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Tuesday, June 13, 2017

June 13, 2017 -- A Quick Run Around the Web

"This is Why First Aid Skills are Necessary for Every Self Defender"--Active Self Protection (3.5 min). The video discusses an incident where a man was shot without warning (apparently an assassination attempt), and how his companions reacted by applying first aid.

Firearms/Self-Defense/Prepping:
       First up, "Drowning Doesn’t Look Like Drowning" from Slate magazine. The basic gist of this article is that dramatic drowning scenes that we see on TV or in movies is not what drowning generally looks like. Instead, most of the time it is actually only discernible from lack of action and position of the body. The article explains:
    The Instinctive Drowning Response—so named by Francesco A. Pia, Ph.D., is what people do to avoid actual or perceived suffocation in the water. And it does not look like most people expect. There is very little splashing, no waving, and no yelling or calls for help of any kind. To get an idea of just how quiet and undramatic from the surface drowning can be, consider this: It is the No. 2 cause of accidental death in children, ages 15 and under (just behind vehicle accidents)—of the approximately 750 children who will drown next year, about 375 of them will do so within 25 yards of a parent or other adult. According to the CDC, in 10 percent of those drownings, the adult will actually watch the child do it, having no idea it is happening. Drowning does not look like drowning—Dr. Pia, in an article in the Coast Guard’s On Scene magazine, described the Instinctive Drowning Response like this:
    1. “Except in rare circumstances, drowning people are physiologically unable to call out for help. The respiratory system was designed for breathing. Speech is the secondary or overlaid function. Breathing must be fulfilled before speech occurs.
    2. Drowning people’s mouths alternately sink below and reappear above the surface of the water. The mouths of drowning people are not above the surface of the water long enough for them to exhale, inhale, and call out for help. When the drowning people’s mouths are above the surface, they exhale and inhale quickly as their mouths start to sink below the surface of the water.
    3. Drowning people cannot wave for help. Nature instinctively forces them to extend their arms laterally and press down on the water’s surface. Pressing down on the surface of the water permits drowning people to leverage their bodies so they can lift their mouths out of the water to breathe.
    4. Throughout the Instinctive Drowning Response, drowning people cannot voluntarily control their arm movements. Physiologically, drowning people who are struggling on the surface of the water cannot stop drowning and perform voluntary movements such as waving for help, moving toward a rescuer, or reaching out for a piece of rescue equipment.
    5. From beginning to end of the Instinctive Drowning Response people’s bodies remain upright in the water, with no evidence of a supporting kick. Unless rescued by a trained lifeguard, these drowning people can only struggle on the surface of the water from 20 to 60 seconds before submersion occurs.”
              The article goes on to mention some other signs:
              • Head low in the water, mouth at water level
              • Head tilted back with mouth open
              • Eyes glassy and empty, unable to focus
              • Eyes closed
              • Hair over forehead or eyes
              • Not using legs—vertical
              • Hyperventilating or gasping
              • Trying to swim in a particular direction but not making headway
              • Trying to roll over on the back
              • Appear to be climbing an invisible ladder
                                  ... Sometimes the most common indication that someone is drowning is that they don’t look like they’re drowning. They may just look like they are treading water and looking up at the deck. One way to be sure? Ask them, “Are you all right?” If they can answer at all—they probably are. If they return a blank stare, you may have less than 30 seconds to get to them. And parents—children playing in the water make noise. When they get quiet, you get to them and find out why.
                                  The article makes clear that you should not ignore someone thrashing around in the water in distress, but that it is not all for which you should look. 
                                         The second article, which is from Parents magazine, discusses "dry drowning" and "secondary drowning" which have been in the news quite a bit lately. First, the difference between the two:
                                  In dry drowning, someone takes in a small amount of water through his or her nose and/or mouth, and it causes a spasm in the airway, causing it to close up. In secondary drowning, the little bit of water gets into the lungs and causes inflammation or swelling that makes it difficult or impossible for the body to transfer oxygen to carbon dioxide and vice versa. Dry drowning usually happens soon after exiting the water, but with secondary drowning, there can be a delay of up to 24 hours before the person shows signs of distress. Both can cause trouble breathing and, in worst-case scenarios, death.
                                  And for the symptoms to look for:
                                  • Water rescue. "Any child pulled from the pool needs medical attention," says Dr. Berchelmann. "At the very least, call the pediatrician."
                                  • Coughing. Persistent coughing or coughing associated with increased work of breathing needs to be evaluated.
                                  • Increased "work of breathing." Rapid shallow breathing, nostril flaring, or where you can see between the child's ribs or the gap above their collarbone when they breathe, means they're working harder to breathe than normal, says Dr. Denny. This is a sign that you should seek medical help immediately.
                                  • Sleepiness. Your kid was just excitedly playing in the pool, and now she's fatigued? It could mean not enough oxygen is getting into to her blood. Don't put her to bed until her doctor gives you the go-ahead.
                                  • Forgetfulness or change in behavior. Similarly, a dip in oxygen level could cause your child to feel sick or woozy.
                                  • Throwing up. "Vomiting is a sign of stress from the body as a result of the inflammation and sometimes a lack of oxygen, also from persistent coughing and gagging," explains Dr. Berchelmann.
                                  See also other articles on "dry drowning" or "secondary drowning" here and here.


