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Post by
Rankkor
Sadly, not one person has yet to be arrested for the very malicious practice of "Swatting", but I sincerely hope that the day they catch one of those asshats, they throw the entire weight of the law down on them to hopefully dissuade future "pranksters" from doing this.
Its not just a waste of time and money for a lot of people, it puts innocent lives at risk, and can potentially end lives and/or cause serious injuries to others. That they think this is funny is the mark of a sociopath that has no business being free amongst regular people.
I personally don't care if the ones doing this are 30 or 13, when they catch one, I hope they give him or her multiple decades of jail time to think if its so funny then.
Post by
Zincite
The NATO summit, on Thursday and Friday, is being held just outside the city where I live. There's been a few protest marches, and a dozen helicopters fly overhead every day. But something amusing occurred to me on Monday....
http://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/11443138.Obama_will_visit_Welsh_school/?ref=mr
Security for the summit will be provided by
9,500
police officers drawn from 43 UK police forces
We won the battle of Agincourt with less!
Post by
Rankkor
This just sucks
:( I hope the charges are lifted.
Post by
oneforthemoney
This just sucks
:( I hope the charges are lifted.
Odds are good they will be.
Post by
Rankkor
No-knock raids are a bad idea in general. Lots of potential for a lot of innocent people to get injured or killed. The risk outweighs the reward. Simply announcing yourself as police could help decrease the risk factor tremendously.
Post by
Monday
Not always, though. If you're going in for a potentially violent suspect, announcing yourself just gives them more time to get a better position and fill the doorway with lead.
It's a high risk, high reward tactic.
Post by
Rankkor
Not always, though. If you're going in for a potentially violent suspect, announcing yourself just gives them more time to get a better position and fill the doorway with lead.
So don't position yourself in front of the door when announcing yourself?
It's a high risk, high reward tactic.
When the high risk is innocent lives lost, it doesn't matter how high the reward is, the risk is just not worth it. These are not soldiers fighting a war, these are cops, on an urban area full of civilians, non-combatants, children.
Cops mangled a 6 months old baby with a flashbang grenade, during a no-knock raid based on a bogus tip of drug being sold in the house where the baby was.
Covering all exit points and announcing yourself works a lot better than barging in on a house, scaring the inhabitants, who can potentially shoot you thinking that its burglars.
Its dangerous for the civilians, and dangerous for the cops themselves.(##RESPBREAK##)520##DELIM##Rankkor##DELIM##
Post by
Maurvyn
Not always, though. If you're going in for a potentially violent suspect, announcing yourself just gives them more time to get a better position and fill the doorway with lead.
It's a high risk, high reward tactic.
Tbh, it doesn't even have to be a violent suspect. With the proliferation of so-called "Stand Your Ground" laws, it is perfectly acceptable to just open fire at your whimsy. There are dozens of cases of innocent people being killed for no reason, shot through a door or window with no provocation or warning.
Couple that with the absurd American obsession with firearms and being "ready to defend", and the recent uptick in this "swatting" nonsense that doesn't even qualify as a 'prank'. I personally do not envy any LEO on a home investigation, clandestine or otherwise.
I have to side with Rank, on this one though.
When it comes to a home or property raid, the potential for innocent bystanders getting hurt outweighs the inconvenience of having to chase down a suspect if he bails, or potential destruction of evidence. They don't have to roll up with lights and sirens, but they should at least announce their presence after they have the exits covered.
Post by
Monday
I'd like to clarify that I'm not defending it's usage. I understand why it's being used and I can support it in some situations (such as going in on someone distributing drugs or having connection to a gang or something like that), but I feel like the situation at hand didn't warrant this particular tactic.
Post by
Maurvyn
So.. Gamers rejoice! Cash or Free RedBull!
Post by
Interest
So you guys know that Ebola virus epidemic? Well...
And the article makes it clear the doctor said the sample size is too small to confirm if Lamivudine is truly effective against Ebola, but it's certainly a start...
Oh also, anyone worried it might go pandemic? Having played Plague Inc recently I'm getting a bit concerned myself...
Also...
Post by
Maurvyn
So you guys know that Ebola virus epidemic? Well...
