================================================= Expat Worlds Bi-Monthly Digest ================================================= 31 August, 2004 Vol. 6, Issue 14 .....IN THIS DIGEST..... ==== THE STORY =================== -=The Origins of PT=- ==== OTHER EZINES ================ ==== EW SPECIAL ================== -=Expat World News International Press Corps=- ==== HUMOR, TRIVIA, NEWS AND MORE... == -=Trivia=- -=News Story=- -=Traveller's Tales=- -=Jokes=- ==== THE RESOURCE TIP ============= -=ShieldsUP!=- ==== INSIDE THIS MONTH EXPAT WORLD == -=Table of Content=- ==== THE STORY ================================== Excerpt from 'PT' - one of the best books ever written from our favourite author W.G. Hill. THE ORIGINS OF PT (Chapter 1) For thousands of years people in power have been able to con the vast majority into giving their money and even their lives to supposed higher values. Those who become aware of the con are labeled trouble makers and depending upon the time and circumstances will be ostracized, jailed, tortured or killed. The wise man or woman always looks carefully when asked to give his time, money or even recognition and support to any cause, country, ruler, emperor, religious-charismatic guru, nation, kinship group, true faith, society, club or lodge, and especially to society. The threat of people acting in their own enlightened and rational self-interest strikes bureaucrats, politicians, social workers and many members of official churches as ominous and dangerous. Usually with great success they try to con everyone into believing that personal sacrifice, unselfishness, service and subordination to the group are the only virtuous and respectable ways to live. Individuality and the possibility that people will not always accept the pronunciations of authority are labeled anarchy and are strongly discouraged. Rejection of group values is cause for the most severe punishments. This condition has meant that through the ages, every group or organized society has methodically suppressed and destroyed its most original and talented thinkers, just because they were different. The bullies, lunatics and fanatics who often reach positions of power and leadership find no shortage of underlings willing to wage wars, persecute those with unpopular views and generally make this world a dangerous and unfree place to live. Where would you like to live? Who do you want to live with? Would you rather be among people who respect your individuality? People who do not try to change you? People who do not try to force you into an uncomfortable morality or lifestyle? People who do not expect conduct which you do not feel is in your best interests? The vast majority of people in the world are followers, mere sheep with no particular desire for freedom, nor any wish to be allowed to think for themselves or provide for themselves. They want to have leaders, gurus and to be told exactly what to do and how to think. The majority want someone to take care of them, to make decisions for them and to have the security of belonging to a group, a country, a church, a club that will protect them. They have low levels of self-confidence and a great respect for authority. They have been conned. If I have just described you, you have no PT potential. You believe that sacrificing yourself is the only way to live. You don't have much sense of personal identity, nor any confidence in your own ability to take charge of your own life and achieve anything of importance. You don't want the freedom to make your own decisions, to come and go as you please. You probably feel hostile and threatened that anyone else could think differently than you do because, as part of your philosophy, you don't respect the right of other people to march to different drummers. You are sure that your religion is the only true belief. Deep down you know that only your skin is the right color. You are sure that your morality is where it's at and at only your country is worth fighting for. Additionally, you feel that everyone should pay his fair share of taxes, even if it hurts. After all, we are on Earth to help our fellow man and we have to do it as a group. If the above sentiments fit your belief system, don't bother with the PT philosophy. This report is not for you! If, however, you doubt your ability to follow blindly... read on! "Conned" is a colorful American expression. It comes from the phrase "confidence game or trick". A criminal who wants to do you out of some money will devise some ploy to gain your confidence. For instance, posing as an infallible investment adviser, he will convince you to invest a nominal sum in a commodities deal that will make a fortune. On paper you will turn a small punt (bet) into five times as much. Then the con man will show you how to do it again and you will be convinced he is really good. Finally comes the time for a serious investment, in the biggest and best sure thing of all time. That's when your money grows wings and you never see it again. Here's where you've been officially conned. As a small child, I was conned into eating food I didn't like by being told it would help the starving children of Africa and China, because I wouldn't be wasting the food. It worked when I was three, but at five I had the nerve to ask Mommy what difference does it make if the dried up porridge went into my stomach and then the toilet, or directly into the toilet first. For such impertinence, I got a smack. As a law student, in a class on ethics we were told that lawyers (at least at that time and place) did not advertise or solicit new clients away from other lawyers because we were about to become part of an honored profession. A fraternity. Not a commercial trade where cut-rate prices and promises of better, faster service could be touted. Because I was then working for a somewhat incompetent but established old line law firm with many good clients, I raised the question that the "non-advertising, non-soliciting" canon of ethics was economically bad for young lawyers not affiliated with major firms and would have the effect of leaving clients unaware of alternatives. Years later, I was to learn that as a result of those and similar observations, my file was noted "troublemaker, unethical, does not accept authority". Such comments on confidential school and secret government/employer files make it difficult for me to find conventional employment. I am glad it worked out that way because I was forced to become an entrepreneur, a newspaper owner, a deal maker - always outside the established order. Those who were doing the conning, or those who were conned and would not question the then-conventional ideas and ways of doing things, felt that I was an enemy. A high profile, unconventional personal lifestyle combined with political activities that successfully began to reduce the size of government eventually brought me the unpleasant experience of a government-inspired investigation and a series of contrived, phony lawsuits with very bad scenarios. Like many original thinkers whose ideas find their way into the mainstream, those in power perceived me to be a threat. Unlike Socrates or Jesus, I didn't stay around to be crucified. I had already prepared to become a PT. Once I realized that I would have to fight city hall, I left for Thailand where a little grass shack, a little brown girl and a word processor were ready and waiting. I shouldn't leave out the fact that to support this pleasant little establishment there was plenty of cash, placed far beyond the reach of any grasping government. But let me start from the beginning. Without going into too much detail, here is my life story. I started several businesses. The first ones failed. That experience is probably familiar to all of you who've started businesses. Gradually I learned from my mistakes. I began to get fairly rich. I thought being rich would be wonderful just like in the movie Barry Lyndon where servants came out and presented the master and his elegant guests with food on silver platters. I fantasized that my chauffeur would drive me around in a white Rolls Royce. I thought it would be a wonderful thing to have lovely little white poodles and a beautiful wife and maybe two mistresses on the side. All I knew about how to act rich was what I had seen in the movies So when I had my first million I bought a Rolls and a mansion with an ocean view. I married my third wife, whom the papers called a "socialite heiress". I ended up with a beautiful wife, a girlfriend, a gay butler, a Japanese house-girl and a house with three bathrooms. That's what you do if you're rich, isn't it? The whole works! Let me tell you, being rich isn't all the good life of endless parties and beautiful people, like in the movies. No sir! At my first gala dinner party, there were teardrops in my Beef Wellington because the butler was crying. I said, "Sam, what's wrong?" He explained: "Well, my lover just left me and I need somebody to talk to". So I had to leave dinner and listen to his problems. A few weeks later, my wonderful doll-like house-girl started having problems. She looked so good in her geisha outfit as she poured this green tea for my guests, until she opened her mouth. It turned out that she had bad teeth and gum problems. I ended up running my house-girl back and forth to the dentist for months. The Rolls Royce never worked properly. The poodles piddled on my carpets. My wife and girlfriend both cheated on me. My wife was spending my money like a drunken sailor, or maybe a drunken admiral. The long and short of the story is that all these "rich folk activities", material possessions and all the employees that were supposed to make life easier became much more of a burden to me than I could ever have imagined. Oh... I left out the worst part. If you get a bit rich and a bit famous, you will be profiled in the newspaper. At first you're flattered by a nice feature article about the new, up-and-coming man-about-town. But I couldn't go to a men's room anymore without some insurance guy or somebody else wanting to sell me some hot stock or a terrific scheme for cocoa futures. I was a sucker who couldn't resist a good sales pitch. Now I didn't consider myself a sucker at the time, so I was being sold all of these terrific investment schemes. I knew nothing about cocoa or frozen orange futures, but there I was speculating on everything that came along from Andorra to Zimbabwe. Soon, I was losing more money than I was making. Then my two ex-wives from poorer days began to stir up trouble with contingent-fee lawyers wanting more alimony. Finally, the tax auditors came by and wanted to see what the local celebrity was doing. To cut a long story short, once I had become a millionaire life got progressively more and more miserable. I learned an important lesson which I'll pass on to you now. It's a lot easier to make money than it is to keep it! At this point, I began to look around for some way that I could hold on to what I had and eliminate the hassles. Getting rid of the rich guy image was a first step. Getting my finances under control was step number two. PT was to come much later. Now, we all like people who can make good predictions as to what the future of the stock market is going to be. Very few people have been consistently successful at it. So I chose people who had been marvelous. Problem was that after five or ten years of being on top, they always had a crystal ball malfunction right after I signed on to follow their advice. In what I call passive investments, where you write a check and you don't have to do anything else, I usually lost money. Do You Want to Make Lots of Money? If you buy raw meat wholesale and divide it into sausages that you sell retail, you can control most of the variables. If you have sausages that don't sell, you can make a bigger sign on your stand. You can yell louder or you can sprinkle garlic on them, turn up the heat and hope the yummy smells bring you some customers. You have some control. In your own business you can run things your way. You can change things if they are not working correctly. But if you're investing in a Japanese stock, obviously there is very little you can do but cry when the Japanese stock market crashes. The variables in passive investments are things you can't control at all. So there I was, losing my shirt on my passive investments. A Solution for the Unlucky Investor. What I eventually did was to find three very conservative Swiss bankers and I said, "You guys run my portfolio. I'm picking a total of three managers. The best performer over a three year period will get more of my money to manage, plus friends that I'll send over as new clients. The worst of you will be dropped and replaced". That's the policy I have followed for the last 20 years. It's worked out pretty well for me. As a result, I don't have to worry about my nest egg anymore. I never listen to any cold calling salesmen. I make a very reasonable return. Ten to fifteen per cent a year. I don't make a killing, but I don't worry too much about my investments either. If you can live on a ten per cent return, tax-free, after inflation, from your capital, then this solution is pretty good. It was a way to finally get the time and freedom to find out what gave me pleasure and pursue my real interests. Secret number one. To avoid stress, aggravation and serious losses, let a solid, no-nonsense professional run your investments! Another mistake I made in those early days was to choose the best performing stock market fund of the prior year. Naturally, that fund invariably then had a disastrous year. I soon worked out that those funds which have had a good prior year or two will probably turn into one of the worst of the current year. So don't repeat my mistakes. Try to find a relatively conservative money manager who doesn't have the best performance in the world but who has been reasonably consistent at preserving capital. Expect to make your serious money only in a business that you control, i.e. your own. Use money managers for your passive investments. This will reduce the hassle factor. Enter Sir Harry While I was struggling to reorganize my life, a pamphlet by Harry Schultz came my way, discussing PT. In those days, Harry called it "The Three Flag Theory". This turned out to be my greatest discovery. With a net worth as small as perhaps US $25,000, or in that range, you may well be able to quit working, enjoy life and live on your tax savings alone. You can keep your capital and most of your interest and dividends, tax-free. But before we launch into a full description of the PT philosophy, who is Harry Schultz? Harry Schultz, ageless editor/publisher of the International Harry Schultz Letter, is a classic PT. What are the facts behind the Harry Schultz legend? Many of his newsletter readers would like to know more about the man behind the masthead. Harry gave us this exclusive interview. "My days as a thinking humanoid began and the seeds of PT were planted during