North Korea’s Threats: A New Front in a Global Proxy War?
New configuration and dynamics is brewing up in North and South Korea that may have larger ramifications.
The story of Jeffrey Epstein is making waves after the case documents have been opened up. Its sleazy content is entertaining. But is that the real story? Power, sex trafficking and espionage - its all there.
Sex and sleaze is an easy sell.
It is used for many things. One most potent one is to mask the real story. When sleaze is brought forth, the substantive story takes a backseat. No one is interested in that.
The media honchos of the powerful men and women use that to the hilt.
Jeffrey Epstein's story and the documents being released have created a lot of media buzz. For the voyeuristic pleasure of the public. Fetishes of the powerful and the celebrities make good copy.
But is that the real story? Let us explore.
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Jeffrey Epstein began his career in September 1974 as a physics and mathematics teacher at the Dalton School in Manhattan, New York. During his tenure, he reportedly engaged in inappropriate behavior towards underage female students, including paying them unwarranted attention and showing up at a party where young people were drinking.
In 1976, Epstein joined Bear Stearns, starting as a low-level junior assistant to a floor trader. He quickly ascended the ranks to become an Options Trader, where he began advising the bank's wealthiest clients, including Seagram president Edgar Bronfman, on tax mitigation strategies.
Epstein's financial career took a significant turn in August 1981 when he founded his own consulting firm, Intercontinental Assets Group Inc. (IAG). Utilizing his financial acumen and connections, Epstein expanded his wealth and influence.
In 1998, Epstein further expanded his assets by purchasing Little Saint James, a private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands. This acquisition, costing an estimated $7.95 million, became a pivotal part of his later infamy. The island, often referred to in the media as "Epstein Island," would later become notorious for the alleged illicit activities that took place there. Epstein's ownership of the island was a testament to his significant financial resources and his penchant for privacy, which later played a role in the criminal investigations against him.
Jeffrey Epstein was known for associating with celebrities, politicians, billionaires, and academic stars, Epstein became the subject of a police investigation in Palm Beach, Florida, in 2005 after he was accused of paying a 14-year-old girl for sex. He was arrested in 2006. Dozens of other underage girls described similar sexual abuse, but prosecutors ultimately allowed the financier to plead guilty in 2008 to a charge involving a single victim. He served 13 months in a jail work-release program.
Later, reporting by the Miami Herald renewed interest in the scandal, and federal prosecutors in New York charged Epstein in 2019 with sex trafficking.
Epstein was indicted in 2019 on federal charges of operating a sex trafficking ring in which he allegedly sexually abused dozens of underage girls. Epstein died in jail while awaiting trial.
The judge allowed the release of dozens of previously sealed court documents in January 2024. The recently unsealed documents pertain to a 2015 civil defamation lawsuit filed by Virginia Roberts Giuffre. In this lawsuit, Giuffre, an American, alleges that she was sexually abused by Jeffrey Epstein while she was a minor. She further claims that Ghislaine Maxwell, who was Epstein's girlfriend at the time, assisted in this abuse. The unsealing of these documents occurred following a court order dated December 18, issued by the judge in charge of the case. This order was a response to legal efforts by various media organizations seeking to make the documents public.
Epstein also paid Giuffre $500k to keep her quiet.
The document, disclosed by a New York court, reveals the financier paid her $500,000 (£371,000) to end her claim. Ms Giuffre is suing the Duke of York in a civil case for allegedly sexually assaulting her 20 years ago, when she was a teenager. (Source: Prince Andrew accuser’s 2009 deal with Jeffrey Epstein made public / BBC)
The court documents were unsealed earlier (2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022 but the important parts were redacted (darkened). This current tranche of documents are 250 of them where the details that were blacked out have been unsealed.
The documents in total, including material yet to be unsealed, are expected to include nearly 200 names, including some of Epstein’s accusers, prominent businesspeople, politicians and potentially more.
Many prominent names have come out whose names were mentioned in the depositions. One prominent mention was Prince Andrews and his strange fetishes.
The other prominent person to be named was the obvious Bill Clinton. The thing that created the scandal most was the mention of his bizarre painting.
Among the bizarre revelations was an oil painting hanging prominently in his Upper East Side townhouse. Dubbed “Parsing Bill,” the colorful work by Australian artist Petrina Ryan-Kleid shows former President Clinton wearing a blue dress and red heels while lounging in the Oval Office. “It was hanging up there prominently — as soon as you walked in — in a room to the right,” a source told The Post back in 2019. “Everybody who saw it laughed and smirked.” (Source: "Inside Bill Clinton’s ‘close’ relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell" / New York Post)
This is the painting the records talk about. Quite a teaser the US 42nd President was! In Oval office?!
