Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
sarisataka
sarisataka's Journal
sarisataka's Journal
November 5, 2015
Mother shot in home invasion fired back, husband says
Mother shot in home invasion fired back, husband says
A community is rallying around a young mother who was shot inside her home in east Charlotte.
Semantha Bunce, 21, remains at Carolinas Medical Center with serious injuries caused by at least two gunshot wounds.
Bunce was shot by intruders who kicked in the front door to her home on Matlea Court Tuesday morning, police said. Those responsible remain on the loose.
On Wednesday, family members shared pictures of the mother and her family, including the couple’s 4-month-old son.
http://m.wsoctv.com/news/news/local/mother-shot-home-invasion-fired-back-family-says/npGTN/
A community is rallying around a young mother who was shot inside her home in east Charlotte.
Semantha Bunce, 21, remains at Carolinas Medical Center with serious injuries caused by at least two gunshot wounds.
Bunce was shot by intruders who kicked in the front door to her home on Matlea Court Tuesday morning, police said. Those responsible remain on the loose.
On Wednesday, family members shared pictures of the mother and her family, including the couple’s 4-month-old son.
November 4, 2015
Student-suspect fatally shot after stabbing 4 at UC Merced
Source: CNN
A male student at University of California, Merced, stabbed four people on campus as classes began Wednesday morning and was later fatally shot by campus police, a school spokesman said.
Two of those stabbed were transported for treatment via helicopter, the school said on Twitter, while the two others were treated on campus.
"All conscious," the university tweeted about the victims.
No details were immediately available on what relationship, if any, existed between the assailant and the victims, said James Leonard, a school spokesman.
Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/04/us/university-california-merced-stabbings/index.html
November 4, 2015
It would fix so many problems. Unfortunately before the US goes this route the snowmobile dealer will be a millionaire here
Ireland Is Showing the Rest of the World How to End the War on Drugs
Ireland Is Showing the Rest of the World How to End the War on Drugs
As the United States rethinks how to penalize citizens for drug possession, Ireland is now considering doing away with serious penalties for possessing drugs altogether.
According to Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, the minister in charge of Ireland's National Drugs Strategy, the country is in need of a "radical cultural shift" that includes decriminalizing small amounts of cocaine, heroin and marijuana for personal use, the Irish Times reports.
"I am firmly of the view that there needs to be a cultural shift in how we regard substance misuse if we are to break this cycle and make a serious attempt to tackle drug and alcohol addiction," Ó Ríordáin said on Monday, according to the Irish Times.
The minister also announced plans for establishing supervised injecting centers, which would open first in the capital, Dublin, before beginning in other cities across the country. The centers will give at-risk drug users a safer and more hygienic place to consume drugs, with the ultimate goal of reducing use.
http://news.yahoo.com/ireland-showing-rest-world-end-002513423.html
As the United States rethinks how to penalize citizens for drug possession, Ireland is now considering doing away with serious penalties for possessing drugs altogether.
According to Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, the minister in charge of Ireland's National Drugs Strategy, the country is in need of a "radical cultural shift" that includes decriminalizing small amounts of cocaine, heroin and marijuana for personal use, the Irish Times reports.
"I am firmly of the view that there needs to be a cultural shift in how we regard substance misuse if we are to break this cycle and make a serious attempt to tackle drug and alcohol addiction," Ó Ríordáin said on Monday, according to the Irish Times.
The minister also announced plans for establishing supervised injecting centers, which would open first in the capital, Dublin, before beginning in other cities across the country. The centers will give at-risk drug users a safer and more hygienic place to consume drugs, with the ultimate goal of reducing use.
It would fix so many problems. Unfortunately before the US goes this route the snowmobile dealer will be a millionaire here
November 3, 2015
Rude toter, the three men were just offering to help the lady carry her purse
SAPD: Man defends girlfriend; shoots robbery suspects
SAPD: Man defends girlfriend; shoots robbery suspects
SAN ANTONIO -- Two men who pretended to be robbery victims were shot just before midnight Sunday on the city’s far west side.
Police said the men weren’t victims, but rather suspects from a robbery nearby.
According to investigators, a woman was collecting her purse from an apartment complex in the 3700 block of Wurzbach when three suspects tried to rob her.
But the woman's boyfriend stepped to her defense after she alerted him of the crime. Officers say he grabbed a handgun and ran after the suspects. One of the robbers turned around to confront him. SAPD says the boyfriend opened fire. He shot one suspect in the shoulder. The other man was shot in the leg.
http://www.kens5.com/story/news/crime/2015/11/02/sapd-man-defends-girlfriend-shoots-robbery-suspects/75031034/
SAN ANTONIO -- Two men who pretended to be robbery victims were shot just before midnight Sunday on the city’s far west side.
