Ontario’s Deputy Chief Coroner Linked to Taser International

The Globe and Mail is reporting today on close ties between James Cairns, Deputy Chief Coroner for Ontario, and Taser International.

Cairns has become one of Canada’s top Taser “experts,” and questions from Canadian media directed to Taser International are passed on to Cairns for a response.  Over the past two years Cairns has attended two conferences hosted by Taser International, as well as spoken at a closely affiliated organization.  Cairns was also scheduled to give a talk at another event yesterday, but withdrew.

Taser International has both times paid for Cairns hotel and travel expenses.  While this in itself is not unusual, this whole relationship becomes suspect when one considers that Cairns has been a vocal supporter of the use of Tasers in Canada.

Furthermore, Cairns has supported the concept of ” ‘excited delirium, a medically unrecognized term that the company often cites as a reason people die after being tasered.”

Taken together, one begins to question the objectivity of someone with such obvious ties to the Taser Corporation.  And if Taser is involved with Ontario’s Deputy Chief Coroner, who else might they be “hosting” at conferences?  The researchers who claim there is no link between Tasers and deaths?  The police forces who purchase Tasers?

As an aside, Cairns also raised this “Taser or gun” concept, in that the only viable option to a Taser for police is their gun: “I am absolutely convinced tasers will save lives instead of taking lives. And I hope some day, if I am in the position, please taser me before you shoot me.”

See the original posts here.

Also, check out Sassifier’s petition.

Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs, anyone?

I am still saddened by the fact that I can’t read a new Calvin and Hobbes everyday. For whatever reason, Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs popped into my head this morning as I was eating my decidedly not Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bomb-y oatmeal.

Which lead to this:

This, of course, lead me to the Futuristic Cereal Name Generator.

Enjoy!

Two signs that the apocolypse is upon us. Pack your bags.

So I am convinced that the end of the world as we know it is here.  Have I received a sign from a higher power?  No.  Is there a massive meteor headed for earth?  No.

Instead, I have found two things that are clear indicators that humanity is ripe for the smiting.

First, a temperature controlled butter dish.  Yes, because leaving your butter at room temperature wasn’t good enough.  You can now experience the exquisite delight of having perfectly softened butter at your beck and call.  To think I’d lived this long without it.

Second, eww.  Just eww.

Another Canadian Taser related death?

I’m beginning to experience some “taser fatigue” from following this, but… 

Various news sources have been reporting on an incident in Nova Scotia that saw a man die in police custody 30 hours after being tasered.  Howard Hyde was tasered after struggling with police during his booking.  Diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic, Hyde struggled with officers and jumped a counter before being tasered.

As my prior posts here, here, and here show, the frequency of these incidents is increasing (the “Perfect Storm” of taser-related incidents?) and is giving police forces and government officials fits as they struggle with how to deal with this.  And don’t fool yourself - I’m sure the people at TASER Intl. are cooking up some wicked propaganda on this issue, as well.

What remains to be seen is if police forces across Canada will continue to unequivocally back the use of Taser’s, or if some meaningful debate and regulations will emerge.

TASER-RELATED DEATHS IN CANADA

Amnesty International says 17 people have died in Canada since 2001 after stun-guns were used by police. Besides the death Thursday of Howard Hyde, 45, in Dartmouth, N.S., the case of Claudio Castagnetta, 32, is also being reviewed. Castagnetta died in Quebec on Sept. 20 two days after being hit with a Taser.

2007

Robert Dziekanski, 40, in the Vancouver Airport in October.

Quilem Registre, 39, in Montreal after being stopped by police on suspicion of drunk driving, also in October.

2006

Jason Dean, 28, in Red Deer while running from police in August. 2005

Alesandro Fiacco, 33, in Edmonton, arrested while wandering into traffic in December.

James Foldi, 39, of Beamsville, Ont. while being arrested for breaking and entering in July.

Paul Sheldon Saulnier, 42, while being restrained by police in Digby, N.S. in July.

Gurmeet Sandhu, 41, of Surrey, B.C., while being restrained during a domestic dispute in June.

Kevin Geldart, 34, in Moncton, N.B. in May during an altercation with police in a bar.

2004

Samuel Truscott, 43, of Kingston, Ont. was Tasered by police during arrest. His death was ruled a drug overdose. Jerry Knight, 29, a semi-pro boxer was Tasered by police at a Mississauga motel in July after complaints he had become violent.

