November 3, 2014 at 2:08 P.M. Obstructions have made reaching this site difficult, an icon from a "Mozilla-using" previous patron at the NYPL is irremovable on my screen at NYPL computer No. #03, Morningside Heights branch.
The threat today seems to be that I will never again be able to write online.
My television had to be rebooted several times over the past two days. I am sure that this is merely a coincidence that has nothing to do with matters turned over to Mr. Vance. Prosecutors are normally responsible for protecting the rights and safety of prospective witnesses.
October 31, 2014 at 7:50 A.M. Astonishingly, on the very day when my letter was received by New York's District Attorney, my fully repaired Invicta watch was delivered to my home.
There was no box -- not even the one in which I sent the watch -- no paperwork, no catalogue. The watch was encased in plastic inside an envelope. I have retained the dated delivery receipt from Fed-Ex showing their number and date of delivery for the item.
Considering that Invicta does not use Fed-Ex, but only mails packages by way of the post office, this "delayed" Fed-Ex delivery is bizarre. I wonder who was in possession of my watch and for how long a period of time the watch was "intercepted"? What legal basis allowed for the interception of this item? Why was I not notified of this interference with property rights? Do Republicans and other anti-Communists not believe in property rights? ("The Invicta Watch Company" and "The Invicta Watch Company Caper.")
I will forward copies of this new material to Mr. Vance's office by certified mail with return receipt requested.
What is even more curious is that "Michelle Castro" made it very clear in her final email that my watch was being sent to "Swisserland" (wherever that may be) and would not be returned to me until after December 4, 2014.
I anticipate hearing from Mr. Vance soon.
Perhaps this sudden change of heart by my adversaries is what may be called a "tacit admission"? ("Manohla Dargis Strikes Again!" and "Is the universe only a numbers game?")
"Revolution and Religion: The Fight for Emancipation and the Role of Religion -- A Dialogue Between Cornel West and Bob Avakian." November 15, 2014 from 3:00 P.M. to 7:00 P.M., The Riverside Church, 490 Riverside Drive, New York City.
Revolution Books, 146 West 26th Street, New York, N.Y. 10001. 212-691-3345. http://www.revolutionbooksnyc.org ("Manifesto For the Unfinished American Revolution.")
Ron Nixon, "Report Reveals Wider Tracking of Mail in U.S.: Lax Controls Found," The New York Times, October 28, 2014, p. A1. ("Ron [Ronald Reagan] Nixon [Richard Nixon]" points out that U.S. mails that are used by businesses and persons from all over the world are no longer secure from warrantless surveillance by American government agencies. No wonder return receipts are signed by "R. Schnetzler.")
Michael Barbaro, "On Trail, Christie Juggles Role as Ebola Fighter and G.O.P. Cheerleader," The New York Times, October 28, 2014, p. A21. (Mr. Christie continues to embarrass himself. I fervently hope that Mr. Christie runs for the presidency.)
Joe Nocera, "Are Our Courts For Sale?," The New York Times, (Op-Ed) October 28, 2014, p. A31. (Yes.)
Minjae Pak, "Ex-Trader Had Mocked Kid's Name: Wayne Educator's License Suspended Over Web Post," The Record, October 28, 2014, p. L-1. (For a professor to humiliate a student and brag about it to others is unethical and unprofessional: "Why Jane Can't Read" and "America's Nursery School Campus.")
Mark Mueller, "Diocese Pays $180,000 to Settle Sex Abuse Claim," The Star Ledger, October 27, 2014, p. 1. (Former altar boy receives compensation for abuse covered-up by the Church hierarchy. Will there be compensation for abuse covered-up by Trenton's OAE? "Terry Tuchin, Diana Lisa Riccioli, and New Jersey's Agency of Torture.")
Eric Lichtblau, "In Cold War, U.S. Spy Agencies Used 1,000 Nazis," The New York Times, October 27, 2014, p. A1. (The C.I.A. lied and covered-up cases of Nazis used by the U.S. government to gather information, some of the Nazis were major war criminals responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people. The "former" Nazi spies were shipped off to friendly governments in Latin America at the request of the American government. Perhaps New Jersey's OAE makes use of similar persons? "John McGill, Esq., the OAE, and New Jersey Corruption.")
