In regards to the Tyre Nichols Case it certainly demonstrates that even with a preponderance of Black Officers @ the scene this is anything but a cure for curbing of Racially biased Policing in this brutal Case of Police killing a Citizen for whatever motive, or reasoning..!
An interesting piece of Signage I observed on my Main Rd. outside my Local Gun Range about 100 meters from my Neighborhood Walk the other day left me chuckling uneasily: " As A Girl, I Just Hope 1 Day I Have As Many Rights As A Gun"
Scott Ritter and Mathew Hoh have joined the list of folks who will be speaking at the RAGE AGAINST THE WAR MACHINE ANTI-WAR RALLY in Washington, DC on February 19th. No participation indicated yet by Veterans For Peace. Source: https://rageagainstwar.com/#Speakers
Well the U.S. was a frontier country until relatively recently and guns were required on the frontier. Europe had it's frontier a long time ago and so keeping and bearing arms has been largely forgotten. Of course the relatively peaceful nature of Europe didn't keep them from killing tens of millions in those two minor (sarc) dust-ups back in the 20th century.
We're certainly not the most violent country. That honor belongs to countries in Latin America and Africa. Within the United States, violence is much more prevalent in cities, where gun ownership is relatively restricted, as opposed to suburban and rural areas, where gun ownership is relatively more free. My conclusion is that guns are not the problem. People are the problem.
And people without guns kill people. With knives and such. And of course most killings by people with guns have been in the context of a war. Like our semi-declared war with Russia.
True, that. Sadly, guns bought for "protection" sometimes become the chosen method for suicide, which again makes me think of the harsh wisdom of Josey Wales: "Dyin' ain't much of a livin'."
It's an interesting question, Alex, re: what's the most violent country? What stats did you use?
One could argue it's the U.S., not solely due to gun deaths, crime, and the like, but also because of weapons sales abroad, movie and TV shows made that feature violence, wars fought, bombs dropped, and so on.
Since we're a global empire with the world's #1 military (so we say), and because we're also #1 in weapons sales (and probably in wars fought and munitions used therein), the U.S. very well could be the most violent country.
Right. The murder rate. That's one measure of violence.
But are Honduras, Belize, Venezuela, etc. a violent threat to the rest of the world? Are they major arms exporters? Did they wage a war a Vietnam that killed millions? Are they building new nuclear weapons that could conceivably kill billions? There are many measures of "violence."
Yes. Absolutely. It's not surprising that some of these emigrants are showing up at the U.S./Mexico border. They hope for a better/safer life, one less plagued by gang violence. Will they find it here?
And what they are attempting to escape is the Central and South America that has been one of America's primary Targets for a long, long time; starting with the Spanish-American War at the end of the 19th century.
Think Guatemala in the 50s, Cuba in the 60s, Chile in the 70s, Ollie North and his Cocaine/Contra extravaganza and Death Squads in El Salvador in the 80s, and America's insatiable demand for Drugs from down in that area ever since.
The current refugee crisis at America's Southern Border is totally and completely the result of a century and a quarter of American military, economic, and political imperialism in its rawest and ugliest form.
Remember how Smedley Butler put it in a speech delivered in 1933:
"War is just a racket. A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of people. Only a small inside group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few at the expense of the masses.
"I believe in adequate defense at the coastline and nothing else. If a nation comes over here to fight, then we'll fight. The trouble with America is that when the dollar only earns 6 percent over here, then it gets restless and goes overseas to get 100 percent. Then the flag follows the dollar and the soldiers follow the flag.
"I wouldn't go to war again as I have done to protect some lousy investment of the bankers. There are only two things we should fight for. One is the defense of our homes and the other is the Bill of Rights. War for any other reason is simply a racket.
"There isn't a trick in the racketeering bag that the military gang is blind to. It has its "finger men" to point out enemies, its 'muscle men' to destroy enemies, its 'brain men' to plan war preparations, and a 'Big Boss' Super-Nationalistic-Capitalism.
"It may seem odd for me, a military man to adopt such a comparison. Truthfulness compels me to. I spent thirty- three years and four months in active military service as a member of this country's most agile military force, the Marine Corps.
"I served in all commissioned ranks from Second Lieutenant to Major-General. And during that period, I spent most of my time being a high class muscle- man for Big Business, for Wall Street and for the Bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism.
"I suspected I was just part of a racket at the time. Now I am sure of it.
Like all the members of the military profession, I never had a thought of my own until I left the service. My mental faculties remained in suspended animation while I obeyed the orders of higher-ups. This is typical with everyone in the military service.
"I helped make MEXICO, especially Tampico, safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make HAITI and CUBA a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in.
"I HELPED IN THE RAPING OF HALF A DOZEN CENTRAL AMERICAN REPUBLICS FOR THE BENEFITS OF WALL STREET. The record of racketeering is long.
I helped purify NICARAGUA for the international banking house of Brown Brothers in 1909-1912 (where have I heard that name before?). I brought light to the DOMINICAN REPUBLIC for American sugar interests in 1916. In CHINA I helped to see to it that Standard Oil went its way unmolested. [Note: To say nothing of that we did in and to the Land, Country, Nation, and People of the PHILLIPINES.]
"During those years, I had, as the boys in the back room would say, a swell racket. Looking back on it, I feel that I could have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts. I operated on three continents."
As Archie and Edith once put it: "Mister...: we could use a BUNCH of men like Smedley Butler again."
