Random News Stories

[Cain]

Ha, extremists within the mutawa?  Say it isn't so!  The mutawa was invented to corral the extremists, give 'em an income and something to do and put them on the state payroll.  The alternative was to let them all run around loose, like they did before the Grand Mosque seizure.

Unfortunately, any uprising in Saudi Arabia is likely to come from it's immigrant population - who are mostly Pakistani Sunnis - and their oilfield workers - who are mostly Shia Muslims.

They, uh, don't get along too well.  Mostly as the Pakistani Sunnis insist the Shiites are apostates and tools of Iran.

The latter did try a peaceful protest Arab Spring foco thing back in 2011....unfortunately, it happened on the exact same day as a tsunami hit Japan.  As a consequence, the Saudi security forces moved in, killed a few, deported quite a few more and jailed some others, and the world failed to pay attention.

Saudi Arabia also dumped a significant amount of Islamist troublemakers into the meatgrinder that is the Syrian civil war.  According to news agencies linked to the Syrian regime (so take this with a pinch of salt) this has included your more general murderers, thieves and rapists as well as said troublemakers...though I imagine it must be hard to fight as an insurgent when you lack hands.  Or a head.

More recently, Saudi Arabia expelled a whole bunch of immigrant workers, in addition to cracking down on online criticism of the regime.  But, you know, they said they'll let women drive!  Maybe.  In the future, sometime.  Once the clerics decide it's OK.

So as usual, a gullible press has been wowed by this progressive statement from the House of Saud, and mostly ignored the fact they're still 13th century style religious bigots and feudal lords, with smartphones and machine guns.  Oh, and oil money, of course.

So no, revolution is not on the cards.  The Saudis are taking all the right steps to clamp down on dissent, internally and internationally.  If the Saudis were really worried, we'd also see an uptick in private military companies being hired...lots have offices in Dubai, so it wouldn't stay secret for long, non-disclosure agreements or no.

[Junkenstein]

As always, appreciated. I had this flash of optimism that this might have eventually led to something better for the country, eventually.

Very silly of me.

As an aside, I love how mercenaries are called "Private Military companies" these days. Harks back to the golden era when Pirates were Privateers and such. I must look into the history of these things, particularly in the modern age. How they can set up and operate legally has always been something of a mystery to me. 

[Cain]

Because they don't call themselves "mercenaries".

They're private security companies, offering a number of security solutions to individuals and companies operating in troubled parts of the world.  Safeguarding people and property is their aim, not warmaking.  Sometimes unfortunately these people or property happen to be in warzones, it is true, but this doesn't make them mercenaries, oh no.  They simply have a mandate to protect their employer and secure his property.  They're like security guards, only better.  Better armed, better paid and better trained.  Elite security guards, if you will.

And if that property happens to be an entire country...well, sometimes that just happens to be the case.  Who are we to question local tradition and custom?

[Cain]

I think I pissed off a lot of people on my IRL Facebook.

I may have pointed out that the current hysteria being directed at the Environment Agency is entirely unjustified and being run from...certain government departments whose own role deserves more scrutiny, along with at least one vainglorious, know-nothing MP (his letter to the Environment Secretary has not, as far as I know, been made public.  But I've read it, and it exposes a deep ignorance about anything to do with the EA or floods at all).

I may have also mentioned that ire should be directed at a Treasury that has underfunded maintenance of existing flood defences for years.  I also may have said that the people on the Somerset Downs bought houses at bargain prices on a below sea-level floodplain, pay no extra taxes to pay for the upkeep on the defenses they rely on, and so are freeloading off the taxpayer.

Truth is never popular, but it's a great sorting mechanism for finding idiots on my overly large friend list.

[Junkenstein]

That wouldn't be a letter by a certain education minister by any chance?

[Cain]

Hah, sadly no.  Though it's not hard to expose his ignorance on any given topic. 

This is a non-Ministerial MP representing a constituency in the south west of the UK.  I can't really say any more without exposing their identity and my source in the process.

[Telarus]

Interesting...

Well, then, to change the subject.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/02/05/oregon-dem-destroys-top-drug-official-who-cant-say-if-weeds-less-addictive-than-meth/

An Oregon Democrat literally threw up his hands in frustration Tuesday after failing to get a direct answer to his question about marijuana's dangers from the deputy director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.
...
"I'd respectfully suggest that you and the department take a step back if you're concerned that somehow people think marijuana is benign, part of the reason is that drug professionals can't communicate in ways the rest of America does," the congressman said.

Holyshit, that sounds familiar 

[Trivial]

http://whotv.com/2014/02/03/raid-filmed-ankeny-police-traumatize-family/


SWAT raid over credit card fraud.

wtf

I don't mean to be rude, but have you been keeping up with this era? Kids send swat teams to each others houses as practical jokes now. For CC fraud an excessive response would need at least a few corpses.

The justification that "Money can buy guns" has been used more than a few times to justify heavily armed raids on white collar criminals.

I'd say it's because I'm Iowa that I was surprised, but it happens here a bit.  I dunno. 

Guess maybe I should be more wtf-y that it isn't news any more?

[Junkenstein]

To be fair I tend to lump "american police behaviour" into a single category with little distinction for the state said behaviour occurred in. My reasoning is that if one state can get away with it, others can too or easily change the relevant law to enable it. If Iowa PD's are generally pretty good then I'm probably out of line.

That said, a google of "Iowa SWAT Raid" doesn't just drag up this tale. There's this little gem:
http://siouxcityjournal.com/blogs/crime_watch/crime-watch-video-scenes-from-tuesday-s-officer-involved-shooting/article_f4e3b5d8-7011-5a2c-9b48-8400111c0edb.html

(SIOUX CITY, IA) 29-year-old Felix William Navarrete is dead after police say a member of the SWAT team shot him as he was climbing out of a 2nd story window.

According to police, Navarrete had a gun on him and was attempting to escape out of a 2nd floor window. Snipers from the SWAT team were set up next door, that's when one of them shot Navarrete.

He was taken to Mercy Medical Center where he later died.

Police say the man that was shot on S. Helen was also the suspect they were looking for in relation to the shooting that happened at West 27th street on Saturday. Strangely enough the same house was a crime scene back in November when two people were shot and killed.

Police say the people involved in these shootings are from the same group.

There were also two small children in the apartment along with several women. All of them were out of the apartment at the time of the shooting and the kids are with their parents.

The Chief isn't releasing the name of the officer who shot Navarrete. He is on administrative leave for several reasons, one to make sure he is well enough to come back to work and of course to make sure the shooting was justified.

There's a few questions to be asked and answered there. I'd guess like most officer involved shootings there will be no actual consequences.

Arizona still seems to be winning this year so far:
http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/story/24596175/2014/01/30/amateur-video-shows-violent-arrest-of-suspect-involved-in-swat-call

Mesa Police recaptured a suspect who slipped from their custody the day before and when he was captured again, someone caught it on camera and that video has a lot of people talking.

It began when a suspect barricaded himself inside a Mesa business Wednesday. Police and SWAT teams later got him to surrender, but it didn't end there. The suspect was able to walk out of a hospital and get away before Mesa officers later caught up with him at a Phoenix intersection.
   
It's the force used to apprehend him - that is raising a few eyebrows, and it was all caught on tape.

Mesa Police say this all started a day earlier when the suspect tried to cash a stolen check then ran into an empty building to elude police. He then barricaded himself inside and held police and the SWAT team at bay.

He was eventually arrested without any major incident, then taken to the hospital to be treated for minor injuries. But Mesa Police say the man somehow walked out of the hospital unnoticed and eventually made his way to Phoenix, where Mesa Police caught up with him Thursday morning.

"This guy is screaming, they just banged his head against the ground, elbowed him a couple times" said Fairchild.

The man behind the camera says he saw both the suspects arms behind his back, before police began punching him. The video then cuts to a shot of the suspects bloodied face. Mesa Police have not released any details about the moments leading up to this arrest nor have they released the suspects name.

Mesa Police say they're aware that this video is out there, but say it's too soon to comment on it. Police say they haven't had a chance to review the video or the reports about the incident

I'm sure the beating was totally unrelated to the "escape" and subsequent embarrassment/bollocking.

If anyone missed it, I'd say this thread is the current benchmark:
http://www.principiadiscordia.com/forum/index.php/topic,35746.msg1310127.html#msg1310127

[Junkenstein]

Pakistan in talks with taliban:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-26065385

The first formal meeting between the Pakistan government and a Taliban-nominated team has been held at an undisclosed location, officials say.

The session, which has now ended, was aimed at charting a "roadmap" for peace talks to end a decade-long insurgency.

The government side entered the talks "wholeheartedly", the interior ministry told the BBC.

Militants from the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) have been waging an insurgency inside Pakistan since 2007.

The Taliban, who want to see Sharia (Islamic law) imposed throughout Pakistan, have refrained from naming representatives within their own ranks. They instead nominated pro-Taliban religious figures to represent their views.

The three-man TTP team comprised Maulana Sami ul-Haq, known as the "Father of the Taliban"; the chief cleric of Islamabad's Red Mosque, Maulana Abdul Aziz; and the leader of Jamaat-e-Islami party, Ibrahim Khan.

Negotiations with terrorist apparently acceptable as long as you only talk to "representatives" and not the actual terrorists. I'm be digging into those names later for fun, I'd guess there's a tale or two here. 

[Junkenstein]

This has the potential for hours of horror:
http://beta.slashdot.org/story/197921

"Earlier this week, news reports leaked that the NYPD is evaluating whether to give its officers Google Glass for investigations and patrols. Google, which is sensitive to accusations that it works hand-in-hand with governments or law-enforcement agencies to monitor civilians, suggested that the NYPD must have purchased the units on its own initiative, rather than partner with the company.

While everyone's been shitting themselves about the implications of everyone else wearing Google Glass, the above will almost certainly occur. Facial recognition software will make arresting wrong-doers from crowds much more simple and constant filming will be vital to get any protesting dissidents on file.
http://slashdot.org/topic/bi/is-giving-the-nypd-google-glass-a-good-idea/

Google Glass surveillance could also violate the Wiretap Act (and, by extension, its underlying Fourth Amendment framework), which tightly controls how state and federal agencies can intercept audio signals; while federal law only requires that one party consent to taping, some states require the agreement of everybody involved in the conversation.
"If the officer is recording a communication he has in public with someone, there's probably no wiretap problem since there's at least the consent of one party and no expectation of privacy," Hanni M. Fakhoury, a staff attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, wrote in an email to Slashdot the last time this issue of law enforcement and Google Glass came up. "But if he's recording peripheral communications between two separate individuals, than there's potential wiretap liability depending on the circumstances."
But at the same time, wearing Google Glass could also compel cops (and other law-enforcement personnel) to be on their best behavior at all times, particularly when it comes to use of force. The prospect of instantly available video detailing every aspect of an officer's shift could prove a powerful incentive to behave in a courteous and professional manner. But that's a very broad assumption; the reality—if cops really do start wearing Google Glass and other video-equipped electronics in large numbers—will likely end up determined by lots and lots of lawsuits and court-actions, many of them stemming from real-world incidents.

I'm really not sold on this idea that the best counter to surveillance is watch all the things and people all the fucking time because then no one will do anything wrong. It's bullshit. Crimes will still be committed, of the petty and horrible varieties. Surveillance in and of itself is not a deterrent. That's why crime still exists after CCTV and neighbourhood watch schemes were invented. What this kind of monitoring does enable is a swifter determination of guilt. This should strike you as a very dangerous thing. At best it enables another prison pipeline. At worst, highly draconican restrictions are practically inevitable to stop the flow of lawsuits to police departments.

On a totally cynical level, I would expect major criminal trials involving this tech to experience sudden mysterious breakages with a total loss of all data. And that guy totally fell down the stairs your honour.   

[Telarus]

Everyone hear about the suicide bomb "instructor" who blew up his class with an armed roadside IED? Ok then, here's the followup joke:

http://nehandaradio.com/2014/02/09/prophet-drowns-during-cleansing-ceremony-family-blame-mermaids/

[Junkenstein]

I love the denial there.

Latest UK education idea:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-26140607

Shadow education secretary Tristram Hunt is to call for character, creativity and resilience to be taught in England's schools.

In a speech in London later, he is expected to say there is "growing evidence that character can be taught".

He believes the qualities are "vitally important in preparing young people for the economy of the future".

He will argue that character and resilience are vital components of a rounded education and good preparation for a career, and that instilling them in young people "should not be left to chance".

"What is clear is that this is about more than bolting on some music lessons or sports clubs to the school day.
...
Mr Hunt wants teacher training colleges to include the teaching of resilience and character in their courses, and for schools to "use the curriculum freedoms at their disposal to embed character education and resilience across their curricula".

At no point does he even try to define what character actually is.  The best answer I've got is "The ability to take a total shafting and still say thank you and ask for more". Every task that I've ever been set (or set upon someone) when described as "Character building" means "Tedious busywork, fuck you".

It's a little worrying because it's making schools even more obviously pre-work environments where learning is secondary to being able to accomplish rote tasks.

Prediction - Schools will eventually add in character building classes teaching the woes of sweatshop environments leading to resugence of manufacturing in the UK totally by accident. Failing schools will become "Work academies" which are actually just sweatshops with mandatory attendance until 18 (or more likely 21 by that point).

[Cain]

Tristam Hunt.  Claiming character can be taught.

TRISTAM HUNT?

He's about the person with the least personality, character or individuality in the entire Parliament.  If you took a composite picture of every MP and a composite position based on the voting record of Parliament, you'd get his face and his voting record.  He represents Stoke, for God's sake, and he's still deadly boring.  His University thesis was about civic thought in 19th century Britain.  He's interested in seeking "overseas investment" for his constituency.

I mean, shit, say what you like about Michael Gove*, but the dude has personality.

*Really, say what you like.  I don't give a toss about the feckless, war-mongering, Cult of Churchill In His Aspect as the Crusher of Teutons member, education-deficient twat.  But you can't deny he's at least got some character.

[Junkenstein]

This is a valid point. "Evil idiot vampire" may not be a good personality but at least he's got one. Hunt, on the other hand is notable for this bit of news and fuck all else.