We would be remiss to fail and mention the strange relationship with Clinton over America’s posture towards Russia and outer-lying Caucus states.

…leaked emails from her longtime confidant Sidney Blumenthal show that he and another former official from Bill Clinton’s administration were secretly lobbying the secretary of state on behalf of a billionaire in the former Soviet state of Georgia who was seeking closer ties with Putin’s Russia—seemingly in violation of a federal law designed to prevent foreign powers from covertly wielding influence within the United States.

http://gawker.com/did-clintons-backdoor-adviser-illegally-lobby-for-putin-1693111549

What is a sovereign wealth fund?

It’s basically a government-owned investment fund that is used to help out the nation’s economy–sometimes there is a general crisis that requires a tighter (or looser) budget than the government can singularly manage, sometimes the nation is undergoing an overhaul of its trade policy, other times the SWF is used to augment the effectiveness of monetary policy.

Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, Qatar Investment Authority is worth some $256 billion.

Aqaba is Jordan’s only port, integral to the kingdom’s economy.

In 2000, a special economic zone was established to further develop its trade, tourism, and industry sectors.

Since its inception, ASEZA has exceeded nearly every target set for it. In 2006 alone, the value of committed investments in ASEZ reached $7 billion – far beyond its initial objective of $6 billion in investment by 2020.

http://kingabdullah.jo/index.php/en_US/initiatives/view/id/17.html

There is a fascinating New York Times Magazine article which goes over Ayad Allawi and the role he has played in Iraq’s politics, especially as our nation-building project failed spectacularly.

By the very end, if nothing else, you get the sense that Allawi thrived by taking advantage of the cracks of the system, whenever possible–but almost cynically.

I asked which was better — the Iraq of Saddam Hussein or the Iraq of today. He shook his head with the disdain of an expatriate. “The only difference is that we have this democracy.” He uttered the word with contempt.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/06/magazine/06ALLAWI-t.html?_r=0

Ivanishvili is outside democratic control, outside institutional checks and balances, yet he is ultimately calling the shots, which puts Georgia in a vulnerable position both vis-à-vis democracy and foreign policy

http://www.eurasianet.org/node/70911?utm_

A quick look at the list of Economist articles on his presidential campaign and policies will give you a taste of the euphoria surrounding his election (in the West).

His economic reforms have largely been center-right measures attempting to salvage Argentina’s economy, reversing the populism of his predecessors: removing tariffs, subsidies, and devaluing the currency to curtail interest payments on debt while spurring exports and foreign investment.

Luxembourg (Lux) Leaks was an expose revealing how hundreds of major corporations cut deals with Luxembourg to avoid billions in taxes.

Especially relevant to the American political scene is Arteva Europe, the Swiss branch of a Koch Industries company that

makes hundreds of millions of dollars in interest income, pays very little tax, and – mysteriously – has no staffing costs

Offshore Leaks was a rather juicy project that revealed the favorite tax havens of government officials, their relatives, celebrities, criminals and multinationals as they sought to avoid taxes, launder money, and manage questionable assets–under the guise of “wealth management”.