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Thursday, April 20, 2023

THE PROSECUTION OR PERSECUTION OF TRUMP



When you are rich and powerful, you make enemies. You enter politics, you make more enemies. This is inevitable. Nobody rises up to lofty positions by being a goody-two shoe. Not even Lee Kuan Yew. If you have skeletons in the cupboard, enemies come after you. Or they may dig for or manufacture them. Not to mention the gold diggers that lurk. Trump is an oddity. In his lofty position, he has had more kitchen sinks thrown at him than anyone else.

Men try to settle disputes civilly in courts. But vindictiveness is often just a legal matter. One example illustrates. In 2012, Dinesh D’Souza, an influential conservative megaphone, contributed S20,000 to a GOP candidate in a Senate election. He was charged with violation of the Election Act which restricts contributions to a maximum of $5,000. He was sentenced to eight months in a halfway house (a quasi-jail) near his home in San Diego, five years' probation, and a $30,000 fine. Generally, a minor illegal campaign donation is usually slapped with a small fine. They don’t like conservatives, so D’Souza got charged for illegal donations, for bank fraud because he issued cheques for the payments, and charged for postal fraud because he sent the cheques by mail. That's why the heavy sentence. This is what awaits Trump.


$130,000 PAYMENT TO  STORMY DANIELS CASE

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg
Received $1.1m funding from George Soros.
Campaign platform ..."I will get Trump".

A case which the DOJ, Elections Committee and Special Counsel Mueller never pursued because they felt there was nothing there. Bragg brings charges against a man without stating what the charges are. Where the DA rides roughshod over the statue of limitation. Where he usurps Federal jurisdiction and illegally uses Federal funds in a state investigation.

In the grand jury hearing, it was revealed Bragg suppressed exculpatory evidence. This is a criminal act that should debar Bragg. But it's not going to happen in a degraded justice system. Criminal acts by lawless Liberal prosecutors have become normalised. Example Kamala Harris once suppressed exculpatory evidence sending 7 black Americans to prison.

Congress is investigating Bragg's illegal use of Federal funds and subpoenaed Bragg's assistant Mark Pomerantz to Judiciary Hearing. The DA feels he is above the law and tried to obtain a restraining order from the court to frustrate Congress' job of judicial oversight. The court has struck down his request.

Whatever the charge which Bragg has not yet defined, he is going to bring on 34 counts based on the number of cheques that were made out. 

Judge for the case, Juan Merchan, is a Bloomberg (Democrat) appointee. He has made political donations to Democrats which is in breach of DC judiciary code of conduct. He refused to recuse himself and expect trust that he will be nonpartisan in a badly broken judicial system.


$250M CIVIL LAWSUIT  FOR FINANCIAL FRAUD

Letitia James, NY Attorney General
Received funding from George Soros' non-profit organizations
Campaign platform ..."I will get Trump".

Without evidence, she declared Trump will not own any buildings and business in NY..
Basically she wants to run Trump out of town.

James claimed billion dollar frauds by Trump without evidence and promised indictments before coming into office, then went on a long fishing trip. The suit is against Trump, his children and Trump Organisation. The sum of her claims is that Trump lied about the value of assets in his business, inflating them fraudulently to obtain bank loans and cheats on tax grants. This is very strange because she thinks banks extend loans based on customer valuations. She has never heard of independent valuers. Banks have been cheated but she has produced no fraud victims. And if asset values go up, how do taxes get lowered? Trump has consistently claimed he actually paid excess taxes. Interesting to see how all this will work out.

From billion dollar frauds, James has climbed down to Earth for $250m. Unable to pin a criminal charge, she has gone civil, and passed the buck for criminal charges to the Feds. In a criminal case, James would need to proof beyond reasonable doubt. In a civil suit, the onus of proof is at a much lower bar, making it easier for the prosecution. 

She is filing a criminal referral to federal prosecutors in Manhattan, where buddy Alvin Bragg will be happy to have another go at Trump, and a separate tax fraud referral to the IRS for the same underlying allegations. A case of 'double jeopardy'? Hell, who cares. Trump is a conservative.

James is exactly the kind of AG with flaunting runaway prosecutorial power that Robert Houghwout Jackson warned about in his speech to US attorneys in 1940. I blogged this in 'The holy grail of prosecutorial integrity'. Take any corporations in America and sieve their financial transactions through Constitution, SEC, and various state and federal financial laws and regulations for enough number of years, one is bound to get them doing something irregular. But there is a difference between having a complaint and proceeding with investigation, and going on a fishing trip to find a fault.

CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION INTO J6

Karl Racine, DC  Attorney General
No charges yet, investigation at the moment

This man is largely responsible for all the shit the Trump admin faced. As co-chair of Democratic Attorneys General Association (DAGA) he played a little-noticed but hugely influential role in fighting the Trump administration at the polls, in the courts and in the news media.

He has helped coordinate the legal and political strategies behind the lawsuits suing the Trump administration over issues such as :
* the separation of children and parents at the Mexican border
* upholding the Affordable Care Act
* protecting DACA recipients.

Racine was the architect of one of the least-discussed but most far-reaching results of 2022 November elections: Democrats winning a majority of the nation’s attorney general positions—an electoral success with far-reaching implications for :
* workers’ rights
* immigration rights
* civil rights
* consumer protections
* most importantly, erection of a judicial wall against the Trump administration.

It is all about Democrats' political power, nothing about fighting crime.


EMOLUMENTS LAWSUIT

Karl Racine, DC Attorney General
Brian Frosh, Maryland Attorney General.

In 2017 the two of them sued Trump for violation of the Constitution’s Emoluments Clauses. This prohibits the president from accepting money or benefits from foreign or domestic governments. This is a corruption case.

The OAG DC website states: "Unlike previous presidents, President Trump has refused to separate himself from his businesses. OAG alleges that he continues to accept money from foreign and domestic governments through transactions at the Trump International Hotel here in the District."

This is strange since Trump divested all interest in the Trump Organization to a Trust before taking office. The AGs are investigating some gifts that went unrecorded, including a whiskey bottle worth over $5,000 from Saudi King in 2022. But they are not interested in the million dollars the Biden crime family received from Russia, China and Ukraine.


GEORGIA 2020 ELECTION FRAUD CLAIMS

Fan Wallis, Fulton County District Attorney
Illegally hosted campaign Georgia lieutenant governor's race Democrat Charlie Bailey

Originally, it was claimed that during the 2 January 2021 telephone call Trump urged Secretary of State Raffensperger to “find” enough votes to overturn his Georgia loss to Democrat Joe Biden. This has since been debunked. The tape was fraudulently doctored. Fani Willis has since expanded the investigation into a sprawling witch hunt and formed a special grand jury. 75 witnesses had appeared before the jury which tantalised that there would be plenty of indictments for perjury by witnesses. Note they were not saying an indictment of Trump.

The grand jury foreperson, Emily Khor, bought her 15 minutes of fame with her CNN interview to discuss the case. In most instances, her disgraceful performance on TV would have meant a mistrial. The Obama-appointed judge took no action.

