Friday, May 29, 2009

LETHAL SYNAPSE:

TRAGEDY IN HARLEM HITS NYPD, CITY HARD














(May 29, Harlem, NYC) 125th Street was slick from a steady drizzle. The sodium arc lights, sparsely placed, did nothing to clarify the mist. Three cops from the 25th Precinct Anti Crime Unit were on a mission; the description of the perp was as vague as usual - black male, between 22 and 32 years old, medium height, medium build, medium complexion, closely cropped hair wearing jeans and a shirt. Last seen running east on 125th. The radio traffic in the unmarked anti crime squad car spewed out statical, staccato updates along with the overflow of the usual garbled radio commotion.

A black man, just getting off work approached his car only to find another black man in the process of ransacking it; maybe he was going to steal it. The fact that the black man’s car that was being burglarized was an NYPD cop was known to no one other than himself. His anger and frustration flared after a night working the housing patrol unit. He gave chase to the would-be car thief and ran as hard and fast as he could, service weapon in hand.

The anti crime boys were on this immediately; this was one of the reasons they existed - to interrupt street crime as it was occurring, to intercept and apprehend, in the act, the mopes that committed the bulk of the street crime in the rougher neighborhoods of NYC.

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Decisions are made in a fraction of a fraction of a second; a nanosecond. Adrenaline, excitement, the sense of duty, danger and one’s own morality collide and repel against each other within the minute confines of a synapse. Training, experience and reflex interact on a sub or even uncontious level and it is there that choices are determined. The pursuit becomes all consuming; the desire to “do the right thing” somehow remains tantamount amid the confusion of the chase.

Armed or unarmed, who is it that I chase? What danger does he pose to the innocent bystander, my partners and myself? The heartbeat escalates more than the physical exertion warrants. Everything appears in the crystal clarity of slow motion yet the reality of the moment allows for no “replay.” This is it. I will see my wife and boys again, I will do the best I can but; why won’t he stop? The throat burns from the rapid breath and screaming yet, the perp keeps running at a pace that appears otherworldly; how can a man run so fast without braking stride? Across the street, between the parked cars, approaching the enhanced lighting of Second Avenue. He has a gun; there is no doubt about it. It is in his right hand and it looks larger than it really is. All he has to do is stop and suddenly fire...than what?

***********************************

The anti crime squad car, in all its unremarkable drabness follows the pursuit trying to cut off, anticipate the route of the foot pursuit. They see the described perp, is still running, has not obeyed the shouted commands from the winded cop.

No one except those present at the critical moments will ever know what transpired. The NYPD Patrol Manuel very clearly addresses such incidents. The “challenging officer” assumes control and command over the officer being challenged be they in plain cloths, undercover or in uniform. Why Office Edwards did or did not respond in a manner that would have saved his life is yet to be determined.

************************************

If a computer could be constructed to exactly emulate, duplicate, the workings of the human brain, it would cover the face of the earth. This analogy comes from neuroscientists and other specialists devoted to brain studies.

The number of connections in the human brain, those places where axon meets dendrite via an electrochemical burst, are almost infinite, certainly a number not calculable. Brain functions are among the most complex, intricate and mysterious of all human biologic phenomenon. WE function on a three level neural plane with only one, our conscious minds accessible to us. the un and sub conscitious is where he action is. Training, repetitive drilling, and other forms of mind-body conditioning as well as reflexes, dictate our actions, often before they register consciously.

Officer Omar Edwards life was determined in a synaptic blast, a combination of so many biological , physical, chemical and neurological variables that no cohesive explanation is yet available to medical science. That synaptic activity resulted in the shooting on Officer Edwards and, what transpires from this point is unknowable.

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In the military such incidents are classified “friendly fire”, a rather dubious distinction , heavy with ambiguity. The “Fog of War” is often cited as the cause. What happened here on this street last night was, in the military sense, “friendly fire” and, while there is not a raging war rocking this city, there are some tendrils of that fog that envelop Officers who patrol and roam the concrete canyons, the back alleys, the broad avenues and underground labyrinth of the dark and vast subway network. Decisions, often life and death decisions, are made under extraordinary circumstances where men and women of the NYPD find themselves.

