[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Tsundoku, on 03 June 2022 - 08:43 AM, said:

Fuck me, you guys really don't get it do you? I swear there should be a test before people are allowed to breed or vote. And most especially, buy firearms.

https://www.news.com...68ce58a7fcdf8c8

New rule from Texas Governor sparks outrage as US reels from mass shootings
As the US continues to reel from the devastating Uvalde massacre, one announcement has revealed just how lost the nation has become.

Doors. Fucking doors.

"In a letter sent to the Texas Education Authority (TEA), the Republican leader directed the organisation to "provide strategies to make Texas public schools safer" in the wake of the attack.

Among the new measures were an order to instruct school districts to identify actions at the start of the school year to make campuses more secure, develop strategies to boost the numbers of trained law enforcement officers on campuses – and to conduct "weekly inspections of exterior doors" to prevent intruders.

"In the wake of this devastating crime, we must redouble our efforts to ensure that our schools provide a safe and secure environment for the children of Texas," Mr Abbott's letter reads.

"You should immediately prepare additional rules to ensure that existing school facilities are also held to heightened safety standards.

"We must do everything possible to protect children and safeguard our schools."

Everything possible? Not even remotely, you disgusting, lying, corrupt, hypocritical sack of shit. Fuck you. Do us all a favour and just die. Hopefully in a very compromising position so another GOP turd doesn't get in.

What is it going to take - McConnell's, LaPierre's and Abbott's grandkids all mown down? I most certainly hope not, but it would be interesting to see how fervent their resolve to defend their perverted view of the 2nd Amdt would be.

https://www.theshove...r-buying-doors/

America introduces strict new background checks for buying doors

Don't forget:

'Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered all public schools to conduct "unannounced, random intruder detection audits" [...] perform the random intruder inspections by having staffers "find weak points" and attempt to quickly enter school buildings without being caught.'

Texas Governor Orders Public Schools to Conduct "Random Intruder Detection Audits" (thedailybeast.com)

And don't worry, Trump will solve it all by putting them all in Arkham Asylum (for reeducation) unless (/ until) they swear he won the election....

The eventual solution in the United States, especially as climate change and the accelerating pace of future pandemics catch up with us more completely: the rich wearing the equivalent of bulletproof space suits (or climate-controlled full-body armor with air purification systems---little mechs maybe (still small enough to fit through doors)), almost everyone else suffering from multiple pandemics as wildfires, alternating floods and droughts, deadly heat waves, and poverty (workers getting few of the fruits of automation, and largely being no longer necessary) help drive rampant gun violence... all of which the rich view as accelerating the gradual extinction of the now no longer needed poor (at least those who are no longer useful for organs farms, experimental test subjects, etc.). Though I'm optimistic it won't get that bad... I would like one of those climate-controlled bulletproof space suits ASAP.

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 03 June 2022 - 03:42 PM

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Whoa:

'Rogue Cops Stormed Uvalde Classroom After Child Called 911 to Say Teacher Was Alive

The officers who eventually stormed a classroom [...] bringing the massacre to an end [...] went against the orders of school district police chief and onsite commander Pete Arredondo, and one could even hear a command in his earpiece not to breach as he moved towards the classroom.'

Rogue Cops Stormed Uvalde Classroom After Child Called 911 to Say Teacher Was Alive (thedailybeast.com)

How the Police Response in Uvalde Broke Down: No Radio, Old Tactics - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

That's insane (and not in any of the good ways... well, aside from humor darker than our dreams of black holes...).

[Gorefest]

At the very least it shows how completely moronic and unrealistic the concept of arming teachers etc is to reduce or prevent this type of gun violence. If even trained and fully armed officers are unwilling or unable to intervene, how can one ever claim that arming teachers will stop school shootings? The only solution is gun control in combination with improved mental health support and social control. Introducing more guns to fight gun crime is utterly moronic and downright evil. And people advocating for it should get their heads checked.

This post has been edited by Gorefest: 04 June 2022 - 10:56 AM

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Mass shooting I could have easily been at if not for my pandemic precautions. On a street with heavy police presence. Semiautomatic handguns only apparently (at least that were recovered from the scene), so my bulletproof hoodie might have protected me (and made me famous?)... but it's too hot out to wear that without a cooling vest underneath (in which case the bulletproof hoodie may be so conspicuous in the heat that it gets recognized for what it is, and I end up getting mugged for it... so plate in a backpack then).
Shooters ran when police fired, but no suspects have been arrested or identified yet (except that there were multiple shooters). They're going to review the surveillance camera footage....

