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Showing posts with label police. Show all posts
Showing posts with label police. Show all posts
Sunday 30 July 2017
Saturday 29 November 2014
Sunday 24 August 2014
Wednesday 27 March 2013
The war on freedom
It's just as good as lost. Our masters have lulled us into a groggy state and have clobbered us with the club of oppression. We've reached the end of the line in a long struggle for personal freedom, privacy, liberty, security and human rights. We are now headed in reverse. It's anyone's guess how far back our overlords will take us.
I just read an article in The National Post concerning whether police in Canada have the right to order communications companies to forward text messages sent between their customers to police without a warrant. The Supreme Court is expected to rule on this question today (March 27, 2013). In this same article, I discovered that police in Ontario have already won the right to peruse a person's cell phone (without a warrant) if it is not password-protected or not locked against unauthorized use.
This has infuriated me. Of all the preposterous reasons one can come up with to usurp our privacy, this is one of the most inane. It's the equivalent of saying that if you forget to lock your back door, police are free to enter and snoop around at will. Just because one doesn't fortify his private property doesn't mean he relinquishes all rights to that property. If you inadvertently leave your car door unlocked, can police legally search it? The argument is ridiculous.
Post article
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I just read an article in The National Post concerning whether police in Canada have the right to order communications companies to forward text messages sent between their customers to police without a warrant. The Supreme Court is expected to rule on this question today (March 27, 2013). In this same article, I discovered that police in Ontario have already won the right to peruse a person's cell phone (without a warrant) if it is not password-protected or not locked against unauthorized use.
This has infuriated me. Of all the preposterous reasons one can come up with to usurp our privacy, this is one of the most inane. It's the equivalent of saying that if you forget to lock your back door, police are free to enter and snoop around at will. Just because one doesn't fortify his private property doesn't mean he relinquishes all rights to that property. If you inadvertently leave your car door unlocked, can police legally search it? The argument is ridiculous.
Post article
Click here to go to most recent posts.
Tuesday 26 March 2013
Ripped from the headlines
Mom picking up son charged with drunk driving also charged with drunk driving
INNISFIL, Ont. — Police say a mother who came to pick up her son after he was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving found herself charged with the same offence.
Police say it started when an officer pulled over a speeding vehicle in Innisfil, Ont., just before 1 a.m. Sunday.
Investigators say the driver, a 27-year-old Newmarket, Ont., man, failed a roadside screening test and was taken to a police station north of Toronto, where he was charged with impaired driving.
Police say when his 53-year-old mother came to retrieve him a few hours later, the same officer smelled alcohol and made her take a breathalyzer test.
They say she failed the test and has been charged with impaired driving.
Both have had their vehicles impounded and licences suspended for 90 days. They are due in court next month.
Now, that's a candidate for mom-of-the-year honours. Even though she was drunk as a skunk, when the call came in that her little boy needed her, she set aside the real possibility of great personal injury to herself and others for the convenience of her idiot child.
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Sunday 21 October 2012
Breaking news!
There were no mass killings in the United States, today. Oh, wait--yes, there was.
A shotgun-toting man in suburban Milwaukee, Wisconsin killed three women and injured four others before turning the gun on himself.
There have been at least seven separate incidents of mass murders in the U.S. so far this year, with 110 killed or injured. Has anyone ever stopped to ask why such actions occur with seemingly increasing frequency? I don't mean asking yourself a rhetorical question about it as if there is no known answer to the situation. I mean sitting down and analyzing why a country touted as the land of milk and honey, where opportunities abound, and where the American dream can come true for anyone, has violence on the scale one expects from a third world country steeped in poverty?
Sit down right now and make a list of all the ways in which the U.S. is quite different from most developed countries. The answer will be in front of you. Some of the items may seem counter intuitive to spurring deadly violence on a large scale, but if you think outside the box, you may come to understand the connections.
Then go out and preach the message.
Some of you will think I'm talking nonsense. Others of you won't care, because as long as you're getting yours, so what if (other) people are dying. It's the cost of doing business, right? Wrong. People living in other places in the world are consistently shown to be healthier, happier, more content than Americans, and with a fraction of the threat of violence. It boggles the mind what some people accept as normal and hardly ever give it a thought.
Once again, police respond to a multiple shooting-death scene.
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A shotgun-toting man in suburban Milwaukee, Wisconsin killed three women and injured four others before turning the gun on himself.
