• The USA closes – only 2/100ths of a point behind Russia.
• Americans have the same online freedom as Putin’s subjects.*

Our friends at Cryptohippie, an online privacy protection service, have just released the 2010 edition of their excellent Electronic Police State Report. Following is their summary of the report, which you can download free along with the data used.

When we produced our first Electronic Police State report, the top ten nations were of two types:

1.      Those that had the will to spy on every citizen, but lacked the ability.

2.      Those who had the ability, but were restrained in will.

This is changing: The able have become willing and their traditional restraints have failed.

The United States, with the UK and France close behind, have now caught up with Russia and are gaining on China, North Korea and Belarus.

The key developments driving this are the following:

• The USA has negated their Constitution’s fourth amendment in the name of protection and in the name of “wars” against terror, drugs and cyber attacks.
• The UK is aggressively building the world of /1984 /in the name of stopping “anti-social” activities. Their populace seems unable or unwilling to restrain the government.
• France and the EU have given themselves over to central bureaucratic control.

METHODOLOGY

We moved to a more elaborate ranking system this year. The categories remained the same, but we have now weighted each one according to its importance. (The weighting factors are shown in parenthesis for each category itemized below.) Within each category we used a comparative method of assigning value.

We have not taken into account how many people, or what percentage of people, are affected by each characteristic. So, even though very few people in North Korea have Internet access, those who do are subjected
to very serious surveillance. The low number of users has no effect on the national ranking.

In addition, it is significant to note that we are /not/ measuring government censorship of Internet traffic or police abuses, as legitimate as these issues may be. Nor are we including government corruption.

Note also that none of our categories apply to evidence-gathering by traditional, honest police work. (Searches only with warrants issued by an independent judge, after sufficient examination of evidence.)

THIS YEAR’S RESULTS

We ranked 51 major states.

Here are the 51 states and their rankings, with last year’s ranking shown in parenthesis.

1. North Korea (2)

2. China (1)

3. Belarus (3)

4. Russia (4)

5. United States of America (6)

6. United Kingdom (5)

7. France (9)

8.  Israel  (8)

9.  Singapore (7)

10.  Germany (10)

11.  Ireland (12)

12.  Malaysia (11)

13.  Netherlands (14)

14.  Italy  (24)

15.  South Korea (15)

16.  Australia (18)

17.  Belgium (17)

18.  Spain (43)

19.  Austria  (21)

20.  Ukraine (16)

21.  Greece (28)

22.  Switzerland (30)

23.  Japan (19)

24.  Norway (22)

25.  Canada (29)

26.  India (23)

27.  New Zealand (20)

28.  Portugal (44)

29.  Denmark (26)

30.  Hungary (27)

31.  Poland (32)

32.  Sweden (34)

33.  Bulgaria (49)

34.  Taiwan  (25)

35.  Czech Republic (40)

36.  Cyprus (37)

37.  Finland (33)

38.  Lithuania (36)

39.  Estonia (39)

40.  Luxembourg (45)

41.  Slovenia (31)

42.  Malta  (38)

43.  Iceland  (41)

44.  Latvia (35)

45.  South Africa (42)

46.  Argentina (46)

47.  Mexico (51)

48.  Thailand  (48)

49.  Romania (47)

50.  Brazil  (50)

51.  Philippines (52)

We will issue our next report toward the end of Q1, 2011. We welcome input and assistance from reliable sources.

We may be reached at: info@cryptohippie.com

Full PDF Version of this report

Report Data

Supplement: The Taking Of The Internet

Related link: Totally Secure Laptops

The following item was published in Saturday’s edition of Q Bytes. We consider The Brussels Agreement (also known as the EU SWIFT Agreement) to be an especially important topic so we are reposting to the blog. To ensure you receive useful information like this in future in a timely manner, simply sign up for your free subscription to Q Bytes. We hate spam as much as you do, and will respect your privacy. Of course, you can unsubscribe at any time.

THE BRUSSELS AGREEMENT MAKES ALL EU BANK ACCOUNTS AN OPEN BOOK TO THE US AUTHORITIES
by Peter Macfarlane, Offshore Banking and Asset Protection Consultant

With remarkably little fanfare, the first of this month saw the entry into force of an important agreement between the USA and the European Union known as the ‘Brussels Agreement.’ This I would regard as the final blow for already weak banking secrecy in European Union countries.

Quite a few astute readers have however noticed this press coverage and e-mailed me questions about it. To answer these questions, I will first reveal below more about the agreement, and then look at its impact on banking privacy. On a positive note, banking secrecy remains alive and well outside the European Union.

The ‘Brussels Agreement’ gives the CIA direct, on-demand access to all bank accounts held in the European Union – period. It also goes under the name ‘SWIFT Agreement’ in European Union papers.

This treaty is an extension and formalization of an existing CIA effort set up shortly after the terrorist attacks in New York in 2001. That program granted the CIA access to data held by SWIFT, the Brussels-based co-operative that processes nearly all international bank transfers. The operation was run covertly until the press found out about it in 2006.

The scope of the Brussels Agreement is, quite frankly, utterly amazing to anyone who cares in the slightest about civil liberties or due process. Far more wide reaching than any Tax Information Exchange Agreements (TIEAs) or Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties (MLATs), and of much greater significance than the recent US attacks on Swiss banking secrecy, the Brussels Agreement simply requires that all 27 EU member states grant requests “as a matter of urgency” for banking information made by the United States under its terrorist finance tracking programme. The records will be kept in a database run by the CIA in Langley, Virginia, for five years before being deleted.

Needless to say, the Brussels Agreement grants US authorities much more scope to consult our bank accounts than that granted to domestic law enforcement agencies in Europe. In the UK and most of Europe a judge must authorise a specific search after receiving a sworn statement from a police officer. In the case of requests from the USA, this due process is completely bypassed.

The USA can also, under the agreement, request so-called “general data sets” perhaps better known as fishing trips, based on broad categories such as “relevant message types, geography and perceived terrorism threats”.

One of the reasons for rushing through this new agreement is that SWIFT at the end of 2009 moved part of its systems architecture to Switzerland, away from its existing computing bases in Brussels and the USA. This would have placed a lot of data outside EU and US jurisdiction, a change apparently demanded of SWIFT by Swiss banks and others concerned about the privacy of their clients’ information. A number of banks had threatened to stop using the SWIFT system altogether if additional privacy protections were not put in place.

We can see that this agreement was rushed through in Europe while attempting to avoid both legal and public scrutiny, because negotiation of the agreement on the EU side was mandated back in July 2009, based on legal provisions in the old Maastricht Treaty that expired at the beginning of December 2009. The agreement was reached just before the deadline, at the end of November. It is limited to nine months duration, but EU documents make clear that this is simply a ‘breathing space’ to keep the program alive while a more permanent bank account information sharing agreement is agreed under the legal auspices of the new Lisbon treaty.

Certain elected representatives in Europe are none too happy about the way the agreement was bulldozed through by Brussels bureaucrats, directly attempting to circumvent normal mandates and procedures. A Bloomberg article just published on BusinessWeek entitled U.S., EU Terror-Finance Data Deal Should Be Vetoed, Panel Says has more information.

Of course, certain safeguards are put in place – the most important of which is that the information is for counter-terrorism use only. If the CIA wishes to reveal information to other US agencies such as the Treasury Department, IRS etc, a European judge must rubber stamp this first. Frankly, however, if it were my information being passed around – which it isn’t because I don’t bank in the EU – this safeguard would give me little confidence. Who is realistically going to trust the CIA?

The actual agreement, a classified document obtained from the EU, is here

An ‘Information Note’ on the subject released by the European Union, is here

IMPACT OF THE BRUSSELS AGREEMENT ON OFFSHORE BANKING AND ASSET PROTECTION

From a banking secrecy point of view, perhaps the most concerning thing is that this agreement has a higher legal force even than national constitutions such as Austria, which protect confidentiality. The CIA can look straight into bank accounts in some of the best offshore banking countries like Austria, Luxembourg, Latvia and Estonia, as well as other EU member states where banking confidentiality has traditionally been less of an issue.