Police said the men weren’t victims, but rather suspects from a robbery nearby.
According to investigators, a woman was collecting her purse from an apartment complex in the 3700 block of Wurzbach when three suspects tried to rob her.
But the woman's boyfriend stepped to her defense after she alerted him of the crime. Officers say he grabbed a handgun and ran after the suspects. One of the robbers turned around to confront him. SAPD says the boyfriend opened fire. He shot one suspect in the shoulder. The other man was shot in the leg.
Rude toter, the three men were just offering to help the lady carry her purse
November 1, 2015
I still remember the reporting of this- the night The Wall fell.
Guenter Schabowski dies
Bureaucrat whose blunder brought Berlin Wall down dead at 86
Berlin (AFP) - Former East German bureaucrat Guenter Schabowski, who died Sunday aged 86, went down in history for a slip of the tongue in 1989 that inadvertently brought down the Berlin Wall.
The former spokesman of the Politburo central committee of East Germany's ruling communist party died in the reunified capital, his widow Irina told news agency DPA.
After months of mass protests against regime and East Germans fleeing in their droves via Czechoslovakia and Hungary, the Politburo asked the government in 1989 to prepare a law loosening restrictions on travel outside the country.
It was at the end of an evening press conference on November 9 when Schabowski pulled a sheet of paper from his pocket and read out a decree stating that visas would be freely granted to those wanting to travel outside or leave the Stalinist state.
http://news.yahoo.com/bureaucrat-brought-berlin-wall-down-dead-86-152556905.html
Berlin (AFP) - Former East German bureaucrat Guenter Schabowski, who died Sunday aged 86, went down in history for a slip of the tongue in 1989 that inadvertently brought down the Berlin Wall.
The former spokesman of the Politburo central committee of East Germany's ruling communist party died in the reunified capital, his widow Irina told news agency DPA.
After months of mass protests against regime and East Germans fleeing in their droves via Czechoslovakia and Hungary, the Politburo asked the government in 1989 to prepare a law loosening restrictions on travel outside the country.
It was at the end of an evening press conference on November 9 when Schabowski pulled a sheet of paper from his pocket and read out a decree stating that visas would be freely granted to those wanting to travel outside or leave the Stalinist state.
I still remember the reporting of this- the night The Wall fell.
November 1, 2015
http://www.wfmz.com/news/news-regional-berks/Market-employees-shoot-and-kill-masked-robbers-in-Reading/36188568
Of course the question is who are the victims here...
Market employees shoot and kill masked robbers in Reading
Market employees shoot and kill masked robbers in Reading
READING, Pa. - Police are investigating a late night robbery and double shooting at the Latino's Meat Market in Reading.
According to Reading police, officers were dispatched to the market - located at 11th and Greenwich streets - shortly before 11 p.m. Saturday for the report of a shooting.
When police arrived on scene, they found two males suffering from gunshot wounds. Police say one male died at the scene and the other male died a short time later at Reading Hospital.
Reading police say it looks as though three masked males entered the market. One male was armed with a pistol, which he fired inside the market, and another male could be seen pointing a stun gun at one of the employees. Police do not know if the third male was armed.
READING, Pa. - Police are investigating a late night robbery and double shooting at the Latino's Meat Market in Reading.
According to Reading police, officers were dispatched to the market - located at 11th and Greenwich streets - shortly before 11 p.m. Saturday for the report of a shooting.
When police arrived on scene, they found two males suffering from gunshot wounds. Police say one male died at the scene and the other male died a short time later at Reading Hospital.
Reading police say it looks as though three masked males entered the market. One male was armed with a pistol, which he fired inside the market, and another male could be seen pointing a stun gun at one of the employees. Police do not know if the third male was armed.
http://www.wfmz.com/news/news-regional-berks/Market-employees-shoot-and-kill-masked-robbers-in-Reading/36188568
Of course the question is who are the victims here...
October 27, 2015
Normally I would not use a VPC report to pick up after my dogs, but since excerpts have been receiving attention I decided to read the report. Specifically the statement that "Guns are rarely used to kill criminals or stop crimes" reasoning that only 259 justifiable homicides vs. 8432 criminal homicides with firearms in 2012.
Yet the title also says "Non-Fatal Self-Defense Gun Use"; I wondered what the report had to say about that...
Unsurprisingly they found a number far lower than the 2.5 million high end claim. But the total dismissed as "only", 338,700, equates to 67,740 DGUs per year.