'"I didn't think it was going to stop": 3 dead, 11 wounded

The shootings happened on legendary blocks that have long been among the region's most popular gathering places.

[...] numerous officers had already been detailed to patrol the busy entertainment hub [...] on this night the weather happened to be especially pleasant.

"You can imagine there were hundreds of individuals enjoying South Street[...] when this shooting broke out," [...]

Some, like Joe Smith, had come to attend a TLA concert by heavy metal [death metal] band Dying Fetus. And the shootings occurred just a few blocks from the city's Gayborhood, where outdoor bars and restaurants were packed with revelers on the eve of the 50th Philadelphia first Gay Pride Day parade.
"There was guttural screaming," he said. "I just heard screams."



[...] "People were coming off the street with blood splatters on white sneakers and skinned knees and skinned elbows," [...] "We literally just were balling up napkins and wetting them and handing them to people."

[...] a trail of what appears to be blood snaking along the sidewalk in front of a Rita's Water Ice.



The mayhem appeared to stretch for several blocks, where smashed car windows and knocked-over trash cans were evident.'

Philadelphia mass shooting on South Street leaves 3 dead, 11 wounded (inquirer.com)

'[...] motive is not known.

An officer fired at one of the shooters, who was still firing a gun into the crowd[...] The shooter dropped the weapon, which [...] had an extended magazine.

While a person believed to be a suspect was shot in the forearm, it was not clear if that person was shot by the officer.'


South Street Philadelphia mass shooting: What we know and what we don't know (inquirer.com)

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 05 June 2022 - 01:58 PM

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

'A Philadelphia firefighter washes blood off the sidewalk'

Scenes from the aftermath of the mass shooting on South Street (inquirer.com)

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Apparently this is what precipitated the mass shooting in Philadelphia:

'two men appear exchange words with a third man in front of Rita’s Water Ice [...] The two men then slowly descend on the third — one them drawing what appears to be a handgun as they advance. A fistfight ensues.

People standing nearby begin to panic when they observe the drawn handgun. “They about to shoot!” a woman said.

The men trade blows and wrestle with each other for less than 15 seconds, moving into the middle of South Street, when a volley of gunshots rings out, at which point the video cuts away.

[...] More than two dozen gunshots ring out in quick succession.

A trail of blood snaked along the sidewalk outside Rita’s after the shooting.'

Philadelphia shooting on South Street: 3 dead, 11 wounded (inquirer.com)

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

'at least five guns were fired in the incident [...]

Nearly all victims were bystanders[...]

Two out of three people who died [...] were innocent bystanders who had no involvement with the initial altercation[...]

Of the 11 surviving victims, police say one was related the shooting incident, who is currently in critical condition. The other 10 victims were bystanders.

[...] No one has been taken into custody' despite video from multiple angles....

Philadelphia shooting on South Street: 3 dead, 11 wounded (inquirer.com)

So: fairly typical Killadelphia, but this time in a crowded tourist area....

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

'"non-lethal drones capable of incapacitating an active shooter in less than 60 seconds" [...] which would be stationed inside of schools. At the push of a panic button, a trained human pilot at a control center elsewhere in the country would launch a drone. With the help of a network of security cameras, they would try to target the drone's onboard Taser probes into the shooter's flesh, in the hope of keeping them down until police could arrive on the scene.

Smith's curious proposal met near-instantaneous backlash. Axon's A.I. ethics board voiced public opposition to the move, claiming in a statement tweeted out by Axon's official account that the company had decided to announce the Taser-drones-in-schools proposal without consulting the board in advance. [...] By Sunday, Smith had announced that the company was "pausing work" on the project and would be "refocusing to further engage with key constituencies."'


Silly robophobes... guess they'd rather let children be shot to death than confront their fundamentally irrational fear of not-even-killer robots.


'[...] represent his dreams of a world where nobody ever gets killed. [...]

Smith is a loud proponent of using nonlethal technological solutions to counter threats to police, to schools, to governments. He outlines these views in detail in his 2019 self-published graphic novel, The End of Killing, which combines his philosophical take on the matter with two hypothetical scenarios in which Taser drones feature. According to the graphic novel, "killing is a technology problem," and Axon-made devices like Tasers and Tasers that fit on drones are the solution.

