Your video, Ferguson Police Acted as Revenue Agents, Fining Everything, has made it into the Top 15 New Videos listing. Congratulations on your achievement. For your contribution you have been awarded 1 Power Point.

This achievement has earned you your "Pop Star" Level 14 Badge!

http://news.yahoo.com/why-charles-barkley-supports-ferguson-grand-jury-decision-163736319.html

Well, that, and the death threats. I was certain he wouldn't be a cop in Ferguson anymore, this explains why he didn't fight over it.

The quote that Cenk tossed out about the sandwich doesn't apply to this situation. Basically what it means is that if a Prosecutor goes to the trouble of bringing a case before a grand jury, he is usually 100% certain that he can get a trial result.

However, I direct you to http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/ferguson-michael-brown-indictment-darren-wilson/ for a much better explanation. I'll try to sum up what the article says briefly.

Trials involving cops are much harder to get an indictment from a grand jury. People tend to trust cops and this could lead to fewer indictments. Prosecutors could be throwing the case rather than risk a hostile working environment. But the most logical reason is simply that in a non-high profile case, i.e. one other than a possibly racially motivated shooting that is being reported about non-stop, a prosecutor is typically only going to bring cases before a grand jury that he is certain he will gather an indictment back from them.

In a case like this, where a prosecutor is pretty much forced to bring an indictment due to public outcry, a weak case is not going to get past the grand jury. This was a weak case.

In the end, right or wrong, the officer faced due process and was considered by a jury of his and the victim's peers to be non-indictable. While I am sorry for the victim, his family, and friends, it was the victim's decision to assault a police officer and attempt to take away his weapon.

Your video, TYT - NO Indictment for Ferguson Cop, has made it into the Top 15 New Videos listing. Congratulations on your achievement. For your contribution you have been awarded 1 Power Point.

Via Liberty.me: The status of the police is bound up with the perception of the value of the entire public sector. The police are the “thin blue line,” long perceived as the most essential and irreplaceable function of the state. Now that this perception is under pressure from public opinion over what happened (and is happening) in Ferguson (and many many other places around the country), a shift in intellectual opinion that's been developing for decades is gaining traction.

What’s at stake here if not the very foundation of public order as we know it? If government can’t do this right -- if the police are accomplishing the very opposite of what they claim to accomplish, namely, to "protect and serve" -- if they are, in fact, undermining the public's security rather than providing for it, (and this is widely understood to be the case, time and time again), then we have the making of not only an ideological revolution, but an authentic turning-point in the history of politics.

Security is not the most essential function of the state; it is the most dangerous one, and the very one that we should never concede lest we lose our freedom altogether. The "night watchman" is the biggest threat we face because it is he who holds the gun and he who pulls the trigger should we ever decide to escape from their "protections" and provide for ourselves.

Your video, Craig Ferguson and Kristen Bell hit it off, has made it into the Top 15 New Videos listing. Congratulations on your achievement. For your contribution you have been awarded 1 Power Point.

Just read your "charming" comment regarding Craig Ferguson and now you vent your jealous bile on Ricky Gervais. Hmm, it is clear to see who the sad little man is. They have achieved something, your contribution is what exactly???

Grabbing at a gun is immediate grounds for deadly force in every case, law, home, etc. I only say this because the suspect obviously upped the ante to that zone with no regard for human life. Second, "witnesses" were there to see it all...that's not a good thing and ups the ante far, far more... witnesses are either friends or someone the cop has no idea who they are. That means they are potentially dangerous, especially in a city where blacks (by their own heartfelt admissions) HATE white police officers with a huge passion. I am not saying the racists are not justified, as they clearly have been profiled and such, but this is clearly the case. No confusion should ever arise in dispute of the fact that bystanders are different than potential dangers. If the officer does taze and someone gets involved, he is a dead mother fucker because now he is occupied with a screaming, shitting-self man who is 100% willing to murder him, as already displayed, and someone else. Lastly, the tazer does not always work. And when the tazer does work, immediately afterwards you are 100% capable of using your body to 100% again. Most people think that then tazer magically incapacitates someone for a long time. No--when you release that trigger the tazer's effects are over.
In my opinion deadly force is not the last option. It is the option right before you die.

