Not the brightest robbers

These two robbers are not exactly the sharpest knives in the drawer :-)

The two Gainsville, Florida men used a cell phone to imitate a gun in order to rob two women of their iPhone in two separate incidents.

They used a car registered to one of the men - and one of the victims was able to give police the license tag number, according to gainesville.com.

When arrested, one of the men told police the robberies "were a joke" and that they were taped to put on YouTube.com. Police reportedly found no video of the "joke" robberies.

One of the robbers also said he was going to return the women's phones by calling them, according to a police spokesman. "At which point, our detectives reminded him that he stole their phones, so he really couldn't call them," the spokesman said.

'Aero-solved'

Illinois -- Without pepper spray to defend himself, a cabdriver was forced to improvise when he was attacked by a knife-wielding passenger early Thursday morning in Elgin. He sprayed the would-be robber in the face with an aerosol deodorant, according to foxnews.com.

Police said said the 51-year-old driver felt something was wrong when the passenger changed his destination. Consequently, he discreetly placed the small canister between his legs.

When the passenger held a large knife to the driver's neck, he sprayed the robber in the eyes, causing him to drop the knife. The passenger then punched the driver, but did not seriously injure him. He took off on foot, leaving the knife behind.

South Africa and rape

South Africa -- Health24.com reports about some scary statistical findings regarding the sexual assault figures in South Africa.

According to a recent shock report by the Medical Research Council, one in every four (!) South African men have raped a woman.

What's more, 4,6% of the men interviewed had raped in the past year. Almost 8% of the men said they had raped more than 10 women or girls.

The study was conducted anonymously in 1,738 households in three different regions in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu Natal, and included men of all racial groups, ages and socio-economic backgrounds.

Oh dear...

Teacher self-defense?

There's probably more to this story than what you can read from a media rapport - it usually is. Even so, it seems like this teacher A. has a serious anger management problem, and B. needs to learn some basic conflict management and control techniques.
Yes a 10-year-old child can absolutely do some harm to an adult, but come on... Do you seriously need a neck restraint technique or a choke hold to control a situation like this? Absolutely not if you know what you're doing.
Another discussion is the possible use of force by teachers. In my book there may be situations where such a need may arise. But again, you really must know what you're doing. And of course, any type of force should always be kept as the very last resort. There are no winners in a situation like this!

Story:

New York -- A 58-year-old substitute gym teacher allegedly put a 10-year-old student in a chokehold when the two got in an argument over a game of dodgeball in New Rochelle, according to wten.com.

Police said the teacher apparently called the student 'a big baby' and a 'crybaby' after they began arguing about a call.

The boy reportedly threw a punch but missed. The teacher then grabbed the boy by the back of the neck and dragged him across the gym floor. Police said the boy was held in a chokehold when he tried to break free.

The student was taken to a hospital with neck and back pain. The substitute teacher claimed he acted in self-defense.

A musical lesson

There are at least two vital lessons to be learned form the story below. First off, you definitely don't want to be messing with 17-year-old marching band girls. If they are armed with a baton, then even more so - stay clear :-)

Secondly - and this is the serious part - the incident really goes to show how effective any kind of weapon can be in a self-defense situation.

Needless to say, I really love stories like this one.

California -- This high school marching band student form Quartz Hill (a high desert community about 40 miles north of Los Angeles) beat up two attackers who attempted to mug her as she was walking to school Friday morning, officials said.

A Sheriff's spokesman said the teenager kicked one man in the groin and punched the other in the nose. She then beat both men into submission with her large baton before running away.

A "pizza the action"

Florida -- A Miramar pizza delivery driver was confronted by armed robbers, according to news.bbc.co.uk and the Florida Sun-Sentinel.

But the 40-year-old intended victim was armed with a weapon of his own ... a large pepperoni pizza.

Reportedly, he flung the hot item at the gunman, then turned hot on his heels and ran. The driver managed to make a safe getaway even though the attempted robbers fired at him as he fled.

