text:
Interrogation of Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein shortly after capture, after being shaved to confirm his identity
The Interrogation of Saddam Hussein began shortly after his December 2003 capture, while the deposed President of Iraq was held at the United States Camp Cropper detention facility at Baghdad International Airport.[1] Beginning in February 2004, the interrogation program, codenamed Operation Desert Spider, was controlled by Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents.[1] Standard FBI FD-302 forms[1] filed at the time were declassified and released in 2009 under a U.S. Freedom of Information Act request filed by the National Security Archive.[2] Saddam, identified as "High Value Detainee #1" in the documents, was the subject of 20 "formal interviews" followed by five "casual conversations."[2] Questioning covered the span of Saddam's political career, from 2003 when he was found hiding in a "spider hole" on a farm near his home town of Tikrit, back to his role in a failed 1959 coup attempt in Iraq, after which he had taken refuge in the very same place, one report noted.[2][3]
Detailed questioning covered the Iran–Iraq War and his use of chemical weapons against Iranians.[1] Saddam denied repeated assertions by his interrogator of a current weapons of mass destruction capability in Iraq,[4] yet had resisted U.N. weapons inspections because he "was more concerned about Iran discovering Iraq's weaknesses and vulnerabilities than the repercussions of the United States for his refusal to allow U.N. inspectors back into Iraq," according to the reports.[5] The former leader reportedly maintained that he did not collaborate with Al-Qaeda, as had been suggested by George W. Bush administration officials in support of its policy of regime change in Iraq.[6] Saddam said he feared Al-Qaeda would have turned on him, and was quoted calling Osama bin Laden a "zealot."[3] The face-to-face sessions were conducted by Assyrian American George Piro, an FBI supervisory special agent (SSA), one of only a few FBI agents who spoke Arabic fluently.[1] Saddam was led to believe that his interrogator was a high-ranking U.S. government official with direct access to U.S. President George W. Bush, when in reality he was in a relatively low-level position at the time.[7][8] Piro discussed the interrogation process during an interview on the television news magazine 60 Minutes in January 2008.[8] In an official statement, a senior FBI official in Piro's chain of command characterized the perceived success of their interrogation of Saddam Hussein as one of the agency's top accomplishments in its 100-year history.[8][9]
1.1 Historical
1.2 Controlling agency
1.3 Interrogation methods
2 Notable quotations
2.1 Iran-Iraq War
2.2 Chemical weapons
2.3 Israel / Palestine
2.4 Iraq war rationale
2.5 Fugitive status
2.6 The interrogation
3 Disputed press reports
Historical[edit]
Main articles: History of Iraq and Saddam Hussein
In 1957, at the age of 20, Saddam Hussein joined the nascent Ba'ath Party, which was founded on a socialist form of Pan-Arabism. After participating in an unsuccessful 1959 assassination attempt on then Prime Minister of Iraq Abd al-Karim Qasim, Saddam became a fugitive, and eventually fled to Syria and then Egypt. Following the Ba'athists overthrow of the prime minister in the February 1963 Iraqi coup d'état, and the counter-coup half a year later, Saddam was jailed in Iraq from 1964 to 1966. The Ba'ath party returned to power after another successful coup in 1968. General Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr, a relative of Saddam Hussein, became President, and Saddam became his deputy. In 1979, Saddam Hussein displaced General Bakr, and a little more than a year later, he ordered Iraqi troops to invade Iran, starting the Iran–Iraq War that would continue until 1988. Iraq's 1990 Invasion of Kuwait led to the 1991 Gulf War. In 1998, Saddam halted Iraqi cooperation with the United Nations Special Commission weapons inspections imposed on Iraq after the Gulf War, and kept U.N. inspectors out until 2002.[10] In March 2003, the United States led an invasion of Iraq that quickly toppled the government. Saddam fled the capital of Baghdad shortly before it fell in mid April,[3][11] and disappeared; he was finally captured on December 13 of that year by U.S. soldiers. Saddam remained in U.S. military custody throughout his subsequent criminal trial. On November 5, 2006, Saddam was found guilty of crimes against humanity, and was turned over to the Iraqi Interim Government for his execution by hanging just before the end of that year, on the 30th of December.[10]
Controlling agency[edit]
When Saddam was initially questioned, he gave his U.S. Army Military Intelligence Corps interrogators only evasive or rhetorical answers.[12] Control of his interrogation was soon transferred from the military intelligence interrogators, who are typically represented in the field by less experienced junior officers trained to obtain operational intelligence,[13] over to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), because of their broader experience and capabilities.[5][14][15][16] While Saddam's official status was initially undetermined pending legal review, the U.S. Defense Department announced that he was classified as a prisoner of war on January 9, 2004.[17] After Saddam was declared a prisoner of war, he had to be repatriated to his home country of Iraq after cessation of hostilities, according to the International Red Cross, who monitors compliance with the Geneva Conventions.[17] The U.S. Government had also announced that it wanted to turn him over to a new Iraqi government for a public trial with international observers.[17] The CIA realized early on that covert officers conducting the interrogations could end up being called as witnesses in a future court proceeding, and invited the FBI to take a more active role.[9][18] Control of the interrogation was finally transferred to FBI agents, who are trained to interview suspects in preparation for prosecutions.[9][17] The combined interrogation team was composed of CIA analysts and FBI agents, intelligence analysts, language specialists, and a behavioral profiler.[9]
Interrogation methods[edit]
The FBI began documenting sessions they characterized as "formal interviews" beginning on February 7.[2] There is little public information available on the interrogations prior to this date since the operations were secret, but one unnamed U.S. official described the process as "a chess game," because Saddam was facing a possible death sentence, and had little incentive to speak.[17] Several experts speaking publicly at the time made similar assessments, and set low expectations for the information that could be obtained from Saddam.[12][13][18] Although it was speculated that the CIA would employ multiple interrogators using good cop/bad cop role play,[13][18] the FBI used a single primary interrogator, SSA George Piro, who built up a rapport with Saddam over time.[10][19] Piro said that their bond became so strong that he saw Saddam tear up when they said goodbye for the last time.[7][8]
Piro described how he seated Saddam with "his back against the wall" to reinforce that psychological impression, but denied using any of the enhanced interrogation techniques approved for use by the CIA, because he said it was against FBI policy,[6] and would not have worked in this case.[8] In the 2008 60 Minutes interview, he revealed details of how he took total control over the prisoner's situation to create a dependence that he would use to obtain cooperation.[8] He also listened patiently as his subject gave his recollections and interpretation of historical events, appealing to Saddam's sense of self-importance to obtain information.[5] Prisoner of war status placed certain constraints on the permissible interrogation techniques; for example, threats of punishment or offers of improved conditions in return for cooperation were prohibited, according to Ruth Wedgwood, an expert on the Geneva Conventions who is a professor at Johns Hopkins University.[17]
Notable quotations[edit]
Although the FBI reports were generally written in a narrative fashion, they occasionally provided direct quotations attributed to Saddam Hussein, translated from Arabic to English by the FBI. Some of these quotes were highlighted in secondary source accounts of the reports, including these (grouped by subject in rough chronological order):
Iran-Iraq War[edit]
"Khomeini and Iran would have occupied all of the Arab world if it had not been for Iraq,"[20]
Chemical weapons[edit]
"If I had the [prohibited] weapons, would I have let United States forces stay in Kuwait without attacking?" referring to the 1991 Gulf War[11]
"My God, if I had such weapons, I would have used them in the fight against the U.S," referring to the 2003 Iraq War[3][4]
"I will not be cornered or caught on some technicality. It will not do you any good," in refusing to answer questions about use of chemical weapons in Iran and Iraq[11]
"I am not going to answer that, no matter how you put the question. I will discuss everything unless it hurts my people, my friends and the army."[10]
Israel / Palestine[edit]
"We accepted them as guests," referring to representatives of the Palestine Liberation Front and the Abu Nidal Organisation who were allowed entry to Iraq on the condition that they refrain from terrorism.[10]
"A solution that does not convince the majority of Palestinians will not be successful"[10]
"Every thing that happened to us was because of Israel. Israel pushes US politicians and fills them with hatred," referring to his decision to launch Scud missiles against Israel during the Gulf War.[10]
Iraq war rationale[edit]
"The U.S. used the 9/11 attack as a justification to attack Iraq" and "lost sight of the cause of 9/11"[4]
"Osama Bin Laden's ideology was no different than the many zealots that came before him"[11]
"If you asked the American soldier, who came to Iraq to find weapons of mass destruction but none have been found, and who came to remove the leaders of the Saddam dictatorship who are now all in jail, whether he wanted to stay or go, he would say go."[10]
Fugitive status[edit]
"This is movie magic, not reality," laughing off his alleged use of look-alike body doubles for his personal security[3][6]
"We will struggle in secret," were his last words at the final meeting of senior Iraqi leadership, shortly before fleeing Baghdad in April 2003.[11]
The interrogation[edit]
"Do you think I would tell my enemy if I made a mistake?" referring to the American system of government, not the interviewer[10]
"Perhaps a conversation between two such educated people will not be useful or successful," showing respect for Piro's relative intelligence.[19]
"I think the questions should be in the context of a dialogue, not an interrogation," in reference his questioning by Piro[1]
Disputed press reports[edit]
A number of press reports describe the Iraqi dictator admitting to a catastrophic miscalculation, having misled the United States into believing Iraq still possessed biological and chemical weapons.[21] According to the Associated Press: "Saddam Hussein told an FBI interviewer before he was hanged that he allowed the world to believe he had weapons of mass destruction because he was worried about appearing weak to Iran".[3]
This interpretation has been challenged by journalist Solomon Hughes, writing: "You might remember that we invaded Iraq because Saddam did have WMD, but was pretending he didn't. Now it turns out we invaded Iraq because Saddam did not have WMD, but pretended he did."
How did Saddam let the world believe Iraq had WMD by denying he had WMD? How does this story work? It doesn't, because the [Associated Press] report is false. FBI agent Pinto's actual record of a casual conversation with Saddam reads: "Even though Hussein claimed Iraq did not have WMD, the threat from Iran was a major factor as to why he did not allow the return of the UN inspectors. Hussein stated he was more concerned about Iran discovering Iraq's weaknesses and vulnerabilities than the repercussions of the United States for his refusal to allow UN inspectors back into Iraq." So in 1998 Saddam resisted the UN weapons inspectors because he did not want to look weak in front of Iran, with whom he had fought a vicious eight-year war. This is not the same as pretending to have WMD. Saddam did not want to look like he could be pushed around by the UN lest his neighbours scent weakness, but his government repeatedly—and accurately—denied having WMD.[22]
The May 1, 2004 report was almost completely redacted.
The chronology of the reported meetings between Piro and Saddam in 2004:[2]
Interview Session 1, February 7
Interview Session 3, February 10
Interview Session 10, February 27
Interview Session 11, March 3
Interview Session 13, March 11
Interview Session 20, May 1
Casual Conversation, May 10
Casual Conversation, June 1
Casual Conversation, June 17
Iraq portal
February 2003 Saddam Hussein interview
2003 invasion of Iraq
Trial of Saddam Hussein
Execution of Saddam Hussein
^ a b c d e f Meek, James Gordon (2009-06-26). "How the FBI Broke Saddam — Part 1". Mouth Of The Potomac. Daily News (New York). Retrieved 2009-07-02. The first FBI interrogation of Saddam Hussein al-Tikriti — in a program codenamed 'Desert Spider' - took place Feb. 7, 2004, in a dingy cell at Baghdad International Airport.
^ a b c d e Battle, Joyce; McQuade, Brendan (2009-07-01). "Saddam Hussein Talks to the FBI : Twenty Interviews and Five Conversations with "High Value Detainee # 1" in 2004". National Security Archive. National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 279. Retrieved 2009-07-02. FBI special agents carried out 20 formal interviews and at least 5 'casual conversations' with former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein after his capture by U.S. troops in December 2003, according to secret FBI reports released as the result of Freedom of Information Act requests by the National Security Archive and posted today on the Web at www.nsarchive.org.
^ a b c d e f Gamel, Kim (2009-07-03). "FBI notes: Saddam Hussein sought familiar refuge". Google News. Associated Press. Retrieved 2009-07-03. After the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Saddam Hussein stayed in Baghdad until he saw 'the city was about to fall.' Months later, he was caught hiding at the same farm where he had fled in 1959 after taking part in an attempt to kill the country's prime minister.
^ a b c Meek, James Gordon (2009-06-24). "Former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein bluffed about WMDs fearing Iranian arsenal, secret FBI files show". Daily News (New York). Retrieved 2009-07-02. The records show Saddam happily boasted of duping the world about stockpiling weapons of mass destruction. And he consistently denied cooperating with Osama Bin Laden's Al Qaeda.
^ a b c Shane, Scott (2009-07-02). "Saddam Hussein Told of Fearing Iran More Than U.S." The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-07-03. He was questioned first by a team of interrogators led by the Central Intelligence Agency, according to Charles A. Duelfer, a veteran intelligence official who led the hunt for unconventional weapons in Iraq in 2004. Later, starting in February 2004, F.B.I. agents took their turn with the former Iraqi leader, exploiting his desire to shape his historical image in order to keep him talking, Mr. Duelfer said in an interview.
^ a b c Kessler, Glenn (2009-07-02). "Saddam Hussein Said WMD Talk Helped Him Look Strong to Iran". Washington Post. Retrieved 2009-07-02. Saddam Hussein told an FBI interviewer before he was hanged that he allowed the world to believe he had weapons of mass destruction because he was worried about appearing weak to Iran, according to declassified accounts of the interviews released yesterday. The former Iraqi president also denounced Osama bin Laden as 'a zealot' and said he had no dealings with al-Qaeda.
^ a b Kessler, Ronald (2008). "18. Saddam's Friend". The Terrorist Watch: Inside the Desperate Race to Stop the Next Attack. New York: Three Rivers Press. pp. 144–159. ISBN 0-307-38214-1. The deposed dictator never knew that Piro was with the FBI. Instead, he vaguely understood that he was with the American security services. 'He just came to the conclusion, probably through some of my actions, that I was a senior member of the security service,' Piro says. 'He didn't realize that I was actually a fairly low-level FBI agent who had taken on this assignment. He would not have responded well if he realized that I was a simple GS-14 from FBI headquarters.'
^ a b c d e f Pelley, Scott (2008-01-27). "Interrogator Shares Saddam's Confessions". 60 Minutes. CBS News. Retrieved 2009-07-02. Piro says it was all a show for Hussein, and that he established at the very beginning that he was going to be in charge of the dictator. What did Piro tell Saddam? 'I basically said that I was gonna be responsible for every aspect of his life, and that if he needed anything I was gonna be the person that he needed to talk to,' he recalls.
^ a b c d "Interviewing Saddam : FBI Agent Gets to the Truth". Headline Archives. United States Department of Justice. Federal Bureau of Investigation. 2008-01-28. Retrieved 2009-07-07. Piro was so successful at befriending Saddam that the former dictator was visibly moved when they said goodbye. 'I saw him tear up,' Piro said during the television interview. Joe Persichini, Assistant Director in Charge of our Washington office and Piro's boss, told 60 Minutes that Piro's expert work in revealing Saddam's secrets was 'probably one of the top accomplishments of the agency in the last 100 years.'
^ a b c d e f g h i Connett, David (2009-07-05). "The Saddam Files: His final interviews". The Independent. Retrieved 2009-07-07. The FBI has just been forced to release records detailing the ex-Iraqi President's interrogations. David Connett sifts them for the key comments.
^ a b c d e Mannion, Jim. "Saddam stayed in Baghdad until city fell: FBI". Google News. Agence France-Presse. Bin Laden's ideology 'was no different than the many zealots that came before him,' Saddam told Piro, according to the summary, which said the two 'did not have the same vision or philosophy.'
^ a b Bennett, Brian (2003-12-14). "TIME Exclusive: Notes from Saddam in Custody". TIME. Retrieved 2009-07-07. [Sad]dam Hussein was captured on Sunday without a fight. But since then, according to a U.S. intelligence official in Iraq, the fallen dictator has been defiant. 'He's not been very cooperative,' said the official, who read the transcript of the initial interrogation report taken during the first questioning session.
^ a b c Warner, Margaret (2004-01-01). "Interrogating Saddam -- January 1, 2004". NewsHour with Jim Lehrer. Public Broadcasting Service. MacNeil/Lehrer Productions. Retrieved 2009-07-07. Though President Bush has promised Saddam Hussein will be subjected to a public trial, the U.S. wants to interrogate him first.... Army interrogators started the job before the lead role was turned over to the CIA.
^ Knowlton, Brian; Stout, David (2003-12-16). "C.I.A. Will Lead Interrogation of Hussein, Rumsfeld Says". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 14, 2009. Retrieved 2009-07-07. The decision to entrust the C.I.A. with Mr. Hussein's interrogation was an easy one, Mr. Rumsfeld said. 'It was a three-minute decision,' he said, 'and the first two were for coffee.... They have the competence in that area, they have professionals in that area, they know the means that we have in terms of counter-terrorism, they know the threads that have to come up through the needlehead,' he said.
^ Priest, Dana; Ricks, Thomas (2003-12-17). "CIA interrogators plan good cop-bad cop grilling". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2009-07-07. The CIA operations officers, polygraphers and psychiatrists who will interrogate Saddam Hussein have put together a loose plan that will help guide them in the months ahead, government sources said. CIA interrogators will be joined by debriefers from the Defense Intelligence Agency and FBI agents who recently went to Iraq, mainly to help with investigations into bombings and other crimes.
^ Miles, Donna (2003-12-16). "Rumsfeld Asks CIA to Oversee Saddam Hussein Interrogations". DefenseLink News. United States Department of Defense. American Forces Press Service. Retrieved 2009-07-07. The Central Intelligence Agency will oversee the interrogations of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld told Pentagon reporters today. 'I have asked (CIA Director) George Tenet to be responsible for the handling of the interrogation of Saddam Hussein and his people,' Rumsfeld said.
^ a b c d e f Jehl, Douglas (2004-01-10). "THE STRUGGLE FOR IRAQ: CAPTIVE; Hussein Given P.O.W. Status; Access Sought". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-07-07. The Defense Department said Friday that it had designated Saddam Hussein a prisoner of war, a legal status that sets standards for how he is treated and allows the International Committee of the Red Cross to see him.
^ a b c "Saddam Interrogation Could Become Public". FoxNews.com. Associated Press. 2004-01-06. Retrieved 2009-07-07. CIA interrogators taking on Saddam Hussein must contend with the likelihood that some of their questioning could become public during his eventual trial. That means decisions now on how to conduct the questioning and record the conversations, U.S. officials say.
^ a b Connett, David (2009-07-05). "From beyond the grave, Saddam reveals all (nearly)". The Independent. Retrieved 2009-07-07. The documents suggest that an extraordinary rapport developed over time between Saddam and his interrogator, George L Piro, one of the very few FBI agents who spoke Arabic.
