JONAS SALK (and other insensitive bastards)

During the four year fight for justice for Amanda Knox, a question was repeatedly put to me and others (by people who mistakenly thought Amanda guilty): “Why are you defending Amanda Knox? Why not somebody else?” “Why defend (as it was recently put to me specifically) a middle-class white girl?”  The unavoidable, undeniable insinuation being, of course, that there are more “worthy” people to defend than the middle class, whites, and women.  It’s frankly a question which belies a certain bias, a certain hatred and a certain ugliness.

By the logic of that question, Emergency Operators should always answer the line with, “9-1-1, what is your emergency…..race, and social status?” In actual fact, many of these questioners put even more of a fine-point on the question, noting that Amanda was “American” and “attractive.” Certainly, I’m not arguing that Americans are worthy of justice, that’s simply absurd. But “attractive” has me stumped. Again, should calls for help be accompanied by headshots? (“My GOD that girl is ugly, roll the fire trucks!” Or, “I don’t know, the green eyes work just too well with the auburn hair, there’s really nothing we can do.”)

The question as to why anybody would come to the defense of a young white woman whom society considers attractive, is itself is so biased, so race-based, so economically prejudiced, so ignorant that one despairs for society.

The question says more than it asks. It says that the worth of a person is still judged by their race, color, social status and nationality.

Aren’t we yet as a people so far beyond this (at least philosophically) that such hate speech can be recognized for what it is? Do intelligent people really believe that people not “of color” or poor are less deserving of care, love, rescue, freedom? The concept is simply the 1960’s Selma, Alabama sickness – reversed.

I understand, maybe as much as anybody who has not experienced it directly, that there has been—and continues to be--terrible injustices based simply on the fact that a person is black, or brown or poor. As a young FBI Agent, I surveilled and attempted to infiltrate the Aryan Nations white supremacist organization in Idaho in the mid 1980’s when they were at their peak strength. As a white man, I saw an opportunity—and a responsibility—to do what I could to stamp out this type of hatred. I witnessed cross-burnings, I investigated race- and religiously-based murders, and I heard the seething, irrational hatred of bigots. After my identity as an FBI Agent was discovered, I was very nearly killed. But I helped put dozens of white men away (most for life without parole) for hideous crimes against people simply because they were Jews or non-whites. I spent two years investigating and prosecuting a man who machine-gunned day-care children because they were Jewish, and who shot a dark-skinned Filipino postal worker twice in the head because he was "non-white." (He got 600 years, but is eligible for parole in 540 years.) I’ve been there; I’ve seen it. I've examined the lifeless, bloody corpses of the victims and watched their relatives weep.


But even in the midst of my disgust and anger at the acts, I can tell you one thing; reverse bias is not the answer. The question as to whether a white woman is equally worthy of rescue from injustice is almost as obscene as the question as to whether black woman should be allowed to sit in the front of the bus.

Of course, the response of the questioners might simply be that they were not questioning Amanda’s worthiness, but the motives and bias of those working in her favor. (This question is easily refuted by the fact that they never questioned why we would help Amanda’s Italian male co-defendant.) But even the inference of bias among her supporters is grossly naïve and in itself bigoted. One might just as well ask why Amanda’s parents came to her aid. One might also ask why Dr. Martin Luther King chose to help blacks in America instead of blacks in South Africa. Was it self-serving? Did he care less about African blacks? Was he simply provincial?  I don’t think so. I think he saw a need close to him and was called to something he saw with his own eyes.  John F. Kennedy popularized a phrase that applies: “A rising tide lifts all boats.” One may argue convincingly that Dr. King’s efforts sped the end of apartheid. The nearness and familiarity with the victim(s) is also the reason that most initially came to Amanda’s aid. The movement consisted of friends, relatives, parents of school friends, family friends, and other Seattleites who viewed Amanda as “one of their own.” Others had either experienced similar injustices, or had careers, experience or interests which intersected with the case.

I would point out that many of those involved in Amanda’s defense were also involved in other cases, many of which involved people of color. As an example, I am currently involved in the case of the wrongful imprisonment of a man of Indian descent, and others were involved in the unsuccessful attempt to prevent the execution of Troy Davis in Georgia.

Dr. King, a man I deeply admire, wrote in 1963 from a jail in Birmingham, Alabama, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” King would not wonder if Amanda was equally worthy of rescue. Nor would he question the motives of people who were seeking justice in any arena.

Bias against a victim because they aren’t poor or “of color” is not a correction of a problem, it is not “balancing the scales,” it is simply revenge. If Martin Luther King’s vision of a society of complete equality was a great “dream” for which to strive, then revenge is simply the nightmare of a society far from that goal. It undoes everything the man stood for and stands in stark opposition to his dream. It amounts to no more than reversing the polarity of the bigotry. Sound waves are one of the few entities, philosophies or bits of matter in this world that can be eliminated by simple reversal. Bose has made a successful business selling “noise-cancelling” headphones. These devices sense a sound wave, reverse it, broadcast it, and thereby cancel it out. The only people who have ever made a living by continuous reversals of prejudice are coroners on the West Bank and arms dealers. Those who would deny justice to a person because they weren’t “of color” or "poor" are just as depraved as those who would deny justice to someone because they were.

To say the least, it is ironic that almost to a person, the people who ask this question are always the very same people who decry the fact that in the Kercher murder, a “black man” was being “blamed.” It really isn’t the Amanda Knox supporters who are “blaming” a black man, it is science. The DNA of African Rudy Guede was inside the sexually assaulted victim. The appeals court confirmed scientific findings that his bloody footprint was found on a bathmat, and his bloody handprints were on the victim's purse, which obviously have deluded some people into thinking that a person of color is capable of murder. Remember, nobody knew that the fingerprints and the DNA belonged to a black man when they were collected or tested.

