COLLECTIVE MADNESS


“Soft despotism is a term coined by Alexis de Tocqueville describing the state into which a country overrun by "a network of small complicated rules" might degrade. Soft despotism is different from despotism (also called 'hard despotism') in the sense that it is not obvious to the people."

Saturday, November 07, 2015

Another Stinking Rotten Homicidal US Cop - Another cop has been cleared of charges for cold-blooded murder.

Images of Your Local Police Department in Action





Video Shows Cop Executing Man as He’s Lying Face Down and Complying

Officer Lisa Mearkle of the Hummelstown Borough Police Department was found not guilty of criminal homicide for the shooting death of 59-year-old David Kassick.
 ALTERNET

Officer Lisa Mearkle of the Hummelstown Borough Police Department was found not guilty of criminal homicide for the shooting death of 59-year-old David Kassick on February 2. Video has just been released from the Taser camera which was deployed before she fired two bullets into the man’s back, as he lay face down on the ground in full compliance with her orders. The video of this cold-blooded killing by a maniacal cop, shown in full detail, somehow did not convince a jury that it was homicide. He had been chased down, shocked repeatedly with a Taser, fallen down face first in the snow, displayed his hands clearly at the officer’s orders, and then shot in the back twice. Officer Mearkle had attempted to pull Kassick over for an expired inspection sticker, but Kassick fled to his family home, where he tried to run into the backyard. That’s where Mearkle ended his life. Mearkle seems to be in a hysterical rage as she shoots the Taser into Kassick’s back. He falls to the ground, shouting and writhing in pain as police sirens blare. She applies the Taser continuously for almost 30 seconds as he was on the ground, while shouting for him to “get on the ground.”
He is, in fact, on the ground. She shouts, “Show me your hands!”

Kassick, face down in the snow after receiving 50,000 volts of electricity, holds his hands forward and says, “I am showing you.” She continues shouting “Show me your hands!” as he is showing his hands, and then fires the Taser and two bullets into Kassick’s back. Kassick shouts at the officer in disbelief during his last moments of life. Officer Mearkle continues behaving as if this dying man was some sort of a threat. In the charge of criminal homicide, the arrest affidavit stated: Officer Mearkle fires both rounds from her pistol, the video clearly depicts Kassick lying on the snow covered lawn with his face toward the ground, furthermore, at the time the rounds are fired nothing can be seen in either of Kassick’s hands, nor does he point or direct anything toward Officer Mearkle.” District Attorney Ed Marsico, in bringing the criminal charges against Mearkle, said that it appeared from the recording that Kassick was simply trying to remove the stun gun probes from his back before his life was taken. This is one of the most egregious displays of Blue Privilege we have witnessed, made all the more depressing because a “jury of peers” gave the verdict of not guilty.
D.A. Ed Marsico should be applauded for attempting to bring a murderer in uniform to justice.

79 comments:

  1. Cold blooded murder without consequences. For an expired inspection sticker.

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    1. That does look bad.

      I assume the defense was she thought he was reaching for a weapon and at least one member of the jury bought it.

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    2. The Cop was a native American and as such had the right to resist the occupation by the white man,,,

      LOL

      Delete
  2. The Hummelstown Borough Police Department is proud of our long heritage. We have been serving our community since 1888. The department staff consists of seven full time and five part-time sworn officers and one civilian support staff person. We provide police services to our community of 4300 people on a full time, 24/7 basis.

    In addition to providing basic law enforcement services, the department is very active in the community. We support our local Crime Watch group, participate in National Night

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Out, sponsor the DARE program at the middle school and have a School Resource Officer dedicated to the Lower Dauphin School District on a full time basis. In addition, we run an award winning Halloween safety program called Witch Watch and have been benefiting the local food bank each Thanksgiving with our annual Turkey Bowl flag football game.
      Please take a few moments and review the information provided on this web site. We think you will find it useful. If you have any suggestions on how we can improve our site, feel free to contact us.

      Last updated Wednesday, September 05, 2007 2:57:34 PM

      Delete
    2. .

      Please take a few moments and review the information provided on this web site. We think you will find it useful. If you have any suggestions on how we can improve our site, feel free to contact us.


      To: Hummelstown Borough Police Department

      I suggest you put up an appeal for suggestions not only for the construction of your website but also on how you interact with the people you have vowed to 'serve and protect''. For example,

      Suggestion: When carrying a weapon do not get hysterical, do not let your rage prompt you to go postal, do not kill an unarmed citizen when he is on the ground in a submissive position.

      .

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  3. Do The Right Thing

    "Do The Right Thing" now in its fifth year, is a cooperative program co-sponsored by the Hummelstown Borough Police Department and Lower Dauphin Communities That Care. The "Do The Right Thing" program has the following goals: 1) to build self esteem in youngsters by reinforcing socially desirable behavior; 2) to stimulate identification in the community with positive role models (peer and police); and, 3) to generate positive interactions between members of the police department and the young persons in our community.

    The "Do The Right Thing" award program honors children in our community, grades K-12, who distinguish themselves through their accomplishments, attitude, or outstanding efforts. In doing so, they make themselves a positive role model for their peers.

    The "Do The Right Thing" program is a way to recognize good deeds and reinforce exemplary behavior. The residents of the Lower Dauphin School District can see the many "good things" the young people of our community are doing, and that "good kids" are newsworthy too. This program allows us to thank our children for "Doing the Right Thing".

    Some examples for which students may be nominated are:

    * Keeping schools safe
    * Being selfless by volunteering their time in our community or to charitable organizations
    * Helping someone in need
    * Improving in school grades or behavior
    * Overcoming personal challenges
    * Helping police solve a crime

    School staff members and police officers, typically nominate students whose positive actions come to their attention, but any adult over age 18 can nominate a child. A volunteer committee reviews the nominations on a monthly basis and selects the winner for each month. All nominees will receive a certificate signed by the Chief of Police and Lower Dauphin CTC representative and will be recognized in the local media. Monthly winners will receive a certificate, T-shirt and other prizes. All of the monthly winners and their families are invited to attend an annual banquet during the summer to again recognize them for their efforts. At the banquet, an overall winner for the year will be announced and will receive additional prizes.

    The "Do The Right Thing" Committee is seeking monthly sponsors to help cover the cost of T-shirts, certificates, a traveling banner and the end of year banquet. The sponsor's name will be printed on each certificate for that given month and in the local news article announcing the winner as well as at the banquet program. Sponsors will receive a certificate to display at their business and/or office. Businesses may sponsor a month of "Do The Right Thing" for as little as $100.00. Checks may be made payable to "Lower Dauphin Communities That Care". If you are interested in sponsoring this worthwhile project, please contact Chief Chuck Dowell at 717-566-2555 or Kathy Peffer at 717-566-6096.

