Ian MacGregger's Blog

Interpol vs Europol

Interpol and Europol are intelligence agencies characterized with different functions. Interpol stands for International Criminal Police Organization and it was created in 1914. On the other hand Europol is an intelligence agency of the European Union.

The chief function of Interpol is to facilitate the cooperation among other international police organizations. On the other hand the chief function of Europol is to facilitate the cooperation of the various intelligence organizations of the member countries.

Interpol has the power to conduct investigation into the crimes committed in different arenas. The arenas into which criminal investigations can be conducted by Interpol include genocide, terrorism, crimes against humanity, money laundering, war crimes and several other kinds of crimes.

The Interpol officials have the right and the power to conduct investigations and also make arrests of the suspects in connection with the crimes committed in the areas of money laundering, terrorism, genocide and the like. On the other hand the officials of Europol are not authorized to conduct investigations and question the suspects in connection with the various crimes.

In other words it can be said that Europol is not entitled to make arrests of the suspects in relation to the various crimes across the continent of Europe. All they can do is extend their support to the other intelligence agencies in the member countries where crimes of different kinds are committed.

Interpol is a very large organization when compared to the intelligence agency of Europol. As many as 178 independent nations and 14 sub-bureaus or dependencies are members of the Interpol. It promotes mutual assistance among all police authorities within the limits of the law existing in the different countries.

The Interpol has its headquarters at Quai Charles de Gaulle in Lyon, France. It is true that its official website has a record number of page views every month.

I’m sitting in the office at Alpha – Anna’s west-side Manhattan brownstone. It’s a pretty September morning. Things have been a bit slow lately. But I don’t mind – much.

The most exciting thing this week was the drive down from Omega. You see, Anna has this understanding with the New York state bulls. Anything under one seventy five is fine as long as there are no civilians on the parkway. We’ve done them big favors so they do her this little one. The Lamborghini  loves the deal. The passenger’s seat’s a whole different matter altogether. You see Anna takes great satisfaction in putting the car through her paces. That means drifting across three or four lanes with the tires screaming and all twelve cylinders of the 5707cc V-12 just a churning and burning. Just past the Jackson Avenue overpass and north of the Grass Sprain Reservoir, she did a seven twenty and ended up heading south just like it was planned!

The strangest thing about the drive is how relaxed Anna is afterwards. You would have thought she just had a full body massage. I suspect that it is a form of meditation for her. Me, I needed a drink when we arrived at Alpha.

The Broadway murders case was settled four months ago. (The Toast of Broadway). The FBI, lead by Amos Terrin, the current Agent in Charge (AIC) of the Manhattan office, is closing in on a covey of targets. Many of them Wall Street investment bankers and sitting politicians. The bible thumping Senator with the Paris mistress has resigned and is currently on the rubber chicken tour giving speeches to whoever will pay his fee for exposing himself in public. His wife is standing by her man. A new one who is not in politics.

The cooperation between the feds and NYPD has never been sweeter and tighter. Even Rosen (Chairman of the Senate Banking Housing and Urban Development Committee) and Katz (Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission) have grabbed an oar. Justice is proceeding at its slow but steady pace. We’ve been called upon to provide information but it looks like testifying will not be required.

I’ve finished reading the five newspapers that I go through online every morning. The aroma from the kitchen tells me that Chang is in a festive mood this morning. Breakfast is just a few minutes away. But something is working its way under my hide. Burning my toast. I suppose that it’s the waste. Or maybe the uncontrolled avarice. Or perhaps just the inhumanity of it all. But the case has left a sour taste in my mouth.

Most people muddle through their lives making ends barely meet. They live descent lives. Raise their kids. Pay their mortgages and taxes. Treat their neighbors kindly. Donate to their favorite charities. And, generally, they treat each other with at least a modicum of respect. But, we’ve just come up against a batch that seems to see all of humanity as prey. They are all about taking. Too much is never enough. None of the morality that guides the lives of ordinary people seems to touch them. No consideration for the community that lifted them up. And apparently none for the future generations of their countrymen and women. It’s all ‘get as much as you can’ and ‘take whatever is there to take’. Maybe that seems okay to you but it really gives me the red ass.

Okay, maybe that’s just part of the deal. I am, after all, a private detective and confidential assistant to a paranormal genius. Nobody brings us the j-walking cases. We get the dregs of humanity that have risen to the top by feeding on their fellow humans. But, it would be nice, every so often, to run into a fellow human being that has not morphed into a parasite. As Einstein once said, “I’d rather be an optimist and wrong than a pessimist and right.” I keep hoping. How about you?

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I am posting an update on an earlier message concerning the results of a Giveaway. For those who did not get a chance to read that original post, when I received the list of winners I noticed that all the addresses were the same even though the names were different. I immediately contacted the people at Goodreads to let them know what it happened. I also posted a summary of my experience on a number of groups. Some of the group managers supported the posting while others treated it as an “advertisement”.

The good news is that the culprit has been identified and banned. Here is what I recently received from Goodreads: “Unfortunately, we've recently had a user who has tried to "game" the giveaway system by creating hundreds of accounts to try to win giveaways. The terms and conditions of our giveaways expressly prohibit users from creating multiple accounts for the purposes of winning giveaways. I have therefore banned these profiles from the site, which has removed them from your giveaway.”

This kind of behavior constitutes a major threat to all authors and I applaud the way that Goodreads dealt with it. We need to help them out by letting them know when we see similar patterns amongst the winners of our giveaways. Do yourself and every other author of favor by immediately reporting such results. Based on direct experience, I can tell you that Goodreads acts quickly and forcefully.

Encryption by Bill Ward

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I really enjoyed this book. It's a great summer read. The author's vision is sweeping and persuasive. The characters are well developed and the action draws you right in. The plot is very well developed and doesn't stray into being contrived or artificial. I like the way a number of the characters were developed. They felt like actual, multidimensional people with actual histories and relationships.

I don't want to give a too much of the plot because it is very much worth while discovering for yourself. If you read the book, I'm sure you will agree that this one is very well done and well worth reading.



View all my reviews

“Heart thumping action. 5 big Stars.” http://www.amazon.com/Toast-Broadway-...

Five Star Review for The Toast of Broadway! “The pace keeps the reader engaged throughout the tale.”

Five Star Review for The Toast of Broadway! “Wow, what a ride! Stunning action adventure.””

https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sh...

The Toast of Broadway: An Omega-Alpha Mystery10 copies of The Toast of Broadway - the first in the Cabal series.



Enter the world of Omega/Alpha. Meet Anna. A paranormal private detective, psychic and much more. Her confidential assistant, Ian MacGregger. A Scot transplanted from Scotland Yard via Interpol. Then there’s the French electronics expert and bodyguard, the ancient Catalan butler, a cleaver wielding Chinese Chef and a gardener who is older than dirt. Throw in the old man who lives up on the mountain, a panther, grey wolf, a seven foot long bushmaster and a resident raven. Stir in psychic connections, intuitions and shape shifting and you have one of the most unique places on the planet.