Update #3 appears at the bottom.
Due to numerous disparaging comments by multiple individuals, I have reposted my article.
Heckling does not change what occurred. People need to know these truths, especially those who have experienced the same. They need to know they are sane, that such things are indeed being perpetrated, and the perpetrators use shame to silence them and protect their activities.
I write to encourage them not to listen to disparaging people who speak without knowledge.
February 10, 2024
I am Joseph Cafariello, a Canadian citizen and ex-member of the Canadian military. Of sound mind, not on medication, not a drug user, not a marijuana smoker, not an alcohol drinker, with no mental disorders.
I recently posted to this Liberty subreddit experiences of harassment by Vancouver's police and fire departments (Vancouver, BC, Canada). I’m the fellow who was repeatedly ordered by police to stay out of Vancouver’s Stanley Park, and was continually harassed whenever I visited the park (which I do every second day on my early morning walks).
Immediately following that post, they changed some of the techniques they use in my case. They were either informed of my post or found it themselves, seeing as my internet activity, and phone activity for that matter, are under continuous surveillance (plenty of proof which I will not include here to avoid running off-topic).
In this post, I would like to shed some light on other harassment which is still ongoing, since it occurs in private, away from potential observers. It involves the Canadian and US militaries.
Havana Syndrome
In 2016, numerous employees of the Canadian and US embassies in Havana, Cuba, started experiencing head injuries ranging from mild headaches to concussions. It happened in their sleep, and came to be called Havana Syndrome.
Wikipedia explains (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Havana\_syndrome):
“Havana syndrome is a cluster of idiopathic symptoms experienced mostly abroad by U.S. government officials and military personnel. The symptoms range in severity from pain and ringing in the ears to cognitive dysfunction and were first reported in 2016 by U.S. and Canadian embassy staff in Havana, Cuba. Beginning in 2017, more people, including U.S. intelligence and military personnel and their families, reported having these symptoms in other places, such as China, India, Europe, and Washington, D.C. The U.S. Department of State, Department of Defense, and other federal entities have called the events "Anomalous Health Incidents" (AHI). Of over a thousand purported cases, the majority of US investigative bodies found only a few dozen cases to be suspicious.”
Ladies and gentlemen, I can tell you exactly what happens, because I have been experiencing this since I first joined the Canadian military back in 2002, and am still experiencing these “torments” (as I call them) to this day, already 3 years after leaving the military.
I go to bed. In about 15 minutes, just as I am on the cusp of falling asleep, a hear and feel a heavy thud reverberate and ultimately strike my skull. My body releases a sharp burst of adrenalin, my heart starts racing, and my blood’s circulation speeds up significantly. Depending on the severity of the blow, it can take me anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour to fall asleep again. Though there have been times I could not return to sleep for more than 2 hours.
A strong headache is felt immediately, and lasts for hours. There have been times when my heart felt like it was going to burst, having been startled as such.
The pulse to the head sometimes reverberates through the wall and my bed’s headboard. I distinctly feel as though I have been hit on the top of my skull. At other times, it feels as though the pulse has come through the air, striking the side of my skull.
This is not a sleep disorder, for it does not occur regularly. At times, my sleep is disturbed in this manner 3 or 4 days in a row. At other times, there is no disturbance for up to a week. But they never let me go more than a week without such interruptions to my sleep.
Neither is it sleep apnea, as I do not awaken gasping for breath. The pounding headaches, sudden release of adrenaline, and heart palpitations I experience are caused by external impacts of sound waves or air bursts.
Sonic Weapons
How these pulses are produced is not easy to identify. As Wikipedia explains:
“Once the story became public, various U.S. government representatives attributed the incidents to attacks by unidentified foreign actors, and various U.S. officials blamed the reported symptoms on a variety of unidentified and unknown technologies, including ultrasound and microwave weapons.”
Sonic weapons have been in use for many years by militaries, and by police in crowd control. As Wikipedia explains (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonic\_weapon):
“Some sonic weapons make a focused beam of sound or of ultrasound; others produce an area field of sound. As of 2023 military and police forces make some limited use of sonic weapons.”
(Do not believe the 2023 timeline. The Canadian military has been using these weapons since the early 2000’s at the latest.)
Wikipedia continues:
“Extremely high-power sound waves can disrupt or destroy the eardrums of a target and cause severe pain or disorientation. This is usually sufficient to incapacitate a person. Less powerful sound waves can cause humans to experience nausea or discomfort.”
The users of these technologies must also be using thermal detection equipment to monitor the target’s sleep. As I mentioned, I most often feel these blows the moment I am falling asleep. Body temperature drops when we sleep, and brain activity slows. Heat-detection equipment is likely being used to identify the point at which the target is falling asleep.
Why they prefer to strike at the start of someone’s sleep as opposed to the middle of their sleep, I do not know. Perhaps their intent is to deprive the body of early sleep, limiting the amount of deep sleep available to the person before their alarm rings in the morning.
Ordinary Hammers
Not all such “torments” (as I call them) are caused by high-tech equipment. I have heard and felt distinct hammer strikes running along the 2x4 beams inside my walls. These strikes can be a single hard strike, or several strikes in a row. It is definitely caused by a person with a hammer because the intervals between strikes are equidistant in time; that is, the time spacing between strikes is not random and does not change from strike to strike, but is constant between strikes, exactly as when someone is hammering. And no, it is not someone hanging pictures at 1:30 am, multiple times a week, for years.
On one occasion, when I was standing at my kitchen sink, I felt the floor-board directly under my feet pulse so sharply it felt like a brick had struck the soles of my feet. In this case, my military neighbour likely used a hammer to strike the floorboard on his side of the wall. It is the only plausible explanation.
Surveillance
This leads to surveillance of one’s activities at home. I have plenty of proofs of that. They seem insignificant on an individual basis. But when you put them all together, they present a clear picture of home surveillance.
My laptop computer’s lid cracked one night, at the bottom left corner of the screen. The next day at work, I heard my military supervisor relate to another co-worker that the night before, his laptop computer’s lid cracked at the bottom left corner. I swear to the Lord in Heaven, I am being truthful.
I tested my suspicion of being surveilled. At home one night, I blurted out-loud, “VW Passat. What an ugly sounding word, ‘Passat’”, I said. A few days later, my military colleagues at work started playing a card game at lunch, invented by one of them. The name he gave his game was “Passat”, and when he spoke it, he looked at me for a reaction. If you ever contact the Halifax military base, ask for the Claims Department and ask them if they are still playing Passat.
On another occasion, at a time when I frequented the gym every second day for a few years, I suspected my van had been fitted with a listening device. I suspected so because a number of things I had spoken with people about on my phone while in my van (nothing illegal) were repeated by people at the gym in conversations among themselves. Too many times, parts of other people's conversations matched parts of conversations I had had with others while I was in my van.
