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Thursday, December 22, 2016

December 22, 2016 -- A Quick Run Around the Web

"How to Make AMAZING Bullet Resistant Armor for $30"--ZNA Productions
This is obviously something that you do at your own risk

Prepping/Firearms:
  • "My Dealings with a Sociopath and Why You Should Care"--Security and Self-Reliance. This is an interesting article that I recommend you read. The basic take away, however, is that a sociopath will not "get better." It is simply part of the their nature. So don't be the one to invite the serpent into the your bosom.
  • "Playing Dead?"--Active Response Training. Probably would work against a house-cat; may work against a bear; possible, if unlikely, if you are part of a large group being machine gunned in front of an open mass grave; and mostly unlikely in a mass shooter/hostage situation. As Mr. Ellifritz notes, using examples, if an active shooter has the leisure (space + time), they will probably shoot the bodies to make sure everyone is dead.
  • "Localism Means Security"--William S. Lind at American Conservative. Lind, as you are probably aware, is the military theorist that was key to predicting and describing fourth generation warfare (4GW). He begins this article by noting how globalism has made communities not only dependent on foreign nations for materials and products, but free flow of trade and peoples have exposed us to the risk of pandemics and other catastrophes. The solution, he argues, is "resilient communities"--prepping/self-sufficiency writ large.
  • "YouTube account makes a remarkably soothing case for survivalism"--Mashable. This is essentially a review of the Primitive Technology YouTube channel. Just reading this review and taking a quick peek at the videos, it appears to be what could be described as a video version of Richard Grave's survival books--the videos are even filmed in Australia.
  • "Here's the Real Reason You Should Never Warm Up Your Car"--Road and Track. Basically, modern fuel injected vehicles do not need to be warmed up to reach peak efficiency; and sitting and running just means a greater period of running time (i.e., additional wear and tear on the vehicle) and, because the vehicle is not really doing any work, doesn't warm up the engine as fast as if you simply got in and drove. Basically, what I do in cold weather is start the engine, after which it will run for about 10 to 15 seconds at a slightly higher RPM than normal idling. After that short time, the idle will drop slightly, and then I will engage the transmission and drive. Of course, if I am having to clear snow or scrape the windows, I will let the car run while I'm doing that.
  • "Prepping After 60"--The Prepping Journal. Not everyone is a young buck that can thrive on hard training and scant rest. The article is written by an older woman, with husband dead or gone, and none of her children living with her. She discusses decisions she made as to whether to bug out or stay home, what tools and supplies she needed, and so on, based on her age and physical abilities.
  • Compare and contrast: "MVT: Training the Best in America"--Max Velocity. Max Velocity is looking for a few good men who want small unit para-military training and explains why you should get the training. 
  • "5 Things to Consider When Buying Preps"--Homestead Dreamer. Being: (1) can I make it myself; (2) price versus utility; (3) a realistic assessment of whether you will use it; (4) can it be used for more than one purpose; and (5) how durable the item is or is not.
  • "Ancient Homemade Syrup That Removes Phlegm From The Lungs and Cures Cough!"--Our Daily Ideas. (H/t The Prepared Page). Made with carrots and honey. The author claims that the carrots are the secret.
  • "Basics of Choosing a Long-Range Cartridge"--Gun Digest. Although .300 Winchester Magnum and even larger cartridges have their following, the author discusses other, lighter cartridges, that might fit your needs as well or better, won't necessarily require the use of a spotter, and cost you less in money and allow you to practice more.
  • "How to Make Homemade Extracts – Vanilla, Lemon and Almond"--Common Sense Homesteading. The author recommends using vodka for making the vanilla extract. The problem, we have found, is the low alcohol content means it takes longer to work, and some vodkas will leave a flavor. We used vodka when we first took up making our own extracts, but have since switched to Everclear.
  • "There Is No Problem with the Term 'Accidental Discharge'"--Nathaniel F. at The Firearms Blog. Nathaniel had decided to weigh in on the "negligent discharge" versus "accidental discharge" debate, correctly noting that even if there was negligence involved, an incident can still be an accident. I won't bore you with the lengthy definition given in Black's Law Dictionary, but just note that the definition runs the gambit from "an event happening without any human agency, or if happening wholly or partly through human agency, an event which under the circumstances is unusual and unexpected by the person to whom it happens" to "an unusual, fortuitous, unexpected, unforeseen or unlooked for event, happening or occurrence," to merely denoting a mishap, calamity, catastrophe, disaster, or undesirable or unfortunate happening. Conversely, as I've pointed out before, "negligence" denotes failing to act in accordance with what a reasonably prudent person would do or not do under similar circumstances.


