Dear Belly,

Remember when I first joined this forum?
You were the first poster I wanted to hug.
Well over these years, my respect for you
has only grown and if I could I'd hug you
right now!

>>Proper training? Expand, please.<<

Training that gives them the sills required to avoid being attacked.

>>What could Anita Cobby have used that would have given her a chance against the five men that raped, tortured, mutilated and murdered her?<<

A stout stick.

A mace.

A morning-star.

An axe.

A sword.

A spear.

A knife.

A scythe.

A pitchfork.

A kusarigama.

Nunchaku.

Tonfas.

A chainsaw.

A lightsabre.*

A phaser.*

A taser.

A firearm.

Greek fire.

A flamethrower.

A hand grenade.

A thermonuclear device.**

A half-brick in a sock.

And that's not an exhaustive list.

Cheers,

Tony

* A joke: these weapons only exist in fiction.

** Also a joke: using a thermonuclear device against attackers in close quarters is a recipe for MAD.

Dear Tony,

Thanks for your superb list, wit, and humour.

However after giving it some "serious" thought...

I think the best defence of all would be
releasing one's bowels. This should not be
difficult when one's frightened. And unless
the perpetrator is a psychopath - it would
be the best deterrant especially in the case
of rape.

Glad that you can see the funny side of the rape, torture, mutilation and murder of Anita Cobby.

Pray give us a laugh about Jill Meagher and Jannine Balding or maybe you have a special funny spot for Ebony Simpson, only nine when she was abducted, raped and murdered.

Then there were 14-year-old Lauren Margaret Barry and 16-year-old Nichole Emma Collins, they should be worth your witty attention.

See: < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Janine_Balding > and follow the links for the others.

Is Mise, I can see you are getting hysterical now.

My advice to you is to check the stats on crime of all sorts in the US, and tell us why it hasn't abated, since apparently over 2 thirds of Americans (a very conservative number I would suggest) are armed with their own guns?

Why would arming more Aussies with their own guns ( even young and old women) lessen the violence against them here, when it hasn't in the US?
Apparently, the bulk of the violence committed in the US is not by strangers, but by people known to the victims.

How then is it more preferable for all of us to be armed in our own homes?
If uncle Bill or Auntie Jo annoys us too much, isn't it just too easy to reach for the gun sitting beside us on the couch and blow them away?

Dear Is Mise,

With our tongues lodged firmly in our cheeks
an attempt is being made to take the "mickey" out
of posters who try to push their opinions onto
others regarding guns. Nothing to do with rape
or the victims - which we all take very seriously.