A Quick Run Around the Web (2/17/2020)

"Breaking: Virginia's Assault Weapons Ban Defeated (for now...)"--Mr. Guns N Gear (2-1/2 min.)

• "BREAKING: Huge Second-Amendment Victory in Virginia"--PJ Media. The Virginia Senate Judiciary Committee voted to table the gun control bill (HB 961) until next year. The author opines that "[i]t would be fair to guess that last month's huge Second Amendment rally weighed on committee members' minds as they voted to table 961." But Democrats are working on the national level for gun control by introducing bills that would requiring the FBI to keep records of gun purchases, thus creating a de facto registry (although they effectively have this already through CCLs retention of records on gun purchases).
• Defensive Pistol Craft has its monthly roundup of links to articles and commentary on self-defense and firearms. Amongst the links, Jon Low has the following advice on aiming:

     Aim at a point on the target, not at the area of the target. If you can't see the point, visualize the point, imagine the point. Believe the point exists and aim at it. 

     The target that gives the highest probability of a hit is the navel, because it is the center of mass of the body.

     The target that gives you the highest probability of an instant stop, is the brain.  The only way to get a pistol bullet into the brain is through a pre-existing hole in the skull. That would be the cranio-ocular cavity (eye sockets and nose) or the external auditory meatus (ear holes).  Since there is no hole in the back of the head, the target would be the spinal column at the base of the skull.

     The target that gives the second highest probability of a stop is the high thoracic cavity, defined by the triangle formed by the notch at the top of the sternum and the nipples (as viewed from the front).  Because the heart and lungs are behind this area. From the side, the target would be the arm pit.  From the back, the target would be between the shoulder blades, as the scapula are difficult to penetrate with pistol ammunition. 

• "A Million Gallons of Water"--Random Thoughts: A Mindful Miscellany. The author, Marcus Wynne, relates experiences that taught him the necessity of not trusting other claims of what constitutes clean water, and always purifying water when overseas. He also urges the reader to keep this in mind when considering water security after a disaster. He adds:

Here are some points to consider if you were to examine your water security:

⁃Where is your closest source of open fresh water? It is a pond, river, stream, lake, reservoir, containment facility of some kind? Do you have a well or spring on your property or nearby?

⁃How far away is it? If you could get there, would you have access to the water?

⁃If you did have access to the water, how would you transport sufficient quantities back to your home or shelter? You need a minimum of one to two gallons of clean water a day, per person, for drinking purposes. That doesn’t include any used for food preparation, washing, irrigation, bathing or other purposes. A gallon of water weighs around 8.3 pounds. Do you have containers sturdy enough to carry enough water out of your source and back to where you needed to take it? A five gallon bucket of water weighs about 41.5 pounds — can you carry that much weight for any distance? Like to your car, a wagon, or up a hill?

⁃Do you have the knowledge and equipment to determine if your water is safe to drink? To determine whether the water is free of bacteria, protozoa, dangerous chemical run off? Is viral infestation an issue and would you know?

⁃Do you know how to purify water? Could you make a fire (and have a container) to boil water, or iodine or chlorine bleach or other chemical purifiers to kill micro-organisms, or a mechanical filter to take the nasty stuff out? Do you have the knowledge to do so and/or the reference materials and a way to read them that will work in the absence of electrical power so you can find out how to do so?

⁃Do you have a way to store purified water and keep it separate from untreated water? Sanitation methods to support and maintain the cleanliness of your water?

Despite my limited storage space, I have found space for a couple barrels of water. I have installed a water purification system for my tap water, and we have some smaller water filtration systems for camping or hiking. I still need to get a Berkey filter or some such. I live relatively close to natural water source. For transporting water, I have a lawn roller designed to be filled with water and pushed or pulled (something similar to this) that I think would work for getting water from the natural source to my home. I've written about storing and disinfecting water before, but the best source of information on collecting and cleaning water I've come across is in Cody Lundin's book, When All Hell Breaks Loose: Stuff You Need To Survive When Disaster Strikes. See also this post on pasteurizing water (i.e., killing the bacteria using a lower amount of heat over a longer period of time) and the Modern Survival Blog's article, "Long Term Drinking Water Storage | How-To Recommendations."

• The latest coronavirus numbers are 71,448 confirmed cases worldwide, including 1,775 fatalities. We saw a large increase in numbers last week from Wuhan as the Chinese switched from only giving figures based on cases confirmed by tests, to those receiving clinical diagnosis (i.e., diagnosed based on their symptoms). Here is another article suggesting that certain races or ethnic groups (Chinese and Japanese) are more susceptible to the virus than others (e.g. whites and blacks) (h/t Anonymous Conservative). With that in mind, 99 more cases have been reported among passengers and crew of the cruise ship quarantined in Japan--the total numbers from the ship are 454. 

• Related: "Hong Kong Is Showing Symptoms of a Failed State"--Bloomberg. From the article:

     A fragile state is usually defined by its inability to protect citizens, to provide basic services and by questions over the legitimacy of its government. After an epidemic and months of poorly handled pro-democracy demonstrations, Hong Kong is ticking most of those boxes. Add in a strained judicial system, and the prognosis for its future as a financial hub looks poor.

      A snapshot of the situation first. Hong Kong is not, at least for now, as grim as parts of mainland China, where the outbreak of novel coronavirus has people building barricades, or being followed around by drones. This isn't Wuhan. Yet after 26 confirmed cases and one death, the semi-autonomous territory of more than 7 million people is in lockdown, with schools, universities and museums closed. A $360 billion economy, torn apart by months of anti-government protests, is in tatters. Masks are in such short supply that some clinics have closed, and queues snake daily outside pharmacies. Official declarations, meanwhile, have attracted derision on social media: One senior politician argued in the Legislative Council that disposable masks could be steam-cleaned, ignoring the remonstrations of the city’s Centre for Health Protection.

• Related: "Japan likely heading into technical recession due to coronavirus impact – Barclays"--FX Street. Japan's economy was already contracting prior to the coronavirus outbreak, but the loss of tourism and reduced trade with China may push Japan into a recession according to this article.

• Related: "Chinese doctors say Wuhan coronavirus reinfection even deadlier"--Taiwan News. 

According to the message forwarded to Taiwan News, “It’s highly possible to get infected a second time. A few people recovered from the first time by their own immune system, but the meds they use are damaging their heart tissue, and when they get it the second time, the antibody doesn’t help but makes it worse, and they die a sudden death from heart failure.”

• Related: Iran reports its first coronvirus death.

• Related: "New Study Indicates How Long Coronaviruses Can Survive on a Surface"--Science Alert. Not very helpful because it is only a "study" of the literature rather than from tests of the new Wuhan virus. If it is like SARS and MERS, then it can stay viable on a hard surface for 9 days at room temperature, but the article notes that some of the veterinary coroniviruses (like this is supposed to be) can persist for 28 days or more.

• "FN America Awarded $119 Million Army Contract for M4A1 Carbines"--The Truth About Guns.
• Another example of why you should not use birdshot in a defensive shotgun: "Birdshot To The Chest"--Loose Rounds. Photograph at link. Looks like it hurts, and it will definitely leave scars. But the real danger would be infection.
• And another from Loose Rounds: a review and comparison of the Tailhook, SIG PCB, and SB Tactical Braces.
• Nomenclature: "Bushcraft versus Survival Knife – What is the Difference?"--The Survivalist Blog. No real distinction, according to the author, unless you want to classify the hollow handle design (used to carry a small survival kit) as its own category.
• Last week, a friend was telling me about a debate on AR15.com about whether rice and beans are the best foods for long term food storage and the next day I came across this article: "Rice and Beans, A Survival Combination"--The Modern Survival Blog. According to the author, "[r]ice is rich in starch, and an excellent source of energy. Beans are rich in protein, and contain other minerals. The consumption of the two together provides ALL the essential amino acids ...." Lots more in the article on storing these two commodities. 
• "Shelter Essentials"--Blue Collar Prepping. A list of considerations for shelters including the roofs, floors, walls, and materials. The article is a list/overview intended to get you thinking about the issue. An excellent source of information on temporary and semi-permanent shelters is the classic Bushcraft books from Richard Graves (PDF here). I believe there are better copies available on the Internet if you want to hunt around. I purchased a printed copy back in my high school days which I still have.

"Enter Erwin Rommel - The British Advance in Africa - WW2 - 077 - February 15 1941" (11 min.)

• "GLOBAL WARMING IN A FEW CHARTS"--Powerline Blog. Among other things, increased CO2  has made the Earth greener--its better for plants.
• "“Like Something Out Of The Book Of Exodus”: Locust Armies Are Devouring Entire Farms In Kenya “In As Little As 30 Seconds”"--End of the American Dream. More on the locust plague in East Africa and the Middle East. The article reports that "the UN continues to warn that the number of locusts could get '500 times bigger' by June.  But even if this plague ended right now, millions of people would still be facing a devastating famine in the months ahead.  These locusts travel in swarms up to 40 miles wide, each one can eat the equivalent of its own body weight every day, and the swarms can travel close to 100 miles in a 24 hour period.   This is a nightmare of epic proportions, and it is just getting started."
• It was about special rights, not equal rights: "Black student erupts over ‘too many white people’ at UVA multicultural center"--New York Post. 
• From this past weekend: "Switzerland Thwarts Major Islamic State Terror Attack"--Breitbart. The article relates:

      According to a new investigation by Swiss media, a cell of jihadists based in Geneva plotted to bomb cisterns full of oil near the city’s airport in a major terror attack.

      The plot, which was set to take place last year before being stopped, revolved largely around a man named Daniel D., who also went by the Islamic name Abu Ilias al-Swisri, a convert to Islam who went on to join the Islamic State terror group two years later, Le Temps reports.

• "Oil production on federal lands surpasses 1 billion barrels"--WND. Progressives on both sides of the aisle must be deeply disappointed because it means that we don't have to get involved in endless and expensive wars in the Middle East.
• God--He's a really smart guy: "Having sex with ten people in your lifetime ‘increases cancer risk by 90%’"--The Sun. It's like the Bible moral codes have some useful purpose or something.
• The end result of feminism: "Sweden sees sharp rise in gender dysphoria among young people"--The Local. The number of girls identifying as boys (or something in-between) has increased 1,500% in the last ten-years. 
• I guess its better than being caught with their pants down: "Ilhan Omar’s Husband Walked In On Her And Her Latest Lover – They Were In Their Pajamas"--Right Journalism. 
• "New antibiotics have a unique way of killing bacteria"--UPI. The article reports:

      Scientists have discovered a new kind of antibiotics that take a unique approach to attacking and killing bacteria.

     The newly discovered antibiotic compound, corbomycin, as well as its relative complestatin, interfere with the functionality of the bacterial cell wall -- a previously unknown method of attack.

Before you go, "that's not right," the article goes on to explain: "Antibiotics like penicillin kill bacteria by preventing building of the wall, but the antibiotics that we found actually work by doing the opposite -- they prevent the wall from being broken down. This is critical for cell to divide."