There have been at least seven separate incidents of mass murders in the U.S. so far this year, with 110 killed or injured. Has anyone ever stopped to ask why such actions occur with seemingly increasing frequency? I don't mean asking yourself a rhetorical question about it as if there is no known answer to the situation. I mean sitting down and analyzing why a country touted as the land of milk and honey, where opportunities abound, and where the American dream can come true for anyone, has violence on the scale one expects from a third world country steeped in poverty?
Sit down right now and make a list of all the ways in which the U.S. is quite different from most developed countries. The answer will be in front of you. Some of the items may seem counter intuitive to spurring deadly violence on a large scale, but if you think outside the box, you may come to understand the connections.
Then go out and preach the message.
Some of you will think I'm talking nonsense. Others of you won't care, because as long as you're getting yours, so what if (other) people are dying. It's the cost of doing business, right? Wrong. People living in other places in the world are consistently shown to be healthier, happier, more content than Americans, and with a fraction of the threat of violence. It boggles the mind what some people accept as normal and hardly ever give it a thought.
Once again, police respond to a multiple shooting-death scene.
Click here to go to most recent posts.
Wednesday 22 February 2012
Thursday 1 December 2011
Friday 2 July 2010
Taking a (big) bite out of crime
I just learned of a new development in community policing. Not so long ago, East Orange, New Jersey had a crime rate that was 14 times the national average. It was clear hiring more police or generally doing more of what they were doing was not going to yield the results needed to make an appreciable difference. They needed to do something revolutionary, and something revolutionary, the did. And in so doing, they reduced crime in the area by a whopping 76%!
But in this once crime-ridden town — at one time, the murder rate was more than four times the national average — police are using high-tech equipment to keep a closer eye on city streets. The new alarm-based automated dispatch system, or ABAD for short, has reduced police response time to mere seconds.
A few months ago, the unit integrated ABAD with gunshot detection, real-time response, and security camera systems as part of one all-encompassing intelligent system that can report crime as it happens.
In 2007, the police department collaborated with Digisensory Technologies for the smart sensors inside them, which can alert officers in the crime division if there’s a gathering of people. The police then inspect the footage to determine if it’s just a group of kids — or a group of kids looking for trouble.
But where it really shines is looking into the future. “The system will predict when the next likely event will occur at these locations during these particular times during this particular day.
If you see a sketchy red car outside your house, you could log on to find photographic stills of your street. You can then tell the surveillance camera to turn toward that location to get a better look, and request that police check out the situation from afar. Police can then respond to the request using a message board, telling you if the owner of the car was previously arrested for drug dealing — or just buying groceries, thanks to a license plate recognition system.
Full Story.
Click here to go to most recent posts.
But in this once crime-ridden town — at one time, the murder rate was more than four times the national average — police are using high-tech equipment to keep a closer eye on city streets. The new alarm-based automated dispatch system, or ABAD for short, has reduced police response time to mere seconds.
A few months ago, the unit integrated ABAD with gunshot detection, real-time response, and security camera systems as part of one all-encompassing intelligent system that can report crime as it happens.
In 2007, the police department collaborated with Digisensory Technologies for the smart sensors inside them, which can alert officers in the crime division if there’s a gathering of people. The police then inspect the footage to determine if it’s just a group of kids — or a group of kids looking for trouble.
But where it really shines is looking into the future. “The system will predict when the next likely event will occur at these locations during these particular times during this particular day.
If you see a sketchy red car outside your house, you could log on to find photographic stills of your street. You can then tell the surveillance camera to turn toward that location to get a better look, and request that police check out the situation from afar. Police can then respond to the request using a message board, telling you if the owner of the car was previously arrested for drug dealing — or just buying groceries, thanks to a license plate recognition system.
Full Story.
Click here to go to most recent posts.
Wednesday 5 May 2010
Portrait of an alleged terrorist training camp
Not only does Canada produce more comics per capita than any other country, apparently, even alleged Canadian terrorists are a funny bunch.
A less nefarious picture of an alleged terrorist training camp emerged Thursday, when a Brampton court heard attendees were forced to sleep in a van because of sub-zero temperatures, participated in military marches to avoid hypothermia and squealed when a field mouse ran into a tent.
Click here to go to most recent posts.
A less nefarious picture of an alleged terrorist training camp emerged Thursday, when a Brampton court heard attendees were forced to sleep in a van because of sub-zero temperatures, participated in military marches to avoid hypothermia and squealed when a field mouse ran into a tent.
The portrait of an “utterly disorganized” camp, surfaced as defence lawyer Michael Moon cross-examined police agent Mubin Shaikh, who infiltrated the alleged homegrown terror cell in late 2005.
