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Bibi1581 Blog For 05/19/2018: Evening Edition

1…………> Global Warming: The Damage

 

“The Convention on Biological Diversity has very little leadership. There is no-one setting the bar, holding the standard of what a nation should do. So, science like this report holds nations to account and maybe embarrasses them to take some leadership because right now no nation is showing that leadership.

“When it comes to their natural heritage, we are running out of time; the extinction crisis is on. Thirty percent of species will go extinct in the next 50 years if we don’t safeguard nature properly,” said Prof. James Watson from the University of Queensland and the Wildlife Conservation Society.

Millions of square miles of forests, parks, and conservation areas are under “intense human pressure” from mining, logging, and farming, with countries rich and poor, are quick to designate protected areas but fail to follow up with funding and enforcement.

 




2…………> Kingsmen Gang: Busted

 

A federal jury in Buffalo, New York, has convicted three leaders and members of the Kingsmen Motorcycle Club (KMC) gang identified as David Pirk, 67, KMC National President, Andre Jenkins aka Little Bear, 39,  and Timothy Enix, aka Blaze, 58, KMC Nomad, on multiple charges for their roles in a major racketeering operation in furtherance of crime of violence, murder in aid of racketeering, possession and discharge of a firearm in a crime of violence, using and maintaining premises for drug dealing and possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime

 

“The defendants and their associates transformed the Kingsmen Motorcycle Club into a vicious gang that terrorized the Buffalo area, engaging in senseless murders, brutal violence, robberies, and drug trafficking,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Cronan.  “But after today’s verdict, the Kingsmen Motorcycle Club’s reign of terror is coming to an end.  The U.S. Department of Justice and our partners will aggressively pursue violent gangs wherever they are found and bring them to justice.”

“Motorcycle gangs have evolved over 70 years from bar-room brawlers to somewhat sophisticated criminals,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Loeffert. “The Kingsmen’s leadership not only voiced a desire to turn its club into a “one-percenter” gang, it acted on that desire when Paul Maue and DJ Szymanski were killed. Those murders told everyone that the Kingsmen do not want to be aligned with the vast majority of riders who are law-abiding citizens. With today’s verdicts, the repeated and regular acts of violence so inculcated into the culture of the Kingsmen Motorcycle Club are over.”

 

Defendant David Pirk, wanted to establish the KMC as a one percent club, meaning that that 99 percent of motorcyclists were law-abiding citizens with the remaining one percent engaged in certain activities such as drug and firearm trafficking, acts of violence, murder, assault, robbery, kidnapping, drug trafficking, obstruction of justice, and witness tampering.

 

 

 

 


3…………>  High Seas Competition: China Carriers

 

China’s second aircraft carrier left its dock at Dalian Shipyard in northeast China’s Liaoning Province, for its first sea trials, and joined other ships of PLA Navy for a show of force.

 



4………….> Cartel’s Banker: Rabobank

 

Rabobank National Association (Rabobank), a Roseville, California subsidiary of the Netherlands-based Coöperatieve Rabobank U.A., was sentenced for impairing, impeding and obstructing its primary regulator, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (the OCC), by concealing deficiencies in its anti-money laundering (AML) program and for obstructing the OCC’s examination of Rabobank. Rabobank was sentenced to a two-year term of probation, and ordered to pay the statutory maximum fine of $500,000. Additionally, as part of its guilty plea, Rabobank forfeited $368,701,259 to the United States as a result of allowing illicit funds to be processed through the bank. 

“Rabobank’s branches on the Mexican border processed hundreds of millions of dollars in suspicious transactions likely tied to international narcotics trafficking, organized crime, and money laundering,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Cronan. “Instead of filing reports that would have alerted law enforcement to the suspicious activity, as required by law, the bank looked the other way and then compounded its misconduct by conspiring to cover-up its failures and deceiving its regulator. Today’s sentence and the related forfeiture demonstrate that the Department of Justice will use all the tools at our disposal to combat drug trafficking and transnational crime—including prosecuting financial institutions that turn a blind eye to illicit proceeds moving through their customers’ accounts.” 

On Feb. 7, Rabobank pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States and to corruptly obstruct an examination of a financial institution, admitting that between 2009 and 2012 it implemented policies and procedures that precluded and suppressed its investigations into potentially suspicious transactions near the U.S.-Mexico border, much of which was conducted by customers and through accounts that Rabobank had previously designated “High-Risk.” 

