Active Response Training Discusses What to Look for in an IWB Holster

Fobus Paddle Holster for Taurus

Greg Ellifritz describes looking at the new Fobus IWB holster at the Shot Show, and thinking about what a terrible holster it was, which, of course, also led him to reminisce about why he doesn't like Fobus holsters generally, and, more importantly, what features to look for in a good inside the waistband holster. If you have been thinking about IWB holsters, read his article--now!--and then come back to my comments if you have the time (they will make more sense, I promise).

I've never had a problem with a firearm melting to a kydex holster. It probably means that I don't practice enough. However, kydex holsters have their place, albeit perhaps more limited than hyped. For instance, I have a Fobus paddle holster for my .38 snubby because it is easy to take off or put on, and reasonably comfortable to wear. I doubt that I will ever fire the small revolver enough to melt the plastic holster. But Mr. Ellifritz is correct--the holster is connected to the paddle by three small rivets and would be easy for a determined opponent to rip off. I've worried about it ripping loose when I've caught it against the edge of a desk or a door. Also, and this is true of many concealed carry holsters, they have poor retention of the weapon; meaning that most anyone could pull the weapon from your holster if they knew it was there and wanted it.

I had once used a Fobus holster with a Sig 226. Like many of the kydex designs, the center of weight of the firearm in a semi-auto (particularly a full-size service pistol) is generally at or above the belt line, which makes the holster want to twist around the belt; i.e., the grips tend to hang away from the body, which is especially pronounced in a steel framed pistol. So, while I like my Fobus with my small revolver, I probably wouldn't use a Fobus or kydex holster with anything else. Instead, I use a leather pancake holster for my 1911, which hugs the weapon close to the body. Since the belt fits through slots in the leather, you can't just pull the holster off. It uses a thumb-break retention strap which is probably enough for retention purposes. I have two holsters for my 4" service revolver (a Ruger Security-Six). One is a kydex shell with leather interior that I recently acquired for competition or casual shooting. The other is a police holster that not only has a thumb-break strap, but also needs to be rocked forward before it can be withdrawn from the holster.

Of course, if you have a crappy belt, it may not matter how good of holster you have chosen. Plain leather belts, unless it is some super thick or dense leather, tends to stretch during wear, so the holster that fit tight and comfortable at the beginning of the day may be hanging sort of loose by day's end. The problem is exacerbated by a narrow (dress) belt because they will easily twist. I've been using a shooting belt for the last couple of months on weekends and the evening, and have to say that it is an immense improvement. But, that is a review for another day....

The Most Dangerous Counties in the United States...

... from a disaster standpoint. An interactive map at Time. (H/t Fer Fal).

Just a Reminder....

If you post a comment and it doesn't get published right away, it may have been caught in Blogger's spam filter. I don't check the spam filter very often, so if there is a hang-up on your comment, shoot me an email.

I Weep Because of Our Public Educational System

At lunch, I overheard an argument between three young people (late teens) over whether there were 50 or 51 states.

ISIS Smuggling Terrorists Into Europe

From BuzzFeed:

An ISIS operative traveled across the Syrian border late last year, settled in a Turkish port city, and began work on a mission to sneak jihadis into Europe. It has been successful, he said, in an interview near the Turkey-Syria border: “Just wait.” 

The operative, a Syrian in his thirties with a close-cropped black beard, said ISIS is sending covert fighters to Europe — as did two smugglers who said they have helped. He smuggles them from Turkey in small groups, he said, hidden in cargo ships filled with hundreds of refugees. He said the fighters intend to fulfill ISIS’s threat to stage attacks in the West. He views this as retaliation for U.S.-led airstrikes against the group that began in Iraq last summer and Syria last fall. “If someone attacks me,” he said, speaking with BuzzFeed News on condition of anonymity, “then for sure I will attack them back.”

Read the whole thing.

The Financial Elite's Boltholes

Earlier this week, I cited to an article claiming that super-rich hedge fund managers were buying up "bolt holes" in New Zealand in the event of social disorder. New Zealand is rated as the world's third safest country after Iceland and Denmark. The Daily Mail takes a look at some of these "bolt holes" that are for sale, including lots of photos, of course. The article relates:

New Zealand, which is about the size of the UK, but has a population of just 4.4million, offers them all the modern luxuries they have come to expect - but miles from any country which may implode into chaos. 

The country is 11,658 miles away from the UK, while its closest neighbour is Fiji - 1,612 miles away, more than double the distance between Lands End and John O'Groats.  

Homes at the top end of the market come with tennis courts, swimming pools and media rooms - and some even boast their own personal jetties where a family can moor their boat.

The article also reports:

Already, several billionaires have bought themselves homes in New Zealand. 

Russian industrial magnate Alexander Abramov, who lives in Moscow, has transformed a farm in Helena Bay, two-and-a-half hours north of Auckland, sparing no expense to build five homes on the land.   

The entire project - which included a warren of underground passages, to be used by staff, and its own power station in case of cuts - is thought to have cost £24million, according the New Zealand Herald. 

But he isn't planning on living there full time. Instead, two of the homes will be used as a luxury resort, with visitors about to travel to it by helicopter. 

American billionaire William Foley is one of several who have snapped up vineyards, buying Te Kairanga, in Martinborough, in 2011. 

Paypal co-founder Peter Thiel also has property in the country, as does Tony Malkin, whose family's property portfolio includes the Empire State Building.

The Tea Leaves of California

Reading Tea Leaves (Source)

I haven't been by Fred Reed's site for a few weeks. But he has a couple of recent columns discussing multiculturalism that are worth reading--preferably in reverse order of when they were published. 

So, first up, though the second published, is "The Birth of Three Nations," wherein he discusses what led France to its recent unpleasantness--the cult of diversity. Reed observes, correctly, that no matter what the international elites preach, no one really likes diversity. It results in societal friction, at a minimum, and bloodshed, generally.

Those among us who prefer hope to observation invariably insist that dislike springs from some defect in the character of those doing the disliking. If only those awful bigots would learn tolerance. If only we indoctrinated children enough in the schools, surely…. If only we made enough laws, or prosecuted hate crimes, or showed enough harmonious togetherness in movies, surely…. 

In support of this delusion, they often point out that the Irish and Italians no longer suffer discrimination in America. See? Diversity is no problem. Yet this was not a triumph of toleration, but of assimilation: they stopped being  Irish and Italian, and assimilated to the dominant culture. 

But assimilation becomes less likely and more difficult as the numbers and concentration of a group increase. Immigrants in small numbers, especially if dispersed, have to live in accord with the dominant culture. They will be seen as interesting rather than as invaders. Nobody hated Mexicans when they were few. 

* * * 

In America today we see huge homogeneous pools of Negro and Hispanic population and culture. Tthe inhabitants of the massive black ghettoes have virtually no exposure to white America except via television, which means that assimilation is not going to happen. Further, as usually occurs with dense concentrations of a culture, they do not want to assimilate. They have their own music, modes of dress, variant of English, and non-standard names intended to emphasize their distance from whites. 

The same to a lesser degree is true of Hispanics. It is also true of American expats, who tend to clump together and have no desire for assimilation. Human nature is human nature. 

Aggravating the problem is that the United States no longer has a dominant culture, or at any rate no culture willing to be dominant. This has proved to be a recipe for unending and apparently unendable confrontation with blacks. 

Will Hispanics follow the same pattern? They may well. Their numbers and concentration are great enough, they begin to have real political power, and will eventually have a voting majority in the Southwest. They know they are disliked by much of America. Hispanics are more assimilable than blacks; the question is whether they are assimilable enough. If the almost invisible differences between two flavors or Christianity or of Islam can lead to warfare, so may those between Latino and white. And trouble already brews between black and brown. 

Diversity. It offers to divide America into three countries, self-aware and, may God preserve us, mutually hostile. We can talk forever about what ought to be. We can leap from a tall building, insisting that we are birds. Yet we live in what is. We are not birds. Reality eventually takes hold. Aye, there’s the rub.

Turning from the general to the specific, he offers an update on California from the point of view of a law enforcement friend of his that lives there. The basic gist is that Hispanics are gaining political power and street power, primarily at the expense of blacks. Hispanics are driving blacks out of traditional black neighborhoods. More ominously, Reed's source indicates that, whereas in the past the Mexican cartels simply contracted with gangs in California to distribute drugs, merchandise is now being directed to Hispanic gangs and there is increasing direction and control by the cartels.

Extrapolating from the article, the near future in California will likely see a spike in gang warfare along racial lines--i.e., black versus white--unless blacks are simply willing to move out of Southern California. There will also be a spike in gang warfare because of the narcos moving more of their conflicts north of the border.

Anyway, read both of the articles and see what you think.

North Korea ...

... appears to be restarting its Yongbyon nuclear reactor, which can produce enough plutonium each year to make a bomb.

Ebola Virus Mutating

The Daily Mail:

Scientists tracking the spread of the Ebola in West Africa have warned the virus is showing signs of mutating, and could become more contagious. 

It was a team of researchers from the Institut Pasteur in France who first identified the outbreak in Guinea, in March last year. 

Patient zero - the first person to be infected - has been identified as two-year-old Emile Ouamouno from the rural village of Meliandou. 

He died four days after he fell ill with a sky-high fever and vomiting in December 2013.
Just weeks later his sister succumbed to the disease, followed by their mother and grandmother. 

From there the virus spread, before the scientists at Institut Pasteur identified it as Ebola three months later after it was reported to the health authorities. 

The team have since been tracing the virus' spread through Guinea, to establish if the disease could become more contagious.   

They have started the process of examining hundreds of blood samples from Ebola patients in the West African nation where the first cases struck in December 2013. 

Human geneticist Dr Anavaj Sakuntabhai, told the BBC: 'We know the virus is changing quite a lot. 

'That's important for diagnosing and for treatment. We need to know how the virus (is changing) to keep up with our enemy.' 

He told Radio 4's Today programme viruses have to 'fight a balance' between infecting people and spreading. 

'We have seen several cases that don't have any symptoms at all when infected,' he said. 

'These people may be the ones who could spread the virus better, we do not know yet. 

 'A virus can change from more deadly into less deadly but more contagious and that is something we are afraid of.'

 (Underline added). The underlined portion is what I've been worried about since this epidemic began. In fact, it is probably due to such mutations that this epidemic spread so far, instead of burning out quickly as did prior Ebola outbreaks.

Why the Attempts to Bring Democracy to Middle-East Will Fail

I read recently (and, unfortunately, don't remember where) someone describe the basic hubris or conceit of Western intellectuals and politicians, including our last several presidents, as to foreign policy is the belief that everyone wants the same things we want, including freedom and democracy. Except it isn't true. From an article at The Independent:

A man was held down and beheaded for “insulting Allah” in the middle of a Syrian town by Isis fighters as he screamed for help from the silent crowd. 

Footage reportedly taken on Monday in the town of Al-Shadadi is the terror group’s latest show of brutality in its territories stretching from the Turkish border in Syria to northern Iraq. 

Details of the man’s crime were unknown but his death was staged for maximum exposure in a public square. 

A militant addressed the large crowd, which included children, as the man was restrained behind him claiming to carry out the “law of Allah” by executing him for allegedly insulting God. 

* * * 

One militant dropped his Kalashnikov as the man fought his captors for several minutes, eventually being pinned down by four men including one sitting on his back and pinning his arms behind him. 

When the executioner finally beheaded him with one blow of a sword, a roar went up from the crowd as militants chanted “Allahu akbar” (God is great) [sic].

How to Survive an Avalanche

The Art of Manliness has an article and illustrations about not only what you can do to prepare or avoid an avalanche, but what to do if you are caught in an avalanche, or if you are in a position to rescue someone else that was caught in an avalanche--it is not as simple as just digging a hole at their last position.

TTAG and Dan Baum

TTAG has posted a new article written by Dan Baum entitled "Question of the Day: How Can Gun Owners Lead by Moral Example?" Baum is the author of Gun Guys: A Road Trip, but has written various pieces in the past attacking private gun ownership for various magazines and newspapers, although he appears to have toned down his articles in the last couple years. He portrays himself as an anti-gun liberal who has converted to liking firearms. However, I first came across his name several years ago when he was trolling gun and survival boards trying to find gun owners to interview about caching weapons. 

Anyway, Baum's article at TTAG is a typical 5th column attack on private gun ownership. It starts out with a seemingly reasonable question: how to gain the moral high ground in the public debate over gun rights. Baum is no idiot: he recognizes that merely because something is a "natural right" or "God given right," it is not safe from a government attempting to curtail it. He then writes:

All guns start as the legal purchases of law-abiding people, who then lose control of them. When a child finds a loaded gun and kills herself or a playmate, it’s because a law-abiding gun owner let it happen. When a teenager gets ahold of a gun and commits suicide or worse, a law-abiding gun owner let it happen. Most guns used in violent crime are stolen, usually from law-abiding people who leave them unsecured. The majority is not wrong for wanting this nonsense to stop. 

The truth is that while each of us individually may believe he’s careful, as a community we are fatally sloppy. We have been so focused on bleating about our rights, that we have lifted our eye from our responsibilities. It is only by rediscovering, as a community, our commitment to the awesome responsibility of owning something as lethal as a firearm that we will ultimately secure our rights. 

We need to take the lead on reducing firearm accidents, suicides, and homicides away from Shannon Watts and Michael Bloomberg and the Brady Center — who don’t understand firearms at all — and reclaim that leadership for ourselves, who do. We need to demonstrate to the majority, by our moral example, that our right to keep and bear arms is not a zero-sum game — we win and you lose, or vice versa — but that an armed citizenry is good for everybody, gun owner and non-gun owner alike.

The flaw with Baum's argument is that it requires gun-owners to concede something that is not true--that gun owners are careless, and that this carelessness leads to gun deaths. John Lott looked into this issue in an article entitled "Children and Guns: The Fear and the Reality." He observed:

The CDC reports that for 2010 (the latest year available), one single six-year old died from a gunshot. For all children younger than 10, there were 36 accidental gun deaths, and that is out of 41 million children. Perhaps most important, about two-thirds of these accidental gun deaths involving young children are not shots fired by other little kids but rather by adult males with criminal backgrounds. In other words, unless you send your child to play at a criminal’s home, she is exceedingly unlikely to get shot. 

Indeed, if you are going to worry about your child’s safety you should check into other, perhaps less obvious dangers lurking in the playmate’s house: swimming pools, bathtubs, water buckets, bicycles, and chemicals and medications that can cause fatal poisoning. Drownings alone claimed 609 deaths; fires, 262 lives; poisonings, 54 lives. And don’t forget to ask about the playmate’s parents’ car and their driving records if your child will ride with them: After all, motor-vehicle accidents killed 923 children younger than 10.

It seems to me that I did some rough calculations as to the danger posed by swimming pools, and based on the number of swimming pools versus the number of deaths by drowning, a swimming pool was some 10,000 times more dangerous to a child than a firearm. Lott also noted that laws requiring owners to lock up firearms were less than useless:

My research on juvenile accidental gun deaths for all U.S. states shows that mandates that guns be locked up had no impact. What did happen in states with such mandates, however, was that criminals attacked more people in their homes and crimes were more successful: 300 more total murders and 4,000 more rapes occurred each year in these states.

Moreover, there is no correlation between homicide rates and gun ownership.  As even the highly biased Guardian notes:

From an international perspective, the US clearly has a problem - despite having less than 5% of the world's population, it has roughly 35-50% of the world's civilian-owned guns. [ed. And that's bad how?].

