September 10, 2013

Update on Shellie Zimmerman's father's nose

When George Zimmerman's wife Shellie Zimmerman called the police, she said George punched her father so hard that he left a mark and his nose might be broken:

"In the 911 call, Shellie Zimmerman says her husband punched her father, leaving a mark on his face.

"He's shaking; he says he feels like he's going to have a heart attack; his nose might be broken," she said."

Police now have details on the state of the nose: "According to authorities, Shellie's father did not have any visible injuries."

Mrs. Zimmerman is currently serving a probation sentence for lying under oath on a separate matter.

Read more: http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/region_tampa/lake-mary-police-are-now-calling-into-question-several-statements-shellie-zimmerman-made-to-911#ixzz2eUcJSeHk

September 10, 2013

If Obama thought Assad gassed 1,000 Americans instead of Syrians....

Would he call for Assad to simply give up the rest of his chemical weapons? Or would he call for his incarceration or assassination?

My point: Is the fact that Obama is willing to make a deal...an indication that he knows he can't prove Assad did it?

September 9, 2013

Update: George Zimmerman's wife tells two different stories about presence of gun

From the Washington Post, on the incident where George Zimmerman's wife accused George Zimmerman of threatening her and her father and breaking her father's nose:

Shellie Zimmerman, who has filed for divorce, initially told a 911 dispatcher that her husband had his hand on his gun as he sat in his car outside the home she was at with her father. She said she was scared because she wasn’t sure what Zimmerman was capable of doing. But hours later she changed her story and said she never saw a firearm, said Lake Mary Police Chief Steve Bracknell.

For the time being, “domestic violence can’t be invoked because she has changed her story and says she didn’t see a firearm,” Bracknell said.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/police-george-zimmermans-estranged-wife-calls-saying-he-threatened-her-her-dad-with-gun/2013/09/09/76d5303e-1983-11e3-80ac-96205cacb45a_story.html

What is Shellie up to? Could it be that her conviction of perjury (i.e. lying) is a sign that this person is not very honest?

September 9, 2013

Police fail to find gun allegedly used by George Zimmerman to threaten wife and her father

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/09/09/george-zimmerman-gun-incident-florida-trayvon-martin/2788443/

No proof of assault confirmed either.

Deputy Police Chief Colin Morgan said officers have not recovered a gun.

The dispute "was between him and his wife and her father,'' Morgan said. "There were some allegations that there had been an assault, but we could not confirm any of it. Witnesses do not want to speak to anyone until they speak to their lawyer.''

The 911 call, which Morgan described as a "domestic violence call,'' came in around 2 p.m. Monday.

Morgan said that when officers received the call, they understood it was from a house in the central Florida town where Zimmerman had been living.

September 8, 2013

Let's please not smear our allies. Saudi Arabia DID NOT crucify anyone as reported earlier here

It's fine to be against one of our allies in the war on terror, in this case, Saudi Arabia. But to falsely state that this nation crucified anyone is IMO an attempt to make the country seem as a land of savages.

The fact is that the alleged criminals had their heads chopped off.

CBS News:

"Seven Saudi men convicted of theft, looting and armed robbery were beheaded on Wednesday, according to the country's official news agency, more than a week after their families and a rights group appealed to the king for clemency. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57573995/beheadings-not-crucifixion-for-alleged-saudi-thieves/

Update: I am being given a link proving that hey were beheaded and crucified: http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/saudi-arabia-five-beheaded-and-crucified-amid-disturbing-rise-executions-2013-05-21

Still, were they burned to death? No. They could have burned them, but they didn't. My point is that they are not as savage as they would be if they were more savage than they are.

September 8, 2013

United States complains after German helicopter photographs the roof of American embassy

AP excerpt:

Separately, an incident in which a German police helicopter was used to photograph the roof of the American consulate in Frankfurt has caused a minor diplomatic incident between the two countries.

German magazine Focus reported Sunday that U.S. Ambassador John B. Emerson complained about the overflight, which German media reported was ordered by top officials after reports that the consulate housed a secret espionage site.

A U.S. embassy spokesman downplayed the story, saying "the helicopter incident was, naturally enough, the subject of embassy conversation with the Foreign Ministry, but no demarche or letter of complaint about the incident was sent to the German government."

http://news.yahoo.com/report-nsa-access-most-smartphone-data-095553384.html

I agree with the complaint. Countries should not be spying on each other.

