It Looks Like DHS Isn’t The Only Ammunition Hog In The United States

April 5, 2012

Activist Post

By James Smith

There are two stories that have come to light recently, the first is the awarding of a contract to a munitions manufacturer for 450,000,000 hollow point rounds for the .40 caliber.

The second story which I wrote is how the Department of Homeland Security had already ordered 200,000,000 rounds of .40 caliber, but also ordered 15,000 gun cleaning kits for the .40 caliber weapons, and has put a request out for a virtual shooting gallery for the .40 caliber handguns.

650,000,000 round of ammunition is quite a bit of lead and brass. It will sure to drive the price of copper and brass way up. But Homeland Security is not alone in their requests.

The other departments — the ones that handle mundane things like meat quality — believe they need to be armed to the teeth as well. It’s enough to make a non-paranoid person, well, paranoid.

The US Department of Agriculture put in a bid for a wide variety of ammunition. I guess raiding farms and raw milk dairies can be very dangerous work. The required rounds are listed below, and include shotgun slugs.

Frangible rounds – for those who don’t know, are rounds that are designed to break apart when they hit walls or other hard surfaces to prevent ricochets during close-quarters combat.

Click here for the report.

Gun Sales Soaring Driven By Obama “Re-Election” Concerns

March 30, 2012

NBC

By Bill Briggs

“People are so scared of Obama getting re-elected that gun sales are way up.  If Mitt Romney is the republican choice, it’s hard to see Obama losing this thing.”

“Stand Your Ground” laws, which have come under fire as a possible factor in the Florida shooting death of an unarmed black teenager, may be having another impact, too — helping fuel a surge in gun sales.

Gun buyers swamped retailers nationwide last year, prompting a record 16.4 million instant criminal background checks of potential owners, up 14.2 percent from 2010, according to FBI figures. While some buyers may not have followed through with gun purchases or may have been denied, others bought more than one, so background checks are considered a good proxy for sales in the industry.

On Wednesday, gun maker Sturm, Ruger & Co. announced the company was forced to temporarily suspend its acceptance of any new firearms orders due to a barrage of wholesale orders — more than 1 million in 2012 alone. Last year the company shipped a total of 1.1 million firearms. This massive push “exceeds our capacity to rapidly fulfill these orders,” the Connecticut company said in a news release, adding that it expects to resume normal operations by the end of May.

While “no true stats” exist reflecting actual U.S. gun purchases, Ginger Colbrun, a spokesman for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms pointed to a report the agency published last year citing a significant spike in gun manufacturing. According to the report, 5.5 million firearms were manufactured in 2009 (the most recent year for which such figures are available) — 1 million more than in 2008, and the highest number since at least 1986. A rise was seen in all four primary categories: pistols, revolvers, rifles and shotguns.

Click here for the full report.

Depressed Army Reservist Attacked By Police Force After Calling For Help

February 15, 2012

Info Wars

By J.D. Heyes

The military spends tens of thousands of man hours annually and no small amounts of money training its personnel to seek help for any feelings of hopelessness or depression they may experience. The Army, especially, focuses on this issue because the suicide rate among its members has hit new highs in the wake of a decade of war in two separate theaters involving multiple deployments for millions of soldiers. That concern has also spilled over into the Guard and Reserve as well, since the Army has had to tap both of those branches in order to meet its personnel obligations for Iraq and Afghanistan.

With that in mind, when one D.C.- area Army reservist reached out for help recently, he was instead surrounded by dozens of police officers who searched and allegedly vandalized his home – all without a warrant, according to his lawsuit.

A Vet With a Gun!

Matthew Corrigan, who lives alone with his dog, says in his suit that he called what he thought was a military emotional support hotline in February 2010, but which actually turned out to be the National Suicide Prevention Hotline, after feeling unusually depressed for several days.

“When he stated that he was a veteran, he was asked if he had firearms, to which he said yes. He said nothing about being suicidal or using a firearm or threatening anyone. After a short conversation, Corrigan hung up, turned off the phone, took prescribed sleeping medication, and went to bed,” says the complaint.