Fani Willis hosted for the Democratic political opponent of Republican state Sen. Burt Jones. The judge ruled that as a campaign fundraiser, she is barred from taking any action against Burt Jones. Trump's team submitted to the court this basis of political bias should apply to the whole case. The judge disagreed.

The case she is trying to make is that Trump meddled in the 2020 election. But this may work out terribly wrong for Democrats because in the course of the trial, Fulton County may be forced to disclose a lot of election shenanigans that various courts have refused to hear in the last 2 years.

Those who think 2020 election fraud claimers should go to jail, including Fani Willis, should watch this short video clip.


CIVIL SUIT BY CONGRESSMAN RE J6

Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.)
Chair, House Select Committee to Investigate the Jan. 6

Sued Trump, his lawyer Rudy Giuliani, the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers before chairing the committee. The Mississippi Democrat later left his legal action in the hands of fellow Congress members in July, to avoid a possible conflict of interest. Sure, there is absolutely no conflict of interest. Does he even have a standi locus in this case?


CIVIL SUIT BY 7 DC CAPITOL POLICEMEN

Committee Of Lawyers for Civil Rights.(CLCR)
President : Damon-Hewitt

CLCR represents the following 7 policemen Conrad Smith, Danny McElroy, Byron Evans, Governor Latson, Melissa Marshall, Michael Fortune, and Jason DeRoche. they sued Trump, his campaign, self-proclaimed dirty trickster Roger Stone, the Proud Boys and others under the KKK Act.


MAR-A-LARGO CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS INVESTIGATION

Special Counsel Jack Smith

Under the Presidential Records Act, Trump has the right to keep any documents, including classified documents. A president can declassify any document he wants. Before leaving office, Trump had made a blanket declassification of all documents he took out. In retrospect, every other president has taken tons of documents after leaving office. Obama has 30,000 stored in a warehouse pending construction of his presidential library. None has ever been searched nor questioned.

But these documents are subject to anything the Archive Office wants. Trump was working with them to return whatever was asked before the FBI raid.

Prior to the raid, Trump had worked with the FBI on the security of Mar-a-Lago documents  FBI had visited and given suggestions and their advice were acted on.

In the FBI raid at Mar-a-Lago, all Trump personnel were kept out of the premises. Trump claimed the possibility of FBI planting false evidence. Various court cases have witnessed delinquent FBI agents engaging in such malpractice. (I spent three months national service in the Special Constabulary where I learnt that when police conduct searches, it must be done in the presence of the suspects).

Special counsel Jack Smith and his team of investigators are examining whether Trump or anyone in his orbit obstructed its efforts to recover all the classified documents. There are no charges yet.

As of now, the investigation is centered on the subpoena of Trump’s lawyers. This is to determine whether conversations between them point to instructions to obstruct the investigation. It's a long way from initial claims of Trump holding top secret materials concerning nuclear weapons. The lawyers have pleaded for lawyer-client privilege.

Investigators circumvent this privilege by using a principle known as the “crime-fraud” exception. This is when an act is used to further another crime. (Notice this is similar to Alvin Bragg's case. The payment of hush money was to further another crime of misuse of campaign funds).

FBI appealed against this privilege defense and a 3-judge panel has issued a sealed order to lift this privilege. The panel consisted of Obama- appointee Cornelia Pillard, and Biden-appointees J. Michelle Childs and Florence Pan. In a political case, no conservative stands a chance against the DC judiciary system lorded over by progressive liberals.

Meanwhile, the DOJ and FBI ignored Biden’s illegal hoarding of classified documents when he was VP. As VP he had no right to take any documents. He kept documents in three different unsecured locations, including his garage.

There are two popular claims for this documents fuss. One is the FBI’s attempt to recover documents relating to Hillary Clinton's fraudulent plot about Russian involvement in the 2016 election. Two is FBI was already aware of Biden’s illegal cache of documents. The idea was to blow up Trump’s case in order to soften Biden’s.


2 CIVIL SUITS BY DC CAPITOL POLICEMEN

Several DC Capitol Policemen have sued Trump et al.

They sued for punitive damages for physical and psychological wounds suffered on grounds the former president was responsible for the riot, disorderly conduct, and conspired the insurrection against legal transfer of power in Congress.

Do they know in a previous failed suit brought by Stormy Daniels, the court had ordered her to pay Trump $600,000 for legal cost? The question is, did anyone instigated and promised to fund their suits.?


CIVIL SUIT FOR RAPE & DEFAMATION

E. Jean Caroll
Elle Magazine advice columnist (1993 to 2019)

She gave advice on matters of sex. Have also contributed to various magazines including Playboy. In 2019 she published her book 'What Do We Need Men For?' in which she claimed she was sexually assaulted by Trump. Elle Magazine fired her after her book was published.

Rape is a heinous crime and the perpetrator should be severely punished. It has taken her 9 years to make his claim.

I can understand how trauma, fear and shame keep victims from coming forward. It is a huge burden on the accused to defend himself if the victim does not come forward immediately but only years later. How to prove dna, where you were, etc, 27 years ago. While the victim may not prove the case, the accused is forever stigmatised. Remember in the nomination hearing of Justice Kavannagh, five liberal females jumped on the bandwagon to claim he sexually assaulted them decades ago. All proven liars eventually. Kavannagh's name is tarnished while whoever put those women on the false claims were never investigated.

Caroll has 2 things working for her.
* She claims to still have the black dress with dna on it. A dna sample has been requested from Trump.
* She spoke to 2 friends a few days after the incident. Lisa Bimbach advised her not to discuss it. The other friend Carol Martin made interesting comments. The fact she can have 2 witnesses whom she confided in is not contested. It's whether it was a fabrication.

But there are many things that make one wonder:
* She went public at a time when she was going to publish a book about it. Seems like a book promotion?
* Her friend Carol Martin said Caroll told her three days after the assault, over kitchen talk. “She doesn’t break down easily. There was none of that . . . that she started crying or anything, or nothing frantic . . . . It was like, "I can't believe what happened," ". That sure seemed like someone who was raped, doesn' it? It was no soul breaking confidante kind of talk, but a nonchalant casual conversation.
*Caroll's description of the event was they met in late 1995 or early 1996 in the Bergdorf Goodman department store in New York City, got some lingerie, went into the dressing room. Suddenly, Trump assaulted her, pushed her against wall, raped her, all in a matter of three minutes. Words she used were "colossal struggle" "It was violent, I fought". Firstly, one wonders why a woman brings a man into a dressing room. Secondly, why a colossal struggle in a dressing room went unnoticed. Thirdly, was she dumb that she could not shout?
* She perjured herself when she said no one is funding her suit. Her lawyer was aware of her perjury for for 6 months and almost on the eve of the court hearing, he disclosed Reid Hoffman, the billionaire behind LinkedIn, is the one paying her legal bills.

