Panama Papers

bekayne wrote:

Too easy. "The passports of at least 200 Americans show up in this week’s massive leak of secret data on secretive offshore shell companies."

lol. The first sub headline reads as follows:

"No politicians of note are in files but plenty of others"

I've already written my reply. Here it is again...

I wrote:

Attention all US sycophants: the reason there are no Americans named so far is that Panama was put under US regulatory regime and therefore you'd have to be a few bricks short of a load (as a crook) to hide your ill gotten gains in such plain view.

Rest assured? OK, maybe some tadpoles. Big fish? Don't hold your breath.

It's exactly as I stated. Tadpoles.

 

swallow wrote:

Let's analyze the pro-Kremlin media spin too. 

I was expecting a lot of "boo-rah, they got that uber-nazi Poroshenko" stuff. And Poroshenko is clearly someone who's in hot water, deservedly so. 

And yet, the pro-Kremlin media repsonse has been, instead, to attack the entire project, even though it exposes quite a few people, exposes Poroshenko and David Cameron to critcism, etc. The reason? Apparently, defending Putin is more important than exposing others. Poroshenko's best ally in attacking this entire project is the pro-Kremlin press - strange bedfellows indeed.

Yes. One suspects that if the released docs showed that Obama was personally financing child-porn studios in the third-world, the pro-Putinists would still be crying "CIA Plot!!" through hot tears if another one showed that Putin once lit up a smoke in a non-smoking area.

ikosmos wrote:

swallow wrote:

And yet, the pro-Kremlin media repsonse has been, instead, to attack the entire project, even though it exposes quite a few people, exposes Poroshenko and David Cameron to critcism, etc. The reason? Apparently, defending Putin is more important than exposing others. Poroshenko's best ally in attacking this entire project is the pro-Kremlin press - strange bedfellows indeed.

A fascinating development.

RT, the propaganda bullhorn of the Russian regime (US Sec of State John Kerry direct quote) has a flagship program called Crosstalk. Their show later this week is going to be all about the Panama Papers. I don't think Peter Lavelle is going to take this approach you identify but ... let's see.

Should be interesting. Maybe we can say that the blowback is already unpredictable.

Well, we might be able to classify it as "blowback", if you were to prove that the whole point of this doc dump was to take down Putin. But, from what I can tell, you haven't done that, so I'm not about to start adopting your preferred nomenclature.

 

The Iceland Prime Minister who was forced to resign today over the Panama Papers is only one of 72 current or former heads of state with links to the Panama Papers. In the video accompanying this article, British PM David Cameron proclaims he has no ties and that his record with regard to protecting taxpayers from offshore tax havens helping people avoid their taxes is second to no one in British history, despite the fact that the British Virgin Islands are the largest tax haven globally, and the British crown dependencies Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man are notorious tax havens. The video also mentions that 8 members of the Chinese Politburo are linked to Panama Papers tax havens. 

 

Quote:

Former Conservative MPs, peers and David Cameron’s late father are among scores of people and politicians whose financial affairs have been exposed by a massive leak of data about offshore investments. ....

The leak of more than 11 million documents from the Panamanian law firm, Mossack Fonseca, casts an unprecedented light on the way the rich and powerful are able to use tax havens to shield their wealth. ....

Ian Cameron, the prime minister’s father who died in 2010, is reportedly named as a client of the firm. Six members of the House of Lords, three former Conservative MPs and “dozens” of donors to UK political parties who have been shown to have had offshore assets – although none have so far been named.

The leak also reportedly shows links to 72 current or former heads of state, including dictators accused of looting their own countries including Libya’s former leader Muammar Gaddafi and Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad.

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/panama-papers-uk-politicians_uk_57...

 

 

Some politicians in the Ukranian are asking for an investigation of President Petro Poroshenko, including some in his own party. 

 

http://foreignpolicy.com/2016/04/04/will-the-panama-papers-bring-down-uk...

Follow up: Peter Lavelle of RT has argued that the Panama Papers are essentially a hoax ...

Peter Lavelle wrote:

The Panama Papers is essentially a hoax (with some thin layer of facts attempting to legitimatize it). From what I can see it is a hit list against the west’s enemies (Putin, China, BRICS, etc). Seriously, no major western financial institution is implicated? This is a joke! You ask about Saudi then? Yeah, everyone knows the royal family is corrupt to high heaven, so no real revelation. Cameron’s father? He is dead – no real story. This is a pysops ploy and a very sad day for real journalism

Facts will win the day, not drive-by insults that prove nothing.

Again, babblers need to get up to speed on the US Panama Trade Promotion Agreement. Who funded this "leak"? What leaders are targetted? What leaders or financial institutions are conspicuously missing and from which countries? What Head of State was clearly identified by the MSM in virtually all of the Western countries despite not a single page in the millions of pages naming him? Why did it take over a year for all this brew to become public? Who are the gate-keepers of the information?

A bit of a grab-bag of critiques follow. caveat emptor.

 

1. NBC News. Why are Americans not included in the Panama Papers?

See http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/panama-papers/why-are-americans-not-inc...

Quote:

"This firm is one of thousands in the world and there are hundreds or thousands just like it in the U.S.," said Ana Owens, a tax and budget advocate at U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), a federation of state-level consumer advocacy organizations. "If a company in the U.S. can do the exact thing for you as this company in Panama, then you might as well do it right here in the U.S. And its perfectly legal, which is the issue."

Which is what the Bloomberg story from last January pointed out. Yawn.

2. Fabricated Putin link

See http://www.globalresearch.ca/secret-offshore-money-fabricated-putin-link...

Quote:

London’s Guardian went further, yellow journalism at its worst, spuriously alleging “(a) network of secret offshore deals and vast loans worth $2bn has laid a trail to Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin.”

    “An unprecedented leak of documents shows how this money has made members of Putin’s close circle fabulously wealthy.”

    “Though the president’s name does not appear in any of the records, the data reveals a pattern – his friends have earned millions from deals that seemingly could not have been secured without his patronage.”

    “The documents suggest Putin’s family has benefited from this money – his friends’ fortunes appear his to spend.”

No evidence corroborates the Guardian’s specious allegations, the latest example of irresponsible Western media Putin bashing.

The Guardian featured in bold letters: “How to hide a billion dollars” accompanied by Putin’s image, the implication clear, evidence linking him to possible wrongdoing absent because none exists.

His spokesman Dmitry Peskov said “it’s obvious that the main target of (ICIJ’s report) is our president,” aimed at discrediting him and affecting Russia’s stability.

He suggested ICIJ ties to Washington. Its dubious funding sources reveal its intention to smear Vladimir Putin irresponsibly – destroying its own credibility in the process.

3. Wikileaks at war with ICIJ. Will Snowden and Assange chime in?

Wikileaks has a problem with the Soros/corporate funded Panama Papers "leaks". And it's only been a day or so. Ho Hum. Wikileaks also tweeted ...

Quote:

Moments later, in a subsequent tweet it added that the "Putin attack was produced by OCCRP which targets Russia & former USSR and was funded by USAID & Soros.

Wikileaks wants this stuff to be released in full. Because freedom. And I think they mean it.

4.Global research.

Quote:

.. the Panama Papers appear to be nothing more than other propaganda assault conducted by the U.S. State Department and its host of interconnected color revolution agencies like the Ford Foundation, OSI, and USAID. Before activists rejoice, they should take a deeper look into the leaks and the source that produced them.

http://www.globalresearch.ca/are-panama-papers-an-act-of-destabilization...

http://russia-insider.com/en/politics/shots-fired-wikileaks-accuses-pana...

That didn't take long.

 

It's been pointed out that the Ukrainian President is no small fish. I have to agree. But I still think the lack of US big fish, the obvious campaign against the Russian President, your grab bag of unlikeable politicians from XYZ, the question of who was funding the "leak" ... and the advice above is very good ...

"Before activists rejoice, they should take a deeper look into the leaks and the source that produced them."

I have to agree. But I must admit that the fish are getting bigger.

Iceland is a NATO country. And, according to Haareztz, there are Israeli companies and shareholders listed in the Panama Papers.

http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.712914#!

I see they list two banks: Bank Leumi and Bank Hapoalim. No individuals. And certainly not a drive by guilt by association smear of its President.

Is Haaretz one of the gate-keepers?

Scroll down for a fairly in-depth report on Israelis involved, with lots of names, including Dov Weisglass, a former assistant to Ariel Sharon.

http://www.haaretz.com/world-news/1.712497

Netanyahu is also mentioned, though all it says is that he had an account on Jersey, not whether he was listed in the leaks.

Pepe Escobar: Dance, Suckers!

What's Missing? Uh, plenty.

Quote:

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), the coordinator of the leak, wants to keep it that way. “We’re not WikiLeaks. We’re trying to show that journalism can be done responsibly,” ICIJ Director Gerard Ryle told Wired.

Yeah, I believe him. Totally.

voice of the damned wrote:

Well, you said that the media wasn't reporting Israeli names. I gave you a link to the main Israeli daily, listing names of Israelis.

OK, point taken.

Quote:

So, I'm not quite sure how that isn't conmvicning, for the purposes of this discussion.

