May 28, 2019 -- A Quick Run Around the Web

"Advanced Patrolling 2: Multiple Enemy Firing Points"--Max Velocity Tactical (10 min.)

This is a follow up to the prior video on "satellite patrolling" employing a three element unit.

• Time for a new Woodpile Report. A couple points in particular. First, Ol' Remus writes:

      Gun manufacturers and dealers have been de facto part-time government agents since the latter part of the last century but the means of making high quality arms are getting more "democratic and equal". 3D printed gun parts is news only to the donor class and their marching morons, more evidence gun control has always been a fever dream of the exceptionally ungifted and ignorant by choice.

     Add to the fascination with 3D printing the cadre of machinists experienced with machine tools, including CNC. It's worth remembering the Sten gun was largely a cottage industry, and the superior Sterling and M3A1 Grease Gun aren't much more difficult to make. Also recall nascent Israel armed itself partly with two and a half million cartridges made in a dingy workshop hidden under a bakery. Drawing and forming cases from coil stock is an exacting process but the technology is widespread and a century and a half old.

     Our ruling grandees made a serious mistake attempting to herd the "gun culture" into the catacombs. They've succeeded only in creating a Sherwood Forest flavor to it. With the equipment, expertise and motivation in place, cloning Glock parts with 3D printers won't be the end of it. It didn't have to be this way, it shouldn't be this way, but this is the way it is.

     I don't have any particular criticism of what he says on this issue, but I want to point out that firearms are only part--a perhaps a minor part, at that--of what is needed to resist a tyrant or repel a large, organized group of attackers. When black powder was introduced, it not only found use as a propellant for artillery and firearms, but also as an explosive. While we remember the British march on Lexington to seize weapons, we forget that certain of the weapons that they were after were artillery pieces--cannon. Cannon (and mortars) also played a role in the battles that followed, including their use by U.S. privateers. The 19th Century saw yet another revolution in weapons due to the discovery of nitrogen based explosives and propellants. Not only did this give us the modern firearm cartridge using smokeless powder, but allowed for better explosives, including explosive shells delivered from artillery and mortars, and better methods to deliver those shells. But unlike the prior black powder period, private individuals only benefited from a part of this revolution--the modern firearm. Civilians generally lack access to explosives, and almost completely lack access to the means of delivering those explosives. Watch the Max Velocity videos above and below, and consider how circumstances might have been different if one side or another had access to small mortars, grenade launchers, hand grenades, or explosive mines. And consider that the most recent data I could find indicates that "Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) caused nearly half (45%) of all U.S. deaths in operational war zones." Moreover, "[o]f those that were not killed by IED related incidents, 37% died under nonhostile conditions, primarily from accidents (including loss of aircraft or ground vehicle) or as the result of self-inflicted injury." Or, in other words, 20% of the total deaths. That means that only 35% of the deaths were the result of something other than improvised explosives or accident/suicide. But, of the remaining 35%, how many were due to non-IED explosives (e.g., RPGs)? Unfortunately, the report doesn't say. But the main takeaway is that even in an insurgency, explosives can be more important of a weapon than firearms.

     Second point: Ol' Remus is aware of the criticism leveled at his prior comments on the wounding effect of 5.56 and 9 mm, as well as the information on the performance of heavier soft-point rounds in 5.56/.223. But, to him, this doesn't matter:

But there's a problem. 5.56mm hunting ammo is typically sold by the box of twenty at a premium price. For rounds sold at steep discount in quantity—250, or 500, or 1,000 say—full metal jacket is almost always the only option. For this reason, the typical prepper's doomsday stock is all but certain to be ball ammo.

However, the same argument applies to other calibers, including 7.62 NATO (.308); that is, that the prepper will most likely have stocked up on FMJ 7.62 ammunition. 

     One of the earliest articles I wrote for this blog--"Some Thoughts on a 'Battery' of Survival Arms--Part II--.22 versus .30 Caliber"--addressed this issue by looking at the history of research into the effectiveness of different caliber projectiles for military use. (See also here and here). Basically, however, Army testing from as early as 1928 showed that, when considering FMJ projectiles, smaller calibers were more lethal than the .30 caliber projectile used in the .30-06. Further testing and research after the Korean War concluded that the ideal round would use a 50-grain .22 caliber bullet with a velocity of 3,500 feet per second. So, in short, if you are limited to using FMJ ammunition, you are better off with the 5.56 over the 7.62 as far as lethality is concerned.

