January 22, 2019 -- A Quick Run Around the Web

"The AR is not Direct Gas Impingement"--Military Arms Channel (24 min.)

The host explains that the AR15 is not a true direct gas impingement system; rather, Stoner figured out a way to move the piston to a position inside the bolt carrier so that the recoil forces would be straight back.

• A new Woodpile Report is up. Ol' Remus begins by playing the world's smallest violin for the furloughed federal workers: "For nonessential federal employees the shutdown is a vacation with deferred payment, yet we're expected to weep in solidarity because they're being inconvenienced. Welcome to the real world. We Deplorables work without pay for the equivalent of several months of every year to fund DC's parasitic bloat. And we have to show up every day." He then goes on to discuss methods of storing .22 LR ammunition for long term, before turning to his summary of articles and news. Check it out.
• The Organic Prepper has more sympathy for the plight of the furloughed federal works, and the those that soon may be without SNAP benefits, and, therefore, has some articles on getting by on less--particularly, how to cut your grocery bill:

• "How to Feed Your Family When You’re Flat Broke." Ideas from the author's book on the subject.

• "The Shutdown Show: How Sending Out Food Stamp Benefits Early Could Cause Another Problem in a Few Weeks." Some states are sending out SNAP benefits for February early in order to make sure recipients get their benefits; problem is that recipients may spend the benefits early. Also, because of the shutdown, some stores have not been able to renew their license to accept SNAP payments.

• "The Flat Broke Cookbook: FREE If You Need It."

• One of the new products released at Shot Show was a new cartridge from Winchester, which they are calling the .350 Legend. There are different loads available, including a 145 grain full metal jacket load, a 150 grain XP load, and a 180 grain PowerPoint load. The case is a modified .223 case that is straight walled so it can accept a .357 caliber bullet. This design allows it to be used for deer hunting in most states. Winchester has kept this close to its chest, so to speak, so the only rifle made for this caliber appears to be the Winchester XPR bolt-action. Although it is based on the .223 case, I haven't found anything discussing whether it would work out of an AR. It appears to be marketed to those that would otherwise use .450 Bushmaster (by offering less recoil) or .300 Blk (by offering more energy). (See also Winchester's web-page on the cartridge).
• Blue Lives Matter reports that the Texas homeowner that drove off 5 home invaders, with 3 ultimately dying from their wounds, used an AK-47 style rifle.
• "Supreme Court to hear challenge to New York City gun ordinance"--Washington Examiner. The suit challenges a NYC law that prohibits persons possessing firearms under a "premises license" from transporting their firearms outside the city, even if it is merely to take the firearm to a shooting range or another residence.
• "Three Separate 2018 Studies Found Zero Evidence That Universal Background Checks Prevent Gun Deaths"--The Truth About Guns. It won't deter the gun grabbers, however.
• Another Shot Show first look: "Armscor VR80 Semi-Auto Shotgun"--The Firearm Blog. A shotgun that looks a lot like an AR, and takes detachable box magazines.
• "Headlamp Compared to a Handheld Flashlight – The Good and Bad"--Modern Survival Blog. Basically an article on why you should have both. If I could only have one, however, I would pick a headlamp.
• "First-Look and Review: The New LTO Tracker2 Thermal From Leupold"--Guns America Digest. From the article:

        The big upgrade to these two Tracker 2 models is what Leupold terms the “Beacon” mode. When selected, the Beacon mode quickly recalibrates the screen for increased detection in hot environments. When activated in one of three Hi-Bright screen colors, Beacon mode detects the warmest object in the active image and rebalances all the Hi-bright colors back down to grayscale.

       Result: The screen is a grayscale color under the Beacon threshold until a “warmer” spot is detected and is then displayed as a Hi-Bright condition. Any exposed areas of that deer or hog crouched down behind brush, for example, should pop right up into the Tracker 2’s screen. The Beacon mode is standard in both the LTO Tracker 2 and the LTO Tracker 2 HD.

