[BALTIMORESUN] Judge Barry G. Williams on Tuesday ordered a deadlocked jury panel back to work about 10 hours into deliberations over Officer William G. Porter's guilt or innocence in the death of Freddie Gray -- asking them to try harder to reach a consensus.
The 12-member panel is charged with reaching a unanimous verdict on four separate charges against Porter: involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office. If they cannot, Williams will be forced to declare a mistrial on the undecided counts, leaving it to prosecutors to decide whether to retry the case.
After beginning deliberations Monday afternoon, the jury sent a note to Williams on Tuesday afternoon indicating it was deadlocked. The panel did not elaborate on whether it was split on one, some or all of the charges, or which way it was leaning on them.
Williams, meeting the jurors about 3:30 p.m. in open court, instructed them to return to deliberations. He read from a portion of the jury instructions that said the jury must come to a unanimous decision in order to reach a conviction or acquittal.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/16/2015 00:00 ||
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Link ||
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#1
In my mind, the discussion goes something like "we know the evidence shows he's innocent, but if we acquit him, there will be riots."
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
12/16/2015 9:27 Comments ||
Top||
#1
Well, look. The poor jamoke gets all his information from his liberal masters. Guns is skeery, even if printed on a shirt or made - they think - from a pop tart. He was just acting on received wisdom, ya know...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
12/16/2015 8:27 Comments ||
Top||
#2
As someone here once noted, Houston is a target rich environment. I loved the "victim's" quote,"we're all prior military service guys and it was a natural reaction."
You can click on the link to get the following text plus corresponding imagery. Don't dwell on, laugh about or save the cutting board image to the RB image library or you'll be a racist. The PC Police will only allow you to scowl, say 'tut-tut', and the like.
It's rare that Fox News mouthpiece Bill O'Reilly expresses an opinion that even those on the American left embrace, but his summary of Russian President Vladimir Putin seems to reflect the attitude of just about all Americans. The cable host has used the following expressions when speaking of Mr. Putin: "a KGB thug," "a menace to the world" and, simply, "a killer." We should join forces with this thug to rid the world of a greater menace.
According to the Pew Research Center, in 2015 three-quarters of Americans have been "critical of Putin" with only 21 percent having "confidence" in him. By the same poll, Russian sentiments toward U.S. President Barack Obama are even lower, with only 11 percent of Russians having faith in Mr. Obama--down from 41 percent in 2011. This drop is due, in great part, to the economic sanctions imposed by the West on Russia, and American policy on Ukraine and Syria. But these are not the only reasons.
As in America, the Russian public is largely informed by TV shows and other media, which never miss an opportunity to remind viewers that the current occupant of the White House is the world's biggest villain--but not one to be taken too seriously.
Russian television has its own Bill O'Reilly. His name is Dmitry Kiselyov, and he is the host of his own weekly program News of the Week. This week's heroes are Fox's Ralph Peters and actress Stacey Dash, for the simple reason they "cursed" Mr. Obama last week. That's good enough for Mr. Kiselyov.
"I am not going to clog your brains with the usual banalities by Obama," was all Mr. Kiselyov said to his viewers last Sunday, after the U.S. President's speech from the Oval office. Rather than reporting on the substance of the U.S. President's policies, Russian media prefers stories on Mr. Obama making faces like 'Grumpy Cat,' or on his wife's adoration of rap music or other easy-to-digest memes:
Barack Obama loves to act like a clown.
"U.S. President Barack Obama started to laugh when asked by The Daily Show's Jon Stewart who the U.S. is bombing in the Middle East. It's not his first appearance on the comedy show," reported major Russian news agency RIA Novosti,
Barack Obama is lazy.
"During his presidency, Obama spent more than 1,100 hours on the golf course--or one-and-a-half months without breaks for sleep or food. He played golf 247 times during his presidency, breaking the record of Dwight Eisenhower who did it 210 times," a major Russian tabloid reported.
Barack Obama is an idiot.
"Obama linked the spread of terrorism to climate change. At the same time, the American president expressed confidence that terrorism will be defeated." Not having given any specifics on how to deal with the climate change, Mr. Obama cannot be trusted in the war against terrorism, concludes RIA Novosti.
