National, Regional and Local News

[JazzNU]

You are going to fly those planes dropping water to put out the fires. Might as well start flying them now to prevent them.

I don't think that does anything fwiw. I remember there being Stanford scientists trying to create a retardant fluid that would serve as a prevention method and they were doing it in part because nothing like it existed. Not sure where they are in their research. I know they developed it after the Camp Fire.

[Suliso]

I suspect it would be pretty bad for wildlife... Also the amount of water needed to artificially water the entire forest would be vast.

[ponchi101]

Ok, let me get real. There is no way to water a forest so I was half-joking. The sole way to begin preparations is to start cutting "fire cutters" in the forest, which are basically chopping down lines of trees all around so that, when the fire starts, the fire fighters can confine them to specific areas.
The other thing to do it simply stop people from entering the forest, as, regardless of how well intentioned they are, people create fires. A plastic wrapper that becomes a lens, a not properly put out BBQ fire, a flicked cigarettes, etc. By now, there will be very few things to do.

[ti-amie]

She had 28 years on the force so I'm assuming they let her retire with her pension intact.

[Suliso]

Unfortunately fires start for natural reasons too. In fact in some ecosystems forests need to burn for regeneration.

[ponchi101]

That was my major (environmental tech)
It is not in a few. All forests need to burn every once in a while. Entire ecosystems get cleaned up that way, but the most classical way for "natural" fires to start is lightning. Other than that, it is kind of hard.
I gather we agree that this is tied to CC, the underlying subject here. But California's desertification is getting to be a true problem of world-wide consequences. CA produces way too much of America's agriculture so, the more forests disappear, the drier it will be. No need to explain here where that eventually will lead.

[JazzNU]

She had 28 years on the force so I'm assuming they let her retire with her pension intact.

Surely part of why she resigned. Sounds like she's been president of the police union, she'd be well aware of how to play this to best keep her pension. Also, she can likely just go to another area if she doesn't want to retire. So many do the exact same thing.

[JazzNU]

The program launched yesterday. If you or someone you know could use the assistance, look into what is needed to apply.

[the Moz]

It is grotesque that after she killed that man she wasn't immediately sacked and charged. How is 'I shot him by accident' any kind of anything? And as a veteran of the force to say 'holy s, I just shot him' is callous and shameful.

[Deuce]

You draw your gun mistakenly when you meant to draw your taser after 28 years of experience?!
If this is factual, she should have been fired about 27 years and 9 months ago.

[ponchi101]

You draw your gun mistakenly when you meant to draw your taser after 28 years of experience?!
If this is factual, she should have been fired about 27 years and 9 months ago.

You drew your TASER so fast and shot so fast you did not realize it was your gun?
Serious here: since when "it was an accident" is an excuse?
"Oh, sorry, I was buttering my toast with this Japanese sushi knife and when I turned around I disemboweled him by accident. Oops!"

[Deuce]

Based on the body-cam video and corresponding audio, it does seem that it was an accident; that she did think she had her taser in her hand, and not her gun.
Very shortly after she shot him, the way she said "I just shot him" is the giveaway - she seemed genuinely shocked that she had just shot him.

That said, a mistake should never cost another person his life. Let alone when you have 28 years of experience.
Was that 28 years of experience behind a desk? How much experience did she have on the streets?
If she had 28 years of experience on the streets, and made a mistake like that, then she should have never been on the streets.

As tragic as that was, I do believe it was done mistakenly. An inexcusable error, obviously - but an error nonetheless.

This other incident below, though no-one was killed, is more disturbing to me... Because there was no mistake - this was very obviously very deliberate.
That this kind of thing keeps occurring, even when cops KNOW that there are recording devices everywhere, and that cops are being closely scrutinized everywhere these days, indicates to me that the arrogance and need for power and control is so strong in some cops (far too many) that it overrides any rational thinking or common sense which would tell them that they can no longer get away with this abusive, dangerous garbage.

Watch the entire uncut, unedited video at the beginning of the article...

'Cops told army officer he "should be" afraid during traffic stop'

.

[ponchi101]

Serious here. Why are USA cops so quick to SHOOT TO KILL? I remember reading a piece in which it stated that in Norway (I know, basically an advanced Alien Civilization but bear with me) in 2014, the entire police force shot TWO SHOTS in the entire year, and both were for warning (shot in the air).
Why are American Police so trigger happy? Never a warning shot, never a warning shout. It is an immediate escalation to "execution".
I know the racial connotations behind this, but today there is another news of another white officer deadly shooting of a young (white) man that had an air rifle.
It is like police officers in America train at the OK Corral.

[ti-amie]

Serious here. Why are USA cops so quick to SHOOT TO KILL? I remember reading a piece in which it stated that in Norway (I know, basically an advanced Alien Civilization but bear with me) in 2014, the entire police force shot TWO SHOTS in the entire year, and both were for warning (shot in the air).
Why are American Police so trigger happy? Never a warning shot, never a warning shout. It is an immediate escalation to "execution".
I know the racial connotations behind this, but today there is another news of another white officer deadly shooting of a young (white) man that had an air rifle.
It is like police officers in America train train at the OK Corral.

There was a post on Twitter yesterday about how so many cops are now being trained by mercenaries or ex military and are being taught to treat everyone as "the enemy". I'm not sure I bookmarked it. If I didn't I'll never find it. If I do I'll post it here.

[ti-amie]