Angry White Men: A Book Review

Angry White Men (AWM) by Michael Kimmel explores variations on the concept of aggrieved entitlement. According to Kimmel’s theory, when an individual or group expects certain privileges based on their status and reality does not conform to those expectations, a backlash can occur.

Aggrieved entitlement is used to explain a variety of social phenomenon in modern America including the upsurge in nationalism, hate radio, men’s rights groups, domestic terrorism, suicides, and white supremacy groups of all sizes. The common thread in all these trends comes from the demographics of the individuals engaged in these activities. As the title suggests, aggrieved entitlement is by and large the exclusive affliction of angry white men marginalized by multiculturalism, feminism, and gay liberation.

The book was written in 2013, when the Trumpocalypse was inconceivable as a realistic option for the country. AWM focuses on the conditions that gave rise to Trumpzilla, but it doesn’t speak directly to his corrosive impact. It also only hints at the underlying sexual frustration and insecurity I believe is at the heart of racism, misogyny, anti-Semitism and anti-gay bias. It does provide useful insight into an influential but warped strata of society, especially when read in conjunction with Carol Anderson’s White Rage and Aaron James’s Assholes.

Trumpzilla Isn’t Stupid, but We Might Be…

According to Dylan Byers of CNN, Trumpence Bannon has canceled multiple open press events this week, opting not to let reporters into the room to ask questions.

Before last night, I would see this behavior as the avoidant pouting of a petulant manchild who can’t deal with criticism or even form a coherent sentence on his own. But last night I attended a free speech and democracy panel hosted by Pen America. Timothy Snyder, a Yale history professor and author of a new book call On Tyranny, put Trumpzilla’s actions in different light.

In Snyder’s view, Trumpence Bannon is following the classic script of fascism. His attempts to undermine and marginalize the press is nothing less than the second step in a plan to destroy democracy. The relentless shocking statements, the endless manipulation of the news cycle and the normalization of the absurd are the methods used to cripple truth and make America a 21st Century totalitarian state.

It is easier to laugh at Trumpzilla than to take him seriously. It is comforting to see him as a buffoon and regard any references to fascism and totalitarianism as pure hyperbole. But it is a mistake to think it can’t happen here. Once you subscribe to that fallacy of American exceptionalism, the end has already started.

Why Trumpence Bannon Told Flynn to Call the Russians

“Scapegoat (noun): A person who is blamed for the wrongdoings, mistakes or faults of others, especially for reasons of expediency.”

I’m not a spy, but I have some exposure to spy logic. I’ve written five spy novels and I’ve read tons more. I’ve studied international affairs with a particular focus on spying.

That’s why the Flynn resignation sounds like a poor excuse for a cover story.

Peter Baker of the Times, published an article earlier today claiming that Trumpence Bannon (TPB) only found out about Flynn’s Russia contacts after the fact.

"Asked if Trumpence Bannon instructed Flynn to talk about sanctions with Mr. Kislyak, Spicer said, “No, absolutely not.” Asked if Trumpence Bannon was aware that the issue had come up before the Justice Department told the White House, Spicer said, “No, he was not aware.”

So let me see if I get this straight: Flynn goes off the reservation and tells a Russian diplomat what Trumpzilla is going to do to help Putin, but he never got orders from anyone else, or told anyone else anything before he made the call. Is that the story we’re going with?

Question: Why would he do that? Was he promising Russia that he could somehow manipulate Trumpzilla into aiding Russia before anything was decided? Was he just talking out of his ass? Or was he just doing what TPB told him to do? Did TPB tell Flynn to use his Russian contacts to go outside the State Department protocols and make a back door deal with Putin?

Answer: In my experience, the concept of cui bono (for whom does it benefit) is a helpful tool for understanding human behavior. Under this theory, people act based on their motivations and self interest. So if Flynn talked to Russia, there was a reason for it. If Flynn wasn’t the ultimate beneficiary of the action or he wasn’t the ultimate decision maker, then someone else got the benefit.

Question: Who could benefit from Flynn talking to Russia?

Answer: Trumpence Bannon.

Based on the current shitshow, the logical sequence of events goes like this: Trumpence Bannon wanted to reward Putin for helping with the election. He sends Flynn to deliver that message. If the message goes through, great. If Flynn gets caught, he gets thrown under the bus and the Trumpocalypse rolls on.

We need to change that narrative.

We need to prove Flynn talked to the Russians because Trumpence Bannon ordered him to make that call. We need to establish that Flynn was not a rouge agent, but an active member of an administration catering to a hostile power. We need to drain the swamp before North Korea starts firing test missiles and Russian ships are breaking peace treaties…

Too late.

Trumpence’s War on Truth (about Terror)

By Gamal Hennessy

In less than a month, the Trumpocalypse has devolved in the cesspool of “making shit up as we go along” even when discussing issues as serious as terrorism.

One only has to look at stories of the non-existent “Bowling Green Massacre” or Trumpzilla’s recent anti media rant about the under reporting of terrorist attacks around the world.

But we’re used to this by now.

We challenge everything he says before it’s even left his mouth. We call him on his bullshit and he responds with the same hasty, uninformed , stupidity that defines his brand.

Consider this analysis from Katie Mettler of the Washington Post:

“But what’s more telling is not what the list included — but what it didn’t. Some of the countries most devastated by terrorism from Islamic extremists were left out entirely, as were any mentions of terrorist attacks on U.S. soil perpetrated by active shooters, or race terrorists like white supremacist Dylann Roof.”

Translation: According to Trumpence Bannon, violence that stokes fear of the other and upholds the narrative of racist exclusion needs to be over reported. Violence that doesn’t fit this narrative needs to be labeled as fake news or ignored completely.

All this ignorance would be comical, except half the population of ‘Merica either believes this bullshit without question or doesn’t care that he’s always lying. Either way, his lies are going to get us into a war. He’s going to make money from it, while some of us die. And he’ll just pretend it didn’t happen at all.

Have fun.

G

Safety, Sanity and Sanitary Tips for The Trumpzilla Protest

By Gamal Hennessy

Resisting the Trumpocalypse is going to take many months and require long term thinking. But before we get there, we have to get through this weekend.

A lot of people I know (and a lot of people around the country) are planning on protesting the Pretender in Chief, as part of the Women’s March on Washington, but even during a normal inauguration there practical concerns to deal with. So as a public service to the millions of people who read this page, please allow me to provide you with some helpful information*:

Safety

Trump has already inspired violence at his campaign rallies. Protests in Ferguson and Flint have created violent tensions. This weekend might continue the trend. The Committee to Protect Journalists have listed some safety guidelines in advance of the inauguration that are, like the Moscow Rules, applicable to everyone, including:

• Ensure that you have a full battery on your mobile phone.

• Get familiar with the area you are going to.

• Work out in advance what you would do in an emergency.

• Always try to stay with a friend

• Wear clothing and footwear that allows you to move swiftly.

• Plan an evacuation route as well an emergency rendezvous point if you are working with others.

• Read body language to identify aggressors and avoid them whenever possible.

Laws

Trumpzilla may have already broken dozens of laws to help him get sworn in. We don’t have that luxury, but we do have rights of protest, assembly and free speech. The American Civil Liberties Union has a list of helpful questions and answers about what you can and can’t do during a protest on their website.

Bathrooms, Food and Phones

The Women’s March might be completely safe and without interference from law enforcement, but it’s still going to be a day of long lines, standing outside and a lot of waiting.  You’re going to need to charge your phone, use the bathroom and eat. It’s best to bring the necessary accoutrements with you, but if you are going to DC, the Washingtonian has put together a list of places to help you live off the land for the day.

Back to Basics

Finally, if you need information about what you can bring, what to expect and how to get in and out of the area, the city of DC has put together this set of general rules and tips

Stay safe out there and let this protest inspire you to action.

Remember the Moscow Rules.

Have fun.

Gamal

* This post focuses on DC, but the general advice is applicable to any protest in any city.

Trumpzilla Might Be the Best Spy Ever

By Gamal Hennessy

I’ve been interested in spies and espionage for my entire adult life. I write about spies in my Crime and Passion Series. I read books on real and fictional spies. I watch a ton of spy movies. When I got out of law school, I might have even applied to the CIA (but I can’t confirm or deny anything). I consider myself a proud spy nerd, which is why Trumpzilla’s latest scandal is such a guilty pleasure for me.

