Friends of Liberty

Executive Order Targeting North Korean Proliferation & Other Illicit Activities

US Department of Treasury
August 30, 2010
TG-839

Fact Sheet: New Executive Order Targeting Proliferation and Other Illicit Activities Related to North Korea

Today President Obama issued an Executive Order freezing the assets of certain persons with respect to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea). This new Order expands the scope of the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13466 of June 26, 2008 and takes additional steps to address that national emergency. In the new Executive Order, the President finds that certain actions and policies of the Government of North Korea constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States.

The Order targets the government of North Korea's continued involvement in a wide range of proliferation and other illicit activities in defiance of UN Security Council Resolutions (UNSCRs) 1718 and 1874 and other illicit activities in defiance of international norms. The Order directs the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, to target for sanctions individuals and entities facilitating North Korean trafficking in arms and related materiel; procurement of luxury goods; and engagement in illicit economic activities, such as money laundering, the counterfeiting of goods and currency, bulk cash smuggling and narcotics trafficking. This new Executive Order supplements existing U.S. sanctions targeting proliferators of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and those who support them, under which North Korean entities and individuals have been designated to date.

President Obama also identified the following entities and individual for sanctions by listing them on the Annex to the Order:

· The Reconnaissance General Bureau (RGB), North Korea's premiere intelligence organization involved in North Korea's conventional arms trade;

· RGB commander Lieutenant General Kim Yong Chol;

· Green Pine Associated Corporation, a North Korean conventional arms dealer subordinated to the control of the RGB; and

· Office 39 of the Korean Workers' Party, which provides critical support to North Korean leadership in part through engaging in illicit economic activities and managing the leadership's slush funds.

The U.S. government has longstanding concerns regarding North Korea's involvement in a range of illicit activities conducted through government agencies and associated front companies. North Korea's nuclear and missile proliferation activity and other illicit conduct violate UN Security Council Resolutions 1718 and 1874, and these activities and their other illicit conduct violate international norms and destabilize the Korean Peninsula and the entire region. In signing this Order, President Obama has frozen the property and interests in property of the three entities and one individual listed on the Annex. This Order provides the United States with new tools to disrupt illicit economic activity conducted by North Korea.

Arms proliferation: North Korea has long been engaged in the sale of conventional arms to countries in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Africa. Since the 2009 adoption of UNSCR 1874, which bans all arms transfers from North Korea, authorities in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East have seized North Korean shipments suspected of carrying prohibited arms and related materiel.

Narcotics trafficking: During the past three decades, North Korean citizens, diplomats and government officials have engaged in narcotics trafficking. Officials in Turkey, Egypt, Taiwan and Japan have linked North Korean officials to narcotics possession, distribution and smuggling.

Counterfeiting currency: The United States continues to investigate North Korea's manufacture and distribution of the highly deceptive counterfeit of the U.S. $100 and $50 bills, also known as the "supernote." The United States Secret Service has made definitive connections between the supernote and the government of North Korea. Since its first detection in 1989, the Secret Service has seized approximately $63 million of supernotes globally.

Procurement of luxury goods: UNSCR 1718 requires Member States to prohibit the direct or indirect supply, sale of transfer to North Korea of luxury goods, which North Korean leadership uses to secure the loyalty of elites and the military. In July 2009, Italian authorities prevented the sale of luxury yachts worth more than $15 million to an Austrian company because they were ultimately destined for North Korea.

Deceptive financial practices: North Korea continues to engage in deceptive financial practices to disguise the true nature of its transactions, using government agencies and front companies to engage in WMD and missile proliferation-related and other illicit activities and to evade detection by financial institutions around the world. All of the conduct above is facilitated by the deceptive financial practices North Korea engages in to disguise the true nature of its transactions.

President Obama identified the following entities and individual for sanctions by listing them on the Annex to the Order:

The Reconnaissance General Bureau (RGB)

The Reconnaissance General Bureau is North Korea's premiere intelligence organization, created in early 2009 by the merger of existing intelligence organizations from the Korean Workers' Party, the Operations Department and Office 35, and the Reconnaissance Bureau of the Korean People's Army. RGB trades in conventional arms and controls the North Korean conventional arms firm Green Pine Associated Corporation (Green Pine), which was also identified for sanctions by the President today for exporting arms or related materiel from North Korea.

The RGB is commanded by General Kim Yong Chol, who was also identified for sanctions today.

Green Pine Associated Corporation (Green Pine)

The conventional arms firm Green Pine Associated Corporation was subordinated to the control of the RGB in 2009 and has been identified for sanctions by the President for exporting arms or related material from North Korea. Green Pine specializes in the production of maritime military craft and armaments, such as submarines, military boats and missiles systems, and has exported torpedoes and technical assistance to Iranian defense-related firms.

Green Pine is responsible for approximately half of the arms and related materiel exported by North Korea and has taken over many of the activities of the Korea Mining Development Trading Corporation (KOMID), which is listed in the Annex to Executive Order 13382 of June 2005. KOMID was also designated by the UNSCR 1718 Committee to be subject to the provisions of paragraph 8(d) of UNSCR 1718.

