The U.S. Senate has
declined to promote
Captain Timothy W. Dorsey to the rank of rear admiral (lower half). Dorsey, currently serving as Navy Reserve inspector general, was involved in one of the more bizarre friendly fire incidents in U.S. Military History, intentionally shooting down a U.S. Air Force jet during military exercises some 25 years ago.
[more inside]
posted by kjars
on Jan 8, 2013 -
75 comments
Almost one year after Congressional Republicans tried to
limit the definition of rape to only include "force" (
previously), the Department of Justice is redefining the term--but this time to
to expand it dramatically:
The outdated definition that has been governing national rape statistics since 1929, “the carnal knowledge of a female, forcibly and against her will,” has been updated to "penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.” According to Susan D. Carbon, director of the Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women, the previous definition “excluded an untold number of victims.” For the first time, men will be included in national rape statistics, as well as those raped while unable to give consent due to intoxication or other mental and physical incapacity.
posted by zombieflanders
on Jan 6, 2012 -
47 comments
Taser use in law enforcement has been under increased scrutiny in recent years, especially following
the death of Robert Dziekanski in a Vancouver airport last year after being Tasered by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (
previously). Now the CBC and Canadian Press have sifted through over 5,000 incident reports to create a
RCMP Taser use database, tracking use of tasers by Canada's federal law enforcement by province, incident, year or stuns used.
[more inside]
posted by Shepherd
on Apr 9, 2009 -
36 comments
The WGA strike has entered its third month. Since New Year's,
Worldwide Pants, the
Weinstein Co., and
United Artists have reached interim deals with the WGA, with rumors of more to come.
Microsoft announced new deals with Hollywood companies. And on Friday,
ABC Studios terminated deals with more than a dozen writers. Tonight,
CBS,
NBC, and
20th Century Fox have followed suit. Names of producers, writers, and shows affected are still being revealed as letters are received.
Force majeure.
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posted by Tehanu
on Jan 14, 2008 -
169 comments
UCLA releases the results of an
independent investigation into an incident where a UCLAPD officer repeatedly tasered a passively resisting student (
previously on MetaFilter). The investigation found that the officer violated UCLA's use of force policies. Furthermore, it found that these policies are "unduly permissive" and that "the UCLAPD policy stands alone in its legitimization of the Taser as a pain compliance device against passive resisters." An internal investigation by UCLAPD previously determined that there was no violation.
posted by grouse
on Aug 6, 2007 -
31 comments
Robert Novak gets it wrong again. Predicting that
Ellsworth Air Force Base in North Dakota would fall victim to the
Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BARC) thus damaging the political career of Republican
John Thune, Novak argued that the White House was "ignoring Thune" contradicting "the image of a White House that puts politics first. Instead, the Bush team looked like tone-deaf, old-fashioned Republicans interested more in going by the book than winning elections." Thune promised that only a Republican senator could save Ellsworth, South Dakota's largest employer, from closure. That promise played a prominent role in his campaign. In defeating senate minority leader
Tom Daschle, Thune's victory marked
the first time since 1952 that a party leader in the senate was defeated. When
Ellsworth was nevertheless put on the list for closure, Thune's politcal future appeared doomed.
As promised, Thune went into action. Yesterday,
Thune announced Ellsworth is saved! Contrary to Novak's opinion, the image of a White House that puts politics first is as strong as ever.
posted by three blind mice
on Aug 27, 2005 -
21 comments
sodaconstructor allows you to construct basic shapes using lines, joints, and "muscles" and adjust the settings (gravity, and I'm guessing that
f and
k stand for
force and
kinetics but I could be wrong) to create "living" creatures.
posted by sillygwailo
on Jan 4, 2002 -
10 comments
