Argentine man kills himself on TV

The victims’ families say the suicide was part of a pact of silence - that the ex-police chief would not testify against former colleagues accused of kidnapping and killing some of the tens of thousands of Argentines who died during a period that became known as the “Dirty war”

By Daniel Schweimler
BBC News, Buenos Aires

Mr Ferreyra was live on Cronica TV when he killed himself

A former police chief in Argentina, wanted for alleged crimes against human rights, has shot himself dead in front of television cameras.

Mario Ferreyra was giving an interview on top of a water tank at his home in the northern province of Tucuman.

Police were coming to arrest him when he killed himself.

Mr Ferreyra was wearing his customary black shirt and cowboy hat and told the interviewer that he was innocent and had not committed any crimes.

He then told his wife, Maria, that he would love her forever, pulled a pistol from his boot and shot himself behind the ear.

‘Pact of silence’

The Cronica television cameras were still rolling, transmitting live, as the distraught family gathered round.

Police, who had come to arrest Mr Ferreyra at his farm, came running, but it was too late. He was dead.

Mr Ferreyra was accused of kidnapping and torture during the military government that ran Argentina between 1976 and 1983.

The video:  http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=412_1227377410&p=1

It’s Veterans day.  A reason to have sales at department stores.

OEF/OIF Veteran Suicide Toll: Nearly 15% of Overall U.S. Military Casualties Result from Suicide

…

Earlier this month, the Army reported its own current soldier suicide data, reflecting another year of record increases. And just last week, the VA chimed in with their latest OEF/OIF veterans suicide figures — also another record-breaker — for its Afghanistan and Iraq veteran clients.

…

It’s not surprising that so many vets kill themselves.  It’s just not normal to kill other human beings, women and children, to watch your friends be blown into bits and pieces and to torture — for no good reason, to make the rich richer.

Earlier today I read The Torturers Tale, the story of Tony Lagouranis and Stephen Lewis.  Two soldiers who finally decided to refuse to torture.

I’m listening to Dannion Brinkley’s annual Veterans Day talk on Coast and he had some good news about VA care for veterans with post traumatic stress syndrome. The VA is finally getting serious about helping vets and setting up good programs. 

Dannion is the guy who just won’t die.  

From his bio:

…

Dannion has survived insurmountable odds including two lightning strikes, open-heart surgery, brain surgery and a massive grand mal seizure.

…

I read Dannion’s first two books and I remember when Art Bell flew to Florida when Dannion had the brain aneurism and everbody was sure he’d die.  But, Dannion lived and he’s been helping veterans die in hospices and he does so much work for veterans.

The VA and the military don’t count the deaths due to alcoholism and drug abuse as suicides.  

In the early 80s I lived on the Navajo rez and so many were vets.  Many froze to death on their way home from Gallup.  Then I lived in the San Francisco Bay Area and so many of the homeless people I talked to were vets.   For a while I worked as a messenger and while standing by in downtown San Francisco, I had some interesting conversations.  Once you’re out of the system and on the streets, it’s almost impossible to become “employable” again.

My first loan application was declined because my husband had failed to make the final INTEREST payment on a department store card before he was stationed in Germany.  He just paid the bill in full before he left and never received another statement.

Many of my clients are or were in the military.  Many are very ill and while fighting to stay alive, they have to battle credit bureaus and collectors for totally incorrect credit reporting, the reporting of medical collections that were never billed or were paid as soon as they COULD pay them.   What are people supposed to do when they don’t have the money to pay for medical care?  Blow their brains out?

I posted at my credit blog about a disabled Gulf War 1 vet, battling cancer and with an autistic girl.  And then credit bureau Trans Union decided to lower her FICO credit score by over 80 points by removing the DATE CLOSED from a discharged Capital One account.

I tried to sue Trans Union for refusing to correct the reporting despite my repeated faxes (with power of attorney because my client was so sick).  Judge Teilborg dismissed that claim last week.   I certainly won’t recommend that my client should sue, the stress of litigation would probably kill her.  Her little girl needs her. 

