Really? So what are the US soldiers on the "collateral murder" video leaked by B. Manning? They killed +10 unarmed civilians and seriously injured two kids (which are probably dead now), and they really enjoyed the view of the corpses of the people they just killed... "look at that... Nice" they said to each other while admiring the torn apart bodies on their chopper screen.
That's probably because US soldiers are forced to take drugs to reduce any feelings of empathy, they seen like callous pricks but they're being screwed over and it only gets worse when they get out - they suffer from withdrawals, suicide rate of 22 / day, their assets being taken away, 40% of homeless are veterans - not to mention every war they fight is based on a lie. But it's not a conscription, they chose their way, let them pay for it. |
|
|
|
Just a little perspective from someone who has seen both sides of this (and, just to be transparent here, yes I do own a gun.. as well as a crossbow and several swords and knives). I grew up in and around Los Angeles, California. As most of you probably know, gun control there is pretty strict by American standards. Even if you're transporting a gun legally, you can expect a lot of hassle from the police if you get pulled over. In spite of California's "may issue" concealed carry laws, it's virtually impossible for anyone who isn't a police officer, politician or celebrity to get a concealed carry license. Purchasing and owning a gun legally is hard, carrying or transporting it legally is even harder. Growing up in L.A. gun violence was an almost every day occurrence. It wasn't too uncommon to see a neighbour’s house sprayed with automatic weapons (typically an Uzi or an AK-47). The gang members had pretty easy access to these weapons, and even easier access to handguns and semi-auto rifles, while law abiding citizens had to jump through hoops to protect themselves and the police were unwilling and/or unable to help.
Now I live in a small rural desert town. Everybody here owns a gun, most people here carry since it's legal to open carry and a concealed carry license is pretty easy to get (self-defense is considered a legitimate reason for a license by the local Sheriff's department). Even with nearly everyone carrying guns, either openly or concealed, shootings are rare. In the 5 years I've lived here, two people have been shot, one was an accident and the other was a legitimate case of self-defense. There are far more stabbings than shootings. There are also legitimate reasons to own and carry a gun even in the absence of gun violence, there are wild animals here that can and will kill an unarmed person, I've personally fired my gun twice in self-defense against wild animals (a rattlesnake and a mountain lion).
I feel safer and more comfortable here than I ever did in L.A., I'd even go as far as to say that even if I didn't own a gun myself I'd still feel safer and more comfortable knowing that the criminals and the police weren't the only people carrying them.
While you posted a very good example, I must say that rural areas are generally more safe than urban ones. In rural areas of my country people leave their properties unlocked and unattended, while in the city you cannot even leave an empty baby stroller near some shop for 10 minutes. |
|
|
|
|
Received my payment, and left trust rating.
So for all of you wondering - this thing is still going.
Also with recent worries about blockchain.info vulnerabilities (although probably fixed) I'm thinking about moving a part of my btc into inputs.io, for additional distribution.
|
|
|
|
Last time I checked, my written English was good enough for people to understand me. First of all - situation I tried to describe about: In that situation YOU are a THIRD person, BYSTANDER, WITNESS to a possible crime IN PROGRESS. You have the capability (not the authority) to take down (lethally or not, depends on your luck and skill) said attacker, possessing a knife. The major point of this question was to bring another, following question: what if attacker was actually a victim, who simply has gained an upper hand in this situation, when you suddenly stumble upon them both? Second - my post was generally addressed to Mr. ProjectyPants here (TheButterZone). It was suprising to see how everyone else jumped the bandwagon, while he ignored me (possibly completely). Finally - Gonna answer you two ways.
A. Bring a gun to a knife fight? Hell yes!
B. No one who has actually had to pull them triggers has much interest in talking about it. Particularly with people that knows it all.
A. What? How it's even an answer or at least relevant? B. While that may be one of the smartest lines in this thread, I would like to correct your "No one" to "Most people" and "For a certain amount of time since the incident", if I may. |
|
|
|
|
Maybe it could not withstand the load of some minor bot network trying to milk per minute faucet?
Did not try that out myself, so cannot say if it was possible or not.
|
|
|
|
And what if you suddenly go bonkers? Stress, infidelity of your wife, even in the heat of argument. Maybe you want to scare someone off, and it goes too far. Itchy fingers? Carrying it with you day in and day out, it grows on you, and you will want to blow some steam eventually. Having that power. Power which eventually corrupts. I for sure would not want to be around that day.
Those who own guns, own a huge pride baggage that comes with it. Yoi just cannot let it sit quietly in your locker/holster. You will need to take it out for occasion, to show it to your friends, or clean it a bit too often, just to look at it, or to feel it. And in some countries it is completely ok.
Apparently you are incapable of having an argument where you don't project your own attributes onto others. I've already told you to not to do that. How can I project a feeling which I do not possess? Those are merely insinuations of yours. I do not own a gun and never did. I have some experience, and some negative experience also. As a kid I made a shot in heavily populated area, which could cost someone's life. Also had a loaded and cocked gun pointed at me, which is not a nice feeling. Hell, even empty gun, or a prop gun gives that feeling. I have a bow, crafted by myself, which may seem similar to having a gun, but I do not show it off to anyone, and would never give it to anyone, even to hold. I shoot very rarely, as there's no suitable areas around, and cause arrows are a pain to make. I love my bow, but from mere woodcrafting perspective, to be able to make something good, by my own hands. If I had a gun, I would probably be as "withdrawn and calm about it" as you are trying to seem here. Have you EVER had the NEED to take your gun out, or use it? I guess no. Also everyone talks about self-defense here. Imagine a situation, where some sort of brawl/robbery is happening and one of the subjects has a knife in his hand, wiling to use it on another subject. Would you whip out your gun, and when attacker refuses to comply with your verbal warning, shoot him (aiming for the leg, hand, torso, whatever)? |
|
|
|
|
My month has passed yesterday, awaiting payment, and also would like to reapply for next month
22/08/2013 430 posts
|
|
|
|
Unwatch works for topic you have set to watch, Mr. smartypants. It does not work with "Show new replies to your posts". |
|
|
|
I doubt they will, because how do you tell it's a genuine theft or staged?
This thing is real, but I don't know if my case is included in their extent of compensation I do not question you or your experience in general, I'm simply saying it's hard to prove either way. |
|
|
|
|
I doubt they will, because how do you tell it's a genuine theft or staged?
|
|
|
|
You can't do anything now.
Sorry for your loss
Lesson for everyone else here, split your money into multiple different wallets/accounts/etc , to minimize possible risks. |
|
|
|
You've made a great point there. Firearms *exist* because of their range and accuracy against common targets for lethal weapons. Otherwise, we'd still be using bows and arrows, spears, and so forth.
And in turn because of that known and recognized capability, someone who sees a gun pointed at him is very likely to change his behavior in the direction required to keep the gun from being fired.
In turn this implies something of the sort ....
Effective violent deadly tool -----> less violence .....
It seems everyone but the cowards among us can see this: you don't rob a person who is, more likely than not, carrying. Even if the person isn't visibly carrying a gun, if most people in any given area are armed, it's far too risky for any criminal to even attempt a crime, for there's no telling if the person, or anyone around them, has a concealed handgun. You do, however, rob someone who is defenseless. I've never committed a violent crime in my life, but I don't think it takes a lot of thought to come to the conclusion that stealing from unarmed people is a lot easier than stealing from armed people. Even if we make the assumption that the police are always on their game and respond as fast as possible to crimes, you can never have a cop following you around everywhere you go. Police do not prevent crimes. They only help after a crime has taken place. To stop crime before it happens, you must know how to defend yourself. I'm going to go out on a limb (slightly off topic as well) and say this: if guns were allowed on the planes which crashed into the twin towers, there would have been no 9/11. Even if every hijacker was packing, they would've been completely outnumbered by the passengers who were. In the very least, the job would've been considerably harder, and those who died would not have died in vain. Sometimes even cops on duty get robbed, BECAUSE they carry a gun, which is a desired tool for a criminal who cannot acquire said gun in a easier way. You will devise another way of robbing, maybe sneaking with a blunt object from behind. If i were a cowardly criminal, I would never go face to face, gun or not. You must disable person in question first. Be it a blow to the head, tazer or whatever. About 9/11 those terrorists were outnumbered and could be neutralized by passengers themselves, guns or no guns. If you expect them to blow you up, you would do it. If you expect a hostage situation, you would probably sit quiet. Your attempt could cost somebody his life. Also would you shoot a guy in a c4 vest?  