A Quick Run Around the Web -- December 23, 2015

Source: "Apocalypse Damascus: Bombed-out houses and rubble for as far as the eye can see... this shattered landscape is all that remains of one suburb in Syria's capital"--Daily Mail.

• "The Russians have stopped playing nice. They're bombing Aleppo back to the stone ages..."--SNAFU. Solomon writes: "Russian airpower is doing what the combined forces of NATO's air arms couldn't. Its really amazing how quickly you can end a conflict if you decide that you're in it to win it....rules of engagement are loosened and your theory of war is to end it quickly instead of taking two decades because a short, sharp campaign in the end saves lives." I don't think the Russians care about savings lives (except for their own troops); rather, they realize that the only way to win a war is to destroy the enemy's will to fight. Think the end of Nazi Germany or Imperial Japan.
• "The Logic of the Police State"--The American Conservative. The author writes:

If you’ve been listening to various police agencies and their supporters, then you know what the future holds: anarchy is coming—and it’s all the fault of activists.

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Beyond the storm of commentary and criticism, however, quite a different reality presents itself. In the simplest terms, there is no war on the police. Violent attacks against police officers remain at historic lows, even though approximately 1,000 people have been killed by the police this year nationwide. ...

* * *

Indeed, a closer look at law enforcement arguments against commonsense reforms like independently investigating police violence, demilitarizing police forces, or ending “for-profit policing” reveals a striking disregard for concerns of just about any sort when it comes to brutality and abuse. What this “debate” has revealed, in fact, is a mainstream policing mindset ready to manufacture fear without evidence and promote the belief that American civil rights and liberties are actually an impediment to public safety. In the end, such law enforcement arguments subvert the very idea that the police are there to serve the community and should be under civilian control.

And that, when you come right down to it, is the logic of the police state.

Read the whole thing.

• "Living with the Muslim Hum"--by David Solway at PJ Media. "Those of us who are still sentient know that Islam is a foreign body among us and that it is inherently destructive, irrespective of reformist efforts to achieve the impossible and which result only in creating an eidolon that Stephen Kirby has called 'Fantasy Islam.' Islam itself cannot be fixed and to complicate matters, as Diana West writes in a fascinating Breitbart article, it is undergoing a 'recurrent cycle of…expansionism into the wider West.'" However, the author acknowledges that this is not just an issue with Islam, "But we must look to the people who elected the rash and short-sighted Liberal establishment that has abetted this expansionism."
• Is this why Obama likes Hawaii? "Bullying in Hawaii: A State of Denial"--Hawaii Reporter. 

Does the Aloha State actually have a bullying problem? If you are Caucasian and from the Mainland, you will certainly think so.

It doesn't matter how long you live here, or if you were even born here. If you are white, locals will still call you a “haole”, a derogatory term that is Hawaii's equivalent of using the "N-word".

And the prejudice goes beyond name calling. White people are often treated with scorn. “Go back to where you came from”, seems to be the message. “You don't belong here.” Sometimes it results in violence.

White children in our schools are harassed, intimidated, and physically abused. The last school day of the year in Hawaii, for example, is traditionally called “kill a haole day”.

Racism is as ugly in Hawaii as anywhere else, and is the cause of much of the bullying of school children and adults alike. Unless this underlying racist cause of bullying is addressed, efforts to stop bullying are doomed to fail.

