Political Intelligence and Insider Trading
The reports of rogue lobbyists in Washington, DC gaining illegal insider information under the guise of political intelligence causes Alan Simpson, a leading geopolitical intelligence author to question their successes, and to suggest companies beware of using lobbyists for gathering corporate intelligence.
Washington, DC (PRWeb) December 14th, 2006 -- A lot of publicity is again being generated about Political Intelligence and Insider Trading by greedy Lobbyists. In the effort to expose a handful of rogue players the essential services of legitimate political intelligence analysts and authors are put at risk. Every major corporation needs political intelligence to determine the strength of the regulatory foundations before they begin building on a new project or venture. What appears bedrock under one Congressional Chairman can turn out to be quicksand under another. Corporations, especially those in defense, homeland security, telecommunications and pharma are now realizing, as Hedge Funds did a long time ago, that politicians are either their biggest benefactor, or their worst enemy.
Alan Simpson, a leading Washington Political Intelligence Author comments, "Like the whole competitive intelligence debate the line between espionage and ethical information gathering is often ill defined, and much that was normal under Delay will be considered illegal under Pelosi. The problem is that with $10,000 a month for real time intelligence analysis per client, and often up to $50,000 and above, political information gathering has attracted both the big and the rogue lobbyists. Rumors abound of visits to lawmakers and Committee Chairmen with "Contributions", in return for information they believe will give their clients financial or competitive advantage. Their success record is suspect, for although they seek to deliver inside information to some clients, many have other multi million dollar clients seeking to influence the same decisions. Thus passing on any negative information to the marketplace could cost their firms dearly. This is the conflict of interest scenario now causing so many problems for Congress and K Street. How can you give clients fair advice when you have a horse in the race?"
But are those cases of nonconsecutive $20 bills really needed? The information passed in parking garages and bathrooms to Lobbyists usually becomes public a relative short time later anyway, or can be deduced from first hand interviews across a number of committee members, their staffs and the media. It only tends to benefit time sensitive shady stock transactions and financial deals. The average bureaucratic lag in Fortune 500 companies means the illegal information is in the public domain before they finish discussing it, and long before they take action.
Alan Simpson is author of The Simpson Report, formerly ComLinks Intelligence Magazine, Executive Producer of Spy Games and Spy School, the corporate role playing and simulation programs, and host of the famous Spies Cafe programs in Washington, DC. He draws on experience in over 80 countries, and 25 years leadership in international OSINT and global media.
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Tourism Marketing and Competitive Intelligence
Investors in the tourism and hospitality industries are turning to Competitive Intelligence Agencies to evaluate the viability of projects, their performance and develop metrics. Changing geopolitics and global investment strategies are driving this use of Open Source Intelligence.
Washington, DC (PRWEB)Feb.14th, 2006 -- Faced with multi billion dollar risks, Investors, Hedge Funds and property developers are turning to the ComLinks tourism and geopolitical intelligence team in Washington, DC to evaluate their investments, potential acquisitions and forecast the viability of resorts, hotels, real estate developments and rate marketing of destinations.
With the shifting economic outlook causing concerns in many areas of real estate development they need the “Heads Up” to potential growth areas, and areas of concern. At the same time they are seeking a simple “Investment Rating” for the properties and destinations so they can compare choices for investment and patronage. This rating system even extends to the choice of venues for conferences and meetings for major corporations.
“The size of potential investment funds available for leisure, retirement, hospitality and entertainment over the next ten years is making a lot of Wall Street Traders see huge bonuses,” reports Alan Simpson, President of Communication Links, Inc. one of the world leaders in Tourism Intelligence. “The geopolitical scenarios, Chinese investment, and the potential for a major slip in the value of the Dollar has made investors see windfall profits, or the potential for devastating losses. Add to this 70,000,000 US Baby Boomers retiring with an estimated $40 Trillion of inherited and accumulated wealth and you have a major investment boom or bust.”
Both Washington and Wall Street welcome the “Investment Rating” to measure the efficiency of marketing destinations and resorts to show the level of performance in selling to potential clients and visitors. With the current debate over allocating scarce tax dollars to rebuilding the Gulf Coast politicians see this as a good metric for influencing allocation of funding. This also appeals to international investors, particularly from the Far East who see a need for metrics to be applied to the decision to invest. The days of “Build it and they will Come” are over.
Developers have realized that the geopolitical scenarios from the Strait of Hormuz to distant elections impact the sale of Condos in Miami or Houston, the viability of Theme Parks and the entire entertainment and hospitality infrastructure. Many indicators show the traditional lucrative sources of investment, Europe and South America, for Florida and other US “Hot Spots” are beginning to dry up. With China now being the No. 4 economy with several hundred billion dollars available for investment many tourism and real estate marketing organizations need to rethink their priorities and targets.
