned with an exchange rate lower than the euro, the hypothetical scenario would be dangerous for France’s economy. “France’s bank debts, contracted in euros, would be worth much more,” explained Jennifer McKeown of Capital Economics, a research consultancy in London. Consumer purchasing power in France, which heavily imports goods, would also likely take a hit.
While the euro’s support in France is falling, few analysts think returning to the franc is a possibility. “Politically it is a very difficult position to defend. France has sided very closely with Germany in defending the eurozone,” McKeown added.
Paradoxically, the Ipsos survey on the euro also revealed that a majority of French continue to express confidence in European institutions. Forty-nine percent of those surveyed said they favoured extending political and financial powers to the EU, while 39% said they wanted to increase the powers of individual states.

Americans leaving US in record numbers

2011-12-12T13:29:00.000-08:00

Reuters 12 October, 2011

Ever dream of leaving it all behind and heading out of America? You’re not the only one. A new study shows that more US citizens than ever before are living outside of the country.

According to statistics from the US State Department, around 6.4 million Americans are either working or studying overseas, which Gallup says is the largest number ever for such statistic.

The polling organization came across the number after conducting surveys in 135 outside nations and the information behind the numbers reveal that this isn’t exactly a longtime coming either — numbers have skyrocketed only in recent years. In the 24 months before polling began, the number of Americans between the ages of 25 and 34 living abroad managed to surge from barely 1 percent to over 5.1 percent. For those under the age span wishing to move overseas, the percentage has jumped in the same amount of time from 15 percent to 40.

While the United States of America was at one point (and largely still is) a magnet for foreigners in search of work, the statistics makes it clear that an opposite trend is quickly picking up steam.

"There's a feeling among more entrepreneurial Americans that if you really want to get anything done, you have to get out of country and away from the depressing atmosphere," Bob Adams of America Wave tells Reuters. “There's a sense of lost direction, so more people are looking for locations that offer more hope about the future."

Many of those leaving the US have job skills that would transfer quite well in the American market. Instead, however, they chose to bring those out of the States, attracted instead to opportunities elsewhere.
While America offers some employment opportunities unmatched outside of the United States, the country has also seen dire economic statistics since the dawn of the Obama administration, with jobless benefit claims soaring in recent months, and only last week did the Department of Labor reveal an unemployment statistic below 9 percent. On the contrary, the number of Americans that want full-time work and have given up on finding it or unable to locate it is closer to double that figure, while at the same time many of America’s largest employers have outsourced positions across the globe. Banking giant Goldman Sachs announced earlier this year that in the wake of a recession, they would finally be creating 1,000 new positions, yet making them available only to workers in Singapore. Other industries, significantly American, have been relocated as well; the ending of NASA’s space shuttle program this year left many intelligent US citizens with little choice but to continue in their field outside of the States.

“We’ve pretty much outsourced everything else,” aerospace technician Giovanni Pinzon tells RT. He was left scrambling for a job after years working in America’s space program.

America Wave’s Adams adds to Reuters that the statistics prove surprising to him, but noted that it doesn’t exactly make sense to think that it is a fluke.

“They're looking for work because of the sluggish economy, and they've lost confidence that the U.S. is going anywhere,” says Adams.

Rare 1787 gold coin fetches $7.4M

2011-12-12T06:15:00.000-08:00

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — An exceedingly rare 1787 gold Brasher doubloon has been sold for $7.4 million, one of the highest prices ever paid for a gold coin.

Blanchard and Co., the New Orleans-based coin and precious metals company that brokered the deal, said the doubloon was purchased by a Wall Street investment firm. Identities of the buyer and seller were not disclosed.

Minted by Ephraim Brasher, a goldsmith and neighbor of George Washington, the coin contains 26.66 grams of gold — slightly less than an ounce. Worth about $15 when it was minted, the gold value today would be more than $1,500.

The Brasher doubloon is considered the first American-made gold coin denominated in dollars; the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia didn't begin striking coins until the 1790s.

Getting to know all of Quito

2011-12-11T15:44:00.001-08:00

Tourists come to Quito, visit the central historical district, the Mariscal, and some of the other attractions around the city (mostly in the northern part of the city) and they leave thinking they have seen Quito. But what they have seen, really, is a small slice of the urban pie, while the largest part of Quito - the rural area goes unnoticed and unexplored.

The city of Quito is larger than most people realize. Most think of Quito in an urban context, but that really is only half the story. Quito, in its entirety, is divided into eight district zones. Those zones are further subdivided into administrative areas known as parishes (parroquias, in Spanish). Together, 32 urban parishes and 33 rural parishes comprise the Metropolitan District of Quito. Rural Quito is really larger than urban Quito.

The tourism division of the Metropolitan District of Quito, known as the Empresa Metropolitano Quito Turismo, began a process several years ago of incorporating the 33 rural parishes into their tourism strategic planning. Known as the "Plan de Desarollo Turistico Parroquia," Quito Turismo provides training and technical assistance to each parish to help strengthen tourism in these outlying areas, all of which have a rich biodiversity and the potential to develop sustainable tourism projects.

Additionally, all 33 rural parishes have benefited from the intervention of the Instituto Metropolitano de Patrimonio Cultural - formerly known as the Fondo de Salvamento Del Patrimonio Cultural and commonly referred to as FONSAL. Over the past decade FONSAL, now the Metropolitan Institute of Patrimony (IMPQ), has intervened to improve and renovate the churches, parks, squares, and infrastructure of each parish. In all, $17 million was invested, to the benefit of half a million residents throughout the rural parishes of Quito.

Some of the rural parishes, such as Guayllabamba and Pasachoa, have been recognized as great day-trip destinations for families for years, while other areas are just now gaining attention.

Lloa, 11km south and west of Quito, benefited from a $350K investment FONSAL in 2007 which gave the central square and surrounding houses a face lift. The square is merely a point of departure to discover the other destinations throughout the parish including hostels, hacienda farms, nature trails, panoramic vistas, natural hot springs, and small cheese factories.

Nono, 15km northwest of Quito, is one of the oldest parishes in Quito with a population of 1,500. It sits along the Ecoroute, an alternative road that connects Quito with the Parish of Mindo, and passes through the Tandayapa Valley, one of the primary bird-watching spots in the Ecuadorean Andes.

And Nanegalito, 70km west of Quito, is the location of the museum and archeological site of Tulipe, a series of pools and structures from the Yumbo culture which inhabited the region 1,200 years ago. FONSAL invested more than a million dollars in restoring, investigating, and preserving the site in the past decade.

So if you think you are well-acquainted with Quito, but you have not visited Lloa, Nono, Nanegalito or the other 30 rural parishes, then we suggest an escape to re-discover the capitol of Ecuador.

Overstaying your visa in Ecuador - The Ecuador Insider

2011-12-11T04:40:00.001-08:00

3 months, non-renewable.

That's how long you get on a tourist visa when you enter Ecuador with only your American/Canadian/European passport.

And then we're told we can only be in Ecuador for 90 days per year as a tourist.

Truth is, once in Ecuador towards the end of your initial 90 day stay, you can extend your time for 3-6 months with a 12-9 Turismo-Comercio (Tourism-Comerce) Visa paying $230 at any of the Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores (Ministry of Foreign Relations) Offices throughout Ecuador.

How to get 6 instead of 3 months?

From what I've seen, it helps a lot to show more money (at least $5000) on the print out of your bank account they ask for when applying. Also, specifically ask for a 6 month extension in the solicitation letter they ask you to write.

Now, what really happens if you OVERSTAY your visa?

Well, I'm not proud of it, but I overstayed my visa last year, in 2010, by 9 months.

When I left I paid the same $250 fine I would have paid if I left one day past my visa expiration. I was also told I could not re-enter Ecuador for 9 months without getting a visa in a consulate prior to arrival.

I didn't test it. I came back a few months ago, almost exactly 9 months after I left (I had some things to do in China).

This week, in the immigration office of Guayaquil, a city on the southern coast of Ecuador, I confirmed the rumor was true that as of this year Ecuador has abolished the fine for foreigners overstaying their visas.

No more fine.

Not even a slap on the hand.

Just show up at the airport and CHAO.

The only sanction is that you can not re-enter for 9 months without getting a visa prior to coming back.

Of course, I recommend staying legal if you can, it just makes life simpler, but the choice is yours now that you know what really happens.

Domenick Buonamici
Entrepreneur, Traveler, General Manager

Expat Hotspots in Ecuador

2011-12-11T04:35:00.001-08:00

By DAVID MORRILL

"If you told me ten years ago that I would live in Ecuador one day, I would have told you that you were crazy," says Sharon Monroe, a 64-year-old grandmother and retired restaurateur from Redwood City, California. "At that point in my life, I couldn't imagine living anywhere else but in the United States."

Monroe was in Quito earlier this month to attend International Living's Live and Invest in Ecuador conference and, like the other attendees, mostly from North America, she is seriously considering relocating to South America.

Monroe is motivated by financial considerations. In 1996, she and husband sold a chain of California restaurants. "We did well with the sale and thought we were all set for retirement," she says. "Unfortunately, our savings were decimated by the recession and, almost out of desperation, we started looking around for countries with a low cost of living and good quality of life." After visiting Mexico, Belize and Panama, they focused on Ecuador.

Another factor for Monroe and others attending the Ecuador conference was a fear of political and economic instability in the U.S. "I hope I'm wrong, but I think the United States is headed for bad times. I believe we're losing many of our civil liberties," she says. "I also think the financial crisis will get worse."

Whatever the reason, Ecuador's popularity with potential expats is growing. The numbers tell the story: This month's International Living Ecuador conference drew 240 attendees, while the last conference, in 2006, had 25.

Donna DeRemigis, International Living events coordinator, says that she has seen rapid growth in the interest of North Americans moving overseas since she joined the organization in 2008. "The increase in attendance at our seminars has been phenomenal," she says. In addition to Ecuador, International Living also hosts country seminars in Panama, Costa Rica and Mexico. "Right now, Ecuador is hot," DeRemigis adds.

Ireland-based International Living has been a driving force behind Ecuador's popularity with foreigners. The company, which hosts conferences, publishes country reports and boasts a circulation of 350,000 for its daily e-letter, has named Ecuador the top choice in its Global Retirement Index for three years running. Results of the index, which rate countries on such factors as cost of living, safety, infrastructure and culture, have been widely reported by the media. In addition to Ecuador's number-one ranking, International Living has singled out Cuenca as the world's best destination for retirees.

It is difficult to get exact numbers of English-speaking foreigners living in Ecuador. In 2002, the U.S. State Department estimated that there were 27,000 U.S. citizens in Ecuador, but this included everyone from travelers to residents. According to a spokesman, the State Department no longer compiles such estimates. "They were just educated guesses anyway, and because they included temporary workers, students and teachers, as well as permanent residents, we decided that they didn't really serve a useful purpose."

Ecuadorian immigration and census numbers offer more detailed information. But because of the difficulty of sorting the various types of visas and the nationalities of visa and residency holders, exact numbers are impossible to come by. An employee in the Quito immigration office, who asked not to be identified, says that 5,000 to 7,000 North Americans have been granted residency since 2010. "Five years ago, there were less than 1,000 a year, so the numbers are definitely heading up," he said.

Although current expats say the low cost of living is important, they warn that it should not be the only consideration for moving to Ecuador. "It's great that my costs are thirty percent of what they were back home and that I don't have to spend time worrying about paying my bills, but this country has so much more to offer than that," says Mike Sager, a resident of the southern coastal town of Playas. "The most important thing is that this is a great place to live," he says. "It's a land of opportunity, like the U.S. was fifty years ago."

Lee Harrision, a speaker at the International Living conference, agrees. "Your main purpose for coming to Ecuador might be to live cheaply. But you also have to embrace the culture to really appreciate it." Like others, Harrison points out the benefits of healthy living. "The stress level is low, the food is fresh and locally grown, and the weather is great. These are things that might not be readily available back home."

Although expats live all over Ecuador, they tend to concentrate in five areas.

With its designation as the top retirement city in the world, Cuenca is far and away the most popular destination for expats. Drawn by the city's colonial history and architecture, rich culture, quality health care and good infrastructure, Cuenca has seen the number of expats increase from approximately 200 in 2008 to more than 1,400 today. Add long-term visa holders, such as students, teachers and missionaries, and the total of English-speakers approaches 2,500. Fortunately, the growing number of foreigners has not had a serious impact on the city's character; with a metropolitan population of 500,000, Cuenca has comfortably absorbed the influx.

