http://www.liveleak.com/browse?q=Olympic Thu, 23 May 2013 23:08:15 -0400 Liveleak http://edge.liveleak.com/80281E/u/u/ll2/logo.gif http://www.liveleak.com/browse?q=Olympic Wed, 22 May 2013 14:08:22 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=efa_1369245963 nutsflopped Happened 9 months ago, at the summer olympics. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=efa_1369245963 nutsflopped Man screaming allah wakbar tries to grab <span class="highlight">olympic</span> torch in UK. Islam, UK,Snackbar Sat, 18 May 2013 14:53:07 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=3ad_1368902915 th1sf8te THE most seriously wounded soldier to survive Afghanistan was made an MBE yesterday.Lance Bombardier Ben Parkinson - who had 40 injuries including brain damage and losing both legs - received the gong from Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace. He was called "inspirational" by the prince for his incredible journey back from the horrific wounds he sustained in a bomb blast in 2006. Despite his disabilities, the resilient 28-year-old has carried the Olympic torch and done a 65-mile charity trek with other amputees in Norway. Para Ben, of Doncaster, said after the ceremony: "I was surprised at how much Prince Charles knew about me. It made me feel so proud." Thank You For Your Service, Bravery http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=3ad_1368902915 th1sf8te Hero Ben collects MB-glee Hero, British, Soldier Sat, 18 May 2013 05:56:21 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=a25_1368870824 skolonom http://espn.go.com/new-york/story/_/id/9279942/iran-crushes-us-6-1-wrestling-exhibition-new-york-grand-central-terminal Iran's wrestling team visited the United States for the first time in a decade and found a virtual home meet.The fans waving Iranian flags and stomping on the temporary bleachers were treated to a show of dominance by the wrestling power Wednesday in the exhibition at Grand Central Terminal. Iran beat the Americans 6-1."It's typical Iranian. Wherever we go, they do the same thing," two-time world champion Mehdi Taghavi Kermani said through a translator after winning his match at 145 1/2 pounds.The fans' chanting and horn-blowing echoed off the intricate patterns on the ceiling high above and through the curtains separating Vanderbilt Hall from the commuters rushing home to the suburbs. The event dubbed "The Rumble on the Rails" marked the fourth straight year a New York City landmark was transformed into a wrestling meet to raise money for charity, with the last two in Times Square.But this one took on added significance beyond supporting wrestling nonprofit Beat the Streets. In February, the International Olympic Committee recommended that the sport be dropped starting with the 2020 Games.So there were the United States, Iran and Russia all together Wednesday, hoping the IOC takes to heart the symbolism of the three nations peacefully sharing a wrestling mat. The Americans swept five freestyle matches from the Russians later in the day.Iran also will face the U.S. in Los Angeles on Sunday. Wrestling is now one of eight sports seeking to fill one spot in the 2020 Olympics. The IOC board will meet May 29 in Russia to recommend a short list, with the final decision in September."This is what we're trying to do right now," said 22-year-old Kyle Dake, who could be an American star of the 2020 Olympics. "This is how we're going to save Olympic wrestling."The youngster was the lone bright spot for the U.S. against Iran. At 163 pounds, he beat veteran Hassan Tahmasebi, who's almost 10 years older, in his first major senior-level international match.In March, Dake became the first wrestler to win NCAA titles in four weight classes. College wrestling uses folkstyle, and Dake hadn't competed in freestyle in more than a year before Wednesday. Both his periods were scoreless and went to a leg clinch, and he won the first despite losing the ball draw."It was really loud in there. Feels like we were in Tehran," he joked. "What's going on? Where's our USA folks?" They got going chanting "U-S-A U-S-A!!" during the Americans' second meet of the day. Some of the top U.S. wrestlers, including Olympic champ Jordan Burroughs, took the mat against Russia, which did not send its best lineup. Burroughs remained undefeated, though he needed three periods to beat Saba Khubetzhty at 163 pounds and cracked a molar in a headlock."I had a filling in this tooth, and it's somewhere out there on the mat," he said with a laugh. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=a25_1368870824 skolonom Iran crushes U.S. 6-1 in wrestling exhibition Iran USA Fri, 17 May 2013 03:14:28 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=345_1368774684 Die Humans If this were Olympic boxing, Rob Ray would have scored a point. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=345_1368774684 Die Humans Infamous Rob Ray vs drunk fan footage ko, tko, fight, boxing, fan, die humans, hockey, die nipple erectors, punching, fast and furious, drunk, intoxicated retard, nords, gaybres, nhl, old school, beatdown, dookie Fri, 10 May 2013 07:44:12 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=cf9_1368186032 th1sf8te NO AUDIO - COMMENTRY America's Cup officials identified him as British-born Andrew "Bart" Simpson," someone the team is "immensely" sad about losing. The 36-year-old double UK Gold medalist was the team's strategist. He had won gold in China in 2008 and silver in 2012. Crews performed CPR on him for about 20 minutes, according to the San Francisco Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White. But just after 2 p.m., fire paramedics stopped life-saving efforts. He had been in the water for about 10 minutes, probably trapped under the vessel, Hayes-White said. "It is with immense sadness that Artemis Racing confirms the tragic death of crew member Andrew 'Bart' Simpson today in San Francisco," said an official America's Cup statement. "Simpson, however, was trapped underneath the boat and despite attempts to revive him, by doctors afloat and subsequently ashore, his life was lost." "The entire Artemis Racing team is devastated by what happened," said CEO Paul Cayard, himself a a seven-time world sailing champion, a six-time America's Cup veteran and two-time Olympian. "Our heartfelt condolences are with Andrew's wife and family." Twelve people were aboard the sailboat, and the other ten were taken to a support boat operated by Oracle Racing, which is defending the America's Cup title from 2010 in San Francisco this summer. Another sailor was injured, but his condition was not considered life threatening. It's unknown why the boat capsized. Capturing images from a helicopter, the massive boat floated on its side in the choppy waters for hours as crews hovered nearby. Rest In Peace http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UE5uv7-5FNs http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=cf9_1368186032 th1sf8te Andrew Simpson, UK <span class="highlight">Olympic</span> Medallist Dies After America's Cup Boat Capsizes Andrew Simpson, UK Olympic Medallist Dies After America's Cup Boat Capsizes Fri, 03 May 2013 16:45:25 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=92a_1367613274 Normal Derek Redmond, 1992 Olympics. He was favored to win this race, but an old injury came back to haunt him. However, he didn't give up. Neither did his father who raced to his side and they finished the race together. I'm sorry about such an old video being uploaded, but it's truly inspirational and brings tears to my eyes. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=92a_1367613274 Normal Powerful Inspirational <span class="highlight">Olympic</span> Moment powerful, athlete, father, son, olympic, inspirational, emotional, true Sat, 11 May 2013 12:30:36 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=580_1368289578 formallyfido321 SKY NEWS Prince Harry is expected to take part in the torch relay at the fourth annual Warrior Games in Colorado Springs today. On the second stage of his seven-day tour of the US, Prince Harry will attend the opening ceremony of the games dubbed America's Paralympics for ill and injured service personnel. Harry, an Apache helicopter co-pilot gunner in the Army Air Corps, arrived in Colorado last night ahead of the event which will see a British team take part for a second time. The 35-strong squad has been preparing for the games for months at the Help for Heros Recovery centre in Wiltshire. "We did well last year, but the guys competing this year want to do better so the Americans had better watch out", British team coach Martin Colclough told Sky News. Prince Harry Visits The United States - Day One Prince Harry on the first day of his US tour "And it's great that Prince Harry's going to be there. He really helps put the spotlight on injured servicemen and women. He might even be convinced to take part, in the volleyball perhaps?" British competitor Jon Le Galloudec was shot in the spine by a sniper while serving in Basra. "Frenchie" as he's affectionately known, was initially paralysed from the waist down. "With help from a specialist spine until I slowly regained some feeling and now I can walk again", explained Frenchie before leaving for Colorado. "The Warrior Games gives you something to focus on, a reason to get out of bed and not just be someone who feels left at the side of the road." Prince Harry, a London 2012 Olympic ambassador, will spend the entire day at the games, meeting competitors and US Olympic Committee officials as well as attending a lunch before the opening ceremony. He'll finish off the day at a sitting volleyball demonstration. The competitive and spontaneous Prince is unlikely to resist getting involved. Highlighting work being done to help injured members of the Armed Forces has become the theme of Captain Harry Wales' tour of the US. Next week, the third in line to the throne travels to New Jersey to visit communities affected by Superstorm Sandy, before travelling on to New York and Connecticut where the tour ends. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=580_1368289578 formallyfido321 Prince Harry To Join Action At US Warrior Games Prince Harry US Warrior Games Sat, 11 May 2013 10:41:57 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=225_1368283039 bobsdesk A man angry at his neighbors went on a rampage in a bulldozer Friday on Washington's Olympic Peninsula, damaging four homes, knocking one off its foundation and cutting power to thousands of people, authorities said. Barry Alan Swegle was booked into the Clallam County Jail for investigation of malicious mischief following the incident in Port Angeles, 65 miles west of Seattle. A voice mail message left at a phone listing for the 51-year-old was not immediately returned. "This of course is above what we're normally used to and someone just snapped and jumped on a bulldozer and started taking out people's houses," Ron Peregrin, the county's undersheriff told Q13Fox.com. Authorities said investigators were told that Swegle and his neighbors had a long-running dispute, but it's not clear over what. The rampage knocked over a utility pole and left a pickup truck destroyed, and the downed power lines were preventing authorities from fully evaluating the damage to the homes. In just a few minutes, there was hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of damage, Q13Fox.com reported. Authorities said the machine was an International Harvester TD-25, similar to a Caterpillar D-9. Investigators were looking into whether the man owned it. Keith Haynes lives near one of the damaged homes and told the Peninsula Daily News that the man "just went nuts." Haynes said a woman inside one of the homes escaped unharmed. "He took a skidder and took out two houses," Haynes said. "I mean demolished." At one point thousands of people were without power, but within a few hours it had been restored to all but 200 customers, said Clallam County Public Utility District spokesman Mike Howe. He said power would remain out to those customers at least through early Saturday morning. Swegle has a lengthy rap sheet that includes burglary, stalking and public indecency, the Q13Fox.com report said. "We all said one of these days Barry is going to take that dang cat and he's going to start tearing up people's property and that's what he did," Barbara Porter, a neighbor said. http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/05/11/washington-man-goes-on-bulldozer-rampage-damages-4-homes-authorities-say/ http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=225_1368283039 bobsdesk Washington man damages 4 homes in bulldozer rampage Killdozer, rampage, tomato sauce, liberal media Fri, 10 May 2013 21:17:20 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=f66_1368234594 SAPD_HRT by Pamela Kulbarsh First, let's dispel the myth that terrorists are mentally ill. If you believe that most terrorists are crazy, psycho, or suicidal you are wrong. 30 years of research has failed to identify a good profile of a terrorist. We now know that terrorists are no more likely to have mood disorders, psychopathology, or personality disorders than non-terrorists from the same background. If you think that terrorists are immoral and have no empathy for others you are also wrong. Let's look at this rationally. Imagine yourself as a terrorist, pick one, any one. You are living an often nomad existence underground, in fear of being discovered and stopped. The only people that are around you are people who share your own goals. Would you want an unstable whacko living with you? Someone who is so out of touch with reality that they cannot be depended on, or could hurt you or other members of your group before your goal was met. Not probably. Organized terrorist groups who can plan successful attacks are also likely to be within the normal range of personality. In fact, individuals chosen for a terrorist mission have undoubtedly demonstrated that they are trustworthy, reliable, loyal, organized, intelligent, and dedicated to a specific cause. Increasingly, terrorist groups are recruiting highly skilled professionals who have expertise in fields such as communications, computer programming, engineering, finance, and the sciences. Terrorists use groups and networks for both logistical and psychological support. Groups afford a sense of belonging, a sense of purpose, and perhaps even a sense of identity. Terrorism is generally defined as the use or threat of violence, by small groups against non-combatants of large groups, for avowed goals. We have a tendency to correlate religion with acts of terrorism. This is far from fact. While religious fanaticism creates conditions that are favorable for terrorism, it does not cause it. The three primary