Sheer and Associates News is on vacation until January 7

Americas Headlines: Miami Herald December 20

In Cuba, bringing a message or help can lead to jail

People who travel to Cuba under U.S.-funded programs to promote democracy risk landing in jail.

                       


Haiti turning garbage into energy


Ginette Sejour will tell you scouring through other people's garbage is a dirty, smelly way to make a living. 
But six days a week, this mother of seven and dozens of others trek through a slum once controlled by gangs, and arrive at a garbage processing plant where they spend the day sorting glass from metal, and plastic from paper.


Sweeping political reform proposed in Mexico


A longtime ban on the reelection of public officials would be relaxed under a new plan by Mexican leader Felipe Calderón.

LATEST NEWS

            Mexico catches cartel suspect linked to 109 deaths 


            Bodies of 8 men found in burned truck in Mexico 


            Bahamian investigators search for jet wreckage 


            Brazil toddler stable after needles removed  

News about the Americas from The Economist Dec 17 Issue

Here are links to News about the Americas from the most recent issue of The Economist.  (Subscription required.)  The article about mobile phones and the roles they play in helping deter kidnappings.  Here is an excerpt followed by links to a story about the Chilean elections and the criminal justice system in Canada.

Colombia suffered a surge in kidnappings, peaking first in the early 1990s and then at a higher level at the end of the decade. Illegal armed groups—left-wing guerrillas and right-wing paramilitaries—were responsible for most of them. But in recent years the number of kidnaps has fallen dramatically (see chart). The obvious explanation is a big security build-up under Álvaro Uribe, who was elected president in 2002. Over the next five years the security forces expanded from 307,000 members to 405,000, and police were deployed in 160 municipalities that lacked them.


But the fall in kidnappings began two years before Mr Uribe took office. Additional factors seem to be at work. Messrs Montenegro and Pedraza argue that the huge rise in kidnappings triggered its own response, with people seeking to protect themselves and demanding that the government do the same.


They find that data for different Colombian regions reveal an intriguing statistical correlation between mobile-phone coverage and falling kidnaps. For a given rise in police numbers, kidnappings fell in line with the expansion of mobile coverage in each area. Mobiles enable kidnap victims and witnesses to inform the police swiftly. Since speed is of the essence in foiling kidnaps, this made police more effective and kidnapping riskier for its perpetrators.

Chile's presidential election

Piñera flies the flag 

Sebastián Piñera, an airline tycoon, is well placed to break his country's political mouldDec 17th 2009

Canada's criminal-justice policy

Prisoners of politics 

Less crime, more punishmentDec 17th 2009

Security in Colombia

Calling freedom 

How mobile phones may help to deter kidnapsDec 17th 2009

Brand Sentry: Anti-Counterfeiting

Sheer and Associates has a sister company, Brand Sentry, dedicated to anti-counterfeiting and intellectual property protection.  To get a full description of the company and its capabilities, visit the Brand Sentry website. The following is a quick overview.

To protect your brand against counterfeiters, you need to fight the battle on many fronts.  Today, more and more companies are turning to technology to help their anti-counterfeiting efforts, but technology alone is only part of the solution.  Product verification is essential, but unless you employ a sustained program of enforcement throughout the supply chain and in the marketplace, your efforts will fall short.

We incorporate innovative technology in our custom solutions.  While virtually every other anti-counterfeiting technology can be reproduced and is thereby vulnerable itself to counterfeiting, Brand Sentry uses innovative PUF (Physical Unclonable Function) Technology that cannot be copied or duplicated. Tiny chips, each more unique even than an individual strand of DNA, can be easily read at the item level by Brand Sentry Readers and securely & immediately authenticated.

Our investigators, led by Sheer and Associates Founder and President Thomas Sheer are veteran FBI, DEA, and Customs agents with unmatched experience in anti-counterfeiting, criminal investigations, forensics, and crime scene analysis.  All of Brand Sentry's operatives have extensive experience managing large-scale assignments.

Programs are custom designed by Brand Sentry to meet the unique needs and challenges facing today's manufacturers and merchants. We can work independently or as an extension of your security team.

The Netherlands Antilles and Aruba

Sheer and Associates has performed background checks in the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba for gaming industry suppliers seeking to do business there. 

The Netherlands Antilles is a federation of five islands within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.  Curaçao and Bonaire are in the southern reaches of the Antilles chain of islands; Sint Maarten, Saba, and Sint Eustatius are in the northern part of the Antilles.  Aruba was part of this federation until 1986 when it gained status apart within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.  

Sint Maarten shares its island with the French Overseas Collectivity of Saint Martin.  The closest Netherlands Antilles island to the United States is Sint Maarten; it is about 186 miles from Puerto Rico. 

Here’s how the US State Department describes the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba: 

Netherlands Antilles

Area: 960 sq. km. (597 sq. mi.); more than five times the size of Washington, DC; five islands divided geographically into the Windward Islands (northern) group (Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten) and the Leeward Islands (southern) group (Bonaire and Curaçao).
 

Cities:  Capital--Willemstad (metropolitan). 