^ Cockburn, Patrick (2009-07-05). "A man of brutality and arrogance who knew how to play to American suspicions". The Independent. Retrieved 2009-07-07. The anti-Iranian theme is constant throughout, and no doubt Saddam believed it as well as saying it out of political calculation. Of the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war, he says: 'Khomeini and Iran would have occupied all of the Arab world if it had not been for Iraq.'
^ Nasaw, Daniel. FBI reports describe Saddam Hussein's reasons for refusing UN inspectors The Guardian. 2 July 2009.
^ Hughes, Solomon. "Lies, lies and more lies" Morning Star. 09 July, 2009.
17 July Revolution
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Father: Hussein 'Abid al-Majid
Mother: Subha Tulfah al-Mussallat
Half-brothers: Watban, Sabawi, and Barzan
Wives: Sajida Talfah and Samira Shahbandar
Uncle and Father-in-Law: Khairallah Talfah
Sons: Uday and Qusay
Daughters: Rana, Raghad, and Hala
Grandchildren: Mustapha Hussein
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What I didn't Learn in Seminary
Ryan Burns8 min readMay 11, 2015
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When I was interviewing for my first associate pastor role, the senior pastor said something to my wife and me that I would soon learn was almost a mantra: "If you come to Cold Springs Church, you will experience spiritual warfare." Strangely, I had not heard anything of the sort at any time in what was then a dozen seminary courses; nor did I hear it in the rest of my courses.
My school required four one-unit "Mentored Field Ministry" courses, which met every two weeks and usually involved discussion of ministry case-studies submitted by the students. Each case grew out of a real situation the student or their church had faced. As best as I can recall, almost all the scenarios we discussed focused on some sort of decision that was needed…usually about a moral issue: deacons using medical marijuana, pastor's daughters in sexual relationships, a youth pastor caught texting while driving. We also had one about whether the American flag should be displayed in a church sanctuary, which had been strangely divisive for the church involved but left most of the students and the professor wondering why it was even an issue!
Those case studies may have satisfied the requirements of the assignment, which was to identify an issue and suggest a course of action in the matter at hand. What they did not do, however, was come anywhere close to the issues that faced my church during the five years I served in that associate pastor role. (Okay, I confess: the flag issue was at my church. I still scratch my head in bewilderment when I think about it!) I still describe Cold Springs Church as one of the healthiest churches I have been a part of. And that, I think, is why my senior pastor warned me to expect spiritual warfare. If all we had to worry about was where to put a flag, then it was a good week. But what we dealt with in that five year period want far beyond flags…and none of it was talked about it any of my pastoral ministry classes.
I had lived more than forty-five years without being personally touched by suicide; in a span of less than three years, our church was faced with three. One of those was a 19-year-old young woman who, from all appearances, had everything going for her, including a strong faith in Jesus. But when she walked away from counseling appointment one summer afternoon, her disappearance sparked a massive community response, fears of human trafficking, and a twelve-week search before her body was found. Many eyes in our church and the community were opened to the desperate and difficult lives of people struggling with mental health issues. But those issues weren't discussed in the pastoral ministry classes at school, only the counseling courses.
During a meeting one afternoon, my senior pastor received a text from his son that a middle school principal had been shot—possibly a member of our church. We rushed to the nearest school, where our friend met us and said that the shooting had taken place at another school. For the next several hours, David and I assisted in any way we could as anxious parents gathered in a parking lot, scared young students were bused to the local fairgrounds, and anxious teachers tried desperately to control their own emotions even as they tried to keep the children occupied for the afternoon. Over the next few days, staff and volunteers from our church cared for the school teachers, administrators, children, and parents in any way we could—from providing lunch for the staff during counseling and debrief sessions to quiet conversations with still-scared parents and children when they returned to school several days later. I never had a seminary class on the ministry of presence, but that became a hallmark of those years at Cold Springs.
The same day the body of the young woman was found after that three-month search, a 15-year-old high school freshman died from an overdose of a relatively new drug cocktail. The school was sent reeling. The young woman was a graduate of the same school and in a small community, it didn't take long to discover that most of the students and faculty had known one of the two at some point, and three or four teachers had had both students at one time or another. A few weeks later I was volunteering with a program at the school intended to help students grow by better understanding the stories of the people around them. One part of the program had 500 students, teachers, and volunteers in the gym responding to questions about difficulties they had faced. With no talking except from the program leader, the response was simply to step quietly forward if you had faced the situation, or to remain where you were if you hadn't (or did not want to respond). The situations presented ranged from the mundane ("step forward if you did not eat breakfast before school this morning") to the difficult ("step forward if someone close to you was murdered") to the heart wrenching ("step forward if you were present when they died"); they ran the gamut from homelessness and poverty to abuse and suicide. By the end of the 45-minute exercise, there were few dry eyes and we had all seen someone we know reveal trauma we had never suspected. But the last question added a profound punctuation mark: "step forward if at any time previously this afternoon you have stepped forward." As I looked around the gym I saw only one person stand fast; 499 out of 500 had experienced some level of deep trauma during their lifetime. And 400 of those were not even adults. Yet no seminary class had adequately prepared me to step into the life of even one of these scarred and broken young people.
I didn't hear much about spiritual warfare when I was growing up. When I did, it usually came from missionaries telling exciting stories about praying down tribal witch doctors in Africa or an unexpected storm threatening a showing of the Jesus Film in South America. Occasionally, church disputes and power struggles were chalked up to spiritual warfare. But during my five years at Cold Springs Church, I began to realize just how potent—and prevalent—spiritual warfare really is. Satan attacks the church through the lies that lead 60-year-old men and 19-year-old women—both devoted Christ-followers— to end their own lives. He attacks through the evil act of a much-loved school custodian who guns down a middle-school principal in the heat of the moment. He attacks through the countless traumas that shatter and scar every one of us—you, me, that 15-year-old high school student and the 11-year-old rape victim and the holocaust survivor.
There are courses in many seminaries that address some of these real-life ministry situations. Most, though, are probably not required in your typical pastoral ministry course list; you will need to choose intentionally to seek them out and add them as electives. The thing is, unless you're preparing to be a counseling pastor, you are probably not likely to do that, preferring instead to take another class in hermeneutics, advanced Greek, preaching, or leadership. Let me be brutally honest, though: knowing how to exegete the Revelation, conjugate an aorist imperative, craft a Christocentric sermon from Genesis, or run an effective church board won't help when you sit with the mother of a girl who has ended her life or a child who just watched his principal die. You will never be truly prepared for those conversations, No lectures, text books, or case studies will be adequate to the task. But you owe it to yourself and your church to do what you can to prepare.
"For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens." (Ephesians 6:12, Holman Christian Standard Bible)
About the author: Randy Ehle graduated in 2014 from Western Seminary in Portland and Sacramento, just before concluding his first associate pastorate at Cold Springs Church in Placerville, CA. Prior to pastoring, Randy spent four years in the Air Force and fifteen years in the financial industry, and survived a three-year stint on a divided church board, He is no stranger to trauma; in addition to the experiences in this article, he lost a brother to cancer when both were teenagers, nearly lost a son due to complications from a ruptured appendix, and has walked with his extended family through his sister-in-law's 20-month fight with brain cancer—a fight that just recently ended with her homegoing to be with her Savior. Follow Randy on Twitter @randehle or check out his own blog, The Rushed Contemplative, at www.randehle.com.
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Ryan Burns is a past Marketing Manager at Faithlife and now works at Redemption Hill Church in Richmond, VA.
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Written by Ryan Burns
How To Succeed in Seminary
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1. Pinterest Place boards – now you can pin places (buildings, restaurants, landmarks etc) on to a map board. It's really easy to use and looks great. Here's an example.
2. Instagram DMs – you can now send a photo or video directly (and privately) to a friend on Instagram. Could this be a nifty way to build donor relations? Imagine getting a personalised Christmas card or fundraising 'thank you' from a charity you support?
3. Facebook donate button – you can donate to charities on Facebook now (US only for the moment but expect to see it here mid 2014). This could have huge implications for charities but of course a Facebook Ads grant would have been much better… Read this article for more info on the matter. And you can sign a petition here to encourage Facebook to set up a non-profit Ads grant, much like Google's Adword grants.
4. Google + custom URLs – now you can change your Google + page URL, which surely beats those random numbers right? You will need to meet three criteria to be eligible: You have to have a profile photo, at least 10 followers and an account which is over a month old. Google is rolling this out in stages but you will be informed when you are eligible to change your URL. Be warned… once you set your custom URL, you can't change it (like Facebook Page names – and we all know how painful that is if you rebrand).
5. Twitter mobile gets a facelift – The Twitter mobile App has a new look. And it is sleek. 'Connect' is now called 'notifications' and 'home' is now called 'timelines'. If you have different Twitter accounts you can now move more easily between the two timelines.
Have you spotted any others? Share them in the comments field.
Last week NFPTweetup celebrated it's 5th birthday with cake, cupcakes, wine and some great presentations and a panel discussion.
The theme was on using digital in live events. Joe Dix, Website Manager at WWF was up first to talk about how they live-streamed Earth Hour. Next up was Digital Freelancer Bertie Bosredon to give us a glimpse into his digital toolbox. Finally, there was a panel discussion on using social media for live events with Sally Chambers from JustGiving, Kate Brennan from the BHF, Joe Freeman from Sue Ryder and Teri Doubtfire from Child's i.
But this isn't a post about the event. This is a post about the phenomenon that is Rachel Beer.
Rachel, and others (a dedicated team of volunteers), have worked tirelessly for five years to bring us NFPTweetup – a free event for digital people working in the charity sector to learn from our peers and to network. It started with humble beginnings back in 2008 in a pub with about 40 people and has grown to over 100, with tickets 'selling out' in minutes, and hosted in a proper auditorium (thanks to the generosity of Amnesty International).
