Sept2001

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The Armed M is a publication of the 2nd Amendment SIG, a special interest group of American Mensa Ltd. Opinions expressed herein are the opinions of the writers, and not of American Mensa, Ltd., which has no opinions. This newsletter is linked to the Mensa web page WWW.Mensa.org as WWW.webcatt.com/2ndAmend_SIG

September 11 is my birthday. It wasn’t a good day for me, my son was at the Pentagon when it was hit finally got word he is fine.

In prior hijackings the idea was to hold passengers and crew hostages. In a hostage situation time is on the side of the good guys so not resisting is a good idea. Time has changes and it is time to reconsidering resisting. I think arming crews makes sense but more effective would be the crews deadheading in civilian cloths. Allowing law enforcement officers and concealed carry personal to be armed on aircraft makes sense. Need safety bullets to try to save pressurization.

I was on the selection team for Air Force One. A long range B747B carries 480,000# of fuel, that’s five times the amount on the larger aircraft used Tuesday.

In the 60’s Civil Defense trained a group of us engineers and architects to analyze fall out shelters and to design blast resistant structures. The top of the trade towers collapsing I can understand but the remainder of the building should have continued to stand. We need to change our designs to take the impact load of the floors above collapsing

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The numbers coming out of what happened in New York and Washington last Tuesday are almost too big to comprehend: Thousands believed dead. Millions of pounds of rubble where the World Trade Center and part of the Pentagon stood. Billions of dollars expected to be sent to New York as aid.

That’s why Heritage Foundation analysts are trying to give these numbers some context. Below is a quick reference guide from Heritage’s Center for Data Analysis (CDA) that includes figures and facts about:

Number of Air Hijacking Incidents

Note: This does not include commandeering or bombings of airplanes. The difference between commandeering and hijacking is that a hijacking is defined as a case where a passenger takes over a plane or attempts to take over a plane after the doors are closed (even if the plane is still on the ground).

Number of International Terrorist Attacks
From 1981 to 2000, there were a total of 9,179 international terrorists attacks (excluding intra-Palestinian violence), averaging at 459 attacks a year.

The number of terrorism attacks was at its highest in mid-1980s. The average number of annual attacks between 1985 and 1988 numbered about 630.

Terrorism declined in the mid-1990s and was at its lowest in 1998, when only 274 attacks were recorded. It increased in 1999 to 392 attacks, and 423 attacks in 2000.

Facilities Struck By Terrorist Attacks, 1995-2000
Businesses are the target of choice of international terrorists. From 1995 to 2000, an average of 67 percent of international terrorists targeted businesses. Thats compared to only 7 percent aimed at diplomats and 3.5 percent at government facilities.

A total of 1,842 businesses were attacked abroad by international terrorists compared to 200 diplomatic posts and 97 government facilities.

Only 48 military facilities, or less than 2 percent of the total number of attacks, were hit by international terrorists.

Of the roughly 2,850 attacks launched, 571 were aimed at other establishments.

American Casualties Caused by Attacks, 1995-2000

From 1995 to 2000, 77 Americans died as a result of international terrorist attacks. That’s an average of 13 per year.

During the same period, 651 Americans were wounded by international terrorists, or an average of 109 per year.

Total Terrorist Attacks By Region, 1995-2000
From 1995 to 2000, Latin America experienced the most international terrorist attacks with 729. That’s an average of 122 attacks per year. The year 2000 saw the most attacks in Latin America, when 193 were recorded.

Western Europe is second with 608 attacks, an average of 101 per year. The overall number of terrorist attacks there, however, has been decreasing from a high of 272 in 1995 to a low of 30 in 2000.

Asia has been seeing a rise in terrorist attacks, from 16 in 1995 to a high of 98 in 2000, for a total of 267 for the 6-year period.

North America has had the lowest concentration of international terrorist attacks. Only 15 were recorded from 1995 to 2000.

