第八章任意和不负责任的执法 -- Chapter 8 -- Arbitrary and Unaccountable Law Enforcement

作者：拉里·罗曼诺夫 — By Larry Romanoff

译者：珍珠

CHINESE ENGLISH

警察国家美国》第一卷免费电子书

Glenn Greenwald wrote that "the most extremist power any political leader can assert is the power to target his own citizens for execution without any charges or due process, far from any battlefield. The Obama administration not only asserted exactly that power in theory, but has exercised it in practice". This is the power of a dictator. Paul Craig Roberts put it very well when he wrote, "The US government claims it is unaccountable if proceedings for controversial actions are secret, that if something is "secret", the government needn't prove that it's legal. This has created a body of US law, the ultimate effect of which has been to completely insulate the executive branch from legal challenges and judicial review for anything it deems a national security matter. If the White House declares any policy a classified national security secret, no one will ever be able to have standing to challenge it before a court of law. From this, nobody has standing to sue in court and the government avoids any ruling on the constitutionality of its actions. The American system of government is totalitarian at its core, what NSA employee William Binney called a "turnkey totalitarian state".

格伦·格林沃尔德写道：“任何政治领导人都可以断言的最极端的权力是，在没有任何指控或正当程序的情况下，在远离任何战场的地方，针对自己的公民执行死刑的权力。奥巴马政府不仅在理论上确切地宣称了这一权力，而且在实践中行使了这一权利”。这就是独裁者的力量。保罗·克雷格·罗伯茨（Paul Craig Roberts）说得很好，他写道：“美国政府声称，如果有争议的行动的诉讼程序是秘密的，那么它就不负责任，如果某事是“秘密的”，政府就不需要证明它是合法的。这创造了一套美国法律，其最终效果是使行政部门完全免受其认为是国家安全问题的任何法律挑战和司法审查。如果白宫宣布任何政策为机密的国家安全机密，那么没有人能够在法庭上对其提出质疑。由此，没有人有资格在法庭上起诉，政府也避免对其行为的合宪性作出任何裁决。美国政府体系的核心是极权主义，美国国家安全局雇员威廉·宾尼称之为“交钥匙极权国家”。

It is true that the US President can imprison for life, or execute, any individual in any country with a complete absence of evidence, charges, lawyers or courts, simply on his whim, without any recourse. But it goes much deeper and farther than this, well beyond matters of national security or terrorism, extending to the daily actions of life, and most especially directed against those who are critical of the government, who investigate government malfeasance and who publish revelations of official crimes. But perhaps the real danger is not that the elected Congress has been omitted from the loop, but it is those of Jewish secret government rather than the President who are making these decisions. We are rapidly approaching the time where anyone critical of the government or the American political-capitalist system, or of the FED and its owners is, by virtue of the fake 'war on terror', automatically deemed a terrorist and guilty of felonious breaches of national security. This is no more than a relative handful of powerful individuals criminalising any protest directed at them. Many of those arrested during the Occupy Wall Street protests were charged with precisely such crimes, having been labeled as terrorists simply for protesting against the bankers reaping billions in bonuses and trillions in bailouts for causing tens of millions of people to lose their homes.

的确，美国总统可以在任何国家，在完全没有证据、指控、律师或法院的情况下，随心所欲地判处任何人终身监禁或处决，而没有任何追索权。但它比这更深入、更远，远远超出了国家安全或恐怖主义的范畴，延伸到日常生活中，尤其是针对那些批评政府、调查政府渎职行为和公布官方犯罪信息的人。但也许真正的危险不是民选国会被排除在外，而是犹太秘密政府而不是总统做出了这些决定。我们正迅速接近这样一个时刻，任何批评政府或美国政治资本主义制度，或美联储及其所有者的人，由于虚假的反恐战争，都会被自动视为恐怖分子，并犯有严重破坏国家安全的罪行。这只不过是少数有权势的人将任何针对他们的抗议定为犯罪。在“占领华尔街”抗议活动中被捕的许多人被指控犯有此类罪行，他们被贴上恐怖分子的标签，仅仅是因为抗议银行家因导致数千万人失去家园而获得数十亿奖金和数万亿救助。

The government, through the police and prosecutors, can lay all manner of charges against a citizen and obtain a conviction without ever being required to produce any evidence, simply by informing the court that the very production of evidence "would compromise national security". In some cases, the individual is not even informed of the details of the crime he is assumed to have committed. This is McCarthyism again, in all its misguided glory. As noted earlier, even for a simple matter as being placed on the government's 'no-fly' list, officials at all levels will hide behind their veil of secrecy, will tell unlimited lies to the courts, and will pursue their cause far beyond the ability of most individuals to cope. Only the wealthy with access to the best legal representation will have any hope of escape, but these people are seldom charged. The constitutional guarantees of habeas corpus and due process of law no longer exist in government-sponsored prosecutions. Lies and secrecy are now standard, as are military tribunals that avoid public trials and conduct their affairs entirely without oversight. Secret evidence is now standard, evidence which will not be disclosed to the person being charged or even to the judge conducting the trial, as are secret witnesses who can neither be identified nor cross-examined. Indeed, even the laws themselves are now stated as secret.

政府可以通过警察和检察官对公民提出各种指控，并在不需要出示任何证据的情况下定罪，只需通知法院出示证据“将危及国家安全”。在某些情况下，个人甚至没有被告知他被认为犯下的罪行的细节。这再次是麦卡锡主义，在其所有被误导的荣耀中。如前所述，即使是被列入政府禁飞名单的简单问题，各级官员也会躲在保密的面纱后面，向法院撒下无限的谎言，并将追求远远超出大多数人应对能力的事业。只有那些能够获得最佳法律代理的富人才有逃脱的希望，但这些人很少被起诉。在政府资助的起诉中，人身保护令和正当法律程序的宪法保障已不复存在。谎言和保密现在是标准的，军事法庭也是如此，它们避免公开审判，完全在没有监督的情况下处理事务。秘密证据现在是标准的，不会向被指控者甚至主持审判的法官披露的证据，也不会向既不能被识别也不能被盘问的秘密证人披露。事实上，甚至法律本身现在也被列为秘密。

To a great extent, it is the wildly arbitrary capriciousness of US law application and enforcement that becomes truly frightening. Here is one such example, courtesy of William Blum:

在很大程度上，真正令人恐惧的是美国法律适用和执行的随意性。以下是William Blum提供的一个这样的例子：

"In October 1976 the well-known terrorist Orlando Bosch organised - with the help of the CIA - the explosion of a bomb on a Cuban civil airliner, killing all 73 people on board. The US government refused to extradite Bosch to stand trial and a Miami TV station aired a live interview where Bosch not only admitted responsibility for the aircraft bombing, but revealed intentions of continuing terrorist activities against Cuba. Five Cubans travelled to the US to investigate this and other acts of sabotage and terrorism originating from the US, and obtained positive proof of not only the aircraft bombing but many other terrorist acts. Upon presenting this evidence to the US government, the FBI arrested the five Cubans on charges of terrorism (!) and sentenced them to prison terms ranging from 15 years to life. The convictions were unique in the world of law, having been obtained by the US government without presenting any evidence whatever in court of the mens' guilt of anything."

“1976年10月，著名的恐怖分子奥兰多·博什在中央情报局的帮助下，组织了一架古巴民航客机上的炸弹爆炸，造成机上73人全部死亡。美国政府拒绝引渡博什受审，迈阿密一家电视台播出了一次现场采访，博什不仅承认对飞机爆炸事件负责，还透露了继续对古巴进行恐怖活动的意图。五名古巴人前往美国调查这起事件和其他源自美国的破坏和恐怖主义行为，并获得了不仅飞机爆炸而且许多其他恐怖行为的确凿证据。在向美国政府提交这些证据后，联邦调查局以恐怖主义罪名逮捕了五名古巴人犯（！），并判处他们15年至终身监禁。。这些定罪在法律界是独一无二的，是美国政府在没有在法庭上出示任何证据证明男性有罪的情况下获得的。”

