Discussion about hot topics trending today

[thekillman]

Notice how no one died over a flag?

Exactly. There's no serious threat as long as he takes out his anger on a window. Best case scenario he gets tired and is easier to arrest. Worse case scenario, he's still as angry as before and literally nothing changes.

[aretood2]

I wonder what standard policies in Amsterdam are regarding this sort of situation,
how it compares with other similar events. To be honest, I'd expect the cops to intervene as soon as they can by at least communicating with the man. Are they armed police? Did they step in to interfere with the guys rage? Would they stand by like that if it was a person he was smacking? How about when he did struggle with that one man?

[Womble]

Notice how no one died over a flag?

Someone has to actually die for the police to stop a hate crime, or destruction of property?

[Womble]

Here's an article with more than just the video -- and it doesn't look like those two officers aren't doing anything. They are, as far as I can tell, waiting for an opportune moment to arrest him. When he's banging on the window and door, he still has one hand free but when he walks out with the flag, both his hands are occupied and I think as an officer I like to keep the damage to my person to a minimum. They used pepperspray to put him down... and they did.

So the Dutch police will not stop a crime in progress if the perp has at least one hand free and functional.

I suppose this is all we need to know about the current situation in Europe.

P.S. Note that due to the police inaction, the raging thug with a club was able to walk INTO the restaurant without the two policemen being able to stop him - because they kept a respectful distance from him the entire time. Had he assaulted someone inside, the cops would not have been able to prevent that.

[aretood2]

Personally, if there were people in that restaurant, the cops should have drawn weapons.

[Womble]

End of an era...

Belgium ends 19th-Century telegram service

One hundred and seventy-one years after the first electronic message was transmitted down a line running alongside the railway between Brussels and Antwerp the final dispatch will be sent and received on 29 December.

The fact that this 19th-Century technology is still up and running in the age of Instagram and Snapchat may seem rather odd - especially when you consider that the UK, which invented the telegram in the 1830s, abandoned it as long ago as 1982.

The United States followed suit in 2006 and even India, which had been by far the world's biggest market for the telegram, finally closed its system down in 2013.

[Gatefan1976]

Someone has to actually die for the police to stop a hate crime, or destruction of property?

You missed the point.

[thekillman]

Personally, if there were people in that restaurant, the cops should have drawn weapons.

From what i can tell, there weren't. Although i'm not sure if they could get a safe shot off if there were a lot of people around.

I wonder what standard policies in Amsterdam are regarding this sort of situation

I don't know, but considering it's a popular tourist destination, i guess this isn't the first time they dealt with enraged (and possibly drunk) people bashing stuff in.

Someone has to actually die for the police to stop a hate crime, or destruction of property?

Uh no. If someone is threatening enough to warrant shooting, they'll shoot. Property is just property. Any injuries a cop would sustain from a bash to the head is more expensive than that window. Hell if they shot him and he survived and got medical attention, that would be more expensive than the window too.

So the Dutch police will not stop a crime in progress if the perp has at least one hand free and functional.

But they did stop a crime in progress. This isn't the US where they shoot everyone, even unarmed and complying citizens. Nobody got hurt. Nobody died. If the threat escalated then the response escalates. They arrested a man without shooting or getting shot. He seemed mostly angry at said window and said flag, so if that cools his rage it's all the better.

I suppose this is all we need to know about the current situation in Europe.

I'm sorry that the cops aren't equipped with military rifles, body armor and shoot everyone.

P.S. Note that due to the police inaction, the raging thug with a club was able to walk INTO the restaurant without the two policemen being able to stop him - because they kept a respectful distance from him the entire time. Had he assaulted someone inside, the cops would not have been able to prevent that.

You assume that there were people inside.

[Ian-S]

Personally, if there were people in that restaurant, the cops should have drawn weapons.

I don't know about Dutch Police, but in some parts of the U.K., the nutter with the baseball bat would be better armed than the Police, maybe said Police had no weapons and were waiting for armed response?

I know the original post was a thinly veiled 'if it was anything other than involving Israel the cops would have pounced instantly' trying to portray Israel as the victim again post, but frankly it wouldn't have made a difference if it was one of those infamous Amsterdam pot houses, there was a reason why the Police stood down, we just don't know what it was.

[thekillman]

I don't know about Dutch Police, but in some parts of the U.K., the nutter with the baseball bat would be better armed than the Police, maybe said Police had no weapons and were waiting for armed response?

Only the UK to my knowledge has non-gun police. Dutch police carry guns.

I know the original post was a thinly veiled 'if it was anything other than involving Israel the cops would have pounced instantly' trying to portray Israel as the victim again post, but frankly it wouldn't have made a difference if it was one of those infamous Amsterdam pot houses, there was a reason why the Police stood down, we just don't know what it was.

I don't even understand why we are discussing this. Angry man beats up window. Police arrests him. Big deal.

[Ian-S]

It wasn't even a fair fight, the window gave in immediately.

[SoulReaver]

Only the UK to my knowledge has non-gun police.

? in UK they also carry guns (at least some of them & those cowards killed an unarmed civilian Harry Stanley & got away with it after a mock trial)

[aretood2]

? in UK they also carry guns (at least some of them & those cowards killed an unarmed civilian Harry Stanley & got away with it after a mock trial)

Wasn't that suicide by cop?

[thekillman]

? in UK they also carry guns (at least some of them & those cowards killed an unarmed civilian Harry Stanley & got away with it after a mock trial)

I didn't mean that the UK only has unarmed cops. But they have Bobby's ( i think they were called that) who don't have firearms on them.

[SoulReaver]

Wasn't that suicide by cop?

no basically someone called 911 saying they spotted a man with a rifle & it turned out the suspect didn't have a rifle or any weapon

iirc there was also another case where they shot a naked man & were acquitted (again not by jury)
both incidents happened under Tony Bliar