About 4 a.m. the next morning, Corrigan awoke to a sea of police officers who had surrounded his home and were calling his name on a bullhorn. “There were floodlights outside his front and back doors and an estimated 8 police officers in the back yard and 20 in the front yard,” says the complaint.

Corrigan says he then “turned on his phone and discovered that Officer Fischer of the 5th District was calling him, asking him to come out,” says the complaint. He complied around 4:50 a.m., locking the door behind him, and was immediately handcuffed and placed in the back of a S.W.A.T. vehicle.

Click here for the full report.

FBI Cuts Down Mass. Mom’s Door In Wrong-Home Raid

February 3, 2012

ABC

By Associated Press

“The FBI is sure doing it’s job. Here is just one more example of the incompetence of the agency.  The officers involved should be arrested.  Let’s hope this woman sues.  All of this happened because of drugs.  Legalize them and idiotic FBI agents will have more important work to do – like raiding Gibson guitars.” –KTRN

A Massachusetts mother says the FBI used a chain saw blade to cut through her door and held her at gunpoint for at least 30 minutes before agents realized they were conducting a raid at the wrong home.

Judy Sanchez, of Fitchburg, says she awoke to heavy footsteps in the stairwell on Jan. 26 and walked into her kitchen in time to see a blade chop through her door.

She says she was held face down, on the floor, at gunpoint while her 3-year-old daughter cried in another room.

It turns out agents were after the other tenant on the same floor of the multi-unit building. That tenant was suspected of dealing drugs.

Sanchez says she and her daughter now have trouble sleeping.

An FBI spokesman in Boston said Wednesday that the agency is paying for the damage. He said the arrest team was only in the wrong apartment for about 15 minutes, and that the special agent in charge at the scene repeatedly apologized for the mistake. But those words didn’t satisfy Sanchez.

“Just a little pat on the back and saying `I’m sorry’ is not OK,” Sanchez told The Sentinel and Enterprise of Fitchburg.

The botched raid was part of a two-year probe by federal and state authorities into illegal gun sales, drug trafficking and gang activities they dubbed Operation Red Wolf. FBI agents said they were looking for a suspect they identified as 41-year-old Luis R. Vasquez, who uses the street name “Joker,” when they went into Sanchez’s apartment.

They later arrested Vasquez and charged him with conspiracy to distribute cocaine base and other crimes that have him facing up to 40 years in federal prison.

Click here for the full report.

Why U.S. Gun Sales Are Shooting For The Moon

January 19, 2012

Forbes

By Frank Miniter

“More and more people are uneasy these days about the world around them. Hence, gun sales are up.” –KTRN

If James Anthony Bailey and P.T. Barnum had seen the Shooting, Hunting, Outdoor Trade Show (SHOT Show) they just might have conceded their “Greatest Show on Earth” needed more guns, sideshows and characters. Because come one, come all, the SHOT Show has no comparison on Earth and, in fact, is especially interesting this year because gun sales are breaking records.

I shoulder in with the 60,000 people the show has brought to Las Vegas to find out why guns are selling in a mostly down economy. The people around me have come to buy and sell firearms, ammunition, optics, tree stands (devices hunters attach to trees so they can sit and wait for deer to show), deer urine (for attracting those deer), as well as holsters, knives and enough law-enforcement paraphernalia to keep CBS’s show CSI: Crime Scene Investigation filled with cool props for another ten years.

They’ve come from all over America and from more than 100 countries. They are gun dealers, wholesalers, manufacturers and outdoor personalities. They are perhaps our most misunderstood capitalists: the politically incorrect people who buy and sell things that go bang.

They all seem to be having a hell of a time.

Their very own celebrities are here. Michael Waddell, Ted Nugent and other popular outdoor television hosts are shaking hands and talking guns. Legendary gun designer Dan Coonan, inventor and designer of the Coonan .357 Magnum Automatic 1911-style pistol, is at the Coonan Inc. booth. Richard “Dick” Marcinko, the former Navy SEAL who wrote Rogue Warrior is at the DeSantis Gunhide booth. The heroes from the History Channel’s “TOP SHOT” are mingling with fans.

Click here for the full report.

Sheriff: Time For Citizens To Arm Themselves

November 1, 2011

WYFF News

By WYFF

The Spartanburg County Sheriff is known for speaking his mind, and at a news conference on Monday, he didn’t hold back his anger and frustration after a woman was attacked in a park over the weekend.

Investigators said 46-year-old Walter Lance grabbed a woman who was walking her dog in Milliken Park on Sunday afternoon. They said Lance choked the woman, made her take off her clothing and tried to rape her. (Full Story)

Lance is in custody and was denied bond on Monday.

Sheriff Chuck Wright opened his news conference by saying, “Our form of justice is not making it.”

He said, “Carry a concealed weapon. That’ll fix it.”

Wright said Lance had been charged numerous times with crimes against women, and other crimes such as resisting arrest and escape. Wright said Lance had been on probation for a federal gun charge.

He referred to Lance repeatedly as an “animal,” and expressed his disgust about Lance’s long record and the attack.

Wright said Lance has had more than 20 charges dating back to 1983.

Wright said Lance has been in jail more often than he has, and he runs the jail, and he said Lance gets out easier. Wright punctuated it by saying, “And I’m aggravated.”

He said he doesn’t believe every person needs to be kept in jail, but he said, “I don’t think this animal deserves to be out in our society, walking alongside our women.”

Wright said,”Liberals call me and tell me the chain-gang form of justice isn’t working. Well, let me inform you, your form of justice isn’t working either.”

He said Lance should not have had the right or opportunity to “violate a good, upstanding woman.”

Click here for the full report from WYFF.

TSA Too Busy Violating Innocent Citizens’ Rights, Misses LOADED .38 Gun In Luggage At LAX

October 25, 2011

USA Today

By Melanie Eversley

“Nice going TSA.  No wonder why nobody likes to fly. Keep up the great work.” — Chris KTRN

Despite all the extra airport security measures installed since the 2001 terror attacks, federal security officials at Los Angeles International Airport, or LAX, missed a loaded gun inside a checked bag on Sunday, the Los Angeles Times and other news organizations are reporting.

The .38-caliber handgun fell out of a duffel bag as a luggage ramp crew was loading it onto an Alaska Airlines flight to Portland, Ore., the Times reports.

The gun was turned over to police and police temporarily detained the gun owner, who took a later flight to Portland.

Guns are allowed to be in locked containers in checked bags but not loaded, according to the Times.

The Transportation Security Administration screens for firearms in carry-on bags, but it is not its responsibility to do so with checked luggage, TSA spokeswoman Lorie Dankers tells the news organization.

But the head of a union representing police officers assigned to LAX says the federal agency should do more.

“Local law enforcement needs to know that TSA is doing their part,” union representative Marshall McClain tells the Times.

Click here for the full report from USA Today.

Police Busted for Alleged Gun Smuggling

October 25, 2011

Today

By Jonathan Dienst, Shimon Prokupecz and Joe Valiquette

“Here is another example of New York’s finest at work.  This comes just after a NYPD cop plead guilty to planting drugs on people just so he could make arrests.  I thought police were supposed to serve and protect, not harass and hurt.”  –Chris KTRN

Eight NYPD officers and one New Jersey corrections officer have been arrested on charges that they were running a gun-smuggling ring that trafficked more than $1 million in illegal weapons and stolen goods.

The officers arrested include five active-duty officers assigned to Brooklyn and three retired NYPD officers, although two of the retired officers were active when committing the alleged crimes, prosecutors said. All those arrested were picked up by FBI agents and NYPD Internal Affairs investigators early Tuesday.

According to the criminal complaint, some of those arrested smuggled 20 firearms as recently as Sept. 22. The cache included three M-16 rifles, one shotgun and 16 handguns, most of which had their serial numbers removed.

One officer bragged to an informant in July, as an associate displayed a shotgun for sale, that it was a “sample” and that they could get anything “from A to Z.”

The allegations are no doubt troubling for the NYPD, whose commissioner, Ray Kelly, has joined with Mayor Bloomberg in speaking out on illegal guns as a nationwide scourge that threatens public safety, particularly that of police officers.

Several of those arrested are also accused of illegally transporting other stolen goods. The group is accused of transporting stolen slot machines from Atlantic City, N.J., to Port Chester, N.Y., in March. Two months later, they allegedly stole more than 200 cases of cigarettes from trucks in Virginia and hauled them to New York.

A common tactic, prosecutors said, included breaking into tractor-trailers that were hauling cigarettes.

At one point while transporting stolen slot machines, one of the officers said to an informant, “Listen, when you’re doing stuff like this you gotta be intelligent … you gotta set it up where if I’m a cop on the side of the road, am I gonna stop that Ryder truck there?”

The same officer later said all the policemen participating in the slot machine scheme were “risking a lot for a little,” the complaint said.

“They know what’s going, and how much trouble they could get in, and what they’re risking,” he said. “They’re risking a lot.”

The investigation involved interviews with the informant, undercover work, surveillance, and intercepted phone conversations.

Most of the officers worked out of the 68th Precinct, which serves the Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights and Fort Hamilton neighborhoods.

One officer who allegedly participated in cigarette smuggling expressed concern about trafficking weapons, saying at one point he was fine “as long as there’s no drugs and guns involved.”

Before the details were unsealed, a PBA spokesman declined comment, saying he was unaware of the specific charges as well as which officers were being charged.

In all, 12 people are charged with multiple federal conspiracy counts expected to be announced later Tuesday by U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly and FBI officials.

The alleged NYPD corruption arrests come as other officers could also be charged this week in a separate ticket-fixing investigation headed by the Bronx District Attorney’s office.

Interestingly, the criminal complaint in the gun-smuggling case indicates that the investigation began in late 2009, when the informant was introduced to one of the officers as a person who could “fix” his traffic tickets. The informant then developed a relationship with that officer.

Officials have said more than a dozen NYPD officers could face charges in the ticket-fixing case, including some police union delegates.

In the gun-smuggling case, the suspects are expected to appear in federal court in Manhattan on the charges.

Click here for the full report from Today.

Feds Trafficked Guns To Suspected Criminals Under Bush

October 18, 2011

Prison Planet

By Paul Joseph Watson

During an appearance on CBS News’ Face the Nation on Sunday, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa acknowledged that an almost identical program to Fast and Furious, in which the federal government trafficked guns directly to suspected criminals, existed under the Bush administration.

Issa’s comments about a similar program being operational under the Bush administration appear at the 3:50 mark.

“We know that, under the Bush administration, there were similar operations, but they were coordinated with Mexico,” Issa, R-Calif., said. “They made every effort to keep their eyes on the weapons the whole time. So we’re not, per se, saying that tracing weapons is a bad idea.”

Based out of Arizona, the Bush-era program ran from 2006 to the end of 2007 and was dubbed “Operation Wide Receiver.” Similarly to Fast and Furious, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives allowed firearms to “walk” to suspected gun traffickers without them being interdicted.

Democrats will obviously cite the fact that an almost identical program was up and running during the Bush administration as a way to try and absolve the Obama administration and particularly Attorney General Eric Holder of blame for Fast and Furious.

Indeed, Maryland Democrat Elijah Cummings immediately highlighted Issa’s comments to claim that Fast and Furious was a “local issue that never got to higher-ups,” and that AG Holder was unaware of its existence.

However, contrary to his Congressional testimony, records show that Holder was sent briefings on Fast and Furious by both Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer and the National Drug Intelligence Center in July 2010, almost a year before he told a Judiciary Committee hearing, “I’m not sure of the exact date, but I probably heard about Fast and Furious for the first time over the last few weeks.”

However, what this really tells us is that there was a continuation of policy and a mere passing of the baton, with the ATF not letting a presidential election get in the way of business as usual.

The only real difference under the Obama administration is that prior to the program being publicly exposed, Obama exploited it as a method through which to demonize the second amendment by claiming that Mexican drug lords were sourcing their guns from the United States, while hiding the fact that this was a result of the federal government delivering truck loads to drug gangs directly.

This was likely what Obama was referring to during a March 30 meeting between Jim and Sarah Brady and White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, at which Obama “dropped in,” when he told Brady that the administration was “working on” gun control “under the radar”.

Click Here For The Full Report From Prison Planet

“Credible” Terror Alert Turns Into Fearmongering Farce

September 12, 2011

Infowars.com

By: Paul Joseph Watson

The consequences of a “credible and specific” warning that terrorists were planning to blow up bridges or tunnels on the anniversary of 9/11 turned into a police state showcase and ended in a farce when fighter jets were scrambled as a response to people visiting airplane bathrooms.

Following days of endless fearmongering prompted by a “reliable source” who provided “uncorroborated” information that Al-Qaeda was planning to strike this weekend, we were saturated with images of police brazenly violating the 4th amendment by conducting sweeping vehicle and bag searches, national guard troops with guns, and random checkpoints, all serving as a reminder that the terrorists really did win.

But what became of the deadly terror plot? Was the attempt foiled by the suffocating but necessary “security” procedures?

“Fighter planes were scrambled, bomb squads were called, FBI command centers went on alert and police teams raced to airports today, but in the end two separate airline incidents were caused by apparently innocent bathroom breaks and a little “making out,” federal officials said,” reports ABC News.

F-16 fighter jets were scrambled to follow a Frontier Airlines flight from Denver to Detroit after reports that three passengers, two men and a woman, were acting “suspiciously” and spending lengthy amounts of time in the bathroom.

After landing in Detroit, police stormed the plane with guns drawn and ordered everybody to put their heads down and their hands on the seat in front of them.

“The policeman said everybody remain seated. Everyone remains seated. If you get out of your seats you will be taken care of quickly,” said Marilyn Dietrick,” reports ABC 7.

Passengers were then ordered off the plane without their belongings and forced to undergo FBI questioning while bomb-sniffing dogs searched their luggage.

“No one was hurt and so far no one has been placed under arrest. All of the detained passengers, including the three who were first taken off the plane, have been released,” reports ABC 7.

It turned out that the “suspicious behavior” was two people “making out” in the bathroom mid-flight, law enforcement sources told ABC News.”

In another incident, two fighter jets were scrambled to escort an American Airlines jet into New York’s JFK airport. Again, the “suspicious behavior” that prompted the alert comprised of passengers visiting the restroom.

So the serious and sober terror alert that provoked thousands of headlines and a multi-million dollar security response, while of course presenting the perfect opportunity to reinforce the police state by invoking 9/11, culminated in nothing more than an almighty freak out in response to a few people eager to use the bathroom.

The whole farce underscores the fact that the terrorists have won. The goal of terror is to fundamentally change society so that the population alters their behavior and willingly relinquishes their freedom through fear. By exploiting the threat of terrorism to provoke fear, the federal government has achieved this objective.

The fact that Americans are more likely to die from intestinal illnesses, accident-causing deer, and allergic reactions to peanuts than they are in terrorist attacks is buried amidst all the panic and hand-wringing about deadly plots that never come to fruition, but do serve to justify the bloated Homeland Security state that has swallowed up America in the drive for profit and control.

This is why military-industrial complex publications like National Defense have openly expressed the need to maintain “fear and an unrealistic American perception of risk” regarding terrorist attacks in order to drive up profits.

This can only be accomplished with the complicity of the establishment media, who are certain to hype more dubious terror alerts, which former DHS head Tom Ridge admitted were faked and exaggerated for political purposes, in order to generate the kind of hysteria that leads to visits to the bathroom being characterized as suspicious and terror-related.

Click here for the full report at Infowars.com

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