Singer & McQuarie , You’re Filmmaking Talents are Needed!

Sophie Scholl, 21 a German Citizen Murdered Under color of law by The Nazis

Los, Angeles, CA—One of my favorite films is Valkyrie with Tom Cruise playing would be Hitler assassin, Colonel Claus Von Stauffenberg.  It was filmed in many authentic locations with a terrific cast and crew.  The finished product film told the exciting and heroic story very well.  It was made by boyhood pals, Director Brian Singer and Co-Writer and Producer Christopher McQuarie.  

When the Blu-Ray disk came out the extras were really exceptional.  It contained a compelling documentary where actual resistance members and their families told the history of brave Germans trying to bring down the Nazi regime.   It’s a part of World War Two history that has been largely ignored especially here in America.  

At Berlin’s Bendlerblock Resistance Museum there is a never-ending well-documented supply of stories fit for many riveting films. That Bendlerblock location happens to be where the Valkyrie conspirators actually worked and where they were executed on July 20. 1944.  One such story that stands out the most to me is that of 21 year-old Sophie Scholl and the White Rose.

Several young men and women associated with the University in Munich belonged to a peaceful resistance group, The White Rose.  They mailed and passed out newsletter leaflets that exposed the agenda and atrocities of the Nazi government.

One day, Sophie Scholl, her brother Hans Scholl and a friend Christoph Probst were caught distributing leaflets at the University.  They were arrested and a Gestapo investigation was launched.   A very high profile Nazi show trial was held and the trio were convicted and beheaded at the Stadlehiem Prison within four days of their arrest.

A terrific German language film was made but unfortunately subtitled foreign films are usually never well received in America.  I guess people don’t like reading films.

The leading roles are that of Sophie Scholl, Gestapo Inspector Mohr and People’s Court President, Judge Roland Frisler.  I’d love to see this staring English speaking German actors like Christian Berkel, Sebastian Koch and a yet to be discovered 21 year-old leading lady.

Yes, I’m a SAG-AFTRA member and want a small part in the film however I also want to help produce it on location in Munich.  I know Germany very well. 

As Valkyrie was being negotiated in Germany as a project there was a very unfortunate flap over lead actor Tom Cruise’s Scientology faith.  It nearly derailed the entire film.  That left some wounds with the people that worked so hard in bringing that great story to light.  The question I must ask is their skin thick enough to make yet another excellent film there.  I really hope so. 

On a side note, my having spent my adult life in courtrooms I have particular disdain for despot judges like Roland Frisler. Yes they are everywhere and only restrained by our form of government. 

When Adolph Hitler sought to plan the Holocaust he entrusted 15 high Ranking Nazis to work out the details at a lakeside Villa in Wannsee just outside of Berlin over a two-hour luncheon meeting.  Frisler was one of the several lawyers there making sure it was all legal.  They call that meeting the Wansee Conference.

Had Frisler not been killed in an Allied bombing raid he surly would have been in the first wave of war criminals executed at Nuremberg.

I only hope that Singer and McQuarie read this and consider making the film.  If they pass on it, surely another filmmaker should step in.  There would be a generous German film grant waiting for the producer.

The official trailer for the German production of several years ago is below:

The George Zimmerman Crimefile News, Murder Trial Playbook

George Zimmerman with his lawyers and a jury consultant. 

Sanford, FL—Let me begin by reminding my readers that I’ve been a cop and licensed private investigator for more than 40 years.  I specialize in criminal defense cases where self-defense is the primary legal defense of the accused.

Governor Jeb Bush appointed 18th Judicial Circuit Court Judge Debra Nelson in 1999.  She served three years as a Broward County prosecutor in the very beginning of her legal career in 1979.  She’s never been a criminal defense lawyer.  This murder trial of George Zimmerman will provide challenges that few judges could ever equitably handle. 

Emotional and racist African-Americans and various Left Wing wackos will threaten the judge daily.   I say this based on the already exhibited behavior of pro-Trayvon Martin demonstrators.  Judge Nelson’s life is about to change and not for the better.

So far, I don’t see any real attempt to preclude prejudicial and illicit outside influences because the trial will be televised live and the jury will not be sequestered.  Trust me when I say most or all of the jury will be searching for material on the Internet every night to support their personal preferences of a verdict.

Let me also say that the members of the jury will be justifiably fearful of retribution if they don’t convict Zimmerman.  The jury is made from members of the local community and they all have already seen the massive hate directed at Zimmerman by very vocal neighbors.  This trial will be a lot of things, but I seriously doubt fair will be one of them.

