Legal Insurrection via Instapundit
Today’s testimony began with the continuation of the direct questioning by Prosecutor Schleiter of Sergeant Jody Stiger, of the Los Angeles Police Department, who has been retained by the state prosecutors as an expert witness on use-of-force tactics and policy.
You’ll recall that the direct of Stiger began yesterday afternoon and ran for 30 minutes, until Judge Cahill decided to call it a day. That direct continued today for about another 45 minutes, before the witness was turned over to the defense.
Here’s a leading indicator that state-paid use-of-force expert witness Stiger was ultimately more favorable to the defense than he was to the prosecutors who’d paid him $13,000 to provide his expertise to help convict Chauvin: Whereas the State spent about 75 minutes questioning their own expert, Defense Counsel Nelson spent more than 90 minutes doing so.
That’s right, so fond was the defense of the State’s expert, so strongly did the defense believe that the testimony of the State’s expert favored Chauvin, that they spent 20% more time engaged with that expert in front of the jury than did the prosecutors.
...The first shocker in all this was that despite the huge significance of this case, and the national profile it has seized, the state apparently managed to choose as a use-of-force expert witness someone who had never testified in any state or Federal court as a use-of-force expert witness. On the third hand, he's African-American
...Then Nelson dove into Stiger’s personal experience in making arrests of suspects. Isn’t it true that sometimes suspects lie in an effort to avoid arrest? Yes. They’ll bargain? Yes. They’ll make up complaints of distress? Yes. Should an officer consider not just the words, but also the actions, to see if those are consistent with the words? Yes.
When Floyd began saying that he couldn’t breath, wasn’t he at that moment violently fighting with the officers to prevent them from putting him in the squad car? Yes. Isn’t that conduct inconsistent with not being able to breath? Yes.
Lesson: the officers had good reason to believe that Floyd’s claims of difficulty breathing were a fabricated claim of medical distress.
Diving into Stiger’s personal experience on this issue, Nelson asked him if while making an arrest Stiger had ever had a suspect feign a physical ailment. Yes. Fake a heart attack. Yes. An officer has to consider if those claims are lies? Yes.
...Later in the day, with a different witness, BCA Special Agent Reyerson, whose testimony I won’t spend much time on because it was so boring, Nelson would play the same video, and ask the same question. This time, the witness will agree—yes, Reyerson answers, it sounds like "I ate too many drugs" to me. And, IMO, they'll still railroad Chauvin - unless, somebody on top have decided that "The Moor has done his duty, the Moor can go".
#1
Seems to me that the testimony of Chauvin's entire chain of command that his use of force was excessive and unacceptable will be all the jurors need to hear to come up with the desired verdict.
#3
...which is one thing I like about a courts martial, the panel can cross examine witnesses not just the lawyers. Usually handled with the questions being passed in writing to the judge to review, who then asks the questions.
I am surprised this glorified HR Officer has any street experience at all.
Here's what nobody wants to talk about. "I can't Breathe" has been a ploy used by suspects being arrested For Years, since the dawn of cell phones which can record video and maybe further as a tool to help plea down a charge or even sue for monetary damages.
#5
The only piece of evidence that should matter is the toxicology report that shows Floyd had three times enough fentanyl in his system to kill him. That should be enough for any reasonable juror to have doubts about whether Chauvin's knee was the cause of death. Yes, yes, I understand that we can't count on the jurors to be reasonable.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
04/08/2021 11:06 Comments ||
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#6
Chauvin killed him, plain and simple.
I've seen/met too many like him, they are true cowards.
Posted by: Yosemite Sam ||
04/08/2021 11:12 Comments ||
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#7
Sam__ Chauvin is 5'9" 140# - Floyd 6'3" 220#. Your definition of cowardice needs some work.
1. Chauvin's knee was mostly on Floyd's the shoulder blades and back -- as the state's own expert use-of-force witness testified yesterday
2. You can't strangle or asphyxiated someone with your knee on the shoulder blades and back. You can't strangle or asphyxiated someone with your knee on the back of the neck. Check your anatomy & physiology textbooks if you doubt this.
3. Chauvin and the team's behavior was not illegal or even negligent. The state's own witnesses testified that they themselves have been forced to apply the exact same techniques on multiple occasions to violent, non-compliant, drug-using Susie ra like Floyd.
Got that? The STATE'S OWN EXPERTS testified in support of Chauvin!
This is 100% a political show trial. Stalin and Beria would be proud.
