The mainstream media for the most part has moved on. But there are a few more gleanings to be had, of perhaps the most interesting comes from the Daily Mirror, which labels al-Hilli an extremist on the grounds that he was against the war in Iraq, disapproved of the behaviour of Israel and had doubts over 9/11 – which makes a great deal of the population “extremist”. But the Mirror has the only mainstream mention I can find of the possibility that Mossad carried out the killings. Given Mr al-Hilli’s profession, the fact he is a Shia, the fact he had visited Iran, and the fact that Israel heas been assassinating scientists connected to Iran’s nuclear programme, this has to be a possibility. There are of course other possibilities, but to ignore that one is ludicrous.
Which leads me to the argument of Daily Mail crime reporter, Stephen Wright, that the French police should concentrate on the idea that this was a killing by a random Alpine madman or racist bigot. Perfectly possible, of course, and the anti-Muslim killings in Marseille might be as much a precedent as Mossad killings of scientists. But why the lone madman idea should be the preferred investigation, Mr Wright does not explain. What I did find interesting from a man who has visited many crime scenes are his repeated insinuations that the French authorities are not really trying very hard to find who the killers were, for example:
the crime scene would have been sealed off for a minimum of seven to ten days, to allow detailed forensic searches for DNA, fibres, tyre marks and shoe prints to take place.
Nearby bushes and vegetation would have been searched for any discarded food and cigarette butts left by the killer, not to mention the murder weapon.
But from what I saw at the end of last week, no such searches had taken place and potentially vital evidence could have been missed. House to house inquiries in the local area had yet to be completed and police had not made specific public appeals for information about the crime. No reward had been put up for information about the shootings.
Behind the scenes, what other short cuts have been taken? Have police seized data identifying all mobile phones being used in the vicinity of the murders that day?
The idea that the French authorities – who are quite as capable as any other of solving cases – are not really trying very hard is an interesting one.
Which leads me to this part of a remarkable article from the Daily Telegraph, which if true points us back towards a hit squad and discounts the ides that there was only one gun:
Claims that only one gun was used to kill everybody is likely to be disproved by full ballistics test results which are out in October.
While the 25 spent bullet cartridges found at the scene are all of the same kind, they could in fact have come from a number of weapons of the same make.
This throws up the possibility of a well-equipped, highly-trained gang circling the car and then opening fire.
Both children were left alive by the killers, who had clinically pumped bullets into everybody else, including five into Mr Mollier.
Zainab was found staggering around outside the car by Brett Martin, a British former RAF serviceman who cycled by moments after the attack, but he saw nobody except the schoolgirl.
Her sister, Zeena, was found unscathed and hiding in the car eight hours later.
Both sisters are now back in Britain, and are believed to have been reunited at a secret location near London.
There are of course a number of hit squad options, both governmental and private, which might well involve iraqi or Iranian interests – on both of which the mainstream media have been very happy to speculate while almost unanimously ignoring Israel.
But what interests me is why the Daily Telegraph choose, in the face of all the evidence, to minimise the horrific nature of the attack by stating that “Both children were left alive by the killers”? Zainab was not left alive by design, she was shot in the chest and her skull was stove in, which presumably was a pretty serious attempt to kill a seven year-old child. The other girl might very well have succeeded in hiding from the killers under her mother’s skirts, as she hid from the first rescuers, and then for eight hours from the police.
The Telegraph article claims to be informed by sources close to the investigation. So they believe it was a group of people, and feel motivated to absolve those people from child-killing. Now what could the Daily Telegraph be thinking?
Enjoyed your questions etc Tim. This blog has become a much more pleasant place to post the last few weeks.
Oh dear looks like I posted a minute too soon.
Yes – or Katie did – as usual without thinking
@Pink
That video is very interesting – the car park is longer than I thought. Is that the BMW resting place at 2.10 very briefly? It looks like the middle of the car park. Yet the investigative police are in the other section.
Who is the Sky reporter with Northern Irish accent, Ian…??
This Kim Willsher article , puzzlingly dated 05.36 BST Wednesday 5 September, has an interesting passage;
[Maillaud] added that the victims were “found very shortly after the shootings”.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/sep/05/annecy-shootings-british-car
How would they know that? Anal thermometer readings? How did anyone know when the shootings occurred?
OK Kenneth you have now shot yourself in the foot.
Saddam’s Iraq was muslim against muslim they were Iraqi’s…….as was Saddam & his forces.
Try & allow some logic to get through your bigotry.