TO STOP AMERICA’S “NATIONAL” GUN VIOLENCE PROBLEM, CONCENTRATE WHERE THE MURDERS ARE CONCENTRATED by Gary Galles 012823 [Extracts]
According to recent research on the US murder rate by the Crime Prevention Research Center [https://crimeresearch.org/]:
“Homicide rates have spiked, but MOST OF AMERICA HAS REMAINED UNTOUCHED. There are VAST SWATHES OF THE COUNTRY WHERE VIOLENT CRIME IS VERY, VERY RARE, AND SMALL AREAS OF THE COUNTRY WHERE IT IS COMMON.”
More specifically:
~ The worst five counties (Cook, Los Angeles, Harris, Philadelphia, and New York) accounted for about 15 percent of homicides.
~ The worst 1 percent of counties (31), with 21 percent of the US population, accounted for 42 percent of the homicides.
~ The worst 2 percent of counties (62), with 31 percent of the population, accounted for 56 percent of the homicides.
~ The worst 5 percent of counties (155), with 47 percent of the population, accounted for 73 percent of the homicides.
IN CONTRAST, OVER HALF OF US COUNTIES (52 PERCENT) HAD ZERO HOMICIDES IN 2020, AND ROUGHLY ONE-SIXTH OF THE COUNTIES (16 PERCENT) HAD ONLY ONE.
Continuing its investigation, the CPRC looked at even finer-scale zip code data for Los Angeles County. He found that the worst 10 percent of zip codes in the county accounted for 41 percent of the homicides, and the worst 20 percent accounted for a total of 67 percent of the homicides.
From such data, the CPRC concluded that: “MURDER ISN’T A NATIONWIDE PROBLEM.” INSTEAD, “IT’S A PROBLEM IN A SMALL SET OF URBAN AREAS, AND EVEN IN THOSE COUNTIES MURDERS ARE CONCENTRATED IN SMALL AREAS INSIDE THEM, AND ANY SOLUTION MUST REDUCE THOSE MURDERS.”
Despite the constant political and media drumbeat to portray homicides as a national problem that threatens everyone everywhere, and thus demands national solutions in line with what the political Left wants, the evidence points us in a far more local direction.
That may well explain the political reason for the volume and persistence of that drumbeat. It provides camouflage for those whose policies (and those who support them) would come under far greater scrutiny IF PEOPLE RECOGNIZED JUST HOW CONCENTRATED HOMICIDES ARE AND THEN ASKED WHAT IS DIFFERENT IN THOSE PLACES, RATHER THAN THE “BLAME AMERICA FIRST” BROMIDES THEY ARE ROUTINELY MISDIRECTED TOWARD TODAY.
But that means if we really cared about those most harmed by the murder rate, rather than imposing broader-than-necessary restrictions on Americans, it is important to follow the evidence so many would prefer to keep hidden.
THE PANDEMIC WAS A CATASTROPHE FOR GLOBAL FREEDOM — NEW HUMAN FREEDOM INDEX by Ian Vásquez 012623
In the year 2020, 94 percent of the world’s population saw a fall in its freedom compared to the year before. The annual Human Freedom Index, released today by the Cato Institute and the Fraser Institute, documents how the Covid‐19 pandemic was a catastrophe for human freedom.
The report uses 83 indicators of personal, civil, and economic freedom for 165 jurisdictions for 2020, the most recent year for which sufficient internationally comparable data is available. Most jurisdictions (148) saw a decline in freedom. This year’s index presents data beginning in 2000. It shows that after a high point in 2007, global freedom experienced a slow descent through 2019, after which it deteriorated sharply. The decline set global freedom back more than two decades, erasing any gains during that period.
THE PANDEMIC ACCELERATED WORRISOME LONG‐TERM TRENDS—SOME 79 PERCENT OF THE WORLD’S POPULATION HAD ALREADY EXPERIENCED DECREASES IN ITS FREEDOM FROM 2007 THROUGH 2019. FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION, THE RULE OF LAW, AND FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION AND ASSEMBLY WERE AMONG THE CATEGORIES THAT MOST SAW DETERIORATION IN THE PAST TWO DECADES.
THE UNITED STATES HAS ALSO SEEN A STEADY DECLINE. IT NOW RANKS 23RD IN THE INDEX, HAVING FALLEN 7 PLACES SINCE 2019. IN THE YEAR 2000, IT RANKED 6TH. THE TOP TEN FREEST COUNTRIES IN ORDER ARE SWITZERLAND, NEW ZEALAND, ESTONIA, DENMARK, IRELAND, SWEDEN, ICELAND, FINLAND, NETHERLANDS, AND LUXEMBOURG.
My co-authors—Fred McMahon, Ryan Murphy, and Guillermina Sutter Schneider—and I find that there is an unequal distribution of freedom in the world. Only 13 percent of the global population lives in the top quartile of countries in the index, while 40 percent live in the least free quartile. More than 75 percent lives in countries that are in the bottom half of the index.
We are almost certainly less free today than we were in January 2020, but only time will tell to what extent the world will regain its lost freedoms as the pandemic moderates, and our annual index will continue to monitor trends in the following years. As the world’s liberal democracies regain some of their lost freedoms, countries run by authoritarian regimes may lag further behind, thus increasing the global inequality of freedom. It is telling that the ten jurisdiction that saw the largest declines in freedom since the global high point in 2007 are all led by authoritarian regimes. In order of largest declines, those are: Syria, Nicaragua, Hungary, Egypt, Venezuela, Turkey, El Salvador, Burundi, Bahrain, and Hong Kong.