And the article makes it clear the doctor said the sample size is too small to confirm if Lamivudine is truly effective against Ebola, but it's certainly a start...
Oh also, anyone worried it might go pandemic? Having played Plague Inc recently I'm getting a bit concerned myself...
Also...
13 survivors our of 15 seems like quite a feat, though we still really don't have a handle on why one person survives Ebola and another doesn't. Another doctor interviewed simply described the survivors has having "iron blood".
About the infection becoming widespread? Not really concerned, no.
In epidemiology there is a statistic for how transmissible a disease is; the R0 (R-naught) factor of how easily a particular contagion can reproduce; how easily it is transmitted from person to person, and how infectious those exposed are, and for how long.
The R0 for Ebola is less than HIV, and approximately equivalent to HepC.
Unless you are in intimate contact with a patient showing active symptoms of the disease, I'd be more worried about whooping cough, measles, or polio, with special thanks to the Anti-vaxitards.
While technically the disease in Spain can now be considered "pandemic", the definition of a pandemic is very loose; all you need is two confirmed interrelated cases of a disease to be considered 'pandemic'. But just because they can call it a pandemic, doesn't mean anyone is necessarily at higher risk.
And, as someone who wears Hazmat PPE on a regular basis, trust me, it is very easy to do it wrong. Just because she was "wearing" the gear, doesn't mean she was using it properly.
And it's no surprise that the Bill was blocked. If Obama suggested that we all breathe oxygen, the Conservatives would all suffocate trying to prove him wrong.
On a side note: I have a colleague who is aggressively religious, one of those "bible-thumper" types; he wanted to know how come I was so sure that the virus wasn't going to evolve and become airborne.
I must admit, I took no small pleasure in reminding him that he isn't supposed to believe in evolution...
Post by
Stabhorn
So you guys know that Ebola virus epidemic? Well...
And the article makes it clear the doctor said the sample size is too small to confirm if Lamivudine is truly effective against Ebola, but it's certainly a start...
Oh also, anyone worried it might go pandemic? Having played Plague Inc recently I'm getting a bit concerned myself...
Also...
I discovered that Ebola existed about two years ago in a book called 'the Hot Zone'. I remember thinking, "Man, I hope that thing never comes back."
:/
I'm really praying that we find a way to cure and contain it before it becomes an even deadlier threat.
Post by
Maurvyn
So the Ebola alarmists are reaching new levels of
Stupid.
Seriously, people, this is getting
ridiculous
.
If you don't understand basic epidemiology or pathology, then listen to the people who do.
If you don't know anything about disease pathology, but still want to believe basically anyone else except the actual scientists, the please don't ever vote or have children.
The rest of society would appreciate it.
Post by
Interest
So the Ebola alarmists are reaching new levels of
Stupid.
Seriously, people, this is getting
ridiculous
.
If you don't understand basic epidemiology or pathology, then listen to the people who do.
If you don't know anything about disease pathology, but still want to believe basically anyone else except the actual scientists, the please don't ever vote or have children.
The rest of society would appreciate it.
Okay I might be concerned but I'm not that hysterical. I do think there needs to be some containment and decent protocol following in terms of handling diseases (like just wash your hands, honestly) but this is the equivalent of running around with signs hanging from your body that say "the end is coming!"
Since we're on that topic, what's your thoughts on this
proposed quarantine
(for NY, NJ, Illinois) given what happened in NY? I can't really blame them, to be honest...but apparently
one isn't contagious until they start showing symptoms
like fever, so....(still probably better safe than very, very sorry given what happened).
Post by
Maurvyn
So the Ebola alarmists are reaching new levels of
Stupid.
Seriously, people, this is getting
ridiculous
.
If you don't understand basic epidemiology or pathology, then listen to the people who do.
If you don't know anything about disease pathology, but still want to believe basically anyone else except the actual scientists, the please don't ever vote or have children.
The rest of society would appreciate it.
Okay I might be concerned but I'm not that hysterical. I do think there needs to be some containment and decent protocol following in terms of handling diseases (like just wash your hands, honestly) but this is the equivalent of running around with signs hanging from your body that say "the end is coming!"
