"You want to be a pitchman for warlords? You want to carry the Devil's water in Washington? Go for it. But just don't tell me how to fucking talk" -
Jon Lovett responds to
Lanny Davis, in the aftermath of the Corey Booker's comments defending
private equity
posted by crayz
on May 27, 2012 -
51 comments
Gu Kailai, the wife of senior Chinese party leader
Bo Xilai, has been
arrested for the murder of an English businessman. Bo, until his
sudden fall from power this year, one of the most popular politicians in China, the leading figure of the
Chinese New Left and Party Committee Secretary of the megacity of Chongqing, has completed his downfall by being expelled from the politburo and stripped of all party positions. The collapse started in February, when his top lieutenant, Wang Lijun,
was suddenly demoted and then fled to the US consulate for a day - supposedly, either attempting to defect or to give incriminating evidence on Bo and Gu to the Americans for safekeeping.
[more inside]
posted by strangely stunted trees
on Apr 10, 2012 -
38 comments
Our Corrupt Politics: It’s Not All Money. Ezra Klein on corruption in US politics.
The key mistake most people make when they look at Washington—and the key misconception that characters like Abramoff would lead you to—is seeing Washington as a cash economy. It’s a gift economy. That’s why firms divert money into paying lobbyists rather than spending every dollar on campaign contributions. Campaign contributions are part of the cash economy. Lobbyists are hired because they understand how to participate in the gift economy.
posted by russilwvong
on Mar 3, 2012 -
36 comments
"..when a victorious chief minister openly
admits that he himself approached the leading newspaper of his state with money for “positive stories” after learning that the newspaper had signed a “package deal” with his rivals to print
negative stories, you had better sit up and take
urgent notice"
posted by Gyan
on Feb 12, 2010 -
4 comments
Due to
“credible death and kidnapping threats”, T-Pain has cancelled a concert in Guyana for
Mashramani, the festival that marks the anniversary of Guyana’s independence from Great Britain.
Last years, celebration was soured by a
killing spree perpetrated by a heavily armed gang led by man known as “Fine Man”. Because the 23 victims were mainly of East Indian descent, the massacre was a powder keg issue for the tiny South American nation. With a population of 44% East Indian and 30% African ancestries, Guyana tends to be socially and politically divided along ethnic identity lines.
[more inside]
posted by Stu-Pendous
on Feb 24, 2009 -
12 comments
Billions over Baghdad. "Between April 2003 and June 2004, $12 billion in U.S. currency—much of it belonging to the Iraqi people—
was shipped from the Federal Reserve to Baghdad, where it was dispensed by the Coalition Provisional Authority. Some of the cash went to pay for projects and keep ministries afloat, but, incredibly, at least $9 billion has gone missing, unaccounted for, in a frenzy of mismanagement and greed. Following a trail that leads from a safe in one of Saddam's palaces to a house near San Diego, to a P.O. box in the Bahamas,
the authors discover just how little anyone cared about how the money was handled."
posted by homunculus
on Sep 27, 2007 -
50 comments
Mexico's election: now being recounted, but
some are saying it was stolen with our help. Many countries in Latin and South America have been moving to the left lately,
following in the footsteps of Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia and Chile. Argentina actually caught us messing with things during their election, too. Exit polls in Mexico (as in Florida 2000 and Ohio 2004) showed a lead for the more leftist (relatively) candidate, and for those who scoff at using exit polls as evidence--in 2004,
US Republican Senator Richard Lugar, in Kiev, cited the divergence of exit polls and official polls as solid evidence of “blatant fraud” in the vote count in Ukraine. As a result, the Bush Administration refused to recognize the Ukraine government’s official vote tally. So, honest election, or what?
posted by amberglow
on Jul 3, 2006 -
65 comments
Oh Wolfie! Wolfie! Invade me like you invaded Iraq! Pegged to head the World Bank, is Wolfowitz' lover,
Shaha Riza, one of the reasons we invaded Iraq?
Critics say it would be impossible for Wolfie - as he is nicknamed by Bush - to make independent decisions when his lover, who works on Middle Eastern and North African issues, is so committed to overthrowing Middle Eastern regimes.
