Sigh...read 18 USC 924(c). That's the statute for commiting a federal offense with a firearm, which indeed is what I was accused of doing. Five years mandatory for just posessing a pistol. Seven for brandishing it. Ten for discharging it, or using a short barreled shotgun or assault rifle. Twenty five for the second count. Life for any further counts.
They hit me with seven counts. No evidence to speak of, but would you go up against a jury of morons with that?
Ok the real lesson, sorry to say is: if the Feds want you they will have you. There is a reason why 95+% of indictees plead out. How do I know this? I just emerged from a five year fed sentence at a lovely FCI in Ohio.
Without getting too detailed...I was a media consultant for a major media multinational. The Feds did not like that my focus was piracy but I would not divulge IPs, nyms or rat anyone. After some rather appalling disinformation was seeded (see Darknet...an utter load of made up BS) I was accused of damaging a portable toilet (I am not making this up) and faced life for 18 USC 844(i) and 18 USC 924(c). I was forced to plead out to a mandatory minimum of five years, which I just finished. (in fact, I'm still in a halfway house).
The charges and the character assasination were ALL bullshit. But would you have thrown the dice with a jury and risked life? Me neither.
The feds hate geeks, unless we work for them. Be VERY afraid and very careful. I'll get my life back but the past 52 months were not fun.
Jeez, come on the technology for defeating them came out in 1997! Didn't any of you see Independence Day? We already know from this fine documentary that all we need is a Wall Street G3 and we can easily penetrate their puny firewalls. Sure they have intergalactic travel capabilities, and ships that can hover over entire cities (without char-broiling them with hover-exhaust, mind you...) but WE have 14.4 modems, Mac OS and the Fresh Prince of BelAir.
Did you know Sudan is CHAIRMAN of the UN Human Rights Commission? I know, amazed me too..the only country on earth that still permits slavery is chairman of a Human Rights commission. Go figure.
Sudan has also joined with Rwanda, Cuba, Libya and other fine examples of human dignity to form a UN Small Arms Conference in NYC in summer 2006 with the aim of getting civilian handguns banned....worldwide. US included.
So, in addition to the the US ignoring the genocide in Sudan, we're about to let them tell us we have to give up our handguns used for sport (IPSC/IDPA) or defense.
Firstly, it would help if you used the more common term "The Holocaust" (capitalized to distinguish it from normal everyday holocausts such as those that you might pass on the way to the grocer's), rather than the more obscure term "Shoah", which sounds like a redneck response to the question "Hey! Want to go out and get drunk?".
Hehe, that's funny. I guess I use Shoah automatically, but you're absolutely right. Consider the audience. I'll do so in the future.
Secondly, please remember that ten million people died in the Nazi concentration camps, not six million. It wasn't just Jews, but Gypsies, various Christian sects, the "mentally challenged", Slavs, etc., who were marked for death. So while the world should "never forget" about the six million Jews who died in the concentration camps, it also should not forget about the four million non-Jews who died there. "Genocide" (put in quotes because, as you wrote, Judism is not a race, but a religion, contrary to Nazi (and other) propoganda) was being practiced against more than one group.
Oh absolutely, I agree completely. Indeed, it's almost a truism to think that only Jews, and only six million (or so) died in the camps. Actually many more people did, but my post was in response to an obvious Holocause denier-in-training, and those tend to be anti-semites, who sadly tend to be Christian Identity (who I don't consider Christians) or some other wacko sect. I was keeping in context with the tone of the article (Torah scroll thefts) and Judaism in general, but you are absolutely correct, many more were murdered in the camps than just Jews.
In fact the country hit hardest by WWII was the then-USSR, who lost 20 million people (10 million of whom were military.) The losses in WWII were staggering, but I was only focusing on one group who were particularly hard-hit. Your post is spot on.
Good post, and very interesting info about Darwin. Thanks. B)
Thought I'd point out something interesting in return. Actually, only consonants are written in Hebrew, something dustily remembered from my years in Hebrew school (which of course, like most typical NY Jews, ended the day I turned 13.) There are two ways of describing vowels in written Hebrew: the use of sub and superscript dots, dashes and "Ts" (kinda Tetris symbols) (a system which Torah scrolls do not use) and...context.
There's a great web page that describes it better than I could:
But yes, how Torahs are made is amazing, from the preparation of the skin, to the ink, to the sewng together of the sections. And, it's a true master/apprentice skill, one of the few left. To combine that with modern high tech is way cool, no?
Now that isn't to say God doesn't have a purpose for the Jewish RACE...
Oh great, white power assholes on/. now. Free clue: Judaism is a religion, not a race. Only lunatics on alt.revisionism and Holocaust deniers ever call Jews (like me) members of a different "race." Judaism is no more a race than Jainism, Shinto or Christianity. I'm as white as George Bush, but according to Leuchter-lovers, I'm as nonwhite as Jesse Jackson.
My paternal grandparents were murdered in the Shoah. We who are alive, sane, and above the age of, say, eighteen, have no doubt whatsoever that a horrible crime called the Shoah took place in Europe during WWII. There are still people alive, albeit quite old, who experienced and survived it firsthand. But to listen to these psychotic deniers, they are merely liars, addled or "members of the Zog conspiracy." We laugh at them, of course.
But the deniers have the advantage...all they have to do is wait. Wait till all the witnesses are dead. Wait till all of us are too old and feeble to be taken seriously. By the time my five year old son is an adult, I suspect that a much larger percentage of the population will be unwilling to believe that a crime of such horrific magnitude could ever have taken place (even though it is the most documented single event in history) and people like the AC above will have a much larger pool of people willing to believe their lies and crap science.