The Human Freedom Index (HFI) presents a broad measure of human freedom, understood as the absence of coercive constraint. This eighth annual index uses 83 distinct indicators of personal and economic freedom in the following areas:
~ Rule of law
~ Security and safety
~ Movement
~ Religion
~ Association, assembly, and civil society
~ Expression and information
~ Relationships
~ Size of government
~ Legal system and property rights
~ Sound money
~ Freedom to trade internationally
~ Regulation
The HFI is the most comprehensive freedom index so far created for a globally meaningful set of countries and jurisdictions representing 98.1 percent of the world’s population. The HFI covers 165 jurisdictions for 2020, the most recent year for which sufficient data are available.
The index ranks jurisdictions over a span of two decades, beginning in 2000, the earliest year for which a robust enough index could be produced.
Human freedom deteriorated severely in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Most areas of freedom fell, including significant declines in the rule of law; freedom of movement, expression, association and assembly; and freedom to trade. On a scale of 0 to 10, where 10 represents more freedom, THE AVERAGE HUMAN FREEDOM RATING FOR 165 JURISDICTIONS FELL FROM 7.03 IN 2019 TO 6.81 IN 2020. ON THE BASIS OF THAT COVERAGE, 94.3 PERCENT OF THE WORLD’S POPULATION SAW A FALL IN HUMAN FREEDOM FROM 2019 TO 2020, WITH MANY MORE JURISDICTIONS DECREASING (148) than increasing (16) their ratings and 1 remaining unchanged.
The sharp decline in freedom in 2020 comes after years of slow descent following a high point in 2007 and sets global freedom to a level far below what it was in 2000, previously the lowest point in the past two decades. [EMPHASIS added.]
"I know it’s an odd juxtaposition: the 'honk if you like guns' sentiment and the (alleged) murder of Tyre Nichols by five (or don't) police officers in Memphis."
I don’t think it's an odd juxtaposition at all. A violent mindset inevitably begets violence, of whatever type. The current ruling political party carries water for gun violence every day, and lays the blame everywhere but where it belongs: on people who get off on harming other people.
Whether it's gun violence or cop violence (or cops with guns violence), nothing seems to change. Police unions and NRA lobbyists help to ensure no real reforms are passed. And what politician dares to be called weak on crime?
Nope, they'd rather pound the pulpit about mental illness (in the GOP's case), while simultaneously defunding mental health care. I believe Mr. DeSantis is guilty of that one. Perhaps Mr. Abbott as well.
Untethered Empires in decline need untethered Generals, eh?... :
WAR WITH CHINA COULD COME AS SOON AS 2025, PREDICTS ‘UNTETHERED’ US GENERAL by Diego Ramos 012823
“Aim for the head.” This is the message blasted out by four star Air Force general and Air Mobility Command head General Michael A. Minihan about the preparation needed for a potential war between the US and China in two years.
Gen. Minihan’s rhetoric is reminiscent of his keynote speech at the Air & Space Forces Association’s Air Space & Cyber Conference in September. In that address, Minihan expresses his aggressive mentality stating, “LETHALITY MATTERS MOST…WHEN YOU CAN KILL YOUR ENEMY, EVERY PART OF YOUR LIFE IS BETTER. YOUR FOOD TASTES BETTER. YOUR MARRIAGE IS STRONGER.”
The general’s memo leaves no doubt regarding his sense of what is to come in the near future. From training orders emphasizing “unrepentant lethality matters most,” to explicit preparation directions, Minihan assumes the worst lies ahead.
“I hope I am wrong…My gut tells me we will fight in 2025. Xi secured his third term and set his war council in October 2022. Taiwan’s presidential elections are in 2024 and will offer Xi a reason. United States’ presidential elections are in 2024 and will offer Xi a distracted America. Xi’s team, reason, and opportunity are all aligned for 2025,” Minihan wrote.
According to the NBC News report, Minihan has also begun setting deadlines for preparation efforts. “The signed memo is addressed to all air wing commanders in Air Mobility Command and other Air Force operational commanders, and orders them to report all major efforts to prepare for the China fight to Minihan by Feb. 28,” the report reads.
Contrary to what You have declared a couple of times, Bill, guns have no more of a "right to life" than do automobiles, computers, cell phones, or big screen televisions.
Only Human Beings have Human Rights. Completely separate questions are:
1. Do Animals have Rights?
2. And what about Plants, Oceans, Forests, Swamps, Deserts, and the rest of the Earth's entire Biosphere?
3. And what about Future Generations of Humans? Do they have any Rights? Or do they just get what their grandparents, parents and their grandparents' and parents' political leaders decide to dispense and leave for them, if it's convenient for the Old Folks? Think of what a Great job we Boomers, them Millennials, and increasingly, those Gen Zers have done laying out the futures of Children just recently born or to be born.
And an even more important question is: Where do Human Rights come from? Are they gifts from Government? To be granted or suspended or totally dispensed with as those people running that Government deem "necessary" to accomplish whatever it is they are attempting to accomplish this time?
The biggest violators of Human Rights on this Planet throughout Human history have been, are, and will continue to be Governments.
Especially Governments that declare themselves as proponents, spreaders, and defenders of organized Religion. Think Christianity's Holy Crusades, Europe's "religious wars" in the 16th and 17th centuries, Islam's jihadism, and the Jews claim to all of Israel as it existed in Moses' mind back when it became the promised "Promised Land."