Now the responses are, for certain, based on stupid choices. The chief trying to minimize was what we all do but pretty dumb. You ever comfort a kid that he might not be hurt so he doesn't feel pain or freak out? Happens, even if the kid is really really hurt and the ambulance is on the way. Stupid choice...and the releasing of the video is iffy at best. What pisses me off most is that it was not meant to calm down the violence, but to appease the nation's view of Ferguson's white people...

Not directly relevant to this video, but interesting to hear different viewpoints - Parents in the Ferguson-Florissant School District told the BBC how they feel about the protests:

@lantern53
did you just compare a famous nazi warmongering propagandist (who got his playbook from an american *edward bernaise*) to a political satirist?

a political satirist who is skewering actual so-called "journalists"?

jon stewart is NOT a journalist and this segment is not about reporting on ferguson but rather pointing to the absurdity of some news outlets and how THEY propagandize.

nobody knows for certain the details of what went down,mainly in part to "news" outlets such as the daily show is revealing to be muppets rather than journalists but ALSO how the police department is handling the situation.

the news outlets are also ignoring the under lying reasons why there was rioting and looting.

or do you actually believe that people in this community just decided to blow up businesses and take to the streets.as if it were inherent to their nature and that rioting is fun!
yaaay rioting! WEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeEEEE!

but maybe...
juuuust maybe.
there had been an ongoing persecution brought on by years of flagrant abuse of authority and a disproportionate focus on this poor community?
think that could be possible?
not only is it possible but probable,because thats exactly what many of the residents have actually said.

a few decades of bad policing will have that effect on people.

who is the blame?
do we blame the residents?who after years of police stepping on their necks resorts to violence?
well,they do hold some responsibility.though we may understand,we cannot condone.

or do we blame the police?

well,several weeks ago you made the argument that it was actually those in command that set the tone for the entire force.

that was a good argument.
i agree with that argument.
being former military i understand the chain of command and how vital it is to a working and successful force that wields immense power.

so here is my basic problem with your commentary:
you chastise stewart for ignoring the violence,rioting and protesting,while at the VERY SAME TIME ignore the REASONS why that that violence erupted.

you appear to be very vocal in your support of the police,ANY police,which commendable...even noble,but you,yourself,noted that those in command could be corrupt,vicious and incompetent.

so my question is this:
why would you defend those cops?

Who said we have to be relevant on the sift? Or that 5 years is ancient history? I say there isn't a statute of limitations on evidence that is constantly ignored.

When a problem is systemic as long as that system exists in one form or another you can use the examples it creates for you. Otherwise all we have to go on is current stories and theory. That's simply not enough to convince, especially when we move from thing to thing so quickly in today's media. Again 5 years isn't ancient, to say this isn't relevant as an indictment of Police behavior because of how old it is or that the police were punished doesn't make sense.

It's a common belief that history doesn't matter to the people that hold the sticks, because they can move on easily. They weren't the victims, they bludgeoned the victims. This is why smart politicians always talk about the future, and moving forward. Shouldn't look back because then you will notice the crimes, and how the current politician is repeating those crimes.

On a more ridiculous note have you seen some of the shit on the sift. Why would you say this video isn't relevant? It has no description at all, or title, or tags that allude to Ferguson.

You fellas defending the cops need to think again.

You DO NOT SHOOT except to SAVE LIFE. I don't care if its Charlie Manson - if he's unarmed and surrendering in broad daylight YOU DO NOT SHOOT HIM.

Failure to respect this code leads to paranoia, violence, rage, hatred and TOTAL SOCIAL APOCALYPSE.

Ferguson will get back from the brink but only because of people who understand that.

Btw Norway has the most liberal, kindest, most forgiving judicial system in the world (AFAIK) and also the LOWEST REOFFENDNG AND CRIME RATES.

USA reoffending rate 85%. Incarceration rate highest outside of Somalia. So if the moral spiritual ethical stance is too lefty for you try BASIC FUCKING STRATEGY.

Comment hidden because you are ignoring dag. (show it anyway)

Is this thread in Ferguson? It feels like this thread is in Ferguson.

Everyone chill out or Ima lob some virtual tear gas up in here.