November 30, 2018 -- A Quick Run Around The Web

"The New York City Shakespeare Riot"--The History Guy (14 min.)

The riot was in 1849, and was already showing how immigration and wealth disparity was affecting the country. 

• TGIF: This week's Weekend Knowledge Dump from Active Response Training.
• 7.0 and 5.8 earthquakes struck Alaska this morning, buckling and cracking roadways, and causing other assorted damage. A tsunami warning was issued, but was later canceled. No deaths have been reported. (Daily Mail) (Pennlive).
• "How To Build a Compact, Portable Range Barricade" (Part 1) (Part 2)--The Survival Blog. 
• "One of the Best gun deals for Survivalists: Glock 22 Police Trade-ins in 40 S&W"--The Modern Survivalist. FerFal notes that not only can there pistols be converted, with just a barrel switch to .357 Sig, but with a barrel switch and magazine switch, can be used for 9 mm.
• Use a holster! "ARIZONA MAN ACCIDENTALLY SHOOTS HIMSELF IN GROIN IN WALMART"--Newsweek. According to the article, the man had only slipped his semi-auto handgun into his wasteband. When he felt it shifting, he tried to reposition it and "BANG"!
• Blue Collar Prepping takes a look at the Adventure Medical Kits Professional Series Trauma Pak Pro, which includes not only a blood clotting sponge but also a SWAT-T tourniquet. 
• "Lend/Lease: Providing Arms for Allies in the Time of Need"--Range 365. Most of you probably know that the United States provided a significant number of firearms to its allies in World War II via the Lend/Lease program. This article provides a vignette of one such firearm:

In the dead of winter 1944, U.S. Navy officer Frank Grismer discovered an unknown British soldier who had perished on the beachfront of Anzio, Italy, still clutching a .45 caliber submachine gun affectionately known by G.I.s as the Tommy Gun. His body lay in the vicinity of 19 deceased German soldiers.

•  "AK-12 & AK-15 5TH GENERATION KALASHNIKOV: RIFLES FOR THE 21ST CENTURY RUSSIAN MILITARY"--Small Arms Defense Journal. A detailed look at the 5.45 mm AK-12 and its 7.62mm cousin, the AK-15.

• Related: "Design Improvements and New Features of AK-12 and AK-15 Rifles"--The Firearm Blog. A different take on the same subject matter, but also with some comments about whether a change or feature is the best option.

• Related: "ADDRESSING AND BREAKING THE 'AK STIGMA'"--American Partisan. The author notes that "[w]ith the virtual explosion of AMERICAN custom shops for both the production of AK rifles and parts and accessories, the AK shooter is finally on level footing, at least parts wise, with the Golden Child of the civilian rifle shooting community, the AR-15," yet there remains a stigma that the weapon is a "terrorist" or "criminals" weapon, or are cheap.

• It was my understanding from Democrat politicians that silencers were only useful for nefarious purposes: "Westchester, NY Police Department Adopt Integrally Suppressed B&T APC9-SD"--The Firearm Blog. 
• "A Look at the FG42 Battle Rifle"--U.S. Patriot Tactical. This is a rifle that could easily hold its own today. From the article:

        Stange’s design was nothing short of remarkable. He created a gas-operated weapon using a lightened version of the Lewis machine gun action, which fired from a closed bolt in semiauto and an open bolt in automatic. To reduce the overall length, the magazine well was on the left of the receiver with the pistol grip directly below it. The side-mounted magazine was the weapon’s only real weakness – the weight of the steel box and twenty full-bore rounds unbalanced it slightly – but the result was a rifle half a pound lighter and six inches shorter than the Garand, with more than double the magazine capacity and an integrated bipod and flip-out spike bayonet. Incredibly, it was only an inch longer than the StG44 assault rifle and several ounces lighter, despite firing a full-power round. The straight-line stock and effective muzzle brake meant automatic fire was reasonably controllable, and fired from the bipod it made an effective SAW.

       Some features of the FG42 were remarkably modern. It came with a rail for a ZF 4 telescopic sight, but was also fitted with flip-up iron sights almost identical to the ones you’d fit on your flat-top AR15. The bipod and optical sight let soldiers exploit the power of its heavy round at long range, making it a respectable designated marksman’s rifle. It could launch rifle grenades straight off the muzzle brake without any special attachments. The action was so robust that the USA later modified it as the basis for the M60 machine gun.

Perhaps this is the route that the West should have followed instead of the M-14 and FAL.

• "Forgotten Memo Shows Gun-grabbing Built into FBI’s DNA"--Ammo Land. A 1936 memo from Herbert Hoover expresses dismay over the .357 Magnum and other more powerful handguns to come, and suggests banning them.
• "Revolvers for Women: Guess Again"--The Truth About Guns. I don't know what it is, but I have recently seen a flurry of articles from female shooters getting their panties in a wad because a gun store salesman was condescending toward them or ignored them. Here is the ugly truth: gun store salesmen are condescending to everyone and often ignore them--even males. I'm a middle-aged man and still have salesmen ignore me, or talk to me like I don't know the difference between a rifle and a pack of gum. I try not to take it personal. They know that (a) most people looking at firearms are just looking and not buying, and (b) the salesmen probably know, or think they know, more than the person that just walked in off the street. They only way around this is to talk with the gun salesman and let them get to know you; heck, once they find out that you know something about guns, they are generally more than happy to talk your ear off. 