Court was told that when members of the group attended a December 2005 camp in Washago, Ont., some were terrified a fictional pack of wolves was stalking them, two men cut themselves chopping wood and one nearly lit himself ablaze while pouring fuel onto the campfire.
“These guys were lucky to get out of Washago alive,” Moon suggested to Shaikh, who is testifying at the trial of Fahim Ahmad, Steven Chand and Asad Ansari, members of the so-called Toronto 18, which was busted up by police on June 2, 2006.
Shaikh, the only one who had the foresight to bring a winter tent, said he never believed the campers were at risk of death because they could sleep in their vehicles. But, he testified, “there was a real risk of hypothermia.”
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Thursday 18 March 2010
Wave at the nice policeman
Thank God most criminals are dumb. We might be in serious trouble, otherwise. Case in point:
A young man walking along a highway near Kenora, Ontario, Canada spotted a police car going by and took the opportunity to "flip the bird", give a "middle finger salute" or whatever you want to call the rude gesture. The cop turned his vehicle around and stopped to chat with the guy.
During the exchange, it came to light that the man was carrying a number of stolen items, including two credit cards, a GPS, an IPod charger and a BlackBerry. The 19-year-old was charged with possession of stolen property.
The police officer said "A simple wave would have been a wiser choice".
Click here to go to most recent posts.
A young man walking along a highway near Kenora, Ontario, Canada spotted a police car going by and took the opportunity to "flip the bird", give a "middle finger salute" or whatever you want to call the rude gesture. The cop turned his vehicle around and stopped to chat with the guy.
During the exchange, it came to light that the man was carrying a number of stolen items, including two credit cards, a GPS, an IPod charger and a BlackBerry. The 19-year-old was charged with possession of stolen property.
The police officer said "A simple wave would have been a wiser choice".
Click here to go to most recent posts.
Sunday 29 November 2009
A stark contrast
The following two stories appeared today on my Google News page separated only by a story on Iran's nuclear ambitions.
The first story came out of the U.S. and bore this headline:
4 police officers shot dead at Wash. coffeehouse
The other described how a very controversial issue is threatening to tear Switzerland apart:
Swiss Vote to Ban New Minarets
Now, if you're unaware or unsure of what a minaret is, let me let you in on this explosive controversy. A minaret is a slender tower attached to a mosque that traditionally is used as a "call to prayer" for Muslims, but in modern times and modern countries, including Switzerland, minarets are not used for anything other than traditional "window dressing".
While I am sympathetic to Muslims, and appreciate the affront on the sensibilities of some of them (the 10% of Swiss Muslims that actually adhere to traditional Muslim codes), quite frankly, the contrast between these two stories was very vivid to me. Four people dedicated to serving the public and upholding the laws of the land were brutally attacked and savagely murdered in broad daylight is something I think all would agree is far more egregious than offending anyone's sensibilities.
Let's face it, the social issues that face America are and have always been far more grave than those of most countries, especially when you exclude third word countries whose extreme poverty is usually the cause of their problems. Such attacks as described in this story are not isolated but can be considered a way of life for Americans. My take is that when you treat people with less than the dignity human beings deserve, you should expect them to act in ways only subhumans would. Providing basic health care to all is a good step in the right direction.
From the aforementioned story...
Last month, Seattle police officer Timothy Brenton was shot and killed Halloween night as he was sitting in a cruiser with trainee Britt Sweeney. Sweeney was grazed in the neck.
The U.S. is the serial killer and mass murder capital of the world. This is no accident. You reap what you sow. My heart goes out to the families of the victims, but until Americans realize that it is their politics that drive people to such depths, they should expect the carnage to continue. No amount of cops and super prisons will fix this problem. Wake up, America.
And to Switzerland...Don't go spoiling the fine reputation you have spent more than half a century cultivating. It doesn't look good on you.
Click here to go to most recent posts.
The first story came out of the U.S. and bore this headline:
4 police officers shot dead at Wash. coffeehouse
The other described how a very controversial issue is threatening to tear Switzerland apart:
Swiss Vote to Ban New Minarets
Now, if you're unaware or unsure of what a minaret is, let me let you in on this explosive controversy. A minaret is a slender tower attached to a mosque that traditionally is used as a "call to prayer" for Muslims, but in modern times and modern countries, including Switzerland, minarets are not used for anything other than traditional "window dressing".
