Pages

▼

Monday, March 14, 2022

The Docent's Memo (March 14, 2022)

VIDEO: "Massad Ayoob: Defending Your Home with the AR-15 Elite Carbine - Critical Mas Episode 16" (14 min.). Good points if you are thinking about using an AR for a defensive weapon. Please watch through the end because he raises some points about when you may be better served with a handgun.

Firearms, Shooting & Self-Defense:

    With a case measuring 0.613 inches, and an overall length of an even inch, a kid can toss a handful of .22s in his or her pocket and have a great day afield. There are variants in .22 LR loads, with subsonic variants, and some higher velocity offerings, including the famous CCI Stinger, which uses a 32-grain bullet and an elongated case to attain a muzzle velocity of 1640 fps. Because the rim and body diameters are the same, and just the case is longer, the .22 LR chamber can also handle both .22 Short and .22 Long ammunition, though there may not be enough energy to cycle the autoloaders. Bottom line: the .22 Long Rifle has stayed around since 1884 for a very good reason; it works and works well.

    The famous .22 Mag—officially known as the .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire—came onto the scene in 1959, though the first Winchester firearm produced didn’t hit the shelves until 1960. Pushing the same 40-grain bullet of the .22 Long Rifle to a muzzle velocity of just under 2000 fps, the .22 Mag quickly became a popular cartridge, as it possesses a much higher striking energy and flatter trajectory than does the .22 LR, yet a much lighter recoil and quieter report than any of the .22-caliber centerfires.

    The .22 WMR uses a case of larger diameter than that of the .22 LR—0.226 inches for the .22 LR and 0.242 inches for the .22 WMR—so in spite of the fact that the bullet diameters are the same, the .22 LR cannot be fired in the .22 WMR chamber. The case of the .22 WMR measures 1.055 inches and the overall cartridge length of 1.350 inches, with a rim diameter of 0.294 inches. The velocity of the .22 Mag is certainly high enough to make it a predator round out to 100 or 125 yards, and many have referred to the cartridges as the “poacher’s choice” as the low report of the cartridge combined with the striking power have appealed to those who choose not to adhere to the game laws. Traditionally, a 40-grain round nose jacketed bullet was the projectile of choice, but of late, both Hornady and CCI have offered a polymer-tipped spitzer which has improved the cartridge’s performance. The V-Max bullet—loaded in the .22 WMR at 30 grains, moving at 2200 fps—uses a polymer tip to maintain a higher B.C. than the traditional round-nosed rimfire, affording a flatter trajectory and better retained energy. There are also heavier bullet weights—like the 50-grain Federal Game-Shok load—for those who are concerned about larger bodied coyotes.

    Where the .22 Long Rifle will certainly reach out to 100, 200 and even 300 yards with some sort of accuracy, the .22 WMR does that much better. ... 

However, and there is always an however, the author notes that the WMR is more expensive, may be harder to find (although at the moment it is easier to find in my neck of the woods), and will damage much more meat in small game like rabbit or squirrel.  The author concludes that "[u]nless you are bent on a rimfire cartridge capable of taking larger predators out to 150 yards, you can probably get it done with an accurate .22 Long Rifle inside of 75 or 100 yards."

    A California woman who answered the door to a young man pretending to be a candy vendor was ambushed by armed robbers during a brazen daytime home invasion. 

    The incident took place in Stockton, located 50 miles south of Sacramento, shortly before 2pm on Monday. 

    Video from the victim's doorbell camera, which has been released by the Stockton Police Department, shows a young man in a cloth facemask standing outside the front door of a home on Joplin Lane with a box of candy in his hand.

    The victim, who is not seen on camera, hands the bogus candy vendor a $5 bill, and in exchange he gives her some sweets.

    Moments later, a trio of people appear around the corner and race towards the front door with guns drawn.

    The woman is heard screaming in terror as the bandits barge into her home.