Since we're on that topic, what's your thoughts on this
proposed quarantine
(for NY, NJ, Illinois) given what happened in NY? I can't really blame them, to be honest...but apparently
one isn't contagious until they start showing symptoms
like fever, so....(still probably better safe than very, very sorry given what happened).
Firstly, there is a containment protocol from the CDC for returning aid workers, although it is mostly an exercise in self-monitoring, and from what I have read the doctor in NY followed it to the letter. He self admitted as soon as he started showing a fever.
I don't necessarily disagree with a 21-day monitoring period, but forced isolation is a bit extreme.
Ebola isn't actually a tricky disease to contain, even when showing symptoms the transmission vectors are well established and relatively easy to mitigate. The issue is that it just happens to pop up in one of those parts of the world that is one of the least equipped for managing it.
The WHO/CDC began enforcing mandatory screening at all international airports in the affected countries several weeks ago. And many foreign visitors are self-quarantining in Africa before they travel back. I know many reporters and aid workers are specifically scheduling an extra 21-days after their tour, to account for the incubation period, just to be safe.
I completely disagree with the way the isolation rule was implemented for the woman in NJ. She isn't even from NJ, she lives in Maine; so they forcibly detained her in a pop-up tent, far away from home. ( she was recently released )
Although given the reaction in Maine to that teacher, this nurse may be put in stocks and stoned to death, or burned at the stake or something. Seriously.
This is a purely political stunt to attempt to appease the fear-addled masses.
Overall, I am much more concerned about the effects of the rampant stupidity and fear-mongering about the disease, than about the disease itself.
Like how here in AZ, the TFH NutCon Brigade are spouting about how ISIS is now deliberately infecting themselves with Ebola and sneaking across our borders to infect us all, and presumably take our jobs or our guns or ruin our freedom or something....
Unfortunately, I am not kidding....
Post by
Rankkor
I don't wanna sound insensitive, or rude, but /rollseyes at this whole ebola BS.
Here in venezuela we have a REAL epidemic on our hands, a really nasty disease called Chikungunya, transmitted by an african mosquito that somehow made it to venezuela, and has been breeding relentlessly, spreading the plague everywhere.
Already hundreds of casualties,
and hundreds of thousands of infected across the country
. And that's not counting the outbreaks of malaria and dengue that are also sweeping across the country.
Meanwhile in the US, 2 people in the entire country home of 260+ million people show signs of ebola and now suddenly the sky is falling, and everyone needs to wear a hazmat suit and gas mask.
Give me a $%&# break.
*sighs*
Of course, Maduro, in his infinite stupidity that knows no bounds, shows once again just how stupid he is. When the chikungunya outbreak began in early september, he denied it, despite 9 people dying on the central general hospital of Maracay, instead, he went after the doctors who made the announcement of the outbreak,
accusing them of psychological terrorism
. When the number of infected skyrocketed to the point they couldn't hide it anymore, he suddenly and abruptly changed his tune from "this is a false alarm by the opposition with the help of their CIA masters to destabilize my government" to "This is a biological attack against our country by the opposition to destabilize my government".
Post by
Maurvyn
I don't wanna sound insensitive, or rude, but /rollseyes at this whole ebola BS.
Here in venezuela we have a REAL epidemic on our hands, a really nasty disease called Chikungunya, transmitted by an african mosquito that somehow made it to venezuela, and has been breeding relentlessly, spreading the plague everywhere.
Already hundreds of casualties,
and hundreds of thousands of infected across the country
. And that's not counting the outbreaks of malaria and dengue that are also sweeping across the country.
Meanwhile in the US, 2 people in the entire country home of 260+ million people show signs of ebola and now suddenly the sky is falling, and everyone needs to wear a hazmat suit and gas mask.
Give me a $%&# break.
*sighs*
Of course, Maduro, in his infinite stupidity that knows no bounds, shows once again just how stupid he is. When the chikungunya outbreak began in early september, he denied it, despite 9 people dying on the central general hospital of Maracay, instead, he went after the doctors who made the announcement of the outbreak,
accusing them of psychological terrorism
. When the number of infected skyrocketed to the point they couldn't hide it anymore, he suddenly and abruptly changed his tune from "this is a false alarm by the opposition with the help of their CIA masters to destabilize my government" to "This is a biological attack against our country by the opposition to destabilize my government".