Charlie Savage, "Peace Prize Laureates Urge Disclosures Of U.S. Tortures," The New York Times, October 27, 2014, p. A3. (A dozen luminaries pressure the Obama administration over the "delayed" Senate report on post-9/11 tactics by requesting the release of 1,000 photos of heinous tortures and possible murders at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo that remain classified. "U.S. Lawyers and Torture" and "American Doctors and Torture" then "Is America's Legal Ethics a Lie?")
Laura R. Walker, "The Secrets of New Jersey," (Op-Ed) The New York Times, October 27, 2014, p. A27. (Mr. Christie betrays his promise of transparency to cover-up "peccadillos" and mislead journalists seeking the truth about a number of matters -- despite New Jersey and federal law -- including my experiences of torture and rape at the hands of government-protected persons, allegedly. "Terry Tuchin, Diana Lisa Riccioli, and New Jersey's Agency of Torture" and "New Jersey's 'Ethical' Legal System.")
Anemona Hartocolis & Emma Fitzimmons, "Tested Negative, Nurse Criticizes Her Quarantine," The New York Times, October 26, 2014, p. A1. (Incarceration without due process of law for a woman with no Ebola symptoms. Mr. Christie would send her to Guantanamo.)
Shaila Dewan, "Law Lets I.R.S. Seize Accounts On Suspicion, No Crime Required," The New York Times, October 26, 2014, p. A1. (Why bother with the commission of crimes? No reason. "Preventive incarceration" allows for the imprisonment of the entire national population, if necessary, on mere suspicion. Seizure of property should be easier. Will disregard for human rights make us secure?)
J. David Goodman, et al., "City Rights Commissioner Charged With a Sex Crime," The New York Times, October 26, 2014, p. A25. (Derek Bryson Trask charged with misdemeanor sexual assault. Perhaps he should move to New Jersey? "New Jersey Welcomes Child Molesters!")
Jeffrey Toobin, "The Obama Brief: The President Considers His Judicial Legacy," The New Yorker, October 27, 2014, p. 25. (Frozen appointments process at the moment.)
Matt Apuzzo, "Guards Guilty In '07 Killings in Iraq Square: Ex-Blackwater Agents Fired On Civilians," The New York Times, October 22, 2014, p. A1. (Human rights, Senator Menendez?)
Adam Liptak, "A Rare Admission About a Correction," The New York Times, October 23, 2014, p. A21. ("Have you no shame, Mr. Rabner?" and "Stuart Rabner's Selective Sense of Justice.")
"The Shifting Politics of Cuba Policy," (Editorial) The New York Times, October 23, 2014, p. A21.
Politicians -- like lawyers and judges who tend to be the same sort of persons -- are reluctant to admit to human fallibility.
Contrary to expectation (or common sense) this reluctance is far greater when the consequences of a failed, archaic, pointless decision (or action) are painful or evil for persons affected by such decisions and/or actions.
Invading Iraq and America's adventure in Afghanistan, for example, or drone policies and surveillance, trickle-down economics, and many other humiliatingly failed policies of government are, privately, recognized as disasters by officials who are honest.
No one can admit this truth, publicly, or take the necessary remedial actions to meliorate the human suffering caused by these same moronic policies and practices of government, or by inept as well as corrupt officials.
Perhaps the continued incarceration of Mumia Abu-Jamal is one such mistaken decision, along with many others affecting persons who are "similarly situated," that is, persons whose dilemmas are politically and not necessarily legally irreversible. ("Freedom For Mumia Abu-Jamal" and "Justice For Mumia Abu-Jamal.")
When politics takes precedence over law in courtrooms, among judges and/or prosecutors, due process is lost.
Many people recognize that Mr. Mumia Abu-Jamal's conviction is factually "questionable" if not absurd. Pennsylvania politics simply precludes the legally correct and just action of exoneration from taking place.
An effort to deprive Mr. Abu-Jamal of his freedom of speech in violation of the U.S. and Pennsylvania constitutions is the latest chapter in the horror story that is Mumia Abu-Jamal's life. I will be writing more about this nightmare soon.
This bias or failure of state institutions makes Mr. Abu-Jamal an excellent candidate for a presidential pardon. ("Mumia Abu-Jamal and the Unconstitutionality of the Death Penalty.")
