Originally Posted by BeAChooser
Non-sequitor. You didn't address the question. Are you having some problem doing that?
Because the question is irrelevant.
The question is quite relevant since you seem to be putting your opinion up as equal to that of military and civilian pathologists. And you just did it again.
Yes, my point would be just because an authority thinks X doesn't mean they're right.
But you misused the term "appeal to authority". It does not mean that an authority's opinion has no value, as you CLEARLY implied.
In this case, they don't even think it was a bullet hole.
FALSE. You think they went public and literally put their careers at risk without thinking it might indeed be a bullet wound?
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But that doesn't apply here. The forensic pathologists in question were recognized as some of the best in the country or the military, when it came to gunshot. They did have the relevant expertise and knowledge.
But they didn't examine the body, did they?
FALSE. Hause was there and did examine the body. He stated that he looked and saw no bone in the wound, only brain matter … directly contradicting what Gormley originally claimed.
And forensic pathologists look at photos and x-rays all the time and express their expert opinion … in court, no less. They even point to the features shown in photos of bodies and x-rays, when explaining to the jury their conclusions so that the jury can see the features. You act like these features are *vampirish* and thus wouldn't be recorded on film.
The guy who actually did examine the body apparently didn't think it was a gunshot.
FALSE. He's now on record saying that it looked like a bullet wound and that the reasons he gave for concluding it wasn't were wrong.
Like most conspiracy theorists, you're saying opinions are more valid than actual conclusions arrived at from actual evidence, because you want to believe the official conclusions are compromised, or corrupt, or something.
LOL! I'm the only one dealing with the actual evidence here. Not you. You are showing all the characteristics I noted in
http://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/showpost.php?p=7372259&postcount=163 .
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The other type of fallacy is to assert that the conclusion of the expert "must" be true. And I'm not doing that either. I'm simply saying what the pathologists themselves stated … that the evidence suggests the strong possibility of a bullet wound … so Brown should have been autopsied.
Which leads into Argument from Ignorance.
LOL! Now, having scored a big F on "Appeal to Authority", you are going to teach us about another type of fallacy?
You should have checked out the article at Wikipedia on Argument From Ignorance (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argument_from_ignorance ) before opening your *mouth*. As noted there, this a fallacy where one "asserts that a proposition is true because it has not been proven false". But that doesn't apply here either. I'm not asserting that Brown definitely died by gunshot. Never have. Neither did the pathologists. I'm simply saying what the only real experts in this case … the pathologists … stated. Which is that the evidence suggests the strong possibility of a bullet wound … so Brown should have been autopsied.
Now also you should note that Wikipedia says "Argument from ignorance may be used as a rationalization by a person who realizes that he has no reason for holding the belief that he does." Well, I think that describes you to a T.
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In fact, as noted here:
http://www.nizkor.org/features/falla...authority.html
And the military photographer and all of the pathologists whose authority I'm appealing to in this case meet all six of those conditions. They are all individuals with extensive training and experience when it comes to evaluating bullet wounds and aircraft accidents. They are all making claims within their area of expertise. There is adequate agreement among them (indeed, only Colonel Dickerson is now claiming Brown died by blunt force trauma and I can prove he's repeatedly lied in this case). None of the pathologists has been shown to be biased (indeed, I've shown that some of them are democrats). The area of expertise is a legitimate discipline. And they are all identified by name.
Did they personally examine the body?
Yes. Some of them did. Haven't you paid attention?
And like I said, pathologists may not have to view a body to still render an expert opinion about whether a wound might be caused by a bullet or not. Photos of the body and x-rays are often sufficient. Often all that defense expert witnesses (pathologists) have to work with in countering the state's pathologists are the photos and x-rays. Yet they are still allowed to testify as to cause of death. And when pathologists reopen a cold case and have to draw new conclusions based on new evidence, what do you think they look at … photos and x-rays, not the original body.
Now let me ask you this? Did they do an autopsy? Because unless they did, they can't be definite as to cause of death. Not like you seem to be.
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In short, 000063, you don't know what you are talking about when you throw out the phrase "appeal to authority" as if it's a bad thing.
Yes I do.
No, you don't. You clearly did not know what the literature said about "appeal to authority", just as you clearly didn't know what the literature says about "argument from ignorance".
Most tests and X-rays require physical samples and X-ray machines, sooo..
So did the images that CPO Janoski recorded of the body and the x-ray machines that Gormley used to make the x-rays that CPO Janoski recorded. Sooo..
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So what? I've never suggested there is definitely a bullet wound.
Of course not. You've merely made strong implications, so when called on it, you can back off and go "I've never suggested there is definitely a bullet wound."

I'm not "backing off" at all. I'm saying exactly what I said from the very beginning and throughout these debates. I'll say it again, SO LISTEN THIS TIME. I've merely restated what the pathologists said. That Brown had what looked like (in their expert opinion) a bullet wound and he should have been autopsied for that reason. And he wasn't because of orders from above … orders by people who did not, as you insist is necessary, see the body. In fact, they made that decision before even the photos of the wound and x-rays were available to look out. So what sort of decision making is that? Hmmmmm?
