Israel: PM Benjamin Netanyahu indicted for bribery and fraud

Attorney general announces charges against Netanyahu as crisis deepens for longest-serving leader

Read more at:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/nov/21/israeli-prime-minister-benjamin-netanyahu-indicted-for-bribery-and?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Add_to_Firefox

The U.S. Has Become: "Just An Oligarchy With Unlimited Political Bribery" says Jimmy Carter - byTyler Durden

On July 28th, Thom Hartmann interviewed former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, and, at the very end of his show (as if this massive question were merely an aftethought), asked him his opinion of the 2010 Citizens United decision and the 2014McCutcheon decision, both decisions by the five Republican judges on the U.S. Supreme Court. These two historic decisions enable unlimited secret money (including foreign money) now to pour into U.S. political and judicial campaigns. Carter answered:

“It violates the essence of what made America a great country in its political system. Now it’s just an oligarchy with unlimited political bribery being the essence of getting the nominations for President or being elected President. And the same thing applies to governors, and U.S. Senators and congress members. So, now we’ve just seen a subversion of our political system as a payoff to major contributors, who want and expect, and sometimes get, favors for themselves after the election is over. …

At the present time the incumbents, Democrats and Republicans, look upon this unlimited money as a great benefit to themselves. Somebody that is already in Congress has a great deal more to sell.”

Only a single empirical study has actually been done in the social sciences regarding whether the historical record shows that the United States has been, during the survey’s period, which in that case was between 1981 and 2002, a democracy (a nation whose leaders represent the public-at-large), or instead an aristocracy (or ‘oligarchy’) — a nation in which only the desires of the richest citizens end up being reflected in governmental actions.

This study was titled “Testing Theories of American Politics,” and it was published by Martin Gilens and Benjamin I. Page in the journal Perspectives on Politics, issued by the American Political Science Association in September 2014. I had summarized it earlier, on 14 April 2014, while the article was still awaiting its publication.

The headline of my summary-article was “U.S. Is an Oligarchy Not a Democracy Says Scientific Study.” I reported: "The clear finding is that the U.S. is an oligarchy, no democratic country, at all. American democracy is a sham, no matter how much it's pumped by the oligarchs who run the country (and who control the nation's 'news' media).” I then quoted the authors’ own summary: “The preferences of the average American appear to have only a minuscule, near-zero, statistically non-significant impact upon public policy.”

 Read more: Jimmy Carter Rages At What The U.S. Has Become: "Just An Oligarchy With Unlimited Political Bribery" | Zero Hedge

Fifa Scandal or Politics on Steroids ?: Why is the US policing a global game ?

The BBC asked in one of their recent programs - "America does not even like football, or so many people think. Why is it leading the charge against alleged Fifa corruption?"

Good question.

At dawn, Swiss police rounded up seven Fifa officials at the behest of US authorities who have conducted a massive investigation into corruption at football's governing body.
So how did a country where football is more niche than entrenched come to police the world's beautiful game?

"Too many countries are cowed by Fifa," said Alexandra Wrage, a former Fifa anti-bribery adviser who resigned in protest from the organization.

"As with international bribery more generally, the US Department of Justice has said they'll step up to investigate corruption if others won't," she said.

It is not clear what specific event - if any - prompted the US investigation. Some have pointed to the United States' failed bid in late 2010 to host the the 2022 World Cup, and suspicions that bribes were paid to encourage votes for Qatar.

Note EU-Digest:The US involvement in Fifa is questionable and looks much more like politics gone on steroids. Everyone is aware bribery in sports has been going on for years now, not only in the FIFA globally, but also in just about every sector of US sports.  Another possible point of this US contention could be that Russia will be hosting the next World Cup in 2018!  The country submitted its candidacy in early 2009 and was selected by the FIFA Executive Committee in Zurich on December 2, 2010, beating out England and joint bids from Portugal/Spain and Belgium/Netherlands. 