The media will continue to portray Travon Martin with angelic pictures of a baby-faced pre-teen.  They will avoid all of the much more current tough guy poses with guns and drugs like the ones that were discovered on his cell phone. 

The media will continue to portray Martin as a happy lad skipping merrily through an apartment complex with tea and skittles.  They will portray Zimmerman as a ruthless vigilante stalking Martin only because of his race.  The media has their own long-standing agenda here of audience building sensationalism and to abolish American gun rights. 

The media led by Nancy Grace of HLN will relentlessly harp that Zimmerman disobeyed “orders” from a 911 operator to discontinue his efforts to watch Martin.  They will never once mention that the 911 operators have no training in the laws of citizen’s arrest or probable cause.  911 operators are not qualified nor authorized by law to order anyone to do anything at all.  They can however recommend options to their callers. 

The one thing we do know for sure is that the 911 operator was unable to do was to put a capable and well-trained cop at the scene to deal with Trayvon Martin’s suspicious conduct.  Hopefully the defense will make that point.

What the prosecutors hope to accomplish is the total shifting of the burden of proof making Zimmerman prove his justification to use deadly force.  That’s un-American and wrong but I have seen this happen in the majority of similar cases when defense lawyers are not skillful or when judges are biased against the use of weapons in self-defense cases.  Frankly most criminal defense lawyers don’t understand the dynamics of self-defense and can’t convey the needed information to a judge or jury.

The defense will show the jury the grass stains on the back of Zimmerman's clothing and his injuries.  They will show the disparity of force between the out-of-shape Zimmerman and the athletic Martin.

In the end witnesses will testify and the jury will be instructed.  The jury will make their guesses and Zimmerman will be lucky if he survives this ordeal at all.  I will be providing more information during the trial and will be on Twitter as @crimefile time permitting.   Please, stay tuned!

Special Update!  Since this was written Judge Nelson entered an order that the jury is to be sequestered. 

Edward Snowden, a Patriot or a Traitor?

Edward Snowden

Washington, DC—The massive $80 Billion communications surveillance program exposed by government contractor turned whistle blower, Edward Snowden is nothing less than sinister.  This program is un-American and clearly violates the civil rights of virtually every law-abiding citizen of the United States under the Fourth and Fifth Amendments of the Constitution.  

It appears that our president and several elite selected politicians conspired to embezzle massive tax funds and used them to create this monster spy program in secret.  That’s Capital Treason and that should lead to criminal prosecution at the highest government levels.

As for Snowden he should be invited to appear before Congress and given full immunity from prosecution in exchange for truthful testimony.  The testimony administrators of this program will follow Snowden’s.

We will find out quickly if Snowden is a villain or hero.  He appears to be a brilliant and courageous young man who will well document the abject tyranny of various rogue government officials.

I fear that Snowden will be an assassination target by the Obama Administration that is already trying to label him as a foreign agent and terrorist.   Obama can be counted on to use whatever resources available to kill Snowden rather than capture him.

As for the so-called PRISM operation and its related programs a quick and permanent court injunction will end this lawless cabal.  The lawsuits have already begun and the sworn depositions forced out the defendants including Barack Obama will captivate the world’s attention and ours for many years to come.

Make no mistake unless Obama makes a sudden and successful power grab circumventing the law of the land, he and his presidency will be in total disgrace.  If he can successfully complete a coup we will immediately be in a certain second Civil War.

We must contact our members of Congress and demand immunity for Edward Snowden and a full investigation into the Obama Whitehouse.   I can promise you one thing if that happens.  Obama and his henchmen will claim Executive Privilege and when that fails they will invoke is Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination. 

The nation is about to venture into uncharted and dangerous territory and perhaps racial violence as the nation further divides.   To do nothing would guarantee the absolute end to all freedom and liberty in this once great nation great nation.  The blood of patriots has always been the hefty price of freedom anywhere in the world.   What’s past is prologue.

Now Obama’s Media Lapdogs Will Try to Destroy Edward Snowden.

Will the media destroy patriot Edward Snowden?  

Washington, DC—The very same media that was unwilling or unable to investigate Barack Obama’s eligibility to become president has already began trying to investigate and destroy Edward Snowden after he exposed the massive treason by the Obama Whitehouse.

They are reporting that Snowden is a high school dropout and apparently suffered an undisclosed injury cutting short an Army career after only five months.  They say he’s only has a GED diploma. 

For anyone that watched Snowden’s Hong Kong interview it was obvious that Snowden is intellectually gifted and educated well beyond his years.  His paycheck at $200,000.00 yearly was not too shabby.  We don’t yet know how he was raised but nobody is hired in the intelligence community unless you can show some ability.   Obama does not possess Snowden’s communication skills even with his legion of speechwriters.

