Espresso Shots [07-25-05]
Man Shot in London No "Law-Abiding Citizen"
I am as saddened as anyone that someone uninvolved with the London bombings was killed. It is a tragedy regardless of how you look at it. However, the charges issued against the London police by the family of the shooting victim are, in my opinion, unfounded.
To put it simply, had the man not run from police, he would still be alive today. Why did he run? It appears the clearest reason at this point is that his visa had expired and this law-abiding citizen was eluding police so not to be caught. Though, of course, these are not grounds for being shot, in a time when security is high, police are vigilant and bombs are going off, running from police is not a brilliant strategy. As for the policemen, shooting a suspected suicide bomber (i.e. a man in a heavy coat as are worn by the attackers and running from them in a subway) is, in my opinion, not unwarranted. The fact is, had the man been a bomber and he had not been killed, being wounded would have only motivated him to detonate his device immediately.
Tragic as it is, these are the times in which we live and these formerly unheard of actions on the part of the police must be viewed as reasonable given the circumstances.
Wi-Fi Everywhere
I am pleasantly surprised to find free wi-fi hotspots popping up everywhere. Though it seemed for a while that only premium wi-fi services would be available for wireless internet access in the public square, free hotspots are winning the fight.
Of course, it makes sense for cafes and other places that want to attract large gatherings of people to offer free access as the longer you stay, the greater the chance of selling more products. Places like Starbucks, Borders and other establishments who only offer subscriptions for wireless access better get the message before these other quality establishments begin siphoning off their clientele. I know I'm much more likely to go to a place with free access now, regardless of who they are, so long as they serve good coffee!
The latest development in my area of Louisville, Kentucky is free wireless internet access for the entire Waterfront Park! I was amazed when I stumbled over this little-known fact this morning. Launched a couple of months ago, the entire park (now the nation's largest park with internet access) is now one big hotspot. This is great news and a very smart move for city leadership.
Oh, and for a great software program to help you find all these emerging hotspots, check out JiWire.
Australia Keeping Postmodernism in Check
Postmodern influence on all aspects of life is undeniable. It is the era in which we live. Truth, in all forms and in all disciplines, is suspect. "Texts" are without meaning until subjective meaning is given it by the reader. All is relative. Well, in Queensland, Australia, the Education Secretary is making attempts at "deconstructing" postmodernisms affects on public schools:
I am as saddened as anyone that someone uninvolved with the London bombings was killed. It is a tragedy regardless of how you look at it. However, the charges issued against the London police by the family of the shooting victim are, in my opinion, unfounded.
To put it simply, had the man not run from police, he would still be alive today. Why did he run? It appears the clearest reason at this point is that his visa had expired and this law-abiding citizen was eluding police so not to be caught. Though, of course, these are not grounds for being shot, in a time when security is high, police are vigilant and bombs are going off, running from police is not a brilliant strategy. As for the policemen, shooting a suspected suicide bomber (i.e. a man in a heavy coat as are worn by the attackers and running from them in a subway) is, in my opinion, not unwarranted. The fact is, had the man been a bomber and he had not been killed, being wounded would have only motivated him to detonate his device immediately.
Tragic as it is, these are the times in which we live and these formerly unheard of actions on the part of the police must be viewed as reasonable given the circumstances.
Wi-Fi Everywhere
I am pleasantly surprised to find free wi-fi hotspots popping up everywhere. Though it seemed for a while that only premium wi-fi services would be available for wireless internet access in the public square, free hotspots are winning the fight.
Of course, it makes sense for cafes and other places that want to attract large gatherings of people to offer free access as the longer you stay, the greater the chance of selling more products. Places like Starbucks, Borders and other establishments who only offer subscriptions for wireless access better get the message before these other quality establishments begin siphoning off their clientele. I know I'm much more likely to go to a place with free access now, regardless of who they are, so long as they serve good coffee!
The latest development in my area of Louisville, Kentucky is free wireless internet access for the entire Waterfront Park! I was amazed when I stumbled over this little-known fact this morning. Launched a couple of months ago, the entire park (now the nation's largest park with internet access) is now one big hotspot. This is great news and a very smart move for city leadership.
Oh, and for a great software program to help you find all these emerging hotspots, check out JiWire.
Australia Keeping Postmodernism in Check
Postmodern influence on all aspects of life is undeniable. It is the era in which we live. Truth, in all forms and in all disciplines, is suspect. "Texts" are without meaning until subjective meaning is given it by the reader. All is relative. Well, in Queensland, Australia, the Education Secretary is making attempts at "deconstructing" postmodernisms affects on public schools:
Education ministers yesterday urged parents to encourage a love of reading in their children, in the face of concerns that controversial postmodern teaching theories have infiltrated the English curriculum.Pointing out the negative effects on learning, Bligh seeks to make sure that deconstruction doesn't continue eroding away the learning process. Of course, this is exactly what postmodern theories do. Fully embracing these theories strips students of any such learning, turning them from learners to interpreters. What is the necessity to learn something that isn't, in fact, true? At best, students are encouraged to become creators of meaning.
Queensland Education Minister Anna Bligh told The Australian that while English syllabuses around the country had been strongly influenced by postmodern theory, she had moved to check its influence in her state.
Children are taught that "no text is innocent".
Such theories have been criticised for denying the possibility of truth and encouraging "mindless scepticism".
Mindless skepticism is becoming the description of a generation. I applaud the Queensland Education Board for recognizing the detrimental effects on learning and hope we can all begin taking this type of cultural decay more seriously.
Read the full article.
New Blogger
Tim Ellsworth has a new blog you'll especially like if you're into sports. Though Tim writes a sports column for Baptist Press and many of his posts do involve athletes and sports stories, his blog also mixes in many other areas of life, all from a Christian worldview. Make sure you check out Tim's blog soon.
More evidence that licenses should be issued before parenting is allowed
A "Cool Mom" has been charged with throwing weekly sex parties for teen age boys.
A woman who told police she wanted to be a "cool mom" pleaded guilty to sexual assault charges Monday for having sex with high school boys at parties where authorities said she supplied drugs and alcohol.This sick and unfortunate soul claimed that her motives were that having never fit in during her own school days, she finally felt a "part of the group." The lady is forty years old.
Johnson, who is free on bail, held parties for the boys almost weekly between October 2003 and October 2004, authorities said. She was accused of providing drugs and alcohol to eight boys and having sex with five of them.Sometimes "cool" just isn't cool. Johnson faces up to four years in prison. The teenagers could face a lifetime sentence thanks to this cool mom. Sadly, too many mothers (and fathers, for that matter) are more interested in being "one of the group" while denying kids what they need the most...parents.
Full story here.
Labels: David C. Price
posted by DAVID C. PRICE at 7/25/2005 10:40:00 PM
|
5 Comments:
Though Queenslanders are often seen as rather backward by us civilised southerners ;-), it sounds like they might be right on target here. Thanks; I somehow missed this.
Thanks for the plug, David. I think my blog is going well thus far. Hope I can keep it up. These things are time consuming.
I have to agree with you on the London police and their actions. Tragic times that we are living. I do feel bad for the people that supposedly saw this man being shot up close. Not a good time to be running from police with guns.
And, that "cool mom" theory is so pathetic. I don't doubt that is her theory but still so pathetic.
Take care.
I would say that the police work in this case was not "exemplary" though.
It reminds me of the Diallo (sp) shooting by NYC police a few years back. It was shown that the police did nothing intentionally bad, yet made a few split second poor decisions, which they usually do not make (or there would be more cases such as this).
Usually the victim is at fault, whether running or reacting frightened or stupid (just as Diallo who was shot while getting his ID out) also, but police (which my dad was for over 20 yrs) must be trained to make these type of decisions a slight bit better.
You would enjoy Malcom Gladwell's book "Blink" which describes the skills thse police may not have, which many cops have been trained to have.
It has somee great examples, including the Diallo case, which caused much grief not only for Diallo's family, but for the police involved- a couple of whom quit the force due to the guilt (which is one of the unfortunate things these police will feel for a long time).
You may be right, Rick. I don't know for certain because, thankfully, I've never been in that situation, but those circumstances were extreme.
Given the factors as we know them (and I really hate saying this), I think to have not done what they did would have been the irresponsible thing to do, given that a detonation would have killed many more people. Again, that sounds terrible since we know this man was not a terrorist, but he looked like a bomber (dressed like a bomber) and ran from the police (which falls under one of the categories you listed of "stupid").
I guess I don't really know what exemplary in these kinds of circumstances is, but I think it was both prudent and tragic.
I agree with you that the men that did the shooting will probably feel guilt for a long time coming, which is part of the tragedy. Thanks for the comment and the book recommendation...sounds interesting. I'll put it on my list to check out.
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home