As a result of its failures, Rabobank admitted that certain customer accounts were involved in not less than $368,701,259 in suspicious transactions that were either unreported or untimely reported to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), as required by the BSA. These transactions included high-volume cash deposits and withdrawals, check transactions, electronic transfers, and wire transfers that were consistent with illegal activity such as trade-based money laundering, bulk cash smuggling, structuring, and the black market peso exchange.

 

5………….> A Message Of Peace

Leave the madness behind and listen to the music of eternal peace, Christus Vincit circa 1982.

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Bibi1581 Blog For 02/08/2018: Morning Edition

1…………> Goodbye Diversity: Fake Immigrant

The Department of Justice today filed a complaint to revoke the naturalization of a Sudan native named Mubarak Ahmed Hamed, a man who entered the United States on an F-1 student visa and gained lawful permanent resident status through the diversity visa lottery program—for violating and conspiring to violate sanctions imposed against Iraq under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), as well as obstructing Internal Revenue laws.

On June 25, 2010, Hamed pleaded guilty to conspiring to illegally transfer of more than $1 million to Iraq in violation of federal sanctions, and to obstructing administration of the laws governing tax-exempt charities. Hamed was sentenced to four years and 10 months in federal prison on January 11, 2012.

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/department-justice-files-denaturalization-complaint-against-diversity-visa-recipient-who

 

2…………> A Crime Syndicate: Nevada

A federal indictment was unsealed today charging 36 individuals for their alleged roles in the Infraud Organization, an Internet-based cybercriminal enterprise engaged in the large-scale acquisition, sale, and dissemination of stolen identities, compromised debit and credit cards, personally identifiable information, financial and banking information, computer malware, and other contraband, alleging racketeering conspiracy and other crimes, as federal, state, local, and international law enforcement authorities arrested 13 defendants from the United States and six countries: Australia, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Kosovo and Serbia.

“Today’s indictment and arrests mark one of the largest cyberfraud enterprise prosecutions ever undertaken by the Department of Justice,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Cronan. “As alleged in the indictment, Infraud operated like a business to facilitate cyberfraud on a global scale. Its members allegedly caused more than $530 million in actual losses to consumers, businesses, and financial institutions alike—and it is alleged that the losses they intended to cause amounted to more than $2.2 billion. The Department of Justice refuses to allow these cybercriminals to use the perceived anonymity of the Internet as a shield for their crimes. We are committed to working closely with our international counterparts to identify, investigate, and bring to justice the perpetrators of these crimes, wherever in the world they operate.”

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/thirty-six-defendants-indicted-alleged-roles-transnational-criminal-organization-responsible

 

3…………> Felony Bank Conspiracy: Rabobank UA

Rabobank National Association (Rabobank), a Roseville, California subsidiary of the Netherlands-based Coöperatieve Rabobank U.A., pleaded guilty to a felony conspiracy charge for impairing, impeding and obstructing its primary regulator, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (the OCC) by concealing deficiencies in its anti-money laundering (AML) program and for obstructing the OCC’s examination of Rabobank. Rabobank will forfeit $368,701,259 as a result of allowing illicit funds to be processed through the bank without adequate Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) or AML review.

“Today, Rabobank is being held accountable for its illegal actions involving the movement of more than $360 million through the U.S. financial system on behalf of high risk customers,” said Special Agent in Charge Rowe. “In today’s environment of increasingly sophisticated financial markets, it’s critical that global institutions follow U.S. law and abide by our anti-money laundering regulations. The IRS is proud to share its world-renowned financial investigative expertise in this and other complex financial investigations.”

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/rabobank-na-pleads-guilty-agrees-pay-over-360-million

 

4…………> Done It Again: Congress Budget Hogs

In a not surprising show of “pork barrel” bipartisanship, Republican Senate leader Mitch “Harry’s Twin” McConnell and his Democratic counterpart Chuck “I cried tears for the Muslims” Pelosi agreed the two-year pact that would hike US defence and domestic spending by 300 billion of dollars, an debt-ballooning “monstrosity” that is expected to face opposition in the House of Representatives.

The Washington Post puts the figure at half a trillion dollars, while House of Representatives Democratic leader, Nancy “No, Amy is not my daughter” Schumer, engrossed herself in an eight hours idiotic speech, standing in high heels, blabbering about her opposition to any budget that does not include protections for so-called Dreamers, young immigrants who entered the US illegally as children.

Rep. Brooks, a member of the Freedom Caucus, slammed dubbed bill a “debt junkie’s dream”, while Freedom Caucus leader Jim Jordan of Ohio, said the agreement was a “monstrosity”, which he found hard to believe could have emanated from his own party.
Where was President Trump while this firefight was taking place? No one knows.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-42981072


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