I can tell you, from running the Sole Communicators events with CharityComms, that it's not easy running free events. It takes a lot of time to research new topics, source speakers, find free venues etc and then you have to hope that people actually turn up! It takes dedication and a commitment to ensuring that those working in our sector have access to the latest campaigns and trends. And all for free.
It really is thanks to Rachel that I have met so many wonderful people and learnt from some of the best in our field.


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Diana Krall – The Girl in the Other Room
(Verve – 2004)
Taking the top spots on the jazz charts, Diana Krall continues her hit-making ways with The Girl in the Other Room. The vocalist/pianist takes on the compositions of Mose Allison, Joni Mitchell, Tom Waits and a few written by her man… namely Elvis Costello, on what is perhaps one of her most satisfying recordings to date.
This CD is smart, has a very different appeal than her previous releases. Assisting with the music are bassist Christian McBride, drummers Terri Lynne Carrington and Peter Erskine and guitarist Anthony Hamilton.
Listen to Temptation using RealAudio.
Most notably, the CD features what is seemingly a more ardent Diana Krall on such great songs as "Temptation," "I'm Coming Through," and "Narrow Daylight." Her voice is as smoky and sensuous as ever. For those into late night antics, you can still get that same love and feeling just by listening to that Girl In The Other Room!
In conjunction with her new release, Diana appeared last month on both the Tonight Show with Jay Leno and The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn. For a listing of her upcoming performances visit the Diana Krall Appearance Schedule.


Get the answers you need. Learn how to expertly approach, stage and conduct a drug addiction intervention.
If someone you care about is telling you no, I won't go to treatment, I don't need help, the problem isn't that bad – or acknowledges they need help, but doesn't follow up on getting it – you are in the right place. Without competent assistance, dealing with destructive behaviors can leave families discouraged or convinced that nothing can be done.
Fortunately, these are the exact types of difficulties we are trained to deal with when encountering alcohol abuse, drug addiction, mental health disorders and self-destructive behaviors. In fact, every family seeking our assistance has told us they were met with either resistance, excuses, denial or minimization when they approached their loved one with getting help. Meanwhile, more than 98% of these same families were later told by their loved one, "okay, I'm willing to go to treatment" after allowing us to facilitate their intervention.
In our initial phone interview, we will discuss relevant issues in order to do a thorough evaluation. Once a comprehensive profile is factored in, a strategy will be developed that is tailored around your loved one's particular situation. Cost, logistics, time frame and any other questions or concerns you have will also be answered.
There are effective ways to engage those who are suffering. Aligning yourself to an intervention specialist who understands the serious nature of alcohol abuse, drug addiction, behavioral disorders and the mental health related impacts it can inflict is critical.


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law, racism, true crime
Chasing and finally catching justice for Ahmaud Arbery…
November 25, 2021 knottyAhmaud Arbery, Brunswick, Georgia, Gregory McMichael, hate crimes, Judge Bruce Schroeder, Judge Timothy Walmsley, justice, Kyle Rittenhouse, murder, Thanksgiving, Travis McMichael, true crime, William "Roddie" Bryan, Wisconsin 2 Comments
I remember being horrified as I first read about Ahmaud Arbery's last moments on this planet. The 25 year old Black man was out running in Brunswick, Georgia on February 23, 2020. He was unarmed, and made the unfortunate decision to pass through Satilla Shores, where he would eventually encounter the three White men who ended his life. Travis McMichael, his father, Gregory McMichael, and their neighbor, William "Roddie" Bryan, chased Arbery in their vehicles. Unlike Arbery, two of his pursuers were armed. The two McMichaels had weapons and rode in a vehicle together as they chased the young man who was out for a run. Bryan brought his camera, which he used to video the confrontation. In light of what happened yesterday, I'm sure Bryan wishes he'd left the camera at home.
Gregory McMichael, a former police officer in Brunswick, had initiated the chase when he saw Ahmaud Arbery run past his house. He had wrongly suspected Arbery of burglary or theft in Satilla Shores and decided to take it upon himself to make a "citizen's arrest", bringing along a .357 Magnum pistol revolver. Travis joined his father, toting a shotgun. Bryan inexplicably decided independently to join in the chase, but hadn't known if Arbery had done anything illegal.
Although Arbery had, on several occasions, entered an under-construction house with no doors in the neighborhood, there was never any evidence of theft, according to security camera footage. Travis McMichael had made a call to 911 about a week and a half before Arbery's final run. He reported that Arbery was breaking into the unfinished house. Moreover, according to The Toronto Star, Arbery's relatives were known to local law enforcement.
Gregory McMichael did have a past with Arbery, as McMichael had been an investigator for Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney's Office from 1995 until his retirement in May 2019. When he was in high school, Arbery was sentenced to five years probation as a first offender on charges of carrying a weapon on campus and several counts of obstructing a law enforcement officer. He was convicted of probation violation in 2018 after he was charged with shoplifting. McMichael had been involved with the case, and was instrumental in getting Arbery's probation revoked.
Arbery's mother, Wanda Cooper Jones, had asked that the Waycross Judicial Circuit District Attorney, Roger Barnhill, recuse himself from the case. This was because Barnhill's son was a prosecutor who had worked with Gregory McMichael in a previous court case involving Ahmaud Arbery. It was very fortunate that Cooper Jones had made that request, particularly since she hadn't known that McMichael and Barnhill had any ties to her son's legal past. She simply hadn't wanted Barnhill on the case because his son worked for the Brunswick district attorney's office. If Barnhill hadn't recused himself, Cooper Jones's lawyer, Lee Merritt, said, "the case would've been no billed to a grand jury and the McMichaels would've gotten away with murder."
Barnhill had written in his letter of recusal that Arbery and his family had been in trouble with the law in Brunswick, and that his older brother was incarcerated. One of Arbery's cousins also had a past with the police department. To those revelations, attorney Lee Merritt said:
"This speaks to the wider issue of mass incarceration. If Black people have any kind of criminal record, somehow that justifies their murder."
But talk to some people in the community, and they will swear up and down that a person with a rap sheet deserves to be killed if they're caught doing something illegal. Especially if the person with a rap sheet is not White. Sure enough, it took 74 days before the three men who were responsible for killing Ahmaud Arbery were finally arrested and charged with murder. The local prosecutor was friends with Gregory McMichael and did not want to bring charges against the men. So yes, the men were brought to justice, but it could have easily gone the other way.
Justice is served.
The trial took place in Brunswick, but every Brunswick Judicial Circuit Judge recused themselves from the case. Consequently, Chatham County Superior Court Judge Timothy Walmsley presided over the trial. Yesterday, I watched as Judge Walmsley read the verdicts for the three men who claimed "self-defense" when they decided to pursue and kill Ahmaud Arbery. I'm not sure why these guys thought Arbery didn't have the right to defend himself when he was confronted by three men, two of whom had weapons.
Travis McMichael was pronounced guilty of all charges. Gregory McMichael was pronounced guilty of all but one charge of malice murder. William "Roddie" Bryan was pronounced guilty of felony murder (3 counts), aggravated assault, false imprisonment, and criminal attempt to commit a felony (1 count each). These were just the charges brought against them by the state of Georgia. There are still federal charges pending against the three men.
Not a happy day for these guys. They will probably not see the light of day as free men again. Bryan looks like he's about to burst into tears as the judge announces the verdict.
I am impressed by Judge Walmsley. He handled this case very soberly, professionally, and fairly. I think his conduct starkly contrasts that of Judge Bruce Schroeder, who was reportedly more brash and quirky in the way he ran Kyle Rittenhouse's recent trial in Wisconsin. The result of Rittenhouse's trial was much less lauded by the public, as Rittenhouse was acquitted of all charges. Of course, these two cases have to do with race relations, but they aren't really that similar. It still surprised me that Ahmaud Arbery's case in Georgia seemed to end much more fairly than Kyle Rittenhouse's case did in Wisconsin. Personally, I think Rittenhouse was acquitted because the prosecutor was too ambitious about the level of charges against Rittenhouse. I do think Rittenhouse should have gotten some prison time.
Today is Thanksgiving, and I have no doubt that Ahmaud Arbery's family is giving thanks that the men who were responsible for killing Ahmaud will have to pay for their crimes. Ahmaud Arbery's father, Marcus Arbery, let out a celebratory whoop when the first guilty verdict was read. He now says that he and his family can move forward. Maybe this is a sign of some progress in our country.
This video was key evidence that got three men convicted. It was recorded by William "Roddie" Bryan, who probably wishes he'd minded his own business on that February day last year.
I don't take any delight in seeing people locked up in prison, but I do think prison is necessary and just for violent crimes, especially those done out of hate. There is no excuse for the way these men hunted down Arbery and killed him. I do have some compassion for the loved ones of the incarcerated, even though I do think they belong in prison. Prison is tough on families, and Gregory McMichael's wife is going to see her husband and her son go away, probably for the rest of their lives. I'm sure that is heartbreaking for her. But I also think that justice is finally being done. The McMichaels and Mr. Bryan should not have taken the law into their own hands.
If anything good has come out of this incident, it's that some very old and bad laws have now been stricken from Georgia's books. According to The New York Times:
…the trial of [Arbery's] accused killers also brought up issues of policing — although in this case, it involved questions about private citizens and their rights to detain people who they believe to be breaking the law.
Those rights in Georgia were spelled out in a controversial Civil War-era statute that was significantly weakened by state lawmakers in direct response to the outrage over the Arbery killing. Lawmakers also passed Georgia's first-ever hate crimes law as a result of the incident.