causes of terrorism are feelings of social, political, and historical injustice. Terrorism is the warfare of the weak. It is the final recourse when all other conventional methods have failed. Of course, there are the lone wolf terrorists. These are individuals who commit violent acts in support of some group, movement, or ideology, but who does so alone. They are not affiliated with any command structure and do not get resource assistance from any group. Examples of lone wolf terrorists include Timothy McVeigh (Oklahoma City bombing), Theodore Kaczynski, (the "Unabomber-he actually was schizophrenic), and Eric Robert Rudolph (the Olympic Park bomber). The current belief is that the Boston Marathon bombers, Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev acted as lone wolf terrorists. Obviously, it is much more difficult to identify and prevent potential attacks from self-radicalized individuals acting alone or in small groups. Yes, normal people can be terrorists. Normalcy is a characteristic feature of terrorists, they just blend in. The Tsarnaev brothers are a perfect example of this, all the news reports and interviews reinforced that they were normal Joes. Remember that terrorists are not born terrorists. Let's look at Bin Laden. Osama didn't wake up one morning and decide to be a terrorist. The path was long and arduous. Terrorists, like Bin Laden, kill for a combination of shared ideology in conjunction with extremely intense small group dynamics. Most people believe in something bigger than life. Many of us call this entity God in one form or another. We need to make sense and meaning in our life...and of our death. Most people identify with a group whose core sense of values related to family, religion, ethnicity, and nationality are similar to theirs. Some people are willing to kill for, and to die for, these values. Why else would you have joined the law enforcement profession? Or why would men and women enlist in the military? The point is that most people are capable of terrorist acts under some circumstances. The five main objectives of political terrorists are quite clear: Creating mass anxiety, fear, and panic Fostering a sense of helplessness and hopelessness Demonstrating the incompetence of the authorities Destroying a sense of security and safety Provoking inappropriate reactions from individuals, authorities, and/or governments Additionally, large-scale terrorist incidents can have adverse effects on world financial markets, travel and tourism. The Strategies of Terrorist Aggression There are two kinds of aggression; emotional and instrumental. Emotional aggression is associated with anger; it doesn't consider long-term consequences. The goal of emotional aggression is hurting someone who has hurt you. Instrumental aggression is more calculating; it is used as a means to meet other more enduring ends. Terrorist aggression usually involves both. The act inflicts immediate damage and results in the destruction of life and property. However, and far more importantly, terrorists hope that the long-term effects will be much more devastating. The Long-Term Goals of Terrorist Attacks Fundamentally, terrorists want to create fear and uncertainty far beyond the immediate victims and those close to them. Terrorist want "the enemy" to spend an inordinate amount of time, energy and money on security. Essentially this forces their target to transfer resources from productive purposes to anti-productive security measures. Terrorists particularly hope to elicit a violent response that will assist them in mobilizing their own people. A violent counter attack to a terrorist act that is not well aimed is a success for the terrorists. this will assist them in mobilizing their own people Terrorists also hope for a reaction of stereotyping and prejudice in which the terrorists are seen as typical members of the cause they say they are fighting for. Often terrorists' most dangerous opposition comes from moderates on their own side who seek alternatives other than violence. Profiling or any other perceived infringement of civil rights can encourage a sense of unfair victimization by everyone involved. What about the Suicide Bomber? While most individuals who attempt and/or complete suicide display signs and symptoms of depression, terrorist do not. That is because the primary aim of the suicide is not to die, but to actualize a mission on behalf of a cause. Their motivation invariably stems from rage and a sense of self-righteousness. They view themselves as soldiers willing to sacrifice themselves for a higher purpose, contributors to the accomplishment of a greater good. They seek revenge and crave publicity. Ideally, individuals with the highest status make the best suicide candidates; those with the most to lose raise the credibility of the group's cause. The primary goal of the suicide terrorist is political change. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=f66_1368234594 SAPD_HRT The Psychology of Terrorists Psychology, Terrorist, Thu, 09 May 2013 20:53:58 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=f6d_1368143598 Baron_Kaz So an 18 year old kid goes off on a teacher, because "teacher isn't doing it right". I literally laughed my pants off when I saw it featured in Fox news and that the youtube video had gone viral. I went to school in India, 70 to 75 students in a class, till the age of 15 when you clear the Secondary School Certificate exams (Grade 1 through 10).80 to 95 students a class in ages 16 and 17 for Higher Secondary Certificate exam (Grades 11 and 12). And then 100 or so per class in First year Engineering college. By the time we hit 2nd year in Engineering, the number had dropped to 35 or so, as most had miserably failed out. http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-05-04/mumbai/29508207_1_engineering-colleges-first-semester-exam-engineering-students And these were not "government run - free" schools. These were bonafide, top tier schools, where you had to either get a 99% or above score to get in, or pay a kings ransom in bribes to enter. In grades 1 to 10, we saw a Chemistry or Physics or Biology laboratory once in 10 years. In grades 11 and 12, it was a god awful mess with violence all around, since Mumbai has too many slums and all the ruffians from the slums would hang out in and around the school, trying to hit on the girls or to force the regular kids to pay them off. The teachers were reasonable. Heavy handed, but reasonable. When we entered Engineering school, things changed. There were no riff-raffs, most kids knew they were in for the toughest time in their lives, and they gave it their best. To give you an idea, you had to score above 99% to be considered for a free seat in top Mumbai Engineering college. Except of course the lower castes got in through affirmative action and the rich bribed their way in through seats reserved for "athletes" (Rahul Gandhi, the Next prime minister of India got admission in through an "Archery" reserved seat). Athletes don't exist in India, take a look at the Indian Olympic medals tally. But even that was not good enough. To give you an example, 1st and 2nd semester each had 8 courses: Basic Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Chemistry, Physics, Communication Skills, Math, Engineering Drawing, Computer Programming. And each semester was about 4 and a half months in duration to finish