Saturday, November 19, 2011
Myths and legends of the Irish legal system
This was the week that official Ireland finally revealed the colonial
status that many of us had suspected for years, with national budgets
being submitted to Germany years before being proposed to Ireland's own
parliament. According to official Ireland, this is not a failure; we
have actually progressed into this multicultural nirvana as a fiefdom of
the world's most aggressive nation (see, for example Goldhagen
"Hitler's willing Executioners - Vintage, 1997 - it is also a matter of
public record that Ireland's Minister of finance has personal
investments in German state bonds, to mature in 2020). What I'm going to
look at here is the various mechanisms that substituted for responsible
administration to lead us to this pass.
The critical mechanisms arise from the strange congeries of English common law and a theocratic constitution that passes for a “legal” system in Ireland. The latter allows a dearth of individual rights; the former– paradoxically developed in the absence of a written constitution - accentuates the adversarial ethos . Specifically, a common mechanism is for the state to refuse to prosecute an offense, leaving an unfunded individual alone against the gargantuan law firms in which Ireland abounds. This trick is the “statute of limitations”; the complaint resides on a bureaucrat's desk until it's too late and the individual has to seek redress through the civil courts for what was actually a criminal offense
Nor is there any search for “justice”. In fact, the paradigmatic event is one in which the plaintiff ends up with a placard outside the Irish parliament as the complaint grinds through the courts. The plaintiff's life is now effectively over; the Irish “state” has gained a new scapegoat. Outside Leinster house in the cold, the scapegoat plays the same role for the state as the nuns of the perpetual adoration play for the Catholic church as they gaze at the empty tabernacle. Jesus will have returned well before anything like a real democracy obtains in Ireland. Ireland urgently needs a civil law code ( a la Code Napoleon) to replace the current bewigged farce in which law is used as an instrument to buttress the privileges of the now small minority who constitute the ruling class. .
The structure of what was planned from the mid-90's is now clear, as the tide goes out and as Warren Buffet put it, we find out who's naked. Civil society was to be assimilated to the state and the more lucrative parts in turn assigned to scum close to government. The classical example of this is IMRO, which has done far more damage to Ireland's musical culture even than Cromwell by over-charging venues and stealing copyrights.
Copyright law is not applied in Ireland;
http://www.lindascales.com/publications/
IMRO used this to create perhaps the greatest haven of dummy bank accounts in Europe (see below). Scum close to Bertie Ahern were allowed a field day. DCU is the converse whereby a state institution was allowed to behave outside the law independently of any accountability.
In all, there is no enforcement for white-collar crime in Ireland; this is the main reason why the criminals at Anglo and the other banks so blithely engaged in money-laundering for the mafia in Austria, inter alia. The “double Irish” is a tax scam to ensure that multinationals could cook their books to avail of low Irish corporation tax. Here are a few others;
The “beef tribunal”
A journalist (Susan O'Keefe) points out irregularities in Ireland's biggest industry that clearly require a criminal investigation and remedy. Instead, a tribunal is convened, with massive payouts for Ireland's troglodyte legal profession. Everyone is exonerated, except Susan O'Keefe, who undergoes prosecution. Eventually, at least one of the wronged beef processors successfully sues the department of agriculture. Larry Goodman, the main offender, is soon back in pole position. The “beef tribunal” has proved very useful and was later reduplicated in the Moriarty and Flood tribunals. When one of the protagonists got too antsy, he died in a mysterious Moscow car crash.