Vilcabamba, just north of Ecuador's border with Peru, has the highest per capita concentration of expats in the country, with an estimated 200 residents and long-term visa holders in a population of about 2,000. The idyllic village, at 5,000 feet elevation, boasts what many claim to be the perfect climate. Local expats, many with a decidedly counter-culture bent, enjoy a laid-back life style, breathtaking scenery, opportunities for outdoor activities such as hiking and horseback riding, and hanging out in the cafés surrounding the picturesque village square.

Located two hours north of Quito, Cotacachi has claimed a top spot on the list of expat towns in recent years. Known as a center for leather goods, the town's main street is lined with dozens of shops selling jackets, vests, purses, wallets, and belts. In addition, Cotacachi is notable for its proximity to Otavalo, Ecuador's largest crafts market. Immigration officials estimate that 150 permanent residents, and dozens more part-timers, live in the area. Cotacachi is one of the few locations in Ecuador with primarily gringo housing developments.

The southern coast, including the resorts of Salinas and Playas and the beach towns of Montañita, Olon and Puerto Lopez, has proven a strong draw for beach lovers. Often referred to as the "Little Miami Beach' for its phalanx of high-rise condos ringing the town harbor, Salinas attracts both full- and part-time foreigners and offers a vibrant resort atmosphere with good restaurants and nightlife. An hour north of Salinas, Montañita has earned the reputation as Ecuador's surfer capital and offers a vibrant international youth culture. Another hour's drive to the north, Puerto Lopez is a bustling fishing town best known for humpback whale watching May through October.

The north-central coast, dominated by the growing port city of Manta, is another hot spot for expats. With a population of more than a quarter-million, Manta's modern infrastructure, fine dining and shopping options have attracted many foreigners. Expats prefer to live in beach condos just outside of the city. North of Manta, Bahia de Caraquez, Crucita, Jama and Canoa also boast a growing expat population, mostly drawn by the casual Margaritaville beachcomber atmosphere. Road and bridge-expansion projects in the area have made the area increasingly accessible to both Ecuadorians and foreigners.

Wherever they decide to settle, Ecuador's newcomers arrive with high expectations. "I'm looking for a new adventure," says Monroe.

Ecuador Beach Rentals From $200 a Month

2011-12-08T13:59:00.001-08:00

By Suzan Haskins

A couple of years ago a friend came to visit us in Ecuador. Once here, he realized that the biggest expense of his trip was his airfare. With nice hotel rooms priced at $30 a night (including breakfast); full meals, including beverage, for $2.50; and beers for $1 or a glass of wine for $2, he was hardly spending anything to kick around the country.

(Public bus transportation is inexpensive, too—you can figure costs at about $1 an hour…it’s just 25 cents for the 15 to 20-minute ride to a nearby town, for example.)

Ecuador is so inexpensive, in fact, our friend realized that he could spend a month here for about the same amount of money as a one-month utility bill back home in California. So the next year, he came back for two months, and this time he rented a fully furnished and outfitted apartment (with Wifi Internet) in Quito’s popular Mariscal district for $400 a month.

This year, he plans to return to Ecuador…but he’ll rent an apartment on the beach this time. He’s not sure yet which beach town he’ll choose. He’s spoiled for choice, although he won’t find anything like Mexico’s glitzy beach resorts. Ecuador’s beaches are low key and sparsely habited…there are long stretches of coast where you’ll have the beach entirely, peacefully to yourself

The largest beach towns with any kind of amenities…such as shopping, restaurants, etc….are Salinas in the south and Manta and Bahia de Caráquez farther north. Quito residents have long had an affinity for towns like Atacames and Tonsupa, even farther north on the coast, although that’s changing now that a new bridge at Bahia de Caraquez has made the mid-north beaches near the small, pretty towns of Canoa and Jama more accessible.

How much might you expect to pay for a rental on the coast? Far less than you might expect.

In trendy Salinas, a furnished two-bedroom condo with a community pool rents for $450 a month in the low season or $600 a month in the high season. In the quiet community of Punta Blanca, just 20 minutes north of Salinas, a spacious four-bedroom house with a private pool rents for $1,000 a month.

Manta is the largest coastal city in Ecuador. There, you can typically rent a modern three-bedroom, two-bath home (unfurnished) or apartment for $330 a month. A furnished luxury apartment with four bedrooms, four-and-a-half baths, and a balconied terrace right on the beach…and with a social area that includes a gym, pool, sauna and Jacuzzi, is just $1,500 a month. (Don’t be afraid to negotiate.)

It’s becoming more difficult to find an apartment for rent in Bahia de Caraquez, thanks to that new bridge I mentioned. More and more people are choosing to rent in Bahia while they build their beach homes farther north along the beach. But it is still possible to rent a furnished house or apartment for $200 a month and up…I found a small cottage, owned by a European artist, with spectacular ocean views for just that price. Billed as the “perfect artist’s retreat,” it's probably a bit rustic for most of us. Expect to pay closer to $500 a month for a nice two-bedroom apartment in a high-rise condo in Bahia de Caraquez with an ocean-view balcony.

Keep in mind that most rentals you’ll find on the Internet are vacation rentals—being let short-term to the holiday crowd. The best bargains will be found through word-of-mouth and via post-it-notes on coffee shop bulletin boards (not electronic versions but the old cork kind) and in ads in the classified sections of local newspapers.

And keep in mind that once you get here, your rent will be your largest monthly expense. When public transportation rarely costs more than a dollar, a fine eat-your-fill seafood dinner costs $3 or $4 and a beer sets you back a buck, it’s hard to spend more than $1,000 a month total here.

Rent for $100 a Month in Ecuador

2011-12-07T10:35:00.001-08:00

By Suzan Haskins

Rent before you buy. That’s good advice for anyone looking to try a new country on for size. Despite its incredibly low real estate costs, Ecuador is no exception.

(After all, not everybody wants to buy a two-bedroom beach condo or an apartment in an historic World Heritage city for less than $50,000.)

Fortunately, rental costs in Ecuador are very affordable, too.

In Cotacachi—the sweet Andean artisan village where I live—an expat who has decided to move to the coast, recently sent out this e-mail: “I have an apartment for rent that, for the money, is a great deal. It is a completely bare, one- bedroom place (no fridge, stove or anything else), but for $100 a month it is a great space.”

Of course, an unfurnished apartment means you’ll need to buy furniture. But still, an apartment with a monthly price tag that’s the cost of a fancy meal back home? Not a bad deal.

Admittedly, furnished rentals are harder to come by here in Cotacachi, thanks to the growing number of expats coming to check out the lifestyle options of our quiet little village. Still, we know of furnished rentals available for about $200 a month. And it’s possible to sublet a home or apartment short-term from a fellow expat who’s going back to the States or Canada for a visit.

Like this one I learned of in another e-mail: “Two-bedroom/two bathrooms, beautifully furnished condo for rent...Dec. 1-Jan 2/2012. Internet, propane/electric all included. Cleaning provided weekly at my cost. Rental for the period: $550.”

In larger cities, like cosmopolitan Quito or popular Cuenca, you may pay more. But not a lot. A quick search finds a furnished three-bedroom apartment for rent in central Quito for $500 a month. In one of my favorite upscale city neighborhoods, near sprawling Carolina Park, a nicely furnished three-bedroom apartment is renting for $600 a month.

In Cuenca, an unfurnished two-bedroom/two-bath apartment near the river rents for just $370 a month. A three-bedroom house is available with a one-year lease for $400 a month.

In rural Vilcabamba in southern Ecuador…at a lower elevation and therefore warmer than Quito, Cuenca or Cotacachi…an expat couple has renovated a 6,000-square-foot house and is offering fully furnished and equipped apartments for rent. You can rent a room with a shared kitchen for $180 a month or a three-bedroom apart ment for $550 a month.

So what are you waiting for? Daily living costs here are so affordable…even more so when you have a kitchen to cook in. At the local farmers’ markets you can buy enough fresh produce for $5 to last you a week or more. Bakeries sell fresh bread hot from the oven for 50 cents or less. Delicious 22-ounce bottles of Pilsener beer sell for 75 cents. You can get your haircut for $3, hire someone to clean your apartment for $5 or $10, take the bus anywhere in the country for about $1 an hour…

Whether it’s for a month or a year or forever…now is the time to check out Ecuador.

Print...Ready...Aim

2011-12-06T06:40:00.001-08:00

All central banks are desperate to stop stress from building in the global banking system. Despite what they say, job No. 1 of every central bank is to do whatever it takes to prevent a disorderly collapse of banks caused by “bank runs.” These central bankers are crazy, and nothing will stop them from supporting the status quo.

A group of the largest central banks in the world announced a coordinated easing program on Wednesday morning. This will involve printing more of their home currencies and lending these currencies to other central banks, which, in turn, will re-lend these currencies to local banks.

Many European banks have, essentially, been cut off from borrowing in the private credit markets. So central banks are going to ignore the fact that most of these European banks are insolvent and offer them easier and easier access to long-term funding in whichever currency they need to borrow.

The entirely predictable result will be similar to what we see in the US: zombie banks whose assets will feature fewer and fewer private-sector loans and more and more government bonds.

How is this supposed to foster global economic recovery? It seems like a perfect accelerant for global stagflation.

In other words, the world will have plenty of consumers, financed by government budgets, which are, in turn, financed by both compliant private banks and central banks. But will the world have enough producers?

The Fed and most of the other central banks believe the Western economies suffer from “deficient demand” and, therefore face the risk of “deflation.” But I disagree...vehemently. Bad credit needs to default and infirm corporations need to perish if the Western economies are to have any chance of beginning a new phase of renewal and growth.

But that’s not the plan that’s on the table. “Plan A,” in the modern playbook of central banking is to artificially support asset prices and to bail out sickly too-big-to-fail banks. The plan sounds like it could be relatively painless, but it will be extremely painful.

In the end, savers of paper money will pick up the tab — over a multiyear period — for all of these government- and banking-created disasters. The system of government, banking and central banking, as it’s currently configured, will force the responsible to bail out the irresponsible...once again.

Once central banks start lending to insolvent banks, there can be no orderly exit. When sovereign defaults occur — and they will, in Greece and Portugal, and probably Italy and Spain — there will be an acceleration of money-printing to keep the system propped up.

We may even see the Fed and the ECB lend to the IMF, which will re- lend cash to the PIIGS in the form of a “debtor in possession” loan that will, effectively, allow European banks to keep pretending that they have no losses on PIIGS bonds.

Here’s a fun game: Try to imagine your own fiat-money-driven, rule- changing scenario for “rescuing” the Western financial system. There’s a pretty decent chance the central bankers will try it at some point.

But there’s a big difference between press releases that goose the stock market and policies that foster genuine economic growth. This week, for example, the public in Greece and Italy are likely to be furious when their “technocratic” leaders from the banking establishment sign away their sovereignty to the EU and the IMF at this week’s summit. There will be more riots and strikes, which will make the goals of budget austerity even less likely than they are already.

Despite the obvious state of unavoidable depression in the PIIGS economies, the EU and ECB will get more and more radical in their tactics to protect the core EU banking system from collapsing under the weight of credit exposure to the PIIGS. All of this action is being done to protect banks, and as a result, will steadily suck the lifeblood from the private sector.

In short, I am not optimistic.

Therefore, my strategy at the Strategic Short Report remains the same: Identify the likeliest victims of the ongoing credit contraction in the private sector. American Airlines (AMR), a company I urged my subscribers to sell short several months ago was a classic example. AMR just filed for bankruptcy. There will be many more.

Regards,

Dan Amoss,
for The Daily Reckoning

SBM — Sweet Disposition — Seeks Loving Home

2011-12-04T15:51:00.001-08:00

We’ve spent the last few months in search of a corner of the country to call home. A place that has it all, as far as our particular idiom was concerned...

Someplace urban enough...but not too urban...someplace pleasant and full of nice architecture...preferably, someplace we would only need a car every great once in a while...
We have repeatedly expressed our commitment to finding our personal Shangri-La within the borders of the United States. But just before Thanksgiving, we found ourselves wondering if it didn’t make sense to get ourselves — and our gold and silver — out of Dodge while the getting was still good — and possible!

