Eideard

 
U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords will step down from Congress this week to continue her recovery from a gunshot wound inflicted a year ago this month.

“I have more work to do on my recovery, so to do what is best for Arizona, I will step down this week,” the congresswoman said in a video message released today to her constituents.

Giffords, a third-generation Arizonan who served five years in the state Legislature before being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in November 2006, will not seek re-election this fall. But Giffords vowed that her career in public service has not come to an end.

“I will return and we will work together for Arizona and this great country,” she said…

“A lot has happened over the past year,” she said. “We cannot change that. But I know on the issues we fought for, we can change things for the better. Jobs, border security, veterans. We can do so much more by working together.”

Giffords will submit her letter of resignation later this week to House Speaker John Boehner and Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer. The governor will set the date for special primary and general elections to determine who will serve the remainder of Giffords’ term.

Before she leaves office, Giffords will finish her Congress On Your Corner event that was interrupted by a gunman on Jan. 8, 2011. In a private gathering in Tucson, Giffords will meet with some of the people who were at that event.

Brave woman, brave person. Legitimate politician. A rare breed in our Congress.

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords with her husband, Mark Kelly, led the pledge of allegiance
Photo: Nicole Bengiveno/The New York Times

The sun had fallen and a crowd had gathered on a chilly Sunday night on the mall at the University of Arizona at the start of the last event marking the first anniversary of the mass shooting here a year ago. The event started with a leading of the Pledge of Allegiance.

And the person leading it was Representative Gabrielle Giffords.

The crowd responded with cheers and gasps as Ms. Giffords, wearing a bright red scarf, walked slowly across the stage, helped at times by Ron Barber, her chief of staff who was also shot that day and who was leading the vigil on Sunday. And with no apparent difficulty, Ms. Giffords led the crowd through the pledge, holding her right arm with her left hand. She finished with a clear, broad smile to the audience and slowly walked off the stage.

It was a dramatic footnote to the end of two days of ceremony here that were remarkable for how understated they were. A year ago, after the shooting spree that left 6 dead and 13 wounded, including Ms. Giffords, residents of this city gathered in an expression of grief and shock that lasted for weeks. There were a blur of funerals, a crush of flowers, candles and well-wishers on the expanse of lawn at the hospital where victims were taken, and a visit by President Obama that drew thousands.

On this anniversary, there was the candlelight vigil, an interdenominational prayer service and a ringing of bells at 10:11 a.m., marking the moment of the attack, and the reading of the names of the victims. There was Ms. Giffords herself visiting places that have become landmarks of the attack: the Safeway supermarket at the parking lot where the shootings took place and the Internsive Care Unit at the University of Arizona Medical Center where those injured in the shootings were treated…

For Tucson, this is a turning point as it searches for a way to mark the tragedy — to give it meaning beyond the day itself — without the images from the Safeway parking lot becoming the first thing people think of at the mention of Tucson.

“We refuse to let this tragic day define us,” Patricia Maisch, one of the women who wrested the gun from the shooter, said at a service memorializing the victims at a hall at the University of Arizona.

There will be no aid from the Governor of Arizona, her Republican counterparts in the state legislature or those Republicans elected to represent the people of Arizona in Congress. They will blithely trot out their “understanding” of the murders in terms hackneyed enough to be two centuries away from reality.

The survivors of the murders will carry on alone – except for the millions of Americans of good will and courage who care about freedom for those who defend Free Speech without needing concealed weapons.

Three U.S. citizens traveling to spend the holidays with their relatives in Mexico were among those killed in a spree of shooting attacks on buses in northern Mexico…A group of five gunmen attacked three buses in Mexico’s Gulf coast state of Veracruz on Thursday, killing a total of seven passengers in what authorities said appeared to be a violent robbery spree.

The Americans killed were a mother and her two daughters who were returning to visit relatives in the region, known as the Huasteca, said an official in the neighboring state of Hidalgo, where the mother was born.

