My new neighbour: a dangerous felon. Help!

[Chris McKaskell]

I haven't thought about those quotes for a long time.

Great stuff!

BTW, There's a hardware store accross the street from us. and right next door to one of the houses in question.

I spoke with the owner who told me he had installed upgraded security cameras recently -- both in response to a recent increase in theft and an increase in the frequency of used needles showing up in the parking lot.

Anyway, the police are already looking at taped footage of deals going down and may already have enough to pursue the fellow.

The weekend was much quieter than usual -- kind of like the prey had gone to ground. Definitely keeping a low profile in any case!

[jorvik]

Quote
"People aren't that different from place to place, Ray. They act like sheeple until someone takes on a leadership role and refuses to act like a victim.

I refuse to believe this "wouldn't work in the UK" Ray. I leave you with a few quotes from Sir Winston Churchill
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Firstly Churchill has been dead half a century ..but by the logic you use Bill there shouldn't be any problems in Iraq, Afghanistan..Maybe you'd like to take a trip to Somalia and stand up for your rights over there.
In the UK we still have the remnemts of tony bliars Stazi....protecting the rights of every knifeweilding thug or gunman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8IADD8zpSI&NR=1

[Van Canna]

I'd have to agree with Ray after watching the video clip.

It is appalling what the UK allows on its homeland, yet prohibiting its citizens self defense _ without finding themselves in jeopardy.

I guess carrying meat cleavers is no big deal, right?

And we see the Bobbies with just a puny night stick.

[Bill Glasheen]

People aren't that different from place to place, Ray. They act like sheeple until someone takes on a leadership role and refuses to act like a victim.

I refuse to believe this "wouldn't work in the UK" Ray. I leave you with a few quotes from Sir Winston Churchill

Firstly Churchill has been dead half a century ..but by the logic you use Bill there shouldn't be any problems in Iraq, Afghanistan.

You argue best when you argue my point, Ray.

In spite of the folks who hate Blair and GW - and I include you in that group - there has been a MAJOR turnaround in Iraq. The Democrats in Congress were betting on the failure, hoping to make it a campaign theme. Iraq is a failure. We need to get out now. Our boys are losing lives for nothing. Blah, blah, blah... But then...

Iraq passed a turning point last fall when the U.S. counterinsurgency campaign launched in early 2007 produced a dramatic drop in violence and quelled the incipient sectarian war between Sunnis and Shiites. Now, another tipping point may be near, one that sees the Iraqi government and army restoring order in almost all of the country, dispersing both rival militias and the Iranian-trained "special groups" that have used them as cover to wage war against Americans. It is -- of course -- too early to celebrate; though now in disarray, the Mahdi Army of Moqtada al-Sadr could still regroup, and Iran will almost certainly seek to stir up new violence before the U.S. and Iraqi elections this fall. Still, the rapidly improving conditions should allow U.S. commanders to make some welcome adjustments -- and it ought to mandate an already-overdue rethinking by the "this-war-is-lost" caucus in Washington, including Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.).

- Washington Post


What happened?

A few smart people reached out to the general population in Anbar Province. The locals were sick and tired of the outsiders coming in and screwing up their daily routines. They were tired of the bloodshed. They were tired of the random murders. Enough is enough! So with a little leadership from a positive-thinking US military commander, they banded together at the level of the common citizen and started ratting out these outsiders. You know... the ones we should be sooo afraid of because they'd off you with death squads and blow up your schools. Well... IT WORKED in Anbar. Then they took the paradigm to other places in Iraq.

I remember when the weekly US casualty count was in the dozens. Now its a few a week. Oil production is back to pre-war levels. The Iraqi leader is making noises like they're ready to run the country on their own.

If you had been leader with your defeatist attitude, Ray, the Middle East would have become a God-awful cesspool of trouble, and the trouble would have spilled over to your back yard.

Once again... thank you for making my point.

Maybe you'd like to take a trip to Somalia and stand up for your rights over there.

Some time, I highly recommend you read The Rape of Nanking. It it, you see thousands and thousands of citizens giving up to a handful of military thugs from the Japanese Imperial Army. They walked to their deaths like lambs to the slaughter. And for what? The pictures are more than disturbing. "The second crime scene" was much more horrific than the first ever could be.

Bayonette Practice

Killed Babies

Raped Body

Trophies from Sword Practice

Not me, Jack.

Maybe you should pay attention to my Forum. I'm hurt that you haven't heard me asking why the world has stood by as the Somalia genocide continues. If I was in Somalia, Ray, I wouldn't take it while grabbing my ankles. I'd rather die with dignity. If you are going to die anyhow, you have nothing to lose.

Perhaps you should do a little reading of history. The reason why you live in a democracy today is because a handful of Spartans stood up to Xerxes' mighty army, and gave their lives to make a point. Their effort inspired the rest of Greece to rally the troops and stop Xerxes from imposing authoritarian rule on their country.