Think of it...do we really know much about the slaughter of the Crusades, the Hundred Years War, the early-longbow feudal era when battles such as Potiers left the battlefields knee deep in knights' blood? Nah, too long ago for us to care.
That's what people will eventually say of the Shoah. And sheep like the AC above, who thinks Jews are a "race" are the kernel of such thinking. How the hell did he get modded Informative?
That joke reminded me of one of life's great mysteries:
As spring is in full bloom, along come the requisite roadside signs advertising upcoming "psychic fairs," and I always wondered, why are the signs neccessary? Shouldn't they just, kinda, know?
I'm amazed no one has mentioned this.. Has anyone heard of the Audio Home Recording Act (AHRA) passed in the US in 1976 (amended in 1992) in response to cassette tapes? Why do you think TDK cassettes used to cost $5.99? Because there was a surcharge that went to the artists and songwriters to cover the revenue lost due to the obvious use of the cassette: to copy music off records. The same held true for VHS and Beta tapes.
It's still in force now. Go to Comp USA. Blank CDRs are like a nickel each. But! If you buy blank MUSIC CDRs, you will pay significantly more due to the surcharge still being levied due to the AHRA.
Um, this is a not a dress vest I'm discussing, it's a khaki (or black) shooting vest designed to provide concealment. If I wasn't wearing the vest, I would be carrying unconcealed and would lose my permit in a second.
Carrying concealed means concealed. If my gun "prints" (shows its shape through my garment), I am violating the law, and again, could lose my permit. It can be a real PITA in public, especially in supermarkets or stores where I might reach for something, so if I must, one hand goes on the outside of the concealing garment to keep it in place always. If my gun becomes exposed, I'm in violation of the law, simple as that. That's in my state. I think there are a few states where you may carry unconcealed, but I'm not sure of the circumstances. Packing.org would have those laws if you were interested.
I am in not in any way a vigilante. I don't walk the streets looking for crime so I can shoot someone, acting as my own police force. (Perhaps it's a language thing, that's what vigilantism is.)
Let me ask you a question, my friend. Do you have locks? Of course you do. Why? Because statisticially, unless you are lucky enough to live on an island alone, you want to control who comes in your home, correct? Good.
If suddenly, near you, you started to see more and more breakins during the night, would you not strengthen your locks, perhaps put in some lighting? Sure.
I live in the highest per capita income county in the USA. Home invasions and mass family assault have TRIPLED in the last year. Less than a year ago, a house less than a quarter mile away had four men break down the front door with a pickup truck, jumped out, all armed, and killed everyone in the house. They gang raped the wife to death, and then just plain old gang raped the 12 year old girl twins. Then they gutted them like pigs. They loaded anything of value in the truck and drove away. It took eleven minutes.
This horrible case is not the only thing like this to happen in this county. Criminals know there is money and will do stuff like the above without hesitation. I didn't make it that way. Fix it, and I'd gladly find carrying unecessary.
What would I have done? The instant I hear a noise like a car going through a wall, my wife and kids would lock themselves in our bedroom, where my wife would be armed with a Glock 19 out of the safe in the closet. She would hit 911 on the way to the safe. I would get my shotgun, kill all upstairs lighting, and as each guy came to the stairwell, I would ascertain he was armed and he would get two loads of 00 Buckshot from 15 feet. Hamburger. The other three now have a choice: get the hell away, since they will already hear the sirens, or storm the stairs, which again, six shots of 00 Buck would easily handle. If for some horrible reason I went down, or had a malfunction, they would kick in my bedroom door and meet one very pissed off woman with a Glock, a laser sight and 30 Black Talons.
I've just put on really strong locks. As I've been saying...NO ONE fucks with my family.
BTW, the training at Blackwater was fun, intruiging, challenging and I gained a few friends. What's wrong with that?
I read this guys blog, he is a mad gun nut who is arming himslef to the teeth. Hr claims that its neccessary because of his proffession, dunno maybe he delivers pizza in Harlem or something.
Are you referring to me? If not, my apologies. If so, a few problems there.
a) I do very much like, but do not deliver pizza. NY pizza rocks.
b) While my company is in NYC, I live in another state and either telecommute or take the train a few days a week if I must. Of course, I can't carry if I go to NYC.
C) NYC is probably THE most difficult place to even possess a gun. More importantly, almost NO ONE in NYC can get a carry permit, other than diamond dealers. (All those Hasidic guys around 47th street? They are all armed.) Armored car dealers or anyone who handles large sums of money, too, but even then, the restrictions are loony. I always wondered...when they made the NYC gun laws... why are diamonds worth more than human lives?
d) I admit, that when I have had to go to particularly bad areas of the city, I have a few times "mistakenly" dropped a Seecamp.32 in my laptop bag. (they are smaller than a deck of cards, and hold 6.32 hollowpoints.) It bothers me to skirt the law that way, but at least I'll see my kids that night.
Ah penetration....boy have I studied that, pondered that and sought the opinions of experts. Here's my take.
Ok, we start small...9mm. Low penetration? Not on your life. A regular ball 9mm (about 1200 fps) will zip through sheetrock, metal car rims, and 2 or 3 people, leaving a very small wound trail. A JHP (hollowpoint) MAY expand properly and reduce that expansion, but it might not. I sometimes carry an HK P7 9MM loaded with Talons, but ball 9mm? That's range ammo for me.
Ok up a bit..say, my wife's Glock 27 (.40 S&W about 800 fps, but way more delivered energy.) Nice carry ammo, less penetration to worry about, very accurate, but again, JHP only. My wife carries Magsafes, a VERY high power frangible JHP with a poured resin center. Expensive as hell, not practice ammo, but it would not penetrate thick sheetrock. Powerful little bastards, and I would hate to be on the other side of one. I use the.45 version too.
