Obama's 100 days

I was meant to write a blog on the day of Obama's inauguration, but to tell you the truth I spent most of the day plonked it front of the TV, watching the celebrations and waiting for his speech (wishing that I was there!)

His speech was absolutely spot on.

Prior to it, there was huge media speculation into what exactly he would say with bets being made as to how many times we would hear "Yes we can!" and "Change has come!".

Obama proved that these slogans were for the presidential campaign only.

No longer will there be cheesy slogans, it's time to get to work and you could tell he could not wait a minute longer.

Although I only remember two presidential elections in my lifetime, I really do believe that Obama will be different to any other president that has been in office.

He is polite and genuine, yet does not hesitate to get straight to the point.

Within a few minutes of his speech, he told the world that his way of working would be very different to that of the last administration.

Amnesty International has given Obama a 100 days to bring what is believes to be crucial changes to the United States of America.

To close Guantanamo Bay, end torture and ill-treatment, and to ensure an independent commission into US 'war on terror' abuses.

The U.S. has, since September 11th, justified human rights violations and has used forms of degrading treatments in Guantanamo, which has been completely unacceptable.

I believe it will take less than a 100 days for Obama to achieve what Amnesty has put forward.

After less than 48 hours in office, he signed to end interrogation and torture in Guantanamo.

He has so far proved that he means business and that he will not allow what George W. Bush did - a serious abuse of human rights.

Taser Guns - A recipe for disaster

Amnesty International voiced their concerns last week of the possible introduction of Taser guns in the United Kingdom. They were very right to do so.

I didn't actually know too much about these guns or what they could do to threaten our society.

I decided to do a phone interview for Smoke Radio with Steve Ballinger , a press officer from Amnesty UK to find out what their viewpoint is on this.

He was a very interesting interviewee and was clear on where Amnesty stands on this issue.

Lethal weapons only for special trained officers

They do not actually oppose the introduction of Taser guns full stop but they are campaigning to ensure that only the specially trained officers will be given them.

The Amnesty International UK Press Release says:-

"Stun guns are potentially lethal electrical weapons. The pistol-shaped Taser delivers 50,000 volts of electricity into a person’s body. The result is excruciatingly painful, causing a person to fall to the ground and, at times, lose control of their bodily functions."

Death from a Taser gun

Since 2001, Amnesty have found that over 300 people in the United States have died after being shot by a Taser gun.

This itself is enough to convince me that this weapon should not be introduced in the police force in England and Wales.

Amnesty investigated the death of a man from the the U.S. who was believed to have suffered an extremely painful death after being shot by a Taser.

Amnesty Press Release

Here are the guidelines from the Amnesty International press release for the introduction of stun guns in England and Wales:

Officers carrying Tasers are trained to firearms officer standards on an ongoing basis

Tasers are used as a weapon of last resort – in situations which fall only just below the point when lethal force should be used.

Roll-out is highly restricted and then only to specially trained officers

The Home Office has demonstrated how the use of Taser will be consistent with its obligations under international human rights guidelines and what policies and procedures are in place to prevent misuse of electro-shock weapons.

As usual, I am in agreement with Amnesty on this issue.

I do believe that the police force have a duty to protect themselves and citizens but the introduction of these guns could cause more damage than good.

After interviewing the people of Harrow at the local shopping centre, some very interesting viewpoints were given.

One lady was concerned for those with pacemakers as it could be life threatening if they were to be shot at.

Another was worried about them being used in public places such as in a football match. She said that innocent people could be hurt if they were shot on accident.

This is why Amnesty have issued this press release and have had discussions with the Home Office.

If Taser guns are to be used by the police force, it should only be for those who are specially trained and in circumstances where no other option is left.