So many reports about cops assaulting criminals with tasers these days. I think that I've just found out why we should not be arming our law enforcement agencies with tasers, batons, capsicum spray, etc. They are obviously wasted instruments for controlling non law-abiding citizens. The gun is the best, and probably only required, tool for a police officer.
The news article this morning was - Man shot dead by police in pub robbery officers only armed with guns
Notice how by this evening it has changed to Surveillance operation turns deadly: plainclothes officers shoot robber? Even the link is redirected.
Maybe somebody considered that the headline wasn't too intelligent and required change. Perhaps the police union had something to say. It wasn't the best bit of journalism.
I was surprised that the news article made much regarding the fact that the police officers
didn't carry any weapon other than a gun. They dealt with three robbers armed with a machete.
Does anybody, in their right mind, honestly think that capsicum spray would be good enough to subdue the criminals? Gotta say, cops armed with guns and not afraid to use them is probaby the best deterrent. What other weapon would have been useful in this situation? And didn't the cops, off-duty cops too, do their job properly?
Surely we should be commending these fine officers for carrying out their duty efficiently and protecting innocent citizens. We shouldn't even be trying to enter into a debate about what weapons the police should be carrying. Unless we're talking about getting rid of the rest and arming them with guns only. What business has anybody running around and assaulting/robbing people with a machete?
Police 1 : Crims 0
Showing posts with label robbery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label robbery. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Sunday, June 20, 2010
What Is It With Italians, The Penalty Spot and Australia At The World Cup?A
What is it with Italians, the penalty spot and Australia at the World Cup? Last World Cup [Germany 2006], in case the bitter reality has been erased from your memory, Italy was awarded a penalty in the second round against Australia in the final minute of additional time. It didn't matter that Fabio Grosso had dived. Odds-on favourite to take out an Academy Award for his acting if the playing theatre had been a movie set and not a football pitch.
I knew from the outset of the match last night that it wouldn't end well for Australia. The referee and the linesmen were from Italy. I couldn't forsee that our hope up front, Harry Kewell, would be sent off for handball on the last line of defence. Kewell's lower arm moved slightly before the ball impacted upon it from a firmly struck kick but the top of his arm didn't move and that's where the ball struck. To the referee, in the heat of the moment, it probably appeared that Kewell had blocked the ball with his arm. Not actually the case, in my opinion, but unfortunately the ball struck the arm. The red card was unwarranted but would have looked pretty clear cut to the ref. Still, he's Italian and he pointed to the penalty spot. Understandably.
Pride has been restored to our football team, the Socceroos. To play for over an hour with only 10 men at the World Cup and not get beaten was a brilliant effort. Especially on those aging legs. Mind you, if the referee had sent one of the Ghana players off for a tackle from behind to Marco Bresciano, as he should have, that would have evened things up a bit. It was a straight red incident but he just issued a yellow card. If it had been in Ghana's penalty area he most probably would have booked the Aussie for diving.
Italians, the penalty spot and Australia at the World Cup don't mix. We were robbed. Again. As The Sunday Times put it- "RED-ICULOUS" and "ARMED ROBBERY". Couldn't have put it better myself.
After the 1998 World Cup match between Cameroon and Italy where Australian referee Eddie Lennie controversially sent off Cameroon defender Raymond Kalla FIFA was criticised in Cameroon for appointing officials from "non-footballing nations" [source - Wikipedia]. It's not as if the Italians should have a grudge against us.
Unfortunate as it was we Aussies will have another four years to whinge and lament. Gosh, we're the new England. Perenially disappointing at major tournaments and wanting to blame our bad luck on others. That would be sad if it wasn't so true.
I knew from the outset of the match last night that it wouldn't end well for Australia. The referee and the linesmen were from Italy. I couldn't forsee that our hope up front, Harry Kewell, would be sent off for handball on the last line of defence. Kewell's lower arm moved slightly before the ball impacted upon it from a firmly struck kick but the top of his arm didn't move and that's where the ball struck. To the referee, in the heat of the moment, it probably appeared that Kewell had blocked the ball with his arm. Not actually the case, in my opinion, but unfortunately the ball struck the arm. The red card was unwarranted but would have looked pretty clear cut to the ref. Still, he's Italian and he pointed to the penalty spot. Understandably.
