Here are Interpol 2001 crime statistics (rate per 100,000):

4161 - US
7736 - Germany
6941 - France
9927 - England and Wales


Doesn't England have the most restrictive laws when it comes to defense of crimes?

-S

PS. By the way, the US numbers are probably between 1/3 to 1/2 of what they were in 2001 today, so this graph will probably be even more way out of balance if you looked at 2005 numbers. THe US should read between 2000 to 3000 somewhere today.

One more thing, I never said if I like guns or not as asked in the original post. My answer to this question is no, I do not like guns in a sense that I am awed by them or worship them. Some are entertaining to shoot however if just for the experience.

-S

PS. I do consider them a neccesary evil however in an imperfect world. If there were no violence, no stealing, no evil people out to do me harm, no one out to better themselves at my expense, I'd be happy to destroy every last gun on the planet. Sadly, no matter how much people want society to be like this, it is forever an impossibility. This is what makes guns a neccesary evil and why they will always be with us in some form or fasion.

PPS. Besides, you may need one to eat someday if society falls. A rabbit or a deer tastes a whole lot better than some pine tree.

PPPS. The terrorist guys are with us as well. Back near Snoqualimie pass in Washington state, I was testing my new Land Rover Sunday and wouldn't you know it but a guy dressed like he was just out of Afganistan with black ammo/accesory belt type water carrier, with extra space for cantene and of course what looked like soft blue gun covers in his trunk was preparing to go for a hike it would seem. It looks like they are training in our own mountains. He stared right at me, studying me, and I stared right back at him. Nice. I didn't go analyze what he was doing since my .45 was in my parked Land Rover back down the road. The only difference with this guy vs. what you see on the news is that he had expensive shades on and drives a small aqua blue Acura.

If this really happened Subman then you ought to report it to the authorities asap. After all you'd hate to recognize his face on a perpetrators list of another 9-11 style attack some day and realize that you didn't do anything about it when you had the chance.

Yeah - what is the first thing they will ask me? Well, Did you get the license number? The answer is no - he was standing in front of it (probably on purpose). Did you see guns? No is the answer other than what looks like soft gun cases from a distance. And with those shades and beard, he looks like all the rest. I have no real information to give them other than what might be termed as, a guy dressed like a raghead was up in the mountains. If I had more to give, than I would. There were quite a few other people around too so hopefully someone got to see what his license # was when I couldn't. I unfortunately kept my distance.

-S

PS. I'll ask my friend what road we were on and tell them what I saw, but I doubt they will care much since I have nothing hard to give them.

PPS. THe only reason I think he parked there around the other people is because the snow blocked his little Acura from going any further.

This reminds me of back in 2001 when I was on the BC Ferries going to Vancouver Island and I saw a group if these Arab guys photographing the emergency exits and taking notes and having some big conversations about the exits themselves. What made me notice them is they were trying hard to look natural in an unnatural way, such as having an umbrella on a cold sunny day. I figured they were contractors or something at the time, but with all this terrorist garbage, I think a BC Ferry is on the hit list at some point.

-S

Well the law might not do anything about it but at least you'd have the satisfaction of knowing that you did your part.

I don't know much about Acura's because I am not a fan, but I found the exact make and model and color of the car, so that is a step in the right direction.

http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/8453/tcar8fq.png

Go quick, they might get him in satellite imagery or just from a gas station surveillence tapes. You never know :hmm:

Well, I wrote an email detailing everything I know to the Seattle FBI office. What they do with it now is their parogative and I have done my duty.

-S

If they dont check on you tomorrow, they have to be stupid or underfunded, both cases makes one worry.. And if you vanish from the forums youve struck gold :lol:

I doubt they will check on me. I didn't give them anything significant other than a description of a guy at a certain location. Nothing else to go on.

-S

who likes guns?!
 

You'll be amazed how sometimes small details fit into a bigger picture, or how some insignificant tales may lead to an important investigation...

Well done SUBMAN1
:up:

Im selling one of my shotguns to buy a matchlock.

You were right to do so. On 9/10/2001 I was working for a telcomm company in LA doing an install of a circuit for a phone card/throwaway call phone retailer at Venice & Vermont in the stone ghetto of South-Central Los Angeles. You had to be buzzed in past 4 clean-shaven Arabic looking guys by the front door. When I went into the back to hook up the T1, I noticed 3 classic-looking fundamentalists with the beards and beanies in their shipping room speaking Arabic. Having a smattering of many languages, I did my work then went to go around the back of the building to check the connection from Bell. As I passed them I said,"Was Salaam Aleikum" to them. Every other time I've spoken Arabic to Arabs here, their eyes would light up and they would be so happy someone was speaking to them in their own language. These guys looked at each other and muttered,"Aleikum Was Sallam" back to me. When I finished my work outside, I came back inside to finish my tests. None of those guys spoke Arabic in my presence again. In fact, the 4 guys in front were giving me the hairy eyeball when I left.

Of course, the next day was Sept. 11 and they sent me home early. On Sept 12, I was on the phone to the Fat Boy's Institute(FBI). Within half an hour, a special agent was calling me back and taking all the info I had on these guys. I did a wabsearch of the company(9278 Communications) and found out they were based out of Egypt with offices in NY, LA & Seattle. I ran the story by a couple of friends in intelligence and they confirmed I had probably stumbled across a logistics cell of Al Qaeda.

who likes guns?!
 

@ Ishmael:
This is what I ment when I commented on SUBMAN1.
In this kind of situation the authorities are very much depending upon the cooperation of the general public.
:up:

We're pretty much off topic though.
:D