Felix
All that footage is from the two open parking spots a little down (speaking in terms of elevation) the road (before the hairpin bend leading up to the crime scene). These two adjoining car parking spots away from the crime scene were used by the police and rescue services, and it was here that the helicopter landed to pick up the injured child.
@Felix, perhaps it’s because “WBM” (whoever he really is) actually *did* hear shots?
Has anyone ever heard him say that he didn’t? Or has anyone seen it reported that he didn’t?
It’s crossed my mind that we have all assumed that he *didn’t* hear shots because he never said “I heard shots” but he was never (to my knowledge) directly asked this, and so never denied it. Am I right?
So perhaps this is how Maillaud “knew” they’d been found very soon after the shootings?
@Everyone
Unfortunately I have very little time to post these days but have been following and appreciate everyone’s good work, too much to mention everyone’s individually but a few quick thoughts:
@Q, thanks for the links re Gypsum et al, very informative. Atomic connections all round, then! The UK Atomic Weapons Establishment (you asked?) is at Aldermaston, where Gary Aked (SAH’s “best friend) is now said to have worked for 4 years.
@TimV, the lack of coherence in the “evidence” and official narrative is highly remeniscent of the way the JFK assasination played out. Nothing fits, nothing makes sense. It’s a combination of deliberate tactics (to throw people off) and also the nature of a somewhat unpredictable human activity, things don’t always go 100% to plan and cover ups have to be invented (e.g. the magic bullet theory, killing LHO in jail because he yelled “I’m a patsy” to the TV cameras, and the extra cartridge from the “sniper’s nest” turning up later at police HQ because they needed an extra “shot”).
@Bluebird, I hope you enjoyed your weekend with Mrs Birdie, and agree that unless Jon does something about Kenneth this is a rather unpleasant place to post and I (and others) may decamp to warmer climes.
No, this concept of ‘Iraqie’ is not something they identify themselves with foremost. It is loyalty to the clan that comes first. The Kurds and Shias have seen nothing good coming out of ‘Iraq’.
Only a strongman like Saddam could hold the place together, which is why it was mad to remove him. Remember the clamp down on Shias and Kurds reached it’s maximum after the first Gulf War, when George Bush senior urged them to rise up. Thank you for reminding me on this as I will re-investigate this issue, and who was pushing him to issue that statement, in all probability neo-cons — who have strong ties to Israel — and who openly wanted the US to continue to Baghdad, and realising this option was out of the question they instead urged the Shia’s to rise in the hope they would topple Saddam.
But the National Security advisor, Brent Scowcroft — who I hold in high regard — was of course steadfast — as was his other realist college the right honoured Secretary of state James Baker, that the war of course should stop after Saddam had been thrown out of Kuwait [Which was that wars objective , on which ALL in the record braking coalition — which crucially comprised all the major Arab countries — has agreed]
I will find the interview with Scowcroft — made in 2005 in The NewYorker — where he says that it was of course mad and highly irresponsible to ask the Shias to rise in the promise of US assistance, when everybody knew that the US could not deliver, due to the terms agreed within the coalition
Dopey
About your question why many high ranked iraqis from the baath party left iraq in the early 1970tees. The answer is written in history and logic. Most of those Iraqis were Baath members and high ranked military officers and generals, particularly Shias who did supportprime minister Al Nayif (an Naif) – both spellings are being used.
An Naif was told to go to Spain by Saddams mafia. He had the choice of being emigrated orbeing killed. Many officers who denied to go were killed by Saddams Tikriti mafia. An Naiffled from Spain to Sussex. He was joined by other ex Baath party members and ex generals and officers in Sussex. They began to coordinate an exile opposition in London. An Naif was assassinated in London in 1978 while there were many moreent. There were slso assassination attempts against Allawi in Sussex. assassonations of Iraqis in the UK who were not that prominent.
You can search wikipedia “for an Naif”
The Shias who went into exile to the UK in 1970/1971 were supporters of prime minister an Naif and al Bakr. They formed an exile government in London with the goal to get rid of Saddam and they created good connections with the USA and tge UK, with Iran, the EU and even Israel. Money was no problem for them. They did support Khomeini and the end of the Shah as well. Whatever the USA and Iran wanted them to do, they did it. In return they were promised to get rid of Saddam once upon a time and regain their political power in iraq.
http://books.google.at/books?id=xUKNV6gFKucC&pg=PA112&lpg=PA112&dq=al+daud+iraq&source=bl&ots=XgZeJesAp3&sig=kn_F5308C8Go8jLCXRvWzo4NXWY&hl=de&sa=X&ei=4wR9UOKnF4bLsga09YDABw&ved=0CE0Q6AEwBQ
I did not find anything about Khadim pre 1970. However, his brother regularly travelled between iraq, uk and new york since the early 1950tees. About once a year there is a ticket for queen mary cruise from southampton to new york issued for hashim al hilli, starting 1954. So he was an international travelling iraqi long ago. Perhaps studying in usa and/or working as a diplomat representative either at the embassy of iraq in the usa or at the united nations.
