Deadline Live: Media Monarchy on Shooters, Solutions and more

from deadlinelive.info: James Pilato (www.MediaMonarchy.com) joins us to discuss the reality of public shootings and the offered solutions and his boycott of the Bin Laden Kill movie 'Zero Dark Thirty'.

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#Newspurge: Putting Shame In Your Game

Econocrash:
U.S. Poverty Rate Is Creeping Toward a 50-Year High*
Jobless rate jumps as economy adds only 163,000 jobs*
Congress Struggles to Deliver Solution to Postal Problem It Created*
Booming Caterpillar Rewards CEO While It Punishes Workers*
Contractors with Criminal Histories Fall Through Government Database Cracks*
Video: Mega Bank pioneer admits mistake*

Geopolitiks:
Obama authorizes secret U.S. support for Syrian rebels*
Classic armed insurgency taking shape in Syria*
Video: Germany admits NATO favoring Al Qaeda in Syria*
Russia denies plans for new navy bases in Cuba and Vietnam*
U.S. Breaks Somalia Arms Embargo It Helped Establish*
China Sea Cold War: Japan ‘could deploy troops on islands’*
Why’s China’s Navy in the Mediterranean?*
China Worried Over India’s Missile Deployment Plans*
Air-Sea Battle: Pentagon’s Model for Future War With China*
South Korea to stage military drill near disputed island*
War by “Remote Control”: An Invisible Confrontation*
Video: Cluster Bombs 'r Us*

Media/Memes:
Patton Oswalt: Message to Gatekeepers in Cable and Broadcast*
How the Gorgeous, Sometimes Fictional Sound of the Olympics Gets Made*
Pussy Riot trial: Vladimir Putin calls for leniency*
Voters to Decide If Porn Actors Must Wear Condoms*
River Phoenix's final film to be shown at last*
Gore Vidal, US writer and contrarian, dies aged 86*
Gore Vidal, Elegant Writer, Dies at 86*
Flashback Video: Gore Vidal Recommends "The New Pearl Harbor"*

Obamessiah:
Barack Obama IS The Bat Man*

Video: How U.S. Presidents are "neutralized"*

Police State Updates:
Video: UN gun grab follows U.S. State Department Plan*
Video: The border 'more secure than ever'*
New York Legislature Votes to Name Post Office after Late Covert CIA Officer*
Whistleblower, Suspected of Leaking Warrantless Spying Program, Sues NSA*
Legislation Seeks to Limit Warrantless Wiretapping Powers*
Court Orders TSA to Explain Why It is Defying ‘Nude’ Body Scanner Order*
Video: Sacramento International Airport will replace TSA with private security*

Portlandia/Oregon Oddities:
Fear of a Black Bloc Planet*
Investigation into Oregon, Washington drug operation leads to arrests, seizures*
Underemployment drags down Oregon economy*
Scouts want redactions in ‘perversion files’*

dna 'genetic patdown' introduced to airports by dhs

from activist post: A new level of invasive screening is scheduled for airports this summer: a portable DNA scanner to conduct on-site, real-time genetic testing.

This technology is being implemented under the cover of combating human trafficking, illegal immigration, and finding missing persons, but Richard Seldon of NetBio, creator of the scanners, clearly states that "DNA information has the potential to become part of the fabric of day-to-day life." In an interview with Katie Drummond who broke this story for The Daily, Seldon envisions additional applications in emergency rooms, food safety tests, and law enforcement.

DNA collection is actually nothing new, as the Pentagon has admitted that it currently has a DNA database with 80,000 suspected foreign terrorists on it, and growing daily. However, this collection apparatus has been secretly in place for Americans as well...

