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Seriously? Seriously?!? It's my fault, huh? How did you arrive at the conclusion that I was doing anything to draw there attention?

Agreed, which is why I said that I am willing to admit the video was of a robbery in that store - still doesn't address was DJ is a creditable witness in once breath and discredited the next.

And you assume that my only interaction with police in any way/manner was the one that I had 20 year ago. I love how some people are able to minimize shit, then look around later like a befuddled Steve Urkel and say "Did I do That?!?!"

Look, I'm not saying that I am unwilling to admit that Mike Brown robbed the store. Yes, It is possible that he did. What I am saying is who robs a store and then doesn't try to avoid being arrested? Mike Brown didn't run from the scene of the crime - he casually walked out of the door, and knowing that he had just committed a "crime", he didn't try to avoid drawing police attention to himself by either walking on the sidewalk, or following Wilson's directions to get out of the street. That doesn't make sense. And no, I didn't read DJ's testimony - just heard what he had to say on the day of the shooting, so I'm not disputing your accuracy to that fact. But, I don't understand how you can choose to accept this portion of his testimony, but the whole "shot while trying to surrender" part you discredit. To me, either he is a creditable witness or he's not. As for the store owner - agreed, he may not have wanted his face plastered all over the news, but he'd have little choice if he was subpoenaed. True, the video doesn't show what would be considered a normal, friendly cash transaction, but I'd be willing to bet that there was more to that part of the story too. For example, most corner stores in the hood will sell cigarettes individually - and often times they will let you pay by using a link card (Food stamps) and then give you cash back. How do we know that they simply weren't negotiating upon the terms of this type of illegal transaction? Maybe Brown wanted 5 cigars instead of the 3 that was offered, and in the video he was seen simply pushing the clerk out of his way with a "get outta here with that BS" gester. I am speculating, sure - but so are you guys when you state that the video "clearly" shows a robbery and assault. I don't know many thugs, but of the ones that I do know, they would have beat the shit out of the clerk in that video under those circumstances - their mindset being "well, if I'm gonna catch a case..." Again, based upon my experiences alot of this just doesn't add up. And Howard, maybe I am delusional... it sure felt like I was in a delusional state during the summer of 89' when I decided to make a quick run to 7-11 for some milk for my daughter and was stopped, unlawfully handcuffed and detained in a cruiser for over an hour while two officers illegally searched my car for drugs. But i guess that I should just shutup and appreciate the fact that they didn't plant anything in my car, huh? You seem to be indoctrinated on that whole "police are the good guys" while elsewhere, there are people who know that the police are as shifty as the fucking criminals they claim to protect us from

Nope, at this point I think its fair to start asking for an indictment of any cop who shoots someone based upon the suspicion that it may have been unnecessary. Nothing wrong with check and balances. So, Brown was killed because he attacked a cop; Martin was killed because he "attacked" Zimmermen ( who wasn't even a cop); Hunt was killed by police because he attacked fictional characters from a comic-con convention with a toy sword; Crawford was killed by police because he was carrying an air gun in Walmart that it appears he intended to purchase; and a 12 year old was killed by police while playing with a toy gun in a cleveland park. Meanwhile, you've got all of these pro-guns people carrying loaded assault rifles into Wendys/Walmart/Target etc... as well as the Bundy group, guns drawn, daring the Federal Government to remove some cattle off of federal land...

Honestly? OK... 1) Alleged. From the reports that I read, a 3rd party called to report what they "thought" was a robbery. By now, I would've expected that the store clerk or owner would have verified that it was a robbery. 2) Wilson's face is bruised - but not the extent that would support his claims of "feeling like a 5yo fighting Hulk Hogan". I would have expected much more significant bruising at the least. 3) I'm not suggesting that Wilson pulled Brown into the car. Remember, Wilson himself initially stated that he did not engage Brown about the incident at the store - he told him to get out of the street. I am suggesting that Wilson tried to display his weapon as a means of intimidation when he told him to get out of the street and he didn't expect Brown to react the way he did. This is key in my mind because it places some culpability upon Wilson 4) Again, I'm not disputing this fact either. But what I am saying is that the evidence doesn't dismiss testimony that Brown's arms weren't in a surrendering position nor does it indicate that Brown was still posing a threat to Wilson's life. Now, since it appears that we have a dialog going, let me ask you: Do you honestly not see the conflict of interest in having McCulloch lead the grand jury investigation? Why was Wilson allowed to place his weapon into evidence himself and why wasn't his initial statements recorded? Why didn't the ME take pictures or measurements at the crime scene? Why was Wilson allowed to testify during the grand jury proceedings, but not be cross-examined? Why, after a weeks worth of buildup over the news, did the announcement happen at night time?

