There once was a time that when someone suggested we "ban knives", they meant it as sarcasm.
Then again, there once was a time that intelligent, rational policy makers understood that violent acts are perpetrated by violent offenders - not by their instruments of choice. It was also understood that the more deadly the instrument chosen, the more dangerous that offender was, and the greater the imperative to apprehend them.
Sale Of Large Knives Questioned - Still no arrests after attack in SaskatoonNews of a chilling day-light Machete attack on Saskatoon's Meewasin trail has Mayor Don Atchison calling for action from the justice department.
Meanwhile, local media remain completely uninterested in chasing down and reporting an actual description of the assailants to the public.
Instead, they're hard at work identifying and confronting lawful retailers who sell decorative swords.
You know, there once was a time when I thought local media might be able to escape the extinction facing their national cousins, as they enjoy a unique opportunity to present current events in a way that's timely, regionally relevant and agenda free.
Looks like I was wrong.
If the media won't report it, it has ethnic overtones, that you can be sure of.
All journalists come from schools of journalism, or at very least some major in the humanities...
Yesterday, a couple of people (I was one of them) jokingly suggested that Saskatchewan needed tougher machete control. Everybody here was intelligent enough to realize that it was not a serious suggestion. Once again, lefties prove that it's not possible to parody them.
You'll all recall the proposed knife ban in the UK a few years back? Which was followed by a proposed glass bottle ban as well, because those are quite a common murder weapon also.
Last I heard neither went through, although thats a shame isn't it? Surely the state will eventually be able to ban every concievable murder weapon out there, right?
In our nearby town, one home-invasion crew's weapon of choice were base-ball bats........
Further to Junker's comment:
phantomsoapbox.blogspot.com/2009/03/no-you-are-not-paranoid-enough.html
Knife control remains a large political issue in Britain. Back in the 1990's Tokyo banned aluminum baseball bats due to gang bangers preferring them over wood.
This media behavior is CULTURAL. They all do it without even thinking about it. Restrict, control, ban. These are the only answers to crime liberals can conceive. They form the sides of the box which is liberal culture.
"Uninterested", for God's sake.
Agree with Western Canadian (10:22), but if baseball needs to be banned then the upward mobility of the players from the Dominican will be jeopordized and the famous phrase "base-a-ball has been berry berry goo-od to me" will no longer be heard.
Those blasted retailers selling knives. We need a methodical crack down on all lethal weapons.
We have taken care of guns with the registry so we know there won't be anymore crime with those things. Now we need to identify all stores that sell knives and boycott them. Next, any store that sells baseball bats. Finally all stores that sell rope. We must eliminate strangulation.
I think those are the only ways people can be harmed or killed. That should bring about peace and harmony in our blessed multicultural society.
So noted, Radish.
And they claim blogs lack editors....
Tyical knee-jerk libralism, every time something bad happens we better bet a ban, law or tax on it as soon as possible because individuals are not bad, nor responsible for their actions, it is our destructive society that makes these terrible crimes possible.
When are people going to have enough of this nonsense, when they wake up to the National Alarm Clock, take the National Train to their US/Canada Auto Partnership Government Job at GM?
Also coming soon to the ban list: swimming pools, alcohol, sex, and crime.
Get ready for the long knife registry . . .
stepladders . . . biggest killer in the home.
Must be banned.
Now.
Having been involved in this issue politically for longer than I care to remember, I don't see any vast communist conspiracy in this irrational response to violence.
Suffice to say that ideologues in the media and politics cannot accept the fact that their utopian policies concerning crime, an armed and empowered public, and justice are deeply flawed. They see proof daily and all they have to offer is ..."well we need MORE of the stuff that didn't stop crime, to the point of unconstitutional despotism and mass legislated criminalization of the innocent....to reaffirm our faith in fallacious idealism.
One of the new conservative movement’s (principled realism) most important insights is that ALL ideologies are wrong. Ideology takes an intellectual system, a product of one or more philosophers, and says; “This world view must be so true, it's beyond debating.” Inevitably, reality ends up contradicting the “ideal” system, usually on a growing number of points and with increased frequency. But the absolutist ideology, by its nature, cannot adjust to reality; to do so would be to abandon the "belief" system.
Therefore, to the ideologue ideologically incongruent realities must be blindly denied and suppressed and the reality challenged ideology ferociously defended and reaffirmed by the unrepentant absolutist ideologue. If the ideology has power, it uses its power to undertake this suppression.
This is why we see non criminal civilian gun bans as a popular ideal in GTA where 100% of their gun crimes are committed by criminals operating outside existing gun control systems. This does not seem oximoronic to them as they are so steeped in the BELIEF that repressing non criminals rids us of crime. It seems logical when your rationale is fundamentally flawed by your ideological dogmatism blinds you to reason, reality and functional thought processes.
I propose a ban on hands, or at least a Hand Registry.
Think of the benefits: no punching, strangling with bare hands, slapping, poking fingers in eyes. And as a side benefit -- can't use knives, machetes, guns, baseball bats, steer vehicles into crowds of pedestrians, and more!
