Google Earth reveals more long-hidden secrets

I've been following the work of some Australian archaeologists with great interest since 2008. They've been using Google Earth to survey large swaths of the Middle East where, for one reason or another (including war, terrorism, internal security concerns and regional tensions), normal aerial photography for archaeological research isn't possible.

The first report to attract my interest emerged in July 2008, when doctoral student David Thomas and some colleagues used Google Earth to examine Afghanistan.

Thomas and three colleagues ... used the Google Earth images of Afghanistan to glean new details from already discovered sites, map known sites that don't have any drawn plans and, most significantly, uncover hundreds of sites that were previously undiscovered.

Qal'a-i Hauz, a Ghaznavid fortress and reservoir, in Afghanistan

And the best part is they could do it all from the comfort of their armchairs, without shouldering the costs of travelling to Afghanistan and the threats posed by gangs of Taliban militants.

Before Thomas's project there was only one known site in the Registan desert region of Afghanistan and the last time a researcher visited the area was in the 1970s. Using Google Earth, Thomas's team have managed to catalogue 450 sites in the area, dating back centuries if not millennia.

There's more at the link. Mr. Thomas' paper, titled 'The Archaeological Sites of Afghanistan in Google Earth', may be found here in the form of a Scribd document. It includes several photographs of his discoveries, including the one reproduced above.

In February this year, another academic announced that he'd discovered many new archaeological sites in Saudi Arabia using a similar technique.

Professor David Kennedy, from the University of Western Australia, has never visited Saudi Arabia but scanned 1240 square kilometres of the country using Google Earth and found 1977 potential archaeological sites. This included 1082 ancient tombs shaped like tear drops.

Kennedy was able to confirm the legitimacy of two of the finds by asking a friend in Saudi Arabia to drive out to the sites and photograph them. He believes they may be up to 9000 years old.

'Wheel' formations

Kennedy told New Scientist that Saudi Arabia was "not the easiest country to break into" and it was difficult to even fly over the nation - but he said Google Earth "can outflank them".

In his paper on the find, published in the Journal of Archaeological Science, Kennedy writes: "It is readily apparent that the use of GE [Google Earth] for the prospection and identification of sites has great potential when dealing with a huge area that is otherwise largely inaccessible on the ground."

However, further ground verification is needed to confirm the significance of the sites.

"Just from Google Earth it's impossible to know whether we have found a Bedouin structure that was made 150 years ago, or 10,000 years ago," Kennedy told New Scientist.

In the journal paper Kennedy said initial investigations revealed most of the discoveries were "pre-Islamic". It is thought that the Islamic regime in Saudi Arabia is hostile to archaeology because it may focus attention on pre-Islamic civilisations there.

. . .

Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper reported that 90 per cent of the archaeological treasures in the holy cities of Mecca and Medina had been destroyed to make way for hotels, apartment blocks and parking facilities. Last year, Saudi clerics reportedly renewed long-standing calls for the demolition of several historic Islamic sites.

Again, more at the link.

(I can understand Professor Kennedy's fear of destruction of ancient sites by militant fundamentalist Wah'habist clerics. Their brand of Islam isn't all that far removed from the Taliban in Afghanistan in some respects - and we all remember what the Taliban did to the Buddhas of Bamiyan in that country!)

Last Friday Professor Kennedy announced further discoveries.

Australia has unwittingly become the Google Earth archaeology capital of the world.

After announcing in February that he had unearthed almost 2000 potential archaeological sites in Saudi Arabia from his armchair, Professor David Kennedy, from the University of Western Australia, has now uncovered thousands more prehistoric man-made stone structures across the entire Arabian peninsula, stretching from northern Syria to Yemen.

. . .

Among Professor Kennedy's discoveries in the area are domestic dwellings, tens of thousands of stone burial tombs shaped strikingly like pendants and trumpets and 3000 "kites". The kites were named as such due to their shape and were in fact used as animal traps - ranging in diameter from 20 or 30 metres to 10 times that size.

An ancient 'kite' in Jordan

"The tails are guide walls, animals would be enticed into the open mouth of the guide walls and they'd be slowly funnelled down until they found themselves in a circular enclosure of some kind, where they would be killed," said Professor Kennedy.

These stone structures - which were about a metre high at the time but are now just 50 or 60 centimetres tall - were first discovered by British Royal Air Force pilots in the 1920s but the finds were very partial and fragmented. As at 1995 there were only about 507 known "kites" in the area but Professor Kennedy has now increased this six-fold.

"What has changed now - thanks to a programme of aerial archaeology in Jordan and the growing coverage of high-resolution imagery on Google Earth and Bing, is the ability to identify these structures over immense areas of Arabia, draw them, map them and begin the task of interpretation on which specialists in the region and period can base a multi-disciplinary research project," he said.

With Google Earth, Professor Kennedy and other archaeologists are able to build a much more complete picture and discover ancient structures in areas where they would never be permitted - or physically able - to access on the ground or by using aerial photography.

More at the link.

Professor Kennedy is the current director of the Aerial Photographic Archive for Archaeology in the Middle East (APAAME). Its Web site contains many photographs and details of discoveries made using both Google Earth and aerial photography. Many of its images have been copied to a Flickr photostream for greater ease of access. Another good source for information about 'aerial archaeology' in Saudi Arabia is this article by Professor Kennedy, including many more photographs. All three links are highly recommended reading for those interested in ancient history and archaeology.

Peter

Cookies!

This short cartoon brought a broad smile to my face.

I know a dog who thinks of cookies in similar terms . . .





Peter

World's most expensive bottle of whisky?

Amid all the economic doom and gloom, there are nevertheless signs that some people still have money, and aren't afraid to spend it. From Singapore comes the news that a single bottle of Dalmore 62, one of the rarest single malt whiskies in the world from Dalmore Distillery in Scotland, has just been sold through a duty-free shop at Changi airport. Business Insider reports:

The [US] $194,000 bottle is reportedly one of the most expensive ever sold, and is one of 12 bottles of its kind in the world.




When the man saw the bottle on display, he made a bank transfer of $100,000 and placed the down payment on it.

The Dalmore 62 was part of a special promotion called "Master of Spirits" aimed at connoisseurs. It will remain on display in a glass case at the shop until paid in full.

There's more at the link. (Note that the $250,000 sign in the display case in the photograph is denominated in Singapore dollars, not US dollars.)



However, if you're in despair that the last available bottle of Dalmore 62 has been snapped up, you needn't worry: the distillery is about to bottle precisely three bottles of Dalmore 64. Each will be sold for £100,000 [about US $154,000] by the distillery . . . which means they should fetch double that after a year or so!

What was that old saying about having more money than sense?





Peter

The reverse of vertigo

Yesterday I published an article titled "Vertigo in pictures!" It highlighted a few photographs (and linked to a site with many others) showing the view downward from some very tall buildings.

Here's an opposite perspective: what some call 'vertical panoramas'. They show a low-to-high perspective on buildings and scenery, usually taking several photographs and 'stitching' them together to form a single image. Twisted Sifter looked at this art form recently. Here are a couple of examples from their article, reduced in size to fit this blog.

Sagrada Família, Barcelona, Spain

Sultan Achmed Mosque, Istanbul, Turkey

There are more at the link.

Also of interest is a Flickr photography group calling itself 'Vertical Panoramic'. Its members have posted hundreds of photographs in this genre. Here's just one example: it's titled 'Torres' (Towers), and depicts two skyscrapers in Madrid, Spain.




There are many more images at the group's Flickr page.

Fascinating stuff! I hope you enjoy this sort of creativity as much as I do.

Peter

The state of the US and world economy

Following my post about the economy a couple of days ago, I've had a few e-mails accusing me of being an 'alarmist', saying that things really aren't that bad, and claiming that we'll muddle through somehow. I have no problem with that last statement . . . it's just a question of whether we'll be able to afford to eat anything while we're muddling!

I think a lot of people genuinely don't understand that you can't print enough money to buy your way out of economic trouble. Excessive money supply is one of the primary reasons that we're in the mess we are today. Furthermore, people don't understand how interconnected the world economy has become. We're no longer able to stand aloof from the problems of others; their problems are ours, and vice versa. Consider:

• If the Euro tanks (as appears increasingly likely), the economy of the European Union will go to hell in a handbasket for several months at least, while the various banksters and politicians involved try to salvage the shattered remnants and glue the pieces together in some sort of new structure.
• That means that everyone who exports goods to Europe (primarily China and other Far Eastern nations, but also including some very large US corporations - for example, Boeing) is suddenly faced with the loss of a major market. Their companies can no longer sell their goods into that market, which means there's a massive oversupply of them. They've already had to face a considerable reduction in demand from the USA, too. They'll have to eat even more losses, lay off workers by the hundreds of thousands . . . hel-loooo, economic disruption!
• Until recently, China's money has been keeping our economy afloat. They own trillions of dollars in US bonds and other securities. If their economy tanks due to a reduction in demand from the USA and Europe (the first signs of economic problems are already visible there), they're going to have to redirect all their reserves into keeping their own country afloat . . . which means they'll dump US debt for pennies on the dollar, in a desperate attempt to get as much liquidity as they can to preserve the Communist Party government from the wrath of its citizens.
• With all those US bonds and securities being dumped so cheaply, the Federal Reserve literally won't be able to sell a single bond to new investors. Those that want our bonds after Europe and China tank will be buying up the cheap securities being dumped by the latter nations. Say goodbye to deficit spending in the US, because no-one will fund our deficit any longer. Can you say "Halve US government spending immediately"? I thought you could . . . so there go most, if not all, of our entitlement programs. Overnight. That includes Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, and most welfare payouts.
• If the Federal Reserve tries to print enough money (well over one and a half trillion dollars per year, at present rates of expenditure) to cover our deficit spending, it'll cause such massive inflation and internal economic disruption that the 'cure' might well be worse than the 'disease'. It'll also piss off the rest of the world, because all those dollar-denominated bonds they bought from us will suddenly be worth a whole lot less. There goes the US dollar's international reserve currency status.
  

National Review Online put the US budget into perspective a couple of days ago.

... take some of our key economic numbers — how much money the U.S. government brings in, how much it spends, and how much brave politicians are “cutting” to bring those numbers into balance — and simply lop off eight zeros (i.e., divide by 100 million) to make those numbers something that American families can relate to:

Why S&P Downgraded the US:
U.S. Tax revenue: $2,170,000,000,000
Federal budget: $3,820,000,000,000
New debt: $ 1,650,000,000,000
National debt: $14,271,000,000,000
Recent [April] budget cut: $ 38,500,000,000

Let’s remove 8 zeros and pretend it’s a household budget:
Annual family income: $21,700
Money the family spent: $38,200
New debt on the credit card: $16,500
Outstanding balance on the credit card: $142,710
Budget cuts: $385

Even as a self-described policy wonk, I found this eye-opening. It’s harder to pretend that Washington leadership is serious about restoring fiscal sanity when their budget cuts are seen in this context.

There's more at the link. How anyone can even begin to be complacent about the US economy, when those numbers are the daily reality we're living with right now, is utterly beyond me. To see our politicians arguing over whether to fund disaster relief expenditure by cutting other expenditure, or adding it to the deficit, is mind-boggling. Can't they understand that they're fiddling while Rome burns? The odd billion here or there pales into insignificance beside the fact that we're 1.65 trillion dollars in the hole this year alone. We've got no more room left to maneuver on the deficit. We simply can't go on spending money we don't have. It's almost destroyed us already. Why can't they see this?

They aren't alone in their catastrophic ignorance and wilful blindness, of course. The governing 'elites' all over the world have been peddling the same lies for decades - lies that are now being exposed by their failure. As Richard Fernandez points out:

The market is writing down the value of the world economy. Right across the board. It is making a judgement on what they think the future is worth. By recent numbers, not much. Not just because policymakers have gotten it wrong about the “root cause” of terrorism, or the Euro; but also about “Too Big To Fail”, population policy, multiculturalism, a crippling environmentalism and Global Warming, to name a few. The financial, national security and educational systems of the world are in utter collapse because they are stuffed with lies, which even when they are shown to be obviously false suck up trillions of dollars in their pursuit. And nothing will turn the global elites from continuing their ruinous path until they have spent the last nickle and dime they can lay their hands on.

More at the link. Bold print is my emphasis.

What does this mean in the short term? As Karl Denninger put it yesterday, "Welcome to the Collapse of 2011"!

Recognition that you've been scammed can be a truly ugly thing. It is usually violent at an emotional and financial level, and more often than one would like it has a habit of being violent in the physical sense as well.

Well, America (and the world), you've been scammed by the financial institutions and governments for the last 30 years. 2008 was the first spasm of recognition but was short-circuited by.... you guessed it.... even more scams. Rather than demand truth and an end to the games the American consumer lapped up the frauds and schemes of the politicians on both sides of the aisle who conspired with the financiers to rip you off once again.

The opportunity to address these issues as I have been tirelessly attempting to do, was ignored by those in policy roles in Washington DC. Those who have been reading The Ticker are well-aware of my efforts going back into 2007 and through the 2008 Presidential campaign on both sides of the aisle, along with my efforts since.

They've been ignored with the political establishment choosing to knob-job the banks and lie to you, the public, rather than address the fact that the entire last 30 years have been one gigantic economic scam and that what they were attempting to do could not, as a matter of mathematics, succeed.

Now recognition of that fact is dawning on people in a convulsive fashion, and markets of all sorts are reacting as one would expect when their entire worldview is exposed as having been a gigantic and intentional pyramid scheme constructed of debt layered upon debt that cannot be paid down. The wrong thing was done in 2008 and there is zero evidence that our government has changed one iota in their singular focus on misdirection and lies in this regard.

Welcome to awareness; I hope you've taken the last couple of years to become prepared.

Again, more at the link.

Let's give a slightly more hopeful - but no less realistic - last word to Walter Russell Mead.

Global economic events are moving so rapidly that we have no way of foreseeing the economic environment for next year. It will probably not be very good, but how bad it will be and how it will look to voters cannot yet be foretold.

More to the point, we need policy discussions more than we need political ones. This is not just about how big the deficit should be; it is about whether the international financial system will survive the next six months in the form we now know it. It is about whether the foundations of the postwar order are cracking in Europe. It is about whether a global financial crash will further destabilize the Middle East and, if so, what we and the Europeans are going to do about it. It is about whether the incipient signs of a bubble burst in China signal the start of an extended economic and perhaps even political crisis there. It is about whether the American middle class is about to be knocked off its feet once again and indeed whether the middle class as we’ve known it will survive. It is about whether sovereign governments can still underwrite economic performance and financial stability in the leading economies of the world.

In all cases, I think the odds still favor outcomes well short of catastrophic and worst case scenarios — but the global economy is now in the catastrophe zone where speculation about such scenarios is no longer science fiction but becomes part of prudent planning.

. . .

I still hope the old house can weather one more storm, but it is clear that we can no longer take that for granted. The ground under the foundations is washing away; the wind threatens to rip off the roof, and cracks are appearing in load bearing walls. Sooner rather than later we are going to have to redesign and rebuild.

Financial market crashes come and go; the world may spin back into recession or the economy may wobble for a bit and then stabilize. But we’ve had a glimpse into the abyss; in Europe, in Asia and in the Americas some of our most fundamental institutions and social policies are going to have to change.

Bold print is my emphasis. Go read the rest for yourself. It's good stuff.

Peter

Cat versus dog - place your bets!

Guess who wins?

I guess he won't be in any hurry to make that mistake again! He'll be too busy nursing his shredded ego . . . not to mention a few other shredded bits and pieces!





Peter

The parachute is still a useful military accessory

With all the helicopter-borne assaults being made in Afghanistan, one might get the impression that the parachute was an anachronism left over from previous wars, no longer of particular value except as a means of escape from a damaged aircraft. That's not the case at all, as has just been demonstrated in a large-scale military exercise in Fort Bragg, NC. The base's public affairs people report:

Light infantry troops are like little birds. They get up into the highest mountains, and they say, “feed me, feed me,” according to one sustainment officer in the 82nd Airborne Division involved in supply-by-air training, Sept. 6 through 11.




“As a logistician, how do you get the stuff that they need to them when they are in the most inaccessible spot, where there are frequently no roads?” asked Lt. Col. Paul Narowski, commander of 1st Brigade Combat Team’s 307th Brigade Support Battalion.

“You’ve got to learn to use the third dimension,” he said.




During a Large Package Week exercise, paratroopers with 1st BCT and aircrews from a number of Air Force units learned to coordinate parachute drops of vehicles, artillery pieces, supplies and troops.

. . .

“Based on my combat experience, my primary method of resupply is always by air,” he said. “I will ensure that the staff maximizes every aerial-delivery asset before I start tasking trucks to get out on the road. If we can do it in a dimension that won’t get interdicted by the enemy and put our paratroopers at most risk, that’s a win-win for me.”




Narowski said the learning curve is steep for logisticians trying to keep up with the “fast-and furious” light infantry.




“The important thing about the way the 82nd and 101st fight is, we don’t fight head-on,” he said. “We go for the soft flank around his strength. If he’s strong along the road, then we can’t send a convoy up the road. If we get a force into his rear area, how do we resupply them? You’ve got to have that agility and familiarity with things like air drop and sling load and use those to our advantage.”

There's more at the link. More (and much larger) photographs may be found here. Click on each thumbnail for a larger version.

Peter

Is God above the Constitution?

That's the title of a very interesting article on Peter Berger's blog at The American Interest. Here's an excerpt.

Is fealty to God to be placed above fealty to the constitution? Every serious Christian, Jew, or for that matter Muslim, would answer with a resounding yes! To answer otherwise would be guilty of a terrible sin in all three Abrahamic religions—the sin of idolatry. The very first of the Ten Commandments reads: “I am the Lord your God. You shall have no other gods beside me.”

It seems quite clear that a democracy, which guarantees freedom of religion, will have to accept this answer and its open expression, unless it is used to legitimate actions (not just speech) which violate the law. And even then, democracy (at least in its American version) will be inclined to make concessions to religious beliefs that induce illegal actions. It is useful to recall that Martin Luther King was inspired by his Christian faith to violate what was then the law in Southern states. American democracy has accorded a right of conscientious objection to religiously inspired pacifists, and currently seems on the way to allowing Catholic hospitals an exemption from performing publicly funded abortions or other procedures deemed contrary to Catholic morality. King has become a democratic icon despite (and for many, because of) his advocacy of civil disobedience. It is even useful to recall that German democracy has made an icon of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who was motivated by his Christian faith to join the conspiracy to overthrow the Nazi tyranny by violent means. Both King and Bonhoeffer died as martyrs to the belief that God is above human law.

. . .

Democracy in any pluralistic society (which means practically everywhere) means that the boundary between sacred and profane realms will be ever shifting, ever in need of re-interpretation and re-negotiation.

The implication for American democracy is very simple: The constitution is not a sacred text. It has proved to be an amazingly durable and supple artifact. But it is a human artifact. Its core values are in part (and only in part) derived from Biblical religion, but these have been embraced by adherents of other religions, as well as by agnostics and atheists. This constitution can be respected, admired, even loved. It should not be worshipped.

More at the link. Italic print is Mr. Berger's emphasis.

The author makes some very good points, and highlights an ongoing conflict in US politics. I don't agree with all he says, but he certainly provides enough food for thought to get an interesting debate under way. Recommended reading.

Peter

Vertigo in pictures!

I found an interesting collection of vertigo-inducing photographs over at My Modern Metropolis today. Here are a few examples. (Click each picture for a larger view.)