According to unconfirmed reports, Russian spy agencies have collected a dossier of compromising information against Trumpzilla

“The memos describe sex videos involving prostitutes with Trumpzilla. They also suggest that Russian officials proposed various lucrative deals, essentially as disguised bribes in order to win influence over him. Finally, they describe several purported meetings during the 2016 presidential campaign between Trumpocalypse representatives and Russian officials to discuss matters of mutual interest, including the Russian hacking of the Democratic National Committee and Mrs. Clinton’s campaign chairman, John D. Podesta.”

• Scott Shane, Adam Goldman and Matthew Rosenberg for the New York Times

All this is pretty wild stuff, but the implications of the alleged information are of special interest to spy nerds everywhere. See, when a spy wants to manipulate someone, there are four major ways to do it based on the acronym MICE (which stands for Money, Ideology, Coercion and Excitement). Under normal circumstances, a spy picks one of the four methods depending on his or her target. But if the memos are accurate, then Putin made sure to use all four methods on Trumpzilla:

• Money: Bribes
• Ideology: *
• Coercion: Sex Videos
• Ego: Stroking his ego by helping him beat Clinton

From the perspective of a spy nerd, gaining control of a United States president has to be one of the most successful operations in the history of history. The Trojan Horse, D-Day and Madam Butterfly all pale in comparison. Why fight a war or steal secrets when you can control an entire country on demand?

Of course, if you are an American (or live on the planet Earth in general) this might be the worst thing ever, especially if the Trumpocalypse wipes out everything everywhere.

Well played, Comrade Putin. Well played indeed...

Have fun.

G

* Ideology is a dubious concept when it comes to Trumpzilla, since the only thing he believes in is himself.

Who Does Trumpzilla Work For? (Hint: Not for You)

By Gamal Hennessy

There is a myth in American politics about elected officials and private businesses. In theory, the people who run governments as public servants are supposed to think and act for the benefit of the country as a whole, not for themselves or specific corporations.

But like many other aspects of American politics, Trumpzilla is throwing the illusion of public service out the window. According to Julie Bykowicz and Chad Day of the Associated Press, “days before the inauguration, he continues to own or control some 500 companies, creating a tangle of potential conflicts of interest without precedent in modern U.S. history.”

We already know he has to repay Putin for his help in hacking the election and ushering in the Trumpocalypse. We already know he’s filling his cabinet with cronies, ass kissers and denizens of the swamp. Now we have indications that he will insist on maintaining business relationships with the potential to turn the presidency into his personal Monopoly bank.

So when it comes time for him to make a decision that will impact the American people (like on January 21st) whose interests do you think is going to be important to him? Putin? Trump International? His own fragile ego? Whoever he’s working for, people like you and I will rank very low on that list, if we are on the list at all.

I’m reading a book now called The Shock Doctrine that explores the recent history of disaster capitalism and corporatism in America. As I read this book, I understand that Trumpzilla is far from the first to use his office to line his own pockets. But unless we fight him, we might suffer the most for his greed.

Have fun.

Gamal

The Trumpocalypse is a Black Hole of Fake News

By Gamal Hennessy

There is a cliche in self-help circles known as “fake it until you make it.” No one exemplifies the power of this slogan more than our president elect. He took a fake name, bragged about his fake business skill, parlayed it into a third rate fake TV show, and then rode a wave of fake promises and fake news all the way to the White House.

Trumpzilla might be the product of our age, but it appears that ‘Merica isn’t really sure what to do with him now that he’s coming into power. His supporters, his staff and “his” party are all struggling to deal with him and according to The Nation, the press is too fixated on the fake to report on the real.

:Then there’s the Twitter feed. Filled with falsehoods and threats, it has become a crack-like addiction for reporters, successfully diverting attention from reporting about Trump’s corruption, incompetence, ignorance, dishonesty, misogyny, prejudice, and authoritarian tendencies, to name just a few of the new president’s charms. Favoring spectacle over substance, journalists fall for this gambit every time—like Charlie Brown trying to kick the football."

Eric Alterman: The Nation,  The American Press Is Under Threat as Never Before

In 2004, Stanley Bing wrote a book called “What Would Machiavelli Do?” with a specific chapter on bullshit. One of his main examples of successful bullshit was Trumpzilla, even back then. Bing wrote “...in the art of bullshit (and it is an art, not a science) Trump towers above all others like a Colossus.”

