There are Chechens that are pro-Moscow; Chechens who favor independence; Chechens who favor autonomy within the Russian Federations; and Chechen religious extremists.

They may have been acting on their own or on the behalf of others.

I think the best book on the topic is The Insurgency in Chechnya and the North Caucasus: From Gazavat to Jihad (Praeger Security International) by Robert W. Schaefer (Feb 18, 2011).

I have also written as the topic as have people like Tony Wood.

A quick search of Amazon.com will show you a wide array of opinions on the topic in the English language.

It also makes sense to see what is being written in other languages, such as Russia.

I wonder what former Financial Times correspondence David Satter and former Director of Research at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Paul Goble are saying.

One need not like Donald Rumsfeld to know the wisdom of his comment:

There are known knowns; there are things we know that we know.
There are known unknowns; that is to say, there are things that we now
know we don’t know.
But there are also unknown unknowns – there are things we do not know
we don’t know.
”
—United States Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld/

Sincerely,

Ethan S. Burger

It is often the case that returns and other credits somehow never seem to make their way through the accounting systems of the organizations’ selling goods or services (e.g. insurance) The more complex the nature of the purchase, the greater opportunity for “error” misunderstandings sometimes due to poor communications (e.g. complex rules or instructions). How may people send in their warranty forms or reclaim their rebates? Why is it not mandatory that all rebates be given at the point of purchase?

Is this “system: a result of design, a lack of thought, simple negligence or worse?

Indeed, the consumer is not King. Nonetheless, we have no one to blame for ourselves.

Granted, we are overloaded by paperwork and emails and their are too few hours in the day to devote attention to our families, earn a living, pursue our hobbies, etc., already. Consequently, it is not surprising that things fall through the cracks in this area.

But why does it seems that it is always errors that are not in favor of the consumer? Missed credits on returns or overcharged are seldom uncovered by the sellers. When was the last time you were notified by a seller that you had been incorrectly overcharged?

There is no reward system in most cases to do so. What is likely to happen to an employee who frequently discovers overcharges? Unless the outcome is the loss of a large customer, few organizations will look favorably on such employees.

Until the situation is rectified (if ever) they have access to your money which generates interests or could be used for other purposes. Is this not theft, which is generally regarded as a c rime, when there is mens rea (knowledge) on the part wrongfully taking compensation.

With telephone automation, it is no mean task to get errors corrected. Press the wrong button, and you may never find the proper person to complain to. This process often requires a significant expenditure of time. The people who work for the sellers are getting PAID for their time for errors usually their fault. You are the other hand are using your valuable time and are NOT GETTING PAID. In fact, just the opposite occurs. All human activity has opportunity costs. There is the time value of money and the money being “lost” is almost always the consumers’ money.

Consumers who find themselves in this situation should be compensated for their time. It is seldom that such consumers are automatically entitled to compensation by regulation or statute.

Hence who is there to complain to. The Better Business Bureaus are seldom the consumers ally in getting compensation. Government bodies protecting consumers are almost always “under resourced.”

What is to be done? First one should demand compensation for their time connected with the sellers’ errors. Demand to speak with supervisors since generally lower level employees are not in a position to compensate consumers for over charges.

Make use of social media for name and shame purposes ! ! ! ! ! There are many websites that provide opportunities in this area. If a company is on Facebook, take the time to complain. Contact the company’s ombudsman and general counsel.

This in part offsets the so-called “free rider” problem. The time required to organize people (especially other unknown victims) is high. The cost of litigation is probably too great to hire a lawyer in light of the amount of the damages and the small claims courts are clogged. The results not guaranteed.

Yet, don’t overlook the fact that if you are not compensates in an amount you consider to be adequate, you might be able to cost your adversary time and money so that you can level the playing field.

It is no accident that often one check’s their bill in a restaurant that there is an error in your favor.

Is there a need to ask yourself why?

We are dealing with situations of theft. White collar consumer fraud, but usually not in large enough sums to get the attention or the mainstream media, regulators, etc.

We must not allow ourselves to be victims.

(i) the revolving door issue;

(ii) our national allergy to higher taxes to fund the recruitment and retention of competent and dedicated people able to bring successfully enforcement actions and not settle them for peanuts. Properly done, this would probably generate a huge revenue source for the government which might even result in the ability to lower taxes. Maybe we might consider having a program of having low-cost (subsidized) student loans for long-term civil servants so that they won’t be tempted to jump ship so that they can afford higher education for their children by “cashing in” where their primary value to their new employers is their connections in the government;

(iii) getting the media to recognize that financial crimes cause greater harm than traditional crime; and

(iv) electing politicians with sufficient political backbone to support the enforcement of the law dealing with financial crimes.

Campaign finance reform might help.

Leading by example is important. The U.S. must be credible in this regard and cease being the ultimate destination for a great deal of laundered money. We make it too easy to set up shell companies and too hard to pierce the corporate veil.

