Useless fucking information.

Before I get into my actual post I just want to say that the lying bastards in the US government are pissing me off again. The latest issue is the denial of use of white phosphorous as a weapon in Falluja. Well after denying that they used it, they now say they did, but it's ok, because they didn't sign the treaty to not use it. Fucking hypocritical bastards. One last thought on the subject, how many US citizens have been attacked by Iraqi terrorists (outside of Iraq)? Just a question, cause I still don't see how Iraq fits in on the war on terror.

Ok, so the useless fucking information that I want to rant about comes from the university chief of police. First of all it seems that the campus police in the US are the equivalent or real police, not the rent-a-cops that we have in Canada (ok, they may have some powers, but just the same they are more funny than anything else).

Now the chief sent out an e-mail the other day. It was a warning to the university community about a number of robberies that had taken place of late. Below is the advice that the chief decided to share with us:

* Be aware of your surroundings, especially in the off-campus areas.
When possible, stay in well-lit areas where people are gathered.

* These events have taken place mostly from 9:00 PM to 3:00 AM. If you
must travel by foot through the neighborhoods during those hours it
would be preferable to travel with a group.

* When walking on campus and in the blocks adjoining campus, you can
call 624-WALK for an escort. Student Monitors carry radios linking them
directly to UMPD police dispatch.

* If you are confronted by one or more persons armed with a firearm,
cooperate and surrender belongings upon demand.

Now is it just me or is this advice just plainly obvious? I mean it's not as though we are dealing with elementary students here, this is a university after all...but then again there are a lot of undergrads milling about, and we know how bright they are.

Now the stupid advice isn't why I wanted to relate this story to you. What got to me was the description of the "suspects" (how exactly are they suspects, they have robbed people, people who were robbed were there and saw it?). Anyway this is the exact description of the suspects that was provided by the chief of police:

The suspects have been described as 1-4 black males, late teens to early twenties.

Ok, now is it just me, or if there have been a series of robberies don't you think that there would be a bit more to the descriptions? Come on, give me hair length, distinguishing characteristics (scars, tattoos...), fuck even an approximate weight and height!

But no, instead I should "call 911 if you observe suspicious parties and activities." So does that mean I call the cops if I see a black male on campus!

This kind of information is absolutely useless. I mean other than letting me know that there have been robberies on campus the fact that the robbers were black males really doesn't help unless there is a better description of them. And I am willing to put money on the fact that had the "suspects" been white there would not have been any mention of skin colour. It's really just sad.