All of that set up a remarkable kind of trial in which the defendants claimed they were not guilty based in part on an old law that their actions helped to dismantle. At the same time, they were not charged under the new Georgia hate crimes law., though all three have also been indicted under the federal hate crimes statute.
Maybe the new legislation against hate crimes will mean that Ahmaud Arbery's death won't be entirely in vain.
Incidentally, Bill and I have been to Brunswick, Georgia. We went there in October 2009 to pick up my car, which was brand new and had just been shipped from Germany. I remember it to be a very weird town, mainly due to the strange taxi driver who picked us up at the tiny airport there. He was an old guy who drove like a maniac and scared the wits out of Bill. Bill ended up complaining about the dude at the hotel where we stayed– an Embassy Suites that was connected to the mall, which apparently didn't even have an ATM.
The manager of the hotel actually refunded the cost of our stay because Bill noticed that the hotel had a shuttle and it wasn't mentioned on their Web site. He had If we had known the hotel had a shuttle, we could have been spared the wacko taxi ride with the sketchy guy who had to be paid in cash and drove us to a bank. We never went back to Brunswick, although the beach area was kind of appealing. I think if we ship our cars next time we move to the States, we'll have them delivered in Charleston. It may cost more, but it'll be a lot less weird.
Happy Thanksgiving, if you celebrate. I think our holiday will mostly be a normal day, albeit with Bill off. He just vacuumed for me, which is a real treat.
law, money, social media, true crime, YouTube
Catching up on the news, and Fundie Fridays takes on Dave Ramsey…
November 20, 2021 knottyArran, banking, bullies, Christmas decorations, COVID-19, Dave Ramsey, Facebook, Fundie Fridays, Kyle Rittenhouse, lockdowns, Noyzi, reunions, true crime, verdicts, Wisconsin Leave a comment
Hoo boy… there's so much I could be writing about this morning. Bill got home last night and had a joyous reunion with the dogs. That was seriously adorable, and I got it all on video.
Arran had been waiting patiently in the foyer for Bill every night of his trip. He'd go downstairs at about 5:00, and hang out for a couple of hours, then forlornly come back upstairs and join me. They were finally reunited last night! Noyzi was just as delighted to see Bill as Arran and I were. Notice I have "Foreplay/Long Time" by Boston playing.
I put up all our Christmas stuff a couple of days ago, because I just wanted to get it over with. Thursday is vacuum day, and the Christmas trees always make a mess. I knew I wouldn't want to have to deal with the trees on Thanksgiving, nor would I want to vacuum twice in a week, because, I hate vacuuming with a passion. Also, as much as I love Bill, he has a tendency to get in the way when I'm decorating. So I decorated on Thursday, and now our house looks all festive and pretty. I know it's early, but fuck it… it's my house. I like the lights, and the trees make my living room more full.
Kyle Rittenhouse gets off…
As I predicted, Kyle Rittenhouse got acquitted of all charges he faced regarding his poor decision to bring an AR-15 to a protest. He won't be going to state prison for killing two men and wounding one. However, I have a strong feeling that his legal woes aren't over. I'll bet he gets sued for wrongful death. I heard a rumor that the Department of Justice might decide to try him for crossing state lines with a weapon… although I think I would be surprised if they did that. And, even if his legal problems end, I suspect he and his family will be harassed.
Kyle Rittenhouse is now someone that people either love or hate. There are right wingers who champion him. But there are other people who would like to see his head on a platter. And then there are many other people who are just plain apathetic, and will be glad to see this particular bit of news go stale. I think Kyle will be in the news for awhile, though, because I'll bet he gets death threats. Even though he scored a victory, of sorts, I would not want to be him for anything.
I think about all of the adolescent boys I've known over the years… they get this surge of machismo, which I'm sure is biological. They want the hot cars, sexy women and, if they're into guns, they want the biggest and baddest. They have romanticized ideas about how things will play out, and they lack the maturity to understand that life isn't a movie set. I think the adults in Kyle's life really failed him. He could have used someone older and wiser– older than his 18 year old buddy, that is– explaining to him why he didn't need to be in Kenosha with a gun, trying to be an EMT or the police or whatever.
I know my view isn't popular, especially among liberals, but personally I think the verdict was mostly appropriate. Kyle Rittenhouse certainly had no business being where he was, and he should not have been carrying a weapon. But the evidence showed that the people he killed were not necessarily good actors themselves. I think it could have very easily gone the other way, and Kyle could have been the one who was killed that day. I do think he should have been convicted of at least one of the charges, and gotten a little bit of prison time, but the prosecution was probably too zealous in the seriousness of the charges they levied against him. They wanted to nail him and make him a poster child, and the facts simply didn't bear up well enough for them to succeed.
Some regular readers might know that I like to watch Fundie Fridays, which is a YouTube channel in which the hosts, Jen and James, make videos about fundie Christians and related topics. Jen often does her makeup while she discusses these things. I like Jen a lot. I think she's funny, and I am amazed by how good she is at doing her makeup. I've always done my makeup the same way, ever since I was a teenager. And that's when I can be bothered to wear it!
Every once in awhile, though, her boyfriend James tackles a topic. Or, maybe he just joins his girlfriend on one of her videos. I like him, too. They're both very engaging on camera. I hate being on camera myself, so I admire that they're so good at what they do, and they've managed to marry a compelling subject like whackadoodle fundie Christians with putting on makeup. It's a great idea, since both subjects seem to be very interesting to other YouTube viewers.
Last night (or maybe just yesterday, since I'm probably several hours ahead of them), Jen was "busy" tending to her island in a video game. James made a video about Dave Ramsey. I thought it was excellent.
I love the fact that Jen and James are willing to wade through all the cringeworthy crap put out by Dave Ramsey and his ilk and put it together in such an entertaining way.
Seriously, I really think this video is well done. I liked the way James broke down how people used to bank. For instance, he mentions that back in the 70s and 80s, a lot of people had "hometown banks" that were independently run, and loan decisions were made by people in the community. I remember doing that myself.
For several years, I banked at locally owned Peninsula Trust Bank, which was a very small chain in my area of Virginia. It was a great bank– very personal and friendly, and I appreciated the local touch! But alas, like so many other small town banks, it eventually got obliterated by one of the humongous chains that have made local banking a thing of the past. Hell, now I bank with PenFed and USAA, and have no personal relationship with my bank at all, other than to lament about how they're much too quick to lock down my credit cards when I make a (rare) purchase.
In any case, Dave Ramsey's issues with financial disaster, before he became a wildly successful Christian financial guru, were partly brought on by the fact that small banks used to be popular. According to the Fundie Fridays video, Ramsey's small town bank got taken over by a much larger, less personal bank. Ramsey, who was very young to be in the real estate business, owed a whole lot of money. The small bankers were willing to trust him, based on his parents' successful business and their good name. The larger bankers weren't, and they called in the loan. He couldn't repay it within 30 days, because the loan was in the millions. That caused Ramsey to go through financial ruin.
Then, like a Christian phoenix, rising from the ashes, Ramsey became "born again". He started following Biblical principles to get himself out of financial trouble. He claims they worked for him, and now he's very wealthy and known all around the world. Lots of people love him. Others, like me, think he's a verbally abusive, hyper-controlling, narcissistic creep. I ranted about him myself some months ago.
You see, Ramsey doesn't just preach about financial habits to his followers. He also seems to think he has the right to dictate how they live their personal lives. As James from Fundie Fridays points out, Ramsey might even have a point when he says that a person who will cheat on their spouse will probably also cheat in financial matters. However, I doubt that Jesus would be okay with Ramsey's habit of abusing and disparaging people who don't dance to his tune. I think Ramsey's behavior is often distinctly unChristlike. He says Christians should be "cheerfully generous" in giving their money… but I would submit that Jesus would also want people to be generous in how (or whether) they judge, and ultimately treat, other people.
So anyway…. I think you should watch the above video if what I've written sounds intriguing to you. I think James did a great job covering Dave Ramsey, and I hope he does more videos. I love watching Jen's videos, too, but it was a nice change seeing and hearing from her boyfriend, and they make a great team.
There's still more I could write about this morning. Like, for instance, how it's impossible to leave a comment on a Facebook news article and not either get hit on by some roving creep with one Facebook friend, or have some stranger put words in your fingers and try to lure you into an argument. I did get hit on by a creepy Facebook dude, who was apparently looking for people to scam. I politely told him to fuck off, and happily, he did.
Things were going swimmingly, until some other guy came along and posted about people with "blood on their hands". He mentioned me in his comment, and compared Europe to Texas and Florida. Having been to both of those states, I disagreed with his assessment. Europe is nothing like Texas or Florida, even in terms of COVID.
He came back and jumped on me, starting his comment with "Are you telling me that…" and more emotional posturing. I was immediately annoyed, because the comment was several hours old; Bill had just come home; and I just had no desire to get into a Facebook argument with a stranger looking for a fight. I left a longer comment explaining myself, prefacing it by writing "I never said that." And then I ended it with, "There's no need to get snippy with me. I was simply commenting on a news article. The COVID-19 situation is not my fault." He tried twice more to get to me to respond, but I ignored him, because Bill's home and we were tired… and who's got the time or inclination to argue with some stranger on Facebook?
I do think it's a shame, though, that we can't have calm, rational, sane discussions on social media without it turning into something nasty and uncivilized. I get that people are frustrated, pent up, and angry about a whole lot of things, from COVID-19, to Kyle Rittenhouse, to Dave Ramsey's bully tactics. But that's no reason to be rude to a perfect stranger's painfully neutral comment on a news article. I know that will never change in my lifetime, though, so I probably shouldn't engage regardless.
