A GREAT CRIME DETERRENT

Poe shames Texas perps - Harris County State District Judge Ted Poe punishes criminals with sentences involving shame - Brief Article
Insight on the News, Oct 19, 1998 by Julia Duin


A Lone Star State judge punishes criminals with sentences of shame -- a nineties version of the scarlet letter that has aggravated the ACLU.

It's 100 degrees at high noon in Houston, and Mike Hubacek's day of reckoning has arrived. Striding back and forth on a blistering-hot sidewalk outside the offices of the Department of Public Safety, the teenager tries to ignore a cluster of reporters and two TV cameras thrust in his face. He clutches a sign: "I killed 2 people while I was driving drunk on Westheimer."

Westheimer Road is one of the city's main thoroughfares where, in the early morning hours of Nov. 28, 1996, Hubacek was speeding with no headlights at 100 mph. He crashed into a van carrying a married couple and their nanny, scattering wreckage over hundreds of feet. The husband and nanny were killed; the wife survived with a broken collarbone and sternum, crushed thighs and wounds requiring 100 stitches.

Hubacek was instructed to carry the sign as part of the lengthy, detailed punishment ordered by Harris County State District Judge Ted Poe. "Most of us care what people think of us" Poe says. "If we're held up to public embarrassment, we don't like it. It does serve as a deterrent."

Poe, 49, is preeminent among a new breed of judge who believes in shaming, a form of justice common in colonial America that seems to be making a comeback. Poe has:
* Jailed a man convicted of domestic abuse and sentenced him to apologize publicly to his wife on the courthouse steps at noon. The audience of 450 people included newspaper and TV reporters and photographers, women from shelters and other defendants accused of wife beating.

* Sentenced a shoplifter to carry a sign for a week in front of Kmart pro claiming his theft. The store manager reported no thefts during that week. "I had seven days, eight hours a day to reflect on my life," the shoplifter told the judge. "I didn't want to continue this mode of self-destruction any more."

* Required a teenage graffiti tagger to apologize to the students at all 13 schools he vandalized. "The school officials liked that" Poe says.

The probation conditions Poe ordered for Hubacek received as much publicity as the case itself. After serving six months in jail for intoxicated manslaughter, Hubacek was ordered to attend 110 days of boot camp, erect a cross and a star of David at the scene of the wreck, maintain the crash site and carry a sign once a month for the next 10 years in front of high schools, bars and driver's-license offices proclaiming, "I killed two people while driving drunk."

The teenager also must keep photographs of the victims in his wallet for 10 years, refrain from driving for 10 years, stay inside Houston city limits, observe an autopsy of a person killed in a drunken-driving accident and send $10 every week for 10 years to a memorial fund in the names of the victims.

Every time Hubacek shows up to carry a sign, Barbara Davis, the wife of the man Hubacek killed, arrives with grim posters of the accident. Passersby cringe when they see them, but some people hug her. "God bless Ted Poe for being considered the renegade judge he is" says Davis."

But the Texas chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, or ACLU, looks askance at Poe's methods. "This is the scarlet-letter syndrome" says Joseph Jacobson, director of the ACLU's Austin affiliate. "It's a form of public humiliation. It's like putting people in stocks like in the old days. The central problem is it makes it that much more difficult for someone to integrate back into normal society.

The ACLU's Houston office has taken no complaints against the judge, however. In a state that spends about $2 billion a year on its prison system, Poe's methods are popular, admits Paul Maciekowich, Houston's ACLU chapter president. "Ted Poe is just the tip of the iceberg as to what the mentality is down here" he says. "Last year, more people were imprisoned for parole violations than for first-time offenses"

Poe, who wears black cowboy boots under his robe, is part of the local color in a state in which Wild West instincts endure. While serving as a Harris County prosecutor during the trial of a man who killed a police officer, he read the jury a Christmas card that the officer might have written to his daughter. In his eight years in that job, he never lost a case.

Elected to the bench in 1981, Poe, a Republican, has run without opposition since 1986. He ranked second of 22 judges in a 1993 Houston Bar Association poll rating their effectiveness.

"If we know history, we understand why people do what they do," Poe says. "I think the public punishment is what changes the conduct. It is a public service to the community that knows we won't stand for that conduct."

The judge, whose office includes a poster of Alcatraz, a painting of a scene from the battle of Gettysburg and a sign proclaiming, "I really don't care how you did it up north," has been known to make unrepentant offenders shovel manure at the police stables in west Houston for "attitude adjustment."

ELETRONIC SELF DEFENSE SYSTEMS THAT MAKE SENSE


A Brazilian business man was on a flight to conduct business in another country when he found something interesting going on, on his computer. He had his home security cameras link to his laptop and watched as two men broke into his home and began stealing his valuables. He called his wife who was not home at the time and told her about the situation and to call the police. Within minutes the police were at his home arresting the two thieves. Countless arrests have been credited to this type of technology and if you are interested in purchasing this type of product "
we highly recommend Self Defense Weapons.com."

Found this article interesting showing just how screwed up our justice system really is.


THROUGH BIFOCALS

Moments before a trial was set to begin last month, a Vancouver
court stayed charges that had been pending for fifteen months
against two young men who had allegedly beaten a middle-aged man
unconscious and fractured his ankle. He has had to undergo multiple
surgeries and is unable to work.

Staying charges usually means perpetrators never face trial.Yet
Canada's laws are intended to protect the public and deter criminals.
In this case the victim, Russell Young, had been notified by letter
that he was to attend court September 26, on the Fifth Floor. He
arrived early, checked the trial list posted outside the designated
courtroom, found his case listed there, and confidently sat down in
the gallery to await a call to testify.


But no one notified Young the venue of his trial had been changed at
the last minute from the Fifth to the Third Floor.
He waited two hours. Other cases were dealt with, but never his.
Meanwhile, in a courtroom two floors down, because Young was absent
the court went on to other business while prosecutors scrambled to
locate him.


They paged him; he was sitting in a soundproof courtroom, he didn't
hear the call. They phoned him, but sheriffs in the lobby were
holding his camera phone; recording devices are not allowed in court.
No one took the initiative to visit the original courtroom to look
for him, a searching technique apparently too primitive for use in
today's modern justice system.Since Young -- the key witness -- was
not present to testify, the Crown prosecutor asked that the charges
against his alleged attackers be stayed.


B.C. trials have been stayed on many flimsy excuses: the arresting
Mountie was fishing the Kalum River; the key witness slept in,
confused the date, or blew a tire on the way to the courthouse. And
on and on. Having served as a Crown prosecutor for 14 years, Elliott Poll
should have suspected justice to be derailed by something as witless
as this unannounced change of venue. Courts already have a list of
weak excuses used to stay proceedings: Whoever changed the venue
should have taken responsibility for notifying all affected parties,
particularly the crown's key witness.


Contacted October 3, a media spokesperson for Crown counsel at the
BC Attorney General's office said the stay was under review.The case
had to be assessed, what occurred that day looked into, and a fair
and appropriate decision made under the circumstances.
To nudge the BC Attorney General's office to reschedule Young's
trial, members of FACT weighed in. FACT (Families Against Crime and
Trauma) organized this summer to monitor courts and sentences to
ensure justice for victims.

Several of FACT's organizers suffered the loss of a family member to random violence and lived to see perpetrators given ittybitty sentences that deter no one.
FACT aims to bring equality to our laws, to protect the rights of
the public instead of coddling criminals. Latest word from Crown counsel is that a new hearing has been set for Young's case November 29, 2006.