We sent our concerns to fellow Agora Financial managing editor, Joel Bowman, of The Daily Reckoning. Joel is from Australia, but has hopped the globe a bit and is currently making his home in the continent below our own.

“Go where you’re treated best,” he counseled. “And when that changes,” he continued, “go somewhere else.”

We took a look around and figured that we’re still being treated pretty well here...despite ominous developments...

But a few days ago, Joel sent us an article that reminded us that nowhere in the world is truly safe from the wild, desperate grasps of our dying empire. From Infowars:

The Senate is set to vote on a bill today that would define the whole of the United States as a ‘battlefield’ and allow the US Military to arrest American citizens in their own backyard without charge or trial.

“The Senate is going to vote on whether Congress will give this president — and every future president — the power to order the military to pick up and imprison without charge or trial civilians anywhere in the world. The power is so broad that even US citizens could be swept up by the military, and the military could be used far from any battlefield, even within the United States itself,” writes Chris Anders of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office.

Under the ‘worldwide indefinite detention without charge or trial’ provision of S.1867, the National Defense Authorization Act bill, which is set to be up for a vote on the Senate floor this week, the legislation will ‘basically, say in law, for the first time, that the homeland is part of the battlefield,’ said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who supports the bill.

The bill was drafted in secret by Senators Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) before being passed in a closed-door committee meeting without any kind of hearing. The language appears in sections 1031 and 1032 of the NDAA bill.

“I would also point out that these provisions raise serious questions as to who we are as a society and what our Constitution seeks to protect,” Colorado Sen. Mark Udall said in a speech last week. ‘One section of these provisions, section 1031, would be interpreted as allowing the military to capture and indefinitely detain American citizens on US soil. Section 1031, essentially, repeals the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 by authorizing the US military to perform law enforcement functions on American soil. That alone should alarm my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, but there are other problems with these provisions that must be resolved.’

This means Americans could be declared domestic terrorists and thrown in a military brig with no recourse whatsoever. Given that the Department of Homeland Security has characterized behavior such as buying gold, owning guns, using a watch or binoculars, donating to charity, using the telephone or email to find information, using cash and all manner of mundane behaviors as potential indicators of domestic terrorism, such a provision would be wide open to abuse.

“American citizens and people picked up on American or Canadian or British streets being sent to military prisons indefinitely, without even being charged with a crime. Really? Does anyone think this is a good idea? And why now?” asks Anders.

The ACLU is urging citizens to call their senators and demand that the Udall Amendment be added to the bill, a change that would at least act as a check to prevent Americans being snatched off the streets without some form of congressional oversight.

We have been warning for over a decade that Americans would become the target of laws supposedly aimed at terrorists and enemy combatants. Alex Jones personally documented how US troops were being trained to arrest US citizens, in the event of martial law, during urban warfare training drills back in the ’90s. Under the National Defense Authorization Act bill, no declaration of martial law would be necessary, since Americans would now be subject to the same treatment as suspected insurgents in places like Afghanistan and Iraq.

If you thought that the executive assassination of American citizens abroad was bad enough, now similar powers will be extended to the ‘homeland,’ in other words, your town, your community, your backyard.

Yet it’s not as easy as leaving the borders of the United States. The empire, in its hubris, believes the entire world lies within its jurisdiction. The American president recently assassinated an American citizen, whose words supposedly constituted a threat to the United States...

How long will it be before dollar-ditching expatriates are declared “deserters,” “traitors”...whose very actions undermine the United States...and who must be dealt with as examples?

If this doesn’t make you want to run for the hills, we don’t know what will. But if you hope to make it to the hills, walk; don’t run. By running, you may appear to be a domestic terrorist, deserving incarceration.

Regards,

Gary Gibson,
for The Daily Reckoning

Watch this video and you will know why we do not live in the USA anymore.......

2011-11-29T13:30:00.001-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a67FlWyjeBU&feature=player_embedded

Ecuador urges villagers on slopes of volcano to evacuate because of increase eruptions

2011-11-29T10:15:00.001-08:00

By Associated Press, Published: November 27 | Updated: Monday, November 28, 6:50 PM

QUITO, Ecuador — Ecuador’s government is urging four villages to evacuate because of increased activity in the Tungurahua volcano not far from the country’s capital.
Authorities in the South American nation say about 700 people live in the mainly farming communities on the slopes of the volcano in the Andes.

Ecuador’s Geophysical Institute says increased activity that began Sunday is billowing columns of ash, sending superheated clouds of gas down the slopes and cascading hot rocks from the summit.
The agency said Monday that it is recording a gradual accumulation of lava in the mountain.
The 16,480-foot (5,023-meter) volcano is in a sparsely populated area about 84 miles (135 kilometers) southeast of the capital, Quito. It has been active since 1999.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

How China will defeat America

2011-11-22T14:30:00.001-08:00

Don’t expect spending on the pentagon to decrease. Not with our nation’s security at stake. And not with China posing an ever- greater threat.

An article by Yan Xuetong, translated from mandarin, tells “How China can defeat America.” The gist of Mr. Xuetong’s thought is that rising hegemons are a lot nicer than declining ones. Besides that, history is on the side of the rising power.

The US has become a tyrannical power, he insinuates, throwing its weight around wherever it can. China, on the other hand, is a helpful hegemon...a “humane authority.” While the US has military alliances all over the world...China has none. While the US has fought numerous wars over the last two decades, China’s military hasn’t been involved in conflict since 1984.

China has been preoccupied with her own internal issues...mostly related to employment and growth. But China’s economy grew 71 times faster than the US over the last 4 years. At that rate, it won’t be long before US output is actually lower than China’s.

Mr. Xuetong believes China should do as it did during the Tang dynasty, when it brought in foreigners as high ranking officials to help it take its place on the world stage.

No doubt there are other Chinese who are more hardnosed about it. Rarely does one empire give way to a successor peacefully. There are bound to be Chinese thinkers, whose works aren’t translated, who are speculating about how the Chinese can defeat the US in a real war. They’re surely devising a strategy...and developing new technologies...right at this very moment.

How could China defeat the US? Easy, it could spook US lawmakers into spending more money...wasting more military resources...and driving the nation into bankruptcy. In short, it could just wait.

Regards,

Bill Bonner,
for The Daily Reckoning

Shock: 100 Million Americans In Poverty or Right on the Edge

2011-11-21T10:33:00.001-08:00

We can play these “recovery” games in the media all we want, but the truth is starkly different from what our benevolent leadership would have us believe.
If the abhorrent unemployment numbers, the nearly 50 million on government food assistance, dwindling savings accounts, collapsing real estate values, and negative economic growth (when adjusted for inflation) are not enough to convince you that we are in a long-term depressionary cycle, then maybe these latest statistics of “near poor” Americans will:

Down but not quite out, these Americans form a diverse group sometimes called “near poor” and sometimes simply overlooked — and a new count suggests they are far more numerous than previously understood.
When the Census Bureau this month released a new measure of poverty, meant to better count disposable income, it began altering the portrait of national need. Perhaps the most startling differences between the old measure and the new involves data the government has not yet published, showing 51 million people with incomes less than 50 percent above the poverty line. That number of Americans is 76 percent higher than the official account, published in September. All told, that places 100 million people — one in three Americans — either in poverty or in the fretful zone just above it.
After a lost decade of flat wages and the worst downturn since the Great Depression, the findings can be thought of as putting numbers to the bleak national mood — quantifying the expressions of unease erupting in protests and political swings. They convey levels of economic stress sharply felt but until now hard to measure.
…
“These numbers are higher than we anticipated,” said Trudi J. Renwick, the bureau’s chief poverty statistician. “There are more people struggling than the official numbers show.”
Source: NYT

One in three Americans are either below, or right at, the poverty line.
The scary thing is: We’re just getting started.
Things are not going to get better any time soon. This is a sustained downward depressionary environment and all of the key indicators for economic well-being suggest it’s only going to get worse.
One hundred million people are barely able to keep themselves fed, sheltered and clothed. Tens of millions more will join the ranks of the near poor over coming months and years.
As more people become part of the near poor, more debt will need to be issued. Coupled with rising prices in essential goods like food and energy, which are outpacing emergency assistance payments, there is simply no way to support everyone who needs help.
Government safety nets can only handle a finite amount of stress and weight before they experience complete failure.
As the nets unravel and fail we’ll be looking at catastrophic consequences for our social and economic systems as we know them today. The worst case hypothetical scenarios of debt driven currency collapse, food riots, and the degradation of law and order are very much becoming reality.

Author: Mac Slavo
Date: November 21st, 2011

“When I Bought a Home in Ecuador, I Hit the Jackpot”

2011-11-21T10:25:00.001-08:00

By Darius Fisher

I was at the International Living Live and Invest in Ecuador Seminar 2011 that wrapped up about a week ago. I wish you were there, too. We learned why Ecuador makes so much sense for anyone looking to find a way to stretch their modest savings and social security checks...and yet enjoy a high quality of life.

One of my favorite presentations was from John Curran. Like many North Americans, he grew tired of the hustle bustle of modern life—“riding the merry-go-round,” as he calls it.

“I’ve never won anything. But after buying a home in Ecuador, I finally know what it’s like to hit the jackpot.”

John and his partner Sue were sick of spending thousands of dollar a month just to get by—on health care, on taxes, on food. They were tired of stress and traffic jams.

Put simply, they needed a change. So they finally did something about it…

At just 44 years old, John and Sue retired from teaching to the lush green mountains of Vilcabamba, Ecuador. And they’re happier, healthier and richer than ever.

Wouldn’t you be, too, if you could buy an amenity-packed, two-bedroom house (with a separate guest house) on 1.5 acres for five figures?

Get a gallon of gas for $1.48…

Grab a cold pilsner beer for 75 cents a bottle…

Enjoy world-class, English speaking, health care at bargain prices…

And pay just $62.52—a year—for property taxes?

John shared everything about his new life here in Ecuador…his monthly budget…his strategies for stretching his savings as far as possible… his favorite place to live…and his stories about what life’s really like, once you finally get the courage to hop off the “merry-go-round.” (Hint: It’s much, much more relaxing!)

But John also shared his #1 tip for success in Ecuador. It makes perfect sense to me and it will to you, too, when you learn what it is. Follow their lead and your life will cost far less and cause you much less stress indeed. (You can pick up a recording of his presentation here.)

When Sue got injured while riding a horse, she had to go to the ER.

An ambulance—with English-speaking medics—promptly picked her up and took her to the best private hospital in the area.

After getting world-class care, x-rays, CAT-scans, three delicious meals a day in a private room, and medication…the total bill came out to less than $800 dollars!

Compare that to back home—you wouldn’t even get able to get into the ambulance for less than $1,000.

If this low-cost, high-quality care doesn't have you thinking about packing up and starting a new life in Ecuador, I’m not sure what will.

In fact, there's so much that Ecuador has to offer that it should be at the top of your list. (It is International Living’s #1 retirement destination, after all.)

With the help and advice of people like John and our other experts—who’ve been there and done that—attendees at the Ecuador event got all the insider intelligence they needed on this beautiful country to make it their best place to live, retire or invest.

Celebrations in Ecuador more family-oriented than capitalistic

2011-11-21T10:09:00.001-08:00

by Katie Moran, November 19, 2011

QUITO, ECUADOR -- The celebration of holidays and annual traditions transcends time and place to reach virtually every family and community in the world. What differs is the manner in which they celebrate.

Ecuador and most of Latin America rely more on the presence of family in order to celebrate and less on the materialistic things used to celebrate.

The United States is known for its capitalist endeavors around every major holiday, but Ecuador is far more foreign to this idea.

"I was so surprised that no presents were exchanged on my host mom's birthday," said Olivia Blahut, a junior at Middlebury College currently studying at the University of San Francisco de Quito in Ecuador. "For me and my family in the States, presents are a major part of birthdays. But here, the celebration was just a massive birthday party with every family member imaginable."

Food and family are far more important to the Ecuadorians than gifts. The tradition of Mexican Mariachi bands is also extremely common and popular for birthday parties.

"Imagine my surprise when five men in extravagant Mariachi outfits waltz through the door while we're eating cake," said Katie King, a senior at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill also studying at USFQ. "They played for about an hour and left. Everyone was dancing and singing, and it was a great addition to the party."

But birthdays are only one aspect of Ecuadorian celebrations. Independence Days around the country provide the need for days of festivities and fiestas.

