Brazil Exclusive: the Money Laundering Scandal From Hell No One Wants to Talk About

Two decades after the fact, a political earthquake that should be rocking Brazil apart is being met with thunderous silence.

What is now described as the Banestado leaks and the CC5gate is straight out of vintage WikiLeaks: a list, published for the first time in full, naming names and detailing what is one of the biggest corruption and money laundering cases in the world for the past three decades.

This scandal allows for the healthy practice of what Michel Foucault characterized as the archeology of knowledge. Without understanding these leaks, it’s impossible to place in the proper context the sophisticated Hybrid War unleashed by Washington on Brazil initially via NSA spying on President Dilma Roussef’s first term (2010-2014), all the way to the subsequent Car Wash corruption investigation that jailed Lula and opened the way for the election of neofascist patsy Jair Bolsonaro as President.

The scoop on this George Orwell does Hybrid War plotline is due, once again, to independent media: the small website Duplo Expresso, led by young, daring Bern-based international lawyer Romulus Maya, which first published the list.

An epic 5-hour podcast assembled the three key protagonists who denounced the scandal in the first place, back in the late 1990s, and now are able to re-analyze it: then Governor of Parana state Roberto Requiao; federal prosecutor Celso Tres; and police superintendent, now retired, Jose Castilho Neto.

Previously, in another podcast, Maya and anthropologist Piero Leirner, Brazil’s foremost analyst of Hybrid War, briefed me on the myriad political intricacies of the leaks while we discussed geopolitics in the Global South.

The CC5 lists are here, here, and here. Let’s see what makes them so special.

The mechanism

Way back in 1969, the Brazilian Central Bank created what was described as a “CC5 account” to facilitate foreign companies and executives to legally wire assets overseas. For many years the cash flow in these accounts was not significant. Then everything changed in the 1990s – with the emergence of a massive, complex criminal racket centered on money laundering.

The original Banestado investigation started in 1997. Federal prosecutor Celso Tres was stunned to find that from 1991 to 1996 no less than $124 billion in Brazilian currency was wired overseas. Between 1991 and 2002 that ballooned to a whopping $219 billion – placing Banestado as one of the largest money laundering schemes in history.

Tres’s report led to a federal investigation focused in Foz do Iguacu in southern Brazil, strategically located right at the Tri-Border of Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay, where local banks were laundering vast amounts of funds through their CC5 accounts.

Cont. from images:

What will Lula do?

As it stands, as a development of the Banestado leaks, a first Banestado “VIP list” was gathered. It includes the current President of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, who also serves as a Supreme Court Justice, Luis Roberto Barroso, bankers, media tycoons and industrialists. Car Wash prosecutor Deltan Dallagnol happens to be very close to the neoliberal Supreme Court Justice in question.

The VIP list should be read as the road map for the money laundering practices of the Brazilian 0,01% – roughly estimated to be 20,000 families who own the close to one trillion dollar Brazilian internal debt. A great deal of those funds had been recycled back to Brazil as “foreign investment” through the CC5 scheme back in the 1990s. And that’s exactly how Brazil’s internal debt exploded.

Still no one knows where the Banestado-enabled torrent of dodgy money actually landed, in detail. The “body bag” was never formally acknowledged to have been brought back from New York and never made its way into the criminal proceedings. Yet money laundering is still in progress – and thus the limitation period does not apply – so somebody, anybody would have to be thrown in the slammer. It doesn’t seem that will be the case anytime soon, tough.

Meanwhile, enabled by the U.S. Deep State, transnational finance and local comprador elites, some in uniform, some in robes, the slow motion Hybrid War coup against Brazil keeps rambling on. And day by day inching closer to full spectrum dominance.

Which bring us to the key, final question: what will Lula do about it?

https://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2020/07/23/brazil-exclusive-the-money-laundering-scandal-from-hell-no-one-wants-to-talk-about/

Oregon Attorney General Loses Court Motion To Restrain Feds From Stopping Rioters In Portland

As reported last week, Oregon’s far left attorney general, Ellen Rosenblum, sought a federal court order to protect her terrorist friends and prevent the feds from intervening in the continuous riotous acts that have been ongoing in Portland. Her motion was DENIED today by a judge in the very same courthouse that has been subjected to the repeated vandalism and arson.

Willamette Week reports:

A federal judge on Friday afternoon denied a request by Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum to issue a temporary restraining order against federal officers making arrests of Portland protesters without probable cause.