We could set up little hand guillotines in each region so that people can do self-severance.
One potential unintended consequence is that there is a possibility of an increase of kicking deaths. But I have a plan for that too!
No stone should be unregistered, so when police goes to someone house, they know there could be stones and sticks.
Good thing they didn't use hockey sticks.
Machete hackers ... another wonderful gift from the multicultural world Liberals have given Canada. Now, visiting Saskatchewan can be as exotic as visiting Africa ...
If I decide to vacation in Saskatoon, I may employ another cultural import, this one from the American culture, I will carry a big honkin' gun.
SC: elbows.
Then there's the ever popular Glasgow Kiss. It works better if you grab the guy's lapels, but there is also an "unarmed" version.
"She says once the transaction is completed there is no way to track where the weapons go, who purchased them, or for what purpose."
Alternate quotes we're likely to see:
"She says once the tree is cut down there is no way to track where the wood goes, who purchased it, or for what purpose. Ordinary people could be making dangerous spears with it, she added."
"She says once the mint distributes the rolls of quarters, and Wal-Mart sells the 12 pair of socks for 6.99 there's no way to prevent people from getting a hold of both, or knowing why they did so."
"She says once the transaction is completed, there is no way to track where the hockey sticks go, who purchased them, or for what purpose. Hockey is a national pastime, she added, but in the interest of public safety, we need a hockey stick registry."
Oops looks like someone beat me to the hockey stick comment ;) Posted in the wrong thread.
Well, if we must ban things to make a safer world, practically everything at Canadian Tire can be used as a weapon, including the tires,especially if you install them on a car!
Just take a look at all the axes in the Camping Supplies area, sheer mayhem on the hoof!
And Wal-Mart's kitchen section! Butcher knives by the dozen!
The B.C. government suggested the solution to all violence a while back, in response to all the gang shootings on Vancouver streets; ban bullet proof vests.
I'm not enough of an intellectual to make the connection there, but our government knows best.
Perhaps Saskatoon should ban thick sweaters and leather jackets, extrapolating the same logic.
I’ve been a student of the Martial art of iaido, (http://www.uoguelph.ca/~iaido/ ) for ten years now.
In class I use a live blade, (ie shaper then hell). In North America/Europe/Japan I have never heard of a legitimate practitioner of the Martial arts using a weapon outside of the dojo in the commission of a crime.
There is now a sword ban in place in the UK. You must belong to a MA club or be a collector to own a sword. Apparently bayonets, kitchen knives, baseball bats, field hockey sticks, lean pipes, tree branches, utility knives, bottles, screwdrivers, big ass rocks, axes or sharpened pieces of metals are still okay to own.
Banning swords and knives are a knee jerk reaction to the violence. If you want to hurt someone badly enough, you’ll find away to do it.
Banning swords in Japan lead to the adaptation of farm implements as weapons, now used in Martial Arts.
And hell, since I'm (Anglo)Saxon, it's part of my heritage to own and carry a sword, Saxon meaning People of the Sword (Sax), just as it is for Sikhs to carry a kirpin.
Why bother with Walmart or CTC when any maniac can equip themselves at a local dollar store?
Any martial arts expert can hurt as many people as they want, but god forbid you ever mention that! You will be labeled a criminal and may end up with light show in front of your house. God forbid you happen to be a gun owner too - your collection may end up hauled away in a police van.
Good people are very easy to round up - we don't hit back. Try that with the criminals, and one may end up shot of sliced to death. It's so much easier and way more rewarding to round up a gun collector or a martial arts expert.
GF, it's a friendly warning to you - do not ever say, needless to say write what you just wrote! I speak from sad experience - I train modern arnis, combat aikido and jiu jutsu.
*
you wouldn't know it from reading the toronto sun...
but the family of poor little "jordan manners"
is back in the news.
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What about a pointed stick?
"SC: elbows."
Agreed, I took an elbow in the kisser yesterday playing basketball.(no foul)
How about banning tennis rackets? Jonny Mac showed the world how volitile a Canadian can be with a tennis racket in his hand.
If the ban proponents want to get really serious, they should enlist the help of the local anti-smoking zealots. Somehow they managed to convince city councillors that smoking on an outdoor patio was dangerous to anyone within 10 blocks.
In Saskatoon you can walk around with a machete but you can't have a cigarette on a patio.
Go figure. Maybe they should ban machetes on patios or decree certain areas to be machete-free.
Conservatives just don't get it, we have to address the "root" causes: Kung Fu Movies
This is all Chuck Norris's fault.
OT
Has the UN considered banning missle tests? Perhaps a "Long Range Missle Registry".
I'm surprised sda didn't juxtapose with this.
This is really puzzling. Who are these thugs, and why aren't we focusing on locking them up. Get a sketch out-not talk about banning knives.
You can't ban crime-you have to deal with it. Banning knives is just a diversion to avoid finding real solutions or taking responsibility.
All the items below are currently banned somewhere in the US.
First gas driven projectile weapons.