Office 39 of the Korean Workers' Party (Office 39)

Office 39 of the Korean Workers' Party engages in illicit economic activity to support the North Korean government. It has branches throughout the nation that raise and manage funds and is responsible for earning foreign currency for North Korea's Korean Workers' Party senior leadership through illicit activities such as narcotics trafficking.

Office 39 controls a number of entities inside North Korea and abroad through which it conducts numerous illicit activities including the production, smuggling, and distribution of narcotics. Office 39 has also been involved in the attempted procurement and transfer to North Korea of luxury goods.

· Office 39 produced methamphetamine in Sangwon, South Pyongan Province and was also involved in the distribution of methamphetamine to small-scale North Korean smugglers for distribution through China and South Korea. Office 39 also operates poppy farms in North Hamkyo'ng Province and North Pyongan Province and produces opium and heroin in Hamhu'ng and Nachin.

· In 2009, Office 39 was involved in the failed attempt to purchase and export to North Korea -- through China -- two Italian-made luxury yachts worth more than $15 million. Halted by Italian authorities, the attempted export of the yachts destined for Kim Jong-il was in violation of United Nations sanctions against North Korea under UNSCR 1718, which specifically require Member States to prevent the supply, sale, or transfer of luxury goods to North Korea.

Office 39 previously used Banco Delta Asia to launder illicit proceeds. Banco Delta Asia was identified by the Treasury Department in September 2005 as a "primary money laundering concern" under Section 311 of the USA PATRIOT Act because it represented an unacceptable risk of money laundering and other financial crimes.

Identifying Information:

Entity: Reconnaissance General Bureau

AKA: Chongch'al Ch'ongguk

AKA: RGB

AKA: KPA Unit 586

Location: Hyongjesan-Guyok, Pyongyang, North Korea

Alt. Location: Nungrado, Pyongyang, North Korea

Individual: Kim Yong Chol

AKA: Kim Yong-Chol

AKA: Kim Young-Chol

AKA: Kim Young-Cheol

AKA: Kim Young-Chul

Location: Pyongan-Pukto, North Korea

DOB: circa 1947

Alt. DOB: circa 1946

Entity: Green Pine Associated Corporation

AKA: Chongsong Yonhap

AKA: Ch'o'ngsong Yo'nhap

Location: c/o Reconnaissance General Bureau Headquarters,

Hyongjesan-Guyok, Pyongyang, North Korea

Alt. Location: Nungrado, Pyongyang, North Korea

Entity: Office 39

AKA: Office #39

AKA: Office No. 39

AKA: Bureau 39

AKA: Central Committee

AKA: Bureau 39

AKA: Third Floor Division 39

Address: Second KWP Government Building (Korean – CH'O'NGSA),

Chungso'ng, Urban Town (Korean -- DONG),

Chung Ward, P'yongyang, North Korea

Address: Chung-Guyok (Central District), Sosong Street,

Kyongrim-Dong, Pyongyang, North Korea

Address: Changgwang Street, Pyongyang, North Korea

###

LINKS

Under Secretary Stuart Levey Remarks on New Executive Order on North Korea

Reading Between the Lines of Kim Jong Il's Secret China Trip

englishnews@chosun.com / Aug. 31, 2010 12:12 KST

Just before Beijing officially confirmed Monday the open secret that North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and Chinese President Hu Jintao met over the weekend, China's state-run Xinhua news agency carried a quirky response from Chinese authorities about whether Kim's son and heir apparent Jong-un accompanied his father, saying the younger Kim was "not on the guest list."

The diplomatic community in Beijing interpreted the response two different ways. The first was that China and North Korea agreed not to mention the name of Kim's heir according to practices observed in both countries. The other is that Jong-un really did not accompany his father.

But the overall consensus is that China has given tacit consent to the hereditary transfer of power with the latest visit. In its coverage of the summit, the North's official Korean Central News Agency reported that Kim told Chinese officials who welcomed him on Friday that it was their "historical mission to hand over the baton of the traditional friendship of the two countries to the next generation smoothly." That comment was not included in the Xinhua article.

Whenever North Korea has wanted to stress the necessity of dynastic leadership succession, it has cited the need to pass down its strong ties with China to future generations.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il (center left) talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao (opposite) at a building in Changchun, Jilin Province in China on Friday, in this screen grab from China's CCTV channel. /CCTV

The remark that Kim Jong-un was "not on the guest list" -- rather than that he was not there -- is therefore being interpreted by a majority of North Korea watchers as an indirect acknowledgment of his role. It could merely mean that Jong-un was not on the official roster of North Korean officials but may have been part of the unofficial entourage.

Diplomatic sources in Beijing point out that Jong-un does not have an official title yet either in the Workers' Party or in government.

