Public Service

Video: MPs face ban on employing relatives' - ITN NEWS

Being in public service is a privilege, but it does not mean one is to behave as though one is privileged. Squandering, misusing or misappropriating tax dollars is a betrayal of public trust.

Scandals have erupted in just about every world government, regarding missing, wasted or misappropriated funds. For example, in America, there was the FBI computer system scandal, where many millions went missing and to this day is still unaccounted for, presumed to be stolen, as it has been filed under the label "miscellaneous" with no product or service to show for it.

FBI Director Robert S. Mueller blew several hundred million in taxpayer money

In the United Kingdom, the ongoing MP (Member of Parliament) scandal saw off over a dozen government officials that incensed the public via claiming inflated personal expenses generally not allowed under the law.

In Jamaica, a government official used taxpayer money to renovate a home designated for people in his capacity that was already in good condition, as it was previously updated, angering the Jamaican public, as the money could have been used to build a school or repair roads.

Jacqui Smith was caught up in the MP spending scandal in Britain

Government employees all over the world should endeavor to give the public the greatest value for their tax dollars. If one is not willing to sacrifice and accept reasonable remuneration for one's services as a public servant, one should seek employment in the private sector.

FBI Lagging Behind In Terrorism Cases

FBI Director Robert S. Mueller

The FBI was rebuked by the Justice Department's inspector general, Glenn Fine, for allowing 47,000 hours of audio files in terrorism cases, to pile up without being translated, which is very dangerous. How can they claim the country is safe and they have failed to translate tens of thousands of hours of wiretapped calls, presumably containing conversations by Arabic suspects.

Sibel Edmonds

This supports an item covered on the site a couple years ago, regarding what former FBI employee, translator and current whistleblower, Sibel Edmonds, stated on television, regarding her former supervisor at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, telling her to let work pile up, to enable the agency to extract more taxpayer dollars from Congress, by claiming they are understaffed.

Report: FBI not reviewing all of its evidence

WASHINGTON — The FBI is still not reviewing reams of evidence collected in counterterrorism cases, and has fewer translators than it did a few years ago, an internal government watchdog said Monday.

Glenn Fine, the Justice Department's inspector general, issued a report Monday finding flaws in the FBI's translation and evidence review efforts. FBI officials responded by saying the inspector general overstated the problem by double-counting wiretap recordings that are shared with more than one bureau office.

The 131-page report says that since 2003, the FBI has not reviewed about 47,000 hours of audio files in counterterrorism cases — the equivalent of a single recording running for five and a half years straight. The bureau says the real backlog is only about a tenth of that, or 4,770 hours — 200 days worth...

http://www.google.com

Obama's Approval Numbers Hit New Low

According to polls, U.S. President Barack Obama's approval ratings have sustained their biggest decline, since he has taken office this year, hitting a new low.

President Barack Obama's team appears to be suffering from shortsightedness, not thinking ahead or correctly anticipating public reaction to many of their initiatives.

Former President George W. Bush, left the country in a very bad way, dragging the nation to unprecedented lows. However, Obama must not look at the Presidency as a situation where he can do no wrong and he cannot allow the job to warp his mind.

President Obama needs to listen to the will of the people. At the end of the day, it is all that will matter in any political climate. Collectively and politically, the people can make or break you.

Effectiveness Of Stimulus Questioned

U.S. President Barack Obama

The effectiveness of the stimulus bills by former President George W. Bush and White House incumbent, Barack Obama, is being questioned, as the numbers are not adding up and equaling growth.

Certain companies such as AIG and a few automakers needed the assistance, to save a multitude of jobs, but the government lost its way in throwing billions at banks and numerous other financial entities and business enterprises, some of which have misused the funds, not producing anything of value for the American people. Some banks, such as Northern Trust, received massive sums of money they didn't even need.

I question the logic of having done this, rather than focusing on a few U.S. corporations that anchor the American economy.

Additionally, bailout money, by law, should have been stipulated as funds that must be repaid, as corporations improved their financial outlook.

