An Enemy of the Kremlin Dies in London
December 12, 2016 1:24 AM Subscribe
A longform article from The Atlantic: Who killed Alexander Perepilichny?
That Kleptocracy Initiative is fascinating. According to its About page, KI is a project of the neocon Hudson Institute (which employs Scooter Libby, among other Bush era neocon notables), so caveat emptor.
posted by notyou at 6:58 AM on December 12, 2016
posted by notyou at 6:58 AM on December 12, 2016
Yes, connected to a RW think tank, point taken.
However, lots of people on both sides of a L-R spectrum and both sides of the Atlantic (I'm here in London, steeped in kleptocratic gains being laundered) are waking up to the negative impact on our democracies. The issues are undeniable, solutions should probably be scrutinised but I haven't seen anything I've been troubled by.
I came to the issue through journalists working in the Eastern European/Post Soviet sphere.
posted by C.A.S. at 11:36 AM on December 12, 2016
However, lots of people on both sides of a L-R spectrum and both sides of the Atlantic (I'm here in London, steeped in kleptocratic gains being laundered) are waking up to the negative impact on our democracies. The issues are undeniable, solutions should probably be scrutinised but I haven't seen anything I've been troubled by.
I came to the issue through journalists working in the Eastern European/Post Soviet sphere.
posted by C.A.S. at 11:36 AM on December 12, 2016
Nobody who counts wins from democracy though. If the City were to stop laundering money, they would lose the trust of the people with the money, who are much more significant than 95% of the UK population*. Hence the nudge-wink collaboration with whatever regime has resources. Send in the royals for a visit, squash a few court cases, get the findings right for libel trials, lose the odd unimportant document... bish bash bosh bonus!
So yeah, this does hurt democracy, but that isn't a consideration for any of the players, any more than the effect on local house prices is a consideration for meth addicts. The people waking up to it don't count by definition. I guess they could if enough of them worked together…
Fascinating history of poisoning as a method of government though: amazing how a nudge in one direction can still have ripples almost a century later. How would critics be dying if someone hadn't tried to poison Lenin?
* Assuming current levels of wealth disparity plus foreign investment: I haven't done the sums properly
posted by Wrinkled Stumpskin at 1:07 PM on December 12, 2016 [2 favorites]
So yeah, this does hurt democracy, but that isn't a consideration for any of the players, any more than the effect on local house prices is a consideration for meth addicts. The people waking up to it don't count by definition. I guess they could if enough of them worked together…
Fascinating history of poisoning as a method of government though: amazing how a nudge in one direction can still have ripples almost a century later. How would critics be dying if someone hadn't tried to poison Lenin?
* Assuming current levels of wealth disparity plus foreign investment: I haven't done the sums properly
posted by Wrinkled Stumpskin at 1:07 PM on December 12, 2016 [2 favorites]
"Fascinating history of poisoning as a method of government though: amazing how a nudge in one direction can still have ripples almost a century later. How would critics be dying if someone hadn't tried to poison Lenin?"
Probably still the same. I mean, the Church Committee ended up finding about a heart attack gun of all things and Washington never got poisoned as far as I am aware
posted by I-baLL at 3:26 AM on December 13, 2016
Probably still the same. I mean, the Church Committee ended up finding about a heart attack gun of all things and Washington never got poisoned as far as I am aware
posted by I-baLL at 3:26 AM on December 13, 2016
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Oslo Freedom Forum Bill Browder talk
In a related vein, and with the context of discussion of the emerging discussions around Trump/Tillerson/Putin/Russian Oligarchs/Money Laundering, worth watching the Kleptocracy Initiative (Kleptocracyinitiative.org).
The affect on our politics, and places like Vancouver, New York, Florida, and London, is getting palpable.
posted by C.A.S. at 4:48 AM on December 12, 2016 [3 favorites]