Posted by Scott on August 31st, 2006 — Posted in Self-Defense Advice
Safety Tips for International Travel from Zarc.com:
- Select the largest aircraft available, as they are more difficult to seize and control.
- Avoid traveling first class. This area is frequently used as a hijacker command post.
- Take direct flights to your destination; it reduces your exposure odds to terrorist activity.
- Use your name and business address on luggage tags, but avoid company identification.
- Avoid aisle seats; they make you more vulnerable to the attacks of a hijacker.
- Travel light and lock your luggage. Avoid expensive or conspicuous luggage.
- Take only essential identification with you (i.e., passport, drivers license). Carry business cards in your luggage versus on your person. Keep your passport with you at all times.
- Don’t carry a large amount of cash, sensitive or classified information.
- Avoid large crowds at airports and move as quickly as possible to an area beyond the first security check point.
- Maintain a low profile.
- Avoid business suits; dress casually.
- In a high risk country, make sure the U.S. Embassy has your itinerary.
- Know how to ask for U.S. Embassy personnel, the police, or a doctor in the language of the country you are visiting.
- Know how to use local pay telephones.
- Always have some foreign currency available upon your arrival.
- Be aware of your surroundings and a possible means of exit at all times.
Get more security tips at Zarc.com
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Posted by Scott on August 30th, 2006 — Posted in Politics & Commentary
“Few issues have been more hotly debated recently than gun ownership. On one side are those who wish that all guns begone, on the other, millions who would fight to keep them.”
The author of a-human-right.com grew up in the USSR and knows a few things about self-defense and what happens when the government revokes gun rights. Although I disagree with his belief that guns provide more safety than pepper-spray and tasers, his website provides a lot of great information for anyone interested in both self-defense and/or gun-rights.
“I and other pro-self defense people abhor violence. We do not, however, expect to be left alone merely by appealing to the best nature of others. While most people live and let live, the exceptions to that practice have to be deterred from preying on lawful humans. That applies to equally the freelance criminals and government thugs. We only have the freedom of expression and other Constitutionally-enumerated rights as long as we stay vigilant.”
Guns: a liability or a useful tool?
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Posted by Scott on August 28th, 2006 — Posted in Self-Defense Advice
I just found a new site called No Nonsense Self-Defense. The site is packed with information on self-defense and security. The site provides “you with free, easy-to-use information to keep you safe from crime and violence, including robbery and rape. Our goal is is to assist you achieve personal safety. The information we provide is tailored for your needs in the modern world. You will find a wide spectrum of crime prevention information, including home security, property protection, robbery prevention and self-defense.”
“An overwhelming majority of our recommendations are non-violent and should have no negative impact on your lifestyle. While the ability to defend yourself is important, we believe that common sense preventative actions are a far more reliable way to ensure your personal safety and the safety of your family. You don’t have to pay money, learn a martial art, buy a gun or become paranoid in order to be safe. All you need are to know the details of the problems and then use a little common sense. After that, it’s easy. When it comes to crime and violence, the old saying ‘an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure’ is not only true, but a potential life saver. The hardest part is doing your homework before you find yourself in a situation — and that is what you are doing now.”
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Posted by Scott on August 27th, 2006 — Posted in Self-Defense Advice
The real trick to self-defense involves preventing an attack before it happens, not violently defending oneself while the attack happens. That’s the wise advice from a great kidshealth.org article on self-defense. Although KidsHealth geared their advice towards teens, the rule applies to everyone.
As the article correctly says, many people think of self-defense as a karate kick to the groin or jab in the eyes of an attacker. But self-defense actually means doing everything possible to avoid fighting someone who threatens or attacks you. Self-defense is all about using your smarts - not your fists.
Also, the article mentions a great tip for late-night walking: A dog can provide protection by acting as both defender and alarm. By bringing a dog along, a walker can easily stay safe.
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Posted by Scott on August 26th, 2006 — Posted in Domestic Abuse, Facts and Stats
Unfortunately, domestic violence persists to plague America. To successfully protect ourselves, our friends, and our families, we must recognize the reality and prevalence of domestic abuse. EndAbuse.org provides many facts on their website. These are some:
- Estimates range from 960,000 incidents of violence against a current or former spouse, boyfriend, or girlfriend per year to three million women who are physically abused by their husband or boyfriend per year.
- Around the world, at least one in every three women has been beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused during her lifetime.
- On average, more than three women are murdered by their husbands or boyfriends in this country every day. In 2000, 1,247 women were killed by an intimate partner. The same year, 440 men were killed by an intimate partner.
- Three in four women (76 percent) who reported they had been raped and/or physically assaulted since age 18 said that a current or former husband, cohabiting partner, or date committed the assault.
Read more facts here: http://www.endabuse.org/resources/facts/
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Posted by Scott on August 24th, 2006 — Posted in Self-Defense Advice
Self-defense isn’t pretty, it’s nasty. If you want to be able to defend yourself by hand, when necessary, you have to be prepared to use hardcore techniques that will get the job done.
U.S. Army Special Forces veteran Larry Jordan was given a unique assignment by his commanders: come up with a truly down-and-dirty hand-to-hand fighting system for his fellow Green Berets and U.S. Army Rangers. The goal of this system was to give soldiers a handful of hard-core techniques that could be easily learned, easily mastered and effectively applied in any close-combat situation. Jordan devised a set of 12 techniques that were surprisingly simple, shockingly fast and brutally effective. He has now adapted this military system for civilian self-defense. He calls it “The Dirty Dozen.” The 12 self-defense lessons in this book are specifically designed to provide the average citizen with a series of easily learned techniques that will enable him or her to prevail in any violent situation. Besides the ever-present threat of violent crime, the recent terrorist attacks on 9/11 show that people can no longer rely on “somebody else” to protect them. Preparing to resist and defeat evildoers is everyone’s responsibility now. That’s where The Dirty Dozen comes in.
You can use Amazon to purchase Jordan’s book, Dirty Dozen: 12 Nasty Fighting Techniques For Any Self-Defense Situation.
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Posted by Scott on August 23rd, 2006 — Posted in Politics & Commentary
I just read a great a great article on self-defense by R. Lee Wrights, of the Libertarian Party of North Carolina http://www.lpnc.org. In his article, The Sanity Of Self-Defense, he explains why people need to take their defense into their own hands, and not relinquish their liberty and responsibility to governments for the promise of safety.I completely agree with R. Lee Wrights for the same reason I agree with Benjamin Franklin , who famously said that those that would give up their freedom for safety deserve neither. It’s especially stupid to disregard the advice of Wrights and Franklin, because the only “safety” achieved is an illusion. Governments never provide, and can’t provide, real safety.
Why would people give up their freedom for the illusion of safety? As I said, these people don’t want to take responsibility for themselves; they’re irresponsible. As George Bernard Shaw said, “Liberty means responsibility. That’s why most men dread it.”
The only way we can be truly safe is to take responsibility for our own safety, and minimize the intrusion of in our achievement of that end. They key is self-defense not government.
Here’s my favorite excerpts from the R. Lee Wrights Article:
“When I was a youngster, growing up in the turbulent ’60’s, I learned quickly that self-defense was the most basic instinct instilled in mankind. I discovered, mostly out of necessity, that there is nothing stronger in human nature than the drive for self-preservation. I also learned that defense of self cannot be trusted to the hands of others that share the same natural disposition of self first. I learned that rarely was anyone in a position of authority around when I really needed them. In other words, those who were charged with my safety proved incapable of rendering the service.”
“…those charged with my personal safety, i.e., the police and politicians, were not likely to be in the vicinity when I actually needed protection. The older I got the more apparent it became that the real insanity in the area of self-defense was relinquishing the responsibility of self-preservation to groups or governments that could not possibly protect me.”
“And what forty-three years of experience has taught me is that surrendering the responsibility for our own personal security, in exchange for a mere promise of safety, is anything but sane. In every instance of my life when I needed protection I have taken the initiative of self-defense because without it there would have been no defense at all. It has been from necessity, not desire, that I have had to defend my person and property.”
Read the article: http://www.libertyforall.net/?p=19
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Posted by Scott on August 21st, 2006 — Posted in City Safety, Self-Defense Advice
City Safety: Beyond the Basics
by Jennifer Shukla
I may not be an expert on safety, but I do have a degree in psychology and have worked in a criminal law office, so I know a little about how criminals think. Plus, I’ve lived in lots of cities with high crime rates including New York, Boston, Washington D.C, and Philadelphia and picked up a few safety tips along the way that I’d like to share.
Anyone living in a city and concerned about safety has heard the basics a million times: don’t walk alone at night, stay in well lit areas, etc. Now, I’m not suggesting that you disregard this advice because it’s good important advice to stick to as much as you can. But, I do know that realistically there are times when you just can’t stick to those basics for some reason. The friend you are visiting lives in a dimly lit alley or you got a headache at a party and decided to head home earlier than everyone else. In those kinds of situations, keep these tips in mind:
REMEMBER ATTACKERS PREY ON VICTIMS WHO ARE ALONE:
If you are alone, your attacker doesn’t have to know that. If you sense danger or are approached by an attacker, one of your best chances of escape is to seek out other people. If you’re close to any open store or populated building, go inside and talk to somebody. If you are near any people at all (other than the potential attacker), approach a group of random strangers and pretend you know them. If you walk up to a stranger and enthusiastically say “It’s so great to see you again,” most people will instinctively respond as though they know you, because they don’t want to admit they’ve forgotten who you are. You’ll have plenty of time to explain the situation once the attacker moves on. You might feel silly, but attackers prey on victims who are alone. If you can fool your attacker into thinking you are with people, the attacker will move on and find a new victim.
USE YOUR CELL PHONE:
A lot of experts disagree with me on this point and say that you should always be aware of your surroundings and not distracted by a phone conversation. I say it’s the opposite: would-be muggers, robbers, or rapists are fundamentally afraid of being caught. If they know that you are talking to someone else who might know exactly where you are, they won’t attack you because they will be afraid that the person on the other end of the phone will call the police or come to your aid. I say anytime you are walking alone in a city, call a friend or call a family member. If it’s too late to call anyone, just pretend to call someone and have a fake conversation. You might feel silly, but no one else knows whether there is someone on the line with you. As long as you’re on the phone with someone, let them know where you are and what route you will be taking. That way if something ever did happen to you, your friend could notify the police or your family and at least they would have a good lead and know where to look for you.
HAVE YOUR SAFETY DEVICE ACCESSIBLE:
It’s always a good idea to carry some sort of pepper spray, stun gun, or other legal safety device. But, that device won’t do you any good if it is buried at the bottom of your bag. An attacker will not politely wait as you dig through your books, papers, iPod, and other stuff to find your pepper spray. Instead, if you are going to carry a safety device, keep it somewhere you can grab it quickly. If you don’t have a safety device, consider keeping your car keys or apartment key in your hands. It looks perfectly natural to carry keys and a quick jab with a metal key in the face or crotch can give you a few crucial seconds to escape.
YELL FIRE OR SING LOUDLY FOR HELP:
Sadly, most people don’t respond to the words help or rape. Maybe it’s a fear of being put in danger themselves or an assumption that someone else will hear the cry and provide the needed aid. In any event, screaming help or rape is not very likely to cause people to run over to help you. If you find yourself in danger, scream something like “FIRE,” “OH MY GOD!,” or “WOW!” Or you can sing really loudly or bang on things near you. They idea is to make a loud sound that makes people curious rather than sounds like you are asking for help. Curious people are much more likely to come see what the racket is all about. Once they observe your predicament, they will be more likely to help than if they had heard a cry for help in the first place.
LISTEN TO YOUR INTUITION:
This is the most important advice I can give you. The human body is amazing and can often detect danger at a subconscious level long before you have any cognitive indication that you are in trouble. What I’m talking about here is a gut feeling that something isn’t right or that you’re in danger even when you can’t put your finger on any specific hazard. When you get that hunch or intuition, listen to that feeling and get yourself out of the situation fast. You might be concerned that if you overreact and are wrong about being in danger, you will be embarrassed or feel awkward. But consider this, mere embarrassment is far better than being raped, mugged, or attacked. I’ve only experienced a really strong feeling that I was in danger once in my life; here is that story…
While living in the financial district of New York City, I planned to meet some friends in mid-town for a few drinks one night. I decided it was only 10:00 p.m. and not that late, so I decided to walk the two blocks to the subway station rather than spend the extra money to take a cab. Just after I left my building, I noticed a man start walking behind me. When I turned at the street corner, he also turned. Then when I descended the staircase to enter the subway station, he also entered just a few feet behind me. When I got to the subway station, I saw that the train must have just left because it was deserted and the man behind me was the only other person there. The man wasn’t particularly large and wasn’t carrying a weapon; he wasn’t screaming or trying to attack me, but for some reason every alarm in my body was going off telling me I was in danger. Logically, I told myself that he was probably just a perfectly nice person also waiting for the train, but nonetheless it didn’t feel right to me. I listened to my intuition and quickly walked across the station to the opposite staircase, went up to the street, and jumped in the first cab I saw.
The next morning, a sign was posted in my building stating that a young woman had been raped by a man traveling alone one block from the subway station near my building at 10:30 pm, roughly 30 minutes after I had bolted from the train station. I don’t know whether the rapist was the man that followed me to the subway that night, and I probably never will, but I do know this. I am very glad I listened to my intuition that night and got the hell out of that subway station.
Stay Safe
I can’t promise that if you keep these tips in mind you will be perfectly safe and nothing will ever happen to you. But, I can tell you that you’ll be a lot less likely to be attacked than you otherwise would be if you consider these tips. Just remember these two basic rules: attackers are afraid of being caught, and it’s always better to feel awkward or silly than to be raped, mugged, or attacked.
© Copywrite 2006 Jennifer Shukla. All Rights Reserved.
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Posted by Scott on August 19th, 2006 — Posted in Facts and Stats, Politics & Commentary
I just found an intersting article on the national center for policy analysis about violent crime. The article says that violent crime continues to be a serious problem in the United States despite reports of a decline in the overall crime rate. http://www.ncpa.org/pi/crime/vc.html
The article refers to “revolving-door justice”, which means that violent criminals get released from jail as quickly as they get locked up. The facts mentioned in the article shock; Barely one criminal goes to prison for every 100 violent victimizations, And most violent prisoners serve less than half their sentence behind bars before being released.
Unfortunately, mainly prison overcrowding causes this “revolving-door”. It disgusts me to see violent criminals released back on the streets, where they proceed to threaten and victimize innocent citizens, such as yourself, myself, our families, and our friends. What makes this even more disgusting and even more sad is that this revolving-door could be avoided if only our government would stop wasting resources on victimless crimes. Over 25% of the inmates in the United States are non-violent drug “offenders”. By focusing law enforcement, rehabilitation, and incarceration on violent criminals who victimize other people, rather than wasting resources on victimless “crimes”, the jails would have room for over 33% more violent criminals.
I want innocent citizens defended from victimization. Accordingly, I want the government to stop wasting resources on victimless “crimes” and non-violent non-harmful “offenders”, and I want violent criminals kept in jail until they are rehabilitated and pose no threat to you, me, my family, or friends.
-Scott Hughes
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Posted by Scott on August 17th, 2006 — Posted in Facts and Stats
Here’s a graph of the violent crime rate. I want to take this time to emphasize my immense frustration with the enforcement of victimless crimes - costing U.S. taxpayers billions of dollars a year - when violent crimes are bleeding this country. Find the graph of violent crime below:
Graph From: http://www.publicagenda.org/issues/factfiles_detail.cfm?issue_type=crime&list=1
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Posted by Scott on August 16th, 2006 — Posted in Politics & Commentary
by Christopher Strunk
Crime affects people throughout society because it is everywhere. From simple purse thieves, to violent gang members, crime plagues many of the urban streets today.
Research indicates that many criminals come from impoverished environments. Upon further inspection, the data indicate that many violent criminals are the products of broken homes, and transcended into society with little or no education.
There is little room for question that crime continues to exist today. The remaining question is how to prevent an increase of it each year.
Psychologists try to examine the mentality of various convicted felons, and also attempt to rationalize why such self-destructive behavior is part of the criminal’s lifestyle.
Law enforcement officials continue to patrol and respond to requests from the citizens whom they serve. Arrests are made to curb further violence, but the cycle continues forward. Criminals continue to attack or terrorize fellow citizens in order to illegally obtain financial resources, coveted objects or halleucenogenic substances. They do so for reasons yet explained and countered by the scientific community, and subsequently are not stopped until the crime is being committed or has already been committed.
The question remains as to what society should do in order to stop crimes from happening.
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Posted by Scott on August 15th, 2006 — Posted in Self-Defense Advice
by Keith Pascal
You never know, when someone is going to flip out, and start firing a gun into a restaurant or store filled with innocent people.
It could happen. It has happened. And now we have the threat of terrorism added.
So, how do you stay safe?
Here’s a simple tip, adapted from the world of martial arts.
Many martial artists never sit with their back to a door, or a street-oriented window.
These martial artists always sit with their backs to a wall, ‘facing’ the door. It’s their safety precaution.
This is actually a pretty good idea. Anyone can adapt this tactic for being a little safer in this world.
I do have a suggestion, to make this tip more practical for the non-martial artist:
You don’t necessarily have to be the person with your back to the wall.
It makes more sense to to put the most aware person facing the door. If you are with a group of friends or family, put the person who notices everything in this guard position.
This could be you, or it might be a friend or relative.
This ‘wandering eyes’ person doesn’t have to even be a martial artist. He or she can yell “duck” just as well as a kung fu expert.
This tip gives you a little edge. Take these simple precautions whenever you can. They add up — and one day, a tip like this could save your life.
Remember, to make this tip work, all you need is a Designated Watcher!
About The Author: Keith Pascal is the senior editor of the Free, weekly ezine “Martial Arts Mastery: A Tell-All of Tips, Tactics, and Techniques.” Receive a self defense eBooklet, more practical tips, and some sample issues, when you join. All for Free. Go to: http://www.kerwinbenson.com/?selfgrowth
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