A Conspiracy Against Children: Exactly who is out of control?

That kid who got shot by cops in Florida...

Yeah, well it turns out the cops knew the gun wasn't real. The kid's mother told the cops BEFORE the shootout that he had a bb gun, not a real handgun. It appears they shot him to avoid having to possibly take a BB.

Link

When I was a kid we shot each other with BB guns for fun. What the Hell is wrong with these cops? I was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt, but I can't continue to defend them in light of this new evidence.

Originally posted by WyrdeOne
Yeah, well it turns out the cops knew the gun wasn't real. The kid's mother told the cops BEFORE the shootout that he had a bb gun, not a real handgun. It appears they shot him to avoid having to possibly take a BB.

Link

Now wait a minute on that one:

The boy's parents, Ralph and Donna Penley, were in contact with authorities during the incident and told them they believed Penley did not have a real gun, said family attorney Mark Nation. Ralph Penley went to the school to attempt to talk his son out of the situation.

They were suppossed to take the parents word that they "believed" he did not have a gun? The same parents who didn't see this coming?

This to me is a tragic example of an action referred to as "suicide by cop" in my opinion, and it's not an unheard of choice for suicide. There is evidence that this child expressed wanting to die that day. His actions when confronted could have easily averted being fired upon. We weren't there, I don't think we can brush this on off so easliy.

They were suppossed to take the parents word that they "believed" he did not have a gun? The same parents who didn't see this coming?

I'm not saying the parents have great judgement, obviously that's just not true. They probably bought the bb gun for the kid though, so they were in a position to inform the police of that. If you tell the cops the kid has a bb gun shaped like a beretta, they should probably use some discretion when the suspect points a weapon at them matching the description.

This to me is a tragic example of an action referred to as "suicide by cop" in my opinion, and it's not an unheard of choice for suicide. There is evidence that this child expressed wanting to die that day.

Agreed and agreed, but that's really not the issue, is it? We know the kid was off his nut, and we know he wanted the cops to shoot him. The issue is whether or not the SWAT team had foreknowledge about the non-lethal nature of the weapon. The article I posted confirms there was communication between the parents and police, regarding the possibility the gun was a toy.

If I'm holed up in my house with what looks like a pipe rifle, and my wife tells the officers it's non-functional, or that I don't have any bullets, doesn't that (to some extent) mandate restraint on the part of the officers?

His actions when confronted could have easily averted being fired upon.

No doubt. Perp X could have avoided the deadly chokehold of Officer Y, if he had never robbed the store to begin with. The problem is that the police are in these situations every day, and we expect them to use due discretion when it comes to deadly force (even in life-threatening situations). If there's a possibility of taking the suspect alive, that has to be the goal.

Bottom line, this tragedy was entirely avoidable. I wouldn't encourage criminal charges against the officers in question, but I think they've proven themselves unfit for the job. They ought to be dismissed.

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New Thinking on Neurodevelopment

The notion that some substances in the environment can damage the nervous system has an ancient history. The neurotoxicity of lead was recognized more than 2,000 years ago by the Greek physician Dioscerides, who wrote, “Lead makes the mind give way.” In the intervening millennia many other substances have been added to the list of known or suspected neurotoxicants. Despite this accumulation of knowledge, there is still much that isn’t understood about how neurotoxicants affect the developing brain, especially the effects of low-dose exposures. Today researchers are taking a hard look at low-dose exposures in utero and during childhood to unravel some of the mysteries of impaired neurodevelopment.

About 17% of school-age children in the United States suffer from a disability that affects their behavior, memory, or ability to learn, according to a study published in the March 1994 issue of Pediatrics by a team from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The list of maladies includes attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autistic spectrum disorders, epilepsy, Tourette syndrome, and less specific conditions such as mental retardation and cerebral palsy. All are believed to be the outcome of some abnormal process that unfolded as the brain was developing in utero or in the young child.

These disorders have an enormous impact on families and society. According to the 1996 book Learning Disabilities: Lifelong Issues, children with these disorders have higher rates of mental illness and suicide, and are more likely to engage in substance abuse and to commit crimes as adults. The overall economic cost of neurodevelopmental disorders in the United States is estimated to be $81.5-167 billion per year, according to a report published in the December 2001 issue of EHP Supplements...

While this is slightly off topic, I felt it necessary to post this item here.

What??? Nearly 2 out of 10 children have some potential neurological disorder????

Does that make sense???

If true, what the hell is going on? If not true, then what's the agenda behind the numbers???


[edit on 3-2-2006 by loam]

Unfortuantely loam, things have changed dramatically in the last 16 years since this study was written.

Check this out too: 8 Million Children a Year Born with Birth Defects

...and it's only tip of one iceberg.

Funding for Wide-Ranging Kids' Health Study Axed

The Bush administration has canceled funding for the most ambitious study of children's health ever designed -- prompting outrage among scientists and public health officials. The study was to investigate the causes of widespread obesity and asthma, among other childrens' health problems.

Adio Story

Anyone think this is a surprise? Our societal disregard for children starts from the very top....and runs to the very bottom.

BTW,

If you haven't seen the video in this thread, you are really missing out:

ABC 2020: Stupid In America (video)

I was dumbfounded by it...

I'm not that old, only 38, but when I was the age of the kids mentioned in these articles, kids did not act this way.

Any ideas on why the difference in the behavior (or misbehavior) of children between then and now?

More on the "discipline" front...

Fla. Video Said to Show Boot Camp Beating

A videotape shows guards brutally beating a boy at a military-style boot camp for juvenile delinquents not long before the teenager died, two lawmakers said Thursday.

Martin Lee Anderson, 14, died Jan. 6 at a Pensacola hospital, a day after he entered the camp because of an arrest for theft.

Anderson complained of breathing difficulties and collapsed during exercises that were part of the entry process at the camp, which was run by the Bay County Sheriff's Office.

Authorities have said he had to be restrained when he became uncooperative during the workout.

[edit on 10-2-2006 by loam]

I think the Neurotoxin thing plays a HUUUGE part of this. 17% is a massive percent and the monetary drain, aswell as the drain on society in general this could have if we do not fix or heavily improve it will be astounding.

But as someone in this post said, and I think said very well (sorry I cant be bothered finding your name, im too tired)... Compliant kids make for an easily controlled future population.

[edit on 10-2-2006 by ekul08]

When I read the article on the Florida teen that was beat to death I immediately thought of this thread. loam beat me to it, as far as posting it. I haven't actively participated in this thread before, but have read through it.

I think many of our problems lie within our (adults) self control or the need to control too much (and I'm not saying all of us). I once read a story about the "epidemic" of ADHD and kids. How quick we are as adults to label these children with problems so that we can medicate them to ensure a quick fix to control them. Most kids just need attention and quality attention at that. And I think that they need this at a young age continously throughout teens to be successful, otherwise they grow up thinking they aren't worthy/loved or that society is just an awful place full of awful people with better things to do and that they are merely distractions (though I think that we as a society aren't very nice). Most parents don't have the time to spend to actually CARE for their children. Many homes are single family and forced to poverty while the parent is working to provide what little they have. In two parent households it seems almost no different. Both parents working just to make ends meet. I think that there are also soooo many and unimportant distractions keeping parents from their kids as well (tv, sports, drugs etc..). None of this is to say the parents do not love their kids, just that many do not realize the long term effects that ignoring these kids has on them. These so called "problem" children that we are ignoring and trying to control are going to be the ones making our decisions when we get older......hopefully we have cared well enough for most to see our futures bright, otherwise......who knows what we have to look forward to. Also before I end this (and I'm sure get flamed out by a few of you for my view), some of these kids may actually be problematic and have mental issues that need to be addressed and dealt with. Also look at how discipline has changed over the course of years. Many parents that don't have the time to spend with their kids also don't have the time to discipline them either. I know my own kids get by with a lot more than I ever did as a child. PARENTING is a key issue here as well. Younger parents also make up this problem and their lack of being *wise* to the world.

Just stating SOME of my opinion on the issue.

Originally posted by dirty_underground
I think many of our problems lie within our (adults)

No flaming from me, dirty underground. You have answered my question. Some parents don't know how to raise kids..

Originally posted by loam
More on the "discipline" front...

Fla. Video Said to Show Boot Camp Beating

A videotape shows guards brutally beating a boy at a military-style boot camp for juvenile delinquents not long before the teenager died, two lawmakers said Thursday.

Martin Lee Anderson, 14, died Jan. 6 at a Pensacola hospital, a day after he entered the camp because of an arrest for theft.

Anderson complained of breathing difficulties and collapsed during exercises that were part of the entry process at the camp, which was run by the Bay County Sheriff's Office.

Authorities have said he had to be restrained when he became uncooperative during the workout.

Please! parents!! Keep Your children out of these camps.

