Tag Archives: self defense

Gedaliah and the Bodyguards

Rosh Hashana begins this Wednesday evening, the day G-d created Adam and Eve. The new year of 5778 is just around the corner, a new year filled with new chances, new beginnings, new hope, new dreams, new dangers. WAIT? What? What was that last bit? New DANGERS? Huh? How does that fit in?

On the 24th after Rosh Hashana is Tzom Gedaliah Fast Day. Who was Gedaliah and why are we fasting? From Chabad, the snipped version:

Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylonia, had accomplished his purpose. He had completely subdued the Kingdom of Judah and destroyed its capital of Jerusalem and its most sacred shrine, the Holy Temple. He had slain or captured most of the royal family and the nobility of the land. The upper classes of the Jewish people, including the leaders of the priesthood and the chief civil and military officers, were led captives en masse to Babylon. Many of them were mercilessly put to death at Riblah. Judah was crushed and bereaved of its best sons.

However, Nebuchadnezzar did not wish to turn the land of Judah into a complete desert. He permitted the poorer classes to remain in Judah to till the soil and to tend their vineyards. Over them Nebuchadnezzar had appointed Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, as governor.

Gedaliah was a wise man, gentle and modest. He zealously began to encourage the people to cultivate the fields and vineyards, and thus lay the foundation of security. Under the wise administration of Gedaliah, the Jewish community began to prosper. Its fame began to spread abroad. Many Jews who had fled to places of safety in neighboring lands during the war of destruction were attracted by the news of the revival of the Jewish community in Judah.

Among the refugees who had joined Gedaliah in Mizpah was Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, a descendant of the royal house of Zedekiah, the last king of Judah. Ishmael was an ambitious man who would stop at nothing to attain his goal. The honor and success that Gedaliah had won filled him with cruel jealousy. Ishmael began to plot against Gedaliah.

The conspiracy became known to Johanan, the son of Kareah, a devoted officer of Gedaliah. Johanan warned the governor of the danger threatening his person. Gedaliah, however, being of a true and generous nature, shrank from believing such treachery. When Johanan offered to slay Ishmael secretly before the latter could carry out his evil plans, Gedaliah indignantly rejected the proposal.

Ishmael bided his time. He was invited by the governor to a feast at Mizpah on Rosh Hashanah. Ishmael arrived at the banquet in the company of ten followers. During the feast, the ruthless band attacked and slew the governor. Having assassinated their host, they commenced a terrible massacre. Ishmael murdered many prominent followers of Gedaliah, and put to the sword the small Chaldean garrison stationed at Mizpah. His murderous deed accomplished, Ishmael left Mizpah with many captives, heading for Ammon.

Johanan and a few of his brave men had escaped the massacre, for they were not in Mizpah at that time. When Johanan learned of the terrible tragedy, be rallied additional help and pursued the assassin. Overtaking Ishmael near Gibeon in Benjamin, Johanan succeeded in freeing the captives.

And that was the end of the Jewish community in Judah until the return of the Babylonian exiles in the year 3390 (371 BCE).

Every year brings new and different dangers to us all. I am shamelessly cabbaging this video from Y.B. ben Avraham

How to face those dangers, hmmm. Well, some of the elite are turning to bodyguards. In fact there has been an assertion they are the new status symbol of the wealthy.

When Upper East Side dad Michael planned a French getaway for his family this summer, his first move wasn’t to book a hotel. Instead, he contacted armed guards.

Each morning in Paris, Michael (who requested a pseudonym because of privacy concerns), his wife and their 10-year-old son would stroll out of the Hotel George V, where suites can go for $5,000 a night, to meet their personal security detail: two strapping ex-military men who cost $2,000 a day.

That would be each, and they usually don’t work alone. In case you are in the market, I got these prices from Executive Protection Services. For a private citizen? You know, your average Jane or John Doe, 30 days of continuous Protection – $30,000/month. If you need more, for example you’re anti-gun like Rosie, George or most all of Hollyweird, 30 Day Continuous Protection – $50,000/month or there’s Hollywood Bodyguard Services – $500,000/year.

But I suppose I understand it. What with the four American women just attacked in France by a “mentally ill” woman. Which is how the French now seem to be describing muslim attacks. These women had acid thrown in their faces. A popular activity from the religion of pieces. As I mentioned in another column acid attacks have risen world wide. From the Gateway Pundit

There have been 1,500 recorded acid attacks in London since 2011 according to British media.

The Daily Caller reported that acid attacks in London are up 250% in the last year or so.

Or let’s say you’re Jane or John Doe, who happen to live, work or want to go to the hospital in St. Louis. St. Louis is the site of the latest outbreak of “peaceful protests” against white police killing poor black heroin dealers without any reason other than they backed into a police cruiser as the police were approaching him, then sped off narrowly missing the police officer. The angelic heroin dealer then went on a chase which ended when another officer rammed his car. Both officers got out of their car, the suspect was told to show his hands, that didn’t happen and the police officer in question said the dealer was going for a gun. The state tried to claim the officer planted the gun, the state was unsuccessful in proving that claim and the judge observed

Judge Wilson noted, “Finally, the court observes, based on nearly thirty years on the bench, that an urban heroin dealer not in possession of a firearm would be an anomaly.”

If you haven’t met Kevin Jackson, you should. He’s very cool beans and smart. He runs the Blackosphere. He really is a nice guy. He pretty much lays it out.

"The real tragedy is that Anthony Lamar Smith was dealing heroin and we act as if he's Rosa Parks."On "FOX & Friends Weekend," Kevin Jackson gave his take on the acquittal of a police officer in the killing of Anthony Lamar Smith. http://fxn.ws/2vZxJP7

Posted by Fox News on Saturday, September 16, 2017

Whatever the officer did or didn’t do, whatever the heroin dealer did or didn’t do, the result is the same. A verdict was handed down saying the officer was not guilty. And the now more or less predictable happened. The liberals, antifa, blms protested fascism by becoming a mob of fascists. They rioted, destroyed private property and attacked police officers, injuring 11 of them. There’s a list of the injured and property damage here. They shut down roadways blocking access to two hospitals, basically shut down a shopping mall with the inane saying “you kill our kids we kill your sales”, and broke windows in a Macy’s store while screaming “black lives matter”. Yeah, boy howdy. Nothing says social justice and the heroin dealer was an angel like attacking people and property to prove your point. I don’t feel too bad about Mayor Crewson’s house though. Unlike when Jay Nixon-Demoncrat was Governor though, Governor Eric Greitens is having none of it. Thugs will not be allowed to run amuck without consequences, there have been arrests made and he, unlike Nixon, is backing the police.

I still believe that while there are a few bad apples in every profession, the majority of the police officers do want to help people, do want to save lives and serve. If they get there in time, and if they are around when something bad happens to you, they will help. If you want more assurance than that, perhaps the answer is the personal bodyguards. Isn’t it interesting that all these anti-gun politicians and celebrities have armed personal bodyguards? Of course I still maintain that the first anti-gun vote a politician makes, they should be stripped of their citizen funded bodyguards. They think guns are too dangerous? Fine, live like the rest of us, of course with their salaries, they can probably afford the bodyguards.

The dangers in 5776 were a plenty, some man created like the riots and terrorism, some nature. The result is the same, you may find yourself unexpectedly in a bad situation with bad people. Gedaliah had soldiers, they didn’t stop the assassination. In life there are no guarantees. But there are odds, and there are warnings. Gedaliah was warned, he didn’t want to believe evil in his fellow man. I will. The police may or may not always be good, or they maybe dealing with a massive situation. Bodyguards would be great, they will only focus on who they are hired to protect. If you can afford them. I think the reasonable solution is we are our own bodyguards. For ourselves and our families. As we enter the new year, let us resolve to make 5778 a wonderful and safer year for us all. Let us embrace the possibilities and the joy it offers, but we will not ignore the dangers it brings.

כתיבה וחתימה טובה

Ketivah v’chatima tovah

A good inscription and sealing (in the Book of Life).

Shana Tova
Facebooktwitterredditpinteresttumblrmail

Cowboy Hats and Pink Hats

I recently attended a little hour and a half class called “Is it a Mitzvah to be Happy?” It was wonderful, so it got me thinking about happy things, and about decisions to be happy, and just going down that thought path. Then I read a column by a much favored writer, Jack Engelhard, Beware a country that loses its sense of humor. So, I’m not always very humorous, sarcasm can sometimes be a second language, but I thought I’d take a stab at some humor. So as I understand it, first we need a “set up” for context.

Guns can be dangerous, very dangerous. Probably much too dangerous for women to handle. They are more likely to have them taken away and used on them, or at least so warbles the likes of Shannon T Watts.

For sheer craziness, I offer this. Shannon T Watts and her band of merry loonies have decided to descend on poor Douglass Park neighborhood with a high crime rate. Their goal is to create more disarmed victims. If only Illinois had strict gun control I’m sure all would be well.

Little Shannon T Watts does get a bit mixed up at all the times. Immediately after the tragedy in Charlottesville when the lady was killed by a car, Shannon leapt into action!! She called for stricter control of drivers licensing, more car regulation, nothing that can go over 25 mph (except her car of course which will be unregulated) smaller cars, made of used Walmart bags. Naw, just kidding, she blamed it on guns and called for more gun control. In a unrelated story, I think Shannon T Watts needs to have her drivers license and car confiscated immediately, and I mean right now! The unhinged dingbat can’t tell a gun from a deadly assault car! She’s not safe.

But you know, it’s really only some people that should be left defenseless, like poor people. They should be left defenseless, or at least until men with guns called police can come and help them. If there’s a flood going on, then it could get a bit dicey. But if you’re important, like Shannon T Watts, or Mickey Bloomers, or you’re wearing a pink knitted hat that makes you important, you can see so clearly, you simply do not need a gun! No, certainly not! You just hire armed guards for your pink hatted loon brigade.

Leftist agitators like Linda Sarsour and Shannon Watts hiring armed protection while demanding the rest of us turn in our guns into government bureaucrats is nothing new. Watts does the same every time she shows up to protest at the NRA annual meeting. Former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who pays Watts millions to take away the Second Amendment rights of everyday Americans, doesn’t go anywhere without his security detail.

But, what I say, just what if, they are wrong? What if women really are smart? What if we really can chew bubble gum and shoot at the same time?

So for example, I present this story of a poor miscreant Ronald J. Kelly who decided to rob a thrift store with a shotgun. It was taken away from him by three thrift store employees including a woman, and she proceeded to beat him severely about the head with it. Kid you not. She’s the one that grabbed the gun, the two male co-workers saw what was going on and came and helped her.

Then we have this one,

The resident initially called 911 to report a man was trying to break into her home. She yelled at him, secured her doors and hid her children upstairs, according to a Facebook post from the sheriff’s office.

The woman then armed herself with a handgun.

He then broke in, she shot him. One shot, one hit. Moral of the story, don’t break into houses, don’t break into houses with a BAC of .250, don’t break into houses that don’t belong to Shannon T Watts and Michael Bloomberg, Rahm Emmanuel and such. For some reason Micky B. and Shannon T Watts don’t like this woman? They think she should have submitted helplessly to the drunk man that broke into the home of her and her children. Huh.

From the don’t mess with women, and really don’t mess with old women, and really really don’t mess with old armed women file, this one,

The would-be robber reportedly grabbed the woman’s purse while it rested on her shoulder, at which point, the victim brandished a weapon she had stored inside.

According to the report, the assailant then fled west through the parking lot of the grocery store and behind Belk.

But this sort of thing only happens in the United States, right? Only in the US are women in danger from this “wild west” atmosphere where men walk around with guns and women are forced to cower helplessly! Unless the women are armed and they shoot the thug.

So let’s take a look at Cherán in Mexico. Actually, this whole article is fascinating, with bits like

More than 180,000 people have been killed in Mexico since then-President Felipe Calderon sent the army to fight organized crime groups in his native state of Michoacan in 2006. But one small town in that state says it hasn’t had a homicide since 2011 because its residents — led by women — took up arms to kick out groups who had expanded from drug trafficking into illegal logging. While overall in Michoacán, federal authorities say 614 people have been killed this year, a 16 percent increase from 2016, the people of Cherán say they’ve become immune to serious crime. They expelled the politicians and local police, and community members now patrol the area wearing uniforms emblazoned with the slogan “For Justice, Security and the Restoration of Our Territory.”

The bold bits I put in bold. This article really is quite amazing.

Speaking on the “Wild West”. Have you ever heard of Annie Oakley? Annie was amazing, born into poor financial circumstances, and then her family made destitute with the death of her father. She rose above those circumstances due to her ability to shoot, and shoot very well indeed. Initially she used her skills to feed the family, by providing them food and then selling her game to the shopkeepers in town and also some restaurants. She met her future husband, Frank Butler by beating him in a shooting competition. Who needs match.com, right? Annie had some strong views on women, firearms and their capabilities.

Oakley promoted the service of women in combat operations for the United States armed forces. She wrote a letter to President William McKinley on April 5, 1898, “offering the government the services of a company of 50 ‘lady sharpshooters’ who would provide their own arms and ammunition should the U.S. go to war with Spain.”

Throughout her career, it is believed that Oakley taught upwards of 15,000 women how to use a gun. Oakley believed strongly that it was crucial for women to learn how to use a gun, as not only a form of physical and mental exercise, but also to defend themselves. She said: “I would like to see every woman know how to handle guns as naturally as they know how to handle babies.”

As a side note here, Annie also had trouble with the cnn, mslsd and mainstream media of the day.

Annie Oakley spent much of the next six years winning 54 of 55 libel lawsuits against newspapers. She collected less in judgments than the total of her legal expenses, but she felt that a restored reputation justified the loss of time and money.

Here’s a short film clip, shot in 1894 in Thomas Edison’s studio, of Oakley’s marksmanship: http://bit.ly/2uShYI3

So women can be strong, brave and resourceful. So speaking of strong, resourceful and brave, let me share with you one of my people I regularly check on Twitter. It’s the Daily Freier.

Some of My Best Friends are Freiers. providing fact-based news from Tel Aviv, Israel since 2014. This is like satire and stuff.

Think of freier as meaning fool. The Daily Freier has run a short series that just makes me smile. It’s called Linda Sarsour: Time Traveler. They have done two episodes, so far Linda Sarsour: Time Traveler and Linda Sarsour: Time Traveler. The Golda Meir Episode. I had a great idea for a third episode involving one of my personal heroines, Ruth Moritz. Happily that has not happened, yet. Why do I say yet? Because Ladies and Gentleman, I, your humble lowly scribe, received permission from The Daily Freier to use their format and idea to write a Linda Sarsour: Time Traveler. The Ruth Moritz Episode! Yeah, I’m kind of excited, so here we go.

Linda Sarsour: Time Traveler. The Ruth Moritz Episode

Linda Sarsour

 SCENE: Somewhere in the top of a minaret in Yafo the 10th of June, 1948. Two young women clutching K-98 Mausers regard the approaching Arab mob with an air of sad resolve. Suddenly a woman wearing a Pepto-Bismol pink hijab over what appears to be a culturally appropriated Navajo blanket blazer materializes, Star Trek Style.

Woman in hijab: Are you Ruth Moritz, the Zionist?

The smaller of the two women, takes a firm grip on her rifle and regards the pasty faced woman in a mildly amused fashion.

Ruth: I am, and this is my friend Miriam Aharoni.

Miriam spares a brief glance from the rapidly approaching Arab mob to stare at the gaudy outfit, sniffs and returns to lining up her rifle sights on the mob.

Linda: My name is Linda Sarsour, and I have traveled from the future to inform you two that you are not feminists.

Ruth: Is that right? Well Linda, I think we have a different definition of “feminism” than you and your friends do. You see, we know women are smart enough, capable enough and brave enough to help in the fight to regain our homeland after a few thousand years. We know we can not only chew gum, talk and shoot but unlike what you, your friends and the mainstream media proclaim, we can do it all at the same time.

Miriam loudly pops a bubble, takes aim and fires, a loud yelp is heard from the coming hoard.

Linda screeches indignantly.

Linda: OH.MY.GOSH! You SHOT him! You just SHOT him!

Linda angrily addresses Ruth.

Linda: You are so evil! Someone in your command just used a gun and KILLED someone. I don’t have friends like THAT. I have nice friends! I have famous friends! One of my best friends is Rasmea Odeh. She is SO cool, she would never use one of those evil rifles to kill someone!

Ruth venomously snarls at Linda.

Ruth: Your “friend” helped set a bomb in a crowded supermarket that killed two students and injured nine others. They were civilians, there was no battle going on, you attacked innocents.

The sound of another bubble popping is heard, followed by the crack of a rifle shot and another yelp.

Miriam: That’s it Ruth, I’m out of ammunition.

Ruth: I’ve got a couple left, you keep an eye on Gabby there.

Ruth coolly levels her rifle and takes aim at the two she guesses to be leaders of the mob and drops them both in rapid succession.

Another screech is heard from Linda.

Linda: OH.MY.GOSH!! I am feeling SO microaggressed right now! I need my safe space! Where is my safe space?

Ruth: Well, Linda, there aren’t a whole lot of safe spaces to be had around here. Miriam, what do you think? We could throw her body down the stairs, that would slow their entry up here a bit.

Miriam sizes Linda up.

Linda: Oh my gosh! Look at the time! I have so much to do! I’ve got my Hurricane relief fund to check on. I told people the fund was to help victims of Hurricane Harvey, but it’s really going to help political committees and community organizing after the flood waters recede. It worked really well with my scam on the “Repair the Jewish Cemetery” gig.  Of course if people like Israellycool or The Daily Freier find out about it they’ll blab it to everyone. I hate that! Then TDF will make fun of me. I really hate those people!

The sound of footsteps coming up stairs is getting louder.

Ruth: What do you think Miriam? Throw her or jump?

(Linda dematerializes, Star Trek style. Fade to Black.)

 

Facebooktwitterredditpinteresttumblrmail

#Neve Tzuf Halamish

Allow me to translate the following for you.

In the meantime, a CBS headline on the events read: “3 Palestinians, 3 Israelis killed in violence over Jerusalem shrine.” Fox News reported: “3 Palestinians, 3 Israelis killed in violence over holy site.”

An NBC headline said: “Al Aqsa Mosque Clashes: 6 killed as Jerusalem Shrine Tensions Worsen.” And the New York Times: “Deadly Violence Erupts in Standoff Over Mosque in Jerusalem.”

What this means is, in the middle of Shabbat supper Friday night a 19 year old piece of חרה from a Arabic village came into the home of a family enjoying the meal, and they had gathered to celebrate the birth of a new grandchild that very morning. The terrorist knocked on the door, and as the family had invited the whole community to come share in their joy at the birth of their new grandchild, they opened the door thinking it was one of their guests. He at once began stabbing the family.

The Victims

It seems that Neve Tzuf – Halamish does have a security fence, covered with touch sensors. And if the sensors are tripped it activates an alarm and the security team from Halamish responds. And they did, according to the settlement’s security coordinator, Victor Vaknin. If the volunteers see that the fence has been breached, they call the IDF to come search the area. That didn’t happen Friday night. That part of the fence butts up against some woods, and they thought an animal had triggered it again. The bucket of chum terrorist had worn a white shirt that night, knowing he would blend in, and even if seen, no one would think anything of it. This is the same section of fence that last November three buckets of chum started a fire that destroyed 17 homes and damaged 25 others, according to Victor Vaknin. He said they have asked for additional cameras, and to close the road that the terrorists are using. They’ve been asking for seven months. I heard one report that attempted to blame the security detail for being too slow to respond to the alarm, and implied had they been quicker they might have caught him. Personally I fail to see how such speculation and attempts to deflect guilt for not being able to provide the requested additional resources onto a potential already grieving security group will improve anything.

On Monday, the military said it received the requests from Halamish and passed along its recommendations to the Defense Ministry for final approval, which it has yet to receive.

But this is not new news. Samaria Regional Council reveals government has failed to provide adequate funding to maintain security arrangements in Samaria.

An internal document from the Samaria Regional Council’s security division revealed the existence of serious security failures in many Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria.

The document presents a series of significant gaps in the security systems of dozens of communities, the cost of which would total tens of millions of shekels.

“In some of the council’s communities, the security apparatus is in bad shape and continues to deteriorate, due to the lack of a budget,” the document states.

The Samaria Regional Council noted that a budget of NIS 43.7 million ($12.25 million) will enable the renewal of the security fences, security roads and security lights in the council’s communities.

Chaim and Tzila Fogel live there as well. They are the parents of the Fogel family murdered in 2011. On March 11, 2011, two falestinian terrorists entered the home of Rabbi Ehud and Ruth Fogel and butchered them, and three of their six children. An 11-year-old Yoav, a 4-year-old Elad, and 3-month-old Hadas.

The Fogel Family

So as the bucket of chum slaughtered the family, Michal, the wife of one of the victims, 36 year old Elad Salomon, grabbed 5 small children, stuffed them in a room and as the door had no lock hung on to it and blocked it with her body. She doesn’t know for how long, and called the police. What finally stopped the slaughter was a good guy with a gun. It turns out there was an IDF solider on leave. Not only was he on leave, he was home that night. He heard the screams, grabbed his gun ran over and shot the terrorist through the window. The other victims are Elad’s father, Yosef Salomon, 70, and his sister Haya, 46. His mother Tova was also attacked and stabbed, but she is in hospital. She says the terrorist laughed in her face as he waved the knife.

The soldier’s mother explains how it happened.

In the wake of this the IDF increased patrols and nabbed 25 bucket of chum with ties to Hamass. Among them? A member of the Falestinian Authority legislative council member. You know, the F.A., Israel’s “peace partner”. The town is setting up a new outpost and blocking what they call “the road of death”. Probably a good plan since no one else seems to be helping with that.

So what has been the reaction from the arab world to the slaughter of an old man, and his two middle aged kids?

You REALLY need to watch this, you REALLY do.

https://www.facebook.com/103473109738311/videos/1422678237817785/

And then there is this

Photos of celebrations, these came from IsraellyCool. I follow good people on Twitter. You know this is the typical reaction in the arab world to the slaughter of Jews, right? They also hand out candy.

And how would you feel if your child took the life of three innocent human beings?

Happily, the psycho witch has been arrested now, she has been publicly calling for more Jews to be murdered.

Pieceful Falestinians

So why do these pieceful arabs do this?

One reason, Hate taught in Arab schools caused massacre, and guess what? Our tax dollars pay for this.

President Trump, I don’t think the pieceful falestinians and Abu Mazen took you seriously when you said incitement had to stop. In fact, I know he didn’t. He called for another “Day of Rage”. And the idiots listened. The bucket of chum had written on Facebook earlier that “There is no point to living without the Al-Aqsa Mosque,” had bought his knife days earlier in preparation for carrying out an attack. In fact the Falestinian Authority has picked him up 3 months ago because they suspected him of planning an attack. The metal detectors have been up a little over a week now.

“Living without Al-Aqsa”? Where would the stupid stupid man get an idea like that? Nothing has happened to the mollusk where the arabs store the rocks and Molotov cocktails. Oh, from Abu Mazen and people like the member of the Knesset who went out and incited the arabs to kill and riot.

And then theres this thing about getting along with Jordan. Why? Why on earth should Israel worry about getting along with Jordan and placate the wafk-os. An Israeli security official serving in the Israeli embassy in Amman, Jordan, was wounded Sunday night when he was attacked by a terrorist in his home adjacent to the embassy. Jordan holding Israeli Embassy guard who shot 2 after being stabbed

Why should Americans care about getting along with Jordan and trying to curry their favor? A Jordanian soldier to murdered 3 US instructors who were there training the Jordanians in counter-terror tactics. And then Jordan lied and tried to cover it up with several different stories.

And someone needs to tell Rex Tillerson he looks stupid copying barry’s old State Department reports and just changing some wording. Better yet, tell President Trump to give Tillerson his walking papers.

What else plays into it? Those stupid stupid UN decisions saying that Hevron, where the Cave of Machpelah is located is not Jewish. You know who is buried in the cave? Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, Jacob and Leah. Not Jewish? The Temple Mount, not Jewish. The U.N. is un-hinged.

It seems every time they come out with one of these stupid decisions Israelis pay the price with more arab riots.

Israel needs to stand firm on leaving the metal detectors in place. There are 11 gates for muslims to go through, there is 1 for everyone else, and it has pretty much always had a metal detector. Muslims can pray on the Temple Mount, no one else can. Any other country that had undergone attack like this would be thinking about protecting their citizens. Well, maybe not Germany, they don’t seem to care much.

Why else?

Terrorist: I attacked soldiers so PA would cover my debt

Interrogation of Palestinian terrorist proves: PA payments motivate terror

This is absolutely about sovereignty on the Temple Mount and not metal detectors.

Dr. Tsvi Sadan is always a good read. It’s Not About Metal Detectors, Dummy

This is a war for sovereign control of Temple Mount

And the Falestinian Authority admits they have no desire to work for peace. No metal detectors, no cameras. You have no right to stop us from killing whenever and where ever and whomever we want to. We don’t want the cameras that Jordan wanted to install because they accused Israelis of violating the Al-Aqusa and they will catch is us on tape attacking people.

And this is an old video from Moshe Feiglin, of Zehut. He’s pretty good at seeing how things will play out.

The murder scene

Here’s what I want to know. How much did I pay for this? How much money did my government steal from me to finance this slaughter of innocent people? How much per ounce of blood covering the floor the sofa and the stairs? How many hours did I work to pay for that shed blood? How much per life? How much did I pay for the Fogel family, for the Salomon family, for Hallel Yaffa Ariel who was an American citizen? How much for the two Druze police officers? Because I’m very sick and tired of it. In fact, I don’t want to do it any more. What we’ve been doing isn’t working. We give money to help the “poor suffering falestinians” and Linda Sarsour the feminist heroine (the idiots) calls for a jihad in America, they build terror tunnels in Gaza, and kill people at random. There was another stabbing attack in Petach Tikvah Monday. This time an Israeli-Arab was stabbed by a pieceful Falestinian because he thought the man was Jewish. Then Abu Mazen incites and pays the killers, with my money. They teach the children in schools to hate Jews and kill them. In the UN schools I might add.

ENOUGH. ENOUGH.

We need solutions. I have some ideas. In no particular order.

First, President Trump needs to cut ALL funding to the F.A. It gets cut by half as of NOW. RIGHT.NOW. The next attack of ANY kind, on a citizen, solider, police officer will result in the remaining half being cut by half. The next attack, it’s gone. No money at all, period. Three strikes, you’re out. And if the U.N. increases their donation to the F.A., we cut our funding, or end it, to the UN. Abu Mazen is going to pay killers. If some of the money actually did go to the people, maybe they will catch on. Oh, we kill people and we don’t have money for chewing gum. No more money for Falestine. What do we do with those funds? I’ll come back to that. The muslims in Israel that want to live in peace there may decide they have had enough of the trouble these terrorists are causing and sort some of it out themselves. I have no doubt they could.

Israeli Service dogs, fur missiles. I dearly love fur missiles.

Terrorists worst nightmare, child’s friend

The problem with this one is it takes time, and a lot of money. And as we’ve seen above, the lack of funding has already created problems. Another problem is muslims don’t like dogs. They say they are unclean. I’m not even going to swat at that low hanging fruit. But in some parts of countries where there is a large concentration of muslims, they start posting signs that you are no longer allowed to walk your dog in public parks. They will kill the dog and then the family.

Israel needs to quit listening to some of the outrage from some of the “Jewish Community”. Turns out some of those don’t actually have any real Jews in them.

 

I agree with Jack Engelhard, Time to deport Abbas. But I would go further. Any terrorist, rather than being paid? Their family will be deported to Jordan, or Syria, there’s lots of room there. The family will not be paid for the land, they forfeited that when they raised their child to be a killer, or when they didn’t stop it. Israel will take possession of the land forfeited by the family’s inability to live as good citizens. Think you’re going to get paid from “deep pockets Abu”? Best leave a forwarding address. No more destroying a room in the terrorists home, because they’ve been deported. But I did see a novel idea, destroy the village. It seems some of these villages have produced many terrorists. But as he says, it would call for a very strong leader.

So what to do with the funds we will not be giving the Falestinian Authority. I asked a trusted source in Israel a few questions.

To get a gun in Israel, you need a “good reason”, like some of the states here, like for example Jersey, where Carole Brown died because she was waiting for her permission slip. It is fairly common for the people in Judea and Samaria to have handguns. Rifles are only for security people or the IDF. There are places for them to get trained. I know that most do serve in the IDF, the reason I asked this question was because some might have chosen to do their national service in a different way.

So here is my proposal: America begins at once, with the one half we have cut from the F.A. to arm EVERY adult living in Judea and Samaria with a handgun. And those that need training, the excessive funds can cover that. Would you care to speculate how fast the willingness of future “martyrs” of Falestine will dissipate when they realize there is a almost 100% chance the next person they attack will kill them? And that will not stop some, I know, they want to die. But what it will do, is save the lives of the Jews living in the Biblical heartland of Judea and Samaria. No more Salomon families grieving, no more Fogel families. We have seen in America that the gun does not always have to be used, but the knowledge that your victim maybe armed is a big deterrent. And if the worst happens? As a lawyer buddy used to say, you may only need a gun once. But if you need it, you will need it very badly. And if you do not have it when you need it, you most likely will not need it again. Or something along those lines.

To those that say “Oh, I don’t want to take sides!” You’ve been taking sides, that’s why the terrorists are sure they’re going to be paid, and the money is being redirected to save lives rather than take them. Good plan.

And just to update this, I wrote most of this column only a couple days ago, that’s how fast things change. Not only have the metal detectors come down, Israel is also taking down the security cameras that have been up there quite a while. Why would they do this? It’s something we’ve never seen arabs do, called taking hostages. Yeah, I can’t even type it with a straight face.

Remember the wounded Embassy guard attacked by a 16 year old Jordanian? Well, Jordan decided the wanted to “question him” Israel said, nope, he’s got diplomatic immunity. Then the Jordanians surrounded the embassy calling for death to Israel, and the whole staff was trapped in there. Ambassador, seriously wounded guard and everyone else. And Jordan refused to let the guard go, everyone else stayed in solidarity. Well, till the mobs surrounded the embassy, then they didn’t have much choice. But the security guard and the embassy staff are safely back in Israel now. All it took was taking down the metal detectors and cameras. Living Temple Mount visitors vulnerable. Like I said, no more. No more killed at their Shabbat table and no more shot on the Temple Mount. NO.MORE.

Facebooktwitterredditpinteresttumblrmail

Motivations

I’m a bit late to the NRA “truth” video game, but having seen this today:

Gun rights group targeting its foes?
Are my rights to assemble and speak freely with whomever I please superseded by an assault rifle?

Do I deserve to be arrested or shot because I seek to peacefully dissent from and petition my government?

The National Rifle Association, in a video released last week (https://youtu.be/PrnIVVWtAag), seems to suggest that I should be targeted because my views run contrary to the NRA, its members, our elected president and most of Congress.

-sigh- Complete with the usual — false — “assault rifle” claim.

Interesting. I’m not an NRA member (I object to much of what it does), so I think I watched that video with sufficient objectivity. What I saw was Ms. Loesch saying that some people are manipulated into committing violent crimes and that we must fight this with truth.

Mr. Prescott speaks of nonviolent, peaceful dissent; yet the NRA video specifically addresses — verbally and visually — violent, and destructive criminal acts. Apparently that’s what what passes for “peaceful” in Prescott’s strange world.

If someone objects to ending violence with truth, I have to wonder what that person is doing, or might be planning to do.

Especially when he parrots the “assault rifle” lie. I guess it’s easier to inflict a little arson/assault “conversation” on the unarmed; which I why I don’t plan to ditch my tools of self defense.

Facebooktwitterredditpinteresttumblrmail

Support Your Local Sheriff, Maybe

One of my friends favorite movies is “Support Your Local Sheriff” with James Garner. I loved it too, he has such great delivery with his lines. Sometimes when we’re on the phone we might jokingly toss one of them into the conversation. I know it’s not a great copy of the movie, but you’ll get the point from the clips I put together, yeah, I love ya’ll that much!

But when the chips, or bullets, as the case maybe were down, it was Jake (Jack Elam) who came to the rescue wasn’t it? We’re still seeing incidents of law enforcement officers killed, sometimes while sitting in their cars. Despite the fact some of these officers were black, I’ve yet to hear of Black Labs Matter saying much of anything. These were people who wanted to make a difference in the world by helping people, seems like they could spare a second. Their lives matter too, didn’t they? I guess those officers didn’t have a “Jake” handy to watch their backs.

So I got to wondering about armed citizens involving themselves in active shooting situations.

Of course they do, there is a short list of them in this WaPo article by Eugene Volokh from 2015

There was a study done by the FBI in 2014, and it has what I think are some interesting bits in it.

In addition, though officers responded quickly (i.e., median time 3 minutes), shooters inflicted devastating damage beforehand. This adds to the growing evidence that citizens must have insight on how to respond. The FBI’s support for strong citizen awareness, detailed in the “Run, Hide, Fight” protocol, is endorsed by all other federal agencies. The data establish that when prepared, the potential victims themselves can stop the shooter.

Give a whole new meaning to “wait a minute” doesn’t it?

There was 110 Active Shooting incidents that met the criteria for the study occurring from 2000-2012.

Events by Year
The Number of People Shot and Killed

 

The primary location of ASEs. Business locales (e.g., retail stores, office buildings, and factories/warehouses) were the most frequently attacked locations. Schools, both K-12 and institutions of higher education, were the second-most attacked locations at 29 percent. Approximately 1 out of 5 ASEs occurred in outdoor environments. The other category includes places, like military bases and churches, that did not fit into one of the other categories. It also is worthwhile to note that 18 percent of the attackers went mobile during their attacks; that is, the perpetrator started at one location and then moved to another while still actively attacking. Most frequently, attackers simply walked to another nearby location, but in some cases they used an automobile to move between more distant attack sites.

Hmm, interesting. From looking at the list, it seems to me, the majority are “Gun Free Zones”. Business can choose I think if they want to be “Gun Free, except for the bad guy” of course. But I’m betting if you are in one of those big malls, the majority of them are posted, and probably the same terms apply for the businesses renting space there. Schools and colleges are of course no carry zones, and churches are often no carry and military bases have been since Bill Clinton.

So what did they use? I bet like millions of those evil, black rifles, right? Um, not so much.

In about 60 percent of the attacks the most powerful weapon used was a pistol. In 8 percent it was a shotgun, and the most powerful weapon used was a rifle in about 25 percent of the cases. Shooters brought multiple weapons in about one-third of the attacks. Perpetrators brought improvised explosive devices (IEDs) to the attack site in 3 percent of the cases and wore body armor in 5 percent.

Well that tears it! I’m going to start calling for IED control! Nobody needs and IED! Mind you, I expect it to be every bit as effective against criminals as their beloved “Gun Free except the criminal’s Zones”

Of the cases studied only 51% were still going on by the time Law Enforcement arrived, and remember, their median response time was 3 minutes.

Of the cases that ended before the police arrived, 67 percent (34) ended with attackers stopping themselves via suicide (29 cases) or by leaving the scene (5 cases). In the other 33 percent (17) of the cases that ended before the police arrived, the potential victims at the scene stopped the shooter themselves. Most commonly they physically subdued the attacker (14 cases), but 3 cases involved people at the scene shooting the perpetrator to end the attack.

And it appeared to me the majority of the cases occurred in GFZs, which could account for only 3 of the incidents being stopped by an armed citizen.

And this study didn’t include any of the terrorist attacks that have happened recently. Well, considering the Ft. Hood shooting was classified as “workplace violence”.

Since we’re seeing an increase in the attacks on both citizens and law enforcement it would seem to me like the two would be well served by having an large amount of civilians trained and carrying to save innocent lives, of both the law enforcement and civilians. But that depends on who you have elected to the office. So let’s look at a couple of different examples, shall we?

First up, we have Sheriff Wayne Ivey the Brevard County Sheriff in Florida. I admit it, I think this guy is awesome. He is calling for citizens to be armed, trained and tells of the training the Sheriff’s Office offers. How cool is he?

Then we have Austin Tx police chief Art Acevedo who takes a slightly different approach. He calls for neighbors to turn each other in if they are “gun enthusiasts” and are “full of hate” so the police can “vet” them. SCUSE ME??

But then I saw another video in the sidebar about the Austin Police Department. WOW. Apparently they have like literally NO crime in Austin. The police arrested a jogger, for jaywalking. And worse than jaywalking? She didn’t have her driver’s license on her, because she wasn’t driving, she was jogging. Papers please. They handcuffed her and threw her in the back of a squad car. Old Ace came out and defended it and said she was lucky worse didn’t happen to her. This is what Austin TEXAS elected?

Citizens, it does matter who you vote for, especially in local elections.

Law enforcement, do you really want to be this guy? There were at least some citizens that tried to help, but if the men attacking him had gotten his weapon away? What stops a bad guy with a gun when the only gun came from the only police present?

http://www.foxla.com/news/local-news/265963325-story

Facebooktwitterredditpinteresttumblrmail

Terry McAuliffe’s Binders Full of Women

The state of Virginia has an interesting piece of legislation in play right now. HB 1852 allows someone with protective orders to carry a concealed handgun after they apply for a permit. Normally you cannot carry a gun until after you have received your permission slip, and that can take up to 45 days. Days you may, or may not have. The emergency permit is good for 45 days, and you can only utilize the “by-pass” if you have applied for a permit.

The bill passed the Senate by a 27-13 vote. It had already been approval by the House of Delegates.

“Governor” McAuliffe had a chance to help domestic abuse victims with similar legislation last year, but he chose to side with the abusers and vetoed it. His aide says he plans to again prevent victims from being able to obtain life saving tools in an emergency situation this year. Of course McAuliffe is not the only one siding with abusers. A confused Demoncrat named Favola also took a very firm stand against women:

“We already have a victim who’s vulnerable and very concerned and anxious, and we’re going to allow this person to bypass whatever requirements we might have for concealed handgun permits – one of which is training – to go ahead and get the gun,” she said.

“We should base public policy on evidence-based research. Folks who have studied this issue, folks who have advocated for the rights of women, folks who have spent many years evaluating domestic violence situations tell us that it is not wise to interject more firearms into a situation that is already volatile,” Favola added. “In fact, when a firearm exists in a situation of domestic violence, it’s actually the woman who is five times more likely to die.”

I would say probably not if the gun is in HER hand. So this Favola thing thinks it’s far better to allow the victims to remain vulnerable, anxious and concerned. I guess no one pointed out to her there was nothing to prevent the woman from getting her gun and taking it and getting training if she needed it, or wanted more. I rather suspect if a woman feels the need to get a gun to protect herself, she will want to be able to use it effectively. But that thought process may be too deep or McAuliffe and Favola. But they probably have taxpayer funded protection don’t they? They’ve never known that fear, so it doesn’t exist does it?

So, what does this magical piece of paper do? From the Fairfax Co. website

A protective order can:

Prohibit acts of violence, force, or threat or criminal offenses that may result in injury to person or property.

Prohibit such other contact with the Petitioner as the judge deems necessary for the health and safety of the Petitioner.

Prohibit such other contact with the Petitioner’s family or household members as the judge deems necessary for their health and safety.

Order any other conditions the judge may deem necessary to prevent acts of violence, force, or threat, criminal offenses resulting in injury to person or property, or communication or other contact of any kind by the respondent.

And what does one have to do to obtain such a magical piece of paper?

Several forms must be completed to obtain a preliminary protective order. These forms are available at the civil clerk’s office, and can be completed at the court or taken home to complete.

You must complete the forms on your own, and you must be present to file them.

When all of the appropriate forms have been completed, the clerk will present the petition to a judge. They will review the forms and make a determination whether to issue the preliminary protective order or not. If approved, a court date will be set within 15 days and notice of the hearing will be served on the respondent.

Fifteen days, wow. But you can get an emergency order. They also helpfully tell you what to do in the event that the order is violated:

You should immediately call 911 and tell them you have a protective order and the respondent is violating it. You may also file violation charges with the magistrate.

I guess they mean if you live, then I guess you wait for the police to show up with their guns to save you.

This restraining order thing is interesting.

The Independent Women’s Forum points out how restraining orders can become a tool in a woman’s bag of dirty tricks. By that I mean that some women get a restraining order to gain the upper hand in a contentious divorce. The man gets booted out of the house, possibly loses unfettered access to his children, and it may give her a leg up in court for division of property. It can also cost an innocent man his Second Amendment rights. TV host and liberal wing-nut David Letterman once had a restraining order issued against him. The judge didn’t really think wing-nut had done anything, but the woman had filled out the paperwork correctly.

Security specialist Gavin de Becker says in his book The Gift of Fear restraining orders are “homework assignments police give to women to prove they’re really committed to getting away from their pursuers”, they “clearly serve police and prosecutors”, but “they do not always serve victims”.

How effective are restraining orders? From Psychology Today I learned they work about half the time. They work for people that tend to follow the rules. If the guy is saying “If I can’t have you no one will” he quite possibly will not care one whit about that piece of paper. The victim may or may not be consistent in reporting violations, the police may or may not be consistent in their approach to reported violations. If the victims has been inconsistent in reporting, they will probably be more inconsistent in their response.

The rest I’m going to pretty much quote:

Problem Four: Sometimes the presence of a Temporary Restraining Order makes what was a dormant situation instantly worse. Gavin de Becker says “Sometimes when we engage we enrage.” This means that if the subject has not bothered the victim prior to this point, getting him served in court with a civil stay-away order may suddenly give him a reason to become a never-ending irritant to the victim. “You’re giving me a restraining order? I’ll give you a reason to give me a restraining order!” and then the games begin.

Problem Five: Are the police, the domestic violence advocates, and the victim using a Temporary Restraining Order as the primary placating tool/security blanket, when a better plan exists? Sometimes it makes good safety sense for the victim to move away. When I was a dv investigator, we often told victims to get a TRO, as part of our usual attempts at due diligence and giving them all of their options. In retrospect, it often made the situation worse and created a false sense of security that once the order was served, the police were now somehow waiting right around the corner to help.

Some domestic violence victims participate in their own murders by not reading the warning signs, not trusting their intuition, and over-relying on the ever-flawed criminal justice system for help. The life they have to protect is their own.

Move away? Move away? Someone who is already a victim has to move away from job, family, friends and whatever support system they have? So reality strikes, the restraining order is every bit as strong as, well, a piece of paper.

Another state has a similar bill going through their legislature. Indiana has House Bill 1071 which would allow those who have been granted a protective order to use that order to obtain a temporary permit to carry a gun. Those wishing to use the order as a carrying permit must be 21 years old and must follow all regulations to receive an actual concealed carry permit.

A firearms instructor and attorney, Guy Relford testified that some of the women he has trained have told him that their attackers went away when they saw the gun, they didn’t have to shoot, they went away. Apparently allowing women the means to defend themselves did not cause blood to run in the streets. Then Demoncrat Summers rode in on her unicorn and stated:

“I think that your energies should be in strengthening up that protective order, doing some other things in a domestic violence situation instead of giving a scared to death woman a gun,” Summers said.

Summers did not dismount her unicorn long enough to specify just HOW she could strengthen a protective order enough that a determined abuser wouldn’t blow that off as well. But, well, hey, she’s a Demoncrat.

So Governor McAuliffe has little regard for the lives of at risk women it seems to me. It appears he is much more concerned about protecting abusers as he is also much more concerned about New York than he is Virginia. So McAuliffe with the help of other Demoncrats is starting a “Binder full of women”, much like Governor Chris Christie has a binder of women. Women like Carol Browne who died due to New Jersey gun laws. A binder of victims who were denied the emergency equipment that could have saved their lives. Or like Castle Rock vs. Gonzalesthe children who are victims when the magical restraining order fails.

Perhaps McAuliffe, various Demoncrats and Governor Christie think domestic violence is funny, that’s it’s all like “Goodbye Earl”. But then, they have taxpayer funded security don’t they? Right, I forgot, the fear and danger isn’t real.

 

Facebooktwitterredditpinteresttumblrmail

The Path

Disclaimer: The following are my opinions and information. Any errors are mine alone, Joe had nothing to do with it, except for the graphics I stol borro appropri , um, asked nicely if I could use.

So why did I do this series? Because as I get older I realize I am not exactly as ten foot tall and bulletproof as I thought I was in my 20s. Honestly in my 20s and 30s people were different. I think there was more respect for life, liberty and property. When I was growing up the sight on hundreds of people pouring on to a highway with the purpose of shutting down traffic and terrorizing drivers was not called a “peaceful protest”. It was called what it was, a riot. People flooding through a town burning the shops of people who had worked hard all their lives to build their business, attacking police, firefighters and people of a different color was not called a “peaceful protest calling for justice”, it was called a riot. The Governor would not have sided with a criminal over the police without having a clue about the facts. And no one race was elevated over another, ALL lives were to matter, we were humans, part of mankind. Did all people subscribe to that philosophy? No, but that is what I think the majority of us wanted and worked towards. I remember the riots of the 60s, my Dad went down into the city to get his Mom out of downtown Riotsville. I was a little kid, and I was scared to death till he got home with Ma (my grandma). The media did not portray this as a peaceful protest, nor did they glorify the burning and looting.

I’m a lot older now, but I still have my Mom and an Aunt I like to do things with, I have sisters and we like to do things when we can get together. I like to go visit places where I know I will be disarmed and there are attacks on even people that are armed. That was how I got started in this, covered in The Warrior’s Path, Systema Part 1. Actually, you don’t even have to leave your neighborhood. It’s not so much that I would choose a knife for my primary defensive weapon, but if someone came at me, or someone I love, I’d dearly like to know I’ve taken at least some steps to have some kind of operating options as what I can and should do.

These articles all refer to the U.S.

NEW TERROR TACTIC: ISIS orders Western jihadis to become SERIAL KILLERS to spread fear

ISIS Forum Urges ‘Lone Wolf’ Attacks in US

ISIS Calls for Random Knife Attacks in Alleys, Forests, Beaches, ‘Quiet Neighborhoods’

After the bladework class, and the weapons of opportunity class I realized the martial arts training I had done in the past might not possibly help me all that much. Sigh, and I really liked Katas.

Knife vs. Kata?

I was under no illusion that I was Chuck Norris, or that I would have a handy pair of Sai or Kamas right there. Not to mention that was so long ago, who knows if I’d be able to remember anything.

Attending the classes did spark how I think about things though. I need to train my mind to look at a can of peas differently, along with kitchen implements. Not for competition or points, for life, to live. For my life, and the lives of those I’m responsible for.

It’s part of the “Warrior mindset”. I do what I need to do to take care of those I’m responsible for, without emotion, as a professional. The skills I need should become a part of me, as automatic as making coffee and driving. Yes, I need to pay attention, I need to be aware of everything that is going on around me, I need to be aware of things that seem out of place. But if I am hyper-focused on these things it leaves little resources to allocate to other things. Do you have to give full attention to putting your foot on the brake or the clutch? If you do, will you see that car coming into your lane without signaling? That’s my point.

What about breathing? Yep, it’s a good idea for all of us, it definitely prolongs life. Trust me, I’m an expert, those that don’t will not be around for long. But remember seeing people on TV, or in real life,  how women breath when they are having a child? They change their breathing pattern. One of the things I learned in Systema is that if we change our breathing pattern it can help us cope with fear and pain. There is a certain way to do it. I observed that in the last class. I didn’t understand exactly why Joe’s son Joseph would breath the way he did during demonstrations. I mean I’m sure what Joe was doing didn’t feel good, but the way Joseph was breathing was very purposeful. There are instructions in the book about Systema breathing and now I have the DVD on breathing and fear. I also have one on knives. I know, I’m a strange girl, my idea of popcorn and a movie could be a little different from some folks. The DVDs are done by Vladimer Vasiliev and available from his online store. They also have downloads. This isn’t like trying to learn Karate from a book like in the Karate kid, Mr. Miyagi. This is actually from the DVD.

Fear, fear can be deadly. And really it can have such an impact on our lives. Not just in life threatening situations either. From The Systema Warrior Guidebook,

3. Fear is always about loss; loss of life, loss of wealth, loss of security, loss of comfort, etc.  The fear of loss is directly proportionate to the intensity of the attachment you have.  Dissect your fear or worry down to what you fear will be lost and ask yourself, “If this fear came true, what is the worst thing that can happen?”  Often you will find that your worst-case scenario is a long shot and your fear can be easily overcome with the right plan of action.

4. Fear is present only when there is a desire.  Fear arises only when there is conflict between what we want and what we think “might” happen.  We build up expectations around life and come up with a concrete picture of how our lives “should” turn out.  This inflexibility forms a strong foundation for fear.  If we are open to new possibilities and a new vision of safety, comfort and success, we can be courageous.  When we flow with life, fears dissolve.  When you find yourself wracked with fear, ask yourself, “Why should I resist this?”  You may find the strength to let go and flow.

But is fear always wrong? No, for me it’s why I wear a helmet when I ride, buckle up in my car and stay out of places that I know probably aren’t safe. I’m not saying things can’t happen even in “safe” places, they can. But if Roosters bar & grill is known to be frequented by members of MS-13, I’m not a-goin’. I don’t need french fries that much.

Fear is like injury

Defeat the Fear, courage from G-d

The Philosophy of Violence, I haven’t been able to watch all of this one yet, but the part I saw is very good.

But the book and Systema are about life, with a instructions for dousing (brrrrrr) harmonizing your life, and fasting which does a lot more than I realized! Joe talks about Humility and becoming human and this is something I myself need to work on. Theres a recipe for meditsina, along with how and why, and a chapter on Russian penicillin, and if you’re so inclined, a bit on vodka.

Now you understand what I mean when I say there is way more to this than a book about how to block a punch?

I think most readers of The Zelman Partisans intrinsically have a martial mindset, we tend to be the warriors. But we are human, we age, we sustain injuries and things that used to work well for us may not work so well anymore. I recently read a column about The Psychology of Previous Investment it talked about how people buy guns that don’t really work that well for them and the things they go through trying to make it work for them. Rather than just admit that they made a mistake and that something will not work for them, they continue to throw money and try to force it to work. It will not work. So as warriors, rather than keep trying to force things that should work, could work, used to work, why not add some tools to our bag and perhaps get something better? Why not learn new practical ways of doing something, or doing something new and become even more effective because now we have more resources? We all want to be the best we can for ourselves and those we care about, be they human bipeds, or furry or feathered friends.

The Systema Warrior foundation is to me, chesed חסד kindness, or loving kindness, part of Tikun Olam, repairing the world. It is a good and noble thing, and I thought perhaps others would want to learn about it, as I did.

Whether we pick up a gun, a can of peas or a tactical pen (they do so come in hot pink) our mindset is going to be the same. And in our mindset and our breathing and our movements, we need to be the best we can. Because we are warriors, and we take every advantage.

I have an autographed copy of the book, it says “To Sheila, Always fight the good fight! G-d Bless, Joe Mayberry”. And we ARE warriors, all of us at TZP are warriors, we are all fighting the good fight, the righteous fight, in whatever way we are blessed with ability. My hope was to bring us all some insight and tools a bit off our usual path, because as warriors? We want to be our best.

I want to thank Joe for the generous gift of his time (and graphics), to thank the other students in class who knew a lot more about what we were doing and trained with me anyway. I want to thank Scott “Buzzkill the safety squirrel” Van Kirk, for introducing me to Systema, Joe and my Systema “Happy Place”. Scott told me he was passing it on, and now, I am too.

May G-d bless us all as we fight our good fights.

Fight like a warrior, live like a warrior

Facebooktwitterredditpinteresttumblrmail

The Path of the Systema Warrior, Compassion

Mitzvahמִצְוָה A commandment, a commandment from G-d, there were originally 613 of them. There are 248 positive and 365 negative mitzvot מצות that would be the plural of mitzvah. The Jerusalem Talmud commonly refers to any charitable act as “the mitzvah.” They are actually eternal to be carried down through every generation. Interestingly, one of them on Page 20: Building a Sanctuary for G­-d from Sefer H’Mitzvot. Okay, I’ll quit. But the point of this is that some of the commands are acts of kindness, acts of goodness and charity. From Psalms תהילים, Tehillim 10:

10 The helpless are crushed, sink down,and fall by his might.

11 He says in his heart, “God has forgotten,he has hidden his face, he will never see it.”

12 Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up your hand;forget not the afflicted.

13 Why does the wicked renounce God and say in his heart, “You will not call to account”?

14 But you do see, for you note mischief and vexation,that you may take it into your hands;

to you the helpless commits himself; you have been the helper of the fatherless.

15 Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer; call his wickedness to account till you find none.

16 The Lord is king forever and ever; the nations perish from his land.

17 O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear

18 to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.

One rather gets the idea that abuse of the poor, helpless and vulnerable is frowned on wouldn’t they? By G-d, and he commands us to have the same standards, as we are to be a reflection of him. We are to have compassion on them, not abuse them.

And yet.

More than one out of every 5 students report being bullied, 64% of children who were bullied did not report it; only 36% reported the bullying and, more than half of bullying situations (57%) stop when a peer intervenes on behalf of the student being bullied.

While only 10 U.S. studies have been conducted on the connection between bullying and developmental disabilities, but all of these studies found that children with disabilities were two to three times more likely to be bullied than their nondisabled peers. The National Autistic Society reports that 40 percent of children with autism and 60 percent of children with Asperger’s syndrome have experienced bullying. When reporting bullying youth in special education were told not to tattle almost twice as often as youth not in special education. Students with disabilities or special education needs are twice as likely to be identified as bullied targets and as bullies when compared to peers without disabilities.1

The results of being bullied are diverse. The victims may be:

depressed, lonely, and anxious, have low self-esteem,experience headaches, stomachaches, tiredness, and poor eating. Be absent from school, dislike school, and have poorer school performance, and think about suicide or plan for suicide.

Some children with disabilities have low self-esteem or feel depressed, lonely or anxious because of their disability, and bullying may make this even worse. Bullying can cause serious, lasting problems not only for children who are bullied but also for children who bully and those who witness bullying.2

While doing research for this column I found several government web sites dealing with bullying. They contained facts, figures and government programs. The government has been trying to deal with it.3 They have sent no less that four “Dear Colleague” letters, in 2000, 2010, 2013 and 2014. Just in case you want to read it yourself. There are lots of acronyms, and lots talk about individual plans, and that sort of thing. But what it amounts to, to me, is they don’t really have any real world answers beyond saying if the parents yank their kid out of your public school, you lose tax dollars.

I find it interesting that 57% of bullying stops when a peer intervenes on behalf of the victim. But what if the victim were empowered? No, I’m not talking about shearing more of the poor pink sheep to knit a bunch of hats to plop down on kids heads. I’m talking about an amazing program. I told you to hang on to the horn for this final part of my interview with Joe Mayberry, author of The Systema Warrior Guidebook.

