March 26, 2014 at 2:39 P.M. 6 computers were disabled at NYPL, Morningside Heights branch, after a suspicious power problem. One printer and device for reservations was also disabled. This sabotage deprived many patrons of research tools and made life harder for librarians at this facility. These tactics -- whoever may be responsible for them -- will not silence me, but they hurt many innocent and, often, poor New Yorkers.
March 25, 2014 at 2:06 P.M. A number of alterations of this text took place, again, as I attempted to post the work. I have done my best to repair the harm done. I will continue to write from public and private computers.
Lin That, "GWB Probe Costing Fort Lee: Council Approves $45,000 for Overtime, Legal Fees," The Record, March 15, 2014, p. L-1. (Political warfare between Democrats in Fort Lee and the GOP Governor in Trenton will cost the residents of Fort Lee and Bergen County much more money. "Legal fees" will come back under the table to politicians from their lawyer friends who are willing to share. Any excuse to spend extra money with connected law firms will be welcome by local bosses: "Herbert Klitzner, Esq.'s Greed and New Jersey's Hypocrisy.")
Joe Malinconico, "Ex-Mayor Still Owes the City After Partial Repayment," The Record, March 15, 2014, p. L-1. (Former Mayor Joey Torres repaid $2,238 of the amount he received for 10 cashed-in "unused" vacation days that had actually resulted in a payment to him of $3,169. The former mayor explained that he "wasn't good at math." I'd say he is excellent at math.)
John Petrick, "State Police Ex-Leader Sentenced: Gets PROBATION for Theft of $55,0000 From Fund," The Record, March 15, 2014, p. L-1. (N.J. State Police Commander Maj. Michael Mattia, 47, stole $55,000 from a fund to help family members of troopers killed or injured in the line of duty. The suspect correctly noted, allegedly, that in New Jersey "everybody steals!")
Mathew McGrath, "Leonia Report of Luring 4th in County During the Week," The Record, March 15, 2014, p. L-1. (The famous public schools in Leonia have made the town a trendy location for child molesters seeking to "snatch" little boys and girls. There were 6 attempts to sexually assault and/or kidnap children in Bergen County in one week, several men succeeded in violating children, and all culprits were Latino men, I believe, from North Jersey. This confirms some of my suspicions and allegations concerning Cuban-American organized crime and this loathsome industry. "New Jersey Welcomes Child Molesters.")
Stephanie Dazio, "Hackensack Reports Luring Attempt, 6th Incident in Bergen in Recent Days," The Record, March 18, 2014, p. L-3. ("New Jersey's Child Sex Industry" and "Is Menendez For Sale?")
Jeff Green, "Embattled Priest Stripped of His Collar: Vatican Action Fulfills Agreement With Bergen County Prosecutor," The Record, March 18, 2014, p. A-1. (Michael Fugee is returned to the lay state, like Jim McGreevey. Mr. Fugee plans to go to law school.)
Shawn Boburg, "Ex-Port Official Thanked For a 'Great Job': Emails Show Stepien's Praise For Now Debunked Testimony," The Record, March 18, 2014, p. A-1. (The reward for Baroni's "questionable" testimony is a job with a political law firm. Did Mr. Baroni lie for Mr. Christie?)
Joe Malinconico, "Man Indicted in Girl's Assault," The Record, March 18, 2014, p. L-3. (Arcadio 'Junior' Nova, 38, indicted for sexually assaulting a child in her home may be "connected" to Cuban-American organized crime groups from Elizabeth that specialize in child porn: "New Jersey's Child Sex Industry" and "Marilyn Straus Was Right!" then "Diana's Friend Goes to Prison!")
Jim Norman, "Passaic Man Held On Child Porn Charges," The Record, March 18, 2014, p. L-3. (Alberto Gutierrez-Villaba, 30, charged for distributing child porn on a "private network" which may have involved local officials: "Edward M. De Sear, Esq. and New Jersey's Filth" and "Law Firm Employee Distributes Child Porn" then "Is Menendez For Sale?")
Matt Apuzzo, "Judge Rebukes Justice Department for Requesting Overly Broad Email Searches," The New York Times, March 20, 2014, p. A19. (A tendency to "disdain privacy rights" is called "repugnant" to the Constitution. I am not a Republican, but it must be said that Senator Rand Paul has been making this argument for some time.)
Matt Apuzzo & Mark Mazetti, "Justice Dept. Is Cautious On Joining CIA Fight," The New York Times, March 20, 2014, p. A19.
