Newsgroup: it.politica.internazionale
Titolo: Non abbiamo fatto abbastanza

Sull'onda emotiva creata dall'ultima strage, qualcosa si muove negli 
Stati Uniti in merito alla libera circolazione delle armi.
 
 
http://www.lastampa.it/2012/12/18/esteri/obama-stop-alla-vendita-di-armi-d-assalto-wBTRlC45eZjjsa4IBtixKK/pagina.html
 
 
Si registrano, inoltre, il rinvio della première dell'ultimo, 
violentissimo film di Tarantino, serî problemi alla Bushmaster, 
l'azienda che produce il fucile usato a Newtown, e la sospensione, da 
parte di Walmart, della vendita di armi da fuoco semi-automatiche (!).
 
L'alternativa al Principio della Grande Aeromobile è ancora possibile.
 
Forse.
 
 
-- 
*Sunspot*
That's all.  Sorry for all the millions, but I've never been lonely.  I 
like myself.  I'm the best form of entertainment I have.  Let's drink 
more wine!

 parte di Walmart, della vendita di armi da fuoco semi-automatiche (!).
 
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324407504578186523224794006.html?mod=WSJ__LEFTTopStories
 
 
After Shooting, New Pressure on Thriving Gun Industry
 
By JAMES R. HAGERTY, ANN ZIMMERMAN and SHARON TERLEP
 
America's thriving gun industry, which has been riding high on a surge 
in sales, is under increasing pressure in the wake of Friday's 
elementary school massacre.
 
Responding to a national wave of revulsion over the 27 murders in 
Newtown, Conn., retail chain Dick's Sporting Goods Inc. on Tuesday 
suspended sales of semiautomatic rifles at its 480 stores, while 
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. WMT +0.43% deleted from its website a listing for 
one such rifle.
 
"We have to get control of this," said Larry Stone, a member of Dick's 
board, in an interview Tuesday. Mr. Stone said he fully supported the 
decision to remove the semiautomatic guns from Dick's shelves. "I hope 
other people follow suit," he said.
 
Shares of gun makers and some retailers have been affected. Smith & 
Wesson Holding Corp., SWHC -9.99% whose stock had nearly doubled this 
year, fell 10% on Tuesday to $7.79. Shares of Sturm, Ruger RGR -7.73% & 
Co. fell 7.8% to $40.60. Cabela's Inc., a big gun retailer, fell 6% for 
a second consecutive day; Dick's stock rose 2%.
 
The Connecticut School Shooting
 
On Tuesday, President Barack Obama spoke about gun control with Sen. Joe 
Manchin (D., W.Va.), a strong supporter of gun rights who has said he is 
willing to toughen the nation's weapon laws in the wake of the shooting 
spree.
 
The White House had said Mr. Obama would seek stricter gun-control 
measures, including limits on high-capacity magazines, and would support 
efforts to prevent people from buying guns through unlicensed dealers 
without a background check.
 
The National Rifle Association, breaking days of silence, issued a 
statement Tuesday saying it is "shocked, saddened and heartbroken" by 
the Newtown shooting. "The NRA is prepared to offer meaningful 
contributions to help make sure this never happens again," it said.
 
In recent years, U.S. gun manufacturers have enjoyed fast-growing sales 
amid an easing of various state and federal restrictions. Making guns 
can be very profitable, with some leading manufacturers recording 
operating profit margins of 20% recently, according to Rommel Dionisio, 
an analyst at Wedbush Securities in New York. Large retailers have been 
expanding their gun offerings both in-store and online.
 
"Obviously, public sentiment is swinging" on gun controls, though that 
doesn't necessarily mean President Obama can win support from a 
Republican-led House of Representatives on legislation banning assault 
guns, said Mr. Dionisio.
 
In the near term, the threat of tighter controls could spur sales as 
people rush to buy some types of guns before they can be banned. Fear of 
crime and greater acceptance of concealed weapons may continue to boost 
sales of pistols, the hottest gun-sales category, Mr. Dionisio said.
 
White House Floats Its Ideas on Gun Control
Lawmakers Focus Early Gun-Curb Efforts on Mentally Ill
After Scottish Shootings, a Long Road to Recovery
Gun sales have soared in the past year, partly because of concern that 
the re-election of President Obama would mean tougher controls.
 
In November, the Federal Bureau of Investigation recorded about two 
million background checks on prospective gun buyers, the highest monthly 
total ever. That was up from 1.5 million last November and 888,000 in 
November 2002. These National Instant Criminal Background checks are a 
rough proxy for gun demand but don't all correspond to sales.
 
The market for hunting rifles isn't growing, said Mr. Dionisio, but 
demand has been strong for assault weapons since a federal ban on them 
ended in 2004. The pistol market has been growing rapidly. Federal 
government data show that about 2.5 million pistols were made in the 
U.S. in 2011, quadruple the level of 2001. Production of rifles was 2.3 
million in 2011, up 77% from a decade before.
 
The gun industry had been talking up its growth prospects. At an 
investor conference in March, P. James Debney, chief executive of Smith 
& Wesson, another big gun maker, pointed to "a much higher level of 
social acceptance of firearms than ever before."
 
Sentiment changed swiftly after the Newtown massacre. Executives at 
Cerberus sensed they would face fallout over their ownership of Freedom 
Group. Stephen A. Feinberg, Cerberus's co-founder and chief executive, 
is an avid hunter. His father lives in Newtown.
 
Mr. Feinberg and his colleagues decided that attempting to sell Freedom 
Group was best because the firm didn't want to feel compelled to resist 
stricter gun control measures to protect business goals. On Tuesday 
morning, the firm released a statement saying its role was to make 
investments rather than be "drawn into the national debate" on gun control.
 
It isn't clear how a sale of Freedom Group now would affect Cerberus, or 
whether the firm could find a ready buyer. For the third quarter, 
Freedom Group's sales rose 20% from a year earlier to $237.9 million. 
Freedom Group, based in Madison, N.C., makes brands including Remington, 
Bushmaster, Marlin and H&R. Freedom has described itself as the largest 
U.S. maker of firearms. It didn't respond to a request for comment.
 
Sales at gun manufacturer Sturm, Ruger in the third quarter were up 47% 
from a year earlier, to $118.2 million. For the nine months ended Sept. 
29, it reported net income of $50.8 million, up 72% from the 
year-earlier period. A spokesman for Sturm, Ruger didn't return calls 
seeking comment.
 
Smith & Wesson, based in Springfield, Mass., said sales in the second 
quarter ended Oct. 31 jumped 48% from a year earlier to a record $136.6 
million. Net income was $21.2 million, compared with a year-earlier loss 
of $1.6 million. A Smith & Wesson spokeswoman said company officials 
weren't available for comment.
 
For years, gun enthusiasts and hunters bought their weapons mostly at 
specialty gun stores. More recently, publicly traded chain stores have 
dominated the sale of guns and ammunition.
 
Wal-Mart Stores, which has sold guns nearly since its inception in 1962, 
is the nation's largest seller of guns and ammunition. The company does 
not break out data on its firearm sales. Wal-Mart accounted for 15% of 
Freedom Group's sales in 2011, according to that gun maker's annual report.
 
In the last year, Wal-Mart has begun carrying semiautomatic rifles, 
including the Bushmaster M4A3. Wal-Mart removed a listing for that gun 
from its website on Monday. "We remain dedicated to the safe and 
responsible sale of firearms in areas of the country where they are 
sold," a Wal-Mart spokesman said.
 
Along with suspending the sales of semiautomatic rifles Tuesday, Dick's 
also removed all guns from sale and display in the store nearest to 
Newtown—nine miles away in Danbury.
 
"We are extremely saddened by the unspeakable tragedy that occurred last 
week in Newtown," the company said in a statement on its website. The 
company, based in Coraopolis, Pa., didn't return calls for comment.
 
Last year, one-fifth of the revenue at Cabela's, a national chain based 
in Sydney, Nebraska, came from sales of firearms and ammunition. It 
sells both semiautomatic assault rifles and high-capacity magazines, 
according to its website, where the magazines are listed under the 
heading, "Trick out your AR at Cabela's." The company didn't return 
calls for comment.
-- 
Namib
.....
- God will take care of you. Whatever you need, God will give it to you.
- I need a shave. Am I next?
(Tom Kromer)


 
I film di Tarantino, ovvero l'elogio dell'omicidio.
 
Un chiaro segno di follia.
Ovvero dal dream al nightmare in quattro semplici mosse.