and is there any reason aside from playing fantasy dress-up to be wearing woodland-style blatant rip-offs of USMC camouflage uniforms?

8/15/2014 1:43:07 AM

Maybe their stormtrooper blacks were in the wash.

I agree with your assessment of police qualifications, Duke, but I find it unlikely. Police depts now openly discriminate against people who score to high on their intelligence tests.

Problematically there's so much money invested in the police/prison complex that scaling it back is going to meet with tons of resistance. I'm sure the money from the police unions, private prison corps, defense contract heavy corporations, etc. are the primary reason that so many politicians are against legalizing drugs or scaling back things like selling surplus military gear to local police departments.

It's not a dem vs. republican thing either, it's an entrenched party thing. Just read about who voted for and against this latest police militarization amendment.

http://reason.com/blog/2014/08/14/fergusons-rep-lacy-clay-voted-against-am

8/15/2014 2:00:32 AM

yeah i saw that one earlier

8/15/2014 2:13:43 AM

Yay, finishing off the blacks one shooting at a time!

5 Shootings of Unarmed African American Men by Police in August So Far. Why?
http://bluenationreview.com/shooting-of-unarmed-african-american-men/

8/17/2014 5:24:03 AM

^

Quote :

" Crawford’s death is so bizarre – A toy gun?? Really?? Aren’t they made of brightly-colored plastic to avoid this kind of mistake?? - that it almost seems like cruel fiction."

Crawford was holding an air rifle pictured above, which is not at all brightly colored and looks very similar to an actual rifle, which are also sold at WalMart. He walked around the store, pointing this thing at people, which caused one person to collapse and die from a pre-existing medical condition while running away from him. He also refused to put it down when police instructed him to.

I am going to defend the police actions in that case specifically, as I don't know enough about it, but I just hate lousy journalism like this. If Joe Williams at Blue Nation Review was too fucking lazy to check the basic facts about the case, why the fuck should we believe his ultimate conclusion that “There is a crisis of perception where African American males and females take their lives in their hands just walking out the door.”? Bad reportage like this is hurting the cause.



[Edited on August 18, 2014 at 2:33 AM. Reason : images]

[Edited on August 18, 2014 at 2:34 AM. Reason : .]

8/18/2014 2:22:39 AM

^ there's supposedly a video of the police actions somewhere (that hasn't been leaked to my knowledge), but it's only the police reporting that he refused to put the air rifle down, there's no good reason for the public to believe that at this point.

8/18/2014 2:29:15 AM

Regardless of what he did with the air rifle when confronted by the cops, do you think it's good journalism to include his case in an article titled "5 Shootings of Unarmed African American Men by Police in August So Far"?

Was the shooting justified. Questionable. Was he armed? Definite "Yes". Bad, bad reporting. Why not pick one of other cases?

8/18/2014 2:41:34 AM

where are you seeing that he had the gun pictures above? and are there any reports that he was pointing it at others except from the police?

every airsoft gun I see on wal-mart's website has the orange tip

8/18/2014 8:19:46 AM

Wielding a toy gun doesn't mean you're armed, even if you're brandishing it in a threatening manner.

[Edited on August 18, 2014 at 9:05 AM. Reason : Let's be civil to the fucking idiot.]

8/18/2014 9:00:00 AM

You're ineffectual unless you use all caps.

8/18/2014 9:05:40 AM

Would you say I am more ineffectual than or less ineffectual than your average fuckhead pig cop?

8/18/2014 9:07:38 AM

Do you have a gun?

8/18/2014 9:20:10 AM

I don't own a firearm, but I do have a toy flintlock pistol from a few Halloweens ago. I trust that's sufficient to get me shot dead by an LEO given the right circumstances.

[Edited on August 18, 2014 at 9:25 AM. Reason : Correction, it's a flintlock, not a matchlock.]