The other celebrity, a surprise one at that, who has been the target of real and supposedly fake accusations is Stephen Hawking, the physicist.
Hawking is mentioned twice in the documents that were released. One reference involves a 2015 email from Epstein offering a monetary award to friends, family or acquaintances of Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein’s victims, if they could help disprove allegations that the physicist had participated in an “underage orgy” on one of Epstein’s islands. The other is a request for Giuffre to turn over all photos or videos of her with a number of individuals, including Hawking. But there is no reference to any “proclivities.” In 2006, a few months before Epstein was charged with multiple counts of unlawful sex with a minor, Hawking was one of many scientists who attended a five-day conference in the Caribbean funded by Epstein. The physicist appears in multiple pictures from the event. (Source: "FACT FOCUS: Images Made to Look Like Court Records Circulate Online Amid Epstein Document Release" / US News)
So with all these allegations, it is easy to see how the Epstein Island (officially known as Little Saint James amongst the US Virgin Islands), also known as "Island of Sin" and "Pedophile Island" was a place of sleaze and crime.
Crime because many of these girls were used to seduce the clients.
The trafficking of underage girls for prostitution had real results for the girls.
The Kazakh-Russian model Ruslana Korshunova killed herself by leaping out of a New York City building at age 20 in 2008. The documents revealed that she had been traveling on Jeffrey Epstein’s jet less than two years before her death.
Ruslana's name shows up in the flight logs of the Lolita Express. She was 18 at that time. What happened to her on the flights or the Pedophile Island? But it did have its long-term impact. (Source: "Inside the cult top model joined after visiting Jeffrey Epstein's 'pedo island'" / Daily Mail)
The story of Epstein is disgusting and full of sleaze. That is the sad part.
But was it just that?
Some reports have shown that Epstein was meeting some intelligence-related officials.
One was Ehud Barak. He not only is a former Israeli PM but also the former head of the Military Intelligence in Israel.
Former prime minister Ehud Barak met with the late disgraced financier and child sexual abuser Jeffrey Epstein dozens of times beginning in 2013, according to a new report on Wednesday by the Wall Street Journal. (Source: Ehud Barak met with Jeffrey Epstein dozens of times, flew on private plane — report / Times of Israel)
The other interesting name was William Burns. The Director of the CIA.
Last April, in an article published by the reputable Wall Street Journal, it was reported that the current director of the Central Intelligence Agency, William Burns, had scheduled not just one, but three meetings with the controversial figure Jeffrey Epstein back in 2014 (Source: Epstein’s Private Calendar Reveals Prominent Names, Including CIA Chief, Goldman’s Top Lawyer / Wall Street Journal).
These meetings took place when Burns held the position of deputy secretary of state, indicating the significance of these encounters.
The Journal, obtained this information from Epstein's own emails and schedules, which adds credibility to the report. The meetings occurred in both Washington, D.C., and Epstein's luxurious townhouse in Manhattan, highlighting the extent of their interactions and the potential implications it may have had.
Epstein had meetings scheduled with now-director of the Central Intelligence Agency William Burns, President Barack Obama’s White House counsel Kathryn Ruemmler, Bard College president Leon Botstein, and Professor Noam Chomsky, according to the Wall Street Journal. The Journal could not confirm that all the scheduled meetings took place. (Source: Biden CIA Director Met with Jeffrey Epstein Multiple Times: Report / National Review)
This becomes even more significant because of one small detail that hasn't been discussed much. His lawyer, a Harvard professor, who had indulged in underage sex and witness a number of such crimes being committed in front of him, negotiated a Non-prosecution Agreement (NPA).
Alan Dershowitz, Epstein’s lawyer, was also mentioned in the newly-released records. The documents say that Epstein forced a minor to have sex with the former Harvard law professor multiple times. The documents also say that Dershowitz “was an eye-witness to the sexual abuse of many other minors by Epstein and several of Epstein’s co-conspirators. Dershowitz would later play a significant role in negotiating the NPA on Epstein’s behalf.” NPA stands for non-prosecution agreement, which allowed Epstein to avoid serving a severe sentence when he was first charged with soliciting a minor for prostitution. (Source: "The Biggest Names from Jeffrey Epstein’s Unsealed Court Documents" / Time)
Why would the US government negotiate and offer an NPA to a criminal who was indicted for pedophilia?!
Unless he was their asset.
And was using these sexual acts and other activities to blackmail world leaders on their behalf. Or better still - providing them with the compromising information they needed for their operations.
This habit of blackmailing was natural to Epstein. He also blackmailed Bill Gates for an affair Gates had with a Russian bridge player.
The disgraced financial Jeffrey Epstein used to blackmail Microsoft founder Bill Gates for his affair with a then twenty-year-old Russian bridge player, Mila Antonova, reported the Wall Street Journal (WSJ). The report revealed how Jeffrey Epstein lowered his level to extort money from Bill Gates. (Source: Bill Gates was blackmailed by Jeffrey Epstein for his affair with a 20-yr-old Russian bridge player / Live mint)
The most potent weapon that every intelligence agency has for espionage is Sex.
Or Sexpionage.
An important person comes to a new country. Lonely and bored, he longs for company. One day he is at a bar. Her hair cascaded down her shoulders in a waterfall of blonde strands. Blue emerald eyes with many hidden stories and an ethereal smile with that perfect hint of mischief. Talking silently about the many adventures that our guy is waiting to explore. She had the look of a woman who knew the power of shadows, both to conceal and to reveal.
Dressed in a sleek, figure-hugging dress that whispered of elegance rather than screamed for attention, she sipped her drink with an almost theatrical grace.
Our man whose loneliness hung around him sitting at the bar having Bulleit rye on the rocks. Slowly, without anyone noticing, she glided towards him, every step was measured, a delicate balance of purpose and nonchalance.
She called out to him with a half smile, confidence dancing along with that perfect hint of vulnerability. Her perfume caressed his senses.
To our man, here was a dream unfolding in real time, a fantasy he had never dared to imagine.
After a night right out of a movie, with passion and love jumping at their peak, they crashed at his room at an Innere Stadt apartment.
The morning was subtle, anti-climatic and strangely quick. It was the start of a passionate journey he had never dreamed of.
Tanya was an FSB spy. Mike, a US middle-level diplomat. Mike realized who Tanya was but it was already too late. He was sharing things that could jeopardize much.
This may look like a cliched and cheesy spy novel story. It is the most common strategy still out there.
In diplomatic circles, it is called sexpionage.
Mata Hari, was born Margaretha Geertruida Zelle in 1876 in the Netherlands. She was one of the most famous figures in the history of espionage. Some of the stories are real and some are myths and legends.
She was an exotic dancer and courtesan who became a spy during World War I. Mata Hari moved to Paris in 1903. She reinvented herself as an exotic dancer, claiming to be a Javanese princess trained in the art of sacred Indian dance. Her performances were sensual and given her alluring ways, she got quick attention.
Her fans included numerous high-ranking military officers, politicians, and other influential figures across Europe. Soon many doors to the elite of Europe opened for her.
She became a courtesan, and her list of lovers and patrons included powerful men from both sides of World War I. This position allowed her access to a world of privileged information and secrets, something that eventually led her into the world of espionage.
It is believed that in 1916, she was recruited by the German intelligence to spy for them. Her codename was H-21. She reportedly provided Germany with details about the Allies' plans. Some say that she also worked for the French intelligence.
She was arrested in Paris in 1917 by the French and accused of being a German spy. Despite the lack of concrete evidence, she was found guilty and executed by firing squad in October 1917.
Katia Zatuliveter was a 25-year-old who had penetrated into the House of Commons in more ways than one. Her love for short skirts helped her get into the office of one Liberal MP in the UK - Mike Hancock.
But if MI5 is to be believed, their first meeting was anything but a chance encounter. It was orchestrated by the SVR, Russia's foreign intelligence agency, and is the latest proof that the Cold War is far from over. And that sex is still good for a sting. "Zatuliveter was extremely attractive and she was selling that, wearing short skirts all the time," according to Nevena Marjanovic, a 26-year-old former colleague in Hancock's office. (Source: "Russian 'spy': a 'swallow' came to spy on us" / The Telegraph)
Moscow and its spy agencies had a special word for Katia. Swallow.
Swallows were female agents employed to seduce people for intelligence purposes.
In fact, per former CIA officer Jason Matthews, the Soviet Union had a formal sexpionage school in Kazan Tatarstan which was created to teach girls the use of sex for espionage. A movie called "Red Sparrow" was made on this whole concept with Jennifer Lawrence as the lead based on the fiction book written by Matthews.
That school in Kazan was called "State School 4".
The stories of KGB spies and their ability to infiltrate the CIA and the US state machinery is legendary.
