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Denver, 7:22 AM
Tue Dec 15
57 posts in the last 24 hours
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10/27/09
You should ban axes, like you've banned handguns. This would never have happened.
Love,
The United States of America #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
Sadly weve tried but knife crime is a real problem over here. My friend got stabbed the other week and lost his spleen over a game of pool #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
10/27/09
Dear United States of America
Don't be silly.
Love,
Everyone #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
10/27/09
If Mr. Callaghan is actually schizophrenic then he deserves to be in a mental hospital, not prison. A half-decent lawyer should be able to get him off easy enough.
Unless UK law works substantially differently in this case than does US law? #jamescallaghan
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10/27/09
Even considering how real soccer games leads to more crimes than any "violent game" ever did.
The stupid connections they stabilish to find a scapegoat makes me speechless sometimes...
I suppose from now on, whenever they get some serial killer that goes on a rampage they'll eventually add something like "but we heard his neighbor played lots of Grand Theft Auto"... or "during the rampage he passed in front of a game store that had Manhunt on display" and crap like that.
I'm starting to wonder if the gaming companies are not actually asking for news to connect crimes to games to boost sales or something. #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
The US has a massive gun culture, and Britain likes to stroke their beards and scoff at America from a far saying "Those damn Yanks are going to kill each other on day!" As they take another swig of Jamesons straight from the bottle. Britain has a disturbing drunk culture, a culture so mainstream and so accepted than it is rarely made the sole villain. This instance is a case in point, the fact that the kid was a Schizophrenic is bad enough, but he was allowed to procure alcohol and that was the fuel to the fire. The game itself is irrelevant as most of you have already said, but the fact that sensationalistic journalism has dug deep and found that this child had played GTA, well that's the tipping point right? That's what the people want to hear, that's why he killed a grandmother with an Ax! Remember the time in GTA, the bit where you get wasted and attack people in your neighbourhood with an Axe and cap it all off with the brutal murder of an old lady!? That was a good one!
I understand games do influence and maybe even inspire, but those that choose to act out are already mentally unstable or dare I say it defective. they focus on the gamers and the game when they should be focused on the child and his mental state and what should be done about that. Video games seem to be weeding out these people, bringing their mental issues to the surface. If anything video games should be praised for such a thing. The parents need to keep a closer eye on their children's behavior and be more involved.
Personally I blame poor parenting and society as a whole. Oh and actually on this occasion I blame the game! Fifa 08?! Seriously!!! Come on!! I'd go crazy if I had to play that too!
Overshare! #jamescallaghan
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10/27/09
When I see "ax" I get the same image in my head as "axe". It matters not... #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
10/29/09
You mean British English...
Oh...you mean the Brits came first and had the first version of English(which itself is ironically a Bastard language ) ;) #jamescallaghan
10/30/09
and the language is called English not British English.. other variations will need a prefix.. English being English by default does not #jamescallaghan
10/30/09
Was just poking fun at ya. ;)
But...The reason I call English a bastardized version of language is how it was formed.
Many like to claim it to be a decedent of Latin...but after taking many history courses I just don't see it.
You had the Sax...who continued to get taken over by French, Spanish, German, etc.
For a while the country didn't recognize "English" as it was a commoner language. A mixture of the varying languages at the time that evolved.
Now you could probably root all languages in a similar pattern...but seeing as English is one of the most difficult languages to learn as a second language...I just don't see it as "pure"...if you'd like to use that term with "bastard"
Personally, I think we should all just learn chinese...very basic language. Very easy to learn.
Anyways! This is just my opinion and a topic I find very interesting(seeing as I am studying and majoring in English!) #jamescallaghan
10/30/09
I know you were messing
Yeah, English has its roots in Latin, German, French... and anyone who has ever invaded us will have had some impact in the language.
When you say Chinese do you mean Mandrin or Cantonese?
As well
Wo jau Pijo - I would like a beer
Wo jau Jauzu - I would like dumplings
Hen hau chu - It tastes very nice
Ei, ar, san - one, two, three
Reading Mandarin is probably a little harder, but I picked a few things up, and I am sure that there are quite a few simple characters #jamescallaghan
10/30/09
Yep! Mandarin. I studied mandarin in middle and high school...but my university did not offer it, so I was unable to continue my studies in it.