    ReplyDelete
  4. LET’S HEAR IT FROM THE CHIEF:
    Message from Chief Dowell

    Welcome to our web site. I hope the information you find here will be helpful to you. I am proud of our long history of providing professional quality law enforcement services to the citizens and visitors of Hummelstown. All the members of the police department work hard on a daily basis to help make Hummelstown a safe place to live, work, and play.

    I am dedicated to ensuring that the officers that work for you each day have the tools they need to do their job. To this end, we invest heavily in training and education for our police officers. Department wide, we average 660 hours per year in training time. This includes the mandatory in-service training required by the Municipal Police Officer’s Education and Training Commission, annual re-certification in firearms, OC (pepper) Spray, ASP baton, first aid, CPR/AED and many many others. In addition to this, officers receive training in many varied topics related to their main job description. These include, narcotics officer training, vehicle accident reconstruction, supervision, D.A.R.E. and School Resource Officer.

    Take your time and review the information provided here. If you have any questions, please feel free to call or e-mail me at cdowell@hummelstown.net.

    Last updated Tuesday, February 15, 2005 3:37:05 PM

    ReplyDelete
  5. Two Louisiana law enforcement officers were arrested Friday in the shooting death of a 6-year-old boy, which occurred as both officers were working side jobs as city marshals, authorities said.

    Derrick Stafford, 32, and Norris Greenhouse Jr., 23, were arrested and charged with second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder, Louisiana State Police superintendent Col. Michael Edmonson said.

    The boy, Jeremy Davis Mardis, was killed and his father, Chris Few, was wounded after shots were fired into their vehicle at around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday in Marksville, after what officials described as a pursuit.

    "Nothing is more important than this badge that we wear on our uniform, the integrity of why we wear it," Edmonson said. "Because the public, the public allows us to wear that. It's not a right, it's a privilege. And tonight that badge has been tarnished."

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  6. Hindu human rights activist Narain Kataria dies at 85

    November 5, 2015 9:38 am By Robert Spencer 13 Comments

    The great Hindu freedom fighter Narain Kataria has died. For years, wherever free people gathered to stand for freedom against tyranny and oppression, Narain and his friends and colleagues were there. He was tireless, persevering, and indomitably courageous. In the face of extraordinary resistance from the forces of darkness and hatred, he never quailed, never hesitated to stand for the truth no matter what the cost. Unlike the vast majority of people in the U.S. today, he wasn’t willing to curtail his activities for freedom in the face of violent intimidation, or to retreat into half-truths and lies that were more acceptable to the ruling elites than the truth.

    Narain Kataria was what we all should be: a man who stood for the right, no matter the cost. May we all emulate him. May his memory be eternal.

    Kataria2

    “Hindu Community Loses Great Hero… Narain Kataria Dies At 85,” by Vincent Bruno, Justice for Hindus, November 3, 2015:

    Anyone involved in Hindu activism has heard of Narain Kataria. Mr. Kataria was undoubtedly the pioneer of Hindu political activism in America. President and founder of the “Indian American Intellectuals Forum (http://www.saveindia.com/forum.htm), Narain was a fierce proponent of Hindu rights in South Asia and abroad. Mr. Kataria fearlessly rallied the Hindu community of NYC for the cause; he did this despite constant threat to his life from the burgeoning Islamic community here.

    Kataria was a relentless organizer, he was the guiding hand behind several organizations and events, such as Hindu Unity Day. Narain Kataria was responsible for kick starting Justice For Hindus (JFH) with his labyrinth of contacts and his field tested knowledge and advice. It was Mr. Kataria who publicized and popularized JFH’s first events among NYC’s political Hindu network and published them in his tabloids.

    Kataria understood the threat of Islamism all to well, he himself had been forced to flee his homeland as a teenager after the partition of India when his state of Sindh was handed over to Islamic Pakistan which was followed by anti-Hindu pogroms. For his work to save Hindus and humanity, Kataria was often misunderstood, derided and ridiculed as being an “Islamophobe” and hater. Despite the setbacks and thanklessness of his task, Kataria never lost sight of his moral vision and persevered to the end, always working for the community.

    Mr. Kataria passed away in his sleep in the hours between November 2nd and November 3rd 2015. He will be forever remembered and cherished. His life was an example for all Hindus to follow. Surely his soul has found a greater incarnation.

    http://www.jihadwatch.org/2015/11/hindu-human-rights-activist-narain-kataria-dies-at-85

    ReplyDelete
  7. November 7, 2015
    The media mafia has had it with Ben Carson
    By Sally Zelikovsky

    It was the news item that eclipsed all others: Ben Carson lied.

    He didn't walk it back. He didn't correct the record. He didn't make excuses about misspeaking, misrepresenting, misremembering, or misunderstanding. He didn't even apologize for making a mistake.

    He is standing by the story he remembers: someone he thought was General Westmoreland told him he could get into West Point and he wouldn't have to pay for it. Few students are familiar with the USMA's unique application process until they actually apply. To most college students, if someone says you don't have to pay tuition, that's a scholarship, even if "technically" it isn't. Add a few stars on a suit and a little awe, and maybe Carson wasn't processing information 100% that day.

    Except for the fog of youth, there is no reason to doubt that, in some form or other, this conversation took place. I have yet to hear a credible reason why Ben Carson would have fabricated this story.

    When a young, naïve college kid attends a fancy military gala with bigshots, it's a big deal – especially if he's dirt-poor. It's easy to get caught up in the delirium of mingling with people of great accomplishment. He might have thought he was talking to General Westmoreland. Maybe he wasn't properly introduced and never really knew the guy's name. Maybe he heard the name mentioned and just assumed it was the name of the man with whom he was speaking. It's not that far-fetched to confuse names when attending events such as this.

    But let's imagine that the press account is true and Ben Carson – that scoundrel above all others – lied, misspoke, or exaggerated.

    Where's the beef? Who was hurt by this? Lying is noxious – so much so that it made it to the top ten things you shouldn't do to rattle the Big Guy upstairs. I wouldn't mind it if Hillary, Bill, Barack, and Joe "Plagiarism Is a Form of Lying" Biden had to spend some quality time in the stocks for their lies. But if no one is hurt – if it's just a lie or, in this case, more of an exaggeration – is there a punishable infraction?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If he told this fib on his med school application and he was accepted, it might matter if he pushed out an equally qualified truth-telling candidate. If he made up this malarkey to get a job, or a loan, then maybe there'd be some beef.