"I went to Guayaquil (Ecuador's largest city) for their Independence Day back in October, and the city was decked out for a party," said Emma Buresh, a junior from Virginia Tech. "There was a massive parade, vendors, artisans, and food everywhere."

But Independence Days in Ecuador are focused more on the militaristic point of view, rather than the commercialism point of view that 4th of July can take on in the States. The parades are almost entirely composed of various naval academies, soldiers and policemen.

"There were even little children marching in lines and holding fake rifles," said Brendan O'Boyle, a junior from UNC. "I was really surprised that they were breeding them so young and showing them off to the community."

Certain holidays that are immensely popular in the States virtually do not exist in other countries. This is the case with Halloween in Ecuador. A handful of stores try to be festive with jack-o-lantern cut-outs in the windows, but in general they day goes by unnoticed and uncelebrated.

The up-and-coming generation is slowly trying to impose the holiday, though, after seeing it celebrated in numerous American movies and television shows.

"I live in a nice and private neighborhood that has a lot of children," said Ecuadorian Catherine McBride, a mother and senior at Universidad San Francisco de Quito. "In recent years, the kids have started trying to trick-or-treat around the few houses that participate. It's a very new concept, though, especially to mothers like me who didn't do it when we were children."

The more popular holiday is Día de los Difuntos, also known as Día de los Muertos in Mexico or All Soul's day in the States. This occurs on Nov. 2 and is a time for celebrating the life of beloved ones that have passed away. Indigenous people flock to the cemeteries to adorn the gravestones with colorful flowers and bouquets, and other families remember their loved ones at home.

"I was in the Galapagos on Nov. 2, there were little tents set up outside the cemeteries that sold bunches and bunches of flowers for people to put on the tombstones, said Jamile Tellez Lierberman, junior at Elon University. "It didn't have a sad or depressing connotation at all, and it really was a beautiful sight."

They also spend hours making the traditional drink, Colada Morada, and the traditional bread, Guagua de Pan with each other. Colada Morada is a thick fruit drink served warm and made from black corn flour, strawberries and other various fruits. Guagua de Pan is bread in the shape of a child and can be filled with chocolate, jam or cheese if not preferred plain. While they are sold in every grocery store and bread shop, families also enjoy making them together.

"We literally spent eight hours making Colada Morada and Guagua de Pan," Blahut said. "It was a whole day event and involved the entire family. I could tell they really love this tradition because they got really excited when I said I wanted to join them."

The general understanding in Ecuador is that holidays are a time to rejoice and celebrate with your family. There is no need for fancy decorations or aisles and aisles of themed candy.

"I have a new appreciation for the meaning and purpose of holidays after being in Ecuador," said Katie Jacob, a junior at Ohio Wesleyan University. "When I get back home at Christmas, I think I will finally understand why we celebrate what we do. My mom always tells me that all we need is family to have a good time, and I think I finally agree."

Ecuador vs Panama, Which is for you? - The Ecuador Insider

2011-11-21T10:06:00.001-08:00

Salsa music’s in the air.

Dominoes are being smacked down on almost every street corner by the older folks.

Mulattas, and Mulattoes dressed to impress traffic the cobblestone streets below my balcony.

This week, I’m checking in from Panama City, Panama.

So I thought I’d take the chance to compare life in Ecuador vs Panama.

Here goes…

Money: Both countries use the US dollar, which makes life MUCH easier for us greenback carriers. The dollar can drop in value all it wants but the effect is minimal when in a “dollar” country.

Cost of Living: The essentials are cheaper in Ecuador… food, shelter, transportation, whereas consumer goods are cheaper in Panama. Food is noticeably more expensive in Panama with lunches starting around $4 compared to Ecuador where lunches start around $2. Rents for a 2 bedroom apartment in a nice area of Panama city start around $500 but often cost more compared to Ecuador cities where you can find similar rentals in livable areas starting around $300/month.

Real Estate: Panama real estate is clearly on the down-swing following the general world crisis trend. Since 2009, Ecuador is on its way up since mortgages became more accessible to locals and Ecuador began to be mentioned often by the International retirement press. Panama already had their big boom when prices skyrocketed from 2005-2008. Bottom line, it’s hard to find a decent apartment in Panama City for under $100k, in Ecuador that task is still very doable, especially if you know how to look.

Government stability: Panama wins here as with each time I come here I am more reminded of Hong Kong. Ecuador governmental policies seem to always be closing the doors (more on that in a future newsletter).

Public transportation: In Panama most have cars while in Ecuador most people don’t! Consequently, cars are a need in Panama with much fewer public transport options. Taxi rides start around $2-3 here in the City but at rush hour you can see hundreds of people waiting in the streets for buses and trying to catch taxis making it VERY evident public transport is extremely lacking in Panama.

Food: Food is clearly more expensive in Panama as I see prices only a shade below those of the US. The local gastronomy is not nearly as diverse as that of Ecuador… you’ll see a typical Caribbean beans, rice and fried chicken plate in many of the local eateries.

Women/Men: The women and men in Panama are mainly mulattoes similar to the Dominican Republic. The people are attractive with nice figures, and friendly, and seem to treat foreigners well and are not as quick to overcharge them as I see elsewhere. They are more animated and vocal. Today a girl serving me food at a fast food joint struck up a conversation with and asked for my number… that rarely happens to me in Ecuador, people are a bit more reserved until you get to know them.

Safety: In Panama I feel surprisingly safe, walking around at all hours of the day and at night although there are areas we should avoid.

Weather: It hasn’t stopped raining since I’ve been here. From December to April is the sunny season, the rest of the year is quite rainy, typical for the Caribbean. Also, the humidity, at least this time of year, is so thick at times I feel I have to walk with an extra zest just to push myself through the air, not so in Ecuador.

Airfare: It is MUCH cheaper to get to Panama from the US with budget carriers like Spirit Air.

Visa Residency Requirements: Both offer an investors visa but you need to invest a much larger amount in Panama to qualify. In Ecuador invest $25-30k or up. In Panama, $100-250k. Pensioner visas are also available in both countries.

Banking: Far easier in Panama for a foreigner to open a bank account and the banking system is more sound. With $1000 deposit (that you can withdraw later) and a few bank and personal reference letters you can open an account in many of the banks here in Panama. In Ecuador, unless you know someone, banks won’t open an account for you until you are a legal resident.

Overall: I love Panama, and I'm going to miss the Panamanian ladies, but I’ll stick to Ecuador for the milder weather, lower costs of essential items, the food, the public transport and the business opportunity I see right now.

Domenick Buonamici
Investor, Entrepreneur, Manager

Ecuador president "gets death threats"

2011-11-21T10:05:00.001-08:00

QUITO: Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa said Saturday he had received death threats via the micro-blogging service Twitter, and had ordered an investigation.

"Have you seen how many death threats I received? Again someone on Twitter wrote 'Hail Caesar, we will kill you! Hail MashiRafael, who we will kill, we salute you!'" Correa said in his weekly address.

The president, who has used the Twitter handle @MashiRafael since July and currently has more than 141,900 followers, said he has asked Interior Minister Jose Serrano to investigate the threatening messages.

AFP/wk

More history from Bill Bonner.......

2011-11-19T13:29:00.001-08:00

Center Can’t Hold
By Bill Bonner

Italy seems to have gone too far. Its 10-year bonds yields are back over 7%. It is “the beginning of the end” say analysts.

But the end of what?

When the going is good people have little patience for questions. They are too busy, earning and spending, buying and selling, and getting where they are going. But then comes a major turnaround, all of a sudden, and they develop the deep torments of a retarded poet in an unhappy marriage.

‘What really matters?’ they ask themselves. ‘And what the hell am I doing here?’

In the US, the “War Between the States” settled the matter. “We will agree to have a single, centralized state,” said Abraham Lincoln, or words to that effect, “or we will kill you.” Later, the federal income tax, the direct election of senators (which ended individual states’ participation in the federal government), interminable meddling, and numerous Supreme Court decisions further enlarged the power of the central government at the expense of “states’ rights.”

In Europe, several times, centralization was attempted. In his article in The Financial Times, on Wednesday, Martin Wolf called it “the dream of centuries.” It took big dreamers to think they could put together so many different tribes. Caesar...Bonaparte... Hitler. (For some reason, perhaps it was a slip of memory, Wolfe doesn’t mention Adolf.) But the most recent centralization cycle was agreed voluntarily. Europeans saw it as a way to prevent war and stimulate their economies. They appeared to be right on both points, for a while. Europe’s economies boomed during the “30 glorious years” following WWII. Then, when America turned to private debt, Europe financed further lifestyle enhancements with public debt, financed at low German rates. The periphery states flourished by borrowing and spending. Germany flourished by selling them things.

Now, they all must cut back. The rest is detail...and denial. Total un-payable debt may be in the trillions. Someone is going to suffer it. Whether it is the taxpayers or the lenders hardly matters, not the way the two are twined together. If the lenders are forced to take large haircuts, many collapse...and bring down Europe’s sovereign bonds...and its economies. If the burden of loss is put directly onto the general public, the result is much the same. Whether the austerity is voluntary, or forced, it is inescapable.

The authorities struggle to remain on course — towards a more powerful, more centralized, more bountiful state. But they may be fighting the tides of history as well as economics. The last 300 years have been marked by further and further centralization, first, consolidating the kingdoms, duchies, and principalities of Western Europe in the 18th century. Then, building the nation states of the 19th century. Finally forming the European Union in the 20th. All over the world, local dialects, local money, local customs, and local military power gave way. By 2007, most of the major states of Europe — and quite a few minor ones — used the same currency (the euro)...paid the same interest rates (low)...worshipped the same god (mammon)...and spoke a common commercial and diplomatic language (mid-Atlantic English). Almost the entire world embraced modern credit-enhanced capitalism as taught in the leading business schools. Mario Draghi went to MIT and worked for Goldman Sachs. Mario Monti went to Yale and worked for Goldman Sachs. Lucas Papademos went to MIT and worked at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. They are interchangeable parts of the same machine.

What caused such homogenization? Was it the availability of modern communications, which made centralization easy and convenient? Was it merely a further elaboration of the division of labor, where each region could do what it did best and depend on the others for what it lacked? Was it the invention of modern artillery? No castle walls were strong enough to protect a local fiefdom. Some thought that modern, democratic government — combined with guided capitalism — was simply a better, more productive system, an evolutionary improvement on all that had gone before. We don’t know.

But we know something. The worries that brought Europe together after WWII now pull it apart. Greek (and other) debtors can’t pay. German (and other) creditors can’t collect. The Germans call the Greeks layabouts and chiselers. The Greeks call the Germans ‘nazis.’

And the centrifugal forces don’t stop at the borders. Belgium has been without a central government for 16 months, and prospers. Thoughtful Italians of the North must resent Garibaldi as much as Monnet. And if the Germans of Hamburg are not willing to support the Greeks of Larisa, why would they want to support the Germans of Dresden?

Developed countries can’t continue to pay for lifestyle enhancements with debt. Total debt-to-GDP ratios already exceed 250% for almost all of them. Britain and Japan are near 500%. At 5% interest, it would cost 25% of total output just to pay for past spending — hamburgers eaten years ago...salaries paid in 1997...and bridges that already need repair! At Italy’s current yields, nearly a third of GDP would be required. As the cost of this past increases, there is less and less money available for voters in the here and now. The center cannot hold. It doesn’t even want to.

Regards,

Bill Bonner,
for The Daily Reckoning

When America gets tough, the tough look offshore

2011-11-19T13:18:00.001-08:00

By Jeff D. Opdyke, Editor, Th

America has become a country of deep philosophical chasms, and there now emerges the very real possibility the turmoil will tear the nation asunder.

Over the next 12 months, as America enters presidential-election season, the fight that is coming will determine whether the country swings decidedly right or left, because the winner will rightly claim a mandate to either continue on the current path into the dark night of socialist thinking ... or reintroduce morning in America.

The divisions in this country have already been brought into stark relief. For instance, 46% of Americans believe in a right to bear arms; 46% don’t.

44% believe marijuana should be legalized; 54% don’t.

45% of Americans support ObamaCare; 42% don’t.

No one can deny that during the past decade, America has changed for the worse... e Sovereign Individual

We’re Living in Orwell’s Dystopia

It is just over 10 years since that unforgettable day in September 2001, when two planes slammed into the World Trade Center in apocalyptic fashion and changed America forever.