No. I don't. I just think that another scenario just as likely to have happened is that Wilson called Brown to the car, Brown approached the car (maybe while mouthing off/maybe not), at some point Wilson un holstered his weapon and pointed it in Brown's direction as a means of intimidation, and Brown, fearing for his life, tried to disarm Wilson.

Physical evidence supports the idea of a 6'6" 290+lb "hulk of a man" (wilson's description in quotes - not mine) being able to fit through the window of a police cruiser? In order to quickly reach past a 6'4" 240+ lbs man in an attempt to remove Wilson's holstered weapon? To shoot him with it? Physical evidence supports that theory?

Ok, seriously - does that scenario seem to be the most reasonable/believable to you? Are you even open to considering any other possibility?

Miss me with that... I take solace in the fact that, in a not to distant future, issues like these will be much less likely to occur - thanks to all of the interracial hook-ups. Attitudes and tolerance levels will change once you've got some of "them" in your family.

Ignorant? No… not necessarily. I would agree that 99% of the VS members reading this thread may not have perceived that statement as having any racial connotations. But Adam is a Lawyer… Words (both spoken and written) are literally the tools of his trade… Smart Lawyers think in terms of context for EVERYTHING that they are about to write or speak. So, for him to have used that phrase, given the context of this conversation, can only be described as either dumb, lazy, or careless. From the posts of his that I have read on VS over the years, he doesn’t seem either dumb or lazy. So, I’m thinking that careless is the descriptor that I would use – because obviously he couldn’t Care Less about having this conversation without trying not to elicit an emotional response from the 1% who would understand the phrase “you people” can (and often does) have negative connotations associated with it. And I thought that it was important to point this out to him. Carry on...

This statement makes it seem like a Wilson indictment has negative connotations...

Again, how can Mike Brown not be categorized as a victim? Especially when the definition of the word states: "a person harmed, injured, or killed as a result of a crime, accident, or other event or action." Mike Brown was killed. He is a victim of murder. Whether his murder was intentional or not, and Whether his murder was justifiable or not, are both up for debate. I don't buy your theory that it was suicide by cop, but even if it was: - Mike Brown was still killed, and thus he is still a victim (albeit a victim of suicide) - Suicide is illegal in the state of Missouri. According to you Mike Brown committed suicide (by cop). According to you, Wilson (said cop) assisted in said suicide. Assisted suicide is also illegal in Missouri. So, according to your theory, Wilson should be charged and tried for assisted suicide at the least, or even manslaughter

Does one need to be formally recognized by an agency in order to be considered an expert in a subject matter area? (There are several members on VS with vast amounts of automotive knowledge/experience who aren't ASE certified - does that make them any less of a subject matter expert?) That's a rhetorical question - don't bother answering it because regardless of your answer to that question or whether he is recognized as a legal expert, Alain's points and questions are still valid. Not a victim? Hmmm... Sorry, I forgot that we were having a "legal" conversation - Let me amend that: link Please explain to me why Mike Brown doesn't meet the literal definition of the word "victim"... "You people ..." ?!?!? In such a racially charged topic/environment it might behoove you to avoid using "buzz words" like these if you want to be viewed as non-biased

So its as simple as voting in a prosecutor who believes that Wilson should stand trial and then formally charging Wilson?

With all that having been said, my question now is: can the gran jury be re convened? I know about double jeopardy - but Wilson hasnt actually been tried. Could there ever be a scenerio under which Wilson is indicted and has to stand trial?

So, now it is a prerequisite that one must have gone to law school AND is a practicing lawyer in order to be able to argue this event?? That's interesting in an ironic sorta way, considering the amount of non-black men arguing the typical experience black men state they have on a regular basis with police. But I digress... As I said earlier, to me distance between the two is one of the key elements. If they were within arm's reach of each other during the altercation, then I could envision a scenerio where Wilson couldnt determine if Brown was armed, and shot to kill him. However, if they were in fact 25ft away from each other when the shooting started that would mean Wilson had clear site lines to determine if Brown was armed and if shooting was justifiable in his mind. And, even it were to have been deemed justifiable to start shooting at an unarmed person who is 25ft away and approaching you - that doesn't mean the same level of justification exist by the time the unarmed person is 8ft away from you and has been shot several times. And herein is the root issue that Alain nailed home earlier - there was no one there during the grand jury process to advocate for the victim. To question the point that I just made, or any other fact in this event. What? You said that the prosecutor was there... well, true. But there is a hand/glove relationship between the prosecution dept and the police department. So, by default, he's advocating for Wilson. So for the powers that be to say that a fair and impartial inquiry occurred without someone there who is questioning facts from the event on the victim's behalf (I.e. a trial)... well those sort of statements are nothing more than lip service to the victim's family and the black community as a whole.