This might have been fine for shady real estate deals and banal reality TV, but now he’s made it. While he can’t only perform at the level of his ability (160 characters or less), we don’t have to.

Sun Tzu said, “All warfare is based on deception.” In the modern war of information, Trumpzilla’s Twitter is a weapon of mass distraction. Once we look past the smoke and smear campaigns, we can resist the Trumpocalypse and restore some semblance of our sanity.

Have fun.

G

The Active Struggle Against the Trumpocalypse ​

By Gamal Hennessy

The dark cloud of the Inauguration creeps closer. Obama is taking his “victory” lap, making his “farewell” speeches. All of us have to prepare ourselves for a 2-4 year resistance. There have been several pieces written in the past few weeks offering advice on fighting the scourge that is Trumpzilla, but Charles Blow was succinct in his oped piece in today’s New York Times.

"When politics seem out of your control, remember that community and culture are very much in your control. We help shape the world we inhabit every day. A life is a collection of thousands of decisions, large and small, made every day. Make those decisions with purpose and conviction, especially [during the Trumpocalypse]"

- Charles Blow, The Anti-Inauguration

His suggested list of activities are broad and varied:

• Protest him, his actions and what he stands for in public.

• Volunteer to help all the people he plans to attack

• Donate to the causes he plans to victimize

• Subscribe to credible news sources

• Read to educate yourself on the issues

• Write to the people in power to frame the discussion

• Love your tribe and let them know it

January 20th, 2021 can’t come soon enough. Until the final day of the Trumpocalypse, many of us will fight him and what he represents. This list and others like it will help. Some of us will not make it, but it is often the struggle that defines us, not the outcome.

Have fun

Gamal

The Criminal Congress

By Gamal Hennessy

When I was learning how to be a writer, I found out there are two types of criminals. One type breaks the law, the other makes the law. The law breakers include robbers, rapists and murderers. The lawmakers include the underhanded members of Congress who voted to abolish the Office of Congressional Ethics yesterday.

"House Republicans voted to eviscerate the Office of Congressional Ethics, the independent body created in 2008 to investigate allegations of misconduct by lawmakers after several bribery and corruption scandals sent members to prison. The ethics change, which prompted an outcry from Democrats and government watchdog groups, is part of a rules package that the full House will vote on Tuesday. The package also includes a means for Republican leaders to punish lawmakers if there is a repeat of the Democratic sit-in last summer over gun control."

- Donna Cassata: Associated Press

Now what might motivate Congress to eliminate ethical oversight? Is it possible that they are so upstanding and moral that the OCE is an unnecessary expense? Or is it because they plan to conduct so many ethical violations that they want to avoid any and all oversight into their illegal activities? 

And what is worse? Is it the murderer who kills a man in cold blood or the politician who cripples national healthcare, imprisons people for profit and helps destroy the environment for his corporate masters? Is it a matter of intimacy, or a matter of scale?

We’re about to find out.

Have fun.

Gamal

Has America Already Turned its Back on Trumpzilla?

By Gamal Hennessy

Trumpzilla claims to have lots of friends. He’s desperate for the photo ops with Kanye (while building his Legion of Doom). He pontificates about his love for Putin (especially since that whole election tampering thing). He even talks to the President of Taiwan (threatening to destabilize Asian geopolitics). Yes, a lot of people love Trumpzilla, but does America?

According to a recent article by George Edwards III of the Washington Post, Trumpzilla lacks four of the basic fundamentals of popular support:

1.       He has no mandate based on the popular vote

2.       The American people don’t support his policies

3.       Public opinion is polarized

4.       Our public opinion is not a malleable factor

Now keep in mind, a lack of public support isn’t necessarily going to end the Trumpocalypse. Trumpzilla will still try to run rampant over the Constitution and sell the country off to his friends. And we are the same people who just knew Clinton was sure to win the White House, so we could be completely wrong…again. We know ‘Merica loves Trumpzilla, but he might not have as many friends as he thinks. Maybe long term public rejection will subdue the raging beast and send him back to the tacky golf course he came from.

Have fun.

G

Who Gave the Trump Zombies a Monopoly on Social Media?