The United States has 88 firearms per 100 people. Yemen, the second highest gun ownership country in the world has 54.8. The third and fourth biggest countries may also come as a surprise - Switzerland (45.7) and Finland (45.3).

As a percentage of all murders, firearms are the most deadly in places like Puerto Rico and Sierra Leone where they account for 95% and 88% of homicides. The US also slides down the global rankings when homicide by firearm victims are looked at per 100,000 of the population - the figure is 2.97 for the United States, in stark contrast to Jamaica's 39.4 per 100,000 or Honduras's 68.43.

As Daniel Greenfield discusses in this December 2012 article at Front Page magazine, most of the murders in the U.S. occur in the large, Democratically controlled cities--that have strict gun control. That is, the U.S. has a gang problem, not a gun problem.

Chicago’s murder numbers have hit that magic 500. Baltimore’s murder toll has passed 200. In Philly, it’s up to 324, the highest since 2007. In Detroit, it’s approaching 400, another record. In New Orleans, it’s almost at 200. New York City is down to 414 from 508. In Los Angeles, it’s over 500. In St. Louis it’s 113 and 130 in Oakland. It’s 121 in Memphis and 76 in Birmingham.

Washington, D.C., home of the boys and girls who can solve it all, is nearing its own big 100.

Those 12 cities alone account for nearly 3,200 dead and nearly a quarter of all murders in the United States. And we haven’t even visited sunny Atlanta or chilly Cleveland.

 He also explains:

A breakdown of the Chicago killing fields shows that 83% of those murdered in Chicago last year had criminal records. In Philly, it’s 75%. In Milwaukee it’s 77% percent. In New Orleans, it’s 64%. In Baltimore, it’s 91%. Many were felons who had served time. And as many as 80% of the homicides were gang related.

Chicago’s problem isn’t guns; it’s gangs. Gun control efforts in Chicago or any other major city are doomed because gangs represent organized crime networks which stretch down to Mexico, and trying to cut off their gun supply will be as effective as trying to cut off their drug supply.

America’s murder rate isn’t the work of the suburban and rural homeowners who shop for guns at sporting goods stores and at gun shows, and whom news shows profile after every shooting, but by the gangs embedded in the urban areas controlled by the Democratic machine. The gangs who drive up America’s murder rate look nothing like the occasional mentally ill suburban white kid who goes off his medication and decides to shoot up a school. Lanza, like most serial killers, is a media aberration, not the norm.

National murder statistics show that blacks are far more likely to be killers than whites and they are also far more likely to be killed. The single largest cause of homicides is the argument. 4th on the list is juvenile gang activity with 676 murders, which combined with various flavors of gangland killings takes us nearly to the 1,000 mark. America has more gangland murders than Sierra Leone, Eritrea and Puerto Rico have murders.

Our national murder rate is not some incomprehensible mystery that can only be attributed to the inanimate tools, the steel, brass and wood that do the work. It is largely the work of adult males from age 18 to 39 with criminal records killing other males of that same age and criminal past.

(See also here). So basically, even with gang related deaths, the U.S. has a low murder rate; and without them, the U.S. is comparable to Western Europe. (See also this article at U.S. Conservatives).

So, no, gun owners should not concede that they have a problem with carelessness with firearms.

C&R Trigger Test

The Firearms Blog has conducted a test of the trigger weight of some 17 C&R military rifles (including the SKS, Garand, Mauser K98, and Mosin Nagant), plus a few automatic weapons. Median trigger pull was in the 6 to 7 lbs. range. Anyway, check it out.

The Decline of Civilization--Part I

Oswald Spengler

        We've looked at several books and articles discussing the decline and collapse of civilizations, and attempting to predict where we are, and where we are going. In this article, I want to bring some of these ideas together.

          It is generally best to start at the beginning, and the same is true in this case. Accordingly, I want to revisit some of the basic scholarship on the decline and collapse of civilizations that I have found worthwhile.

Oswald Spengler and The Decline of the West

          Oswald Spengler provided one of the earliest and, still, one of the best reviews of the common patterns between the growth, maturity, and eventual death of civilizations in his magnum opus, The Decline of the West. (As a side note, for those interested in reading Spengler, I would warn you that I have yet to see an electronic version of his book that is worthwhile--his books are replete with footnotes, and include many terms in German or Greek, which have not converted well to an e-book format. I had to suffer through an e-book version for Volume 1 of his work, but was fortunate enough to stumble across a copy of his Volume 2 at a used book store). I've referred to Spengler's writings numerous times in this blog, but never provided an in-depth review. Thus, I want to spend some time laying out Spengler's main ideas.

         I suppose if I were to attempt to sum up Spengler's ideas in a single sentence, it would be that once a society cuts its ties with its root culture, it becomes increasingly empty, sclerotic and nihilistic. But while that is the essence of his theory, it lacks the necessary meat or body necessary for understanding. Spengler saw societies developing along the lines of an organism's life. Beginning with a vital culture as its root stock, a society matures into a civilization which, even upon reaching civilization, has in fact begun to die. Although the civilization continues to grow and appears stronger, it, in fact, loses its vitality. In Spengler's mind, this is demonstrated through the decline of art. A civilization may become more technically proficient, from a scientific or engineering standpoint, but its art has reached its apogee and declines into recycled and degenerate forms that are increasingly designed to titillate rather than inspire, appealing to only a declining minority of specialists. Along the way, the sanctity of home and hearth is abandoned. Power and government is concentration in a world city (or cities), feminism appears, birthrates decline, and the highest virtue of the civilization comes to be attacking the culture that forms the root of the civilization. The world cities have not only forgone the native culture but, as Spengler theory states, have lost even their national identities, with little or no interest in the rural population.

(Continued below the fold....)

Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin

The Mirror reports:

Super rich hedge fund managers are buying 'secret boltholes' where they can hideout in the event of civil uprising against growing inequality, it has been claimed. 

Nervous financiers from across the globe have begun purchasing landing strips, homes and land in areas such as New Zealand so they can flee should people rise up. 

With growing inequality and riots such as those in London in 2011 and in Ferguson and other parts of the USA last year, many financial leaders fear they could become targets for public fury. 

Robert Johnson, president of the Institute of New Economic Thinking, told people at the World Economic Forum in Davos that many hedge fund managers were already planning their escapes.

The Leatherman Tread (Updated)

The Tread

Leatherman will be releasing a new multi-tool this year called the Tread--a bracelet where each link is a tool. The idea was to create a tool that would be easier to take into paranoid security conscious venues. Leatherman also plans to offer it with a watch.

The EU's Greatest Fear Over A Greek Exit

It appears more and more likely that Greece may exit the European Union--at least to the extent of jettisoning the Euro. However, Daniel Hannan writes that the worst prospect for the EU would be if Greece did so ... and succeeded. Hannan explains:

The past six years have seen a greater depression in Greece than that of 1929 to 1935. Output is down by an almost unbelievable 25 per cent. A quarter of all Greeks – half of all youngsters – are unemployed, and tens of thousands more have emigrated in search of jobs. 

Mr Tsipras talks of the policies that the EU has forced on Athens as ‘fiscal waterboarding’ and you can see his point. 

Middle-class Athenians can be found rummaging in bins. Farmers are bringing supplies to their urban cousins. On cold nights, a pall of woodsmoke rises, because people can no longer pay heating bills. 

* * * 

[A] default and devaluation would offer a fresh start. Although the economy has been pummelled by six years of Euro-austerity, some of the fundamentals have improved. 

The bureaucracy has been slimmed, taxes are now collected and, if debt repayments were taken out of it, the budget would be in balance. In truth, this is what EU leaders fear. Not that Greece will leave the euro and collapse, but that Greece will leave the euro and prosper. 

A competitive Greek economy, exporting its way back to growth, might inspire Spaniards and Italians, who have also been paying the price of the euro, to follow.

Democrat Introduces Bill to Limit Private Ownership of Body Armor and Home Made Firearms

Guns Save Lives reports:

Representative Mike Honda (D-CA) has introduced a bill for consideration of the new Congress which would prohibit the ownership of certain types of body armor for civilians. 

H.R. 378 would make it a crime to own Type III body armor which would be punishable by up to 10 years in prison. 

According to Honda's website, "[t]his bill allows law enforcement to respond to active shooting situations more effectively. The bill prohibits the purchase, sale, or possession of military-grade body armor by anyone except certain authorized users, such as first-responders and law enforcement." The bill apparently also has a grandfathering provision. Apparently it is of no importance that federal law already prohibits felons from owning any type of body armor.

Although the article from Guns Save Lives doesn't mention it, Honda has also introduced a couple other bills that would limit home built firearms. One bill would require a hobbyist building a firearm at home to put a serial number on the firearm. Another one would ban the sale of 80% lowers.

Failing at a Basic Level

William S. Lind has written extensively on 4th Generational Warfare and how it is rooted in a challenge to the legitimacy of the State. That is, although the Peace of Westphalia introduced the modern concept of the State--the Leviathan, as Hobbes termed it--and the first generation of warfare for such states, Lind foresees that the greatest threat to States in the 21st century will come about due to the failure of States to maintain their legitimacy. Lind often focuses on the fact that many individuals and groups will begin to give their primary loyalty to non-state entities or movements. It is the crises of legitimacy that has led, and will continue to lead, to 4th Generation conflict.

However, the flip side of that is States losing or giving up their legitimacy because they cease to perform the basic functions of the State. This can happen in several ways, but two of the most significant are the failure to provide basic services, and, relatedly, ceasing to be a neutral party and pursuing the goals or objectives of a few at a cost to the many. It is interesting to me to see the number of examples of this recently in news articles and commentary.

Global Guerrillas reported this past weekend that "militants" had targeted two (2) electrical transmission pylons in Pakistan, which resulted in a cascade a power failures leaving 140 million without electrical power. The author commented:

Attacks like these can be very damaging.  How so?  People don't blame the attackers for blackouts.  They blame the government.  In fact, the inability of a government to deliver the basics of energy and fuel is more damaging to its legitimacy than problems with security (it routinely led the list of reasons Iraqis were angry at the government).

It would be one thing if this failure to provide basic services was limited to a third world hell hole, but it is not. Moving somewhat closer to home, Theodore Dalrymple recently wrote at Taki Magazine about the lights going out over his bit of Europe--literally. From the article:

Last night the streetlights in my pleasant little English market town were switched off at midnight. In fact they’ve been switching them off at midnight for two months, but I have not been here to notice it. However, in this little development (or is it a reversal of development?) may be seen all the economic troubles of the whole Western world. 

The lights are switched off as a cost-saving measure, not because of the aesthetic and cultural advantages of darkness (which, in my opinion, do actually exist), or because there is anything wrong with the electricity supply. Private houses are unaffected. You can still burn the midnight oil if you want to.  

But why do costs need to be cut? A brief description of some of the town’s finances might be helpful. Its most highly paid official receives in emoluments nearly 20 percent of the town’s income through local taxation. The payment of pensions to past employees, which are completely unfunded and must be found from current income, consume another 20 to 25 percent of that tax revenue. Two years ago a former employee took the council to a labor tribunal for wrongful dismissal, and the council spent 66 percent of its income in that year on legal fees. (The employee’s complaints against the council were not upheld, but that was scarcely of any comfort to the taxpayers, for the costs were not recoverable—even though natural justice required that she should be driven into penury and made homeless for the rest of her life to pay for her legal action, which was both frivolous and dishonest.) 

Even if it provided no services at all, the council would still run at a deficit if it continued only with its essential business, which is to pay the salaries and pensions of those who work in it, and the various parasitical rent-seekers, like employment lawyers, who live at its expense. And so the bureaucracy (and its hangers-on) does not exist to serve the public, but the public exists to serve the bureaucracy. ...

But it is not just the bloated bureaucracy of Europe, but that here in the United States. From a recent article at The Daily Signal:

For “Outrageous Government Scam of 2014,” it’s hard to compete with the news of the supersized public employee pensions in California. If you haven’t already heard: In 2013, an assistant fire chief in Southern California collected a $983,319 pension. A police captain in Los Angeles received nearly $753,861. 

Talk about a golden parachute. And the report on Golden State government pensions contains a list of hundreds of “public servants” who have hit the jackpot with annual pensions of a half million dollars a year. It’s like they’re playing the game “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” with taxpayer money. 

By some estimates, the unfunded public-sector pension liabilities in California have eclipsed $750 billion, which means in a few years residents will be paying their already-highest-in-the-nation income and sales taxes not for roads, bridges, schools and public safety, but for retired employees living like Daddy Warbucks.

... Nationwide, public employee pensions are running $1 trillion to $5 trillion in the red, depending on the rate of return expected on stocks and bonds. This could be the next housing bubble to burst. Some states like Utah have smartly moved to head off this crisis by closing down open-ended pensions and putting public sector union members in 401(k) plans that won’t bankrupt the state or municipalities. The unions are fighting this reform everywhere.

I've cited articles over the last several years concerning the pension crises and cut backs in city services in many different cities. Heck, Detroit essentially cut off large sections of itself from even receiving basic services because of budget woes.

Concurrently, governments are continually seeking greater streams of revenue, or even new revenue sources. California, for instance, after years of encouraging people to drive less and use more fuel efficient cars, is now considering a mileage tax as fuel tax revenue declines. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) has been building a database of motorists, which its "main aim was to seize automobiles, money and other assets to fight drug trafficking, reported the Wall Street Journal." President Obama has suggested taxing college savings accounts to fund his new plan to extend high school by two more years (and does anyone question if the government will eventually start looking to go after retirement accounts?).

At the same time that governments are raising taxes and cutting services, the elites are telling us that our lifestyles are too lavish, and our living standards need to be adjusted downward.

This is a recipe for a crises of legitimacy. What use is the State when the State becomes useless--nay, what use is the State when the State ceases to protect and serve the citizens, and instead preys on them?

Stocks Slide

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped nearly 400 points on Tuesday morning after disappointing earnings reports and a surprise drop in orders for durable goods. 

The Dow was off 357 points, or two percent, to 17,321 as of 12 p.m. Eastern time and at one point slid as much as 390 points.  

The Standard & Poor's 500 index shed 30 points, or 1.5 percent, to 2,027. The Nasdaq slid 86 points, or 1.8 percent, to 4,684.

--Daily Mail.

ISIS Attacks Hotel in Tripoli

The Daily Mail reports:

At least eight people, including five foreigners, were killed during an attack by gunmen against a luxury hotel in the Libyan capital of Tripoli on Tuesday, a security official told local television. 

Mahmoud Hamza, director of Libya's special deterrence force, told al-Naba television that five foreigners, including two women, as well as a security officer and two of the gunmen, died in the attack on the Corinthia Hotel in Tripoli. He did not give the nationalities of the foreigners. 

Militants from Isis in Libya claimed responsibility for the attack.

* * *

A hotel staffer said the attack began when five masked gunmen wearing bulletproof vests stormed the hotel after security guards at the hotel's gate tried to stop them. He said they entered the hotel and fired randomly at the staff in the lobby. 

The staffer said the gunmen fired in his direction when he opened his door to look out. He said he joined the rest of the staff and foreign guests fleeing out the hotel's back doors into the parking lot. 

When they got there, he said a car bomb exploded in the parking lot, only a hundred meters away. 

He said this came after a protection force entered the lobby and opened fire on the attackers. He said two guards were immediately killed. 

The article indicated that the Libyan Prime Minister normally resided at the hotel, but was not there at the time of the attack. It wasn't clear from the article, but it sounds as though some of the attackers had taken hostages and were still in the building.

It is apparent from this report and the recent attack in France that the various terrorist franchises (I would be willing to bet that ISIS in Libya has little oversight and control by ISIS) have stepped up their game. Its only taken them 13 years of fighting U.S. forces to learn the value of body armor. And the herding of victims toward a car bomb shows that this was a sophisticated operation by terrorist standards, even if the tactic was an ultimate failure since the bomb was too far from anyone. Of course, the biggest failure of the terrorists (and we saw this in the French attack) is the lack of reconnaissance for tactical intelligence. The terrorists here undoubtedly hoped to catch the Libyan Prime Minister, but completely missed him; in the Paris shooting, the attackers knew which building to attack, but did not even know which specific office to go to, did not know their targets except by name, and could have been potentially foiled by the electronic lock on the doorway.

Nevertheless, this is a great example of 4th Generation Warfare. Although ISIS appears to be pursuing a classic Maoist insurgency strategy of using terrorism in areas it does not control, and military force where it is in control, the conflict is an ideological one that transcends national borders. Whereas Oswald Spengler used art as a tool for determining the inflection point between the death of culture and the rise of civilization, I think 4th Generation Warfare provides a similar measure as to the collapse of nations and civilizations. Chaos is nibbling away at the extreme edges of Western civilization.

The Iron Law

From Jerry Pournelle: 

Pournelle's Iron Law of Bureaucracy states that in any bureaucratic organization there will be two kinds of people": 

 First, there will be those who are devoted to the goals of the organization. Examples are dedicated classroom teachers in an educational bureaucracy, many of the engineers and launch technicians and scientists at NASA, even some agricultural scientists and advisors in the former Soviet Union collective farming administration. 

Secondly, there will be those dedicated to the organization itself. Examples are many of the administrators in the education system, many professors of education, many teachers union officials, much of the NASA headquarters staff, etc. 

The Iron Law states that in every case the second group will gain and keep control of the organization. It will write the rules, and control promotions within the organization.

Potential Record Breaking Storm to Hit NY

News reports indicate that New York, the Atlantic coast and parts of New England face a potential record setting blizzard starting today. New York City may receive up to 3 feet of snow. 1,800 flights were cancelled for Monday, and 1,600 for Tuesday. Shoppers have reportedly cleaned out grocery stores as they prepare to hunker down for several days. (Sources: Daily Mail, New York Daily News).

Lars Andersen: A New Level of Archery

If you have any interest in archery, you should watch these videos. Lars Andersen has researched old documents to learn how archery was used as a dynamic method of combat (as opposed to the static method of target archery that most of us learn today).

Secret Nazi Underground Base Discovered in Austria (Updated and bumped)

It may have been used for research into nuclear weapons. As should be expected, excavations have been stopped until the discoverers obtain a government permit. Apparently you need a permit for everything....

(Originally posted on Dec. 28, 2014)

Update (1/23/2015): I came across another short article about the newly discovered tunnels, although it does not really provide any additional information--apparently further excavation work has not yet occurred.

This article indicates that the film maker, Sulzer, who made the discovery, had previously found evidence of a large octagonal structure underground at the site.  The concentration camp in question is the KZ Gusen II camp. This article indicates that the camp and tunnels were the site of manufacturing for the Me 262 jet-fighter. A Washington Post article from last month hints that the Nazis may have also been using the facility to work on missiles with biological warheads, as Heinrich Himmler, the head of the SS (and who wanted to develop biological weapons) and Hans Kammler, the director of the Nazi's missile program (among other things), were frequent visitors to the facility. (Kammler was apparently responsible for facilities all over Germany). Or, as a comment below (from Chris Berman?) suggests, the facility may have been related to the Nazi Bell.

I love a good mystery, and Kammler's last days offer a great mystery. There is considerable debate on Kammler's death, or whether he died at the end of WWII. Certainly there is evidence that Kammler and his staff were in  Oberammergau, Germany (near the border with Austria) on April 22, 1945, with a "staff" of 600 people. Thus, it is possible that he was able to successfully flee Germany with a considerable number of Nazi scientists and technicians.

Food Delivery Trucks Targeted for Robbery in Venezuela

Reuters reports:

Robbers and looters are targeting trucks carrying food across Venezuela in another sign of worsening shortages that have turned basics like flour and chicken into coveted booty. 

Crime has long plagued shops and roads in Venezuela, which has one of the world's highest murder rates. 

But widespread shortages due to a restriction of dollars for imports have worsened since the New Year. 

This has made food delivery increasingly risky even as certain trucks have been fitted with GPS devices and are sometimes protected by private security agents.

Coming Soon to a Neighborhood Near You

An account from the Daily Mail of a dramatic kidnapping attempt in South Africa. The targets were Chinese. The kidnappers were dressed as police, and pretending to be making an arrest. According to the article, they were also armed with R5 rifles.

Firearms History: The Differences Between the VZ-58 and AK

The Firearms History blog describes the major differences between the VZ-58 rifle and the AK series of rifle.

Forward Observer Magazine: Look at the Snoop Snitch

Forward Observer Magazine gives a quick look at the "Snoop Snitch," an Android app designed to warn you of cell interceptor towers.

Update (1/27/2015): It wasn't compatible with my phone because of lack of root access. (Sigh).

Mud Test of M1A, MAS 49/56, and AR15

About a 9 minute video at InRange TV. For those without the time or means of watching the video, the gist is that they take three rifles--the M1A, the MAS 49/56, and an AR15--and crawl through a mud-puddle, making sure to get the firearms thoroughly coated in mud, and then test fire. The first weapon up was the MAS 49/56, an autoloading rifle used by the French through much of the Cold War period. It performed pretty well, having a couple problems toward the end of its feed. The M1A was able to get 2 shots off before completely freezing up--it was a complete failure. The AR 15 did the best, firing 18 out of 20 rounds.

Magpul's AK Furniture

TTAG has photos and a bit more detail about Magpul's furniture for the AK.

What About Those European No-Go Zones?

The liberal media is absolutely sure that "no-go" zones don't exist.  Carol Matlack, writing at Bloomberg News, states:

Entire neighborhoods of Paris, London, and other European cities have become Muslim-run "no-go zones," off-limits to law enforcement and governed by Islamic sharia law. The story, making the rounds since last week's Paris terror attacks, is shocking—and demonstrably untrue. Yet it continues to spread.

Except that their existence has been carefully documented many times by French media, politicians, and even research reports. From the latter article:

A 120-page research paper entitled "No-Go Zones in the French Republic: Myth or Reality?" documented dozens of French neighborhoods "where police and gendarmerie cannot enforce the Republican order or even enter without risking confrontation, projectiles, or even fatal shootings." 

Some of the most notorious no-go zone areas in France are situated in the department of Seine-Saint-Denis, a northeastern suburb (banlieue) of Paris that has one of the highest concentrations of Muslims in France. The department is home to an estimated 600,000 Muslims (primarily from North and West Africa) out of a total population of 1.4 million.
Seine-Saint-Denis is divided into 40 administrative districts called communes (townships), 36 of which are on the French government's official list of "sensitive urban zones" or ZUS. 

Seine-Saint-Denis — also known locally as "ninety-three" or "nine three" after the first two digits of the postal code for this suburb — has one of the highest unemployment rates in France; more than 40% of those under the age of 25 are jobless. The area is plagued with drug dealing and suffers from some of the highest rates of violent crime in France. 

In October 2011, a landmark 2,200-page report, "Banlieue de la République" (Suburbs of the Republic) found that Seine-Saint-Denis and other Parisian suburbs are becoming "separate Islamic societies" cut off from the French state, and where Islamic Sharia law is rapidly displacing French civil law. The report said that Muslim immigrants are increasingly rejecting French values and instead are immersing themselves in radical Islam. 

The report — which was commissioned by the influential French think tank, L'Institut Montaigne — was directed by Gilles Kepel, a highly respected political scientist and specialist in Islam, together with five other French researchers. 

The authors of the report showed that France — which now has 6.5 million Muslims (the largest Muslim population in European Union) — is on the brink of a major social explosion because of the failure of Muslims to integrate into French society. 

The report also showed how the problem is being exacerbated by radical Muslim preachers, who are promoting the social marginalization of Muslim immigrants in order to create a parallel Muslim society in France that is ruled by Sharia law. 

The research was primarily carried out in the Seine-Saint-Denis townships of Clichy-sous-Bois and Montfermeil, two suburbs that were ground zero for Muslim riots in the fall of 2005, when Muslim mobs torched more than 9,000 cars. 

The report described Seine-Saint-Denis as a "wasteland of de-industrialization" and said that in some areas, "a third of the population of the town does not hold French nationality, and many residents are drawn to an Islamic identity." 

Another township of Seine-Saint-Denis is Aubervilliers. Sometimes referred to as one of the "lost territories of the French Republic," it is effectively a Muslim city: more than 70% of the population is Muslim. Three quarters of young people under 18 in the township are foreign or French of foreign origin, mainly from the Maghreb and sub-Saharan Africa. French police are said to rarely venture into some of the most dangerous parts of the township.

 The article provides links to dozens of other statements, news reports, and documentaries concerning the "no-go" zones. Read the whole thing.

The Ticking Time Bomb Beneath Decatur, Illinois

Whats Up With That (WUWT) takes note of a press release from the University of Illinois that "the Illinois Basin – Decatur Project (IBDP) has reached its goal of capturing 1 million metric tons of carbon dioxide and injecting it deep underground in the Mount Simon Sandstone formation beneath Decatur, Illinois." The Project is supposed to be a demonstration project on capturing and storing CO2 to allegedly counteract global warming.

The WUWT author goes on to point out the risk of this or similar projects:

If just one of those proposed sequestration projects suffers a major containment breach, say if an earthquake cracks the geological structure, or if a mistake or greed leads to the reservoir being overloaded, the result could be a disaster. 

In Africa, in 1986, an abrupt release of an estimated 100,000 – 300,000 tons of CO2 killed 2,500 people up to 25km (15.5  miles) from the source of the release. 

A similar release near a major city would kill a sizeable fraction of the city’s population. The region of devestation was comparable to the loss of life which would be caused by a large nuclear explosion – the only reason a lot more people didn’t die, was Lake Nyos is a sparsely inhabited rural region. 

The Lake Nyos CO2 release was so deadly, because CO2 is heavier than air – when the huge CO2 cloud boiled out of lake Nyos, it hugged the ground, displacing all breathable air to an elevation 10s of ft above ground level, suffocating almost everyone in its path.
Its not just people and animals which would be affected – car engines would also stall, as the blanket of CO2 choked off the supply of oxygen.

Modern Ruins: The J.N. Adam Memorial Hospital for Tuberculosis in Perrysburg, NewYork

Inside

Outside

More photographs and article at the Daily Mail.

4G Warfare in Miami

The Daily Mail reports:

Hundreds of dirt bike and ATV riders took over Miami yesterday when they swarmed through city streets and highways, taunting police and pulling wheelies in an apparent tribute to Martin Luther King. 

Video footage of the gang shows them weaving through traffic and past police cruisers as they travel in a convoy along Miami and southern Florida highways. 

However, police were unable to stop the gang because of the sheer numbers involved and have blasted them for endangering the lives of other motorists. 

Israel Warns of Possible Impending Attacks from Iran and/or Hezbollah

Israel reports killing senior Iranian military officers, including a general, and senior Hezbollah members in an airstrike near the Golan Heights. Israel believes that the Iranian officers were meeting with Hezbollah to plan a joint attack against Israel. If they were (and perhaps they were planning a joint operation against ISIS), the Israelis have probably disrupted any such attack or invasion.

How to Make a Swedish Fire Torch

(Source)

Although termed a "torch" and also known by the name "Canadian candle," it is not really so much a lighting source as a method for building a fire with a small source of wood to use for cooking--and particularly suited for a fire when camping in the snow because the fire is elevated above the wet ground. From Smart Bushcraft:

The torch is made by taking a reasonably sized log, which has a flat top and bottom, and splitting it into four quarters.  This will act as the main fuel for the fire.  The log is then reassembled, leaving equally sized gaps between each piece. 

The kindling for the fire is made of smaller pieces of wood, in this case branches which have been split into smaller battons.  The kindling is placed at alternating angles, in a criss-cross fashion, between the gaps.   Due to the gap between each piece of the split log, the kindling is easily placed. 

The tinder, which is what will catch a flame and initiate the fire, should be placed at the top of the torch and may also be placed intermittently between the kindling.  The heat, ashes and flames of the tinder will, once lit, drop down onto the lower layers, causing them to also ignite. ...

Photos and a video at the link.

Greg Ellifritz: "Enough Gun?"

Greg Ellifritz has some thoughts/guidelines on selecting "enough gun" for concealed carry or everyday carry.

Updated Link for Gear Scout

The Gear Scout blog hosted at Military Times has updated its web-address. New one here.

Processing Wool and Cotton

Blue Collar Prepping is beginning a new series on how to make cloth, from scratch. The first part deals with harvesting, cleaning, and straightening the fibers.

I Think OPEC Is Broken

From a Reuters article:

 Iran sees no sign of a shift within OPEC toward action to support oil prices, its oil minister said, adding its oil industry could ride out a further price slump to $25 a barrel. 

The comments are a further sign that despite lobbying by Iran and Venezuela, there is little chance of collective action by the 12-member OPEC to prop up prices - entrenching the reluctance of individual members to curb their own supplies.

The Realist: Unboxing the Honda EU2000i Generator

Today, I have another guest post from the Realist ....

Unboxing the Honda EU2000i Generator

by The Realist

The unboxed Honda EU2000i, with owners manual, warranty card, and accessories pamphlet.

For many years, I've lusted after a Honda generator. Whenever I've seen one in operation, it was just quietly purring away. A coincidence of some extra money and a good price at a local store was all I needed to pull the trigger and buy one.

Several models of Honda generators can be paired with another identical size Honda generator with a special cable set. It appears the primary purpose of pairing generators is to provide more current to power an RV. (The alternative would be a single larger and heavier generator.)

There are two variants of the EU2000i, the regular model and the "Companion" model. The Companion model has an outlet rated for 30 Amps for connecting to an RV, and it costs $100-150 more. I got the regular model.

The "2000" denotes the capability of the generator to handle a peak load of 2000 Watts for a brief period of time. It is rated for a 1330 Watt continuous load. The "i" indicates that this generator utilizes an inverter circuit to produce the 120 Volt 60 Hertz AC power. The generator has an "Eco-Throttle(tm)" system mode that allows the engine to run at a lower RPM (less noise, lower fuel consumption) if full power is not needed to supply the electrical load. (The Owner's Manual lists circumstances were the Eco-Throttle(tm) mode is not recommended.)

The Honda EU2000i comes in a double-thickness corrugated cardboard box with the owners manual, a warranty card (with instructions on how to register online), and a small pamphlet listing some extra accessories. Nothing else is in the box.

I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the 96 page Owner's Manual was produced for this specific model of generator. There was no skipping past material for other models, and no tables to decipher to determine what features, capabilities, or limits applied to this specific model. (The Companion model is only mentioned in the context of pairing generators.) The Owner's Manual describes how to perform regular maintenance on the generator: oil changes, cleaning/replacing the air filters, gaping/replacing the spark plug, and cleaning the spark arrester. The manual also describes how to prepare the generator for long-term storage, and recommends procedures for shorter periods of storage. And, the manual was only in English, so there was none of the garbage normally associated with multilingual instruction manuals.

Necessities to get the new generator running: gasoline can, motor oil, Sta-Bil fuel stabilizer, and long neck funnel.

The generator is shipped without oil. You must add oil before trying to start the generator. This is the first warning you see when you open the box, and there is also large yellow warning tag affixed to the starter pull cord.

At a bare minimum, before you can start the generator, you need to buy motor oil (SAE 10W-30), a gas can, and gasoline. I also got a long neck funnel to help with adding oil. The owner's manual also recommends getting Sta-Bil(R) fuel stabilizer, which I got.

While not necessary, I got a regular replacement spout for the gas can to replace the evil CARB compliant spout that would leak and cause gas to be spilled, that would slip and destroy the screen in the mouth of the generator's gas tank, and that would probably injure me in some unforeseen way. The replacement spouts are available on ebay.

Accessories I considered important: theft deterrent bracket to protect the handle, fitted dust cover, DC charging cable, and replacement gas can spout.

Other accessories I ordered were a theft deterrent bracket that goes over the handle (the generator's plastic handle can be easily cut), a fitted cover to keep dust off the generator while stored in the garage, and a DC charging cable that allows the generator to charge a 12 V battery. At this writing, I am still searching for a suitable locking system to secure the generator during periods of possible unattended operation. (Some people recommend chaining a dog to the generator to deter theft.)

Adding oil to the crankcase only took a few minutes. A screwdriver, or even a coin, is required to loosen the screw holding the side maintenance cover in place. The oil fill/drain port is a bit buried, like it usually is on most things with an internal combustion engine. Screwing and unscrewing the oil port cap/dipstick could be a bit annoying for someone with larger hands. The long neck funnel worked just fine for adding oil. It took about a third of a quart of oil.

The generator started after maybe a dozen fairly easy pulls. Remember, this was a new generator with a dry fuel system, so most of those pulls were sucking fuel into the fuel system.

I ran the generator for thirty minutes using 750/1500 Watt heat gun as a test load. Most of the time, I let the generator run with a 750 Watt load. Occasionally, I would increase the load to 1500 Watts to observe how the generator responded. When activated, the Eco-Throttle(tm) noticeably reduced the engine speed with the 750 Watt load, and the engine immediately increased RPM when I increased the load. I measured an output voltage of 125.8 Volts AC under load.

I did not try to measure fuel consumption during this short run, but Honda claims the generator will run for 4 hours at the rated load (1330 Watts) or 9.6 hours at one-fourth of the rated load on a tankful (0.95 gallons) of gasoline.

The generator was a little noisier than I remember Honda generators being. This discrepancy between what I remember and what I observed was that when I remember hearing Honda generators in the past, there were several other loud non-Honda generators nearby that sounded like loud lawn mower engines. I was running the generator in front of my garage, but behind one of my vehicles. The generator was scarcely noticeable at the end of my two-car-lengths drive way - the sound was masked by wind and other noises. If I run this generator in an emergency situation, I will most likely put it in my back yard to further mask its noise from the street.

I purchased this generator primarily for emergency use. Two-thousand Watt capacity seems to me to be the sweet spot for operating desirable electrical appliances (e.g. refrigerator, microwave oven, small air conditioner) while charging rechargeable devices. Larger generators consume more fuel, are less portable, and generally make more noise.

Other Options

I'm sure you are wanting to ask why I didn't get brand X or model Y generator. The easy answer is that I was relying on the long-term positive reputation of the small Honda generators, my personal experience with them, and what I saw in the local stores.

There are several other inverter type generators from a variety of manufacturers/importers on the market. They also all seem to be cheaper than the Honda. I didn't see them in any of the stores I regularly visit, so I didn't look at them.

There are cheaper generators, including a 1000 Watt unit frequently available on sale at Harbor Freight for $100. This Harbor Freight generator has a two-cycle engine, so it requires premixing oil with the gasoline. There are YouTube videos of this generator in operation - it runs at high RPMs and is very noisy like a chain saw.

There are many 5000 Watt generators available for $500-1000 from a variety of sources. A coworker has one of these generators, and he has related his experience with it over the course of several multi-day power outages at his home. The main points from various discussions with him is that it is noisy (he describes it as sounding like five lawn mowers), it consumes a lot of fuel, and it is heavy. These generators run at a fixed RPM to produce the 60 Hertz AC.

There are also may whole-house emergency generator options. They are beyond the scope of what I wanted.

Other articles from the Realist: "A Small Survival Library for a Get Home Bag"

Who Says Conspiracies Don't Exist

Frankly, the last decade has vindicated many a conspiracy theory. The government does spy on us, pervasively and, usually, without any oversight and without our knowledge. Journolist showed that liberal news media actually does decide what is "news" and what isn't. The ATF smuggled guns to a Mexican drug cartels and other drug gangs. The IRS really did target conservative groups that supported a smaller government. 

And so we come to the latest: the Honor Brigade. From the Washington Post:

But in the past decade, such attempts at censorship [of criticism of Islam] have become more common. This is largely because of the rising power and influence of the “ghairat brigade,” an honor corps that tries to silence debate on extremist ideology in order to protect the image of Islam. It meets even sound critiques with hideous, disproportionate responses. 

The campaign began, at least in its modern form, 10 years ago in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, when the Organization of Islamic Cooperation — a mini-United Nations comprising the world’s 56 countries with large Muslim populations, plus the Palestinian Authority — tasked then-Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu with combating Islamophobia and projecting the “true values of Islam.” During the past decade, a loose honor brigade has sprung up, in part funded and supported by the OIC through annual conferences, reports and communiques. It’s made up of politicians, diplomats, writers, academics, bloggers and activists. 

In 2007, as part of this playbook, the OIC launched the Islamophobia Observatory, a watchdog group based in Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, with the goal of documenting slights against the faith. Its first report, released the following year, complained that the artists and publishers of controversial Danish cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad were defiling “sacred symbols of Islam . . . in an insulting, offensive and contemptuous manner.” The honor brigade began calling out academics, writers and others, including former New York police commissioner Ray Kelly and administrators at a Catholic school in Britain that turned away a mother who wouldn’t remove her face veil. 

“The OIC invented the anti-‘Islamophobia’ movement,” says Zuhdi Jasser, president of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy and a frequent target of the honor brigade. “These countries . . . think they own the Muslim community and all interpretations of Islam.” 

Alongside the honor brigade’s official channel, a community of self-styled blasphemy police — from anonymous blogs such as LoonWatch.com and Ikhras.com to a large and disparate cast of social-media activists — arose and began trying to control the debate on Islam. This wider corps throws the label of “Islamophobe” on pundits, journalists and others who dare to talk about extremist ideology in the religion. Their targets are as large as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and as small as me. 

The official and unofficial channels work in tandem, harassing, threatening and battling introspective Muslims and non-Muslims everywhere. They bank on an important truth: Islam, as practiced from Malaysia to Morocco, is a shame-based, patriarchal culture that values honor and face-saving from the family to the public square. Which is why the bullying often works to silence critics of Islamic extremism.

 Read the whole thing.

(H/t Instapundit)

The 2004 Olympic Canoeing and Kayaking Venue

Then...



And now...



Full story here.

Art of the Rifle: How Does the Shooting Sling Actually Work?

An explanation of why the shooting sling helps with steadying a rifle.

The New Rifleman: AR15 Barrel Installation Guide

A how-to article on installing an AR15 barrel and gas tube.

The French Mini-14

In the various news photos of the terrorist attacks, I was surprise to see some of the French police carrying what appeared to be Mini-14s--enough so that I specifically noted it in my post about the attacks in the captions to some of the photos. Forgotten Weapons also noted the Mini-14s, and gives some more information:

When French national police and security forces decided to replace the MAT-49 submachine gun as a standard weapon, they decided to look for a light carbine. Something less obviously military than the FAMAS was desired, and the natural choice was the Ruger Mini-14, whose slightly civilian appearance is often considered to be one of its primary strengths. Ruger licensed the design to the French, who have assembled them in-country with a few changes from the normal production model we are used to seeing here in the US. 

The guns come with rubber buttpads and sling cutouts in the stock, as well as a slightly modified style of charging handle. They remain chambered for the 5.56mm NATO cartridge (which as a military caliber is requires a license for civilian use in France). The fire control system has a selector to allow semiauto, 3-round burst, and full-auto fire, and the receiver heel is marked specifically for the French[.]

Remembering the 1919 Boston Molasses Disaster.

From The Atlantic:

On January 15, 1919, in Boston's North End, a 50-foot-tall tank holding 2.3 million gallons of molasses burst, unleashing a deadly wave that rose nearly 25 feet high at one point. The destructive flood threw people and horses about, smashed buildings, and even damaged the steel supports of an elevated railway. Rescuers had to wade through knee-deep molasses and sticky debris to reach survivors. Twenty-one people died in the disaster, another 150 were injured, and the cleanup lasted for weeks. The cause of the failure was determined to be faulty construction and poor maintenance.

I remember reading about this in Smithsonian Magazine when I was just a kid. Anyway, some more links: History Today, The Boston Globe, and Scientific American. And a copy of the Smithsonian article I read so many years ago.

Empty-Cases: The Over Complication of Personal Protection

Some thoughts at the Empty-Cases blog about concealed carry and how it is presented.

Rory Miller Discusses the Drop Step

(Link)

Early Attempt to Build Cetme L Kit

The HK Pro forum has some posts by one of its members showing close up photos of the kit he received, as well as some of the work he has done trying to piece together a receiver (go to the 2nd page of the thread). Also, someone linked to a copy of the Cetme L manual (pdf).

3 Articles Addressing Concerns with Reliability of the AR System

These are 3 articles by Michael Pannone, published by Defense Review, several years ago (h/t Western Rifle Shooters Assoc.):

(1) AR-15/M4/M4A1 Carbine Reliability Issues: Why They Occur, and Why They’re Our Fault!

(2) M4/M4A1 Carbine Reliability Issues Part II: Diagnosing the root cause.

(3) The Big M4 Myth: ‘Fouling caused by the direct impingement gas system makes the M4/M4A1 Carbine unreliable.’

The last article provides some advice on how to make your AR more reliable.

Blue Collar Prepping Reviews "Prepping for Women"

The book apparently addresses preps that address specific hygiene needs of women. Review here.

ITS Tactical: "How to Rewarm your Body When You Become Cold, Wet and Miserable"

... such as if you fall into water. Link here.

Firearm Safety Reminder

The Daily Mail reports that a Kentucky police officer shot his finger off, after being handed a loaded gun at a gun store. (Video at the link).

The pistol appears to be a small sized 1911 style .380. You will notice that the officer did not check to see whether the firearm was loaded or remove the magazine, did not maintain muzzle control or treat the gun as loaded (one of the basic rules of firearms safety), and actually worked the action that led to a round being chambered. That the slide didn't lock back on an empty magazine should have warned him....

How Big of a Boulder Do You Need To Stop a Truck?

A news article about such a study.

Don't Mix Chlorine and Sulfuric Acid

The Daily Mail reports on an incident where a truck driver delivering chlorine accidentally pumped it into a tank containing sulfuric acid, resulting in the production of mustard gas. The driver and three emergency personnel were hospitalized. Bruce Clayton's book, Life After Doomsday, primarily focused on how to survive a nuclear attack. However, he had a section that discussed other possible disasters, including chemical spills or clouds of toxic chemicals. Obviously, someone living close to a highway, railroad, or chemical facility would want to keep this in mind, but, as this story illustrates, toxic chemical exposure can happen at unlikely times and under unlikely circumstances.

"The Two Empires We Must Defeat"

An article by Daniel Greenfield at his Sultan Knish blog:

Empires may be expansionist, but they're also tolerant and multicultural. They have to be, since out of their initial phase they have to enlist the cooperation and services of subjects from a variety of cultures and religions. An empire may initially be fueled by the talents and skills of a core nation, but as it reaches its next phase, it begins sacrificing their interests to the larger structure of empire. 

The argument between the establishments of the right and the left is over two different kinds of empires. The Republican establishment in America and its various center-right counterparts abroad have attached themselves to the liberal vision of a transnational empire of international law so much that they have forgotten that this vision came from the left, rather than from the right. 

This Empire of International Law proved to have some uses for global trade and security, particularly during the Cold War. These practical arrangements however are overshadowed by the fact that it, like every empire, sacrifices the interests of its peoples to its own structure. This is true of the structure at every level, from the EU to the Federal structure of the United States. The system has displaced the people. And the system runs on principles that require cheap labor leading to policies like amnesty.
The Empire of International Law needs Muslim immigrants even if its people don't, because it envisions integrating them and their countries into this arrangement and rejects national interests as narrow-minded and nativist. 

This formerly liberal vision now embraced largely by centrists is the left's vision, which includes today's liberals, is of a completely transnational ideological empire in which there are no borders, but there are countless activists, in which everything and everyone are controlled by the state. 

Like the more conventional imperial vision, the left's red Empire of Ideology depends on enlisting Muslims and Muslim countries into its ranks. This is the basis of the Red-Green alliance. 

These two types of imperialists are incapable of representing native workers or communities because they are transnationalists. Their vision is cosmopolitan, rather than representative. They are entranced with a byzantine international arrangement and uninterested in the lives of the people they are ruining. 

This Imperial blindness is why the West is falling so swiftly to Islam. It's why the pockets of resistance are coming from nations outside the imperial sphere. 

Countries like Israel, India or Burma are dependent on specific groups and are not truly part of either empire. They are not transnational. They are national. And it's why they are still holding out.

 * * * 

The United States used to be that way, until not long ago. And then it lost touch with itself. It became diseased with empire and the disease of empire has nothing to do with pith helmets or planting flags. It's what happens when the structure of the system becomes more important than the people. When that happens the old principles that are based on the people are set aside and replaced with principles that are based on the system. 

That is how globalism came to trump American workers. It's how accommodating Islam came to matter more than anything else. 

An empire may begin by conquering other countries, but it invariably ends by conquering and consuming its own. The empire we are part of isn't, despite the left's rhetoric, a conquering empire. American territorial expansionism ended long before we became part of an empire. Instead we are part of an empire of systems, an empire of principles, an empire of internationalism, of trade and of pieces of papers, legal and financial, being moved through the bowels of our endless systems. 

This is the thing that we call international law. And it has to die for us to live. 

This is the empire that feeds armies of foreign immigrants through our countries. It's also the empire that pays allegiance to Islam because empires have to diversify to expand. Diversity isn't the source of our strength. It is the source of imperial expansionism which has to absorb many more peoples. 

To empires, people are interchangeable. If the natives have a low birth rate and a long lifespan, then workers with high birth rates and lower lifespans are brought in to replace them. If the natives are reluctant to pay higher taxes, immigrants from countries that are fine with voting for high taxation are imported. That is how empires, not nations, do business. 

This is what the political establishment in most countries believes. This is what tearing them apart. 

The only way for the nations to survive is for the empire, in all its forms, the ideological revolutionary empire of the left and the centrist empire of international law, to to be cast off. 

Every political revolution that fails to take into account the power of these two empires on our national politics is doomed to fail. To win a conflict, you have to understand what you are fighting. 

We are fighting against two variations on the same set of ideas about the importance of transnational institutions over national ones. We are fighting against the entrenched loyalty to systems and ideology over people. We are fighting empires that have displaced people for ideas. 

The only possible revolution that can succeed against these two empires is populist. It must emerge from the needs of the people of a country to be free, to be prosperous and to manage its own affairs. It must proceed by showing the people how they have been victimized and how they are being victimized. And it must show them that they reclaim what their grandparents had if they take back controls over their own countries and destinies. 

 Read the whole thing.