Colorado Shooting at Dark Knight Rises Opening

[Johnny Boy]

Anyhow:

Looks like Christian Bale is visiting the victims. Cool.

Well it's good he's visiting them. I wonder if the rest of the cast will visit the victims as well.

[Kevin]

So the idea of Christian Bale visiting the victims came true after all. That was nice of him to do that. Like Dark Energon Johnny, I'm curious if the rest of the cast will be visiting as well.

[Tornado]

That's a considerably better idea than "dress him up as Batman and send him." A really nice gesture.

[Patticus]

You say that like Europe doesn't have its own share of psychopaths.

How many killing sprees do you hear about happening in Europe each year?

There seem to be at least two large-scale gun massacres in the US each year, with thousands more gun murders/suicides of lesser proportions, together accounting for over 80% of all the gun deaths in the 23 richest countries combined.

Every country his its share of psychopathic killers and killings, and most countries have extreme violence in their past somewhere (Britain certainly does), but the US is first among all the developed nations in the world for en masse gun-related deaths. Why do Americans love to shoot each other so much?

[Tornado]

How many killing sprees do you hear about happening in Europe each year?

What does this have to do with people going to recent screenings and doing things that imply that they want to emulate what happened in Colorado? How does that prove that said people doing such is a strictly American ideal set when the premieres of the movie were outright cancelled in three other countries that are about as far away from each other (and America) politically and culturally as possible (Mexico, France and Japan) for fear of copycat crimes?

He (rightly) took issue with you labeling assholes acting as if this fucker is a hero to be emulated as being a strictly American phenomenon, when they are not. The fact that the place you just moved from went through a country-wide riot last year at least partially over similarly misplaced hero worship-esque feelings should prove that even without the fact that the international rollout of the film has been massively redone or tossed since this happened.

It's not "Oh, America." If anything, it's "Oh, pieces of shit," or maybe even "Oh, our generation;" since that seems to be mostly what such groups are made up of.

Edited July 25, 2012 by Gilda

[Badnik Zero]

About this death penalty argument. Why is the moral ground important? You can't lose high moral ground to a man who strolled to his car for a planned massacre, know what I'm saying? Basically, I'm saying I see a difference between random mass murder and capital punishment. Do some of you believe that death is not a punishment? I see the argument for keeping him alive. He's a young guy. He could be imprisoned for as long as any of us are alive. I also don't think killing him is a bad idea.

Edited July 25, 2012 by American Ristar

[Autosaver]

[Speederino]

And I was all worried that having Bale visit the tramatized patients would be a bad idea, but it seems to have gone quite well. That and he wasn't dressed as Batman as people were wishing, which seems like a pretty obvious solution now.

On a side note SQUEEEEEE I'M WITHIN A 20-30 MILE RADIUS OF BATMAN! Assuming he hasn't already left.

[Stacy]

Christian Bale did the right just being himself and paying his respects.

[Patticus]

Colorado gun sales are up: http://www.bbc.co.uk...canada-18980974

Sounds like people are buying the absolutely retarded assertion that more guns = more safety.

How many of these people are going to train until they become crack shots capable of actually hitting a gunman in the middle of a dark, chaotic, tear-gas filled cinema? I'd guess that few, if any, will even try to train.

[Stacy]

Colorado gun sales are up: http://www.bbc.co.uk...canada-18980974

Sounds like people are buying the absolutely retarded assertion that more guns = more safety.

How many of these people are going to train until they become crack shots capable of actually hitting a gunman in the middle of a dark, chaotic, tear-gas filled cinema? I'd guess that few, if any, will even try to train.

[Tornado]

Colorado gun sales are up: http://www.bbc.co.uk...canada-18980974

Sounds like people are buying the absolutely retarded assertion that more guns = more safety.

How many of these people are going to train until they become crack shots capable of actually hitting a gunman in the middle of a dark, chaotic, tear-gas filled cinema? I'd guess that few, if any, will even try to train.

It sounds to me like they are more afraid of some knee jerking from the government in response to this than they are about enforcing the idea of "an armed populace is a safe populace." A gun store owner saying that people wanting to protect themselves when lunatics shoot up public places isn't exactly the most impartial of sources.

Which doesn't seem entirely unfounded:

A small group of Democratic lawmakers in Washington renewed calls on Tuesday to ban high-capacity gun magazines.

Though, to be honest, the people rushing to buy guns are just knee jerking in the opposite direction in response to something that would never come up during a Presidential election year anyway.

Edited July 25, 2012 by Gilda

[Autosaver]

The fact is, gun sales ALWAYS go up after shootings. I'm not so sure it has to do with protection, but it may deal with the fact that they're scared that prices for guns may go up or even laws being passed about the sales of guns.