Other Stuff:
  • "Critical Theory in the Age of Trump"--Counterpunch. I point this article out not necessarily for you to read the article, but to note that even the spawn of the Frankfurt School are dispirited by the results of this election.
  • A perfect illustration of the law that warmer weather = man-made global warming, while cooler temperatures = weather: "Ice-melting temperatures forecast for Arctic midwinter"--The Guardian. The basics of this article is that what with the polar vortex forcing cold weather down into more moderate latitudes, there is, naturally, warmer air being pulled up into the Arctic region from the other direction. It being warm air, it will, of course, result in temporarily warmer temperatures in the Arctic. Of course, for the Chicken Littles of the media, it is more proof that humanity has destroyed the planet and we are facing the imminent melting of the polar ice caps.
Updated data from NASA satellite instruments reveal the Earth’s polar ice caps have not receded at all since the satellite instruments began measuring the ice caps in 1979. Since the end of 2012, moreover, total polar ice extent has largely remained above the post-1979 average. The updated data contradict one of the most frequently asserted global warming claims – that global warming is causing the polar ice caps to recede.
  • Ya think? "Germany is facing a ticking time bomb of rage"--The Spectator. The author begins by observing that "German social media is apparently filled with anger, not with Islamic extremists or Angela Merkel but with Alternative für Deutschland and its supporters. I’m not sure what the psychological condition is called; I suppose it’s a form of Stockholm Syndrome." But that is not the rage of which the title refers. Instead:
         Merkel’s policies have some pretty serious implications for Germany in the future. I’ve read many people arguing that it was actually a clever, shrewd policy to admit one million migrants because Germany has a low birth rate and needs more people. Yet the education levels and skill sets of most of the people who have entered in the past 18 months are, by German standards, extremely low; Germany has a fairly high-wage economy, especially compared to Britain, and there are not a whole lot of positions available for low-skilled men. The number of recent migrants who have found employment is exceptionally low. Employment rates among second generations migrants from the Middle East, mostly Turkish, are also considerably worse than ethnic Germans.
           On top of this, we need to look at what technology is coming our way: in the next ten years, for example, automated cars are going to be putting hundreds of thousands of men out of work just in Britain. All the Uber drivers I’ve spoken to have come from the Muslim world; all have been hardworking, courteous and obviously doing their best by their family; unlike me, they’ve made the effort to move country and have to put up with boring drunks like myself talking to them. But the low-skilled jobs they are currently doing are not going to exist for that long, and many of their sons will grow up with workless fathers, feeling confused about their identity in a rootless world, at far higher risk of mental illness, struggling to find work themselves, and feeling neither fully part of this country nor that of their father’s. In these circumstances an internationalist ideology rooted in a sense of brotherhood and rage at the rich, decadent, western world is going to appear hugely attractive.
             Because posterity is a concept that does not feature strongly in democratic politics an overwhelming aspect of the migration issue is ignored, that the real problems do not arise with the hard-working immigrants doing the nightshifts but with their sons who, contrary to what the likes of the LBC host James O’Brien hopes, will not thank Germany for their situation.

        • If it is a white on minority "hate crime," it is more than likely a fake (and this is just from today's news):
        By at

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