ONE BIG IDEA - CONT'D
In the meantime, a new global debate has started, which is encouraging. Unlike the polite rhetoric of yesteryear that carefully omitted any suggestion of wrongdoing by the elite, this debate focuses directly on what matters.
Really??? We see no debate; all we see is governments encroaching (i.e. stealing) more and more of our money and our standards of living going downhill. As to the "elite", could you please provide an exact definition of who "they" are? Because from your point of view if somebody managed to scrap a little bit of money away from the government it suddenly became an "elite". Question; how stupid are you? Don't you realize that it is the right of any human being to dispose of their property as they see fit? Don't you realize that what governments are doing is simply taking over that money just because they can and doing so at gunpoint? Don't you know that your fellow human beings are being pushed into poverty precisely because governments keep stealing their money? Geeeeessshhhh…!!!
In that regard, I have a few thoughts.
No doubt. Idiots always have thoughts. Problem is, they are not worth the toilet paper they are written on… but we digress…
For the record, I do not work for any government or intelligence agency, directly or as a contractor, and I never have.
This one, we believe. Although in order to work for a government (any government) a tiny IQ is required, yours does not even meet this standard.
My viewpoint is entirely my own, as was my decision to share the documents with Süddeutsche Zeitung and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), not for any specific political purpose, but simply because I understood enough about their contents to realize the scale of the injustices they described.
Really??? And what "injustices" would those be? Hiding money from governments bent over backwards in their intent of stealing it? That one? Look, you primate, the USSR tried it and failed miserably. If you like so much to fight against "injustices", why don't you ask legislators to provide you with objective measures of taxation. Ask them to account for every cent. Ask (or better even) demand that they stop printing and devaluating our money which makes us poorer and poorer with no end in sight. No? Too hard? We see…
The prevailing media narrative thus far has focused on the scandal of what is legal and allowed in this system. What is allowed is indeed scandalous and must be changed.
Scandalous, scandalous, again, what right do you, personally, have to determine what is legal and what is not. Or, what moral height have you climbed to be able to claim that such acts are "scandalous"? Look you pea brain, they are legal. In a world where legality is everything, they are well within the law. If you don't like it, then run for president or prime minister or king or simply go for a coup d'etat and change them. Don't give us your sanctimonious bullshit about they being "scandalous". Do you actually know what scandalous is? Scandalous is that governments spend incredible amounts of money in bureaucracies that accomplish nothing! Scandalous is that governments spend incredible amounts of money in a myriad of projects and organizations which not only do not accomplish anything but are counterproductive and destructive such as the military! Scandalous is that governments spend incredible amounts of money on trinkets while all that capital could have been put to good use to raise standards of living. That is scandalous!
But we must not lose sight of another important fact: the law firm, its founders, and employees actually did knowingly violate myriad laws worldwide, repeatedly. Publicly they plead ignorance, but the documents show detailed knowledge and deliberate wrongdoing.
Well… this is yet to be seen. So far and for the most part, the worse that has been uncovered about MF is that they failed to perform full due-diligence about their clients. Which is what we have been saying all along. Now, let's be clear. Not performing "due diligence" is a legal offense, but not a serious one. Governments know that if they would to enforce this ridiculous concept, the entire banking system around the world would come to an immediate halt. So, MF is not the only organization doing it, every single frigging financial organization does it. And yes, this includes your local bank. However, more importantly, it is none of your freaking business!!! Furthermore, it is not of any government business!!! Let's not forget that we are talking about personal property. Money that does not belong to any government for which governments have decided to simply take it! So much for "justice"!
And now, almost a year after you committed a crime and released stolen information what has happened so far? One MF employee has been detained in Switzerland for staling information... from MF. Three employees of other banks have been arrested for insider trading. And MF personnel linked to your leaks? Nothing. Not one arrest related to your leaks. This in and by itself speaks volumes!!!
At the very least we already know that Mossack personally perjured himself before a federal court in Nevada, and we also know that his information technology staff attempted to cover up the underlying lies. They should all be prosecuted accordingly with no special treatment.
