My Life on this planet.

Another shooting in the USA - indeed, another ' already more than one year later '. Now the shooting happened in a church in Charleston, South Carolina where mainly black people come together. Nine people died, all black as a white loser targeted people with another skin colour. No words As a commentator mentions in his article , while the foundation stones of the USA are impressive, in the latest attack the two evil building blocks that are present in the Constitution and thus in American society joined: racism and more specifically white supremacists (who are in effect small people who are angry that others can be as good or better than them) against people with another colour and more specifically against black people, and the constitutional right to carry weapons , a Constitution ' written in the age of the musket ' (to quote the article) so the new independent country could protect itself against the UK while today this article allows people to carry sem...

It is already just over one year since the shooting in Newton, Connecticut, USA where 20 children and some adults were killed at a school. In the meanwhile there were other killings, among them a shooting at a Washington DC navy yard where 12 people died. Even as recently as a few weekends ago when a 4-year old girl killed her 4-year old cousin after she found a loaded gun under her grandfather's bed. And although President Obama called for changes in the law, not much happened although it seems that 43 gun control laws have passed (in some states) compared to 93 laws that expand gun rights. If the death of 20 children can't result in tougher gun control laws, then we may forget any new legislation soon. USA The journalist Henry Porter even called in the Observer for an intervention by the international community to stop even more death amongst Americans and foreigners due to the increasing numbers of weapons (although he may not be serious, it shows the desperation ...

Democratic Senate leader Harry Reid decided there will be no vote on a plan to ban assault weapons , and thus in effect he probably kills off a key part of a gun control campaign prompted by the school massacre in Newton in December. He explains he took the decision after being told by analysts there wouldn't be a majority for the plan as 60 votes out of the 100-members Senate were needed to succeed. However, the plan passed, although only narrowly, a Senate panel last week, and thus there was hope. Therefore, I think his explanation is rubbish. Indeed, one has to talk in order to reach a consensus, but in the end Members of Parliament have to take their responsibility and vote but they can only do this when there is a vote. Only during a vote can it be sure how many and who support or oppose the ban while during debates leading to the vote one can understand why some members oppose the ban and thus some changes can be made so a majority can be reached. Only then the electorate w...

Oscar Pistorius, a South African without legs who became a sports hero after winning gold as a 17 year old boy at the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens, then winning golds and setting new Paralympics records in the 100m and 200m as well as a world record in the 400m during the Paralympic Games in Beijing while reaching in London the semi-finals of the 400m of the Olympic Games and winning a few weeks later two more gold medals at the Paralympics. He also won at many other sport events and is known all around the world under the nickname "Blade Runner" while earning millions as a consequence. That is until last week when he was again in the news although this time for having killed his girlfriend. He admits he shot his girlfriend dead but says it was an accident because he thought there was a burglar in the house. I read he was very sad during the hearings at the court and sobbed often and although he has been released on bail, it seems he was one of few people who was not cel...

Twenty children between five and ten years old and six adults were killed by a madman at a school in Newton, Connecticut. The madman killed himself. America is in shock after this new tragedy, indeed one in a long list. I feel sad for the families and friends. What can be said if words are insufficient? We hope people learn from this tragedy as so many young children were killed. Why can these things happen? Because people are allowed to have weapons to defend themselves, and thus some people can use those weapons against others. One would thus expect Americans start to demand restriction on weapons, certainly as elsewhere fewer of these dramas happen because there are more restrictions about carrying weapons. That does not mean these dramas can't happen. E.g. a few years ago a madman in Belgium killed two children and a teacher at a school using a knife, but it would probably have been worse if he had a gun. But it seems opinion is moving in the opposite direction. According ...