TND West

John Pistole has been with the FBI since 1983 and has been the deputy director of the FBI since 2004. In the times in between he has worked his way up from the bottom all the way up to the top.  Obama feels that Pistole’s two decades of experience will benefit the country and help improve the security and screenings in airports and security in other areas as well.

He is hoping for a quick and easy confirmation because Obama’s first choice backed out after it became apparent that he would not be able to be confirmed quickly and without too much trouble.

More information on John Pistole can be found at NPR.com

Beau Biden is in the hospital, although they have not yet released the reason why yet. At the time of the White House announcement Beau was awake, communicating with his family although he was still in the hospital. His father, Vice President Joe Biden was there as well to be at his bedside. Beau Biden gave up an opportunity earlier this year to become a Senator in favor instead to work on persecuting a pediatrician who is suspected of molesting over a hundred young children. It is hoped that the younger Biden will be on his feet again soon and able to get back to work.

In an attempt to keep collecting the oil spilling into the Gulf, BP will be sending down a smaller dome, around four feet by five feet to contain at least one of the leaks, for a short amount of time. They are sending the smaller dome down there because they are afraid that the larger one will collect water and start to form hydrates which could be dangerous and was the reason why the larger dome was not a viable option. They are working on getting the underwater areas cleaned up and contained as much as they can in addition to the upper areas that are threatening to touch the coast line.

Obama is out there once again giving speeches. The biggest difference is that this time he is already president, although there are others. Last time his speeches were given at colleges, but this time it will be at a high school. This is not because he is moving down in the world, but because they won a contest in which the prize was him as their commencement speaker. This is part of his movement to show his support for exceptional schools and to provide support to those schools that need to improve.

With one of South Korea’s ships having been sank not very long ago, South Korea President, Mr. Lee must walk a fine line between kowtowing to his conservative base, and keeping the country stable enough that people still want to invest in the country. While he has a straight forward message about what they are going to do now, the situation is a little more complicated than it might seem on the surface.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) along with the Department of Justice (DOJ) have prioritized efforts to investigate then prosecute corruption in business. The FCPA, Foreign Corrupt Practice Act has also prioritized the enforcement of regulators and their issues concerning major compliance for all US companies that operate overseas. This has raised the bar significantly for companies to side with caution when it comes to financial risk.

Companies are required to register with the SEC all business transactions in order to accurately keep records and effectively maintain a system that will internalize accounting controls. The FCPA, steadfastly prohibits all US companies and all the officers down to the employees and subsidiaries from attempting to bribe officials in foreign countries, including any intermediaries or indirect means of bribery in order to obtain or even retain businesses.

With stiffening regulations, a majority of companies are now hiring other companies with extensive investigative backgrounds and experience in forensic accounting and help US Global companies in all industries and in all geographies to investigate, detect and prevent bribery and corruption. They are well equipped to conduct assessments to make sure US Global companies or FCPA compliant by focusing on the business marketing practices concerning foreign governments and they work with outside counsel, which results in a tailored audit program developed for each client’s needs and FCPA risks.

The issues that are becoming increasingly important on the international and national plates of the policy makers and the politicians are the strategies to go about fighting corruption as well as the causes and effects, the reason that corruption takes place at all.  It is the view of the World Bank, and many others as well, the corruption is very closely linked to the success, or to the failure, economic development.  Unfortunately the concept of and the cases of corruption have not received much public attention, at least not as much attention as is necessary to rectify the situations of it and its effects.

One of the most widely used definition of corruption is paraphrased as follows, it is the use of power for the gain of an individual at the cost of others.  That is the paradigm.  Say a bookie bribes a fighter to throw a boxing match, this is an example, even though it does not involve offices held by public officials, it is still corruption.

Corruption comes in all forms of human behavior, from people lying on the witness stand to police officers taking bribes for not writing out traffic tickets.  What organizations are trying to accomplish is a sound definition when it applies to specific moral or legal criminal offenses.  Bribery is considered to be one of the quintessential examples of corruption.  But so too is nepotism to a certain degree.  Nepotism does not exactly imply that the individual offering the favor will be required something in return, it is simply preference given.

The exemplification of corruption is varied and far reaching, and involves acts much more numerous that bribery alone.  Other examples are when political leader uses their influence to have someone at the voting booth stuff fake ballots into the box or when a police man fabricates his reports to create evidence that will secure a conviction.  These are just a few examples that are locally based, and give weight to those forms of corruption that affect an entire nation.

Due diligence refers to the steps one takes, as an individual or a corporation, to ensure that the people or company with whom one becomes involved with are conducting ethical and moral business transactions. All those involved in any type of business or political venture owes it to themselves to make certain that their own practices do not become at risk due to being connected to those involved in criminal or unethical behavior. There are financial considerations as well, as when a company or a country becomes involved in behaviour that is not reputable, other companies or countries will cease to be involved. This is a domino effect. It is simply the way to become knowledgeable about what to look for.

There is an element to the process of due diligence that may strike some as sneaky or too secretive. But just as any rental service will check the credit history of a perspective tenant or customer, so should one check the history of those with whom they are about to conduct business transactions. This does not have to be an undercover operation, the one being “checked out” may be informed of the process, and if their is nothing to hide, this should never be and issue. When conducting investigations that relate to the practice of due diligence, be aware that although people may be one of the best sources of knowledge, they may also be some of the least reliable.

Never rely only on the opinion expressed solely of an individual. One who is skilled in the art of investigation will know that all evidence should be checked and corroborated by other forms of evidence. And it is important to remember that even official court documents do not present the entire background. The best way to observe and assess a situation is to experience as much as is possible of it, first hand. And for those in upper management, or those who will inevitability be held responsible, it is never wise to allow decisions to be made by others. The objective collection of evidence is the key to knowing that one did the research, practiced the diligence, and reached the right conclusion based on that evidence alone.