Society's Child

Switzerland has a stunningly high rate of gun ownership — here's why it doesn't have mass shootings

Hilary Brueck
Business Insider
Mon, 05 Aug 2019 10:23 UTC

Switzerland hasn't had a mass shooting since 2001, when a man stormed the local parliament in Zug, killing 14 people and then himself.

The country has about 2 million privately owned guns in a nation of 8.3 million people. In 2016, the country had 47 attempted homicides with firearms. The country's overall murder rate is near zero.

The National Rifle Association often points to Switzerland to argue that more rules on gun ownership aren't necessary. In 2016, the NRA said on its blog that the European country had one of the lowest murder rates in the world while still having millions of privately owned guns and a few hunting weapons that don't even require a permit.

Comment: There is clearly something fundamentally different about the Swiss as compared to Americans. Despite wide access to firearms, they clearly have little reason or desire to go around shooting each other. Looking more deeply into this fact may be the key to discovering what's behind the US' penchant for gun violence.

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Far-right accounts retweeted by Trump keep getting suspended

Kevin Poulsen
The Daily Beast
Thu, 08 Aug 2019 00:18 UTC

Nearly 10 percent of the unverified accounts retweeted by President Trump since his inauguration are currently suspended from Twitter for various violations of the platform's policies, ranging from hate speech to running fake sockpuppet accounts, a Daily Beast analysis has found.

The most recent occurrence was last week, when Twitter tapped the brakes on "LYNNTHO06607841" just hours after Trump retweeted the account's proclamation that "DEMOCRATS ARE THE TRUE ENEMIES OF AMERICA!" Before it was boarded up, the account's timeline was thick with all-caps conspiracy theories targeting prominent Democrats, including a recent tweet claiming Bill and Hillary Clinton "torture and sacrifice children" to get at "a drug that can only be found inside the human skull."

The suspension set The Daily Beast wondering about the ultimate fate of other Twitter users plucked from relative obscurity by a presidential retweet. Do they thrive and flourish in the limelight, or are they like child stars who often lose their way later in life?

By our count, Trump has picked his retweets from 488 accounts since his swearing-in. Most are public figures, media outlets, and government agencies sporting the familiar blue "verified" check mark attesting to the account-holder's identity. Of the 178 unverified users, Twitter had 16 on suspended status as of Thursday, when we made the count, with their tweets silenced and their timelines blocked from public view. The number dropped to 15 on Friday when one account returned from a 60-day ban. A single verified account, operated by the far-right group British First, was suspended after Trump retweeted three violent anti-Muslim smears.

Comment: See also:

Diversity, inclusion and anti-excellence: A former dean of the Yale Law School sounds a warning

Bret Stephens
The New York Times
Fri, 02 Aug 2019 00:01 UTC

Anyone who has followed the news from college campuses over the past few years knows they are experiencing forms of unrest unseen since the late 1960s.

Now, as then, campuses have become an arena for political combat. Now, as then, race is a central issue. Now, as then, students rail against an unpopular president and an ostensibly rigged system. Now, as then, liberal professors are being bullied, denounced, demoted, threatened, sued and sometimes even assaulted by radical students.

But there are some important differences, too. None of today's students risk being drafted into an unpopular, distant war. Unlike the campus rebels of the '60s, today's student activists don't want more freedom to act, speak, and think as they please. Usually they want less.

Comment: See also:

Environmentalism in a nutshell: McDonald's new paper straws aren't recyclable — but its axed plastic ones were

Rob Picheta
CNN
Mon, 05 Aug 2019 16:49 UTC

McDonald's has reportedly admitted that its new paper straws, rolled out last year to help "protect the environment," can't be recycled — unlike the plastic versions they replaced.

The straws were introduced to all 1,361 McDonald's restaurants in the United Kingdom and Ireland after a trial last year.

But the fast food giant acknowledged on Monday that the new versions are too thick to be processed by its recyclers.

Comment: Much like the replacement of traditional light bulbs with CFLs, and even renewable energy sources, environmental solutions only serve as virtue signals, offering nothing but a pseudo-solution with a side of frustration for the consumer having to switch to inferior, and sometimes dangerous, products. People really have no idea what they're doing.

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14 Killed, 145 wounded In Taliban car bombing outside police station in Kabul

RFE/RL
Wed, 07 Aug 2019 06:15 UTC

At least 14 people have been killed and 145 wounded after a Taliban suicide car bomber detonated his vehicle outside a police station in Kabul, according to the Afghan Public Health Ministry.

Women and children were among the victims of the attack that occurred at around 9 a.m. local time on August 7, Interior Ministry spokesman Nusrat Rahimi said.

Deputy Interior Minister Khoshal Sadat told reporters that 92 of the wounded were civilians. Four police officers were among those killed, Sadat said.

Comment: It's notable that while peace talks are on going some in the region seem intent on sabotaging them with some of the deadliest attacks in recent history: 50 dead in Afghanistan attacks as Taliban offered part in Presidential election if peace talks start

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Danish tax office hit by massive explosion, authorities declare it a 'deliberate act'

Christian Wienberg & Nick Rigillo
Bloomberg
Thu, 08 Aug 2019 09:42 UTC

Danish police are investigating an explosion that ripped through the country's national tax agency late on Tuesday, in what authorities are characterizing as a deliberate act.

