First Assault Knives, Now Assault . . . um . . . Swords?

I always find it ironic that George Orwell - who in 1984 wrote the greatest warning of the dangers of oppressive and totalitarian government - is English.

In my short life, I have never seen any other country be in such a rush to throw their God-given freedoms down the toilet (I am sure some of you are thinking of US in this regard, but I assure you that the recent unpleasantness is more a knee-jerk reaction to the 'post-9-11 fear culture' heightened by our media and purveyors of security-related products and solutions) .

I know that in being a monarchy English people are probably used to being subjected to the whims of silly laws (I mean, come on - its 2008 and we still have Kings??), but the badassery of the British soldiers have given me pause to wonder if perhaps it is a result of laziness of the people or maybe they are just tired of fighting . . .

Anyway, a few years ago England passed an "Assault knives ban" - yes, you heard that right - but apparently even this wasn't enough to quell the monstrous criminals lurking below the surface, inspired by the menace of an inanimate object to rise up and attack, well . . . cars?

Ban on imitation Samurai swords

Imitation Samurai swords are to be banned after a spate of attacks in the UK, say ministers.
The Home Office has confirmed plans to outlaw the weapons in England and Wales after putting forward the idea earlier this year.

Home Office minister Vernon Coaker said there was a clear danger to the public posed by easily-available swords.

The proposal is expected to stop short of banning genuine Japanese swords held by collectors or genuine enthusiasts.

In March 2007 the Home Office proposed banning imitation Samurai swords after representations from both MPs and the public. Ministers in Scotland had proposed a similar move in 2006.

Defending the sword
Calls for a ban came after a number of high-profile incidents in which cheap Samurai-style swords had been used as a weapon.

The Home Office estimates there have been some 80 attacks in recent years involving Samurai-style blades, leading to at least five deaths.

While genuine Samurai swords are part of Japanese history and change hands for large sums of money, there is a trade in imitation blades which can be bought over the internet for as little as £35.

"We recognise it is the cheap, easily available samurai swords which are being used in crime and not the genuine, more expensive samurai swords which are of interest to collectors and martial arts enthusiasts."

More.

There is a video on the above link that shows some ninny with a samurai sword walking down the middle of a busy street - sword in hand - trying to "attack" cars as they drive down the road.

Um, I can think of a way to stop that kinda silliness. In fact, that may be the exact reason why there is a GRILL GUARD on my Land Cruiser.

Think about Shawn of the Dead - would he have gotten nearly as far without access to the namesake wall hanger acquired from The Winchester pub?

Let's hope they keep some edged weapons in England. There may come a time when they'll need one to spread marmalade onto a crumpet.

Ahem.