    The fake candy salesman turns around and begins to leave, but then he briefly returns to the door and puts on a ski mask, which he quickly takes off and then walks away.

    According to investigators, the armed gangsters got away with unspecified 'personal belongings.' No injuries were reported during the robbery.  

    After ransacking the victim's home, the quartet of suspects fled in [of course] a black SUV.

    So what did this woman do wrong? John Farnam has warned us to not to do stupid things; and opening your door to an unknown black male is stupid. 

    We occasionally get teens coming through our neighborhood ostensibly selling things for a charity of some sort. As P.T. Barnum famously said, a sucker is born every minute. But if for some reason you decide to deal with them, look for indicia that they are, in fact, associated with a charity. This can include such things as a name badge or t-shirt with the logo of the charity, providing professionally printed flyers about the charity, and carrying products that are in a box with the charities name and, in most cases, having packaging that also identifies the charity. In other words, they are not going to be selling name brand candy out of a Costco variety pack as in this case.

    If they do not claim to be selling for a charity, but are selling products to pay for college or some other thing, don't even bother. Door to door sales generate very little money on an individual basis, so any person that is serious about getting money for college is going to have an actual job.


VIDEO: "It Is About To Happen (And Probably Will)"--City Prepping (12 min.)
A look at the risks we are facing. He advises to get stocked up on water and food before there is a run on the store. 

Prepping & Survival:

  • "How to Safely Travel Long Distances in a SHTF Scenario" by Martin Banks, Apartment Prepper. The main points that Banks raises are (i) planning your route carefully, taking into consideration how far you can drive on the fuel you have, as well as how much supplies you will need to take; (ii) try not to stand out (i.e., grey man tactics); (iii) map out camping spots ahead of time; (iv) consider caching supplies; (v) keep an eye on the weather; and (vi) only move when it is safe.

    Most of this is common sense advice that should be headed. My one criticism is Bank's statement that you should have 1 gallon of water per day per person. I see this amount frequently, but this represents the amount a person needs if he is not exerting himself and is cool enough to not be sweating. It doesn't include water for cooking; it doesn't include water for hygiene; and it definitely is not enough water for someone in hot weather or someone engaging in heavy exertion where the water demand may go up to as much as a gallon per hour in extreme cases. 

    I do like his comments regarding blending in: 

    Another thing to consider is blending in. Depending on the SHTF scenario in question, standing out to others could make you a target. Even in a milder situation, carrying many weapons and supplies could make you look suspicious. Authorities may stop you, introducing more complications or delaying your journey.

    It’s best not to stand out. Carry all the supplies you need, but conceal them as much as possible. At most, you want to look like a typical family on vacation, so you don’t arouse suspicion and can pass through quickly and safely. Choose your clothing, vehicle, and storage methods accordingly. 

There are people that can pull off the "don't mess with me" look, but that probably isn't the majority of preppers. It is sort of like carrying a firearm for self-defense: you want the firearm on you if possible, and you don't want to look like an easy mark, but you also don't want to make yourself a target because someone wants to take your gun. If you are hauling items where people can see them--in an open utility trailer, the bed of pickup, or the cargo compartment of an SUV or hatchback--put the items in non-descript boxes, suitcases, or buried under a pile of blankets where they won't attract attention.

  • "10 Silent Hunting Weapons To Maintain Concealment" by Tom Marlowe, The Survivalist Blog. A look at the bow, crossbow, slingshot, blowgun, spear, atlatl, bola, throwing club, net and traps for hunting or procuring game. Interestingly, he doesn't bother to mention slings, staff slings, and similar. One thing to point out is that with the possible exception of the crossbow (which isn't exactly "silent"), these weapons all require more practice than a firearm in order to attain the necessary proficiency. In other words, these are not weapons that you are going to be able to just pick up and use on the fly. You will need to invest the time to become proficient. 
  • "10 Methods for Gathering Emergency Water" by Tim Makay, Modern Survival Online. Hopefully you have a store of water on hand--a minimum of two weeks in my opinion. But eventually you will run out. In this article, Makay offers tips on how to augment your water supply when you first realize there might be a disaster, as well as how to replenish your water supply. The one point that Makay brings up that I don't believe will be worth the effort, however, is the use of a solar still to collect water from the ground or vegetation fed into the still. This is popular in many survival books, but it can require a great deal of effort to dig the hole and construct one--you could easily lose more water from sweating than you could expect to recover from your stills (yes, you will need more than one). Perhaps useful near a seashore, but definitely not recommended for hot, dry climates.
VIDEO: "Tucker: This could very easily get worse" (13 min.)
The power grab by the powers that be continues apace.

Headlines & Current Events:

    Russia on Thursday accused the United States of funding research into the development of biological weapons in Ukraine, which has faced an assault by tens of thousands of Russian troops since Feb. 24.

    Both Washington and Kyiv have denied the allegations, with the United States saying they were a sign that Moscow could soon use the weapons itself.

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed Russia’s allegations in a video address on Thursday, saying, “No one is developing any chemical or any other weapons of mass destruction” in Ukraine.

    Western states have charged that Russia is employing a ruse by accusing their opponents and the United states of developing biological and chemical weapons to lay the ground for their possible use in Ukraine — something Moscow has been accused of doing in Syria.

    However Russian officials claim that they have evidence of the bio labs and the viruses that were produced in it.
    Moscow has alleged to have uncovered a plot by Kyiv to unleash biological or chemical weapons as a pretext for blaming Russia and drawing in further support for Ukraine's efforts to resist a military incursion from the neighboring nation.

    Asked by Florida Senator Marco Rubio whether Ukraine had biological or chemical weapons, U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland testified Tuesday that "Ukraine has biological research facilities, which, in fact, we are quite concerned that Russian troops, Russian forces may be seeking to gain control of."

    "So we are working with the Ukrainians on how they can prevent any of those research materials from falling into the hands of Russian forces should they approach," she told lawmakers.

    Rubio then cited what he called Russian "propaganda" claims that Ukraine was planning a biological or chemical false flag attack and asked Nuland if she had any doubt, should such an attack occur, that Russia was actually behind it.

    "There is no doubt in my mind, Senator," Nuland said, "and it is a classic Russian technique to blame on the other guy what they are planning to do themselves."

    Nuland's confirmation of "biological research facilities" in Ukraine, however, only emboldened Russia to double down on its claims on Wednesday.

    But a State Department spokesperson defended Washington's position, telling Newsweek that "Under Secretary Nuland was referring to Ukrainian diagnostic and biodefense laboratories during her testimony, which are not biological weapons facilities."

    "These institutions counter biological threats throughout the country," the spokesperson said.
    A senior Ukrainian police officer has accused Russian forces of launching phosphorous bomb attacks in the eastern region of Lugansk.

    International law prohibits the use of white phosphorous shells in heavily populated civilian areas, but allows them in open spaces to be used as cover for troops.

The article then goes on to suggest that white phosphorous is a chemical weapon (rather than an incendiary). I guess by that logic every bomb is an atomic bomb because bombs are composed of atoms.

    'We believe that China was in fact was aware before the invasion took place that Putin was planning something,' Sullivan said on CNN's State of the Union.

    He added that Beijing 'may not have understood the full extent of it, because it’s very possible that Putin lied to them the same way that he lied to Europeans and other.'

    Sullivan warned that the United States was 'watching closely' to see if China 'actually does provide any form of support, material support or economic support to Russia.'

    'It is a concern of ours and we have communicated to Beijing that we will not stand by and allow any country to compensate Russia for its losses,' he said.

    'We are communicating directly, privately to Beijing that there will absolutely be consequences for large scale sanctions evasion efforts or support to Russia to backfill that.'
    When Russia invaded Ukraine last month, a spate of wishful thinking ran through the West that China, a great power with friends on both sides, might step in to mediate a cease-fire. 
 
    China’s government struck a pose of neutrality, called for a peaceful resolution and said it supported the principle of “territorial integrity.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made a public plea to China’s Xi Jinping to intervene.

    But Xi has been missing in action — and in practice, his policies have been far less neutral than advertised.

    China hasn’t condemned the invasion and initially didn’t even call it a war. It still hasn’t acknowledged which country’s tanks crossed the other’s borders.

    Xi has talked by telephone with Russian President Vladmir Putin, but he hasn’t talked with Zelensky.

    “China supports Russia in resolving the issue through negotiation,” China’s official summary of the Xi-Putin call said.

    Last week, China’s foreign minister called Russia his country’s “most important strategic partner” and said their relationship was “ironclad.”

    Meanwhile, China’s Foreign Ministry has endorsed Russian propaganda claims that the U.S. military is running bioweapons laboratories in Ukraine. The charge is false; the U.S. has funded programs to destroy old bioweapons, not produce new ones.

    There’s a contradiction at the heart of China’s foreign policy. China wants to be seen as a neutral power. But the way it calculates its interests — giving top priority to reducing the global influence of the United States — makes neutrality on issues involving Russia, its biggest ally, almost impossible.

Also: "China’s Xi has made a choice. He believes the coming decades will be dominated by confrontations between the United States and China, with Russia as China’s sole important ally."

    Moscow's troops continue to use indiscriminate shelling to encircle key Ukrainian cities and are said to be bearing down on Kyiv for an 'all-out assault' in the coming days. 

    Satellite images taken on Saturday morning showed extensive damage to civilian infrastructure and residential buildings throughout the southern Ukrainian city of Mariupol, a private US company said. Maxar Technologies said fires were seen in the western section of the Black Sea port city and dozens of high-rise apartment buildings had been severely damaged.

    It comes after Ukrainian President Vlodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of shooting children and said Putin's forces will only take Kyiv if they 'raze the city to the ground', with Kremlin troops inching closer to the capital and conflict raging nearby on Saturday, endangering attempted evacuations.   

    And Vlodymyr Zelensky has slammed the West for its inaction, saying on Saturday that he 'doesn't see any bravery from NATO' as he pleaded for more involvement from allies in peace negotiations and offered to pay for more anti-missile systems. In response, the US made lukewarm promises of taking 'diplomatic steps' to help the Ukrainian government. 

In other developments: 
  • Kyiv became a fortress ahead of an expected onslaught, with Russian forces now within 15 miles of the capital’s centre;
  • Russian shelling of besieged cities including Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, Dnipro and Sumy continued as one governor said the South-Eastern city of Volnovakha has been destroyed;
  • Putin rebuffed a new appeal for a ceasefire but, in a glimmer of hope, negotiators discussed ‘concrete’ proposals for a peace deal for first time as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was willing to negotiate, but would not surrender nor accept ultimatums;
  • Zelensky revealed 1,300 Ukrainian troops have died in the war so far, but claimed the Russian army has suffered its largest losses in decades, with an estimated 6,000 deaths;
  • Moscow threatened the West that any military shipments to Ukraine will be seen as ‘legitimate targets’, prompting fears the conflict could dramatically escalate;
  • Putin was urged to lift the siege of the southern city of Mariupol where up to 1,500 civilians have died;
  • Residents took to the streets of the occupied city of Melitopol to protest against the abduction of its mayor by Russian forces;
  • Intelligence sources claimed Putin may be suffering from dementia, Parkinson’s disease or ‘roid rage’ resulting from steroid treatment for cancer.
Radical far-left judge Lina Hidalgo was known as a tyrant when it came to COVID mask and lockdown measures. She even encouraged people to snitch on restaurants when they had a large crowd. She threatened the public with 180 days in jail for anyone who violated her stay-at-home order. Now, she is being investigated for awarding the $11 million dollar contract to a one-person company without a shred of experience. She canceled the contract when people started investigating the contract.
    In the study, the team compared COVID-19's makeup to millions of sequenced proteins on an online database.

    The virus is made up of 30,000 letters of genetic code that carry the information it needs to spread, known as nucleotides.

    It is the only coronavirus of its type to carry 12 unique letters that allow its spike protein to be activated by a common enzyme called furin, allowing it to spread between human cells with ease.

    Analysis of the original COVID-19 genome found the virus shares a sequence of 19 specific letters with a genetic section owned by Moderna, which has a total of 3,300 nucleotides, the report said.

    The patented sequence is part of a gene called MSH3 that affects how damaged cells repair themselves in the body.

    Scientists have highlighted this pathway as a potential target for new cancer treatments.

    Twelve of the shared letters make up the structure of COVID-19's furin cleavage site, with the rest being a match with nucleotides on a nearby part of the genome.

    The researchers suggest the virus may have mutated to have a furin cleavage site during experiments on human cells in a lab.

    "The matching code may have originally been introduced to the COVID-19 genome through infected human cells expressing the MSH3 gene," wrote Dr Balamurali Ambati, from the University of Oregon, in the study.

    At the same time, the team also claimed that there is a one-in-three-trillion chance Moderna's sequence randomly appeared through natural evolution.

On the other hand, I would also point you to this article that purports to debunk Dr. Balamurali's claim because, it states, "the 19-nucleotide sequence isn’t unique to the modified MSH3 gene patented by Moderna and isn’t uniquely manmade, as it can occur in nature." I would note, though, that the debunkers, despite some slippery language, don't actually identify any other coronaviruses with this sequence; the examples pointed out having the same sequence are some species of birds and some bacteria.  
    The Clintons, Oprah, Donna Karan, Chan Luu, Disney, Rainn Wilson, Olivia Wilde, Maria Bello, Petra Nemcova, Ben Stiller, and Kim Kardashian were among the prominent clientele of U.S. Pastor Corrigan Clay, 43, who adopted infants in Haiti.

    In January, child welfare officials in Florida confirmed that James Corrigan Clay molested the children he adopted in Haiti with his ex-partner, Shelley Jean.

 

VIDEO: "Gravitas Plus: The world's fertility rate is falling. Here's why" (9 min.)

Analysis & Opinion:

  • "Recession Risks Are Piling Up And Investors Need to Get Ready"--Bloomberg (via Yahoo). Money quote: "'Over time, the three biggest factors that tend to drive the U.S. economy into a recession are an inverted yield curve, some kind of commodity price shock or Fed tightening,' said Ed Clissold, chief U.S. strategist at Ned Davis Research. 'Right now, there appears to be potential for all three to happen at the same time.'" The article continues:
    Food prices are already past levels that contributed to uprisings in the past, and the outbreak of a war between Russia and Ukraine -- which combined account for 28% of global wheat exports and 16% of corn, according to UBS Global Wealth Management -- only adds to risks.

    Meanwhile, the Fed is unlikely to intervene to prevent sell-offs, according to George Saravelos, Deutsche Bank’s global head of currency research. That’s because the root cause of the current spike in inflation is a supply shock, rendering the playbook used to fight downturns for the past 30 years all but useless.

    The probability of a U.S. recession in the next year may be as high as 35%, according to economists at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., who cut the bank’s growth forecasts due to the soaring oil prices and the fallout from the war in Ukraine. Bank of America Corp. said the risk of an economic downturn is low for now, but higher next year.

    Instead of reducing hours or workload, tech workers are guided to work on “self care,” which involves everything from eating healthy and finding hobbies to “connecting with friends and ‘the Universe,’ ” writes Chen.

    “Workers who are ‘well’ . . . are more productive, can work longer hours, and are more creative and resilient,” according to internal research from one unnamed company, which Chen cites in the book.

    Or, as one human-resources professional said bluntly: “We can’t work them 24/7 unless we give them flexibility.”

    This philosophy stems from the earliest days of Silicon Valley during the Cold War, when machine technology was seen as the evolutionary advance that would save mankind from itself, according to historian Margaret O’Mara, author of “The Code: Silicon Valley and the Remaking of America.” And it has grown as charismatic tech gurus, such as the late Steve Jobs, achieved godlike status in the industry.

    Chen’s research subjects are almost all men, and most are white or Asian. Eighty percent had moved from places outside Silicon Valley, marooned there without the support structures of family, friends or community. Chen describes them as “far from home, alone, young, impressionable.” Work is their only outlet to fill in the “meaning” gap.

    Jobs aren’t just ways to get paid, they are “journeys” or “paths,” writes Chen, especially since working in startups does rely on a considerable amount of faith — 90% of them fail. People don’t necessarily want to make more money, they want to “make things” or “do good.” Colleagues are “family.” 

    “Work conversions” are common. People who have been bullied, ignored or rejected their whole lives suddenly find a place to thrive and shine. One of the few women Chen interviewed described the change: Once “quiet and lacking confidence,” now she commands the room. She said her ties to her “work family” are stronger than to her real family. “I can say no [to my mother] just like that but cannot say no to my company because they have helped me become who I am today.”

Read the whole thing.

VIDEO: "How Warm was the Roman Climate?" (8 min.)

And Now For Something Completely Different:

    A company called Cana has revealed what it's calling the planet's first "molecular beverage printer." The idea is that, using a single cartridge of flavorings, the machine can mix one of thousands of different beverages, including juice, soft drinks, iced coffee, sports drinks, wine and cocktails.

    With Cana One, which is designed to sit on a kitchen countertop, you'll be able to select a drink from a wide range of beverage types and brands using a touchscreen. You can customize the levels of alcohol, caffeine and sugar (alcoholic and caffeinated drinks can be locked behind a PIN). Cana has teamed up with beverage brands from around the world and created its own concoctions.

    A team of scientists spent three years studying popular beverages at the molecular level, Cana says. The researchers seemingly isolated the trace compounds behind flavor and aroma, and used those to create a set of ingredients that can deliver a large variety of drinks.

    The system uses a "novel microfluidic liquid dispense technology" to mix the beverages. Cana says at least 90 percent of what we drink is water with flavorings, sugar and alcohol added in.

    The company claims Cana One can reduce waste and associated emissions by helping people avoid bottled and canned drinks. Cana also says it can reduce water waste that's needed to grow ingredients for things like orange juice and wine.

    Cana will automatically replace ingredient cartridges (which should each last around a month) as needed at no cost. However, you'll pay for the device's concoctions on a per-drink basis. Each will cost between 29 cents and $3, though Cana claims the average price will be lower than bottled beverages at retailers. The system also requires sugar and spirits cartridges — both of which are replaced automatically — and a CO2 cylinder.

    A German feminist art group has revealed a vulva-shaped spaceship concept, which it is encouraging the European Space Agency to help realise in order to better represent humanity in space and "restore gender equality to the cosmos."

    The group Wer Braucht Feminismus? (WBF?), which translates to "Who Needs Feminism?", created the Vulva Spaceship concept to challenge the convention of phallic spacecraft design.

    The yonic craft was designed to signal inclusivity and the group has started a petition on change.org calling on the European Space Agency to consider the project.
at

2 comments:

  1. John WilderMarch 15, 2022 at 9:33 PM

    I'll skip the spacecraft, that would be tooooo easy.

    Drink cartridges: color me skeptical. Sounds like the "drink by subscription" model.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. DocentMarch 16, 2022 at 11:01 AM

      And a "we will sell your drinking preferences and habits to advertisers and health insurance companies." But the hackers would have fun. Imagine a computer virus potentially able to make millions of people throw up!

      Delete