Good Cop, Bad Cop, and Evil Men

“Evil comes from a failure to think. It defies thought for as soon as thought tries to engage itself with evil and examine the premises and principles from which it originates, it is frustrated because it finds nothing there. That is the banality of evil.” – Hannah Arendt

“In the Third Reich evil lost its distinctive characteristic by which most people had until then recognized it. The Nazis redefined it as a civil norm.” – Ibid

Praise for Toronto Policeman’s Peaceful Approach: “This is going to be a great training video in the future. It almost gives you chills how well he handled himself.” That was Ronal Serpas’ takeaway after he saw how Constable Ken Lam of the Toronto police department managed the arrest of 25-year-old Alek Minassian, the driver who had just killed 10 people and injured 14 others by slamming into them with a rented van. Serpas knows whereof he speaks; he’s led police departments in New Orleans and Nashville.  

Mike Federico agreed. He was deputy chief of the Toronto police, retiring last September after 45 years with the force, and the man who helped devise the training video put in place in 2016. Toronto police officers must now take one day of de-escalation and mental health training annually. The wisdom of that practice paid off big time Monday, as several videos taken by witnesses reveal. Together, the recordings show step-by-step how a high-profile confrontation can be defused when an officer keeps a calm-under-fire composure, slowing things down and using time and distance to de-escalate the situation.

Police have no motive yet for why Minassian did what he did, but wonder if a clue might lie in a Facebook post he made shortly before going on his rampage. The post appears to make a connection between Minassian and another mass killer, Elliot Rodger, and misogynistic “incel,” or “involuntary celibate” communities. The incel movement credits collective sexual frustration as the basis for a deeply misogynistic online subculture. (Note: We just report what’s out there.)

Additional read: The Renegade Sheriffs: A law-enforcement movement that claims to answer only to the Constitution (The New Yorker)

Danish Killer Convicted: Peter Madsen, a 47-year-old Danish inventor, was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment for the gruesome sexual assault, murder, and dismemberment last August of 30-year-old Swedish journalist Kim Wall. The brutal attack took place aboard Madsen’s homemade Nautilus submarine. Wall, as part of her journalistic work, had accepted an invitation to take a sailing trip and never returned. Later some of her dismembered remains were found at sea.

The defendant had several versions of what happened, but the judge believed the prosecution’s theory that Madsen had tortured Wall to fulfill a violent sexual fantasy. The judge explained that the facts of this particular case had prompted her decision to hand down Denmark’s most severe penalty for the murder of a single person. Madsen, who had once described himself as “a psychopath, but a loving one,” was also found guilty of reckless sailing and ordered to pay damages to Wall’s parents and boyfriend.

Additional read: DNA match catches alleged ‘East Area Rapist,’ who murdered 12, raped 45. A one time cop who’s been living quietly in the Sacramento suburbs was fingered Wednesday as the “East Area Rapist,” with authorities saying DNA helped link him to a string of at least 12 slayings and 45 rapes that terrorized communities in the Bay Area and across California from 1976 to 1986. (San Francisco Chronicle)

-It’s been four years since the rest of the world outside Flint, Michigan learned of that city’s man-made water contamination crisis. Since then, some things have improved, and a lot hasn’t. “Water is not the worst thing that happened to Flint. Poverty and disinvestment are the worst things that happened to Flint. What the water crisis did was bring to light all the other issues.” (The Guardian)

–The United Arab Emirates has donated $50 million to help rebuild one of Mosul’s most renowned landmarks, Al Nuri Grand Mosque and its storied minaret, built in 1172. Thousands of homes, buildings, and places of worship were destroyed during the nine-month fight to oust the Islamic State. This week’s announcement of a five-year plan to restore Mosul’s centuries-old religious complex represents the largest cultural restoration project in Iraq. (NYT)

–Former Egyptian government anti-corruption czar, Hisham Geneina, served under President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi until 2016, when he became one of the president’s sharpest critics. Geneina and other opposition leaders were then “detained” until after last month’s election, which Sisi, now with no real opposition, “won” with 97% of the vote. Then came the fun part. Geneina was “tried” in a military court for “spreading fake news” that “endangered national security,” and sentenced to five years in prison. What government “crackdown on critics”? (NYT)

–Russian civilians fighting in Syria? Nyet Way! Oh, So you say groups of men have been spotted three times flying in from Damascus and heading straight to a defense base in southwestern Russia where the Russian 10th Special Forces Brigade is based. The Kremlin knows nothing of that. More fake news. (Reuters)

–Supreme Court justices heard arguments for both sides Wednesday on the third and current version of the Trump travel ban. It appears justices may be leaning toward upholding the ban, but a final decision isn’t expected until June. (NPR)

More News Reads:

• The Forgotten Ebola Survivors Of Sierra Leone (NPR)
• First Trump State Dinner Brings Billionaires And Administration Officials (NPR)
• Ronny Jackson crashed car while drunk and mishandled drugs, document claims (The Guardian)
• Watchdog Says Billions In Afghanistan Funding At Risk Of Misuse (NPR)
• What Fuels the Saudi Rivalry With Iran? (NYT)
• Trump likely to scrap Iran deal amid ‘insane’ changes of stance, says Macron(The Guardian)
• North Korea nuclear test site has collapsed and may be out of action – China study (The Guardian)

India’s Religion and Rape Problem: Horrific crimes continue to be perpetrated against Indian women and girls. Many people hoped things would change after the despicable 2012 rape and fatal brutalization of a young woman on a bus in New Delhi. But the unspeakable torture and murder of an 8-year-old Muslim girl recently shows nothing’s really changed much. Rape conviction rates remain low, and politicians continue to be elected despite accusations of sexual abuse.

India’s deep division along religious, ethnic, and political lines means even something as unimaginable as what was done to the little Muslim girl has groups who support the men and justify their actions. Some scholars attribute the rise of the Hindu right for the open season on Muslims, no matter where or how young they are. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose party is rooted in Hindu nationalism, was heavily criticized for remaining silent after the attack. He was finally forced to speak out after massive protests across the country. But some high level officials in Modi’s party are among the staunchest defenders of the suspects in the young girl’s murder. A 2017 analysis showed hate crimes targeting mostly Muslims and lower-caste Hindus  had risen sharply since Modi took office in 2014.

On a brighter side, small strides have been made in holding high-profile rapists accountable. Spiritual leader Asaram Bapu, who founded hundreds of ashrams in India, was sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of raping a teenage girl in 2013. And last summer, spiritual leader Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh’s rape conviction set off violent protests from his followers in Haryana and Punjab.

• Happy birthday to YouTube? It’s now a terrifying cesspit of clickbait. One YouTuber fed a homeless man biscuits filled with toothpaste. Another killed her boyfriend in a prank gone wrong. As the video-sharing site turns 13, it seems to be increasingly out of control. (The Guardian)
• Jeff Bezos v the world: Why all companies fear ‘death by Amazon.’ With its profound knowledge of its customers, Amazon can move into almost any sector – striking fear into the hearts of rivals. And the $740bn company is ‘just getting started.’ (The Guardian)
• Amazon will now deliver packages to the trunk of your car. New service in collaboration with GM and Volvo will launch in 37 cities in the US. (The Verge)
• Inside Jeff Bezos’s DC Life (Washingtonian)
• Jeff Bezos: the boy who wanted to colonise space. From a young age, the Amazon founder had dreamed up unlikely-sounding schemes. And then one took off. (The Guardian)
• Facebook posts record revenues for first quarter despite privacy scandal.Company sees almost $12bn in revenue, up nearly 50% from last year and beating analyst estimates as Zuckerberg hails ‘strong start.’ (The Guardian)  
• Facebook Replaces Lobbying Executive Amid Regulatory Scrutiny (NYT)
• The Facebook Fallacy: Privacy Is Up to You. “As [Mark] Zuckerberg surely knows, providing a greater sense of control over their personal data won’t make Facebook users more cautious. It will instead encourage them to share more. This, of course, will produce more data for Facebook to mine to its own financial advantage.” (NYT)

-Life in antiquity was pretty stinky. Without modern food and personal hygienic standards, most people probably contracted an intestinal worm at some point or another. That also means all the parasitic eggs dumped into latrines through the years constitute a historical record of what people ate and what made their stomachs hurt. Danish scientists began exhuming ancient excrement from the “toilets of yore” to reconstruct snapshots of food and health in bygone centuries.(NPR)

-Two security consultants for a Finnish data security company discovered that by obtaining a widely used hotel key card, an assailant could create a master key to unlock any room in the building without leaving a trace. Even an expired key card can do the trick. (Reuters)

-In her new book Insane: America’s Criminal Treatment of Mental Illness, Alisa Roth investigates the widespread incarceration of the mentally ill in the United States, and what she sees as “impossible burdens placed on correctional officers to act as mental health providers when they’re not adequately trained.” (NPR)

–There are very special ants in the world that have what you might call a very explosive nature. They rupture their own abdomens, releasing a sticky, bright yellow fluid laced with toxins that can kill their attackers. Similar to honey bees that die after stinging, these exploding ants do not survive, but their sacrifice can help protect other members of the colony. (NYT)

–Just being outside can improve your psychological health, and maybe your physical health, too. Just being in a wooded area boosts your immune system, and dirt may function as an antidepressant. Researchers have also found that just looking at the sea or at trees can have health benefits. (Quartz)

More Fascinating News:

• High-Paying Trade Jobs Sit Empty, While High School Grads Line Up For University (NPR)
• Rural Lands At Risk As Ranchers Prepare For Retirement (NPR)
• ‘Tea Party Liberal’ Promises To Bring A Blue Wave To West Virginia (NPR)
• The rise of Russia’s neo-Nazi football hooligans. For the past two decades the Russian state has encouraged groups of violent far-right fans. As the World Cup approaches, it is struggling to tame them. (The Guardian)
• How Devin Nunes Turned the House Intelligence Committee Inside Out (NYT)
• The Top Jobs Where Women Are Outnumbered by Men Named John. In the corridors of American power, it can be as easy to find a man named John as it is to find a woman. (NYT)
• Growing up in the Wild Wild Country cult: ‘You heard people having sex all the time, like baboons’ (The Guardian)

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