By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, October 2 -- As over 700 Occupy Wall Street protesters were arrested Saturday by the New York City Police Department, in the scrum at the entrance to the Brooklyn Bridge there was talk of mega-bank J.P. Morgan Chase having given money to the NYPD.
It's hardly hidden: the bank's web site brags that
"JPMorgan Chase recently donated an unprecedented $4.6 million to the New York City Police Foundation. The gift was the largest in the history of the foundation and will enable the New York City Police Department to strengthen security in the Big Apple. The money will pay for 1,000 new patrol car laptops, as well as security monitoring software in the NYPD's main data center."
Given that the protests are largely directed that bailouts to and abuse of the political system by JPMorgan, Citigroup,Bank of America, Wells Fargo and prospectively Capital One, it is certainly relevant, and to many troubling, that the police take money from the very target of the protest.
The police will use the money for laptops and "security monitoring software" - would that target the anonymizer app Vibe that's emerged, created by Hazem "White Hat" Sayed?
Ray Kelly, widely touted as a candidate to replace Michael Bloomberg as Mayor, offered his "profound gratitude" to JPM Chase CEO Jamie Dimon. Will this relationship and the mass arrests be explained?
Chase-funded police block bridge, (c) MRLee 10/1/11
And what of the use of MTA busses to arrest protesters, as photographed by Inner City Press in its story last night? On Sunday morning, Inner City Press asked the Transit Workers Union Local 100 for its comment and what it will do. Watch this site.
MTA bus used for arrests. Who's driving? (c) MRLee 10/1/11
JP Morgan Chase stands accused of improper involvement not only in New York City policing, but in corrupting the Middle East peace process through UN envoy Tony Blair, who is also a JP Morgan consultant.
For some time Inner City Press has asked the UN, and Blair himself after a New York City meeting of the Middle East Quartet, about his involvement in cell phone deals in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, without answer.
On Friday, September 30 Inner City Press asked Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's spokesman Martin Nesirky:
Inner City Press: I am sure you’ve seen these stories of late about Tony Blair. Often you’ll say, speak to Tony Blair. It’s not that easy to do, as you might imagine. So I wanted to ask the UN side of it. These articles are saying that increasing questions have arisen about the double service of Tony Blair for J.P.Morgan as a consultant and as the Middle East peace envoy. And they point to particular deals around cell phones... I don’t expect the UN to say anything anti-Blair, but what is the UN’s role in reviewing those conflicts of interest? Is there a kind of review that’s done for other UN officials to view whether the outside activities or other activities of Tony Blair conflict with what he does for the UN system?
Spokesperson Martin Nesirky: Well, as we have said before, Tony Blair is the Quartet envoy. He is the Representative of the Quartet. He is not the UN envoy in the Quartet. That is not his role, okay? And so, I think you’re knocking on the wrong door here.
Inner City Press: who does the review of whether there is a conflict of interest? Is it just up to Tony Blair himself or is there some, does the Quartet have some secretariat or administrative body to review these charges?
Spokesperson: Well, I think you’d need to check with, first of all, I think it’s right, you could certainly check with Tony Blair’s office in the first instance. But, also of course, you could check with the other participants in the Quartet, as well. But, just to be clear, it’s not a UN role.
So JP Morgan Chase with its money can corrupt the UN Middle East process -- then say "it's not a UN role." And the bank can pay the New York police, which mass arrests those protesting its bailout. What's next? Watch this site.
