How to Be Jason Bourne: Multiple Passports, Swiss Banking, and Crossing Borders

http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2009/03/03/how-to-be-jason-bourne-multiple-passports-swiss-banking-and-crossing-borders/

by mattjaynes • 17 years ago

140 64 17 years ago

fourhourworkweek.com

mattjaynes• 17 years ago

Is this what "jumping the shark" means?

While I can totally relate to the adolescent fantasy of having super-fugitive skills and money stashed all over the world, it seems wasteful if folks take it too seriously.

If this guy had put all this effort and cleverness into a startup rather than paranoia, he would probably have made off quite nicely. Who knows, maybe he will with his book and that was the whole point.

It's funny to see this kinda stuff coming from Tim Ferriss though. Even though his stuff can be pretty cheesy - I love the usual emphasis on simplicity, experimenting, and outsourcing. While a post like this drives traffic, it seems counter to his "message".

pchristensen2• 17 years ago

Ferriss basically says "This stuff is too extreme for me to actually do, but it's freaking awesome to read about."

pchristensen2• 17 years ago

Ferriss basically says "This stuff is too extreme for me to actually do, but it's freaking awesome to read about."

ibsulon• 17 years ago

One of the things that makes Strauss's writing so fun is that he's willing to immerse himself into a culture so thoroughly. He has the ability to so thoroughly pass the guards of reason (like, I'm too poor to worry about this stuff!) for the sake of the story.

trickjarrett3• 17 years ago

Neil Strauss is a writer. His last book was about his descent and experiences once he got into the world of pick up artists, guys who follow a system to pick up women.

Ferriss sells hope about the better life, living a life that would normally be above your means. The secret agent life is part of that dream.

tptacek• 17 years ago

My impression was that "The Game" was credulous and a bit sleazy. Am I wrong? Is Strauss actually a good writer/reporter?

trickjarrett3• 17 years ago

Oh no the entire concept is sleazy and skeezy, but it's still a story about normal guys who have zero confidence and see the world as a system with rules. But it's wrapped in these stories of a rockstar life, living in Hollywood, pursuing starlets, and learning the ability to "make" women lust for you.

The story though is entertaining.

I'm not supporting the concept, but it's got an allure. To learn to be a Casanova, could - according to these people he talks about, and in a sense, him - be within the grasp of any guy. It's learning how to be more attractive without having to get in shape (though getting in shape is a major boost.)

It's probably not a book for everyone, but if you read it for entertainment and not knowledge, you'll enjoy it I think.

jskopek• 17 years ago

If you're asking about the quality of his writing, it's up to snuff. That said, having read his last book and excerpts from this one, it's probably not fair to try and compare him to a journalist.

Neil chases stories and ideas that are both a little crazy and secretly appealing to most men. Let's face it, all of us guys have wished at some point or other that they could seduce any women they wanted. In the same way, a lot of us have probably wondered what it would be like to live a spy lifestyle, or to have bank accounts in exclusive foreign countries. This is basically just the equivalent of a harlequin novel, but for guys.

wallflower4• 17 years ago

My impression of "The Game" and perusing online forums where average guys who met their goals (usually dating one or two attractive women or beyond) was that those who succeeded in becoming successful at pick-up had accumulated enough experience (approaching, being rejected, follow-up encounters, escalating, taking the lead).

Similar to the old koan about how many businesses a successful entrepreneur most fail at before they succeed, I think after hundreds of encounters - you start to gain the benefits of experience. I've met and talked to a couple of these pick up artists - and they've pretty much told me they can analyze an interaction in real-time at a meta-level and know what they can do (or more likely, what their client should be doing).

There is one downside to all of the pickup techniques - it emphasizes that there is a method to the madness (and encourages subscription-based revenue - e.g. get the latest book/podcast etc.) - while from what I've observed, successful pick up artists could basically walk up to any woman (if they wanted) and say "I like peanut butter." and go from there.

menloparkbum• 17 years ago

Is Strauss actually a good writer/reporter?

My take on Strauss is that he's a prep school kid trying to play Hunter S. Thompson. His writing is good. His topics are slightly edgy but still pretty safe. They're also the things nerds fantasize about... being a casanova or rock star or james bond or hanging out with porn stars.

mattmaroon• 17 years ago

He's one of the best narrative non-fiction storytellers out there. Regardless of your thoughts on The Game's subject, the book was well-written. I've read a few of the autobiographies he co-wrote. Most were very well-done.

The only one I didn't care for was the Marilyn Manson one. It may have just been my distaste for the subject, but I felt like the whole thing came off as too whiny (not to mention boring) which is at least partially Neil's fault for not controlling the tone better.

imgabe3• 17 years ago

This book sounds like it's entertaining, but laughably out of date. He's saying you should hide your money with AIG? The company that's losing money faster than the US government can bail it out? Then move to Iceland to escape the depression? Isn't Iceland the country that's been hit hardest, with the government now completely bankrupt?

trickjarrett3• 17 years ago

Yeah, those are definitely not the best ideas right now, but I would think that he uses AIG the same way we use kleenex to mean tissue. It's the concept there.

Same with Iceland, that may not be the country of choice anymore, but the concept remains the same.

Obviously not ideal, but not a reason to ditch the book. Strauss' writing is entertaining, so I'll probably pick it up for the enjoyment factor :)

redrobot50503• 17 years ago

I want to echo that. I've been a fan of Strauss' writings for a long time now. I wasn't a fan of Marilyn Manson, but reading about the two years Strauss spent on tour with him was awesome. I never intended to become a PTA, but learning about his movement in the PTA circles as "Style" was awesome. His writing delivers genuine enjoyment.

cturner• 17 years ago

    Same with Iceland, that may not be the country
    of choice anymore, but the concept remains the
    same.