      But this story broke not because Carson lied in order to bolster his campaign or raise money under knowingly false pretenses and was "found out." It broke not because someone discovered he was lying about his past to get ahead, receive special treatment, or secure the nomination.

      This story was unearthed by the Media Mob. It was tucked away in Carson's book, Gifted Hands, and Charlie "Still Stupefied that Rubio Thinks Hillary Lied" Rose asked him about it. This is what the Media Lynch Mob does. It is their raison d'être. They are programmed to annihilate Republican candidates, all the more worthy of destruction if they are female, black, Hispanic, or any other minority. Under no circumstances can they allow this religious zealot to continue to surge in the polls. Every day Ben Carson is in the news, his very presence and list of accomplishments threaten the liberal narrative about conservatives, conservatism, and what it means for the black community. This. Man. Is. Dangerous.

      Rather than report the news, they create it, and they whack whoever gets in their way. The "Democrat-Media Complex" is way too nice a euphemism for what they do. They are the Media Mafia. La Stampa Nostra.

      Viewed through the litany of lies repeated by Obama and Hillary, it's like living in Bizarro-World.

      Ben Carson is not my first pick, but we should put him in protective custody and form a protective barrier around him while he is being hunted. We should not stand by while the Mafiosi take him out to the "Republicans Only – Extra Points if You Are Black" woodshed for the sin of maybe having exaggerated an inconsequential encounter of 50 years ago.

      And I've got a bone to pick with The Donald. It's not cool to make a deal with the Media Mafia when they've put a contract out on your fellow candidate, just so you can benefit by having him eliminated. When it comes to rubbing out Republicans, we have to form a united front. Join forces with the same La Stampa Nostra you excoriated during the CNBC debate and you become just another Don.

      When the media is ready to report about the Big Lie Hillary confessed to during the Benghazi Hearings, and the endless trail of lies about emails and servers from Hillary, Koskinen, and Lerner, and the lies about ObamaCare, TPP, and the Iran deal, I'll be ready to listen. Until then, fuggedaboutit. I'm tired of being muscled by a bunch of lowlifes masquerading as legitimate journalists. And I'm tired of double standards, like this one:

      If a candidate blatantly lies about something that has very serious consequences and everyone is there to hear it, but the media doesn't care, did she really lie? Of course not.

      But if a candidate may have possibly exaggerated about a conversation he had 50 years ago that was of no consequence to him or anyone else on this planet, but the media cares a great deal, did he really lie? Of course he did.

      If you are a Republican, watch out for the Media Mafia. Like Ben Carson, you just might wake up one morning with a horse's head in your bed.

      Read more: http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2015/11/the_media_mafia_has_had_it_with_ben_carson.html#ixzz3qnjSZdUK
      Follow us: @AmericanThinker on Twitter | AmericanThinker on Facebook

      Delete
    2. Please notice, Quirk, that it is the, in your opinion, 'racist' American Thinker that is attempting to give this black candidate a hearing, and not an automatic lynching.

      Good Night

      Delete
    3. Another -

      November 7, 2015
      Politico's Disinformation of the Day
      By Larry Bates

      Today we had an interesting example of Soviet style disinformation from Politico. In this instance, it was directed towards Dr. Ben Carson, one of the leading contenders for the Republican presidential nomination.

      Before examining the details, let’s first recap what disinformation is all about and why it is so frequently used. Disinformation is more than simple deception. It is a technique developed by the Soviets to smear a target via an intricate web of reports, spread by seemingly reputable agents. The seemingly independent reports are carefully crafted to contain enough truth to be believable, but sufficient deception to permanently harm a targeted opponent. For disinformation to work well it must be carefully planned and nurtured. It takes discipline and perseverence to develop a network of apparently trustworthy news sources that are reading from the same playbook and often funded by the same complex web of puppet masters. The seminal work on this topic is “Disinformation: Former Spy Chief Reveals Secret Strategies for Undermining Freedom, Attacking Religion, and Promoting Terrorism” written by Ronald Rychlak and Lt. Gen. Ion Mihai Pacepa.

      Politico’s disinformation of the day was titled, “Exclusive: Carson claimed West Point 'scholarship' but never applied - Republican hits POLITICO story, later admits to The New York Times he wasn’t offered aid," by Kyle Cheney - 11/06/15. The first sentence of the report summarizes the hit piece,

      “Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson on Friday conceded that he never applied nor was granted admission to West Point and attempted to recast his previous claims of a full scholarship to the military academy -- despite numerous public and written statements to the contrary over the last few decades.”

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    4. Politico first created the perception that Dr. Ben Carson claimed to have applied to West Point and was both accepted and offered a full scholarship. Then they rebuffed their own assertion and claimed to have caught Dr. Carson in his own lie. In reality, it is Politico that has been caught misrepresenting the facts.

      Dr. Carson's book "Gifted Hands" on page 49 states that, "As the ROTC's city executive officer, Ben met with General William Westmoreland, had dinner with Congressional Medal of Honor award winners, marched at the head of the Memorial Day parade, and was offered a full scholarship to West Point." As any high achieving student knows, scholarships are frequently offered by colleges in order to attract them to apply to a particular school. Those offers are unofficial and conditional upon verification of credentials, but they bolster a student's confidence, and that is the point that Dr. Carson was making in his book.

      The next sentence states, "His ROTC experience looked good on Ben's college application, and it bolstered his confidence that he could do well." There was no assertion that Dr. Carson had applied for and been accepted by West Point. That part was added to Dr. Carson’s simple assertion that he had been “offered a full scholarship," much in the same way that talented people are sometimes offered an attractive job as an enticement to consider working for an organization. Dr. Carson’s words do not appear to be deceptive, which is more than can be said for Politico’s report.

      So why do corrupt organizations engage in disinformation? Because it works. One group makes an incorrect assertion, and dozens of shared-brain organizations dutifully rebroadcast the story so that it gains a momentum that is almost impossible to stop. Ultimately though, it is not Dr. Ben Carson who is most injured by this form of disinformation. That distinction goes to the vast numbers of limited information readers who sip the cool-aid and swagger pretentiously into their misinformed futures. Many of their vindictive and shallow comments litter the hit piece like confetti after a wedding. Unfortunately, their misinformation and eagerness to believe anything that furthers their mindset can ultimately affect all of our hopes and dreams.

