I'm so sorry, ita, Min. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and then.
Maybe I've always been here.
Early ,'Objects In Space'
All Ogle, No Cash -- It's Not Just Annoying, It's Un-American
Discussion of episodes currently airing in Un-American locations (anything that's aired in Australia is fair game), as well as anything else the Un-Americans feel like talking about or we feel like asking them. Please use the show discussion threads for any current-season discussion.
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Liese S. - Oct 17, 2002 10:45:56 am PDT #246 of 9843
"Faded like the lilac, he thought."
plasmo - Oct 20, 2002 9:51:59 pm PDT #247 of 9843
{[-_-]}
More Australian news.. in Melbourne today, at my alma mater Monash University, someone started shooting people. It happened about 3 hours ago, and the shooter has been apprehended.
It is a week or so until exams start, I wonder if it was a student?
News report here.
Julie - Oct 20, 2002 9:58:49 pm PDT #248 of 9843
The shooting happened on the sixth floor of the Robert Menzies building, which is home to the Faculty of Arts and Humanities.
Wow. Actually the whole thing is just so .. I mean, this is Melbourne. We don't do those kinds of things!!!!!
I'm standing firmly on the "the whole world has gone crazeeeeee" side of the fence.
(Briefly. Then I'm going to my meeting d' pain. Otherwise known as Staffing and Rosters. urgh.)
Burrell - Oct 20, 2002 10:07:22 pm PDT #249 of 9843
Why did Darth Vader cross the road? To get to the Dark Side!
That saddens me immensely. I think of those things as things that only happen in the US.
plasmo - Oct 20, 2002 10:40:40 pm PDT #250 of 9843
{[-_-]}
An acquantaince who is on Teaching Staff had this to say
"The shooter was an economics honours student who apparently struggled with English and his course. He was due to make a presentation today worth 100%. In a macroeconomics class a few hours before he pulled out a gun and started shooting. His frustration MAY have been a reason for the shooting. After leaving that room, he headed over to the history wing before shooting at people there."
It's disturbing that after this news, an American was being interviewed on tv saying that we shouldn't have banned the general public from owning automatic weapons. (I know not all American's are pro-gun ownership, probably the evil commercial TV station was looking for a controversial angle.)
billytea - Oct 20, 2002 10:41:03 pm PDT #251 of 9843
You were a wrong baby who grew up wrong. The wrong kind of wrong. It's better you hear it from a friend.
That saddens me immensely. I think of those things as things that only happen in the US.
Our worst mass murderer killed 35 people in one day with a rifle at Port Arthur, a historic site in Tasmania. Single-handedly increased the country's murder rate for that year by 10%.
There are more murders per capita in the US. I'm pretty sure that there are also more people who one day just start offing random souls with a gun (most of the difference, IIRC, is made up of gun-related homicides). But, sadly, this sort of thing can happen pretty much anywhere.
It's disturbing that after this news, an American was being interviewed on tv saying that we shouldn't have banned the general public from owning automatic weapons. (I know not all American's are pro-gun ownership, probably the evil commercial TV station was looking for a controversial angle.)
I've met (and argued with) a guy who said much the same thing after the Port Arthur slayings. If we come to a situation where people should be expected to take firearms to a family outing or to a university, then I really don't know who's already won, but I'm pretty sure the rest of us have lost.
Burrell - Oct 20, 2002 11:20:06 pm PDT #252 of 9843
Why did Darth Vader cross the road? To get to the Dark Side!
If we come to a situation where people should be expected to take firearms to a family outing or to a university, then I really don't know who's already won, but I'm pretty sure the rest of us have lost.
Wrod. Although I do think there is a difference between owning rifles for hunting, or even handguns for use on shooting ranges, and owning a gun "for protection." It's the logic of that last one that gets people into trouble.
billytea - Oct 20, 2002 11:25:52 pm PDT #253 of 9843
You were a wrong baby who grew up wrong. The wrong kind of wrong. It's better you hear it from a friend.
Wrod. Although I do think there is a difference between owning rifles for hunting, or even handguns for use on shooting ranges, and owning a gun "for protection." It's the logic of that last one that gets people into trouble.
One of this guy's arguments (his weakest one, IMO) in favour of gun ownership was that Australia performed well in sports shooting competitions, eg the Olympics. The IOC being a recognised moral authority and all.
I agree that guns on shooting ranges aren't a problem. For that matter, they're work tools for some people, and not just security personnel; my in-laws have a farm and guns, and they have cause for the latter. Hunting squicks me, but that relates more to the idea of killing creatures for sport. It wouldn't really make much difference how they did it. (My supervisor, BTW, is an avid hunter.)
plasmo - Oct 21, 2002 12:11:10 am PDT #254 of 9843
{[-_-]}
Yes, I have no problem with farmers, park rangers and the likes having guns. Anyway, many other people have permits to own guns too. Just not fully automatic ones.
Burrell - Oct 21, 2002 12:12:27 am PDT #255 of 9843
Why did Darth Vader cross the road? To get to the Dark Side!
Really I can't think of a reason why a regular ol' citizen is ever going to need an automatic weapon.