#9
testimony of Chauvin's entire chain of command that his use of force was excessive and unacceptable
... except that their own use of force experts' testimony CONTRADICTED this non-expert conclusion.
This mirrors how the subjective conclusion of "homicide" is completely undermined by the actual, empirical evidence from the medical examiner's report:
1) the Toxicology report showing not only 3x the fatal dosage of fentanyl, along with significant amounts of methamphetamine, plus
2) detailed analysis of the limbs back neck and brain and other organs showing zero evidence of trauma that would indicate asphyxiation or strangulation or compression of the rib cage.
This case should not have come to trial.
It is a politically-motivated prosecution, pure and simple
#13
#7 Sam__ Chauvin is 5'9" 140# - Floyd 6'3" 220#. Your definition of cowardice needs some work.
Chauvin hid behind his badge and gun. Physical size is irrelevant. Floyd didn't try to go toe-2-toe with him. Chauvin is a coward.
Posted by: Yosemite Sam ||
04/08/2021 12:58 Comments ||
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#14
key point yet to make it in trial are signs, either from camera view of Floyd or physical exam, that seem to point to physical asphyxiation vs fentenyl based respiratory suppression
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
04/08/2021 13:30 Comments ||
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#15
The body cam footage showing he put his knee on the shoulder not the neck was available to the chain of command before the riots erupted. Gotta wonder why nothing was done to save the cities and lives.
#16
Sam, you seem to imply it wasn't a fair fight...How you can describe it as cowardice when it was Law Enforcement not a duel, and the smart criminals know to not resist and therefore don't get the non-compliance techniques. Your assertions show a level of naivety or insufficient analysis.
#17
Also his chain of command admitted that when Floyd was actively resisting when Chauvin got there, he could have legally tazed him. The on the ground hold that he did is considered by departments to be a de-escalation of the event and it is department policy to continue to apply the hold, especially when there is a hostile crowd and releasing the detained man could allow him to start fighting again, until EMT shows up.
Spewing out hostile shit based of no knowledge of what is going on is what the far left does. Read what is going on before making a final decision. I am waiting for all evidence to come in before passing final judgement.
The gunman who killed multiple people including a prominent doctor in South Carolina was the former NFL pro Phillip Adams, who killed himself early Thursday, April 8, 2021, according to a source who was briefed on the investigation.
#19
What on earth is going on?
How can the prosecution be so clownishly incompetent?
Here's Andrew Branca:
It almost boggles the mind. Can the state really have thought it a good idea, in a case of this magnitude with such stakes—literally, both Chauvin facing possible life in prison and urban centers all over the nation facing an explicit threat of widespread rioting, looting, and arson—to retain as their use-of-force expert witness someone who had never before testified as such in court?
Does that make any sense?
Why? Is it possible they literally could not find another use-of-force expert witness willing to provide the testimony they wanted? This was their last option for the narrative they wanted told to the jury?
Posted by: Jack Gleagum8483 ||
04/08/2021 18:43 Comments ||
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#20
Still more from today's shitshow. Remember, this is the STATE'S WITNESS hand-feeding the Defense everything it needs to ensure reasonable doubt in the jury's minds. From Branca's summary:
[Defense Counsel] Nelson asked if it wasn’t true that there were certain situations that by their very nature created an exceptionally heightened concern on the part of responding officers. Like a domestic.
Or like a robbery, or a shooting, [State witness MPD Sergeant] Stiger helpfully suggested. Love the ironic "helpfully"!
Sure, answered Nelson. So, sometimes an officer might have to be prepared for an increased risk.
I wouldn’t agree with that, said Stiger.
Oh? Explain
An officer should be prepared for the highest level of risk in every encounter.
So, every time an officer responds, there’s an inherent risk, it’s the nature of policing, and a reasonable officer has to be prepared for the risk level to change?
Stiger: Correct.
It’s hard to imagine more helpful testimony for the defense. ...
Then there's the cherry on top -- Sgt Stiger noting, helpfully (to the Defense once again), that Floyd's huge size "made no difference" to the decision to use force. Branch recounts the cross-examination again:
Is the fact of Floyd’s size of particular concern, asked Nelson?
I wouldn’t say so, said Stiger.
Oh? Explain.
Well, Stiger answered, I’ve seen even small suspects be even more dangerous than large ones.
Holy. Cow. In other words, it’s not a case where an officer should not infer greater risk from a large suspect, it’s a case where an officer should infer that same risk from even small suspects.
Posted by: Wholurong Oppressor of the Giants1755 ||
04/08/2021 18:57 Comments ||
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#21
Sam__ Chauvin is 5'9" 140# - Floyd 6'3" 220#. Your definition of cowardice needs some work.
How many street fights have you've been in, Yosemite Sam? I've been in at least twenty over the years. I am not saying this in order to brag, I'm merely stating fact. Physics matter.
Even in my prime (22, with a purple belt in Shotokan Karate over two years of training and a veteran of one bar fight where I put two people in the hospital and kicked the living snot outta eight others, amply assisted by my older brother Ray, who at 160 the best pound for pound fighter I'll ever know, and I mean better than Hagler or Tommy Hearns), giving up 80 pounds in a fight is a serious disadvantage.
#22
FWIW, I was 6' 0" and about 185 back then (and at 56 years of age, I still am!); lifted weights for five years before doing Shotokan. The lifting made you a tad slower with speed, so that's when I bagged weights. Speed is a better determinant in who wins fights.
#23
They overcharged the cop to appease the political pressure groups, simple as that. They knew there wasnt much of a chance to get a conviction on the Murder-2 charge.
This junk simply means the Murder charges are pretty much gone. Manslaughter will be the highest charge that is left at this point and even then, they have to PROVE that Chavin's actions were primary in causing the death.
Otherwise they are contributory, and the absence of malice and deliberate intent to injure or kill will leave them with Criminally Negligent Homocide as the only charges left because of lack of malicious intent.
For Criminally Negligent Homicide or Involuntary Manslaughter, The prosecution only needs:
The defendant was aware of the risks associated with the actions that led to the other person’s death.
The defendant acted, or failed to act appropriately in a dangerous situation, and that action or inaction caused the victim’s death.
There is a direct link between the defendant’s conduct and the victim’s death.
Unlike the murder charges, there doesn't need to be malice or intent proven, and a lot of the bungling by the prosecution will not damage their chances at this charge. This is all they have left. I'd say watch and see if there is more effort now towards showing that the cop had INACTION when he should have acted, so they can nail down point number 2. 1 seems pretty obvious. And 3 will come down to showing contributory, not complete causal, linkage, which they probably can do.
Posted by: These Forkbeard7574 ||
04/08/2021 19:27 Comments ||
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#24
Is the prosecution throwing the trial?
Perhaps their masters really do want to set off another summer of violence?
[LIBYAREVIEW] On Tuesday, Libyan Prime Minister Abdel-Hamid Dbaiba expressed his readiness to form a joint committee with Greece, to discuss the issue of maritime border demarcation. He stressed the importance of reviewing any agreement that preserves the rights of Libya, The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire... , and Greece.Dbaiba met with Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... . The Greek leader said he would stand by Libya on its journey towards stability, elections, and ending of foreign interference.
Mitsotakis called on Libya to nullify the "illegal" 2019 maritime boundaries agreement signed with Turkey during his first visit to the country on Tuesday. In a joint press briefing with Dbaiba, Mitsotakis said that for Greece "the annulment of illegal documents was very important."
Athens remains fiercely opposed to the deal between Ankara and Tripoli, which claims vast swaths of the Mediterranean for energy exploration, much of it as an Exclusive Economic Zone. "This is contrary to international law, and claims by Greece, Cyprus, and Egypt," he added.
In 2019, Libya’s outgoing Government of National Accord (GNA) signed two MoUs on defence and gas drilling in the Mediterranean. The maritime border agreement was rejected by several countries, such as Egypt, Greece, Cyprus, and the UAE, and was described as an illegal act that violated the illusory sovereignty of other Mediterranean states.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/08/2021 00:00 ||
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[DW] Mozambican forces claim to have retaken the ransacked town of Palma from armed Islamist fighters. Despite this success, a glaring refugee crisis looms as regional bodies dither on providing military support.
"Once the town is essentially ransacked of supplies, banks have been sacked, food supplies have been taken, then the bully boyz tend to kind of melt away."
Commander Chongo Vidigal, leader of military operations to regain control of Palma, told state television ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
TVM that a "significant" number of bandidosbully boyz had since been killed in the fighting and that the area was now "safe." He, however, stopped short of declaring that the army had regained complete control.
Continued on Page 49
[All Africa] CRISIS in Zim-bob-we Coalition (CiZC) has called on SADC to dispatch troops to quell worsening political strife in neighbouring Mozambique where dozens have been killed and close to a million displaced by the bully boy group, ISIS.CiZC has demanded that the SADC Troika meeting on Mozambique set for Thursday comes up with a solid answer to Mozambique's near four-year-old crisis.