• "2,887 Shooting Victims In Gun-Controlled Chicago Year-To-Date"--Breitbart. "Nearly 3,000 shooting victims in a city with an 'assault weapons' ban, a 'violence tax' on every gun and bullet sold, strict limitations on the number of gun store and on the locations of said stores. and numerous other gun controls ubiquitously instituted to keep law-abiding citizens safer, but which actually make it far more difficult for law-abiding citizens to acquire the guns they need for self-defense." It's not a drug problem; it is a minority gang problem exacerbated by the fact that the city and state government is corrupt, and the city is the major hub for narcotics trafficking in the United States.
• "New York Looks to Cap Ammo Purchases to Twice A Gun’s Capacity Every 90 days"--The Truth About Guns.
• "The Great Republican Revolt"--David Frum at The Atlantic. "The angriest and most pessimistic people in America are the people we used to call Middle Americans. Middle-class and middle-aged; not rich and not poor; people who are irked when asked to press 1 for English, and who wonder how white male became an accusation rather than a description." (Italics in original). Having diagnosed the problem, like a good liberal, Frum then goes on to advise the Republicans on what to do: double down on ostracizing these Middle Americans. And some conservatives are actually buying it.
• "Alfred Kinsey, Child Sexuality, and Rabbitism"--Anonymous Conservative. Discussing Kinsey (whose research is used in child sex education curricula) and the liberal mindset, the author observes this about liberals: "Kids having sex is normal, mating with anything up to and including animals is normal, as is women having affairs behind their husbands’ backs, if you have an r-selected reproductive strategy. So to them, none of this is wrong, nor should you question any research which proves it right. Rabbits [i.e., liberals] never even think about it."
• Last, but not least, Ol' Remus has a new Wood Pile Report up.

Survival/Prepping:

• "Survival Gear"--Captain's Journal. "As I’ve implied, with 550 cordage and a poncho or tarp, along with trekking poles, you can have shelter in under two minutes if needed.  With redundant means of fire starting along with charcoal or char-cloth, you can have fire even when everything is wet.  With a parka and mylar blanket, you can have warmth when you need it (I have many parkas, my all-time favorite is Simms).  With a handgun (and an additional magazine or a few loaded moon clips) you have protection, and with a good tactical knife, you have a cutting tool or a chopping tool.  I carry a heavy folder, such as a Ka-Bar Mule, or CRKT M16-14DSFG-Tanto, always something with serrated edge.  Otherwise I carry a Ka-Bar straight edge fighting/utility knife, again, with a serrated edge."
• "Knitting Cables"--...For Dummies. The basics of knitting using knitting cables.
• "goTenna Portable Off-Grid Communication Device Review"--More Than Just Surviving. A product that allows you to use your cell phone as a portable transceiver (at least between phones with the goTenna attached). From the article: "Out of the box, you get two lightweight (1.8 ounces/52 g) nylon and aluminium sticks, similar to those over-sized “wifi” sticks your local cell phone provider may provide. It’s small enough that you can carry it pretty much anywhere, and as per the advertising it’s designed with ruggedness in mind. The listed dimensions are 5.8 inches x 1 inch x 0.5 inch, which is pretty remarkable considering this packs in enough oomph to power communications up to 4 miles in radius (in the outdoors) for up to 24 hours of continuous use. Mighty impressive." Looks interesting. The author notes that the device has the option of secure communications with another particular device, or openly communicating with any device attached to a goTenna. Anyway, it looks like an interesting piece of equipment. Read the whole thing.
• "Zero Like A Hero Pt 2: How It All Works"--Blue Collar Prepping. A follow up on a prior article (to which I had previously linked), this one discusses the hardware--i.e., the sights.
• "Gun Ownership in Ukraine and Shopping in Venezuela"--Fer Fal. Some discussion of the situation in Venezuela, and photographs from Ukrainians showing them posing with their self-defense arms. As to the latter, Fer Fal adds:

Keep in mind that in such a complex situation there are no simple, black or white solutions. Remember the posts not that long ago about how Ukrainian refugees said getting caught in a checkpoint when entering or leaving the Russian occupied region with a firearm, even a radio, maps or binoculars, could get you detained for days for some very unpleasant questioning. A scoped rifle turned you into a sniper, maps, binoculars or a radio turned you into a spy. These two assumptions could easily get you killed. So, while its wise to be armed and capable of defending yourself as a general rule, it may not be as good an idea when escaping and going through checkpoints. We go back to a long held concept in this website, that the handgun is the survivalists main firearm, easy to carry, easy to conceal, easy to dispose of or hide if necessary.

(Underline added).