States and Cities are becoming interested in the application of OSINT (Open Source Intelligence) and evaluating Tourism and Economic Marketing is regarded as a priority for the application of this Competitive Intelligence. The ComLinks team draws from the experience of LTN, (LeisureTime Network) which has maintained a leisure and tourism newsroom since 1992. The LTN files portray the “Good, Bad and Ugly” of tourism PR and marketing, not seen by managers and investors. Local and State Legislators have shown keen interest in creating a metric to evaluate their allocation of resources for effective tourism and economic marketing, seen as the lifeblood of many shrinking communities as manufacturing jobs disappear overseas
The ComLinks team monitors tourism and geopolitical news from around the world and advises clients and newsrooms from Beijing to New York.
Demystifying OSINT for States, Cities and Chambers of Commerce
OSINT, or Open Source Intelligence is about management and employees pulling together using internal and external knowledge to improve the forecasting and decision making process. Using the diverse skills within an organization, under a structured OSINT Management Network, extensive benefits can be obtained, problems and threats quickly identified, and potential new sources of revenue identified and explored.
(PRWEB) - Sunday, Jan 1 2006 --- “OSINT is about management and employees pulling together to monitor the world around them, by creating a knowledge network to improve the forecasting and decision making process,” advised Alan Simpson, the International OSINT Advocate, speaking in Washington, DC. “OSINT, or Open Source Intelligence is finally being accepted as an essential tool in decision making by the US Government, with an initial budget of $2 billion.“
“States, Cities, Counties and trade organizations need to develop these structured capabilities of monitoring the changing world especially regarding the security and growth of their revenue base. OSINT isn't about espionage, it's about collecting and understanding unclassified political, economic, medical, technical and environmental information, and predicting the effects on plans and strategies.”
In 1996 Alan Simpson developed ComLinks, a fusion of Newsroom and Intelligence Center, found to be the most productive resource for OSINT. Local Governments around the world are becoming very interested in implementing their own OSINT projects, but are confused and often worried about anything containing the word “Intelligence".
In presentations he suggests Economic Planning Offices, even Chambers of Commerce give their members real economic intelligence to help the local companies prosper, and expand the employment and tax base. He believes every State, and major municipality should be feeding economic intelligence to companies in their area. It's out there in the OSINT world, just waiting to be found and used.
As he tours the USA and Europe he is often asked such questions as how to determine the effects of Baby Boomers retiring on housing and medical services, worker migration, and how government departments can use OSINT for economic development and to keep industries from disappearing overseas. Environmental questions occur again and again, especially on waste and pollution management, energy, and urban sprawl. Smaller units of government need to watch closely the actions, and plans of their neighbors, and of course the unfunded mandates from Washington, DC.
The list for areas of government benefiting from effective OSINT is extensive, from crime and immigration, to new markets, medical breakthroughs, technologies and the political climate in Washington, DC, Brussels and Beijing. Forewarned is forearmed. In the years ahead the race for economic prosperity will become more intense and cut throat. It will be survival of the fittest, the smartest and there are no guarantees.
In visits to both government and private sector offices Alan Simpson finds much of this is already being done piecemeal, duplicated and managed inefficiently. Language skills are being ignored, and there often exists no structure to utilize the knowledge base within the organization. OSINT brings these information resources together in a unified transparent intelligent infrastructure to enable an effective decision support system. Corporations are finally realizing they need to embrace OSINT to stay profitable and fight competition, and predict and lead market changes. It’s time for States to begin taking the lead with economic, environmental, medical and social intelligence for the benefit of themselves and the protection of their revenue base.”
Alan Simpson is a leading international advocate of OSINT with 25 years experience, in over 80 countries. He is President of Communication Links, Inc., which has just announced the creation of the ComLinks OSINT Center in Washington, DC to advise and guide Governments, States, Municipalities, Corporations and Organizations in developing their own OSINT programs. A second centre is being planned for the UK, to service the European marketplace. He recently announced the successful trial program for advising Hedge Funds, from New York to Beijing, on political intelligence. Since 1996 he has published ComLinks Intelligence Report and has appeared on radio and television around the world.
Due Dilligence for Hedge Funds
Washington, DC (PRWEB) December 6, 2005 -- Hedge Fund Managers around the world are taking notice of the unique fusion of newsroom and intelligence center created by ComLinks to provide Hedge Fund, media and corporate subscribers with news and analysis of political intentions in Washington, DC. Energy, telecoms and healthcare have been the focus during the pilot phase of this project for funds in New York and Beijing. In rapidly changing industries such as energy, telecommunications, broadcasting and pharmaceuticals one rule change, or one amendment to legislation can make, or destroy a company if not challenged, or alternatives found.