Jeff: You know I'm being satirical when I speak of "gun rights," truly an odd combination of words. It's like writing "hammer rights" or "drill rights" or "truck rights." But people seem to think guns have a life of their own, or why else "honk" for them?
In strange ways, Americans animate guns. Even as they bring death, they make some people come alive. People even name their guns. It's all very strange.
To be honest, Bill, i wasn’t sure You were being satirical.
And i catch Your drift, but guns are not the only physical, material objects that people ~ and not just Americans ~ animate, give names to, or make people come alive. Think items for transportation like bikes, motorcycles, cars, boats, and aircraft. All of which can and do bring death, as well.
In any event, i’m glad You were being satirical, if not also sarcastic.
THE 6TH ANNUAL FAKE NEWS AWARDS The Corbett Report 012823
“And now, from an undisclosed location deep beneath the Earth's surface, it's the 6th Annual Fake News Awards! Shining the spotlight of ridicule on the dumbest disinformation, the silliest smears and the most ludicrous lies of the mainstream media dinosaurs of the past year!
Which presstitutes will walk away with a dino of shame? What mendacious government mouthpiece will commit seppuku after being exposed as a deceiving sack of excrement ? And who will walk away with the greatest dishonour of them all: the Fake News Story of the Year? Find out in this year's exciting Award Show Extravaganza . . . “
North Carolina is pretty good about the rights of residents to own and operate guns. They probably had a good time. In a less-free state (California, etc.) they probably would have been arrested and would even now be caught up in some bureaucratic morass, waiting for years to be freed by an exchange of prisoners with China.
I understand at the time (as now) the .44 magnum wasn't really the most powerful handgun in the world. But Dirty Harry did wonders for sales of .44 magnums. The Hollywood-Industrial Complex (HIC) at work.
Not that I shot a lot, but indeed, I reloaded my own to economize. Any center-fire cartridges I still own were all reloaded probably well more than a dozen years ago.
A lot of the appeal of guns as a hobby is the creative aspect. Swapping out components on an AR-15 or grips on a handgun. And reloading of course. Different bullet weights. And most guns and parts are made in the U.S. or friendly countries rather than, for instance, China.
The British government historically didn't want ordinary people to have guns. Well, maybe except for fox hunting. So when the Germans were deciding about invading Britain back in WW II there weren't enough guns for the Home Guard. The statistics I've read say 9 out of 10 Home Guardsmen were training with broomsticks (effective range 1 yard, with training). U.S. citizens sent them a variety of firearms for their use and the U.S. government sent many M-1 carbines. And of course the Germans didn't launch a ground/sea invasion. So the Brits still speak English.
The history of the British government and Guns is one of the primary reasons for the 2d Amendment: to ensure that the government is not empowered to prevent "ordinary people" from having guns.
The folks that demanded the Right to have guns had a great deal of first or second hand experience with the old adage that "When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns."
In this case, the outlaws work for the government ~ the folks with the authority and power to ban guns ~ itself.
Did I mention my close friend's experience on the intra-coastal waterway in Florida? He went on what he thought would be a impromptu "cruise" with one friend and some strangers on a boat owned by one of them. It was nighttime when one of them said to another, "ok let's take it out and hear it sing" and a AR-15 was produced. The group then proceeded to blast away at the shoreline (the strip that runs parallel to the mainland coast).
American men in general are fascinated with by physical power. A hot car, a fighter-jet, motorcycles, weapons of any and all kinds and not least the human body pumped up by workouts. As kids my friends and I delighted in blowing toys up, incinerating ants with a magnifying glass and sunlight. It's a thing and I have no idea how it can be changed. I do know and see all the time how it can be exploited for profit.
While I'm not surprised to learn you were suspended from YouTube (or any other soc. media platform), what you wrote was both reasonable and consistent with the facts.
I think that the emergence of total narrative control - via censorship, cancellation, smearing and of course, a steady flood of imperial propaganda is possibly the most alarming aspect of this Russiagate-to-Ukraine war situation- aside from the growing risks of nuclear war.
I think you would have been all right if you had put "evil" in front of "Putin". Or maybe leave out his name altogether. "Our enemy". Yeah, that would get it.
In regards to the Tyre Nichols Case it certainly demonstrates that even with a preponderance of Black Officers @ the scene this is anything but a cure for curbing of Racially biased Policing in this brutal Case of Police killing a Citizen for whatever motive, or reasoning..!
An interesting piece of Signage I observed on my Main Rd. outside my Local Gun Range about 100 meters from my Neighborhood Walk the other day left me chuckling uneasily: " As A Girl, I Just Hope 1 Day I Have As Many Rights As A Gun"
Guns most certainly have a "right to life." And they're reproducing too! 400 million in our country and counting!
Advise her to stay out of California. They might confiscate her if she doesn't have the right paperwork and state approval certificates.
Scott Ritter and Mathew Hoh have joined the list of folks who will be speaking at the RAGE AGAINST THE WAR MACHINE ANTI-WAR RALLY in Washington, DC on February 19th. No participation indicated yet by Veterans For Peace. Source: https://rageagainstwar.com/#Speakers
Well the U.S. was a frontier country until relatively recently and guns were required on the frontier. Europe had it's frontier a long time ago and so keeping and bearing arms has been largely forgotten. Of course the relatively peaceful nature of Europe didn't keep them from killing tens of millions in those two minor (sarc) dust-ups back in the 20th century.
Ya-hoo!
