A small startup that has been around for less than a year has created a free mobile app aimed at helping Americans and people all over the world resist the police state.  The app, called Cell 411 (or Cell 112 in Europe), is available in English, Spanish, Portuguese, German and Romanian, and it helps activists and people from all political shades resist government abuse with decentralized GPS-based alerts and live video features. Whether you are a gun-rights activist, an anti-Trump protester, concerned with police brutality or simply a muslim woman concerned for her safety, this app can help you build decentralized groups, or “cells” of trusted connections which you can then use to dispatch when you need help.

Because this app has been so revolutionary in its approach to building a new way to handle emergencies and the police state, it has been selected by the Victoria & Albert Museum in London to be featured in the “Future of Design” exhibit in 2018.

Think of this app as an “UBER for emergencies” or a “911 on steroids” except it doesn’t involve government, police or people  you don’t trust.  The app was created by a small group of passionate engineers, activists and people concerned with the growth of police state all over the world.  It can be used by anyone with an Android or iOS smartphone and it has tens of thousands of users all over the world.

Here is how it works: users can freely download the app and signup for an account using their e-mail address of Facebook account. Once signed up, a user can join existing public “cells” or groups in their areas, or can create their own cells.  Joining a cell allows you to send and receive emergency alerts from the members of that cell.  Let’s say you want to create a cell in your town called, “Denver Mutual Aid.”  Al users in the Denver area will be notified when this cell was created and can join the cell in order to offer each other help when the members request the help.  There are thousands of cells all over the world used by users for many reasons, such as immigration help, neighborhood watching, etc.

You can also create private cells which are only visible to you an not other users, and you can add your friends to your private cells.

The app allows you to send emergency alerts about medical problems, police abuse, vehicle problems, crime, and other issues; the alerts are tagged with your exact GPS coordinates and your friends can get turn-by-turn directions to your location, should they decide to come and offer you help.  You can stream live video to your cells and friends, and the video cannot be erased by a malicious user who may gain access to your phone.  The video can also be streamed to YouTube and Facebook and is distributed instantly to all your friends, making it nearly impossible to be destroyed.

The app was specifically designed to be resistant to censorship and government surveillance and has been used successfully all over the world to save lives and keep users safe from criminals, police abuse and many other malicious actors.

The company also created a “panic button” which is a bluetooth device that pairs with the mobile app and allows users to issue alerts instantly without having to unlock the phone or spend precious time navigating an app. Recently a “ride sharing” feature was also added to the app to allow users to offer rides to each other when they need help and accept payments for cash, Bitcoin, silver and even bartering.

You can download Cell 411 for Android and Apple devices from http://getcell411.com/download

You can also watch a quick walk-trough of the main features of this app below:

A woman openly carrying a Glock was threatened by an armed felon in the early morning hours of 1 August, 2016.  She was leaving the gas station with a drink in her hand and the Glock on her hip.  Her daughter would be turning three in about a week. From abc15.com:

Link to video of interview with Carolann Miracle

Carolann’s father was a Marine.  He taught her well.  The pistol appears to be a Glock model 17 or 22, with night sights.

There are several things to note about this encounter.  Many elements of the story are items often found in armed robberies/muggings.

First is the approach.  It is common for robbers/muggers to use a pretext to close the distance and distract the victim.  Asking for a cigarret is a common pretext.  So is asking for the time.

Second is picking what appeared to be weak prey. Carolann is a small woman, 4’11, 85 pounds.  It is common  for human predators to pick on weaker prey. Maybe he did not see the Glock on her hip.  It was dark.  She was holding a drink from the gas station, probably in her right hand.  If she was wearing a dark top, as she was in the video, the Glock would not have presented much contrast.  While open carriers tend to be very aware of their defensive firearm, many people never notice it.

Carolann did many things right.  The first was to instantly recognize the threat.  Many become mired in the thought that “this cannot be happening”; “this is not real”.  People who carry are much less likely to do that because they have considered the possibility of attack and prepared for it.