World War II when I was a soldier assigned to duty in Shanghai. Like anyone who has ever been in any army, I learned what it was to be under the thumb of a Big Brother Bureaucracy. I was a good soldier outwardly, but my mind was elsewhere. I used every off-duty hour to read voraciously and prepare myself for the newspaper I was determined to buy after discharge. The war was winding down, and I was already a PT - part-time soldier, Preparing for Tomorrow. I made some money trading shares in my off-duty hours on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. What a marvelous discovery it was for a boy from Milwaukee to see that it was possible to make money in a totally alien environment. It gave me a sense of confidence that most people never get. We all could earn a living almost anywhere, but there is this fear that if we leave the nest something terrible will happen. The truth is, something wonderful will happen. You will discover that there are many 'mobile occupations' that you can do anywhere in the world. I discovered trading. I bought and sold silk, bank shares, currency and made a small fortune (very small) in a high inflation economy. I also bought and sold gold coins and bars. By the time my discharge came through I had turned US $500 of army pay into enough money to make a down payment on a weekly newspaper in Palm Springs, California. At the age of 22, I owned my first newspaper. "I turned this paper into the first daily the town ever had. It was later taken over by the Sun. This experience led me to the discovery that more money could be made and getting into ruts could be avoided if one bought a small or distressed operation, made it bigger and more profitable and then sold it. I became a different kind of PT then, a Publisher Temporarily, as I bought and sold newspapers, sometimes starting them from scratch. I had three basic skills: writing, editing and publishing. I found these could be employed anywhere in the world. A basic PT tool is figuring out how your skills or talent can be adapted to fill local needs. "My newspapers, 13 in all, were in the United States though my wartime travels in the Orient gave me the wanderlust. I started out, after selling my last newspaper, with the idea of taking a year-long trip around the world to see if there might be some place where I'd like to have a part-time residence. I never moved back to the US on a permanent basis. The world was just too exciting to commit myself full-time to any one place. I felt sorry for the 95 per cent of the world's population who never know anything but the immediate vicinity of their birthplace. Just because you were born someplace doesn't make it the best place on Earth, though most people are so provincial that they think their home town is the center of the universe. Excessive familiarity with surroundings kills your spirit and breeds laziness of mind. Worst of all, you don't grow up as much if you remain among school friends and family. They continue to treat you as they did when you were a child. They remind you of your limitations and 'proper place'. They pressure you and mold your life into conventional predictable patterns. The only thing you experience is growing older as all your friends grow older. "Army life had convinced me that I needed to be my own person, not under anyone's thumb. The excitement of discovering new places, going into many interesting business ventures and always making a good living by buying and selling things was keeping me young, alert and intellectually vigorous. When I returned several times to the United States I was appalled by the violence and crime in the big cities. And I speak not only of armed robbery but also of the legal violence. Americans after World War II were suing each other as a way of life. Involved in a few small claim's suits as a defendant, I learned quickly that victory didn't go to the morally right person. By the 1960's there were new legal theories that would disburse the life savings of a productive hard worker like myself with deep pockets, to any impecunious person who cared to sue. As I said, I didn't want to be under anyone's thumb and the legal system in the United States had unquestionably tilted against anyone who had enough skill or luck to accumulate enough assets to be financially independent. "As a result of my experiences, I decided to have a 'floating' home. Not a boat, but rather a state of mind that could allow me to be a sort of modern-day nomad. I tried Canada for a few months and loved it until winter set in. Then I took off for the fabled French Riviera and decided to live there very modestly while trading on various stock markets all over the world. In my spare time, I wrote a book. This turned out to be Bear Markets which Prentice Hall published. "My trading and book were both successful. As a result I had many letters from readers asking for financial advice. This lead to a newsletter for my consulting clients. While I didn't like the idea of being tied down to deadlines and a regular job, I thought that I could write the newsletter from anywhere in the world. And that is exactly what I did! As I moved around, the world's first portable international newsletter helped me achieve my goals. What were those goals? To be my own boss and to write useful information for my friends and clients exposing the truth where need be, without worrying about anyone getting bent out of shape, giving me a tax audit, going on strike or throwing a monkey wrench into my printing presses. The HSL, founded in 1964, was a one man show. I have had wonderful staggers and have met many interesting friends via my newsletter. Mainly by word of mouth, subscriptions came in from all over the world, including heads of state and leading thinkers. My information sources also multiplied and my creative powers expanded. I have written the HSL from Beverly Hills, Washington DC, London, Copenhagen, Paris, Monte Carlo and Sydney. After all these years, it is still going strong, coming out every five weeks. It has been printed in a dozen countries and like me, can move across the world on short notice. A portable communication has given me a healthier, free life. As a PT you are under no one's thumb. Only you call the tune. "About 20 years ago, I put the concept of PT into a mini-book I called How to Keep Your Money and Your Freedom. 'Three Flags' was the way I described the need to have a second passport, a safe haven for your assets outside your own country and a legal address in a tax haven. Over the following years, I wrote many newsletter segments about what I eventually came to call PT. It was also at about this time that I first met Bill Hill and with him expanded the three flags to five. We included a place of business and playgrounds. A consistent purpose in life is also one of the goals of the true PT. With the help of Bill Hill and others, I think I've discovered one answer to the question of how to live life to the fullest. Best wishes." Get this book and 4 others on CD-Rom from the Expat World Bookstore at . ==== OTHER EZINES =============================== ASIAN TIMES ONLINE Asia most trusted source for news, business,commentary and analysis from throughout Asia and our world. (www.atimes.com). ----- Subscribe now to the "Timely Time Management Tips" newsletter. Free tips sent to you to help you get more done in less time, with less stress. Send your email now to: mailto:timemanagement-subscribe@topica.com ----- japan-guide.com Extensive, up to date online guide on Japan living and travel related information. http://www.japan-guide.com/ ==== EW SPECIAL ================================= FREE FIRST CLASS TRAVEL, CELEBRITY STATUS, LUXURY HOTELS, ACCESS TO TOP EVENTS WORLDWIDE INTERESTED??? YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE A HEMMINGWAY, WOODWARD OR BERNSTEIN TO HOLD A PRESS PASS You can enjoy all the benefits I’ve just described... and many more... without actually becoming a full time journalist. You don’t even have to write well. You can still carry a press pass of your own and enjoy the many benefits of a card-carrying member of the press. We are offering you the chance to carry the press pass for the Expat World News International Press Corps. Just contact us at email: offic@expatworld.net and we will give you the full details. Please put "Press Pass" in the heading of your request. ==== HUMOR, TRIVIA, NEWS AND MORE... ================ NEWS STORIES Dead Couple to Be Married JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - A South African man who shot his pregnant fiance dead before killing himself will be posthumously married to her at the weekend. Police Captain Mohale Ramatseba said David Masenta shot 25-year-old Mgwanini Molomo after a quarrel before turning the gun on himself. But Johannesburg's Sowetan newspaper said family and friends wanted to remember them as a happy couple destined for a happy life together. The groom's corpse would be dressed in a cream suit and his bride's in a gown for the ceremony, at which a priest in the rural village of Ceres in Limpopo will bless the union before the two are buried, the Sowetan said. "In African culture, there is no death -- there is merely the separation of body and soul," said cultural expert Mathole Motshekga. "It is also important because the families are married together." "This does not mean the relationship has irretrievably broken down." --- Cows eat aeroplane WHEN Tony Cooper and Lisa Kingscott left their four-seater light plane parked in a field to have lunch with friends nearby, they paid little attention to the cows quietly grazing nearby. Big mistake. When the pair returned to their vintage aircraft, they were astonished to find that the herd of bullocks had developed an unlikely taste for its fuselage and were munching their way through a large section, the Daily Mail newspaper said on Tuesday. The cows caused around 10,000 pounds in damage to the Auster J1N craft, built in 1946, the paper said. "We were going back to the plane to fly