22 Sept 09
Friends in South Africa have informed me that the US embassy there closed,
ostensibly for security reasons, today!
No word on when it will reopen.
SA has a significant Middle Eastern/Moslem population.
Not good news for Americans currently visiting there or planning to travel
there!
/John
22 Sept 09
Why I like, and regularly carry, big blades. This from an LEO friend in SA:
"I was on my way home after work yesterday afternoon.
The route I have to take includes a couple of notorious intersections. One in particular is so well know for smash-and-grabs that police vehicles are usually parked there all day.
Sure enough, I was caught by the red light and had to stop. As is my habit, I had already scanned when I realized I would be compelled to stop for the light.
It was then that I noticed a seedy character standing on the center-island, checking out cars. For some reason, he immediately selected me and came directly at my car, even though he could plainly see that I was onto him. My driver's-side window was open (due to the heat!), and he already had his hand, fingers extended, forward, in an effort to get it inside my vehicle.
Knowing, from bitter experience, where this was all going, I slipped my Cold Steel Grande Vaquero out of my pocket, simultaneously deploying it. As this character got to my window, he aggressively reached inside my car and missed grabbing a handful of Vaquero by millimeters!
When he finally saw my blade, he abruptly sucked in several cubic meters of air, and I thought his eyes were going to pop out of his head! With a panicked shriek, he instantly withdrew his hand and fell backward. The last I saw, he was running back down the center island!
The light changed, and I went my way in peace."
Comment: There is no doubt. Big blades are scary! To be sure, enormous damage can be done with small blades too, but big blades really get people's attention.
Like my friend, I carry a CS/VG in my pocket every day. For aggressive panhandlers, there is nothing better, as we see!
/John
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created on Tuesday September 22, 2009 23:59:1 MDT