While I am sympathetic to Muslims, and appreciate the affront on the sensibilities of some of them (the 10% of Swiss Muslims that actually adhere to traditional Muslim codes), quite frankly, the contrast between these two stories was very vivid to me. Four people dedicated to serving the public and upholding the laws of the land were brutally attacked and savagely murdered in broad daylight is something I think all would agree is far more egregious than offending anyone's sensibilities.
Let's face it, the social issues that face America are and have always been far more grave than those of most countries, especially when you exclude third word countries whose extreme poverty is usually the cause of their problems. Such attacks as described in this story are not isolated but can be considered a way of life for Americans. My take is that when you treat people with less than the dignity human beings deserve, you should expect them to act in ways only subhumans would. Providing basic health care to all is a good step in the right direction.
From the aforementioned story...
Last month, Seattle police officer Timothy Brenton was shot and killed Halloween night as he was sitting in a cruiser with trainee Britt Sweeney. Sweeney was grazed in the neck.
The U.S. is the serial killer and mass murder capital of the world. This is no accident. You reap what you sow. My heart goes out to the families of the victims, but until Americans realize that it is their politics that drive people to such depths, they should expect the carnage to continue. No amount of cops and super prisons will fix this problem. Wake up, America.
And to Switzerland...Don't go spoiling the fine reputation you have spent more than half a century cultivating. It doesn't look good on you.
Click here to go to most recent posts.
Thursday 5 November 2009
Monday 19 October 2009
The future is here
DETROIT (AP) — Police in California say General Motors’ OnStar communications system stopped a dangerous high-speed chase and helped them capture a carjacking suspect by disabling a stolen sport utility vehicle.
Police say it all began about 3 a.m. when a 21-year-old man used a sawed-off shotgun to take a Chevrolet Tahoe from two men in a parking lot.Police contacted OnStar, which found the Tahoe by using a global positioning system. Two officers spotted the SUV but the driver sped off. That’s when OnStar operators sent a signal that slowed the Tahoe to a halt.
The surprised thief ran off but was quickly captured when he fell into a backyard swimming pool.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
How long before every car is equipped with such a system?
Will car thieves be permanently put out of business?
What will they resort to, instead?
Thursday 20 August 2009
Tax the stupid
Since there's never been any agreement on who should pay how much tax, I'm going to resolve the issue right here.
Yesterday, I was at the mall and I walked over to a "garbage bin" to discard a coffee cup. There were three separate containers for three types of garbage. I gazed into the "Glass and Plastic Bottles" bin, which was almost half full and was quite surprised to see not a single glass or plastic bottle in it. Instead, there was all kinds of paper, coffee cups, food wrappers, etc. I can understand that a lazy and or stupid person, or perhaps a mentally handicapped person might place an item in the wrong hole, but I have trouble believing that everyone at the mall that day was there to undergo rehabilitation for a severe brain injury.
Anyway, I thought how nice it would be if we had Garbage Police to take names and tax the living crap out of these ignorant slobs. A side benefit would be that it would lower the taxes of the rest of us.
Yesterday, I was at the mall and I walked over to a "garbage bin" to discard a coffee cup. There were three separate containers for three types of garbage. I gazed into the "Glass and Plastic Bottles" bin, which was almost half full and was quite surprised to see not a single glass or plastic bottle in it. Instead, there was all kinds of paper, coffee cups, food wrappers, etc. I can understand that a lazy and or stupid person, or perhaps a mentally handicapped person might place an item in the wrong hole, but I have trouble believing that everyone at the mall that day was there to undergo rehabilitation for a severe brain injury.
Anyway, I thought how nice it would be if we had Garbage Police to take names and tax the living crap out of these ignorant slobs. A side benefit would be that it would lower the taxes of the rest of us.
Sunday 12 July 2009
Ripped from the headlines
From an Edmonton, Canada news story...
An Edmonton woman caught on video sexually abusing her baby and performing sex acts on a poodle was locked up yesterday after failing to show up for sentencing.
Story.
An Edmonton woman caught on video sexually abusing her baby and performing sex acts on a poodle was locked up yesterday after failing to show up for sentencing.
The 30-year-old, who cannot be named to protect her daughter's identity, also got a tongue-lashing from a judge.
A rather bad choice of words, wouldn't you say?
The story continues...
In another video, she is seen performing sex acts on a pet poodle. The dog kept running away.
How scuzzy looking do you need to be for a dog to reject you???Story.