In this video, Jonna Mendez, the former CIA Chief of Disguise, talked about how Czech husband and wife KGB spies Karl and Hana Koecher used sex to infiltrate the CIA and gather top-secret information. Ms. Mendez said that there was one popular Washington, D.C., “swinger’s club” that was frequented by the couple. It had at least 10 CIA staffers and a U.S. Senator as members. Great target!
You can watch her entire video here - CSPANhigh-ranking
There are several other cases in this genre of espionage that had a huge impact on the target countries.
Profumo Affair: It was a major political scandal in the United Kingdom that occurred in the early 1960s. It involved John Profumo, who was the Secretary of State for War in the Conservative government of Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, and Christine Keeler, a young woman who was also involved with a Soviet naval attaché and intelligence officer, Yevgeny Ivanov. The scandal had significant political, social, and cultural impacts on Britain. The scandal severely damaged the credibility of Harold Macmillan's government. It contributed to the perception of a government mired in moral laxity and elitism. Finally, the government fell. (Source: Sex, lies and spies: the real history of the Profumo Affair / History Extra)
Mordechai Vanunu Story: Mordechai Vanunu, who adopted the alias John Crossman, is a former Israeli nuclear technician turned peace activist. Originally working at the Negev Nuclear Research Center in Dimona, Israel, Vanunu grew increasingly troubled by the implications of nuclear proliferation. Driven by his convictions against weapons of mass destruction, he made a pivotal decision to expose Israel's clandestine nuclear program. In 1986, he divulged detailed information and photographs to the British press, most notably to The Sunday Times, revealing the extent of Israel's nuclear capabilities. This act of whistleblowing had significant international repercussions. It confirmed long-suspected details about Israel's nuclear arsenal, which the country had neither confirmed nor denied under its policy of nuclear ambiguity. The revelation thrust Vanunu into the global spotlight and marked him as a controversial figure—lauded by anti-nuclear advocates for his courage in revealing the truth about nuclear proliferation, while simultaneously being condemned by those who viewed his actions as a grave betrayal of national security. Following the publication of his disclosures, Vanunu was lured from London to Italy by a Mossad agent, where he was abducted and secretly transported to Israel. He was subsequently tried and convicted of treason and espionage in a closed-door trial and served 18 years in prison, including more than a decade in solitary confinement. Vanunu's actions have continued to fuel debate over nuclear transparency and national security, and he remains a polarizing figure. Since his release in 2004, he has been subject to various Israeli government restrictions on his speech and movement, based on concerns over further information he might reveal.
In India, Pakistan has been using this technique really well. In the new world of the internet, cyber honey-trapping techniques are perfected and used. The ISI has created specific modules for this, on the lines of Soviet sexpionage school.
The modus operandi is thorough and meticulous. Here is a glimpse.
A senior official with the agency told The Daily Guardian that ISI’s Unit 412 has launched these honey-trap modules from Hyderabad in Sindh Province of Pakistan. The ISI has recruited beautiful girls from cities like Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad and is providing them training in all tricks of the trade including honey trap for espionage in India. ISI’s Unit 412 is working under the command of a brigadier and captain-rank officer of Pakistan’s Army, said the official. After training the women as intelligence operatives, the ISI provides these women Indian Hindu identities, complete with names such as Khushi, Kalpana, Neetu, Geetu, Avni, Muskan and Harleen, among others. They are also trained to wear clothes and make-up Indian style. These girls are provided vital information on Indian army officers, there ranks and locations. After their training is complete, these honey-trap operatives are assigned rooms within the premises of Pakistan’s army camp to conduct their activities. In order to create a familiar feel about the place, their rooms are equipped with photo-frames of Hindu gods and goddesses and a small temple so that their subjects of interest do not have any reason to doubt their antecedents and intentions during video calls. (Source: ISI LETS LOOSE 10 HONEYTRAP MODULES TO SNOOP ON INDIAN STRATEGIC ASSETS / The Daily Guardian)
This Gravitas show had details of how the honey-trapping technique was successfully used by the Pakistani Army on India.
It is a serious threat that needs proper cybersecurity measures from the Indian side.
Just after the new year this year (2024), a sex ring being run in Washington DC and Boston in several brothels was uncovered.
Who was behind these brothels? Russia, China, South Korea or even Israel.
The women were lingerie and bikini-clad 'models' advertised on the brothel's website. Like these models.
The investigators believe the brothels – allegedly masterminded by a 41-year-old South Korean woman – targeted politicians, high-ranking government officials and defense contractors. The clients included 'hundreds' of elected officials, tech, pharmaceutical executives, lawyers, professors and military officers
Washington obviously is the hotspot for political and security-related espionage. And this operation wasn't a business for cash really.
