In Hamburg, the reaction is understandable...
Ditto for Montana...
In the early going, right after the shooting...
But, as I said earlier...
I wonder what the Missoula, Montana reaction would have been...
Had they known at the time, that Dede was in the process of committing a burglary when he was killed...
And had they known that Dede's companion that night had confessed that he and Dede had robbed garages on a couple of occasions prior to the night of the shooting...
The popular reaction might have been a wee-bit more muted...
Rather like a big homecoming parade being planned for Bowe whats-his-face, after his release in Afghanistan...
Once the townfolk discovered that he was suspected of Desertion...
Instant parade-cancellation...
Under the cover of 'safety concerns'...
But with the certain and unspoken understanding that Americans don't honor deserters...
No town likes to look foolish, in retrospect...
Same principle here...
If the townfolk had known then, what they knew later (aboud Dede's criminality)...
There's a good chance these cutesy little canndlelight vigils might not have taken place at all, or, at least, they might have been far more sparsely attended...
As things stand now, given that these demonstrations (in Montana) took place so hard on the heels of the shooting, before the particulars were known...
I'm not sure that these images will hold-up under a closer scrutiny, as evidence of popular discontent over the situation...
Dept. of Curiouser and Curiouser, a/k/a News of the Weird:
>> The Missoula law firm that is representing a Grant Creek resident accused of murdering a German exchange student will host a live showing of the U.S.-Germany World Cup soccer match on big-screen televisions in Caras Park on Thursday.
Paul Ryan & Associates sent an announcement to the media Tuesday, saying it will host the free live showing at 10 a.m. Thursday. The game will be shown on two 65-inch televisions.
... In a phone interview, Ryan said the soccer gameÂ’s live showing has nothing to do with his firmÂ’s involvement in KaarmaÂ’s defense. (Ryan contends that his client was acting in defense of his family when he fired three shots at 17-year-old Diren Dede.)
Ryan said the fact that Germany is playing the U.S. is purely a coincidence.
“Honestly, that didn’t cross my mind,” Ryan said. “We were just excited about the game and we wanted to provide this to the community. I hope it doesn’t turn into something negative. It’s just a weird timing of the two teams that match up. It doesn’t have anything to do with our case. Hopefully, people can forget about those things and watch a soccer game. We just did it as a community event.” <<
"
Who, me?"
>> Judge McLean also told Kaarma's attorney Paul Ryan to not host a public viewing of the USA-Germany World Cup match in Caras Park as Ryan had planned on doing.
McLean said this was not a time to run "a public relations campaign" and Ryan should "knock it off." <<

--
Tentative Trial Date Set
>> Attorney Paul Ryan responded by canceling plans to host a free community screening of ThursdayÂ’s U.S.-Germany soccer match, insisting he never made the connection between slain student Diren DedeÂ’s nationality and love for soccer, and the U.S.-Germany matchup in the World Cup.
District Judge Ed McLean made the connection quickly during Wednesday morningÂ’s omnibus hearing.
“In this morning’s Missoulian, there’s an article about the televised soccer event,” McLean said. “I don’t want any playing to the public when we have serious business at hand, and it’s not the time to run a public relations campaign. So knock it off.”
RyanÂ’s client, Markus Kaarma, is charged with deliberate homicide for fatally shooting the unarmed teenager in his Grant Creek garage on April 27. Dede was an all-state soccer player and Big Sky High School student; he also played soccer in his home country [Germany]. <<
--
Missoulian
Paul Ryan is Kaarma's attorney and he didn't make the connection. Brilliant.
Hey, it's a normal thing -- I've certainly been going to the local attorney's office for World Cup broadcasts, haven't you? Just a coincidence, c'mon.
It does show us not only what kind of tactic the defense is prone to, but what he thinks he's up against considering all of this:
Candlelight vigil at the Missoula high school
This is after all the population from which a jury will be drawn.
Pure coincidence though.
Meanwhile in Hamburg:
Sign at protest in Hamburg reads: "The U.S. Shares Blame for Diren's Murder With Their Laws (Der Spiegel)