In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Michael W. Mosman said Rosenblum had failed to provide sufficient evidence that such arrests were occurring widely in the streets of Portland or were part of a federal policy. (Disclosure: Rosenblum is married to the co-owner of WW‘s parent company.)

He ruled that because the state of Oregon couldn’t establish a pattern or policy, it lacked the legal standing to seek to halt future incidents.

The judge’s ruling is a painful setback for Oregon officials and demonstrators who hoped to rebuke President Donald Trump and rein in the actions of the federal police he deployed to quash six weeks of uprising and upheaval. It marked a swift end to an ambitious legal strategy that as recently as this afternoon was endorsed by Portland City Hall, which asked to provide expert testimony.

Mosman’s ruling emphasized that Rosenblum had set a high degree of difficulty for herself by bringing an unusual request to his bench. He said victims of illegal treatment by police typically seek redress for themselves. But in this case, the state sought to ban future, hypothetical actions by police—many of which he noted were already illegal and did not need him to outlaw them.

“In a typical case alleging these types of constitutional harms, the aggrieved individual would sue on his own behalf,” he wrote. “Here, however, the state of Oregon—by way of Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum—has brought a suit alleging these same kinds of constitutional claims on a theory that they harm the state’s citizenry writ large.”

That left the state with a higher evidentiary burden: proving that the violations were taking place on a large scale, and that a restraining order was needed to protect its citizens from future danger.

Mosman wasn’t persuaded that danger was real. He tore apart the state’s argument that Portland protesters would reasonably fear they were being kidnapped by far-right paramilitary groups.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/07/oregon-attorney-general-loses-court-motion-restrain-feds-stopping-rioters-portland/

Quantum Loop: US Unveils Blueprint For 'Virtually Unhackable' Internet

US officials and scientists have begun laying the groundwork for a more secure "virtually unhackable" internet based on quantum computing technology.

At a presentation Thursday, Department of Energy (DOE) officials issued a report that lays out a blueprint strategy for the development of a national quantum internet, using laws of quantum mechanics to transmit information more securely than on existing networks.

The agency is working with universities and industry researchers on the engineering for the initiative with the aim of creating a prototype within a decade.

In February, scientists from DOE's Argonne National Laboratory and the University of Chicago created a 52-mile (83-kilometer) "quantum loop" in the Chicago suburbs, establishing one of the longest land-based quantum networks in the nation.

The aim is to create a parallel, more secure network based on quantum "entanglement," or the transmission of sub-atomic particles.

"One of the hallmarks of quantum transmissions is that they are exceedingly difficult to eavesdrop on as information passes between locations," according to the Energy Department statement.

"Scientists plan to use that trait to make virtually unhackable networks."

The department said early adopters could include the banking and health services sectors, adding that there would be applications for national security and aircraft communications.

"Eventually, the use of quantum networking technology in mobile phones could have broad impacts on the lives of individuals around the world," the statement added.

The agency's 17 national laboratories will serve as the backbone of the coming quantum internet, which has initial government funding.

"The foundation of quantum networks rests on our ability to precisely synthesize and manipulate matter at the atomic scale, including the control of single photons," said David Awschalom, a professor at the University of Chicago and senior scientist at Argonne National Laboratory.

https://www.ibtimes.com/quantum-loop-us-unveils-blueprint-virtually-unhackable-internet-3016833

Health company apologizes for falsely telling 600,000 US military members they were infected with coronavirus

The company said it was a simple mistake

A healthcare insurance company for members of the U.S. military had to apologize for accidentally telling over 600,000 people that they were infected with the virus when they were not.

Tricare apologized for alarming several hundred thousand people because of a poorly worded email that implied the recipient was a coronavirus survivor. The email went out from Humana Military, a regional manager for Tricare.

"As a survivor of COVID-19, it's safe to donate whole blood or blood plasma, and your donation could help other COVID-19 patients. Your plasma likely has antibodies (or proteins) present that might help fight the coronavirus infection," read the email.

"Currently, there is no cure for COVID-19. However, there is information that suggests plasma from COVID-19 survivors, like you, might help some patients recover more quickly from COVID-19," the email continued.

Six hours later, Humana sent out a correction and an apology over the confusing and erroneous emails.

"In an attempt to educate beneficiaries who live close to convalescent plasma donation centers about collection opportunities, you received an email incorrectly suggesting you were a COVID-19 survivor," read the email. "You have not been identified as a COVID-19 survivor and we apologize for the error and any confusion it may have caused."

Military.com documented the mistake and reported messages on social media from those confused about the email.

"Just wondering [if] anybody [got] an email from Tricare saying since you are a COVID survivor, please donate your plasma.?? I have NOT been tested," said one person on Facebook. "Just remember all those people inputting data are human and make mistakes."

Marvin Hill, a spokesperson for Humana, offered a statement to Military.com explaining the error.

"Language used in email messages to approximately 600k beneficiaries gave the impression that we were attempting to reach only people who had tested positive for COVID-19. We quickly followed the initial email with a clear and accurate second message acknowledging this. We apologize," said Hill.

About 31,000 people affiliated with the U.S. military have been diagnosed with the coronavirus, far fewer than the 600,000 reached by the erroneous email.

Some critics of the pandemic lockdown orders have used mistakes in counting and reporting coronavirus cases to bolster their claims that some elements of the government are using the pandemic to damage the president and the Republicans.

https://www.theblaze.com/news/coronavirus-false-military-positives-email

CEO of Banco do Brasil Rubem Novaes Resigns to Ensure Bank's Renewal

Rubem Novaes, CEO of Banco do Brasil – the largest Latin American bank in terms of assets – has announced his resignation to ensure the company's renewal.

Novaes said in a statement on Friday that he had asked Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and Economy Minister Paulo Guedes for resignation starting from August "understanding that the company needs renewal to meet future innovations in the bank system".

Rubem Novaes has publicly defended the bank's privatization in recent months, local media reported.

Novaes has been heading Banco do Brasil since 2018, before that he had worked in the National Bank for Economic and Social Development.

He has graduated in economics from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and completed a master's and doctorate at the University of Chicago.

https://sputniknews.com/latam/202007251079980310-ceo-of-banco-do-brasil-rubem-novaes-resigns-to-ensure-banks-renewal/

Elected mayor at 22, gay-Jewish-progressive Alex Morse is running for Congress

The now-31-year-old politician seeks to replace the more moderate — and experienced — Democratic incumbent Richard Neal in primary elections September 1

Alex Morse’s first job out of college was as mayor of his Massachusetts hometown, Holyoke. Morse spent only one day a week on campus at Brown University his last semester as he mounted a campaign against an incumbent three times his age.

When he was elected later that year, the then-22-year-old first-generation college graduate became both the youngest and the first openly gay person to lead the city of 40,000 near Springfield.

Today at 31, the Jewish politician hopes to again unseat a much older and more established opponent. A year ago almost to the day, he announced his challenge to US Rep. Richard Neal, who has been representing the state’s 1st Congressional District since 1989 and chairs the influential House Ways and Means Committee. The two will face off September 1 in the Democratic primary.

Morse is running on a progressive platform that includes Medicare for All, defunding the Immigration and Customs and Enforcement agency, legalizing marijuana and canceling student debt. Fighting inequality is a central tenet of his campaign — he says it’s become even more necessary during the coronavirus pandemic. In Holyoke, which is 50 percent Hispanic, nearly 30% of the population lives in poverty, according to the US census. Many have been struggling economically since the pandemic hit, and the city saw a severe coronavirus outbreak at a state-run veterans’ home that left 76 dead.

Today marks 1 year since we launched our campaign!

Now, with only 6 weeks left until the election, we need your help to get over the finish line so we can provide Western + Central Mass with the representation it truly deserves. Join us: https://t.co/LUkQSZqj6y pic.twitter.com/NxFzEc2iHk

— Alex Morse (@AlexBMorse) July 22, 2020

“The pandemic and how it’s manifesting and impacting our communities in many ways just crystallizes why I’m running for Congress in the first place and who our federal government should be looking out for and working for,” Morse told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “I think it’s illuminated already existing disparities and inequities in our communities that need to be addressed.”

Last year, Morse in an interview with Mother Jones aligned himself with the group of four young Democratic congresswomen of color nicknamed “the Squad” — Reps. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan.

“Those four members of Congress in particular represent very courageous and progressive voices in our party, so it would be an honor to get to Congress and work alongside them,” Morse said.

Omar and Tlaib have come under fire from members of the Jewish community and beyond for their sharp criticism of Israel, which some say has veered into anti-Semitism.

More

https://www.timesofisrael.com/elected-mayor-at-22-gay-jewish-progressive-alex-morse-is-running-for-congress/