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Quote from DieKolkrabe :They were retreating from his house, i.e. still in his house...correct?

This is the important word.
Quote from thisnameistaken :No, the guy he shot was exiting his shed quite a distance from his house. They didn't break into his house, it was his shed.

Edit: Hmm, just looked it up and apparently it was his house. Am I think of a different case with the shed?

IIRC the guy's body was found in the shed
Quote from DieKolkrabe :Need I point out the obvious response here? If you're in the military you're trained to follow orders and not question them. Look through history for examples of this.

You have to understand, the men and women in the military have morals and values also. Say for instance, the CIC(being hypothetical, I'm not bashing Obama...) orders the Marines to go invade Hawaii, or Florida, or some other state to oppress the civilians, and make mass arrests or executions. Many of them would be like "f*ck that" I have family/friends that live in this area, and would either go AWOL, or rise up. This is especially true if the commander of the certain unit that gets deployed, is highly against this idea. Most soldiers look up to their superiors, and if they see that their CO wants to do the moral thing, then they would most likely follow. If he betrays their trust and decides to do the immoral thing, they would not follow.
Quote from Becky Rose :
At the end of the day, each person is an individual, and not every American is a gun toting racist Southern Hick (!).

I'm from the north, and we have alot of firearms.


Quote from DieKolkrabe :IIRC the guy's body was found in the shed

Who knows, the intruder could've been in the shed looking for a weapon to get into the house with.
Quote from SidiousX :Who knows, the intruder could've been in the shed looking for a weapon to get into the house with.

That's the flimsiest excuse yet. You can't just go round blowing people's heads off based on what you think they *might* be doing.
Quote from Crashgate3 :That's the flimsiest excuse yet. You can't just go round blowing people's heads off based on what you think they *might* be doing.

So very very Orwellian
Agreeing

Also making the point that blowing people's heads off for suspecting them is Orwellian and pointless
Ah. ok then
Quote from SidiousX :You have to understand, the men and women in the military have morals and values also. Say for instance, the CIC(being hypothetical, I'm not bashing Obama...) orders the Marines to go invade Hawaii, or Florida, or some other state to oppress the civilians, and make mass arrests or executions. Many of them would be like "f*ck that" I have family/friends that live in this area, and would either go AWOL, or rise up. This is especially true if the commander of the certain unit that gets deployed, is highly against this idea. Most soldiers look up to their superiors, and if they see that their CO wants to do the moral thing, then they would most likely follow. If he betrays their trust and decides to do the immoral thing, they would not follow.

"We know there are WMD's on Hawaii! We have uncovered a complot to attack the very foundations of our freedom! The USA won't be save as long as those weapons aren't found and destroyed!"

Repeat that on FOX every day for a month and you'll have volunteer's ready to strike at anything landing on those islands - with rowboats if they must...
Quote from bbman :"We know there are WMD's on Hawaii! We have uncovered a complot to attack the very foundations of our freedom! The USA won't be save as long as those weapons aren't found and destroyed!"

Repeat that on FOX every day for a month and you'll have volunteer's ready to strike at anything landing on those islands - with rowboats if they must...

It'd be like the battle of Endor 0.o
Quote from sinbad :We're always hearing stories about gun accidents, about people killing other people over nothing, all taking place in seemingly peaceful parts of America. It's ironic that by acquiring the means with which to "protect" yourself/your family, you seem to be placing yourself in this high-risk category, simply because you have firearms in your home.

I think Kev's right. I'd wager the number of gun related accidents, and incidents, far outweigh the number of times a gun was necessary as a form of personal defense.

Sinbad, American gun ownership is not about 'personal defence'. A baseball bat is personal defence, the right to own a gun is freedom from an oppressive regime. If people think american gun ownership is about protection from some smackheads they are very much mistaken.

Now of course incidents will occur because of irresponsible people. But that has nothing to do with the right to bare arms. These people are dumb full stop and if it wasn't a gun it would be something else left on the side. Baby P case in the UK is an example! Stupid people are stupid!

We have this weird, and naive belief, we are immune to dictatorships. The American's aren't so naive.
best plan of action sleep with the gun under your pillow
Quote from Intrepid :unfortunately Ron Paul isn't the most charismatic chap.

one of the reasons why he doesnt and wont ever matter one tiny bit... that and that hes a liberitarian nutjob

Quote from SidiousX :You have to understand, the men and women in the military have morals and values also. Say for instance, the CIC(being hypothetical, I'm not bashing Obama...) orders the Marines to go invade Hawaii, or Florida, or some other state to oppress the civilians, and make mass arrests or executions. Many of them would be like "f*ck that" I have family/friends that live in this area, and would either go AWOL, or rise up.

because obviously the grunts doing the actual work will be the first to get the inside scoop that this is a bunch of civilians fighting for their freedom against an oppressive government and it would never occur to said government to fabricate a believable story about a violent uprising of terrorists that are out to slaughter civilians

