Category Archives: Citizen News

Disability insurance claims delayed and denied, Human stories hidden, Susan Kristoff fought cancer and insurance injustice, Did Kristoff’s struggles with insurance lead to early death?

Posted on July 7, 2018 | 17 comments

Disability insurance claims delayed and denied, Human stories hidden, Susan Kristoff fought cancer and insurance injustice, Did Kristoff’s struggles with insurance lead to early death?

“Insurance company mandated dispute resolution, appeal, mediation and arbitration, keeps disputes out of the light of day and creates more delays. It benefits the insurers.”…Citizen Wells

“The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing. If you can fake that you’ve got it made.”…Groucho Marx

“Our right to our day in court has been severely eroded.”…Citizen Wells

 

Susan Kristoff fought cancer and insurance injustice and passed away in 2014.

I am still fighting insurance injustice.

I believe it is my duty to continue writing and expose the injustice.

From the Susan Kristoff obituary.

“Susan was a wonderful daughter, mother, sister and friend. She loved spending time with her family, searching for antiques, and enjoying time on the ocean in South Florida. She loved roller blading and biking in the beautiful Florida sunshine. She was a certified gemologist, extremely knowledgeable in both modern and antique jewelry. Searching consignment shops, auctions and yard sales for treasures was a particular passion. She always had kind and encouraging words to say to those around her. After being diagnosed with cancer in 2003, there were many difficult challenges for Susan, but she still found reasons to smile and to be positive. She had a hilarious sense of humor, with an infectious laugh, and a smile that could light up a room. She used her long battle with cancer to help others by assuming Leadership roles in organizations such as the Komen Foundation, and South Florida Cancer Society working aggressively to find a cure. Susan actively worked to implement legislative changes to Florida insurance laws. Her efforts helped to pass the Oral Chemotherapy Bill, legislation that made the pill form of chemotherapy a covered medical expense and available to those Florida residents in need. Susan’s advocacy has saved the lives of so many and has provided a higher quality of life for countless others. Susan appeared on Good Morning America twice and on several local news channels speaking about injustices within the insurance industry, her battle with cancer, and the Oral Chemo bill. She was also interviewed for multiple newspaper publications such as the Palm Beach Post and the Baltimore Sun,. She was honored by Komen Foundation as “A Warrior in Pink”. Susan was able to relate the concerns of people with cancer by bringing real experiences and issues to the forefront in order to facilitate change. With her warm engaging personality, she was a tremendous spokesperson for insurance reform and cancer research. She was actively engaged in this fight until just weeks before passing. Most of all, Susan was an amazing and dedicated mother. Susan considered her greatest achievement her son Joshua and always said he was the light of her life. She beamed with pride when speaking about Joshua. Susan was known for her passion, empathy, and kindness. She always put the needs of others before her own. Susan’s struggle with Cancer has come to an end and she is in a better place now.”

http://eachstorytold.com/2018/07/07/susan-kristoff-obituary-fought-cancer-and-insurance-injustice-featured-on-good-morning-america-spokesperson-for-insurance-reform-and-cancer-research-wonderful-daughter-mother-sister-and-friend/

From ABC News April 25, 2008.

“GMA Gets Answers: Insurer Delays Long-Term Benefit Coverage

To see Susan Kristoff relaxing near her home in West Palm Beach, it’s hard to imagine she has been fighting two very difficult battles.

One is against a potentially deadly form of breast cancer. Her other battle has been against her insurance company.

“I’ve moved twice, but I still have a place to live. But if it wasn’t for my family, I wouldn’t,” Kristoff told “Good Morning America.”

Kristoff was working at Yellow Book selling advertising 1½ years ago. The job entailed lugging the heavy books to meetings with potential clients. It was a job she loved, until one day a visit to the doctor brought terrible news.

She was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer, and it was spreading throughout her body.

“It was awful, and I was extremely tired — limping, sharp pain,” Kristoff said.

Doctors said there was no way she could do her sales job anymore. The cancer had actually eaten holes through her hips. Her company had no other position to offer her, so Kristoff filed a claim for disability insurance.

Like millions of Americans, she paid a small amount each month — $20 in her case — to cover her financially should she be unable to work. One-third of Americans have some form of disability insurance.

For Kristoff, paying Cigna for disability insurance was the easy part. Collecting the insurance was a different story.

“It was a daily, eight-hour job just trying to fulfill the information that Cigna was requesting,” she said. “And it wasn’t once. It would be over and over again.”

But after five months of submitting forms, Cigna denied Kristoff’s claim for short-term disability. Cigna said she had not proven a disability. Sick and with bills piled up, Kristoff says she considered something drastic.

“If I wasn’t going to be getting better, I didn’t want to sink the rest of my family, so I spent two days in bed crying and thinking about suicide,” she said.

Instead Kristoff hired an attorney. In short order, Cigna reversed course and paid her short-term benefits. Then with her lawyer’s help, she applied for the much more important long-term help.

Delay Tactics

Her policy promised to pay her 60 percent of her salary if she was too disabled to work.

This time Cigna raised a different objection, saying because Kristoff had a different form of cancer two years before she was diagnosed with the breast cancer that had metastasized, she did not qualify for disability. Doctors say the two cancers are unrelated, and she had been diagnosed as cancer-free well before she began her new job.

“I’m appalled, I’m disgusted, but I’m not surprised because there are hundreds of Susans, many of which I’m representing currently,” said Kristoff’s attorney, Alicia Paulino Grisham.

Grisham says she’s seen this tactic before and it’s called “slow walking.”

“The insurance companies understand that if they deny and deny claims, then many of the claimants will never pursue their claim,” Grisham said.

Law professor and former White House staffer Sara Rosenbaum agrees. She says federal law protects insurers from costly punitive damages from consumer lawsuits, giving them an incentive to delay.”

“Finally, Some Good News

“GMA” got involved in Kristoff’s case as she was awaiting the results of yet another appeal.

It had been 1½ years since her cancer diagnosis, but shortly after “GMA” called Cigna on her behalf, Kristoff got some good news.

Cigna announced that based on “additional information … her disability benefits would be covered ” after all.”

Read more:

https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=4724106&page=1

CIGNA response.