It is important to note that the technology of tracking, tracing, and databasing innocent people right down to their blood is a top-down directive from federal agencies, not a legitimate scientific endeavor. Legitimate science researches ways to increase human potential and freedom, not use it as a system for identification and control. With the rise of nanotechnology as a federal initiative, we should strongly resist the collection of our life force to be used in any way that government-controlled science sees fit.

police state updates:
homeland security installing transmitters nationwide*
external security cameras coming to 'real time crime center'*
drones set to invade national, state parks*
tiny spy planes could mimic birds, insects*
darpa's cheetah-bot designed to chase human prey*
rumbler, new nypd siren, is widely heard & felt*
portland cops wrongfully tasers on 2 men, costs city almost $140,000 to settle lawsuits*
video: tsa officer kills himself during shoot out, cops almost kill child*
new hampshire anti-tsa bill would make some airport screening sexual assault*
austinites outbid police in gun buyback counter-program*

elena kagan: wall street's choice for supreme court

obamessiah keeps paying back his bankster masters
from kurt nimmo: Democrats are going gaa-gaa over Obama’s Supreme pick Elena Kagan. “Democrats praised Kagan as ‘razor sharp’ and impeccably qualified for the lifetime appointment on the nine-member bench, but Republicans promised to vigorously vet a ’surprising’ choice, noting she had never been a judge,” reports Agence France-Presse. “I have selected a nominee who I believe embodies… excellence, independence, integrity and passion for the law, and who can ultimately provide that same kind of leadership on the court,” Obama said at the White House.

Is Kagan independent? Hardly. She is a bankster operative.

Kagan sat on a Goldman Sachs advisory council between 2005 and 2008. It was her job to offer “analysis and advice to Goldman Sachs and its clients.”

police state int'l: drills, desensitization & hoaxes

gun sales shoot up amid fear of rising crime & terrorism*
illinois: the next gitmo?*
schwarzenegger aims to transfer iraq military tactics to california*
US military employs 'counterinsurgency' strategy in californian city*
california teens help swat team practice*
vigilant guard: national guard exercise begins in buffalo region*
rhode island emergency workers train at mock terrorist strike*
dna of uk protesters could be held for life*
ottawa soldiers could get uniforms for urban jungle*
video: questions remain as gunmen go missing in bizarre florida false hostage operation*

100 new militia groups since obama elected

...and again, we're back to the homegrown errorism of the 90's...
from raw replay: Mark Potok told CNN that the Southern Poverty Law Center has found 100 new militia groups since President Barack Obama was elected. CNN’s Jim Acosta talked to members of one militia who are worried that Obama will take away their Second Amendment rights. This video is from CNN’s American Morning, broadcast Nov. 16, 2009.

11/19 updates:
montana seeing new rise in anti-govt, hate groups*
cnn propaganda segment on oath keepers demonizes 'fall of the republic'*
adl’s 3 'extremist conspiracy theories' w/ context & evidence*

police state int'l: crowd control, drills & behavior detection

don't be alarmed by black helicopters over san fernando valley*
pneumonic plague drill held in illinois*
sound weapons for vancouver police*
china conducts nuclear emergency exercise*
india holds maritime drill to prevent another 11/26*
flashback: coordinated carnage in mumbai; 145 dead*
indian mall owners told to beef security arrangements*
uk to 'spy' on every phone call, email & web search*
wto sees need for 'right global governance' to meet global challenges*
dhs readies plan to track foreigners flying from US*
at US airports, tsa officers covertly monitor travelers' behavior*
flashback: tsa performing emotional screening of passengers*
detroit councilmen carry guns for safety*
chicago kids arrested for food fight*
govt will pay $3m in coffee table spying suit*

fort hood false flag?: updates on oddities of the hasan case

flashback: 13 dead, 31 wounded in mass shooting at fort hood*

everything about nidal malik hasan screams 'patsy'
from paul joseph watson: The Empire strikes back – right when when public support for the occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan sinks to all time lows, an anti-war Islamic extremist with links to suicide bombers goes on a shooting rampage at a U.S. army base, reinvigorating support for the war on terror and demonizing opposition to it as anti-American extremism. The scam would be believable if it wasn’t so perfectly staged.

Without getting into convoluted conspiracy theories about mind control and whatever else, not that they aren’t without merit, the facts we already know about Hasan and his behavior prior to the deadly shootings just screams out “patsy” and “set-up” and almost exactly mirrors other terror scams the Empire has run in the past.