[Patticus]

What does this have to do with people going to recent screenings and doing things that imply that they want to emulate what happened in Colorado? How does that prove that said people doing such is a strictly American ideal set when the premieres of the movie were outright cancelled in three other countries that are about as far away from each other (and America) politically and culturally as possible (Mexico, France and Japan) for fear of copycat crimes?

I was responding to a post suggesting that I was talking like Europe doesn't have its share of psychopaths. It does.

But America witnesses large-scale gun massacres at what seems like a much higher rate than other developed countries, which was the point I was trying to make. Events like the Colorado killings aren't unusual for this country. People here are fast getting used to them happening once or twice a year, if not more frequently. It relates to the would-be copycats because it feels like there are many more people in this country who are genuinely willing and able to seek to solve their problems with guns, who might be 'inspired' by the actions of other mass killers, than there ought to be.

I didn't know about the foreign premiere cancellations, every country has its share of gun-toting idiots and psychopathic nutjobs I suppose, but there must be something about this country that drives people to kill en masse more than in the next 23 richest countries combined...

[-Robin-]

Hospitals waive fees, co-pay for Colorado shooting victims

Three of five hospitals where victims were sent said they would limit bills; unclear whether long-term care will be covered

DENVER — Three hospitals taking care of people wounded in the Colorado theater shooting said Wednesday they will limit or completely wipe out medical bills for the victims.

Some victims, many of them young, are uninsured and face mounting hospital bills.

Children's Hospital Colorado announced it would use donations and its charity care fund to cover the medical expenses of the uninsured. For those who do have insurance, the hospital says it will waive all co-pays for shooting victims it is treating.

"We are committed to supporting these families as they heal," according to a statement from the hospital, which treated six shooting victims.

HealthOne, which owns the Medical Center of Aurora and Swedish Medical Center, also says it will limit or eliminate charges based on the individual circumstances of the patients. Those hospitals have treated 22 shooting victims.

There was no immediate word on what the other two hospitals would to do.

The victims, however, still face a long recovery ahead and the associated medical costs — without health insurance. And HealthOne cautioned that its policy may not apply to all doctors working in its hospitals.

Nearly one in three Coloradans, or about 1.5 million, either have no health insurance or have coverage that is inadequate, according to a 2011 report by The Colorado Trust, a health care advocacy group.There's no exact count of how many of the victims have no health insurance. But statistics suggest many of them might not be covered.

The highest uninsured rate was among adults between 18 and 34.

And many of those injured in the shootings are in that age group.

State officials said they are not sure whether any of the victims qualify for emergency Medicaid assistance available to needy patients. Victims could also get financial assistance from a state program that helps people hurt during crimes.

Among the uninsured victims of the movie-theater attack is a 23-year-old aspiring comic, Caleb Medley, who is in critical condition with a head wound and whose wife, Katie, gave birth to their first child, Hugo, on Tuesday.

His family and friends said they have set a goal of raising $500,000 to cover his hospital bills and other expenses and were nearly halfway there on Wednesday.

"All the money that is donated is going straight to Caleb, Katie and Hugo to help them with medical bills, getting back on their feet, help with the baby items," friend Michael West said. "Anything and everything that they need."

Hospitals are required by federal law to stabilize patients during emergencies without regard to their ability to pay.

"The issue most probably facing the hospitals and patients in a situation like Aurora is what comes after 'stabilization,'" said Dr. Howard Brody, director of the Institute for the Medical Humanities at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston and a frequent critic of excessive medical costs.

"Many of these people I assume will need prolonged and expensive rehabilitation after their immediate injuries are dealt with, and that seems precisely what hospitals today are less and less willing to cover out of their own funds, and no law requires that they do so, as far as I am aware," he said.

Standup comedian Gabriel Iglesias, who has appeared on Comedy Central, planned to headline a Denver fundraiser for Medley next week.

The fundraising might actually make Medley ineligible for some income-related assistance. His family and all other victims are already meeting with victim advocates, the case workers who deal with people hurt during crimes. The advocates determine what services they need and what assistance they qualify for.

"We have individuals who will need a lifetime of care, or a lifetime of accommodation, and our job is to make sure those needs are met," said Karla Maraccini, deputy director for community partnerships in thre office of Gov. John Hickenlooper.

http://www.msnbc.msn...20#.UBDtTrSe6rs

Nice to see that some of the hospitals are going to waver come of the costs.

Edited July 28, 2012 by Patticus

[PaddyFancy]

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/movies/news/a395850/dark-knight-rises-hans-zimmer-writes-song-to-benefit-aurora-victims.html

© PA Images / Matt Sayles/AP

Hans Zimmer has written and recorded a new composition titled 'Aurora' that will benefit the victims of the Colorado shooting.

