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Brandeis Dissent and McDonald: In 1932, progressive Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis penned one of the most famous passages in American jurisprudence. "It is one of the happy incidents of the federal system," Brandeis wrote in his dissent in New State Ice Co. v. Liebmann, "that a single courageous State may, if its citizens choose, serve as a laboratory, and try novel social and economic experiments without risk to the rest of the country." Since then, Brandeis' famous words have been quoted or referenced countless times, appearing everywhere from legal documents to campaign speeches. Most recently, they surfaced in the arguments leading up to the landmark Second Amendment case McDonald v. Chicago, which the Supreme Court is set to hear in early March 2010… Quite so. In fact, Brandeis himself occasionally shared this skeptical view of state power - at least when it came to state "experiments" on the First Amendment. Just one year earlier, in the case of Near v. Minnesota, Brandeis joined the Court in striking down that state's defamation law as a violation of the freedom of the press. So much for allowing a "courageous" state the free rein to experiment…
http://reason.com/archives/2009/12/31/laboratories-of-repression
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In a Nutshell: Stories of skyrocketing gun sales dominated the headlines earlier this year, with the number of gun-purchase background checks in the first six months of 2009 soaring 25 percent over the same period in 2008. Yet as the NRA points out today, murder in the U.S. has plummetted to a 46-year low (with the largest year-over-year drop since the 1960s) even as gun ownership has risen to an apparent all-time high. Meanwhile, across the pond, gun crime in Britain has risen 89 percent since the UK banned guns in 1997. Some may jump too far in there conclusions, but we can at least say this: There is no evidence from the U.S. experience this decade that higher rates of gun ownership lead to more crime, nor from the British experience this decade that fewer guns translate to less crime.
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/Fewer-guns-less-crime-Not-in-this-world-80433802.html
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Firearm Purchases and No-Fly Lists: …My middle daughter's name seems to be on the No Fly List. Since she's only twelve years old, and neither practices nor endorses acts of political violence, I can only assume there's been some kind of mistake. No one at the airport will tell us how she made the list. They won't even confirm that she's on it. Every time we go to the airport, the electronic kiosk simply refuses to issue her a boarding pass, and we're sent to the ticket counter, where five people look at the whole family's I.D., and then specifically hers, and then someone calls someone, and they call someone, and that person tells the person on the phone, "No, she's a little girl." And eventually we're allowed to run for our flight… So I should hate the No Fly List. Besides the personal inconvenience, it runs counter to a solid third of the Bill of Rights. But I'm conflicted. Because I have a pretty good idea why my daughter's on the list. It's because she has the same name as this guy… In 1993 this IRA thug walked into a fish shop in Belfast with a bomb that went off prematurely (of course) injuring 57 people, including a 79-year-old woman and two two-year-old boys. It also killed ten people, including a thirteen-year-old girl named Leanne Baird, and her little sister, Michelle, seven. Just like Jesus would have wanted… (Being a good "progressive," Mr. Kelly ignores the issue of whether sharing the name of an IRA terrorist should be enough to block his daughter from purchasing a firearm when she is old enough.)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-kelly/my-daughters-on-the-no-fl_b_406847.html
---
Bad Ruling from First Circuit: A case out of the First Circuit has some painful lessons for gun carriers in Georgia. A United States Circuit Court of Appeals last week upheld the constitutionality of pointing a gun at any citizen daring to carry, lawfully, a concealed weapon in public. The First Circuit Court of Appeals is the Court just below the United States Supreme Court in the New England states. The case stems from a lawyer who sued a police officer after he was detained for lawfully carrying a concealed weapon while in possession of a license to carry concealed. According to the case opinion, the lawyer, Greg Schubert, had a pistol concealed under his suit coat, and Mr. Schubert was walking in what the court described as a "high crime area." At some point a police officer, J.B. Stern, who lived up to his last name, caught a glimpse of the attorney's pistol, and he leapt out of his patrol car "in a dynamic and explosive manner" with his gun drawn, pointing it at the attorney's face. Officer Stern "executed a pat-frisk," and Mr. Schubert produced his license to carry a concealed weapon. He was disarmed and ordered to stand in front of the patrol car in the hot sun. At some point, the officer locked him in the back seat of the police car and delivered a lecture. Officer Stern "partially Mirandized Schubert, mentioned the possibility of a criminal charge, and told Schubert that he (Stern) was the only person allowed to carry a weapon on his beat." … (This incident apparently occurred in Springfield MA, home to Smith & Wesson.)
