______________________________
The current American election campaign will determine who’ll sit in the White House in Washington DC for the next four years. However, whoever’s elected, they’ll run the White House, but they’ll definitely not rule the country. A number of recently-released reports highlighted long-suspected, but not confirmed, old truths. Who leaked them to the media, no one knows. However, the first-ever official audit of the US Federal Reserve System (which functions as a central bank in the USA) singled out the fact that the Fed allocated incredibly huge amounts of money for American businesses during and after the 2008 crisis.
According to Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), “Wall Street made the largest coup in world history at the expense of American taxpayers. An independent audit conducted at my request revealed that the Federal Reserve earmarked a startling 16 trillion USD (498 trillion Roubles. 12.35 trillion Euros. 10 trillion UK Pounds) at zero interest for major financial institutions, large corporations, and wealthy individuals without the approval of Congress and president, as required by law”. If it weren’t for Senator Sanders’ credibility, and the fact that it came from data in an independent audit, this information could easily pass for a tall tale designed to create a sensation. However, Washington officials and the Fed’s leadership made no rebuttals concerning the reports; the American news media, usually so thirsty for sensation, have kept a stony silence on this as well. This shows all concerned who’re the bosses of the so-called “free” American media. After all, silence is consent.
However, it’s a mistake to think that the Federal Reserve, which performs central bank functions in the USA and has the right to print dollars, is subject to the government. The US Federal Reserve is a privately-run corporation, which assumed central bank functions in 1913 because of collusion between top politicians and bankers. Even though the Constitution doesn’t mention it, it’s been virtually uncontrollable; it’s practically independent from the government and President, the Federal Reserve has steered American economic policy since 1913. There can be no doubt as to whose interests the US Federal Reserve is trying to protect. A recent audit revealed that the recipients of the billions issued by the Fed since 2008 include Wall Street’s principal banks, including such “poor” institutions as Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, and Merrill Lynch.
At present, these banks are injecting huge funds into the election campaign of billionaire Mitt Romney, who declared Russia “Enemy Number One” and promised generous funding for military programmes. The Democratic candidate’s campaign isn’t experiencing any shortages of funds either. According to reports, the current election campaign is costing Obama about one billion dollars (31.1 billion Roubles. 775 million Euros. 625 million UK Pounds). Of course, these billions for the election race aren’t coming out of the blue. Regardless of who wins the election, the winner may think that they’re master in the White House, but they’ll be sadly mistaken.
9 October 2012
Valentin Zorin
Voice of Russia World Service
Voices from Russia 
Anti-Bank Activist Prosecuted For Sidewalk Graffiti
Tags: Bank of America, cartoons, City attorney, corporations, Corporatism, editorial cartoons, First Amendment, First Amendment to the United States Constitution, multinational corporations, Occupy movement, Occupy Wall Street, peaceful protestors, peaceful protests, political commentary, politics, Protest, protest action, protest actions, protesters, protests, San Diego, San Diego Reader, United States, USA
______________________________
In America, the First Amendment doesn’t apply if the free speech upsets a bank. Jeff Olson, a 40-year-old man from San Diego CA, is facing prosecution for scrawling anti-bank messages on a sidewalk. He faces a 13-year jail sentence. RT quoted the San Diego Reader, which reported that a judge barred Olson’s attorney from “mentioning the First Amendment, free speech, free expression, public forum, expressive conduct, or political speech during the trial”, in which Olson faces charges on 13 counts of vandalism. The judge ruled, “The State’s Vandalism Statute doesn’t mention First Amendment rights”. It isn’t surprising that the judge’s decision flabbergasted Olson’s attorney. He told the press, “I’ve never heard that before, that a court can prohibit an argument of First Amendment rights”.
Jeff Olsen, a political activist and a member of the Occupy Wall Street movement, faces trial for scrawling thirteen anti-bank messages using children’s chalk on a sidewalk outside of three San Diego CA branches of Bank of America. The slogans on the sidewalk were quite innocuous and included no profanities or strong language. Bank of America took offence at slogans such as “Stop Big Banks!” and “Stop Bank Blight!” It initiated legal proceedings against the activist who used a public sidewalk as a means of spreading his message.
The San Diego Reader obtained records of the criminal case and found out that Darell Freeman, Bank of America Vice President of Global Corporate Security, pressured members of San Diego’s Gang Unit on behalf of the bank until they forwarded the matter to the City Attorney’s office. Instead of fighting local gangs, the San Diego Police Department Gang Unit is trying to jail an activist whose only wrongdoing is ticking off a big bank with messages written on a public sidewalk. Bank of America received a 54 billion USD (trillion Roubles. billion Euros. billion UK Pounds) bailout from the taxpayers, yet, its Corporate Security unit is fighting an activist. During the last couple of years, several former employees testified that Bank of America, as an institution, was involved in numerous instances of securities fraud and mortgage fraud. Why aren’t they charging the bank executives? Where’s justice?
30 June 2013
Voice of Russia World Service
Valentin Mândrăşescu
http://english.ruvr.ru/2013_06_30/Anti-bank-activist-prosecuted-for-sidewalk-graffiti-9658/
Editor’s Note:
Bank of America does many other questionable things. They’ll catch up with it… it’s becoming a political liability to Obama, and he’ll gladly throw some red meat to the lions. Bank of America has forgotten that it’s not above the law… it may find out otherwise in short order… and no one will cry for it. I can testify from personal experience that Corporate Security departments of large corporations believe themselves above the law. A Corporate Security sort at a former employer searched me for no good legal reason. He had no grounds for it. That’s kosher in post-Bush America. That’s what you get if you vote Republican… that’s what you march for in “Pro-Life” Marches. Show some grit and brains… you should NEVER vote for ANY Republican candidate under any circumstances… they’re the Party of Repression and Greed.
BMD