Just like the would-be liquid bombers that were supposedly planning on bringing down multiple airliners in August 2006, who were caught on CCTV buying bulk supplies of cake in the very hours before the plot, Hasan’s pre-shooting behavior contradicts completely the idea that he was preparing for a deadly rampage.

Shortly before the massacre, Hasan was caught on camera shopping at the convenience store located on the army base – laughing and joking. Is this the behavior of a man psychologically readying himself for the high-intensity horror of gunning down dozens of his colleagues, or someone unaware of what was to follow?

We learn that Hasan “Showed no signs of worry or stress when he stopped at 7-Eleven for his daily breakfast of hash browns, said Jeannie Strickland, the store’s manager." "He came in (Thursday) morning just like normal,” she said, “nothing weird, nothing out of the ordinary."

CNN feverishly seized upon the CCTV footage and began broadcasting it relentlessly because Hasan is seen wearing Arab garb and Muslim headdress, fitting the carefully pre-arranged stereotype perfectly.

The Smiling Assassin? Hasan’s pre-rampage behavior is completely at odds with the idea of him preparing to massacre more than a dozen of his colleagues.

Just like the 7/7 bombing patsies who were filmed laughing and joking, getting into arguments and generally doing everything a terrorist would want to avoid, Hasan’s pre-attack behavior should set alarm bells ringing.

Just like the 7/7 bombing patsies and the liquid bombing patsies, the description of Hasan by those reinforcing the official characterization of him as a vengeful jihadist is completely at odds with how his own family members described him.

Hasan’s cousin laughed when an interviewer asked him if the shooter was “violent.”

“He was just normal, loved sports, never got into trouble.” He said his family was “shocked and baffled” by the incident.

“His parents didn’t want him to go into the military,” Mr. Hasan said. “He said, ‘No, I was born and raised here, I’m going to do my duty to the country.’”

The backdrop behind Hasan’s alleged motive for the rampage also represents an inch-perfect staging for subsequent characterization of those opposed to the war on terror as lunatics, crackpots and extremists.

In the hours after the event, we were told that Hasan was upset about being deployed to Iraq at the end of the month. This then mutated into the notion that Hasan was “anti-war” and later we were informed that he was “facing an FBI investigation for expressing sympathy with suicide bombers.” The fact that this was known by authorities six months ago and still Hasan was not only allowed to remain at the Army base, but also invited to participate in Homeland Security exercises only raises more red flags.

Then the lurid details really began to pour in to reinforce the Islamic terrorist stereotype – Hasan screamed “Allah Akbar!” before opening fire, he made “outlandish comments concerning U.S. foreign policy.”

As Michael Yaki highlights, the media characterization of Hasan as a Muslim terrorist was assumed by default, and almost from the first moment it seemed as though news anchors were reading from a script prepared well in advance.

“Once the name of the protagonist was established, the blogs lit up and the talking heads immediately turned to the “terrorist” word. Anderson Cooper repeatedly referred to Hasan as an “American Muslim.” I somehow don’t see Cooper referring to the Columbine killers, Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris as “American Protestants.” Yet, front and center, the media began their speculation on whether Hasan was a “recent convert” to Islam, what websites he visited, and whether “outside influences” — code words for Imams and terrorist recruiters — had compelled him to walk onto the base and begin his shooting rampage. Indeed, the media was playing {and replaying} up the fact that he was shown wearing “traditional” Arab garb earlier in the day as he bought some coffee, although other footage from the day before showed him wearing hospital scrubs — which thus far has never made the endless loop on CNN.”

Pointing out the fact that every other killer in U.S. history was described as a “mass murderer” and not a terrorist, Yaki slams the media’s contrived and “implied presumption (that) Hasan appears to be terrorist unless proven otherwise.”

Why were initial reports of three shooters reversed? Why were two alleged shooters taken into custody but quickly released? Was Hasan framed?

When the dust settles on yesterday’s tragic events at Fort Hood it may indeed turn out to be the case that Nidal Malik Hasan was a lone nut seeking to exact revenge for what he saw as perpetual war crimes being carried out against the people of Iraq and Afghanistan. If that is the case, it doesn’t make such crimes acceptable nor does it mean all people who oppose the war on terror are likely to go on a shooting rampage.

