Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Monday 01-30-12

TSA mistakes insulin pump for gun, causing LAX security scare

An insulin pump mistaken for a gun at LAX led officials to delay boarding and screening Friday morning at Terminal 4 as airport authorities searched for a woman who they thought had a weapon, law enforcement sources said.

The incident occurred around 7:30 a.m. as the female passenger was being screened at Los Angeles International Airport. She went through electronic screening, which detected an item shaped like a weapon, the sources said.

But before screeners could search her, she walked away toward the boarding gates. Concerned Transportation Security Administration officials immediately alerted LAX police and the LAPD of a possible security breach.

Sources familiar with the incident said security staff scrambled to determine what happened but eventually realized the "weapon" was actually a medical device.

The woman was briefly detained and questioned. Authorities delayed some passengers boarding for up to an hour, according to sources.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/01/insulin-pump-lax-airport-security.html

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Sunday 01-29-12

Todays story is from Survival Blog post on Friday

Learning From Extreme Missionaries, by Chuck Holton

As an international war correspondent, my work takes me to more than a dozen far-flung war zones every year. In my travels, I am often reminded just how thin the veneer of civilization really is, and get to meet many families caught in crisis and see the different ways they manage to survive.
A recent trip to Africa brought one of the most powerful examples, where I met a family of missionaries who have built their lives in one of the most harsh and inhospitable corners of the planet. While for most survivalists, prepping for “TEOTWAWKI” is a “what if” scenario, for these missionaries preparedness is an everyday, life-or-death reality.
They are what you could call "extreme missionaries;" Christian families who move far beyond the end of the pavement to bring the good news of God's love to people who have no concept of things like peace, forgiveness, redemption, grace or even civilization.

When my oldest son, Mason and I landed in Nairobi, we were picked up by the T. family. They've been working in Kenya for four generations, and live in the far northern part of the country on the shores of the world's largest desert lake - Lake Turkana.

When they moved there twenty years ago, the four tribes living in the area (Rendille, Samburu, Turkana and El Molo) were all at war with each other. They would often raid each others' villages and steal each others' camels, goats and women. There was little fresh water, (the lake is barely potable, since it has no outlet) and since the tribes considered fish to be unclean, food was also scarce. The ground is volcanic rock, and almost nothing grows in the infertile soil. Temperatures often top 130 degrees in summer, and rarely get below 100. To call it a hard, inhospitable place would be the height of understatement.
The trip to their home took 23 hours of driving from Nairobi - most of it on desert two-track and much of it requiring 4-wheel drive. We made the trip heavily armed, as Somali bandits are known to ambush vehicles in that area. Not long ago another mission family was ambushed and the wife shot in the leg. We kept a sentry posted on top of the truck at all times to keep an eye out for bandits and make them think twice when they saw a man with a shotgun. Jim has worked with the Kenyan government to be able to legally carry a firearm wherever he goes. This is necessary because of the large number of wild animals – both human and otherwise. Lions were the biggest danger, but during our drive to Loiyangalani, we enjoyed seeing camels, dik-dik, topi, and many others. Mason and the T.'s daughter spent most of the trip riding on the rack above the truck's cab, spotting wildlife. It occurred to me that such a thing would probably get a guy arrested back in the states, but here in Kenya, the nanny state was nowhere to be found. A refreshing feeling, to say the least.
After a grueling two-day trip, we arrived at the mission station. When the T.'s first moved to Lake Turkana, they lived in a shipping container and camped out in front of it. They cooked on three rocks, like the locals. Eventually Jim identified a spring near the only stand of palm trees in the area (which all the locals used as a bathroom since it afforded the only privacy for miles). He talked the local elders into allowing him to fence off the area and then dig out the spring. He installed a cistern once he hit bedrock and then put in underground piping to four water points - one for each tribe. The spring today pumps out 230 gallons a minute of water so pure you could bottle it, and serves almost 10,000 people. Without the spring to fight over, the four tribes now live in relative harmony together in the village, something which previously would have been unthinkable to them. It's a great lesson on survival - working to make allies of one's neighbors, thereby making everyone safer.

Jim and his family must be completely self-sufficient for up to four months at at time. They have a larder which can sustain them for over a year, but gardening is impossible due to the high temperatures, desert climate and volcanic soil. Camel meat is available from time to time in the village, but other than that, they must plan, and shop for only a few trips a year to the nearest grocery store – in Nairobi. Jim's wife, Barb, has become an expert at planning, cooking from scratch and coping with unexpected visitors from time to time. Jim and his sons supplement their the family's protein by fishing Lake Turkana for giant nile perch. He says they have enough fishing tackle to survive on fish for "at least a thousand years." They took Mason and I fishing during our visit. We spent two hours trolling the lake in a tiny john boat, which made me a little nervous since the lake is known for its giant salt-water crocodiles. Our afternoon on the lake yielded two “small” Nile perch, which fleshed out to about forty pounds of meat. We feasted on the succulent fish that night and Barb canned or froze what we couldn't eat.

An engineer by trade, Jim has built a very comfortable and secure fortress for his family in this desolate place. A year after moving to Loiyangalani, Jim identified a seam of limestone that protruded from the lava rock in an area near the village. He then taught two local men how to quarry the limestone and make building stones of it. He then agreed to purchase all the stones they could make until his home was built. Those men are today two of the most prosperous (and hardworking!) men in the village.
From these stones, Jim constructed a two-story home that is a model of a secure survival retreat. Built in the shape of a squared-off horseshoe, the main part of the house holds the sleeping quarters (upstairs), kitchen, bathroom, living and dining areas, and a large pantry. Beneath the larder is a large “panic room” accessed through a blast-proof metal trap door. Inside are supplies for at least six months, camping gear, etc. The air vents for the panic room are disguised around the house, and built such that if some Goblin were to get the bright idea to drop a grenade down one of them, a hidden trap at crotch-level would absolutely ruin his day.
The windows are secured with built-in iron bars, and the doors made from plywood laminated over plate steel thick enough to stop small arms fire, machetes, et cetera. The stones from which the home is built would stand up to anything up to rocket-propelled grenades.

The home is situated on a knoll above the village, and Jim has made use of an old bulldozer and backhoe to ensure that there is only one way into and out of his redoubt by vehicle. The third-floor rooftop of the home is constructed with four-foot crenellated walls with flip-up metal firing ports, commanding unobstructed fields of fire in every direction. The roof also holds two 1,000-gallon potable water tanks which gravity-feed the plumbing system in the house. Two more 1,000-gallon tanks sit in the back of his old Mercedes deuce-and-a-half truck, and every month or so he drives to the spring and pumps them full, then uses them to re-fill the tanks in his home. He keeps all four tanks full at all times. His plan is to eventually dig a well on his own property to further secure his water supply.

Jim has two wind turbines (Lake Turkana is one of the most consistently windy places on the planet) and a solar array, from which he generates his power. The battery bank sits in a small locking closet in the laundry/guest bedroom.

There is a garage attached to the house, fully stocked with tools and other supplies. Between that and the laundry on the other end of the main structure, a large raised concrete patio provides shaded outdoor living space with gorgeous views of Lake Turkana in the distance. A shortwave radio enables periodic communication with other missionaries around the country. A detached petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) shed holds drums of fuel, oil and other petroleum products, enough for at least a year of use for vehicles and back-up generators. Most of their local transportation is accomplished on the four Honda ATVs which are always kept in top running condition, and are customized with winches, spotlights and small air compressors.

The T.'s have worked hard over the years to improve the lives of the people to whom they minister, physically as well as spiritually. Jim recognized that security was an absolute must for the local populace before he could bring them the good news of God's love. So he set out to train and equip the men of the village to protect their families. By working with the Kenyan government, a local police force was established, and the men of the village were recruited into a kind of “neighborhood watch.” He taught them how to use the same limestone block he used on his own home to build stone huts for their families. For about the price of a camel, the villagers can replace their mud-and-stick huts, which are unsanitary, fire-prone and give no security, with stone huts that are much better in every way. He taught them about sanitation and convinced them that fish from the lake were safe to eat. Jim and his family are all trained in EMT and wilderness medicine, and his sons became the village ambulance service in their early teens. They constructed an ingenious “floating” litter trailer which is pulled behind the ATV that enables them to transport an injured or sick villager the six hours to the nearest clinic, run by fellow missionaries.

They started a church by holding a family Bible study every morning in front of their home. Curious tribesmen and women would come and listen as they had their devotions, eventually asking questions and one by one being converted to the Christian faith. Today the church has nearly 100 members, who have pooled their resources to build a limestone church building, which Jim designed in such a way that it also serves as an emergency shelter for the villagers in case of attack. It is flame proof, highly secure and boasts a three-story tower with firing ports covering all angles of approach.

The first night of our visit with the family, I was jolted awake at 3am by the sound of gunfire in the village, about 300 yards from Jim's front door. I sat up in bed, but before I could react further, I heard Jim's voice booming out of the upstairs window, “Holton! Get inside quick!”

My sleeping teenage son was exhausted from our two-day trek to Loiyangalani. Tired enough that the gunfire failed to rouse him. I jumped up and dragged his limp form the fifteen yards or so to the main house. (we had been sleeping in the laundry room). By the time we got inside, he was awake, though may not have yet remembered what country we were in. He was further perplexed when Jim appeared at the bottom of the stairs dressed in level-III body armor, kevlar helmet and boxer shorts, carrying two pump shotguns. He tossed one to me and the other at Mason, and stationed each of us near windows overlooking the front and rear of the house. That cleared the cobwebs out of Mason's brain in a hurry.

