Damned American Gun Shows!

UC Davis report finds gun shows as leading source of guns used in crimes...

This unique report includes hundreds of hidden-camera photographs and video taken from 78 gun shows in 19 states, detailing how American gun shows have become leading sources of crime guns for Northern California, the United States, Mexico and Canada. Also emphasized is the link between gun shows and extreme right-wing political activities and specific action recommendations. [More]

Starring Wal...uh...Garen Wintemute!

I tried warning people to be on the lookout.

Can you imagine the howls of outrage--hell, the lawsuits-- had Mary McFate sneaked cameras into Ceasefire PA meetings? And speaking of which, anybody ever figure out what happened to Alex...?

It'll be interesting to see the report itself. I'm sure it will be chock-full of Witemutean colon clenching...

It will also be interesting to see if any of the gun shows or individuals have recourse based on what and who he secretly recorded.

[Via JPR9]

South of the Border, Down Mexico Way...

From an anonymous but historically-reliable source:

See the following and watch the videos:

http://www.blogdelnarco.com/2010/08/videos-de-la-balacera-en-reynosa.html

This battle between the Gulf Cartel and the Zeta's occurred approximately 1/2 of a mile south of the border and the area can bee seen using Google Maps- enter:

Laureles, Ernesto Zedillo, Reynosa, México

You will see to the immediate west a road oriented North/South named Presa de Las Adjuntas. From the north intersection of Tiburcio Garza Zamora, south to Brasil (on the west) to Sauce (on the east) streets the main blockades and battles occurred. There were other blockades and battles, but not as coordinated in the use of vehicles to stop traffic. There is little detailed information regarding body count or wounded that I have been able to acquire and will not speculate. The battle DID cover 8-12 blocks and included the use 30-40 vehicles as barriers, cover, and concealment.

The newspaper in McAllen, Texas, right across from Reynosa, Mexico is still doing it's level best to keep as much information from the public as possible and this is the extent of it's reporting:

http://www.themonitor.com/articles/reynosa-42168-dead-violence.html

Heard on the local talk radio station there yesterday morning an American businessman who stated that the workers at the "maquila" (factory) he was at had to take cover in a safe that is designed to withstand a .50 even though the front doors and glass had been hit, no one was seriously injured and yes, there was full-auto involved.

Things down along the river ARE severely escalating and can be seen by reading The Monitor's recent headlines over the past month.

All together now:

Damned American gun shows! Damned expired "assault weapons" ban!

Stopping Gun Runners

Bipartisan Rodriguez Bill Takes Aim at Violence on Border...

Senators Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) introduced matching legislation in the Senate today. [More]

Despite all evidence to the contrary that gun control does not work to reduce violent crime, apparently we can get it to finally work if we just throw $15 million at it and "enable the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) to hire, train and deploy an additional 80 special agents."

Oh, and we'll also need "$9.5 million in fiscal years 2010 and 2011 to enhance cooperation between the United States and Mexico."

Hey, it could work. I mean, A+rated Kay Bailey Hutchison wouldn't steer us wrong about the desirability of strengthening BATFU, would she...?


Now if we can only do something about those damned American gun shows, BATFU's main scapegoat in the Mexican cartel wars, and which nonsense like this ought to prime the pump nicely for...

US Attorney Still Blaming Private Guns for Mexican Crime

This archive will go away in a few days, so download and listen now. Select "5 p.m. - 6 p.m." [More]

At 37 minutes in, hear U.S. Attorney Joseph Russoniello claim, when challenged by a caller about the "90%" lie, that if guns are being imported into Mexico from Guatemala they are probably being trans-shipped from the United States.

You got that, right? So apparently, after "straw purchasing" at gun shops and "damned American gun shows," rather than run them across the border, they evidently ship them to Guatemala and bring them into Mexico that way? No wonder "Operation Southbound Steel" is such a bust!

And then, right after admitting he doesn't "know," Pal Joey opines he "would not be surprised" if 20 million of the 250 million guns going to Mexico from the US come from residential burglaries.

My favorite is his response to the question asking if he keeps statistics on how many crimes are prevented or stopped because of a private gun:

No.

It would hardly advance his agenda if they did, would it?

[Via Dave Licht]

UPDATE: Comrade Joe's a "republican".

Meanwhile, Over in Sarah Brady Paradise...

China's weapons laws are among the world's toughest. Its blanket ban on private ownership of rifles, pistols and even gun replicas is a core tenet of social policy...

Yet, these days, reports about gun crimes turn up as often as several times a week even in the tightly controlled state-run media.

Damned American gun shows.

Fingers Point South of the Border

30 dead in worst weekend of Mexico violence this year

The accompanying photo says it all: It's the gun's fault, and not just any gun, but evil "semiautomatics."

Y'know, Mexico ought to be Sarah Brady Paradise--except for those damned American gun shows, which I'm sure are where corrupt military, law enforcement and international drug cartels get all of theirs. Right?

[Via Dave Licht]

So Much for Arming the Cartels

Traffickers have escalated their arms race, acquiring military-grade weapons, including hand grenades, grenade launchers, armor-piercing munitions and antitank rockets with firepower far beyond the assault rifles and pistols that have dominated their arsenals.

Most of these weapons are being smuggled from Central American countries or by sea, eluding U.S. and Mexican monitors who are focused on the smuggling of semiauto- matic and conventional weapons purchased from dealers in the U.S. border states of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. [More]

But...but...but...what about those damned American gun shows...?

Via Len Savage, who asks:

LA Times even gets it?‏

Where is Eric Holder's condemnation?

Oh--he reserves that for people like us. Isn't that obvious?

How Do You Say...

..."damned American gun shows" in Bosnian...?

Where else would he have gotten a working anti-tank missile launcher and machine gun? [More]

[Via Brian F]

A Foreign Policy Expert

There are nearly 7,000 gun shops along the southern U.S. border, about three for every mile. They sell thousands of hand grenades, rocket-propelled grenade launchers, AK-47s, and "cop killer" guns and bullets that cut through Kevlar body armor. The weapons quickly flow south, again with barely a nod from U.S. Border Patrol. [More]

Right. Mexico is our fault.

Hey, don't forget those damned American gun shows.

And who is the expert we must heed?

Shannon O'Neil is Douglas Dillon fellow for Latin America studies at the Council on Foreign Relations...

That ain't all she is.

[Via John Richardson]

One Stop Shopping

Where do I go to get rpgs, dynamite, fragmentation grenades, etc. that I want to smuggle into Mexico? [More]

You guessed it! BATFU-monitored gun shops and those damned American gun shows!

And people believe this sh**.

[Via Tom R]

Illegal Doesn't Mean Unavailable

I looked at him and said, "I thought guns were illegal in Mexico." He chuckled... [More]

And it looks like the cartels might not be relying on gun stores and damned American gun shows?

Gosh--why would anyone lie to us about that?

[Via Whose Paranoid]

The Crux of the Problem

It was unclear what the soldiers were doing in the United States, but U.S. law enforcement authorities have long said that current and former Mexican military personnel have been hired to protect drug and migrant smugglers. [More]

All together now:

Damned American gun shows...Damned expired Assault Weapons ban...

[Via Harvey]

We're the Only Ones with Brain Freeze Enough

Mexico police chief's head found in ice box... [More]

There's gotta be a damned American gun shows nexus in here somewhere...

...unless it slipped out through that loophole...

[Via Zachary G]

Still Under the Weather...

Believe me, I'm more sick and tired of it than anybody.

The good news is I'm on the mend. The bad news is, overdoing it would be stupid. So expect less for a while.

As such, I'm going to be doing an abbreviated set of posts, to give you some of what others of you want me to talk about (and I won't mind if the emails slow down a bit for a while longer--honest), and stuff I want to point out.

In the interests of making my job as effortless as possible, please forgive me if I don't get to your submission, and also if I don't go through the detail work of adding links to contributor names.

Together, we shall persevere through these dark days...or some such.

