2009-09-17 13:57:50 - New York County District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau for the borough of Manhattan, the notorious persecutor of Arab-Americans, Arabs, and of their friends in New York County and in foreign lands, spoke September 8, 2009 before a bunch of anti-Arab racists, anti-Muslim fanatics and imperialist degenerates at the Brookings Institution where such characters commonly assemble to speak and to listen to one another.

VHeadline commentarist Arthur Shaw writes:

Morgenthau posed two questions concerning the relations between Iran and Venezuela: "Whether we (USA) have a national security crisis looming on the horizon, and whether our national security and law enforcement communities are sufficiently focused on this threat."

The presence of the second question implies that Morgenthau's answer to the first question is yes.

Morgenthau tries to

answer his two questions using a pack of lies, gossip, defamations, misinformation (that is, false information spread unintentionally) and disinformation (that is, false information spread intentionally). In other words, Morgenthau throws everything foul and rotten he can find and pick up into his pot of deceit. Naturally, the crowd at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy -- the unit of the Brookings Institution that specializes on the Middle East -- loved the unusual foulness of Morgenthau's speech on September 8.

In his concluding paragraph, Morgenthau answers his two slanted questions in this way: "As for Venezuela, the world must no longer assume that Chavez is bluffing when he speaks. It is important that the public generally, and responsible government officials in particular, be aware of the growing presence of Iran in Latin America. And it is necessary to urge Venezuela's neighbors to understand the sinister implications of Iran's presence in the region. Brazil, whose constitution prohibits nuclear weapons, can play a significant role in influencing Chavez. Finally, the US and the international community must strongly consider ways to monitor and sanction Venezuela's banking system. Failure to take action in this regard will leave open a window susceptible to money laundering use by the Iranian government, the narcotics organizations with ties to the Venezuelan government, and the terrorist organizations that Iran supports openly."

When we examine Morgenthau's pack of lies, his main points are :

(1) "The growing presence of Iran in Latin America"

(2) "It is necessary to urge Venezuela's neighbors to understand the sinister implications of Iran's presence in the region"

(3) "Brazil ... can play a significant role in influencing Chavez."

(4) "The US and the international community must strongly consider ways to monitor and sanction Venezuela's banking system"

(5) "Failure to take action in this regard will leave open a window susceptible to money laundering use by the Iranian government, the narcotics organizations with ties to the Venezuelan government, and the terrorist organizations that Iran supports openly."

The first thing that strikes us is that all these lies have every little ... if anything ... to do with the enforcement of the laws of the state of New York in legal proceedings arising in the borough of Manhattan, that is, Mr. Morgenthau's turf. For example, what does the role for the Brazilian Government in influencing the Venezuelan Government have to do with the enforcement of the laws of the state of New York?

Another example: what does these urgings of Venezuela's neighbors to understand the implications, which are falsely alleged and explained by Morgenthau, of Iran's presence in the region have to do with legal proceedings arising in the borough of Manhattan?

Still another example: what does the growing presence of Iran in Latin America have to do with Morgenthau's authority under the laws of the state of New York? In his Brookings talk, Morgenthau, a local Manhattan law enforcement official who is full of himself, even orders the whole of the "US and the international community" to find ways to sanction the Venezuelan banking system.

Morgenthau usurps not only US Attorney General Eric Holder, but also US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the United Nations. There is some kind of raging conceit, chauvinism, extraterritoriality, and arrogance behind Morgenthau's spoken lies at the Brookings Institution.

What does Morgenthau mean by "find ways" to sanction the Venezuelan banking system? If there are US and NY laws that prohibit certain acts in the USA by Venezuelan banks, then the US and NY authorities don't have to "find ways." They should simply enforce the law. It is only if such laws don't exists and are unlikely to be passed, that the US and NY authorities have to "find" ways to sanction the Venezuelan banking system. So, what Morgenthau is really proposing, under the his cloak of lies and illegality, is some kind of criminal and sneak conspiracy consisting of federal and local enforcement officials in the USA against the Venezuelan banking system.

