Policefreak55

Ohhhh man, this post is gettin' me right there... nope, don't, awww you did it! There go them feels! I have to say that FC:RP was one of the best times I've had gaming. The roleplay there was some of the best to be had (with some fun to be had too, like giving a full police escort to the man street sweeping the roads out on route 9, the real roleplay MVP), and I met a lot of great guys too who I still keep in touch with. It's nice to see these pictures of the server (I even see me too!) and rehash the old memories from back then. Gooooood times.

Ohhhh man, this post is gettin' me right there... nope, don't, awww you did it! There go them feels! I have to say that FC:RP was one of the best times I've had gaming. The roleplay there was some of the best to be had (with some fun to be had too, like giving a full police escort to the man street sweeping the roads out on route 9, the real roleplay MVP), and I met a lot of great guys too who I still keep in touch with. It's nice to see these pictures of the server (I even see me too!) and rehash the old memories from back then. Gooooood times.

That sort of answers the whole "self defense" question right there. It's not self defense, it was revenge. He had the opportunity to walk out of the confrontation and he did. But instead of calling 911 he decided to take matters into his own hands. I have no idea how anyone in their right mind could defend against that point.
 
It actually wasn't all that sweet compared to the other countries at the table. They had a list of 21 demands which got knocked down to 13, and Germany had basically dick in the Pacific that was worth having. Japan gained the Marshall islands, Caroline Islands, Mariana Islands and Palau islands, along with the Jiaozhou Bay. The islands did not, and still do not offer anything substantial in terms of resources Japan could use, which is a major reason they invaded China. They wanted raw materials Japan doesn't have as a giant volcanic island. The biggest attraction to these islands to this day is tourism. Moreover, Japan tried to introduce a clause about racial equality at the Versailles Treaty conference, which was flatly rejected by the western powers, as white supremacy theory was still alive and well during that time, and the idea of having colonies or territories was partly dependent on the belief that the white race was superior and had a reason to confiscate land that belonged to the natives who actually lived there. Both Japan and Arabic countries were less than satisfied when the negotiations were over, but it was out of their hands.

As a World Word II enthusiast, I'm sure you know full well that the League of Nations was absolutely useless when it came to stopping another world war, and the representative of Japan simply walked out when faced with increasing political pressure from the west. The U.N. was later formed in its place after the war, which is a group of people who are slightly more effective than 'useless', but not by much, I'm afraid.

Good recap of Japan's history in China, though. I didn't feel like looking up specifics, but I've known for years now that Japan was actually the country to start major trouble over seas years before Hitler did anything to get any serious heat from people outside Germany.

Except there's no international, or for that matter, national standard for the definition of a "mass shooting". These shootings such as Oregon, SPREE shootings, happen infrequently, while anti-firearm propaganda groups will take any shooting with more than one victim, and lump them into one problem they CLAIM can only be solved with this one solution to ban firearms. Take this site for example:
http://shootingtracker.com/wiki/Mass_Shootings_in_2015
Take a look at the cites. Lounge shootings. Nightclub shootings. Murder-suicides. These aren't unprovoked, random acts of violence. These are mostly revenge killings, personal incidents, and a lot of ,what appears to be, gang related. These situations can NOT be solved with a be-all-end-all solution such as gun control, because these incidents would have carried out, firearms or not. Take China, for instance. They have an  incredibly high rate of stabbings, which has been getting worse in certain professions. It's even been reported on most recently by our media outlets: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2015/07/22/chinese-doctors-to-disgruntled-patients-please-stop-stabbing-us/ There was even a large massacre last year, in which 29 people were stabbed to death. That's almost as high as the Virginia Tech Massacre which occured in 2007. Men with knives killed about as many people as someone with a gun did. People can kill with anything, and those with the desire to kill, will. The largest massacre, the Bath School Massacre, was committed using a series of bombs. These deaths are NOT the problem child spawned by lax gun control, but by many more problems that we find within all societies (China, as per the article, as one such example). Problems such as poverty, mental illness, even something basic, such as human emotions.
Branding every single incident the problem of gun control is a cop out of dealing with the root of the issues, and a lot of politicians don't want to because the solutions to these problems are too costly or time consuming. Just as McKinnion said, Oregon cut Mental Illness spending recently. That creates more problems than it solves, because people like this shooter, who need that treatment early on, won't get it, and WILL cause problems later on in his life.
Guns can be dangerous. Guns can kill. That can be said of everything in existence. But they're used to provide food for families, because not everyone lives in suburbia near a supermarket. They're used for recreation, because shooting a gun IS a rush, it IS fun, and no one can deny it, even the anti-gunners. And they're used for self defense, because there ARE people out there who wish to do harm to you, simply because you're an opportunistic target for them, or you represent something they fear, or envy, or just plain loathe. Guns simply, are a tool, just like any other tool. They have many purposes, just like other tools, and to blame them for the actions of a human being, is plain wrong.

Guns are only as dangerous as the person and their intents.
Guns are absolutely tools, and have MANY different purposes. For people who live in rural areas, they are their sole source of sustenance. There are still people who don't, or choose, not to have access to structured civilization, or can't financially. For these people, game is the only feasible access to food they have. Hunting has every right to be included in a conversation about firearms, because game is a very important topic when it comes to human survival. They are also very essential in crop survival. Firearms are used for pest control, because varmints will destroy crops intended for others. This not only destroys food, but income as well. I will take a moment to use an anecdote. I met this kind old woman, 102 years old. She ran a farm nearby, and had been having pest problems, as groundhogs had been destroying her potential harvest. Because of her old age, there was nothing she could do, so a few of us had volunteered to help secure her harvest and remove them. Without that help, her crop would have been significantly destroyed, and her diminished income would have put her in a financial strain. This is a service that is absolutely vital to the survival of all farms' harvests. And of course, they are used for recreation, just like archery, which was another invention designed for warfare that has been transformed by modern society. There are many national shooting sports that people compete in, and they are very popular among people People who do not intend to kill anyone, they simply love shooting. As they say, you can not speak about something until you have tried it for yourself. I can tell you have never used a firearm before, and convincing yourself that because you are shooting a gun you are training to kill someone, is a very narrow minded view (unfortunately one that many share). Simply because one uses a firearm, does not make them psycho. Simply enjoying the sporting of it and the rush, does not make them psycho, because that is the body's natural reaction to adrenaline and dopamine releases. It is what that person is doing, or using a weapon for, that potentially makes them psycho.
Gun control just doesn't work that way, thankfully, because people have civil liberties and personal freedom. There is a place and a need for law, but to overstretch the limits and impositions on a people invites a very dystopic and authoritarian future. What you described, already happens, and people still are able to obtain illegally purchased firearms. Identifying the people most at risk of doing harm, and preventing them from obtaining it, while allowing those legally allowed to do so the ability, is what saves innocent lives, and protects rights and freedoms.
We don't allow anyone and everyone to own guns, that's why we have the NICS and 4473s, and we don't support psychotics either, but that was a nice straw man.

Except there's no international, or for that matter, national standard for the definition of a "mass shooting". These shootings such as Oregon, SPREE shootings, happen infrequently, while anti-firearm propaganda groups will take any shooting with more than one victim, and lump them into one problem they CLAIM can only be solved with this one solution to ban firearms. Take this site for example:
http://shootingtracker.com/wiki/Mass_Shootings_in_2015
Take a look at the cites. Lounge shootings. Nightclub shootings. Murder-suicides. These aren't unprovoked, random acts of violence. These are mostly revenge killings, personal incidents, and a lot of ,what appears to be, gang related. These situations can NOT be solved with a be-all-end-all solution such as gun control, because these incidents would have carried out, firearms or not. Take China, for instance. They have an  incredibly high rate of stabbings, which has been getting worse in certain professions. It's even been reported on most recently by our media outlets: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2015/07/22/chinese-doctors-to-disgruntled-patients-please-stop-stabbing-us/ There was even a large massacre last year, in which 29 people were stabbed to death. That's almost as high as the Virginia Tech Massacre which occured in 2007. Men with knives killed about as many people as someone with a gun did. People can kill with anything, and those with the desire to kill, will. The largest massacre, the Bath School Massacre, was committed using a series of bombs. These deaths are NOT the problem child spawned by lax gun control, but by many more problems that we find within all societies (China, as per the article, as one such example). Problems such as poverty, mental illness, even something basic, such as human emotions.
Branding every single incident the problem of gun control is a cop out of dealing with the root of the issues, and a lot of politicians don't want to because the solutions to these problems are too costly or time consuming. Just as McKinnion said, Oregon cut Mental Illness spending recently. That creates more problems than it solves, because people like this shooter, who need that treatment early on, won't get it, and WILL cause problems later on in his life.
Guns can be dangerous. Guns can kill. That can be said of everything in existence. But they're used to provide food for families, because not everyone lives in suburbia near a supermarket. They're used for recreation, because shooting a gun IS a rush, it IS fun, and no one can deny it, even the anti-gunners. And they're used for self defense, because there ARE people out there who wish to do harm to you, simply because you're an opportunistic target for them, or you represent something they fear, or envy, or just plain loathe. Guns simply, are a tool, just like any other tool. They have many purposes, just like other tools, and to blame them for the actions of a human being, is plain wrong.

For those interested, here's the full dispatch audio from the UCC response:
I have to say, the radio traffic was very well done. All traffic was concise, coordinated, no confusion and people weren't walking over each other's transmissions. A very nice way to handle such a dynamic and developing situation, kudos to all the responders.

It's a truly sad day when the court of public opinion and emotions takes more precedence over the court of law. No longer is it about facts, it's about what you read on social media, about what you hear on the news. People used to demand truth, now they believe whatever they read from the latest Facebook post or tweet on their wall. Ambushes on law enforcement are a growing trend, and unfortunately, I think it won't end any time soon. RIP to all the officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty, including Officer Liu and Officer Ramos, whose names have been added to the list of officers this year killed in cold blooded ambush.
 
