Latest news with #RodneyKing
NZ Herald
11-08-2025
- Politics
- NZ Herald
With 433,000 members, the National Guard is second only to the US Army in terms of size
As a response force, the National Guard can be mobilised rapidly to address emergency situations on US soil, typically natural disasters. When needed, National Guard units can also be activated for deployments into combat zones, especially if the US is at war. Unlike parts of the US military, the National Guard performs both state- and federal-level functions, and is organised into groupings based in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the US territories of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the US Virgin Islands. As a state-based force, generally it is the governor of a state or territory who activates and commands the National Guard when needed. However, in some situations the National Guard can be 'federalised' by the president, bringing it under the president's control until the specific federal mission has ended - as was the case in Los Angeles. The latest budget from the Department of Defence authorises 433,000 National Guard personnel in total, split across the Air National Guard and Army National Guard. This means that compared to other components of the US military, the National Guard is second only to the US Army in terms of size. Emergency response National Guard members are typically deployed during emergencies such as natural disasters at the request of governors and based on specific provisions in each state's laws. In the aftermath of events like hurricanes, wildfires, and floods, state National Guards are often called on to help evacuate dangerous areas, deliver supplies to places that would otherwise be cut off, or provide specialist equipment needed to clear hazardous debris. The largest National Guard deployment in recent years was during the Covid-19 pandemic, where troops helped construct and staff emergency care facilities, transport health supplies around the country, and co-ordinate other logistics. Outside of a natural disaster, deployment of the guard can be ordered in emergencies created by the breakdown of public order. History with protest The use of the National Guard to manage public unrest is not unique to Trump. During the widespread Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, more than half of US states activated National Guard troops to maintain order and help enforce curfews. Before that, they were also deployed to Los Angeles in 1992 to respond to riots that occurred after police officers who had beaten motorist Rodney King were acquitted at trial. At that time, riots, looting, and arson attacks had spread across the city, with dozens of people killed and thousands injured. The National Guard was deployed during the 1950s and 1960s Civil Rights era to help enforce school desegregation, following the Supreme Court's landmark Brown vs Board of Education ruling. In one of the force's darkest moments, in May 1970, members of the Ohio National Guard clashed with anti-war protesters at Kent State University. As unrest swelled, the troops opened fire, killing four unarmed students. The shootings sparked outrage, but also led to reform of the guard's use-of-force guidelines. -Agence France-Presse
The Herald Scotland
06-08-2025
- General
- The Herald Scotland
Shock, horror: moralising over bad taste jokes is a waste of time
Whilst it was January 28, 1986 that opened my eyes to how the impact of tragedy and disaster knows no bounds, it was events of the following days that served me with an arguably more important life lesson altogether. Now we have to remember that 1986 was the pre-internet, pre-mobile phone age. Communication was personal, face-to-face, and the corded landline was king (provided, of course, that you put some coins in the wee payment box that sat beside the phone in most people's homes). Newspapers were everywhere, magazines too; people made the effort to meet, pubs were thriving, and any mention of WhatsApp would almost certainly have been met with a 'Not a lot – what's up with you?' So, there I was – in the playground of Daliburgh School, listening to, laughing at, and retelling jokes about Nasa – with the full knowledge and appreciation that it was the shock factor of the jokes – on the back of death and tragedy – and in the most dramatic of fashion – that made them work. Kids my own age would laugh and then recoil at the subject of the joke in the first place. Here we were in the Hebrides, telling jokes that had been passed around the world by phone and in person, and were doing so within days of them almost certainly being coined, and likely whilst the debris of the shuttle was still falling to Earth. As kids, we knew we weren't laughing at the deaths themselves, or the pain and heartache that the loved ones of the crew were going through, but laughing we were all the same. Read more by Calum Steele In the years that followed, the deployment of dark humour became part and parcel of life. No tragedy, disaster, or personal misfortune escaped them. The Herald of Free Enterprise, hurricanes, floods, Rodney King, the fire at Windsor Castle, Princess Diana's death, John Wayne Bobbitt – every one of them was fair game. Of course they were shocking – that was the point – that was what made them work. They didn't work for everyone, obviously – and neither should they. Humour – dark or otherwise – is as subjective as it is subconscious. But more importantly, that fact did not need to be explained; it was just simply