Tense minutes passed as the sound of sporadic gunfire drifted up from the village below. Jim was back upstairs, calling the local police commander on his cellular telephone. I marveled that there was cell service this far from civilization. After a half hour or so, the firing had subsided and Jim was able to piece together what had happened: Somali bandits had raided the village intending to steal a herd of camels. To their credit, the men of the village had driven the bandits off with some well-controlled bursts of gunfire from their personal arsenals of aged AK-47s. Jim commented that several years ago, the men had no weapons other than spears and knives, and likely would have abandoned their camels, homes and families and run away. Jim's example of preparedness has led the villagers to be much more willing to stand up for themselves and protect their families. In so doing, he has made his own family that much more secure.

Loiyangalani is still a dangerous place to live. But Jim has done just about everything possible to safeguard not only his own family, but the entire community. In addition to that, the T. family has established a training center in North Carolina called “The Master's Mission,” where would-be missionaries spend eleven months learning skills like construction, alternative energy, animal husbandry, civil engineering, auto maintenance, personal protection and more. This enables them to survive and thrive in a third-world ministry field. But it's not just missionaries who need these skills. Anyone serious about being prepared for uncertain times could learn from the example of this intrepid missionary family.
For photos of our trip to Kenya, visit this Flickr page. I also made a news feature about our trip which aired on the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN). An extended version of this video is available here.

JWR Adds: You may recognize Chuck Holton's name from some of his reports on CBN (like this one), or from his web site Homesteading Today.

http://www.survivalblog.com/

Interesting read

THE MISSIONARY REVIEW OF THE WORLD, MARCH 1904
A monthly periodical that documented the great missionary outreach of the late 1800's and early 1900's. Contains numerous articles and news items of inspirational and historical value. This PDF file is 6.6 MB's in size, 81 full-sized pages, and is printable.


http://biblebelievers.com/misc_periodical_articles/mrw_1904-03.pdf

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Saturday 01-28-12

FBI seeking social media monitoring tool

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation is looking for a tool to mine social media for intelligence tips.
The US domestic law enforcement agency is asking information technology contractors about the feasibility of building a tool that would "enhance its techniques for collecting and sharing 'open source' actionable intelligence."

The January 19 open request was published on a website offering federal business opportunities and was first reported by New Scientist magazine.

The FBI said it is seeking an "open source and social media alert, mapping and analysis application solution" for its Strategic Information and Operations Center (SIOC).

"Social media has become a primary source of intelligence because it has become the premier first response to key events and the primal alert to possible developing situations," the FBI request said.

"Intelligence analysts will often use social media to receive the first tip-off that a crisis has occurred," it said.

The FBI said the tool "must have the ability to rapidly assemble critical open source information and intelligence that will allow SIOC to quickly vet, identity, and geo-locate breaking events, incidents and emerging threats."

It would need to be able to "instantly search and monitor key words and strings in all 'publicly available' tweets across the Twitter site and any other 'publicly available' social networking sites/forums."

It would also need the ability to "search the data across a myriad of parameters and view terrorist activities by location, terrorist group, and type of attack and see trends and analytics."

In addition, it would have to be able "to immediately translate into English, tweets and any other open forum publically available social media captured in a foreign language."

Interested parties have until February 10 to respond to the FBI request.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.98b3636e34b08a0fcd674a900f2deb90.b1&show_article=1

Twitter announces it will censor some tweets; activists worried
Policy would allow same message to be seen in some countries but not others

Twitter service may be getting spotty in some countries.

The micro-blogging firm announced on the company blog Thursday that it plans to change its censorship policies to comply with different countries' regulations.

"As we continue to grow internationally, we will enter countries that have different ideas about the contours of freedom of expression," the post read. "Some differ so much from our ideas that we will not be able to exist there. Others are similar, but for historical or cultural reasons, restrict certain types of content, such as France or Germany, which ban pro-Nazi comment."

Users' tweets will be blocked in a country where they are against the law, but shown in nations where they are legal. For example, a pro-Nazi tweet may be scrubbed in Germany, but would appear on the user's account if read in the U.S.

When Twitter removes a comment, it says it will clearly mark when a Tweet has been censored and send it to the Chilling Effects Clearinghouse, which is creating a database of tweets deleted not only because of censorship but also as a result of cease-and-desist notices and copyright infringement.

The news comes a year after Twitter played a crucial part in the Egyptian revolution and other Arab Spring protests.

Twitter was also credited with being a key tool in the Iranian protests of the 2009 elections and some pundits pointed to the service as key in the 2011 Tunisian revolution.

The move, while it could be disappointing for some revolutionaries, follows a similar policy to Google, The Associated Press pointed out — and could help Twitter expand from 100 million active users to more than 1 billion around the world.

"One of our core values as a company is to defend and respect each user's voice. We try to keep content up wherever and whenever we can, and we will be transparent with users when we can't. The tweets must continue to flow," the company added.

On Twitter, users protested the move with a #dontcensor campaign.

Media advocacy group Reporters Without Borders also announced on Twitter that it would send a letter protesting the move.

“Reporters Without Borders is very worried by #Twitter’s decision to cooperation with #censorship,” the group tweeted.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/money/twitter-announces-censor-tweets-activists-worried-article-1.1012804#ixzz1kgv0dBe5

It is good news for Virginia

Senate panel backs repeal of one gun a month law

The Senate Courts of Justice Committee on Wednesday approved a measure that would eliminate Virginia's one-gun-a-month restriction on handgun purchases, setting up what could be the most significant change to Virginia's gun laws in years.

The committee deferred until next year consideration of a bill that would exempt from state background checks long guns and rifles purchased from gun dealers, and a senator withdrew from consideration a bill that would have restricted public colleges and universities from enacting regulations to bar the carrying of firearms on campus. Currently, the state's schools can enact their own regulations banning guns on campus.

Gun-rights advocates are pushing a number of bills, emboldened by a conservative wave of Republican lawmakers who were elected in November and tipped the Senate's balance to the GOP. Republicans have an 8-7 majority on the Courts committee, which Democrats controlled last year.

In 1993, the legislature approved the one-gun-a-month restriction, advocated by then-Gov. L. Douglas Wilder, to address interstate trafficking of firearms in Virginia. Attempts to repeal the law had failed before this session, in which Republicans assumed control of the Senate for the first time in four years.

The vote on Senate Bill 323, sponsored by Sen. Charles W. Carrico Sr., R-Grayson, was 8-6, with Sen. John S. Edwards, D-Roanoke, voting for passage with seven Republicans. Sen. Thomas K. Norment, Jr., R-James City, who was not present at the time of the vote, was recorded as abstaining. The vote came during a marathon five-hour meeting in which lawmakers took up a series of gun bills.

The repeal measure has strong support in the Republican-dominated House of Delegates, and Gov. Bob McDonnell has indicated he is inclined to sign the bill.

Opponents of Carrico's bill said repeal of the law would hamper efforts to stem the flow of weapons.

"The only group that this law currently prohibits is gun traffickers," said gun-control advocate Andrew Goddard, father of Virginia Tech shooting survivor Colin Goddard. "Getting rid of the only law we have on the books ... is not going to make that problem go away."

Josh Horwitz of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence said the concern was not the purchaser of a couple of handguns during a month, but the "huge, bulk, multiple sales" of guns.

Advocates for the legislation said the current law has so many exceptions allowing for the purchase of more than one handgun a month — for people like police officers and holders of concealed-weapon permits — that everyday law-abiding citizens are the only ones who can't exercise a constitutionally protected right.

Carrico said only California, Maryland and New Jersey have similar laws, "which I don't want to be characterized with."

The senator was less enthusiastic about presenting Senate Bill 324, which would have restricted schools from imposing gun bans on campus. The bill had drawn opposition from numerous gun-control advocates and had received a tepid reception from McDonnell.

"It's not ready for prime time," he said, telling the committee he wants to address problems with the bill and bring it back next year.

The committee also approved a measure that would prohibit anyone subject to an emergency protective order after an arrest for domestic violence from having a gun in the home of their alleged victim. Senate Bill 554, sponsored by Sen. Barbara Favola, D-Arlington, was approved 9-6.

The committee also approved, along party lines, a bill that would immunize from civil liability a person who uses deadly force against an intruder in his home. Senate Bill 4, sponsored by Sen. Richard H. Stuart, R-Westmoreland, passed 8-7.

Senators also approved a measure that would prohibit localities from requiring fingerprints of first-time applicants for concealed-handgun permits.

"It's an onus on the law-abiding citizen and unnecessary," said Sen. Thomas A. Garrett Jr., R-Louisa, a co-sponsor of Senate Bill 67, with Sen. William M. Stanley Jr., R-Franklin County.

Opponents, including gun-control advocates and the Virginia Municipal League said fingerprint checks are part of a system that helps identify people who are not qualified to carry concealed weapons. Roughly one-third of Virginia's communities require fingerprinting of applicants of concealed-weapon permits. The vote was 8-6, with Norment again abstaining by proxy.

http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/2012/jan/26/tdmain01-senate-panel-backs-repeal-of-one-gun-a-mo-ar-1640517/

Friday, January 27, 2012

Friday 01-27-12


NJ camel predicts Giants will win the Super Bowl

LACEY TOWNSHIP, N.J. (AP) - People use all sorts of ways to try to predict the winner of the Super Bowl: comparing regular season records, judging who looked stronger in the post-season run-up to the big game, or watching the betting lines from Las Vegas oddsmakers.

But the closest thing to a sure thing may come from a camel in New Jersey.

Princess, the star of New Jersey's Popcorn Park Zoo, has correctly picked the winner of five of the last six Super Bowls. She went 14 and 6 predicting regular season and playoff games this year, and has a lifetime record of 88-51.

Her pick this year: The New York Giants.

The Bactrian camel's prognostication skills flow from her love of graham crackers. Zoo general manager John Bergmann places a cracker and writes the name of the competing teams on each hand. Whichever hand Princess nibbles from is her pick. On Wednesday, she made her pick with no hesitation at all, predicting bad news for Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, even though the Las Vegas oddsmakers have New England favored by about 3 points.

Her only miscue in the big game was picking the Indianapolis Colts over the New Orleans Saints two years ago, indicating that even camels know it's generally risky to go against Peyton Manning.

"It started out when a local radio station was looking to have some fun, so they asked Princess who was going to win a particular game each week, and it just took off from there," Bergmann said. "Now we have guys calling up on Sunday morning wanting to know who Princess has picked that week. One guy even asked if she does lottery numbers."

Her best season was 2008, when she got 17 out of 22 games right, including correctly picking the Pittsburgh Steelers to win the Super Bowl.

Princess doesn't do point spreads. But she has nearly mastered the art of picking straight-up winners.

The cunning camel was once the personal pet of heiress Doris Duke, the only child of tobacco and electric energy tycoon James Buchanan Duke.

Doris Duke raised Princess and her sister Babe from youngsters, Bergmann said.

The pair of camels had their own barn, and spent summers at Duke's Rhode Island estate. During bad weather, they were put up in the solarium.

After Duke's death in 1993, the camels stayed on her estate in Hillsborough. Babe died several years ago, leaving just Princess.

When Princess' caretaker was about to retire, the estate offered Princess to Popcorn Park Zoo, which took her in. The zoo cares for abandoned and abused animals.

http://www.wtop.com/?nid=351&sid=2723459

Wake Up ! Mystery disease cluster grows
LE ROY, N.Y. – Three more high school students here have reported neurological symptoms like those of a dozen classmates who exhibited unusual tics and verbal outbursts in recent months.

The three students came forward in the past few days and are "being evaluated by private medical professionals," said Jeffrey Hammond, a spokesman for the New York Department of Health.

Previously, 12 high school students at Le Roy High, all of them girls, had reported symptoms not unlike those of Tourette's syndrome. One boy is among the new patients, according to Dr. Laszlo Mechtler of the Dent Neurologic Institute in Buffalo, N.Y.

MORE: N.Y. teens' mystery illness labeled 'conversion disorder'
Mechtler, a neurologist who has treated all but one of the original 12 girls, previously said tests had ruled out medical disorders, diseases and environmental factors.

So far the diagnosis has been a stress-related, possibly neurological condition referred to as conversion disorder. The suggestion is that one student developed symptoms and other students unconsciously followed suit.

The National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., now says any of the students who wish to travel to its facilities can be tested.

"We are very interested in psychogenic movement disorders," said Dr. Mark Hasslett, chief of the NIH Medical Neurology Branch. "When we saw that there were patients that had possible conversion disorder, we wanted to make the doctors aware that we're interested in making second opinions on these cases."

The second opinion would include a physical examination and possible neurophysiological testing, Haslett said. Others eligible also could participate in an ongoing conversion disorder research study there.

The cluster of cases in New York apparently dates to sometime last year but wasn't publicly reported until early November when the number of afflicted students was six. The situation gained national attention when two of the girls appeared last week on NBC's "Today" show.

In addition to the three new cases, two teen-age girls in Saratoga County with seemingly similar symptoms also have come forward. Their only apparent connection to Le Roy High School is a claim that they ate lunch there one day in the summer. They were interviewed Tuesday by an Albany, N.Y., television station. Hammond said the state health department is not looking into those cases.

Le Roy school superintendent Kim Cox issued a written statement Wednesday acknowledging "a few new possible cases." She reiterated that earlier testing had ruled out environmental contaminants or infections as a cause.

Contributing: Melissa Holmes, WGRZ-TV, Buffalo, N.Y.; Sharon Jayson, USA TODAY

http://www.preparednesscenter.us/p/index.php?topic=596.msg1000;topicseen#new

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Wednesday 01-25-12

This is commentary on our present political system, we are so far removed from what our founders envisioned, it is scary




State to track the makings for meth

Buying a package of allergy medicine at the corner drugstore will put you in a state police database under a new Illinois law aimed at identifying people who make methamphetamine.

Gov. Pat Quinn signed the measure into law Friday, saying a pilot project in southern Illinois has helped police tracking sales of medicines that can be used to make meth has helped police crack down.

The goal is to watch for large purchases of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, which are found in some cold, allergy and sinus medicines such as Claritin-D and certain Sudafed products.

Stores already keep the products behind the counter to guard against theft and record who buys them. Now stores will transmit those records electronically to state police. The information sent to authorities will include the customer’s name and address.

The tracking program started as a pilot project in 2009 in several southern Illinois counties. Since then, police have found and seized 155 meth labs and made 231 arrests thanks to the pilot project, Quinn said.

“This program is a valuable tool that helps us prevent meth from getting into our communities by stopping production,” the Democratic governor said in a statement.

Monique Bond, a state police spokeswoman, said “tracking details” for the new statewide database are still being worked out.

The Illinois Alcoholism and Drug Dependence Association praised the legislation. Sara Moscato Howe, head of the association, said meth users are often paranoid so they might be scared away from buying the ingredients if they know police are monitoring sales.

She warned that catching people who make meth is only a first step. They also need help getting off drugs and staying off. She said spending on state anti-drug programs has been cut 30 percent since 2007.

“If you don’t treat these people, they don’t go away. They show up in your hospitals and prisons,” Howe said. “The cheapest option is to prevent addiction before it starts.”

Under the new law, stores must continue blocking sales if a person tries to buy more than 7.5 grams of pseudoephedrine in 30 days - or more than a month’s supply of 24-hour Claritin-D for a single person.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/10136396-418/state-to-track-the-makings-for-meth.html

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Tuesday 01-24-11



The shirt says, “Am I the only person on the planet that didn’t get guns from the ATF?”

http://ncguns.blogspot.com/p/gunwalker-t-shirts.html


Well they want to feel up congressmen now, i had heard they all got passed through, i guess he was either trying to make a point or pass through are only for the ones that approve of them.

White House sides with TSA in Rand Paul standoff

The White House is standing by the Transportation Security Administration in its standoff with Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and his father, Republican presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas).

The elder Paul called the TSA a "police state" Monday after Rand Paul was reportedly detained by TSA after he refused to take a pat-down from TSA officials at the Nashville International Airport.

White House press secretary Jay Carney said Monday that he didn't have any reaction to Paul's "police state" comments.

But Carney sided with the TSA saying, "I think it is absolutely essential that we take necessary actions to ensure that air travel is safe."

Ron Paul, who is one of four remaining Republican candidates for president, disagreed Monday afternoon. Paul said after he confirmed the incident involving Rand Paul on his Twitter page that it showed why the TSA should be eliminated.

"The police state in this country is growing out of control," the elder Paul said in a statement released by his presidential campaign.

"One of the ultimate embodiments of this is the TSA that gropes and grabs our children, our seniors, and our loved ones and neighbors with disabilities," he continued. "The TSA does all of this while doing nothing to keep us safe. That is why my ‘Plan to Restore America,’ in additional to cutting $1 trillion dollars in federal spending in one year, eliminates the TSA."

TSA has defended its treatment of Rand Paul, saying that its employees in Nashville followed its normal procedure with the senator, who has often sharply criticized the agency's pat-downs before he refused one Monday morning.

http://thehill.com/blogs/transportation-report/tsa/205813-white-house-sides-with-tsa-in-rand-paul-standoff

Monday, January 23, 2012

Monday 01-23-11

Ga. judge orders president to appear at hearing

ATLANTA (AP) - A judge has ordered President Barack Obama to appear in court in Atlanta for a hearing on a complaint that says Obama isn't a natural-born citizen and can't be president.

It's one of many such lawsuits that have been filed across the country, so far without success. A Georgia resident made the complaint, which is intended to keep Obama's name off the state's ballot in the March presidential primary.

An Obama campaign aide says any attempt to involve the president personally will fail and such complaints around the country have no merit.

The hearing is set for Thursday before an administrative judge. Deputy Chief Judge Michael Malihi on Friday denied a motion by the president's lawyer to quash a subpoena that requires Obama to show up.

http://www.cbsatlanta.com/story/16567672/ga-judge-orders-president-to-appear-at-hearing

Friday, January 20, 2012

Friday 01-20-12

FAITH and FIREARMS

“But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the Faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” 1 Timothy 5:8

Fathers and husbands are required by Almighty God to provide for their families. This includes not only providing food, housing, clothing, education, medical care, love, discipleship and spiritual guidance, but also protection. Of what worth is all the other provision if one does not provide protection as well? Anyone who fails to provide for their family has denied the Faith and is worse than an unbeliever. In fact, those who refuse to protect their young are worse than an animal. What animal will not fight to protect its offspring?

Our Lord Jesus Christ told His disciples that: “He who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one.” Luke 22:36

The Law of God is clear. “If the thief is found breaking in, and he is struck so that he dies, there shall be no guilt for his bloodshed.” Exodus 22:2

The Law of God establishes the basic right of self-defence. Any person is justified in defending himself, or his family, whenever they are attacked or their lives are endangered. Any weapon is permissable for use in self-defence. The Law of God does not say that the home owner is guilty if he uses a sword, but innocent if he uses a club. The issue is not one of weapons, but the right and duty of self-defence.

Resistance to Tyranny
During a slide presentation at a church in America, the pastor objected to the Christians in Sudan taking up arms against the Sudanese government. He was much offended by the prevalence of fire arms in the hands of Sudanese Christians. So I asked what Christians in America celebrate on the 4 th July? He seemed somewhat confused, so I reminded him that their Founding Fathers had unilaterally declared Independence from Great Britain on 4 July 1776. The British called it a rebellion.

The American colonists took up arms against the Crown because the British had failed to rule the Americans in accordance with the Magna Carta of 1215 and the English Declaration of Rights of 1689. King George had violated his coronation oath. The American Founding Fathers maintained that the British government was no longer an authority to be submitted to, but a tyrannical power to be resisted. How then could Americans object to Christians in Sudan doing what they had done in 1776?

Protecting our Families
I then pointed out that, in the entranceway to their church, they had a framed, colour picture on the wall, of early American settlers walking to church, carrying their rifles with their Bibles. I reminded him that many churches in America, in the 17 th Century, fined men if they came to church without a rifle! 1 Timothy 5:8 requires men to make provision for their family and declares that any who fail to do so deny the Faith and are worse than an unbeliever. Churches penalised men who showed such irresponsibility as to fail to carry a weapon for the defence of their family.

I then had to point out that Sudan, today, with slave raiders kidnapping children, burning crops, looting cattle, poisoning wells, destroying churches and crucifying pastors, is far more dangerous than America was in the 1600s.

Firearms and Ministries
Far from Christians in the previous centuries having an aversion to firearms, not only were swords and firearms freely brought into many church buildings, but the pastors were often some of the best shots in town. During the American War of Independence, many pastors served as officers in the Continental Army under General George Washington, fighting for Independence.

Firearms and Missionaries
Pioneer missionary, William Carey, whose landmark book, An Inquiry into the Obligation of Christians to Use Means for the Conversion of the Heathen (the book which launched the modern missionary movement) listed as essential equipment for any missionary: “Knives, powder and shot.”

Pioneer missionary and explorer David Livingstone, who first landed in Africa in 1840, was well equipped with some of the most advanced weapons then available, including a six-barrelled revolver and a double-barrelled rifle. On occasion David Livingstone was compelled to use his weapons for protection from wild beasts and to persuade slave traders to set the captives free. At one point, after his party had been compelled to shoot back at Muslim slave traders, Livingstone responded to criticism saying: “I love peace as much as any mortal man. In fact, I go quite beyond you, for I love it so much I would fight for it.”

Bishop McKenzie, of the Church Missionary Society, was involved in several firefights against slave traders in the Shiri Valley of present day Malawi. He set many captives free.

Francis McDougal, the first bishop of Labuan, reported an attack by pirates in 1862: “My double-barrelled torry’s breach loader proved a most deadly weapon, for it’s true shooting and certainty and rapidity of firing.”

Many religious readers today would be shocked and horrified to read such reports in present day missionary newsletters. Perhaps the comfortable and prosperous surroundings that most Christians in the West have enjoyed for so long have blinded us to the harsh realities that most Christians throughout the centuries, and in less fortunate parts of the world today, have had to face. An unBiblical pacifism has gripped many western Christians.

When world famous cricketer, turned pioneer missionary, C.T. Studd, undertook the first baptisms in a river in the Congo, he needed to fight off crocodiles with a revolver in one hand, while baptising the new converts with the other! C.T. Studd established his Heart of Africa Mission (what later became known as Worldwide Evangelisation Crusade (WEC) in the heart of cannibal country. He had been drawn to the Congo in response to a poster declaring: Cannibals Need Missionaries!!

Mary Slessor, pioneer missionary to Calabar (modern day Nigeria), included “maxim machine guns” in her prayer letter request back to the home country. This was to counter the threat of slave traders in Nigeria.

Andoniram Judson, America’s first foreign missionary to Burma, was captured on the high seas, and incarcerated in a French prison, from which he escaped. Later he was imprisoned and tortured in a Buddhist prison in Burma for 18 months.

David Livingstone was mauled by a lion and endured multiple attacks on his life by slave traders.

John Paton, missionary to the cannibals in New Hebrides islands, described being encircled by cannibals “in a deadly ring and one kept urging another to strike the first blow.”

Faith and Action
Missionaries such as these faced dangers which we can hardly imagine. We should not be too quick to judge and condemn others for doing what the Bible commands them to do – to take reasonable precautions for self-defence and for the protection of their families. Yes, of course, the primary weapons of missionaries are the Bible, prayer, faith and persuasion. Just as our primary spiritual food is the Word of God. But that does not stop us planting seeds, harvesting crops, shopping and preparing food!

Christians must be balanced and we need to recognise that sin comes from the heart of man (Mark 7:21-23). There is no point blaming a tool, a cold metal inanimate object, for the evil in men’s hearts.

Pacifism is in defiance of historic Christian teaching. The 39 Articles, the foundational statement of the Church of England, states clearly in Article 37: “It is lawful for Christian men to carry weapons.”

The Westminster Catechism, considered the finest expression of Biblical teaching, states under the 6 th Commandment that the prohibition against murder requires as our duty: “All careful studies and lawful endeavours to preserve the life of ourselves and others by resisting, by just defence, against violence, protecting and defending the innocent.” (Q135).

“Like a muddied spring or a polluted well is a righteous man who gives way to the wicked.” Proverbs 25:26

The first president of America, George Washington, declared: “Firearms stand next in importance to the Constitution itself. They are the American people’s liberty teeth and keystone under independence. To secure peace, security and happiness, the rifle and the pistol are equally indispensable. The very atmosphere of firearms everywhere restrains evil interference. They deserve a place of honour with all that is good.”

Switzerland’s Strategy for Survival

If you want peace, prepare for war . Peace is achieved through superior firepower. This sums up the Swiss attitude towards peace and freedom. The land of William Tell, Ulrich Zwingli, William Farel and John Calvin, with its deep mistrust of central governments, its abiding love for God’s Word and for life and liberty, remain a bastion of freedom through armed neutrality.

“The nation will continue to exist only if it is strong enough to defend itself.” “We have a small army, yes, but it is made strong by our traditions.” General Guisan in his book: “Our People and its Army” asserted that military defence has two essential components – moral force and material force. A young man at his Confirmation received a sword and could not marry unless he possessed a Bible and a firearm. The local assemblies of lawmakers each carried a sword as a symbol of liberty when they gathered for legislation. Days of military recruitment were festivals with processions, flags and music. Being capable of military service is a physical certificate of health. The warrior spirit exhibits itself in the arts, literature and architecture. The army is the incarnation of the federal republic. The people are the army, the army is the people. The army provides education for citizenship. “We owe it to our ancestors, always appreciate freedom and independence…It is better to die than to live in slavery!”

The Swiss Shooting Federation (SSV) was formed in 1824: “To the promotion and perfection of the art of sharpshooting, an art beautiful in itself and of the highest importance for the defence of the Confederation.” Shooting festivals became one of the most important unifying activities in the community. It has always been Switzerland’s high level of military preparedness, as a nation of sharpshooters on skis, that has proved an effective deterrent to would-be aggressors.

Switzerland is the only European nation which has proclaimed that, in the event of an invasion, any announcement of surrender is to be regarded as enemy propaganda, that every soldier must fight to the last cartridge, and then with the bayonet. Their published and openly proclaimed military strategy is to make any invader pay a severe penalty for violating their neutrality. The standing order is: Keep fighting. No surrender. No retreat. Fight to the last bullet and blade.

Foundations for Freedom
To limit a person’s access to lethal weapons is to limit his ability for self and family defence. Weapons control interferes with our basic right and responsibility for self-defence. Ultimately gun control can deprive you of your right to life. The right of citizens to use lethal force to defend themselves is a great deterrent to thieves and attackers.

Those who choose not to have firearms still benefit from those who do. If only one in twenty people are armed, it still acts as a restraint on potential attackers who are not certain who is armed, and who is not. The deterrent value of armed citizens against crime cannot be overestimated.

“Do not be afraid of them, remember the Lord, great and awesome, and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives and your houses.” Nehemiah 4:14

From these, and many other, passages of Scripture (including Numbers 32:20; Judges 5:8; 1 Samuel 13:19-22), we can see that a man is responsible to be armed and prepared to protect his household.

“A righteous man who falters before the wicked is like a murky spring and a polluted well.” Proverbs 25:26

The Deadly Deception of Pacifism

When these Scriptural principles are ignored the results can be tragic:

The Christians at the Elim Mission Station in Rhodesia were such convinced pacifists, that even within a few kilometres of Marxist Mozambique during a vicious war, they refused to be armed. They had neither fence, nor dogs to protect them. They refused to allow the security forces to station some guards for their protection. When communist terrorists visited Elim, the missionaries provided them with food and medical supplies.

On one fateful night, in 1979, ZANLA terrorists of Robert Mugabe herded the nine missionaries and four children onto one of the fields. In front of the parents, they hacked the children to death. Then, in front of the husbands, they raped and tortured the women to death. Finally, they brutally murdered the men. Yet, so effectively had their pacifist beliefs neutralised them, that there was no attempt at resistance. The men stood by and watched ruthless terrorists butcher and abuse their loved ones.

In November 1987 a similar massacre took place at New Adams farm in Zimbabwe. Their sincere belief in pacifism disarmed the 16 precious Christians and made them helpless victims to a frightful slaughter.

English Legal Tradition
English legal tradition has always recognised the right of free citizens to possess and carry weapons for self-defence. King Alfred the Great (871-899) laid the foundation for English law. The Ten Commandments of Exodus 20 formed the preamble for these laws. While abuses, such as disturbing a meeting by drawing a sword, were prohibited – the basic right to bear arms was entrenched.

The laws of King Cnut (1020-1023) declared self-defence to not only be a right, but a duty. Those who failed to assist a person under attack were to be fined. Similarly, anyone who “illegally disarms a man” were to be fined.

The Magna Carta of 1215, the first written restriction on the powers of government, and the grandfather of all Bills of Rights, guaranteed the right of all free men to bear arms.

The English Declaration of Rights of 1689 recognised “the right of having and using arms for self preservation and defence.” Other free states entrenched this right to obtain, own, carry and use weapons for self defence, including most notably the United States of America and its Bill of Rights. So important and basic was this considered by the American Founding Fathers that they placed it in the Second Amendment – straight after religious freedom!

If these foundational principles for freedom seem extreme, or outdated, then consider recent history:

Rwanda was a Gun Free Zone
On 6 April 1994, one of the most dreadful campaigns of mass murder was unleashed upon the Tutsi people of Rwanda. In just over 6 weeks more people were killed with machetes and clubs than had died from atomic weapons in all of history. The MRND Hutu government of Rwanda instigated, organised and launched the systematic slaughter of the Christian Tutsi minority after enforcing a rigorous gun control. As the population had been previously disarmed, they were helpless to defend themselves against the state which now had a monopoly of weapons. Over 500,000 Tutsi Christians were murdered.

The confiscation of weapons made the massacres possible - by disarming the targeted victims. The holocaust in Rwanda again confirmed that limiting the ability of law-abiding citizens to defend themselves and their families is an open invitation to criminals to attack the innocent.

Gun Control Precedes Genocide
The genocides perpetrated upon the Christian Armenians in Ottoman Turkey from 1915-1917 were preceded by gun control and gun confiscation. The massacres of Christian peasants in the Soviet Union from 1929-1953 were preceded by gun control and gun confiscation. The massacres of Jews and Christians in Nazi occupied Europe from 1939-1945; against Christians and anti-communists in Red China from 1949-1976; against Christians in Uganda from 1971-1979; against anti-communists and educated people in Cambodia from 1975-1979; and Christian Tutsis in Rwanda in 1994 – they were all preceded by gun control legislation, which effectively disarmed the targeted victims.

The Greatest Killer
A gun free sticker would not have helped these people, because the greatest threat to life is not from firearm accidents, nor even from criminals. The greatest killer in the 20th Century was secular governments who had disarmed their own citizens. Approximately 160 million people were killed by their own governments, in over 40 communist states, just in the 20th Century alone. These were not foreigners killed by invading armies during times of war, these were citizens killed by their own governments in times of peace.

Tyrants Prefer Unarmed Victims
Gun control deprives potential victims of their best means of protection. A free people need to be armed. Disarmed people can be easily exploited and oppressed. If a government does not trust its citizens with weapons, then the citizens cannot trust the government with power. A government that fears its people is itself to be feared. No government should ever have a monopoly of force or weaponry.

Deal with the Murderer
The underlying arguments for gun control seem to be that the availability of weapons causes crime. But this has not been the Biblical position. Genesis 4 records the first murder when Cain killed Abel. God’s response was not to ban rocks, knives, clubs, or whatever murder weapon may have been used, but to banish the murderer. It is the murderer’s heart that is the problem, not the weapon used.

In Genesis 9:5-6, God instituted capital punishment for murder. “Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed; for in the image of God He made man.” This death penalty for murder was repeatedly restated (Exodus 21:12-15; Leviticus 24:17-22; Numbers 35:33; Matthew 5:17-18; Acts 25:11; Romans 13:1-4; Revelation 13:10).

However, nowhere does the Bible advocate weapons control. The Bible does record the control of weapons by the Amalikites and the Philistines (Judges 5:8 and 1 Samuel 13:19-22) but it condemns these restrictions on individual defence as a pagan attempt to centralise excessive power.

A Bad Workman Blames his Tool
If firearms caused crime, then Switzerland would be a violent, lawless country, because every citizen has weapons of war stored in his home. Yet, despite having millions of military type rifles, and a great many other firearms and weapons of war in private homes, overall firearm abuse is so low as to be insignificant and Switzerland has the lowest burglary and murder rate in the industrialised world. How many mass murders take place in gun shops, on shooting ranges, or in police stations, where firearms abound?

Also, in 1945, at the end of the Second World War, when tens of millions of soldiers returned to their homes, with millions of surplus firearms sold on the open market (the South African government were selling .303 rifles for just R2 each), and hundreds of thousands of captured souvenir weapons, there was actually a sharp decline of violent crime in the USA, Britain, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

However, later, with the advent of “the permissive society”, and as church attendance decreased, along with the explosion of the drug culture and the sexual revolution – then violent crime increased. Clearly, guns do not cause crime. People in rebellion against the Laws of God cause crime and violence.

Gun Free is No Guarantee
Nevertheless, we in South African have an organisation called Gun Free South Africa which regularly claims that: “a person who uses a firearm in self-defence is more likely to be shot than someone who does not” and “the cases of people attacked and robbed of their guns – and often shot with their own guns – far outnumbered occasions when somebody successfully defends themselves with a gun”!!! (Loaded Issues, GFSA leaflet). The same leaflet asserts that criminals are more likely to attack armed victims!

Criminals Prefer Unarmed Victims
These incredible assertions are decisively refuted by the facts. A US Department of Justice report on a Survey of Incarcerated Felons found that the greatest deterrent to crime is armed citizens. 60% of convicts agreed that they would never attempt to rob a victim if they thought that he or she might be armed. 74% declared that their greatest fear was being shot by a victim. 57% stated that they feared armed citizens more than police. Every year, armed citizens legally shoot four times more criminals than do policemen.

Crime Control
An American study, Crime Control by Gary Kleck, reported than a million times a year US citizens use firearms to defend themselves against criminals and to prevent a crime (2,740 times a day). In 98% of these cases, the mere brandishing of the firearm proved sufficient to deter the attacker. Only in 2% of the cases did the citizen find it necessary to kill, or wound, the criminal. Gary Kleck began his studies as a gun control advocate, yet, after his research, became convinced that it was counterproductive. He now opposes government interference in the rights of citizens to obtain and use fireams for self-defence.

A Rapist’s Nightmare
A US Justice Department study of more than 32,000 rapes or attempted rapes, found that the best protection against rape is for a woman to be armed. When a potential victim of rape was armed with a firearm, or a knife, only 3% of the attempted rapes succeeded (Law Enforcement Assistance Administration, Rape Victimisation).

Resistance Increases Chances of Survival
A South African study, by John Mann of SAGA, researched 206 cases of armed private defence (not including police or military personnel) in the Gauteng area. In summary he calculated: 677 attackers to 246 defenders/victims; 81% of attackers had weapons, 71% had firearms. 36% of the attackers were killed, or arrested, by the defenders. 64% of the attackers fled. Only four armed defenders/victims died (confrontational survival rate of 31 to 1). No bystanders/innocent parties were injured by actions taken by the defenders. In his conclusion, Mann observed: Potential victims can expect multiple attackers. When an intended victim has used a firearm in defence, four out of ten attackers were killed, or arrested; six out of ten attackers ran away. When an armed victim resists, their chances of surviving the attack are increased by 31 times (3,100%).

More Guns – Less Crime
John Lott of the University of Chicago law school conducted an exhaustive study on the relation of firearm ownership to crime. His 18 years of thorough research of all the data, for over 3,000 counties of the United States, was published under the title: “More Guns, Less Crime: Understanding Crime and Gun Control Laws.”

Lott’s scholarly study exposes the falsehood and folly of many Gun Free SA guestimates, claims and assertions. For example, the GFSA claim that most people are killed by a friend, family member, or someone they know. The often quoted statistic is that 58% of murder victims are killed by an acquaintance. What most people do not realise is that this so-called “acquaintance murder” category includes gang members killing other gang members, drug buyers killing drug pushers, taxi drivers being killed by customers they picked up for the first time, prostitutes and their clients and so on.

Zero Tolerance
The vast majority of murders are not committed by previously law-abiding citizens. 90% of adult murderers have had previous criminals records as adults. It was this fact that led the New York Police Commissioner to institute the successful Zero Tolerance campaign that dramatically decreased the incidences of crime in New York City. They observed that serious violent crime was committed by people who had committed a wide variety of minor crimes first. To counteract this early contempt for the law, New York police now deal severely with all breaches of the law – to instil an early respect of the law and for the rights of others.

Concealed Carry Deters Crime
John Lott documented in his comprehensive study that states with the largest increases in gun ownership also have the largest decreases in violent crime. Those states that allow adults to carry concealed handguns have seen a consistent annual decrease in murders, rapes and robberies. As more people obtain concealed carry permits there is a greater decline in violent crime rates. This he attributes to the fact that criminals are deterred by higher penalties and the most significant deterrent for a criminal is the possibility of being shot by a victim. Lott also documented that each additional woman carrying a concealed handgun reduces the murder rate for women by about three to four times more than an additional man carrying a concealed handgun reduces the murder rate for men.

Violence Predates Firearms
Gun Free South Africa advocates imaginatively promote the “dream...of a country where there are no guns.” The suggestion that violence would magically decrease if we could only have gun control reveals an ignorance of both history and human nature. Of course, history records that violence was prevalent prior to the invention of firearms in the 15th Century! Attila the Hun, Ginges Khan and Shaka Zulu managed to kill millions of people without firearms.