We're certainly not the most violent country. That honor belongs to countries in Latin America and Africa. Within the United States, violence is much more prevalent in cities, where gun ownership is relatively restricted, as opposed to suburban and rural areas, where gun ownership is relatively more free. My conclusion is that guns are not the problem. People are the problem.
Alex, I'd put it this way:
Guns don't kill people. People with guns kill people.
And people without guns kill people. With knives and such. And of course most killings by people with guns have been in the context of a war. Like our semi-declared war with Russia.
True, that. Sadly, guns bought for "protection" sometimes become the chosen method for suicide, which again makes me think of the harsh wisdom of Josey Wales: "Dyin' ain't much of a livin'."
It's an interesting question, Alex, re: what's the most violent country? What stats did you use?
One could argue it's the U.S., not solely due to gun deaths, crime, and the like, but also because of weapons sales abroad, movie and TV shows made that feature violence, wars fought, bombs dropped, and so on.
Since we're a global empire with the world's #1 military (so we say), and because we're also #1 in weapons sales (and probably in wars fought and munitions used therein), the U.S. very well could be the most violent country.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_intentional_homicide_rate
Right. The murder rate. That's one measure of violence.
But are Honduras, Belize, Venezuela, etc. a violent threat to the rest of the world? Are they major arms exporters? Did they wage a war a Vietnam that killed millions? Are they building new nuclear weapons that could conceivably kill billions? There are many measures of "violence."
Something to think about ...
That's true. Another measure of violence is emigration to a safer country.
Yes. Absolutely. It's not surprising that some of these emigrants are showing up at the U.S./Mexico border. They hope for a better/safer life, one less plagued by gang violence. Will they find it here?
And what they are attempting to escape is the Central and South America that has been one of America's primary Targets for a long, long time; starting with the Spanish-American War at the end of the 19th century.
Think Guatemala in the 50s, Cuba in the 60s, Chile in the 70s, Ollie North and his Cocaine/Contra extravaganza and Death Squads in El Salvador in the 80s, and America's insatiable demand for Drugs from down in that area ever since.
The current refugee crisis at America's Southern Border is totally and completely the result of a century and a quarter of American military, economic, and political imperialism in its rawest and ugliest form.
Remember how Smedley Butler put it in a speech delivered in 1933:
"War is just a racket. A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of people. Only a small inside group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few at the expense of the masses.
"I believe in adequate defense at the coastline and nothing else. If a nation comes over here to fight, then we'll fight. The trouble with America is that when the dollar only earns 6 percent over here, then it gets restless and goes overseas to get 100 percent. Then the flag follows the dollar and the soldiers follow the flag.
"I wouldn't go to war again as I have done to protect some lousy investment of the bankers. There are only two things we should fight for. One is the defense of our homes and the other is the Bill of Rights. War for any other reason is simply a racket.
"There isn't a trick in the racketeering bag that the military gang is blind to. It has its "finger men" to point out enemies, its 'muscle men' to destroy enemies, its 'brain men' to plan war preparations, and a 'Big Boss' Super-Nationalistic-Capitalism.
"It may seem odd for me, a military man to adopt such a comparison. Truthfulness compels me to. I spent thirty- three years and four months in active military service as a member of this country's most agile military force, the Marine Corps.
"I served in all commissioned ranks from Second Lieutenant to Major-General. And during that period, I spent most of my time being a high class muscle- man for Big Business, for Wall Street and for the Bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism.
"I suspected I was just part of a racket at the time. Now I am sure of it.
Like all the members of the military profession, I never had a thought of my own until I left the service. My mental faculties remained in suspended animation while I obeyed the orders of higher-ups. This is typical with everyone in the military service.
"I helped make MEXICO, especially Tampico, safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make HAITI and CUBA a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in.
"I HELPED IN THE RAPING OF HALF A DOZEN CENTRAL AMERICAN REPUBLICS FOR THE BENEFITS OF WALL STREET. The record of racketeering is long.
I helped purify NICARAGUA for the international banking house of Brown Brothers in 1909-1912 (where have I heard that name before?). I brought light to the DOMINICAN REPUBLIC for American sugar interests in 1916. In CHINA I helped to see to it that Standard Oil went its way unmolested. [Note: To say nothing of that we did in and to the Land, Country, Nation, and People of the PHILLIPINES.]
"During those years, I had, as the boys in the back room would say, a swell racket. Looking back on it, I feel that I could have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts. I operated on three continents."
As Archie and Edith once put it: "Mister...: we could use a BUNCH of men like Smedley Butler again."
TO STOP AMERICA’S “NATIONAL” GUN VIOLENCE PROBLEM, CONCENTRATE WHERE THE MURDERS ARE CONCENTRATED by Gary Galles 012823 [Extracts]
According to recent research on the US murder rate by the Crime Prevention Research Center [https://crimeresearch.org/]:
“Homicide rates have spiked, but MOST OF AMERICA HAS REMAINED UNTOUCHED. There are VAST SWATHES OF THE COUNTRY WHERE VIOLENT CRIME IS VERY, VERY RARE, AND SMALL AREAS OF THE COUNTRY WHERE IT IS COMMON.”
More specifically:
~ The worst five counties (Cook, Los Angeles, Harris, Philadelphia, and New York) accounted for about 15 percent of homicides.
~ The worst 1 percent of counties (31), with 21 percent of the US population, accounted for 42 percent of the homicides.
~ The worst 2 percent of counties (62), with 31 percent of the population, accounted for 56 percent of the homicides.
~ The worst 5 percent of counties (155), with 47 percent of the population, accounted for 73 percent of the homicides.