Barack Obama is a liar.
"Together with [German Chancellor] Merkel and [Turkish President] Erdogan, Germans called Obama the liar of the year--39 percent called Merkel the biggest liar, 21 percent called Obama," announced another Russian tabloid.
In other words, Russian media wants viewers to believe Mr. Obama is the anti-Putin. Mr. Putin is strong. Mr. Obama is weak. Mr. Putin is a doer. Mr. Obama is a talker. Mr. Putin fixes things. Mr. Obama ruins. Mr. Putin is a leader. Mr. Obama isn't.
Mr. Putin is a macho alpha-male. Mr. Obama is a... what?
Mainstream media dodges this answer, leaving the task to pro-Kremlin propaganda that quickly and willingly provides it through videos like that of popular nationalist comedian Mikhail Zadornov, author of the widely known slogan, "Americans? But they are STOOOOOOOOOOPID!"
Instead, the answer is in the short and offensive motto: "Obama [is a] schmoe."
In Russian, "schmoe" resembles the Yiddish "schmuck," but with much stronger negative connotations.
"Obama schmoe" has recently become an all-pervading part of Russian pop-culture. There are "Obama schmoe" bumper stickers (in addition to others, like "Obama is bad" and "Obama is the devil"), and there are tee-shirts with pictures of Mr. Putin whispering into the ear of the embarrassed American President, "Obama, you are a schmoe."
Last summer, during his trip to Russia, French Senator Yves Pozzo di Borgo was tricked into holding the tee-shirt, with which he was photographed, La Parisien reported.
There are satellite photographs of the slogan in white paint on the runway of the Russian air base in Syrian Latakia. There, it serves as a background for Russian warplanes.
The term is so popular that it made its way into Wikipedia (but was later deleted because of user complaints).
On the surface, the Kremlin avoids putting President Obama down, though the Russian government approves the trend and, from time to time, openly condones it.
Celebrating the 10th anniversary of spreading the Kremlin's views to the world, Russian government-funded TV network RT kicked hard at President Obama in a recent promotional video. The film depicts what Mr. Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry will be doing 20 years from now, at a time when Edward Snowden is president and the whole world watches nothing but RT. Nobody is afraid of America any longer, and Mr. Obama and Mr. Kerry have a drink. "Yes we can!" says a decrepit Mr. Obama as he goes for a beer in the fridge.
Mainstream Russian media delivers ugly insults wrapped in "newsworthy" and "innocent" packaging, like Vesti's "The Farmer's He-Goat Obama is Looking For His Raging She-Goat Merkel."
When RT speaks to a mostly international audience, the anti-Obama message it spreads is only on the verge of being hostile and is never personal. When presented for domestic consumption, however, the attacks on the U.S. President--orchestrated by the Russian government--are straightforward.
During last summer's 'Day of Youth' celebration in the Siberian city of Bratsk (population around 250,000), the local administration organized a "Who Can Kick Obama Higher" contest. A life-sized poster of Mr. Obama was placed in the central square of the city and, to the joy and enthusiasm of the young participants, the rules were simple: the winners are those who kick Mr. Obama highest in the face.
In February, during the Maslenitsa folk holiday--celebrated in Russia in the last week before Lent--effigies of the U.S. President were burned in Kaliningrad, Sevastopol and other cities. In the Siberian city of Barnaul, the organizer of the burning was "an Afro-American who looked like Barack Obama," who was a local representative of the LDPR party in Russian Parliament.
The holiday also included a puppet show for children, during which Russian puppet Petrushka killed and burned the American President. The performance welcomed by the Governor of the Altai region, Alexander Karlin. "This is a folklore tradition," he said. "During Maslenitsa the people always have burned the effigy of Winter, and she never was offended by this. There is no political context here." Organizers denied that Barack Obama was a puppet in the show.
In July, in the city of Perm, the U.S. President's effigy was found hung under a railroad bridge not far from the local university with was a nameplate that read, "One dead Obama = 7,650 live Ukrainians."
The perpetrators of this barbaric "performance" were never found--in fact, according to v-kurse.ru, police said that "the hooligans" had done nothing unlawful. Just last week, in the Kuban region of Russia, a crowd of around 500 took part in the burning of the effigies of both Barack Obama and Recep Erdogan for "shooting down the Russian plane by Turkey at the command from America."
Blatant racism has long accompanied attacks on the U.S. President's image, but until recently never became a cause for concern among Russian authorities.
Last April, in the city of Samara, local company hung a poster in the middle of the street that read, "Shame on you, unwashed chimney sweep!" with a picture of Barack Obama's face. The company received national notoriety and a great deal of new business, but was fined 10,000 rubles ($150) for breaking advertisement laws.
In the center of the city of Lipetsk, a local printing firm put a huge commercial banner with Mr. Obama's face and a tear printed under his right eye. "We work for everybody -- but Barack Obama," it read. But this company was not fined because the banner didn't break any laws, and "Barack Obama did not complain to the department personally."
Last week's disgustingly racist scandal finally broke the patience of the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, which had been silent despite all of the vulgar anti-Obama assaults in Russia. The high-end Bakhetle supermarket chain displayed cutting boards styled as the 2016 calendar that, according to Chinese horoscopes, will be "the year of monkey."
"The product features a family of monkeys," AFP reported, "with an image of Obama's face superimposed onto that of the smallest primate."
The owner of the supermarket chain, according to the Maxpark social network, is Mrs. Muslima Latypova, the deputy of the regional Tatar Parliament.
"It is disgusting to see that such blatant racism has a place on Russian store shelves," Will Stevens, the spokesperson for the US Embassy in Moscow wrote on his Twitter.
The response of the cutting boards' producer was even more disgusting than the "product" itself.
"Nowhere on the cutting board is it written that this is Obama. These are nothing but boards with monkeys on them," said the commercial director for the "Eurostyle" manufacturing company, Mr. Kirill Naumenko.
The boards were removed immediately following the angry reaction from the U.S. Embassy and the official representative of the store chain made the public apology. But, yet again, there was no public apology from representatives of the state, and no signs that the ugly racist "performances" and personal insults against the U.S. President will be ended once and for all.
[RFE/RL] A Swedish court sentenced an Uzbek citizen to 18 years in prison for an assassination attempt on an imam. The court in Ostersund found Yury Zhukovsky guilty of carrying out an attack on prominent Uzbek imam Obidkhon Qori Nazarov in 2012.
Nazarov, a vocal critic of the government of Uzbek President Islam Karimov, was in a coma after being shot at least three times in the northern Swedish town of Stromsund. His relatives say Nazarov suffers from brain damage.
The court did not say who ordered Nazarov's shooting but said "technical evidence" showed Zhukovsky had "acted on behalf of someone in Russia." It sought a life sentence for Zhukovsky.
Zhukovsky was extradited to Sweden from Russia in August to stand trial in the case.
Nazarov was one of the most popular imams in Central Asia in the early 1990s. He was granted asylum in Sweden in 2006, after fleeing Uzbekistan in 1998.
[DAWN] Employees of the ailing national airline on Tuesday walked out in protest over its planned privatisation, disrupting flights and undermining a central plank of reforms promised by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... in return for an International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout.
In September 2013, the IMF agreed to lend $6.7 billion over three years in order to save the country from possible default.
In return, the government of Pakistain agreed to broaden its tax base, cut electricity subsidies and privatise failing state companies that lose taxpayers around $5 billion a year.
Soliciting buyer interest in Pakistain International Airlines (PIA), whose accumulated losses stand at $2.29 billion, by December 31, is one of the major steps Islamabad needs to take for the programme to continue.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/16/2015 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[11125 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
[DAWN] Muttahida Qaumi Movement ...English: United National Movement, generally known as MQM, is the 3rd largest political party and the largest secular political party in Pakistain with particular strength in Sindh. From 1992 to 1999, the MQM was the target of the Pak Army's Operation Cleanup leaving thousands of urdu speaking civilians dead... has announced Waseem Akhtar as its nominee for the position of Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... mayor with Arshad Vohra as his deputy, DawnNews reported.
Addressing party members and workers via telephone from London, MQM leader Nadeem Nusrat announced the decision on Tuesday evening.
Earlier this month, the MQM saw a landslide victory in local government elections in Karachi, clinching a maximum number of union committees -- 135 of 209.
MQM clinched 135 seats in the election for six Karachi districts, trouncing the electoral alliance of the Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... (JI) and Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf ...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations.... (PTI), both of whom bagged 11 and seven seats respectively.
The Pakistain Peoples Party (PPP) emerged the runner up in Karachi, securing 32 seats, according to unofficial results.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/16/2015 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[11126 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
Update to this
Sanity ‐ and Santa ‐ have been restored at a Brooklyn public elementary school where St. Nick was banned, the Pledge of Allegiance was dropped and Thanksgiving was replaced with a "harvest festival."
The good news arrived at PS 169 in Sunset Park on Monday morning, a day after The Post exposed the bizarre PC extremism of Principal Eujin Jaela Kim. "Jeeeebus, am I required to monitor all you commie kids?"
It's nice to see that central school board administrators can still be shamed by adverse publicity -- wonder how much longer that will be the case...
District 15 Superintendent Anita Skop stormed in the front door at 9:50 a.m., and minutes later, two fifth-grade boys were brought to the main office to lead a recital over the public address system of the Pledge of Allegiance, teachers told The Post. "Do it right. Stick it in her face" As The Post reported on Sunday, the pledge hadn't been said over the loudspeakers since the beginning of the school year. Kim, 33, became principal in May 2014. "whoops"
Santa Claus is now reinstated at the school, and Department of Education officials said on Monday that the Pledge of Allegiance will be recited over the PA system every morning, in response to concerns from the community.
"It never would have happened if The Post didn't do the story. That's the only way we got our voices heard," PTA president Mimi Ferrer said. Sunlight on roaches
"I'm ecstatic that Santa can come back. Hopefully, he can make a visit to the kids in our school for our winter celebration on Thursday."
At a school leadership team meeting last week, Kim told staffers, "Do not celebrate Christmas, do not celebrate gift-gifting, do not celebrate Santa. We need to be respectful," according to a school source. of....?
"Christmas is a Christian celebration and something that is tied to religion," Kim told them, according to the source.
DOE officials said on Monday that PS 169 administrators were mistaken in believing that Santa could not be used as a holiday symbol.
Happens all the time. Why, the past one hundreds they've been unwilling to ... oh, right, this is the first time.
Only depictions of religious figures or texts are banned.
"We work to foster inclusive communities in our schools that welcome students and families, and celebrate the diverse values and traditions of all New Yorkers," DOE spokeswoman Devora Kaye said in a statement.
"We will foster inclusiveness for everyone except for the majority community, which we will insult, scorn and exclude!"
"This principal continues to work closely with her school community to ensure PS 169 is an inclusive school, meet students' and families' needs, and celebrate the values that make her community and New York City great," Kaye said.
Officials said the school emailed staffers new guidelines on Monday allowing the use of Santa Claus "as a holiday symbol with secular dimensions."
"I apologize for any confusion this may have caused," Kim wrote in the email. She said, through her clenched resignation papers
"I apologize for any confusion" is NOT an apology. We weren't confused in the least.
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/16/2015 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[11133 views]
Top|| File under: Commies
#1
Time to move Eujin Jaela Kim to being a principal of another school---one with different demographics?
#3
Strangely enough the Koreans and Japanese both participate in the Western Christmas festivities, neither countries are technically 'Christian' nations, for the same reason that the American form of Christmas got started here - merchants/businessmen. So get off of Santa's case.
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.
![]("http://i392.photobucket.com/albums/pp8/Lisasdabest/Bushmonkey.jpg")
[RFE/RL] A Swedish court sentenced an Uzbek citizen to 18 years in prison for an assassination attempt on an imam. The court in Ostersund found Yury Zhukovsky guilty of carrying out an attack on prominent Uzbek imam Obidkhon Qori Nazarov in 2012.
[DAWN] Employees of the ailing national airline on Tuesday walked out in protest over its planned privatisation, disrupting flights and undermining a central plank of reforms promised by Prime Minister 
