Year of the Ox

The 26^th of January marks the first day of the Year 4706-4707 on the Chinese calendar called the Year of the Ox. Apart from the Chinese, the Lunar New Year, as it is commonly called, is also celebrated by the Vietnamese as the Tet and the Koreans as the Seollal. The Robert’s Justice Staff wishes all our ethnic Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean readers a Happy and a Prosperous Lunar New Year.

ABOUT THE CHINESE NEW YEAR 

Mo Tales, El Diablo

Mo's mother and I were sitting under a very old and very tall "Mango Tree" fending off some very angry fire ants at a “Pick it Yourself Farm” when the phone rang. She answered the phone, motioned that she needed to take the call and turned away. “You only call me when you need something, so let’s have it. What do you want, Mo?”
 
I heard the muffled and somewhat screaming voice coming from her cell phone but could not understand anything until she replied – “See, you only call me when you need money or when you are having paranoid attacks. How many times do I have to tell you never buy medication from establishments you cannot actually visit? You bought your medication from the internet and a company called what? The Pharmacia del Luna?" And when you drank the medicine, what happened? (panicked sound from the phone) See, the medication you were taking was supposed to calm the voices that you were hearing in your head. Before, the voices where speaking in English and now it’s talking to you in Spanish? And the voice comes from a charming and a very persuasive man named “El Diablo?”
 
She looked to me and asked, “who is this man Mr. Diablo? Is he in a Rock Band?” “No, not really. That’s the Devil’s name in Spanish”, I said. Realizing what she was dealing with, she dropped the phone. Uh, oh, she said. “He’s having a conversation with the Devil himself? Whatever am I to do? What if this Mr. Diablo possesses him?”
 
“We have to cut this trip short”, she said. “What are you going to do, go see Mo?”, I asked. “Are you crazy? You already heard me say that he may be possessed by the Devil and you want me to see him? No, I’m going home to make sure my house is locked up just in case he decides he wants to introduce me to Mr. Diablo. Come on let’s go!”
 
The hour trip back to her home was eerily quiet, absent the usual tales that Mo’s mother usually tells me. It was so quiet and full of nervous tension that she jumped out of her seat when I honked my horn at another car trying to cut me off. “What are you trying to do to me? Are you trying to kill me?, she screamed.
 
Her nerves were already jangled up thinking that her son was preparing an early Halloween surprise for her. I knew that she was already hungry because we didn’t have anything to eat the whole time I was with her. When I finally dropped her off, there was a look on her face that told me she was about to get the fright of her life.

VIEW A SCARY MOMENT (NOT MO'S MOM)  

Our 44th President

On a cold and sunny day in Washington DC, witnessed by a record crowd, the first African-American took the oath of office to become the 44th President of the United States of America. Using the very bible that Abraham Lincoln used for his inauguration in 1861, President Obama paid tribute to the man who held our nation to its highest standard and spoke of those difficult days in the history of our young Republic:
 

… and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.

 
The speech also paid special attention to the rising challenges brought by religious and cultural differences and offered hope for a peaceful coexistence with members of the Muslim world.
 

To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West — know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

To find solutions to the difficult challenges the nation faces, he called attention to the American character and sought for it’s expression in all areas and all occasions it is essential.

Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends — honesty and hard work, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism — these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility — a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.

PRES. OBAMA'S INAUGURAL SPEECH (COMPLETE TEXT) 

M L King Jr. Day

The passage of the law that created the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday was wrought with controversy when it was first debated in the halls of the Senate and the House of Representative. Before the passage of the law, it was a standing tradition that holidays honoring individuals were reserved only for public figures. The fact that King never held public office only fueled the opposition's dissenting voice that tried to stymie the passage of the law required to make MLK Jr. Day a federal holiday. Another argument opposing the holiday centered on the expense associated with giving federal employees a paid holiday. Eventually, a movement including labor unions, musicians, the corporate community and the general public organized and became instrumental in the passage of the law that made the MLK Jr. Holiday. In 2000, after many years of engaging influential lawmakers and politicians, the holiday was officially observed by all 50 states on a day now celebrated each year on the third Monday of January.

Donald Mcgannon, a past President of Westinghouse once said that “Leadership is action and not a position”. Martin Luther King Jr.'s life is an inspiring example of leadership under the context of a formal title (he occupied no official public position). Under his own authority and using non-violent means, he sought to make changes in society defying what he felt were unjust laws, misguided political leadership and outdated social conventions. We honor Martin Luther King Jr. today for his courage and a life that exemplified a passionate pursuit for the sanctity of the individual’s rights, reminding us that the state has no particular privilege over any one individual and must always subordinate its rights to members of its citizenry.

