Thursday, April 4, 2013

13-04-04 What is Kleptocrat? Kleptocracy?

From a discussion board:
 


Kleptocrat(s) is derived from Kleptocracy.  I consider the Meriam Webster definition below deficient and euphemistic, since they failed to explicitly realate it to stealing from the People by kleptocratic governments.

See, in contrast, the definition for kleptomania:

klep·to·ma·nia

 noun \ˌklep-tə-ˈmā-nē-ə, -nyə\
: a persistent neurotic impulse to steal especially without economic motive
________________

klep·toc·ra·cy

 noun \klep-ˈtä-krə-sē\
plural klep·toc·ra·cies

Definition of KLEPTOCRACY

: government by those who seek chiefly status and personal gain at the expense of the governed; also : a particular government of this kind
— klep·to·crat  noun
— klep·to·crat·ic  adjective

First Known Use of KLEPTOCRACY

1819

Browse

Next Word in the Dictionary: kleptomania
Previous Word in the Dictionary: klepto-
All Words Near: kleptocracy
LINKS:
[1]12-06-08 Courts and Judges as racketeering enterprises under RICO (the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) - key element in the current financial crisis
[2] 11-02-03 Stealing from the People: Corruption in the United States; the Big Feast: Banker, Judge, Civil Servant
[3] 02-01-00 Stealing From the People: Corruption in Indonesia; Book 2: The Big Feast - Soldier, Judge, Banker, Civil Servant; Edited by Richard Holloway


On Wed, Apr 3, 2013 at 1:24 AM, Arnie <arnie@arnierosner.com> wrote:
Thank you kindly.

And please define exactly who you mean by the term: cleptocrats


Arnie

Available 24/7 - Defending freedom has become a full-time job!
arnie@arnierosner.com
714-964-4056
714-501-8247 - mobile

On Apr 2, 2013, at 12:56 PM, JZ <123456xyz a="" href="http://gmail.com/" style="border: 0px; color: #6611cc; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">gmail.com
> wrote:
The cleptocrats!
Haven't you noticed what is going on?


On Tue, Apr 2, 2013 at 12:59 AM, Arnie <arnie@arnierosner.com> wrote:

If all clerks offices are vacant and all elected officials offices are vacant on what basis is the business of the people being conducted?

and... perhaps, even more importantly, by whom?


Arnie

Available 24/7 - Defending freedom has become a full-time job!
arnie@arnierosner.com
714-964-4056
714-501-8247 - mobile

On Apr 1, 2013, at 1:35 PM, JZ <123456xyz a="" href="http://gmail.com/" style="border: 0px; color: #6611cc; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">gmail.com
> wrote:
How about lawful appointment records for any of the clerks of the US and state courts?
Absent honest office of the Clerk of the Court, there is no Due Process.  jz

13-04-04 Move to Amend - abolishing "Corporate Personhood"


The National Campaign to End Corporate Personhood and Demand Real Democracy!
Move to Amend
Ron, 

* * * PLEASE FORWARD THIS MESSAGE WIDELY:

Move to Amend is coming to Southern California in June and we need your help!

David Cobb, an attorney and organizer for the Move to Amend coalition, will be touringCalifornia from June 6-19 to help local residents understand how they can work to abolish "Corporate Personhood" and establish a government of, by, and for the people by joining the Move to Amend campaign.

David Cobb is a fiery speaker, and former Green Party presidential candidate. His talk "Creating Democracy & Challenging Corporate Rule" is part history lesson and part heart-felt call-to-action!

Move to Amend is a coalition of over 278,000 people and organizations whose goal is to amend the United States Constitution to end corporate rule.

June 6-19 are open for events in these places if we can find folks on the ground who will help us out:
Bakersfield (June 6)
Lancaster (June 7)
Lompoc (June 8)
Santa Barbara (June 9)
Oxnard/Burbank (June 10)
Rancho Cucamonga/San Bernadino (June 11)
Coronoa/Temecula (June 12)
Escondido/El Cajon (June 13)
El Centro (June 14)
Chula Vista/San Diego (June 15)

Oceanside (June 16)

Irvine/Santa Ana (June 17)

Anaheim/Long Beach (June 18)

Los Angeles (June 19)
And wherever else you may be!

