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Oddly Enough

News, but not the serious kind

November 24th, 2008

Ma, where’s that mortar ya made?

Posted by: Robert Basler
Tags: Oddly Enough, , , , , , ,

Quick quiz: which of these are really great homemade?

a) tart, tangy double-crust apple crisp
b) flaky buttermilk biscuits with honey
c) a steaming pot of spicy chili
d) mortars

I hope you identified mortars as the one thing you should probably get from a reputable mortar store, not a basement metal workshop.

“Ma! Are them new mortar shells ready? The rally starts in 15 minutes!”

“Shaddup, ya ungrateful little creep! I slave over a tub of gunpowder all morning, and you come down at noon yammerin’ in yer dirty bathrobe! When this hot lead cools off, THAT’S when you’ll getcher damned mortar shells, Lonnie!”

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Supporters of the ruling Sandinista National Liberation Front party fire homemade mortars towards supporters of a mayoral candidate in Leon City, west of Managua, November 16, 2008. REUTERS/ Oswaldo Rivas

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7 comments so far

Wow… These are some incredible pictures…

I’m sure they’re just part of a ‘well-ordered militia’ though… Does Managua have a Second Amendment?

- Posted by Bandage

Call me ignorant, but should mortars be fired straight up in the air?

- Posted by Worsbeursie

Not really, unless you want to be picking bits of shell casing and fins out of your teeth afterwards.

- Posted by Komitadjye

Those in the know describe it as even less healthy than squeezing off a couple of AK-47 clips straight up in the air.

- Posted by gwmc

Maybe not straight up, but mortars are artillery - not directly-fired weapons like you see in the first image. Worsbeursie is mostly correct.

- Posted by Ivan Komarov

Well Bandage…Firstly, I don’t think any Latin American countries have a second amendment as gun-toting civilians are more than often the ruling government…secondly, Managua might have had a second amendment if it were a nation but I think the Nicaraguan ‘president’ might not appreciate his capital city seceding and creating a yankee-style bill of rights.

On the bright side, at least somebody takes local government seriously.

- Posted by TSC

Notice how no one is running away.
Check out the “just another day” scene behind the first pic. That guy is on the bike to go play some futbol, and “oh look, its those crazy FSL guys again.”

..Its so cute when local politics gets nasty..

- Posted by Wilus

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