      The Soviet disinformation campaign against the west did eventually collapse in on itself, at least temporarily, but not before causing some eighty years of untold harm to Soviet citizens. That is not a pathway that we, our children or our grandchildren can afford to tread. The time is getting short, but with sufficient diligence there may still be an opportunity for the truth to set us free. The alternative is an irrevocable descent down the disastrous pathway of democratic delusion and deception.

      Larry Bates - Larry@unduped.org

      Read more: http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2015/11/politicos_disinformation_of_the_day.html#ixzz3qoKwk200
      Follow us: @AmericanThinker on Twitter | AmericanThinker on Facebook

      Delete
    5. .

      When a young, naïve college kid attends a fancy military gala with bigshots, it's a big deal – especially if he's dirt-poor. It's easy to get caught up in the delirium of mingling with people of great accomplishment. He might have thought he was talking to General Westmoreland. Maybe he wasn't properly introduced and never really knew the guy's name. Maybe he heard the name mentioned and just assumed it was the name of the man with whom he was speaking. It's not that far-fetched to confuse names when attending events such as this.

      How can you read this drivel?

      .

      Delete
    6. He reads it because it confirms his preconceptions of his world - b00bie world.

      Delete
  8. It is only a matter of time and the next shoe will drop. He had his fun but hey, after George W. Bush anything is possible.

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  9. The man can be a genius but he is not fit to be president. There are many brilliant but bizarre people that excel at one thing and would be a disaster in politics and vice versa.

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  10. The fucker's a grifter, who's starting to believe his own bullshit.

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  11. .

    The man is an idiot savant. There is no denying his ability in one particular field but I personally believe he would be an embarrassment as president.

    .

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    1. .

      Frankly, there is only one candidate within the field for both parties that I believe wouldn't be (based on what we have seen so far) either business as usual, corrupt (maybe that is redundant), or an ideologue, and that is Carly Fiorina.

      Her greatest attribute is that she doesn't come across as batshit crazy. Even though I disagree with some of her positions, she is able and willing to defend those positions in a reasonable manner. I have yet to see her stumble in answering a question. She is articulate and has done her homework. When asked a question, she doesn't get that deer-in-the-headlight look of Bush; she doesn't go all gung-ho like Rubio, or mom and apple pie like Kasich, or god demands it like Huckabee, or kick-ass like Lindsay, or bombastic like Trump, or never met a lie I didn't use like Hillary.

      In fact she seems to be fairly intelligent. From what I've seen so far (subject to change, of course) I don't think she would be an embarrassment as president.

      Her chance of becoming president? Just barely north of zero.

      .

      Delete

    2. "The man is an idiot savant. There is no denying his ability in one particular field......"

      Well, that puts him a giant leap for mankind ahead of all the other candidates who are all dicks, save Carly.

      Delete
    3. I saw tge gu6 speaking on the tv once and it locked like he was high - those brain doctors have access to leads of stuff. Maybe he's just riding a religious high. .

      Delete
  12. Replies
    1. .

      Well, he was hiring himself out as an expert witness for the defense in some class action suits.

      .

      Delete
    2. Good question Rufus.
      Be careful though, Quirk might accuse you of avoiding a question and inserting your own bias when all you are looking into is the motives of a candidate.
      I may be comparing apples to oranges though. Hey Quirk?

      Dougman

      Delete
  13. .

    TPP - Another Sellout by the Obama Administration to Wall Street and the Big Banks

    TPP Trade Pact Would Give Wall Street a Trump Card to Block Regulations.

    Banks and other financial institutions would be able to use provisions in the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership to block new regulations that cut into their profits, according to the text of the trade pact released this week.

    In what may be the biggest gift to banks in a deal full of giveaways to Hollywood, the drug industry and technology firms, financial institutions would be able to appeal any national rules they didn’t like to independent, international tribunals staffed by friendly corporate lawyers.

    That could nullify a proposal by Hillary Clinton to impose a “risk fee” on financial firms — or the Elizabeth Warren/Bernie Sanders plan to reinstate the firewall between investment and commercial banks.

    Financial firms could demand compensation for these measures that would make them too expensive to manage.

    The TPP, a 12-nation pact with countries in Asia and the Americas that requires congressional approval, includes an investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) system. This allows foreign companies operating in TPP member countries to enforce the agreement without using that country’s court system. Instead, corporations can sue for monetary damages in independent tribunals before corporate lawyers who can rotate between advocating for investors and judging the cases themselves.

    The lawyers have an inherent incentive to encourage more challenges with favorable rulings, so they can be paid to arbitrate them. Labor unions who allege violations of the trade deal cannot use ISDS directly; only international investors, i.e. large corporations, can.

    Hundreds of past trade deals have included ISDS, usually as a special insurance policy for countries operating in emerging markets. But language in the TPP could be directed to target American financial laws and regulations.

    In prior deals, financial services providers were limited to making ISDS challenges based on discrimination — where foreign companies were subject to more stringent rules than their domestic counterparts — or an illegal “taking” of their investments. These types of challenges have been largely unsuccessful in ISDS tribunals.

    But now, for the first time, financial institutions could make an ISDS claim based on not receiving a “minimum standard of treatment.” This is the most flexible type of claim. “Over time, tribunals have interpreted this to mean that the company gets compensation if the change in policy disappoints their expectations of future profits,” said Lori Wallach of Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch.

    Article 11.2 of the agreement confirms that financial services providers are covered under the minimum standard of treatment obligation. This means that almost any change in financial regulations affecting future profits could be challenged in an extra-judicial tribunal, even if they equally applied to foreign and domestic firms and even if they were enacted in response to a crisis.

    The change to ISDS had been rumored in recent weeks but has now been confirmed by the language in the agreement...



    https://theintercept.com/2015/11/06/ttp-trade-pact-would-give-wall-street-a-trump-card-to-block-regulations/

    .

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  14. Cheese-Eating Job Creators

    NOVEMBER 7, 2015 11:02 AM November 7, 2015 11:02 am 9 Comments


    It’s been obvious for a while that Jeb! is toast. Last week, however, he became French toast: after making a crack about French work weeks that was completely wrong, he … apologized for the mistake. Fool! As National Review made clear, real men don’t admit to, let alone apologize for, errors:

    Apologizing to the French will not score Bush any points with the GOP primary electorate. It may show he is a gentleman, but it also shows he lacks the killer instinct of his father and brother when they ran for president.

    Hey, look at Ben Carson.

