Coffee shop siege in Sydney, Australia

[IshbelRobertson]

BBC report
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-30473983

It appears that terrorism has truly become global...

[sweetana3]

There will always be crazy people, people hoping for their own 15 minutes of "fame", stupid people, etc. The media always picks these types of stories wherever they happen to get ratings. I mean who takes hostages at a chocolate shop?

This one is just more colorful than the more ordinary crazy person who needs local SWAT team to resolve the issue.

[CathyA]

I know the media has A LOT of faults.........but it is a global world now, and I like to know what's going on around me. Some people can just turn it off. Some can't.
I just wish we could come down hard on the criminals.......instead of trying to be humane. The victims should have more rights than the bad guys.

[JaneV2.0]

Come down hard on criminals? It seems to me that sentences are longer than ever--and of course we're one of the few industrialized countries that still has capital punishment. I'm pretty sure the (civilized) world doesn't consider us particularly humane, with our for-profit prisons, torture programs, draconian drug sentences, and death penalty--where we execute the mentally deficient, and even the innocent from time to time.

I don't know what more we could do--we're already executing black children and adults on the spot without trial--or even a crime. Maybe we could expand our torture program to those nifty profitable prisons...Identify "potential" offenders and imprison them for life?

Personally, I think a humane approach is worth trying--maybe we should study countries that use one.

[CathyA]

Well, I'm for capital punishment in a lot of cases. I view those criminals like I view a cancer in our bodies.........would we coddle them/pay for them, give them rights if it meant it was bringing down the good parts of our bodies?
Yes, I agree we should look at other countries that don't have our types of problems.........but hey, we're AMERICA........we don't want to learn nothin' from nobody, cause it would make us look weak.

[gimmethesimplelife]

Come down hard on criminals? It seems to me that sentences are longer than ever--and of course we're one of the few industrialized countries that still has capital punishment. I'm pretty sure the (civilized) world doesn't consider us particularly humane, with our for-profit prisons, torture programs, draconian drug sentences, and death penalty--where we execute the mentally deficient, and even the innocent from time to time.

I don't know what more we could do--we're already executing black children and adults on the spot without trial--or even a crime. Maybe we could expand our torture program to those nifty profitable prisons...Identify "potential" offenders and imprison them for life?

Personally, I think a humane approach is worth trying--maybe we should study countries that use one.Jane, your post here made me think of how bizarre it can be for me when i cross the border from Mexico into the United States - just went to Mexicali recently to have the wax removed from my ears. One minute I'm standing in Mexico, wherein parts of the country are truly lawless and criminals - the type you'd be wise to be afraid of - do operate with impunity and the police are people you often would be wise to avoid. Then I cross into the United States where not long ago a child in a school in Texas was arrested for spraying perfume on herself in class (google this is you want to learn how scary America can truly be, it happened in Austin, TX) and another was arrested for dropping food on the floor in the cafeteria and not picking up the crumbs on the floor - YES ACTUALLY ARRESTED!!!!! in El Norte it is so insane that you can probably be arrested these days for sneezing too loud. People with simple and small non-violent misdemeanors find it very very very hard to find work these days due to background checks giving no one out there a second chance. But we do share one thing in common with Mexico - the police over much of the country - you'd be wise to avoid them here, too. Want proof? Watch the news - on any given news program you are now likely to see images showing why you are best to avoid any interaction with the police.

I often think both sides of the border - both countries - are insane in so many ways. Statistically, I am safer on the US side, so here I am. In Mexico, US dollars buy affordable health care, dental care, vision care, and prescription medicines. So I cherish Mexico for the basic human rights US dollars buy me there. This does not mean that I don't see the rot right under the surface on both countries, though. I just realized that borders exist for smart people to take advantage of price differentials. Even my relatives in Salzburg, Austria (which is very close to Germany) do this - certain things are over 40% less expensive on the German side. But it can be very surreal to cross over to the US and deal with how Customs assumes you are a criminal - I keep my cool with these thugs (and I do realize that some of their job f8nction in necessary - but I deeply resent their assuming people who cross back from Mexico have been up to no good. As if the US side wasn't full of it's own rot right under the surface. Rob

PS Rot under both countries surface - in the US it can be very difficult to access prescription meds due to how the system is set up and is so consumer unfriendly and all about money. In Mexico almost everything is available over the counter without a scrip - this includes SOMA, a muscle relaxer that is said to be addictive, and tramadol, a pain killer that metabolizes into some kind of morphine based chemical in your liver. One side too draconian, one side too permissive.....both sides crazy. Rob

[JaneV2.0]

Turns out the guy was just an everyday violent criminal posing as a terrorist and acting alone. Sweetana3 was right on target.

[gimmethesimplelife]

Turns out the guy was just an everyday violent criminal posing as a terrorist and acting alone. Sweetana3 was right on target.I bet people in Sydney will be relieved to hear this. That this individual was acting alone, I mean. Rob

[IshbelRobertson]

Iranian, accused of sending poison/offensive letters, sexual assault and other offences. Anyone who chooses to use religion as a prop, eg his banner..... Well, it's a simple jump to 'he's a terrorist'.

[Packy]

They need to seriously consider passing some more laws restricting the sale and consumption of Caffeine. It, when consumed with a nice sugary donut, can make some people go crazy.

[bae]

I guess you have to take a step back and ask yourself what constitutes a "terrorist" in this age of social-media-mediated asymmetric 4GW warfare...

Lone-wolf actors with no physical connection to the organizations that inspired/radicalized/trained them are to be expected. I'm not going to kick back, sigh in relief and say "oh, he was acting alone, no worries mate." I'm going to continue to train and prepare to the best of my ability.

[JaneV2.0]

Iranian, accused of sending poison/offensive letters, sexual assault and other offences. Anyone who chooses to use religion as a prop, eg his banner..... Well, it's a simple jump to 'he's a terrorist'.

A "wannabe" terrorist. Made him feel important, no doubt.

[Gardenarian]

I didn't know what 4GW warfare was - here's a link to it on wikipedia. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth-generation_warfare)

Interesting reading.

[JaneV2.0]

I guess you have to take a step back and ask yourself what constitutes a "terrorist" in this age of social-media-mediated asymmetric 4GW warfare...

Lone-wolf actors with no physical connection to the organizations that inspired/radicalized/trained them are to be expected. I'm not going to kick back, sigh in relief and say "oh, he was acting alone, no worries mate." I'm going to continue to train and prepare to the best of my ability.

There have always been lone-wolf bad actors--like Charles Whitman who picked off students and others from the bell tower in Austin--they just didn't identify with the bogeyman du jour. Doing so gives these creeps instant cachet in their minds.

[Packy]

Charles Whitman was back in the news, recently. Or I should say: his brain was. It was supposed to have been with a number of other labs specimens that had been preserved for study. But they went unaccounted for, and there was some controversy about it.

[Gregg]

Personally, I think a humane approach is worth trying--maybe we should study countries that use one.

I agree, except I wish we would try being more humane before a person resorts to criminal activity. But then its so much easier, and more profitable, to be reactive than proactive. To be proactive we might actually have to fix something...

[Teacher Terry]

I agree with you Jane.