Switzerland will still go to any lengths to protect the ultra-rich dictators and mafia who flock there. Mutabar Tadjibaeva – multiple rape victim, survivor of repeated torture and still dogged human rights activist, is wanted for questioning by Geneva Police for the crime of ringing the bell of Gulnata Karimova’s 25 million dollar house and asking to speak to her.
That is absolutely all she did. I know, as I was there and did it too. We both left our visiting cards, took some photos from the streets so the children of Uzbekistan could see where the profits from their slave labour in the cotton fields went, and then we left on the bus, as we came.
Uzbekistan is the World’s sixth most corrupt country according to Transparency International. I doubt one in ten of the houses in Cologny is bought with earned money. This is Gulnara’s 25 million dollar home, with the cranes then building a massive extension at the back.
I can understand that Gulnara does not want people to know she lives at 7 Rue Prevote (both e’s have acutes), Cologny, Geneva. A weird, weird village that also houses Gulanara’s sister Lola and the children of the Presidents of Kazakhstan and Armenia, among others. There are lterally thousands of CCTV cameras. At this time of year none of the homewoners are there, just security guards in Adidas wear. The only noise is the barking of guard dogs. The 4 wheel drive Porsches, Range Rovers and Mercedes G wagons are sat still and cold on the drives.
That a speaker at the FIDH human rights film festival is harassed in this way is bad enough. But Mutabar was also there to give formal depositions in human rights cases to the United Nations. That dictatorships can use the Geneva police to harass dissidents visitng the UN is scarcely healthy.
Switzerland attempted to clean up its image as the repository of illegal cash by adopting anti money-laundering legislation. But that legislation specifically exempts real estate – you can buy your Cologny mansion without having in any way to declare how you got all that cash. The ever corrupt Swiss exempted it because Switzerland makes money from it. Outbreaks of democracy on the streets of Cologny are liable to be bad for property values – hence the interest of the Geneva police, in the world’s best disguised fascist state.
I wonder in I can interest Occupy and the human rights groups in an annual summer camp for activists at Cologny? Let’s give the Geneva police some more difficult field of anti-democratic harassment than a small torture victim.
Barbara,
It seems clear it is the newspaper using the term “human rights activist” – not the police. The downplaying by the police stressing that no warrant had been issued, was quite possibly because the press were involved now and they realized it might get awkward.
What is normal procedure there anyway. In the UK you might, in certain circumstances, be asked to do something voluntarily but be arrested if you don’t. So it’s not really voluntarily. What’s the situation in Switzerland? Would a “request” typically be followed by a warrant if you don’t appear?
Clark @ 7:21
I wasn’t suggesting voter suppression, but voter apathy has many sources. One thing that would help is making Saturday, instead of tuesday voting day. Early voting worked pretty well last November.
To further my point, I find people just don’t want a participatory government, and feel they have sacrificed enough just showing up to vote. They have pet issues, which are often distorted without the context of the other side, and they allow their ears to be tickled by those who benefit from telling the voter what he/she wants to hear.
Hi Ben,
Missed that detail, thanks – and, yes, it’s telling that it was also copied to Stockholm given US Ambassador to Australia’s firm assurance on ABC network’s QandA programme a few days ago that the US had absolutely nothing (honest Guv’nor) to do with the Swedish case.
The only link to Chile I can think of is that’s where the CIA campaign to destabilise Ecuador’s President Correa was based (as revealed to us folks by Craig). Remember too that Sweden’s FM Carl Bildt travelled there only last week to lobby CELAC:
25/1/13: REGION : Sabotaging CELAC – The US and Sweden
http://tortillaconsal.com/tortilla/es/node/12421
That sounded so familiar — I could hear the gate conversation even — but it turns out that the radio story from last week I’m remembering is this one, about the Elba Esther Gordillo, head of Mexico’s teacher’s union, embezzling millions of dollars from the union, buying a mansion in Coronado, California (ritzy, by San Diego), then turning away members of the teacher’s union who come to call:
Craig, did you guys post a youtube? You should. In this case, it was Gordillo who got arrested.
” My guess is that, of the two photo posted previously, the one with the crane (CM2) was taken before the craneless one (CM1) ”
I puzzled over these a bit, but i think the crane came after. The foliage is very similar between the two with no more than a few months growth visible in the surrounding trees and hedges, but the craneless photo has significant amount of grasses growing along with rubble in the rear of the property which perhaps couldn’t have sprung up in the time since the crane was there. This would mean that large curved structure in the properties rear is now underground.
May be not quite as lax, but London leaves a lot to be desired when it come to real estate ownership. Particularly When layout consider the money laundering hoops every day clients have to go through to carry out the most basic financial transactions. Great piece.
Clark;
Was looking for the originator of this basic tenet and found many who shared the credit.
H.L. Mencken said it best. “People deserve the government they get, and they deserve to get it good and hard.”