The “IMRO”
In this case, on foot of complaints from a number of musicians, Gardai find a trove of dummy song registrations (almost certainly used to launder money), and theft of copyright by IMRO's chair, the Ahern camp-follower Shay Hennessy, whose job it is to protect them (admittedly a minor sin in this fetid context). A nexus of already dissolved companies (including one owned by U2) is allowed to continue to trade, both in Ireland and internationally, for over a decade past dissolution. This license is given directly by Paul Appleby, head of corp. enforcement in Ireland,who indeed gives evidence for the losing side in a US federal court case
http://docs.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/california/candce/4:2009cv03580/228656/68/0.pdf
In this case, we got close; the Sunday Independent was compelled by the government to run a story saying there were to be no prosecutions. As an afterthought, the Gardai were so informed several weeks later. We since forced the sindo to remove the story;
http://www.independent.ie/national-news/imro-to-be-cleared-after-fraud-squad-investigates-491006.html
Yes – we 404ed it. See also
http://seanonuallain.blogspot.com/2013/05/content-from-my-previous-website-on.html
and "Ireland in crisis" (CSP, 2013)
The “Brendan Smyth”
Again, this is one of the less subtle mechanisms, involving as it does kicking a book of evidence under the table for so long that a coalition government fell. It is the “statute of limitations” applied just a little too unsubtly. It is,likely that a similar misapplication will bring down the current awful government within a year, as it seems hellbound on covering up the scams of its predecessor – probably on the advice of the “senior” and fantastically wealthy apparat of the Irish state.
The Hanrahan/Arthur Cox
This is described in a brilliant little document called “The Red book”;
http://www.amazon.com/Red-Book-Hanrahan-Against-Merck/dp/1853711675
In this case, a Tipperary farmer was having his livelihood destroyed by discharges from a Merck outlet. He won a supreme court case; Arthur Cox, on the losing side, cashed in handsomely. This probably led Cox to their crowning mechanism, the DCU, in which they lose EVERYTHING – except money!
The “DCU”
This is legal criminality approaching brilliance, with money being generated by a mafia law firm directly in proportion to its incompetence. Asked by the state to perform the austere and solemn task of writing contracts and a disciplinary code for a state university, you would of course take pains to get it right? STUPID! - there is far more money in screwing up every step of the way. If the disciplinary code is legally wrong, it will be appealed all the way to the supreme court with lucrative paydays for Cox, even in defeat. If the contracts are illegal, bribe SIPTU and offer a “Make my day” game face to the hapless staff.
Above all, keep the illegal disciplinary code up on the web, a Vlad the impaler type move; yes, it is illegal, but - in quick succession - and ex-attorney general and the consort of the ex-president are standing over it.
http://www.dcu.ie/info/statutes/statute3.shtml
The Employment appeal (“EAT”)
The MO of the EAT is simply this; a barrister is chosen (Tom Mallon in this case) to refuse senior counsel status so that he can continue to act there. He calls from a playbook and the chair of the EAT implements the plays. Colleagues, do not go near this forum
-
This blog is not a call for help, or sympathy. I have refused several lucrative settlements, just as I am refusing this “judgement” by the criminal EAT and anything apart from what my DCU colleagues voted for. I will continue to press my case for however long it takes, right up to the European court, until justice is served. The initial delay in my case from DCU's frivolous appeal (2003) the further delay arose from IBEC's withdrawal after DCU's main witnesses (Morris and P) refused to give evidence (Oct 2003). Morris and P then received assurances that the EAT would do whatever the fantastically obese and filthy Tom Mallon would ask it to do. In Feb 2004, the EAT adjourned for 5 years on Mallon;s say-so using a spurious legal argument – one of 3 such calls by the corrupt chair of the EAT, Kate O'Mahony, that my legal team had to rescind in 2009.
Having overruled herself on the first 2, O'Mahony attempted to invent a supreme court precedent to explain the delay before admitting it didn't exist ((Jan 2010). It is on record that I publicly repudiated the EAT at this point, not caring about their “judgement” as they are clearly corrupt, and will call Kate back to explain herself in open court;
http://seanonuallain.blogspot.com/2012/06/tenure-meitheamh-2010.html
The critical mechanisms arise from the strange congeries of English common law and a theocratic constitution that passes for a “legal” system in Ireland. The latter allows a dearth of individual rights; the former– paradoxically developed in the absence of a written constitution - accentuates the adversarial ethos . Specifically, a common mechanism is for the state to refuse to prosecute an offense, leaving an unfunded individual alone against the gargantuan law firms in which Ireland abounds. This trick is the “statute of limitations”; the complaint resides on a bureaucrat's desk until it's too late and the individual has to seek redress through the civil courts for what was actually a criminal offense
Nor is there any search for “justice”. In fact, the paradigmatic event is one in which the plaintiff ends up with a placard outside the Irish parliament as the complaint grinds through the courts. The plaintiff's life is now effectively over; the Irish “state” has gained a new scapegoat. Outside Leinster house in the cold, the scapegoat plays the same role for the state as the nuns of the perpetual adoration play for the Catholic church as they gaze at the empty tabernacle. Jesus will have returned well before anything like a real democracy obtains in Ireland. Ireland urgently needs a civil law code ( a la Code Napoleon) to replace the current bewigged farce in which law is used as an instrument to buttress the privileges of the now small minority who constitute the ruling class. .