@Bluebird
You’re one for connections… did you ever look into the other chap who left an RIP message for SAH on Facebook, claiming to be a colleague of his from Elekta? Not the “Cat” singer lady, the other one… can’t remember his name now but he had an Italian sounding name?
Kenneth
Once again totally wrong, showing not much clue about history, iraqi society and iraqi connections.
It is true that saddams mafia could hold iraq together. However, the price the iraqi population has paid for was a terror regime and a mafia society. If you did not do what they wanted you to do, then you were dead. You were even dead if They had just Thought that you would Perhaps Just Think what they did not want you to think. The Unthinkable was a reason for assassinations. Such a terror regime would even successfully make me a neonazi like you because of fear and depression.
As a matter of fact, it was the London Group who bribed and lobbied for the iraq war since decades. Bush sr. had no choice bit to find a reason for the first war. The London group organised resistance groups (hezbollah fighters) in the South, in Syria and Iran, to regain power. However, they were too weak to do it alone. The plan was to let the USA weaken Saddams military power and once the goal was achieved to do the rest alone in an organised uprise. However, the plan failed since Saddam was still strong enough and the support from the Kurds in the North that was planned and pre organised did not happen and failed because of bribery by Saddam to Kurdish leaders. Some of them wrre assassinated after iraq war II as a retaliation for their failed support.
After having lost the success with a wrong plan, the London Group (iraqi exile government) began to lobby for a second war. Hence the group had to give the USA a good reason. Money was no problem and contacts were still good and Bush jr. became president by “luck”. The computer software liked him.
So they had to organise a popular reason for the second war that was successful because of another plan and reason. A made up reason of course and extremely popular after made up reason 911.
No ferret
I did not. What was his name?
Is this him Pietro Malandrucco ?
The role of this London Group, consisting of shia’s, is certainly interesting and need to be investigated further but they couldn’t make the two Gulf wars happen on their own, and neither could the neo-cons, (but I would say that the neo-cons are a bit more powerful) – and none of them could do anything with regards to Gulf War 2 without 9/11. [In this context it is indeed interesting if some of the pilots on 9/11 were professional (shia) pilots – is that what you think? I know a swedish pilot saying on swedish televison on the morning of the attacks, that that swing could only be made by a professional pilot. But then what about Muhammed Atta – he is missing in egypt. His father miss him. And there is CCTV footage of him at Logan airport].
Because the neo cons are that more powerful – come on look at the range of ministers and advisors they have had in US governments — it is appropriate to focus on them, because remember this London group of exile Shias may have been powerful, but they could not get anything archieved without the neo-cons.
@Katie
Bingo
@Felix
Sorry to keep harping on about this but… you know the rest of the signatures, excluding the “unique” one… have you had a chance to look at them closely, and if so did you notice anything? If not it’s OK, I just wanted to know if you had looked and hadn’t seen anything, or just hadn’t looked…
Just lost a long post about the possible connection of a Sony-Ericsson GPS cellphone tracking system of the Israelis being responsible for their claiming that the Swedish government is blocking tougher sanctions on Iran to protect its GPS business with rogue states.
The Israeli government, especially Defence Minister Ehud Barak, is in quite a stew about the shootings around Annecy and at Eilat, resulting in its calling early elections, and I just wonder if the bogus charge against Ericsson and the Stockholm government is just some more smoke to hide the fact that the Swedish government could learn much more about Israel’s alleged involvement in them from repair men who work on its GPS system.
They could tell Stockholm about the comings and goings of Mossad operatives, especially probationary recruit William Hershkovitz, and Tel Aviv fears that they may tell Stockholm what a similar glitch fixer in Tehran told it about its GPS system at Irancell being used by Iranian intelligence to track its dissidents, resulting in the cancellation two years ago of any more Ericsson equipment being sent to Irancell.
Most strange for Israel, a non EU member, doing the dirty work for what the UK, France and Germany are really complaining about.
Is it all just more of their cover-up?
Regarding network coverage in that lay-by, it is important to note that emergency calls are technically quite different from regular calls: They are provider-independent, in that the caller is automatically routed via the network offering the best reception in that particular location. (And you can even make them without having a SIM-card in your mobile.)
Thus, in purely technical terms, the argument that WBM didn’t have network coverage whereas Didierjean did, doesn’t stand up. In fact, on many mobile phones, the user is shown a message “emergency calls only” when he is outside his own network operator’s coverage area.
Kenneth
Us neocons eant nothing more than money. And the london group has got more money than we could think of. Even the environment of Obama got bribed by the london group. Search for REZKO.
Of course one must make up reasons for being able to convince the own population that their sons would die for a good and honorable matter but not for more money and power for the rich, for the banks or for the oil industry.
And of course 911 was never planned in the desert nor in a cave. It required a lot of money and intelligence logistics. But we are getting off topic. However, all those links are pointing towards the lindon group and their bribed friends.
Finally we just have to guess who got the power in iraq nowadays? The London Group wizh Allawi and their former sussex-exile DAWA party run by Waleed al Hilli and tgeir Iran sponsored representative al Maliki. Cui bino? That question answers all riddles when time goes on. Today we know. Time is supporting the truth!
Should read above:
Cui bono?
And in the first sentence: … want nothing more than money
Oh my keyboard on that mobile ….#%&*/-+
Is there any more info about pietro malandrucco? Link to the article where he wss interviewed?
I found one who jumped into my eyes but this is only a guess because our witnesses are shady all of them.
Pietro malandrucco, italy latina, ex italian airforce pilot, airman.
If it wss that guy then i wonder whether he worked for italian intelligence …
All WBM said was that he didn’t have a signal. It could be a poor phone with a poor antenna, or it could be damp or it could be short of power
Pietro malandrucco, italy latina, ex italian airforce pilot, airman. If it wss that guy then i wonder whether he worked for italian intelligence
OK! I didn’t spot his ex airforce connections… curiouser and curiouser.
Did you spot his two high-level NATO friends?
The italian guy is/was an IT consultant (his company web site is down) living near Rome, married to a british artist
{http://it.kellysearch.com/profile/syslab/it/latina/04100/901030052}
{http://pietrokatie.xoom.it/}
{http://www.katiecomerford.com/bio.php}
just to confuse the issue still further, how about this?
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2129936/Police-raid-flat-arrest-serial-killer-suspect-Paris-murders.html
@Tim
I knew there was another road but I had assumed it was a branch off the one the family were on lower down the hill and that the road they were on was up in the middle of nowhere, a dead end that gave way to a bike track seeing that overhead picture was a surprise .
I have no idea who done what to whom and how I am a bit slow and still trying to track down the bikes 🙂
In this link it mentions that Mr AH met several people and then moved campsite so will keep an eye out for any extra info on who he met .
http://www.theweek.co.uk/crime/annecy-shootings/48941/police-probe-al-hillis-secret-meetings-annecy-killing
The impression I get I am not saying it is the right one just what I have taken from what I have read is that that the family were a nice family and something important came up to do with the wills that meant MR AH needed to go to France quickly and do something which involved meeting certain people for an unknown reason it does seem on the face of it that he may have been trying to avoid being followed and to have some reason to be at the lay-by it doesn’t strike me as likely he would put his whole family at risk if he was seriously concerned .
I do find it odd that Phillipe d was kept quiet about to start with .
Recall BM being asked if he heard shots and he said he had not, probably because he was exerting himself hard on the bike. Don’t recall if that was in one of the BBC interviews or the press just reported he said that.
@Ferret
I assume the top empty lay-by with all the black in front is the one that the car was in and the lower down piece is where they put all the vehicles and tents etc to keep crime scene clear.
I don’t know the name of the reporter but this is an Ian from Belfast and it looks like him.
http://tvnewsroom.co.uk/people/ian-woods/
Now I have posted some screenshots from the so called pah-pah-pah (BBC) video, where you can clearly see how the two adjacent parking spots — located just before the hairpin-curve (after which the roads narrows) going up to the crime scene — was used by the police as their ‘base’ It was also from here that the injured girl was flown out by helicopter.
@ Pink 16 Oct, 2012 – 11:52 am
I assume the top empty lay-by with all the black in front is the one that the car was in and the lower down piece is where they put all the vehicles and tents etc to keep crime scene clear.
The trouble is, if my reading of the crime scene is correct and the killer fired the first shot from the front-left of the BMW, that lower-down place is where the killer left his own vehicle before he approached the AHs on foot. In other words, the police were probably parking on crucial evidence.