In one graphic novel scenario, an improbably buff workplace shooter is (literally) shocked into submission by a miniature Taser drone that emerges from a smoke detector–like nest on the ceiling. In a second and even more fanciful scenario, set in Syria in 2045, an ISIS-like masked man with a scimitar is prevented from executing an innocent man by a fleet of small Taser-equipped drones, which U.S. intelligence services had tasked with watching the area. After a human approves the action, the drone tases the swordsman into submission. Then a "human transport drone" equipped with a large grabbing arm scoops him up and flies away with him. At the detention facility where he's deposited, he's fitted with a mind-scanning helmet that literally reads his memories [horror of horrors! sounds much worse than Gitmo!], looking for incriminating information. [...]

[...] From Smith's point of view, Taser drones, robotic grabber-arms, and Clockwork Orange–esque mind-reading helmets beat the alternatives of waterboarding and shooting people.

While Axon has pitched the Taser drone as a solution for stopping school shootings, it seems apparent that such a system wouldn't only be used for cases with a suspected mass shooter.'


Not necessarily; it could be designed to only work to stop a shooter who has clearly brandished a weapon, and with human approval. (Obviously having AI try to recognize when someone is pulling a gun would have issues with false positives, though it should eventually be feasible.) Remote pilot would not have to be affiliated with the school.


'he reiterated that the drones would be flown by professional pilots in 24-hour command centers (which sound quite similar to the ground control centers used by U.S. military drones) who would only spring into action when alerted by an app controlled by people in a school. Smith believes this would create "100 percent accountability" with clear records of who did what and why. Since the drone pilots wouldn't physically be in danger, or even be in the room, they'd be able to make calmer decisions about the use of force than would armed police on the scene.

[...] A classroom Taser drone connected to a network of school cameras would be an immensely attractive target for hackers. While Smith says the system would use "focused centralized gating functions" to protect itself, he claims that these results would be less deadly than if respondents used guns, amounting more to "mischief" than to tragedy. (It is worth noting here that [a tiny fraction of] people do die after being hit with Tasers'

[...] while the shooters in the graphic novel all happen to have conveniently exposed patches of skin for the Taser probes to hook into, Smith admits that in the real world, "clothing penetration is historically our biggest nemesis," only working about 70 to 80 percent of the time. The remote human pilot of the hypothetical Taser drone might use an A.I. tool to better target the probes'


The 'exposed skin' issue is probably the biggest real problem with the proposal. Need to be able to defend against ninjas....


'Since drones can't go through walls, and since it would be terrifically expensive to install a Taser drone in every lockable room, Smith imagines school buildings that might include "small portals, effectively a slot in the wall or on top of the door."

[...] "Our minds are running endlessly on dystopian sci-fi, but there's nothing more dystopian than the real world,"'


... especially when so-called 'Western civilization' has been cultivating so many robophobes (and techno-utopiaphobes) with alarmist (and overly simplistic) anti-science fiction.

Axon's proposal to build a Taser-equipped drone system to shop mass shooters. (slate.com)

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

This is what I was afraid of:

'New York's Body Armor Ban May Be Stupidest Gun Legislation Yet

[...] ban the acquisition of body armor by anybody outside of a few favored, government-controlled professions. These protective devices, incapable of offensive use unless thrown especially hard, are now unavailable for legal purchase by New Yorkers seeking even the most passive means of defending themselves and their loved ones.

[...] Now New York government officials think they're going to deprive people of items that can't be used to hurt anybody, but which may protect their wearers against criminals and, yes, against cops good and bad. They want to prevent the public from purchasing protection even as stories continue to appear about the unwillingness and inability of police to act in Uvalde, Texas, and in many violent incidents before. Rather than rely on law enforcement, people take responsibility for their own safety by purchasing firearms and, unsurprisingly, body armor. Parents are eagerly buying protection for their kids.

"Parents are doing anything to keep their kids safe on the heels of another school mass shooting -- and that means an all-new run on bulletproof backpacks," [...]

[...] he wants to make it more difficult for people to avoid being shot, on the assumption that it will be good ["guys"] doing the shooting. [...]

[...] Note that there's absolutely nothing stopping New Yorkers from driving to Pennsylvania (or Connecticut, for that matter) and purchasing body armor. [...]

"In response to the recent high-profile mass shootings, lots of legislators are hinting about restricting the sale of body armor to private citizens,"'

New York's Body Armor Ban May Be Stupidest Gun Legislation Yet

... politicians can't ban guns but they can ban body armor, and they want to seem like they're doing something....

Wonder if this legislation also bans bulletproof shields. Problem with them is they make you too much of a target, unless (perhaps) hidden in something else....

