Category: Crime

No Stabby

The Arizona Rifleman discusses the ridiculousness of the idea of anti-stab knives, which have been introduced in the UK, and are being promoted by the Home Office.  The mind boggles at some of the comments:

This is intended to make homes safer places for everyone regardless of age, ability (disability) or useage. The common kitchen knife hasn’t evolved since its medieval beginnings and has no place in the 21st century home. By the way £50 each is a misprint. They will be much cheaper.

No place in the 20th century home?  What about screwdrivers, or sharp scissors?  Straight razor anyone?

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Animal Planet Celebrates Piracy

Much like a train wreck, Bitter and I couldn’t help but watch the Animal Planet series Whale Wars, which looks to me like a celebration of eco-piracy.  Bitter and I were rooting for the Japanese, and the ice.  What these people are doing is appalling, and Discovery Communications should be ashamed for painting criminals in a positive light.  The Japanese government has put out Interpol alerts, and the leaders of this gang of pirates is wanted in Japan, at least.  Yes, those brutish Japanese, eh, who want to continue barbarous whaling?   Tell me if this video of a Japanese vessel defending itself against a deliberate collision by the Sea Shepherd looks anything but measured:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXQq78lvKrU[/youtube]

If I’m Captain of a ship being attacked and rammed on the Antarctic Ocean, in an attempt to sink my ship with my crew on it, I’m ordering my harpooner to fire one of the explosive harpoons at the bridge, not spray the hippies with water cannons, even though they could probably use the shower.

That might sound extreme, but sinking in water that cold is likely to kill some of my crew.  It’s time to stop being nice to these people.  If the countries harboring these terrorists don’t take action, someone needs to send the Sea Shepherd to the bottom of the ocean.  I don’t care what you think about whaling, or whether you think the Japanese are abusing the research exemption.  You don’t get to attack shipping, put people’s lives at risk, and get away with it.  If someone attacks and tries to kill me on land, I’m justified legally shooting them dead where they stand.   The high seas should be no different.  Just for fun, here’s a video of The Sea Shepherd being rammed by the Canadian Coast Guard.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nUSWTzvzZA[/youtube]

Go Canada!  And shame on the Dutch for allowing these pirates to continue flying their flag.  The Japanese and the Canadians ought to file a formal complaint with the IMO against the Dutch for failing to prosecute piracy by ships flying their flag.  Why do we tolerate this?

UPDATE: Please file a complaint with Discovery Communications here.  I did.

I am absolutely appalled that Discovery Communications is legitimizing piracy by airing a program that promotes violence against other human beings. Regardless of what one thinks of whaling, the actions of these eco-terrorists is in violation of the international law of the seas, and is criminal. What’s next for Discovery Networks? Following around people who try to murder abortion doctors? I have been thinking about canceling my cable subscription as of late. This has convinced me it is time, and I will make sure Comcast knows why.

I’m not kidding about the cable either.  There’s literally nothing on worth watching except for Mythbusters, which still isn’t worth 80 bucks a month.

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How Things Roll in Philly

I’m very intrigued by this post by Wyatt, about turning a criminal over to the feds for prosecution on guns charges (felon-in-possession), something we know that the City of Philadelphia often will not do:

Anyway, the AUSA wanted to take over the case and try him federally. He even asked my permission – which made me laugh a little – because he said a lot of Philly detectives resent it when the feds take over their jobs. I told him that I couldn’t care less about that or the court overtime, because putting a thug like this behind bars for some real time was much more important. In Philly, this guy would have received probation or something equally ludicrous. The feds expect him to serve between 7 and 20 years if convicted. Nice!

Emphasis mine.  So petty territorial issues are more important than public safety in the City of Brotherly Love?  Wonderful.  I’m glad Wyatt’s experience with the AUSA was positive, and if we had more detectives in that city with his attitude, we might be able to get some of these folks behind bars where they belong.

I’ll be honest, as a libertarian, I’m skeptical of federal authority to control possession of guns, even by felons, but I’m also skeptical of a city justice system that just refuses to enforce the state laws that are supposed to take care of this problem.  As long as the herpes theory of the commerce clause is law, it seems to be that the primary goal should be getting dangerous people off the streets.

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New Yorkers Find New Ways to Kill Each Other

Mayor Mike Bloomberg tells people that if we just take away the guns, we will get rid of the violence.  Unfortunately, New York criminals are embracing their entrepreneurial spirit.

In 2008, even as gun killings fell, the number of killings committed with knives or other “cutting instruments” rose 50 percent in New York City, the Police Department said: to 125 from 83.

The news gets worse for the law abiding because fatal stabbings rose faster than gun deaths fell. Once again, we prove that criminals will find ways to attack the innocent regardless of the gun laws.

As you read deeper into the article, the NYPD spokesperson appears to lament the easy availability of knives and lack of restrictions in getting them. Fortunately for taxpayers, the community activists who arrange gun “buy backs” acknowledge that there isn’t enough money in the coffers for them to conduct knife “buy backs.” It might be time to join Knife Rights if you live in New York.

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Interference Bloomberg Style

This New York Times piece shines quite a stunning flashlight at Mayor Bloomberg’s anti-gun operation:

He was arrested in 2005 and accused of using his wife and others as “straw buyers” to acquire more than two dozen sawed-off shotguns, semiautomatic pistols and rifles in Virginia, most of their serial numbers obliterated, and selling them for thousands of dollars in New York City. He faced up to five years in prison if convicted.

What follows is outrageous.  Federal prosecutors wanted to throw the book at this guy.  Bloomberg moved in and cut a deal, and got him off with probation, saying “his cooperation was ‘extraordinary’ and ‘really helpful to the city.'”

So you have a guy the feds managed to catch, who was unambiguously buying guns through a straw purchaser in Virginia, filing the numbers off the gun, and trafficking them illegally up to New York City, and selling them on the streets.  And Bloomberg lets him off with a slap on the wrist?  Why?

Mr. Winfield was no doubt helped by the timing of his case, which occurred as the city was looking for help in two lawsuits it filed in 2006 against more than two dozen gun dealers in Virginia and four other states.

Yep.  Now we know why ATF was pissed at Bloomberg when it happened.  They had an honest to God criminal gun trafficker, and Bloomberg got him off pretty much scott free so he could grandstand in public, crap all over ther rights of businessmen with no connection to his state, and all the while pandering to a fawning media who will congratulate him on doing so much to help rid New Yorkers of the scourge of “illegal guns.”

Well, it looks like the gig is up now.  It’s never been about controlling crime.  It’s about controlling people.  Anyone who says that’s nonsense needs to look no further than Michael Bloomberg.

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