Lt. Eric Shine, is a graduate of the United States Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point in New York. One of five Federal Service Academies including West Point and Annapolis, where he was trained as Federal and Commissioned Naval Officer to build, repair, maintain and operate huge American ocean-going or deep sea vessels and protect American assets in the U.S. Merchant Marine, U.S. Navy and maritime industry. Tab for his education estimated around $320,000 paid for by U.S. taxpayers.
However, Eric's career was broadsided when he was forced to confront a broad series of federal contracting scams and violations; including graft, collusion, corruption, waste, fraud, abuse and gross mismanagement in some enormous Federal Contracts and Programs involving billions of dollars.
Lt. Shine has gone to great length to bring forth critical information in regards to maritime civil defense and national security concerns and seek correction. First by contacting authorities in the Executive Branch and specifically former Secretary of Transportation Norm Mineta; then moving quickly to Congress and the Senate; and more finally seeking correction before our own independent Judiciary within Article III proceedings by filing civil actions in U.S. District Courts to correct the matters and seek redress.
In direct response and retaliation the newly created Department of Homeland Security through use of the U.S. Coast Guard as a new "Branch of the Military" filed an Executive branch Article II counter-complaint and literally pulled Lt. Eric Shine out of civil court into a Military Tribunal, detaining him in a miasma of legal mumbo-jumbo proceedings for last 5 years in order to stifle him to cover up the magnitude of the corruptions and the high-ranking levels of those involved.
The U.S. Coast Guard which has always been a "Civil Service" up and until 9-11 was put under the umbrella of Homeland Security and is now declaring itself to be a separate and distinct "Branch of the Military." And an odd one at that. A "Special Branch of the Military" that can carry on "Defense" related matters like any other Branch of the Military, but also carry on and even adjudicate "civilian affairs" as well and stepping right over a very high bar that has been set to prevent such activity.
This is germane to us all because ironically, it is the U.S. Coast Guard that has held and detained Lt. Shine, not as a Naval Officer, doing so for the past 5 years on trumped up charges of allegedly "being depressed" as a "civilian." All carried out under a program that comes under the Judge Advocate General of the Coast Guard, which Lt. Shine is not a member. More importantly and well beyond those initial "Separation of Power" issues of one "Branch of Service" vice another, the Coast Guard is declaring openly that "Lt. Shine" is instead a "civilian" and can be prosecuted before a military tribunal as a "civilian" and has been acting in this fashion as a "civilian" for the past five years or more before this military tribunal. The Coast Guard has prosecuted him aggressively for these charges - at any and all cost to the taxpayer and to Lt. Shine.
Lt. Shine turned from a "complainant" to "defendant", while warrant-less searches and seizures have been carried out upon his property and records, phones tapped, documents stolen and falsified by the Coast Guard and other Agencies and Federal Contractors acting within the U.S. Still worse.the Coast Guard has gone as far as putting out a "BOLO" or Be On the Look Out wanted or warning poster on Lt. Shine declaring that he "may be dangerous" without any specifications as to why or what he had done to make him such a threat. That's just for starters to all he has endured. The Coast Guard and involved parties even detained him in a hotel room in La Jolla for 8 months - as they stripped him of everything - all the while prosecuting him or better yet persecuting him relentlessly for allegedly "being depressed."
Despite everything, Lt. Shine has remained diligent in warning the world about what is really going on "behind the scenes". His warnings must not be ignored: the Coast Guard is carrying on Military Tribunals of American Civilians under JAG proceedings and control; the Coast Guard is loading In Close Weapons Systems (ICWS) that fire 3,500 rounds per minute of depleted uranium onboard its vessels; the Commandant now answers directly to the President not to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Coast Guard has launched a new International series of programs including a new International Class of Interceptors with the first two vessels coming out in the class, bizarrely named the Bertholf and Waeshe
Beyond this, the Coast Guard is also branding itself as a new "Branch of the Military" and secretly selling interdiction and weapons platforms; helicopters; cutters; ICWS systems; drones and more - to foreign powers; adding another militarized link in the global chain of the military-industrial-congressional-complex.
Americans need to know that 95% of our cargo goes by ship. We are a maritime country and always have been one. 97% of our cargo is now carried on ships under foreign flags. Less then 1% is inspected. President Bush announced plans to turn over container cargo inspections and cargo scanning to Hutchinson - Wampoa, a Chinese Corporation that has direct ties to the People's Liberation Army - the radical right wing of the Chinese Government - its own military.
The World is at the crossroads of the most serious crisis in modern history. The US has embarked on aggressive and "preemptive" foreign military adventures that are not related to "defense", along with a series of undeclared "long wars", and a program of militarization of just about everything under the sun or anything touching on the water's edge which threatens the future and very nature of humanity and civilization.
Several of the individuals involved in all of this including Commandant Admiral Thad Allen, Lcdr. Christopher Tribolet, ALJ - former Lcdr. Walter J. Brudzinski and others have been involved in a string of corruptions, misappropriations, waste, fraud, abuse and gross mismanagement let alone in concocting this internal and secretive military tribunal system to prosecute civilians. Commandant Admiral Thad Allen was appointed by President Bush to "assist" Michael Brown as Head of FEMA before being appointed as the replacement Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard.
It is incumbent upon us all who love and respect our country’s values and traditions to intervene immediately and help support and defend Lt. Eric Shine or better yet Citizen Shine. Remember Eric Shine is not being prosecuted as a Naval Officer for any such heinous crime, he is being charged and prosecuted as a "civilian" before a series of military tribunals of a "new" Branch of the Military in which he has never served.
Please contact Ilene Proctor at 310-858-6643
Results of Eric’s Inquisition and Trial By Ordeal: The judge has ordered Eric to "have" a mental health examination before any such hearing before this military tribunal is to occur. Relying on a bizarre interpretation of regulations that are at least 50 years old - the military tribunal holds a right to find adversely against Eric - if he does not testify against himself before a court-chosen doctor - all paid for by the United States in an "Extrajudicial" proceeding. An extra-judicial proceeding ordered to be held off the record and absent witnesses or recording equipment before a doctor instead of a hearing officer.
The Judge openly declared that Eric does not have the right to have any such examination held "on the record" and has already made it clear that the consequences could be severe if Eric does not comply with the Order to be "tested" off the record and without any witnesses present as to what transpires.
Eric is a paradigm case - It bodes badly as it signifies that a civilian can be tried by the military and held in detention indefinitely. Again he has never been in the Coast Guard, yet they are even trying him as a civilian and not a Federal or Naval Officer. In the trial, they repeatedly addressed Lt. Shine as Mr. Shine.
