by Gouda » Wed Jun 21, 2006 5:34 am
This <!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.rawstory.com/showarticle.php?src=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Fwp-dyn%2Fcontent%2Farticle%2F2006%2F06%2F20%2FAR2006062001476_pf.html">Washington Post</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--> article reports that a "source close to the investigation" says that Merrill was found with a shotgun wound to the head and a small anchor tied around one or both ankles. I am just trying to imagine which comes first: shoot head, then tie on anchor, and jump; or tie on anchor, jump into water, then shoot...??? I suppose it could be done: tie on anchor, dangle it over the edge of the boat, stand up, pull the trigger while leaning overboard...still, not easy for an old guy whose was fatigued due to post-heart surgery, medications, and a "dimmed spirit". Why not just sail out and get "Fredo'd" right there on the boat? No need for anchors, unless it is to purposely feed speculation or muddy evidence. <br><br>Prior, he was a busy, single-minded, distinguished man - with biz beyond media: <!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>Merrill was <!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>assistant secretary general to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in the early 1990s</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--> and <!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>president of the Export-Import Bank </strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END-->of the United States from 2002 until last year. He frequently took time away from his business to pursue <!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>diplomatic and intelligence assignments</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--> for the government. He served six administrations, mostly in the State and Defense departments.<hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--> Intriguingly or not, the WP closes by mentioning two other infamous, ominous deaths by dinghy: those of CIA guys Colby and John A. Paisley:<br><!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>His death recalled two other high-profile incidents involving prominent Washington area residents. In 1996, former CIA director William E. Colby died from drowning and exposure after falling from a canoe off Charles County. After his body was recovered more than a week later, authorities said he probably had a stroke or heart attack before the accident.<br><br>In 1978, another former high-level CIA employee, John A. Paisley, disappeared while sailing across the Chesapeake Bay. His body was found a week later near Solomons Island with a fatal gunshot wound in an apparent suicide.<hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--><br>Merrill was really depressed they say. As a counterpoint, the <!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/21/us/21depress.html?_r=1&hp&ex=1150862400&en=3d45668f5d7fee35&ei=5094&partner=homepage&oref=slogin">New York Times</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--> reports that depression is going around, especially down south: <br><!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr><!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>A Legacy of the Storm: Depression and Suicide</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><br><br>Last Tuesday in the French Quarter, Sergeant Glaudi's small staff was challenged by a man who strode straight into the roaring currents of the Mississippi River, hoping to drown. As the water threatened to suck him under, the man used the last of his strength to fight the rescuers, refusing to be saved.<br><br>"He said he'd lost everything and didn't want to live anymore," Sergeant Glaudi said.<hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--> No speculation there and certainly not faked. <p></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://p216.ezboard.com/brigorousintuition.showUserPublicProfile?gid=gouda@rigorousintuition>Gouda</A> at: 6/21/06 3:39 am<br></i>