The enormous scope of this agreement also makes minor tax information exchange agreements and the like look insignificant. We would not only not trust the CIA to refrain from sharing this information with other US government agencies. They are likely also to share it informally with their colleagues overseas. The precedent for this would be the UKUSA agreement, for example, where the UK routinely spied upon US citizens at the request of the US, because the CIA was technically prohibited from spying on Americans.

However, let’s not panic either. In fact, this process has been in place since 2001, so it’s nothing new. It’s only new that we are learning about it and it’s being subjected to the democratic process.

The other thing to note is that the EU is the only area where the USA has been able to obtain such ridiculously wide-ranging access. Traditional offshore best banking countries like Switzerland, Singapore and Panama are not covered by this agreement, though you should be aware of transactions that might pass through USA or EU correspondent banks. Switzerland in particular has an excellent clearing system of its own which bypasses SWIFT on Swiss Franc transfers.

The usual message, worth repeating in this case, is that by following the offshore banking advice in Q Wealth you can sleep soundly at night. To recap in a nutshell:

• You should make sure all your structures are legally compliant. Just because I say that banking privacy is NOT dead, and I believe privacy in financial affairs is a basic human right, doesn’t mean you should use banking privacy to hide money. You either get this distinction – or you don’t. Secret bank accounts as a tax evasion tool will not work long term. If you conduct your offshore business in a proper manner following guidelines in my articles, your account will not appear on the radar and your assets will be protected.

• Compliance with your home country’s rules is still easy and possible. Plan your second passport (citizenship) and residence with a professional… considering basing yourself, not just your business, offshore. For Americans this is unfortunately more difficult, since the USA is the only country in the world that taxes its citizens on worldwide income. Americans should therefore consider acquiring a second passport and renouncing their first.

It is perfectly possible and legitimate to protect your assets against the inevitable coming devaluation of fiat currencies, by using offshore multi-currency bank accounts. We have talked recently for example about Norwegian Kroner and Swiss Francs being good investment-grade currencies. Both of these currencies are strong, and they clear outside the EU so they are not affected by the Brussels Agreement.

If you would like to learn more about this, and are not yet a member of Q Wealth, subscribe today to gain access to the wealth of resources in our Members Area.

Better still, come to Cancun next month. We still have a few slots available on our ‘Strategies for Success’ event in Cancun and a few spaces available for one-on-one personal consultations. If you have bank accounts in European Union countries like Austria or Luxembourg and would like them to remain private, this should be a wake-up call. If you haven’t yet moved assets offshore but are considering doing so, also contact Frederick in the Q Wealth Office to set up a personal meeting with Peter Macfarlane in Cancun next month.

The ‘underwear bomber’ incident on Christmas Day on the NWA flight landing in Detroit should serve as a wake-up call for us all.  All the security measures put in place by governments supposedly to protect us against terrorists are not working. The government’s knee-jerk response is to increase security checks. Both these facts are of serious concern to our security, privacy and freedom. Allow us to explain…

Here at Q Wealth our intention is to bring you the common sense analysis behind the headlines. We base this analysis on our extensive experience and our good friends in both the ‘civil liberties’ and ‘intelligence’ communities. Bearing in mind that few facts of the case are known as yet and we are relying on TV reports for our information, here is our initial analysis – first of the actual event, then of the consequences. Warning: It is scary stuff.

First the good news: no-one was badly hurt. The underwear bomber burned his butt. Initial reports suggest he did not have a bomb, but rather some powder sewn into his underwear that he tried to inject with a liquid to cause a fire. Fortunately aircraft interiors are designed to be flame resistant, cabin crew are suitably trained and equipped with fire extinguishers, and one brave passenger physically restrained the terrorist. These three basic, sensible precautions saved the passengers and crew on that flight and the people on the ground below.

Whatever one may think of multi-billion dollar global spying operations and intrusive airport security measures, if they worked it would at least be a strong argument in favor of them. But this incident shows they do not work. The suspect’s father, a prominent banker, had taken the extraordinary step of reporting his suspicions about his son to the US embassy. The UK had refused to renew the suspect’s student visa because of his apparent terrorist connections. Yet here he was in possession of a valid US visa, travelling in his own name, allowed on board a flight to the US.

