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Not Mercenaries
2008-04-10 01:53:00
Mercenary Impulse It bothers me when terms like "mercenary" are thrown around. Technically a mercenary army would be engaged in offensive operations, rather than protective details or site security. Should we also refer to the security guards at the mall as mercenaries? Specifically private military corporations (like Blackwater) are working at the behest of the government, so the "paid to fight" aspect is a bit disingenuous. I do agree with the authors questions about the legal grey area that these companies are working in.
More About: Commentary , Mercenaries

Scenario Specificity
2008-04-10 00:29:00
If you read enough of the books, forums, and websites you will find that different definitions of a scenario is a common problem. The reason this becomes a problem is that people will find and latch on to some small theoretical detail and use that as the solution to the scenario. In the software field this would be called a 'hack.' For training purposes I am not really interested in a solution that only solves a corner-case. I am interested in broad, robust solutions. Simple procedures that solve a broad range of problems have a much better chance of being useful that a some gimmick that is particular to a single instance. The single instance that one has a connection to, tends to loom large in our thinking. It is an individual example of fighting the last war. read more
More About: Commentary , Scenario , Mindset , Decision making

Inappropriate Training for Women
2008-04-07 01:20:00
Society teaches us things, all of us. We are conditioned to do certain things and not others by what the social norms are. The problem with this training is that is not necessarily teaching us the proper things to do in many situations. I think this informal training is doubly bad when it comes to women. I believe that women are now in a grey area as far as what our society expects of them. In the course of daily events it probably isn't much of a factor but on the edges or in certain situations this dichotomy creates problems. For example, you are riding on a bus with many empty seats and someone comes along and sits on the seat directly next to you. This is unusual behavior, and the most common reactions among women are to either move seats, or to try to ignore the person. It is rare that a woman would tell the person to move. Women I have asked said that they didn't want to be rude or impolite. read more
More About: For Women , Training , Mindset

Racial Bias in Shootings
2008-04-05 23:42:00
This is an interesting read: Target Practice: Racism and Police Shootings Are No Game Basically there is a computer shoot/no-shoot simulation and it seems that the general population is slightly more likely to shoot black people than white people. The simulation has people holding weapons (shoot targets) and things like cell phones and soda cans (no-shoots.) Apparently police officers do better than general public and exhibit less racial bias. The online version of the simulation can be found here read more
More About: Crime , Bias , Mindset , Racial

Guns on Campus
2008-04-05 22:14:00
On Guns at Universities Some will argue that if there were armed students that it would minimize the effects of such events. Perhaps. But using the NIU sitiuation as an example, if a guy jumps out from behind a curtain into a lecture hall and starts shooting, the surprise factor alone could have allowed him to shoot 22 plus himself, as happened here. Indeed, if some dude in the back row happened to be packing heat and tried to shoot back there would be the whole crossfire problem. read more
More About: Commentary , Campus , Gun rights , Gun Control

Criminals with Anti-Tank Guns
2008-04-05 10:10:00
Anti-Tank Grenade Launcher Seized In Massive Crime Ring Bust The short story is that some drug-dealing, motorcycle thieves got arrested with guns and they had an old WWII Piat anti-tank weapon. It doesn't appear that they had ammo for it. It is worth looking at the "More Weapons Images" link though. The scary arsenal display kind of falls flat: a couple of AK clones, some deer rifles, a few handguns and a shotgun. This is for a operation that arrested 30 people. I am glad the police arrested these guys, I don't blame them for trying to gets some bonus points for the wall of "guns now off the street", but the photo montage by the paper was simply fear mongering.
More About: Commentary , Guns , Anti

Gun Control Opposes Even Passive Defensive Tools
2008-04-05 09:24:00
'Bullet proof hoodie' condemned by gun (control) groups (Retitled because across the atlantic a 'gun group' is against firearms ownership.) Body armor reduces the chance of injury if you are shot, but apparently in Britain that constitutes encouraging violence: But gun control groups said today that the company was practising ?exploitation at its most grotesque?. They predicted a rise in gang violence, saying children would buy the hoodie as a status symbol. Raymond Stevenson, a spokesman for Don?t Trigger, an international anti-gun campaign based in Brixton, London, said: ?It?s not helping kids to provide them with bullet-proof armoury. These companies are just encouraging the escalation of the urban warfare. read more
More About: Tools , Crime , Equipment , Gun Control , Control