She did the right thing when she dropped her drink.  Dropping things to access your weapon or to fight better is not an instinctive reaction.  Many people instinctively hang on to useless things that impede their ability to fight.  I taught my students to practice dropping things at the beginning of a fight so that they could draw their firearm, and fight more effectively.

She did the right thing when she fled the area in the opposite direction from the way the attacker was going.  Many attacks, perhaps 50%, involve an accomplice.  She purposefully made the decision, moved to safety, then called the police.

Carolann’s response is common.  She did not want to kill her attacker. It was a consequence of what he forced her to do.  She would have preferred that it never happened.

There were witnesses and surveillance video, both of which backed up her story.

Carolann says she “cocked it”.  I suspect she was carrying Israeli style, in condition 3, with an empty chamber.  If you practice pulling and releasing the slide as you draw, it can be fairly fast.

What did not happen.

Carolann was openly carrying.  She was accosted by a violent, armed felon.  He did not simply “shoot her first” as many who oppose open carry claim will happen.  Even though he “had the drop” on her, she won the gun fight.

Action beats reaction.  Dropping the drink likely gave her another second, as the felon probably thought  “dropping drink” not “drawing gun”.

It is a known gunfighter tactic that Louis L’Amore wrote about in one of his novels.  In that case, the fictional character let a match burn down to his fingers from lighting a cigarette, thus conditioning his opponents to expect him to flick his hand away from the burn.  Expecting that, they were surprised by the draw.

Maybe Carolann did not consciously make that decision; but the effect was similar.

Carolann Miracle; small woman, Marine’s daughter, open carrier, mother, now, undesired, gunfighter.  She survived and lived to see her daughter’s third birthday.

A New York Police Department (NYPD) officer keeps guard during New Year’s Eve celebrations in Times Square December 31, 2014. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith (UNITED STATES – Tags: SOCIETY CRIME LAW) – RTR4JS50

The New York City Police Department (NYPD) is sending out letters telling gun owners to turn over their rifles and shotguns — or else face the consequences.

New York City’s ban on rifles and shotguns that hold more than five rounds is now being enforced, according to a letter the NYPD is sending out to targeted city gun owners.

“It appears you are in possession of a rifle and/or Shotgun (listed below) that has an ammunition feeding device capable of holding more than five (5) rounds of ammunition. Rifles and shotguns capable of holding more than five (5) rounds of ammunition are unlawful to possess in New York City, as per NYC Administrative Code 10-306 (b).”

“You have the following options,” the letter explains.

“1. Immediately surrender your Rifle and/or Shotgun to your local police precinct, and notify this office of the invoice number. The firearm may be sold or permanently removed from the City of New York thereafter.

2. Permanently remove your Rifle and/or Shotgun from New York City and provide the following…Disposition Report/Registration Certificate…Notarized statement of permanent removal…Utility bill or other proof of residency regarding the address where the firearm will be stored outside the City of New York.

3. You may call to discuss the matter if you believe your firearm is in compliance…”

Departing New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is a major gun-control activist, with his coalition recently sponsoring an ad that depicts an Adam Lanza-type character entering a school full of children.

New York state, meanwhile, passed the NY SAFE Act in 2013 in response to the Sandy Hook shooting. The law, which bans “high-capacity magazines” and puts in place other stringent controls, was signed by governor and 2016 presidential hopeful Andrew Cuomo.

Patrick Howley, Political Reporter

Ohio Democratic state Sen. Cecil Thomas, who is a former Cincinnati police officer, said Wednesday he will introduce a bill to give cities local control over open- or concealed-carry rules during events of regional or national significance.  The bill in essence would give local politicians and city governments the power to strip Ohioans of their 2nd Amendment rights during events deemed appropriate by these government employees.

Cecil Thomas, a former Cincinnati cop declined to offer additional comments regarding the constitutionality of his proposal or how this law would conflict with the needs of self defense that citizens may have especially in the emergency situations specified by the law.

The proposal comes on the heels of the head of Cleveland’s largest police union calling on Ohio Gov. John Kasich to temporarily restrict the state’s open carry gun laws during this week’s Republican National Convention.

Stephen Loomis the president of Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association said, “I don’t care if it’s constitutional or not at this point” and proposed that the Ohio Governor temporarily suspends the rights of Americans to carry firearms for self defense. The statement drew mocking and criticism on social media from enthusiastic gun owners, calling Stephen Looming an “oath breaker” and asking for his resignation.

“The idea the cops are enthusiastically defending our constitutional rights is a myth,” said Virgil Vaduva of Ohio Open Carry, an organization promoting and defending the rights of Ohioans to openly carry firearms.  “It is very clear that more often than not police take a stand against our 2nd Amendment rights. Police unions testified against the concealed carry law passed here in Ohio, they are openly advocating suspending Constitutional rights in Cleveland and now a former cop is proposing a law to that end. Clearly these cops who are in positions of authority are not only openly violating their oaths, but they are in fact proud of doing so,” said Vaduva.

Cecil Thomas refused to answer questions about this proposal.  His Ohio Senate office can be reached at (614) 466-5980 or on his website.

The head of Cleveland’s largest police union is calling on Ohio Gov. John Kasich to temporarily restrict the state’s open carry gun laws during this week’s Republican National Convention following Sunday’s shooting in Louisiana that killed three officers and wounded at least three others.

“We are sending a letter to Gov. Kasich requesting assistance from him. He could very easily do some kind of executive order or something — I don’t care if it’s constitutional or not at this point,” Stephen Loomis, president of Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association, told CNN. “They can fight about it after the RNC or they can lift it after the RNC, but I want him to absolutely outlaw open-carry in Cuyahoga County until this RNC is over.”

State law in Ohio allows for licensed firearm owners to wear their weapons in public. With the exception of a small “secure zone” inside and around the Quicken Loans Arena, residents, delegates and protesters are legally permitted to walk around the city — including within its 1.7 square mile regulated “event zone” — with any firearm not explicitly banned by the state.

Kasich, responding to the request, said: “Ohio governors do not have the power to arbitrarily suspend federal and state constitutional rights or state laws as suggested.”

“The bonds between our communities and police must be reset and rebuilt — as we’re doing in Ohio — so our communities and officers can both be safe. Everyone has an important role to play in that renewal,” he said.

Earlier, he released a video offering his condolences in the wake of the Baton Rouge attack.

Venezuela has brought a new gun law into effect which bans the commercial sale of firearms and ammunition.

Until now, anyone with a gun permit could buy arms from a private company.

Under the new law, only the army, police and certain groups like security companies will be able to buy arms from the state-owned weapons manufacturer and importer.

The ban is the latest attempt by the government to improve security and cut crime ahead of elections in October

Venezuela saw more than 18,000 murders last year and the capital, Caracas, is thought to be one of the most dangerous cities in Latin America.

‘Must do more’

The government has been running a gun amnesty in the run-up to the introduction of the new law to try to encourage people to give up their illegal arms without fear of consequences.

One member of the public in Caracas told the BBC: “They’re killing people every day. This law is important but they need to do more, they’re not doing enough now.”

Hugo Chavez’s government says the ultimate aim is to disarm all civilians, but his opponents say the police and government may not have the capacity or the will to enforce the new law.

Criminal violence is set to be a major issue in presidential elections later in the year.

Campaign group The Venezuela Violence Observatory said last year that violence has risen steadily since Mr Chavez took office in 1999.

Several Latin American countries have murder rates far higher than the global average of 6.9 murders per 100,000 people.

According to a recent United Nations report , South America, Central America and the Caribbean have the highest rates of murder by firearms in the world.

It found that over 70% of all homicides in South America are as a results of guns – in Western Europe, the figure was closer to 25%.