By Gamal Hennessy

As the Trumpocalypse begins to take shape on the horizon, the Resistance looks for new tactics to help in the struggle. Like everyone else in the modern world, law makers on all levels are using social media to get the message out and win the war of words. But that will change if the Trump Zombies get their way.

“House Republicans have proposed punishing representatives who shoot video or take photos on the floor of the chamber — a change in rules seen as a direct response to a dramatic sit-in in June by House Democrats demanding a vote on gun control legislation that was streamed live online.”

— FRANK THORP V: NBC News

So why is it that Trumpzilla can tweet anything he wants, any time he wants, and manipulate mainstream and social media at will, but any attempt by the Resistance to shed light on the process of government is met with a proposed fine? The hypocritical demand for asymmetric media access isn’t new. Totalitarian regimes do it all the time. But maybe if we get a chance to see how Washington is really governed, we can limit the damage Trumpzilla and his Zombies can do.

Have fun.
G

2016 Is Our Year of Brutality

By Gamal Hennessy

There are only a few days left in the year, and for many of us the end can’t come soon enough. Members of my generation have seen our icons fall in film and music. The wider world is bracing for Brexit, the Trumpocalypse and ongoing bloodbaths in Syria, Yemen and South Sudan. The most sensational brutality of the year might be a recent phenomenon, but the cruelty that has faded from the headlines and mainstream consciousness is embedded in the fabric of ‘Merican culture.  Police brutality and violence against people of color had a prominent place in the public consciousness this year, but not much has changed on the ground.

From Anton Sterling to Jessica Williams to Philando Castile to Korryn Gaines to Tyre King to Terence Crutcher to Taiwon Boyd to Levonia Riggins to Keith Scott to Alfred Olango to Deborah Danner we find a pattern.  The gender, age, and geographic location might have been different for each victim, but the outcome was the same. Our police use our funding to murder us and face little or no consequences for their actions.

And all this occurred under the administration of an arguably progressive, feminist, black president. Do we have any reason to believe police brutality will decrease under Trumpzilla? Is there any chance the motivations of police will change? What is the likelihood that people will stop labelling us as criminal simply because of our race? Our society shares several characteristics with the slave ships of the Middle Passage. Those similarities are likely to deepen once we replace Obama with Trumpzilla.

None of us are fortune tellers. We don’t know what 2017 will bring, but it’s safe to say some of us won’t make it to see 2018. All we can really do is listen, learn, fight, work, create and love the people who are important to us.

Good luck to everyone who reads this. Remember the Moscow Rules.

Have fun.

United We Stand

There are going to be more than 100 POC congress people when the Trumpocalypse starts, and they're planning to fight Trumpzilla at every possible turn.

“My role as a member of Congress, as a Latino member of Congress and as a veteran, is to make sure that we remind a lot of our immigrants, a lot of our minority citizens in general, that this country is still theirs.”

— Ruben Gallego D. Arizona

These are the people we need to support through the next four years. We can rally, protest, donate and write letters, but these are going to be the people staring across the table at Trumpzilla and his Legion of Doom. If we work together, maybe some of us might make it out in one piece.

Trumpzilla Might Be the Best Recruitment Tool for ISIS

By Gamal Hennessy

Question: What do racist hatemongers, Wall Street executives, and Middle East terrorists have in common?

Answer: They will all probably benefit from the coming Trumpocalypse.

In the case of the terrorists, consider what Trumpzilla said when asked if the attack in Berlin Christmas Market attack would cause him to evaluate the proposed ban or a possible registry of Muslims in the United States:

"You know my plans. All along, I've been proven to be right, 100 percent correct."

Let’s break this down.

• First, no one knows his plans. He might not even know himself.
• Second, he has rarely if ever been proven right, since the vast majority of his statements conform to the classic elements of bullshit.
• Third, if the goal of ISIS is to drive a wedge between the moderate international Muslim population and the secular governments of the West, then all of Trumps “ideas” play into the hands of terrorists. Discrimination, isolation, and abuse radicalize lone wolf terrorists, which is exactly what ISIS needs to survive.

I’m not an expert on counter terrorism. I’m not an expert on ISIS. Having said that, I am pretty sure that pouring gasoline on a fire is not the best way to put the fire out.

