Wednesday, February 12, 2014

14-02-12 US: The Mobsters of Wall Street

Given the scope of Wall Street's criminality and its impunity, the US effectively is under Wall Street corporate rule.  Any Rule of Law in the United States is just an illusion... And no change is on the horizon either...
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===14-02-12 US: The Mobsters of Wall Street===
By Jim Hightower`
Assume that you ran a business that was found guilty of bribery, forgery, perjury, defrauding homeowners, fleecing investors, swindling consumers, cheating credit card holders, violating U.S. trade laws and bilking American soldiers. Can you even imagine the kind of punishment you'd get?
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article37633.htm
 

14-02-12 Freedom of the Press under attack worldwide

Committee for Protection of Journalists - 2013 Report
https://www.cpj.org/



Governments' capacity to store transactional data and the content of communications poses a unique threat to journalism in the digital age. By Geoffrey King
The U.S. National Security Agency's data center in Bluffdale, Utah, has at least 100,000 square feet of the most advanced data reservoirs. (Reuters)
The U.S. National Security Agency's data center in Bluffdale, Utah, has at least 100,000 square feet of the most advanced data reservoirs. (Reuters)

Journalists killed in 2013

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logo RSF

Biggest rises and falls in the 2014 World Press Freedom Index

US at place 46, Israel at 96
The 2014 World Press Freedom Index spotlights the negative impact of conflicts on freedom of information and its protagonists. The ranking of some countries has also been affected by a tendency to interpret national security needs in an overly broad and abusive manner to the detriment of the right to inform and be informed. This trend constitutes a growing threat worldwide and is even endangering freedom of information in countries regarded as democracies. Finland tops the index for the fourth year running, closely followed by Netherlands and Norway, like last year. At the other end of the index, the last three positions are again held by Turkmenistan, North Korea and Eritrea, three countries where freedom of information is non-existent. Despite occasional turbulence in the past year, these countries continue to be news and information black holes and living hells for the journalists who inhabit them. This year’s index covers 180 countries, one more than last year. The new entry, Belize, has been assigned an enviable position (29th). Cases of violence against journalists are rare in Belize but there were some problems: defamation suits involving demands for large amounts in damages, national security restrictions on implementation of the Freedom of Information Act and sometimes unfair management of broadcast frequencies. 
Ranking
1 Finland
2 Netherlands
3 Norway
8 Iceland
14 Germany
16 Ireland
33 UK - distinguished itself in the war on terror by the disgraceful pressure it put on The Guardiannewspaper  and by its detention of David Miranda , journalist Glenn Greenwald’s partner and assistant, for nine hours. Both the US and UK authorities seem obsessed with hunting down whistleblowers instead of adopting legislation to rein in abusive surveillance practices that negate privacy, a democratic value cherished in both countries.
46 US -   fell 13 places, one of the most significant declines, amid increased efforts to track down whistleblowers and the sources of leaks. The trial and conviction of Private Bradley Manning  and the pursuit of NSA analyst Edward Snowden  were warnings to all those thinking of assisting in the disclosure of sensitive information that would clearly be in the public interest.
US journalists were stunned by the Department of Justice’s seizure of Associated Press phone records  without warning in order to identify the source of a CIA leak. It served as a reminder of the urgent need for a “shield law” to protect the confidentiality of journalists’ sources  at the federal level. The revival of the legislative process is little consolation forJames Risen of The New York Times, who is subject to a court order to testify against a former CIA employee accused of leaking classified information . And less still for Barrett Brown, a young freelance journalist facing 105 years in prison  in connection with the posting of information that hackers obtained from Statfor, a private intelligence company with close ties to the federal government.
59 Japan - the National Diet in Japan (59th, - 5) adopted in late 2013 would reduce government transparency on such key national issues as nuclear power and relations with the United States, now enshrined as taboos. Investigative journalism, public interest and the confidentiality of journalists’ sources are all being sacrificed by legislators bent on ensuring that their country’s image is spared embarrassing revelations.
96 Israel
127 Ukraine
138 Palestine
173 Iran one of the Middle East’s key countries, there has so far been no implementation of the promises to improve freedom of information that the new president, Hassan Rouhani, made . Coverage of the Syrian tragedy in both the official Iranian press and on the blogosphere is closely watched by the regime, which cracks down on any criticism of its foreign policy.
175 China failed to improve its ranking because, despite having an astonishing vital and increasingly militant blogosphere, it continues to censor and jail dissident bloggers and journalists. This new power is also using its economic might to extend its influence over the media in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, compromising their independence.
177 Syria Now one of the countries where freedom of information and its actors are most in danger, it rubs shoulders with the bottom three. The Syrian crisis has also had dramatic repercussions throughout the region, reinforcing media polarization in Lebanon (106th, -4), encouraging the Jordanian authorities to tighten their grip, and accelerating the spiral of violence in Iraq (153rd, -2), where tension between Shiites and Sunnis is growing.

14-02-12 Hello world!


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14-02-12 Letter to a friend in Colorado, facing court corruption for the first time...


