Smellie verdict

I have just read of the ?Not guilty? Verdict after a Metropolitan police sergeant was seen twice striking a woman demonstrator, once with the back of his gloved hand and again with a steel baton. This is the BBC?S report including the video clip: http://news.Bbc.Co.Uk/1/hi/england/london/8597217.Stm

Sitting without a jury after a four-day hearing with additional photographs to look at the judge was satisfied that the sergeant had acted in self defence. She was satisfied on a point of law so that is that.

I don?T have a great deal of sympathy with the way some protesters behave and less so when they sell their stories to the press after hiring media consultants but I find some aspects of this case puzzling based on the video footage, particularly the suggestion that the sergeant had ?Only? 7 seconds to react having been approached from the side.

Count seven seconds. Anyone who has served in the Forces will know that is a long time to get your head blown off while under attack, especially when the attacker is holding a camera and a drink carton pointing away from you in a threatening manner. Also ?He had feared for his safety after becoming isolated from colleagues? Even though he was able to retire behind their line afterwards so leaving his colleagues exposed to ?The threat?.

Obviously we can?T believe what we appear to have seen so now that these actions are considered proportionate perhaps the force can be deployed to sort out the anti-social behaviour yobs that blight the lives of so many.

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What would Jesus do?

Well what would Jesus do?

Would he support the capitalist venture that sees anAmerican evangelical WWJD import sold at $9 a time? It's all guess work. My guess is that He would deliver His message and move on. But that answers the wrong question which is, What did Jesus do? There is an interesting answerhere.

The Established Church is already in deep trouble with American ideas of Anglicanism but this is not an evangelical protest or even a Christian protest. I read one report where demonstrators wondered what the Vatican response would be thinking that St Paul's was a Roman Catholic Cathedral. Various themes have been added to the protest by a mixed bunch of people using Christianity as one of their weapons. When professional protesters move in they become a liability to the legitimacy of the original cause as demonstrated at Dale Farm. A similar community establishing itself outside St Paul's will lead to an increasingly intolerable situation with a high probability of violence which both sides of the initial protest want to avoid.

When Jesus was shown the coin His advice was clear, obey the law.

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