Once he learned of the criminal government conspiracy Snowden wasted no time in making the courageous decision to expose the massive treason living up to his duty to his nation.  

Obama’s Treason Must Be Punished to the Fullest Extent of the Law!

Edward Snowden is a patriot and a hero that deserves the highest possible award for his service.

Washington, DC—We are in the largest domestic crisis in the history of the United States.  Many of our elected officials have all gone rogue.  They were sworn to protect and defend the Constitution and our freedoms.  Instead they’ve made all out war on our sacred freedoms. 

These rogue elected officials have committed their crimes in secret.  Many tens of billions of dollars were embezzled from taxpayers to fund this vile treachery.  We can thank the patriotic, young and brave Edward Snowden for exposing this massive crime. 

How many millions of young Americans were killed or maimed for life to insure the freedoms and liberties our criminal political regime has stolen?  They died so we would not have to live in a police state. 

The political Left has gone out their way to dumb down Americans on their rights.  Out Bill of Rights has been shredded by the Obama Administration and certain members of our Congress.

Our own government has become or enemy and used our taxes to fund their tyranny.  Our survival and that of our children demand that we stop this treason cold.  Perhaps it’s time to stop sending in our money.  We need to use whatever force is necessary to bring the criminals to justice.  It is time to take advantage of the meaning of the Second Amendment.  

Our military and police agencies need to reject all commands from the Whitehouse.  A massive investigation must begin and those despotic criminals need to be jailed, tried and punished.  We need to hold special elections to find new leaders.

Lawyers need to begin litigating claims on behalf of American consumers betrayed by rogue and overly cooperative communications giants. 

We cannot recover our nation or economy until we take the lawful and drastic measures available under our Constitution.

Interesting Items Seen in Atlanta Last Weekend

Fun little Items that would Give our airport TSA thugs wet dreams.

Atlanta, GA-Whenever I can attend a gun or a knife show I go out of my way enjoy the experience.  If I see something visual I will yank out my iPhone and shoot it.  This was The Blade Show.

Here are two items that qualified for this blog.  One is a self-contained fire starting kit for survivalists and campers.   Watch how quick you can start a fire without matches or that cheap and easy Bic butane lighter.

The other is a diver’s knife designed for combat with hungry sharks.  When you stab the shark the knife releases compressed C02 gas that creates massive traumatic havoc with the critter’s internal organs including freezing them.  Of course if Jaws gets close enough to me I would expect to become his dinner in short order.  If this knife were used against a human the massive resulting wound cavity would bring a major challenge for any forensic pathologist trying to figure just what caused the massive injury. 

Here are two videos showing these items.

Chicago Politicians Are In A Gunfight With The Federal Judiciary.

Chicago, IL—The Windy City is awash in murder.  The bloodshed is predictable precisely with the weather.  Rain, sleet and snow hampers Chicago’s thugs and soft summer nights are filled with relentless victimization, savagery and carnage.

Chicago’s politicians are all hard corps Liberals and have promulgated every kind of gun ban they could dream up.  Gun laws never impact criminals and always impact the law-abiding.  The results are far more predictable than Chicago’s weather.   The thugs, thieves and rapists are actually emboldened and facilitated by the gun bans. The politicians either don’t get it or they want law-abiding innocents defenseless and in harm’s way.   

The 7^th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has mandated Chicago follow the law of the land.  Unfortunately the politicians are just as lawless as the thugs.  These Fascist bastards refuse to release their iron-fisted control over the law-abiding folks as ordered by the court.

The court ordered The State of Illinois and that includes their political sub-divisions like Chicago to end the ban against the law-abiding people from carrying concealed weapons. 

The court took the unusual step of giving the politicians a half-year to create a new law that will respect freedom and liberty. These politicians will steadfastly defy authority.   The deadline will pass and they won’t lift the ban.  The court will lift it for them.

The game will continue with attempts by Chicago and Cook County to create ordinance violations to replace the voided state law.  Taxpayers will be paying the bills for those arrested, prosecuted for the bogus and unconstitutional ordinances. 

The good news is that ordinance violations come with minimum bail requirements, no fingerprints or photographs and no real expectation of jail time. They are less than misdemeanor violations.

The citizens of Illinois will be able to carry concealed weapons as long as they have a standard state Firearms Owner’s Identification Cards.  

