July 20, 2017 -- A Quick Run Around the Web

"I Can't Believe You Said 9mm, .40 S&W & .357 Magnum Are The Same Power! OMG!!"--Jason Blaha Firearm Enthusiast (11 min.). The author corrects a mistake or misinterpretation made by a commentator to one of his videos, and discusses the difference between pressure and power, and why you will never see commercial .40 S&W +P. Good for any of you interested in reloading.

Firearms/Self-Defense/Prepping:

• "On Being Provident and Teaching our Children"--Living Providently Today. The author notes that "[l]earning skills and getting good at doing things builds confidence which also makes us more able to serve. These principles are so important for us as adults to learn, but also for us to teach to our children." She then goes on to list activities that can be used to teach our kids valuable skills. I would note that the author "walks the walk," and has a lot of valuable info on storing food and using that food storage. 
• ""Preppers" in Chile: The Silent Community Preparing for the End of the World"--Publimetro. A brief article in Chilean newspaper describing the prepper movement in that country. This is a common refrain in articles about prepping from all over the world:

Based on what he experienced after the earthquake of 2010, and his experience as a rescuer, this Chilean certifies that after a disaster, come many days of lack of resources, and that is where his concern arises for the movement preparation, which according to him , It is a lifestyle.

(Underline added). The "he" is Juan Carlos Neira, the director of the Search, Rescue and Rescue Unit of the NGO Rescate.

• "That Drug Expiration Date May Be More Myth Than Fact"--National Public Radio (NPR). The article notes that there is almost no research on how long medications remain potent or efficacious, mostly because there is no financial incentive to do so: pharmaceutical companies make hundreds of millions of dollars, if not billions, each year on people, pharmacies, clinics and hospitals having to replace "expired" drugs. In any event, the expiration date on medications simply represents a time period in which the pharmaceutical manufacturer guarantees 100% potency. However, the article relates some researchers which happened to have been provided with a box of old prescription drugs that were 30 to 40 years past their expiration dates, that had been found in a store room of an old pharmacy. 

       In his lab, Gerona ran tests on the decades-old drugs, including some now defunct brands such as the diet pills Obocell (once pitched to doctors with a portly figurine called "Mr. Obocell") and Bamadex. Overall, the bottles contained 14 different compounds, including antihistamines, pain relievers and stimulants. All the drugs tested were in their original sealed containers.

       The findings surprised both researchers: A dozen of the 14 compounds were still as potent as they were when they were manufactured, some at almost 100 percent of their labeled concentrations.

Also:

       In 1986, the Air Force, hoping to save on replacement costs, asked the FDA if certain drugs' expiration dates could be extended. In response, the FDA and Defense Department created the Shelf Life Extension Program.

       Each year, drugs from the stockpiles are selected based on their value and pending expiration, and analyzed in batches to determine whether their end dates could be safely extended. For several decades, the program has found that the actual shelf life of many drugs is well beyond the original expiration dates.

        A 2006 study of 122 drugs tested by the program showed that two-thirds of the expired medications were stable every time a lot was tested. Each of them had their expiration dates extended, on average, by more than four years, according to research published in the Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences.

         Some that failed to hold their potency include the common asthma inhalant albuterol, the topical rash spray diphenhydramine, and a local anesthetic made from lidocaine and epinephrine, the study said. But neither Cantrell nor Dr. Cathleen Clancy, associate medical director of National Capital Poison Center, a nonprofit organization affiliated with the George Washington University Medical Center, had heard of anyone being harmed by any expired drugs. Cantrell says there has been no recorded instance of such harm in medical literature.

One to take note of is that a test of expired EpiPens showed that, even when stored under less than ideal conditions, they retained sufficient potency to be useful. The ones tested were between 40 and 50 months past their expiration date. Over half retained 90% of their stated doses of epinephrine; all of them had at least 80%; meaning that all the devices would have been useful. 

• "Two New Methods Criminal Are Using That Are On The Rise"--Schafer's Self-Defense Corner. The first is that a criminal will put a $100 bill (generally fake) under their victim's passenger side windshield wiper. When the victim notices it, he or she will generally pull over, at which time persons trailing them in another vehicle will attack. The second involves those who have thumb-latch door handles on their front doors. The perpetrator will put a rubber band over the latch and hook it below the handle, exerting downward pressure, then knock on the door or ring the bell. When the homeowner answers the door, even if they successfully shut the door, the pressure will prevent the door from latching when closed.
• "Do you Have What it Takes to be a Christian Survivalist?"--CBN News. A short article and link to a video about incorporating Christian principles and faith into your prepping.
• "The Secret to Winning Every Battle"--Pat McLene (the Practical Prepper) at WND. The title is in reference to Sun Tzu's entreaty that, to win, you need to know your enemy and yourself. Most of the article is about building community and using it for self-defense and prepping (e.g., community gardens, community watches/patrols, etc.), but ends with a discussion of using threat assessment grids.
• "Very 1st Set of Prepping: Know Your Enemy"--Pat McLene (the Practical Prepper) at WND. This is a follow up article to the one cited immediately above. In it, McLene goes into more detail on the threat assessment grid, explaining how he put together his exemplar, and discussing public sources of information on potential threats (e.g., gangs).
• "Sawyer Squeeze and Mini Water Filters"--Jerking the Trigger.  The author reviews these two small and inexpensive water filter systems, and concludes that "[t]hey are the best trail filters that I have used and they are also the cheapest." He not only discusses the pros and cons to each, but also tips on getting the most from them.
• "Reprise: Is Muzzle Energy Really a Measure of Handgun Effectiveness?"--Ballistics By The Inch Blog. Looking back on a prior discussion of the topic, the author concludes:

       ... I still agree with everything above, but I’m now even more inclined to go with a relatively heavy bullet for penetration over impressive ME numbers. I think that comes from shooting a number of different brands of ammo where the manufacturer has chosen to go with a very fast, but very light bullet to get an amazing ME, with the argument that this is more likely to cause some kind of terminal shock, citing tests showing significant ‘temporary wound channels’ and such in ballistic gel.

        But you really can’t cheat physics. If you dump a lot of kinetic energy very quickly into creating a temporary wound channel, then you have less energy for other things. Like penetration. Or bullet expansion. And those are factors which are considered important in how well a handgun bullet performs in stopping an attacker. That’s why the seminal FBI research paper on the topic says this:

Kinetic energy does not wound. Temporary cavity does not wound. The much discussed “shock” of bullet impact is a fable and “knock down” power is a myth. The critical element is penetration. The bullet must pass through the large, blood bearing organs and be of sufficient diameter to promote rapid bleeding. Penetration less than 12 inches is too little, and, in the words of two of the participants in the 1987 Wound Ballistics Workshop, “too little penetration will get you killed.” Given desirable and reliable penetration, the only way to increase bullet effectiveness is to increase the severity of the wound by increasing the size of hole made by the bullet. Any bullet which will not penetrate through vital organs from less than optimal angles is not acceptable. Of those that will penetrate, the edge is always with the bigger bullet.

       Now, you can still argue over the relative merits of the size of the bullet, and whether a 9mm or a .45 is more effective. You can argue about trade-offs between recoil & round count. About this or that bullet design. Those are all completely valid factors to consider from everything I have seen and learned about ballistics, and there’s plenty of room for debate.

       But me, I want to make sure that at the very minimum, the defensive ammo I carry will 1) penetrate and 2) expand reliably when shot out of my gun. And if you can’t demonstrate that in ballistic gel tests, I don’t care how impressive the velocity of the ammo is or how big the temporary wound cavity is.

Other Stuff:

• Don't be this guy: "Shocking video shows Florida homeowner shooting at AT&T trucks because he didn't like them being parked outside his home"--Daily Mail. The article indicates that the man has been been charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a firearm and two counts of felony vandalism.
• You may remember my recent citation to an article reporting that the San Francisco BART agency was refusing to release videos of crimes committed by minorities because it thought it would result in racism. The inevitable consequence has come about: "San Francisco Transit Shielded Criminals Over Fears of Racist Public, Now Rapes, Sexual Assaults on the Rise"--Legal Insurrection.
• They are lying to you: "Where Does Global Warming Come From?"--Charlie Martin at PJ Media. From the article:

Establishment climate scientists have been correcting raw temperature data input to the Global Average Surface Temperature (GAST) models, which has had the effect of restoring the rate of increase and eliminating the near 20-year "pause" in warming. A new study (On the Validity of NOAA, NASA, and Hadley GRU Global Average Surface Temperature Data & The Validity of EPA's CO2 Endangerment Finding) strongly suggests that all or almost all the warming for the last 20 years, and a significant amount for the last 50 years, is accounted for by instrument biases and corrections. As a result, the study calls into question the EPA's "Endangerment Finding" for CO2, which justified the Obama administration's restrictive rules on carbon emissions issued just before the end of their term.

In not so many words, the climate scientists have altered the raw temperature data to fit their models.

• The wages of sin socialism: "Venezuela will 'turn into a bloodbath' warns Organization of American States chief as anti-government protestor is burned alive"--Daily Mail. Also, the article reports on increased numbers of refugees fleeing into neighboring countries.
• "Loud noise, then fatal shot, partner says"--Associated Press via Arkansas Online. The article reports:

       An Australian woman who called 911 to report a possible assault was shot and killed by a Minneapolis police officer after the officer's partner was startled by a loud sound near their squad car, the partner told investigators Tuesday.

        The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said Justine Damond, 40, approached the driver's-side window of the squad car immediately after the driver had been startled by the sound. The officer in the passenger seat, Mohamed Noor, fired his weapon, hitting Damond through the open driver's-side window, the bureau said.