Hedge funds, which pursue high-risk, high-yield investments for wealthy clients, are increasingly worried about the risk to their international investments from the politically turbulent times in Washington. They need to plug into the “Back Channel Whispers” inside the Beltway and utilize politically-connected media and intelligence resources to ensure better warning of political decisions, and better due diligence of new and developing technologies.
Much like the privacy sought by the Hedge Fund community, political intelligence analysts run in depth investigations and legislative analysis without disclosing their clients, and it takes place in Washington every day. These political intelligence operations are not looking to influence legislation for their clients, but rather provide open-source material for them through personal relationships between lawmakers, staffers, journalists and lobbyists working the K Street - Wall Street corridor. This does not require registration or disclosure as with Lobbyists.
Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) uses information that can be harvested from a variety of sources, including books, speeches, newspapers, television and radio broadcasts, newswires, the Internet and magazine articles and for the political scenarios, feedback from interviews and conversations between Members of Congress, media and lobbyists in congressional committee rooms on Capitol Hill, and briefings and meetings around Washington. Sophisticated computer systems track these bits of information, create patterns and predict trends. These “Heads Up” computer warnings are followed up with extensive personal investigation of trusted sources to ensure exclusion of the growing misinformation found in the media and on the Internet. Often projects are created for a specific period of time and within a narrow focus to oversee the launch of a new venture, or during due diligence to ensure no surprises derail the planned rollout.
Communication Links, Inc., headed by media and intelligence veteran Alan Simpson provides internationally recognized intelligence consultants and investigative journalists to assist companies set up their own corporate intelligence operations, or to improve in-house intelligence departments. They have been used to evaluate existing operations, at home and abroad. ComLinks Intelligence Report, has been read by more than 8,000,000 people since it’s launch in 1996. In September Alan Simpson created the National Energy Center to track global energy and geopolitics, a proactive step for the looming energy crisis.
“It’s all about comparative advantage and market efficiency. If you are reading about it in the Wall Street Journal, you are reading about what has happened, not what will happen.” (The Hill, February 15, 2005)
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Protecting America's Competitiveness
Competitive Intelligence Analysts are worried at the rate of decline in America's Competitiveness and proposed new legislation, supported by President Bush signals serious concerns and the desire to stop the decline. Focus and Intelligence needed to prevent wasting taxpayers money.
Washington, DC (PRWEB) January 27, 2006 -- For many years Communication Links, Inc., which tracks political and technology intelligence around the world, has been warning of the decline in the US competitive edge, manufacturing leadership, and the increase of global competitors, particularly China. In response to this looming threat the Senate, supported by President Bush has now introduced legislation to boost the competitive edge of American industry. Known as the Protecting America’s Competitive Edge (PACE) Act it seeks to slow the exodus of jobs, manufacturing and technological innovation from the United States.
Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) a cosponsor of the PACE Bill stated, “We’re now playing in a tougher league. China and India are competing for our jobs. The best way to keep those jobs in America is to maintain our brainpower edge in science and technology. We asked the experts who should know exactly what we should do. They’ve told us. Now we should do it.”
Many US Research and Development companies are moving to China and India seeking to utilize their huge pool of highly motivated and qualified talent, a trend which threatens the future prosperity of America. Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) stated, “The whole foundation of American culture and economy is based on the concept of discovery and innovation. When you look at what has made America a superpower, it’s our innovation and our technology. We have to look at where the new ideas are going to come from that are going to generate the new products for the 21st century. The PACE Act will help to set the framework and creates the building blocks that we need for a smarter America.”
Communication Links, Inc. recently announced the OSINT Center, for Open Source Intelligence which monitors key technologies, as well as provided resources and training for corporations across America and Europe. ComLinks has also developed The National Energy Center for research, analysis and dissemination of information on energy and alternative energy technologies, as well as geopolitical threats to our energy supplies.
The ComLinks team are working closely with corporations, trade associations and economic development organizations to spread the word about the value of competitive intelligence and maintaining the competitive edge in a hostile world. In Washington, DC a major part of their work is political intelligence, defining the regulatory and legislative environment in which new technologies have to operate.
Alan Simpson, President of Communication Links, Inc. commented, "Without the benefit of focused competitive intelligence new innovation will not be directed at the areas of need, and benefit. Piling more taxpayer money on an unfocused educational and industrial base will hasten the demise of our competitive edge, not improve it. We must ensure that US Industry has the benefit of the same level of economic intelligence as enjoyed by our competitors."
The United States lags behind other industrialized nations in supporting economic intelligence and OSINT Centers for the private industrial and commercial base, instead sinking hundreds of billions into classified military intelligence. The consequence will be that the US will eventually lose it's industrial and commercial base essential to supporting a viable military. That could occur as early as 2020 if new competitive initiatives are not introduced and an effective private OSINT network supported to guide industry towards the most effective technologies and markets.
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