James R. Rummel

I am a self defense instructor who lives in Columbus, Ohio.

Burglary, Theft, And A Frame

by

Great Britain is currently in the throes of hysteria over pedophiles, as they seem to see them under every bed. This is a subject I have written about before.

An incredibly clever and sick individual has tried to use this to his advantage. A man obsessed with a coworker tried to frame her husband for child pr0n. He did this by repeatedly breaking into the victim’s house while the family was asleep, copying the family computer on a portable hard drive, and then going back to his own home to prepare and insert the doctored evidence.

What doctored evidence is that? It seems that he also broke in to the family’s house while they were away so he could take photos of the place. He probably Photoshopped some pics of kids being abused into the images of the home.

Months later he broke in again to steal the family’s hard drive from their computer, which he mailed to the police. Lucky thing suspicion fell upon the perp, and that he wasn’t half so clever in covering his own tracks. When the police investigated the criminal, they easily found all the evidence needed for the scheme to be revealed.

There are many elements of this story that I find shocking in the extreme.

Read more

Thinking of Changing Jobs

by

Via Ace comes a totally bewildering news story from Great Britain. The official government policy concerning burglary has just been changed. Burglars are not to be jailed unless they cause harm to persons or property.

No matter how much they steal, no matter if it is irreplaceable family heirlooms, the criminal walks. They get “community punishment”, which I suppose is the same as “community service” is here in the United States.

And we know that the felons will show up to fulfill their obligation to society because they are such stand up guys. Hardly like criminals at all. Right?

My favorite part…

“The recommendations to let burglars walk free come as, for the first time in several years, burglaries are increasing.”

So refusing to lock the burglars up where they can’t ply their vile trade will cause the number of break-ins to decline?

I keep rereading the news report, and I just can’t believe it. It slides off of my comprehension like claws on glass.

Is this some sort of April Fools joke done early?

In the spirit of full disclosure, there was a similar problem in the United States dating from the late 1980’s through the 1990’s. Space in our prisons was at a premium, the crowding so severe that courts were ordering a certain percentage to be released early to thin out the press.

Eventually the money was found and more prisons were built. And, please note, the felons got at least some jail time.

(Cross posted in a similar form over at Hell in a Handbasket.)

Coming Into Focus

by

I posted an essay last month, discussing how the Obama administration took a stance concerning the Falkland Islands that was sure to annoy Great Britain.

The reason as I see it for this strange move, which is almost certainly going to very slightly erode the special relationship that the United States enjoys with the UK without gaining anything in return, is due to Obama’s overall foreign policy vision.

It would seem that he is pursuing a Jeffersonian strategy, where commitments beyond our borders are seen as messy and dangerous. An added bonus to divesting the US of allies is that military spending can be cut in favor of domestic budgets, as there will be few reasons to project power across the globe if we don’t have any friends.

Two items that Glenn linked to yesterday support my conclusions.

Read more

Racist Is As Racist Does

by

Glenn linked to this post at the Amazon.com food blog.

The author was shocked (shocked!) to find out that the tuna she has been using wasn’t from Italy, even though it has a vaguely Italian-sounding name. In fact, the tuna is caught in the middle of the ocean, and packaged by an American company.

So what does she do? The author swears off that particular brand of tuna! It was perfectly good when she thought it was from Italy, but it isn’t worthy enough to pass her lips now that she knows that a company based in the US is involved. Only tuna caught in the waters off Sicily, and packaged in that country, will be used from now on.

Most of the comments at the post accuse the author of being a snob, which certainly seems to be obvious. But I think it shows a much darker and vile tendency than simple snobbery. Isn’t the author exhibiting blatant racism?

Turn it around. If someone refused to use perfectly acceptable tuna from Sicily, just because it came from Sicily, they would be accused of being racist. How could they not? There isn’t anything wrong with the product, after all. They just can’t stomach the idea that those people touched the food.

So isn’t it racist to do the same thing, just because the tuna is sold by an American company?

As of this writing, the author hasn’t bothered to respond to the criticism. I doubt she will. Racists usually have a lack of backbone, after all.

How Can This Be An Issue?

by

A measure put to the vote recently in Switzerland was to give abused animals their own lawyers. It was handily defeated.

I’m at a loss here. How did this get on the ballot? Isn’t there a global economic crises going on right now? So, of course, money has to be spent on expanding another bureaucracy. There are already laws on the Swiss books to protect animals, so why not hire lawyers to represent them in court?

Yeah, yeah, I know. I hate the helpless little furry children, and want to see them suffer. The reality is rather different.

Special interest groups will drain us all. Luckily the voters in Switzerland told them to get lost.