I already knew my phone was being tapped, but I also suspected my van was bugged. So one evening while driving in my van, I blurted out-loud a number of things I said I hated. "I hate (this or that)"; "I hate it when...". One of them was, "I hate when people chew gum with their mouths open." I then vocalized an exaggerated gnawing sound, "Gnaw. Gnaw. Gnaw."
The very next time I went to the gym, 2 days later, while I was at an exercise, a fellow sat at an exercise directly behind me. And sure enough, he started chewing with his mouth open, vocalizing that gnawing sound, "Gnaw. Gnaw. Gnaw." I didn't look behind at him, because I knew what was going on, and I wanted to avoid playing into his hand. So he repeated himself again and again until I was done and moved to a different station. Now, honestly, who chews gum at the gym? You can't. Or you run the risk of choking for the heavy breathing, not to mention when laying down on benches. And with precisely the same exaggerated vocalized gnawing sound I had made in my van just 2 days prior.
Their whole intent is to let you know you are being surveilled. They want you to know, as both a warning and a provocation. They want you to say something, to launch accusations, which they would readily deny, making you look paranoid. If you react too strongly, they could even have you diagnosed with some kind of disorder, and put you on medication, which further plays into their hand. (More regarding medications in the last section of this post.)
This is why, as I mentioned in my previous post, they would park their cars shining their high beams on me as I walked past them during my morning walk. And why on some occasions, a group of 3 or 4 would exit their cars and stand on my path just as I approached, forcing me to go around them. They would then remain standing on the path until my return trip through, and after I had passed by the second time, then would then return to their cars - making it absolutely clear I was their interest.
Their intent is not only to make me aware, but also to present themselves in close proximity to me, within easy reach, in the hope I would confront them, resulting in an altercation that could land me in a lot of hot water - 4 witnesses against me, all pleading innocence.
Again, it is all designed to make you look bad, and to warrant some kind of legal measure against you - preferably a medical diagnosis, discrediting you in everything you say about them. If they can't refute your claims, their only remaining option is to discredit you. That's what all of these tricks are designed to accomplish. Who would believe anything you say, once you have been diagnosed with a disorder?
There are plenty more examples. But who would really believe them? I’ll save them for the future.
Home Invasion
Both during and after my military service, I have had my apartments entered without any signs of break-ins. How? Lock-picking and duplicate keys. Indications? Missing objects; ie: money, phone adaptor, etc. Nothing major. Just something to make us understand we are being watched, and to make us understand what they can do.
But it is always something small, something for which you would be ridiculed for divulging.
Two more examples: I found my razor, which I always lay-down razor-end to the wall, turned around, razor-end toward me. Also, in one of my house slippers I found a small shoe sticker on the up-side of the heel. I had those slipper for years, and never had any shoe stickers on them. Yet there it was, clearly visible on the top surface of my slipper, not the bottom. Could I have stepped on a shoe sticker when barefoot in my apartment, only to have the sticker transfer itself to my slipper when I wore it? How many shoe stickers do you have laying around your apartment that you can accidentally step onto?
If I had stepped onto a sticker in my apartment and had it stick to my heel, that means the sticky side was up against my skin. This means the sticker would have had to flip upside down such that the sticky side would then be down, allowing the sticker to stick to the slipper. Do you really think that happened? That sticker was not there when I left my apartment, but it was there when I returned. And it was the wrong sticker, wrong brand, wrong size.
Again, what is their intent? To make someone look ridiculous so no one will believe them should they speak of other more sensitive things.
Staged Incidents
The above incidents clearly point to coordinated and staged events (at my work, my home, on my walks, etc). This is so frequently met with incredulity. "But that would require coordination on the part of so many people," the public dismisses. "They wouldn't do that."
Oh yes they would, and they have, as explained in https://fightgangstalking.com/. Note the documented cases involving the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS, Canada's equivalent to the US' CIA) and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP, Canada's national police force) in the second quote, which were reported in national newspapers.
From https://fightgangstalking.com/:
“Disruption operations often involve tactics which are illegal, but difficult to prove. These tactics include – but are not limited to – overt surveillance (stalking), slander, blacklisting, “mobbing” (intense, organized harassment in the workplace), “black bag jobs” [home invasions], abusive phone calls, computer hacking, framing, threats, blackmail, vandalism, “street theater” (staged physical and verbal interactions with minions of the people who orchestrate the stalking), harassment by noises, and other forms of bullying. Many of these tactics were used by the FBI during its illegal COINTELPRO operations, as documented by stolen official documents and subsequent Congressional investigations.
"Although the general public is mostly unfamiliar with the practice, references to “disruption” operations – described as such – do occasionally appear in the news media, even though that fact would apparently be news to the editors of The New York Times. In May 2006, for example, an article in The Globe and Mail, a Canadian national newspaper, reported that the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) used “Diffuse and Disrupt” tactics against suspects for whom they lacked sufficient evidence to prosecute. A criminal defense attorney stated that many of her clients complained of harassment by authorities, although they were never arrested."
She can add me to that list too.
For the Benefit of Others
The experiences I have recounted here seem so trivial, so insignificant, they make you look ridiculous if you talk about them. But if we don’t talk about such things, no one will ever know about them. Other people have experienced the same, and are forced to endure such torments in silence. They need encouragement to talk about their own experiences, and so I write about mine in the hope they will talk about theirs, even if I do look ridiculous. The perpetrators are more ridiculous for doing them.
I remember a military colleague being hauled away by military police one morning, as she was struggling and having a violent fit. A fellow on her floor told me she was throwing chairs at her walls screaming, “Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!”. When he mentioned that, I knew exactly what they had done to her. She was considered unruly, and was being watched intently. They wanted her out, and that is how they accomplished it. Through wall tapping and sleep deprivation, they push you to the breaking point. And when you finally lose control and do something rash, they pounce on you, and you’re out. Now she has a criminal record, considered a criminal when in reality she was a victim. Welcome to the Canadian military, and other militaries besides, I am sure.
There are dozens upon dozens of experiences I could present. But who will really read them? Worse still, who will really believe them? I overheard my military supervisor in Halifax whisper to another, “Do you think he knows?”, after I had mentioned one of the many “coincidences” I experienced, but with a tone of my being aware it was not a mere coincidence. As I turned my face to my computer screen, I whispered under my breath, but still loud enough for him to hear, “Yes, (rank) (name), I know.” A few minutes later, as he walked past my desk, he leaned in by my ear and whispered, “We’re just trying to help you.” I should have pressed him for answers right then and there, but you just don’t know how much trouble you can get into when making such accusations in the military. So I let it go. But I will never forget.
Should anyone reading this ever decide to launch some kind of inquiry, I can mention names of over 100 people to contact, including military personnel, family members, neighbours, building managers, and others who have been contacted by military personnel with false narratives about me. They flash their ID’s and other credentials, and people believe anything they say. They turn family, friends, co-workers and neighbours against you, even recruiting their participation. Your acquaintances not only participate, but actually feel justified and emboldened playing tricks on you. It isn't their fault, though; they have been misled. I would reference them solely for corroboration.
