Aussie Schools’ Knickers Twisted by Gun Game Website

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March 4, 2010

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Who’d a thunk it, eh? All those well-meaning celebrities raising money for starving Africans and millions went to buying guns. Reporting on BBC Radio 4’s program “From Our Own Correspondent,” Martin Plaut reveals that Ethiopians diverted a big chunk of cash, at least $95 million, to weapons for their civil war and funding for what-the-heck-let’s-call-them-terrorists. “Aregawi Berhe is the former army commander of the rebel movement that operated in the Ethiopian province of Tigray. [He] explained how the aid money was diverted not just to buy weapons his troops needed, but also to build a hardline, Stalinist party – the Marxist Leninist League of Tigray.” Bowling for Tigray? Seriously though, we’re talking iceberg tips. Or, perhaps, not. Plaut encounters a wall of silence on the subject (including Sir Bob Geldoff) and bails. “The aid workers who did so much to help those suffering back then had not asked those questions either. But perhaps they would not have saved so many lives if they had.” Balanced against all the lives lost because of Live Aid’s war funding. Just sayin’.

UK Rapper Plays the “Gun Crime Sucks” Card

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March 4, 2010

Don’t get me wrong. A rapper who says guns are bad is better than a rapper who glamorizes them. But a rapper who says guns are bad and glamorizes himself for surviving guns is all kinds of NSFWed-up. It is, of course, fairly routine. Here’s one we prepared earlier, from the London Evening Standard: “When he was 17, Lox Lokko would wear a bullet-proof vest to bed, knowing that rival gang members across south London wanted him dead. The Myatts Field Estate in Brixton, where Lox grew up, is a bleak 1970s development known as ‘the dads’ by local gang members. ‘We call it the dads because it’s like Baghdad — all shot up,’ he says. ‘For kids on this estate, gangs are the only option. There’s nothing else.’ By his 18th birthday, Lox had been stabbed three times, watched four close friends die during brutal turf wars and been arrested for murder, though never charged.” First, a bullet proof vest doesn’t exist, per se. Second, to bed? Third, isn’t the Standard hyping violence by joining Lox Lokko in decrying it? Did I say Lokko? “Now 20, Lox has left the gang he called his family for three years and dedicates his time to helping youngsters out of that life through his work at a local youth ministry. Under the stage name Mr C’Mon, he is set to release his debut rap album produced at south London community project Code 7.” IGW.

Evansville Gun Control Columnist: Charmed Life or Sensible Soul?

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March 4, 2010

I spent the better part of yesterday watching the full version of this Thunder Ranch video on shotgun defense. Actually, it was only about twenty minutes. But it SEEMED to take up most of my day. Why can’t Clint Smith look me in the eye and stop talking like he’s popped a couple of Black Beauties? Still, the man knows his stuff. One of my prime takeaways: assume a commanding position and most attackers will back off, whether you have a firearm pointed at their vital organs or not. That said, if bad guys ALWAYS backed-off in that situation, hardly anyone would carry a gun. Or would they? As the Supreme Court of the United States considers the legality of Chicago’s handgun ban, the question “to carry or not to carry, I’m gonna cap yo’ ass” (kidding) has taken center stage. Down in Evansville (Indiana), columnist Harden Rathgeber’s faced a heap of blow-back for his pro-Chi Town gun control stance. To “prove” that he’s not just blowing smoke (or smoking blow), Rathgeber reminds readers he lived in The Windy City, where he faced dangerous situations and lived to tell the tale. Without a gun. Question: is Rathgeber lucky or smart? Make the jump for the writer’s list of close encounters of the “say hello to my friends Smith & Wesson (or not)” kind.

Murdered Brigham Young Prof No Stranger to Guns

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March 4, 2010

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The investigation into the home invasion / murder of Brigham University professor Kay Mortensen has hit a wall. To revive their efforts to find the killer who slashed his throat, the Utah County sheriff’s department is asking the public to check the serial numbers of guns they purchased within the past two years to see if they match those stolen from Mortensen’s house. The Salt Lake Tribune has published the full list of his 32 missing weapons, and it reveals someone who might have had some home defense concerns. Or run with the wrong crowd. Or something. Ipso facto, the arsenal didn’t do the prof much good in the end, proving that ONE gun is all you need, really. If you know where one or more of these weapons be, call 801-851-4010.

Hand guns: .22 Ruger Great Eight (22475025), .22 Ruger Mark III Bull Barrel (22900712), .22 Browning Buck Mark (655NV26747), 9mm HK (2425419), 9mm Baretta Military Special Edition (0933M9), .40 Baretta SS (BER374017), .45 Sigarms Revolution (GS06701), .45 Kimber Grand Raptor II (K222884), .45 HK Tactical (25092411), .45 Springfield Armory Trophy Match Long Slide (NM159710), .44 Magnum Ruger Super Redhawk (55234084), .500 Magnum Smith & Wesson (CHY9035), Ruger .22 Mark II (22268616), Ruger .357 Security Six (15326454), Colt .380 Mustang Plus2 (RS49639), Browning (M1919A4 2834), L1a1 Fal-Inch (103304). Rifles and shotguns after the jump.