Hidalgo state regional assistant secretary Jorge Rocha identified the dead U.S. mother as Maria Sanchez Hernandez, 39, of Fort Worth, Texas, and the daughters as Karla, 19, and Cristina, 13. Rocha said all three held dual U.S.-Mexican citizenship. A 14-year-old Mexican nephew traveling with the three was also killed…

While funeral plans were unclear, Rocha said Sanchez Hernandez’s mother wants her daughter to be buried in Mexico.

Three other Mexican citizens were killed in the Thursday attacks on the three buses. The five gunmen who allegedly carried out the attacks were later killed by soldiers.

Earlier in their spree, the gunmen shot to death three people and killed a fourth with grenade in the nearby town of El Higo, Veracruz…

The US consulate urged Americans to “exercise caution” when traveling in Veracruz, and “avoid intercity road travel at night.”

As I have advised my friends and relatives – stay the heck out of Mexico!

Anders Behring Breivik is a conservative Christian who enjoys classical music and the video game World of Warcraft.

Breivik has been named by several Norwegian media outlets as the suspected shooter at a youth camp in Oslo, where 10 80 people were killed Friday and he may be linked to a bombing near the prime minister’s residence that killed seven others.

On his Facebook page, which appears to only have been started July 17, Breivik mostly posted music videos and said his interests include hunting and bodybuilding…

His profile also says he’s a director at a company called Breivik Geofarm.

He lists himself as single and has five profile photos – four of which are headshots…

A Twitter account is also being linked to Breivik, although there is just one tweet on July 17.

“One person with a belief is equal to the force of 100,000 who have only interests,” he wrote.

The television station TV 2 in Norway reported Breivik had right-wing extremist tendancies and had two guns registered under his name.

The headline is from some unnamed official who was asked about “international” terrorism.

Prearations for a lynching fair trial in Pakistan

Raymond Davis, a CIA contractor accused of murdering two men in Lahore, Pakistan, has been released after the families to the two men he killed were given “blood money” and the case was dropped, Pakistani officials said.

While Davis, who had earlier admitted to the killings but said he was acting in “self-defence”, was indicted for the murders earlier on Wednesday, Rana Sanaullah, the Punjab law minister, said he was immediately pardoned by the families of the victims in exchange for compensation or “blood money”.

The practice of pardoning those accused of murder under such an arrangement is permitted under Pakistani law…

The amount of money agreed to has not been made clear.

Davis had been arrested on January 27, after having killed the two men on a street in Lahore. He said that the two men were attempting to rob him, and that he acted in self-defence.

Chaudhry Mushtaq, superintendent at Kot Lakhpat jail, said Davis left the jail with US consulate officials…

Law, reason, accepted judicial procedures in Pakistan don’t mean a whole boatload to modern nations. Money is more important than justice. Clear and definitive.

Not that it isn’t disproportionately higher in Western esteem. But, a little subtlety might be nice. Har.

A Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer shot the 15-year-old son of a woman who had been stabbed in northern Charlotte by another man.

Police admit the teen was “in no way associated” with the assault on his mother.

The 15-year-old was in stable condition at Carolinas Medical Center early Sunday. His mother was also being treated at the hospital for the stab wounds, which aren’t life-threatening…

Bruce Jenkins, 39, was arrested a few blocks away from the stabbing scene on Brandie Glen Drive near Sunset Road and charged with assault with a deadly weapon in connection with the stabbing…

In a statement, police said “It appears that the son was on scene very upset.”

The department said it is investigating the teen’s actions and how those actions were perceived by the officers at the time of the shooting.

Late Saturday, people who identified themselves as family members of the victims were at the scene, visibly angry…

Well, that seems like a reasonable response to the senseless shooting of the child of the victim the coppers were called to help in the first place. Seems to me.

When Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies pulled up to Likun Sahilu’s liquor store moments after it was robbed at gunpoint Sunday, the slight Ethiopian immigrant was relieved.

That is, until a deputy started shooting at him.

Eight bullets. Eight misses…

The deputies, he said, were about 50 feet away with their lights off. He initially thought they were shooting at the robbers, so he continued to point in the direction in which they fled. Sheriff’s Department officials said the deputy mistakenly believed the unarmed Sahilu was pointing a gun at him and fired in what he thought was self-defense.

