HOW TO STEAL A DEMOCRACY

[kster]

Thought you may be interested in this article, maybe this is what we are up against in America?

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In Peru, bribes were bigger for media barons than for judges

John McMillan, Pablo Zoido
Sunday, January 22, 2006


Snip....The politicians' bribes were mostly between $5,000 and $20,000 per month. Bribes went not only to opposition congressmen but also to Fujimori's Cabinet.

A prominent example is Federico Salas, Fujimori's last prime minister, who confessed to accepting an extra salary from Montesinos of $30,000 per month. The bribe price for ordinary judges was $2,500 to $10,000 per month. Supreme Court judges got bribes of around $25,000 per month, and the president of the Supreme Court got $35,000.

Snip...In an attempt to discredit the journalists who dared investigate the government, the tabloids carried hundreds of stories defaming them with bizarre labels: "a mental midget," "a she devil," "undercover terrorist," "paid coup provocateur."

Among television channels, one was state-owned, Channel 7, and Montesinos had control over its content. The five privately owned television broadcasters, Channels 2, 4, 5, 9 and 13, were bought off, as was a cable service, CCN. One alone offered independent investigative journalism: the other cable channel, Channel N, owned by El Comercio. (It was on this channel that the Kouri videotape that brought everything down was first aired).



http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/01/22/ING1L6O0BK34.DTL

[file83]

1. In the USA, those "bribes" are called "contributions".

[Kurovski]

2. I felt queasy reading that article, which is terrific, by the way.

A lot of parallels to our Government under Bushco.

Not the least of which is FOX.

<"If we do not control the television, we do not do anything," said Gen. Elesván Bello >

Also:
<"Montesinos told some people he was taping their meetings... In the event that the whole network collapsed, the tapes gave him a threat he could use against anyone who turned against him.">

And this: <"He considered information the basis of his power. "Here you feel the need for information. ... We live on information. I need information.">

I think in that, we can hear echoes of why BushCo is so hot on unfettered wiretapping and spying.

The pay-offs to media remind me of our own little scandal-ette with some media folks being paid off to promote BushCo initiatives. In all likelihood, merely the tip of the iceberg.

And also this: <"The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive and judiciary, in the same hands," said U.S. Founding Father James Madison, "may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny.">

<In a democracy, the news media provide the most potent checks and balances against government abuse... the Legislature and the judiciary are far weaker constraints on potential tyranny than television, which has the greatest power to expose government wrongdoing.>

That is why I think so many DUers watch, dissect and upbraid the media whores in this country.

Not exactly bed-time reading, but recommended nevertheless.

[kster]

5. The good news is

Alberto Fujimori

Peru's former president had been living in Japan since his ouster in 2000. He was on his way back to Lima, to run for president again, when he was detained in Chile for possible extradition to Peru and trial on charges of murder, human rights abuses and corruption.


Vladimiro Montesinos Torres

Chief of Fujimori's secret police, who was in charge of bribing judges, politicians and media figures. After Fujimori's fall, Montesinos was returned from Venezuela and charged with corruption, murder, arms running and drug dealing. He is imprisoned in Peru.

[Kurovski]

3. Kick.

[Amaryllis]

4. Not just bribes, but threats...job loss, gettting "Rathered". But the good

news is that MSM has started to come out with some coverage.