Wednesday February 15, 2012

JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION

Triumvere's past comments

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TriumvereNov. 28, 2011 - 04:40AM JST

Heheh, Lt. "Pepper spray" Pike has become an internet meme.

Actually, I prefer the Megyn Kelly "...it's a condiment, essentially" meme.

Posted in: Calif college suspends police chief in pepper spray row
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TriumvereNov. 27, 2011 - 11:24PM JST

knowing full well that should they (Iran) get their hands on the bomb, they intend to use it.

Ah... do we know this "full well"? I know Iran is always ranting about the death of the west and the destruction of Israel, but then NoKo just threatened to turn Seoul into a "sea of fire," (which is totally something they can do) but no one expects them to do it. For all it's belicose propaganda, the Islamic Republic has never actually started a war with anyone. If they get nukes, the most like thing for them to do would be to hoard them as insurance against attack, like everybody else who has them does.

Now, I'm not thrilled about the idea of Iran having nukes, as they are just crazy enough that there is a chance they might use them (either directly, or through terrorists). But that chance is small (it doesn't make much sense to start a WWIII you can't win or to hand off nukes to unpredictable and uncontrolable fanatics), and is certainly not in the "knowing full well they intend to use it" area. A "preemptive strike" seems like an enormously foolish, especially when you consider that it is unlikely to do more than delay the nuclear program for a year or two, even if successful. Is that worth starting a war?

Posted in: Iran threatens to hit Turkey if U.S., Israel attack
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TriumvereNov. 27, 2011 - 11:03AM JST

So, if Israel and the US attack Iran, the Iranians plan to drag Turkey into the war on the opposing side. Somebody send these guys a copy of the Art of War, because a strategic rethink seems to be in order.

Posted in: Iran threatens to hit Turkey if U.S., Israel attack
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TriumvereNov. 27, 2011 - 09:50AM JST

Ok, so turns out the guy in question (Cameron Lachman??) worked with the FBI in the 80's to develop version of pepper spray currently in use by law enforcement - as far as I can gather from the brief interview.

Sorry for the mischaracterization. The point still stands, however, as the gentleman is clearly an expert on modern pepper sprays.

Posted in: Calif college suspends police chief in pepper spray row
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TriumvereNov. 27, 2011 - 09:42AM JST

Pepper spray was invented by Frank Hayes and James H. Jenkins in 1960. Both men have been deceased for many years and, I assume, are still unavailable for interviews.

Huh. Guess I'll have to do a little research, then. Back in a sec...

Posted in: Calif college suspends police chief in pepper spray row
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TriumvereNov. 27, 2011 - 06:34AM JST

Oops.

Looks like NATO-Pakistani coordination could use a slight improvement.

Posted in: NATO air attack kills 25 Pakistan troops
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TriumvereNov. 27, 2011 - 02:35AM JST

The unionized UC Irvine cop in question basically sprayed representatives of the wrong demographic . Had he sprayed middle-aged white folks in the Taxed Enough Already movement he would be a hero to the increasingly totalitarian Cultural Left in America, and elsewhere.

This is totally uncalled for. Unless you have evidence to back up this nonsense, please refrain from posting such inflammitory statements.

Posted in: Calif college suspends police chief in pepper spray row
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TriumvereNov. 27, 2011 - 02:33AM JST

The voters in California have the option to introduce a prop "whatever" to outlaw the use of pepper spray (OC). The California State legislature has the authority to outlaw the use of OC. The courts of California and the 9th circuit court have addressed the issue of OC use and abuse. The end result is that OC is still one of the tools that police departments train their officers to use when the need arises.

Who wants to outlaw pepper spray?

I just want the cops to use it in an approriate manner:

The BBC Worldservice had an interview with the inventor of pepper spray saying that the compound was used entirely incorrectly at UC Davis, and that the manner of its usage their has the potential for permanent long-term damage. Elsewhere, there was a study of one police department (can't remember which city, at the moment) which showed that introduction of pepper spray led to there being approx. 50% more physical confrontations with the police. After misuse of the spray resulted in the death of an individual, the department tightened its regualtions for the use of pepper spray, and the number of incidents dropped down to normal levels.

