Escape from America rollup: late 2004's interesting articles
Opening A Business In Rome - One Expatriate's Observations ~ by Sarah Yeomans
There seems to be a mutually acknowledged relationship between the government and citizens: the government will impose cumbersome and unrealistically heavy taxes on its citizens, and its citizens will in turn come up with new and innovative ways to avoid paying them. The result is the intimidating Guardia di Finanzia. Perhaps the best way for an American to conceptualize the Guardia di Finanzia would be to imagine the IRS with machine guns and military authority.
How To Prepare For Living And Working In Russia - More On Living In Russia ~ by Jon D. Ayres
I am not sure if you will be required to have medical tests done for accepting work with a school, I am sure you will have to, so the school should arrange all medical appointments and pay for the tests.
This guy is an English teacher? Between Ayres' misstatements and misspellings, it's a wonder any Russians can understand English at all...
Coke - It's The Real Thing - Flying Cocaine From Curaçao To The Netherlands ~ by Steve Leslie
All the different ways drug smugglers use small airplanes and small airlines to move product.
The Offshore Life Of A Sovereign Individual - by Mark Nestmann
In our May 2004 issue, Bob Bauman described a typical domestic U.S. sovereign individual, the mythical George Spelvin. George had figured out how to live the good life in the U.S.A. (as much as the law now allows), with his own unusual versions of ironclad asset protection and personal and financial privacy.
Local Guide Solves Migration Dilemma - Moving To Australia ~ by Liz Sharp
This "article" is a thinly-veiled advertisement for a series of books that assist the reader in learning the nitty-gritty about different areas of different countries for immigration purposes. That said, reading one of the advertised books may be a good resource.
A Beginner's Guide To The Multi-Currency Sandwich - by Gary Scott
I first learned and cashed in on this strategy in the early 1980s when the United States was being ravaged by inflation. The U.S. dollar had dropped strongly versus the Swiss franc. It was possible to earn 18% on U.S. dollar CDs. When my Swiss banker told me that I could use U.S. dollar CDs as collateral to borrow Swiss francs at 3% and reinvest at 18%, I was hooked!
Interesting usage of cross-country currency fluctuations - use the changing exchange rates to increase your return.