Airport security in Amsterdam, where the suspect boarded, is as ‘good’ as anywhere else. This writer passed through one of the new full body scanners there nearly a year ago. These are the super-duper new machines that are due to be rolled out over the USA next year. On my particular flight, the business class passengers were being checked by the new machine, while economy class passengers were being checked using the older method.

Nobody informed us what the machine was so I guess the majority of business class passengers had no idea they were having these photos taken. But a properly trained terrorist, especially one with a mechanic engineering degree like this one, who had something sewn into his underwear would surely have recognized the machine and snuck into the other line.

We are civil libertarians but we certainly recognize the need for airport security. The normal airport security that was in place in Europe (but not the US) in 2001 did not particularly bother passengers. It involved a quick scan of the hand-luggage and passing through a metal detector, as well as routine scanning of all checked baggage – measures which would very likely have prevented the 9/11 hijackers. I can also see the logic behind separating laptops at the scanner.

But none of the rules introduced since (restrictions on liquid, taking shoes off etc) make any sense. Does anyone think for a moment that a terrorist is incapable of forging a prescription from a Nigerian doctor that would allow him to take a syringe and more liquid that normal on board a plane? Depriving us of blankets and pillows or restricting hand luggage is just about inconveniencing passengers for absolutely zero security benefit.

Frankly, there is nothing more we can do in terms of physical airport security. It is impossible to introduce a fool-proof system. If a person is smart and determined enough they will be able to carry dangerous items past poorly-paid security guards – people who are taught to function like robots by reacting to whatever the latest threat is and, especially in the USA, to using scare tactics to bully passengers. And while the west wages war in other parts of the world, there will always be those smart and determined people.

Then another personal gripe of mine. More pressure on the use of cash payments for airline tickets. Last night US media were making a big deal of the fact that this guy paid cash for his ticket in Nigeria. All the ‘experts’ claim this is a warning sign of potential terrorist activity. I hope the people who are really in charge, rather than the so-called experts on TV, aren’t so stupid. I took the liberty of checking out the State Department’s website and here is what they say about use of credit cards in Nigeria:

The Nigerian currency, the naira, is non-convertible.  U.S. dollars are widely accepted.  Nigeria is a cash economy, and it is usually necessary to carry sufficient currency to cover the expenses of a planned visit, which makes travelers an attractive target for criminals.  Credit cards are rarely accepted beyond a few upscale hotels.  Due to credit card fraud in Nigeria and by cohorts in the United States, credit card use should be considered carefully.  While Citibank cashes some traveler’s checks, most other banks do not.  American Express does not have offices in Nigeria; however, Thomas Cook does.  Inter-bank transfers are often difficult to accomplish, though money transfer services such as Western Union are available.

So any airline flying from Nigeria had better accept cash payments……

But this is not an article about airport security. Travelling is a hassle these days but lack of pillows is a minor annoyance in the greater scheme of things.

Think for a moment about what would have happened if this attack had succeeded. The indirect consequences could be much worse than the direct ones. Think back to September 11th, 2001. Only this time imagine it worse. A lockdown of the USA. Borders could be sealed. Banks could be closed (Google the ‘bank holiday’ conspiracy theories…) and ATMs switched off. Assets could be appropriated by the government, as is common in times of war. Telecommunications and the internet could stop working. Martial law could be imposed. Events could easily get out of hand – causing blood in the streets, figuratively if not literally.

Similar things could easily happen elsewhere too. In the UK, for example, it is well known that the military have an emergency plan to seal off the whole of Greater London.

As smart individuals we need to make sure we are properly prepared for such catastrophes. Unfortunately, I think the probability of a successful major terrorist attack within the next few years is high, and it is more than likely to target the financial system. This would in many ways be awfully convenient for the powers that be, too – since then they would have somebody else to blame for a total collapse of the financial system that is happening already (see the related post links below to read about the decline in the value of the US dollar or ‘dollar devaluation‘)

I certainly hope I am wrong, and I am by no means saying that all the above things are going to happen. But I consider it would be smart to be prepared. It’s clearly better to have contingency plans in place and never have to use them, than the other way around.