I suppose it is perfectly OK to waste good food as long as it is for a worthy cause like this one?

"Candy man"

California -- On Thanksgiving, a 49-year-old intoxicated man reportedly went uninvited to a neighbor's home in Sacramento. He then started waving a kitchen knife towards people gathered on the lawn, according to usatoday.com.

When the drunken intruder cut several peoples' clothing - one of them decided it was time to fight back. The man grabbed a two-foot-tall plastic candy cane lawn ornament to subdue the attacker until police arrived at the scene.

According to reports, the man with the knife was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon. But here's a kicker: The guest who took up the candy cane was not arrested because it was determined by police he acted in self-defense.

Well, that was a surprise. I mean, he could have killed the poor knife-wielding dude with that horrible lawn ornament for crying out loud!

Using a belt for self-defense

This self-defense related post from latimesblogs.latimes.com points to at least two interesting pieces of information.

First, it describes how highly effective a common belt can be when it is used as a self-defense weapon of choice. I have personally witnessed this in real life, and friends have used it to great effect. Here's the situation with the belt in use:

"A woman in her 30s was molested by a large group of men in the middle of a Cairo street. It was said that none of the onlookers dared to intervene until a taxi driver stopped by and got out of his car. The man then took off his belt and used it to whip the harassers, who soon left their victim half-naked."

Furthermore, there's a telling point of statistics in the article. It points to a survey which has shown that 83% of Egyptian women reported exposure to verbal and sexual harassment.

This included men staring inappropriately at their bodies, inappropriate touching, sexually explicit comments, stalking and telephone stalking.

And here's the interesting part: Almost 70% of harassed women are veiled. This clearly challenges the perception that puts the blame for harassment on women for wearing revealing outfits.

Martial arts and self-defense

There are so many cases where people have signed up for what they thought were the greatest martial arts/self-defense combo - only to find this is not the case.

When you have signed a contract for yourself and/or your child, then basically, you're stuck.

My advice? Be very wary of what sort of art you seek out, and above all - check all the fine prints before signing anything.

Here's a case from orlandosentinel.com which ought to drive the point home...

He was "bagged"

Australia -- A 24-year-old Hornsby (Sydney) woman was threatened with a sexual assault while going to work at a nursing home Monday, according to smh.com.au.

A man reportedly approached her as she was walking along the street. The 22-year-old man - who was later arrested - started talking to her and she walked up a pathway, according to police.

The man then took out a knife, held it to the woman's throat from behind - threatening to kill her. However, the young woman pushed the attackers knife away, turned around and hit him with her bag. She then allegedly kicked him and ran away.

Reasonable force?

It is always hard to determine how much force - and what type of force - is needed in any type of altercation.

It is very easy to be wise after the event! However, it may seem like these folks here (from Rootstown Township, Ohio) didn't have the skills and training needed to restrain a shoplifter who tried to take off - something very few have any type of experience to deal with unfortunately.

It is not too difficult if you work as a team - and if you have the proper type of techniques to hold someone (alone it is very difficult, no matter what your training might be).

What most people do wrong is to use too much weight upon a prone person - in effect choking the person to death, or using too much force on the neck or chest.

If something goes terribly wrong, you may end up being the target of a lawsuit, like the people in this case seems to be subject to.

In January 2004, a shop-lifter walked to a store parking lot after loading a cart with groceries. A manager and an employee approached the man, whereupon he attacked the employee. The two workers and two passers-by tried to restrain the man while waiting for police.

With the four men on top of him, the man died of asphyxiation from force applied to his neck and torso within minutes. A County coroner reportedly ruled the death a homicide.

A scary list

Idaho -- A convicted Ontario sex offender has allegedly made a list of 32 girls to "look up" once he gets out of jail. Now parents worry for their children's safety as the man is soon to be released.

One parent talked about how their kids in effect were prisoners. "we don't know what to do to make it better for them," the parent said.

Sheriff's deputies reportedly found a list the man had written. It was titled "people to look up". 32 local girls between the ages of 6 and 17 were on the list, including his original 15 year old victim.

In order to come up with his list, authorities alleges the man read newspaper articles about the girls. It is said the list is so detailed it that had everything short of an address to look these girls up.

And still we somehow tend to hang on to this all-to-prevalent idea about 'random violence'...

Realtors assaulted

There has been a couple of assaults on female Realtors (real estate agents) lately. In New Zealand, a 41-year-old agent was lured to a remote Wairarapa property -- a house east of Carterton -- by a 38-year-old man Saturday morning.

The woman fought for her life and stabbed her attacker who allegedly assaulted, bound and tried to kidnap her. As the would-be kidnapper attempted to force her into the boot of his car, she made her escape by grabbing a screwdriver and stabbing him in the head.

In South Bend, Indiana (US), police said a man attacked a local Realtor as she was showing him a house for sale Friday afternoon.

As he was shown the basement, the man reportedly produced a knife, demanded money and grabbed the Realtor. The woman fought him off, and he took off while she called police.

With the current housing crisis, police now begin to worry real estate agents may be less cautious.

Women's Self-Defense Tips

Just a quick heads up about a new lense (small web-page): Women's Self-Defense Tips I've set up on Squidoo. Check it out today!

As always, feel free to give feedback and comments. Anything special you would like to see added?

New woman's self-defense resource

In addition to our bi-weekly 'Women Can' reports, we have added another (also free) female selfdefense resource for you: 'Women's Self-Defense Tips'.
This is a weekly quick read - to-the point "tips and tricks". Make sure you sign up today by clicking below.

Quick thinking

On June 26, at about 8:30 p.m., a 35-year-old man is reported to lure his way into a woman's vehicle in Dale City (San Mateo), California by asking if he could borrow jumper cables to start his car.

The offender proceeded to jumped into the woman's vehicle, where he took out a knife and told the woman to drive down a side street.

When the man demanded sex, the quick-thinking woman managed convince the would-be rapist to remove a child car seat from her back seat to "give them more room for sex."

While the offender did as suggested, the intended victim jumped from the car and ran off. The suspect was reportedly arrested later in the stolen vehicle.

"Iced-te-do"

This is definitely a modern day variety of the ancient Japanese tea ceremony- very cool!

Story:
Japan -- In Tokyo, a woman managed to calm down a knife-wielding robber by offering a glass of iced tea and a chat, according to edition.cnn.com.

The 43-year-old robber pressed a knife to the woman's back and demanded money, in the hallway of her apartment building.

The woman told the man she did not have any cash on her. The robber then is reported to have pushed her and her baby into the woman's apartment.

The calm woman -- in order to buy herself some time to plan her escape -- gave the robber a cup of iced wheat tea to calm him down on the hot summer day, police said.

The robber put his knife down and began to tell the woman how he lost money gambling and its effect on his life and family.

The woman eventually handed over about $100 (10,000 yen). She then ran outside to call for help. The robber took off with the money, but he was reportedly caught the very next day.

Door-to-door dangers

During a period of eight months houstonpress.com have investigated door-to-door magazine sales across the country.

They say the industry has seen at least three murders and one attempted murder; one stabbing, one rape and two attempted rapes; one vehicle fatality and one attempted abduction of a 13-year-old girl.

My suggestion is that you take the time to read this article in full, it's shocking to say the least.

Expert advice

Colorado -- Experts no longer recommend appeasing or somehow calming an attacker, gjsentinel.com states.

The article goes on to praise a 9-year-old Orchard Mesa girl who fought off her 40-year-old abductor by biting his nose. Great going indeed!

Even though saying that you can always fight your way out of a tight spot is a dangerous fallacy, the main point is this: Firm and early resistance - running, screaming, shouting and fighting back - is your best option most of the time.

Pointing out that the submissive ideal is a way of the past, a safety director for the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, goes on to state: "What we've learned is that when kids are proactive, when they resist, they yell, they scream, they have a pretty good chance of getting away from these guys."

Lame excuses #8

Ah yes, the good old "just fell into my hand" excuse. Doesn't get any more convincing than this :-)

A certified nut-case was arrested after arguing with a security guard at a condominium in Ocean City, Pennsylvania around 3:30 a.m. on Sunday, according to mdcoastdispatch.com

The man was banging on a window causing it to break. He then picked up a large shard of the broken glass and tried to stab the guard with it.

The security guard told police the attacker tried to climb through the hole in the glass. The man allegedly lunged at the security guard with the large piece of glass and threatened to kill him.

He had "the wildest look on his face" and he was certain he would have killed him if another man he was with hadn't interceded, the guard said.

When questioned about the incident, the man acknowledged a piece of glass might have fallen into his hand and he might have made a motion toward the guard with it.

Like I said, I doesn't get any "better" than this.

Lured with free iPod

Luckily the intended victim was aware of the set-up - being able to spot this legitimate nut-case before things got terribly out of hand.

And I do really wonder if the defense lawyers really believe in the unbelievable dribble that some times tend to fall, like perfectly polished manure, out of their mouths?

Read and judge for yourself ... and weep accordingly. "Just a rape fantasy..." my a**!

Looking for targets

In Japan, a 34-year-old man from Kawasaki is been charged with rape and attempted rape according to media. His latest victim was a female crew member on a first-class JR train carriage, according to yomiuri.co.jp. The rape occurred April 2 when he showed the crew member, in her 20s, into a restroom.

It is reported that the man also is charged of attempting to rape and injuring another female crew member aboard the train about one week before the rape. This assault also took place in a restroom on board the train.

"I knew female crew members were present in the first-class carriages and so I targeted them. I thought no one would notice because few passengers rode the train at that hour," the man is reported to admit.

Just a scratch

UK-- Five years after he committed an attempted rape near a Norwich Cathedral, a man has been convicted largely thanks to DNA evidence. This is according to eveningnews24.co.uk.

The assault happened in June 2003, when the 36-year-old man attacked and tried to rape a woman. The intended victim got away when she lashed out at the attempted rapist and scratched the man's face.

In October 2007, the Southampton man was stopped for a minor motoring offence. Officers took his DNA at the police station after the man became abusive, according to reports. That DNA was found to match samples lifted from the woman's fingernails in the 2003 assault.

Kudos to this woman for fighting back! Her actions has ensured that this offender is now off the streets.

Your home, your castle?

Your home may not always be your castle.

Now I'm not saying it is dangerous to be at home - far from it. What I am saying is that we tend to worry about sexual assaults by strangers outside - and forget that we are basically at greater risks at home.

You can read more about the statistical evidence and other facts here.

Stories:
In a North Philadelphia neighborhood, several sex assaults and burglaries occurred during one week, according to myfoxphilly.com. Over three days, three women were attacked, according to reports.

Police said each of the assaults happened in the early morning hours against women, alone at their residences. In each of the cases, the attackers reportedly entered the homes through unlocked doors or screened windows.

Also, a 40-year-old woman told how a man followed her into her apartment building in Center City (Philadelphia) around 1:30 a.m. Saturday. The suspect allegedly forced her to the ground and choked her. He also threatened to kill her and attempted to sexually assault her. The intended victim was able to fight the assailant off, police said.

In an earlier case from Philadelphia (July, 2007), two women were sexually assaulted in upscale Philadelphia neighborhoods. Police believed the attackers entered the homes through open doors.

"I'm shocked because it's always been a safe neighborhood," another woman said at the time.

Lame excuses #7

Yet another issue of "it wasn't me - it was Mr Pee". Who was to blame this time - some alien?

