The team examined over 24,000 cases where police had used force, including almost 5500 incidents involving a Taser. After controlling for factors such as the amount of resistance shown by the suspect, they found that Taser use reduced the overall risk of injury by 65 per cent.

[New Scientist]

In fact, they went so far as to call in the same crowd-control experts that help to keep things under control at major events like the Super Bowl and the Olympics. Each store will have its own game plan, but the vast majority of locations (not just Super Centres) will be open for 24 hours starting on Monday, November 26 (Thanksgiving) and ending the next day in the evening. That way, Walmart hopes to prevent mammoth crowds from gathering outside the store waiting for the doors to open. They are also putting many of the most popular items behind displays, where employees will supervise lines and hand out the products to customers in an orderly fashion. Additional workers will be stationed outside the store to help direct foot traffic.

Because of incidents like the one at Walmart, the National Retail Federation has, for the first time, put together a list of guidelines aimed at crowd-control in stores. Of course, even with all these precautions, I fear that this year will bring more horror stories about deadly violence erupting between crazed bargain hunters. [NYT]

Shortly after two pipe bombs were detonated in Hillsdale High School, English language development teacher Kennet Santana tackled the boy—pinning him down with the help of a few other members of the faculty until the police arrived. Not surprisingly, the kid is being described as “quiet”, “shy” and “reclusive”. It’s always the person you least suspect, as they say, but you never hear about the loud, outgoing class clown going all leatherface on his classmates. [SFGate]

Our young supportsman (not a word) hasn’t yet been convicted of a crime, and deserves the benefit of the doubt, but the alleged victim’s account of the scenario is pretty spectacular (that’s him above, with the shiner):

“The guy essentially snapped. He cold-cocked me, hit me two or three solid shots to the head while my hands were down,” said Isakson, a limo driver.

But surely Mr, Isakson was being a dick, or something, right? Right? Well, if you count asking an angry-seeming man for his ID before you let him into your house in Queens as being a dick, then yes. Back to the violence:

But things got uglier, Isakson said, when Benjamin squeezed him around the neck and pressed him up against the wall.

“He’s prepared to kill me,” Isakson said. “That’s all I could think of.”

Isakson said he broke free and ran down the stairs — fracturing his ankle along the way — to get help in his building’s lobby.

For what it’s worth, Verizon did eventually fix the problem, though they apparently didn’t need to send anyone into Isakson’s home in the first place. Service! [New York Post]

Personally, sexual activity is an incentive in itself and has its own rewards. Sure, it may not be appropriate for kids, but that’s (again) why we need an adult-only rating for games. As for drug use – while I don’t find it that interesting outside of having a cool beer after a hard day’s work or a nice glass of wine with a meal, there are plenty of benefits in medicinal drugs in real life, so why not in a game?

Of course, the game is being developed for both PC and Xbox 360, so I’m sure plenty of pirated PC versions will make it into the country anyway.

[Kotaku]

Sadly, the source site doesn’t allow embedding, so I’ve assembled a series of screen grabs to try and capture the raw violence I saw in the original video. The same video, coincidentally, you can catch in the accompanying link. [TechEblog]

A 50-year-old woman told 21-year-old computer programmer Jun Ando to stop playing mobile phone games because the Shinkiba-bound train was supercrowded. (Some older people in Japan also just have a thing about mobile phones—there are sections of some trains where you’re not supposed to use them at all.) He then allegedly told her to shut her face before proceeding to blast it with punches, breaking her jaw. But it gets better!

After Ando was taken off the train and forced into the station’s office by the staff, he punched the woman again. Man, he must’ve been in the middle of a boss fight in Metal Gear Touch or something.

Has anyone ever annoyed you enough with their mobile phone in a crowded space in a way other than talking on it that you wanted to grind their face into cheap hamburger meat with your bare hands? [Japan Today via Alafista via Kotaku]

[The Onion]

According to the Waukesha Police, the fight started over an argument about who’s turn it was to play the (unidentified) game. Eventually, the fight escalated when one brother tried to choke the other out. In retaliation, he pulled an knife and slashed at his assailant. The knife was wrestled out of his hands and plunged into his chest. In a panic, the brother who did the stabbin’ fled the scene and walked to the hospital—suffering severe frostbite on his hands as a result.

The injuries sustained were not life threatening, but police are recommending that charges be brought up against both brothers. They are also speaking with Santa Claus about the possibility of placing his boot squarely and firmly into their asses. [MSNBC via Kotaku]

Sadly, or maybe happily for the sake of my niece, these perfect Xmas presents are not for sale. [Slightly Warped]