Police in Ferguson ignite debate about military tactics.
hmmm.
PM Modi takes a new approach to India’s Independence Day
BBC News – India Independence Day: PM Modi says nation shamed by rape.
He called on parents to take responsibility for their sons’ actions, saying parents must teach their sons the difference between right and wrong. …He talked about societal and family responsibility in ending rapes, advising parents to bring up better sons and not just question daughters. He lamented the skewed sex ratio and appealed to doctors to end abortion of female foetuses and advised mothers not to hanker after sons. And he spoke proudly of the “29 medals women athletes have won” at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
This I like very much.
Rand Paul’s race moment – Burgess Everett – POLITICO.com
Rand Paul’s race moment – Burgess Everett – POLITICO.com.
Democrats (psst POTUS) need to get out in front of him on this, right the fuck now.
Congress on giving military surplus to local police departments
Congressman wants to curb military surplus program.
This is amazing. I can only hope this momentum continues.
I’m glad a D has come forward because it is important not to cede this issue to folks like Rand Paul.
The only thing in this article that doesn’t make me very, very happy is -of course- the Pentagon response.
Rear Adm. John Kirby, a Pentagon spokesman, defended the program as useful because “it allows for the reuse of military equipment that otherwise would be disposed of.”
Asked whether events in Missouri had given the Pentagon reason to reconsider the program, Kirby said, “It is up to law enforcement agencies to speak to how and what they gain through this system.”
1.) The point is to protect people and treat them well, with respect. The Rear Admiral is more concerned about his military equipment. This attitude is why we have lost more ground than we ever gained in our decade plus of war in the Middle East. Changes are needed in the Pentagon’s outlook if we ever hope to be successful in any our foreign military campaigns.
2.) No, it is not up to law enforcement agencies. They answer (or should) to the people they are charged with protecting and the people are say – loud and clear – that the police has gone way too far in the exact wrong direction. The police departments want toys they don’t need? Tough shit. I’m sure there are places in the world, with real military battles going on, that could this surplus to better use.
Everything else that was said by the officials that were referenced truly warms my with a faint spark of optimism.
Opinion from the KC Star
Homicides and disrespect fed the fury of Ferguson
Police cannot by themselves fix broken families and neighborhoods, provide good schools and job opportunities, rid cities of firearms or convince hardened criminals to stop killing people.
But they can put well-trained officers on the street who understand the value of respecting citizens and forming relationships. Ferguson, with a serious racial imbalance in its police force and a history of racial profiling, seems not to have comprehended that.
Yes.
There Is No Room For Freedom Of The Press In A Police State
It’s Now Guns Vs. Cameras in Ferguson
A SWAT team. To take out cameras. In the United States of America. Because you know how dangerous it is when people start pointing those things around.
…To be clear, I’m not saying that journalists are somehow sacrosanct, or that an injury to a law-abiding reporter matters more than an injury to a law-abiding regular citizen.
But it does matter.
It matters, both morally and practically, that police took two journalists into custody for, essentially, covering the police. It matters morally because having media at a confrontation like this is a way of bringing the world in. When journalists are forced out of the scene, you’re cut out of the picture. And when there isn’t an observer with the power to get word out, widely and quickly, then bad actors—whoever they are—can act in secret.
…If police in Missouri are willing to do this to people with a media platform, how, it’s reasonable to ask, will they treat someone who doesn’t?
…Keep videotaping.
So, so well said.
There’s No Freedom of the Press in a Police State
Rieder: Stop interfering with news media in Ferguson
“Stunned by this egregious assault on freedom of the press that was clearly intended to have a chilling effect on our ability to cover this important story.”
Grrrr
Oh, and Scarborough is a stale old hack who needs to sit down, shut the fuck up and let actual journalists handle the news.