Quote from Intrepid :Sinbad, American gun ownership is not about 'personal defence'. A baseball bat is personal defence, the right to own a gun is freedom from an oppressive regime.

absolutely right and its easy to see how the balance of power in this picture would be turned completely upside down if the guy had a hunting rifle

not to mention that its clearly much easier to get soldiers sent out to kill civilians under the guise of protecting the nation on your side by shooting at them instead of employing nonviolent tactics


personally given the choice between facing a tank carrying a gun or shopping bags ill take my chances with the groceries
Quote from Shotglass :absolutely right and its easy to see how the balance of power in this picture would be turned completely upside down if the guy had a hunting rifle

It would be turned upside down if the billion odd people in China had hunting rifles! I think a billion rifles would beat 3 tanks any day! Vietnam is a perfect example of how military might doesn't always over power less equipped armies of people.

Look, I am not saying other countries should be like America. We simple wouldn't be able to handle it. The yanks, on the whole, are far more responsible. Also our police aren't equipped with guns. I would fear the escalation if guns were made legal!

I see this constant snobby attitude towards America as if they are somehow backward, but we only have to look at our own system to see we are not any better.
Quote from Intrepid :It would be turned upside down if the billion odd people in China had hunting rifles! I think a billion rifles would beat 3 tanks any day!

apart from that there are 4 tanks in the picture (frankly at this point im wondering if theres any point discussing politics with someone who seems to have failed pre school math) and that im fairly certain the chinese have a few more armed vehicles than those 4 tanks i rather doubt that walmart or the chinese equivalent of it sell armour piercing depleted uranium bullets

Quote :Vietnam is a perfect example of how military might doesn't always over power less equipped armies of people.

naturally a well coordinated army with near endless supplies from a superpower fighting hastly drafted soldiers who got put into a challenging and completely unfamiliar territory is a perfect template for the american armed forces raining down upon the american public on home turf

Quote :I see this constant snobby attitude towards America as if they are somehow backward, but we only have to look at our own system to see we are not any better.

in my and most europeans book fancying yourself as some kind of wild west hero and having values that even the pope would consider conservative is rather backwards
#92 - 5haz
Quote from Intrepid :It would be turned upside down if the billion odd people in China had hunting rifles! I think a billion rifles would beat 3 tanks any day!

Fear is a more powerful weapon than any tank or gun, the Communist government of China managed to win the almost fanatical support of millions, partly through the use of of violence. (Obviously by 1989 this support wasn't as strong as it had been when Mao was alive, despite the fact he helped caused a disasterous famine and had a lot of people murdered).

The fact that Mao's government got pretty much the entire population to carry out rushed industrialisation programs and backyard metal smelting, and then carry out a 'Cultural Revolution' shows just how massive and wide spread support for them was back in the 1950s/60s.

You don't even have to have guns, so long as people are afraid of violence, or at least the threat of it then they probrably wont get up to much against you.

You don't necessarily have to equip everyone with guns to successfully overthrow a government anyway. Remember that an army or tanks and guns has to have people to operate them, and these people are often just otherwise ordinary people too, what can the government do when the people that are trusted to use guns and tanks to defend them turn against them too?

IMO if you feel like its necessary to have a gun nearby all the time to defend yourself or rebel against an oppressive regime, then there is something really wrong with the place you live in, or your head, or both.

There are a lot safer ways to express freedom or rebellion, what was wrong with writing protest songs?
Quote from Intrepid :Sinbad, American gun ownership is not about 'personal defence'. A baseball bat is personal defence, the right to own a gun is freedom from an oppressive regime. If people think american gun ownership is about protection from some smackheads they are very much mistaken.

Now of course incidents will occur because of irresponsible people. But that has nothing to do with the right to bare arms. These people are dumb full stop and if it wasn't a gun it would be something else left on the side. Baby P case in the UK is an example! Stupid people are stupid!

We have this weird, and naive belief, we are immune to dictatorships. The American's aren't so naive.

There's the right to own a gun, and the reason someone will give for owning one. I've seen a lot of programs and read a lot of stuff which has always suggested that whilst the right to bear arms (I'm not talking about getting a tan, duh :razz is sometimes something they believe in strongly, the actual reason behind them wanting to keep a gun in their home is usually as a form of "defense", or for sport. Again, I put the inverted commas there, because in all but the most extreme cases a gun is way ott (again, something I alluded to in my original post).

You may be right, you may know Americans better than I do, you may know them better than they know themselves. I'm sure for a lot of people gun ownership is a part of their life just because they can. I very much doubt that for all bar the devoted NRA "extremists" a gun is not some political statement. It's either a form of "defense", a toy, or a status symbol.

I disagree that when suburban quarrels end in deaths because people have guns to hand, the gun simply replaces whatever other weapon they would have had instead, like a knife. Unless of course you live in a street where everyone has a multitude of easy to use, threatening, impersonal non-hand-to-hand, projectile deadly weaponry. Gun killings take a moment, bang and it's over. Threaten someone with a knife and it takes a lot more thought and determination to actually end up killing somebody.
Quote from Falcon140 :The parents fault completely. No need to have a loaded gun in the house, much less laying on a table near a child. Guns are fine when kept safely locked and unloaded. This is just horrible parenting.