understood. The ability to find any form of release valve in high-pressure situations is key to preserving the sanity of those who work in them. In the years I was an operational cop, I saw and dealt with things those outside of the police simply wouldn't believe. This in turn has led to more dark humour, but at no time has that ever translated into a lack of empathy, compassion, or care for the events we were dealing with. It is possible to laugh at paedophile jokes, at suicide jokes, at car crash jokes, without that translating in any way, shape or form into laughing at the victims of such, or being anything other than the epitome of professionalism and compassion when dealing with them. How then have we managed to get to a position where a group of friends and colleagues can pay good money to go to see, say, Jimmy Carr (other comedians are available) and laugh like drains at his jokes (as I have), only for them then to be ostracised if they repeat them outside the theatre – or, worse still, commit the most heinous of HR crimes and do so by WhatsApp, where the written words lack all context to those who find themselves accidentally reading them, and then sit in moral judgement over them? Even the fire at Windsor Castle was the subject of dark humour (Image: Newsquest) The Salem-esque trial of Sandie Peggie delved into this sanctimonious ritual a few weeks ago, as a handful of off-colour jokes, emojis and racial slurs from the tens of thousands of messages exchanged between supposed friends were thrown up as evidence of the impurity of soul of the woman who dared say 'no'. No evidence of her abilities or skills on the matter for which she was employed though – for these didn't matter. Not a sentence was uttered to suggest these jokes in any way influenced or affected in the slightest how she delivered emergency nursing care. It was what she thought that was on trial, and even though not one of us can possibly know what another person thinks, these written words were the rather feeble attempts to do just that and impugn her character in the process. How dare she have laughed or shared jokes, no matter how offensive – or simply unfunny to many – burn the witch! Now I'm pretty certain that some, or dare I say much, of what I've laughed at over the years would, absent context, the moment, and the company of who was there, look absolutely bloody awful in written form. In fact, I'd be prepared to go as far as to say that in pure, raw form I myself would jar at the content. And that is precisely why moralising over them in the sterility of learned moral outrage is a complete and utter waste of time. Every one of us will have sat behind a hen party or stag do on a train or in a pub and overheard some outrageous examples of humour. Those of us who have the clarity of thought and maturity to see these moments for what they are should be applauded – not least as our lives are better for it – and those who position themselves as our moral overlords and custodians should be shunned and pitied the way every puritan should. Calum Steele is a former General Secretary of the Scottish Police Federation, and former general secretary of the International Council of Police Representative Associations. He remains an advisor to both
![[Kim Seong-kon] S.W.A.T.: 'South Korean Weapons and Tactics'](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwimg.heraldcorp.com%2Fnews%2Fcms%2F2025%2F07%2F08%2Fnews-p.v1.20250708.6dda44b0184647949a442f0dbb17387a_T1.jpg&w=3840&q=100)
![[Kim Seong-kon] S.W.A.T.: 'South Korean Weapons and Tactics'](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fall-logos-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fkoreaherald.com.png&w=48&q=75){kind=small}
Korea Herald
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
[Kim Seong-kon] S.W.A.T.: 'South Korean Weapons and Tactics'
Whenever I want to relax these days, I turn on the TV and watch a Netflix series titled "S.W.A.T." In its depiction of daily incidents in urban LA, the drama makes me brood over our turbulent past, ponder our present predicaments and reflect on the future awaiting our children's generation. The protagonist Hondo, a SWAT unit leader in LA, constantly wonders: 'Is it possible for me to bring change to the world in which I live? Can I make a better society by risking my life fighting vicious villains? Can I really change the system?' He agonizes over what kind of tactics he must adopt to make a better police department and a better world. SWAT stands for 'Special Weapons and Tactics' used to fight crime in our town, city and country. The drama "S.W.A.T." has caught my attention because each episode deals with various problems in LA, a city of the American Dream for immigrants, diverse ethnic minorities and multicultural neighborhoods. LA is also well known for its freeway, where you can enjoy 'this illusion of speed, freedom, wind in your hair, unreeling landscape,' as Thomas Pynchon described in his celebrated novel, 'The Crying of Lot 49.' In fact, Pynchon perceived that the LA freeway resembled the veins that nourish America, and if someone were to inject a hypodermic needle somewhere in them, Americans would experience hallucinations, hypnosis and paralysis. When it comes to LA, people might also think of the police brutality during the arrest of Rodney King in 1991 and the ensuing riots in 1992, which ignited racist disputes in the so-called 'City of Angels.' The Rodney King incident has consequently evoked a fundamental distrust between minorities and the LA police. In