EDIT: Again, the obvious problem is not "the guns", which are just an object, but the culture in the US - these guys were PLAYING with the fucking gun like is a toy - coming back to the old example, you won't EVER see nothing like that in Switzerland. But, first step to change the culture, is to stop glorifying lethal weapons which only use is to kill a person. They might be a necessary evil, but everybody would be better if they wouldn't exist at all. Acknowledging that would be a good step towards a better world/society. What I see in a lot of NRA folks and so on, is a true LOVE for guns - and that is sick, extremely sick. EDIT: how retarded has someone to be to proudly upload pics of his firearms to Facebook, or to upload a video like this to the net? https://vine.co/v/b2b20xgBQMeThis is one of the guys that killed the jogging man. That a 15 years old kid easily accesses a firearm and plasy with it like that, uploading videos and pictures on internet of it, is just a synonym of a rotten society. Like Somalia, Zimbabwe, the USA and so on. That's what I'm thinking about. Those who own guns, own a huge pride baggage that comes with it. Yoi just cannot let it sit quietly in your locker/holster. You will need to take it out for occasion, to show it to your friends, or clean it a bit too often, just to look at it, or to feel it. And in some countries it is completely ok. |
|
|
|
|
gotta love that vanity address
|
|
|
|
If I'd live in a place where I'd feel that I need to carry a firearm because the risk of being murdered by another firearm is too high, I would just fucking move. I don't give a shit about countries, flags and whatnot, so there is nothing making me to stay in one place if I feel that my family could be in danger, and I know for sure I don't want my kids growing around firearms.
I guess we have different approaches to the same problem (insecurity).
Let me assure you that is has nothing to do with fear or insecurity. I carry a firearm for the same reason I regularly check the tire pressure on my vehicle. I carry a firearm for the same reasons I use Bitcoin Armory. I would carry a firearm in a large city as well as in the middle of nowhere. And what if you suddenly go bonkers? Stress, infidelity of your wife, even in the heat of argument. Maybe you want to scare someone off, and it goes too far. Itchy fingers? Carrying it with you day in and day out, it grows on you, and you will want to blow some steam eventually. Having that power. Power which eventually corrupts. I for sure would not want to be around that day. |
|
|
|
So you believe that you have the right to be bigoted towards Arabs and Muslims but not towards the idiots in charge of the Eastern Orthodox church?
I have the right to be bigoted towards any religion. Religion is for "dumb" people. It has it's perks, sure, but no intelligent person should believe in these fairy tales. In Germany, blasphemy is covered by Article 166 of the Strafgesetzbuch, the German criminal law. If a deed is capable of disturbing the public peace, blasphemy is actionable. The article reads as follows:[20]
§ 166 Defamation of religious denominations, religious societies and World view associations
(1) Whoever publicly or by dissemination of writings (§ 11 par. 3) defames, in a manner suitable to disturb the public peace, the substance of the religious or world view conviction of others, shall be fined or imprisoned for up to three years.
(2) Whoever publicly or by dissemination of writings (§ 11 par. 3) defames, in a manner suitable to disturb the public peace, a church established in Germany or other religious society or world view association, or their institutions or customs, shall be punished likewise.
In 2006, the application of this article received much media attention when a Manfred van H. (also known as "Mahavo") was prosecuted for blasphemy for distributing rolls of toilet paper with the words "Koran, the Holy Koran" stamped on them.[21][22]
If Germany is not freedom loving,progressive and open enough country, I don't know what is. Even Canada has a similar set of laws, under hate speech laws. When it comes to Russia, everybody is used to apply double standards, that's all. |
|
|
|
About punk rock - it was a joke, yes, but in general I was not sarcastic - I think if those crazy attention whores played in Sheikh Zayed Mosque, dissing local leaders, they would be mutilated and beheaded, if not by the government, then by local people. Or imagine them in the Washington Nation Cathedral, DC, singing "Obama is a commie and sucks big jew dong" or something like that. Or even Better is some Texas protestant Church. I'd say those gals got off pretty easily. Earning money in process, I must add.
