#Thread
1/

In the run up to the #USPresidentialElections2020 when the characters & stories seem more mind-boggling than ever, it can be difficult to discern...
'How the fuck did the world end up here'?

Some great answers/insight here #Kleptopia

2/
Uncivil & Outright Criminal Behaviour seems to have been normalised throughout societies everywhere;

- Politics
- Crony Capitalism
- Social Media
- Reality TV
... Even Sport

I've tried to get my head around it with the help of some good books & following smart journo's

3/

To understand the rise of;
-Strongman leaders
-Autocrats
-Dictators
-Kleptocrats
-Crooks
-Spooks
-Shady financiers
-Conmen

& other maniacal actors worldwide, there's some good reading in the pics below & above

#politicains #bankers #crooks #spooks #crime #money #power

4/

Politicians & leaders everywhere have embraced #disinformation & reframe history to distort the present while they attempt power grabs

They use opaque #offshore financial networks to extract wealth and move it around the world #FinCENFiles

Then there's #SocialMedia

5/

#SocialMedia is an Attention & Engagement economy

It's business model is aimed at #hype & #clicks
#algorithms favour salacious, surprising, blood boiling & often untrue info

It now spreads further, faster & deeper than any previous form of news media

We have a Problem

6/

It created competing realities for different groups which can result in the crazy partisan type conversations we all see around us regularly

#trumpbidendebate

Before 2005, if you weren't interested in #politics & #currentaffairs you could blissfully ignore

Now

7/

You're drawn into #politics & #currentaffairs via every screen you see

It can be overwhelming & seem bat-shit crazy

So if you're not a discerning consumer of this type of news (& you get your info from #facebook )
Can send people a bit
#anxiety
#confusion
#depression

8/

Trusting the #news we get gives us all an anchor point & common understanding - It's comforting and is hopefully based on #facts

The main emotional response #socialmedia seems to engender is #Fear & #Anger

#WarOfTheWorlds #OrsonWells #FakeNews

https://aeon.co/essays/a-radio-play-about-radio-that-became-the-first-fake-news-story

9/

#RealityTV has a lot to answer for too!

In a push for more & more content, around 2000 Reality TV became the de rigueur for broadcasters

Churn out Inexpensive, engaging & less filtered

It also re-launched a bankrupt #DonaldTrump via #TheApprentice FFS!

On that note..

10/

It offered a platform to some very questionable characters who would have previously been marginalised in society (criminal / outrageously brash / extreme)!

Dodgy characters filtered into #sport too

Reality, decency & cultural norms often seem passé today

How to fix it?

#Moneylaundering in & unregulated #gambling in #football

#Drugs and #criminalcartels in #boxing

Checks & Balances seem to be eroding...

Globalisation has opened sport up to Transnational Organised Crime

Social Media & TV Legitimises questionable characters!

Here's a topical story today #WiganAthletic

(Also see; #CharltonAthletic #BuryAFC #Macclesfield etc)

Similar Patters - Similar Cast Of Characters

#Moneylaundering #Football ??

@david_conn @KieranMaguire @AdamCrafton_ @tariqpanja @DuffofBrentford

https://london-post.co.uk/wigan-athletic-takeover-in-chaos-as-former-charlton-athletic-director-looks-to-gain-control/

Money needs laundering (Proceeds of Crime/Capital Flights etc)
Football Club financial difficulty
Middle-man/broker
Front company/shells/bagmen
Dodgy Lawyers/Solicitors
Dodgy Auditors/Administrators
Poor scrutiny/Regulation
Acq/Placement
BUST OUT
Rinse&Repeat

For casual football fans who are confused by these continuous #fraud (s) and scratching their heads thinking...

"It must be OK because big companies who are highly regulated are involved in the processes"

Think again!

#Auditors #Banks #Football

@FD @tomburgis @JamesPiotr

There seems to be a proliferation of these types of frauds involving sport

@JackPittBrooke @david_conn @nicolatallantsw @MiloPete

- Money Laundering (Source of Drugs, Financial Scams/Investment schemes/Trafficking/Capital Flight)
- Layered through property developers..

If you needed reminding that wherever there are large money flows & weak regulations, there will be organised crime ... READ THIS!

#Gangsters hold to #QPR Directors head at Half Time @EFL

@mr_gillard (link below) is BRILLIANT!

https://thebristolcable.org/series/cornerman/episode/bangers-and-mash-football-and-boxing/

https://thebristolcable.org/series/cornerman/episode/bangers-and-mash-football-and-boxing/

@mr_gillard book #forqueenandcurrency explains the type of fraud that goes on too (Rufus #charlton / #ponzi)

His book #Legacy also gives an interesting insight into #Organisedcrime links to #Westham

Brilliant journalist! Buy his books. They are

Before #Paldini was held at gunpoint in the Directors Box at Half Time at #QPR he'd instigated his own "hostile takeover" which reads like a scene from @Succession_HBO https://www.questia.com/newspaper/1G1-136851691/the-truth-behind-the-paladini-power-game-how-the

Andrew Barclay of Barclay Bro's lineage when he tried to purchase #CAFC;

"Joke of a situation.
Rename Charlatan Athletic until situation resolved with stable leaders/owners ?
EFL farting around whilst clubs go under & stripped to the bone by conmen. V Sad."

#Southall #Bassini