addition, LA suffers from a range of crimes, as do other big American cities. Furthermore, in the series, LA is an emblem of America and ultimately a microcosm of the contemporary world in which we now live. The first episode of the drama begins with the fatal mistake of a white SWAT unit leader. While pursuing a white male suspect, he accidentally shoots and wounds a young Black bystander. Naturally, the African American community is enraged and protests strongly against the police. As a result, the SWAT leader resigns from the police force. The authorities then decide to appoint a Black sergeant, Hondo, as the new leader of the SWAT unit in an effort to save face and pacify the anger of the African American community. In the process, they bypass Sgt. Deacon, the white officer who was initially the successor to the leader who resigned. Thus, the first episode evokes the issue of DEI. DEI, which stands for 'Diversity, Equity and Inclusion,' has become controversial in the US, where conservatives question its validity. However, Hondo exhibits strong leadership qualities, extraordinary competence and an admirable personality, apparently justifying DEI. The issues and problems that 'S.W.A.T.' is dealing with are uniquely American, but at the same time, they are universal. They include racism, prejudice, white supremacy, nationalism, drug smuggling, human trafficking and issues within LGBTQ+ communities. The TV show also highlights instances of 'Robin Hood' crime, in which people steal from the rich to give to the poor. Just as LA and America are depicted in the drama, South Korea is also now suffering from many accumulated internal problems and serious external crises. For example, putting an end to the polarity and division of our society is urgent, and so is overcoming antagonism, hate and hostility among our politicians. While investigating hate crimes against other races, SWAT officer Chris asks Hondo, 'Where do you think this comes from? All the hate?' Hondo replies, 'I don't know, Chris. For some people, it's just the easiest way to feel, and it's infectious.' Our current moment of political populism also stirs hate and impetuousness. Getting over that is therefore imperative to make our society better. Meanwhile, we must find or invent our own 'special weapons and tactics' to properly and swiftly cope with the international crises lurking in our path. One of the SWAT rules is 'Only move as fast as you can shoot and never lose your control.' We must keep this in mind when we deal with national or international emergencies. In addition, instead of short-term solutions, we must pursue and come up with long-term solutions. Indeed, as Hondo says, 'Sometimes a short-term solution just creates a long-term problem.' While watching "S.W.A.T.," it occurs to me that we, too, urgently need a quick-reacting 'South Korean Weapons and Tactics' task force to effectively deal with the problems we now face, both internal and external. We must have the best weapons and superb tactics to survive the current crises and thrive in the years to come.
Fox News
25-06-2025
- Fox News
Rodney King-era 'rooftop Korean' calls left-wing riots manufactured: 'looking for the next George Floyd'
A Los Angeles man who armed himself and took to the streets in 1992 to protect a local business during the height of the Rodney King unrest says today's rioters in the city are astroturfed for political purposes. Tony Moon, 53, is what is now known as a "rooftop Korean." Thirty-three years ago, the Korean-American, then 19, was asked to join a spontaneous movement alongside other Korean-Americans who armed themselves to protect their lives and property from being destroyed by violent rioters who were upset over the verdict in a trial against officers who beat Rodney King during a traffic stop. The officers were acquitted on charges of assault and excessive force, plunging the city into tumult as rioters attempted to burn down Los Angeles, causing 63 deaths and more than 2,000 injuries, according to the Los Angeles Times. Determined to protect their livelihoods, "rooftop Koreans" took to the streets – and to the rooftops of their own businesses – to deter rioters from causing trouble in their neighborhoods. "When the riots occurred, it wasn't anything that anyone foresaw obviously, but we were well aware of Rodney King and the verdict that was coming down," Moon told Fox News Digital. "And when that occurred is when everything kind of popped off. The reason why I went out was because a close and good friend of mine, his older brother had a stereo shop that was on the outskirts of near Koreatown." During the attack, Radio Korea became a go-to source of information for the Korean-American communities, alerting them to potential threats. "He called me Thursday evening after the radio announcement asking for volunteers to come to the community, to defend the community," Moon said. "And he told me that his brother's store might be threatened from the fires and the looting that was slowly traveling up north from the south, like South Central and South LA." Moon described a tense atmosphere, which he said had been building between the Black and Korean communities in the city since the fatal shooting of a Black girl by a Korean shop owner the year prior. The civil unrest at that time, Moon said, was organic. "The sentiment was much different then than it is now," he said. "Now it's all manufactured. And not only that, but there's no true grassroots support from any of the communities. You know, it's what I would