Hollywood Versus Handguns

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March 4, 2010

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Films and firearms. Even before movies had sound, directors, producers and studios discovered that a lot of action, a bit of violence, and a whole lotta shootin’ puts bums on seats. Then as now, audiences get an adrenalin rush from the vicarious thrill of watching a bad guy blown to bits, or a hero shooting his way out of trouble (which he didn’t ask for, of course). Hollywood genres may jump the shark, but none have jumped the gun. From Birth of a Nation to Cop Out, from William S. Heart to Walter Bruce Willis, guns get the gold. But in another sense, Willis is the exception that proves the rule: a movie star / gun rights advocate. You can’t swing an AR-15 around a room in Hollywood, period. Or doing so without hitting someone who is vehemently opposed to guns, gun ownership, gun violence and Second Amendment rights.

Chicago Mayor Daley: Why Can’t I Bring a Gun to the Supreme Court?

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March 3, 2010

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Chicago Mayor Richard Daley is staring down the barrel of a Supreme Court decision throwing out The Windy City’s gun ban. This does not please Hizzoner, who is not used to people telling him what to do. Or, apparently, where he can or can not take a gun. “The thing I can’t understand is I can’t go to the Supreme Court with a gun,” Daley said to or near ABC News. “Why not? Why can’t I go with a gun and listen to the arguments? If a gun is so important to us on the streets. I’m just saying let cities make decisions for themselves. None of [the Supreme Court justices] live here in Chicago,” said Daley. Somehow I don’t think they would, now. FYI I’ve posted a list of the relevant Municipal Codes of Chicago that apply to handgun possession (or lack thereof) from the original lawsuit, after the jump. Click here for a pdf of the relevant Highland Park (IL) handgun ordinances. I’ve also scraped ChicagoGunCase.com‘s specific criticisms of the statutes.

UK Hunt Supporter Killed by Gyrocopter

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March 3, 2010

Yes, a gyrocopter. Like the one in The Road Warrior. Except in this case, the pilot harried hunts, rather than hunted for juice. But the non-fictional British pilot, one Bryan Griffiths, faces a decidedly different fate than his cinematic counterpart. Griffiths is in court, charged with manslaughter, after his craft’s rotors sliced open a hunt supporter’s head. The Guardian reports that 48-year-old landscape gardener Trevor Morse was attempting to block Griffiths from taking off (mission accomplished) at the direction of huntmaster Anthony Spencer.

Michigan Mulls Moose Hunt

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March 3, 2010

Here’s a blurb about The Michigan Moose Project from the state’s Department of Natural Resources: “By the 1970s, the white-tailed deer population in the Lake Superior watershed in the Upper Peninsula had declined drastically, and biologists in the MDNR began to consider a moose translocation to fill a vacant niche. Aerial and ground inspections by Ontario moose experts confirmed suitable habitat. In 1985 and 1987, 61 moose were translocated by the MDNR from Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, to northwest Marquette County. The moose reintroduction project represented a monumental undertaking in terms of equipment, manpower, distance involved and costs. Resources of the MDNR and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, as well as monetary contributions from private citizens and organizations, were invested. The operation was highly visible in the scientific and sporting communities, and received widespread coverage by the news media.” And now . . .”The state Senate unanimously approved a bill today that would direct the Michigan Natural Resources Commission to set up an advisory council for a moose hunt and an annual hunting season,” the Detroit News reports. Success!

Total Recoil 6: Darwin Denied Edition

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March 3, 2010

Massachusetts Police Screw-Up Gun Licenses

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March 3, 2010

“Those who received licenses improperly would have qualified for licenses if they had listed an accurate local address, taken a firearms training course and paid the required fee, police said.” Oh, so that’s alright then. We’ll just ignore the fact that one of the states with America’s most stringent gun control laws is embroiled in a gun license scandal, portrayed by the po-po as a simple fuck-up. Back it up. Here’s the deal. “A woman who worked for 24 years in the Framingham Police Department was fired last week after she allegedly bent the rules for people seeking gun licenses — largely members of the armed services — by issuing licenses without authorization, upgrading licenses and providing false addresses for applicants,” boston.com reports.

Romney: Palin is Armed and Dangerous

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March 3, 2010

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Ha! We SO knew that! Well, actually, not exactly. The only gun we can positively identify as belonging to Republican ex-Governor and non-presidential candidate Sarah Palin is the Henry Repeating Arms “Big Boy,” which she has yet to physically claim. OK, back in May ’09, Templar Consulting gave Ms. Palin an engraved Alexander Arms’ 50-caliber “Beowulf” assault rifle: “the most capable long range AR ever built.” [I’m not making this up. Pic after the jump.] But fellow Republican ex-Governor and non-presidential candidate Mitt Romney probably has better (if not more) intelligence than we do. He certainly appeared to have his wits about him (i.e. his lines well-rehearsed) when discussing Palin on last night’s Letterman Show. Letterman: “What about that Sarah Palin? She’s not ready to be President, is she?” Romney: “She’s terrific. She really is. She’s terrific. She’s got energy, passion. By the way, be careful what you say about her, by the way… She has a rifle, you know.” You have been warned. All of you.