http://www.examiner.com/x-5619-Atlanta-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m12d31-Court-upholds-police-pointing-gun-at-lawful-carriers
http://www.ca1.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/getopn.pl?OPINION=09-1370P.01A
---
Questionable Advice: On numerous Internet forums, and some email lists, gun owners periodically report being hassled by police when pulled over for routine traffic infractions. These gun owners often complain of being detained for longer than necessary to issue a traffic summons, being temporarily disarmed, and having the serial numbers of the guns recorded. But often there is a common thread to these stories – the dorky gun owner brought up the gun thing all on her own! Traffic stop gun dork behavior comes in a variety of flavors, but here are the major ones… And sometimes these gun dorks execute more than one of these behaviors, or one of several others oddities – like my favorite: getting out of their car "to meet the officer on equal ground." … (I suspect that the inappropriate police behavior may be a regional issue. Most shall-issue states do require notification that the permittee is armed. In Arizona, one of the states that does not, most officers do appreciate the courtesy of the notification but I advise my students to word it, "I'm licensed to carry concealed and I am carrying," with no mention of "gun," "weapon" or "firearm" [tip of the hat to Massad Ayoob]. Getting out of your vehicle on your own initiative will be perceived either as a threat or an attempt at distraction by any competent officer.)
http://www.examiner.com/x-2782-DC-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m12d31-Dont-be-a-gun-dork-in-traffic-stops
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Cheaper Than Dirt, STI Follow Barrett's Example: Readers may remember mention here, and in the work of some of my other Gun Rights Examiner colleagues (links beneath the photo), of California's AB 962. This law is designed to make purchase of ammunition that can be used in handguns (and there are very few calibers for which someone hasn't made a handgun) as difficult as possible, short of an outright ban. This, of course, was touted as a major "victory" by the Brady Campaign (and I suppose I can't argue - a defeat for liberty is a victory for the Brady Campaign). In a more recent development, though, blogger Thirdpower points out a possibly unintended consequence of the coming (it goes into effect in February 2011) law. An online retailer of ammunition and shooting accessories, Cheaper Than Dirt, has announced that it will, as of 2011, stop selling ammo not only to private citizens in California, but to government agencies, as well, stating about the new policy that: ". . . it will apply to every individual, business, and agency in CA." …I should also mention that STI (known mostly for very high-end 1911 type pistols) followed the same example (pdf file), in response to passage in California of legislation requiring that all semi-automatic pistols "microstamp" the cartridge case with identifying information - and will no longer sell any of their fine pistols in California, to either private citizens or government agencies. It is gratifying to see principle trump the bottom line at these companies, but without many others following their example, their principled stand will be largely symbolic. I can't afford a Barrett rifle (and would have trouble using one from a wheelchair, anyway) or an STI pisol, but I do buy a fair amount of ammo online. Cheaper Than Dirt will be the first place I look when shopping for ammo. (Principled stands are to be applauded but CTD probably realizes that its image needs polishing after it acquired a reputation for price-gouging during the recent ammunition shortage.)
