Reply #41: Could it be that the fourth leg that holds this chair up is organized crime? Not Poppy's

[bertman]

family, per se, but the old-fashioned families we know as the Mafia.

All the good intentions and persistence of Senator Kerry and others to investigate and prosecute BCCI and other crimes are simply kabuki theater. Nothing changes the fact that it's a show, even though it may make us feel a bit better (debatable, of course). When you are able to extort and intimidate people all the way to the top of our government, the CIA, and the FBI, you can get away with a LOT.

And, of course, the Mafia is not the only organized crime organization in existence. The aristocracies all over the world have been playing these games for millenia, and playing successfully. They usually only run into trouble when they take each other on or try to make a power play and miscalculate.

Maybe that's what is meant by the world's financial elites.

I just finished reading "Legacy of Secrets" and am still a bit stunned by how much control the mob was/is able to wield over our government by infiltrating and compromising our supposed law-enforcement and national-security organizations.

A couple of years ago I read a piece in a national magazine, "Esquire" I think, about how the Mafia had been put out of business. That article made me laugh. They just went upscale and high tech, and got a better PR machine. But, of course, there are still the old turf battles to be fought occasionally, so we get a glimpse of the "good old days".

Excellent piece as always, Octafish.

On edit: perhaps the most revealing aspect of "Legacy of Secrecy" was how little was actually revealed by the MANY investigations conducted by the government since the JFK assassination--and not just relating to that horrible murder. These were congressional investigations that were sidetracked and hoodwinked at every turn. Richard Helms, in particular, and to a lesser degree his successors, was able to keep secrets from Congress and US that may never be revealed. These folks seem to be accountable to no one. Ever. Or at least until after they are dead.