• "Political shifts, sales slump cast shadow over gun industry"--AP. Mostly about the "Trump Slump" in gun sales as well as hostile legislative action. The article ends:

For now, Bartozzi said his organization [the NSSF] is focused on a measure that would expand public gun ranges, funded by an existing tax on firearms and ammunition sales that supports conservation, safety programs and shooting ranges on public lands. The hope is that increasing the number of public ranges will encourage more people to become hunters.

• The Rio Times reports that after Brazil announced new rules loosening the requirements for purchasing a firearm for self-defense, stock prices of Taurus had risen by 180 percent, but have recently fallen by 20%. It is not clear whether this fall was a market correction or because Brazil is considering allowing the importation of weapons from foreign manufacturers.

"China Rewrites the Bible?! 10 Ways China is Targeting Christians and Catholics"--China Uncensored (14 min.).

• "China Is Losing The Trade War In Nearly Every Way"--Forbes. From the article:

       Exports:  -4.4% versus estimate 2% and November’s 5.4%

      Imports: -7.6% versus estimate 4.5% and November’s 3%

      Trade Balance: $57 billion versus estimate $51 billion and November’s $44 billion

       Exports to the U.S. fell 3.7%, the first nonseasonal decline since October 2016. That would indicate an end to the pre-tariff purchasing rush by U.S. companies in the third quarter and into the fourth. Exports to the U.S. had previously climbed over 12% for three consecutive months.

       “The Chinese trade numbers released today got all the alarm bells ringing,” says Naeem Aslam, chief market strategist for Think Markets in London and a Forbes contributor. “If you need any evidence how the trade spat is impacting a country’s economic health then look no further than China trade. The lower export number means lower jobs, which means another direct impact on the (Chinese) economy. Donald Trump can be pleased. His policies have brought China to its knees.”

• Related: "China sneezes, but will Germany catch a cold?"--DW. The slow down of China's economy is impacting Germany's economy by limiting exports from Germany to China.

• Related: "China’s plans to dominate hi-tech sector with ‘Made in China 2025’ plan hit a stumbling block as US trade war takes its toll"--South China Morning Post. From the article:

        Production of industrial robots fell by 12.1 per cent in December from a year earlier after a drop of 7.0 per cent in November, according to data published by the National Bureau of Statistics on Monday.

       Meanwhile, growth in the new-energy car sector, which has been heavily subsidised by the government, slowed to 15.5 per cent in December from 24.6 per cent in November.

     Production of integrated circuits, the semiconductors that power smartphones, computers and other electronic devices, as well as high-end industrial and military products, also fell by 2.1 per cent in December, although this was an improvement from November’s decline of 7 per cent.

Also: "The ongoing trade war with the United States was identified as the main cause of the fall in advanced industrial output as high US tariffs cut into demand, causing business and consumer confidence to shrink and so perpetuating a downward spiral in economic activity."

• Surprise, surprise. The film, Black Panther, has been nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture. It is the first superhero film to be so nominated. It was an okay film, but definitely mediocre when compared to the other Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films that have been produced to date, and certainly no where near as good as Avengers: Infinity War. So why was it nominated? Pure virtual signaling.
• "Fake News Media Doubles Down with Another Covington Catholic MAGA Teen Smear"--PJ Media. As noted yesterday, rather than confessing they were wrong, certain media outlets have doubled down by trying to find something ... anything ... else about the high school to show that it and its students are "evil." What they found was photographs from a decade ago from a black-out basketball game where some students had gone as far as paint their faces black. The media is calling it "black face," however, ignoring what it means to have a "black-out" crowd at a sporting event. Oh, and they made up a story about racial abuse at another basketball game.

• Related: Sue 'em all and let God sort 'em out: "Lawyer for Covington Catholic HS Families Threatens Lawsuits Against Media Unless They Retract False Stories"--PJ Media. 