Last Friday (July 20), 12 people were killed and 58 were injured during a shooting rampage at a midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises in Aurora

Zimmer, who is the film's composer, shared on his Facebook page: "'Aurora' is dedicated to those who lost their lives and were affected by the tragedy in Aurora, Colorado.

"I recorded this song in London in the days following the tragedy as a heartfelt tribute to the victims and their families."

All proceeds from the track will go to the Aurora Victim Relief organisation.

Earlier this week, Warner Bros announced that it will make donations to the families of those killed and injured at the Aurora shooting.

[Emmett L. Brown]

I've got a lot of respect for Christian Bale for visiting the victims and showing his respects as Christian Bale, the person. Not as a representative of Warner bros.

[TheGerkuman]

Might sound like a good idea but would this have the same effect as cancelling screenings and making the killer more famous?

When people play Barber's Adagio for Strings many people will think of 9/11 but not really about Osama or the terrorists. The Olympic 2012 Abide with Me interpretive dance didn't make people think about the british bombers. I think the same will be for Zimmer's Aurora. Whatever happens to the man, be it death or imprisonment, hopefully we can forget him.

Afterall, it's the last thing he wants.

[Linkabel]

So an interesting thing has happened in the Colorado shooting case. This time involving a FOX news reporter who might face jail time because she does not want to reveal the identity of the source.

 

The source apparently told her about the notebook that was send to a college psychologist that detailed how he will kill people.

 

Why a Fox News reporter faces jail time in the Aurora shooting case

Jana Winter is under pressure to reveal the sources who disclosed details about James Holmes' alleged notebook

Last July, Fox News reporter Jana Winter scored a huge scoop when she reported about an undisclosed notebook that James Holmes, the alleged shooter in the theater massacre in Aurora, Colo., had sent to a college psychologist.

Yet that story may now come back to bite Winter. A Colorado judge is threatening her with jail time unless she reveals who told her about the notebook.

 

Days after Holmes allegedly killed 12 people and injured 58 others during a midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises, Winter reported in an exclusive piece that Holmes had sent a notebook detailing his homicidal plans to a University of Colorado psychiatrist. The story credited unnamed law enforcement officials with revealing the notebook's existence, one of whom was quoted as saying it was "full of details about how he was going to kill people."

 

In January, Holmes' lawyers successfully petitioned a judge to subpoena Winter to obtain her notes, testimony, and the identity of her sources, arguing that the notebook's disclosure violated a gag order and could prevent Holmes from receiving a fair trial. Determining who leaked details of the notebook is "of serious and material importance to the case," they said. 

 

Winter is to appear in court on Wednesday, at which point a new judge assigned to the case, Carlos Samour Jr., will determine if she should be compelled to testify, according to Fox. If she refuses, she could be sentenced to six months in jail. Through her lawyer, Winter has said she prefers prison to giving up her sources. 

"Fox News reporter Jana Winter faces jail for doing her job too well," an article on FoxNews.com states. "She's not been accused of any crime, only of protecting the identity of  confidential news sources while reporting an important development in a major national story."

 

According to the Digital Media Law Project, Colorado is one of thirty-two states with some form of shield law, which protects reporters from having to reveal the identities of their confidential sources. Yet Colorado's law is not absolute, since it contains an exemption if the information sought from a journalist cannot be obtained by any other means. As the Courthouse News Service's Sam Reynolds points out, the court was unable to unmask Winter's sources on its own, hence the subpoena. 

 

"Undersigned counsel have used all available means to determine which law enforcement agent violated this Court's Order by leaking the contents of this notebook to the media," the lawyers wrote, according to Reynolds. "As none of these efforts have revealed the source of the leaked information, Jana Winter has become a material and necessary witness in this case and her notes are material and necessary to the defense in this matter." 

 

Some journalists and media watchers are concerned that the case could weaken Colorado's shield laws.

"All this means is that if judges want to compel reporters to reveal sources, they can, and the so-called shield laws are meaningless," says Fox News' Andrew Napolitano.

 

The National Press Club echoed that sentiment in a statement, adding that Winter's case was troubling because it could make sources less likely to speak with reporters in the future.

 

"Courts have the right to enforce the confidentiality of investigations and that may in some cases require punishing leakers," NPC President Angela Greiling Keane said. "But attempting to get that information by subpoenaing reporters in order to learn their anonymous sources goes too far. It jeopardizes a value of greater significance. If anonymous sources believe their identities can be dredged up in court, they will be less likely to disclose to the press information of vital public importance. That’s not a risk worth increasing."

 

Link to the story just in case you don't want to read it here

 

Now, before someone jumps in and say "lol Fox news," keep in mind that for the most part journalists are supposed to keep the identities of confidential sources a secret. Only on some special circumstances can a court order a journalist to reveal their source or the source can come forward and solve the issue.

 

What are you guys thought on this?