However, from all the evidence that has emerged thus far, and in comparing it with other terror scams in the past where patsies have been deliberately groomed and set up to be the fall guys for false flag attacks, everything we know about yesterday’s events suggests that there is infinitely more to the story of Nidal Malik Hasan than meets the eye.

video: gov perry mentioning 'the 3 shooters'


the mainstream:
biggest blood donation turnout since 9/11 in ft hood aftermath*
mourners gather online in aftermath of ft hood rampage*
portland, oregon woman among ft hood wounded*
family, friends mourn ft hood victims*
ft hood offers prayers for victims of mass shooting*
ft hood offers prayers for victims of mass shooting*
we're family: texas town rallies after tragedy*

the war of terror/partisan parade:
and now... texas army killer linked to 9/11 terrorists*
video: lieberman to probe ‘terrorist attack' at ft hood*
lieberman suggests army shooter was 'home-grown terrorist'*
video: fmr jag officer called out for insisting ft hood incident was terrorism*
video: fox host suggests 'special screenings’ for muslims in military*
ft hood suspect's links to imam under scrutiny*
hasan's family held funeral at mosque of 9/11 hijackers*
ft hood shooting investigation turns to possible terrorism ties*
radical imam blogs his support of ft hood shooter*
govt determined to connect hasan & al-qaeda*
ft hood shooter tried to contact al-qaeda terrorists, officials say*
ft hood suspect was on US radar*
hasan's conspiracy mentors*
a media orgy of rumors, speculation & falsehoods*
military not told about ft hood suspect's emails*
investigators look for missed signals in ft hood probe*
how abcnews' brian ross cooked his 'hasan contacted al-qaeda' scoop*
rep hoekstra getting 'no cooperation' for ft hood probe*
video: hoekstra revealed information about alleged ft hood shooter*
more partisan politics from thinkprogress:
maddow rips hoekstra for leaking sensitive national security info*
(but if the tables were turned, they'd praise him for being a hero whistleblower ... the left/right paradigm goes on)

the oddities/questions:
ft hood shooting 'oddities'*
alleged ft hood shooter frequented local strip club*
strip club visits contradict contrived stereotype of ft hood shooter*
jihadi deja vu: hasan, 9/11 muslims & strip clubs*
upi editor equates 9/11 truth activists with ft hood killer*
ft hood vendetta: truth is treason*
copycat effect: in the wake of ft hood*
reaction to ft hood: stupidity beyond belief*
video: press tv talks to alex jones on ft hood shooting*

the latest updates:
ft hood gunman conscious*
ft hood shooting suspect awake, talking*
ft hood gunman conscious; obama to attend service*
tragedy rocks military grappling with mental health issues*
ft hood focusing on healing after shootings*
obama to speak at ft hood service*
president travels to ft hood for memorial service*
video: obama speaks at ft hood memorial service*
obama praises the fallen at ft hood memorial*
chicago mayor daley blames ft hood on america's love of guns*
hasan did not formally seek to leave military, army official says*
ft hood shooting suspect charged with 13 counts of murder*
ft hood shooting took a toll on suspect's peers in psychiatric counseling*
ft hood suspect's contact with cleric spelled trouble, experts say*
accused ft hood gunman may be paralyzed*

...and virtually every day since ft hood, there's been another violent event in the states as the mass murder contagion rages on...
police: gunman caught after killing 1 in orlando*
orlando shooting: shooting at downtown orlando office building, 5 hurt, 1 dead*
shooters both linked to psychiatric drugs*
seattle police: suspect in slaying of officer is 'lone domestic terrorist'*
1 dead, 3 injured in vail bar shooting*
son of wash state lt gov shot in attempted murder-suicide*
possible hostage situation in jeff city*
gunman in custody after taking administrator hostage at ny high school*
2 dead in shooting at oregon clinic*
iraq veteran is killed while installing cable tv*