Total Terrorist Deaths from Attacks by Region, 1995-2000
Asia suffered the most deaths as a result of terrorist attacks; a total of 9,713 perished there from 1995 to 2000. Africa follows with 5,762 deaths for the 6-year period. The Middle East comes next with 2,190, and Western Europe with 1,212. North America had the least number of dead, with only seven during that period.

Asia has the highest number of deaths in a single year for any region, with 5,639 dead in 1995. This is followed by Africa with 5,379 deaths in 1998.

Total Anti-U.S. Attacks in 2000

In 2000, 86 percent of anti-U.S. attacks occurred in Latin America. The rest of the anti-U.S. attacks came in Asia (4.5 percent), Western Europe (3.5 percent), Africa (3 percent), Eurasia (2 percent) and the Middle East (1 percent). This includes attacks against U.S. facilities and attacks in which American citizens suffered casualties.

A majority of the attacks were in the form of bombings (90 percent). Other methods used were: kidnapping (6 percent), armed attack (2 percent), arson (1 percent), firebombing (1 percent), and other methods (2 percent).

Businesses were the common target for nearly 87 percent of these attacks. Only about 3 percent of the attacks were directed at military establishments and facilities. Diplomatic establishments were next (1.5 percent) followed by government facilities that were neither military nor diplomatic. (less than 1 percent).

Domestic Air Traffic in 2000

U.S.-based airplanes from commuter planes to jumbo jetstook off more than 8.8 million times last year, or 241,000 flights per day.

More than 80 air carriers, including freight, commuter, charter and major commercial transporters, departed from 565 regional and major American airports every day.

Major domestic passenger airline statistics:

American: 743,000+ departures

Continental: 397,000+ departures

Delta: 900,000+ departures

Northwest: 563,000+ departures

TWA: 274,000+ departures

United: 750,000+ departures

U.S. Airways 736,000+ departures

Airplane Accidents in the United States
There were 47 accidents involving airplanes last year, or less than one per week.

Only 21 of them were considered serious accidents, producing some kind of injury.

Only three led to a loss of life.

Most of the serious accidents occurred when individuals (usually flight attendants) were hurt due to moderate or severe air turbulence.

Arrests at U.S. Airports From Airline Passenger Screening, 1980-1998

Published Tuesday, May 8, 2001, in the Contra Costa Newspapers High court throws out 'conscience' By Matt Sebastian

California jurors must follow the law, and not their consciences, when deliberating, the state Supreme Court ruled Monday, dismissing the historic doctrine of jury nullification as "contrary to our ideal of equal justice for all."

The justices unanimously upheld a Santa Clara County judge's decision to remove a juror who refused, on principle, to consider convicting an 18-year-old defendant of statutory.

The ruling, the court's first on nullification, is a blow to proponents of the unwritten, but time-tested, principle that jurors are the "conscience of the community" and should reject unjust laws by refusing to convict.

"Judges have systematically refused to grapple with what nullification really means," said Alan Scheflin, a Santa Clara University law professor. "They've erected this bogeyman that they take great delight in destroying." Nullification "may sound lofty," Chief Justice Ronald M. George wrote, "but such unchecked and unreviewable power can lead to verdicts based on bigotry and whim."

The court, in its 28-page opinion, also warned that nullification would leave the fate of defendants to the "whims of a particular jury" which could disregard the presumption of innocence or even convict "by the flip of a coin."

Jury nullification dates back hundreds of years, but rose to prominence during the Revolutionary War period. Juries have since used the principle to acquit those who helped free slaves during the 1800s, as well as bootleggers prosecuted during Prohibition.

"There's no constitutional basis for jury nullification, yet it does exist," said Rita Simon, a law professor at American University. "De Toqueville even mentioned it when he praised the American jury system."

Monday's opinion stems from the 1995 conviction of Arasheik W. Williams by a Santa Clara jury on charges of, false imprisonment, and assault and statutory.

During closing arguments, Williams' attorney told the jurors "a jury may, at times, afford a higher justice by refusing to enforce harsh laws."

Hours into deliberation, the jury foreman reported to the judge that juror James Kelly refused to discuss the statutory charge because "he believes the law is wrong."