“We have a thorough and fair process through which we make claim decisions. Accordingly, Ms. Kristoff’s case, including medical records from her treating doctors, was originally reviewed by a CIGNA physician and also by an independent, board-certified oncologist in August 2007. At that time, we provided her with information about how to obtain an additional review, or appeal, in her case. The appeal process is an important consumer protection, and we encourage individuals to participate in this process if they would like an additional review of their claim.”

https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=4725972

Fair?

To whom?

At its best, the appeal process is controlled by the insurer, out of the light of day (courtroom). It also delays resolution and the insured getting critical monetary help, often when the help is most needed.

People who are fighting disabilities, pain, cancer or whatever ailment, are in no position physically, emotionally or monetarily to be put through these ordeals.

I have experienced this first hand.

In many cases it is difficult to get legal representation because many attorneys will not touch cases with mandated dispute resolution.

From long time Citizen Wells commenter oldsailor:

“I was unable to find a lawyer anywhere who would help her re negotiate her claim. All the lawyers told her that MANDATED ARBITRATION is really designed to protect INSURANCE COMPANIES from excessive losses. They don’t give a damn about the victim.!!!!”

Did the delay and deny tactics of CIGNA cause the early death of Susan Kristoff?

They sure didn’t help.

 

 

More here:

https://citizenwells.com/

http://citizenwells.net/

 

17 Comments

Posted in Arbitration, Attorneys, Citizen News, CitizenWells, Civil rights, Courts, Insurance

Tagged , , ,

Declaration of Independence grievance “For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury”, July 4, 2018, Forced arbitration depriving us of our day in court

Posted on July 4, 2018 | 31 comments

Declaration of Independence grievance “For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury”, July 4, 2018, Forced arbitration depriving us of our day in court

“Our Constitution is in actual operation; everything appears to promise that it will last; but nothing in this world is certain but death and taxes.” … Benjamin Franklin

“We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution.”…Abraham Lincoln

“Our right to our day in court has been severely eroded.”…Citizen Wells

 

July 4, 1776:

“For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury”

July 4, 2018:

Forced arbitration is depriving us of our day in court.

From Citizen Wells February 20, 2008.

“Ever since I first read the US Declaration of Independence as a child, I have loved the message, wording and spirit of this incredible declaration. I still have a copy that I framed as a child and I still look upon it with reverence. I especially love the paragraph beginning, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” We should treasure these words and the entire document, never take it for granted and reread it as often as possible. My ancestor was a signer of the Tryon Resolves, almost a year before the US declaration. That fact makes the US declaration even more special for me. Here is the US Declaration of Independence:

IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.”

Declaration of Independence, July 4 1776, We hold these truths to be self evident

 

More here:

https://citizenwells.com/

http://citizenwells.net/

 

 

31 Comments

Posted in American Revolution, Americans, Bill of Rights, Citizen News, CitizenWells, constitution, Declaration of Independence, Founding Fathers

Tagged , , , ,

Thrivent denies 96 year old Elaine Tollefson assisted living help, Paid on policy 26 years, Fine print and appeal panel denial, What happened to spirit of law and Christianity?

Posted on July 3, 2018 | 14 comments

Thrivent denies 96 year old Elaine Tollefson assisted living help, Paid on policy 26 years, Fine print and appeal panel denial, What happened to spirit of law and Christianity?

“Since 1999, Thrivent has required that disputes with members related to insurance products be resolved through its Member Dispute Resolution Program (“MDRP”). (See Johnston Decl. ¶ 9.) The MDRP provides for a multi-tiered dispute resolution process, escalating eventually (if necessary) to binding arbitration based on the rules of the American Arbitration Association. (See id., Ex. B at § 11(c).) Of particular relevance to this matter, the MDRP mandates that all mediation or arbitration be individual in nature—representative or class claims of any sort, whether arbitral or judicial, are expressly barred. (See id., Ex. B at § 11(e).) Thrivent contends that its commitment to individual arbitration is “important to the membership because it reflects Thrivent’s Christian Common Bond, helps preserve members’ fraternal relationships, and avoids protracted and adversarial litigation that could undermine Thrivent’s core mission.”…Thrivent v. Acosta Nov. 3, 2017

“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.”…Matthew 7:15

“Our right to our day in court has been severely eroded.”…Citizen Wells

 

From the Star Tribune.

“Insurance policy’s fine print trumps 96-year-old’s good faith

On her 96th birthday earlier this month, Elaine Tollefson celebrated with a visit from out-of-town grandkids to her home, an assisted living center in central Nebraska.

But there’s one birthday present she still wants from Minneapolis-based Thrivent Financial: Checks to help defray the cost of that home.

Tollefson has paid the monthly premiums on her long-term care insurance policy for 26 years. In April, Thrivent told Tollefson that she cannot collect any benefits because she did not follow her policy’s protocol of spending three days in the hospital first.

It’s a requirement no longer allowed in Nebraska, but policies that predated that law change are still valid. Like many people with long-term care policies, Tollefson learned the hard way that the help wasn’t there when she needed it.”

“For Tollefson, the insurer was more than just another company. When her husband bought their policies in 1988, he was actively involved in what was then known as Lutheran Brotherhood. Though Thrivent Financial dropped “for Lutherans” from its name earlier this year, it remains a not-for-profit membership organization, despite its Fortune 500 listing and $6.9 billion surplus generated last year. Its motto is “Connecting faith and finances for good.”

After growing up in southwestern Minnesota, Tollefson married a man named Aad (pronounced “odd”), though everyone called him Tolley. He was a chemist who worked on the Manhattan Project and then for DuPont, which transferred him all over the country. The Tollefsons had four daughters and settled in Gothenburg, Neb., a little town on the Platte River.

“I thought if I had to go on long-term care, I would have that insurance, plus my Social Security, that would take care of most everything,” Tollefson said.”

“Aad Tollefson died in 2002, having never made a claim on his policy. His widow went into the hospital for kidney failure in February 2013, but decided to move back home afterward until she could no longer make it work. That moment came in April, when she moved into the Stone Hearth Estates assisted living housing, which costs about $3,400 per month. The long-term care insurance would pay $40 a day, a little over a third of the cost, or so she thought.

But Tollefson did not qualify, because she didn’t go into institutional care within 90 days of her hospital visit.

Her grandchildren contacted her insurance agent and got the bad news. Their appeal to Thrivent’s appeal panel was rejected last month.