One would like to think a new trial would have been scheduled
without public pressure. But would it? If FACT and other Young
supporters had not called for a rescheduling of the trial, his two
alleged attackers might well have gone scot free to boast of their
sadistic tactics to other sick minds. FACT now has a website http://www.familiesagainstcrime.org. Reach them at familiesagainstcrime@yahoo.ca.

SELF DEFENSE CONDITIONING

If you find your nerves sensitive to pain when you get hit in a fight here is something you can do to safely toughen your nerves up so blows do not hamper you in a street fight. Whenever you take a shower in the morning run just the cold water and stand under it for 1 minute to start out with. Increase the length of time day by day. What you will find is that your nerves will toughen up becoming less sensitive to pain. To find out more about conditioning exercises such as these go to www.tactselfdefense.com to order your copy of the Guerrilla Combatives Conditioning eManual.

SELF DEFENSE BITE RELEASE TECHNIQUE

On our last post I told you to bite if all else falls when trying to protect yourself. But what do you do if someone is biting you? Lean into the bite by pressing the body part that's being bitten deeper into the mouth. Now use a vibrating motion with your free hand above his upper lip to get his jaws open. Avoid pulling away. This will release his jaw and you will be able to break free.

THE ULTIMATE SELF DEFENSE TECHNIQUE

In my opinion there is one self defense technique that works every time when all else fails. It takes only a few seconds to learn and is easy to remember. "Iron" Mike Tyson made it famous in his boxing match against Holyfield, yes it's the art of biting simple, effective and vicious. For those of you thinking that you can get HIV through doing this technique your wrong. Your spit will kill the virus so your chances of getting the disease is next to non. Better yet ask your doctor he will set you straight on the issue if you don't believe me. So whether you are standing and clinching with someone or on the ground, mounted by someone all you have to do is get your month next to your attackers body and clamp down real hard, it will stop anyone dead in there tracks. This goes for all the women out there also who are in a situation involving sexual assaults. If your attacker forces you to give him oral sex, bite it off. He will be in shock and will be screaming in severe pain so you wont have to worry about him coming after you.

Here is an article by Wallace G Craig of The North Shore News thought it said it all when it comes to crime in Canada.


LIKE THE U.K., CANADA’S A LAND FIT FOR CRIMINALS October 4, 2006


THERE was a time, only a few generations ago, when Englishmen fought like lions to keep democracy alive. Their little green island, a bastion of freedom, was a land fit to die for.
Today, English author David Fraser portrays his country as a land fit for criminals.
Relying on 26 years’ experience as a probation officer and analyst with the United Kingdom’s National Criminal Intelligence service, and compelled by a desire to bring truth to light, Fraser has produced a blockbuster assessment, in painstaking detail, of the abject failure of British criminal justice.


Fraser’s publisher, The Book Guild Ltd., gave A Land Fit For Criminals – An Insiders View of Crime, Punishment and Justice in the UK an unequivocal endorsement. In part:
"The British public today endure some of the world’s worst crime levels – in 2000, according to the government’s own estimates, some 61 million crimes were committed, the vast majority of which went both unrecorded and undetected. Burglary is rife, street crime burgeoning, and violence is escalating to unprecedented levels. Fear of crime means that many of us – especially the vulnerable and the elderly – have become prisoners in our own homes: leaving predatory criminals free to roam our streets.


" . . .almost without exception, governments – and civil servants and academics who abet them – have sought to persuade us that criminals are victims of society and that they are best rehabilitated within the community rather than punished inside prisons. So pervasive has this ‘anti-prison propaganda’ now become that few of whatever political complexion are now prepared to question its truth.


"However, as David Fraser cogently argues, community supervision and probation orders have simply left criminals free to re-offend, while the criminal justice system’s near obsession with the well-being of criminals has come to override its concern for their victims, whose interests and sufferings are callously ignored. Moreover, he suggests, successive governments’ failure to carry out what is their first duty – to protect their citizens – threatens to undermine our democracy itself, as more and more people – exasperated by the blatant injustice of the justice system – take the law into their own hands. Britain has indeed become ‘a land fit for criminals.’ "
In this and succeeding columns I will compare our moribund criminal justice system with the English disaster and argue that Canada, too, is a land fit for criminals. No longer "A True North strong and free" that so courageously stood alongside the English in their time of peril, we have become a chattering nation burdened with a spineless criminal justice system.


I begin with the opinions of two distinguished men: Dr. Guy Richmond and Judge Les Bewley.
Richmond’s 40-year career as a prison doctor began at England’s Dartmoor Prison where he worked for 10 years and finished with a 17-year stint at BC’s notorious Oakalla Prison.
Bewley’s 32 years in the law, from 1949 to 1981, was highlighted by 21 years on the bench of the provincial criminal court at 222 Main Street.


In 1975, Richmond published an outstanding memoir: Prison Doctor. In the preface Richmond proposed a dramatic shift away from human agency, accountability and punishment.
"If I were asked to summarize what I learned I would submit that traditional methods of punishing the criminal, and attempts to deter him, have proved a failure; some other ways must be found. It is not as if we are dealing solely with the criminal. He reflects the state and guilt of society as a whole, so the criminal and his crimes are only one facet of a task of stupendous magnitude."


The final paragraph of Prison Doctor contains a proposal aimed at an absolute minimal use of incarceration. Today, to a large degree, it is the strategy of first and last resort in our criminal justice and penitentiary systems.
"The great majority of offenders can be retained in the community to continue to pay their dues under varying degrees of supervision. A few will need a therapeutic setting; others will need to be detained in some kind of residence, be it among the forests or in the cities. Anywhere else but gaol."


By comparison consider what my old friend and colleague Les Bewley had to say in the opening paragraphs of his 1984 booklet, The Breakdown of the Criminal Justice System in Canada.
"As a criminal court judge, I kept in my judges chamber a framed cartoon which illustrated better than anything yet printed the inanities and insanities which have governed our approach to crime and punishment and the criminal justice system, over the past 25 years or more.
"The cartoon depicts an earnest young woman being tied across railroad tracks before an oncoming train by a handsome, mustachioed, fur-collared villain. The young woman (clearly the possessor of a post-graduate degree in criminology, sociology or anthropology from a university) is saying to him: ‘I don’t hate you, Gerald. You’re sick, and I feel sorry for you.’
"The reformers, rehabilitationists and earnest dabblers in the serious business of crime have not only advanced psychology as the cause and cure of crime; they have held out everything from thumb-sucking, to poverty, to capitalism, to dyslexia, to television watching as the incubators of crime.


"The only thing they overlooked – in fact, resolutely avoided or denied – was the possibility that some degree of original sin might be involved; and from that innocent point of view they invariably fell into the trap of believing that crime cannot be prevented by, or deserves, punishment."


In my next column: bail bandits, probation bandits, conditional-sentence bandits, parole violators – and the crimes they commit; more from A Land Fit For Criminals; a wake-up call to soft-sentencing judges; and a bit of trivia – the name of a federal Solicitor-General who on Oct. 7, 1971 made the following statement in the House of Commons – "From now on, we have decided to stress the rehabilitation of individuals rather than the protection of society."


Wallace G. Craig – wallace-gilby-craig@shaw.ca; North Shore News, Oct. 4, 2006.

SELF DEFENSE HUMOR



Police are warning all men who frequent clubs, parties & local pubs to be alert and stay cautious when offered a drink from any woman. Many females use a date rape drug on the market called "Beer." The drug is found in liquid form and is available anywhere. It comes in bottles, cans, or from taps and in large "kegs". Beer is used by female sexual predators at parties and bars to persuade their male victims to go home and sleep with them. A woman needs only to get a guy to consume a few units of Beer and then simply ask him home for no strings attached sex. Men are rendered helpless against this approach.

After several beers, men will often succumb to the desires to sleep with horrific looking women whom they would never normally be attracted. After drinking beer, men often awaken with only hazy memories of exactly what happened to them the night before, often with just a vague feeling that "something bad" occurred. At other times these unfortunate men are swindled out of their life's savings, in a familiar scam known as "a relationship." In extreme cases, the female may even be shrewd enough to entrap the unsuspecting male into a longer term form of servitude and punishment referred to as "marriage."

Men are much more susceptible to this scam after beer is administered and sex is offered by the predatory females. Please! Forward this warning to every male you know. If you fall victim to this "Beer" scam and the women administering it, there are male support groups where you can discuss the details of your shocking encounter with similarly victimized men. For the support group nearest you, just look up "Golf Courses" in the phone book. For a video to see how beer works click here, And watch her face: Beer Demo

SELF DEFENSE FROM CREDIT CARD SCAMS


This one was forwarded to me and is pretty slick scam since they provide YOU with all the information, except the one piece they want. Note, the callers do not ask for your card number; they already have it. This information is worth reading. By understanding how the VISA & MasterCard telephone Credit Card Scam works, you'll be better prepared to protect yourself. The scam works like this:

Person calling says, "This is (name), and I'm calling from the Security and Fraud Department at VISA. My Badge number is 12460 , Your card has been flagged for an unusual purchase pattern, and I'm calling to verify. This would be on your VISA card, which was issued by (name of bank). Did you purchase an Anti-Telemarketing Device for $497.99 from a marketing company based in Arizona?" When you say "No", the caller continues with, "Then we will be issuing a credit to your account. This is a company we have been watching and the charges range from $297 to $497, just under the $500 purchase pattern that flags most cards. Before your next statement, the credit will be sent to (gives you your address), is that correct?"
You say "yes".

The caller continues - "I will be starting a Fraud Investigation. If you have any questions, you should call the 1- 800 number listed on the back of your card (1-800-VISA) and ask for Security. You will need to refer to this Control Number. The caller then gives you a 6 digit number. "Do you need me to read it again?" Here's the IMPORTANT part on how the scam works: The caller then says, "I need to verify you are in possession of your card". He'll ask you to "turn your card over and look for some numbers". There are 7 numbers; the first 4 are part of your card number, the next 3 are the Security Numbers that verify you are the possessor of the card.



These are the numbers you sometimes use to make Internet purchases to prove you have the card. The caller will ask you to read the 3 number to him. After you tell the caller the 3 numbers, he'll say, "That is correct, I just needed to verify that the card has not been lost or stolen, and that you still have your card. Do you have any other questions?" After you say no, the caller then thanks you and states, "Don't hesitate to call back if you do", and hangs up. You actually say very little, and they never ask for or tell you the card number.But after we were called on Wednesday, we called back. Within 20 minutes to ask a question. Are we glad we did! The REAL VISA Security Department told us it was a scam and in the last 15 minutes a new purchase of $497.99 was charged to our card.


We made a real fraud report and closed the VISA account. VISA is reissuing us a new number. What the scammers want is the 3-digit PIN number on the back of the card. Don't give it to them. Instead, tell them you'll call VISA or Master Card directly for verification of their conversation. The real VISA told us that they will never ask for anything on the card as they already know the information since they issued the card! If you give the scammers your 3 Digit PIN Number, you think you're receiving a credit.


However, by the time you get your statement you'll see charges for purchases you didn't make, and by then it's almost too late and/or more difficult to actually file a fraud report. What makes this more remarkable is that on Thursday, I got a call from a "Jason Richardson of MasterCard" with a Word-for-word repeat of the VISA Scam. This time I didn't let him finish. I hung up! We filed a police report, as instructed by VISA. The police said they are taking several of these reports daily! They also urged us to tell everybody we know that this scam is happening. I dealt with a similar situation this morning, with the caller telling me that $3,097 had been charged to my account for plane tickets to Spain, and so on through the above routine. It appears that this is a very active scam, and evidently quite successful.

SELF DEFENSE ISOMETRIC EXERCISES

When it comes to your self defense workouts you want to build your muscles into strong workable muscles that have endurance to perform the task. By having big swollen muscles your muscles are only good for show not for function, dont confuse size for strength for its not the case. So how do you go about making your muscles stronger and functional for the combat world? By performing isometric exercises. These exercises are done on a 5 count or more, here is an example go into a regular push-up postion, bring your down on a 5 count and up on a 5 count and repeat. By performing the exercise at a slower rate you force to muscle to work harder and longer, which is what you will need to do in a self defense situation. Any exercise can be performed this way even when using free weights or machine weights. When you find that the exercises are getting easier just increase the time of the count to 6, 7, 8 etc. Remember size doesn't equal strength.

P.S. If you are interested in finding out more about Guerrilla Combat Exercises visit www.tactselfdefense.com and order my Guerrilla Combatives Conditioning E Manual

SOCIETY AND SELF DEFENSE

Today's post is written by a friend of mine who's 16 year old son was murdered last year on the Canada Day long weekend. Through this senseless crime this family has stayed positive with dealing with the horror of there sons death, even though they have been revictimized by the justice system over and over again by having one of the accused bail set for peanuts and staying only 6 blocks away from there family home. Sandie Martins-Toner has started an organization called F.A.C.T (Families Against Crime And Trauma) and her husband David Toner has started a Guardian Angels Chapter in the Vancouver BC area. This article is written by Sandie on how the justice system revictimizes the victim and on how to make judges accountable for there actions.



Shame the Judges

I think it’s high time to lay blame where it belongs. We need to stop blaming our police officers for all the criminals roaming the streets, and get to the source, our Justice System. We should kiss these officers asses for not walking off the job, for all the abuse they get. We seem to forget how often these criminals are arrested, and by the end of the day they are back out.
Remember the "Shame the Johns" program the police had? The one used to combat the victimization of child prostitutes? We should try that with our judicial system. Every time a Judge in BC lets a repeat offender off with a slap on the wrist, or allows a violent pedophile back into our communities, or some other such judicial blunder; I say we shame them publicly. Nothing like a little public humiliation and ridicule to re-adjust your sense of community responsibility.

The problem with today’s legal system is well known to be the judiciary. The cops arrest the bad guys, and assuming they can even get Crown Council to accept the charge (another shameful slap to the administration of justice – allowing some clerk to decide if a suspect gets charged) the chances of the accused being convicted of the crime and serving any significant sentence are… Well, you’ve heard about the snowball’s chances in the hot place.

Only when the judges are made to be accountable for their decisions will they begin to consider them more carefully. Why, you ask, do they not care? Why are they not handing down serious time for serious crimes? Simple… Because they have become complacent. It’s easier to go along with an earlier ruling, to follow the lead of precedent than to stand up and perhaps receive unwanted attention, or God forbid; publicity. So, what we have to do is make the consequences of not doing the right thing worse for them. Publish the "offending" Judge’s name and shameful act of judicial cowardice for all to see. Bring out the tar and the feathers too! Someone has to wake up the bench, and if shaming Johns by photographing them and publishing their particulars worked as a deterrent for street solicitation, maybe something similar is needed for our judges.




Sandra Martins-Toner
Executive Director
Families Against Crime & Trauma

TACT SELF DEFENSE SCHOOL GRAND OPENING

TACT Self Defense is glad to announce the grand opening of there training centre in mid October in the Vancouver BC area. "We are excited to provide a training centre like no other with training based from methods that the FBI, CIA and military use to train there personnel. This type of method of training is called Condition Stimulus Training which teaches individuals how to better handle violence and how to fight by using there environment and surroundings as weapons at there disposal" stated TACT's creator Norm Bettencourt

For further information on this type of self defense training and on how to receive your FREE trial class pass to the TACT Training Centre visit http://www.tactselfdefense.com/training.php for more details. We hope to see you there.

PROTECTING YOUR BANKING INFORMATION

There are many ways con artists are able to access your banking information, but the most popular way of getting your banking information believe it or not is through you. The most popular form is by having scam artists pose over the phone as a ligit company asking for your banking information so they can receive payment for there services. Under no circumstances should you ever give out this information no matter what. I repeat NEVER even if the other person on the phone states they are from your bank branch. The only time you ever should give out this information is in person at your own bank branch. If anyone asks for this information any place else do not give out any information, no matter who they say they are.

A SELF DEFENSE SUPERSTITION

This is actually really freaky!! (mainly the end part, but read it all first)

1) New York City has 11 letters

2) Afghanistan has 11 letters.

3) Ramsin Yuseb (The terrorist who threatened to destroy the Twin Towers in1993) has 11 letters.

4) George W Bush has 11 letters. This could be a mere coincidence, but this gets more interesting:

5) New York is the 11th state.

6) The first plane crashing against the Twin Towers was flight number 11.

7) Flight 11 was carrying 92 passengers. 9 + 2 = 11

8) Flight 77 which also hit Twin Towers, was carrying 65 passengers. 6+5 = 11

9) The tragedy was on September 11, or 9/11 as it is now known. 9 + 1+ 1 =11

10) The date is equal to the US emergency services telephone number 911. 9 +1 + 1 = 11

Sheer coincidence..?! Read on and make up your own mind:

11) The total number of victims inside all the hi-jacked planes was 254. 2 +5 + 4 = 11

12) September 11 is day number 254 of the calendar year. Again 2 + 5 + 4 =11

13) The Madridbombing took place on 3/11/2004. 3 + 1 + 1 + 2 + 4 = 11

14) The tragedy of Madrid happened 911 days after the Twin Towers incident.

Now this is where things get totally eerie:The most recognized symbol for the US, after the Stars & Stripes, is theEagle. The following verse is taken from the Quran, the Islamic holy book:"For it is written that a son of Arabia would awaken a fearsome Eagle. The wrath of the Eagle would be felt throughout the lands of Allah while some of the people trembled in despair still more rejoiced: for the wrath of the Eagle cleansed the lands of Allah and there was peace."That verse is number 9.11 of the Quran,unconvinced about all of this Still ..?!

Try this and see how you feel afterwards, it made my hair stand on end: Open Microsoft Word and do the following:

1. Type in capitals Q33 NY. This is the flight number of the first plane to hit one of the Twin Towers

2. Highlight the Q33 NY.

3. Change the font size to 48.

4. Change the actual font to the WINGDINGS

What do you think now?!!

SELF DEFENSE FROM SCAM ARTISTS

In todays day and age scan artists have many avenues of contacting you. There is a new scan thats out that goes like this. You get a phone call from someone stating that if you don't put money into a certain account the person they are holding hostage will be killed. How they got your number is unknown to cell phone companies but some companies are changing phone numbers free of charge to people who are victims of this scam. It's the same with email, every time I open it I get an email in my bulk folder from so called eBay, PayPal that my account is suspended or I have an email from the daughter of the late joe blow in Africa that needs help transfering her cash so the government doesn't steal it. I think this week alone a have won 1 billion dollars in online lotteries. Here's a tip, if it sounds to good to be true it usually is. With emails from Paypal they address you by your account name. Fake emails will address you in general terms such as "Dear PayPal Member" The best thing to do is go to the source like PayPal report the problem and they will help you with any questions you have. Like the old saying goes "Knowledge is power"

SELF DEFENSE TIPS FROM SCAMS

In todays day an age there is a huge potential for scam artists to work there stuff on innocent victims not expecting anything. There is a new scam out where you get a phone call on your cell and if you dont transfer money into someones account the person they are holding hostage will be killed. How they got the phone numbers is still unknown but cell phone companies are offering free change of phone numbers if you are a victim of this. By the way there is no hostage. It the same with email, every time I open my email there is an email in my bulk folder from so called PayPal, eBay, someone from Africa who is the late living relative of god knows who, who needs to transfer money over so it's not taken from the dirty government that runs the country. I also love the online lotteries, I think I have won over 10 billion dollars this week alone. Believe it or not some people fall for this stuff, it may sound stupid for people to believe in these scams, but people do and I am not saying it's you but if it is, it's time to educate yourself. Lets say you get an email from your PayPal account stating you need to update your information, or there is usual activity in your account. Paypal only addresses there customers by there account name, scam artists will address you in a general way, not using your name, this should give you an indication that its a fake email from PayPal. The best way to educate yourself is to go directly to the source such as PayPal or eBay and ask them questions. Like the old saying goes "knowledge is power".

YOUR SELF DEFENSE PLAN

In life to be successful at anything you need to have a well defined plan, follow it and have a back up plan in case plan A fails. This is one of the secrets that successful people use to reaching there goals. If plan A is unsuccessful they dont quit, they go straight to plan B. They realize that something was missing in plan A's equation and try something different in plan B. The same theory holds true in your self defense plan. If plan A isnt working go to plan B. This helps give you the mindset that anything is possible to achieve, you just need to have the right plan in place to becoming successful. For most people when something doesn't go right the first time around they automatically give up, figuring it wasn't meant to be. That is the last attitude you should have in a self defense situation, especially if you are locked inside a trunk of a car or tied up in a room some where. You need to keep your fighting spirit alive inside of you.

For Henry Ford said it best " Wether you think you can or you think you can't, you're right"

"WHY"... THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION IN SELF DEFENSE & IN LIFE

In a self defense situation you have to have a clear definition of why you are protecting yourself. This allows you to be totally committed and fearless in your attack and gives you courage to stand up for yourself in an intimidating situation. Answering the question why gives you the purpose, passion and power to defeat your attacker. The same holds true for any goal you set in life such as a weight loss goal, business goals or educational goals. Reminding yourself why you are doing this and seeing ahead in the future of what life can be like when you achieve your goal, can give you that extra boost of encouragement when times get tough. Reminding ourselves why gives us clear vision and focus to succeed at anything we set our minds to.

NO LIQUIDS ALLOWED

Here is a quote from a reader of the Vancouver 24 Hours Newspaper under the column "What's On Your Mind?". Thought it was funny yet scary at the same time due to the issue of how far suicide bombers will go to harming others.

Quote: "Now if no liquids are allowed on flights, what about breast implants? Better still, how would they enforce that restriction? Keene Alexander via email

HOW WOULD YOU DEAL WITH THIS SITUATION?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EE3pzSrM2CU

If IN DOUBT GOOGLE THEM

Here is a tip to find out if the person your intimately with is the person they say they are or a con man or woman. If you have any doubt that something is up with your girl/boy friend because they are pressuring you into marriage listen to those gut feelings. The biggest myth about con men or women is that they only go after very wealthy people, the myth is incorrect. They go after anyone that has something to offer. Many people dont even realize that they are being conned to till it's to late. Here are some tips that you can go by to see if your partner is who he says he is.

1. Google them...Type in there name and information about them will come up. People have found out that they're partners were married once, twice or even more.

2. Are they putting pressure on you to get married even though its only a couple of months since you have known them.

3. They give you vague answers to personal questions you have about them.

4. Test boundries with money such as "Hey can I borrow some cash I will pay you back Im getting an inhertance in a few months"


By simply following these tips you can save yourself from financial & emotional heartbreak.