We have media resources and other support materials to help you. Click here for details about what is needed to be a Move to Amend Community Event Organizer.

If you are interested in helping organize and plan an event in your area, please contact Brian Alenduff, Field Organizing Intern at barnstorming@movetoamend.org or at (707)269-0984.

➤ If you cannot pitch in beforehand, will you please forward this message to other active citizens and organizations who may be able to help us out?

Please help bring Move to Amend and the constitutional amendment campaign to your community to grow the movement in sunny Southern California!

In Solidarity,
Brian Alenduff
Field Organizing Intern

MOVE TO AMEND
PO Box 610, Eureka CA 95502 | (707) 269-0984 | www.MoveToAmend.org
We, the People of the United States of America, reject the U.S. Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling, and move to amend our Constitution to firmly establish that money is not speech, and that human beings, not corporations, are persons entitled to constitutional rights.

13-04-04 Chomsky on Palestine

Meanwhile in Palestine violence escalates with growing speculations of a beginning of a new intifada.  jz

Noam Chomsky, AlterNet
Like many other oppressive countries, Israel's chief tools of control are through humiliation, degradation and terror. READ MORE»


13-04-04 DHS surveillance of Occupy...


This is really not news to anybody, but further affirmation of the end of the First Amendment.  This is what we used to blame the Soviet Union for...  jz
____

Steven Hsieh, AlterNet
The department tasked with preventing terrorism spent a lot of time and money monitoring peaceful activist demonstrations. READ MORE»

http://act.alternet.org/go/32052?t=3&akid=10282.1117888._CZC0k
____________________
Occupy!
11-12-10 Where should Occupy go next? Civil Disobedience in the footsteps of Thoreau and Gandhi! 
12-06-08 Courts and Judges as racketeering enterprises under RICO (the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) - key element in the current financial crisis
Secede! The US in its current form is simply unmanageable...
12-01-01 Secession - A Smart Business Move!
Get Up, stand up, stand up for your rights!
____________________
Take away justice, then, and what are governments but great bandit bands?
Saint Augustine, Civitas Dei (City of God,4.4)
____________________

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

13-04-04 Cyprus - a cautionary tale



It is all the usual suspects...  robbing a small nation, they don't bother to hide. jz
_______

Cyprus bailout inside info? 132 companies pull out over $900mn in deposits:
One hundred and thirty-two companies reportedly had inside knowledge of Cyprus' impending levy tax as they withdrew deposits worth US$916 million in the run-up to the bailout deal.
Capital flight abounds in Eurozone - UBS:
According to Research Analyst Gareth Berry at UBS, "We expect that the theme of capital flight out of the Eurozone will continue to run for some time in the wake of the Cyprus bailout."
Cyprus rescue plan will require great efforts, IMF says:
They will mean a doubling of taxes on interest income to 30% and a rise in corporation tax from 10% to 12.5%.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22014500

Ottawa weighing plans for bank failures:
Ottawa is contemplating the possibility of a Canadian bank failure - and the same sort of pitiless prescription that was just imposed in Cyprus.

13-04-04 Still hunting down Assange...


Freedom of speech is under seige in the Ecuador embassy in London...  with US, Sweden acting as the lackeys of the US... jz
___________ 

Julian Assange may be safe from extradition to US, says Justice Stefan Lindskog:
In a rare public lecture delivered in Adelaide, Justice Stefan Lindskog defended the leaking of classified information, saying the case against the WikiLeaks founder was "a mess'', and raised many questions over the legality of the US ever being able to extradite Assange via Sweden.
Chance of Julian Assange going to US:
A TOP Swedish judge has conceded it was possible that his government may send Wikileaks founder Julian Assange to the US if it successfully extradited him over a sex crime investigation.
Julian Assange to run for Australian Senate Video -
Wikileaks founder and gadfly Julian Assange will contest the upcoming federal election in Australia this September by running for a Victorian Senate seat in the Australian parliament

