More Mass shootings

[heironymouspasparagus]

Harvard was mentioned, so I thought this was a good place as any to insert these couple of items.  It can be easy to get caught in traps of convenience that maintain stereotypes, prejudices, etc.  Can lead us to extreme events like we are seeing recently across so many areas.  Horrifying in that they are similar to events that I witnessed in the 60's over similar issues.



http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/what-i-said-when-my-white-friend-asked-for-my-black_us_578c0770e4b0b107a2415b89


https://goodblacknews.org/2016/07/17/fred-barley-19-bikes-6-hours-to-get-to-college-sleeps-in-tent-until-helped-by-police-and-community/#more-15979

[Vashta Nerada]

Maybe, maybe not.

The truth is that the raw statistics can't tell us whether the police are treating African Americans differently from white people. To understand that, we'd need to look at more details about what happened in each incident.

"In fact there's been an increase, a 6% increase in fatal shootings when we compare the first six months of last year to the first six months of this year... So that's about three people are dying a day, who are being fatally shot by officers."
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-36826297

[patric]

So yeah,  a person can devise a grand plan like Murrah and carry it out.  Or they could figure out how to poison the water supply of NYC, or whatever.  But most of your budget-concious crazies won't do that. 

Think of how much this would have cost

http://www.denverpost.com/2016/07/21/colorado-town-thc-in-water/

Maybe it was financed by the Saudi Royal Family?   

[heironymouspasparagus]

We talked earlier about Native American genocide...found this interesting little tidbit of history in another search theme I was doing today.  Fills out the story some more.

http://xroads.virginia.edu/~hyper/hns/scalpin/oldfolks.html

[patric]

We talked earlier about Native American genocide...

...which probably fits better in a more appropriate heading.

[heironymouspasparagus]

...which probably fits better in a more appropriate heading.

Maybe...but this is the follow on to part of this thread.

[Vashta Nerada]

Its in bad taste but they have a point.


Dallas Cops Called Radio Podcast to Complain About Colleagues on Night of Dallas Shooting

"Quit hiring cowards, they are hiring cowards ... my partner says they are hiring cowards," Officer Watkins reportedly said of the academy. "They are hiring ex-military and they don't see people as human."
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2016/07/30/report-dpd-cops-called-radio-podcast-to-complain-about-colleagues-on-night-of-dallas-shooting/

[patric]

We have a very serious problem and race is an important factor, but even that aside, something is very, very wrong with how police act in this country.

Follow-up to a posting here.  It was a textbook example of how to act around police, but the victim died after informing the cop of a Concealled Carry, and the officer was acquitted of manslaughter after an "I was never so afraid" defense.  Dashcam released just today... NRA strangely silent.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1ac7Zblqyk

A detective nearby agreed:

I have been a police officer for 19 years. I love my job and serving my community. I have learned over the course of my career to never assume anything. As I watched the events unfold on July 6, 2016, on a Facebook Live feed, I thought that there must be more that happened. There must have been such a threat that wasn't captured on this video, that forced Officer Yanez to feel his only option was to shoot into a vehicle with a child in the back seat.

Over the past two days, I have listened to the audio interviews. I have read the documents. And then I watched the dash cam video. And it broke me. Officer Yanez was in a position that if he perceived a threat, he could have disengaged. He could have taken other steps to ensure everyone's safety, and not have forced this outcome.

Shooting a seat-belted man, with a child in the back seat, was not the only option. Until those of us who wear the badge are willing to stand up and speak out when we see things that are wrong, and lead hard conversations, how can we ever expect change? How can we ever expect to rebuild trust within our communities? Barbecues and pick-up basketball games are nice, but that's not going to do it.

So today, I stand up and speak out, even if it means standing alone. To the family of Philando Castile, to those that loved him, and to everyone who watched that video and felt broken inside, I am sorry. This shouldn't have happened. His life mattered.

Detective Angela Kamoske, Madison, Wis., Police Department.
http://www.twincities.com/2017/06/25/letters-this-shouldnt-have-happened/

But it didnt stop a repeat performance:

Three sources with knowledge of the incident said Sunday that two Minneapolis officers in one squad car, responding to the 911 call, pulled into the alley. Damond, in her pajamas, went to the driver's side door and was talking to the driver. The officer in the passenger seat pulled his gun and shot Damond through the driver's side door, sources said. No weapon was found at the scene.
http://www.startribune.com/woman-killed-in-officer-involved-shooting-in-south-minneapolis/434782213/

[erfalf]

First, my heart is with those that were hurt and the families of those lost in Vegas. What happened is truly a tragedy, and could never have been expected in a situation such as that.

That was in all seriousness. The next part is too, but far less delicate...

So now that another event has happened, so too have the calls for gun control. And what do I see the focus is on yesterday. Any guesses...