The federal government found it necessary to take similarly controversial actions to enforce integration and other civil rights decisions by federal judges in the sixties, often invoking the executive power and the "pretext" or "technicality" of, say, the commerce clause and equal protection of the laws.
Failure to act in the matter of Mr. Abu-Jamal may result in the continued incarceration of a man who is innocent of murder based on the only reasonable interpretation of the publicly disclosed "evidence" against him and who is also the victim of heinous racism in legal proceedings.
Much the same irrationality exists in New Jersey with regard to my matters.
Garden State authorities appear to have lied, through their continuing silence, while admitting, privately, that great crimes have been committed against me and others.
It may be that New Jersey's judges are afraid to act. Hence, the crimes of state officials against many of us become subjects of additional cover-ups and lies in what purport to be "ethics" proceedings or their aftermath. ("An Open Letter to Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., Esq.")
I am confident that, someday, New Jersey's Supreme Court will tell the truth about my matters (to me) in order to take the necessary remedial action to restore its own integrity and credibility. ("New Jersey's 'Ethical' Legal System" and "New Jersey Supreme Court's Implosion.")
With regard to the Cuban embargo -- despite the thug-like actions of far-Right Republican Cuban-Americans -- the lunacy of the embargo as foreign policy in a post-Cold war era is obvious.
The embargo is counterproductive in terms of promoting democracy and could well be harmful to American along with Cuban interests in the long-term:
"The evolution [of opinion] has allowed a growing number of seasoned politicians to call the embargo a failure and argue that ending America's enmity with Cuba represents the best chance of encouraging positive change on the island. Several prominent Cuban-American businessmen who were once strong supporters of the embargo have changed their stance and become proponents of engagement. The pro-embargo lobby raises a fraction of the money it once did. President Obama now receives more correspondence from lawmakers who favor expanded ties than from those who want to keep robust sanctions."
The only appropriate and honest view that would relieve unnecessary human suffering is spelled out at the conclusion of the Times editorial:
"Politics aside, the issue remains deeply personal for the holdouts, Cuban-Americans of that [older] generation [and their acolytes,] say, because it continues to evoke raw feelings about ancestry, homeland and loss. Those sentiments, which have lasted for more than 50 years, cannot be ignored. But they should not continue to anchor American policy on a FAILED course that has strained Washington's relationship with allies in the hemisphere [and the world,] prevented robust trade with the island[,] and offered the Cuban government a justification for its failures." (emphasis added!)
If we really wish to test the Cuban people's commitment to their revolution then we should remove the embargo and allow for the reality of what the revolution can deliver to be clear to everyone.
Cubans alone will then decide what they want their government to be: democratic forms of socialism exist in the world in many nations where there is respect for civil liberties. For example, many societies in Europe fit the bill.
Capitalism and socialist goals continue to be "tweaked" in China and Russia to meet competing goals and values for those societies. Cuba is not alone in balancing values and making trade-offs that may work for that society in the estimation of the Cuban people. ("Time to End the Embargo Against Cuba" and "Time to Restore Ties to Cuba.")
Ironically, a recent news item suggests that Justice Ruth Bader-Gingsburg -- unlike Ms. Poritz and Mr. Rabner -- is willing to admit human errors and to correct them as is the United States Supreme Court on which she serves:
"The Supreme Court on Wednesday made a rare confession: One of its opinions contained an error and was corrected."
Errors of substance are even more worthy of correction than mere stylistic lapses. The obligation or duty to correct legal blunders is greatest when human beings are wronged and made to suffer deprivations because of known blunders or judicial incompetence and slanders as is often true in the New Jersey Supreme Court's jurisprudence. Please refer again to Mumia Abu-Jamal. ("Louis C. Taylor Serves 42 Years As An Innocent Man.")
According to the aptly-named "Richard J. Lazarus" (as in Richard J. Codey "reborn"?), identified as a Law Professor at Harvard University, the U.S. Supreme Court's announcement of mistakes in their opinions and occasional reconsiderations or rejections of precedents is appropriate judicial candor that is bound to arrive in New Jersey someday:
"Justice Gingsburg's notification today is a very positive, and indeed even historic development, demonstrating that by being candid about the need for corrections, the court can bolster rather than undermine its authority."
