July 22, 2017--A Quick Run Around the Web

"Shocking moment man is fatally stabbed to death in Brooklyn"--Akademi Portal (37 sec.). Just one stab wound. It was 20 seconds before the victim collapsed, during which, in the intervening period, he yelled at the man who had stabbed him, threw his food and belongings down, crossed one street and almost made it across another. Read more the incident here. 

Firearms/Self-Defense/Prepping:

• Be sure to check out this weekend's Weekend Knowledge Dump from Active Response Training. Among other things, links to, and comments about, an article on clearing a house by yourself, spotting IED's set up in/around internal door frames, and the dangers of over-exercise.
• "Canning game meat"--Backwoods Home Magazine. Because of the need to can meats at higher temperatures, the first thing you will need is a pressure canner--a basic boiling bath canner will not do. The author has some points about selecting and using a pressure canner, then gets into the "meat" (pun intended) of how to do the canning, discussing preparing your jars, the difference between raw-pack and hot-pack canning (i.e., raw meat versus cooked or partially cooked meat). and offering some canning recipes. 
• "US Army’s New Magazine A FAILURE? USMC Test of Enhanced Performance Magazine Shows It Performed Worse Than Predecessor, PMAG"--The Firearms Blog. In a test between four magazines, including a third generation PMAG and the an Enhanced Performance Magazine (EPM). The latter was the worst of the lot, while the PMAG was the best.
• "Protect Generators and Cars from EMP"--The Survivalist Blog. The embedded video (about 11 min.) describes using a conductive cloth (RF cloth) to protected against EMP. The author briefly notes that, based on his testing, most RF cloth doesn't perform as well as claimed by the manufacturer, but still feels that some may be of use in protecting against EMP or a solar flare. He then discusses different pros and cons for different types of RF cloth products that are available. arriving at a couple that he thought were of use.

• Related: "How To Protect Red-Dot and Laser Sights From EMP"--The Survivalist Blog. Another video for your viewing pleasure.

• "Salt of the Earth?"--Blue Collar Prepping. Recommendations for the storage of salt, which has a long history of being traded as a commodity or even being used as money. Basically, for cooking and eating, get the iodized salt so you won't have thyroid issues after TEOTWAWKI. For other uses, bulk salt, such as for water softeners or rock salt will work.
• "Fish Hook Knot No. 1"--Dreaming of Sunsets Over Ochre Dunes. A basic knot to use with fishhooks that have "eyes."
• "Backward Ideas About Backyard Farming"--Survival Mom. Some basic ideas and suggestions about intensive gardening or farming in your backyard (as opposed to some acreage in a rural area), including making use of vertical gardening techniques and growing some plants indoors, and suggestions as to a composter and some animals to raise.
• "Is Anyone Still Using the Weaver Stance?"--The Truth About Guns. Basically, the vast bulk of competitive shooters and tactical/self-defense trainers use the isosceles stance. I notice that what I use depends on the situation. If I don't have time constraints and I want maximum accuracy, I will tend to revert to Weaver or a modified version thereof (which was how I was taught by my father to shoot a pistol). However, my oldest son cannot shoot accurately using the Weaver or modified, no matter how much time he has, so I wound up telling him to not pay attention to how I'm shooting (when I'm just shooting as opposed to demonstrating) and just concentrate on the basic isosceles stance, with which he does much better.
• "Commentary On A Good Southern Prepper 1 Video About Training"--Mason Dixon Tactical. (The video about which his commenting can be found here and is about 8 minutes long). Among other things, he writes:

       Inexperienced looters and thugs are easily stopped by layered security measures like security lighting, security cameras, locked chain link fence, heavy duty door and door frame, shrubs under all the ground level, first floor windows that make window breaches with a buddy or short ladder more difficult, loud, audibly piercing alarm, etc., but the experienced version of the looters and thugs have planned ahead and done their “Leaders Recon” before hitting a place.

       An experienced group will know if they need bolt cutters, a door ram, and/or shotgun for a breach. An experienced group will know if you have security cameras, and will have ways of defeating it from a concealed location (accurate air rifle or suppressed .22LR) An experienced group will have a assault plan and special teams for different tasks. An experienced group will know how many exits there are to the dwelling, and either hit all at once, or at least have them covered once the assault kicks off.

        Something to keep in mind when discussing this stuff (the defense), is that the defense is a Hell of a lot easier than offense (usually they are fixed positions and not much is required physically), and it requires a lower ratio of personnel (defense is usually a 3 to 1 ratio meaning the defense only needs one person for every three offensive/attacking personnel) than the offense usually does. Generally speaking, preppers and Survivalists need to make sure they have their defensive plan ready and able to be carried out (enough personnel just for that) before planning on conducting any form of offensive actions.

        I’m not gonna bother covering what happens if you got hit by contractors or military, because if you do, you had better already have a squared away escape plan in place because it would be the “Experienced looters and thugs” on steroids (MG’s, AT-4’s, breaching charges that make their own doorway, etc.). You do what you can to fight something like that, but have no illusion that the probability leans towards getting rolled over, even though the possibility is that you could still win. This is why having someone who knows how to set up security of your site is so important. A knowledgeable individual (Like southernprepper1 said, not someone who read it in a book) can give you the layered security set up that gives you advanced warning and also helps channel attackers, and restrict a site breach for a short while.

He also recommends being realistic about your fitness and training. Read the whole thing.