Tax Minister Morten Bodskov told Ritzau that it's "pretty clear" someone is behind the explosion, while Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called the attack a "serious crime." Police said one person was slightly injured.

Images of the building, which is in the east of the capital Copenhagen, show the front was largely destroyed, with windows shattered. The injured person was a passer-by, who was hit by flying debris, police said.

What criminology professors learned by studying every mass shooting since 1966

Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge
Wed, 07 Aug 2019 02:55 UTC

Last weekend's mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton (following the devastation in Gilroy the weekend before) prompted the usual evidence-free avalanche of political point-scoring, blaming "the other side" for all the world's woes.

Babylon Bee's satirical take summed things up perfectly:

An exhaustive new study from the CDC reveals that the leading cause of gun violence in America is your political opponents. Researchers looked at a number of potential causes of gun violence such as mental health, family situation, cultural shifts, gun laws, rap music, video games, sugar consumption, and the actual gunman, but by and large, the most prominent cause of gun violence was what most already suspected. The fault lies with those who you disagree with politically.
© CDC

The demise of free speech: Truth telling in the shadows

Tracy Beanz
UncoverDC
Wed, 07 Aug 2019 20:38 UTC

It used to be that investigative journalism was adventurous and even exciting. There was nothing like uncovering hidden facts, evidence and sometimes the darkest of secrets. While much of this is still true, investigative journalism on a social media platform is often none of these things.

Once, having the freedom to publish everything uncovered in the course of my many investigative stories was status quo, I wrote "the facts ma'am." But now I (and so many others), run the risk of suspension, banning and removal at any time for any reason. It has seemingly become more difficult to publish a story, save that I post it on our website and direct people to my site to read my latest piece. And I shudder to think how many journalists and perhaps non-journalists but even potential sources are just too afraid to share facts, tell the real story, or provide the truth. The risk of being banned for stepping outside of the "acceptable" line is real. The fear of facing the virtual and sometimes physical lynch mob that comes for those who dare to try to tell unvarnished truth is very real.

Israeli Cyprus rape story changes again: Victim says she was forced to retract accusations

Noa Shpigel
Haaretz
Mon, 05 Aug 2019 18:57 UTC

A British tourist said she was pressured to retract her rape allegations against 12 Israeli men by the Cyprus police after they threatened to arrest her friends on conspiracy charges, according to Justice Abroad, the organization providing legal assistance to the teenager's family.

Cyprus police released seven Israelis who were arrested on suspicion of gang raping of the 19-year-old woman last Sunday. The tourist was then arrested on suspicion of misleading authorities. All accusations against the group of 12 Israelis, five of whom were released two weeks ago, were dropped.

According to Justice Abroad, subsequent police reports stating that the tourist voluntarily recanted her allegations have been denied by the family. The organization cited family members as asserting that the teenager was taken to the police station while on medications, where she provided a further statement about the allegations. A police officer told her he believed she was lying and urged her to write a confession and that he would arrest her friends in Cyprus if she did not agree. She requested a lawyer and was denied, according to the organization.

The teenager then said "you have to be f***ing joking" and left the room crying, and was threatened upon her return to be charged with "swearing at a police officer," according to the Justice Abroad statement. She was then pressured to write a confession, which was dictated to her, against her will, and was told what to include and given a choice as to what reasons to give for making the allegations, the statement said. The teenager refused to sign the statement but was told that she would be arrested if she did not, according to the statement.

Comment: See also:

British teen reportedly fabricated rape charges against Israelis, who plan to sue

Texan family claims El Paso shooter tried to recruit their son to white supremacist group 2 years ago, warned police

Jobin Panicker
WFAA.com
Wed, 07 Aug 2019 18:51 UTC

surveillance walmart shoot el paso crusius

Walmart shooter Patrick Crusius caught on surveillance footage

A family in Collin County was reminded of a dark chapter in their lives Saturday when they saw news of the shooting deaths of 22 people at an El Paso Walmart from a suspected North Texas shooter.

But the family reached out to WFAA because they felt the need to tell someone about that dark chapter. It is a story they claim they told the FBI two years ago and again this last weekend. WFAA is protecting the family's identity because they fear retaliation.

"It was more like fireworks were going off, it just hit a chord," the father said watching news coverage on Saturday.

As soon as they heard the name "Patrick Crusius," they say they knew instantly. The Collin County family says Crusius tried to recruit their son to a small local white supremacist group in 2017.

"When [our son] referenced Patrick, it was in a glorified manner," said the father.

The family says the son and Crusius were both at Plano Senior High together. The district confirmed two students by those names attended the school at the same time.

"At first it was a flyer and then they made friends with him," the mother said.

Comment: See also:

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Society's Child

Switzerland has a stunningly high rate of gun ownership — here's why it doesn't have mass shootings

Far-right accounts retweeted by Trump keep getting suspended

Diversity, inclusion and anti-excellence: A former dean of the Yale Law School sounds a warning

Environmentalism in a nutshell: McDonald's new paper straws aren't recyclable — but its axed plastic ones were

14 Killed, 145 wounded In Taliban car bombing outside police station in Kabul

Danish tax office hit by massive explosion, authorities declare it a 'deliberate act'

What criminology professors learned by studying every mass shooting since 1966

The demise of free speech: Truth telling in the shadows

Israeli Cyprus rape story changes again: Victim says she was forced to retract accusations

Texan family claims El Paso shooter tried to recruit their son to white supremacist group 2 years ago, warned police

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