Joe had been training in the martial arts since 1974, but he hadn’t really been teaching. But he started hearing from people he knew who had children that wanted to take lessons, of some rather despicable business practices in some of the area martial arts schools. And it was happening far more often than he would have thought. Joe decided that he would open a school and quit saying “NO” to those who had wanted him to teach. After the school had been going for a while, he got a email one night that became a turning point. He said it was on a Thursday night, and he had to wait about four days before he could respond to it, because he wanted to think it through, he was both mad and sad. The email was from the mother of a little six year old boy who wanted to learn martial arts. The little six year old boy was blind, he wanted to learn to defend himself. The mother had contacted other martial arts schools, some had flat out refused to teach him, others told her they would have to pay for private lessons as he would be unable to learn in a group. I believe Joe said they also told her his guide dog wouldn’t be allowed on the mat at the dojo. I opined that the dog was possibly better behaved than some kids, he would be the least of my worries. Joe kindly overlooked that remark.

The little boy came to Systema St. Louis and started classes, in a group. In his group classes Joe has trained not only blind students, but students with autism, deafness and one who has an eye missing. Students that other schools were unwilling or unable to train have learned and flourished. From this the Systema Warrior Foundation was born.

Because Systema looks at each child’s strength, they are able to help them develop actions and defenses that they are realistically able to use. Shamelessly swiped from the web site:

In Systema, the synergy of three components creates a TRUE WARRIOR – Combat Skill, Strong Spirit and Healthy Body.

Our goal is to strengthen those abilities that are already present in each child, no matter what disability they may have. We show them that everyone can be strong, confident and empowered.

​When Systema Founder Mikhail Ryabko created the foundations of Systema, he noted that everything that happens to us in life; good or bad, has one ultimate purpose, that is to create the best possible conditions for a person to understand him or herself. Our goal is to grow on that philosophy and to share it with others.

Since the Systema Warrior Foundation started at Systema St. Louis, Joe has trained around 2,000 children with disabilities. TWO THOUSAND, in the United States and Canada. Did I mention, he does this free of charge to them? Yes, he does. The cost of teaching them is covered by donations (just in case you wanted to) to the Systema Warrior foundation, and some of the things that Joe does, he donates the proceeds to the Systema Warrior foundation.

As Joe said, no matter your age, shape or abilities, you have a G-d given right to life and defend yourself. And his actions back up his words.

It seems so perfectly fitting that a Systema school would have a Systema Warrior Foundation when you consider that the original Systema warrior was Ilya Muromets. And Ilya has quite an amazing story. I really prefer the version in the Systema book as it gives you more of a spiritual side. That’s Ilya in the first picture with the little girl.

I just can’t help but love the school motto: “Doing bad things to bad people since 2010”. Just kind of fits with my world view.

So, if I were a kid, and I had a choice of having a knitted pink hat plopped down on my head, or a government program that says it’s illegal to bully children or learning skills that have been taught to me, for my level of ability? I know which one I would go for. I think the Systema Warrior Foundation is a great example of a mitzvah, don’t you?

The Systema Warrior Foundation
http://stlsystema.com/systema-warrior-foundation.html

 

1Bullying Statistics http://www.pacer.org/bullying/resources/stats.asp

2Bullying https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/disabilityandsafety/bullying.html

3Bullying of Students with Disabilities Addressed in Guidance to America’s Schools https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/bullying-students-disabilities-addressed-guidance-america%E2%80%99s-schools

Facebooktwitterredditpinteresttumblrmail

The Warrior’s Path, Systema Part 3

Philosophy and Psychology

When we left off in Part 2, we were talking about what holds people back from having a “Warrior Mindset”, and Joe was telling me about fears, and people not seeing their own possibilities. We continue from there.

Joe: Most people don’t want to get hurt.

S: Where is the switch between the head and the heart that prevents knowledge from the head from getting to the heart?

Joe: The challenge is in getting them to get their mind out of the dojo and in a dark house at 0200 where there are no rules. That is normalcy, that is how real life works. They have to let their minds go into those dark places and most people don’t want to do that.

I switched gears for a second and asked Joe how he came to work with Scott “Buzzkill the safety squirrel” Van Kirk who taught me about my “Systema happy place” which is where a person would need to be in that dark house at 0200.

Joe: Scott had heard about me through the grapevine. He showed up for a basic seminar about 6-7 years ago and we became good friends and now work on these projects together.

S: So, the warrior mindset, born with it or can you develop it?

Joe: It’s very individual. It depends on where a person comes from. It’s not just about picking up arms. It’s a whole mindset. It’s being able to fight for and defend things of value when it comes down to it. This can also be manifested by working extra to pay the utility bill, to buy good shoes or even to put food on the table. It’s not just physical. It’s about fighting the good fight, it’s bigger than any fight with your two fists. You pull into that, the warrior fights to protect everything they hold dear. It’s about being willing and able to do whatever is necessary to take care and protect those people and things of value.

S: So how prevalent is that mindset now?

Joe: It’s very diminished. People expect someone else to pick up the blade. You have parents that call 9-1-1 and say “My kid doesn’t want to go to school”. Physically, mentally, morally and spiritually no one wants to fight their own battles.

I admitted I was shocked about the parents part. If I had refused to go to school my parents wouldn’t have called the Police, they might have wound up calling an ambulance, but not the Police. Well, ok, they weren’t that strict, but I might have had trouble sitting for a spell.

S. In the book it talks about “Ten wounded is better than one dead”. That sounds very much in line with the Israeli code of “Purity of Arms”.

Except Joe was talking about our side, and I took it as the opposition side.

Joe: Well, if I’m wounded, I can still recover. I can still go on and have a life. For the opposition, you wound as much as you can without taking a life. But just because you are wounded doesn’t mean you are out of the fight.

Then I brought up a line from the book, The Systema Warrior Guidebook :

“An aggressor can only be overcome by one who is strong spiritually.”

I said that the spiritual component of Systema resonated strongly with me, it’s part of why Systema feels like it fits. What percentage of Systema would you say is made up of the spiritual component?

Joe: It comes down to this one thing. We don’t fear death because we are spiritually sound. When you’re good spiritually, you know whatever comes after is going to be good. You have to be one with your maker. You can be dangerous, but still be good, not evil.

Fear The One With No Fear

S: So let’s talk about acting vs. reacting. In the book it talks about different situations, from a fight to losing a job, these came from different sections in the book:

“Acting is what makes you happy. Reacting is what makes you miserable.”

“Acting is independent of the context; reacting is totally dependent on the context.”

“Acting is rewarding, reacting is frustrating.”

“Action creates results, reaction creates excuses.”

Acting vs. reacting. This applies to many things in life, But to me, it seems if you add in the spiritual component that they sometimes merge. The job example, let’s say you are due for a promotion or raise. In your mind you’ve thought it through. You like the job, but unless you advance you’ve hit the ceiling. So you decide based on the next review, if you are not promoted or given a raise, or whatever, you will leave to gain a better opportunity. If you are promoted, you have the opportunity where you are. Or it could be some decision you are unsure of, so you wait and be quiet until you feel G-d guides your step. Rabbi Lazer Brody in The Garden of Emuna says if you’ve prayed, and nothing in your circumstances has changed, it is time to be quiet and listen, guidance will come. Is that still reacting or is it choosing your path and acting?

The chapters on fear, pain control, and trusting our intuition, to me, make this book a good guide book for life, not only in Systema, but in all parts of our life. Was it written with that intent?

And yes, he stayed on the phone for the three minutes it took me to ask this one question.

Joe: It’s about the space between action and reaction, the longer you take for the action to start, if it is a violent encounter it will become more violent. We are either going to act or react. Acting is you digest the action of the other person and then act upon it. Action is always seeing the writing on the wall and being preemptive. The longer we sit there it is going to be a reaction. In situational awareness reaction takes time and thought, whereas action is instinctual. We react too much, acting is opening up to the environment. When you only react to situations you lose some of the options you would have had if you had chosen to act instead.

S: The part about “preemptive striking”, that’s tough for someone my age. I was always told by my Dad as a kid “Don’t you start anything, but if someone starts it, you finish it.” I can’t be the only one in my age group that grew up like that, do you find that mindset common?

Joe: Reacting is more common. Sometimes we must act on preemption, it’s better to apologize later than tell my family I messed up and I’m hurt and can’t work, or they get hurt. We struggle inside with denial and it prevents preemptive action, those are things that hold us back from making a correct decision in time.

S: I saw a video on Missouri’s concealed carry laws where an attorney named Kevin Jamison was talking about when you were justified to use deadly force and it stuck with me because he used the acronym J.A.M. Is your life in jeopardy, do they have the ability and the means? He said those elements needed to be present for justification, will the same apply?

Joe: It still applies if you are using preemptive strike. In some situations if you do not utilize a preemptive strike you are not going to get another chance. It’s about how you are before and after the event. How you are before, during and after the event is key. It can’t become emotional. It’s all over and done with if we become emotional. Remember, professional, we just do the job, breathing smoothly is key.

S: If people haven’t added something like martial arts or blade work to their bag of tricks, how would you advise them to get started?

Joe: If they are not doing anything martial arts related they should know that awareness is paramount, 95% of crimes could be prevented if people were more aware. People put their awareness down, they lower the standards of awareness. When you walk to your car do you carry your bags in your dominant or non-dominant hand? If you stop at Wal-Mart late at night, when you leave the store to go to your car you see that the parking lot is mostly empty, but parked right next to your car is a van, what do you do?

I wanted to say “Shoot the hostage in the knee” but thought I might be pushing my luck, since I hope to attend another seminar some day.

S: Your book, how did that happen? What was the impetus?

Joe: It started as a manual for the students. I started it 7 years ago and I just kept adding things to it. I kept adding things as people kept asking questions. The more questions they asked, the more information it stimulated. A lot of the same questions kept coming up, so I wrote out the answers to the most common questions. Then 2-3 years ago people started asking me to publish it. It was something I wanted to tell people and what I wanted to do, was tell people it’s about living life as a person of dignity, honor and courage.

S: You have a new book coming out in May of 17, what the title and what will it cover?

Joe: The Bodyguard Enchiridion It goes deeper into the aspects of bodyguarding, a bit like what we did at the end of your last class.

The Bodyguard Enchiridion- Coming in 2017

S: There is a whole chapter on “Fear” in the book, and it covers a lot more of life than physical fights. It is absolutely excellent.

Tidbits from the book:

Fear is a very powerful emotion. It has a very strong effect on the mind and body because it is one of our natural survival responses. It tells you what to do in an emergency, like a fire or if you are being attacked.

We can also feel fears when faced with less dangerous situations, like exams, public speaking, a new job, a date, or even a social situation. It is a natural response to something that a person feels are a threat.

In this chapter he goes through things that can help you deal with your fears, such as the segment on knowing yourself, and that faith and spirituality can help you cope. But there’s more in it than these two things, though these stuck with me. He talks a lot more about fears, their genesis, their impact and practical ways to deal with them and choose empowering beliefs instead. Now you see why I said it is much more a book for living life?

And this ladies and gentlemen is where we will end up for this section. I have one more section to come and I can about 99.9% guarantee you that you that it will be coming from a completely different direction than you expect, and it is absolutely heart-warming. So hang on to the horn.

So for your movie clip this portion, I took one of those name quizzes on Facebook. Turns out I’m Eowyn of Rohan. Huh. Well, the name does mean “horse lover or horse friend”. According to the youtube clip, I think I should probably ask for a class in defense against the mace and other medieval weapons of war. Maybe he could do one this summer?

Facebooktwitterredditpinteresttumblrmail

The Warrior’s Path, Systema Part 2

The Background on my experience and reasons for learning about Systema in Part 1

The Background, on Joe and Systema.

First, a little bit about Systema, from the ever popular Wikipedia.

Systema (Система, literally meaning The System) is a Russian martial art. Training includes, but is not limited to: hand-to-hand combat, grappling, knife fighting, and firearms training. Training involves drills and sparring without set kata. In Systema, the body has to be free of tensions, filled with endurance, flexibility, effortless movement, and explosive potential; the “spirit” or psychological state has to be calm, free of anger, irritation, fear, self-pity, delusion, and pride.

Systema focuses on breathing, relaxation, and fluidity of movement, as well as utilizing an attacker’s momentum against him and controlling the six body levers (elbows, neck, knees, waist, ankles, and shoulders) through pressure point application, striking, and weapon applications.

From Systema St. Louis:

Our training philosophy is not to be confused with any traditional fighting arts and/or combat sports fighting systems. We are not in the business of taking years to teach a client how to incapacitate or eliminate even the most basic fighter, but rather months, comparable to the time a special ops soldier has to prepare for an operation.

There are just too many aspects of traditional fighting arts and sports-based fighting systems that are life-threateningly impractical and inefficient for the street and actual brutal violence.

Okay, so we’re good on what Systema’s purpose is? It is not about fighting for sport, it is not about scoring points. It’s about surviving, it’s about respect for life, even that of your attacker. This is something you might not be aware of, in the 1960s and 1970s if you were attacked and handed over your wallet or car keys, there was a 65-70% chance they would take the money and go away. Now, the odds are flipped in that if you hand over your wallet or your car keys there is a 65-70% chance they will assault you anyway. There is a huge lack of consideration for life these days. And that nugget my friends, came straight from a St. Louis police detective I know. A good guy, a warrior, you should get to know him. Let me see what I can do about that. He’s a United States Marine, State Department Diplomatic Security, St. Louis Police Department, and also owner of Systema St. Louis, who travels to teach and lecture. I think he has a pretty cool dog too.

I didn’t ask him, but I’m guessing he once in a while sleeps and eats. He will tell you that you don’t let fear dictate the outcome. What? You had in mind more detail than that? Well, I’m your girl, pick me, let me see what I can find out.

S: How did you come to be in the Marines? Was this a goal growing up, did you always feel the need to protect people?

Joe: I come from a family of proudly serving in the military. My Grandfather was in WWII, in the first wave to storm the beaches that had to clear the mess, and my father proudly served his country in the Marines in Viet Nam in the early 1960s. After his time in Viet Nam he continued to serve his country by training the young men going over, teaching them the valuable skills they would need to come home, alive.

It seems preserving life runs in the Mayberry family genes.

After the military, my Dad became a welder. I was blessed when I was still young by being able to spend a lot of time with Dad.

It sounds like a Dad he admired, was proud of and was close to. I can relate to that, I felt the same about mine.

S: So, you were that kid on the playground always protecting the kid that was getting picked on?

Joe: Yes.

S: You were stationed in Israel at the Embassy for three years. You really don’t speak ANY Hebrew? You just forgot? I admitted my astonishment, I’m always trying to learn more Hebrew and get better at it. LIVING there for three years? I’d have been eating that up with my falafel and Israeli salad.

Joe: Well, I might remember a few words, I knew a little back then.

S: Did you ever feel you were in danger while you were there?

Joe: Yes, I did. But I learned to deal with it in a way so that it didn’t affect me negatively. I was there in the late 1980s and it was about protecting good from evil. I saw first hand that if nothing opposes evil it will absolutely succeed. I saw it, up close and personal. While I was in Israel I got to know some Israelis and I had the opportunity to train with the IDF who use Krav Maga. I trained 6 days a week with them, including in the desert. That was real Krav Maga, not Krav Maga for sport or fitness.

Sheila provided links

Chronology of Terrorist Attacks in Israel Part III: 1978-1985

Chronology of Terrorist Attacks in Israel Part IV: 1986-1992

S: So after you were out of the Marine Corp and back in the states, what did you do?

Joe: The State Department, in Diplomat Security. You got to see more of the world while protecting people and their secrets. You might be standing in the hall by a doorway for 8-12 hours at a time. And while you were standing at that doorway, you are protecting whomever is behind that door. It was after the wall came down, and we began to see people down the hall who had been behind the wall. The Russians began showing up in front of doors in the hall as well. When you’re in those hallways for 8-12 hours you begin to talk to each other. You talk about common interests, things you both know.

(I figured this meant horses of course, apparently, to my shock, no).

Joe: We began talking about martial arts, I had been involved in the martial arts since 1974, long before my Krav Maga education. We discussed each others forms of martial arts and that’s when I began hearing about Vladimir Vasiliev. That would have been around 1994, 1995. Shortly after that I got out of the service. I was very interested in what I had heard about Vladimir, but I couldn’t find anything about him really. Then I picked up a copy of Black Belt magazine and in the back there was an ad for his school in Toronto. I called and talked to Valerie, his wife, and made an appointment to go. The first class with him was very humbling. He just mopped the floor with me. I have been in martial arts since 1974, trained with the IDF and he mopped the floor with me. It was a turning point. And I learned don’t forget the past, utilize it. Begin to think conceptual. There will always be chaos, and your best advantage is to be prepared. My role as an instructor is to help someone develop a useful, workable response to the chaos.

S: How good of shape do people have to be in to learn and do Systema? This had been one of my fears when I went to the first class, that I wouldn’t be in good enough shape.

Joe: Nobody has to be “fit” to be able to defend themselves. When I came back to the US after several years I saw Krav Maga really take off. It had turned into a fitness ploy. It had gone from being military training into martial arts fitness. It was attractive to those not in shape that wanted to learn to be safe. I really didn’t like that fad. They were telling people that if they weren’t in shape they couldn’t defend themselves. They made levels and added a fitness routine giving an illusion. It’s a sport now and not practical. I’m telling you no matter your age and shape you have a G-d given right to live, and to defend yourself.

S: When Scott (Van Kirk) worked with me he taught me about my “Systema happy place”. This involved keeping my energy low and a very neutral demeanor. It’s kind of what you use when working with horses, but does this just come with time and effort?

Joe: Energy, that happy place, has got to be professional to work. It’s about it becoming an ingrained, routine. Like when you get up of a morning, you go to the bathroom, brush your teeth, have some coffee. You can do these things calmly, without great thought and a minimum of effort, it just flows. When you are working Systema it needs to be 100% professional for it to become a smooth pattern with an economy of motion and thought, so much that it almost happens without awareness. Our subconscious takes over with the awareness of patterns. Systema strives to become the smooth pattern of economy of thought and a large part of instincts. The concepts of usage are universal.

S: What do you think is the biggest impediment to that is?

Joe: Internally people have fear. They don’t see their own possibilities. They allow their limitations to stop them. With conceptual martial arts it’s all within the person. If they realize what fears hold them back, they are free to do what they want.

Part 3 will pick up with more on the warrior mindset. Stay tuned, same bat time, same bat channel.

Early weapons of opportunity training, but no cape required.

 

Facebooktwitterredditpinteresttumblrmail