Category: International

Europe on Fire Proves the Value of Our Second Amendment

As arsonists, rioters and looters swarmed the streets of Paris Sunday night, French police were completely ineffective and President Emmanuel Macron and his wife were off attending a concert, which featured Céline Dion.

Well-planned rioting and thievery are taking place throughout France and other European countries. Some say the actions are coordinated by the extreme far left and will continue unabated. France is still six months away from its next presidential election.

Europe is on fire.

Its victims are on their own.

Extreme anti-gun laws throughout the continent have helped fuel the fires.

France has some of the strictest anti-gun laws in the world.

For a permit to purchase a “sporting arm”—not a handgun or a semi-automatic rifle—the applicant must be 18 years old and possess a valid hunting license or a shooting club membership. The applicant must also have completed and passed a medical exam, a mental health exam, an extensive criminal background check and government-approved firearm safety training.

Once they’ve completed all of these legal requirements, they are required to submit an application to their local police. This alone can take months or even years. Many applicants have been rejected for no reason.

Even if they manage to pass the requirements and purchase a firearm, concealed carry is outlawed. Gun safes are required. Ammunition must be stored separately, and law enforcement can conduct an in-home inspection whenever they want.

Anyone caught violating these rules can face the loss of the firearm, stiff fines and years behind bars.

France’s stiff anti-gun laws have had a horrific impact on the ongoing crime spree.

One female shop owner in Paris tried to reason with the masked rioters as they calmly walked past her into her shop and stole her merchandise.

“What’s the point of doing this?” she asked the criminals who paid her no mind.

If she had a firearm, she might have been able to stop them, right?

This is the point where many will point to our Second Amendment and claim that the riots spreading across Europe could never happen here.

Unfortunately, that is not true.

We have far too many large America cities where the Second Amendment has been bankrupted by local politicians, where the crazy French gun-ownership requirements seem almost par for the course, where only the bad guys have guns.

Try to buy an AR, magazines and ammunition in New York, Boston or Washington D.C. and you will soon learn this is true.

Millions of Americans are being stripped of their Second Amendment rights by their state and local politicians. Honest, hard-working Americans are serving decades in state prisons for “offenses” that aren’t even considered illegal in free states. Meanwhile, those of us who live in states that recognize the value of the Second Amendment often take for granted the pain and suffering the victims and their families are going through.

“Move!” we tell them. “Get out of New York!”

This, friends, needs to change, and we can help make the change.

When we hear about the decades in prison someone received in a deep blue state for an “offense” that’s not even considered a crime in the rest of the country, we should be spurred into action. After all, we are still one country.

Our Second Amendment rights are simply magnificent. They allow us to defend ourselves. However, we need to ensure that every American has equal access to these rights—as the Founders intended—regardless of where they have chosen to live.

We need to make this a key issue while we have a President and an administration who value both our concerns and the Second Amendment.

We need Second Amendment rights and protections for every American.

Riots in France — a Warning for America.

The riots in France look like the Summer of 2020. The Yellow Vests have now joined the student protests and have created what appears to be an outright revolution.

Here is an ongoing livestream:

They’re masked, they’re emboldened, and no one seems able to stop them. Another livestream:

The footage might as well have been from the city of Minneapolis or Portland in 2020, and there isn’t even a high-profile murder pushing them onto the streets. This is just public unrest, a real uprising and/or revolution.

According to Grok, the Yellow Vests aren’t left or right, but rather anti-elite, wanting more taxes on the wealthy, though not explicitly anti-immigrant.

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Some more for our friends way south of the border

Colombian President’s Open Carry Is Signal to Narcoterrorists and Citizens Alike

The last time I wrote anything about Colombian President Abelardo De La Espriella was early September, when he ended the decade-long suspension of carry licenses and encouraged residents to legally protect themselves.

Like Mexico, Colombia has pretty restrictive gun laws and a powerful criminal element who ignores them with impunity, while average citizens are largely helpless unless they too are willing to break the law.

Now De La Espriella is sending a message to narcoterrorists and lawful citizens alike. A group calling itself the Conquering Self Defense Forces of the Sierra Nevada has laid siege to the city of Santa Marta, a popular tourist destination home to about 600,000 people. The group had set fire to vehicles and threatened the residents to stay home or else face the consequences.