Who knows, the US might be wanting to turn this decision for Russia to host the 2018 world cup around by proving bribery charges favored the selection of Russia and in that way indirectly also punish Russia for the Ukraine crises.

Another aspect, and maybe the most important one, is that the commercial benefits of hosting a World cup and all the perks that come with it involves major corporate involvement and profits. 

This complicates matters even more, since corporate money these days,  more often than not,  usually controls political action.   

EU-Digest 

USA - Political Integrity: Ben & Jerry's founder brings protest to Virginia Key - by Ben Crandell,

The man who brought us Cherry Garcia, Phish Food and New York Super Fudge Chunk has a distaste for the mint that is American politics. So Ben Cohen is fighting back the best way he knows how, with persuasive slogans — and ice cream.
The co-founder of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream will be in Miami this weekend with his Stamp Stampede tour, in which he and a group of volunteers stamp dollar bills with red-ink words of protest: One stamp says, "Not 2 B Used for Bribing Politicians." The other reads, "Stamp Money Out of Politics."
"The Stampede is a grassroots action to build the movement to get money out of politics by stamping messages on paper currency," Cohen says. "The Supreme Court has said that money is free speech, and we are taking them at their word. We're legally making our money scream."
Cohen will appear 3-5 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 15, at Culture Camp, a four-day series of workshops on music, dance, cooking, sustainability and community building at Virginia Key Beach Park in Miami through Feb. 18. The events will kick off the Virginia Key GrassRoots Festival of Music, Art and Dance, running Feb. 19-22, with performances by Donna the Buffalo, Jim Lauderdale, Afrobeta, Elastic Bond, Locos por Juana and the Spam Allstars, among many others. Several of the musicians are scheduled to appear at Culture Camp.
- See more at: http://www.southflorida.com/sf-ben-cohen-virginia-key-grassroots-fest-20150209,0,2784813.story#sthash.ovzKyRJN.dpuf

The man who brought us Cherry Garcia, Phish Food and New York Super Fudge Chunk has a distaste for the mint that is American politics. So Ben Cohen is fighting back the best way he knows how, with persuasive slogans — and ice cream.
The co-founder of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream will be in Miami this weekend with his Stamp Stampede tour, in which he and a group of volunteers stamp dollar bills with red-ink words of protest: One stamp says, "Not 2 B Used for Bribing Politicians." The other reads, "Stamp Money Out of Politics."
"The Stampede is a grassroots action to build the movement to get money out of politics by stamping messages on paper currency," Cohen says. "The Supreme Court has said that money is free speech, and we are taking them at their word. We're legally making our money scream."
Cohen will appear 3-5 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 15, at Culture Camp, a four-day series of workshops on music, dance, cooking, sustainability and community building at Virginia Key Beach Park in Miami through Feb. 18. The events will kick off the Virginia Key GrassRoots Festival of Music, Art and Dance, running Feb. 19-22, with performances by Donna the Buffalo, Jim Lauderdale, Afrobeta, Elastic Bond, Locos por Juana and the Spam Allstars, among many others. Several of the musicians are scheduled to appear at Culture Camp.
- See more at: http://www.southflorida.com/sf-ben-cohen-virginia-key-grassroots-fest-20150209,0,2784813.story#sthash.ovzKyRJN.dpufThe man who brought us Cherry Garcia, Phish Food and New York Super Fudge Chunk has a distaste for the mint that is American politics. So Ben Cohen is fighting back the best way he knows how, with persuasive slogans — and ice cream.\The co-founder of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream will be in Miami this weekend with his Stamp Stampede tour, in which he and a group of volunteers stamp dollar bills with red-ink words of protest: One stamp says, "Not 2 B Used for Bribing Politicians." The other reads, "Stamp Money Out of Politics"The Stampede is a grassroots action to build the movement to get money out of politics by stamping messages on paper currency," Cohen says. "The Supreme Court has said that money is free speech, and we are taking them at their word. We're legally making our money scream."

The man who brought us Cherry Garcia, Phish Food and New York Super Fudge Chunk has a distaste for the mint that is American politics. So Ben Cohen is fighting back the best way he knows how, with persuasive slogans — and ice cream.

The co-founder of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream will be in Miami this weekend with his Stamp Stampede tour, in which he and a group of volunteers stamp dollar bills with red-ink words of protest: One stamp says, "Not 2 B Used for Bribing Politicians." The other reads, "Stamp Money Out of Politics."

"The Stampede is a grassroots action to build the movement to get money out of politics by stamping messages on paper currency," Cohen says. "The Supreme Court has said that money is free speech, and we are taking them at their word. We're legally making our money scream."

Cohen will appear 3-5 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 15, at Culture Camp, a four-day series of workshops on music, dance, cooking, sustainability and community building at Virginia Key Beach Park in Miami through Feb. 18. The events will kick off the Virginia Key GrassRoots Festival of Music, Art and Dance, running Feb. 19-22, with performances by Donna the Buffalo, Jim Lauderdale, Afrobeta, Elastic Bond, Locos por Juana and the Spam Allstars, among many others. Several of the musicians are scheduled to appear at Culture Camp.

The man who brought us Cherry Garcia, Phish Food and New York Super Fudge Chunk has a distaste for the mint that is American politics. So Ben Cohen is fighting back the best way he knows how, with persuasive slogans — and ice cream.
The co-founder of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream will be in Miami this weekend with his Stamp Stampede tour, in which he and a group of volunteers stamp dollar bills with red-ink words of protest: One stamp says, "Not 2 B Used for Bribing Politicians." The other reads, "Stamp Money Out of Politics."
"The Stampede is a grassroots action to build the movement to get money out of politics by stamping messages on paper currency," Cohen says. "The Supreme Court has said that money is free speech, and we are taking them at their word. We're legally making our money scream."
Cohen will appear 3-5 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 15, at Culture Camp, a four-day series of workshops on music, dance, cooking, sustainability and community building at Virginia Key Beach Park in Miami through Feb. 18. The events will kick off the Virginia Key GrassRoots Festival of Music, Art and Dance, running Feb. 19-22, with performances by Donna the Buffalo, Jim Lauderdale, Afrobeta, Elastic Bond, Locos por Juana and the Spam Allstars, among many others. Several of the musicians are scheduled to appear at Culture Camp.
- See more at: http://www.southflorida.com/sf-ben-cohen-virginia-key-grassroots-fest-20150209,0,2784813.story#sthash.ovzKyRJN.dpuf

Read Ben & Jerry's founder brings protest to Virginia Key - SouthFlorida.com

Britain: Corporate Bribery Probe: Glaxo link to probe

Drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline publishes second quarter results on Wednesday as a tangled web of allegations linked to a bribery probe by Chinese authorities continues to hang over the UK-based company.

It comes shortly after a British investigator and his American wife who were hired by the company learned they were to face trial in the country charged with illegally obtaining and selling private information.

The arrest of Peter Humphrey and Yingzeng Yu last year coincided with a Chinese probe into allegations that Glaxo staff had funnelled hundreds of millions of pounds through travel agencies to bribe doctors and health officials.

The couple's firm ChinaWhys had been asked to look into the origin of a sex tape involving Glaxo's China manager Mark Reilly, who has himself been accused by Chinese authorities in relation to the bribery case.

Glaxo has said it asked the investigators to look into a "serious breach of privacy and security" relating to Mr Reilly but that the firm was not hired "to investigate the substance of allegations of misconduct" made by a whistleblower.

In May, the pharmaceuticals firm disclosed that its commercial practices had come under "formal criminal investigation" by Britain's Serious Fraud Office.

Sheridan Adams, investment research manager at The Share Centre, said: "Although Chinese revenues only account for less than 5% of the global total, negative press coverage will not be welcomed and investors may want to hear from management on the matter."

Glaxo's second quarter update is the first since the takeover frenzy over US rival Pfizer's ultimately unsuccessful bid to swallow up Britain's AstraZeneca for £69 million amid a public outcry.

The merger spotlight in the sector has since fallen on Hampshire-based Shire and its American suitor AbbVie.
Glaxo has kept out of any speculation around such deals, after unveiling a complex three-part transaction with Novartis in May.

It will see the two firms create a £6.5 billion consumer healthcare powerhouse from its Aquafresh and Beechams together with antiseptic range Savlon and cough and cold brand Tixylix from Novartis.

The deal also saw Glaxo sell its oncology portfolio from Novartis and buy the Swiss firm's vaccines business.

Read more: Glaxo link to probe | Herald Scotland

World Cup Soccer Brazil: A World Cup fiasco: FIFA gets a red card - by Jeff Gray

With the first whistle of the World Cup in Brazil just days away, the international body that puts on the globe’s biggest soccer tournament is facing perhaps the biggest test of its 110-year history: And it has nothing to do with last-minute work on the unfinished stadium that is due to host the opening match.

The Swiss-based International Association Football Federation, known by its French initials FIFA, is under siege as it grapples with mounting allegations of bribery and corruption that span the globe and involve millions of dollars.

Over the past decade, allegations that FIFA officials have taken or given bribes or kickbacks have prompted a list of senior soccer figures to resign or be forced out. The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation was reportedly investigating some of the allegations. And a high-profile FIFA investigation is under way into allegations that FIFA officials were paid millions of dollars to award the 2022 World Cup to Qatar, something Qatari bid officials deny.

Just in the past week, those allegations once again exploded onto front pages across Europe, after the Sunday Times in London boasted that it had been leaked a “bombshell cache” of millions of e-mails and other documents the newspaper says show a “plot to buy the World Cup.”

Prominent figures inside and outside FIFA have said it is time to take the drastic step of throwing out what they say was a tainted vote that gave Qatar the tournament and hold another ballot.

Among them is Alexandra Wrage, a Canadian lawyer and internationally respected anti-corruption expert who last year walked away from her seat on the FIFA governance committee overseeing the soccer body’s cleanup efforts because she believed FIFA, and its powerful president Sepp Blatter, weren’t serious about real changes.

The mess at FIFA, which expects to rake in $4.5-billion (U.S.) in revenue from this year’s World Cup alone, comes as corporations and governments around the world shift their attitudes toward bribery, a practice that until recently was quietly tolerated as the cost of doing business in certain parts of the world.

But until recently, FIFA – a sprawling global body composed of more than 200 national soccer associations – had done little to keep pace. Indeed, hands-off Switzerland, where FIFA has its imposing angled-glass headquarters in Zurich, had no legislation covering “private sector” bribery until 2006.

In 2012, recurring scandals over alleged kickbacks and bribery during the past decade finally prompted the appointment of a committee to recommend, and then oversee, governance reforms at FIFA. Swiss law professor Mark Pieth, chairman of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development’s working group on bribery, was made its head.

Read more: A World Cup fiasco: FIFA gets a red card - The Globe and Mail

British PM's fundraiser quits over cash for access claim - by Tim Castle

A senior fundraiser for Britain's ruling Conservative Party resigned on Sunday after being secretly filmed offering exclusive access to Prime Minister David Cameron in return for donations of 250,000 pounds a year.

The disclosure is damaging for Cameron's party which has tried to shake off an image of being too close to the interests of business and the rich as Britain undergoes a strict austerity program to cut its budget deficit.

The party's co-Treasurer Peter Cruddas stood down within hours of the Sunday Times newspaper publishing video of him telling undercover reporters, posing as international financiers, that the contributions would enable them to ask Cameron "practically any question you want".

The Sunday Times reporters had posed as Liechtenstein-based fund managers who wanted to develop contacts with Cameron and other ministers on behalf of their Middle East investors.

Cruddas told them the access would be "awesome for your business", adding some of the party's bigger donors had enjoyed dinner with Cameron and his wife Samantha in their private apartment at his Number 10 Downing Street office.

For more: British PM's fundraiser quits over cash for access claim | Reuters