    But in truth the French deserve an apology from a lot of American politicians and commentators. If you think that France is a nation where everyone is either lazy or unemployed, compared with hard-working America, you’re not just repeating a caricature, you’re repeating a caricature that’s many years out of date. The French do take more vacations than we do; but in their prime working years, they’re a lot more likely to be employed than we are:

    Very surprising chart of prime-age employment ratio

    Whenever I mention this fact, I get mail from people insisting that I must be wrong and demanding a correction. Even well-informed commentators seem to be underinformed on this point; for example, Justin Fox, while not wrong in what he says here, doesn’t seem aware that lower French overall labor force participation is entirely the result of early retirement and lower employment among the young — which in turn partly reflects students not having to work in college.

    Of course, French employment success isn’t what is supposed to happen in a generous welfare state. And to be fair, the chart above may be as much a reflection of American failure as it is of French success. Still, people should know that their image of France, and Europe in general, is really, really wrong.

    Krugman - NY Times

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  15. Another Stinking Rotten Homicidal Islamic bombing of a civilian airliner...

    Nothing new here...

    http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/04/africa/russian-plane-crash-egypt-sinai/

    Russian plane crash: U.S. intel suggests ISIS bomb brought down jet

    Oh yeah, Deuce and Rufus think that this is ok since Moslems are simply rebelling against occupation of Russian/Western boots on their lands...

    LOL

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  16. .

    College. What ever happened to the days of sex, drinking, and pulling all-nighters before exams? You know, the good old days.

    Evidently, it's been replaced by the PC prancing of pampered pricks.

    Case in point: "People of Color"

    ...No sooner had I and my colleagues arrived in Elm City than we discovered, courtesy the Yale Daily News, that the delicate snowflakes at one of the richest and most coddled institutions in the world were angry, outraged, tearful, absolutely beside themselves with rage and horror. “Students Demand Admin Response to Racial Controversies,” screamed the front-page headline. The story went on to describe a 3-hour confrontation between 200 students and Jonathan Holloway, Dean of Yale College. “Surrounded by a sea of upturned faces and fighting back tears,” the story began, Dean Holloway “stood on the Women’s Table [nice touch!]. . . to break the administration’s silence on allegations of racial discrimination that shook [shook!] campus this week.”

    What happened? Was a Black student lynched, made to sit at the back of bus, denied entry to the tennis court or Mory’s? Nope. The alleged tort emerged from Erika Christakis, the wife of the Master of Silliman College. What had she done? Sit down. This will really shock you. She sent round a comically hand-wringing email agonizing over the deeply vexed question of what was appropriate in the matter of Halloween costumes. “I wonder,” she wrote, “what is the statute of limitations on dreaming of dressing as Tiana the Frog Princess if you aren’t a black girl from New Orleans? Is it okay if you are eight, but not 18? I don’t know the answer to these questions; they seem unanswerable. Or at the least, they put us on slippery terrain that I, for one, prefer not to cross.”

    Yes, deep waters, Erika! But after a bit more handwringing an exhibition of her politically correct credentials (“When I lived in Bangladesh . . .”), she came up with an admirably mature conclusion:

    Nicholas [her husband] says, if you don’t like a costume someone is wearing, look away, or tell them you are offended. Talk to each other. Free speech and the ability to tolerate offense are the hallmarks of a free and open society. . . .
    In other words: Whose business is it to control the forms of costumes of young people? It’s not mine, I know that.

    Sounds right to me.

    But the natives went wild. How “insensitive” she was to say that young adults at Yale University ought to be able to wear any damn costume (or none) they liked. Hence the “three hours of emotional confrontation” between anguished students and...


    http://pjmedia.com/rogerkimball/2015/11/07/people-of-color-at-yale/

    Protesting is a legitimate form of expression. Protesting over something so trivial is assuredly a sign of the coming apocalypse, or maybe, just that Yale students have too much time on their hands.

    I need a beer.

    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      Here is a protester response in the Yale Herald by the articulate Ms. Jency Paz.

      And remember, this is Yale University we are talking about.

      As a Silimander, I feel that my home is being threatened. Last week, Erika Christakis, the associate master of Silliman College, sent an email to the Silliman community that called an earlier entreaty for Yalies to be more sensitive about culturally appropriating Halloween costumes a threat to free speech. In the aftermath of the email, I saw my community divide. She did not just start a political discourse as she intended. She marginalized many students of color in what is supposed to be their home. But more disappointing than the original email has been the response of Christakis and her husband, Silliman Master Nicholas Christakis. They have failed to acknowledge the hurt and pain that such a large part of our community feel. They have again and again shown that they are committed to an ideal of free speech, not to the Silliman community.

      Today, when a group of us, organized originally by the Black Student Alliance at Yale, spoke with Christakis in the Silliman Courtyard, his response once again disappointed many of us. When students tried to tell him about their painful personal experiences as students of color on campus, he responded by making more arguments for free speech. It’s unacceptable when the Master of your college is dismissive of your experiences. The Silliman Master’s role is not only to provide intellectual stimulation, but also to make Silliman a safe space that all students can come home to. His responsibility is to make it a place where your experiences are a valid concern to the administration and where you can feel free to talk with them about your pain without worrying that the conversation will turn into an argument every single time. We are supposed to feel encouraged to go to our Master and Associate Master with our concerns and feel that our opinions will be respected and heard.

      But, in his ten weeks as a leader of the college, Master Christakis has not fostered this sense of community. He seems to lack the ability, quite frankly, to put aside his opinions long enough to listen to the very real hurt that the community feels. He doesn’t get it. And I don’t want to debate. I want to talk about my pain...


      The dated term 'gag me with a spoon' comes to mind.

      As a Silimander...? The tendency to add (sic) at the end of that is almost overwhelming. It sounds like a silly lizard.

      Lordy.

      If you don't have time to wade through the entire article, you should read a couple of the comments.

      I feel guilty criticizing these young folks given the mess our generation has made of the world, yet, in realizing that these poofs are what are commonly called the 'elites' I still can't but despair of who we are leaving this country to.

      .

      Delete
  17. Dam that IOF....

    Cant kill a terrorist "child" for anything...

    The Shin Bet and the IDF's Kfir infantry brigade arrested a 16-year-of Palestinian on Saturday on suspicion of opening fire on and seriously wounding an IDF soldier in Bet Anoun, north of Hebron.

    Soldiers from the brigade's Harouv Battalion, acting on Shin Bet intelligence, arrested a resident of Bnei Naim, and brought him in for questioning by the Shin Bet. He confessed to the shooting and disclosed the location of the rifle he used to carry out the attack, the Shin Bet said.

    http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/Security-forces-arrest-16-year-old-for-Bet-Anoun-shooting-of-IDF-soldier-432326


    It's a shame the IOF didn't just kill him.. But they didn't... Now he will go to an Israeli Concentration Camp where he will suffer the outrage of a real education, including a Bachelor's Degree and if survives the horror, a Master's degree, all the while his family will collect US tax payer funded, PA afforded salaries as a Honored Citizen of Palestine for shooting a IOF member.

