Excellent article on the Westgate Mall attack

[Kukuforguns]

Ha! I'm retired and now a professor emeritus! However, with tenure - I did tell the past president (not a gun fan) that he was denying us the best way to defend ourselves. He started to sputter about Kellerman. I also testified for a campus carry at the Texas house. Got on TV and in the papers - funny - usually the school would make a deal of one of us getting on the tube. They didn't for me. Wonder why?

BTW - for those who hate tenure - there are problems, but does let righteous folks (like me) speak up to the boss.

My problems with tenure grow the further the position is from research. My concerns get pretty significant by the time you get to high school.

[Glenn E. Meyer]

Didn't mean to divert. Let's skip talking about education.

[PNWTO]

This is a great post for some self-checks with Black Friday (oh, that grand orgy of capitalism) only two months away. I don't do the Black Friday bit, but it isn't much of an imaginative stretch to conjure a "Black Friday @ Westgate" scenario...

I also can't help but wonder if our country's militarized police stigma* makes this style of attack even more alluring. While there is little doubt our LE assets would respond more skillfully, it would still be a huge donkey show. Think of any large Metro mall and toss in 10 James Holmes's... jinkies, Scoob. The moronic TV coverage of the Thin Blue Line slogging through it all would start another series of speculations.

Done ranting, just wanted to include some factors that I believe make a Westgate USA event very likely. It is a big reason I added a Cleer Med kit to my EDC.

* I am staunchly pro-LEO, just wanted to clarify that statement. Some aren't, oh well. Both opinions will matter if this ever kicks off.

[TGS]

ETA: Note that the pics of the IDPA-types are still ID'd as "security."

I wouldn't make too much of a note about them being labeled "security". Lots of countries around the world use words differently than us, and people with the word "security" in their job title may often be much more skilled and important in the hierarchy than those labeled "police".

[NickA]

Ran across this podcast from Radiolab. It features a journalist who was outside, and focuses on the difference in the official narrative vs the facts. Primarily whether or not there were other attackers that managed to escape. Interesting listen and it's not too long.

http://www.radiolab.org/story/outside-westgate/