| November 10th, 2005 06:12 PM |
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| time is on my side |
quote:
stonedinaustralia wrote:
to be honest, i must say i am glad we do not have the problem that you do in the States - the thought of living day to day life with the notion that if you accidently piss some-one off some how (i.e. minor traffic incident blowing into "road rage") that that situation could then end in firearms being used is totally frightening to me...but as i say you're situation seems to be one where the "average" citizen has to think "well, it's likely everybody else is armed so i better be too"...indeed, i would probably think that way myself
I've lived in the U.S. my entire life and the number of TIMES I've felt as you described above is, well, zero. So I'm not sure what type of problem you're talking about that the average citizen, the average American here in the U.S. has to face on a day to day basis. I don't see shootings every day. In fact, I'm still waiting for that first incident. You know the ones that are constantly being portrayed and talked about in the local news. The ones you see on TV and in the movies. Sure you can always find someone (the exeptions to the rule) who may have expierenced incidents like these but the fact is most people who live in middle class or upwards type housing haven't.
You can freely move around the country and the only people you're likely to encounter in the streets carrying weapons is the police and someone dealing with paid security. Unless of course who go into the wrong neighborhoods.
I'm not going to paint a rosy picture. Crime does occur and is a problem. The overwhelming majority of these instances tend to be confined in poor communities where drugs combined with the lack of a good quality education has led some down the road of being career criminals. It sometimes seems like a perpetual cycle. Many times the fathers and mothers are also poorly educated with a background in crime. Many come from broken familes where the fathers have abandoned the children soon after they were born. These areas are the breeding ground for criminals. May I add we are talking about a small percentage of the population. However, cleaning up these poor neighborhoods is something I've long thought should be more of a priority for politicians. Unfortunately, as many of them do not vote, their voices seldom get heard by politiicians whose only real concerns seem to be about getting elected or re-elected so they get or retain power.
Now, there are other isolated instances that happen in every neighborhood from time to time. Unlike what some would have you believe, they are in fact rare. Again I, members of my family ,and friends who've I known for many years, don't leave in the type of fear you descibe.
[Edited by time is on my side] |
| November 10th, 2005 06:27 PM |
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| stonedinaustralia |
tioms - as you will see above TTM made similiar comments and i responded by acknowledging that my comments were NOT based on personal experience but rather what i had seen through the media
i don't doubt what you say - but would say then that the reality of life in the US (with respect to fireamrs)must be grossly distorted by the media - both through the "news" and fictional accounts as generated by the entertainment industry
i'd be interested to know how many US ROers keep firearms (apart from those kept for "sporting" purposes) |
| November 10th, 2005 07:11 PM |
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| lotsajizz |
quote:
stonedinaustralia wrote:
i don't doubt what you say - but would say then that the reality of life in the US (with respect to fireamrs)must be grossly distorted by the media - both through the "news" and fictional accounts as generated by the entertainment industry
NOW you're getting it...if you believed the media, the US is a pretty scary place ALL the time EVERYWHERE...the media feeds off the fear it generates and a perpetuating cycle develops...more fear, more guns, more violence, more fear.....the issue of gun control is silly now, maybe in the 70's there could have been a legislative solution, not now, there's too many cheap arms available for any ban to be effective |
| November 10th, 2005 07:13 PM |
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| the good |
I don't have any firearms, and neither does anybody in my family. I do have friends who own weapons. I have also had one pointed in my face. It was about 4 in the morning and I was stumbling out of a bar down the street. (Great place, the owner fucking loves the Stones.) Anyway, I was staggering down the street, when two "youths" approached me. The one guy shoves me and puts a 32 or 38 or whatever the hell you call it in my face and demands my wallet. So I give it to him and they take off. But guess what they didn't ask for? MY CELL PHONE! So I call the cops right away, they are on the scene in like 30 secons, they catch the two guys, and they are going to do a minimum of 5 years in jail. (This is mandatory for a crime committed with a gun in PA, they will most likely get 10-15 years). I was too bombed to realize the danger I was in at the time. But it could have been really bad. When they caught the guy who was carrying the gun, they pulled three rounds out of the chamber.  |
| November 10th, 2005 07:17 PM |
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| stonedinaustralia |
quote:
lotsajizz wrote:
NOW you're getting it...if you believed the media, the US is a pretty scary place ALL the time EVERYWHERE...the media feeds off the fear it generates and a perpetuating cycle develops...more fear, more guns, more violence, more fear.....
you're right lotsa - and i probably should have known better in the first place |
| November 10th, 2005 07:35 PM |
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| lotsajizz |
if you listen to the US media, you in Oz are all like that Croc Dundee parody sucking down Fosters by the gallon and chasing kangaroos with your Sheilas---friggin' media loves cartoon images |
| November 10th, 2005 07:47 PM |
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| the good |
quote:
lotsajizz wrote:
if you listen to the US media, you in Oz are all like that Croc Dundee parody sucking down Fosters by the gallon and chasing kangaroos with your Sheilas---friggin' media loves cartoon images
I think that's an accurate depiction of life in Australia, isn't?  |
| November 10th, 2005 07:54 PM |
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| Riffhard |
quote:
lotsajizz wrote:
if you listen to the US media, you in Oz are all like that Croc Dundee parody sucking down Fosters by the gallon and chasing kangaroos with your Sheilas---friggin' media loves cartoon images
You forgot to mention boomarangs! The Aussies love their boomarangs. Right?
Riffy
[Edited by Riffhard] |
| November 10th, 2005 08:03 PM |
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| Ten Thousand Motels |
quote:
stonedinaustralia wrote:
i'd be interested to know how many US ROers keep firearms (apart from those kept for "sporting" purposes)
I own no firearms, not even a .22...or a BB pistol. I don't even hunt myself....haven't for many years. Enough people give me venison and the occasional moose meat. I'm not against firearms ownership though. I just never was much of a gun person.
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| November 10th, 2005 08:43 PM |
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| time is on my side |
quote:
stonedinaustralia wrote:
i don't doubt what you say - but would say then that the reality of life in the US (with respect to fireamrs)must be grossly distorted by the media - both through the "news" and fictional accounts as generated by the entertainment industry
i'd be interested to know how many US ROers keep firearms (apart from those kept for "sporting" purposes)
Absolutely, I would say with the arrival of 24 hour network news and the awareness among both local & national network types that bad news sells (who's interested in good news) that such things as crime (murders, rape, muggings, armed robbery, molestation, etc) definitely get covered. They feel this kind of coverage increases ratings whether it be at a local level or at a national level. It also sells at the entertainment level (TV- I've lost count on how many murder shows are on the air and movies where violence is looked upon as interesting since it adds depth to the stories being told).
The result,at the end of the day, is that you get a very warped, distorted picture of actual every day life where in reality most people will go through their entire life without experiencing some of the things that you see in the news, TV, or the movies everyday.
By the way, I haven't picked up a weapon of any kind since I left the military (served three years in Germany). Simply don't have any interest in it. I don't like guns. Don't really like being around them. That's just me. While I do believe in some reasonable form of gun control, if someone wants to own a gun for hunting or some other peaceful purpose, like a hobby, then there's nothing wrong with that in my opinion. That's their right. Most gun owners are responsible people who take very good care of their firearms.
[Edited by time is on my side] |
| November 10th, 2005 08:47 PM |
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| sirmoonie |
I like them black dudes in Australia. The ones running around in turn of century speedos and blowing on them big horns that go "MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOFFFFFFFF". The originals, thats what they call them. The originals. |
| November 10th, 2005 08:51 PM |
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| lotsajizz |
that's the NEW originals, moonie |
| November 10th, 2005 09:00 PM |
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| sirmoonie |
They changed their name? |
| November 10th, 2005 09:48 PM |
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| stonedinaustralia |
i reckon they'd like you too, sirm - for one thing (at the risk of sounding non PC) many have a passion for the drink which, with all due respect,would leave yours in the shade!!
PC qualifier - i don't mean to make light of a significant social problem amongst the aboriginals - but thems the facts jack!! |
| November 10th, 2005 09:59 PM |
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| JerryT |
Hey Stoned in Austrailia. Do you know what they say about those who cast stones? Let me guess. These folks were Americans, not Austrailains. Or maybe they were aboriginies? Well?
Accused 'used head as bowling ball'
By Kevin Meade
08nov05
A MAN who allegedly decapitated a 17-year-old boy with a tomahawk in a suburban back yard later was said to have played with the teenager's head, rolling it in a paddock as if it were a bowling ball.
A chilling videotape showing police interviewing one of two men charged with the murder of transient teen Morgan Jay Shepherd was played in Brisbane Magistrates Court yesterday.