In his own words King articulated what leadership entails:

Effective visions provide context, give purpose, and establish meaning. They inspire people to mobilize, to act, to move in the same direction. Every good leader realizes that effective visions cannot be forced upon the masses. Rather they must be set in motion by means of persuasion and inspiration.” (Martin Luther King Jr.)

Our Beta Testing

We’ve been busy doing beta testing on our website/blog. We replicated a write-up of the Robert's Justice Blog on a major newspaper and simulated a deluge of readers viewing our site at the same time. The results were surprising. We discovered that our infrastructure could not handle that volume of website hits. Fortunately, we think that we’ve found the solution and will try to redeploy again early next week.
 
Our goal for the first quarter of this year is to have Robert’s Justice featured on at least three major newspapers and three major news outlets like Fox News, CNN and MSNBC. We realize that we only have one chance to make a connection with our readers. So, we wanted to make sure that our pages are easy to navigate and intuitive to our readers. These and other improvements in the works will ensure that we continue to deliver on our promise of information, entertainment and advocacy of issues that are important to our times.
 
We thank you for your patience.
 
All the best,
 
The Robert’s Justice Staff

You've Been Served

Finally, after all this time. Defendant Susan Angell, one of the defendants in the Lacambra vs. Glass et al and the Attorney of Record for a number of parties in the action was finally served her Summons after the 9th attempt. She has turned out to be a tricky defendant to get under the jurisdiction of the court. She was a last minute addition to the list of defendants on Lacambra vs Glass et al. Despite having responded to the First Amended Complaint on behalf of her clients, she sought procedural protection by claiming that she was not served properly. First, I enlisted the help of the OC Sheriff's Department who claimed that Defendant Angell was "Evading" after 6 attempts. So, eventually, my friend, Felix offered to help. We didn't expect her to be served in person but by sheer luck she was home today. I went in expecting to film my friend putting the Summons in a receiving box to prove in court that a copy was left in a reasonable place. I have linked three different clips showing all three attempts including the successful service. I purposely avoided getting her face on film to make sure a I wasn't violating any privacy laws. That's all I needed to add to the caseload. She was technically inside her home when she was handed the Summons. If she was in a public place, filming her would not raise any legal issues. But, if she tries to deny that she was served, her distinct voice was audible on the clip. What that means is that she is now under the jurisdiction of the court and must respond to my Complaint within 30 Days. You've been served, Counselor!

EXPLANATION OF PROCESS SERVICE

ATTORNEY ANGELL SUMMONS SERVICE ATTEMPT #1 

ATTORNEY ANGELL SUMMONS SERVICE ATTEMPT #2 

ATTORNEY ANGELL SUMMONS SERVICE ATTEMPT #3 

Rich & Nina (14th January 2009)

(Robert's Note: This is Part II of a "Two Part Series". If you missed Part I, click here to view Rich & Nina 14th December 2008 )

PART II

Rich decided he was going to be a DJ and booked a job at the "Oh, Baby Club" spinning 80's tunes. He's managed to keep the dance floor packed with his music and antics. Personally, I was impressed with his skills on the turn tables. He found a way to make himself heard - call attention to his undying love for his Nina. By the way things are going, if Nina does not hear his declaration of his love for her, a radio executive may just end up giving him a job, furthering the distance that his voice can be heard. Maybe, Nina will finally hear Rich's courtly offering of affection on a radio station while driving, while sitting in her office or at a Cafe. Then, perhaps she'll hear the one heart in this whole wide world that wants her the most. It appears, Rich's plan is working.

DJ Rich: Yeeehaa … someone get me a cold bottle of beer coz’ I am sweatin’ in here. The lights are so hot and so bright in here that I can’t hide a thing even if I wanted to. That’s a good thing coz we don’t want the lights turned off. (Crowd: Yeaaaah) What? You want the lights turned off? (Crowd: NOOooooo) That’s what I thought baby. You can put me to work – I know how to wash clothes real good. I’ve got a washboard and a six pack to go with that baby … I look so fine that sometimes when I look in the mirror I tell myself that I just look too sexy for what I’m wearing. CLICK TO SEE VIDEO 