studying text books, which I have found to be the same which are used in Masters degree courses in the US. And this is the first time in their lives that students are touching these topics, topics like Engineering drawing, which is drawing complex 3D perspectives. http://www.tcetmumbai.in/SyllabusAll/FEsemI.pdf And the professors! ROFLOLOLOL. OMG they could barely speak English!! They were the saddest bunch of sadists in the world... they were, everyone of them, short, dark skinned and remarkably ugly, poor in hygiene and dressing sense. And the truth was, they all belonged to lower castes. People who were pushed through affirmative action or some other bullshit to complete a 4 year degree in 8 years or so. Not kidding, not making it up, but this was the truth. (Ask your Indian co-worker!) They all had HUGE chips on their shoulders... and they made life miserable for us. How in the world can you teach Engineering in English, when you are unable to compose a simple sentence in English while talking. For example : Pointing to a problem in the book, making a student stand up, and saying "How is you?!!" when he really wants to ask, "How would you solve this problem?" "Cache memory" was pronounced "KA - che memory" the "KA - che" similar to the "KA - ching" sound we make to imitate a register at a store. We hated them!! We hated them more than anything else, just like they hated us. For them, we were the things they could never hope to become. We were taller, lighter skinned, more Caucasoid featured compared to their black/mongoloid ones. Our parents had money for our clothes, cars and cell phones. They burned... and they did what ever they could to make it miserable for us. The biggest joke in the college was the grading system. Each course has 4 elements: 100 points for a written exam, 50 for practicals and 25 for "term work" and 25 for "viva". You have to pass every single "element" to be deemed you passed that course. Written exam : Closed book exam. No multiple choice or true/false bull shit. Hard core math based calculations. Only basic scientific calculators without any kind of memory, allowed. Practicals = Laboratory experiments Term work = writing meaningless journals of experiments and "assignments" which were the same since for ever, and we literally copied from journals some poor soul had written 5 years ago and had been since handed down generation to generation. Viva = oral examination. So in effect, 100 points in the written exams were the only ones where the student could really show off his mettle. the remaining 100 points (practicals, term work and viva) was completely at the teacher's mercy, since it was completely at the teacher's discretion. At the tender mercies of ugly, jealous, sadistic freaks!! Viva was public humiliation time. The sadists would bunch around a table and sadists from other colleges would be invited as "Impartial outsiders" to conduct the "viva", when it was actually all in cahoots. I remember at one Viva, one particular Sadist from Father Agnel Engineering college, a Christian guy, forgot his name... that bastard looks at me in my face and says "These teachers you have at your school are so wonderful. So you left your 'Digital Circuits' lecture from here to attend a math lecture at a private tutoring place one day?" (I was taking private tutoring to actually learn the courses which the morons at the school could not teach, and one particular day I had to leave the Digital Circuit class because the tutor had scheduled an urgent review of the math course work). I said "Yes I did!" ; He asked, "So you think you will pass in Math?" I said "Yes!" (I was a top ranker in the school) "What about Digital Circuits?" "Yes I will pass that too!" I answered. He laughed out aloud "So you think you will pass in BOTH courses?". But the teachers from my school didn't laugh. They whispered to him about my past "record" of passing every exam at first attempt and my pristine record. The sadist bristled... "Ok, so here is the deal! I will ask one question and if you answer me correctly, I will pass you in this viva and if not, I will fail you." (He did not give me a choice whether I wanted this or not). "Since you are such a Math lover, what was the 5th question in the math question paper that you took this semester?" How the fuck does this have anything to do with "Digital Circuits" for which i was taking the viva? What the fuck was this, but a grown sadist taking it out on a young man and trying to ruin his life for nothing more than petty jealousy??? I have a remarkable memory, and I actually remembered the exact question from the Math paper and I answered him. My balls were in my mouth, but I answered the sadist who was looking to ruin my future and trying to fail me. After countless nights of staying up, working my ass off, just because his fellow sadists hated me, an adult sadist was trying to ruin the life of a bright young man. But I fucking knew the answer! And as he looked it up and confirmed it, I grinned. His eyes flashed fire. But even then he failed me in the viva. And if you fail in any of the 4 criteria in a course : written or practical or term work or viva, you are still considered a "fail". But thankfully the Central university which handles grading and deciding whether students will pass or not, gave me grace points to pass that 25 marks Viva. And this was but one out of millions of stories I faced personally everyday, and so did my fellow students. Compare that to what Jeff Bliss faces today... We survived, not because of anything, but our own will and determination to complete our studies. Because we had our families at our backs 100% of the time, and they threw every resource they had at us, to help us. And because we knew, this was the only way out of the dingy shit hole that luck had some how birthed us in to. I and 100% of my class mates from Somaiya Engineering college, Mumbai are now in the US or UK or Western Europe. Almost to a man, everyone got their masters degrees and some PhDs. And OMG, studying in the West was like a dream! They even had professors who took time to explain stuff. ROFLOLOL. Don't believe me? Google K.J.Somaiya College of Engineering, Mumbai. Check their cut off percentage for admissions at First year engineering. And of course ask your Indian colleagues and friends. PS: The dog in the picture is my beloved puppy: Manfred, wearing my sunglasses. :) http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=f6d_1368143598 Baron_Kaz Education in India, thoughts after watching Jeff Bliss. India, Education Wed, 08 May 2013 11:18:18 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=582_1368026220 swade55 The Science of Guns Proves Arming Untrained Citizens Is a Bad Idea According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 31,672 people died by guns in 2010 (the most recent year for which U.S. figures are available), a staggering number that is orders of magnitude higher than that of comparable Western democracies. What can we do about it? National Rifle Association executive vice president Wayne LaPierre believes he knows: "The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun." If LaPierre means professionally trained police and military who routinely practice shooting at ranges, this observation would at least be partially true. If he means armed private citizens with little to no training, he could not be more