say [is] part two of BLM/Antifa from 2020 that's being carried over." "But it doesn't have the same traction and support that it did back in 2020 with defunding the police, [and with] Black Lives Matter," he continued. "I don't see that, and what they're looking for is, they're looking for someone to martyr. They're looking for a death. They're looking for the next George Floyd." Moon emphasized his support for peaceful protest, but said that when damaging property, vandalization and looting occur, those activities cross the line. He also advised Angelenos who feel unsafe due to violent crime to do what he and others in the Korean-American community did more than three decades ago: arm themselves. "If it's a riot or if there's any sort of mayhem, social chaos going on in your neighborhood, invest in firearms," he said. "I mean, support the Second Amendment. Buy a gun, buy a rifle. I mean, the most easiest weapon to shoot is a shotgun. So invest in something like that and learn how to shoot it and be proficient with it, so that way it becomes part of your defense, whether it's for your home or your business." Earlier this month riots plagued Los Angeles, a so-called sanctuary city, since a series of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sweeps targeting criminal illegal immigrants. Federal law enforcement and police clashed with rioters in the city's streets, while those agitators burned cars, looted businesses, took over streets and graffitied buildings in the heart of downtown Los Angeles with anti-ICE and anti-Trump messaging. The city's mayor, Karen Bass, has blamed President Donald Trump for causing the unrest by deploying National Guard troops and U.S. Marines to protect federal property, and Gov. Gavin Newsom sued the Trump administration for the move. The Trump administration ordered 2,000 more members of the National Guard to the city last week, and ICE will continue conducting operations in the city.
The Hill
16-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
LA riot coverage shows the media's Biden ‘miss' wasn't a miss at all — they just lie
If you still need proof that the media never intended to tell you the truth about former President Joe Biden's physical and mental decline, look no further than their coverage of the riots in Los Angeles. These people have no problem lying right to your face — insisting that you doubt the evidence before your own eyes and instead believe their preferred version of events. There is plenty of photo and video evidence showcasing the violent unrest in Los Angeles — everything from cars set ablaze to rioters hurling chunks of concrete at law enforcement officers and their vehicles. An unlawful assembly was declared within hours of when the violence first broke out way back on June 6 — more than a week ago, when the rioters and arsonists initially clashed with federal officers. City law enforcement officials deployed tear gas and other crowd control methods that evening in an attempt to disperse the mob. Not long afterward, Los Angeles issued a citywide tactical alert, alerting the city's officers of an all-hands event. Note that all of this occurred before President Trump had called up the National Guard. In the early morning of June 8, after two days of escalation, the first National Guard troops arrived on the scene. Trump later called in the U.S. Marines to protect federal properties, which had already been attacked and vandalized. The city's comically inept mayor, Karen Bass, imposed a curfew and declared a local emergency on June 10. Despite the timeline, major media are going out of their way to downplay and dismiss the violence. They are trying to frame the narrative, maintaining simultaneously that the riots are 'largely peaceful' and that Trump somehow tricked the rioters into their violent and lawless behavior (notice the contradiction?) by sending in the troops days after they had started rioting. It hasn't even been a year since journalists tried to convince you that Biden was 'sharp and focused.' They are already back to lying — telling you to ignore the evidence before your eyes and accept some version of time-travel that allows their narrative to make sense, that Trump somehow provoked the rioters to riot days after they had started rioting. The Associated Press attempted to downplay the violence by highlighting a more violent historical example: 'LA protests far different from '92 Rodney King riots.' Well, yeah — and United Flight 93 wasn't as deadly as Flights 11 and 175. But that's not really the point, is it? 'Offline, in real-world Los Angeles, most Angelenos are having a perfectly normal day,' wrote self-appointed media ombudsman and CNN analyst Brian Stelter. 'But online, the fires and riots are still raging. Seeking clicks, clout and chaos, unvetted social media accounts are preying on fears about where last weekend's clashes will lead. … [T]he powerful algorithms that fuel social media platforms are feeding users days-old and sometimes completely fake content about the recent unrest in L.A., contributing to a sense of non-stop crisis.' Stelter complained elsewhere that people have been getting a false impression of the riots because of 'hours-old' video — one hell of a claim, considering how much mileage we got out of five-year-old footage of the January 2021 Capitol riot. On June 10, the day Bass imposed a curfew and declared a local emergency, PBS reported on the ground, '[T]he scene here has been pretty quiet, almost festival-like … Of course, we mentioned some looting, but, in general, last night was pretty nonviolent … Also keep in mind that this is happening in a very small slice of the city. It's only a few blocks of downtown L.A., and in the rest of the city, Angelenos are going about their lives as normal.' We might as well say that nearly all of Iran was not bombed the other day — it's just as true. At ABC News, there has been praise for the rioters' supposed self-control, with reporter Mary Bruce alleging, 'We've witnessed many of the protesters self-policing, keeping others in check.' On Wednesday, NBC News' Liz Kreutz attempted to extinguish the idea that L.A. was on fire. 