#apparently when OP is a police officer that puts law and order over justice he's bad

[lord-squiggletits]

Read GI Joe first strike (I skipped most of the human parts again lmao) and I find myself yet again disagreeing with Barber’s attempts to deconstruct Optimus lol.

[douxreviews]

Arrow - ‘Training Day’ Review

“We have to be something else... something better.”

The episode where Oliver learns, once again, he’s not always right, Dinah figures out who she is, Emiko shows her true colors, and William and Mia go on a treasure hunt.

To assuage the Mayor’s concerns, Dinah persuades Team Arrow that a little SCPD 101 might be in order. Not a bad idea if they intend to convict the people Team Arrow captures. However, limiting them to only SCPD issued uniforms and firearms kind of defeats the purpose of using Team Arrow in the first place. This goes over about as well as can be expected.

The SCPD officers believe that Oliver and company don’t understand the reasons for their procedures and resent the implication they are inferior. The former vigilantes feel handicapped by the chain of command, the chain of custody and the limits imposed by SCPD budget and technology. Dinah does her best to straddle both sides of the SCPD/Vigilante debate. Repeatedly asking Team Arrow for patience.

Her position changes when on her first outing as both Captain and Canary she discovers she cannot use her cry. While it’s true that Oliver and Felicity’s actions put Dinah in a difficult position it is also true that she’s made the calculation that if she cannot be the canary, then she’ll side with the SCPD. Rene reminds her that her Cry isn’t what makes her the Black Canary. If the flash forwards are any indication, in the not too distant future he will regret that conversation.

Oliver freely admits that patience is not his strong suit and he proves his case here. Although willing to attend classes and to submit to Dinah’s authority within the confines of the police station, the moment his authority in the field was compromised he declares his partnership with the SCPD a failure.

Felicity, in a moment of willful blindness, convinces Oliver that if he captures Midas, a well respected CEO who has given so generously to the SCPD in the past but is now suspected of creating poison bullets, all will be forgiven. After all, who needs a warrant, or proof for that matter. Both Oliver and Felicity are shocked when this is not the case and make plans to clean up Star City without SCPD assistance.

Diggle to the rescue. After congratulating them on the latest addition to the family, he promptly reminds the couple they would once again be in violation of the Vigilante Act and subject to arrest and imprisonment. Good luck cleaning up Star City from Slabside. Like Dinah, he has experience with both law enforcement philosophies and convinces Oliver there is another way. Felicity finds a viable (and legal) lead that ties Midas to his crimes. Team Arrow and the SCPD join forces to capture Midas, his gun-toting goons, and the evidence.  This forces Pollard to both acknowledge Team Arrow’s value and make some concessions.

I applaud The Powers That Be finally addressing Team Arrow’s penchant for ignoring private property, probable cause, and rule of law in general in their pursuit of criminals. It’s been a long time coming. I was also pleased they explored Dinah’s conflicting values. Unfortunately, both stories were given short shrift in order to set up new storylines and to tie up a few loose ends.

While it was clear Dante was behind Diaz’s death, I doubt anyone believed he did the deed himself. And as luck would have it, there was a witness – the partially reformed Ben Turner. He offers to spill the murderer’s identity if D.A. Laurel Lance frees him. She’s working on it but makes no guarantees. Alright, then get him a visit with his son.

The moment the word “son” spilled from Ben’s lips I realized we were witnessing Connor Hawke’s origin story. Unfortunately, it means Ben is not long for this world. Ratting out Dante, even indirectly, does not come with a long life expectancy. At this point, we can only hope for two things. First, for Oliver to keep his promise and arrange for Ben’s freedom however short-lived it may be, and second, for Ben to earn the redemption he’s been hinting at for years.

Which brings us to Emiko Adachi. Her ability to fault Oliver for any of his transgressions is at an end. For all Emiko’s talk of justice, she had no qualms about straight up murder. Oliver has walked many a dark path but I can’t remember him ever killing someone who had no means to defend himself. Waltzing into a supermax, dousing an imprisoned man with gasoline, and setting him on fire is hard to defend even given Dante’s apparent threat level.

Emiko had little fear of Star City’s D.A. either. I have to assume Dante filled her in on Laurel’s true identity but I’m hard-pressed to see how Emiko can use it to her advantage. Team Arrow already knows Laurel's identity and since she has successfully served as the D.A for months now, outing her as a metahuman criminal from an alternate universe to Star City might prove difficult. Just sayin’.

As for our flash forward, Mia and William join forces to acquire a microcassette player and listen to Felicity’s message. Considering they are both supposedly geniuses the ensuing comedy of errors should be but wasn’t unexpected. Mia, realizing William has no experience with Star City’s seedy underbelly tells him to stay put and “not do anything” and for some reason expected him to follow directions. William, understanding the true nature of his genius sees no reason to heed her advice. And like his father before him, he would be wrong. But in the true spirit of family, they work together. By marrying her knowledge of both the SCPD and the criminal element with William’s tech skills they succeed in getting the cassette player and give Felix his comeuppance as an added bonus.

Felicity’s message turns out to be coordinates for what’s left of Team Arrow and a plea for her children to get safely out of Star City instead of searching for her. Like that was ever going to happen. Does she remember who their parents are?

This episode neither carried the emotional weight nor the exuberance of last week. However, it did answer a few more questions of the “how did we get from the present Star City to the flash forward version” variety as well as succeed in setting up multiple story lines for the back half of the season.

3 out of 5 cryptic messages

Parting Thoughts:

The Powers That Be weren’t exactly subtle about foreshadowing Oliver and Felicity’s failure to make the better world for their children.

I really want to know where Felicity gets all her money. Is she embezzling from Helix again?

