September 15, 2017 -- A Quick Run Around the Web

In the country, no one can hear you scream: "Detectives Seek to Identify Armed Squaw Valley Burglars"--Fresno Sheriff's Office (1 min.) This  August 31, 2017, video shows a three-man team committing a fairly standard smash and grab: one man acts as a lookout while the others steal items from the house. It appears at least two of the men were armed. You will also note that it apparently only took a single kick to break the door open. 

Firearms/Self-Defense/Prepping:

• TGIF: This week's "Weekend Knowledge Dump" from Active Response Training.
• "Hearing Protection Act Moves Up, Hope for Saigas, Veprs, and 7N6, and No More Armor Piercing Bans? – H.R. 3668 SHARE Act"--The Firearms Blog. This article reports that the Hearing Protection Act has been incorporated into the Sportsmen Heritage and Recreational Enhancement (SHARE) Act, and moved to the floor of the House of Representatives for a vote.
• "Ceramic Versus Steel Body Armor, Advantages and Disadvantages"--The Firearms Blog. The author is a big fan of ceramic body armor. However, for those of us that don't have body armor supplied at tax-payer expense, steel armor may be good enough and for a lot less money. 
• The end of summer doesn't necessarily have to mean the end of your garden: "Planting Fall Vegetables"--Better Homes and Gardens. From the article:

       Summer might be high season in the vegetable garden, but autumn brings wonderful rewards as well. Fast-growing salad crops will revive the most bedraggled fall gardens, and good care can keep sweet root crops and cabbage cousins growing for several weeks beyond the first frost. The tips below will help you extend your vegetable season long beyond the heat of summer.

       The secret to having great fall garden vegetables is timing. That means thinking a little differently because you have to plan backward.

        Start with your area's average first fall frost date. Then look at the number of days to harvest for planting fall vegetables. You should be able to find that number on the seed packet or in the catalog description. Use that number to count back from the first frost date. Then add two weeks, because many fall vegetables grow more slowly as days shorten in fall.

        Here's an example: If your first fall frost typically occurs around October 31 and you want to grow 'French Breakfast' radishes, which mature in about 25 days, you'd plant them around September 22.

You don't have to start from seeds, either. There are many vegetables and herbs that you can buy as starts and plant. This guide from Bonnie Plants lists some vegetables and herbs you might want to consider.

• "Chicago’s Black Women Begin to Leave the Gun Control Plantation Behind"--The Truth About Guns. The article reports: "Five years ago, less than one-third of African-American families took a positive view of gun ownership. Today, nearly 60% not only recognize the benefits of gun ownership, but consider it a 'necessity' according to the New York Times report of a Pew study. Nationally, the numbers of African-American women seeking concealed carry licenses nationwide has grown sharply." 
• A couple of weeks ago, TFB posted a video on  the topic of "Bears vs Handguns: Defending Yourself in Bear Country" (~13 min.). The video touched upon some research showing that bear spray is much more effective at stopping a bear attack than a firearm. The articles that he mentions in the video are:

• "Shoot or Spray? The Best Way to Stop a Charging Bear"--Outside Magazine. This article references a BYU study that showed that bear spray was effective 98% of the time, whereas "aggressive bears were repelled (or killed) 84 percent of the time with handguns, and 76 percent of the time with long guns."

• A Fish & Wildlife Department circular discussing the topic (PDF). This particular circular focused on grizzly attacks, and noted that in 50% of the cases where a firearm was used, the victim suffered injury from the bear, whereas "most" of the persons using bear spray escaped injury.

• "Use Pepper Spray Instead of Guns to Stop a Charging Grizzly"--Field & Stream. This article also references the BYU study, but reports:

       Bear spray, when properly used, halted aggressive bear behavior in 92 percent of the cases. Of the 175 people involved in the bear-spray encounters, only three were injured and none required hospitalization. Wind interfered with the spray in only five incidents, and in no case, stresses Smith, did it fail to reach the target. Twelve users reported irritation from the spray, but the irritation was minor in all but two instances. And in the 71 encounters when bear spray was used, not once did the can malfunction. 