The question; “Why a middle-class white girl?” might simply imply that persons should be helped in order of need; that no person should be helped until all who are “less fortunate” than they are first helped.  If a car flipped in front of you and caught fire, would you first check to make sure no more serious accidents were happening nearby, or that the people in a similar accident were less socially disadvantaged than “your” victims? Another vexing question would be whether someone could be helped with her 26 year sentence until everyone with 27 year or longer sentences had already been helped.  To do otherwise would be gross insensitivity.

One of the greatest examples of this type of self-serving, short-sighted insensitivity was, of course, that selfish bastard Jonas Salk. A polio vaccine?! Are you kidding me? A vaccine for (rich) people who don’t even HAVE the disease? He could have used his genius, his time, and the money he spent on polio to find a cure for cancer! Cancer! People already had cancer and were dying by the thousands. Even if you got polio, there were ‘Iron Lungs’ so you didn’t have to die. But if you got pancreatic cancer, it was over. You could not find, and still cannot find, an ‘Iron Pancreas.’ So while Salk selfishly worked on his vaccine, tens of thousands of people died of a disease more deadly than polio. What a waste. Why, Jonas? Why did you work on polio and not on something more important?

And what about that ‘Iron Pancreas?’ In 1959, at a time when the world desperately needed (and still needs) an ‘Iron Pancreas,’ a device was created which did nothing except regulate the beats of a working heart; and it was called the “pacemaker.” What’s ironic is that pacemakers already existed, but they were bulky machines. This one was simply an internal, portable pacemaker so that the wearer could enjoy a better quality of life, and it was invented by one Dr. Wilson Greatbatch, who apparently didn’t care about people with cancer either. No one knows how much money was spent on this device which couldn't cure cancer or serve as an artificial pancreas. Cancer vs. better quality of life for people who eat too much cholesterol so they can go golfing? Really?

Don’t get me started on Dr. Greatbatch.

AMANDA KNOX: AN INNOCENT GIRL FINALLY GOES HOME

I met Amanda Knox for the first time a few days ago, following her release from an Italian prison after serving four years for a crime she did not commit.  I am grateful that I had not met Amanda before I got involved in the case.  

Not meeting Amanda prior to my involvement in the case probably saved me from prison time myself.  Had I known her personally, I do not know if I could have waited for the agonizingly slow wheels of Italian justice to free her. Amanda, you see, turns out to be a truly spectacular person; even more intelligent than I had expected, even more empathetic than she had been described, and even more gentle than I had anticipated. More and more, the fact that she of all people was targeted by a malicious, psychologically-challenged rogue prosecutor raises the level of irony to almost absurd levels.  So at a time when I should have been feeling only relief and gratitude, I had to fight a seething vicarious anger at four years taken from a good person. Amanda herself seems to bear no malice, and wonders only how anybody could believe she did what prosecutor Giuliano Mignini charged her with.

The events of the last week have washed over me like a tidal wave, and I have not caught up with the emotion, the reality or the impact of what took place. I do not feel that I am ready to write at length about the events in Perugia last week, but I wanted to communicate a few thoughts in the meantime.

The most beautiful part of the “Not Guilty” verdict for Amanda and Raffaele came in the way Italian law demands that a verdict be couched. In Italy, a person can be found not guilty for two reasons (and I paraphrase the language):

       1.       Not guilty due to insufficient evidence. (Not guilty)

       2.       Not guilty due to the fact that the person did not commit the crime. (Innocent)

The first option is a passive statement, but the second is a positive declaration of innocence, not simply lack of guilt. It says not that the prosecutors failed to meet their burden, but that the evidence proves that person charged did not commit the crime. It is not simply release, it is full exoneration. That is the verdict Amanda and Raffaele received: Not guilty because the evidence proved that they did not commit the crime.

In a piece in Wednesday’s International Herald Tribune,  New York Times Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Timothy Egan wrote, “There was no way, based on forensic evidence that was a joke by international standards and a nonexistent motive that played into medieval superstitions, to find Knox and Sollecito guilty….” The claim of the prosecutors that there was a trace of the victim’s DNA on the blade of a knife used by Amanda to cut bread was, “….nearly laughed out of court by an independent panel of [DNA] experts.” The independent experts did find something on the blade, though: Bread Starch. (Rye).  Out of nowhere.

It must be pointed out that Amanda’s exoneration did not come from an American court. The U.S. State Department (God knows) didn’t do anything to help her. The U.S. government abandoned her in a despicable, cowardly way, frankly. No, the exoneration of Amanda and Raffaele occurred in an Italian court. A court in the same Italian city in which they were first convicted by a judge who, if he is not corrupt, has not even a basic understanding of evidence and the rule of law. The kids were exonerated in the same courtroom in which the first trial was held. By a jury of Italians, not Americans. Jurors who wore sashes in the colors of the Italian flag. They were once again prosecuted by the same prosecutor (who is still appealing his own prison sentence for corruption). Only the judge was different.  And this judge demanded evidence. And this judge demanded justice. Judge Pratillo Hellmann made Italy justifiably proud.  I have been in more Federal Courtrooms in the United States than I can count. The controlled, careful and fair manner in which Judge Hellmann conducted this trial was, if anything, superior to what I have come to expect even in a U.S. federal court.

In Italian law, after a not guilty verdict, a defendant already incarcerated in prison obtains their release several hours later at the prison. Only very rarely will a judge order that a defendant be “released immediately.” On those rare occasions that this occurs, according to Italian attorneys I spoke to, it is considered a ‘slap’ at the prosecutor(s).  Judge Hellmann ordered that Amanda and Raffaele be “released immediately.” The immediate release was an obvious signal of the judge’s extreme dissatisfaction the prosecution.