What crosses a mind under such pressure, faced with uncertainty and danger? For all the calls NYPD responds to in this sprawling yet claustrophobic city of 8 million, 99.999% of them are handled professionally, defused without incident and resolved as justly as possible. Unfortunately, Officer Edwards found himself caught up in that rare 0.001% where reality is occluded, reflex kicks in and mistakes more apt to occur.

May God have Mercy on His Soul

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On behalf of all of us at The Brooding Cynyx and our strategic partners at BronxWest Consulting and Palermo Associates LLC, our thoughts and prayers are with Officer Edwards’ family and all the MOS of NYPD.



Copyright TBC 2009 © All Rights Reserved

Monday, May 25, 2009

BIDEN PROVES TO BE PRESCIENT

PRESIDENT STUMBLING OVER INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS














International events begin to crowd out
domestic issues.



(May 25, The Pentagon) The midnight oil is being burned here tonight as it has now for several weeks. Military and Intelligence officials gather around the clock to assess international geopolitical events that may expose a weakness in the Administration of our very popular President, Barak Obama - foreign policy.

Oddly, it was a statement from his then Vice-President elect shortly after their November 2008 victory that now appears to have been more insightful than it was at first glance. Joe Biden said that “Within the first three months of this Administration, this President will be tested.” It now appears that truer words had not been spoken.

President Obama suddenly finds himself having to handle a defiant North Korea that conducted an “ underground nuclear test” this past weekend. Regardless of what this test represents as far as North Korea’s nuclear capability, it is the latest in a series of international crises that seem to have caught the President off guard. Whether or not he is being “tested” by rambunctious foreign leaders is arguable. What is not are the facts that North Korea, Iran and the international community at large have not responded to the President and his policies as he had thought they would.

He returned in early April from the G - 20 Summit with little to show for his efforts. His outreach initiative towards the vast Muslim world community was met with a very tepid response. The United Nations and NATO have once again proven to be no “friends” of the United States and, just last week, the hard-core Zionist Prime Minister of Israel, Benyamin Netanyahu basically told Obama to “shove it.” With friends like these , who needs enemies?

While the President himself seems to be popular with world leaders, the damage inflicted on the United States reputation, credibility and adherence to the rule of law, is more than sheer personality and good intentions will overcome any time soon. The fact of the matter is we need allies more now than we have since the beginning of the ill conceived, war of choice in Iraq.

Afghanistan and Pakistan remain terribly fragile governments and Pakistan is facing an internal threat from the defiant Taliban that has broad security implications particularly since Pakistan is a nuclear power.

NATO has talked a good game with Obama but, when he made his request that more NATO member countries send additional troops into Afghanistan, his requests fell flat. As for the rabidly Zionist Netanyahu, he, like the entire State of Israel and ever regime they have ever had are distinctly not in America’s corner. Our relationship with them is so blatantly one sided that Netanyahu obviously feels no compunction whatsoever about thumbing his big nose at President Obama.

We are rapidly learning that by electing a new President who is seen as a vast departure policy-wise from his messianic predecessor will not provide sufficient impetus for the international community to be willing to answer some of our diplomatic and interventionists efforts; foreign problems designed by demonic Dick Cheney and his side kick, George W. Bush left over for President Obama to sort out.

Speaking of diplomatic efforts, the Secretary of State, Hillary “Soggy Bottom” Clinton has thus far shied away from the international heavy lifting choosing instead to be a good will ambassador at large rather than a strong advocate for Obama’s burgeoning foreign policy. This foreign policy should soon take shape, be developed and implemented as rapidly as reasonable, prudent; after some thoughtful White House debate.

What North Korea and Iran are demonstrating to the world is they do not respect the US or the paper tiger known as the UN; that sanctions mean nothing and are but symbolic and futile. As sovereign nations North Korea and Iran will control their own destiny without regard for the concerns of the international security.

The Obama Administration is facing serious situations that could quickly evolve into international crises without some new and novel approaches, approaches beyond the customary tough talk followed by appeasement.


Copyright TBC 2009 © All Rights Reserved

PRESIDENT LAYS WREATH AT TOMB OF UNKNOWNS

AMERICA OBSERVES MEMORIAL DAY - OR DO WE?












