January 29, 2018 -- A Quick Run Around the Web

"Electric Health Risk from Space Weather"--Suspicious Observers (3 min.)

A quick look at some recent research showing a correlation between space weather and cardio-vascular health. I would also recommend the author's news video from a couple days ago which mentions some additional research showing electrical precursors to earthquakes.

• "A Closer Look and First Set-Up of our Bris Inflatable Fishing Boat"--Security & Self-Reliance. The author reviews an inflatable boat that he describes as being between your standard inflatable boat or raft, and a Zodiac boat. He also notes that "[t]his boat is advertised as a 6 person boat, 1600 pound capacity and it’s rated to 25 horsepower. It came with the floor system, oars and oar locks, 2 seats, a foot pump, 2 storage bags, repair kit, Certificate of Origin and an instruction booklet." Also, Security & Self-Reliance has added a new "PDF of the Week," this one on recipes for home dehydrating.
• "Prepping 101 | The Medical Bucket and M3 Medic Bag"--Loadout Room. In this article, the author lists what he keeps in his basic medical bag, and introduces the idea of using a 5-gallon sealable bucket to store additional medical items (make sure to use a red bucket or otherwise mark it so you can differentiate it from buckets used for other items, such as food storage).
• This looks interesting: "Revolutionary Gun Grip Created by Vets Aims to Make Operators Deadlier"--Kit Up!  From the article:

        The Ryker Grip, designed and marketed by a team of Navy and Marine Corps veterans with close ties to the special operations community, uses ergonomics to ease strain on the body, allowing for a more natural head position, squared shoulders, and better body alignment.

          The fist-sized piece of military-grade polymer fixes to the rail, allowing shooters to hold and control the gun from the side, rather than from underneath as with a conventional vertical grip.

Although it doesn't seem to improve accuracy, the inventors contend that it gives a 12-20% increase in speed (target to target). The other thing with this grip is that it leaves the forefinger free, so it can be used to trigger a light or some other use, while still maintaining a solid grip. MSRP is $75.

• Another product I saw discussed at a couple different sites: the Double-Star Noogie Bottle Opener. Basically, it is "brass knuckles" except made from aluminum ... and with a bottle opener thrown in on the bottom so, I guess, you can claim you didn't know it was a weapon. 
• "Bugging out 101: Get Off Your Feet And Onto Your Bike"--Dreaming of Sunsets Over Ochre Dunes. A look at the bicycle as a bug-out vehicle. They are quiet, efficient (at least if you are physically fit) and, with a trailer, can haul children or supplies. But they are slow and don't offer any protection.
• "Airguns at the 2018 SHOT Show – Day One"--Hard Air Magazine. One of the tidbits that caught my attention: "Crosman was showing the new Benjamin Traveler portable compressor. This is designed to connect directly to the 12 Volt  battery of a car, lawn mower or ATV and provide up to 4,500 PSI of High Pressure Air to directly fill a PCP air rifle." This means that you wouldn't be stuck going to a scuba shop to fill the PCP tank or a separate refill tank.
• "Illegals commit crimes at double the rate of native-born: Study"--The Washington Times. Anonymous Conservative has some comments on this, including a possible genetic connection.
• "GRAPHIC — Hooded Cartel Gunmen Kill Nine in Mexican Border State House Party"--Breitbart. Per the article, "[a] team of hooded cartel gunmen barged into a suburban home of this metropolitan area to execute nine men at a party. The women and children were locked in a room while gunmen executed their victims." Warning: the photographs are graphic.
• Migrants Welcome! "Amsterdam: One Dead, Several Wounded in Multiple Shooting"--Breitbart. The deceased is a 17-year old (wink, wink) Moroccan. The shooters were armed with AK rifles. The authorities are stating that the shooting is not terror related, which means it is probably part of a gang war between rival Middle-Eastern and/or North African gangs.
• Well, migrants welcome except in Mexico: "Over 100 Migrants Found Dying of Asphyxiation in Tractor-Trailer Headed for Texas"--Breitbart. Mexican authorities found the migrants stuffed into the trailer for a semi-tractor suffering from dehydration and asphyxia. They were identified as being from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. According to the article, "[t]he migrants were taken to Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office in Ciudad Victoria so INM could contact their respective consulates and carry out their deportations."
• Diversity is our strength: "Minnesota Man Explains Mall Stabbings"--Power Line. Last November, Mahad Abdiaziz Abdiraham stabbed two men in the Mall of America. Authorities have never revealed a motive, but suggested it was due to mental issues. However, pleading guilty the other day, Abdiraham explained the reason for the attack: 

         In the statement, Abdiraham said he went to the Mall of America to answer the “call for jihad by the Chief of Believer, Abu-bakr Al-baghdadi, may Allah protect him, and by the Mujahiden of the Islamic State.”

         The statement added, “I understand that the two men I stabbed know and have explained the reason for my attack, and I am here reaffirming that it was indeed an act of Jihad in the way of Allah.”

         Abdiraham also said in the statement that Americans will not be safe as long as “your country is at war with Islam.”

Also this:

        Twin Cities Somali community spokesman Omar Jamal suggested that Abdirahman is not simply the basket case presented by the Star Tribune. “This is a widespread sentiment with Somali youth,” he said. Jamal said the federal government’s effort to make it difficult for would-be jihadists to travel abroad and join a terrorist group has had unintended consequences locally.

        Translation: they are talking about waging jihad here in Minnesota. 

• "Five Jihadis in the U.S. You Haven’t Heard Of"--PJ Media. Robert Spencer observes: "Just in the last week, five Muslims were involved in courtroom proceedings connected with jihad terror activity. Clearly the jihad against Americans, and against the United States as an entity, is ongoing." He goes on to offer summaries about each of these men.
• And another one: "Terrorism eyed after driver allegedly targets pedestrians in Philadelphia"--Fox News. This incident of pedestrian bowling was ended when an off-duty police officer shot the driver in the head. Despite his injury, the suspect did not die and was taken to a hospital in very serious condition.
• "Reverting to a third world s***hole"--Bayou Renaissance Man. Surprise, surprise, but South Africa is reverting to a "s***hole" with the evidence in this case being that theft of electrical cabling and other infrastructure is so rampant that the Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) refuses to replace or repair some traffic lights. While the author--Peter Grant--recognizes that this is post-Apartheid, he bristled when a reader posted a comment suggesting a link to the country moving to black rule. Michael Levin, a professor at CCNY and CUNY has a great book, Why Race Matters, that Grant should probably read. As I've maintained before, minorities shouldn't want a national conversation on race because they won't like where it goes. Unfortunately for minorities, the SJWs, BLM and the "white privilege" mantras have started that conversation.
• And this is where a national conversation on race goes: "His Unhappy Life In A Sh*thole"--Rod Dreher at American Conservative publishes a letter from one of his readers describing his/her life in a s***hole, right here in America in a mostly Hispanic community. An excerpt:

           First, I grew up in a comfortable middle class community with a solid religious foundation (even though I rebelled against this as a teenager) and a large, close-knit, functional family support system. I did not move to my current city because I necessarily wanted to live here but simply because circumstances led me here. Furthermore, I am white and thus of a different ethnicity than the majority Hispanic people I come in contact with on a daily basis in my city. I don’t know if Alicia is of the same ethnicity as her poorer neighbors, but I merely disclose this background information to admit that it could affect my perception of my particular situation.

          That said, I do not have the same stories of neighborliness and charity in my community that Alicia has in hers. It could very be due to the fact that I am not neighborly and charitable enough myself and thus haven’t been open to such experiences. I think it also has to due with my being white and not Hispanic, especially when so many of the Hispanics here speak little or no English. If I can’t communicate with my poor neighbors, how can I ever begin to understand them and forge those bonds of community? Language aside, I think the biggest hurdle that keeps me from seeing beyond the shithole aspects of my community goes back to the issue of culture.

          My community is dominated by a degenerate culture. In my previous comment, I talked a lot about Mexican culture, but here I’m not referring to that ethnic culture specifically, though it may contribute. The culture I’m referring to is, for lack of a better term, “ghetto” culture. This culture is by no means relegated only to Hispanics or blacks but seeps into all lower class ethnic groups. It’s a culture of selfishness, hedonism, irresponsibility, sloth, and violence. In short, it’s a culture of sin. Yes, I’m sure the comfortable, middle class culture of my hometown definitely had its share of sinfulness masquerading as respectability, but it doesn’t blatantly dominate the culture in the way the ghetto culture does in my current community.

Read the whole thing.

•  Heh. "BBC Cuts Pay of Male Journalists After 'Pay Gap' Outcry"--PJ Media. The women probably thought they were going to get raises.
• A reminder that we live in the 21st Century: "Long-lost 'zombie' NASA satellite is found by amateur astronomers after going missing for more than a decade"--Daily Mail. The research satellite, the Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration (IMAGE), went dark about 5 years after its launch. However, the amateur astronomer, while looking for a signal from a recently launched spy satellite, discovered that IMAGE was again broadcasting. NASA has expressed hope that IMAGE can again be used for its mission.