So let’s treat this incident as a wake up call. We all get lazy. We all get stuck in our routines as soon as we feel a little bit comfortable and secure. But it should be a serious New Year’s resolution to put into place strong strategies to protect not just your assets but yourself. Don’t put it off. Do it now before it’s too late!

What do I mean? Different people have different necessities. But here are some of the basics:

• Physical gold and silver: The majority should be stored outside your home country, but you need some at home. Silver coins are better to barter for things like food. Both silver and gold are great investments. But if trading on the markets is suspended then all your ETFs, mining stocks, Perth Mint Certificates and the like will be worthless, at least in the short term. You need a proportion of your portfolio in physical metals. More on Buying Physical Gold Bullion Offshore here.

• Second residencies and passports: Again, it’s all about diversifying risk. Identifying yourself and your family as citizens of a neutral country may just come in very handy one day. Mobility is essential for your security. In the meantime, having legal residence (the papers) and/or a bolt hole (physical property) in a secure jurisdiction like a tax haven, well away from potential problems, is also reassuring. Rather than being forced to flee to an unknown place, you can just step comfortably in to a new life you have waiting for you. And the legal residence can lead to a second passport by naturalization after a few short years. More on Second Passports and Residencies here.

• Offshore Banking: Something as simple as opening a multi currency bank account outside your home jurisdiction can reduce and spread risk. Hold funds in various currencies and financial instruments. Any prudent investor should have international and foreign currency holdings and a multi currency account is a good starting point. For greater security and personal privacy consider the use of a Panama Foundation or Corporation. More on Offshore Banking matters here.

• Alternative Incomes: What would you do if you had to abandon your business tomorrow and leave the country? You should have not just assets in place overseas, but also a secure income stream from some sort of business you can run internationally. More on Offshore Wealth Creation here.

• Understand and Use Privacy Technology: Secure your internet communications. And, though this is certainly more difficult, think about what you would do if you didn’t have access to the internet. I don’t believe the whole internet will collapse, but parts of it certainly could. More on Privacy Technology in our new Secure Computing report, available in the members area.

There are lots more contingency plans you might need to put in place, depending on your family, your business, and your personal situation. For this reason we offer a free e-mail consultation to all paid-up Q Wealth members (obviously in our own time, it can take a few weeks for your reply) and we encourage you to attend our events where such contingency plans are discussed.

The first and most important step, if you like this article and haven’t already done so, is to sign up for our free Q Bytes newsletter to benefit from free weekly tips on major themes like offshore banking, asset protection, personal security, precious metals, and offshore wealth creation.

At this time of year when we have a chance to take a few days off and spend time with family and friends, we would like to wish you and yours a very special and magical Christmas. Whether you are deep in snow or on the beach, may you enjoy the beauty of this time. Thank you for supporting Q Wealth during the past year. And we hope that 2010 will be your most prosperous New Year yet, when all your dreams will come to fruition!

In January we will be launching the updated 2010 edition of the Practical Offshore Banking Guide, our new Computer Security Report, and the next issue of the flagship Q Wealth Report. We have lots of other goodies in store for you too! These will all be available free in the Members’ Section.

If you are not yet a paid-up member but have been thinking about it, now is the time to sign up because we are offering you a special Christmas gift! Sign up before the end of the year (before 31st December) and receive $20 off your first year’s membership… bringing the price down to just $67. I know you have lots of expenses at this time of year, but what price do you put on your freedom, wealth and privacy in 2010? Simply enter the promo code XMAS09 on the signup form, and the discount will be applied automatically. You will be granted instant access to the Members Area. The signup form is here.

If you are already a member, thank you very much for your business and the confidence you have shown in us. If we haven’t already talked whether by e-mail or in person, I do hope we will have the chance to do so soon, possibly at our Cancun ‘Strategies for Success’ event in March that is selling out fast.

Kind regards
Peter Macfarlane
Joint Editor

and all the Q Wealth Team!

One of my consulting clients recently drew my attention to a very important article – something that is highly relevant to any of us who own portable assets and valuables of any type. In today’s Britain, search warrants are granted in massive sweeps and the innocent have to prove they are innocent or else they have their valuables confiscated. If you are looking for international asset protection or offshore gold bullion investments, it’s something important to bear in mind.