Russia has plenty of independent news sources, lots of criticism of current ruling party and leaders. That first wikipedia link you gave - it mentions multiple improvements over years, public trust growing in general, some protection laws offered to journalists and so on. For years Russia has been viewed upon as a big scary bear, while in fact it is the same as all the other governments in the world more or less. I believe CIA can take any less prominent journalist in for a talk, to zap his balls with electrodes, and later acquire a backhand court order.
In the freedom of the press USA has pretty interesting figures. UK is slightly better. Cameras and taps everywhere, taking away journalists belongings as a "security measure".
General rule - you may speak and write about anything you want in a civilized country. As long as you stay away from big corruptions, hidden money, anything what makes your local government officials involved interested enough in snuffing out your life. Be that in Russia, Britain, France or USA or whatever.
Local government officials will not "snuff out your life" in the US, France, or UK. In Russia they will. How often do you hear about journalists being killed in the UK, US, or France? Rarely if ever. Russia is known as one of the most dangerous places on the planet for journalists. A country that declares war on gays and has laws against "blasphemy" is nowhere near free. That sounds exactly like the Soviet Union. Also, have you been to Russia? I haven't been there but I have family who used to live there (both in the USSR and Federation) and they said that it was more or less the same when the USSR "collapsed". I live in neighboring country. 99% of journalists deaths are one way or another linked to Chechen mafia and other "southern towelhead elements", Grozny, Makhachkala, you name it. There are only 2 loud cases, one of them being death of Politkovskaya and she was all about chechens too. A lot has changed in the coming years. About blasphemy - you can view it like a anti-racist law. It would keep certain elements from hooliganism, making them aware of possible punishment and thus preventing mass butthurt of the religious people( like in pussy riot case, they could pick a better place, and they could even sanction their own protest within government), which are a majority in Russia. UK had blasphemy law untill 2008. USA is much better in this case, you can diss any religion you like, and as an atheist myself I like that a lot. And war on gays - it's a cultural thing. Homophobia is what people want, and state provides certain laws to appeal to those people, to the majority. I personally support that law, it is aimed against gay propaganda to minors, not against gays themselves. One can hump his buddy in the ass all day long, but he cannot tell kids around how good or better it possibly feels. If country wants to be that way, it is it's right to be so. If you are a gay, and are largely outspoken, like showing your preference during demonstrations - then you must change your ways, or find a more gay friendly country to live in. All that criticism lately is ridiculous. Americas big strategic oily partner - United Arab Emirates has laws against gays, by which they must be (and regularly are) deported, fined, treated hormonally, CHEMICALLY CASTRATED, and even killed. I do not hear any criticism towards Emirates lately. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_the_United_Arab_EmiratesYou're defending two freedom-stifling laws/movements and you use the term towelhead. I can see why you think Russia is so "free". What country do you live in? Is it Belarus? Also, the UAE is not our biggest oil partner... It's actually Canada, which is more tolerant than the US itself. South American nations and even African nations are bigger partners than the UAE. Our biggest middle east partner is Saudi Arabia, but I'm not defending them. I don't choose who our country trades with. I live in Latvia, it's in my profile. And by the way Belarus is the least free country of post USSR . Basically a dictatorship. And it kinda works for them. I do not defend any of those laws, I simply explain them. Although that anti-gay law looks fine to me. It's what people want there, majority of them. If half of the population was gay,or at least gay friendly then there would be different laws. Also I did not say biggest partner, just big. But it really shows US hypocrisy with their constant embargoes and shit, to trade with UAE.\ And finally towelheads. But that's who they are - towelheads. I know that is a deep cultural aspect of their lives, and I may have offended someone with my generalization. But I'm not very keen on political correctness. You cannot have freedom of speech to it's full extent when you have to choose your words so accurately. My views on Muslim and Islam are a completely different matter. |
|
|
|
About punk rock - it was a joke, yes, but in general I was not sarcastic - I think if those crazy attention whores played in Sheikh Zayed Mosque, dissing local leaders, they would be mutilated and beheaded, if not by the government, then by local people. Or imagine them in the Washington Nation Cathedral, DC, singing "Obama is a commie and sucks big jew dong" or something like that. Or even Better is some Texas protestant Church. I'd say those gals got off pretty easily. Earning money in process, I must add.