“In democracy you get the goverment you deserve. Alternately you deserve the government you got.”
~Josef Heller
Everything said and done, at the end of the day, we get the government we deserve and deserve the government we get.
~ P. Ramakrishnan
http://www.malaysia.net/aliran/ms991130.htm
“A people deserve the government they permit.”
~attributed to the pseudonym “General R. Never,”
http://www.stormfront.org/rpo/PORNO.htm
“In Russia, it is a common saying that every people deserve the government they choose.”
~Vladimir Viardo
http://www.geocities.com/nakamatsu_pian … _0609.html
I recall what a British prime minister said years ago, “In a democracy you get the government you deserve and you deserve the government you get.”
~Duane W. Compton
http://starbulletin.com/2001/04/26/edit … tters.html
We have to let these turkeys know that we are not going to play games and go sideways and backwards. America deserves better. They say that you deserve the government you get.
~ Eldridge Cleaver
http://www.newagejournal.com/CLEAVER.HTM
“We deserve the government that we get. That’s an old adage and it’s really true.”
~Patricia Boyd, executive director of the Minnesota Christian Coalition
http://www.mcchronicle.com/archive/111600/story11y.html
Ben,
I know who to ask about the meaning of the term “pleadings” in that DFAT document – Marcy Wheeler! I know you’re registered at her Empty Wheel site. Could I ask you to pass her my comment at 6.57pm above please, or paste it at EW? Your info about the cc’s to London, Stockholm and Chile is rather crucial to bring to her attention too.
Thank you.
Anon – it’s hard to say when you don’t know the details. I just know that it takes forceful trespassing and/or damage to the property to be charged with ‘disturbance of domestic peace’, and this obviously is not the case.
But if anyone from that fancy neighborhood complained, the police would be legally obligated to hear also Ms. Tadjibaeva.
Arbed; No registration necessary. It might get a little convoluted if I proxy a question, but if you ask the original question, and you hit Marcy’s button with a salient issue, she will reply.
If you tell me which thread (they are abandoned rather quickly) like the current one on Aaron, and apologize for being a little OT, I can draw further attention with a response.
BTW; Thanks to your CADAL reference, I am culling through a trove of new jellybeans for thought.
http://ferrada-noli.blogspot.com/
Arbed;
Jeralyn Merrit is quite good, as well. Very nice lady…..competent attorney.
http://www.talkleft.com/
Thanks, Ben – I’ve put it on the Quinn Norton’s testimony thread, as that relates also to a heavy-shit Grand Jury – and the Wikileaks and Swartz GJs may be related in some way (as I believe you suspect too). It’s currently awaiting moderation.
Jack Balkin and company…..http://balkin.blogspot.com/
Ben, 8.02pm
Well, my comment is up now on the Quinn Norton thread of Marcy’s site. Do you know if she moderates it herself, and will therefore now have seen my request?
Arbed @ 8:17
I added my comment. With two of us inquiring, she may spend some time unraveling. Or we may find an imminent post on that very subject. She is totally ‘jacked-in’.
Arbed; I don’t know how quickly. I had forgotten she moderates newcomers. Once you pass muster, it posts immediately.
FTF; keep the other two links (Jeralyn, Balkin)
Thanks again, Ben – bookmarked those. I’ll wait to see if there’s any response from Marcy first, before I try them. If anyone can unravel exactly what those documents from the Wikileaks Grand Jury are that the US govt has been keeping under wraps for quite a long time now, she can.
When a new contributor’s first comment gets queued for moderation but subsequent ones are published automatically, it usually indicates that the blog is operated by just one person. It makes a blog very easy to moderate. Spam gets queued automatically, and anyone who misbehaves can be reduced to being queued again just by deleting their details from the list of approved contributors.
Ben Franklin, I don’t think that people get the government they deserve. That saying, I think, used to be more true than it is now. The major parties in many countries have become so dominant that most people won’t risk “wasting their vote” upon smaller, less compromised parties and independent candidates. You hear of this repeatedly in two-party politics; good candidates get criticised for standing at all, on the basis that they might “split the vote”.
Additionally, the techniques used by corporate media to manipulate voters have become more advanced, and the number of media organisations has decreased hugely. It is easy for the media to act in concert and simply ignore minority candidates and parties.
With only two viable candidates in most constituencies, it is easy for corporations etc. to compromise both sides.
I think that the traditional forms of democracy are out-of-date. Politics is effectively an arms race, the people versus private power, and the tools available to the people are currently outclassed by the opposition.
Arbed;
Marcy has replied…..’twitterings’ Does her answer make sense?
Clark @ 9:52
“The major parties in many countries have become so dominant that most people won’t risk “wasting their vote” upon smaller, less compromised parties and independent candidates.”
