Gun Culture

Saturday, June 30, 2007

Libertarian UK

A new blog which has some of my favourite bloggers as ‘staff’ writers!
Sounds like a great idea but I am a little disappointed by the site layout.  Given the The Devil himself is credited with the design it is a little ropy at the minute, I’m guessing that this is a case of getting it running now and making it look pretty later?  I tried to read The Englishman’s introductory entry for example and found that the link led to a page which did not contain the full text.  I’m sure these minor niggles will be sorted and we can look forward to something great in the near future.  Good luck folks!

A ‘black helicopter’ moment

Anyone else find this

A controversial raft of tough new powers against terror suspects is being drawn up by Gordon Brown in a move that will cause conflict with his party’s Left wing as well as civil liberties campaigners. 
A previous attempt to increase the detention period to 90 days failed.
The plans involve a fresh attempt to allow police to question suspects for up to 90 days

and this

The UK’s national terrorism threat level has been raised to “critical” after attacks in Glasgow and London

all just a bit too convenient?  A bit too pat, too handy?
New bloke gets the big job, needs something to show what a top calibre leader he is.  Wants to push through new internment detention without charge periods.  Can’t just rush in and do something so unpopular so you need some kind of event to scare the horses.  Oh, here’s a terrorist attack.  What a surprise.
Sound a bit tin foil hat?  Nothing, NOTHING would surprise me from UK Gov. anymore.

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Sniper Cat’s Gonna Getcha

As found on Rimfire Central

Saturday, June 23, 2007

The Things They Say

There’s a whole lot of crap talked, and not just on this blog.
Yesterday I was killing time at the LGS mulling over whether to swap my CZ for a 16” version or wait until the varmint Quad comes out and chop that when a chap came in and started looking at air rifles.  “I like that black one” says he pointing at the Tactical XL.  “Oh yes, I’ve got one of those. They’re quite good” says I.  This would prove to be a mistake.  Chummy tells us how he likes a gun to be a bit bigger (clanging of alarm bells start in my head), he starts to ask the RFD about gas guns and springers before shopkeep is called away.  Chummy then latches on to me and starts telling me about his old air rifle which was “a converted sniper rifle” and “could shoot through one car door and out the other”.  Uh-huh.  Of course it was and of course it could.  Prick.  He then tells me how he wants a small gun to hide with his swords.  Nut job.  Grade A.
Thankfully this nutter did not attempt to buy a gun and wandered off, not before telling me how Frank Bruno was in the shop last time he was in.  Of course he was.  With his mate Osama Bin Laden no doubt.  After he left I joked with shopkeep about the time Bruno was in his shop. “Oh yes, he was up for a friends funeral.  Stayed in the hotel over the road.”

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Death or Glory

I’ve enjoyed reading Michael Yon’s series of articles on his time with British soldiers in the sand box.  I first encountered his writings via Kim firstly reading of his travels with US soldiers.  Michael shows us what it is really like to patrol with the guys, a perspective you will never get from the MSM.  He ends the last in the series of Death or Glory thus

An excellent and professional group of soldiers, doing their best under bad circumstances. They were every bit as good as I had heard.

High praise.

I’m adding a link to his site on the left too.

Arise Sir Rusdie “to improve relations”

When I heard the honours lists included Salman Rushdie I was surprised, when I heard he was to be Knighted I was amazed.  What has that tosser done to deserve Knighting?  So he’s written a book that no-one has read but everyone has heard of, big deal.  If I thought for one moment that the gong was for pissing off the dirka-dirkas I would be all for it, but according to the Daily Mail (yes I know )

The group, which put forward the Indian-born author for the Queen’s birthday honours, believed the decision would improve relations between Britain and Asia.

Exsqueeze me?  Baking powder?  Are you fucking bonkers?  Let’s give a gong to the focus of hate for the Muslim world, that’ll promote peaceful relations between us.
I can only conclude that the comittee has it’s head up its collective arse so far that it cannot see the real world, either that or they really hate Rushdie and figured that it was time for another fatwa.

Saturday, June 16, 2007

I Like Dead Offenders

Me too Ted, me too.

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

“Rights” won and rights lost

One of the things about a private space is that you should be able to set your own bounds of acceptable behaviour.  This should apply even when you open your private space for the public to enter for the purposes of trade, for example a shop or cafe.  Up until July 1st cafes are allowed to restrict smoking for example, if you come into my cafe then you may not smoke an owner may say.  Generally we accept and understand this and if people wish to smoke they are welcome to go elsewhere, although after July 1st they will be shit out of luck.  So we accept that a proprietor can set his own bounds on his own ground.
The propose so called ‘Right to breastfeed’, on the face of it A Good Thing removes some of the rights of the proprietor.  It says that someone cannot prevent a mother whopping her milk bar out in their private property.  I think we can all agree that mothers should be more able to feed the issue of their loins without feeling shunned, however to enshrine this in law is to restrict the rights of property owners and I have a problem with this.  By all means lets try to promote breast feeding and reduce some of the perceived stigma but to be perfectly frank I don’t really wish to be in a top drawer eatery (like Burger King) and have a women bring her milk shake to the yard.  I just don’t know where to look.  I feel like if I’m looking away that I’m ignoring them or looking snooty, and if I look then I am a perv trying to catch a flash.
Anyway back on track, individuals who have the ‘right’ to go elsewhere’ should not expect to impose their ‘rights’ on property owners actual rights - regardless of how noble the motive seems to be.