       The bureau said its information was based on an interview with the officer driving the car, Matthew Harrity. Harrity was interviewed Tuesday, but Noor declined to be interviewed. The bureau said his attorney did not indicate when, or whether, Noor would talk to investigators, and under the law an interview can't be compelled.

I've been waiting for the initial speculation and misinformation to be resolved on this situation, but it does not appear to be happening. Instead, it seems to be just an issue of circling the wagons. The officer involved in the shooting is a Somali Muslim and, given the number of Somalis living in Minnesota, Minneapolis politicians have a vested interest in not pursuing this too far. I've seen articles that have reported that Noor's partner was surprised when Noor shot the woman, and initial reports said that Harrity was already talking to Damond when Noor shot her. But I come back to the issue of this: if you or I had reacted the same under the facts most favorable to Noor, we would be facing homicide charges.

• "Unable To Confront The Migrant Crisis, Europe Is Committing Suicide"--John Daniel Davidson at The Federalist. Commenting on the migrant crime in Europe, including Cheryl Benard's article at The National Interest mostly blaming the rapes on Afghan men, Davidson writes:

       The inability or unwillingness of Muslim migrant men to conform to the sexual mores of Europe is of course just one of the problems the migrant crisis has brought to the continent. But the knee-jerk reaction of European elites to either ignore or deny these sorts of problems speaks volumes about their commitment to western civilization.

        In his new book, “The Strange Death of Europe,” British journalist Douglas Murray documents his travels across Europe reporting on the migrant crisis, and concludes that Europe is so morally exhausted that it rejects its own right to exist. “Europe today has little desire to reproduce itself, fight for itself or even take its own side in an argument,” writes Murray. “Those in power seem persuaded that it would not matter if the people and culture of Europe were lost to the world.”

       According to Murray, the migrant crisis perfectly encapsulates this exhaustion. In some ways, it’s a case of competing virtues: the desire to be virtuous to the rest of the world is competing against justice for the people of Europe. Increasingly, virtue is winning out over justice because a misguided commitment to hollow notions of “respect,” “tolerance,” and “diversity” has supplanted the deep roots of European civilization. The problem, argues Murray, is that European values have “become so wide as to become meaninglessly shallow.”

        As the crisis deepens, it’s become obvious that Europe’s leaders are now so ambivalent about the survival of their own civilization they’re unable to speak of the bad things that have come, and will keep coming, with mass migration.

• "Antifa Site Includes Tips on Committing Sabotage"--PJ Media. The website, called It’s Going Down (see an archived version here), purportedly includes information and encouragement for committing violent, illegal activities including pouring concrete on railroad tracks and using explosives to damage police vehicles in Mexico and damage an Exxon-Mobil facility. 
• Attempt no landing there: "The Battle for the Moon Begins"--Bloomberg. Short version is this: now that it looks increasingly possible that there will be commercial development on the Moon within the next decade, international organizations want to turn it into a historical/nature preserve where no development is allowed.
• Evolution in action: "The Barbarians Will Solve Your Sterile Existence"--Roosh Validzadeh at Return of Kings. He writes:

     ...  Nature does not care about education, “high quality” offspring, college degrees, equal rights, cleanliness, sustainability, philosophy, or the environment. It cares about fertility and might, and the species or race that is most fertile and most powerful will be rewarded with the bounty that the Earth provides. 

Thus:

       We are the mistakes of nature. We are the grotesque. We have been condemned for replacement, forsaken by God for enabling over one billion abortions in just a few decades while we attempt to change the rules of nature, to declare man woman and woman man. Our goal is not one of spiritual enlightenment but of achieving the most vile feats of degeneracy.

       Because of our cultural and biological sterility, I believe we have been fated for destruction. Even though this end stares us right in the face, the best we can muster is a few rants on internet web sites, while the barbarians are raping, conquering, and breeding. I promise you they will win. History shows that the barbarians always win. They are the solution to a broken people. They faithfully worship their gods while we worship our Facebook likes and celebrities. We are so hopelessly sterile, so anti-life, that nature will celebrate when we are replaced by those who can barely read. But they will treasure the life of their kind, and that’s enough.

I don't think that Validzadeh is completely correct. Nature can and does care for high quality offspring, hence r/K reproductive strategies. We live in an era of incredible abundance which has given the r-strategists, whether they be the sterile urbanites of the West, or the hordes in Africa and the Middle-East, a temporary advantage. But they can only win so long as the abundance continues. Once the surplus--whether it be food, medicine or energy--is taken away, they will die like the lemmings they are. The question is whether this scarcity will arise before the K-strategists are decimated. In answer to that question, I believe that the purpose of the tribulations and trials preceding the Second Coming is to remove this surplus and abundance and force the premature destruction of the r-strategists.