wrong. Consider a 1998 study in the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery that found that "every time a gun in the home was used in a self-defense or legally justifiable shooting, there were four unintentional shootings, seven criminal assaults or homicides, and 11 attempted or completed suicides." Pistol owners' fantasy of blowing away home-invading bad guys or street toughs holding up liquor stores is a myth debunked by the data showing that a gun is 22 times more likely to be used in a criminal assault, an accidental death or injury, a suicide attempt or a homicide than it is for self-defense. I harbored this belief for the 20 years I owned a Ruger .357 Magnum with hollow-point bullets designed to shred the body of anyone who dared to break into my home, but when I learned about these statistics, I got rid of the gun. More insights can be found in a 2013 book from Johns Hopkins University Press entitled Reducing Gun Violence in America: Informing Policy with Evidence and Analysis, edited by Daniel W. Webster and Jon S. Vernick, both professors in health policy and management at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. In addition to the 31,672 people killed by guns in 2010, another 73,505 were treated in hospital emergency rooms for nonfatal bullet wounds, and 337,960 nonfatal violent crimes were committed with guns. Of those 31,672 dead, 61 percent were suicides, and the vast majority of the rest were homicides by people who knew one another. For example, of the 1,082 women and 267 men killed in 2010 by their intimate partners, 54 percent were shot by guns. Over the past quarter of a century, guns were involved in greater number of intimate partner homicides than all other causes combined. When a woman is murdered, it is most likely by her intimate partner with a gun. Regardless of what really caused Olympic track star Oscar Pistorius to shoot his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp (whether he mistook her for an intruder or he snapped in a lover's quarrel), her death is only the latest such headline. Recall, too, the fate of Nancy Lanza, killed by her own gun in her own home in Connecticut by her son, Adam Lanza, before he went to Sandy Hook Elementary School to murder some two dozen children and adults. As an alternative to arming women against violent men, legislation can help: data show that in states that prohibit gun ownership by men who have received a domestic violence restraining order, gun-caused homicides of intimate female partners have been reduced by 25 percent. Another myth to fall to the facts is that gun-control laws disarm good people and leave the crooks with weapons. Not so, say the Johns Hopkins authors: "Strong regulation and oversight of licensed gun dealers-defined as having a state law that required state or local licensing of retail firearm sellers, mandatory record keeping by those sellers, law enforcement access to records for inspection, regular inspections of gun dealers, and mandated reporting of theft of loss of firearms-was associated with 64 percent less diversion of guns to criminals by in-state gun dealers." Finally, before we concede civilization and arm everyone to the teeth pace the NRA, consider the primary cause of the centuries-long decline of violence as documented by Steven Pinker in his 2011 book The Better Angels of Our Nature: the rule of law by states that turned over settlement of disputes to judicial courts and curtailed private self-help justice through legitimate use of force by police and military trained in the proper use of weapons. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=582_1368026220 swade55 The Science of Guns Proves Arming Untrained Citizens Is a Bad Idea gun control Thu, 02 May 2013 19:23:23 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=de5_1367536881 SAPD_HRT When most citizens think of police officers, they think of the beat cop, and indeed, the police patrol function continues to be the backbone of community law enforcement. This seemingly simple police activity is really composed of a variety of complex daily decisions and activities which include the discretionary use of authority and prevention of criminal activity by an assertive police presence. It also involves maintaining good relations with citizens in the community, because, like it or not, cops may at times have to depend on those citizens to help them do their jobs effectively. Examples include obtaining useful information in trying to solve a crime, or helping to maintain order and calm neighbors' anger to forestall a potential civil disturbance. If nothing else, officers know they will encounter the same people - "repeat customers" - on a regular basis, and so maintaining good relations works in everybody's favor. While the actual effect of foot patrol officers on crime statistics is still being debated, surveys clearly show that citizens feel safer and more confident in their local police department when the officers are a living, breathing presence in their daily lives. Ironically, however, it is the foot patrols that are often the first to undergo budget cuts in favor of more flashy special tactics and investigative units. For patrol cops to do their jobs effectively, they must adopt a constructive territoriality about their patrol areas, sometimes known as owning the beat. By becoming increasingly familiar with the geography, economy, personality, and sociology of their beats, patrol cops come to know intuitively what's normal or what's out of place for their respective neighborhoods. Additionally, by adopting the optimal blend of professional detachment and emotional involvement in their neighborhoods, patrol officers develop what the business world calls buy-in, a personal stake in the welfare of their patrol community, a situation in which it is important to them to keep the peace and provide the highest quality of service: "This is my territory, and I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that it stays safe." Additionally, officers who feel they are an integral part of their communities are less likely to resort to physical force to resolve crisis situations that could be verbally effused and de-escalated. In return, citizens come to trust and respect those officers they perceive as consistently trying to keep order without excessive harshness, and who truly try to understand the community's concerns. Elements of Effective Patrol Policing Although TV cop shows often portray police work as nonstop action, in real life the patrol officer's job is more like that of a firefighter, paramedic, or air traffic controller: long periods of monotony punctuated by brief episodes of intense, life-and-death activity. Officers have to be able to react quickly and go from "0 to 60" at a moment's notice. They have to be able to respond courageously and aggressively in critical situations, yet possess sufficient presence of mind not to overreact and risk inflaming the situation further. In between, they must deal with various and sundry crises, ranging from citizen disputes to traffic violations. As noted above, to be effective, officers have to gain intimate knowledge of their patrol areas: the geography, economy, demographics, crime statistics, local culture and quirky characters of their beats. Only in this way will they hone their instincts as to what's normal and what's suspicious in their patrol