There is no distinctly native American criminal class except Congress.

Mark Twain

Canadian liberals are about to get trounced in the upcoming election (recent polls are saying there is a 13 point margin).  And what do you think the issues are that are getting them in so much trouble?  Health care and gun control!

Among the main policy differences is health care reform. The Tories want to allow for public and private health care provision, and, along with the Liberals, have pledged to shorten waiting times. The Liberals and the NDP have vowed to stop any privatisation of the system.

On gun control, the Liberals have promised to move towards a ban on handguns, which are already tightly regulated, and consider tightening gun crime laws.

Handguns have been essentially banned in Canada for decades.  And in the last few years spent nearly two billion dollars on registration of all guns.  And what is the result?  The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms has the scoop on that:

CANADA'S GUN REGISTRATION FAILURE: VIOLENT CRIME RATE DOUBLE THAT OF U.S.

For Immediate Release: January 17, 2006

BELLEVUE, WA – Canada's billion-dollar boondoggle – the national gun registration scheme – has proven itself an abysmal failure, as that country's violent crime rates are double those reported in the United States, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) noted today.

"We looked at violent crime rates per 100,000 population in both countries, using the most recent available data," said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb, "and we were not surprised at what we found. Since Canada started this ridiculous and costly program, violent crime has gone up dramatically, at the same time that crime in the United States has declined. Yet, there are people in the states who think Canada's gun legislation should be the model for America.

"By comparing the data," he detailed, "we found that the violent crime rate in the United States was 475 per 100,000 population, while up north, there were 963 violent crimes per 100,000 population. The figure for sexual assault in Canada per 100,000 population is more than double that of the United States, 74 as opposed to 32.1, and the assault rate in Canada is also more than twice that of the states, 746 to our 295 for the population rate."

Noted CCRKBA Executive Director Joe Waldron: "What happened in the states to actually contribute to a reduction in our overall crime rate is simple. We've got 38 states with shall-issue, right-to-carry concealed handgun laws. While Canada has clamped down on its citizens' gun rights, our citizens have been empowered against criminals by passage of these laws. The disparity in crime rates between the two countries says it all about how well gun registration works to stop crime, as opposed to actually carrying guns to deter criminals, and fight back if necessary."

A Jan. 3 story in Canada's National Post by writer David Frum confirmed CCRKBA's independent finding. Frum wrote, "Canada's overall crime rate is now 50% higher than the crime rate in the United States." Later, Frum added: "Gun registries and gun bans…do not work."

"Instead of promising to ban legally-owned handguns in Canada," Waldron observed, "Prime Minister Paul Martin should be urging citizens to arm themselves. He should encourage Parliament to scrap gun registration and replace it with a gun ownership and training program."

"Since going on the warpath against guns, Canada's Liberals have presided over the sharpest rise in violent crime in the nation's history," Gottlieb said. "There are more rapes, more robberies and more murders. If that tells Canadian citizens anything at all, it's that Paul Martin and his Liberals have literally been ‘dead wrong' on guns."

What is it called when you keep trying the same thing over and over expecting a different result?  Yeah, that's right, it's called insanity.  Socialism and gun control have been shown again, and again, and again, to be the tools of tyrants and cost hundreds of millions of lives.  Won't people ever face reality?

There should be some sort of Darwin like award for people that chose such loser economic systems.  I've been blogging about this for some time and it just gets worse and worse.  Here is the latest from the failing U.K. medical system:

Hospitals shut wards as cash crisis bites
By Sam Lister, David Charter and Nigel Hawkes

THE spiralling cash crisis in the NHS has already forced two thirds of hospitals to close wards and will soon start directly affecting patient care, health chiefs give warning today.

A survey of 117 chief executives of NHS trusts reveals the depth of concern among healthcare professionals about the destabilising impact of wide-ranging government reforms. Three quarters of them say that growing financial pressures brought on by primary and acute care restructuring will affect patient treatment.

Almost half of hospital trust managers said that building and refurbishment projects were being delayed, while many trusts were also having to make staff redundant and to introduce recruitment freezes.

