Usa Thread

[kamui]

You mean triple post.

 

US presidential elections drag on forever. Actually, a president virtually begins his reelection campaign after his second year in office. The Confederate constitution drew a lesson from the US constitution and specified that the president would serve one six-year term, with reelection not allowed.

 

 

I think a one term presidency would change the dynamic of the government completely, since the president would have to answer to the electorate only once and couldn't care less after the election.

[kamui]

Another shooting in the USA:

 

 

6 Killed in Shooting at Sikh Temple in Wisconsin

 

By MICHAEL SCHWIRTZ

Police in Wisconsin said Sunday that at least one gunman opened fire in a Sikh temple near Milwaukee, killing at least six and injuring several others before being shot himself. The gunman is also believed to have died.

 

The shootings occurred at about 10:30 a.m. at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin in the town of Oak Creek, just south of Milwaukee, officials said.

 

The authorities described the scene at the temple as chaotic as they attended to the victims and tried to sort out what had happened. Police said they were still uncertain where other shooters were at the temple.

 

Bradley Wentlandt, the chief of police in nearby Greenfield told journalists on the scene, that four bodies had been found inside the temple and three were found outside, including that of the shooter. He said a veteran police officer who arrived on the scene exchanged fire with the shooter.

 

“That officer was shot multiple times,†Mr. Wentlandt said. “The shooter was put down.†He said the injured officer was taken to the hospital and it was unclear if he would survive. The shooter, who was not immediately identified, was “assumed diseased,†he said.

 

At least three men all with gunshot wounds have been admitted to Froedert Hospital, the Milwaukee region’s main trauma center, said Nalissa Wienke, a spokeswoman for the hospital. One victim was shot in the head and extremities and another in the abdomen. The third was undergoing evaluation.

 

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinal reported that victims were being removed from the temple’s prayer room and that SWAT team members were sweeping the building. The newspaper reported that the temple’s president, Satwant Kaleka, was among those shot.

 

There were conflicting reports about whether another gunman had taken hostages inside the temple. Local news agencies, citing text messages from people inside have reported that two or more shooters could have been involved.

 

The shooting comes just over two weeks after a gunman killed 12 people and wounded nearly 60 in a mass shooting at a movie theater in Aurora, Colo.

 

 

NYT

[gobbledonk]

6 people dead and a Police officer critical after a gunfight and this doesnt deserve its own news item ??? WTF, Kamui ??

[kamui]

6 people dead and a Police officer critical after a gunfight and this doesnt deserve its own news item ??? WTF, Kamui ??

 

I guess I have become too cynical. We just had 13 Egyptian soldiers killed. Dozens of people are being killed in Syria every day, 13 people were killed by a Typhoon in the Philippines, 48 Iranians were kidnapped (just try to imagine the media reaction if this would have been westerners), every second day people are being killed by terrorists/insurgents, whatever, in South Thailand, and so on.

 

In the USA it is the second massacre in a very short time. It's terrible, but the reaction in the USA will follow an established ritual. The people in the USA (media, pols like Obama, Romney, e.g.) will say how terrible it is. Anti-gun activists will ask for more tight gun laws, while gun sales will go up for a few days, the NRA says "no comment" and the pro-gun people will demand to losen the gun laws even more. That's it. Except for the local people and the friends/family/e.g. involved, no one will really care anymore after a few days.

[kamui]

PS: the first phase has already begun:

 

State Rep. Josh Zepnick, who represents much of the Milwaukee area's Sikh community, said he was "torn to shreds" by the attack.

 

"It's a very peace-loving community that has successfully integrated and assimilated into the metropolitan Milwaukee area," Zepnick told CNN afilliate WTMJ.

 

And state Rep. Mark Honadel, who represents the area, called the attack "craziness."

 

"Unfortunately, when this type of stuff hits your area, you say to yourself, 'Why?' But in today's society, I don't think there's any place that's free from idiots." [since those massacres seem to happen quite often in the USA I wonder, if this explanation isn't way too simplistic]

 

Top state and national political leaders offered statements of condolence after the killings, which came two weeks after a massacre at a Colorado movie theater that left 12 dead and dozens more wounded.

 

"Our hearts go out to the victims and their families, as we all struggle to comprehend the evil that begets this terrible violence," Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker said in a statement issued by his office. "At the same time, we are filled with gratitude for our first responders, who show bravery and selflessness as they put aside their own safety to protect our neighbors and friends."

 

In a statement from the White House, President Barack Obama said the United States had been "enriched" by Sikhs, "who are a part of our broader American family."

 

"My administration will provide whatever support is necessary to the officials who are responding to this tragic shooting and moving forward with an investigation," Obama said.

 

And from Boston, Obama's presumptive Republican challenger, Mitt Romney, called the slayings "a senseless act of violence and a tragedy that should never befall any house of worship." He said the hearts of he and his wife, Ann, "are with the victims, their families, and the entire Oak Creek Sikh community."

 

http://edition.cnn.c....html?hpt=us_c1

 

PS: I forgot in my "ritual" list: soon we will hear some nasty comments on the killings by right wing evangelicals. Of course they are isolated and absolute disgusting, but the media and blog sphere will jump on it anyway.

[Bangkoktraveler]

I have mentioned the hatred by some citizens in the USA against Sikhs on this forum in the past.

 

Shortly after 9/11/2001 a citizen near Phoenix, Arizona, USA 'bagged' a Sikh.

 

He thought he was a Moslem.

 

.

 

I don't think this is a gun issue but a 'freedom of religion' issue.

[Flashermac]

<< In a statement from the White House, President Barack Obama said the United States had been "enriched" by Sikhs, "who are a part of our broader American family." >>

 

 

Standard line right off his teleprompter. Everybody "enriches" American except the majority.

 

In what ways has America been enriched? I wonder if he even knew what a Sikh was before this. (BTW I do like Sikhs, interesting people.)

 

p.s. Has Thailand been enriched by my presence?

 

p.p.s. No words of praise for the officer who did take down the gunman and the very obvious risk of his own life? I suppose he doesn't count.

 

 

[cavanami]

Polishitians!

[kamui]

As predicted some evangelical sect has already made a highly insulting comment:

Just minutes after it was reported that people had been shot at a Sikh Temple in Wisconsin, the hate mongers at Westboro Baptist Church were tweeting out: 'God Sent Another Shooter.'

HuffPo

But why Huffington Post is publishing this is beyond me. I think in Germany such comments would be completely ignored by the media. (We have some right wing crazies as well, but they don't receive attention by the media.)

 

And the New York Times has already moved on:

Online version of the NYT at 4am, Eastern Time,

 

Of course the NYT did not intend to show people partying next to the headline of the Sikh killing. But it's telling.

[cavanami]

Like one of the "big boys" once said..."...never let a good disaster go to waste..."