The Four Color Media Monitor

afaik, Australia never "banned" guns. There are severe restrictions on gun ownership, similar to the gun control laws in some states (e.g., New york, New Jersey) in the USA. Citizens must have a license or permit to own a gun, and the law enforcement authorities have broad discretion, so that they can refuse to issue licenses for any reason (or for no reason).

I don't claim that Australia's gun control laws directly caused the tragedy in Sydney, but it's obvious that those laws failed to prevent it.

It's also obvious that Australia, like the US, needs to tighten its immigration policy, and needs to remove the revolving doors from its criminal justice system. And both the US and Australia need to quit pretending that Islamofascism does not exist.

Police snipers had several opportunities to shoot the terrorist, but didn't. The Australian government authorities were more concerned with political correctness (mustn't offend Muslims) than with saving the lives of innocent citizens.

The police tried to negotiate and talk the hostage-taker into surrendering. That often works with ordinary criminals in hostage situations that result from botched robberies, but it is ineffective with fanatical jihadists who want to be martyrs. Terrorists should be shot at the earliest opportunity.

I suspect that the Australian authorities tried to treat the crisis as a domestic law enforcement matter, rather than as an act of Islamic terrorism. Therefore, it was the jurisdiction of state and/or local police in New South Wales. They could not call in the military Special Air Service for a local criminal problem, and political correctness prevented them from designating it as an international terrorist attack. (Just as the US government officially classified the Fort Hood rampage as "workplace violence" instead of as terrorism.)

Parallels to the Fort Hood massacre are obvious. In each case, the madman had a long history of abnormal behavior and was known to be an extremist and a religious fanatic. And, in each case, political correctness prevented the authorities from doing anything about it.

PC kills innocent people. It is a double standard. Society demands that Jews, Christians, Buddhists, atheists, and agnostics all obey the laws, respect the rights of their fellow citizens, and behave like civilized human beings. If we demand that exact same behavior from Muslims, we are denounced as "racist" and "Islamophobic."

Not all Muslims are terrorists, but a high percentage of terrorists are Muslims. But the MSM will undoubtedly downplay the issue of Muslim extremism. They may even exploit the tragedy to further their anti-gun agenda. Before long, talking heads on TV will cite Sydney as evidence that Australia's gun control laws (e.g., requiring a license to own a gun, and prohibiting civilian ownership of military-type assault rifles) did not go far enough.

Once again Marz makes a stupid statment and others put him in place.
https://twitter.com/mmfa/status/544911523072987136

Poor Marz is now upset that people comment under Anonymous. I guess he complained about this because he knows he can't backup his bull. Sorry Marz but you fail when people put up a rational argument.

Silly little scamp.

Ron Marz seems more interested in finding something to criticize about the person he is disagreeing with than the topic of debate. It's about changing the topic, not from what the person is saying but trying to make it about the person making the statement. Unfortunately, it doesn't matter if someone uses their name or not to Marz. He doesn't treat those that use their name when criticizing him any better than those who refrain from the use of their names. You could refrain from using any negative terms, only talk about the comic or other subject and back up every argument you make with facts, figures and evidence that gives your arguments more salience (if you actually had any facts). It doesn't matter. If you disagree with him, you're just a "Crazy Internet Person”. The Anonymous complaint is a fake argument, since it's not about the names it’s about finding something wrong with the person who is making it, and the name they use is the simplest and easiest way to do so.
Ron Marz is not owed or entitled to anyone's real name. No one is. He does not get to set the tone or conditions of the argument. We do not conform to his standards, or have to adjust our statements for concern he might be listening in. The internet is not his domain, and it is not by his rules that we have to obey. Everyone has the privilege of being able to express their opinions in an open forum without fear of reprisal (as long as they do not go to far as for example death threats).
Marz just because someone has a different opinion than you, or does not praise your work, does not mean they are a mean, spiteful, hateful, miserly person bent on destroying everything you hold dear. It just means their positions differ from yours. You may come to an accord on other issues. The focus shouldn't be on trying to find out the best way to undermine those that disagree with you, but to find some common ground of appeal.

Has Ron Marz dealt with his fair share of negative comments online? Sure. But he's also dealt out his fair share as he tweets rude and senseless comments on twitter. I have little sympathy for a person who throws rocks at a hornets nest, and then is surprised when they get stung. At the end of the day, if Marz does not want to deal with comments that disagree with him, then he shouldn't seek them out. Marz if you only want to hear from people that reinforce your worldview, then don't submit your views for public consumption. This is not, and has never been about "anonymous." This is just about finding ways to discredit and diminish critics, and shift the conversation away from what is being said to who is saying it. If you can't deal with criticism, then that's your own problem.

Mike D.

Good to see the crazy Marz is still reading all of your posts and every comment made!

Is it just me or is Marz your biggest fan!

Mike you have a great point as well.

Mike I think you might have made Marz cry. I checked his twitter feed and it seems that you are dead on.

He almost makes me wish that my name was not Ron.