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Only that the experts said that was distinct possibility.
So you claim that other people claim that it could have happened.
Sigh. You want to play word games or pretend like you didn't understand what I posted the first ten times I posted it? Be my guest. And if that tactic is not already on this list,
http://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/showpost.php?p=7372259&postcount=163 , it should be added.
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And that Brown's body should still get the autopsy it was deserved to lay this controversy to rest. Are you afraid of exhuming his body and taking a look? Hmmmm?
Deserved in the opinion of some pathologists, but apparently not in others.
What others? Colonel Dickerson, who told the public that all the pathologists at AFIP agreed death was due to blunt force trauma? Obviously that's not true, so why would you believe anything else he had to say? And what other pathologists are there at this point saying it was due to blunt force trauma. Name them.
Also, your response is again a non-sequitor. Are you afraid to exhume Brown's body? Hmmmm?
I missed this on the first go-round, but you claimed that what the pathologists in question think the hole looked like is credible in court. In other words, their opinion. Yet you also claim that the only way to be sure is to crack open the skull in question. In other words, their testimony from just looking at the hole wouldn't be conclusive.
Like I said, you want to play word games, go right ahead. I'll stand by what I've actually said … not your distorted interpretation of it.
Damned out of your own mouth.
You are the one putting foot-in-mouth over and over.
I'm not placing myself above anyone. Just offering other "possibilities", like your experts offered the "possibility" of a gunshot wound.
So again, you place your opinion on the same level as that of the real experts in this case, the pathologists. Like you said … "damned out of your own mouth."
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And what resources would they have been *wasted* anyway? Could you be more specific?
Time and money are the usual two.
LOL! How much time and money would an autopsy have consumed?
More than they *wasted* damaging the careers of the military photographer and several of the pathologists who blew the whistle on this?
More than they wasted sending press spokespersons, Gormley and Dickerson out to talk to the press?
More than they wasted sending Gormley and Dickerson to try and lie to the BET audience?
More than they wasted having the Acting Secretary of the Air Force write a letter and lie to the families?
More than they wasted when Reno *investigated* the matter (but didn't question the whistleblowers)?
More than they wasted getting everyone (well everyone but the key whistleblowers and those knowledgeable about gunshot) together in a meeting at DOVER so they could assure the public that AFIP had investigated the matter and still judged it to be death by blunt force trauma?
More than they wasted going to the home of Cogswell to seize all his materials on Brown?
More than they wasted investigating how the original photos and x-rays of Browns head disappeared from a locked safe at Dover? Oh wait, they didn't spend any time trying to find out where those critical materials went or who stole them from the safe, so maybe this is the ONE instance where an autopsy would have wasted more time and manpower.
An expert on logical fallacies and sophistry, maybe.
I bow down to your expertise in that.
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Now wait? I thought you just got done assuring us there are ways to identify a bullet hole without opening the skull?
I did nothing of the sort. I said I was "pretty sure".
Oh … is that what you mean by "back[ing] off"?
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Are you telling us in your *expert* opinion ()
I never claimed to be a forensic expert.
Haven't you? You've put your opinion on the same level as theirs. I pointed out an instance of you doing that above when you said "Just offering other 'possibilities', like your experts offered the 'possibility' of a gunshot wound." Apparently, you think your "possibilities" are just as significant as theirs. So you might as well be claiming you're a forensic expert.
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that trained pathologists can't identify material of "metallic density" in an x-ray? And distinguishe it from … say … bone?
Does anything besides lead from a bullet have metallic density? Say...other metals?
So you are suggesting there were other metals inside Brown's skull? But how do you reconcile that with your claim that Gormley's original conclusion about the wound … that it was just an indentation … is the one that counts because Gormley was the only pathologist to see Brown's body first hand (which, by the way, is false)? Hmmmmm?
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So what? Your side of this debate is claiming that there was NO penetration of the skull.
There was a hole in his head. I don't speak for anyone else's arguments, but that counts as "penetrating the skull".
Good. We agree on something. Yet you said above that Gormley is the only expert whose opinion counts becuase he was the only expert who personally looked at Brown's body. And Gormley in his official capacity said there was no penetration and that the skull only had an indentation. So which is it? Is Gormley the only trusted expert or not? And if he is, then how do you reconcile your statement and his? And if he isn't, then why did you suggest he was? Hmmmmm? Your positions seem a mite contradictory.
An exit wound, however, is a different matter.
In what way? Are you claiming there was an exit wound? If so, then explain why CPO Janoski, who was standing beside Gormley during the examination photographing it, stated under oath that Gormley did not look for an exit wound. Explain why Gormley would even look for an exit wound in the first place given that his official conclusion was that the skull was not penetrated? He must have come to that conclusion before looking for an exit wound. Don't you think? Or are you claiming he looked for an exit wound before even being suspicious about an entry wound? Your position is sounding more and more inconsistent and illogical, 000063. That by the way is one of the characteristics noted here:
http://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/showpost.php?p=7372259&postcount=163 .
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All in all, they could not rule out a gunshot wound.
