Syrian terrorists being trained by US

Reminds me of the Los Angeles Watts Riots.  For anyone who doesn' know about Watts:

The Watts Riots (or Watts Rebellion) was a race riot that took place in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles from August 11 to 17, 1965. The six days of racially-fueled violence and unrest resulted in 34 deaths, 1,032 injuries, 3,438 arrests, and over $40 million in property damage. It was the most severe riot in the city's history until the Los Angeles riots of 1992, and is considered by many to be a key turning point in the African-American Civil Rights Movement.

Also this - the obituary is that of the woman whose arrest and that of her son caused the Watts Riot.  LL
http://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-rena-price-20130623-story.html

It is really, Bonny. They need to get a control on the situation that has turned violent so that might be a help.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/16/ferguson-state-of-emergency_n_5684739.html

I don't think there have been any deaths so far, LL, apart from the one that sparked the whole thing off? I don't suppose Huffington is any too happy, having had one of its reporters arrested there....

They probably are really worried as to how this is going. The last thing they want is for this to spread to other areas.

I suppose the test will be if the curfew is obeyed?

I would expect so, Bonny.

The people who were protesting peacefully and legally must be angry that, having held whatever moral high ground there is in this disaster, they are now getting tarred with the same brush as the ones that were looting liquor stores, etc.

That's what can happen during times like these, unfortunately, Bonny.

More trouble overnight. Extract from:

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/08/17/police-try-to-disperse-protesters-defying-ferguson-curfew/

Police fired smoke and tear gas canisters early Sunday in an effort to disperse several dozen protesters who defied a curfew in a St. Louis suburb where a black teenager was fatally shot by a white police officer last week.

The Missouri Highway Patrol said that seven people were arrested and one man had been shot at the site of the protest in Ferguson, Mo. Missouri State Highway Patrol Capt. Ron Johnson said that the shooting victim was in critical condition and had been rushed to a hospital by protesters.

Johnson said the use of tear gas was precipitated by concerns about people who'd broken into a barbecue restaurant and taken position on the roof overlooking approaching police. Another concern involved a man flashing a handgun who appeared in the middle of the street as armored vehicles approached. Johnson says someone fired at a patrol car, but no officers were injured.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that St. Louis Alderman Antonio French, who has taken part in demonstrations all week, told reporters that the police's tactics "were a lot better" than they could have been. French also said that he had attempted to convince people to honor the curfew, but some "didn't want to be told to leave."

French later tweeted, "I can tell you firsthand that some of the people that remained tonight were armed. Were ready for a fight. And wanted to injure police."

Hundreds of other protesters had left peacefully before the midnight-to-5 a.m. curfew took effect, but remaining protesters -- chanting "No justice! No curfew!" -- refused to leave the area.

As five armored tactical vehicles approached the crowd, officers spoke through a loudspeaker: "You are in violation of a state-imposed curfew. You must disperse immediately. Failure to comply may result in arrest."

As officers put on gas masks, a chant from the distant crowd emerged: "We have the right to assemble peacefully." A moment later, police began firing canisters into the crowd. Protesters said their faces and eyes had been burned. Others screamed in pain.

Jayson Ross, who was leading the protesters toward police, said: "They got guns. We got guns. We are ready."

It's now sounding more like deliberate sh*t-stirring than genuine protest?

I'll tell you a true story.  A lady friend was living in Crystal Palace at the time of the riots in 1981 in Brixton and nearby roads.   She was standing at a bus-stop on the road that goes to Croydon when she noticed a number of youths vanishing into a set of nearby bushes and then coming back with smug grins on their faces.    A couple of them stopped nearby her and compared the money they were clutching, then headed off over the road onto the area called the Parade.   Intriuged, she slowly followed them and saw them join a group of lads boarding a bus to Brixton.   She thought no more about it until later that evening when Brixton erupted into flames.   Realising, or at least considering the connection between what she had seen and the rioting, she made a couple of phone calls and passed on what she had seen.   She heard no more for some time, then a bout 6 months later one of her contacts told her that he was sure the rioting had been carefully orchestrated with local crime bosses paying the kids to go and cause mayhem.    I think she was so lucky the lads were more interested in the cash they were holding than the woman watching them.      LL

Interesting, LL. And it doesn't surprise me greatly.

Certainly, whatever's going on in Ferguson is starting to look manipulated - to what end, or for whose benefit, remains unknown.

http://www.ijreview.com/2014/08/168698-eyewitness-recalls-important-detail-background-video-mins-ferguson-shooting/

Let's see what the toxicologist's report says too....

Trouble is, if the toxicology shows the 'gentle giant' *cough* was stoned out of his gourd, then those bent on causing trouble won't believe it.

Battle lines seem to have been drawn, and neither side seems to be greatly interested in the actual truth, whatever that may be. Frankly, if Brown was indeed charging the officer, then I couldn't blame the cop for opening fire, faced with that Man Mountain.

Ferguson is going to go down as a perfect example of how NOT to handle civil unrest...

