Dorner Cabin Fire: The Controversy

Now that it's all over and Dorner appears to have died in an engulfed cabin, conspiracies are beginning to emerge left and right. The latest is over whether or not police purposefully set fire to the cabin, or if they were using tear gas that accidentally ignited. Clips from the local news and audio from police radio indicate that they did in fact intentionally set fire to the cabin. Conspiracy folks are alleging that the force is saying that the audio was fabricated, but as far as we can tell, the department has not officially commented on it one way or another.

From guardian.co.uk:

A spokesman for the San Bernardino County sheriff's office refused to answer any media questions about the fire or Dorner's death until the press conference the police force is holding on Wednesday at 4pm LA time (midnight GMT).

So far it appears much ado about nothing, as they haven't really made a statement yet about how the fire started, and whether it was intentional or not. It does bring back memories of the 1993 Waco Texas incident though where a compound full of  Branch Davidians died in a fire that hard been started by tear gas igniting, engulfing the compound in flames.





To check out the police radio during the time of the incident, check out these two clips from Archive.org.

We think it's pretty obvious that they probably did intentionally burn the cabin down, and ultimately this will come out in the open. But we also think that the police may have been completely justified in doing so. You have a guy terrorizing the region, being very open about being at war with the police and following through with his manifesto by killing several, and you've got him holed up in cabin by himself.  And he's not surrendering. In fact he's continuing to shoot at officers. So you can either have a shootout that continues to last for days, potentially killing many more officers, or you can get it over with much more quickly by forcing Dorner to act. By setting the cabin on fire, you force Dorner to make the next move quickly to end the situation. He has to either leave the cabin and either 1) surrender, or 2) continue being aggressive which would lead to his death, or he would take his own life inside the cabin. In any one of those scenarios, the situation is concluded much quicker at less risk to the officers.

The LAPD may have some serious internal issues that they need to work out, but we don't see any problems with how this was handled at the cabin. Now, when they shot at the two Asian women a few days earlier because their truck matched the description of Dorners? That was a complete clusterfuck and should not just be glossed over or forgotten. But when you have a man who has shown himself to be a threat to the extent that Dorner had, as long as he is not surrendering you do whatever it takes to put him down.

Update: Sheriff: "No intent to burn down cabin to get Dorner"

From usatoday.com:

"We did not intentionally burn down that cabin to get Mr. Dorner out," Sheriff John McMahon said at an afternoon news conference.

He said deputies initially fired conventional "cold" tear gas into the cabin in Seven Oaks, near Big Bear Lake, then switched to "pyrotechnic-type" rounds" known as "burners."

Hmm yeah not buying it. Why not just admit you intended to burn it down? You did what you had to do.

Occupy Oakland turns to full blown riot

The latest footage from Occupy Oakland, nearing a full blown riot.

"The Oakland PD in full riot gear lined up and marched toward the now out of control rally. They started firing smoke grenades and tear gas into the crowd of people, to which people starting throwing bottles and other objects back to the police."

Now remember folks, these guys are the 99%. They are representing all of us who are too pussy to go out and do anything. These are the real heros, without them we'd all be in concentration camps by now.

People Liking People: Koran Burning Nov. 25th

Folks, it is with great excitement that we announce what should be without question a dramatic and exciting ceremony. On November 25th Thanksgiving day, People Liking People will be holding a Koran burning event. While the rest of the country will be celebrating and giving thanks to others and getting together with family members to eat turkey, we'll be setting copies of the Koran on fire.



We will be broadcasting this event live for all of our fans and followers to join in on the fun. We're still working out a concrete schedule, but we're looking at around 3:00pm eastern time to begin the initial ceremony and then around 3:45 the actual burning of the Koran will begin. More details to come, but stay tuned and be sure to mark this on the calendar, though it should be pretty easy to remember being that it's on Thanksgiving day.

By the way, we want to make it clear that we still like all types of people, even Muslims. But this event will go much deeper than a simple like or dislike for any particular group of people. This will transcend time, cultures, geographical boundaries, and will revolutionize the way we think about oatmeal. If anyone has suggestions, comments, or for whatever reason does not want us to follow through with this, feel free to contact us at peoplelikingpeople@yahoo.com. Death threats are welcome too, all feedback is encouraged. Thanks to everyone that has stood behind us from day one.

People of the day: Firefighters

Today we are going to go over a very special group of people - the hard working risk taking firefighters who put their lives on the line every day to make sure others are safe. These brave men and women simply don't get the respect and honor that they deserve. If it weren't for firefighters, countless millions would be burned alive in their own homes. And firefighters play a much wider role than just putting out fires - they also arrive on the scene of bad wrecks and help the motorists get out of their cars, they make visits to schools and teach children about fire safety, and they get down cats from trees.

So where did it all begin? Firefighting goes all the way back to Ancient Egypt. Of course even before then fires existed which needed to be put out, but it took a while for people to be designated as professional fire fighters. Before Ancient Egypt, people were left to their own devices, and often did the wrong things to try to put fires out which actually made it worse. Deadly burns were very common back then, as it wasn't unusual for someone to try to put out a grease fire with water. What really kickstarted the firefighter movement was Augustus of Rome. Even though firefighters were around, they were working for private companies. If someone's house was burning down, the fire fighters would only come help if the owner was a paying customer. It was more like a business back then. Augustus called this absurd, as this meant the poor would never have any help putting out fires because they didn't have the money to pay private fire fighting companies. He then created a state funded firefighting squad that covered everyone. These firefighters, which were called Vigiles at the time, were trained, paid, and equipped by the state.

A lot of things have changed since those days, but one thing remains: the people who hold these jobs take the firefighter's oath to put out fire to the best of their ability, and they put their lives on the line every day for a cause much bigger than themselves.


Firefighters Oath:

I promise concern for others. A willingness to help all those in need.

I promise courage - courage to face and conquer my fears. Courage to share and endure the ordeal of those who need me.

I promise strength - strength of heart to bear whatever burdens might be placed upon me. Strength of body to deliver to safety all those placed within my care.

I promise the wisdom to lead, the compassion to comfort, and the love to serve unselfishly whenever I am called.

How often do you worry about getting killed in a fire and losing all your belongings? Probably not often. That's because with firefighters around, we feel safe, comfortable, and confident knowing that if disaster ever struck, there would be people much braver than ourselves to take care of it. And what's not to like about that?