It’s a disgrace how the wealthiest country on the planet abuses its veterans.

I got email from people who obviously don’t want to submit comments here or post at the forum.  Rather than spending endless hours responding to everybody individually, I’ll clarify a few issues here.

I’m NOT suicidal. 

Here’s an excerpt from an email:

…

So if I were going to off myself, I would prefer it to be a very quiet sort of family affair where I get to formally say “good-bye” to everybody I care about, and then walk into a room where somebody puts me to sleep — like a stray dog that nobody wants.

I don’t intend this as an argument against Christine preferred way to go. It’s just my personal preference. Fact of the matter is, neither of us wants to “BE” on this planet anymore, and Christine is at least the second other person I’ve corresponded with who is brutally honest about the fact. Lots of people might argue, “Well [name deleted], everybody feels that way from time to time”  — to which I would respond, “Yes, but do you feel that way every time you open your eyes in the morning — and all day long — every fuckin’ day — until you close your eyes at night?”

…

It’s NOT true that I don’t want to live anymore. 

My suicide is more of an act of defiance or a declaration of war.

Think of it as joining the military to defend your country.   In my case, it’s not about defending my country, as I have no allegiance and never will have any allegiance to any country. 

It’s about defending the people who see no alternative but to kill themselves because they can’t pay their bills or they can’t get medical care because they’re POOR and nobody gives a damn!

I’ve only had time to post about Emilio Saladriagas, Kenneth Baker and Wanda Dunn, but there are MANY more.   Unfortunately, MOST are not even identified.  No paper ever writes about them because they quietly kill themselves instead of finally raising hell and making a PUBLIC statement.

I really don’t want to encourage anyone to commit suicide, but if you do, at least PLAN and make the news and let them know WHY you killed yourself.  Don’t die for nothing.

I know that most people are tremendously afraid of being embarrassed or ridiculed. 

And as I posted here, many people are very cruel.  It’s horrifying that Emilio could be reading those comments, I still don’t know what happened to him. 

If you succeed with your suicide, you won’t have to read those comments.  Or more likely, you won’t care.  I can’t help but believe that Emilio made a difference when he set himself on fire at the Rent-A-Center because he couldn’t take their collection harassment anymore. 

I hope that if enough people SEND A MESSAGE with their suicide, some politicians will care enough to amend the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to INCLUDE original creditors, to LIMIT collection calls and to impose some other restrictions. 

Very few people don’t pay their bills because they don’t feel like it.

The people who deliberately defraud creditors won’t be bothered by collection calls.  They’ll follow my recommendations, change their phone numbers and addresses, etc.   The harassment calls are directed at people who choose between decent food and paying credit cards, the people who made payments on credit cards INSTEAD of paying for a new phone number and private mailbox.

Here are some suggested changes to the FDCPA:

My censored comment at InsideARM (collection site)

While at the subject of legislation, I have to mention Dennis Kucinich.  I posted his speech at the DNC at my credit blog:

Dennis Kucinich:  Wake up, America!!!

One hell of a speech. 

Yet, Dennis Kucinich is my biggest disappointment.  I really believed that he cared.  He ignored me, just like everybody else with the power to make a difference.   He ignored my fax in 2004, he ignored my posts in his forum and the dimwitted morons in charge of his forum deleted many of my posts.

The incompetence of the Kucinich staff is a great reason to kill myself.

I don’t even know whether Kucinich ever saw my fax or posts.   But if I blew my brains out at one of his public appearances, I bet he WOULD read what I had to say.

Kucinich is one of those people who gave me FALSE hope. 

I didn’t even know who he was until he ran for president in 2004.  I read in his bio how he stood up to the banks when he was the Cleveland mayor.  Kucinich became famous for putting Cleveland into bankruptcy because he refused to sell out to the banks.   Years later, Cleveland gave him an award for making this tough decision.

Kucinich was my hero.  I really believed that he would at least TRY to make a difference and that he would stand up to the banks again and I thought he just didn’t know about the issues.  Yesterday I posted a brief summary: The credit crisis was PLANNED by the Bush administration, Congress and the Regulators

Why does Dennis Kucinich NOT care about credit reporting, credit scoring and the REAL reasons for so much misery?

Rep. Brad Sherman on legislators threatened with Martial Law if they didn’t vote for the bailout.

Is Kucinich being blackmailed?

Did they threaten to kill his wife?

What the hell is going on?

I have quite a few saved pages from the Kucinich forums (they deleted the 2004 forum) and I will have to take the time to post some of the more relevant docs along with my ignored fax.

I didn’t want to have to do this because I still think that Kucinich is one of the best legislators.  He submitted the articles of impeachment and he always voted against war.  I’d much rather bash Bush.  It’s popular, it’s fun.  But nothing bothers me more than being lied to and deceived.  Bush lied, but he didn’t deceive me.  I know he’s a liar, would expect nothing else from Bush and his cronies. 

Kucinich is not like Kerry and Edwards and all these WEALTHY politicians.

I’ve been rethinking my choice to kill myself in front of the 9th circuit court of appeals.  They’re just assholes in robes.  Legislators like Kucinich are a LOT more important, they can CHANGE the laws and ENFORCE the laws.  They can fire judges.  AND they are elected. 

Kucinich could have had one of his staff respond that the banks are just too powerful and that he has to focus on what’s doable instead of wasting time and maybe even getting killed like other legislators who dared to take on the bankers. (Watch the free online documentary The Money Masters.)

Maybe Kucinich made some kind of deal, he won’t talk about the banks and they’ll allow him to make some anti-corporate speeches, knowing that nothing will come of it anyway.

I’m NOT depressed.  I’m angry. 

I am mad as hell. And I’m not going to take this anymore!

So I’m sorry, I really don’t have time to communicate privately about depression, suicide or just about anything else.  I’ve got LOTS of things to do and I ENJOY life.

I suggest that other people who don’t want to live anymore also become PRODUCTIVE and go PUBLIC.  Here or at your own site, there are a gazillion entirely FREE blogs. 

Tell the world what makes YOU angry and what YOU did to try to make a difference.

I do NOT enjoy being ridiculed and abused by lawyers and judges and having legislators like Dennis Kucinich ignore me.  I didn’t just crawl out of a hole.  I’m a professional who DOCUMENTED systemic credit reporting abuse, buggy FICO scoring formulas and many fraudulent activities.

People DIE because of those problems.

I don’t have the money to create change, especially not by myself.  All I have to give is my life.

And that probably isn’t enough unless it’s a truly SPECTACULAR suicide AND I do an outstanding job of documenting my research. 

It’s worth a shot.

[This is a DRAFT for a comprehensive page about the issues with many LINKS to the DOCUMENTATION for my allegations.]

Congress gave the FTC the MANDATE to enforce the Fair Credit Reporting Act (”FCRA”) and the Fair Debt Collection Act (”FDCPA”).

The FCRA requires credit bureaus to maintain reasonable procedures to ensure that only persons with a permissible purpose have access to consumer credit reports.

The FCRA requires credit bureaus to investigate consumer disputes and to implement reasonable procedures to ensure maximum accuracy of credit reports.

The FDCPA requires that collectors notify consumers of their rights and it prohibits many collection practices.

The FTC STOPPED investigating consumer complaints.

In the 90s, the FTC would attempt to resolve EACH consumer complaint, they contacted the companies about EACH complaint and often successfully assisted consumers.

The FTC also stopped issuing the very helpful opinion letters shortly after Bush became president. In the 90s, companies or attorneys could send questions to the FTC about the legality of certain procedures or whatever issues and the FTC would publish their opinion. 

I submitted several complaints about credit reporting to the FTC from 2001 to 2003, but their responses were limited to some reference number with totally MORONIC brochures, giving HORRIBLE advice. 

