December 8, 2016 -- A Quick Run Around the Web

"The Cultural Enrichment of Germany"--Paul Joseph Watson. A brief look at the explosion in violent crime in Germany due to immigration/refugees.

Firearms/Prepping:

• "Wonder Box Oven Tutorial" (PDF) from Food Storage Made Easy. I've discussed different methods of insulated cooking before, such as the hay box (see also here and here), the "wonder box" and even the use of a thermos. The basic idea is to heat the food in a pot up to cooking temperature, then put it in an insulated container that will keep the heat in and continue to cook the food without having to needlessly use fuel to keep the pot hot. Despite the title of this handout, it actually is instructions on making a "wonder bag" out of material and polystyrene balls for insulation.
• "The Revolutionary Way to Look at 72-Hour Kits That Will Change Your Life"--Store This, Not That. What if the emergency was a sudden trip to a hospital or the home of a relative or friend to provide care or simply stay with them?
• Those of you that have read Fry The Brain may find this interesting: "FN DeFNder M3P Machine Gun"--The Firearms Blog. A fully remote controlled mount for a machine gun.
• Mmm, good: "Hunting, processing, and serving black bear"--Backwoods Home Magazine. Some tips on field dressing and processing the carcass, and several recipes making use of bear meat.
• "Aurora's Box: A Compact Two Piece PVC and Fiberglass Tent Rod Take Down Bow"--Thirteenth Hour. This is a companion web article to an article published in the September/October 2016 edition of The Backwoodsman. The author indicates that this is a complex project, and that if you don't have experience with making PVC bows, you start with a more simple design. Check out his web-site/blog for other projects. Backyard Bowyer's channel on YouTube is another great resource.
• "Chiappa Offers Little Badger in 17 WSM"--The Firearms Blog. The Little Badger is Chiappa's wire stock, folding, single shot survival rifle.

Other Stuff:

• "11 Reasons Why Progressive Christianity Will Soon Die Out"--Church Pop (h/t Vox Popoli). The author argues that the major divide in Christianity today is not Catholic versus Protestant, but "historic Christians" (who "believe their religion is revealed by God in the person of his Son Jesus Christ, and that the Scriptures are the primary witness of that revelation") and "progressive Christians" (who "believe their religion is a historical accident of circumstances and people, that Jesus Christ is, at best, a divinely inspired teacher, that the Scriptures are flawed human documents influenced by paganism and that the church is a body of spiritually minded people who wish to bring peace and justice to all and make the world a better place"). Read the whole thing, and then decide on which side of the divide you want to be.
• "Nevada student, 14, who swung a knife at his classmates before being shot by police 'was bullied for days before he snapped and attacked his friends'"--Daily Mail. I believe this--the kid looks like the type of person that would be mercilessly bullied and teased, and the schools will do nothing because they don't care--at least, not about the good kids. (However, they expend a great deal of resources to "reform" the "troubled" kids). This kid screwed up, however, by reacting emotionally, instead of logically. In my high school physical education class, there was a kid that liked to bully me and a couple of my friends. I bided my time until one day, in the middle of a crowded game in the gym, I had my opportunity, and slammed him hard with my shoulder. I only expected to knock him down, but, by a bit of fortuity, the force of the fall was enough to break his arm. As I had intended, being in a crowd, no one really saw what happened, and he couldn't prove I had been the person to hit him or that it had been intentional. Nevertheless, while he still acted the jerk, he stopped his bullying.
• The wages of sin socialism: "Desperate Venezuelan fishermen slaughter one another and turn to piracy - while starving villagers are forced to eat soup made from seawater as country's economic collapse worsens"--Daily Mail. The article reports:

     Gangs of out-of-work fishermen have turned to a life of piracy and have killed dozens who still venture into the sea in Venezuela, as the country's economic crisis worsens.

     Once home to the world's fourth-largest tuna fleet, now the fishing trade has collapsed and those who continue to fish are falling prey to the vicious bandits.

     Many have been tied up and thrown overboard by pirates, as those with boats opt for illegal ways of making money, such as smuggling and piracy.

• "No WONDER our politicians banned age tests: Majority of child refugees checked are ADULTS"--Express.
• God will protect Israel, not because they deserve it, but to validate his promise to Israel: "'The divine intervention of God!' Bizarre dust and rain cloud forms a barrier between ISIS and Israel on the Syrian border"--Daily Mail. From the article:

     Four days after ISIS fighters attacked an Israeli patrol in the Golan Heights, a plateau in Syria which the Jewish state has occupied since 1967, the bizarre meteorological phenomenon suddenly appeared. 

     Eyewitnesses said the storm seemed to stop at the boundary and be unable to enter the Golan Heights, which tower above the rest of Syria.

• "Huge quake hits Solomon Islands, tsunami alert lifted"--Yahoo News. A 7.8 magnitude quake struck near the Solomon Islands, but there are no reported casualties, and tsunami warning initially made after the quake has been lifted. 
• "A Mummy's DNA May Help Solve The Mystery Of The Origins Of Smallpox"--NPR. Smallpox DNA was recovered from a mummy of child found in a 17th century church. By comparing the strain against modern strains, they scientists believe that rather than a disease dating back thousands of years, small pox (at least the more virulent strains) arose in Europe in the late 1500s or early 1600s. 
• Rabbit thinking: "Tourists are mugged so often in Brazil they may be taxed - to pay for compensation"--Daily Mail. A plan to tax tourists to fund a compensation fund for tourist that have been mugged. I have a better idea: let the victims go to the perpetrator's home (escorted by police, of course) and take anything they want. 
• "How Far Down the Hole Can You Go?"--Hawaiian Libertarian. A very thorough and informative article concerning Pizza Gate. Also, be sure to read through the infographic at the end of the article.

• Related: "Poland rules film director Roman Polanski CANNOT be deported to the US after final extradition bid is overturned by judges"--Daily Mail. Remember, Polanski is wanted in the U.S. because he drugged, raped and sodomized a 13 year old girl.

• "Proof that dinosaurs shook a tail-feather: Incredible 99 million-year-old tail found trapped in a piece of amber sheds light on evolution of feathers"--Daily Mail. For those of you interested, the coloring was chestnut brown with a pale underside, suggesting that dinosaurs' plumage was probably similar in color to that of many modern birds.
• Heartwarming story of the day, and a reminder that we live in the 21st Century: "Heart-melting video shows conjoined twin brothers cuddling and speaking just weeks after separation surgery"--Daily Mail. They had been conjoined at the top of their heads.

(Update (12/9/2016)--corrected typo)