I wholeheartedly agree with you, Rank. Ebola is only an issue here because our media has sensationalized it and flipped the FEAR switch to 11, and many Americans can't think for themselves.
There are even worse epidemics going on
in our own country
, including chikungunya here also, as well as a significant uptick in whooping cough (thank you, Anti-Vaccitards), and even a
disease with no known cause
, that has affected dozens of people in the Rockies.
Not to mention the other epidemics going on elsewhere in the world: MERS, Chikungunya all over both Americas, etc.
Nah, better freak out about a disease that only affects relatively few people, is only moderately infectious, and easily contained and treated.
Maduro sounds just like some of the conservative NutJobs here: the idiots who claim that Eboal is actually a terrorist threat.
Interestingly, Ebola and Chikungunya both were investigated for weaponization... but really, there aren't many infectious agents that
weren't
investigated, so....
Post by
Interest
This is a purely political stunt to attempt to appease the fear-addled masses.
Overall, I am much more concerned about the effects of the rampant stupidity and fear-mongering about the disease, than about the disease itself.
Like how here in AZ, the TFH NutCon Brigade are spouting about how ISIS is now deliberately infecting themselves with Ebola and sneaking across our borders to infect us all, and presumably take our jobs or our guns or ruin our freedom or something....
Unfortunately, I am not kidding....
Sadly political stunts are getting kind of out of control. Oh also, here's a
relevant article
on that, apparently.
Also, I'm kind of at least glad there is some awareness and action. It's better than doing nothing and I do think that stopping the disease itself is a good idea.I don't wanna sound insensitive, or rude, but /rollseyes at this whole ebola BS.
Here in venezuela we have a REAL epidemic on our hands, a really nasty disease called Chikungunya, transmitted by an african mosquito that somehow made it to venezuela, and has been breeding relentlessly, spreading the plague everywhere.
So I took a glance at the disease you mentioned and a few things come to mind.
Firstly, I feel like diseases transmitted by other animals (insects in particular) are somewhat...underrated, meaning they don't get quite as much. However, I will also say that diseases transmitted by other animals, particularly insects, tend to be a little more localized
As to how the disease you mentioned came from Africa to begin with, that's likely to be related to mosquitoes from there being introduced to South America, which would arguably have something of a similar climate or at least a favorable one for mosquitoes, technically making it a bioweapon of some sort, though more one of unintentional migration than anything. That's something we need to watch out for, imo (as much if not more than the usually much more obvious human to human transmission diseases).
Secondly, that possibility of chronic pain blows. The increasing fatality rate is a bit of a concern too because that means there's likely a new strain. However, based on the symptoms I've read, there's also not a lot to sensationalize or incite fear from compared to a number of other diseases. Initially Ebola doesn't but the implication of what is essentially total organ failure definitely sounds pretty unattractive and horrifying.
Thirdly, the disease may be an issue but the implications of censorship and political struggles are a little different (doctor is silenced, has to run for his life because the government (as in Maduro) spreads even more irrational bull#$%^ than the media is doing here for Ebola (which in this case is effectively raising awareness, but probably raising it far higher than necessary and in a not-so-great way).
http://www.cdc.gov/ncird/investigation/viral/sep2014.html
This...is troubling....
Random news article
not related to this topic. Dat hoax doe...
Post by
Maurvyn
{Great discussion, redacted for length}
Good points, although a running theory for Ebola is that it is also initially zoonotic from bats or primates in the region.
The dramatic symptoms of Ebola I think help to entrench it peoples minds as a dangerous illness; what is more terrifying than a Super-dysentery that makes you bleed out of your eyes?
Chikungunya, while more infectious, is less dramatic; after all some wracking joint pain that lasts for years just can't compete on the Hollywood movie scene.
Random news article
not related to this topic. Dat hoax doe...
LOL
As awesome as six days of twilight would be (bringing me back to my time in Alaska :D )
that is really just stupid.
While I am disgusted for our society that Facebook is working on a "satire" label for articles, things like this just show how desperately we need it.
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