As a final thought, here are explanations of two military programs in which certain persons (sometimes military, sometimes civilian) are kept under constant surveillance, and are in some cases subjected to conditioning in an attempt to turn them into what is called a “sleeper agent”. Almost all of the tactics presented below have been experience by me, including constant surveillance (ie: my previous post here regarding being harassed on my morning walks) and sleep deprivation (as per the top portion of this post, which other military members in Cuba and elsewhere around the world have also experienced).
Pentagon’s Signature Reduction Program
See Newsweek’s article: https://www.newsweek.com/exclusive-inside-militarys-secret-undercover-army-1591881
Some excerpts from that Newsweek article, plus more background information on the Pentagon’s Signature Reduction Program, can be found here: https://fightgangstalking.com/
“The largest undercover force the world has ever known is the one created by the Pentagon over the past decade. Some 60,000 people now belong to this secret army, many working under masked identities and in low profile, all part of a broad program called “signature reduction.” The force, more than ten times the size of the clandestine elements of the CIA, carries out domestic and foreign assignments, both in military uniforms and under civilian cover, in real life and online, sometimes hiding in private businesses and consultancies, some of them household name companies.
“…a little-known sector of the American military, but also a completely unregulated practice. No one knows the program’s total size, and the explosion of signature reduction has never been examined for its impact on military policies and culture. Congress has never held a hearing on the subject. And yet the military developing this gigantic clandestine force challenges U.S. laws, the Geneva Conventions, the code of military conduct and basic accountability.
“…The signature reduction effort engages some 130 private companies to administer the new clandestine world. Dozens of little known and secret government organizations support the program, doling out classified contracts and overseeing publicly unacknowledged operations.
"Federal spy agencies are using Americans to spy on their fellow citizens – the same approach to governance famously employed by communist East Germany."
How to Develop a Hypnotic Sleeper Agent
By Dantalion Jones / Masters of Mind Control
The following “was” on the web, but has been removed. Surprise, surprise. But I saved its web files to my computer years ago, knowing that sooner or later it would be removed. I made a jpeg image of the web page as it once appeared, attached here.
Note that I have experienced almost all of the tactics described below, including the stalking I mentioned in my previous post here (regular walks in the park), the sleep deprivation noted at the top of this post, and the surveillance and intrusions described here as well.
Quoting the now-removed webpage: “How to Develop a Hypnotic Sleeper Agent” (from here to end of post):
Amid all the conspiracy theories one of the most feared is that there exist "sleeper agents" in our society who are programmed to come into service when they are triggered by a phone call or key word.
These alleged sleeper agents don't even know they are programmed to become saboteurs, soldiers, suicide bomber, etc because of the thoroughness of their programming. They are the feared "Manchurian Candidate" that the movies portray.
The question is "Are they real?"
If they are true sleeper agents there is no way of telling until they are activated. One can however theorize exactly how they are made.
Indoctrination
Using indoctrination a person can be made to embrace a religious or philosophical belief that would make becoming a sleeper agent possible.
This would be a person so committed to an ideal they would be willing to wait patiently as a member of society until they are called into action. These people would know their mission and consciously hold it secret while interacting with the rest of society.
Conditioning
Conditioning is a repetitive process where the desired responses are enforced and rewarded and unwanted responses are punished. This can be done consciously as part of training drill and it can be done subconsciously using hypnosis or drugs to create amnesia.
Hypnosis
It has been demonstrated that hypnosis can create "amnesia walls" in which the subject has no conscious memory of what happened in the hypnosis session. It has further been demonstrated that hypnosis can give post hypnotic instruction to be carried out automatically in the waking state without the subject knowing it or questioning the behavior.
What follows is conjecture and theory based on testimonials of people who were alleged to be sleeper agents and soldiers.
Continuous Supervisions
Continuous supervision doesn't mean that the subject is cut off completely from society. It means that they are constantly overseen and every aspect of their lives are managed (without their knowledge or consent) to support their hypnotic programming.
This would include:
• Repeated reinforcement of all hypnotic conditioning.
• Handlers. Handlers are people who help maintain the subjects environment to maintain all the programming. They can play the role of family, friends, lovers, psychologists, coaches or any roll the subject perceives as supportive. The truth is the handlers are their to support the successful fulfillment of the programming and not the subject as a person.
• Minimal sleep so that the mind/brain does not process all the sleeper conditioning during sleep.
• Creating constant environmental challenges like unemployment or poverty. This gives the subject something other than their programming to focus on.
• Frequent hospitalization. This gives overt opportunity to sedate the subject for conditioning. If the subject has a history of hospitalizations for mental disturbances all the better. No one will take them seriously.
Joseph Cafariello
PS... Today is the second day after this post (February 12, 2024). A garbage truck just slammed into my parked car.
PPS... I finish writing this post because I am satisfied with its shape and content; not because of what happened to my car.
It is similar to when you are reaching for your coat, and someone tells you, "Take your coat." Since you have to take your coat, your brain tells you it's ok to obey them, and you comply. They just created an instance where they led you, and you followed them. And your brain accepted it.
It's a technique the military uses all the time. It trains you to accept instructions from that person or group. Done enough times, you become comfortable obeying them.
I just say, "I take my coat because I choose to, not because you tell me to." It's important to make that clear, to block the conditioning and affirm our self-governance; not just to them, but to ourselves as well. Now our brain realizes we took our coat by our own choice; we are still in command.
So too, I say regarding today's event. "Thanks for the warning, but I had already finished writing my post. I finished by my own choosing."
UPDATES 1 & 2: February 26 & March 07, 2024:
My apartment was once again entered while I was out. Either a key was used or the lock was picked. This may or may not have included assistance from building staff. Home invasions are included in the list of their techniques noted above, referred to as "black bag jobs".
All tenants on my floor received new fridges a couple of weeks ago. I removed the tape securing the bins inside my new fridge, and also removed all styrofoam pads from the corners of the glass shelves when I repositioned them.
The person(s) who have been invading my living space on a regular basis have struck again. As you can see in the photo below, the styrofoam pads on the corners of my fridge's shelves were restored when I was out of my apartment. I had removed all pads when I repositioned the shelves. Yet now they are back.
It is a tactic used to undermine our observational awareness in an attempt to make us second-guess and doubt ourselves. The aim is to cause people to feel less sure not only of the things we have done, but also feel less sure of the things others have done. They want us to question the accuracy of our observations and memory.
The idea is to train you to dismiss any anomalies you may observe as being your own misperception of things. Once they convince you not to trust your own judgement, they are free to do whatever they want to you, and you will simply accept it without questioning.