Rank and file cops will have little taste or desire to arrest gun- carrying Chicagoans and then face lawsuits under USC1983 for Violation of Civil Rights.  Cops will not be falling on their swords for the glory of Chicago’s lawless politicians.  The vast majority of street cops steadfastly hate the unlawful gun bans themselves.

Jodi Arias and her punishment

Phoenix, AZ—The Circus has folded up its tents and vacated the surroundings of the Maricopa County Superior Court Building complex that hosted, “The Greatest Show on Earth.” If that sounds inappropriate that’s because it was just that.   That Jodi Arias trial was something of a perverted Roman Holliday.

Jodi Arias was involved in a somewhat routine domestic disaster that left her young boyfriend Travis Alexander dead.  We now know that Arias killed him but the exact circumstances are shrouded in lies and mystery.  Lies from the mouths of frightened suspects usually flow like water at Niagara Falls.  Was the killing justified?  We can only guess.  Domestic homicide often unleashes massive rage because of so many factors unique to our most intimate relationships.

Women defending themselves from attack by men have little choice but to use deadly weapons because there is usually a serious disparity of force between men and women.  Alexander’s injuries don’t shock me, I’ve seen worse in proven justifiable cases.

It really makes no difference in our criminal justice system whether the accused is actually guilty or innocent.  The jury simply weighs the material it was given to arrive at a verdict.  If the jury get’s it wrong that’s just too bad. Their verdict and they way they arrive at it cannot be second-guessed by an appeals court.  Only judicial errors get review by the higher courts.  

If jury misconduct is discovered that’s a different matter.   That generally will lead to new trials.  Jury misconduct is very difficult to investigate or prove.  Judges always go out of their way preventing defense attorneys from making effective inquiries of jury members.  

The jury in the Arias case voted unanimously for a 1^st Degree Murder conviction making Arias a serious contender for Death Row.  When it came to sentencing at least four of them did not have the stomach to kill Arias.  She faces a new panel and sentencing hearing.  Questions remain about double jeopardy and finding an unbiased new jury panel.  The only thing that’s certain is the massive cost to arrive an acceptable punishment.

This should never been prosecuted as a death penalty case.  Alexander’s family members are Mormon and that religion believes that blood must always be shed to avenge a killing.  Mormons have a lot of influence especially in Republican Primary Elections in the greater Phoenix area.   The County Attorney, Bill Montgomery is under a great deal of political pressure to make sure Arias is put to death. It appears that may not be possible now.

The best thing for justice and taxpayers may be an agreement for something like 25 years to life behind bars.  Realistically that’s a much higher price than would be exacted in most other states.  Arias will be retirement age upon the earliest possible release date.  The woman could do a lot of good or not during that massive amount of time. She’d at least have a chance to redeem herself.

Have we become so blood thirsty that we want to see this woman strapped down and killed?  Frankly that is beneath the dignity of any civilized nation. 

Let’s save a bundle of tax dollars and settle for an agreement that would end appeals by Arias. Let’s hope that she can someday redeem herself.  Nothing will bring back Travis Alexander or fill the hole left in his family.  Frankly the Alexander family won’t find peace until they can forgive.  Arias must earn that forgiveness by becoming a good example to the other inmates of Arizona’s prison system.   The taxpayers need a break too.  Lets hire more cops or schoolteachers with the money we will certainly waste on killing Arias.  

The Second trial of Jodi Arias and Her Next Defense

Jodi Arias and Travis Alexander in better times.

Phoenix, AZ—The trial of Jodi Arias was an entertainment driven spectacle.  It was a lot of things, but a fair trial it was not.  The defense lawyers were not up to the task and failed miserably.  I suspect that a lot of the sidebar rulings of Judge Stephens contributed to this enormous judicial fiasco.

Arias lost confidence in her lawyers but had no way to fire them and bring in new ones. She felt no options but to attempt to take charge.  Had she better lawyers I doubt she would have lost confidence.  Arias was smart enough to see they could not cut the mustard.

As a criminal investigator I specialize in self-defense cases.  The use of deadly force is based on the reasonable man standard.  Here Arias says she was abused and afraid but seems to have too little evidence to back up that claim.

Arias lied to police about the circumstances of Travis Alexander’s death.  Most Americans can’t even tell the truth about why they were late for work let alone admit killing someone.  There was nothing extraordinary about the lies of a frightened and confused Arias told. 

Most Americans don’t have a clue about their absolute right to use deadly force in self-defense.  Those that must resort to this kind of act, nearly always go into a panic.  They unnecessarily lie, cheat and steal to cover up a justifiable event.  These untrained and ignorant people later try to convince cops, prosecutors and juries of the necessity for the killing and it almost always falls on deaf ears.  

