A Warning: "The collapse of South Africa"

Source: "'Worst civil unrest since 1994': How South Africa plunged into riots, looting and turmoil"--Money Control (2021).

 In his article at Hot Air entitled "The collapse of South Africa," Jazz Shaw holds up South Africa as a warning of what could happen to the United States. "The government and the police have almost disappeared, the energy grid has imploded, half of the people in the country are out of work and the nation’s infrastructure has crumbled," he reports. 

    Shaw notes that the country’s railway system has "all but ground to a halt" due to corruption and mismanagement of the Transnet company which owns and operates the railroads; the same company that also manages the ports and pipelines that connect South Africa to the outside world. And, he adds:

It’s not just the trains and the rest of the transportation infrastructure that has fallen apart. The country’s power grid has fallen well below the break-even point of energy generation and consumption. Rolling blackouts happen every day and much of the country is left without lights or heat. The roads are impassible in many areas and there is no money to repair them.

The lack properly funded and staffed police have resulted in looting and violence becoming commonplace. (Wikipedia observes that "[w]hen compared to other countries South Africa has notably high rates of violent crime and has a reputation for consistently having one of the highest murder rates in the world"). Stealing and gang violence is also widespread. In fact, according to a Twitter user cited in the article, the country is seeing "an increase in coordinated attacks on water, power and comms infrastructure," and "[l]ooting is no longer just a daily thing, but is also now becoming more structured with guerilla planning involved." The number of people relying on government grants and welfare to live is about to exceed the number of working people. And it sounds like inflation is out of control. 

    The situation is so bad that just two days ago--on Jan. 26--the U.S. embassy urged American citizens travelling to or living in South Africa to stockpile food and water amid the “ongoing power crisis” and warned of the potential for riots.

    And it will be getting worse: the Twitter user cited in the article points out that the South African government is about to implement its Expropriation Without Compensation (EWC) program "where land is taken from rightful and legal land owners and given to the 'previously disadvantaged'" and will also be implementing an nationalized health care system. Land expropriation from white farmers to black communists is what led to the collapse of the economy and agriculture in Zimbabwe--once a breadbasket of Africa. And nationalized healthcare is only something the richest of nations can afford. 

    What is the cause of this? I suppose one could point all the way back to the end of Apartheid and devolution of power to black political parties, most especially the socialist/communist African National Congress (ANC). After all, we've seen how well black Democratic governance has worked in various cities in the United States. In such situations, government becomes organized crime. But the author instead focuses on a more recent development: "green" environmental policies. Shaw explains:

So how did all of this happen? There were a variety of factors involved, including government corruption and organized crime. But a couple of years ago, in order to stay in the good graces of the world banks and the global climate cabal, South Africa agreed to ambitiously reduce its carbon footprint. They used to mine a lot of coal and other desirable resources, but their output has plummeted. Don’t worry, though. They’ve blown some serious money on renewable energy. You can see how swimmingly that’s working out.

And he warns:

    Does any of this sound familiar? Do you recall when America’s supply chain buckled when our own transportation infrastructure tanked and cargo ships were lined up at the ports for weeks? We too have seen rolling blackouts in multiple parts of the country as we rush to forbid the use of fossil fuels and toss up endless numbers of solar and wind generation plants. And it’s not as if we haven’t seen our fair share of rioting.

    It really doesn’t take that much of a shove to cause a formerly muscular infrastructure to grind to a halt. South Africa is on the verge of societal failure. And if you think it couldn’t happen in the United States, you’re kidding yourself.

POTD: The Alps In 1890

 The following photograph is from a Daily Mail article, "Fascinating new book reveals stunning vintage pictures of the Alps, from a time when the first mountain climbers 'were considered mad' and glaciers were TWICE the size they are now." According to the article, the photograph is of the the Rhone Glacier in the Swiss Alps and dates from around 1890. The quip in the headline about glaciers being "TWICE" the size as now made me laugh. Of course they were bigger then! The world was just coming out of the Little Ice Age.

Updated Tips for Surviving a Nuclear Blast

Obviously, if you are too close to ground zero, it just isn't going to matter: you will be killed by the heat or other radiation, or by the overpressure from the blast. But if you are farther out, you might survive the overpressure blast depending not only on the construction of the structure in which you find yourself, but also where you are in the structure when the blast arrives, according to this article from Business Insider: "Sheltering miles from a nuclear blast may not be enough to survive unless you know where to hide, new calculations show."

    As the article notes, "[w]hen a nuclear bomb detonates, it generates not only radiation in the form of a bright, blinding light and scorching heat, but also powerful shockwaves that can travel for tens of miles," and "[i]t's these shockwaves that are potentially lethal for people at a safe enough distance from the fireball." The researchers in this case ran a simulation of a nuclear explosion from a 750-kiloton atomic bomb (equivalent to one of the current Russian warheads). "A warhead of this magnitude would likely obliterate everything within 2.5 miles," the article states, "but people beyond that radius may stand a chance if they're sheltering in the right location of a sturdy structure."

    The team used fluid dynamics to determine "the right location" within the structure. 

    Using these models, they computed how the shockwave would move through buildings — including rooms, walls, corners, doors, corridors, windows, and doorways — at distances of 2.5 miles to 30 miles from the detonation site.

    They reported that narrow pockets inside buildings like doorways and hallways could act like a windtunnel, accelerating the shockwave to dangerous pressures of up to 18 times a human's body weight — easily enough to crush bones.

    "The most dangerous critical indoor locations to avoid are the windows, the corridors, and the doors," said co-author Ioannis William Kokkinakis.

    The best location is in the half of the building farthest from the blast, in a room with no windows. But, "even in the front room facing the explosion, one can be safe from the high airspeeds if positioned at the corners of the wall facing the blast," Kokkinakis told Insider.

    It's also worth noting that the building itself is important. You don't want to take cover in a log cabin, for example.

    "As the paper noted, if you're too close to the blast there's not much that can be done. However, at a distance building structures particularly stone or concrete or other stout, noncombustible materials can provide some degree of protection from the blast," said Kathryn Higley, a professor of radiation biology at Oregon State University who was not involved in the study.

Feral Hogs Expected to Spread South Into US From Canada

    The story is from The Truth About Guns and refers to them as "super pigs" because of their size and aggressiveness. The article notes that "in recent years, invasive pigs have started thriving in Canada and may spread into North Dakota, Montana, Michigan, and Minnesota." They apparently are larger than your run-of-the-mill feral hog because they need the extra size to survive the colder climate. The article also includes a couple of videos of people hunting the beasts.

    Perhaps more interesting are the score or more comments criticizing farmers and ranchers throughout the South that, if the comments are to be believed, are charging outrageous amounts for hunters to kill feral hogs in those states. The gist is that the commenters will believe that it is a serious problem when the farmers and ranchers treat it like a problem rather than a money-making venture.

Bombs and Bants Live! Ep 74 (Streamed Feb. 22, 2023)

VIDEO: "Bombs and Bants Live! Ep 74" (50 min.)

POTD: The Abandoned Outlaw House in Mobile County, Alabama

 

Outside view

Inside view

Source: "Inside abandoned mansions: 6 hauntingly beautiful sites across the US"--New York Post.

VIDEO: "Galactic Superwave Risk Just Got Real"

 Suspicious Observers makes note of recent scientific papers showing that the giant X7 cloud near the galactic core is distending and, based on observations, it appears that a collision is imminent that might produce a galactic superflare. Except, due to the lag from the speed of light, this collision has already occurred and we should start seeing the light from this collision soon (probably within the next decade). Suspicious Observers discusses the possible impact of this additional light from the galactic core: it may turn out to be nothing, or it may trigger a reaction from our sun. 

VIDEO: "Galactic Superwave Risk Just Got Real"--Suspicious Observers (4 min.)

POTD: Exploring An Abandoned Hospital

These videos don't relate where this hospital is located; only that it had been shut down several times and finally abandoned in 2001. Unfortunately, there are no exterior shots, so I wasn't able to get an impression as to the size of the facility. What makes this interesting is the amount of equipment and supplies still there, even though there had obviously been vandals through at least a portion of the building. But I've seen videos of other hospitals that where similarly closed with still significant amounts of equipment, furniture and so forth left behind. I can only assume that the advancement of technology and regulatory requirements make it impractical to sell or transfer the older equipment to a different facility. 

    Unlike other videos of abandoned buildings where everything has been removed, though, this video gives you an idea of what it might be like to go through a building post-TEOTWAWKI where you would expect that most everything would still be in the building.

    Although the videos are labeled as two-parts, the second is not a continuation of the first, but more of a "do-over" video. The first video, according to the YouTuber, was done by himself and somewhat impromptu, whereas the second was filmed with assistance from friends and appears more planned.

VIDEO: "Abandoned Hospital with EVERYTHING Left Behind PART 1...(Blood samples and needles found)"--BigBankz (11 min.)

VIDEO: "Found Blood Samples inside an Abandoned Hospital with Everything Left Behind | Part 2"--

BigBankz (22 min.)

POTD: Exploring An Abandoned Apartment Complex

VIDEO: "Exploring Deteriorating Abandoned Apartment Complex - No Floors!"

LordExplores (12 min.)

 Another video for your viewing pleasure. I'm not sure where this structure is located, but it appears to be a brick and concrete structure dating from the mid-20th Century and structurally in poor shape given the age. 

POTD: Abandoned House With Everything Still Inside And Intact

VIDEO: "ABANDONED House - Everything Left Behind (WITH POWER) - Old Clockmakers Family Home" -- Uncharted Travel (30 min.)

I've seen other videos and photo essays of abandoned houses still with furnishings and personal items. I suspect that most of those are buildings that for one reason or another are left in a legal limbo: a fight over the estate or that there were no survivors to begin a probate. In any event, the condition of buildings after TEOTWAWKI will depend on the nature and speed of the disaster. A disaster that results in the collapse of government and society but leaves a lot of people alive, initially at least, will probably see a great deal of looting and stockpiles of foodstuffs, goods, and fuel used up. On the other hand, a disaster that quickly kills off most of the population such as a rapidly spreading, deadly pandemic, will probably mean that most structures and their contents will largely be left intact until nature begins to take its toll. Most disasters--nuclear war, comet strike, massive solar flare/micro-nova, will cause wide-spread destruction coupled with large, but nowhere near complete, loss of life. In those cases, it more likely that looting and destruction will impact most settlements, but that there may be isolated instances of finding homes, stores, perhaps even whole towns, that were abandoned but survived the ensuing natural destruction and are largely untouched.

POTD: Abandoned Grain Silo - Georgia

 

Source: Reddit r/AbandonedPorn

Grain silos and grain elevators may well be important resources, or targets, post-TEOTWAWKI. John Wilder wrote a novella that took place after an EMP that you should check out. One of the chapters dealt with an attack to seize a grain silo outside of the protagonist's town that had been captured by raiders. Not an insignificant prize given that it would feed the whole town for over 4 years. Give his story a try.

Best Weapon/Ammo for Self-Defense In An Apartment?

VIDEO: "Here’s Why I Think Overpenetration Is Fudd Nonsense"

TFB TV (14  min.)

    My oldest son asked me what I thought would be the best firearm to use for self-defense in an apartment, concerned about penetration through a wall should he miss. 

    To be blunt, it is a pointless exercise to try and find a firearm/ammo combination that won't penetrate interior walls as you find inside an apartment or, in most cases, dividing one apartment from another. I lived in an apartment that had cinder block walls even between apartments, but the majority were just insulated interior walls: a couple sheets if gypsum board nailed to studs with a few inches of fiber glass insulation. All of the videos I've watched testing various types of ammunition have shown that anything that can penetrate deeply enough to be effective against a human attacker will easily punch through multiple interior walls or, even, exterior walls with siding or cladding. (See, e.g., this video testing various 12-gauge loads against simulated interior walls; this video testing penetration against various types of walls including a couple different type of shotgun loads against interior wall; this test of .22 LR from pistol and rifle; and this test of 9mm and .223 against drywall and then into ballistic gel). 

    The typical answer to this conundrum is to be careful of angles so that if you miss, the bullet will follow a safe (or safer) path: that is, following a path that is unlikely to hit an innocent, or striking structural features or furniture that will stop or significantly slow the bullet. But that answer does not really address the question of the ammunition or the weapon.

    What might be productive, however, would be to dismiss those weapons and ammunition that would overpenetrate a human target--i.e., cause a through and through wound--but still have enough power to go on an penetrate a wall or injure someone behind the attacker.  That would mean looking at weapon and ammo combinations that would not exceed the FBI recommended maximum penetration in ballistic gelatin of 18 inches, shot from short distances of less than 25 feet--about the maximum you find in an apartment.

    Frankly, that is going to eliminate most any rifle or ammunition intended for hunting medium to large game whether or not you are using ammunition designed to expand on hitting a target. (See e.g., this video comparing .223 and .30-06 in ballistic gel and this video comparing low velocity versus standard velocity .30-06 loads in ballistic gel). 

    Conversely, the 5.56/.223, even in FMJ, performs well in ballistic tests without excessive overpenetration (see, e.g., this video testing Lake City M855 "Green tip" ammunition). However, standard 50 or 55 grain will be much safer if you are concerned about minimizing overpenetration. (See, e.g., this test of 55 grain versus 62 grain "Green Tip" against Paul Harrell's meat target). And these videos are pretty consistent with what I've seen over several years and dozens of videos: the "Green Tip" is more likely to overpenetrate than the 55 grain loads. On the other hand, bullets designed to expand on impact may essentially explode at these short distances (and high velocity) and not have adequate penetration to reach vital organs. So, with the 5.56/.223, the FMJ is probably the best choice for using inside an apartment.

    Although medium caliber bullets out of a full powered rifle like a .308 or .30-06 might not be suitable, shorter barrels and/or less powerful rounds may be acceptable depending on the bullet used. For instance, in the Stockton California school shooting in 1989, the shooter used an AK rifle shooting standard FMJ 7.62x39 that mostly produced through-and-through wounding and delayed yaw with the result that the rounds were both less lethal and over-penetrated. From what I've read, standard lead tip hunting bullet designs from the 7.62x39 just don't have the velocity to consistently expand and often will act like a FMJ bullet when striking a target. But there are designs specific for 7.62x39 that can offer good expansion without overpenetration at short distances (see, e.g., this test of 7.62x39mm Winchester 123gr Extreme Point in ballistic gel at short range; see also this .300AAC 110gr V-Max gel test shot from an 8-inch barrel, and this 300 Blackout 110 gr V-MAX Hornady BLACK Gel Test out of an 8.5-inch barrel).

    Most standard pistol cartridges using full metal jacket (FMJ) ammunition will also overpenetrate. (See, e.g., this video testing 115 grain and 124 grain FMJ 9x19mm ammo in bare gel; this video testing .45 ACP in ballistic gel and showing an old military training film showing penetration against wood blocks; and this video testing FMJ in 9mm, .38 Special, .40 S&W and .45 ACP). 

    Conversely, quality hollowpoint ammunition in pistol calibers will typically not overpenetrate. (See, e.g., this test of .45 ACP Gold Dot against bare and denim covered gel blocks; this comparison of 124 grain 9mm Gold Dot versus HST in bare gelatin; and this look at different hollow point bullets for 9mm and .45 ACP against Paul Harrell's meat targets). 

     Shotgun ammunition varies, but it appears that #4 Buck will not overpenetrate, and reduced power 00 Buckshot will not overpenetrate, but standard loads of 00 Buckshot may very well overpenetrate. (See, e.g., this test various shotgun loads and this video from Luckygunner on buckshot ammo). And, in fact, in the TFB TV video embedded at the top of the post, the 00 Buckshot not only blasted through the skinny perp and the interior wall, but also penetrated deeply into the ballistic block on the back of the interior wall.  

    Thus, if you are concerned about a danger to others in the same apartment or adjacent apartment through overpenetration, it appears that the best options are: FMJ 5.56/.223; an intermediate cartridge such as .300 BLK or 7.62x39 using thin walled, fast expanding bullets; standard defensive pistol rounds using a reliable hollow point bullet; or either a smaller, lightweight buckshot (such as #4) or reduced power loads of regular 00 Buckshot. 

VIDEO: "The Secret to Mastering the Handgun"

VIDEO: "The Secret to Mastering the Handgun (complete video)"

Silverado Shooting (25 min.)

 This video addresses the neuropsych issues of anticipating recoil and blast that throw us off target. Although the video is just over 25 minutes long, the portion relevant to the topic is the first 18 minutes; the remainder covers the separate topic if introducing teenage girls to shooting and why it is so important to the firearms movement.

POTD: Abandoned Doctor's Office in Tennessee

This picture-of-the-day is another video exploring an abandoned building. In this case, it was a doctors office abandoned, according to the video, in the late 1990s. The exterior of the structure looked to mostly be in pretty good shape, but the vandals had been inside and there is quite a bit of interior damage. Furniture and other equipment is all gone. Even though there were plenty of exterior windows, much of the interior was still pretty dark--and pay attention to how black the interior appeared when first entering the building through a rear door. This is probably pretty accurate to how your eyes would need to adjust upon entering an unlit building.

VIDEO: "Abandoned Doctor's Office"

Unknown Ventures (13 min.)

Blast from the Past: "Why Invent Mohammed?" by David P. Goldman

 Here is the link to the article, which is a review and commentary on Robert Spencer’s book Did Mohammed Exist? Goldman begins his article thusly:

    Some years ago I chided Spencer for giving the Koran too much credibility;  more important than the nasty things one finds in the Koran, I argued, are two questions: “1) Mohammed may never have existed, and 2) If he existed, he may have had nothing to do with the Koran, which well might be an 8th- or 9th-century compilation.” Spencer’s present book will be translated into major Muslim languages and published on the Internet, according to Daniel Pipes. That is an important and welcome development.

    This point was made eloquently last year by the Georgetown University political philosopher Fr. James Schall, who argued, “The fragility of Islam, as I see it, lies in a sudden realization of the ambiguity of the text of the Koran. Is it what it claims to be? Islam is weak militarily. It is strong in social cohesion, often using severe moral and physical sanctions. But the grounding and unity of its basic document are highly suspect. Once this becomes clear, Islam may be as fragile as communism.” Koranic criticism, I have argued since 2003, is Islam’s Achilles’ Heel.

He goes on to observe the evidence supporting the authenticity of the Jewish records (Goldman is Jewish) and notes that no one has suggested that Jesus was anything other than a real person. But, as he details, there is no such evidence for Mohammed. 

    He concludes:

    Why is theological clarity so important?

    For several reasons.

    First, the question of what Islam seeks to accomplish is of first importance. The definitive claim of the religion, if we follow Prof. Kalisch, is the Election of the Arabs to replace the Jews. Any manifest sign of Jewish election (for example, a Jewish state in Eretz Yisrael) challenges the founding premise of Islam and constitutes an existential threat to the religion itself.

    Second, the mechanism by which the new religion recasts the figures of Moses and Jesus is Gnostic, that is, the belief that an esoteric knowledge enables the adepts to see past the surface: underneath the Hebrew Bible and Christian Gospels lies the “true” revelation of  Islam. But that is not a revelation at all, not, at least, in the sense that the giving of the Torah or the ministry of Jesus were understood to be revelations, namely, a human engagement with an infinite God. There really is no revelation at all, because Allah always remains infinitely remote and unrevealed: there is merely Gnosis, a new esoteric knowledge, a re-reading of earlier sources that transforms Moses and Jesus into Mohammed.

    This makes Islam far more fragile than Judaism or Christianity. If the West chose to exploit its fragility rather than attempt to appease, engage, or reform Islam, the outcome would surprise everyone.

Will this fragility make Muslims easy prey, so to speak, for the coming Anti-Christ?

POTD: Abandoned Oil Refinery

 

Source: "GAMXX Oil Refinery"--Abandoned America

There are a lot more photographs of the refinery at the link. The website, Abandoned America, has a ton more locations and categories as well. 

Meme of the Day: I'm Helping

 

    Today's meme comes from Active Response Training's Weekend Knowledge Dump which has links to lots of great articles on firearms and self-defense related topics. 

    And some more firearms, self-defense and prepping articles you might enjoy:

• "CMP Acquires Surplus Ammo"--Shooting Illustrated. The CMP has sourced some surplus 22 LR, .30-06 and .30 Carbine ammo which will be made available for sale to CMP customers.
• "Tip to Make DCC Clips Easier to Live With from Gypsy EDC"--Jerking the Trigger. 

Gypsy EDC, an excellent knife and sheath maker based out of Idaho, recently posted a tip that makes removing DCC clip equipped items like sheaths and holsters from your clothing much easier. This tip makes use of a credit card to shim the clip, allowing it to slide off your clothing almost effortlessly. This may be especially useful for shorter DCC clips or those with limited grip strength.

The article links to a video showing how to do this. 

• "Evaluating The Savage 24C 'Combo Gun' As A 'Survival Rifle'"--Mason Dixon Survivalist Association. Combination guns generally combine two or more calibers of rifles, or a one or more rifle calibers with a shotgun barrel, into a single weapon. They are more popular in Europe than in the U.S., and the ones you come across in the U.S. are typically a two-barrel combination with a rifle barrel over a shotgun barrel. The model featured in the article is a .223 Remington rifle barrel superposed on a 20 Gauge shotgun barrel, which is a useful combination for survival purposes. As the author notes, this model is no longer made but used models are floating around. (I've noticed that these type of rifles--other than .22/.410 combinations for survival--are rarely made and, even then, only in small batches). I think the key take-away from the article is not really the information about the particular weapon, but the author's distinguishing between a "survivalist rifle" and a "survival rifle". He explains:

    As you’ve noticed from the title, I used the term “Survival Gun”, instead of “Survivalist Gun”, to describe the rifle we’re talkin’ about. What’s the difference between a “Survivalist Gun” and a “Survival Gun” in my book? A “Survivalist Gun” can be used for everything from taking game to defending your retreat, to being used in a role as an “Infantry/Guerilla” weapon. As an example, the PTR91 can be used for small (with the .22LR kit) or big game, in defense of your Retreat or as a “Guerilla Gun”.

    A “Survival Gun” has one primary purpose. That purpose is feeding the owner in a situation where they have been separated from civilized society, whether it’s a Without Rule of Law scenario, or a plane crash. A secondary purpose of the “Survival Gun” is defending the owner from predators, whether it’s of the two legged or four legged variety. If possible, the “Survival Gun” should be as compact as possible, while still retaining it’s ability to perform the primary function well.

• "The Long Term Budget Shotgun: The H&R Pardner 12 gauge; the Chinese Made Remington 870 with a Humpback Receiver"--Civilian Defender.
• "The Eternal Carbine Cartridge"--Shooting Illustrated. A look at seven .30-30 loadings which were selected as a cross section of what is available for use in that venerable caliber, including some effective on heavier game.
• "SAAMI Specs of the 360 Buckhammer (360 BHMR) Cartridge"--The Firearm Blog. This is a rimmed, straight-wall cartridge designed for lever action rifles so such rifles can be used in jurisdictions which limit hunting to straight-walled cartridges.
• "The Smith & Wesson J-Frame: A Short History"--American Rifleman.
• "DuraMag's New 20-Round SPEED Mags with 30-round Contour"--The Firearm Blog. DuraMag is offering a 20-round AR magazine that follows the curvature of 30-rounders rather than being straight like the typical 20-round magazines. Why a 20-round magazine when 30-rounders (or more) being available? Well, they are easier for shooting prone or off a bench, and they are less likely to catch on something. 
• "Hunters Supply" by Roy Huntington, Guns Magazine. The author gives a shout-out to the Hunters Supply Cast Bullets company. As he relates, "[b]ased in New Mexico, they make just about every cast lead bullet weight and style you can imagine, from .25 caliber on up to the biggest you’d ever need. They also cater to the amazing world of high performance air guns with cast slugs for the big bore air rifles."
• "The Carry Handle Corner: Retro And Clone AR-15 Compendium"--The Firearm Blog. Retro ARs and carry handles were apparently a thing at this year's Shot Show.
• "While the Media & Anti-Gun Orgs Hail Lucky Gunner Settlement as a Big Win, the Lawsuit Achieved Essentially Nothing"--The Truth About Guns. The article begins: "Following the 2018 shooting in a Santa Fe, Texas high school, Michael Bloomberg’s Everytown for Gun Safety sued ammunition retailer Lucky Gunner in an attempt to skirt the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms act. After years of lawfare litigation in a failed attempt to bankrupt the ammo seller, the lawsuit was settled this week." The settlement requires Lucky Gunner to “maintain an age verification system at the point of sale for all ammunition sales," which they had always done anyway.
• "Origin Story: Concealed Carry From The Dark Ages" by Will Dabbs, MD, Guns Magazine. Dabbs details his decision to get a concealed carry permit back in the 1990s and his early experiences, firearms he used, and so forth.
• "The Century-Long Evolution of the U.S. Army Helmet"--Notes From The Bunker.
• "Partisan Logistics"--American Partisan. The author argues that military logistical practices will largely be irrelevant to partisans because of the lack of standardization and a supply chain. An excerpt:

To begin with, partisans need to exam the force structure they have on hand and then determine what kinetic activities (missions, tasks, projects, martial or otherwise) are realistically achievable by the available group. Most American partisan groups at this time, and this is an assumption on my part since there isn’t a directory, are probably not much bigger than a section or platoon in military terms. There are no Partisan Battalions, Brigades or Divisions I have seen or heard of. There are no support personnel assigned and no industrial base oriented specifically to those groups either. Given this, there is nothing to be gained by studying company trains or the practices behind them. This is a simple exercise of how many humans show up and what do they come with. Don’t worry about standardization of gear, common calibers, shoe color, anything. Who and how many showed up. This creates a very important data point going forward. The size of the supported element, the beginning of force structure. This will change but gives the partisan leader a start.

• "Tertiary Prepper Skills – Reconnaissance"--The Prepper Journal. The author notes: "For the sake of this article, this tertiary prepper skill is going to be focused on utilizing old-school reconnaissance teachings to get back to the basics and not have to rely on technology, other than a comms system."
• "Just Say No to Flex Culture"--Everyday Marksman. The author explains: "The 'flex' is showing off equipment or activities to make someone look more impressive, especially when compared to 'the poors.'"
• "Five reasons to own a .22 rifle"--Survival Common Sense. 
• "Survival Hiking Kit"--Survival Cache. The author points out: "A hiking survival kit is going to look a lot like other kits but the survival gear for hiking is going to need to be tailored for the region you will be climbing through and concentrated on outdoor survival skills as well as signaling and rescue."
• Useful information: "Portable Battery Power Station Generator Run Times For Appliances"--The Modern Survival Blog.
• "Solar Golf Cart!?"-- Modern Survivalists. A post-TEOTWAWKI motorized vehicle. See also, from the same authors, "DIY - How to Convert an Electric Golf Cart to Solar Power - Part 1".
• "10 Things To Do First When Bugging In"--Urban Survival Site. A good checklist. The author's advice (in a nutshell): (i) get home fast; (ii) gather intel of what's happening; (iii) communicate with those that didn't make it home yet (or other loved ones); (iv) gather last-minute resources; (v) ensure access to water, light and heat; (vi) secure the home, by which the author means not just hardening the home against crime but also stockpiling food and water (if you haven't already done so); (vii) make sure pets are inside and livestock are penned or sheltered; (viii) review your emergency plan and plan for the next 24-48 hours; (ix) make sure your home doesn't stand out; and (x) consider back up "bug-in" plans as well as bug-out plans. I have to say that items (iv) and (vi) are things that really should be done before hand since one of the benefits of prepping is that you will not have to be one of those making the last minute rush to the store if a storm is coming, for instance. I don't know how effective you can be at (ix) either since, in my experience, the prepared will stand out simply for the fact that they have lights in the evening when no one else does--make sure you have blackout curtains or pieces of cardboard that you can use to cover windows so the light doesn't escape, I guess.
  
• "A Prepper's Guide to SHTF Dental Care"--The Organic Prepper. Not just the why but also a bit of the how, including recipe for homemade toothpaste, advice on cleaning your toothbrush, a few mouthwash recipes, and more.
• "Alone…"--SHTF School. Selco maintains that a "lone wolf" survival strategy is a bad idea, but acknowledges that sometimes a person may have no other choice. This article is aimed at the latter people.
• "The Effects of Sleep Deprivation"--The Prepper Journal.
• "Skillset Fight Club: Defending Yourself In A Bathroom Brawl"--Skillset Magazine.
• "Prepper’s Pantry: Oil"--Blue Collar Prepping. Different types and uses of cooking oils.

POTD: Abandoned Subdivision

Today's photo of the day is another video, this time of a group of people exploring an abandoned subdivision that apparently still under construction when the developer became insolvent. Nevertheless, construction appears to have been completed or nearly completed on many of the structures. Although I suspect that the houses would still be full of furniture and other items after TEOTWAWKI--even several years after--it does give an idea of what shape the buildings might be in several years after the fact--at least in this particular location. 

VIDEO: "Exploring an Abandoned Neighborhood"

The Proper People (12 min.)

Bombs and Bants Live! Ep 73 (Streamed Feb. 15, 2023)

VIDEO: "Bombs & Bants Ep. 73" (47 min.)

What Makes An Assault Weapon

    In the wake of the Michigan State University shooting, Joe Biden is renewing his calls to disarm law abiding citizens. The Detroit Free Press reports:

    Biden renewed his demand, which he made part of his State of the Union address last week, that Congress enact "commonsense gun law reforms," including background checks on all gun sales, banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, closing certain loopholes in the background check system and requiring guns to be stored safely.

    He also called on the U.S. House and Senate to make gun manufacturers financially liable if they "knowingly put weapons of war on our streets." 

The original assault weapon (Source)

This even though law enforcement has not released any details as to the weapon they recovered, and the firearms which the shooter purchased in 2021 were "a Taurus, and ... a Hi-Point 9 mm". Hardly "assault weapons" under any reasonable interpretation of the term.

    To be an assault weapon, the weapon must be one that is suitable for making assaults. An assault typically consists of one or more troops providing suppressive fire while one or more other troops maneuver to capture and/or destroy an enemy position.

    Most any type of ranged weapon can be used to provide suppressive fire provided you have enough men shooting the weapons to produce the requisite amount of suppressive fire. You might need a full platoon or even a company, but it could be done. But what set apart the "assault rifle" when it was introduced by the Germans was that a single soldier could now have a weapon suitable for providing suppressive fire. Well, let me back up a bit. World War I actually saw the introduction of such an assault weapon: the submachine gun. But the WWII Sturmgewehr gave the soldier a weapon with a much more effective cartridge so that assault weapons were no longer a specialist weapon: they could not only provide suppressive fire (and at longer distances), but could also be used as a general combat arm.

    If follows, then, that a weapon cannot be an "assault weapon" unless it is capable of providing suppressive fire during an assault. The basic characteristics of such weapons--that is, the minimum characteristics needed to provide individual suppressive fire--are (i) a (relatively) large ammunition capacity that can easily and quickly be replenished and (ii) being capable of full automatic fire. The absence of either means that it is no longer a weapon suitable for making assaults and, therefore, not an assault weapon. Thus, for instance, a semi-automatic rifle like the AR-15 may have the magazine capacity of an assault rifle, but the average person will not be able to generate anywhere near the rate of fire necessary for suppressive fire. Thus, it is not an assault rifle. Semi-auto handguns, even when sporting 15, 17, or more round magazines are right out: they have neither the ammunition capacity nor the rate of fire to provide the necessary suppressive fire for an assault.

    Now I know that I've oversimplified the tactic of the assault and modern tactics would still use multiple soldiers to provide suppressive fire (although far fewer than would have been used if the same soldiers were using bolt action rifles or a semi-auto like the Garand), but the point is that there are characteristics that the military select-fire rifle has that make it an "assault rifle" that no semi-auto rifle possesses no matter the size of its magazine or how scary it looks.

    This whole use of scare terms by politicians and gun grabbers is disgusting, of course, because it is intended to mislead and obscure the issues. As I've said before, Leftists were liars from the beginning, and the use of terms like "assault weapons" to describe semi-automatic weapons is part of their reflexive need to lie. "Weapons of war" is even a more nebulous (and easily twisted) term since everything from swords, spears, muskets, lever action rifles, revolvers, and more, have been used as weapons of war and issued by militaries. 

    Moreover, in United States v. Miller, 307 U.S. 174, 59 S. Ct. 816, 83 L. Ed. 1206 (1939), the issue of whether possession of a firearm was protected under the Second Amendment turned on whether it was a weapon of war, with the protection extending to a weapon suitable for military service. In that case, which involved whether the NFA violated the Second Amendment by taxing short barreled shotguns, the Court decided such weapons were not protected because they were not a weapon of war. Specifically, the Court wrote: "In the absence of any evidence tending to show that possession or use of a ‘shotgun having a barrel of less than eighteen inches in length’ at this time has some reasonable relationship to the preservation or efficiency of a well regulated militia, we cannot say that the Second Amendment guarantees the right to keep and bear such an instrument." Id., 307 U.S. at 178, 59 S. Ct. at 818. There is only a single court--a district court in Colorado--which has suggested that the Miller decision has been abrogated by subsequent Supreme Court decisions. See, Colorado Outfitters Ass'n v. Hickenlooper, 24 F. Supp. 3d 1050, 1064 (D. Colo. 2014), vacated and remanded, 823 F.3d 537 (10th Cir. 2016). But it doesn't necessarily follow from Heller and subsequent cases that Miller is no longer valid, and certainly the Supreme Court hasn't indicated as such. Thus, a weapon's suitability for use in war should be, if not a determinative factor, at least be a supporting factor to it being protected under the Second Amendment. 

    The takeaway from all this should be that, as always, the Left is lying to you about firearms and crime, which should make you take pause to consider why they lie so much and so often about those subjects.

POTD: 1990's Abandoned K-Mart in Flint, Michigan

 My photo of the day today is actually a video filmed by someone who went into an abandoned K-Mart store and filmed what they found. Unfortunately, the exploration was done at night so you don't get an idea of how much natural light there would have been, but it is nevertheless interesting and informative and gives you an idea of what it would be like to search such a place by flashlight. The fixtures had been removed, as you would expect, which meant that you had large empty spaces on the main sales floor, but other areas (changing rooms, storage and employee areas) could be cramped.

VIDEO: "Creepy 1990's ABANDONED Kmart Store"--Bright Sun Films (12 min.)

Meme of the Day: Shock Therapy

 

Source: Stone Toss

Some News Stories You Might Have Missed:

• "Africa Didn’t Follow WHO’s Pandemic Script. Guess What Happened?"--The Burning Platform. Even though African nations have the lowest jab rates in the world, but have suffered no ill effects, the WHO is still urging them to inject more of their population. From the article:

    The statements made by the WHO contradict a number of real-world situations. For starters, while developed nations with high jab rates struggled with COVID-19 throughout much of 2021 and 2022, Africa avoided this fate, despite its single-digit jab rate.

    Scientists are said to be “mystified” as to how Africa fared so well, completely ignoring data showing that the more COVID-19 shots you get, the higher your risk of contracting COVID-19 and ending up in the hospital.

    Over the past year, researchers have been warning that the COVID-19 jabs appear to be dysregulating and actually destroying people’s immune systems, leaving them vulnerable not only to COVID-19 but also other infections.

    It stands to reason, then, that Africa with its low injection rate would not be burdened with COVID-19 cases brought on by dysfunctional immune systems.

    Secondly, variants have gotten milder (less pathogenic) with each iteration, albeit more infectious (i.e., they spread easier).

    So why is the WHO worried about “the risk of new variants creating large waves of serious disease and death in populations with low vaccination coverage”? What is that “risk” based on?

    And, since COVID-19 infection keeps getting milder, and has had a lethality on par with or lower than influenza ever since mid-2020 at the latest, why is it still a “crucial priority” to accelerate delivery of COVID-19 treatments?

    As a reminder, according to a Sept. 2, 2020 study in Annals of Internal Medicine, the overall noninstitutionalized infection fatality ratio for COVID-19 was a mere 0.26%.

    Below 40 years of age, the infection fatality ratio was just 0.01%. Meanwhile, the estimated infection fatality rate for seasonal influenza is 0.8%.

• "America Forgot the 1918 Flu. Will We Also Forget Covid?"--Wall Street Journal. An excerpt:

    My grandfather, Walter Kirschner, was born in Philadelphia in 1910, the sixth of eight children. His wife, my grandmother Rebekah, was also born in Philadelphia, in 1907; she was one of 10 children. Most of my grandparents and great-aunts and -uncles, all born between 1900 and 1913, lived into their 80s or 90s. I knew them well.

    In other words, I was raised among old people who, as young people, had seen their world rocked by the flu. When they were children or young adults, the Spanish flu pandemic hit their hometown harder than anywhere else in the U.S. On just one day, Oct. 18, 1918, 759 people died of flu in Philadelphia, according to John Barry’s definitive history, “The Great Influenza.” That same month, the month my grandfather turned eight, Mr. Barry writes that “the Bureau of Child Hygiene publicly begged for neighbors to take in, at least temporarily, children whose parents were dying or dead. The response was almost nil.” Bodies decomposed in their beds, with no one to remove them.

    The poor and immigrants—like my grandparents’ families—were hit hardest. So it stands to reason, doesn’t it, that some of my family got sick, or watched a neighbor or schoolmate get sick or die? But I don’t know for sure. Despite having spent thousands of collective hours with my grandfather and grandmother, with my uncles Gabriel and Sidney and Henry (and the other Henry), my aunts Nettie and Ruth and Ann, and numerous others—not to mention their spouses, all Philadelphians—I never heard any of them mention the Spanish flu. Not once.

    That absence has me wondering how Americans will remember Covid-19 once it is finally behind us, or when it has become a manageable nuisance. Right now, it’s hard to imagine it will be regarded as anything less than a generation-defining phenomenon, like the antiwar protests of the late 1960s, the AIDS crisis of the 1980s or the attacks of 9/11. But I think it’s just as likely that it will disappear from our consciousness, as the influenza pandemic of 1918-19 did.

    The Spanish flu was deadlier than Covid-19 and was more likely to kill those in the prime of life, yet it has been largely obliterated from historical memory. As Alfred W. Crosby noted in his 1989 book “America’s Forgotten Pandemic,” the Spanish flu was omitted from all the great midcentury American history textbooks, including volumes by Samuel Eliot Morison, Henry Steele Commager, Richard Hofstadter, Arthur Schlesinger Jr. and C. Vann Woodward—all men who had lived through the pandemic.

    The Spanish flu killed perhaps 50 million people worldwide, the equivalent, as a percentage of the population, of 200 million people today.

    The one major textbook that Crosby could find that mentioned the pandemic, Thomas A. Bailey’s “The American Pageant” (1956), gave it one sentence and, Crosby says, “understates the total number of deaths due to it by at least one half.” Today, a U.S. history student is still unlikely to learn about the 1918-19 pandemic. The latest, 17th edition of “The American Pageant,” by David M. Kennedy and Lizabeth Cohen, mentions the pandemic on two pages.

    Popular culture did at least as poor a job in commemorating it. The Spanish flu killed perhaps 50 million people worldwide, the equivalent, as a percentage of the population, of 200 million people today. Yet there is no great film about the Spanish flu pandemic, and the literature is sparse. Katherine Ann Porter’s novel “Pale Horse, Pale Rider” (1939) and William Maxwell’s novel “They Came Like Swallows” (1937) offer the principal treatments by major writers. Then there is John O’Hara’s short story “The Doctor’s Son,” which ran in The New Yorker in 1935, and Willa Cather’s minor 1922 novel, “One of Ours.”

    At the time, people remarked upon this gap in the literature. “Novels, one would have thought, would have been devoted to influenza; epic poems to typhoid; odes to pneumonia,” Virginia Woolf wrote in her 1926 essay “On Being Ill.” But she was lamenting the general inattention to illness in literature, which she attributes to the fact that fiction writers concern themselves with affairs of the mind rather than the ordeals of the body. The flu pandemic was less than a decade in the past, yet it did not seem to loom larger in her mind than typhoid or any other malady.

    Nobody seems to have a good answer for why the extraordinary, worldwide die-off of 1918-19 imprinted so little on our collective imagination. “The whole issue of how quickly it was forgotten is one that historians have not really grappled with,” said Naomi Rogers, who teaches the history of science at Yale. John Barry concurred: “No satisfactory explanation,” he wrote to me in an email, when I asked about this forgetfulness. “No research that I know of” on its causes, he added.

    The best theory I’ve encountered is that the pandemic simply couldn't compare with World War I. The whole civilized world turning on itself in an orgy of warfare was more traumatizing than an act of nature; it demanded more of a response. It was an event that poets cared about and that political leaders had answers for (the Treaty of Versailles, the League of Nations). It seemed like something mankind could, with diligence, prevent from recurring.

    Acts of God are, I think, more forgettable than our own acts. Even though we can mount a response to pandemics—immunologists, working overtime, made great strides in response to the pandemic of 1918-19, even if they did not have the tools that Covid scientists had a century later—there is an inherent futility in the face of disease. It will always be with us, in a way that, we dare to dream, war and human cruelty might not.

    In that light, I wonder if we’ll look back on the present moment and remember Black Lives Matter and the polarization around the Trump presidency, the war in Ukraine and the rise and fall of Twitter, rather than Covid-19. If that’s the case, I would say we have cause to celebrate. Past generations’ reluctance to talk about influenza—not to mention diseases like polio, which terrified my parents in their youth and whose effects are still visible in the limps and disabilities of old people I know—should not, I think, be read as stoicism or avoidance, but as adaptability. Forgetting is one of the great human gifts; we cannot reasonably carry with us all the wounds of our past. Especially since, alas, there is always more suffering around the bend.

I'm sure that the authorities will soon be wanting the public to forget Covid as more and more comes out about how harmful was the government's reaction to it and how harmful is the vaccine becomes more apparent. We are already seeing the Left wanting everyone to forgive and forget how vicious and hateful they were toward anyone that didn't get vaxxed or wear masks.

• Yes. Yes they did: "Did the FBI collect the fingerprints of unvaccinated NYC teachers?"-- American Thinker. From the lede:

One year ago, New York City fired over 1,430 city employees who refused to take the COVID vaccine. Several of those workers filed a class action lawsuit against the City. During that lawsuit, the teachers’ attorney introduced a sworn deposition stating that, when teachers refused the vaccination, the city flagged them as “problems” and handed their fingerprints over to both the FBI and the New York criminal justice system.

• I don't know if it is evidence, but it is certainly suggestive: "EVIDENCE: Government sent deadlier covid 'vaccines' to red states to depopulate conservatives"--NaturalNews.com. From the lede:

Mike Yeadon, the former head of respiratory research at Pfizer, and independent researcher Craig Paardekooper have sourced Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) data on vaccine deaths and injuries in the United States showing that “red,” or conservative-leaning, states are seeing, on average, twice the number of covid “vaccine”-related deaths compared to “blue,” or liberal-leaning, states.

• Demographic winter: "45% Of Women Are Expected To Be Single And Childless By 2030, Per Recent Projection"--Evie Magazine. From the article:

We're told by our culture that a woman who is unmarried and has no children is empowered and in charge of her own life. She has escaped the unnecessary burden of raising a family and being a slave to her husband. At least, that's what our society has convinced us. Sadly, many women have adopted the modern feminist lifestyle and have chosen to sleep around, abort their baby if they unexpectedly get pregnant, and swear off marriage. But these cultural trends are going to have a tremendous impact on the future of American society. Morgan Stanley estimates that 45% of women in their "prime working years" (ages 25 to 44) will be single and childless by the time 2030 arrives.

Of course, if it means that r-selected females won't pass on their genes, it will be a good thing over the long run. 

• Election integrity in action:
• Just a conspiracy theory? "Israeli firm 'sought to influence more than 30 elections around the world'"--Daily Mail Online. 

    An Israeli firm sought to influence more than 30 elections around the world for clients by hacking, sabotage and spreading disinformation, according to an undercover media investigation published Wednesday.

    The firm was dubbed 'Team Jorge' by investigating journalists who posed as potential clients in order to gather information on its methods and capabilities.

    Its boss, Tal Hanan, is a former Israeli special forces operative who boasted of being able to control supposedly secure Telegram accounts and thousands of fake social media profiles, as well as planting news stories, the reports say.

    The investigation was carried out by a consortium of journalists from 30 outlets, including the Guardian in Britain, Le Monde in France, Der Spiegel in Germany and El Pais in Spain, under the direction of the France-based non-profit Forbidden Stories.

    It adds to a growing body of evidence that shadowy private firms across the world are profiting from invasive hacking tools and the power of social media platforms to manipulate public opinion and to sway voters. 

• "The State Department helped defund conservative websites"-- American Thinker. The State Department went to advertisers and suggested (wink, wink) that they might want to consider not advertising on the sites because the sites were, according to the Department, spreading misinformation. 
• "Left Wing Support Collapses After Berlin Re-Runs Election Over 'Errors'"--Breitbart. 

    Support for left-wing parties has collapsed in Berlin after elections were re-run in the city on Sunday over “errors” in the previous ballot.

    An election re-run in the German capital of Berlin has seen support for the political right surge, with the centrist Christian Democratic Union (CDU) seeing a seismic ten-point rise over the previous ballot.

    Although the city had already seen elections take place in 2021, numerous “errors” and other anomalies in the voting process eventually resulted in the ballot being struck down in court, with the vote finally being re-run on Sunday.

    According to a report by Der Spiegel, this re-run has seen the mandates for every major left-wing party in the German capital decline significantly, with the three outfits that previously ruled the city — the Social Democratic Party (SPD), Die Linke, and the Green Party — all seeing their support drop between 0.5 to 3 per cent. 

Fortunately for the left-wing government, they were able to find a batch of uncounted mail-in ballots casting the new election into doubt. Amazing how that happens.

• Immigrants welcome: "U-haul driver told police murderous spree sparked by 'an invisible object' coming towards car"--Daily Mail Online. Weng Sor went on an hour long killing spree in New York using a U-Haul truck killing Yijie Ye and injuring 7 others after, he claims, he saw an invisible object nearly strike his vehicle, causing him to go into a rage. 
• Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: "Whistleblower: Grooming Gangs Preying on Girls on a 'Shocking Scale'"--Breitbart.

    Mostly Muslim child rape grooming gangs continue to prey on young girls throughout Britain a decade on after being exposed to the public, a documentary has claimed.

    Through a combination of access to more advanced technology and continued police “neglect of duty”, mostly Pakistani Muslim grooming gangs are still operating on a “shocking scale” in the United Kingdom, according to former detective turned whistleblower Maggie Oliver, who appeared in the GB News documentary Grooming Gangs: Britain’s Shame.

    A decade on from first being exposed to the public, Oliver warned that it was wrong to view the issue of grooming gangs only as a historical issue, saying: “This is going on today. We’ve been approached by 60 victims in the last three days who are currently being failed by the police.

    “It is not a historical problem. Very little has changed. We have seen trials. But all too often these children are still being judged and fobbed off and that is not good enough.”

• Diversity, Inclusion and Equity: "ABOUT 35 BLACK-ON-WHITE HOMICIDES (GIVE or TAKE A FEW ASIANS): January 2023—Another Month In the Death of White America"--The Unz Review. The author adds: "We found just four white-on-black homicides, none of them murders."
• I'm sure the solution will involve paying teachers more to do what they are already doing: "Baltimore: 23 Schools Have Zero Students Who Can Do Math at Grade Level"--Legal Insurrection.
• The Biden crime family: "Jim Biden negotiated deal with Saudis 'because of relationship' to Joe"--Daily Mail Online.

    President Biden's brother was hired to engage in secret negotiations with the Saudi government on behalf of a US construction company because of his relationship with the then vice president, legal documents claim.

    Jim Biden was selected because Saudi Arabia 'would not dare stiff the brother of the Vice-President who would be instrumental to the deal,'  bombshell affidavits obtained by DailyMail.com allege.

    Joe's younger brother Jim, 73, was at the center of a $140million settlement negotiation between Hill International and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 2012.

• But I Feelz! "Research Confirms the Stereotype: Liberals Confuse Emotion With Rationality"-- The New American. From the lede: "Liberals are not only more likely than conservatives to suppose that 'emotion is a feature of rationality,' a series of three studies has shown, but also apparently believe it should be. In fact, they consider emotions more “functional” (utilitarian, essentially) than conservatives do despite reporting less emotional well-being." 
• Leftists are evil: "Satanic Idaho group planning a 'gender affirmation ritual'"--KTVB.com. Even in Idaho you can't get away from it. The article begins: "Satanic Idaho is a self-described, 'atheistic altruistic satanic religious organization,' that has planned a 'gender affirming ceremony' to take place at the Idaho State Capitol." But get this: they don't believe in a literal Satan. So, if they don't believe in the entity which they allegedly worship, can they actually be a religious organization? Satan was a liar from the beginning and, as I've noted before, so are leftists.
• Are your kids watching this? "Disney's wildly woke show Proud Family shames character for having 'white fragility'"--Daily Mail Online. 
• Speaking of racism aimed against whites: "University of South Florida adopts radical diversity program that segregates students by race"--Daily Mail Online. The program will also teach that white students should "feel bad for being white" as part of their "identity development". And they want us to believe that "the great replacement" is a conspiracy theory?
• Related: "Berlin University Tells Students Not to Call Cops on Sex Offender. Can You Guess Why?"-- PJ Media. Apparently having white women call police about an immigrant sex offender would be racist, according to the university. Of course, if a group of German men were to give the sex offender an educational beat down, the full force of the German nation would be unleased to hunt them down.
• Masks and lockdowns were good for the children: "A Shocking 30% Of High School Girls ‘Seriously Considered’ Suicide Last Year"--Nation & State. Suicidal ideation was also up among boys, although the rate was about half that of girls.
• Skynet grins: "A military AI program successfully piloted a live F-16"--Not the Bee. Even legacy aircraft like the F-16 can make higher G maneuvers than pilots can handle, thus it will only be a matter of time before pilots are removed from high-performance aircraft.
• But at least they aren't taking away anyone's guns! "What Constitution? State House moves to ban firing guns on private property"--Colorado Peak Politics. The bill would allow counties to pass ordinances prohibit the firing of weapons on private property with the only exceptions being for hunting or managing livestock. So bye-bye shooting ranges. This is the act of tyrants. They pass these laws even though they are unconstitutional because they want to wear down the opposition.
• Speaking of petty tyrants: "More From Green Bay City Hall: City Officials Install Secret Video and Microphone Recording Devices in City Hall to Spy on Political Foes and Citizens ...Update: City Defends Spying"--Gateway Pundit.
• Shoot first, ask questions later: "Latest three UFOs shot down likely not Chinese spy devices: US"--New York Post. If the statements from the Administration and the military are to be believed, they don't know what they shot down: could have been private research balloons, experimental aircraft (or airships), the house from "Up"....
• Related: "Cockpit audio reveals F-16 pilots who shot down UFO over Lake Huron didn't know what it was"--Daily Mail Online.

• Wait until this, or something like it, comes through the Darien Gap and across our unsecured southern border: "Now Marburg virus spreads to Cameroon"--Daily Mail Online. The two cases reportedly have no travel connections with neighboring Equatorial Guinea where the outbreak started.
• Speaking of the southern border: "Arizona rancher denies killing Mexican shot dead by border"--Daily Mail Online. He claims that he came across a group of men dressed in camouflage and carrying AK rifles. One of the men pointed the AK at him and the rancher fired a warning shot. He later found the body. He indicated that he called law enforcement about the initial shooting and after he found the body, which suggests he was the "anonymous" person that initially contacted police. 
• More: "Arizona Rancher Held on $1 Million Bond Fired Warning Shots After an Armed Group of Men 'Pointed an AK-47 Right at Him'"--Gateway Pundit. 
• Christians need to be more like this and sue officials when they treat Christian complaints differently: "Muslim students force Minnesota college to close Iranian American artist's exhibition"--Daily Mail Online.

    A college in Minnesota temporarily closed an exhibition displaying veiled women in various raunchy poses after some Muslim students were offended by the art.

    The exhibition in Macalester College in St. Paul was put on by Iranian-American artist, Taravat Talepasand, 44, whose work challenges Islamic conservatism and the oppression of women.

    Items on display included drawings of women in niqabs and high heels lifting their robes to reveal underwear, as well as porcelain sculptures of similar women with huge exposed breasts.

    The exhibition opened on January 27 but the art was swiftly covered in black drapes after a group of students signed a petition suggesting that Talepasand's work inflicted 'deep pain' and 'perpetuated harm', reported the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression.

    The gallery remained covered for a weekend before it reopened with a content warning and frosted glass on some windows to prevent offended students or anyone else from seeing the art without first being made aware of its contents.

• "Cyclone Gabrielle: National state of emergency declared in New Zealand with flooded cities"--Daily Mail Online. This is only the third time a national state of emergency has been declared in New Zealand. The article indicates that this is the most severe weather event the country has experienced "this century" (i.e., last 22 years).
• The shooter was black ... again: "Straight-A student, 18, is shot and killed while driving home from Tennessee basketball game"--Daily Mail Online.
• Wink, wink, nod, nod: "Vladimir Putin: Former Russian general fired by Russian leader is found dead in 'suspected suicide'"--Daily Mail Online.
• "NSA is scooping up laid off Big Tech workers in largest hiring spree in past 30 years"--Daily Mail Online. Can't let all those H1B visa holders return home.
• Heh: "Utah Gov to Californians: Stay Home"--PJ Media. Of course, being in Idaho, I could say the same about Utahans.