In spite of what our politicians tell us, America did not recover from that hammer blow. Today, we are worse off - not because of the terror, but because sycophantic politicians wrapping themselves fraudulently in patriotism, and the Americans who pardon their antics, allowed Osama bin Laden’s act to undermine our freedoms, liberties and ideals.

Electronic strip-searches at the airport...

IRS reporting rules that require merchants to disclose transactions of $10,000 or more or which require you to report foreign financial accounts...

Warrantless electronic surveillance of U.S. citizens...

Secret searches and electronic eavesdropping on Americans by the National Security Agency (with the President’s blessing)...

It’s all an eerie manifestation of Orwell’s dystopian 1984.

But The Tragedy Doesn’t Stop There...

America ended 2000 with a budget surplus of $236 billion, yet today she’s technically bankrupt, addled by annual deficits exceeding $1 trillion and with no honest options for repair - and, worse, a political process that is broken, dysfunctional and self-serving.

We’ve depleted our national treasure on wars of personal revenge and vendetta, spending more than $1.2 trillion - and counting - on conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq that have accomplished little of national significance. Our accumulated debts now exceed $14 trillion, nearly 100% of GDP.

At The Sovereign Society, we know exactly how we would solve the debt crisis - but it would have nothing to do with Fed chairman Ben Bernanke’s redux of Operation Twist, which aims to stimulate the economy by pushing medium and long-term interest rates lower.
Our solution is simple - though it is one the Keynesian-minded, wealth-destroying automatons in Washington refuse to consider.

Firstly, kill ObamaCare.

It’s unconstitutional - no government should force its citizens to buy any product under threat of financial penalty. Business executives are so uncertain about the financial impact ObamaCare will impose they have no desire to hire new workers. The added costs only serve to make American businesses less competitive in the global marketplace.

Second, throw away the entire 71,600-page U.S. tax code and start from scratch.

Ensure that everyone pays a little something for the right to live in the freest nation on Earth. There is no reason 51% of American taxpayers effectively pay no income tax - and even less reason why 30% of taxpayers made money off the tax system through credits.

Reduce corporate income taxes while you’re at it.

Kill the various exemptions that individual industries have lobbied for.
And incentivize companies to repatriate the tens of billions of dollars sitting in corporate bank accounts overseas.

Unfortunately, none of those suggestions are likely to happen.

Instead, we have increased inefficient regulation at every turn. Obamacare will doubtless make matters even worse and will continue to work to dampen the animal spirit of American capitalism.

The outcome of the forthcoming election will have long-term ramifications for America.

There is Only One Thing Left To Do

We urge you to think about your financial parachute. Now is the time to have money in banks and brokerage firms overseas ... and in gold and land. You might even consider the possibility of a second passport or residency in another country. Because if fundamental changes in our political priorities and monetary policies don’t happen soon, America is going to become a very tough place to call home for anyone who has even a modicum of wealth.

A possible escape hatch is Asia, where growth is springing forth. Just look at the exploding economies in places like Phnom Penh, Singapore, Bangkok, Hong Kong.

Putting idle cash into EverBank’s Asian Currency Portfolio, for example, means you will inoculate yourself against the never-ending debasement of the U.S. dollar (a trend that has been ongoing for generations) by investing in currencies such as the Singapore dollar, Australian dollar, Indian rupee, Chinese yuan and Japanese yen - all of which consistently outperform the ailing greenback as Asia’s rising middle class fuels the growth of emerging-market economies.

There are a number of other countries that offer offshore banking, citizenship and tax haven opportunities.

Parts of South America - Uruguay in particular - can offer a nice golden parachute and soft landing. As Erika Nolan, Publisher of The Sovereign Individual, pointed out on earlier in the week, not only does Uruguay welcome the right people -- and clearly they are coming in steady numbers - it offers a delightful lifestyle and a myriad of real estate and land investment opportunities. At the same time, establishing Uruguayan citizenship is far from onerous.

In the event that life in the U.S. goes pear-shaped, we urge you to protect your future and the assets you have worked hard to accumulate for yourself and your family by going offshore.

Stay Sovereign,

Jeff D. Opdyke
Editor, The Sovereign Individual

Ecuador lawmakers reject tax bill, blow to Correa

2011-11-18T09:51:00.001-08:00

QUITO: Ecuador's Congress rejected a proposal to hike taxes on Thursday, dealing a blow to leftist President Rafael Correa who has regularly counted on votes from a splintered opposition to pass laws.

The measure would have provided some $400 million a year in additional revenues for the government, whose budget calls for increased spending in 2012.

The ruling Alianza Pais political movement has never had a solid majority in Congress. But since Correa first took office in 2007, it has frequently rallied support from opposition lawmakers to pass legislation.

However, Alianza Pais lost sway in the unicameral Congress this year when several lawmakers switched to the opposition over differences with Correa, whom political rivals say is concentrating too much power.

Correa won a referendum in May over 10 reforms, including some aimed at overhauling the justice system. Critics say the changes threaten the balance of power because they give the government a bigger say on judicial appointments.

"The opposition is gaining ground in the assembly ... . Next year is an electoral year and I think lawmakers will be increasingly ashamed of voting in line with the government," said Vicente Taiano, who belongs to a conservative party.

Oil is Ecuador's main revenue earner, and high crude prices in the past few months have allowed Correa to boost spending on hospitals, schools and roads, which has boosted his popularity ahead of a general election set for early 2013.

Since defaulting on billions of dollars worth of foreign debt in 2008, Ecuador has relied on credits from multilateral lenders and loans from China to finance its fiscal deficit.

The bill had called for raising the tax on capital outflows to 5 percent from 2 percent. It also aimed to increase duties on cigarettes and alcoholic beverages and to impose a new "green tax" on vehicles.

"It's obvious that opposition lawmakers have defended the interests of the cigarette and beverage companies, the car importers," said Alianza Pais deputy Paola Pabon.

The Correa government had argued the changes would only affect the wealthy. Opponents said the tax measure would hurt the working class as well.

"Rafael Correa is making Ecuadoreans poorer and poorer with all these taxes," said opposition lawmaker Gilmar Gutierrez.

US Poverty Stats: Where the Feds Are At Fault

2011-11-14T14:28:00.001-08:00

The Daily Reckoning Presents

Remember our report from yesterday: “Generation Jobless” was how The Wall Street Journal put it. Here’s more. From the blog “Economic Collapse:”

19 Statistics About The Poor That Will Absolutely Astound You.

#1 According to the US Census Bureau, the percentage of “very poor” rose in 300 out of the 360 largest metropolitan areas during 2010.

#2 Last year, 2.6 million more Americans descended into poverty. That was the largest increase that we have seen since the US government began keeping statistics on this back in 1959.

#3 It isn’t just the ranks of the “very poor” that are rising. The number of those just considered to be “poor” is rapidly increasing as well. Back in the year 2000, 11.3% of all Americans were living in poverty. Today, 15.1% of all Americans are living in poverty.

#4 The poverty rate for children living in the United States increased to 22% in 2010.

#5 There are 314 counties in the United States where at least 30% of the children are facing food insecurity.

#6 In Washington DC, the “child food insecurity rate” is 32.3%.

#7 More than 20 million US children rely on school meal programs to keep from going hungry.

#8 One out of every six elderly Americans now lives below the federal poverty line.

#9 Today, there are over 45 million Americans on food stamps.

#10 According to The Wall Street Journal, nearly 15 percent of all Americans are now on food stamps.

#11 In 2010, 42 percent of all single mothers in the United States were on food stamps.

#12 The number of Americans on food stamps has increased 74% since 2007.

#13 We are told that the economy is recovering, but the number of Americans on food stamps has grown by another 8 percent over the past year.

#14 Right now, one out of every four American children is on food stamps.

#15 It is being projected that approximately 50 percent of all US children will be on food stamps at some point in their lives before they reach the age of 18.

#16 More than 50 million Americans are now on Medicaid. Back in 1965, only one out of every 50 Americans was on Medicaid. Today, approximately one out of every 6 Americans is on Medicaid.

#17 One out of every six Americans is now enrolled in at least one government anti-poverty program.

#18 The number of Americans that are going to food pantries and soup kitchens has increased by 46% since 2006.

#19 It is estimated that up to half a million children may currently be homeless in the United States. Now, dear reader, we ask ourselves: how could the most sophisticated, most dynamic, best capitalized, high tech enhanced capitalism in history produce such an outcome?

The answer is simple: capitalism doesn’t give you what you want. It gives you what you deserve. And it usually does so with such a long delay that few people connect cause with effect.

Instead, they rant and rave. They blame the rich. They call for more regulation. More distribution. More handouts, subsidies, and bailouts.

They demand that the feds ‘do something!’...not realizing that the feds — more than anyone else — are responsible for their misery:

The feds tricked them into spending more than they could afford — with artificially low rates and EZ credit.

The feds loaded them up with mortgage debt — thanks to their federally subsidized mortgage industry.

The feds practically invented sub-prime mortgage debt; and directed lenders towards the poorest and most vulnerable parts of the society.

The feds enticed old people into complete dependence — with the Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare programs.

The feds led the young into debt too — with easy student loans that effectively transferred money from them to the education industry.

The feds jimmied the health system into such a mess that Americans now spend 45 times as much as Cubans...and have the same life expectancy.

The feds’ funny money system caused the export of millions of good jobs to emerging markets.

Rise up, ye debt-trodden masses! Rise up against your real enemy: the feds. You have nothing to lose but your chains
Regards,

Bill Bonner
for The Daily Reckoning

Hoboken chef Maricel Presilla extols Ecuadorian chocolate at New York Chocolate Show

2011-11-14T14:05:00.001-08:00

By Adam Robb/For The Jersey Journal

There's still one day left to attend the 2011 New York Chocolate Show at Manhattan's Metropolitan Pavilion.
The world's largest chocolate event, this weekend's show offers the opportunity to discover new and hard to find brands from around the globe, including American Heritage Chocolate, a Hackettstown brand sold only at national historic sites, and Pacari, an Ecuadorian brand championed by Hoboken chef Maricel Presilla.

There's never enough time to learn what you're tasting," Presilla told the crowd as she took the stage Thursday afternoon, bowls of chocolate and giant Ecuadorian cacao beans laid out before her. "I believe Ecuador is becoming so important in the world of chocolate it requires a little seminar."

Presilla appeared at the show on opening day to lead a discussion of the Ecuadorian chocolate's flavor, the philosophy behind the biodynamic philosophy on their plantations, and the origin of the Pacari brand in particular, which traces back to an email she received nearly 10 years ago.
The Ecuadorian chocolatier was first interested in naming Pacari, "GranCacao," a Venezuelan name owned by Presilla. However, she believed the brand should have an identity true to its country of origin, and Pacari, or "nature" in the indiginous Ecuadorian Quechua language, was chosen. Years later Presilla sampled Pacari, unaware the chocolate was produced by the man who first approached her, and after admiring both its taste and ethic, she's traveled the globe championing the brand ever since.

It was only this summer when Presilla was making these presentations to small crowds of customers at her Hoboken shop Ultramarinos. Since then she's appeared at London Chocolate Week and Paris' Salon du Chocolat, finding a global audience amenable to the flavor of Ecuador.

Casa San Marcos, a house of treasures

2011-11-12T09:48:00.001-08:00

We are posting this not just becuase it is a great place to eat and stay.....but it is right around from our house "Casa de Carondelet" in Quito...historic San Marcos in Colonial Quito......

By LANCE BRASHEAR

Casa San Marcos - a boutique hotel along what is slowly becoming a cultural corridor in central Quito - was, until recently, a house obscured by time. But the passage of time has a way of not just hiding treasures, but also revealing them when the right person comes along.

The name Jose Jaime Ortiz was all but lost as the architect of Casa San Marcos until archives discovered in recent years revealed the hand behind the craftsmanship. Ortiz is now recognized as one of Quito's most formidable architects from the turn of the 18th century and is credited with a dozen structures in Quito including the El Sagrario Church, the reconstruction of La Merced Church, and the tower of Santo Domingo Church.

Ortiz also designed and built a number of residential houses in the San Marcos neighborhood, one of which is believed to be Casa San Marcos. But if he could see it today, he may not recognize it, at least initially, but his imprint is still visible inside, thanks to owner Mayra Ribadeneira.

Ortiz designed the home with a very traditional, Spanish layout characterized by a central patio. Over the years the house was acquired by different families and in 1920 an Italian architect, Antonino Russo, forever changed the traditional design, dividing the central patio in half with a wall. He also destroyed the original façade and added a third floor along Junin Street. Though the European influence is what visitors first notice, colonial elements still remain.

One of Ortiz's lasting touches is the back patio, which was originally a garden and stable for the horses, but is now the hotel cafeteria, Quindi Huasi. The cafeteria offers a stunning view of the Panecillo hillside, which is also seen from many of the rooms that overlook El Centro. Dave Churchill, a recent guest at Casa San Marcos who had visited Peru before coming to Quito says, "This is fabulous. I wake up, look out the window and see this virgin. We stayed at the Hotel Monastery [in Peru] and it's supposedly a 5-star, but it didn't compare to this."

Perhaps the aspect of the house which most clearly offers a historical dialogue is the ceiling of the main salon, which is constructed above the original patio. Its construction is known as "bajareque," a system of weaving together beams. Ribadeneira takes the most pride in showing this to visitors. "I would say that there is not one corner of this house that is not attractive, but if I had to choose, I believe the main salon is extraordinarywhere there is not even one nail, [and it is] made with ties, with mastery by our indigenous ancestors." It is an unexpected site.

Ribadeneira deserves the credit for re-discovering and putting on display the treasure that is Casa San Marcos. Over a three year period she restored the home "with minutia in order to return it to its glory from centuries past." In doing so, she fully respected the intervention of Russo and the division of the house, creating a long corridor that runs from the front door to the back patio cafeteria.

What stands out about the Casa San Marcos as much as the ceiling, adobe walls, wooden floors, and stone columns, is what you find within and among them all.

Casa San Marcos began not as a hotel, but as the Art Gallery of San Marcos, an extension of the Exedra Gallery, formerly one of Quito's largest art showrooms, established by Ribadaneira. She explains that, "After a year, many friends suggested that I broaden the services of the gallery to take full advantage of the beauty of the house." She opted for a boutique hotel, which continues to display all of the treasures Ribadeneira brought with her.

Casa San Marcos has six rooms available to the public, all decorated with antiques and treasures. She says some are family heirlooms, including some of the bedroom furniture. "For me, to have in the house the furniture where I slept as a child is something that fills me with emotion." Other items are the remnants of her work as an art promoter for nearly half a century.

The Quindi Huasi Cafeteria is open all day. Meals require a reservation, but anyone wishing for something light may stop by anytime. For reservations call 02-228-1811 or 228-8997, or visit www.casasanmarcos.com

Next to the art gallery, Ribadeneira has an antique shop, which is accessed only from within the hotel. But throughout the house you will find treasures in the rooms, on the walls, and atop the furniture. Some are for sale, making Casa San Marcos a "true boutique hotel." Ribadeneira says, "If you desire, it is possible to acquire [the contents] from the towels to the pillows."

Restored homes like Casa San Marcos allow visitors to encounter different time periods. The house is rustic, European, colonial, modern, and contemporary. The best of past eras is on display and enjoyed with the conveniences of today, such as the contemporary bathroom facilities. It is truly eclectic in every aspect and a privilege simply to tour the house.
With only six rooms available, visitors are not overlooked. Ribadeneira says, "In the hotel all guests receive special treatment. They breathe art. Nobody is anonymous and everyone feels as if the house is their own." If only it was...

Casa San Marcos is located on Junin 655 near the corner of Montufar. Nightly rates run from $138 to $250 per room. Prices include taxes and breakfast.

Go Offshore to Regain Your Financial Freedom

2011-11-10T10:33:00.000-08:00

By Bob Bauman JD, Chairman, The Freedom Alliance

A free and prosperous world through choice, markets and responsibility”

That’s the motto of Canada’s Frazier Institute, a respected free market think tank that studies the impact of competitive markets and government intervention on individuals and society.

But that agreeable motto bears little resemblance with what has happened to the United States economy... and Frazier offers proof.

Annually the Institute publishes its Economic Freedom of the World Report, which reviews the policies in each country that either support or harm economic freedom.

The basics measured are personal choice, voluntary exchange, freedom to compete, and security of privately owned property.

The specifics include...

1) Size of government: expenditures, taxes, and enterprises
2) Legal structure and security of property rights
3) Access to sound money
4) Freedom to trade internationally, and
5) Regulation of credit, labor, and business.

Economic Freedom in America
is All But Gone

For 2011, Frazier reports that economic freedom has suffered around the globe. It’s worse for Americans...

In 2000 the U.S. was ranked 3rd in the world behind only Hong Kong and Singapore; in the 2011 report, the U.S. is ranked 10th behind countries such as Canada, Chile, Australia, and even the United Kingdom.

Certainly, four million American homes are in foreclosure, millions more are “under water,” the real unemployment rate is nearly 16%, George Bush, Barack Obama and a complicit U.S. Congress have wasted 10 trillion of our tax dollars on big business, union and bank bailouts, while Wall Street rewarded itself with an astounding $160 billion in bonuses the year after the global financial crisis they helped to create.

Economic freedom indeed!

And We Know Why

The Frazier Institute says the decline in U.S. freedom is due to massively higher government spending and borrowing, increased regulation and especially, less secure property rights.

Ballooning federal and state budget deficits have crowded out available private credit causing this particular rating to fall to 0.0 from 9.3 (out of 10) since 2000.

Asset forfeiture laws, eminent domain abuse, the overreaching wars on drugs and terrorism, the PATRIOT Act and warrantless wiretaps have also diminished the security of property and all other rights.

Under the current and past president, bailouts, debt crises, and political stalemates replaced balanced budgets, sound money, and privatization. Now Obama and his leftist allies blindly insist that free markets have failed, that trillions more be spent on government stimulus and subsidies, and that more regulations will somehow succeed when they have just proven to be abject failures.

What You Can Do

You didn’t cause the diminished economic freedom in America today. You shouldn’t have to suffer the consequences.

Second citizenship is one good solution.

The easiest and quickest way to acquire second citizenship is through your bloodline; citizenship resulting from the nationality of your father, mother or grandparents.

Ireland, Italy and Poland encourage foreigners to sign up for citizenship based on ancestors. All three are European Union member states, so their citizenship gives you the freedom to live and work in all 27 EU countries.

Take for example Ireland: citizenship is available to those with Irish parents or grandparents. If you were born outside of Ireland and either your mother or father (or both) was an Irish citizen at the time of your birth, then you’re entitled to Irish citizenship.

The same applies if at least one grandparent was born in Ireland. An applicant must prove this claim of Irish descent by submitting an ancestor’s official marriage and birth certificates.

With three photographs, proper proof of Irish ancestry and legal residence in the country where you make your application, a 10-year renewable Irish passport will be issued in due course bearing the stamp of Ireland and the European community.

In Italy if you are the child or grandchild of former Italian nationals, you can qualify for citizenship if you meet certain criteria. In Poland if your parents or grandparents were Polish citizens, you may be eligible to obtain Polish citizenship based on that relationship.

So start thinking about acquiring another citizenship and with it, a second passport. Not only will this give you a better chance of economic survival, but it offers greater freedom and the hope of increased prosperity.

Faithfully yours,

Bob Bauman JD
Chairman, The Freedom Alliance

Where Are Your Papers?

2011-11-10T10:13:00.000-08:00

“Your papers!” In old movies, the demand is barked at trembling travelers by a Nazi with a guttural accent. If the demand is made in the opening scene, then the audience knows immediately that they watching a totalitarian state in which travelers are in danger.

“Your papers!” now rings out at every American airport and border crossing. The accent is different but travelers need to recognize with equal immediacy that a totalitarian state is playing out in front of their eyes, and they must be careful

A passport is where the security theater begins. Indeed, without a passport those who wish to fly or cross a border are not “allowed” to be scanned, searched, interrogated, or undergo a plethora of other indignities imposed by uniformed thugs. The hoops through which passport carriers jump are all prelude to “permitting” them to exercise a right belonging to every freeborn person: the right to travel.

Things were not always this way. It is important to remember that there once was a world in which people traveled freely across borders without paperwork to visit families, pursue education, conduct business, and mingle. Freedom worked once. It enriched the world economically, culturally, and psychologically.

European nations pioneered many if not most aspects of the modern passport. The passport as an official permission or protection, and not merely as identification, arose because of armed conflicts. In the 17th century, sea voyaging was key to trade, travel, and the maintenance of empire. With some frequency, war interrupted that flow. Therefore, neutral vessels were granted passports or “sea letters” from a port of departure, which permitted them to journey in safety.

By the mid-19th century, mandatory passports had largely disappeared from Europe and Asia, with Czarist Russia and the Ottoman Empire being prominent exceptions. The change was largely due to three factors. First, governments were pressured to open up borders so that goods and services could flow across an increasingly industrialized Europe. Second, the period between the last Napoleonic War (1815) and World War I was unusually peaceful. Third, railroads now dominated travel. Their speed and the sheer number of travelers made traditional methods of checking documents impractical.

Thus, with trade and peace, mandatory passports declined.

War brought them back to life. With World War I, European nations once more imposed requirements not only to identify “enemies of the state” (e.g., spies or the citizens of belligerents) but also to control the outward flow of skilled labor in order to maintain their own workforces. In short, passports once again became social controls and, like the United States, many European nations maintained their requirements after the War.

World War II made passports mandatory on a virtually worldwide basis. Although passport requirements loosened once more after the WWII, the war on terror in the wake of 9/11 has raised those requirements to unprecedented levels. The ebb and flow of passports is that of war itself.

The American passport was also rooted in war, specifically the American Revolution (1775-1783). The first one was issued in 1783; based on the French “passport,” it was designed and printed by Benjamin Franklin. It was a single page with a description of the bearer(s) and his or their signature(s). For example, when John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and John Jay acted as ministers plenipotentiary in traveling to Great Britain to seal the terms of peace, all three names were on one passport. It was addressed “TO ALL Captains or Commanders of ships of war, privateers, or armed Vessels...”

During the Articles of Confederation period (1783-1789), passports were issued but not required. When the US Constitution was ratified, creating a new government, passports continued to be issued but not required. Many American states and cities also issued their own “voluntary” passports until 1856 when the Department of State exerted a federal monopoly, ostensibly to eliminate confusion.

Nevertheless, passports were not mandatory except for a period during the American Civil War (1861-1865) and during World War I (1914-1918). The latter can be seen as the beginning of the current American passport. On December 15, 1915, President Woodrow Wilson issued Executive Order No. 2285, “[r]equiring American citizens traveling abroad to procure passports.”

This was followed in 1918 by an act of Congress granting the president authority to require passports during time of war. Passports remained mandatory until early 1921.

Thereafter, the United States continued its “no-passport-required” travel policy until another war: World War II (1939-1945). In 1941, passports became mandatory for travel abroad and remain so to this day. (Travel to Canada used to be an exception; until recently, proof of citizenship was all that was required to cross the border.)

Passports clearly function as an essential and effective means through which a state can control the person and property of its residents. Consider the United States. No one can legally leave without one.

And yet passports can be denied for a myriad of reasons that have nothing to do with being “an enemy of the state” but rest strictly on statutory grounds. Common reasons for denial include owing money to the IRS, a federal arrest, a state-criminal court order existing, a drug arrest, being on parole or probation. Law-enforcement databases are routinely checked against both passports and applications to weed out those who have committed such offenses as being more than $2,500 behind on child-support payments. Passports can also be revoked for several reasons, although revocation is far less common.

Those who meet the legal requirements for a passport move on to the next stage of social control. After handing over documents, a traveler is questioned about the reasons for travel, how much money he carries, his occupation, and virtually any other question a border agent wishes to ask. The traveler’s person and property are “searched” in various ways, including a strip search at the agent’s discretion. If the traveler questions or evinces disapproval, then he could be denied the “right” to board a plane, thus wasting an expensive ticket. Or he may be pulled aside for special treatment, including fines or interrogation by the police.

Requiring a passport as the key to freedom of movement is akin to gagging someone while maintaining that he retains freedom of speech.

The passport has grown into what is arguably the single most powerful tool of totalitarian America, second only to law enforcement itself. It no longer pretends to protect individuals; not a single terrorist has been apprehended as a result of passport checks. But it does cement the totalitarian state. The mandatory passport should be reviled and rejected as an abuse of human rights and common decency. A nation that requires one cannot be free.