The characters are only hard to westerners, because we are predisposed to...can't think of the word...but the "alphabets" we use.
If the entire world had characters instead of letters we wouldn't have dyslexia and other learning disabilities associated with, what many believe, our systems in the western world.
And back to the "invasion" topic. Many Americans believe that soon the states will become a Spanglish speaking nation. As many in Texas and California do not speak English or Spanish correctly....so in a century or two it may evolve(many racists or "purist" would have you believe it's a devolution.) #jamescallaghan
10/30/09
I think the way language evolves is going to change massively from the way it has in the past.
As you say there is mass migration, bringing influences from a myriad of places.
In the UK words from Urdu/punjabi are beginning to become used by people from a range of cultures, Although this may only be in London, and its mainly with the younger generation.
You then have the advent of text speech, which is a particular bugbear...
Finally you have the intenet which means that colloquialisms and spellings will start to become homologised. #jamescallaghan
10/30/09
I had one professor who told me dialects are starting to vanish...but honestly I still hear quite a bit of deep accents.
I honestly hope the world doesn't become to similar as far as cultures and dialects go... #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
Perhaps I'm being overly sensitive?
I understand that it's just an abbreviation, and that no offence was intended, but I wonder, would you have abbreviated "Pakistani" or "Spastic" the same way to save space? #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
But in this context, he's a schizo, the word is being used as a shortened version of schizophrenic. #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
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10/27/09
and I apologise as I will use unnaceptable language here,
But yes abbreviating Pakistani to "p*ki" (not even going to type it) is highly offensive as is abbreviating spastic to "spaz" in fact the term spastic in itself is offensive, and is used to refer to someone who is menatally retarded, while in actuality spasicity, is a condition where the central nevous system effects the way muscles are controlled, and makes them tighten up, nothing to do with mental capacity #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
The reason it sounds disrespectful is since it is used to label people who are "crazy" regardless if they are really schizo or not.
And honestly, while it may not be totally accurate, some of those people certainly *seem* like they are afflicted with that specific problem. #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
He is obviously sick. He needed help. So
A) Why wasn't he getting it? Where was his mom in all of this? What role does the government have?
B) Why would you let someone with his history drink and then let him leave the house with an axe and a knife? Why would you ever let anyone whose drunk storm off into the night with an axe and a knife?
Videogames may have been a contributing factor or even a trigger factor but it is far from being the main cause of what has happened here. I think a more serious discussion of mental health in society and how we should address it is warranted.
10/27/09
Just saying, what COULD they do? #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
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10/27/09
One has to wonder at the quality of life this individual lives, not only is he allegedly unaware of any wrong doings he commits, but one has to wonder how torturous prison will be to him, and when he is eventually released in 25 years, what would stop him from killing again?
I am more of the persuasion, one would be more likely to execute someone who has a mental illness who has committed unspeakable acts. As they would be less likely able to be rehabilitated.
Mercy to the guilty is treason to the innocent. #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
If he is Schizophrenic, the he will not actually go to jail (in the UK) but will go to a secure hospital, where he will be kept indefinately under the mental health act. He may not even need to be tried (again probably wrong) If he can be rehabilitated and treated then he can be re-intigrated into society, but in all likely hood that will not happen any time soon
So although he may not go to jail, a padded cell probably awaits #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
10/27/09
Plus in the case of someone suffering mental illness, no capital, nor corperal punishment would work, bacause they do not think in the same way as rational people (that is not to say that all people with mental ilness are irrtional) #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
But it would be FAR more just than mob justice. Mob justice is no justice, without a fair trial and presumption of innocence. Corporal punishment is a method of punishing after a fair trial have taken place. You could call it brutish, or savage, but it is by no means analogous mob justice. #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
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10/27/09
HEY! As a Blues fan I take seriou..
OH FUCK IT!
