Lt. Eric Shine served with honor, graduating from the Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, N. Y. and embarking on a career in his chosen field of delivering cargo by Ship around the world. Soon he was shocked at the amount of graft and corruption he saw and reported it to authorities.  Instead of a thank you he received a kangaroo court of mind-boggling proportions. His case suddenly involved himself as the one being investigated and charged, in a series of moves to keep him in limbo without a career or money; his case was moved from Federal Court finally to a military court even though he was a civilian. In this interview he updates Jerry on his long journey thru legal hell and his encounters with Homeland Security and the US Coast Guard.  MP3 - Running time: 32 min - Windows media version

Lt. Eric Shine: US Merchant Marine Whistleblower.
More Bush Administration Graft and Corruption Exposed.

Meet Lt. Eric Shine:
Striking at the Heart of Unconstitutional
Darkness in America’s Military


Lt. Eric Shine USNR - MMRRI

America has deliberately driven hundreds, perhaps thousands, of prisoners insane. What is on happening in the United States is not just one man's mental state. It is the whole system of US psychological torture. The whole story can be encapsulated in one man’s story.

Lt. Eric Shine’s background reads like a packet of pedigrees: his father and brother attended West Point, and he himself graduated with the highest honors from Kings Point, the sister academy to West Point and Annapolis which ranks even higher than M.I.T. for having graduates as C.E.O’s, Presidents of Boards of Corporations, and other accolades; he was congressionally appointed as a licensed and decreed Federal and Military Maritime Officer to serve in and throughout the maritime industry and US Merchant Marine on “special duty”; awarded a US Navy Commission with a Top Secret Service clearance in marine engineering; sailed as a Federal Maritime 0fficer for numerous shipping companies (formerly American owned, now flying foreign flags) and, above all, Lt. Shine has been afforded unparalleled access to the inner workings of our government. Yet today, despite all of his accomplishments, Lt. Eric Shine is hunted and hounded by the Bush Administration.

Lt. Eric Shine’s lugubrious hooded eyes look out at the world with knowing scorn. He should be scornful. For the past four years, Homeland Security has been using our resources to target, hold, detain and prosecute this dissenting Federal officer with bogus and trumped-up charges. The charge of the Bush brigade: Lt. Shine is depressed. Yes, seriously. There have been no valid charges against him, nor has Lt. Shine been able to see the evidence against him, nor has be able to face his accusers on any level of due process which is tantamount to a gross violation of human rights. Federal officers have actually suggested he “blow himself away…” Beyond belief, while Lt. Shine is being prosecuted for medical mental incompetence, he is expected to defend himself. In fact, what is happening is that the Executive branch is violating the fundamental principle as in the “separation of powers” doctrine created by our founding fathers.

The ire that has put the Bush administration on fire: Lt. Shine has been enormously outspoken against Bush’s war on Iraq, Republican war profiteering, the sabotaging of the American economy by the use of Fair Trade Agreements, and the privatizing of U.S. Treasury assets. Lt. Shine declares: US war crimes and atrocities should be seen as the direct consequence of a foreign policy and military agenda, which supports US corporate interests, including the oil giants, the Wall Street financial establishment and the big six defense contractors.

The very idea that an American citizen can be imprisoned without recourse to judicial process or remedy, and that this can be done on the sole say-so of the President of the United States or those acting in his name, is beyond the pale and un-American, and ought to be stopped.

Thousands of Americans have voiced opposition to the military/entertainment complex that is the Bush administration, but when an officer of Shine’s rank and accomplishment voices articulate opposition, the whole military machine must take note. It means dissent has crept up the chain of command, potentially undermining the whole war effort.

Lt. Shine’s stance is the product of profound reflection on taking personal responsibility for halting the US government's careening course toward authoritarianism and criminality. His claim is based on the fact that that the Administration is breaking international law. His case addresses the soft underbelly of the Bush project--the subversion of US government in the name of the "war on terror." Lt. Shine’s action is perfectly positioned to galvanize a movement that, like the civil rights movement, answers official "massive resistance" to law and justice with a resolute insistence that no one is above the law.

In the context of plummeting support for the war and cascading evidence of officially concealed criminal acts by US forces, the potential by Lt. Shine to focus public attention on possible US war crimes is enormous.

Under military law, military personnel have the right to refuse to carry out illegal orders; in fact, they have a duty not to commit war crimes. According to Article 32 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, Shine retains the right to a preliminary hearing to "present anything he may desire in his own behalf, either in defense or mitigation." Under Article 46 defendants are allowed at trial to "compel witnesses to appear and testify and to compel the production of other evidence."

On its face the statute appears to allow a war crimes defense. In practice, however, defenses under international law are often denied, based on the military's "fundamental necessity for obedience," a principle affirmed by the Supreme Court in 1974. Lt. Shine maintains he owes obedience to the Constitution--not to officials who are abusing it.

Anyone who believes in justice should demand that Lt. Shine’s case should provide him reasonable opportunity to prove the case for US war crimes, including the right to subpoena witnesses and government documents. Without such rights, the case will be nothing but a kangaroo court, violating the very national and international norms that the government is required to respect.

Under our constitution, the right and duty to obey conscience is paramount, God-Given, and inalienable.

Cut to the case: Lt. Shine needs our help, morally and financially. He needs proper, independent counsel, plus a legal defense fund.

The World is at the crossroads of the most serious crisis in modern history. The US has embarked on military adventures, "long wars", which threaten the future of humanity. It is incumbent upon all of us who love and respect our country’s values to help support Lt. Eric Shine.

Introduction courtesy of Ilene Proctor Public Relations, e-mail: proctor@artnet.net

Visit Eric's website:  www.martiallaw911.com

Learn about the US Merchant Marine Academy
 

Jerry Interviews Lt. Shine

In this interview, Jerry explores the depths of retribution taken against whistle blowers by the Bush Administration. Lt. Eric Shine graduated with honors from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and had a top secret clearance. Then his problems started, when he wanted to expose graft and lack of security in our Maritime sector. Those who were the watchdogs turned on him with a vengeance. Listen as he lays out a saga of deceit and hate designed to protect the status quo.

An incident is revealed about thugs from Homeland Security doing physical harm to him on a busy street in Los Angeles across from the Kerry for President headquarters. He has lost his house, his credit, and his ability to earn a living because he is a "whistleblower." The sad story continues to this day, as he continues to fight for his survival against the system. Is this the America we think we live in? Listen to this interview and decide for yourself.

MP3 Version




64kb Broadband Version
Post Production - Jane Swartley
Photo: Lt. Shine accepting diploma from Vice President Dan Quayle during Graduation from US Merchant Marine Academy 1991.

WMA Version - Part 1




32kb Dial-up or Broadband Version
Post Production - Jane Swartley
Photo: Lt. Shine (right) with Virgin Airlines Owner and CEO Charles Branson.

WMA Version - Part 2




32kb Dial-up or Broadband Version
Post Production - Jane Swartley
Photo: Eric Shine as a Cadet at the Merchant Marine Academy