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/10/04/how-silencers-became-the-next-gun-control-fight-215679

Yep, silencers, or in other words those things that work in movies nothing like they work in real life. It even cause Politifact to do something that I am sure it pained them to do.

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2017/oct/04/hillary-clinton/no-gun-silencers-wouldnt-have-worsened-las-vegas-s/

But they are going to hang their hat on silencers. smh w/ a face palm

[heironymouspasparagus]

First, my heart is with those that were hurt and the families of those lost in Vegas. What happened is truly a tragedy, and could never have been expected in a situation such as that.

That was in all seriousness. The next part is too, but far less delicate...

So now that another event has happened, so too have the calls for gun control. And what do I see the focus is on yesterday. Any guesses...

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/10/04/how-silencers-became-the-next-gun-control-fight-215679

Yep, silencers, or in other words those things that work in movies nothing like they work in real life. It even cause Politifact to do something that I am sure it pained them to do.

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2017/oct/04/hillary-clinton/no-gun-silencers-wouldnt-have-worsened-las-vegas-s/

But they are going to hang their hat on silencers. smh w/ a face palm

Did Vegas guy have silencers??   Hadn't heard that.  You can tell from the video soundtracks that they don't work that well - there was plenty of "firecracker" noise going on. 

A silencer will NOT make a shot inaudible.  It only reduces the sound level about 20 - 30 db.  When you are talking about "silencing" something that has 140 - 150 db noise, you still have something that is 10 to 100 times louder than a gas lawn mower (about 100 db).  And yeah, I do understand this is all distance related...

Silencers ONLY reduce the level enough to reduce hearing damage to ears.  They do not make it quiet by any stretch of the imagination.  Hollywood movie fantasy.

[erfalf]

Did Vegas guy have silencers??   Hadn't heard that.  You can tell from the video soundtracks that they don't work that well - there was plenty of "firecracker" noise going on. 

A silencer will NOT make a shot inaudible.  It only reduces the sound level about 20 - 30 db.  When you are talking about "silencing" something that has 140 - 150 db noise, you still have something that is 10 to 100 times louder than a gas lawn mower (about 100 db).  And yeah, I do understand this is all distance related...

Silencers ONLY reduce the level enough to reduce hearing damage to ears.  They do not make it quiet by any stretch of the imagination.  Hollywood movie fantasy.

To my knowledge he did NOT. However Hillary, for whatever reason, decided to tweet that it would have been worse if he did. Again, no idea why, or why they are in the forefront of politicians minds at the moment. Kind of like banning guns because of how they look and not how they actually work (ie because they are black).

[patric]

To my knowledge he did NOT. However Hillary, for whatever reason, decided to tweet that it would have been worse if he did. Again, no idea why, or why they are in the forefront of politicians minds at the moment. Kind of like banning guns because of how they look and not how they actually work (ie because they are black).

Silencer legislation was close to being up for a vote so its really just a convenient "target."  Yes, Hillary acted stupidly.
The focus now is "Bump Stocks" which are little more than springy shoulder rests that use recoil to pull the trigger faster than normally possible, creating the effect of a fully-automatic weapon without actually having a fully-automatic weapon.

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/the-trump-white-house-has-a-new-bump-stock-strategy-blame-obama/article/2636604

[BKDotCom]

Two things from the whitehouse.
a) It's too early to politicize this event.
b) It's Obama fault for not regulating bump stock availability.

Then: "Obama's going to take all yer guns!"
What happened: Obama didn't take guns.
Now: "Obama didn't take yer guns!"

[TeeDub]

The focus now is "Bump Stocks" which are little more than springy shoulder rests that use recoil to pull the trigger faster than normally possible, creating the effect of a fully-automatic weapon without actually having a fully-automatic weapon.

You can do the same thing if you loop your finger through your belt loop.

Keep in mind, if you let them take your "bump stock," next they may come and take your rubber bands.

[heironymouspasparagus]

To my knowledge he did NOT. However Hillary, for whatever reason, decided to tweet that it would have been worse if he did. Again, no idea why, or why they are in the forefront of politicians minds at the moment. Kind of like banning guns because of how they look and not how they actually work (ie because they are black).

Yeah, well she is just stupid.  Doesn't understand physics at all and has no interest in learning anything about reality beyond her agenda.  Still, to a lessor degree than the RWRE and their total denial of many types of reality.


If one listens to the tapes, shots can easily be heard - and those were a hundred yards++ away.  Silencer - they still would have been heard easily and would also have been recorded by the phones.  Little difference.  As for bump stocks - I can fire a rifle as fast as any of the shot sequences heard on those recordings - have done it often.  Just shows physical laziness, much like Hillary's comments show intellectual laziness.  Lots of noise/commotion/BS about nothing.   And even with all that, she would still be better than Trump.