http://www.examiner.com/x-2581-St-Louis-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m12d31-Online-ammo-retailer-follows-Ronnie-Barretts-principled-example?cid=exrss-St-Louis-Gun-Rights-Examiner
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New York Gunners to Rally at Capitol: Sportsmen and women from all across New York state want to start the new year by sending a message to Albany, and they are going to deliver it themselves. They plan to descend on Albany on Jan. 12, where they will try to get the attention of the New York State Legislature. The message: They are willing to fight for their right to keep and bear arms as provided under the Second Amendment… Organizers of the event are encouraging everyone to call their assemblymen and senators and make an appointment to meet with them in their offices that day. At the very least, they are hoping that you will show up in the well of the LOB between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. to send a message that you care about your gun rights and that you're proud of the contribution your love of the outdoors makes to this state's economy. There are a few buses coming from upstate areas, but I don't know of any that are scheduled from the Hudson Valley. If you would like to make the trip, call (845)635-1606 and hopefully there will be enough interest to pull together a car pool. (Despite being one of the original thirteen states, New York has no RKBA provision in its state constitution.)
http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009912310316
---
Oops, Wrong Coffee Stand: The owner of Sunshine Espresso in Coeur d'Alene [ID] fought fire with fire - literally - when she pulled a handgun on a 17-year-old boy who tried to rob her stand Wednesday morning… Sunshine Espresso owner Michelle Cornelsen said the teen walked up to her stand and demanded cash without showing the gun at first. "He didn't have it at first, he was playing with his pocket, I had a bad feeling though. I had a bad feeling about him," Cornelsen said. What the robber didn't know is that Cornelsen has had her concealed weapons permit for seven years and she had received a new 9mm handgun for Christmas from her husband… She stalled the teen by talking to him about why he was trying to rob her, to which he replied that he didn't have any money. About five minutes into the attempted robbery another customer pulled up to the stand, distracting the would-be robber and giving Cornelsen the opportunity to grab her gun. "Sure enough a customer pulled up on this side and he laid it down on the counter and covered it up with his hand," she said. The teen laid his gun down on the counter, just long enough for Michelle to grab her own gun… (It's unclear if Mrs. Cornelesen was wearing her gun and chose not to draw against a gun already drawn or if she had to access it from somewhere in side her stand. If it was the latter, she may have learned the advantage to keeping it holstered on her person.)
http://www.kxly.com/news/22089081/detail.html
---
Oops, Wrong Convenience Store: It began when two young men with machetes walked into a Union Gap [WA] convenience store early Wednesday morning and demanded cash. What they didn't expect was a second clerk who pulled a handgun and held one of the men until police arrived. The other ran off. It didn't end there. Hours later more than a dozen officers - including the Yakima police SWAT team - encircled a Selah house and after a three-hour standoff forced out three other people suspected in at least one other machete-point robbery in Yakima… Two men, including the second Union Gap robbery suspect, and one woman were arrested… They are being held at Yakima County jail on pending first-degree robbery charges. They are also suspected of another robbery involving men with machetes at a Yakima Walgreen's a few days earlier. Authorities also believe they were involved in two robberies of gas stations in Selah and outside the Yakima Training Center in the past two weeks… (I doubt that Walgreen's allows its employees to be armed at work.)
http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2009/12/30/12-31-31-robbers?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+yhronlinenews+%28Yakima+Herald-Republic+Today%27s+News%29&utm_content=Google+Reader
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Which Was the Greater Factor in Finland Shooting?: Some guy named Ibrahim Shkupolli allegedly killed his ex-wife, went to a shopping mall and randomly killed four more people, then went home and killed himself. This all happened in Helsinki, Finland. The Associated Press was not satisfied with simple reporting on this story, however. It went on to note that Finland has 1.6 million firearms in private hands for a population of 5.3 million. It also notes that "politicians, social workers and religious leaders have all urged tighter gun laws." Let's go to the tape - the most recent International Crime Victimization Survey sponsored by the United Nations. In overall crime victimization, Finland ranked 22 out of the 30 surveyed. It's crime rate was below England's, Denmark's, Canada's, Sweden's, Norway's and that of 16 other countries - none of whom are famous for loose gun laws… If the AP wants to connect some dots, I suggest it pay more attention to the name "Ibrahim Shkupolli" and less to Finland's gun laws… The Guardian links to a spreadsheet that does have homicide rates for 199 countries. Finland ranks 127 on that list. Reader Melvyn L. Bernstein informs us that Ibrahim Shkupolli is a Kosovar Albanian, not of Arabic descent. (The predominant religion of Kosovo is Islam.)