    Since the only thing this blog cares about is US money? It would be far cheaper for US tax payers if the IOF would have simply killed the "youth", then the PA would not have to reward his family for the next 20 years with payments

    ReplyDelete
  18. QuirkSat Nov 07, 01:31:00 AM EST
    .

    By the by, WiO, there is a second lesson to be learned from the Van Jones affair above. That lesson is that before before denigrating someone as a source, it is probably smart to double check to make sure that he is actually wrong on the matter in question.

    From Politifact,

    CNN's Van Jones says Keystone pipeline only creates 35 permanent jobs

    Punditfact ruling on the claim:

    Jones’ claim is True.

    It's called 'The Blind Squirrel Rule'.




    Dont care about the fact that it's thirty five permanent jobs.

    I can't stand Van Jones.

    How many Job in building it?

    a few thousand

    How much income generated year over year?

    Now how many jobs did Obama create with that 860 BILLION stimulus bill?

    LOL

    35 jobs that costs the US taxpayer nothing.

    that generates dollars?

    that fills capacity in LA refineries

    That brings more north american oil to north america (and exportable since it's canadian)

    No simplistic logic of Van Jones and his climate change shit is the issue..

    But you can source him all you wish..

    He is a self avowed 9-11 truther, a self confessed communist.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      But you can source him all you wish..

      You fucking moron, I didn't source him. Can't you read? You are the one that brought up Van Jones and assumed I was quoting him. Jones comments came in October, 2014. The state Department analysis that was the basis for 35 job estimate came out
      in January, 2014. It's been been cited dozens of times (and in Jones' case correctly) by a dozen people over the past couple years. Anyone with any kind of knowledge of the issue would have known this. I was reminded of this yesterday when the number was thrown out in a discussion of Obama' decision.

      How stupid are you?

      .

      Delete
    2. .

      From yesterday:

      In response to...


      What is "Occupation"Sat Nov 07, 12:21:00 AM EST

      CNN's Van Jones says Keystone pipeline only creates 35 permanent jobs

      By Katie Sanders on Monday, February 10th, 2014 at 4:52 p.m.


      Van Jones?

      that is your source?

      In July 2009 he...

      Van Jones? the Commie?

      He's your source?


      I responded...


      QuirkSat Nov 07, 12:44:00 AM EST

      .

      :o)

      Calm down, son.

      I heard the number in a discussion of Obama's rejection of the deal today. Can't remember whether it was on FOX, CNN, or CNBC. But it wasn't by Van Jones and the number has been used by a number of people before. As I recall, it came out of the State Department analysis of the deal that was put out last year.

      Sorry, to ruin your night. You looked like you were having fun but sometimes you need to check more than one google link. Or, maybe you were just looking to vent on Van Jones and needed to get it out. If so, enjoy.


      Do you need this stuff displayed for you phonetically?

      .

      Delete
    3. A; I aint your son.

      B. I aint excited

      C. Try being responsive to the issues rather than taking a page from Rules for Radicals, it' would make an old man like you look wise not petty

      Delete
    4. .

      Try being responsive to the issues rather than taking a page from Rules for Radicals

      Every time you open your mouth you put your foot in it. Here is the stream from yesterday...

      Idaho BobFri Nov 06, 09:35:00 PM EST

      Obama has said no to the pipeline.

      The unions are pissed.
      Reply
      Replies

      QuirkFri Nov 06, 10:09:00 PM EST

      .

      Thousands of temporary jobs for what, a year?

      After that 35.

      .
      Delete
      AshFri Nov 06, 11:24:00 PM EST

      35 what ?

      Here the US had a chance to pipe Canadian bitumen to southern refineries...
      ... The US said nope.

      I think they should refine the crap where they dig it up.
      QuirkSat Nov 07, 12:08:00 AM EST

      .

      35 permanent jobs.

      .
      Delete
      What is "Occupation"Sat Nov 07, 12:21:00 AM EST

      CNN's Van Jones says Keystone pipeline only creates 35 permanent jobs

      By Katie Sanders on Monday, February 10th, 2014 at 4:52 p.m.



      Van Jones?

      that is your source?


      It was you who diverted the conversation. It was you who went to google and grabbed the first link with a reference to the 35 jobs you came across. And because it was one on Van Jones, you accused me of using him as a source. Even when I corrected you on your mistake, you continued the lie. Divert the conversation? You were the one who diverted the conversation away from unions and jobs to a jeremiad against Van Jones and the environment. Not exited? Shit, you were downright hysterical.

      Now you accuse me of the very thing you yourself did and which you continue to do daily, divert, misconstrue, lie, and in general, prove yourself incapable of intelligent conversation or debate.

      .

      .

      Delete
    5. How many Job in building it?

      a few thousand


      There would probably be more, for a year or two.


      How much income generated year over year?

      In terms of jobs long-term, probably not much. In fact, it may reduce jobs. Not many jobs on a pipeline; yet, the pipeline will replace trucking and rail jobs that are currently moving the Canadian oil. The income would flow to the oil companies I assume or why would they want to build the pipeline.

      However, if there is a market for the Canadian oil, it will eventually be sold US pipeline or not.

      Now how many jobs did Obama create with that 860 BILLION stimulus bill?

      Another WiOistic diversion from the subject at hand.

      ..that fills capacity in LA refineries

      Unless something has changed, the pipeline was designated to flow through Cushing and down to the refineries in the Gulf.

      That brings more north american oil to north america (and exportable since it's canadian)

      Not really. The oil will likely be exported for the most part. It will do nothing to increase the amount of oil in the US or to bring down gas prices.

      No simplistic logic of Van Jones and his climate change shit is the issue..

      Only because you brought it up and Obama is using it as an excuse for scuttling the deal as an appeal to his base. The environmental issues create a mixed bag. You have to consider the incidence and prevalence and magnitude. You are far less likely to see a spill from a pipeline than from transporting by truck or rail. So here should be far less spills from the pipeline. However, the magnitude of the spills is likely to be much larger with a spill from the pipeline and the damage more pervasive in sensitive environmental areas. Not sure where the cost benefit line falls.

      But you can source him all you wish..

      :<0

      The truth is Canada may want the permit for the pipeline in hand but I believe it is unlikely they would invest in the pipeline at this time. They are already cash strapped and with the current world supply situation, there is little demand for the dirty product they sell.