In a press statement Tuesday, CiZC argues political unrest in Mozambique posed a security threat to the entire southern African region.
"Mozambique is a signatory to the African Union ...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful... Convention on the Prevention and Combating of Terrorism (1999) and is also part of the SADC Regional Strategy on Countering Terrorism developed in 2015 and this allows for support to the Mozambican government in dealing with the Islamist Death Eaters," said the group.
"We therefore make the following minimum demands ahead of the Double Troika Extra Ordinary Summit on Mozambique; that the Extra-Ordinary Double Troika Summit on Mozambique must come up with a solid crisis response plan.
"SADC must invoke Article 6(1) of the SADC Mutual Defence Pact which considers an armed attack against a member state as a threat to regional security.
"Military deployment to assist Mozambican security forces in dealing with the snuffies remains a viable option in light of the threats to regional stability."
Locally known as al-Shabbab, the bully boy group being pursued has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems.... , burnt and beheaded dozens in Cabo Delgado province where it overran the city of Palma.
Palma has reportedly been recovered by the Mozambique army, but communication is still cut although army spokesperson Brigadier Chongo Vidigal has been quoted saying the city was now safe.
Added CiZC, "We reiterate that the insurgency in the northern part of Mozambique is a call to action by SADC.
"It is our firm position that the insurgency in northern Mozambique is a threat to human security not only in Mozambique but the rest of the SADC region hence the need for SADC to intervene and save the situation."
The jihadist group is primarily made up of locals who are aggrieved at the Mozambique government's failure to a share with them part of the US$60 billion dollar investment poured in by global oil giant Total in the continent's largest Liquid Natural Gas project considering it is in their province.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/08/2021 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: al-Shabaab (IS-Mozambique)
More violence broke out in #Belfast, UK as rioters set a bus on fire & attacked police. The ongoing rioting was sparked when the state declined to prosecute Sinn Fein politicians who attended a large funeral of an IRA member in violation of COVID rules. pic.twitter.com/IbwHeMU8tN
That’ll take a lot of pressure off the Syrian Kurds holding them...
[NPASYRIA] Iraqi government is planning to receive 500 Iraqi families from Hawl Camp, northeast of Syria.
The camp management will conduct trips starting next week.
The trips include 500 families who had earlier registered their names to leave.
Munir Muhammad, an official of the Exit Office in the camp, said that they are going to send out a batch of Iraqis who had earlier registered their names.
"The step comes after coordination between the Autonomous Administration and the Iraqi government," Muhammad added.
The exit will include those previously registered in 2018/2019, and they will be sent out in batches, the first of which is next week, according to Muhammad.
He estimated the number of people prepared to return to their homeland at about 3,000.
The coordination between the Autonomous Administration and the Iraqi government, during 2017 and 2018, resulted in running 9 trips for Iraqis wishing to return to their country.
The total number of returnees at that time was about 7,500 Iraqi refugees, according to Suleiman Hammadi, former head of the Iraqi Council within the Hawl Camp.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/08/2021 00:00 ||
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The Biden administration will announce today the resumption of assistance to UNRWA. The support will also include assistance to the Palestinian security services and an additional amount for various projects in the West Bank. @BarakRavid
[IsraelTimes] Biden quietly ramping up funding to Paleostinians; has long said he would reverse freeze put in place by Trump.
The United States government announced on Wednesday afternoon that it was formally resuming $150 million in economic aid to the United Nations ...aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society... Relief and Works Agency, the UN body tasked with supporting Paleostinian refugees, amidst a broader push to restore its aid to the Paleostinians.
"The United States is pleased to announce that, working with Congress, we plan to restart US economic, development and humanitarian assistance for the Paleostinian people," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.
Under the administration of previous US president Donald Trump ...Oh, noze! Not him!... , Washington largely ended funding for the Paleostinian Authority and for UNRWA, which runs a network of educational and medical programs for Paleostinian refugees around the Middle East.
In addition to resuming UNRWA funding, the planned aid package includes $75 million in economic and development assistance in the West Bank and Gazoo ...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamaswith about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... , $10 million for peacebuilding programs through the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and $40 million in security assistance.
In a statement, Paleostinian Authority President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas ...aka Abu Mazen, a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial. While no Yasser Arafat, he has his own brand of evil, just a little more lowercase.... welcomed the resumption of aid, as well as Biden’s "commitment to the two-state solution as a basis for resolving the Paleostinian-Israeli conflict."
