March 25, 2017--A Quick Run Around the Web

"ISIS drone blowing up Iraqi army humvee southwest of mosul"--295RT29 (51 sec.)

Related: "The Top Professional Drones for Serious Commercial UAV Pilots"--UAV Coach

Firearms/Prepping:

• "Skipping The 'OO' In OODA"--Gabe Suarez.  The "OO" in OODA stands for "observe and orient". However, if you arrive on a scene with some foreknowledge of what you will be encountering, you can significantly shorten the time for observing and orienting yourself to the situation. Suarez explains from an example where two officers had been called to the scene of a reported armed robbery. The robber presented himself, carrying a rifle with a 90-round drum magazine. According to the report, the officers fired a total of 13 rounds from their sidearms in 2.6 seconds, killing the robber. (That is considerable restraint compared to how police react in my neck of the woods). Suarez explains:

       ... here is what I think the reality of the event really was - The good guys made up their minds that this was going to be a shooting when they got the call.  Thus the need to "Observe" and "Orient" was minimized to the point of having already been accomplished, leaving only the presentation of a target and the elimination of same.

       In 2.6 seconds (I suspect less that that) there was no, "Is this my suspect?", "Could it be someone else dressed just like him with a rifle?", "Should I challenge him?", "What if its not him?", and so on and so forth.  And I doubt there was a great deal of yelling to drop the gun.

       There was a description, a location, and a description of events that justify shooting.  The two "O"s are taken care of...now it was simply a matter of visually locating him.

• "Prepping 101: $20 Tripwire Booby Traps/Perimeter Alarms Fire .22 Cal Blanks & 209 Primers – Video Review"--Guns America. 
• "Ruger Gunsite Scout Rifle in 450 Bushmaster"--The Firearms Blog. This seems like a specialty rifle aimed at those states that only allow hunting with straight wall cartridges. At an MSRP of $1,200 dollars, it would be more economical to get a .450 Bushmaster or .458 SOCOM upper for your AR if you are in a state that allows semi-automatic rifles.
• "The Hollywood Headshot"--Gun Nuts Media. Caleb has a video explaining why the "Hollywood headshot" (a shot to the center of the forehead) is not advisable in the real world. Part of it is that the density of the bone and the contour to the skull can result in a bullet deflecting without causing any significant injury. The other, though, is that if you are shooting at the head to disable a target, you want to strike in the T-zone ("roughly a T-shaped area from the outside of one eye socket to the outside of other eye socket and extending down the bridge of the nose to the upper lip"). As the Wikipedia article explains: "When the bullet enters the T-zone, it strikes the medulla oblongata causing flaccid paralysis. The advantage of flaccid paralysis is the subject is rendered incapacitated instantaneously preventing involuntary muscle contraction that may pull the trigger or cause other movements that may injure or kill the hostage."
• "The Arguments Against The Stakeout"--Gabe Suarez. As you may know, there are a couple shotguns out there that are not NFA items, yet sport 14-inch barrels. One such weapon is sold by Suarez International, based on the Remington 870 action, and called the "Stakeout" shotgun (based on a history of similar weapons used by old-time stakeout officers). The other is the Mossberg Shockwave. Suarez's article addresses some of the criticisms leveled against such weapons.
• "Roland Specials go Sub-Compact with New TBRCi Micro Brake"--The Firearms Blog. A muzzle brake designed to fit on the Glock 43.
• "Anatomy of Lone Wolf"--Richard Fernandez at PJ Media. He writes:

Although the term suggests the spontaneous and unpredictable transformation of an innocent into a kind of murderous beast, such wolves are actually "lone" only in a very limited sense. They differ from their background in degree, distinguished by critical extras such as 1) the willingness to use violence; 2) the training to employ it; and 3) the means necessary for an attack.

Other Stuff:

• Diversity is our strength: "Illegal immigrant, 54, strangles popular 49-year-old teacher’s aide to death in her Boston home"--Daily Mail. 
• To protect and serve: "Armed man escapes SWAT team after hours-long standoff in Winnetka"--Los Angeles Times. The armed man fled from police into a house, with the resident fleeing in terror. SWAT was called in. The story goes on to relate:

       A SWAT team set up a perimeter in the neighborhood for hours, believing the man was barricaded inside. Police fired rounds of tear gas into the home, trying to get the man to come out, LAPD Capt. Paul Vernon said on Twitter.

       Around 6 a.m. Friday, police entered the home and conducted an “extensive search” of the property, Eisenman said. The man was not found.

       It was unclear when he left the house, authorities said.

• On the heals of the Church Commission, the CIA was proscribed from engaging in assassinations (although this has been loosened somewhat in regarded to the targeted killing of terrorists). However, congressional testimony from the Church Commission indicates that the CIA had developed a "heart attack" gun. According to the article:

       The dart from this secret CIA weapon can penetrate clothing and leave nothing but a tiny red dot on the skin. On penetration of the deadly dart, the individual targeted for assassination may feel as if bitten by a mosquito, or they may not feel anything at all. The poisonous dart completely disintegrates upon entering the target.

       The lethal poison then rapidly enters the bloodstream causing a heart attack. Once the damage is done, the poison denatures quickly, so that an autopsy is very unlikely to detect that the heart attack resulted from anything other than natural causes. 

(H/t Anonymous Conservative).

• "How to unlock your car in 30 seconds"--Roman UrsuHack.  (Video; 2 min.). The method uses a string with a loop in the middle. Introducing the string and loop by prying out the door slightly, you can then pull the string down until you get the loop over the knob for the lock, pull the loop tight, and then pull the knob up using the string. 
• The wages of sin socialism: 

• "Desperate and hungry, thousands of Venezuelans risk life in mafia-infested illegal mining"--Fox News. Trying to earn money, many have taken to illegal gold mining in areas fought over by rival gangs.

• "Venezuela is out of food, out of medicine, and running out of gas"--Hot Air. Bakers being arrested if they use flour to make brownies instead of bread; seeking assistance from the UN for medical supplies (which are then apparently shipped to other countries); and running short of gasoline although sitting atop some of the largest oil reserves in the world.

• Armed heists in the news:

• "Monte Carlo heist at jewellers to the stars: Thieves start a huge distraction fire before raiding the Cartier store next to iconic casino and triggering a shootout with police"--Daily Mail. According to the article, the suspects started a fire nearby as a diversion for their robbery. One of the three suspects was shot by police and captured, a second was captured (apparently without injury) and a third is on the run. The article indicates that the area is not infrequently targeted by jewel thieves: "In recent years one criminal group called the Pink Panthers - made up of mainly ex-soldiers from Balkans countries such as Serbia - have regularly struck there."

• "Vegas gunman surrenders after four hour SWAT standoff: One killed and one injured on the Strip outside the Cosmopolitan hotel, hours after the Bellagio was raided by armed robber in a pig mask"--Daily Mail. Per the article, "[a] man who allegedly shot one person dead and wounded another on a Las Vegas bus has surrendered to police following a four-hour standoff." But this is not all:

       This is the second shooting incident to occur in less than 24 hours in Sin City, as a gunman in a pig mask opened fire during an armed robbery at the iconic Bellagio hotel earlier in the day.

       Earlier on Saturday, a gunman opened fire during an armed robbery at the nearby Bellagio hotel, prompting terrified tourists to seek shelter amid a chaotic scene. 

       At least three people entered a high-end store, which is believed to be a Rolex store, inside the resort, including one who fired gunshots, police said.

• Fort Apache, Sweden. "Swedish Police Under Siege"--Anonymous Conservative. Rinkeby is one of those "mythical" no-go zones in Sweden. It is so safe and full of grateful refugees, that the police are spending $43 million to build a new police station in the suburb town, complete with "bullet proof windows, steel reinforced walls, and surrounded by security fence." Also, it is too dangerous for officers to go to work using public transport; instead, they "may have to be driven to the station daily for their personal safety." Anonymous Conservative comments:

Sooner or later the resources are going to contract suddenly. When they do, that neighborhood is going to become vastly more violent, and the residents are going to start flooding out to raid neighboring areas. After raiding, they will escape back into the neighborhood with their booty and try to keep the cops out. Since that raiding booty is all that will support the residents of the neighborhood, the residents will unite against all outside forces, from Swedish citizens to Police.

• Not Ferdinand: "Temple: Cop chases cow, then cow chases cop"--KWTX. Animals are not the cute, loving creatures portrayed in Disney movies.
• A reminder that we live in the 21st Century: "Would YOU choose to live forever? Age-reversing pill that Nasa wants to give to astronauts on Mars will begin human trials within six months"--Daily Mail. From the article:

       During trials on mice, the team found that the drug directly repaired DNA damage caused by radiation exposure or old age.

       'The cells of the old mice were indistinguishable from the young mice after just one week of treatment,' said lead author Professor David Sinclair.

       Human trials of the pill will begin within six months.

       'This is the closest we are to a safe and effective anti-ageing drug that's perhaps only three to five years away from being on the market if the trials go well,' said Professor Sinclair.

This should be interesting. Will it be considered a "right" to obtain the drug? Or will it be kept from certain populations? And , in either case, what social disruption might result?

• And another reminder: "Scientists turn SPINACH LEAVES into working human heart tissue"--Daily Mail. In the past, scientists have used 3-D printing type techniques to make the veins, but in this process, they use the veins and capillaries in plants and transform them into a usable framework.