September 8, 2013

Update on report that Assad's brother was linked to chemical weapons attack

About a week ago, it was reported that Assad's brother was "seen" as being behind the recent chemical weapons attack in Syria.

Today we get an update in Reuters, which reports:

Reports that Assad's brother, Maher, a general who commands an elite Republican Guard unit and a crack Syrian army armored division, gave the order to use chemicals have not been substantiated, U.S. sources said. Some U.S. sources now believe Maher Assad did not order the attack and was not directly involved.

September 7, 2013

John Kerry vs. Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (February, 2003)

In a separate thread, we are told that Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS) of former intelligence & military officers claim Assad of Syria is not responsible for the chemical weapons attack that we hear in the news every day.

Who is this group?

On Febrary 7th, 2002, Common Dreams published a statement by the same group one month before the Iraq War.

"No one has a corner on the truth; nor do we harbor illusions that our analysis is irrefutable or undeniable. But after watching Secretary Powell today, we are convinced that you would be well served if you widened the discussion beyond violations of Resolution 1441, and beyond the circle of those advisers clearly bent on a war for which we see no compelling reason and from which we believe the unintended consequences are likely to be catastrophic. "

http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0207-04.htm

The next day, February 8, 2003, an article quotes John Kerry on his thoughts about the same war

"It’s about doing what’s right for the country. I’m worried about the national security of our nation and doing what’s correct."

http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2003/02/dems-f08.html

Kerry went on to vote for the Iraq War.

Today, these two are on opposites sides again, while some still treat Kerry as the Very Serious one of the two.

September 7, 2013

New NSA revelations to be published tomorrow (Sunday, Sept. 8) by Glenn Greenwald

Clapperites beware.

I'm currently working on what I believe are several significant new NSA stories, to be published imminently here, as well as one very consequential story about NSA spying in Brazil that will first be broadcast Sunday night on the Brazilian television program Fantastico (because the report has worldwide implications, far beyond Brazil, it will be translated into English and then quickly published on the internet).

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/sep/07/nsa-encryption-us-uk-press-freedoms

September 7, 2013

After reviewing the questioning of John Kerry in Congress, I conclude he lied

Here is the question Senator Johnson asked Kerry. In summary, he asked Kerry whether the opposition in Syria, which began as widely moderate, has become more dominated by extremists groups over time. See Kerry's response too:

SEN. JOHNSON: What do we know about the opposition? I mean, what is -- have we been tracking them for the last two years? I mean, it seems like -- and this is more of an impression I have as opposed to any exact knowledge, but it seems like initially, the opposition was maybe more Western-leaning, more moderate, more democratic, and as time has gone by, it's degraded, become more infiltrated by al-Qaida. That -- is that basically true? Or to -- (inaudible) -- has that happened?

SEC. KERRY: No, that is -- no, that is actually basically not true. It's basically incorrect. The opposition has increasingly become more defined by its moderation, more defined by the breadth of its membership and more defined by its adherence to some, you know, democratic process and to an all-inclusive, minority-protecting constitution, which will be broad-based and secular with respect to the future of Syria. And that's very critical.

I found a Reuters article in August in which we are told:

More than two years of a revolt-turned civil war have turned Syria into a magnet for jihadists from across the world, fuelling fears foreign military assistance might fall into the hands of fighters hostile to the West.

That has served only to strengthen the hand of Islamist brigades whose regional backers, many of them private Gulf donors, have been more forthcoming with support.

In recent weeks, al Qaeda-linked groups attacked several Alawite villages in the coastal province of Latakia, Assad's stronghold. They also seized a strategic airport in Aleppo province that Syrian rebels failed for months to take.

Fighters from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and the al-Nusra Front, both of which acknowledge the authority of al Qaeda leader Ayman Zawahri, are now the ultimate rulers in many rebel-held towns.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/25/us-syria-rebels-idUSBRE97O07I20130825

Note how we're told in Reuters just a month ago that "and now" (implying that wasn't the case at an earlier stage) Ayman Zawahri's disciples dominate certain areas.

Now you tell me if that sounds to you like moderates in Syria have kept or increase their share of power in the opposition, or whether extremists have "infiltrated" the opposition over time.