Outrageous HSBC Settlement Proves the Drug War is a JOKE

So they can take your home, or car, or all your money if you get caught with drugs, and give you a criminal record that will follow you around for the rest of your life..but the bank(s) and their executives get off scott free for something much bigger, more aggregious and far more dangerous, and far more sinister than any sole individual using drugs recreationally or even selling occassionally, could ever do. So we go right back to the rich and powerful not having to abide by the same laws as the average citizen. Can we say corrupt government officials? That is exactly what this is, our Government officials being corrupt and flipping the bird at all of us 99% in the US.

If you've ever been arrested on a drug charge, if you've ever spent even a day in jail for having a stem of marijuana in your pocket or "drug paraphernalia" in your gym bag, Assistant Attorney General and longtime Bill Clinton pal Lanny Breuer has a message for you: Bite me. Breuer this week signed off on a settlement deal with the British banking giant HSBC that is the ultimate insult to every ordinary person who's ever had his life altered by a narcotics charge. Despite the fact that HSBC admitted to laundering billions of dollars for Colombian and Mexican drug cartels (among others) and violating a host of important banking laws (from the Bank Secrecy Act to the Trading With the Enemy Act), Breuer and his Justice Department elected not to pursue criminal prosecutions of the bank, opting instead for a "record" financial settlement of $1.9 billion, which as one analyst noted is about five weeks of income for the bank.

www.rollingstone.com...

You could argue that the Banks don't need to be conspiratorial about anything--hell they can just be corrupt right out in the open.

-Ghoster

Our country is currently ran by crooks, who selectively enforce laws to suit their own needs.

I doubt if there is an honest person at the executive level of any of these corporations.

They are nothing but giant fat leeches.

Pretty outrageous. But doesn't surprise me.

These crooks get away with murder.

On the other hand, if you are an important person, and you work for a big international bank, you won't be prosecuted even if you launder nine billion dollars. Even if you actively collude with the people at the very top of the international narcotics trade, your punishment will be far smaller than that of the person at the very bottom of the world drug pyramid. You will be treated with more deference and sympathy than a junkie passing out on a subway car in Manhattan (using two seats of a subway car is a common prosecutable offense in this city). An international drug trafficker is a criminal and usually a murderer; the drug addict walking the street is one of his victims. But thanks to Breuer, we're now in the business, officially, of jailing the victims and enabling the criminals. Read more: www.rollingstone.com... Follow us: @rollingstone on Twitter | RollingStone on Facebook

Double set of laws; one for the rich, another for the rest of us.
Doesn't surprise me too much though given it's Clinton appointee meteing out "justice" here.
Just how many people got killed around Mena to keep things quiet?
What kind of punishment is deferred bonuses?
This is the sort of story that only proves beyond any shadow of a doubt we live under a corrupt regime of gangsters who protect each other at all costs.

I really hope this thread gets some more attention.

This needs to be on the front page.

BUMP

This is why I truly and sincerely believe the only way things are going to ever really change is if there is another revolution. Hopefully, we won't need violence to accomplish that.

Outrageous...........Too big to prosecute?
They had the top mafioso red handed and their balls in a vice and they were let go? Stinks of alphabet agencies.
brice

Another bunch of spineless scumbag bankers that get caught red-handed, then evade the rule of law. They are the rule of law now.

These amoral, sub-human ticks. They're directly aiding and abetting the most ruthless gangs on the planet, to make their profit. The same cartels that are responsible for mercilessly slaughtering tens of thousands of Mexicans, and even Americans, for paper. That's all these criminals know: MONEY. Power. Control. Psychopathy. Their greed is so ravenous it swallows human life absent of remorse.

Enough with the Sandy threads; this is the type of coverup they're looking to divert attention from.
This makes me sick.

Not a funny joke but seems to have almost everyone fooled.

The illicit drug trade is an unregulated, undocumented, multi-zillion dollar industry that is nearly as large as our "legitimate" economy. Our own governments are the key players in this scam that dates back at least to the 18th century's illegal opium trade with China. To this day that trade has never ended, it has grossly expanded and gone global. Though most likely far removed from the daily workings of it, but by title the biggest illicit drug kingpin on earth is quite likely The Queen of England. American military is the muscle.

This big joke relies on its prohibition to keep the market lucrative with prices enormously inflated on goods that would otherwise on a free market would sell for pennies. Prohibition permits our rights and privacies to be trampled over opening the door to your livingroom making you a suspect whether or not you use these substances.

The phoney Drug War scam promotes corruption of officials and stokes violence in the streets due to the enormous profits. These factors keep you in fear and make you more manageable, willing to bend over and spread them to do your part to prove you are clean and compliant and a good citizen.

The big banks have their role to play in this industry too, but everyone must pay to play. All players must be compliant or risk having the tables turned on them. The law can be used to get you, or it can look the other way at its convenience.

The Drug War was NEVER about stopping illicit drug traffic, always about controlling it. It IS a big joke and you are the fool if you believe the Drug War is being fought with your best interest in mind. It is a self-serving monster with an easy sell - drugs are bad! But the cure is much, much worse than the disease.

reply to post by Erongaricuaro


The term free market is in reality International Corporate Banker control of the planet. It is through ICBs that the original opium wars were ran. The ICBs are behind all of these huge illegal money markets, including the rising global trade in slaves.

What we are seeing in Mexico, is the ICBs building themselves an army to invade the US through our porous borders, and end this experiment in government that is the US of A.

I like the way a good rapper said it all in one song
Immortal Technique

reply to post by PapagiorgioCZ


Gotta love the Technique.

Let's make it a double shot.

Originally posted by theghoster
You could argue that the Banks don't need to be conspiratorial about anything--hell they can just be corrupt right out in the open.

-Ghoster

edit on 15-12-2012 by theghoster because: (no reason given)

You nailed that one. You have people here obsessing over the numerical significance of the gun models used in the school shooting when the real conspiracies are right out in the open where everyone can see.

One alone will never break the bond , this should be a b slap in comparison to everything that they have lied about, I know bacause were suppressed by the dependence of money and fraud ways we can never work as one only against in a semi subliminal competition called life, but know we have full right to overthrow the imposters, they practically laughed at the rights WE bestowed upon them to aid us by slowly destroying us, and we should not have to pay for our own death.

check out a full history of President scandals and pardons...

Start at the earliest and work your way up for maximum disgust.
Scandals en.wikipedia.org...

Pardons...paper trail for president scandal crime anyone? Pardons oh yes...take the fall; and I'll just pardon you...and no one is wiser; the media has shifted; people forget....The president did what? Oh look! Squirrel!

en.wikipedia.org...

Erongaricuaro said it very well. It truly is a shame that we, who live in this country called America will continue to have the proverbial wool pulled over our eyes because our entire system is designed to ensure our ignorance to the 'real' problems of our society. From education to inauguration, there are 'controls' in place to ensure secrets remain secrets.
Do we the people have any recourse at all? Are our values of living peacefully and free ever possible in a society which holds status and rank higher than morals and character?
We the people of this country, and most likely others are ruled/governed by fear for no other reason than to control and manipulate. Those of us who make attempts to disseminate this truth are viewed as conspirators and extremists who need to be placed on 'watch' lists for the safety of our society. Yet, we are the ones who are likely the most peaceful and loving of our fellow man.
In a society as ours, the truth seems to matter little and our beliefs and opinions can get us in deep trouble unless kept to ourselves.

reply to post by Cobra.EXE


It should be obvious by now Big Govt, Big Oil, Big Banks, & Big Biz are all above the law while the majority of us can lick their boots. When I read articles about white collar criminals who steal millions, even billions, get caught & are given 2 years in a country club while non violent drug offenders are filling up Americas Big Biz Prison systems, I l know this reality we reside is full of BS!

"It's a Big Club & you ain't in it! You & I are not in the Big Club" - George Carlin



How any rational person can take the US/Western Govt seriously still is beyond me!

Originally posted by Erongaricuaro
Not a funny joke but seems to have almost everyone fooled.

The illicit drug trade is an unregulated, undocumented, multi-zillion dollar industry that is nearly as large as our "legitimate" economy. Our own governments are the key players in this scam that dates back at least to the 18th century's illegal opium trade with China. To this day that trade has never ended, it has grossly expanded and gone global. Though most likely far removed from the daily workings of it, but by title the biggest illicit drug kingpin on earth is quite likely The Queen of England. American military is the muscle.

This big joke relies on its prohibition to keep the market lucrative with prices enormously inflated on goods that would otherwise on a free market would sell for pennies. Prohibition permits our rights and privacies to be trampled over opening the door to your livingroom making you a suspect whether or not you use these substances.

The phoney Drug War scam promotes corruption of officials and stokes violence in the streets due to the enormous profits. These factors keep you in fear and make you more manageable, willing to bend over and spread them to do your part to prove you are clean and compliant and a good citizen.

The big banks have their role to play in this industry too, but everyone must pay to play. All players must be compliant or risk having the tables turned on them. The law can be used to get you, or it can look the other way at its convenience.

The Drug War was NEVER about stopping illicit drug traffic, always about controlling it. It IS a big joke and you are the fool if you believe the Drug War is being fought with your best interest in mind. It is a self-serving monster with an easy sell - drugs are bad! But the cure is much, much worse than the disease.

How else are countries; supposed to build shadow governments and off the record funding's, and secret agendas? Taxes are a paper trail. Take natural vices; make them illegal control supply and demand...and say its to protect innocent children. They don't care about our kids that's a red herring; to keep the darkness of big brother off the books; and away from public eye.

reply to post by Swills


I agree - it is obvious. So obvious they don't even try to hide it. The tennets of capitalism should have had our banks fail - and others would have replaced them - but instead they cried 'too big to fail'. Nothing in this world should ever be allowed to grow too big to fail it is not in our interests.

Then watch the Carlin vid you posted and understand that our interests are the last thing on their minds.

The 'war on drugs', 'the war on crime', the war on terror' are all just excuses to tear down our rights and diminish our freedoms....and for them to make lots and lots of money.

Have any one of these so called wars ever been won? No....and they have no intention of doing so.. For starters - if they declare a truce in the war on drugs - they'll have to start paying taxes on their earnings . If they declare a truce in the war on drugs they'll stop all that cold hard cash oiling our economy (dealers don't do visa).

There was a recent report that stated that by the year 2030 Asia would wield more global power that the US and Europe combined. So how are we going to sustain our economies? I reckon the plan is to have a burgeoning underclass - plenty of poor, plenty of addicts, plenty of family breakdown and plenty of criminality. Lots of jobs go around with all of that - if you want to be a prison officer, a social worker, a care worker etc. But oh my God - what a hell hole its going to be in which to raise our children and our children's children.