We’ve talked plenty about how governments use fear to control the masses. Peter Macfarlane, joint editor of The Q Wealth Report and offshore banking and asset protection consultant, talks here about the latest example – the wave of fear sweeping the world – the Swine Flu Pandemic.

I could hardly believe the news about swine flu ‘pandemic’ today. But then again, I shouldn’t be surprised, should I? The last few entries here at the Q Wealth blog focused on how governments, politicians and major corporations (like drug companies, ahem) seek to control the masses using fear. We have talked about the fear of Islamic terrorism in the UK, and of right wing terrorists having tea parties in the USA. Here, with the fear of a swine flu pandemic, we have another prime example of this ‘fear factor’ being used to control the masses.

What surprised me the most was a White House spokesperson on TV announcing that a State of Emergency had been declared in the USA. 11 cases of the supposedly deadly Swine Flu from Mexico had been identified in the USA. Then, came a little tidbit of information that was almost lost in the news hype. Of those 11 cases, only one needed hospital treatment… and that one person had made a full recovery. Really? Ten people home with flu is a national emergency?

Since I watched that TV interview the number of cases in the USA has risen to twenty, reports Reuters.

Mexico did not raise its death count over the weekend, but there were worries that fatalities could surface elsewhere.

“I do fear that we will have deaths,” the CDC’s Dr. Anne Schuchat said. She told reporters officials were preparing for the illness’ possible spread beyond the 20 cases confirmed in the United States.

Let’s examine that. Since the epidemic as announced in Mexico, the death count has not risen. Indeed, in another Reuters article that is entitled World Flu Epidemic Fear Rises, it is reported that actually most of the people affected in Mexico have been given a ‘clean bill of health.’ Why that good news should give rise to fear, I don’t know.

20 people are ill in the USA. Yet government officials are raising the fear factor by talking of deaths.

The factas as I see it: Apparently, there is some quite nasty flu going around. It doesn’t respond to treatment, but then again neither do most flus. There is, in fact, no cure for flu and never has been. Just like centuries ago, if you have flu you have to sweat it out, and let your immune system do the work. Some people have weak immune systems, and they can die from flu. It is not out of the ordinary. Fortunately, there are a lot of easy steps we can take to boost our own immune systems… like eating a balanced diet, getting enough sleep, and reducing stress. We can also take steps to avoid contagious diseases like flu, and the advice being put out by the powers that be is fine in this regard. These are all things we know anyway, but it doesn’t hurt repeating them.

In fact, somebody actually took the time to research it better than I did. According to an article at Rotting Nation entitled Swine Flu Fearmongering Center for Disease Control figures show 36,000 people die every year from regular flu in the United States alone. Maybe 81 in Mexico is really not such a high number? And there is even a video going around on Youtube of TV commercials warning of a Swine flu epidemic from 1976.

The point of this article, however, is not the flu. It is the fear factor. The fear factor that governments are using to control the masses.

The Mexican health services have, according to reports, been aware of this strain of flu for several weeks, and have been criticized for taking action too late. Actually, their action was precipitated by the USA. In other words, the Mexican government appear to have been forced into action by the United States government. The measures being imposed in Mexico now are draconian, to say the least. Unfortunately, the Mexican government tend to do pretty much what the USA tells them to do.

I should stress that we at Q Wealth are not conspiracy theorists. For the record I don’t think this is all a test run from some one world government, or that swine flu was deliberately created in a lab, or even that the fear is being deliberately propogated by the drug companies that manufacture flu vaccines.  But pf course the mainstream media is trying to increase ratings by using fear. And politicians are trying to benefit from this wave of publicity.

The fear factor is very effective at getting people to do things. Maybe one could, at a push, justify the use of fear to persuade people to do things that are in their best interests. You would have to take the view that people are too stupid to look after themselves, and that they need the government to protect them. That is not a view we subscribe to – quite the opposite in fact. We and our individual, freedom-loving readers believe that the best person to protect you is yourself.

Flu vaccines are highly controversial. I take vaccines for most things, but not to flu. After one year when we vaccinated our two kids against influenza and they had flu most of the winter, we stopped giving our kids flu vaccines even though the government tells us it would be good for us. Anecdotal evidence from other friends around the world, including friends who are medical professionals, seems to suggest the same. Flu vaccines don’t work. This of course is a personal decision with no scientific basis – but we must all exercise the rights to take decisions for our families.

The sad thing about the use of the fear factor is it is so destructive in other areas. In this case, how much heartache and stress is it causing? Even a circular I received about this flu from the US embassy a couple of days ago urged me, amongst other things, to ‘manage my stress’ as a means of boosting the immune system and warding off the flu. So how much stress are they causing by panicking the whole world?

I don’t claim to completely understand the world we live in. I know there are lots of factors at play, things going on behind the scenes in the corridors of power that we don’t know about. I don’t know why they are doing this to us. But there is no question that the government is out to control us. While we are all distracted by the flu pandemic, who knows what unpopular measures our ‘leaders’ will be hard at work on? Well there’s one I can tell you about right away – a new UK bill to boost government surveillance.

The only thing to do is to soldier on, and live the Sovereign Individual lifestyle we talk about so much. Health is the most important part of Wealth. (Our definition of Wealth, including how it includes health, can be found here). Only you can protect your health. Only you can protect your wealth and your monetary assets. Only by being aware of means of mass control, will you have the ability to keep your freedom, your liberty, and your wealth.

Fortunately, Q Wealth Report is here to help you achieve freedom, wealth and privacy. If you haven’t yet read our free five part course “Secrets of the Super Rich” I urge you to do so today. It’s free of charge and delivered by e-mail. This course will open your eyes to new ways you can achieve personal and financial freedom, and avoid mass control by governments. It will start you on a road of discovery that will leave you in full control of your life so you do not have to live in fear or under stress. Sign up for it today!

Traveling with a second or even a third passport is becoming far more commonplace and accepted – that’s the conclusion of a recent article in the New York Times called Carrying a Second Passport? It’s not just for spies covering the advantages of travel with multiple passports, second citizenships and naturalization. Many Americans, says the article, don’t even realize that they already hold dual nationality and have the right to carry a second passport. Others, of course, don’t realize that they can completely legally buy a second passport through a so-called “Economic Citizenship” program.

For example, Alessandro Pappalardo, an artist in New York, holds passports from Italy and Argentina. Last year, he added an American one. Previously an airline employee in Argentina, he said, “I used to go a lot to Brazil, and I would always decide what passport to show depending on what line was shorter.”

Another example quoted in the article is Stefan Stefanov, who holds both United States and Bulgarian passports and works in Poland. He decides which passport to use depending on where he is headed for. “Of course, I don’t hide that I am a U.S. citizen,” Mr. Stefanov said. “But I don’t parade it either.”

Although statistics are hard to track down, as the world becomes more international and American citizens frequently feel discrimated against or targeted when traveling overseas, more Americans seem want second passports. “Savvy travelers and business travelers want to make sure they have two passports based on nationality because there are certain advantages,” says Jan Dvorak, president of Travisa, a passport services company in Washington, D.C., quoted in the Times article.

Perhaps the greatest advantage to holding a second passport for the global citizen is the ability to work without restriction in various countries – a particular benefit of passports from countries in the European Union. Also, says Dvorak , carrying a second passport is “a way of hiding where one has been,” when traveling among countries with soured relations – for example between Israel and Arab countries.

So how does one actually go about obtaining a second passport? As a general rule, to obtain a passport you must first become a citizen of the country whose passport you wish to carry. Once that is completed, the process of applying for a second passport is straightforward. Of course, it’s qualifying for the second citizenship that is the difficult part. But there are ways, even if you don’t have Irish, British, Italian or German ancestors. Israel, for example, allows anyone of Jewish heritage to use what is called aliyah, or the ‘Law of Return’.  This grants instant Israeli citizenship to anyone of Jewish ancestry or anyone who converts to Judaism.

Ruth Yoffe is another example quoted in the Times article who also carries a second passport. Ruth is the founder of Reloop Designs, a company that hires handicapped people in Cambodia to weave trendy baskets from recycled plastic. As a citizen of the United States and New Zealand, she travels frequently throughout Southeast Asia. “For obvious safety reasons, I always try and travel and put my visas on my New Zealand passport,” she said. “On a plane, I don’t want to be identified as an American if I have that choice, depending on where I am heading.”

Another advantage is cost savings. Visas are cheaper for New Zealanders. “They assume anyone else from any other country can’t be as rich” as Americans, Ms. Yoffe said. Many countries such as Brazil charge extra fees to Americans to reflect the cost of obtaining a US visa for citizens of that country.

Alex Thomas, the corporate manager of Travel Document Systems, a visa and passport services company in Washington, is quoted as saying that some of his clients are “uneasy traveling with a U.S. passport, and if they have an additional passport, they prefer to use it…. four or five people a month who ask specifically what they need to do to get a passport” for another country… Because of the way things are going in the world,” he said, he expects that number to rise.

What the Times article omits to mention, however, perhaps on grounds of political correctness, is the possibility of buying a second passport. So called “Economic Citizenship” programs allow wealthy individuals and families to purchase a second citizenship from a country such as St Kitts and Nevis or Dominica. The only requirement to obtain one of these passports is to make an economic investment in the country.

Although expensive, these high end economic citizenship programs are often worthwhile for wealthy individuals who do not have the time or inclination to wait the two to five years necessary to establish residence in another country and apply for citizenship via naturalization in one of the more liberal countries for obtaining second passports such as Dominican Republic or Paraguay. Additionally, they have the advantage of being completely tax free and not being mired in bureaucracy or military service obligations.

Second passports and citizenships, as an important asset for sovereign individuals, are a frequent topic in The Q Wealth Report. We keep readers up to date on the frequent changes to the rules. If you are interested in obtaining a second citizenship or passport, for privacy, freedom and protection, you need The Q Wealth Report. Sign up today on this site!