Chavez kicks Bodies out of Venezuela

After the promised criminal investigation by the Venezuelan government, the Tax Administration (SENIAT) decided to kick out Bodies out of Venezuela and to temporarily close the business that brought the show (Evenpro). The tax authority gave 10 days for Bodies to abandon the country and revoked the customs permits because Evenpro declared they were plastic parts and not real bodies.

The funny side is that some journalist apparently wrote that this was ordered by Chavez himself after he saw the advert of the show. They figure the only way they could easily go after the Bodies exhibit is through customs and they were quite effective. On the downside, they promised to engage criminal action which they figured they couldnt do.

Madoff admits 50 Billion Dollar Fraud

Bernie Madoff has just pleaded guilty and admitted the charges relating to the 50 Billion Dollar fraud scheme. Now, my question is where did all the money go? Talking last night with a close friend (JimmyJoe) he told me, it was never there to begin with...

I would like to think that it was wasted paying high end goods, like Yachts, Cars, Jets, Limos, Jewelery and hotel expenses...Or better yet, all the money ended on 100 women goldigger wallets and spent on stupid business and real estate...

Now, where did all the money go?

Chile sues US Banks for Pinochets accounts

The Government of Chile is pursing a legal action against 4 US banks for hiding information relating to Augusto Pinochets accounts. If this legal action is succesful, this would be a landmark case for jurisdictional issues relating to banking operations. Specifically, all bank accounts relating to Chilean citizens can be legally requested to banking institutions worldwide. The legal action included Riggs Bank which was the first bank that leaked information on Augusto Pinochets accounts. I do not know why I see that this would Chavez case in 10 years. Lets remember the initial investigation...

In 2004, a United States Senate money laundering investigation led by Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) and Norm Coleman (R-MN) — ordered in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks — uncovered a network of over 125 securities and bank accounts at Riggs Bank and other U.S. financial institutions used by Pinochet and his associates for twenty-five years to secretly move millions of dollars.[44] Though the subcommittee was charged only with investigating compliance of financial institutions under the USA PATRIOT Act, and not the Pinochet regime, Sen. Coleman noted:

“ This is a sad, sordid tale of money laundering involving Pinochet accounts at multiple financial institutions using alias names, offshore accounts, and close associates. As a former General and President of Chile, Pinochet was a well-known human rights violator and violent dictator.[44] ”

Over several months in 2005, Chilean judge Sergio Muñoz indicted Augusto Pinochet's wife, Lucia Hiriart; four of his children --Marco Antonio, Jacqueline, Veronica and Lucia Pinochet; as well as his personal secretary, Monica Ananias, and former aide Oscar Aitken on tax evasion and falsification charges stemming from the Riggs Bank investigation. In January 2006, daughter Lucia Pinochet was detained at Washington DC-Dulles airport and subsequently deported while attempting to evade the tax charges in Chile. In January 2007, the Santiago Court of Appeals revoked most of the indictment from Judge Carlos Cerda against the Pinochet family. But Pinochet's five children, his wife Lucia Hiriart, and 17 other persons (including two generals, one of his ex-lawyer and his ex-secretary) were arrested in October 2007 on charges of embezzlement and use of false passports. They are accused of having illegally transferred $27m (£13.2m) to foreign bank accounts during Pinochet's rule.

In September 2005, a joint-investigation by The Guardian and La Tercera revealed that the British arms firms BAE Systems had been identified as paying more than £1m to Pinochet, through a front company in the British Virgin Islands, which BAE has used to channel commission on arms deals. The payments began in 1997 and lasted until 2004.

Furthermore, in 2007, fifteen years of investigation led to the conclusion that the 1992 assassination of DINA Colonel Gerardo Huber was most probably related to various illegal arms traffic carried out, after Pinochet's resignation from power, by military circles very close to himself. [10]. Huber had been assassinated a short time before he was due to testify in the case concerning the 1991 illegal export of weapons to Croatian paramilitaries. The deal involved 370 tons of weapons, sold to Croatia by Chile on 7 December 1991, when the former country was under a United Nations' embargo because of the war against Serbia. In January 1992, the judge Hernán Correa de la Cerda wanted to hear Gerardo Huber in this case, but the latter may have been silenced to avoid implicating Pinochet in this new case ] — although the latter was not anymore President, he remained at the time Commander-in-Chief of the Army. Pinochet was at the center of this illegal arms trade, receiving money through various offshores and front companies, including the Banco Coutts International in Miami

LSE´s wining photographs 2009

London School of Economics holds an annual competition for LSE student and staff. These are this years winners

4. House of Terror. This photo was taken by Xuan Cao.

'A museum in Budapest. It contains exhibits related to the fascist and communist dictatorial regimes in 20th century Hungary. The background wall is a memorial to the victims of these regimes.'

3. Firewall. This photo was taken by Matilde Emma Gawronski.

'Going to Ramallah is an experience. This piece of wall tells the story of a conflict. If only it was enough to press CTRL+ALT+DEL then, the wall seems to be saying, the war would be over too.'