This isn't some binary choice between using pepperspray in the manner it was used, or doing nothing at all. Pepper spray and other less-lethal tools are vital to law enforcement, so long as they are used responsibly. Otherwise they are a danger, both to the public and to the officers that use them. (The real key is de-escalation; essentially, officers are making pepperspay and tasers their first recourse in situations where they previously would have tried to de-escalate the situation and minimize potential for harm.)

All I am asking is for pepper spray to be used in a responsible manner.

Posted in: Calif college suspends police chief in pepper spray row
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TriumvereNov. 26, 2011 - 12:34PM JST

Consumerism at its finest.

Posted in: Shoppers scuffle, pepper-spray rivals in U.S. Black Friday spree
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TriumvereNov. 26, 2011 - 04:23AM JST

Actually it is a slum with resort hotels. Dont go there. It is covered in garbage, touts, dealers (why they arent arrested is interesting), dirty stray dogs, corrupt and filthy "police" sleaze bags and ugly tourists with cheap braids.

And it looked so nice in the pictures...

Posted in: 14-year-old Australian boy jailed in Bali on drug charges
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TriumvereNov. 26, 2011 - 12:27AM JST

Japanese navy is quite impressive, actually. One of the most powerful in Asia.

Posted in: North Korea threatens 'sea of fire' in Seoul
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TriumvereNov. 26, 2011 - 12:23AM JST

Did the UCD police use legally recognised, standard police proceedures to clear the area? Yes they did. Did the UCD police use illegal or excessive methods of compliance to clear the area? It doesn't appear that they did.

Now, there you may have a bit of a problem; I don't think that it is "standard police proceedure" to blast people in the face with pepper spray from 2 feet away. And, honestly, even if it was, it would still be excessive.

Posted in: Calif college suspends police chief in pepper spray row
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TriumvereNov. 26, 2011 - 12:19AM JST

Why take drugs to Bali? Why?

Especially when you know what they do to people in SE Asia that are caught with them.

Besides, Bali is such a beautiful, leisurely place... does it really need chemical enhancement?

Posted in: 14-year-old Australian boy jailed in Bali on drug charges
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TriumvereNov. 26, 2011 - 12:13AM JST

Lordmanji,

So you support the position that no matter the evidence, serial killers, child rapists/murderers who have confessed should not be executed?

I've not made up my mind, to be honest. My opinion has shifted in the last few years. I used to be soldly pro-death penalty.

If one is to support the death penalty, one needs first to make two decisions:

First, one must decide whether it is ever permissable to take a human life when there are alternatives available. (I don't have a problem with this; I believe when you murder someone you forfiet your own right to life... though I would only give the death penalty for aggrivated incidents).

Second, one must recognize that no system of justice is perfect, and the existence of the death penalty means that somewhere, someday, and innocent man will be executed. This is unavoidable, no matter what safe guards are in place. (This bothers me, but ultimately I am confortable with it. I don't know why I am - it seems like a moral failing. A failure to stand on principle. But there it is.)

Now having done that, one then has to decide when the death penalty applies. This is hard: my gut feeling is that it should be not just for any killing, but the worst, arggivated cases. Rape, while a terrible crime, ultimately offeres a chance of recovery that murder does not, making me uncomfortable with proscribing the death penalty for it. (it lacks the symetrical logic of "you ended another life, so you a have forfeited your own - though it comes close, given the lifelong psychological damage it can inflict.) And if we include rape, then why not torture, which in severe cases can be similarly crippling? I suspect, like many readers here, there is a line of ugliness which, when crossed, would prompt me to say "well, I normally I don't support the death penalty for X, but in this case...." The problem is that that line is unclear to me, and you can't have that in a justice system.

The most important critera for execution would have to be that defendent was "unquestionably guilty" - obviously 100% is impossible, as stated previously, but we need to do a lot better then we are doing now. We need a new standard, something like "beyond a shadow of a doubt" or "caught redhanded" for these cases. However, if you've spent any time looking at the justice system you know it would never be confined to that. Overzealous prosecutors would water it down, incensed juries would ignore it. The death penalty would be applied more frequently than intended. Not only that, but the justice system is full of corrupt cops and procecutors, incompetent defense attourneys, racist judges (and jurors, for that matter), hack forensic "experts" that are in the DA's pocket, bad science, unreliable eyewitness testimony, forced confessions, etc... etc... Now, I trust the system to make the right decision most of the time - it's the best we can do, but it's not good enough to be executing people. Seeing the horrendous mistakes which have occured over the years is what has shaken my faith in the death penalty.

I have hoped that improved DNA (ad other forensice) science would come along and make everything better - that it could reduce the number of errors in the system down so that the death penalty, and the system in general, would be morally supportable. But that is a bit of a pipe dream, and we have already seen bad DNA evidence falsely convict. In any case, as things stand, I find myself less able to support the death penalty in practice for anyone, even those I feel deserve it, because I know it won't be confined to them.

Posted in: China executes man for raping 14 schoolgirls
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TriumvereNov. 25, 2011 - 02:12AM JST

"Sea of hot air," more likely.

Posted in: North Korea threatens 'sea of fire' in Seoul
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TriumvereNov. 25, 2011 - 02:10AM JST

On a side note, I don't get the rightwing hate for the ACLU.

We have set up an adversarial justice system, where each side is supposed to be zealously represented. We have done this, because we believe this is the best way to get at the truth. And adversarial system demands that someone defend the accused, and challange infringments on liberty. The ACLU's entire purpose is to do the "dirty jobs" no one wants to do, like defending accused terrorists and what not. You should really be thanking them. Without them, the system wouldn't work.

Not that the ACLU is above criticism. As a libertarian I am occasionaly dissapointed when they fail to take of certain causes, seemingly on ideological grounds. But the job they do is an extremely important one.

Posted in: Justice Department sues Utah over immigration law
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TriumvereNov. 25, 2011 - 02:03AM JST

All this crap about the underground labor as a vital part of the economy is also a steaming pile of DODO!! 10's of 1,000's seasonally pour across the border LEGALLY to work the fields. Also, a great number of legal permanent residents also work in a great number of jobs.

Two thoughts.

1) The Alabama situation belies this. When the laws went up, the immigrants went elsewere, both legal and illegal. Farmers were unable to get US citizens to perform the jobs. Now, again, part of this is legal immigrants getting scared off for fear of racial discrimination (a real issue with these laws). But to imagine that the illegals are not a significant part of the crop picking workforce seems highly unrealistic.

2) These people are obviously part of the local economy. They work, make money, and spend a lot of that money locally at shops, restaraunts, etc... They may not pay income taxes, but take them away and that money also goes away. This too can be seen in Alabama. You talk about these immigrants as if they were all somewhow welfare queens or drug dealers, completely disconnected from the legal economy. That's silly. Most of them are here for work. That's why they came.

Okimike, you spend a lot of time talking about what people "deserve"; and I agree, people don't deserve to be rewarded for breaking the law. But I don't see your solution as practical. Furthermore, "deserve" is a contentious isssue: Do the kids who have been brought here at the age of two deserve to be ripped from their schools and friends, to kids that are citizens by virtue of birth here deserve to face a choice between their families and their homeland? Do communities deserve rent assunder. I think Newt Gingrich (shock! horror!!) actually got it right when he talked about dealing humanely with illegal immigrants who had established strong ties to the community.

We strongly disagree with the feisiblity of 1) round'em up and deport'em. Can we at least agree that this solution remains totally ineffective as long as the 2) border is open and 3) the job opportunities are still there? Round'em up now and they'll be back tomorrow.

Posted in: Justice Department sues Utah over immigration law
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TriumvereNov. 25, 2011 - 01:41AM JST

This is horrific.

Posted in: Wrong twin terminated in Australian hospital error
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TriumvereNov. 25, 2011 - 01:37AM JST

LordManji,

So SmithinJapan, let me get this straight: you believe that nothing at all warrants execution?

Is Smith's position so surprising to you? It is shared by many, Christian or otherwise, who take the idea of "thou shalt not kill" litteraly. Personally, I support the death penalty in theory, but I am finding it harder and harder to justify in practice, given the glaring deficiencies in our legal systems. I will note you still haven't made any comment on what protections are necessary to ensure that the innocent are not executed by the system.

Posted in: China executes man for raping 14 schoolgirls
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TriumvereNov. 24, 2011 - 12:42PM JST

Okimike67:

First, I have to say that you present the most dispationate case and should be commended. I like your logical methods applied thogh dont agree with them all.

Thank you. Remaining civil is the key to a good debate.

Posted in: Calif college suspends police chief in pepper spray row