Category: Crime

  • Bulletproof Whiteboards?

    In December, George and his young son were watching the horrific details of the Sandy Hook Elementary School murders on television and when he saw the fear in his son’s eyes, his engineering brain kicked in. He said to his son, “We can fix this. We have to do something.”

    via TheBlaze.com.

    Very cool concept.

    These are the kinds of ideas that I like.  They ‘harden’ the target.  We need to make schools safe for kids.  We did it against fire; now it’s time to do it against the ‘active shooter’.

    I quoted from this article before, but not this segment:

    “How many kids have been killed by school fire in all of North America in the past 50 years? Kids killed… school fire… North America… 50 years…  How many?  Zero. That’s right.  Not one single kid has been killed by school fire anywhere in North America in the past half a century.  Now, how many kids have been killed by school violence?”  …

    “In 1999,” Grossman said, “school violence claimed what at the time was an all time record number of kids’ lives. In that year there were 35 dead and a quarter of a million serious injuries due to violence in the school. How many killed by fire that year? Zero. But we hear people say, ‘That’s the year Columbine happened, that’s an anomaly.’ Well, in 2004 we had a new all time record — 48 dead in the schools from violence. How many killed by fire that year? Zero. Let’s assign some grades. Put your teacher hat on and give out some grades. What kind of grade do you give the firefighter for keeping kids safe? An ‘A,’ right? Reluctantly, reluctantly, the cops give the firefighters an ‘A,’ right? Danged firefighters, they sleep ‘till they’re hungry and eat ‘till they’re tired. What grade do we get for keeping the kids safe from violence? Come on, what’s our grade? Needs improvement, right?”
    “Why can’t we be like little Johnny Firefighter?” Grossman asked as he prowled the stage. “He’s our A+ student!”

    He paused, briefly, and answered with a voice that blew through the hall like thunder, “Denial, denial, denial!”

    Grossman commanded, “Look up at the ceiling! See all those sprinklers up there? They’re hard to spot — they’re painted black — but they’re there. While you’re looking, look at the material the ceiling is made of. You know that that stuff was selected because it’s fire-retardant. Hooah? Now look over there above the door — you see that fire exit sign? That’s not just any fire exit sign — that’s a ‘battery-backup-when-the-world-ends-it-will-still-be-lit’ fire exit sign. Hooah?”

    Walking from the stage toward a nearby fire exit and exterior wall, Grossman slammed the palm of his hand against the wall and exclaimed, “Look at these wall boards! They were chosen because they’re what?! Fireproof or fire retardant, hooah? There is not one stinking thing in this room that will burn!”

    Pointing around the room as he spoke, Grossman continued, “But you’ve still got those fire sprinklers, those fire exit signs, fire hydrants outside, and fire trucks nearby! Are these fire guys crazy? Are these fire guys paranoid? No! This fire guy is our A+ student! Because this fire guy has redundant, overlapping layers of protection, not a single kid has been killed by school fire in the last 50 years!

    “But you try to prepare for violence — the thing much more likely to kill our kids in schools, the thing hundreds of times  more likely to kill our kids in schools — and people think you’re paranoid. They think you’re crazy. …They’re in denial.”

    via Police One.

    We need to address this problem with a multi-layered solution.

    Our school must be made safe.

  • Admist the Noise on Gun Crime Stats

    This was released while I was on hiatus.
    [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ooa98FHuaU0]

  • Felons with Guns Go Free

    Bail was set at $150,000 today on weapons-related charges for a Brighton Park man already on parole in an attempted murder case after beat officers saw him firing a gun near his home this week.

    Edgar Jasso, 29, faces charges of unlawful use of a weapon by a felon and reckless discharge of a firearm, and also has been charged with violating his parole for a 2005 attempted murder case, according to police and court records.

    via chicagotribune.com.

    This story is what I’ve been talking about for years!  Grrr….

    Turns out a LOT of Illinois residents don’t know how gun laws work in the State of Illinois.  First off, if you want to touch a bullet or a firearm in Illinois you must first acquire a FOID — Firearm Owners I.D. — card.

    To get your FOID you must apply to the Illinois State Police who takes your application, conducts a background check to make sure you’re not a felon, and that you’ve never been arrested for a weapons charge or convicted of any domestic violence, and then they send you your FOID.

    In Illinois possession of a single bullet without a FOID is a felony.

    In Illinois you cannot buy any firearm or ammunition without presenting a valid FOID card.  Neighboring states are aware of Illinois’ laws; so when you buy ammo in either Indiana or Wisconsin and they ask for your drivers license, when they see you’re from Illinois they always ask to see your FOID card.

    Additionally, when you go to purchase a firearm you must show your FOID and then hold-out for the waiting period (3 days for handguns, 1 day for everything else) and the FFL that sells you the firearm must perform an instant background check w/ the BATF/FBI.

    This idea that people are buying guns in Illinois w/out a background check is absurd.