TURN YOUR WALLET INTO A WEAPON

Here is a tip for a mugging situation that you can use to get out of the situation safe and sound. First I want to address the issue of how money can be easily replaced, but your life can't be. So if you are ever in a mugging situation it's better to give up the wallet than to fight for your life to hang on to it. Your life is worth more than money. Here is the tip. If an armed mugger demands your wallet get it out of your pocket and throw it away from you and the mugger at a slight distance. The mugger is interested more in your cash than anything else so he will move away from you and retrieve the wallet. This will get you out of the kill zone and give you time to run off. If you got balls and want to follow through with a self defense technique after throwing your wallet to the ground this will give you time to execute an unexpected self defense tactic because the mugger is focused on the wallet not on you.

FEATHER PUNCHES

Here's a question from one of the readers.

I noticed that your self defense system doesn't involve throwing any punches. Would it not make sense to teach your students on how strike with there fists?

Good question and Im glad you brought this up. The reason why my self defense system does not use punching techniques is because it takes years for someone to develope there punching power. You need to learn how to put your hips and weight into the punch for it to be effective. Most people want a quick system to learn so they can defend themselves. Unless you have years of training behind you most punches thrown in a fight are "feather punches" ( punch which has no power behind it because there is no hip rotation when the punch is thrown which allows you to put your weight into the blow) There are much more powerful and easier techniques that an individual can learn such as an elbow strike or palm thrust which the hip naturally follows through with the execution of the technique giving you greater impact.

Grappling vs Striking

One of my readers sent me an email asking me what I thought was better for a self defense system a style that incorporated striking methods or one with grappling methods? My response both. But don't be fooled when I say grappling I don't mean wrestling and the like. People see the UFC and think that they will have the upper hand on someone if they learn grappling skills. The answer is correct to some extent and incorrect in the other. On the street you don't have time playing the grappling chess game with an attacker. The longer you stay on the ground the more dangerous the situation becomes especially if your attacker has friends...you will get your head kicked in and curb bashed within seconds. This holds true for your striking skills also, self defense is not give and take, your not there to exchange blows. Have the battle is already won if you know these truths.

We Are What We Eat

A question came from a reader asking about his anxiety issues whenever he was confronted slightly with aggression. The individual once worked as a bouncer a few years back but was finding that since he left the profession his anxiety had increased alot when dealing with aggressive individuals. My first question was have you seen a doctor? His reply yes. My second question to him was what do you eat and drink? The reply that got my attention was" I drink 8 cups of coffee a day". Caffine is a drug causing many different affects to the body including anxiety and hyperactivety. My answer was cut down on the java or best yet stop drinking the stuff altogether. Sounds to hard to do...I was once the guy you would see seating at the local Starbucks every morning , plus coming in at noon and night ordering my venti coffees. After years of sucking back the stuff and paying someone in the companys mortage I found myself always feeling anxiety when I went out. I thought I was going a little nuts and spoke to my doctor asking if I should be concerned. His response was how much coffee did I drink and after I told him he told me to cut down. I not only cut down I quit completely only drinking decaffe. To my surprise the anxiety and hyperactivity disappeared in about a month. That's how long it takes to get out of your system. I would of not be able to quit the stuff if it hadn't affected the way I lived. So until it gets bad enough and youre tired of being sick and tired of feeling a certain way will you do something about it.

P.S. Not all issues are dealt with so easily seek professional medical advice for there could be a medical condition causing the problem.

Having A Plan Is The Key To Success

All successful people have one thing in common...they had a good soild plan and followed it. Everyone from pro sports coaches to men such as Donald Trump have a planto reach they goals. Success in self defense and in life follows the same principles. Have an emergency plan where everyone in your home knows what to do if there is an emergency so people do not panic and freeze in fear. Practice this emergency plan at least twice a year so everyone is familiar with it and also to see if you need to make any corrections. Seek expert advice if you need help. People who have a plan are better able to handle and survive a crisis.

The same applies with your business and success plans you have set for yourself this year. Write out your plan and take so many steps everyday to work towards achieving your goals. If you hit a bump in the road ask for help from someone who has gone through and succeeded with the obsticle you are going experiencing now. By having a solid game plan you can accomplish anything.

What's Important To You


The other day I heard of a story about a woman who was 3 months pregnant was loading some groceries bags into her car with her 7 year old child in the parking lot of a mall in small town America. All of a sudden she feels someone tugging at her purse which is hanging off her shoulder. She turns and sees a large male determined to get her purse but she refuses to let him have it having a tug a war with him down the parking lot. Her 7 year old begins helping mom by hitting and kicking the mugger. People begin to take notice and a few decide to help her fend off the attacker and some call 911.

I give total credit to this woman for protecting herself but at the same time I think what she did was a foolish thing. First for putting her her unborn babies life at risk, the first three months is the most fragile period where many things can affect the unborn child success of surviving. Second she put her 7 years old child life at risk. Third she put her own life at risk all for protecting her money and identification.

Later when the woman was interviewed she was asked if it happened again would she of done the same thing the woman replied "No now when I think about it, it was a stupid thing to do my kid could of been hurt" Right or wrong the bottom line is not everyone as the same views. What's important for one person may not be of importance to another. As we train to protect ourselves we have to know where to draw that line of when to fight and not to. Leaving our egos out of the decision making process and looking deep down inside on what is really important to us.

THE TWO FINGERED HANDSHAKE

Ever meet someone new and upon introducing yourself with a handshake you realize the person shaking your hand missed out on the class of proper handshake etiquette. Some guys squeeze the hand of the other person hard to "show" that they are the dominate male. Others do it because they actually do not know how powerful their grip is. Regardless of the fact it puts you in an disadvantage in case you need to protect yourself.

Here is how you can protect yourself from this type of handshake squeezer so you hand doesn't get crushed and your not at the mercy of the other person. When shaking hands with someone place you're two fingers (the ones closest to you're thumb) on the wrist area of the person you're shaking hands with. Regardless of the size of his hand or power of his grip he will be unable to get a firm grip of you're hand due to how you're hand is postioned. You're hand will never be crushed again.

Mom Knows Best


Canadian geologist working in Mexico was on a bus going to a cave one morning to begin working. A stranger sitting next to him started some small talk and offered the geologist some candy. Thinking nothing of it the geologist accepted the candy. Seventy two hours later the geologist awoke in a hospital miles from where he should be. The geologist money and identification had been stolen from him, let alone his memory of the last 72 hours. The message the geologist had upon arriving back home in Canada "Always listen to what your mom had to say, never take candy from a strangers"

A Quitter Never Succeeds

Ever try a new task and you fail at it every time you try it over again? Do you get frustrated, quit and give up?. Or do you look at your temporary defeats try to learn from them as what you are doing wrong? Everyone make mistakes and fails at tasks that they are trying to succeed in. The difference between successful people and ordinary people is that every time a successful person fails they learn from there mistakes and look at there failures as a step towards getting closer to there goal.

Take a look at Thomas Edison the man who invented the light bulb. He failed 10,000 times before he got it right. He kept going when most people would of given up. So next time your trying to get a new technique to work right or are trying to gain some mass or lose weight but are not being to successful at it. Take a look at how long you have been working at reaching your goal...Have you spent enough time at it. If so change your game plan you get the same results by doing the same thing. Eventally you will get it right and succeed.

SUMMERTIME MEANS A RAISE IN CRIME


While we begin going out enjoying the warm summer weather and catching some rays, criminals are also going out enjoying how easy it is to break into peoples homes. Home invasions increase during the warm summer months due to people leaving windows open to let the fresh air in and being noticeably gone for extended periods of time while on vacation.

All families should be aware of these crime prevention tips for there home.

Close all doors and windows when going out regardless of how hot it is outside.

Make sure shrubs are trimmed so neighbors can keep an eye on your home for any suspicious activity.

Have exterior lights on motion detectors and placed where they can not be tampered with.

Interior lights should be on timers.

Do not leave spare keys around the house.

Leave a light, TV or radio on when you go out.

If your family is away on vacation get a house sitter.

Have your house sitter pick up the mail, change positioning of curtains and park their car in your drive way.

By following this simple steps and others your chances of your home and you becoming a victim of crime greatly decrease. Remember criminals have a checklist when choosing a home to break into. The more you make your home looked occupied and harder to break into the better.

BELIEVING YOU CAN

This article was sent to me by a friend of mine. It comes from the Coaching Compass Newsletter www.coachtrainingalliance.com I thought you guys would enjoy reading it also.


A young man fell asleep during math class. He woke up as the bell rang, looked at the black board and copied down the two problems that were there. He assumed they were the homework for the night. He went home and laboured the rest of the afternoon and into the evening knowing if he didn't complete the work he would fail the class.

He couldn't figure out either one but kept trying for the rest of the week. Finally he got the answer to one and brought it to class. The teacher was absolutely stunned. The young man feared he did too little, too late. It turned out the problem he solved was supposedly unsolvable.


How did he do it? He was able to do what was thought to be impossible because he believed it was possible. He not only believed it was possible he believed that if he didn't solve it he would fail the class. Had he known the problem was unsolvable he would of never done it.

Beliefs are the commanders of our brain. When we believe something is true we literally go into the state of it's being true. Handled effectively beliefs can be the most powerful forces for creating good in our lives.

Beliefs control our destiny. The belief we have in ourselves...The beliefs we have in others...The beliefs others have in us. The birth of excellence begins with the awareness that our beliefs are our choice.

Beliefs are the compass and map that guide us to our goals. Believe you can do something or believe you can't and you'll be right every time.

LEVERAGE

Today's post is regarding the importance of leverage. By using leverage in a physical self defense situation you make it easier for yourself to control your attackers body. One example of this is off balancing your attacker by placing your feet on his hips, if he is trying to mount you while you're on your back.

Leverage is also important when it comes to mental and spiritual self defense. Leverage equals speed, the more leverage you have the faster and easier it is to obtain your goal. An example of this is say you want to start your own business but you don't know where to start, how would you go about making this a reality. By going to people who have started there own successful businesses. Asking them questions on how they become successful and using them as mentors.


By using there knowledge you learn what to do and what not to do to reach your goal successfully and at a quicker speed. Here are some other forms of leverage that you can use to obtain your goals.

Mentors
Teams
Systems
Tools/Skills
Networks

By using these levers above they will give you maximum leverage in your physical. mental and spiritual life at a quicker and easier rate.

RANT OF THE WEEK

Every night my wife and I watch the 11pm news in bed. I don't know how much of a good idea for me it is to do this, I tend to get pissed off with the injustice that occurs on a daily basis. So much for a good nights sleep. When I refer to injustice I am not only referring to the crimes that people commit but the injustice the courts and the government do to us. Lately the courts have been pussies with sentencing murderers. An example of this...19 year old man stabbed and killed a 16 year old standing at a bus stop waiting for his bus...the kid managed to make it home but died on his front steps were his family found him. The sentence 9 years... kid had a bad childhood, what the hell is that. The courts can't figure out why crime is on the rise...are they that freaking dumb. It is up to us to make sentencing tougher, we have to put pressure on the courts and the government to get there act together. We vote these people in and if there too stupid to do there job get the hell out & give the job to someone you knows how to do it. Let's stop giving away so much power to our governments and start taking it back.

WE ATTRACT WHAT WE THINK


Today I thought of giving you some self defense for your mind & spirit.

As Napoleon Hill writes in Think & Grow Rich

"Our brains become magnetized with the dominating thoughts which we hold in our minds and by means with which no man is familiar, these "magnets" attracts to us the forces, the people, the circumstances of life which harmonize with the nature of our dominating thoughts"

Our body is a field of electromagnetic activity, each of your atoms generates magnetic energy...you are a magnet. What you think is what you attract onto yourself... you send off a single or vibe. You get what you give. You have a choice of attracting negetive or positive elements into your life.

WE NEED YOUR HELP

To better serve your self defense needs in the future TACT Self Defense has created a quick & easy survey form for you to fill out. We need your help to find out what you are looking for in self defense informational products. The survey only takes a couple of minutes. All individuals who complete the survey are automatically eligable to win a 1 year membership to the TACT Self Defense Online Training Centre. We will not rent, trade or loan out any information you provide us to third parties. For more information visit http://tactselfdefense.com/.surveydocs/TACT_Self_Defense_Survey/TACT_Self_Defense_Survey.html

THINGS PEOPLE ACTUALLY SAID IN COURT


These are from a book called Disorder in the American Courts, and are things people - lawyers, too - actually said in court, word for word, taken down and now published by court stenographers who had the torment of staying calm while these exchanges were actually taking place.


Question: Are you sexually active?

Response: No, I just lie there.
____________________________________

Question: What is your date of birth?

Response: July 15th.

Question: What year?

Response: Every year.
______________________________________

Question: What gear were you in at the moment of the impact?

Response: Gucci sweats and Reeboks.

______________________________________

Question: This myasthenia gravis, does it affect your memory at all?

Response: Yes.

Question: And in what ways does it affect your memory?

Response: I forget.

Question: You forget? Can you give us an example of something that you've forgotten? ______________________________________

Question: How old is your son, the one living with you?

Response: Thirty-eight or thirty-five, I can't remember which.

Question: How long has he lived with you?

Response: Forty-five years.

______________________________________

Question: What was the first thing your husband said to you when he woke up that morning?

Response: He said, "Where am I Doris?"

Question: And why did that upset you?

Response: My name is Susan.

______________________________________


Question: Do you know if your daughter has ever been involved in voodoo or the occult?

Response: We both do.

Question: Voodoo?

Response: We do.

Question: You do?

Response: Yes, voodoo.

______________________________________

Question: Now doctor, isn't it true that when a person dies in his sleep,he doesn't know about it until the next morning?

Response: Did you actually pass the bar exam? _____________________________________

Question: The youngest son, the twenty-year-old, how old is he?

Response: He's twenty.

______________________________________

Question: Were you present when your picture was taken?

Response: Yes
_____________________________________

Question: So the date of conception (of the baby) was August 8th?

Response: Yes.

Question: And what were you doing at that time? ______________________________________

Question: She had three children, right?

Response: Yes.

Question: How many were boys?

Response: None.

Question: Were there any girls?

______________________________________

Question: How was your first marriage terminated?

Response: By death.

Question: And by whose death was it terminated? _____________________________________

Question: Can you describe the individual?

Response: He was about medium height and had a beard.

Question: Was this a male or a female?

____________________________________

Question: Is your appearance here this morning pursuant to a deposition notice which I sent to your attorney?

Response: No, this is how I dress when I go to work. ______________________________________

Question: Doctor, how many autopsies have you performed on dead people?

Response: All my autopsies are performed on dead people. ______________________________________

Question: ALL your responses MUST be oral, OK? What school did you go to?

Response: Oral.

______________________________________

Question: Do you recall the time that you examined the body?

Response: The autopsy started around 8:30 p.m.

