In today's news...

[Hopeyouguess62]

Re: In today's news...

This is a few weeks old, but I've been so focused on the unfolding events in Ukraine that I didn't even notice

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. I was appalled when OJ Simpson got off so light, and I'm disappointed that, as a people, we still haven't learned our lesson. Just another reason for me not to watch sports too often.

In other news, Brazil is gearing up for "

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," a contest in which women are judged by their... considerable ass-ets. This is a competition I can get behind, even if it's the butt of many jokes.

EDIT: Here's a

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. I think it's almost a crime to see so many buns and only have one sausage. Bottom-line: I want to land my astronaut on those moons.

 

[MrMe]

Re: In today's news...

It comes in threes. This is the second one.

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Edit: And three :/

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An alternative Dead Three would be three comedians

Earlier in the year we lost Rik Mayall (may not be too well known outside the UK, best known for his roles in Young Ones/Bottom/Drop Dead Fred)

Now we've lost Robin Williams

Has there been a third yet?

 

[XSI]

Re: In today's news...

Apparently there's some really bad riots going on in the US, Ferguson, Missouri

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Last article is about the police stepping back for federal forces

From my limited understanding on this event, police killed an unarmed citizen(Apparently there are witness reports saying they executed him?). There are several conflicting reports on why this happened. This was seen as a racist act by the local black community as the guy who got shot was apparently black, and from my understanding of things, the police wasn't exactly popular anywhere in the US due to militarization(Third article linked).
Large riots and looting resulted that is apparently too much for police to handle.
Media has been getting arrested(Second article), and social media is used to tell people a direct, unfiltered view of the street, leaving little room for propaganda spins(Fourth article)
A whole lot of things happening there either way

--
And in smaller news, US stops delivering some specific weapons to Israel
Biased media source ("The biblical perspective" they call it. They're pro-Israel even though the bible does not support that)

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This brings an end to unrestricted weaponry exchanges between US and Israeli military, which up till now did not need any approval from the White House
So far requests for defensive implements have been granted, while requests for lethal ammo such as mortar shells have gone through channels that did not need any sort of approval from the president

 

[OAMP]

Re: In today's news...

Executed is perhaps too strong a word, but only just. To me, the word "executed" implies too much deliberate intent. It's more along the lines of suburban cops tend to be extremely gung-ho and incompetent, and the Ferguson MO police just took the cake for worst department ever. It's far from the first or only such instance, but it's probably the most blatant, the department isn't even trying to fix it's problems or handle the situation tactfully, but instead is doubling down, running around and trying to play soldier. Considering there's actually a massive response of "why the hell aren't the protesters shooting back yet?", a lot of people, even pro-gun control people, are actually showing this as a good example of why we have the 2nd amendment in the first place.

As for the "riot", it's not really a riot, though that doesn't make the any less of a big deal. On day one there was some looting, but that was quickly contained. Day two had massive peaceful protests though, and the cops showed up and started shooting rubber bullets and tear gas with no warning while also arresting journalists. They were also shooting both of the above at people on their own property.

 

[XSI]

Re: In today's news...

Executed is perhaps too strong a word, but only just. To me, the word "executed" implies too much deliberate intent. It's more along the lines of suburban cops tend to be extremely gung-ho and incompetent, and the Ferguson MO police just took the cake for worst department ever.

The way I heard it, though it was from a source that always links me to stories on police brutality so they may have a bias, they made him kneel and then shot him through the head. Personally I think that's a dramatization of things though. Hopefully it is
Either way though, that's some incredibly bad police response. In Europe this would be unthinkable, but then so would most police equipment that appears to be standard in the US


Also forgot to link this one
Russian troops now officially spotted in Ukraine borders

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[Hopeyouguess62]

Re: In today's news...

On a somewhat amusing note, someone

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. The story was rather funny.

The cops claim that the young black man was assaulting the police officer when he was shot; the black man's friend claims that the man was running away from the police officer. Obviously none of us were there, but I have family in St. Louis. I will say, in defense of the cops, that St. Louis isn't the safest city in the world, though the majority of the crimes there consist of vandalism and theft. I can't speak for Ferguson from experience, but the last time I drove through St. Louis there were areas to avoid.

As for Russia sending military assets into Ukraine, is anyone really surprised?

 

[OAMP]

Re: In today's news...

The way I heard it, though it was from a source that always links me to stories on police brutality so they may have a bias, they made him kneel and then shot him through the head. Personally I think that's a dramatization of things though. Hopefully it is
Either way though, that's some incredibly bad police response. In Europe this would be unthinkable, but then so would most police equipment that appears to be standard in the US

Yeah, not how it happened at all. Several eyewitnesses have described him as hands up and backing away, as well as most US news sources. Don't trust whatever source you're using.

The response is bad by our standards to, to the point where if it wasn't a serious situation it'd be almost laughably bad at how the police are handling it. Anyway, they've been officially demobilized now and the state level govt is assuming police duties, which seems to have calmed the situation down and peaceful protest can now continue.

 

[Hopeyouguess62]

Re: In today's news...

Yeah, not how it happened at all. Several eyewitnesses have described him as hands up and backing away, as well as most US news sources. Don't trust whatever source you're using.

People are still rioting. Allegedly the police officer, whose name is now public, was responding to an armed robbery. There's video footage of the suspect and his buddy breaking in. Last night, the same store was looted (captured on video once again). Thankfully, my family doesn't live in that part of St. Louis.