Even I can't manage to drum up an arguement against that, although in my FIFA season so far it has been Agent Ridgewell that has been picking up most of the red cards. #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
10/27/09
Meh, it's EA they will just re-skin the Kungfu Kicking Cantona animation. #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
Ze Seagulls... Wtf? #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
It's been years since I played a footy game,(the last I bought was on the N64), it's amazing how far they have come even my wii version of FIFA.
I got someone sent off after a rather late tackle against Arshavin, I was rather expecting a little cartoon ArRRRRrrrrrrsene WeEEEEEEEENnnger,(damn you disney movies) to start complaining that I should be banned from football for life. Actually I was kind of expecting a real life ARRRRRrrressennne WeEEEEEEEnnnger to complain that I should be banned from football for life. #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
Ihate that man, damn good manager though (erghhh need to wash my mouth out) #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
The wii version of FIFA10 has cards that you can earn and play to get added effects such as health boosts for recovery, force a back up keeper.
I picked up an uncommon card which increases the time played so of instead as 2 minute halves say you would play 4 minutes. My friends and I refer to this as the Ferguson card.
Fucking Wenger, two years later and he is still bitching about Tiny's tackle, I admit that it was a terrible tackle but Taylor is a big not very skilled player and there was no malice. I think that he had been sent off once in his career before then, amazing for a defender. If he had just shut up and not constantly moaned about it we might have been a little less fractious.
Spurs fan huh, getting a nosebleed yet? #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
Actually Citeh are my second team, Lived in manc for 4 years loved the place,and hate Man U with a passion so I cannot begrudge you any glory #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
Er herm, Blues as in Birmingham City, we were founded before the Manc's or Chelski and played in Blue from the start!!
Although being in the Premier League is nosebleed territory for us. It's been a long time since we beat Man U to knock them out of the top division,(oh what a glorious game!), hopefully we can stay up this season but I doubt it we've already had a shitload of injury problems again. #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
I think you will stay up, you yo, yo a lot, but Hull, Portsmouth and Wolves are too weak, so you will stay up #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
10/27/09
Ah yes, shoot the guy with the debilitating mental illness who didn't understand what he was doing. A perfectly reasonable response, perhaps we should treat all underaged criminals in the same way? After all it doesn't matter that they don't have the mental faculties to understand the consequences, line them up and shoot them down, although aiming at a 9 year old may be a bit difficult, perhaps an acid bath would suit your requirements better?
God forbid we show compassion to a mentally ill teenager who with the correct drugs and treatment in a facility could live as normal a life as it is possible for some one who has to live with the fact that he has killed another human being.
Here's a fun fact for you, according to research an estimated 90% of prisoners in UK jails have mental health issues, 24 million was projected to be spent on prison mental health care in 08/09.
Tax dodging in this country, by corporations and non-dom's like the owner of the Mail cost the UK an estimate 4-5 billion each year. #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
This kid is an organ donor, plain and simple. That's about the extent of his use to society. #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
Does that excuse his actions,no, does it mitigate them, yes somewhat.
let me put it this way have you ever had the flu? I assume yes, could you control your illness? I assume no.
This guy has a mental illness, now he clearly cannot control it because it is an illness. It is not his fault he is ill. It is the authorities fault for not recognising this and identifying it to provide him with the treatment that he sorely needed. #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
I think the fact that he remained untreated for as long as he did, and was allowed to drink and storm off with a knife and an axe extends the blame not only to the friends that had watched him leave but to his mother and his father, and in a way, to the broader society for letting this happen. To put the blame solely on his shoulders is nothing but a knee-jerk reaction to a horrendous tragedy. We have to find ways to improve society, cure the cause instead of the symptoms, because if nothing changes- something like this will happen again. #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
Well apart from the amount of alcohol that he had consumed.
No he isn't a housefly but I have knowledge of schizophrenia and the symptoms that I can apply to this person.
Schizophrenia is characterized by auditory and visual hallucinations, delusions, a feeling that the sufferers body is being "controlled" and difficulty thinking clearly. The very heart of schizophrenia is the dissociation from reality.
You however obviously show absolutely zero knowledge of either the symptoms or treatments for schizophrenia and a callous disregard for another human being who is ill that is contemptible.
Many people who have been diagnosed and receive treatment can go on to live normal,productive lives. #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
Prison would effectively be useless to him, and he would probably kill countless people while in prison. Which means you can't release him into society, because he'll kill again, and you can't keep him in a prison with other imates. So your choices are he either rots in prison the rest of his life in a solitary cell in the basement, or you execute him.
And since he cannot be held accountable for his actions and therefore his destiny, they should probably ask his parents if they'd rather have him put down, or rot in prison for the next 60 years. #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
"Callaghan, now 18, admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility and unlawful wounding. He was sent indefinitely to a high security mental hospital"
There are other options to rehabilitate the mentally ill than just prison. #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
There is no way anyone with Schizophrenia would be put in a prision with the general prison population #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
10/27/09
The only problem with that is that rabid dogs are A:Cannot be helped with treatment and B: ARE FUCKING DOGS NOT HUMANS!
The US has had one of the harshest,(and I might add unfair) penal systems of the last 100 years, crime rates have been unaffected. Harsher punishments are not a deterrent to the mentally ill or desperate.
Killing people with a mental illness wouldn't rid the world of it anymore than an early death from certain genetic disorders hadn't caused there eradication. Try asking somebody with even a basic knowledge of population genetics for an explanation why don't just trust my arguement. #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
10/27/09
As you can tell i don't have much of a tolerance for these kind of situations. If a person cannot function normally within the society, what's the point of keeping them around ? For the sake of the family ? Well then the family should take full responsibility for his actions, they should go to jail instead of him.
Funny how he only killed someone after ingesting an entire bottle of vodka. Did his illness somehow force him to drink that much ? #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
That all probably sounds harsh, and I don't mean to offend, just sharing my opinion.
10/27/09
There are several Islamic states in the middle east that have used Shari'ah law for many years.
You have a friend who has witnessed a hanging? Well to me that rather does indicate that there is still criminal behaviour it's not stopping people committing crimes! #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
10/27/09
Actually having the death penalty enforced is more expensive than imprisonment. The latest research came up with a figure of around $10 million per person per year over life imprisonment and each execution costs $30 million.
Hardly fiscally responsible, especially when several states are having bad budget shortfalls.
Now if only a fraction of that amount was spent on rehabilitation and substance abuse/mental health treament you could actually see a lowering of the crime rate and be returning productive citizens back into the workforce. #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
They could always ship him to Canada. And then send the relocation bill to the province of British Columbia, they never say no to another wounded mans soul. #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
10/27/09
No but family members forced into poverty by the lack of a breadwinner may be. Of course you then have to look at the effects that seeing their father executed may have on his or her children. I'm sure that they will grow up to be perfectly respectable members of a society with no problems at all right?
Oh and I'd just like to say that the Shari'ah law that you are calling for allows for the stoning of homosexuals or woman accused of adultery after being raped, the flaying of women who wear trousers, and the stoning of apostates.
But don't worry it's only a flogging for publicly being drunk or having sex in public.
10/27/09
To quote from another semi popular Canadian:- 'It is the very nature of a democracy that it not only does, but should, fight with one hand tied behind its back. It is also in the nature of democracy that it prevails against its enemies precisely because it does."
-Michael Ignatieff
Your post reminded me of that scene at the beginning of Tim Burton's Sweeny Todd where a kid is sent to the gallows for stealing. Without examining the causes behind peoples actions and just taking the ends for what they are, as a society it is all too easy for us to regress back to "justice" as it was in the 1800s.
As a Canadian like you, I do think we have better support structures than most but we are far from immune from the violence experienced elsewhere. Remember the Winnipeg beheading? or the father who had recently killed his autistic son because ""the boy had fallen through programming gaps and the family had been unable to get the help it needed": [www.cbc.ca]
To me, this speaks of the issues and the problems we as a society have to address in order to move forward in providing adequate mental health care. People have to be able to get the help they need. #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
Countries that have the death penalty for drink driving? Oh you mean Islamic countries where it is not only difficult to get hold of booze because it is banned but where the vast majority of the population happen to follow a religion which prohibits the drinking of alcohol.
