From: schillin@spock.usc.edu   
      
   Jim Logajan  writes:   
      
   >henry@spsystems.net (Henry Spencer) wrote:   
   >> In article <4064D870.57FC520A@yahoo.com>,   
   >> Abrigon Gusiq   wrote:   
   >>>Nice thing about a world that has more than one nation, is that if they   
   >>>can't get FAA clearance, they can always go to another country and get   
   >>>something like it..   
      
   >> Unfortunately, if they're Americans, they still need FAA approval.  The   
   >> US thinks it has jurisdiction over American citizens everywhere.   
      
   >Unlike physical laws, there are ways around human laws. In this case a bit   
   >of legal research should turn up a way to shield a U.S. citizen from   
   >prosecution or a need to get authorization from the FAA. For example, it   
   >should be possible to get around the problem simply by having the U.S.   
   >citizen establish a business in a foreign country, which would then be the   
   >legal entity that would design, build, and fly the rocket.   
      
   >Some of the basic techniques used to establish tax havens seem likely   
   >mechanisms.   
      
      
   The techniques used to establish tax havens only work when the government,   
   in this case the U.S. Federal Government, doesn't really care.  And the   
   government only ever pretended to care about crooked businessmen or drug   
   dealers, so the tax havens worked.   
      
   When the drug dealers started getting in bed with the terrorists, the   
   Feds started caring and e.g. the Swiss started talking.  Someone starts   
   conspicuously evading the standard legal regime while building something   
   that could be an ICBM's stunt double, Washington is going to care a   
   *whole lot* and the Swiss are going to go positively transparent.   
      
      
   Really, anybody who thinks "go offshore" is the trivial solution to the   
   launch regulation issue, needs to study the history of OTRAG.  And anybody   
   with a "bureaucrats = evil" meme lodged between the mental lobes, needs to   
   get a sense of proportion.  The FAA has the least evil bureaucrats of any   
   government agency anywhere.  You want to trade them in for the whole ITAR   
   club, Homeland Security,  *and* the kleptocratic cronies of some third-world   
   dictator?  Good luck with that.   
      
      
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