Panama Papers

[David Guyatt]

An Erhard Mossack turns up in the Harry Brunser Report. If this is the same person, it seems that Jürgen Mossack's father was brought out of Germany as part of Operation Overcast:

https://operationovercast.wordpress.com/...er_report/

(sic!)

Is Harry Brunser trustworthy?

Good find Ralf. I don't know of Harry Brunser, but he seems to be fairly accurate to me judging on the factual nature of his website. It's a pity that all those files went into his private hands when they really should have been made fully available to the public.

However, the question I have is whether Erhard Mossack was a scientist? In other reports he seems to be part of the Waffen SS possibly of the SS Totenkopf division - and if that is the case then he wasn't captured by Overcast for his scientific knowledge. More mystery, it seems.

[Michael Barwell]

Craig is spot on the money again. They lead with Putin. Enemy de jour of the west.

One of the books I've read has alot of stuff about efforts and intent to track Putins wealth - probably "We Are Anonymous", or "the Snowden Files" perhaps.

[Lauren Johnson]

I am just now trying to catch up on this story. David, your comment on who leaked it and why seems to me to be the most important for now.

My immediate off the cuff thought is that this is a deep event used to cause political turmoil leading to regime change. Another thought is that this is probably only one of several law firms specializing this this practice. If this one is taken down, other law firms could benefit. If other law firms are run by the CIA, then that means that the money from other leaders comes under their control.

Just thoughts for now.

[Lauren Johnson]

Craig is spot on the money again. They lead with Putin. Enemy de jour of the west.

One of the books I've read has alot of stuff about efforts and intent to track Putins wealth - probably "We Are Anonymous", or "the Snowden Files" perhaps.

IMO Putin is bent, but this leak gambit could be used to reign him in even more than he already is.

[Magda Hassan]

I am just now trying to catch up on this story. David, your comment on who leaked it and why seems to me to be the most important for now.

My immediate off the cuff thought is that this is a deep event used to cause political turmoil leading to regime change. Another thought is that this is probably only one of several law firms specializing this this practice. If this one is taken down, other law firms could benefit. If other law firms are run by the CIA, then that means that the money from other leaders comes under their control.

Just thoughts for now.

I'm looking at it is a competitor for Wikileaks. It is playing out just as Craig Murray has said. It should have also gone to Wikileaks if only as a back up and plan B. They were happy to dole it out to over 100 media outlets so it not like they don't mind sharing. Cut they want to control it. Wikileaks would have opened it all and they would have made it searchable as well. But we are getting drip drip drip of privately selected data. A mere fraction of the trove. This way instead of complete transparency for all we have 99.999% still behind walls and clearly their media have an agenda which supports the general western consensus. Corporates don't mind leaks that damage the competition. But they don't want complete transparent equality.

[Lauren Johnson]

I'm looking at it is a competitor for Wikileaks. Here ya' are. Wikileaks nails it.

[Peter Lemkin]

Panama Papers: Iceland's Pirate Party Prepared to Take Power

By Birgitta Jónsdóttir On 4/5/16 at 1:24 PM

Panama Papers Leak
Birgitta Jónsdóttir is the parliamentary chair of Iceland's Pirate Party, an international movement for digital rights and democratic reform that is the country's largest political party. Amid protests in Reykjavik over the prime minister's links with off-shore tax havens, all the opposition parties have jointly called for his resignation, the Pirate Party has also called for a new constitution written by and for the people of Iceland in the wake of the financial crisis to be implemented as promised after a national referendum in 2012, which was ignored.
The decision by Iceland's Prime Minister to not resign in the wake of Panama papers scandal is deeply damaging to our country and a sign that our constitution needs to be overhauled completely.
Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson has been on all the front pages of newspapers around Europewith his face alongside Russian President Vladimir Putinfor his involvement with a secretive offshore company that allegedly hid millions of dollars of investments.
The news report in Iceland on Sunday evening that detailed the scandal rocked Icelandic society in a similar way to how it was shaken in the wake of the financial crisis in 2008.
At the time, Gunnlaugsson called the creditors of the failed banks "vultures", but as it turns out he could also have been talking about himself and his wife.

Lawmakers from across the political spectrum, are shocked that the prime minister does not see this as a reason to resign. Every minute that he remains in power, he is damaging our reputation in the eyes of the world.
But the most important thing is that the prime minister has completely lost the trust of the voters. It is going to be very difficult for members of the ruling parties in parliament to defend the prime minister in the vote of no confidence that we expect to occur in the next few days.
You can sense the anger among Icelanders. Thousands of people took part in protests outside the nation's parliament last night and I expect protests to continue until the prime minister steps down or a vote of no confidence forces him out.
People demonstrate against Iceland's Prime Minister Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson in Reykjavik, Iceland on April 4, 2016 after a leak of documents by so-called Panama Papers stoked anger over his wife owning a tax haven-based company with large claims on the country's collapsed banks. Stigtryggur Johannsson/ ReutersI joined these protests and I have announced that I will be standing for elections for the Pirate Party for a short term, where we will implement a new constitution and legalize it. The next election is set to take place on or before April 27, 2017, but the Pirate Party and other opposition parties have called for a snap election.
Currently we are experiencing similar events to that which Iceland experienced in the wake of the financial crisis in 2008. And yet we still don't have a satisfactory system for holding those in power to accountother than standing outside the parliament and screaming it out loud.
The constitution we would implement was written by and for the people of Iceland in 2011 in response to the financial meltdown. It would include the separation of powers to prevent another economic collapse, while also reforming the way MPs are elected and judges are appointed. It is completely unacceptable that despite a referendum in 2012 that saw 67 percent of the electorate voting to put this new crowd-sourced constitution into law, it still hasn't been.
It is difficult to say at this stage exactly what the complete ramifications of this scandal are, but it is obvious that our nation's reputation will be severely damaged abroad, simply because we are the only Western European country with a sitting ministerlet alone a prime ministerthat has been directly implicated in this scandal.
If this was a comedy it would be funny but this is actually our head of state. This is not what Icelanders are like and this is not what Iceland is.
People protest against Iceland's Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson outside parliament in Reykjavik, Iceland, April 4, 2016.

[David Guyatt]

Craig is spot on the money again. They lead with Putin. Enemy de jour of the west.

One of the books I've read has alot of stuff about efforts and intent to track Putins wealth - probably "We Are Anonymous", or "the Snowden Files" perhaps.

IMO Putin is bent, but this leak gambit could be used to reign him in even more than he already is.

Yes, like any world leader he has loadsa money stashed away for sure. But I find it absolutely sickening the way the media led with this story pointing the finger at him when they even acknowledged that he was even't named in the papers. I'm so sick and tired of this bloody awful propagandizing of our media. They have turned their back on what they are there to do and have climbed in bed with the crooks and the corrupt.

And to make matters even worse, that plonker Ash Carter yesterday placed Russia at a top of a list of US enemies and terrorism at the bottom in fifth place. The whole thing has become a parody. It's bizarre. And I'm astonished that so many people are falling for this utter tosh. The elite want Russia and Putin finished and will go to all lengths to do it before he ruins their 3rd Reich-like plans for the world --- a thousand years of subjugation for all but the obscenely wealthy and their knee-scabbed flunkies.

[David Guyatt]

I am just now trying to catch up on this story. David, your comment on who leaked it and why seems to me to be the most important for now.

My immediate off the cuff thought is that this is a deep event used to cause political turmoil leading to regime change. Another thought is that this is probably only one of several law firms specializing this this practice. If this one is taken down, other law firms could benefit. If other law firms are run by the CIA, then that means that the money from other leaders comes under their control.

Just thoughts for now.

I'm looking at it is a competitor for Wikileaks. It is playing out just as Craig Murray has said. It should have also gone to Wikileaks if only as a back up and plan B. They were happy to dole it out to over 100 media outlets so it not like they don't mind sharing. Cut they want to control it. Wikileaks would have opened it all and they would have made it searchable as well. But we are getting drip drip drip of privately selected data. A mere fraction of the trove. This way instead of complete transparency for all we have 99.999% still behind walls and clearly their media have an agenda which supports the general western consensus. Corporates don't mind leaks that damage the competition. But they don't want complete transparent equality.

I thought Wikileaks must have it all because they're asking supporters to vote on whether they should publish it in a searchable format. Or do I have that wrong? Hope not.

[David Guyatt]

I'm looking at it is a competitor for Wikileaks. Here ya' are. Wikileaks nails it.

Interesting observations by Zerohedge, Lauren. The reason I raised that flag about who leaked these documents was because I discovered that there are 4 states in the US that already act as de facto offshore states where the US wealthy can stash their money out of sight and away from the taxman. And then when I saw that map with only two small red dots in the US of those nations with Panama Papers names on them, it seemed pretty obvious that the US was behind the dump (probably the NSA, I would think).

And wouldn't it be good if the rest of the world's offshore tax havens got eradicated but the US's 4 states remain in situ. Thus forcing the world's tax-evading wealthy to pour all their ill gotten wealth into the US in the future which would, I suppose? ensure that the US foreign debt was supported in perpetuity and allow the US to retain the dollar as a reserve currency. Because that's where the future battle between the US, Russia and China is set: it's the reserve currency war to end all currency wars.