Former CIA Special Agent Nic McKinley reiterates in the article on Daily Mail that this was about spying.
'If this had been a pure cash play, massage parlors are easier to set up, have lower overhead costs and print money,' he said.
It seems that even French intelligence may have been involved. French intelligence, renowned for their prowess in corporate espionage, and the Egyptian service, known for their close ties with Senator Bob Menendez and his wife in an ongoing case, were mentioned as potential outliers. However, the majority of sources indicated either China or South Korea as the more likely suspects.
Sexpionage is a tool of subversion. Subversion is done in many ways and on many levels.
Blackmail and Compromise:
The most common tactic is to entrap a target in a compromising sexual situation, which can then be used for blackmail. Spies might seduce high-value targets and secretly record their encounters. The information or images are then used to coerce the target into providing sensitive information or acting in a way that benefits the spy's goals.
Long-term Relationships:
Sometimes, spies engage in long-term romantic relationships to gain continuous access to information. This method requires deep cover and often involves living under an assumed identity for extended periods. The spy may even marry the target to maintain a close and trusting relationship.
Infiltration and Access:
Spies might use romantic or sexual relationships to gain access to restricted areas or to people with valuable information. For example, a spy might target someone with lax security habits or someone who can provide access to a high-value target.
Distraction and Misdirection:
Another tactic is to use a romantic or sexual relationship as a means of distraction. While a target is distracted, other espionage activities can be carried out, such as planting listening devices, copying documents, or other forms of intelligence gathering.
Elicitation:
Elicitation in a romantic or intimate setting can be an effective way to gather intelligence. People are often more open and less guarded in such settings, potentially revealing confidential information without realizing it.
Psychological Manipulation:
In some cases, the spy might exploit a target’s loneliness, vanity, or other emotional vulnerabilities to develop a relationship that can be exploited for information gathering.
Cultural or Societal Leverage:
In certain cultures or societies, particular sexual behaviors may be taboo and can be used against individuals to gain leverage or coerce them into cooperation.
Human trafficking is a real problem. So when you see what was going on at Epstein's Island, with the megarich exploiting and abusing underage girls, we need to realize that Epstein's operation was just one piece in a global puzzle.
The global scale of the problem is huge. Millions of men, women and kids are trafficked every year for prostitution and forced labor. Also for organ harvesting.
According to a 2022 report, 50 million people were victims of modern slavery in 2021. The report also estimates that 27.6 million people were in forced labor and 22 million were in forced marriage. (Source: Migration Data Portal)
.The minors - 9-17 years old - are the most vulnerable.
Wars like that in Ukraine bring the sex trafficking vultures swooping in to take advantage of a situation where millions are destitute and vulnerable.
‘For predators and human traffickers,’ said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in March 2022, ‘war is not a tragedy. It is an opportunity.’ (Source: The vulnerable millions: Organized crime risks in Ukraine's mass displacement / Global Initiative)
They profits earned from human trafficking is huge. International Labor Office (ILO) estimates that over $31 billion is earned from trafficking victims.
The best way to understand human trafficking in general and sex trafficking, in particular, is by looking at it as a "Market System".
This Market System thrives on one major factor for supply - vulnerable human beings. Those who cannot defend themselves.
And wars are the best mechanism to create large-scale vulnerable populations.
Wars, the catastrophes perpetrated by politicians and powerful bureaucracies around the world for the profit of a few.
Even when the people in the US do not want war, these are unleashed by the politicians because they are beholden to the Military Industrial Complex.
Our economic war-dependence is matched by political war-dependence. Many members represent districts with contractors that supply homeland security needs and our on-going wars. Even with polls showing that the majority of Americans are opposed to continuing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the new military-industrial complex continues to easily muster the necessary support from both Democrats and Republicans in Congress. It is a testament to the influence of this alliance that hundreds of billions are being spent in Afghanistan and Iraq while Congress is planning to cut billions from core social programmes, including a possible rollback on Medicare due to lack of money. None of that matters. It doesn’t even matter that Afghan President Hamid Karzai has called the US the enemy and said he wishes that he had joined the Taliban. Even the documented billions stolen by government officials in Iraq and Afghanistan are treated as a mere cost of doing business. (Source: Big money behind war: the military-industrial complex / Al Jazeera)
The payday for the war machinery is huge. Avenues abound.
Do you see how this works?
This is an important question to ask.
It is a complete market system.
So you see sleaze is the least important aspect of the Epstein story.
The real story is how the economic wars are inextricably linked to political wars through a web of contractors, pimps, politicians, and trafficking victims.
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