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[Janine Dee]

Unhealer makes a very good point. It could be argued it wasn't there long enough for people to realize those other three channels were there. They could have just seen General Chat and On/Off.

[Janine Dee]

Agreed, but “Romantic Love” is nebulous while  “German Chat” points to a very specific crowd.

And “Nasty Bitches” *I* respond poorly to being called a bitch.

A more effective idea may be user created rooms, because then you KNOW someone would be interested since they bothered to make the room in the first place.

Not to mention that empty channels could be closed down.

[Janine Dee]

Your fine Bazzamac, and welcome. As far as your idea, it already had strong support even before general chat had been implemented (back when we just wanted an open chat channel option). I was one of those who supported it. They could give options like rooms by language, orientation, you name it. Though in those early discussions it was thought they wouldn't get TOO specialized because the whole idea was to get people talking to each other.

[Janine Dee]

It's not an excuse, it's an indictment. Of them, of us, of the whole system. Yes there is a code of silence, but there also tends to be a presumption of guilt in far too many cases. Like that case earlier where people seem to figure the police lives were only sorta threatened by the knife, so their using their guns was wrong. Or the fact that a resisting suspect can BE resisting, and still claim excessive force?

But yes, it is truly a case by case sort of thing. I just wish logic could rule more, like that case of Bear's where the Sheriff's blood was not tested. I mean any toddler could tell you that you checkout everyone. Or in that incident I mentioned with the knife wielder… if I have a gun and someone comes at me with a  knife, I WILL shoot them.

The problem is that looking back through history official legal systems have only been marginally concerned with justice. The primary difference between now and 1000 years ago is that there isn't an official “ruling class”. So know it's all about favors and back scratching and high priced lawyers, but sadly is the same mechanic at work.

[Janine Dee]

In the Problems running AChat thread it was mentioned that there were some big problems with people not getting on or getting kicked off, and the common thought was that the new chat implement was at the root of it. So it could be that they are working on a way to make it work without screwing up system performance too badly.

And I'm hoping they will be coming up with a way for users to crate private rooms, or even public ones we can theme with things like language specific titles.

[Janine Dee]

Ah, but the question is. Are you still having the logging problems you were having before? When you, mentioned it most figured that it was because of the new chat implement. So now that it's removed did that fix the problem?

[Janine Dee]

As far as the cops, I also believe part of the sticking up for other cops is that other cops are the only ones they can truly rely on.

The public? If they aren't screaming that the cops aren't doing anything then they are living the Don't Snitch code.

The politicians? Depends on the polls. If they think it will help their reelection they will find a cop that's questionable enough (and as an example right now there is a Hispanic community in an uproar because police shot a man threatening them with a knife) to hang in the public square as a example to show they are tough on police corruption.

So I can understand how even the good ones may say “He's a scumbag, but he's still one of us.”

[Janine Dee]

To be fair… this could easily be special circumstances for Tom rather then a full blown return. I mean would we rather have him here? Or coding updates? 

[Janine Dee]

I get you Sweetie, and it's true. Police are overworked, underpaid, unappreciated doing a job that people only give at best vocal support that often vanishes when they are the ones doing wrong. (Then the police are fascists.) The officers are exposed to society at it's worst and then given a  long list of rules that even the lawyers that would get them thrown off the force can't memorize and told they could get thrown off the force for violating even one.

And that's for the good ones.

There are also a sadly good sized number that consider the badge an excuse to take their frustrations out on others.

Then both the good and the bad can put in months and even years to take some predator down… only to have some sanctimonious black-robed bastard let the monster walk because of some legal loophole?

Especially when said monster has a record of the same damn crime?

I applaud the officers who can still care after all that.

What makes it even worse is there are the Susan Smith's out there who can and do vanish their own kids. Making a necessary part of any investigation clearing the parents.

Yeah… it would be easier to not care. So while I still rant and rave on some level I can get the desire to shut off, to try and make it so that pain can't get to you.

[Janine Dee]

I know that European nations can and do often consider themselves more civilized then us here in the US. I know that their refusal of capital punishment is one of the things they will hang that superior hat on.

