May 22, 2017 -- A Quick Run Around the Web

Blacks and liberals express their opinions via graffiti on a historical monument in New Orleans. Coming soon to a location near you ....

Notes from the Apocalypse: 

• "Was the entire 2016 Democratic primary a sham, a fake, and a public lie?"--Bayou Renaissance Man. In arguments for the dismissal of a lawsuit against the Democratic National Committee for rigging the primaries for Hillary Clinton against Bernie Sanders, the DNC's attorney argued that the DNC can select whichever candidate is prefers pursuant to internal rules, and owes no duties to voters.
• "Berkeley Invited Pro-Terror Groups to Planned Forum on ‘Responding’ to Conservative Speakers"--Heat Street. According to the article, the City had reached out to several speakers including Tur-ha Ak of the Anti Police-Terror Project and Judith Mirkinson, "both radicals who have ties to radical anti-police and terrorist activism."
• "China Breaks Up CIA Spy Networks"--Anonymous Conservative. AC cites to a Washington Post which reports that "[t]he Chinese government 'systematically dismantled' CIA spying operations in China starting in late 2010 and killed or imprisoned at least a dozen CIA sources over the next two years...." According to the Wash Po article, intelligence agencies could not agree on whether the Chinese's success was due to an internal mole at the CIA, or breach of CIA communication protocols. AC notes, however, that Hillary Clinton was made Secretary of State in January 2009 and, soon thereafter, starting using her unsecured server located in her bathroom. 
• "The Slow-Motion Assassination of President Trump"--Dilbert Blog. Discussing the negative coverage and fake news spun by the MSM about Trump, Scott Adams muses:

I also think we are seeing with the recent leaks the first phase of Mutually Assured Destruction of our government. The leaks will destroy Trump if they continue. But if that happens, no Democrat and no anti-Trump Republican will ever be able to govern in the future. Payback is guaranteed. The next President to sit in the White House will be leaked to the point of ineffectiveness. And that’s how the Republic dies.

• No person can serve both God and mammon: "Minnesota Retreats From Ban On Female Genital Mutilation."--World Net Daily (H/t Vox Day). The bill would outlaw female genital mutilation and impose stiff penalties, up to and including jail time and revocation of parental rights over the affected children. Although the bill overwhelmingly passed the Minnesota House, the State's Senate is reportedly less enthused about the bill due to pressure from opponents to the bill. The article reports:

The bill’s GOP sponsor said her colleagues in the Senate have gone wishy-washy on the bill due to pushback from certain segments of the refugee-resettlement industry, which is very powerful in Minnesota, getting paid millions in federal dollars annually to distribute Somali refugees throughout the state.

The article also indicates:

Minnesota has imported more than 50,000 Somali refugees since 1990, most of them resettled by Catholic and Lutheran “charities” that get paid by the federal government on a “per head” basis for every refugee they bring to the state.

Firearms/Self-Defense/Prepping:

• "How to protect your home from rioting mobs using fire as a weapon"--Last Minute Survival. Just as a clarification, this article is not about you using fire as a weapon, but mobs doing so--setting fire to businesses and homes.
• "Gun Review: Savage MSR 15 Recon"--The Truth About Guns. This is a pretty good looking AR set up from Savage, with an MSRP right at $1,000. However, the author reported that it had a very poor trigger. Nevertheless, he was able to get 1 MOA accuracy out of it at 100 yards.
• "Schmeisser 'SOLID' AR-15 Buffer Tube Assembly"--The Truth About Guns. This is an interesting product in that instead of just a better quality buffer tube assembly, the Schmeisser company designed a product to strengthen the connection between the buffer tube and rear of the receiver, as well as using a better quality spring of braided wire. However, no MSRP is mentioned, and it is not clear if the assembly will be sold independent of the company's rifles.
• "The .40 S&W Lost Its Charm. This Means Bargains!"--Mass Ayoob at Guns Magazine. Ayoob notes that the rapid decline in the popularity of the .40 S&W has resulted in real bargains for those looking to purchase a handgun, especially for used firearms. Although he notes that increased recoil from the .40 (and the resultant need to more frequently replace recoil springs), and advises against buying certain weapons in .40 S&W because of issues with insufficient strength of the frame (he mentions the Beretta 96 and Kahr pistols in particular), Ayoob also lists what he considers to be some of the positive features. I've noted on numerous occasions that I don't like the .40 S&W because of its snappy recoil, making it more difficult to make quick follow-up shots, and the wear and tear on the weapon. To me, as I've noted before, the downsides of the cartridge outweigh the benefits. But there are those who don't care or mind the recoil, and, as Ayoob notes, good deals are available on the firearms. Keep in mind, though, that those good deals don't extend to ammunition. So, if cost is the only reason for buying .40 S&W, and you plan on shooting a lot, the lower cost of the pistol is going to be offset by the higher cost of ammunition over the long run. 