Up to.45 ACP, what I usually carry almost always, either in my Les Baer 1911 or Colt Lightweight Commander. Again, magsafes but with one slight difference. Since I carry Condition One (cocked and locked) the round in the chamber is usually a CCI Shotshell. Actually they're pretty crappy, but basically they are tiny.45 shotgun shells with 210 tiny pellets. I do not want to kill anyone, I want to stop their aggression IMMEDIATELY. If they die, they brought it upon themselves. At 25 meters the shotshell will absolutely make a cardboard target look like swiss cheese, but even if I shot the guy in the face, the wounds would be minor and I have a feeling he might change his mind about attacking me. If he doesn't, 8 +P Magsafes, Gold Dots or Golden Sabres are right behind and he gets two to the chest and one to the head in under a second. I think that will prevent any further danger. My aim is to STOP him, not kill him.
Ok to your question of longer arms...you are absolutely right about NEVER using a hunting rifle in your house for self defense. You are absolutely right about extreme penetration, you have little maneuvering room and the roar of a rifle (as you must well know) will be devastating to all, including you.
Yes, my shotgun is loaded with 00 Buck, and the slugs are on the bandolier. It's much shorter than your rifle, and yes, the 00 Buck would penetrate sheetrock like butter. Luckily, I live in the woods, and no houses are in the line of fire beyond mine. But if I had to use a slug on a drugged out psycho already pumped full of 00 Buck (not very likely) I would probably go for a single head shot, and as a hunter, I probably don't need to explain what that would look like. As for penetration, slugs will penetrate sheetrock just as easily (if not more so) than 00 Buck, which is why I suggest, unless you REALLY have been well trained, use birdshot for home defense shotgun use, especially in an urban or suburban setting.
Hehe...I can imagine the horrified faces of all the Euro antigunners at this post.
Peace, scotty. Let's hope we never have to use this training.
Sadly, home invasion in the US is on a steep rise. I truly wish it wasn't, but it happens in every state, every day. While I have reasons to be secure because of my work, you are absolutely right about the car danger as well, which is why I also trained with Skip Barber in defensive driving, racing, and evasive driving. Probably three quarters of the time I trained for firearms, but imvho, defensive driving is a lot easier and carries less personal responsibility than carrying firearms.
And yes I have spent plenty of time on the couch, your advice is quite sound. But if three guys crash through my windows, I'll be holding a shotgun, not my shrink's card.
And as I've said all through this thread, I hope I NEVER have to use any of this training. I just am a strong proponent of preparation.
You have a young daughter and you keep a firearm under your pillow? I think this practice endangers your daughter more than any thief. Please store your firearms in a safe.
Good advice, of course. I think you misread...after the kids (my daughter is a young teenager) are asleep, I remove my shotgun from my gun "vault" a steel-doored, locked, toolroom type room where all firearms are kept in a safe, all ammo in another and all magazines in a third. (All the safes are digital, no keys), and only then place it under my bed for the night. It's an 8 shot Winchester 1300, but I do NOT leave one in the chamber. I also have another fingerprint safe hidden in the bedroom closet (digital as well) with a Glock 19, equipped with an M-6 light laser and 2 high cap mags of +P Hydra-Shoks. There is also a loaded Air Taser, with a spare cartridge in the safe, both for my wife to protect the second floor if I go downstairs. My wife gets up in the morning and before she wakes the kids, the shotgun is emptied and goes back in the vault.
And you know what? It don't mean shit. I know I am far more conscious and careful about my firearms than most but the most important thing is to teach my kids proper safety rules. My 4 year old is adamant (and has been taught) that if he is at a friend's house and a gun comes out he is to stop, tell the child to put it away and immediately leave, though not run (that's the most common way kids get shot...running away. If the kid insists on playing with it, he knows to say "hay. lets point it at the ground and see if its loaded"...and he can unload anything (I taught him)... even the largest 1911's.
My daughter has been doing the same for 8 years now. She even comes to the range once in a while but isn't into shooting much.
Safes, of course. Education is the most important though, imo.
Oh, BTW...my pillow? Thats a terrible place for a gun...it's movie shit. I don't think sleeping on a shotgun would be very comfortable, do you. ; ) Under the bed on a wooden sheet covered in felt. hehe
Nope, property theft is NO legal justification for deadly force in any state. The VERY strict rule is, you can only use deadly force when you, or your family (and in some states, third parties, are in danger of deadly force.
Infuriating as it is, that's the law. If you come downstairs in the middle of the night, and find an unarmed man stealing your stereo, you CANNOT shoot him. He literally can announce his intention to leave, and do so. Now, that doesn't mean, you can't break his leg with the baseball bat you have in your hand, but if you shoot him, you go to jail, my friend.
You may hold him at gunpoint for the police but if he knows the law and is unarmed, he can stand up and walk right out your front door. Also, if the deadly threat is not inside your home you MUST attempt retreat unless he raises his weapon to fire.
Lotta laws and you have to know them cold. It's a huge responsibility and anyone not willing to accept that responsibility has no business with a firearm.
Your sig speaks volumes. You've obviously never been in a situation where your or your family has been faced with imminent death...not a fucking wallet or cellphone. DEATH. I have. What would you do then, hmm? Beg for mercy, as he gassed up his chainsaw?
I have a daughter whom I love more than life itself. What would you do if you did as well, and someone had a knife to her throat? Talk geopolitical mumbo-jumbo as he cut her carotid? I would drop him in under a second and save what I consider MOST PRECIOUS in my world. You would be placing flowers on her coffin, blaming that asshole in the White House that I like no more than you do. The only difference would be my daughter would be ALIVE. Yours would be dead. But then, of course, you could rationalize it by saying "yes, but I was PC."
I don't know you, and I truly hope you never do face such a situation, but there are a lot of very sick people around who kill cause they think it's "fun." That will never happen to me. It MAY happen to you.
Wanna bet your life on it?
BTW, Blackwater does not provide "mercenaries," they only provide protection services for VIPs in Iraq. Those men hung and burned under the bridge at Fallujah? Blackwater consultants. They gave their lives to protect Paul Bremer. I am enraged we are in Iraq (I HATE Bush) in the first place, but Blackwater is a training school, first and foremost, with worldwide law enforcement their primary clients.
Given the choice between an AK-47 clone and a 30 round magazine and a pump shotgun in 12 gauge with 5 shots you wanna know which one sits by my bed? The shotgun. Hands down.
You got it man. Under my bed? Winchester 1300 SWAT model, folding stock, 18" bbl, 8 shot, loaded with 00 Buck, with an M3 Tac light on it, attached to a sling bandolier with 12 more 00 Bucks and 6 rifled slugs for the obstinate types.
Plus a gun trained 180 pound bloodhound (Flop) who can smell a non-familiar person half a mile away.
Did you know FN makes those Winchesters now? Identical to their own...half the price. Got an FN Five Seven too, in my collection if I really want to have some fun at the range.
You might like this site. I got a case of 200 of these downstairs all ready for spring. A single 1 pound target will blow a van to bits.
And women too. My wife carries a Glock 27 (.40 S&W) and is probably a better shot than I am. (Well maaaaaaybe....)
It's a tough road. I certainly don't have the answers. I have long considered carrying, but I have not been able to come to terms on dealing with the aftermath.
As did I. May I suggest you read Massad Ayoob's book "In the Gravest Extreme" where he talks about the implications of carrying and using firearms in concert with the LAW and your own conscience. It's a serious subject, but Mass makes great sense. One of the great thoughtful gun books ever written.
Me? I may be well trained and I know I am well armed but I hope I die in many years, never having had to fire a single shot at another living being. (I am NOT a hunter.)
But I am protecting my family to the best possible extreme. NO ONE fucks with my family.
I do have a 44 Magnum in my collection though. But a real one (S&W 629 Stainless) not that thing in the movie. They are NASTY weapons, but no cop would carry one.
I also have a 22 with a silencer to practice in the woods out back. (It's legal.) That's a really fun piece.
With great respect, I don't agree, I saved my life. One was sitting on my car's bumper. The other then two ran towards at me full speed with full length crowbars. You think a raised 4 foot crowbar in the hands of a running attacker just wants to gently ask for my keys?
One hit on the head and bye bye droopus. The police caught the same theives days later after they had bludgeoned a woman into a coma, and stole her car.
Ok here are your choices: feel good about being PC and unarmed, and (God forbid) possibly end up a vegetable in a hospice or on a slab. Or learn to protect yourself, professionally, safely and effectively and live to a ripe old age.
Which do you want to bet your life on?
Do what you feel is right for YOU, all I ask is that you extend me the same courtesy. Unless you threaten me or my family with deadly force (and for NO other reason whatsoever) I wouldn't harm a fly. Fair?
I will admit, training is every bit as important as the decision. I have taken hundreds of hours of training, up to the SWAT level at Blackwater, and am probably better than 90% of AMericans who carry, including cops (many of whom are terrible shots.) Owning and carrying firearms is an awesome responsibility, I do not take it lightly, and unlike the NRA and most gun owners I SUPPORT yearly, tough, proficiency tests, which makes me rather unpopular in the gun world. But that's the way I see it.
It gets even tougher for criminals in my home where I keep my Winchester 1300 SWAT shotgun with 8 rounds of 00 Buck under the bed.
My 180 pound bloodhound, Flop, who can smell an unfamiliar person anywhere near my property and is gun trained is added protection.
NO ONE is going to fuck with my family. And yes, my line of work makes me have reasons to be this secure.
Murderers carry guns too.
Damn right they do. So, we should allow them to be the only ones who do?
If they carry one into my house they get carried out in a body bag, though.
Be careful there. If he had run at you, you'd have been in a world of hurt unless you are the fastest draw in the West. It's easy to underestimate the time it takes you to be ready to fire or overestimate the time it takes someone to reach you.
Well said, and I absolutely agree. Too many people think a gun is a magic device you drop in your pocket, and one sunny day when threatened, they can draw, fire and the "bad man will go away." BULLSHIT.
I have taken many HUNDREDS of hours of training, am a Three Weapon Master, a Distinguished Graduate of ASAA (Advanced Level), and a Graduate of the toughest level at Blackwater (Tactical Pistol II). I was the only civilian in a class of SWAT and Military Special Ops personnel and finished in the top 20%. I am repeating the course for fun in May. (How sick is that?)
My fastest time on the ASAA "Nutcracker" was 2 center hits on 4 sillouette targets at 5 meters in 1.6 seconds. That's from holster under a concealing vest,.45 ACP. And that was with Ranger Talons. My usual time is 1.7-1.8 secs. Fast enough? B) Against one guy, it would all be over in less than half a second...probably less, I already had the vest open.
But I know I'm unusual. Most people don't train for shit and it infuriates me. Your advice is extremely sound. It's all about the practice and training. If you don't have it, your scenario is right on the money.
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Sigh...read 18 USC 924(c). That's the statute for commiting a federal offense with a firearm, which indeed is what I was accused of doing. Five years mandatory for just posessing a pistol. Seven for brandishing it. Ten for discharging it, or using a short barreled shotgun or assault rifle. Twenty five for the second count. Life for any further counts.
They hit me with seven counts. No evidence to speak of, but would you go up against a jury of morons with that?
