One for the Ayoob Files?

February 11th, 2011

This story is worth keeping an eye on, especially since it represents a weird intersection on the Venn diagram between the jihad watch and gun crankery.

In brief, Raymond Davis is an employee with the U.S Embassy in Lahore. Davis was out driving around when (he claims) two men on motorcycles tried to rob him. Davis shot them both, and claims self-defense. Pakistani prosecutors claim that Davis killed the two men in “cold blood” and are pressing murder charges against Davis.

The two men were in possession of handguns and bullets were found in the firearms’ magazines, but neither of them had a bullet in the chamber of their pistols, [Lahore police chief Aslam] Tareen said. Moreover, after Davis began firing and one man darted down the street to flee, Davis shot him in the back, according to the police chief.

More:

Police officials say no witnesses have turned up who corroborate Davis’ claim that he was being robbed. However, Punjab police officials who asked for anonymity because they were not authorized to talk about the case said both of the men Davis shot dead were known to police as being members of a robbery gang. Cell phones that they had when they were shot turned out to be stolen, police officials said.

And:

The judge also referred Davis’ claim of diplomatic immunity to the Lahore High Court, an appellate panel that will take up the issue Feb. 17. The U.S. Embassy has stated repeatedly that as a member of the embassy’s “technical and administrative staff,” Davis enjoys immunity from prosecution. Embassy officials, however, have declined to clarify exactly what his assignment was in Pakistan.

CIA, maybe? That would explain why he was carrying a pistol. It would also lead me to give more credence to his robbery defense; somehow I doubt a CIA employee would blow his cover and blow away people in the street unless he had a genuine fear for his life. (This is where you all can accuse me of being naive, which is probably true.)

Posted in Clippings, Guns, Politics | 2 Comments »

The bitter, bitten.

February 11th, 2011

There’s a guy in Pflugerville who leases out food trucks to independent operators. He had some issues with the way the City of Austin regulated food trucks, and started lobbying for stricter rules “to address health, safety and environmental concerns”. Ultimately, the City Council did make some changes to the law.

Can you guess what’s coming?

But now Ramsey says the teeth he sought have come back to bite him — since November, nine of his 53 vehicles either have not passed or would be unable to pass a city Fire Department inspection mandated by the new mobile food vending requirements. Passing is a requisite for getting an Austin/Travis County Health and Human Services Department permit, which vendors need to do business.

More:

Ramsey said he’s tried since November to get a permit for one of the nine trucks but has been rejected at least four times. Eight other trucks have expired operating permits. Because they are made by the same manufacturer, Ramsey said, he had not taken them in for the fire department inspections. About 25 other vehicles made by the same manufacturer will soon have their permits expire, he said.

Posted in Clippings, Food, Schadenfreude | 1 Comment »

For Cthluhu’s sake, why?

February 10th, 2011

As much as I like LaRue Tactical and the 10/22, this is one product I won’t be purchasing.

(Hattip: Say Uncle.)

(Edited to add: Video of the product in action here. Thanks to our friend James.)

Posted in Guns | 2 Comments »

Mexican Gun Ducks!

February 10th, 2011

I generally don’t read Stratfor articles unless someone points me to them. Nothing against Stratfor; it’s just a matter of limited time, and the sort of geopolitics Stratfor usually covers being more along the lines of other bloggers.

However, Snowflakes In Hell has a link to a solid article on the Mexican gun issue.

…the 3,480 guns positively traced to the United States equals less than 12 percent of the total arms seized in Mexico in 2008 and less than 48 percent of all those submitted by the Mexican government to the ATF for tracing. This means that almost 90 percent of the guns seized in Mexico in 2008 were not traced back to the United States.

Interesting fact:

Cartel hit men in Mexico commonly use .380 pistols equipped with sound suppressors in their assassinations. In many cases, these pistols are purchased in Mexico, the suppressors are locally manufactured and the guns are adapted to receive the suppressors by Mexican gunsmiths.

Posted in Clippings, Guns | Comments Closed

I’m not worried.

February 10th, 2011

Interesting article in the NYT about the state of the Houston Grand Opera, focusing in particular on their recent productions of “Dead Man Walking” and “Lucia di Lammermoor”.

Clearly the work being done here is on a par with almost anything the company has undertaken, and in some ways finer.

Good to know.

Posted in Clippings, Music, Theatre | 4 Comments »

Obit watch: February 10, 2011.

February 10th, 2011

Emory Bellard, former Texas, Texas A&M, and Spring Westfield football coach.

He spent five years as an assistant at Texas, where he helped Royal revive the Longhorns’ football fortunes by creating the wishbone, the high-octane, run-oriented scheme that carried the Longhorns to 30 consecutive victories from 1968 through 1970 and to national championships in 1969 and 1970.

He had two 10-win seasons at Texas A&M, including a share of the 1975 Southwest Conference championship, and spent seven years at Mississippi State, twice coaching the Bulldogs to top 20 finishes. His final coaching job was at Spring Westfield, where the Mustangs reached the playoffs four times in six years.

There’s nothing wrong with breast cancer awareness, but where are the colored mugs and other tchotkes for ALS?

