Title: Newsgroup Aids In Suicide
Fez - November 11, 2005 03:31 AM (GMT)
| QUOTE (CNN) |
| -- Suzanne Gonzales seemed to have everything going for her. A bubbly 19-year-old with loving parents and good friends, she was also a strong student and earned a science scholarship for college. But everything changed one spring day two years ago, when Suzanne's parents, Mike and Mary Gonzales, received the following e-mail. "Dear Mom, Dad, and Jennifer, I will make this short as I know. It will be hard to deal with. If you haven't heard by now, I've passed away," the e-mail read. Alone in a Florida hotel room, just miles from her college apartment, Suzanne methodically prepared and swallowed a lethal cocktail of potassium cyanide, lay down on the bed and died. In doing so, she joined the roughly 4,000 people between the ages of 15 and 24 who commit suicide each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Suicide is now the third leading cause of death among young people, the CDC reports. But Suzanne's case has an unusual twist. She frequented an Internet newsgroup called called ASH, short for Alt.Suicide.Holiday. Members of this news group trade advice on how to commit suicide, using code words like 'transitioning' and 'exiting' and 'catching the bus.' Suzanne found this group nine weeks before she died, posting nearly one hundred messages detailing her plans. "My chosen method is potassium cyanide....I've stopped eating so my tummy will be nice and acidic," one of Suzanne's posts read. Suzanne's father claims the newsgroup gave her everything she needed to kill herself. "The knowledge, the tools, their psychological encouragement. ... She was led to her death," Mike Gonzales said. Newsgroups like ASH work something like an online bulletin board. Anyone with a computer and some basic Internet knowledge can gain free access to thousands of messages about suicide. And they can post their own messages. An archived section of the site called "The Methods File" contains a list of recipes, recommendations and tips on the best and worst ways to commit suicide. Suzanne's dad believes one of those messages taught her how to illegally obtain and use cyanide to end her life. And he was horrified to learn that an older ASH member who goes by the alias "River" may have helped her. "Suzy had me proof-read her notes and we went over all the details of her exit, just to be safe," reads one ASH message from "River." But "River" disputes his role in Suzanne's death. "No one in ASH encourages anyone else to commit suicide. ASH is pro-choice," he wrote in an e-mail to CNN. "Geo" is another ASH member. He was the same age as Suzanne when he joined the group last year and thinks suicide groups like ASH actually keep people from committing suicide. In fact, "Geo" credits ASH with saving his life. "If it weren't for it, I think the chances of me having committing suicide would have been greater," he said. "Having a place where you can write those thoughts, get them out of your head. It can be very therapeutic." But Suzanne's dad thinks otherwise. "That's not pro-choice," Mike Gonzales said of the site. "That's brainwashing. And they are not being held responsible." |
Adolf Chiang - November 11, 2005 03:45 AM (GMT)
This shit ain't new, there's hundred of online group suicide discussion groups in Japan. Complete strangers just chat away about their woes, meet up and monoxide themselves together in one car.
Mr Lanky Bobs - November 21, 2005 07:23 AM (GMT)
| QUOTE (Adolf Chiang @ Nov 11 2005, 03:45 PM) |
| This shit ain't new, there's hundred of online group suicide discussion groups in Japan. Complete strangers just chat away about their woes, meet up and monoxide themselves together in one car. |
...i still prefer napier having one of the highest suicide rates in the world...just cos there's nothing better to do...
Adolf Chiang - November 21, 2005 09:19 PM (GMT)
What? Napier has high suicide rates?
samf - November 22, 2005 05:27 AM (GMT)
Nothing to do, hence high teen pregnancy rate / unemployment. Add in a huge, stormy rocky beach with lots of powerful currents and you get the picture.
Happy Ahmed - November 22, 2005 05:34 AM (GMT)
I'm glad I don't have Newsgroup Aids.
Adolf Chiang - November 22, 2005 06:25 AM (GMT)
| QUOTE (samf @ Nov 22 2005, 05:27 PM) |
| Nothing to do, hence high teen pregnancy rate / unemployment. Add in a huge, stormy rocky beach with lots of powerful currents and you get the picture. |
Come to think of it, Napier is one of those quaint little picturesque seaside towns I want to spent my retirement in...
samf - November 22, 2005 08:11 AM (GMT)
The influx of retirees probably puts the suicide rate up a bit. Nice architecture down there though.