Now I wonder why the drink driving rates are so low, perhaps it is the same reason why women in Saudi Arabia have the safest record amongst female drivers? #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
10/27/09
At any rate, I don't see how that's comparable. In one case, people have the choice to drink and drive, and in this- he hardly has a choice in the types of mental illness he is afflicted with. You can punish people for having a mental illness, but that doesn't mean people are going to stop having them.
10/27/09
"well that's only because you effectively remove all repeat offenders."
I also understand that the word "per capita" might escape you. So just like you are being to the crazy murderer, I must too be lenient and understanding.
Also your point is ridiculous, if the harshness of penalty has no effect on crime rates. Why the hell have any penalty whatsoever? #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
10/27/09
Ahh, so you have a degree in psychiatry then? Many years of medical training? perhaps you've had years of experience helping the mentally ill? Of course not! This is the internet where one mans ill thought out prejudices outweigh the experience of experts who have actually met this man and diagnosed him.
I have a bit of a dodgy knee at the mo, would you care to tell me what's causing it and how to fix it?
Extreme punishments have never bought about the reduction in crime. The death penalty has always been used disproportionately on the poor and outcasts in a society,(just look at the figures in the US, you are many times more likely to be given the death penalty if you are poor and even more likely if you are black,).
It amuses me,(in that wry OH MY GOD PEOPLE ARE LUDICROUS kind of way,) that so many people that believe in the sanctity of all life and the judicial processes and rights that generations have fought and died for are so quick to call for maiming and slaughter.
Quick thought experiment, do you trust the police implicitly? I hope the answer is no, they like other members of the judicial system are only human and prone to the same fallabilites that we all are. Now are you are willing to put your very life into the hands of that system? The newspapers are littered with stories of police errors and corruption, there are several high profile cases where errors have been made in death penalty cases.
In your instant death by bullet system this would only grow worse. #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
My point isn't ridiculous it is rather annoying I suspect for you backed up by actual research.
Why have penalties altogether? well in an ideal society it would be to remove those people who have committed crimes and rehabilitate them. There is research in the UK that around 9 in 10 prisoners have mental health issues couple this with the rates of drug abuse amongst criminals,(people with undiagnosed/untreated mental health issues tend to self medicate with drugs and alcohol) and you have a population of people who could be helped if the resources were available and thus returning them to society as productive citizens. For those that repeat offend prisons and mental health facilities are of course a way of humanly removing them from a society in which they may do ill.
10/27/09
Also, good points can be made on either side. There would be good reasons to execute this individual, just as their would be good reasons to shelter him. I do however become skeptical at the amount of people who blame the disease for this persons actions. There was a kid in my school, who was a schizo, now obviously that doesn't make me an expert, but I can say with absolutely certainty, that this person was in full control of everything he said and did.
Us as a society are constantly looking to put blame something or somebody else.
Are you fat? Its not your fault, obesity is a disease.
Do you vomit the food you eat? Don't worry, bulimia is a disease!
You stabbed a woman to death because you have a mental illness, that couple with a myriad of other things included illegal alcohol consumption and self esteem issues lead to to murderous intent? Its not your fault! You have a disease which is quite manageable with certain prescriptions.
But at what point do we say that there are certain people, who have ignored other peoples freedoms at the point of a knife, who have forfeited their rights?
That fact that this kid has a myriad of mental, anger and alchohol problems makes little difference to the hundreds of people who lost a mother, grand mother, aunt, and friend. #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
Also since you brought it up, death penalty should only be enforced in cases where there is no jury to "decide" anything because of overwhelming evidence and possibly a confession (to eliminate mistakes), but once that sentence has been passed, take him out the back in the next 10 minutes and set him on fucking fire for all i care, do not date him for 5 years and spend 30 millions on him. If death was considered the only possible "solution" for an "entity" then you might as well consider that thing lower then the common cockroach and treat it as such. #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
The Saudi Arabian case I put forward was to illustrate a point, women are not allowed to drive there so the drivers are by definition safe because no matter what the population is there will theoretically be no drivers and thus no accidents, although there was a case of a woman driver who was caught by the police,(despite the threat of flogging) and after a chase crashed into a police car!
Your knowledge of the chap at school was of a diagnosed schizophrenic and was receiving treatment. The drugs and therapy that he was received allowed him to live a normal life. Which is kind of what I've been arguing here, that in an untreated state the sufferer is unable to determine accurately what is reality, it's not opinion it is medically verifiable fact. There are several studies showing the effects of schizophrenia on decision making abilities.
I've talked about this before but I'm an alcoholic and drug addict. There is very good evidence to show alcoholism is an genetically inherited trait an illness. I led a life that was, shall we say less than savory, it was only after I nearly killed a man in a bar fight did I get help. I live my life knowing that I could quite easily have spent my life in prison. Everyday I have to deal with my illness and it is only through the help of friends and
getting treatment do I live a productive life trying to help other people. That is why I'm so sympathetic, because I know that it is easy to throw away these people who are ill, dismiss them as "just bad" or "evil", when with help and treatment they, like me, can live a good life. #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
Yes because confessions have never been extracted by the police under the threat of violence,actual torture or because the person being interrogated is incapable through illness or mental disability of making a confession.
The reason we have jury trials is to stop the abuses of the system by false confessions and tainted evidence, we should never give up that right. #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
And as such, how much of this do you want to blame on a disease that wasn't even apparent to his parents, friends, siblings, teachers, boss etc. #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
It was bad enough we had people saying that sexual orientation was a genetic thing, we certainly don't need to say drinking heavily is. #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
As for sexual orientation, well recent studies suggest (and are no proven) that males who are born of a mother who has previosuly born males are more likely to be homosexual, which suggests that levels of hormones (mainly testoterone) in the womb play a major role in sexuality, it is not a choice, nor genetic, but driven by hormones... which lets be honest is something that cannot be controlled, but is a result of humainty.. DAMN I love being human and haing diversity (BTW I am a straight male.. but love the diversity we have) #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
Schizophrenia doesn't usually manifest till the teenage years.
And as to me losing all credibility, well I'm a little out of date since my days of research are behind me but I was trained as a scientist.
The basic research was done in the 70's with adoption and twin research. But of course with the advent of PCR and the ability to do in depth genetic studies the evidence has steadily mounted ever since. #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
That's what I thought.
Fact, there has never been any evidence that shows our sexual orientation is a result our our DNA.
In fact, the best they came up with was: We found this gene, that we don't know what it does, so it must affect sexual orientation. #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
What about the Canadian Natives circa 1500's? You would enjoy that read. #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
Which is why they did the twins and adoption studies. Yes there is a societal element but if the kids were bought up secluded from their parents and still become alcoholics there is evidence that genetics plays a part.
You really don't seem to understand the science behind this, perhaps this would help to explain it. The research points to several genes which give a predisposition to alcohol abuse, this is simple article which should explain some of the basics:
[pubs.niaaa.nih.gov] #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
10/27/09
But when evidence is so amazingly daunting that nobody in the world could doubt the guilt, there should be no dancing around it for years and millions of tax payers money spent, it should be a quick and cheap execution. #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
If you want the source, I'm too lazy. I have a genetic disposition to that. #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
Well identically twins don't share exactly the same genes,there is some difference.
You may also have the case where a gene which both siblings has is only expressed in one and not the other. #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
10/27/09
As I said I'm very far behind now as it is years since I did any serious reading however as just a rough guess as to the reasons, yes they come from the same zygote but you are forgetting that the zygote splits at a fairly early stage and any 3t errors that occur during the rapid division that follows will have a disproportionate effect as well as the influence of the mothers genetic material in the ova.
