unforum

[Alex Smith]

[bosch]

[songofthephoenix]

I am starting to get really suspicious about the 'more headlines' section. The headlines appear random and the use of words in each heading would imply that the words themselves are constructed from a code..

Zeller Evicts Reporters
Scott Defends Budget
Hospital Mulls Renovations
Crab Population Recovers
Petel in Surprise Win
Suit Filed Against Crispy Heaven

a) The sentences use capital letters.. but not in all cases..
b) Crab Population Recovers.. ?? what have crabs and there population have to do with anything?
c) Hospital Mulls Renovations.. who cares if someone is considering renovating.. this doesn't seem noteworthy news for the sentinel.

I could be wrong.. but my gut is saying there is something funny going on with these headlines.

[Rolerbe]

[Tiny]

[Kleitophon]

Anyone else find it odd how compliant and agreeable the interviewed protester was towards the police intervention?

"Protester Hillary Gilbert said that the police did the right thing. 'They stepped in and removed our leaders before anything got out of hand,' she said. 'The worst we saw was a bit of a scuffle where some guys who'd been drinking started shouting at us and calling us names. I'm so glad nobody was hurt.'"

Sounds like coercion to me. Why would any protester worth the name praise cops who broke up her protest on the slimmest of pretexts?

This breakup would definitely have been illegal in the U.S., though I can't speak for anywhere else definitively (I would assume the same for Canada, France, U.K., Germany, etc. . .) There was no direct violence, except for name calling which is certainly not illegal here. No property was threatened, and the people causing the "scuffle" were not the ones arrested, the leaders were. The people causing the trouble, and I use this term loosely, weren't even protesters.

[dead weight]

While I personally believe there is definitely something "not quite right" about the police's actions, there are a few major things to consider in thinking of them:

Even with minor cultural differences, some majorly divergent perceptions can arise. Compare the U.S.'s current division on gay marriage with other countries of the world who by now have simply decided one way or the other. And we're on the same planet. (I think.)

Some state these actions wouldn't be accepted or even verge on illegal in some countries here, and also speak of "innocence until proven guilty." While these are great concepts for our schoolchildren, I'm sure many at Guantanamo would disagree. Also, if you have a close relationship with a trial lawyer, ask them how concerned about guilt/innocence the courts are, and how many people they've "traded" to make cases easier. The honest ones (as in they'll tell on themselves) will tell you stories that rival the best horror out there.

Also, try to have a peaceful demonstration along a parade route or during a major political event. See how far from the actual site you are forced to be.

One final note: The Patriot Act. Great idea, not so great on paper. Basically "You must give up your rights if we so choose, to protect those said rights for you. Oh, and we'll call it 'The Patriot Act' so if you disagree we can call you unpatriotic." (Excellent political/psychological move with the name by the way.) We're not so far from what we speak of ourselves...

It's easy to stand back and yell about how civilized we are. But then we're used to the inconsistencies of our culture. Explain to an alien race the things above or that our 18 year-olds can die for our country but can't have a beer.

(Note: I'm not on a political rant - I'm just pointing out that every culture has things that will seem ludicrous at best from the outside, and many times to some of those inside. How they handle protests could easily fall in that category.)

[Kleitophon]

This was neither a large political rally nor a parade. It was a small, localized protest at a park. Protests happen all the time in America that are just like this, and they are not broken up. If they were, there would be lawsuits, there would be heads rolled. The WTO protests involved looting, fights, and other things deemed illicit. By our standards, there was nothing to give police the right to break up this protest. Worse things happen after football games in college without enciting arrests.

Your political rhetoric notwithstanding, the status of guantanamo prisoners, not being citizens of the U.S., is a subject of vigorous debate. What goes on at guantamo may be perfectly legal from a legal strandpoint, and humanitarian concerns have no bearing in legal arguments. Secondly, the Patriot Act works exactly as intended and is a horrible idea.

There are clear and fundamental differences in the ways in which they approach justice. It is completely legitimate to make our decisions based on these differences. Probing what could amount to a serious breach of civil and human rights in perplexian society is hardly a case of ethnocentrism.

[dead weight]

[DogsHead]

update in the PCS

[LordKinbote]

[songofthephoenix]

[Mikeyj]

This tells us a bit more about the stance of the Sentinel in terms of PPC politics...it seems pro-establishment in the main, and maybe a little anti-academy.

Just to add...entirely agree with Jbd, Keys as far as we understand them, have terrible possibilities for subtle abuse...and entirely disagree with Salkunh and her spanking which was possibly subtle terrible abuse.

[Reason]

Although all the spec about their culture and stance on protesting is good. Do you think we may be overlooking the futures section.

[Violet]