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Thursday, May 11, 2017

May 11, 2017 -- A Quick Run Around the Web

"MMA vs Tai Chi"--Linus J. (47 sec.)

Firearms/Self-Defense/Prepping:
  • You've probably heard the expression "anything worth shooting once is worth shooting twice." Gabe Suarez goes a step further when it comes to terrorists: "Shoot Them Again When They Are Down." And he has a training drill for dealing with terrorists (who should be presumed to have a suicide vest or IED): "The Istanbul Drill teaches us to shoot for the face and neck area to quickly terminate the terrorist, as well as to follow up the downed terrorist with additional face and neck shots to insure the result." Read the whole thing for his reasoning.
  • Related: "Islamic Terrorist Hostage Seiges"--Active Response Training. Greg Ellifritz looks at some well known terrorist attacks that have resulted in sieges by law enforcement and/or military, and notes that prolonging a strike against terrorists only gives them more time to kill hostages, plant IEDs, and/or harden their position. He advises that law enforcement needs to change its tactics to more proactive, direct action in such situations, rather than going through the standard ritual in hostage situations of trying to establish a perimeter and contact the terrorist(s) for purposes of negotiation. And its true. This isn't the 1970s or '80s where terrorists would hijack a plane and hold passengers until a ransom was made, political prisoners released, or just to make a statement. The terrorist goals now are to kill as many as possible.
  • "Finally found a solution for carrying a tourniquet!"--Stuff from Hsoi. The author found it difficult and awkward to carry a tourniquet for everyday carry because of the bulk of the item. His solution? He flat packs the tourniquet and then attaches it to a PHLstr Flatpack Tourniquet Carrier (with the beltloops removed) and slides it into a cargo pocket. There is an embedded video on how to do the flat pack.
  • "When Seconds Counted, Dallas Police Were Only 87 Minutes Away"--The Truth About Guns. That is how long it took Dallas PD to respond to a home invasion in progress call. And this was in the metro area, not somewhere in the countryside.
  • "The 'AK' Selector Lever for the AR-15 – Five Reasons Why I Like It"--The Firearms Blog. Inspired by the AK selector lever, a company called BRDC is prototyping a selector lever for the AR that would be operated much like the safety on a 1911 pistol: click up for safety and down for fire. (More information here). 
  • The Russians remember Stalingrad: "GM94 Grenade Launcher"--Loose Rounds. An embedded video of the Russian 3-round grenade launcher shooting thermobaric rounds. Although the United States did not face anything comparable to Stalingrad, there were still some intense urban combat as Allied forces advanced into Europe. One of these was the Battle of Monte Cassino in Italy. In that battle, Allied troops strove to take several villages. The fierce house-to-house fighting required extensive use of hand-grenades, with the number of hand-grenades expended equaling the number of rifle rounds expended. Yet grenades seem woefully underappreciated as an urban weapon today, at least in the West.
  • "The moment a driver shot and killed a gunman who marched up to his car after they 'made eye contact' at a gas station is caught on video - but he WON'T be charged"--Daily Mail. You can see a short (30 sec.) video of the incident here. Various lessons here, but perhaps the one most striking is that the attacker ran off and, to all appearances, unhurt. Yet he died of his wounds. Another example that even several shots may not stop an attacker.

Other Stuff:


           Turkey has threatened to step up military action against Syrian Kurdish fighters allied with the United States in response to the Trump administration’s decision to directly arm the Kurds for an assault on the Syrian city of Raqqa, Turkish officials said. 
             The warning was delivered to senior U.S. national security officials in closed-door meetings this week after the Trump administration expressed its intent to arm the Kurds following months of deliberations, the Turkish officials said. 
               “Turkey’s message to the Trump administration was that Turkey reserves the right to take military action,” said a senior Turkish official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.
                  Turkey has already conducted limited strikes against the U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters in northern Syria in recent weeks, but it could increase the tempo of those strikes, Turkish officials said. American officials have complained bitterly to Turkey, a NATO ally, about the airstrikes, which have targeted the principal U.S. partner in Syria in the fight against the Islamic State. 
          Turkey doesn't seem to understand the chain of command here...

          2 comments:

          1. Re: "When Seconds Counted, Dallas Police Were Only 87 Minutes Away." Think of Dallas as a blue city, and it all makes sense. Dallas Police and Fire Pension Fund is way underfunded and it was grossly mismanaged for years, and now the city is looking for the state to bail it out. Dallas pays their police less than surrounding suburbs pay their police, so they were having problems recruiting officers before the pension system imploded. I think I recently heard they were about 20% understaffed. Dallas also has a variety of demographic problems that make policing more difficult.

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            Replies
            1. I guess all the more reason for residents of that benighted city to get a firearm and learn to use it in self-defense.

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