THE GROWING PRESENCE OF IRAN IN LATIN AMERICA

Here, in his own words, are Morgenthau's most important lies about the growing Iranian presence in Latin America that allegedly threaten the United States: "We know they [Iran and Venezuela] are creating a cozy financial, political, and military partnership," the NY district attorney said.

Morgenthau objects to this "cozy partnership" between Iran and Venezuela, mainly because Latin America, including Venezuela, is considered by US imperialists to be a region composed of US colonies, the backyard of US imperialists, an exclusive sphere of Yankee influence which enjoys only administrative autonomy, if even that. US colonies in Latin America do not have political and ideological independence in the sphere of policymaking.

The "cozy partnership" between Iran and Venezuela far exceeds the limits of token administrative autonomy and enters the realm of political and ideological independence.

Venezuela effectively informs US imperialists that Venezuela is not a US colony. Morgenthau is too two-faced to concede that anti-colonial and anti-imperial foreign and domestic policies of Venezuela are what disturbs US imperialists and what disturbs him. So, using a pack of lies, he creates this bogus "national security crisis looming on the horizon."

"Today I [that is, Morgenthau] believe it is fair to say they have created a flourishing partnership rooted in a shared anti-American rhetoric and policy," the NY district attorney said.

Neither Iran nor Venezuela is anti-American. Iran is pro-Iran and Venezuela is pro-Venezuela. To be pro-Iran or pro-Venezuela does not mean being anti-American, because America wishes the best for both Iran and Venezuelan.

Only if one supports US imperialism is one anti-Iran and anti-Venezuelan, because pro-Iran and pro-Venezuela are anti-imperialist. US imperialism is not the United States. US imperialism is a disease that weakens and demeans the USA.

US imperialism is chiefly a political, military, and economic force that encompasses only about half of the US bourgeoisie of some 8-10 millionaires and only about one-third of the US people in the working and middle classes. So, only about one-third of the US people stand for, and stand with imperialism ... but about two-thirds of the US people are either opposed or indifferent to imperialism.

In either case of opposition or indifference, the great majority of the US people are not imperialistic. Far from constituting the US people, pro-US imperialists, both in the imperial bourgeoisie and working/middle classes, are the scum of US society.

"As early as 2006, public signs of their alliance began to emerge. It was in this year that Venezuela joined Cuba and Syria as the only nations to vote against a UN Atomic Energy Agency resolution to report Iran to the Security Council over its failures to abide UN sanctions to curtail its nuclear program," the NY district attorney said.

So, the growth of Iran's presence in Latin America, according to Morgenthau, rests in part on how Venezuelans vote when they visit the UN in New York City. This means logically that to stop the growth of Iran's presence in Latin America, either the Venezuelans must change their vote, or the US regime must deny the Venezuelans entry visas or Morgenthau, the NYC district attorney, must keep the Venezuelans out of Manhattan when they are in the USA.

"In 2007, during a Chavez state-visit to Tehran, the two nations declared an "axis of unity" against the United States," the NY district attorney said.

Iran and Venezuela declared unity against US imperialism, not against the United States. Only moral, political and ideological slime equates the United States and US imperialism, the latter is something which the majority of the US people consistently oppose. For example, the majority of the US people ... according to the results of US legislative elections in 2006, the presidential election in 2008, dozens of opinion polls between 2005 and 2009 ... oppose US imperialist aggression and occupation of Iraq.

Conceptually, the United States of America is the US people under the US Constitution. So, the USA will no longer exist when either the people or the constitution or both disappear or degenerate. Conceptually, the US imperialism, on the other hand, is a sector of the US bourgeoisie, backed by about one-third of the US people and this imperialist sector of the US bourgeoisie exists and operates above the US Constitution and above the rule of law. So, US imperialism will no longer exist when the constitution and the rule of law supersede the private policies of US imperialists rather than vice versa, when the imperialist sector drastically shrinks as part of the US bourgeoisie, and when the mass base of imperialism in the middle and working classes drastically shrinks far below one-third of the US people. US imperialism will not vanish when these three conditions exist; but US imperialism can be easily or with less difficulty defeated once these conditions exist. At 90 years of age, Morgenthau may be too senile to grasp the distinction between USA and US imperialism. Like a fool, he clings to the superstition that an identity exists between the USA and US imperialism, uniting them into one.

"Additionally in the diplomatic arena, Ahmadinejad has made recent visits to Latin America, and Chavez has personally helped initiate relationships between Iran and Nicaragua, Bolivia, and Ecuador," the NY district attorney said.

So, Iran's presence in Latin America, according to Morgenthau, grows in part because Iranian President Ahmadinejad visits. This means logically that to stop the growth of Iran's presence in Latin America, the US regime or the district attorney in New York City must stop these Ahmadinejad visits.

This conceited NY district attorney wants to decide who visits Latin America and whom the Latin Americans can invite to visit. Morgenthau doesn't mention that Columbia University in Manhattan, where Morgenthau's office is located, invited Ahmadinejad to visit in 2007. The Iranian leader spoke at the school. Being two-faced, Morgenthau doesn't argue that the presence of Iran in Manhattan grew or still grows because Ahmadinejad, in 2007, visited Manhattan. "In June, while protesters lined the streets of Tehran demonstrating for democracy and basic political rights following the substantial allegations of fraud in the re-election of Ahmadinejad, Chavez publicly offered him support. As the regime cracked down on political dissent, jailing, torturing and killing protesters, Venezuela stood with the Iranian hard-liners," the NY district attorney said.

So, Iran's presence in Latin America, according to Morgenthau, grows in part because the Venezuelan President expresses his opinion about events in Tehran, Iran. This means logically that to stop the growth of Iran's presence in Latin America, Chavez must remain silent about whatever happens in Tehran.

It is not Chavez' opinion about a crackdown on sore losers in Tehran that disturbs Morgenthau. What disturbs the NY district attorney is Chavez' often-expressed condemnation of the savage practices of US imperialist regime in Washington, that consist of kidnapping people (euphemistically called "renditions"), torturing them (called "enhanced interrogations"), murdering them (called "extra-judicial executions"), or throwing people into secret concentration camps (call "black siting".

Since this network of US concentration camps number over 70 camps located in two dozen countries and, since these US concentration camps politically imprison about 500,000 "suspects" ... none of whom is charged with any crime ... this massive program of US imperialists for the barbaric violation of human rights all over the globe overshadows and outweighs the "crackdown" by the Iranian Government on the Iranian political opposition ... or on a bloc of sore losers who lost the very close and hard-fought 2009 Iranian presidential election.

Instead of the slobbering over the crackdown on sore losers in Tehran, Morgenthau should express some degree of indignation over the comprehensive abandonment of the US Constitution and wholesale disregard for US human and civil rights laws by the imperialist regime in Washington. "Iranian investments inside of Venezuela are on the rise and ambitions of nuclear cooperation between the States are no secret," NY district attorney said.

There is no reliable evidence that Iran is developing nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction. There is reliable evidence that the US regime in the 1980s introduced chemical weapons of mass destruction into Middle East region which were used to kill Iranians. Iran has a right to develop a nuclear energy for peaceful uses. There is a mountain of evidence that US officials lie about the energy policies of certain Middle East countries, including, but not limited to, Arab and Muslim countries. US officials distort the findings of UN and other international energy inspectors who have examined the nuclear program of Iran, just as US officials lied about the findings of similar inspectors who examined Iraq's energy and weapons programs before March 2003.

Of course, the filthy lie of the Bush regime and its friends in 2002-2003, alleging Iraq had or was about to acquire weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear ones, demonstrates the worthlessness of US officials on this subject.

