- 28,470
- Windsor, Ontario, Canada
- Johnnypenso
Sounds awfully suspicious.
America - The Official Thread
- Thread starter ///M-Spec
- 38,980 comments
- 1,694,747 views
- 20,681
- TenEightyOne
- TenEightyOne
I don't see why. Firstly I'd expect that there are a number of areas in (and probably below) the White House that are safer for senior staff than exiting the building would be when there's a hint of an attack. Secondly, if searches of any given area are ongoing I don't think it's very sensible to provide a live broadcast of the security routine or equipment involved. Sometimes the press need to get over themselves.
- 4,464
- Azle, TX
- supermanfromazle
- SanjiHimura
To put the bomb scare into some form of context, the Oval office is less than 100 feet away, and, as I stated earlier, the president was in the building. Anyone who has a shred of threat assessment training would automatically know that you make sure that the VIP is secure first and foremost. Presidential protection fell to the Secret Service after an assassination.
- 24,553
- Frankfort, KY
- GTP_FoolKiller
- FoolKiller1979
They don't rush the president outside for any reason. A bomb threat could just be an excuse to get him in the open. I wouldn't be surprised to find the oval office can handle any bomb small enough to smuggle into the press room. Never mind that there are supposedly ways to leave the Oval Office to a secure location without going outside.
As for blocking news cameras, that is standard operating procedure in any terrorist or violent situation. You don't want a live feed of violence or the security measures to stop it. You also don't want idiots who are trying to make a media name for themselves to get what they want, which encourages others with a similar mindset.
The truth is, they are questioning a guy who was evacuated with them, was not in the building at the time, and what security information he knows he is not at liberty to reveal for security purposes.
I won't deny that they are being cagey with their answers, but the major issue with this theory of something went on is that they seem to think it had something to do with the briefing room. I am almost positive that anything secret and possibly illegal that goes down will not involve a room that is full of press at any other time and still has active, live cameras running.
Um, no. Not even close.
Just like gun laws, it depends on your local government. I can legally buy fireworks out of a tent in the parking lot of a gas station.
- 4,464
- Azle, TX
- supermanfromazle
- SanjiHimura
Sure, if the scare is isolated to the White House as a whole, but the scary part about the whole story is that the threat is just isolated to the press room. Having access to the press room is no easy feat, I mean a regular joe schmoe like you or me won't just be able to walk into the White House, with their layers of security, and have access to the press room willy nilly and plant a bomb. Somewhere down the line you are bound to get caught in the security. (Not that it is saying much considering the breaches in security in the last year and a half.)
- 4,464
- Azle, TX
- supermanfromazle
- SanjiHimura
Belmar, NJ's mayor has apparently enough of the tourist's money... He has closed the town to non-residents.
http://www.nj.com/monmouth/index.ssf/2015/06/belmar_is_at_max_capacity_mayor_says_closes_traffi.html
http://www.nj.com/monmouth/index.ssf/2015/06/belmar_is_at_max_capacity_mayor_says_closes_traffi.html
- 12,389
- Betelgeuse
- Beeblebrox_237
So anyone else heard about this: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-us-canada-33181651 ? I certainly hope they catch the bastard who did this.
- 31,541
- Buckwheat City
- Dennisch
Let's hope that this doesn't escalate into even more trouble.
- 6,146
- Germany
There's a live feed on reddit for the happenings surrounding this incident
https://www.reddit.com/live/v3f8b7po97cm
Whoever lives in the area, stay safe!
- 31,541
- Buckwheat City
- Dennisch
They just caught him. 👍
- 29,130
- Glasgow
- GTP_Mars
I don't think there is much doubt that this guy is a white supremacist thug - way to demonstrate how superior you are by murdering innocent people 
What a 🤬 dunce.
What a 🤬 dunce.
- 29,130
- Glasgow
- GTP_Mars
- 4,464
- Azle, TX
- supermanfromazle
- SanjiHimura
I can confirm that through multiple news sources that the shooter allowed one to escape to spread the word on what happened. It wasn't coincidence that the target was chosen as it was. That was the oldest black church in America, founded in the 1760's (in context, the oldest church in my home town was founded in about 1902, and my church was founded in 1944).
There is a few telling details about the shooter, as the media got a hold of a dated image of the shooter.
You may spot right away two flags. One of them is the flag of South Africa during the period of segregation, the other is the flag of Rhodesia, now a part of Zimbabwe.
There is a few telling details about the shooter, as the media got a hold of a dated image of the shooter.
You may spot right away two flags. One of them is the flag of South Africa during the period of segregation, the other is the flag of Rhodesia, now a part of Zimbabwe.
- 31,541
- Buckwheat City
- Dennisch
Obama on Charleston :
President Barack Obama expressed sorrow and anger the morning after a gunmen fatally shot nine people at a South Carolina church, and said it’s time for the nation to “reckon with the fact that this type of mass violence doesn’t happen in other advanced countries.”
“I’ve had to make statements like this too many times,” Obama said Thursday. “Communities like this have had to endure tragedies like this too many times.”
“We don’t have all the facts, but we do know that, once again, innocent people were killed in part because someone who wanted to inflict harm had no trouble getting their hands on a gun,” Obama said, joined at the podium by Vice President Joe Biden. “But let’s be clear: At some point, we as a country will have to reckon with the fact that this type of mass violence does not happen in other advanced countries. It doesn’t happen in other places with this kind of frequency. And it is in our power to do something about it.”
Prepare for gun discussions!
Again!
President Barack Obama expressed sorrow and anger the morning after a gunmen fatally shot nine people at a South Carolina church, and said it’s time for the nation to “reckon with the fact that this type of mass violence doesn’t happen in other advanced countries.”
“I’ve had to make statements like this too many times,” Obama said Thursday. “Communities like this have had to endure tragedies like this too many times.”
“We don’t have all the facts, but we do know that, once again, innocent people were killed in part because someone who wanted to inflict harm had no trouble getting their hands on a gun,” Obama said, joined at the podium by Vice President Joe Biden. “But let’s be clear: At some point, we as a country will have to reckon with the fact that this type of mass violence does not happen in other advanced countries. It doesn’t happen in other places with this kind of frequency. And it is in our power to do something about it.”
Prepare for gun discussions!
Again!
- 3,308
- Kentucky
- Chrunch_Houston
Yeah Thursday morning's address to the nation was a great time for President Obama to bring up gun control. Never let a crises go to waste. What a classy guy.
- 33,155
- Hammerhead Garage
What was he supposed to do? Ignore it?
- 29,619
- Bratvegas
- GTP_Liquid
I'm more interested in the classic fallout of white shooter = mentally ill, non-white shooter = terrorist.
Every. Damn. Time.
- 12,389
- Betelgeuse
- Beeblebrox_237
Gun discussions are all well and good, but we all know they'll get nowhere. Between congress's endless stupidity and Obama's all talk no action policy on gun control, nothing's going to happen and everyone knows it.
- 33,155
- Hammerhead Garage
You can't mention "gun control" without upsetting a pretty powerful lobby group. And while Obama might be at the end of his second term, the NRA have pretty close ties to the Republicans. He would pretty much be handing them the election.
- 12,389
- Betelgeuse
- Beeblebrox_237
Exactly. It's a no win situation. Mention guns and a load of very powerful nutters get annoyed. Don't mention guns and the vast majority of Americans who want stricter regulations regarding guns will feel slightly alienated, also costing the democratic party votes in the election.
It's pretty obvious where I stand on this issue, but I still maintain that guns are not the cause of most of these incidents. The tools, yes, but poor mental health and/or poor education is often the real cause. And significantly improving the quality of the education and healthcare systems in the US would truly help to eliminate tragedies such as the shooting in Charleston from the headlines.