The Clinton-appointed Judge Lewis Kaplan gave defendant's lawyers not one week, not one day, but one hour, for discovery regarding the Hoffman involvement. Kalan also refused to defendant's request to delay the trial in view of his deposition with the AG Letitia James' case,

Hoffman is megadonor to Democrats and a Trump hater. In 2018 Hoffman was found to be interfering in the Alabama special election for US Senate by funding a group linked to a “highly disturbing” effort that spread disinformation against Conservatives. Pointing out once again the rich elite Liberals aiding Democrats in unethical and illegal ways to gain power.

Trump has pointed out Caroll has mental issues, that she once said she fantasised about being raped. (I have not authenticated this.)

As regards sexual law suits against Trump, the following may be noteworthy:
* Katie Johnson v. Donald J Trump and Jeffrey E Epstein (2016) Case dismissed.
* Jane Doe v. Donald Trump & Jeffrey E Epstein (2016) Case dismissed by complainant.
* Jalva ohnson v. Trump (2019) Case dropped.
* Summer Zervos v. Trump (2016) Case dropped

Looking at the dates, political motives could be in play. Were they paid off? Or Trump’s win at the election made the purpose of the suits passe? There are always lingering questions that are unfair to both parties in these kind of suits. Either one is lying.

One caveat to the rich and powerful. Trump said he does not know Caroll. But the complainant said she has a photo of her and her husband together with Trump. I remember long ago, Lee Kuan Yew once said he does not want any photos of him taken at social functions. No selfies with him. This is precisely the reason. It could be misrepresented decades later.

All that said, this makes for a compelling case either way. Advantage slightly in Trump's favor.


LOOKING AT ALL THESE CASES, IF ONE THING DOESN'T STAND OUT TO YOU, THEN YOU ARE COLOUR BLIND. IT IS NOT COINCIDENCE. IT IS WOKE POLITICS.

For they are so fearful of Trump in election 2024, Democrats need to keep him out of the race by all means possible. Is the avalanche of legal cases against Trump rightful prosecution or relentless persecution?

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Saturday, April 15, 2023

SURAH 5:116 - MOTHER OF GOD AND ACCUSATION OF TRITHEISM



In my previous blog I mentioned two issues about the Quran. One, it incorporates bits and pieces from both the New and Old Testaments, from tales of ancient Hebrews and minor gospels not included in the Bible. This makes it anachronistic and difficult to interpret. Two, Muslims may feel they have version 2.0 since they hold the immutable exact copy of the Holy Book in heaven. They gloat about Christians not knowing the truth.

The famous surah 5:116 is an excellent example to illustrate. It is also a very interesting topic.

وَاِذۡ قَالَ اللّٰهُ يٰعِيۡسَى ابۡنَ مَرۡيَمَ ءَاَنۡتَ قُلۡتَ لِلنَّاسِ اتَّخِذُوۡنِىۡ وَاُمِّىَ اِلٰهَيۡنِ مِنۡ دُوۡنِ اللّٰهِ​ؕ قَالَ سُبۡحٰنَكَ مَا يَكُوۡنُ
لِىۡۤ اَنۡ اَقُوۡلَ مَا لَـيۡسَ لِىۡ بِحَقٍّ​ؕ اِنۡ كُنۡتُ قُلۡتُهٗ فَقَدۡ عَلِمۡتَهٗ​ؕ تَعۡلَمُ مَا فِىۡ نَفۡسِىۡ وَلَاۤ اَعۡلَمُ مَا فِىۡ نَفۡسِكَ​ؕ اِنَّكَ
اَنۡتَ عَلَّامُ الۡغُيُوۡبِ

'And imagine when thereafter Allah will say: 'Jesus, son of Mary, did you say to people: "Take me and my mother for gods beside Allah?" and he will answer: "Glory to You! It was not for me to say what I had no right to. Had I said so, You would surely have known it. You know all what is within my mind whereas I do not know what is within Yours. You, indeed You, know fully all that is beyond the reach of human perception.'

The Islamicstudies.info website explains thus :

QUOTE :

"The Christians were not content merely with deifying Jesus and the Holy Spirit. They even turned Mary, the mother of Jesus, into a full-fledged object of worship. The Bible does not contain even the remotest suggestion that Mary was in any way either divine or superhuman. During the first three centuries after the Messiah, such a concept was totally alien to Christian thinking. Towards the end of the third century of the Christian era, however, some theologians of Alexandria employed, for the first time, the expression 'Mother of God' in connection with Mary. Subsequently, belief in Mary's divinity and the practice of Mariolatry began to spread among Christians. Even then, however, the Church was not prepared to accord official approval to this belief and denounced the Mariolaters as heretics. It was not until the Council of Ephesus in 431 that the Church officially used the expression 'Mother of God' for Mary. The result was that Mariolatry began to spread fast within the Church itself, so much so that, by the time of the revelation of the Qur'an, Mary had become so important a deity that she obscured even the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost."

UNQUOTE

I always stress the need to understand things in context. Especially with religious texts. When understanding religious texts, you need to know two words..... "Eisegesis" and "Exegesis". Eisegesis is when reader 'i' imposes 'my' own interpretation of the text which is highly subjective. Exegesis is drawing out a text's meaning in accordance with the "x' external context and discoverable meaning. This is highly objective. 

Almost all Muslims come to the same conclusion on 5:116 as Islamiststudies.info. They mock Christians' stupidity to think Mary is divine when not a single Christian out of 2.6 billion believe Mary is god. This is a typical eisegesis explanation. We know not the speaker (it is not Allah), the audience, nor the purpose. The ayat (verse) is plonked here making no sense within the whole surah 5. 

Parse the line carefully, and it is apparent the speaker did not make the claim Mary is the Holy Spirit. He is forcing Jesus to claim or deny that he and 'my mother' are gods. i.e., affirm or deny tritheism. It is a polemic, or an attack, on the doctrine of the Holy Trinity of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Answering three questions will clarify.


A. Who is the audience?

The Levant is the swath of land covering the eastern Mediterranean. The Hejaz is the stretch of land on the western part of Arabia.

Standard Islamic narrative is that Islam started in Mecca with Mohammad (AD 570 - 632). This is not supported by history nor archaeological records of any kind. Mecca has no records of existence before 7th century AD. The main reasons .. it has no water source, it is not on the ancient trade routes, and Arabs at the time in these regions were nomads. 

More recent western scholars point to the region of the Levant as where Islam most probably started. In the first few centuries after Christ's death, the Levant region was where civilisation, trade, theological discussions took place. That was the time of heavy influence from Judaism, Christianity, agnosticism, even Persian Zoroastrianism. 

The audience cannot be Arabs in the Mecca area because the city simply did not exist at the time. Even if there were Arabs, they cannot be Christian Arabs because Christianity never reached Hejaz. And if they were not Christians they would not understand what the mockery meant since they were unaware of the concept of the trinity. 

So the audience must be in the Levant. This adds support to the nouveau theory the Quran was written in this region and not Mecca. This makes sense because there were Christian Arabs and theological discussions were rife in the Levant.   


B. What is tritheism vs Holy Trinity all about?

The central doctrine of Christianity is the Holy Trinity, which is the belief that the nature of God is three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine personalities. God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, three distinct hypostases in one essence, substance or nature. Tritheism is the belief that the three hypostases are three separate and distinct gods.

Those who believe in the Trinity are called trinitarians and those who don't' are antitrinitarians. The anti's are a diverse lot believing in various combinations of God's nature, such as Adoptionism, Monarchianism, and Arianism. The doctrine of the Holy Trinity was resolved by the Nicene Creed in 325 AD.

In the early centuries after Christ died, there were arguments about God's nature which continued even after the Nicene Creed. More prominent among antitrinitarians were the Cathars, the Agnostics, and the Neo Judeo-Nazarenes. Examples of antitrinitarian churches today are the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,  Iglesia ni Cristo, Jehovah's Witnesses, etc. A few were considered heretics and persecuted by the Roman Catholic Church.

In light of this contextual clarification, 5:116 becomes clear. The speaker was an antitrinitarian attacking trinitarians. Speaking to an audience in the Levant when all this passionate trinity discussion was going on, makes sense. This lends support to a school of thought that Islam grew out of an antitrinitarian Christian base with a strong suggestion of the neo Judeo-Nazarene group that wanted to capture the temple mount. Again it then makes sense why Abdl Malik built the Dome of the Rock over the temple mount. It also makes sense why there is so much polemic against trinitarianism inscribed on the walls in the inner perambulatory of the Dome. The Dome was built to commemorate the Miraj of prophet Mohammad (his ascension to heaven to meet Allah) yet has no inscription about the event. It also makes complete sense why the Shahada (declaration there is only one God) takes centre stage in Islam.


C. Who is 'my mother' in the ayat? 

It certainly is not Mary. Nowhere in the Bible are claims of Mary's divinity. 'My mother' refers to the Holy Spirit. Is there any evidence that the Holy Spirit is referred to as 'mother'?

Surprise. The answer is, actually, many people did refer to the Holy Spirit as 'mother of Jesus'.

In French, all objects have gender. A table, for example, is masculine. It was similar to the Syriac-speaking world of the northern and eastern areas of the Levant at the time. Due to the fact that God is the Father, they attributed the feminine gender to the Holy Spirit, which is why the term 'mother of Jesus' was used. There is no mystery, error, or complexity. It is simply context. 

Example. Take the agnostic Acts of Thomas : Verse 9 ".... we glorify and praise thee and thine invisible Father and thine holy spirit, the mother of all creation." This gospel is part of the Dead Sea scrolls found between 1947 to 1956 in Qumrum.

Another example. Origen of Alexandria ( AD 185 –  253) wrote about the Gospel according to the Hebrews : ' the Savior said "A moment ago my Mother, who is the Holy Spirit, took me away by one of my hair and carried me to the great mountain of Tabor" ' (On the bishopric of  John, Hom, 2, 12). 

Muslims who are in doubt should check out famous Islamic commentators of the past such as al-Abari,  al-Baydawi,  al-Zamashari etc., who all said 5:116 is about the Holy Spirit and not the Virgin Mary.


Worship vs veneration: 

Merriam-Webster dictionary:
Worship : to honor or show reverence for a divine being or supernatural power.
Veneration : respect or awe inspired by a person's dignity, wisdom, dedication, or talent.

There is a world of difference between worshiping and venerating. Sadly, other Christian denominations don't understand Roman Catholics who venerate Mary and the saints more. People venerate or revere someone in different ways. That is why at Taoist funeral services for Chinese families in Singapore, Catholics are more at ease with the traditional rites such as burning joss sticks. The bereaved family is obviously not worshiping the departed as a deity, but simply paying their respects. Catholics have no qualms about burning joss sticks for the departed like Chinese do. Just do not bow as forbidden in Exodus 20.5. At a HDB void deck Chinese funeral service not long ago, I saw a Malay gentleman in his fifties who came in the evenings. He offered joss sticks, spoke briefly with a family member, and then went his way. A family member told me that the Malay chap was a friend and neighbour of the departed. He paid his respects each night of the service when he returned home from work. I thought that was touching, as well as pleasing to see someone with such an open mind. As a Muslim, certainly he knew he was merely paying his respects, not worshiping a friend.

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Wednesday, April 12, 2023

HAVE YOU FIGURED OUT YOUR PURPOSE IN LIFE?



A some point, we all wonder what is the purpose of life here on Earth. This is one of the greatest mystery. To each his own and we should seek our own answers. I have developed my own idea and I share it here.

Invariably we all fall back on our religion for an answer.  The four greatest religions of the world today, in terms of numbers of followers, are Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism, in that order. These 4 provide scope and guidance to understanding the purpose of life..

Hinduism is the world's oldest religion, which started between 2300 B.C. and 1500 B.C. in the Indus Valley, near modern-day Pakistan. Despite living in close contact with Hindus, I really know little about the religion. I think Hinduism is the most complex of all religions. Most adherents probably understand ritualistic and mythological concepts. The higher levels of cosmological systems, metaphysics, karmic cycles, etc., are beyond ordinary folks.

It teaches the 4 purusharthas which are goals. What I know is that Hinduism has the Godhead called Brahma which is unlike the monotheistic Abrahamic God of Judaism/Christianity and Islam. Brahma is perceived more in abstract terms. It is this great Oneness that we all return to one day when we passed on our physical form. There is one mystery I find of great interest in Brahma's abstract form. A flock of birds, such as migratory birds, when in flight, can all change in the same direction simultaneously. Similar observations were made with a huge shoal of fish. How could this happen? How did they maintain instantaneous communication? The only explanation is that when they are enmassed, they somehow create a single consciousness. This is basically what Brahma is about. A single huge omnipresent consciousness of humanity that we all return to.

But no matter, Hinduism does not provide me with a meaning for life.

Buddhism started in the late 6th century BC somewhere at the foothills of the Himalayas. It is in reality a doctrinal way of living based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama. It is no doubt a breakaway from Hinduism whose influence is strong in the karmic doctrine. Buddhism is a metaphysical inquiry anchored on a belief system of a circulatory repetition of karmic life. Its purpose is to seek release from this cycle through enlightenment. Buddhism is unique to all the other religions in that there is no divinity.

If offers a purpose to life. In the current physical lifeform, one's job is to master the 4 Noble Truths. The aim is to achieve Nirvana to escape this cycle. However, in trying to tell the great story of humanity, Buddhism has no explanation for the beginning of life. You are suddenly in this endless cycle of birth and rebirth. After you are enlightened, you are no wiser how life started on Earth. It is a story of humanity with no beginning nor end.

Islam started in the late 7th century AD, 600 years after Christ. I need to put on kids' gloves here. Which is a pity because I think everyone should be able to discuss anything freely, but respectfully.

As Buddhism grew out of Hinduism, Islam grew out of the Levant which had a strong Judaism, Christian and gnostic influence at the  time. Reading off the Quran, one wonders if the God of Islam is the same as the God of Isreal? It does seem to make the case He is the same God of Abraham. Patenting Quran as the immutable copy of the original book in heaven, Mohammad as the last prophet, and Christ is only a prophet and not a Son of God, Islam monopolises the high horse. Muslims may feel they have version 2.0 and the joke is on Christians who have been misled. Ayat 4.157 which denies Christ's divinity is one example that has Muslims gloating. (See my previous blog).

The Quran seems to have incorporated many bits and pieces from the Old and New Testaments, from minor gospels not included in the Bible, and tales ancient Hebrews tell one another. It opens itself to criticisms of the abundance of anachronism in the Book. Indeed, there are many surahs that are indecipherable. One may be forgiven to feel there is some kind of usurpation, plagiarisation and hijacking going on. To Christians the disparity in spiritual ideology makes it very clear. Allah is not YHWH.

Muslims' passion for daily prayers, fervid dedication, is something other religions envy. Muslims' raison d'être is very simple. Life's purpose is set out in the Quran. Surah 51.56 : "I did not create jinn and humans except to worship Me." Man's purpose in life is to worship God and submit to him totally. In fact, the English translation of 'worship' does not quite get it right. The Arabic word لِيَعْبُدُونِ 'liaebudun' calls for a total submission of will to God, to accept a bondage as a slave to his master. The total commitment and adherence to this bondage is the essence of the ideology, their faqwa. In fact the very word 'Islam' means submission. This submission serves to inhibit any internal challenge to interpretation. 'Liaebudun' basically puts the question of 'free will' to rest - there isn't any.

Christianity came 600 years after Buddhism and 600 years before Islam. The best way to see Christianity is as a forking of Judaism. To understand what Christianity offers as the purpose of life, we need to view the Old and New Testaments separately.

In trying to determine what our Life's purpose is, I am not too keen on what great writers of philosophy nor what the church says. They all say God has a plan for each one of us, we don't know what it is. If you tune in to prosperity preachers like Joel Osteen, God wants us all to be rich. I want to find out what I feel God wants of us. And I think we have 3 purposes.

In the Old Testament, there are 2 clues.

In Exodus 20.5 "Thou shall not make yourself an idol in the form of anything in the heavens above, on the Earth below, or in the waters beneath. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I The Lord your God, am a jealous God.". What does this mean? God's jealousy is not out of envy. The heaven, Earth and waters and Mankind, are all His Creation. We cannot give away our allegiance for things that God created for us.  

God wants our adulation. When He had finished His Creation and saw it was good, why did He then want to create mankind in his image? The answer is very simple. His creation would be meaningless with no one to appreciate it. God wants us to appreciate his Work. This is our primary purpose #1. We are here to enjoy and appreciate God's Creation. This is something I understood from very young. When people sees only a tree, I see beautiful shapes and colours, I see beauty in the mundane, I see macro and micro, I want to sleep with the sound of raindrops pattering on the roof.  

This short story of Isaac Ashimov illustrates the point. We are God's audience.

In the short sci-fi story "The Last Question", author Isaac Ashimov wrote in 1956 about how an analog computer called Multivac was asked what happens when the sun dies. It had no data to compute an answer at the time. Eventually, the sun died one day. By and by every living thing died. All except Multivac, which by then had become a super powerful computer whose location is unknown (cloud computing??). It cannot die because it had one question to answer. All alone in the darkness the computer continued to work on the question. It took a hundred years to crank out the answer. But there was no one left to tell the answer to. Everyone had died. Still, Multivac cannot die because it needed an audience. It took another hundred years before Multivac found the solution to the problem on how to tell the answer. It will do so by way of demonstration. It then took another hundred years thinking about how to do it. Finally, when Multivac was ready, it said.......
 "LET THERE BE LIGHT ....."

In Genesis, God looked at his creation "And God saw that it was good". Then he created Mankind in his own image and tells us “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” Our purpose #2 is in black and white -- procreation and take steward of the environment and living creatures. 

Next, we need to understand what the New Testament is about.

It is a story of the Fall of Man in the Garden of Eden. This Original Sin now imposes a huge problem for Man. As we are now all stained with Sin caused by Adam and Eve, we can no longer be in the presence of God's Holiness. It requires great sacrifice and pain for redemption of this Sin. For God so loved us that He sent His only Son Jesus to show us the Truth and to die on the cross to take away our Sin.

It is from Christ that we learnt of God's plan for us ... an eternal life with God Almighty in Heaven.

The essence of being a Christian is to believe in the Fall, that we have sinned, and believe that Christ is our Lord and Savior who shed blood on the cross to atone for our sins, thereby making salvation possible for us, so that cleansed of Sin we are redeemed and can have eternal life with God in heaven.

Going back to the Garden, what is the lesson of Adam and Eve. God is omniscient, surely He understands the mind of his Creation. Surely He understands the fallibility of humans? Why then did He allowed the Fall of Man? This is easy. God in his infinite Mercy, gave us Free Will, the inalienable Right to choose. A predetermined life would have been meaningless, both for us and for the forced adulation He will receive.

The New Testament gives the primary purpose #3 of life .. to grow the wisdom of understanding the Truth, the Way as Christ taught, so that we can return to be with the Creator. And here is the beautiful part. We exercise Free Will. There is no one to force anything on us. We make our choice to follow the Way of Christ or not. Today as we speak, a high percentage of folks in the Western world, especially the United States, reject God and are taking the Sodom and Gomorrah path.

No religion has a monopoly on teaching Man how to live his life. To be fair, there is a major convergence of all religions on constitution of civic and moral righteousness. As to spiritual ideology, there are huge differences. May Free Will prevail. Amen.

Declaration: I am Roman Catholic, baptised. As a late comer to the faith, I didn't' go through the normal grooming process as most kids do. I had the initial guidance on Catholic Catechism. After that I am basically on my own with some online assistance. It is obvious the way I see my purpose in life is highly personal. I think I am right by the Book.

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Sunday, April 9, 2023

RESURRECTION - WHEN LOVE REPLACES LOGIC



Happy Easter to my readers. So glad I get to publish on this joyful day.

Easter always reminds me of the simple joys of my childhood days in Alexandra village, Singapore. There were times I spent roaming the hill at the back of our wooden hut, searching for chicken eggs in the underbrushes and climbing trees to reach into the cusps of those huge Platycerium bifurcatum staghorn ferns where mother hens used to nest. It was not about picking for the kitchen table but to get a couple of warm eggs under the mother hen. I needle pricked the eggs and sucked it down while they were still warm. It was tasty and supposedly thought to be nourishing.

Eggs represent the idea of birth. The shells crack and the chicks emerge. Easter eggs were originally painted red to remind us of the blood of Christ. We celebrate Easter Sunday to rejoice in the resurrection of Christ, three days after Good Friday, the anniversary of our Lord's crucifixion.

Christianity is currently the largest religious group in the world. A 2020 estimate put total number of adherents at 2.6 billions (all denominations). In a nutshell, the Christian faith believes Jesus is one of the divine personality of God. He is God who took on human form to come to Earth, who took on the sins of mankind by his sacrifice on the crucifix. He died on the cross and arose three days later.

Today is Easter, one of the most important days of the faith. The tenets of Christianity rest on one single pillar - resurrection. Thus, if resurrection never took place, Christianity collapses. Can it be proven that the resurrection of Christ really took place almost two thousand years ago. If not, can it be proven the event never took place. Majority of Christians simply took it in good faith and never questioned.  

Liberals and atheists do not belief there is such a thing as God, thus resurrection is a non-issue with them. In any case, these science junkies can never prove that resurrection never took place. Judaism wants nothing to do with Jesus. Buddhism and Hinduism make no reference to Jesus. 

Of all other religions, Islam alone has a strong stand on this issue. As Islam is the second greatest religion in the world having 1.9 billion adherents, and their holy book the Quran, specifically make mention on this topic, we should make an attempt to analyse what's been said.

The Quran makes a strong stand against the divinity of Christ and the Holy Trinity. In fact this stand is so strong by the early Muslims that in the inscriptions on the walls of the perambulatory in the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, the attack on Christ divinity and Holy Trinity was cast in stone repeatedly in many places. One wonders why a holy place built to celebrate the Miraj (the Prophet's night ascendance up to heaven where he met Allah) has no inscription to celebrate the event, but a focus against Christ divinity and the Holy Trinity.

Whilst the Quran rejects Christ divinity and the Holy Trinity, the holy book revers Jesus and Mother Mary. The Quran teaches Muslims to hold Jesus in high regards, as a prophet of God, not the Son of God. The name Muhammad appeared only 5 times (including once as Ahmad) in the Quran whilst Isa (Arabic for Jesus) is mentioned 97 times in 93 surahs. Christians of various denominations who wonder why Roman Catholics hold such reverence to Mother Mary, may well be surprised that she is the only woman mentioned by name in the Quran which also called her the greatest woman who ever lived. That Mary appears 70 times in the Quran speaks volumes.

Since the Quran rejects Christ divinity, there can be no resurrection. Let's first look at the question of divinity.

Surah (19:19): He (Angel Gabriel) said: "I am just a message-bearer of your Lord, I have come to grant you a most pure boy."
​قَالَ اِنَّمَاۤ اَنَا رَسُوۡلُ رَبِّكِ ​ ۖ  لِاَهَبَ لَـكِ غُلٰمًا زَكِيًّا

Surah (19:20): Mary said: "How can a boy be born to me when no man has even touched me, nor have I ever been unchaste?"
قَالَتۡ اَنّٰى يَكُوۡنُ لِىۡ غُلٰمٌ وَّلَمۡ يَمۡسَسۡنِىۡ بَشَرٌ وَّلَمۡ اَكُ بَغِيًّا

Surah (19:21) : The angel said: "Thus shall it be. Your Lord says: 'It is easy for Me; and We shall do so in order to make him a Sign for mankind and a mercy from Us. This has been decreed.' "
قَالَ كَذٰلِكِ​ ۚ قَالَ رَبُّكِ هُوَ عَلَىَّ هَيِّنٌ​ ۚ وَلِنَجۡعَلَهٗۤ اٰيَةً لِّلنَّاسِ وَرَحۡمَةً مِّنَّا​ ۚ وَكَانَ اَمۡرًا مَّقۡضِيًّا

There are several surahs relating to the Annunciation of the Lord. The Quran says the virgin conception is by a decree by Allah. There are other surahs that mention Jesus is blessed with the Holy Spirit and he has ability to speak from childhood. Muslim scholars interpret no divinity, just a miraculous virgin birth, decreed by God. Quran denies the divinity of Christ, but definitely conveys the description of Christ as a supernatural entity, far from the natural prophet it teaches Muslims..    


According to the Quran, there can be no resurrection because Jesus didn't even die on the cross. 

Surah 4:157  ".. they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them .."
وَّقَوۡلِهِمۡ اِنَّا قَتَلۡنَا الۡمَسِيۡحَ عِيۡسَى ابۡنَ مَرۡيَمَ رَسُوۡلَ اللّٰهِ​ ۚ وَمَا قَتَلُوۡهُ وَمَا صَلَبُوۡهُ وَلٰـكِنۡ شُبِّهَ لَهُمۡ​ ؕ وَاِنَّ الَّذِيۡنَ
اخۡتَلَـفُوۡا فِيۡهِ لَفِىۡ شَكٍّ مِّنۡهُ​ ؕ مَا لَهُمۡ بِهٖ مِنۡ عِلۡمٍ اِلَّا اتِّبَاعَ الظَّنِّ​ ۚ وَمَا قَتَلُوۡهُ يَقِيۡنًا ۢ ۙ

Majority of Muslims can quote this surah. Allah arranged for a Jesus doppelganger to take his place. Since Jesus didn't die on the cross, there was no resurrection. The implication is Allah arranged for someone to be killed in place of Jesus. The divine morality here is open to debate.

Outside of the Quran, and Bible, did anyone else speak of the death of Jesus? 
- Publius Cornelius Tacitus (AD 56-120) Roman historian and senator, wrote about the execution of Jesus by Pontius Pilate.
- The Greek historian Thallus. It is not clear when he lived and died, but most date his writings to about 50 AD. Thallus wrote about the great darkness at the time of the crucifixion which he explained as eclipse of the sun.
- Roman-Jewish historian Flavius Josephus (AD 37 - 85) wrote about a Jew called Jesus who had many disciples from various countries, how Pilate condemned him to death by crucifixion, and how his disciples narrated he had appeared to them three days after his crucifixion and that he was alive.
- Phlegon, a historian born about AD 80. His actual works cannot be found. We know him  through famous Christian scholar Origen Adamantius and Greek historian Sextus Julius Africanus who quoted him about 100 years later. Phlegon wrote about the crucifixion of Christ in the time of Tiberius Ceasar. He wrote about the darkness and earthquake on the day of crucifixion. Note - the Crucifixion was one day after Passover, that was the time the moon is on the opposite side of the Earth to the sun. So an eclipse of the sun was impossible. What caused the darkness?
- The Talmud (ancient Jewish rabbinical record) also mentions the crucifixion on the eve of the Feast of Passover, as well as the earthquake.

Isn't it amazing how external records confirm so many little details found in the Bible. Many of these sources are not sympathetic to Christians thus elevating the authenticity. Could all these ancient historians be wrong? Could they have been fooled by Allah's clever trick of letting someone else die in place of Jesus as surah 4:157 suggests? Including Mother Mary, Mary Magdalene and John who were at the foot of the cross, and spoke to him at Calgary, could they have mistaken the Man in the Middle for Christ? Could Joseph of Arimathea,  Nicodemus, and the rest of the party that took the body of Jesus down, prepared him in spices, wrapped him in clean linen cloth, and took him to the cave. Could this entire party of people so up close and intimate with Jesus, not know it was not Jesus? Could historians and people during the times of Jesus, or just a few years after his death, be so wrong, and the Quran, written 600 years after the crucifixion (by a man who could not read nor write) be spot on? Where would you bet - historical criticism or hocus pocus?

The other problem is, Quran has several surahs that contradict 4:157 that the average Muslims might not even be aware. 


Surah (53:38): “That no bearer of a burden shall bear the burden of another"
اَلَّا تَزِرُ وَازِرَةٌ وِّزۡرَ اُخۡرٰىۙ‏

The Quran here talks about personal accountability. Thus the guilt, sin, transgression cannot be transferred to someone else. This is the foundational theological framework why the Quran denies the idea of Jesus dying on the cross to absolve us from sin. There can be no representative repentance. This is apparently important to Allah because it is repeated again in surah 6:164. Unfortunately this opens up the criticism of no coherent theological base because it runs counter to 4:157. How can Allah pull a trick and make someone else to die on the cross and take on the transgression of Jesus?


Surah (19:29) :Thereupon Mary pointed to the child. They exclaimed: "How can we speak to one who is in the cradle, a mere child?"
فَاَشَارَتۡ اِلَيۡهِ​ ؕ قَالُوۡا كَيۡفَ نُـكَلِّمُ مَنۡ كَانَ فِى الۡمَهۡدِ صَبِيًّا‏
Surah (19:33) "Peace be upon me the day I was born and the day I will die, and the day I will be raised up alive."
وَالسَّلٰمُ عَلَىَّ يَوۡمَ وُلِدْتُّ وَيَوۡمَ اَمُوۡتُ وَيَوۡمَ اُبۡعَثُ حَيًّا

In the surah on Maryam the Quran talks about how Allah blessed Christ the child with the ability to speak at the time when he was in the cradle. 19:33 is Baby Jesus speaking in the first person. Clearly, he was talking about his death and resurrection. The Quran actually confirmed the resurrection. Muslim scholars' defence of this is the reference is to a future Jesus death after the second coming. But this argument is defeated in surah 19:15)

Surah (19:15) : Peace be upon him the day he was born, and the day he will die, and the day he will be raised up alive.
وَسَلٰمٌ عَلَيۡهِ يَوۡمَ وُلِدَ وَيَوۡمَ يَمُوۡتُ وَيَوۡمَ يُبۡعَثُ حَيًّا

19:15 is about John the Baptist. The phrase is almost exactly similar to 19:33. Thus if the argument by Muslim scholars that 19:33 Jesus was talking about his future death in the second coming, then 19:15 is making the ridiculous claim that there will be a second coming of John the Baptist. Clearly both 19:33 and 19:15 refer to their deaths in that lifetime, not a future life. Thus Jesus died and was raised. Resurrection confirmed.

Surah (3:55) : (And it was part of His scheme) when Allah said: 'O Jesus! I will recall you and raise you up to Me and will purify you (of the company) of those who disbelieve, and will set your followers above the unbelievers till the Day of Resurrection. Then to Me you shall return, and I will judge between you regarding what you differed.
اِذۡ قَالَ اللّٰهُ يٰعِيۡسٰۤى اِنِّىۡ مُتَوَفِّيۡكَ وَرَافِعُكَ اِلَىَّ وَمُطَهِّرُكَ مِنَ الَّذِيۡنَ كَفَرُوۡا وَجَاعِلُ الَّذِيۡنَ اتَّبَعُوۡكَ فَوۡقَ
الَّذِيۡنَ كَفَرُوۡۤا اِلٰى يَوۡمِ الۡقِيٰمَةِ ​​ۚ ثُمَّ اِلَىَّ مَرۡجِعُكُمۡ فَاَحۡكُمُ بَيۡنَكُمۡ فِيۡمَا كُنۡتُمۡ فِيۡهِ تَخۡتَلِفُوۡنَ

The contention in interpretation here is the word 'mutawaffika' مُتَوَفِّيۡكَ. It means 'to cause to die'. Some Muslim choose to use the term 'to put to sleep' -- thus can be awakened. This particular interpretation from islamicstudies.info prefers to interpret the word 'recall'. Thus Muslim scholar say Jesus did not die. Allah recalled him, just as one recalls an official back to headquarters. 'Mutawaffika' means 'cause to die'  and that would mean Allah's plan was for Jesus to die, and then raise him up. A clear case of Christ resurrection.


Having made the assertion the denial of crucifixion and resurrection is incorrect, is it possible to show proof the events actually occurred? This is an interesting challenge, but it requires another blog.


ps - the title is a paraphrase of Fyodor Dostoyevsky's quote "Life (had) relaced logic.
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Friday, April 7, 2023

THE HOLY GRAIL OF PROSECUTORIAL INTEGRITY


 ‘Therein is the most dangerous power of the prosecutor: that he will pick people that he thinks he should get, rather than pick cases that need to be prosecuted.’
Robert Jackson  
Of late, several local cases have aroused disquiet amongst the public as to whether the moral ground our lawmen in suits stand on are still of solid construct. Most Singaporeans had some misgivings in 2017 when Lucien Wong was appointed the chief lawmen of the land. The theft of some documents in his younger days, a felony no doubt, and for which no action was taken by anyone that mattered, no Law Society meeting, no Tribunals, no nothing, was a character flaw that somehow has freedom of passage in the corridor of power. His coming to the AG's office from his role as personal lawyer of the Prime Minister, was accompanied by a silent trepidation the holy grail of prosecutorial integrity is slipping further away for politically tainted cases.

Recently I have had some digital exchanges with an opposition party volunteer worker. He is just a social media pal who seemed a pretty brave and patriotic soul. I think we share same fanatical hatred for injustices and so we had our petty exchanges to past time. Given his stand on fighting injustices, I was stunned when he was adamant in his anti-Trump stand, especially pertaining to the indictment by NY DA Alvin Bragg. Throughout our exchanges I presented legal arguments while he was merely lambasting the Orange Mop. The irony not apparent to him was the injustice of a political prosecution against the man who is a very strong contender for the next presidential election 2024. Bragg's action amounted to election interference.

There are 2 things that always happen in social media arguments. Goodwin's Law prevails. As an online discussion grows longer (regardless of topic or scope), the probability of a comparison to Nazis or Adolf Hitler approaches 1. Thank goodness my Facebook pal didn't go there. But he called me what every Trump-hater will call someone who cannot out argue a conservative view. A Qanon lover. I have been called this many times before as I had lots of discourse with many folks who are liberal and progressive Left.. This is distasteful because I am actually the opposite of that accusation. Qanon to me is pure nonsense. In fact, I think it might be a Liberal's conspiracy to create a trap for conservative arguments.

There is no leading constitutional attorney in practice and academia that has spoken out in favour of Bragg. Certainly, Hillary Clinton is cheering Bragg on. In her interview with Nancy Pelosi, an esteemed lawyer herself, Clinton made no effort to correct Pelosi who said Trump has his right to a fair trial where "he can prove his innocence". Democrats have turned the US justice system on its head. 

