Sydney Siege

[Rollo]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-12-1...ration/5967232
Three people have emerged from the Lindt Chocolat Cafe in Sydney's Martin Place, where an armed offender is holding a number of hostages.
Two came out through the front door and one through the fire escape.
Hostages were earlier seen pressing a black flag with Arabic text against the cafe's windows.
- ABC News, 15th Dec 2014

At least one armed offender is holding between 30 and 40 people hostage in the Lindt Cafe in Martin Place, Sydney.

This has been going on now for about seven hours and not much is happening; so news outlets are looking are extra talking heads and people in suits in lieu of actual news.
It also means that trains are in chaos, part of the city is in lockdown and many businesses have closed for the day.

I was supposed to be in court this morning on a forensic accounts case but that was cancelled.

[Rollo]

Nine hours later... nothing really has changed.
No shots have been fired and everything is still in lockdown.

I came home on an eerily empty train. The Eastern Suburbs Railway line through Martin Place is closed as well.

[driveace]

Police decide to take action resulting in two innocent people loading their lives ,plus the Iranian hostage taker

[Rollo]

Police decide to take action resulting in two innocent people loading their lives ,plus the Iranian hostage taker

The news reported that the police only entered the cafe after they heard shots being fired.

Of course this whole event now brings into question as to why this man who had a rap sheet as long as your arm and was on bail on a charge of accessory to murder, relating to the death of his ex-wife, was afforded bail in the first place and how he was able to acquire a firearm in the first place.

[Starter]

Welcome to the world of the random wacko Rollo. And, now that you mention it, weren't you one of the ones that have been saying in reference to the US how if we just made guns illegal all would be OK?

[Rollo]

And how pray tell would widening the access to guns in Australia have helped?
Australia probably had 7% of its total homicides by firearm yesterday. Giving more mad men access to guns is stupid.

[Starter]

And how pray tell would widening the access to guns in Australia have helped?
Australia probably had 7% of its total homicides by firearm yesterday. Giving more mad men access to guns is stupid.

More importantly, how did restricting access prevent it?

[Rollo]

Given that Australia has a homicide rate by firearms between thirty and fifty times lower than that of the US per capita, that's a fait accompli.
How many times a month does this sort of thing happen in the US?

[Storm]

These types of stand-alone terrorist acts (which the western media is afraid to say - calling it a "gunman" and not a terrorist - wacko or not ) are unavoidable tbh. Guns accessible or not. But the type of regular joes going on shooting sprees in schools - because guns are easily available? that is a different case.

2 Indian origin - Aussie residents were hostages too, but got out safe. Sadly 2 other people did not. I wonder if they got shot at by the police or by the terrorist himself - conflicting reports.

[henners88]

Welcome to the world of the random wacko Rollo. And, now that you mention it, weren't you one of the ones that have been saying in reference to the US how if we just made guns illegal all would be OK?

Oh yeah because this is a perfect scenario to advocate everybody having access to guns! I've never heard anything so absurd in my life! lol

'You can walk into our schools and shoot our kids but you won't take hostages in our cities because we have the right to bear arms!'