September 21, 2018 -- A Quick Run Around the Web

"Mantis Dry Fire Monday: More micro-drills" -- Active Self Protection Extra (13 min.)

Working on drawing the firearm from the holster.

• TGIF: This week's Weekend Knowledge Dump from Active Response Training. Articles include topics such as movement under fire, methods of carry when running or other sports/exercise, a look at a belly band holster that might actually be safe, preventing identity theft, tips from the homeless on how to survive on the street, and more.
• "Effects Of Wind And Weather"--Shooting Sports USA. From the article:

        Shooters are affected by the wind in two ways. The first kind of wind blows on you, the shooter, and affects you and your ability to perform well. The second type of wind blows on the bullet and affects the bullet and where it hits down range.

        Wind that blows on you and affects your ability to perform will probably become the most important factor you will have to face on a particular day. At that point, the wind that affects the bullet down range becomes a minimal problem. You really don’t worry too much about the effect of wind on the bullet because you are concerned with trying to break the shot so you can make a hit. Being able to break the shot on the target becomes your primary concern.

• "Remembering 9-11-2001 and 9-11-2012"--LDS Gunsite. Most of the article is on the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon in 2001, but he also addresses the Benghazi incident and how politicians have tried to sweep it under the rug. Interestingly, he mentions:

There was an investigation of the Iran-Contra affair by the Tower commission, like Benghazi investigations, came up with a solution that was far from truth. Within that particular investigation aid to the Contras was stopped by Congress. That is a lie. I was at a small American Army made landing strip in Panama well after the aid was supposed to be stopped, and it was not. So, as a powerless ex-President who believes investigations ran by Congress or any other government entity would reveal truth, I know that they do not. Because of those impotent investigations the U.S. military was at a base in Panama and lost 4 good men to an attack. We should not have been there ....

My first year of college, my circle of friends and acquaintances happened to overlap that of a guy who had been serving with the Rangers, and part of his deployment was to a camp just over the border from Nicaragua. The Russians had officers and troops there as "advisors" as did the United States, but they all participated in fighting. He recounted running into a Soviet officer while driving on a road, and the two spoke for a bit--the officer had attended a university in the United States and wanted to practice his English and catch up on things (if I remember correctly, college sports); a few weeks later, the Ranger's camp was attacked, and the Ranger could see the Soviet officer (among others) in the background helping to direct the attack. All of this was supposedly during a time that we had no troops assisting the rebels.

• "Decline of Western Civilization"--Dirt Time. The author states that "[w]e aren’t sure exactly where we are as a people in the curve of the decline of a civilization, or whether or not we can affect that decline. However, there is always something that the individual can do – always." He suggests some books, including Morris Berman’s “The Twilight of American Culture," Jane Jacobs' “Dark Ages Ahead,” and his own book, “How to Survive Anywhere."
• "Drawing From a Seated Position – Tips for Accessing Your Gun In a Hurry"--The Truth About Guns. The author has some tips on how to make it easier to access your handgun from a waist/belt holster when seated in a car or at a desk or table. He also suggests an ankle holster or cross-draw holster if you are seated a lot. Strangely (and this was brought up in the comments), he doesn't mention shoulder holsters. Anyway, an excerpt from the article discussing eating at a restaurant:

       Sitting in a chair at a table affords you much more mobility, making it easier if and when you have to go to your gun. You can easily kick your chair back and away or even push the table aside if necessary.

       As for situational awareness, even better than a vantage point of a restaurant’s entrance is a view of the largest avenue of approach toward your table. If you can see a suspect approaching, you’ll have more time to respond.

• Strike Industries generally makes some pretty good parts/accessories for firearms. I have used several of their products for ARs and found them, for the most part, to be good quality parts and very innovative. They have just released a new set of "modular" sights for Glock pistols. The "modularity" is that you can switch out the insert in the front sight blade for different colors, fiber optic or opaque. Also, the rear sight uses a groove that narrows toward the bottom, to give you a mix of a wide sight for quick target acquisition and a narrow sight for precise shooting. A couple of articles: one at The Truth About Guns and the other at The Firearm Blog.
• "Gear Review: SB Tactical SBA3 Pistol Stabilizing Brace"--The Truth About Guns. I've read and watched a lot of reviews about this brace and its all been good. There are three things that appear to set this brace apart from competitors or, even, SB Tactical's other braces. First, it has an adjustable length, using a standard carbine buffer tube (which is included with the brace). It was my understanding that for a "pistol," you had to use a buffer tube that wouldn't accept a stock, but that is apparently not the case. Second, it incorporates a mix of stiff plastic and flexible materials, which makes it less bulky and less likely to collapse or fold. (And, in the unlikely event that you should have to shoulder the brace, it makes for a much nicer cheek rest). Third, this brace weighs substantially less than other braces, including some of the minimalist braces. I had a chance to handle an AR pistol outfitted with this brace the other day, and was very impressed with it. Enough so that I ordered one. So, hopefully, I will soon be able to give you my thoughts based on my actual experience.
• "Solve the Problem Before You Need Your Gun"--Active Response Training. Greg Ellifritz uses a news report of a woman that was forced to draw a gun on a man that forced his way into her apartment and demanded sex to illustrate that you can often act to diffuse a situation before having to resort to a firearm. However, this involves being aware of pre-attack indicators and being assertive. As Ellifritz writes, "The woman had a bad feeling about her attacker.  Despite this feeling, she chose to ignore her intuition and continue on as if nothing was happening." For instance, in this case, the woman knew the guy was following her, but did nothing; the man followed her through the lobby door to her apartment building (don't know if the door automatically locked, but she might have been able to shut the door in his face); the man entered an elevator with her; he followed her to her apartment door, and then forced his way through the door when she entered; but she apparently did not act until after he was in her apartment. Ellifritz has some advice on how to train yourself to deal with these and similar situations--read it.

"America in the Crosshairs of CHINESE IMPERIAL EXPANSION"--Black Pigeon Speaks (6-1/2 min.). This video examines some of the strategic considerations motivating China to seek dominance over the South China Sea. The video suggests that a historical corollary is Athens' aims and desires to dominate the Aegean Sea, Rome's efforts to dominate the Mediterranean Sea, or even the United State's actions to dominate the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean. I think the analogy is somewhat flawed--the North Sea provides a more apt comparison--but it is a useful video to watch to better understand the situation in the Far East.

• Heh. "Liberal Elites Are Even Ruining Hamburgers And They Must Be Stopped"--Kurt Schlichter at Town Hall. He begins by pointing out: "Let me be clear, to quote an awful ex-president: Nothing I write here is open to debate. I’m turning the epistemic closure thing back on the libs. It is impossible to disagree with my ground beef rantings, and if you do, you are racist, sexist, and a burgerphobic cisdinner hate criminal of hatred."
• They are lying to you: "Cornell review finds academic misconduct by food researcher"--AP. The researcher, Brian Wansink, has been removed from all teaching and research duties. This is on top of many of his papers being withdrawn from publication. Wansink's research informed many of the federal government's food guidelines, and gave us Michelle Obama's infamous "healthy" school lunches.
• Well, well: "Ford's Classmate Backtracks After Saying Attack 'Did Happen'"--Newser via AT&T. This is the classmate that claimed that the alleged attack was the talk of the school after it happened. Now: 

"That it happened or not, I have no idea. I can't say that it did or didn't," Miranda says. "In my [Facebook] post, I was empowered and I was sure it probably did [happen]." 

Let me mansplain it for you: she is an attention whore who felt important by making the accusations. 

• Reminder: Nearly half of forcible rape accusations are false. From research published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior (via PubMed.gov):

With the cooperation of the police agency of a small metropolitan community, 45 consecutive, disposed, false rape allegations covering a 9 year period were studied. These false rape allegations constitute 41% the total forcible rape cases (n = 109) reported during this period. These false allegations appear to serve three major functions for the complainants: providing an alibi, seeking revenge, and obtaining sympathy and attention. False rape allegations are not the consequence of a gender-linked aberration, as frequently claimed, but reflect impulsive and desperate efforts to cope with personal and social stress situations.

