A Quick Run Around the Web (5/31/2020)

"SpaceX Demo-2 launch"--SciNews (18 min.)

Today's launch of the crewed Dragon space capsule to the ISS. The video starts with some scenes from pre-launch then goes from launch through the separation of the Dragon from the stage 2 rocket.

• Greg Ellifritz has a new Weekend Knowledge Dump, including links to articles on topics that include on levels of eye contact (as Ellifritz notes, this article is aimed at determining romantic interest, but the principles should also apply to someone looking at you with an eye to some nefarious purpose), a list of defensive ammunition for handguns that meet the FBI requirements, a ballistic comparison between .22 Long Rifle and .22 Magnum (short take, the .22 Magnum can actually reliably penetrate to the depths necessary for self-defense purposes), common movements that can expose your carry gun or otherwise signal that you are carrying (and how to correct these problems), and an article recommending that you should have a broad range of general skills and abilities (the article is called "Embrace the Coyote"). And a lot more, of course. While you are there, you might want to check out Ellifritz's article on "Surviving Riots and Political Demonstrations." While it's intended audience are travelers to foreign countries, it has advice on how to safely get out of a protest should you inadvertently get caught up in one.
• The Tactical Professor (Claude Werner) is offering a package deal of three of his books (Indoor Range Practice Sessions, Concealed Carry Skills and Drills, and Shooting Your Black Rifle) for $18.99 representing a 20% savings.
• "When Bugging Out is NOT an Option #1: Strengthening Security to Shelter in Place"--Stop Shouting! The author begins:

     There are a lot of posts about how to prep for a SHTF/TEOTWAWKI scenario and "bugging out" when that happens.

     It's just not practical - for a variety of reasons.  Most people who subscribe to this romantic notion of packing it all up and fleeing to safety in the hinterlands are living in a world not grounded in reality.  Generally, they're people who have never lived off the grid or without modern amenities for any extended period of time.

The article then discusses ways to better secure garage doors, a front door or other entry, and windows to keep out intruders. Check it out.

• "Remington 'Rem' Oil Review (Does It Deserve The Bad Rep?)"--Survival Mag. Key part about using this product correctly:

     Here's how you use Rem Oil properly:

1. Apply the oil
2. Let it sit for a bit
3. Wipe the oil off completely (Don't leave a single drop hanging there)

You need to wipe everything off because Rem Oil is a surface treatment.

       What this means, is that the only useful part of the oil is the one that sticks to the surface of your gun. Any Rem Oil NOT stuck to the surface is useless.

      After proper application, the surface should appear dry. It shouldn't have a "wax coating". This may seem unnatural, but that's the proper way to use this product. You're basically seasoning the surface as you would do on an iron skillet.

      By now you can probably guess that -

The problem that most people have with Rem Oil is that they put TOO MUCH OIL on their gun.

       The oil that doesn't soak in runs off the gun. That's where the bad rep comes from - that Rem Oil is "runny".

      Rem Oil needs to soak because of how it's made.

• "The .40 S&W: Ammo History"--Range 365. Although the popularity of the .40 S&W has been plummeting, the author believes that it will see a resurgence. I had someone comment recently about how the .45 ACP is still better than 9 mm. And that is true--the revolution in bullet design has benefited the .40 S&W and .45 ACP making them even better. But as I noted in reply, the real point is that 9 mm is now "good enough" and, sometimes, more of "good enough" is better than a smaller amount of "better." 
• "How Temperature, Altitude and Humidity Affect Shooting"--Rifle Shooter Magazine. Excerpt:

       Depending on the temperature and the distance of your shot, you may need to worry about the effect of temperature on your cartridge's trajectory. The basic rule is: Colder equals more drop. The problem here is that this is a very inexact science because some propellants are more stable across a greater temperature range than others.

      There is a rule of thumb. For every 20 degrees difference (and we deal in Fahrenheit here) from the temperature at which you zeroed, you can expect a drop of 0.5 to 1.0 m.o.a. So if you zeroed at 70 degrees and headed to the Arctic for muskox, caribou or polar bear and it was minus 30 when you arrived, you have a difference of 100 degrees. This should mean that your point of impact will be 2.5 to 5.0 m.o.a. lower. This is too great a variance to help you if you need to make a 300-yard shot, so the best plan is always to check your rifle on site, with the climatic conditions you will be hunting under. To hedge your bet, if you are going from warm to cold, you might consider sighting in a bit higher than you normally would.

Also:

       Heat has the exact opposite effect, with the same rule of thumb: 0.5 to 1.0 m.o.a. for every 20 degrees warmer than your sight-in temperature. Just remember that rules of thumb are simply guidelines; I've never found any consistency with climatic influences on ballistics. However, it is absolutely true that when ambient temperature increases propellant powder gets "hotter" and produces more velocity, which should raise your point of impact.

      There's no substitute for checking your rifle when you get to your hunting location, and if I'm going from temperate or cool to very hot, I usually sight-in dead on and plan to adjust on the ground as needed.

• "Primary Arms SLX MD-25 Review: Best Budget Red Dot of 2020?"--The New Rifleman. From the review:

      After rough handling and impact testing, I took the optic to a water trough and let the optic sit for a few minutes. No air bubbles escaped from the MD-25 and upon removal, the optic appeared dry inside the body of the optic. For the remainder of my shooting session, no fog or moisture made itself present in the optic.

     After the dip, I began to drop the optic on a firmer surface which was comprised of the 2×6 pier. I then returned to the 100-yard line to shoot the 100-yard steel and then confirmed my initial 25-yard zero with a sight-in target. The optic remained dead on and held zero. Throughout my range session, the MD25 exhibited drama-free behavior.

• Overheard at the gun shop: I was in a local gun store a couple days ago, waiting for the clerk to finish up with a gentleman, when I overheard the end of an exchange between the two concerning .44 Magnum ammunition. Essentially, the customer was looking for ammunition for his .44 Magnum that would be good for self-defense. The clerk tried to elicit information as to whether the customer wanted ammunition for defense against something like bear, or for a human attacker, to which the customer responded that he could just use something suitable for bear against a human attacker. In other words, the customer was one of those that believed that a bullet is a bullet is a bullet. 

       Of course, that is not true. Different bullet designs are for different purposes and have different properties. 

       The FBI standards for handgun ammunition for duty use (and generally accepted for civilian self-defense) is that a handgun bullet should penetrate between 12 and 18-inches of calibrated ballistic gelatin. The 12-inch minimum represents the minimum penetration necessary to reach vital organs even if shooting from an oblique angle. The 18-inch maximum is the upper limit on penetration to avoid over-penetration--exiting a human target and potentially injuring someone beyond the target. 

       One of the reasons for using hollow-point ammunition is that a bullet expanding is similar to a drag racer or aircraft deploying a drag chute--it slows the bullet down to prevent over-penetration. So, a good hollow-point will have the energy (or momentum, if you prefer) to penetrate past 12-inches, but then slow and stop before exceeding the 18-inch maximum. (This is why the .357 Sig is considered by some to be a pointless round because all of its extra energy over the 9 mm is wasted because it still needs to slow and stop within the same distance as the 9 mm, but it doesn't necessarily give better expansion). But sometimes you don't care about penetration (e.g., FMJ ammunition is mostly used for target shooting or for military purposes because its cheaper and offers more reliable feeding) or you want deeper penetration for use against a larger target (e.g., a bear).

       Although I don't have the source handy, I have read that the Buffalo Bore .44 Magnum loads intended for bear will penetrate over 3 feet into ballistic gel, or at least twice as deep as you would want to use against a human target. In other words, you could shoot such a round at a burglar, for instance, and it would create a through-and-through wound and still have enough energy to go through multiple walls. Thus, a good round for defense against a bear would be horrible for standard self-defense scenarios. 

        The second issue is expansion. A good hollow-point will expand and, for that reason, create a larger wound channel than a non-expanding bullet, and perhaps, due to jagged edges, cut something important. Thus, returning to our .44 Magnum example, a non-expanding bear load will leave a wound channel .429 inches in diameter (the actual diameter the bullet), or actually a bit less because tissue will stretch and then constrict as the bullet passes through it. Conversely, a standard hollow point used for .44 Magnum (a 240 grain Hornady XTP) will expand to roughly .80 inches in ballistic gelatin (see, e.g., this video from the Chopping Block).

• Related: ".357 Sig vs. 9mm"--Target Barn. The author notes:

In comparison to 9mm, .357 Sig is a baby. It hit the scene in 1994 as an answer in search of a question. Alright, that may be a little rude. Technically, it was introduced to reproduce the terminal ballistics of a 125 grain .357 Magnum hollowpoint, but out of a semi-automatic pistol. It accomplished this by taking a 9mm bullet (.355 diameter) and sticking it in a necked down .40 S&W case. Able to hit 1400+ feet per second out of a proof barrel, it certainly accomplished its goal of reproducing the on-paper ballistics of the .357 Magnum.

As for a comparison:

      Let’s take a look at terminal ballistics. We tested both .357 Sig and 9mm loads. To make a fair comparison, we’ll look at the results for the Federal 124gr HST in 9mm vs. the Federal 125gr HST in .357 Sig, and the Hornady 135gr Critical Duty +P in 9mm vs. the 135gr Critical Duty in .357 Sig.

HST Comparison

      With the 9mm HST, all five rounds met or exceeded the FBI’s penetration guidelines of 12-18 inches. They expanded to around 0.60 inches. The muzzle velocity for the 9mm was 1135 FPS. The 125gr HST in .357 Sig also met the FBI’s penetration guidelines. The rounds expanded to about 0.60 inches, but had a higher muzzle velocity of 1300+ FPS.

Critical Duty 9mm vs. 357 Sig Comparison

       9mm Critical Duty +P also penetrated about 18 inches, had a muzzle velocity of 1118, and expanded on average to around 0.47 inches. Compare this to the .357 Critical Duty, which penetrated to about 18.9 inches, had identical expansion, and approximately 100 feet more of muzzle velocity.

      What that all those numbers mean in layman’s terms is that all you get with .357 Sig is a round that costs more money, for no improvement in terminal ballistics.

And all of this with more recoil, flash, and lower magazine capacity.

• So I've been doing a lot of reloading lately. For 9 mm, I've been sourcing bullets from Rocky Mountain Reloading (RMR), and specifically, their in-house manufacture 9mm 124 Gr. RMR jacketed hollow point ("Multi Purpose Round") bullets which I've loaded over 5.2 grains of Unique. Unfortunately, I don't have the ability to do ballistic gelatin tests of the bullet, but it appears to be similar to hollow point bullet designs from the 1990's and 2000's. More importantly, if you are ordering in large quantities, the cost is about 10 cents per bullet. It has fed and functioned well for me. In weighing the bullets, the actual weight is closer to 123 grains than 124 grains, but, more importantly, the weights have been very consistent--as good or better than bullets from the large manufacturers. Thus, it is a good bullet to load for target practice and, in the event of the zombie apocalypse, would probably serve well enough as a defensive round. With this bullet, even if it is listed out-of-stock, it can be back ordered. My last order just arrived yesterday, and it was only a couple weeks after I ordered it, so the wait time is not bad.

        Another project was figuring out a load for my son's .30-30 using Hornady's 160 grain flex-tip (FTX) bullets. The FTX bullets are pointed, but use a flexible polymer tip to keep from setting off the rounds ahead of it in the tube magazine of a lever action rifle. This gives the round better ballistics at longer ranges, and thus better suited for hunting in this area. Perusing the Hornady reloading manual, the best velocities were obtained using the LeverEvolution powder specifically designed for Hornady, so that is what we went with. We put together loads starting at 32.5 grains and going up to 36.5 grains in 1 grain increments (the maximum load in the manual was 37 grains which was supposed to give velocities of 2300 fps). 32.5 grains gave a pretty good group. It started to open up at 33.5 and 34.5, then started shrinking again at 35.5, and we got our best group at 36.5. The recoil was stouter than my son wanted, however, so we will go with the 32.5 grain load, which had nearly as tight a group as the 36.5 grain load anyway.

• "Coated Bullets: The future of lead bullets for handloaders?"--Shooting Sports USA. This 2017 article is about polymer coated bullets such as the Federal Syntech. They offer some significant advantages for the handloader. For one thing, polymer coated cast lead bullets do not need the bullet to be lubricated with a wax coating or lubrication in a lubrication groove. Also:

      Coated bullets offer several advantages for handloaders. Coatings that cover the entire bullet, including the base, reduce or eliminate the exposure to lead during handloading and airborne lead particles when shooting. It also means you no longer have to scrape out built-up wax lube from your seating and crimping dies.

      Smoke is reduced or eliminated. Most of the smoke from shooting traditionally lubed lead bullets comes from the waxy lube. The smoke can be so bad you might think you’re shooting black powder. Sometimes the target disappears in the smoke after a few rapidly fired rounds. Coated bullets reduce or eliminate this smoke. They might not be as smokeless as copper jacketed or plated bullets, but they’re darn close.

The author also notes:

      There might be some differences in the maximum velocities that these coatings should be limited to. Generally, the coatings are good for velocities in the 1200-1500 fps range, similar to copper plated bullets, which covers the speeds of most handgun cartridges. Some polymer coatings can reportedly be driven to 2000 fps or better, such as claimed by Eggleston Munitions, which makes them a possible choice for some rifle loads.

