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Saturday, January 28, 2017

January 28, 2017 -- A Quick Run Around the Web

"In this now dilapidated room was where Yahweh formed his gospel - that white people were the 'devil' and that African Americans, who the group saw as the original Israelites, would one day return to Israel."

Firearms/Self-Defense/Prepping:
       There is a series of articles on DefenseReview.com that I have kept an eye on for the last few years called “Tactical AR-15/M4/M4A1 Carbine Aftermarket Accessories for Military Combat Applications: The Competition-to-Combat Crossover“ and part 1 was posted in 2012, part 2 in 2014 and part 3 in 2016.

       What’s interesting is they’re all written by the same guy, Jeff Gurwitch, who has gone on multiple tours of duty in the “Sand Box”. The site says he is “Currently serving with U.S. Army Special Forces” and is a “Competitive shooter: USPSA, IDPA, and 3-Gun.”

       I’ve found it really interesting to see how he setups up his rifle and how other guys are doing it … not to mention the “evolution” of these setups over time … because the Military Issue M4/M4A1/MK18 are all very similar to the civilian AR-15 platform.
A few points jumped out at me about how Gurwitch and other soldiers set up their rifles. First of all, they borrowed very heavily from what worked for three gun. Second, they preferred the 11.5 inch length barrel (with a sound suppressor) for most of their work because, within the effective range of the firearm, it worked just as well as longer barrel lengths but was handier and lighter; Gurwitch only switched back to a 14.5 inch barrel in order to use the bullet drop compensator (BDC) for his telescopic sight. Which brings us to the third point: the optics for their weapons were so reliable that they didn't bother mounting backup sights (BUS) in most cases; Gurwitch's "backup" was a micro reflex sight set at 45 degrees.
  • "The VICE Guide to Getting Beaten Up"--VICE Magazine (warning: crude language in the article). The author advises that "[i]f a huge f[**]king Coke machine of a guy tries to attack you, that's it. You're dead." Well, not necessarily. The author, Eugene Robinson, of the rock-band Oxbow, and apparently experienced with both beating up others and getting beat up, gives some no-nonsense advice on how to save face should you get beat up, and a few tips that might actually give you a victory. For instance:
    THE HEADBUTT
             Headbutts are great because they take almost no accuracy and the risk of accidentally hurting yourself is nil. The secret to smashing open his nose is to focus your attention on his two front teeth on the way in. If you’re in North America, he will be totally taken by surprise.
               Drawback: As it is for sharks, you can’t see what’s going on as you hit him, so you’re never sure if you really got him.
          THE KNEE TO THE HEAD
                   Most people never think of this, because most people haven’t taken the deadly Southeast Asian art of Muay Thai, and your knee seems too far away from his head for this move to come naturally. Wrap your hands around the back of his head, yank down with an authoritative snap, and leap upward knee first. As you leap your downward snap will meet the rising of your knee, and when his head and your knee meet? Well, it’s nothing short of magic.
                     Drawback: You have to do it fast because people tend to figure out something’s up when you grab the back of their head.
                THE REAR NAKED CHOKE
                         If, by any sheer luck, you end up standing behind him, it’s time to choke the f[**]ker. Wrap your right arm around his throat, and squeeze it closed by grabbing your left shoulder. Now with your other hand you can push his head into the hold thereby squeezing his neck even tighter. The best part of it is you can talk to him the whole time.
                           Drawback: You could easily kill him, in which case there’d be “a whole lot of splaining to do.”
                      THE UPPERCUT
                               If someone is delivering a knockout punch, nine times out of ten, it’s the uppercut. I don’t know whether it’s the sharp clicking together of the jaw or the stimulation of some sort of nerve bundle, but this punch is relatively easy to do and guaranteed to slip him into sleep. Throw your whole body into it and keep it tight against yourself at the beginning, like a jack-in-the-boxspring. A great way to administer this blow is to be waving your left hand in his face saying something like, “Whoa, whoa, I don’t want any trouble. This is all a big misunderstanding,” and then POW with the right.
                                 Drawback: If your hand speed is slow, don’t even THINK about trying this one.
                            THE MAD COUNTER
                                     You are going to think this is strange, but it works every time. You tell the guy you’re going to count to five. You don’t say why. You just do it. “ONE,” then, while apparently inhaling for “TWO,” you f[**]king tear out of there and run as fast as you can. No idea why this works, it just does. There’s a three-second interval where he’s thinking, “Hey, he said he was going to count to five,” and that is all you need to make your getaway.
                                       Drawback: You will be known as a pussy if there’s even a remote possibility you could have won.
                                  Read the whole thing.
                                  • "Barrel Length Studies In 5.56mm NATO Weapons"--Small Arms Defense Journal. A study of bore pressure and muzzle velocity for barrels ranging from 5 to 24 inches (at one inch intervals) using the M855 projectile. Velocity was highest at 20 inches, and fell below 2500 fps once the barrel was shorter than 10 inches. Bore pressure at 10 inches was basically twice that at 20 inches. On the latter point, the authors wrote:
                                           Because these weapons are used more and more frequently with sound suppressors, it is interesting to note the uncorking pressure at the more common barrel lengths of 14.5 inches and 10.5 inches.  Pressure data for the 14.5 and 10.5 inch barrels was approximated by averaging the pressure between the two adjacent measurements (14 and 15 inches, etc.) yielding pressures of 8,150 and 11,500 psi respectively.  There is a passing interest in the non-serious user for suppressing the M16 with a 7-inch barrel, and the uncorking pressure at that point is 17,140 psi, approximately 50% higher than it was for the 10.5-inch barrel, which is itself approximately 50% higher than the 14.5-inch barrel.
                                             One of the authors has measured port pressures in the entrance chamber of one of his company’s 5.56mm suppressors with both a 14.5 inch and 10.5 inch barreled HK416, and there was a 50% increase in suppressor chamber pressure of the 10.5 inch barreled weapon as compared to the longer 14.5 inch version. This correlates well with the difference in bore pressure at the instant of bullet uncorking.
                                               Billionaires in the world's tech capital Silicon Valley are reportedly preparing for the apocalypse by buying underground bunkers, guns, ammo and motorcycles.
                                                 Fearful that artificial intelligence will displace so many jobs that there will be a revolt against those responsible for the technology, the are [sic] entrepreneurs readying themselves for doomsday like scenarios. 
                                                   Reid Hoffman, the co-founder of the professional social network, LinkedIn, told The New Yorker that he believes more than 50 per cent of billionaires in the Californian tech hub are preparing for the worst. 
                                                     “I own a couple of motorcycles. I have a bunch of guns and ammo. Food. I figure that, with that, I can hole up in my house for some amount of time,” he said. 
                                                       Others are investing in bunkers and large swathes of land. Antonio García Martínez, a former Facebook product manager, recently purchased five acres on an island in the America's Pacific Northwest. His island home features generators, solar panels, and weaponry, Business Insider reported. 
                                                Who is to say the AIs won't be hunting them down?