The structure of what was planned from the mid-90's is now clear, as the tide goes out and as Warren Buffet put it, we find out who's naked. Civil society was to be assimilated to the state and the more lucrative parts in turn assigned to scum close to government. The classical example of this is IMRO, which has done far more damage to Ireland's musical culture even than Cromwell by over-charging venues and stealing copyrights.
Copyright law is not applied in Ireland;
http://www.lindascales.com/publications/
IMRO used this to create perhaps the greatest haven of dummy bank accounts in Europe (see below). Scum close to Bertie Ahern were allowed a field day. DCU is the converse whereby a state institution was allowed to behave outside the law independently of any accountability.
In all, there is no enforcement for white-collar crime in Ireland; this is the main reason why the criminals at Anglo and the other banks so blithely engaged in money-laundering for the mafia in Austria, inter alia. The “double Irish” is a tax scam to ensure that multinationals could cook their books to avail of low Irish corporation tax. Here are a few others;
The “beef tribunal”
A journalist (Susan O'Keefe) points out irregularities in Ireland's biggest industry that clearly require a criminal investigation and remedy. Instead, a tribunal is convened, with massive payouts for Ireland's troglodyte legal profession. Everyone is exonerated, except Susan O'Keefe, who undergoes prosecution. Eventually, at least one of the wronged beef processors successfully sues the department of agriculture. Larry Goodman, the main offender, is soon back in pole position. The “beef tribunal” has proved very useful and was later reduplicated in the Moriarty and Flood tribunals. When one of the protagonists got too antsy, he died in a mysterious Moscow car crash.
The “IMRO”
In this case, on foot of complaints from a number of musicians, Gardai find a trove of dummy song registrations (almost certainly used to launder money), and theft of copyright by IMRO's chair, the Ahern camp-follower Shay Hennessy, whose job it is to protect them (admittedly a minor sin in this fetid context). A nexus of already dissolved companies (including one owned by U2) is allowed to continue to trade, both in Ireland and internationally, for over a decade past dissolution. This license is given directly by Paul Appleby, head of corp. enforcement in Ireland,who indeed gives evidence for the losing side in a US federal court case
http://docs.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/california/candce/4:2009cv03580/228656/68/0.pdf
In this case, we got close; the Sunday Independent was compelled by the government to run a story saying there were to be no prosecutions. As an afterthought, the Gardai were so informed several weeks later. We since forced the sindo to remove the story;
http://www.independent.ie/national-news/imro-to-be-cleared-after-fraud-squad-investigates-491006.html
Yes – we 404ed it. See also
http://seanonuallain.blogspot.com/2013/05/content-from-my-previous-website-on.html
and "Ireland in crisis" (CSP, 2013)
The “Brendan Smyth”
Again, this is one of the less subtle mechanisms, involving as it does kicking a book of evidence under the table for so long that a coalition government fell. It is the “statute of limitations” applied just a little too unsubtly. It is,likely that a similar misapplication will bring down the current awful government within a year, as it seems hellbound on covering up the scams of its predecessor – probably on the advice of the “senior” and fantastically wealthy apparat of the Irish state.
The Hanrahan/Arthur Cox
This is described in a brilliant little document called “The Red book”;
http://www.amazon.com/Red-Book-Hanrahan-Against-Merck/dp/1853711675
In this case, a Tipperary farmer was having his livelihood destroyed by discharges from a Merck outlet. He won a supreme court case; Arthur Cox, on the losing side, cashed in handsomely. This probably led Cox to their crowning mechanism, the DCU, in which they lose EVERYTHING – except money!
The “DCU”
This is legal criminality approaching brilliance, with money being generated by a mafia law firm directly in proportion to its incompetence. Asked by the state to perform the austere and solemn task of writing contracts and a disciplinary code for a state university, you would of course take pains to get it right? STUPID! - there is far more money in screwing up every step of the way. If the disciplinary code is legally wrong, it will be appealed all the way to the supreme court with lucrative paydays for Cox, even in defeat. If the contracts are illegal, bribe SIPTU and offer a “Make my day” game face to the hapless staff.
Above all, keep the illegal disciplinary code up on the web, a Vlad the impaler type move; yes, it is illegal, but - in quick succession - and ex-attorney general and the consort of the ex-president are standing over it.
http://www.dcu.ie/info/statutes/statute3.shtml
The Employment appeal (“EAT”)
The MO of the EAT is simply this; a barrister is chosen (Tom Mallon in this case) to refuse senior counsel status so that he can continue to act there. He calls from a playbook and the chair of the EAT implements the plays. Colleagues, do not go near this forum
-
This blog is not a call for help, or sympathy. I have refused several lucrative settlements, just as I am refusing this “judgement” by the criminal EAT and anything apart from what my DCU colleagues voted for. I will continue to press my case for however long it takes, right up to the European court, until justice is served. The initial delay in my case from DCU's frivolous appeal (2003) the further delay arose from IBEC's withdrawal after DCU's main witnesses (Morris and P) refused to give evidence (Oct 2003). Morris and P then received assurances that the EAT would do whatever the fantastically obese and filthy Tom Mallon would ask it to do. In Feb 2004, the EAT adjourned for 5 years on Mallon;s say-so using a spurious legal argument – one of 3 such calls by the corrupt chair of the EAT, Kate O'Mahony, that my legal team had to rescind in 2009.
Having overruled herself on the first 2, O'Mahony attempted to invent a supreme court precedent to explain the delay before admitting it didn't exist ((Jan 2010). It is on record that I publicly repudiated the EAT at this point, not caring about their “judgement” as they are clearly corrupt, and will call Kate back to explain herself in open court;
http://seanonuallain.blogspot.com/2012/06/tenure-meitheamh-2010.html
Finally,
it is my belief that we actually have won. While tenure is gone as a
legal construct – and of course the 1997 act refused to define it,
leading Chief Justice Denham to say in public court that her court
refused to do so as that would be “legislating” - the fact is that
university “managements” in Ireland are now scared to go to court; that
is the effect I intended. (The reverse Vlad, if you will ) Keep it up;
take a high court injunction when one of these scum varies a millimeter
from your contract. Remember what end of the moral spectrum this filth
is from
Seán O Nualláin Ph.D. Stanford
19u Samhain 2011
Seán O Nualláin Ph.D. Stanford
19u Samhain 2011
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Universities, society, and the law
The humanities and social sciences have fared even worse. The former have seen their funding reduced to the point that – in supreme irony – they often end up subsidizing the huge science laboratories across campus. For example, as I write, the well-attended English department at UC Berkeley subsidizes the “hard sciences”. The various trendy postx gimics have assailed the very basis on which the humanities operate, in that postmodernism will argue for an equality of narratives in a situation wherein the goal of the education is to refine the students' thinking and feeling, a move that requires discipline and reverence for the possibilities of the human psyche.
The social sciences are gradually being reduced to adjacency matrices in Facebook analysis. This will never do. Likewise, economics has lost itself in baroque and meaningless math formalisms that are really ultimately oriented to persuading us that, yes, the very rich do indeed deserve to take more of our money.
