Corporations and You!

Originally posted by DeusEx
just get translatiosn of Japanese and russian newspapers, and start looking there.

DE

Its a start.

Oh and yeah Im not asian american.
And gajin, gosh did I hear that yelled a lot as I played through Hitman 2, those Yakuza soldiers really loved to point out the foreigner in the room.

Oh and by the way, hows a research project sound to you DE.

Originally posted by Agent47

Its a start.

Oh and yeah Im not asian american.
And gajin, gosh did I hear that yelled a lot as I played through Hitman 2, those Yakuza soldiers really loved to point out the foreigner in the room.

Oh and by the way, hows a research project sound to you DE.

Yeah... there's a lot of issues with teh 'gaijin' thing we won't get into here.

Sure, I'm up for research. Put it past advisor yet?

DE

Originally posted by DeusEx

Yeah... there's a lot of issues with teh 'gaijin' thing we won't get into here.

Sure, I'm up for research. Put it past advisor yet?

DE

Um not yet, I was wondering who and how to do it. Anyone mind helping my rookie skills out.

it's done, don't worry. I u2ued Advisor.

DE

Hot Info Comming Down the Line!

A Direct Line Between a Corporate Take Over of America and The Government.

www.fas.org...

Shocking.

Looks like Congress held a hearing about Corporate Espionage. Very interesting tid bits came out of this. Like the following.
Mr. Charney. I would just like to build on this question a
moment because when I was chief of the computer crime section,
I can tell you that prosecutors salivate over cases like these.
You know, the first case out of the box was the Four
Pillars case, which went to trial. We convicted the president
of a corporation from Taiwan for stealing secrets from Avery
Dennison. These are good cases with sex appeal. That is not the
problem.
If you look at the Computer Security Institute's surveys,
however, they have done surveys on computer crime from 1996 to
the year 2000, and in the year 2000 survey what they said was
one of the most remarkable statistics on computer crime--not
just trade secrets, but computer crime--was the rapid increase
in the number of companies willing to report to law
enforcement. It had gone all the way up to 32 percent.
You know, one victim out of three was now willing to report
to law enforcement, up from 17 percent the year before, so if
you have between one and two, you know, in every 100 cases you
have roughly 17 reported. That is not a very high statistic.
I think there is a lot of difficulty within the corporate
environment in making the determination about whether you
handle this civilly, whether you cut your losses, remediate and
get your business up and running again and seek damages through
civil action or whether you go to law enforcement.
That is a tough call because when you go to law enforcement
you get far more publicity than you might want. Then you have
to worry about shareholders and investors and public relations.
Mr. Manzullo. Loss of confidence.
Mr. Charney. Loss of confidence. It is a hard call for a
CEO whose primary responsibility is to protect the assets of
the corporation and not to----
Mr. Manzullo. Especially in light of the fact that the
penalties are so minimal. That goes back to what you were
saying. Do companies then opt for civil action, or do they just
take it on the chin?
Mr. Charney. No. I am actually now on the private side, and
the cases that we have been investigating for companies is for
civil suit purposes, not to go to law enforcement.


For clairfication on their identities read the report here:

www.fas.org...

Another damning document.

Abolish 'Corporate Welfare' for Manufacturers of Weapons

www.fas.org...

"Industry has lobbied vigorously against the fee since 1991, arguing it raises the price of U.S weapons and makes them uncompetitive in the arms bazaar."

Another example of multinational corporations undermining American superiority.

Not to mention this Doc which clearly shows the WTO trying to control Congress' actions. through tariffs.

www.fas.org...

[Edited on 28-2-2004 by Agent47]

good link. Corporate espionage is a real tough spot- it's hard to report without your own acts coming to light.

DE

Originally posted by DeusEx
good link. Corporate espionage is a real tough spot- it's hard to report without your own acts coming to light.

DE

FAS is a literal treasure chest of Congressional reports that are hard to find. Yet I still think this is the most shocking.

www.fas.org...


I also discovered this:
Corporations

Agricultural corporations, including producers, processors, and shippers, could benefit immensely from the economic impacts, market share changes, and financial market effects of a successful biological attack. Many also employ expert plant pathologists or veterinarians and have large collections of pathogens. The combination of motivation, expertise, and materials within a single, closed organization is worrisome. Of course, corporations, like countries, would run enormous legal risks if they perpetrated a biological attack, so if they were to choose to do this, it would be expertly designed to mimic a natural outbreak.