I also know that when civilization was first starting one of the key concepts was mutual defense.

Or in other words if you were on your own and a bear tried to eat you, you were on your own. People started forming villages, and later towns because of just that sort of threat… weaker creatures bending together to protect themselves against predators.

I see it as one of the keystones of civilization.

Yet now it's “civilized” to abandon that mutual protection and let the predators run amok.

Not only will they not be put to death, but “life” isn't “life” it's “We'll allow a whole new generation of victims to reach the age of majority (18 here in the States) and then let you out and hope you've mended your ways.”

Sinnnn sweetie, while I can't remember the case I remember there was a family of a missing child who used photoshop on the picture of their missing child to make them more photogenic, what's sad is I don't blame them one damn bit. It's that same mechanism, the cute kid is more important, and people get more worked up to find them.

There are so many kids in the Missing and Exploited Children's database, but we hear more about the latest one adopted by Angelina Joile.

I don't know who here has seen “A time to kill” but Samuel Jackson's character's little girl was raped, and he cut the rapists down with an M-16 after they got off. His lawyer managed to get him off by describing the brutality of the attack and then finished with the line “Now imagine she was white.”

It was fiction, but a fictional portrayal of something all too real.

The reason *I* still get worked up is because I make sure I still get worked up. It is SO much easier to let go, just go numb and change the channel.

Apathy is easy, empathy is agonizing.

[Janine Dee]

I'm not wondering why he's out. I'm wondering why he's breathing. I mean a list like that? Are people THAT opposed to capital punishment? An animal goes rabid we put it down so it can't hurt anyone else? How many will that psycho be allowed to kill?

[Janine Dee]

Finding guilty people is both fine and wonderful. The issue is that there is such a fear that they might not actually be guilty that the system believes it would be better to let a guilty person go free to be on the safe side.

[Janine Dee]

No, the 100 to 1 ratio is a quote about how the American legal system is set up. The reason they have so many rights is because they would rather have a guilty man go free then an innocent man be imprisoned. It was even taken to the 100 to one extreme. It IS meant to be an extreme, but is also meant to show their feelings on the matter. They would truly have those 100 go free as long as 101 was innocent.

I'm not saying it's easy Lover, what I am trying to say is that nature moves to balance, and we should too. When a caffeine overdose is a viable defense I call that imbalanced.

[Janine Dee]

There is a website called “The Onion” it was parodying the news long before John Stewart. I remember finding an article on their archives about “The ACLU defends a mans right to burn down the ACLU.”

The idea was that they were SO set to defend the mans civil liberties that they defended his right to commit arson on THEIR headquarters.

It's not gotten to that point because those who say “It's better 100 guilty men go free then 1 innocent man be convicted.” can order themselves up police protection.

However the rest of us are left to those 100 and the recidivism rate.

100 to 1 is considered acceptable, one HUNDRED. If only half of them re-offend that still 50 crimes that could have been prevented.

Yes there is a chance that officials could abuse their powers to arrest and detain, but is this any better?

So the guy who assaults me doesn't have a badge? Is that supposed to make me feel better?

[Janine Dee]

They would argue that if you let people judge with emotions then you get cases like that woman who put the wrong man behind bars for 10 years for rape. Their argument would be that only through the following of established rules can justice even be considered.

My counter would be that while that is all well and good the overwhelming focus on the accused needs SOME counterbalance.

A favorite example of mine is what they call “Fruit of the Poisoned Tree” what that says is evidence that was obtained in a way that violates the accused rights is inadmissible.

So if the police coerced a subject to tell them where to find a murder weapon that has the subjects fingerprints on it, that could be tossed out because the police found it in a way that breaks the rules. Mind you not that the evidence looks tampered with, just that it wasn't obtained properly.

Irrefutable evidence tossed out simply because the police either did wrong of their own, or made a simple f-ing mistake. It would be one thing if they simply charged the cop with crimes of his own, but the courts are willing to let violent criminals go free because their precious procedures weren't followed to the letter.

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