[Legal Insurrection] Today was a terrible, horrible no good, very bad day for the prosecution, to a degree that I haven’t seen since the trial of George Zimmerman.
If you have no more than an hour to watch the video of today's proceedings, then I urge you to spend 44 minutes watching the cross-examination of state witness Johnny Mercil, the state's use-of-force training expert, and 22 minutes watching the cross-examination of Nicole MacKenzie, the state's medical care training expert. In both instances the result can only be called a train wreck of a disaster for the prosecution. Branco thinks the prosecution is toast; will the jury agree or seek to avoid the promised riots?
#2
not only did the cross-examination of MacKenzie by the defense also go badly for the prosecution, it went so badly that Nelson informed the court that he intended to re-call MacKenzie as a defense witness when he presented his case in chief.
This case should not have been brought in the first place.
Total clownshow
#3
The jurors are going to face a choice between ratifying the guilty verdict demanded or being blamed for riots and faced with doxxing and assaults and destruction of their families and property.
#6
My guess is that the prosecution team is under so much pressure to get a conviction that they're "overtrying" the case, i.e., calling witnesses they don't really need to call. The person in the courtroom most capable of killing your case is your own expert -- once you present him to the jury as a highly qualified expert on the subject, you're well and truly stuck with whatever he says.
Posted by: Matt ||
04/07/2021 13:09 Comments ||
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#7
Also from Branco's summary of the train wreck that was the state's main "use of force" police expert testimony:
The state’s own use-of-force expert testified on cross that he personally had engaged in use-of-force conduct that the state had been using to demonize Chauvin as an unlawful killer. That’s not a good day for the state.
#8
But wait -- there's more! Branco continues describing the train wreck for the state's case:
It was at this point that [Chauvin's Attorney] Nelson showed Mercil a series of photographs captured from the body worn camera of Officer Lane, and showing Chauvin’s knee on Floyd from the angle down Floyd’s proned body.
Photo 1: Where’s Chauvin’s leg in this image? On Floyd’s neck? Or on his shoulder blades and back. Mercil: Shoulder blades and back.
And in photo 2? Same. Photo 3? Same. Photo 4? Same.
This, of course, fundamentally undercuts the prosecution’s narrative of guilt that it was Chauvin’s knee on Floyd’s neck that killed Floyd.
#10
tw (#4) Under normal circumstances I would agree, but the appeals justices would face the same hard choice, and I suspect with less courage than the average juror.
[ToloNews] White House press secretary Jen Psaki ...a valley girl who woke up one morning and found she was spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of State under Obama... , referring to Afghanistan during a presser on Monday, said that US President Joe The Big Guy Biden ...46th president of the U.S., father of Hunter... "wants to take the time to make the right decision" on Afghanistan.
"It will be tough to meet the May 1st deadline for full withdrawal, for logistical reasons," Jen Psaki said.
"We are continuing — he’s continuing to consult internally with his national security team and advisers and, of course, also with our partners and allies," she said.
A week ago, the US special envoy for Afghanistan’s reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad met with senior Taliban ...the Pashtun equivalent of men... leaders including Mullah Baradar, the head of the Taliban’s political office in Doha, to discuss provisions of the US-Taliban peace agreement, including the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan, according to the Taliban’s front man Mohammad Naeem.
In the meantime, the United States reportedly asked the Taliban to agree to the continued presence of American forces for three or six months in Afghanistan after the May 1 deadline, sources close to the Taliban have said.
According to the sources, the Taliban has so far not made their final decision about the request; however, the group has apparently insisted that first their 7,000 prisoners should be released, and names of Taliban officials should be dropped from the UN blacklist.
Under the US-Taliban peace agreement signed on February 2020, all US forces stationed in Afghanistan must leave the country by May 1. But sources close to the Taliban have said that the Biden administration has asked the Taliban to agree on the presence of the US forces for another three or six months.
This comes as an UN-led conference on Afghanistan is expected to be held in The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire... this month. Sources familiar with the matter have said that two dates — April 12 and 16 — are under discussion by involved parties for the meeting that some have said will continue for 10 days.
In the meantime, senior politicians and government officials are reviewing over 25 peace proposals, including that of the Presidential Palace, to make a unified peace road map for the upcoming conference in Turkey.
The committee reviewing the proposals operates under the High Council for National Reconciliation and is led by former vice president Mohammad Yunus Qanooni, and its members are politicians and senior government officials, including the national security adviser.
The peace proposals have been sent by political parties to the council. The 15-member committee is also reviewing views from 30 members of the council about the peace proposals.
#8
You think you'd even be bothered by this by now if we had gone full Mongol on them and their Pakistan sponsor to begin with? The world would 'hate' us. Get a clue, they still 'hate' us according to our ruling caste.
[ToloNews] A former Taliban ...Arabic for students... member who joined the grinding of the peace processor five years ago is now serving as head of the Hajj and Religious Affairs Directorate in the southern province of Kandahar.
Mawlawi Manzoor Ahmad Husaini had different roles as the Taliban-designated security chief in Badghis, head of military commission in the western zone, and head of the Olympic committee during the group’s regime in Kabul.
Husaini took up arms while at a madrassa and fought in different parts of the country until he joined the grinding of the peace processor.
He had close relations with Taliban leaders during the group's beginnings and was assigned in different posts during the Taliban regime and after their fall in 2001.
"When I observed the situation in which our good elders were martyred in prison or were imprisoned for life, and also when I observed the crisis and the conflict, I saw it was in my favor to come and serve the people from within, and for my grave to be made in my ancestral cemetery," Husaini said.
The former Taliban member said that after the fall of the Taliban regime, he traveled to various countries to revive the Taliban.
He said main reason for his distance from the Taliban was an internal rift.
"I have the capacity to stop banned activities and bring reform with my words," he said.
Local officials in Kandahar said they hope the new appointment will help in confidence-building in the peace efforts.
"We call on all our brothers to come and cooperate with us in the government and avoid violence. We are all one nation, all Afghans, and we should work together," said the Taliban deputy governor Faisal Shirzai.
"Nothing will go ahead when there is violence and killing and crisis in this nation," said Mawlawi Ahmad, a religious scholar.
Husaini has lived in Kandahar with his family for the last five years. He said that now is the time to end the war and work together for peace.
[ToloNews] The family of Abdul Rauf, a nine-year-old child who was kidnapped in the northern province of Balkh more than five months ago, on Tuesday said that the case of their child has now become more complex, and they accused the Afghan government of not providing updates on the progress on his recovery.
Abdul Rauf’s father Mohammad Nabi on Tuesday showed TOLOnews photos of two alleged kidnappers who were captured and questioned by the Taliban ...Arabic for students... because of their suspected connection to the kidnapping. The suspects are named Sayed Karim and Shah Wali.
According to Mohammad Nabi, the suspects told the Taliban that the child is being kept in areas under the control of the government.
"They (kidnappers) moved him to a government controlled-area (Abdul Rauf) from the area under the control of the Taliban, because they had been traced there; however, at the moment, we do not know where they have transferred him," said Mohammad Nabi, the father of the child.
Mohammad Nabi says he has communicated with the Taliban five times seeking help to free his child.
Mohammad Nabi also said that four suspects currently being held by the Taliban have admitted that Abdul Rauf was kept in Dawlat Abad district of Balkh for several days.
"It's shameful for the government to not be able to find a 9-year-old child for more than five months," said Zohra, mother of Abdul Rauf.
The kidnappers previously asked for $1.2 million as a ransom in exchange for the release of the child.
The kidnappers also sent several audio and video clips to the family during this period.
"Abdul Rauf’s case has become very complex, the central organs have done a lot of work—clues were indicated in Faryab, this process is now bigger than just a Balkh (authorities) matter," said Mohammad Farhad Azimi, the governor of Balkh.
The family also said that the kidnappers have tortured the child.
[ENGLISH.AAWSAT] Tunisia’s president said on Tuesday that he opposed parliament’s attempt to set up a constitutional court, which he said was merely a bid to settle scores.
The 2011 revolution brought about a new constitution in 2014, which provided for a court to be set up within a year to adjudicate constitutional disputes.
However, a clean conscience makes a soft pillow... politicians have been unable since then to agree the names of 12 judges. Now, with President Kais Saied in deadlock with Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi and Mechichi’s ally, parliament Speaker Rached Ghannouchi, the speaker has launched a new bid to establish the court in the hope that it might end the political paralysis.
But in a speech on Tuesday, Saied said the deadline for this had expired.
"After more than five years, after a deep sleep, they’ve remembered about the Constitutional Court ... I will not accept a court formed to settle accounts," he said.
"They have missed the deadlines ... Anyone wanting me to violate the constitution is looking for a mirage."
The constitution requires the president, parliament and the judiciary each to name four judges to the court, which then needs the approval of parliament and the signature of the president.