'You could be in Santa Monica or another part of LA and not even feel the impact of these protests,' she said. 'They are very much concentrated [to] a very small pocket of downtown LA, around the federal building, around City Hall.' 'And we should say there are some agitators and people that have been really instigating things with police,' she added. 'But for the most part, especially during the day, many of the protesters gathering have been peaceful.' At the New Yorker, an editorial cartoon featured the caption, 'The protesters seem to be doing some sort of joyful synchronized dance. Is it time to call in the Marines?' The New York Times, meanwhile, took a more predictable line, publishing an article that opined the debate has been flooded with dis- and misinformation. This is true, but the Times gives the game away when it focuses exclusively on 'nutpicking' pro-Trump right-wingers while giving a pass to those who lie or misinform to downplay what has been happening. 'Fake Images and Conspiracy Theories Swirl Around L.A. Protests,' read the headline, its subhead adding, 'Disinformation spreading on social media platforms has stoked an already tense situation.' The article mentions actor James Woods. It quotes a university professor who alleges right-wingers are 'building up the riots in a performative way' to help support Trump's claims that Los Angeles had been taken over by 'violent, insurrectionist mobs.' The report mentions a viral photo of bricks, which was falsely cited as evidence that the riots are well-organized and funded. The article references Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.). It references anti-George Soros conspiracies. It quotes another university egghead who asserts that things such as the bogus bricks claim are 'catnip for right-wing agitators and grifters.' The article also suggests the Russians may be involved in spreading false narratives regarding the riots. Oddly missing from the report are mentions of Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), who risibly claimed on June 10 that there had been 'no violence' in Los Angeles before the National Guard was called up. The article fails to mention a June 7 viral video, which claims to showcase a Los Angeles school worker's 'frustration over parents having to leave their children's graduation ceremony because ICE raided an elementary school's graduation today.' That video was an outright lie, and it has garnered eight million views — far more than any falsehood cited in the Times's reporting. The Times article has not been updated to include ABC's Jimmy Kimmel telling his 1.5 million primetime viewers on June 11, during which a curfew was in place and an unlawful assembly declared, that 'There's no riot outside.' Nor does the Times article mention when the hosts of 'The View,' which is part of ABC's news division, falsely claimed, '[It has] been peaceful for days, and then suddenly these guys showed up and flipped everybody out,' and 'These protests were very, very orderly, they weren't violent, and they occurred in about a four-block radius.' The Times apparently couldn't be bothered to track these falsehoods. It is too busy publishing stories with headlines such as, 'Not Far From Tense Clashes, Life Goes on in L.A.,' and subheads such as, 'Trump officials have cast demonstrators waving the Mexican flag as insurrectionists, but for many protesters who are Mexican American, the flag represents pride in their heritage.' Amusingly, the Times has also been running overly defensive pieces, including one which falsely described the riots as 'largely peaceful' not once or twice, but three times. Perhaps most laughable of all is the Los Angeles-based ABC News reporter who said at the outset of the riots, 'It could turn very volatile if you move law enforcement in there in the wrong way, and turn what is just a bunch of people having fun watching cars burn into a massive confrontation and altercation between officers and demonstrators.' On June 9, an amateur videographer captured footage of protesters hurling cinder blocks from an overpass onto California Highway Patrol officers below. The footage shows one officer being struck directly in the skull, knocking his helmet off and splitting his head open. He is seen later surrounded by his colleagues, his face drenched in blood spurting from the fresh wound. The media have a serious problem. As far as the Biden story is concerned, and all the recent attempts to explain how they 'missed it' or were 'tricked' into believing the former president was sharp as a tack, it is all self-serving baloney. Their halfhearted defenses are pure theater. It is CYA mode of the highest order. These people have no problem lying right to your face, and they are showing it once again. They only care that they can get away with it. Becket Adams is program director of the National Journalism Center at the Young America's Foundation.