8/18/2014 9:23:16 AM

What's wrong with the rifle the cop was armed with? It looks like something you or I might go take out to range to screw around with. There is a time and place for a rapid engagement precision rifle; it's not 600 yard shots. How about someone in the crowd of 100's taking a pop shot? Can't just spray the crowd or call in an air strike. As someone who has carried a rifle in law enforcement, I can tell you that your effective range (being able to identify your target, lawfully engage and making accurate law enforcement hits) is only about 25 yards and in.

Just be careful by suggesting that only the military should have weapons like that, because next thing you know congress will be enacting legislation that screws us all.

And yes, the camo is silly. There is a time and place for it, but 99% you can't or don't need to blend it. I worked in an urban environment and the other SWAT guys wanted to were shit like woodland ATACS. /facepalm.

8/18/2014 9:30:38 AM

what post are you responding to?

8/18/2014 10:50:56 AM

Not yours since nobody talks to known aliases.

8/18/2014 10:57:56 AM

okay, aaronburro

8/18/2014 11:02:54 AM

Prove it.

8/18/2014 11:09:25 AM

this is entertaining, but can we keep this in the "violent protest" thread?

8/18/2014 11:11:41 AM

I agree.

8/18/2014 11:21:07 AM

you agree, then why did you try to troll me?

8/18/2014 11:29:18 AM

Because you've been called an alias in this thread and the thread where you out yourself as an alias has been mentioned.

What more is needed?

8/18/2014 11:35:40 AM

Quote :

"Because you've been called an alias in this thread "

aaronburro, i wasn't called an alias in this thread until you posted:

Quote :

"Not yours since nobody talks to known aliases."

when I asked Restricted which post he was responding to

[Edited on August 18, 2014 at 11:51 AM. Reason : also, i haven't even used my alias on this page]

8/18/2014 11:50:56 AM

Carzak on last page.

8/18/2014 11:53:08 AM

Do you have a problem with him sighting down on a group of people with their hands up?

8/18/2014 11:55:00 AM

Quote :

"Wielding a toy gun doesn't mean you're armed, even if you're brandishing it in a threatening manner"

If it was clearly a toy gun, it would be one thing. The gun in this scenario looks very realistic to me. If someone in the Scream mask runs up to you with a knife and tries to stab you with it, are you going to just stand there and wait to see if the knife is in fact a foam Halloween prop? I am sure you are going to either defend yourself, or run.

Quote :

"where are you seeing that he had the gun pictures above? and are there any reports that he was pointing it at others except from the police?"

Umm do I have to so all the research for you?? See below. Same question to you, if you see someone at the store walking around with this particular gun and then pointing it at you, are you going to wait to see if it's real, or are you going to run and hide (and/or shoot, assuming you carry)?

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/police-kill-man-air-rifle-walmart-ohio-article-1.1895479

Quote :

"John Crawford, 22, was carrying an MK-177 (.177 caliber) BB/Pellet Rifle, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine announced Thursday "

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/source-walmart-gunman-was-carrying-toy-rifle/

Quote :

"April and Ronald Ritchie, of Riverside, told WHIO that they were in the hardware department Tuesday around 8:20 p.m. when they saw a man walking the aisles carrying what they thought was a real gun, pointing it toward the sky. The couple called 911. The couple said they followed Crawford at a safe distance. "Anytime I saw people walking his way, I would get their attention," April Ritchie said. She said the man was cradling a cellphone between his left ear and shoulder while he messed with the rifle. "He just kept messing with it and I heard a clicking," April Ritchie said. Ronald Ritchie said Crawford "was just waving [the gun] at children and people...I couldn't hear anything that he was saying. I'm thinking that he is either going to rob the place or he's there to shoot somebody"

Quote :

"every airsoft gun I see on wal-mart's website has the orange tip"

Well he clearly took it out of the box and carried it around, so no reason why he couldn't have taken the tip off even if there was one. He wasn't there just to buy it and take it home to his kid, otherwise he would have left it in a box.



I know some people open-carry their rifles to the store (usually the 2nd amendment crowd), but they make sure to have it slung over the shoulder in a non-threatening way. If I see anyone at the store with anything that looks like a real gun with their hand on the grip, I will certainly be taking that as a threat.

