Corruption

In Brazil, Any Anti-Corruption Mandate Will Meet Political Obstacles

usissuescom Foreign Policy , ,

Re-Blogged From Stratfor.com

Highlights

  • The next Brazilian administration will come to power with a mandate to deepen anti-corruption probes and deliver greater results against perceived graft.
  • Brazil’s new government will have two general choices at its disposal: create institutions to more effectively detect and deal with corruption, or work within the existing institutions to indirectly target corruption through legislative amendments, including enacting stricter criminal penalties.
  • Obtaining funding to support extensive institutional reforms, balancing anti-corruption pursuits against competing political priorities, negotiating for legislative change with Brazil’s highly fragmented National Congress and other bureaucratic obstacles will shape the next administration’s anti-corruption policy.

A picture showing Brazilians rallying against far-right populist presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro in Sao Paulo on Oct. 20.

(NELSON ALMEIDA/AFP/Getty Images)

Continue reading →

Advertisements

Weekly Climate and Energy News Roundup

usissuescom CAGW Alarmism, Energy Policy, Regulation , , , , , , , ,

Brought to You by www.SEPP.org, The Science and Environmental Policy Project

By Ken Haapala, President

Transparency in Regulatory Science: On August 16, the EPA comment period closed on proposed rules to ensure transparency in science used for regulations called “Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science.” Harvard University roared against the proposed rules claiming the rules would “drastically limit the scientific and medical knowledge that underlies a host of EPA regulations that protect human health.”

According to the Harvard Gazette the letter signed by 96 officials of the school included, “Harvard President Larry Bacow, the deans of Harvard Medical School (HMS) and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and the presidents of Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and Massachusetts Eye and Ear. It says that the EPA’s push to require studies to reveal the material that supports their conclusions would bar the best available science from being considered in the regulatory process.” TWTW was unable to find the latest letter, but a June 4 letter from then Harvard President Drew Gilpin Faust highlighted the key issue.

Continue reading →

Hezbollah in South America: The Threat to Businesses

usissuescom Foreign Policy , , , , ,

Re-Blogged From Stratfor

Analysis Highlights

South America is a strong base of operations for the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which has had a presence in the continent dating back to the 1980s. The group established finance and logistical networks, which it used to facilitate two bombings in Argentina in the 1990s. The first bombing in 1992 targeted the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires, killing 29 people and injuring 242 more. A second bombing in 1994 targeted the Asociacion Mutual Israelita Argentina (AMIA), a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, killing 85 and injured over 300. Since then, Hezbollah has shifted its operational focus from terror attacks to criminal activity to raise money, entering South America’s lucrative drug-trafficking business and dealing primarily with cocaine and heroin. Previously, we explored what Hezbollah now does in South America, and where it does it. Here, we will explore the threat Hezbollah poses to businesses in South America.

(Stratfor)

Continue reading →

UN Agency to US Congress: Drop Dead

usissuescom Foreign Policy, Regulation , , , ,

By Paul Driessen – Re-Blogged From http://www.WattsUpWithThat.com

IARC takes US money, manipulates scientific studies, colludes with activists – and snubs Congress

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in France has received over $48 million from America’s National Institutes of Health (NIH), to determine whether various chemicals cause cancer in humans. Of more than 900 chemicals it has reviewed, only one was ever found non-carcinogenic. The latest substance to face IARC scrutiny is glyphosate, the active ingredient in the herbicide RoundUp.

Continue reading →

Hypocrisy Most Foul. . .

usissuescom Stocks & Commodities , , , ,

By Michael Ballanger – Re-Blogged From http://www.Gold-Eagle.com

As you all know by now, I have absolutely zero knowledge of anything related to the “blockchain” technology, which translates into “I don’t own Bitcoin and would not touch HIVE Blockchain Technologies Ltd. (HIVE:TSX.V; PRELF:OTC) with a barge pole.” That also means that I am constantly being reminded, primarily by those considerably younger than me, that geriatric anchoring is costing me (and my readers) a great deal of money by avoiding the space which, as you can see from the chart below, has been absolutely true.

Continue reading →

Guanxi: How Business Is Done in China

usissuescom Foreign Policy, Regulation , , , , , ,

By Scott Stewart – Re-Blogged From Stratfor

The case of Candace Claiborne, a U.S. State Department employee recently arrested and charged with failing to disclose gifts from Chinese intelligence officers, offers many useful insights into the world of spying. In my April 6 column, I discussed her unusual motive for working with Chinese intelligence: to help pay for her son’s education. Another item in the criminal complaint against Claiborne touches on a more commonplace, but equally striking, issue. The complaint mentions that Claiborne sent her son a message discussing guanxi, the complex cultural system that governs personal relationships in China. Guanxi typically describes the moral obligations that arise from giving and receiving personal gifts or favors. The custom is generally considered a natural way of relating to people and conducting business in China. Many Western businesses, on the other hand, view guanxi as corruption.

Continue reading →

An Open Letter to Donald Trump

usissuescom Foreign Policy, GDP & Employment, Regulation , , , ,

cropped-bob-shapiro.jpg   By Bob Shapiro

Dear Mr Trump,

During your campaign speeches, you have referred to your Democratic opponent as “Crooked Hillary,” and the crowds have responded positively because they know you are speaking the truth. I suggest that you carry this line of attack forward into the remaining debates.

First, when Hillary comes out and makes a big show of shaking your hand – don’t do it. Look at her hand and say, “I don’t think so.”

Among other things, this will make an opening for you to explain why. I suggest that you say something like:

Continue reading →