Actually it makes it look like a messed up self defense situation.
Messed up indeed. Self defense means, usually, that you defend yourself from an attacker. This guy did not show any sign of aggression.
The shooting you linked to was 4 officers, and a total of 41 rounds fired. That's 10 rounds each, with one extra*. The most common magazine for a.40 caliber semiautomatic pistol* is 10 rounds. It takes ~2 seconds to fire those ten shots.
The thing about police is that once shots are fired they tend to follow along, as they figure if one's opening fire he's doing it for a reason. The yell 'Gun!' works almost as well, especially if the officer yelling it is also opening fire. The second tendency is that they will empty their magazines and assess whether the threat is still existent while reloading.
And this is the heart of the problem. The NYPD has, basically, the same rules of engagement that the military is using in Baghdad, as if NYC was a war zone. You think that is justified. I don't.
He was running from a bunch of guys in plain clothes wielding guns. When he realized they were police officers he stopped and tried to produce his ID. I think both reactions were perfectly justified. I would have done the same. Even if I were to accept the idea that shooting him under these circumstances was justified, doing it 47 times makes it look like an execution, don't you think? Even mafia hit men show more restraint when they kill.
I'll note that the officers you pointed to DID go to trial
And I would point out they were all acquitted. Which means that shooting an unarmed guy, who was trying to show them his ID, not once, but 47 times, was ruled to be right course of action and within the law. I don't see how the SWAT team could top that, unless they use heavy artillery or nukes, but I digress.
Actually, I find it disheartening that the Microsoft criticism on Slashdot often turns into vicious personal attacks on Bill Gates. The man is clearly not the monster he's made out to be around here. However, the main purpose of his foundation seems to be to serve as a carrot to entice governments in developing countries to be more friendly towards Microsoft and maybe forget about all that "open source nonsense".
In my experience, most Americans under 30 can't even convert from miles to yards.Why would you ever want to do that? To see how many times I have to go around the small ass indoor track at the gym to run 3 miles, for example.
It's simply not practicable for the US gov't to say "you must all do it this way" for something so trivial. Then why do they have a different philosophy about currency units? They don't let you go around advertising prices in euros, do they?
In my experience, most Americans under 30 can't even convert from miles to yards. Yes all systems of units are arbitrary conventions, but some of them are better designed than others. You don't need a calculator to find out how many centimeters are there in 174.56 m. That makes it particularly well suited for every day use.
By the way, the eV is as much of a metric system unit as the degree Celsius. See this.
Slashdot Mirror
Messed up indeed. Self defense means, usually, that you defend yourself from an attacker. This guy did not show any sign of aggression.
The shooting you linked to was 4 officers, and a total of 41 rounds fired. That's 10 rounds each, with one extra*. The most common magazine for a .40 caliber semiautomatic pistol* is 10 rounds. It takes ~2 seconds to fire those ten shots.
The thing about police is that once shots are fired they tend to follow along, as they figure if one's opening fire he's doing it for a reason. The yell 'Gun!' works almost as well, especially if the officer yelling it is also opening fire. The second tendency is that they will empty their magazines and assess whether the threat is still existent while reloading.
And this is the heart of the problem. The NYPD has, basically, the same rules of engagement that the military is using in Baghdad, as if NYC was a war zone. You think that is justified. I don't.
He was running from a bunch of guys in plain clothes wielding guns. When he realized they were police officers he stopped and tried to produce his ID. I think both reactions were perfectly justified. I would have done the same. Even if I were to accept the idea that shooting him under these circumstances was justified, doing it 47 times makes it look like an execution, don't you think? Even mafia hit men show more restraint when they kill.
And I would point out they were all acquitted. Which means that shooting an unarmed guy, who was trying to show them his ID, not once, but 47 times, was ruled to be right course of action and within the law. I don't see how the SWAT team could top that, unless they use heavy artillery or nukes, but I digress.
Actually, it is alright for normal officers to shoot first and ask questions later
I think Cheney would still be claiming that the goblins worked for Saddam and you would still be spending your money fighting the wind mills in Iraq.
You need to clean your place and get out of the house more often.
As the owner of a Scion I can assure you that I almost never see that kind of mileage. I am pleased when I exceed 36 mpg on the highway.
So, you are saying that it is better to have non-regulated NDAs and then violate them, then to have laws that limit their scope?
I did, but it's not bootable.
Every country censors. For example, in the US the authorities get an attack of apoplexy when they see boobies on TV...
Yes it is, if it is the original Czech one.
Actually, I find it disheartening that the Microsoft criticism on Slashdot often turns into vicious personal attacks on Bill Gates. The man is clearly not the monster he's made out to be around here. However, the main purpose of his foundation seems to be to serve as a carrot to entice governments in developing countries to be more friendly towards Microsoft and maybe forget about all that "open source nonsense".
The difference is that the car dealer has to ask for your permission first.
What about the Nobel Prize laureates who were educated in Japan but worked in the US? Which column do I count them in?
Congratulations! You re-invented socialism!
In my experience, most Americans under 30 can't even convert from miles to yards. Yes all systems of units are arbitrary conventions, but some of them are better designed than others. You don't need a calculator to find out how many centimeters are there in 174.56 m. That makes it particularly well suited for every day use. By the way, the eV is as much of a metric system unit as the degree Celsius. See this.
Great news! Next, can someone please convince the politicians to follow this rule too?
In the United States that would probably be cause enough for T's insurance company to sue the original doctor.
Which is why your health care system is so damn expensive.Chill, dude. Faulty elevators pose a bigger threat to our lives that Sadam or Bin Laden ever did.
That is an oxymoron. Diplomacy is what happens before any leverage of military nature is brought into the picture
Good point. It costs $6/month and $0.1/kb to check email and browse the web from your cell phone.