And judging by the intense secrecy surrounding Kim's visit, both China and North Korea may have agreed not to reveal whether Jong-un was in China or not. Xinhua and KCNA reported Kim's visit once it was over but did not mention Jong-un, which is how both sides have handled the issue of leadership succession before.

In December 1989, Deng Xiaoping introduced his successor Jiang Zemin to then North Korean leader Kim Il-sung, who visited Beijing four days before Jiang was catapulted to the top spot at China's military commission. This fact was revealed only many years later. And Kim Jong-il is believed to have followed this precedent before he formally appoints Jong-un to a key government position during a party leadership meeting in September. One Chinese diplomatic expert said, "China has always resorted to ambiguous diplomatic styles of speech about sensitive issues. The latest case was probably an example of that."

But there is also the possibility that Kim Jong-un stayed in North Korea. Proponents of this view say that he needs to stay to be protected from threats on an overseas trip or to avoid a coup locking both Kims out of their country. The North Korean leader is paranoid about attempts on his life.

But even in that case, diplomats in China say there is little chance that Beijing disapproved of Jong-un's succession. Of particular interest, in addition to Kim Jong-il's comments on the need to "hand over the baton of the traditional friendship of the two countries to the next generation," was that Hu offered good wishes for the success of the party congress, because that is when Kim Jong-un is widely expected to be given a senior post.

We Need A Revolution, Not A Movement

by Chuck Baldwin
Aug 27, 2010

The elections of 2008 (and the early elections of 2010) produced two significant phenomena: the “Ron Paul Revolution,” and the “Tea Party Movement.” And, mark it down: both of them will have profound effects upon the upcoming November elections–and upon the 2012 elections as well. Call them what you want, however, America doesn’t need another movement; it needs a genuine revolution.

The Tea Party movement, while still a force with which to be contended, has already been diluted and compromised. The primary elections plainly reveal the reality of this fact. The high spots so far are the defeats of Arlen Specter in Pennsylvania and Bob Bennett in Utah. The low spots so far are the reelection of John McCain in Arizona and the election of Dan Coats in Indiana.

John McCain’s election, in particular, demonstrates how many conservatives and “revolutionaries” still don’t get it. If any State in the union should have an up-close-and-personal look at what we are up against, it would be the people of Arizona. After all, they are on the front lines in the fight of one of the most important battles currently being waged in our country: illegal immigration. And John McCain is one of the worst offenders in terms of facilitating and encouraging this illegal invasion. Yet the people of Arizona reelected McCain to the US Senate. (It would interesting to know how many illegal aliens voted for McCain, would it not?)

Then again, John McCain received the enthusiastic endorsement of former Alaska governor, Sarah Palin. This endorsement obviously brought McCain thousands of Tea Party votes that otherwise would have gone to his principal opponent, J.D. Hayworth. McCain is not the only Big-Government globalist neocon to receive Palin’s endorsement. Many of Palin’s endorsees are neocons; which leads to one of the biggest problems with any so-called conservative movement: allowing celebrity-type “conservatives” to become the de facto leaders and spokesmen for what should be a true grassroots, people-generated rebellion. Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck are the two biggest culprits in this regard.

Mark my words: Palin and Beck may see themselves as part of a conservative “movement,” but they want nothing to do with an old-fashioned, honest-to-God, Patrick Henry-style revolution. In fact, they are doing everything in their power to keep such a revolution from taking place.

This does not mean that Palin and Beck do not contribute some good things to freedom’s fight. They do. The problem is, for every good thing they contribute they counterbalance it by supporting establishment principals, such as John McCain and Newt Gingrich, and attacking non-establishment players and ideas, which serves only to keep the Big-Government power structure firmly ensconced in Washington, D.C.

Get real, folks, and start thinking for yourselves. Ask yourself why Fox News never (or hardly ever) invites non-establishment patriots to appear on their network. Why do you not see former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury Paul Craig Roberts on Fox News? Why do you not see former Georgia congressman and Presidential candidate Bob Barr on Fox News? Why do you not see former Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura on Fox News? Why do you not see former Director of the US Office of Economic Opportunity and Presidential candidate Howard Phillips on Fox News? Why do you not see Presidential candidate Chuck Baldwin on Fox News? The list is endless.

Fox News is not “fair and balanced.” It is as controlled and manipulated as any other media news network. The only thing it balances is the other networks’ infatuation with the Democrat Party, by promoting Republican candidates and ideas. What it does not do is educate and inform the American people with the truth as to what both major parties are doing to destroy our country. But remember, Fox News is owned by Keith Rupert Murdoch, the same man who helped finance Hillary Clinton’s campaign for the US Senate, and who is as much of a globalist as anyone in Washington, D.C., or New York City.