areas. This practical expertise further enables officers to quickly size up situations and make prompt, effective decisions with regard to what specific actions to take, such as a crime in progress, family crisis, or citizen dispute. While not all officers can be Olympic athletes, they are expected to maintain some basic standards of physical conditioning and psychomotor skill with respect to strength and endurance, manual dexterity, facility with firearms and equipment, driving skill, and so on. In the same way, while not all officers can be paragons of psychological health and virtue, all cops are expected to have the basic mental skills of mature judgment, problem-solving, and independent thinking. Even more so than other emergency responders, police officers are given wide latitude in how to handle many types of routine and complex policing situations, ranging from the decision to write a traffic ticket, to whether to use their baton, pepper spray, taser, or firearm in a dangerous criminal confrontation. In this regard, police officers need to be able to work under varying levels of supervision; from tight micromanagement of their every move to almost no supervision at all, leaving important decisions to the officer's discretion. Important psychological skills extend to the interpersonal domain as well. Patrol officers, especially in larger metropolitan areas, will have to deal with a wide range of citizen ages, ethnicities, cultures, economic levels, and personalities. Officers must sometimes endure impolite or verbally abusive behavior, while maintaining a professional presence at all times and carefully treading the line between authoritative (think Sheriff Andy Taylor) and authoritarian (think Deputy Barney Fife) police presence. Effective officers must be able to utilize appropriate conflict-resolution skills to prevent situations from escalating, while maintaining objectivity, balance, and the perception of fairness. They must be able to cope with different kinds and varying levels of stress, and yet at all times maintain a high level of personal integrity and ethical conduct. This is not just a nice, politically correct idea; it is essential to maintaining authority and credibility on patrol. Responses of Disrespected Citizens As noted above, one of the practical benefits of a friendly, or at least nonadversarial, relationship between police and citizenry is the ability to solicit their cooperation when necessary. Overall, congenial relations between police and the public make the officer's job easier and help citizens feel safer. Conversely, there are a number of different reactions that citizens typically show in response to their perception of being ignored, abused, or disrespected by the police: Apathy-antagonism: "Why should I report crimes to the police? They don't care." This reflects citizen dissatisfaction with police response to their concerns. If citizens feel that their good-faith efforts in being the eyes and ears of law enforcement are rewarded by halfhearted or neglectful follow-up, they will naturally be reluctant to report such activity in the future. If they feel really ignored or abused, this may manifest itself as purposeful noncooperation: "Get your own information - I'm not telling you anything." A vicious cycle may then develop where police take this as a sign of deliberate community apathy or scorn - or even collusion with criminals - and therefore restrict their patrolling activities still further, or become even more impatient and irritable with citizens. Formal complaints: "That's it, I'm filing a complaint." Disrespected citizens may channel their frustrations into written complaints against officers. As in any relationship, unwelcome or mildly irksome behavior may be tolerated if it occurs in the context of basic trust and common purpose. But in the presence of an already existing tense and adversarial relationship, even seemingly inconsequential annoyances may be interpreted as signs of deliberate abuse, and some departments may be flooded with verbal and written complaints, often against the same officer. On the one hand, this uses up personnel resources that might be productively allocated elsewhere. On the other hand, a complaint that is registered is at least one that can be addressed. The numerous unrecorded slights and hostilities are far more ominous because they are left to fester within a community. Verbal confrontation: "Get out of my face - you can't talk to me that way." Discourteous officer conduct may lead to verbal confrontations between officers and citizens. Often, this represents the outburst of a cumulative build-up of frustration from past unpleasant interactions on the part of both officer and citizen. At the very least, repeated hostile interactions are grating to the morale of officers and citizens alike. At worst, they lead to physical confrontations necessitating frequent arrests that further inflame community hostility. Physical confrontation If matters have escalated to this point, verbal conflict-resolution strategies can be assumed to have failed - that is, if they've been tried at all. Even more so than with verbal confrontation, repeated citizen experiences of being roughed up by the police - even if the arrest started with an assault on the officer by the angry citizen - are corrosive to the morale of patrolling officers and only highlights to citizens the image of the police force as a hostile army of occupation. Importance of Communication Skills in Patrol Policing At the beginning of every one of my law enforcement crisis intervention classes, there's always at least one cop who tells me, "My job is to catch criminals; I'm not paid to talk." But verbal communications skills are crucial for success in virtually every aspect of patrol policing efforts. Unless an officer intends to either ignore or arrest every citizen he or she comes in contact with on the street, communication skills are vital for both solving mundane problems and defusing potentially explosive crises. First, the majority of patrol time is spent in routine citizen contact that does not involve serious criminal law enforcement action. Traffic stops, accident investigations, mediating neighbor beefs, calming angry or intoxicated citizens, and handling merchant complaints all require good verbal skills to deal with the situation without allowing it to escalate. Second, successfully resolving a minor crisis, such as a family dispute or neighbor quarrel, might eliminate the need for later call-backs to the same scene for a major crisis, such as domestic battery or destruction of property. It thus makes an officer's job easier. Third, those crisis situations that begin as hot calls can be more effectively de-escalated by officers who possess good verbal skills, potentially eliminating the need for physical force, restraint, and arrest. Again, less risk of injury to officer or citizen and less paperwork. Basic Communication Skills for Police Officers Any cop who thinks talking to citizens diminishes his or her tough-guy persona should consider that many of the important communication skills patrol officers can use to defuse tension and increase cooperation in the face of everyday crises are adapted from those used by trained hostage negotiators whom nobody would regard as a bunch of wusses. So practicing these skills on daily patrol will enhance your application of