• Related: "Why the Founders Wanted You to Own Military-Style Weapons"--Tenth Amendment Center. The author explains that it has to do with the ideas of a militia where the members of the militia were required to provide their own arms. 

     ... The founders did not want a standing army, and there were no calls for these men to surrender their personal firearms once a military crisis had been addressed.

    Ultimately, free men must be the ones responsible for defending their liberties and their country if that freedom is to last. The founders believed that, and it’s why they favored a militia-style military composed self-equipped men, which would reduce the risk of a standing army that would take that responsibility away. If free men are not responsible, then they are not really in charge – and thus they are not truly free.

• "The Riotgun And The Bayonet"--Mason Dixon Tactical. The author addresses what he thinks would be the better weapon for defense against rioters or mobs. Some of the points raised by the author for using a pump-action shotgun "with an extended magazine, rifle sights, and ... designed to mount a bayonet," are: the ability of a shotgun to obtain one-shot stops, and the ability to use other types of ammunition including non-lethal or slugs.  As for the bayonet, the author asks: "If multiple bad guys are coming through your front door, wouldn’t it be nice to not only have a blunt trauma capability (buttstroke), but a lethal force ability beyond just the shotgun shells in the magazine of the riotgun?" Oh, the particular model of shotgun he is discussing is the Mossberg 590.

     No criticism is intended against the author of the foregoing piece--his subject was limited to selecting a weapon--but there is a lot more to consider when discussing defense against a mob than what weapon to use. I wrote about this in a lengthy piece back in 2014 (see "Thoughts on Defense Against a Mob"), but I noted that the odds of a small group of people, let alone a lone person, fending off a mob are not very good. Although I found some successful counter-examples, these were few in number, and generally involved disciplined soldiers fighting from a position of advantage. The disciplined part is important: since I wrote that article, I've come across two accounts of American settlers that literally circled their wagons to fend off attacks and, notwithstanding the presence of former soldiers in their ranks, were unsuccessful in their defense--in one case, they were overrun and in the other they surrendered (and were subsequently killed) because they had run out of water. In my article, I mused:

 I've noted before the importance of psychologically defeating any enemy--destroying their will to fight, as Bevin Alexander describes it in his writings. The foregoing passage from Ms. Avant suggests that a successful defense from a mob would require (a) reversing the deindividuation or loss of self-awareness--essentially, make the person feel isolated from his/her compatriots; and (b) raising the individual member's sense of responsibility or personal consequence. 

Most mobs would probably disperse if fire upon, even by only one or two individuals; but for a mob truly driven by desperation or hatred, more will be required. I suggested that massed fire from a number of defenders--perhaps even the volley fire practiced in earlier centuries--might be the best option. I welcome any comments.

• "Medicinal Herbs Used in The US Civil War Could Help Us Kill Drug-Resistant Bacteria"--Science Alert. The article notes that "[t]he native plants white oak (Quercus alba), devil's walking stick (Aralia spinosa), and tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) were all found to inhibit the growth of a handful of some rather concerning pathogens."
• "Doctors raise alarm about ancient HTLV-1 virus: 'Prevalence is off the charts' in Australia"--CNN. From the article:

     The rates of human T-cell leukemia virus type 1, or HTLV-1, infection are exceeding 40% among adults in remote regions of central Australia, with indigenous communities being the hardest hit, especially in the town of Alice Springs.

     Many doctors -- including the man who discovered the virus nearly four decades ago -- are raising the alarm about how little has been done to prevent, test for and treat HTLV-1, which can cause leukemia and lymphoma.

* * *

    HTLV-1 -- an ancient virus whose DNA can be found in 1,500-year-old Andean mummies -- can spread from mother to child, particularly through breastfeeding; between sexual partners, through unprotected sex; and by blood contact, such as through transfusions. Because it can be transmitted through sex, it's considered a sexually transmitted infection, or STI.