As an aside, and speaking of Hillary Rodham, I predict that she will replace Vice President Joe Biden BEFORE the 2012 elections. I’ve said that in private for many weeks, and now say it in this column–remember, you heard it here. The Clinton-Bush Crime Syndicate (CBCS) needs Hillary in the White House badly, and Obama has readily accepted a subservient role in the criminal affairs of CBCS (for very profitable reasons, no doubt). And with the CBCS bosses pretty much running things at the White House (they don’t worry about domestic or social issues, providing that these do not interfere with their international criminal activities), is it any wonder that Obama has already taken more vacations than most Presidents take during an entire term?

And it is the influence of globalists and neocons upon national and international politics that the likes of Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck simply do not get–or do not want to get. And because many Tea Partiers are so enamored with these two (and allow them to do much of their thinking for them), they remain clueless as well.

Ladies and gentlemen, America is in the throes of socialist and Marxist political upheaval. The curtain could fall at any time. The American people need to wake up to this truism: a “conservative” movement–even a conservative Tea Party movement–will not save us. The only thing that will save us is an old-fashioned State revolt.

Arizona had the opportunity to become a modern-day version of 1775 Massachusetts. But Arizona has probably forfeited that leadership role by 1) reelecting John McCain, and 2) being willing to allow federal courts to dictate law to a sovereign State. Instead of taking its case to the federal courts, Arizona should simply tell the federal government that it will enforce its own State laws (including the newly enacted anti-illegal immigration law) regardless of what any federal court says or doesn’t say. At some point, that is exactly what some State (or group of states) in this union is going to have to do, or liberty will be forever lost.

As long as freedom lovers are content to remain satisfied with the status quo by allowing party politics and media celebrities to dominate their efforts, there will be no stopping this socialist avalanche that is crashing down upon us. The Tea Party movement of 2010 (if left free of Big-Government neocons) could certainly translate into positive developments this November; that is for sure. A revival of the “Ron Paul Revolution” in 2012 could also make a significant contribution, but it is going to take a State revolution to seal the deal. I, for one, am ready.

*If you appreciate this column and want to help me distribute these editorial opinions to an ever-growing audience, donations may now be made by credit card, check, or Money Order. Use this link:

http://chuckbaldwinlive.com/home/?page_id=19

Former Republican Committee Chairman Announces He's Gay

Published August 26, 2010
Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- Former Republican Party Chairman Ken Mehlman says in a magazine interview that he is gay.

Mehlman, who was campaign manager for President George W. Bush in 2004 and then RNC chairman after Bush's re-election, told The Atlantic in an interview published online Wednesday that he came to the conclusion he is gay recently and wanted to talk about it publicly because he wants to become an advocate for gay marriage. He also thought questions would arise when he participates in an upcoming fundraiser for the group challenging California's ballot measure opposing those marriages.

"It's taken me 43 years to get comfortable with that part of my life," said Mehlman, now an executive vice president with KKR, a New York City-based private equity firm. "Everybody has their own path to travel, their own journey, and for me, over the past few months, I've told my family, friends, former colleagues and current colleagues and they've been wonderful and supportive. The process has been something that has made me a happier and better person. It's something I wish I had done years ago."

Mehlman's leadership positions with the Republican Party came at a time when some in the party were working to put anti-gay ballot measures before the public in several states. He has said he tried to convince Republican officials privately not to attack gay marriage, The Atlantic reported. He also said that, as a solitary Republican, he could not go against the party consensus...

John McCain�s Attack On Liberty

By Chuck Baldwin
August 24, 2010

Anyone paying attention knows that John McCain has been a Big-Government Globalist Neocon (BGGN) for virtually his entire senatorial career. As with many BGGNs hiding out in the Republican Party, McCain likes to talk about smaller government, but his track record is littered with the promotion of one big government program after another. But, what else would one expect from a member of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR)?

Lately, however, McCain has outdone himself. He has introduced two bills in the US Senate that are about as Machiavellian as they could be. I am referring to S.3081, a bill that would authorize the federal government to detain American citizens indefinitely without trial, and S.3002, a bill that would authorize the federal government to regulate vitamins, minerals, and virtually all health and natural food products.

According to Examiner.com, “John McCain introduced a bill into the U.S. Senate which, if passed, would actually allow U.S. citizens to be arrested and detained indefinitely, all without Miranda rights or ever being charged with a crime.”

The Examiner report continued by saying “This bill, introduced by McCain, who despite overwhelming evidence, claims to be a ‘conservative,’ would not only take away our right to a trial, but would also allow the federal government to arrest and imprison anyone the current administration deems hostile.

“Of course, that would be the same administration whose Homeland Security Secretary has classified veterans, retired law enforcement, Ron Paul [and Chuck Baldwin] supporters, and conservatives as ‘terrorists.’”

The Examiner report concluded by saying “If it was not clear before, it should be now that John McCain has as little respect for the Constitution as he does for our borders.”

Amen!

If McCain gets his way, your constitutional right to a speedy trial by jury is gone, as well as your constitutional right to Habeas Corpus. But, of course, they would attempt to justify this by claiming it is being done in the name of national security and the war on terrorism.

See the Examiner report at:

http://tinyurl.com/examiner-mccain-s3081

Regarding McCain’s desire for the federal government to take over the vitamin industry, attorney Jonathan Emord wrote, “If you had any doubt about whether John McCain is a limited government conservative, you may put that doubt to rest–he is not. On February 3, 2010, John McCain introduced to the United States Senate the Dietary Supplement Safety Act of 2010. Reflecting upon this poorly written bill, I am struck by the fact that John McCain apparently sees little difference between fissile material and dietary supplements. He is intent on regulating supplements as if they were radioactive enriched uranium rather than bioactive vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and botanicals that more often than not help people.

“The Dietary Supplement Safety Act of 2010 enjoys support from the most liberal members of Congress. It is an invitation for the FDA to assume broad new powers and replicate here the system now operating in Europe over dietary supplements where dietary ingredients are presumed adulterated and unlawful to sell unless pre-approved by the government. In short, good bye free enterprise, good bye limited government, and hello more heavy handed, arbitrary and punitive FDA bias against the beleaguered dietary supplement industry.”

See Emord’s column at:

http://www.newswithviews.com/Emord/jonathan118.htm

Please remember, this is the same John McCain who, during the 2008 Presidential campaign, said he would “order the secretary of the treasury to immediately buy up the bad home loan mortgages in America.” Of course, McCain didn’t explain where this authority would come from, because such a proposal has no legal or constitutional authority. And, by the way, this one little sentence, if implemented, would cost taxpayers some $300 billion.

McCain also said he wanted to tap Mr. Climate Change Wacko himself, Al Gore, “to work in his administration on developing a new and much tougher U.N.-sponsored global warming treaty.”

(Source: Cliff Kincaid. See his column at:
http://www.newswithviews.com/Kincaid/cliff260.htm )

This is the same John McCain who addressed the Hoover Institution on May 1, 2007, and said if he were elected President, he would create a new international organization known as the “League of Democracies” (LD).

In advancing the LD, McCain said, “We should go further and start bringing democratic peoples and nations from around the world into one common organization, a worldwide League of Democracies.” He then added, “The new League of Democracies would form the core of an international order . . .”

See McCain’s speech to the Hoover Institution at:

http://www.cfr.org/publication/13252/

If McCain and his CFR buddies get their way, this new LD would be a United Nations on steroids! As I said all over America on the campaign trail in 2008, “John McCain is a globalist.” Of course, so is Barack Obama. In fact, every President since (and including) George H.W. Bush has been a full-fledged, rotten-to-the-core globalist.

And, yes, this is the same John McCain who was one of the primary movers and shakers (along with Obama, Lindsey Graham, and G.W. Bush) who attempted (and would again) to provide amnesty to illegal aliens and open America’s borders to illegal immigration.

And now McCain wants the federal government to take over the vitamin industry, and he wants to give the federal government the power to jail American citizens indefinitely without trial.

The citizens of Arizona can do the American people–and liberty itself–a great favor this year by giving Senator John McCain his walking papers. Big-Government dinosaurs like McCain are an albatross around the neck of freedom and constitutional government. If we don’t send them packing now, the shackles they put around our throats will become insufferable.

*If you appreciate this column and want to help me distribute these editorial opinions to an ever-growing audience, donations may now be made by credit card, check, or Money Order. Use this link:

http://chuckbaldwinlive.com/home/?page_id=19

Is Portugal's Liberal Drug Policy a Model for US?

Lauren Frayer Contributor
AOL News

LISBON, Portugal (Aug. 14) -- Ten years ago, Portugal had some 100,000 heroin addicts -- about 1 percent of its entire population. HIV infections from injecting drugs were among the highest in Europe.

Now the addict count has been cut nearly in half. HIV infections from drug use have fallen more than 90 percent. And the policy shift responsible for such a dramatic improvement in Portuguese life is something U.S. lawmakers -- watching an escalating drug war on their southern border -- might consider worthy of some attention: decriminalization.

Ten years ago this summer, Portugal became the first country in Europe to decriminalize all illegal drugs -- marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine and even heroin. Hefty fines and prison sentences still await drug traffickers and dealers, but users caught with less than a 10-day supply of any drug are no longer considered criminals. Instead, they're referred to a panel comprised of a drug-treatment specialist, a lawyer and a civil servant, who usually recommend treatment -- and pay for it, too. If the users decline treatment and go back to abusing drugs, that's their prerogative.

Gael Cornier, AP

Men shoot-up together in the slum of Casal Ventoso, in Lisbon, Portugal, in 1999. Since then, the country has embarked on a unique take on its war on drugs.

But statistics show they're not doing that. Instead, about 45 percent of the 100,000 heroin addicts Portugal's Health Ministry recorded in 2000 had by 2008 decided to at least try to quit the habit, without the threat of jail time. And the number of new HIV cases among users fell from 2,508 in the year 2000 to 220 cases in 2008, Alun Jones, a spokesman for the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, told AOL News. "This was a major success," he said.