                                  Other Stuff:
                                  • There is a canine influenza epidemic: "Something vicious is killing dogs across the U.S."--Building A Better World News. 
                                  • World hunger is no longer a problem: "World's obesity crisis: One THIRD of the global population are now deemed overweight or obese, major study reveals"--Daily Mail. Ignore the health risks of being obese and savor the implication of this article: the World's greatest health problem is an overabundance of food.
                                  • Celebrity Political Deathmatch: "What [Trump] and his White House need to understand is that this is not going to end, that this is a fight to the finish, that his enemies will not relent until they see him impeached or resigning in disgrace."
                                  • The Genius of the March Through the Institutions: Conspiracy theories are the spice of life: many on the right (and left) buy into them; and to believe in a conspiracy of some group controlling the course of the world is equated with being a kook. Of course, we know there are real world conspiracies (e.g., the Clinton "pay-to-play" games between the Clinton Foundation and the Clinton run State Department; the planned use of the Fast and Furious gun smuggling program to attack gun rights in the United States) and "understandings" (such as Journolist and the IRS targeting of conservative groups). But the real genius of the Cultural Marxist march through the institutions is that it creates an environment where no conspiracies, or even "understandings," are needed. You merely create a critical mass of like-minded people, who will make the "correct" choices, including attacking or undermining those who disagree with the ideology, or will use what power and authority they have to advance the cause(s) of the ideology. An example of this is Reality Leigh Winner, the employee of a federal contractor, who released classified material to the press that she thought would support the accusations of the Russians interfering in the presidential election to help Pres. Trump win. No one had to tell her to do this; she just did it because it advanced the ideology she espoused, and hurt what she viewed as the enemy opposition.
                                  • Divide and Conquer: Boise, Idaho's "North End" neighborhood has gradually morphed into "Portlandia." Thus, the local news was reporting that LGBT (etc.) proponents will be holding a street party in the North End to celebrate Gay Pride month. However, not all is going swimmingly in the LGBT (etc.) community. As has been noted numerous times on this blog and discussed at length in many other sources, modern identity politics is based on victim-hood--that is, who is perceived to be the greatest victim of oppression.  And this has caused a rift between Black Lives Matter and the LGBT (etc.) in the battle for "oppression supremacy," otherwise known as "intersectionality," BLM wants to be the winner. For instance, last year, BLM shut down the Toronto Pride Parade. So how to solve this question? To be more "inclusive," as demonstrated on this article entitled "Philadelphia's new pride flag honors LGBTQ people of color." The solution, apparently, is to "revamp[ ] the iconic pride flag. The six colors we've come to associate with the flag are intact, but the flag includes two new stripes: black and brown." In other words, split the Black LGBTs from BLM. It also explains a news report I saw last night on the anniversary of the Pulse Nightclub shooting where the only people interviewed were blacks, which I thought odd when watching it.
                                  • How considerate: "'Political Hospice' Is 'Way Forward' For White Working Class, Says WashPo Editor"--Breitbart. The article quotes him:
                                  “The only way of addressing their plight is a form of political hospice care,” [Gest] said. “These are communities that are on the paths to death. And the question is: How can we make that as comfortable as possible?”
                                  • "Europe: A Better Plan for Refugees" by George Soros in The New York Review of Books. This is a 2016 article where Soros criticized the then-recent deal with Turkey to stem the flood of "refugees" through Turkey and into Europe. Soros claims his concern is "anti-immigrant sentiment in its member states that has fueled support for authoritarian political parties [which he describes later in the article as an existential threat to the EU], and despondency among those seeking refuge in Europe who now find themselves marginalized in Middle East host countries or stuck in transit in Greece." (What Soros calls despondency should be read as "that they might turn back of their own accord." What he describes as "authoritarian political parties" would probably best be described as parties that are neutral, at best, toward the EU bureaucratic state). 