Russia has plenty of independent news sources, lots of criticism of current ruling party and leaders. That first wikipedia link you gave - it mentions multiple improvements over years, public trust growing in general, some protection laws offered to journalists and so on. For years Russia has been viewed upon as a big scary bear, while in fact it is the same as all the other governments in the world more or less. I believe CIA can take any less prominent journalist in for a talk, to zap his balls with electrodes, and later acquire a backhand court order.
In the freedom of the press USA has pretty interesting figures. UK is slightly better. Cameras and taps everywhere, taking away journalists belongings as a "security measure".
General rule - you may speak and write about anything you want in a civilized country. As long as you stay away from big corruptions, hidden money, anything what makes your local government officials involved interested enough in snuffing out your life. Be that in Russia, Britain, France or USA or whatever.
Local government officials will not "snuff out your life" in the US, France, or UK. In Russia they will. How often do you hear about journalists being killed in the UK, US, or France? Rarely if ever. Russia is known as one of the most dangerous places on the planet for journalists. A country that declares war on gays and has laws against "blasphemy" is nowhere near free. That sounds exactly like the Soviet Union. Also, have you been to Russia? I haven't been there but I have family who used to live there (both in the USSR and Federation) and they said that it was more or less the same when the USSR "collapsed". I live in neighboring country. 99% of journalists deaths are one way or another linked to Chechen mafia and other "southern towelhead elements", Grozny, Makhachkala, you name it. There are only 2 loud cases, one of them being death of Politkovskaya and she was all about chechens too. A lot has changed in the coming years. About blasphemy - you can view it like a anti-racist law. It would keep certain elements from hooliganism, making them aware of possible punishment and thus preventing mass butthurt of the religious people( like in pussy riot case, they could pick a better place, and they could even sanction their own protest within government), which are a majority in Russia. UK had blasphemy law untill 2008. USA is much better in this case, you can diss any religion you like, and as an atheist myself I like that a lot. And war on gays - it's a cultural thing. Homophobia is what people want, and state provides certain laws to appeal to those people, to the majority. I personally support that law, it is aimed against gay propaganda to minors, not against gays themselves. One can hump his buddy in the ass all day long, but he cannot tell kids around how good or better it possibly feels. If country wants to be that way, it is it's right to be so. If you are a gay, and are largely outspoken, like showing your preference during demonstrations - then you must change your ways, or find a more gay friendly country to live in. All that criticism lately is ridiculous. Americas big strategic oily partner - United Arab Emirates has laws against gays, by which they must be (and regularly are) deported, fined, treated hormonally, CHEMICALLY CASTRATED, and even killed. I do not hear any criticism towards Emirates lately. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_the_United_Arab_Emirates |
|
|
|
It does not matter which exact weapons you ban or not, unless you ban all of them at once. And that may turn for better or for worse, who knows. America has long history of violence, gun violence is in your blood. If you take away guns to prevent school shootings and gang violence, people will find other ways. There will be school bombings and school stabbings. It's in your history, your way of life, your culture. Only solution is to raise your kids as better people, more happy, and set a good example of yourselves, to break this cycle. We must examine where exactly bullies, thugs, psychopaths and rednecks come from and fix that. About school violence - when I attended school in my country it was a generally happy place. Teachers were not the greatest, many things were lacking, but it was fun to visit the school. There was no excessive bullying and constant HUMILIATION which is exerted at other schools worldwide. It was a surprise for me to see in news reports, how kids are treated around the globe. Of course we had fights, broken teeth, pranks, destroyed personal property, raging hormones and older students drunk while attending lessons . But no constant humiliation. No one tried to take away your lunch money and etc. If someone overdid with insults or force, always some other guy or gal would step up in defense of the bullied. Less fortunate (stupider or poorer if you like) people were made fun of, time to time, but not as a scapegoat. I often see in news reports of a teen suicides in USA how they would change schools and move towns and etc. It would be better if they stayed and stood the ground, and other around wouldn't be so indifferent and helped. |
|
|
|
|
Show Posts