Some Americans have noticed. "The data show that, judged by virtually every metric, the Portuguese decriminalization framework has been a resounding success," according to a 2009 report from Washington-based Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank. "None of the nightmare scenarios touted by pre-enactment decriminalization opponents -- from rampant increases in drug usage among the young to the transformation of Lisbon into a haven for 'drug tourists' -- has occurred."

The law's passage 10 years ago and implementation on July 1, 2001, was a surprising twist for Portugal, a traditionally conservative Catholic country that by the 1980s had unwittingly found itself at the crossroads of major drug trafficking routes between North Africa, South America and Europe. Even the Netherlands' drug laws are not as liberal as Portugal's. There's been a dramatic shift in the way Portugal and a growing number of other countries view drug abuse -- as a public health issue rather than a law enforcement one...

Why foreign aid and Africa don't mix

By Robert Calderisi, Special to CNN

August 12, 2010 -- Updated 1344 GMT (2144 HKT)

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Africa has attracted too much aid and interfering by outsiders, says Robert Calderisi
Most African governments remain stuck in a culture of dependence or indifference
After decades of aid, conditions for private savings and investment are still forbidding
Imagination and individual initiative important in promoting a better life for Africans.

Editor's note: Robert Calderisi has 30 years of professional experience in international development, including senior positions at the World Bank. He is the author of "The Trouble with Africa: Why Foreign Aid Isn't Working." He writes for CNN as part of Africa 50, a special coverage looking at 17 African nations marking 50 years of independence this year.

Friday, Charles Abugre of the UN Millennium Campaign writes for CNN about why aid is important for Africa and how it can be made more effective.

(CNN) -- The World Bank president, Robert Zoellick, recently asked the grand old man of Singapore's success, Lee Kuan Yew, to help the bank make greater progress in Africa. He declined. "The trouble with African presidents," he said, "is they believe the work is done when they've stopped talking."

That, in a nutshell, has been the problem of Africa. Very few African governments have been on the same wavelength as Western providers of aid.

Aid, by itself, has never developed anything, but where it has been allied to good public policy, sound economic management, and a strong determination to battle poverty, it has made an enormous difference in countries like India, Indonesia, and even China.

Those examples illustrate another lesson of aid. Where it works, it represents only a very small share of the total resources devoted to improving roads, schools, heath services, and other things essential for raising incomes.

Aid must not overwhelm or displace local efforts; instead, it must settle with being the junior partner.

Because of Africa's needs, and the stubborn nature of its poverty, the continent has attracted far too much aid and far too much interfering by outsiders.

Development aid to Africa

Top 10 "official development assistance" recipients in 2008:

1 Ethiopia $3.327 billion
2 Sudan $2.384 billion
3 Tanzania $2.331 billion
4 Mozambique $1.9994 billion
5 Uganda $1.657 billion
6 DR Cong $1.610 billion
7 Kenya $1.360 billion
8 Egypt $1.348 billion
9 Ghana $1.293 billion
10 Nigeria $1.290 billion

Net official development assistance to Africa in 2008: $44 billion.

Source: Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.

From the start, Western governments tried hard to work with public agencies, but fairly soon ran up against the obvious limitations of capacity and seriousness of African states.

Early solutions were to pour in "technical assistance," i.e. foreign advisers who stayed on for years, or to try "enclave" or turn-key projects that would be independent of government action.

More recently, Western agencies have worked with non-government organizations or the private sector. Or, making a virtue of necessity, they have poured large amounts of their assistance directly into government budgets, citing the need for "simplicity" and respect for local "sovereignty."

Through all of this, the development challenge was always on somebody else's shoulders and governments have been eager receivers, rather than clear-headed managers of Western generosity.

In the last 20 years, some states -- like Ghana, Uganda, Tanzania, Mozambique, and Mali -- have broken the mould, recognized the importance of taking charge, and tried to use aid more strategically and efficiently. Some commentators would add Benin, Zambia, and Rwanda to that list.

But most African governments remain stuck in a culture of dependence or indifference. There are still too many dictators in Africa (six have been in office for more than 25 years) and many elected leaders behave no differently...

Israeli national nabbed at Atlanta airport in serial-killer spree

By GREG BLUESTEIN and COREY WILLIAMS, Associated Press Writers Greg Bluestein And Corey Williams, Associated Press Writers – 1 hr 19 mins ago

ATLANTA – A possible suspect in a string of 20 stabbings that terrorized people across three states and left five dead was arrested at an airport as he tried to board a plane for Israel, officials said Thursday.

The man was arrested late Wednesday and was being held on unrelated charges, police in Leesburg, Va., said.

He was arrested at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport where he was trying to board a Delta Air Lines flight to Tel Aviv, Israel, said Rafael Lemaitre, a spokesman at U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

The man has ties to Flint, Mich., where the attacks began May 24, and to Leesburg, the site of three similar attacks last week, Leesburg Police Officer Chris Jones said.

He is an Israeli citizen who is in the U.S. legally, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the ongoing investigation.