For both corporations and governments, decision to use bioweapons would be expected to require approval at the very highest level, thus reducing its likelihood. However, in both the possibility of mid- or lower-level zealots initiating unauthorized action has to be considered.

www.fas.org...

[Edited on 28-2-2004 by Agent47]

We really need a research thread cause I have to find this out soon. Who owns the New Times Company. Would you know DE?

I ask cause of this.

The New Times Company set up by the GODI had overall responsibility for the overall plan for import and export of military technology and equipment. Subsequently COSTIND established the China Yanshan science and technology corporation, and the China Xinxing Corporation was established by the PLA General Logistics Department. In 1984 these corporations began promoting Chinese weapons, actively seeking technology transfer and coproduction agreements with Western defense companies at international defense exhibitions.

Found here.

www.fas.org...

www.fas.org...


Washington -- The world's leading non-government organization fighting
corruption says the battle to secure democracy, alleviate poverty and
sustain investment and commerce hinge on curbing corruption in
developing nations and across Central and Eastern Europe.



"The first thing businesses should do is stop paying bribes. Most of
the major bribes in what we call grand corruption around the world are
the result of international corporations paying bribes to get
contracts," Transparency International Vice Chairman Frank Vogl said.

Originally posted by Agent47

FAS is a literal treasure chest of Congressional reports that are hard to find. Yet I still think this is the most shocking.

www.fas.org...


I also discovered this:
Corporations

Agricultural corporations, including producers, processors, and shippers, could benefit immensely from the economic impacts, market share changes, and financial market effects of a successful biological attack. Many also employ expert plant pathologists or veterinarians and have large collections of pathogens. The combination of motivation, expertise, and materials within a single, closed organization is worrisome. Of course, corporations, like countries, would run enormous legal risks if they perpetrated a biological attack, so if they were to choose to do this, it would be expertly designed to mimic a natural outbreak.

For both corporations and governments, decision to use bioweapons would be expected to require approval at the very highest level, thus reducing its likelihood. However, in both the possibility of mid- or lower-level zealots initiating unauthorized action has to be considered.

www.fas.org...

[Edited on 28-2-2004 by Agent47]

Think about this- the agricorps can hold everyone for ransom if they group up. Think of this scenario:

1. Agricorps mob up and form a pact providing legal/security aid to its members.

2. Agricorp contacts member of criminal underground, wanting them to "steal" a briefcase. Unbeknownst to them, the briefcase contains an number of pathogens.

3. Pathogens are recognized, and the contact (acting on his own) tell the thief to sell pathogens to an interested party.

4. Agricorp arranges meet with terrorist cell. Thief is paid well then liquidated.

5. Terrorists employ pathogens, causing massive destruction of crops and economic ruin for a great deal of American citizens.

6. Agricorps sell food at a massively inflated price, taking advantage of the situation.

Think about that- there's no real recourse. Starvation and boycott are the same. Corps are blameless, claiming to need to feed their employees but donating paltry amounts of food to prevent widespread death. Corps get very,very rich, help each other out.

DE

Scary but plausible.

Hmm I cant wait till the research thread is thrown up.

Originally posted by Agent47
www.fas.org...


Washington -- The world's leading non-government organization fighting
corruption says the battle to secure democracy, alleviate poverty and
sustain investment and commerce hinge on curbing corruption in
developing nations and across Central and Eastern Europe.



"The first thing businesses should do is stop paying bribes. Most of
the major bribes in what we call grand corruption around the world are
the result of international corporations paying bribes to get
contracts," Transparency International Vice Chairman Frank Vogl said.

DE How prevalent do you think this level of corruption is and what do you feel of the rankings, accurate, and what do you think is the net effect of such reports.

Interesting, Deus ex, that you bring up shadowrun. I used to play it, hell, read quite a bit of the series. But you are right. Here isn Seattle, we see the former Kingdome, our stadium, named after King County which we live in, tore down and replaced by Seahawks stadium, and.SAFECO field. Seattle is cooperate town bigtime. Starbucks, Boeing, Nike, Microsoft, Amazon.com, expedia, so and and so forth.