And speaking of Afghanistan... A handful of Muslim faithful chased the mighty Soviet army out of their country. If they hadn't screwed up and started pi$$ing on the rest of the world, they'd be running that country now.

- Bill

[jorvik]

Hi Van.

I’m afraid that it is a bit more complex than that. The Government that we have has tried to control and change every aspect of our lives. One of the victims of this has been the police force. This government has changed them into a politically correct vehicle to promote their own ideas. So things such as crimes against homosexuals or racially/religiously motivated crimes are given top priority . It is now a more serious offence to be a racist than a thief.

In terms of how this affects local people. It means that the police are never there to protect them or deter crime, but are very happy to arrest somebody for a perceived slight of an illegal immigrants human rights or some other Diversity crime. It is a really horrible atmosphere to live in. People who stand up to the thugs are usually arrested themselves, which leads to people not taking action and the thugs if caught are not punished severely enough to deter them.

So in effect the thugs have no worries about carrying and using weapons ,whereas people with jobs and responsibilities know that if they are arrested they can lose everything. This in itself contributes to a feeling of despondency and a distrust of the law. I work within the law, but quite frankly if anything happened to me or mine then I would not rely on the law but would do whatever I felt necessary, and I would not get the law involved or feel any obligation to report it to them. I think a lot of people feel this way now.

[jorvik]

Quote
"If you had been leader with your defeatist attitude, Ray, the Middle East would have become a God-awful cesspool of trouble, and the trouble would have spilled over to your back yard. "

and it's all hunky dory now is it Bill..... the trouble did spill over into my back yard .....remember the London Bombings ...............................and your fck witted president my well go to war with Iran. Then there will be fun. Look what one of those nasty Weapons inspectors said about it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oU21ASgY ... re=related

but of course we don't listen to them do we?.......or even care when they are murdered in mysterious circumstances

and here is something else I just found

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbVwouau ... re=related

so much for wanting nuclear weapons

[Chris McKaskell]

Gentlemen, getting back to the thread: I am happy to report that in the past few days the tenants of the two worst houses have been evicted.

Locked out, actually.

Between neighbours calling the police and the city for various reasons the landlords had reason to go on site to examine their properties and, in both cases, found sufficient property damage and illicit materials to warrent further action.

Specifically - changing the locks and calling the police.

I'm not sure the landords' action is entirely lawful - The Landlord and Tenants' Act tends to protect the rights of renters more than it protects the rights of landlords, but I also don't think the evicted tenants are likely fight it given the incriminating nature of the material that the police seized during the lockout.

Interesting.

[Van Canna]

I am happy to report that in the past few days the tenants of the two worst houses have been evicted.

I guess all good things come to those who wait?

Hi Ray,

You wrote

In terms of how this affects local people. It means that the police are never there to protect them or deter crime, but are very happy to arrest somebody for a perceived slight of an illegal immigrants human rights or some other Diversity crime. It is a really horrible atmosphere to live in. People who stand up to the thugs are usually arrested themselves, which leads to people not taking action and the thugs if caught are not punished severely enough to deter them.

So in effect the thugs have no worries about carrying and using weapons ,whereas people with jobs and responsibilities know that if they are arrested they can lose everything. This in itself contributes to a feeling of despondency and a distrust of the law. I work within the law, but quite frankly if anything happened to me or mine then I would not rely on the law but would do whatever I felt necessary, and I would not get the law involved or feel any obligation to report it to them. I think a lot of people feel this way now.

I agree_ This is what really gets the ‘individual’ down … –powerless to do much of anything to change what affects him personally.

The reason why the Sicilian ‘Cosa nostra’ emerged.

Some observers have seen "mafia" as a set of attributes deeply rooted in popular culture, as a "way of being", as illustrated in the definition by the Sicilian ethnographer, Giuseppe Pitrè, at the end of the 19th century:

"Mafia is the consciousness of one's own worth, the exaggerated concept of individual force as the sole arbiter of every conflict, of every clash of interests or ideas."

Many Sicilians did not regard these men as criminals but as role models and protectors, given that the state appeared to offer no protection for the poor and weak.

As late as the 1950s, the funeral epitaph of the legendary boss of Villalba, Calogero Vizzini, stated that "his 'mafia' was not criminal, but stood for respect of the law, defense of all rights, greatness of character. It was love."

Here, "mafia" means something like pride, honour, or even social responsibility: an attitude, not an organization.

Likewise, in 1925, the former Italian Prime Minister Vittorio Emanuele Orlando stated in the Italian senate that he was proud of being mafioso, because that word meant honourable, noble, generous.

Very tempting… Maybe the English should fall in the Sicilians' footsteps and F!@# the government.