So ends today's blog post. I hope you have a great Saturday, wherever you are… and the news of the world isn't too distressing.
law, true crime
My thoughts on Kyle Rittenhouse's trial…
November 14, 2021 knottyadult thinking, AR 15, bad decisions, bad judgment, Kenosha, Kyle Rittenhouse, law, poor judgment, protests, racism, reasoning, riots, teenagers, true crime, Wisconsin 3 Comments
This morning, Bill and I were talking about Kyle Rittenhouse, who's been all over the news this week. Rittenhouse sobbed during his testimony about the night of August 25, 2020, when he killed two men and wounded another. Rittenhouse, who was 17 years old at the time, had traveled to Kenosha, Wisconsin from his home in Antioch, Illinois. The teenager had gone to Kenosha to help "protect" property and act as a medic as protesters flooded the street, angered that police had shot and wounded a Black man named Jacob Blake.
From what I've read, the protest had become violent and chaotic. Protesters burned down several buildings and were destroying police cars. And yet, there was Kyle, driven by his mother over state lines, and carrying an AR-15 rifle, purchased for him by a friend who was over 18. At 17, Kyle Rittenhouse was too young to buy the weapon himself.
According to his testimony, Kyle Rittenhouse was being chased by the protesters he ended up shooting with the AR-15. He says he was acting in self-defense when he shot and killed Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber, and later injured Gaige Grosskreutz. Although Rittenhouse has maintained that his actions were done in self-defense, prosecutors have argued that Rittenhouse "created the peril through his own reckless actions that caused others to fear for their own lives and led directly to the violence." However, according to the article I linked, "mountains of video and photo evidence appear to show Rosenbaum acting aggressively and chasing Rittenhouse, Huber striking him with a skateboard and Grosskreutz pointing a pistol at him."
So this wasn't a case of a person cold-bloodedly walking up to someone and shooting them. This wasn't a situation in which the victims were completely blameless. No matter what I might think about Kyle Rittenhouse's actions or the wisdom of his decision to attend the protest with a weapon, the fact is, there's evidence that he was being attacked by the men he shot. And that really weakens the prosecution's case, in my view.
When I first heard about this case, I wondered what in the hell made Kyle Rittenhouse think his "services" were needed at a protest in another state? Why did he feel like he needed a weapon, when he was supposedly there to "help" protect property and tend to the injured? What was his mother thinking when she brought her 17 year old son to Kenosha and turned him loose on the streets?
According to an article published by the University of Rochester Medical Center, "the rational part of a teen's brain isn't fully developed and won't be until age 25 or so." Kyle, at age 18, still has several years to go before he's "fully baked". The article continues:
…recent research has found that adult and teen brains work differently. Adults think with the prefrontal cortex, the brain's rational part. This is the part of the brain that responds to situations with good judgment and an awareness of long-term consequences. Teens process information with the amygdala. This is the emotional part.
In teens' brains, the connections between the emotional part of the brain and the decision-making center are still developing—and not always at the same rate. That's why when teens have overwhelming emotional input, they can't explain later what they were thinking. They weren't thinking as much as they were feeling.
I have read that Kyle Rittenhouse has been associating with white supremacists. Even if that's true, I remember that he's still a teenager, and is likely highly impressionable and impulsive. That doesn't make his actions right, nor does it mean that I think he should get off "free and clear". But I do think it mitigates his case somewhat. There must be a reason why Kyle Rittenhouse has ended up in this situation. There is a backstory that leads up to his decision to try to offer "help", where clearly it wasn't in his best interests to do so. Again, he's still a teenager… and he obviously doesn't yet have the more solid judgment or reasoning skills that most responsible adults have.
According to the NPR article I linked earlier in this post, a number of legal experts are saying that they think Kyle Rittenhouse will be acquitted of most of the charges. Prosecutors are now trying to get Kenosha County Circuit Judge Bruce Schroeder to allow jurors to consider lesser charges. This is because the prosecution's evidence has been as useful for the defense as it has been for the prosecution.
In fact, Gaige Grosskreutz, who, as the lone survivor, was supposed to be the prosecution's "star witness", has made several inconsistent statements. He's also admitted that he was, himself, carrying a pistol on an expired permit on the evening Rittenhouse shot and wounded him.
Defense attorney, Corey Chirafisi, cross-examined Grosskreutz, and asked "It wasn't until you pointed your gun at him — advanced on him with your gun, now your hands down, pointed at him — that he fired, right?"
And Mr. Grosskreutz responded, "Correct." as one of the prosecutors put his head in his hands.
Yeah… I wouldn't say that's a good look for the prosecution. It doesn't excuse the fact that Kyle Rittenhouse had no business being involved in the protest, but Grosskreutz doesn't exactly inspire sympathy when he admits that he had a gun, too, and wasn't carrying it legally.
Yikes.
Rittenhouse took the stand in his own defense, and sobbed so hard that Judge Schroeder called a recess. He testified that he reached for the rifle as "Rosenbaum chased him and reached for his rifle, as Huber struck him with the skateboard and as Grosskreutz advanced on him with the pistol." Rittenhouse said that he feared for his life. Frankly, based on that description, and especially considering his age, I can't blame him for being terrified that the three men might kill him.
When Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger cross-examined Rittenhouse, he asked, "You understand that when you point your AR-15 at someone, it may make them feel like you are going to kill them, correct?"
And Rittenhouse responded, "Mr. Rosenbaum was chasing me. I pointed my gun at him, and that did not deter him. He could have ran away instead of trying to take my gun from me, but he kept chasing me. It didn't stop him,"
My guess, not having been there, but having personally experienced being hopped up on adrenaline, that none of the people involved in this altercation were thinking straight. They were probably all in a state of "fight or flight", brought on by extreme fear, aggression, and an overload of testosterone and adrenaline.
Given that, I don't see Kyle Rittenhouse as a cold-blooded murderer who is undeserving of mercy, even if I am personally disgusted by his politics, and I realize that he's now killed two men. I also don't believe that most people who commit serious crimes when they are minors should have their lives ruined. While I'm certain Kyle knew that killing is wrong and against the law, he didn't, and still doesn't, have the mind of an adult. He proved that his judgment wasn't very sound when he decided to attend the protest alone, stayed out after curfew during a protest, lied about being an EMT, and carried a weapon that he wasn't legally permitted to have.
But the case hasn't gone very well for the prosecution, which is why they're asking the judge to allow jurors to consider lesser charges. I think the lesser charges are probably reasonable, but based on what I've read about the judge, I have a feeling he might not allow it. He seems somewhat sympathetic to Rittenhouse. Edited to add, Bill says the judge is allowing the lesser charges to be considered. Of course, the final verdict is up to the jury.
Hmm… this doesn't look so good for the prosecution.
It will be interesting to see what happens in this case. A verdict is expected next week. Based on what I've read, both about the case itself, and the judge involved, I have a feeling Mr. Rittenhouse will not be spending long years in prison, as a lot of people seem to hope he will. While I agree that he was wrong to kill two men and wound another, and he had absolutely NO BUSINESS being at the protest in the first place, I don't think he should rot in prison. I also hope he wises up about the right wing white supremacist types who have championed his cause. If he continues to hang around with them, there's a good chance he will end up in trouble again. And the next time, the case against him might be much more compelling.
book reviews, mental health, psychology
Reposting my review of Tina Zahn's Why I Jumped…
August 5, 2021 knottybook reviews, Christians, postpartum depression, repost, rescues, suicide, suicide attempts, Tina Zahn, Why I Jumped, Wisconsin 2 Comments
Here's a reposted book review that was originally written for Epinions.com in December 2011. I am posting it here as/is. It may be of special interest to anyone who has suffered from postpartum depression.
Last month, my husband Bill and I were watching TV in a hotel room in Barbados, reflecting on the marvelous vacation we had just taken. I flipped through the channels and stopped on a show about dramatic police rescues. The program highlighted the case of Tina Zahn, a mother of two who, on July 19th, 2004, dramatically attempted to end her life by jumping off the Leo Frigo Memorial Bridge in Green Bay, Wisconsin. I was riveted by the footage shown on the program, captured by the dash cams on the police cruisers that had pursued her in a high speed car chase. Tina Zhan had climbed over the railing and planned to drop 200 feet to her death. She would have died if not for the quick reflexes and sheer determination of state trooper Les Boldt, who had grabbed her wrist and refused to let her go.
Tina Zahn did not die that day, though postpartum depression had made her so very desperate to end her life. Within seconds of her suicide attempt, Trooper Boldt was joined by three other officers of the law, who pulled her to safety and took her to a hospital. That dramatic day in July 2004 was the beginning of Tina Zahn's recovery from a lifetime of pain and despair. When Tina Zahn spoke about the book she had written, I reached for my Kindle to see if it was available for download. It was; so I bought it.
Tina Zahn's story
With ghost writer Wanda Dyson's help, Tina Zahn begins her story with her childhood, which was spent with a stepfather who sexually abused her and a mother who didn't seem to care enough to stop him. Though she was bright and a hard worker, she endured a very traumatic childhood. Luckily, she managed to go to college and earned degrees that allowed her to be successful in the work place. But she had always battled depression, which seemed to dog her in everything she did.
She married her husband, Daniel, and later had her first child, a girl named Sarah. After Sarah's birth, Zahn suffered severe postpartum depression, a hormonal condition that makes it difficult for mothers to bond properly with their babies. She sought help for it and was given a prescription for Prozac. Her doctor promised her she would be her old self again in no time, but it took over a year for Zahn to feel better. She didn't know it at the time, but she later learned that once postpartum depression strikes, it's very likely to strike again and with more severity with each subsequent pregnancy.