them to a wide range of crisis situations. Basic street-level communications skills include a variety of approaches. To begin with, angry citizens may just want to vent. To a certain extent, allow this venting to occur, as long as it does not escalate to rageful spewing or cross over into physical violence. Venting uses up adrenalin and sometimes allows the venter to gain some insight into his own thoughts and feelings. Listen patiently at first, without trying to dissuade or argue. Show interest in what the person is saying through eye contact and attentive body posture. Even if a disturbed or intoxicated citizen is acting crazy or goofy, avoid patronizing him. If your partner is present, avoid the temptation to give each other snickering glances, which is a sure sign of disrespect to a citizen who thinks what he's saying is important. If the subject curses or insults you, try to respond calmly without being baited into retaliating with anger or sarcasm. Of course, if a subject threatens or attacks you, and this is an arrestable offense, do your job. But remember that many situations are far from clear-cut and that officers have great discretion in how they choose to respond to a wide range of obnoxious citizen behaviors. Certain tactics are useful for calming angry citizens and reducing the potential for violence. Start with your voice. For some officers, voice control is a natural talent, but for most, this skill can be trained and improved with daily practice. Learn to respond calmly to insults and challenges, without resorting to sarcasm or harshness of tone. If you feel yourself getting agitated, make a conscious effort to modulate the pace of your speech and tone of your voice. Modulating your breathing helps keep your voice cadence under control. As part of your self-training, practice different speech styles: sympathetic, commanding, reassuring, businesslike, logical, and so on. The goal is not to act like a trained parrot, but rather to become familiar and comfortable with different communication styles in order to increase your repertoire of flexible skills in handling interpersonal encounters. This gives officers tremendous power to handle virtually any kind of crisis. Sometimes, just changing the subject to a more neutral topic can ratchet the tension level down a few notches. In general, be careful not to abruptly shift to a whole new subject, which may be interpreted as rude or manipulative by the citizen. Rather, try to segue into a topic that is related to the one now under discussion, but is less emotionally charged. For example: Citizen: I know she took those garden tools from my shed, because I could hear my dogs barking in the yard, and the next thing I saw was her going into her house. Officer: What kind of dogs do you have? C: Two rotweilers. What the hell difference does it make what kind of dogs they are? O: I mean, do you find that dogs are a good way of knowing who's coming and going on your property? C: Yeah, they scared off some robbers a few months ago. Nobody wants to mess with rotweilers. O: So somebody would have to be pretty crazy to steal something from your yard if they knew you had these dogs there. C: I guess so. Perhaps more subtle, but equally potent, are a range of nonverbal behaviors that powerfully influence human interaction. Depending on the nature of the interaction, officers may want to manipulate their own authority image. For example, when interviewing suspects, unruly citizens, or general "hard cases," projecting a firm position, adopting a commanding stance, decreasing personal space, moving slowly and confidently, and making steady but not challenging eye contact all serve to increase the controlled intimidation factor that may mollify otherwise overly attitudinal or uncooperative subjects. Again, the goal is to project authoritativeness , not authoritarianism . Conversely, some meeker, law-abiding citizens may be so intimidated by the police presence that they are almost paralyzed with fear and are unable to get their story out. In such cases, it is better to stand back a few paces, relax your stance or even sit down, focus some attention on note-taking and other non-eye contact activity, and speak in a reassuring tone of voice. Remember, the goal of almost any citizen interview is to increase the flow of communication and gain cooperation. Note-taking, by the way, serves another important function when trying to maximize information-flow from citizens. Seeing an officer write down what the citizen says gives that citizen the impression that his or her input is important, which may mean a great deal to citizens who are accustomed to having their comments shrugged off by seemingly uncaring officers. But be careful about using this device with overly paranoid citizens who may be suspicious that you're "making a record" of what they're saying. Finally, it may be necessary to physically separate two sparring citizens to keep a verbal fight from escalating to blows, which would necessitate an arrest. Interpersonal Communication Processes The majority of police-citizen contacts occur face-to-face, either one-on-one or in small groups. Accordingly, certain types of interpersonal communication processes are applicable to daily police work on the street. As noted above, a good deal of this communication occurs nonverbally. Paralanguage If language refers to the verbal content of our speech, then paralanguage is the message we send by our tone of voice, pitch, inflection, and phrasing. Neuropsychologists refer to this as the prosodic features of spoken language, which is mediated by the brain's right hemisphere, as opposed to the vocabulary and grammar of language, which is a left-hemisphere function. Everybody knows that the same literal sentence, e.g. "I'm feeling just fine," can be expressed and interpreted as a statement or a question, as serious or sarcastic, by the style of vocal inflection used. Other paralinguistic features that may be useful include pauses, stutters, lowering or raising of voice pitch or volume, interjected phrases ("uh," "y'know"), and so on. Active listening denotes putting conscious effort into a dialogue, which is different from casual conversation. Giving a citizen your full attention and focus, and indicating your involvement and concern for what he or she is telling you will almost always serve to increase communication, trust, and cooperation. This can be vitally important in resolving acute crises such as suicide and hostage incidents. Kinesics describes nonverbal, body-language aspects of communication, such as facial expression, gestures, posture, and other physical movements that transmit messages that either reinforce or contradict the spoken message. This aspect of communication is of interest to law enforcement investigators and poker players alike. In fact, paralanguage and kinesics are included in training in interview and interrogation strategies, but are also useful to enhance communication for everyday citizen encounters on patrol. Proxemics Yet another dimension of communication is proxemics, the science of personal and social space. In many street interactions, officers intuitively judge the comfort level of their own and the citizen's personal space and adjust their stance accordingly, so as to tread a happy medium between standing too distant, which may signal unconcern and disrespect, versus being too "in your