“The panel acknowledged your long-term association with Lutheran Brotherhood/Thrivent as well as your determination to stay in your house and remain independent as long as possible,” Thrivent wrote in its denial letter. “Your actions are indeed commendable; however, these actions cannot supersede the contract requirements.”

“Thrivent members look for and expect Thrivent to provide benefits according to the policy,” the company said in its statement to the Star Tribune.”

Read more:

http://www.startribune.com/shiffer-insurance-policy-s-fine-print-trumps-96-year-old-s-good-faith/286465911/?c=y&page=all&prepage=1#continue

Note the following:

  • “Since 1999, Thrivent has required that disputes with members related to insurance products be resolved through its Member Dispute Resolution Program (“MDRP”). Hence no litigation. No day in court. No light of day. Retroactively applies. However, not tested in all state courts.
  • “Thrivent told Tollefson that she cannot collect any benefits because she did not follow her policy’s protocol of spending three days in the hospital first.”
  • “Thrivent members look for and expect Thrivent to provide benefits according to the policy,” Thrivent quoted in article. YES INDEED!

Remember the above, these themes will be revisited.

 

 

More here:

https://citizenwells.com/

http://citizenwells.net/

 

14 Comments

Posted in Accountability, Attorneys, Bill of Rights, Citizen News, Civil rights, constitution, Insurance

Tagged , , ,

James A. Lyons Jr. retired US Navy admiral Seth Rich article scrubbed?, Washington Times sued by Aaron Rich, False theories about unsolved murder?, First amendment rights?, Many questions unanswered

Posted on June 26, 2018 | 36 comments

James A. Lyons Jr. retired US Navy admiral Seth Rich article scrubbed?, Washington Times sued by Aaron Rich, False theories about unsolved murder?, First amendment rights?, Many questions unanswered

“I know that Seth Rich was involved in the DNC leak.”…Kim Dotcom

“Burkman said in an interview that he considered Selig like a brother and was badly shaken by his friend’s death.”
“The tragically ironic part is Glenn’s last words to me were, ‘Be careful,’” Burkman said. “It’s just a tragedy — terrible.””…Politico Jan. 24, 2018

“As soon as all the corrections which happened to be necessary in any particular number of the Times had been assembled and collated, that number would be reprinted, the original copy destroyed, and the corrected copy placed on the files in it’s stead. This process of continuation alteration was applied not only to newspapers, but to books, periodicals, pamphlets, posters, leaflets, films, sound tracks, cartoons, photographs–to every kind of literature or documentation which might conceivably hold any political or ideological significance. Day by day and almost minute by minute the past was brought up to date. In this way every prediction made by the Party could be shown by documentary evidence to be correct; nor was any item of news, or expression of opinion, which conflicted with the needs of the moment, ever allowed to be on record.”…George Orwell, “1984″

 

Yesterday was George Orwell’s (Eric Blair) birthday.

Winston’s job in “1984” was to rectify articles, scrub and rewrite.

So it apparently is with a Washington Times article written by James A. Lyons Jr., retired US Navy admiral, on March 1, 2018. about the Seth Rich murder. Pressure from the lawsuit?

The article has been oft quoted.

The link to the Washington Times article did not work nor did a search on their site.

I found the article on the Wayback Machine.

I assure you, in this case and all others, I want the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

The Washington Times article is listed under commentary and is tagged as Analysis/Opinion. Perhaps there should have been more ? marks and “alleged” notations.

“More cover-up questions

The curious murder of Seth Rich poses questions that just won’t stay under the official rug”

“ANALYSIS/OPINION:

“With the clearly unethical and most likely criminal behavior of the upper management levels of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) exposed by Chairman Devin Nunes of the House Intelligence Committee, there are two complementary areas that have been conveniently swept under the rug.

The first deals with the murder of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) staffer Seth Rich, and the second deals with the alleged hacking of the DNC server by Russia. Both should be of prime interest to special counsel Robert Mueller, but do not hold your breath.

The facts that we know of in the murder of the DNC staffer, Seth Rich, was that he was gunned down blocks from his home on July 10, 2016. Washington Metro police detectives claim that Mr. Rich was a robbery victim, which is strange since after being shot twice in the back, he was still wearing a $2,000 gold necklace and watch. He still had his wallet, key and phone. Clearly, he was not a victim of robbery.

This has all the earmarks of a targeted hit job. However, strangely no one has been charged with this horrific crime, and what is more intriguing is that no law enforcement agency is even investigating this murder. According to other open sources, Metro police were told by their “higher ups” that if they spoke about the case, they will be immediately terminated. It has been claimed that this order came down from very high up the “food chain,” well beyond the D.C. mayor’s office. Interesting.”

“With regard to the alleged Russian hacking of the DNC server, Mr. Assange also offered information to the Trump administration to prove Russia didn’t hack the DNC server, as the DNC claimed. Mr. Assange also met with Orange Country Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, California Republican, and gave him information to present to the Trump administration to prove no one hacked the DNC server.

However, with the Obama holdovers in key positions, it is not surprising that no one from the Trump administration would meet with the congressman or Mr. Assange. New Zealand tech expert Kim DotCom said he has proof that both he and Seth Rich were involved in passing the emails to Wikileaks, but he has been ignored as well.

The FBI opened an investigation into the theft of the DNC emails in July 2016. However, the FBI has not inspected the DNC server because the DNC won’t give permission. Is the FBI an extension of the DNC? That’s why we have subpoenas. Instead, the FBI relied on an assessment by a cyber security firm, Crowd Strike, hired by the Hillary Clinton campaign and DNC’s law firm Perkins Coie as proof that Russia was the hacker. Incompetence is an understatement. Corruption at the highest levels of the DOJ/FBI is clear.

The Trump administration must take charge and get a competent attorney general to pursue these crimes.

• James A. Lyons, Jr., a retired U.S. Navy admiral, was commander in chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet and senior U.S. military representative to the United Nations.”

Read more:

https://web.archive.org/web/20180317141023/https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/mar/1/more-cover-up-questions/

“Seth Rich’s brother sues conservative media figures for defamation”

“Aaron Rich, the brother of a Democratic National Committee staffer who was killed in 2016, is suing conservative media figures and The Washington Times for defamation, alleging in a lawsuit filed Monday that they spread false theories about the unsolved murder of Seth Rich.”

Read More:

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/03/27/seth-rich-brother-sues-conservative-media-487827

 

More here:

https://citizenwells.com/

http://citizenwells.net/

36 Comments

Posted in 1984, Barack Obama, Big Brother, Citizen Journalism, Citizen News, Citizens for the truth about Obama, CitizenWells, Civil rights, DNC, Murder, Orwell, Orwellian

Tagged , , , ,

Roots of immigration mess beginning with Clinton Gore administration exposed by honest Democrat David Schippers, Exploitation of INC CUSA program to gain voters opened floodgate, “The ends justify the means” “win at any cost”

Posted on June 20, 2018 | 38 comments

Roots of immigration mess beginning with Clinton Gore administration exposed by honest Democrat David Schippers, Exploitation of INC CUSA program to gain voters opened floodgate, “The ends justify the means” “win at any cost”

“The White House wanted any applicant for citizenship to be naturalized in time to register for the November election, so the pressure on the INS was constant.”…David Schippers

“I am, you know, adamantly against illegal immigrants.”…Hillary Clinton

“We are being lied to on a scale unimaginable by George Orwell.”…Citizen Wells

 

From Citizen News.

“The quintessential honest man, Schippers was shocked, not so much by Clinton’s actions (which he calls a far-reaching conspiracy to obstruct justice with perjury, lies, and witness tampering), but by Republican and Democratic politicians who sold out the impeachment process.

If you ever want to vote again, you might not want to know what went on behind the scenes in the Capitol Hill meat grinder leading up to and during the impeachment proceedings against William Jefferson Clinton…. Lies, cowardice, hypocrisy, cynicism, amorality, butt-covering–these were the squalid political body parts that, squeezed through the political processor, combined to make a mockery of the impeachment process.

Of course, Schippers does want you to know what happened, and he also wants you to vote–against those who made the mess. And so he names names–of Republican senators who refused to allow evidence on the floor, of the five Democratic congressmen who never examined the evidence, of the GOP senator who said, “You’re not going to dump this garbage on us,” and also of the politicians who did an honest job, or at least asked reasonable questions (such as Joseph Lieberman). Schippers also reveals the evidence he was building against the Clinton administration regarding illegal INS actions and Chinagate, but that he was forced to drop. He reviews the successful struggle to get a full hearing in the House and the “flat-out rigged ball game” in the Senate. He discusses the president’s pattern of abuse and intimidation of women, including some highly disturbing information regarding Kathleen Willey, Juanita Broaddrick, and Dolly Kyle Browning.”

From David Schippers October 2000.

“Injustice for All: An Excerpt from Sellout: The Inside Story of President Clinton’s Impeachment”

“In October 1996, in one of the first public accounts of this matter, former Center Senior Fellow Rosemary Jenks testified before the Senate Subcommittee on Immigration about many of the abuses surrounding the Citizenship USA program. Ms. Jenks concluded that due to pressure from the White House, and in particular the Vice President’s office, the Immigration and Naturalization Service disregarded many of the requirements of the naturalization process that ensure that only qualified immigrants with no significant criminal history may become citizens. She subsequently testified before the House immigration subcommittee on the same matter, in April 1997. Her remarks before that committee may be found at www.house.gov/judiciary/666.htm.

In his new book, Sellout: The Inside Story of President Clinton’s Impeachment, David P. Schippers, former Chief Counsel for the House Judiciary Committee, details his investigation of these same issues. He concludes that were he and his investigators afforded more time, it is likely the abuses of the Citizenship USA program would have been included in the list of impeachable offenses against President Clinton. Below is an excerpt from Schippers’ book, published last month by Regnery.

My staff and I agreed that we needed to focus on the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), which appeared to be running out of control. By the time we came to the subject, investigations by the General Accounting Office (GAO) and congressional committees had already indicated that the White House used the INS to further its political agenda. A blatant politicization of the agency took place during the 1996 presidential campaign when the White House pressured the INS into expediting its “Citizenship USA” (CUSA) program to grant citizenship to thousands of aliens that the White House counted as likely Democratic voters. To ensure maximum impact, the INS concentrated on aliens in key states — California, Florida, Illinois, New York, New Jersey, and Texas — that hold a combined 181 electoral votes, just 89 short of the total needed to win the election.

The program was placed under the direction of Vice President Al Gore. We received from the GAO a few e-mails indicating Vice President Gore’s role in the plan (which are included in Appendix A at the back of the book). He was responsible for keeping the pressure on, to make sure the aliens were pushed through by September 1, the last day to register for the presidential election.

In our investigation we uncovered a case study evidencing what is pejoratively known in political science circles as “Chicago Politics.”

Back in the early years of the twentieth century, “Hinky Dink” Kenna and “Bathouse” John Coughlin were recognized as the very models of the unsavory Chicago politician. The two once fixed an aldermanic election in Chicago’s First Ward. To do so, they imported thousands of ward heelers, friends, associates, and city workers and had them registered to vote from every building in the ward — from homes (of which there were few) to taverns and cribs (of which there were many). On Election Day the recent arrivals stopped at Hinky Dink’s tavern, picked up fifty cents, ate a free lunch, and went out to vote their consciences. Guess who won that election?

Essentially, the same tactics were used during President Clinton’s reelection in 1996. Only this time the Democrats weren’t handing out sandwiches. Instead, through CUSA, they were circumventing normal procedures for naturalizing aliens — procedures that check backgrounds and weed out criminals — and consequently they were handing out citizenship papers to questionable characters.”

“The White House wanted any applicant for citizenship to be naturalized in time to register for the November election, so the pressure on the INS was constant. On March 21 Elaine Kamarck in the Vice President’s office sent an e-mail to Farbrother saying: “THE PRESIDENT IS SICK OF THIS AND WANTS ACTION. IF NOTHING MOVES TODAY WE’LL HAVE TO TAKE SOME PRETTY DRASTIC MEASURES.” Farbrother responded, “I favor drastic measures.” If he couldn’t get what he wanted from the INS, he wrote, he would “call for heavy artillery.””

“The White House, the INS, and the Justice Department publicly denied any political motive in the CUSA program to expedite the citizenship procedure. What the United States got is undeniable:

 

  1. More than 75,000 new citizens who had arrest records when they applied;
  2. An additional 115,000 citizens whose fingerprints were unclassifiable for various technical reasons and were never resubmitted; and
  3. Another 61,000 people who were given citizenship with no fingerprints submitted at all.

Those numbers were developed by the accounting firm of KPMG Peat Marwick as a result of an audit of the 1996 CUSA program.

What we had here was a perfect example of the Clinton-Gore administration’s overarching political philosophy: “The ends justify the means,” coupled with “win at any cost.” It was a philosophy of governance that, as our investigations into other areas proceeded, we would find repeated again and again.”

Read more:

http://cis.org/BookReview-InsideStoryClintonImpeachment

Hillary by 2003, 2004 began covering the Clinton’s tracks on immigration while she postured herself for a run on the presidency.

From Citizen Wells August 27, 2016.

“When I discovered the damning testimony of Rosemary Jenks was scrubbed from the House Judiciary website on December 9, 2004, I smelled a rat.

A big Clinton rat.

After poking around on the internet for a while I finally found it.

One day apart.”

“In a WABC interview in 2003 Hillary Clinton was quoted as saying:

“I am, you know, adamantly against illegal immigrants.”

“Clearly, we have to make some tough decisions as a country, and one of them ought to be coming up with a much better entry-and-exit system so that if we’re going to let people in for the work that otherwise would not be done, let’s have a system that keeps track of them,”

“People have to stop employing illegal immigrants,”
“I mean, come up to Westchester, go to Suffolk and Nassau counties, stand on the street corners in Brooklyn or the Bronx. You’re going to see loads of people waiting to get picked up to go do yard work and construction work and domestic work.””

“On December 8, 2004 Senator Hillary Clinton placed the following on her official website:

“Senator Clinton on the Passage of The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004″

“The legislation calls for dramatic improvements in the security of our nation’s transportation infrastructure, including aviation security, air cargo security, and port security. Through this legislation, the security of the Northern Border will also be improved, a goal I have worked toward since 2001. Among many key provisions, the legislation calls for an increase of at least 10,000 border patrol agents from Fiscal Years 2006 through 2010, many of whom will be dedicated specifically to our Northern Border. There will also be an increase of at least 4,000 full-time immigration and customs enforcement officers in the next 5 years.”

“Ironically and/or fitting, the link to the Rosemary Jenks House Judiciary testimony above contained the following: “666”.

I clicked on the link and it had been scrubbed.

I next went to the Wayback Machine and after trying different dates for copies, I discovered that the testimony was there for December 9, 2004 but not December 10, 2004.

Isn’t that interesting.

The House Judiciary website.

On December 8, one day before Hillary writes of the passage of  “The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004” and the strengthening of national security and the borders and the next day, House testimony about how the Clinton Administration abused the INS and the system to expedite and procure more Democrat voters for the 1996 election disappears.””

http://citizenwells.net/2016/08/28/hillary-and-clintons-immigration-agenda-exposed-by-david-schippers-bill-clinton-impeachment-investigation-schippers-book-sellout-the-inside-story-of-president-clintons-impeachment/

 

 

http://citizenwells.net/2016/08/28/hillary-and-clintons-immigration-agenda-exposed-by-david-schippers-bill-clinton-impeachment-investigation-schippers-book-sellout-the-inside-story-of-president-clintons-impeachment/

38 Comments

Posted in Citizen News, Citizens for the truth about Obama, CitizenWells, Clintons, illegal aliens, Illegal immigrants, Immigrants

Tagged , ,

D Day June 7, 2018, Never forget, 1944 the greatest invasion ever seen landed on the Normandy beach, Story our children and their children should know, Let us never forget D-Day

Posted on June 6, 2018 | 178 comments

D Day June 7, 2018, Never forget, 1944 the greatest invasion ever seen landed on the Normandy beach, Story our children and their children should know, Let us never forget D-Day

“If you will not fight for right when you can easily win without bloodshed,
If you will not fight when your victory is sure and not too costly,
You may come to the moment when you will have to fight
with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance of survival.”…Winston Churchill

“We owe the World War II generation more than we can ever repay them. We must not let them and their sacrifices be forgotten.” …Citizen Wells

“Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.”…Winston Churchill

 

They truly were the greatest generation.

From the Greensboro News Record.

“Our Opinion: D-Day: Never forget

It was a victory of strategy and a superior military force.

On June 6, 1944, the greatest invasion ever seen at that point landed on the Normandy shore in France as the U.S. and its allies — some 156,000 strong, supported by more than 5,000 ships and 13,000 aircraft — fought against a legion of German machine-gun nests planted in the hills above the beach.

Sheer numbers empowered the Allies to win the battle.

The invasion, “Operation Overlord,” had been meticulously planned. It called for a high degree of cooperation and secrecy among Allied commanders.

A massive deception led the Germans to think an invasion would take place elsewhere so that the German troops at Normandy were taken by surprise.

And when the military vessels arrived at the Normandy beaches on June 6, our troops surged forward courageously, knowing that many among them would not survive. They sacrificed their lives in battle in hopes of turning the tide in the world-wide conflict.

Despite its successful execution, the operation demanded a deadly price that will forever underscore the cost of war and its inhumanity.

Though there was no official count, according to some estimates, more than 4,000 U.S. troops were killed by enemy fire as they fought across the beach to reach the German enclaves. Thousands more were wounded or missing.

But the U.S. and its allies succeeded, capturing the beach and gaining a foothold in the struggle against German occupation and oppression. By late August, all of northern France was liberated and by the following spring, the Germans were defeated.

D-Day was the beginning of the end.”

“This is a story that our children and their children should know. It speaks of sacrifice and liberation. It speaks of an international force, united for the worthy cause of defeating one of the greatest evils of history.

Let us never forget D-Day.”