Really??? And, of course, you provided proof of this in such a manner and conditions that it can be accepted in a court of law. Oh… you didn't… Fine. But let's assume you did. The answer to your point is; so friggin what!!!??? Why would MF have to be compelled to have a deposition in US?? Let us remind you that US is not the centre of the universe. US laws are not applicable anywhere other than US. What kind of right does the US government has to force non-US citizens to go to the US and be subject to their laws? Answer? None whatsoever… however… this has never stopped the US… so much for law and order. Again, MF operated within the boundaries of the local laws where they operated. As far as we know US law does not apply in Switzerland or Panama! But then again, perhaps they do in your twisted little sector of the parallel universe where you live.
In the end, thousands of prosecutions could stem from the Panama Papers, if only law enforcement could access and evaluate the actual documents. ICIJ and its partner publications have rightly stated that they will not provide them to law enforcement agencies. I, however, would be willing to cooperate with law enforcement to the extent that I am able.
Oh goody! And you are not doing this right now because? What is your excuse? Because if you are going to fight for "justice" you must be able to put up or shut up. But, being a coward, you are doing neither. OK. Gotit.
Not to mention that even after almost one year of "investigations" we are still waiting for those "thousands of prosecutions" to materialize. So much for your forecasting accuracy.
And lastly, if ICIJ won't release the documents to governments, why are you not releasing them? Huh? Maybe because they may tend to incriminate you? Oh… we forgot… you are already a criminal having breached a truckload of bank secrecy laws… silly us…
That being said, I have watched as one after another, whistleblowers and activists in the United States and Europe have had their lives destroyed by the circumstances they find themselves in after shining a light on obvious wrongdoing. Edward Snowden is stranded in Moscow, exiled due to the Obama administration’s decision to prosecute him under the Espionage Act. For his revelations about the NSA, he deserves a hero’s welcome and a substantial prize, not banishment.
Well, considering that Edward Snowden did commit espionage and his case is textbook contrary to law, could you explain in detail how this is not applicable and Snowden should be free? Again, you say that you are on the side of the law. Fair enough. But you can't have it both ways. You can't pick and choose which law to apply and which one to dismiss! That's the centerpiece of the democratic process; equality under the law!!! But obviously your peanut brain is so small that it can't even comprehend this, the simplest of concepts! Again, feel free to run for president or "representative" and change such laws, since, obviously, you know and understand sooooooooo much.
Bradley Birkenfeld was awarded millions for his information concerning Swiss bank UBS—and was still given a prison sentence by the Justice Department.
Yeah… for " abetting tax evasion" with one of his clients. Yet another textbook case of a criminal law breach.
Antoine Deltour is presently on trial for providing journalists with information about how Luxembourg granted secret "sweetheart" tax deals to multi-national corporations, effectively stealing billions in tax revenues from its neighbour countries. And there are plenty more examples.
Of course! Because sovereign countries are not allowed to make sovereign decisions in their own sovereign territory without consulting you. Of course!
And so… according to you, you, are the sole owner of the ethical high ground and you can determine what a country (a sovereign one) can or cannot do. So, basically, screw democracy and screw the legal system and screw sovereignty and screw the "rule of the law" when it suits you. Gotit. Question. When exactly did you have those feelings of Godhood the first time? Just asking because, eventually, they will have to be included in your medical dossier. You know. To further the study the minds of morons!
Legitimate whistleblowers who expose unquestionable wrongdoing, whether insiders or outsiders, deserve immunity from government retribution, full stop. Until governments codify legal protections for whistleblowers into law, enforcement agencies will simply have to depend on their own resources or on-going global media coverage for documents.
Oh really? And what the hell is a "legitimate whistleblower"? As opposed to an "illegitimate whistleblower"? Because, you know, the dictionary is sort of short in these definitions. And what exactly is "unquestionable wrongdoing"??? Because obviously it is not a legal term and has nothing to do with laws and regulations. Yes, those ones that you claim you are supporting with your push for prosecution and your criminal actions! And why should laws protect whistleblowers? This is a blatant contradiction in terms. On one hand the laws enforce banking secrecy and on the other they are supposed to encourage the breaking of such laws? How much more confused can you get??? Just because you are mentally deficient and you put yourself in a position to be persecuted and prosecuted for breaching a number of laws and now you are probably pooping yourself in your trousers, this does not mean that we, the people, have to put up with you.
Note: please see the Glossary if you are unfamiliar with certain words.
