Friday Follies

Russian has actually had two nuclear disasters.

Love no matter what.

Apparently we need to start recording everything we do.

Republicans hate government so much that they are startled to learn they might want to show voters they can govern.

Paul Krugman takes apart libertarian economics and Ayn Rand fantasies.

The over-militarization of our police. Steve Bates discusses. Officer Friendly.

Singing opera may save your life.

Why funny people kill themselves.

Jeffrey Smith Challenge to Neil deGrasse Tyson on GMO food.

Oh well done, Seattle police department!

SEATTLE - A downtown march and rally in support of the Occupy Wall Street movement turned briefly chaotic as police scattered a crowd of rowdy protesters — including a pregnant 19-year-old and an 84-year-old activist — with blasts of pepper spray.

Protest organizers denounced the use of force, saying that police indiscriminately sprayed the chemical irritant at peaceful protesters.

The Occupy Seattle movement released a written statement late Tuesday expressing support for "a 4-foot 10-inch, 84-year-old woman, a priest and a pregnant woman who as of this writing is still in the hospital."

Update: Dorli Rainey talks to Keith Olbermann:

The sign of the times

FBI giving cops critical info: How to spot an IED

BLYTHE, Ga. – If police officers find grainy white powder at a makeshift lab and assume they've made a drug bust, they could be making an explosive mistake.

The FBI has been training thousands of law enforcement officials across the nation to identify, disrupt and dismantle improvised explosive devices, including bombs made out of ordinary household products.

The need was underlined this week when federal authorities said they disrupted a suspected plot by a Christian militia to kill police officers with homemade bombs. That follows last year's alleged plot to make bombs out of beauty supplies and an airline passenger's alleged attempt on Christmas Day to detonate a bomb hidden in his underwear.

Such devices have been around for years, but they've become a greater concern recently not only because of terrorism, but because of the growing availability of dangerous recipes on the Internet.

Local-level bomb experts have been getting three-day courses designed to supplement their training with the latest techniques and strategies. First responders are invited on the third day to learn how to spot an improvised explosives lab.

*SIGH*

FOUNTAIN HILLS, Arizona – A Taser stun gun, capable of shocking three people without being reloaded, was unveiled Monday in front of hundreds of law enforcement officers who applauded after watching six rounds of the barbed wire fired at metal targets.

The demonstration at the Scottsdale-based company's annual conference was performed by Taser International Chairman Tom Smith, and his brother, CEO Rick Smith, who says the device will become the new standard for police officers who want greater tactical abilities.

The device is the first new stun gun Taser International has introduced since 2003.

Older Taser stun guns, in use by 14,200 law enforcement agencies throughout the United States, have to be reloaded after one shot, which can be a problem for an officer who has missed a target or has more than one suspect to subdue.

So... your product has been known to kill innocent people along with people in need of subduing... so what do you do? Build a bigger one that can take down even more people!

Good grief.

Realizing that tasers kill

Canadians do it right:

Vancouver, British Columbia (AHN) - Former Justice Thomas Braidwood released on Thursday in a press conference his anticipated report on the use of Tasers, ending two years of inquiry on the Royal Canadian Mounted Police's use of electronic stun guns, which was highlighted by the death of a Polish immigrant who was tasered at the Vancouver International Airport in 2007.

Braidwood made 19 recommendations which were short of asking the RCMP to stop the use of Tasers. He supported the conditional use of the stun gun if major changes are made by the Mounties The Taser has been blamed for 25 deaths in Canada.

He acknowledged police officers need the best weapons to perform their duties, but warned the Taser has the potential to cause death or serious injury and may go against Canadian values. Braidwood pushed for more stringent measures to regulate the use of the controversial weapon.

So... how many more deaths will there be before the US law enforcement concedes that Tasers are a deadly weapon?

Coming soon!

To a police department near you!