Islands: Curaçao (pop. 137,094) Sint Maarten (38,959), Bonaire (11,537), Sint Eustatius (2,699), Saba (1,491).  


Terrain: Generally hilly, volcanic interiors.


Climate: Tropical; ameliorated by northeast trade winds.

Aruba

Area: 180 sq. km. (112 sq. mi.).

Cities: Capital--Oranjestad.

Terrain: Flat with a few hills; scant vegetation.

Climate: Subtropical.

This is the State Department’s description of the islands’ political structure:

Netherlands Antilles

Since 1945, the federation of the Netherlands Antilles (Curacao, Bonaire, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten), which is a constituent part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, has been semi-autonomous in most internal affairs.  The Kingdom retains authority over foreign affairs, defense, final judicial review, and "Kingdom matters" including human rights and good governance.  Current political relations between the Netherlands, the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba stem from 1954 and are based on the Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands, a voluntary arrangement between the Netherlands, Suriname and the Netherlands Antilles.  At the time, the Charter represented an end to colonial relations and the acceptance of a new legal system in which each nation would look after their own interests independently, look after their common interests on the basis of equality and provide each other with mutual assistance.  In 1975, Suriname left the Kingdom's political alliance.   Since 1986, Aruba has had separate status within the Kingdom and is no longer part of the Netherlands Antilles.  The Netherlands Antilles enjoys semi-autonomy on most internal matters and defers to the Kingdom of the Netherlands in matters of defense, foreign policy, final judicial review, human rights, and good governance.
 
The Antilles is governed by a popularly elected unicameral "Staten" (parliament) of 22 members.  It chooses a prime minister (called minister president) and a Council of Ministers, consisting of six to eight other ministers. A governor, who serves a 6-year term, represents the monarch of the Netherlands. Local government is assigned authority independently on each island. Under the direction of a kingdom-appointed island governor, these local governments have a "Bestuurscollege" (administrative body) made up of commissioners who head the separate governmental departments.
 Voters in the Netherlands Antilles have opted to dismantle the Netherlands Antilles and create new structures between the various islands and the Kingdom.  St. Maarten and Curacao have opted for an autonomous country status within the Kingdom similar to Aruba's status.  Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Bonaire have opted for closer ties to the Netherlands.  The target date for implementing these changes is 2010-2011, but it is unclear if the target will be met.

Aruba

Part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Aruba has semi-autonomy on most internal affairs with the exception of defense, foreign affairs, final judicial review, and "Kingdom matters" including human rights and good governance. The constitution was enacted in January 1986. Executive power rests with a governor, while a prime minister heads an eight-member Cabinet. The governor is appointed for a 6-year term by the monarch and the prime minister and deputy prime minister are elected by the legislature, or Staten, for 4-year terms. The Staten is made up of 21 members elected by direct, popular vote to serve 4-year terms. Aruba's judicial system, mainly derived from the Dutch system, operates independently of the legislature and the executive. Jurisdiction, including appeal, lies with the Common Court of Justice of Aruba and the Kingdom-level Supreme Court of Justice in the Netherlands.

The political structures of the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba present certain challenges for Americans seeking to do business there.  Sheer and Associates’ senior consultants for the Caribbean have years of experience there and are well situated to help our clients navigate the channels of government regulations there. 

The Principal US officials in the federation are Consul General Timothy Dunn and Vice Consul James Hogan.  The US Consulate for Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles is located at J.B. Gorsiraweg #1, Willemstad, Curaçao; tel. 599-9-461-3066, fax: 599-9-461-6489.  It is open Monday-Friday, 8:00 am-5:00 pm.  The email address is: acscuracao@state.gov


The State Department has issued no Travel Advisories or Warnings for Aruba or the Netherlands Antilles, but does warn about street crime, saying it could be a cause for concern for tourists.

For more on Aruba check http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/22491.htm and for the Netherlands Antilles check http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/22528.htm.

Americas Headlines: Miami Herald December 13

These are the headlines from the Miami Herald's Americas section.

American Subcontractor's Arrest in Cuba Confirmed

Manuel Zelaya supporters say there's no justice for the dead

Clinton asked to rally allies around Honduras vote

Zelaya will leave Brazil Embassy by January 27

News about the Americas from The Economist Dec 12 Issue

Here are this week's political news blurbs about the America's from The Economist.  (Website requires subscription.)  In this week's issue you will also find stories about Paraguay's president, a very interesting poll on how Latin Americans view government, and a story about Amerindians in Canada.

Bolivia’s president, Evo Morales, appeared to win a second term by a landslide, with exit polls giving him 61% of the vote and his Movement to Socialism party a two-thirds majority in Congress. The result will allow him to implement a new constitution granting new rights to indigenous peoples and to strengthen state control over the economy. See article

Venezuela’s government closed seven small banks and accused several of their owners of fraud. Some of those involved had close ties to leading figures in President Hugo Chávez’s regime. See article

Mexico’s president, Felipe Calderón, designated his finance minister, Agustín Carstens, as the next governor of the Bank of Mexico, the central bank. Ernesto Cordero, the social-development minister and a former aide to Mr Carstens, will be the new finance minister.