"Covert Cosmic Currents"--Suspicious Observers (7 min.)

Every single attempt to detect dark matter has failed. It is probably because there is no "dark matter" (meaning some exotic particle) but that the extra mass ascribed to "dark matter" is simply ordinary matter such as gas, dust, or plasma, that we simply, for one reason or another, cannot detect at intersteller or intergalactic distances.

• Mueller's investigation is dropping bombshell after bombshell. First, we learn that President Trump didn't suspend his business activities while running for President. And, second, one of his attorney's may have misspoken and uttered an incorrect date when being grilled by a Congressional committee. What a farce. Even CNN is forced to concede, deep into the story past where most people would have stopped reading, that "there is no clear indication that Trump broke the law."
• I'm not sure what to make of these stories. I have seen reports that Russia is massing tanks along the Ukraine border, but I've only seen this reported in the most sensationalist U.K. papers. There is a big difference between having tanks in the area and massing for an attack. On the other hand, Ukraine has stepped up its preparations, including barring Russian men of military age from entering the country. Taking a step back and looking at the big picture, World War I did as much or more to destroy the Russian Empire as anything. While most sources would say that the Russian Empire was destroyed by the Bolshevik revolution, I disagree. Again, looking at the big picture, it is true that Russia lost control of some of its out provinces during a period of civil war, but then quickly regained those provinces and regions under a new regime--Lenin and Stalin. I think that Soviet Russia should be viewed as the bookend to the Russian Empire and not a successor. The Russian Empire actually collapsed in the 1990s, and I suspect that Putin is enough of a realist to realize that he won't be able to put it back together again--he simply lacks the money. My belief is that Russia will be lucky if it doesn't lose territory in the east to China. 
• The headlines have been full of stories about Missionary John Allen Chau, 26, who was apparently killed by natives of the North Sentinel Island. Many stories cast him as foolish or delusional for going to the Island--some even asserting that his attempts to bring Christianity to the people was colonialism. Others have warned that attempts to recover his body could expose the natives to diseases against which they have no protection. What I think is that Chau's story should put to rest, forever, the idea of the noble savage.
• Another story that has suddenly gained traction this past week is the detection, on November 11, of a strange seismic wave. The waves originated near Mayotte - a tiny island in the Indian Ocean between Madagascar and Africa, which has been suffering considerable seismic activity the last several months. What makes these signals interesting is that rather than being a jumble of frequencies, the waves were monochromatic. However, when news of the waves was first released, scientists believed that it was the result of the collapse of a subterranean lava dome. Suspicious Observers has a short video on this, and also draws our attention to other seismic activity in the region, including some large crevices that opened up in Kenya. 

• Related: "Strange waves rippled around the world, and nobody knows why"--National Geographic.

• "The unseen largest threats to America. Let’s prepare."--Fabius Maximus. Forget slow moving disasters such as climate change, over population or peak oil. The author things that the biggest threat is social unrest and political change. While there could be many causes, the author focuses on two: (1) loss of social cohesion (in fact, he states that "[t]here is no need to wait for the crash of our politics. It has already happened."), and (2) social collapse as a result of the gender wars.
• This is how you get civil wars: "White farmers' legal fight against plans to give their land to black South Africans without compensation is thrown out by country's High Court"--Daily Mail. Although it is not entirely clear from the article, it appears that the court dismissed the claims because they were premature because the law allowing seizure without compensation had not yet passed.
• "Well, Look Who Was Sneaking Into The US With The Caravan"--Hot Air. An MS-13 member who wanted to make a name for himself.
• How convenient: "Mystery ballot could sway control of Alaska state government"--Associated Press. Of course, the ballot is a vote for the Democrats.
• You may remember the story of former Dallas P.D. officer, Amber Guyger, who walked into someone else's apartment and shot and killed the occupant. Supposedly, she was simply mistaken as to where she was and thought it was her own apartment. Interestingly, however, a grand jury has returned a murder indictment for her rather than one for manslaughter. If it was an accident, the appropriate charge would have probably been manslaughter, so the higher charge of murder suggests that the grand jury heard evidence of more than just an innocent mistake. Unfortunately, the article does not relate whether the charge is for premeditated (first degree) murder or a second degree charge.
• Glenn Reynolds notes an article reporting that many social psychologists are impeded by their ideological aversion to evolutionary psychology. Apparently they are good with the theory of evolution until it comes to issues of behavior and cognitive abilities. As Reynolds summarizes: "It’s not complicated. You believe the stuff that makes you feel superior to religious people, and you reject the stuff that might threaten your political theories of human nature." Touché.
• "We Just Measured All The Starlight In The Universe, And It Spells Doom For Our Future"--
  Forbes. A rather dramatic headline for some rather clever research. The clever bit is the measuring of the total output of light in the visible universe, which total post-big bang is nearly that produced by the big-bang (although I suspect that there we are going to see in the next 10 years some theories challenging the big-bang). The doom and gloom portion of the article is that star formation is apparently only 3% of the universe's peak and, supposedly, still declining. But we have trillions of years to solve that problem.
• "Solar Effects on the Atmospheric Electric Field During 2010–2015 at Low Latitudes"--JGR Atmospheres. From the abstract:

Solar phenomena such as flares and solar energetic particles events are potential candidates to affect the global atmospheric electric circuit. One can study these effects using measurements of the atmospheric electric field in fair weather regions. In this paper, we investigate deviations of the atmospheric electric field daily curve during solar disturbances (solar flares and solar proton events) from mean values obtained in fair weather conditions. Using the superposed epoch analysis, in order to enhance the visualization of small effects, we study the atmospheric electric field data observed between January 2010 and December 2015 at the Complejo Astronómico El Leoncito, San Juan, Argentina. The results show no deviation of the atmospheric electric field after solar flares, and an increase of about 10 V/m after solar proton events. The last result suggests possible ionization effects above thunderstorm in disturbed weather regions, which alters the global atmospheric electric circuit. On the other hand, we analyze the variation of the atmospheric electric field during a ground level enhancement on 17 May 2012, which was capable to produce changes on the surface electric field.

• Double-bad think: "Ann Coulter Went There"--Château Heartiste.
• "Liberals And Their Lackies Hate You And Want You Silenced"--Kurt Schlichter at Townhall. I suggest that you read the whole thing, but here is probably the most important point: "Trump was a warning. Know that what comes next is worse, if you consider Trump terrible. The elite hopes it can stamp out this infernal uppitiness by directing petty oppressions at those who won’t toe the leftist line, but that won’t suppress the resentment the elite has created." 
• Those whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad: "This Pastor Is Melting Purity Rings Into A Golden Vagina Sculpture"--Huffington Post. From the article:

       What should Christian feminists do with their old “purity” rings, symbols of a patriarchal theology that has harmed countless women?

      Melt them down, says progressive Christian author and theologian Nadia Bolz-Weber, and create something completely new. 

      On Monday, Bolz-Weber issued a call on Twitter for people to send her those rings “for a massive art project.”

      In certain evangelical Christian circles, the rings were given to young girls as symbols of a pledge they made to abstain from sex until marriage. But the rings ― and more broadly, the Christian purity culture of the 1990s and 2000s ― also shamed young girls into disconnecting from their bodies, Bolz-Weber argues.

      With the help of artist Nancy Anderson, Bolz-Weber said she plans to melt down the rings that people send her and recast them as a “golden vagina.” She said that the project ― part of a promotion for Shameless, her upcoming book about sex and Christianity ― is about “reclamation” of women’s bodies.

* * *

       Bolz-Weber is collecting purity rings until Dec. 17. In exchange, senders will receive a silicone “impurity” ring and a “Certificate of Impurity.”  

The article also explains that "Bolz-Weber was the founding pastor of Denver’s House for All Sinners and Saints, a progressive, queer-inclusive Lutheran congregation." And, as you would expect, she is a broad-shouldered, man-jawed, tattooed horror. But like a dog returning to its vomit, or a moth drawn to a flame, take note that she is obligated to build an idol of what she worships.  It will actually be kind of hard for us that reached mortality to be cast into outer darkness after the Great White Throne Judgment, but Bolz-Weber is pure evil and, I think, has a pretty good shot at succeeding (failing?).

• A reminder that we live in the 21st Century: "9 US Companies Are Going to the Moon! Here Are NASA's New Partners."--Space.com.  From the article:

During a public event held today (Nov. 29), the agency unveiled nine new partners that will be designing and building lunar landers aimed at facilitating scientific exploration of the moon. In addition to the specific companies chosen, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine also announced that the program running those contracts — the Commercial Lunar Payload Services program — is now part of the science section of NASA's bureaucracy, not the human exploration section.

The companies are Astrobotic Technology Inc., Deep Space Systems, Draper, Firefly Aerospace Inc., Intuitive Machines LLC, Lockheed Martin Space, Masten Space Systems, Inc., Moon Express and Orbit Beyond. I know that there are some that poo-poo space exploration and development, but spreading into the solar system will be more important and transformative than the discovery of the New World.

• Related: "NASA administrator: 'The US is returning to the surface of the moon, and we're doing it sooner than you think!'"--Business Insider. "One of the ultimate goals of the program, along with NASA's gateway, is to scout for and harvest lunar ice deposits. Water can be turned into hydrogen and oxygen, which can then be used as rocket fuel to power ambitious deep-space exploration (including that of Mars)." I would add that if we can ever get fusion to work, the Moon is rich in Helium-3 which would be a better fuel for fusion energy.