The Sharp and Blunt Facts
In fact, contrary to the impression created by GFSA, most murders in South Africa do not involve firearms at all. Knives and other sharp objects and clubs are used to murder more South Africans than firearms do. Does GFSA suggest we ban all knives, sticks and rocks?

E-TV Debate
This was very humourously demonstrated during a TV debate that I took part in with a judge who supported GFSA. The interview took place downtown at the E-TV studios in Cape Town. The judge, answering the question as to how he got involved in supporting Gun Free South Africa, said that he had been involved in dealing with the brutal Bains Kloof murder some years ago. It was a terrible, gruesome murder he said. “Although it didn’t actually involve firearms” he noted, in fact, the terrible way in which they were suffocated in plastic bags made him wonder whether it wouldn’t have been more merciful had they been murdered by firearms. Nevertheless, he realised that “something had to be done” to outlaw firearms!!

The Big Question
On another TV interview on SABC2, The Big Question, I was debating Rev. Alan Storey of Gun Free South Africa. When the interviewer asked me to justify my position I quoted a number of Scripture verses mandating self defence and family defence. The interviewer turned to Alan Story and said “Well, Peter has quoted a number of Scripture verses in support of his position. What verses from the Bible can you quote to support Gun Free South Africa’s position?”

Rev. Storey spluttered and stammered. “Well, actually, there aren’t any” he admitted. “But, not everything in the Bible is Biblical!” As the studio audience exploded in laughter, he added: “Well, what I mean is not everything in the Bible is Christian!” There was even more laughter and I responded: “What kind of theology is this?” Sometimes one’s opponents in a debate destroy their own arguments more effectively than you can do yourself.

Some people do use firearms for evil purposes, but far more people use firearms for defensive purposes - to prevent crimes from being committed.

Children Injured by Guns
On another occasion, I was debating two Gun Free South Africa advocates in Cape Town in a public meeting. Dr. Van As, of the Red Cross Children’s Hospital, called for tougher gun laws because he was sick and tired of treating children wounded and crippled by gun fire. This was the first time that I had heard this argument, so, in trying to understand the situation, I asked him: “How many of these children are gang members or criminals that were shot by police, or in self defence, by victims of their crimes?” His answer was: “All of them!”

Later, upon investigation, I found out that only four patients a month at the Red Cross Children’s Hospital were gunshot victims, and almost all of those were from illegal guns in the hands of gangsters, numerous of the patients were actually gang members themselves.

The Main Causes of Injury to Children
It does not seem logical to disarm licensed firearm owners when they are not even the problem. But further research revealed that the vast majority of casualties admitted to the Red Cross Children’s Hospital that year were for falls (2,338 cases), motor vehicle accidents (1,030), burns (532), assault with blunt or sharp instruments (208), and poisoning (744). Even dog bites (91) were more numerous than firearm wounds (50) for that year.

Vastly more children die each year from bicycle accidents, car accidents and drownings than from firearms. Children are 1,450% more likely to die of a car accident than from a firearm. Should we outlaw all motor vehicles? During the height of the Gun Free South Africa campaign I wrote the following letter styled on GFSA arguments, which was published in a number of newspapers in the country:

Car Free South Africa
Everyday the newspapers, the radio and television carry stories of yet more South Africans killed, or maimed, by one of the most dangerous weapons that the state allows our private citizens to possess.

Children are mown down in front their schools and homes, and others are orphaned, when their parents fall victims to these same instruments of death. Doctors in emergency units in hospitals countrywide are daily inundated with victims. Last year there were 511,605 incidents involving these lethal devices. In these incidents 7,260 lost their lives, 21,265 sustained major trauma, and a further 52,097 were fortunate to escape with only minor injuries.

Everyday too, the media reports yet more of these dangerous devices stolen from their rightful owners by criminals. Many of these are subsequently used in the commission of robberies, cash-in-transit heists, hijackings and murders. The number of unlicensed or in-illegal-possession is impossible to estimate. Even those in the possession of law-abiding citizens have led to lethal accidents.

All too often we read of children that use their parent’s vehicle to show off and, who through unfamiliarity, lack of training, or negligence, kill themselves, their brothers or their friends.

It can be argued that law-abiding citizens derive pleasure from these lethal implements and that many people are collectors that own them for their aesthetic appeal, or as investments. Others require them in the course of their daily work, or involved in one of the many sports that use them. Yet, despite the rising death toll, and injuries, caused by these lethal weapons on our streets, and the horrific and graphic images that assault us daily in the media, the numbers of vehicles in the hands of South Africans continues to increase.

The proliferation of these lethal devices should be of major concern to all citizens, yet figures show that last year 859,752 new licences were issued in South Africa. Data on the number of vehicles in the hands of police and other government departments are less readily available. Each year, more people are killed by motor vehicles in South Africa than by firearms. Should we outlaw all cars?

Improve Safety Features
No, the solution to the horrific carnage on the roads is not to ban motor vehicles, but to improve safety features in vehicles, to educate drivers, promote the use of seat belts, and severely punish drunken or reckless driving. As with motor vehicles, it would not be right to erode everyone’s rights, or to take away everyone’s freedom, because of the criminal activities and carelessness of some.

Doctors Kill More People than Firearms Do

Actually, vastly more people die of medical malpractice each year than from firearms. The American Medical Association recognised that 93,000 patients die each year due to medical malpractice by doctors. Another 110,000 patients die from unforeseen reactions to prescribed medicines. We can also add the number of babies killed by doctors through abortion. Approximately 80,000 babies are killed by abortion, legally, with tax payers money, in South Africa alone, each year. In the light of the fact that doctors kill more people each year than firearms do, it seems very hypocritical for any medical officer to blame a cold, metal inanimate object, a tool, for the evil that some people do.

Armed Citizens Save Lives
However, we recognise that doctors save more lives than they take. And that is exactly the same for motor vehicles and firearms. Transport carries life-giving food and medicines to those who most need it, and patients to hospitals where they will be treated. Everyday countless crimes are prevented, hundreds of potential victims are protected, and many tragedies are averted, by armed citizens. Armed citizens save lives, but unarmed citizens all too often become helpless victims.

When three PLO terrorists opened fire on a cafe in Jerusalem, they were promptly shot by armed bystanders. The one wounded, surviving, terrorist was recorded as complaining: “We were never told that the civilians in Israel were armed!”

It is every man’s duty to be armed and prepared to protect the innocent and to defend the defenceless. May God enable us to be fast and accurate.

“But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially those of his household, he has denied the Faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” 1 Timothy 5:8

This message was delivered to Livingstone Fellowship. The audio CD and other life changing sermons are available from Christian Liberty Books:

P.O. Box 358, Howard Place, 7450, Cape Town, Tel & Fax: (021) 689-7478, Email: admin@christianlibertybooks.co.za , Website: www.christianlibertybooks.co.za

http://www.frontline.org.za/articles/Faith%20and%20Firearms.htm

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Thursday 01-19-12

I guess even toy guns are scary? Might be something in the water in NY City

Fake-gun fine unreal
30G penalty forcing B’klyn store to close

Now this is a real stickup!

The owner of a discount store in Brooklyn says the city is holding him up for $30,000 in fines he can’t afford — all because he stocked six toy sheriff sets that included plastic guns.

And now the .44-caliber fines for the orange-tipped, obvious fakes are forcing him to close for good.

“It doesn’t make any sense,” said Khaled Mohamed, 23, manager of 99¢ Target in Flatlands, which has been ordered to pay a staggering $5,000 fine for each gun offered for sale — the maximum under the law.

The store “cannot pay that fine at all,” said Mohamed, arguing that the punishment imposed on the Utica Avenue odds-and-ends shop is way out of proportion to the violation.


Dana Sauchelli
UNLAWFUL: The city says this obviously fake toy gun is too real.

MOHAMED

“They’re stopping us from doing any business,” he said.

The store’s lawyer, Andrew Tilem, doesn’t dispute that 99¢ Target was in violation of a city regulation that makes it illegal to sell toy weapons that look too real.

The rule is designed to prevent cops from mistaking the toys for the real thing — and shooting an innocent kid — and to thwart criminals from using them to commit crimes.

Retailers can get around the law by making sure the toy guns are brightly colored.

Tilem and Mohamed said the store initially relied on the word of the gun’s vendor, JMD All Star of New Jersey, that the toys were legal for sale. Then, they said, the prior manager failed to inform store owner Jamal Ahmed that a city inspector had written up the shop.

Because of that failure, Ahmed missed a hearing, which led to the $30,000 fine, Tilem said. The lawyer got Consumer Affairs to reopen the case and negotiate a tentative settlement for about $5,400.

But Ahmed couldn’t afford that either, so he tried his luck at another hearing.

After the store argued that no reasonable person would believe the guns were real, the hearing officer upheld the original fine, as did an appeals judge last week.

Tilem decried the $5,000-per-toy fine, calling it “a really, really abusive penalty.”

But a Consumer Affairs spokeswoman countered, “Realistic-looking imitation guns are illegal and dangerous, and just last week, a 15-year-old in Texas was killed while holding one of these guns.”

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/brooklyn/fake_gun_fine_unreal_fdcYUeshHyvth4maEHXrpM#ixzz1jqtR9Ovq

NYPD looks to scan people on the street for guns, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly says
New technology being tested


The NYPD is developing a new way to seek people toting guns on the street by using radiation scanners that can detect those packing heat, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly announced Tuesday.

The technology — which works similar to infrared imaging — includes a mechanism that can detect a natural energy, known as terahertz radiation, that emits from a person’s body, Kelly said during his State of the NYPD address.