Happy Ahmed - November 22, 2005 08:14 AM (GMT)
ART DECO
*VOMIT*
*VOMIT*
samf - November 22, 2005 08:23 AM (GMT)
Ahem. The forum's pet postmodernist may object, but I think it's wicked, a real time capsule from the era. Show me a nice deco house with a hotrod in the driveway and I'll show you a willing buyer.
Adolf Chiang - November 22, 2005 08:44 PM (GMT)
| QUOTE (Happy Ahmed @ Nov 22 2005, 08:14 PM) |
| ART DECO |
| QUOTE |
| Stretching 1.5 kilometers, The Bund houses 52 buildings of various architectural styles such as Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Neo-Classical, and Art Deco (Shanghai has one of the richest collections of Art Deco Architectures in the world). The Bund has often been called The Museum of International Architectures. |
Happy Ahmed - November 22, 2005 09:17 PM (GMT)
| QUOTE (Adolf Chiang @ Nov 23 2005, 09:44 AM) |
| The real world capital of art deco happens to be the Bund in Shanghai. |
Firstly, note the use of the term 'one of' meaning, 'we don't actually know, but we will put it in anyway' secondly, generally speaking I fucking hate Art Deco, it's vulgar and gaudy.
Adolf Chiang - November 22, 2005 09:47 PM (GMT)
As an engineering student, I tend to think function over fashion. Art Deco overall is O.K., I just don't like the Art Deco houses (a good number can be seen in Central Auckland) with flat rooves.
My own preference for architecture includes Gothic revival, baroque, modern (no better demonstration of technological pride) and traditional Chinese.
My own preference for architecture includes Gothic revival, baroque, modern (no better demonstration of technological pride) and traditional Chinese.
Dr_Steve - November 23, 2005 06:15 PM (GMT)
ewww neo gothic. Whats wrong with the real thing?
awesome
pooze
awesome poozeAdolf Chiang - November 23, 2005 10:05 PM (GMT)
| QUOTE (Dr_Steve @ Nov 24 2005, 06:15 AM) |
| ewww neo gothic. Whats wrong with the real thing? |
Nothing wrong with the real thing, it's just that Gothic structures build more recently have more advanced materials, more modern internal layouts and the way they look new reminds us of their traditional glory.
Happy Ahmed - November 23, 2005 10:28 PM (GMT)
Yay for cold, damp, and shit.
My favourite.
My favourite.
Adolf Chiang - November 23, 2005 11:06 PM (GMT)
Keeping the interiors warm, dry and safe is a matter of engineering. You can still have that Gothic look on the outside. There is nothing wrong with a building that looks classical and traditional on the outside but throughly modern on the inside.
Happy Ahmed - November 23, 2005 11:33 PM (GMT)
It's not particularly an issue of engineering at all, it's an issue of architecture. And there are many things that are thoroughly wrong with mixing eras of architecture, particularly in classical gothic buildings.
Please try to have at least some basic knowledge of what you are talking about before arguing with me about these things.
Please try to have at least some basic knowledge of what you are talking about before arguing with me about these things.
Hauser - November 24, 2005 04:36 AM (GMT)
Neo-Gothic being Speerian/fascist architecture?
Adolf Chiang - November 24, 2005 05:16 AM (GMT)
| QUOTE (Hauser @ Nov 24 2005, 04:36 PM) |
| Neo-Gothic being Speerian/fascist architecture? |
No! Was that a joke? What is it with your accusations of me being a neo-Nazi?
If you're referring to Nazi Architecture go here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_architecture (quite a detailed article)
What I meant by Gothic revival was:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gothic_revival_architecture
Steveo - November 24, 2005 05:30 AM (GMT)
Ahmed> Hitler
Dr_Steve - November 25, 2005 07:45 PM (GMT)
you know these neo gothic buildings aren't any warmer than their gothic counterparts. Trust me, I've walked through both when its -5 outside