But I don’t think Trumpzilla wants to put the fire out. He needs the crisis to hide his crimes and ignorance.

Have fun.

G

America's Mass Shooting Crossfire (Part 3: Responding to Reality)

by Gamal Hennessy

This is the third and final installment of my essay on mass shootings in America. If you’d like to read parts one and two, you can find the links below:

Part One: The Pro-Gun Side

Part Two: The Anti- Gun Side

If more guns aren’t the answer and fewer guns isn’t the answer and ignoring the problem isn’t the answer, then what is the answer?

We have a training model and technology that can protect unarmed civilians without plodding through the mire of gun control law. The answer for schools, malls and businesses of any kind is creating and supporting a rapid evacuation program.

What is a Rapid Evacuation Program?

If a school catches fire, we do not expect teachers to put out the fire. We teach them to get the children out of the school safely. In offices, hotels and public buildings, we don’t leave fire safety to chance. We have professionals in place that monitor systems, drill the population and coordinate with first responders. I am simply suggesting expanding the fire prevention program to cover mass shootings. My idea includes the following parts:

Each school would have an evacuation professional whose job included: 

• Creating and updating the evacuation plan
• Monitoring the evacuation systems,
• Patrolling the area to ensure exits, barriers and security screening systems are in place,
• Periodically training everyone with evacuation drills to ensure information is distributed,
• Leading an evacuation in the case of an emergency,
• Coordinating with first responders and managing the media

Each school would also be connected to a central monitoring system similar to ADP. This system could remotely monitor the school and the surrounding area with cameras and other devices to aid the evacuation professional on the ground and coordinate with first responders in the event of an emergency

The schools would conduct regular evacuation drills that differ from fire drills because they take into account the specific skills needed for dealing with an active shooter. This will reduce the likelihood of a fatal loop in the OODA cycle because the children and teachers will know what to do.

Finally, the evacuation professional should have non-lethal tools and deterrents (tasers, smoke grenades etc.) in the event that he or she has to engage the killer to ensure the evacuation of the children. But the primary duty would always be removing as many children as possible from the danger area.

What a Rapid Evacuation Program Can Do

Rapid evacuation can be useful because it deals directly with the issue of protecting people from mass shootings. 

• It does not require an excess of political will to alter laws or society’s attitudes about a contentious subject. 
• It does not require extensive money to alter or fortify institutions. 
• It can be implemented in malls, schools, churches and buildings of all kinds. 
• It uses the same training model we are already used to and modifies it for an increasingly frequent problem. 
• It can be used to help move people out of a dangerous area in the event of floods, earthquakes, or violent individuals. 
• It doesn’t make assumptions or ignore the reality of American society. 
• It can deter mass shootings and reduce the death toll when and if the deterrence fails.

What It Can’t Do

Of course the difference between dealing with fire and dealing with a killer is the human variable. Fire conforms to certain predicable, natural laws while a killer can act in ways that no evacuation program can anticipate. I’m not suggesting that rapid evacuation is the last word in dealing with mass murderers. It is likely that law enforcement and potential evacuation professionals will have to improve and adapt their methods as killers alter their attacks. But that struggle would be minor compared to the devastation that we have to endure when people are gunned down at random. Rapid evacuation programs can protect our children while the war of words surrounding guns continues. 

Best
Gamal

America's Mass Shooting Crossfire (Part 2: The Anti-Gun Problem)

by Gamal Hennessy

This is the second part of my three part essay on mass shooting in America. For a look at the pro-gun problems, please click here. 

I have seen many anti-gun proponents suggest that changing the gun ownership laws would take guns out of the hands of people who want to kill. They go on to cite other countries that have little or no private gun ownership and the correlation between the lack of mass shootings and the absence of guns. While this concept might be a viable long term solution, it cannot protect unarmed civilians now or in the near future for a variety of reasons including:

• The debate over gun control taps into emotions of fear, anxiety and control on both sides. Any attempt to change the law would create political and legal conflict that would rival recent debates about abortion, gay rights and health care.
• Any change to gun ownership laws on a national level could require an amendment to the Constitution. That means a two thirds majority in the House and the Senate and ratification by thirty eight states. In the modern political climate, that kind of bi-partisan cooperation is almost unheard of.
• Even if an overhaul of the gun control system could be put in place, it would not eliminate the 200 million privately owned firearms in America. Even if the law was passed, it would not alter the mentality of gun owners in the same way that changes to women’s suffrage hasn’t changed the mentality of many men towards women in more than 90 years and the civil rights movement hasn’t changed the way minorities are treated in America more than 50 years later.
• During the long debate and struggle to alter the gun laws, many more guns would be purchased. There is a chance that a dramatic increase in firearms purchased could occur as people stockpiled as many legal weapons as they could before the laws changed.
• Finally, the focus on changing the laws in the future does little to protect unarmed children in the present. 

If you want to spend more time in the world of Crime and Passion, sign up for the free RSVP Newsletter. 

Why Ignoring Potential Gun Violence Isn’t Helpful

I have seen many people express shock, condolences and grief when faced with the latest mass shooting. Feeling helpless, they attempt to ignore or avoid the subject, hoping it will go away or at least hoping that it will not impact them directly. While the chances of being a victim in a mass shooting are still relatively rare, this course of action is not helpful to anyone involved because

• The number of mass shootings has steadily increased in the past thirty years.
• The variety of locations shows that there is no protected space or safe haven that is immune from mass shootings. Schools, businesses, religious buildings, malls and movie theaters are equally vulnerable.
• While prayers, condolences and expressions of emotional support are comforting after a crisis, they don’t do anything to help a community learn from that crisis and take steps to prevent and deal with the next one.

Now that I've touched on some of the concerns I have about the pro-gun, anti-gun and majority solutions to mass shootings, I'll turn my attention to my potential solution in my next post.

Gamal

If you want to spend more time in the world of Crime and Passion, sign up for the free RSVP Newsletter. 

Espionage and Covert Operations: A Book Review

By Gamal Hennessy

Spying is often referred to as the second oldest profession (prostitution being the first). In Espionage and Covert Operations: A Global History, Professor Vejas Gabriel Liulevicius traces spying from Biblical mythology up to our current surveillance state. While the twelve hour audio book skims over or leaves out much of the global history of spying, the book is a good overview for anyone interested in the impact of espionage on history.

Liulevicius takes the reader on a trip through the major epochs of world history and attempts to peer behind the curtain to see how spying (stealing secret information for a political, military or economic goal) and covert action (secret attacks against opposing forces) have shaped historical events. The book does offer a fresh perspective on the world history you took in high school and draws out themes in tradecraft and operational methods for the readers of modern and historical espionage. Liulevicius even explores the relationship between spy fiction and the real world of spies, focusing on the impact of Kipling, Fleming, Le Carre and Clancy.

Where the book falls short is in its lack of global focus. The vast majority of the course is Eurocentric and biased towards the United Kingdom, the United States and Russia. The combined impact of the assassins of the Crusades, Chinese espionage during Sun Tzu’s warring states period and the rampant spying during the Sengoku period of Japan take up less than ten minutes in a twelve hour lecture. The organic covert action and spy activities by and against populations in Africa during the slave trade are left out completely. If you accept the term “global history” to mean “Western history” then the book has few flaws. Anyone looking for a true global history will need to add another source to this material.

Espionage and Cover Action is a solid overview of the second oldest profession. Anyone interested in history, military affairs, or spy fiction will enjoy the unique perspective the author provides. Like most introductory courses, it should be used as the beginning of an exploration into the subject and not a definitive analysis. But it is one of the better books on spy history I’ve read.

Have fun.
Gamal

We Are the Enemy

By Gamal Hennessy

As pundits debate the utility of the Department of Homeland Security, it might be helpful to consider the actual threats to American lives since 9/11.

I'm sure several plots have been deterred or stopped due to the efforts of American intelligence and law enforcement. But when I compare terrorism deaths to firearm deaths over the past ten years, I think we're focusing on the wrong thing.

• Number of Americans killed in domestic terrorist attacks, 2002-2011: 30
• Number of Americans murdered by firearms, 2000-2011: 115,997

In America, we are more likely to be killed by an angry neighbor or a police officer than a member of ISIS. Children in America are more likely to be gunned down in a school shooting than kidnapped by Boko Haram. Maybe we shouldn't be discussing disbanding Homeland Security. Maybe we should use all that money and manpower to deal with the real threat to American lives.

Have fun.

Gamal