The recent contest between the Senate's Intelligence Oversight Committee's staff under Senator Dianne Feinstein and the CIA under Director John Brennan is about ego, turf, and power, but also over the perception that laws are being broken in merely "requesting" the truth about "secret" CIA torture policies, practices, and protocols. ("America's Torture Lawyers.")
Mr. Brennan seems to believe that CIA secret torture policies are not something the Senate should seek to know much about. Politicians usually welcome plausible deniability. It must be infuriating to the spies that they are being questioned about such matters of national security by mere politicians. ("America's Torture Doctors.")
Whether this attitude by Director Brennan is about covering himself from blame or liability, or protecting the CIA, or the agency's culture of secrecy, or all of these things, is irrelevant to the crux of the issue now. ("Nihilists in Disneyworld.")
At issue today in what has become a Constitutional and political crisis is the rule of law and scope of the Constitution's protections for all Americans.
The Justice Department seems frightened and confused about its role or the significance of the controversy. This is symbolic of the Obama Administration tendency to tread water when venturing, accidentally, into stormy and deep seas -- politically or legally "stormy" seas.
The controversy between CIA and Senate has become symbolic of America's befuddlement before the entire world. Mr. Holder may simply not know what to do or whether he should do anything.
Hesitation and confusion are also what many world leaders see in Mr. Obama. A cacophony of voices and representations coming out of Washington directed at the world makes it difficult to know where the administration stands on any number of issues in the legal system and/or with regard to several global crises.
Maybe that's the point to the mixed messages. Let's keep them guessing about what we will do or whether we will do anything about, say, Crimea.
Excluding Russia from a meeting of the G-8 nations does not constitute a permanent reduction of the group to the "G-7." Russia's trade with Europe was $170 BILLION last year; Russia did $60 BILLION in trade with China during the same period. It is estimated that Russo-Chinese trade will double in 18 months while trade with Europe will reach $200 BILLION in the same period. Sanctions, aside from public rhetoric, are unlikely to have much effect in this climate.
America has one attitude to its own actions and a different attitude to the actions of other nations, but the fight between Senate and spy agency is strictly a local one. We should be able to agree on this one. It is absolutely crucial for the Justice Department to be on the side of law in controlling an intelligence agency as against a co-equal branch of government under the Constitution that is charged with representing the people in limiting the secret powers of government:
"Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr. seemed to reflect his department's ambivalence [confusion?] when he noted on Wednesday that it reviews many criminal referrals and often declines to investigate or prosecute."
It is important that the Justice Department make it clear that the CIA may be required to operate secretly, "in the shadows," but that in a democracy and under the rule of law, the people's representatives must supervise and monitor as well as control, if necessary, all of the agency's actions, especially when those actions contravene fundamental values of our society and obligations incurred by America under international law, as in the torture controversy. Drones? ("America's Drone Murders.")
CIA compliance and assistance for Senate staff members is not a "favor" or mere "politeness" on the part of spies in Brooks Brothers suits. Compliance is what CIA officials are required to provide.
Likewise, the OAE must submit its "secret" actions to review by courts and prosecutors, especially when it operates illegally and/or unethically, as when OAE officials commit crimes and further infractions as part of a cover-up effort or deny and lie about their original offenses. ("New Jersey's 'Ethical' Legal System" and "New Jersey's Office of Attorney Ethics.")
" ... Senator Feinstein, a Democrat, said that the C.I.A. [search of Senate computers] might have violated the 1986 Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, [Has the OAE committed computer crimes against me?] which prohibits government employees from gaining unauthorized access to government computers."
It may be that Mr. Brennan is trying to intimidate or brush back from the plate Senate investigators who may have stumbled onto his own less than noble role in the development of the torture policies or upon evidence that calls into question the Director's testimony on this issue in his confirmation hearing before the same Senator Feinstein whom Mr. Brennan clearly dislikes so intensely.
We must limit intelligence agency activity to what is deemed "permissible" under enabling legislation, executive instructions, or other authorization from Senate overseers.
The temptation to use secret powers to seize more power -- or to frighten ostensible regulators and supervisors -- will be far too strong for many CIA operatives to resist:
"The flash point in the dispute is a classified report on the intelligence agency's detention program, which was set up in the months after the 9/11 attacks. The panel finished its report in December, 2012, and months later the agency delivered a lengthy response to the committee challenging parts of the report."
Here is the crucial conclusion the CIA may be seeking to obscure:
" ... the agency gained little valuable intelligence from its brutal questioning of Qaeda detainees, and ... CIA officials repeatedly misled [LIED TO] the White House, Congress and the public about the unique value of the program." ("Terry Tuchin, Diana Lisa Riccioli, and New Jersey's Agency of Torture" and "Psychological Torture in the American Legal System.")