        By comparison, Smith's examination of the use of firearms in hundreds of bear encounters shows that bullets deterred a charge just two-thirds of the time, and that it takes an average of four shots to stop a bear. “A bear attack is a surprise encounter,” Smith says. “Most charges start from only a few yards away. A hunter with his rifle slung is nothing more than a hiker with a stick of steel on his back.”

Of course, I would keep a handgun handy for the 8% of the time the bear spray doesn't work, and for potential predators of the two legged kind. 

Sometimes you need to step back and smell the roses: "The Case for Camping Alone (Sometimes)"--Outside.  The author maintains that "[t]here’s possibly nothing more therapeutic than going into the woods solo," and describes a 3-day solo hike into the wilderness by himself, versus how his "normal" trips into the woods for camping or hunting go. 

• Related: "37 Tips for Women Hiking Alone [Bonus: Female Hikers’ Blogs]"--Hike & Cycle. In my mind, there are a lot of risks to anyone hiking alone: a sprained ankle, broken leg, or even going slightly off the trail and getting lost are serious risks. Of course, the risk is further magnified the farther you get back into the wilderness and away from civilization. While the risks can never be fully removed (and let's face it, if they could, it would eliminate much of the adventure), they can be mitigated with planning and skills. This article, although aimed at women, sets out in an organized manner tips and information for basic safety, readying yourself for a solo trip (both physically and mentally--it can be hard for some people to handle being truly alone), planning the trip, and dealing with animals and other people that you might find on the trail. I want to emphasize that this is not the typical 5 paragraph puff piece that you might commonly see, but is a seriously useful article--besides organizing and setting out her points, the author has links to sources and additional information on each topic. It is a good article for men as well as women, and well worth your time if you like to backpack or hunt.

Hurricane Related Items:

• "Red Cross 'didn't show up' at Florida shelters during Irma"--Boing Boing. From the article:

        Miami-Dade's hurricane shelters experienced "chaos" during Irma, and the Miami-Dade schools chief Alberto Carvalho says that's because the Red Cross was missing in action.

         The Red Cross is contracted to run 42 shelters in Miami-Dade schools, but in many cases, Red Cross personnel were late to show up, and in others, no one showed up at all.

The article goes on to state that "[t]he Red Cross hired AT&T exec Gail McGovern to serve as CEO in 2008, and since then the organization has been plagued by mass layoffs, low volunteer morale, secrecy and suspicious accounting, massive executive paychecks, and an emphasis on "branding" exercises at the expense of serving the organization's core mission." It also cites examples of problems in Haiti (2010) and Sandy (2012). However, I remember the Red Cross coming under intense criticism after 9/11 because money being donated to assist 9/11 victims and impacted areas was not being used for those purposes.

• "More than 50 people have been arrested for looting in Miami during and after Hurricane Irma - including 26 who targeted one Walmart"--Daily Mail.  50 is not a large number of people given the size of the population. This begs the question of whether there were lots of looters, but few arrests, or just not many looters. The answer to that question is important in evaluating the threat of violence or theft after a disaster.
• "As Hurricane Irma raged, thieves sledgehammered way into Little River businesses"--Miami Herald. The article indicates that 14 businesses where hit. This is in the Miami metroplex, and again raises the question of whether there was a significant amount of looting. 14 businesses is not really that many given the size and population of the area.
• "'For the first time in 300 years there's not a single living person on Barbuda. A civilisation has been extinguished': Hurricane Irma wiped out entire island, US ambassador reveals"--Daily Mail. A lot of hyperbole here: 1,800 residents being evacuated to a nearby island does not mean the end of a civilization.

Other Stuff:

• As you may have heard, a bomb went off in a train carriage in the U.K. injuring 22 people. Everything is still early, but police indicate that the bomb was defective and did not fully detonate. There are also reports that authorities have identified the bomber, and that he was already known to authorities. I know this is a completely wild guess, but my gut tells me that this was another follower of Mohammad (may pigs fornicate on his grave).

• Update: 29 injured; ISIS claiming responsibility. 

(Source)

• Update: Bomb may have used triacetone triperoxiede (TATP) as the main explosive. 

• Speaking of known wolves: "'KNOWN WOLF' TERROR SCANDAL: CIA Knew About 9-11 Hijackers, Didn't Provide Intel to FBI"--PJ Media. When a read this barely a week after another article about CIA rank and file upset that a LGBT event at the CIA was cancelled, it is pretty clear that the CIA part of the swamp that needs to be drained. The whole purpose for the CIA was a central intelligence clearing house that would get needed information to other government departments and agencies, and it obviously has failed at its core mission.
• From a few days ago: "Thousands evacuated after bomb threats in Moscow"--Times of India. Per the article, this is just the latest of a string of threats that have disrupted commuter travel in Russia. No bombs have been found, though.
• "Police Officers Are Authorized to Buy Army Weapon"--Folha de S. Paulo. There have been so many police killed in Brazil this year, that the government has authorized police officers to be able to purchase military handguns in 9 mm (I presume, without knowing, that like many countries, private ownership of firearms in military calibers must normally be prohibited). The article is humorous, though, in the reporter's complete ignorance of firearms: he states that the 9 mm pistol is "considered one of the most lethal weapons in the world."
• Just in case you are thinking of traveling to Mexico City: "20,000 places where you can buy drugs"--Mexico News Daily. The article reports: "A joint report by the city’s Public Security Secretariat (SSP) and the Attorney General’s office identified 20,000 places where drugs were being sold as of January this year compared to 13,000 known points in 2015." 
• A picture is worth a 1000 words: "Rocket Science: North Korea's Missile Programme"--The Straits Times. This is a collection of graphics (diagrams and photographs) explaining the North Korean missile program and performance of various missiles that have been tested. 
• "Black Serial Killers Skyrocket"--Anonymous Conservative. Apparently, beginning in the 1990s, the number of serial killers identified as being black began to surge. "Since 2000, a majority of all serial killers have been black. Blacks only make up about 12.5% of the US population, but almost 59.8% of serial killers since 2010." I wonder if the "surge" was because of more black serial killers, or because of better detective work/reporting.
• And the news regarding Imran Awan--the Pakistani IT worker used by a significant number of Democrats in the House of Representatives--is getting more interesting:

• "DWS IT Guy Was Banned From House After Trying To Hide Secret Server"--The Daily Caller. From the article:

        Now-indicted former congressional IT aide Imran Awan allegedly routed data from numerous House Democrats to a secret server. Police grew suspicious and requested a copy of the server early this year, but they were provided with an elaborate falsified image designed to hide the massive violations. The falsified image is what ultimately triggered their ban from the House network Feb. 2, according to a senior House official with direct knowledge of the investigation.

        The secret server was connected to the House Democratic Caucus, an organization chaired by then-Rep. Xavier Becerra. Police informed Becerra that the server was the subject of an investigation and requested a copy of it. Authorities considered the false image they received to be interference in a criminal investigation, the senior official said.

        Data was also backed up to Dropbox in huge quantities, the official said. Congressional offices are prohibited from using Dropbox, so an unofficial account was used, meaning Awan could have still had access to the data even though he was banned from the congressional network.

       Awan had access to all emails and office computer files of 45 members of Congress who are listed below. Fear among members that Awan could release embarrassing information if they cooperated with prosecutors could explain why the Democrats have refused to acknowledge the cybersecurity breach publicly or criticize the suspects.

• "Awan Security Clearances Forged"--Anonymous Conservative. Basically, the clearances were issued without the full background check being performed.

• "Congo's Vicious Kasai War Could Reignite The Great Congo War"--Austin Bay at Strategy Page.