[edit on 10-2-2006 by loam]

I think it's admirable to want to protect specific children who are coming to harm. What I object to are all the efforts made by legislators and others to protect "hypothetical" children. The children who, if they see Janet Jackson't breast on TV, will somehow be harmed. The children who are apparently too stupid or willful not to swallow everything in the medicine cabinet. To paraphrase Jerry Seinfeld, "Who are these children?" If you ask any parent if their kid is one of these stupid, weak children, they'll all deny that their little Bobby or Sally qualifies. In the meantime, we spend billions of dollars and censor our media to protect these kids who nobody can identify.

It's the same as when people quote statistics about "missing" children. Believe me, when a kid really goes missing, and isn't just one divorced parent getting back at another, it makes the local news and people put together huge search parties. So you can just about estimate how many kids really go missing at maybe a couple dozen, tops, not the tens of thousands claimed by social service organizations who want donations and tax money.

These hypothetical, phantom kids are a huge pain in the ass.

Adding WyrdeOne's post:

12 Year Old Student Charged with Felony Sugar Possession

More absudity...

And two more links I added to that thread:

Long-term care 'harms children'

Placing children in long-term care is in itself "an act of abuse", according to a leading professor of paediatrics.

Speaking at a science conference in St Louis, US, Professor Dana Johnson said that even a week in an institution could be detrimental...

"Children in institutional care have deteriorations in many things that we want to see children improve in during the earliest years of their life," he said.

"Their cognitive abilities are lower, their growth is terrible and their brain development is abnormal as well."

Thousands of child 'witches' turned on to the streets to starve

Naomi is 15 but looks 10. A horrible burn scar shrivels the skin across her chest and shoulder. She had a broken leg, now reset. But her face is calm; she speaks clearly. The physical scars are nothing compared with the trauma she has been through. She is one of the so-called child witches of Kinshasa, rejected by her family and community at six years old and left to survive on the streets.

Once she had four siblings and lived with her parents across the river in Brazzaville. Her father died and then her mother. She had to live with her grandfather and aunt, who did not want her. 'Grandfather become sick and my aunt accused me of being a witch. She said, "Why is everyone around sick? They are suffering because of you." Grandfather gave me special water to drink, but it made no difference.

'My aunt said I must leave. The neighbours beat me and burnt me. They said either you must admit to being a witch or we will kill you. There is no place for you here. I went to the church, but they gave me water to drink that made me sick. I said to neighbours, let me sleep somewhere, even in your toilet, but they refused. I was caught by some soldiers and they said, you are a witch - we saw you flying with birds. They said they were going to kill me, but I escaped.'

[edit on 18-2-2006 by loam]

I guess if we could just get people to stop having so many kids (or any kids) when none are needed then we wouldn't have the problem. Supply and demand. The more people there are on the planet, including children, the less they're valued.

Florida boot camp death

TAMPA, Florida (Reuters) - A 14-year-old boy who was beaten by guards at a Florida boot camp did not die of an undiagnosed blood disorder as a medical examiner had reported, a doctor hired by his family said on Tuesday.

Martin Lee Anderson died on January 6 at a Panama City boot camp run by the Bay County Sheriff's Office. A surveillance videotape taken that day showed Anderson being beaten by several guards.

"In my opinion, I think he (Anderson) died from what you saw on the videotape," Dr. Michael Baden, a former chief medical examiner for New York City, told a news conference with Anderson's parents in Tampa.

An autopsy performed by Bay County Medical Examiner Dr. Charles Siebert found that Anderson, an African American, died of internal bleeding from sickle cell trait. One in 12 African Americans has sickle cell trait, which is different from sickle cell disease and does not routinely cause health problems.

The finding outraged Anderson's family and civil rights groups and prompted Florida Gov. Jeb Bush to name Hillsborough County State Attorney Mark Ober to investigate the case.

I just saw the video on MSNBC..... Outrageous!



[edit on 15-3-2006 by loam]

And I ran into this sick little story...

Teacher Fired After Allegedly Biting Boy

A middle school teacher was fired Tuesday after being accused of biting one of her students. Caroline Kolb also is facing an aggravated assault charge in Jefferson District Court, The Courier-Journal of Louisville reported Tuesday.

Kolb has pleaded not guilty to biting 14-year-old Garrick Hudson on the back during a classroom altercation at Stuart Middle School in January.

Jefferson County Public Schools fired Kolb for insubordination and conduct unbecoming a teacher, following a district investigation, according to a copy of her termination letter.

More...

This thread describes several components of a typical dictatorship.


A pertinent link:

Sandra Day O'Connor Fears U.S. Dictatorship

And this in today....

Child porn ring transmitted acts live on Web

:shk: