The Blame Game Essay Example for Free

The Blame Game Essay When I think about law enforcement, the thoughts that come to mind are to protect and serve its citizens, its people, and the innocent. The Waco Siege is an example of what happens when Law Enforcement Agencies fail to do their most basic job, protect the innocent. The Waco tragedy could have been avoided if the Law Enforcement Agencies involved had done their job of protecting the innocent and did not make such catastrophic tactical errors. The Waco Siege began on February 28, and ended violently 50 days later on April 19, 1993. The siege began when the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) attempted to execute a search warrant at the Branch Davidian ranch at Mount Carmel. After the ATFs failed to execute the search warrant, a siege was begun by the Federal Bureau of Investigation which lasted 50 days, and ended when a second assault on the compound was made, and then fire engulfed the compound. Seventy-six people died in the fire, including more than 20 children and two pregnant women. As Peter Meyer points out, the mistakes began with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. The 51-day FBI siege of the Branch Davidian compound followed the killing of four ATF agents who were attempting to serve warrants on the occupants. According to Kate O’Beirne in her article â€Å"Waco II the Awful†, the committees found that the ATF could have avoided the killings: The agents in charge recklessly proceeded with the raid even though they knew they would encounter armed resistance. She further concluded that the ATFs entire investigation of Koresh and his followers for possible violations of federal gun laws was grossly incompetent. It is clear that the ATF wanted to mount a large- scale military raid (dubbed Showtime), with Koresh as the target (O’Beirne). The ATF sought special training in close-combat fighting from Army Special Forces two months before the bureau had probable cause for a warrant and before its undercover investigation had even begun. The agency rejected an offer by Koresh to permit an inspection of his compound (O’Beirne). The arrest warrant could have been served on Koresh when he left the compound, but ATF agents mistakenly believed that he rarely ventured out: The agents maintaining 24-hour surveillance from a house across the street didnt know what he looked like. The affidavits filed in support of the arrest and search warrants were riddled with false statements, outdated facts, and inflammatory, unsubstantiated charges of child abuse, which were outside the jurisdiction of the ATF anyway. When over 70 ATF agents, in commando gear complete with ski masks, arrived at the compound to execute their dynamic entry, the Davidians fired on them. The ATF had been expected. The agency had notified the media that something was to happen that weekend, and a TV cameraman in need of directions sought the assistance of a local who happened to be a Koresh in-law. He headed straight to the compound. The agents in charge dismissed an ATF undercover agents warning that Koresh knew of the raid (Abrams). Nobody at the ATF has been held accountable for these gross errors in judgment and subsequent lies during a criminal investigation. Two senior raid commanders were fired following an internal investigation, but they were rehired two months later, with back pay and attorneys fees, after complaining through the civil-service system. Suspicions linger that they were rehired, in nonsupervisory roles, to prevent them from making embarrassing disclosures about the agency. In his article The Waco Disaster, David Kopel states that Congress investigated the FBIs actions, too. The committees found that the FBI had failed to appreciate that the pressure on the Davidians bonded them all the more closely and reinforced Koreshs apocalyptic vision of their fate. While FBI negotiators held out hope that a peaceful resolution was possible, the agents became increasingly frustrated with the delays. One FBI behavioral-science expert counseled patience in a series of memos to headquarters, until he learned that his superiors werent pleased with the tone of his advice: They felt it was tying their hands. According to the article â€Å"Waco Revisited,† the author notes, that the FBI agent in charge at Waco testified that the reason the feds eventually turned off the electricity in the compound was that â€Å"cold and wet FBI personnel† resented the presumed comforts of the Davidians. The agents testimony indicated that the decision to mount the tear-gas assault was the result of their weariness and frustration; they were â€Å"tired and ticked off. † Every reason the FBI gave as necessitating the siege dissolved on close inspection. There was no evidence that Koresh was planning a violent breakout; the hostage-rescue team didnt have to stand down for training for another two weeks; other law-enforcement personnel could have relieved them and guarded the perimeter; and there was no evidence that children in the compound were in immediate jeopardy. The initial assault (Plan A), involving the slow and incremental injection of tear gas by tanks into the compound, was undertaken at 6:02 in the morning. When this non-assault was met with gunfire, Plan B went into effect at 6:07. Over the next six hours, tear gas was inserted into every portion of the compound, while the buildings were dismantled. There was no Plan C (Meyer). Elliott Abrams argues, that the FBI failed to acknowledge the fact that CS gas was banned for battlefield use by 100 nations or that it could make victims incapable of evacuating the area, according to an army field manual. Clearly, FBI officials had miscalculated the Davidians reactions to the gas-and-tank assault, and failed to provide fire protection at the scene. The Waco Tragedy has become the most controversial law enforcement operation in modern American history. Although the official investigation of the incident now places all of the blame for the carnage on the Branch Davidian leader, David Koresh, numerous crimes by government agents were never seriously investigated or prosecuted. If those crimes go unpunished, the Waco incident will leave an odious precedent that Law Enforcement Agents can use the color of their office to commit crimes against citizens.

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Revised Bernice Bobs Her Hair F Scott Fitzgerald 3 February, 2014 Kaley Witwer A) As the title already tell the reader, Bernice is the protagonist. She can be very unappealing at times, most because she’s a really boring and predictable character especially when most of her conversations with others lead to talking about the weather, she is also very naive because she doesn’t understand why she is unpopular with people or why boys don’t like her. At the end other the story though we like her because she seeks revenge on her cousin and sticks to her word even though it turns into a disaster. Marjorie, the cousin, at first is looked at as an antagonist because she talks bad about Bernice behind her back (which Bernice overhears), but then she is seen as a foil because she helps Bernice learn the ways to become popular, only to then regret this decision and takes it upon herself to tell everyone that Bernice didn’t actually bob her hair like she said. She then becomes the antagonist again. This shows that Majorie is self-centered becaus e she doesn’t want Bernice to take the ‘limelight’...

Paganism vs Christianity

Pagan vs. Christian The holy Catholic Religion had a drastic Christian like impact on the barbarian, Viking Pagans of the Anglo-Saxon Age in England (Elements of Literature 11). The Catholics evolved the aggressive Pagan Vikings into a peaceful society (Williams). Also, the Catholics substituted their warlike religion and after-life to a more holy and Christian like religion (Chaney 197-217). Along with the altering of the Pagan society and religion, the Catholics also transformed the Pagans dominant government style to a more civilized and unified one (Williams).The Pagans did not expect their society, religion, and government would be shifted to a Christian like style, but it did (Elements of Literature 11). The calm Catholics transformed the brutal Pagan Vikings into a more civilized society (Williams). After the transformation the Pagan’s tribal like communities was changed to towns with Castles (Williams). Also the Pagan’s tradition of oral literature being told by the scop was changed to written language in which the monks wrote (Williams).The unimportance of women in the Pagan society was changed when Virgin Mary the patriot saint helped raise the status of women (Williams). Along changing the type of society the Pagans were accustomed to into a more modern one like the Catholics there was also a change in religious beliefs (Elements of Literature 11 ). The Pagans believed in a warrior death and after-life while the Catholics believed in a holy peaceful religion, this was another alteration the Catholics made upon the Pagans (Chaney 197-217).The Pagans believed there was many gods and the best place to go after death was Valhalla while the Catholics believed in one God and Heaven was the best place after death (Chaney 197-217). The Catholics had an idol to live up to which was Jesus, the son of God, while the Pagans fought in battle to please Valkyries, whom was said to be the person who chose who died in battle (Chaney 197-217). The Pagans lived to die in battle, they believed dying in battle was heroic, the Catholics believed in living a sin free life and living a peaceful after-life (Chaney 197-217). Along with the changing of the Pagan’s arbarian society and warrior like religion the Catholics also evolved their tribal government into a more modern type (Elements of Literature 11). The Pagans believed in the strongest warrior being the King, or leader of the tribe, while the Catholics believed God chose who the heir to the throne would be (Williams). The Pagan king was known to be the bravest of all warriors but Catholics substituted the bravery for education and began to educate the Pagans (WIlliams). The Catholics also crated a Parliament in the Pagan tribe, which was something they lacked before ( WIlliams).Pagan warriors believed the strongest of all died to protect the king after the Catholics had an impact of their lifestyle it was believed there was a Diving Right of King (Williams). The Catholics un ified England with their transformation of the Pagan lifestyle (Elements of Literature 11). In the end the Pagans resulted in a peaceful society in which provided a common system of morality (Elements of Literature 11 ). The Catholics also provided the Pagans with a common faith of Christianity in which was more peaceful (Chaney 197-217).The most important gift the Catholics gave to the pagans was the transformation of a warrior leader to a militant but yet strategic leader to run a more civilized government (Elements of Literature 11). The calm Christians of the Catholic religion had a positive influence on the barbarous Pagans off the Anglo-Saxon Age in England ( Williams). Although there were many changes made to the Pagan lifestyle there were many more that needed to be made in order for them to be a more civilized nation of what present day England is like today (Elements of Literature 11).

Security Breaches And Attacks From Criminals - 1796 Words

Corporations are also largely pushing back against this government debate for a backdoor. According to Peterson’s article in the Washington Post, many companies have experienced an increase in security breaches and attacks from criminals in recent years. As a consequence, many of them are working on incorporating harder encryption systems, some of which are designed in such a way that the company does not have access to the â€Å"digital keys† that are used to unlock this data. Due to these measures, Sanger and Perlroth found that â€Å"when companies like Apple and Facebook are issued court orders to help governments monitor their customers’ messages, all they can do is turn over a stream of unintelligible code.† Supporters of encryption, such as Apple’s chief executive Tim Cook, state that limiting this encryption would damage â€Å"customers’ confidence that the most precious data they keep in their phones is safe from garden variety cybe rcriminals as well as sophisticated nation states that could gain access to keys via hacking† (Sanger and Perlroth). Furthermore, Sanger and Perlroth spoke to a computer security expert named Matt Blaze at the University of Pennsylvania who mentioned that encryption itself is only particularly useful for hiding data and the contents of conversations. Blaze states that encryption does not hide the fact that two parties were in communication, nor does it protect that data when the devices used by the individuals are compromised, implying that encryptionShow MoreRelatedThe International Security Threat Report989 Words   |  4 PagesThe â€Å"International Security Threat Report† provides data on cybersecurity attacks and threats throughout 2012. The report shows that there was a 42% increase in targeted attacks (page 10). Although the types of attacks have been evolving, the number of people affected and the amount of damage has increased. Cyber attacks have evolved in s uch a way that allows them to be a large threat for citizens, businesses, and governments. Cyber attacks have been putting the privacy and information of citizensRead MoreData Breaches And The Healthcare Industry1676 Words   |  7 PagesSummary of data breaches in hospital industry Data breaches have become common nowadays especially in the healthcare industry. 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