The present situation reminds me of instances where the penalties for non-violent drug crimes bear little resemblance to the harm inflicted.

We need to make approaches to Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Ma) and see what we can do to help her have real impact.

We need to support Ray Baker at Global Financial Integrity to see that the the anti-money laundering laws are amended to make predicate offenses not dependent on where they are committed (many predicate acts under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) must be committed in the U,S, rather than abroad to get a conviction under the BSA).

Most importantly, we need companies harmed by corruption to pursue their claims for damages. The situation has gotten worse since I collaborated with Mary Holland of NYU in 2006 to write an article in Fordham International Law Review calling on the private sector to lead the battle to combat corruption. See http://www.jurispro.com/files/documents/doc-1066206597-article-2021.pdf .

If you are aware of cases similar to the Korean Services Corporation case in California discussed in the above article, I would love to hear about it.

Perhaps the best way to punish “white collar” criminals (a label that I have never been fond of and consequently I use instead “members of senior management, directors of large corporations and their facilitators who have committed large-scale violations of the law”) is to impose a permanent and punitive fine on them that operates like a tax to ensure that their lifestyle remains slightly above the poverty line. The penalty should be adjusted annually, Jail-terms and one-time fines are inadequate deterrents.

All too often those who commit large-scale financial crime if detected, caught, convicted and punished (a small percentage of the transgressors) are able to resume their former lifestyle within a relatively short time of their “punishment.” In general, sanctions need to be updated and indexed.

If greed if what motivates them, permanently banning such individuals from jobs as officers and directors of legal entities and preventing them from resuming their former lifestyles by cashing in on their connections skills in their future would be more appropriate. The societal harm these individuals cause often exceed that of conventional criminals.

Perhaps the best way to punish “white collar” criminals (a label that I have never been fond of and consequently I use instead “members of senior management, directors of large corporations and their facilitators who have committed large-scale violations of the law”) is to impose a permanent and punitive fine on them that operates like a tax to ensure that their lifestyle remains slightly above the poverty line. The penalty should be adjusted annually, Jail-terms and one-time fines are inadequate deterrents.

All too often those who commit large-scale financial crime if detected, caught, convicted and punished (a small percentage of the transgressors) are able to resume their former lifestyle within a relatively short time of their “punishment.” In general, sanctions need to be updated and indexed.

If greed if what motivates them, permanently banning such individuals from jobs as officers and directors of legal entities and preventing them from resuming their former lifestyles by cashing in on their connections skills in their future would be more appropriate. The societal harm these individuals cause often exceed that of conventional criminals.

The best way to ensure a culture of compliance within a company is to prohibit officers and directors or management from serving on boards of directors in public companies. 5 years seems about me.

Most shareholders vote with their feet. Institutional shareholders don’t usually vote their shares.

Non-prosecution agreements where their are BSA, Dodd- Frank, FCPA, and SOX violations largely harm shareholders, not wrongdoers.

Individuals forced to resign where there are such violations should be prohibited from receiving golden parachutes.

The actual damage caused by former Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov’s mega-corruption is impossible to calculate. It is the product of numerous “unknowns,” such as the scale of the corruption and how the stolen funds would have been. Certainly, individuals would rather have their own money than see it absconded or wasted by the officials, irrespective whether elected or appointed (though in most they prefer to elect and throw them out themselves).

Many Muscovites have significant needs for better education, environmental protection, housing and public health. Should they take solace from the fact that he was handed a university deanship rather than immediately arrested or charged with crimes as his former Deputy Alexander Ryabinin? It is still far too early to judge the impact President Medvedev’s firing of Mr. Luzhkov.

Was the decision to hand to Mr. Luzhkov a new position made to encourage other corrupt officials to leave their posts in quiet (unfortunately, to probably give other people the opportunity to engage in corrupt behavior) or was it because he has kompromat against other powerful individuals in the country? We will probably never know the answer, but can make reasonable guesses.

Currently, Columbian drug cartels are apparently using submarines obtained from Russian organized crime groups to move cocaine as a safe way to get their product to market.  According to press reports, last month the Royal Navy has begun to prepare anti-submarine operations to interdict such submarines.

Query what would happen if terrorist organizations were to obtain such submarines with the goal of destroying underwater pipelines or extorting money from governments or private companies not to attack such pipelines.  What would be the appropriate response and is the West prepared for this threat?

In recent weeks, the price of British Petroleum’s stock has plummeted, the economic and human costs of the clean-up from the spill mount, oil prices will inevitably increase.  All these developments provide significant funding opportunities to criminal and terrorist groups who based on their prior knowledge sold BP shares short, purchased stock in companies involved in clean-up operations, and bought oil futures.