No sir. The evil force behind this guys action was none other than ... faith. Yup, you see it was bound to happen. As the man reportedly said: "(...) he couldn't stop and that the assault was bound to happen 'one way or another'."

Phillyburbs.com reports how this 55-year-old IQ challenged individual assaulted a 17-year-old girl as she stepped out of a shower at his home in Sellersville, Pennsylvania.

As he advanced toward her, he allegedly told her he "wanted to stop but couldn't". The girl begged him to leave her alone, but the man reportedly told her he couldn't stop and that the assault was bound to happen "one way or another," according to a criminal complaint.

What can I add to this - other than my urge to kick this low-life where it hurts the most?

Make some noise!

"Jump up and down, scream and holler, do whatever – just remember, the more noise you make, the safer you will be!" This is a lesson given to five-year-old elementary school kids by an Ohio resource officer.

Recently, remembering the methods she learned at school, a young girl (9) escaped an abduction attempt in Middletown, Ohio, according to wlwt.com.

The girl's mother credits Officer Mike Davies with saving the girls life after she fought off the 6'8", 300-pound would-be abductor on June 6.

The mother said her daughter kicked and screamed and punched, and did everything she was told to do.

Apart from being a great story about the ability to fight back - this story also raises the question as to how and how early children should learn about this issues.

Some say children should be allowed to be children. It's hard to disagree with that, really. However, at one time these lessons has to be taught, and they should be presented in some shape or form - the earlier the better.

One man, one plant, one plan

This is just too funny - and too stupid I might add... You just have to watch the video - it's hilarious! Oh, and if the video clip is gone when you get there, just contact me and I'll provide it.

A would-be robber enters a store in DeLand, Florida. And what is his weapon of choice? A palm frond :-)

I don't know if this works in the guy's favor or not, but anyhow his claim is $50. Well, at least he's being specific about it.

The incident ends when a customer chases the man out the door with ... a gun? No, a bar stool :-) Like I said, you need to watch this video!

In shape

It is without a doubt of great help to be in shape -- both in a physical, as well as mental sense -- if you ever end up in a self-defense situation.

A case in point is this story about a 41-year-old woman from New York City. The intended victim was assaulted by a knife-wielding intruder in her basement apartment.

The woman says her furious, and successful, self-defense response, is due to the fact that she works out at the gym 7 days a week.

When she fought back, by screaming, pushing the intruder and then knocking him in the groin, the man went scurrying out.

A chair affair

Hawaii -- In Honolulu, Honoluluadvertiser.com reported about a man using a chair to defend himself when another man assaulted him with a skateboard and attempted to rob him at knife point.

The 54-year-old intended victim was reportedly able to fend off the younger attacker by using his chair until witnesses intervened and police arrived.

A chair can be used in primarily three ways as a defence tool. First it is possible to use the chair as a whole to hit an aggressor.

Then, you may (sometimes) be able to break of parts of the chair -- one of the legs usually works best -- to use as a club.

Finally, you can use it to push, or "catch" the aggressor -- think of the legs as four "fangs". If you hold the chair with the four legs pointing away from you, it is possible to avoid being kicked, punched or stabbed. Also, the attacker can be pushed and held against a wall.

This last scenario has occurred at psychiatric hospital and other places as well.

Courage beyond belief

I strongly urge you to read this article. It's graphic and disturbing, but it leaves a lasting impression about this young woman's courage. What a will to survive!

Clever

New Jersey -- A man police say may be responsible for a string of sexual assaults in South Jersey have been arrested, according to myfoxphilly.com.

Several women reportedly have been lured to a vacant home in rural Salem County. A suspect then raped or attempted to rape them inside the home, officials said.

Thursday night, a woman was able to get away with a crucial piece of evidence. A neighbor said "She broke his glasses to get away from him and she said he couldn't see, so he wasn't able to come after her."

When police arrived at the scene, they found the suspect looking for glasses which had been taken off his face by the intended victim.