IN CONTRAST, OVER HALF OF US COUNTIES (52 PERCENT) HAD ZERO HOMICIDES IN 2020, AND ROUGHLY ONE-SIXTH OF THE COUNTIES (16 PERCENT) HAD ONLY ONE.
Continuing its investigation, the CPRC looked at even finer-scale zip code data for Los Angeles County. He found that the worst 10 percent of zip codes in the county accounted for 41 percent of the homicides, and the worst 20 percent accounted for a total of 67 percent of the homicides.
From such data, the CPRC concluded that: “MURDER ISN’T A NATIONWIDE PROBLEM.” INSTEAD, “IT’S A PROBLEM IN A SMALL SET OF URBAN AREAS, AND EVEN IN THOSE COUNTIES MURDERS ARE CONCENTRATED IN SMALL AREAS INSIDE THEM, AND ANY SOLUTION MUST REDUCE THOSE MURDERS.”
Despite the constant political and media drumbeat to portray homicides as a national problem that threatens everyone everywhere, and thus demands national solutions in line with what the political Left wants, the evidence points us in a far more local direction.
That may well explain the political reason for the volume and persistence of that drumbeat. It provides camouflage for those whose policies (and those who support them) would come under far greater scrutiny IF PEOPLE RECOGNIZED JUST HOW CONCENTRATED HOMICIDES ARE AND THEN ASKED WHAT IS DIFFERENT IN THOSE PLACES, RATHER THAN THE “BLAME AMERICA FIRST” BROMIDES THEY ARE ROUTINELY MISDIRECTED TOWARD TODAY.
But that means if we really cared about those most harmed by the murder rate, rather than imposing broader-than-necessary restrictions on Americans, it is important to follow the evidence so many would prefer to keep hidden.
Full article at https://mises.org/wire/concentrate-where-murders-are-concentrated [EMPHASES added.]
For a visual presentation of this data and commentary, see https://crimeresearch.org/2023/01/at-fox-news-murders-are-becoming-even-more-concentrated-in-a-handful-of-urban-counties-report-shows/
And note this news item: “After Mass Public Shooting in Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu announces that ‘Firearm licensing will be expedited and expanded in order to enable thousands of additional citizens to carry weapons.’” https://crimeresearch.org/2023/01/after-mass-public-shooting-in-israel-benjamin-netanyahu-announces-that-firearm-licensing-will-be-expedited-and-expanded-in-order-to-enable-thousands-of-additional-citizens-to-carry-weapons/
THE PANDEMIC WAS A CATASTROPHE FOR GLOBAL FREEDOM — NEW HUMAN FREEDOM INDEX by Ian Vásquez 012623
In the year 2020, 94 percent of the world’s population saw a fall in its freedom compared to the year before. The annual Human Freedom Index, released today by the Cato Institute and the Fraser Institute, documents how the Covid‐19 pandemic was a catastrophe for human freedom.
The report uses 83 indicators of personal, civil, and economic freedom for 165 jurisdictions for 2020, the most recent year for which sufficient internationally comparable data is available. Most jurisdictions (148) saw a decline in freedom. This year’s index presents data beginning in 2000. It shows that after a high point in 2007, global freedom experienced a slow descent through 2019, after which it deteriorated sharply. The decline set global freedom back more than two decades, erasing any gains during that period.
THE PANDEMIC ACCELERATED WORRISOME LONG‐TERM TRENDS—SOME 79 PERCENT OF THE WORLD’S POPULATION HAD ALREADY EXPERIENCED DECREASES IN ITS FREEDOM FROM 2007 THROUGH 2019. FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION, THE RULE OF LAW, AND FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION AND ASSEMBLY WERE AMONG THE CATEGORIES THAT MOST SAW DETERIORATION IN THE PAST TWO DECADES.
THE UNITED STATES HAS ALSO SEEN A STEADY DECLINE. IT NOW RANKS 23RD IN THE INDEX, HAVING FALLEN 7 PLACES SINCE 2019. IN THE YEAR 2000, IT RANKED 6TH. THE TOP TEN FREEST COUNTRIES IN ORDER ARE SWITZERLAND, NEW ZEALAND, ESTONIA, DENMARK, IRELAND, SWEDEN, ICELAND, FINLAND, NETHERLANDS, AND LUXEMBOURG.
My co-authors—Fred McMahon, Ryan Murphy, and Guillermina Sutter Schneider—and I find that there is an unequal distribution of freedom in the world. Only 13 percent of the global population lives in the top quartile of countries in the index, while 40 percent live in the least free quartile. More than 75 percent lives in countries that are in the bottom half of the index.
We are almost certainly less free today than we were in January 2020, but only time will tell to what extent the world will regain its lost freedoms as the pandemic moderates, and our annual index will continue to monitor trends in the following years. As the world’s liberal democracies regain some of their lost freedoms, countries run by authoritarian regimes may lag further behind, thus increasing the global inequality of freedom. It is telling that the ten jurisdiction that saw the largest declines in freedom since the global high point in 2007 are all led by authoritarian regimes. In order of largest declines, those are: Syria, Nicaragua, Hungary, Egypt, Venezuela, Turkey, El Salvador, Burundi, Bahrain, and Hong Kong.
To see those and other findings, see the full report here: https://www.cato.org/human-freedom-index/2022 . [EMPHASES added.]