It should also be noted that the NCVS number is viewed as an absolute minimum and in the report Priorities for Research to Reduce the Threat of Firearms-Related Violence said of the NCVS "difficult to interpret because respondents were not asked specifically about defensive gun use" {p. 15}
Comparing this to
or an average of 8,484 criminal homicides per year.
Two conclusions are quickly drawn from comparing VPC numbers.
1. The murderous vigilante meme is fantasy. The number of justifiable homicides is very low in any given year and roughly .327% of DGUs result in fatalities.
2. Guns are often used defensively; 7.98 times more often than used to commit criminal homicide.
Perhaps the statement should be "Guns are rarely used to kill criminals but stop crimes 8 times more often than they are used to murder".
VPC-Firearm Justifiable Homicides and Non-Fatal Self-Defense Gun Use
http://www.vpc.org/studies/justifiable15.pdfNormally I would not use a VPC report to pick up after my dogs, but since excerpts have been receiving attention I decided to read the report. Specifically the statement that "Guns are rarely used to kill criminals or stop crimes" reasoning that only 259 justifiable homicides vs. 8432 criminal homicides with firearms in 2012.
Yet the title also says "Non-Fatal Self-Defense Gun Use"; I wondered what the report had to say about that...
COMPARING NCVS DATA TO CLAIMS THAT GUNS ARE USED IN SELF-DEFENSE 2.5 MILLION TIMES A YEAR
Using the NCVS numbers, for the five-year period 2007 through 2011, the total number of self protective behaviors involving a firearm by victims of attempted or completed violent crimes or property crimes totaled only 338,700. In comparison, the gun lobby claims that during the same five-year period guns were used 12.5 million times in self defense (applying to the five-year period the gun lobby’s oft repeated claim, noted earlier, that firearms are used in self defense 2.5 million times a year). {p.7}
Using the NCVS numbers, for the five-year period 2007 through 2011, the total number of self protective behaviors involving a firearm by victims of attempted or completed violent crimes or property crimes totaled only 338,700. In comparison, the gun lobby claims that during the same five-year period guns were used 12.5 million times in self defense (applying to the five-year period the gun lobby’s oft repeated claim, noted earlier, that firearms are used in self defense 2.5 million times a year). {p.7}
Unsurprisingly they found a number far lower than the 2.5 million high end claim. But the total dismissed as "only", 338,700, equates to 67,740 DGUs per year.
It should also be noted that the NCVS number is viewed as an absolute minimum and in the report Priorities for Research to Reduce the Threat of Firearms-Related Violence said of the NCVS "difficult to interpret because respondents were not asked specifically about defensive gun use" {p. 15}
Comparing this to
TABLE TWO: CIRCUMSTANCES FOR HOMICIDES BY FIREARM, 2008-2012 {p. 10}
Criminal Homicide 42,419
Justifiable Homicide 1,108
or an average of 8,484 criminal homicides per year.
Two conclusions are quickly drawn from comparing VPC numbers.
1. The murderous vigilante meme is fantasy. The number of justifiable homicides is very low in any given year and roughly .327% of DGUs result in fatalities.
2. Guns are often used defensively; 7.98 times more often than used to commit criminal homicide.
Perhaps the statement should be "Guns are rarely used to kill criminals but stop crimes 8 times more often than they are used to murder".
October 26, 2015
Where all those guns have been going...
Neighbor speaks, man arrested after 7,000+ stolen guns found near Pageland
HESTERFIELD COUNTY, SC (WBTV) -
Deputies estimate that they've seized between 7,000 and 10,000 stolen guns from a house and warehouse near Pageland. Brent Nicholson was arrested in connection to the stolen goods.
Chesterfield County Sheriff Jay Brooks says the seized guns, ammunition, and hundreds of other items were all found on a single property off of Highway 9 outside of Pageland city limits.
Brooks says the guns and ammunition filled multiple tractor trailers.
Nicholson was arrested and charged with trafficking opium and heroin, earlier in the week in Union County. Deputies reportedly went to serve him with a subpoena Friday and noticed what appeared to be stolen goods in his front yard.
http://www.wbtv.com/story/30340511/deputies-7000-stolen-guns-seized-near-pageland
HESTERFIELD COUNTY, SC (WBTV) -
Deputies estimate that they've seized between 7,000 and 10,000 stolen guns from a house and warehouse near Pageland. Brent Nicholson was arrested in connection to the stolen goods.