"While this is a key step in the investigation there are still many issues that need to be addressed before we identify this individual as the person responsible for this horrific crime spree," Jones said.

Police had been focusing their hunt on Flint — where 16 of the stabbings took place — until Leesburg police reported three attacks. Authorities in Toledo, Ohio, say a stabbing in that city Saturday appears to be linked to the violent spree.

As of Wednesday afternoon, a task force led by the Michigan State Police and including the FBI had received 469 tips. Those tips have been passed out to the various law enforcement teams involved in the case.

The attacks began surfacing in late spring, and picked up the pace as the stabber traversed the country.

Police have said the man's attacks usually follow a pattern: He approaches black men late at night on lonely urban roads, and asks for directions or help with a broken-down car. Then, without warning, he pulls out a knife and strikes. Then, he speeds away in his vehicle, leaving them for dead...

South Korean Police Raid Google's Seoul Office

Published August 10, 2010
Reuters

South Korean police said they raided Google Inc's Seoul office on Tuesday on suspicion that the Internet search leader had illegally collected data on users.

Google has been preparing since late last year to launch its "Street View" service in South Korea and the data collection was related to the launch, police said.

The probe in one of Asia's most wired countries came as a fresh setback to Google, which already faces investigation over "Street View" by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, a variety of probes overseas and class action lawsuits.

Google was not immediately available for comment.

"(The police) have been investigating Google Korea LLC on suspicion of unauthorized collection and storage of data on unspecified Internet users from Wi-Fi networks," the Korean National Police Agency said in a statement.

Google has said previously the data was accidentally collected by its cars and has grounded its "Street View" cars globally.

Google Street View is a technology featured in Google Maps and Google Earth that provides panoramic views from various positions along many streets in the world.

Newt Gingrich: The Grinch Who Stole Conservatism

by Chuck Baldwin
August 6, 2010

The GOP is frantically searching for the person who will lead them to the Promised Land (translate: White House) in 2012. Barack Obama is leaving a death stench so heavy that even most of the political allies in his own party are asking him to stay away from their reelection campaigns. You gotta give it to Obama: he has done in one term what most Presidents cannot accomplish until their second (lame duck) term. The problem is, the GOP just can’t seem to find their Moses (or even their Ronald Reagan). That means, as far fetched as it sounds now, Obama has a good chance of being reelected. And, once again, when any Democrat candidate for President wins, the GOP will have no one to blame but themselves. 2012 could be another example.

You see, the GOP (including their lackeys at Fox News) either really don’t know what a constitutional conservative looks like, or they do know what he or she looks like and don’t want them leading the party. I believe the answer is the latter, but in either case, the GOP continually does nothing to groom constitutionalist conservatives for leadership. Just the opposite: such people are routinely ignored, shunned, besmirched, or impugned. (Can anyone say, “Ron Paul”?) Is it any wonder that by the time the general election comes around, the GOP candidate for President is usually nothing more than a Democrat-lite, or a “Democrat in Drag” to borrow from Steve Farrell.

That brings me to one of the people that the talking heads at Fox News and other GOP propaganda centers are routinely discussing as their 2012 Presidential hopeful: former Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich.

According to Reuters News, “Republican former House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich said on Sunday [July 25th] he will decide after November’s congressional elections whether he will make a run for the White House in 2012.”

Here’s what Gingrich is looking at: he wants to see if the GOP makes significant gains in both houses of Congress in the November elections. If the GOP wins one house (especially if enough real conservatives win), I predict Gingrich will enter the race. So he can ride a conservative wave into the White House in 2012? No! So he can derail any potential conservative momentum that the Tea Parties might be able to create in this year’s November elections. You see, Newt Gingrich is the Grinch Who Stole Conservatism from the GOP.

Some of us are old enough to remember Newt Gingrich’s “Contract with America” that produced huge Republican victories in both houses of Congress back in 1994. However, what did that “Conservative Revolution” (as it was called then) actually produce? The answer: NOTHING! Newt’s promise of smaller government was immediately forgotten. Instead, Gingrich, along with Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, facilitated and helped orchestrate further expansion of the federal government. The “less government” theme that swept house freshmen such as Joe Scarborough, Steve Largent, Sonny Bono, Bob Barr, Helen Chenoweth, John Shadegg, and J.C. Watts into Congress quickly evaporated and this new neocon Republican Party was born.

Mark it down, if Newt Gingrich is the Republican Party’s Presidential nominee in 2012, he will do to whatever grassroots conservative momentum is brought about by this year’s congressional victories what he did to the “Conservative Revolution” in 1994: DESTROY IT!

Newt’s track record is there for anyone to see. So, why does Fox News continue to promote him as a leader of smaller government or constitutionalism? Does Fox News even have a clue as to what limited government really means? Apparently not.

Remember, Newt Gingrich is a long-standing member of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), which is a notorious proponent of globalism and archenemy of national independence, State sovereignty, and limited government. Does anyone at Fox News recall what Admiral Chester Ward said about the CFR? (Plus, how many of the Big Shots at Fox News are themselves members of the CFR?)

Rear Admiral Chester Ward, who was the Judge Advocate General of the Navy from 1956 to 1960 and a former member of the CFR who pulled out after realizing what they were all about, warned the American people about the dangers of this and similar organizations (such as the Trilateral Commission). He said, “The most powerful clique in these elitist groups have one objective in common–they want to bring about the surrender of the sovereignty and the national independence of the United States. A second clique of international members in the CFR . . . comprises the Wall Street international bankers and their key agents. Primarily, they want the world banking monopoly from whatever power ends up in the control of global government.”

Admiral Ward also said, “The main purpose of the Council on Foreign Relations is promoting the disarmament of U.S. sovereignty and national independence and submergence into an all powerful, one world government.”

Accordingly, as a loyal CFR elitist, Gingrich has supported Big Government programs and policies all of his political life. Gingrich is also an ardent disciple of Alvin Toffler, who is the guru of “The Third Wave” politics. That’s why Gingrich refers to himself as a “conservative futurist.”

Webster’s (1992) Dictionary defines “Futurism” as: “Study of, and interest in, forecasting or anticipating the future, or theorizing on how to IMPOSE CONTROLS ON EVENTS.” (Emphasis added.)

Steve Farrell rightly notes that “futurism is a head-in-the-clouds political philosophy, complete with theories and forecasts, which envisions the use of force to insure that those theories and forecasts come to pass.” Farrell summarizes “conservative futurism” as “communism with economic vision.”

This is why Gingrich went along with Clinton’s Big Government agenda, and supported the unconstitutional faith-based subsidies, public-private “partnerships,” etc. Gingrich’s brand of “conservatism” spawned another Big Government neocon’s (Karl Rove–another favorite son at Fox News) “Compassionate Conservative” movement of the G.W. Bush White House, which at the time led to the biggest expansion of the federal government since Lyndon Johnson.

Gingrich’s infatuation with “conservative futurism” also helps explain his support for NAFTA, GATT, the WTO, and virtually every other policy promoting globalism and interdependence. It also helps explain why Gingrich and former Vice President Al Gore have worked so closely together in globalist organizations such as the now-defunct Congressional Clearing House on the Future (once chaired by Gore).

See Steve Farrell’s column at:

http://tinyurl.com/gingrich-toffler-gore

Gingrich was also a major proponent of the federal Department of Education, continually supports unconstitutional foreign aid, even to the Soviets and other unfriendly governments, through the Export-Import Bank. In one year (1994-1995) Gingrich voted for nearly $45 billion in foreign aid. He also helped push through federal loan guarantees to Communist China.

Gingrich was the Grand Old Pal of President Bill Clinton. He supported Clinton’s unconstitutional wars (as he did Bush’s); he supported Clinton’s welfare programs, education programs, labor programs, and environmental programs, as well as most of his foreign affairs programs. Gingrich supported spending $30 billion for the Violent Crime and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 that shackled gun owners with new restrictions, federalized a number of crimes, and handed the feds police powers that the Constitution reserves to the states. (I guess the NRA forgot all about that, too.)

Gingrich voted to give billions of dollars to United Nations “peacekeeping” operations; he supported the National Endowment for the Arts; he supports giving illegal aliens amnesty; and he has continually supported increased federal spending and higher taxes.

Campaign for Liberty has an excellent exposé on Newt Gingrich that I encourage everyone to read. See it at:

http://www.campaignforliberty.com/blog.php?view=36799

Also, John McManus has an outstanding video exposing Newt Gingrich as a traitor to conservatism and constitutional government that everyone should watch. See it at:

http://vimeo.com/6445068

In spite of overwhelming evidence that Newt Gingrich is a scheming, double-talking, duplicitous Big-Government globalist of the highest order, many conservatives continue to listen to pro-Gingrich propaganda coming from Fox News and other “conservative” outlets.

If true conservatism has any chance of reemerging within the sheepfold of what is known as the national Republican Party, that fox, Newt Gingrich, must not be allowed to be anywhere near it. Unfortunately, thanks to Fox News (pun too easy to pass up), Gingrich is prowling around the barnyard and doubtless licking his chops at the prospect of having another opportunity to feast on the flesh of unsuspecting conservative sheep that foolishly believe him to be one of them.

P.S. My office has been inundated with business owners wishing to be added to our new PATRIOT BUSINESSES web directory. Hopefully, most of these early participants will be uploaded to the web page by the end of the workday today (Friday). But as we are still receiving the names of those who want to be included, this process will doubtless continue into next week. Please keep watching the page, and if you own a business and want to be included, send us the information requested. To see the PATRIOT BUSINESSES web page, go here:

http://chuckbaldwinlive.com/home/?page_id=1921

*If you appreciate this column and want to help me distribute these editorial opinions to an ever-growing audience, donations may now be made by credit card, check, or Money Order. Use this link:

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