Read more:

http://www.greensboro.com/opinion/n_and_r_editorials/our-opinion-d-day-never-forget/article_f28e68d9-e622-5e24-a1c7-9907f8c3ff1f.html

 

More here:

https://citizenwells.com/

http://citizenwells.net/

 

 

178 Comments

Posted in American hero, Americans, Citizen News, Citizens for the truth about Obama, CitizenWells, History, War, World War II

Tagged , , , , ,

May 2018 full time jobs jump record 904k, Low quality part time jobs plunge 625k, Trump tweets on historic employment numbers

Posted on June 1, 2018 | 45 comments

May 2018 full time jobs jump record 904k, Low quality part time jobs plunge 625k, Trump tweets on historic employment numbers

“Don’t tell me that illegal immigrants from Mexico and Central America have not been taking native born American jobs.
Numbers don’t lie.
Straight from the US Labor Department website.
Under Obama.
Hispanic employment up 29 percent!
9,374,000 white Americans dropped out of the labor force!”…Citizen Wells Feb. 27, 2017

“In just the first 6 months of the Trump Administration white American employment rose almost 1 million.”…Citizen Wells Aug 4, 2017

 

From Zero Hedge.

“The US Added A Record 904,000 Full-Time Jobs Last Month

Shortly after Trump tweeted his controversial payrolls report preview, in which he hinted today’s payrolls number would be a strong beat, saying “Looking forward to seeing the employment numbers at 8:30 this morning”…

Donald J. Trump

✔@realDonaldTrump

Looking forward to seeing the employment numbers at 8:30 this morning.

Twitter Ads info and privacy

… and which prompted a solid bid in the US dollar ahead of the payrolls number…”

“Or perhaps it was, because while looking at the headline Establishment Survey print showed a +223K jump in total jobs, looking at the Household Survey showed one stunning outlier print: in May the number of full-time jobs rose from 127.753 million to 128.657 million, a 904K increase in one month, offset by a 625 plunge in low-quality, part-time jobs.

Putting this surge in full-time jobs in context, it was the biggest monthly increase this century, and also on record if one excludes a few data revision prints recorded in the 1990s.”

Read more:

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-06-01/us-added-record-904000-full-time-jobs-last-month

 

 

More here:

https://citizenwells.com/

http://citizenwells.net/

45 Comments

Posted in Citizen News, Citizens for the truth about Obama, CitizenWells, Economy, Employment, Jobs

Tagged , ,

World War II battle for Aleutian Attu Island forgotten but still haunts soldiers, Japanese surprise attack off Alaska coast, Only WWII battle on US soil, Mostly hand to hand combat

Posted on May 28, 2018 | 43 comments

World War II battle for Aleutian Attu Island forgotten but still haunts soldiers, Japanese surprise attack off Alaska coast, Only WWII battle on US soil, Mostly hand to hand combat

“If you will not fight for right when you can easily win without bloodshed,
If you will not fight when your victory is sure and not too costly,
You may come to the moment when you will have to fight
with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance of survival.”…Winston Churchill

“We owe the World War II generation more than we can ever repay them. We must not let them and their sacrifices be forgotten.” …Citizen Wells

“Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.”…Winston Churchill

 

From the Greensboro News Record.

“Bloody but forgotten WWII battle still haunts soldiers

William Roy Dover’s memory of the World War II battle is as sharp as it was 75 years ago, even though it’s been long forgotten by most everyone else.

His first sergeant rousted him from his pup tent around 2 a.m. when word came the Japanese were attacking and had maybe even gotten behind the American front line, on a desolate, unforgiving slab of an occupied island in the North Pacific.

“He was shouting, ‘Get up! Get out!'” Dover said.

Dover and most of the American soldiers rushed to an embankment on what became known as Engineer Hill, the last gasp of the Japanese during the Battle of Attu , fought 75 years ago this month on Attu Island in Alaska’s Aleutian chain.

“I had two friends that were too slow to get out,” the 95-year-old Alabama farmer recalled. “They both got bayonetted in their pup tents.”

Joseph Sasser, then a skinny 20-year-old from Cartharge, Mississippi, also found himself perched against the berm on Engineer Hill when a captain with a rifle took up a position about 10 feet (3 meters) away.

“I noticed about after 30 minutes or so, he was awfully quiet,” Sasser said. “We checked to see if he had a pulse and if he was alive, and he was not.

“We didn’t even know he had been shot,” said Sasser, also 95.

American forces reclaimed remote Attu Island on May 30, 1943, after a 19-day campaign that is known as World War II’s forgotten battle. Much of the fighting was hand-to-hand, waged in dense fog and winds of up to 120 mph (193 kph).

The battle for the Aleutian island was one of the deadliest in the Pacific in terms of the percentage of troops killed. Nearly all the Japanese forces, estimated at about 2,500 soldiers, died with only 28 survivors. About 550 or so U.S. soldiers were killed.

American forces, many poorly outfitted for Alaska weather and trained in California for desert combat, recaptured Attu 11 months after the Japanese took it and a nearby island, Kiska. It was the only WWII battle fought on North American soil.

The Japanese staged a last-ditch, desperate offensive May 29 at Engineer Hill.

“Japanese soldiers surprise American forces on Attu with a fanatical charge out of the mountains,” recounts an Associated Press chronology of WWII events in 1943. “Savage fighting rages throughout the day and into the following night.”

Read more:

http://www.greensboro.com/ap/us_world/bloody-but-forgotten-wwii-battle-still-haunts-soldiers/article_11df2173-bfad-556f-9dae-6575b8c84aed.html

God bless those who fought and died for our country and their families.

 

 

More here:

https://citizenwells.com/

http://citizenwells.net/

 

43 Comments

Posted in American hero, Americans, Citizen News, Citizens for the truth about Obama, CitizenWells, Patriotism, US Military, US Navy, US Soldier, Veterans, World War II

Tagged , , ,

Thrivent buys ethics awards?, Touts Christian values, The ethics of firms paying to be honored for ethics, Ethisphere Institute “World’s Most Ethical Companies”, Thrivent touts these “ethics” awards”

Posted on May 27, 2018 | 4 comments

Thrivent buys ethics awards?, Touts Christian values, The ethics of firms paying to be honored for ethics, Ethisphere Institute “World’s Most Ethical Companies”, Thrivent touts these “ethics” awards”

“Committed to honesty, integrity and fairness
Insurance companies are subject to a lot of rules. National and state governments and other regulatory organizations have established a vast array. At AAL, we recognize the importance of these rules and work diligently to follow them. Then we take an extra step.
We choose to hold ourselves to a higher ethical standard than the regulations demand. We’re part of the Insurance Marketplace Standards Association–more commonly known as IMSA.”…AAL (Thrivent) Correspondent January/February 2002

“the awarding of an ethics accolade to a company that gives you money just doesn’t pass the smell test.”…LA Times October 27, 2014

“The secret of life is honesty, and fair
dealing. If you can fake that you’ve got it made.”…Groucho Marx

 

Thrivent, a Lutheran connected fraternal organization has been in the news for the past several years trying to maintain it’s dispute resolution, MDRP, contract dictate in lieu of litigation, despite challenges from the DOL.

