Galactic Hero

Breonna Taylor, a young black woman, was shot and killed by the police in Louisville, Kentucky. Ms. Taylor was a front-line worker at a hospital and had no police record. Street protests started immediately and all pundits claimed this was another case of systemic racism by the police.

However, many aspects of the case raise questions. Many of these have not been answered in the press.

Starting with the facts. This is made difficult since there are conflicting reports and there are indications that there is a lot of genuine fake news (as opposed to Trump’s “fake news”)

Continue reading “The Killing of Breonna Taylor is Not About Systemic Racism – It’s Much Deeper Than That.”

The trial of Gerald Stanley, a farmer in northern Saskatchewan, over the shooting death of Colten Boushie, a 22-year-old Cree from the Red Pheasant First Nations (an Indigenous community) has stirred much discussion, most focused on the alleged racial nature of the events. Stanley was acquitted by the all non-Indigenous jury. This has given rise to protests calling for “Justice for Colten” and a number of politicians, including the Prime Minister, making statements generally critical of the verdict.

Although some of the events that took place are not clear (contradictions in statements by witnesses from both sides), several issues have not been raised publicly:

What was Stanley’s frame of mind when he shot Boushie?
Was Boushie the innocent young man who wanted to become a firefighter that has been portrayed by the press?
What would be the repercussions of a “guilty” verdict?

Continue reading “The verdict in the Gerald Stanley Case was (probably) Correct”