Regards,

Wendy McElroy,
for The Daily Reckoning

San Telmo: The place to eat meat

2011-10-25T11:53:00.000-07:00

Back to our culinary critique of FOOD in Quito....we always comment that steak is not good in Ecuador...unless the meat comes from Argentina or Uruguay. San Telmo is a MUST for meat lovers.......

By LANCE BRASHEAR

There is a simple rule to follow when dining out, in search for good meat: Great steaks come from great steak houses.

Gonzalo Proaño, General Manager of San Telmo Steak House in Quito, says, "We were the first to import from Argentina," which is renowned for it's quality beef. Though their imported cuts currently come from Uruguay, Proaño says they are equally matched in quality. "The beef from Uruguay is more expensive but I am very happy with it and the customers can see the difference."

But it is not enough to buy the best beef in the marketplace. Meat must be properly aged. Proaño explains that, "Fresh beef is really tough beef." The reason is that it must overcome a stiffening process just after slaughter.   With aging, the beef becomes tenderer and more flavorful.   Aging is often from 7-10 days, but San Telmo has their own process. "I vacuum pack it and age it for 17 days," says Proaño. "The vacuum packing keeps it safe and the extra days add to the flavor and tenderness of the beef."

So with top quality beef, properly aged, San Telmo is able to offer a great mix of not only imported cuts, but national steaks also.

San Telmo offers six different "lomos," all national cuts. Visitors to Ecuador often get confused by the term "lomo," which essentially refers to a tenderloin cut and includes the filet mignon. Proaño says, "Filet mignon is really tenderloin the way we get it in the Statesthe only difference is the sauce and the bacon." Other lomos include the three pepper steak and several mixed plates with tenderloin and seafood: Lomo a lo macho, San Telmo mix, and the San Francisco mix. All have a special sauce to accompany them.

If you like your cut of beef straight off the grill, without additional flavorings, then the "Specialties from the Grill" menu is for you.   Try "Lomo a la piedra," a tenderloin served on a hot stone, or the San Telmo T-bone steak. Beware, though, the T-bone is 700 grams of beef. Most other national cuts at San Telmo are about 220-280 grams, more than enough to satisfy most appetites.

As for the imported cuts, San Telmo offers grilled ribeye (ojo de bife), grilled sirloin (bife de chorizo), rump cap (picahna, a traditional Brazilian cut), and a grilled, Aberdeen Angus Rib (tira de asado). All are 300-400 grams.

You may be surprised to find that some of the most flavorful items at San Telmo can come from the appetizer menu, which is    equally as diverse as the steak menu. Consider a carpaccio, either tenderloin or salmon, or choose from three cebiches, prepared Peruvian style.
And Proaño is particularly fond of their hot starters from the cow, such as sweetbreads, which are eaten with lemon, and their "chinchulín," or chittlins. "This is a good seller," says Proaño. "We clean them well, boil them for three hours, then put them on the grill." For a true taste of Argentina, he recommends the "Provoleta a la brasa," or roasted provolone cheese. "If you are Argentinian or Uruguayan, this is something you do not miss," he insists.

Though San Telmo is a steak house it has plenty of other options, including soups, pastas, fish, and chicken.   For the person who cannot decide on just one thing, they offer assorted barbeques with nine different options, including tenderloin, pork chops, liver, kidneys, chitlins, sausage, veal, and black pudding. And each meal can be accompanied by a fine selection of wines.

After an appetizer and a steak, if you still have room, consider dessert.   The menu has international options, such as tiramisu, and local favorites like "helados de paila" (ice cream made in a tradition copper pot). For a unique dish, try the "Habano de chocolate," a cigar-shaped chocolate dessert filled with nutella mousse, accompanied by a small chocolate soufflé and "helado irlandese," a coffee and whisky ice cream.

The pleasure of eating at San Telmo, regardless of your dish, is the atmosphere. San Telmo is probably one of the largest restaurants in Quito a re-modeled house with three floors and two bars. The distribution of each floor, though, makes it feel intimate. They have outdoor seating, but during the day the restaurant is flooded with natural light.

In the evening, fireplaces and warm lighting make for a cozy environmet. And the wood tables and contemporary artwork are a reflection of Proaño's taste, offering an ambiance that is as elegant as it is rustic.

San Telmo is located at Portugal 440 and Francisco Casanova, half a block down from Eloy Alfaro.   House cuts of beef range from $18-28 and imported cuts are $19-37. They are open seven days a week from 12pm to 11pm. For reservations call 333-1943/4 or visit http://www.santelmorestaurant.com/

Report: TSA Interrogates Travelers Carrying Gold and Silver

2011-10-25T09:17:00.000-07:00

Mac Slavo
October 24th, 2011
SHTFplan.com

Just when you thought your silver and gold coins were portable and outside of the realm of government intervention and scrutiny, we learn that the Transportation Security Administration may very well be starting to scrutinize possession of such coins if you travel through checkpoints, be they at airports or other public venues:

Via Infowars:
A traveler flying into Las Vegas was questioned by the TSA about his small collection of silver coins, another example of how the federal agency is acting more like a secret police unit than an airport security outfit, routinely interrogating Americans about their financial affairs.
Alex Jones talked to Jeff, a software engineer, after he passed through security, who told him that TSA agents had questioned him about why he was carrying silver coins and demanded to know their value. The screeners also asked if Jeff was collecting them for a hobby or an investment.
Jeff explained that he was simply planning to cash in the coins and use that money on his vacation instead of dipping into his bank account. The total value of the coins was no more than $600 doll

Though reports of these or similar incidences are rarely, if ever, carried by mainstream news, they happen more often than you might think.
You may be under the impression that gold or silver coins could be mixed in with regular coinage and transported without knowledge by screeners, but a post on the TSA Blog regarding an incident in St. Louis in March of 2009 indicates that TSA agents are on the look-out for travelers who possess precious metals, especially if “suspicious activity is suspected.”

On March 29th, a metal box containing a large amount of coins and cash was flagged for additional screening. Any large amount of metallic objects in one place (loose change or rolls of coins) appear as opaque images and are difficult and sometimes impossible to clear without being searched. I blogged about this type of search last October. If we can’t see through something on the x-ray, we have to take a closer look by opening the box/bag. Due to the contents, the passenger was taken to a private screening area which is customary when screening money or high dollar value items such as jewelry.
While it’s legal to travel with any amount of money you wish to carry when flying domestically, movements of large amounts of cash through the checkpoint may be investigated by law enforcement authorities if suspicious activity is suspected. As a general rule, passengers are required to cooperate with the screening process. Cooperation may involve answering questions about their property. A passenger who refuses to answer questions may be referred to appropriate authorities for further inquiry.
Source: TSA Blog [TSA.gov]

This is nothing short of a policy of guilty until proven innocent. If you happen to be of a world and paradigm view that differs from the status quo, you are engaged in suspicious activity. And if you attempt to opt out by refusing to submit to additional screenings or questioning than you get to join the millions of other people who are ‘on the list’ and will be from that point forth considered a domestic extremist. It’s as simple as that.

Cash Transactions Banned by Louisiana

2011-10-20T11:42:00.000-07:00

We are posting this NOT just because we are from Louisiana.....

This article has been generously contributed by Thad D. Ackel, Jr. Esq., an advocate for private property rights and economic and civil liberty. Visit his web site at Ackel & Associates.
Editor’s Note: Last month we advised our readers of a troubling trend in Europe which now seems to be rearing its ugly head here in the U.S. When France banned cash transactions over $600 for the sales or exchange of metals like copper, gold and silver it was reportedly an effort by legislators to stop metal thieves from illegally unloading their stolen goods. The same criminal enterprises used in France to justify their legislation is now being used to pass similar, perhaps even more extreme, legislation right here in the United States. In addition to banning certain kinds of cash transactions completely, Louisiana now forces all “second-hand” dealers of goods (like gold, silver, or ANY second hand property) to keep detailed records of their customers, regardless of what they are selling. As you’ll see, and as is the case with most legislation emanating in recent years from States and the Federal government, the definitions have been purposely left ambiguous so that they can be applied at will by the State in any way police and prosecutors choose. We full expect similar laws to be enacted across the country in due time. Our ability to engage in lawful, private transactions with U.S. legal tender is being systematically stripped away.

Cash Transactions Banned by Louisiana: Government Takes Private Property Without Due Processby Thad D. Ackel, Jr.
This summer, the State Legislature and Governor of Louisiana passed a law that bans individuals and businesses from transacting in cash if they are considered a “secondhand dealer”. House Bill 195 of the 2011 Regular Session (Act 389) broadly defines a secondhand dealer to include “… Anyone, other than a non-profit entity, who buys, sells, trades in or otherwise acquires or disposes of junk or used or secondhand property more frequently than once per month from any other person, other than a non-profit entity, shall be deemed as being in the business of a secondhand dealer. ” The law then states that “A secondhand dealer shall not enter into any cash transactions in payment for the purchase of junk or used or secondhand property. Payment shall be made in the form of check, electronic transfers, or money order issued to the seller of the junk or used or secondhand property…” The broad scope of this definition can essentially encompass everyone; from your local flea market vendors and buyers to a housewife purchasing goods on ebay or craigslist, to a group of guys trading baseball cards, they could all be considered secondhand dealers. Lawmakers in Louisiana have effectively banned its citizens from freely using United States legal tender.
The law goes further to require secondhand dealers to turn over a valuable business asset, namely, their business’ proprietary client information. For every transaction a secondhand dealer must obtain the seller’s personal information such as their name, address, driver’s license number and the license plate number of the vehicle in which the goods were delivered. They must also make a detailed description of the item(s) purchased and submit this with the personal identification information of every transaction to the local policing authorities through electronic daily reports. If a seller cannot or refuses to produce to the secondhand dealer any of the required forms of identification, the secondhand dealer is prohibited from completing the transaction.
This legislation amounts to a public taking of private property without due process or compensation. Regardless of whether or not the transaction information is connected with, or law enforcement is investigating a crime, individuals and businesses are forced to report routine business activity to the police. Can law enforcement not accomplish its goal of identifying potential thieves and locating stolen items in a far less intrusive manner? And of course, there are already laws that prohibit stealing, buying or selling stolen goods, laws that require businesses to account for transactions and laws that penalize individuals and businesses that transact in stolen property. Why does the Louisiana State Legislature need to enact more laws infringing on personal privacy, liberties and freedom?
Motivating the introduction of this legislation was an increase in criminal activity, necessitating law enforcement to develop additional tools in tracking potential criminals. Thefts of copper and other precious metals have risen recently with higher commodity prices and mounting pressures from the economic downturn. The added restrictions under this recent legislation have come about under the pretense of cracking down on crime and helping the government take care of you, all at the cost of your individual privacy, economic, civil liberty and freedom.
Interestingly enough, although Pawnshops are still required to obtain clients personal information and transmit their client database information to law enforcement, they are exempt from the restriction of cash payments. A jeweler next door to a pawnshop cannot offer clients the same payment method offered by its competing pawnshop neighbor.
Act 389 passed by unanimous consent of the Louisiana House of Representatives and only mustered one nay vote (Senator Neil Riser) from the State Senate. The governor signed the legislation into law on July 1, 2011.
Thad D. Ackel, Jr. serves as lead counsel at Ackel & Associates L.L.C. and Broker of Tribute Real Estate.

Ecuador's president may have familiar rival

2011-10-20T11:16:00.000-07:00

Things will get interesting.....

QUITO (AFP) - Businessman Fabricio Correa said since no one else has stepped up to run against Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa, he will take on his brother, if the leader seeks reelection in 2013.
Fabricio Correa founded an opposition party in 2010 amid a scandal, and a big row with the president, over contracts his business had with the state.
When the media threw a spotlight on the deals, the socialist president, an economist by training, voided the deals saying he never knew they were businesses owned by his brother because they were signed by front men and firms.

"So today, I am taking up the challenge of doing what the Miami Herald forecast way back in December: in 2013, it will be Correa versus Correa, and it is going to be fun," the candidate told Teleamazonas television.
On September 9, the president said he would not seek reelection in 2013 -- if another party leader could demonstrate that they have what it takes to win.
Fabricio Correa, meanwhile, testified Tuesday to a prosecutor in the case looking into the contracts, which he insists were legal. The contracts, worth a total of $700 million may have given the state a $143 million loss, an investigative team already has found.
He says his brother targeted with a "smear campaign of lies" and that voters can decide at the polls who is the better man.

We cannot get enough of Bill Bonner.....REALITY.....Vive La Revolution!

2011-10-13T09:11:00.000-07:00

The Daily Reckoning Presents

The Occupy Wall Street movement is getting a fair amount of press. The movement, as you know, dear reader, is a loose assembly of the jobless, the homeless and the shiftless. Troublemakers, every one of them, with no coherent or sensible view of what is wrong or how to fix it. But what’s wrong with that?

The Occupy Wall Street protests started on Sept. 17 with a few dozen demonstrators who tried to pitch tents in front of the New York Stock Exchange. Since then, hundreds have set up camp in a park nearby and have become increasingly organized, lining up medical aid and legal help and printing their own newspaper, the Occupied Wall Street Journal.

About 100 demonstrators were arrested on Sept. 24 and some were pepper-sprayed. On Saturday police arrested 700 on charges of disorderly conduct and blocking a public street as they tried to march over the Brooklyn Bridge. Police said they took five more protesters into custody on Monday, though it was unclear whether they had been charged with any crime.

On Monday, the zombies stayed on the sidewalks as they wound through Manhattan’s financial district chanting, “How to fix the deficit: End the war, tax the rich!” They lurched along with their arms in front of them. Some yelled, “I smell money!”

The US is probably getting ready for a revolution. Back in the Cold War days, the CIA was asked to do a portrait of a country that might have a revolution. It decided that such a country would have three characteristics:

A big gap between rich and poor.

A middle class that was disappearing...or one that never existed in the first place.

A lot of people with a grudge.

The US fits each of these criteria. And then some others the spooks hadn’t thought about. The U6 broad measure of unemployment is going up...with 16.5% of the population without work. There are 6.2 million people who have been looking for a job for more than 6 months.

Americans are $7 trillion poorer, according to David Rosenberg, than they were 4 years ago — and property prices are still going down.

Yes, there’s also a Great Correction in progress. It, along with the policies of the US government, grind the faces of the poor.

Millions of marginally successful people think the system has failed them. Youth joblessness is at Great Depression levels. More than 45 million are on food stamps.

People come to think what they must think when they must think it. So, a person who feels he has failed must come to terms with it. He must find a reason that gets himself off the hook. It must be someone else’s fault.

It was not his fault he failed his chemistry exam. The ‘system’ should provide him with a good job anyway. It was not his fault his house got taken away; the system caused prices to fall...and his job got exported to Mumbai. It was not his fault he didn’t save any money; the banks took advantage of him mercilessly. He may even get a “deficiency notice” — telling him he has to pay the bank for its loss on his foreclosed house.

Add insult to injury, why don’t you!

The guy has a legitimate beef!

It wasn’t his fault that the Nixon administration cut the link to gold in 1971. It wasn’t his fault the Chinese produced things better and cheaper. It wasn’t his fault that the feds kept stimulating the economy...and encouraging him to go deeper and deeper into debt at artificially low interest rates. And it certainly wasn’t he who caused the housing bubble to blow up...or who caused it in the first place.

But one thing you can depend on. Not many people will do the hard work of connecting the kneebone of this disaster to the legbone that caused it. And he won’t want to make the sacrifices necessary to protect himself from it either. (Our advice: cut expenses to almost zero...save money...buy gold...become a bankruptcy lawyer.) Instead, he’ll join the revolution.

Of course, people do not join revolutions for good reasons. They join them for bad ones. They expect miracles. One wants free money. The other wants power. One wants to see his brother-in-law, who earns big money as a currency trader at JPMorgan, brought low. Another just wants to get high. One expects his mortgage to disappear. Another wants the whole neighborhood to disappear. One hopes to see his dead wife rise from the grave...the other hopes his live wife will fall into it.

One believes the bankers are rich and evil. Another believes the oil companies are rich and evil. A third thinks all rich people are evil. And a fourth believes that all people are evil, even those in the Occupy Wall Street movement.

Some want to save porpoises. Some want people to use only natural deodorant. And a third thinks the world uses too much oil...and that only people who drive Priuses should be allowed on the road on Sunday. He owns a Prius dealership.

It is fun to mock the protestors. That’s why we do it. They are such easy targets.

But here at The Daily Reckoning we always stand with the powerless, the aimless and the witless. We are champions of the underdog...the lost cause and the diehard. So, we lock arms with the protestors and pledge our solidarity.

Vive la revolution!

But the poor protestors are just victims of history. When the US embraced its empire it condemned its middle classes. Why? Because that’s how empires work. They bring in cheap goods — and sometimes money itself — from outside. Whether they are taken as booty or traded for the imperial currency, the effect is about the same; they undermine local industries and local wages.

Ancient Rome imported wheat from Egypt, by the boatload, and gave it to citizens (an early form of food stamps). Result: the price of wheat collapsed. Small farmers couldn’t compete with free wheat. They couldn’t earn a living.

The Romans also brought in slaves. Rich, politically-connected Romans took over the small farms, consolidated them into big plantations, and ran them with slave labor. Again, the local labor was out of luck.

Things got so bad for the small farmers that they sold their children into slavery...and then, themselves. Then, in alarm, an edict prohibited Roman farmers from selling themselves into slavery. They were required to remain on their farms...and at work.

Spain ran a very different, short-lived empire in the 16th century. It conquered New World civilizations and imported gold and silver on a colossal scale. It was as if they were printing money! This easy money made the Spaniards rich. They used it like America uses her dollars — to buy things from overseas. Pretty soon, the Spanish neglected their own manufactures and their own farming. Prices rose. Spain’s nascent middle class was smothered in the crib.

Are things so different now? The rich get rich. The middle classes get poorer; they have to compete with imperial plunder...riches coming from Asia, bought with dollars that were never earned...and never will be redeemed.

America’s middle classes were happy to sell their own children into perpetual debt servitude. The kids face obligations 5 to 15 times as great as annual output. Unless they revolt, they will have to work their entire lives to pay for their parents’ excesses.

But what will they do when future generations can take no more? They cannot sell themselves into slavery. They’ve already done so. Most face a lifetime of student debt, mortgage debt, and medical debt (aka Medicaid and Medicare), already.

What can they do? Join the revolution!

Regards,

Bill Bonner,
for The Daily Reckoning

Oceanfront Condo in Ecuador: $47,500‏

2011-10-10T10:52:00.000-07:00

Oceanfront Condo in Ecuador: $47,500
By Suzan Haskins, International Living

If you love seafood, warm ocean waters, and lazy days in the sun, you'll love Crucita, a small town that's growing in popularity with expat retirees.

In coastal Ecuador's Manabí province, Crucita is one of the best options for those who want to live in a typical beach town, yet be close to amenities like quality health care and modern shopping offered by a larger city.

Just a 30-minute drive from the major port city of Manta and 20 minutes from the provincial capital of Portoviejo, the little town of Crucita watches over a long eight-mile stretch of flat beach, bracketed on either side by tall rocky promontories. From the southernmost of these hills—closest to the town itself—paragliders launch themselves over the ocean. The thermal breezes allow them to float effortlessly to the beach below.

Crucita is the top spot in Ecuador for paragliding and hang gliding, in fact, and international competitions are held here every year. During these times and during Carnaval, just before Easter, the beaches are full of sun lovers who come to enjoy the sand, surf and warm, blue-green ocean waters.

Usually, though, Crucita is just a sleepy little beach town—a place to while away the hours at a small bar or seafood restaurant on the malecon…watching the waves with a cold cerveza and a plate of steaming seafood.

Crucita is known for its fresh ceviche and tasty encebollada—a rich stew of fish, onions and yucca that's said to be an excellent hangover cure. All this can be had for just a couple of bucks, beer included. (Perhaps it's an excellent hangover starter as well?)

The low cost of living in Crucita—and all of Ecuador, if truth be told—is one of the attractions here. Real estate prices, too, are phenomenally low—especially when you consider Crucita's proximity to two domestic airports and modern services provided in Manta and Portoviejo.

Friends of ours just moved into a new, two-bedroom, two-bathroom condo in a high-rise overlooking the beach. They're on the fourth of eight floors and from their balcony they have expansive views both north and south along the beach and the swimming pool and BBQ area below. For all this, they paid just $61,800.

I took this photo of Crucita from the paragliding launch area. The oceanfront condo our friends bought for less than $62,000 is situated to the lower left of the photo

A bit farther up the beach, an older one-bedroom apartment—also oceanfront and with a swimming pool—is selling for $47,500. Nearby, in another three-story beachfront building, the 1,670-square-foot top floor-unit—with two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a rooftop terrace—is selling for $79,000. Monthly homeowner's fees for these range from $30 - $50/month.

Our friends say there is not a lot to do in Crucita and that's exactly why they like it.

"We walk on the beach in the mornings, maybe stop for lunch or buy some fresh fish from a local fisherman for $2 a pound. In the late afternoon we sit on the balcony, cold beer in hand, and watch the sunset. Later, the sound of the waves lulls us to sleep. And the next day we get up and do it all over again…"

The US Empire: A Tragic Comedy in Three Acts

2011-10-07T07:36:00.000-07:00

What a delight it is to have an empire!

Do the Swiss get to send out drones to kill people they don’t know in countries they’ve never been? No! The poor yodelers go around with long faces and visit their shrinks. Americans have troops in 170 countries. Where are the Swiss? Only in Switzerland and the Vatican. Alas, they will never know the joys of nation building and people murdering.

We hear that Ron Paul was booed in the Republican presidential debates. Why? He suggested that we get out of the empire business, bring the troops home and become a civilized nation again. What a party pooper...a wet blanket...a killjoy!

An empire is so much more entertaining. We already have three wars going on...at last count...and quasi-wars in several other places.

Having an empire is like having a football team that plays for mortal stakes. It’s fun to watch...at least when your team is winning. And now, Team USA is kicking butts all over the planet. That’s why at football games, for example, (or so we’ve heard) images of the football team are sometimes mixed with images of US combat troops. The flag flies. The lumpen salute. They don’t want to think about it; they just want the homeland team to win!

And we have so much to look forward to. At least, we moral historians and ironic economists do. Gone is habeus corpus...forgotten is the presumption of innocence...into the wastebasket has been thrown the spirit of liberty. All that guff is in the past. In their place are hit squads and precision guided assassins. Now, the killer drones are only used abroad. But as the empire matures it is only a matter of time before they are used on more dangerous enemies — those at home! Yes, dear reader, if you can kill US citizens overseas, without any charges filed, let alone proved, you can certainly kill them where they might do the most damage — in the homeland. It is just a matter of time before the drones fly in Los Angeles and Baltimore, so watch out, Ron Paul.

You want to know what lies ahead? Just read the classics...particularly the history of Rome. Empires have roles to play too. They have scripts to follow. They have plots they must respect...and destinies they must fulfill.

For example, in the US, it is probably only a matter of time before a weak president is replaced by a strong emperor. A senate may be able to rule a constitutional democracy, but a real empire needs a real emperor, someone who can make decisions without getting caught in the gridlock of Congress. Besides, the public will love it. Yes, a popular general is sure to cross the Potomac sooner or later...from the Pentagon to the White house. The crowds will cheer. Garlands will be hung. Flowers will be strewn in his path. Finally, someone will bring order to the US...slay its enemies and reward its friends with war booty (military contracts).

And then, of course, there will be civil war. Once a government can be taken by force, rather than the fraud that is customary in democracy, force will be used to compete for it. Perhaps the Democrats will have their military men...the Republicans will have their own forces. They will fight it out for control of the empire.

And then, to stop the killing and the destruction, the army will get together and decide to put its own man in the top position. Inevitably, this will lead to more struggles for power...

..and much comedy. The military forces will choose even bigger morons than the voters. They will come and go quickly...with two, three...maybe a dozen new leaders in a single year. Some will be dangerously incompetent. Others will be dangerously able. Some will be lunatics.

How long will it be before an American Caligula appears? Will he force the senators’ wives to become prostitutes? Will he proclaim himself a god? Will he be murdered by his own guards and companions? We hope so.

Of course, it won’t the America we knew. Or even the one we want. But it should be a treasure trove for future historians and stand-up comedians.

Below, a former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, from the Reagan administration, pinpoints the moment when America, as we knew it, died...

Regards,
Bill Bonner
for The Daily Reckoning