It claims it’s approach of appeal, mediation and arbitration is in the best interest of its members.

It also touts its Christian based approaches and ethics awards.

Is it buying the ethics awards?

From a recent lawsuit against Thrivent:

“Executive sues Thrivent, saying he was fired because he is black”

“A black executive claims he was fired as president of a Thrivent Financial subsidiary because he accused a co-worker of racial discrimination, according to a lawsuit he filed against the financial services firm.

Gregory M. Smith, who said he was recruited by Thrivent in 2016 to help grow its network of independent insurance brokers, said he was stunned to encounter discrimination at a Fortune 500 company whose mission is “helping Christians be wise with money and live generously.”

“I was shocked,” said Smith, 56, who has worked at some of the largest insurance companies in the U.S. “I have never been treated so badly in my life.”

http://eachstorytold.com/2018/05/26/thrivent-executive-fired-gregory-m-smith-lawsuit-says-he-was-fired-because-he-is-black-represented-by-attorney-clayton-halunen-we-are-going-to-get-rid-of-that-black-piece-of-shit/

“Thrivent Financial, which manages more than $100 billion in assets, boasts of its corporate culture, noting on its website that it has been named one of the world’s “most ethical companies” six years in a row by the Ethisphere Institute.”

http://www.startribune.com/executive-sues-thrivent-saying-he-was-fired-because-he-was-black/451920593/

From Thrivent:

“Thrivent, a not-for-profit membership organization that helps Christians be wise with money and live generously, announced today it has been recognized by the Ethisphere Institute, a global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices, as one of the 2018 World’s Most Ethical Companies.”

“For the last seven years, Thrivent has been honored to be named a World’s Most Ethical Company,” said Brad Hewitt, CEO of Thrivent. “As we serve our members and carry out what it means to be an ethical company through our actions and business practices, we are pleased to be recognized as leaders in setting a standard that we hope will continue to develop within the business community.”

https://www.thrivent.com/newsroom/for-7th-year-in-a-row-thrivent-named-a-worlds-most-ethical-company.html

From Slate.

“Sometime in the next week or so, something called the Ethisphere Institute is scheduled to announce this year’s list of the “World’s Most Ethical Companies.” If past years are any indication, the winners will have their press releases ready to go, and news outlets across the country will eat it up. There’s just one hitch: These ethics awards—let’s call them the Ethies—may have ethics issues of their own.

The Ethisphere Insitute, which describes itself as “a leading international think-tank dedicated to the creation, advancement and sharing of best practices in business ethics, corporate social responsibility, anti-corruption and sustainability,” is actually a for-profit company. The institute also lends itself credibility with an “advisory panel” of ethicists, yet several former members say they’ve had little if anything to do with it. Finally, the institute and an affiliated company sell services to and collect fees from some of the same companies Ethisphere extols.”

“The scoring is based mostly on information provided by the companies themselves, and Ethisphere says its questionnaire should take 30 to 40 minutes to complete. Ethisphere then asks companies for documentation to support survey answers and reviews other sources, such as news articles, court records, and Consumer Reports. Ethisphere says it reviewed more than 10,000 corporations for last year’s list.

Brigham acknowledges that the system is imperfect. “Could they be lying to us?” he says. “Sure, they could. … Over time, we’re going to have to figure out how to verify that. And no one is going to pay us to verify it, and if we try to charge them to verify it, we’re going to have reporters like you make it sound like we’re getting paid off.”

Ethisphere says its methodology was developed with the help of a panel of independent experts. But as I dialed up half a dozen of the 20 committee members, I found only one (George Ash) who said he actually contributed to shaping the methodology. Others said they made a suggestion that wasn’t heeded (Thomas Donaldson), or didn’t seriously analyze the methodology (Patrick Barwise, John Dienhart, Chris MacDonald), or didn’t know they were on the panel (Karen Paul). Ethisphere says that it assumed panel members who didn’t respond to its queries simply agreed with the methodology and that each member explicitly agreed to be on the panel. Since my inquiries, Ethisphere has named a new, smaller panel, and none of the people I spoke to are still on it.”

“It’s tempting, of course, to dismiss all this as just corporate window-dressing, and in fact Canadian ethicist Chris MacDonald, who until recently was on Ethisphere’s advisory panel, warned me to take such awards “with a grain of salt.” And then there are people like Gretchen Winter, former ethics officer for “World’s Most Ethical” winner Baxter International and current director of the Center for Professional Responsibility in Business and Society at the University of Illinois. Winter says the institute’s conflicts of interest and reliance on self-reported information make its awards “less credible.” At the same time, she says, the awards help in “advancing the conversation about ethics and compliance programs in the executive suites and boardrooms.”

They may just as easily be used, however, to squelch conversation. Last year, while working on another story, I was interviewing a corporate spokesman about allegations of fraud against his company and government fines for a radioactive waste spill. He sent me a press release trumpeting the news that Ethisphere had named his engineering and construction firm, CH2M Hill, one of the “World’s Most Ethical.” It “speaks for itself,” he said. If only he knew.”

http://www.slate.com/articles/business/moneybox/2010/03/its_all_good.html

From the LA Times.

“The ethics of firms paying to be honored for ethics

“It’s apparently a point of honor among some corporations to be named one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies. There already are rankings, after all, for the World’s Most Admired Companies and the Best Companies to Work For.

Blue Shield issued a press release in March saying that it had been recognized as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies for the third year in a row. The company said the honor had been earned because of Blue Shield’s “strong culture of ethical behavior and integrity.”

Dozens of other companies issued similar press releases around the same time. Waste Management, the garbage-disposal company that in 2011 paid $7.5 million to settle charges that it broke Massachusetts environmental laws, touted its inclusion among the World’s Most Ethical Companies.