(Guns, air rifles, blow guns)
Then elastic driven projectile weapons.
(Cross bows)
Then thrown projectile weapons.
(Throwing stars, throwing knives)
Then sharp objects.
(Switch blades, butterfly knives, pen knives, double edged combat knives, etc)
Then blunt objects.
(Slaps, slungshot, nunchaku, slaps..)
Soon pillows will be illegal because of the criminal use for smothering people, while ownership of rocks will require registration and a waiting period.
Black and White jungle movies starring Johnny Weissmuller of the late 1930's and 40's most likely led to this! I say ban all 16mm black and white projectors!!
Say what you want but I, for one, slept more soundly after lawn darts were banned. Many a good picnic was ruined by these deadly projectiles disguised as a game.
"It was also understood that the more deadly the instrument chosen, the more dangerous that offender was, and the greater the imperative to apprehend them."
Reminds me of the "tag team rapists" of a few years ago in Surrey. Over 50 gang rapes to their credit and they were caught only because a would be victim turned the tables; as predicted by an RCMP constable. Until then it was a field day.
Pretty sh*tty country where only a Policeman is allowed self defense. Canadians should be ashamed of themselves. But we burn lots of candles in the park...
Ask anyone in the know and they will tell you that a 5 inch steak knife with a serated blade is about as lethal as anything in the blade world. I think society should consider banning the sale of all forms of cutlery. It will be an inconveience eating with our hands, but its for the greater good.
Great post!
Anyone in the "media" brave enough to investigate the "victim" here?
Is there more to this story? Did the victim steal from some drug dealers? Did he cross some gangsters? Did he at sometime in the past commit some kind of assault to another?
All kinds of questions left unanswered.
Maybe its OK to think that a machete attack is something no one deserves, but it may have been just some street justice handed out.
The kind the bad guys fear, as opposed to getting caught with a concealed knife.
Un-freakin-believable how little this is being investigated. And further to that, if you choose not to investigate, then keep the drivel about how people purchase knives to yourself.
Every newscast missed the story. Exactly like Kate said.
Just like every night at 6, it was-hot-cold-windy-above/below normal-wet-dry today, which leads into a climate change story.
Never mind telling me about 3 "young adults at large"
One more thing...... when will the media call a spade a spade? If the young adults are native, let us know! Everyone assumes that anyway. My friend always says its not rude if it's true.
Not racist either.
"Ask anyone in the know and they will tell you that a 5 inch steak knife with a serated blade is about as lethal as anything in the blade world.
The government obviously needs to create a "steak registry".
Show their faces. Let them try to get jobs or re-enter the community.
What cowards the media are!
Why not give people rocket launchers then? If only violent people commit violent acts, then there is no need to control rocket launchers.
In fact, if everyone had rocket launchers, then no one would use their rocket launchers because everyone would be so afraid of getting a rocket launched at themself in relaliation!
Ted,
Riiigggghhhht. Classic argument. Why can't we legalize nuclear weapons then? i.e. the other extreme. The issue here is that the people in general have a right to possess weapons such that
a. They can defend themselves from an assailant.
b. They can mass against an oppressive government.
Proper rifles and pistols (semi automatic with removable magazines)get both jobs done handily, which is why they are the most numerous weapons our military possesses.
Rocket launchers not being necessary for self defense or defense of freedom (They are nice but are not really NEEDED), banning them is therefore not an infringement on the rights of defense of self and freedom.
So banning rocket launchers is what I would call a "common sense gun law" banning rifles, shotguns, pistols, knives, etc etc on the way down, are just violations of a Citizens rights to self defense, and compromise the ability of a populace to maintain themselves in freedom against oppression.
Pillow Fighting Banned in Calgary
Let The Feathers Fly
Michael; you're making too much sense; stop it. We need a ban on burning candles in the park. What kind of carbon footprint does that leave?
I hear that most of these assault machetes are smuggled over the US border...
Michael CK, it depends on who is infringing on your freedom whether you need an RL or not. If they come by tanks, then you do.
Ted, buzz off, dork. You do not need freedom, admit it and go away. They won't touch you if you submit.
Norm @ 12:38 pm;
We want to learn how to defend ourselves against pointed sticks, do we? Getting all high and mighty, eh? Fresh fruit not good enough for you eh? Well I'll tell you something my lad. When you're walking home tonight and some great homicidal maniac comes after you with a bunch of loganberries, don't come crying to me!
Double points to the Monty Python reference and this one takes the cake:
"I hear that most of these assault machetes are smuggled over the US border..."
Winner!
The rocket launcher discussion is ridiculess obviously....the best way to kill a tank now days is with a GUIDED MISSILE. Are Javelin ATGM's a prohibited weapon?
This all comes from Mayor Mandel in Edmonton who proposed this after a spat of the Youths playing to death. Literally. He was laughed at for weeks. I mean BBQ season is almost on us. How many police diverted to knife inspections in stores, or to registering citizens cutlery?
He was knifed in the back over this stupidity by the press & public for once.