ft hood false flag, part3: drills, holes, probes, repeat

obamessiah updates: malthus, healthscare, schools & speeches

when malthusians become messiahs*
dealing with the secret government*
op-ed: false reports about guns -
cbs & msnbc peddle phony stories about arms, race & violence*
video: gun-toter's pastor prays obama dies of brain cancer*
video: savage says bachmann trying to get obama killed*
zogby: obama approval plummets to 42%*
russian professor: collapse of america could begin in 2 months*
rahm & the dems fishing for a fall comeback*
school kids to get assignment from obama*
white house withdraws call for students to 'help' obama*

video: more obama indoctrination going on in schools*
president's speech at va high school stirs controversy*
obama to deliver healthcare address to congress*
obama to address congress on health-care reform*
video: obama’s congressional speech is 'desperation'*
lubbock woman sues obama over name: barry soetoro*
video: obama urged to rally support for war*

7/9 newspurge

murder/mayhem:
'miracle baby' stolen from her grave*
miracle baby grave robbery in connecticut*
connecticut police say possible ritual in theft of body*
staten island park scene of unholy goings-on*
chicago graves dug up to resell plots*
300 graves tampered with near chicago*
jailers let tiller killer mail pamphlets justifying murder*
employee injured in virginia apple store shooting; suspect sought*
analysis: air france 447 crash mystery deepens*
south carolina serial killer on the loose*
sc police look for five-fold serial killer*
police: sc spree killer slain in US shootout*
walt disney monorail crash kills driver*
former nfl quarterback steve mcnair shot dead*
police: mcnair shot dead in sleep by girlfriend*
1 dead, 18 injured in florida lightning strike*
dc's marion barry arrested again*
los angeles detective from rodney king trial kills self at station*
advertising executive held ex-wife hostage in connecticut*
hostage suspect arraigned in hospital then transferred to prison*
man gored to death in spain's running of the bulls*

obamessiah & the apostles of war:
the life & times of obamabush:
even acquitted detainees will be held indefinitely*
obama delivers remarks at g8 summit*
global warming agreement reached at g8 summit*
obama set for emotional visits to vatican & ghana*
rasmussen poll shows obama approval ratings plummeting*
franken sworn in, fills final senate place from '08 election*

police state int'l:
pervasive surveillance under obama*
fake nation tests tomorrow's special forces*
missouri natl guard train to kill 'militia insurgents' in exercise*
ohio reserve unit wages war on noth dakota mosquitoes*
georgia freemasons at loggerheads over admission of black man to lodge*
nsa plans massive data center in utah*
nafta superhighway returns from the dead*
video: the militarization of the US police force*
bill gives atty gen power to designate gun owners, tax protesters as terrorists*
video: bill may force home energy audits*
registered traveler customers file class-action lawsuit*
fate of registered traveler data up in air after vendor quits program*
bill banning forced identity-chip implants clears house*
will your id soon be a microchip under your skin?*
closer to 1984 than one would care to wish?*
lockheed ensures census security*
US martial law exercises july 27*
survey: US is largest importer & exporter of small arms*
tax evaders, ed & elaine brown, guilty of plot to kill feds*

warwhores:
kucinich: troop movements are not a 'withdrawal'*
dahr jamail: US occupation of iraq continues unabated*
marines in for the long haul in southern afghanistan*
video: mullen says US troops will have 'long-term relationship with afghanistan'*
beale afb airman killed in police shootout after murdering fiancee*
australia probes navy 'sex game' aboard hms success:
bedding female colleagues for cash prizes*
dozens of US troops found on neo-nazi site*

oregon oddities:
bonnie tinker, 'seriously pissed off granny' from portland, dies after bike accident*

archie bunker on communism, gun control & preventing 9/11

from infowars: Norman Lear and the writers for 'All in the Family' made Archie Bunker into reactionary stereotype. In the clip here, they attempt to extend that reactionary stereotype to gun control and the Second Amendment. In the process, the fictional character Archie Bunker speaks more truth than Lear and the writers probably intended.