Monday 30 March 2009
Ripped from the headlines
HARRISBURG, Pa. – A retired police chief said he was robbed by "probably the dumbest criminal in Pennsylvania," at a police officers' convention on Friday morning. John Comparetto said that as he came out of a stall in the men's room, a man pointed a gun in his face and demanded money. There were 300 narcotics officers from Pennsylvania and Ohio at the gathering.
Comparetto gave up his money and cell phone. But when the man fled, Comparetto and some colleagues chased him. They arrested a 19-year-old man as he was trying to leave in a taxi.
The suspect is also awaiting trial on four previous robbery charges.
The suspect was arraigned and taken to Dauphin County Prison. When a reporter asked the suspect for comment as he was led out of court, he said, "I'm smooth."
Smooth? I'd say this guy is crunchy--as in nuts.
Monday 9 February 2009
Encounters
No, it's not what you think. I just realized I'm late with the rest of this post from a couple of days ago.
My idea is this: Rather than place an ankle bracelet that allows police to track sexual predators on parole, etc., why not equip children with a simple device that signals them when a known paedophile is in the vicinity? Also or alternatively, the same signal can be received by a parent or anyone carrying a cell phone. The man's privacy is upheld since only his wherabouts is indicated and children are kept safe. It's a win/win situation. Carriers, politicians and police services, are you listening?
My idea is this: Rather than place an ankle bracelet that allows police to track sexual predators on parole, etc., why not equip children with a simple device that signals them when a known paedophile is in the vicinity? Also or alternatively, the same signal can be received by a parent or anyone carrying a cell phone. The man's privacy is upheld since only his wherabouts is indicated and children are kept safe. It's a win/win situation. Carriers, politicians and police services, are you listening?
Saturday 31 January 2009
Ripped from the headlines
I saw a headline for this story on the TV listings channel and then hopped over to my PC to find the full story.
A homeless man who couldn't find a warm place to spend the night was rudely awakened by police in the bank lobby he was was catching Z's in. As punishment for his crime, he was sentenced to 30 days in a larger, warmer room, this one with free meal service. I'll bet he won't want to go through that ordeal again.
The Story.
A homeless man who couldn't find a warm place to spend the night was rudely awakened by police in the bank lobby he was was catching Z's in. As punishment for his crime, he was sentenced to 30 days in a larger, warmer room, this one with free meal service. I'll bet he won't want to go through that ordeal again.
The Story.
Tuesday 27 January 2009
I am outraged and ashamed
There is no bigger proponent of multi-culturalism and racial diversity than I. I am also a proud Canadian trumpeting far and wide on this medium how great a place Canada is as the most culturally diverse country in the world. We seem to get along much better than most countries, celebrating our differences in so many ways--via parades, food fairs, picnics, festivals, etc., some of these events attracting over one million participants, many travelling from other countries to join the festivities.
But this past week, an incident has tarnished Canada's image. It is alleged that three drunken Vancouver-area, off-duty police officers brutally assaulted and robbed a man of colour. In the process, the victim alleges that one of the officers uttered a racial statement. As of this writing, no charges have been laid, but it seems very likely that there will be soon.
You may be asking yourself why I'm bringing this to light. I'm conflicted about it, really, but let me try to explain. It's not the Canadian way to sweep things under the rug. If we do wrong, we acknowledge it, hold those responsible accountable, make reparations, and fix things that need fixing. Hopefully, the publicity this case attracts will inspire authorities and politicians to work that much harder to ensure that conditions that allow something like this to happen, are rectified.
For anyone to commit such a heinous crime is appalling, but for members of those sworn "to serve and protect", it is nothing short of sickening. I just hope that justice will be served in the way of severe punishment for the guilty. The last thing we need is for the poor victim to be victimized again.
The Story.
But this past week, an incident has tarnished Canada's image. It is alleged that three drunken Vancouver-area, off-duty police officers brutally assaulted and robbed a man of colour. In the process, the victim alleges that one of the officers uttered a racial statement. As of this writing, no charges have been laid, but it seems very likely that there will be soon.
You may be asking yourself why I'm bringing this to light. I'm conflicted about it, really, but let me try to explain. It's not the Canadian way to sweep things under the rug. If we do wrong, we acknowledge it, hold those responsible accountable, make reparations, and fix things that need fixing. Hopefully, the publicity this case attracts will inspire authorities and politicians to work that much harder to ensure that conditions that allow something like this to happen, are rectified.
For anyone to commit such a heinous crime is appalling, but for members of those sworn "to serve and protect", it is nothing short of sickening. I just hope that justice will be served in the way of severe punishment for the guilty. The last thing we need is for the poor victim to be victimized again.
The Story.
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