Sheffield cops threaten reporter with terrorism charges

Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2014/06/24/sheffield-cops-threaten-report.html

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One of the things I’ll never get is why the police even get involved in peaceful protest. Unless it’s a protest against police brutality or racial profiling, they have no dog in the fight. Why can’t they just stand back and maintain order? In my youth I probably attended a dozen rallies, and the cops just stood around looking bored. Why would they choose to crack down on cameras?

It’s like a subset of another puzzle. When Mubarak and Qadaffi were faced with demonstrations, why did they order the army to shoot? Why couldn’t they just make a few cosmetic reforms and rely on the media to delegitimize the protesters? Why do the people in power sometimes insist on acting like melodrama villains?

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I am sorry this is news to you, it is called being in control; The United States is about to go through its own growing pains, and has already started to prepare. Good luck.

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Very poor use of scarce Police resources, an own goal yet again by the boys in blue. Media coverage as follows: "Terrorist pensioners and their tame Al-Jazeera reporter sentenced to Death in Sheffield, next after this celebrity titillation story…’

In other news:

It’s because of who the police departments are hiring. When you hire thugs, you get thuggish behavior from your police. Generally, the people who most want the power, are the same people who should never be given the power. Raise the pay and filter the applicants. Aggression should get you sacked, not promoted.

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South Yorkshire Police: Official Police service of the Conservative Party

This is fascism.

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Another example of the slippery slope leading to a police state

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They mean to wage war on their own citizens, don’t they?

Because it is in their nature…

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That story is that old? I never knew. Thanks, Aesop!

EDIT: What a weird cartoon - I just noticed the frog’s reflection says USA - but not his body. And who the hell is the scorpion in this? Lobbyists for Big Venom?

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Ya, didn’t notice until later – it is a Ramirez 'toon, so the Scorpion probably represents some right-wing boogieman (edit: or Hillary Clinton).

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Since it’s brown and crossing a river, it probably represents undocumented Mexican immigrants.

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http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/terrorism
Terrorism: the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce, especially for political purposes.

The police are the terrorists.

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A default response of the bystanders to any altercation with police, especially if cameras are involved, should be pulling out their own cameras (or phones) and start recording. (Or at least looking like that if their device has no camera, to act as a decoy.) That way the cops will meet what can be considered an “overwhelming force” and have a high chance of never being able to “recover” all recordings.

Well, the tail does sort of form a crescent shape so it could be that other group that the right wing likes to bellow about…

My God! The scorpion - banana connection revealed! Just look at it!

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That’s because someone photoshopped the context out of the original version:

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