PA Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said he hoped the renewal of aid was just one step toward thawing the Paleostinians’ relations with the United States.
"We look forward not only to the resumption of American financial aid despite its importance, but also to the return of political relations with the United States in a way that realizes our people’s legitimate rights," Shtayyeh said in a statement.
Some of the American aid had begun to flow quietly over the past week, with the State Department notifying Congress of its decision to do so without much public fanfare. The aid immediately provoked criticism from Republicans and some Democrats who support stricter conditions on aid to the Paleostinians.
Before Wednesday, the Biden White House had notified Congress that it would give the Paleostinians $40 million for law enforcement and security costs, on top of $75 million in assistance for infrastructure and $15 million in coronavirus (aka COVID19 or Chinese Plague) ...the twenty first century equivalent of bubonic plague, only instead of killing off a third of the population of Europe it kills 3.4 percent of those who notice they have it. It seems to be fond of the elderly, especially Iranian politicians and holy men... assistance.
A handful of Republicans are already preparing to challenge the aid, maintaining that it violates the Taylor Force and the Anti-Terrorism Clarification acts. Both laws — which passed with wide bipartisan support — block most aid that directly benefits the Paleostinian Authority so long as it continues to pay stipends to security prisoners, including those convicted of terrorism.
But the legislation carved out exceptions for exactly the type of aid that the Biden administration has been resuming in recent weeks. And the recently announced financial assistance was already allocated during the previous administration — based on legislation signed into law by Trump himself.
"Congress earmarked $150 million for economic support and security assistance, split evenly, in the appropriations bill for fiscal year 2020. This means the Biden administration has no choice but to spend this money or be in breach of congressional law," Abraham Center managing director Joel Braunold, who closely follows US aid to the Paleostinians, told The Times of Israel.
The State Department will have to disburse its economic support funding — which is subject to the Taylor Force Act’s restrictions — with enormous care. But the United States could still fund civil society programs, rule of law initiatives and Gaza-based projects, as long as none of them benefit the PA.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/08/2021 00:00 ||
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#1
On Holocaust's Remembrance Day - I'm sure it's just a coincidence.
#4
...Keep this in mind: apparently the most fiendishly capable weapon the Soviets Russians can come up with is a megaton-size nuke on an unmanned drone sub. This in turn should tell you a LOT about what they think of our air and space defenses, but it also tells you that they are that desperate to counter us that they're actually trying this.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
04/08/2021 6:41 Comments ||
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#10
Confucius say, "Dammit! But how
Did Poseidon get past? [kowtow now]
China frozen in fright
At such terrible sight!"
[cut to dummy on mast: Chairman Mao]
[IsraelTimes] Announcement of further violations of nuclear deal comes a day after Washington and Tehran begin indirect talks aimed at getting agreement back on track.
Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... has produced 55 kilograms (121 lbs) of uranium enriched to 20 percent since the beginning of the year in defiance of the 2015 nuclear deal, a senior Iranian official said Wednesday.
The announcement came a day after the US and Iran began indirect talks aimed at finding a path for both countries to return to the deal.
The production rate is even faster than the goal of enriching 120 kg (260 lbs) of uranium a year, or 10 kg per month, stipulated by an Iranian law passed last year that aimed to pressure the US in response to crippling sanctions imposed by the Trump administration.
Iran’s production rate is already "up to 40%" faster than that, Atomic Energy Organisation front man Behrouz Kamalvandi told state TV, according to Rooters.
"In less than four months we have produced 55 kg of 20% enriched uranium ... in around eight months we can reach 120 kg," Kamalvandi said.
Uranium enriched to 20% is a short technical step away from weapons-grade 90% enrichment.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
04/08/2021 02:32 ||
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#1
Hope they remember to add boron to reduce the risk of severe accident...
Posted by: Fred ||
04/08/2021 00:00 ||
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#1
Capitulation and Contrition - Is that all you ass wipe demos think of - F-Off grow some balls and tell'em - You go forward and will wipe your shit hole country off the map - grow a pair demos
Posted by: Ho Chi Bonaparte5962 ||
04/08/2021 1:14 Comments ||
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#2
Get their promise to only kill Jews in writing!
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire...
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling 
...the twenty first century equivalent of bubonic plague, only instead of killing off a third of the population of Europe it kills 3.4 percent of those who notice they have it. It seems to be fond of the elderly, especially Iranian politicians and holy men...
Nice dam you have there. Could it be in someone's cruise missile target folder ? 
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for 
