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There have been a few strange incidents lately, offering peculiar insights into the minds of law enforcement agencies and the companies who pay for off-duty offices to provide their security. Once, the public perception of law enforcement  personnel was the of a strong an confident personality ready to solve any problem, protect and serve the public. But that perception is being damaged. Incidents are occurring with regular monotony of security and law enforcement  overreacting to the slightest provocation.

Recently homeland security agents felt so threaten by a journalist, Laura Poitrus, using her pen to take notes that they insisted that she put away her weapon. It was said the the pen is mightier than the sword, at a time when pens were made from quills, now that the are made from plastic and steal the also appear to be mightier than pepper-spray, side-arms, and Tazers. Even when there was one of her and two of them.

Miami-Dade beach cops tackled and choked 14 year-old Tremaine McMillian after seeing him roughhousing with his friends, after talking to him, he went to get mom. That was when they pounched. What triggered this attack? In the officers word a "dehumanizing stare". As the attack started officers knock the six week old puppy Tremain was carrying out of his hand. This overreaction has a followup in court. Tremaine has been charged with resisting a police officer. At the arraignment the judge has committed Tremaine to trial.

What's going on here? Are they hiring panty-wastes to protect and serve? Probably not.

In Laura's case her work as a journalist has set her at odds with authorities for exposing some of the lies and secrets of the US government and the industrial complex. Include the documentary The Oath that examines the cases former Gitmo detainees returned to Yemen. And, as of early last week, filming the interview with Edward Snowden.

In Tremains case, the most likely explanation is a combination of racism and a career working with drunks, and abusive characters creating an overly cautious mentality. Problem is it too easy to think worst of people just because of the their skin colour. As a recent hidden camera test showed people will let a white guy steal a chained up bike some queried what he was doing, most ignored him. But when the actor was replaced with a black actor, one passer-by grabbed the chain breaking tools and told the camera crew as it revealed itself to go after him.


Just exactly what constitutes terrorism seems to be shifting. Once upon a time, maybe ten years ago, everybody was sure that it required an act of mass murder for the purpose of furthering a political goal. Today some terrorists are so vicious they let security-guards and police officers handcuff them and walk them away from large scale sit-ins. One of them was so dangerous he hung a sign on his own neck say "world war 2 veteran: Handle with care". These "terrorists" are known house-wives, farmers, builders, technical professionals. Of them the farmers are the worst as they continually meander over land they own or lease. Like me you are probably thinking that doesn't seem very terroristic, who is calling these people "terrorists"? That would be TransCanada. The people described as terrorists are mainly from the well known hot bed of terrorist activity that is Nevada. This is where TransCanada is constructing the Keystone XL pipeline, which is as well received as ... ebola virus. 

TransCanada needs Presidential sign off for the Northern league of Keystone XL. If there is one thing that terrorizes the folk inside TransCanada more than anything it is the possibility that President Obama will veto the northern league. The case for the pipeline is weak. Canadian Oil sands will add 140ppm CO₂ to the atmosphere. The business case presented to the congress was prepared by a consultant with close ties to TransCanada. Also the jobs the project creates are limited in comparison to other energy technologies.

This reminds me of The Hollowman, in which Kevin Bacon, becomes invisible, but wears clothing and a latex mask so people can see a public face while he hide dark secrets and an agenda everyone else rightly sees as barking mad once they figured out what he was up to. The rhetoric against the NO-KXL campaign, is a thinly veiled lie used to employ off duty law enforcement and security firms to protect equipment and supplies. Perhaps also keeping workers from having to be bothered by the idea that they are betraying their neighbours, and their own families' futures.