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.
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.
"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.
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."
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 . . . “
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.
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.]
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.]
"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.
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."
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/