13-04-04 US: Police as highwaymen


There are numerous similar reports in recent years, mostly from southern states.  Police consider it their right to confiscate cash carried in vehicles moving on the highways.  Where does the money go?  
The underlying issue is also the reluctance of many latinos (and others) to rely on the banks (wonder why...), instead conducting transactions in cash.  
jz
___________
Wikipedia - the government propaganda organ
A highwayman was a thief and brigand who preyed on travellers. This type of outlaw usually travelled and robbed by horse, as compared to a footpad who travelled and robbed on foot. Mounted robbers were widely considered to be socially superior to footpads.[1] Such robbers operated in Great Britain andIreland from the Elizabethan era until the early 19th century.
Asalto al coche (Robbery of the coach), by Francisco de Goya
___________

Jail for Breathing While Brown in Texas

By Courthouse News Service
April 03, 2013 "Information Clearing House" -"CN" - WACO, Texas (CN) - A Texas sheriff threw two Latino men into jail for 39 days "with no charges, no hearing, and no probable cause" and seized the $14,000 they had saved up to buy a new car, the men claim in Federal Court.

Roberto Moreno-Gutierrez and Jaime Moreno-Gutierrez sued Hill County, the Hill County Sheriff's Department and the Texas Department of Public Safety, in Federal Court. Hill County, whose seat is Hillsboro, is between Waco and Dallas.

"On March 31, 2011, plaintiffs Roberto Moreno-Gutierrez and Jaime Moreno-Gutierrez left their home in Killeen, Texas and were traveling to a car dealership in Plano, Texas to purchase a vehicle, specifically a 2007 Nissan Maxima Hybrid Electric Vehicle," the complaint states.

"Defendant Jaime Moreno-Gutierrez, having sold a prior vehicle, a 2004 GMC Envoy, for nine thousand and no/100ths ($9,000.00) dollars, part cash and part check and combining his money with a loan of four thousand and no/100ths ($4,000.00) dollars, had gathered together over fourteen thousand and no/100ths ($14,000.00) dollars in cash and checks for the purchase, which is confirmed by Hill County Jail property receipts."

The men claim Texas State Trooper Carl R. Clary pulled them over, driving a K-9 unit.

"The trooper provided no traffic violation information or reason for the stop to the plaintiffs," the complaint states. "The trooper requested driver licenses from both plaintiffs, which he then took to his patrol unit. Upon returning, he requested to search the vehicle. Consent was given, and he then brought out his dog. After a search, the dog was put in its kennel. No drugs or drug paraphernalia were found in the vehicle or on the plaintiffs.

"The officer used a translator apparatus to translate his questions but did not translate the Spanish responses into English. He inquired as to the money, and plaintiffs explained where it came from and why they had legal possession.

"There was simply no indication of wrongdoing. Nevertheless, Trooper Clary seized the money and waited for backup. After 20 minutes, the plaintiffs were taken to another squad car and were told they were going to be interviewed where it was quiet. Even though there was no sign from the K-9 and, therefore, no probable cause, the arriving officers tore apart the vehicle looking for money or drugs that did not exist.

"At the Hill County Sheriff Department, the plaintiffs were never handcuffed, never Mirandized and never told they were under arrest; rather, they were asked where they were from. The money was counted, and they were then booked into Hill County Jail for what jail documents call pending charges pursuant to 'money laundering.'"

So began their odyssey in Hill County Jail: an ordeal with a scant paper trail.

"The Texas Department of Public Safety Officer never filed a Probable Cause Affidavit," the complaint states. "There was no warrant; there is no record of the plaintiffs being brought before a magistrate; there is no record of a bond hearing; and no bond was ever set by Hill County authorities, all of which has been was confirmed by FOIA requests and USDOJ FBI CJISD Reports."

The plaintiffs say their families scraped together money to pay for their defense, and retained Peek & Toland on April 6, 2011.

"Between April 6, 2011 and April 12, 2011, counsel made several calls to the Hill County Sheriff Department/Jail and was told they had no information and to call DPS Officer Clary or the district attorney," the complaint states.

"On April 12, 2011, counsel sent a request to the Waco, Texas office of the Texas Department of Public Safety for contact information on the detective assigned to the case for copies of the probable cause affidavit and arrest warrant or offense report. None was provided.

"There was no cause number, offense report, warrant, or probable cause affidavit, defense counsel for plaintiffs had no reference for their requests for bond or bond hearing.