That Gun Culture of Theirs

From Seattlepi.com via my old Xbox buddy Thorr 59

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Paris Hilton, not dumb anymore

Gawd.  This is starting to look like some kind of Paris Hilton blog.
However I couldn’t let this particular item pass unremarked.  Apparently she said in an interview:

“I used to act dumb. That act is no longer cute.”

No dear, you didn’t act dumb - you are dumb.
Coupla examples?

“Wal-mart… do they like make walls there?”

“I don’t really think, I just walk.”

“I don’t think there’s ever been anyone like me that’s lasted. And I’m going to keep lasting.”

I shall look forward to the new intellectual Paris Hilton which will emerge butterfly like from the chrysalis of prison.

Monday, June 11, 2007

Back in jail biiiaatch!

Absolutely delighted to see that spoilt fucking bitch Paris Hilton’s skinny ass thrown back in jail, I was outraged that she got released after serving about 10 minutes porridge.  You can quite see the judge being pissed that a punishment he had initially ruled not suitable (tagging) given to her.  Trying to avoid coming in to court again probably only served to piss him off even more.
This fucking whore really does think that she is deserving of special treatment and real world laws don’t apply to people like her, I’d like to see the whiny bitch beaten up in jail.

“It’s not fair. It’s not right!”

Cried the poor little rich girl as she was lead from the court.  In fact it is very much fair and very much right.  If you hadn’t repeatedly flouted the law, then you wouldn’t have been in front of the beak in the first case.

Cry me a fucking river bitch.
I can’t for the life of me see why some guys think she’s all that, big conked wonky faced cow.  Obviously I still would though.

Swinging Shooter

Blimey.  People who shoot Practical competitions are used to swinging targets, but what about this course of fire!
The shooter gets in a swinging chair and has to make his shots from there.

From the UKPSA Open 2007 apparently.

Thursday, June 07, 2007

Saudi Kickback Story Rumbles On

Just been listening to Jeremy Vine on Radio 2 who has been covering the story about the alleged kick backs made to some Saudi prince in order to grease the wheels of a big (as in massive) arms deal.  I still can’t get my head around what the big problem is.  Yes we like to think of the British sense of fair play and what solid fellows that we are, but the fact is that Johnny Foreigner doesn’t work by our rules.  When trying to sell to J.  Foreigner you play the game and if that means that he wants a kick back then that’s what you do.  What the real story should be is that the law banning kick backs should never have been passed as it clearly puts us at a disadvantage when selling to these countries where such deals are the norm.
At heart of the reason it is still rattling on is the fact that it was an arms deal, the chattering class doesn’t like arms trade and if they can’t stop it directly then they will find ways of hobbling our industry such as banning kick backs.

Wednesday, June 06, 2007

Copper forgets basic gun safety

Oh how we all laughed when we saw the US cop shooting himself with a Glock when giving a talk to some students.  No doubt some of those laughing loudest were UK firearms police, and yet we’ve all heard the anecdotes about police firearms teams at ranges showing themselves to be quite dangerous with shocking firearms handling, quite regularly we see MP5s on the tv news being pointed at unsafe angles or with fingers on triggers.  The worst part about it is that some of these officers consider themselves firearms experts and the “only ones professional enough” to handle firearms.
So it really was no shock at all to hear of one of these paragons of gun handling expertise shooting a civilian worker in another demonstration.
From an Evening Standard article on the incident

The police source added: “There was a tremendous hoo-haa as it was realised the gun which he was showing off had actually ‘got one up the spout’ and had shot one of his colleagues.
“There was lots of claret (blood) about as a result of the shooting and the officer was immediately suspended and his gun seized.”

These comprise the late, great Jeff Cooper’s Rules of Gun Safety it seems our firearms qualified coppers could do with taking note.

School Setting

Or school ‘streaming’ wherby pupils are sorted into classes of their ability seems to have been in the news lately with the vile Cameron and his coterie stirring the hornets nest of selective education.
I was surprised to hear that setting (as it was called in my school) was not universally practiced.  Amazed would be a better word, or maybe horrified.
I remember in my youth being placed in a class of lesser ability pupils after I was deemed not up to taking German lessons in second year (no idea what the call it these days but it was the 12/13 years region).  I seem to remember missing a couple of weeks, then coming back having missed some vital frech stuff and not really catching up all year, plus of course I’m a lazy bastard.  Anyhow, no where was it more obvious that this class was years behind my ability than in maths.  I vividly recall my dismay at listening to fractions being described as shares and slices of cake - in a secondary school!  This left me bored and disinterested - even more so than usual!  Fortunately a place in the German taking stream became available and I was able to resume classes in a more able group of students.  I can only imagine the effect this could have had on my future, I might have become a tradesman and been quite happy in my lot or I might have just become a bum and dole bludger.  I certainly wouldn’t have progressed to university and be where I am now.  Still not sure if that’s a good thing or not.
The point being of course that setting is essential if able students are to progress without the less able being completely abandoned, schooling must be pitched to it’s audience not to some notionary middle ground one size fits all fantasy class.  It is essential that we recognise that academia is not the route for everyone and stop this pretence that everyone can get a worthwhile degree.