The Disappeared

[H2O Man]

“My hope is that people will come to a greater understanding of the trap of trafficking in our society,” Figliuzzi says of one of the aims of his book. “No one really champions the cause or speaks for these deceased victims because their lives have been snuffed out.”
https://people.com/long-haul-killer-truckers-new-book-former-fbi-official-8656778


I watched an interview with Frank Figliuzzi last night. Some here might be familiar with the now retired assistant director of counterintelligence at the FBI, as he used to be a regular guest on the news. I was curious as to why he doesn't seem to appear much lately ….. and holy cow, did I find out!

Frank is a good example of a brilliant liberal mind who served in law enforcement. While much of the interview focused on his new book, he also detailed how the current administration has damaged the nation. For example, he spoke about how RFK Jr. has kneecapped the ability to respond to the next pandemic. And, of course, how the DOJ/FBI has been turned into a political tool to seek “revenge” on the president's “enemies list.”

It is not limited to firing those associated with investigating the felon. The DOJ/FBI has gotten rid of those who went after Epstein and Maxwell. And they have cut programs such as the FBI's coordinating with local and state law enforcement for catching serial killers, including a rise in truck drivers killing females and dumping their bodies along side of the nation's interstate highways.

One of Frank's most progressive ideas – at least in my opinion – is to stop arresting and charging women for prostitution. He believes this is a roadblock to two important goals: first, to assist the victims of the sex trade to escape a literally dead-end job, and second, to charge the actual criminals. He noted, for example, that the DOJ took over the Florida case against Epstein, because many of the victims did not want to be charged for prostitution.

He also noted that there is a strong correlation between county jails, and the cycles in women's being caught up in the sex trade. In discussions on Epstein, I have attempted to draw attention to the case in Kentucky from last September, where a sheriff shot and killed a judge in his chambers. As is being uncovered, several deputies, the judge himself, and numerous other “important” citizens were trading “favors” for sex with female inmates.

As I listened to Frank speak, I was reminded of a few of my favorite quotes from Gandhi. He said he recognized no “god” but that of those who have no voice, and are discarded by society. At this late date in my long life, my primary concerns are for little children and those who inhabit the margins of our society. Almost all of my associates in the struggle against this administration are, like myself, grandparents. We know that our grandchildren have parents, aunts, and uncles who are strong advocates for their well-being. Part of being a mature human being is caring about the well-being of the Little Ones in our communities, our country, and around the Earth – including in Gaza, the West Bank, and Ukraine.

The sad fact is that the maga republicans in DC and in state office do not share this concern. They only care about their children and grandchildren, and those who share qualities such as economic status, race, and religion. However, the revulsion that most people feel when learning about what Epstein and Maxwell inflicted upon underage girls is resulting in a decrease in the support of the president and those who lied to them about the “Epstein list.”

I will end with something that Frank stressed, regarding a population do not think this isn't something that only happens in other towns and cities, in other neighborhoods, or even other extended families. It happens where children experience physical and psychological trauma, where teenagers use drugs to escape the horrors of the realities of their lives. It happens to those who get incarcerated for minor drug and/or prostitution charges, and depend upon vultures to might reduce charges, or bail them out.

I do not honor the “god” of the maga movement, corporations, or the opulently wealthy. I suspect that the majority of the grass roots human beings do not want to pay more taxes to make the sequence of digits on billionaires' accounts, to have reductions in government services, or to place the environment on the alter for corporations to sacrifice for their gain.

These are not the only issues we should focus on, as the Democratic Party, today and right through the mid-terms and 2028 presidential election.

[Saoirse9]

1. This is so terrifying

They are human trafficking on a scale never seen here before. Makes Epstein look like Mister Rogers.

[H2O Man]

2. Thank you!

It is a terrible topic to think about ..... but one we cannot afford to ignore. For it is one of the features found in the increasing levels of decay found in a sick society. I can say without any risk of error that Epstein & Maxwell were at the highest (anti-) social level of trafficking, on a disgusting international level. We know that a target population in the 1980s and '90s was found in the modeling industry.

Another target population, which is finally getting some attention, are the girls and women on Indian Territory. It is encouraging to see that Frank, in his retirement, understands the connection between this and interstate highways. It is a reality that I became aware of fifty-odd years ago.

