Florida medical examiner claim prosecution threw Zimmerman case
“In a bombshell allegation, Florida medical examiner Dr Shiping Bao claims that Florida state prosecutors were biased against Trayvon Martin [an unarmed Black teenager shot dead by George Zimmerman] and purposely threw the case [in which Zimmerman was found not guilty of all charges], and he is suing the state for $100 million ...
“According to Bao, the medical examiner, state attorney’s office, and Sanford Police Department all felt that Martin 'got what he deserved.”' Bao also claims that he received the strong, though subtle, message not to speak on certain things.
“'He was in essence told to zip his lips. Shut up. Don’t say those things,’ said Bao’s legal counsel, legendary Attorney Willie Gary.”
― NewsOne.com, September 11.
United States: Zimmerman's wife calls 911
"George Zimmerman was released without charges today after his wife called 911 to say Zimmerman punched his father-in-law in the nose and threatened to shoot him and his wife.
“Zimmerman, acquitted in July of the murder of teenager Trayvon Martin, claimed that he was acting in a 'defensive manner' during the incident, according to police, who later added that they never found a gun on Zimmerman …
“Shellie Zimmerman called 911 shortly after 2 p.m. today and reported that her husband assaulted her father, Colin Morgan, and was waving a gun around and threatening her and her relatives, according to police in Lake Mary, Fla ...
“The 911 tapes describe a terrified Shellie Zimmerman. On the call to a police dispatcher she told police that her husband punched her father in the nose, smashed her iPad, cut it with a pocketknife and raged, 'one step closer and he'd shoot us.'
“'I don't know what he's capable of. I am really, really scared,' she told the dispatcher. When police arrived she could be heard on the phone saying, 'Dad, get behind a car or something. I don't know if he's going to start shooting at us or not.'”
― ABCNews.go.com, September 9.
Republican senate candidate blames women in jobs for mass shootings
“A former New Hampshire state senator who’s announcing his candidacy to unseat Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen says women in the workplace are at least partially to blame for mass shootings and other violence by men.
“'Bottom line: the collaborative, flexible, amorphously-hierarchical American economy is shutting out ordinary men who were once the nation’s breadwinners in living-wage labor and manufacturing jobs,' wrote former state Sen. Jim Rubens in a 2009 blog post.”
“The original post, which is now protected behind a firewall, argues that this loss of status had provoked violence in men.”
― RawStory.com, September 18.
ExxomMobil try to claim 'no loasting damage' from toxic spill
“Pennsylvania’s Attorney General has filed criminal chargesagainst ExxonMobil for illegally dumping tens of thousands of gallons of hydraulic fracturing waste at a drilling site in 2010. The Exxon subsidiary, XTO Energy, had removed a plug from a wastewater tank, leading to 57,000 gallons of contaminated water spilling into the soil.
“The Exxon subsidiary has contested the criminal charges, claiming there was 'no lasting environmental impact,' and it can 'discourage good environmental practices' from guilty companies ...
“The company’s response raises one good point about fracking practices: How much to disclose to the public is a largely self-regulated practice. Thanks to laws pushed by corporate front groups like American Legislative Exchange Council, sponsored by ExxonMobil, states have allowed minimum disclosure of the chemicals used in fracking fluid …
“Meanwhile, a July study found that the closer residents live to wells used in fracking, the more likely drinking water is contaminated, with 115 of 141 wells found to contain methane.”
― ThinkProgress.com, September 11