What are people's take on this trial up north about the two rugby players and the rape allegations! The whole thing is at best incredibly unsavory but neither side is going to ever really be found to be totally guilty or innocent, just seems to be one word against another with a fair bit of alcohol involved.
It's a very difficult situation, impossible to know what really happened having not been there isn't it ? Around the time the court case kicked off, there was a bunch of pics of the girl doing the rounds on Whats App, along with a few screenshots of chat between people who claimed to know her etc. At the time, I remember thinking that it almost looked like a campaign to discredit her. Since then, I've found myself thinking the lads are innocent one minute, next minute I think they might have gone too far and may be guilty of something... One thing I don't get is why are the lads all named across the news almost daily, while they are defendants and yet to be proven guilty of anything (perhaps they never will be found guilty !) and yet the girl's identity isn't released in the news ? If it's innocent until proven guilty, then the lads should have had their identity closely guarded along with the girls etc. As things stand, if the lads are found innocent, this story will still taint their reputation for many years to come. I'd hate to be trying to make a decision on this case as it's something that you'll always wonder if you got right, and there's going to be no winners coming out of the case regardless of the result.
Really is an impossible one for the jury though I heard yesterday that the third guy is claiming to have actually had sex with her too while she's saying he just walked into the room naked, might be something there that could be proved either true or false. I'd agree though Gary, the other girl is the one that will likely damage her side as it would seem to a reasonable bystander that if you were being raped you'd possibly seek help from someone that happened to walk past.
Authorities in Florida could offer no explanation last night as to why a former student armed with an AR-15 rifle opened fire at a high school earlier that day, killing at least 17 people. Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel identified the gunman as Nikolas Cruz, 19, a former student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland who had been expelled for "disciplinary reasons," but was currently enrolled in Broward County Public Schools. Cruz, described by fellow students as "troubled," was arrested without incident in the nearby town of Coral Springs after the Valentine's Day rampage and taken to hospital with minor injuries, the sheriff said. "We have already begun to dissect his websites and things on social media that he was on and some of the things ... are very, very disturbing," Sheriff Israel said. "If a person is predisposed to commit such a horrific event by going to a school and shooting people ... there's not anybody or not a lot law enforcement can do about it." Sheriff Israel said both students and adults had been killed, 12 of whom have now been identified. He said at least 14 were taken to hospital and two had died there of their wounds. He added one of those killed was a football coach, and one student injured was a deputy sheriff's son. Scott Israel and Florida Governor Rick Scott speak to the media at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School "This is a terrible day for Parkland," Sheriff Israel said, speaking of the city of about 30,000 people, located 80km north of Miami.
I think the saddest thing is we have reached the point where 17 more people are shot dead and we KNOW absolutely nothing will be done about it. When you stop and think about it, it is just completely and utterly mental. People love their guns so much that they will not allow things to change, they will risk their own and everyone else's kid's lives because they love the power and the thrill of owning their very own killing machine so much. They know people are being killed every day and will not allow change, that is a pretty serious fucked up place to be. Every western country has problems. They are on another level, their "society" is terminally ill.
Talking to a few folks in the US about it today and it's not even about giving up guns, it's the amount of people involved/invested in the industry. Always go back to my time in Tampa, Flordia just over two years ago. It's like a city with lots of suburbs and after every junction there is a petrol station/convenience store, a subway, a launderette and a gun shop. If it was Ireland it would be a pub/off licence or a bookies instead of gun shop. I could not understand how they could make money until we went in and the place was packed at 12 on a Friday. Was a gun range down the back and was a like the local social scene. You imagine they bring in laws restricting guns and that whole industry falls apart overnight, impact to employment and the economy be would massive. For me that is more an issue than red necks not wanting to give their right to bear arms. The amount of political power the NRA hold is unreal. Trump recently relaxed the rules to appease his supporters so it's going to get worse before it gets better
Are you honestly passing comment on honour of someone who is in such a state that they would take their own life ??
Also worth nothing the laws and availability of firearms in Ireland, versus the US. From the countries shown, I'd say we probably have a lot less access to legally acquired guns than most of the other countries on that list. However, the tighter legislation and lack of access to all sorts of military type guns in Ireland, hasn't helped us unfortunately. The US needs to do something significant amount it's laws, but something even more significant about the mental state of some of it's population and the low value they place on life !
Suicide by Cop compels someone else to pull the trigger and kill you, they don't get a choice in the matter. With Seppuku, it's a consensual arrangement that someone else chops off your head after you inflict the initial wound to your stomach. From that perspective, perhaps it is more honourable as you haven't forced someone to kill you. As for the reality of suicide, it's a horrible situation for someone to find themselves in where they feel taking their own life is the solution, and mostly because they needed help that the rest of society failed to identify or adequately provide. There are however clear examples of where you can understand a person's decision to take thier own life, such as with euthanasia.
Trump met with students from the shooting last week and he said they are looking at arming teachers as shootings last 3 minutes and it takes 8 minutes for police to get there. Saw it today and it sounds like something from a Southpark episode