Apparently you can still legally transport body armor you already own into New York (provided you don't transfer it to anyone else), and it's relatively easy to travel to nearby states, so it's particularly toothless padding.

What colossal stupidity: '"I don't know anybody who wears body armor unless they're in law enforcement or security, so there's been a proliferation of sales, but I've never met anybody who walks around with body armor on," [Sen. Sean "Dumbfuck"] Ryan said.

[...] "I spoke to a group of doctors that actually show up in situations in questionable neighborhoods that want body armor for them to purchase," Borrello said. "What about the taxi driver? What about a guy that works at a convenience store overnight?" [Or lives in Philadelphia? Or Baltimore? Etc.]'

Bulletproof Vest Ban For Civilians Goes Into Effect In July

[Macros]

Fuck you America is basically what your senators are saying.

But hey, the primarys are coming up soon so make sure to vote the wankers back in!

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

Lo and behold:

'Bipartisan group of senators announce agreement on gun control

[...] includes the support of 10 Republican senators, which would give the proposal enough support to overcome the Senate filibuster. The agreement is significant given how divided lawmakers have been over the gun issue, but the actual legislative text is not yet written.

[...] enhanced review process for buyers under the age of 21 and penalties for straw purchasing.

Critically, the legislation includes a so-called red flag provision, with the government providing "resources to states and tribes to create and administer laws that help ensure deadly weapons are kept out of the hands of individuals whom a court has determined to be a significant danger to themselves or others," according to the release. The proposal would also include "major investments to increase access to mental health and suicide prevention programs; and other support services available in the community, including crisis and trauma intervention and recovery."

Additionally, the legislation would provide resources "to expand mental health and supportive services in schools, including: early identification and intervention programs and school based mental health and wrap-around services."

[...] "With bipartisan support, there are no excuses for delay, and no reason why it should not quickly move through the Senate and the House."'

https://www.cnn.com/...ment/index.html

Of course there's still time for...




(Someone needs to photoshop McConnell's grinning face on hers---preferably animated (as a demonic tortoise...))

[Gwynn ap Nudd]

It's mostly the absolute bare minimum anyway. No Federal red flag law, instead the Federal government will encourage states to institute red flag laws. No universal background checks, instead gun buyers under 21 will have juvenile records checked.

"Other provisions would prevent gun sales to domestic violence offenders other than spouses, closing what is often called the “boyfriend loophole”

That could actually be a big deal, but how was it even a thing in the first place?

This post has been edited by Gwynn ap Nudd: 12 June 2022 - 11:01 PM

[Gwynn ap Nudd]

Does anyone understand the Republican reluctance against completely closing the domestic violence/violence against women loophole? Their stance is basically "if you beat a woman after going on six dates you can't buy a gun in the future, but if you beat her on the first date you can".

[amphibian]

Gwynn ap Nudd, on 18 June 2022 - 07:18 AM, said:

Does anyone understand the Republican reluctance against completely closing the domestic violence/violence against women loophole? Their stance is basically "if you beat a woman after going on six dates you can't buy a gun in the future, but if you beat her on the first date you can".

The evangelical view of women is largely one of binding the women heavily to church over all other communities and holding tight control over career, reproduction, physical + mental autonomy, and to a large degree, the willingness to tolerate violence towards women. As a result, things that weaken the control of it, even if they're the right thing to do, are somewhat pushed back against or outright called evil and family breaking.

That's why the anti trans, the almost willingness to encourage domestic violence, the de-funding and demolition of social safety things like shelters, access to healthcare, and the weakening of government institutions in favor of church and big business driven replacements.

All of these things that mostly involve a person or people being able to take care of themselves as they wish outside of a family unit or become who they want to be in full are dangerous to the model the evangelical right wants to impose across the country.

It's utter bullshit, but somehow so many people are actively doing it to themselves and other people because the escape valve of "having money and being able to circumvent rules" is so powerfully attractive to them - even if they don't have money.

This post has been edited by amphibian: 18 June 2022 - 01:15 PM

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

'Cops Never Even Tried to Open Classroom Door in Uvalde Massacre[...]

[...] A law enforcement source [...] said surveillance footage revealed no attempts by officers to open the door during the entire 77-minute siege [...] Nineteen children and two teachers were killed during that time. [...] police claimed part of the reason they took so long to confront the shooter was because officers [...] needed to wait for a key. But [...] the gunman[...] could not have locked the classroom door from the inside, and investigators believe it may have been open the whole time. [...] a forcible entry tool called a halligan bar was available to officers throughout the siege, which would have allowed them to open even a locked door. The police response to the deadly attack is currently under investigation by the Texas Rangers and the FBI.'

