Month: August 2010

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Banking with “Enemies”

Commerce, Corruption, Money, Banks & Concentrated Wealth

According to court documents, from as early as the mid-1990s until September 2006, Barclays knowingly and willfully moved or permitted to be moved hundreds of millions of dollars through the U.S. financial system on behalf of banks from Cuba, Iran, Libya, Sudan and Burma, and persons listed as parties or jurisdictions sanctioned by OFAC in violation of U.S. economic sanctions.

Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs, Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Barclays Bank PLC Agrees to Forfeit $298 Million in Connection with Violations of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the Trading with the Enemy Act

WASHINGTON – Barclays Bank PLC, a United Kingdom corporation headquartered in London, has agreed to forfeit $298 million to the United States and to the New York County District Attorney’s Office in connection with violations of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and the Trading with the Enemy Act (TWEA), announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr., of the New York County District Attorney’s Office. The violations relate to transactions Barclays illegally conducted on behalf of customers from Cuba, Iran, Sudan and other countries sanctioned in programs administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
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Opening Beijing’s Seven Secrets

02 China, 07 Other Atrocities, Counter-Oppression/Counter-Dictatorship Practices, Open Government, Secrecy & Politics of Secrecy

Waiting for Wikileaks: Beijing's Seven Secrets

by Perry Link (Aug 18, 2010)

While people in the US and elsewhere have been reacting to the release by Wikileaks of classified US documents on the Afghan War, Chinese bloggers have been discussing the event in parallel with another in their own country. On July 21 in Beijing, four days before Wikileaks published its documents, Chinese President Hu Jintao convened a high-level meeting to discuss ways to prevent leaks from the archives of the Communist Party of China.

In emails, tweets, and web postings, Chinese bloggers, both inside China and overseas, began listing key episodes in recent Chinese history that have remained shrouded in mystery and for which they would love to see archives opened:

1. The famine during the Great Leap Forward in 1959-62. Somewhere between 20 and 50 million people died because of bad policy, not “bad weather.” What exactly happened? What policies caused the famine and what policies suppressed information on it? How much grain was in state granaries while people starved? Is it true that Mao sold grain to the Soviet Union during those years in order to buy nuclear weapons?

Continue reading “Opening Beijing's Seven Secrets”

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NIGHTWATCH Extract: Colombian Constitution vs. US

Analysis, Corruption, Cultural Intelligence, Multinational Plus, Threats, Tribes

Colombia: The Constitutional Court yesterday declared an agreement granting US military access to Colombian bases unconstitutional on procedural grounds. La Patilla reported the vote was 6-3 against the agreement, and Semana reported the court would soon give a press conference to explain the details. The constitutional court ruled the 2009 accord should be redrafted as an international treaty and sent to Colombia's Congress for approval.

The agreement would have allowed US forces to have access to seven Colombian bases that help support operations against drug trafficking and terrorism. This is the draft legislation that other Latin American leaders criticized lat year because it abetted a rise in US regional influence.

The deal agreed by former President Alvaro Uribe in October 2009 gave the US access to the bases for 10 years and would see a maximum of 800 US military personnel and 600 civilian defense contractors based in Colombia.

The court's chief justice Mauricio Gonzalez said the deal was “an arrangement which requires the State to take on new obligations as well as an extension of previous ones.” He said that as such, it should be “handled as an international treaty, that is, subject to congressional approval”. The court did not rule on the legitimacy of the agreement itself and the ruling does not mean the US has to leave the country altogether.

NIGHTWATCH Comment: President Juan Manuel Santos said the court ruling will have little impact on U.S. military help fighting rebels and will not affect the operations of U.S. troops and contractors working with Colombia's military, The Associated Press reported 18 August.  The ruling is primarily procedural not substantive. Nonetheless, it will be an inconvenience.

NIGHTWATCH KGS Home

Phi Beta Iota: Here is a rough graphic showing the four spheres of influence that are fighting World War III.  Nations are flexing their Constitutional muscles against US and external incursions, while at the same time, hybrid organizations and “hidden powers” are fighting in the shadows.  Most Nation-States are no longer central because they have lost its legitimacy from a mix of internal corruption and external misadventure.

It is neither possible nor desireable to “fight” the established powers–Non-Zero Strategy requires a focus on the five billion and the creation of infinite wealth with social capitalism and Information Communication Technologies (ICT) as well as energy, food, and other innovations.  Non-violent innovation is the only viable winning strategy.

See Also:

Graphic: Four Threat Classes

Search: world map with 8 conflicts

Search: Africa Graphic and Four Threat Classes

Search: five front war the better way to fight

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Worth a Look: CrowdMap (Beta)

Advanced Cyber/IO, Analysis, Augmented Reality, Citizen-Centered, Collective Intelligence, Collective Intelligence, Counter-Oppression/Counter-Dictatorship Practices, Earth Intelligence, Geospatial, Historic Contributions, info-graphics/data-visualization, InfoOps (IO), Intelligence (government), International Aid, IO Mapping, Journalism/Free-Press/Censorship, Maps, Methods & Process, microfinancing, Mobile, Officers Call, Open Government, Policy, Reform, Research resources, Technologies, Tools, Worth A Look

Crowdmap (Liquida)

Crowdmap allows you to…

+ Collect information from cell phones, news and the web.
+ Aggregate that information into a single platform.
+ Visualize it on a map and timeline.

Crowdmap is designed and built by the people behind Ushahidi, a platform that was originally built to crowdsource crisis information. As the platform has evolved, so have its uses. Crowdmap allows you to set up your own deployment of Ushahidi without having to install it on your own web server.

See Also:

Graphics: Twitter as an Intelligence Tool

Reference: How to Use Twitter to Build Intelligence

Journal: Tech ‘has changed foreign policy’

Continue reading “Worth a Look: CrowdMap (Beta)”

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Reference: Sustainable World by 2050

About the Idea, Briefings (Core)
Full Briefing Online

Phi Beta Iota: Professor Robert Horn of Stanford is one of the co-founders and continuing intellects unified by Earth Intelligence Network, and a true genius at sustainability design and visualization.  His original term of continuing value is  “information mapping.”  This, his latest briefing, is a most helpful offering in relation to creating global strategies for education, intelligence, and research.  Visit Professor Horn at his HOME PAGE.

See Also:

Bite-Size View of Full Wall Mural (Fast but Still 17MB)

Full Size Wall Mural is offered for sale, laminated, C$945.  Order from RubenNelson at shaw.ca

Book on Mapping Hypertext (1989)

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Journal: General McCrystal Wins, US Troops Lose

08 Wild Cards, Government, Military, Officers Call
Marcus Aurelius Recommends

New York Daily News
August 17, 2010
Pg. 18

Fired McChrystal Gets Yale Grad School Gig

WASHINGTON — Retired Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the too-outspoken Afghan commander sacked by President Obama, picked up a consolation prize yesterday from the Ivy League.

Yale announced McChrystal would teach a “ leadership seminar” for grad students. McChrystal said he was looking forward to “ sharing my experiences and insights as a career military officer.”

McChrystal, 56, was forced into retirement in June after dissing the chain of command in a Rolling Stone interview.

FULL STORY ONLINE

Continue reading “Journal: General McCrystal Wins, US Troops Lose”

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