A court in Chile charged three people connected to the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet with poisoning Eduardo Frei Montalva, a former president, in 1982. Frei led the moderate opposition to the dictatorship. His son, the presidential candidate of the ruling Concertación coalition, faces a difficult election on December 13th.

News about the Americas from Sunday, December 6 Miami Herald

HAITI Hoteliers leading investment charge in `Haiti of tomorrow'

Led by hoteliers, Haiti's private sector is fueling a wave of investment in a country long saddled with a bad rap for business.

CUBA Claim of Cuban racism rejected
Afro-Cubans responded to a letter from prominent African-Americans calling for an end to racism in Cuba. 



HONDURAS U.S. 'disappointed' by vote against Zelaya
U.S. officials said they were 'disappointed' with the Honduran congress' vote against returning former President Manuel Zelaya to office. 



LATEST NEWS

Morales highly favored for re-election in Bolivia 

Brazil signals recognition of Honduran election 


Guatemala army officer convicted in civil war case 


Rehab center forced Mexicans into slave labor  


Shootouts in northern Mexico kill 13 after raid 

News about the Americas from this week's Economist

Split decision

Porfirio Lobo of the opposition centre-right National Party won Honduras’scontroversial presidential election with 55% of the vote on a turnout of around 60%. The United States and four Latin American countries said they would recognise the result. Brazil and others said they would not because it legitimised a June coup which ousted Manuel Zelaya from the presidency. See article

In Uruguay’s presidential election, José Mujica, a former guerrilla of the centre-left Broad Front, defeated Luis Alberto Lacalle of the conservative National Party by 53% to 43%. Mr Mujica indicated that he would follow the generally moderate policies adopted by the outgoing Broad Front president, Tabaré Vázquez.

For more, visit The Economist.  Subscription required.

Airport Security

Patrick Smith, a pilot who writes about airline and airport issues on Salon, reports on what appears to be some good news:  

Erroll Southers, a former FBI agent, has been appointed by President Obama to lead the Transportation Security Administration. He replaces Kip Hawley, whose tenure fostered and entrenched some of the agency's worst policies. Southers' appointment has been welcomed by both industry and passenger groups, and he is widely seen as a likely advocate for sensible reform. TSA's screening rules are such a basket case of waste and folly that it's tough to be optimistic, but let's hope those observers are right.

Sheer and Associates founder and president, Tom Sheer, a former Assistant Director of the FBI himself, agrees with Smith's assessment and says that this appointment is a great step in the right direction.  (Here's more on Southers.)

We at Sheer and Associates frequently fly back and forth between our two offices in Palm Beach, Florida and New York City and to various islands in the Caribbean, and, we are always surprised at what people are willing to put up with when going through security check points.  Airport security is definitely in need of reform.  It's not the fault of the TSA employees. As Smith writes, the problems stem from direction at the top.  Many of the security reforms instituted since 9/11 are wasteful and ineffective.  For example, some experts say the restrictions on carry-on liquids are basically useless, observing that the type of explosive that the would-be bombers in Britain plotted to make, need to be made in very stable, controlled conditions, conditions not to be found in an airliner's rest room.  Many countries around the world see no need to restrict liquids and European countries are already planning on lifting the restrictions.  Check Patrick Smith's website and security expert Bruce Schneier's website for more on airport security measures.

Sheer and Associates' Operations Director, Sean Sheer, recently received his Masters Degree in Protection Management at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.  One of the topics he studied there was airport security.  He says security at Ben Gurion airport in Israel is often cited as a model for the US to follow.  We here at Sheer and Associates are not entirely sure that all of the protocols followed there would necessarily work in the US, but it is definitely worth learning more about what they do in Israel.  Here's a traveler's take on his experience at Ben Gurion, here's an article from the Boston Globe about what the US can learn from Israeli efforts, and here's an article about behavior pattern recognition (not to be confused with racial profiling), a technique that is central to Ben Gurion airport's security measures.

Regional News Digests from this week's Economist magazine

Below you’ll find news digests about the Americas from this week’s The Economist (online access requires a subscription.)  Also in this edition:  longer articles about Ahmadinejad’s visit to South America and Venezuela’s attempts to mass produce cars.

“President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran visited South America. In Brazil he was hugged by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who called on Western nations to drop their threats of punishment over Iran’s nuclear programme but urged Iran to negotiate a ‘just and balanced’ solution that met the West’s concerns. In both Brazil and Venezuela, where he met Hugo Chávez, there were protests against his visit. See article

Canada’s government rejected allegations by one of its diplomats that detainees handed over to Afghan authorities by Canadian forces in 2006-07 were probably all tortured, and that the government may have tried to cover this up. See article

Argentina’s Congress passed a law approving the forced extraction of DNA from people suspected of having been stolen as babies from female prisoners of the 1976-83 military dictatorship, and given to army and police families.

Police in Peru claimed, to some scepticism, to have arrested members of a gang that murdered dozens of people to drain their body fat and sell it for use in cosmetics.”