     The virus is associated with myriad serious health problems, such as diseases of the nervous system and a lung-damaging condition called bronchiectasis, and it weakens the immune system. HTLV-1 is sometimes called a cousin of the human immunodeficiency virus, HIV.

• "What’s the best ammunition for small .357 Magnum revolvers?"--Loadout Room. I would think something with reasonable recoil and using a low-flash powder. The author conducted a test using a snubby J-frame and a full-sized revolver. He used four types of ammo: a .38 Special, a .38 +P, and two types of .357 Magnum: Speer GDHP SB 135 .357 and Rem UMC JSP 125 .357. The test involved shooting the Hardwired Tactical “Super Snubby Test” and comparing the scores. Obviously, the highest scores were obtained with the .38 Special rounds. The Speer Gold Dot for short barrels was close behind. But there was a significant difference with the Remington load, especially out of the J-frame revolver, and this came down to the recoil. The author describes:

The 125-grain Remington was a different experience entirely. This load was far more powerful than the others, and is what I imagine most people conjure of when they think of .357 Magnum ammo. The main problem was that the gun physically moved in my hands. After about every other shot I had to adjust my grasp. The recoil had caused the gun to jump “up” in my hand, breaking my firm, two-handed grip. This lack of purchase forced me to reacquire a firing grip before continuing the drill, and slowed my rate of fire. This is NOT the type of thing that you can just ignore, and ignoring the blast and recoil won’t change physics.

• "REPURPOSING GEAR: THE POWER OF DYE"--American Partisan. Some gear that the author wanted was only available in the ACU pattern which, as I've discussed before, only matches lichen growing on granite. The author solved that problem by dying it green. He describes his process and instructions, as well as a few tips. This can also assist in other ways. I've found that too many "multi-purpose" patterns incorporate white or other very light colors that are easy to pick up if there is any movement. A brown dye would help with this problem. And, even though I live in a desert, the colors here are not the light colors prevalent in Iraq. Thus, desert camo deserves to be darkened a bit.
• "Civilian OPSEC: A Different Take"--Beans, Bullets, Bandages & You. The author has posted some lengthy comments from a reader concerning a prior article on OPSEC. This reader notes that there are three basic levels of OPSEC to consider: local, state and federal. This reader offers some thoughts on the threats at each of these levels, but adds:

[C]ivilian OPSEC is keeping untrustworthy folks from getting you in trouble with government folks or robbed, legally (anti-hording or red flag laws) or illegally. First trust is earned not given. If so and so vouches for them so what? YOU have to decide if they are trustworthy not someone outside your group. Almost every episode of FBI informers being discovered inside a group they were Vouched for by someone some distance away but trusted. Sad to say choosing to live a preparedness lifestyle is often looked on as potentially dangerous to others.

Also:

Civilian OPSEC is multi-layered. Even if I think well of you why should I show you my food reserves or whatever? Bragging is not a OPSEC thing. An unhappy family member or unhappy neighbor cannot red flag you for legal weapons removal if they are unaware of them. 

We, as a nation, have previously seen federal laws prohibiting food hoarding (see my post, "An Example of Why OPSEC is Important"). In that article, I discussed a 1918 prosecution of a Navy officer for hoarding food. It appeared from the article that the "offenders" were caught because they were informed on by a friend of the local "Food Administrator." Its not clear whether from the story how the "friend" knew about the stored food, but it is notable that the Navy officer had earlier sold some of the stored food to a grocer.

• "The Berkey Water Filter is Expensive – Is it Worth the Money?"--Modern Survival Blog. The author believes it is, and explains why. Basically, it is a matter of you get what you pay for.
• "Skill Set: Trust but Verify?"--Tiger McKee at Tactical Wire. With so much incorrect or outdated information out there on self-defense issues, the author suggests that rather than trusting sources and, only later, getting around to verifying if what they told you, you should first attempt to verify what they are telling you before you trust them.

• Related: "No one knows anything"--Vox Popoli. Although this is not a self-defense or prepping article, per se, I think it behooves us to keep the point of the article in mind:

The result [of a study of the ability of experts to forecast the future]: The experts were, by and large, horrific forecasters. Their areas of specialty, years of experience, and (for some) access to classified information made no difference. They were bad at short-term forecasting and bad at long-term forecasting. They were bad at forecasting in every domain. When experts declared that future events were impossible or nearly impossible, 15 percent of them occurred nonetheless. When they declared events to be a sure thing, more than one-quarter of them failed to transpire. As the Danish proverb warns, “It is difficult to make predictions, especially about the future.”

• You might not think that the issue of mass immigration is not a survival/prepping related item. If so, you would be wrong: "THE LATIN AMERICAN ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT: A POWERFUL 4TH GENERATION WARRIOR"--American Partisan. From the article:

When viewed through the lens of 4GW, the illegal immigrant is one of the most powerful warriors on earth though he does not use much overt violence. His primary weapon is weakness, which is the biggest weapon a 4th Generation warrior can have because it gathers him numerous allies from our decadent culture without him having to do any work at all. This is a seeming contradiction: he is weak but powerful. His weakness is socioeconomic. His country is poor and he wants to come to America “for a better life.” He smiles meekly at the American jefes who hire him. He shows up on time and will work dirty and dangerous jobs without complaining. His poor wife is constantly pushing around another nino in the baby carriage. Sure, he commits some crime here and there, but it’s managed by local police. His other weakness is that he is a Person of Color which means he’s a member of The Oppressed in the cultural Marxist worldview. He supposedly doesn’t speak English well enough to understand police and therefore isn’t expected to follow our laws so he is punished lightly. Because these weaknesses, he is not considered a threat by anyone of importance so nothing is done about him. Quite the contrary, he is a great asset to rich, powerful, and upwardly-mobile liberals and pseudoconservatives who need him.

Read the whole thing.

• Related: Selco is well known among preppers because of his experience in the Balkan Wars. Balkanization. That is what we call diversity that breaks apart countries (not nations, because they are not one people). The Organic Prepper has an excerpt from Selco's book: "What Combat Is Really Like (WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT)."

• "Kindness to Strangers Isn’t Rewarded"--Aprill Risk Consulting. "Kindness to strangers is a powerful 'GO' signal to violent criminal actors (VCAs) making decisions about who they select for victimization. ... For nice, ordinary, normal people kindness is a virtue. For a VCA it’s an engraved invitation to do their worst." 

"Advanced Patrolling 3: Multiple Enemy Firing Points - Break Contact"--Max Velocity Tactical (7 min.). This is the 3rd part of the "satellite patrolling".

• We are already in a civil war: "Members of Italian intelligence were approached by Hillary Clinton, the Obama Administration, and the Deep State in order to frame trump by PLANTING EVIDENCE on American servers to force Trump to step down from office."--via Vox Popoli. 

• Related: Anonymous Conservative offers something to think about:

Nancy Pelosi said she wished someone would stage an intervention with Trump. Anons on Q’s board noted when John McCain talked about JFK’s assassination, he referred to it as an “Intervention.” Was she calling for another intervention for Trump? Is intervention a word they use to describe assassinations? Meanwhile CNN, on a story about Trump’s Air Force One, chooses not to run a picture of Trump and Melania on the steps fo [sic] Air Force One, but rather to run an image of JFK and Jackie arriving in Dallas. That is not coincidence. And then you had John Brennan tweet out a paraphrase of James 3:13. The frame of the Zapruder film which showed JFK’s head burst open was frame 3:13 – something which featured in the name of a movie about the assassination. 

• Related: "Trump Prioritizes Prosecutions"--Political Speculation (h/t Anonymous Conservative).  The author of this piece explains that the President's de-classification order won't result in documents being made public, but, rather, that they will be made available to the Attorney General to aid his investigations into the shenanigans at the FBI and CIA.

• "Why The United States And European Union Are Destined To Collide"--The Federalist. An excerpt:

    “The world is developing into one not of nation-states, but of empires. China is an empire. India is an empire. The U.S. is an empire. We need to create a European Union that is capable of defending our interests,” said Guy Verhofstadt, the cantankerous leader of the liberal group of the EU Parliament. He supports further centralization.

     The same sentiment is prevalent in Germany, the EU’s driving power. “Europe must reposition itself to stand up to the challenges posed by its three big global rivals, China, Russia and the U.S.,” The Guardian reported Angela Merkel saying before the elections.

     So why do even otherwise sensible international relations theorists like Stephen Walt lament for the EU? It defies logic, as well as history. Under no circumstances can two hegemons coexist in one hemisphere, and the EU is slowly morphing into an imperial entity, with one parliament and one foreign policy. It might not have the same military power as the United States has, but does have enough trade power to throw its support behind China or Russia, unless divided.

     I asked Hazony about that. According to Hazony, a future conflict between the EU and United States is almost inevitable. The EU is already a German-dominated empire, he said, but one that has cleverly managed to toss the continent’s entire security burden to American taxpayers, even when it has spent a record amount of 23 billion Euros on welfare for refugees.

    Because American policymakers and taxpayers, either due to misguided optimism, delusion, or naivete, do not see what the EU is slowly morphing into, Germany can carry on the coercive imperium, but without the burden of paying for it and providing all the manpower. Hazony noted this is unsustainable. As the EU consolidates, and U.S. power and control over the EU declines, the EU will inevitably chart its own path, and side with U.S. adversaries.

     At the end of the day, the United States is, like the United Kingdom, a maritime, free-trading great power and nation-state, and will inevitably come into conflict with an imperial entity trying to set rules. 

• "Of Nearly 1,000 Rape Kits Tested in DA Project, 60% Have No Male DNA"--Times of San Diego. The article attempts to explain this away as a consequence of the rapist not leaving DNA because he used a condom, didn't ejaculate, used a foreign object, evidence was lost because of too long of time before the rape kit was used, the woman had washed away DNA traces, etc. That perhaps some percentage of this was because the rape report was false is reported as being "very rare," which seems unlikely. Of the positive results, and no surprise, the vast majority were people known by the woman.
• Weapons of any type are strictly controlled in Japan: "Two killed, including schoolgirl, in Japan stabbing spree"--CNN. 17 others were injured in the attack on a group of children waiting for a bus. The other killed was an adult male that apparently was standing at the bus stop. The attacker, a 55 year old male, also died after cutting or stabbing his own throat. 
• "Americans Are in Desperate Need of a Lesson on the History of Slavery"--William Sullivan at American Thinker. He quotes Thomas Sowell for the following: "Of all the tragic facts about the history of slavery, the most astonishing to an American today is that, although slavery was a worldwide institution for thousands of years, nowhere in the world was slavery a controversial issue prior to the 18th century[.]"
• Sounds like Brazil has a serious prison gang problem: "More than 40 inmates across three Brazilian prisons are found strangled to death inside their cells - just one day after a mass brawl at another jail left 15 prisoners dead"--Daily Mail. 
• Some European leaders are rejecting the mass importation of foreign peoples: "Salvini Says No to ‘Eurabia’ in Italy After Report on Swedish Migrant Areas"--Breitbart. Sweden's response was to deny that it had "no go zones" of hostile Muslim immigrants, but that they were "socially vulnerable areas" instead. Well, that changes everything!
• Diversity + Proximity = War: "Germany tells Jews to pretend they're gentiles"--Brain Flushings. Specifically, "Felix Klein, Germany's government commissioner on anti-Semitism, recommends that Jews in his country would be wise to avoid wearing yarmulkes [aka kippahs or skullcaps] in public to avoid being attacked by anti-Semites." (brackets in original). The author goes on to note that Klein, however, did not recommend that Muslim women cease wearing Hijabs to avoid anti-Muslim attacks. The explanation for the discrepancy is simple, though: Klein knows that the anti-Semitic attacks are mostly by Muslims.
• Diversity is a strength: "Biker gang raid: What do we know about Al-Salam-313?"--DW. The article indicates German police raided 49 properties in 11 cities across the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Per the article:

      The objective of Wednesday's major raid on the Al-Salam-313 biker gang was to collect and prepare evidence, and its preparation took several months, said Herbert Reul, interior minister for the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). The gang is suspected of having committed a variety of crimes ranging from illegal weapons trading, people smuggling, passport forgery, and drug distribution. Police have identified 34 suspects, who are mainly of Iraqi and Syrian descent. The minister said the raid dealt a "blow to organized crime."

     Prior to the raid, DW had independently researched the group in connection to claims of its criminal dealings and threats on fellow Iraqi emigres. DW spoke, under conditions of anonymity, to one Iraqi national living in Germany,  who said that the group had sent her death threats for leading a Western lifestyle. The person said she knew of other exiled Iraqis in Europe who also report having been intimidated by Al-Salam-313.

• Political correctness run amok: "So, Can You Guess Why There's Media Silence Over This Gang Assault In Minnesota?"--Townhall. From the lede:

There’s media silence in Minneapolis over an attack executed by a group of Somali teens that reportedly attacked bystanders East Bank Light Rail station last Friday. It looks like it was racially motivated. According to reports, anyone who was white or looked like they had money was targeted. The teens used hammers and bars [ed.: actually just pipes] as weapons. Our friends at RedState noted something interesting as well. Elizabeth Vaughn added that there’s been literally no media coverage of this attack. The only outlet to even mention or ask about it was the crime watch site “2ndPrecinct  Minneapolis Crime Watch and Information. They posted on their Facebook page to note that this attack did happen and that “We were told that we were the ONLY media to inquire to MPD about it. Further proof of our "incurious" local lamestream media”

• More: "Audio: Mob with Hammers Descends on Minneapolis East Bank LRT Patrons"--Alpha News. The Somali youths are reported to have been between 12 and 15 years old. In my non-expert opinion, I think you would be justified in using lethal force to defend yourself against a group of 12 to 15 year olds wielding pipes, but it would not play well in the media and the prosecutor would try his or her best to convict you of something.

• More diversity news: "University offers ‘Problematizing Whiteness’ course"--The College Fix. The article reports that "[t]he trend of anti-white 'wokeness' at CU Denver continued this semester. This spring, its ethnic studies department offered a course called 'Problematizing Whiteness: Educating for Racial Justice.'" Also:

According to the syllabus, during “Problematizing Whiteness,” one of the essential objectives is for students to understand “whiteness” is not restricted to actually being a white-skinned person, and instead it is a set of beliefs, characteristics, values and norms that determine somebody’s “whiteness.”

You might be asking yourself, what are these beliefs, characteristics, values and norms of which they speak? According to Richard Carranza, the Chancellor of New York City’s Department of Education (the same person that has been accused of demoting administrators simply because they are white), it includes traits such as individualism, objectivity, perfectionism, being results oriented, and prioritizing documentation and writing skills. And it includes things like mathematics, good grammar, and even time. 

• Related: "DOE-sponsored group said Asians benefit from white privilege: parent"--New York Post. From the article: "The panel was helmed by the Center for Racial Justice in Education, a group being paid about $400,000 by the DOE, led by Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza, to conduct near-weekly training sessions throughout the city to address what it believes is rampant racism infecting schools."

• 21st Century Headlines: "Woman Beat Her Wife With Bedpost On Florida Trip: Police"--Newsweek (via AT&T).
• Earlier this month, I cited an article of a "mass shooting" with crossbows in Germany. It turns out that all of the victims belonged to a Medieval sex cult. We live in strange times.
• Some China news:

• "'A Big Wake Up Call': Chinese Bond Market Roiled By First Ever Bank Failure"--Zero Hedge.

• "Scientists discover China has been secretly emitting banned ozone-depleting gas"--National Post. As in, 40 to 60% of global emissions of CFCs come from China.

• "China's Information Warfare Force Gets a New Commander"--The Diplomat. Lieutenant General Li Fengbiao has replaced General Gao Jin as the new People’s Liberation Army Strategic Support Force (PLASSF) commander. According to the article, Li has spent most of his 40-year long military career in the PLA Air Force Airborne Corps.

• "Huawei "Spent All Their Resources Stealing", Stunning New Exposé Shows"--Zero Hedge. The exposé in question was published by the Wall Street Journal. An excerpt: "In 2003, Cisco accused Huawei of stealing its software and its manuals. 'They have made verbatim copies of whole portions of Cisco’s user manuals,' Cisco said in its lawsuit. The plagiarism was so flagrant that Huawei even copied bugs in Cisco's software and typos that appeared in Cisco's manuals also appeared in Huawei's."

• I want one: "‘Wow, what is that?’ Navy pilots report unexplained flying objects"--New York Times (via MSN). From the article:

     The strange objects, one of them like a spinning top moving against the wind, appeared almost daily from the summer of 2014 to March 2015, high in the skies over the East coast. Navy pilots reported to their superiors that the objects had no visible engine or infrared exhaust plumes but that they could reach 30,000 feet and hypersonic speeds.

     “These things would be out there all day,” said Lieutenant Ryan Graves, an F/A-18 Super Hornet pilot who has been with the Navy for 10 years and who reported his sightings to the Pentagon and Congress. “Keeping an aircraft in the air requires a significant amount of energy. With the speeds we observed, 12 hours in the air is 11 hours longer than we’d expect.”

     In late 2014, a Super Hornet pilot had a near collision with one of the objects, and an official mishap report was filed. Some of the incidents were captured on video, including one taken by a plane’s camera in early 2015 that shows an object zooming over the ocean waves as pilots question what they are watching.

Reminds me of the "foo fighters" reported in World War II. Many years ago, I went through back-issues of a news magazine, I believe it was Newsweek, published during World War II, and noted more than a few articles about foo fighters and other similar phenomena. It was a major concern to the War Department, and there were reports from both the European and Asian theaters.

• For you "electric universe" types: "Exploding stars led to humans walking on two legs, radical study suggests"--The Guardian. From the article:

     According to the researchers, a series of stars in our corner of the Milky Way exploded in a cosmic riot that began about 7m years ago and continued for millions of years more. The supernovae blasted powerful cosmic rays in all directions. On Earth, the radiation arriving from the cataclysmic explosions peaked about 2.6m years ago.

    The surge of radiation triggered a chain of events, the scientists argue. As cosmic rays battered the planet, they ionised the atmosphere and made it more conductive. This could have ramped up the frequency of lightning strikes, sending wildfires raging through African forests, and making way for grasslands, they write in the Journal of Geology. With fewer trees at hand in the aftermath, our ancient ancestors adapted, and those who walked upright thrived.

* * *

     One of the study’s authors, Adrian Melott of the University of Kansas, said ancient human relatives were already dabbling with standing upright before the effects of any supernovae took hold. But he believes the violent explosions still played a role. “Bipedalism had already gotten started, but we think this may have given it a strong shot in the arm,” he said.

    “Lightning has long been thought to be the primary cause of fires before humans had a role, and with a lot of fires you get the destruction of a lot of habitat,” Melott said. “When the forests are replaced with grasslands, it then becomes an advantage to stand upright, so you can walk from tree to tree, and see over the tall grass for predators.”

    The cosmic rays from one star known to have exploded about 164 light years from Earth would have increased the ionisation of the atmosphere 50-fold, the scientists calculate. Cosmic rays ionise the atmosphere when they knock electrons out of the atoms and molecules they slam into in the air. Cosmic rays normally only ionise the upper reaches of the atmosphere, but powerful ones from nearby supernovae can penetrate the entire depth of the atmosphere, ionising it all the way to the ground. “We are sure this would have increased lightning strikes, but lightning initiation is not well understood, so we cannot put a number on it,” Melott said.

    If the scientists are right, future supernovae could potentially trigger more wildfires on Earth. But the planet appears safe for the moment. The nearest star on course to explode in the next billion years is Betelgeuse, one of the brightest in the constellation of Orion, which lies a safe 642 light years away.

Or Betelgeuse might have exploded 643 years ago.

• A reminder that we live in the 21st Century: "Trump: ‘We'll be going to Mars very soon’"--Fox News. From the article:

     “I am pleased to confirm that Prime Minister Abe and I have agreed to dramatically expand our nations’ cooperation in human space exploration,” Trump said during a joint press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo. “Japan will join our mission to send U.S. astronauts to space.”

     Trump added, “We'll be going to the moon. We'll be going to Mars very soon. It's very exciting. And from a military standpoint, there is nothing more important right now than space.”

    Trump did not provide additional details. But earlier this year, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said of the U.S.’s space ambitions: “The moon is the proving ground; Mars is the horizon goal.”