Question: And Mr. Dennington was dead at the time?

Response: No, he was sitting on the table wondering why I was doing an autopsy. ______________________________________

Question: Are you qualified to give a urine sample? ______________________________________

AND TO SAVE THE BEST FOR LAST!!!!!!

Question: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?

Response: No.

Question: Did you check for blood pressure?

Response: No.

Question: Did you check for breathing?

Response: No.

Question: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?

Response: No.

Question: How can you be so sure, Doctor?

Response: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.

Question: But could the patient have still been alive, nevertheless?

Response: Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law somewhere

TACT Self Defense Affiliate Program

The TACT Self Defense affiliate program is officially running now. Affiliates can choose to join 1 or 2 programs if they wish. Program 1 is the Online Training Center Membership Program where affiliates earn 20% commissions from each sale. Program 2 is the TACT Self Defense Crime Prevention CD-ROM program where affiliates also earn a 20% commission from each sale. This is an easy way to make money from your site or newsletter, promoting our in demand self defense informational products. Sign up is free with unlimited earning limits. For more information go to www.tactselfdefense.com/affiliate/users/prodgroups.php

TIPS ON FINDING THE RIGHT HOME SECURITY ALARM COMPANY

Today's post is geared on how to find the right home alarm company to install your security system. Always ask & check how long the company has been in business for. You can also find out addition information through your BBB. Ask to see if individual inspecting your home has a security license, all personel should be licensed. Most home inspections should be around 45 minutes in length. Inspection should focus on all interior floors & the exterior windows & doors. If inspection lasts only for 15 minutes in length that should sound your warning bells. Last but not least do not focus on the lowest price when it comes to you & your families safety no price is to high.

NEW SELF DEFENSE TIPS ADDED TO WEBSITE CONTENT

We at www.tactselfdefense.com always want to educate our readers & members with recent up to date information in the world of self defense, safety & security. We have added some new content to our website regarding dealing with weapons & security technology. Feel free to visit our tips page at www.tactselfdefense.com/tips.html to read this information.

DATELINE HIDDEN CAMERA TELLS ALL


Datelines Thursday March 23, 2006 episode called "WHAT WOULD YOU DO"
placed a hidden camera in a park filming 2 actors playing a husband & wife arguing in public. The actor playing the husband begins to climax in his aggression becoming slightly physical with his actor wife grabbing her arm, pushing her & being in her face. The study wanted to see if people would help or just walk away. The study also chanced variables around such as having a white couple & a black couple arguing to see if race played into the equation. The bottom line was that less than 10% of people came to the aid of the woman. Dateline also approached the people who ignored the situation asking why they didn't help. The most common answer was they didn't know what to do which caused them to be scared. This study proves 2 things, first knowledge is power and helps eliminate fear. Second that we are generally alone when it comes to protecting ourselves. This should motivate us even more to learn how to protect ourselves cause no one else will.

AFFILIATE PROGRAM IN THE WORKS FOR TACT SELF DEFENSE

TACT Self Defense is currently looking into different affiliate software programs to begin a affiliate program to promote its products. "We feel due to a increased sales and the increased amount of vistors on our site asking for information to promote our products it is the next logical step for us. We have narrowed it down between two software programs.Which we are still debating which will be better suited for our and our affiliates needs" stated TACT Self Defense Creator/President Norm Bettencourt. We are hoping within the next few weeks to have an affiliate program in place on our site.

TACT SELF DEFENSE PLANS TO RESTART DVD FILMING

Plans to restart filming dvd are in the works at TACT Self Defense. Filming was cancelled in late fall of 2005 due to problems in the production dept. "We believe that we can produce this self defense dvd with the right production team working with us so we get a realistic high quality self defense product" stated TACT creator Norm Bettencourt. Meetings are scheduled to begin next week with production companies.

HOW THE TACT SELF DEFENSE SYSTEM WAS CREATED

I get many emails from my members & newsletter subscribers asking me how I came up with these proven self defense techniques. So I will try to answer that question to the best of my abilities in this short paragraph.

I began analyzing the natural reaction the body/mind had to violence while working as a bouncer/bodyguard. Through documentation and experiments I found nine out of ten individuals had the same reaction towards violence.

I began looking at the variables that hindered & effected individuals during violence. Varables such as...

a) How people trained & why there training wasn’t effective i.e. wearing loose clothing while training actually hindered peoples movements in a street attack due to people not being used to the range of motion with wearing "normal" clothing & being off balanced by wearing footwear.

b) Environment: fighting on uneven surfaces off balancing individuals while trying to execute a technique. Confined spaces which hindered the effectiveness of a technique performed causing it to be ineffective due to not being able to fully execute a self defense technique due to lack of space.

c) The lack of understanding of the effects that adrenaline plays on the mind & body, affecting fine motor skills to properly execute a technique. Also self defense systems forgeting to train the mind just as much as the body.

d) Knowing that a self defense system needed to be similar in movements to be remembered & to be effective. Learning a lot of different self defense techniques was dangerous due to the fact that the brain would become overloaded with information causing it to either forget or go through all the self defense techniques it learned to decide which technique was best for the situation. The increased reaction time could mean the difference between life & death.

3) Putting all the theory to the test working as a bouncer/bodyguard up against loud, pissed off violent drunks, dope fiends, gangsters & wannabe’s. I discarded what didn’t work & kept what did. I found a common fact in 99% of people that I fought with when striking anatomic weak points of the human body. These points caused a domino type of effect to your attackers system, giving time to finish him off or to escape & did not need perfect execution to work.

I considered every variable & left no stone unturned.That's why this self defense system works & is tight.

DO YOU HAVE A SELF DEFENSE ITEM TO PROMOTE?

Do you have a self defense product, nutrition/supplements or security & alarms item to promote? Post your ad on TACT Self Defense so our thousands of visitors can benefit from your product. We are ranked in the Top 10 & Top 20 in most of the major search engines for the keyword "self defense". We are linked to hundreds of hundreds of popular self defense sites. For only a small investment of $25 USD a month or save $50.00 by posting your ad for 1 full year for $250.00 USD. Safe & easy payment through PayPal, check or money order. Email your advertisment information to advertising@tactselfdefense.com to get your product sold.

This article was emailed to me by one of my clients. Here is another good reason why you should learn self defense.

HE GAVE MUGGERS ALL HIS POSSESSIONS BUT THEY WANTED MORE... HIS LIFE
By Jeff Edwards, Tom Parry And Robert Stansfield, Times-Mirror Staff

A successful young lawyer was stabbed to death by muggers just yards from his home despite handing over all his possessions.Tom Rhys Pryce was heard pleading with the callous thieves, "What more do you want from me? You've got everything of value."Seconds later the two men knifed him in the head, body and limbs in a frenzied, ferocious and senseless attack before they fled.The 31-year-old, who was due to marry fiancée Adele Eastman in September, was stabbed at least a dozen times as he put up a fierce fight for his life with his bare hands.Investigation chief Detective Superintendent Julian Worker said: "This is a shocking murder. It looks like a completely gratuitous killing."It is clear it was a robbery. We know that he had already handed over everything of value that was on him. We know he was telling them he had nothing else of value. He was pleading with them and they just produced knives and started stabbing him."Tom was killed just 50 yards from his front door. Adele, 31, was in the house waiting for him to return from a work social event."She went outside after hearing the commotion just before midnight on Thursday but did not see her dying fiancé who was lying in a pool of blood.The family was too upset to talk last night. A neighbor said: "Tom and Adele were the picture of happiness."He had his whole life ahead of him but it has been so cruelly taken from him. Everyone's devastated."Another, Gerry Dobson, 63, added: "It's such a bloody, crying shame. We know from firsthand experience as parents the dedication and support that has gone into getting that young man where he got in his profession."To have some idiot take that away from you, not just you, but a whole family, friends and community, well it's dreadful."He was someone who had put in all that effort when you have so many bums who go around scratching a living and don't contribute anything to society."Tom was attacked as he walked to his home at Bathurst Gardens in Willesden, North West London, from nearby Kensal Green Tube station.He was smartly dressed in a blue shirt and tie, a grey suit and black business shoes.Det Supt Worker said: "This is a quiet, up and coming area of London, and not the type of place where we would expect a murder like this to happen." A neighbour of the couple added: "This is a very normal and usually quiet residential street. It's unbelievable someone should be killed in such a horrible way so close to his home."Police believe the murderers may have been lying in wait near Kensal Green station looking for a victim to rob.

ALMOST PULLED IT
From the true stories of idiots department.

This email was forwarded to me from a friend.Thought everyone would enjoy it. It is from the "Combat Carry" internet forum. Posted by Matt on www.combatcarry.com.

Yesterday, I was in my local bicycle shop, having some minor mechanical work done. I had ridden in, and was the only customer in the store, so there were no cars in the customer lot.While the wrench was working on the bike, I conversed with the manager for a bit, then drifted over to drool on some new bike toys. The shop is pretty open, with a low counter seperating the retail area from the shop, with a storage area in the back comprised of racks of shelving. There is, as it turns out, a door from the back area out to the rear parking area behind the store.One of the part time guys there decided to play a little joke on his colleagues. Thinking there were no customers in the store, he slams the back door open and announces "This is a robbery. Every Mother F$##er on the floor!"With our relative positions, I did not have a good view of the guy, but could see him through a rack of bicycles next to whereI was standing. With the backlighting from the open door, I could not clearly see his hands.I was carrying my pistol in a fanny pack, but my phone was on the strap of my Camelback, which was with my bike. I crouched down at the end of the row of bikes I was by, and moved back so there was no clear path through the frames between me and what I believed to be an armed robber. I opened the side zipper of the pack, reached in and secured a good grip on the pistol, pulling it out slightly so the beavertail and bottom rear ofthe grip were clear of the zipper (so it would not hang up if I needed to pull it the rest of the way). Thumb in top of the safety, trigger finger along the frame, ready to draw if needed.My thought process as the time was to watch and see what the guy did - if he was just after the register, I would have done nothing more. Seemed like an eternity, but it was probably only a few seconds, then the manager starts yelling at the guy"God damn it, , you scared the hell out of me. And there is a customer in the shop!". The guy says "oh, (crap), I'm sorry!"I pushed the gun back into the fanny pack, zipped it back up and stood up. The "robber" apologized to me for his stupid joke,and the manager was very apologetic.I suggested to the guy that doing things like that could get someone hurt. His response was "I didn't really have a gun, nobody could have been hurt".I thought he was going to pass out when I patted the fanny packand said "I do, and I had no way of knowing you were playing".He turned pretty white.The manager and I talked for a while, as he had never met anyone with a concealed firearm license. He's kind of a hippie,so I expected some negative commentary, but he was actually quite interested in concealed carry and guns in general.I left him with an invitation to go to the range some time,and information on the local range that provides the classes.Aside from being separated from my phone, I think it went pretty well.

ANATOMY OF SELF DEFENSE EBOOK

The recent launch of TACT Self Defense Online Training area allows TACT website visitors quick & easy access to self defense training online is now in it's second part of developement. The creation of an ebook, which completion should be within the next few weeks . TACT Self Defense wants to give easy access to self defense training focusing on the digital medium. "The internet is were people want quick answers to there questions, & they will get that from our site, simply click & you have your answers in seconds" stated TACT Self Defense founder Norm Bettencourt. The official date of the ebook release will be posted in our blog.

RANDOM CHECKS

Toronto probation & police officers are working together by performing random checks with youth's on probation. Due to the increase in gun crime & the Boxing Day street shooting which killed an innocent teenage girl, the shooting believed to be due to two rival teenage gangs bumping into each other in the street. Police & probation officers are trying to get better control with youth's on probation to follow there terms of probation & to arrest them if terms are broken. Authourities are finding the program so for successful. Single mother's with youth's on probation are finding it also successful regarding having better control of there children's curfew.

WELCOME TO TEAM TACT

TACT Self Defense would like to welcome our newest certified instructor to the TACT team David Toner. David Toner will be hosting seminars with TACT Self Defense creator Norm Bettencourt, & also teaching private lessons on his own in the Vancouver BC, Canada area. Contact information for seminars/training is davidtoner@tactselfdefense.com

WELCOME TO TEAM TACT

TACT Self Defense is proud to announce a new certified instructor to TACT Self Defense, Dustin Crocker. You can read his biography at www.tactselfdefense.com/biography.html in the near future. Dustin will be in charge of training/seminars in the Ontario, Canada area. You can reach him at dustincrocker@tactselfdefense.com for information on TACT Self Defense training in the Ontario area.

JUSTICE SERVED?

A recent study proves that increasing prison sentences has a direct effect on crime rates. The higher the prison sentence the less likely the crime will be committed. An example was taken for armed robberies in British Columbia. An indivdual found guilty of armed robbery would serve half the time in prison than an indivdual who committed the same exact crime next door in the province of Alberta. British Columbia's armed robbery stats are nearly double to those of Alberta's. Law enforcement professionals believe that the courts are to blame for the increase of certain crimes, being to soft on criminals & are pushing for tougher sentencing.

TACT SELF DEFENSE NEWSLETTER SUBSCRIBERS

If TACT Self Defense News Letter Subscribers are finding that there newsletters are not coming through to there emails accounts you can go to www.tactselfdefense.com to resubmit your name & email address to receive our free self defense bi-weekly newsletter. You can also email us at tactnewsletter@tactselfdefense.com to resubmit your name & address.We are currently still working out some of the bugs in our new hosting system & everything should be back to normal in the next few weeks. We also have found some problems with links in our newsletters not being clickable & are working towards correcting the problem. Thanks to all our newsletter subscribers for there patience.

ONLINE SELF DEFENSE TRAINING

It has been a busy couple of weeks for TACT Self Defense preparing for our online self defense training website launch. Through all the hard work of everyone involved our online training site http://www.tactselfdefense.com is complete, two weeks ahead of schedule. We are looking forward in supplying the most effective yet realistic self defense training on the web for all it's members. Membership fees are $39.95 for one full year with unlimited 24 / 7 access to our online self defense training site. Updated with the most current information on self defense it can't get any easier to learn how to protect yourself. All the information you need is now at your finger tips in the convience of your home.

BARE WITH US

TACT Self Defense would like to thank all it's members for being patient with our switch with hosting providers on Jan 02, 2006. Our site was down for 9 hours & uploaded without any problems. We would like to ask everyone to bare with us once again with our newsletters & such. We are working out all the bugs and getting to know how to work the system, so there could be some errors along the way, sorry. Thank you for your patience & we look forward to meeting your needs in 2006.

FIGHTING BACK

It is a known fact that if you fight back you are less likely to become a victim of crime & violence. Let alone keeping your self esteem due to the fact you put up a fight. That is exactly what a woman in Seattle did. A man decided to carjack this woman but instead of her being passive she got aggressive due to the fact that her child was in a car seat in the back. The woman fought back & the attacker decided to go else where to find an easier victim. It just goes to show that if the mission at hand is important enough you will find a way to overcome your attacker no matter what the odds are.