UPDATE 3: May 18, 2024:
Confrontations with individuals keep occurring, at times potentially violent. Following are just 3 such encounters as of late.
1 - Kick-boxer in the park:
As I parked my car in one of the parking lots in Vancouver's Stanley Park one night, another vehicle drove up behind me and parked several spots away. A tall man exited that vehicle, and walked hastily along the path I always walk, down some steps to the water's sea wall path. I took my time and followed my usual walk, also down the steps down to the sea wall. The man knew my routine, and was in a hurry to get ahead of me.
As I walked along the sea wall, I saw the same man sitting on a bench, playing a loud religious sermon in a foreign language on a device I did not clearly see. As I walked past him, he called out to me to stop and chat. I ignored him and continued walking past. He rose and started walking behind me.
I opened my umbrella, turned, and walked past him the other way, returning to the stairs back to the parking lot. He also turned and continued following me. I started running. He also started running. I ran up the steps, as did he.
Being taller than I am, his legs are longer than mine, and he quickly caught up to me on a grassy patch at the top of the steps. I turned to him and asked, "Why are you following me?" He did not reply, but stood profile to me, the same stance a kick-boxer uses when ready to kick someone. He was tall, thin, and in excellent physical shape as you would see in a kick-boxer.
He did not speak at all, but was just waiting for me to make a move. I turned, entered my vehicle and left. The encounter continued with a chase through the park in our cars. Yes, that is correct. He chased me out of the park in his car.
2 - Told to keep quiet:
The perpetrators need to operate with as little detection as possible, and they repeatedly warn their subjects to keep their mouths shut about their experiences.
On another of my recent nightly walks, a man stood on the sidewalk ahead of me about half a block away, looked at me, and shouted into the sky at nobody, giving the appearance of being a homeless person shouting for no reason. He then started walking in my direction. I continued walking straight. As he passed me, he leaned into my face and shouted into my ear, "Shut the f_ck up!" I continued walking in my direction, and he resumed walking in his.
The idea is to make it seem as though he is just a deranged man wandering the streets at night, shouting at nothing, so that when he shouts at me, any observer would simply dismiss his actions. But in reality, he was sent to send me a message to stop publishing posts like this, which I had done many times on many sites, and continue to. They don't like it when we reveal their methods. But the truth must be known.
3 - You'll be sorry:
On another occasion, while returning from grocery shopping one afternoon, I walked past a man sitting by a storefront. He was clean-cut, wearing clean clothes, without any carts or wagons or any belongings of any kind. As I passed him, he asked me for some spare change. I replied, "I'm sorry," and continued walking past. He replied, "You will be."
There are numerous other experiences, like two seemingly unassociated men standing on the sea wall about 100 meters away from each other, each of them spitting just as I walked past each one.
There are too many experiences to mention. Looking at each experience individually, one would easily dismiss them as being unrelated and simply coincidental. But put them all together and a picture starts to form, like putting together the pieces of a puzzle.
As I hand you each piece of the puzzle one by one, you dismiss each piece, saying, "This could be anything." And you discard it. You keep discarding each piece as I hand it to you. By the end of it, you look down at the table and say, "You have nothing." That's because you looked at each piece as a separate item and threw it away. But if you leave the pieces on the table as I hand them to you and do not hastily discard them, you will see they form a clear picture when put all together.
We must look at all these events as a whole. Individually, each one could be anything. But when all of these experiences are put together and considered as a whole, they form an undeniable picture. Do not be quick to dismiss each piece. Leave the pieces on the table and look at the whole. The picture I present is sound. Remember, I have all the pieces; you do not. I see the picture more clearly than you do.
https://preview.redd.it/we31ymcsm91d1.jpg?width=966&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3d56ac3dd3558a60d477ba9315104d1b66b139f8

“Despite objections from the opposition and activists regarding the illogical closure of land borders for four years, the authorities have not taken them into consideration…”
(Lack of) Human Rights and Freedoms
Elkhan Aliyev, an activist from the Azerbaijani Popular Front Party (AXCP), who has been imprisoned for 10 months, has announced that he will start a hunger strike to the death. At the Baku Court of Appeal, he declared that beginning on May 15, he will refuse both food and water. An AXCP official explained that Aliyev is taking this drastic step to protest his unlawful imprisonment. According to Aliyev, he has been detained for 10 months on political orders despite not committing any crime.
Reports indicate that Alasgar Mammadli, the founder of “Toplum TV,” an internet television channel, and its corresponding portal, as well as an expert in media law, has seen a decline in his health while in prison. This information was conveyed by his family members. Nasimi Mammadli, his brother, highlighted that despite suffering from a severe illness, Alasgar Mammadli has been unable to access treatment. According to Nasimi Mammadli, a previously prescribed treatment regimen has concluded, yet no steps have been taken to continue it. Approximately 10 days ago, Alasgar Mammadli was taken to the Penitentiary Service’s Treatment Facility for tests, but neither he nor his lawyer has been informed of the results. Nasimi Mammadli noted the lack of conditions for a needle biopsy of the lump in his brother’s throat, specifically related to the thyroid gland. Alasgar Mammadli continues to experience difficulty breathing, sleep disturbances, and a sensation of suffocation when lying down. His blood pressure is elevated, and he has encountered voice problems and heavy breathing. Despite his urgent need for medical attention, Alasgar remains detained without evidence, leaving him feeling as though he is being held hostage.
As disclosed by his lawyer, Agil Layij, the inquiry into the criminal case involving opposition figure Tofig Yagublu is set to wrap up this week. Today, investigator Abdulla Jalilli convened with Tofig Yagublu at the Baku Detention Center and presented the ultimate indictment. The investigator is anticipated to finalize the investigation decision within this week. Subsequently, legal representatives will scrutinize the investigation materials next week. It is probable that the case will be forwarded to court by month’s end. Tofig Yagublu refutes the allegations leveled against him.
The journalist Nargiz Absalamova, an employee of “Abzas Media,” has been denied house arrest once again. This update comes from her lawyer, Rovshana Rahimli. Despite the lawyer’s efforts, the Khatai District Court has declined the request to replace the journalist’s detention with a non-custodial measure. Nargiz Absalamova has been in custody for nearly six months, purportedly for the sake of an ongoing investigation.
Natig Mehdi, a member of the Musavat Party and a candidate running for the Party chairmanship who withdrew from the race a few days prior to the congress, has been killed. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs press service, Natig Mehdi had been missing for four days. The last known sighting of the Musavat member was on May 10 when he left his residence in his personal vehicle. Concerned relatives of the activist had filed a report with the police department of the Khatai district to locate him. On May 14, law enforcement authorities confirmed his murder. The Ministry of Internal Affairs alleges that 60-year-old Natig Mehdi was killed by his colleague: “There are significant suspicions that Natig Mehdi, was murdered by his colleague Elsever Islamov due to personal reasons. Elsever Islamov was apprehended by the police and taken in for questioning.” The Musavat Party congress took place on May 4, during which Isa Gambar was re-elected as the party’s chairman.