Apparently

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. I think it's a diplomatic mess, and I really wish the states would have the good sense to keep these matters out of the press. This is the kind of thing that should be settled between heads of state, behind closed doors.

 

[OAMP]

Re: In today's news...

People are still rioting. Allegedly the police officer, whose name is now public, was responding to an armed robbery. There's video footage of the suspect and his buddy breaking in. Last night, the same store was looted (captured on video once again). Thankfully, my family doesn't live in that part of St. Louis.

Yeah, there was a bit of rioting now, but it's more like "round two", so to speak. The thing is, the police have also reported said that the office involved in the shooting was unaware of the robbery at the time, and the stop and subsequent death were not-related. People seem to think that releasing the tapes of that at the same time, though, is a blatant attempt to reduce public sympathy, and thus tensions were highly inflamed once again...

My mom's side is originally from St. Louis, though most have moved out in the past 10 years. We still have one small branch who lives somewhere near there, but I can't remember exactly where.

 

[Hopeyouguess62]

Re: In today's news...

Yeah, there was a bit of rioting now, but it's more like "round two", so to speak. The thing is, the police have also reported said that the office involved in the shooting was unaware of the robbery at the time, and the stop and subsequent death were not-related. People seem to think that releasing the tapes of that at the same time, though, is a blatant attempt to reduce public sympathy, and thus tensions were highly inflamed once again...

My mom's side is originally from St. Louis, though most have moved out in the past 10 years. We still have one small branch who lives somewhere near there, but I can't remember exactly where.

I still find it difficult to believe that an officer with 6 years on the force and no prior incidents simply decided to shoot an innocent person with his hands up for NO reason whatsoever, especially when there's video of this person and his friend robbing a store immediately before the incident. I also don't believe that everyone who claims to be an eyewitness is necessarily telling the truth--people LOVE to be important, and what's more important than an eyewitness in a civil rights protest?

Don't get me wrong, the cop probably made a poor decision, and the guy he shot should maybe not have been shot. Even so, the story that we're getting is "the cop showed up and shot a black guy who had his hands in the air and was completely non-threatening in his behavior and mannerisms."

It's sad that this guy got shot, and maybe the police officer (with a clean record) simply decided that this person HAD to be shot for no reason... but I still think there has to be more to this story.

 

[OAMP]

Re: In today's news...

The thing is, it's the police themselves that have said the officer involved didn't know about the robbery...

 

[Hopeyouguess62]

Re: In today's news...

I wasn't trying to argue that point. I'm simply saying that I find it unlikely that the deceased male in question was completely non-threatening. I find it more likely that the eyewitnesses embellished the story to a certain extent. Then again, as I said, I wasn't there.

 

[OAMP]

Re: In today's news...

Well typically there's *always* something more to the story, and you quoted me, so

 

[XSI]

Re: In today's news...

How to make matters worse, Ebola edition

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A quarantine centre for suspected Ebola patients in the Liberian capital Monrovia has been attacked and looted by protesters
A senior police officer said blood-stained mattresses, beddings and medical equipment were taken from the centre.
20 patients who may have had Ebola have fled the centre

Edit: And a piece on journalism I just got linked
Which may explain in part why news sources at times contradict eachother and sometimes just seem biased. Spoiler: It's because many of them are biased. You shouldn't go to Russia Today for unbiased news on Putin and Russia, and you shouldn't go to Fox News for unbiased news on US politics. And that's something every news organization has trouble with. It does so through looking at Ukraine and reports from the Ukraine. Specifically, how Dutch news handled it

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(And another piece on Ukrainian media I got with it)

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[Hopeyouguess62]

Re: In today's news...

Well typically there's *always* something more to the story, and you quoted me, so

Well, the latest news is that the autopsy points towards execution. I hate to believe that a police officer would do this--most of the police I've met have been really good people, whether in the US, or Japan, or the Philippines, or anywhere. I don't like thinking the worst about any police officer, but at this point all the evidence suggests that this cop is a guilty as Judas Iscariot. Still, we'll see what happens. It isn't over until it's over.

 

[OAMP]

Re: In today's news...

Well, the latest news is that the autopsy points towards execution. I hate to believe that a police officer would do this--most of the police I've met have been really good people, whether in the US, or Japan, or the Philippines, or anywhere. I don't like thinking the worst about any police officer, but at this point all the evidence suggests that this cop is a guilty as Judas Iscariot. Still, we'll see what happens. It isn't over until it's over.

Headshots =/= execution. The same autopsy also says he was shot six times, and twice in the head. Execution is one shot to the head.

Furthermore, all reports also say that he was 35 ft away at the time, which is too far for away for that sequence of events to occur.

 

[OAMP]

Re: In today's news...

Also, just got back from a trip into town with my mom and sister, and I was able to clarify where my relatives in the area actually live, because the last time the family reunion was in St. Louis itself was a long time ago and thus I could only remember we had quite a few people on the Northside. Final count is I have two relatives who actually live in Ferguson, another who works there, and four more who live in the next suburb over.

Perhaps that is why I'm insisting on accuracy. This town is one of my family's towns and I want the story as accurate as possible.

 

[Hopeyouguess62]

Re: In today's news...

In happier news, today is

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, according to the European Union. I think it's a great idea to recognize people who work to assist disaster victims not only within the EU, but throughout the world.

 

[XSI]

Re: In today's news...

Something a little more amusing than the usual ebola, riots, gaza, and that stuff

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What are the odds of that? Quite...Odd..news, really.

 

[XSI]

Re: In today's news...

Ebola possibly entering Sweden

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Possibly. It's one man and not confirmed yet