As Zahn recovered, she began to get more involved with church. She and her husband had always attended a Lutheran church, which Zahn apparently found unsatisfying. She began attend a more contemporary church which she liked much better, but her husband was uncomfortable with the more casual services. They argued over their clashing faiths, which caused tension in their marriage.
In 2002, Zahn and her husband decided to have another child. Zahn's pregnancy was very unpleasant, mainly owing to chronic physical pain she had long suffered and more acute pain brought on by a hernia that developed during the pregnancy. Baby Noah was born in 2003 under traumatic circumstances. Both Noah and Tina spent a long time recovering from the birth and Tina was soon plunged back into another brutal bout of postpartum depression. She was unable to take care of herself, her children, or her household duties. Fortunately, she still had many friends from church who prayed for her. Those friends were praying on the day Tina Zahn almost succeeded in killing herself.
I think Why I Jumped is worthwhile reading, particularly for those who have, in some way, struggled with depression. In the late 1990s, I battled depression myself. While I was never near as debilitated as Tina Zahn was, I related to her descriptions of what depression feels like. This book may be even more helpful for women who have dealt with or are currently battling postpartum depression, as well as those who care about someone with postpartum depression, particularly if they are Christians. In fact, this book is very faith promoting, which may or may not be a good thing.
Readers who either don't mind the testimony bearing or are actively seeking a faith promoting story will probably really appreciate Zahn's story. People who are turned off by Christian memoirs or testimonies may not enjoy Tina Zahn's book. She is very clear about her Christian faith and how it, as well as prayers from nine close friends, saved her from suicide.
Zahn is very detailed in her story. Some of her details are on the mundane side, though they do give readers some insight into the dynamics of her family of origin as well as her marriage and relationship with her mother-in-law. There is a lot of dialogue in this book, which makes it read more like a novel. Zahn also includes pictures, which were easy enough to see on my Kindle. Zahn also includes several appendices with information about depression, postpartum depression, and suicide resources.
It seems that Zahn's life made a dramatic turnaround on the day she tried to jump off the Leo Frigo Bridge. She made good friends with the police officers who saved her, told her miserable abusive stepfather to stop contacting her, and wrote a book, which has no doubt inspired a lot of people. I found her story mostly fascinating and would not hesitate to recommend it to those who want to learn more about depression… as long as they don't mind also reading about religion.
Repost: Another "crime blast from the past"…
November 19, 2020 knottyabduction, Chris Thomas, Jake Patterson, Jayme Closs, Jessica Wiseman, Jim Spencer, journalism, Middlesex, murder, repost, true crime, Virginia, Wisconsin
Here's another repost from my original blog. This one was written on January 15, 2019. I'm leaving it as/is.
This morning, as Bill and I were enjoying biscuits and gravy, we got on the topic of Jayme Closs, the thirteen year old girl who was abducted from her parents' Barron, Wisconsin home on October 15, 2018. Jayme Closs, whose parents Denise and James Closs were murdered by her 21 year old captor, Jake Patterson, managed to escape her kidnapper last Thursday. She was being held about 70 miles from her home and Patterson apparently got complacent. Jayme got help from a woman who was walking her dog past the place where Patterson had been keeping her.
I will admit, I haven't really been keeping up with this story, since I've been busy with our move. However, I did read about her escape and I remembered hearing about her abduction in the fall. I made the mistake of reading some of the comments on the news articles written about this case. A lot of people were posting that they thought maybe Closs and Patterson had an affair.
For the record, I DO NOT believe that to be the case. I think even if that was the situation, Closs would be a victim. Closs has said she hadn't known Patterson before he took her and murdered her parents. Patterson has, himself, apparently told police that he spotted Closs getting on a school bus and decided he "wanted" her. I don't think Jayme Closs aided and abetted Patterson in any way.
Talking about this case and the speculation that Closs had something to do with it did make me remember a case that happened in Virginia back in 1990, though. The incident occurred in Middlesex County on November 10, 1990. I was a freshman in college and was about a month from finishing up my first semester before I would be coming home to Gloucester County for Christmas break. To get home from Longwood University, I'd be skirting nearby Middlesex County, although I don't think the route I took actually took me through there. I did drive through Middlesex years later when I lived in northern Virginia and came to Gloucester to visit.
On that November day in 1990, 14 year old Jessica Wiseman and her boyfriend, 17 year old Chris Thomas, killed Wiseman's parents, 32 year old James B. and Kathy Wiseman. The Wisemans had objected to Jessica and Chris seeing each other, so the young couple decided Jessica's parents needed to die. Chris and Jessica went into her parents' bedroom and shot them both, although Kathy Wiseman was able to run into Jessica's bedroom. She was shot again, and that killed her.
At the time of the crime, no one in Virginia under age 15 could be tried as an adult, regardless of how serious the crime was. Jessica Wiseman was tried as a juvenile in a closed court. She was declared a delinquent and spent the rest of her teen years in a juvenile detention facility. She was freed on July 26, 1997, which was her 21st birthday.
Chris Thomas was 17 years old, though, so although he was technically a juvenile, he was eligible to be tried as an adult. He pleaded guilty to killing James Wiseman and not guilty to killing Kathy Wiseman. He was convicted of both killings and sentenced to death. At the time, Virginia juries were not permitted to sentence a killer to life in prison without the possibility of parole. They were faced with the choice of sentencing Thomas to death or allowing for parole, which could have meant he would have been released as soon as twenty years after conviction.
Attorneys for Thomas have said that he was trying to protect Wiseman by taking the blame. Two women who were imprisoned with Jessica Wiseman also said that she was the one who had actually pulled the trigger, not Thomas. I'm not sure exactly where the truth lies, although it does seem unfair to me that Jessica got to live her life while Thomas lost his to state supported homicide. Thomas was scheduled to be executed in June 1999. The execution was put off until January 10, 2000, when Thomas was 26 years old. He ate fried chicken for his last supper.
I remember when this case was news. In those days, I used to read the Daily Press every day. There was a columnist named Jim Spencer who wrote opinions for the paper. My dad didn't like him because Spencer was an outspoken liberal. I, on the other hand, was drawn to Spencer's columns. I usually read them whenever I noticed them. In 2003, Spencer moved on to Denver, Colorado, where he wrote for the Denver Post.
As I was reading up on the Wiseman murders this morning, I happened to find an old column Spencer wrote for the Denver Post in 2007. He was reporting on another murder that had happened in Denver that reminded him of the Wiseman case, which he'd also written about. I did know that Spencer had moved out of Virginia, although I hadn't been following his career from afar. I went to see if Spencer was still in Denver, but it appears that he was a victim of downsizing. I think he has managed to find another job in journalism, although it took awhile and he had to detour into a different field. Looks like he now reports in Washington, DC after a stint in Minneapolis.
It actually makes me a little sad to read about Jim Spencer's situation. Good journalists are a dying breed. Nowadays, people don't want to pay for a newspaper subscription. While it's true that more writers can be read with the advent of blogging and self-publishing, it's much harder for legitimate authors to make a decent living. These old stories become relics of the past, with fewer skilled people to write them.
I find true crime fascinating. Everyone has a story. People involved in true crimes especially have stories. Some of the stories are more tragic than others. What happened to Chris Thomas doesn't seem fair to me. I am not a fan of the death penalty in all but the most extreme cases. I don't think he should have been executed for killing the Wisemans. Moreover, he was technically a juvenile when he committed his crimes. While I would expect most juveniles to know that killing is wrong, I also know that young people do not have fully functioning brains until they're older. It also doesn't seem fair that Thomas was executed while his girlfriend only did about seven years in a juvenile facility. But then, I guess there is a pretty big difference in a person's maturity levels between the ages of 14 and 17.
As for Jayme Closs, I have nothing but compassion for her. She must have gone through hell. What a blessing it is that she was able to find help after escaping her captor. He is in Wisconsin, so unless there is a federal angle applied to his case, he'll probably rot in prison for a long while. Wisconsin no longer has the death penalty.
I may have to start following the Closs/Patterson case now…
Here are the original comments from this post.
jonoJanuary 17, 2019 at 5:42 PM
Since it happened not too far from here (as the crow flies)it has dominated the local news. Jake will not likely see the light of day again other than obligatory time in the prison yard.
We have been watching the long, slow death of real journalism for some time now. There are still many good ones out there, but the masses seem to prefer entertainment to good reporting. It is very sad.
I hope he doesn't. He needs to be put away for a long time.


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The children of James Riley McCrumb wanted to thank all the friends and family who attended the Celebration of Life service on Sept. 27.
It was warming to see how many lives our father touched. It wasn't always easy being one of 1,000 kids vs. one of 3, yet knowing that we have so many brothers and sisters is comforting.
Our father was a simple man who found his calling early. He lived and breathed Mount Hebron High School. He led by example. We have no doubt that he was smiling that day. Thanks again for sharing the memories.
Jonathan Pitts' article, "'Major' Zoning Change Sought" fails to capture the enthusiasm we feel about the prospect of the Town Square at Turf Valley, proposed by Greenberg-Gibbons Commercial (GGC). This commercial developer has received significant recognition for its success with the "town center" concept in Maryland and elsewhere. Recently the developer opened the Annapolis Towne Centre at Parole. We feel that the Turf Valley developer, Mangione Family Enterprises should be commended for strengthening the Turf Valley PGCC with this exciting concept.
The proposed town center would provide a quality food store as well as a place to "gather" within walking or biking distance for most of our community, thereby improving our environment and contributing to our good health.
Council Bill 58-2008 is under consideration because, for the town center concept to succeed, there must be a significantly sized anchor food store. We have seen for ourselves the failure of village centers in Columbia because of the nature of the anchor food stores. GGC's presentations to members of our community, which described the developer's town squares and its plans for Turf Valley were met with strong interest and enthusiasm.