Pride has been restored to our football team, the Socceroos. To play for over an hour with only 10 men at the World Cup and not get beaten was a brilliant effort. Especially on those aging legs. Mind you, if the referee had sent one of the Ghana players off for a tackle from behind to Marco Bresciano, as he should have, that would have evened things up a bit. It was a straight red incident but he just issued a yellow card. If it had been in Ghana's penalty area he most probably would have booked the Aussie for diving.
Italians, the penalty spot and Australia at the World Cup don't mix. We were robbed. Again. As The Sunday Times put it- "RED-ICULOUS" and "ARMED ROBBERY". Couldn't have put it better myself.
After the 1998 World Cup match between Cameroon and Italy where Australian referee Eddie Lennie controversially sent off Cameroon defender Raymond Kalla FIFA was criticised in Cameroon for appointing officials from "non-footballing nations" [source - Wikipedia]. It's not as if the Italians should have a grudge against us.
Unfortunate as it was we Aussies will have another four years to whinge and lament. Gosh, we're the new England. Perenially disappointing at major tournaments and wanting to blame our bad luck on others. That would be sad if it wasn't so true.
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Strange Feeling At The Petrol Station
On Saturday afternoon I filled my car up for the first time in eight weeks. No, it's not ultra fuel efficient. I just don't use it a lot as I catch the bus to work. And considering that it cost over A$80 to fill it's not something that I'd like to do each week.
There was a lady at the bowser in front of me and she went into the shop just as I was getting out and starting to fill my car. We were the only two people at the station at the time. The petrol bowser seemed to be quite slow and it must have taken about three minutes to fill. Then I thought to myself, "Hmmm. That lady has been in the shop for an unusually long time. I wonder if they are in the middle of being held up as she should have come out by now?"
So, with some slight trepidation, I entered the shop to pay for my fuel. The lady was at the counter with a 1L bottle of oil in her hand talking to the shop assistant. Then she turned to me and asked, "Do you know anything about scooters?"
My response was, "No. They're not real motorbikes."
That set her off a little bit and it was funny to see her reaction as she said that "Scooters are real motorbikes" before she left the shop. The guy at the counter explained, when I told him that I thought maybe they were being held up because she had been in the shop for so long that she wasn't sure which oil to buy for her scooter and was asking him lots of questions. He was unable to help her as he didn't own a bike or a car. And I'm thinking that "This guy doesn't even own a car and he works in a petrol station?"
Never mind. No crisis to worry about.
On Saturday afternoon I filled my car up for the first time in eight weeks. No, it's not ultra fuel efficient. I just don't use it a lot as I catch the bus to work. And considering that it cost over A$80 to fill it's not something that I'd like to do each week.
There was a lady at the bowser in front of me and she went into the shop just as I was getting out and starting to fill my car. We were the only two people at the station at the time. The petrol bowser seemed to be quite slow and it must have taken about three minutes to fill. Then I thought to myself, "Hmmm. That lady has been in the shop for an unusually long time. I wonder if they are in the middle of being held up as she should have come out by now?"
So, with some slight trepidation, I entered the shop to pay for my fuel. The lady was at the counter with a 1L bottle of oil in her hand talking to the shop assistant. Then she turned to me and asked, "Do you know anything about scooters?"
My response was, "No. They're not real motorbikes."
That set her off a little bit and it was funny to see her reaction as she said that "Scooters are real motorbikes" before she left the shop. The guy at the counter explained, when I told him that I thought maybe they were being held up because she had been in the shop for so long that she wasn't sure which oil to buy for her scooter and was asking him lots of questions. He was unable to help her as he didn't own a bike or a car. And I'm thinking that "This guy doesn't even own a car and he works in a petrol station?"
Never mind. No crisis to worry about.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
We've Been Robbed
Not meaning to be too dramatic but we have been robbed. Not in the "stick 'em up" sense but in cyberspace. Now, we both have mobile phones. And they cost a bit of money to maintain. I put $30 credit into Miky's phone a week ago. Four days later she tried to call me but was told that her credit was less than $2. Only problem is that phone calls between our phones are free.
Angry mode. I rang Optus customer service to find out why was it so. They quickly told me that we had been receiving text messages from a company which charges $4.50 every time you receive one. I had seen one of these messages and it went along the lines of "If you want to download sexy babes just text to etc, etc". And for this we get charged $4.50? If you wish to unsubscribe text "stop" to .