The natural question to ask is, where could this happen next? And, perhaps more importantly, in which countries would this NOT happen? I’ll address those questions below.

“More than 500 officers smashed their way into thousands of safety-deposit boxes to retrieve guns, drugs and millions of pounds of criminal assets. At least, that’s what was supposed to happen.” So begins a recent investigative article in Britain’s Daily Mail.

The Metropolitan Police’s most ambitious operation in its 180-year history, it had nothing to do with national security. In all, more than 500 police officers had been summoned to raid smart addresses in well-heeled parts of London on one massive ‘fishing trip’ – a huge raid on safety deposit vaults of the Safe Deposit Centres Ltd company across the British capital.

The Mail’s investigation, however, paints a very different story: a botched operation that will end up costing the British taxpayer millions in compensation. Undoubtedly, it’s a symptom of big government out of control. And a warning sign to anybody who keeps an onshore safe deposit box. This was an unprecedented court order that allowed police access to not far off 7000 safe deposit boxes – and their justification boiled down to claiming that the mere fact of having a safe deposit box was suspicious enough to justify the raid.

“Just goes to show who the real dishonest people are, when the police have to resort to the sort of thing that we the public would be arrested for and possibly prosecuted. Anorther indication where the system can lie and cheat and get away with it, and they won’t even have to pay the cost. WE WILL” commented one reader on the article.

Another points out what a terrible state the UK is in today. Even local municupal bureaucrats have the power to seize and freeze assets. The average Britain is recorded on CCTV over 50 times per day. Hundreds of thousands of innocent people have their DNA recorded on a database, with no recourse. Dozens of government departments have the right to authorize wire taps.

If you want to get some insights into how the British Police work, read the article by following the link.

Many of our readers have safe deposit boxes, for storing important documents like bearer shares or valuables like gold bullion. We’ve pointed out numerous times over the years the importance of buying real gold bullion rather than ‘digital gold’ like gold ETFs or certificates. Physical gold also has the advantage of not triggering reporting requirements, because gold bars are not a bank or financial account.

HOW TO PROTECT OURSELVES FROM GOVERNMENTS OUT OF CONTROL

But we are not here to scare you. At Q Wealth we believe in presenting practical solutions for your freedom, wealth and privacy. What lessons can we learn from this fiasco?

In my view, the UK and the USA are probably the countries with the most out-of-control governments in the whole world. The expectation of privacy, and being considered innocent until proven guilty, seem to be things of the past in those countries. Others, in particular Australia, are playing catch up very fast. These are the kinds of places where raids like this could be expected again in the future.

On the other hand, clients have frequently asked us for good gold storage options, and in my view Austria stands ahead of the pack. Never say never, but I just can’t see an Austrian judge authorizing this kind of fishing trip. Austria is the only major country where you can still rent safe deposit boxes completely anonymously. (Various options are explored in more detail in our free reports Practical Offshore Banking Guide and The Gold Report – both of which are available in the Members’ Area)

For those needing a storage option in the Americas, Panama might not be a bad place, according to our friend Ammi at Do Business in Panama.

Finally, at a more general level, the lesson from this story is surely not to sit down and cry about what is right and wrong, but to take a pragmatic approach and act decisively but discreetly to protect your assets, and your family, from governments that are out of control. That is what we are all about, and you are in the right place. Feel free to sign up for our Free Q Bytes Membership to learn more about our philosophies and practical asset protection advice.

You might have noticed recent news reports about how a US court forced Google first to block an innocent user’s private e-mail account, then reveal that person’s identity – all because a careless bank employee accidentally e-mailed sensitive data to that Gmail account.

This case certainly demonstrates why anyone who values their privacy would be better off keeping their e-mail on offshore e-mail servers. Here at The Q Wealth Report, for a limited time we are offering a free offshore e-mail account on an encrypted server to all our subscribers. Details of how to claim yours are below.

Let’s look a little more about how overseas or offshore e-mail can protect your online privacy. Maybe you are concerned about the privacy of your financial communications with your offshore bank. More likely, you simply value your freedom too much and don’t want Big Brother looking over your shoulder.