Robert Bagnell, 54, while in custody of the Vancouver police in June. He had cocaine in his system.

Peter Lamonday, 33, while being restrained by police in London, Ont. in May.

Roman Andreichikov, 25, high on cocaine and being restrained by Vancouver police also in May.

Perry Ronald, 28, while being restrained by Edmonton police after jumping from a window in March.

2003

Clark Whitehouse, 34, tried to flee the Whitehorse RCMP after being stopped in traffic in September.

Clayton Alvin Willey, 33, of Prince George was also high on cocaine when Tasered by police while trespassing in July.

Terry Hanna, 51, was Tasered by Burnaby RCMP in April during a break-and-enter. Cocaine was also involved.

Criminal charges possible in Taser death

Well, well, well…perhaps the Conservative government of Canada is figuring it out. 

It appears that in a move to both calm public outrage over the recent tasering death of Robert Dziekanski as well as send a notice that the government is watching the RCMP, Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day has said that an investigation of the actions of RCMP officers in the death of Dziekanski would include criminal charges if necessary.

What remains to be seen is if this will truly be a meaningful and transparent, or if the RCMP will call the shots.

Check out the other taser related posts here and here.

“Christian” Pastor seeks to buy up Microsoft shares to eliminate Microsoft’s non-discrimination polices

Sigh.  Despite what some friends might think, I really do strive to remain objective when I consider another persons perspective, especially when it conflicts with my own personally held views.

But then something like this comes along and just provides way to much ammunition for me.  I’ll summarize the article for those of you who don’t feel like pressing their left finger on the link.

Pastor Ken Hutcherson, an evangelical pastor in Redmond, WA (and a former Dallas Cowboys linebacker, hence the addled brain, perchance?) has vowed to mobilize “millions of evangelical activists” in an effort to buy up all of Microsoft’s shares.  And why does the good pastor want to do this?

Is Microsoft persecuting, refusing to hire, or otherwise persecuting Christians?  Does Hutcherson have evidence of Microsoft participating in the 9/11 attacks?  Or, even worse, is it over Microsoft’s utter dominance of personal computers? 

No, he is embarking on this crusade because Microsoft officially discarded its previously neutral stance on homosexuality in favour of championing gay rights in it’s organization.

Yes, a Christian pastor of a church that promotes “diversity” in it’s congregation is attacking Microsoft for not discriminating.  Bravo.  If there is a god I’m sure he’s VERY proud of his flock in Hutcherson’s church.

Why does this drive me bonkers?  Where to start…ah, how about with some foundations of Christian beliefs Hutcherson is going against (Courtesy of Rutgers University)!

• “Christian love isn’t real unless it’s willing to come to grips with real human relationships and the problems that arise with them.”
  
  • This is an ongoing issue I have with religion.  A major tenet of Christianity and most other major religions is this concept of love for your fellow human being.  Evidence from history has not shown that this tenant has been followed too closely.  Hutcherson certainly doesn’t seem to adhere to it.
• “Forgiveness of sins is one of the key marks of Christianity. Christ died to seal our forgiveness by God. We are expected to respond by forgiving each other, and acting as a force for reconciliation in the world.”
  • Even if you DO believe homosexuality is a sin, as a Christian you should be forgiving.  Don’t see much forgiveness going on here, either.
• “There is a certain anti-legal strain in Christian thought. Jesus accepted the validity of the Jewish laws. However he encouraged people to emphasize the intent behind the law, and to focus on their motivations. He summarized the law as love for God and for our neighbor. Thus much of Christian practice is focused on finding ways to show love for our fellows.”
  • Apparently this is now interpreted as “love for our fellows as long as we agree with them”

I’ll leave it at those major concepts for now…although we could go on.

I’ll close with some juicy tidbits from Hutcherson himself.  And I quote:

• “I consider myself a warrior for Christ. Microsoft don’t scare me. I got God with me.”
  • I’m pretty sure the Blues Brothers had a better “Mission from God” than this guy.
    
• Mr Hutcherson’s office is decorated with the heads of deer, elk and a buffalo – “when I run into animals, I kill them and bring them home and eat them”
  • Uh…think this includes cats, dogs, pigeons, rats, and so forth?  eww.
    
• “I don’t care how big Microsoft is,” he said. “They are nothing but a feather in the wind of God. America basically got started with a tea party and Goliath, if I’m not mistaken, got taken down by David, who believed in the same cause I believe in.