Other Stuff:

• r versus K--an example:

• r-Strategists at work: "Teens filmed, mocked drowning man, Cocoa police say"--Florida Today. The group of teens just stood by, doing nothing to save the man, choosing to film the event with their cell phones rather than call 911. According to the article, authorities will not be charging the youths with any crime because they "dindu nuffin'" to cause the man's death. That is, there is no Florida law requiring a person to provide assistance to someone in need. But CNN is reporting that the Cocoa police chief is urging that the youth be charged under a statute that requires the reporting of a dead body, which they also failed to do. (See also video here showing what the youths were witnessing and recording their taunts and laughter). I don't agree that Florida should adopt a law requiring a person to render assistance; only you can decide whether you are capable of safely rendering aid. Rather, the issue is one of morality and integrity: i.e., the youth didn't even attempt to call for help due to their depravity and lack of morals, and we haven't heard a peep from Black Lives Matter to rage against the teens. 

• Compare the foregoing with this: "US Army infantrymen run into burning building in Ukraine, save lives"--Popular Military.com. "Odom, along with fellow Thunderbirds Sgt. Nelson Deese, Spc. Vincent Humerickhouse, Spc. Kellar Jackson, Spc. Aaron Moore and Pfc. Kevin Polk, rushed into the burning building and evacuated the third floor before local firefighters arrived on scene."

• "Bug off! Unsettling moment a nightmarish swarm of locusts descend on a car in Russia as authorities declare a state of emergency over the insect invasion"--Daily Mail. The incident was in Dagestan, Russia. "Reportedly, the locusts have taken over the area, with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, in Dagestan reporting that at least 112,000 hectares [432 square miles] have been affected by the insatiable insects." 
• No longer our best and brightest: "A's on the rise in U.S. report cards, but SAT scores founder"--USA Today. It reports that "the upward creep is most pronounced in schools with large numbers of white, wealthy students. And its especially noticeable in private schools, where the rate of inflation was about three times higher than in public schools." (Underline added). Meritocracies are impossible to sustain because, inevitably, many of the children of the elite will fail to merit their privileged position.
• Seems like a good idea to me: "County jail to snip 30 days off prison sentences if inmates get a vasectomy"--Fox News. It would certainly help cull the rabbits from society.
• This is terrible (sarc.): "Maine Town Resorts To Hiring Americans As Visas Run Out"--Hot Air. Businesses in Bar Harbor, Maine, have run out of available H-2B visas for temporary workers and are--gasp!--having to resort to hiring Americans. We need a list of all the businesses that use H-2B workers.
• "As Workouts Intensify, a Harmful Side Effect Grows More Common"--New York Times. Rhabdomyolysis (or "rhabdo") is a rare but life-threatening condition often caused by extreme exercise. It occurs when overworked muscles begin to die, and the muscle fibers break apart, and release compounds that can be harmful to the liver and cause severe pain. These compounds include a protein called myoglobin, which causes brown or tea-colored urine, a classic symptom of rhabdo. Rhabdo occurs when people simply do not give their muscles time to adjust to an aggressive new exercise. It almost always strikes people that are trying a new exercise or activity, but there is also evidence that certain medications--including statins, stimulants and antipsychotic drugs--and/or genetic susceptibilities may contribute to the condition.
• "Germany Has Major Migrant Riot"--Anonymous Conservative. About a 1,000 Muslim youth overran a musical festival and started raping women and attacking police. Anonymous Conservative observes:

       Only a thousand youth? You have to laugh. These are the tame times, when dopamine is flowing freely, weapons are unknown to the migrant mobs, and the numbers of migrants are a fraction of what will be around in the Apocalypse. These are the riots that were done for fun by a handful of the new migrants.

        When there is no food, the migrants are starving, they’ve imported Kalashnikovs and RPGs, and the locals have stopped trying to cater to their every wish, is when the real excitement will begin.

• "The Mystery of Why Japanese People Are Having So Few Babies"--The Atlantic. The same reason as in much of the rest of the West: 

Japan’s birth rate may be falling because there are fewer good opportunities for young people, and especially men, in the country’s economy. In a country where men are still widely expected to be breadwinners and support families, a lack of good jobs may be creating a class of men who don’t marry and have children because they—and their potential partners—know they can’t afford to.

• "Navy's Hypervelocity Railgun Could Be A Gamechanger -- If Congress Funds It"--Forbes. A rail gun could achieve ranges of 50-110 nautical miles, and strike with enough energy to not even require a warhead (although the plan is to equip them with a guided warhead). The article also notes:

Electromagnetic railguns have numerous potential advantages over existing shipboard defenses. They hit targets faster, they cover bigger areas, they cost much less per shot than missiles, they enhance on-board safety (no gunpowder), and they reduce logistical requirements. Hundreds of rounds can be stored on a warship, and they can be applied to multiple missions beyond ship defense. They also are not subject to the line-of-sight and energy attenuation drawbacks of high-power lasers. 

• Dalrock has a some articles on what he calls the "presence punisher": the wife or girlfriend who wants to punish their man by or through their presence. The first article, "Smartphones ruin everything," begins with a vignette of a woman complaining about her boyfriend entertaining himself with a smart phone while she shops. When asked why it bothered her, she responded: "Because now he isn’t miserable." The second article--"Spotting the presence punisher in the wild"--notes that the easiest way to spot the "presence punisher" is by her complaint that her husband or boyfriend doesn't want to spend time with her. In a 2015 article on the topic, Dalrock explained that "[w]hat we see here is a surprisingly common pattern for wives;  they go out of their way to be unpleasant to their husbands and then complain that their husbands don’t want to spend time with them." He goes on to add: "Despite near universal denial this impulse is extremely common.  When women complain to my wife that their husbands never want to spend time with them she gently asks them if when they are around their husband they are pleasant and nice to be around.  The response she receives varies from viewing my wife as a traitor to women, to shock that they had never considered this themselves."