Police Officer Wenjian Liu  EOW: 12/20/2014
Police Officer Rafael Ramos  EOW: 12/20/2014
Deputy Sheriff Christopher Smith EOW: 11/22/2014
Corporal Bryon Keith Dickson, II EOW: 10/12/2014
Patrolman II Nickolaus E. Schultz EOW: 10/07/2014
Patrolman Jeffrey Brady Westerfield EOW: 07/06/2014
P olice Officer Igor Soldo EOW: 06/08/2014
Police Officer Alyn Beck  EOW: 06/08/2014
Police Officer Brian Jones EOW: 05/30/2014
Deputy Sheriff Ricky Del Fiorentino EOW: 03/19/2014
Sergeant Cory Wride EOW: 01/30/2014

What disappoints me the most is people didn't wait.
 
From the beginning, people took to social media to dictate the events surrounding the shooting of Michael Brown. Officer Wilson was vilified by people because of the narrative the media and the internet developed surrounding the shooting of this gentle giant who was surrendering peacefully. Then, the facts started slipping out slowly but surely as the investigation progressed and the detectives, prosecutor and the DA saw that the information wouldn't compromise the possible jury pool in case of indictment. STILL, people clung to their rallying cry of HANDS UP! DON'T SHOOT! The robbery footage provided motive for Wilson's version of events, but it was irrelevant. Dorian Johnson, Brown's friend, admitted to committing strong arm robbery, recanting previous testimony and calling into question the credibility of ANYTHING he said, yet he witnessed it all. People wanted an indictment, because they EXPECTED IT from the made up "evidence" spawned from rampant rumor and speculation. Anyone who paid attention knew what was going to happen. 
 
With the release of the no true bill readings, comes the release of the Grand Jury evidence with it. There's 77 released documents. Over thousands of pages of evidence, including witness testimony, toxicology reports, ME reports, radio transcripts. 987 MB (uncompressed) worth of information provided to the Grand Jury that helped them reach their decision. The worst part of it all? People won't look at it. They will continue to remain ignorant of what really happened, because they "already knew" what happened, and no amount of actual evidence will change that.

If I'm not within arm's reach of a firearm, I'm usually equipped with some other defensive weapon. Lets just say if you try and play the knockout game with me...
 

If I'm not within arm's reach of a firearm, I'm usually equipped with some other defensive weapon. Lets just say if you try and play the knockout game with me...
 

If I'm not within arm's reach of a firearm, I'm usually equipped with some other defensive weapon. Lets just say if you try and play the knockout game with me...
 

Did you just blame the existence of racism on an entire continent? Racism exists throughout the world, and it would exist even if (North) America didn't, because people are almost always going to have a predisposition towards other groups, whether it's ingrained in them when they're brought up, or form that attitude themselves because of their contact with that group. Until the cycle breaks (which I will be one to admit doesn't look like it is any time soon), the hate will continue.

Did you just blame the existence of racism on an entire continent? Racism exists throughout the world, and it would exist even if (North) America didn't, because people are almost always going to have a predisposition towards other groups, whether it's ingrained in them when they're brought up, or form that attitude themselves because of their contact with that group. Until the cycle breaks (which I will be one to admit doesn't look like it is any time soon), the hate will continue.

Did you just blame the existence of racism on an entire continent? Racism exists throughout the world, and it would exist even if (North) America didn't, because people are almost always going to have a predisposition towards other groups, whether it's ingrained in them when they're brought up, or form that attitude themselves because of their contact with that group. Until the cycle breaks (which I will be one to admit doesn't look like it is any time soon), the hate will continue.

these are some weapons recovered from a Chicago street gang member's property, including high powered rifles, and yes, what appears to be a M72 LAW .
 

 
These weapons were recovered by the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office Gang Task Force from Sacramento gang members. Among them are multiple AK variants, an M16A1, and the butt-stock of what appears to be an MP5.
 

 
And lastly, these weapons were stolen and going to be sold to a Tulsa, OK street gang before a traffic stop led to their recovery.
 
All of these weapons were recovered from highly populated, urban areas. Thinking that street gangs don't have or want these weapons is as ignorant as thinking they don't have the means to obtain them and use them. Gangs don't need a reason to have what they have, nor do they need to carry these around on the street. They could just as easily be used for a drive-by, a planned retaliation, or protecting a stash house. Lest we not forget, gangs ARE in a war, and as long as there's at least two gangs, there will always be a war.
 
 
Armor piercing rounds were banned for import and sale by the Gun Control Act of 1968, so I can assume you mean full metal jacket rounds, which isn't the case at all. It's very widely available (I've even purchased them off of the internet and had them shipped to my home), considering it's one of the most common rounds, and is pretty effective at stopping somebody, granted it doesn't have the expansion a hollow-point does, but it will tumble and chew through your body regardless.
 
And what's more, an alert I read from the Blue Alert System had stated that Bloods gang members from all over the country are being called to New Jersey to enact a war against the police department and kill some cops, so it's very possible that weapons like these can find their way into a shootout/ambush type scenario there. Lets just hope the police department is prepared for this and prevails, and that everyone stays safe out there.