DJ RICH: See this baby? (Spraying hairspray into the crowd) We are now going big hair, baby! And we’ll be stylin’. A’ma look like a Vidal Sassoon commercial with hair flyin’ in the wind. When I walk down the street, I want to hear the chicks whislin’ at me. But you don’t have to worry. There’s only one whislin’ that is music to my ears. And that’s them sweet sounds that comes from you when you pucker them pretty little lips of yours and blow. When you hear them chicks whistling at yo man and giving him them googly eyes all you got to say baby is - here I go again ‘coz aint nothin’ they can do to take me away from you. So, just say, Here I go again, baby. CLICK TO VIEW VIDEO 

DJ RICH: Ok, I wanna hear the ladies in the house who know how to cook. (Crowd: Yeaaahhh) That’s what I’m talkin’ about. You know that saying that the quickest way to a man’s heart is through his stomach? I don’t know what that woman was cookin’ but it must be really somethin’ special ‘coz sometimes things get hectic that you just wanna pull over for some fastfood. After a week of that, it gets pretty old, right? (Crowd: Yeaaahh) I know I have somethin’ real special coz even if I starve, I wait for date nite coz my baby cooks me a little somethin’ somethin’, You know what I mean, baby. (crowd: yeaaahh) You know yo kitchen special when yo man always comes home for dinnah and neveh goes out fo nothin’ less than home cookin’ … You know I ain’t nevah goin’ out to dinner unless you with me, right? When the chicks ask me, hey handsome DJ you wanna go out to dinner with me. I always say ain’t nothin’ in yo kitchen this handsome DJ interested in, honey. I have my baby at home and the answer is never. CLICK TO VIEW VIDEO 

DJ RICH: OK. I want to know who in the house loves pizza? (Crowd: Yeaaahh). All it takes to have pizza is a phone call and you can have it in 30 minutes or less. I can have pizza three times a day if you let me, baby – breakfast, lunch and dinner - even more. Let’s see, salami, ham, mushrooms, bellpeppers, pineapple, ground meat, onions, peperroni, bacon, tomatoes, olives. And who does not like anchovies? (Crowd: Yeaahhh) That’s right baby. Do you like anchovies on it? There was a time in my life when I was living on a prayer – not even a penny – until I found a job delivering pizza three times a week. And all I can think about was my baby. For those of you out there on the dance floor living on that tiny thread and living on a prayer, the next time you have a pizza, try the deep dish with just a little bit of anchovy. CLICK TO VIEW VIDEO 

DJ RICH: All right! Do we have any ladies on the floor who are Bartenders? Do you serve your drinks straight up or with ice, baby. Cool, ‘coz I want to know that someone’s going to take care of the drinks around here! How about another round? (Crowd: Yeaahhh) There ain’t a woman like my baby. OOOhhh she knows how to put a smile on my face when things ain’t happenin’ right. She is so warm she can melt an ice cube by just smiling at it. What am I takin’ ‘bout. She’s more than warm she’s a real hot babe. If she was any hotter she’d be a babecano. That’s a mix between a babe and a volcano. I know things will get going for me here soon and I won’t have to work two jobs no more. I’m trying to save up some major mullah so I can do something special for my baby. One day, I’ll give her a really shiny piece of ice, she’ll know I’m a keeper. Until I can break my piggy bank, here’s a little bit of ice for you baby. CLICK TO VIEW VIDEO 

DJ RICH: Come on, let’s make it loud in here. I want to hear some yellin’. (Crowd: Yeaaahhh) That’s right, baby. Ok, ladies I have a question for you, Is too much of a good thing bad for you? (Crowd: Yeeaaahh) We’re gonna get something so good, it’s one of my favorites. It was written in the 70’s and performed in the 90’s by someone we first met in the 80’s. Something this good you just can’t let go, baby. I’ve heard people say that too much of anything is not good for you baby. But I don’t know about that. There are many times that we’ve loved, given love and made love. It doesn’t seem like to me it’s enough. There’s just not enough of it. There’s just not enough of it oh oh baby. CLICK TO VIEW VIDEO 

Sailing Day

We’ve been experiencing great weather here in Southern California the last few days, enough to think that it was June instead of January. We took the break from the cold weather to go sailing yesterday. My friend Felix, a UC Berkeley-trained lawyer, has a sailboat in the Dana Point Harbor and the perfect sailing conditions was all the excuse we needed to take his boat out a few miles out and back. We were joined by Dan, an Ex-LAPD Officer, the experienced sailor of the group, who showed us both the finer points of sailing.

