Friday, January 04, 2013
HBO's Profugos - Fugitives from the Law and Mafia
A FAILED drug trafficking operation that sparks a frantic pursuit of four men in Chile as they flee both the Mafia and the law is the gripping premise of new 13-episode actioner Profugos which will premiere on Astro’s Cinemax channel 412 on Jan 4 at 11pm.
The four ‘profugos’, which means fugitive, had been contracted to transport a liquid cocaine shipment from the border of Bolivia to the Chilean port of Iquique but in the midst of the final delivery, a shot rings out from a nearby terrace, unleashing a violent ambush.
This brand new original series produced by HBO Latin America, was filmed over six months entirely in Chile, and heading the cast as the four fugitives are Nestor Cantillana, Benjamin Vicuna, Francisco Reyes and Luis Gnecco.
A complex web of ambitions, interests and corruption move the threads of this story where no one is who they appear to be, everyone hides a past and sheer desperation unites the foursome who flee without knowing exactly who’s pursuing them while doing everything possible to protect their loved ones.
Scenic locations in Chile serving as backdrop include Iquique, Valparaiso, Santiago, Farellones, Puerto Montt and desert regions bordering Bolivia.
Thursday, January 03, 2013
46 Years Ago Today - Jack Ruby Dies of Cancer
On January 3, 1967, Jack Ruby, the Dallas nightclub owner who killed the alleged assassin of President John F. Kennedy, dies of cancer in a Dallas hospital. The Texas Court of Appeals had recently overturned his death sentence for the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald and was scheduled to grant him a new trial.
On November 24, 1963
, two days after Kennedy's assassination, Lee Harvey Oswald was brought to the basement of the Dallas police headquarters on his way to a more secure county jail. A crowd of police and press with live television cameras rolling gathered to witness his departure. As Oswald came into the room, Jack Ruby emerged from the crowd and fatally wounded him with a single shot from a concealed .38 revolver. Ruby, who was immediately detained, claimed he was distraught over the president's assassination. Some called him a hero, but he was nonetheless charged with first-degree murder.
Jack Ruby, originally known as Jacob Rubenstein, operated strip joints and dance halls in Dallas and had minor connections to organized crime. He also had a relationship with a number of Dallas policemen, which amounted to various favors in exchange for leniency in their monitoring of his establishments. He features prominently in Kennedy assassination theories, and many believe he killed Oswald to keep him from revealing a larger conspiracy. In his trial, Ruby denied the charge, maintaining that he was acting out of patriotism. In March 1964, he was found guilty and sentenced to death.
The official The Warren Commission Report: The Official Report of the President's Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy of 1964 concluded that neither Oswald nor Ruby were part of a larger conspiracy, either domestic or international, to assassinate President Kennedy. Despite its seemingly firm conclusions, the report failed to silence conspiracy theories surrounding the event, and in 1978 the House Select Committee on Assassinations concluded in a preliminary report that Kennedy was "probably assassinated as a result of a conspiracy" that may have involved multiple shooters and organized crime. The committee's findings, as with the findings of the Warren Commission, continue to be widely disputed.
Thanks to The History Channel.
On November 24, 1963
, two days after Kennedy's assassination, Lee Harvey Oswald was brought to the basement of the Dallas police headquarters on his way to a more secure county jail. A crowd of police and press with live television cameras rolling gathered to witness his departure. As Oswald came into the room, Jack Ruby emerged from the crowd and fatally wounded him with a single shot from a concealed .38 revolver. Ruby, who was immediately detained, claimed he was distraught over the president's assassination. Some called him a hero, but he was nonetheless charged with first-degree murder.Jack Ruby, originally known as Jacob Rubenstein, operated strip joints and dance halls in Dallas and had minor connections to organized crime. He also had a relationship with a number of Dallas policemen, which amounted to various favors in exchange for leniency in their monitoring of his establishments. He features prominently in Kennedy assassination theories, and many believe he killed Oswald to keep him from revealing a larger conspiracy. In his trial, Ruby denied the charge, maintaining that he was acting out of patriotism. In March 1964, he was found guilty and sentenced to death.
The official The Warren Commission Report: The Official Report of the President's Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy of 1964 concluded that neither Oswald nor Ruby were part of a larger conspiracy, either domestic or international, to assassinate President Kennedy. Despite its seemingly firm conclusions, the report failed to silence conspiracy theories surrounding the event, and in 1978 the House Select Committee on Assassinations concluded in a preliminary report that Kennedy was "probably assassinated as a result of a conspiracy" that may have involved multiple shooters and organized crime. The committee's findings, as with the findings of the Warren Commission, continue to be widely disputed.
Thanks to The History Channel.
Wednesday, January 02, 2013
Urgent International Action Deemed Required to Combat Unprecedented Levels of Transnational Organized Crime
From Central America’s drug cartels and human trafficking in Australia to money laundering and financial fraud in Switzerland, organized crime has “embraced globalization” and is causing national security issues around the world. But why are multilateral, global governance bodies and international leaders not taking more action?
A new conference report from The Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) looks at how the constructive powers initiative (CPI) can play a greater role in addressing the security and institutional challenges that organized crime inflicts upon regional and global security.
“The current geographical breadth, level of sophistication and broad array of markets and activities that transnational organized criminals are involved in is unprecedented,” the report says. “[Organized crime] is constantly on the lookout for new markets, new routes to smuggle its products and weak states where it can set up operations.” Moreover, the dimensions and impact of transnational organized crime are not exclusive to law enforcement; contrary to what many governments believe, this type of crime undermines national institutions more broadly.