2. Deeper. This photo was taken by Sylvia Chant.

'An impressively long spate of underwater plumbing - the capacity of humankind to adapt to any environment. Picture taken in The Gambia, 2008'

1. Memories from Poland. This photo was taken by Bruno Serdoura.

'Taken during my Erasmus period, during the first large snowfall.'

Chavez-Restaurants and government regulation of the arepa

Yes people Chavez has finally outdone himself. Recently he has announced the creation of the restaurants for lower income Venezuelans, of course he suggested the name "Restaurante Chavez". As if no dictador has tried to engrave his name in the conscience of its population. I remember the president of Turkmenistan requesting to change the first month or January to his last name. His name is Saparmurat Niyazov, and coincidently he was named president for life of Turkmenistan...

At the same time, an recently insane appointed Minister of Commerce, Mr Eduardo Saman, a week ago declared to the media a "War for the Arepa", because his office could not conceive the Venezuelan arepa being sold at Bs. 18 to Bs. 20 each. The fair price, he argued would be around Bs. 1,5 to Bs. 2. He argued that the cost structure of the arepa would be usury. Now, today Mr Eduardo Saman argues that he never intended an official regulation of the arepa, like regulation of oil or foreign exchange, but an argument that consumer protection agency could prosecute Arepa business owners for usury should they sell arepas above Bs. 2.

Now this is really insane, no direct price regulation but threaten restaurant owners with criminal usury charges should they sell arepas (or any other product for that matter) above what the government deems is a fair price and falls according to their cost structure. I do not want to sound pessimist but this constitutes evidence that the government is moving to destroy private capitals.

The argument of usury is truly insane and constitutes a further violation of freedom of commerce (libertad de comercio) and protection of private property (propiedad privada). Further a clear violation of the principle of economic freedom (articles 112 and 115 CRBV) Usury clearly consitutes a limitation of freedom of commerce, but however can only be conceived when considering loans of sums of money or tradable assets, not when considering the sale of wholesale goods and services. Now, is the Venezuelan government going to prosecute everyone in Venezuela for usury as applied to sale of goods and services? Does the new Commerce Ministry going to review the cost structure of every economic activity in Venezuela so they can prosecute usury? I do not want to sound alarmist, but I do not like where this line of reasoning is going to take us...

"When money is lent on a contract to receive not only the principal sum again, but also an increase by way of compensation for the use, the increase is called interest by those who think it lawful, and usury by those who do not." (Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England, p. 1336).

In the United States, usury laws are state laws that specify the maximum legal interest rate at which loans can be made. Congress has opted not to regulate interest rates on purely private transactions, although it arguably has the power to do so under the interstate commerce clause of Article I of the Constitution.

In Venezuela the regulation of usury dates back to 1946. When the then President Romulo Betancourt enacted the regulation of usury.

In its article 1 provides:

Cualquiera que intencionalmente se valga de las necesidades apremiantes de otro para obtener para sí o para un tercero una prestación, cesión, garantía o algo análogo que implique una ventaja o beneficio que, tomando en cuenta las circunstancias concomitantes, resultare notoriamente desproporcionada a la contraprestación o entrega que por su parte verificare, será castigado con prisión hasta de dos años o con multa hasta de diez mil bolívares (Bs. 10.000,00)

Sin perjuicio de la limitación que establece el Código Civil en su artículo Nº 1.746, se considera constitutivo del delito de usura el préstamo de dinero en el cual se estipule o de alguna manera se obtenga un interés que exceda de uno por ciento (1%) mensual.

"Anyone who intentionally benefits from strigent neccesaties of another in order to obtain for himself or to a third party a loan, assignment or collateral guarantee or any other form, that implies an advantage or benefit to, taking into consideration the surrounding circumstances, that results notoriously disproportioned to the original obligation or consideration will be punished with up to 2 years in prison or a fine of ten thousand bolivars (Bs. 10,000).

Without prejudice of the provision of the Civil Code article 1746 that provides for the crime of usury the loan of money that stipulates or in some other form produces an interest exceeding one percent (1%) a month."

Now recently Chavez has produced his own version of the still effective Usury decree. That is the enactment of the Special Law for the Defense of Hoarding, Speculation, Boycott and any other Conduct that affects the consumption of Food or Products subject to Price Control. With that name he clearly gives in their (or Chavez´s) frustration to control the inflationary economy. The funny thing is that the government forgot to include provision for the usury and it was left out...an evident mistake?

My prediction, Chavez government will try to regulate, whether directly through pricing controls or indirectly through legal action, sale of goods and services. Specially those considered neccesary for the population at large. This is no more than an excuse to try to control the inflationary economy. At the same time we should also see a direct devaluation of the Venezuelan currency and/or loads of economic measures, such as new taxes, increase in the value added tax (iva, currently at 9%) and increase in the tax unit (unidad tributaria). Tough economic times for Venezuela...

Do you believe?

Come, my friends,
is not too late to seek a newer world.
Push off, and sitting well in order smite
The sounding furrows; for my purpose holds
To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths
Of all the western stars, until I die.
It may be that the gulfs will wash us down:
It may be we shall touch the Happy Isles,
And see the great Achilles, whom we knew.
Tho' much is taken, much abides; and tho'

We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.

Excerpt from Alfred Lord Tennysons' Ulysses