Other Stuff:

• Diversity is our strength: "The no-go zone for women... in PARIS: Locals say they are afraid to leave their home after gangs of 'migrant men' threaten them for wearing 'immodest' clothing"--Daily Mail. The most basic, fundamental function of government is to protect its citizens from invasion. All Western governments have failed this basic function and, because of it, lack legitimacy. 
• "After ISIL Comes The Iranian Threat"--Strategy Page. A summary of recent successes against ISIS in Mosul. According to the article, ISIS is now concentrating a lot of its efforts on sneaking fighters back to their native countries to continue the fight there. However, there is another important city which ISIS is holding: Tal Afar. Most of the fighting against ISIS in those areas has been conducted by Shia militias that are backed by Iran, and therefore, refuse to work with the United States. As to "the Iranian threat," the author writes:

       At the same time the number of Shia religious and militia leaders who openly support Iran is declining. More Iraqi Shia are doubting Iranian intentions towards Iraq and believe Iran ultimately wants to control the Iraq government or even partition Iraq and annex the largely Shia (and oil rich) south. At the same time Iranian efforts to discourage Iraqi Kurds from obtaining more autonomy are unwelcome with many Arab Iraqis who see this as another example of Iran treating Iraq like a subordinate, not an ally.

        Adding to the fears are reports that Iran backed (and sometimes led, officially or otherwise by Iranian officers) Shia militia are ignoring earlier promises and entering liberated areas of Mosul and seeking “disloyal” civilians who can be arrested and perhaps murdered. Now there is fear that Iraqi Shia militia will ignore earlier agreements and cross into Syria when they get the chance.

• "In ‘Enormous Success,’ Scientists Tie 52 Genes to Human Intelligence"--New York Times. The impact of the identified genes are fairly minimal, according to the article, but the researchers believe that there are still hundreds of genes with undiscovered links to intelligence. The article then goes on to discuss the many difficulties with studying the link between genetics and intelligence. It also mentions that there are environmental factors that affect intelligence as well. However, these are not the "nature versus nature" argument, but chemicals or other factors in the environment that could stunt intelligence: the article specifically mentions lead.
• "Scientists have found a way to photograph people in 3D through walls using Wi-Fi"---Business Insider. I believe this technique has been known and used for a while now. In any event, it maps the inside of a structure from Wi-Fi signals in the home that are reflected or refracted. Fortunately, the resolution is somewhat limited. From the article:

        Holl initially built the device as part of his bachelor thesis with the help of his academic supervisor, Friedemann Reinhard. The two later submitted a study about their technique to the journal Physical Review Letters, which published their paper in early May.

       Holl says the technology is only in its prototype stage and has limited resolution, but he is excited about its promise.

       "If there's a cup of coffee on a table, you may see something is there, but you couldn't see the shape," Holl says. "But you could make out the shape of a person, or a dog on a couch. Really any object that's more than 4 centimeters in size."

• "Suddenly, the Silk Road"--Richard Fernandez at PJ Media. I've written before about China's plans on building a trade route through Central Asia in order to weaken the United State's position straddling the world between Asia and Europe. (See, e.g., here). Fernandez writes:

       For the United States the prospect of a high capacity land logistics corridor through the Eurasian landmass means that China would be less vulnerable to maritime blockade, especially by naval forces in the Indian Ocean. It also raises the prospect of a new bipolar world, one where for the first time the US could potentially be the weaker state.

       To the many impoverished countries along the planned Silk Road route -- many of them Islamic -- Beijing's announcement simply means a potential windfall. "Behind China's trillion-dollar effort to build a modern Silk Road is a lending program of unprecedented breadth, one that will help build ports, roads and rail links, but could also leave some banks and many countries with quite a hangover." China is offering -- some say giving away -- money which many of these countries probably have no hope of paying but they'll take it anyway.

Whether it will be a commercial success will await its final completion. However, I think we can predict with certainty that its construction will embroil China in the Middle-East and Central Asia--the politics and wars--perhaps beyond what China could anticipate.

• "Cucked by Courtly Love"--Dalrock. Dalrock continues an off and on series of articles of how the concept of "courtly love" has undermined Christianity and marriage. He writes:

As C.S. Lewis explains in The Allegory of Love:

French poets, in the eleventh century, discovered or invented, or were the first to express, that romantic species of passion which English poets were still writing about in the nineteenth. They effected a change which has left no corner of our ethics, our imagination, or our daily life untouched, and they erected impassable barriers between us and the classical past or the Oriental present. Compared with this revolution the Renaissance is a mere ripple on the surface of literature.

This is why we have Christians teaching that romance sanctifies sex, and speaking of God honoring romance.