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2009/12/ap_ignores_arab_surname_of_fin.html
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Tangentially Related: After a determined effort Monday morning to walk back three disastrous words that threatened to rival "heck of a job Brownie," Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano spent the rest of the week in Washington reviewing the department's detection capabilities and increased security and updating President Barack Obama on the assessment Thursday morning. The president seemed to be trying to throw her a lifeline Tuesday when he made it clear that he understood that her statement that "the system worked" referred only to what transpired after Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab boarded his Northwest Airlines flight to Detroit. But Republican critics, who already had Napolitano in their sights, spared no words in criticizing her - and show no inclination to stop… ("Brownie" was Michael D. Brown, George W. Bush's director of FEMA, who resigned in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Janet Napolitano was known to Arizona gunners as "J No." for her vetoes of so many RKBA bills. A recent article suggested that Big Brother may have her in mind to replace Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, who is expected to retire at the end of this term.)
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1209/31092.html
Violence continues to decline worldwide. Oddly enough, the most bloody conflicts (like Congo) get the least media coverage. Reporting tends to be distorted by the need to attract eyeballs, and revenue. For years, Iraq was portrayed as a disaster until, suddenly, the enemy was crushed. Even that was not considered exciting enough to warrant much attention, and that story is still poorly covered by the mass media. Same pattern is playing out in Afghanistan, where the defeats of the Taliban, and triumph of the drug gangs, go unreported or distorted. If you step back and take a look at all the wars going on, a more accurate picture emerges. Worldwide, violence continues to decline, as it has for most of the decade. For example, violence has greatly diminished, or disappeared completely, in places like Iraq, Nepal, Haiti, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Chechnya, Congo, Indonesia and Burundi. Even Afghanistan, touted as the new war zone, was not nearly as violent this past six months as the headlines would deceive you into believing…
http://www.strategypage.com/qnd/wars/articles/20100101.aspx
---
http://reason.com/archives/2009/12/31/laboratories-of-repression
----
In a Nutshell: Stories of skyrocketing gun sales dominated the headlines earlier this year, with the number of gun-purchase background checks in the first six months of 2009 soaring 25 percent over the same period in 2008. Yet as the NRA points out today, murder in the U.S. has plummetted to a 46-year low (with the largest year-over-year drop since the 1960s) even as gun ownership has risen to an apparent all-time high. Meanwhile, across the pond, gun crime in Britain has risen 89 percent since the UK banned guns in 1997. Some may jump too far in there conclusions, but we can at least say this: There is no evidence from the U.S. experience this decade that higher rates of gun ownership lead to more crime, nor from the British experience this decade that fewer guns translate to less crime.
