Using Changes to Diet to Deal with Chronic Health Problems

An interesting article at the Daily Mail on using changes to diet to deal with certain chronic conditions that can cause fatigue.

"An Argument Against Ankle Holsters"

The Firearms Blog has another interesting post from "Claymore"--someone with a significant background in military and law enforcement. This article is about an incident that confirmed to him why carrying your primary concealed carry weapon in an ankle holster. It is an interesting story, and well worth the read. The gist of it, though, is that he was working on gathering intelligence on terrorist groups in Puerto Rico at a large protest, which involved mingling undercover with the crowd and taking pictures of the people attending. As his "cover officer"--essentially backup in case of trouble--he was assigned someone brand new from the U.S. Marshal's who insisted on carrying his weapon in an ankle holster. After they had finished taking pictures and were leaving the demonstration area, they were surrounded by the leader and henchmen from one of the groups...

I have always appendix carried my Browning BDA-380 when undercover just the the right of my belt buckle and had put on rubber Pachmayr grips that work perfectly to prevent the firearm from slipping down from the belt. 

The big dudes were kicking us in the achilles tendon, and calves, while wearing heavy work boots, and pinching the back of our arms. Let me tell you when a large full grown man pinches your muscles it hurts like hell. 

We were in deep deep shit but fortunately we had stopped right before the May 19th lady and I quickly got my firearm out because I could still move my forearms and it was a simple matter to just move my hand to my belt buckle area to draw. Danny on the other hand had seen me going for my weapon but when he bent over to get to his ankle mounted weapon they “bucked” up against his extended rear end preventing him from bending over and when he tried to lift his leg to get to it they jostled him so he couldn’t stand on one leg. 

HE COULD NOT GET TO HIS WEAPON TO SAVE HIS LIFE. 

I took my weapon out from under my shirt with just and inch or so of the barrel showing, so the rest of the crowd couldn’t see it, and told the May19th lady “I know who you are and you know who I am. Look down (she did) and in three seconds I’m going to start shooting, starting with you right in the stomach if you don’t get your goons off us” I told her “we are leaving so just get them off us and we are out of here” All this time they keep up the pinching and kicking and I could see Danny was having a hard time of it.

Claymore's conclusion was that ankle holsters are okay for a backup gun, but not your primary weapon. As I said above, read the whole thing--it is an interesting story.

"Will You Die Getting To Your Bug Out Location?"

An article at Underground Medic suggesting tactics for bugging out under social upheaval or violence. The article leads off:

I am frequently surprised by the approach many Preppers take to their Bug-Out plans, especially those who expect to drive to their retreat location.  Many seem to feel that this will be no different than driving out of their home area for a vacation, which is beyond my comprehension.  I say that because if things are bad enough that Preppers are headed for their retreat locations one would think that travel could be difficult if not impossible.

This is in line with my recent comment that if you can't safely follow your bug-out route now, you cannot reasonably expect to do so when disaster strikes.

However, there is another point that needs to be addressed. The foregoing article and many other authors and commentators assume, by default, that traveling to a retreat will require using the same tactics as military forces moving through or advancing into enemy territory. My question is: Why?

What are the reasons you will be bugging out? A nearby chemical spill, hurricane, flood or wildfire threatening to overrun your home may require you to "bug out." But, in that case, your concern is not hostile forces, but simply evacuating the area as rapidly as possible. An earthquake may require you to relocate but, again, your concern will probably simply be getting to a new location. Unless there is significant looting or rioting, you will not be traversing "enemy territory."

The only time I could see having to bug out through hostile territory would be in the case of war, where enemy forces have surrounded your city, or some sudden, widespread civil unrest. Even in these cases, moving out at a high speed--similar to the procedure for executive protection--would probably be more effective than the slower overwatch or bounding overwatch methods of movement. Particularly if you are in a small group, such as a family unit, your safety is going to be proportional to your distance from a threat. You want to put as many miles as you can, as quickly as you can, between you and that army or mob.

The article mentions putting together convoys of multiple vehicles and having security elements. That presumes a fairly large number of adults evacuating together. Is that realistic for you? If you have the resources (vehicles, people, equipment) to conduct a counter-ambush drill or have separate security elements, great! If it is just dad, mom, two kids and a dog, it isn't going to work. If you are going to convoy with other families or groups, I have to question whether the time to meet and organize such a convoy would have been better spent "bugging out."

I guess my point is that "bugging out" is not a time to unnecessarily play at being a soldier. In most cases, you will not be facing any violent threats--your concern is timely evacuation. Even if you have to "bug out" through enemy territory, you may not have the resources to put together a military style convoy. You may be better off adopting the tactics of a small executive security detail over that of a military column. Some good articles on the topic can be found at the Straight Forward in a Crooked World blog, such as the this article on "Flight Plan," "Drive Like You Mean It," and "Break on Through to the Other Side."

Upholding Thuggery

Eugene Volokh, writing at the Washington Post, has some thoughts regarding the decision in Bible Believers v. Wayne County (6th Cir. Aug. 27, 2014). That case involved Christians suing law enforcement for threatening them with arrest for disturbing the peace if they did not cease efforts to preach at a Muslim street festival in Dearborn, Mich. Because the festival was held on public streets and walkways, not private property or public property leased expressly for the festival, the location was a public forum. Nevertheless, the majority upheld the officers' actions because the crowd was reacting violently to the Christians. (And, based on the facts recited in the article, the preachers were deliberately attempting to be provocative in their speech). However, as Prof. Volokh points out:

Behavior that gets rewarded gets repeated. People who are willing to use violence to suppress speech will learn that such behavior is effective, at least when the police don’t come down particularly hard on the thuggery. Indeed, they may find at times that even merely threatening violence might suffice to suppress speech they dislike. And of course this message will be easily learned by the potentially violent of all religious and political stripes (again, so long as they suspect that the police won’t make the thuggery too costly).

This behavior is part and parcel of the growing hostility toward Christians in the United States. The same reasoning could be applied to counter-protests regarding homosexuality, abortions, etc. It could even be extended to non-religious protests/demonstrations/rallys, such as on immigration, taxing/spending, etc.  Even if you do not participate in such protests, you have reason to be concerned because this decision will serve to further ratchet up the possibility of a protest/demonstration/rally turning violent.

(H/t Instapundit)

"U.S. Recon Team Assaults Taliban Position Under Fire"

The Politics of Saturated Fat (Updated)

Wait! I though the science was settled! The Independent reports:

Challenging any of the conventional  wisdom on dietary fat has long been a form of professional suicide for nutrition experts. And saturated fats, especially, are the third rail. But Krauss persevered and concluded in 2010, after reviewing all the scientific literature, that saturated fats could not be said to cause heart disease. In March, another group of  scientists, including faculty from Cambridge and Harvard, came to the same conclusion after conducting a similar “meta-analysis”. These were stunning results. It seemed that saturated fat, our principal dietary culprit for decades, had been unfairly convicted. 

Yet the truth is there never has been solid evidence that these fats cause disease. We only believe this to be true because nutrition policy was derailed over the past half-century by personal ambition, bad science, politics, and bias.

 Our fear of saturated fats began in the 1950s when Ancel Keys, a pathologist at the University of Minnesota, first proposed that they raised cholesterol and therefore caused heart disease. Keys was an aggressive, outsized personality with a talent for persuasion. He found a receptive audience for his “diet-heart hypothesis” among public-health experts who faced a growing emergency: heart disease, a relative rarity three decades earlier, had skyrocketed to be a leading cause of death. Keys managed to implant his idea into the American Heart Association and, in 1961, the group published the first-ever guidelines calling for Americans to cut back on saturated fats, as the best way to fight heart disease. The US government adopted this view in 1977 and the rest of the world followed. But the evidence backing these guidelines was weak. ...

What the article describes is that the evidence was not just weak. It was the result of bad science, predetermined outcomes, and contradicted by the evidence from cultures that ate significant quantities of meats and fats.

Rolling over the opposition by sheer force of will was typical of Keys and his acolytes in defending their saturated-fat hypothesis. Keys was “tough and ruthless and would argue any point”, Oliver, a prominent opponent, said. Since Keys’s allies controlled so many top government health posts, critics were denied research grants and key posts on expert panels. As retribution for defending the healthiness of eggs, despite their cholesterol content, Oliver was publicly branded by two of Keys’s main allies as a “notorious type” and a “scoundrel” because “he opposed us on everything”. 

In the end, Keys and his colleagues prevailed. Despite contrary observations from India to the Arctic, too much institutional energy and research money had already been spent trying to prove Keys’s hypothesis. The bias in its favour had grown so strong that the idea just started to seem like common sense.

 Instead, it is the low-fat, high grain diets supported by the American Heart Association that are dangerous. The article continues:

The problem, as researchers have suggested since the 1950s, is that carbohydrates are uniquely fattening. Whenever they’re eaten, the body is stimulated to release insulin, which turns out to be fantastically efficient at storing away fat. Meanwhile, fructose, the main sugar in fruit, causes the liver to generate triglycerides and other lipids in the blood that are altogether bad news. Excessive carbohydrates lead not only to obesity but also, over time, to Type 2 diabetes and, very likely, heart disease. 

The best possible science from the past decade now indicates that too many carbs overall – even of the supposedly healthy, whole-grain kind – increase the risk of these diseases compared with a diet low in carbohydrates. In other words, too much whole-grain cereal for breakfast and whole-grain pasta for dinner, with fruit snacks in between, add up to a less healthy diet than one of eggs and sausage, followed by fish.

 We now have an obesity epidemic caused largely in part by this officious meddling. This should be a warning to those that have embraced Global Warming. In fact, this should be a cautionary tale about how science is actually made in a modern world where the government approves and funds what it considers to be the scientific "truth" and what is not.

Update (9/3/2014): From the New York Times:

People who avoid carbohydrates and eat more fat, even saturated fat, lose more body fat and have fewer cardiovascular risks than people who follow the low-fat diet that health authorities have favored for decades, a major new study shows.

Solar Tactical AK47 Enhanced Mag Funnel

The Firearms Blog discusses a new product from Solar Tactical called the AK47 MFER enhanced mag funnel. TFB describes the product thus:

The Solar Tactical MFER essentually adds something the AK doesn’t have, a magwell. They work just like the flared mag wells you see on competition Glocks out at the range by helping the user guide the magazine into place during reloads. They’re designed to drop right in with no mods needed to most AKM and AK-47 variant rifles as well as 7.62 Saigas. Modifications will be needed with Chinese, Yugo, WASR 10 rifles and AK-74s. These won’t fit milled AK rifles or drum mags however.  

Keep It Legal--Its Hard to Prep in Prison

The Tampa Bay Times reports about a plea deal reached between federal authorities and Martin Howard Winters over weapons charges. Winters plea deal will still net him 10 years in prison. The article describes Winters as the leader of "a group known as the River Otter Preppers, which advocated survival preparations in advance of an end-times event foretold in the Bible's Book of Revelation, court records state."

Escaping New York

Live Science has a semi-serious article on New York City preppers, even though it takes the time to bash preppers and survivalists in general. It reads to me as an assignment undertaken with the intent to ridicule prepping, but the reporter discovered that maybe these people weren't so stupid after all. 

Amazingly, for preppers living in NYC:

Urban preppers usually don't own guns, their political views are all over the map, and they are often people of color, Bounds said. Many have seen firsthand, in disasters such as Hurricane Katrina, how long it can take for local and federal government agencies to restore order, she said. 

Urban survivalist culture also overlaps with sustainability and homesteading culture. Many preppers are interested in organic and local foods, farmers' markets and the reduction of toxic chemicals. Some meetings, for instance, have focused on such things  as how to make deodorant and laundry detergent at home, she said.

Not like us ignorant hicks in flyover country (sarc.).

The article suggests that there is a basic difference in strategy between the urban preppers and their suburban/rural counterparts:

Few New Yorkers are going to cram their fifth-floor walkup with 500 pounds (227 kilograms) of food (one estimate of how much food a person would need to eat for a year). So survivalists focus on getting out of the city fast. 

Bounds, a sociologist at CUNY who started studying a group called NYC Preppers after Hurricane Sandy, noted a key problem facing many New Yorkers:

Manhattan is an island with just nine bridges and four tunnels off the island, and a workday population of more than 3.1 million, which means there could be several chokepoints in the event of a disaster, she said. Some people even have inflatable kayaks on hand just in case. The best escape routes will depend on someone's origin and destination, but preppers often talk about the Catskills or even Upstate New York as potential safe havens, Bounds said. 

You just have to make it off Manhattan, through the Bronx, and continue due north.... Simple, really.

I wonder if anyone in the group has actually practiced their bug-out plan--especially those planning on evacuating on foot. For those with the kayak--have they kayaked across the East River, the Harlem River, or the Hudson? For the people on foot, have they walked over the bridges into the Bronx or Queens? Have any then walked through the Bronx or Queens to where ever they plan to rest overnight? I would suggest that if you cannot safely follow your bug-out route right now, you cannot reasonably expect to safely follow that route when a major disaster strikes. I would also suggest that anyone that has practiced their bug out plan would likely reconsider whether they want to store food in their walk up apartment.

I'm reminded of an early episode of Doomsday Preppers where a young woman had planned on evacuating  on foot from a city (Austin, TX, if my memory serves me). She had never practiced her bug out plan previously. She physically was unable to make the trip carrying her bug-out bag--I think she made it halfway within the allotted time. Also, she was alone and her plan was to make the trip at night. Watching the episode, I wondered what would have happened to her if she hadn't had a camera crew tagging along. Would she have been assaulted? Anyone's guess.

Also, I wonder about the people that only have half a bug out plan. That is, they have a plan for getting out of their city or town, but they don't have any definitive location to go. Trudging out of "Dodge" simply to become a refugee is a hell of a plan.

Related Links: Another article concerning Bounds and urban preppers at TechWorld.

New Woodpile Report

Just a reminder that there is a new Woodpile Report. One of the articles to which Ol' Remus has linked, which I think is worth particular consideration, is this from VOA News on whether North Korea has the ability to launch an EMP attack against the U.S. From the article:

Peter Vincent Pry told VOA he believes North Korea is ready to attempt a strike on the U.S. electric grid using an Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP). Pry said North Korea practiced an EMP strike against the U.S. last year when it orbited a satellite at the optimal altitude and trajectory to carry out such an attack. 

... Pry was a member of the former Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse Attack (2001-2008). He also is executive director of the Task Force on National and Homeland Security, a congressional advisory board dedicated to achieving protection of the United States from electromagnetic pulse and other threats.

At the end of the article, it mentions Pry's claims that the Soviets had produced a "super-EMP" weapon and some of the scientists had gone to North Korea following the collapse of communism.

Burning Ceder Fence Board

My son has been helping my father-in-law take down an old ceder privacy fence over the last week or so. We are also helping with hauling the old wood away. Since it is tremendous amount of old ceder boards, and we had not gotten around to getting firewood for this winter, I took the old ceder wood to use for firewood. However, knowing that painted or treated wood (especially old pressure treated wood) contain dangerous chemicals, including lead, copper and/or arsenic, I wanted to check on burning the old ceder boards.

I have to say that the information is mostly all over the place. Unfortunately, there was little authoritative information I was able to find in a quick search. Mostly it was questions to various forums. Some answers were that it is okay to burn ceder; other warned against burning ceder or any machine cut lumber because you don't know if it has been treated or painted; others dismissed treatment of ceder being a problem, but warned against using it because it contains high levels of creosote, creates a hot fire, and/or pops when burned.

Here seems to be the best (i.e., most authoritative information I could find): The University of Tennessee Forest Products Extension generally warns about burning treated woods, but then adds:

 Some wood species such as cedar, redwood, cypress and black locust are used outside because they naturally contain chemicals which protect them from insect and fungal attack. It is perfectly safe to burn these woods.

(This site, however, warns against burning old ceder shingles because they have been chemically treated). I also found a site that discusses the advantages and disadvantages to burning ceder.

The popping doesn't bother me--we are not using an open fireplace, and the most commonly available firewood in this area is pine, which presents most of the same problems. If anyone has thoughts on the matter, I would appreciate the input.

Bill Whittle: "Ferguson and the Real Race War"

Bill Whittle has a new Afterburner video. (Video and transcript here). Mr. Whittle observes:

Spokesmen for the protestors rioting in Ferguson and St. Louis – and, in fact, a large percentage of the general population -- claim that there is an epidemic of white on black crime, of white cops shooting unarmed black teens. Is that, in fact, happening? 

According to the FBI, there were 408,217 robberies in 2009. That’s about 1100 a day, or in round numbers, about once a minute, 24 hours a day. That means a thousand times a day the police are called, a thousand times a day arrests are made and in general terms the events leading up to the shots being fired in Ferguson Missouri happen about one thousand times PER DAY.  

So if there’s this epidemic of white policemen executing innocent black males, why do we only hear about a case like this every few years? And why do most of those cases – like this one – seem to end up with extenuating circumstances? And why do the few cases that don’t have extenuating circumstances end up with the offending officers in jail? If this is an epidemic – where’s the epidemic? 30,000 commercial flights land safely each day in America. They don’t make the news either.  

So. Is there an epidemic of racial violence loose in America today?  

There is. 

According to the National Crime Victimization Survey, in 2010, 62,593 blacks were the victims of white violence. During that same year, 320,082 whites were the victims of black violence. That’s five times as many violent attacks, but that number is misleading, since the black and white populations are not the same size. When 38 million black Americans commit five times as many violent crimes on 197 million whites as they receive, what you discover is that black perpetrators violently assault White victims TWENTY-FIVE times more frequently. When it comes to a specific kind of violent crime -- aggravated assault -- the number of black on white crimes is TWO HUNDRED TIMES HIGHER than white on black crimes. Oh, there’s an epidemic of racial violence in America, all right. 

I don't think this is the type of conversation on race that Democrats really want us to be having.

Photos of the Damage After the Napa Earthquake

The Daily Mail has a story on the Napa Valley earthquake with lots of photos of the damage. You will notice that most of the damaged structures were old masonry buildings--brick, primarily, with some stone. Brick buildings and facades are particularly susceptible to damage in an earthquake. The greatest danger, however, was probably unsecured shelves and unsecured bottles on those shelves.

Volcanoes and the Beginning of the Little Ice Age

This article was prompted by a comment to my October 2013 article on the 1258 (now believed to be 1257) A.D. Rinjani, Indonesia, volcanic eruption. Robert Nason noted a Zuni myth that supported a link between the Rinjani explosion and the decline of the Anasazi in the American Southwest. 

The Rinjani blast was likely twice as large as the 1815 Mt. Tambora blast, and apparently marks the beginning of the Little Ice Age. More accurate dating places the eruption as actually occurring between May and October of 1257. According to the National Geographic article just cited, "[t]he cataclysm blasted 10 cubic miles (40 cubic kilometers) of debris up to 27 miles (43 kilometers) high into the sky, producing fallout that settled around the world." Moreover:

Though the eruption was equatorial, its impact was felt and noted around the world. "The climate was disturbed for at least two years after the eruption," Lavigne said. Evidence of this was found in studies of tree rings that revealed abnormal growth rates, climate models, and historical records from as far afield as Europe."

Medieval chronicles, for example, describe the summer of 1258 as unseasonably cold, with poor harvests and incessant rains that triggered destructive floods—a "year without a summer." The winter immediately following the eruption was warmer in western Europe, however, as would be expected from high-sulfur eruptions in the tropics. The team cites historical records from Arras (northern France) that speak of a winter so mild "that frost barely lasted for more than two days," and even in January 1258 "violets could be observed, and strawberries and apple trees were in blossom."

Prior to the location of the eruption being pinpointed, Richard B. Stothers penned a paper discussing the impact of the 1257 explosion. (See "Climatic and Demographic Consequences of the Massive Volcanic Eruption of 1258," Climatic Change 45: 361–374, 2000). From his abstract:

Somewhere in the tropics, a volcano exploded violently during the year 1258, producing
a massive stratospheric aerosol veil that eventually blanketed the globe. Arctic and Antarctic ice cores suggest that this was the world’s largest volcanic eruption of the past millennium. According to contemporary chronicles, the stratospheric dry fog possibly manifested itself in Europe as a persistently cloudy aspect of the sky and also through an apparently total darkening of the eclipsed Moon. Based on a sudden temperature drop for several months in England, the eruption’s initiation date can be inferred to have been probably January 1258. The frequent cold and rain that year led to severe crop damage and famine throughout much of Europe. Pestilence repeatedly broke out in 1258 and 1259; it occurred also in the Middle East, reportedly there as plague. Another very cold winter followed in 1260–1261. The troubled period’s wars, famines, pestilences, and  earthquakes appear to have contributed in part to the rise of the European flagellant movement of 1260, one of the most bizarre social phenomena of the Middle Ages. 

Stothers reports that, from the accounts of the time, the initial impact was a "dry fog" that dimmed the sunlight and darkened two eclipses of the moon. This "fog" apparently had disappeared by 1262. Stothers also remarks on the impact on weather. He writes:

[A] long cold spell occurred in England between February and June that year [1258]. The same winter is also reported to have been a severe one at Prague in Bohemia and the springtime was noted as harsh in northern Iceland. 

... After the very rainy autumn of 1258, the following winter in England was unexceptional. Matthew Paris (1259), who regularly reports in detail on the weather near London, indicates nothing unusual for that winter. The Chronicle of Novgorod (1471) mentions an odd frosty day in Russia during April 1259. The summertime afterward was hot and dry in Austria and Germany and hot and stormy in France, while it rained a lot in England. 

Less is known about the weather in the following year, 1260. After a very mild winter, central France experienced severe cold and snow during April. But the summer weather was alternately dry and stormy, with a lot of hail, near Prague and likewise near London. 

It was not until later that year that Europe suffered another very cold winter. The winter of 1260–1261 struck Iceland so severely that people were forced to slaughter many of their livestock (Thórdarson, 1284) and ice formed in the sea all around the island. Very harsh winter conditions are also reported for England and for northwestern Italy. In Alsace, the Ill River froze, but it is not clear whether this happened in the winter of 1260–1261 or of 1261–1262, or in both winters.

(Citations omitted). The weather negatively impacted crops. Stothers indicates:

... The heavy summer and autumn rains in 1257 and 1258 ruined crops throughout England, western Germany, France, and northern Italy. Severe famine is explicitly attested in many localities, and can also be inferred elsewhere from the high prices of staple agricultural commodities. 

England was especially hard hit. Famine in the countryside drove thousands of villagers into London, where many of them perished from hunger. Richard of Cornwall, the king of Germany, was able to ship some grain from Germany and Holland into London to alleviate the distress of the poor who could afford to buy. The price of food throughout England rose, nonetheless, and eventually specie itself became in short supply, having been already depleted by heavy tax exactions at the hands of both the church and state.

(Citations omitted). Apparently, France experienced poor crops and famine as well, while records indicate higher food prices in the Italian states. Finally, contemporary reports record a famine during 1258 in the general region of Iraq, Syria, and southeastern Turkey.

Stothers also writes that the cooler weather contributed to outbreaks of disease. Beyond the expected diseases due to poor or inadequate diet, Stothers observes:

The main scourge of human beings in the period, however, was the great pestilence of April 1259. This epidemic is known to have struck London, other parts of France, Italy, and, probably, Austria. Riccobaldo of Ferrara (1313) also mentions the pestilence, but under the year 1258. The chief symptoms were chilliness and listlessness (frigor) that could linger for several months or else kill rather suddenly. Although an influenza epidemic is a possible explanation, the diagnostic data are too few for us to go beyond this mere speculation. 

In the Middle East, there was also reported a great pestilence in 1258, affecting Iraq, Syria, and southeastern Turkey. It was called ‘plague’by the 14th century Syrian chronicler Ab l-Fid’, and was said to have been especially severe in Damascus; it is also mentioned by the 15th century Egyptian historian al-Maqr z ̄. This pestilence continued until 1260, or perhaps it merely reappeared then, at least in southeastern Turkey. Because the Middle East has been historically prone to epidemics of bubonic plague, possibly that is what it was.

(Citations omitted).

This one volcanic explosion was not solely responsible for creating the Little Ice Age. There were other significant eruptions in the relevant time period. For instance, Stothers mentions that there apparently was a significant eruption about the same time in Mexico. Chaochao Gao, Alan Robock, and Caspar Ammann published a paper in 2008 in  the Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmospheres entitled "Volcanic Forcing of Climate over the Past 1500 Years: An Improved Ice-Core-Based Index for Climate Models," in which they state:

We see that the largest stratospheric sulfate aerosol injection events are the 1259 Unknown [Rinjani], 1453 Kuwae, 1815 Tambora eruptions in tropical regions, and the 1783 Laki eruption at high latitude of the NH [Northern Hemisphere]. The Kuwae sulfate injection was one year later in NH than SH since the peak deposition showed up a year later in Arctic ice cores. We also found a series of moderate to large sulfate injections during the 13th century, in 1228, 1259, 1268, 1275 and 1285 C.E. The cumulative volcanic sulfate flux in the 13th century was two to 10 times larger than that in any other century within the last millennium.

Also in 2008, David P. Schneider, Caspar M. Ammann, Bette L. Otto-Bliesner, and Darrell S. Kaufman published a paper in the Journal of Geophysical Research, entitled "Climate response to large, high-latitude and low-latitude volcanic eruptions in the Community Climate System Model" which correlated four large eruptions in 1257–58, 1269, 1278 and 1286 with the onset of cooling that started the Little Ice Age. Their modeling indicated that large volcanic eruptions in the tropics produce longer lasting climate impact world-wide, including cooler summers and reduced precipitation (up to 20% reduction in some areas). The cooling trend is reinforced by increased sea ice and ice accumulation. 

This article from Science Magazine reports on research by Gifford Miller of the University of Colorado, Boulder, which analyzed ice core samples showing a sudden die off of vegetation on Baffin Island (in the Arctic) between 1275 and 1300. The article notes:

... cooling following even a huge eruption lasts only until the debris falls out of the stratosphere after a few years. 

But Miller and his colleagues did some climate modeling to see what closely spaced eruptions might do to climate. In a climate model that included Arctic sea ice, repeated volcanic cooling sent sea ice southward along the east coast of Greenland. Its melting made surface waters less salty, reducing ocean mixing and thus chilling the waters that return to the Arctic. There the colder water completed a feedback loop by encouraging the formation of more sea ice. In at least some model runs, that feedback loop maintained an icy chill directly upwind of Europe for centuries.

(See also this article from Earth Magazine and this article at Skeptical Science).

Returning to the original comment that prompted this post, the NOAA makes the following observations about the end of the several cultures in the American Southwest:

... "The decline of Chaco apparently coincided with a prolonged drought in the San Juan Basin between 1130 and 1180. Lack of rainfall combined with an overtaxed environment may have led to food shortages. Even the clever irrigation methods of the Chacoans could not overcome prolonged drought. Under these pressures Chaco and the outliers may have experienced a slow social disintegration. The people began to drift away." 

During the 13th Century, the Ancient Pueblo peoples of Mesa Verde and nearby regions also abandonded their masonry homes. For many decades the conventional wisdom was that severe drought pushed them from the region due to crop failures. Paleo proxy data from tree rings and packrat middens have been used as evidence that a severe drought had hit the region. Analysis of bones from the inhabitants which showed malnutrition seemed to confirm the drought theory. 

The more scientists study the situation, the more complex the problem actually becomes. Yes, there was a drought (see the chart above which is based on tree ring data from Northeast New Mexico collected by Henri Grissino-Mayer, 1996), but was it really severe enough to force the Ancient Pueblos from their homes? Some researchers were skeptical. Evidence of cannibalism and human sacrifice was found in the region, adding new questions to the mix. Were the Ancestral Pueblos pushed out of the region by other tribes, such as the Apache and Navajo, or threatened by bands from the central valley of Mexico intent on human sacrifice? (White, 1992). Or did disease, perhaps something akin to the modern day hanta virus that can be triggered by sudden shifts from dry to wet climates, causing increases in disease carrying deer mice populations, run through the communities? (Martin, 1994) 

Other researchers took another look at climate just to make sure they weren't missing something, and Matthew Salzer (2000) noted there was significant volcanic activity, with one particular event-- likely the largest of the Holocene that occurred in 1259 A.D. -- that may have chilled the atmosphere, thereby shortening the growing season and perhaps disrupting normal rainfall patterns.

From the Archive: Building an AK

Below I've posted some thoughts and tips I picked up building an AK from a parts kit that I published in January and February 2012. It has been a fun gun to shoot.

* * * * Part 1 * * * *

With the successful resolution of my failure-to-extract issue, I've decided to discuss my thoughts (and lessons learned) on building an AK-74. This is not intended to be a primer (there are several sources of detailed information on builds available on the internet) but just a few pointers, ideas, and what I learned from the project.

Please note that I am not a gun smith, engineer, or machinist. These tips and thoughts are based on my own experience and are for educational use only. You should obtain proper instruction and training before attempting to use any tools or assembling a firearm. If you decide to use or apply these tips and thoughts, you do so at your own risk.

You Will Not Be Saving Any Money

First, and foremost, I want to emphasize that it is no longer economical to attempt to build an AK from a parts kits.Several years ago, you could get a de-milled AK kit (generally a Romanian AKM "G" kits) for around $70 dollars, that included the original barrel already seated in the front trunnion. Other types of kits, such as Polish underfolders, Egyptian made models, etc., were a little more, but included a barrel. The difficult part--seating the barrel and cutting the slots for the pins--was already done. This made it easier, and less expensive, for you--or a gunsmith if you sent the parts off for assembly--to build the rifle.

Then the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, & Firearms (BATF) changed the import rules. The result is that kits are now much more expensive, and do not come with an original barrel (or have a demilled barrel, i.e., a barrel with a several large holes drilled into it rendering it useless and irreparable). When you add the expense of purchasing the barrel to the other 944r parts, it is nearly the same as buying a finished gun from someplace like Century Arms. When you add the costs of a gunsmith to assemble the parts (or the tools, if you are going to do the assembly yourself), you easily could be paying as much or more than you would for a really nice AK from K-VAR. My opinion is that if you are going to build an AK from a kit, it must be because of the joy or interest in the project, to test your skills or learn new skills, and not because you are trying to save a few bucks.

Parts

Obviously, the basic set of parts you will need will be a "parts kit"--generally this will include both the front and rear trunnions, gas tube, front and rear sight assembly, trigger group (the hammer, sear, and trigger unit--typically for select fire, unless from a Romanian "G" model), stock, pistol grip, top cover, recoil spring, bolt, bolt carrier and gas piston, and various springs and pins. Some sellers may include a U.S. made barrel as part of a packaged deal. If not, you will need to purchase a barrel separately.  Sometimes you can find an East Bloc barrel that is mil-spec with a chrome lined bore and barrel. Otherwise, you will need to get a U.S. barrel. To my knowledge, there are no U.S. made barrels that are chrome lined. Sources for barrels, parts kits, or individual parts, include Apex, Centerfire Systems, Cheaper-Than-Dirt, Copes Distributing, Sarco, and RTG Parts. There are plenty of other sources out there as well.

The next "part" is technically the firearm. This is the receiver. This is the part that is registered and bears the serial number. You have two options: (1) buy a fully manufactured receiver through a licensed firearms dealer, or (2) buy a receiver "flat" and manufacture your own receiver. The welding and bending of a "flat" is beyond my skills and ability, so I will not discuss it, but Tapco manufactures flats. There are several manufacturers of AK receivers, but I used one from Nodak Spud. If you have a gun dealer you work through, you can place an order with Nodak, then have the FFL holder fax his license to Nodak. The receiver will be shipped to the FFL holder, where you will complete the paper work for the transfer. Check about the transfer fee charged by the FFL before you order the receiver.

Next, you need to purchase parts to comply with BATF Regulation 944r. I won't go into it in detail, but essentially you need to have a certain number of key parts manufactured in the United States. Tapco has a good overview on their website (link here). Not all guns have the total number of parts in the list. My understanding is that you will need to get at least six (6) U.S. made parts for the AK, but I also recommend that you "overbuild" it with additional parts just to be safe.

The barrel and receiver are each one (1) part, so by this point, you already have two 922r parts.

You will also need to get a different trigger group since you can't use the select-fire/full auto trigger group that came with the kit. A new hammer, trigger and sear all count as a 922r part each, so a complete trigger group is three (3) additional parts. As you can see, just replacing the minimum parts you need already gives you 5 of the 6 required parts. I used an Arsenal Inc. made trigger group (available through Midway or K-VAR), but Tapco's trigger group has also received high marks.

A couple notes as to the trigger group, however. First, there are single-hook and double-hook triggers available. You can read up on the differences on the internet. However, the receiver has a small slot in front of hole for the trigger to accommodate the hook when the trigger is pulled. That means that a single-hook will need one-slot, but a double-hook will need two-slots. Not all receivers are built with two slots. So, unless you fancy yourself cutting a slot into the receiver, check your receiver before you order the trigger group. I used a single-hook so I didn't have to worry about the issue.

Second, you may be tempted to pitch the full-auto trigger group that came with your kit. Don't. There is a small spring that fits between the trigger and the sear that you will need. Take the trigger/sear/rate reducer apart after wrapping in a cloth. The spring will jump out, so the cloth will catch it. (Trust me, the spring is very small and hard to find). After you have removed the spring, then you can throw the old trigger parts away.

The other parts to replace with 922r parts depends on your taste and what you want. If you want to use a non-U.S. stock and/or pistol grip, you may have to get creative. However, the stock is the easiest part to replace. The fore-stock, pistol grip, and butt stock are each one part, so replacing all three would give you a total (with the receiver, barrel, and trigger group) of 8 parts, which is well in excess of what is required under 922r.

Another part that is easily replaced is the flash-hider/muzzle compensator. The gas piston can be replaced, and some people will use U.S. made magazines (three parts--body, floor plate, and follower) or use a U.S. made floor plate or follower on a foreign made magazine body.

I opted for a U.S. made stock set. I chose the set available through K-VAR because it was the only U.S. made synthetic stock set with a heat shield in the forestock. (Note: K-VAR also sells foreign made stock sets, so double-check what you are ordering).

Another part you may consider, although it is not necessary, is a retaining plate to hold the trigger group pin in place. Tapco builds one (link here).  Here is a different style (a "shepherd's crook") at Brownells. (Link here). You can also modify one of the springs to clip into place. Strangely enough, Tapco has modified spring clips that you can also get (link here). I've had experience with the shepherd's crook style, but made my own spring clip out of a spring. (Some instructions here). It will save you a lot of time and expletives if you use a retaining plate.

Once you have the parts you need, you can ship it off to a gunsmith to assemble. Otherwise, you are ready to start down the hard road of becoming a DIY gunsmith.

Rivets Versus Screws Versus Welding

For the DIY gunsmith, the next issue is deciding the method to assemble the component parts--specifically, attaching the receiver to the front and rear trunnions, as well as attaching the trigger guard and magazine release assembly to the receiver.

The great debate (and it can be contentious) is using rivets versus using screws. You will also find a few people discussing welding. As I noted above, I don't do welding, so I won't discuss that option any further. The people arguing for rivets make two basic arguments: rivets are what the original design called for; and screws are too weak and loose to hold the gun together. Well, there is no doubt about the use of rivets by the Soviets, but in my research, I never came across anyone that actually experienced a failure due to a screw breaking. If there were any problems with screws, it was with the screws backing out, which problem was solved with a bit of Lock-Tite.

I decided on a screw build. My reasoning was that I thought it would be easier than attempting to build with rivets, it would be cheaper, and if I had issues, I could dissemble the parts if I needed. One of the issues that particularly concerned me with a rivet build was the actual process of squeezing the rivets. The professionals that built lots of AKs had special jigs for use with a hydraulic  press, which cost several hundreds of dollars. Other people modified bolt cutters to use to squeeze the rivets.

However, whichever way you go, you will need to get either rivets or screws. Various companies make rivets for assembling an AK. Screw kits were harder to track down. Although Tapco makes a set of screws, you can't purchase directly from Tapco, and there were only a couple of parts dealers that carried the screw sets. Of course, you can also go to your local hardware store for the screws, which is what I did, selecting stainless steel screws. If you do go the screw build route, I would recommend getting two sets of the screws just in case.

Tools

I'm going to assume that anyone getting into a project like this has basic hand tools like a ball-peen hammer, punches, various types of pliers, a vice-grip, etc. I also assume that you have some lubricant for easing the barrel and various pins into place. My focus will be on some of the non-standard tools.

Since you will be seating (pushing) the barrel into the front trunnion, you will want a hydraulic shop press. (Here, for example). This will come in handy for pressing the barrel pin. I suppose that you could use a heavier hammer to hammer the barrel in place, but it is a whole lot easier to have the press.

You will have to cut slots in the barrel for various pins, and you may need to open up some of the holes in the receiver for the screws. For this, you will need a Dremel or similar rotary tool. For the actual cutting, you will want to get 1/8 inch tungsten carbide cutter (Craftsman parts no. 953071) and 5/16 inch diamond point cutter/engraver (Craftsman parts no. 953161). The latter actually comes with two cutters/engravers--you will only need the pointed one; the one with the bulb tip is unnecessary for this project.

Of course, if you decide on a screw build, you will need the appropriate sized and thread tap and a tap wrench.

I discovered that the hole in the front trunnion for the barrel was actually too small. Ideally, you would use a flapper wheel to open it up but keeping it uniform in diameter. However, I couldn't find one that was the right size. I eventually decided on a 1-1/8 inch brake cylinder hone. (See, for example). It was still too big, but by removing one of the stones, I was able to fit it in and broaden the hole. If you have to do this, be very careful--you want the hole to be big enough that you can fit the chamber end of the barrel into the front trunnion, but tight enough that you will have to use the press to seat the barrel. In my case, just a few seconds of use (probably enough to grind off 1/1000 inch of material) was enough.

In my next post on this topic, I will discuss tips and pointers as to the actual assembly process.

* * * * Part 2 * * * *

This is the second part of my post on building an AK74.

Please note that I am not a gun smith, engineer, or machinist. These tips and thoughts are based on my own experience and are for educational use only. You should obtain proper instruction and training before attempting to use any tools or assembling a firearm. If you decide to use or apply these tips and thoughts, you do so at your own risk.

Threading the Trunnions

To do the screw build, you will obviously have to thread the holes in the front and rear trunnions. Remember, use plenty of oil and go slow and easy, backing the tap out often and cleaning and oiling it. I wasn't so careful on the first hole, and ended up breaking off the tap (which was a major task to get out).

Remember that on the back most hole on the rear trunnion, you will actually be threading it to accept a screw from both ends. It's easier to tap from both sides rather than try to run the tap all of the way through.

Prepping the Receiver

Check to make sure that the rivet holes in the receiver are big enough for you to slide the screws through. You don't want the screws threads to catch on the sheet metal of the receiver; instead, you want the screws to pull the metal wall of the receiver tight against the trunnions. The metal for the Nodak receivers have been heat treated, and they will strip the threads off the screws if the holes are not big enough. A quick pass or two with the 1/8 inch cutter should be sufficient to open up the rivet holes.

Seating the Barrel

As I stated above, the hole in the front trunnion for the barrel was too small for my barrel (the barrel was slightly oversized), so I had to "hog out" the trunnion slightly, which I discussed above in the tool section.

Remember to use a coating of lubricant on the barrel as you seat it. If you are using a press, just take it slow. The load pops are disconcerting, but normal.

Preliminary Assembly

At this point, you will need to check the head space, so screw the front and rear trunnions into place. DO NOT use Lock-Tite yet--you may need to remove the front trunnion again.

Headspace

Before you cut the slot for the barrel pin, you need to make sure that the head space is correct. I won't get into detail on the importance of proper head space because there are plenty of articles in gun magazines and on the internet discussing the topic.

The issue we have is measuring head-space. Typically, you would want to check head-space using a "go" and a "no-go" gauge. These gauges mimic a rifle cartridge. The bolt should be able to close all the way on a "go" gauge, but not be able to fully close on the "no-go" gauge.

The problem I had is that there is apparently only one manufacturer of these gauges for 5.45x39 firearms, and the gauges each cost some $30 or $35 dollars, which seemed excessive since I was only going to be building one firearm.

I came across a work around on one of the gun boards. First, you have to fit both trunnions into the receiver, with the barrel pressed in to where you think it should be, and screw the trunnions into place. This should be enough to put the bolt and bolt carrier into place. The trigger assembly and hammer are not yet installed. You will need two cartridges. One, unmodified, will be your "go" gauge. The other will have 3 layers of transparent tape ("Scotch tape") placed over the base and trimmed around the edges. This is the "no go" gauge. I fitted these into place and closed the bolt on each, and they worked--the bolt would close on the "go" cartridge, but not close on the "no-go" cartridge.

I had seated the barrel at the correct depth so I didn't have to mess around with the barrel. However, this is the step where it is useful to have used screws, because you could simply remove the front trunnion/barrel assembly from the receiver if you had to adjust the head space.

Seating and Pinning

The next steps are fitting and pinning the rear site assembly, the gas port, and front site frame. As with the front trunnion, you made need to slightly enlarge the holes on gas port assembly and front sight to get them to fit over the barrel. Again, they should fit over the barrel, but not necessarily be easy to get on--they need to fit tight.

The 1/8 inch cutter can be used to cut the slot for larger barrel pin--just put the cutter into the pin hole and start cutting it out so that the "hole" goes all of the way through. Remember to go in from both sides, and clean out the metal. I used a standard round file to smooth things out. This will take time. I thought I had it "right," then found that the pin wouldn't go in all of the way, had to drive it out, and work some more on enlarging the slot. Sometimes getting the pin out was more challenging than the effort to get it in. It helped, on those cases, to have a block of wood with a hole bored into it. Just rest the weapon over the block so that the pin can be driven into the hole in the block, and use a hammer and punch to push the pin out. (I didn't find the press to be as useful for getting the barrel pin out as for seating it in the first instance).

The other pin slots will need the smaller diamond cutter. For a file, I used a chain saw file. Otherwise, it was the same process.

When using the file, be careful of getting them stuck. Don't twist or screw the file--always use a straight back and forth motion.

Locating the Gas Port Hole

The challenge with pushing the gas port down into position over the barrel is making sure that you have it positioned far enough back to securely hold the gas tube in place, but not so far back that the gas port hole is covered.

What I did is use a caliper and put one end over the gas port, and then put a small mark on the opposite side of the barrel with an indelible marker. There is a small hole on the bottom of gas port assembly (i.e., on the bottom side of the barrel) that I believe lines up with the opening for the gas inside the assembly. Anyway, that is the theory. I slid the gas port assembly down over the barrel until I could see the small hole. Then, using a piece of wire that I had fashioned into an L-shape, I felt around inside the assembly until I was able to push the wire through the gas port hole in the barrel. That is how I was able to check the position.

Then, checking and rechecking the fit of the gas tube and using the wire to gauge the position of the gas port hole, I tapped the assembly down until I had it in the proper position--i.e., where the gas tube was secure, but I was not covering the gas port hole.

Special Notes for the Sights

The problem you want to avoid with the sights is having them canted to one side or the other. I used a small level over the rear site assembly to get the main part of the rifle leveled, and then slid the front site assembly on the barrel with just my hand, but enough so that it would stay in place, and used the level until the sight was in place. During the process I would double-check the rear site assembly with the level to make sure I had not disturbed it. Since I had put the rear stock on prior to this, I also put it up to my shoulder just get a visual picture as well. When I thought that the front site assembly was level, I took it out of the cradle so that I could use the hammer and punch to press the front site assembly down over the barrel into its final position.

Trigger Guard

On a screw build, you will use small nuts inside the receiver to hold the screws into place. The back screw is no problem, but for the four (4) screws on the front of the trigger guard/magazine release, I found that I had to grind down the outside edge of the screw heads so they would fit, and also grind off one of the points on the nuts to get them to all fit together as well. Again, don't use Lock-Tite yet, because you may have to take the screws or nuts out to work on them.

Lock-Tite

At this point, I loosened up the screws a bit to apply some Lock-Tite and screwed them back down tight.

Finishing

My next step was applying a spray-on finish to the barrel, receiver, etc. This may take several days to cure, so patience. Make sure you have removed the rear stock if you had previously installed it before applying any finish.

Trigger and Hammer Assembly

Now its time to assemble the guts of the beast. You will first want to use a  soft metal (i.e., brass) cleaning brush with your Dremel to polish the trigger assembly parts--particularly where the parts will be rubbing together. Don't take off the coating, just polish it so its smooth.

I installed the pistol grip before installing the trigger assembly.

Not ever having assembled an AK trigger group before, this was an experience. It took a lot of work and patience to hold all of the parts in place against the force of the springs while sliding a pin into place. I used a small nail punch that I pushed in from one side to hold everything in alignment while I slid the pins in from the other side. (The hammer and trigger pins slide in from left to right; the "pin," rod, or whatever you want to call it for the safety lever is inserted from the right to the left).

I had two primary issues at this point. First, I didn't have enough clearance for the hammer and its spring, and it was binding against the nuts for the screws at the front of the trigger guard. I had to remove the hammer and spring, and grind a little off the top of the nuts.

Second, was fitting the spring-clip in to lock the trigger pin in place. As I noted earlier, just buy a retaining plate and don't bother with using a modified spring. Really. I modified the spring and used it just for the experience, but ....

Stock

The final step is to reattach the rear stock and install the front stock.

Results

The first time I took it out to shoot, I put approximately 100 rounds through it without any mechanical problems. If you have read my prior posts, you know that the next time out shooting, I had a failure to extract which occurred on the first round. After taking care of that issue, I went out again and put another 90 rounds through the rifle without any further issues.

AR 101

A couple beginner's articles at American Rifleman for running the AR family of rifles and carbines by Kyle E. Lamb, author of the excellent Green Eyes Black Rifles.

The first article is "Getting Started" and discusses some basic safety issues, proper loading of the AR, finding the correct length of stock, shooting from the prone position, and how to perform basic maintenance of the weapon.

The second article, in the most recent edition of American Rifleman, is called "Hitting Your Target" and discusses zeroing procedures and ballistics. It then discusses the proper fighting stance using the system, use of the safety, and sight offset at short ranges. Finally, he describes a drill for practicing the use of the rifle.

Burglars and Shooting to Wound

A couple interesting articles from The Truth About Guns for your lunch-time read.

First up, TTAG summarizes research performed by The University of North Carolina at Charlotte Department of Criminal Justice & Criminology on behalf of the Electronic Security Association (an association of alarm manufacturers). The study interviewed a sample of prisoners from three states incarcerated for burglaries. Among the findings is that nearly 10% of the burglars had also been charged with homicide; 88% resorted to burglary to support drug habits and most were using substances when they committed the burglary; and only 1/4 worked alone (i.e., 3/4 worked with someone else). (A PDF of the study is available here).

The second article discusses why it is not only generally impossible to "shoot to wound" by why it is undesirable to do so.

Liberia Enforces Quarantine of Monrovia's West Point District

The Daily Mail reports that enforcement of a quarantine of a slum in Monrovia has become violent. According to the article, there had been opposition to the government opening a clinic in the slum to check for Ebola. The article reports:

Tensions came to a head over the weekend when a mob attacked and looted an Ebola screening centre, accusing officials of bringing sick people from all over Monrovia into their neighbourhood. 

Dozens of people waiting to be screened fled in the chaos. Looters made off with items, including bloody sheets and mattresses that could further spread the virus.

The whole district was then quarantined. Then this:

Liberian soldiers opened fire on residents of a slum in their country's capital city today after it was locked down in an effort to contain the spread of Ebola virus. 

People ran screaming as soldiers from the country's Ebola Task Force brutally enforced a quarantine of Monrovia's West Point district ordered by the country's president last night.

... Earlier today, riot police and soldiers sealed off West Point, a peninsula where the Mesurado River meets the Atlantic Ocean, with makeshift barricades built from piles of wood and barbed wire. 

Few roads go into the area, and a major road runs along the base of the isthmus, serving as a barrier between the neighbourhood and the rest of Monrovia. Ferries to the area have been halted, and a coast guard boat was patrolling the waters around the peninsula. 

At least 50,000 people live on the half-mile-long point, which is one of the poorest and most densely populated neighbourhoods of the capital. 

Sanitation is poor even in the best of times, and defecation in the streets and beaches is a major problem. Mistrust of authorities is rampant and many people live without electricity or access to clean water.

To be fair, when you dig into the story further, it only indicates that the soldiers were firing weapons into the air, and using truncheons to beat back mobs. The article also indicates that doctors were being flown into a remote Congo village to investigate what appears to have been a further spread/additional outbreak of the disease.

Running an AK

 A few articles. First, the basics: the AK 47 Operator's Manual (issued by the U.S. Army).

Second, "How to Run Your AK" from Shooting Illustrated, with some tips for operating the safety and quicker reloads.

Finally, although I think I've linked to this before, Death Valley Magazine's comparison between the AK and M-4.

Knife Fighting Tips ...

... from Gabe Suarez.

I had posted recently some links to articles and videos discussing some of the realities of a knife fight, or rather, attack. Suarez discusses some tactics for using a knife. However, the point of his article is to explain that if you wait until the other person has pulled/drawn their weapon, you are too late. He includes some tips from a criminal that had used knives (or shivs) for attacks against one person versus defending against attacks from multiple persons. But Suarez also adds the following anecdote:

There was a story once about a man in Central America being "followed" by three thugs. It was clear what the outcome would be. But the man in the story decidedly ambushed them by turning a corner into an alley, getting ready and stabbing the first man (probably killing him...it is unknown), stabbing the second man, and then the third man and he ran in opposite directions. That is the sort of "ambush" we are talking about and not a classic "L" ambush or a Richard Ramirez Night Stalker type of ambush. It is getting ahead of the fight and overwhelming the other side with a level of violence they will never match in time to survive you.

 Anyway, read the whole thing.

"A Guide to Chinese Infantry Support Weapons"

Article and photos at The Firearms Blog.

From the Archive: Cooking with Hayboxes

This is from two posts of mine from December 2011: "Wonderbag" Cooking Bag, Hay Boxes and Other Types of Insulated Cooking; and More information on Building and Using Hayboxes.

* * * *

Although I think that the Durban Climate Conference is just another manifestation of a modern-day secret combination, this article from The Telegraph caught my attention because it deals with a serious issue for preppers--conserving fuel when cooking.

A large number of the world’s poorest people spend a third of their income on fuels such as kerosene or paraffin. Others, invariably women, have to trudge for hours each day – often risking attack or rape – to fetch firewood or dung, which increases deforestation and denudes the soil. Burning the fuel in their inefficient stoves produces toxic smoke that kills more than two million people – mainly women and children – a year, and emits carbon dioxide and black carbon, the two main causes of global warming. Attempts to introduce solar cookers have failed because people cook at night, after the sun has gone down.

The idea first came to Sarah Collins, a Durban “social entrepreneur”, during power cuts in 2008. She remembered how her grandmother had surrounded her pans with cushions to keep them cooking when taken off the stove. She tried it, found that it worked, and wondered if it could help the poor.

She later mentioned the idea to Moshy Mathe, a formidable, “traditionally built” social activist while sitting with her on an aeroplane. Moshy suggested replacing the cushions with a padded bag and together they went on to develop the lidded Wonderbag, covered in African textiles and insulated with recycled polystyrene.

Its users can heat cassava on a stove in just half an hour, instead of eight, placing it in the bag to finish off, and there are big reductions in cooking times for rice, stews, beans and root vegetables (each bag comes with recipes for such delicacies as tripe, “supper pap”, and chicken feet). It works on the same principle as the old hay box, or the Bushman practice of burying food to continue cooking.

Unfortunately, the bag is too expensive for the people that need it to actually buy it. The makers are hoping to get a government subsidy. (Interestingly, this design is obviously based on a device called a "Wonderbox," also developed in South Africa, but several decades earlier--clearly, the idea mentioned in The Telegraph article above is not original, not even as to the name or the type of insulating material used). 

All of the bogus PC, "caring about people" comments aside (how caring can they be when they copy other people's ideas and pass it off as their own), the article raises an important issue, which is during a grid-down situation, you may have limited access to fuel. One way to conserve fuel is to get a cooking pot and its contents up to cooking temperature, and then move the pot to an insulated container to simmer and continue cooking.

As noted in the article, the idea is similar to the old-time "hay box." Constructing and using a "hay box" is discussed in some detail in Cody Lundin's book, When All Hell Breaks Loose. (Amazon link here). Mr. Lundin notes that using a hay box, "[i]ts fuel savings, depending on the type of food and how much cook time it requires, can be from 20 to 80 percent!" Id., pp. 330-331. He explains:

The concept behind insulated cookers is simple. When food in a container is put near a heat source, the food climbs to the boiling temperature and then stabilizes. The food within  the stabilized temperature then "cooks" for a given period of time. Any heat beyond the boiling temperature is merely replacing heat lost to the surroundign environment by the pot. When the container reaches it top temperature and then is removed from the heat source and placed in a super insulated box, the food inside continues to cook. In heat-retained cooking, food is brought to a boil, simmered for a few minutes depending on the particle size of the food, and then put into the hay box to continue cooking.

Id., p. 331. Lundin recommends simmering (i.e., over the fire or stove) small grained foods, such as rice, for 5-6 minutes; dried beans (preferably presoaked and drained) and whole potatoes for 15-18 minutes; and red meats for 20-30 minutes. He cautions that meats should be reheated over the stove or fire prior to serving. He also advises that you practice and experiment with this method since it obviously will vary according to the insulation you use, how tightly it fits around the containers, the type and size of containers, and so on.

Plans for building an insulated cooking box similar to the Wonderbox can be found here. Cooking ideas here.

There was also a discussion on the Zombie Squad forum about using a Thermos for insulated cooking. (Seehere and here). Apparently, specific vacuum flask systems are available for insulated cooking. (Wikipedia article here).

* * * *

I recently posted about different types of insulative cooking, including using hay-boxes. (See here). The Daily Survivor Blog posted some more information on the manufacture and use of hay-boxes. (Story here). There is even a link to a cook book for using hay-boxes.

Ukrainian Update

From the Daily Mail:

Escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine are on the verge of spilling over into open conflict. 

Ukraine has accused Moscow of pushing more military equipment over the border, including three missile systems. 

Rebel separatists Russia is accused of arming yesterday shot down a Ukrainian Mig-29 fighter jet, although the pilot managed to eject safely. 

The rebels had earlier boasted they were receiving 150 armoured vehicles, including 30 tanks, and 1,200 soldiers who were ‘trained in Russia’. 

Moscow continues to deny sending military equipment or personnel into Ukrainian territory, but large convoys have been seen massing on the Russian side of the border. 

Meanwhile some 16 lorries from a 280-strong Russian convoy carrying humanitarian aid for eastern Ukraine arrived at a rebel-held border crossing yesterday. Kiev insists any aid should cross a government-controlled part of the border. 

Interesting times.

Nuclear Sabatoge

Via Powerline Blog (h/t Instapundit):

Belgian energy company Electrabel said its Doel 4 nuclear reactor would stay offline at least until the end of this year after major damage to its turbine, with the cause confirmed as sabotage. . .

The loss of this reactor may lead to blackouts this winter.

Some More Abandoned Cities and Villages from Around the World

More photos from other sites at The Daily Mail.

Islamic State = Sodom

From the United Nations News Centre:

Two senior United Nations officials today condemned in the strongest terms the “barbaric acts” of sexual violence and “savage rapes” the armed group Islamic State (IS) has perpetrated on minorities in areas under its control. 

In a joint statement from Baghdad, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence (SRSG) in Conflict, Zainab Hawa Bangura and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Iraq, Nickolay Mladenov urged the immediate protection of civilians.  

"We are gravely concerned by continued reports of acts of violence, including sexual violence against women and teenage girls and boys belonging to Iraqi minorities,” Ms. Bangura and Mr. Mladenov said. 

“Atrocious accounts of abduction and detention of Yazidi, Christian, as well as Turkomen and Shabak women, girls and boys, and reports of savage rapes, are reaching us in an alarming manner," Ms. Bangura and Mr. Mladenov stated, pointing out that some 1,500 Yazidi and Christian persons may have been forced into sexual slavery.

(H/t Front Page Magazine)

The Law Tactical Gen 3 AR Folding Stock Adapter

Gear Scout provides an initial look at the Gen 3 adapter. Unlike the prior versions, this one apparently will let you shoot your AR with the stock folded.

What A Real Knife Attack Looks Like

Marc MacYoung notes at Non-Nonsense Self Defense common lies about knife fighting/attacks:

Lie #1You're going to have time to draw your own weapon | Lie #2 It's going to be a knife "fight" | Lie #3 But what if I'm cornered?" | Lie #4 He's going to attack you a specific  way | Lie# 5 And then he is going to passively stand there while you carve him | Lie #6 Trapping and stripping | Lie #7 Bio-mechanical cutting | Lie #8 Knowing how to stickfight means you know how to knife fight | Lie #9 Knowing kali makes you a knife fighter | Lie #10 Grappling with a knife | Lie #11 The knife is an extension of your hand | Lie #12 There is such a thing as a "master knife fighter" | Lie #13 That this is a "fight" at all | Lie #14 Expect to get cut | Lie #15 The FMA are the ultimate knife fighting systems | Lie #16 It's easy to disarm an armed opponent | Lie #17 You can successfully fight an armed attacker | Lie #18 Drills teach you how to knife fight | Lie #19 You can use a knife on another human being without legal repercussions. 

There are many so-called "experts" who claim to be able to teach you either knife fighting or defense against a knife. The problem is that most of them are just teaching regurgitated martial arts, usually from the Philippines. While I have lots of respect for the martial arts of other lands, the truth is that you live where you do. Odds are you are not in a "knife culture." And that means that whatever you do regarding knives must:  

A) Work to keep you alive against how you are likely to be attacked by a knife in your homeland and  

B) If it does work, not put you in prison for murder or manslaughter 

While B is important, it only becomes an issue if you survive A. Unfortunately, based on a lot of what I have been seeing taught with my own eyes or encountered while working with the students of these self-proclaimed "knife experts" getting past A is going to be a whole lot tougher than you think. Quite simply, most knife assaults are assassination attempts...how they occur is significantly different than how one "knife fights." ... 

He goes into some detail on each of the "lies," so read the whole thing. Although MacYoung somewhat disparages the notion of "biomechanical cutting," here is an article on that subject at The Truth About Knives. However, be sure to read what MacYoung has to say on the topic.

For some extra food for thought, here are a couple videos about real knife attacks. (Note, probably NSFW).

The White Flag

I grabbed this photo from Gates of Vienna, purporting to be of ISIS.



I don't have any information, but that appears to be the White Flag denoting the Islamic government. (See here for a brief explanation of the two flags of Islam).

Wolf Attack

From the August 13, 2014, Telegraph:

An attack in the dead of night by a pack of hungry wolves on a village in far west China left six villagers injured. 

Four or five wolves crept into Kalazhuole village in Altay, which lies at the foot of mountains that separate China from Mongolia, looking for sheep. 

They made enough noise to wake up several families in the village, who tried to chase them away. In the subsequent fighting, six villagers were bitten or clawed. 

"I was asleep in a water pump room," said one villager named Zhao Duobai. "At around 1am, I heard a scratching at the door. When I went outside, I saw the wolves pacing around. I took a small bucket and smashed one of their heads, but it rushed at me and attacked. I grabbed a wooden plate and hit it very hard around the head and it ran away. Later, I realised I was covered in blood." 

By the time a team of 30 hunters arrived at the scene to kill the wolves, the pack had vanished.

 By "bitten or clawed" they mean that one villager had an ear bitten off and others were seriously mauled.

Notwithstanding Disney's portrayals of animals, wild animals can be dangerous--even the herbivores. Wolf attacks on villagers or travelers was not unheard of in Medieval and Renaissance Europe. The primary problem is "habituation"--the animals are around humans, fed by humans, and lose their fear of humans and/or associate people with food.

Here is another interesting article starting out discussing a pack of wolves terrorizing a Russian village in 2011, then discussing more of the characteristics of wolves.