The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "exports" ...
-
The Guns of Opa-Locka: How US Dealers Arm the World
The Center for Investigative Reporting reveals "how terrorists can manipulate lax US gun laws in order to buy guns in the United States both for use within this country and for export to conflicts overseas." The center "uncovered numerous cases of groups on the US terrorist watch list -- such as the FARC and ELN guerilla movements in Colombia, the IRA of Ireland and the Hezbollah of Lebanon -- buying guns in the United States and illegally shipping them to their home countries to fuel the conflicts there." The story was released November 14 and published December 2 in The Nation.
Tags: TAPE; TRANSCRIPT; terrorism; gun laws; FARC; ELN; Colombia; Hezbollah; IRA; United States; loopholes
-
BP Spikes Prices
The story covers the alleged manipulation of West Coast crude oil prices by BP, based on 4,000 pages of evidence released from the antitrust case concerning the merger between BP and Amoco. By practicing exports to Far East at a lower net prices, using a computer software to determine the maximum possible accepted price for the crude oil delivered to rafineries and charging differenciated prices for the same product, the scheme contributed to the reason why West Coast motorists pay about 20 cents more/gallon than the national average. Four follow up stories are also included.
Tags: Amoco; BP; West Coast; Alaska; pipeline; antitrust; merger; motorist; crude oil; rafinery; FTC
-
Plan for Colombia
The Express-News looks at the United States' efforts to eradicate drug trade in Colombia by spending $1.3 billion on army operations aiming to destroy coca fields. The series questions the effectiveness of the plan. Coca farmers account for the majority of the population in Columbia, and the project would be more successful, if they were provided some alternatives. The reporter examines how the drug war combines with the civil war that has been going on for decades, and finds "that it's unlikely that any significant change will come in Colombia's status as a drug exporter until the civil war is ended."
Tags: kidnapping; assassinations; guerrillas; military; Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC); right-wing militia; international politics; foreign affairs; crime; violence; drug trafficking; cocaine; heroin; Latin America; human rights
-
Tobacco Companies Linked to Criminal Organizations in Lucrative Cigarette Smuggling
This nine-part investigative report by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, a project of the Center for Public Integrity, reveals "how Philip Morris, R.J. Reynolds and British American Tobacco became enmeshed with organized crime worldwide as they fought to expand markets and increase profits through cigarette smuggling." While corporate officials were pleading ignorance in explaining how one-third of the world's exported cigarettes end up on the black market they were in fact working closely with companies and officials directly connected to organized crime in the United States, Canada, Italy, China, Taiwan and other countries, the investigation reports.
Tags: Sicilian Mafia; Latin America; Cocaine barons; crime; smoking; smokers; business; government; tax evasions; Third World countries; money laundering; financial crimes; customs; witness protection; transit trade; exports; imports; racketeering
-
Death by Chopper; High-flying crime
Seattle Weekly investigates fair-business law violations by Boeing, the world's biggest plane maker. The first story reveals that the corporation was accused of hiding flawed parts on U.S. military choppers, which the government says led to at least one fatal crash. The second story summarizes the claims against Boeing over the last two decades: illegally selling technology to overseas companies, trafficking, involvement in a major military contract-procurement scandal, bribery, and breach of supply contracts. "Boeing's latest fine sends its corporate rap sheet soaring to $100 million in the last three years," Anderson reports. Though the company has admitted some of its export law violations, it claims that "it's a mistake to think of Boeing and corruption in the same sentence," according to a quote by the vice-president of the corporation.
Tags: defense; military contracts; Army; business; Department of Navy; corruption; bribe; Congress; fraud; kickbacks; airplanes; technology; data; know-how; helicopters
-
How the little guy gets crunched
A Time special report investigates how campaign finance contributions have changed laws, regulations and policies. The main story in the report focuses on the trade war that the American government launched against Europe on behalf of the banana baron Carl Lindner, a major contributor both to Republicans and Democrats. Lindner's company, fruit-and-vegetable giant Chiquita, was restricted to export its low-cost bananas to the European market, Time reports. In response, the U.S. government imposed higher tariffs on European goods. The trade war did not affect consumers of luxurious goods from overseas, the story reveals. Instead, it only hurt American small businesses that imported their supplies from European countries.
Tags: politicians; Washington; Clinton; lobbying; lobbyists; taxes; tariffs; trade; World Trade Organization (WTO); Al Gore; White House; legislature; Congress; Senate
-
The billion-dollar shack
"The remote Pacific island of Nauru couldn't make it in the global economy. So the country has found its niche by learning a different kind of trade - money laundering." Hitt looks at how a history of colonialism and strip mining of the country's only export - phosphate - devastated Nauru's ecosystem and economy, leaving it no choice but to enter into the offshore banking business.
Tags: Money laundering; banking; offshore banking
-
The Promise and Peril of Private Prisons
This three-part series shows how a group of exported felons created jobs and contributed to the economic growth of small towns in the south where other industries failed. Most of them are murderers, sexual offenders from Wisconsin's over crowded prisons who were relocated to prisons in small towns in Tennessee and Texas. The move, however, also brought perils to these towns. A local guard was beaten up by inmates. He is now permanently disabled.
Tags: Inmate imports; prisoners; private prisons; CAR
-
The EX-IM files
Rolling Stone uses the example of the U.S. Export-Import Bank to examine how the growing global marketplace is changing U.S. exports, and possibly sacrificing American jobs.
Tags: Trade; export; import; U.S. EX-IM Bank
-
No Exit: Detained at "Export Plaza"
This article examines one of the Immigration and Naturalization Service's Houston detention center. It is one of seven I.N.S. private contract facilities and is run by the Corrections Corporation of America.
Tags: INS; detention center; Houston; CCA; immigration