Displaying 1,381 To 1,410 Of 5,801 Comments Monica, once again I have to agree with you. I think it all starts with the military budget being bloated and the lobbyists for the MIC pushing for more. We have enough weapons. Lets put some money into domestic programs and good paying jobs for Americans. » Posted By Nirek On August 18, 2014 @ 8:01 am So now the government is rethinking giving military equipment to the police. “WASHINGTON (AP) — After a decade of sending military equipment to civilian police departments across the country, federal officials are reconsidering the idea in light of the violence in Ferguson, Missouri. It seems that you have started someone thinking, AdLib. Good job, my friend. » Posted By Nirek On August 17, 2014 @ 3:43 am NoMan, I’ve never been to MO. I plan to stay where I am and have been all my life except for the military bases my Dad brought us to. And of course my own army days. I’m learning more here than the schools ever taught me about our history. Too bad the schools don’t teach history that is real and civics. That is one thing I was taught, civics. It has guided me throughout my life. Voting is a civic duty as well as privilege, IMO. » Posted By Nirek On August 16, 2014 @ 7:57 am NoMan, thanks for the reply. Your insight is valuable to me as you are there. I am trying to understand more clearly what is happening in my own country. » Posted By Nirek On August 16, 2014 @ 4:07 am More money than brains, huh Monica? » Posted By Nirek On August 15, 2014 @ 5:23 pm You know the solution to this and many other problems in America today is to have good paying jobs and a livable wage as a minimum wage. There would be no need for good decent people to have to resort to shoplifting or stealing. Thus there would be little crime and little need for police brutality. Pie in the sky? Maybe. But we still need a job for everyone who wants one and decent pay for the work provided. This just doesn’t seem like the America I believe in. Police shooting people just because of their skin color? WRONG! » Posted By Nirek On August 15, 2014 @ 3:31 pm Shootings by police of black youths happen all over America in small towns? Really Monica? Most of the police abuse I know of is in the big cities, If Ferguson MO is a small town, by what standards are you are you calling a small town? My town is about 2000 people. That is what I call a small town. Montpelier is a big city of 10,000, NOT really big to me. I’m sorry to be argumentative. It just seems to me that this is not “all over” America. This just doesn’t seem like the “American way” to me. » Posted By Nirek On August 15, 2014 @ 2:12 pm NoMan, since you are near the scene, can you shed some light on whether this is a festering of the “old south” and “rebels” type feelings on the part of the “police” or is it something else? How dense is the population in Ferguson? If what you say is true and I have no reason to doubt it, then it sounds like the civil war all over again. » Posted By Nirek On August 15, 2014 @ 1:45 pm NoMan, I can’t think of a good reason to excuse the action of those officers. There is no reason to beat on anyone, and certainly no good reason to shoot a young man with his hands in the air! They need to show respect before they can expect to get respect. In my opinion. » Posted By Nirek On August 15, 2014 @ 1:36 pm Monica, wherever you go there are jerks. People who are rude are not necessarily racist. Vermont is the whitest state, but we are for the most part decent folks. Remember Vermont was the first to outlaw slavery. We were the first to legislate same sex marriage. We were a good part of the underground railroad. Most Vermonters care about other people. I’m not saying we are perfect. But those who are racist are likely to have come here from some place else. Many of those learn that we do not tolerate racism. Some change their ways and some leave. That said, we can and should do better. That goes for the whole country! » Posted By Nirek On August 14, 2014 @ 12:40 pm C D, you hit the nail squarely on the head! » Posted By Nirek On August 14, 2014 @ 12:22 pm Monica, I live in central Vermont and was born in Montpelier. I have never seen any of the kind of things these two people describe but I don’t go to fast food or sandwich shops either. » Posted By Nirek On August 14, 2014 @ 8:03 am Sabreen, as a parent I understand how you feel, as a white parent I know that I do not understand what you feel. I have never had to worry about my son being shot in the street by police. My son is a wonderful human being as I’m sure yours is. They both should be able to come and go without fear. We live in a small town in Vermont (I’ve been asked what state Vermont is in?), it’s that small (600,000+). I do not see why this is happening? It makes no sense to me. Am I blind to racism? I am just as upset as anyone else about this issue but don’t see it here in my home state. Peace, Sabreen. » Posted By Nirek On August 14, 2014 @ 4:51 am Ad, do you think that the police have been militarized since 9-11? The big cities have gotten lots of money from “homeland security” funds. Here in Vermont our police have gotten some new radios and vests. No Hummers