The FTC never recommends that consumers SUE the credit bureaus and it instead advises consumers to submit those up to 100-word statements when factual disputes with credit bureaus didn’t get results. 

The FTC does NOT disclose to consumers that just about NO creditor will read those statements (because they don’t see the credit reports, only a magical score number) and that the FICO scores will IGNORE those statements.

It’s all lies and deception. 

It’s so incredibly OBVIOUS that the regulators are PROTECTING the industry.

The regulators are so openly corrupt.  The occasional token investigation is an INSULT to any person with an IQ above room temperature.  Yet, I don’t see anyone else being outraged.

The FTC failed to comply with its mandate to enforce consumer protection laws. 

The FTC merely COLLECTS and FILES consumer complaints.  It FAILS to investigate consumer complaints and it limits enforcement action to the occasional investigation of a collector. 

The FTC decided that it is more important to stimulate the economy by allowing criminals to engage in illegal marketing, totally false advertising and allowing thugs to purchase consumer credit reports than to enforce the FCRA.

I am not aware of a SINGLE enforcement action by the FTC to prevent the sale of credit reports to persons without permissible purpose or ANY action against credit bureaus in the 21st century.

In 2006, credit bureau Experian even filed my entire UNREDACTED credit reports on PACER (internet) for download by anyone for 8 cents/page and federal judge Broomfield (Phoenix) REFUSED to remove my credit reports from public access until I DISMISSED all my claims — in exchange for NOTHING but removal of my credit reports.

I believe that Experian sells credit report data to companies who sell data on the web to anyone for a fee (I matched the addresses available for me with the Experian credit report addresses) and it sells credit reports to DEBT CONSOLIDATION companies for marketing.

According to the FCRA, credit data can be sold to companies who will make firm offers of credit, provided that the consumer did not opt out to receive such offers.  Debt consolidation is NOT a firm offer of credit.  They don’t offer ANY credit.  However, the regulators PROTECT the credit counseling and debt consolidation companies because they funnel many millions of dollars from suffering and abused consumers to banks.

In 2003, CONGRESS took away the consumers’ right to sue for these violations with the industry sponsored FACT ACT. 

Only REGULATORS can sue and they obviously are not doing anything.

In fact, LowerMyBills.com (Experian owned) CONTINUES its totally illegal mortgage advertising all over the web as of 11/08.

The credit bureaus are taking measures to ensure maximum INACCURACY of credit reports.

Trans Union, Equifax and Experian all routinely REFUSE to correct even the most obvious incorrect data, such as a current balance LOWER than the amount reported as “most amount.”

This type of incorrect reporting can seriously lower the FICO scores required for just about ALL mortgages.

FICO scores are based on INCORRECT credit data and BUGGY software.

Fair Isaac excelled in its quest to artificially lower the FICO scores by CREATING late payments that are NOT on the credit reports. 

I have documented many credit scoring bugs and I submitted my comments to the regulators.   

The credit crisis was PLANNED by the Bush administration, Congress, the FTC, the FRB, the OCC and even STATE regulators.

They CONSPIRED to ensure that many MILLIONS of consumers would apply for mortgages they could not repay, to ensure that the bankers could maximize their profits.

The credit crisis would never have been possible if they hadn’t ALL worked TOGETHER to ensure the housing bubble.

I sold my house near San Francisco in late 1998 and I wondered how long it would take until we would enter a recession.  Instead, even 9/11 caused only a minor slowdown.  And I just couldn’t believe how housing prices escalated. 

Consumers continually refinanced and got cash out to pay off their credit cards and to buy more crap they didn’t need and couldn’t afford.

Consumers kept spending BORROWED money, secured by mortgages based on absurd housing values.  It did NOT matter to regulators how many millions of people would lose their homes and how many thousands would die because they could no longer repay their mortgages.

I filed my complaints about illegal mortgage marketing and false advertising with Arizona and California regulators in 2004 and 2005. 

I had long given up on federal regulators, but I was shocked to have the state regulators REFUSE to investigate my complaints.