I saw on CNN they are sending in the National Guard. LL

Indeed, LL:

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/08/18/private-autopsy-on-michael-brown-reveals-that-was-shot-six-times-report-says/

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/08/18/us/missouri-teen-shooting/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

This from the CNN link:

Brown, an unarmed black teenager, was shot dead August 9 by a white police officer. He was shot at least six times, including twice in the head, according to the preliminary results of an autopsy that his family requested.
Family attorney Anthony Gray said the independent autopsy conducted Sunday found that Brown was shot twice in the head and four times in the right arm -- all to the front of his body.
Last week, the St. Louis County police department said an original autopsy found that the teen died of gunshot wounds. But the department wouldn't say how many times he was shot or any other details.
According to the preliminary results of the family autopsy, the bullets that struck Brown were not fired from close range, as indicated by the absence of gunpowder residue on his body.
One of the bullets shattered his right eye, traveled through his face, exited his jaw and re-entered his collarbone, according to the autopsy.
The last two shots were likely the ones to his head, attorney Gray said. One entered the top of his Brown's skull, suggesting his head was bent forward when he was struck.
The independent autopsy was conducted by high-profile pathologist Michael Baden. Baden testified in the O.J. Simpson, Phil Spector and Drew Peterson murder trials.

Just what isn't needed - a celebrity pathologist.

bb1 wrote:Indeed, LL:

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/08/18/private-autopsy-on-michael-brown-reveals-that-was-shot-six-times-report-says/

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/08/18/us/missouri-teen-shooting/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

This from the CNN link:

Brown, an unarmed black teenager, was shot dead August 9 by a white police officer. He was shot at least six times, including twice in the head, according to the preliminary results of an autopsy that his family requested.
Family attorney Anthony Gray said the independent autopsy conducted Sunday found that Brown was shot twice in the head and four times in the right arm -- all to the front of his body.
Last week, the St. Louis County police department said an original autopsy found that the teen died of gunshot wounds. But the department wouldn't say how many times he was shot or any other details.
According to the preliminary results of the family autopsy, the bullets that struck Brown were not fired from close range, as indicated by the absence of gunpowder residue on his body.
One of the bullets shattered his right eye, traveled through his face, exited his jaw and re-entered his collarbone, according to the autopsy.
The last two shots were likely the ones to his head, attorney Gray said. One entered the top of his Brown's skull, suggesting his head was bent forward when he was struck.
The independent autopsy was conducted by high-profile pathologist Michael Baden. Baden testified in the O.J. Simpson, Phil Spector and Drew Peterson murder trials.

Just what isn't needed - a celebrity pathologist.

Depending on the calibre of the weapon, likely to be either 0.4 inch, or a 9mm. With the 0.4 inch, I gather these are usually "soft" and therefore flatten out on impact, doing a lot of damage through shock. With the 9mm, with smaller and harder bullets, there is not a great deal of "stopping power". The description (rather graphic) of one of the bullets suggests that it was a 9mm (the .4 would have done much more damage and would not have exited).

So faced with someone of that size, it did probably take 6 shots to stop him.

But who knows what actually happened.

Thanks, Jean-Pierre - what I know about firearms goes into a very small space.

I suspect the narrative of 'what happened' is going to depend on who is telling the story; from where I am sitting, BOTH sides are in the wrong.

I remember seeing on German TV that he had been shot in the back while running away. So many versions of what happened. LL

So many versions of what happened. LL

Yes, and people not waiting for information and tempers running high....police acting like paramilitaries, agitators from outside with their own agendas, outright criminals taking advantage of chaos. It's a giant mess.

bb1 wrote:Trouble is, if the toxicology shows the 'gentle giant' *cough* was stoned out of his gourd, then those bent on causing trouble won't believe it.

Battle lines seem to have been drawn, and neither side seems to be greatly interested in the actual truth, whatever that may be. Frankly, if Brown was indeed charging the officer, then I couldn't blame the cop for opening fire, faced with that Man Mountain.

Ferguson is going to go down as a perfect example of how NOT to handle civil unrest...

It is important for the police to find out whether the cop who shot and killed him had reason to. That is why that differing version of events, and subsequent toxicology report is necessary. Was the guy strung out on something that fueled his irrational actions? Why did the guy not freeze when commanded to? The cop had the right to defend himself if he felt his life was threatened, if so.

That precipitated the whole chain of events in this rioting. That is the starting point for any crime in which the cops open fire when faced with a drugged out crazy person who refuses to freeze when commanded to.

J-P, the bullets you refer to, which do the most amount of internal damage, are called hollow points.

The militarization of the police is scary here. They are supposed to protect and serve the people not barrel through residential areas as though it were an overseas war zone.

It's done terrible damage, hasn't it? These Ferguson police look like police in a riot situation:



But as for the likes of this:



What the HELL does he think he's doing? Shooting supposed 'terrorists' in Afghanistan or something?

I think an outsider should calm things down, maybe the Russian ambassador could visit and hand out cookies, assure the rioters of support. No? Is that different?

I think an outsider should calm things down, maybe the Russian ambassador could visit and hand out cookies, assure the rioters of support. No? Is that different?

Put like that, no.

There's something strangely worrying about headlines that say

NIXON SENDS IN NATIONAL GUARD

Are they likely to help the situation, Lily? Can they calm things down, or will the rioters see them as someone else to fight with?

Have now looked at all the links posted and the one J-P posted here:-

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/08/18/us/missouri-teen-shooting/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

It would seem that the cop did shoot him without a struggle and that he was shot from the back out the front.....

No wonder other autopsies have been ordered.  They want to make sure they have it 100% correct, which they should, especially considering the sensitivities here.

ETA: Bonny, I don't know that it is a good thing. It can't change anything.