10/27/09
And where do you draw the line? this evidence is concrete this is plastercast? There have been open and shut cases throughout the history of criminal justice more than a few have had the murky hand of interference in them. #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
Tut tut! You didn't mask the flavour of the alcohol? How did you get away with that? It always amazed me how when given the chance to devise an experiment college students always seem to pick ones involving alcohol. #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
I think you're confusing cloning with identical twins. The mother's genetic material (in the mitochondria) is the same for both identical twins. Clones are not identical. When cloning is done, the mitochondrial DNA is that of the donor cells, the nuclear DNA is that of the cloned organism. #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
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10/27/09
Well we are all mutants, a thought to keep you warm on those days when life gets you down. Not all mutations are lethal, I seem to recall that one such error was the multiple copying of a gene for example.
Yes only some would express it, if the other cells survived.
No I'm not confusing it with cloning, it's just another way of introducing errors.
I'll look it up, have a gander:
[www.cell.com]
Here's a NYT report for those of us who are feeling a little brainleakingoutthenose-y
[query.nytimes.com] #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
I'm a Brummie, in 1974 Irish terrorists went into two pubs and set off bombs. 21 people died and 182 people were injured a third bomb in the town centre failed to go off.
Six men were sent for trial and convicted through forensic evidence and confessions. They were sentenced to life imprisonment .
The only problem was the convictions were unsafe, they had been beaten in police custody, the confessions and forensic evidence was tainted. They were released in 1991.
Multiple murders and a fit up job, according to you something that is unlikely to happen, there are other cases in the same vein. #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
"Dude, your brain is straight, but your wang is gay"
Haha. :P #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
All my male friends are gay,(I would say that it means more ladies for me but I've been with my partner for well over a decade now), trust me his brain will be gay as well.
In the case of the twins though it's not like chimerism, I believe that genetic makeup will be the same (virtually) throughout the body because the mutations occurred so early.
Ahh isn't science great, I just wish I could dust off the old lab coat and lab books,crack open the textbooks and do a bit of research.
The closest I've got was showing my daughter how you can extract your own DNA at home with stuff from around the house. Boy did I have to do some explaining at school when she told her teacher what she had been doing over the weekend _< #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
10/27/09
Still, I think that the identical twin situation does lend credibility to the notion that sexual orientation is not genetic. Assuming my friends are not an anomaly, they are still closer than any other two people, and statistics would be in the favor of the argument. #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
FYI, everyone here missed the BIGGEST news in this story. Is that the kid had UNDIAGNOSED schizophrenia. Which means he probably isn't or its never been proven. It sounds more like a convenient lie the parents told so their kid wouldn't look like an absolute monster. Its similar to what happened with the whole ADD and ADHD thing. Every parent who had a kid with low marks in school, claimed their kid had ADD. Undiagnosed means its probably simply the opinion of the parents.
If its not on paper, it never happened.
Give him the lethal injection, let his parents pay for the funeral, and be done with it. T #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
10/27/09
Well I tell you what how about you ask me a question and I'll try to answer it. I've already shown that you are wrong about the symptoms, treatment and prognosis for sufferers of schizophrenia, the genetics of alcoholism and shown that your argument about drink driving in Islamic countries is fallacious.
At the time it was undiagnosed, as part of the procedure in cases like this he would have been seen by a qualified psychiatrist prior to being sectioned under the mental health act. As such he would be given a diagnosis and sent to a suitable mental health facility until a hearing could be held to determine his status with evidence from medical professionals. In this case the trial heard from the expert witnesses that he was severly mentally ill at the time of the crime and at present due to paranoid schizophrenia.
You really have absolutely no clue at all do you? #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
it's not something I've really been interested but I seem to recall that if one twin is gay there is a tad higher than 50% chance the sibling will be as well.
It's quite amusing to me as I'm really not a genes maketh the man proponent. I do however believe that in the case of homosexuality and alcoholism that a genetic component is very much involved,(a damn dirty cop-out I know).
10/27/09
If punishment doesn't deter crime why have any punishment at all?
If our sexual preference is a result of our genetic makeup, whats wrong with getting off with images of naked 6 year olds?
Why does the article claim his schizophrenia is undiagnosed, but you are talking like it isn't?