Heartiste points to other studies showing similar results. 

• Related: "The Truth About Polygraph Tests: They’re junk science, inadmissible in court, and about as reliable as a pack of Tarot cards"--City Journal. From the article:

        Journalists who report that Mike Pence has offered to take a polygraph (to prove that he was not the author of the anonymous New York Times op-ed), or that Ford has taken one, without explaining that polygraphs cannot discern truth from falsehood are wasting an opportunity to educate their readers.  If you promulgate the idea that there’s a machine that can tell when someone is lying, you shouldn’t be surprised to find yourself living in a culture so hostile to science that kids go unvaccinated and measles break out in the First World.

       A polygraph measures your heart rate, breathing, and galvanic skin response. There is no evidence that any pattern of physiological responses is unique to deception. Polygraphs are useful to investigators trying to elicit a confession, however: if you convince suggestible people that these measurements are associated with lying, they are more likely spontaneously to confess when you tell them, “The machine says you’re lying.”

The research I've seen indicates that you would get more accurate results by flipping a coin.

• "Germany: Stifling Dissent to Mass Migration"--Gatestone Institute. Do you remember the recent protests in Chemnitz, Germany, after a couple of cultural-enrichers stabbed a man to death? There were news reports and government statements afterward claiming that protesters where chasing down and beating anyone that looked foreign. Except ... it was all a lie. Hans-Georg Maassen, the head of Germany's domestic intelligence agency, BfV, has come out and said that it never happened. Unfortunately, Chancellor Angela Merkel was one of those that claimed that the incidents occurred, which has landed Maassen in hot water. 
• "How chivalry (and mamma’s boys) brought us women’s suffrage and feminism."--Dalrock. Harry Burn, a legislator who had adamantly opposed women's suffrage, suddenly and unexpectedly changed his vote after receiving a letter from his mother essentially telling him to be a good boy and vote in favor of suffrage. In Utah, the women's suffrage movement originally arose as an attempt to preserve the practice of polygamy by increasing the number of Mormons eligible to vote. Those hypergamous women that had the high-status males didn't want to lose their positions!
• "Tragedy as tech company executive, 35, is stabbed to death while on an early evening jog near her home in Washington DC - just one week after getting engaged to be married"--Daily Mail. According to the article, "Police say [the] perpetrator was likely a stranger and it's believed [the] attack was random." Perhaps by coincidence, the victim, Wendy Martinez, worked for a company called FiscalNote, which works on methods to analyze disparate sources of government data in order to identify larger trends and patterns. Its website recounts that: "As we've grown, our mission has expanded beyond government affairs into digital advocacy and issues management, uniting the work of professionals across public, corporate, and government affairs." In any event, there was an arrest made in the attack. But, interestingly, I have yet to see any photographs of the alleged perpetrator, Anthony Crawford. Based on the fuzzy surveillance video that was released, he appears to be a black man, so this is probably another example of the self-censorship employed by the media when it comes to black-on-white violence. 
• "The Nastiest Feud in Science"--The Atlantic. Well, I don't know about that. Feuds over evidence of human migration to the Americas prior to the "accepted date" generally produce intense fights and threats of censure or loss of jobs. Global warming disputes are pretty rancorous and have even been taken to court. But, back to the article in question, it discusses the dispute about whether the dinosaurs were wiped out by the strike of an asteroid at the edge of the present day Yucatan Peninsula (the Chiczulub crater), or, several million years later, by massive volcanic eruptions in a part of western India known as the Deccan Traps.
• "Why We Should Still Be Talking About Killing Communists"--The Sacred Cow Slaughterhouse. They--communists and their next of kin, socialists--view the state as more important than people, and have no compunction of cutting out of society anyone that disagrees with them. Accordingly, we should talk about killing communists "[b]ecause human lives are more important than Communist lives."