No One Gets Out of Here Alive

(FP’ed 3:12 AM EDT, Sunday, October 7, 2007

“Sorry, you haven’t paid the IRS (utility bill, phone bill, etc.) yet. You can’t fly to Atlanta until you settle your balance.”

Will it come to this?
– promoted by exmearden)

I attend quite a few global investment seminars. Every once in awhile, there are some unique and unexpected presentations on a variety of topics that are only tangential to investing. These include off-shore banking, privacy, passports, second citizenships, and international living.

I’ve seen several presentations by Mark Nestmann. He’s a solid investment specialist — but he also has a very savvy focus on privacy issues for U.S. citizens. Often, Mark accesses information that you won’t read about anywhere else. Here’s an example: (continued below the fold)

Last year, I wrote that if Uncle Sam gets its way, we’d all be on no-fly lists, unless the government gives us permission to leave – or re-enter – the United States.

Now, the Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) has proposed a similar system for travel on commercial airlines WITHIN the United States. Both systems will come into effect Feb. 19, 2008.

Under the TSA’s “Advance Passenger Information System (APIS) initiative,” you’ll need to obtain permission from the U.S. government to travel on ANY commercial airliner or ship that goes to or from the United States. You won’t receive your boarding pass until you are cleared by APIS. You’ll also need permission to travel through the United States (e.g., if you’re changing planes at a U.S. airport on a trip between two foreign countries). It doesn’t matter if you’re a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. Everyone will need permission to enter – or leave – the United States.

Then, on Aug. 23, 2007, the TSA issued proposed regulations for its “Secure Flight” program.

The TSA wants commercial airlines to submit passenger information through a single DHS portal for both the Secure Flight and APIS programs. This would result in one DHS system responsible for watch list matching for all aviation passengers. Naturally, the entire process – for both domestic and international travel – will occur in total secrecy. If you’re denied permission to travel, you won’t be able to appeal the decision to any court. Your only recourse will be through the TSA bureaucracy. Essentially, you’ll be reduced to pleading with the TSA to say something like, “pretty please, give me a boarding pass.”

What this amounts to is essentially a reprise of the infamous “internal passport” system in effect in the former Soviet Union. In 1933, Soviet dictator Josef Stalin introduced “internal passports” that prohibited Soviet citizens from leaving their place of residence without permission. Over time, the internal passport became the prime instrument of Soviet oppression over its citizens. It’s bad enough needing to ask Uncle Sam for permission to leave the United States, and to reenter it. But an internal passport is a blueprint for totalitarianism.

Ergo — After February 19, 2008, you will need permission to travel inside and outside the U.S.

Oh, but it gets worse, much worse….








These days, if you are flying, Nestmann suggests that you might not want to carry a personal computer anymore. Or if you do carry one — you probably better wipe the hard drive — especially if you are a political blogger who expresses criticism of the U.S. Government.

And, for sure, don’t carry an address book.

Here’s a cautionary tale that appeared on Mark’s Blog the other day:

What not to Carry Across a U.S. Border

A few months ago, I warned about the possibly disastrous consequences of carrying a laptop computer across a U.S. border. Basically, U.S. courts have said that Customs can confiscate your laptop, make an “image” of the hard disk and all the data on it, and use that data against you in a criminal proceeding-all without probable cause that you’ve done anything wrong.

But, the data on your laptop isn’t the only information that might be used against you at the airport. Especially, don’t let Customs see your address book. If you do, it might get copied, and later used against you.

That’s what happened to Texas oilman Oscar Wyatt, Jr. in the Houston airport in August 2002. After being copied by Customs, the address book eventually found its way to the U.S. Justice Department….

Wyatt pleaded guilty on October 1 to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He agreed to a sentence of 18-24 months imprisonment….

What could Wyatt have done differently?

…It would have been well worth his time to have the [address book] digitized and placed on an encrypted USB stick…. If that USB stick were confiscated by Customs, the information on it couldn’t be retrieved without knowledge of the passphrase.

There are many stories in the Naked Nation. This is just one of them.

Enjoy your day.