    As an aside, I’ve already covered that it’s illegal to convict a felony for NOT getting a FOID card prior to acquiring a firearm.  Yes, really.  Check out the link.  It’s self incrimination to apply for a FOID when you know you can’t have one.

    This is why gun registries will never work.  Criminals will never register their guns.  And honest folks will immediately become criminals by not registering their guns.  … Well that and history shows that gun registries have never solved a single crime.

    But I digress…

    18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) is the federal firearms law that states that felons are barred from possession of any firearm.  It’s a mandatory sentence of not less than a year.  But get this.  If the person has 3 or more felony convictions then the minimum sentence is 15 years.

    Why is State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez not sending these goons to the Feds?  They the federal government house, feed, try, sentence, and punish these guys.  Would save the state millions and get these career criminals off the streets.   It’s a win-win.

    UPDATED:  Corrected some bad grammar and added two paragraphs.

  • Most Shooters In Chicago Never Face Charges

    Last year, gunmen who shot and wounded someone got away without criminal charges 94 percent of the time, according to a DNAinfo.com Chicago analysis of police data.

    That’s even worse than 2011, when 91.5 percent of shooters escaped charges, according to the data.

    Chicago’s top cop said the “no-snitch” code of silence on the street is the biggest contributor in his department’s struggle to charge shooters.

    via DNAinfo.com Chicago.

    This is incredible!!

    Garry McCarthy — Chicago’s “Top Cop” — wants to blame the people who live in constant fear in gang controlled neighborhoods for not coming forward and turning-in, and testifying against the gang members that run the place.  Asshat!!

    Then you get our worthless State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez who won’t even speak for herself and instead walks out the “Chief of Staff” who says ‘It’s not our fault either.’

    We have over 400 dead (mostly black) school children every year in this town and our leaders are playing pass-the-buck.  It’s embarrassing but these clowns are too dumb to even realize they should be ashamed of themselves.

  • Milwaukee Sheriff’s Says Arm Yourself

    Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. set off alarm bells Friday with a radio spot some view as a call for citizens to arm themselves.

    In the radio ad, Clarke tells residents personal safety isn’t a spectator sport anymore, and that “I need you in the game.”

    “With officers laid off and furloughed, simply calling 911 and waiting is no longer your best option,” Clarke intones.

    “You could beg for mercy from a violent criminal, hide under the bed, or you can fight back.”

    Clarke urges listeners to take a firearm safety course and handle a firearm “so you can defend yourself until we get there.”

    “You have a duty to protect yourself and your family. We’re partners now. Can I count on you?”

    via Milwaukee Journal Online.

    Sound advice from a serious man.

    Why is it in Chicago all we hear from McCarty and Rahm is that you cannot protect yourself?

    When seconds count the police are just minutes away.

     

  • Military Leaders Vetted to Fire on US Citizens

    I have just been informed by a former senior military leader that Obama is using a new “litmus test” in determining who will stay and who must go in his military leaders. Get ready to explode folks. “The new litmus test of leadership in the military is if they will fire on US citizens or not”. Those who will not are being removed.

    – Dr. Jim Garrow – January 21, 2013

    via Facebook.

    Just so we’re clear, this Dr. Jim Garrow is no kook.  He’s a Nobel Peace Prize nominee.  He’s worked for years trying to end the gendercide in China.

     

  • A Few Thoughts On Gun Control « Eudaimonia

    This will be detailed and thorough, and I apologize in advance for its length. I also need to clarify that I am not a statistician, lawyer, political analyst, or sociologist. I am merely curious, capable at finding information, and trained in scientific analysis. If there are errors in this, they are not intentional.

    via A Few Thoughts On Gun Control « Eudaimonia.

    Amazing amount of information here.

  • Gun Violence and Race

    Chicago is home to some 2,707,120 people (U.S. Census.)  We’re also told that about 32.9% are black while 45% are white.  That equates to about 890,642 black people and 1,218,204 white people in Chicago.  So far, nothing unusual.

    Over at the Red Eye (a Tribune Media property) they have a worksheet showing the murder victims in Chicago.  The results show 392 black victims and 116 white victims.  Some algebra we calculate that the homicide rate in Chicago (by all causes, not just guns) is:

    44.01 / 100,000 for black people, and 9.52  / 100,000 for white people.

    For the record, the U.S. homicide rate (by all causes, not just guns) — for the entire country — is 4.8.

    Chicago’s homicide rate (by all causes, not just guns) for everyone is 18.98.

    If Chicago was it’s own country, the homicide rate among black’s in Chicago would rate between Belize (41.4) and Venezuela. (45.1.)

    If Chicago was it’s own country, the homicide rate among white’s in Chicago would rate between Bolivia (8.9) and Nauru (9.8.)

    Chicago is a dangerous place for everybody (as compared to the U.S. countryside) but is nearly 5 times more dangerous for blacks as for whites.

    The Atlantic took this a bit further; looking only a GUN homicides:

    The pattern is staggering. A number of U.S. cities have gun homicide rates in line with the most deadly nations in the world.  If it were a country,

    New Orleans (with a rate 62.1 gun murders per 100,000 people) would rank second in the world.