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blogs/beltway-confidential/Fewer-guns-less-crime-Not-in-this-world-80433802.html
---
Firearm Purchases and No-Fly Lists: …My middle daughter's name seems to be on the No Fly List. Since she's only twelve years old, and neither practices nor endorses acts of political violence, I can only assume there's been some kind of mistake. No one at the airport will tell us how she made the list. They won't even confirm that she's on it. Every time we go to the airport, the electronic kiosk simply refuses to issue her a boarding pass, and we're sent to the ticket counter, where five people look at the whole family's I.D., and then specifically hers, and then someone calls someone, and they call someone, and that person tells the person on the phone, "No, she's a little girl." And eventually we're allowed to run for our flight… So I should hate the No Fly List. Besides the personal inconvenience, it runs counter to a solid third of the Bill of Rights. But I'm conflicted. Because I have a pretty good idea why my daughter's on the list. It's because she has the same name as this guy… In 1993 this IRA thug walked into a fish shop in Belfast with a bomb that went off prematurely (of course) injuring 57 people, including a 79-year-old woman and two two-year-old boys. It also killed ten people, including a thirteen-year-old girl named Leanne Baird, and her little sister, Michelle, seven. Just like Jesus would have wanted… (Being a good "progressive," Mr. Kelly ignores the issue of whether sharing the name of an IRA terrorist should be enough to block his daughter from purchasing a firearm when she is old enough.)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-kelly/my-daughters-on-the-no-fl_b_406847.html
---
Bad Ruling from First Circuit: A case out of the First Circuit has some painful lessons for gun carriers in Georgia. A United States Circuit Court of Appeals last week upheld the constitutionality of pointing a gun at any citizen daring to carry, lawfully, a concealed weapon in public. The First Circuit Court of Appeals is the Court just below the United States Supreme Court in the New England states. The case stems from a lawyer who sued a police officer after he was detained for lawfully carrying a concealed weapon while in possession of a license to carry concealed. According to the case opinion, the lawyer, Greg Schubert, had a pistol concealed under his suit coat, and Mr. Schubert was walking in what the court described as a "high crime area." At some point a police officer, J.B. Stern, who lived up to his last name, caught a glimpse of the attorney's pistol, and he leapt out of his patrol car "in a dynamic and explosive manner" with his gun drawn, pointing it at the attorney's face. Officer Stern "executed a pat-frisk," and Mr. Schubert produced his license to carry a concealed weapon. He was disarmed and ordered to stand in front of the patrol car in the hot sun. At some point, the officer locked him in the back seat of the police car and delivered a lecture. Officer Stern "partially Mirandized Schubert, mentioned the possibility of a criminal charge, and told Schubert that he (Stern) was the only person allowed to carry a weapon on his beat." … (This incident apparently occurred in Springfield MA, home to Smith & Wesson.)
http://www.examiner.com/x-5619-Atlanta-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m12d31-Court-upholds-police-pointing-gun-at-lawful-carriers
http://www.ca1.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/getopn.pl?OPINION=09-1370P.01A
---
Questionable Advice: On numerous Internet forums, and some email lists, gun owners periodically report being hassled by police when pulled over for routine traffic infractions. These gun owners often complain of being detained for longer than necessary to issue a traffic summons, being temporarily disarmed, and having the serial numbers of the guns recorded. But often there is a common thread to these stories – the dorky gun owner brought up the gun thing all on her own! Traffic stop gun dork behavior comes in a variety of flavors, but here are the major ones… And sometimes these gun dorks execute more than one of these behaviors, or one of several others oddities – like my favorite: getting out of their car "to meet the officer on equal ground." … (I suspect that the inappropriate police behavior may be a regional issue. Most shall-issue states do require notification that the permittee is armed. In Arizona, one of the states that does not, most officers do appreciate the courtesy of the notification but I advise my students to word it, "I'm licensed to carry concealed and I am carrying," with no mention of "gun," "weapon" or "firearm" [tip of the hat to Massad Ayoob]. Getting out of your vehicle on your own initiative will be perceived either as a threat or an attempt at distraction by any competent officer.)
