Politics & Stuff

[Sir Mikel OBE 4,920]

Looks like some craziness is going on in Australia right now. Stay safe Spike.

[Spike 12,049]

Looks like some craziness is going on in Australia right now. Stay safe Spike.

I'm in America and I've never been to Sydney. But yes, I hope those people who are in harm's way are safe sooner rather than later. Apparently a group of radical Islamic fundalmentalists have taken several people hostage in a Cafe in the Sydney CBD.

[Spike 12,049]

Death.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/15/world/asia/australia-sydney-hostage-situation/

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Death.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/15/world/asia/australia-sydney-hostage-situation/

Didn't follow very closely, but didn't the police rush into this? Obviously always a difficult decision to make, but surely there must have been a better option than storming the place when there are still several civilians in danger?

[Spike 12,049]

Didn't follow very closely, but didn't the police rush into this? Obviously always a difficult decision to make, but surely there must have been a better option than storming the place when there are still several civilians in danger?

Implying that our police have experience with this.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Implying that our police have experience with this.

Mentally ill armed man taking hostages in a public place? Yes, the religious extremist factor is new, but surely they've dealt with something like this before, or at least trained for it. I think they got freaked out by the flag and made a decision they would not have otherwise made which means that the extremists group are achieving their goal of planting fear.

Of course, we don't know all the facts so it's all speculation.

[Liquidator 5,176]

''Politics & Stuff.''

[CHOULO19 24,332]

''Politics & Stuff.''

To be fair, "stuff" leaves a lot of grey areas

[Spike 12,049]

Mentally ill armed man taking hostages in a public place? Yes, the religious extremist factor is new, but surely they've dealt with something like this before, or at least trained for it. I think they got freaked out by the flag and made a decision they would not have otherwise made which means that the extremists group are achieving their goal of planting fear.

Of course, we don't know all the facts so it's all speculation.

Hostage situations are a new thing here. The last time we even had a mass shooting was in 1994.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Hostage situations are a new thing here. The last time we even had a mass shooting was in 1994.

Wow, really? You Australians are way too peaceful and laid back...

[CHOULO19 24,332]

On a side note, you really have to praise the amazing response of the Australians to the whole thing. The #illridewithyou was probably one of the most powerful hashtags of the year and has done more to combat extremism than all the coalition airstrikes.

[Spike 12,049]

On a side note, you really have to praise the amazing response of the Australians to the whole thing. The #illridewithyou was probably one of the most powerful hashtags of the year and has done more to combat extremism than all the coalition airstrikes.

Aye, shows the world that the majority of the country isn't the racist stereotype we are made out to be. Hopefully we never have to live through things like Cronulla and MacQuarie Fields again.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

In other news, at least 84 kids shot dead in Peshawar. There's my faith inn humanity destroyed again...

[Mufassir08 2,400]

In other news, at least 84 kids shot dead in Peshawar. There's my faith inn humanity destroyed again...

Make that 132 kids and overall 146 who people have lost their lives today while more then 120 people majority of them being children are injured. One of the darkest days in the history of Pakistan.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Make that 132 kids and overall 146 who people have lost their lives today while more then 120 people majority of them being children are injured. One of the darkest days in the history of Pakistan.

Smh....I don't know much about Pakistani politics, I know that it was a school that's related to the military, but still, what in the world do they imagine they would gain from this?!

Here's a nice little reminder from 1985 for people with short term memory: