Gun Crime UP 27% in England:

You've heard the story about mushrooms haven't you .. kept in the dark and fed on bullshit.

UK national figures reveal the number of crimes involving firearms in England and Wales increased by 27% to 6,696 in the year ending June 2017.

But .. But I thought guns were BANNED there?

Their police reaction to this horrendous increase in gun crime was to announce a firearms amnesty asking Grannies and widows to check their lofts for antiques, collectibles and any old air guns that they can find ... to get them off the street !

I'd say that it's about time that our British & NZ leaders get-off the 'GUNS bandwagon' and face the real issue of CRIME and proper resourcing of LAW ENFORCEMENT.

Basically what folk need (and pay taxes for) from government are FOUR issues:

Law & Order and Defense.

Health Services.

Social Services (inc. Pensions).

Education.

- Aren't ALL four of these suffering badly from cuts and under-funding?

- Didn't some bullshit artist recently offer to "Clean out The Swamp"?

Marty K.

Criminal's Guns - Only 1/100 Was Licensed:

The excellent 'KIWI GUN BLOG' has managed, after appeals to the Ombudsman, - to get some answers from the Police... Result:

Only one gun used in a hundred firearms crimes here was legally owned by a Firearms Licence Holder.

and:

Only two guns out of one hundred weapons used in crimes were classed as 'MSSA's. (so called "assault weapons")

- Good to get to the truth eventually eh.

https://kiwigunblog.wordpress.com/2017/11/27/only-one-in-one-hundred-gun-crimes-are-committed-by-firearm-license-holders/

Marty K.

Guns, Drugs, & Weddings?

US Drug overdose deaths due to opioid use increased 21% in 2016; 64,070 Americans died as a result of opioid use in the last year.

How's The War Against Drugs Going Then?

While any violent attack on the innocent is horrible & shocking - the figures are fact ... twice as many Americans are dying from drugs as from guns:

There are roughly 33,000 US gun violence deaths each year (- of these nearly two-thirds are suicides or accidental).

Donnie Trump says that he will announce a drugs State of National emergency.

Meanwhile back in the UK of E,S,W & N-I the BBC reports that 1 Billion Pounds of tax is being fraudulently avoided every year by imported goods not paying VAT - but don't worry about it as there's going to be a Royal Wedding. - YIPPEEE - Prince Harry and Meghan have told Granny that they are going to get spliced.

We're In The Money - We're in ...

- That should ensure a few more PEERS.
 Including the 26 bishops - there are  799 unelected LORDS being paid to sit in the UK's "House of Lords" - properly called 'The Right Honourable the Lords Spiritual and Temporal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled'.

(There are 650 elected representative commoner MPs).

Austerity ... Brexit ... Guns ... Opioids  - New Headline ...

Here in British New Zealand - It's not unusual to hear complaining about our 120 MPs !

Marty K.

NZ Court Sentences For Homicide & Gun Crime:

I'm not claiming that my thinking here is particularly original or singular. Many others may have voiced similar sentiments - I've said before in a couple of my x808 posts - it's hard to be an original eh:

 - One Tiffany Sutcliffe has just been sentenced here in New Zealand for killing a  her male companion (flatmate) with a single barreled shotgun. - She pointed the illegal gun at her victim - asked if it was loaded, then pulled the trigger - blasting her victim just under his armpit. - As he died, Williamson answered “Of course it’s loaded, you stupid slut” 

She then hid the gun and dragged the dead body out to the door step.

23 year old Sutcliffe was sentenced to three years and one month prison for manslaughter?? .. meaning that she will likely serve around ONE YEAR.

You might care to contrast that with South African 'blade runner' Oscar Pistorius who shot his girl friend and has just had his prison sentence increased to thirteen years & five months.

I am so old that I can remember a time when shooting and killing someone was regarded as a serious matter.

No wonder gang members and other disadvantaged persons seem to laugh at the law ... and their victims.

Marty K.

P.S. I had a friend who's home was burgled and damaged by a misguided disadvantaged youth. - He was subsequently called to attend a "youth justice family group conference" or some such slap with a wet bus ticket - and when the presiding youth aid or probation officer left the room for a minute the burglar/raider sat there repeatedly giving his victim "the finger" and pulling faces.
.. When told of this .. the Official just shrugged.

I have heard of scum 'disadvantaged young citizens' such as these described as "a waste of space".
M.K.

Auckland Shooting Club Cleared To Operate:

I am pleased to hear that the four 25 meter ranges at the Auckland Shooting Club are open seven days a week:

Auckland Shooting Club Certificate of Compliance was challenged and I am pleased to announce that the Certificate of Compliance has been upheld following a dispute with Auckland Council. The Club is open and operating as normal.

Marty K.

Domestic Security Requirements - All Heart:

I recently responded by e-mail to our NZ Police regarding their proposed further security requirement for legal licensed firearms users.- They are suggesting that the standards contained in current law need to be changed to much more expensive & inconvenient storage security levels. The Firearms Office staff have an ongoing history of imposing "regulations"  and "policy" that do not exist in law.

- They want to exclude lockable Gun Racks and timber construction Gun Cabinets .. and they seem to propose that there should be two classes of  'A' category long-arms - semi-auto and other.

"If crime is at such a level as to produce a genuine problem of burglary & theft of legally owned firearms from the homes of F.licence holders - the Police would be well advised to step-up their patrols in the near locations of the licence holders as a law enforcement initiative - as required by their statutory duty. 

To fail to provide the required level of police activity to protect Firearms Licence Fee Payers from being targeted by criminals must surely expose The Commissioner Of Police to being served a Writ Of Mandamus."

**Mandamus ("We command") is a judicial remedy in the form of an order from a superior court, to any government subordinate court, corporation, or public authority, to do (or forbear from doing) some specific act which that body is obliged under law to do (or refrain from doing), and which is in the nature of public duty, and in certain cases one of a statutory duty. 

One analysis of current NZ Police home gun storage preferences seems to require that fit & proper firearms owners remain defenseless - with their guns locked away and disassembled - when armed thugs invade their homes and assault them to steal more weapons for their gangs to use in crime.

This Safe Complies With NZ Security Regulation For Guns - BUT WRONG. 

Our Police Forbid Lawful Owners From Securing Their Ammunition In The Same Safe !

There are interesting differences in various nations views of "home security":

UK Authorities do not permit their citizens to own any form of handguns or "weapons" for sport or self defense. (Handguns still seem to be increasingly available there for the nutters).

USA citizens are allowed & encouraged to arm themselves with guns to defend their families & enhance their home security.

NZ requires a Firearms Licence and Endorsements for fit & proper gun owners - but wants all firearms to be inaccessible at all times (except for the criminals).

The last time I had an ultra-sound heart scan - the excellent & funny technician told me - on request - that I qualified for his usual Commercial Full Life-time Guarantee of  .. two minutes after leaving, or 25 meters distant 😁. I seem to recall that he came from the 'Breaking Bad' territory of New Mexico.

- That TV series 'Breaking Bad' and it's spin-off  'Better Call Saul' are excellent entertainment eh.

Marty K.

Dirty Fuggers:

Did you know that one of the richest men ever was a Jacob Fugger living from 1459-1525.?

The now three branches of the German Fugger family are Bankers who took over the De' Medici family assets and political influence after the foundation of their wealth was laid-down by Johann Fugger around 1367 when his name first appeared in the Tax Register.

He continued the Fugger dynasty's interests by specializing in copper mining & foundries - the spice trade - Slaves from Africa to America and selling Papal Indulgences & benefices ('Get out of Hell Free' cards).

Jacob Fugger The Rich.

- One current modern branch Fugger von Kirchberg und zu Weissenhorn is today represented by Countess Maria-Elisabeth von Thun und Hohenstein, née countess Fugger, heiress of Kirchberg Castle at Illerkirchberg (bought in 1507 by Jakob Fugger). -  She also heads the charitable family foundations including the Fuggerei in Augsburg and Welden monastery.

That other famous German banking family The Rothchilds - were also engaged in slavery ..

Old money.

Fuggerei in Augsburg.

I thought that you would like to know that.

Marty K.

There is a Golden Rule that does not appear in the bible and it goes like this:  “Right or wrong, them’s with the gold, - rule.”

Three? Kinds Of People:

I heard a lovely "West Indian" sounding lady 'Pauline' on LBC Radio the other day .. she was saying that there might be three kinds of people:

1/- THE HAVES.
2/- THE HAVE-NOTS.
3/- THE HAVE YACHTS.

I really miss those lilting Caribbean accents & music from London. - Another caller said that as a 'have-not' - When he made a mistake - He paid for it.
 - When the Bankers made a mistake - He paid for it.
 - When the Government made mistakes - He paid for it ... When could he stop paying for everything?

Sorry Mate, but that's the "right wing" City establishment's version of social - capital. 😁

Like the radio presenter says: "People? - I've met them, - & you wouldn't like them."

Down here, near Australia and The Antarctic we also have two other kinds of people .. those who can prove that they are law abiding & 'Fit And Proper Persons to have Firearms' (some 247,000) ... and the rest - who can't.

- Strange to say - but these most legitimate and finest members of society seem to be regarded by some as potential law breakers because they have lawful access to a firearm.

There are two other groups of citizens entrusted with use of firearms and other destructive weapons - They are the Police & The Defense Forces.

I have met members of both organisations who should never be allowed near any weapon and certainly would fail to qualify as 'Fit And Proper'.

Then, of course there is a further category of armed & sometimes violent persons & nutters who are illegally using 'guns' in gang warfare and commercial criminal drug commerce - but they all had bad childhoods and deserve to be treated sympathetically as disadvantaged persons.

Charles Manson - One Down.

Marty K.

Paradise Papers (Appleby), Privateers, & Royalty:

When the 'leaked' PARADISE PAPERS revealed that Prince Charles, Queen Elizabeth II & the US Secretary of Commerce were among the millionaires & other 'corporates' ripping-off taxpayers .. I raised my eyebrows in full appreciation that the 'Royals' were sure to be among any group of greedy power-seeking robber-barons wanting to increase and preserve their wealth.

  - Bloody obvious really - as royals have been handing out "Letters of Marque" to pirates and Privateers - licenses to rob & kill on commission ("a royalty") since the 13th Century.

Elizabeth II is reckoned to be worth some 415 Million Pounds with an income of around 82 Million every year. - She obviously needs to use Appleby's off-shore tax shelters to keep the pennies from the British Treasury.

Sixteenth Century Sir Francis Drake (English hero that played bowls on Plymouth Hoe - then said to have used fire ships to smash the Spanish Armada) - was not much more than a pirate licensed by Elizabeth I to plunder all comers in return for a rake-off. - Same bloke is supposed to have introduced the Brits to potatoes and tobacco  ... but more likely it was Italian Cristoforo Colombo.

Appleby's tax-haven bases in Bermuda, British Virgin Islands & The Caymens - along with the Bahamas were the centers for counting & banking the treasure chests of Privateers and other Pirates & Buccaneers activities for centuries.

Bermuda Sloops Were Developed  Precisely For Pirating Caribbean & Central American Waters.

- It's Traditional.

Only occasionally did it go wrong .. Captain Kidd was presented with a letter of marque, signed personally by King William III of England. This letter reserved 10% of the loot for the Crown, and Henry Gilbert's The Book of Pirates suggests that the king may have fronted some of the money for the voyage himself .. but Captain William Kidd  got hung and gibbeted in 1710 in political "confusion" - by mistake?

- Not every adventurer or privateer ends-up living happily thereafter. - any more than every venture capitalist succeeds in keeping out of jail (or becoming a Prime Minister).

- For 'Privateer' you can now read 'off-shore legal services provider'.

Marty K.

Henry US Survival Rifle .22"(AR7):

Remember the Armalite AR 7  ? - a .22" rim fire "Survival rifle" that broke-down for storage and fitted up it's own butt stock - They were a 😈Banned Import😈  here in New Zealand - but there were some early examples around that were very highly prized (and highly priced) by their owners.

There are various stories as to WHY they were banned from entry - maybe it was because they might be converted into "pistols" with a pistol grip & short barrel (as might any rifle - illegally) - another story was that they could be made to illegally fire fully auto - or maybe the paranoid bloke behind the desk just didn't like the small package they squeezed into - but nobody seems now to know.

ARMALITE AR 7 - With Various Capacity Magazines.

Designed in 1958 by Eugene Stoner of M16 / AR 15 fame - Armalite made these until 1973 when they passed the manufacturing rights to Charter Arms who made them as the AR 7 Explorer .. well it is now being made again in an improved / modified version by Henry Repeating Arms Ltd., and it has been de-restricted by our NZ Police for importation .. well anyway -  they're in your nearest friendly Gun Shop😃

I've seen these low cost Henrys offered for sale here in New Zealand at a price .. Well you judge eh.

In US the official retail price is US$275.00 - but they are being bought priced down to US$230

 - here in "The Land Of The Long White Cloud" they are selling fast at $895 to $995.

My guess at a fair NZ retail price would be around NZ$600. after paying for air-freight, customs clearance fees and added 'Goods & Service Tax'. - But in all fairness - importing and selling firearms here in New Zealand is an involved complicated business conducted under the rather hostile eyes of both NZ Police National Headquarters Firearms Office and the NZ Customs Service .. with no mistakes allowed.

Henry US Survival Rifles are a clever compact design and although a little "clunky" to operate and shoot - they are a novelty item that all enthusiasts will appreciate .. at the right price.

Personally I'd stick with a conventional 'two-two' with a proper fore-end that was ready to go .. without having to peel it out of it's butt-stock and then needing to screw it together. - Sure it is a tidy package for stowing into your F-15 fighter plane cockpit (or your F-150 Truck😎) in case you crash (& survive to walk away) .. and it will float if you throw it into Canterbury's Waimakariri (River Of Cold Rushing Water). 

The "Waimak" Was Listed in 2007 as One of NZ's Ten Most Polluted Rivers

- But Fishers Still Compete In Season To Catch It's Chinook Salmon.

Hickok 45 has a thorough AR 7 review complete with the compulsory gong ringing demo: LINK:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMCBXu-HpoA

Marty K.

Gun Culture & Life & Crime In USA:

Are you too both shocked and perplexed by the ghastly mass killings that are committed by crazed nutters using guns, trucks etc and their often happening in USA? The 'Land of Opportunity' - "The Land Of The Free".

Some possible factors:

USA POPULATION 2016 = 323.1 Million.

According to the US Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), 2,220,300 adults were incarcerated in US federal and state prisons, and county jails in 2013 – about 0.91% of adults (1 in 110) in the U.S. resident population. Additionally, 4,751,400 adults in 2013 (1 in 51) were on probation or on parole.

That's nearly one percent of the American people are in prison - Plus there are close to two percent on parole or probation.
(Approximately 20% of state prisoners and 21% of local jail prisoners have “a recent history” of a mental health condition.)

The US National Adult Literacy Survey undertaken in 1992 revealed that the literacy competence of about 40 million adults was limited to the lowest level, Level 1 which meant they could only understand the simplest written instructions.
The US Institute of Education Sciences has conducted large scale assessments of adult proficiency in 1992 and 2003 showed that 21% to 23% of adult Americans were not "able to locate information in text", could not "make low-level inferences using printed materials", and were unable to "integrate easily identifiable pieces of information." Further, this study showed that 41% to 44% of U.S. adults in the lowest level on the literacy scale (literacy rate of 35 or below) were living in poverty.

"Blind Development"

The official US Poverty Rate is 13.5 percent, based on the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2015 estimates. That year, an estimated 43.1 million Americans lived in poverty according to the official measure. According to supplemental poverty measure, the poverty rate was 14.3 percent. 

"Never give a sucker an even break" ?

• Approximately 1 in 5 adults in the U.S.—43.8 million, or 18.5%—experiences mental illness in a given year.
• Approximately 1 in 25 adults in the U.S.—9.8 million, or 4.0%—experiences a serious mental illness in a given year that substantially interferes with or limits one or more major life activities.

Homelessness in America: A 2000 study estimated the number of such people to be between 2.3 million and 3.5 million. (According to Amnesty International USA, vacant houses outnumber homeless people by five times).

- Certainly there are a lot of guns in America - perhaps more than one for each occupant ...

Look, I'm not just picking-on America - as so many other 'Western' nations have similar poor social standards - and of course then there are those hugely disadvantaged "third world nations".. but the media focus tends to be on the USA. 

- We've come a long way over the years - Progress.

- With those numbers of desperate mentally ill, homeless, poorly educated, poverty stricken,drug addicted lost souls hopelessly wandering about - I'd be very concerned about my personal safety there.

Marty K.

Karamojo Bell on Elephant 'Knock-Down Power'

From his book The Wanderings Of An Elephant Hunter:

"As regards rifles, I will simply state that I have tried the following: .416, .450/.400, .860, .350, .318, .275 and .256. At the time I possessed the double .400 I also had a .275. Sometimes I used one and sometimes the other, and it began to dawn on me that when an elephant was hit in the right place with the .275 it died just as quickly as when hit with the .400, and, vice versa, when the bullet from either rifle was wrongly placed death did not ensue.

 In pursuance of this train of thought I wired both triggers of the double .450/.400 together, so that when I pulled the rear one both barrels went off simultaneously. By doing this I obtained the equivalent of 800 grs. of lead propelled by 120 grs. of cordite. The net result was still the same. If wrongly placed, the 800 grs. from the .400 had no more effect than the 200 grs. from the 275. For years after that I continued to use the .275 and the .256 in all kinds of country and for all kinds of game. Each hunter should use the weapon he has most confidence in.

This sort of record annoys paid-up members of the BIBB ('Bigger Is Better Brigade') - as a missing degree of logic would be needed to grasp the concept.

an electric mixer, a set of saucepans, a cuddly toy ..

e.g. Consider a tiger (or a lion) shot dead using a .303" rifle ... would that tiger be MORE lifeless if a 600 grain .505" Gibbs was substituted?

- My thinking on the matter is - while there may indeed be something in carrying & using the biggest /most powerful caliber arm that one can manage - we need to be aware that a slightly more moderate power level will likely be easier and faster to manage under duress and therefor MORE accurate & deadly.

I like to think (or perhaps pretend?) that I follow logic .. and that the very same writers who often laud the low pressure, big-bore "forty-five" and the Magnums as being the tool for the job - are the same guys who advise down-loading the 357 with 38 Special ammo for "serious social use".

"Neuroscience has begun to tease out the neural underpinnings of prejudice in the human brain. We now know that prejudiced behavior is controlled through a complex neural pathway consisting of cortical and sub-cortical regions.

A brain structure called the amygdala is the seat of classical fear conditioning and emotion in the brain. Psychological research has consistently supported the role of fear in prejudiced behavior. For this reason, the vast majority of brain research on this topic has focused on the amygdala and the cortical regions that influence it."

Marty K.