Since US authorities are proven and longstanding liars about the energy programs of Middle East countries whether such countries are friends or foes, nothing that these confirmed liars in Washington or in the district attorney office in New York CIty say about the energy programs of Arab and Muslim countries should be believed by people who value truth.

Mr. Morgenthau does not mention some weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear ones, in the Middle East. For example, Israel is not only developing but has already developed such weapons. Mr. Morgenthau keeps his big mouth shut about this fact, exposing himself not only as a liar but also as a despicable hypocrite. ...and, Venezuela, like Brazil and Argentina, also has the right to develop nuclear energy for peaceful uses.

As for the matter of the investment of Iranian capital in Venezuela, numerous countries with an appetite for profit, including China, Japan, Russia, Brazil and others invest in Venezuela. Even US oil companies are again looking at the possibilities of investing in heavy oil production in Venezuela. Some US gold mining companies will do and say anything to get a stake in Venezuela's huge gold mines. "In April 2008, Venezuela and Iran entered into a Memorandum of Understanding pledging full military support and cooperation. It has been reported that since 2006 Iranian military advisors have been embedded with Venezuelan troops. Asymmetric warfare, taught to members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, Hezbollah and Hamas, has replaced US Army field manuals as the standard Venezuelan military doctrine," the NY district attorney said.

What a big pack of lies Mr. Morgenthau tells here. Obviously, the phrase "full military support and cooperation" has no meaning since it can mean either everything or nothing. The phrase is an alarmist trick of imperialist propaganda which Mr. Morgenthau uses to provoke bowel movements in US reactionaries. Article 187 (11) of the Venezuela Constitution says "It shall be the function of the National Assembly ... to authorize the operation of Venezuelan military missions abroad or foreign military missions within the country."

The National Assembly is the national legislature of Venezuela. Contrary to Mr. Morgenthau's lies, the National Assembly has not authorized any Iranian military mission in Venezuela nor has any such Iranian mission arrived. Not even the bourgeois-led opposition and bourgeois media in Venezuela -- both violently opposed to the Venezuelan Revolution and to Hugo Chavez -- are so low as to give credence to this lie of Morgenthau ... completely two-faced and worthless, he says nothing about the presence of US imperialist troops next door to Venezuela in Colombia or the contemplated build-up of the number of US military bases in Colombia (from 3 to 10) and build-up of their size and capabilities (from forward operating locations to forward operating bases to full tactical bases).

It is true however, as Morgenthau alleges, that the Venezuelan military "replaced US Army field manuals" or, at least, most of them. But it is hard to see how Iran's presence in Latin America grows as result of Venezuela's use of new and better field manuals. "In the area of mineral exploration there is speculation that Venezuela could be mining uranium for Iran," the NY district attorney says.

Is there anybody other than this lying bag of trash who runs the office of the NYC district attorney engaged in this dangerous "speculation?"

Using "speculation" or, rather, dirty lies that are characteristic of US imperialists, Morgenthau tries to incriminate and frame Venezuela and Iran with a weapons of mass destruction charge, a deadly and rotten game that has already resulted in 2,000,000 civilian casualties in Iraq between 2003 and 2009. These 2,000,000 fatalities were once among those Iraqis, falsely accused by US imperialists of possession of weapons of mass destruction.

Morgenthau is trying set up or arrange another holocaust in the Middle East even while US imperialist-perpetrated holocaust in Iraq is still continuing.

Morgenthau also seems to be trying to arrange a holocaust in Latin America, especially in Venezuela. In 2002 and 2003, the regime in Washington and capitalist media in the USA falsely alleged that Iraq was trying or tried to get uranium (also called "yellowcake") from the African country of Niger. This allegation was exposed in a number of excellent books to be a lie. But this lie was still used to justify the US imperialist slaughter of 2,000,000 million people ... during the last six years ... who never sought or tried to get "yellowcake."