In the wake of tragedies such as the shooting in Orlando this week, the conversation turns to how society should address gun crime.  As the people of the United States recover from their shock, both sides will roll out their standard arguments: Ban specific firearms, increase concealed carry, a more watchful State.  These arguments will continue, and I agree with the authoritarians that something must be done.  However, I wish to take a different path with this argument; to envision how a free society would address gun crime.  For those interested in applying policy within the current system, I will attempt to show here that the answer is fewer laws, not more.

While each state in the US is different, all states depend as their primary line of defense on prohibitions against violence.  Punishment of violent offenders gives some closure to victims and serves to deter would-be offenders.  However, it is not always possible to punish people commensurate with the harm they cause.  Both sides of the debate agree on this problem, but offer differing proposals on how to solve this issue, usually in the form of additional legislation.

In a free society, we imagine the case of someone who purchases a weapon and goes on to misuse it, harming or killing others.  In this instance, defense agencies would take the person into custody.  After the requisite hearings, the sentence would be carried out.  On occasion, the guilty party would be able to repay his or her victims, but we must also consider the occasion where they could not.  The defense agencies would then expand the scope of their recourse.  In a free society, there would be nothing to prevent them from holding the weapons dealer responsible.

In an extreme example, someone purchases a shoulder-fired missile from a dealer and shoots down a passenger aircraft with it.  At list price, a Boeing 787 costs $265 million.  Each of the families of the victims will demand compensation, and clearing away the rubble isn’t free.  By the time everything is tallied, the damage could exceed $1 billion.  Considering that very few people have that kind of cash, life in prison or even the death penalty isn’t going to squeeze it out of them.

In the free society, the defense agencies go after the dealer because his product caused damage which they can’t recoup from the offender.   If the dealer’s assets aren’t sufficient, they go after the manufacturer, or even their suppliers.  Seeing this, other weapons dealers are faced with tremendous risk if their customers misuse their products.  So they do what is natural and they pay someone to manage this risk for them.  In fact, they don’t sell to a customer unless that customer pays to manage the risk by buying insurance.

The first thing we notice is that the amount is not equal for all weapons because the risk is not the same. The premium would vary based on the damage the weapon could cause and the likelihood it would be used in a crime. A Hi-Point might enter the market at $150, but carry a $500 insurance premium because of the probability it would be used to hurt people.  Likewise, the aforementioned MANPADS might retail for $25,000, but the risk to civilian aircraft might push the actual cost over $1 million.  The effect is to price out people who would be least likely to use the weapon responsibly.

The second thing we notice is that dealers who sell lots of problem guns have lots of claims, which makes it difficult and expensive to secure coverage. This addresses the “bad apple dealer” problem.

The third observation we make is that not all people pay the same for coverage.  Just as auto insurance rates males under 25 differently, it is a safe bet that insurers will be keenly aware of the demographics of mass shootings.  Likewise, insurers may insist on a background check before deciding the risk a person poses.

Having dealt with the abstractions of the free market, we ask what such a solution would look like in the society of today.  My proposal would consist of several legislative changes:

• Repeal of the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act
• Removal of liability limits granted by incorporation (ideally for all corporations)

The former removes specific protections granted to the gun industry, while the latter removes the ability of a dealer or manufacturer to hide behind a corporation.

I don’t envision this as a perfect solution, but one that greatly reduces the risk posed by firearms without creating lists that worry conservatives or creating yet another contraband law.  Most of all, it reminds us that the best solutions lie not in restriction, but in freedom.

Andrew Slanker is a voluntaryist, engineer, and husband.  His hobbies include economics, camping and travel.

I am going to say it right out, I hate these Lefty jackals who are determined to take away my right to own a gun. They are all in for protecting the rights of gays, the rights of illegal aliens, and the rights of Black Lives Matter rioters destroying public property. But when it comes to 2nd Amendment, Constitutionally guaranteed rights that allows me to own a firearm to protect me and my family, not so much.

President Obama just did an end run around Congress, you know, the fellows we elect to make the laws, and instead decreed his own executive action laws to try and prevent law abiding citizens access to legal weaponry. The proposals seem benign, but will have many unintended (or completely intended but undisclosed) consequences.

Obama cites the mass murders that have occurred in recent years as justification for his actions, but fails to mention that not one of his proposals would have had any impact at all on the instances that he cites. Instead, his proposals would simply increase the prices of guns dramatically, and would prevent the gifting of guns from father to son or between friends. All this at a time that Obama has opened up the floodgates to tens of thousands of Muslim immigrants who we cannot properly vet to see if they are refugees or ISIS terrorists.

That is the very definition of insanity.

It is hard to understand why the Left, as exemplified by the Washington Post newspaper, would be so insistent about disarming the law-abiding citizens of the U.S. They cannot point to one instance of an NRA member who “went rogue” and shot up the town. If that happened, they would shriek to the high heavens about the need to dismantle the organization. Instead, they offer up their pipe dream, which is not only dishonest, but completely  irrational.

According to WAPO, confiscation “is likely the only policy that would dramatically reduce gun violence in the United States.” They cite the possibility of disillusionment with the executive actions Obama put forward on January 5, based on the fact that Obama admitted the actions “might have only a modest impact” at best.

WAPO quoted Obama speaking at the January 7 gun control town hall, saying, “We’re not going to eliminate gun violence, but we will lessen it. If we take that number from 30,000 down to, let’s say, 28,000, that’s 2,000 families who don’t have to go through what the families at Newtown or San Bernardino or Charleston went through.”

The Washington Post observed:

Obama believes his policies can save thousands of lives a year, but acknowledges that gun shots would still kill tens of thousands of Americans annually. That intense level of firearms violence is one that Obama and other gun-control advocates might be forced to tolerate unless they push measures that are more invasive than background checks.

The Post says one policy that has worked in other countries is confiscation. They point to “Australia’s mandatory buy-back scheme” as an example of such a policy. And Obama and Hillary Clinton have both pointed to such a confiscatory scheme at various times themselves.

In quick review, it is worth pointing out that the 30,000 gun deaths include about 20,000 suicides, and there is little doubt that those individuals would find other ways of removing themselves from the gene pool.

Background checks, as a precursor to confiscation, will engender deep distrust, and the bad guys don’t buy their guns from Wal-Mart in any event. It is entirely likely that Obama will come up with other programs that will seek to limit access to guns, and the biggest irony is that Obama himself has been the most successful gun salesmen ever seen as the people start to recognize his plan to take their guns away. U.S. citizens have seen what took place in other countries and they will not be fooled.

Gun confiscation may indeed be the next step the Left wants to try, but they should be ready for a long, pitched battle since few gun owners will hand over their personal security system without a fight.

Source: breitbart.com

A Miami woman shot and killed a teenage home intruder last week, authorities said. Now, relatives of the teen are saying she acted unjustly and should be prosecuted.

Trevon Johnson, 17, burglarized the home of a 54-year-old old woman last Thursday, according to Miami-Dade police.

The woman told police that she was not home when the break-in occurred, but her surveillance system alerted her that there was an intruder. She said she rushed home and found the teen climbing out of a window.

“She observed a subject leaving the home through the rear,” police Detective Dan Ferrin told WFOR-TV.

A confrontation then took place, according to police, and shots were fired. Police said they were on scene seconds after the shooting and performed CPR on the teen. Johnson was then rushed to the hospital where doctors pronounced him dead.

“What’s wrong with her?” Johnson’s sister Nisha Johnson asked. “She did not have to shoot him.”

Johnson told WFOR her brother was a student at D. A. Dorsey Technical College. She and other relatives are outraged by the shooting.

“I don’t care if she have her gun license or any of that. That is way beyond the law … way beyond,” Johnson’s cousin Nautika Harris told WFOR. “He was not supposed to die like this. He had a future ahead of him. Trevon had goals … he was a funny guy, very big on education, loved learning.”

“You have to look at it from every child’s point of view that was raised in the hood,” Harris continued. “You have to understand … how he gonna get his money to have clothes to go to school? You have to look at it from his point of view.”

Thus far, police appear to be siding with the homeowner who they say was protecting her property.

“She’s a person that is a little distraught because this is her home that someone obviously was in,” Ferrin said.

Police said the woman was taken to a police station for questioning and has cooperated with detectives.

Investigators told WFOR that they are still investigating the incident, but in the meantime, they want the public to remember that, if possible, it is best not to take these types of situations into one’s own hands.

“If there’s any type of situation that happens or they believe there’s a burglary at the home or any type of confrontation, dial 911. Have the police make that confrontation,” Ferrin said. “That’s what we’re here for.”

The case has been handed over to state attorney’s office, but so far, no charges have been filed against the homeowner.

“It’s no reason she should have waited until I think he walked out the yard to try to shoot him,” Harris said. “If she called the police already, why would she shoot him?”

Relatives told WFOR they don’t believe Johnson stole anything from the woman’s home, but detectives would not confirm that.

Machine guns and assault rifles which could be used by terrorists or gangsters are increasingly being smuggled into Britain using the Royal Mail, police have warned.

Deadly weapons and ammunition ordered online are being smuggled into the country under the cover of the boom in the legitimate shopping trade.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) – dubbed ‘Britain’s FBI’ – said postal and parcel services are now among the most popular methods to smuggle arms due to it being cheap and the low risk of getting caught.

Criminals are most likely to purchase firearms on the regular internet, with the ‘dark web’ – a secretive form of the internet, famously used for black market sales – being less popular because of the risks involved.

And while the dark web is a ‘serious’ risk, according to the NCA, many buyers are turned off using online services for the same fears as ordinary consumers, such as being scammed.

But crime fighters revealed they were struggling to work out how guns and ammunition make it past borders in a report released yesterday.

The report detailed holes in the agency’s intelligence as to why there has only been one seizure of a Baikal pistol at the UK border since 2009, despite their use by British criminals being ‘prevalent’.

Other recent seizures have seen Skorpion sub-machine guns brought into the UK using ParcelForce.

In one case, Alexander Mullings, 23, orchestrated the import of firearms from Germany to Britain from his cell in Wandsworth Prison.

The report said: ‘The NCA assess that the circulation of, and demand for, firearms and “mass casualty weapons” has increased within the criminal market place.

‘Firearms continue to enter the criminal market through a variety of means, including direct importation through post/fast parcels and thefts from legitimate firearms holders or dealers.

‘In the UK, post and fast parcels are likely to constitute one of the most popular methods of illegally importing firearms and firearms components.

‘This may be due to the fact that the smuggling of firearms using mail parcels is perceived as being particularly cost efficient (although the numbers of actual firearms seized in post/fast parcel importations remain low).’

The report added: ‘The purchasing of firearms via the dark web is a relatively small threat, albeit a serious one.

‘It is risky for a customer as there’s no way of knowing whether it is a scam or not.’

It noted five Baikal together with silencers and 35 rounds of ammunition were found hidden in ‘meat products’ aboard a postal bus from Lithuania at Dover in October 2015.

The report went on: ‘This is the first time Baikal pistols have been detected at the UK border since 2009, although their continued use in criminality in the UK is prevalent.

‘The NCA is currently investigating this importation.’

Ammunition is also rarely seized in the post but the NCA has recently uncovered components for production in a house.

The report read: ‘It is unclear how criminals in the UK source ammunition.

‘Ammunition can be made using presses and firearms powder.

‘It is likely that importation through ferry ports or diversion from legitimate supplies feeds criminal supply.

‘The NCA continues to work with partners to bridge this gap in understanding.’