A Losing Argument

United Airlines and Delta are facing class action lawsuits from passengers who paid extra for window seats and then placed in seats with blank walls. United's argument is "that 'window seat' refers only to a seat's position, not a guaranteed outside view." In other words, they are arguing that "window" doesn't mean "window" in the common and ordinary meaning of the word, but has a double-secret, insider, technical meaning that no ordinary passenger would know. Good luck with that argument. 

China Decimating Fishing Off West Africa

BBC News (via Yahoo) reports that Chinese fishing trawlers are devastating fishing grounds near the coast of Sierra Leone in an official exclusion zone; and, according to the fishermen, even cutting the nets and line used by the native fishers. More generally, the article explains:

    West Africa remains the global epicentre for illegal fishing. An estimated 40% of the world's unlicensed catch can be traced to its waters, according to a 2024 global report.

    The study estimated that this costs West African nations a combined $10bn in lost revenues, and risks the food security of millions of people. Commentators say that the situation has not improved in the subsequent two years.

    Thomas Turay, president of Sierra Leone's Fishermen's Union, says that the average catches for his members are down some 40% in recent years. And he's in no doubt where the blame lies.

    "The illegal fishing is too much," he says. "The sea belongs to us, but for the foreign trawlers, they come at night and violate the seven-mile exclusion zone, they come right into the shore here."

And according to the fishermen, the overwhelming majority of the illegal fishing is done by Chinese vessels (as if that should surprise anyone). 

American Expat In Ireland Experiences Diversity

The New York Post reports that "NY mom who recently moved to Ireland beaten to death inside home as police hunt someone she knew." She violated one of the basic principles of self defense: don't hang around stupid and dangerous people. You practically have to go to the bottom of the article to find out anything about this person "she knew":

    The unidentified person of interest, described as an asylum-seeking Middle Eastern man in his late 20s or early 30s, had lived in the Killarney area for over a year since arriving in Ireland, having previously lived in France and Turkey, the Irish Independent reported.

    Carney and the man are believed to have known each other, and last saw each other on Sunday and Monday.

    Neighbors reported hearing an argument between a man and a woman coming from the newly built Homeland estate Monday afternoon, with investigators looking into whether Carney was killed out of a fit of jealous rage, according to the outlet.     

NATO Leaders Have A Gun Problem

The problem is that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gave each of the NATO leaders a Gumusay .357 Magnum revolver (which looks to be a copy of the Colt Python) engraved with their respective names, as well as 500 rounds of ammunition.  

    The Belgian premier, Bart De Wever, handed his to Brussels’ airport police to be secured in a safe.

    An aide to Polish President Karol Nawrocki told ‌Radio RMF FM that his revolver was awaiting customs clearance ‌at Warsaw Airport and would be kept in an appropriate place “so that it is firstly safe and secondly respected as a gift”.

    “Certainly no one will be shooting it,” he added.

    The offices of the Dutch and Swedish ⁠prime ministers said their revolvers had been take to their respective embassies in Ankara. The Dutch one was due to be disabled while the Swedish one was awaiting import paperwork.

    The gun given to Britain’s Keir Starmer came with a cleaning kit and 500 bullets, a Downing Street source said.

    Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s revolver was already stored at the seat of government, the Palazzo Chigi, along with other state gifts.

    E.U. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen ‌was intending to donate hers to a military museum. 

Truck Guns

In "Truck Guns, Part 1: From Stagecoaches to Tacomas" at The Firearm Blog, the author contends  that anyone seriously interested in personal defense needs a truck gun, but doesn't really delve into why other than this brief comment: "Regardless of circumstance, when you find yourself on the open road, you need to be armed and ready for unexpected dangers that may present themselves in an emergency. In such cases, a pistol may be unable to provide an opportunity for gaining the advantage, but the truck gun has become a standard in mobile personal defense." The author purportedly has experience in special operations, so that might be shaping his thinking; but perhaps he has some specific scenarios or situations of which he is thinking but doesn't share.

    Self-defense--particularly outside your home--is based more about getting safely away from danger rather than directly engaging the threat. Having a truck gun presupposed having the truck (or some other vehicle), which means that the vehicle gives you the means of getting away. Consequently, a truck gun would be most useful if you can't get away for some reason: your attackers are in vehicles and intent on pursuing you (e.g., some of the motorcycle groups we've seen in the past chase down and attack drivers that have angered them); or your vehicle is blocked in or broken down or otherwise cannot move. But even then, will you be able to access your truck gun? It's no use to you if the weapon is locked in your trunk or a locked storage box underneath a seat while you are driving. 

    That said, if I go shooting in the desert--even if it is only to shoot handguns--I always bring along a rifle or carbine for self-defense purposes because of its longer range and greater ability to penetrate a barrier over the handgun at my waist. I've been harassed a few times while out shooting; and I know people that have had confrontations with angry drunks.  I leave the long arm where it is easily accessible and carry it with me if I have to walk any distance, such as to place or move targets. 

 

    The bulk of the article is on what makes a good truck gun. And, briefly, the author believes the truck gun should be the size and general configuration of a PDW (personal defense weapon) firing a rifle round. The two rounds he specifically mentions are the 7.62x39 (for those wanting an AK style weapon) and 5.56. I suppose you could add a supersonic .300 BLK round to the mix. He recommends using an inline compensator, blast deflector, or suppressor to contain or redirect the blast since you will be operating in or around a vehicle and all that glass; a folding stock or collapsible wire stock (which, if using an AR based weapon, means using one of the attachments that allow you to fold the buffer tube--he recommends the Dead Foot Arms MCS); a weapon light; and some sort of night vision attached to the weapon. 

Woke Activists Figure Out New Way To Make Sure Blacks Won't Succeed

The Daily Mail reports: "Woke activists push for 'Black English' to be taught in Democrat state's preschools to combat 'harmful language hierarchies'." The article relates:

    Supporters say teaching the dialect, also known as African American English (AAE) or African American Vernacular English (AAVE), will help 'combat harmful language hierarchies.'

    The Black Californians United for Early Care & Education group is part of a movement advocating for Black English to be recognized as a legitimate, rule-based language in preschool classrooms on par with other languages. 

I'm reminded of that famous scene from Airplane where the crew is trying to find someone that can speak Jive (starts at the 55 second mark).

 VIDEO: "I Speak Jive - Airplane! (5/10) Movie CLIP (1980) HD"
Movieclips (3 min.)

I'm sure that the reason for this push for African American English is to force the replacement of white teachers with black teachers without expressly wording it that way. But the consequences could be devastating for black children who will be at a disadvantage in speaking and communication in the larger world. You might cast your mind back to George Bernard Shaw's play, Pygmalion, or its musical adaptation, My Fair Lady, in which the Eliza Doolittle character seeks the help of Henry Higgins, a linguist and phonetician, to teach her to speak better in order to open more opportunities and advance her socioeconomic status--without which she would have been doomed to a life selling flowers (and who knows what else) on street corners. 

SpaceX Just Launched A Satellite Testing A Betavoltaic Power System

From Space.com: "SpaceX just launched the 1st-ever nuclear-powered commercial satellite." Per the article, the BOHR (Betavoltaic Orbital High-Reliability) satellite, built by Florida-based company City Labs, was launched on July 7, 2026. 

BOHR is a novel cubesat demonstration mission from City Labs, which is testing out its proprietary "NanoTritium" betavoltaic micropower source in space for the first time. Similar to how spacecraft like NASA's Voyager probes' radioisotope thermoelectric generators produce power from the heat emitted from their plutonium cores, City Lab's NanoTritium device harnesses the beta particles emitted from the radioactive decay of tritium, which can be converted directly to electricity using a semiconductor. 

A beta particle is a high-speed electron or positron emitted during the radioactive decay of an unstable atomic nucleus. Most of you are probably familiar with tritium because it is used to make night sights for handguns and other weapons. 

    This launch and satellite is just a test of whether the power generation system; but the satellite is not, itself, powered by the NanoTritium system but still relies on solar power. City Labs explains the betavoltaic system as follows:

    NanoTritium™ betavoltaics convert energy from tritium decay directly into electrical power. In a betavoltaic device, beta particles emitted by tritium interact with a semiconductor structure, generating electrical current.

    Unlike conventional batteries, which store a finite amount of chemical energy, betavoltaics continuously generate low-level power from the natural decay of tritium. This makes them well suited for systems that require reliable, long-duration operation without charging, replacement, or routine maintenance.

    City Labs develops custom NanoTritium™ betavoltaics to fit a broad range of form factor and output requirements. 

 If you are interested in reading more on the topic, here is the Wikipedia article on betavoltaics. 

Killer Fog

On December 1, 1930, a thick fog started to roll into Belgium which eventually covered the entire country as well as large swathes of Europe and the southeast of England. By December 3, 1930, the death toll from the fog in the Meuse Valley in Belgium rose to 64 people. It was particularly devastating in the heavily industrialized Meuse Valley:

    The damage was immediate. Within three days, thousands of people in the Meuse Valley were suffering from respiratory problems, notably throat irritation, chest pains, coughing fits, difficulty breathing, increased adrenalin, nausea and vomiting.

    Over 60 people suffering from heart or lung disease died in two days. Many of the victims were under 30 years old; the youngest one was only 20 years old and died while walking home from a party. 

    One of the worst hit areas was the town of Engis, which had already garnered a reputation as Belgium’s most polluted town, where 56 of the deaths happened.

It is not the only time there was a deadly smog, as the same article notes that "the Great Smog Of London in 1952 killed around 12,000 people, according to modern estimates." (See also, "When the smoke clears: The legacy of killer smogs"--American Association for the Advancement of Science).

    The video, below, goes over the Meuse Valley incident, a similar incident in the U.S. in 1948, and even looks at a couple incidents in Africa where whole villages were wiped out by noxious gases apparently emitted by volcanoes. 

 VIDEO: "In 1930, A Mysterious Killer Fog Swept Across Europe"
Swegle Studios (18 min.)

Chase Tactical: How To Set Up A Plate Carrier

If you are planning on setting up a plate carrier, or even if you have already done so, you still might want to check out this article from Chase Tactical: "How to Set Up a Plate Carrier: Step-by-Step Guide for Operators." I'm not an operator, but I still have plates in case of "bump in the night" issues or for SHTF. The cited article has tips on selecting a carrier, selecting and inserting plates, fitting the carrier to your body, configuring your load out that is attached to the carrier, setting up medical access, testing it "stress", and a list of common problems or issues. 

    An issue I mostly see in television and movies (but let's be honest and admit that many people copy TV and movies) is body armor incorrectly adjusted so the plates are riding too low. The article notes, on that point:

Put the carrier on and adjust the shoulder straps so the top of the front plate is just below the sternal notch (the V at the base of your throat). The plate should cover from just below the collarbone to approximately the navel. If the plate rides too high, it will restrict neck movement. If it rides too low, it will not cover the lungs and upper abdomen.

 And another good point concerning mounting your gear and supplies to the carrier:

Divide your carrier into zones based on access priority. High-priority items go where you can reach them fastest with your dominant or non-dominant hand. Secondary items go where they are accessible but do not interfere with primary draws. Weight should be distributed evenly, left to right, to avoid uneven fatigue and posture issues over long operations.     

The author goes on to describe the configuration for the front panel, cummerbund, back panel, and suggestions on distributing weight. 

    A lot more in the article, so be sure to check it out. 

Diversity Is A Strength: Indian Crime Gangs In The U.S.

 The New York Post reports: "Murderous Indian terror gangs used California as a cash register while trafficking guns and drugs: feds." From the article:

    The feared Bishnoi gang founded by Lawrence Bishnoi, who remains locked in an Indian prison, used Whatsapp to direct the movements of hundreds of pounds of drugs across California and extort victims from LA and Thousand Oaks, court documents show.

    “Using contraband cellphones and other… devices smuggled into his jail cell, defendant Bishnoi personally directed political assassinations, murders, shootings, extortions, kidnappings, drug trafficking, human smuggling, and other crimes,” the documents say.

    The gang is accused of stealing about 1,150 pounds of cocaine from rival drug dealing outfits in the greater LA area between March 2024 and July 2025.    

[snip]

    One Bishnoi lieutenant, Rajan Bhatti, is accused of using terrifying threats in an attempt to extort $200,000 from an undercover federal officer posing as a wealthy expat living in LA, court papers reveal.

    “We’re going to cause harm to you,” Bhatti allegedly said. “Your kids, your family, everyone. It doesn’t matter to me if I kill someone. That’s what I do.”

    Members of another India-based crime outfit — the Bhagwanpuria gang, led by imprisoned Indian mastermind Jaggu Bhagwanpuria, 38 — are accused of ruthlessly exploiting their connections to extort victims, federal officials said.

    Bhagwanpuria gang member Gurlal Singh, 22, of Stockton, Calif., allegedly conspired with a corrupt cop in India’s Punjab state to falsely accuse their victims of murder and extort them over the pending case.