"On the financial front, in January 2008, the Iranians opened International Development Bank in Caracas under the Spanish name Banco Internacional de Desarrollo C.A. (BID), an independent subsidiary of Export Development Bank of Iran (EDBI). .... In October 2008, The US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed economic sanctions against these two Iranian banks � BID and EDBI for providing or attempting to provide financial services to Iran's Ministry of Defense and its Armed Forces Logistics, the two Iranian military entities tasked with advancing Iran's nuclear ambitions," the NY district attorney said.

So, two Iranian banks behave suspiciously when they decided to do business "under Spanish names" in Venezuela. It may be news to this senile 90-year old fool in NYC that Venezuela is a Spanish-speaking country. The Export Development of Iran does business either directly or through its subsidiaries in over 70 countries in every part of the world, often under names in the language of the host country. For example, in Tokyo, this Iranian bank does business under a Japanese name rather than a Persian name. Perhaps, somebody in the NY district attorney office can explain to Morgenthau, why many foreign companies use this practice when naming their branches and subsidiaries abroad.

So, the US Treasury Department wants to tell an Iranian bank -- which is wholly owned by the Iranian Government -- not to do business with Iranian Government or certain agencies of the Iranian Government. Talk about diseased conceit and deranged extraterritoriality, this is it.

To return the courtesy, the Iranian Treasury Department should tell US Federal Reserve System not to do business with the US Government (a confirmed mass-producer of weapons of mass destruction) or certain agencies of the US Government.

Morgenthau isn't at all content with the US Treasury Department trying to boss Iranian banks in Iran ... Morgenthau thinks that since he is the almighty district attorney of New York City, he can boss Iranian banks in both Iran and Venezuela. "My [Morgenthau's] office has learned that over the past three years, a number of Iranian-owned and controlled factories have sprung up in remote and undeveloped parts of Venezuela. These factories have emerged in small towns in interior Venezuela with a lack of basic infrastructure and simple amenities like restaurants and groceries. The lack of infrastructure is offset by what experts believe to be ideal geographic locations for the illicit production of weapons," the NY district attorney said.

Oh, so Morgenthau claims his "office has learned," over the past three years, about remote factories far from "restaurants and groceries." If, on the one hand, Mr. Morgenthau isn't talking again about hearsay or his "speculations," what is his NYC office during in Venezuela anyway?

Especially, what is his office during in remote parts of Venezuela where there aren't "restaurants and groceries?"

Evidently, not only is Iran's presence growing in Latin America, but the presence of the office of the district attorney of New York City is also growing in Latin America, even where there aren't "restaurants and groceries."

The joint development fund between Iran and Venezuela contains over $8 billion and finances over major 90 projects, many in the fields of agricultural and mining. The operation of farms and mines outside of urban areas sometimes require technicians and NYC spies, assigned by Morgenthau, to watch these technicians to go to undeveloped places without "restaurants and groceries."

Often mining activity can not be limited to cities because many cities lack mineral deposits, although they usually have plenty of "restaurants and groceries." If, on the other hand, Morgenthau is still talking about hearsay or his "speculations" concerning what his "office has learned" about these remote factories, then Morgenthau's style of lying is repetitious.

As for the illicit production of weapons, there is nothing "illicit" about the production of weapons that are not in violation of Venezuelan or international law. Some hypocrites in the US regime or in local subdivisions of the US regime, like Morgenthau, want to deny the Venezuelan military access even to assault rifles, such as the celebrated AK-47 and its progeny, while these hypocrites in the US regime defend the private sale of the same assault rifles to civilians in the USA, claiming that US civilians, unlike the Venezuelan military, has a right, under the Second Amendment of the US Constitution, to bear arms.

When we encounter hypocrisy with this extraordinary degree of malignancy, we should pre-emptively dismiss or, at least, pre-emptively discount everything these hypocrites, like Morgenthau and his office, say, because of the unbroken pattern of their duplicity.