...

The poll of trust executives, conducted by Health Service Journal, comes as nursing leaders also give a bleak warning of massive NHS deficits. Their research suggests that health service debts in England will hit £1.2 billion this year, putting up to 4,000 jobs at risk.

The new minister, who will be charged with promoting the reform agenda in the media, is expected to be imposed on the Department of Health in a reshuffle due within days. The jobs of Jane Kennedy, the Minister for quality and patient safety, and Rosie Winterton, the Minister for health services, are both at risk.

The Times understands that a number of senior bureaucrats will also be moved in an attempt to speed up the pace of delivery.

Don't you just get a thrill at the thought of "a number of senior bureaucrats" being moved in to speed things up?  Are these people using the hospital pharmaceuticals recreationally?

And if this is bad, with recruitment freezes in the U.K., it must be really bad in Germany because the doctors there are threatening to go to work in the U.K.!

Striking doctors on the march
By Roger Boyes
50,000 surgeries closed as GPs threaten to desert Germany and head for Britain, reports our correspondent

THOUSANDS of German doctors threatened yesterday to desert Europe’s most modern health system and work in Britain, rather than put up with declining wages and longer hours.

The doctors, many wearing operating masks, marched through the centre of Berlin to besiege the Health Ministry in the first big demonstration against Angela Merkel’s coalition Government. Hospitals worked at half strength and about 50,000 doctors’ surgeries across the country were closed.

“It’s no longer bearable,” Andreas Dahmen, a 31-year-old orthopaedic surgeon, said. “I earn €2,800 [£1,920] a month here after taxes. I’m moving to England where I can earn double that amount for much less work.”

In Britain, he said, he could expect to earn £3,000 a month after tax, with the promise of bonuses bringing his earnings to £4,500. The hip specialist was speaking in a sea of placards held aloft by his colleagues, announcing: “England, we’re on our way!” and “If you want to see a German doctor, come to England!”.

I personally knew six people before they went to Iraq in the last couple of years.  Greg and John were over and back without me knowing they were headed that way.  Both made it home safely. Adam and Walter went over about a year ago.  Adam came home in a body bag and Walter was seriously and permanently injured (initial reports were overly optimistic about his recovery).  Our nephew Jason lost an arm, vision in one eye and other injuries.  That leaves one person unaccounted for.

Boomershooter Scott, who I worked with at Microsoft in '98 and '99, was headed over in 2004 and after all the bad news about the other guys I knew I dreaded even trying to check up on him.  Finally I got a hold of his Microsoft email address and sent him a message a couple weeks ago.  No response.  That could mean anything.  My old email address at MS didn't bounce so it could be he wasn't working there anymore either.  Yesterday I called him at his old MS number.  There was no answer so I left a voice mail message.  Again, that didn't mean much--my old number went to voice mail too.

Four hours and 35 minutes later Scott called me.  He's back at Microsoft and in one piece.  He lost friends and others that went with him to Iraq were severely injured but Scott is okay and planning to attend Boomershoot 2006 with another Iraq war vet.  While in Iraq they had Internet access and spent time looking at Boomershoot.org.

I'm very relieved.

This has been reported elsewhere but tomorrows Quote of the day is from some XXXXX people (Updated-- People that preferred their associations not be known) that needs this as background material:

(CNSNews.com) - The City of Seattle is running a help-wanted ad for a "Crime Gun Program Coordinator," who will "develop, maintain and coordinate a centralized and regionally comprehensive crime gun database" and "integrate" that data with other law enforcement databases.

The person hired for the job also will "assist in the development of local and regional strategies to stop illegal gun trafficking and related gun violence."

A Second Amendment group says don't be fooled -- the person hired for the job will be the Seattle Police Department's "official gun control advocate," and as such, he or she will be expected to "create and advocate gun control schemes under the guise of stopping criminal misuse of firearms."

The Seattle Police Department's "Crime Gun Program Coordinator" will be paid between $61,366 and $92,060 -- a waste of taxpayer money, said the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA).