                                                Other Stuff:
                                                Ironically, other than Syria (which is the only country named in the executive order), the other nations on the list were selected by the Obama Administration pursuant to the Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015.
                                                • Related: "Libs Who Want To Move To Canada Blocked By Its Strict Immigration Policies"--The Daily Caller. "A top law firm known for obtaining Canadian visas for U.S. citizens says there are three main ways to get in: by having in-demand job skills, by owning a business or having a high net worth, or by having relatives already there." It sucks being the only child of an only child with nothing but a degree in women's studies.
                                                • "From a Muslim Reader"--J.R. Nyquist comments on a note from a reader--a former Islamist--who calls for the West and Islam to find common cause against Russia and China. I disagree with Nyquist's concurrence on that point, but he makes an important observation that the West and Islam cannot forget their histories and their differing cultures. Nyquist's thoughts make sense:
                                                ... Why should Muslims be allowed to move into Germany in large numbers? It is not a Muslim country. In fact, it frightens me to think that Germany will become, one day, Islamic. For as I am of the West, I cherish the culture of the West. I cherish the legacy of Greece and Rome, of ancient Scandinavia and Germany. Islam is not my heritage, but the heritage of an alien civilization. It is normal and right that I should oppose the colonization of Europe by Muslims, just as a Muslim would be right to oppose the colonization of Arabia by Europeans. The Muslim does not wish to see heathens flooding into Mecca. The Western conservative does not want Muslims flooding into Berlin and Stolkholm.
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