I don’t have much confidence in the US court system, but even I was amazed to read about this severe intrusion on a user’s privacy. Imagine the inconvenience of having your e-mail account blocked because just somebody sent you an e-mail my mistake – something you most likely deleted believing it to be spam. Well that’s exactly what happened.

News reports indicate that the court issued an order, insisting that Google block the e-mail account in question, then reveal whether the account was still active and whether the data in question had been viewed. And if the account was active, the order continued, Google was required to hand over the account holder’s identity and contact information.

Google, to their credit, did fight the case – but  lost. The plaintiffs, Rocky Mountain Bank (who were responsible for the error in the first place) even had the nerve to try to hush everything up: they filed a motion to seal the entire case on the grounds that if the information became public, “it would create panic and result in a surge of inquiries from customers.” Fortunately the court rejected this motion.

“The case underlines what should be obvious to Google watchers,” comments Cade Metz, writing in The Register. “Though the company vows to protect your personal data, it can be compelled by court order or subpoena or natural security letter to divulge such info. And then there’s the judge’s ill-advised decision to order the deactivation of a bystander’s email account.”

And therein lies the problem, to which offshore e-mail is the solution. For a limited time, we are offering a simple but effective free e-mail account to all subscribers. This e-mail account will be hosted on a fully encrypted offshore server, safely outside your home country’s jurisdiction (though no-one would routinely notice that, as it’s hosted on a .com domain). You can connect to it via an SSL encrypted connection. The account is yours absolutely free and without obligation while you remain a subscriber. If you are not yet a subscriber, simply sign up now.

Please email our contact office in London to get your free secure e-mail account set up. In your e-mail be sure to state your preferred user name (this will become your secure e-mail address) and an initial password. As soon as the account is set up, you will be able to log in to the control panel and change your password.

It’s worth pointing out the difference between this account and your regular free e-mail account. The main difference is that this account is accessible not only via SSL encrypted webmail, but also by secure IMAP and POP. You can also send messages from your favorite e-mail software without revealing the IP address you are connected from.

Shortly, our colleagues will be offering a suite of premium communication services, such as encrypted Voice over IP (VOIP) or the possibility to host your own domain on our offshore secure servers.You will also have a chance to go ” Beyond Encryption” with a secure USB advice that routes your communications entirely via a private, encrypted offshore server. For more on this, watch this space.

If you would like to read more about IT privacy and security, we also recommend our Secure Communications page.

by Peter Macfarlane, non-resident banking and asset protection expert and joint editor of The Q Wealth Report

“We’re disillusioned.” “Fed up with the way things are.” “Obama stands for oppression.”

Those are just a few of the many comments people send me every single day. People are out there desperately searching for the kind of material we publish about Freedom, Wealth and Privacy. Ever since we started offering our free five part Secrets of the Super Rich course by e-mail, we have also sent out an additional e-mail soliciting feedback from readers. Plus, as most readers of this blog will know, I encourage all paid subscribers to approach our office for free informal advice, consultations and referrals.

Please be assured that, although at times another member of staff will reply, I personally read each and every one of these comments. And any consultations about offshore banking, investing, asset protection and so on are channeled to me (other topics are handled by other members of the Q Wealth Experts panel)

We’ve been getting a lot of new subscribers recently. So you can imagine my workload. I’m sorry if you have contacted me and there has been a delay replying. But I love this work and I think it’s the only way to keep my finger on the pulse. If I were a politician I would call it “listening to the grass roots.”

And what a strong signal is coming from those grass roots these days! People want out. They want out of the USA, the UK, Australia, Canada and many other places. But what they are opting out of is not so much the countries, but the system. And I use the singular intentionally even though I’m referring to many countries. The system has become totally oppressive. Fortunately, Q Wealth is dedicated to empowering individuals to regain control of their lives and escape the ratrace that is the first or developed world today.

‘They’ used 9-11 to take away our civil rights. Now ‘they’ have used the financial crisis to take away a lot of our financial rights and our very own money! Who do you think is paying for the huge bailouts going on now? You, of course, dear reader. You are taking on debt in the name of future generations. Your kids growing up in this system will either be burdened with debt for several generations, or the system will have to go bankrupt. I predict the latter.

