January 3 2007 by The Systemic Analyst.

The following article was written by Prof. Dr. Dieter Spethmann and originally published in The Walsingham Papers by The Walsingham Institute.

In 2002, after 11 years of a continued 1 to 1 commitment, Argentina detached its Peso from the US Dollar and devaluated its currency at a 70% rate. The Argentinean economy has been prospering ever since and unemployment rates have steadily declined. Investors, however, foot the bill.

Monetary arrangements built on paper currencies have always been short-lived, a fact which is continuously dismissed by German and other European politicians. In the ninth year of its existence the EURO is experiencing rising tensions. Despite Germany’s sizable interest subsidies (upwards of 2 % of its gross domestic product) other EU currencies are still inflated – in fact since the introduction of the EURO their inflation rates have been significantly exceeding that of Germany: Ireland +17.0%, Greece +14.2%, Spain +13.9%, Portugal +12.5%, Netherlands +6.6%, Luxemburg +6.5%, Belgium +4.4%, Austria +2.6%, France +1.8%, and Finland +0.6%.

Inflation increases costs and diminishes a country’s competitive capacity especially with regard to foreign trade. Deficit producing countries whose currencies are permanently inflated predominate in the European Monetary Union, constantly drawing subsidies from the Union’s surplus producing countries. Unfortunately, the problem shows no signs of abating but is actually growing worse as continued globalization causes current deficit producing countries to lag even further behind.The impact of these subsidies on surplus producing countries is staggering: What an incredible difference to the German economy it would make if Germany were able to apply its recent surplus of roughly $115 billion US to itself rather than to subsidies for other countries. Germany has been considerably slowed down. Since 1999 its rate of economic growth is only half of what it had been under the DM. Indeed, The Economist quotes the following placement on the “Quality of life index”: Ireland (1), Switzerland (2), Norway (3), Luxemburg (4), Sweden (5), Iceland (7), Italy (8), Denmark (9), Spain (10), Finland (12), Netherlands (16), Portugal (19) – Germany is ranks a pitiable 26.The same is true for the per capita income. In 2004 the World Bank quoted a per capita income for Germany of $30,120 US, whereas Luxemburg had achieved $56,230, Norway $52,030, Switzerland $48,230, United States $41,400, Denmark $40,650 and Japan $37,180. Germany has drastically fallen behind its former EU lead in 1989 – now a shadow of what it once was.

Quo vadis Europe? The aforementioned German ‘sacrifices’ – altogether 8% of its annual gross national product – clearly support its neighbours, but in the long run how will this help Europe survive? Without considerable changes in perspectives this imbalanced approach could have serious implications on the European economy at large and as a result its security.

For more information please visit www.eurospethmann.de or www.hankelspethmann.de

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January 3 2007 by The Systemic Analyst.

Originally published in The Walsingham Papers

by The Walsingham Institute.

The case of the alleged Russian Spy picked up in Montreal over a week ago is an exciting one in a country otherwise quiet (at least in the minds of the masses) and far removed from oft-glamorized international espionage. However, this incident - regardless whether the allegations against Paul William Hampel (insert link) are found to be true or not – should raise some important issues when contemplating Canadian national security.

Hampel is accused of “expropriating” a Canadian identity – meaning he took over the existing identity of another individual. In many cases this entails assuming the identity of a deceased individual – as opposed to stealing the identity of a living person. Assuming an identity in this manner is nothing new – particularly in the world of international spies.

In a bid to answer this dilemma and others many nations are turning towards national identity card systems that employ cutting edge technology – such as biometric identifiers, RFID tags and contactless integrated circuits. The first question this case should raise is the effectiveness of such reactionary measures in answering this sort of security breach.The Hampel case highlights one of the key deficiencies of expecting identity card systems to have an immediate impact on increasing security – how are identities stored in such a system to be firmly established? Existing supporting documents (birth certificates, driver’s licenses, citizenship cards etc.) would be required to initially establish identities as being genuine. Anyone born into the social system before the implementation of such a national identity card system would be required to use these documents to prove that they are in fact who they claim to be – this includes anyone born today and living. Hampel, in essence, would have just as much claim to his current identity as I do to mine by holding a Canadian birth certificate.

Stepping back from our western penchant to view this case through Cold War lenses we might also ask why Canada might be an alluring place in which to operate for foreign spies? What is it that we have to offer that spies or terrorists might find useful?Of course, we must acknowledge that we are not the only country in which international spies rings, terrorist groups and organized crime syndicates operate. Like pandemics – these operations know no state boundaries. However, these groups often have far better intelligence and understanding for how our social systems work than we do of their organizations.

What is it that might most attract operatives to Canada? Canadian citizenship. Although foreign spies are operating in Canada in order to gather “trade secrets” or engage in other forms of industrial espionage – it is likely that Canada is seldom the end target in cases such as Hempel’s. Canadian citizenship, however, offers passport holders ease of travel through much of the world – including entry into the U.S. As Canadians we enjoy few issues or questions at most international border crossings (although, this has been changing for a number of reasons recently.) Assuming a Canadian identity is in some aspects like acquiring an open ticket to the world.

Canadian citizenship is also relatively easy to obtain legally – never mind the more nefarious ways being presented to us in the case at hand. Indeed, this openness is what has garnered Canada it’s respected and loved position it continues to enjoy on the world stage – if that image is currently precarious.

Answering the problems that the Hampel case presents is complicated to say the least – how do we increase security measures in our immigration and citizenship processes and systems without compromising our current world image and national goals for being an open and accepting country? How do we consider identity and identity documents as a security measure? What can we take from this story that might help us understand what Canada’s role is and can be on an international stage? How should this understanding affect the way we approach our own security now and down the road?

There seem to be more questions at present than answers.

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