CCRKBA also objected to the term "crime gun," calling it an inflammatory term intended to demonize any and all firearms, including those that are stolen in burglaries but are never actually used in crimes.

The actual job posting is as follows (emphasis added):

 

Job	Crime Gun Program Coordinator (SPD-701177)
Status	Regular / Full Time
Shift	Day Shift
Filing Dates	Sun, Jan 15, 2006 - Sun, Jan 29, 2006
Openings	1 Opening
Salary	$61,366 - $92,060 (Ord. Title: Strategic Advisor 2)
Department	Police
Location	Seattle Justice Center

Position Duties

Provide strategic support to the City’s Crime Gun Violence Reduction Program. Develop, maintain and coordinate a centralized and regionally comprehensive crime gun database and integrate the data with relevant information from the State Department of Licensing (DOL), Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), and other law enforcement agency databases. Assist in the development of local and regional strategies to stop illegal gun trafficking and related gun violence. Serve as inter-agency liaison and represent SPD at local and regional meetings pertaining to crime gun issues. Provide information and support to the Office for Intergovernmental Relations in developing legislation relating to firearms. Assist in the development of other specialized information technology systems with SPD relating to crime gun tracking gun violence reduction.

Required Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, public administration or a closely related field, and three years of experience working in planning and research related to program design, including data collection and analysis, and program development and coordination involving a variety of stakeholders. Experience in policy analysis and development, strategic planning, and advising management on program direction and allocation of resources. Must pass a Seattle Police Department background investigation.

Desired Qualifications

Master’s degree in criminal justice, public administration or a closely related field; the proven ability to design, develop, implement and evaluate complex programs involving sensitive issues and requiring interagency cooperation between multiple jurisdictions; experience, knowledge and/or technical expertise in crime gun issues; expertise in database management practices, statistical analysis and report writing; the ability to analyze data using the Geographic Information System; and excellent oral and written communication skills.

Additional Requirements

Candidates selected for this position will be required to provide a conviction history. A background check will be required for candidates selected for this position.

Bruce at mAss Backwards left a comment for my post Just One Question:

I've been contemplating the "just one question" approach for a while now. There's a series of town meeting-style forums coming up in Boston with our Mayor Tom "Never Met a Gun Control Scheme I Didn't Like" Menino.

I'm going to put my name in for one of the limited slots available. Shoudl I get the chance to address the Mayor, I'd ask:

"Mr. Mayor, as you know, the City of Boston over the last year has seen a marked increase in the rate of homicides and armed robberies. My question for you is a simple YES or NO question. Do the hard-working, law-abiding citizens of Boston have the right to defend themselves from violent criminals?"

A "yes" answer woudl be an outright lie.

A "no" answer, though truthful, would be cause for his immediate removal from office (not that that's very likely, though).

That seems to be a very good question to ask as well.  The only disadvantage I can see is that they can say, "Yes.", "Yes, but not with a gun.", or "Yes, but guns only make the situation worse."  And you are left with having to justify the use of a firearm for task of self-defense.  My question forces them defend their desire to impose restrictions on firearms.  In nearly all situations it's better to make your opponent defend rather than for you to defend against them.

As I write this I see Bruce has posted on this "Just One Question" topic with the request "So...what would your "one question" be?" in the context of being able to ask some politician a question in a public forum.

The news of Jill Carroll about to be killed by her abductors if all Iraqi women in military custody are not freed is incredibly disturbing to me.  But that does not mean I relieve her of the responsibility for her situation.  She and many others like her who persist in maintaining their ignorance of the threat posed by the Islamic extremists will continue to pay a heavy price for their willful ignorance.  These extremists literally say they have a religious duty to kill non-believers.  Unless she has converted to Islam and advocates the world-wide replacement of democracy by the rule of sexist religious extremists her situation should not come as a surprise to anyone.

While I hope and wish for a successful rescue of Ms. Carroll I think the odds of this are very low.  And certainly we should not release any prisoners, pay any ransom, or comply with any demands made by these criminals.  To do so would only put others at risk of similar abduction and death.  Her family and friends have my sympathy.

The best we can hope for concerning the people at large is that they be properly armed.

Alexander Hamilton

From the U.K. Times Online:

How Ziggy the indiscreet parrot gave a cheating girlfriend the bird
By Alan Hamilton

When the African grey said: 'I love you Gary' in his partner's voice, Chris Taylor became suspicious.

WHEN Chris Taylor’s best friend repeatedly mentioned the name Gary, his suspicions were aroused. He didn’t know a Gary.

And, when the best friend made slurpy kissing noises every time he heard the name Gary on television, Chris wondered if Ziggy was trying to tell him something about some other pretty boy. The penny dropped when, one romantic evening as Mr Taylor cuddled his girlfriend Suzy Collins on the sofa, Ziggy blurted out: “I love you, Gary.”

What gave the game away was that Ziggy spoke the fatal phrase in Ms Collins’s voice. Even by the standards of African grey parrots, Ziggy is a mimic and a half, and from his cage in the corner he had heard every bill and coo of a secret love affair.

A chill ran down Mr Taylor’s spine. He turned to Suzy, whose cheeks had flushed to beetroot. As she dissolved in tears she was forced to admit to a month-long fling with Gary, some of their intimacies conducted in Mr Taylor’s home while he was out at work, but Ziggy wasn’t. She could not deny it; every time her mobile phone had rung, Ziggy had piped up in perfect imitation of her: “Hiya Gary.”

This morning I received an email from an editor of a magazine in the U.K. who proposed sending a writer and photographer to Boomershoot 2006.  This magazine, at least the U.S. version, has actually been the target of some of our discussions as an "ideal target" for getting media coverage.  I immediately agreed and sent them more information.  I'll post more details if they become available.

One has to wonder after recent news on the peeping toms behind the surveillance cameras if the U.K. government will be installing cameras for the additional protection of the prostitutes they claim they are trying to protect:

Government gives green light to brothels

The law is to be changed to allow up to three prostitutes to work legally in brothels, the Government has confirmed.

Currently only one prostitute can offer paid sex without breaking the law.

Launching the Home Office's new prostitution strategy, minister Fiona Mactaggart said the current position meant that women were forced to work in unsafe conditions.

...

Today's strategy document, which applies to England and Wales, said: "At present only one person may work as a prostitute - more than that ... and the premises are classed in case law as a brothel.

"This runs counter to advice that women should not work alone in the interest of safety.

"The Government will make proposals for an amendment to the definition of a brothel so that two or three individuals may work together."

Perhaps they are having trouble hiring people to monitor the cameras and they plan to use this in recruiting.

Every once in a while people laugh at my method of getting a deer this year (something along the lines of "The Geek Goes Hunting").  Well, here is someone else for you to laugh about:

THE WHITETAIL DEER HUNT WITH A MOUNTAIN HOWITZER

For those of you unfamiliar with cannon artillery talk, a 12 pound Mountain Howitzer cannon was a small cannon used during the Civil War. The early mt howitzer cannons were originally designed to be disassembled and packed into the mountains on horseback, hence the name, Mountain Howitzer. The later model Mountain Howitzers, like this one, were built on a carriage designed to be "pulled" by horses. The "pound" designation ( 12 pdr ) in the name " 12 pound Mountain Howitzer " refers to the weight of the projectile that the mt howitzer cannon shoots. Therefore, a 12 pound Mountain Howitzer ( 12 pdr ) shoots a 12 pound cannonball. All artillery cannons with smooth bore barrels were described in the "pound" weight of their projectiles and were called "Cannons." ( like the 12 pound Mountain Howitzer Cannon ) Artillery cannons with rifled barrels were described in the "inch" of their bore diameters and called "Guns." ( like a 3 inch Gun ) First, let me start by saying that I'm pretty sure that it may not be entirely legal to use a Mountain Howitzer Cannon for deer hunting, at least not here in Wisconsin. ( I didn't actually ask the DNR about using a Mountain Howitzer, but I'm pretty sure they wouldn't like it ) Be sure to check with your own State Hunting regulations, ...... ( see the "Hunting with Artillery section )

He goes on in great detail on how to build the Mountain Howitzer cannon, the ammo to use, how to use it safely in a hunting environment, and finally a picture of a whitetail buck harvested with a Mountain Howitzer cannon.

It's monumentally stupid to use a weapon to commit any crime.  It takes a special class of stupidity to do so with a BB gun.

Larry Keane
Legal counsel to the National Shooting Sports Foundation in Newtown, Conn.
USA Today January 15, 2006
[For the clueless I'll spell this out.  After all, with a weapon you would think you would get better victim compliance.  The disadvantages are:

1. In many jurisdictions using a weapons will mean you serve more time in jail when you get caught.
2. Committing a crime using something that looks like gun is the universal sign for "shoot me" (masked men with guns are always targets).
3. Using a BB gun means you have all the disadvantages of using a gun without the advantage of real force multiplier.

--Joe]

Via Alphecca and Say Uncle this Washington Post editorial repeats a lie from a previous editorial.  I sometimes wonder if they repeat these lies on purpose or if they are just ignorant/careless/stupid:

As writer Jenny Price noted in a Dec. 25 op-ed in The Post, only 160 of the 12,000 guns used to kill people every year are employed in legitimate self-defense; guns in the home are used seven times more often for homicide than for self-defense.

I corrected Ms. Price in my previous post.  No need to do it again.  This editorial goes on to the expected conclusion.

Political long shot that it may be, a national ban on the general manufacture, sale and ownership of handguns ought be enacted. It would not pacify kids or adults with violent tendencies, and it might not curb general criminal activity markedly. But it might well save thousands of lives. Handgun exceptions could be made for federal, state and local law enforcement and military agencies; collectors of antique firearms; federally licensed handgun sporting clubs with certain safety procedures; security guard services; and licensed dealers, importers or manufacturers that are determined to be meeting those needs. Such a bill was proposed more than a decade ago by Sen. John Chafee (R-R.I.), who has since died. "I hear people say it's a radical proposal," he said then. "Well, I think to have the current situation is radical. No other country has anything like it." He described slaughter by handguns as killing in record numbers, threatening education and pushing the high costs of education even higher. So what's new today?

I'll answer that question.  The data is even more overwhelming than it was a decade ago--weapon restrictions do not save lives.  They divert resources that would be better spent elsewhere.

Now, editors at the Washington Post, answer Just One Question.

These guys got caught.  The real question is, "How many don't get caught?"  Via Bruce Schneier we have this from the BBC News:

Peeping tom CCTV workers jailed

Two council CCTV camera operators have been jailed for spying on a naked woman in her own home.

Mark Summerton and Kevin Judge, from Sefton Council, Merseyside, trained a street camera into the woman's flat.

...

The images from the camera, including the woman without her clothes on, were shown on a large plasma screen in the council's CCTV control room in November 2004, Liverpool Crown Court heard.

Over several hours, she was filmed cuddling her boyfriend before undressing, using the toilet, having a bath and watching television dressed only in a towel.

The problem is that watching the cameras is very boring work.  99+% of the time there is nothing worthy of their attention.  It has long been known that the camera operators start focusing on more interesting subjects--in particular it is attractive people of the appropriate gender.  If there is a pretty woman within view with few or no clothes on is going to get the majority of their attention.  There have even been cases of people being mugged within the view of a camera while the operator was watching some scantly clad women on a different camera.

The state can't protect you all the time without watching and/or listening to you all the time.  The alternative is to provide for your own protection and self-defense.  The U.K. subjects have chosen to, in essence, outlaw self-defense.  That means they must, if people are to have any security, rely on government.  The inevitable result is a panopticon society.  Either get used to it or reject government as your primary security source.

The difficulty here has been to persuade the citizens to keep arms, not to prevent them from being employed for violent purposes.

Timothy Dwight
1752-1817
Travels in New England

Father-Daughter style.  Father is carrying an STI Eagle 5.1 in .40 S&W with an 18 round magazine using a Milt Sparks inside the waistband (IWB) holster and a spare 18 round magazine in an offside dual magazine Sure-Fire flashlight holster.  Daughter is carrying a Star M43 FireStar in 9mm with a seven round magazine using a Kramer IWB holster with a Kramer spare magazine holster on the offside.  This was the first gun daughter Xenia ever fired when she was five years old.

Crime "prevention" is a very hot button for me.  There is no limit to the evil that can be justified and/or enabled once you accept the premise that it is acceptable to prevent crime by restricting liberty.

Joe Huffman
December 3, 1998 6:53 PM
Microsoft Gun Club Public Folder
[In response to yesterdays Quote of the Day by the "Gun Guys."--Joe]

MLubrecht has started a Yahoo email group for Boomershooters.  The description is:

 This discussion group is for enthusiasts of the annual Boomershoot long range shooting event in Northern Idaho.

To subscribe send an email to  boomershooters-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

Thank you Mike!

More Boomershoot 2006 blogging:

• Wonderful Things Are Afoot
• Rifle Bench Rest Shooting
• Boomershoot Rifles
• I think I need to have a fundraiser
• Boraxo (just a mention and a picture of the very first Boomershoot t-shirt)
• I forgot to show you this yesterday
• M1A
• Boomershoot (Neanderpundit posted my Boomershoot ad for free!)

Just the Blogads alone have generated over 1000 referrals in the past 10 days.  I'm going to try and get the statistics generated soon so I can get a feel for the traffic.

Boomershoot 2006 is now just one entry short of being half full.  The Precision Rifle Clinic is full with a waiting list.  It's going to be a big event this year.  A real blast!

The pictures Xenia took the other day of her friends in porn prom dresses was for her English class.  Here are the results.  It's Grimm's Fairy Tales interpreted by Xenia.  I'm amazed.  I could never write poetry or do artsy type stuff.  And I hated all my English classes--too many arbitrary rules to remember with too many exceptions.  It just didn't make sense to me.  Give me math and science any day.  I sometimes wonder if Xenia is my daughter... but many people tell me that she does resemble me.  And of course when she sits on my lap and talks to me about things there can be no doubt.

What we really need to pass are laws that act before the crime has taken place– stop dealers from selling weapons without consequence to criminals. Outlaw weapons that have no civilian needs, like assault weapons or the .50 caliber sniper rifle. Shut down the newspaper and gun show loopholes. Those laws are the ones that will prevent violence. You can lock up all the criminals you want, but that won’t stop crime, because everyone we know in jail committed their crime before they got there.

The Gun Guys
January 13, 2006
[Excellent thinking.  We can also prevent drunk driving by banning alcohol, reckless driving by banning cars, rape by castrating all men, prostitution by...--Joe]

Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and then applying the wrong remedies.

Groucho Marx
[The Washington State Legislature is in session again.--Joe]

Real ID Act (National ID cards with a different name) are a waste of time and money as well as being a source of high risk to liberty.  A year ago I wrote about the flaws that would show up.  Now the AP has an 'exclusive' on the story of the problems the states are having:

AP Exclusive: National ID, State Nightmare

By BRIAN BERGSTEIN AP Technology Writer
© 2006 The Associated Press

An anti-terrorism law creating a national standard for all driver's licenses by 2008 isn't just upsetting civil libertarians and immigration rights activists.

State motor vehicle officials nationwide who will have to carry out the Real ID Act say its authors grossly underestimated its logistical, technological and financial demands.

In a comprehensive survey obtained by The Associated Press and in follow-up interviews, officials cast doubt on the states' ability to comply with the law on time and fretted that it will be a budget buster.

"It is just flat out impossible and unrealistic to meet the prescriptive provisions of this law by 2008," Betty Serian, a deputy secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, said in an interview.

...

In a comprehensive survey obtained by The Associated Press and in follow-up interviews, officials cast doubt on the states' ability to comply with the law on time and fretted that it will be a budget buster.

"It is just flat out impossible and unrealistic to meet the prescriptive provisions of this law by 2008," Betty Serian, a deputy secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, said in an interview.

...

"If you take any one of these things individually, you see a significant problem," Steinhardt said. "There are literally hundreds of these problems embedded in Real ID, and the statute doesn't give you a way out. It's black and white. No exceptions, no reality check.

"In many respects it's a statute that ignores reality."

Like I said in my post from last year.  It's as if the congress critters had tried to legislate that PI equals 3.0.  They are out of touch with reality.

The latest technology to be employed in the unconstitutional search of people attempting to board an aircraft while exercising their right to travel is puffers:

'Puffers' add to airport security
1/12/2006 1:29 PM
By: Lisa Reyes, News 14 Carolina

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Travelers at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport will soon see new security measures. High-tech machines to detect explosives will be located at three checkpoints.

The Transportation Security Administration says the imminent danger to aviation these days is explosives. TSA officials demonstrated devices called “explosive-detection trace portals” or “puffers” at the airport on Thursday.

The machines puff air on travelers to dislodge particles from their skin or clothing.

“It loosens particles that are attached to a person or his clothing, and those particles are analyzed by the machine for the presence of explosives,” said John Gartland of TSA.

The devices take about 20-25 seconds to check each passenger.

The TSA purchased the three machines through federal funding. They cost a little over $100,000, and about a 100 of them will be implemented in airports nationwide.

I agree that explosives is the biggest threat to safe airplane travel.  Other weapons such as guns and knives are of little use if someone wanted to bring the airplane down.  And if the user of such a weapon were intent on attacking people in the cabin they wouldn't make all that much progress before they were stopped by someone else in the cabin.  But a pound of explosives, about the size and weight of a pint of milk, in a tightly closed area like the cabin of an aircraft can do a lot of damage.  There is a Myth Busters episode on this very topic if you have any doubts.

In any case keeping explosives off of passenger airplanes is a good idea.  They aren't useful for self-defense in an aircabin enivornment, as the knives and handguns are, and they represent a significant hazard to the entire aircraft and people on the ground.  The problem is--How do you do it?  As I have explained before with the explosive sniffing wasps the problem is one of false positives if you try to detect improvised and/or "homemade" explosives.  And if you don't address those type of explosives you have a loophole any terrorist can waltz right through.  And the current explosives detection technology fails even on people that inadvertently contaminate their luggage.  If a skilled adversary were to be intent on bringing explosives on board a plane nothing short of a full search of everyone will be effective. So what's the solution? Use our limited resources on other things such as better intelligence as to who is a threat and interviews of passengers.  That will guard against both the known threats using existing weapons and the type of threats we haven't thought of yet.

From Tahlequah Daily Press but not the New York Times or any other mainstream media outlook I could find.  I wonder why?  Maybe it's because:

Experts say for self-defense, nothing beats a gun

By Eddie Glenn Press Staff Writer

This is one, hopefully, no one will have to observe. But January is (along with Quality of Life Month, Wealth Mentality Month, Be On-Purpose Month, and Get Organized Month) Self-Defense Awareness Month.

The event is sponsored by the National Self-Defense Institute to promote their SAFE (Self-Defense Awareness and Familiarization Exchange) program. The program has a two-fold purpose: To prevent crimes of sexual violence through programs of education and training, focusing primarily on awareness and prevention; and to educate women about realistic options that will help them avoid, escape, and survive assaults if they do occur.

...

Lawrence is also a black belt in Okinawan Karate, Kempo, Jeet Kune Do, Ju Ji Tsu, and Aiki Jitsu (that’s five black belts under his belt). Still, when it comes to self-defense – especially for women – he suggests a firearm, and the knowledge of how to use it, is the most effective weapon.

“A woman is at an obvious size and strength disadvantage, and for her to protect herself against a man – who may be carrying a weapon himself – would take years of practicing any martial art,” said Lawrence. “Someone who is strong and athletic can probably study any martial arts technique and make it effective, but if you don’t meet those criteria, you need to consider what the best equalizer is going to be.”

...

Still, his advise for the most practical and effective self-defense: “Get a concealed carry permit, and know how to shoot your gun.”

Democracy is a form of government in which it is permitted to wonder aloud what the country could do under first-class management.

Senator Soaper
[Except under McCain-Feingold.--Joe]

I like Reno for some reason.  Las Vegas has it's appeal but Reno isn't bad.  I shot in the USPSA Area 1 competition there once.  It's also fairly close to home as far as tourist cities go.  Mr. Completely has put up a trial balloon for a Gunblogger Rendezvous in Reno the first part of November.

Read his proposal and send him an email if you are interested.  That's a long way into the future for me to be making plans for anything other than Boomershoot (which is more like year around planning), but I think I could do that.

This should be interesting.  Abu Hamza is a radical imam that had more than 2700 audio tapes and about 570 video tapes of himself extolling the "virtues" of Hitlers actions against the Jews, that it is the duty of his followers to fight for Allah and that fighting involved a religious obligation to murder Jews, kuffars (non-believers), and apostates.  The British are putting him on trial:

The radical imam of the Finsbury Park Mosque, Abu Hamza al-Masri, went on trial at the Old Bailey yesterday accused of being a hate-filled bigot who encouraged his congregation to murder non-Muslims.

...

David Perry, for the prosecution, told the court that Abu Hamza’s exhortation of murder and celebration of hatred were an affront to and an offence against Britain’s traditions of freedom of expression. His crimes were committed out of his mouth in the form of utterances that were “destructive and corrosive” of a free society.

Mr Perry said: “The plain, unambiguous meaning of these words — such as ‘every last Jew is going to be buried in Palestine’ — is obvious. He says jihad is obligatory, jihad involves the death of the kuffar, Jews are detestable, to be reviled and to be killed. This is what the defendant intended to be heard.

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The talks are not solely about violence, murder and holy war. The cleric’s speeches also contain diatribes about Britain’s licensing laws, the use of additives in food, adultery, the role of women and the evils of democracy.

Mr Perry said Abu Hamza sought to create “a blueprint for living” for his followers and impose his view of Islam on every aspect of their lives.

Central to that was his message that jihad, or holy war in the cause of Allah, was a religious obligation and that killing non-believers — especially Jews — was an essential component of jihad.

“The prosecution case is that Sheikh Abu Hamza was expressing hatred and contempt for kuffars, in particular Jews,” Mr Perry said.

“But what he had to say did not stop with hate-mongering. He was exhorting his listeners to kill and making it clear, as a religious leader, that that was a religious duty and not a matter of choice.”

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“He accused the Jews of being blasphemers, traitors and dirty. This, because of their blasphemy, and because of their filth, was why Hitler was sent into the world. He also tells his audience that the Jews control the West, by which he means western liberal democracies such as this country.

“He says the Jews control the West and must be removed from the earth.”

Here is an overview of a two of the tapes to be played at his trial:

Tape Two
A video entitled “Adherence to Islam in the western world”. believed to have been recorded in September 1999. Abu Hamza tells his listeners that Britain is “a kuffar country which is at war with Islam”. He says that killing kuffars is allowed in Islam and singles out people who sell alcohol as legitimate targets.

Tape Seven
“How to Survive in the land of Kuffar”, recorded in September 1999; a lecture in Arabic aimed at youth and families. Abu Hamza criticises “corrupt scholars” and disbelievers who do not deserve anything except the sword, reiterates that jihad is compulsory. Attacks the UN and atheist nations that preserve the “Zionist existence”. He described Britain as “a land of war” that will only be peaceful when it surrenders to Allah.

Ahh... yes.  This is the peace of Islam.  The same peace that Hitler sought for the Jews of Europe.

I wonder if this trial will make any difference to those in Britain opposed to the war in Iraq.  Will they realize this is why their soldiers are fighting in the Mid-East.  It is to keep this sort of hate filled bigot and his murderous followers from realizing their ambitions.