In the news today

[itadakimasu]

so,

Did they stop the oil leak yet ?

[Death BOO Z]

those things are horrible.
I know that there are bad apples everywhere, and that things look differently when you're on the other side of the camera.
But I somehow suspect that the police being 'state' rather than federal leads to lower standards and less suitable men for the job.

(although, maybe that's just some fancy way of saying 'this won't happen to me'- denial at it's best)

[Animeniax]

I'm on the fence about this, but it sucks to know in Austin the APD doesn't really have a choice in the matter. After a fatal shooting here last year in which the officer was reprimanded for not utilizing his in-car camera correctly (like positioning himself to get the best video angle on the action) the APD is installing high-def cameras in all of its cruisers that will instantly turn on in several situations, such as when the car reaches a certain speed, when the car door is opened, etc.

I agree the police need policing, but policing is a culture on its own, and judging them based on the untrained eye of the civilian is akin to a kind of ethnocentrism, same as judging any foreign culture from the perspective of your own.

[The Heretic Azazel]

Holy shit, I had heard that narcotics officers shot up with adrenaline to keep them on edge during busts, but that's exactly what these cops seem like they're on. That cop who put the skateboarding girl in a headlock was hilarious though. Way to gain control of the situation running after the whole crowd.

Seriously, this shit happens too often. Recent examples include a SWAT team that kicked down a guy's door and shot his two dogs (one was in a cage) over some marijuana. Turns out there was maybe a gram of it.

Also the little girl in Chicago killed when officers threw a flashbang that blinded her, and fired the shot that killed her before they even entered the home. It's truly scary.

[XanBcoo]

I agree the police need policing, but policing is a culture on its own, and judging them based on the untrained eye of the civilian is akin to a kind of ethnocentrism, same as judging any foreign culture from the perspective of your own.

Because that's who will ultimately be making legal decisions based on the viewing of such tapes.

Civilians.

Anyway, you don't need training to understand when cops are out of line. Hundreds of people are arrested every day for good cause because they are morons, but there isn't one example of police brutality that can be justified with a better understanding of "police culture". It's as you say, the police need policing. Always.

[XanBcoo]

Pretty shocking video, thanks for the link. I think the music was unnecessarily melodramatic and set the wrong kind of tone for the video, no joking around. I agree the police are no better than any other group of people in their capacity to do evil and abuse power, but they are (and should be) held to a higher standard because of the power we entrust them with. I imagine if we watched a video of gang violence next, it would help put things in perspective though.

Yeah, this is all very true, but it doesn't excuse the actions. I realize that to understand is not to condone, but we're talking about an actual law that makes it illegal to video tape officers.

I couldn't back it up with any statistics, but I'd agree with you that if they deal with scum 24/7, it would affect perceptions of people and cause officers to step over the line more often. If that's the case, then it's even more imperative that they have no ability to censor their actions.

And quit double posting, man.

[The Heretic Azazel]

Who cares? It's just "a small spill compared to the huge ocean"

[Animeniax]

If Rush Limbaugh is to be believed, the oil is natural just like the water and nature will take care of it so we don't have to worry about it.

[Uchiha Barles]

"The planet is fine....the PEOPLE are fucked." George Carlin

[XanBcoo]

"The planet is fine....the PEOPLE are fucked." George Carlin

Oh, you asshole, I was JUST searching for that clip and about to post it when you beat me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eScDfYzMEEw#t=2m25s

[The Heretic Azazel]

The planet isn't going anywhere... WE ARE.

Win.

[Pandadice]

O'Railly hates Gays

[XanBcoo]

No one should care. Before that he made a comment comparing Transgendered people to Ewoks.

Bill O'Reilly and his Fox friends should be treated like an old, racist, senile person at a family gathering who won't stop going on about how things were much better before the darkies got the vote.

Paying attention to dumb comments like that is the worst thing you can do.

[Penner]

lol "the darkies", never heard that one before :P

[XanBcoo]

Speaking of racism, not to be outdone by the rest of the South, Arizona quickly pulls ahead in the "Most Racist State" competition:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/0..._n_601436.html

An Arizona elementary school mural featuring the faces of kids who attend the school has been the subject of constant daytime drive-by racist screaming, from adults, as well as a radio talk-show campaign (by an actual city councilman, who has an AM talk-radio show) to remove the black student's face, and now the school principal has ordered the faces of the Latino and Black students to be changed to Caucasian skin.

Really, the exact words were more like "Lighten the skin," as if that makes it any better.

[Pandadice]

Speaking of racism, not to be outdone by the rest of the South, Arizona quickly pulls ahead in the "Most Racist State" competition:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/0..._n_601436.html



Really, the exact words were more like "Lighten the skin," as if that makes it any better.

there are no "two sides to this story." This is not something you need to have a panel discussion about. CNN, I don't want to see you plumbing the depths of your counterintuition on your website, or lending credence to the notion that the gutless mopes in their cars, shrieking racial slurs at the images of children have an interesting point of view that we should "hear out" because of the need to be "balanced."

rofl, it reminds me of that time they talked about blackface...

[The Heretic Azazel]

Speaking of racism, not to be outdone by the rest of the South, Arizona quickly pulls ahead in the "Most Racist State" competition:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/0..._n_601436.html

Really, the exact words were more like "Lighten the skin," as if that makes it any better.

Attention non-whites:

You are not fucking welcome in Arizona. Steer clear.

[Assertn]

Well I'm not sure what their beef is with blacks, but Arizona has been subjected to a lot of state-wide problems involving illegal mexican immigrants, so I wouldn't say that racism would be unfounded.

[XanBcoo]

lol, there is a difference between thinking "There are so many Mexicans here, Goddamn" and a school official lightening the skin color on a mural.

[Sapphire]

UPDATE: Good news. The gutless, carbound racists lost, and the mural is being restored to its "original theme." Jeff Lane, the principal of Miller Valley Elementary School, and Kevin Kapp, the school superintendent, showed up at a protest today to apologize for giving in to whims of mentally deranged adults, spewing racial epithets at a painting:

It looks like the racists lost this time.