    Detroit’s gun homicide rate (35.9) is just a bit less than El Salvador (39.9).

    Baltimore’s rate (29.7) is not too far off that of Guatemala (34.8).

    Gun murder in Newark (25.4) and Miami (23.7) is comparable to Colombia (27.1).

    Washington D.C. (19) has a higher rate of gun homicide than Brazil (18.1).

    Atlanta’s rate (17.2) is about the same as South Africa (17).

    Cleveland (17.4) has a higher rate than the Dominican Republic (16.3).

    Gun murder in Buffalo (16.5) is similar to Panama (16.2).

    Houston’s rate (12.9) is slightly higher than Ecuador’s (12.7).

    Gun homicide in Chicago (11.6) is similar to Guyana (11.5).

    Phoenix’s rate (10.6) is slightly higher than Mexico (10).

    Los Angeles (9.2) is comparable to the Philippines (8.9).

    Boston rate (6.2) is higher than Nicaragua (5.9).

    New York, where gun murders have declined to just four per 100,000, is still higher than Argentina (3).

    Even the cities with the lowest homicide rates by American standards, like San Jose and Austin, compare to Albania and Cambodia respectively.

    via The Atlantic Cities.

    Incredible.

    Back to Chicago…

    Of the 441 gun homicide victims in Chicago 347 (or 78.68%) were black; 91 (20.63%) were white.  Blacks are victims of gun homicides at over twice the rate to their population.  White are victims less than one-half the rate to their population.

    I’m willing to bet you that if we looked into all of these cities on The Atlantic list that we would find similar results.  In this country we have a serious gun violence problem in the black community.  It needs to be dealt with.  It is unfair and unjust that peaceful people — of any race — have to live in communities plagued by violence.  But because of the unique nature of this problem a wide-sweeping federal solution will never work.

    Taking guns away from law abiding citizens in the sticks will not solve the inner city gun problems.

  • Cat Busted Sneaking Saw, Drill Bits, Phone into Prison

    A cat carrying a saw and a mobile phone was “detained” as it entered a prison gate in northeast Brazil, Brazilian media reported on Saturday.

    Prison guards were surprised when they saw a white cat crossing the main gate of the prison, its body wrapped with tape. A closer look showed the feline also carried drills, an earphone, a memory card, batteries and a phone charger.

    via Chicago Tribune.

    Awesome!  I want a break out of jail cat.

    Photo’s show the cat wrapped in clear tape.  I’m thinking that is waaaayy too obvious.  This whole story is fake; a plant by the guards of something.

    If you’re going to go through the trouble of training a cat to walk into a prison with tools taped to it then you would at least be smart enough to use white tape.  Of even put the cat in a sweater of something.

    I say hoax.

  • Held by Pirates for Nearly Three Years

    After almost three years in captivity, the crew of the Iceberg 1, a cargo ship hijacked by Somali pirates, are home after finally being rescued.  …

    Its Dubai-based owner, who appears not to have been insured, refused to pay a ransom for it and simply went to ground, ignoring pleas for help from the hostages’ families.

    Meanwhile, the governments representing the different sailors on board – six Indians, nine Yemenis, four Ghanaians, two Sudanese, two Pakistanis and one Filipino – were either unable or unwilling to mount a rescue attempt.  …

    Now, though, it has been – courtesy of an armed raid not by the multi-national force, but by Somalia’s own fledgling anti-piracy patrols, who have been trained up a South African private military company. But while I would be the first to congratulate the Somali troops for completing what is an extremely dangerous job, I can’t help wondering why it had to be left to them. Freeing hostages is normally a task deemed suitable only for highly-trained special forces, and without casting aspersions on the Somalis’ abilities, I doubt they quite fall into that category.

    The multinational force, on the other hand, has huge special forces assets galore, from Britain, France, the US and so on. Given the appalling plight of this ship, could they not perhaps have made an exception in this case?

     

    The answer, I suspect, is that most nations are generally reluctant to risk the lives of their own troops to free citizens from other countries, which is probably fair enough. But this does give an idea of the limits to which the international force – and note that word “international” – is prepared to go.

     

    One also can’t help wondering why India – which now sees itself as a global superpower, and has perfectly competent special forces – couldn’t have done the raid, given that six of the hostages were Indian. Yes, they would have ended up taking the lead on behalf of a few lesser nations in the process. But isn’t that what being a superpower is all about?

    Kudos to the Somalis for pulling themselves together.

    Shame on India for not lifting a finger.

    It’s time the U.S. and the U.K. seriously think about their global roles as well.  Should add China and Russia to the list as well.  All countries rely on global trade.  All should be willing to do their part to keep global shipping channels free from pirates.

    If we’re willing to commit 35,000 troops to kill Afghans who’ve done nothing wrong (other than try to survive) than can’t be pledge a small force of 100 to deal with pirates?