Mr. Morgenthau would do more for the USA if he were to, at least, try to control the production and the crazed distribution of arms to the US people instead of wasting his time trying to regulate the national defense policies and military operations of the Venezuelan Government. "Evidence of the type of activity conducted inside the [Iranian built] factories is limited," NY district attorney said.

That's obvious, given the transparency of Morgenthau's lies. Most likely, "limited" is not the correct term since this alleged evidence is non-existent. "The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently published a study requested by Senator Richard Lugar examining the issue of illicit drugs transiting Venezuela. The study reported a high level of corruption within the government, military, and law enforcement that has enabled Venezuela to become a major trans-shipment route for trafficking cocaine out of Colombia," the NY district attorney said.

The dope problem resides mainly in poor US regime's internal efforts to stop illegal drug imports into the USA and, especially, in the corruption rampant in the US regime, notably with agents of the US Drug Enforcement Administration, which cooperates with criminals who control the massive illegal drug imports into the USA.

The problem further lies in US and Colombian regimes' collaboration with Colombian drug lords who support the Colombian regime that the US imperialists also backs-up. The irresponsible US regime, including its GAO arm, should not blame Venezuela for the poor performance of the US regime relative to illegal drug imports, for the Venezuelan Government has no say over the illegal drugs that the US regime virtually allows to be imported into the USA.

Nor should the irresponsible US regime blame Venezuela for the activities of the dope-producing and dope-exporting regime of Alvaro Uribe in Bogota that the US regime protects, for the Venezuelan Government has no say over the criminal operations of the Bogota regime.

What's more, the GAO report covered a period when Venezuela's seaports, airports, and highways ... allegedly involved in the "major trans-shipment route for trafficking cocaine out of Colombia" ... were in the hands of Venezuelan municipal and state authorities who were often supporters of the bourgeois-led and pro-US imperialist opposition in Venezuela.

In March 2009, the central government under Hugo Chavez assumed control of the seaport, airports, and highways. The municipal and state authorities who lost control of these transport facilities promptly flew to Washington, D.C. to complain to the authorities of the US regime about Hugo Chavez taking over Venezuela's seaports, airports, and highways, calling it an act of unconstitutional centralization and concentration of power.

So far, during the six months of central government control of the seaports, airports, and highways, outstanding progress has been made fighting the trans-shipment of illegal drugs, in the seizure of drug contraband, in the destruction of large-scale drug labs, and in the interception of substances and equipment ... almost always manufactured and exported from the USA ... used to make cocaine. But when there is good news to report about Venezuela, the GAO as well as the bourgeois media in the USA keep their fork-tongues still.

"Venezuelan Interior Minister Tareck El Aissami -- a Venezuelan of Syrian origin -- lamely called the allegations a "media show," that is "part of a campaign against our people, our government and our institutions." But Venezuela's link to terrorist organizations does not stop with FARC. Particularly alarming, within the ranks of Chavez' corrupt government lie supporters of Hezbollah," the NY district attorney said, Playing the race card.

When Morgenthau played the race card with his reference to the "Syrian origin" of Venezuelan Interior Minister Tareck El Aissami, the degenerates assembled at the Brookings Institution on September 8 and elsewhere applauded Morgenthau for his big hint. But, if I were to point out that Morgenthau is a Zionist, hinting Morgenthau's motives are suspect and un-American, as Morgenthau hinted Aissami's motives may be more Syrian than Venezuelan, two-faced reactionaries will howl like dogs or grunt like swine about anti-Semitism.

Morgenthau tells over 50 additional lies in the same vein as his lies quoted and discussed above. But Morgenthau's modus operandi for falsification is already apparent from what has been quoted and discussed above. So, we are justified if we don't dwell pointlessly on the remaining 50 lies of Morgenthau. We believe that the sample of Morgenthau's lies, quoted and discussed above, is representative and therefore shows the various magnitudes of his lies as well as their wide diversity of subject matter. We sum up what has been said above with the observation that Morgenthau tells either big, medium or small lies about everything.