The report points out that member states of universal organizations such as the United Nations do not treat the issue with the urgency it requires, which inhibits progress on policy coordination. In addition, policy advisers, who are responsible for anticipating items for their national leaders, are challenged by the speed at which transnational issues are emerging and evolving in a post-Cold War world. The report calls for greater leadership and partnerships in policy coordination and capacity-building to tackle these challenges and transnational organized crime.
The report notes that, to tackle transnational organized crime, countries with shared interests will need to generate momentum with “the strategic decision to make coordinating their crime policies a priority.” Hence, there is functional role for the CPI, which is made up of government and non-government representatives from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, South Africa, Switzerland and Turkey: countries that are “democratic, politically influential, economically significant, non-nuclear-armed … with a proven track record of active and creative diplomacy at both the regional and global levels.” The CPI, with its independence of thought and research, combined with its composition, allows for it to identify emerging security issues, and also influence and play a useful role in global governance bodies such as the G20, the report states.
To access a free, online copy of "Global Governance and the Challenge of Transnational Organized Crime: The Role of the Constructive Powers," please click here. The report is based on workshop discussions held in Mexico City, during September 2012, organized by the Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas, A.C., the Mexican Council on Foreign Relations (COMEXI), and CIGI, with the support of the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung. This was the second CPI workshop, following up on an event held in Istanbul, Turkey, in June 2011.
A new conference report from The Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) looks at how the constructive powers initiative (CPI) can play a greater role in addressing the security and institutional challenges that organized crime inflicts upon regional and global security.
“The current geographical breadth, level of sophistication and broad array of markets and activities that transnational organized criminals are involved in is unprecedented,” the report says. “[Organized crime] is constantly on the lookout for new markets, new routes to smuggle its products and weak states where it can set up operations.” Moreover, the dimensions and impact of transnational organized crime are not exclusive to law enforcement; contrary to what many governments believe, this type of crime undermines national institutions more broadly.
The report points out that member states of universal organizations such as the United Nations do not treat the issue with the urgency it requires, which inhibits progress on policy coordination. In addition, policy advisers, who are responsible for anticipating items for their national leaders, are challenged by the speed at which transnational issues are emerging and evolving in a post-Cold War world. The report calls for greater leadership and partnerships in policy coordination and capacity-building to tackle these challenges and transnational organized crime.
The report notes that, to tackle transnational organized crime, countries with shared interests will need to generate momentum with “the strategic decision to make coordinating their crime policies a priority.” Hence, there is functional role for the CPI, which is made up of government and non-government representatives from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, South Africa, Switzerland and Turkey: countries that are “democratic, politically influential, economically significant, non-nuclear-armed … with a proven track record of active and creative diplomacy at both the regional and global levels.” The CPI, with its independence of thought and research, combined with its composition, allows for it to identify emerging security issues, and also influence and play a useful role in global governance bodies such as the G20, the report states.
To access a free, online copy of "Global Governance and the Challenge of Transnational Organized Crime: The Role of the Constructive Powers," please click here. The report is based on workshop discussions held in Mexico City, during September 2012, organized by the Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas, A.C., the Mexican Council on Foreign Relations (COMEXI), and CIGI, with the support of the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung. This was the second CPI workshop, following up on an event held in Istanbul, Turkey, in June 2011.
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Kenneth Conley, Bank Robber Who Escaped the Federal Prison in Chicago Still At Large, #WeHaveAFugitive
The FBI is still searching for Kenneth Conley, 38, 
one of two convicted bank robbers who escaped last week from a high-rise jail in downtown Chicago by lowering themselves on a makeshift rope nearly 20 stories to the street.
Conley and his cellmate, Joseph Jose Banks, 37, escaped from the Metropolitan Correctional Center early on the morning of December 18. The pair apparently broke a window in the cell they shared, squeezed through the opening and lowered themselves to the street.
They then hailed a cab to make their getaway.
Banks was captured two days later, but Conley remains at large.
"There is no information or recent sightings," said FBI spokeswoman Joan Hyde. "Given the amount of time that has passed given Mr. Conley's history of traveling, we believe he has left the area."
The FBI is offering a $50,000 reward for Conley's capture. He is described as white, 6 feet tall and 185 pounds.
The two convicts, who had been awaiting sentencing in the federal detention facility, made their rope from bed sheets and dental floss, according to local media reports.
Conley pleaded guilty to bank robbery in October. He is considered armed and dangerous, the FBI said.
Escape carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
one of two convicted bank robbers who escaped last week from a high-rise jail in downtown Chicago by lowering themselves on a makeshift rope nearly 20 stories to the street.Conley and his cellmate, Joseph Jose Banks, 37, escaped from the Metropolitan Correctional Center early on the morning of December 18. The pair apparently broke a window in the cell they shared, squeezed through the opening and lowered themselves to the street.
They then hailed a cab to make their getaway.
Banks was captured two days later, but Conley remains at large.
"There is no information or recent sightings," said FBI spokeswoman Joan Hyde. "Given the amount of time that has passed given Mr. Conley's history of traveling, we believe he has left the area."
The FBI is offering a $50,000 reward for Conley's capture. He is described as white, 6 feet tall and 185 pounds.
The two convicts, who had been awaiting sentencing in the federal detention facility, made their rope from bed sheets and dental floss, according to local media reports.
Conley pleaded guilty to bank robbery in October. He is considered armed and dangerous, the FBI said.
Escape carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)