8/18/2014 12:03:42 PM

for some reason when i read air rifle I immediately thought airsoft, but since its a BB gun it probably wouldn't have had an orange tip.

8/18/2014 12:14:19 PM

That's a pretty sweet looking air rifle and not something that I would call a toys. But I can't imagine this whole scenario playing out, without the guy mentioning very clearly that it's just some air rifle. Unless he was out looking to be shot by a cop, I have a hard time believing the situation escalated to him being shot several times and it was never mentioned that it was just an air rifle.

Of course the cops are going to say he was being threatening, but that doesn't seem like a very likely scenario to me. However it very well easily could be, there are some crazy people in the world, but without more information it's really hard to say, but in order to vindicate the cops, we would have to believe that that guy went out specifically looking for trouble that day, which would be easy to prove.

8/18/2014 12:16:09 PM

Quote :

" Not yours since nobody talks to known aliases."

Christ, you still on this?



I'm not dtwral....

















I'm Batman




[Edited on August 18, 2014 at 12:36 PM. Reason : ]

8/18/2014 12:36:02 PM

Quote :

"What's wrong with the rifle the cop was armed with?"

8/18/2014 12:49:51 PM

Camouflage fatigues......in an urban environment.....mind boggling.





Posse Comitatus....it was a good idea, at least.

[Edited on August 18, 2014 at 1:00 PM. Reason : ]

8/18/2014 12:57:10 PM

Quote :

"It looks like something you or I might go take out to range to screw around with. [quote] LOL [quote]How about someone in the crowd of 100's taking a pop shot?"

Was there anyone taking potshots from the crowd? No. How likely is it that that would occur given the massive police presence? It would mean certain and quick suicide, by any number of the other cops.

Why does every weapon in their arsenal for every possible scenario need to be out and ready to use for a crowd of peaceful protesters? It's not like a head of state was present, and it only increases the risk of accidents on innocents.

8/18/2014 1:18:21 PM

I think it's pretty obvious that it was for intimidation. They've lost control of the situation, and have responded the only way they know how to: With force.

8/18/2014 1:37:40 PM

And really, who runs a RMR red dot that far out?

8/18/2014 2:36:36 PM

Quote :

" In 2013, British police officers fired their weapons all of three times. No one died. ... In 2012, 409 people were shot and killed by American police in what were termed justifiable shootings. ... Between 2010 and 2014, the police force of one small American city — Albuquerque in New Mexico — shot and killed 23 civilians; seven times more than the number of Brits killed by all of England and Wales’s 43 forces during the same period. ... The Economist argues that the reason for this disparity is actually quite simple: guns are comparatively rare in the UK. Most cops don't carry them and criminals rarely have access to them. The last time a British officer was killed by a gun was in 2012. In the US last year, 30 police officers were shot and killed in the line of duty. "

http://www.pri.org/stories/2014-08-18/how-many-times-british-cops-fired-guns-all-last-year-3

8/18/2014 9:53:00 PM

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=020_1408404358

Cop can't be bothered to lift a cuffed guy into the police car or wait for backup, continues to taze him over a dozen times to get him to get up. People beg the cop to stop tazing and let someone help.

8/20/2014 8:22:36 AM

the use of tasers as a compliance device needs to be banned

8/20/2014 9:23:59 AM

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/19/sunil-dutta-police-washington-post_n_5692266.html?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000592

Quote :

"Sunil Dutta, a 17-year veteran of the Los Angeles Police Department and professor of homeland security at Colorado Tech University, has a suggestion for victims of police violence searching for someone to blame: Look in the mirror. "I’m a cop. If you don’t want to get hurt, don’t challenge me,Even though it might sound harsh and impolitic, here is the bottom line: if you don’t want to get shot, tased, pepper-sprayed, struck with a baton or thrown to the ground, just do what I tell you," he writes. "Don’t argue with me, don’t call me names, don’t tell me that I can’t stop you, don’t say I’m a racist pig, don’t threaten that you’ll sue me and take away my badge. Don’t scream at me that you pay my salary, and don’t even think of aggressively walking towards me. Most field stops are complete in minutes. How difficult is it to cooperate for that long?""

8/20/2014 10:01:37 AM

sorry, going to cross-post again from chit-chat because i find this pretty interesting

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/08/19/why-isn-t-the-nra-defending-ferguson-s-blacks.html

Quote :

"Every dystopian warning of the gun group has come true in Missouri, yet the organization is offering no sympathy for the African American victims. The National Rifle Association has been warning us about the threat of a heavily-armed and dangerous government crushing dissent for decades. Their leader, Wayne LaPierre, even referred to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms as "jack-booted thugs." Their dystopian nightmare sounds exactly like what’s happening in Ferguson, Missouri. Yet somehow, the NRA seems to have missed the whole thing with the SWAT teams and the tank-like vehicles and the snipers and the LRAD sound cannon and the tear gas and the rubber bullets being trained on unarmed Americans. Not a peep from LaPierre on this extended assault on citizens of Ferguson, at least that I can find. "

8/20/2014 1:22:23 PM

The lies and brutality of two violent psychopaths with badges is caught on dashcam, vindicating the black man and saving him from years in prison. Shithead cries "Stop trying to grab my gun!" multiple times in an amusing bit of theater, it being clear the guy is doing no such thing. Internal investigation found no wrongdoing. However they have been indicted.

http://7online.com/archive/9440401/

8/28/2014 1:49:47 AM

wow. a lot of heads need to roll for that.

8/28/2014 9:30:10 AM

more like... that's a lot of paid administrative leave.

8/28/2014 11:49:56 AM

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-28973524

8/28/2014 4:35:13 PM

The Expanding World of Poverty Capitalism
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/27/opinion/thomas-edsall-the-expanding-world-of-poverty-capitalism.html?_r=0

8/29/2014 11:50:50 AM

The tl;dr version: Criminals who are put on house arrest have to pay for their monitoring service themselves. The author calls this "poverty capitalism."

Do crime and pay for it?? Nooooo, the horror, the travesty!!

To be fair, the article doesn't just talk about probation services, there are others as well. But the probation one is the most absurd.

[Edited on August 29, 2014 at 12:42 PM. Reason : adsfa]

8/29/2014 12:41:15 PM

Quote :

"The recent drive toward privatization of government functions has turned traditional public services into profit-making enterprises as well. "

How is this a thing? Isn't this exactly what conservatives and progressives both don't want?

^ Because if the crime is that they didn't pay a minor fee because they couldn't afford to, that's classic debtor's prison, which is already illegal:

Quote :

"In addition to probation, municipal court systems are also turning collections over to a national network of companies like Sentinel that profit from service charges imposed on the men and women who are under court order to pay fees and fines, including traffic tickets (with the fees being sums tacked on by the court to fund administrative services). When they cannot pay these assessed fees and fines – plus collection charges imposed by the private companies — offenders can be sent to jail. There are many documented cases in which courts have imprisoned those who failed to keep up with their combined fines, fees and service charges."

There are cases too where the fees to the private companies overshadow their fees to the government, which should also be illegal. If the gov is hiring private companies to administer these programs, the gov. should be paying for the service.

Whether you're a republican or democrat, this is a corrupt system.

[Edited on August 29, 2014 at 12:49 PM. Reason : ]

8/29/2014 12:46:05 PM

Quote :

"How is this a thing? Isn't this exactly what conservatives and progressives both don't want?"

uh, no, fuck no, of course not, how did you get so confused about progressives?

8/29/2014 1:38:46 PM

http://www.wral.com/nc-law-enforcement-banned-from-military-gear-program/13961670/

9/12/2014 12:38:47 PM

^good

9/12/2014 1:09:09 PM

http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/09/when-surfer-dude-pranksters-meet-the-police/380016/

9/14/2014 12:51:29 AM