The same case had been investigated by the FEC (Federal Election Commission) and the DOJ and both never proceeded with indictment because there was no case.We know Alvin Bragg's case is so weak and ludicrous when prominent Trump-haters ex-US AG William Barr, ex NY governor and ex NY AG Democrat Andrew Cuomo, and the RINO of RINOs Mitt Romney, all who have no love loss for Trump, condemned the shit show. A further confirmation is reports from several liberal anti-Trump media that ridiculed the flimsy charge sheet. 

There are so many things going against the case. First and foremost, it is statute barred, outside of time limitation. Trump legally has nothing to do with the Trump organisation. To avoid a conflict of interest situation, Trump had divested management of the organisation to a Trust when he became president in 2017. The payments were made in 2017 could not have influenced the 2016 election. Bragg is out of jurisdiction in trying to charge Trump for a federal offence.

The real felony that needs to be investigated in the case is the DA himself who leaked information of the sealed indictment to the press. Bragg's use of federal funds to investigate a state case may be his downfall. This opens up his office to Congressional inquiry. The Committee on Judicial Oversight wants to understand what happened here. Of course the Republican congress wants to know who is behind the move to influence election 2024.    

Bragg is one of the thousands of DAs that George Soros have placed in offices all across the US. These progressive DAs is the Trojan Horse of the Left that is responsible for the violent carnage all over the country as the natural outcome of their soft-on-crime policies. Bragg and fellow leftist DA Letitia James came to office on a platform of "Get Trump". They had no evidence. Just follow the mantra of Lavrentiy Beria, head of Joseph Stalin's secret police - “Show me the man and I'll show you the crime”. If one wonders why Bragg is going ahead with the case against Trump after he had initially dropped it  when he assumed office, the answer is simple. Follow the money. Bragg received campaign funds of US$1m from Soros. The philanthropy capitalist now holds him to deliver.

Trump was arraigned in a DC court on Apr 4. There was no public mug shot, no handcuffs, no jail, and the judge did not put a gag order on Trump. It was a great disappointment for the liberal New Yorkers and leftist partisan hacks of CNN, MSNBC, NY Times etc, they did not get the spectacle they fantasised since 2016. So, unlike Pilate, the court did not give way to the crowd. That much to credit for. 

Nevertheless, Trump will loose in a DC court played out by partisan leftist prosecutors, partisan liberal jurors and a partisan Obama appointed judge. A two-tiered judicial system under the Biden administration assures no conservative will ever get a fair trial in a predominantly liberal DC with progressive DAs. In the Special Counsel John Durham's prosecution of Trump-hater Andrew Weissman, the defendant had basically admitted guilt, but DC jurors found him not guilty. Conservatives all want their cases to get it over with at the lower courts so they can move faster to the Higher Courts where they get a better shot at a fair hearing..

To bring the story home, let me narrate a local anecdote, one in which I need to tread with the utmost circumspect. Glenn Knight was once a much feared crime buster who ran the CAD which is the Singapore white collar crimes investigation agency. He acted as deputy public prosecutor for several high profile cases in the good old days. His star was shining extremely bright. Then suddenly on 23 Mar 1991, a bombshell development. He was replaced as CAD director and Singapore was told Knight was under investigation by CPIB. The events that followed proceeded at a heady speed. 27 May arrested, Sept trial commenced, in Sept he pleaded guilty, Oct  he was sentenced to 3 months imprisonment. There were 2 basic charges. One was an investment scam in that he tricked 3 persons to invest in his project. The other was about providing false information for an employee car loan. Only fools will wade into the muddy waters and discuss the investment scam. It's complicated and I'm not a fool. But if my memory serves me right, the investment charge sort of faded away. He was caught on the car loan. It had something to do with car sales practice of how invoices were presented without showing discounts. He presented the invoice to obtain the staff loan. A touchy technicality that was argued against the defendant. On his appeal in Mar 1992 his sentence was reduced to 1 day's jail and a fine of $17,000. 

How hard the mighty fell. No more public offices for him. Knight was dis-barred but managed to secure a job as consultant to a public-listed company. But life was not going to be easy for him. In 1998 he was charged with CBT, for misappropriating $4,200 during his time in office in CAD in 1991. Some murkiness here. It was a charge based on an unnamed tipoff, the amount misappropriated beggars the imagination that a director of a crime busting agency stood so low, and Knight claimed no money was lost. I'm just guessing Knight knew what he was up against. He pleaded guilty and got a $10,000 fine and another day in jail. But this time, he lost his consultancy job and his life went downhill. He was practically unemployable.

The speed of the case and the light sentence is open to speculation. Some dark alley conversation tried to connect the dot to a secret investigation Knight conducted in 1990. Knight had sent a couple of CAD officers to the Land Of The Rising Sun to check out a disturbing matter that was brought to his attention. I cannot proceed further than this and have to advise it is all heresay, albeit from folks I trust.

In 2007 Knight applied successfully for his re-instatement as a lawyer. Shanmugan was a great help by providing his recommendation. Was it possible he sensed some injustice done and wanted to help right a wrong?  The following year 2008, Shanmugan became Law Minister. Now sitting on the other side of the table, sensibilities how they change a man.

In my previous blog  on LKY's last will I reminisced national service days "when the brass is out to get you, there is no escape route. You fall in line with the best polished boots, well-pressed uniforms, clean-shaven, all ready for inspection, and the brass will zoom in on one single button that showed a tiny frayed thread protruding out".  Gotcha! Trump's bookkeeping vouchers are definitely the frayed thread that DA Alvin Bragg found. It looked like Knight too showed some frayed threads from his buttons.

We have to be thankful Singapore courts have not succumbed like the American institutions. Prosecutorial integrity is a holy grail, a never-ending self-seeking journey. None has articulated more powerfully than Robert Houghwout Jackson (1892 – 1954). Jackson was an American lawyer, jurist, and politician who has served as Solicitor General, US Attorney General and Associate in SCOTUS. Most notably is his role as Chief US Prosecutor at the Nuremberg trials. In his speech to US attorneys in 1940 he said :

‘If the prosecutor is obliged to choose his cases, it follows that he can choose his defendants. Therein is the most dangerous power of the prosecutor: that he will pick people that he thinks he should get, rather than pick cases that need to be prosecuted. With the law books filled with a great assortment of crimes, a prosecutor stands a fair chance of finding at least a technical violation of some act on the part of almost anyone. In such a case, it is not a question of discovering the commission of a crime and then looking for the man who has committed it, it is a question of picking the man and then searching the law books, or putting investigators to work, to pin some offense on him. It is in this realm—in which the prosecutor picks some person whom he dislikes or desires to embarrass, or selects some group of unpopular persons and then looks for an offense, that the greatest danger of abuse of prosecuting power lies. It is here that law enforcement becomes personal, and the real crime becomes that of being unpopular with the predominant or governing group, being attached to the wrong political views, or being personally obnoxious to or in the way of the prosecutor himself.’

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