As it stands, many business recipients have no intention of repaying a dime, as they are not legally compelled to do so. Christmas came early for the corporate sector courtesy of the American taxpayer.

4-Year-Old Claims $8,000 Housing Credit

U.S. President Obama and some people (joking)

President Obama's $8,000 tax credit for first time homebuyers, is being abused according to published reports. Thus far, the IRS has uncovered 19,000 cases of fraud, including a 4-year-old claiming the $8,000 tax credit, after allegedly purchasing his own home.

People should desist abusing the tax credit, as there are people in America that have legitimately benefited from the program, aiding them in purchasing their first home.

If there is too much abuse, the program maybe scrapped altogether. Therefore, think of others who genuinely need it, before you misuse the program.

Homebuyer's tax credit: A hotbed of fraud?

Posted Oct 22nd 2009 2:30PM - Lately, the residential real estate market has been perking up. A key driver has been a juicy tax break: the first-time home buyer's tax credit, which comes to $8,000. No doubt, this can make a big difference when making the decision to purchase a home.

In fact, about 1.4 million taxpayers have filed returns to take advantage of the benefit.

This should be a good thing, right? Well, whenever there is a significant tax break, expect a good amount of cheats to get a piece of the action (especially during hard economic times).

According to a report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, it looks like 19,000 people filed tax returns -- claiming the credit -- even though they did not purchase a home. Some of the cases are actually comical, such as a four-year old who purchased his first home.

Interestingly enough, there is evidence that 74,000 other returns could be shams...

http://www.bloggingstocks.com

Charges Expected In Balloon Boy Case

"Balloon Boy Falcon Heene Admits: 'We Did This For The Show'"

According to press reports, charges are expected in the case of, Falcon Heene, the young man, apart of a family that set off a missing child search, usurping taxpayer time and resources, over what is now believed to be a hoax and publicity stunt for a reality show. Authorities are eying his parents for criminal charges.

Criminal charges to be filed in case of balloon boy

Sat Oct 17, 2009 10:32pm EDT - DENVER (Reuters) - Criminal charges will soon be filed in the case of a 6-year-old boy who spurred a frantic search for fear he was inside a wayward helium balloon, but who was later found safe at home, officials said on Saturday.

The Larimer County Sheriff's department was preparing charges over the much-publicized incident. The boy's father, Richard Heene, an amateur scientist and inventor, has denied speculation Thursday's incident was a publicity stunt...

http://www.reuters.com

U.S. Dollar Out As World Reserve Currency

The Decimation Of The Dollar

The U.S. dollar deteriorated again this week, as banks worldwide reportedly opted to make the Euro and the Yen their reserve currency. The Judiciary Report has been warning for the better part of the year, about the dangers of the U.S. Treasury printing up excessive sums of money and the inflationary and budgetary risks it poses.

U.S. President Barack Obama

This was a time for the government to save, not spend. A tax increase of a few percent on the rich, would have brought in more government income, to balance things out. The government is piling up too much debt with too little income to compensate for the drastic spending.

Dollar loses reserve status to yen & euro

Last Updated: 3:16 AM, October 13, 2009 - Ben Bernanke's dollar crisis went into a wider mode yesterday as the greenback was shockingly upstaged by the euro and yen, both of which can lay claim to the world title as the currency favored by central banks as their reserve currency.

Over the last three months, banks put 63 percent of their new cash into euros and yen -- not the greenbacks -- a nearly complete reversal of the dollar's onetime dominance for reserves, according to Barclays Capital. The dollar's share of new cash in the central banks was down to 37 percent -- compared with two-thirds a decade ago.

Currently, dollars account for about 62 percent of the currency reserve at central banks -- the lowest on record, said the International Monetary Fund. Bernanke could go down in economic history as the man who killed the greenback on the operating table.

After printing up trillions of new dollars and new bonds to stimulate the US economy, the Federal Reserve chief is now boxed into a corner battling two separate monsters that could devour the economy -- ravenous inflation on one hand, and a perilous recession on the other.