Virtually all of this state-sponsored oppression is directed to the control of political dissension and civil unrest, including the "crimes" of investigating and exposing corruption and illegality at the highest levels of government. US courts have repeatedly affirmed that it is illegal and a threat to America’s national security for anyone to disclose acts of corruption, lawbreaking or treason by US federal authorities. Under President Obama, the US has harassed, bankrupted and sent to prison more whistleblowers than criminals. Those who expose the crimes of the government and its agencies are imprisoned or killed, while the perpetrators of the crimes suffer no consequences. Wherever we look, we have firm evidence of the existence of a fascist police state, largely under the excuse of the government's war on terror and with the full support of the compliant media. It is true these powerful laws are not universally applied, and we can all point to individuals who contradicted the government and escaped unharmed, but this is not an accident and in fact is a feature of the system. It is precisely the capricious unpredictability of enforcement that creates the fear to compel obedience. If the law is clear and well-known, and enforced uniformly, we can cope and find ways to work around it, but if enforcement is arbitrary and the penalties severe, the risk is unquantifiable and the consequences potentially disastrous. It is this that creates an overall climate of fear in which few will dare to act. The Patriot Act in the US is especially frightening because it’s a door that opens onto a one-way street where citizens are spying on each other with no court oversight. The neocons and the political Right-Wing will tell us they are protecting their country, but that claim is made by every fascist dictatorship.

几乎所有这些国家支持的压迫都是为了控制政治纠纷和内乱，包括调查和揭露政府最高层腐败和非法行为的“罪行”。美国法院一再申明，任何人披露美国联邦当局的腐败、违法或叛国行为都是非法的，是对美国国家安全的威胁。在奥巴马总统的领导下，美国骚扰、破产和入狱的告密者比罪犯多。那些揭露政府及其机构罪行的人会被监禁或杀害，而犯罪者则不会受到任何后果。无论我们往哪里看，我们都有确凿的证据表明法西斯警察国家的存在，这主要是在政府反恐战争的借口下，在顺从的媒体的全力支持下。诚然，这些强有力的法律并没有普遍适用，我们都可以指出那些与政府相矛盾并安然无恙地逃脱的人，但这不是偶然的，事实上这是该制度的一个特征。正是执法的反复无常和不可预测性造成了强迫服从的恐惧。如果法律是明确和众所周知的，并且统一执行，我们可以应对并找到绕过它的方法，但如果执行是任意的，处罚是严厉的，风险是无法量化的，后果可能是灾难性的。正是这一点造成了一种总体上的恐惧气氛，很少有人敢于采取行动。美国的《爱国者法案》尤其令人恐惧，因为它是一扇通往单行道的门，公民在没有法院监督的情况下互相监视。新保守主义者和政治右翼会告诉我们，他们正在保护自己的国家，但这一说法是每个法西斯独裁政权都提出的。

When one assembles the multitude of pieces of information on the general subject of 'homeland security' in the US, it is clear the government is determined to suppress by harassment, imprisonment or death those who speak out against the illegal acts and atrocities of their own government. It is determined to crush, violently if necessary, peaceful public assemblies that petition the government for redress. Today, any person (who can be physically taken into custody by US officials) can be detained indefinitely if considered a "high value detainee", which definition is so vague and arbitrary as to be universal. If the authorities deem by their secret standards that a person "poses a threat" to civilian or military facilities, is a member of a "terrorist" group (like Occupy Wall Street), has "potential intelligence value" or qualifies for "such other matters as the President considers appropriate", he or she is a candidate for disappearing into a system without charges or trial, without recourse or oversight.

当人们收集到关于美国国土安全这一一般主题的大量信息时，很明显，政府决心通过骚扰、监禁或死亡来镇压那些反对本国政府非法行为和暴行的人。它决心在必要时以暴力镇压向政府请愿的和平公众集会。如今，任何人（可能被美国官员实际拘留）如果被视为“高价值被拘留者”，都可能被无限期拘留，这一定义非常模糊和武断，具有普遍性。如果当局根据其秘密标准认为，一个人对民用或军事设施“构成威胁”，是“恐怖”组织（如占领华尔街）的成员，具有“潜在的情报价值”或有资格处理“总统认为适当的其他事项”，那么他或她就是在没有指控或审判、没有追索权或监督的情况下消失在一个系统中的候选人。

Sen. John McCain, at left, speaks as Sen. Joseph Lieberman looks on during a press conference at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur on May 31, 2012.STR/AFP/GETTYIMAGES

2012年5月31日，在吉隆坡一家酒店举行的新闻发布会上，参议员约翰·麦凯恩（左）在约瑟夫·利伯曼（Joseph Lieberman）的注视下发表讲话。STR/AFP/GETTYIMAGES