On May 14, 2024, a session of the Azerbaijan Democracy and Welfare Party (ADR) Board of Directors convened. During the session, a resolution was passed to adhere to the stipulations outlined in Article 4.7 of the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan “On Political Parties,” leading to the suspension of the party’s operations. Article 4.7 of this law prohibits political parties from functioning without state registration. Consequently, Gubad Ibadoghlu, the party’s chairman, had previously issued a directive on January 12, 2023, dissolving the party’s central executive bodies and discontinuing the activities of designated officials, thereby assuming responsibility for this decision. Recognizing the imperative to align ADR’s operations with the statutory requirements of the Law “On Political Parties,” the Board members resolved to suspend the party’s activities due to its lack of registration. In light of this development, Party chairman Gubad Ibadoghlu, who was released from nine months of imprisonment and placed under house arrest, has opted to take an indefinite hiatus from his political engagements due to severe deteriorations in his health, particularly irreversible cardiac issues. Gubad Ibadoghlu extends his appreciation to the party leadership and members who stood in solidarity with him throughout his tenure at ADR, especially acknowledging their support during his period of incarceration.
Meydan TV reported that it has advanced to the finals of the 2024 World Justice Challenge. Dedicated to impartially reporting news in three languages on events in Azerbaijan and globally, Meydan TV is among over 400 contenders, and the winner will be announced in early August. Presently, there are five other finalists in the media and information category from Mexico, Venezuela, Argentina, Ghana, and Albania. Meydan TV stands as the sole representative from Azerbaijan and the broader South Caucasus in this competition. Established in 2013, the TV’s mission is to inform engaged members of society about political, economic, and social matters, fostering open dialogues on pertinent issues within Azerbaijani society. According to Meydan TV’s statement, despite its impactful endeavors, the Azerbaijani government has persistently targeted the organization, initiating legal proceedings against its leadership and imposing a ban on its journalists from leaving the country for over four years. Currently, access to the website of Meydan TV remains restricted in Azerbaijan.
The State Border Service (SBS) reported that on May 14, a total of 36 Azerbaijani citizens were detained. Twelve individuals, including eight minors, were apprehended within the service area of the “Gazakh” border division, while 24 individuals, including 16 minors, were detained within the service area of the “Shamkir” border detachment. According to the SBS, these individuals were detained while attempting to cross the state border from Georgia to Azerbaijan. The State Border Service (SBS) released photos, including those of young children, to the public and indicated that operational and investigative activities are ongoing. However, no additional information was disclosed. It is presumed that the individuals detained were trying to cross the border on foot due to financial constraints preventing air travel. Azerbaijani land borders have been closed since spring 2020 as part of pandemic control measures. Despite objections from the opposition and activists regarding the illogical closure of land borders for four years, the authorities have not taken them into consideration.
Governance and Corruption
The involvement of a third party has emerged in the case implicating Henry Cuellar, a member of the US House of Representatives, and his wife Imelda Cuellar, accused of accepting bribes from Azerbaijan. This individual is identified as Irada Akhundova, a citizen of Azerbaijan. Irada Akhundova has been convicted of unlawful conduct as an agent for the Azerbaijani government and the State Oil Company: “This constitutes a breach of the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Akhundova confessed to aiding Imelda Cuellar, the congressman’s wife indicted in April, in making a $60,000 payment.” It is reported that Irada Akhundova has agreed to testify in any legal proceedings, including before a grand jury, and to provide documents pertaining to the federal government’s investigation into the Cuellars as part of a plea deal. She faces a potential sentence of up to 5 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. Irada Akhundova was honored with the “Progress” medal in 2021 by President Aliyev for her contributions to fostering friendship between nations and advancing the Azerbaijani diaspora.
The Baku City Executive Authority has again declined permission for the rally scheduled by the National Council of Democratic Forces on May 19. According to the National Council, the executive authority cited ongoing repair work at the Yasamal Sports and Health Complex stadium mentioned in the rally request. Concerning the squares in front of the “28 May” and “Nariman Narimanov” metro stations, it was highlighted that these areas witness heavy pedestrian and vehicular traffic. Thus, holding gatherings there would lead to traffic congestion and impede citizens’ freedom of movement. Notably, the National Council had expressed openness to considering alternative locations suggested by the Baku City Executive Authority in their request. However, the executive authority did not propose any alternative venues to the opposition bloc.
https://preview.redd.it/jelod0wve21d1.jpg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6ac847b2d7388e9a3105535f22a72bbc600fa69e

Art by Necrapathic on Umbara: https://maulusque.tumblr.com/post/694729556147437568/necrophatic-old-rex-glanced-at-the-otheamp
In this AU Yoda grew weary and suspicious of Krell and sent Fordo, the Clone Commander of his Legion alongside Commander Blackout to investigate. Needless to say Fordo was anything but Happy seeing his little Brothers being used as Cannon Fodder and treated like trash.
This from under the second pic written by the Artist himself set after the destruction of the Separatist Weapons transport and Fordo is done with Krell’s FIERFEK!!!!
Fordo stepped closer to the enraged Jedi and fearlessly looking him in the eye. “I suggest you back off, General. For the remainder of this Campaign, you will be under the supervision of both myself and Commander Blackout. Then, when this is over and Skywalker returns to command his troops, I will petition the GAR High Command to open an inquiry into your actions over your entire tenure as General through a Court Martial. Every single Command you gave led to one loss after the Other. Every single of your so called strategies cost at least 5 Platoons and Battles to their point your Scouts had to come up with a solution. You are officially under arrest for War Crimes and Betraying the Republic.”
Pong Krell bared his teeth and linked his lower arms behind his back, leaning in close enough that Fordo could feel his breath. “That is a very bold move, clone,” he sneered.
“You will call him by his name,” Rex made a bold move of his own, drawing Krell’s attention. “His name is Fordo. Commander Fordo. You will address him as such.”
Every muscle in the besalisk’s body was wound tight, ready to retaliate as he turned on the Captain. The air rang with the silence as every clone in the room waited for the other boot to drop…

Editorial Staff
A DAUGHTER reportedly brought her mother to the Turks and Caicos for Mother’s Day, and both were allegedly arrested, leaving the Turks and Caicos Islands today (Monday 13th, May,2024).
Officials say they were found with two rounds of ammunition in their luggage.
Police have confirmed the arrest to Magnetic Media after inquiries.
Turks & Caicos residents are already reacting to this latest report, “dumbfounded” by the mistake which keeps being repeated despite all of the high profile attention the matter has received in leading news organizations and the warning the US Embassy has issued. There is also the well publicized stance of the TCI Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions that these individuals must be punished according to the law.
In this newest case, the daughter was released, and the mother remains in police custody pending charge and court appearance later this week.
Police inform they will update soon.

Blind former Senator and presidential nominee Thomas D. Schall, Chairman of the Committee for the Preservation of the Republic.
COMMITTEE FOR PRESERVATION OF THE REPUBLIC DEMANDS IMPEACHMENT OVER ARRESTS, Howard K. Smith, The New Orleans Times-Picayune, November 17th, 1950
PHILADELPHIA–Former Senator Thomas D. Schall and U.S. Representative Henry S. Breckinridge, Chairmen of the Committee for the Preservation of the Republic, an organization striving to unite opposition to the administration for the 1952 election, issued a formal statement yesterday afternoon endorsing the proposed impeachment of President La Follette on the grounds of the “violation of citizens constitutional rights,” echoing Ben Gitlow’s prior accusation that the President has sought to build “a dictatorship of executive orders.” Centering their call on the arrests of prominent leaders of the opposition, the Committee cited:

• The April, 1949 arrest by federal agents of Congress of Industrial Organizations President John L. Lewis, who challenged the President in a narrow 1948 primary contest, and the subsequent arrest of Tony Boyle, Lewis’s erstwhile successor and formerly Fulgencio Batista’s nominee for the vice presidency of the nation. Apprehended on related charges of racketeering, both have been sentenced to 20 years in prison. Mr. Walter Reuther, having succeeded Lewis in leadership of the CIO, has sought to fundraise $500,000 to cover the organization’s legal fees.
• The arrest of Benjamin Gitlow, late Progressive nominee for the presidency, in September of that year prior to a speaking tour intended to vituperate President La Follette. Sentenced on charges of forgery for his time under an assumed name while presumed dead after the New American Revolution, Gitlow has a remaining eight years in prison with the possibility of parole.
• The arrests of Cuba Governor Fulgencio Batista, who found himself a distant second to La Follette in the presidential election, Santo Domingo Governor Rafael Trujillo, and his brother Hector on charges of racketeering and bribery. All have been sentenced to over 20 years in prison, with the arrest of Trujillo in particular notable for having sparked the alienation of William R. Hearst from the President.
• The arrest of Virginia Senator Harry F. Byrd, brother of presidential candidate Admiral Richard E. Byrd, in 1950 on charges of bribery and racketeering. Byrd has been sentenced to 20 years in prison.
• The federal investigation into New York Governor Robert Moses over the appointment of Tom Shanahan, convicted of bribery, to the New York Board of Planning, fueling the resignation of Governor Moses despite no evidence of wrongdoing on his part.
• The arrest, on charges of embezzlement, of Senator William Lemke after his promise to campaign for the presidency against La Follette and his subsequent death, after thirty-three years in the United States Senate, on the floor of a jail cell.

FRENCH AMBASSADOR ADMITS ORDER TO ASSASSINATE BUTLER FROM LINDBERGH, Walter Winchell, The New York Daily Mirror, July 16th, 1951
WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA–Gaston Henry-Haye, French Ambassador to the United States from 1935, testified yesterday to the United States Select Committee to Investigate International Crime chaired by Senator Estes Kefauver (FL-TN) after several prior refusals to appear. The Ambassador testified under oath that he was instructed in 1937 to organize the killing of General Smedley Butler by Secretary of the Treasury Hugh S. Johnson as a means of preventing General Butler from mounting a primary challenge to President Lindbergh in 1940. The Ambassador stated that he is unaware of whether President Lindbergh himself had sanctioned the assassination, but to the sensation of the impeachers, further testified that it was President La Follette who had urged him, and others from within the Administration, to defy the subpoena.
The Ambassador’s testimony has buttressed that of Envoy Porfirio Rubirosa, his primary contact in the United States government, detailing an elaborate plot organized through General Raoul Salan involving the blackmail of Butler associate Yvonne Sadoul, whose husband Jacques, imprisoned for communist associations since the beginning of the Petain Regime, was threatened with execution unless Mrs. Sadoul would provide French agents with travel details of General Butler’s tour of Madrid. The Ambassador recounted a phone call from General Salan explaining how Jean Filiol, a member of the Petainist secret police working undercover as an agent of L’Oreal cosmetics, utilized his disguise to lure Butler in for assassination on the pretext of improved makeup for his television appearances.
President La Follette has responded by the investigation as a “witch hunt,” denouncing “McCarthyism” and citing the attacks upon economic advisor Leon Keyserling as evidence of the untrustworthiness of Speaker McCarthy. Addressing the possibility of impeachment, President La Follette stated at a press conference last Thursday that “when they go low, we will continue to aim high” as he affirmed his decision to appoint former President Lindbergh to lead the newly founded National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
Senator Estes Kefauver interrogates Gaston Henry-Haye on the assassination of Smedley Butler.
United States House of Representatives Chamber, July 22nd, 1951
“Stand up, impeachers!”
The testimony of Ambassador Henry-Haye had left President La Follette in the crosshairs of Speaker McCarthy and, smelling blood in the water, McCarthy immediately struck for the kill. In typical fashion, the vitriolic Speaker would pillory moderates in a public statement claiming that "you cannot offer friendship to tyrants and murderers without advancing the cause of tyranny and murder” and label Father Charles Coughlin a “subversive” for a radio broadcast on the priest’s weekly program opposed to impeachment. Fearing the possibility of a parry from the executive branch, McCarthy would task Richard Nixon with leading the drafting of articles of impeachment immediately over the last weekend of June.
A conciliatory populist on his party’s left ever uncomfortable with Joseph McCarthy’s persona, Eduardo Chibas would ally with the Committee for the Preservation of the Republic to gather support for the impeachment, viewing La Follette as a tyrant. Speaking to the House in a broadcast covered live in Spanish in his native Caribbean, as Nixon and counsel Roy Cohn poured over treatises on constitutional law, Chibas would cite the arrest of Gitlow to declare that “the American people have been disgraced because power has won out over shame.” Three articles would be drafted within days for presentation to the House of Representatives, millions of Americans listening over the radio as the “voice of impeachment,” the voice of Nixon, presented them to Congress and the nation.
Article I: Using the powers of the office of President of the United States, Philip F. La Follette, in violation of his constitutional oath faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in disregard of his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, has repeatedly engaged in conduct violating the constitutional rights of citizens, impairing the due and proper administration of justice and the conduct of lawful inquiries, or contravening the laws governing agencies of the executive branch and the purposes of these agencies.
Article II: Without lawful cause or excuse, President La Follette directed Executive Branch agencies, offices, and officials not to comply with those subpoenas. President La Follette thus interposed the powers of the Presidency against the lawful subpoenas of the House of Representatives, and assumed to himself functions and judgments necessary to the exercise of the “sole Power of Impeachment” vested by the Constitution in the House of Representatives.