This. 100% this.
Quote from SidiousX :I HIGHLY doubt that, she would get severe burns, and the pressure would definitely hurt her, but kill her, I don't think so.

You think a 3 year old being shot at point black (by definition, point blank is the range at which a blank bullet will kill), wont die?

blanks are still quite dangerous at close quarters, and when shooting yourself you'll find that very much constitutes close quarters.

Quote :
Originally Posted by Crashgate3
Huh.. Waving a gun to scare off a burglar, fair enough. Shooting at a Burglar who is attacking you, fair enough. Shooting a Burglar in the back who is climbing out of a window to escape from you is a different thing entirely. Regardless of the legitimacy of the person he shot, Tony Martin is still a murderer.

No he isnt. He was repeatedly burgled and harassed by the individuals in question.

I have a simple rule: If somebody enters my home whilst i'm in it and without permission, then they are prepared to cause injury or death to me. I dont care if they are in the middle of a tactical retreat to regroup before coming back, they're still fair game. I do not personally believe Tony Martin should have been convicted.

What if it was the lesser crime of a mugging and the guy started to run and I hit him, have I committed assault? I say I havn't. In fact, I say their wallet(s) are fair game.

This may in part be that we have different moral values, for me, I don't see why an aggressor needs protection from the law.
Quote from Becky Rose :
I have a simple rule: If somebody enters my home whilst i'm in it and without permission, then they are prepared to cause injury or death to me. I dont care if they are in the middle of a tactical retreat to regroup before coming back, they're still fair game. I do not personally believe Tony Martin should have been convicted.

+1

I Agree, It's your property, its their choice to take the risk.
Anyone even enters our house, there is probably a high change they will be leaving will their legs blown into pieces. [12 bore shotgun in bedroom for Clay Pigeon shooting ]

'The mother has told authorities the girl might have thought she was playing with a Nintendo Wii controller that resembled a gun.'

Would a child actually have enough strength to Pull a trigger of a gun and actually have a direct hit.. Recoil would of atleast taken the gun out of her hands.. But saying that who knows, Her mum or Step dad may of done it.
anyone enters my house they will get a golf club round the head and a steel toed boot in the balls.
Quote from Becky Rose :What if it was the lesser crime of a mugging and the guy started to run and I hit him, have I committed assault? I say I havn't. In fact, I say their wallet(s) are fair game.

If they started to run, then yes. As I've said, there's a difference between justice and revenge. Especially if you then decided to rob them. Why is them robbing you wrong, but you robbing them somehow ok?

Quote from Becky Rose :This may in part be that we have different moral values, for me

We certainly do - I seem to remember you saying in a post a few months ago that you'd hunt down and kill a person, Rambo III style, just for tailgating you.

Quote from Becky Rose :I don't see why an aggressor needs protection from the law.

Because otherwise there'd be no reason to have laws, courts or any kind of justice system, and a society where people can just decide to dispense whatever kind of vigilante justice happens to strike them at the time.
OK.... Whoever said its Nintendo's fault really needs to rethink what they just wrote, because that is quite frankly beyond stupid.

"Arent they supposed to make white controllers?!"

Jesus.. Really? I do not remember seeing, or hearing anywhere in the general news, or gaming websites, about Nintendo signing a deal or something where it said they have to make white hardware only.
Think what you are saying here. You are blaming a gaming company for using a different colour than they usually do! Doesnt that sound even a tiny bit silly?

Last time I checked it is up to the parent to protect their children. Or should Nintendo include a personal babysitter with its each product?

Anyways. That aside, I very doubt the kid killed itself.

Like many others said, the trigger does have resistance and does require strength to pull it and fire the gun. I doubt a three year old girl could of done it. Not only that, the gun itself weighs quite reasonably also.
Having said that, arent you supposed to point the gun at the screen?
I understand that she could have waved it around and all that, but thinking back to the weight of the gun, my mind struggles to imagine that she could of done it.

I am also sticking to murder. Unless three year old kids have got a lot stronger...
controller company should have made orange tip...end of story

guy should have let the wife have the gun right next to her so she knew where it was at all times, safety on, and unloaded.

three year old should not have had playing gun games, real or fake guns, maybe watched their parents play just by concidence, but thats a different arguement.

if we ban guns sure alot of violence will be avoided, but also alot of sports, and nature will go out of control....what about hunting, i have a few friends who are seriously into hunting (one who is completely full of himself and sterotypical to the max >.<) and if you take away guns then there will be serious revolt, protesting, and violence sprout from that. if another person managed to get their hands on a gun after all, then they would almost DEFINATELY go apeshit on everyone and cause tons of death and violence.

you make the call, it is no easy call to make, thats why the government has been debating it for many years, and has not come to any descision.

FGED GREDG RDFGDR GSFDG