Because the radiation waves cannot travel through metal, a concealed gun can be detected from the image captured by the lense of the detector, Kelly said.

“This technology has shown a great deal of promise as a way of detecting weapons without a physical search,” Kelly said.

However, the technology — which has been undergoing testing by the NYPD and the U.S. Department of Defense for the past three years — can only be used at a distance of 3 to 4 feet, cops said.

“This can be done from a short range,” Kelly said. “We want a distance of at least 25 meters.”

Kelly mentioned the technology as part of the department’s continuing efforts to curb illegal guns off the street as he addressed the Police Foundation at the Regency Hotel on Park Ave.

He said cops hope to install the heat-seeking devices on police vehicles in the near future.

“We want to use new technology to protect the public and police officers from illegal guns,” he said.

But civil liberties lawyer Norman Siegel said he hopes the scanning devices will be able to distinguish between a gun and other harmless metal objects, such as an iPod.

Siegel said if the technology only picks up only fuzzy images of possible guns, it could lead cops to make unwarranted stops.

“It will make an already agressive policy of stop, question and frisk seem tame,” he said.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/nypd-scan-people-street-guns-police-commissioner-raymond-kelly-article-1.1007456#ixzz1jquSLjC2

Well first they said it did ot happen now they say they are sorry and wrong. The first thing you have to do is make them admit they are wrong or they will not change.

TSA admits wrongdoing in cases of two elderly woman who claim they were strip-searched
Exclusive: Lenore Zimmerman and Ruth Sherman still fuming after humiliating December incident

In an about-face, the feds have admitted wrongdoing in the cases of two elderly women who say they were strip-searched at Kennedy Airport by overzealous screeners.

Federal officials had initially insisted that all “screening procedures were followed” after Ruth Sherman, 89, and Lenore Zimmerman, 85, went public with separate accounts of humiliating strip searches.

But in a letter obtained by the Daily News, the Homeland Security Department acknowledges that screeners violated standard practice in their treatment of the ailing octogenarians last November.

Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Betsy Markey concedes to state Sen. Michael Gianaris (D-Queens) that Sherman was forced to show security agents her colostomy bag — a violation of policy.

“It is not standard operating procedure for colostomy devices to be visually inspected, and [the Transportation Security Administration\] apologizes for this employee’s action,” Markey wrote.

The letter says that Sherman, who uses a wheelchair, was escorted into a private area after she voluntarily lowered her pants to show screeners the device.

In the private room, she was patted down and told to show agents the colostomy bag, the letter says.

Markey still maintained that the Florida-based Sherman was never asked to remove her clothing.

“They asked me to pull my sweatpants down, and now they’re not telling you the truth,” Sherman fumed Monday.

Markey also denied that Zimmerman had been strip-searched, but did apologize for the conduct of a TSA agent who violated policy by scanning the Long Island granny’s back brace.

Zimmerman had told The News two female agents removed her clothes — instead of just patting her down — after she revealed that she was wearing a defibrillator.

“They’re lying,” said Zimmerman. “I don’t have a problem with [screeners checking\] the back brace. I have a problem with being strip-searched.”

Gianaris, who wrote to the TSA requesting a full investigation, said the feds’ account is still full of holes.

“It’s obvious that something went wrong, so its nice to see the TSA admit that their procedures were violated,” Gianaris said, “but they’re still falling short of admitting that these women’s dignity was violated by asking them to remove their clothes.”

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/tsa-apologizes-elderly-women-strip-search-kennedy-airport-article-1.1007725#ixzz1jsYc7n6d

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Wednesday 01-18-12

The stupid are becoming more stupid? Or are they really trying tou run your life because you are too stupid to know what is good for you?

Walnuts Are Drugs, Says FDA

Seen any walnuts in your medicine cabinet lately? According to the Food and Drug Administration, that is precisely where you should find them. Because Diamond Foods made truthful claims about the health benefits of consuming walnuts that the FDA didn’t approve, it sent the company a letter declaring, “Your walnut products are drugs” — and “new drugs” at that — and, therefore, “they may not legally be marketed … in the United States without an approved new drug application.” The agency even threatened Diamond with “seizure” if it failed to comply.

Diamond’s transgression was to make “financial investments to educate the public and supply them with walnuts,” as William Faloon of Life Extension magazine put it. On its website and packaging, the company stated that the omega-3 fatty acids found in walnuts have been shown to have certain health benefits, including reduced risk of heart disease and some types of cancer. These claims, Faloon notes, are well supported by scientific research: “Life Extension has published 57 articles that describe the health benefits of walnuts”; and “The US National Library of Medicine database contains no fewer than 35 peer-reviewed published papers supporting a claim that ingesting walnuts improves vascular health and may reduce heart attack risk.”

This evidence was apparently not good enough for the FDA, which told Diamond that its walnuts were “misbranded” because the “product bears health claims that are not authorized by the FDA.”

The FDA’s letter continues: “We have determined that your walnut products are promoted for conditions that cause them to be drugs because these products are intended for use in the prevention, mitigation, and treatment of disease.” Furthermore, the products are also “misbranded” because they “are offered for conditions that are not amenable to self-diagnosis and treatment by individuals who are not medical practitioners; therefore, adequate directions for use cannot be written so that a layperson can use these drugs safely for their intended purposes.” Who knew you had to have directions to eat walnuts?

“The FDA’s language,” Faloon writes, “resembles that of an out-of-control police state where tyranny [reigns] over rationality.” He adds:


This kind of bureaucratic tyranny sends a strong signal to the food industry not to innovate in a way that informs the public about foods that protect against disease. While consumers increasingly reach for healthier dietary choices, the federal government wants to deny food companies the ability to convey findings from scientific studies about their products.

Walnuts aren’t the only food whose health benefits the FDA has tried to suppress. Producers of pomegranate juice and green tea, among others, have felt the bureaucrats’ wrath whenever they have suggested that their products are good for people.

Meanwhile, Faloon points out, foods that have little to no redeeming value are advertised endlessly, often with dubious health claims attached. For example, Frito-Lay is permitted to make all kinds of claims about its fat-laden, fried products, including that Lay’s potato chips are “heart healthy.” Faloon concludes that “the FDA obviously does not want the public to discover that they can reduce their risk of age-related disease by consuming healthy foods. They prefer consumers only learn about mass-marketed garbage foods that shorten life span by increasing degenerative disease risk.”

Faloon thinks he knows why this is the case. First, by stifling competition from makers of more healthful alternatives, junk food manufacturers, who he says “heavily lobb[y]” the federal government for favorable treatment, will rake in ever greater profits. Second, by making it less likely that Americans will consume healthful foods, big pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers stand to gain by selling more “expensive cardiac drugs, stents, and coronary bypass procedures” to those made ill by their diets.

But people are starting to fight back against the FDA’s tactics. “The makers of pomegranate juice, for example, have sued the FTC for censoring their First Amendment right to communicate scientific information to the public,” Faloon reports. Congress is also getting into the act with a bill, the Free Speech About Science Act (H.R. 1364), that, Faloon writes, “protects basic free speech rights, ends censorship of science, and enables the natural health products community to share peer-reviewed scientific findings with the public.”

Of course, if the Constitution were being followed as intended, none of this would be necessary. The FDA would not exist; but if it did, as a creation of Congress it would have no power to censor any speech whatsoever. If companies are making false claims about their products, the market will quickly punish them for it, and genuine fraud can be handled through the courts. In the absence of a government agency supposedly guaranteeing the safety of their food and drugs and the truthfulness of producers’ claims, consumers would become more discerning, as indeed they already are becoming despite the FDA’s attempts to prevent the dissemination of scientific research. Besides, as Faloon observed, “If anyone still thinks that federal agencies like the FDA protect the public, this proclamation that healthy foods are illegal drugs exposes the government’s sordid charade.”

http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/health-care/8294-walnuts-are-drugs-says-fda

Monday, January 16, 2012

Monday 01-16-12

The new defense bill… R.I.P. due process

By Rebecca DiFede — On Dec. 1 the Senate passed the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act; a $662 billion Defense bill.

That’s typical. But what’s not is that one portion of the bill may take tyranny and governmental control to a whole new level. Critics have said the legislation would give the military the power to lock up any and all suspected terrorists, whether captured here or abroad, citizen or not, and hold them indefinitely.

If your face is frozen in terror, don’t worry. That’s totally normal.

In an attempt to save the rights of United States citizens, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) insisted on an amendment that stated that the current laws on the detention of citizens would stand, and in extreme cases the Supreme Court can decide if a waiver (as allowed by the bill) would be granted. It passed easily 99 to 1.

Feinstein even attempted to introduce a provision into the bill that the military indefinite hold only be applied to those captured outside the U.S., but the vote was denied. The majority of the Senate, it seems, didn’t really want to outright prohibit the military from being able to lock up citizens left and right.

The Obama Administration, for its part, has threatened to veto the legislation, saying the provisions don’t go far enough and will hamper law enforcement. Despite Obama’s veto threats, the bill passed 93-7 and is now being reviewed by the House.

But with waivers, there are so many loopholes in this bill that if the government suspects that you were involved in somehow supporting something related to an Al-Qaeda-esque organization, they can find a way to get the Secretary of Defense to write a waiver for you, sending you off to prison before the ink dries on your arraignment — and then perhaps the Supreme Court might save you.

As Senator Dick Durbin put it, “The Supreme Court will decide who can be detained; the United States Senate will not,” Durbin said.

If this bill passes the House and the President fails to veto it as promised, it will create a situation where at any moment, martial law can be invoked — putting every person’s freedom in jeopardy.

If there is even the smallest inkling that someone is connected to some form of terrorism they can be arrested, detained without being Mirandized, and not let out until the military decides to release them (or charge them).

As any student of American History can tell you, our founding fathers drafted the Constitution to protect us from the tyrannical grip of English rule. They wanted to make sure that in America, soldiers wouldn’t be able to come after the general population and round up everyone they think seems guilty without just cause.

The Fifth Amendment was designed to do just that; give us the right to due process so that we are guaranteed to be treated fairly when we are arrested. The rights of the accused are a cornerstone in the foundation of our country, and one of the things that separates us from the rest of the uncivilized world.

If this bill is passed, it could render the Fifth Amendment and all its protections completely irrelevant.

This idea unravels some of the basic tenets of our Constitution, and goes back on the very ideas our country was founded upon. It then comes as no surprise that Congress only sustains a 12 percent approval rating, while 82.5 percent disapprove of the way they’re handling the country. And I suspect trampling the constitution will only further diminish the faith of Americans in our men and women in Congress.

Hopefully Obama does what he said (for once) and vetoes this bill, lest it pass both houses and become one of the most terrifying laws this side of Nazi Germany.

http://netrightdaily.com/2011/12/the-new-defense-bill-rip-due-process/#ixzz1jQlsn600

Looks like things could be moving in the right direction, at least in GA.

Senate proposes ending ban on silencers in hunting

ATLANTA — A Georgia Senate proposal would end the ban on silencers for hunting firearms.

Senate Bill 301 is sponsored by Sen. John Bulloch, who says allowing hunters to use silencers would keep them from disturbing their neighbors. The Ochlocknee Republican says hunters would still have to have a federal permit to possess a silencer and argues this does not create an unfair advantage for hunters.

"As our growth patterns have changed and we're having more and more residential properties infringing on hunting properties," Bulloch said. "If you have a silencer on your hunting gun, the noise would not disturb neighbors as bad. This doesn't really have anything to do with fair chase. It's about trying to be respectful to people in residential areas."

The bill has been assigned to the Senate Natural Resources Committee, which Bulloch co-chairs. Sen. Ross Tolleson, a Republican from Perry who is one of the bill's co-sponsors, is the committee's chairman.

Bulloch said the legislation was brought to him by the National Rifle Association. Reached by telephone, NRA spokeswoman Stephanie Samford said the organization does support the use of silencers, which she referred to as suppressors.

"There are several benefits to hunting with suppressed firearms," Samford said. "Suppressors decrease the gunfire noise, which is important because a lot of hunters don't always wear hearing protection. Suppressors also reduce recoil and muzzle rise. That allows the shooter to get into position for a follow up shot much more quickly and accurately."

Samford said that silencers do not allow hunters to sneak up on animals because a sound is still emitted.

The NRA successfully pushed for similar legislation last year in Kansas, Louisiana and Washington, and supports legalizing silencers in all 50 states. Silencers are legal to possess and use for lawful purposes in most states, but require a federal permit from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The permit costs $200.

http://onlineathens.com/local-news/2012-01-12/senate-proposes-ending-ban-silencers-hunting

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Sunday 01-15-12



The people of India are signing their own death warrants as they agree to sign up to their governments ID card system, claiming it will help cut fraud for benefit payments. The real reason is to help the New World Order with population control and access to money, so the 1% can steal it al. For a supposed poor country which the UK shovs billions to, India has lots of other people's money to waste.

It's worth remembering that this is the EXACT same system that the crooked New Labour government tried to force on the British people, to comply with New Labour's NWO agenda.

Recorded from Sky News, 22 December 2011.

The religion of peace is at it again, i could fill several blog post a day with their articles.

Muslim Extremists in Uganda Throw Acid on Bishop

KAMPALA, Uganda – Islamic extremists threw acid on a church leader on Christmas Eve shortly after a seven-day revival at his church, leaving him with severe burns that have blinded one eye and threaten sight in the other.

Bishop Umar Mulinde, 37, a sheikh (Islamic teacher) before his conversion to Christianity, was attacked on Saturday night (Dec. 24) outside his Gospel Life Church International building in Namasuba, about 10 kilometers (six miles) outside of Kampala. From his hospital bed in Kampala, he told Compass that he was on his way back to the site for a party with the entire congregation and hundreds of new converts to Christianity when a man who claimed to be a Christian approached him.

“I heard him say in a loud voice, ‘Pastor, pastor,’ and as I made a turn and looked at him, he poured the liquid onto my face as others poured more liquid on my back and then fled away shouting, ‘Allahu akbar [God is greater],’” Mulinde said, still visibly traumatized two days after the assault.

A neighbor and church members rushed him to a hospital in the Mengo area of Kampala, and he was then transferred to International Hospital Kampala.

“I have to continue fighting this pain – it is too much,” Mulinde said. “My entire body is in pain. Most of the night I miss sleep.”

His face, neck and arms bore deep black scars from the acid, and his lips were swollen.

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“The burn caused by the acid is so severe that there is an urgent need for specialized treatment,” said area Christian Musa Baluku Symutsangira. “I suggest that he be flown outside the country as soon as possible; otherwise Mulinde might lose both of his eyes, coupled with the spread of the burns. The burns seemed to spread and go very deep. He might need some plastic surgery.”

A doctor told Compass that acid burns cover about 30 percent of his face and has cost him sight in one eye.

“We are doing all we can to save his other remaining eye and to contain the acid from spreading to other parts of the body,” the doctor said.

Mulinde’s shirt, tie and suit were in tatters after the attack.

Mulinde said his father, Id Wasswa, was a local prayer leader or imam.

“I was born into a Muslim family, and although I decided to become a Christian, I have been financially assisting many Muslims, as well as my relatives who are Muslims,” he said. “I have been conducting a peaceful evangelism campaign.”

Mulinde said Muslim extremists opposed to his conversion from Islam and his outspoken opposition of sharia (Islamic law) courts in Uganda, known in East Africa as Kadhi courts, attacked him. On Oct. 15, area Muslim leaders declared a fatwa against him demanding his death.

“I have been receiving several threats for a long time, and this last one is the worst of all,” Mulinde said. “I have bore the marks of Jesus.”

Mulinde is known for debates locally and internationally in which he often challenges Muslims regarding their religion. His extensive knowledge and quotation of the Quran in his preaching has won him enemies and friends. Often criticizing Islam, he has relied on police protection during revival campaigns throughout Uganda.

“Mulinde poses a big threat to those who cannot take the challenge as he engages the Muslims in debate,” said Dr. Joseph Serwadda, an area church leader.

A church guard who was away on the day of the attack said he felt responsible.

“I feel bad,” he said. “I feel I have failed in my duty as a guard.”

Mulinde is married and has six children ages 14, 12, 8, 6 and twins who are 3.

Police have reportedly arrested one suspect, whom they have declined to name. A divisional commander at Katwa police station identified only as Kateebe would say only that an investigation was underway.

The hospital charges 350,000 Uganda shillings (US$140 dollars) per day, a steep amount in Uganda.

“We appeal for our brothers and sisters wherever they are to assist the life of Bishop Umar Mulinde,” said Symutsangira.

Several Attacks

Mulinde, who lives and pastors in Namasuba outside of Kampala, in April led religious leaders in petitioning the Ugandan Parliament to refrain from amending the constitution to introduce Kadhi courts.

He collected 360,000 signatures from former Muslims who have converted to Christianity, he said, and managed to temporarily stop parliament from proposing the constitutional change. When Compass met with Mulinde in November, however, he said there was new momentum to revive the Kadhi courts issue.

In May he was attacked by suspected Muslim extremists after a series of campaigns against Kadhi courts in Namasuba. After presenting his case against the Kadhi courts, he narrowly escaped a kidnap attempt when his vehicle was blocked at eight kilometers (five miles) outside of Kampala at Ndege, two kilometers from his home in Namasuba. Muslim extremists jumped out of the vehicle and shot at the fleeing Mulinde but missed him. He reported the case at the Katwa police station.

Mulinde has faced several injuries and attacks from Muslims since his conversion to Christianity in 1993, including having stones thrown at him after debates in 1998 and 2002.

After Kenya maintained Kadhi courts in its new constitution last year, the attorney general of Uganda wanted to insert Kadhi courts – which presumably would deal only with marriage and family issues for Muslims – into the Ugandan constitution. But Mulinde argued that there would be two judicial systems governing one country.

“If Muslims who convert to Christianity are facing persecution from the Muslims now, then what will be their fate when the Kadhi courts are entrenched in the constitution?” he said.

When Mulinde converted from Islam to Christianity, his family drove him away with clubs and machetes. Since then, he has suffered numerous life-threatening attacks. In 1995 at Mbiji, he was attacked with clubs but managed to escape. In 1998 he was attacked at Kangulomila near Jinja town. In 2000 in Masaka, Muslims bribed the area district commissioner to declare Mulinde’s meetings illegal; Muslims stormed into one of the meetings and dragged him out, beating him till he lost consciousness. Police saved him.

In 2001 in Busia, while addressing another meeting, a Muslim extremist narrowly missed killing him with a sword. In 1994, he survived a gun attack at Natete, near Kampala, when a bullet narrowly missed him. He said that as he fell into muddy waters, his Muslim attackers, thinking they had killed him, said, “Allah akbar.”

Because of the threats against him – in October Muslim extremists sent him text messages threatening to assassinate him – Mulinde had relocated to another area in Uganda.

He has vowed to continue fighting for the rights of the former Muslims haunted by radical Islamists.

http://www.christianpost.com/news/muslim-extremists-in-uganda-throw-acid-on-bishop-65903/