http://www.examiner.com/x-2782-DC-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m12d31-Dont-be-a-gun-dork-in-traffic-stops
---
Cheaper Than Dirt, STI Follow Barrett's Example: Readers may remember mention here, and in the work of some of my other Gun Rights Examiner colleagues (links beneath the photo), of California's AB 962. This law is designed to make purchase of ammunition that can be used in handguns (and there are very few calibers for which someone hasn't made a handgun) as difficult as possible, short of an outright ban. This, of course, was touted as a major "victory" by the Brady Campaign (and I suppose I can't argue - a defeat for liberty is a victory for the Brady Campaign). In a more recent development, though, blogger Thirdpower points out a possibly unintended consequence of the coming (it goes into effect in February 2011) law. An online retailer of ammunition and shooting accessories, Cheaper Than Dirt, has announced that it will, as of 2011, stop selling ammo not only to private citizens in California, but to government agencies, as well, stating about the new policy that: ". . . it will apply to every individual, business, and agency in CA." …I should also mention that STI (known mostly for very high-end 1911 type pistols) followed the same example (pdf file), in response to passage in California of legislation requiring that all semi-automatic pistols "microstamp" the cartridge case with identifying information - and will no longer sell any of their fine pistols in California, to either private citizens or government agencies. It is gratifying to see principle trump the bottom line at these companies, but without many others following their example, their principled stand will be largely symbolic. I can't afford a Barrett rifle (and would have trouble using one from a wheelchair, anyway) or an STI pisol, but I do buy a fair amount of ammo online. Cheaper Than Dirt will be the first place I look when shopping for ammo. (Principled stands are to be applauded but CTD probably realizes that its image needs polishing after it acquired a reputation for price-gouging during the recent ammunition shortage.)
http://www.examiner.com/x-2581-St-Louis-Gun-Rights-Examiner~y2009m12d31-Online-ammo-retailer-follows-Ronnie-Barretts-principled-example?cid=exrss-St-Louis-Gun-Rights-Examiner
---
New York Gunners to Rally at Capitol: Sportsmen and women from all across New York state want to start the new year by sending a message to Albany, and they are going to deliver it themselves. They plan to descend on Albany on Jan. 12, where they will try to get the attention of the New York State Legislature. The message: They are willing to fight for their right to keep and bear arms as provided under the Second Amendment… Organizers of the event are encouraging everyone to call their assemblymen and senators and make an appointment to meet with them in their offices that day. At the very least, they are hoping that you will show up in the well of the LOB between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. to send a message that you care about your gun rights and that you're proud of the contribution your love of the outdoors makes to this state's economy. There are a few buses coming from upstate areas, but I don't know of any that are scheduled from the Hudson Valley. If you would like to make the trip, call (845)635-1606 and hopefully there will be enough interest to pull together a car pool. (Despite being one of the original thirteen states, New York has no RKBA provision in its state constitution.)
http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009912310316
---
Oops, Wrong Coffee Stand: The owner of Sunshine Espresso in Coeur d'Alene [ID] fought fire with fire - literally - when she pulled a handgun on a 17-year-old boy who tried to rob her stand Wednesday morning… Sunshine Espresso owner Michelle Cornelsen said the teen walked up to her stand and demanded cash without showing the gun at first. "He didn't have it at first, he was playing with his pocket, I had a bad feeling though. I had a bad feeling about him," Cornelsen said. What the robber didn't know is that Cornelsen has had her concealed weapons permit for seven years and she had received a new 9mm handgun for Christmas from her husband… She stalled the teen by talking to him about why he was trying to rob her, to which he replied that he didn't have any money. About five minutes into the attempted robbery another customer pulled up to the stand, distracting the would-be robber and giving Cornelsen the opportunity to grab her gun. "Sure enough a customer pulled up on this side and he laid it down on the counter and covered it up with his hand," she said. The teen laid his gun down on the counter, just long enough for Michelle to grab her own gun… (It's unclear if Mrs. Cornelesen was wearing her gun and chose not to draw against a gun already drawn or if she had to access it from somewhere in side her stand. If it was the latter, she may have learned the advantage to keeping it holstered on her person.)