Here's the quote from the Global Research piece above:

Quote:

the Panama Papers release has all the hallmarks of what might be considered a “limited hangout” operation. In other words, these leaks may very well be nothing more than an Anglo-American attack on geopolitical rivals and an exercise in a massive propaganda blitz against target nations and individuals.

Lastly, while some revelations do contain NATO allies like the Ukrainian President, the Saudis, United Arab Emirates, and Qataris, one must keep in mind the necessity of the “hangout” aspect of the “limited hangout,” i.e., the necessity to reveal something negative about the institution or nations actually releasing the “leaks” in order to provide authenticity of the documents and claims made therein but, at the same time, never revealing anything that would actually be practically damaging to the entity that originally provided the leak. A limited hangout is thus a type of data leak false flag, requiring a certain amount of incriminating data aimed back at the perpetrator so as to provide credibility but never enough to bring the heat back to the one who created and committed the leak to begin with.

I presume that you agree with me about the necessity for all of the data to be made available to alternative media (like rabble.ca) to search at their leisure. Without such access, it is still suspicious. This aspect of the story is just going to grow, no matter how many "hangouts" are put out in the public laundry.

Here is the key phrase above ...

Quote:

never revealing anything that would actually be practically damaging to the entity that originally provided the leak.

Good on Wikileaks. They are absolutely shredding these leaks. The whole thing looks like it's going to blow up in Uncle Sam's face.

Here is the best so far ...

Wikileaks tweeted wrote:

#PanamaPapers: If you censor more than 99% of the documents you are engaged in 1% journalism by definition.

9:39 AM - 6 Apr 2016

Wkileaks: "Direct hit!"

Uncle Sam: "Wah! You sunk my battleship!"

 

ikosmos wrote:

voice of the damned wrote:

Scroll down for a fairly in-depth report on Israelis involved, with lots of names, including Dov Weisglass, a former assistant to Ariel Sharon....

Netanyahu is also mentioned, though all it says is that he had an account on Jersey, not whether he was listed in the leaks.

Thanks. But what you've given here isn't very convincing. More dribs and drabs.

The food is terrible. And the portions are too small!

Quote:

Enormous shells of information, laying waste to entire countries, carpet bombing of information, leaving a moon-scape, etc., are here to stay. It's hybrid warfare.

Perhaps Canada could accept some of the "refugees" from this "war".  How a person finds the strength and support to start all over again after having their numbered holding company implicated in a Ponzi scheme is beyond me, but don't they deserve that chance?

ikosmos wrote:

Good on Wikileaks. They are absolutely shredding these leaks. The whole thing looks like it's going to blow up in Uncle Sam's face.

Here is the best so far ...

No, they aren't "shredding these leaks". They are, rightfully, "shredding" the media's handling of it.

WikiLeaks ‏@wikileaks 5h5 hours ago

Claims that #PanamaPapers themselves are a 'plot' against Russia are nonsense. However hoarding, DC organization & USAID money tilt coverage

 

The Panama Papers will most likely put the Pirate Party in office in Iceland.   They're at 43% in the polls.    Birgitta Jonsdottir, a former leading figure in Wikileaks would be the most likely Prime Minister.   I don't think the U.S. would be thrilled with that.

Similarly I don't think U.S. interests would be thrilled with David Cameron being taken down and Jeremy Corbyn moving into "Number 10".

Last night Bernie Sanders made note of the fact that he opposed the US/Panama free trade agreement.

There's nothing particularly progressive about the kleptocratic capitalist regimes that currently run Russia and China.    The only thing that's somewhat useful about them is that they provide some small degree of a counterweight to the Wall Street regime on some international issues.

The other thing to remember is that this set of leaks comes from the fourth largest "off shoring" law firm in Panama.    I'm sure that if some day the world were able to obtain documents from numbers one, two and three we'd learn even more dirt about the world's capitalists.

In the meantime enjoy the ride.

 

 

 

 

The whole angle of the US being a more popular destination for setting up shell companies, etc., dovetails with helping US business interests at a time when a looming financial crisis may put global financial assets in jeopardy. Those US assets, goes the argument, ought to be in the US - safer from the watchful eyes of international institutions or financial tsunamis generally than otherwise.

We have already seen how US dominated financial institutions like the IMF have effectively partitioned the global community of states into those that do the bidding of the US regime and those that do not. So, for example, it used to be that any state that defaulted on state to state loans would no longer be eligible for IMF loans. But now, since states other than the US can bankroll such loans, we see that if Ukraine defaults on a loan to Russia ... then the IMF says, "No problem. We will still lend you money. Fuck the Russians." etc. This effectively is an act of financial piracy or brigandage.

The colossus is truly contemptible. But the ends justify the means. The Empire must dominate forever. All those who oppose the Emperor must die. So it's all good. See?