Chesterfield County Sheriff Jay Brooks says the seized guns, ammunition, and hundreds of other items were all found on a single property off of Highway 9 outside of Pageland city limits.
Brooks says the guns and ammunition filled multiple tractor trailers.
Nicholson was arrested and charged with trafficking opium and heroin, earlier in the week in Union County. Deputies reportedly went to serve him with a subpoena Friday and noticed what appeared to be stolen goods in his front yard.
October 22, 2015
Wonder how this will play out. Getting the police to prove it works (as was suggested here) but it would require removing a gun control law that actually obstructs developing smartgun technology...
Renewed push for smart guns could trigger a new furor over the technology
Renewed push for smart guns could trigger a new furor over the technology
After vehement protests helped block the nation’s first smart gun from entering the marketplace, proponents of the technology are gearing up for another fight, intent on capitalizing on renewed interest in gun safety following a spate of high-profile shootings.
Ernst Mauch, the renowned German firearms engineer who designed the gun but left its manufacturer, is in the United States this week exploring starting a company to build another smart gun, perhaps with one of his previous competitors.
Mauch wants to persuade police groups to back the technology, which lets only authorized users fire guns, hoping that will assure Second Amendment advocates and consumers that smart guns should be embraced, not rejected. The head of the International Association of Chiefs of Police said this week that agencies are eager to test and perhaps adopt smart guns.
Meanwhile, lawmakers in New Jersey are considering doing away with a controversial law mandating that all firearms sold in the state be smart guns if one were sold anywhere in the United States. Gun industry groups, particularly the National Rifle Association, fiercely oppose the law. An announcement about the mandate is expected Monday.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/renewed-push-for-smart-guns-could-trigger-a-new-furor-over-the-technology/2015/10/21/156451a4-7813-11e5-a958-d889faf561dc_story.html
After vehement protests helped block the nation’s first smart gun from entering the marketplace, proponents of the technology are gearing up for another fight, intent on capitalizing on renewed interest in gun safety following a spate of high-profile shootings.
Ernst Mauch, the renowned German firearms engineer who designed the gun but left its manufacturer, is in the United States this week exploring starting a company to build another smart gun, perhaps with one of his previous competitors.
Mauch wants to persuade police groups to back the technology, which lets only authorized users fire guns, hoping that will assure Second Amendment advocates and consumers that smart guns should be embraced, not rejected. The head of the International Association of Chiefs of Police said this week that agencies are eager to test and perhaps adopt smart guns.
Meanwhile, lawmakers in New Jersey are considering doing away with a controversial law mandating that all firearms sold in the state be smart guns if one were sold anywhere in the United States. Gun industry groups, particularly the National Rifle Association, fiercely oppose the law. An announcement about the mandate is expected Monday.
Wonder how this will play out. Getting the police to prove it works (as was suggested here) but it would require removing a gun control law that actually obstructs developing smartgun technology...
October 21, 2015
Heads up Cheddarheads...
er, friends across the river 
Welcome to the Wholly Owned Koch Subsidiary Formerly Known as Wisconsin
Starting today, three bills are being rammed through the Wisconsin legislature that will put the final nails in the coffin of our state's long history of clean elections and accountable governance.
The same group of GOP leaders who attempted to gut the state's open records law over the 4th of July weekend are now calling for secrecy in campaign spending and for dismantling the two major avenues for investigating political corruption.
What could go wrong?
Stung by the campaign finance probe into a "John Doe" criminal investigation into potentially illegal coordination between Governor Scott Walker and independent secret money groups, the Koch-ALEC cabal is on the warpath.
They want to dismantle the last remnants of the post-Watergate campaign finance system which placed limits on campaign donations and required transparency for donors, large and small.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mary-bottari/welcome-to-the-wholly-own_b_8330828.html?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000592
Starting today, three bills are being rammed through the Wisconsin legislature that will put the final nails in the coffin of our state's long history of clean elections and accountable governance.
The same group of GOP leaders who attempted to gut the state's open records law over the 4th of July weekend are now calling for secrecy in campaign spending and for dismantling the two major avenues for investigating political corruption.
What could go wrong?
Stung by the campaign finance probe into a "John Doe" criminal investigation into potentially illegal coordination between Governor Scott Walker and independent secret money groups, the Koch-ALEC cabal is on the warpath.
They want to dismantle the last remnants of the post-Watergate campaign finance system which placed limits on campaign donations and required transparency for donors, large and small.
Profile Information
Gender: MaleHometown: St Paul MN
Home country: USA
Current location: Here
Member since: Wed Mar 21, 2012, 10:41 PM
Number of posts: 18,784