"He's in a crisis worse than the meltdown ever was," said Peter Schiff, president of Euro Pacific Capital. "I fear that he could be the Fed chairman who brought down the whole thing."...

Ben Bernanke's dollar crisis went into a wider mode yesterday as the greenback was shockingly upstaged by the euro and yen, both of which can lay claim to the world title as the currency favored by central banks as their reserve currency...

http://www.nypost.com

The American People Want Out Of Afghanistan

Video: Americans want troops out of Afghanistan - RT

Confirming what the Judiciary Report then polls stated, the American people want out of Afghanistan. The U.S. government needs to pull the troops and concentrate on creating a covert, but Congressionally accountable division of the government, comprised of highly trained, experienced, plain clothed operatives, to hunt terrorists. And not the C.I.A.

This mass military bombing in the Middle East is fruitless and at any point in history the U.S. Army leaves the region, it can still be destabilized by insurgents. The government is prolonging the inevitable and creating more domestic and international terrorists in the process, due to outrage at the collateral damage in civilian deaths.

FBI Destroyed Walter Cronkite's File

Oh No They Didn't!

Walter Cronkite

The FBI destroyed the file of veteran newsman, Walter Cronkite. How dare they! Freedom of Information requests were submitted after his death, pursuant to Federal law, as all privacy claims are released upon the subject's passing.

However, a letter was sent from the FBI to USA Today, in response to their query, stating Cronkite's files were destroyed.

The files clearly contained invasive items targeting the journalist, such as unlawful wiretaps, illegal surveillance, mail intercepts, his bedroom tactics, profiles on his family and friends, harsh critiques of his reporting rendered by delusional FBI executives that arrogantly fancy themselves literary critics, rounding off complete intrusiveness into every facet of Cronkite's life, from what he wrote and said, to what he ate for dinner, all gathered in violation of the Constitution and U.S. Code.

Said files contained inappropriate investigation requests into the newsman, by Presidents and politicians, too nosy and power mad for their own good, who also paid too much attention to their own press and that of their respective administrations.

Robert Mueller destroyed Walter Cronkite's file two years ago, discarding taxpayer property

To preserve the false image of complying with the Constitution and Federal law, the files were incinerated by the FBI, on Robert S. Mueller's instructions, proving once again, integrity is non-existent at the Bureau.

The FBI has turned the Freedom of Information Act into a complete joke and mockery, much to the chagrin of the U.S. Congress that enacted it, embarrassing it in the nation and the world.

One cannot claim a democratic, free and open government, when rogue parties in a federal law enforcement agency, routinely break the law, whilst hypocritically claiming to uphold it. It just doesn't work that way.

What's the sense of having the Freedom of Information Act in its current capacity, if dubious, deceitful, disgraceful men like Robert S. Mueller can flout and break it at will.

Cronkite records destroyed by FBI

WASHINGTON — The FBI destroyed its files on former CBS News anchorman Walter Cronkite two years ago under a policy that has been criticized by researchers for allowing potentially valuable records to be wiped out.

A search of the agency's main index of the subjects of FBI investigations found some records tied to Cronkite's name were destroyed in October 2007, the FBI said in response to a Freedom of Information Act request by USA TODAY. Cronkite's death in July at age 92 made any FBI files about him available for release under the federal law...

The FBI should have preserved records about Cronkite, who anchored CBS' newscasts from 1962 to 1981, said Scott Hodes, a former top lawyer in the FBI's records office. All FBI records on such a prominent person should have been saved under the FBI's policies, Hodes said.

"You're not supposed to destroy records that are historically valuable," Hodes said. "Somebody should have known who Walter Cronkite was."...

"They piled up the documents, and we (taxpayers) paid for it," Heard said. "With a lot of that material, the simplest thing would be to just keep it."...

http://www.usatoday.com

Obama's Television Blitz

U.S. President Barack Obama did five television interviews last week, in support of his national health care plans. On the television program, Face The Nation, the interviewer asked the same question the Judiciary Report pondered months ago, is the President taking on too much too fast.

Certain problems within the U.S. government should rank high on his agenda. Quite a few can easily be fixed. However, the health care issue is a mammoth problem that requires complete thought and thorough planning.

It would have been more appropriate to introduce a small tax increase on America's richest citizens, leaving the middle class and poor out of the extra taxation and eased it into a fund for a program to provide low cost health insurance for the members of American society, most in need of coverage, but are the least able to afford it.

One could cut costs in government across the board and wait until the nation's financial outlook improved, before attempting drastic financial decisions, such as health care for everyone, with the government footing the bill.

The only way this can be done quickly, without bankrupting the nation, is creating a health care tax everyone has to pay, following the international model and one would have to be careful introducing something of that scope overnight in a nation of 305,000,000 people.

FBI Loses $101.7 Million Dollar Appeal

FBI Director Robert S. Mueller

The FBI treacherously framed four innocent men for murder four decades ago, in attempting to meet an arrest quota. Even after the FBI obtained evidence illustrating the men were completely innocent, they sat on it and let them rot in prison for 40-years. Two of the four men died in prison.

Recently, they sued the FBI and an appalled jury awarded them $101.7 million dollars in damages, for the FBI's treacherous misconduct. The FBI appealed the decision and lost.

Since when does the FBI care about money. They squander taxpayer money all the time, spending it like water.

Many millions in taxpayer cash given to the FBI to protect the nation, was misappropriated in acts of blatant theft and kickback schemes, regarding their failed computer system. Therefore, why are they up in arms over the verdict or is it the FBI doesn't mind money being blown, as long as they are the ones spending it.

The men deserve every penny. Actually, it is not enough, as the FBI stole something from them and their families that can never be replaced - decades of their lives spent in prison, filled with emotional trauma.

I am of the belief the FBI employees responsible should serve 40-years in prison for conspiracy, fraud, wrongful imprisonment and misprision of felony. The FBI is crooked and needs to be closed.

FBI loses appeal of $101.7m verdict

Globe Staff / August 28, 2009 - Circuit court cites ‘trauma’ to 4 sent to prison. A federal appeals court upheld yesterday a landmark verdict for four men framed by the FBI in a gangland slaying, although the appellate judges said the $101.7 million damage judgment awarded by a lower court was “at the outer edge of the universe of permissible awards.’’

The US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit said the 2007 damage judgment to the families of Peter J. Limone, Joseph Salvati, Louis Greco, and Henry Tameleo, believed to be the largest of its kind nationally, was considerably higher than any of the three appellate judges would have ordered.

“But when we take into account the severe emotional trauma inflicted upon the scapegoats,’’ the appeals court wrote of the wrongly imprisoned men, “we cannot say with any firm conviction that those awards are grossly disproportionate to the injuries sustained.’’...

http://www.boston.com

Obama Insists Health Care Bill Is Bipartisan

President Obama

President Obama’s Press Secretary, Robert Gibbs, insists the commander in chief’s health care bill is bipartisan and fair to all.

However, critics still rage that the bill is going to prove very costly to US taxpayers and drastically increase the national deficit.

Gibbs: Obama wants bi-partisan bill (no matter what the media says)

Aug 19, 2009 - AUBURN The White House says President Obama still wants a bi-partisan health care bill, despite news reports that congressional Democrats are thinking of using their House and Senate majorities to push through a bill on their own terms.

"The president has said countless times he will work with anybody in any party," said press secretary Robert Gibbs.

Gibbs pushed back on reports that some officials in the White House agree that Republican opposition may block any health care bill, so they are also starting to think about a Democratic-only initiative.

The press secretary told reporters that the parties agree on about 80 percent of health care reform. But that last 20 percent is tough, including the ongoing kerfuffle over a publicly financed health insurance option...

http://content.usatoday.com