Todays Independent (and now today's examiner)

pull!the other

Anyone see the letters page in the Independent today and the anti-gun muck?
I wonder if S. Parks is someone pulling the "p" on "Sparks", who also comes from Greystones?

Sparks

Well, there's no S. Parks at that address in Greystones.

http://unison.ie/irish_independent/stories.php3?ca=53&si=1817115&issue_id=15542

We have a gun lobby too
The tragedy in Virgina has once again focussed the world's attention on the evil that guns do. 33 young people are dead, because of the ease with which one can obtain guns in that part of the world.

However, let us not cod ourselves that we in Ireland are somehow immune to their pernicious evil. Only the other week, I had the misfortune to hear part of an interview with a spokesman for the gun lobby here in Ireland.

This man was extolling the virtues of shooting and, unbelievably, advocating less regulation over the gun holders here in our very own country. I believe he used the term "character-building".Let there be no mistake - if we go down that road, we will soon have our very own Virginia.

Clearly, we must have more regulation, not less.

Indeed, I would go so far as to ban the Irish Olympic Shooting Team from competing in any future competition. Such competitions only glorify the evil of firearms.
S PARKS,
LA TOUCHE PARK,
GREYSTONES,
CO WICKLOW

Umiq88

Quote from the Indo website

Irish Indo wrote:

The tragedy in Virgina has once again focussed the world's attention on the evil that guns do. 33 young people are dead, because of the ease with which one can obtain guns in that part of the world.

However, let us not cod ourselves that we in Ireland are somehow immune to their pernicious evil. Only the other week, I had the misfortune to hear part of an interview with a spokesman for the gun lobby here in Ireland.

This man was extolling the virtues of shooting and, unbelievably, advocating less regulation over the gun holders here in our very own country. I believe he used the term "character-building".Let there be no mistake - if we go down that road, we will soon have our very own Virginia.

Clearly, we must have more regulation, not less.

Indeed, I would go so far as to ban the Irish Olympic Shooting Team from competing in any future competition. Such competitions only glorify the evil of firearms.
S PARKS,
LA TOUCHE PARK,
GREYSTONES,
CO WICKLOW

astraboy

An "interesting" point of view. Because more regulation and banning the olimpic shooting team, who represent our country on an international stage, will keep guns out of the hands of the criminals that are the ones causing gun deaths in this country.

bullets

EDIT: Poo just saw the text has been posted already..
And here was me having rushed to the shop to scan it!

Dunno if were allowed post newpaper clippings or not:

Clare gunner

This does look aimed at Sparks all right.
Olympic shooting,his neighbourhood,
using the buttons of Virginia,and the rest hysterical drivel.:(

Underhanded and gutless whoever did this.:(

ironsight

Would the author of such drivel care to step into the light and be recognised or will they continue to hide behind this "S.Parks"
By all means introduce sensible legislation to govern the use of firearm's. We the shooter's have repeatedly advised on the mater, just ask FLAG for the suggestions they put forward. By all mean's ban the Irish olympic shooting team if you will and while you are at it, why not cast the rest of the nation back a decade or two in time. Perhaps while we are at it, we could even disarm the Gardi and the Military, then only the Criminals would have access to arm's..

johngalway

Has anyone written to the Indo highlighting that letter as a load of old *******'s? It does seem to me also that someone is having a go.

Sparks

johngalway wrote:

Has anyone written to the Indo highlighting that letter as a load of old *******'s?

Yes, both the NTSA and the ICPSA.
(Both the Olympic shooting bodies in other words).
I'm also going to make a few enquiries as to who the lovely author is and out them if I find out, though I obviously have a guess or two in mind.

johngalway

Good, I hate that cowardly rubbish. Hope they get found out. Maybe the Indo will print something, although I do have my doubts.

Sparks

Seems it was a group of posters from P45rant.net pulling what they thought was a funny practical joke. Well. Actually a group from The Scrounge, which is a splinter group from lounge.techfocus.net, which is a splinter group from P45rant.net.
Lovely.

http://www.p45rant.net/boards/showpost.php?p=1894810&postcount=57

Clare gunner

Sparks,
I read the rest of the fake letters thread.I think they would want to be issuing a public apology via the print media that the joke letter was printed in
explaining this to the general public as a stupid prank.

We[the shooting community] are NOT amused:mad: And anyone who reads the thread wont be either.

civdef

I hope the fact this was all a stupid little prank by people without much evident skill taking advantage of a newspaper with poor editorial practices gets circulated as widely as the original letter.

****bags.

Jumpy

Sparks wrote:

Seems it was a group of posters from P45rant.net pulling what they thought was a funny practical joke. Well. Actually a group from The Scrounge, which is a splinter group from lounge.techfocus.net, which is a splinter group from P45rant.net.
Lovely.

http://www.p45rant.net/boards/showpost.php?p=1894810&postcount=57

I am just after reading this whole thing, and I followed the link on p45.
You are making a bit of a false statement there Sparks. The culprit(s) appear to have owned up and you might want to point out that it wasnt the scrounge.
As is repeated quite often on the thread.

Sparks

The culprit(s) appear to have owned up and you might want to point out that it wasnt the scrounge.

Except that one of them (who's owned up to it) was from the scrounge. ro_g didn't write the letter; he just saw it and said "yeah, that's funny, publish it".

littlejukka

Sparks wrote:

Except that one of them (who's owned up to it) was from the scrounge. ro_g didn't write the letter; he just saw it and said "yeah, that's funny, publish it".

that's ridiculous and you know it. the fact that ro posts on a number of forums doesn't make it reasonable to blame any of them. you're getting far too personal over this.