Christopher Clark Jones, 22, told detectives in the interview recorded in April that his co-accused, James Patrick Roughan, 25, stomped on Shepherd's head several times before stabbing him with a kitchen knife, then decapitating him. Mr Jones and Mr Roughan are facing a committal hearing on charges they murdered Shepherd and interfered with his corpse.
Mr Jones, who repeatedly broke down and cried during the interview, told detectives the three were "mates" and were drinking at a table in the back yard of Mr Roughan's home in the Brisbane bayside suburb of Sandgate at dusk on March 29.
"We'd all had quite a bit to drink," he said.
An argument erupted between Mr Roughan and Shepherd and both fell to the ground. Mr Roughan then stood and stomped heavily on the teenager's head, Mr Jones said. Shepherd was bleeding profusely and was making a "choking" sound.
Mr Jones said Mr Roughan then ran to the house, returned with a kitchen knife and stabbed Shepherd several times in the back. After severing the teenager's head with a tomahawk, Mr Roughan wrapped the torso in a carpet, dragged it under the house and stabbed it repeatedly with the knife.
"The c...'s psycho," Mr Jones told the two detectives. "He was just so calm about it. It was nothin' to him."
Mr Jones said that next morning, Mr Roughan hugged him, saying, "us Celts should stick together", a reference to their Celtic ancestry. Later that day, with the aid of two other men, Shepherd's body was bundled into the boot of a car and driven to a property at Dayboro, north of Brisbane.
Mr Roughan sat in the back of the car with Shepherd's head in a plastic bag on his lap, Mr Jones said. A shallow grave was dug on the property and the torso buried.
Mr Jones said Mr Roughan laughed as he "bowled the head up the hill, like it was a bowling ball". The hearing was told there were more than 100 knife wounds on Shepherd's body when it was found. Detective Sergeant Craig Williams said most of the wounds were believed to have been inflicted after death.
[Edited by JerryT] |
| November 10th, 2005 10:05 PM |
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| stonedinaustralia |
jerry T - i was not casting stones as you put it - go back and read what i said again - you've obviously misunderstood me - (well - you wouldn't be the first)
as for the article Riffy posted a link already in another thread ..and as i pointed out - these people are QUEENSLANDERS - they're different than the rest of us |
| November 10th, 2005 10:07 PM |
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| JerryT |
You sound like an elitist. Me too. Those guys that carry guns over here, and kill people at the drop of a hat, they're different than us. |
| November 10th, 2005 10:16 PM |
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| sirmoonie |
JerryT, you are a complete bonehead. Bone O' Head. "elitist" would be about the last word anyone on this site would use to characterize SIA. |
| November 10th, 2005 10:18 PM |
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| stonedinaustralia |
well the queenslander comment was meant in jest - i know humour doesn't always translate well across the net (or maybe you got that and you're joking with me and i'm not quite getting it)
as for my comments re the US - as i said i think you're reading stuff into what i said - which for the most part was inquisitive and was not at all accusative
but you're right - i am elitist to some degree - i have absolutely no time for idiots - (and DON'T construe that as suggesting that i think you are one - that would only prove my point as to how things can be misinterpreted)
cheers
[Edited by stonedinaustralia] |
| November 10th, 2005 10:20 PM |
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| stonedinaustralia |
thanks sirm - you are gentleman and scholar |
| November 10th, 2005 10:26 PM |
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| JerryT |
"and as i pointed out - these people are QUEENSLANDERS - they're different than the rest of us"
That does SOUND eltist. And I assumed it was in jest. Which is why I responded the way I did. Oh I got Stoned in Australia. But SirMoonie, I'm not sure he got it. Which, in part, disproves your theory of transmission loss.
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| November 10th, 2005 10:36 PM |
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| stonedinaustralia |
quote:
JerryT wrote:
But SirMoonie, I'm not sure he got it. Which, in part, disproves your theory of transmission loss.
OK jerry we are cool i hope - but doesn't what you say about sirm prove rather than disprove the point??
and look out - i have no doubt you will now,more than likely, have him on your ass...i can almost hear him coming (unless these words of mine have stymied his desire to take you to task) |
| November 10th, 2005 10:42 PM |
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| JerryT |
" have no doubt you will now,more than likely, have him on your ass."
On my ass. In my ass. Oh I'll have him alright. |
| November 10th, 2005 11:32 PM |
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| sirmoonie |
SIA, are there many Aboriginal attorneys?
Where do the majority of Aboriginals live, in or near the cities or in rural areas? Has the Autrailian government created "reservations" like the U.S. government, or have they tried different remedial measures?
What did you guys do to Egon? |
| November 11th, 2005 12:44 AM |
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| stonedinaustralia |
quote:
sirmoonie wrote:
SIA, are there many Aboriginal attorneys?
Where do the majority of Aboriginals live, in or near the cities or in rural areas? Has the Autrailian government created "reservations" like the U.S. government, or have they tried different remedial measures?
What did you guys do to Egon?
hey sirm - i will be happy to answer your Qs - but rushed at the moment - panic at the end of the working week - it being 4.00 pm friday here right now - will get back before end of the weekend - cheers
as to Egon - haven't seen him - come to think of it corgi hasn't been aroound here much lately either - probably lost in the midst of a week long bender somewhere in melbourne |
| November 11th, 2005 11:13 AM |
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| Jumping Jack |
Something to offend everyone, LOL!
As many are aware, the French government recently announced a raise in its terror alert level from "Run" to "Hide". The normal level is "General Arrogance", and the only two higher levels in France are "Surrender" and "Collaborate". The rise was precipitated by a recent fire that destroyed France's white flag factory, effectively paralysing the country's military capability.
It's not only the French that are on a heightened level of alert:
Italy has increased the alert level from "Shout loudly and excitedly" to "Elaborate military posturing". Two more levels remain, "Ineffective combat operations" and "Change sides".
The Germans also increased their alert state from "Disdain" to "Dress in uniform and sing marching songs". They have two higher levels: "Invade a neighbour" and "Lose".
Seeing this reaction in continental Europe the Americans have gone from "Isolationism" to "Find another oil-rich nation for regime change". Their remaining higher alert states are "Attack random countries (ideally those without any credible military)" and "Beg the British for help".
The British are also feeling the pinch in relation to recent bombings and have raised their security level from "Miffed" to "Peeved". Soon though, security levels may be raised yet again to "Irritated" or even "A Bit Cross". Londoners have not been "A Bit Cross" since the Blitz in 1940 when tea supplies all but ran out. Terrorists have been re-categorized from "Tiresome" to "Bloody Nuisance". The last time the British issued a "Bloody Nuisance" warning level was during the Great Fire of 1666.
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| November 11th, 2005 11:41 AM |
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| gimmekeef |
Jumpin Jack...to quote my friends the Killean guys..."Brilliant"..!!!!!!!!!! |
| November 11th, 2005 12:54 PM |
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| monkey_man |
quote:
Jumping Jack wrote:
Something to offend everyone, LOL!
As many are aware, the French government recently announced a raise in its terror alert level from "Run" to "Hide". The normal level is "General Arrogance", and the only two higher levels in France are "Surrender" and "Collaborate". The rise was precipitated by a recent fire that destroyed France's white flag factory, effectively paralysing the country's military capability.
It's not only the French that are on a heightened level of alert:
Italy has increased the alert level from "Shout loudly and excitedly" to "Elaborate military posturing". Two more levels remain, "Ineffective combat operations" and "Change sides".
The Germans also increased their alert state from "Disdain" to "Dress in uniform and sing marching songs". They have two higher levels: "Invade a neighbour" and "Lose".
Seeing this reaction in continental Europe the Americans have gone from "Isolationism" to "Find another oil-rich nation for regime change". Their remaining higher alert states are "Attack random countries (ideally those without any credible military)" and "Beg the British for help".
The British are also feeling the pinch in relation to recent bombings and have raised their security level from "Miffed" to "Peeved". Soon though, security levels may be raised yet again to "Irritated" or even "A Bit Cross". Londoners have not been "A Bit Cross" since the Blitz in 1940 when tea supplies all but ran out. Terrorists have been re-categorized from "Tiresome" to "Bloody Nuisance". The last time the British issued a "Bloody Nuisance" warning level was during the Great Fire of 1666.
Too fucking funny!!! |
| November 11th, 2005 01:07 PM |
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| Riffhard |
Sheer brilliance JJ! Question. Did you write that or did you find it somewhere? Either way it is funny as hell!!
Riffy |
| November 11th, 2005 01:25 PM |
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| Jumping Jack |
I wish I could take credit for it, but it is funny as hell so I thought I would share it! |