police state int'l: spy blimps, wireless tasers & homeland stupidity

mcconnell air force commander found dead on base

pentagon seeks fleet of massive darpa spy blimps
from steve watson: The Pentagon has announced intentions to launch an entire fleet of giant 450-foot-long airships which will act as a massive airborne radar system providing perpetual surveillance of vehicles, planes and people on the ground. The Pentagon said Thursday that it intends to spend $400 million to develop a giant dirigible that will operate on hydrogen fuel cells and solar panels, floating 65,000 feet above the Earth for 10 years, reports the LA Times. The airships will be around twenty times larger than the Goodyear Blimp, giving ground operators the capability of monitoring an area hundreds of miles in diameter at a time with surveillance equipment, such as high-resolution cameras, in addition to the football-field-sized radar antenna... In 2006, reports regarding the project resurfaced as DARPA courted defense contractors Raytheon, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman to develop the airships. The Air Force has signed an agreement with DARPA to develop a demonstration dirigible by 2014.

german massacre raises issue of gun control in europe

dhs proposes US gun laws to fight mexican drug cartel violence
from kurt nimmo: Roger Rufe, Homeland Security’s head of operations, wants to further erode the Second Amendment. Rufe told lawmakers more restrictive gun control and law enforcement may be needed in the Southwest United States in response to the drug war in Mexico, according to the Associated Press. Rufe also said protecting border may require “deploying military personnel and equipment to the region if other agencies are overwhelmed.” He did not specify what circumstances would trigger a call for troops. “We would take all resources short of DoD and National Guard troops before we reach that tipping point,” Rufe told lawmakers on a House homeland security subcommittee. “We very much do not want to militarize our border.” Democrats joined the chorus rallying against the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

secret police say paul, barr, baldwin & libertarians are terrorists

police trained that informed americans are domestic terrorists
from truthnews: A secret report distributed by the Missouri Information Analysis Center lists Ron Paul supporters, libertarians, people who display bumper stickers, people who own gold, or even people who fly a U.S. flag and equates them with radical race hate groups and terrorists. This is merely the latest example in an alarming trend which confirms that law enforcement across the country is being trained that American citizens are a dangerous enemy.

emergency: this book will save your life

how to: survive the apocalypse (think diy knives & solar stills)
from danger room: Best-selling author Neil Strauss helped Jenna Jameson show us How to Make Love Like a Porn Star. Then he taught us the finer points of attracting mates in The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists. Now, Strauss has new knowledge to drop. In his just-published book, Emergency: This Book Will Save Your Life, he schools us on what to do, if everything suddenly goes to hell. Strauss has spent the last several years training to become a full-fledged survivalist - learning how to live off the land with D.I.Y. weapons, homemade solar stills, debris huts, and hot-wired cars. He talks to Danger Room about how he got his new skills. And in an exclusive video, Strauss shows what to do, if you really need a knife - and all you have is a cigarette.

wireless tasers extend the long arm of the law

mass murder memes, psyop sprees & the copycat effect

some answers bring more questions as mass shootings & rampaging animals are force fed to a frazzled public... they don't call it monkey-see monkey-do & copycat effect for nothing:

germany may ban violent video games, april 20, 2009: be alert!, germany school shooting: 16 dead, alabama shootings: 12 dead, workplace copycats, 10yrs of church shootings, fiery calamity coming?, illinois church shooting: 'death day'...

'american syndrome' hits europe?

from russia today: After the horror of fifteen people being shot dead in a German school, the focus is now turning to what could have caused the gunman to do what he did. School shootings are a type of attack that seem to be more and more frequent in recent years. In this latest incident, nine students and three teachers were the first victims of the teenage gunman at a school near Stuttgart. Another person was shot at a nearby clinic before the killer fled in a car with a hostage. Finally, the two passers-by who died in the shoot-out with police were Tim Kretschmer’s last victims. The tragic total is 15 people dead, plus the gunman himself.

