May 29, 2017 -- A Quick Run Around the Web

"The volcano ghost town that lies abandoned since 10,000 people fled Mount Sinabung eruption in 2014"--Daily Mail

Firearms/Self-Defense:

• "Army Chief Milley Says Army Has Developed New Bullet to Defeat Level IV Body Armor"--The Firearms Blog. Although Milley indicates that a new projectile was developed, he is short on details other than that he believed that it was apparently intended for special operations troops and would be compatible with 7.62 mm weapons used by us and our allies. Nathaniel Fitch wonders if it is made of new materials (tungsten or depleted uranium) or of a different type (flechette). Speed is critical, so I wonder if it is some type of saboted round. Anyway, if the military has it, it will probably find its way to law enforcement. Of more concern is that it might be sold to "allies" such as Mexico, and thus find its way to the drug cartels.
• "Kalashnikov Concern Releases New AK Upgrade Kit"--The Firearms Blog. It is a set of upgrades that allow the use of rails, better selector lever, and so on, to make the rifle capable of using various accessories needed for modern militaries. The article indicates that the upgrade kit is only for military sale, but most of the upgrades are similar to upgrades that have been available in the American civilian market for a long time. 
• "A Non-NFA 14” Remington 870? The New TAC-14 – Full Review!"--Guns America Blog. The author, and those at the range that he let shoot it, all agreed that it is a fun weapon to shoot. However, the author was concerned about the slide "getting away from you" when conducting rapid fire. The answer to this, however, is what other manufacturers have done: a strap on the foregrip to make sure that your hand doesn't slide over the fore end of the weapon.
• "Glock 26 vs Glock 43: Which Of The Baby Glocks To Get?"--Alien Gear Holsters Blog. Basically, the G26 has greater capacity (especially because it can also use 15- or 17-round magazines intended for its bigger brothers), but the G43 is thinner and easier to conceal.
• Remember how I recently noted the availability of low-cost, sub-MOA hunting rifles? "A Sub-MOA Winchester for $550? The XPR Bolt-Action – Full Review"--Guns America Blog. 

Other Stuff:

• "WHO Says 3 Zika Cases Detected in India for 1st Time"--Associated Press. These 3 cases were discovered, according to the article, through routine screening at a hospital in Ahmadabad, Gujarat province. None of the 3 infected patients had traveled overseas. This indicates that the source is local, and Zika is in "the wild," so to speak.
• "China knife attack: 2 dead, 18 injured in stabbing spree"--Fox News. (H/t The Truth About Guns). The attack occurred along a roadway in Guizhou province. The attacker is described as "mentally ill," which, in Communist controlled news, could mean that the man was actually mentally ill, or that he held beliefs that the government thought were dangerous (e.g., a Muslim terrorist).
• Third time is a charm: "Merkel warns US, Britain no longer reliable partners"--AFP (via Yahoo). (Warning: video starts automatically). Upset over Brexit and Trump deciding to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris plan to distribute Western wealth to the Third World environmental treaty, Merkel is urging other European countries to join in a German led hegemony. We've seen this before, and it has never ended well. Note the Merkel is a socialist at heart, and, therefore, feels an obligation to save the whole world even if it means the betrayal and destruction of her own people.
• Related: "Trump to Germany: Lead, Follow, or Get Out of the Way"--PJ Media. Michael Walsh is glad that Germany may finally grow up and start taking care of itself. He writes:

If it took Trump's typical bluntness to finally get the message across that the Europeans are now responsible for the mess of their own making, good. Germany in particular has coasted under the American nuclear umbrella for decades, allowing it to a) concentrate entirely on rebuilding its domestic economy, infrastructure and social welfare state and b) thumb its nose at American warmongering imperialism. 

He adds:

What the president understands, and the Europeans pretend not to, is that Russia is no longer the direct menace it was during the days of the Fulda Gap, and that the real menace to Europe and NATO (which, by the way, includes the Islamicizing state of Turkey) is Islam, and its ongoing invasion of the historic lands of Christendom. If you think that's a joke, and that it can't happen in France, Italy or Britain, ask the Anatolians, the north Africans and the Albanians how that worked out for them.

• Civil war alert: "Liberals Are Shocked To Find We’re Starting To Hate Them Right Back"--Townhall. Kurt Schlichter writes about the Montana politician, Greg Gianforte, who body slammed a Guardian "reporter" named Ben Jacobs, then went on to win a special election. Schlichter points out:

       ... Liberals have chosen to coarsen our culture. Their validation and encouragement of raw hate, their flouting of laws (Hi leakers! Hi Hillary!) and their utter refusal to accept democratic outcomes they disapprove of have consequences. What is itself so surprising is how liberals and their media rentboyz are so surprised to find that we normals are beginning to feel about them the way they feel about us – and that we’re starting to act on it. If you hate us, guess what?

       We’re going to start hating you right back.

       Cue the boring moralizing and sanctimonious whimpering of the femmy, bow-tied, submissive branch of conservatism whose obsolete members were shocked to find themselves left behind by the masses to whom these geeks’ sinecures were not the most important objective of the movement. This is where they sniff, “We’re better than that,” and one has to ask ,“Who’s we?” Because, by nature, people are not better than that. They are not designed to sit back and take it while they are abused, condescended to, and told by a classless ruling class that there are now two sets of rules and – guess what? –the old rules are only going to be enforced against them.

• Related: "Has Globalism Gone Off the Rails?"--Victor Davis Hanson. He makes the following observation:

       One half of the West — the half that lives mostly on the seacoasts of America and Western Europe — loves globalization. The highly educated and cosmopolitan “citizens of the world” have done well through international finance, insurance, investments, technology, education, and trade, as the old Western markets of 1 billion people became world markets of 6 billion consumers.

       These coastal Westerners often feel more of an affinity with foreigners like themselves than with fellow countrymen who live 100 miles inland. And they are not shy in lecturing their poorer brethren to shape up and get with their globalized program.

• r-selection at work: "Silicon Valley star Kumail Nanjiani tells graduates to 'have sex with an immigrant' as he gives college commencement speech in Iowa"--Daily Mail. One whore-monger's advice to other whores and whore-mongers. 
• "Manchester: the escalation continues"--Bayou Renaissance Man. Peter Grant writes about a column by Mark Steyn on how Islamic immigration has already irrevocably destroyed those portions of Europe that have admitted them, while the only areas of Europe that have avoided terrorism are those that refuse to admit Muslims. Grant, against his better nature, concedes that he has to agree with Steyn:

I want to disagree with Mr. Steyn, but I can't.  I disagree profoundly that Islam as a whole is the source of our terrorism problem;  but the fact that the terrorists are overwhelmingly fundamentalist Muslims undermines my argument, because it's almost impossible to tell them apart from Muslims who are not terrorists or terrorist sympathizers.  If you can't distinguish the dangerous from the harmless, you're left with only one alternative to ensure your safety.  You have to regard all of them as dangerous until proven otherwise.

• "Modified antibiotic successfully kills drug-resistant bacteria - bringing fresh hope to the fight against superbugs"--Daily Mail. From the article:

       Vancomycin has been prescribed by doctors for 60 years, but bacteria are becoming increasingly resistant to it.

        Researchers at The Scripps Research Institute in the US modified the drug so it works in three separate ways on bacteria, making it much harder for them to develop resistance.

Unfortunately, the article doesn't list the three mechanisms by which it weakens bacteria. However, it notes that it may be effective in treating some of the super-bugs that have arisen in third world countries. Unfortunately, since many in the third-world take antibiotics like candy, I don't have much hope for this drug remaining effective if it is sold overseas.