In the News

What did we think of the Oscars? I was so happy when Rango won!And the Muppets won best song :')

[Janina]

It was a bit boring... but I haven't seen any of the movies yet, so I guess that was the main reason. A lot of things seemed to be a bit old fashioned, but it was better than last year. James Franco was so horrible back then.

When I haven't watched the nominated movies I am most interested in the minor categories (like short films and special effects), because I like to see people win who have never been to Hollywood before. Most of the whole show is scripted and they always are in a hurry, so it's nice to have some true emotions in between. And I liked the old guy (sorry, can't remember his name), who won the award for best supporting actor. Though he only might have won because of his age . And the best supporting actress was really cute as well.

[ADePALMA1251]

Though I've only seen The Tree of Life, I am glad The Artist won best picture. Oh and if this is a "In the News" topic, I might as well say it. "Ron Paul 2012"...

I heard they referenced The Princess Bride a lot. Could anyone fill me in on that?

Ummm... No.Sorry

[Janina]

[Janina]

This shooting in Denver... sick, so many are dead because of one crazy bastard . Imagine sitting at the cinema watching a movie and suddenly somebody starts to shoot. It's like the perfect trap.

[Caribou]

"FBI spokesman Jason Pack said there was no indication so far of any connection to terrorism."

Jesus, they're doing it wrong already. This is exactly the same as terrorism. All that statement really means is that the guy wasn't a Muslim, hoorah, this country does need guns after all in case THE REAL THREAT ever happens. Urghhhhhh.

[Till]

why does every time theres a stupid guy shooting around they think it were the muslims... yeh, 9/11 and stuff, i know... but seriously.

but this is just sad... I heard an interview on broadcasting... some young guys who lost two friends.... it was terrible to liste to.

[Caribou]

No one in any position of authority ever thought this attack had anything to do with Muslims. They just like to mention the possibity of a link, because an enemy with an unknown brown face is so much easier to identify against than some clever handsome white guy with no immediately identifiable motive. I mean, Muslims blow themselves up every five minutes, right? But when a white guy does it, it must just be some sort of unexplainable administrative blip, right? So fear not, as long as there's no connection to Terrorism then everone can breathe a sigh of relief and keep them trigger fingers itchy for the second one of them darned terrorists shows up on the scene.

Damn, I wish I wasn't this cynical. But hell, both Obama and Romney have to try to get themselves elected before long. Must be all sorts of uncomfortable having to gloss over this issue again so close to election time.

[Janina]

So true. And not just the muslims... when I read the news and especially the comments I feel like a lot of people react really strange. They demand taking responsibility from the creators of the movie. It seems like it is cared more about the fact that it is the Dark Knight Rises than the victims.
Those people were not killed by or because of a movie... it was a crazy guy with weapons he should not be allowed to have. How many more have to die before enough people understand that it is that simple?

[ADePALMA1251]

[Caribou]

[Caribou]

Ah, right. No need to worry about the rampant availability of guns then, or the pressure-cooker political issues, or that next time it might be in a different sort of public space from a movie theatre. Good to know.

Adding extra security at this stage won't achieve anything beyond a lot of additional expense and aggravation for people who haven't done anything wrong. It's not going to make the victims any less dead, and it's unlikely to prevent anyone dedicated enough to causing mayhem in the future anyway (and how likely do you think a copycat attack is, really? I'm not expecting one, myself, but that's not because they've upped the number of bag searches). If you really think tightening security is the answer rather than reexamining the whole country's precarious relationship with firearms, then you're part of the problem here.

[Janina]

When I read comments on news pages it seems like a lot of Americans are really afraid of the possibility to loose their right to own weapons. They completely ignore the fact that in similar countries (we are not talking about war zones here) like in Europe it is NOT normal to own a gun and we do not feel less safe because of this or have more crimes. I would feel horrible if everybody in my street would own weapons. You never know who might freak out.
After the shooting people even bought MORE guns... as if this would prevent anything. Imagine there had been another guy with a gun in this theater shooting back. More people would have died for sure... in the dark with the murderer wearing a bullet proof vest.

I understand it is an old tradition, but America is not the Wild West anymore. I have never been there, but I cannot believe you need a gun to survive everyday's life in this country while you do not need it in London or Berlin . So it is about time to be realistic about the dangers of the current laws. Are more lives destroyed by guns or are more saved? It is no shame to develop, every country has to go through changes because there are stupid old laws and traditions everywhere. Like Spain needs to get rid of their cruel bull fighting traditions or women need more rights in several Arabic countries.

its more complicated than that. guns are part of our culture, and remember, for every shooting like the one in Colorado there is a couple thousand families with guns who have never hurt anyone. also, lots of people are hunters and more shoot guns for sport. and if you outlaw them complety, well, worked so good for drugs and alcohol, right?

[Caribou]

[Janina]

Unfortunately there are SO many guns out there that those families cannot make up for the idiots who DO hurt others.

It is not made up that those guns are a huge problem and many people die because of them. In the United States in 2009 there were 3.0 recorded intentional homicides committed with a firearm per 100,000 inhabitants. United Kingdom: 0.07 Germany: 0.2
If this has nothing to do with the fact, that it is WAY easier to get a gun in the U.S. and that more people own them... how do you explain it then?

[Caribou]

[Janina]

And just to make something clear: Of course it will be impossible to get rid of all those guns and the old fashioned traditions right now... people need to want it themselves, otherwise it will end in big chaos if the state tries to collect the weapons.
But if they manage to do this in the future they will see it can work. Not every crime will be avoided, but the threshold to use a gun is way higher if they are treated as what they are: really dangerous and no regular household article.

[Janina]

But how can you explain it works in other countries with strict laws against guns? Less people are killed there.

[Caribou]

[Till]

oh guys, this gets strange...

here, clear for everyone:

[ADePALMA1251]