A Maoist guerrilla insurgent group formed in Peru in the late 1960s as a splinter group from the communist party of Peru; is among the most ruthless guerilla organizations in the world; seeks to destroy Peruvian institutions and replace them with a Maoist peasant regime; is involved in the cocaine trade; Shining Path has been responsible for 30,000 deaths.
Sendero Luminoso is Spanish for "Shining Path."
by Dancing with Fire September 20, 2013
Internal security service in Russia, successor to the KGB's Second Chief Directorate (internal counterintelligence).
by Dancing with Fire September 03, 2012
Karate may be defined as a weaponless means of self defense. It consists of dynamic offensive and defensive techniques using all parts of the body to their maximum advantage. Karate practice is divided into: Kihon (drilling of stances, blocks, punches, strikes and kicks), Kata (pre-arranged forms simulating combat situations), and Kumite (sparring). In each category, the beginner is given instruction at the most basic level until the techniques become spontaneous. As the student progresses technically, he or she progresses physically as well, and advanced practices demand greater stamina. At this stage, the student becomes involved with more intricate and difficult katas and more dynamic forms of kumite. As the student approaches black belt level, technique, stamina, speed, and coordination become natural as a result of strong practice. It is at this stage that the serious student discovers that his or her study of karate has only just begun. The object of true karate practice is the perfection of oneself through the perfection of the art.
Karate is one of the most dynamic of all the martial arts. A trained karateka is able to coordinate mind and body perfectly, thereby allowing the unleashing of tremendous physical power at will. Therefore, it is not the possession of great physical strength that makes a strong karateka; rather it is the ability to coordinate mind and body. Upon developing this ability, even the smallest person finds that he or she has within himself or herself the power to deliver a devastating blow to any would-be attacker. In our everyday lives we often forget the value of exercise to both our physical and mental health. The practice of karate tones the body, develops coordination, quickens reflexes, and builds stamina. Also, the serious practice of karate develops composure, a clearer thought process, deeper insight into one's mental capabilities, and more self-confidence. In this, karate is not an end, but a means to an end. It is an activity in which advancing age is not a hindrance. Rather it encourages proficiency in the keen coordination of mind and body.
by Dancing with Fire January 15, 2011
Federal Bureau of Investigation; an agency of the Justice Department responsible for investigating violations of Federal laws.
The FBI is primarily a law enforcement agency. They collect intelligence related to domestic security and perform crime investigations.
by Dancing with Fire September 05, 2012
The Sinaloa Cartel, often described as the largest and most powerful drug trafficking organization in the Western Hemisphere, is an alliance of some of Mexico’s top drug traffickers. The coalition operates in concert to protect themselves and more loosely to keep their businesses going smoothly. It relies on connections at the highest levels, corrupting portions of the federal police and military to maintain an upper hand on its rivals.
The cartel’s tentacles stretch from New York City to Buenos Aires and most every major city in between. It has successfully penetrated government and security forces wherever it operates. It prefers the bribe to the bullet and the alliance to the fighting, but it is not above organizing its forces to overrun areas that it wants to control by force. Its central bond is blood: many of its members are related or have become related by marriage. However, the cartel also often acts more like a federation than a tightly knit organization. The core of the group, the Beltrán Leyva Organization, split from the cartel in 2008. The Sinaloa Cartel has since created new alliances with former enemies in the Gulf Cartel and the Familia Michoacana. More morphing is to be expected as these alliances, even those formed by blood, are tenuous.
by Dancing with Fire June 29, 2011
The Viet Cong had their first victory of the Vietnam War at the Battle of Ap Bac in January 1963, which was followed by the overthrow of Ngo Dinh Diem and an increasingly less stable South Vietnam.
by Dancing with Fire September 08, 2012
The Communist-led forces fighting the South Vietnamese government. The political wing was known as the National Liberation Front, and the military was called the People's Liberation Armed Forces. Both the NLF and the PLAF were directed by the People's Revolutionary Party (PRP), the southern branch of the Vietnamese Communist Party, which received direction from Hanoi through COSVN, which was located in III Corps on the Cambodian border. After 1968, as negotiations began in Paris, the NLF established the Provisional Revolutionary Government.
The Viet Cong were organized into three levels: regular forces operating under the command of the southern communist leadership, full time guerrillas organized into companies serving under provincial leadership and finally, a part time self-defense militia, composed of units organized into squads and platoons used primarily for village defense.
by Dancing with Fire June 19, 2011