When Sahilu realized the bullets intended for him, he dropped to the ground. A day later he says it’s a miracle the deputy missed. He said he was standing still, and within close range.

“I’m lucky he is a new guy,” he said of the rookie deputy who shot at him.

He said he has no plans of taking legal action against the department, but is surprised that no one from the agency has offered an apology…

Sheriff’s Captain Parker said that as customary after shootings, the deputy, whose identity was withheld, would probably not be put back on patrol immediately.

As it does with all shootings involving deputies, the department has launched several investigations of the incident.

Well, as long as safe procedures are followed somewhere or other I guess it’s OK, eh?

But, I’m not certain we’re supposed to get used to police shooting at innocent bystanders.

Daylife/Getty Images used by permission

Officials have agreed to pay $1.5 million to the daughter of a man fatally shot in the back by a transit police officer on New Year’s Day 2009 in Oakland, California.

A bystander’s cell-phone video of the shooting on a transit platform was widely circulated on the Internet and on news shows.

The Bay Area Rapid Transit train system late Wednesday announced the settlement over the killing of Oscar Grant, 22.

“It’s been a little over a year since we experienced the tragic death of Oscar Grant,” BART Board President James Fang said. “No matter what anyone’s opinion of the case may be, the sad fact remains this incident has left Tatiana without a father. The $1.5 million settlement will provide financial support for her.” Grant’s daughter, Tatiana, is 5.

The video showed then-Officer Johannes Mehserle, 27, pulling his gun and shooting Grant in the back as another officer kneeled on Grant.

The shooting sparked large protests in Oakland and led to Mehserle’s arrest on a murder charge. The case against him is pending.

There are no social or political excuses for a judicial system where and when a civil settlement can be reached before the criminal side of a case has been decided. Isn’t it time to sort of wheat from the chaff in due process?

Talk Radio personality Shannon Burke, who accidentally shot his wife in the head in April while aiming at her dog, has pleaded guilty and was ordered to jail for six months…

He walked out of courtroom and gave his wife, Catherine Burke, who has since recovered, a big hug and kiss. He would not say whether he would spend the night at their home, where the shooting took place, but he asked her to make meatloaf for dinner.

Until today, they had been banned from seeing each other, except at marriage counseling sessions…

Burke had been facing a possible 20-year sentence. But on Friday, he agreed to a plea deal with a far more lenient penalty. Still it makes him a convicted felon. He pleaded guilty to cruelty to animals for shooting the dog. That’s the felony. He also pleaded guilty to using a firearm while under the influence of alcohol. That’s a misdemeanor and a lesser charge than he was facing, which was shooting in a building…

His dog had disappeared from the yard, she said in a sworn statement, and as payback, he threatened to shoot her dog, which was in the house.

The defendant walked to a closet, got a .40-caliber handgun and told her, “‘I’m going to shoot the dog in the head, and you are going to watch,’ ” she said in divorce paperwork.

He pulled the trigger, but the gun didn’t go off, she said, so he got another ammunition clip, put it in and pulled the trigger again, she said.

That time, the gun went off and a single bullet went through the dog’s back leg, kept traveling and cut a ridge along the right side of Catherine Burke’s head…

The dog, also, has recovered…

Good old Clear Channel fired him – for shooting up his home, not his sleazy right-wing politics. Now, he’s starting over again with a talk radio show about how he’s becoming a “better man”.

Frankly, the dog is more worthy of attention than this thug.

A 22-year-old man was jailed on charges he shot another man after the two strangers exchanged a series of hostile text messages.

Scott Allen Elder faces an aggravated assault charge in the 2:30 a.m. shooting of Brian Matison, 24, at a CVS parking lot on Edgewater Street, near Montgomery Crossroad, said Veda Lamar Nichols, Savannah-Chatham police spokeswoman.

Matison was in serious condition at Memorial University Medical Center by midday Tuesday, Nichols said.

Elder and Matison had argued through phone calls and text messages after a misdialed number, Nichols said. The pair arranged to meet at the CVS lot, she said.

“They allowed a text message conversation to escalate to physical violence,” Nichols said. “It was just one of those senseless things.”

Just in case you managed to forget for a moment or two just how idiotic human beings can behave.