germany/alabama shootings underscore violent side effects of psychiatric medications

psychiatric drug use of german shooter confirmed: kretschmer withdrawing from depression treatment
from natural news: In a story widely published across the 'net, police investigator Siegfried Mahler states on the record that the shooter (Kretschmer) "underwent several treatment sessions for depression at a psychiatric clinic" and was "...prescribed a session of outpatient therapy, which he never began." Thus, the shooter was on psychiatric medications and then quit using them. This created a classic antidepressant withdrawal crisis which is exactly what leads to extreme acts of violence against self or others. As we reported in our previous story, virtually every school shooting that has taken place in the last two decades was carried out by those who either take psychiatric medications or are attempting to quit them.

teenage killer tim kretschmer had stopped treatment for depression

updates on the german school shooting, german gunman 'warned of attack', germany school killer gave warning in chatroom, no one took german killer seriously, police treat germany school killer internet chatroom 'warning' as possible hoax, cops doubt gunman chatroom warning, portrait emerges of troubled german gunman...

after attacks, europe hurries to tighten gun laws
from ap: Several European countries have restricted gun laws in the wake of school massacres, gang violence and other gun-related crimes:

_Finland announced plans Wednesday to impose stricter restrictions on firearms, including raising the minimum age for handgun ownership from 15 to 20. The proposal was prompted by two school massacres within a year in which lone gunmen opened fire on classmates and teachers.

_Germany, where a gunman killed at least 11 people Wednesday, raised the legal age for owning recreational firearms from 18 to 21 following a 2002 shooting in Erfurt that killed 16 people, including 12 teachers.

_Belgian lawmakers passed strict new gun control laws in 2006 in reaction to the racially motivated shooting deaths of a toddler and her black baby sitter in Antwerp.

_Swiss citizens are demanding a referendum aimed at confining army weapons to military compounds and banning private purchases of pump-action rifles and automatic weapons — following a spate of suicides and homicides.

_The Portuguese Parliament is currently discussing a government proposal to tighten gun laws, including denying bail to anyone suspected of a gun crime.

_Denmark's government said last week it will raise the penalty for illegal gun possession as part of a crackdown on gang violence that has killed three people and injured 25 in recent months.

_European Union lawmakers proposed tighter gun control across the bloc last year, including guidelines saying that only people over 18 not deemed a threat to public safety could buy and keep guns. EU members have until 2010 to adopt the measures.

In addition, some U.S. states have recently tightened gun laws as well:

• Colorado, a year after the 1999 Columbine High School shootings, made it a felony to buy a firearm for another person who should know the transaction is illegal, barred anyone from giving a firearm to a juvenile without the consent of the parents; made it illegal for a person not to try to prevent a juvenile from committing a gun crime; and increased the penalty for possession of a weapon by a felon. But three years later, the state expanded gun rights instead, by requiring sheriffs to issue gun permits to people who pass a criminal background check, prohibiting local governments from making gun laws more restrictive than the state's, and abolishing local registries of gun owners.

• In Virginia, where a student killed 32 people at Virginia Tech in 2007 before committing suicide April 16, 2007, the governor signed an executive order requiring that anyone ordered by a court to get mental health treatment be added to a database of people barred from buying guns.

the aftermath in samson, alabama

10 dead in alabama shooting
from wikinews: Ten people have been killed and several injured across two small towns of Samson and Geneva in Alabama after a shooting incident by a gunman. The victims include the gunman and the wife and child of a sheriff's deputy. The gunman started his killing spree in a gas station in Samson after 5 p.m. Eastern Time and his rampage ended 12 miles away at the Reliable Metal Products plant, a manufacturing plant in Geneva. According to a report by CNN from Alabama state Senator Harri Anne Smith, who represents Geneva County "he [the gunman] was shooting at just ordinary people going about their business". The gunman was identified as Michael McLendon, who once worked at the Reliable Metal Products plant. He took his life at the plant after an encounter with the police. The victims include six adults and a child. The investigators are not sure what caused this catastrophic event to take place. Samson and Geneva are two small rural towns with a population of less than 5000 in Alabama near the Florida border.

and, as if all this wasn't enough, we are also experiencing a 'when animals attack' meme, kickstarted by the attack of the medicated monkey...

elephants run amok in india due to abuse & pollution
from ecoworldly: In a deluge of incidents since last October, 14 people have been trampled or gored to death by rampaging elephants in the Indian state of Kerala. The usually mild-mannered, peaceful animals have likely been driven to retaliate due to polluted conditions and widespread abuse.

