11-12-21 Constitutional Convention? Truth and Reconciliation Commission? Nation Building? // Convención Constitucional v Comisión de Verdad y Reconciliación // 宪法公约第五真相与和解委员会

The US Constitution is dead and buried.  However, a Constitutional Convention alone, as proposed by some notable scholars, is not likely to provide the desired outcome.  You cannot dismiss and/or prosecute the entire class of US and state judges and clerk, banking regulators and banking executives at once.  A Truth and Reconciliation Commission should be instituted in the United States, such as have been established in other nations that have emerged from under various types of tyrannies.  In fact, what is sore needed in the United States is probably some “Nation Building”.
  

View as PDF: http://www.scribd.com/doc/76259715/

There is no doubt that the US Constitution is dead and buried. [[i]]  As a solution, some notable scholars have proposed the institution of a Constitutional Convention. [[ii]]  There is no doubt, that there is a need for some Amendments, e.g., abolishing Corporate Personhood, before any semblance of civil society can be restored.

However, conditions which led to the previous Constitutional Conventions were vastly different.  Last time around, it was a revolution against the British, and the old, oppressive ruling class sailed back to England.

Today, the problem is different.  It is the homegrown ruling class, which is corrupt, oppressive, and which has showed its disregard for the law.  In situations of this nature, even after adopting a new constitution or a regime change, the old nomenklatura typically comes back as the new nomenklatura. 

It is impossible to dismiss and/or prosecute the entire class of US and state judges and clerks at once, together with a multitude of attorneys, who are jointly involved in the corruption of the justice system. Likewise, it is impossible to dismiss and/or prosecute the entire class of banking regulators and banking executives at once.

Such dynamics were at play in Russia after communism, in Germany after WWII, in Spain after Franco, and in various failed US “nation building” enterprises.

Therefore, if one compares the situation in the US today to that in other nations, one must realize that a Constitutional Convention alone is not likely to provide the desired outcome.

Under such circumstances, it was often recommended to establish a Truth and Reconciliation Commission.  Since 1973, more than 20 “truth commissions” have been established around the world, in recent decades in nations that emerged from under various types of tyrannies, for example, South Africa y (1992 and 1993), Chille (1990-1991), Germany (1992-1994). [[iii]]

It should be noted that already in 2009, Senator Patrick Leahy, Chair of the Senate’s Judiciary Committee proposed the institution of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission on the US Department of Justice. [[iv]]  However, the scope of any such Commission should be much wider than one government department, although corruption of the US Department of Justice is surely a key to the current situation.