Saied’s comments are likely to escalate the political tensions, just as Tunisia attempts to cope with the effects of the 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... pandemic, which has ravaged its economy and left it with a fiscal deficit of more than 11% last year.
The dispute has been building since the 2019 election delivered a fragmented parliament and brought a political outsider to the presidency.
Saied refused this year to approve a reshuffle that included the dismissal of ministers close to him including the interior minister, Taoufik Charefddine.
.@OregonGovBrown expresses sympathy for Michael Reinoehl, the #antifa gunman who fled out of state after murdering a Trump supporter in Portland. Reinoehl was shot dead by federal officers at his hideout after he fired at them using his pistol. pic.twitter.com/pM972G0FzI
[ENGLISH.AAWSAT] The Arab League ...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing... (AL) and Egypt offered to support Leb ...an Iranian colony situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozeen flavors of Christians. It is the home of Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers... to overcome its cabinet crisis, with hopes to form a government after months of deadlock.
Beirut announced Monday that AL Assistant Secretary-General Ambassador Houssam Zaki is scheduled to arrive in Lebanon next Thursday while Egypt’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry will visit the Lebanese capital tomorrow, carrying a message from President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to his Lebanese counterpart Michel Aoun ...president of Leb, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hizbullah... On Monday, Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab discussed preparations for Zaki’s upcoming visit with Ambassador Abdel-Rahman al-Solh.
Meanwhile, ...back at the buffalo wallow, Standing Buffalo drew a bead on his old enemy and squeezed the trigger... Egypt is currently exerting efforts to facilitate the birth of a new cabinet in Lebanon.
Lebanese MTV station said that Shoukry will make proposals to help rid the country of obstacles hindering the formation of a government. In this regard, the Egyptian FM will hold talks with a number of officials, including Speaker Nabih Knobby Berri ...Speaker of the Lebanese parliament, head of the Amal Shiite party aligned with Hezbollah, a not very subtle sock puppet of the Medes and Persians... and Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri ...Second son of Rafik Hariri, the Leb PM who was assassinated in 2005. He has was prime minister in his own right from 2009 through early 2011. He was born in Riyadh to an Iraqi mother and graduated from Georgetown University. He managed his father's business interests in Riyadh until his father's assassination. When his father died he inherited a fortune of some $4.1 billion, which won't do him much good if Hizbullah has him bumped off, too.... .
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04/07/2021 00:00 ||
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[IsraelTimes] President Reuven Rivlin announces Benjamin Netanyahu is his choice to take the first crack at forming a government.
He speaks of his trouble in choosing a candidate, and says the president can’t be a replacement for a court and make a decision a judge will not, referring to Netanyahu’s legal woes.
"According to the court and the law, a prime minister under indictment can continue to serve," he notes.
"This was not an easy decision," he says.
Netanyahu will now have 28 days to try to muster a coalition that can win majority support in the Knesset.
[ENGLISH.AAWSAT] Iranian media are quoting the outgoing military prosecutor of Tehran as saying that 10 officials have been indicted for the 2020 shootdown of a Ukrainian passenger plane.
Tehran military prosecutor Gholamabbas Torki made the comment Tuesday while handing over his office to Nasser Seraj.
The semiofficial ISNA news agency and the Iranian judiciary's Mizan new agency both reported the remarks, without elaborating.
Following three days of denial in January 2020 in the face of mounting evidence, 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... finally acknowledged that its forces mistakenly downed the Ukrainian jetliner with two surface-to-air missiles. All 176 people aboard the plane were killed.
In preliminary reports on the disaster last year, Iranian authorities blamed an air defense operator who they said mistook the Boeing 737-800 for an American cruise missile, The News Agency that Dare Not be Named reported.
The shootdown happened the same day Iran launched a ballistic missile attack on US troops in Iraq in retaliation for an American dronezap that killed a top Iranian general.
[ENGLISH.AAWSAT] Leb ...an Iranian colony situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozeen flavors of Christians. It is the home of Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers... ’s finance ministry said the central bank agreed on Tuesday to provide by the end of the month the documents required by Alvarez & Marsal for a stalled forensic audit.
The audit, which hit a roadblock last year, is a key condition for foreign aid that Lebanon badly needs as it grapples with a financial collapse rooted in decades of waste and graft. The currency has crashed and banks are paralyzed.
When restructuring consultancy A&M withdrew from the audit last November, it said it had not received the information it needed from Lebanon’s central bank.
Parliament agreed in December to lift banking secrecy for one year, amid much back-and-forth between Lebanese officials including the ministry and the central bank over whether certain information could be disclosed.
After a meeting with the central bank and A&M on Tuesday, the finance ministry said the bank confirmed its commitment to an audit and to deadlines to provide the necessary documents. It said attendees would stay in contact "in order to re-activate the forensic audit and evaluate the current development".
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04/07/2021 00:00 ||
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— Asharq Al-Awsat English (@aawsat_eng) April 6, 2021
The Big Guy wants to do it. The rest of us don't, except for John F. Kerry..
#Breaking| White House says #US is not anticipating any steps at the moment on #Iran, will allow negotiations to continue
— Asharq Al-Awsat English (@aawsat_eng) April 6, 2021
Iran refuses to drop 20% enrichment for release of $1 billion in assets
[IsraelTimes] Iran’s chief negotiator says the Islamic Theocratic Republic will not agree to reduce its uranium enrichment from 20 percent — just a short technical step away from weapons-grade levels — in exchange for the release of $1 billion in frozen assets, Rooters reports.
Abbas Araqchi rules out a possible exchange over the funds held in other countries, which have been inaccessible due to American sanctions. He also says talks with world powers on the return of the US to the nuclear deal were "constructive" and that another meeting will be held Friday.
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... is insisting Washington take the first step.
“Lifting US sanctions is the first and the most necessary action for reviving the deal,” Araqchi is quoted by Iranian state TV as saying. “Iran is fully ready to reverse its activities and return to complete implementation of the deal immediately after it is verified sanctions are lifted.”
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04/07/2021 00:00 ||
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[ENGLISH.AAWSAT] A section of the grain silos that absorbed much of last year’s Beirut port blast must be demolished to avoid collapse, experts warned in a report published Monday.
Swiss company Amann Engineering, which has offered laser scanning assistance to Leb ...an Iranian colony situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozeen flavors of Christians. It is the home of Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers... since the cataclysmic August 4 explosion, called the most damaged of the disemboweled silos an "unstable, moving structure."
"Our recommendation is to proceed with the deconstruction of this block," the company said in a report.
"As it becomes more obvious the concrete piles have been heavily damaged... new silos will have to be built at a different location," it warned, AFP reported.
Economy minister Raoul Nehme had said in November that Lebanon will demolish its largest grain store over public safety concerns, but authorities have yet to take action.
Once boasting a capacity of more than 100,000 tons, the imposing 48-meter-high structure has become emblematic of the catastrophic port blast that killed more than 200 people and damaged swathes of the capital.
Authorities say the blast was caused by a shipment of ammonium nitrate fertilizer that caught fire after being impounded for years on end.
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[ENGLISH.AAWSAT] A runaway Hezbollah suspect convicted of the liquidation of Leb ...an Iranian colony situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozeen flavors of Christians. It is the home of Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers... 's former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri cannot appeal against the verdict until he turns himself in, a UN-backed court said Tuesday.
Salim Ayyash was found guilty in absentia and sentenced to life imprisonment last year by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon in the Netherlands over the killing of Hariri in a suicide kaboom in Beirut in 2005.
The 57-year-old Ayyash remains on the run, with His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah ...The satrap of the Medes and the Persians in Leb... , the head of the Hezbollah party, refusing to hand him over or to recognize the court's authority.
Ayyash's defense team appealed against the decision in January but the court said on Tuesday that under its rules that he was not allowed to do so while still a runaway from justice.
"The legal framework for in absentia proceedings at the STL does not contemplate a defense appeal in absentia," the court said in a statement on the decision by a majority of the court's judges.
"Counsel for Mr. Ayyash have not been appointed nor accepted by Mr. Ayyash, who absconded and has not been found. An arrest warrant against Mr. Ayyash is outstanding."
The court added that Ayyash under international law retained "the right to appeal the judgments if he appears, or request a retrial".
Prosecutors have appealed against the acquittal of three other suspects -- also in absentia.
Hariri was among 22 people killed in a huge truck bombing that also injured 226 others.
Ayyash also faces a separate case at the tribunal for three attacks on politicians in Lebanon that is due to open in June.
The United States in March offered a reward of $10 million to find Ayyash.
The State Department said it would offer the reward for "information leading to the location or identification" of Ayyash or "information leading to preventing him from engaging in an act of international terrorism against a US person or US property."
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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.
...46th president of the U.S., father of Hunter...
...Arabic for 
...Arabic for 
...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...
...an Iranian colony situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozeen flavors of Christians. It is the home of Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...
...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 
...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 