Following the verdict, a crowd of over 1,000 Italians formed around the courthouse, and a cheer went up when Amanda’s sister Deanna spoke of her release. Many times in Perugia, I experienced an indication of the overwhelming Italian sentiment of Amanda’s innocence. Italians would learn that I was involved in the case, and I would find that my drinks had been paid for, unrequested desserts came to the table, and strangers came to encourage or to hug me. People who spoke no English would walk past and cross their fingers in the “good luck” sign, smiling. The Italian public had figured this one out. At the end, the Italian (legitimate) press was vociferously in Amanda’s corner. Immediately following the verdict, I looked over at two of my newfound friends in the Italian television media, and tears were rolling down their smiling cheeks. The prosecutor Mignini tried to couch this trial as racism (the actual murderer was black), and then as nationalism (big, bad America trying to step on poor little Italy). But in doing so, he only managed to prove the truth of Dr. Samuel Johnson’s immortal 1775 quote: “Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.” Insightfully, the judge, the jury and the Italian public chose to disregard his attempts at jury nullification and decided this case on fact rather than jingoism and prejudice.

Sadly, the vindictiveness of a corrupt local system is not easily escaped.  About half an hour after the initially popular verdict, a “spontaneous” anti-Knox demonstration began outside the court. In a striking bit of serendipity, the “spontaneous demonstrators” just happened to have megaphone with them that night, and all knew what they would chant. Though in jeans and polo shirts, the demonstrators (all men between their middle-20’s and late 40’s) bore startling, almost eerie individual resemblances to the dozens of policemen who had originally signed the warrants against Amanda and Raffaele, and who had been in court that night in a “show of solidarity.” Many of those officers are the same ones suing Amanda for claiming that she had been slapped in her interrogation. (The required tape of the interrogation of prisoners in Italy is inexplicably absent. Go figure.)

After the ‘impromptu’ demonstration, the men began individual fist-fights with Italian Amanda supporters, (I counted at least five such fights) and generally shamed the town of Perugia at a moment when the city deserved to be basking in the glory of the world spotlight. I want to point out here that the people of Perugia are good, honorable people, by and large. The Carabinieri (military) police in the town are honorable and professional. But the local police and the local prosecutor ruthlessly run the town. As an example, while we were in Perugia, five people were arrested---in the courtroom---by the local police. All for criticizing the prosecutor in some way or another. My wife was one of those arrested, and awaits a decision as to whether she will be charged with “contempt” which carries with it a possible three-year prison sentence.

The relief I feel at Amanda and Raffaele’s release is indescribable. I also feel additional relief that on-line Amanda-haters are by and large a thing of my past. We had dealt with them until now only to counter their hateful propaganda in front of an uninformed public.  Now, it’s not even important to answer them because truly, nobody cares about what they say anymore.

They and others who refuse to accept this Italian court verdict (while arbitrarily accepting the first court’s verdict) are already receding into insignificance, and even the echoes of their hateful diatribes and death threats are fading into the ether. I do not think that they will ever be convinced of Amanda’s obvious innocence, nor do I think they are done spewing propaganda. Frustration produces anger, and like an infant who throws a tantrum when put down for a nap, I assume they will make a lot of indiscriminate noise that does nothing but irritate those around them. But they can now be grouped by society with those who claim to have been kidnapped by UFO’s, doubters in the moon landings and 9/11 conspiracy theorists. As one of my favorite philosophers, Stan Marsh of “South Park,” once said to Eric Cartman about such conspiracy mongers: “25% of society is crazy.”  This is truth, and it is truth that the anti-Amanda crazies will continue to validate. But now they have been refuted by the same justice system they touted for years, and eventually, like the child put down for a nap, will become distracted and move on to other things. They will soon be looking for new things and people to hate. (Though those of them who crossed the lines of civil and criminal behavior will soon find that they have not been forgotten and that legal redress waited only for Amanda’s repatriation.)

What remains is to ensure that this does not happen again. As Egan said, “Perhaps the tide from Perugia will lift other boats.” For this to happen, though, pompous prosecutor Giuliano Mignini, forensic perjurer Patrizia Stefanoni, and mind-reading detective Edgardo Giobbi (and others), must be prosecuted for their corruption. The judge who rubber-stamped the lies in the first trial, Massei, must also be called to the bar of justice—or back to law school. That is what will occupy some of my time for the next few years, I’m sure. But for right now, I am in the mood to bathe in the warmth of the freedom of Amanda Knox. The sunshine of the justice she obtained should warm the entire world.

At this moment, I find that the word “elation” is woefully inadequate to describe my emotions.  Euphoria might be a closer word, but euphoria eventually fades. As long as I live, I will remember that late night in the courtroom when two innocents were rescued from a cabal of evil men.

SALEM, ITALY

Posted from Florence, Italy, September 28, 2011

The Perugia Witch Trial continues…..

Well, the façade is down. No more trying to hide it. This is a witch trial. These are not my words, but the words of Carlo Pacelli, an attorney fighting to obtain monetary damages from Amanda Knox. Pacelli finally said (in court, on record) what everybody already knew the prosecution thought:

“Amanda Knox is a witch!” 

Like the Salem inquisitions and other publicly sanctioned murders, the initial trial was based on rumors, lies, accusations, and a “confession” obtained from (psychological) torture techniques that the prosecutors in Salem would have killed for. Finally, any and all evidence clearing an innocent person was intentionally disregarded.

Patrick Lumumba is suing Amanda Knox for €80,000 for implicating him in the murder, a statement the detectives forced and beat from her after an overnight foodless, sleepless interrogation, using techniques developed by the North Koreans to brainwash U.S. pilots during the Korean War.  (See injusticeinperugia.com for details.) Being sued for something you were forced to do is kind of like being rammed by a drunk policeman, then being ticketed for littering because the body of your passenger is on the freeway.

So, at least it’s finally out in the open and we can go on, confident that, at least we understand each other.

In other news:

On September 28th, 2010, Pepperdine University and I parted company, at their request. I am no longer at liberty to discuss why. (But it was not a mutual decision. Pepperdine and I settled "out of court" the lawsuit I subsequently filed. I can't speak for Pepperdine, but I am very satisfied with the resolution of the suit.)

At Pepperdine, I shared responsibility for security of their worldwide campuses and the students that studied there (including those in Florence, Italy). In a magnificent display of God's sense of irony, today I find myself in Florence, Italy. 