View from the 77th floor inside the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Shanghai, China

Date and location not specified

Date and location not specified

There are many more at the link. Some make me giddy just looking at them!

Peter

It must be nice to be a union boss in Chicago

That's the only conclusion I can draw from an article in the Chicago Tribune yesterday. Here's an excerpt.

The Tribune reported that in 1991, state law was quietly changed to allow Chicago union bosses to cash in and base their city taxpayer-funded pensions not on their wages from their city jobs but on their salaries as union bosses.

That neat little trick inflated the pensions dramatically. And who pays? When you're at a card game and you can't spot the sucker, guess what? You're the sucker.

So now, for example, Cement Workers Union boss Liberato "Al" Naimoli is receiving $157,752 in pension from a $15,264-per-year city job.

Chicago Federation of Labor retired President Dennis Gannon is receiving $158,258 for a $55,474 city job.

And Jim McNally, an officer with Operating Engineers Local 150, gets a $114,935-a-year pension for a $57,200 city job.

What's your pension like?

Back then, there was no debate. No official state analysis. And that's the way our politicians like it. And two decades later, some 23 bosses stand to draw $56 million from two weakened City of Chicago pension funds.

After I read Grotto's reporting, I was so angry I could hardly see. Desperate people are out of work in Illinois.

There are hardworking union people who never got such sweet pensions. There are coal miners in southern Illinois who've watched their fathers spit out pieces of their lungs and live on chicken feed pensions, and then the mines close and there's no work.

And there are hardworking nonunion employees who don't have such perks. And taxpayers who are getting squeezed don't have such perks. What do taxpayers get? Some get to lose their homes, and they'll be lucky to have dog food to eat if they live to be old.

But the winners will be just fine.

There's more at the link.

Y'know, if I lived in Chicago, and my rates and taxes were paying for this, I'd be tempted - mighty tempted - to hope that someone would see to it that the retirement of everybody benefiting from this boondoggle was as short as possible.

Just sayin'.





Peter

Caught in a mudslide

This video clip captures the moment when a mudslide hit a South Korean highway.

I hope the driver made it out OK . . .

Peter

Ye Gods and little fishes . . .

Courtesy of a link at Breda's place, we're treated (?) to a series of pictures of models and their outfits and makeup from recent fashion shows. They're utterly beyond my capacity to describe. Here are a few examples.






There are many more at the link. Proceed there at your peril . . .

All I can say is, if I were taking a lady out for the night, and found her dressed (?) like one of those models, she'd either be getting changed at once, or staying home - alone!





Peter

Is the UAW consuming itself?

Readers are probably familiar with the legend of Ouroboros, the snake that eats itself. It looks as if the United Auto Workers Union has moved beyond familiarity to actual imitation. Reuters reports:

Bob King, the president of the United Auto Workers, has a problem: the labor union that credits itself with creating the American middle class has glimpsed the end of the line.

Two years after the wrenching restructuring of the U.S. auto industry and the bankruptcies that remade General Motors and Chrysler, the UAW is facing its own financial reckoning. America's richest union has been living beyond its means and running down its savings, an analysis of its financial records shows.

Unless King and other officials succeed with a turnaround plan still taking shape, the next financial crisis in Detroit may not be at one of the automakers but at the UAW itself.

That picture of the growing financial pressure on the 76-year-old union emerges from a Reuters analysis of a decade of UAW financial filings and interviews with dozens of current and former union officials and people close to the union.

. . .

King is betting that a union forged in Depression-era Detroit can connect with a generation of American workers who grew up long after the peak of the UAW's clout in the 1950 and 1960s and who live in southern states traditionally hostile to labor unions.

That will mean spending big on a campaign to attract non-union workers in plants owned by foreign automakers in the south.

. . .

That more aggressive approach threatens to push costs higher for the UAW when it has been forced to sell assets to make up from dwindling dues from a declining base of active workers.

The union has been slow to trim other outlays. Since 2007, the union's spending has included promotional items such as flyswatters emblazoned with the UAW logo ($5,000), bowling ball buffers and bags ($33,000) as well as spending on golf outings and at golf resorts ($346,000). The union says it is forced to book meetings at golf resorts because in some areas of the country those are the only conference facilities large enough.

The UAW also spent at least $2 million on advertising in 2008 to build support for the union and the first wave of "bridge" loans for General Motors and Chrysler. Both automakers were spared liquidation by a bailout orchestrated by President Barack Obama in 2009.

UAW officials acknowledge that the practice of relying on the union's savings will have to end.

"If the UAW continued to sell assets to operate, how long of a period does it take before you no longer can sustain that?" UAW Secretary-Treasurer Dennis Williams told Reuters.

. . .

The UAW remains America's richest union. The value of assets on its balance sheet top $1 billion. Some of that, especially real estate, could be worth far less if the union was forced to sell in a hurry, analysts say. Even so, the UAW's reported wealth is almost twice as much as that held by the second-richest union, which was the United Brotherhood of Carpenters in 2010.

Most of the UAW's wealth sits in its strike fund, which stood at $763 million at the end of 2010. But the sheer size of the fund masks a deterioration of the union's day-to-day finances, especially since 2007.

To bridge the gap between spending and revenue, the UAW has increasingly relied on selling its investments, which include U.S. Treasuries and stocks, and a handful of properties. From 2000 to 2006, the UAW sold $7.3 million. That ballooned to nearly $222 million from 2007 to 2010, government filings show.

"It illustrates to me that their cost structure is not aligned with the revenue that they're getting from their rank and file," said Peter Bible, former chief accounting officer for GM who is now a partner-in-charge at accounting firm EisnerAmper LLP.

. . .

The erosion of the UAW's wealth could also undercut the union's power in national politics where it remains a key ally of the Democratic Party. Williams, for example, is a veteran political organizer who campaigned for Obama in 2008 and remains close.

There's more at the link. (A more detailed version of the report, complete with graphics and images, may be found here as an Adobe Acrobat document in .PDF format. It includes an interesting sidebar on the UAW's luxury resort ownership . . . something that appears incongruous in an organization like that, to put it mildly!)

Let me say right away that I'm not anti-union. I've been a dues-paying member of a union in the past, and found membership in it to be very valuable during a couple of workplace difficulties. However, I also believe that the single largest contribution to the present problems of the 'big three' US automakers has come from the UAW. I regard it as bloated, self-centered and demanding; a liability rather than an asset to the industry and its members; and stuck in the past, unable to keep pace with the present and/or position itself for the future. Furthermore, its role in the bailouts of GM and Chrysler, where the rights of non-union employees and investors were trodden underfoot by the Administration in order to favor their union allies, was (in my opinion) as corrupt as hell.

As far as I'm concerned, the UAW could collapse completely tomorrow, and be swept into the dustbin of history, and I wouldn't shed a single tear for it. I hope it happens sooner rather than later - and not only to the UAW, but to the thuggish SEIU as well!

Peter

Pretzels. Yoga. But I repeat myself . . .

Courtesy of a link at DaddyBear's place, we read of Chuck's misadventures during a 'hot yoga' class. Here's a sampler.

12:10p
It is now up to 95 degrees in the room. We have been practicing deep breathing exercises for the last 8 minutes. This would not be a problem if we were all breathing actual, you know, oxygen. Instead, we are breathing each other's body odor, expelled carbon dioxide and other unmentionables. (Don't worry, I'll mention them later.)

12:26p
It is now 100 degrees and I take notice of the humidity, which is hovering at about 90%. I feel the familiar adorning stare of my bride and decide to look back at her. She appears to be nauseated. I then realize that I forgot to brush my teeth prior to attending this class. We bond.

12:33p
It is now 110 degrees and 95% humidity. I am now balancing on one leg with the other leg crossed over the other. My arms are intertwined and I am squatting. The last time I was in this position was 44 years ago in the womb, but I'm in this for the long haul. My wife looks slightly weathered dripping sweat and her eyeliner is streaming down her face. Well, "for better or worse" is what we committed to so we press on.

12:40p
The overweight Hispanic man two spots over has sweat running down his legs. At least I think its sweat. He is holding every position and has not had a sip of water since we walked in. He is making me look bad and I hate him.

12:44p
I consider that if anyone in this room farted that we would all certainly perish.

There's much more at the link. Definitely giggle-worthy . . . although many of us (the males, at least) will also wince in sympathy! Perhaps this Lolcat sums it up best.








Peter

It's the end of the band as we know it . . .

. . . and they feel fine!

In case you didn't understand the allusion, the 'alternative rock' band R.E.M. announced yesterday that they were breaking up after 31 years together. For those who don't know the group's background or music very well, Slate has a good overview of their career. It concludes:

So in the end, R.E.M. bowed out gracefully. Given the world into which they were born, all of the band members must have been conscious that, however big their tour income, they weren't putting out significant albums anymore. What idealistic post-punk wanted to be that cliché? Instead they chose to cap off a career with as much grace and integrity as any other I can think of. The band never sold their songs to a soft-drink company; they never tried to do larger-than-life stadium tours like U2. Artists from Kurt Cobain to Warren Zevon to Uncle Tupelo to Patti Smith have found them generous with their time and influence. R.E.M. left behind six or eight albums that rank with the best of their era, and the members got to do what few can claim: watch an artistic revolution they helped spark change the world.

There's more at the link.

Here, in commemoration of thirty-one years of music, are three of R.E.M.'s greatest hits.

Thanks for the music, guys.

Peter

The ultimate collection of playground FAIL!

The video is self-explanatory.

Y'know, I hurt just watching that . . .





Peter

GM is now selling your OnStar information

To my utter disgust, it emerges that General Motors has changed its privacy terms and conditions to allow it to sell information derived from its OnStar vehicle location and tracking system. Autoblog reports:

Originally, the terms and conditions stated that OnStar could only collect information on your vehicle's location during a theft recovery or in the midst of sending emergency services your way. That has apparently changed. Now, OnStar says that it has the right to collect and sell personal, yet supposedly anonymous information on your vehicle, including speed, location, seat belt usage and other information.

Who would be interested in that data, you ask? Law enforcement agencies, for starters, as well as insurance companies. Perhaps the most startling news to come out of the latest OnStar terms and conditions is the fact that the company can continue to collect the information even after you disconnect the service. If you want the info to be cut off all together, you'll have to specifically shut down the vehicle's data connection.

There's more at the link. OnStar's new privacy conditions may be found here (link is to an Adobe Acrobat document in .PDF format).

Jonathan Zdziarski points out:

Anonymized GPS data? There’s no such thing! We’ve all seen this before – anonymized searches, for example, that were not-so-quite anonymized. But in this case, it’s impossible to anonymize GPS data! If your vehicle is consistently parked at your home, driving down your driveway, or taking a left or right turn onto your street, its pretty obvious that this is where you live! It’s like trying to say that someone’s Google Map lookup from their home is “anonymized” because it doesn’t have their name on it. It still shows where they live! What’s unique even more-so to OnStar is that the data they claim they sell as part of their business model is useless unless it’s specific; that is, not diluted to the nearest 10 mile radius, etc. This combination of analytics, and their prospective customers (law enforcement, marketers, etc) requires the data be disturbingly precise. Anyone armed with Google can easily do a phone book or public records search to find the name and address that resides at any given GPS coordinate.

. . .

What is more profitable to OnStar that your personal GPS data could be used for? Hmm, well how about the obvious – tracking you and your vehicle. It would be extremely profitable to be able to identify all vehicles within OnStar’s network that frequently speed, and provide law enforcement “traffic services” the ability to trace them back to their homes or businesses, as well as tell them where to set up speed traps. Or perhaps insurance companies who want to check and make sure you’re wearing your seat belt, or automatically give you rate increases if you speed, even if you’re never in an accident? How about identifying all individuals who shop at certain stores, and using that to determine whose back yard to put the next God-awful Wal-Mart store? How about employers who purchase these records from these third parties to see where their employees (or prospective employees) travel to (and how fast), sleaze bag lawyers who want to subpoena these records to use against you if you’re ever sued, government agencies who want to monitor you, marketing firms who want to spam you, and a long list of other not-so-squeaky-clean people who use (and abuse) existing online, credit card, financial, credit, and other analytics to destroy our privacy?

Add to this OnStar’s use policy of your personal information – the stuff that does identify who you are and ties it to your GPS records. While I have no problem using my personal information in events of an emergency, OnStar also uses my information to “allow us, and our affiliates, your Vehicle Maker, and Vehicle dealers, to offer you new or additional products or services; and for other purposes“. So not only is OnStar going to sell my vehicle’s GPS location data to a number of third parties, but they’re also going to use it and my personal information for marketing purposes. Imagine your personal data being sold to any number of their “affiliates”, and a few months later, you start to receive targeted, location-specific advertising based on where you’ve traveled. Go to Weight Watchers every week? Expect an increase in the amount of weight loss advertising phone calls. Go to the bar frequently? Anticipate a number of sleazy liquor ads to show up in your mailbox. Sneak out to Victoria Secret for something special for your lover? You might soon be inundated with adult advertising in your mailbox.

Again, more at the link.

As if the bailout weren't sufficient reason in itself, here's yet another reason not to buy GM vehicles . . .





Peter

Fifty years of the Chinook

Fifty years ago today, the prototype Boeing Vertol YCH-1B helicopter made its first flight. Today it's better known as the Boeing CH-47 Chinook.

Boeing Vertol prototype during testing
(This and all subsequent images courtesy of Wikipedia)

It made its combat debut in Vietnam in 1965.




It's still in production, with almost 1,200 having rolled off the assembly lines, and is in service with the US Army and 16 other air arms. Orders are still being placed, ensuring it'll continue in production in upgraded versions for years to come. It's the premier heavy-lift helicopter of the US Army, carrying up to 55 troops and/or up to 28,000 pounds of cargo, the latter both internally and underslung.




It's the backbone of the US Army's airlift capacity in the hot-and-high conditions in Afghanistan.




Special Operations variants can fly in almost any weather conditions, at any time of the day or night, to insert operators for their covert missions.




That's a heck of a track record! Congratulations to all who build and fly the CH-47 on an anniversary that comes to relatively few military aircraft.

Peter

Standing on the edge of the economic cliff

I've spoken many times before about our deteriorating economy. Events over the past couple of weeks have pushed us closer than ever to the brink of a second, 'double-dip' recession, if not an outright depression. Consider these facts:

• The International Monetary Fund has drastically downgraded its economic forecasts for the USA and Europe.

The world economy has entered a "dangerous new phase," according to the chief economist of the International Monetary Fund. ... The IMF expects the U.S. economy to grow just 1.5 percent this year and 1.8 percent in 2012. That's down from its June forecast of 2.5 percent in 2011 and 2.7 percent next year.

• The US Federal Reserve announced a new intervention program today - and the stock market immediately tanked (with good reason).

The Federal Reserve did what investors expected Wednesday - it said it would buy Treasury bonds to help the economy. But stocks fell anyway. The reason? The Fed made it clear that it thinks a full economic recovery is years away.

• The majority of global business leaders are predicting another recession.
• The real underlying problems of the global economy have not been addressed.
  

What is really wrong with the global economy? The global bureaucracy. Decades of rising taxation, increasing regulation and persistent redistribution have fundamentally and structurally weakened the major economies of the world. Underneath the glittering razzmatazz of modern technology lies a society sapped of its capitalist juices. For decades, we’ve gnawed away at our capital stock.

• Regulations and red tape are strangling both the birth of new companies and industries, and the growth of existing ones.

The fiscal cancer has now reached the economy's skeleton, and is gnawing into its bones. As the inimitable Karl Denninger (who's been right on the money in his predictions for several years) put it today:

Are you prepared yet?

No?

Well I'm sorry, because it's too late now.

I mean really, honestly too late.

The market figured it out and it didn't take very long - in fact, it took less than an hour.

This latest distortion by The Fed has just destroyed the last bit of earnings power the banks had. It's gone. All to preserve the ponzi scheme in the Federal Government - the same Federal Government that just sent a bleat to Bernanke about tampering with the economy.

The very same legislators that will now do nothing about what was just done.

You got that? They will do nothing.

What did Bernanke's act tell us?

He burned the furniture for warmth today. He and the rest of the Fed cabal are done; this was the card that was known to do much more damage than it could ever help anyone - or anything. He burned the furniture to allow the Federal Government Ponzi to continue for one more year while utterly screwing the private lending industry of all sorts from banks on down.

There is no shortage of lendable money. There hasn't been since this entire mess began. The problem was that money was too easy, not too tight, and people ran into the wall on their ability to pay.

You cannot drink yourself sober.

The game is over folks.

There's more at the link. Bold, italic and underlined text are Mr. Denninger's emphasis.

Doug Casey put it even more strongly in an interview released today. I'm less pessimistic than he is . . . but perhaps I'm just more deluded (or too hopeful). I'm going to quote him at some length, to give you a worst-case scenario.

L: Doug, we talked a couple weeks ago about the US and global economies exiting the eye of the storm, and it seems thus far that you’re right on target. The eurozone is under extreme debt stress, the dollar is no better, and gold is back over $1,800 per ounce again – and has surpassed platinum again as well. People thought we were crazy when we wrote about $2,000 gold, but here we are, within kissing distance of it. Still, it sounds crazy to think this is just the beginning – too apocalyptic to believe. Are you sure there’s no way out?

Doug: Well, never say never. And I’m an eternal optimist. But as I’ve said before, even if friendly space aliens landed on the White House and gave us a magic technology that fed and housed everyone, the economic dislocation would still wreck the world as we know it. I truly can see no way out. Let me be completely clear about why. The West in general, but the US in particular, has been living way above its means for a long time. The proof for that statement is all the debt we’re awash in – federal, state, municipal, and individual. Debt is worse than living out of capital. It amounts to living out of anticipated future revenues – which may not even be there. It amounts to eating the seed corn.

L: Well, even if you could see a way out, the politicians would never do the right thing.

Doug: It’s worse than that, much worse. They can be counted on to do not just the wrong thing, but the opposite of the right thing. Everything the government is doing is making things worse – for instance, Obama’s idiotic $447 billion stimulus plan. It will extract that much productive capital from society and simply flush it down the cosmic toilet. But I’ll go further: Not only do I not see any way out – politically feasible or not – everything I know about economics tells me that it’s impossible for the global economy to get out of this intact. Important body parts are caught in the wringer; we are, therefore, going through the wringer.

L: And yet, the dollar is holding its own against the euro…

Doug: That’s just an illusion created by the race to the bottom; the euro is in even worse shape than the dollar. Italy – surprise, surprise – may not be able to enact the necessary austerity measures required for its bailout. Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Ireland – all these governments are bankrupt. So is France. The euro is in terminal decline. So what does it mean that the USD is running neck and neck with it? It just means both are being debased at similar rates.

. . .

Doug: And it’s happening now. The Chinese have more US dollars than anybody else and are offloading those dollars anywhere they can, for instance in Africa, in exchange for real wealth – natural resources to fuel their future growth. This is a global trend today; we see deals around the world cutting the dollar out wherever possible, such as the one between the Iranians and the Argentines. It’s almost like barter. Nobody wants to use the paper of an unreliable third party, so the dollar has become the Old Maid card nobody wants to get stuck with.

L: I know you don’t like making predictions, but you’re the guru, so when do you think the game will wind down to the Old Maid card?

Doug: In five years the dollar will have lost its reserve status completely. It could be less – two or three. I hate to put such a near-term time frame on something that’s so momentous, but that’s the way I see it.

L: Because the debt is beyond paying?

Doug: The US government spends $1.5 trillion more than it takes in per year – that is, it’s adding that much more debt to the already unpayable national debt. Given this situation, the status quo is just about the best it could possibly be. But it’s unstable – and unsustainable. It will get much worse going forward. The US government admits to 9.1% unemployment, though if that number were calculated the way it was in the ‘80s it would be over 20%. When business failures increase, as we move back into the storm, the government will spend even more on welfare and bailouts. The politicians made a lot of noise about cutting a few trillion out of the federal budget, but that’s over a ten-year period and it’s loaded towards the end of the ten years. The supposed cuts are trivial and unlikely to actually be implemented two elections from now.

. . .

Doug: ... it’s important to understand that it’s not just the government that has a debt problem. Many of those voters the politicians must pander to have no savings and are one paycheck away from hunger – if they even have jobs. Americans are not alone in being burdened with an entitlement mentality – that’s why Europe is perhaps even more incapable of fixing its problems. It’s why Latin American governments make ever more economically suicidal policy decisions in the wake of protests and pressure from organized labor – but at least there’s no debt in Latin America, simply because no one will even lend them money.

People in many countries have been consuming more than they have been producing, and they feel they have a right to do so. They’ll be disabused of that feeling soon, and it’s going to be very ugly. But until then, no way will debt-ridden voters vote for politicians who promise to smash their cracked rice bowls. That’s why the Ron Paul campaign is of educational value only.

We have finally gone beyond the point of no return. There’s no way to avoid a gargantuan catastrophe – much worse than what happened in the 1930s and ‘40s. There are several ways this could play out, but the government always chooses the worst alternative, which in this case is the destruction of the US dollar. Its first priority is saving the US government, not the dollar, nor the interests of the people. The politicians will wind up destroying the productive parts of the economy to save the government; the parasite will kill the host. It’s a total disaster, with wide-ranging consequences, and it’s already happening.

Again, more at the link.

I truly hope and pray that Karl Denninger and Doug Casey are wrong this time . . . but I wouldn't bet money on it. Batten down the hatches and strap in tight, folks. I think it's going to be a bumpy, stormy ride. Also, read the post below about current security concerns. They're going to get worse as the economy does.

Peter

The changing urban self-defense environment

With the US economy in the doldrums, as described above, patterns of urban crime have been shifting. I've been studying the statistics from major urban areas over the past few weeks, trying to get a sense of the changing patterns. Many of them are bad news for law-abiding citizens.

• 'Flash mobs' as a new form of gang- or crime-related activities are becoming much more common in or near urban areas with large inner-city slum or low-income environments. In every case of which I'm aware thus far, participants have been mainly black, and their targets have frequently been people of other races: but in most cases, the mainstream media have carefully avoided mentioning this, presumably out of an exaggerated sense of 'political correctness'. Recent examples include Milwaukee, WI; Philadelphia, PA; Cleveland, OH; Chicago, IL; and elsewhere.
  
• Some of these urban flash mobs have apparently been organized with specific targets in mind, with robbery as the motive. Examples have occurred in Philadelphia, PA; Chicago, IL; Germantown, MD; Washington, DC; and elsewhere.
• So-called 'home invasion' robberies are increasing in frequency in many urban areas, and the perpetrators are becoming more violent. Recent examples (culled from a single Google search which yielded 3,380,000 results!) include incidents in Houston, TX; Cincinnati, OH; Denver, CO; and San Antonio, TX. Last night I linked to another incident reported by fellow blogger Confederate Yankee.
• Due to budgetary constraints and competing demands on their resources, many prison systems, both state and Federal, are either considering the early release of, or actually releasing, convicted criminals to serve the remainder of their sentences under house arrest or in the parole and probation system. Examples include California, Kentucky, Tennessee and the Federal prison system, plus many others. You can confidently expect crime rates to soar in areas receiving this flood of former prisoners. (If you believe they're all going to become angels as soon as they're released, and never commit another crime, there's a bridge in Brooklyn, NYC I'd like to sell you. Cash only, please, and in small bills . . . )
  
• Random, seemingly senseless confrontations and assaults appear to be increasing, some in public places, some at residences. Some of them have caused more or less serious injury. A few examples (out of a vast number that could be cited - do an Internet search for such incidents in your area): New York City, NY; Seattle, WA; Harrisburg, PA; San Juan Capistrano, CA; and others.
  
• The unemployment rate in the USA as a whole is bad enough, but for those in the black community it's far worse, presently estimated to be more than twice as bad as for caucasians. This means that in the very same inner-city communities that are most plagued with gangs, mob violence and crime, there are fewer jobs available to provide a legal income, which is essential for a more productive, less self-destructive lifestyle. If there are no jobs available, crime becomes a much more tempting proposition. Furthermore, all those convicted criminals, mentioned above, who are now being considered for early release will have a much harder time finding work once they're back on the street, thereby increasing the temptation to revert to a life of crime as the only way to make ends meet.
  

All of these factors have changed the crime threat in many urban areas of the country, in the following ways:

1. One is now more likely to be confronted with crime, whether at home, in the shopping mall, in parking areas, or at large gatherings;
2. One is more likely to have to defend oneself and/or one's loved ones against danger from multiple directions and multiple attackers;
3. The crime is more likely to be violent, with little or no verbal or other warning before escalating to blows or the use of weapons.
4. The attack may be based solely on your race. Having the wrong skin color at the wrong place and/or at the wrong time may now get you assaulted, injured, even killed.
   

I'm afraid all this drives home the point that one must be prepared to defend oneself and one's loved ones. It's no good saying "It won't happen to me!" The thousands of people attending the Wisconsin State Fair outside Milwaukee earlier this year doubtless thought that . . . until the flash mob showed up. Many of them appear to have been targeted specifically because they were caucasian - another thing that would have been unthinkable to many a short time ago. Furthermore, the police are unlikely to be there when you need them. Read any of the incidents linked above, and ask yourself where the police were when things went pear-shaped. The answer is - "not there!"

I'm therefore updating the advice I give to students wanting to learn to shoot, then purchase a defensive handgun. In brief, this is what I'm now emphasizing.

1. The odds of having to deal with multiple assailants are now much higher than in the past; therefore, it pays to select a handgun with a large magazine capacity. This, in turn, implies selecting a caliber that permits such a capacity. A bigger cartridge such as the .45 ACP may be very effective, but it's too large to permit the same handgun magazine capacity as a smaller cartridge such as the 9mm. Parabellum. With modern high-performance ammunition (my preference in the latter cartridge is currently Winchester's RA9TA) the smaller round now develops 80%-90% of the energy of the larger round, and has proven almost as effective in actual shooting incidents. I submit that for the average shooter (not necessarily for highly-trained experts), giving up 10%-20% of bullet energy in exchange for greatly increasing a handgun's magazine capacity may be a worthwhile trade-off. The models I most frequently recommend are the Glock and Smith & Wesson M&P pistols, but there are many other choices out there.
   
2. The same applies to long guns. I think a shotgun is an excellent defensive weapon, but its magazine capacity is relatively small, and its recoil is difficult for many shooters to manage. Given the current threat environment, I suggest an AR-15-type carbine or an equivalent weapon may be a better choice. With a high-capacity magazine (20-30 rounds), such firearms offer greater utility for defense against multiple assailants; and, given careful ammunition selection, the risk of over-penetration is greatly reduced. (My personal choice is the Kel-Tec SU-16C, which has proven reliable in my hands and is light, compact and affordable. I also use the very similar Kel-Tec SU-22 model chambered in .22 Long Rifle (.22 LR) for training purposes. Some of my disabled students, who can't handle heavy firearms or recoil, use lightweight Ruger 10/22 semi-auto rifles in .22 LR, equipped with 25-round magazines loaded with CCI Velocitor ammunition [my preferred defensive round in this caliber]. This solution also works well for younger or smaller family members. It's not ideal compared to a more powerful weapon, but even so, I don't think anyone in his right mind would want to get in the way of half a magazine of those bullets!)
3. We need to train to accurately hit multiple targets at different angles in the shortest possible time. It's no longer good enough to practice shooting at a single target, set directly in front of us, in a leisurely fashion. We need to shoot at three to five targets, set at different angles to and distances from us, and hit each one in an effective location at least once, as quickly as possible.
4. We should practice moving while we shoot, because the criminals may be shooting at us too, or trying to stab or strike us. If we stand still, we'll give them an easier target. We should practice backward as well as lateral movement. Good instructors have always taught and emphasized this, but many people don't do it during their own practice sessions. That needs to change.
5. We have to train more frequently, so as to be confident in our ability to control our weapons and direct our shots where they're needed. If we spray the area wildly with gunfire, we're likely to miss our attackers with at least some shots, and perhaps hit innocent bystanders and/or buildings. We're legally liable for where every one of our bullets goes. If one of them passes through the wall of a house and hits a child inside, we're likely to end up jail along with the criminals who attacked us. This is not good, to put it mildly!
6. The need for more frequent training means, in turn, owning (a) defensive firearm(s) with which we can afford to train! .45 ACP training ammunition costs almost twice as much per round as 9mm. Parabellum, which is in turn much more expensive than .22 LR. Choose a cartridge you can afford to shoot enough to become and stay competent. If possible, choose a firearm for which a .22 LR conversion kit is available, or buy another, similar firearm in that caliber. This will allow you to shoot using very-low-cost ammunition, which makes frequent training much more affordable.
   
7. Our situational awareness has to become more acute. It's no good trying to draw a firearm and shoot an attacker if we've allowed him to get within a few feet of us before we start moving! He'll be close enough to hit or stab us, or grab our hands and arms and prevent us from drawing our weapon. We have to keep a lookout, observe potential trouble before it arrives, keep clear of threatening situations, and be prepared to do something about them if necessary. That's not being paranoid - that's being realistic.
8. Situational awareness must extend to selecting our destination. If we're going to a department store, we need to be aware that flash mob robberies have occurred at such venues. What are the chances of something like that happening to us? If we need to make a run to the store late at night, should we choose the local convenience store, or take an extra few minutes to drive to a supermarket with a well-lit parking area? The odds of meeting criminals at the latter location are considerably lower than at the former. (Convenience stores aren't called 'stop-and-robs' for nothing, you know!)
   
9. We need to teach our families and loved ones about the realities discussed here, and make sure they're aware that the risk of violent crime has increased measurably in many cities and urban areas. They, too, need to improve their situational awareness. If any of them are not trained in the defensive use of firearms, I suggest this should be considered urgently. You may not be there when they need you - and even if you are, you may need their supporting fire to deal with multiple attackers.
   

I've also changed my recommendation concerning small, ultra-compact firearms. Previously, I've suggested that any caliber smaller than .38 Special (in revolvers) or 9mm. Parabellum (in semi-auto pistols) is too under-powered for serious defensive use. Typical small handguns in those calibers include the Smith & Wesson J-frame revolver and its competitors from companies such as Ruger, Taurus, Rossi, etc., or the Kel-Tec PF9, Ruger LC9 and similar weapons. (Despite this reservation, I've trained many disabled shooters to use .22 LR for defense: but that's because of their physical limitations. It may not be ideal, but if that's all they can manage effectively, that's what they use.)

Unfortunately, there are times (particularly in summer, when clothing may be both minimal and light) when even those firearms are too bulky to be easily concealed. I have a number of reservations about 'tiny' firearms such as the Kel-Tec P3AT or Ruger LCP, including:

• Their reliability is frequently sub-standard (I've seldom found one that will shoot 100 rounds at a stretch without at least one malfunction of some kind);
• Their tiny size, minimal sights and relatively heavy recoil (due to their very light weight and tiny grip area) make controlling them in accurate, rapid fire very difficult for many shooters;
• I've known some examples to make multiple trips back to the manufacturer under warranty before they would function properly. Others have had parts (particularly springs) break or weaken after a relatively short period of use. Some shooters I know could never get their firearms to work to their satisfaction, and so discarded them in favor of more reliable weapons.
  

Despite these problems, the growing urban crime problem has led me to accept such tiny handguns as better than nothing - and it's now a higher priority than ever to be armed. Therefore, I now suggest that those who must live and/or work in higher-crime areas should carry one of these weapons rather than be unarmed, if that's the only choice they have. (Clearly, they'll need to train intensively with them to make sure they can overcome the problems mentioned above, and obtain fast, accurate hits with them. They should also fire enough rounds through them to ensure their weapons are reliable, and fix or replace them if they're not.)

A very highly recommended accessory for your defensive weapon is a laser sight of some sort. I prefer the Crimson Trace units if they make a model to fit the firearm in question. For very small handguns like the Kel-Tec P3AT or Ruger LCP, LaserLyte offers a side-mounted laser at a very reasonable price, which has received positive reviews. The company also offers rear sights with integrated laser for many handgun models. Shooters whose opinions I trust have rated the LaserLyte offerings second only to Crimson Trace. I hope to test them soon. For rapid, accurate shooting in low light against multiple attackers, laser sights can be invaluable.

The 'urban jungle' is getting junglier by the day, folks. Please be alert, and be prepared.

Peter