[Van Canna]

Maybe you could set up a Uechi Ryu 'Cosa Nostra' in England. and become a 'Godfather'

[Bill Glasheen]

I'm not sure the landords' action is entirely lawful - The Landlord and Tenants' Act tends to protect the rights of renters more than it protects the rights of landlords, but I also don't think the evicted tenants are likely fight it given the incriminating nature of the material that the police seized during the lockout.

Interesting.

Bingo!

There's quite a bit of arrogance that goes about with certain types of criminals. Particularly in the case of meth labs, etc., they do what they do and hide behind the constitution. But sooner or later, the arrogance causes them to slip up.

This is where the common citizen can be helpful. If there is reason to believe criminal activity is happening, they can get a search warrant and all these "protections" go out the window. Similarly, a landlord is allowed to go on the premises to protect property in the case of an emergency (broken pipe, etc.). There's aways a reason. Under normal conditions they do need to notify the tenant. But not so under some circumstances. And once the law-breaking activity is out in the open, the protective wall begins to crumble.

And quite frankly... We often tend to put lawbreakers into some kind of super-smart, super-physical, super-lethal pedestal. The truth is that the average criminal is average at best. If they were REALLY smart, they'd be finding legal ways to make a living and get ahead in life. The fact that they're operating outside the bounds of the law in a relatively civilized society points to a flaw that can be investigated and exploited. My guess is that these thugs got tripped up, and now are in damage control mode with a court-appointed attorney.

Congratulations! I hope you get some momentum with this, and turn your neighborhood into a wonderful place to live.

- Bill

[TSDguy]

That's how the Bloods and Cryps started out... protecting their own neighborhoods. Obviously that didn't work out so well in the end.

The old "power corrupts" thing.

[jorvik]

Quote
"Maybe you could set up a Uechi Ryu 'Cosa Nostra' in England. and become a 'Godfather' "

Well ....................they are criminals.but that has happened where I used to live, where I was brought up .........a local thug got shot in a drugs war and his gang told the local shopkeepers to close up for the day when his funeral enterage went by..they all obliged

The point is that now you are responsible for yourself and your family, and the police are just an inconvenience that gets in the way

[Bill Glasheen]

your fck witted president my well go to war with Iran. Then there will be fun. Look what one of those nasty Weapons inspectors said about it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oU21ASgY ... re=related

First... Politics are politics, but this is over the top, Ray. We focus on issues, and not people in this forum. While public figures are often fair game for ridicule, there are limits to that. A reasonable person can conclude that you've crossed the limit here. Have I made myself clear, Ray? I won't remind you again in the same manner.

- The Moderator

****

If you want to bring up "nuking Iran"... Do you bother to watch the news at all, Ray, or do you just focus on railing certain public figures irrespective of the facts? If you HAD been watching the news, you'd know that Barrack Obama has been touring Afghanistan, Iraq, Kuwait, and some of Europe. He spoke to an audience of 200,000 in Germany just yesterday.

And do you know what Senator Obama said just this week?

Obama: All Options Should Be Considered On Iran Nuclear Issue

Oh my... This is the SAME POSITION held by the current US administration. At first Obama was contrasting himself with current policy, talking about all the things he wouldn't do. But as this freshman Senator learns more... As he gets closer actually to being Commander in Chief...

What do they know that you don't, Ray? What do you think people who discuss the nuances of international politics pick up from intelligence that the average person doesn't see?

Oh and last I checked, the current administration hasn't bombed Iran. Last I checked, we're not in war with Iran. Did I miss something in the news, Ray? Does your advanced YouTube News team know something that the rest of us don't?

Just wondering...

On a personal note... I don't think the world will be able to stop Iran from going nuclear. It's difficult when you have countries like France that get 80% of their power from nuclear telling the Irans of the world that they may not. And if/when they do, life will definitely be "interesting."

- Bill

[jorvik]

Bill
you are the one who brought up Churchill and Iraq ( both of which were irrelevant to the discussion).
I have not changed my opinion of the Iraqi war one jot, although you have many,many times...as has bush, and there is a very real danger that he could attack Iran..so I'm just warning you ( pretty much like I did when the talk first started of the Iraqi war, I said then they wouldn't find Bin Laden or the weapons of mass destruction.and they didn't )..now they are talking about Iran creating Weapons of mass destruction...............which they aren't and once again nobody is listening to the experts.in this case yet another weapons inspector ...God that must be a thankless job
Obama is just trying to win votes is all......and he knows how gullible and stupid folks are....I mean bush was trying to link saddam and bin ladin and alqeada together...he even tried to get korea into the pot .............and some folks actually believed it..Obama is just trying not to alienate the rednecks

[Van Canna]

The point is that now you are responsible for yourself and your family, and the police are just an inconvenience that gets in the way

But can you get away with it? If not what's the use...either death by criminals or by jailhouse and bankruptcy.

A Sicilian style 'Cosa Nostra' is mandatory