Ok the real lesson, sorry to say is: if the Feds want you they will have you. There is a reason why 95+% of indictees plead out. How do I know this? I just emerged from a five year fed sentence at a lovely FCI in Ohio.
Without getting too detailed...I was a media consultant for a major media multinational. The Feds did not like that my focus was piracy but I would not divulge IPs, nyms or rat anyone. After some rather appalling disinformation was seeded (see Darknet...an utter load of made up BS) I was accused of damaging a portable toilet (I am not making this up) and faced life for 18 USC 844(i) and 18 USC 924(c). I was forced to plead out to a mandatory minimum of five years, which I just finished. (in fact, I'm still in a halfway house).
The charges and the character assasination were ALL bullshit. But would you have thrown the dice with a jury and risked life? Me neither.
The feds hate geeks, unless we work for them. Be VERY afraid and very careful. I'll get my life back but the past 52 months were not fun.
Jeez, come on the technology for defeating them came out in 1997! Didn't any of you see Independence Day? We already know from this fine documentary that all we need is a Wall Street G3 and we can easily penetrate their puny firewalls. Sure they have intergalactic travel capabilities, and ships that can hover over entire cities (without char-broiling them with hover-exhaust, mind you...) but WE have 14.4 modems, Mac OS and the Fresh Prince of BelAir.
What's to worry about?
Did you know Sudan is CHAIRMAN of the UN Human Rights Commission? I know, amazed me too..the only country on earth that still permits slavery is chairman of a Human Rights commission. Go figure.
Sudan has also joined with Rwanda, Cuba, Libya and other fine examples of human dignity to form a UN Small Arms Conference in NYC in summer 2006 with the aim of getting civilian handguns banned....worldwide. US included.
So, in addition to the the US ignoring the genocide in Sudan, we're about to let them tell us we have to give up our handguns used for sport (IPSC/IDPA) or defense.
Didn't we used to have cajones?
Firstly, it would help if you used the more common term "The Holocaust" (capitalized to distinguish it from normal everyday holocausts such as those that you might pass on the way to the grocer's), rather than the more obscure term "Shoah", which sounds like a redneck response to the question "Hey! Want to go out and get drunk?".
Hehe, that's funny. I guess I use Shoah automatically, but you're absolutely right. Consider the audience. I'll do so in the future.
Secondly, please remember that ten million people died in the Nazi concentration camps, not six million.
It wasn't just Jews, but Gypsies, various Christian sects, the "mentally challenged", Slavs, etc., who were marked for death.
So while the world should "never forget" about the six million Jews who died in the concentration camps, it also should not forget about the four million non-Jews who died there.
"Genocide" (put in quotes because, as you wrote, Judism is not a race, but a religion, contrary to Nazi (and other) propoganda) was being practiced against more than one group.
Oh absolutely, I agree completely. Indeed, it's almost a truism to think that only Jews, and only six million (or so) died in the camps. Actually many more people did, but my post was in response to an obvious Holocause denier-in-training, and those tend to be anti-semites, who sadly tend to be Christian Identity (who I don't consider Christians) or some other wacko sect. I was keeping in context with the tone of the article (Torah scroll thefts) and Judaism in general, but you are absolutely correct, many more were murdered in the camps than just Jews.
In fact the country hit hardest by WWII was the then-USSR, who lost 20 million people (10 million of whom were military.) The losses in WWII were staggering, but I was only focusing on one group who were particularly hard-hit. Your post is spot on.
Good post, and very interesting info about Darwin. Thanks. B)
...context.
Thought I'd point out something interesting in return. Actually, only consonants are written in Hebrew, something dustily remembered from my years in Hebrew school (which of course, like most typical NY Jews, ended the day I turned 13.) There are two ways of describing vowels in written Hebrew: the use of sub and superscript dots, dashes and "Ts" (kinda Tetris symbols) (a system which Torah scrolls do not use) and
There's a great web page that describes it better than I could:
http://www.lrz-muenchen.de/~hr/bible/hebvow.html
But yes, how Torahs are made is amazing, from the preparation of the skin, to the ink, to the sewng together of the sections. And, it's a true master/apprentice skill, one of the few left. To combine that with modern high tech is way cool, no?
Now that isn't to say God doesn't have a purpose for the Jewish RACE ...
/. now. Free clue: Judaism is a religion, not a race. Only lunatics on alt.revisionism and Holocaust deniers ever call Jews (like me) members of a different "race." Judaism is no more a race than Jainism, Shinto or Christianity. I'm as white as George Bush, but according to Leuchter-lovers, I'm as nonwhite as Jesse Jackson.
Oh great, white power assholes on
My paternal grandparents were murdered in the Shoah. We who are alive, sane, and above the age of, say, eighteen, have no doubt whatsoever that a horrible crime called the Shoah took place in Europe during WWII. There are still people alive, albeit quite old, who experienced and survived it firsthand. But to listen to these psychotic deniers, they are merely liars, addled or "members of the Zog conspiracy." We laugh at them, of course.
But the deniers have the advantage...all they have to do is wait. Wait till all the witnesses are dead. Wait till all of us are too old and feeble to be taken seriously. By the time my five year old son is an adult, I suspect that a much larger percentage of the population will be unwilling to believe that a crime of such horrific magnitude could ever have taken place (even though it is the most documented single event in history) and people like the AC above will have a much larger pool of people willing to believe their lies and crap science.
Think of it...do we really know much about the slaughter of the Crusades, the Hundred Years War, the early-longbow feudal era when battles such as Potiers left the battlefields knee deep in knights' blood? Nah, too long ago for us to care.