dog attack injures 2, kills smaller dog

when primates attack: monkey kills abusive owner with coconut
from planetsave: Following the news of a 31-year-old chimp who evidently likes to plot out attacks on his Swedish zoo visitors, a monkey in Thailand became tired of his owner beating him and forcing him up trees to collect coconuts — so he threw one straight at the owner’s head.


and, on & on it goes...

update: man dressed as 'the joker' shot dead by police
from guardian: A man dressed as Batman villain the Joker has been shot dead by police in America after pointing a loaded shotgun at them. The dead man, who was said to be obsessed with the character, was wearing full costume and makeup when he was challenged by officers in a national park in Virginia, according to legal documents. The FBI named him as army specialist Christopher Lanum, who was wanted as a suspect over the stabbing of a fellow soldier at Fort Eustis, a major army base in the state, several hours before. Lanum's girlfriend, Patsy Ann Marie Montowski, who was with him when he was shot, told investigators that the soldier idolised the Joker, played in the most recent Batman film, The Dark Knight, by the late Heath Ledger. The events began at the base early on Sunday when Lanum become embroiled in an argument with a fellow soldier, Mitchell Stone, allegedly stabbing him and using a stun gun on him.

the flashback/setup: illinois church shooter's lawyer blames lyme disease

obamessiah gives team america a pep talk

here's a couple of telling takes on the big speech: first a sports analogy, as if it's all a big game...
from time: Rarely has a pep talk come with so much pomp. The setting, for starters, was no high school locker room at halftime, with sweaty teenagers scratching their gym socks. Robed Supreme Court justices and barrel-chested generals sat in the front row in the U.S. House Chamber, a gold encrusted place overflowing with political power. For a quarter mile around, police stood shivering in the cold, watching in clumps on street corners, stopping anyone who looked out of place. And the coach commanding everyone's attention in the center of the room was no amateur part-timer looking to relive his glory days on the court. He was none other than the President of the United States, Barack Hussein Obama, the most watched man in the world, who had come before his country and its government during primetime to say, "Come on team, we can play better. When the buzzer sounds again, we're going to go out there and play our game, like the champions we know we are." He didn't use those words exactly. But he came pretty close. "We will rebuild. We will recover, and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before," he announced upon taking the podium Tuesday, at his first presidential address before a joint session of Congress.

the next one assures us that this admin will continue the fraudulently catastrophic war of terror...
obama ushering in "new era of engagement" with world
from dpa: US President Barack Obama said Tuesday that his administration is ushering in a 'new era' of diplomacy, vowing to strive for Middle East peace and assuring the nation that he will not back down in the war on terrorism. In his first major address before Congress, Obama said he will strengthen alliances and seek new ones throughout the world while emphasizing the importance of negotiations to resolve differences. "We are showing the world that a new era of engagement has begun. For we know that America cannot meet the threats of this century alone, but the world cannot meet them without America," Obama said. "We cannot shun the negotiating table, nor ignore the foes or forces that could do us harm. We are instead called to move forward with the sense of confidence and candor that serious times demand."

and then the kicker, the one about getting out of iraq [insert bridge-for-sale joke here] ...
obama to withdraw most troops from iraq by august 2010
from thinkprogress: President Obama is expected to announce this week that he will withdraw most U.S. troops from Iraq by August 2010, 19 months after his inauguration. Obama’s plan will initially leave a “residual force” of 30,000 to 50,000 troops. “A further withdrawal will take place before December 2011, the period by which the U.S. agreed with Iraq to remove all American troops.” Obama was also considering 16-month and 23-month timetables; the 19-month time frame was reportedly a “compromise.”

and all the blahbittyblah about jindal, home aid, etc &
here's the full text of obama's speech

updates:
video: is obama doing the right thing?*
video: obama's youth flock*
lawyer says guantanamo abuse worse since obama*
obama to seek new assault weapons ban*
cia signals continuity with bush era*
obama lays out his vision for america*
obama’s war machine needs $800b for 2009*