Fortunately, the secret is out. You can opt out of the system. More and more people are voting with their feet, taking their pounds and dollars offshore where it can still buy something of value. They are still a tiny minority, but a very fast growing minority.

Some of us are more natural gamblers than others. Some are happy moving offshore on a shoestring budget, confident in their abilities to make money and create long term wealth… from a new offshore, tax-free base somewhere in paradise.

Although we’re originally from the UK, you won’t have missed the fact that we are pretty keen on Latin America these days. Your money goes further and the quality of life is better. Above all, there is less stress… and you can make money on the internet by managing your capital, or through active e-commerce businesses, or even manage onshore real estate portfolios from offshore with a big tax advantage over your competitors.

Others will move offshore for purely ideological reasons. It’s about getting the government out of our hair. Escaping the culture of fear. Even many people who are in the system are disillusioned. I liked the recent comments of Dame Stella Rimmington, former head of the British Secret Service MI5 (the real life version of ‘M’ portrayed by Judi Dench in the Bond movies) who said of the terrorism threat: “It would be better that the government recognised that there are risks, rather than frightening people in order to be able to pass laws which restrict civil liberties, precisely one of the objects of terrorism.”

I couldn’t have said it better myself. I opted out of this rotten system a long time ago and you would never get me back. Offshore is more a state of mind than a place. A physical move, maybe a second passport, brings the most benefits. But you can start moving offshore, start creating that safety net or back-up plan, without leaving home – especially if your profession or business is portable. Now is the time. Don’t delay any longer, otherwise you will lose some of the advantage.  The word is out!

If you are looking for practical advice on Freedom, Wealth and Privacy, you have come to the right place. Here at The Q Wealth Report we don’t believe in scaring people. Like Dame Stella, we believe that we should all be prudent and recognize there are risks – and a lot of those risks have to do with the financial and political system that we cannot control. But rather than sitting crying to ourselves, or trying to swim against the current, let’s do something about it. That’s why you are here. Join us on the journey by subscribing to The Q Wealth Report today!

After all the hype about tax havens and offshore banking secrecy, the blacklist is no more. A BBC News Report announces that the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has removed all four countries (Costa Rica, Malaysia, the Philippines and Uruguay) from its blacklist of tax havens.

“I’m pleased to say that those four jurisdictions have now made a full commitment to exchange information to the OECD standards,” said OECD chief Angel Gurria said speaking in Paris, as reported by the BBC. All four targeted countries have now agreed to adopt OECD standards.

Last week, the G20 leaders agreed in London to take sanctions against tax havens, using the OECD list as its basis. In their communique, they agreed “to take action against non-cooperative jurisdictions, including tax havens“.

It appears that they now have no-one left to take action against, an apparent public relations victory against offshore bank secrecy and the international wealth management advice industry. However, as in most matters of international co-operation and the world of offshore banking and asset protection, there is a little more to this story than meets the eye!

With all the banking secrecy jurisdictions having in theory agreed to change their laws to co-operate on international fiscal matters, why bank offshore? It might appear that there is no future for those of us who believe that we should not be treated as criminals and that wealth we have earned through our own hard work should be allowed to grow unfettered by unnecessary and intrusive government regulations.

Peter Macfarlane’s article about the OECD, G20 and Much Ado About Nothing in the Offshore Banking World explains why this whole show is really nothing more than a publicity stunt by Messrs Brown, Obama and Sarkozy, and why the advice in the Practical Offshore Banking Guide 2009 is still very much valid…

With that, we wish a very happy and peaceful weekend spent relaxing with loved ones to all our Q Wealth readers, wherever in the world they are. We too will be signing off and continuing to do business internationally to help the world’s entrepreneurs generate and create wealth.

Google’s Chrome Browser Calling Home: Blatant Spyware – the Proof

Yesterday Q Wealth Experts Jacques Haeringer and Paul Rosenberg were interviewed on Pierre Wolfe’s Americas Dining and Travel show on the Business Talk Radio network. They talked about Recipes for Success in Panama, living and retiring abroad, and overseas investment opportunities. Download the radio show here: http://archives.warpradio.com/btr/AmericasDining/062216.MP3