September 20, 2018 This day in history
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Started by metmike - Sept. 20, 2018, 11:44 a.m.

Pick a good (or bad) one.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_20


1971 – Having weakened after making landfall in Nicaragua the previous day, Hurricane Irene regains enough strength to be renamed Hurricane Olivia, making it the first known hurricane to cross from the Atlantic Ocean into the Pacific.

2017Hurricane Maria makes landfall in Puerto Rico as a powerful Category 4 hurricane, resulting in 2,975 deaths, US$90 billion in damage, and a major humanitarian crisis.


Comments
By carlberky - Sept. 20, 2018, 1:58 p.m.
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1984 – A suicide bomber in a car attacks the U.S. embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, killing twenty-two people.

I wonder if any of us believe in anything so much that they would kill themselves because of it.

No, not joining the military to defend your country where you might get killed. No, not defending your family with your life.

I mean a premeditated suicide for your cause. 

I'll admit it ... not me. 


By TimNew - Sept. 20, 2018, 3:08 p.m.
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I can understand volunteering for a "suicide mission". You still have a chance of making it and I've actually met one or two who have.   But how you'd reach a point where you will wrap yourself in explosives, or intentionally fly an airplane into a building, or any # of other such missions, escapes me.  

By carlberky - Sept. 20, 2018, 5:58 p.m.
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Tim, It requires a strong belief in an after life. No offense intended to the believers.

By metmike - Sept. 20, 2018, 11:10 p.m.
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Carl,

I agree that some suicide missions(Muslim terrorists) are connected with religion.

The Rise and Spread of Suicide Bombing


https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/full/10.1146/annurev-polisci-062813-051049

Sometimes though, like in Las Vegas, it's for different reasons.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2018/08/03/las-vegas-police-end-investigation-into-massacre-without-definitively-determining-motive/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.e5035c781222

It does not compute in brains like ours.


The Mass Shooting-Suicide Connection

Identical factors fuel both tragic events.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/wicked-deeds/201802/the-mass-shooting-suicide-connection

"Incredibly, there are now nearly three suicides for every murder committed in the U.S"


I'm thinking that this is a huge factor.

"This evidence, Durkheim argued back in 1897, shows that “each society has a definite aptitude for suicide” which is a social fact that is external to the individual members of a given society."

By metmike - Sept. 20, 2018, 11:12 p.m.
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By metmike - Sept. 20, 2018, 11:20 p.m.
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Interesting stats.

I didn't realize that the murder rate is only half of what it was 25 years ago(but that stat is only thru 2014).........though suicides have continued to go up:

https://www.infoplease.com/us/crime/homicide-rate-1950-2014

All sorts of crime data:

https://www.infoplease.com/us/crime-data


By TimNew - Sept. 21, 2018, 3:31 a.m.
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An interesting stat, at least to me, is that as legal gun ownership increases, violent crime decreases.


We all know, or should know that correlation does not prove cause and effect,  but this stat has to  throw some doubt on guns being the cause of violence.


An argument can be made that shifting age demographics are a contributor,  but that can't account for all of it.

By metmike - Sept. 21, 2018, 12:55 p.m.
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Thanks Tim!

We own a couple of guns.

The first one, I bought in 1984 to protect myself from a stalker(when I was on television).

I gave that one to my wife when an ex employee was stalking her and have another one now. 

I can see a strong case for restricting the sale of high powered fire arms.  You don't need to protect yourself against an attack from an army.

The other thing is that one side focuses on murders from guns. The most compelling/authentic stat that shows a profound correlation with guns is suicide. 

However, even that stat is a bit flawed. It basically shows that 2/3rds of deaths with guns are suicides and  the majority of suicide deaths are from guns and using a gun is 10 times more effective than trying to kill yourself with pills or cutting.

This means that using something other than a gun, is more likely to fail and there will be help for the person who failed to kill themselves.........and the help will keep them from wanting to kill themselves anymore. 

The problem there is that people who use a gun to do it, REALLY want to go because they know there is no coming back from a bullet to the head. People that use pills or cutting to try to commit suicide didn't all  resort to that method because there was no gun available. 

If 40% of households have guns, then we can assume that close to that many that tried to kill themselves with a different method, also had a gun but choose the less messy, less efficient method. 


https://everytownresearch.org/firearm-suicide/


I don't think that there is a way to effectively weed out a lot of people that might be suicidal with more scrutiny.........beyond a basic background check.

We already have so many guns out there that we know that making it harder for law abiding citizens to get a gun is not going to help much to curb the use of guns by law breaking citizens who don't use the legal system to get their guns.

Should we consider restricting gun ownership for law abiding citizens who are suicidal to protect them from themselves?

That one doesn't sell as well. 




By TimNew - Sept. 21, 2018, 1:53 p.m.
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"I can see a strong case for restricting the sale of high powered fire arms.  You don't need to protect yourself against an attack from an army."


The beauty of the documents the founders put together is that it's not up to the individual to justify why he wants something. It's up to the state to justify why he can't have it.  And that decision is supposed to be based on an argument that it somehow infringes on the rights of others.  I can be armed to the teeth,  but until I aim a weapon at your house,  it's really none of your business.  At least that's how it's supposed to work.  But of course, we know that's not how it works.


Ayn Rand said something to the effect of "We don't want law abiding men.  The government has no power over law abiding men.  So we write so many laws that they can't possibly be followed"  in Atlas Shrugged...


It's quite possible I am breaking some sort of regulation when I walk to my mailbox..  But of course, so far at least, the government has little interest in me.  If they ever do,  they'll be able to arrest me for something, I'm sure.  


Maybe posts like this will get me on their "list"..  If not now, soon enough the way we are headed.


BTW,  with things like ANTIFA around,  I certainly could find myself in a position where I had to defend myself against an army.