- 33,155
- Hammerhead Garage
I did hear an interesting argument from an academic who was interviewed on our local news networks today - he suggested that these violent crimes are a symptom; that the perpetrators are being weaned on hatred from a young age, and are carrying out these violent crimes as a kind of catharsis. It's consistent with the testimony from survivors, who claimed that the suspect accused the victims of taking over "our" country and stealing "our" women and was trying to incite a race war. That's a pretty extreme point of view - it verges on Manson's "Helter Skelter" scenario - and it's not the kind of thing that you just pick up.
I don't think that you can tackle gun control head on. But if you treat these violent crimes as symptomatic of some kind of deeply-embedded cultural disease, then it will probably be easier to get meaningful change through, and much harder to resist it.
- 12,389
- Betelgeuse
- Beeblebrox_237
I fully agree. This kind of hatred doesn't just happen; people are exposed to it from a very young age all the way through into adulthood. At some point they start hanging out with other people who share their crazy beliefs and eventually the positive feedback loop convinces them that they should take action. It's one of the reasons why I feel a stronger education system would potentially help to reduce the number of people in hate groups. If you teach people to think logically and clearly from an early age, they can then make their own decisions and are in a better position to question beliefs that are thrust upon them.
Dotini
(Banned)
- 15,742
- Seattle
- CR80_Shifty
People who act out their hates and fears do so because, as individuals, they have the personal agency, freedom, ability and means to do so. Perhaps there is too much individualism, too much personal agency, freedoms, abilities and means accorded to people? If we truly want a peaceful land and a quiet people, we must snuff out their options to act as free and empowered individuals.
- 24,553
- Frankfort, KY
- GTP_FoolKiller
- FoolKiller1979
Making a situation like this into being about nothing but gun control is doing two things: Putting his political soapbox on the bodies of the dead and ignoring the much more important question as to why.
If we don't understand why someone would do this then the how will never matter. Even if he had no way of gaining a gun he would still think and feel the same way. Obama has chosen to ignore this very important question because it doesn't fit his political agenda. He doesn't have a regulation he can propose or stump on that can fix why these things happen.
Ultimately, the kid didn't pick up a gun and suddenly decide he was filled with hate and rage and murderous desire. No one gives a hammer credit for building houses, but they blame the guns for killing people.
But none of what you mention above is caused by a gun. The gun didn't make him say and think those things. Meaningful change will have nothing to do with the guns. Guns are a scapegoat.
The academic has a very good point about this being a symptom. Why would the shooter that the country is being taken over by these people, and that they are stealing his women and trying to start a race war? What creates this Us vs. Them mentality? What makes him see all of his perceived problems in the world as being caused by this one group? Who is the largest group with an influence on our society that talk in Us vs. Them terms?
- 31,541
- Buckwheat City
- Dennisch
But RP is a Republican, and lately they have been pointing towards intervention against IS. Just as European politicians. So that war will come.
Just wait for it.
But on that issue it doesn't matter who gets elected, Donkey or Elephant.
Just wait for it.
But on that issue it doesn't matter who gets elected, Donkey or Elephant.
- 24,553
- Frankfort, KY
- GTP_FoolKiller
- FoolKiller1979
And how do the war hawk Republicans and Rand Paul get along?
Rand Paul: GOP War-Loving Brand Sucks
GOP Senators Tear Into Rand Paul
If there is a mainstream hope of a president getting elected that won't do more war, it is Paul.
- 33,155
- Hammerhead Garage
If only you knew just how crazy the defence of the Second Amendment sounds to the rest of the world.
- 24,612
- Anoka, MN
And the rest of the world isn't the U.S. so I fail to see why anyone here should care about how foreign countries view our domestic policies.
This is something I've never quite understood about the rest of the world. People constantly rip on the U.S. for trying to force it's way on others, yet they usually end up saying that the U.S. should just run things like everybody else (because the rest of the world is apparently a magical land where everyone holds hands and sings). I believe there is a saying for it even.