  “I’m going to go after the new Goliath with one little rock called a share and I’m going to make them tremble before we get through.”

  • Now I’m no biblical scholar, but I didn’t realize David believed in buying shares of Microsoft in order to promote discrimination and hatred… 

So, score another point in religions continued battle to make itself look ridiculous.  Sometimes it really is too easy.

TASER UPDATE - Video of Robert Dziekanski Being Tasered at Vancouver Airport Released

Here’s an update to my previous post on taser deaths in Canada.

In the video we see a clearly distraught Robert Dizekanski moving furniture, throwing a computer, and apparently having a panic attack.  This goes on for a several minutes until the RCMP arrive.

Upon their arrival Dizekanski appears to calm down and seems to cooperate with their instructions.  When moved with his back against the counter we can not see Dizekanski’s hands, but there appears to be no movement on his part.

It is at this time that he is tasered for the first time.  This is quickly followed by two more shots from tasers.  At this point Dizekanski is screaming and convulsion on the ground.

You can view the video here.

CBC’s take is here.

The interesting thing is that the RCMP originally claimed to have tasered Dizekanski only twice.  In the video you can clearly hear three distinct cracks as each taser is fired, and possibly a fourth. 

So you have four large, armed RCMP members, once suspect who is not physically threatening the officers, and you’re telling me there is not a peaceful way to resolve this situation?

Here’s what I think happened.  It’s late, these RCMP officers would rather be someplace else, and they get a call about “some crazy foreign guy” at the airport.  They show up, this guy doesn’t speak any English (or French, because as federal employees I’m sure they’re bilingual, right?) and they think “Aw, another stupid immigrant invading our country - let’s waste him rather than take the time to solve this.”

Or maybe the four RCMP are technophiles and were so distraught at seeing a $100 monitor destroyed that they decided to balance the score-sheet with this guys life?

Basically, anyway you cut it the RCMP ends up looking like trigger happy sadists who were all too eager to try out their toys.

I mean, how much meaningful dialogue took place (even hand gestures would have helped!) in the 30 seconds it took the RCMP to pull their tasers?  Exactly - none.  So, after watching this video, I’d like to hear from all the defenders of the RCMP and tasers now.

Atheism, Big Religion and Hollywood

Organized religion - particularly the Catholic church - tends to be fairly savvy when it comes to retaining its relatively iron-fisted grip on North Americans souls.

Lately, though, atheism has been garnering greater attention, with a number of best sellers related to atheism being released and greater media coverage being given to the topic.

More recently, a new movie based on Philip Pullman’s “His Dark Materials Trilogy”, The Golden Compass, has been attacked by christian groups for its alleged atheist agenda.

Furthermore, a recent study determined that atheists are the most distrusted minority in the United States, ahead of immigrants, gays and lesbians, and Muslims.  Check out the study here.

So there is your groundwork.  Now it’s time for the rant. 

Does the existence of atheists in a society limit the ability of people of faith to pursue their religion?  Of course not.  Atheism is defined by Princeton as ”a lack of belief in the existence of God or gods.”  It’s that simple.  Just as one person chooses to believe in the existence of God, Allah, Buddha, or Santa Claus, another chooses not to believe in these entities.

Atheism is a personal choice.  That should be the end of it, right?  Wrong. 

Organized religion, especially the Catholic church, has had a long and bloody history of suppressing all opposing views (can you say “The Crusades”?).  Religious figures ranging from Pat Robertson (estimated net worth of $200 million - $1 billion) to the Vatican (several billion dollars in gold alone) make BIG money off of people believing in God.  And one less person who believes in a god is one less person who will call in to Pat Robertson to donate money.

So, as usual, it all comes down to big bucks.  So big religion will continue to swiftly and, on occasion, violently repress any opposition to its stranglehold on the hearts and minds of North Americans in particular, despite this intolerance going against traditional christian teachings.

So what does this have to do with recent criticisms of the Golden Compass, you ask?  Just another pitched battle in the fight for freedom of belief - big religion vs. freedom and choice: the same old story.  But christian groups have a point - there have never been any pro-Christan movies…right?

This dichotomy between those who claim to be christian persecuting others for their beliefs has always confused me and is one of the reasons I’ve drifted away from organized religion.  If there are is anyone who believes they are christian who can provide some insight, please comment!