                                         Soros's "solution" to the "crises" is to throw lots of money at it by funnelling billions of Euros to "Turkey and other 'frontline' countries with adequate funding to maintain their very large refugee populations, creating a common EU asylum agency and security force for the EU’s external borders, addressing the humanitarian chaos in Greece, and establishing common standards across the Union for receiving and integrating refugees." Where is that money going to come from? Debt. He recognizes that directly selling bonds to raise money for such a scheme is politically untenable. Rather, he suggests a couple of back door means of funding the project through existing EU mechanisms: the European Financial Stabilization Mechanism (EFSM) and the Balance of Payments Assistance Facility, observing that "[t]he combined gross borrowing capacity of the EFSM and the Balance of Payments facility is €110 billion ($125 billion)[.]" But, still, the money will eventually be repaid. This will be accomplished through higher taxes. And the whole end of this program is not to stop immigration, or even discourage it, but to reduce the total immigration stream through Turkey to between 300,000 and 500,000 per year, yet provide hope to those halted in Turkey that they will eventually be admitted to Europe.
                                         As far as I know, the EU has not fully implemented Soros' plan; yet, notwithstanding, according to this France 24 article, the crossing between Turkey and Greece "is practically closed." What does that mean? Well, in 2015, 850,000 crossed into Greece from Turkey; this number was down to 363,000 this past year.
                                           However, as the article notes, this has only shifted immigration to the Libya-Italy route, which is up 40% (although the majority are still West African). 
                                              The article goes on to report that "[a] criminal industry has flourished, while the European Union has beefed up its border agency Frontex to try to check the mass migration." Well, that's painting a rosy picture: Frontex doesn't do anything to stop the migrants; and the NGO's that allegedly "rescue" the migrants have been showing to be acting in collusion with the human traffickers to arrange pickup and transport to Europe.
                                      An American intel guy said in an article that his French counterpart was bragging about how their de-radicalization program was so effective. They’d grab up the radicals off the street, put them in a program, and something like 58% would de-radicalize and be able to be released. The American asked, “What about the other 42%?” The Frenchman said, “We keep them.”
                                             According to a local presentation to the men and boys, the Church appears to still be committed (at least for now) to Scouting for the younger boys (including Cub Scouts). Thus, there shouldn't be a reduction in the number of troops. And, the older boys are free to continue to participate in BSA if they want, but the Church will no longer be paying their dues. (I'm not sure when the Church changed to paying the dues, but when I was of scouting age, my parents and I were responsible for paying the dues). What we were told, however, is that the activities will not change; but the youth leaders were to emphasize teaching the youth actual real world skills. This admonition could be viewed different ways, but one way is displeasure that Scouting has become more about collecting points and paying a toll (i.e., earning merit badges and other awards, which, of course, have money costs) than teaching skills. (And, as evidenced by the inability I see among both youth and leaders--including leaders that are Eagle Scouts--to perform even as simple a task as lighting a fire, there is definitely a problem with skills not truly being taught. Too many times my son or I were the only persons to have fire starting gear and supplies, let alone know how to use them).
                                              The blame can't be placed fully at the feet of the BSA, however. The Church assigns Scout leaders to their positions; they are "volunteers" only in the sense that they aren't paid. But they too often lack the interest that a true volunteer will have for Scouting and, therefore, don't put the time or effort into it.
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                                      Weekend Reading -- A New Weekend Knowledge Dump

                                      Greg Ellifritz has posted a new Weekend Knowledge Dump at his Active Response Training blog . Before I discuss some of his links, I want to ...