Kelly told Judge Paul Teilh he couldn't consider the charge: "I simply cannot see staining a man, a young man, for the rest of his life for what I believe to be the wrong reason."

Under the American legal system, juries need not explain how they arrived at their verdicts. But judges can, and do, remove jurors who make it known they will practice nullification.

In the Williams case, the judge removed Kelly from the jury, saying he had violated his oath of service that required the juror to follow the judge's instructions.

The jury, with an alternate in place, voted the next day to convict Williams, who was later, sentenced to six years in prison. "This ruling will only encourage jurors to lie," Scheflin said.

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It has recent stats for Homicides, Suicides, and accidental deaths for the US and many other countries. You should be able to pull together enough information from this. Just in case you thought our KGB would never destroy someone's life for only the shallowest of motives . . .

When I was a small boy the FBI killed one of my father's best friends for having loaned a few dollars to his kid brother, after the brother had robbed a government office. My father's friend had no knowledge of the crime, but was harassed (without charges) until he had a nervous breakdown. It took three electro-shock treatments in a government mental hospital to kill him. And then in school we were taught to tsk-tsk-tsk because the Soviets did that to dissidents.

But maybe all in my entire dad's friend was luckier than the guy in the following story. Remember that the last words of Orwell's "1984" are, "And he loved Big Brother."

Man Imprisoned 30 Years for Crime FBI Knew He Didn't Commit Friday, May 04, 2001

By David Shuster and Sharon Kehnemui http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,21095,00.html

WASHINGTON - Representatives on the House Government Reform Committee showed a rare display of emotion on Thursday, as they heard the story of a man who spent 30 years in prison for a crime the FBI knew he did not commit.

"Your story of faith, your story of family, your story of courage and perseverance is a gift to your nation. And we cherish it," Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., tearfully told Joe Salvati, a Massachusetts husband and father of four. "Your testimony will insure no one else has to endure the outrageous indignities and injustices you, Mr. Salvati, and your family, Marie, and your family, have suffered."

Salvati was 34 when he was sent to prison in 1967 for a 1965 Boston murder. He had apparently owed money to an informant who told officials Salvati committed the murder, in an attempt to cover up the real killer's identity. It took 26 years for Salvati's lawyer, Victor Garo, to uncover documents proving FBI agents and Boston police decided to prosecute Salvati to protect the identities of a few informants they believed would be endangered if the real murderer were identified. Several of those informants later committed other murders. Documents also showed then-FBI director J. Edgar Hoover knew of the misconduct and false testimony but let the case go on Salvati, who was exonerated earlier this year - four years after his sentence was commuted - broke down Thursday while testifying about his experience, and the undying strength and love he gained from his wife over the years.

He also said that despite his 30-year imprisonment, he still had faith in the American justice system.

"I still consider our justice system to be the greatest justice system in -- Gag! the world. But sometimes it fails, as in my case," he said. "We need agencies like the FBI because there are many out in the world that want to ----- Puke . . .hurt us. However, when the FBI or any other similar agencies break the law, they must be held accountable for their crimes."

Garo was less forgiving. "It was more important to the FBI that they protected their prized informants than it was for innocent people not to be framed. The truth is damned. It didn't matter the truth," he told the panel. Through tears, Marie Salvati told of how she raised their four children without her husband at home, but always with him in their heart.

"From the very beginning of imprisonment, I knew that it would be important for the children to have constant contact, with their family, with their father. And every weekend I dress up, pack a little lunch, and go off to see him for their hugs and their kisses and whatever went on. And he would give them their father's guidance, even though he wasn't home with them,” Marie Salvati said.

Later in the hearing, retired Boston FBI agent H. Paul Rico defiantly denied he helped frame Salvati, but at the same time admitted the wrong man went to jail for the crime.

"What do you want, tears?" Rico shot back at Shays, who accused the agent of feeling no remorse for his role in case. "It'll be probably a nice movie or something," replied the ex-agent, when pressed on the matter.