Does anyone know the physical distance between Wilson and Brown during the final confrontation? I havent read anything that indicated how close/far they were apart when the kill shot(s) happened. This would seem to be a critical piece of information because after being shot at least once, I could understand the "rage" Wilson said that Brown exhibited - but, if Brown was 50-100ft away from Wilson, then I fail to see how Wilson was in a life or death situation. If, on the other hand, Wilson was within arm's reach of Brown then I could fully understand Wilson emptying his weapon into Brown.

True, but still uncomfortably funny

Moved to the funny photo >thread since people are upset that this wasn't a GIF.

I'm bringing sexy back

Emission test passed. There is a shimmy coming from the front end around 65mph. Ordered 2 new wheel bearing kits. While investigating the shimmy, I noticed that my brake lines looked sketchy too. With 195k miles on the clock, I decided to replace them with braided lines and replace the fluid. Then I decided "F-it", and sourced a bbk. (shitty cell phone pics - every thread has to have at least one set of 'em) SS lines and new pads New rotors R calipers and baking plates

Blanket The steel ties came with the header wrap that I purchased from Jegs

I'm open to experimenting with a N/A cam at some point down the road If you look close, you can see the black nylon ties. I'll basically do the same thing, only with steel ties (and not around the coolant drain port) when I do the final install. As for the color - just trying something different. I know.

Once again, 56k to the rescue - I ordered a new oil trap, and the associated gaskets. While waiting I picked up some black wrinkle paint from the local auto parts store, cleaned the intake and applied it. Before: During: While waiting of that to dry, I decided to tackle the next project on my list - rerouting my gauge wires. The old way, which was supposed to have been a temporary solution: The new, permanent solution that I decided upon while working on the heater core (Hmmm, I dont know why they put this on a T6 but it sure came in handy): Small starter hole: Shined a light through it to help me determine where my poke-thru was on the engine side of the firewall. Then opened the hole to 1/2 inch diameter and reverted back to my data cabling days to fish a pull string through: Inserted a grommet that I found on a Volvo in the JY into the hole I made, and used the pull string to pull the gauge wires from the engine bay into the car. Reapplied a second coat of wrinkle finish to the intake manifold, and after cleaning the oil from the alternator/power steering bracket, I decided to paint it and the cam cover with some paint that I had laying around the garage. Before: Back in April, I ordered two new oil return lines at the same time I purchased the heater core. The T6 motor requires two a tall one for the up turbo and a short one for the down turbo. I cut the flange off of the up turbo and inserted it into the drain hole to eyeball a drain solution. As you can see, it aligns perfectly with the turbos stock drain tube and I only needed a 2 ½ of braided hose to connect the two: Turned my attention to the other side - My original intent was to permanently plug the other drain hole in the block, but over time I decided that this extra hole in the block was an asset in the event that I ever needed to add additional crankcase breathing capabilities because of higher boost levels, a larger turbo - or both! So, I came up with something a little more flexible. First I cut the stock return line: Then I tapped it with a M14 tap: Here is the final solution. All I need is a ½ long spacer that I can weld/tack/braise a piece of metal to and then I can attach it (the spacer) to the motor and not worry about it (the plug) vacating the drain hole : Next up on the list - I had ordered a turbo blanket back in March /April: Awesome product! Its about one inches thick problem is, its for an external waste gate. I mounted it, and marked it where a hole would need to be cut in order to accommodate the internal waste gate on the K24: But, I couldnt bring myself to mutilate it in an effort to fit the K24. (Again, its an awesome product, and you can tell just from the look and feel of it in person that it would probably work great on a larger turbo). So, put it in my box of stuff marked for later and fired up the 56k. I found a blanket made for an internal waste gate and purchased it. It isnt as thick as the first one, and due to the angled housing, it doesnt cover the hotside completely - but it should help a lot. I test fitted it using some nylon zip ties. Here are some pics for those of you considering a blanket for your stock turbo: And here is a close up of the area around the waste gate: The paint on my intake manifold, power accessory bracket and cam cover has finally dried so Ill leave you with a teaser image of how the motor will look when finished. As for a status update: While reassembling everything, I found that the 90 degree fitting on the emission line that runs under the intake manifold and routes vapors from the oil trap to the intake had a hole in it too. Im waiting on a replacement for the metal emissions line. I expect to receive it this week, and if so, I will button everything up, recertify for emissions and start installing the fun bits. Oh, and Ive also got a couple of other things to install that I think you guys will find interesting but Ill leave that statement as a teaser too: