April 6, 2017 -- A Quick Run Around the Web

"Homemade 9mm from Plumbing Pipe"--Royal Nonesuch (12 min)

• "The Aero Precision M4E1: 2 Years Later"--The New Rifleman. Aero Precision has a proprietory upper receiver (their enhanced receiver) specifically designed for accepting the Aero Precision free float handguard. The author has had his for two years, and is still very pleased with it. 
• "BREAKING: US Army Considering Going Back to 1954 with Interim 7.62mm Infantry Rifle"--The Firearms Blog. Unless they change the ammunition, it will be less effective at putting down enemy troops (see my article on .30 versus .22 and this post on the fleet yaw problem). But there are other factors to be considered, which the author mentions, including weight, recoil, and so on.
• "Forget to Call the Cops During a Home Invasion? Here’s What Can Happen"--The Truth About Guns. The author gives his thoughts about the shooting of an intruder in a shower in Washington, which I had mentioned a few days ago.
• Brass Fetcher Ballistic Testing tests the .32 ACP. Fans of the James Bond books (and early movies) probably remember that after Bond was forced to ditch his beloved .22 Beretta, he began using the 7.62 7.65 (.32 ACP) Walther PPK.
• "Colt Announces Jobs and Expansion of Operations"--The Firearms Blog. Expanding their West Hartford, Connecticut, facility.
• "MIT graduate, 40, indicted on weapons of mass destruction and terror charges after police find explosive materials 'strong enough to penetrate a military tank' at his Vegas home"--Daily Mail. He apparently is a suspect in 8 incidents of the use of Molotov cocktails. The media is so poor in its use of terms that I can't be sure from what is described if he had actually manufactured the explosives and incendiaries, or simply had the precursors.
• "Science vs. Dogma On Climate"--Powerline Blog. So-called climate "scientists" refuse to use satellite temperature data because it doesn't support their "theories" of global warming caused by increasing CO2 levels. It reminds me of this quote from Glenn Reynolds on placing faith in scientists: “Regardless, while one should trust science as a method — honestly done, science remains the best way at getting to the truth on a wide range of factual matters — there’s no particular reason why one should trust scientists and especially no particular reason why one should trust the people running scientific institutions, who often aren’t scientists themselves.”
• "Goodbye, Islamic State. Hello, Anarchy: The forces liberating Mosul are fighting each other, and opening the door to an Islamic State resurgence"--Foreign Policy. From the article:

       If competition among federal units complicates the restoration of security to Mosul, the entrance of a host of pro-government militias has added yet more armed actors to an already-volatile situation. Predominantly Sunni paramilitary units, including Jeber’s Mosul Gallant Force, have been assigned a large share of responsibility for Mosul’s day-to-day security, but lack the manpower to effectively police the city.

       Shiite Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), meanwhile, have established a presence in Mosul. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi initially said these Shiite militias would be excluded from the offensive to retake Mosul city. While the bulk of Shiite PMF are stationed in the desert west of Mosul to prevent Islamic State fighters from fleeing into Syria, a number of groups, including the Badr Organization, al-Abbas Forces, and Kata’ib Hezbollah, have opened offices in east Mosul.

       Ethnic Shabak militias operating in east Mosul are also believed to have been bolstered with members from Iranian-influenced Shiite militia groups. ...

•  "Why Is Big Business So Liberal? The Pepsi Case"--Powerline Blog. The article looks at Pepsi social justice warrior CEO, and its recent commercial co-opting Black Lives Matter. The author concludes that the explanation, to the extent that their can be a single one, is globalism. 

       I have often wondered–likely you have too–why large corporations are almost always liberal. Warmed-over Marxism offers no explanation, but I wonder whether part of the answer, at least, may be found in globalization.

       Let’s start with Hollywood: why are most of its films so mind-numbingly stupid? Why do most have no dialogue above a grade-school level? Why are they mainly about explosions, superheroes, car chases and so on? And why are American movies no longer patriotic? A big part of the answer is that the Hollywood studios don’t care much about Americans anymore. Their biggest market is China, and foreign sales overall dwarf U.S. sales. American movies are made mostly for Chinese and Indian film-goers. If you think about it, that explains a lot.

• "EXCLUSIVE: Did the CIA have a mole at the heart of Putin's hacking operation for years? Russians charge spy colonel with treason, find $12m in his house - then discover his identity is fake"--Daily Mail. Do we have anyone to trade for him?
• "Brazil’s New Problem With Blackness"--Foreign Policy. Brazil has been attempting to implement an affirmative action program among its colleges and universities, but is running into an issue because of its history of racial admixture: students being charged with defrauding the affirmative action programs because they weren't black enough. Consequently, the article indicates, affirmative-action race tribunals are now measuring skull shape and nose width to determine who counts as disadvantaged. 
• A reminder that we live in the 21st Century: "Hoverboards are REAL: Breathtaking footage shows a man soaring above the ocean on a device that can reach 10,000ft- and you can hire one TODAY!"--Daily Mail. Franky Zapata, who gave us hoverboards using jets of water, is now demonstrating one that apparently uses on-board turbines to give lift and propulsion.