      Many, but not all, of the coated bullets can be used in Glock’s polygonal barrels, according to the manufacturers. Check the bullet manufacturer's website for details.

      Generally, one can use lead bullet data for load development. My experience has been that they produce about the same velocity as cast bullets with the same powder charge, but may be a little slower.

So, much like the copper plated bullets such as sold by Berry's, but less expensive. I saw prices for large bore bullets that were 10 cents or less per bullet. I haven't tried them ... yet. But I purchased some and will give you an opinion after I've had the chance to make up some handloads and test them.

"2. The Bronze Age Collapse - Mediterranean Apocalypse"--Fall of Civilizations (64 min.)

• "George Floyd riots spiral out of control: Chaos in 25 cities from New York to LA as protesters torch cop cars, burn down buildings and clash with riot police on a fifth night of violence with hundreds of arrests and injuries"--Daily Mail.

       In Minneapolis, protesters were seen fleeing after cops hurled tear gas into the crowds while some responded by launching fireworks back at officers.  

      The National Guard was activated to defend the White House from attack as the Secret Service agents on the ground struggled to keep control of crowds descending on the seat of the US government.

      The Big Apple was ablaze as NYPD vehicles were torched and ransacked while shocking footage emerged of cops violently detaining protesters. 

      A man was left critically injured in Dallas when he was attacked and stomped on by a group of people when he allegedly tried to defend a store with a large sword. 

      In Atlanta a cop suffered 'significant injuries' when they were hit by an ATV, while in Chicago, a man commandeered a police horse and rode off on it. 

      Los Angeles deployed the National Guard for the first since the 1992 riots when the police officers who beat up black man Rodney King walked free of all charges and California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in LA County.  

      A total of 11 states and the District of Columbia had activated the National Guard by the early hours of Sunday, as law enforcement buckled under the strain of the protests.

      States calling for Guard assistance included California, Georgia, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Washington state. 

      Meanwhile at least 25 cities roll out emergency curfews to try to bring rioting and looting under control, including San Francisco, Atlanta, Louisville, Los Angeles, Portland, Columbia, South Carolina, Cincinnati, Cleveland and Seattle.

The current riots and looting couldn't have come at a better time for the Democrats, distracting the public from the unfolding Spygate scandal to overturn the election of President Trump, the mechinations to prosecute General Flynn before he could audit the intelligence agencies, and the mounting death toll and dying economies in Blue states that have grossly mishandled the Kung Flu pandemic. China may also be thankful as it takes attention of China as it violates the agreement with the U.K. allowing Hong Kong autonomy. These "protests" have not been peaceful, contrary to many of the main stream news reports. For instance, a Fox News report relates:

      During his Saturday morning press conference, [Minnesota Governor] Walz also thanked first responders "who are out there protecting our cities."

     "As they were taking incoming fire, improvised explosive devices and a highly evolved and tightly-controlled group of folks bent on adapting their tactics to make it as difficult as possible to maintain that order," he said.

And from New York City:

      At a press conference Saturday, NYPD  Commissioner Dermot Shea stated: 'It is by the grace of God that we don’t have dead officers today.'

      Shea also stated that, while the vast majority of protesters gathered peacefully, some came with the deliberate intent to sow discord. 

      'Coming to an assembly, pre-meditated, with loaded firearms, with bricks, with Molotov cocktails is the furthest thing from civil obedience,' he stated. 

      The rioting and looting is also not spontaneous. Attorney General Barr, for instance, stated that "Groups of outside radicals and agitators are exploiting the situation to pursue their own separate and violent agenda," and that "In many places it appears the violence is planned, organized and driven by anarchic and far-left extremist groups using antifa-like tactics." Minnesota Governor Walz also indicated at a press conference that the drug cartels might also be involved in instigating the violence. There is at least one instance where members of the media encouraged protesters to graffiti a building. And I found this snippet interesting:

MSNBC’s Ali Velshi provided live coverage to the network throughout the protests on Thursday night, with a concurrent livestream posted to YouTube. During a moment when Velshi was off camera, he can be heard on a hot mic captured in the YouTube stream discussing the night’s events with Ja’Mal Green, a Black Lives Matter activist and former Chicago mayoral candidate, who approached Velshi and introduced himself as someone “helping . . . lead” the protests.