face," which is typically taken as confrontational or aggressive. Proxemics can further be differentiated into several categories: Intimate space extends from actual physical contact outward, from about 6 to 18 inches. This is usually the province into which we comfortably allow friends or close associates. Personal space continues out from 18 inches to about 4 feet. This is the comfort zone of most business and personal acquaintances. Social space extends the perimeter to about 4 to 12 feet. This is about the range that most strangers feel comfortable interacting within, and which will contain most nonconfrontational police encounters on patrol. If officers find themselves moving closer during an encounter, it usually signals some trouble on the psychological radar. Public space includes everything at 12 feet and beyond. Of course, in crowded urban areas, it is not uncommon to see individuals physically jammed together, yet maintaining psychological distance by focusing on their own activities - just think of a crowded bus, subway, elevator, or supermarket checkout line. As with all of these skills, patrol officers who adeptly manipulate interpersonal space will experience the greatest success in dealing with citizens on their beats. Many officers do this instinctively, but it is a skill that can be learned and refined with practice. Potentially Violent Citizens As noted earlier, preventing a violent episode from occurring forestalls the need for forceful arrest and minimizes the safety risk for the citizen, the officer, and bystanders. The following intervention techniques apply to any subject whose behavior appears at risk of escalating to violence. Causes of citizen-officer violence. Every officer has his or her own theory as to what causes a citizen-officer encounter to turn violent, but there have been only a few systematic studies of these factors to date. To summarize, there appear to be two major kinds of circumstance in which officers are assaulted. The first involves the citizen's perception of the initial verbal encounter as unnecessarily demeaning, as when the officer: o Uses derogatory or disrespectful language or tone of voice: "He talked to me like I was a dog." o Is physically intimidating: "He just got right up in my face." o Does not want to consider the citizen's side of the story: "He didn't ask me anything, he just assumed I did something wrong." o Prematurely orders or physically moves the citizen around: "He could've just asked me to step to the curb, he didn't have to shout at me and push me." o Humiliates the citizen in public: "If he wanted to search me, why couldn't he do it up on my porch instead of out on the sidewalk for all my neighbors to watch?" The second situation in which officers are assaulted involves a compatriot of the citizen jumping in to "help" his friend in what he perceives to be unjust manhandling by the police officer. Although there will always be a small cadre of violence-prone citizens who react with hair-trigger aggression to even the most minimal provocation, clearly, a large number of violent episodes between police officers and citizens could be averted by the use of verbal de-escalation techniques, applied in the context of basic courtesy and good common sense. Handling a Potentially Violent Episode Unless there is an emergency, approach the subject slowly and cautiously. Try to size up the situation and analyze the scene as you get closer. Begin the encounter with tact, patience, and respect, but don't "play games" with a clearly defiant subject if he clearly has no intention of cooperating. Allow a few minutes for the subject to calm down. If the subject vents, listen to both the content and emotional tone of what's being said. Remember, nonviolent verbal venting uses up energy and adrenalin and also establishes a rudimentary form of communicative bond. But also remember that venting should not escalate to uncontrolled ranting, because the latter can inflame the subject's own emotional agitation and lead to physical violence. Often, it's a judgment call. Keep your tone and demeanor professional - don't take the bait with personal insults hurled at you, but calmly deflect these and return to the matter of calming down. You don't have to be a robocop; you can show a little human emotion and personality, and even a little humor, but be careful about overusing jokes, because disturbed subjects tend to be very literal and concrete, and your well-intended kidding around to lighten the moment might be interpreted as mocking the citizen. Again, use your perception and judgment of the situation to guide your behavior. Avoid making any threats that you aren't prepared to back up. Use force as a last resort, but if it comes to that, use it swiftly, decisively, and as noninjuriously as possible. But first, always try to leave the subject a face-saving way out of his predicament: this will make his voluntary cooperation more likely. Also, remember about the earlier point about repeat customers: the next time you encounter this individual or his family and friends, do you want the first thing they recall about you to be how you shamed and humiliated the citizen last time you and he danced? Some officers advocate applying a version of the old standby "Mutt &amp; Jeff" interrogation room technique to the setting of the street interview. In this scenario, there are two officers, one who acts as the angry, hot-headed Officer Mutt, ready to bust the subject at a moment's notice, while the other plays the calm, cool and collected good-guy Officer Jeff who really wants to keep Mutt off the subject's back, if only the subject would cooperate. The problem is that, in such situations, it is all too easy for Mutt to take things too far, triggering a violent response in the subject. Again, use your training, judgment, and common sense. Conclusion: Smarter is Safer Like any skill in police work, dealing assertively and nonviolently with citizens on patrol takes training and practice. Officers who are able to use these skills productively typically find that their respect in the community goes up. The citizens understand that the officer will not shrink from using force if he has to, but all things being equal, he or she prefers to work things out nonaggressively and fairly. This then puts the ball in the citizen's court: "You make me take you down, I take you down, and you're gone. But first I'd like to assume we all have brains here, and see if we can settle this like adults. Your call." As an added benefit, the more adept officers are at using verbal de-escalation techniques and conflict resolution skills, the fewer citizen complaints of excessive force or other uncivil behavior will plague the department. Officers who are "good talkers" tend to pride themselves in their ability to handle virtually any kind of situation without putting themselves or others in physical danger. They feel more confident, not less, than the officer whose automatic response to every confrontation is to reach for the handcuffs, pepper spray, taser, or baton. Law enforcement agencies that are serious about community policing should make communication skills training a standard part of their academy and continuing education curricula. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=de5_1367536881 SAPD_HRT Patrol psychology 101: Communication and conflict resolution Police, Psychology,