From the Executive Summary:
The Human Freedom Index (HFI) presents a broad measure of human freedom, understood as the absence of coercive constraint. This eighth annual index uses 83 distinct indicators of personal and economic freedom in the following areas:
~ Rule of law
~ Security and safety
~ Movement
~ Religion
~ Association, assembly, and civil society
~ Expression and information
~ Relationships
~ Size of government
~ Legal system and property rights
~ Sound money
~ Freedom to trade internationally
~ Regulation
The HFI is the most comprehensive freedom index so far created for a globally meaningful set of countries and jurisdictions representing 98.1 percent of the world’s population. The HFI covers 165 jurisdictions for 2020, the most recent year for which sufficient data are available.
The index ranks jurisdictions over a span of two decades, beginning in 2000, the earliest year for which a robust enough index could be produced.
Human freedom deteriorated severely in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Most areas of freedom fell, including significant declines in the rule of law; freedom of movement, expression, association and assembly; and freedom to trade. On a scale of 0 to 10, where 10 represents more freedom, THE AVERAGE HUMAN FREEDOM RATING FOR 165 JURISDICTIONS FELL FROM 7.03 IN 2019 TO 6.81 IN 2020. ON THE BASIS OF THAT COVERAGE, 94.3 PERCENT OF THE WORLD’S POPULATION SAW A FALL IN HUMAN FREEDOM FROM 2019 TO 2020, WITH MANY MORE JURISDICTIONS DECREASING (148) than increasing (16) their ratings and 1 remaining unchanged.
The sharp decline in freedom in 2020 comes after years of slow descent following a high point in 2007 and sets global freedom to a level far below what it was in 2000, previously the lowest point in the past two decades. [EMPHASIS added.]
"I know it’s an odd juxtaposition: the 'honk if you like guns' sentiment and the (alleged) murder of Tyre Nichols by five (or don't) police officers in Memphis."
I don’t think it's an odd juxtaposition at all. A violent mindset inevitably begets violence, of whatever type. The current ruling political party carries water for gun violence every day, and lays the blame everywhere but where it belongs: on people who get off on harming other people.
Whether it's gun violence or cop violence (or cops with guns violence), nothing seems to change. Police unions and NRA lobbyists help to ensure no real reforms are passed. And what politician dares to be called weak on crime?
Nope, they'd rather pound the pulpit about mental illness (in the GOP's case), while simultaneously defunding mental health care. I believe Mr. DeSantis is guilty of that one. Perhaps Mr. Abbott as well.
Untethered Empires in decline need untethered Generals, eh?... :
WAR WITH CHINA COULD COME AS SOON AS 2025, PREDICTS ‘UNTETHERED’ US GENERAL by Diego Ramos 012823
“Aim for the head.” This is the message blasted out by four star Air Force general and Air Mobility Command head General Michael A. Minihan about the preparation needed for a potential war between the US and China in two years.
Gen. Minihan’s rhetoric is reminiscent of his keynote speech at the Air & Space Forces Association’s Air Space & Cyber Conference in September. In that address, Minihan expresses his aggressive mentality stating, “LETHALITY MATTERS MOST…WHEN YOU CAN KILL YOUR ENEMY, EVERY PART OF YOUR LIFE IS BETTER. YOUR FOOD TASTES BETTER. YOUR MARRIAGE IS STRONGER.”
A memo obtained by NBC News spells out the general’s ambitions for the coming months as the rhetoric and action surrounding the Pacific theater heightens by the day. [https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/us-air-force-general-predicts-war-china-2025-memo-rcna67967. ]
The general’s memo leaves no doubt regarding his sense of what is to come in the near future. From training orders emphasizing “unrepentant lethality matters most,” to explicit preparation directions, Minihan assumes the worst lies ahead.
“I hope I am wrong…My gut tells me we will fight in 2025. Xi secured his third term and set his war council in October 2022. Taiwan’s presidential elections are in 2024 and will offer Xi a reason. United States’ presidential elections are in 2024 and will offer Xi a distracted America. Xi’s team, reason, and opportunity are all aligned for 2025,” Minihan wrote.
According to the NBC News report, Minihan has also begun setting deadlines for preparation efforts. “The signed memo is addressed to all air wing commanders in Air Mobility Command and other Air Force operational commanders, and orders them to report all major efforts to prepare for the China fight to Minihan by Feb. 28,” the report reads.
Continued at https://scheerpost.com/2023/01/28/war-with-china-could-come-as-soon-as-2025-predicts-untethered-us-general/ [EMPHASIS added.]
Contrary to what You have declared a couple of times, Bill, guns have no more of a "right to life" than do automobiles, computers, cell phones, or big screen televisions.
Only Human Beings have Human Rights. Completely separate questions are:
1. Do Animals have Rights?
2. And what about Plants, Oceans, Forests, Swamps, Deserts, and the rest of the Earth's entire Biosphere?
3. And what about Future Generations of Humans? Do they have any Rights? Or do they just get what their grandparents, parents and their grandparents' and parents' political leaders decide to dispense and leave for them, if it's convenient for the Old Folks? Think of what a Great job we Boomers, them Millennials, and increasingly, those Gen Zers have done laying out the futures of Children just recently born or to be born.
And an even more important question is: Where do Human Rights come from? Are they gifts from Government? To be granted or suspended or totally dispensed with as those people running that Government deem "necessary" to accomplish whatever it is they are attempting to accomplish this time?
The biggest violators of Human Rights on this Planet throughout Human history have been, are, and will continue to be Governments.
