So it happened again. Noor Salman the widow of the Pulse nightclub shooter Omar Mateen was found not guilty on Friday March 30 2018 of helping her husband with his deadly attack. She was acquitted by a federal jury on aiding and abetting her husband in providing material support to the Islamic state" and obstruction of justice. If sentenced she would have faced life in prison.
Salman claimed she didnt know about her late husbands plans and was herself a victim" of his domestic abuse.
On Monday March 26 2016 the U.S. District Judge Paul Byron rejected a defense motion for a mistrial of Salman in relation to the fact that Mateens father was an FBI informant for 11 years before the attack. The judge ruled that the fact had little bearing on the trial of the gunmans widow."
Some interesting facts about Judge Byron: he was nominated on February 6 2014 by President Obama to serve for the District Court for the Middle District of Florida; and confirmed on June 24 2014 with a speedy procedure (by voice vote and cloture) by then Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Democrat).
But let us recap. On June 12 2016 a Muslim militant Omar Mateen a Muslim militant of Afghan-American descent a self-declared ISIS-inspired fighter and a registered Democrat (a detail the press did not want to emphasize) killed 49 people and wounded 58 others in a gay nightclub in the city of Orlando Florida.
At the time the attack was called the deadliest mass shooting in the United States and the nations worst terror attack since 9/11."
During Obamas administration (2008-2016) several mass shootings took place in the United States with casualties ranging from 12 to 50 dead and one to 58 wounded. Let us recap the most notable ones: Binghamton New York and Fort Hood Texas (both in 2009) Aurora Colorado and Newton Connecticut (both in 2012) Washington DC (2013) Fairfax Virginia (2014) Charleston South Carolina and San Bernardino California (2015) and finally Orlando Florida (2016).
Some of them were committed by people unsatisfied with their own life but others were cold-blooded executions in the name of Jihad. Orlando 2016 can be considered a case of terrorism with a new element the sexual orientation of the victims. This raises new concerns not only in the United States in general and Florida in particular but in a larger area that includes the Caribbean.
The Caribbean nations for instance offer a striking contrast between its Spanish-speaking and English-speaking areas. While in Puerto Rico an U.S. commonwealth civil rights are protected equally for heterosexuals and homosexuals alike the English-speaking Caribbean nations influenced by Victorian morality maintain their anti-gay laws.
Some nations like Jamaica have even a pattern of homophobic violence.
On its part the media plays the same old tune by repeating the same post-factum sickening post-factum scenarios:"- How are the peoples feelings? Everybody is in a state of shock! Our prayers go to the victims…"
Pardon my French but this crpe sickens me. Again with the state of shock" and prayers to the victims." Until when?
I am not in a state of shock" any more but in a a state of fury." I dont want to send prayers to victims anymore but watch how terrorists are tried in military courts. Most importantly I want to see these mass killings reported for what they really are. Islamic terrorist acts" are not workplace violence" nor acts of hate" as they are called by liberals in state of denial.
When I was little my grandma told me the story of the donkey (probably a Democrat) and the wolf in the forest. The wolf was coming from behind and bit the donkeys leg but the victim still denied his aggressors presence. Only when the wolf pounced on the donkeys neck his victim started to roar: Help the wolf is eating me!" Of course at that point any help was futile for the doomed creature.
Coming back to the killers widow trial: in spite of what many would like to believe the court decision is not final and the case is not closed yet. The prosecutors have the duty to push the case further up because this court message gives a wrong signal to us and the whole society.
We have to decide once and for all whether we want to remain donkeys and what to do precisely with the wolf.
NOTE - A version of the article was published previously in PUERTO RICO MONITOR.
Tiberiu Dianu has published several books and a host of articles in law politics and post-communist societies. He currently lives and works in Washington DC and can be followed on MEDIUM.
*****
So it happened again. Noor Salman the widow of the Pulse nightclub shooter Omar Mateen was found not guilty on Friday March 30 2018 of helping her husband with his deadly attack. She was acquitted by a federal jury on aiding and abetting her husband in providing material support to the Islamic state" and obstruction of justice. If sentenced she would have faced life in prison.
Salman claimed she didnt know about her late husbands plans and was herself a victim" of his domestic abuse.
On Monday March 26 2016 the U.S. District Judge Paul Byron rejected a defense motion for a mistrial of Salman in relation to the fact that Mateens father was an FBI informant for 11 years before the attack. The judge ruled that the fact had little bearing on the trial of the gunmans widow."
Some interesting facts about Judge Byron: he was nominated on February 6 2014 by President Obama to serve for the District Court for the Middle District of Florida; and confirmed on June 24 2014 with a speedy procedure (by voice vote and cloture) by then Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Democrat).
But let us recap. On June 12 2016 a Muslim militant Omar Mateen a Muslim militant of Afghan-American descent a self-declared ISIS-inspired fighter and a registered Democrat (a detail the press did not want to emphasize) killed 49 people and wounded 58 others in a gay nightclub in the city of Orlando Florida.
At the time the attack was called the deadliest mass shooting in the United States and the nations worst terror attack since 9/11."
During Obamas administration (2008-2016) several mass shootings took place in the United States with casualties ranging from 12 to 50 dead and one to 58 wounded. Let us recap the most notable ones: Binghamton New York and Fort Hood Texas (both in 2009) Aurora Colorado and Newton Connecticut (both in 2012) Washington DC (2013) Fairfax Virginia (2014) Charleston South Carolina and San Bernardino California (2015) and finally Orlando Florida (2016).
Some of them were committed by people unsatisfied with their own life but others were cold-blooded executions in the name of Jihad. Orlando 2016 can be considered a case of terrorism with a new element the sexual orientation of the victims. This raises new concerns not only in the United States in general and Florida in particular but in a larger area that includes the Caribbean.
The Caribbean nations for instance offer a striking contrast between its Spanish-speaking and English-speaking areas. While in Puerto Rico an U.S. commonwealth civil rights are protected equally for heterosexuals and homosexuals alike the English-speaking Caribbean nations influenced by Victorian morality maintain their anti-gay laws.
Some nations like Jamaica have even a pattern of homophobic violence.
On its part the media plays the same old tune by repeating the same post-factum sickening post-factum scenarios:"- How are the peoples feelings? Everybody is in a state of shock! Our prayers go to the victims…"
Pardon my French but this crpe sickens me. Again with the state of shock" and prayers to the victims." Until when?
I am not in a state of shock" any more but in a a state of fury." I dont want to send prayers to victims anymore but watch how terrorists are tried in military courts. Most importantly I want to see these mass killings reported for what they really are. Islamic terrorist acts" are not workplace violence" nor acts of hate" as they are called by liberals in state of denial.
When I was little my grandma told me the story of the donkey (probably a Democrat) and the wolf in the forest. The wolf was coming from behind and bit the donkeys leg but the victim still denied his aggressors presence. Only when the wolf pounced on the donkeys neck his victim started to roar: Help the wolf is eating me!" Of course at that point any help was futile for the doomed creature.
Coming back to the killers widow trial: in spite of what many would like to believe the court decision is not final and the case is not closed yet. The prosecutors have the duty to push the case further up because this court message gives a wrong signal to us and the whole society.
We have to decide once and for all whether we want to remain donkeys and what to do precisely with the wolf.
NOTE - A version of the article was published previously in PUERTO RICO MONITOR.
Tiberiu Dianu has published several books and a host of articles in law politics and post-communist societies. He currently lives and works in Washington DC and can be followed on MEDIUM.
*****