There is early reference in the article to Responsible Growth in Our Neighborhood (REGION), with an indication that Marc Norman is co-chair. Our development, the Legends of Turf Valley, knows about REGION because we were involved in its formation more than five years ago.
However, it should be noted that the Legends divorced itself from REGION and established our own Legends' steering committee, which tracks the development process related to the Planned Golf Course Community (PGCC). We want to make sure that our owners will receive objective information related to the needs of our community.
We are asked if REGION still functions, other than "name-only"? Who are its members? Does it have announced meetings with a quorum so positions can be announced, based on discussion and votes?
As vice president of the Homeowners board of directors of the Legends, a community within the Turf Valley complex, I enthusiastically support this proposal, which has already gained the unanimous support of the county's Planning Board.
It should be noted that this is not a "major" change, as it does not increase the total square footage of the commercial space that has had zoning approval for years. It is strictly a reallocation of this space to provide a needed "anchor store." This is a vital and necessary component of the planned town center that will be a unique addition for the residents within Turf Valley and the surrounding area. The vote of the Planning Board reflects my belief that we will all benefit from such a town center, as compared to continuing the proliferation of strip malls that dominate the area.
Additionally, the projection that this store will be a more upscale facility will offer residents in the area a significant new choice in grocery shopping. Economic history shows that such competition will lead to improvements in the existing area stores. The shopping public will benefit by being given the opportunity to decide which store to patronize.
Mangione Family Enterprise and Greenberg-Gibbons took the extra step to give a comprehensive presentation to our community on this proposal and it received our near- unanimous and enthusiastic support. This was a continuation of the history that we have had in working cooperatively with the developer in addressing concerns we have regarding the issues related to the proposed expansion of Turf Valley.
The Board of Education of Howard County has received a number of e-mails recently regarding redistricting in reaction to the feasibility study presented to the Board of Education on June 12. Redistricting is the process through which the Board of Education balances enrollments by adjusting boundaries to move students out of schools that are, or are at risk of being, over-enrolled and into under-enrolled schools.
The following information is provided to address concerns that exist regarding the process. There will be no redistricting for the 2009-2010 school year. The school board has not redistricted any students for the past two school years. As discussed in the June 2008 feasibility study, current enrollment projections suggest the possibility that redistricting will be required for 2010-2011.
The process has never been more transparent. The study is a planning tool and is available on the Howard County public school system Web site ( www.hcpss.org/boundarylines/). Its purpose is to provide the board with an annual snapshot of enrollment and analyze where enrollment pressures are expected to occur and offer possible solutions. The scenarios in the 2008 study are examples of how plans that moved low, medium and high numbers of students satisfied board policy.
There are no plans before the board for consideration at this time nor is there any board- favored plan nor will there be until fall 2009. Before making any decision to move students, the board seeks input from the community in the development of plans, and an extensive public process ensures that everyone can participate effectively in the process.


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HomePoet. Prof. Life.: Allan Aquino
Poet. Prof. Life.: Allan Aquino
November 25, 2019 Brian Los Angeles Poets, ProfilesAllan Aquino, American, Asian, Asian American, Cal State Northridge, ethnic stidies, identity, Los Angeles, place, Poet, Professor
By Romeo Oscar Cascolan
FROM: 700 Magazine
The inclusive mindset of the American dream makes the United States a welcoming destination for the variety of cultures that the world has to offer. As a Filipino who immigrated to the United States in 2000 and earned my American citizenship in 2018, I can personally attest to the opportunity within this country; as a result, I am more aware of the struggles and hardships that people endure in the hopes of leading a better life in the United States. The field of ethnic studies focuses on understanding the undeniable impact that these immigrants make on this country. The people involved in these studies may come from vastly different backgrounds, but their goal is always the same: to build upon the principles of freedom and independence that unite all Americans.
One person seeking to understand the history of Asians in America is Allan Aquino, a Filipino-American professor at California State University, Northridge (CSUN). As a professor of Asian-American studies, he strives to empower his students into making a difference in their country's future. Allan is passionate about his personal work in writing and poetry, and knowledgeable about his professional work in academia and education. He is someone who has studied ethnic histories extensively, graduating from CSUN with a bachelor's degree in Asian-American Historical Studies and from UCLA with a master's degree in Asian-American Studies. Professor Aquino himself was a trailblazer in academia, being only the second person in Cal State Northridge history to pursue a degree in Asian-American studies. As a result, he was a special major who had to develop his own curriculum – and he used this freedom and ability to develop a proactive and interactive approach to learning that he continues to utilize as a professor.
These interactions were made possible by his fundamental desire to truly understand himself. However, that did not mean focusing solely on the history and culture of Asians in America. He also took classes in Chicano studies, American Indian studies, pan-African studies, and Gender and Women's studies, describing his curriculum as a "synthesis of the greatest hits of American disciplines, history, culture, sociology, and literature."
"My intention was not to pursue just this ethnocentric kind of approach, but to first study my own history," Allan states. "And then in doing that, understanding how I connect to everybody else." His philosophy of open-mindedness is necessary to embrace not only the diversity that the United States is home to, but also the variety of cultures that reside in Asia. The continent is vast and there are many differences between Asians that need to be acknowledged, respected, and embraced. For example, Japanese culture is not the same as Chinese or Korean culture; Indian culture is not the same as Indonesian or Malaysian culture. However, realizing these differences is the first step to bridging the perceived gaps between them. Read Rest of Article Here
← Los Angeles Literature Events 11/25/19 – 12/01/19
Book Review: Let the Buzzards Eat Me Whole →


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Previous / Bottas says title thoughts not on his mind yet Next / Kvyat set for new Toro Rosso deal
Formula 1 Results
How Indians performed over the weekend (July 7-9)
Rachit Thukral
It was an unspectacular weekend for Indian teams, drivers and riders, with none of those competing internationally able to grab headline results. However, there were some impressive performances in the national championships in India.
Force India (F1 Austrian GP)
Photo by: Sutton Images
Result: Seventh and eighth
Both Force India drivers finished in the points at the Austrian Grand Prix, but the Silverstone-based team was beaten comprehensively by Haas as the best midfield squad.
Sergio Perez lost out to both teammate Esteban Ocon and Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton at the start, but managed to regain his position by turn 3. Hamilton inevitably got ahead a few laps later, leaving the Mexican in seventh place.
Meanwhile, Ocon felt that Force India's gamble to do a long first stint backfired, allowing Williams' Felipe Massa to close right on his tail during the final stages of the race.
However, the Frenchman managed to fend off Massa's late charge to finish in eighth position.
Arjun Maini (GP3 Austria)
Photo by: GP3 Series Media Service
Best finish: 10th
Despite proving himself to be one of the fastest drivers in the field, Arjun Maini returned from the second round of GP3 championship with a single point.
Maini stalled at the start during weekend's both races, dropping to the back of the pack. In Race 1, he staged a remarkable recovery, overtaking a slew of drivers and taking advantage of others' issues to finish 10th.
He could have finished even higher up the order, had he not gone off at turn 1 while overtaking Tatiana Calderon.
The second race proved to be tougher nut to crack for the 19-year-old, who was unable to make up the ground lost at the start. He eventually ended 16th in the order to cap off a difficult weekend.
The fastest lap was a small consolation prize for the Barcelona sprint race winner, who could have fought for topline results had it not been for the slow starts.
Narain Karthikeyan (Super Formula Fuji)
Result: 14th
Narain Karthikeyan's Super Formula weekend was compromised by technical issues in free practice, which meant that he couldn't find the right set-up for qualifying.
As a result, the 40-year-old was forced to start from 16th on the grid, leaving him with a mountain to climb on Sunday.
Despite his best efforts and a strategy to go as long as possible in the first stint, he was unable to make any significant progress, ending 14th at the flag.
Akhil Rabindra (British GT Spa-Francorchamps)
Best finish: Seventh in class
Akhil Rabindra also endured a difficult weekend at the Spa-Francorchamps round of British GT, the single-seater convert managing a best class finish of seventh in Race 2.
The first race ended early for the #59 crew after a rival driver hit the McLaren 540S GT4, then driven by teammate Dean Macdonald.
The duo have dropped to sixth in the Silver Cup category after successive weekends without a podium result.
JK Tyre National Racing Championship (Coimbatore)
Photo by: Asif Zubairi
Vishnu Prasad sweeped the opening round of JK Tyre Racing Championship, winning all four races in the flagship Euro JK category.
Prasad was particularly quick with his reaction times at the start and was not afraid to make bold moves over rivals.
Several mistakes by Anindith Reddy, arguably the quickest driver of the weekend, also played to the Chennai-born driver's hands, allowing him dominate a category in which he won the championship thrice in the past (when it was called the FB02).
National Motorcycle Championship (Chennai)
Photo by: Srinivasa Krishnan
In the Super Sport 165cc class of National Motorcycle Championship, Honda-supported rider Rajiv Sethu scored a double win after TVS rival Jagan Kumar retired from the lead at both occasions.
Sethu's results were emulated by Amarnath Menon in the Super Sport 300-400cc category, the Gusto Racing rider having been unbeaten so far this year.
Bottas says title thoughts not on his mind yet
Kvyat set for new Toro Rosso deal
Loeb: Second place in Dakar "nothing to be ashamed of"
Prodrive fears Audi could "kill" Dakar competition in 2023
Dakar Prime
The positive future implications of Audi's creditable Dakar debut
Arjun Maini
Karthikeyan, Maini withdraw from Le Mans 24 Hours
Lausitzring
Maini: Lausitz banking to ramp up 'fear factor' for DTM drivers
Maini makes DTM switch with Mercedes team GetSpeed