christo-f

Oh oh, looks like we've got a potential shooter on our hands! I think the history of the US which includes a long line of gun culture and availability, along with pressure to be popular. liked (this is by no means restricted to the US), computer games, violent movies, psychological issues, youtube fame, and so on and so on is the melting pot where all these issues come together to result in this outcome. Guns are far too prevelant in many areas now to make gun control an issue. It's the same as the whole troop surge thing. You reach a tipping point where the only viable solution is to flood an area with strength to combat those who are abusing the strength they have, can buy over the counter. Am I right to assume that some areas have greater gun crime than others? Would it be feasible to say that perhaps strict gun control in places like Boston or Connecticut and so on would be ok but the opposite would be needed in places like Michigan, Texas and so on? (sorry if my examples are out, but I don't come from the US and am not up on localised violence rates).

I'd extend the N to normal length and the top of the E in the "em" is a wee bit long. Other than that, coming along ok.

Ok, as I said, 20 years ago where I came from it meant something else. I just realised that this site doesn't have an edit function on older posts. Is it possible to remove the pics in anyway. Don't want to fuck the thread.

Oh dude, :rolleyes: I'm quite aware what you were referring to. I was trying to add some humour instead of arguing with you.

Ok, humour me for a bit can you? I'm a lot older than most here and don't come from the US. 20 years ago when I was painting, a burner was something that was either a word or a floor to ceiling pice. Someone tell me what it means these days and I'll edit my posts to suit.

Brazil, salvador: Rio de Janeiro:

Brazil, Brasillia: Sao Paulo (sorry about the quality of some pics but I was standing in traffic in a tunnel on one of Brazil's busiest roads):

More from Beijing, China:

Done in pencil as markers aren't available where I live. The pics don't make the colour look very strong, they are more definite in real life. I went a little overboard with the fill ins on the 8 and wanted to do the 3D in light and dark grey, but don't have those colours. All crits appreciated.

Going back a couple of pages, does Tezer need to be in the toy threads? I'd say not. But, you should definitely change your name dude. I know at least 10 kids writing a variation of that. Sure, most names will cross over to some extent but there are certain names that are constants and anything derived from tease is one of them. Anyway, I think your work is sweet! Typical, I also like your work as well, mad sketching! Sneak, word of advice, you've got to have credibility before you can have attitude.

Yep, Australia is becoming more violent of late, I really find it unbelievable. The problem is that it is starting to happen on a more frequent basis and people are starting to become a little more desensitised to it. I left the country about a year ago and moved to Beijing. Whilst China does have it's problems, you can walk around the streets with no fear of being shot, bashed or even the victim of racism. Sometimes I wonder how bad things could be if we didn't enact stronger gun laws. We had a hugely successful buy back scheme and amnesty that took tens of thousand of legal and illegal weapons out of use. IT does upset me the trend of violence and brutality we have in Australia. The latest is a spate of serious facial glassings in Sydney bars and clubs. The problem is we have so many dickheads that follow trends for the sake of it. Fucking idiots.

Sorry dude, I can't access wiki where I live. Now, the Milpera massacre was 1984, that's 23 years ago. That means the shootings you've mentioned have taken place over 23 years. Yes, you have backed up your argument to a certain degree, but it still does not come anywhere near comparing the frequency of mass shootings to that seen in the US on a comparative scale. Anyway, we are both right in what we are saying. Australia is definitely no stranger to these occurrences but we are comparing two different cultures, histories and timelines with each other. Australia has stricter control measures, but maybe it's the cultural differences, population sizes or other issues that give similarities and differences. Either way, I think we can both agree that we would all be much happier if both countries could find a way to decrease these sad and destructive happenings.

I definitely would have sprayed an aerosol can in his ear, ditched the cans in the bush and then come the next day for pics and posted it here!

That's only speculation as for now. Some agencies are running with that line but it has not been confirmed. The most corroborated line is that he was on foot at the time. Personally I'd say that it was in a vehicle between the meeting and his vehicle. Simple; much easier to just park an already loaded vehicle, arm it and walk away. Why would you risk attaching a bomb to his vehicle which would surely have had an element of surveillance on it. Remember, this guy has been successfully evading two of the world's premier agencies for over 20 years. He had his shit squared away with stuff like that.

A string of shootings before that??!! The only one I'm aware was Wade Frankum in Strathfield, five years previous. Hardly a "string of shootings". You wouldn't happen to putting a little spin on your ball to back your less than accurate point would you? Mate, the absolute lack of shootings in Australia like this shows that their gun laws have been successful. Australia has strict gun control laws which haw stopped a gun culture emerging and hence they don't need private citizens armed with assault rifles. The Wade Frankum shooting was done using a Chinese made SKS, semi-auto, not a fully auto and that was the main thrust of Australia's new gun control laws stemming from the Port Arthur massacre. Australia had one massacre 12 years ago, one 5 years before that and one uni shooting since. If anyone thinks that compares to to the sadness we've seen in the US over the last week or so, you're crazy. If you're looking for a statistical comparison to compensate for the population differences then Australia would need to have seen something like one massacre a year. they have not. It is indeed sad and terrible and I feel for all those suffering as a result. I sincerely hope that some kind of policy can be found to put an end to this craziness.

The problem that Mossad faces against Hizbollah is that Hizbollah will operate outside the law internationally while Israel is a little more restrained that way. Hizbollah has a pretty long international reach and is known to have a vast network throughout the worl that has targets mapped out ready to be hit. Hizbollah can go after any Israeli assets or citizens where Israel can only really hit Hizbollah operatives. It makes them a little harder target than just being able to bomb holiday resorts, kidnap/hit private citizens and businesses. Israel would much prefer an overt war than a global anti-insurgency campaign of sorts. Hizbollah won't hit Israel proper, it will hit Israel interests in other countries.

I live in China. I chose not to discuss the origins and rapid spread of SARS due to a strong sense of self preservation.

Bird flu is as real as it gets. The actions by commercial interests are also as real as it gets. First off, bird flu is real, a similar thing killed about 15 million people straight after the First World War. It was called the Spanish (bird) flu. What happens is that animals have different viruses, colds etc. than humans and sometimes, usually in developing countries or areas with less than developed animal handling methods (this means where people live in close proximity to the animals they keep and have low hygiene standards) this flu/cold/virus crosses over from the animals to the people. Sometimes, there is little effect, sometimes people get sick, sometimes people die. People have been dying from H5N1. The big fear is that the virus will cross over from an animal and mutate in a human.., as viruses do. Then the virus can become transmitted by bodily fluids, like SARS and when you sneeze you can possibly infect the people around you. If it is a virulent strain..., like H5N1, you stand the chance of a fast killing flu, spreading quickly. Added to this is that you really cannot make an effective antidote for something that doesn't exist..., such as a transmissible mutated virus. So if it does happen, we've got to solve it on the run before it gets out of hand, like SARS almost did. It's a real threat. What you guys, and the tool who penned the original article, are talking about is simple capitalization and money making from fear. You can say the same thing about Y2K, Terrorism, nuclear attack by the Ruskis int he 50's etc. All real and credible threats that never eventuated, but people still got rich from them! ;)

Being single sucks if you're ugly. Glad I got me a girl :D

Haha, just went and did that, got some proper pencils, colours etc. Was using all I had at the time.

OK, got some paper action going. I seem to like the old school styles. Will be getting myself some colours going tomorrow, just some B&W tonight for some crits on style etc. 798 is an Art district near where I live in Beijing (please excuse the little bit of shit on the bottom Chinese character).

Ok, found the correct thread now. I used to paint about 20 years ago and have recently just moved to a place where the paint is cheap and shitty and the walls are free to paint. So I'm happy to try and progress to something respectable again. The two small ones are just me dicking around and the other one was me trying to get creative. Am attempting proper styles today and will post up when done. Any crits and advice welcome