May 18, 2019 -- A Quick Run Around the Web

"How To Use Your Vehicle To Get Out Of The Danger Zone"--Active Self Protection (6 min.)

• Don't forget to check out this weekend's Weekend Knowledge Dump from Active Response Training. One of the links Ellifritz provides is to a blog called The Suited Shootist. In a post explaining the purpose of his blog, the author writes: "The 'Tactical'/'Defensive' 'Community' needs to give a s[**]t about men’s style." He sarcastically notes:

      In the gun-carrying world, the cringe-worthy eraser phrase is that you need to [all together now!] “dress around the gun!” This is doubly amusing, because of the cognitive dissonance with two other ultra-popular tropes:

      Nobody pays attention anyways, so it doesn’t matter if I’m printing

and

Be the grey man.

     …So which one is it? You either need to put forth some effort to blend into your surroundings, and not draw undue attention to yourself, or people are so oblivious that unless I’m wearing a clown suit and carrying an RPG, I’m good to go!

I'm looking forward to more articles on this topic, which is of interest because I work in an office environment, and I also carry at church. Frankly, office carry requires compromises, and many times that is a smaller handgun and/or carrying off body.  

• Massad Ayoob has a whole chapter in his book The Truth About Self Protection about vehicles. Relevant to the video linked above, he writes:

       ... But suppose you are being attacked by people on foot, and you manage to gain the very temporary sanctuary of your automobile?

        It may not be a fortress, but your car is still an escape avenue and a mobile battering ram, a weapon deadlier than any gun. Innocent people have died when they were surrounded by fanatical rioters and panicked. 

        The Miami riots occurred while I was with several hundred cops at the National Law Enforcement Parade in Rhode Island. We watched it on our hotel TVs in the evening, we discussed it, and we agreed that none of us would be pulled out our cars and stomped to death.  

      We would have driven clear, using our cars as mobile guided bludgeons. Even if they tried to pick our sedan up with ten sets of arms, we would have accelerated when the first hands touched the vehicle, and would have driven through the mass of people who wanted to kill us and our innocent passengers with absolutely no compunction. 

      If you ever have to do that, order your passengers to lie down sideways on their seats and be ready to duck down yourself; an automobile will hit a standing man in his legs, and he could be catapulted right through your windshield with enough force that his corpse could kill you by its sheer impact. 

       Most of you have never seen what happens to a pedestrian hit by a fast-moving car. :You are talking--no exaggeration--about literal dismemberment and decapitation and internal human organs that burst out of the body from the pressure of a 3,000 pound vehicle's wheel rolling over them for a fraction of a second. 

       You won't see that, though. If your life and the lives of your children in the backseat are on the line, you'll just drive, feeling the bumps through the steering wheel (it feels a lot harder than you'd think) and you'll keep driving. "Steer for the open sea," and head for the biggest, nearest open roadway where you can put some speed and get away from the nightmare.

He continues with some examples of tactics applicable to someone trying to attack you when or just after you got into your vehicle. But the same basic principles apply: your vehicle is not a fortress, but it is a battering ram.

      By the way, although I was a young kid at the time of the 1980 Miami riots, I watched some of the news accounts of it. One that impressed me was film of an incident where a man was pulled from his car by rioters, who beat him, left him lying in the road, and drove over him with his own car. It appeared to me that one of his arms was torn off, but it may have just been severely broken/dislocated. 

     I did, once, get caught in a situation where a crowd had gathered and would not let me and my vehicle pass. I was stupid and young, so rather than think of some way to peacefully diffuse the situation, I backed up about 200 feet, revved the engine long and hard, and then accelerated at them. Needless to say, they scattered and I got through without any injury to anyone. 

    However, it reminds me a tale that related to me by someone I knew in college. He was driving down a rural highway in northern Idaho. At that time, the area was much more sparsely settled than it is now. And, for some reason, it attracted a mixture of, shall we say, unusual types of people: from hard core survivalists and white separatists, to hippies living in communes and, pertinent to this story, witches covens. In any event, this guy taking this road late at night when he saw people standing on the road. He slowed and saw that everyone on the group was dressed in black hoods and robes. Panicked he sped up, and actually struck at least one person. He immediately drove to the nearest sheriff's office and he and the sheriff drove back to the spot. Although there was damage to the vehicle, there was nobody at the scene and no one ever reported anything to the sheriff. Was the guy pulling my leg? Maybe. But if he was, he was good story teller.

•  Good news for reloaders: "Federal Premium Sets the Hydra-Shok Bullet Free – Now Sold as a Reloading Component"--The Firearm Blog. Many ammunition manufacturers are reluctant to distribute their premium bullets for use by reloaders. However, a few months ago, Speer began releasing their Gold Dot bullets for sale to reloaders. It appears that Federal has decided to go the same way. Hornady has long sold its better lines of bullets to reloaders.
• Juxtaposition this:

• "Excise Tax Payments Show Continued Downturn in Firearm Sales"--The Truth About Guns. As you probably know, sales of firearms and ammunition includes a federal excise tax of 10 or 11% which goes toward conservation programs. This article reports that the "2018 fourth quarter taxes were down almost 8% over the fourth quarter of ’17. On an annualized basis, the 2018 tax total was 2.4% less than 2017." Of course, as the author points out, this is in comparison to the go-go years under the Obama Administration, and gun sales are still healthy.

• "April 2019 National Instant Background Check (NICS) Number is new Record"--Ammo Land. The article indicates that there were 2,334,249 NICS checks in April 2019, a record for any month of April.

How to reconcile these two articles? Well, there is the obvious fact that the tax payments are from a past period, and the April NICS numbers represent an improving economy and/or people spending tax refunds. Alternatively, and I suspect this may also play a role, is that we are currently seeing some very low prices on firearms. So, while the aggregate volume of sales may be the same or higher, the dollar value of those sales may be slightly less.

• "Pros and Cons of Ankle Carry"--Shooting Illustrated. Richard Mann gives some advice on ankle carry. One of the points he raises is:

Ankle holsters won't work with just any pair of pants. Trousers need to be cut a bit longer than normal or not only will everyone see that your socks don't match, they'll know you have a gun strapped to your leg. Trouser legs also need to be cut wide. This helps you access the handgun and keeps it from printing.

I actually thought some of the comments were of more value than the article, however. For instance, one of the comments read:

The problem with ankle holsters is gravity. Your ankle is tapered the wrong way (big on top, little on bottom), and unless you're extremely careful your gun can drag your holster down to where it's resting on your foot. The best ankle holster I ever found was the Milwaukee Legster, which had an extension that went around your calf under the knee, where your leg is tapered the right way. Naturally, they are no longer made, but similar ones are. 

I haven't used an ankle carry holster, but this sounds correct because it is similar to an issue I had when experimenting with a forearm sheath for a knife. Pulling the knife would generally pull the sheath forward, and at times, with the arm dangling down, the sheath would slide down my arm and allow the knife hilt to show. 

• Groan: "Product Preview: Browning Hell's Canyon BTU-WD Hunting Clothing"--American Rifleman. This may be a nice product, I don't know. But the reason I linked to it is that its named after Hell's Canyon, but the camouflage pattern doesn't match anything you would actually find in Hell's Canyon. 
• "Last Cartridge Of An Empire: .303 British"--Shooting Sports USA. An overview of the .303 cartridge, including a bit of history, a look at what ammo is currently available, and some ideas for reloading. I liked the photograph showing what cordite (one of the early smokeless powders) looked like--its like pieces of noodle rather than the small grains that are used today.
• I didn't even know this was a sport: "Kenda Lenseigne Wins Sixth Cowboy Mounted Shooting Championship"--Shooting Sports USA. 
• "Carrying Handguns While Hiking: Pros vs. Cons"--NRA Family. The primary cons are unhelpful laws, weight and comfort (or lack thereof), while the pros are defense against people or animals. Even before I got a CCL, I always carried when in the woods, and the reason I did so was because I had read of some rapes and murders that had occurred in a national park. 

• Related: "Alleged Knife-Wielding Killer on the Appalachian Trail Is the Stuff of Literal Nightmares"--Slate. Note that the killer, James Jordan attacked a group of four hikers, fatally stabbing one man, while the other three scattered. He then chased down one of the three--a female hiker--by simply following her until she got tired. He stabbed her multiple times, but she at least had the sense to play dead, so he left her.

• Related: Here is a good video from vlogger Homemade Wonderlust entitled "Do You Need a Gun on the Appalachian Trail?" (15 min.) that discusses the pros and cons of carrying a firearm on a through hike of the Appalachian Trail, including a discussion of the laws concerning carrying a firearm through the various states. She also discusses some other items for self-defense. The long and short of it, though, is that if you are going to carry a firearm through many of the states, you will have to do so illegally. 

•  "The Truth About ‘Gun Violence’ in the United States"--The Truth About Guns. From the article:

       In other words, the firearms-related homicide rate dropped by 36% in the last 25 years for which we have data. Rates don’t tell the whole story; the total population grew by more than 99 million people from 1980 to 2017 and the number of firearms-related homicides decreased by 958.

      Let’s look at the specific wording used in a recent article supporting gun control. “In 2017, the United States had the highest rate of firearm fatalities since 1996.” This statement is specifically crafted to make a dramatic point. The rate of all firearms-related fatalities in 1996 was lower than it was in the previous 15 years, and the rate was lower every year from 1997 through 2016. The data tell a clear story, even in the presence of a recent and moderate increase. Perhaps more importantly, the data shows that suicide is increasing as a percentage of all firearms-related fatalities.

And, thanks to Australia's gun ban, we know that banning firearms only has a small and temporary impact on suicides, and no long term impact on reducing suicide rates.

• I'd previously noted the Woodpile Report's reference to an Army medic's criticism of the 5.56 cartridge. Herschel Smith also took note of the same "bizarre" complaint and wrote: 

But then the claim makes no sense.  My youngest son had absolutely no complaints about his weaponry when he deployed to Iraq, not did he when he came home.  He was quite pleased with the lethality of the 5.56mm round in CQB and urban combat (MOUT).  He used both his SAW and an M4, and actually both during room clearing operations.

The thing to keep in mind is that shot placement is important, even when using rifles.

• So the  CoTCCC recently approved several new tourniquets for use. Greg Ellifritz is the process of acquiring and testing these new tourniquets, and has initial thoughts about several of them here. Although he hasn't tested all of the new models, he notes that the ones he has tested are great for applying on other people, but he still prefers the CAT for self application.
• A loyal reader recommended the following article: "How to Build a decent Wilderness Survival Kit"--m40survival.com. This is a well written article. The author has a large photograph of his kit, with each item numbered. He then discusses each item in further detail below the photograph. I also like he explains why he chose certain items and didn't choose other items (for example, he omits matches because for the same amount of room for a half dozen matches he can fit in a small Bic lighter). Check it out.

"Shooting Ruger's NEW Wrangler 22 LR Single-Action Sixgun" - Gunblast.com (9-1/2 min.)

Even though this firearm was only just released to the public a few weeks ago, there are already a fair number of videos and written reviews of it. I selected this one out of many because the author indicated that he had done accuracy tests using a Ransom Rest. Very few professional gun writers seem willing to drop the $500 or $600 for such a rest, so this caught my attention. He reported that his best group was 1/2-inch groups at 25 yards using the Wolf target ammo, and worst was a 1-1/8-inch group using some Remington bulk ammunition.

• I've been corresponding with a reader about the Ebola and measles outbreak, and he mused about a terrorist organization attempting to genetically engineer a biological weapon. It reminded me of an incident reported in 2009 concerning al Qaeda terrorists in Algeria that had died of the plague. The Homeland Security News Wire reported in January 2009:

      40 al-Qaeda members died after being exposed to the plague during a biological weapons test; test took place in cave hideouts in Tizi Ouzou province, 150 kilometres east of the Algerian capital Algiers 

* * *

     Peter Goodspeed writes in the National Post that the very day Barack Obama was sworn in as president, warning Americans “our nation is at war against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred,” there were reports an al-Qaeda affiliate recently abandoned a training camp in Algeria after forty terrorists died from being exposed to the plague during a biological weapons test. The report, which first surfaced in the British tabloid The Sun, says members of al-Qaeda in the Land of the Maghreb (AQLIM) hurriedly abandoned their cave hideouts in Tizi Ouzou province, 150 kilometres east of the Algerian capital Algiers, after being exposed to plague bacteria.

      The newspaper said they apparently became infected while experimenting with biological weapons. Algerian security forces discovered the body of a dead terrorist alongside a road near the abandoned hideout.

     U.S. intelligence officials, speaking anonymously with Eli Lake of the Washington Times on Tuesday, could only confirm the sudden base closure after an unconventional weapons test went wrong. The officials said they intercepted an urgent communication in early January between the AQLIM leadership and al-Qaeda’s top leaders in the tribal region of Pakistan. The Algerian terrorists said they were abandoning and sealing off a training area after a leak of a chemical or biological substance.

• More: "Black Death 'kills al-Qaeda operatives in Algeria'"--The Telegraph.  

• More: "Al Qaeda bungles arms experiment"--Washington Times. 

• More: "Algeria: Al Qaeda and the Plague"--Stratfor.  

I've never been able to find out more about this incident other than the initial reports. I've discussed the black plague in many posts, including this one where I outlined some of the Soviet/Russian attempts to weaponize it:

(a) In 1986, a Soviet scientist, Sergei Popov, worked on “recombinant plague” that included DNA to produce peptids. The idea was that when a victim was treated for plague and given antibiotics, the antibiotics would break down the cell walls and release artificial peptides which would subsequently cause paralysis, high blood pressure, irregular heartbeat, changes in behavior, perception of pain, or other bizarre effects. Two days to two weeks later, the recovered patient would be struck with a heart attack, stroke, or fatal paralysis. Orent claims that this was successfully tested on animals.

 (b) In 1987, another Soviet scientist, Dergei Netesov, Deputy Director of Vector Labs., went to Obolensk to develop “chimera” plague with Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis (VEE) in plague bacteria. Similar to the 1986 research, the idea was that when the victim developed plague and was treated with antibiotics, the cell walls of the plague bacteria would break down releasing the VEE virus, producing encephalitis and death within 10 days.

(c) In 1992, another researcher, K.I. Volkovoi integrated genetic coding for diphtheria directly into plague plasmids, resulting in the plague bacterium being able to overcome immunity to live plague vaccine, increased its virulence (so it could be aerosolized), and was antibiotic resistant.

(d) Orsted reports that the Russians continue bioweapon research at various locations, including Kirov, Pokrov, Sergiyev Posad, and Ekaterinburg (fka Sverdlovsk).

• "So that's not suspicious at all"--Vox Popoli. Comments about the recent "suicide" of actor Isaac Kappy who is reported to have jumped off an over-pass bridge. What is note worthy is that Kappy is one of those trying to expose pedophile rings in Hollywood. As Vox Day wryly points out: "It is reported that 'several bystanders tried physically restraining Kappy from jumping but failed to hold him'. Perhaps they did. Or perhaps that is the Hollywood way to describe throwing someone off a bridge." As we have seen with the various spying scandals that have come to light over the last decade, the attempts to take down Trump, the various pedophile and underage sex rings involving wealthy and/or politically powerful people throughout the world, we live in a world where there appears to be a group--a cabal as Anonymous Conservative terms it--that seems to have substantial power behind the scenes and, for some reason, is heavily invested in child trafficking and abortion. We are only catching the smallest glimpses of a secret society which is "kept up by the power of the devil to administer these oaths unto the people, to keep them in darkness, to help such as sought power to gain power, and to murder, and to plunder, and to lie, and to commit all manner of wickedness and whoredoms" and "seeketh to overthrow the freedom of all lands, nations, and countries[.]" (Ether 8:16 and 25).
• Speaking of secret societies: "Disturbing Bit Of Trivia: In 2003 Interview, Comey Admitted To Voting Communist In The 70s – Just Like Brennan"--Red State. In other words, under the Obama Administration, two of our key intelligence agencies--the FBI and CIA--were directly controlled by communists. But, then, so was the presidency.

• Related: "STEELE IDENTIFIED RUSSIAN DOSSIER SOURCES, NOTES REVEAL"--Daily Caller. From the article: "Christopher Steele told a State Department official a former Russian spy chief and a top Kremlin adviser were involved in an operation to collect compromising information on Donald Trump." So, it was the Obama Administration, Hillary and the DNC that were colluding with the Russians. 

• Diversity is our strength: "Home Health Aide Accused Of Being Serial Killer Who Smothered At Least 12 Elderly Women" (via AT&T). Doesn't fit the usual profile of a male serial killer, but then I suspect the usual profile is probably not all that "usual." To add insult to injury, the killer--Billy Chemirmir--is Kenyan and apparently in the country illegally. 
• The road to Hell is paved with good intentions: "Historic LGBTQ Equality Act Passes House Of Representatives"--Newsweek (via AT&T). This appears to have been a party-line vote, so there is hope that it won't pass the Senate. What a lot of people that don't deal with these laws don't understand is that they are not about creating equal rights, but instead grant special rights as to housing, employment, etc., by making it easy to sue anyone for any imagined slight. For example, even if a person that is a member of a "protected class" is terminated for cause, if he/she/it can show that there was any amount of "discrimination"--even if the jury thinks that it was only 1%--they are entitled to at least recover attorney's fees whether or not they suffered any other actual damages. And it can happen to the most innocent people. A favorite tactic is to have "testers" call or visit a business to see if they can get someone to say or do something discriminatory. I've seen it several times with apartment managers being visited by someone supposedly handicapped and the manager might suggest that the person might be more comfortable on a ground floor apartment because of the alleged impediment. That statement, made out of concern, is illegal "steering" and can get the apartment manager or owner sued. 
• A reminder that we live in the 21st Century: "China’s Algorithms of Repression: Reverse Engineering a Xinjiang Police Mass Surveillance App"--Human Rights Watch. From the report:

     Analysis of the IJOP app reveals that authorities are collecting massive amounts of personal information—from the color of a person’s car to their height down to the precise centimeter—and feeding it into the IJOP central system, linking that data to the person’s national identification card number. Our analysis also shows that Xinjiang authorities consider many forms of lawful, everyday, non-violent behavior—such as “not socializing with neighbors, often avoiding using the front door”—as suspicious. The app also labels the use of 51 network tools as suspicious, including many Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) and encrypted communication tools, such as WhatsApp and Viber.

     The IJOP app demonstrates that Chinese authorities consider certain peaceful religious activities as suspicious, such as donating to mosques or preaching the Quran without authorization. But most of the other behavior the app considers problematic are ethnic-and religion-neutral. Our findings suggest the IJOP system surveils and collects data on everyone in Xinjiang. The system is tracking the movement of people by monitoring the “trajectory” and location data of their phones, ID cards, and vehicles; it is also monitoring the use of electricity and gas stations of everybody in the region. This is consistent with Xinjiang local government statements that emphasize officials must collect data for the IJOP system in a “comprehensive manner” from “everyone in every household.”

      When the IJOP system detects irregularities or deviations from what it considers normal, such as when people are using a phone that is not registered to them, when they use more electricity than “normal,” or when they leave the area in which they are registered to live without police permission, the system flags these “micro-clues” to the authorities as suspicious and prompts an investigation. 

     Another key element of IJOP system is the monitoring of personal relationships. Authorities seem to consider some of these relationships inherently suspicious. For example, the IJOP app instructs officers to investigate people who are related to people who have obtained a new phone number or who have foreign links.

If the Chinese government has and is using this technology, it makes you wonder what our government has available.