Ironically, the WTO riots happened here. Remeber those all to well. Seems people here are already feeling the bite bigtime. How long before Seattle center and the space needle become "Starbucksland"?

Originally posted by Skadi_the_Evil_Elf


Ironically, the WTO riots happened here. Remeber those all to well. Seems people here are already feeling the bite bigtime. How long before Seattle center and the space needle become "Starbucksland"?

Why do you think Seattle became such a flashpoint for the WTO protest, compared to the other host cities in America?

Originally posted by Skadi_the_Evil_Elf
Interesting, Deus ex, that you bring up shadowrun. I used to play it, hell, read quite a bit of the series. But you are right. Here isn Seattle, we see the former Kingdome, our stadium, named after King County which we live in, tore down and replaced by Seahawks stadium, and.SAFECO field. Seattle is cooperate town bigtime. Starbucks, Boeing, Nike, Microsoft, Amazon.com, expedia, so and and so forth.

Ironically, the WTO riots happened here. Remeber those all to well. Seems people here are already feeling the bite bigtime. How long before Seattle center and the space needle become "Starbucksland"?

I don't know. But it's happening in Canada too. The Forum got torn down, and the Molson Center got put up. Ditto to the Air Canada Center. Corporate logos are everywhere now, slapped on buildings where they simply don't belong. Makes me angry. Where do we think we should draw a line for corporate influence? I certainly know it shouldn't be in school, but some schools can't afford to operate properly without that sort of intervention, sadly.

DE

Originally posted by Agent47

Originally posted by Agent47
www.fas.org...


Washington -- The world's leading non-government organization fighting
corruption says the battle to secure democracy, alleviate poverty and
sustain investment and commerce hinge on curbing corruption in
developing nations and across Central and Eastern Europe.



"The first thing businesses should do is stop paying bribes. Most of
the major bribes in what we call grand corruption around the world are
the result of international corporations paying bribes to get
contracts," Transparency International Vice Chairman Frank Vogl said.

DE How prevalent do you think this level of corruption is and what do you feel of the rankings, accurate, and what do you think is the net effect of such reports.

I read teh report, and find it interesting. For a lot of the least 'clean' countries, corruption has evolved into a way of life. The government pays so poorly or the country is in such dire straights that bribery is neccesary to supplement the income of police officers, ect.

I think that these reports are fairly accurate, but in certain areas the standard deviation is simply too much to be accurate. examples include Tanzania and Bulgaria.

The net effort of this report is little if any. The 'cleanest' countries can claim themselves to be bribery free to their maximum capacities, and a piece of paper won't change anything in Tanzania unless it's a bribe. There needs to be concrete action on teh part of thsi bill, perhaps ratifying a bill in some of the cleaner countries, or exposing some corporate bribes to open air. However, a lot of the least clan areas won't change until their overall socioeconomic status does.

DE

Especially in the Asian 2nd world countries, corruption is the economy. Bribes have become a way of life throughout the world, only in the western world is it shocking and can bring about ruination. And even then it seems to have little effect on politicians. China has bribed myriad politicians with little to no consequences.

The arms industry is also a scary field to look at because there are so many unknowns. We don't know their level of technology, we don't know their exact size, and because of government "black" funding, we have no real clue about how much money they have. It's well known that many of the secret bases that have been connected to the military are little more than a scientific playground for these companies. Anything is possible

not to mention the fact that bribes could come in the form of advanced arms. Hell, even regular bribes of guns is bad. The arms industry, it seems, is something we've missed. They generally have a lot of unknowns, large and well armed security forces, and wield a lot governmental clout in addition to producing THE most valuable market commodity there is.

Any corruption in the amrs industry is bad news. Multinational arms corps have HUGE PR divisions to put spin on the fact they'll sell weapons to the highest bidder. Plus, the proliferation of "minicorps" means that Papa Arms Corp can send Little Arms Corp into a volatile but rich country and set up shop. That means that both/all sides will buy arms, generating lots of money and potential bribes in addition to small supplies of valuable commodities (gold, diamonds, ect.).

Dangerous, dangeorus bussiness, that.

DE