Posted on 12/14/2014 7:23:23 PM PST by Steelfish
Terror in Sydney As Gunman Takes At Least 13 Hostages At Lindt Cafe, forces crying women to hold black Islamic flag against the window and 'demands to speak to Tony Abbott'
By EMILY CRANE and SARAH DEAN and LOUISE CHEER and DANIEL PIOTROWSKI and CANDACE SUTTON 14 December 2014 | UPDATED: 21:56 EST, 14 December 2014
Witnesses described how a man wearing a headband covered in Arabic walked into the Lindt cafe in Martin Place and produced a shotgun from a blue bag at around 9.45am.
Shortly afterwards hostages were seen with their hands pressed against the windows holding up the Shahada flag belonging to the extremist group Jabhat al-Nusra, which is fighting the Assad government in Syria. There are claims that the terrorist is also armed with a machete and may have explosives but this has not been confirmed by police.
One of the hostage-takers has made contact with officers saying that he has 'devices all over the city' and 'wants to speak with the prime minister live on radio', according to Ray Hadley, from 2GB. Lindt Australia CEO Steve Loane estimates there are up to 50 people being held inside.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
I knew that would pinch a bit. You have to own this and stop being a denier. You allowed your fellow countrymen’s guns to be taken from them. The guns that were taken are EXACTLY the kinds of weapons our 2nd Amendment was written to protect. Not to hunt, or to collect, or to target shoot with... But to be a threat to tyrannical government. Are you a threat with your single shot 22? Nope. OWN IT.
Hostages are being released
Your nation elected Obama twice. I don’t label all Americans because of that.
I am a conservative. And I didn’t give up any guns. Ever.
I own my weapons legally because I went out and did what I needed to do to do so. But if there hadn’t been a legal way of doing it - well, I’m not going to say I’d have broken the law. But I will say that are certainly situations in which I would break a law if I believed it was wrong. And I’m not the only one.
Fortunately legal avenues remained for me, and so I took them. I wouldn’t break the law lightly either.
HMS Surprise, hey? Well, I was a boy Midshipman - joined the Royal Australian Navy at fifteen.
It was reported he was wearing a vest, bomb...and noted there were supposed to be four or more devices placed in other places...unsure how accurate.
I own a semi automatic L1A1 Self Loading Rifle. Perfectly legal. Yeah, I own some 22s as well.
You really don’t seem to know what you are talking about when it comes to our laws.
I have an AR 15 and a bunch of ammo... Are you saying you own something that you’d be willing to mix it up with if I was your adversary? Doubt it.
How are things unfolding with the gunman and hostages? Have the police had any contact with him, and is he a lone gunman?
My L1A1 against your AR-15? Depends who is the better shot.
The only time I shot at somebody I only wounded him - so you might be better than I am with a gun. But it’s not the gun - it’s the gunner if you are.
No contact as far as I know as of yet. Some people seem to have escaped, but the information on that is mixed.
maybe it is the guy from the Halal-only KFC
It’s not the gun...? Oh my
I’m guessing you don’t keep a handcannon in your nightstand drawer and a Mossberg 12 gauge with 18.5” barrel and ATI folding stock, pistol grip with a slug/buckshot ‘candycane’ load under your bed, or a .40 S&W by your recliner.
Or maybe you do.
How do I sleep at night? I sleep just fine.
And when you go out, do you have a hi-cap main gun on your hip and a Springfield XDS .45 bug (back-up gun) in your front pocket? And spare mags for both? With a 7.62 carbine in your trunk?
Don’t go blowing bubbles, Downunderoo.
By FR standards, most Americans are undergunned.
It’s just a part of this rich tapestry we call life.
I’m not going to describe what I do in detail, but by FR standards I’m certainly not heavily armed.
I can only handle one rifle at a time, and one handgun at a time. So I’ve got one good rifle, and one good handgun.
And I’ve got a few hunting rifles too.
And I have plans in place to make sure I have something in my hand if I ever need it.
I’m not blowing bubbles. But I really don’t like people lying about my country. We’re not disarmed. We’re not even close. Things are a long way from perfect, but they’re not that bad.
The worst thing about the lies is that they actually make a lot of people here think it’s harder to own firearms than it actually is. So they don’t bother trying when they could. The lies make us less safe.
When it comes to the difference between an AR-15 and L1A1, it’s not the gun. That’s what I’m talking about. In terms of power and reach, they are pretty similar weapons - I’ve got more experience of the L1A1, so I prefer it, but I don’t think it’s a better gun.
thanks
Gun ownership isn’t common in Australia though with about 2,750,000 registered guns and about 3% of citizens having a license to own a gun.
Texas with a similar population, has about 51,000,000 guns in the state.
You’re welcome.
Natasha Robinson @NC_Robinson
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The Australian National Imams Council has issued statement condemning the siege: “such actions are denounced in part and in whole in Islam”
9:21 PM - 14 Dec 2014
Neat thing about Texas is that if you try this stunt there is a good chance that one of the customers might pull out a Glock and start shooting. The big problem is knowing which one...before you get dropped.
But NO PROBLEM down under, as they’ve ‘eliminated’ guns.
I’m sydney & had to do mandatory evac earlier, about 7 hrs after hostage taking was reported in the media, from our office building, though was at least 800 metres away from the hostage site. The hostage taker(s) in Martin Place doesn’t/don’t seem to be ISIS. Based on past behaviour of ISIS members, reported previously in the international media, they (or s/he) wouldn’t let 5 hostages to walk free or escape so far to begin with. Much anxiety has been caused though. I don’t know. We aren’t getting much here from the media. Lots of confusing & repeat accounts from the media. We thought we’d have major delays getting home due to traffic diversions but wasn’t the case at all. Hope all will be sorted out by tomorrow & peacefully.
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