Especially Governments that declare themselves as proponents, spreaders, and defenders of organized Religion. Think Christianity's Holy Crusades, Europe's "religious wars" in the 16th and 17th centuries, Islam's jihadism, and the Jews claim to all of Israel as it existed in Moses' mind back when it became the promised "Promised Land."
Jeff: You know I'm being satirical when I speak of "gun rights," truly an odd combination of words. It's like writing "hammer rights" or "drill rights" or "truck rights." But people seem to think guns have a life of their own, or why else "honk" for them?
In strange ways, Americans animate guns. Even as they bring death, they make some people come alive. People even name their guns. It's all very strange.
To be honest, Bill, i wasn’t sure You were being satirical.
And i catch Your drift, but guns are not the only physical, material objects that people ~ and not just Americans ~ animate, give names to, or make people come alive. Think items for transportation like bikes, motorcycles, cars, boats, and aircraft. All of which can and do bring death, as well.
In any event, i’m glad You were being satirical, if not also sarcastic.
THE 6TH ANNUAL FAKE NEWS AWARDS The Corbett Report 012823
“And now, from an undisclosed location deep beneath the Earth's surface, it's the 6th Annual Fake News Awards! Shining the spotlight of ridicule on the dumbest disinformation, the silliest smears and the most ludicrous lies of the mainstream media dinosaurs of the past year!
Which presstitutes will walk away with a dino of shame? What mendacious government mouthpiece will commit seppuku after being exposed as a deceiving sack of excrement ? And who will walk away with the greatest dishonour of them all: the Fake News Story of the Year? Find out in this year's exciting Award Show Extravaganza . . . “
https://www.corbettreport.com/fakenews6/
If we wanted "to do something Chinese," I suppose we might go to Chinatown in a city like Boston and eat at a restaurant with chopsticks.
So obviously once again we're superior to China because our fun and good times involve lots of guns and ammo. Take that, China!
I'm guessing there aren't many civilian gun ranges in China. Nor are there civilian guns.
And federal law prohibits many foreign visitors and students from going to a gun range: https://reason.com/volokh/2019/01/15/many-foreign-tourists-and-most-foreign-s/
North Carolina is pretty good about the rights of residents to own and operate guns. They probably had a good time. In a less-free state (California, etc.) they probably would have been arrested and would even now be caught up in some bureaucratic morass, waiting for years to be freed by an exchange of prisoners with China.
I bet they had .44 magnum pistols (Dirty Harry had a Smith & Wesson Model 29) as well as .45 Colt ACPs.
That's from memory, so if I'm wrong, my younger gun-liking self won't be happy.
I understand at the time (as now) the .44 magnum wasn't really the most powerful handgun in the world. But Dirty Harry did wonders for sales of .44 magnums. The Hollywood-Industrial Complex (HIC) at work.
Re-loading can be a big money saver if you shoot a lot. My brother-in-law was a big reloader with all the necessary equipment.
Not that I shot a lot, but indeed, I reloaded my own to economize. Any center-fire cartridges I still own were all reloaded probably well more than a dozen years ago.
A lot of the appeal of guns as a hobby is the creative aspect. Swapping out components on an AR-15 or grips on a handgun. And reloading of course. Different bullet weights. And most guns and parts are made in the U.S. or friendly countries rather than, for instance, China.
The British government historically didn't want ordinary people to have guns. Well, maybe except for fox hunting. So when the Germans were deciding about invading Britain back in WW II there weren't enough guns for the Home Guard. The statistics I've read say 9 out of 10 Home Guardsmen were training with broomsticks (effective range 1 yard, with training). U.S. citizens sent them a variety of firearms for their use and the U.S. government sent many M-1 carbines. And of course the Germans didn't launch a ground/sea invasion. So the Brits still speak English.
The history of the British government and Guns is one of the primary reasons for the 2d Amendment: to ensure that the government is not empowered to prevent "ordinary people" from having guns.
The folks that demanded the Right to have guns had a great deal of first or second hand experience with the old adage that "When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns."
In this case, the outlaws work for the government ~ the folks with the authority and power to ban guns ~ itself.
Did I mention my close friend's experience on the intra-coastal waterway in Florida? He went on what he thought would be a impromptu "cruise" with one friend and some strangers on a boat owned by one of them. It was nighttime when one of them said to another, "ok let's take it out and hear it sing" and a AR-15 was produced. The group then proceeded to blast away at the shoreline (the strip that runs parallel to the mainland coast).
American men in general are fascinated with by physical power. A hot car, a fighter-jet, motorcycles, weapons of any and all kinds and not least the human body pumped up by workouts. As kids my friends and I delighted in blowing toys up, incinerating ants with a magnifying glass and sunlight. It's a thing and I have no idea how it can be changed. I do know and see all the time how it can be exploited for profit.
We are powerless in so many other ways; perhaps all the power guns, power tools, power boats, etc. are compensation.
Dennis, at gun shows you're supposed to be looking at the guns.
Sorry to hear it, Dennis.
While I'm not surprised to learn you were suspended from YouTube (or any other soc. media platform), what you wrote was both reasonable and consistent with the facts.
I think that the emergence of total narrative control - via censorship, cancellation, smearing and of course, a steady flood of imperial propaganda is possibly the most alarming aspect of this Russiagate-to-Ukraine war situation- aside from the growing risks of nuclear war.
I think you would have been all right if you had put "evil" in front of "Putin". Or maybe leave out his name altogether. "Our enemy". Yeah, that would get it.
All that weaponry and all you got was a rattlesnake? I suggest practice.