December 1, 2016--A Quick Run Around The Web

Video: "Century PW87 $300 Winchester 1887 Clone"--Gun&ShotTV. 

Firearms and Prepping:

• "How many rounds to carry?"--Tactical Professor. The author discusses the history behind his creation of "The Armed Citizen" statistical tables breaking down information garnered from "The Armed Citizen" column in National Rifleman magazine between 1997 and 2001, and possible flaws from the data. Here is a link to the tables, if you are interested.

• Related: "No Excuses: Carry That Extra Ammunition"--American Concealed. Actually, the article would have been better titled "No Excuses: Carry That Extra Ammunition And Magazines," because some of the reasons given have to do with recovering from malfunctions induced by a defective magazine. But, there is also the issue of running out of ammunition, especially when faced with multiple attackers. The general rule seems to be to have at least one reload, whether a speed loader or speed strip for a revolver, or an extra magazine for a semi-auto pistol. 

• "24 Ways To Prepare For Your Spring Garden In The Dead Of Winter"--Survival Mom. It includes 6 tips for things to do before the first frost, 13 tips for planning for next spring's garden and planting, and the remainder pertain to activities or plans for mid-winter.
• "3 Reasons I Don’t Teach Surgery—Even to Survivalists"--The Survival Doctor. Although the author breaks it down somewhat, the overarching reason is that surgery takes a great deal of knowledge and experience, as well as proper equipment and facilities, to be successful. Stuff you are not going to have unless you have been through medical school and a surgery residency. It reminds me of an incident relating to a scouting activity which I was discussing with the bishop of my ward (the leader of a congregation) who was also an ER doctor that had further trained in outdoor medicine. The issue was having someone with medical training accompany the scouting group, since the Bishop would not be able to attend the activity. I though that it was pretty much a non-issue since we had several doctors in our ward. I suggested one, who was a radiologist, which idea was immediately shot down by the Bishop as he believed that the radiology doctor probably did not even know how to set a broken leg. It reminded me that, just like many other fields, medicine is very specialized, and just because someone had a class (or classes) on certain topics 15 or 20 years earlier, did not mean that they were skilled in that particular topic.  

• "Informative .300 BLK Cutaway"--The Firearms Blog. In case you have ever wondered how someone could accidentally chamber .300 BLK in a .223/5.56 rifle.
• "Swift, Short, Violent. Realities of CCW"--The Firearm Blog. A video and commentary concerning an armed guard at a jewelry store in Brazil fighting off two armed robbers. One thing to notice is that from the time that one of the robbers pulled his gun, to the time that the shooting was over was less than 10 seconds.
• "Finding The Best J-Frame Holster For Concealed Carrying"--Alien Gear Holsters. Although the title and photographs concern J-frame revolvers, the tips actually apply to any type of firearm to be used for concealed carry: the holster should cover the trigger and trigger guard, the holster should be unobtrusive and manage the weight well, and, if one to be worn outside the waistband, ride high enough that the weapon and holster can be concealed with an un-tucked shirt.

Other Stuff:

• The wages of sin socialism: "Long-eradicated diphtheria reappears in Venezuela; government blames the CIA"--Fox News Latino. It is because of a shortage of vaccines (on top of all of the other shortages of medicine, etc.). From the article:

The reappearance of diphtheria, a disease not seen here in more than 20 years, is the worst symptom yet of the country’s broken health system.

Venezuela used to be Latin America's richest country, but it is now falling apart as a plunge in the price of oil caps off years of economic mismanagement. Local production of almost everything has stalled, and there is little money to import medicine.

Fearing government retaliation, doctors from Bolivar’s Hospital of Guaiparo Raul Leoni opted to do not reveal their identities when on Sept. 21 they reported they had four diphtheria cases, which soon turned into 23.

In the following days, two other states, Sucre and Nueva Esparta, reported a total of four cases to the Venezuelan Society of Infectious Diseases. All four patients have ties with people who had recently visited Bolivar.

The article also mentions that the government had told doctors not to report cases of diphtheria because it was contrary to the revolution.

• "Russia positions 55,000 troops by its border with Ukraine in latest sign of aggression by Putin as fears grow he is preparing for war"--Daily Mail.

• Related: "Russian warships take position off Crimea in response to Ukrainian missile drills a day after it is revealed Putin moved 55,000 troops to the border as threat of war escalates"--Daily Mail.

Although Russia's access and ability to secure its port at  Sevastopol is the triggering event, the basic issue here is that the new global divides are along demarcations of different civilizations; countries are sorting into blocks based on a common civilization. The problem for some nations, however, is that they have populations that are split between two civilizations. One of those is the Ukraine, split between Russian civilization on the east, and European/Western on the west. A peaceable split would be the best solution, but so far, it does not appear that the major players agree. 

• "Millenials Abandon China’s Rust Belt"--The American Interest. From the article:

The mass exodus of young people from the northeast threatens to dry up the talent pool in a beleaguered region that China has been trying desperately to revitalize. And as more and more young people depart, they leave behind an aging population with fewer social supports. Not only will aging workers lose family members who might have helped take care of them; they also face a pension crisis that looms nationwide but has already hit the steel mills and industrial enterprises of the northeast with particular force.

• "The Surest Measure of How China's Economy Is Losing"--Real Clear Politics. The article explains that while China's GDP has been growing (primarily because of the real estate bubble), the growth has not been very productive: "the People’s Republic of China’s level of private wealth actually fell from mid-2015, both in amount and in share." Specifically, "China’s global share of private wealth fell from 9.5 percent to 9.1 percent." And, "[f]or the past six years, the United States has matched China in wealth growth, and for the past three years, the United States has outpaced it." (H/t Instupundit, which offers some additional commentary).
• "Levi’s Hates Gun Owners and Thinks They Have a Short Memory"--The Truth About Guns. Citing a negligent discharge at a Levi store where the gun owner injured his- or herself, Levi's CEO wrote: "Providing a safe environment to work and shop is a top priority for us at Levi Strauss & Co. That imperative is quickly challenged, however, when a weapon is carried into one of our stores." Hmm. reminds me of something I saw recently:

• A sad sign of decline: "I Just Wish He Would Have An Affair!"--Huffington Post. From the article:

Several different women have contacted me recently and have shared their stories, and their stress (perhaps distress would be a better word) over the fact that they do not want to be married anymore. Period.

These women are done. They say they aren’t happy. They say they aren’t in love with their husbands (or any other man — they aren’t having affairs). They say they simply wish they were no longer married to him. They aren’t fulfilled. They wonder if this is how they are doomed to live the rest of their lives (and God-willing, most of them have another 40+ years ahead of them).

The common factor amongst all of these women is that they say that their husbands are really solid, good, nice men. They are not victims of physical or emotional abuse. They are not married to felons. They are not married to alcoholics or drug addicts. Their husbands are not having affairs. In fact, they tell me, there really isn’t anything “wrong” with their husbands ... they just don’t want to be married to them anymore because they have fallen out of love.

And so these women complain: “My husband is so nice. He’s a good guy. I just wish he would have an affair!” As Dalrock explains, the issue is that these women have hit their mid-life crises, they want a divorce, but they want some moral cover to excuse them for blowing up their marriages and family; they don't want to be blamed. Dalrock sums it up quite well: "What they need is a patsy, a rube.  They need someone else to volunteer to take the fall for the terrible crime they plan on committing.  There is only one choice;  their husband must be the one to play the patsy." The problem for these women is that their good, upstanding husbands, haven't provided them one.