Obviously had Arias simply refused to talk to the cops and asked for a lawyer she’d never have been charged! Arias was nothing more than a dumb, panic driven kid that may well have been covering up a justifiable event.   

Remember there was no witness to the killing.  We must assume that the disparity of force between Arias and Alexander was more than sufficient to justify the use of deadly weapons.

With Arias there was yet another significant issue, her mental health.  Was she paranoid?  Was her paranoia a temporary thing brought on by PTSD?  When you take a combination of abuse, fear, a violent altercation and PTSD the reasonable man standard may change.  What really counts is what was in Arias’ mind at the time of the killing.  Frankly we are not clairvoyant!

The claim of Arias of justifiable self-defense has not been fully explored by this trial. The mental state of Arias may have placed her situation where she was convinced that she had no other options.  PTSD pushing Arias over the edge may have influenced her mental state.  Arias’ memory gaps seem contrived but traumatic events do cause those things to happen.  The jury could only guess the truth here and Arias was an exposed liar and juries hate liars.

In any event the burden of proof was somehow shifted in this flawed trial.  Arias was actually and unlawfully required to prove that her actions were justified!  In the end Arias could not meet that burden.  The state was not forced to prove that Alexander did not attack Arias. Proving a negative is always impossible.  Nobody could succeed in proving what happened sans independent witnesses.

The Arias jury should have been sequestered away from the media circus and the Internet.  The trial was nothing short of a legal lynching.  Arias far too easily took control of her defense away from her overwhelmed lawyers.  Judge Stephens should have intervened if for no other reasons over the questionable mental health issues plaguing Arias.  

A new trial is in order sans the TV cameras, circus and a want to be celebrity prosecutor.  This time the jury must be protected from the influences of the true crime TV celebrities and the courthouse lynch mob.

I think I could help Arias if there was funding.  I’d want full control to pick her new defense lawyer and for that lawyer to engage new experts.   I have two venerable and gifted lawyers in mind for the task and would love to work with them on a retrial.  They both are no strangers to death penalty cases.

Jodi Arias deserves a new trial at the minimum.  Calling her trial a circus was actually polite. That trial was un-American, unfair and disgraceful.  

We have felt bad for the members of the Alexander family for their sad loss.  We have treated them with full dignity and respect. On the other hand we have left the family and friends of Arias in the dirt and mud. That too was very wrong.

My Dental Care Experience at the UCLA School of Dentistry

Dr. Erica Gomez and her smiling patient

UCLA School of Dentistry 

Los Angeles, CA—I just completed my treatment at the prestigious UCLA School of Dentistry.   I chose this facility for really good reasons.  I had no dental insurance dropping it because it seemed worthless with regular dentists.  More importantly this school has it’s own dental lab, great professors and their gifted students.

There are no shortcuts or substandard materials used here.  The students are doing their absolute best under the watchful eyes of the professors.  Often the student will have a peer watching the procedure and that must bring out the competitive spirit of anyone.  When you think about it who watching the street dentists?  Where do they get their materials and dental lab work?  

Going to the dentist is never pleasant unless it’s an examination with no work required.  Even that brings apprehension.  When you think about filling cavities, getting deep cleanings or root canals or extractions, one word comes to mind, pain.  Nobody likes pain and when it’s over you’ve got to pay the bill.  That brings even more pain.

My dental student, Erica Gomez is an adorable young woman working to make her parents proud by her herculean accomplishment.   She was as gentle and careful as she could possibly be.  Erica was as good as it gets.  For me its was a positive experience despite my fear and loathing along with the seeming endless sound of the dental drill.

In less that a month Erica Gomez will become Dr. Gomez.  She can count on being unleashed during a miserable economy being saddled with huge student loans.  In addition to being a dentist she will be dealing with a paperwork blizzard of insurance forms.   No matter what her life will be a lot of things but easy really won’t be a part of that. 

Dr. Gomez will be helping people in many ways.  Dental health is also directly tied to physical health.  Your employment and station in life is also directly tied to your smile.  The cosmetic factor of dentistry is directly connected to your emotional health.

Dr. Gomez may be young but she’s got the latest and greatest dental education behind her now.   This young woman made a difference in my life that I won’t forget.

As for becoming a patient at this or other dental schools requires a screening and approval by the faculty.   The process is sometimes painfully slow because of too many patients and too few faculty members.  The end result here at UCLA was worth the wait and the fees charged.  The cost was at least 50% to 70% less than I would have paid anywhere else.

Even if you have to commute a serious distance to get your care at UCLA School of Dentistry it is worth it.