In fact, what is sorely needed in the United States is probably some “Nation Building”.
  Boycott the vote! It only legitimizes the illegitimate... [[v]]
LINKS______
[i] [1] 11-06-14 Corruption of the Courts and Failing Banking Regulation in the United States: Dred Scott redux?
http://www.scribd.com/doc/57707808/
[2] 11-06-24 Time Magazine - 4th of July Issue: Does the Constitution Still Matter?
http://www.scribd.com/doc/58665806/
[3] 11-10-03 Execution of US Citizens by Presidential Directives With No Due Process of Law
http://www.scribd.com/doc/67408506/
[4] 11-11-22 Habeas Corpus in the United States - Medieval-Digital Era…
http://www.scribd.com/doc/73637132/
[5] 11-12-02 Posse Comitatus Act (1878) and current martial law in the United States
http://www.scribd.com/doc/74572860/
[6] 11-12-05 Criminality at the Top of a Lawless, Bankrupt Nation
http://www.scribd.com/doc/74855757/
[ii] Conference On The Constitutional Convention, Harvard Law School, September 24-25, 2011.
http://conconcon.org/[iii] 02-00-00 Avruch, K and Vejaran, B: Truth and Reconciliation Commissions, A Review Essay and Annotated Bibliography, OJPCR- The Online Journal of Peace and Conflict Resolution 4.2-- 37-76 (2002)
http://www.scribd.com/doc/76262175/
[iv] 09-02-09 Transcript of Senator Leahy speech, calling for a Truth and Reconciliation Commission in re US Justice Department s
http://www.scribd.com/doc/38472251/
[v]  11-12-10 Where Should #Occupy Go Next? Civil Disobedience in the Footsteps of Thoreau and Gandhi!
http://www.scribd.com/doc/75348301/____
Joseph Zernik, PhD
Human Rights Alert (NGO)
The 2010 submission of Human Rights Alert to the Human Rights Council (HRC) of the United Nations was reviewed by the HRC professional staff and incorporated in the official HRC Professional Staff Report with a note referring to “corruption of the courts and the legal profession and discrimination by law enforcement in California.”
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http://www.examiner.com/x-38742-LA-Business-Headlines-Examiner_____________________________WHAT DID THE EXPERT SAY ABOUT THE CURRENT FINANCIAL CRISIS?
* Foreclosure fraud: The homeowner nightmares continue
CNN (April 7, 2011)
* About 3 million homes have been repossessed since the housing boom ended in 2006 That number could balloon to about 6 million by 2013 Bloomberg (January 2011)
* "...a system in which only the little people have to obey the law, while the rich, and bankers especially, can cheat and defraud without consequences."
http://www.scribd.com/doc/50753639/Prof Paul Krugman, MIT (2011)
_____________________________
WHAT DID THE EXPERTS SAY ABOUT THE JUSTICE SYSTEM IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY, CALIFORNIA?* "...judges tried and sentenced a staggering number of people for crimes they did not commit."
Prof David Burcham, Dean, Loyola Law School, LA (2001)
http://www.scribd.com/doc/29043589/
* "This is conduct associated with the most repressive dictators and police states... and judges must share responsibility when innocent people are convicted."    
Prof Erwin Chemerinsky, Dean, Irvine Law School (2001)
http://www.scribd.com/doc/27433920/* "Innocent people remain in prison"
* "...the LA Superior Court and the DA office, the two other parts of the justice system that the Blue Panel Report recommends must be investigated relative to the integrity of the system, have not produced any response that we know of..."
LAPD Blue Ribbon Review Panel Report (2006)
http://www.scribd.com/doc/24902306 /_____________________________
WHAT DID THE EXPERTS SAY ABOUT THE JUSTICE SYSTEM IN CALIFORNIA?* "...corruption of the courts and the legal profession and discrimination by law enforcement in California."
United Nations Human Rights Council Staff Report (2010)
http://www.scribd.com/doc/38566837/_____________________________
WHAT DID THE EXPERTS SAY ABOUT THE STATE COURTS IN THE UNITED STATES?
* "On July 26, 2010, Laurence Tribe, Senior Counsel for the United States Department of Justice, Access to Justice Initiative, delivered an important speech to the Conference of Chief Justices, challenging them to halt the disintegration of our state justice systems before they become indistinguishable from courts of third world nations."
Prof Laurence Tribe, Harvard Law School (2010), per National Defender Leadership Institute (2010)
http://www.nlada.net/library/article/national_dojspeechto%20chiefjustice07-26-2010_gideonalert
_____________________________
WHAT DID THE EXPERTS SAY ABOUT THE CONDITIONS IN THE PRISON IN MONROE COUNTY, TENESSEE?* "What goes on there is more like gulags of centuries ago."
ACLU
http://www.scribd.com/doc/72546279/_____________________________
WHAT DID THE EXPERTS SAY ABOUT THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES?* "More than 100 law professors have signed on to a letter released today that proposes congressional hearings and legislation aimed at fashioning "mandatory and enforceable" ethics rules for Supreme Court justices for the first time. The effort, coordinated by the liberal Alliance for Justice, was triggered by "recent media reports," the letter said, apparently referring to stories of meetings and other potential conflicts of interest involving Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas among others."
More than 100 law professors, as reported by the Blog of the Legal Times (February 2011)
http://www.scribd.com/doc/49586436/_____________________________
WHAT DID CHIEF JUDGE OF THE US COURT OF APPEALS, 5TH CIRCUIT, SAY ABOUT THE US JUSTICE SYSTEM?
* "The American legal system has been corrupted almost beyond recognition..."
Chief Judge, US Court of Appeals, 5th Circuit, Edith Jones, speaking before the Federalist Society of Harvard Law School (February 2003)
http://www.scribd.com/doc/50137887/_____________________________
WHAT DID THE CHAIR OF THE SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE SAY ABOUT THE US JUSTICE SYSTEM?* In a speech in Georgetown University, Senator Leahy, Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee called for a "Truth and Reconciliation Commission" on the US Department of Justice.
Transcript of Senator Leahy speech (2009)
http://www.scribd.com/doc/38472251/____________________________ 
As part of efforts for the preservation of our civilization for future generations:

A call for proposals, ending January 10, 2012.

Occupy Jerusalem-AlQuds - the Party!

Late August 2012

Love, Peace, Justice  
Empowering the People through
a dance/music/art/study/pray
celebration

READ MORE:http://josephsdream2012.wordpress.com/
VIEW VIDEO:11-12-12 Oh My God, it's Occupy Jerusalem-AlQuds!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWTKQkodf7U

11-12-21 Indefinite military detentions in the United States // Indefinida detenciones militares en los Estados Unidos // 在美国军方无限期拘留

The issue is at the center of controversy in the United States, and President Obama first threatened to veto it.  That threat never materialized. The first ever US president, who had in his past served as US constitutional law university professor, signed into law a provision which effectively suspends Habeas Corpus, in direct contradiction with the US Constitution.

It should also be noted that already in 2010 the United Nations Human Rights Council called upon the United States to restore the right for Habeas Corpus, which was effectively suspended a few years earlier, through the erection of GITMO and other "black hole" CIA prisons around the world.
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2) Recent US media reports:a) NYT
December 15, 2011, 11:41 AM

The Sound of One President Caving

By ANDREW ROSENTHAL
For a while, the administration encouraged people to think that President Obama would take a stand against the unnecessary and very dangerous provisions that Congress jammed into the annual National Defense Authorization Act. He threatened to veto the whole bill in order to block new rules that would mandate the military custody of most terrorist suspects, and officially sanction their indefinite detention, without due process.
Yesterday, the president backed down, completely. The White House announced that he was satisfied with a slightly watered-down version of the bill that was approved by conferees from both houses and would sign it. (I’ve written about why the bill is a really, really bad idea here and here.)
...http://loyalopposition.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/15/the-sound-of-one-president-caving/#h[]

b) NYTDecember 15, 2011, 1:11 PM

More Rubble From the Military Detention Cave-In

By ANDREW ROSENTHAL
There are a few issues I didn’t get to in my previous post on the National Defense Authorization Act, which President Obama has indicated he’ll sign.
The first is whether certain provisions in the law give the president and the Pentagon the power to detain American citizens in a military facility, possibly for life, without a trial. Lawyers I talked to today said that the bill is pure mush in a lot of areas, including this one.

c) WasPostPosted at 11:00 AM ET, 12/20/2011

Occupy D.C.: 11 arrested while protesting National Defense Authorization Act

By Katie Rogers
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-buzz/post/occupy-dc-11-arrested-while-protesting-national-defense-authorization-act/2011/12/20/gIQAbe966O_blog.html
[The NDAA is central to recent Occupy protests, including a hunger strike. -jz]


Protesters from the Occupy movement march in front of the White House on Dec. 7. (JONATHAN ERNST - REUTERS)

During a march in front of the White House on Monday night protesting the National Defense Authorization Act, 11 were arrested, including protesters from Occupy D.C.’s McPherson square encampment.

The $662 billion measure approved by both houses of Congress would significantly expand the military’s power to detain terrorism suspects indefinitely. The group was demanding President Obama veto the bill.

Protesters were arrested after getting “too close” to the White House gates, according to Occupy D.C.’s Twitter feed. A roundup of photos and tweets from the protest are after the jump.


Arrests coming at anti NDAA march at White House #occupydc #occupy #ows http://t.co/GoESNGx0


After arrests at White House NDAA protest (2) #NDAA #occupydc #ows http://t.co/xJwsD88Z



View Photo Gallery:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/occupy-dc-hunger-strikers-persevere/2011/12/16/gIQA9aNOzO_gallery.html
After a week without food, protesters are feeling the effects of deprivation but remain committed to their cause.

