Saturday, January 17, 2015

More tone-deafness from another American police department

In the aftermath of the incidents involving black men and white police, you'd think that Police across the US would be aware not to do anything that could potentially stir up race troubles again, but you'd be wrong.

The tone deafness of the police in this story is breathtaking and shocking. 

NBC 6 in South Florida reports that police in North Miami Beach are using mugshots of black men, some of them only teenagers, from their archive, as target practice targets in their shooting range, and the Police chief ACTUALLY defended the practice.

Sad to say, it's unfortunately no different to what I expect from the Police in the US.  The police are charged with a duty to "Protect & Serve." and that means EVERYONE, not just those that happen to look like them. 

I sometimes wonder if instead of actually catching criminals in the US, the Police there hire them and give them a badge.  You do wonder at times who the criminals really are.

Let me say this, loud and clear.  It isn't just White lives that matter, Black Lives Matter too, and Hispanic lives, and Asian lives, and everybody else's lives too.

Every Life Matters.

The Viewpoint Podcast Extra: Margaret Corvid's New Statesman article.

I mentioned this in the latest edition of The Viewpoint Podcast, my good friend Margaret Corvid has writen an article for The New Statesman about men's rights activism, feminism, and the real problems that men face in a patriarchal society. 

This is the most intelligent and balanced article, that I have read in a long time, and the most balanced I've read on this subject ever.  It is well worth a read.

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Quick Viewpoints: Tuesday 13th January 2015

A few quick thoughts from the Viewpoint OpsCentre…

Facebook are presenting warnings on the front of videos that contain violent imagery, making them the only videos that don’t autoplay.  Apart from having all videos not autoplay automatically, there should be a warning on videos that will actively reduce your IQ by a few points…

A bitcoin entrepreneur who renounced his US citizenship to avoid paying taxes, is now unable to re-enter the US, because he doesn’t have enough ties to his new home country of St Kitts & Nevis.  Tragic irony, or poetic justice?  You tell me…

Ireland’s Director of Public Prosecutions is to appeal the four-year sentence, with the last two years suspended, handed down to a Co Donegal man found guilty of dangerous driving causing the deaths of eight people.  I should think so too, that sentence is a travesty of a sham of a mockery.  Human life should not be so poorly valued.

Nigel Farage made another Fox News appearance to say there are no go areas for non-muslims in France, just days, after another pundit said Birmingham in England had no non-muslims.  Heck, he’s making more appearances on Fox News than he has cast votes in the European Parliament…

Thursday, January 01, 2015

Viewpoint Eyewitness News: Fire on Union Street.

UnionStreetFire

One person has been killed and another is missing after a fire broke out in a flat on Union Street in Plymouth.

Devon & Somerset Fire Service crews were called to the scene at around 02:00 hours GMT.

3 people were rescued, and 35 more were evacuated from the building.

From what I could see as I passed by the scene this morning, the fire damage was limited to the top floor flat where the fire broke out.

Other flats in the building looked to have escaped any noticeable damage.

BBC News has more on the story.  Edgcumbe Road, and Union Street all the way down to the Octagon, have been blocked by Police, and no traffic is currently being allowed in that area.  Other routes around the effected area are available.  Devon & Cornwall Police are also on the scene, and an investigation will begin soon.  Plymouth Herald also have more, including an eyewitness video.