This two-party monopoly may be new in the UK, but not the US. I think it was 1912 when Theodore Roosevelt sought to break the two-party hold with his Bull Moose Party. The average voter looks at the multiple candidates on the ballot like an ‘eye-test’ and has no idea what a ‘split-vote’ is. The change I see is that those folks (the minority of say 25-40%) who actually educate themselves have been immeasurably assisted by the innertubes. (If only Hypatia had such a Library)
“With only two viable candidates in most constituencies, it is easy for corporations etc. to compromise both sides.”
Alternative candidates can certainly assist their directives in a close race. The Koch Bros often give contributions in smaller measure to their antagonists, to cover their tracks and hedge the bet some. They don’t want to be completely aced out of the calculation, in case their candidate doesn’t win. (ha, ha)
“I do not know why the Geneva police consider ringing the doorbell a crime. Why don’t you phone them up and ask them? I have been trying repeatedly to call their spokesman M. Grosjean and ask, but nobody ever answers the phone.
Now why don’t you take over and call? The number is 0041224275600. You can then explain to us why the police want to call in Mutabar for questioning, and why that is all perfectly reasonable and OK. Maybe Evgueni can call too.”
Habitual Babbler gone quiet–well thats a first.
Good homework you’ve set, Craig, for our Resident Jokerman.
Now Warden Babbler, you’ve asked a lot of questions–make sure you come up with the answers. No shirking your homework.
ELSE, SIX
OF THE BEST
WAITING FOR YOU.
===
” False-hearted judges dying in the webs that they spin
Only a matter of time ’til the night comes stepping in.”
–Bob Dylan
Listen here (W/lyrics and great graphics–sheer poetry): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XSvsFgvWr0
And Warden Habba, btw, why do you address Craig as “@ Craig (Murray)”? Isn’t that his real name?
Let us not all forget how this fraud announced himself here as ONEIL. Background always shows up!
Craig,
If you use aerial view on Bing maps you will see the crane, zoom in a bit more and the crane disappears to reveal a brand new tennis court.
For got to add on my previous, I wonder what the human cost of that was.
Blame it on God:
“God has just completed the creation of world, with its ocean and continents and all the creatures, including the humans. As he surveys his work, an angel points out that there is one small spot in the center of Europe that’s been left blank and empty. The Lord says, ‘I must have overlooked the spot. What shall we do with it?’ And the angel answers, ‘If I may suggest it, Lord why don’t you create a land of milk and honey, called Switzerland—with snow-peaked mountains, streams, forests and green meadows, where cows graze that produce the best milk in the world?’ The Lord replies, ‘That sounds good. And what about the humans there?’ And the angel suggests, ‘Why not make them clean, orderly, and hard-working, with the greatest respect for money?’ And the Lord says, ‘So be it.’ And so it was done. After some time the Lord wants to see what he has created and goes down to Earth. He walks among the mountains, enjoying the beauty of the scenery. After a while he comes to a small village, very clean and orderly. As the day is getting hotter, he feels a bit thirsty. So he walks up to one of the cafés with outdoor tables and chairs. The owner immediately recognizes him and comes running, greeting him with great respect, ‘O Lord, please sit down. It’s an extraordinary honor that You visit our small town and my humble café. Is there anything, anything, that we can do for You?’ The Lord is pleased and says, ‘By Jove, I noticed your splendid cows grazing out there. Give me a tall glass of cold, fresh milk.’ ‘Immediately, O Lord.’ And the man trots off and returns with a tall glass of fresh, cold milk with foam on the top, and places in front of the Lord. He drinks it down with much enjoyment. He’s just getting up from the table when the owner comes running and, with a respectful bow, places a small plate with the strip of paper in front of him. The Lord looks at it and asks the man, ‘What is that?’ The owner bows again and explains, ‘With all due respect, O Lord, that is the bill.’ 🙂
Ben, 9.56pm
Yes, Marcy’s answer does make sense. These six “pleadings” must relate to the 10 November 2011 motion to have the Wikileaks Three’s (Jacob Appelbaum, Birgitta Jonsdottir, Ron Gongripp) Twitter subpoenas unsealed, which was denied. (Though the fact it’s six subpoenas, not three, means that it’s not only Twitter who’s handed over their private user data to the US government…)
So… that means the sealed indictment for Assange is under paragraph s 22 1(a)(ii) on the previous page – the one with the bloody great X through it and ‘REDACTED’ written across the whole page… 😉
Hey, Villager. Harry Lime (The Third Man) had a similar thought….
” Like the fella says, in Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love – they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock”
“So… that means the sealed indictment for Assange is under paragraph s 22 1(a)(ii) on the previous page”
Arbed; Is it as important to know of the SI’s existence, as it is to know it’s content? I’m just not sure what fact you wish to establish.
Craig,
Good on yer for havin the balls/brassneck to challenge/highlight the issue. – she would have moved to Switzerland to avoid such very worthy knocks on her posh door.
Getting back to the. UK, your thoughts please on the very recent ruling in favour of Ken Clarkes secret evidence courts