Article III: That said President La Follette, unmindful of the high duties of his office, and of his oath of office, in the year of our Lord, 1951, at Washington in the District of Columbia, unlawfully conspired with Charles A. Lindbergh, Secretary of the Air Force, to obstruct a lawful investigation by the United States Select Committee to Investigate International Crime.
Finally, echoing from the radios of the presidentially loyal Blackshirts mulling around the capitol building to millions of kitchen tables, Nixon’s voice thundered with the impeachment’s most famous line:
“Stand up, impeachers!”
A few enthusiastic young representatives like Mississippi’s Rubel Phillips, New Jersey’s Millicent Fenwick, and Massachusetts’s Henry Cabot Lodge would be the first to their feet, jumping to attention within seconds as their hands clutched railings or rose in salutes to the American flag. Within seconds, dozens more would begin to stand, socialist Norman Thomas alongside libertarian Suzanne La Follette as disabled Nebraskan Bob Dole used his good arm to carry paraplegic Michigander Harry Kelly and heed Nixon’s call. Surveying the chamber, one thing was clear: impeachment had a majority. The impeachers standing in victory, the tension of the vote would dissipate for the moment against the certainty of the result, with the most popular of the articles, the first, peaking at 291 votes for and a mere 178 against.
In an attempt to conciliate the disparate factions of the opposition, the tapestry of impeachment managers would run the gamut. Leading them, naturally, would be the “voice of impeachment,” Richard Nixon, with Progressive-Federalists also contributing aging former Judge John J. Parker of North Carolina, fiery Mississipian Rubel Phillips, irascible former prosecutor Harold Stassen of Minnesota, and Linwood Holton of Virginia, while veteran old lawyers Henry S. Breckinridge and Jouette Shouse would comprise the Liberty League contingent and McCarthyite conservative Thomas H. Werdel of California and socialist New Yorker Jacob Panken would represent the divisions within the Farmer-Labor opposition itself.
For the first time in American history, the President had been impeached.
In an advertisement purchased by the Committee for the Preservation of the Republic, Richard Nixon argues the case for impeachment in the court of public opinion.
MCCARTHY RESIGNS AS SPEAKER AFTER NEW WAVE OF OPPOSITION ARRESTS, Joseph Alsop, The Saturday Evening Post, August 14th, 1951
GRAND CHUTE, WISCONSIN–Speaker of the House Joseph McCarthy has formally resigned his office after being apprehended by state police this week at his Wisconsin home, where the nation’s most impressive demagogue was charged with sodomy in connection to his frequent attendance at the White Horse Inn, a known place of rendezvous for Milwaukee homosexuals. While initially vowing to hold onto his office and resist what he has dubbed “libel,” the loss of support from California’s young Richard Nixon signaled failure in an upcoming motion to vacate and is credited with triggering his resignation. McCarthy has accused the police investigation of having been under the influence of the La Follette family, all powerful in Wisconsin, while others cite as precedent the harassment of David I. Walsh for his homosexuality by President Luce that famously destroyed the Massachusetts’ Senator’s political career. However, like Walsh, many speculate that McCarthy may seek the presidency following his expected six month prison sentence.
In addition to McCarthy, the past two weeks has seen the arrest of several other notables who favored the President’s impeachment including, on charges of accepting kickbacks, J. Parnell Thomas (F-NJ), the irascible Chairman of the House Committee on Un-American Activities who famously called for an end to theater funding on the grounds that such constituted presidential propaganda; on charges of payroll fraud, Ernest K. Bramblett (P-CA); and Walter E. Brehm (P-OH) on charges of fraud. The arrests, however, seem to have galvanized the opposition, and this columnist’s opinion is that an outcome of removal is nearly certain.
Turncoat counsel Roy Cohn.
The Trial of the Century?
With Joseph McCarthy behind bars, President La Follette’s allies would fundraise for their leader’s defense, shocking the public by recruiting for the defense team the former counsel to the impeachers themselves: Roy Cohn. Brought in with a paycheck rumored to be over a million dollars, Cohn’s vicious persistence would be tampered by his insistence that La Follette supporters not engage in threats, arguing that doing so would alienate moderates. Cohn would be joined by another young lawyer, the son of a major Liberty League donor who had recently turned for La Follette and a friend of Vice President Musmanno’s: Robert F. Kennedy. In another attempt to appeal across the aisle, elite lawyer Clark Clifford would lead the defense, utilizing decades worth of Washington connections. Meanwhile, the President would use intermediaries such as General Trades Union President George Meany to appeal to liberal Senators such as Hubert Humphrey, arguing that, regarding the first article, the executive orders represented the nation’s best path to universal healthcare.
As Nixon and his cadre perorated eloquently on the values of democracy, Cohn, Clifford, and Kennedy would attempt to constrain the case to the bare intricacies of legal detail, avoiding grand speeches and matters of philosophy to argue narrowly for a decision to acquit. They would find sympathy in Chief Justice Hugo Black, as the former Commandant of the Blackshirts presided over the trial with a consistent willingness to defer to the requests of the defense on matters such as the rules of evidence. Their narrow arguments would target those fundamentally uncomfortable with the nation of a presidential removal as they sought to boil the decision to one of legal nuances rather than the nature of the republic.
With the President attempting to behave above the fray and portray himself as the statesman of the national revival to win the peace, his brother Bob Jr. would reluctantly join Clarence Dill in taking the lead in attempting to secure his acquittal. As journalist Herb Klein would report, the siblings’ relationship had been plagued by a growing chasm between the siblings, with Bob feeling his brother had gone too far. Yet, Bob, through private conversations as he insisted that the listener forget he was Majority Leader of the United States Senate, that a return to normalcy would be impossible if the drastic step of presidential removal was taken. Bob would seek to obtain promises from his brother that the presidency would step back if acquitted, removing Lindbergh from power and pausing the implementation of executive orders.
Central to the Wisconsin Senator’s mission of convincing would be Vice President Michael A. Musmanno. Slated for the presidency if La Follette were to be removed, Musmanno would portray himself as twice as radical. Speaking to a crowd of supporters in New York City, the Vice President would argue that Phil had “awoken in America a renaissance, a spirit to dare and accomplish that it has not known in decades,” Musmanno would claim that he heard the voice of god while praying at Mount St. Peter Church in his native Pennsylvania, instructing him to lead “the heroic work of the Blackshirts in their purification of American soil.” Musmanno would argue that “patriotic young men” required no warrants to raid the disloyal opposition, leading Bob Jr. to privately declare the Vice President “a dangerous man” who must not be let into the presidency, even momentarily, by a verdict of removal.
As Richard Nixon’s closing arguments to implored the men of the body once labeled “the most exclusive club in the world” to “follow the bloody tracks of treason,” Bob Jr. and Dill would arrange for printed copies of Musmanno’s remarks to be spread, continuing to build the argument that a continuing La Follette presidency was the safer option for democracy even as Jacob Panken dismissively reminded the legislators-turned-jurors that the Senate could remove a vice president as well. The President would appeal to Alabama’s Jim Folsom, reminding him of the federal government’s long disassociation with Alabama affairs and promising the reconciliation of Folsom on patronage affairs.