What justice does the murdered woman get? You talk like executing this individual is a violation of everything that is good any holy, and its the opposite of fair, but what about the murdered woman? What did she do to deserve getting repeatedly stabbed to death? How about the hundreds of people who were affected by a kid with anger issues? What about the tens of thousands of kids dying every single day from illness and hunger, and we're gonna spend 1-5 million dollars a year to keept his individual locked up.
And we all know it would be a different story if your little girl was the one murdered. You people act all high and mighty about justice and equality until you are the one affected by untamed violence. #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
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10/27/09
1) I answered this already, punishment isn't a deterrent, but we incarcerate people to stop them doing it again, as I said before this is best achieved by treatment of prisoners not arcane torture techniques.
Which nicely leads us into
2) Paedophilia is quite rightly condemned because it is taking advantage of people who are not mature enough physically or emotionally to make a rational choice about there actions.
You are showing your lack of knowledge of genetics here, we talked about the genetic factors involved in homosexuality,(well I didn't until recently but hey ho) there has to my knowledge been no genetic link to paedophillia. In this case however if you survey offenders there is a majority who were themselves abused. Helping the abused and the abusers is one way of reducing the instances of this terrible crime,(I have on multiple occasions helped people who were abused children).
3) The article,which by the way is in the Daily Fail and as I'm sure you've read in other threads, hardly counts as a good source, states that his schizophrenia was undiagnosed at the TIME OF THE CRIME! However as I answered before,(that's getting to be a repeating theme isn't it,damn me and my evasive way of actually answering questions) under the British judicial system his sectioning under the mental health act requires the attendance of a qualified mental health professional and at his trial there was evidence put forward from psychiatrists acting as a witness for the crown and an independent report from an expert witness for the accused. But why take my word for it I obviously know nothing about the proceedings other than what I read in the Mail article:
"After his arrest Callaghan was diagnosed as being a paranoid schizophrenic. He told psychiatrists that for several months he had been hearing voices in his head urging him to kill and had seen a man 'with horns on his head'. He said he began drinking heavily to cope with these visions"
I believe that the word you are looking for is "bugger".
4) It is of course a terrible shame that the poor woman died so tragically, it's also a terrible shame that this young lad has been struck down by a terrible disease. Life I'm afraid is fundamentally unfair, awful things will happen to people whether they deserve it or not, executing this poor boy (which can't be done in this country by the way) would serve no point but bloody revenge not justice.
And as a final point I'd like to say a big old hearty fuck you, you inane,uncaring, heartless and utterly worthless speck of a human being. I don't care if this costs me my star or my status on kotaku but it had to be said. You have no idea what my life has been like and if I have ever been affected by violent crime but to try to use my young daughter as a pawn in your arguement is the mark of a man who has no honour.If I am to be banned I do it with the full knowledge that people here will know now just how despicable you are.
10/27/09
It will be long and difficult but hopefully he can be treated not because he is a "human" but schizophrenia is now a better understood illness and the treatments have improved to a point where people who suffer from it can lead normal lives. #jamescallaghan
10/28/09
Good for you though, you showed how insensitive, compassionate and uncaring you can be to someone who simply disagrees with you opinions. And yet, you cannot even act angry towards a murderer. I hope the hypocrisy you walk in daily comforts you.
"Let Justice Reign Though Heaven Fall" #jamescallaghan
10/29/09
If you wish you have the ability to complain about me, as I said before I will stand by my actions and take whatever punishment Kotaku wishes to impose. Unlike this poor boy I fully understood my actions and the consequences of them, you do not have the same excuse for yours.
Of course I get angry I'm not some emotionless psychopath. I however, realise that what you call for is not justice but retribution tempered in the flames of anger, "Piso's justice" . Acting in anger is never a good thing.
As always Lincoln expresses this much more eloquently than I ever could.
"I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice".
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Wait until at least 300 comments. #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
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10/27/09
Yeah... the Daily Mail employs Jan Moir, so that shows you the (sub)standard of that filthy detritus people have the cheek to call journalism. #jamescallaghan
10/27/09
Anything that can strum up a hit/sale is better than nothing. #jamescallaghan