Posts by Mark Easterbrook
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And in other breaking US gun news, from the Herald online:
Two Secret Service officers were injured after a gun held by another Secret Service officer accidentally fired inside the White House gate, according to a spokesman, Darrin Blackford.
Maybe the Secret Service could have been on campus to prevent the tragedy...
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Interesting side note on NZ gun laws: I was talking to my cousin, a police officer, a couple of weeks ago. His private firearms licence had expired and he was taking his .22 rifle to my dad's farm to be stored in his gun safe. He couldn't renew his licence because it was a bit expensive and he's short of cash at the moment.
I expressed my surprise that, as a member of the body that issues gun licences, he doesn't just get given one for free. Turns out being a sworn police officer gives you the legal right to handle firearms while on duty, but off-duty you're as bound by our gun laws as any other private citizen.
I actually found that quite reassuring.
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Was anyone else disturbed by the emphasis the Herald gave to the shooter being a recent immigrant? Seriously, how the heck is that relevant to the tragedy?
As I noted over in another thread, the Herald online has changed the story to 15 years, while the print edition ran with the 1 month, recent immigrant error.
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Interesting - online, the updated Herald story says he arrived in the US 15 years ago. In the print edition, it says he arrived last month...
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"he killed 168? nah... lemme know when a decent body count comes up. hold on! do we have a shot of the gunman walking anywhere?"
Interesting how quickly the VT shooters status as an immigrant has been pushed to the front of the news stories. Never mind that he's lived in the US since he was about 8 (1992, I think the Herald says). I guess it's the need to "other-fy" someone who could do something like this, and shift them away from being a "normal" American.
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I've seen the Mad Professor a couple of times, and this thread's starting to sound more and more like the pronouncements of his friend Mr Lee "Scratch" Perry...
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A while back I decided to believe that ad writers were all being tongue in cheek/ironic/playing a joke at the world/frustrated doctoral students.
Never get fooled into thinking that what you read is what the copywriter originally wrote. There are usually many, many levels of painful compromise.
An example: I see the Mobil 'On the Go' ads, and their tagline: "Quick to pick up, hard to put down." I just know that, originally, it must have said "EASY to pick up, hard to put down." But they client would have said "No, no, we want it to be about QUICK, not EASY." There would have been an argument, then a sulk, then a threat, then capitulation.
Hence the result - a line that just doesn't quite sound like it was written by someone with a handle on the English language.
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the Herald prints is only indicative of what interests they want to promote
Does Darth George still compile the letters page? Or did he get put out to pasture from that role? He seems to have a worthy successor in however moderates the Your Views material.
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None of your Political Correctness Gone Mad Climate Change nonsense will wash now Russell because, as evidenced on the Herald site today, the Anti-Global Warming Heroes of Truth have got Garth George on their side.
And Garth George works for God. They're on the same bowls four.
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Since it's become the thing to do, I'm going to share my encounter with corrupt sexual attitudes among older police officers.
At the excellent It's in the Bag at AK05, as reinvented by Havoc, Newsboy and Oliver Driver, I was sitting behind a noted senior detective who shall remain nameless.
One of the contestants, an attractive young lady of about 19, was led on stage and introdued to the audience. DC Whatsisname's response was to bellow, all the way from the St James' Grand Circle: "SHOW UZ YER TITS!!"
There was a moment of stunned silence from the whole audience, and then Havo showed him his. And got the biggest laugh of the night at our copper's expense.
I never knew you could see someone go red with humiliation when you were seated behind them...
On a more serious note - it's these kind of guys that eed to get old and leave before there is a complete culture shift, and it will take some bold young officers to start telling them where they can shove their attitudes.