      .

      Delete
    6. A private company would build and operate the pipeline like it has many others.

      Delete
    7. .

      I use 'Canada' as shorthand since I don't know the companies in charge but the same argument applies. You can't fight the laws of supply and demand.

      Saudi Arabia tried it, miscalculated, and screwed themselves.

      .

      Delete
  19. Another Sticking Rotten Moslem Stabber Terrorist...

    Campus Stabber Planned to ‘Praise Allah’ and Behead Someone During Attack

    UC Merced stabber Faisal Mohammad carried a handwritten manifesto that included the names of his targets, a vow “to cut someone’s head off” and as many as five reminders to “praise Allah"

    Mohammad’s intended bloodbath began around 8 a.m.,when he burst into his classroom with an 8-inch hunting knife. Police said it would have continued – and possibly claimed lives – if he hadn’t been interrupted by a construction team, and then shot dead by police.



    ---


    Sec Kerry has launched an investigation on disproportionate response by the police. Amnesty International has released a statement that the "execution" of Faisal Mohammad was unjustified and that the students should have been more "instabable" (referencing Sec Kerry's lecture to the Israelis that shooting to death those who seek to express themselves with knives is an overreaction)

    One last point, it's religious discrimination to find Mohammad's weird smiling while he was stabbing as anything but his personal freedom of faith.

    The weird smiling. It has its roots in Muhammad’s teachings: Ibn Taymiyyah, quoting the prophet of Islam, said: annal dahooq al-Qattaal. English: I am the one who smiles when he kills.

    Another Hadith states:

    …I will put the sword into the sheath and the chest, I will not fear anybody and I will smile when I kill and that wherever there is any sign of human or animal footsteps (i.e. life) my sultan (authority) will reach there. (2)

    LOL

    ReplyDelete
  20. Another Stinking Rotten Homicidal Moslem Car Bomber...

    Lebanon car bomb: Powerful blast leaves many dead and wounded in Beirut

    Wait, what's this? It was a moslem killing moslem attack!!!!

    Oh the incredulity!!!!!!

    Wait, it's got to be Jews, Neo-cons or Israeli Firsters that caused it....

    Oh right, it's not the topic so no one blamed Israel yet on it...

    A suicide bomber killed at least six people Thursday at a Muslim clerics’ meeting in the Lebanese town of Arsal on the border with Syria, a security source told AFP.


    The source said that the bomber entered the meeting of Syrian clerics and “detonated an explosive belt, leaving five people dead and six wounded until now.”


    Arsal was the scene of fierce fighting in August 2014 between Lebanese security forces and jihadists of Al-Qaeda’s Syria affiliate Al-Nusra Front and ISIS.

    As they withdrew from Arsal, the jihadists took dozens of Lebanese police and soldiers hostage and still hold them in the hilly terrain on the town's outskirts.


    Who would ever had thunk it...

    ReplyDelete
  21. "The man is a grifter."
    Rufus aka galopn2

    Yup, he grifted his way right through med school and into the brain surgery business.

    And what med school did you say you attended, Rufus ?

    O wait, you saved 'countless lives' by selling insurance, I forgot.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=grifter

      A grifter is someone who swindles you through deception or fraud. Synonyms include fraudster, con artist, cheater, confidence man, scammer, hustler, swindler, etc.



      That sounds like Obama, or Hillary....

      Delete
  22. How many people would Carson kill if he was successful in doing away with Medicare, Medicaid, and Obamacare?

    You can bet it would be in the Tens of Millions.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well let's hope so.

      BTW how many millions have been erased due to abortions since roe v wade?

      73 MILLION at last count..

      But they don't matter?

      Delete
    2. "Well let's hope so."

      ? ? ?

      You are a worthless, innumerate piece of shit.

      Don't attach your hateful nonsense to my posts.

      Delete
    3. He wants to change ObamaCare, which is failing now.

      He's the guy to improve it.

      Delete

    4. You are a worthless, innumerate piece of shit.


      Rufus no love of your fellow human being eh?

      And how many abortions are you responsible for?

      Think of those kids you never let being born...

      Of all those grand babies never to say "papa"

      Delete
  23. The Pyramids were granaries.

    It must be true; the man's a brain surgeon.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "I didn't have a relationship with that company."

      (you know, the one that I made videos, and gave speeches for, and with which I had a Contract)

      Delete
    2. Darwin was under the influence of Satan.

      Delete
    3. Many Hindus might agree, because they think of evolution in karmic terms and not with the crudities of Darwinism. Teilhard d Chardin might agree too, thinking in terms of a future noosphere. William Blake as well in another way.

      If we take Quirk's term Idiot Savant and subtract the Savant we have an adequate description of galopn2.



      Idaho 10
      South Alabama 0

      middle of 1st quarter

      Delete
    4. The idea of the great pyramids as granaries goes back to the Middle Ages.

      I don't think it is correct unless one thinks in terms of possible dual use, which is hard to do.

      Every man to his opinion.

      Idaho is playing really well right now......South Alabama is going to have to punt.....could this be the day?

      Delete
    5. Now shut up Rufus so I can listen to the game undisturbed.

      Delete
    6. Don't use my name you hateful, racist prick.

      Delete
    7. rufus.rufus.rufus.rufus.rufus.rufus.rufus.rufus.rufus.

      Delete
  24. The Age of Miracles may not be over -

    Idaho 24
    South Alabama 0

    6 minutes left in 1st half

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      Didn't South Alabama win the high school state championship last year?

      .

      Delete
    2. Vandal Second Half Collapse Syndrome kicks in big time -

      South Alabama 52
      Idaho 45

      -- kicking in one the first play of the second half, a kickoff return of 105 yards by Southern Alabama.

      Go Vandals !

      "Boosting the Vandals Builds Character"

      Delete
    3. Was the Junior High School State Championship they won.

      Delete
  25. The pyramids were granaries


    "If you go to St Mark's cathedral in Venice, there's a medieval depiction showing people using the three great pyramids of Giza as granaries in Joseph's story," says John Darnell, a professor of Egyptology at Yale University.
    "If you didn't have access to the structures, the idea had some currency."

    The belief was also popularised by Saint Gregory of Tours, a sixth century Frankish bishop, who wrote: "They are wide at the base and narrow at the top in order that the wheat might be cast into them through a tiny opening, and these granaries are to be seen to the present day."
    The Book of John Mandeville, a popular 14th Century travel memoir, also referred to "Joseph's Granaries, which he had made to store the wheat for hard times".


    Now of course, Moslems believe that Mohammed took a fiery chariot from the temple mount to Mecca..

    Are all of those 1.3 BILLON moslems kooks?

    Go ahead call them that.

    ReplyDelete
  26. galopn2Sat Nov 07, 11:00:00 AM EST
    Why did he retire so young?

    Reply
    Replies

    QuirkSat Nov 07, 11:10:00 AM EST
    .

    Well, he was hiring himself out as an expert witness for the defense in some class action suits.

    .


    Goldie SaxumSat Nov 07, 05:38:00 PM EST
    Good question Rufus.
    Be careful though, Quirk might accuse you of avoiding a question and inserting your own bias when all you are looking into is the motives of a candidate.
    I may be comparing apples to oranges though. Hey Quirk?

    Dougman

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      Dougman, I wouldn't know what to accuse you of. You've been back for 3 or 4 days now and I haven't one clue as to what the heck you have been talking about.

      .

      Delete
    2. If what I meant didn't register, then I must have been wrong.
      Sorry that I haven't the time to go back and bring up what I was trying to say.

      Delete
    3. The issue was on a previous thread.
      (And I was a little drunk last night).
      I apologize.

      Delete
  27. Judea, the real "Palistine"
    Give the land back to the Jews..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And yes, I do advocate for the restoration of the lands of the First Nations of America.
      They knew there was room for people that weren't assholes.
      But the assholes naturally rose to the top of the pecking order, but they ain't the cream on the top anymore, we the people are<.

      Delete
    2. .

      Judea, the real "Palistine"
      Give the land back to the Jews..


      Perhaps, you haven't noticed. They already have it.

      Try to keep up, Dougman.

      .

      Delete
    3. I'm talking uncontested ownership.

      Delete
  28. galopn2Sat Nov 07, 01:37:00 PM EST
    How many people would Carson kill if he was successful in doing away with Medicare, Medicaid, and Obamacare?

    You can bet it would be in the Tens of Millions.



    But he has no concern about the 73 million fetuses that were in fact erased...

    Interesting hypocrisy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. He has no concern about the 40,000 + Americans that O.D.ed on heroin and such crap each year either.

      He thinks that crap ought to be available at the local pharmacies.

      Delete
    2. He did draw the line on that salt whatever, or whatever salt, that makes you take your clothes off and eat off someone's face.

      Delete
  29. Body Cameras and The Death of a 6-Year-Old Boy

    Police say footage of an officer-involved shooting contributed to prosecutors’ decision to press charges.
    A Los Angeles police officer demonstrates the use of the department's new body cameras. Reuters

    1.2k
    343

    Marina Koren 1:06 PM ET

    All of it was filmed. The police chase of an SUV after dark on a weeknight. The shots fired. The driver, struck in the head. His son, 6 years old, shot dead in the front seat.

    The fatal shooting of Jeremy Mardis in Marksville, Louisiana, on Tuesday was captured on a body camera worn by one of the four police officers present at the scene. And it was that video footage that led in part to the decision to charge two of them with second-degree murder on Friday night.

    The footage, Colonel Mike Edmonson of the Louisiana State Police told reporters, was “extremely disturbing, and it is partly why we’re here tonight with these charges.”

    “I’m not gonna talk about it, but I’m gonna tell you this,” Edmonson said. “It is the most disturbing thing I’ve seen and I will leave it at that.”

    Louisiana State Police arrested the officers, Norris Greenhouse Jr. and Derrick Stafford, on charges of second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder. Mardis’s father, Chris Few, remains hospitalized. The New York Times reported Mardis, a special-needs student who had recently transferred to his new school in Louisiana from Mississippi, was shot several times in the head and chest. A forensic report on how many guns and bullets were fired will be released next week, with autopsy results to follow in eight weeks.

    “That little boy was buckled in the front seat of that vehicle, and that is how he died,” Edmonson said.

    Officials have not said what led to the police pursuit of the car. Initial reports suggested that Few fled after officers tried to arrest him on an outstanding warrant. Edmonson refuted that claim Friday, according to The Washington Post.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Police departments across the United States are increasingly testing and using body-worn cameras—small, usually pager-sized devices that are clipped onto an officer’s uniform. The technology quickly emerged as a potential new method of accountability in fatal encounters between law enforcement and civilians, especially black men, following the shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson in August 2014. Supporters of body cameras say their mere presence can force both officers and civilians to change their behavior. The devices, they say, benefit both sides in policing: They help protect the public from police misconduct, and they help protect police from false accusations.

      Research backs this up. A yearlong experiment in Rialto, California, in 2013, found that police officers who weren’t wearing cameras were twice as likely to use force as those who were. It also found that citizen complaints against police dropped 80 percent. In late 2014, President Obama announced that the government would spend $75 million over three years to distribute 50,000 body cameras to police departments across the country, saying that “evidence shows that body-worn cameras help strengthen accountability and transparency.”

      Take the case of Samuel DuBose, a 43-year-old Cincinnati man who was shot dead in July by officer Ray Tensing, who stopped DuBose because his car was missing its front license plate. DuBose was black. Tensing is white. The Ohio prosecutor handling the case said he probably would have believed Tensing’s version of the story if the encounter wasn’t captured by a body camera—but it was. “He purposely killed him,” the prosecutor said, in announcing Tensing would be charged with murder and voluntary manslaughter. “He should never have been a police officer.”

      The video footage of DuBose’s death was released to the media and the public. But it’s unclear whether the footage of the shooting of Jeremy Mardis will be. While there’s a growing consensus that body cameras are necessary and important, there is little agreement over whether and when officers, the public, or the press should see the footage they capture. My colleague Robinson Meyer broke down the debate in August:

      If a police officer has a hostile encounter with a teenager on the street, but neither of them are badly injured, does the teenager have a right to see video of the incident recorded from the officer’s body camera? If an officer is invited inside the home of a domestic-violence victim, will that victim be able to tell the cop not to record?

      And, most importantly, if someone is killed in an altercation with an officer, could that officer watch the video before testifying to a grand jury? Because if so, critics say, that cop would be able to alter his or her account of the event to match what was on video—even if their initial account was wildly different.

      Hanging over all these hypotheticals is a question about what body-camera footage is: Is it a public record created by the government and available to the people, or is it personally identifiable information that’s confidential and off-limits?

      In the case of a young boy who just started first grade, body-camera footage gave prosecutors enough to take two officers to court.

      http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2015/11/jeremy-mardis-police-shooting/414789/

      Delete
    2. I'm all for body cameras, cop car cameras, personal cameras, etc.

      Delete