They also "could not rule out" the metal from the aircraft.
So in other words, there was no way to know the cause of death without an autopsy. So why didn't they perform one? And try to think up an excuse better than *it would have been a waste of time and resources*.
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And, by law, if there were any indications of foul play in the death of a Secretary level government official, the FBI was supposed to be called in to investigate. They weren't.
Which law? Chapter and verse.
LOL! Don't you know that after the death of JFK, Congress passed a law that put the investigation of the death of federal officials within FBI jurisdiction. It not only made the death of such officials a federal capital offense, it gave the FBI jurisdiction over state and local authorities, and the military, in such cases.
The chapter and verse are 18 U.S.C. § 351 and 18 U.S.C. § 1751 .
Look them up, particularly 18 U.S.C. § 351.
http://codes.lp.findlaw.com/uscode/18/I/18/351
18 U.S.C. § 351 : US Code - Section 351: Congressional, Cabinet, and Supreme Court assassination, kidnapping, and assault; penalties
… snip …
(g) Violations of this section shall be investigated by the
Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistance may be requested from
any Federal, State, or local agency, including the Army, Navy, and
Air Force, any statute, rule, or regulation to the contrary
notwithstanding.
In other words, once there was any suspicion of foul play (and the words, "that's looks like a bullet wound" were uttered at the examination"), the FBI should have been called in … by law. But they weren't. They were kept out of the loop.
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Yet pathologists saying "that's looks like a bullet wound" at the examination of the body without resolution that it wasn't, certainly would seem to quality as meeting the requirements of that law. Particularly in an individual being investigated for numerous crimes who was telling the special prosecutor he'd be willing to turn make a deal (which would have possibly implicated many important people).
Supposition
It's not supposition, that's a statement of fact. It's a fact that a pathologist at the examination, while bending over Brown's body to take a look, uttered those words. Even Gormley has admitted that. It's a fact that it was unresolved whether Brown died by gunshot or blunt force trauma. Even you as much as admitted that above. And it's a fact that Brown was being investigated, had told the press and Whitehouse of his intent to make a deal, and that doing so would have likely implicated many people.
I've never read the past threads.
Then maybe you should … so that you don't continue to "argue from ignorance".
I don't know what you mean by that? I provided you with a detailed description of how the material that was *leaked* came into the "leakers" hands and the chronology for that.
I'm asking why the implied theory of a crime involves killing a man in a way that might not be, and apparently was not, necessarily concealed by the crash.
What you are doing is getting the cart before the horse. You insist on knowing the how before you even know the *if*. Talk about wasting time and resources?
Most law enforcement experts will tell you to first find out if a murder was committed. If expert pathologists are telling you that based on what x-rays and their visual examination show, there may be a bullet wound in the victim's head, you ask for an autopsy. You do this regardless of how difficult you might think it would have been to shoot that victim. You do this regardless of how expensive and time consuming it might be. And then, if your experts find it was a bullet wound, you start asking how it happened.
So I'm not going to play this game with you other than to suggest it just didn't go as planned. Other than to suggest that if the plane was caused to crash, whoever was responsible did the logical thing and made sure someone could verify the result and deal with it, if it was less than optimal. You have the A plan and the backup plans and you don't leave anything to chance.
All of this, the plausible scenarios, have been discussed in previous threads. A credible scenario is that the plane was spoofed into the mountain to provide a reasonable cover for Brown's death. Aviation Week has stated that the flight path of the plane is consistent with this possibility. Plus, a portable airport beacon that would be used in such a scenario went missing before the crash and the person in charge of that beacon died (coincidently?) after the crash before investigators could interview him. In this scenario, they could not be sure the crash would kill him so they would have someone go to the site before the rescuers and make sure he was dead. Remember, they would know where the plane was coming down. We know that the search effort was misdirected initially so that it took hours for rescuers to reach a crash only a few miles from the airport. The AP reported that the first rescuers arrived and found several Americans already at the site (even though officially US personnel arrived after the Croatians). A crash in Croatia also would make it possible to control access to the site (i.e., keep American journalists away). And that's what they did … keep camera crews and journalists away the site. That's one of the things that Ira Sockowitz (implicated in Chinagate) was at the site doing. Coincidently, Ira was supposed to be on the ill fated flight … but *missed* it. And then he reported back to Commerce that two people survived the crash (the government has never admitted that more than one did). We know the military didn't follow the usual approach to investigating the crash at the orders of the White House. And we know they punished those officers who went public about the suspicious activities at Dover. This isn't all that complicated, 000063. So don't get the cart before the horse. Before we waste a lot of time on scenarios, let's find out if Brown was murdered. Exhume and autopsy his body.
If you want to make a man look like he died in a plane crash, you kill him in a manner consistent with a plane crash, not shoot him, stuff him in a plane, and hope his head is smashed to a pulp.
Oh you do? Are you an expert on assassinating people too?
I'm not accusing you of being a truther. I'm simply noting the characteristics of the way 9/11 Truthers debate and comparing them to yours.
I know, I already admitted I made an incorrect assumption.
Oh, is that what it was … an "assumption"?