De La Espriella, in return, sent the military to Santa Marta, where they killed a high-ranking member of organization. The president himself showed up in Santa Marta earlier this week, and spoke to officials and the press while openly carrying a handgun on his hip. The gun-carrying has upset some of De La Espriella’s detractors on the left, and even caught the attention of the New York Times.

The president’s gun display ignited debate across Colombia. In Santa Marta, some praised Mr. De La Espriella for his swift arrival and the strong message he sent to the armed group by deploying troops.

“In the last four years, security was terrible,” keeping tourists away, said Luis Arévalo, 37, who rents tents to beachgoers. “There’s been a change, just one month in, since the Tiger arrived,” he added, using Mr. De La Espriella’s nickname.

“He’s roaring.”

Others in Santa Marta described Mr. De La Espriella’s visit as a publicity stunt. “Everyone says that — pure stunt,” said José Ángel Gutiérrez, a 71-year-old retiree.

… Tiziano Breda, senior analyst for ACLED, said Mr. De La Espriella had set up a confrontation between government forces and the armed group that is the de facto authority in the area, and has ordered similar shutdowns before.

“They are both pushing citizens to abide by their respective rules,” he said. “The armed group says the blockade is continuing until Friday, and the government is encouraging shops and businesses to open already,” he said, adding that this created a real risk of retaliation for civilians who trusted the state and reopened.

Which, frankly, is all the more reason for De La Espriella to encourage Colombians to lawfully arm themselves, and to work with the legislature to reform the country’s gun laws so that it’s easier to do so.

De La Espriella’s decision to open carry isn’t a one off. The Times reports that his administration posted a video of the president in the city of Cali on Thursday, where he once again had a handgun on his hip. If he wants the criminal element to see this as a sign of his strength, great, but it’s far more important to continue to aggressively combat them and restore law and order to cities where these cartels have become the de facto authorities.

In the meantime, De La Espriella should encourage Colombia’s law-abiding citizens to take up arms in self-defense. His open carry is already signaling that, but he should be much more open and explicit about the ability of average, everyday Colombians to protect themselves from the narcoterrorists who want to rule over them with an iron fist.

‘Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results’ – attributed to Albert Einstein

Group That Pushed Mexico Into Lawsuit Against Gun Makers at It Again

Mexico’s ill-fated lawsuit against the gun industry was a case of knowing what was inevitable. There was no world where the Supreme Court, especially this one, would allow a lawsuit to proceed against the industry despite the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act. I didn’t expect the 9-0 decision, but it was clear-cut.

Well, the “brains” behind that — I use that term very, very loosely here — are at it again.

This time, it seems they’re trying to goad Canada into filing a lawsuit as well, one just as doomed as Mexico’s was.

A new report from Global Action on Gun Violence lays the groundwork for a greater understanding of the cross-border gun trafficking crisis, the harm this phenomenon causes, and recommendations for decreasing this trafficking pipeline.

Jonathan Lowy, founder and president of Global Action on Gun Violence  (GAGV) asserts, “The U.S. gun violence epidemic is causing a regional and global pandemic.  This data confirms that overwhelming majorities of crime guns in Canada and the Caribbean flow directly from U.S. gun shops, as a result of reckless gun industry practices enabled by weak U.S. laws.  GAGV is committed to stopping this crime gun pipeline at the most effective point — the gun industry source.

Gun trafficking is one of the world’s greatest threats to public safety, and the United States is the most prolific source of gun trafficking. Guns are brought illicitly from weak gun law states to stronger gun law states and from the U.S. to other nations with far more stringent gun laws.  The result fuels death rates in the United States that are 20 times higher than in comparable countries, contributes to nations in the Americas having the highest death rates in the world, and enables organized crime, gun trafficking, human trafficking, and a host of other public health, human rights and other societal harms.

Now, Canada has a problem compared to its usually low crime rate, and this despite a plethora of gun control laws on the books, but I fail to see how this is our fault.

After all, it’s already illegal to traffic guns outside of the United States without appropriate approval, and so whoever is trafficking guns is breaking the laws of both nations.

But we already see some…interesting use of numbers here.

One of the supposed key findings of the report said, “84.6% of crime guns in Canada are from the U.S.”

Interesting, sure, but it’s also kind of BS. Cam wrote about this back in June, and most of the so-called crime guns weren’t from the United States. While it’s possible that there’s been some new data, I think it’s also worth noting that this claim is supposedly based on ATF tracing data. However, wouldn’t the Canadian authorities check their own databases first? Why outsource tracing to the U.S. when you’ve got the Royal Canadian Mounted Police that should, ostensibly, be able to at least trace guns domestically? Then, if they’re not in domestic databases, ask the ATF for help.