So did Eastman Chemical, which faces lawsuits alleging that it did not adequately warn of the dangers of a chemical that spilled into a West Virginia river earlier this year, leaving more than 300,000 people without water for days.”

“Apparently, Blue Shield and Ethisphere haven’t quite grasped that the appearance of a conflict can be just as troubling as an actual conflict.

Nor do they seem to understand that the awarding of an ethics accolade to a company that gives you money just doesn’t pass the smell test.

Hey, remember when things like ethics mattered?

Blue Shield doesn’t. Neither does the Ethisphere Institute.”

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-lazarus-20141028-column.html

 

 

More here:

https://citizenwells.com/

http://citizenwells.net/

 

 

 

4 Comments

Posted in Accountability, Citizen News, Citizens for the truth about Obama, Ethics, Lawsuits

Tagged , , , ,

Alexa records and shares private conversations without your permission, Telescreen of 1984, Thought criminals easily monitored, A Party member lives from birth to death under the eye of the Thought Police

Posted on May 25, 2018 | 19 comments

Alexa records and shares private conversations without your permission, Telescreen of 1984, Thought criminals easily monitored, A Party member lives from birth to death under the eye of the Thought Police

“A Party member lives from birth to death under the eye of the Thought Police. Even when he is alone he can never be sure that he is alone. Wherever he may be, asleep or awake, working or resting, in his bath or in bed, he can be inspected without warning and without knowing that he is being inspected. Nothing that he does is indifferent. His friendships, his relaxations, his behaviour towards his wife and children, the expression of his face when he is alone, the words he mutters in sleep, even the characteristic movements of his body, are all jealously scrutinized. Not only any actual misdemeanour, but any eccentricity, however small, any change of habits, any nervous mannerism that could possibly be the symptom of an inner struggle, is certain to be detected.”…George Orwell, “1984”

“We control life, Winston, at all its levels. You are imagining that there is something called human nature which will be outraged by what we do and will turn against us. But we create human nature. Men are infinitely malleable.”…George Orwell, “1984″

“We are being lied to on a scale unimaginable by George Orwell.”…Citizen Wells

 

From Zero Hedge May 25, 2018.

“This Is How Amazon’s Alexa Records And Shares Private Conversations Without Your Permission

As it turns out, the scandal over Amazon’s Alexa voice-controlled personal assistant recording and sharing private conversations both with hackers and with people on the users’ contact list is much more serious than the company had feared.

As Bloomberg reported, Amazon responded to a KIRO 7 news report about a couple who received a call from a friend saying “unplug your Alexa devices right now. You’re being hacked” after the company’s device had shared a private conversation without explicit permission.

Amazon offered a complex, meandering “explanation” for the series of strange coincidences that triggered Alexa to record and share a couple’s private conversation. It started with Alexa being triggered when it heard a word that sounded like “Alexa” – the command for the technology activate. Here are the details:

Amazon explained the series of events that triggered the episode in an emailed statement. The Echo woke after hearing a word in the couple’s conversation that sounded like “Alexa” — the usual trigger to begin recording. The speaker later heard “send message” during the conversation, at which point the device asked, “to whom?” The pair continued talking in the background and the Echo’s system interpreted part of the chat to identify a name in the couple’s contact list. Alexa then asked aloud if they wanted to send a message to that contact and heard “right” in more background conversation.

“As unlikely as this string of events is, we are evaluating options to make this case even less likely,” the company said.

The report invigorated privacy concerns as internet-connected devices like the Amazon Echo become ubiquitous in homes. Amazon in 2014 introduced the new line of devices, which can also stream music and order goods from Amazon via voice command. It has been busy introducing updated versions and adding features to sell more devices than rivals like Alphabet Inc. and Apple Inc., which offer their own versions.

The “explanation” suggests that consumers should be extremely careful of what they say around their personal assistants to the point where more users should consider deactivating the device when it’s not in use. And there’s plenty: more than 60 million U.S. consumers will use a smart speaker at least once a month this year, with more than 40 million of them using Amazon’s devices, according to eMarketer Inc.”

Read more:

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-05-25/how-amazons-alexa-records-and-shares-private-conversations-without-your-permission

From “1984” by George Orwell.

“He thought of the telescreen with its never-sleeping ear. They could spy upon you night and day”

“Behind Winston’s back the voice from the telescreen was still babbling away about pig-iron and the overfulfilment of the Ninth Three-Year Plan. The telescreen received and transmitted simultaneously. Any sound that Winston made, above the level of a very low whisper, would be picked up by it, moreover, so long as he remained within the field of vision which the metal plaque commanded, he could be seen as well as heard. There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment. How often, or on what system, the Thought Police plugged in on any individual wire was guesswork. It was even conceivable that they watched everybody all the time. But at any rate they could plug in your wire whenever they wanted to. You had to live — did live, from habit that became instinct — in the assumption that every sound you made was overheard, and, except in darkness, every movement scrutinized.

Winston kept his back turned to the telescreen. It was safer, though, as he well knew, even a back can be revealing.”

“His earlier thought returned to him: probably she was not actually a member of the Thought Police, but then it was precisely the amateur spy who was the greatest danger of all. He did not know how long she had been looking at him, but perhaps for as much as five minutes, and it was possible that his features had not been perfectly under control. It was terribly dangerous to let your thoughts wander when you were in any public place or within range of a telescreen. The smallest thing could give you away. A nervous tic, an unconscious look of anxiety, a habit of muttering to yourself — anything that carried with it the suggestion of abnormality, of having something to hide. In any case, to wear an improper expression on your face (to look incredulous when a victory was announced, for example) was itself a punishable offence. There was even a word for it in Newspeak: facecrime, it was called.”

“He took his scribbling pad on his knee and pushed back his chair so as to get as far away from the telescreen as possible. To keep your face expressionless was not difficult, and even your breathing could be controlled, with an effort: but you could not control the beating of your heart, and the telescreen was quite delicate enough to pick it up. He let what he judged to be ten minutes go by, tormented all the while by the fear that some accident — a sudden draught blowing across his desk, for instance — would betray him.”

 

More here:

https://citizenwells.com/

http://citizenwells.net/

19 Comments

Posted in 1984, Big Brother, Citizen News, Citizens for the truth about Obama, CitizenWells, Orwell, Orwellian, Thought Police

Tagged , , ,