VIEW ROBERT'S SAILING PICTURES 

My first 8 Miler for '09

Some weeks back, I told myself that if I am able to run 8 miles before the 11th of this month, I know that my Marathon Training for the "San Diego Rock & Roll Marathon" is on track. There was a span of about 6 months that I didn't run at all so I was quiet apprehensive running that distance. I started at 8:30AM and had a very light long sleeves on. The air was still chilly but the sun was already heating up the trail when I started the run. It takes me about a mile to get comfortable on a run, so I generally start very slow. At about the half mile mark I was passed by another runner (a Scotsman named Alan) who soon told me that he was also running 8 miles at a 9 minute per mile pace. So, a decision was made to run the distance together. We were conversing all the way until I started experiencing some running related gremlins. My cardiovascular fitness was fine and did not fail me. It was the muscular conditioning that created some problems for me. At about the 6 mile mark, my right calf started cramping up. Alan had an appointment for lunch after the run and so I asked him to continue on but not before we both committed to another run in the coming weeks. We might even train for a marathon. I'll make sure to take training pictures when that ever happens. I had to stop for about a couple of minutes to stretch and continued on my way. I had a run time of 1:12'20 giving me a 9'02 per mile pace. "Run Time" does not count the times that the runner stopped. On balance, I was quite pleased because 8 miles is actually my favorite distance - not too short and not to long either. 

It was a great running day.

5 Freeway Crash

On spur of the moment I started taking footage while I was on the bus coming back from a hearing. I wanted to give our readers a glimpse of the bus that I have been using to commute to and from the Santa Ana Courthouse – the Bus 83. While doing so, an accident occurred just ahead of us. I caught the SUV on film literally seconds after the incident. A quick analysis of the footage tells me that the SUV may have been on the carpool lane because of the tire marks on the road. A Google check on the web before publishing this blog failed to pull up any articles, somewhat reassuring me that there were no fatalities.

5 FREEWAY ACCIDENT VIDEO 

First Hearing for '09

Today was the first day that I appeared in court for 2009. I had a Case Management Conference (CMC) on the matter of Lacambra vs America’s Best Inn. There was actually an attorney substitution last week. The new counsel, Robert Connelly, appeared in court on behalf of the Defendants - America's Best Inn and SK Paul. The judge thought that the case was simple enough that he gave us a trial date for July 13, 2009. He also made certain musings about the Defendant having filed papers in Bankruptcy Court, which I am currently researching to figure out what is going on. There were no papers served on me just yet regarding Bankruptcy Protection. I was actually looking for a reason to file this case in Federal Court and this may have given me good cause. The Defendant (SK Paul) turns out to be a resident of Michigan, making the US Court (Federal Jurisdiction) of proper venue. It will also make it easier for me to get to his assets if and when I prevail in court. It is difficult to see at this stage what the Defendant is trying to accomplish. One possible reason for this turn of events is that he is taking this defensive actions to protect his assets from judgment liens. That makes this case the more interesting, requiring some Sherlock Holmes detective work to uncover hidden assets.

Roy's Papers

I spent most of the day with my friend Roy who was a subject of a previous blog on Robert’s Justice. We took the occasion to make copies of some of his research papers and exhibits for a “Complaint for Damages” that will be filed in the US District Court – Southern District of California. Today was also the first time that the HP 7555 All-In-One Machine was ever put to use. And may I say, it was an amazing machine that is rich in all the attributes that we require for our legal work. I was very much impressed. I was like a mad scientist left in a laboratory. Just as an experiment, I scanned the picture on my Driver’s License and using their software imposed the image on a bubble template provided by HP. It turned out to be another example of the wonders of modern technology that I will bring to bear against my opposition.

Also, for the benefit of our readers, a few snapshots are featured on this blog to get them acquainted with one of the most courageous people that I have ever met in my life – a gentleman we call Roy.

PREVIOUS BLOG ABOUT ROY 
PICTURES OF ROY 

ROBERT'S SCANNER EXPERIMENT 

Yestradamus 010709

The sound of voices, of rising columns in the house of learning
Young voices in chorus and lifting minds of high pursuit
A purse of canvass fastened by a string of wicker
Waiting for its owner, a palm stretched to the future
 

This quatrain is all about learning. I know this only because he said so in the first line. It reminds me of one operation I was involved in – a textbook example of what not to do. I thought it was a simple surveillance job and I spent many weeks trailing my subject, a beautiful and intelligent 30-something woman. I was hired on to figure out why she wanted a clerical job at a credit card company. An earlier vetting process discovered that she was using an alias and was a recipient of a PhD in Physics from MIT. Nothing was adding up. So I spent days and weeks trying to get close to her and strike up a conversation. I finally followed her to a bookstore and got close enough to say something. At this point, I was really rusty with the ladies and when I finally got the chance, all that came out of my mouth was, “I can tell you give your hairdresser good tip because your hair looks real fine”.  She looked to me and said, “Oh, thanks” smiled at me and walked away. For days, I was kicking myself for that amateur one liner.

It wasn’t for another week until I got close to her again, this time it was at a Café. She was sitting alone by the corner reading a book. I walked up to her and finally introduced myself using my cover name, “Hello, I’m Brando, I apologize about that introduction at the bookstore and the comment about your hair. I hope that didn’t embarrass you". “Oh no", she said and pointed to the seat inviting me to join her”. “I actually liked it, it was different. I told my hair dresser about your line and, he enjoyed it. Please, won’t you join me?”

We spent the next two hours talking about run of the mill things – the movies, sports, music and anything a clerk might be interested in. But I want to see if I could make her slip up and asked her a zinger that only a Physics virtuoso could answer. I did this to see if she’ll give up the pretense. “Why do you think quantum mechanics and general relativity are incompatible?" She looked at me with delight as if she had found a person to share her tiny part of the world that not very many people understood. “Well, Eistein said, “according to the general theory of relativity, gravitation occupies an exceptional position with regard to other forces, particularly the electromagnetic forces, since the ten functions representing the gravitational field at the same time define the metrical properties of the space measured”.

It was a Freudian slip. I didn’t say I word, but we both knew she’s been outed – her cover was blown. She was not an entry-level employee by any measure but a high caliber thinker of genius proportions. We both knew it now. Then, she fidgeted a little and said, “I’m sorry, I have to go now but meet me at my hotel room on Wednesday when I get back from a trip and we can continue our conversation. She gave me a hotel business card and wrote down her hotel room number – Room 335. Don’t call, just come up at 6PM, dinner will be waiting”. I didn’t know what to think of it but made plans to see her.

On the day of the appointment, as instructed, I went up to her room without calling and knocked on the door. It wasn’t very long before all hell broke lose. Two retirement aged women named Ethel and Gretel wearing nightgowns opened the door and upon seeing me started running and jumping up and down screaming – “It’s him, the peeping Tom. Heelllpppp! Secuuritttyy! Somebody, call the cops.” I stood there with a bouquet of flowers and a bottle of expensive wine I couldn’t afford, dumbfounded.

It wasn’t until I was sitting in jail that I had a chance to think things over. If the PhD wasn’t a giveaway, I was really playing with fire. After the meeting at the café, the subject had hired two actors and booked them in the hotel room. She instructed them to call hotel security every night of the week reporting a Peeping Tom attempting to violate their privacy and gave my description – height, hair color, eye color and approximate weight. By the time I had knocked on the door, the hotel security had already written up three reports on me before I even stepped inside the hotel lobby for the first time. It took several days to get the whole thing straightened out. I had to show receipts and a number of videotapes from other establishments I was visiting at the time of the alleged incidents just to prove my alibi. It was a nightmare.

What the Yestradamus is really saying is “Think of all the angles”. Before you come up to a hotel room, call the room from the hotel lobby phone first. If you don’t, there is no way of telling what will be waiting for you behind the door. In my case, I had no idea what was behind door number 335. It turned out to be something that I really wasn’t expecting and it wasn't pretty.

(Analyst 147X)

Balance Sheet

The first rule of investing is never lose capital. For this purpose, the word capital is interpreted to include cash and assets that could be converted to cash. I wanted to create a "Balance Sheet" to figure out where I am financially. A Balance Sheet is a statement of financial position that includes assets, liabilities and ownership position. I want to know how much in the negative I am, so I know what to do to get out of my financial hole and how to do it.

At this point, anything that I own is vulnerable to creditors, government agencies and other entities that I may not even be aware of. So, the first order of business on the first Sunday of the year 2009 is to find out by requesting information from credit reporting companies and tax authorities. I have been living on the road for approximately 6 months now and have lapses in residence that have kept me under their radars. Now that I have a new address (UPS Store), I can inform them of my whereabouts. That way, we can determine who is owed and how much. That also sends a message that I am not hiding. The easiest way to achieve that is to request a copy of my credit report, which is provided by the credit bureaus every year at no charge. Then, we can start negotiating with creditors and if required fight them in court. The mission is to be able to get back on the road to prosperity without filing Bankruptcy Protection.

I wrote the following organizations:

INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE 
FRANCHISE TAX BOARD (CALIFORNIA) 
EXPERIAN 
TRANSUNION 
EQUIFAX 
CHEXSYSTEMS

CERTIFICATE OF MAILING