When something you initially perceive as bad (or really bad) occurs, remember that it could be God intervening to change your course for the better. I believe this is the case with my change of direction one year ago today. I have not felt so fulfilled, at peace, and certain I was on the right side of an issue in my life. It might be the best bad thing to ever happen to me, and that's saying a lot. Pepperdine is a fine, even spectacular university and I hope and pray that they flourish all over the world. Their students are among some of the finest people I have ever met.

So, today, in Florence, Michelle and I will celebrate God's provision for us, not mark a somber occasion. 

ci·vil·i·ty

noun /səˈvilətē/  1.    “Courtesy in behavior or speech” Last week, I posted my response to the Ann Coulter 'drive-by op-ed' on this blog, and later that week, on groundreport.com. Since then, it has received more than 3,500 views. I am gratified at the response, but suspect it had much more to do with the name Coulter than it did with the name Moore.  Less gratifying, unfortunately, were many of the comments I received about the article. If you read the article, you may remember that my hypothesis was that people should be judged one at a time, and not by any group with which they are affiliated. Affiliation with a group is not tacit endorsement of everything done by everything in that group. I am a Christian, but I don't endorse abortion clinic bombings; or for that matter violence of any nature in the name of God.  Nobody wants (or deserves) to be judged by the actions of everyone in a group they belong to, or worst of all, a family into which they were born. That's prejudice, bias and sometimes hatred. While I did not tally up the 'for' and 'against,' in the comments, it appeared to be about two-thirds in favor of the article, and the remaining one-third.....well, they hated my guts. With the exception of one or two actual attempts to debate the subject matter, the rest (50 or so) were simply personal attacks. And not just on me, but on my wife, too! Where did that come from?  The bottom line, however, is that the dissenters on this article either didn't read the article, or are heroically trying to prove me right. They also illustrate why I have elected not to receive comments on my articles on this blog. I present some of the more entertaining (and less threatening or vulgar) comments, solely to strengthen the hypothesis of my article.  Enjoy. My Favorites: “Moore can go on over to Red China and enjoy retirement with his Commie peers” (Is California an acceptable substitute?) “Not only do you not speak Italian, but you have never even been to Italy.”  (True. I do not speak Italian. How I ever thought I could investigate a crime is beyond me. Good thing the FBI never asked. As far as never being in Italy, several airlines owe me a refund.) “We know you are not very well educated, Mr Moore”  (This is not my fault, private universities are not what they used to be.) "You and your eccentric wife….. are useless, publicity-obsessed clowns." (We are not useless.) Shut up, Moore - you fat clown.(I thought you had to be tall and intelligent to get into the FBI.) (You do. I got a waiver.) ·         "....moronic, delinquent three-year-old...."  (You forgot about the part in the article where you disagreed with me. You know, what I'm wrong about?) ·           ·        "Shut up Michelle - you Moron." (Apparently, one reader felt that a pro-Steve poster was actually Michelle. It wasn’t) ·           "Don't forget that as well as Mr Moore's extensive career and military credentials, Jesus would also like him for a sunbeam." (That hurts, as it obviously came from a Baptist. Or a Nirvana fan.) "You are raving…... Calm down and find a job." (I was excited until I found out the word wasn't 'ravishing.') "Wasn't smart enough to go to EITHER med school or law school." (Again, an obvious requirement for investigations or opinions. Not sure if I was or was not smart enough. Never applied to either. I did get a congressional nomination to the Air Force Academy. Again, education failed me.) "...Pilot that became a campus security guard..."  (I just always wanted to ride in golf carts) "I feel sorry for your shallow intellect."  (Mom? Is that you?) "What, are you a Communist now that you're out of the FBI, which you infiltrated." (Confused. Did I infiltrate the communists or the FBI?) "You are a self-destructive nut without a cause.....mercurial madness...." (The "mercurial madness" allegation made me really mad. Then, it didn't. Then it did again.) "Are you trying to kill your own mother?, what an opening to your crappy opinion piece." (How is that tin-foil hat working out for you?) "You gonna plop on your fat behind. Roll down the hill, baby…." (Stop looking at my butt.) "You've always hated women. Now it's Ann Coulter alias your Mom. Maybe Mom and Ann both have gunsafe fuller than yours, that the problem?" (Mom's gun safe can't hold a candle to mine.) "When are you going to turn on Michelle and Megan(sic)?" (I already turn-on Michelle. Meg will always see me as just "dad." But thanks for the gross question.) "Steve was reassigned as a pilot and is awfully young to have "retired" from the FBI."  (Awwwwww.....shucks. Thank you.) "I feel genuine pity for the man and hope that he can find effective treatment."  (Doctors have determined that the most effective treatment for me involves hand-rolled cigars and single-malt scotch. I accept donations care of injusticeinperugia.com. I KNOW some of you are from the UK. Give 'till it hurts.) "You are clearly beyond educating, Moore. Find yourself an easy job and leave the serious stuff to clever people." (I'm looking into politics.) "Mr Moore and his wife lost every single shred of credibility outside of the US bible belt when they said they were doing God's work….[they] should be ignored immediately due to their over reliance on myths and 2000 year old fairy stories.  If you want to get any respect back Steve, start listening to reason as opposed to God or your wife." (Remember, ignore Steve because he believes in God, not because of facts. Obviously, nobody who believes in God can be competent. I sincerely hope your next airline pilot doesn't believe in God.) "Go read some Richard Dawkins, Phillip Pullman and Douglas Adams then laugh at your bible and start living your life without fear of someone who doesn't actually exist."  (Let's bet on the whole 'existence of God' thing. No money, we've already got more than that riding on it.) "To begin with you say you are a career FBI agent. OK so why is it, given your age, you are no longer employed by the FBI?" (How old do you think I am?) "You state that you have all these qualifications. (Helicopter pilot etc;) So how come you are not gainfully employed ferrying workers out to oil rigs in the gulf?"  (Have you ever been to Morgan City, Louisiana?) "An undercover agent! How exciting, and how long did you sit in the car wearing a suit as a disguise while eating donuts?" (Not sure if Apple Fritters are officially donuts.) "A certified sniper. Congratulations upon being able to hit a barn from the inside..." (I think you are unclear on the concept....You don't happen to live in a barn, do you? Would you mind terribly standing next to one?) "Thank God your wife is working, probably at MacDonalds (sic)."  (So that's where you've been Michelle?) I'll finish with something that will (regrettably) enrage some of my new "fans:" A closing analogy which mentions both guns and God.   When I was on SWAT, my son once asked me what I would do if a gang-banger tried to shoot me with a machine gun. (That's the gun part)      "I would thank God," I said. (That's the God part)      "Why??" He asked, incredulous.  The answer was very simple. Once the trigger is pulled, a machine gun is about as controllable as a fire hose (which is frequently manned by two fire fighters.) Unless a person is highly trained, machine guns cannot be aimed once it starts firing. And firing at 800 rounds a minute, they will empty themselves in about two seconds. So all the bullets go over your head, and the shooter is unarmed almost immediately. The shooters who concerned us were those who were careful, deliberate, held a gun properly and seemed to know what they were doing.  The individuals who responded to my article are like those machine-gun-toting gang-bangers. Their 'weapons' apparently made them feel powerful, yet ultimately, their responses were un-reasoned, out of control, and completely ineffectual.  I'm almost disappointed, because the facts are on my side.   And Michelle, please bring home a Big Mac. Combo. And Super-Size it.