"Between April 12, 2011 and April 25, 2011, counsel, in a series of calls and visits, pointed out to the jailers there were no charges; no offense report; no probable cause affidavit on file; and plaintiffs were being held more than 72 hours in violation of Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, Section 17.033(b).

"Counsel was told to contact the arresting officer or the office of district attorney. On another occasion, counsel was told there was an 'ICE hold detainer.' The 48 hours passed and plaintiffs were not released. The FOIA request reveals no ICE hold detention (Form I-247) notice during this time." (Parentheses in complaint.)

After the plaintiff's attorney sent a letter to State Trooper Clary asking for information about their charges and did not get a response, he filed a motion with the Hill County DA's office for an examining trial, and another motion with Hill County's district clerk, seeking information and/or a case number.

Again there was no response, plaintiffs say.

"On May 9, 2011, (the first time immigration documents showed up in the FOIA file), ICE sends an immigration warrant, at which time immigration officials were told no charges were going to be pursued and an immigration bond was set and paid," the complaint states. "Plaintiffs were released after 39 plus days of incarceration with no charges; no hearing; and no probable cause, all in violation of state and federal laws and constitutional requirements.

"All authority to continue detention under the immigration detainer or state law had expired 36 days earlier. It was defendants' legal duty to immediately release plaintiffs.

"Nevertheless, defendants continued to imprison plaintiffs, without legal authority, for approximately 39 days.

"During this 39-day detention, both plaintiffs, their counsel and plaintiffs' family members protested to HCDF employees that they were entitled to release. HCDF employees responded by stating that they would remain in custody under the federal immigration laws.

"Plaintiffs had no opportunity to appear before a judge to seek release or to learn the reason they were deprived of his liberty. Plaintiffs had no opportunity to post bond."

The plaintiffs seek damages for civil rights violations, false imprisonment, negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and negligent supervision, training and retention.

They are represented by Cary Toland of Brownsville.

Trooper Clary is not a party to the complaint.
 READ MORE:

13-04-04 Small change spent on the Iraq and Afghanistan wars...

10th.mtn.afghnistan
The Bill for the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars and Occupation: $4 to $6 Trillion:
A recent report from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government's Linda Blimes put the combined cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan at somewhere between $4 and $6 billion dollars.

13-04-03 Ad Buster's "Tactical briefing" in re: Goldman Sachs


This Is How The Revolution Begins; Adbusters Tactical Briefing #42.

By  (about the author)     Permalink
OpEdNews Op Eds 

Hey all you wild spirits out there,
Here is how the Global Spring begins:
A few lone wolves among us start pasting posters in and around Goldman Sachs HQ at 200 West Street, Manhattan, New York. Groups of two or three turn up and hand out leaflets at their branch office at Maria de Molina 6-5a, Madrid, Spain. People start gathering and having fun outside Goldman's offices in 50 cities...
Then . . . on Thursday May 23, when Goldman Sachs holds its annual shareholders meeting at 222 South Main Street, Salt Lake City, Utah, 500 people turn up and solidarity games are held across the world. It gets serious when thousands start playing on September 17 in front of Goldman's branches in Los Angeles, Toronto, Moscow, London, Buenos Aires, Melbourne, Beijing, Mexico City. The media picks up on this fledgling global revolt. . .
And, one fine day, the whole thing suddenly catches fire . . . #GOLDMAN becomes a rallying cry for people everywhere to rise up against the financial fraudsters who have been f*cking around with our lives for far too long.
When the moment is ripe, all it takes is a spark.
for the wild,
Kono Matsu / kono at adbusters.org
Culture Jammers HQ
P.S. Find teammates and Goldman Sachs locations at meetup.com/goldman
Catch up on the gameplay thus far, here.
Now print this poster, and plaster it all over the world!


http://adbusters.org
T he   Adbusters Media Foundation   is a Canadian-based   not-for-profit ,   more...)
 

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

13-02-04 The new David Stockman - ever wondered why they all become so honset, insightful, and principled once they leave office...