One of the subtle things that's going on at the moment is that the safe banking centres are drying up. Switzerland and Luxembourg have been somewhat cleared out by needing bailouts, and Liechtenstein has been shown to be vulnerable to espionage. Iceland is a mess. Islands in the west pacific have been increasingly brought into aid umbrellas over recent decades. The British PM made reference to it in his recent address to both houses in the US.

This is all a serious matter in the west, because it's becoming easier for governments to steal people's money, and to construct justifications for it that make compelling headlines.

bk• 17 years ago

AFAIK, the AIG he's talking about is a small (formerly) Swiss/international private bank (now owned by a company from Abu Dhabi). It's not the US insurance. (Google 'swiss AIG').

imgabe3• 17 years ago

From the link in the article ( http://www.aigprivatebank.com/IndexF.cfm?New=1c=4 ) in the footer of that page:

Edit; It looks like it has been sold to an Abu Dhabi holding company, probably since the book was written, but it was formerly owned by AIG. I'm not sure why their website says they're still owned by AIG. Strangely, for a bank he claims has multiple billionaire clients, it was sold for only $254 million.

cellis• 17 years ago

A little recession, it seems, is all it takes for do good hackers to start entertaining the dark side. A pity.

reconbot• 17 years ago

I'd much rather learn how it works so I can identify, avoid, or fight. Which are all preferable to me then ignoring it. Criminals are hackers in their own right (never mind criminal hackers, but society hackers, they make society do things it was never intended to.) and I have to say reading about a good scam is almost as entertaining as reading about a good startup. One just has more practical value.

ethos• 17 years ago

> One just has more practical value. Hmm, you're probably right, but as I am not (yet) thinking of creating a startup, it is debatable which one it is...

My own philosophy is that, if the feces doth impact the rotary blades, I'd rather minimize the damage as much as possible. Most might consider it paranoia; I consider it an ingrained distrust of about 90 percent of humanity. As they say, the best defense is a good offense.

kragen• 17 years ago

I don't see anything particularly dark about the excerpt quoted. What are you criticizing in particular? Maybe I missed it.

wallflower4• 17 years ago

Re: Money laundering

I once heard that some, if not many, of the Chinese all-you-can-eat-buffet restaurants are/were fronts for the Chinese mafia. Makes you wonder - as a lot of them go out of business in 6 months - 1 year.

iron_ball• 17 years ago

Urban legend. A lot of all restaurants go out of business in six months to a year. It's a brutal industry.

modoc• 17 years ago

I don't know much about Chinese Restaurants, but I do know a good bit about nightclubs, and virtually all of them (in major cities at least) launder organized crime money as a primary business.

eli• 17 years ago

Wait, so this isn't a joke?

pageman2• 17 years ago

it's not. outside of the U.S. there are numerous situations that would require you to have a second passport - the one I hear the most are people who travel into Middle East countries but require them also to to Israel. You can basically branch off from that situation to other "real" situations.

jrnkntl• 17 years ago

I'd read it as a fictional novel, and for 10$, I feel like it is.

JeremyChase2• 17 years ago

What does this have to do with Hacker News? Why are people voting this up?

Come on guys.

k0n2ad2• 17 years ago

i haven't been here long, but i'd have to agree with your sentiments.

gamache3• 17 years ago

Why does your concept of hacking begin and end at writing code? This book describes a number of real-life hacks: social engineering, exploiting legal vulnerabilities, circumventing security devices, etc.

JeremyChase2• 17 years ago

Considering how popular your remark is; it is safe to say that people around here think "Hacker News" is about cracking. I had thought it was about building things, silly me.

Skeuomorph• 17 years ago

"If you have to ask..."

But catch up here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptonomicon

We'll see you in Sealand.

k0n2ad2• 17 years ago

Neither Strauss nor Ferriss impress me, and though Ferriss offers some humorous ideas in his book, I would say that most of it is entertainment and self-promotion.

Hexstream• 17 years ago

"When Tarasov was through explaining everything, I couldn’t tell whether I was protecting myself from being scammed or actually being scammed myself."

Count me out!

cstejerean• 17 years ago

Although from looking at the diagram he was referring to it looks pretty straight forward. Split up each type of asset into a separate LLC, all of them owned by a parent LLC that is controlled by a trust. (House is separate since it's more of a liability, the author still owed money on it and there is always a risk someone will trip and fall on your property). Nothing about this setup looks at all unusual or suspicious to me. So I'm either missing something obvious or I need to get in the business of hiding other people's assets.

fuzzmeister• 17 years ago

This article certainly has interesting ideas, but I think the author is wildly overplaying the risks of the current economic situation, and is indulging in a bit too much fantasy. I mean, submarines? Really?

discojesus2• 17 years ago

"I mean, submarines? Really?"

Yeah that's the point at which I would have declared the billionaire to be a complete fucking nutbar, and would decide to immediately stop trying to replicate his behavior.

quizbiz• 17 years ago

If only it was that easy.

chiffonade• 17 years ago

This guy Ferriss is a crackpot.

chris11• 17 years ago

There's a sample chapter that you can read.

Link:http://www.inquisitr.com/19245/neil-strauss-emergency/

How to Be Jason Bourne: Multiple Passports, Swiss Banking, and Crossing Borders

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