Cops Never Even Tried to Open Classroom Door in Uvalde Massacre, Report Says

[Malankazooie]

It gets worse.

First interior image released in Uvalde school shooting shows officers with more firepower than previously believed

If you're in a good mood I suggest you don't read or watch the embedded video.

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

'She Was Her Friends' Designated Driver. A Bullet Fired Into a Philadelphia Bar Killed Her.

[...] Jailene Holton, 21, had reluctantly gone out with friends for a reunion [...] began their evening at a local Topgolf before heading to Philly Bar & Restaurant, where a sign over the door reads: "LIFE, LIBERTY, BEER." [...]

[...] three patrons arrived hoping to play on the pool table, only to find it occupied, according to the report. One of the men in the group flew into a rage about not being able to play, leading to a bouncer kicking all of them out of the bar. At just after 11:30 p.m., one of the men opened fire at the venue from around 200 feet away[...]

[...] One of those bullets struck Jailene—who is thought to have been all the way at the back of the bar when she was hit. [...]

"And the hardest part is she never goes out," her mother [said ...] "[...] How many children in the city are going to die? I mean, don't you get tired of hearing it every day?" [...]

[...] just one of hundreds of people killed in Philadelphia so far this year.'

Jailene Holton, 21-Year-Old Designated Driver, Killed by Bullet Fired Into Philadelphia Bar, Police Say (thedailybeast.com)

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 29 June 2022 - 11:05 PM

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

'The Myth of the "Good Guy With a Gun" Has Religious Roots

The AR-15-style rifle used in the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, last month was made by an arms manufacturer that regards selling weapons as part of its Christian mission. In a state where Gov. Greg Abbott declared[...] "The problem is not guns; it's hearts without God," the gun's provenance challenged pious suggestions that declining religiosity might bear some of the blame.

[...] Its weapons have now been found at the scenes of two mass shootings — Uvalde and Las Vegas — that left a total of 81 people dead.

[...] evangelicals have a higher rate of gun ownership than other religious groups. Across the country, they account for a significant share not only of the demand but of the supply.

[...] For many American Christians, Jesus, guns and the Constitution are stitched together as durably as a Kevlar vest.

"We are in business, we believe, to be a supporter of the Gospel," Daniel Defense's founder [...] told Breitbart News [...]

"And, therefore, a supporter of the Second Amendment."

Entwining faith and firearms this way has a long history. It encompasses the so-called muscular Christianity movement that began in England in the 19th century with a focus on physical fitness as a path to spiritual strength and that in America made exemplars of pastors roaming the frontier armed with Bibles and six-shooters. [...]

[...] It's important to understand that for the manufacturer of the Uvalde killer's rifle, and many others in the business, selling weapons is at once a patriotic and a religious act. For those who hold them to be sacred in this way, the meaning of firearms proceeds from their place at the intersection of American and Christian identities. Proposing limits on what kinds of guns they should be able to buy — or how, when, where and why they can carry them — is akin to proposing limits on who they are and what they should revere.

[...] despite being debunked by data showing that firearms are more likely to injure their owners or their owners' families than safeguard them, the protection offered by good guys with guns has emerged as an article of faith, supported with anecdotal evidence passed around like legends of the saints.

One of the most repeated of these tales recounts the story of a man who truly did halt a mass shooting, albeit only after 26 people were dead. [...] former firearms instructor [...] shot him with his AR-15. [...]

[...] "I responded for what God told me to do. The Holy Spirit took care of me. … Each one of you would have done the same thing." [...] "What happened in Sutherland Springs was all him and it's his glory."

[...] a religious vision of a world in which good and evil are at war, where God and firepower make all the difference.

[...] Representative Lauren Boebert [: ...] "A lot of the little Twitter trolls, they like to say 'Oh, Jesus didn't need an AR-15. How many AR-15s do you think Jesus would have had?' Well, he didn't have enough to keep his government from killing him,"

Opinion | The Myth of the 'Good Guy With a Gun' Has Religious Roots - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

The Cross-hairs of life and afterlifelessness....

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 02 July 2022 - 05:26 PM

[Macros]

Three cops shot dead trying to serve a warrant.

Take your good guys with guns arguments and shove them so far up your ass you die

[Gorefest]

The effing evangelicals again, no surprise. It is the US version of IS, just with better PR. Dangerous nutcases, the lot of them.