After everything his parents did, Oliver is still trying to honor their memories. Mia was named after Moira. Go figure.

When the truth about Emiko comes out, will Oliver or Rene feel the most betrayed?

Quotes:

William: “Are they all staring at you or me?” Mia: “Both. You reek of money, and, well, I’m undefeated.”

Laurel: “I don’t know what you thought was gonna happen here, but you’re wasting my time. There’s no way that I’m– Fine, I’ll be right there.”

Rene: “Pollard’s taking away our threads?”

Tech officer: “What did I tell you about off-the-books hacking?” Felicity: “You said no public resources. This is private. Loophole.”

Dinah: “There is no more vigilante-way. There is only the SCPD-way.”

Oliver: “Our partnership with the force is not working.” Diggle: “Then we have to find a way to make it work. Compromise, do whatever you have to do because if you want a new future for this baby of yours, it won’t come by doing the same thing we used to do.”

Mia: “You’re a genius.” William: “I am. Like, literally.”

Felicity: “Overwatch to Team Arrow. I have confirmation on Midas and a crapload of gun-toting goons.” Midas: “Now I’ll have your badge and your costume.”

Rene: “So, we’re like the black ops for the SCPD now? That’s cool.”

Felicity: “Then get the hell out of Star City and whatever you do, don’t come looking for me.” Mia: “So we’re ignoring her.” William: “Definitely.”

Shari loves sci-fi, fantasy, supernatural, and anything with a cape.

[sinrau]

(CNN) Former Secretary of Defense James Mattis castigated President Donald Trump as “the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people” in a forceful rebuke of his former boss as nationwide protests have intensified over the death of George Floyd.

“Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people—does not even pretend to try. Instead he tries to divide us,” Mattis said.

“We are witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort. We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership. We can unite without him, drawing on the strengths inherent in our civil society. This will not be easy, as the past few days have shown, but we owe it to our fellow citizens; to past generations that bled to defend our promise; and to our children.”

His pointed remarks follow more than a week of nationwide protests across the country calling for justice for Floyd, a black man who was killed last week by a white police officer in Minneapolis. In response, Trump earlier this week declared himself “your president of law and order” and vowed to return order to American streets using the military if widespread violence isn’t quelled.

The comments from Mattis are a significant moment for a man who has kept mostly silent since leaving the administration. The retired Marine general had been pressed many times to comment on Trump, troop policies, the Pentagon, and other current events and had always refused because he didn’t want to get involved and be a contradictory voice to the troops. Instead, Mattis always insisted he had said everything he wanted to say in his resignation letter.

And until a few days ago he had privately held to that view, but Mattis has become so distressed by the events of the last week that his views on speaking out changed.

The remarks will be a significant moment for many service members who idolize the former defense secretary, who — despite a career based on loyalty and respect for the military chain-of-command — is sending troops the message that the country can unite without the President’s lead.

The message comes after days of increased military presence in Washington. National Guardsmen and federal law enforcement have been stationed around the nation’s capital in a show of force not seen in recent memory. Federal law enforcement officers violently broke up peaceful protests in front of the White House on Monday, apparently so Trump could stage a photo-op at a church across the street from Lafayette Square, where protesters had gathered.

The former secretary, who resigned from Trump’s Cabinet, also indirectly criticized current Defense Secretary Mark Esper’s use of the word “battlespace” in reference to American cities.

“We must reject any thinking of our cities as a ‘battlespace’ that our uniformed military is called upon to ‘dominate,'” Mattis said. “At home, we should use our military only when requested to do so, on very rare occasions, by state governors. Militarizing our response, as we witnessed in Washington, D.C., sets up a conflict—a false conflict—between the military and civilian society.”

“It erodes the moral ground that ensures a trusted bond between men and women in uniform and the society they are sworn to protect, and of which they themselves are a part. Keeping public order rests with civilian state and local leaders who best understand their communities and are answerable to them.”

His comments echo a growing discomfort from some in the Pentagon that began even before Trump announced that he is ready to deploy the military to enforce order inside the US.

“There is an intense desire for local law enforcement to be in charge,” a defense official told CNN, alluding to the laws that forbid the military from performing law enforcement roles inside the United States.

Esper on Wednesday acknowledged his use of the word “battlespace” was not meant to indicate any conflict with Americans, but claimed he used a military term of art. Esper also specifically rejected the use of active duty forces in a law enforcement role at this time — comments that put him on shaky ground with the White House.

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany would not directly answer Wednesday whether Trump still has confidence in Esper, saying instead, “as of right now Secretary Esper is still Secretary Esper.”

“With regard to whether the President has confidence, I would say if he loses confidence in Secretary Esper, I’m sure you all will be the first to know,” McEnany said during Wednesday’s press briefing.

“Should the President lose faith, we will all learn about that in the future,” she added.

But Mattis directed most of ire at Trump saying “Never did I dream that troops taking that same oath would be ordered under any circumstance to violate the Constitutional rights of their fellow citizens—much less to provide a bizarre photo op for the elected commander-in-chief, with military leadership standing alongside.”

Trump on Wednesday evening softened his tone around sending the military into American cities, saying, “I don’t think we’ll have to,” before reiterating that he has “very strong powers to do it” in an interview with his former press secretary Sean Spicer.

Still, Mattis made clear that his blistering assessment of the President extends beyond any one issue.

“Only by adopting a new path—which means, in truth, returning to the original path of our founding ideals—will we again be a country admired and respected at home and abroad.”

This story has been updated with additional information Wednesday.

CNN’s Ryan Browne and Nicole Gaouette contributed to this report.

Mattis tears into Trump: ‘We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership’ #web #website #copied #to read# #highlight #link #news #read