http://www.kxly.com/news/22089081/detail.html
---
Oops, Wrong Convenience Store: It began when two young men with machetes walked into a Union Gap [WA] convenience store early Wednesday morning and demanded cash. What they didn't expect was a second clerk who pulled a handgun and held one of the men until police arrived. The other ran off. It didn't end there. Hours later more than a dozen officers - including the Yakima police SWAT team - encircled a Selah house and after a three-hour standoff forced out three other people suspected in at least one other machete-point robbery in Yakima… Two men, including the second Union Gap robbery suspect, and one woman were arrested… They are being held at Yakima County jail on pending first-degree robbery charges. They are also suspected of another robbery involving men with machetes at a Yakima Walgreen's a few days earlier. Authorities also believe they were involved in two robberies of gas stations in Selah and outside the Yakima Training Center in the past two weeks… (I doubt that Walgreen's allows its employees to be armed at work.)
http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2009/12/30/12-31-31-robbers?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+yhronlinenews+%28Yakima+Herald-Republic+Today%27s+News%29&utm_content=Google+Reader
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Which Was the Greater Factor in Finland Shooting?: Some guy named Ibrahim Shkupolli allegedly killed his ex-wife, went to a shopping mall and randomly killed four more people, then went home and killed himself. This all happened in Helsinki, Finland. The Associated Press was not satisfied with simple reporting on this story, however. It went on to note that Finland has 1.6 million firearms in private hands for a population of 5.3 million. It also notes that "politicians, social workers and religious leaders have all urged tighter gun laws." Let's go to the tape - the most recent International Crime Victimization Survey sponsored by the United Nations. In overall crime victimization, Finland ranked 22 out of the 30 surveyed. It's crime rate was below England's, Denmark's, Canada's, Sweden's, Norway's and that of 16 other countries - none of whom are famous for loose gun laws… If the AP wants to connect some dots, I suggest it pay more attention to the name "Ibrahim Shkupolli" and less to Finland's gun laws… The Guardian links to a spreadsheet that does have homicide rates for 199 countries. Finland ranks 127 on that list. Reader Melvyn L. Bernstein informs us that Ibrahim Shkupolli is a Kosovar Albanian, not of Arabic descent. (The predominant religion of Kosovo is Islam.)
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2009/12/ap_ignores_arab_surname_of_fin.html
---
Tangentially Related: After a determined effort Monday morning to walk back three disastrous words that threatened to rival "heck of a job Brownie," Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano spent the rest of the week in Washington reviewing the department's detection capabilities and increased security and updating President Barack Obama on the assessment Thursday morning. The president seemed to be trying to throw her a lifeline Tuesday when he made it clear that he understood that her statement that "the system worked" referred only to what transpired after Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab boarded his Northwest Airlines flight to Detroit. But Republican critics, who already had Napolitano in their sights, spared no words in criticizing her - and show no inclination to stop… ("Brownie" was Michael D. Brown, George W. Bush's director of FEMA, who resigned in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Janet Napolitano was known to Arizona gunners as "J No." for her vetoes of so many RKBA bills. A recent article suggested that Big Brother may have her in mind to replace Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, who is expected to retire at the end of this term.)
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1209/31092.html
Violence continues to decline worldwide. Oddly enough, the most bloody conflicts (like Congo) get the least media coverage. Reporting tends to be distorted by the need to attract eyeballs, and revenue. For years, Iraq was portrayed as a disaster until, suddenly, the enemy was crushed. Even that was not considered exciting enough to warrant much attention, and that story is still poorly covered by the mass media. Same pattern is playing out in Afghanistan, where the defeats of the Taliban, and triumph of the drug gangs, go unreported or distorted. If you step back and take a look at all the wars going on, a more accurate picture emerges. Worldwide, violence continues to decline, as it has for most of the decade. For example, violence has greatly diminished, or disappeared completely, in places like Iraq, Nepal, Haiti, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Chechnya, Congo, Indonesia and Burundi. Even Afghanistan, touted as the new war zone, was not nearly as violent this past six months as the headlines would deceive you into believing…
http://www.strategypage.com/qnd/wars/articles/20100101.aspx
---
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