An interesting article in the NYT, from the man who invented mega deficits as Reagan's OMB Director... jz
_________

DAVID STOCKMAN - From Wikipedia - the government propaganda organ 

Fiscal legacy

President Jimmy Carter's last signed and executed fiscal year budget results ended with a $79.0 billion budget deficit, ending during the period of David Stockman's and Ronald Reagan's first year in office, on October 1, 1981.[8] The gross federal national debt had just increased to $1.0 trillion during October 1981 ($998 billion on 30 September 1981). By 30 September 1985, four and a half years into the Reagan administration and shortly after Stockman's resignation from the OMB during August 1985, the gross federal debt was $1.8 trillion.[9] Stockman's OMB work within the administration during 1981 until August was dedicated to negotiating with the Senate and House about the next fiscal year's budget, executed later during the autumn of 1985, which resulted in the national debt becoming $2.1 trillion at fiscal year end 30 September 1986.[10]
,,,

[edit]

Criminal and civil charges

On March 26, 2007, federal prosecutors in Manhattan indicted Stockman in "a scheme ... to defraud [Collins & Aikman]'s investors, banks and creditors by manipulating C&A's reported revenues and earnings." At the same time, the Securities and Exchange Commission brought civil charges against Stockman related to actions he performed while CEO of Collins & Aikman.[16] Stockman suffered a personal financial loss, estimated at $13 million, along with losses suffered by as many as 15,000 Collins & Aikman employees worldwide. Stockman said in a statement posted on his law company's website that the company's end was the consequence of an industry decline, not fraud.[17] On January 9, 2009, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced that it did not intend to prosecute Stockman for this case.
______________________
OPINION

State-Wrecked: The Corruption of Capitalism in America

By DAVID A. STOCKMAN
Published: March 30, 2013 
GREENWICH, Conn.

The Dow Jones and Standard & Poor’s 500 indexes reached record highs on Thursday, having completely erased the losses since the stock market’s last peak, in 2007. But instead of cheering, we should be very afraid.  Over the last 13 years, the stock market has twice crashed and touched off a recession: American households lost $5 trillion in the 2000 dot-com bust and more than $7 trillion in the 2007 housing crash. Sooner or later — within a few years, I predict — this latest Wall Street bubble, inflated by an egregious flood of phony money from the Federal Reserve rather than real economic gains, will explode, too.
Since the S.&P. 500 first reached its current level, in March 2000, the mad money printers at the Federal Reserve have expanded their balance sheet sixfold (to $3.2 trillion from $500 billion). Yet during that stretch, economic output has grown by an average of 1.7 percent a year (the slowest since the Civil War); real business investment has crawled forward at only 0.8 percent per year; and the payroll job count has crept up at a negligible 0.1 percent annually. Real median family income growth has dropped 8 percent, and the number of full-time middle class jobs, 6 percent. The real net worth of the “bottom” 90 percent has dropped by one-fourth. The number of food stamp and disability aid recipients has more than doubled, to 59 million, about one in five Americans.
Multimedia

13-02-04 Facebook art: System error


Donald Gene FitzGerald shared Anon #Ops's photo.
Photo

13-04-02 Where are the good old days when Martha Stewart went to jail? Today it's too rich to jail...


Too Big To Jail? Obama Administration Agrees To Large Penalty In Exchange For Letting Billionaire Escape Insider Training Charge While His Subordinates Plead Guilty

800px-Louis14-FamilyJohn Cassidy has a remarkable story out in the New Yorker this week about a sweetheart deal cut by the Justice Department with one of the wealthiest men in the world, Steven A. Cohen (who may be pictured here at a standard picnic, or not). Cohen’s company would pay $626 million but not have to admit any wrongdoing and Cohen would face no personal sanction. The billionaire appears to be celebrating this month with a buying spree with a Picasso painting and a huge new mansion. What is amazing is that various Cohen subordinates have pleaded guilty and Cohen has been tied directly to an insider trading allegation. Yet, he appears to “too big to jail” as a continuation of the Obama Administration’s bifurcated legal system for the super rich and the rest of us.
READ MORE:

13-04-02 Senator Bernie Sanders on The Power of Wall Street


Senator Bernie Sanders on The Power of Wall Street

ROUGH TRANSCRIPT:
HARTMANN: It is Brunch with Bernie. Senator Sanders welcome to the program. A lot going on in the Senate?
SANDERS: We will introduce, or rather, re-introduce legislation to break up the largest banks in this country. Thom it is my view that we’re never going to see the middle class in this country expand, we’re never going to see poverty go down, unless we deal …