Meanwhile, after three of his fellow protesters broke their 11-day hunger strike Monday afternoon, Adrian Parsons is still continuing on without food. Tuesday, he vowed to remain striking until Christmas and used Twitter to document visits from the D.C. Department of Health, interact with reporters and retweet his supporters.
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@DOHdc second visit to #hungerstrike, occured this AM. "we're not concerned about your politics, we're concerned about your health." (1/2) Tue Dec 20 15:19:25 via Twitter for iPad  Adrian Parsonsadrian_parsons
_______
More on Occupy D.C.:
Occupy D.C. protesters go to Baltimore church

One D.C. hunger striker persists

11-12-21 The Iraq War (2003-2009) - exit bookkeeping // La guerra de Irak (2003-2009) - salida de contabilidad // 伊拉克战争（2003-2009） - 退出簿记

A war that started with deception on the People of the United States and the world community, continued through extreme Human Rights abuses, ended never gaining any advantage for the US, caused enormous death and suffering, and enriched some contractors...        


With last regular troops leaving Iraq, the exit bookkeeping looks as follows:

1) No weapons of mass destruction were found in Iraq, as initially promised;
2) No payment for the cost of the war will be recovered by oil income, as initially promised;
3) No "nation building" was accomplished, as initially promised;
4) No strategic advantage was gained by the US through the war;
5) Permanent damage to national security of the US was created, by causing the reconciliation of Iraq and Iran, who had previously fought endlessly;
6) The Iraq war consolidated anti American sentiments around the world, never seen since WWII;
7) The war involved some extreme Human Rights abuses by the US on Iraqis;
8) To cover up what was going on in Iraq, there was a need to hunt down Assange, abuse Manning, and restrict the freedom of speech and freedom of the press in the United States;
9) The war had an enormous dollar price tag, especially for a bankrupt nation (the discrepancies in estimates so wide, that one must wonder...);
10) The war had a terrible cost in human lives and suffering (the discrepancies in estimates so wide, that one must wonder...);
11) The war enriched some corporate contractors.
_______________

Below is an interesting review of the endgame.
How Maliki and Iran Outsmarted the US on Troop Withdrawal
Friday 16 December 2011

by: Gareth Porter, Inter Press Service | News Analysis

Washington - Defense Secretary Leon Panetta's suggestion that the end of the U.S. troop presence in Iraq is part of a U.S. military success story ignores the fact that the George W. Bush administration and the U.S. military had planned to maintain a semi-permanent military presence in Iraq.

The real story behind the U.S. withdrawal is how a clever strategy of deception and diplomacy adopted by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in cooperation with Iran outmanoeuvered Bush and the U.S. military leadership and got the United States to sign the U.S.-Iraq withdrawal agreement.
...
The ambitious plans of the U.S. military to use Iraq to dominate the Middle East militarily and politically had been foiled by the very regime the United States had installed, and the officials behind the U.S. scheme, had been clueless about what was happening until it was too late.

READ MORE:http://www.truth-out.org/how-maliki-and-iran-outsmarted-us-troop-withdrawal/1324142833

Joseph Zernik, PhDHuman Rights Alert (NGO)  
The 2010 submission of Human Rights Alert to the Human Rights Council (HRC) of the United Nations was reviewed by the HRC professional staff and incorporated in the official HRC Professional Staff Report with a note referring to “corruption of the courts and the legal profession and discrimination by law enforcement in California.”
_______ 
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http://www.examiner.com/x-38742-LA-Business-Headlines-Examiner____________________________ As part of efforts for the preservation of our civilization for future generations:

A call for proposals, ending January 10, 2012.

Occupy Jerusalem-AlQuds - the Party!

Late August 2012

Love, Peace, Justice 
Empowering the People through
a dance/music/art/study/pray
celebration
READ MORE:http://josephsdream2012.wordpress.com/
VIEW VIDEO:11-12-12 Oh My God, it's Occupy Jerusalem-AlQuds!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWTKQkodf7U