Meanwhile, letters from Progressive National Committee Chairman Osro Cobb would promise Henry Bone and Sid McMath bipartisan support in a re-election bid to counter the opposition of the President. Thus, as the day of the decision approached, the final decision would come down to wily Massachusetts’ independent J. Michael Curley, New Mexico Liberty Leaguer Henry F. Ashurst, Alabama reformer Jim Folsom, Georgia liberal Ellis Arnall, Arkansas’s Sid McMath, Nevada Landonite Walter Baring, and the Midwestern progressive Farmer-Laborite of Hubert Humphrey. Former Postmaster General Thomas Duncan would appeal on behalf of La Follette, reminding men such as Curley and Folsom of the looming ability of the administration to pursue the ever present corruption allegations surrounding both.
The radical antics of Vice President Michael A. Musmanno would turn several Senators against impeachment.
With 66 votes, the unthinkable would be put to action, and the President of the United States removed. 29 votes had been promised against removal, 63 for, as the nation’s eyes turned to the 7 in waiting. As each awaited the call of the Senate clerk to announce their votes, their thoughts on deciding the future undoubtedly raced to the past.
29 votes for acquittal. 63 votes for removal.
Walter Baring had been implored time and time again by Alf Landon to vote for impeachment, arguing that La Follette had the destruction of the Farmer-Labor right in mind. Baring had seen his ally Lister Hill driven from power as Speaker of the House for crossing the President, and he saw his chance to strike vengeance.
29 votes for acquittal. 63 votes for removal.
Henry F. Ashurst had been a friend of the La Follettes since the 1890s. He had visited Fighting Bob and spoken on his behalf as a Liberal when Aaron Burr Houston sought to destroy his support. He had watched Phil grow up, held the toddler in his arms that now sat in the White House. Michael Musmanno, to Senator Ashurst, was an ever unknown quantity. Bob had warned him of the danger of unknown quantities, and Phil, for all that Ashurst abhorred, was known. He would defeat the President at the ballot box, but he would not defy him now.
30 votes for acquittal. 63 votes for removal.
His commanding officer in the Third Pacific War, General David Shoup, visited Sid McMath the night before the vote. Shoup had pointed with abhorrence to the to the two million Japanese civilians left dead after the atomic bombings. Shoup’s words, utterances that had once been orders in their days in the Marines, echoed in McMath’s head; “All I can say is, any man that murders two million Japanese, when it might not even be their war, is not a good man. That is not the American way.”
30 votes for acquittal. 64 votes for removal.
Ellis Arnall had gotten a very different visit, a delegation of prominent state businessmen, the very men that had funded his campaign, promising desertion of not merely himself, but the state of Georgia, with a vote for acquittal. He thought of Vice President Musmanno’s words and reassured himself that democracy could be saved.
31 votes for acquittal. 64 votes for removal.
“His name is Musmanno, but we call him Curly after you.” The family’s words as they held his young namesake stuck with J. Michael Curley. The working Irish and Italians of Boston and Worcester had two heroes: Michael A. Musmanno and him. He had defied the brahmins of Boston and Harvard, worn powdered wigs to their events to mock them gaily as he rose to absolute power in the city on the back of Revolutionary era redbaiting. Curley had been in the circles of power for a half century, but even in the twilight of his life, he hated men like Phil, born with a silver spoon. His place was among the ward bosses and the machines of politics, and he distrusted the tacit offerings of favors from Thomas Duncan, the implication that the prosecutors already hot on his tail for kickbacks, fraud, and graft might reconsider with a vote for acquittal. Already in 1946 when La Follette first was elected had he served his last prison term, a matter of months then, but he knew the road was coming to an end for him. Michael Curley had never denied being corrupt, but he would take the President down with him.
31 votes for acquittal. 65 votes for removal.
Jim Folsom had never lived in a democracy. Born under the reign of Milford W. Howard, he had seen his state grow beyond his wildest dreams, never realizing that he would one day govern it. He had, after all, been rejected by the voters as the reform governor, yet his machine persisted, even as the President sought to crush it. Big Jim had never seen himself in the Governor’s chair until it happened, but Senator Jim looked across the Capitol to that glimmering White House and knew that, within the Farmer-Labor Party, he would never have a way in if he turned against their standard bearer.
32 votes for acquittal. 65 votes for removal.
Hubert Humphrey was a pharmacist, not a lawyer. He had swept into office in 1942 on the back of the Luce Administration’s antagonism towards the very Thomas Schall who now led the Committee for the Preservation of the Republic, fully holding that “the moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in shadows of life, the sick, the needy, and the handicapped.” Humphrey had followed John L. Lewis in 1948, he had stood against Phil and nearly lost his career for it in 1950. Yet, the piercing arguments of Kennedy and Cohn remained alongside the nature of the impeachment. The reforms he had spent his life fighting for were finding their baptism in fire through the President’s executive orders. Bob, who had guided him when he entered the Senate and, in that friendly manner that made Bob the consummate politician his brother never was, continually checked in on him, had begged him to vote for stability, had used the forbidden word “civil war,” had pointed to the Blackshirts mulling beyond the armed security, and told him that Musmanno would be the Augustus to his brother’s Caesar.
33 votes for acquittal, 65 votes for removal.
Shouts from the gallery, journalists rushing out to announce the story as telephone and telegraph lines competed to relay the news first.
The presidency of Philip F. La Follette would live to fight another day.
The last photo of Eduardo Chibas.
The Final Radio Broadcast of Eduardo Chibas, October 27, 1951
“My words last Sunday did not have the resonance the very serious situation demanded. America needs to wake up. But my wakeup call perhaps was not strong enough.
America has a great destiny reserved in history. The happy coincidence of natural factors so favorable for a great destiny, together with the high quality of our people, awaits only the honest and capable endeavor of a team of government ready to perform its historical task. Such a team is not the present administration, corrupted to the core and disguised with new ways to cover up its shamelessness. Neither the false opposition of Batista who encourages the return of the militias with the cunning assistance of international communism; nor the scornful group of followers of Admiral Byrd. The only group of government capable of saving America is the Committee for the Preservation of the Republic with their anti-pact platform of political independence that accepts no transactions or settlements.
Come on compañeros! For economic independence, political freedom and social justice! Let's get rid of the thieves in the government!
People of America, stand up and march! People of America, wake up!
This is the final wakeup call!”
Other voices cut into the broadcast as chaos traveled over the airwaves.
"Tiene una pistola!”
“Párenlo! Estas loco?”
Millions of Americans widened their eyes as a crash ensued over the radio.
Eduardo Chibas had breathed his last.
Has American democracy?