• Related: The left don't care about collateral damage: "Teenager falsely identified, threatened for viral National Mall protest confrontation"--Washington Examiner. 

• Related: "If You Still Think Nick Sandmann’s Smile Is Proof of Racism, You’re Seeing What You Want to See"--Reason.

• Related: "Liberals Are Bigots, But It's Okay Because That Kid Had a MAGA Hat"--Jim Treacher at PJ Media. He explains: "Back in the old days, white supremacy meant burning crosses, threatening and hurting and killing people, saying racist things, etc. Now all you need to do is stand in one spot, literally saying nothing, and that's white supremacy."

• Related: And some thoughts from Tucker Carlson who sums up the whole incident pretty well: "So what’s actually going on here? Well, it’s not really about race. In fact, most of the stories about race really aren’t about race. And this is no different. This story is about the people in power [the media and celebrities] protecting their power, and justifying their power, by destroying and mocking those weaker than they are [the Catholic students]."

• Gun control in action: "Murders in Mexico rise by a third in 2018 to new record"--Reuters. The article reports that murders in Mexico rose by 33 percent in 2018, breaking the record for a second year running, with investigators opening 33,341 murder probes in 2018 compared with 25,036 from the prior year.

• Related: "Residents go on rampage after lynching of suspected kidnappers foiled"--Mexico News Daily. From the lede: "Angry residents of Tepalcingo, Morelos, vandalized municipal police headquarters and set fire to two vehicles last night after police stepped in to prevent the lynching of suspected kidnappers."

• Mexico is not alone: "Brazil Registers Record Number of Violent Deaths in 2017"--The Rio Times. Statistics indicate that Brazil suffered 63,880 cases of violent deaths in 2017, and 2018 statistics, when released, are not expected to be much better.

• Related: "Organized Attacks Throughout Brazil’s Ceara State Continue"--The Rio Times. "Since the first week of the year, 280 attacks have been registered, including the burning of buses, vehicles, public buildings, and banking establishments, as well as bombs placed in utility facilities across the state." The attacks are believed to have been orchestrated by prison gangs.

• Saudi Arabia intends on bulldozing a sight near its border with Jordan believed to be the actual location where the Israelites camped near Mt. Sinai while journeying in the wilderness. The location will be used to construct the new Mega-City called Neom.
• "SINGLE MINDED: FORGET MARRIAGE, SOUTH KOREANS AREN’T EVEN DATING"--This Week In Asia. How bad is it? "South Korea’s birth rate is also the lowest in the world, dropping to 0.95 at the end of last year – meaning that for every 100 women, just 95 children were born. To maintain a stable population, the birth rate needs to be 2.1."
• "Our universe has antimatter partner on the other side of the Big Bang, say physicists"--Physics World. The hypothesis is that the Big Bang created two universes: ours, and a mirror universe comprised of antimatter that extends backwards in time.
• A reminder that we live in the 21st Century: "What China’s Antarctic Behavior Tells Us About the Future of Space"--The Diplomat Magazine. China's space plans include exploiting the mineral riches of the solar system. From the article:

The road map published by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp (CASTC) indicates that between 2020 and 2045, China aims to achieve several significant milestones with regard to space technology to include a reusable carrier rocket by 2035, and a nuclear powered space shuttle by 2040, which would augment larger payloads to include human presence in space. These plans for a nuclear powered space fleet are supported by the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT), which in a report published in the People’s Daily front page stated that this development would enable China to commercially explore and exploit the natural resources available in space by 2040. Wang Chunghui, associate professor of aerospace propulsion at the School of Astronautics at Beihang University, stated, “The nuclear vessels are built to colonise the solar system and beyond.”

One of the keys to the success of the West is that every time Western civilization has gone into a terminal decline, some new frontier or source of resources has opened up, revitalizing the civilization. I believe that space could be that next frontier, but only if Western nations step up to the plate and actually work to colonize the solar system.