As always, please do what you can to evangelize my Examiner columns. I know I sound like a nag, but really--it's not like I have a tip jar or anything, and regulars here want to see me be able to feed feral sons Uday and Qusay their daily crust of bread, I trust...?

We're the Only Ones on a Jihad Enough

I'd say Supervisor Chris Norby has it exactly right, and Sandra Hutchens needs to be confined to the Hut of the Unclean. Go on over and lend some support in "Comments." [Via Maureen]

We're the Only Ones Released Enough

Tell me Oscar Grant would have made bail had he executed Johannes Mehserle. Plus the guy already ran to Nevada once--why isn't he considered a flight risk? [Via Maureen]

Meanwhile, Across the Pond in Sarah Brady Paradise

It looks like the entire culture has been infected with mistrust. No wonder they don't trust each other with guns--spouses don't even trust each other with computers.

Fairfax Rumor Control

If it's a legitimate concern, rest assured your NRA-ILA will promptly address it and will give you the straight story.

Just like they did with the Holder nomination!

And I guess Olofson and Fincher aren't legitimate concerns.

Less than Understanding

A local school district has suspended a member of the Young Marines youth leadership group after students saw drill props in her vehicle.

Read this and seethe. Can you imagine being Tustin Amhole...oh wait, that's Amole...

The schools says they have no discretion. Right. Like anyone would dare haul them away if they did the right thing.

You can contact these excremental administraitors here. [Via Tom S]

At Least He Didn't Make the "III" Sign

Tough to know if he was stalking. If he was, no sympathy, but the principle involved ought to raise some flags.. [Via Ed M]

Explosive Revelations

The vans included homemade explosive devices connected to remote detonators, firearm silencers and jugs filled with sulfuric acid, a known agent for accelerating the decomposition of a body, authorities said.

A fake mustache. Good grief.

Hey--what do you want to bet he got all that stuff at one of those damned American gun shows? [Via Ed M]

El Río de Hierro

In Nuevo Progresso, Tamaulipas, Mexico Today...[More]

And in related news, it looks like our old amigos Los Zetas have struck out on their own.

I guess they didn't sign a non-compete agreement with the Gulf Cartel?

Damned American gun shows...

Damned American Gun Shows

Gangs blamed for killing 3 with US consulate tie [More]

US consulate? Hillary's domain?

Perhaps we can make lemonade out of lemons...

[Via Ed M]

"All I Want is World Peace"*

A reigning Mexican beauty queen from the drug-plagued state of Sinaloa was arrested with suspected gang members in a truck filled guns and ammunition, police said Tuesday. [More]

This can't be the whole story.

It doesn't say a word about those damned American gun shows...

One of the tough lessons we should learn when young is that physical beauty doesn't necessarily mean the mind isn't corrupted. Fortunately, in my case...

...:)

* From story comment poster sd74

[Via Brian F]

Somos Los Uniqos High Profile Enough

On Thursday, the 35 police were charged with attempted murder and drug crimes and moved from jail to a state prison. And it was just one of several cases of high-profile police corruption or misconduct this week.

Damned American gun shows.

[Mas de "Los Unicos" Archivos]

Let's Place the Blame Where it Belongs

Mexican police found nine decapitated bodies on Sunday in a city near the tourist resort of Acapulco, and at least some of the victims might have been soldiers who were battling against powerful drug gangs.

The bodies of the men, which were marked with signs of torture, were left on the side of a highway, while their heads were stuffed in a plastic bag found outside a shopping center, police in the state of Guerrero told Reuters. [More]

Damned American gun shows...

[Via Avg Joe]

We're the Only Ones Mystifying Enough

Covina arrests mystify a neighborhood

After two Mexican federal agents and two others were arrested in July on drug-related charges, little has emerged about the case and residents are puzzled. [More]

Gee, nice digs Los Uniqos are living in. I wonder who does their gardening and housekeeping?

I'm not sure why the silence and mystery, except it probably has to do with what we all know is the #1 Mexican crime problem: those damned American gun shows.