That didn’t make it in Lowy’s so-called report.

What did, though? Well, I’m glad you asked.

Recommendations

  • Legal and policy reforms, at the federal and state level, can make a difference, as can litigation brought in and outside of the U.S. against negligent gun industry companies who facilitate gun trafficking.

  • Policies and industry reforms to reduce the supply of crime guns at the source. Federal reforms should include universal background checks, buyer licensing or individualized vetting, stronger scrutiny of bulk and repeat sales, better dealer oversight, mandatory tracing, and repeal of legal barriers that shield the gun industry from accountability.

  • Similar reforms at the state level should prioritize Ohio because of its outsized role. Strategic litigation, as well as enhanced cross-border enforcement on firearms trafficking into Canada.

That’s right, everything on that list is part of the anti-gun wishlist. Conveniently.

Lowy knows that an entire country suing the gun industry would likely bankrupt it, even if the industry ultimately won. That’s the point. It’s a case of the process being the punishment. He likely knows good and well that these companies have done nothing wrong. If nothing else, the questions asked by the Supreme Court should have made it clear that the manufacturers don’t know who the bad actors are, and they sell to distributors anyway, at least in most gun transactions.

It’s not about facts, though. It’s about completely disrupting the Second Amendment. That’s the goal, and it really has nothing to do with violence in other countries.

Hey Paul, does this have any effect on you?

Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella Loosens Restrictions on Being Armed for Self-Defense

Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella issued a decree loosening a decades old restriction on carrying firearms in public for self-defense.

BBC reported that the restriction had barred “even those in possession of a permit to carry guns” from being armed in public without first acquiring “additional authorization.”

The restriction on carrying guns in public, even for self-defense, began in December 2015 under then-President Juan Manuel Santos.

As De la Espriella campaigned for the presidency, he pledged to be tough on crime. He believes ensuring law-abiding citizens can be armed for self-defense is part of fulfilling that promise.

He said it is “not right that criminals are armed to the teeth while decent people can’t defend themselves.”

On September 8, 2026, De la Espriella posted to X, “For years, citizens who obey the law were restricted while criminals continued arming themselves to the teeth illegally. That has to change.”

Upon signing the decree, De la Espriella also made clear that law enforcement will continue to rigorously pursue and disarm the criminal element in Colombian society.

What a Coincidence: Another ‘Mentally Ill’ Muslim Goes on a Stabbing Spree in France

This time it was in Clermont-Ferrand, a pleasant, or formerly pleasant, city of around 150,000 people in central France. But it is a story that has played out many, many times before, and likely will many more times before people, after who knows what calamities, finally cast off the ridiculous fantasies of this Age of Absurdity.

Breitbart reported Sunday that “a Sudanese migrant was shot and then arrested by police after allegedly going on a stabbing spree in the French city of Clermont-Ferrand on Sunday, leaving at least three people wounded.”

It seems that this grateful refugee, who is 34 years old, “is alleged to have stabbed a neighbour at around 2:30 pm local time, before going on to attack other pedestrians. When police arrived on the scene, the man reportedly ‘charged at a police officer with his knife.’”

The charge, however, was not successful: “After seeing his colleague come under attack, a fellow officer on the scene shot the alleged knifeman, first in the arm, and then in the abdomen and side as the attacker continued to come towards him.”

This Sudanese migrant’s behavior is entirely in accord with the repeated calls from the Islamic State and al-Qaeda for individual Muslims to mount “lone wolf” attacks against innocent civilians in the West. The Islamic State issued this call back in Sept. 2014:

So O muwahhid, do not let this battle pass you by wherever you may be. You must strike the soldiers, patrons, and troops of the tawaghit. Strike their police, security, and intelligence members, as well as their treacherous agents. Destroy their beds. Embitter their lives for them and busy them with themselves. If you can kill a disbelieving American or European — especially the spiteful and filthy French — or an Australian, or a Canadian, or any other disbeliever from the disbelievers waging war, including the citizens of the countries that entered into a coalition against the Islamic State, then rely upon Allah, and kill him in any manner or way however it may be….If you are not able to find an IED or a bullet, then single out the disbelieving American, Frenchman, or any of their allies. Smash his head with a rock, or slaughter him with a knife, or run him over with your car, or throw him down from a high place, or choke him, or poison him….

So this fellow attacked several of the “spiteful and filthy French” with a knife. He didn’t manage to “slaughter” any of them, but that was not for want of trying.

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The Second Amendment separates us from Britain

If you have been on X lately, you may have seen a horrific video of an attempted murder out of Belfast, Northern Ireland, from earlier this week. The suspect, Hadi Alodid, 30, who is now in police custody, attempted to behead Stephen Ogilvy, an Irishman in his 40s, with a knife. Oglivy suffered severe lacerations on his face and neck and the loss of his left eye. Alodid is a Sudanese migrant who entered the United Kingdom illegally in 2023, requested asylum, and was immediately granted leave to remain until 2028.
This comes after a string of high-profile murders and other crimes across the United Kingdom at the hands of largely Muslim migrants from the third world. Thousands of young girls were raped by grooming gangs across at least 50 cities and towns across Britain, mostly by Pakistani Muslims. British authorities looked the other way to avoid accusations of racism by Muslims until Elon Musk and others blew the lid off the scandal on social media. When Sikh man Vickrum Digwa killed 18-year-old Brit Henry Nowak last December, Digwa cried racism to the police, who proceeded to handcuff Nowak for absolutely no reason as he bled to death.
After the brutal attempted murder of Ogilvy on June 8, Prime Minister Keir Starmer called for “calm,” and Northern Ireland’s Justice Minister Naomi Long continued to placate Muslims instead of pointing out the obvious issue at hand. “I also know that there are many people in our community from ethnic minority backgrounds who are terrified today about any kind of retaliation or backlash against them, which we have seen in the past,” she told the BBC.
Clearly, the British government has no interest in protecting its citizens. Thankfully, an Irish bystander came to Ogilvy’s aid, beating his attempted murderer with a shovel to end the attack. This highlights the difference between America and Britain. In some circumstances, a man with a shovel can beat a man with a knife, but a couple of well-placed hollow points, even at a modest 1,000 feet per second, would have ended the conflict in a far quicker, cleaner, more decisive manner.
We are citizens of the United States; the British are subjects of the crown. Sure, our founding documents lay out the distinctions, but the true difference lies with our half-billion privately owned guns. In the U.K., guns are heavily regulated, and only half a million Brits own roughly 2 million guns, the lion’s share being shotguns used for grouse and pheasant hunting.
In Federalist 46, James Madison references Americans’ “advantage of being armed,” which he contrasts with European nations. In modernity, this advantage means the ability to defend yourself and your family without waiting for the police, which, in Henry Nowak’s case, sided with his killer anyway.
Our guns don’t prevent all violent crime. Of course, there is plenty of violence in most large American cities, but the bloodbath predicted by gun-control activists never came to pass. The murder rate is falling dramatically as the rate of concealed carry sits at an all-time high. Citizens of 29 states, over half of the U.S. population, can now carry a pistol without a permission slip from the government. Fourteen additional states are legally obligated to issue carry permits to qualified applicants. Only citizens of seven states and D.C. have any real trouble obtaining a firearm. Another advantage that Americans enjoy, and I think Madison would agree, is the ease with which we can move across state lines.
The Second Amendment did not prevent unconstitutional surveillance or deranged COVID-19 lockdowns. It did not prevent the government from importing millions of migrants who do not care to learn American values, and it did not prevent governmental atrocities such as Waco. However, we have not seen the type of crackdown on free speech, jailing of citizens en masse for “racism,” or the replacement-level importation of migrants from the third world that has occurred in Britain.
Most importantly, our guns give us a fighting chance. A Pakistani rape gang or a Sudanese beheading-enthusiast would have a rough go of it in most jurisdictions in the U.S. of A.
Brady Leonard (@bradyleonard) is a writer, musician, and host of The No Gimmicks Podcast.

BLUF
There will be no peace in Gaza or Israel until Hamas is no longer a factor.

This Is the Face of Evil: Sickening New October 7 Report Leaves No Doubt

Most people can’t really understand evil.

Evil is a word too many people toss around far too casually. Too many people use it to describe political opinions they disagree with, for instance, especially in today’s toxic political environment. But once in a while, we have real evil thrust into our faces, and we are required to look at it, to comprehend it, and to deal with it. One such event happened right here in the United States, on September 11th, 2001. And another took place in Israel, on October 7th, 2023.

Now, a new report has been released detailing the atrocities Hamas committed on October 7th, 2023, and we are once more forced to look at it, to understand what happened, to look into the face of evil, and to understand what must be done about it.

Warning: This report presents those atrocities in disturbing detail.

Among the mutilated and butchered bodies of young women slaughtered on October 7, it was their colourful, polished nails that many of the morgue staff remember.

Bright, beautiful, shiny, pink manicures glistening amid the pervasive ‘grey and green’ of death were often the only reminder of who these girls had been just hours earlier.

Because Hamas-led terrorists had not just executed these women. They had ‘deliberately and systematically’ defiled them, as the most comprehensive account of the atrocity released by The Civil Commission today shows.

The terrorists shot their eyes, their faces and their breasts, and even targeted their most intimate parts, to destroy their beauty and rob their loved ones of a final goodbye.

Women were stripped, bound, stabbed, shot and burned. They were executed both during and after rape amid an orgy of violence in which 1,200 people were killed and 250 taken hostage.

Heads were decapitated. Pelvic bones shattered. Even after death, sexual assault continued.

There’s a great deal more in the Daily Mail’s coverage. While I will not reproduce the worst of it here, it’s important reading nonetheless. Have some antacid on hand before reading the entire piece; you’ll need it.

This image alone, this image of young people, mostly young women, fleeing a music festival, speaks volumes; the look of terror on the faces of young people who, moments before, were enjoying sunshine, music, the company of friends, young people who had nothing to do with Gaza, who had never raised a finger in anger against anyone in Gaza or anywhere else.

This is the result of evil. The atrocities committed on the day were evil. The people who committed them are evil, and in the acts described, they show that they have utterly abandoned their humanity. They attacked the innocent: Men, women, children, infants, the elderly, the unarmed and defenseless. They did this, they planned and conducted this attack targeting the innocent, because they are not only evil but cowards.

In the weeks following this attack, we saw the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) counterattacking in Gaza. It’s difficult for us to imagine the rage that must have filled the hearts of the young men of Israel who went into Gaza to hunt down the monsters of 10/7. It’s even more difficult to understand how the IDF showed the restraint they did, carefully evacuating non-combatants, using “roof knocker” explosives to warn anyone in a building that was about to be dropped. But Israel did this because they are not evil, protestations from useful idiots on the American left notwithstanding. Israel did this because they are a civilized people, and even when dealing with savages, they showed restraint.

Evil is real. It’s out there, every day. To fight it, we have to first strip away all of our illusions; we have to look at evil, bare, shocking, unmitigated, real, and see it for what it is. In Gaza, it’s called Hamas. This full report illustrates that evil with sickening clarity.

As I said at the time and still say today: There will be no peace in Gaza or Israel until Hamas is no longer a factor.

Here’s the Background on the Two American Soldiers Who Went Missing Over the Weekend

Two American service members went missing over the weekend while participating in a joint military exercise with partner nations in North Africa. Search and rescue efforts are still underway.

CBS has reported that the two soldiers were off-duty and had decided to go on a hike to observe the sunset when one fell off of a cliff and into the water below. A number of soldiers then attempted to form a human chain to rescue their comrade in the water, but failed to pull them up. The second soldier then jumped into the water for a rescue attempt, but failed. A third soldier also attempted a rescue, but returned to shore after likewise failing.

Beretta Holding Sends Letter to Ruger BOD Re: All-Cash, Partial Tender Offer

By Dave Workman

In the latest chapter of an ongoing feud between Beretta Holding S.A. and Sturm, Ruger & Company, the Italian-based firearms manufacturer has sent a letter to Ruger’s Board of Directors “regarding a potential partial tender offer for up to 20.05% of the outstanding shares of the Company it does not already own at a purchase price of $44.80 per share in cash,” according to a notice posted Thursday at The Outdoor Wire, which has been covering the controversy.

Ruger subsequently issued a terse response, noting the Board, “has received a letter from Beretta Holding S.A. (“Beretta”), in which Beretta proposes, subject to certain conditions, to commence a partial tender offer for up to 20.05% of the outstanding shares of the Company, which if successful would effectively increase Beretta’s ownership stake in Ruger to approximately 30%. Such proposed partial tender offer has not actually commenced.

“Shareholders do not need to take any action at this time,” the Ruger statement said. “The Board, in consultation with its financial and legal advisors, will assess Beretta’s letter and respond in due course.”

In its 1,301-word message posted at The Outdoor Wire, Beretta Holding asserted, “From the outset, Beretta Holding has been clear about the desire to make a more meaningful investment in the Company, further enhancing alignment with all shareholders; however, the Ruger Board responded by immediately and defensively standing in the way.”

The controversy leaped into the spotlight earlier this month, with the two companies posting their perspectives. The Outdoor Wire has been diligently posting each side’s public messages, essentially allowing readers to make their own conclusions.

Further in its letter, Beretta Holding states, “The potential tender offer described above has not yet commenced. This communication is for informational purposes only and does not constitute a recommendation, an offer to purchase or a solicitation of an offer to sell shares of common stock.”

Beretta also encourages Ruger stockholders to “read the tender offer statement.”

“Beretta Holding intends to file a preliminary proxy statement and accompanying WHITE universal proxy card with the SEC to be used to solicit votes for the election of Beretta Holding’s slate of highly qualified director nominees at the 2026 annual meeting of stockholders of the Company,” the letter states.

Well, it is one of the 4 major foods groups

CANDY CRUSH! Thieves make off with 12 tons of KitKat chocolate bars.

Twelve tons of KitKat chocolate bars went missing in ​Europe last week after thieves ‌made off with the truck transporting them, Swiss food giant Nestle (NESN.S), opens new tab said on ​Saturday.

KitKat, which is made by ​Nestle, said the truck carrying 413,793 ⁠bars of its new range ​set off from central Italy to ​distribute the chocolate throughout Europe, but never reached its scheduled final destination in Poland.

The ​vehicle and the merchandise remain ​unaccounted for.

Nestle did not reveal where ‌exactly ⁠the truck was lost.

In a separate statement, KitKat said the missing bars are traceable via a unique ​batch code.

Iran Proves Value of our Second Amendment

It is estimated that Iranian police, military and paramilitary forces have murdered more than 36,000 unarmed citizens in the past few months. No one will know the actual number until after the current regime falls.

Some of the victims were simply protesting. Others were murdered because they were caught outside, so their killings were convenient for the government’s henchmen.

Not a single member of the Iranian police, military or paramilitary forces has been arrested much less charged for even one of the 36,000 killings—not a single one.

The current Iranian regime has said very little about the thousands of deaths, but everyone knows the reason. Thirty-six thousand Iranians were murdered simply to make a sick point: Obey the current government or you’ll be shot in the street like a dog.

Iran has no real constitution, much less anything even close to our Second Amendment, so the victims had no chance of fighting back. Personal firearms were seized by the government decades ago.

As a result, the Iranian people became unarmed sheep up against the government’s heavily armed wolves. They stood no chance despite their valor and the righteousness of their cause.

These reprehensible killings can be difficult for many Americans to understand, especially those who don’t fully understand the protections brought by our Second Amendment.

As it stands now in free states, the government cannot order you to turn in your guns and trust that nothing bad will ever happen. This would never happen in Florida, Texas, Mississippi or any other free state, right?

Unfortunately, an anti-gun cancer is spreading across the country, especially in states that were never thought susceptible.

Virginia Democrats just sent a massive collection of anti-gun bills to their governor, but the authors exempted themselves from any legal issues.

“The provisions of this section shall not apply to any member of the General Assembly,” they wrote, ensuring that Democratic lawmakers don’t lose their Second Amendment rights.

Other bright-blue states are following suit. Look at their unconstitutional bills. Almost every single one bans the one weapon and its accessories that gives its owner a fighting chance to defend themselves and their family—the ArmaLite Rifle or AR.

The left’s leadership is solely responsible for all of these unconstitutional bills. They want us spending time and money fighting against legislation that was clearly unconstitutional when it was written, much less signed into law. It’s better that, they believe, than proposing our own pro-gun bills. They don’t care that millions of law-abiding gun owners will become criminals—in some states even felons—once the bills become law.

Our Second Amendment protections have been in place for more than 238 years, but anti-gun politicians simply do not care. It remains the only amendment treated with such blatant disrespect by elected officials who took an oath to support and defend the entire Constitution.

I cannot help but wonder what just one of the 36,000 Iranians would say about our current saga, if one of them were still alive. I am pretty confident they would support an individual’s right to keep and bear arms regardless of their political beliefs, because it provides the ability to defend oneself against tyranny in any form, especially from illegitimate politicians who would knowingly arrest or endanger their own constituents if that’s what their political party tells them to do.

Women in South Africa take up guns and martial arts for protection against gender violence

BRONKHORSTSPRUIT, South Africa (AP) — At the command of a female instructor, a line of girls and women, some wearing pink ear protectors, shoot five rounds at a target with 9 mm pistols as they undergo firearm training at a range in the agricultural town of Bronkhorstspruit just outside South Africa’s capital, Pretoria.

The group, some as young as 13 and others up to 65, are looking for ways to protect themselves in a country where gender-based violence is such a critical problem that it was declared a national disaster by the government in November.

“Check your grip, check your line of sight,” shouts Claire van der Westhuizen, the lead female instructor at Lone Operator shooting range, as women with well-manicured nails reload for another round.

The training course is specifically designed for women and offers practice in real-world scenarios like self-defense firing while lying on their stomachs and backs.

Femicide rates in South Africa are among the highest in the world, according to U.N. Women, the United Nations agency for gender equality. A South African study in 2022 found more than 35% of South African women aged 18 and older had experienced physical or sexual violence at some point. In most cases, the perpetrator was an intimate partner.

Joining ‘a family of support’

Sunette du Toit, a working 51-year-old grandmother, was pushed to take up firearm training after surviving a home invasion by five men who tied her up and ransacked her house, she told The Associated Press.

“I was not in a position to defend myself at that point,” du Toit said. “I had to do this (firearm training) for myself to gain my confidence back to be able to move in public, and even in my own house, without feeling vulnerable.”

She called the women’s firearm training group “a family of support.”

Firearms in South Africa are heavily regulated. Anyone who wants to own a gun for self-defense must be over 21 and pass proficiency tests and background checks.

Various self-defense trainings for women are popping up throughout the country.

EPIC FURY: Trump’s Play to Starve the Dragon?

Bloomberg reported Thursday that Beijing “told the country’s top oil refiners to suspend exports of diesel and gasoline” as Operation Epic Fury continues disrupting oil shipments out of the Persian Gulf. “China’s curbs just six days into a war reflect a scramble across Asia to prioritize domestic needs as the crisis in the Middle East deepens.”

China imports “about 11 million barrels of crude per day,” my Townhall colleague Walter Curt added on X this morning, “with roughly 40-45% of that flowing through the Strait of Hormuz.”

And yes, while China is a net importer of oil and natural gas — and yugely so — the Communist nation exports refined products including gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and marine bunker fuel, largely to Southeast Asian, South Pacific, and African nations.

But not as of today.

“Officials from the National Development and Reform Commission, the country’s top economic planner,” Bloomberg [paywalled link] continued, “called for a temporary suspension of refined product shipments that would begin immediately.”

It isn’t just China, either, according to the same report: “With virtually no oil or fuel making its way out of the Persian Gulf since US and Israeli attacks began at the weekend, refiners from Japan to Indonesia and India have begun cutting back run rates and suspending exports.”

I had a brief item about this earlier today on Instapundit, but the news kept nagging at me because it’s worth a deeper look — and, as it turns out, the petroleum exports angle might be the least interesting part.

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Kurds are a people not to be trifled with. They’re tough, and motivated. Salah ad-Din, known to us as Saladin, the conqueror of Jerusalem, was a Kurd.

Ground invasion launched against Iran as thousands of US-backed Kurdish fighters storm border

Thousands of Kurdish fighters have launched a ground invasion in Iran, according to a US official.

The Kurdish militias, based across the border in Iraq, began the offensive in northwestern Iran on Wednesday.

President Donald Trump on Sunday night spoke with the heads of Kurdish militant groups in Iraq to discuss the situation in Iran.

The CIA was exploring plans to arm the Kurdish forces with the aim of sparking a popular uprising, CNN reported Tuesday.

The Kurdish groups are widely seen as the most well-organized faction of the fragmented Iranian opposition and are believed to have thousands of battle-hardened fighters.

Their entry into the war could pose a significant challenge to the besieged authorities in Tehran and could also risk pulling Iraq further into the conflict.

Asked about Kurdish involvement, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters: ‘None of our objectives are premised on the support or the arming of any particular force.

‘So, what other entities may be doing, we’re aware of, but our objectives aren’t centered on that.’

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