Sparks

Lots of people are getting justifiably upset on the scrounge though, and frankly I don't want them feeling like I felt after reading the letter, so let me point out that when I said a group from the scrounge I didn't mean that everyone there just got together and had a little "what's the stupidest most hurtful thing we can do today" thread. I mean what I said - a group of people who post there. Turns out, not that many, and it was some from there, some from P45 and the lounge.
All have since apologised.

Sparks

littlejukka wrote:

that's ridiculous and you know it. the fact that ro posts on a number of forums doesn't make it reasonable to blame any of them. you're getting far too personal over this.

A group of people who were friends of me and my other half just wrote a nasty letter to the national press thrashing my sport and linking it to a mass shooting and signed it with a name those in my sport would link to me; they've since said it was a practical joke aimed at me.

When exactly was it not personal?

Jumpy

Ok. So it wasnt a group it was one person (I havent seen the part where he owned up by the way). I post on 5 message boards Sparks. If I did something like what was done here would you incriminate all 5?
I have been on p45 as long as yourself Sparks. I have known you for a good while, generally you dont make blanket accusations. However you might want to withdraw your statement there. It isnt true.

littlejukka

Sparks wrote:

When exactly was it not personal?

i'm not condoning or condemning anything. the only person with the power to stop dragging this on is you, and you've chosen to keep it on top of the boards.ie homepage, attracting more attention. as a contributor to all three of those forums you're blaming for all of this (wrongly, for the most part), i'd like you to cop on a bit and get your facts in order.

Sparks

I havent seen the part where he owned up by the way

http://www.p45rant.net/boards/showpost.php?p=1894864&postcount=81

Look, I didn't write a single word of that letter, but I knew it was going out, had a look at it and said 'yeah, that's funny, let's send it'.

Sparks

littlejukka wrote:

i'm not condoning or condemning anything. the only person with the power to stop dragging this on is you, and you've chosen to keep it on top of the boards.ie homepage, attracting more attention. as a contributor to all three of those forums you're blaming for all of this (wrongly, for the most part), i'd like you to cop on a bit and get your facts in order.

Uh-huh.
You see that annoyed feeling in your gut there littlejukka, Jumpy? That one that says "I'm being unfairly treated here"? Well, now you know how everyone here has been feeling over that letter.
And if you can imagine being made to feel that way by people who were friends for years, you can figure out how I feel about it all.

littlejukka

Sparks wrote:

Uh-huh.
You see that annoyed feeling in your gut there littlejukka, Jumpy? That one that says "I'm being unfairly treated here"? Well, now you know how everyone here has been feeling over that letter.
And if you can imagine being made to feel that way by people who were friends for years, you can figure out how I feel about it all.

you are that which you despise.

civdef

Someplace else might be good for this...

littlejukka

if a boards poster is making accusations about members of another forum, there's no better place for a rebuttal than in the same thread.

civdef

No problem. I'll just close it so.

Sparks

From today's Examiner, a reprint of the fake letter and what I presume is a real letter from one of the people who pulled the "practical joke" in the first place:

http://www.irishexaminer.com/irishexaminer/pages/story.aspx-qqqg=opinion-qqqm=opinion-qqqa=general-qqqid=31140-qqqx=1.asp

25 April 2007
It’s time to end the gun glamour

THE recent tragedy in Virginia has once again focused the world’s attention on the evil that guns do. Thirty-three young people are dead because of the ease with which one can obtain guns in that part of the world.

However, let us not cod ourselves that we in Ireland are somehow immune to their pernicious evil. Recently I heard part of an interview with a spokesman for the gun lobby here in Ireland.

He extolled the virtues of shooting and, unbelievably, advocated less regulation over gun-holders here.

Let there be no mistake — if we go down that road, we will soon have our own Virginia. Clearly, we must have more regulation, not less.

Indeed, I would go so far as to ban the Irish Olympic shooting team from competing in any future competition. They only glorify the evil of firearms.

It’s unfashionable in modern, secular Ireland to say so, but I firmly believe that lack of respect for Mother Church, our protector through ages past, is at the root of all these problems.

As Archbishop John McQuaid said at my confirmation many years ago, “we must constantly think of the children”. How true that is.

Sydney Parks
14 La Touche Park
Greystones
Co Wicklow

http://www.irishexaminer.com/irishexaminer/pages/story.aspx-qqqg=opinion-qqqm=opinion-qqqa=general-qqqid=31141-qqqx=1.asp

25 April 2007
Total automatic weapons ban is the only answer

AFTER the recent sickening happenings at Virginia Tech in the US I am now concerned about gun ownership in our own country.

We allow seemingly harmless gun clubs to teach and train people how to shoot effectively and with precision. In effect, we are allowing — and equipping — these people to become trained and effective killing machines.

Do we have to wait until a Virginia Tech-style shooting takes place here before we stop these trained killers in their tracks? Most people here will remember the horrific event at Dunblane in Scotland in March 1996 when 16 small children and a primary schoolteacher were mown down.

The perpetrator, Thomas Hamilton, was not only a cold-blooded killer but a target shooting fan who was allowed to train and refine his deadly skills in a perfectly legal setting.

Surely we have a moral duty to ban not only the ownership of such weapons, but also training in their use.

Isabelle Deffrinke
Lucan West
Co Dublin

(yes, I've already sent email to the editor of the Examiner to point this out).

Sparks

The Independent is printing a note tomorrow by the way to point out that the letter was a fake.

Sparks

And the editor from the Examiner just called to apologise and they'll be doing the same thing.

Sparks

Small snippets indicating the letters were written from fictional names appeared in the Independent and the Examiner today: