And that’s the difference between Mr. B and myself. He shakes his head in bafflement, I resume sharpening the M4 bayonet while crooning “Soon, soon, my precioussss...”

Kim du Toit

January 24, 2006
[I can relate to that--in so many ways.--Joe]

From the U.K. Sun:

O’Mahoney used her video phone to film the attack that left David dying from 44 injuries, including a ruptured spleen and five fractured ribs.

She booted the 37-year-old’s head like a football as other gang members piled in, making sure she had it all on film.

She even gloated: “Pose for the camera.”

Three other members of O’Mahoney’s evil gang were sentenced to 12 years each for manslaughter — in a crime that shocked Britain.

...

The gang attacked SEVEN other victims later that night and filmed their agony in an orgy of violence on London’s South Bank.

After they were sentenced there were sickening scenes outside the court. Friends and relatives of the killers hurled insults at David’s pals and family, including his elderly dad Geoffrey.

They screamed and even made throat cutting gestures. Incredibly, one voice shouted: “Your friend has cost my cousin 12 years.”

Emphasis in the original.

Don't you wish we too lived in a gun free paradise like the U.K.?

There are plans for one or more Boomershooters from India this year.  This is going to be the year of international attention--the media from U.K. and shooters from Canada and India.  Very cool.

The more I learn about people and society the more I love guns and explosives.  Guns and explosives are more understandable, more predictable, and less hazardous.

A story on the origin of the yodel.  Read the comments too--so you'll better understand why I sometimes refer to her as a future lesbian pornographer.

Another picture of her and her friends on top of the roof wearing their porn prom dresses.

I've been saying for a long time that airport screening for weapons on airplanes may be an insolvable problem and that we need to consider alternatives.  Now research from the University at Buffalo and Georgia State University suggest we may now know why it is such a difficult problem:

Screeners at airport security checkpoints perform an important task in which they search for objects that belong to threat categories in complex X-ray images. New research by cognitive psychologists at UB and Georgia State University explores the cognitive processes that underlie screening, suggests limits on those processes and has implications for the training and evaluation of screeners in the field.

The findings were published in the article "Specific-Token Effects in Screening Tasks: Possible Implications for Aviation Security" in the November-December issue of the American Psychological Association's Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition (Vol. 31, No. 6) and in the article "Visual Search and the Collapse of Categorization," in the November-December issue of the APA's Journal of Experimental Psychology: General (Vol. 134, No. 4).

...

The problem addressed by the research, Smith says, "is that screeners must be able to bring 'category-level' knowledge to their search for targets. That is, they must search for guns and knives generally, not for specific Beretta guns or Bowie knives they have been trained to recognize. Yet it has been unknown how the processes of categorization stand up to visual complexity or why they fail facing it. We filled this research gap by creating a visual-search and categorization paradigm in which participants searched for members of target categories in complex displays."

...

The reliance on familiarity might also have implications for the training and evaluation of screeners in the field for the following reason: The "Threat Image Projection" (TIP) system provides an important potential means of assessing performance at security checkpoints. It includes a library of test images that can be digitally injected into the X-ray image of a bag as it is presented to the screener. This lets screeners' ongoing target-detection performance be evaluated, provides ongoing training and maintains screener vigilance. Yet, a strategy of using a fixed library of test images risks the specific-token effects that Smith and his colleagues observed. Estimates of screener performance might be inflated by these familiarity effects, compared to the detection levels that would be observed for real threats that will be from outside the library and unfamiliar. A more conservative and truer estimate of screener performance would result if one arranged testing so that targets essentially never repeated, so that familiarity could never develop and so that screeners were forced to rely on category general knowledge and strategies.

Smith notes that it is to the Transportation Security Administration's credit that it has actively responded to this specific-token effect by increasing the size of TIP libraries and by planning periodically to infuse new targets. These changes have the potential to keep TIP as a viable and accurate indicator of detection levels in the security system. These steps also show the promise of cognitive scientists and sponsoring agencies cooperating toward solving important problems. 

Unfortunately, knowing why it is a difficult problem also means everyone knows how to make it difficult for the screeners.  We need to consider the alternatives.

It is our duty to protect the citizens of Fayette County, even those that don't want to be protected.
 
Comment by a member of the Fayette County (Ga.) Board of Health 
During a meeting on a proposed smoking ban.
[The socialist mindset.  Does their constitution even allow them to have a "Board of Health"?  --Joe]

I have been criticized by referring to our federal masked men as "ninja," when in the view of the critic the traditional role of the ninja in Japan was to fight against oppression and tyranny. Let us note that almost no one ever resorts to force and violence unless he is convinced that his cause is right, but without going into that let us reflect upon the fact that a man who covers his face shows reason to be ashamed of what he is doing. A man who takes it upon himself to shed blood while concealing his identity is a revolting perversion of the warrior ethic.

It has long been my conviction that a masked man with a gun is a target. I see no reason to change that view.

Jeff Cooper
From Jeff Cooper's Commentaries
Vol. 2, No. 16
20 December 1994

There are two ways to slide easily through life: to believe everything or to doubt everything; both ways save us from thinking.

Alfred Korzybski
[I've been doing a lot of thinking lately.  It's not been pleasant.  Details later when I get my mind around it all.--Joe]

It is my firm conviction that man has nothing to gain, emotionally or otherwise, by adhering to a falsehood, regardless of how comfortable or sacred that falsehood may appear.  Anyone who claims, on the one hand, that he is concerned with human welfare, and who demands, on the other hand, that man must suspend or renounce the use of his reason, is contradicting himself. There can be no knowledge of what is good for man apart from knowledge of reality and human nature-and there is no manner in which this knowledge can be acquired except through reason.  To advocate irrationality is to advocate that which is destructive to human life.

George H. Smith
From: Atheism: The Case Against God
[I regard gun control and socialism as religions.  They are faith based and ignore factual data.  Understanding the psychology of religiosity is useful in understanding the psychology of the anti-freedom crowd.--Joe]

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