Let's move on to what is really important about Morgenthau's talk at Brookings, his plan of action.

"FINDING WAYS TO SANCTION THE VENEZUELAN BANKING SYSTEM"

Obviously, Morgenthau enjoys telling lies, but the purpose of his talk at the Brookings Institution was not self-indulgence. The purpose of his talk was to introduce and promote a hare-brain plan of action against Venezuela, a cuckoo plan of action that may explode in the faces of US imperialists if other countries, victimized by his plan, decide to defend their sovereignty.

"Venezuela has an established financial system that, with Chavez' help, can be exploited [by Iran] to avoid economic sanctions," Morgenthau said, hinting at killing two birds, both Venezuela and Iran, with one stone. "I [Morgenthau] would like briefly to describe the cases brought by my office. The tactics used in these cases are instructive and should send signals to law enforcement, intelligence agencies, and military commands throughout the world," Morgenthau advised.

So, Morgenthau instructs officials in the USA not to follow the law, rather copy the "tactics" used by Morgenthau's office. "In January of this year my office announced a deferred prosecution agreement with the UK bank, Lloyds TSB. From 2001-2004, Lloyds, on behalf of Iranian banks and their customers, engaged in a practice known as "stripping," in which the bank intentionally participated in a systematic process of altering wire transfer information to hide the identity of its clients. This process allowed the illegal transfer of more than $300 million of Iranian cash despite economic sanctions prohibiting Iranian access to the US financial system. We currently have investigations into similar misconduct by other banks," Morgenthau bragged.

In other words, US law prohibits otherwise normal banking transactions between the US financial system and Iranian financial system, because the US regime doesn't like Iran. If a third-party bank [non-Iranian and non-US bank, say, a UK, Swiss or Venezuelan bank] carries on normal banking transactions with Iranian banks, then the NY district attorney can steal money from or rob the third-party bank on the ground that the third-party bank ... again, non-Iranian and non-US bank ... also carries on the normal financial transactions with US banks.

Morgenthau tries to make transactions between the UK's Lloyds TSB Bank and the Iranian bank look like something other than normal bank transactions by referring to "stripping" ... that is, adhering to UK laws on the confidentiality of banking transactions, absent some basis for reasonable suspicion of illegal activity.

Morgenthau argues that the mere fact that some of the Lloyds Bank's clients were Iranian citizens is, alone, a basis for reasonable suspicion. This is suspicion based on national origin and ethnicity. According to Morgenthau's office policy, not according to US or NY law, Lloyds Bank (a UK bank) had to report its Iranian clients to US authorities whether or not Lloyds, like Morgenthau discriminates and harasses people merely on the basis of their ethnicity and national origin.

Would Morgenthau support a bank policy of reporting any Israeli clients who do business with Lloyds because of the terrorist and genocidal policies of the Israeli regime toward the Palestinian people? We all know that Morgenthau would denounce such a policy ... and rightfully so ... as anti-Semitic. But Morgenthau morally degenerates into a malignant hypocrite when the discrimination is against Arabs and other Muslims peoples whom he hates.

So, the underlying principle of this fraud scheme cooked up by Morgenthau's office is that when a foreign bank enters in any way the US financial market, the operations of the foreign bank at home and with banks in third-party countries become subject to regulation by government authorities in the USA, both federal authorities and local county authorities, like the New York City district attorney. For example, if a UK bank does business with a US bank, then either US or NY authorities can regulate the UK bank, no matter where and no matter with whom UK bank does business. This is nothing but the old principle of imperialist extraterritoriality. This principle is not a two-way street because foreign authorities at either their national or local level cannot regulate operations of US banks in the USA or the operations of US Banks with entities in third-party foreign countries. For example, the national or local authorities in the UK cannot regulate what a US bank does in New York City or in Mexico City even if the US bank also does business in the UK. So, this is a behind-kissing arrangement that Morgenthau, a local US official, imposes on the banks of other countries which are supposed to be sovereign.

Morgenthau brags that he has already robbed one behind-kissing UK bank, that has correspondent connections with the US financial system, for a lot of money because the UK bank also did business with an Iranian bank without fully disclosing the UK bank's business to US authorities. He further brags that We [the NYC district attorney office] currently have investigations into similar misconduct by other banks."

US law does not give even US authorities the power to do what the NYC district attorney is doing. US law only imposes a US embargo, not a US blockade, on the Iranian financial system. An "embargo" says the US can't deal with Iran. A "blockade" says neither the US or anybody else can deal with Iran. There is a big difference between an embargo and a blockade, and the NY district attorney does not have the authority to enforce either an embargo or a blockade. But the UK bourgeoisie is used to kissing the behind of the US bourgeoisie. So, the UK bourgeoisie will pay Morgenthau anything he demands. And, to be sure, Morgenthau will demand.

Excluding the assets of the CITGO company, most of the $300 million of Venezuelan government money in the USA is now deposited in US banks. The $300 million is average balance after Venezuela withdrew, in 2005, about $25 billion of its international reserves from US banks and out of US bonds, especially out of "toxic" mortgage-backed securities, explaining to the world at the time that US capitalism and imperialism are infested with thieves, swindlers, and purse-snatchers and the currency reserves of other counties are unsafe if they entrusted to US banks.

Currently, most Venezuelan banks have correspondent connections with the US banking system, in part because no US law prohibits normal banking transactions between US and Venezuelan banks. Some of these Venezuelan banks also due business with Iranian banks. The Venezuelan banks have little to worry about from the US authorities, but they should worry about the senile old fool in the district attorney office in New York City. Indeed, it is almost a certainty that some Venezuelan banks, which do business with Iranian banks, are on Morgenthau's list of banks about which he brags his staff "have investigations into similar misconduct by other banks." The Venezuelan banks should not bow down before this trash in the DA's office in New York City. The Venezuelan banks sued or prosecuted by Morgenthau should remove their cases from the brazenly rigged NY courts to US court and then ask for a dismissal. If a Venezuelan bank must remain in the USA, they should avoid as much as possible New York City until the rule of law returns to this city, debased by Morgenthau.

Mercifully, Morgenthau, the 90-year old idiot DA, has finally promised not to run for re-election, but his successor may be just as bad or even worse.

Morgenthau can't guarantee that if Venezuelan banks are railroaded in a New York state court rigged by Morgenthau's office, that the Venezuelan banks will lose its correspondent connections with the US banking system ... something of a competitive necessity for the bank ... because it is the US Federal Reserve System and other federal banking agencies which control these things. Morgenthau probably assumes that President Obama and Secretary Clinton and Fed Chairman Bernanke are also his behind-kissers, but in this, he may be mistaken. His conceit may have gone beyond all bounds: "Based on information developed by my office, the Iranians with the help of Venezuela are now engaged in similar economic and proliferation sanctions-busting schemes," the DA said.

Above, we demonstrated that Morgenthau is a liar. So, his office is likely to be infested with liars from top to bottom. Therefore, information "developed" by his office is likely to be pack of lies. These sanctions he is talking about are either US sanctions or UN Security Council sanctions, not NY state sanctions or NY city sanctions. It is the exclusive competence of the UN Security council to enforce its sanctions. Morgenthau has no authority to usurp US authorities over the enforcement of US sanctions, the scope of which Morgenthau grossly exaggerates, merely because his office claims to have "developed" some information. We all know how his office "develops" information.

Why does Morgenthau want to steal from Venezuela and Iran?

New York state, New York County, and New York City are all broke and bankrupt, like the United States.

Quixotically, this idiot, senile, and foolish DA, lost in his delusions of grandeur and hallucinations, wants to play savior for all of these insolvent political entities ... whether or not applicable US or NY or international law gives him the authority or responsibility to save.

Arthur Shaw
arthur.shaw@vheadline.com

www.vheadline.com/shaw

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