Unfortunately, oil pipelines, like other infrastructure facilities, constitute potential attractive targets, all of which cannot be defended at reasonable cost.  Compared with the narco-trade and other forms of finance, criminal and terrorist groups stand to reap significant revenues.  At present, it is difficult to have an abundance of confidence in our ability to counter-act this potential threat.

After 9/11, national security planners studied the risk that airplanes might be flown into nuclear power plants.  Preventive steps were taken and fortunately, no such attacks have been successful.  Governments and the private energy sector should be planning for the next disaster before it is too late.  What is needed are informed analysis, the training and equipping of appropriate personnel, development of reliable warning systems and action, not post hoc, finger pointing, adopting half-measures, and throwing money at problems, which has become all too common.

++  Mr. Burger has written extensively on anti-terrorism, national security, organized crime issues and will be joining the Faculty of the University of Wollongong, and its Centre for Transnational Crime Prevention.

The U.S. Constitution does not specify the number of justices who sit on the Supreme Court, which as I have said elsewhere is Washington’s smallest legislature — a body unburden by concepts such as following precedent.

While perhaps it might be interesting to have Congress hold certain former Supreme Court nominees in contempt for not honestly answering the questions that they were asked during the confirmation process, perhaps a better idea to propose expanding the Supreme Court by 8 members.

There is no better time than the present.  The media is giving far too much coverage to the “Tea Party,” the only positive that I can say about it is that the leader of which conveys to the country’s “C” students that they need not rule out a career in politics.

FDR’s court packing ploy, did not succeed, but suddenly the Court disingenuously discovered the Commerce Clause — allowing America to get moving again.  It did not end the great depression, but it did give the country a sense of purpose and hope.

President Obama need not find 8 ideologues.  On the Republican side — I would look for patriots who truly seem committed to the Constitution and problem solving: Lindsay Graham, Charles Grassley, Ted Olsen and Richard Posner.

For the Democrats, I would propose Mario Cuomo, Maureen Dowd, Robert Reich, and Lawrence Tribe.  No one can challenge the degree to which these individuals are committed to public policy.

Even if this stratagem failed (which it almost certainly would), it might get us to begin focusing on issues that confront this national rather than turning politics into a version of People Magazine.

It is difficult to ignore that manic quality of the stock market.  The value of stocks climb up, only to plummet following the release of bad news.

The most recent declines in the stock market have been “explained” by certain experts as due to:

(i) the value of the Euro is plummeting due to the economic conditions in Greek Spain and elsewhere in the European Union;

(ii) the negligence, perhaps criminal) negligence of British Petroleum (and its contractors) is creating the greatest man-made economic disaster since Bhopal in the release of inestimable amount of oil into the Gulf of Mexico;

(iii) the regulatory apparatus meant to prevent such disaster failed to do its job, in part due to corruption:

(iv) tensions on the Korean peninsula has reached a level not seen since 1950;

(v) the Iranian “problem” continues to fester; and

(vi) Governments inability or unwillingness to address these and other problems due to a degree of partisanship in many countries and the lack of responsiveness by ruling elites who are not accountable to the people in whise name they purport to rule/govern.

But are the pundits correct?  Perhaps the “market movers” are engaged in a herd behavior.  Perhaps, if on a particular day, the DOW falls or gains 0.5% it should be closed down for the day as a means of controlling stock values moving in excess of the underlying economic conditions of corporations or the economy as a whole.

Most are familiar with the old saying that a “people get the government it deserves?  Perhaps, but most people are not the people the product of inadequate education they and their children receive (except to the extent they refuse to provide schools with adequate funding, are uninvolved in their children’s education, and tolerate mediocre educators).

Perhaps the popular media is at fault since it largely refuses to examine complex issues in an informative manner.  But should we expect anything else from profit-seeking media companies — who recognize that entertainment and not news is what draws audiences and thus advertising dollars?  Would there be an audience for news shows and informed discussion on television?  Yet, the people through their governments who owns the airwaves.  Are governments demanding adequate fees for their use?  Is corporate agency capture of the FCC the problem?

Within many countries, the role of money in the electoral process has increased the power of special interest lobbies.  Is it a result of the decline of labor unions — the only group capable of opposing corporate power or the decline of political parties based on shared goals and values.

The situation is indeed troubling.   In recent decades, productivity in industry has climbed, but median wages do not.  After the recent financial crisis, we people wrong to save, rather than spend or invest their discretionary income?

While large financial institutions gets bailed out, but the percentage of persons living in poverty grows.  Throughout the world, the ratio of the net worth of the wealthiest 10% share of the population grows in comparison to the rest of the citizenry.

Technology and business structures have modernized, but governmental structures have largely not.  What should be done?  Perhaps the growth of corporations and the reduction of business entities in certain sectors should make us re-examine the U.S.’s anti-trust, anti-monopoly, and anti-competition rules.  The failure of the government to take action in these areas may play a major role in the economic insecurity we are experiencing.