Hebrew abstract
אני מקבל באופן קבוע פניות מפרטים ומעיתונאים בנושא שחיתות בתי המשפט בארה"ב, לאור פרסומי בנושא.  להלן תשובה לאדם מקולרדו המתמודד עם הנושא בפעם הראשונה.
המצב בישראל עדיין לא הגיע לרמת השחיתות בארה"ב, אבל אנחנו מתקרבים בצעדי ענק.
לדעתי, השופטים בישראל לא יצליחו להגיע לרמת השחיתות בארה"ב, כי הארץ הרבה יותר קטנה, החברה פה יותר מגובשת, וגם אם התקשורת מסרבת לדווח, החדשות עוברות במהירות.
היום בבוקר הייתי בבימ"ש שלום ת"א - משפטו של רפי רותם חושף השחיתות ברשות המיסים.  אולם בית המשפט היה מלא בפעילים, וגם היו שני עיתונאים.  השופטת דחתה את הדיון....
אותו סיפור כמו דפני ליף, שדיון בעניינה היה אמור להתקיים הבוקר ונדחה.  
בתי המשפט פה מתקשים להתמודד עם משפטי הראווה האלה...  בארה"ב הם מתקיימים באופן קבוע ללא הפרעה. 
ההתכלות לחושפי השחיתות היא סימן מובהק לקריסת חברה מתוקנת.
_______________
The assault on whistle blowers of government corruption is a cardinal sign of collapse of civilized society.
_______________
Dear x,

It is an uphill battle. Banks, FBI. USDOJ, SEC, US courts. etc, are all in collusion in robbing and depriving the liberty of the people United States through the corrupt state and federal courts.

The response you received from Chief Judge Judge Bottger is typical.  I received the same from the Chief Judge in the LA Superior Court, after I disqualified for a cause Judge Jacqueline Connor (notorious as a central figure in the Rampart corruption scandal), for falsifying court records, etc.

The response of the Chief Judge in California was 'we are all independently elected Constitutional officers... '  However, the Chief Judge deliberately ignored the California law regarding invalidity of actions of a judge that was disqualified for a cause.  I believe that my success in disqualifying a judge for a cause was unusual in the first place.  I don't know of any other case that a litigant managed that in many years in Los Angeles.  In the case of Richard Fine, his attempt to disqualify Judge David Yaffe for a cause was the reason he ended up in solitary confinement for 18 months with no due process of law... 

Later, I tried to sue Connor and 10 other judges in the US courts, for Deprivation of Rights under the Color of Law - in fact - conduct amounting to racketeering.

The US District Court conducted sham. simulated process, starting with refusal to issue summonses.

The US Court of Appeals 9th Circuit, denied an emergency petition to enforce Federal Due Process - mandate the US District Court to issue summonses.

The US Supreme Court unlawfully "returned' lawfully papers filed in the matter.

With it, I encourage you to document your struggle and advertise it.  The most efficient way is to systematically archive ALL papers in your case online.  I use Scribd.com for that purpose for several years, have some 1.3 million reads in that archive - I always wonder, who the readers are, since it is not your typical reading material.  In a previous site I used (earthlink.com - was disconnected with no explanation after many years as a paying customer)  I had tens of thousands of downloads of individual banking records of Bank of America from the most unexpected places - Russia, China, Bulgaria...

It is a long battle, but we must do our share by documenting what is going on, it is the first step.

You must be extremely careful.  Those of us that engage in this conduct risk all our possessions, liberty, life and limb.  You must also try to figure out in advance ways to secure some assets outside the United States, and also make plans for escape routes, so that you are not caught in the last minute unprepared.

I linked below a few key records, for your information.  The report to the United Nations documents, among other issues, the refusal of the US federal government to take action, even in the face of indisputable evidence of rampant corruption of the judiciary.

Please keep me posted.  In particular, I would be interested if you create an online archive, since this year is again the time for filing periodic reviews of Human Rights in the United States with the UN Human Rights Council.  Last time I focused on the California courts. This time around, I plan to focus on the US courts, particularly in relationship to corruption of banking regulation and the "foreclosure crisis".

All the best,

Joseph
____
Joseph Zernik, PhD
Human Rights Alert (NGO)
Occupy Tel Aviv
____
* The Human Rights Alert (NGO) submission to the Human Rights Council of the United Nations was incorporated into the 2010 Periodic Review Report regarding Human Rights in the United States, with the note: "corruption of the courts and the legal profession and discrimination by law enforcement in California". 
* The Human Rights Alert (NGO) submission to the Human Rights Council of the United Nations was incorporated into the 2013 Periodic Review Report regarding Human Rights in Israel, with the note: "lack of integrity of the electronic records of the Supreme Court, the district courts and the detainees courts in Israel."

LINKS
[1] 10-04-08 Human Rights Alert (NGO) submission to the United Nations Human Rights Council for the UPR of the United States, as it appears in the United Nations Human Rights Council site
[2] 10-04-08 Human Rights Alert (NGO) Appendix I to submission for the 2010 UPR of Human Rights in the United States, as it appears on the UN site:
[3] 10-10-01 United Nations Human Rights Council Professional Staff Report, referring to Human Rights Alert submission with the note "corruption of the courts and the legal profession and discrimination by law enforcement in California" (page 6, paragraph 45)
[4] Prayer for the peace and welfare of US anti judicial corruption activists ROGER SHULER and BILL WINDSOR
[5] Attorney Richard Fine - dissident's false hospitalization in Los Angeles County, California_OpedNews.Com
[6] [1] Zernik, J., "Large-scale fraud in US court records is linked to failing banking regulation", OpEdNews.com (2012)
[7] False Imprisonments in Los Angeles County, California