My blog posting:

8/26/05: Housing sales slowing down - house-poor Californians - mortgage fraud rampant

The “option” mortgage described in this post is probably the “1% loan” I was approved for after another Dana Capital associated criminal got my credit report in 3/07:

Exhibit 18) Trinity junk fax and Mutual Benefit loan approval at 1%

I really hope that no reader actually believes that there ever was a 1% mortgage.

Notably, federal judge Teilborg finds nothing wrong with the fact that I notified the credit bureaus in 2005 of the illegal access to credit reports through the Dana Capital (now bankrupt) and that the credit bureaus did NOTHING to investigate and they did NOT terminate Dana Capital’s access to credit reports.

In 2004, the California Department of Real Estate IGNORED my complaint about Dana Capital.

Companies like FDRS (Federal Debt Relief System) steal the consumers’ money with impunity. They give NOTHING to the creditors.  The FTC couldn’t care less.

The GOVERNMENT and the COURTS are GUILTY. 

If I wasn’t opposed to the death penalty, I’d call for the legislators, regulators and judges to be tried and executed for treason.

But they won’t even get jail time.  They won’t be tried.

Nothing will change.

Consumer complaints will CONTINUE to be ignored.    

If you believe that Obama is NOT owned by the industry and especially the bankers, PLEASE help me out.

Make Obama take action.  Have him order arrests.  Or at the very least an investigation.  Or just a little CHANGE?

Please let me know how it goes, preferably BEFORE I killed myself.

I posted my thoughts at the blog at

53-year old Pasadena woman set her house on fire and killed herself?

There are MANY articles and discussions on the web about Wanda’s suicide.

I’m glad Wanda set the house on fire and got some ATTENTION.   Don’t just go away quietly.

Leave nothing for the bankers.

From attorney Len Bennet’s House testimony at http://www.house.gov/apps/list/hearing/financialsvcs_dem/osbennett061907.pdf

… More recently and more tragically is the case of Kenneth Baker. Mr. Baker had his financial life combined with that of a similarly named total stranger by all three CRAs. The bureaus placed tax liens and defaulted accounts on his credit file and made it impossible for him to move on and survive a difficult part of his life. Mr. Baker took his own life in 2006. The CRAs were mentioned prominently in Ken’s final note to his surviving daughter who now fights for some principled justice. …

I have searched Google, but incredibly, I found absolutely NOTHING about Kenneth Baker’s suicide or his daughter’s lawsuit.

Please post a comment or contact me if you have any information about the lawsuit.

Lying bankers: Citifinancial $5,000 Funding Certificate

It’s just unbelievable that Citi gets away with this.  After everything that happened and so many people are losing their homes, Citi is allowed deceive consumers with totally fake offers.

How many will die because nobody gives a damn?

From http://www.appellate-counsellor.com/profiles/tashima.htm

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Appointed by: President Clinton, 1996

Born: June 24, 1934 in Santa Maria, California

Education: BA, UCLA 1958; LLB, Harvard 1961

Law Practice: California Deputy Attorney General (1962-68); Amstar Corp. (1968-77); Morrison & Foerster (1977-80)

Judicial Appointments: United States District Court for the Central District of California (1980-96); Ninth Circuit (1996-present)

MoFo isn’t exactly a consumer law firm.  We definitely need a DIFFERENT type of court and judges for consumer law cases.

There is also an interesting comment:

Ronald Williams (11/14/97)

In Williams vs. City of Los Angeles, 90-1252 AWT, Judge A. Wallace Tashima, while sitting as a district judge, demonstrated that he may be without the temperament, to be deciding cases, as a judge of the circuit court.Obviously motivated by a personal dislike of myself, Judge Tashima, summarily dismissed my discrimination case against the City of LA, and its’ agents, even though I had presented myself to the federal court, as a plaintiff/party with an affirmed judgment from the State’s superior court, that had already established the City’s liability for a wrongful termination. See Williams vs. City of LA, Cal.Sup.Ct. No. C667976 (May 18, 1988); and Cal. App.2nd Civ. B035287 (Aug. 10, 1989) (affrm’ing # C667976). What Tashima did in my action for employment discrimination, was to enable one of the person defendants’ (Castruita) to file a perjured declaration, that, literally changed the results of another California State Appeals decision - Williams vs. City of LA, 229 Cal.App.3d 1627: from what it really held, that being that I applied for and received a pension after being terminated from my employment, to it having held I voluntarily surrendered my employment. (”retired”) Judge Tashima knowingly relied upon the perjured characterization of the 1991 State appeals opinion, in the face of what it really held, to justify granting the City’s summary judgment motion against my discrimination complaint. Thereafter, the abuse of the federal process continued. Judges Beezer, Brunetti and Noonan, affirmed the conduct of then district judge Tashima. They simply misrepresented Williams vs. City of LA, 229 Cal.App.3d 1627 (May 10, 1991) as having found that I “voluntarily retired from the Los Angeles Police Department”. To relieve the City of Los Angeles, and its all Caucasian cast of agents who were person defendants, of any liability, under 42 U.S.C. 2000e, 1983 and 1985. All of this, was a classic case of federal-court nullification of a complaining party’s federally protected rights, to bring an action authorized under federal law. A clear case of violations under 18 U.S.C. 241 and 242. Since the authority the federal judges relied upon, was a single provision of the City of LA’s pension plan, to preempt my right under federal law, to present federal action to a jury of my peers. [emphasis added] 

Interesting.  One issue in my appeal was the systemic perjury by Experian employees, in my case by Kimberly Hughes, causing the wrongful dismissal of American Agencies.  Of course the appeals court didn’t bother to address that issue at all.

Unfortunately, they’ve eliminated the ability to comment at that site, would have liked to add that.

Wonder why judge Tashima seems to consistently ignore perjury.

A penny for his thoughts.

10/3/08:  My petition for panel rehearing / rehearing en banc re. Experian filing my unredacted credit reports

The 9th circuit judges decided to ignore the record and my filings and they ruled that it’s perfectly ok for credit bureau Experian to file my (as well as your) entirely unredacted credit reports on PACER for download by ANYONE willing to pay 8 cent/page. 

The 9/19/08 Memorandum 

They could have saved a little time and just written:

FUCK OFF!

Circuit judges TASHIMA, SILVERMAN, and N.R. SMITH won’t let the truth stand in the way of their mandate to protect corporations and especially credit bureaus from consumers who dare to sue them.

This decision is absolute proof of the judges’ corruption:

The DOCKET documents that Experian failed to comply with the local rules and that my unredacted credit reports weren’t dismissed until AFTER I dismissed.

I have NO expectation that my 10/3/08 Petition for Rehearing with Suggested Rehearing en Banc will be granted and even if it was granted, that they will reverse.  It serves primarily to further document the dysfunctional legal system.

I’ll be posting in separate entries what I can find about these judges.  They certainly deserve credit for my suicide.

Credit crunch banker leaps to his death in front of express train

The City was in shock last night after the apparent suicide of a millionaire financier haunted by the pressures of dealing with the credit crunch.

Kirk Stephenson, who was married with an eight-year-old son, died in the path of a 100mph express train at Taplow railway station, Berkshire.

Mr Stephenson is believed to have taken his own life after succumbing to mounting personal pressures as the world’s financial markets went into meltdown.

The death of the respected 47-year-old City figure evokes memories of the 1929 Wall Street crash in America and comes as:

…

Money doesn’t guarantee happiness, although moderate amounts of money sure make life a lot easier.   Kirk Stephenson lived in a totally different world, with the rich and famous. 

Here’s his online memorial:

http://kirkstephenson.memory-of.com/

I saw no mention of suidice anywhere.  It’s a canned site and in my opinion a bit tacky.   I tried to find out what it costs, but couldn’t get past the 2 free weeks.  So typical for anything related to death and funerals.  Get ready to get ripped off.