"His womanising has come home to roost," a Washington insider said. "Paul was a foreign policy hawk long before he met Shaha but it doesn't look good to be accused of being under the thumb of your mistress."
posted by amberglow
on Mar 26, 2005 -
34 comments
Did the Interim Iraqi Defense Minister have these two Americans murdered for $300 million? In the middle of a election that will decide who controls Iraq, Interim Iraqi Defense Minister Hazim Shaalan has announced that Ahmad Chalabi -- a rival candidate --
will be arrested on
13-year-old charges. But why now? Shaalan says Chalabi "wanted to malign the reputation of the defense ministry". How?
1> Shaalan claims Chalabi
released documents accusing Shaalan of being
a former member of the Mokhaberat, Saddam's intelligence service. (Shaalan claims political fraud, with the intent of silencing
his claims against the Iranians.)
2> Chalabi claims that Shaalan
flew $300 million in U.S. currency to a shady businessman in Lebanon, bypassing financial controls, the public bidding process, and Iraqi government oversight.
So, how does this tie in with Stoffel and Wemple? Stoffel
recently alerted senior U.S. officials that the Iraqi Defense Ministry was involved in a kickback scheme involving a shady businessman in Lebanon and
a multimillion-dollar arms deal. Late last year,
Stoffel, a
prominent Republican donor and arms dealer,
met with aides to Sen. Santorum, R-Pa. Santorum wrote Donald Rumsfeld on Stoffel's behalf, asking him to raise the issue with Shaalan. Stoffel was later invited by the Coalition to arbitrate a solution with the Lebanese businessman. After several days, the arbitrator told the businessman to pay Stoffel -- a debt which is still unpaid. Upon leaving the base, Stoffel and Wemple were attacked and killed nearby.
A video from a previously unknown terrorist group claimed responsibility, but one expert suggests that the video may be
"manufactured". A reporter recently granted an interview with an Iraqi Defense Ministry spokesman was
forbidden to ask "dangerous" questions about the contract. Stoffel and Wemple are survived by their wives and five children.
posted by insomnia_lj
on Jan 22, 2005 -
26 comments
Tom DeLay thinks of the children. The GOP House Leader is attempting to create a charity fund for abused and neglected children. Oh, the fund also pays for "late-night convention parties, a luxury suite during President Bush's speech at Madison Square Garden and yacht cruises" during the 2004 GOP convention. Unlike election funds now restricted by Campaign Finance law, donations to DeLay's semi-charity will be tax-exempt, and of course completely unreported to election officials.
(NYT Link)
posted by XQUZYPHYR
on Nov 14, 2003 -
10 comments
Tanzania 9th most corrupt country , of course the word here is that they bribed transparency international to place them above kenya.......
according to the director "HIV AIDS is killing millions of Africans, and in many of the countries where AIDS is at its deadliest the problem is compounded by the fact that corruption levels are seen to be very high. While it is imperative that richer countries provide the fruits of medical research at an affordable price to address this human tragedy, it is also essential that corrupt governments do not steal from their own people. This is now an urgent priority if lives are to be saved."
local traditions don't help either. what this story does not say is that 4,000 girls will be circumsised at this ceremony and the govt/police won't interfere.
posted by quarsan
on Jul 16, 2001 -
5 comments
Corruption Perceptions Index 2001 highlights worldwide corruption "There is no end in sight to the misuse of power by those in public office - and corruption levels are perceived to be as high as ever in both the developed and developing worlds.
It does not reflect secret payments to finance political campaigns, the complicity of banks in money laundering or bribery by multinational companies. Corruption in the most prosperous countries in the world has many manifestations."
posted by riley370
on Jun 29, 2001 -
3 comments
The Election Story Never Told On it’s face, this article is about corruption in Florida before the election. It is still basically an known story in the US, but it is very popular in Britain. Also of note is the continued record of a lazy corporate media refusing to do any sort of journalistic legwork.
posted by capt.crackpipe
on Feb 28, 2001 -
8 comments