At first I just thought it was a scam to get you to validate your mobile phone number to some scammers. But now, after some $27 has been stolen from Miky's credit, I don't think that it is a scam anymore. It is robbery. And of the faceless kind.
The Optus customer service dude new exactly how to unscribe from this service and he even had their name and customer service phone number. That started ringing alarm bells straight away. Optus are obviously fully aware of this problem. They warned us to be careful when handing out our mobile number for competitions and marketing - things that we never do. Armed with the telephone number I finished my call.
Next day I rang this Mobile Messenger customer service line. You don't talk to a person. Surprise, surprise. You are prompted to use the keypad of your telephone to input your mobile phone number. Do I look like a schmuk? Normally holding the line lets you talk to an operator. No such luck. You just keep getting prompted for your mobile number. So I tried again and input 0400 000 000. It let me through to the next menu. The second menu gave me two options and one of them included leaving a message for a customer service operator to call me back. I left a message.
No phone call. I rang Optus again to let them know how unhappy I was and for them to give me the Telecommunications Ombudsman's number - 1800 062 058 in Australia. This person will be getting a call. Theft is not on in my book, fella. This time Optus informed me to call them to ask for my credit to be refunded. As if that is going to happen.
Maybe I should call the Australian Tax Office to investigate them. Mobile Messenger is supposed to be provide a *cough* service and as such should be registered for the Goods and Services Tax. I'm afraid that what we receive was not a service. Are they passing on the tax money being collected? Yes, I'm wild.
Check out their Website. It is full of bullshit about nothing, e.g. we use the latest technology to do wonderful things for our customers, blah, blah. They go to great lengths to say fantastic things but don't quantify anything. They even have call centres in Australia, not India, where you can talk to a customer service rep 24 hours a day. No phone number to contact them on the Website however. More alarm bells.
I'll let you know when I get to the bottom of this.
Not meaning to be too dramatic but we have been robbed. Not in the "stick 'em up" sense but in cyberspace. Now, we both have mobile phones. And they cost a bit of money to maintain. I put $30 credit into Miky's phone a week ago. Four days later she tried to call me but was told that her credit was less than $2. Only problem is that phone calls between our phones are free.
Angry mode. I rang Optus customer service to find out why was it so. They quickly told me that we had been receiving text messages from a company which charges $4.50 every time you receive one. I had seen one of these messages and it went along the lines of "If you want to download sexy babes just text
At first I just thought it was a scam to get you to validate your mobile phone number to some scammers. But now, after some $27 has been stolen from Miky's credit, I don't think that it is a scam anymore. It is robbery. And of the faceless kind.
The Optus customer service dude new exactly how to unscribe from this service and he even had their name and customer service phone number. That started ringing alarm bells straight away. Optus are obviously fully aware of this problem. They warned us to be careful when handing out our mobile number for competitions and marketing - things that we never do. Armed with the telephone number I finished my call.
Next day I rang this Mobile Messenger customer service line. You don't talk to a person. Surprise, surprise. You are prompted to use the keypad of your telephone to input your mobile phone number. Do I look like a schmuk? Normally holding the line lets you talk to an operator. No such luck. You just keep getting prompted for your mobile number. So I tried again and input 0400 000 000. It let me through to the next menu. The second menu gave me two options and one of them included leaving a message for a customer service operator to call me back. I left a message.
No phone call. I rang Optus again to let them know how unhappy I was and for them to give me the Telecommunications Ombudsman's number - 1800 062 058 in Australia. This person will be getting a call. Theft is not on in my book, fella. This time Optus informed me to call them to ask for my credit to be refunded. As if that is going to happen.
Maybe I should call the Australian Tax Office to investigate them. Mobile Messenger is supposed to be provide a *cough* service and as such should be registered for the Goods and Services Tax. I'm afraid that what we receive was not a service. Are they passing on the tax money being collected? Yes, I'm wild.
Check out their Website. It is full of bullshit about nothing, e.g. we use the latest technology to do wonderful things for our customers, blah, blah. They go to great lengths to say fantastic things but don't quantify anything. They even have call centres in Australia, not India, where you can talk to a customer service rep 24 hours a day. No phone number to contact them on the Website however. More alarm bells.
I'll let you know when I get to the bottom of this.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)