That's what people will eventually say of the Shoah. And sheep like the AC above, who thinks Jews are a "race" are the kernel of such thinking. How the hell did he get modded Informative?
"Ignorant" would be more like it.
That joke reminded me of one of life's great mysteries:
As spring is in full bloom, along come the requisite roadside signs advertising upcoming "psychic fairs," and I always wondered, why are the signs neccessary? Shouldn't they just, kinda, know?
I'm amazed no one has mentioned this.. Has anyone heard of the Audio Home Recording Act (AHRA) passed in the US in 1976 (amended in 1992) in response to cassette tapes? Why do you think TDK cassettes used to cost $5.99? Because there was a surcharge that went to the artists and songwriters to cover the revenue lost due to the obvious use of the cassette: to copy music off records. The same held true for VHS and Beta tapes.
It's still in force now. Go to Comp USA. Blank CDRs are like a nickel each. But! If you buy blank MUSIC CDRs, you will pay significantly more due to the surcharge still being levied due to the AHRA.
Um, this is a not a dress vest I'm discussing, it's a khaki (or black) shooting vest designed to provide concealment. If I wasn't wearing the vest, I would be carrying unconcealed and would lose my permit in a second.
Carrying concealed means concealed. If my gun "prints" (shows its shape through my garment), I am violating the law, and again, could lose my permit. It can be a real PITA in public, especially in supermarkets or stores where I might reach for something, so if I must, one hand goes on the outside of the concealing garment to keep it in place always. If my gun becomes exposed, I'm in violation of the law, simple as that. That's in my state. I think there are a few states where you may carry unconcealed, but I'm not sure of the circumstances. Packing.org would have those laws if you were interested.
I am in not in any way a vigilante. I don't walk the streets looking for crime so I can shoot someone, acting as my own police force. (Perhaps it's a language thing, that's what vigilantism is.)
Let me ask you a question, my friend. Do you have locks? Of course you do. Why? Because statisticially, unless you are lucky enough to live on an island alone, you want to control who comes in your home, correct? Good.
If suddenly, near you, you started to see more and more breakins during the night, would you not strengthen your locks, perhaps put in some lighting? Sure.
I live in the highest per capita income county in the USA. Home invasions and mass family assault have TRIPLED in the last year. Less than a year ago, a house less than a quarter mile away had four men break down the front door with a pickup truck, jumped out, all armed, and killed everyone in the house. They gang raped the wife to death, and then just plain old gang raped the 12 year old girl twins. Then they gutted them like pigs. They loaded anything of value in the truck and drove away. It took eleven minutes.
This horrible case is not the only thing like this to happen in this county. Criminals know there is money and will do stuff like the above without hesitation. I didn't make it that way. Fix it, and I'd gladly find carrying unecessary.
What would I have done? The instant I hear a noise like a car going through a wall, my wife and kids would lock themselves in our bedroom, where my wife would be armed with a Glock 19 out of the safe in the closet. She would hit 911 on the way to the safe. I would get my shotgun, kill all upstairs lighting, and as each guy came to the stairwell, I would ascertain he was armed and he would get two loads of 00 Buckshot from 15 feet. Hamburger. The other three now have a choice: get the hell away, since they will already hear the sirens, or storm the stairs, which again, six shots of 00 Buck would easily handle. If for some horrible reason I went down, or had a malfunction, they would kick in my bedroom door and meet one very pissed off woman with a Glock, a laser sight and 30 Black Talons.
I've just put on really strong locks. As I've been saying...NO ONE fucks with my family.
BTW, the training at Blackwater was fun, intruiging, challenging and I gained a few friends. What's wrong with that?
I read this guys blog, he is a mad gun nut who is arming himslef to the teeth. Hr claims that its neccessary because of his proffession, dunno maybe he delivers pizza in Harlem or something.
.32 in my laptop bag. (they are smaller than a deck of cards, and hold 6 .32 hollowpoints.) It bothers me to skirt the law that way, but at least I'll see my kids that night.
Are you referring to me? If not, my apologies. If so, a few problems there.
a) I do very much like, but do not deliver pizza. NY pizza rocks.
b) While my company is in NYC, I live in another state and either telecommute or take the train a few days a week if I must. Of course, I can't carry if I go to NYC.
C) NYC is probably THE most difficult place to even possess a gun. More importantly, almost NO ONE in NYC can get a carry permit, other than diamond dealers. (All those Hasidic guys around 47th street? They are all armed.) Armored car dealers or anyone who handles large sums of money, too, but even then, the restrictions are loony. I always wondered...when they made the NYC gun laws... why are diamonds worth more than human lives?
d) I admit, that when I have had to go to particularly bad areas of the city, I have a few times "mistakenly" dropped a Seecamp
e) I don't have a blog.
f) NYC pizza rocks.
Ah penetration....boy have I studied that, pondered that and sought the opinions of experts. Here's my take.
.45 version too.
.45 ACP, what I usually carry almost always, either in my Les Baer 1911 or Colt Lightweight Commander. Again, magsafes but with one slight difference. Since I carry Condition One (cocked and locked) the round in the chamber is usually a CCI Shotshell. Actually they're pretty crappy, but basically they are tiny .45 shotgun shells with 210 tiny pellets. I do not want to kill anyone, I want to stop their aggression IMMEDIATELY. If they die, they brought it upon themselves. At 25 meters the shotshell will absolutely make a cardboard target look like swiss cheese, but even if I shot the guy in the face, the wounds would be minor and I have a feeling he might change his mind about attacking me. If he doesn't, 8 +P Magsafes, Gold Dots or Golden Sabres are right behind and he gets two to the chest and one to the head in under a second. I think that will prevent any further danger. My aim is to STOP him, not kill him.
