millennium | ten

Congratulations Trooper John Gardener, you are a footsoldier in the new fascist world order.

Hopefully this asshole is fired and can't get any kind of job higher than mall security from here on out. But even that might be too much power for this dude.

Update: A police forum where a bunch of fascist sons of bitches collectively virtually slap Tasey McAsshole on the back. I can't help but try to imagine the time before this "wonderful" advancement in technology. Wouldn't a police officer be forced to use a little more thought then when dealing with an unruly citizen? I mean he's not just going to shoot him with a regular gun is he? Well, the fine fellows on this forum say in that case the citizen would be on the ground. How violent American police are. I can't help but think that police elsewhere would first try to restrain the person using just their hands rather than grinding their head into the asphalt.

I am truly horrified that the NZ Police are considering using this awful device. It means that regular thought processes can be removed from the equation when dealing with tense situations. Rather than become peacemakers, police will become more trigger happy because of the purpoted "safety" of the device. Well, the UN has just ruled use of these devices may constitute "torture". That seems like an extreme assessment, but only until you consider the power crazed fascists that populate so many police departments. A great many of the people defending Tasey above subscribe to the belief that any questioning of a police officer is out of bounds. Communities should reject this style of policing. The police are present, after all, at the behest of the community, and are ultimately responsible to them.

With respect to this specific situation, I understand the flow of control involved in the incident. I empathize with the driver wanting to avoid having to sign anything if he didn't have to. I feel in these scenarios Joe Citizen isn't given all the information needed to make the best decision. For instance, if everyone knew they were obliged to sign to promise to appear in court, otherwise be taken to jail so that they could be guaranteed to appear in court, I think most people would just sign the form. However it seems that in so many cases, the only way to discover these things is through non-reversible escalation.

I understand that in every day life a police officer is going to encounter people with varying amounts of attitude. Guess what: we all do, no matter what our career path is. You don't see software engineers jumping on other software engineers and beating the crap out of them because someone copped a bit of an attitude or broke the rules. Or tasering them. Carrying weapons means increased responsibility over the average Joe, not less.

New Zealanders favour fireworks ban (NZ Herald). Mr Key says this is "inevitable"... the modernization of New Zealand over the past 20 years has brought many wonderful things to the country - more prosperity, better food, more style, but with that European influence has come an erosion of a sense of personal responsibility, and fireworks, along with other good old fashioned fun seem doomed to fall by the wayside.

There are two demographics responsible for this dilemma: the hooligans that act irresponsibly with fireworks, and another that I won't describe here because I don't want to be flamed. But those as cynical as I am can figure it out.

Suggestion: why not ban fireworks, except in areas supervised by the police? Oh that's right, the NZ Police don't actually do any police work anymore, they just sit in their cars all day long collecting speeding tickets.

Watching MSNBC last night, I was amazed at the utter stupidity of the talking heads (*) covering the Italian murder case. Upshot is the Italian police (not sure which of the 14 branches, I assume however that they're well dressed and drive Alfa Romeos), have held some American girl because there's a murder investigation, and Italian law allows them to do so for up to a year, if they think she could be a flight risk. One dimwitted talking head actually said:

"In our great country, you need to have a thing called probable cause before they can hold you."

Holy crap, lady. Maybe you haven't been paying attention to what's been going on in the United States lately. Too busy sleeping or following what Britney's been doing? Maybe the Carabinieri decided that she was an "enemy combatant"? Please. This incident has to rank up there with Lynne Cheney on Jon Stewart's show in the "ridiculous hypocrisy/self interest" meter.

Furthermore, flight risk is a real problem in the EU where travelling from country to country doesn't even result in your passport being checked or stamped, so I can understand the rationale behind the Italian law.

Another great comment from a different commentator:

"While the girl may be 20 years old and technically an adult, she clearly does not possess the maturity of an adult."

So, we must release the middle class white girl because she's not sure what she's doing. Think about that next time some poor kid is tried as an adult. (I'm not saying that crimes shouldn't be punished appropriately, I just don't think the rules should be bent just because you're American or of a some other specific demographic).

(* Maybe I shouldn't be amazed, but I wasn't watching Fox News).

Updates and photos from vacation soon.

Some brief notes from experiences so far:

Despite claims of miserable weather, yesterday was pretty good - nice and clear, a little too warm for a sweater (what with all the walking around).

The sun hangs a little low in the sky.

Italians love driving. Compared to other cities in Europe, Rome is clogged with cars, but the Romans don't mind. To them, every flat surface is part of a lane, every opening an opportunity. The lane markings are merely suggestions, probably concocted at some EU meeting in a room far away from the reality of the streets. Being driven through the city in a taxi is a truly terrifying experience. Every car it seems bears the scars of past battles, and the drivers express their intent to engage again. When people miss or unfairly claim opportunity, there is wild honking and gesturing from surrounding motorists. I thought the rumors about Italian driving were a cliche, but no, these folk are in a different league from even New York.

As a pedestrian it can be a little scary, but you just need to find a small gap in the cars and breeze out into the pedestrian crossing and the cars will make room for you.

There are lots of police everywhere. The police come dressed in a pseudo-military style too, and there appear to be several different kinds of police. A motorcade swept past while we were at a cafe, with a big Maserati sedan and about 12 Mercedes Benz S600s. It was surrounded by countless police cars and motorcycles.

Traveller's Notes:

There is a different charge to buy something at a cafe or snack bar vs. having it served to you by a waiter. If you order from the waiter you need to get the bill from him!

The Metro system is awesome (although crowded, dirty and old, sort of like the NYC subway), 1 euro per direction.