[electric_blue68]

5. I've been reading off and on about missing Native American women, and girls for a long time.

[H2O Man]

6. Right.

It is one of the topics discussed in Peter Matthiessen's classic book, "In the Spirit of Crazy Horse" (1983), though in a more limited but related sense to the central case. In more recent years, there has been more attention to this in the US and Canada. It is one of the uglier dynamics that has a long history.

[electric_blue68]

7. Between that, and boarding schools, uranium mining, coal slurries using precious water....

I've paid attention to Native American news particularly when I started to plan a trip to The Southwest including The Navajo and Hopi Nations in '79.

Next summer '80 The Black Hills in SD - Lakota tribe.
And news about Upstate NY and The Mohawks.

While I am an ex-Catholic, and non-Christian I sometimes go to these wonderful ecumenical services, and events at NYC's Episcopal Cathedral St John The Divine for decades.
Has to be ? 25+ years ago they substituted Columbus Day with Native American leaders/tribes celebrations.

I know that name - Peter M. Might have read that book.

[H2O Man]

11. Nice!

I have some distant family in South Dakota, several of whom lived nearby in rural, upstate New York. While I have learned some of their culture, I am far more familiar with Onondaga and the other Iroquois nations. But this discussion reminded me of something from the late 1980s ..... a relative who is a pipe carrier was visiting, and their pipe's stem broke. They contacted a holy man in the Black Hills, and he said to have me me fix it. I used an ancient flint blade to do the repair. (The old man had remembered that years before, I secured two such pipes from an auction, and my cousin made the leather bags we returned them in.

The year after the book I mentioned, Peter published "Indian Country," which dealt with many of the issues you mentioned. I didn't meet Peter when he was Onondaga to interview FaithKeeper Oren Lyons, but have a lot of respect for him.

You might remember that "In the Spirit of Crazy Horse" was met with a number of law suits, including one for $24 million by the ex-governor -- over a single paragraph that quoted Dennis Banks. That was around the time when Dennis Banks stayed at Onondaga, which was interesting! Luckily, my cousin and I knew the most obscure roads to enter and leave the territory unnoticed!

Being old and moldy these days, I don't get up there often. But last summer, as a follow-up on a 1995 case where Chief Waterman and I were able to protect a burial ground in this county from being mined for gravel, I was able to secure a skull that had been kept in a box in the attic of a local museum since the 1950s. It was returned to the ground along with numerous human remains & grave goods that the state museum and two state universities had in their basements.

[electric_blue68]

14. TY. A SD & NYS connection - cool. Quite far apart!

A pipe carrier. An important task!

Fixed wth a flint knife, how interesting. Mx the best of the traditional with the best of the modern, though people's opinions might vary on the mix!
Waaay back I read some things on flint knapping. I have a lot of various interests!

Dennis Banks, yes, I know of him. I was at a special event (1 day out of 10) where either Bill or Russel Means spoke (among others). Might be in my travel journal for that summer vacation.

Peter M it could have been "Indian Country" I read instead. Not sure. Almost positive i heard him speak at The Museum of Natural History in NYC. Waaaay back!

I guess if you had to come and go "quietly" from Onondaga good to know the obscurest routes. Sounds like a movie!

How wonderful you, and Chief Waterman protected a burial ground, and secured remains boxed away back to proper people.

I, imho, think further on depending on interchanges with museums and tribal elders more items should have photographs taken if permitted, and kept at the museum, and replications crafted, and real artifacts returned to various tribes, and descendants if traceable.

I think FaithKeeper Oren Lyons was at one of the St John the Divine Native American celebrations I mentioned.

Finally, you might get a chuckle. It was with a friend who could drive (we shared the cost of the rental) that we met in Flagstaff, AZ to visit The Hopi & Navajo Nations.
We had left Canyon de Chelle and were heading to Monument Valley to sleep over night (sleeping bags). Instead of driving up to "the corner" of two major roads we ran across a NW road "cutting" the corner off. We took it.

About a third of the way through the paved road turned to dirt! Well, we kept going in our little rented red car. Bounced a bit, while seeing a Navajo truck here and there. Thinking they were thinking, "ah, crazy white folk.".

Best part was whipping close around a tall orangish rock formation. I still have the slide! Finally, the last third was paved again as we climbed an incline between cut rocks. Pretty sight were gentle winds sending curving streams of sand over the blacktop.

We made it to MV, and took the 17 mile loop down in the valley Our car barely made back up! It was glorious!

Went to sleep under a full Moon about 9AM. Woke up to The Milky Way spaning 2/3rds if the sky. Splendor, and wonderment!

TY for sharing some of your experiences!
Hopefully a few visits await you to Onondaga!

[Saoirse9]

15. Okay I don't get the last part

Who is Frank? Frank Figliuzzi? And what is this about Indian Territory and interstate highways?

Sorry brother. I am retired so I'm dippy these days.

[H2O Man]

16. Yes.

I should have added Frank's last name. There are certain highways that run through or very near Indian Territory, and have an association with females disappearing. It is likely a key to solving a number of cases.

Though I have had numerous relatives and friends murdered, I can't imagine not knowing what happened to them. My interest in the topic goes way back, to when a gal I had a mad crush on went to FL to visit her mother. She was murdered by a guy who turned out to be a pimp, who killed her then cut her up with a chain saw. I became a homeless teenager shortly thereafter, and became familiar with the hardships and dangers that homeless teens face.

(I was also a homely teen, but because I was really nice and could knock the shit out of most human beings, I was generally safe. I was attacked by a fucking creep once, as I tended to hitch-hike more frequently than stealing cars. I think the driver learned not to attack a younger H2O Man when he had a hammer on the front seat!)

Tired and dippy as you may be, you saved this OP/thread -- however briefly -- from matching its title.

[Saoirse9]

17. LOL thanks for your thorough answer!!!

[H2O Man]

18. You are most welcome!

[rubbersole]

3. Great post. Getting rid of tsf asap is the key to even having a next election.

The "opulently wealthy" appear to be pulling a smash-and-grab of the nation's wealth. Caring for the children (and adults) on the margins of society is too Christian and too woke for their agendas. The military in the streets cannot become normalized or we'll never get a chance to save our democracy. People are getting pissed off. This is the silver lining. Hope it's not too late.

[H2O Man]

8. Thanks!

I recognize that there are a hundred issues that Democrats can campaign on as we approach the mid-terms. But I know that the Epstein-Maxwell scandal provides us with a unique opportunity to inflict damage upon the Q-anon/maga brand. It provides a significant portion of the foundation we need to be building, and as the old saying goes, we should strike while the iron is hot.

There are a number of podcasts still actively discussing this case, though it is not getting as much attention on the corporate media. That includes on podcasts that members of our party do not tend to watch, but that other potential voters do. I've heard from a couple associates that Joe Rogan covers it, and as a form of something mighty close to self-abuse I have watched three episodes of Nancy Grace. She is on the attack 24/7.

One important thing about the hundred issues is that they all connect. And the issues facing these young women and teenage girls is one that has to be addressed, in order to deal with the other social pathologies in America.

[malaise]

4. K & R

I do not honor the “god” of the maga movement, corporations, or the opulently wealthy. I suspect that the majority of the grass roots human beings do not want to pay more taxes to make the sequence of digits on billionaires' accounts, to have reductions in government services, or to place the environment on the alter for corporations to sacrifice for their gain.

[H2O Man]

9. Thank you!

I had to work on editing those two sentences far more than anticipated. Initially, what I wrote sounded perhaps too harsh. Though I meant every word of it, I thought the edited version sounded more civil and had less visible contempt.

[malaise]

10. You're a much nicer person

than me. Still I got your point.
My contempt for the entire cabal is palpable. I can’t hide it.

[H2O Man]

12. I respectfully disagree.

And for two reasons ..... first, from knowing you for years here, you strike me as a very nice person, even in dealing with some of the trolls that have washed up on DU's shores from time to time. I will say that there have been times when you have used humor that I was pretty sure you were politely warning a said troll to tread carefully. And second, there are times when I think of things that make me question if I should return to the church of my childhood, to go to confession. I mean, as a one-time thing, of course. But they might recommend that I gargle with holy water when such thoughts dance in my head ..... as I start laughing so hard it frightens the dog.

[malaise]

13. ROFL

😀😂😀

[Hekate]

19. KnR yet again 💔

[H2O Man]

20. Thank you!