Ok, we start small...9mm. Low penetration? Not on your life. A regular ball 9mm (about 1200 fps) will zip through sheetrock, metal car rims, and 2 or 3 people, leaving a very small wound trail. A JHP (hollowpoint) MAY expand properly and reduce that expansion, but it might not. I sometimes carry an HK P7 9MM loaded with Talons, but ball 9mm? That's range ammo for me.
Ok up a bit..say, my wife's Glock 27 (.40 S&W about 800 fps, but way more delivered energy.) Nice carry ammo, less penetration to worry about, very accurate, but again, JHP only. My wife carries Magsafes, a VERY high power frangible JHP with a poured resin center. Expensive as hell, not practice ammo, but it would not penetrate thick sheetrock. Powerful little bastards, and I would hate to be on the other side of one. I use the
Up to
Ok to your question of longer arms...you are absolutely right about NEVER using a hunting rifle in your house for self defense. You are absolutely right about extreme penetration, you have little maneuvering room and the roar of a rifle (as you must well know) will be devastating to all, including you.
Yes, my shotgun is loaded with 00 Buck, and the slugs are on the bandolier. It's much shorter than your rifle, and yes, the 00 Buck would penetrate sheetrock like butter. Luckily, I live in the woods, and no houses are in the line of fire beyond mine. But if I had to use a slug on a drugged out psycho already pumped full of 00 Buck (not very likely) I would probably go for a single head shot, and as a hunter, I probably don't need to explain what that would look like. As for penetration, slugs will penetrate sheetrock just as easily (if not more so) than 00 Buck, which is why I suggest, unless you REALLY have been well trained, use birdshot for home defense shotgun use, especially in an urban or suburban setting.
Hehe...I can imagine the horrified faces of all the Euro antigunners at this post.
Peace, scotty. Let's hope we never have to use this training.
Sadly, home invasion in the US is on a steep rise. I truly wish it wasn't, but it happens in every state, every day. While I have reasons to be secure because of my work, you are absolutely right about the car danger as well, which is why I also trained with Skip Barber in defensive driving, racing, and evasive driving. Probably three quarters of the time I trained for firearms, but imvho, defensive driving is a lot easier and carries less personal responsibility than carrying firearms.
And yes I have spent plenty of time on the couch, your advice is quite sound. But if three guys crash through my windows, I'll be holding a shotgun, not my shrink's card.
And as I've said all through this thread, I hope I NEVER have to use any of this training. I just am a strong proponent of preparation.
Nah, just means he wont run away in terror at the sound of a firearm.
I do hate languages. B)
BTW, the best shotguns in the world are English and Italian.
You have a young daughter and you keep a firearm under your pillow?
I think this practice endangers your daughter more than any thief. Please store your firearms in a safe.
Good advice, of course. I think you misread...after the kids (my daughter is a young teenager) are asleep, I remove my shotgun from my gun "vault" a steel-doored, locked, toolroom type room where all firearms are kept in a safe, all ammo in another and all magazines in a third. (All the safes are digital, no keys), and only then place it under my bed for the night. It's an 8 shot Winchester 1300, but I do NOT leave one in the chamber. I also have another fingerprint safe hidden in the bedroom closet (digital as well) with a Glock 19, equipped with an M-6 light laser and 2 high cap mags of +P Hydra-Shoks. There is also a loaded Air Taser, with a spare cartridge in the safe, both for my wife to protect the second floor if I go downstairs. My wife gets up in the morning and before she wakes the kids, the shotgun is emptied and goes back in the vault.
And you know what? It don't mean shit. I know I am far more conscious and careful about my firearms than most but the most important thing is to teach my kids proper safety rules. My 4 year old is adamant (and has been taught) that if he is at a friend's house and a gun comes out he is to stop, tell the child to put it away and immediately leave, though not run (that's the most common way kids get shot...running away. If the kid insists on playing with it, he knows to say "hay. lets point it at the ground and see if its loaded"...and he can unload anything (I taught him)... even the largest 1911's.
My daughter has been doing the same for 8 years now. She even comes to the range once in a while but isn't into shooting much.
Safes, of course. Education is the most important though, imo.
Oh, BTW...my pillow? Thats a terrible place for a gun...it's movie shit. I don't think sleeping on a shotgun would be very comfortable, do you. ; ) Under the bed on a wooden sheet covered in felt. hehe
Nope, property theft is NO legal justification for deadly force in any state. The VERY strict rule is, you can only use deadly force when you, or your family (and in some states, third parties, are in danger of deadly force.
Infuriating as it is, that's the law. If you come downstairs in the middle of the night, and find an unarmed man stealing your stereo, you CANNOT shoot him. He literally can announce his intention to leave, and do so. Now, that doesn't mean, you can't break his leg with the baseball bat you have in your hand, but if you shoot him, you go to jail, my friend.
You may hold him at gunpoint for the police but if he knows the law and is unarmed, he can stand up and walk right out your front door. Also, if the deadly threat is not inside your home you MUST attempt retreat unless he raises his weapon to fire.
Lotta laws and you have to know them cold. It's a huge responsibility and anyone not willing to accept that responsibility has no business with a firearm.
Sucks, eh?
I feel really sorry for him. What a waste of time.
/. at 1 AM and you say I waste time?
You're on
Tee hee.
Your sig speaks volumes. You've obviously never been in a situation where your or your family has been faced with imminent death...not a fucking wallet or cellphone. DEATH. I have. What would you do then, hmm? Beg for mercy, as he gassed up his chainsaw?
I have a daughter whom I love more than life itself. What would you do if you did as well, and someone had a knife to her throat? Talk geopolitical mumbo-jumbo as he cut her carotid? I would drop him in under a second and save what I consider MOST PRECIOUS in my world. You would be placing flowers on her coffin, blaming that asshole in the White House that I like no more than you do. The only difference would be my daughter would be ALIVE. Yours would be dead. But then, of course, you could rationalize it by saying "yes, but I was PC."
I don't know you, and I truly hope you never do face such a situation, but there are a lot of very sick people around who kill cause they think it's "fun." That will never happen to me. It MAY happen to you.
Wanna bet your life on it?
BTW, Blackwater does not provide "mercenaries," they only provide protection services for VIPs in Iraq. Those men hung and burned under the bridge at Fallujah? Blackwater consultants. They gave their lives to protect Paul Bremer. I am enraged we are in Iraq (I HATE Bush) in the first place, but Blackwater is a training school, first and foremost, with worldwide law enforcement their primary clients.
Given the choice between an AK-47 clone and a 30 round magazine and a pump shotgun in 12 gauge with 5 shots you wanna know which one sits by my bed? The shotgun. Hands down.
You got it man. Under my bed? Winchester 1300 SWAT model, folding stock, 18" bbl, 8 shot, loaded with 00 Buck, with an M3 Tac light on it, attached to a sling bandolier with 12 more 00 Bucks and 6 rifled slugs for the obstinate types.
Plus a gun trained 180 pound bloodhound (Flop) who can smell a non-familiar person half a mile away.
Did you know FN makes those Winchesters now? Identical to their own...half the price. Got an FN Five Seven too, in my collection if I really want to have some fun at the range.
You might like this site. I got a case of 200 of these downstairs all ready for spring. A single 1 pound target will blow a van to bits.
And women too. My wife carries a Glock 27 (.40 S&W) and is probably a better shot than I am. (Well maaaaaaybe....)
It's a tough road. I certainly don't have the answers. I have long considered carrying, but I have not been able to come to terms on dealing with the aftermath.
As did I. May I suggest you read Massad Ayoob's book "In the Gravest Extreme" where he talks about the implications of carrying and using firearms in concert with the LAW and your own conscience. It's a serious subject, but Mass makes great sense. One of the great thoughtful gun books ever written.
Me? I may be well trained and I know I am well armed but I hope I die in many years, never having had to fire a single shot at another living being. (I am NOT a hunter.)
But I am protecting my family to the best possible extreme. NO ONE fucks with my family.
Holy crap, where do you live where you have such problems?!
Heheh good question. Nowhere particularly dangerous, but it's my line of work that brings on the threats.
ROTFLMAO....that's great.
I do have a 44 Magnum in my collection though. But a real one (S&W 629 Stainless) not that thing in the movie. They are NASTY weapons, but no cop would carry one.
I also have a 22 with a silencer to practice in the woods out back. (It's legal.) That's a really fun piece.
1st time you saved your car
With great respect, I don't agree, I saved my life. One was sitting on my car's bumper. The other then two ran towards at me full speed with full length crowbars. You think a raised 4 foot crowbar in the hands of a running attacker just wants to gently ask for my keys?
One hit on the head and bye bye droopus. The police caught the same theives days later after they had bludgeoned a woman into a coma, and stole her car.
Ok here are your choices: feel good about being PC and unarmed, and (God forbid) possibly end up a vegetable in a hospice or on a slab. Or learn to protect yourself, professionally, safely and effectively and live to a ripe old age.
Which do you want to bet your life on?
Do what you feel is right for YOU, all I ask is that you extend me the same courtesy. Unless you threaten me or my family with deadly force (and for NO other reason whatsoever) I wouldn't harm a fly. Fair?
I will admit, training is every bit as important as the decision. I have taken hundreds of hours of training, up to the SWAT level at Blackwater, and am probably better than 90% of AMericans who carry, including cops (many of whom are terrible shots.) Owning and carrying firearms is an awesome responsibility, I do not take it lightly, and unlike the NRA and most gun owners I SUPPORT yearly, tough, proficiency tests, which makes me rather unpopular in the gun world. But that's the way I see it.
It gets even tougher for criminals in my home where I keep my Winchester 1300 SWAT shotgun with 8 rounds of 00 Buck under the bed.
My 180 pound bloodhound, Flop, who can smell an unfamiliar person anywhere near my property and is gun trained is added protection.
NO ONE is going to fuck with my family. And yes, my line of work makes me have reasons to be this secure.
Murderers carry guns too.
Damn right they do. So, we should allow them to be the only ones who do?
If they carry one into my house they get carried out in a body bag, though.
Be careful there. If he had run at you, you'd have been in a world of hurt unless you are the fastest draw in the West. It's easy to underestimate the time it takes you to be ready to fire or overestimate the time it takes someone to reach you.
.45 ACP. And that was with Ranger Talons. My usual time is 1.7-1.8 secs. Fast enough? B) Against one guy, it would all be over in less than half a second...probably less, I already had the vest open.
Well said, and I absolutely agree. Too many people think a gun is a magic device you drop in your pocket, and one sunny day when threatened, they can draw, fire and the "bad man will go away." BULLSHIT.
I have taken many HUNDREDS of hours of training, am a Three Weapon Master, a Distinguished Graduate of ASAA (Advanced Level), and a Graduate of the toughest level at Blackwater (Tactical Pistol II). I was the only civilian in a class of SWAT and Military Special Ops personnel and finished in the top 20%. I am repeating the course for fun in May. (How sick is that?)
My fastest time on the ASAA "Nutcracker" was 2 center hits on 4 sillouette targets at 5 meters in 1.6 seconds. That's from holster under a concealing vest,
But I know I'm unusual. Most people don't train for shit and it infuriates me. Your advice is extremely sound. It's all about the practice and training. If you don't have it, your scenario is right on the money.