Marine salutes on sacred ground -
Arlington National Cemetery.



(May 25, Arlington , VA) In a sense every man or woman who ever donned a uniform of a branch of the United States military is a unknown soldier. Here there is a special tomb containing the remains of unknown soldiers from almost every war this country has ever fought. Not far from that stolid marble structure, seemingly endless rows of white markers define the grave of a fallen soldier. The names of those buried beneath these simple white crosses and Stars of David, are catalogued; the identity of the occupant of each plot is known.

Unless you have been in the military or are a relative, family or friend of a fallen soldier, everyone who has ever served and is serving now, is an unknown. We see on the TV news and read in the papers about battles being waged in far off lands. The “military”, as mentioned in the media, is a collectively anonymous bloc, a force of young men and women who are tasked with defending our nation; they are the latest members of a long line of patriots stretching back to our Revolutionary War.

Our history as a Nation is punctuated by wars. Our country was born out of a war and with disturbing regularity, we have found ourselves involved in conflict, conflicts were we have sent our men and women to places to endure incredible hardships, to sacrifice all and to constantly exist in an environment in which their own mortality is not an abstraction but a very real and present possibility.

Those among us who have not been initiated on the field of combat can call on any sufficient measure of imagination to describe or understand what war, combat, is all about; the way it feels and smells, what is sounds like and how the echoes of the skirmish resound forever. Battle is harsh and it is hell. It is death, destruction and darkness that tests the very soul of those involved. It is not orchestrated or precise, not organized or choreographed despite the most elaborate plans crafted by he brass. It is confusion and fear interspersed with anger, rage and determination. It is messy, sloppy and the actuality of the most primitive of instincts being called upon. After all, it is, at its core , all about making death.

We have troops here and there doing this and that while we sit comfortably on the couch and change the channel when the story becomes boring. Unless you have blood on the field it is not truly yours to embrace yet, what transpires in these far flung locations, is all about us; our nation’s safety and security is on the shoulders of those anonymous soldiers, marines, sailors and aviators; support troops of every stripe toiling for a cause greater than themselves and often not even understood.

When the draft was suspended and ultimately eliminated by 1973, we lost the sense of a shared experience, of a commonality among us that transcended everything else; religion, race, region and beliefs were supplanted by camaraderie, cohesiveness and training. It was a different country when virtually all our elected officials had been in “the service.” The sacrifices were shared, born by every family in every city, town, hamlet and village.

Now our wars are designed and conducted by men and women who have absolutely no clue of the brutality of the situations they seem to readily commit our Nation’s lives to. Wars have become political footballs tossed cavalierly from one side of the political aisle to the other, dissected from afar by experts and pundits who wouldn’t last 30 minutes under fire. It is easy to proclaim your patriotism loudly while you sit in the Senate or House chambers or behind the desk of a cable TV news program. Passion is easy to exclaim from a distance.

We collectively thump our chests, apply patiotic bumper stickers to our cars and talk about “kicking ass”. The disconnect is startling. We are a Nation currently fighting two separate wars being waged by a small segment of our population. Daily we should each have a least a brief moment to consider those who do in fact fight for and defend our freedoms.

We like to say that “Freedom isn’t Free” but only those who have ever slogged through the mire, choked on the dust or trekked through a distant jungle know just how much we pay, they pay, for that freedom.

We are an imperfect nation of imperfect people governed by seriously flawed, selfish, often corrupt and evil people. We make mistakes and will continue to do so but, for any of us to think our military is not trying their hardest and forever struggling towards reasonable, practical, perfection, we should remember who it is that are on the killing fields, and all those wearing proudly their country’s uniforms.

For all who have sacrificed and all those who sacrifice today, we salute you.

Thank you for your service.



Links:


http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-05-25-voa42.cfm

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jialb8O3zMzyhiYfUaR3cqiDNizAD98DETUO1

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104479362

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2009/05/25/2009-05-25_brooklyn_man_92_finally_honored_on_memorial_day_for_bravery_during_wwii.html

http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0525/p02s01-usmi.html


Copyright TBC 2009 © All Rights Reserved