[slackline]

Five years ago The Boston Globe's Big Picture featured commemoration on the 20th Anniversary

Mostly pictures I'd never seen before, including these showing the lead up to the stand off.  He stood there for a while as the tanks approached....

[Nibile]

An Italian journalist (sic), Antonio Madaro, affirms that the guy wasn't there to block the tanks, he was only a farmer who happened to be there to sell the stuff he carried in his plastic bag. Seeing the tanks, he wanted to ask them where they were coming from, because he had been a tank-soldier as well.
What the journalist does not say, is how he heard the conversation between the guy and the tank pilot, how he knew he was a farmer, etc.
Comes out that the guy was one of the leaders of the protests, who escaped and now lives in Taiwan.
Comes out that the journalist wasn't even there.

Fuckin' idiot.

[slackline]

The font of all disinformation is inconclusive as to who he was or his fate afterwards

[slackline]

Miao Deshun: China's last Tiananmen prisoner?

[slackline]

Colorado Sells $19 Million in Cannabis in March: $1.9 Million Goes to Schools and Crime Down 10%

...and Dunkin Donuts expands business in Colorado 

[Jaspersharpe]

Who would have thought? Oh yeah, anyone sensible.

[psychomansam]

Colorado Sells $19 Million in Cannabis in March: $1.9 Million Goes to Schools and Crime Down 10%

...and Dunkin Donuts expands business in Colorado 

I was going to suggest that the drop in crime would be due in part to a steep drop in arrests for possession/sale of cannabis. But the linked stats don't include drug offences. Almost the entirety of the drop in crime is due to a drop in theft from motor vehicles. Bloody impossible to know if there is any link. Perhaps less kids stealing shit to buy weed. Perhaps a change in the way those crimes are recorded. Perhaps a major police offensive against such crimes. Who knows.

But certainly no jump in crime rates. Which just falls in line with the evidence from elsewhere regarding decriminalisation and legalisation of rec drugs.

[Sloper]

I was involved in drugs & crime research for the Home Office and unsurprisingly the raw data gathered was capable of demonstrating the principle connection between drug use and acquisitive crime was the consequence of prohibition. I was only involved in the Sunderland phase of this part of phase 2 of the project http://www.dldocs.stir.ac.uk/documents/r179.pdf here's another data source to give Slackers a wet dream. http://www.nij.gov/topics/drugs/markets/adam/Pages/welcome.aspx

[psychomansam]

Went to a talk by Professor David Nutt http://www.theguardian.com/profile/david-nutt last year. Was very interesting and rather amusing when a large number of the crowd 'lit up' - the bouncers gave one another lots of awkward looks but clearly decided it was the wrong time and place to try doing anything about it.

[Sloper]

Good chap and well respected in his field.  I don't condone smoking indoors however whether a good cigar or a spliff, that' just antisocial teenage wankerdom shouting 'look at me'!

[psychomansam]

Good chap and well respected in his field.  I don't condone smoking indoors however whether a good cigar or a spliff, that' just antisocial teenage wankerdom shouting 'look at me'!

It was a marquee so wasn't a big issue, though I'm agreed otherwise. How times have changed.

[slackline]

Almost the entirety of the drop in crime is due to a drop in theft from motor vehicles.

People aren't nicking weed from cars any more.

[Sloper]

Colorado Sells $19 Million in Cannabis in March: $1.9 Million Goes to Schools and Crime Down 10%

...and Dunkin Donuts expands business in Colorado 

I was going to suggest that the drop in crime would be due in part to a steep drop in arrests for possession/sale of cannabis. But the linked stats don't include drug offences. Almost the entirety of the drop in crime is due to a drop in theft from motor vehicles. Bloody impossible to know if there is any link. Perhaps less kids stealing shit to buy weed. Perhaps a change in the way those crimes are recorded. Perhaps a major police offensive against such crimes. Who knows.

But certainly no jump in crime rates. Which just falls in line with the evidence from elsewhere regarding decriminalisation and legalisation of rec drugs.

The reason why TFMV & etc have dropped over the years is that there's no longer a market for the stolen goods; i.e. why risk getting done when you're not going to make any cash, and all new cars come with a 1/2 decent stereo (when back int he day they didn't).

The same with dwelling breaks, back int he day people getting screwed for a colour TV, VCR etc was quite common, these days due to the relative value of the product new and access to credit there's no makret and hence virtually no burglaries for tele's & etc

Cheque fruad is now almost non existent, why? Who uses cheques these days?

Capitalsim driving positive social change once again. 

[slackline]

No doubt true, but the statistics reported only compare 2014 to 2013 rather than the trend over time (which would actually be preferable).

[slackline]

Guerilla growing 

[Sloper]

I seem to remember a bit of a haul on the MI hard shoulders around Chesterfield, perversely one of the few areas where the police/general public don't often spend their time is at the top of the banking by the motorway.

[mrjonathanr]

Cheque fruad is now almost non existent, why? Who uses cheques these days?

Chris Salmon. Look in your wallet.

[slackline]

What could possibly go wrong?

It was hot so I was painting the wall in the nude...

 

[Sloper]

I wonder if this were to happen in Newcastle on a Friday night whether the response would be the same.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-devon-27814790

[Oldmanmatt]

I wonder if this were to happen in Newcastle on a Friday night whether the response would be the same.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-devon-27814790

Of corse not!


He would have died of Hypothermia within three paces...

[Oldmanmatt]

*course

Sorry to be so coarse.

[Oldmanmatt]

I wonder if this were to happen in Newcastle on a Friday night whether the response would be the same.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-devon-27814790

Of corse not!


He would have died of Hypothermia within three paces...

Right.

Does anyone know why that post tweeted on my twitter account?

[Jaspersharpe]

You like Apple don't you Matt?

[Oldmanmatt]

You like Apple don't you Matt?

I'd never noticed the "Tweet" button on the tapatalk app (nor do I remember linking the accounts) and must have brushed it with my pinky.

Damn the touch screen!

[Will Hunt]

Can someboy kindly explain why Milliband has been singled out in this appaling BBC News article?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-27829958

90% of the piece is directed against Millipede, with Clegg just about managing to get a slight chastisement at the end, despite the fact that Hillsborough is in his constituency. The Conservative commentator then used this as a reason to describe the Labour leader as weak.

WTF? All the party leaders posed with the rag. Why not slag them all off?