here! I feel that our small town and cities are pretty safe from the police abuse. » Posted By Nirek On August 14, 2014 @ 3:55 am Monica, I agree they occur all over the U.S. but in the heavily populated areas. Small town in small states do not have this kind of thing happen, IMO. » Posted By Nirek On August 14, 2014 @ 3:43 am Why Preventing Genocide Isn’t the Same as Re-Invading Iraq Hey Murph, the people in that part of the world have never recognized the borders in the region. They have a different set of boundaries. » Posted By Nirek On August 13, 2014 @ 1:56 pm Ad, you have written an excellent article here. I agree that President Obama has done the right thing for the right reason. This is nothing like invading Iraq under bush! This is a humanitarian effort by Obama. In my estimation President Obama is a thousand times better than bush ever was! You know I hate war and do not want boots on the ground, but we can and should help the people. Give them what they need to defend themselves. » Posted By Nirek On August 11, 2014 @ 5:56 pm Absolutely SPOT ON, KT!!!! » Posted By Nirek On August 11, 2014 @ 5:49 pm Ad, I agree we need to help the people to fight their own battles. But first they need help like water and food and then they can defend themselves. ISIS is a terrorist group as bad as they come. We can weaken them with air strikes which will help the people on the mountain top. » Posted By Nirek On August 11, 2014 @ 5:47 pm GC, I loath war. But we have to help people who are being victims of genocide. It is not just being the world police. It is doing the right thing for the right reason. » Posted By Nirek On August 11, 2014 @ 5:40 pm Video from Canada On Fukushima Kalima, I agree that it must be something local causing this dead zone. Your suggestion that it could be fracking seems more believable to me. » Posted By Nirek On August 13, 2014 @ 3:21 am MBX, are you suggesting that the nuclear meltdown in Fukushima has reached Canada and killed off several species of marine life? Or is that just one possibility? Climate change is doing strange things to our environment. This story has me baffled. I am sure the guy talking is knowledgeable but he is not a very good speaker. I am always interested in the environment. I love nature and have been swimming with dolphins and sharks. It is worrisome that they found such a dead zone. Thanks for the article, MBX. » Posted By Nirek On August 12, 2014 @ 3:01 pm The Weekend Music Thread-Rock and Roll
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» Posted By Nirek On August 9, 2014 @ 2:01 pmComments Posted By Nirek
Maybe we should penalize corporations that outsource their work to other countries. And do away with the dreaded lobbyists for the MIC!
The public has absorbed images of heavily armed police, snipers trained on protesters and tear gas plumes. Against that backdrop, Attorney General Eric Holder said that when police and citizens need to restore calm, “I am deeply concerned that the deployment of military equipment and vehicles sends a conflicting message.”
Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., said police responses like that in Ferguson have “become the problem instead of the solution.” Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga., said he will introduce legislation to curb the trend of police militarization.
Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said his committee will review the program to determine if the Defense Department’s surplus equipment is being used as intended.
One night after the violence that accompanied the presence of military-style equipment in Ferguson, tensions eased when a police captain, unprotected and shaking hands, walked through a crowd in a gesture of reconciliation. The contrast added to the perception that the tanks and tear gas had done more harm than good.
As the country concludes its longest wartime period, the military has turned over thousands of surplus weapons and armored trucks to local police who often trained alongside the military.
A report by the American Civil Liberties Union in June said police agencies had become “excessively militarized,” with officers using training and equipment designed for the battlefield on city streets. The report found the amount of goods transferred through the military surplus program rose in value from $1 million in 1990 to nearly $450 million in 2013.”
This helps me , thanks again.
The police could be “officer friendly” and help and serve the citizens.
Is Ferguson more populated than Montpelier?
Regards from one who hates hate!
Too much spent on “security” and way too little on programs to help with interventions and social programs. Let me also add that the minimum wage should be increased and more jobs (good jobs).
Vermont is a welcoming state. We have some of every race and ethnic background and I have not seen or read about a policeman shooting anyone. My grandchildren go to school with black kids who are good friends.
What does the coast off Fukushima look like? Are there dead zones there?
I have to question the validity of the speakers assumption that it is from Fukushima?
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