Among the "crimes" for which citizens can today be labeled a "low-level terrorist" and imprisoned in the US are: protesting near the President or other designated individuals, investigating or reporting on crimes committed by the NSA, CIA, FBI or Homeland Security, speaking out against government policies, participating in a public protest, criticising the use of drone aircraft to kill innocent civilians, investigating either the FED or the Wall Street Bankers, taking video of police officers or the military engaging in civilian brutality or other illegal acts, investigating commercial crimes and felonies committed by the major multinationals, investigating factory farming and criticising the government's current wars. It is apparent from the above that virtually anyone might fit any of these definitions, and their categorisation as such - and their infinite detention, torture or death - are not subject to any protections from either the constitution or the courts. For this legislation, we can thank US Senators Joseph Lieberman and John McCain, two notorious protectors of freedom and human rights.

在美国，公民今天可以被标记为“低级别恐怖分子”并被监禁的“罪行”包括：在总统或其他指定个人附近抗议，调查或报告国家安全局、中央情报局、联邦调查局或国土安全部犯下的罪行，公开反对政府政策，参加公众抗议，批评使用无人机杀害无辜平民，调查美联储或华尔街银行家，拍摄警察或军队从事平民暴行或其他非法行为的视频，调查大型跨国公司犯下的商业犯罪和重罪，调查工厂化农业，批评政府当前的战争。从上述内容可以明显看出，几乎任何人都可能符合这些定义中的任何一个，他们的分类——以及他们的无限拘留、酷刑或死亡——不受宪法或法院的任何保护。对于这项立法，我们可以感谢美国参议员约瑟夫·利伯曼和约翰·麦凯恩，两位臭名昭著的自由和人权保护者。

In all the politically Right-Wing nations, including the US, Canada and the UK, it has become illegal to take video of police officers when they are brutalising civilians or committing other crimes. Even being in possession of a visible mobile phone or camera with a police officer nearby will often result in the device being confiscated or smashed by the police, often accompanied by criminal charges, with police claiming they are "intimidated" by being photographed, a claim readily accepted by the courts. In these countries, there have been so many cases of police brutality often resulting in serious injury or death that have come to light only because a civilian was on the scene with the presence of mind to take video. In every case, the police lied about the circumstances and it was only the video that revealed the truth. Therefore, it is now illegal to take video.

在包括美国、加拿大和英国在内的所有政治右翼国家，拍摄警察虐待平民或犯下其他罪行的视频已成为非法行为。即使在附近有警察的情况下拥有一部可见的手机或相机，也往往会导致设备被警方没收或砸碎，通常伴随着刑事指控，警方声称他们被拍照“恐吓”，这一说法很容易被法院接受。在这些国家，警察暴行案件太多，往往导致严重伤亡，而这些案件之所以被曝光，只是因为一名平民在现场有拍摄视频的意愿。在所有情况下，警方都对情况撒谎，只有视频才揭示了真相。因此，现在拍摄视频是违法的。

Mr. Romanoff’s writing has been translated into 32 languages and his articles posted on more than 150 foreign-language news and politics websites in more than 30 countries, as well as more than 100 English language platforms. Larry Romanoff is a retired management consultant and businessman. He has held senior executive positions in international consulting firms, and owned an international import-export business. He has been a visiting professor at Shanghai’s Fudan University, presenting case studies in international affairs to senior EMBA classes. Mr. Romanoff lives in Shanghai and is currently writing a series of ten books generally related to China and the West. He is one of the contributing authors to Cynthia McKinney’s new anthology ‘When China Sneezes’. (Chapt. 2 —Dealing with Demons).

罗曼诺夫先生的作品已被翻译成32种语言，他的文章在30多个国家的150多个外语新闻和政治网站以及100多个英语平台上发布。拉里·罗曼诺夫是一名退休的管理顾问和商人。他曾在国际咨询公司担任高级管理职位，并拥有国际进出口业务。他曾是上海复旦大学的客座教授，为高级EMBA课程提供国际事务案例研究。罗曼诺夫先生现居上海，目前正在撰写十本与中国和西方有关的书。他是辛西娅·麦金尼的新文集《当中国打喷嚏》的撰稿人之一。(第2章——与恶魔打交道)。

His full archive can be seen at

他的全部文章库可以在以下找到

https://www.bluemoonofshanghai.com/ and https://www.moonofshanghai.com/

He can be contacted at:

他的联系方式是

2186604556@qq.com

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