Posted in Clippings, Obits, Sports | Comments Closed

Impressive.

February 9th, 2011

Actual HouChron headline:

Actual text of article:

The White House has rejected a request from the U.S. agency that monitors weapons sales to give them emergency authority requiring firearms dealers near the Mexican border to report multiple purchases of high-powered rifles.

I see the Journalist’s Guide to Firearms Identification is still in use.

Posted in Clippings, Guns | Comments Closed

Followup roundup for February 9, 2011.

February 9th, 2011

Staff Sergeant and Medal of Honor recipient Sal Giunta is leaving the military when his current tour ends in mid-June.

Giunta, 26, plans to move with his wife to Fort Collins, Colo. and will use the G.I. Bill to continue his education, according to Army spokesman George Wright.

You know, if I ran a public (or private) university somewhere, I’d come up with the money to offer Sgt. Giunta a full free ride for four years. Maybe he’d be willing to work part-time, perhaps as a mentor to younger students who could use some help?

The NYT reports on the controversy over early “Spider-Man” reviews.

Lucky J’s Chicken and Waffles has opened their sit-down restaurant. Until I visited their website, I had no idea how tough these guys have had it. I knew about the trailer theft, of course, but the death of a child, divorce, and reconstructive hand surgery? This guy sounds like Austin’s own version of Job. I’m going to try Lucky J’s this weekend; not because of the suffering, but because I like the idea, and because it’s sort of on my usual weekend path. (Man does not live by Torchy’s Tacos alone. Though I have to admit, the new location on Burnet Road is much nicer than some of the others I’ve been to.) Full report to follow.

The LAT would like for you to know that cockfighting is bad, m’kay? And not just because people sometimes get stabbed to death by roosters with blades.

Posted in Clippings, Food, Heroism, Theatre | 3 Comments »

Obit watch: February 9, 2011.

February 9th, 2011

Ken Olsen, the founder of Digital Equipment Corporation, has passed away.

I came in right at the end of the DEC era, and never really had a chance to work on a PDP-anything, a VAX, or a DEC-XX. (There was, at one point, a scheme to purchase a used PDP-8, but nothing ever came of that.)

I still smile, though, whenever I see a reference to one of those machines (or, for that matter, one of those machines in person at DEFCON).

In honor of the late Mr. Olsen, here’s a link to SIMH, which will let you emulate much of the DEC line.

Posted in Clippings, Geek, Obits, Retrocomputing | 1 Comment »

Today’s bulletin from the Department of WTF? (#2 in a series)

February 8th, 2011

If you want a pretty constant diet of WTF moments, the best thing you could do is subscribe to The Agitator‘s RSS feed. Be warned, though, that Balko’s collection of “WTF” moments is also likely to lead to an increase in your blood pressure.

Sometimes, something just jumps out at me from his site that goes beyond the usual “WTF” moments. This story is one of those moments.

Short summary: Barney Brown was arrested at the age of 14, tried in juvenile court for a rape and robbery, and acquitted. But that’s not the “WTF?” part. The prosecutor put him on trial again for the same crimes as an adult. He was convicted, and sent to prison for life.

This took place in 1969. Barney Brown served 38 years.

The fact that one trial took place in juvenile court and the second in adult court doesn’t matter. There is clearly settled case law on this; once Barney Brown was acquitted in juvenile court, jeopardy protections applied. The prosecutor had no authority, no right, no legal ground, and no business trying Barney Brown again in an adult court.

This is the kind of egregious misconduct by a prosecutor that, I believe, rises to a standard where the shield of “sovereign immunity” can, and should, be pierced. In a just world, that prosecutor (if he is still alive) would be in prison right now, and his assets would be signed over to Barney Brown.

Posted in Clippings, Law | Comments Closed

TMQ watch: February 8, 2011.

February 8th, 2011

Mystery! Suspense! Pathos! None of those are present in this week’s “Tuesday Morning Quarterback“, but that doesn’t stop us from blogging it anyway. After the jump…

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Neuroscience, NFL, Sports, TMQ watch | 1 Comment »

Spider-Man, Spider-Man…

February 8th, 2011

Oh, look! The producers of “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark” are upset that reviewers reviewed the show when it was still in infinite preview mode!

“This pile-on by the critics is a huge disappointment,” said Rick Miramontez, spokesman for the show. “Changes are still being made and any review that runs before the show is frozen is totally invalid.”

If you’ll excuse me a second, I’m going out and purchasing tiny violin futures.

“Personally, I really think that waiting and playing by the rules and being a professional is part of what separates the remaining professional critics from the glut of amateur critics that can post their opinions anywhere they want,” says Time Out’s Feldman. “It’s not like the public has no way to find out information about ‘Spider-Man.’ They can go online any day and see what random people are saying.”

And I’d argue that part of being a “professional” is not giving the people you cover the power to jerk you around that Feldman and other critics (including John Simon) seemingly want the “Spider-Man” producers to have.

Meanwhile, Patrick Healy has a more comprehensive roundup of reviews.

(Hattip to Jimbo for both of these.)

Posted in Clippings, Theatre | 1 Comment »

Random notes: February 8, 2011.

February 8th, 2011

There are a couple of interesting things in the NYT this morning.

J. Paul Getty III passed away over the weekend. That’s a name (like Koo Stark, he said, tipping his hat in Lawrence’s direction) I hadn’t thought of in years. Getty was most famous as the victim of a kidnapping “by Italian gangsters” during which his ear was cut off. I knew he was something of a party animal, but I was unaware of his 1981 stroke (apparently the result of an overdose). I was also unaware that Balthazar Getty was his son.

Meanwhile, Los Angeles (and specifically LACMA) are trying to figure out how to maintain the Watts Towers, and how to get more tourists to a part of town that’s most famous for riots.

And the NYT has made their move:

…“Spider-Man” is not only the most expensive musical ever to hit Broadway; it may also rank among the worst.

Yes, this is a real review.

I would like to acknowledge here that “Spider-Man” doesn’t officially open until March 15; at least that’s the last date I heard. But since this show was looking as if it might settle into being an unending work in progress — with Ms. Taymor playing Michelangelo to her notion of a Sistine Chapel on Broadway — my editors and I decided I might as well check out “Spider-Man” around Monday, the night it was supposed to have opened before its latest postponement.

The fallout from the NYT decision should be interesting. The pin has been pulled from Mr. Grenade. He is no longer Ben Brantley’s friend. On the other hand, Charles McNulty in the LAT has Brantley’s back:

Julie Taymor’s $65-million, accident-prone production, featuring an erratic score by U2’s Bono and The Edge, is a teetering colossus that can’t find its bearings as a circus spectacle or as a rock musical.

And it looks like Peter Marks in the WP is standing with Brantley and McNulty:

What’s apparent after 170 spirit-snuffing minutes in the Foxwoods Theatre – interrupted by the occasional burst of aerial distraction – is that director Julie Taymor, of “The Lion King” fame, left a few essential items off her lavish shopping list:

1. Coherent plot

2. Tolerable music

3. Workable sets

Charles Willeford, call your office, please:

A man who was at an illegal cockfight in central California died after being stabbed in the leg by a bird that had a knife attached to its own limb, officials confirmed Monday.

In other news, the WP has discovered (reporter with a database!) that people in “Washington’s safest, most well-to-do neighborhoods” have registered more guns than people in “poorer, crime-plagued areas of the city”. I may have more to say on this later, time permitting.

Edited to add: I was in a hurry to finish that last post and hadn’t got to the Statesman yet, unfortunately. I previously noted the fires at several Austin restaurants, including the Green Muse Cafe. (There was also a recent fire at Habana, which I didn’t note for reasons that escape me at the moment.)

Anyway, APD made an arrest:

According to his arrest affidavit, [Martin] Gutierrez [the alleged arsonist – DB] said he believed a large tunnel system lay under Gillis Park near Oltorf Street and that people were being held there against their will. He admitted he started the fire at the Green Muse Cafe because he wanted to inform the public of the tunnel and “what was really going on here,” the document said.

Posted in Art, California Über Alles, Clippings, Food, Guns, Law, Obits, Theatre | 1 Comment »

Public service announcement.

February 7th, 2011

The Texas Department of Transportation is doing some work this weekend at the intersection of Interstate 35 and Ben White Boulevard (aka Texas 71). Specifically, they’ll be working on some new flyovers in that area. I would embed a Google Maps image here, but apparently WordPress 3.0.4 has a bug with embedding iFrames. You can try clicking here.

Anyway, what does this mean to you, Al Franken? TXDOT is closing the entire freeway from “late Friday evening to early Monday morning”. Yes, you read that right, the entire freeway. They’re diverting traffic onto the access road:

The frontage road traffic lights at Ben White (Texas 71) will be on permanent green during the 50-hour plus diversion, meaning that the regular I-35 traffic will be able to move on through without stopping. But given that I-35 has three northbound lanes and three southound lanes in this section, there will be 33 percent less capacity for about a mile and all of those cars will have to exit and then re-enter the main lanes.

If I lived in the area, I’d stock up on popcorn. This is going to be better than the zoo and the circus combined. As for the rest of us, I think staying far away from I-35 for the duration is the best course of action.

Posted in Bridges, Clippings, Roads, Stupid | 2 Comments »

Random notes: February 7, 2011.

February 7th, 2011

I know I’m “rooting for laundry”, but I have a certain fondness for the Green Bay Packers. A major reason for that is their unique ownership structure. The Packers are a public corporation, with stock and everything. (The NFL will not allow any other team to adopt this ownership structure; the Packers are grandfathered in. This is the kind of behavior by the NFL that would make me want my congressman to start asking questions, if I believed in that sort of thing.) Anyway, here’s a good New Yorker piece that explains how the Packers work in more detail. And yes, my black little heart is filled with delight today. (Hattip: Gruber.)

We have previously mentioned the death of General Vang Pao, and the question of whether he would be buried at Arlington. The answer to that question was “no”; the Pentagon turned down the family’s request. Mark Arax has a good piece in the NYT about the General’s funeral.

Posted in Clippings, NFL, Obits, Sports | 3 Comments »

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