Does the Daily Beast Look a Little Yellower To You Lately?

I am reminded of Lincoln in his second inaugural address wondering how some people could make their living from the suffering of others;

“It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just God's assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men's faces…”

I frequently wondered how Barbie Nadeau, Andrea Vogt and the tabloid writers in England could live in a house that contained a single mirror while wringing their bread from the grief of two innocent people, Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito. I assumed that when the truth finally came out (as it now has), that these reporters (I almost used the word journalist) who parroted unresearched and unverified prosecution smears, innuendo, rumors and lies, would come to their senses and realize that truth might save their careers. At least their careers.

I held out the least hope for the writers for the British Tabloid writers.

But now I have seen tabloid writer after tabloid writer from England come to the realization that the evidence was bad or worse, and that they had been duped, and worse, used. Several of these writers have changed the stories they write, and some did so before it would have been advantageous for them from a career standpoint. When was the last time you saw the headline “Foxy Knoxy?”  More than one of these reporters have even apologized to the families.

But not Nadeau, whose book “Angel Face,” The True Story of Amanda Knox, Student Killer” (catchy title, no?) lives or dies on Amanda’s guilt. It was written, of course during the trial, not after the trial, so Barbie most likely came to her conclusions before the trial was over. Journalistic integrity.

If Amanda is not a “student killer” then Barbie might be seen by some to have the crime reporting skills of a middle-schooler, the journalistic incorruptibility of Joseph Goebbels and the compassion of O.J. Simpson.

Today, (as dozens and dozens of DNA experts, retired FBI field agents, profilers, murder investigators, and lab staff; journalists, politicians, scientists and prosecutors have been screaming since the kangaroo trial in Perugia); the court-appointed experts convincingly and decisively deconstructed the prosecution case. (As a backhanded slap at the forensic “scientists” and the earlier court, they used real science.)

As a friend of mine recently commented, “Amanda is apparently guilty of nothing more than “stabbing” a loaf of rye bread.” Yes, the “blood” found by Patrizia Stefanoni, forensic “scientist,” was nothing more than rye bread starch. This, on a “Murder Weapon” that the coroner said could not have killed the victim. The DNA of Raffaele on the bra clasp? That of a woman. It would behoove the people of Perugia to have a forensic scientist who can tell the difference between the DNA of a woman and a man, and the difference between starch and blood. People go to jail over these kind of mistakes. Sadly, the wrong people usually do.

In a bit of journalistic gullibility not seen since Der Stern bought (and published with much ballyhoo) the “Hitler Diaries” for $7.3 million before they found out that they had been “worked” by a not-particularly-good con man, Barbie and Andrea have been “worked” by a not particularly good con-man; Giuliano Mignini, yet they seem to be irrationally reluctant to admit that the prosecutor has no clothes. I’ll be the first to admit that they are in a tough spot, albeit of their own making. What to do?

Admit your mistake and go on? Maybe. But then, ask yourself “What would O.J. do?”

O.J. might stick to the completely discredited Massei Report (the “documentation” from the earlier kangaroo court which is now being shown to be just that). Possibly referring to her WWOJD bracelet, Barbie pointed out on TV that the Massei Report is two inches thick and the DNA deconstruction report is less than an inch thick. I’m not making this up. Maybe we could decide cases in the future by weighing the prosecutor and the defense attorney; heaviest one wins.

It makes no difference that the Massei Report was completely dependent upon the DNA evidence. If the DNA evidence was starch instead of blood, and a woman’s DNA instead of a man’s DNA, then everything else falls apart. None of the other evidence (“mixed-blood,” heroin-addled witnesses-for-hire, Keystone forensics, and “accidentally destroyed” exculpatory evidence) has any basis once the DNA is gone. The rest of the report is unsubstantiated, unresearched rumor, innuendo and lies.

Don’t listen to me; listen the the dozens, if not hundreds of experts who screamed about the DNA evidence, only to be proven right today. If they were right about that, and they think “Massei” is a fraud, what do you think? In fact, the judge who prides over the appeal said on the first day after reading the Massei report, “Nothing is sure except that the victim is dead.” That in and of itself should have telegraphed to the prosecution that he believed none of it.

But Barbie and Andrea hold on by their fingernails if not to Amanda and Raffaele’s guilt, but to their careers and what’s left of their reputation. Barbie recently said that if this DNA is bad, then the DNA that convicted Rudy is also bad. Except, Barbie, that Rudy pled guilty. And his bloody fingerprints were found in Meredith’s blood on her purse, and he admits to having sex with the victim that night. The only difference is that he claims it was consensual, and not rape as she bled to death with her throat slashed.

Barbie also said, in true pedant fashion, that there is enough “circumstantial” evidence to convict both Amanda and Raffaele. Circumstantial evidence, Barbie? Do you understand the meaning of the term? There would have to be some other evidence than Amanda’s DNA in her own house, and Raffaele admitted presence in Italy on the night of the murder.

Finally, in the most disingenuous, repulsive turn I have seen so far, Barbie is apparently now building the foundation that "O.J. was acquitted, Casey Anthony was acquitted, and now Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito are being acquitted.” If gullible people "buy" this, then Barbie doesn't look so stupid. The difference, of course, is that there was evidence against the other two. (Frankly, the only thing that makes me wonder if O.J. was actually innocent was Barbie’s inference that she believes that he might be guilty.) Barbie and Andrea, however, appear to be willing to cover Amanda's face with the mask of “murderer” for the rest of her life to save their own reputation. Cold-blooded. (Not Amanda; Barbie and Andrea.) 

Barbie, a word of advice: Get rid of the mirrors; they never lie..

MUSINGS ON THE CASEY ANTHONY VERDICT

Bridget Bishop was the first to be hung in Salem for witchcraft.  She was a twice-widowed tavern owner, owning "an ordinary" on the road between Salem and Beverly. She served a new and powerful drink called "rum" to many of the sailors who frequented her place. The sailors also played an evil new game called "shuffleboard that upset many of the neighbors. Bridget wore bright clothes, a major offense in the eyes of the Puritans of Salem. 


MUSINGS......


A great public outcry has erupted in the United States about the not-guilty verdict in Florida.  Almost everybody seems to have an opinion on Anthony’s guilt or innocence, and most are not afraid to express them.


I want to say up front that I am not about to advocate for either the innocence or the guilt of Casey Anthony.

Once again, we have millions of people making a personal determination on guilt or innocence dependent solely on what they heard in the press.  Of these millions of people, maybe dozens were ever in the courtroom for a single day.  While Americans were dying in Iraq and Afghanistan, while Jason Puracal, an innocent American was being held captive on trumped-up murder charges in Nicaragua, while the extent and tactics of the railroading of Amanda Knox in Italy was being exposed to the rest of the world, a great mass of the American press was focused on one case in one (obviously gut-wrenching) murder trial.  This was not any great search for justice, any great quest to honor the memory of a poor, murdered girl; this was a quest for ratings; and with ratings, for career; and with career; fame and money.

(I say this with some trepidation, because I have in the past appeared on these same shows.  And likely will not be asked again after this post). 

With the motivations enumerated above, what would advance the interests of this segment of the media?  Facts that supported Anthony’s innocence? Or sensational facts that cause more buzz?  I would postulate that anything that would work against or disprove the perceived (and reported) wanton, cold, sociopathic killing of an adorable child would tend to calm the anger and the blood-thirst of an angry population, which would hurt ratings.  It is the very anger and desire for retribution of much of the populace that causes them to watch these types of shows. This is the modern equivalent of the mob which chased the Frankenstein monster with pitch forks and torches. These are not all the viewers, but they are certainly some.

Therefore, the media has a vested interested in broadcasting salacious details of these types of cases, and a disincentive for broadcasting or exposing exculpatory information.  These news shows are not the New York Times, either.  They are shows that appeal to a different audience and are in the running for Pulitzer Prizes much the same way Animal House was in the running for an Oscar.  I have a built-in distrust of these types of shows.  I’ve seen it from the inside.

I am not saying that Casey Anthony is in reality innocent of the charges.  I am not saying that she is guilty, either.  I am saying that I haven’t seen the evidence, and until I do, I will have to trust the jury, the court and the justice system for the verdict.

Too often, there is a tendency to "follow the crowd" and make a determination of guilt or innocence based simply on what appears in tabloids, or the rumors one has heard.  This is why Amanda Knox is in prison. I am disturbed by people decrying the Anthony verdict who I know for sure know nothing about the case.  I do not want to ever make a public statement on a person's guilt or innocence until I have done my "due diligence."  I was involved in the investigation of at least one FBI Agent involved shooting.  Several law enforcement officers were at the scene of a short but vicious gun-battle.  The only one who did not shoot was the FBI Agent.  I asked several of the agents from other agencies why they shot.  Two said, "My partner shot at the guy, so I shot, too."  So I asked, "But what was the suspect doing that was dangerous? Did he have a gun? Was he shooting? What?"  The answer was disturbing; "I didn't see what he was doing, I was backing up my partner."  The agent I spoke to, I am relieved to say, said; "I didn't know why everybody was shooting. I didn't see the threat."  Sending bullets 'down-range' without knowing what's going on can kill an innocent person based on the repeated, un-examined mistake of the one officer.

I have yet to hear of a person who really understands the evidence in the Amanda Knox case say that they believe she is guilty.  Yet, during the first trial, there was no shortage of uninformed people willing to say Amanda was guilty; people who knew little or nothing about the real evidence.  I am not saying that only those who sat through the case in its entirety or had access to the raw evidence can make an informed decision.  The more evidence you have, the more informed a decision one can make. But most people were making pronouncements without any functional knowledge at all.  I actually heard someone say, "That American girl?  What's her name?  Oh, she's a witch."  She didn't even know her name.  Yet she claimed to know enough to condemn her.  Some have seen the available evidence in the Anthony case in the legitimate press and have made more informed decisions.  In the Amanda Knox case, I did the same thing.  And once I saw the actual evidence, I changed my mind about believing the jury:  Amanda Knox was framed.  I learned that I cannot always trust every jury and every justice system.  I have no idea whether Casey Anthony killed her daughter.  But it is somewhat moot, as Casey is not in prison.

FAILURE MODES

In the U.S., defendants are considered innocent until proven guilty. 

There is a term in aviation called the "failure mode."  It is what happens to a particular piece of the airplane when that piece fails.  For instance, when traffic lights fail; rather than displaying green on all sides, which would be disastrous, they fail to a flashing red. When aircraft hydraulics fail, the landing gear generally falls down. When electronic engine controls fail, the engine generally goes to 3/4 power, not idle, which means you can get to an airport. It is all aimed at insuring that if something goes terribly wrong, that the best result possible happens. An example of a bad failure mode is the DC-10.  As United Airlines found out over Sioux City, Iowa, when you lose hydraulic pressure in a DC-10, the airplane is no longer controllable. 184 of 296 people died, because the failure mode was not considered. 


U.S. courts do not always default to the "innocent" position when they fail.  But they are supposed to.  So when I see a very controversial verdict and realize that the decision was made in favor of innocence, I at least have the comfort in knowing that the failure was, if it was a failure, in the right direction.

In the U.S., when the justice system fails, it fails to the "innocent" mode.  I'm glad it does. If it failed to the guilty mode, anybody who could not prove their innocence would go to jail or be executed. I almost threw a hammer through the TV when O.J. Simpson, who I believed (and still believe) killed two people, was acquitted.  But compared to Amanda Knox doing (so far) four years in an Italian prison for a murder she did not commit, that anger and frustration was inconsequential. The “failure to innocence” is a standard from Biblical times.  These are some of my favorite examples of the depth and breadth of the standard of “innocent until proven guilty,” and the greater need to protect the innocent than to punish the guilty.

On 3 October 1692, while decrying the Salem witch trials, Increase Mather wrote, "It were better that Ten Suspected Witches should escape, than that the Innocent Person should be Condemned."

Benjamin Franklin wrote: "It is better [one hundred] guilty Persons should escape than that one innocent Person should suffer," or even better;

God: (Exodus 23:7) "Have nothing to do with a false charge and do not put an innocent or honest person to death, for I will not acquit the guilty." Note: God says WE might acquit the guilty, but HE will not.

And finally: Abraham and God when God said he was going to destroy Sodom;

“Then Abraham approached [God] and said: “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?  What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?”

The LORD said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”

Abraham bargained him down through several levels until God finally agreed to spare an entire city if it would have cost the punishment of ten innocent persons.

Abraham asked; “What if only ten can be found there?”

[God] answered, “For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it.”

Is Casey Anthony innocent?  I believe that the prosecution was not able to prove her guilt.  If she was guilty, then that was their burden and they failed to meet it. 

 If the justice system failed, it failed in the safest mode.

THE MALICIOUS COWARDICE OF ANONYMOUS "EXPERTS"

cow·ard

[kou-erd] 

–noun

      1.    a person who lacks courage in facing danger, difficulty, opposition, pain, etc.; a timid or easily intimidated person.

Cowards, it has been said, are “those who refuse to engage in a good or righteous struggle or those too frightened to defend their rights or those of others from aggressors.”

In the last two years, I have had the distasteful experience of reading and listening to anonymous “experts” who have made it their business to keep two innocent kids in an Italian prison. Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito are believed by most, including nearly the entire fourth estate, to be innocent and victims of a horrible, possibly intentional miscarriage of justice.

During their ordeal, a handful of vociferous, malicious Internet posters have dogged these two and anybody on the web who had the audacity to proclaim their obvious innocence.  I, too, have experienced their vitriol.  One poster, in fact, allegedly posted that it was his life’s goal to “bring Steve Moore down” because of my advocacy for Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito.  (Subsequent investigation proved him to be an impotent poseur.)

Certainly, people on the Internet can differ on causes and beliefs, and that’s one of the wonderful things about it.  People of all persuasions can discuss and advocate. But the debate can have a dark side. When I worked domestic terrorism cases in the FBI, I would arrest people who had bombed synagogues or attacked people of ethnic minorities.  They would frequently ask me as I was stuffing them in the back of an FBI car; “Since when did it become a crime to believe one race is inferior?”  I would always tell them the same thing. “It isn’t against the law. But killing someone because you believe that crap is against the law.”  The fact that there are people who (though misguided) post about their belief in Amanda and Raffaele’s culpability, this is not the problem. It is a problem because the rhetoric of these anonymous posters has become malicious and personal.  It is still not wrong to disagree with people on the Internet.  But when you make it your business to try and harm them or their family financially or otherwise, you have crossed a line. Internet trolls, for those who are new to the genre, are posters who purposely and deliberately attack others on a forum or post with fallacious arguments, frequently ad hominem or straw-man attacks.

          These “trolls” (Urban Dictionary:  “Troll--One who posts a deliberately provocative message to a newsgroup or message board with the intention of causing maximum disruption and argument.”) from the anti-Amanda Knox side hide behind on-line pseudonyms. Don’t get me wrong, I do not think that using pseudonyms on-line are always wrong or offensive, especially during on-line debate.  When people are discussing opinion or debating facts that others have provided, pseudonyms are fine.  But when one purports to be providing new “facts,” and attributes these facts to their own investigation or expertise, then pseudonyms are suspect at best and cowardly at worst. 

Pseudonyms are fine when one is not claiming to have special knowledge of a subject which would influence others.  But, if someone claims to be a lawyer close to a case, a confidant of someone “in-the-know,” or a subject-matter expert, for instance, then a pseudonym is no longer appropriate.  If someone claims to be someone “in-the-know” but refuses to provide bona-fides, then that person should be disregarded.  No one walks into a courtroom, swears to tell the truth, and when asked their name says, “bluedawn5.”

This is the reason hearsay is not allowed in courtrooms. This is the reason newspapers do not accept unsigned letters to the editor, this is why unsigned allegations sent to police departments are most frequently ignored—its usually not an informant, it’s an angry ex-spouse.  Anything is easy to say and lie about when you are not forced to put your name beside your statement.  Poseurs can claim an expertise as, say, “former United States Senator” then assert the possession of inside information to influence a political debate. But absent proof, this person is just as likely to be a sweaty, fat, 40 year old posting from his mother’s basement in Teaneck, New Jersey.

Standing behind what you say is in many ways an act of confidence, of bravery, and of nobility. When the signers of the Declaration of Independence set their hand to that marvelous document, they were indeed signing their lives away if they lost the war. Signing it was treason. Signing it took guts and courage. Everyone used their real name. Boldly. And not one signed the document, “fatherofthecountry4.”

In the Amanda Knox case, many qualified, bona-fide, subject-matter experts have come forward using their actual names (!) to advocate for Amanda Knox.  Michael Heavey, a sitting judge; Maria Cantwell, a United States Senator; Anne Bremner, attorney; Mark Waterbury, scientist and author; Paul Ciolino, a well-known investigator; Douglas Preston and Bruce Fisher, authors; Peter Van Sant, a CBS journalist; Michael Scadron, a former prosecutor for the United States Department of Justice; and myself, a retired FBI Agent.  Each of us (and many more) came forward using our actual names and identities and have been subjected to scathing criticism and harassment bordering on criminal acts. But we knew the job was dangerous when we took it.  The difference between the malicious posters and the aforementioned experts is that the people who have lent their names have all had careers and/or experience which gave them valuable insight into the Kercher murder investigation.

But the trolls and others have tried to have people fired from their jobs at least four times--simply for voicing their opinion that the evidence clears Amanda Knox. Free speech does not apply to their causes. They tried to have a professor in England fired, a journalist in Seattle, a judge in Seattle, and others fired.  Why? For having the audacity to speak what they consider truth.  But if it’s not the trolls' truth, then it must be stopped.  Books must be burned.

I became involved in the Amanda Knox case when I realized upon examining the evidence that Knox had been railroaded, and that the evidence actually cleared her and her boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito. I began to speak out.  If I had done so under a web pseudonym: “fbiguyreally;” I would have and should have been laughed out of the discussion.  Instead, so that my expertise could add to the discussion and be taken seriously, I volunteered my name, my resume and my bona-fides to major networks and newspapers, including CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX News.  They in turn vetted the information I had provided with the FBI in New York, Washington and Los Angeles, according to the FBI.

Yet immediately, a group of nameless trolls began questioning my credentials.  People who refused to identify themselves by name or occupation began to question who I said I was, and cast doubt on whether I really was an FBI Agent. This from people with dignified names such as ‘harryrag,’ ‘fast pete’ and ‘somealibi.’ At the same time, all three of these particular trolls claimed to have inside information and/or expertise on the case.  But they would not identify themselves except for the “somealibi,” who claims to be an attorney.  (This claim was investigated and is in serious doubt.)  “Fast pete,” it turned out, appears to be a certain 70 year-old accused serial-liar for whom no employment records can be found for the last 20 years; and who was recently threatened with arrest by NYPD for stalking young women. Likely the nickname was given to him by his wife.

The final poster, “harry rag,” has not been identified as of yet, though he is by far the most prodigious anti-Knox & Sollecito poster (but is strangely silent about Rudy Guede, the only accused who is not appealing his conviction, and who has admitted his involvement.) He claims to have inside knowledge on the case and speaks with great passion on the matter, but again, refuses steadfastly to identify himself, which raises the question of either his veracity, his motivation or his real concern. All three trolls attack others personally and professionally; demonstrably lying and threatening. One common theme of theirs seems to be sexual.  My wife, who has also identified herself by name, has received some of the most disgusting pornography E-mailed from harry rag, and has been the subject of vile sexual suggestions and requests from harryrag and others associated with them.  She has been called every name in the book by harry, fast pete and others. 

These “honorable debaters” claim to be doing what they do for the sake of the victim in this case; Meredith Kercher.  Meredith by all accounts was a beautiful, talented, popular and creative woman who was murdered and sexually assaulted by a burglar.  But if one cares so little about finding the real murderer of Meredith that they aren’t even willing to use their real names, it is fair to ask whether the person (poster) even exists (many people have multiple pseudonyms), whether they are paid by another, or whether they even care.

How much passion can someone have about any cause or person when they are unwilling to even risk associating their own names with their statements?  I would not care to have a friend who would not defend me without having a paper bag over his head. That person isn’t really a friend, that person cares much more about himself that he does about others.  I hope harry rag has people he cares more about than he obviously cares about Meredith Kercher, because he doesn’t seem to be willing to go out of his way to support her.  No, he hides behind a name. “With friends like that….”  No, whoever he is, harry apparently does not have the concern and/or bravery inside himself to defend Meredith using his own name. Meredith fought for her life with bravery and nobility. She deserves better than friends who show the white feather.

There is a difference between fear and cowardice, of course.  On the night of April 10, 1912, everybody on the Titanic was terrified.  But people like Wallace Hartley, the ship’s bandleader, and his entire band, spent the rest of their lives not searching for a lifeboat, but playing music to ease the pain and the panic of the passengers. That was bravery. That was noble.

Sadly, many men of “noble birth” did what they could to displace women and children in the lifeboats. One 21 year old passenger named Daniel Buckley testified in the official U.S. inquiry of the sinking that he had somehow boarded a lifeboat that was full. When the Titanic crewmen found that men were aboard this lifeboat, they drew their pistols and ordered the men off at gunpoint so that waiting women and children could board before the boat was lowered. Buckley testified:

           “I was crying. A woman in the boat had thrown her shawl over me and told me to stay. They did not see me, and the boat was lowered down into the water.”

So he sat in the lifeboat crying, pretending to be a woman, wearing women’s clothing so that he could live at the cost of the death of a woman with a child.  He was so unwilling to face danger or death, that he not only placed his wellbeing above the wellbeing of others, but he engaged in deceit to do so—so that others (the crewmen) could not enforce societal and maritime law. 

Daniel Buckley assumed a different identity so that he could achieve an illegitimate goal. By not identifying themselves, or claiming that they are something that they are not, Internet trolls are also assuming a different identity, for equally duplicitous purposes. This is epic cowardice. But instead of taking the place of a woman and child who would ultimately die, they are going after two innocent kids.  The difference, of course, is that Daniel Buckley’s life depended on it, so one can almost understand his failure.

What’s in it for the trolls?