Greetings– lots of questions this week so I’m going to jump right into it:

MARK NESTMANN INTERVIEW

Thanks for the emails and comments from yesterday’s Nestmann interview, I’ll try to do more things like this… and thanks to Matt for doing such a great job on the interview. The most common question was whether there is a great book like Nestmann’s Lifeboat Strategy specifically for Canadians.

We asked Mark, and he said to check out How to Tax a Billionaire by Doug Smith. Mark also works with several prominent Canadian asset protection lawyers, and you can contact him on his website for referrals.

LITHUANIA

Several people asked about citizenship in Lithuania– My understanding, as it has been explained to me by a government minister, is that if you can prove that you have ancestors who were Lithuanian citizens prior to 1940, the government will award you citizenship with little red tape. A trusted contact here gave me the name of a lawyer who can help– Marius Tamosiunas, office number +370 5 249 7100. PLEASE do not flood him with calls unless you meet the above criteria and have the proof in hand.

ARGENTINA

More questions about Cafayate. Let me disclose fully– I have not purchased a lot there. I will likely buy one as an investment, but I still probably won’t be spending much time in Salta because quite honestly it’s just not my thing– too remote. To be even more clear, I receive no compensation of any sort from Doug or Cafayate regardless of what I say about the project. I’m just giving you my straight opinion– for some people it’s probably paradise. For my taste, the town is too small.

HONDURAS

Great comments and questions. There are certainly as many, if not more Zelaya detractors as there are supporters. He is no angel, notwithstanding the coup. His government has been filled with corruption, rising crime rates, and reduced civil liberties. All in all, the country is probably better off without him.

That being said, there are definitely scenarios whereby US troops could be engaged by Venezuelan forces should Chavez decide to invade Honduras. If a Venezuelan solider would happen to so much as break wind in the general direction of a US troop stationed in Honduras, Obama’s policy wonks will bring overwhelming force to bear as an excuse to tease out a larger conflict and neutralize the Chavez threat.

The likelihood of that scenario playing out at this point? very low. Zelaya will probably just end up making a deal with the coup leaders, and someone will walk away with a thick white envelope in his jacket pocket.

SILVER TRADE

We had a lot of really fantastic comments about this. To briefly explain my own strategy, I should first say that while I am certain inflation will be a menacing force in the long run, deflation will likely persist in the short run. As such, I can see quite a few scenarios for a stronger (or at least stable) dollar, at least through the end of the year. Mark Nestmann discussed this in his interview yesterday.

I mentioned in this week’s missive how I don’t buy the 70:1 gold/silver ratio. And while I can’t possibly determine what the price of silver will be tomorrow, I am absolutely certain that the future price in the next several years will be much higher.

I’m specifically looking to sell long-dated PUT options where I can find liquidity– $10 strike price December 2011 for $1.20-$1.50, for example. This means that, as long as silver is trading above $9 over two years from now, I make money. If I am wrong, I will still happily be a buyer at $9 (my effective price) and take delivery.

Simultaneously I’m also buying CALL options, for example the $15 strike price, December 2011, for around $2.00; if silver is trading above $17 by that time, I make money.

Some of this may sound confusing if you’ve never traded options before… let me know and we can have a more in-depth dialogue if need be. There are a lot of options alert services available– and thanks to those of you who provided some recommendations. I’ve decided that I will sign up for many of the services that you recommended, conduct a full audit of the track records, and publish the results for everyone to see.

In the meantime, aside from the silver trade, I’m investing heavily in some of the pharma picks from the Dr. George Huang’s FDA letter that I mentioned a few weeks ago. I’ve already audited his record and it is really impressive– his options strategy has been spot on and generated a lot of short-term gains.

MISCELLANEOUS

I’ll be reporting from Latvia and Poland next week, then heading to Hungary for awhile. Over the next several weeks I will try to make my way to Geneva, Vienna, and Luxembourg to sit down with some bankers on your behalf. If anyone is in the area, feel free to drop me a line.

On that note, actually, the BEST way to reach me (and to get a response) is to leave a comment on the site… I read every comment, and it is a much better way to grab my attention. If we need to have a private conversation, let me know and I’ll try to find you on email. Bear in mind that I simply cannot respond to everyone (especially as this community grows), but I’m doing my best.

Have a great weekend.

I’ll tell you why Honduras is really starting to trouble me… I have a few friends left at Joint Task Force- Bravo stationed at Soto Cano Air Base about 50 miles from the capital city of Tegucigalpa, and the situation appears quite tense.

Officially the 500+ US military forces on the ground have been ordered back onto the base and to stay out of sight for the time being… SOUTHCOM, the military command that oversees troops in Honduras, is concerned that the slightest hint of US aggression or influence could result in yet another prolonged conflict.

But while the generals understand that US military forces are sapped and strained, politicians can see a silver lining in the political chaos: finding a reason to invade is a great excuse to raise taxes, dump money into the private sector to support the war, and create another US-friendly state beacon in the region to buffer against Chavez, Ortega, and Correa.

It sounds too perverted for reality, but this is the mindset of policy wonks who are itching to take their PhD dissertations for a test spin in the real world. I’m watching very carefully for signs of a troop buildup at Soto Cano in the hopes that Honduras doesn’t turn into the next Cuba.

(as an aside, I do not expect the situation in Honduras to have any adverse affect on Panama; in fact, it probably makes Panama’s stock rise as the country continues to be a beacon of stability in an otherwise nuttier region.)

My guess is that there’s probably a lot of Hondurans right now who wish they had a lifeboat strategy… remorse is a terrible emotion. There were probably a lot of Rwandans in 1994 and Japanese-Americans in 1942 who thought the same thing.  Being prepared is never about pessimism of fear-mongering, but rather the rejection of the blissfully ignorant notion that ‘it could never happen here.’

It can. And it just might.

I’m not of the camp that geopolitical and economic calamity will get so bad that the entire world will look like a sequel to Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome… perhaps I have more faith in my species and the free market.  But I am open to a variety of possibilities, and more conspicuously the ‘unknown unknowns,’ to quote the potentially-soon-to-be-late Donald Rumsfeld.  Consequently, I structure my life in a way that allows for maximum freedom and flexibility.

Based on my own experiences, I would suggest the following:

* Find at least one (and preferably several) places outside of your home country to escape to. Strongly consider buying property there.

* Consider a second citizenship program; at a minimum, set up residency in another country.

* Store physical and paper assets outside of your home country, and outside of the electronic banking system.

* Demand privacy.

* Keep some investment capital at the ready so that you can jump on phenomenal deals as they arise

* Look for opportunities for additional income that are not constrained by your geography

More on all of these topics in future issues; after all, that’s what this letter is all about– achieving freedom, and I sincerely hope that this content can help.  On that note, I was really overwhelmed at the responses and positive feedback from Friday’s suggestion to buy Mark Nestmann’s book ‘The Lifeboat Strategy’.  Again, I highly recommend that everyone read it, it’s one of the best ‘starter guides’ to internationalization that I have read.

You can find it at MarkNestmann.com; based on popular demand, I’ve contacted Mark to request a short interview and to answer some of your questions in a public forum. More to follow.