The very legal status of universities, which are ALL (public and “private”) very highly taxpayer-costly, is itself problematic. Since 2002, successive ministers have baldly stated in the Irish parliament that Irish universities can act outside the law of the land, if they so choose. Yet in that, the Irish “state” is simply following an American precedent, exemplified by three recent incidents, two of which bear witness to the malign influence of over-funded sports teams;
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/12/us/on-college-campuses-athletes-often-get-off-easy.html
What then is the solution? There are several options. First of all, ignore universities entirely – when asked what he would do were he very wealthy, Frank Lloyd Wright stated that he would buy universities up to close them down. He had a point; it needs to be said that the current configuration of academia is superb for entrenching absurdities (think “ontological behaviourism”, Freudianism, neo-Darwinism with its glorious “central dogma”!), brain-washing talented students, and buttressing a scientist-publisher-funder scam that has led us to the point that billions spent on “applied” science produces nothing of any benefit whatsoever. It is left to the likes of Larry Page to dig up obscure 1950's algorithms to create what is effectively a gargantuan ad. company with a misspelled brand name (It should of coursebe googol)
In the above scenario, “hedge” universities would use the brilliant lectures already available under various open source licenses to create centers of excellence in a manner I have already outlined on this blog. This is very 2011, and by no means the worst-case scenario. This move involves giving up completely on state engagement with superior tertiary education; the “private” universities would hobble along on alumni donations for a while as centers for the 1% to meet and interbreed, but “research” – such as it is – would dry up, absent taxpayers' subsidy. Some of this funding, in turn, could be transferred into highly costly and risky projects like drug-testing that are beyond the reach of most private companies, and given their role as a public good, might well be nationalized
It goes without saying that this scenario involves absolute academic freedom, reflected in the anarchic structure of the internet itself – outside China. But can we do better? In Ireland, very clearly, we cannot – even elementary corporate enforcement has proven beyond the scope of the “state”., and the current scenario whereby $ billions are stolen from the taxpayer to pay off non-secured “bondholders” while similar amounts are being lopped off social protection speak for itself. However, Ireland is an anomalous case, a colonial project, with a pampered elite still being paid extravagant salaries, mainly as administrators of this spectacularly failed new dispensation. In the meantime, immigration is still actively encouraged, and we have recently seen a case wherein a Nigerian woman was jailed for pimping out a 15-year-old girl. Ireland is due a new revolution; the last one failed to take.
To return to the nominal subject of this blog, it is my belief that – if the state is to be involved - tenure should NOT be given before 40 (effectively what happens in the USA), and should be reserved for a single academic in each undergraduate program. Of course, there should also be permanent lecturers; "tenure" refers to the fact that the employee cannot involuntarily be made redundant. The 30 or so tenured academics at each university, together with s student from each program, should constitute academic council, in turn the ultimate locus of power in the university. These degree programs may indeed include subjects that were previously taught by a private-sector college, and found to have legs, as I previously outlined
The temptations due to extravagant research funding, in mine and others' experience, are what turn collegial, effective departments into maelstroms of vicious competition. Research is indeed part of the task of a state university; so is schooled debate on issues of public concern, and the provision of sports and cultural facilities both for the university community and the nation. In particular, activists and artists should be encouraged to seek respite for a year or more with residential status at universities.
What of graduate students? The current paths available to them limit them to micro-specialization as an extension of a professor's ego, and spending 15 years in professional limbo as their peers learn in the real world how to deal with people and money. Graduate students should indeed have a year of full-time, absolutely unstructured research, state-subsidized; thereafter they should be encouraged to teach, to interact with people, to hone their skills. The market for teaching should be structured so that the better students can compete to make a living as teachers; precisely what young artists are encouraged to do.
What happened in Ireland 1995-2011 was no more and no less than an aggressive move by globalized corporatism on a critical part of the infrastructure of the state. It did not have to be so aggressive; as the immediately preceding post points out, the essentially fascist nature of the Irish “state” allowed the initiative, sans aggression. It has been left to writers to Naomi Klein to point out that this viciousness is part of the neoliberal dispensation. As of 2011, that dispensation is no longer in control, and there are interesting times ahead. In the meantime, all the information we need to advance our knowledge is available free, on the web and - thank to Mario Savio et al – in the few institutions that are still really public and really universities
Seán O Nualláin
13 u Samhain 2011 Stanford
