I watch, shocked, every day....

[Fozzer]

When it comes to out-of-control cops, this is what I find; REALLY SCARY!...>>>

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-32859763

A barrage of137 shots aimed at the car and its occupants, with one overly-excited Cop jumping onto the bonnet of the car and firing 15 shots directly through the windscreen, into the occupants of the motor car, and assuming that they were armed.

...and then possibly giving each other the customary; "high-five" in their excitement upon their successful; "kill"....

If ever there was a case of OVERKILL, this is it!

...and the motor car engine had only backfired when travelling down the road!

I watch this sort of activity every day in my news, and on my Television set.... ...!

Cops walking around with hand in belt, thumb raised, index and middle finger extended, and ring and little finger tucked into the palm, all ready to draw a weapon and blast anyone who they don't like the look of....

...and it could be an innocent you or me, in North America.

I can understand it in Mexico....but not in North America!...

... gun-happy society?...A terrible shame.

I cant imagine it happening in my back yard.

Paul.

[Webb]

Sadly, America is becoming an "us vs. them" society.

Maybe it started when police started arresting people for possession of a single joint. Part of the failed war on drugs.

Maybe it got worse when we adopted civil forfeiture laws. Part of the failed war on crime.

Maybe it got worse when we adopted red light cameras (where you get an automatic $150 traffic ticket without a cop even seeing it).

Now that no one trusts the cops the cops have to use their superior force to enforce even the most basic laws. I jaywalked yesterday and I was worried that I might be cited for it.

"The land of the free" has the second highest per-capita incarceration rate in the world, behind Seychelles, in the world.

[OldAirmail]

I just tried to look up the number of police shot, shot at, and killed recently.

I know that the number in the past few years has been rising, but trying to filter out all other news items isn't getting me anywhere.

Lets face it, when shots are reported fired, the police are always called in.

So trying to search the internet for "police shot at" or "police attacked" doesn't pull up useable information.



The last year that I lived in Boston there was a telling incident.

Boston has a city "gang" patrol. It's purpose is to talk to the kids and reduce inter-gang violence.

Two plain clothed policemen (one whit, one Hispanic) on the Boston city gang patrol walked up to one of the black kids (17 year old) that they knew, just to talk. That's what the do the most.

The kid was in the entrance to an apartment building. He pulled out a sawed off shotgun.

The first officer was shot in the shoulder & dropped to the ground, pulling his handgun.

The second officer was shot in the opposing shoulder and chest.

The first officer shot the kid twice, putting him in the hospital.

This is NO BS. The African-American community rose up in righteous protest against police brutality and the use of lethal weapons on a young (17) boy.


Paul, things may be pretty bad over here at times. But I don't think that we can go the way of the unarmed British Bobby.



Maybe this is just one of those cultural things.


The tragedy is that there are two sides.

Sure makes the future look bright.

[stephan]

There neednt be any reason for us here in the USA to worry about racial conflict going too far.
The biggest problem is that a 'certain group' wants to run around,pants hanging off their hind end,...blasting their vulgar rap music,even as they exit their cars while entering the gas station to pay for the gas,all the while,a young mother and her little girls sit in a car in the next pump,awashed in the filthy lyrics coming from the inconsiderate SOBs car. They want treated like everyone else,AS LONG as they can act like a pack of fools! NOT gonna happen.
AND...should a major,country wide race war start,while THEY tear up the inner cities,stealing everything they can get their hands on,eat up all the food stuffs and such,the white boys will be in the woods,camps set up,and hunting...living off the land.
When the city thugs no longer have food,they'll want to come to the woods,...where we will already be established. Their intrusion WILL NOT be greeted with a warm welcome.
So...if they want treated like every one else,they have to act like civilized human beings,...or be treated accordingly.

[Fozzer]

Stephan...

Large parts of our South London now have all the appearance of East Los Angeles, with all the bad things that that represents!.

I can remember London in the 1930's and 1940's when it belonged to Londoners....No more, I'm afraid!

Paul.

[OldAirmail]

Don't bet on the survival deal.


The Roman Empire was destroyed from both the outside & the inside.

Even the language of the Roman empire broke down.


Up until the 1940s' Italy didn't speak Italian. Similar? Yes. Kinda.

Today, these are dialects of Italian, but they used to be separate languages.

During WWI, Italian officers from different areas of Italy had to use English & French to plan battles - they didn't have a common language!

Italian-Americans who had learned "Italian" from their immigrant mother & father found it extremely hard to speak to other Italians.


So no matter what you, individually want or are willing to do, you'll have no more success than the ancient Romans.

[logjam]

Has anyone tried translating African-American into English? They have a totally different language that I'm sure Police, Judges and Lawyers find it difficult to understand. I remember in the UK during and after WWII we had language classes or I suppose they were basic elocution lessons so that teachers could get the kids to speak one dialect. It used to be that every 20 miles the dialect would change. I used to pride myself on being able to tell where someone lived just by listening to them speak.

[OldAirmail]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=le_uNGdpa4c[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2KgEZocXAo[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvUS2F-IPjI[/youtube]

[Webb]

Has anyone tried translating African-American into English? They have a totally different language that I'm sure Police, Judges and Lawyers find it difficult to understand. I remember in the UK during and after WWII we had language classes or I suppose they were basic elocution lessons so that teachers could get the kids to speak one dialect. It used to be that every 20 miles the dialect would change. I used to pride myself on being able to tell where someone lived just by listening to them speak.

It's called Ebonics.

Translator

[Fozzer]

To me, it just seems that they go to great lengths to produce a lazy, slovenly way of destroying the beautiful, perfectly acceptable, and understandable, English Language!... ...!

Slight regional variations of English language I can accept, but all this "Ebonica" stuff is mostly annoying and unnecessary...>>> http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=ebonics

A bit like American-English Language users, who find any excuse to use the word; "Awesome" to describe anything and everything... ...!
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.p ... id=1819648

Paul.... ...!

...I am on a roll (crusade) to universally destroy the use of the word..."Awesome".... ... ... ...!

....am I winning?.... ...!

[BLAZE]

Boy!.. You hit the nail on the head Paul. I've always said that, that black slang
otherwise known as Ebonics is nothing more then lazy speech.

ax , wiff , yom-sayin' , yommeen , bus-a-cap <--- and that one! All your
leaving out is the 'T' .. come on .. ya can't pronounce the 'T'? ...

[logjam]

I am guessing that the word "ebonics" comes from ebony. Ebony is a dense black wood which sinks in water. - Awesome. Any takers?
I remember a few years ago counselling a salesman for exaggerating a product using that awesome word. So he made a great effort and changed it to "incredible." Oh well!

[OldAirmail]