Also testifying at the hearing was lawyer F. Lee Bailey, who represented Boston mobster Joseph "The Animal" Barboza, the first Boston mobster to enter the witness protection program. Barboza falsely implicated Salvati, who back in 1967 owed Barboza $400.

Bailey later filed a sworn affidavit that his client had testified falsely. That testimony helped to get Salvati's sentence commuted.

The FBI's Boston office still has admitted no wrongdoing in this case and Meanwhile, has issued no apology to the Salvati family. But outgoing FBI director the sap they Louis Freeh issued a written statement on Thursday promising the bureau’s framed licks their cooperation in a criminal investigation of the agents who were involved. asses. . .

Lawmakers are insisting on a complete investigation, as well as an apology tsk-tsk-tsk and compensation for the Salvatis. and increase their funding . . .

Liberty's Educational Advocacy Forum http://freedomlaw.com promotes "action that raises the cost of State violence for its perpetrators lay(ing) the basis for institutional change." [Noam Chomsky]

Dr. Tavel's Self Help Clinic and Sovereign Law Library http://drtavel.com/ Not a high-tech law firm brochure, "because a lawyer is only as smart as you make him" [Max Katz] and "the Law should be accessible to every man and at all times." [Franz Kafka]

Social Workers Not Bound by Fourth Amendment? North Carolina Case Headed for Appeal

(AgapePress) - The North Carolina Court of Appeals has ruled against a home-school family who said social workers are bound by the U.S. Constitution.

The case began in September 1999, when home-schooling parents Jim and Mary Ann Stumbo of Kings Mountain, North Carolina, were visited by a worker from child protective services. The agency had been called by a neighbor who saw the Stumbo's two-year-old daughter run out of her family's home without any clothes on while chasing the family cat.

The Stumbos refused to allow the investigator inside their home, and they were taken to court. In its ruling, the appeals court said the Stumbo's should have let the social worker into their home to interview their children.

But Scott Sommerville, an attorney with the Home School Legal Defense Association, says the ruling is headed for appeal.

"Normally when you're going to search someone's home or invade their private family life, you need to have some evidence that they've broken the law in some way," Sommerville says. "In this case, all the evidence we've got is that a two-year-old chased her kitten out the front door when she wasn't wearing her pajamas. That really does not give you evidence that would suggest that the law's been broken in any way -- and that's why this constitutional issue is so important."

The attorney says the Fourth Amendment protects citizens from unwarranted searches.

"Every year, there are approximately three million child-abuse investigations ... two-thirds of those are unfounded," he says. "Now this case says that those three million investigations are not searches -- and that therefore those two million innocent families whose homes and lives were invaded [have] nothing to complain about because they were never searched in any way, and the Constitution doesn't apply and the social workers really aren't subject to any kind of rules at all."

The case now heads to the State Supreme Court. Sommerville says the case could wind up at the U.S. Supreme Court.

		Persons Arrested
Year	Passengers Screened (Millions)	Carrying firearms/ explosives	Giving False Info
1980	585	1,031	32
1981	599	1,187	49
1982	630	1,314	27
1983	709	1,282	34
1984	776	1,285	27
1985	993	1,310	42
1986	1,055	1,415	89
1987	1,096	1,581	81
1988	1,055	1,493	222
1989	1,113	1,436	83
1990	1,145	1,336	18
1991	1,015	893	28
1992	1,111	1,282	13
1993	1,150	1,354	31
1994	1,261	1,433	35
1995	1,263	1,194	68
1996	1,497	999	131
1997	1,660	924	72
1998	1,903	660	86

Year	U.S. registered Aircraft	Foreign-registered Aircraft
1995	6a	13a
1976	2	14
1977	5	26
1978	7	17
1979	11	13
1980	21	18
1981	7	23
1982	9	22
1983	17	15
1984	5	21
1985	4	22
1986	2	5
1987	3	5
1988	1	10
1989	1	14
1990	1	39
1991	1	23
1992	0	12
1993	0	31

Domestic Air Traffic in 2000

Inchon Landing (Sept. 15-22, 1950): 670