home and we could see several bullocks standing around it, and there were gaping holes in the body of the plane," said Kingscott, who has piloted light planes for 16 years. "I was speechless. I have never seen anything like it," she was quoted as telling the paper. Closer inspection revealed that the cattle had munched away on large sections of the canvas surrounding the plane's metal strut frame, meaning it had to be dismantled and carried home on a trailer. The duo, who co-own the plane with three other people, said they regularly made the 160km round trip to see their friends in Herefordshire, central England, and always parked in the same field. The matter is now in the hands of their - presumably puzzled - insurers. --- 'Let's Just Cuddle' BERLIN (Reuters) - A leading German dictionary publisher plans to launch a guide it says will help men translate the subtext of female conversation. The Langenscheidt publishing group, best known for its well-respected yellow foreign language dictionaries, will launch sales of a 128-page book to translate such baffling female banter as: "Let's just cuddle" into "No sex tonight please!." "Each themed chapter offers men behavioral tips and exposes hidden messages transmitted by women in everyday situations, such as on holiday or during shopping trips," said Silke Exius, chief editor at Langenscheidt. Other examples in the "German-Woman/Woman-German" edition due out in October include explaining why a woman asks a man to take interest in the pair of shoes she may be trying on. She wants him to look because he's about to pay for them. ----- TRAVELLER'S TALES EXPRESSIVE: Name of law passed to cut down on the amount of graffiti in Lahore, Pakistan: "The Punjab Prohibition on Expressing Matters on Walls Act." ----- Oxymoron: easy payments ----- The safe way to double your money is to fold it over once and put it in your pocket. -- Frank Hubbard ----- Why pay money to have your family tree traced; go into politics and your opponents will do it for you. -- Author Unknown ----- The government announced today that it is changing its emblem to a condom because it more clearly reflects the government's political stance. A condom stands up to inflation, halts production, destroys the next generation, protects a bunch of pricks, and gives you a sense of security while you're actually being screwed. ----- Quotes of George W. Bush For every fatal shooting, there were roughly three non-fatal shootings. And, folks, this is unacceptable in America. It's just unacceptable. And We're going to do something about it. I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully. It is clear our nation is reliant upon big foreign oil. More and more of our imports come from overseas. The California crunch really is the result of not enough power to power the power of generating plants. If affirmative action means what I just described, what I'm for, then I'm for it. There is a lot of speculation and I guess there is going to continue to be a lot of speculation until the speculation ends. I can picture in my mind a world without war, a world without hate. And I can picture us attacking that world because they'd never expect it. ==== THE RESOURCE TIP ============================ ShieldsUP! The Internet's quickest, most popular, reliable and trusted, free Internet security checkup and information service. And now in its Port Authority Edition, it's also the most powerful and complete. Check your system here, and begin learning about using the Internet safely. Check it out at and scroll down. ==== INSIDE THIS MONTH EXPAT WORLD =============== EXPAT WORLD NEWSLETTER (VOL.16 ISSUE 06) Table of Content: - PANAMA IS HOT - A WORLD CLASS RETIREMENT HAVEN THAT'S RIPE FOR PROFITABLE REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT - BITS & PIECES - THE RED LIGHTS OF SEOUL - YOUR PRIVACY IS BEING SLICED, DICED, CUT, SHREDDED AND HOMOGENIZED UNTIL THERE IS VIRTUALLY NOTHING LEFT OF IT. - PASSPORTS BY MAIL UPDATE - ISLANDS LURED TO SELL PASSPORTS - DOMINICA PASSPORTS - SERBIAN CUSTOMS SEIZE FAKE BELGIUM PASSPORTS - EUROPEAN UNION SEEKS VISA-FREE TRAVEL TO THE USA FOR ALL EU MEMBERS - TURKS-CAICOS SERIOUSLY CONSIDER BECOMING CANADA'S 11 PROVINCE - THE EMPLOYEE TAX-FREE TAKE HOME PAY INDEX - AROUND THE WORLD WITH EXPAT WORLD - INTERNATIONAL SNIPS & CLIPS - CRAPPER RAPPER - THE PERILS OF BEER - HOUSE OF PRICKS - "JOHN" WAYNE YOU MISSING SO MUCH Each week the EXPAT WORLD DIGEST gives you just a smattering of what you can find in the EXPAT WORLD newsletter that we produce once a month. Why not get the whole story and subscribe now to our electronic version for just US $30 per year. Go to our website: www.expatworld.net to sign up. ********************************************************************* EXPAT WORLD - the newsletter of international living URL - http://www.expatworld.net Email - office@expatworld.net ---------- End of Expat World Digest -------------------------------- To unsubscribe, write to unsubscribe-digest@expatworld.net