There are also some interesting aspects to the incident that sparked all of this. From the Conservative Tree House:

      Officer Derek Chauvin and victim George Lloyd knew each-other.  Chauvin was a security officer for a sketchy dance club named El Nuevo Rodeo, and had worked there for 17 years. Chauvin worked for El Nuevo Rodeo cantina and dance club longer than he was a police officer.  Mr. George Lloyd also worked at the restaurant/dance club as a bouncer, for several years.   Chauvin and Lloyd knew eachother.

      The dynamic of the relationship between Lloyd and Chauvin is divergent from the media narrative.  Additionally, the media presentation of the club, and ownership, is also materially flawed.

      The club is not what appears visible on the surface; neither is the relationship between the two men who both worked there.  CTH has reviewed the background, and made a decision to exit the rabbit hole.  Suffice to say it’s better to just sit this one out and watch.

      Speculative reasons for disengagement:

      El Nuevo Rodeo is owned by foreign interests: Omar Investments Inc.  The club appears to be a laundry operation; which is a semi-legitimate business set up as a front to launder illicit income streams which might include counterfeit operations.  Chauvin and Lloyd both worked there. The presented “former club owner”, seen on television, appears to be a purposeful ‘front’ (a face useful in deflecting attention from the primary operations).

      With that in mind, the scale of false information in/around the visible event, horrible as it was/is, creates layers and layers of purposeful misinformation and a need to control what the public sees in the media.  

      Combine a sketchy background of participants who are all very familiar with each-other as noted on video; with a network of foreign interests and false fronts; and overlay a network of federal and national security operations that are well known and specific to Minneapolis… and, well, it’s a rabbit hole best left alone.

Also, the medical examiner report was released showing no 'traumatic asphyxiation or strangulation' in George Floyd's death. This means that there is a possibility that the officer that knelt on Floyd's neck could be found not guilty, and then there will be more rioting and looting.

• Related: "Troops Spotted Heading into D.C."--Breitbart. National Guard activated in D.C.  

• Related: "St. Patrick’s Cathedral desecrated with protest graffiti"--New York Post.

• Related: "Minneapolis Mayor DEFENDS abandoning 3rd precinct in order to prevent 'hand-to-hand' combat between protesters and 'outnumbered' officers - as cops claim officials were 'content to let the city be overrun'"--Daily Mail. Also, this bit would should reassure all those that believe the police will be there when they are needed:

'Our resources were beyond tapped. We had around 30 – 50 priority 1 calls that weren't being responded to at any given moment, on top of what was happening. We were overwhelmed. Every available officer was out,' [Minneapolis Mayor] Frey claimed.

Now the "protesters" have uniforms and who knows what else that they took from that building.

• Related: "Minneapolis protester warns the unrest will hit the suburbs next because there is 'nothing left here' as thousands ignore city curfew and take to the streets in fourth night of disturbances"--Daily Mail. Looking at the Mall of America?

• Related: "Michelle Obama responds to the killing of George Floyd saying she is 'exhausted' by the racist attacks on black people while calling on white people to do the 'uncomfortable work of rooting it out'"--Daily Mail. It's always someone else's fault.

• Related: "Jamie Foxx arrives in Minneapolis to support George Floyd protesters as he asks white people to 'put yourself in our position'"--Daily Mail. I can't. And you know why? Because of statistics like this: "In 2013, of the approximately 660,000 crimes of interracial violence that involved blacks and whites, blacks were the perpetrators 85 percent of the time. This meant a black person was 27 times more likely to attack a white person than vice versa."

• Related: "‘Watchmen’ Actress Frances Fisher: ‘They Want a Race War. We’ll Give Them a Race War’"--Breitbart. "She also expressed her support for the Black Lives Matter movement. 'I’m with #BlackLivesMatter. We will win.'" Query to Ms. Fisher: Have you ever done the boogaloo with the devil in the pale moonlight?

• Related: "Two NYPD patrol cars RAM a group of George Floyd protesters in Brooklyn after crowd surrounded them and threw plastic bottles and trash"--Daily Mail. The rioters had pushed a crowd barrier against the front of the vehicle and so it drove forward using the barrier like a cowcatcher.

• Related: "Terrifying moment Utah man aims a hunting BOW at George Floyd protesters in Salt Lake City and yells 'All lives matter!' before a group of demonstrators tackle him and torch his car"--Daily Mail.

• "Trevor Noah Defends Looting: ‘Police in America Are Looting Black Bodies’"--Breitbart. In other news, Comedy Central host Trevor Noah mangles the English language.
• "The Summer of Rage: Lessons from the Race Riots in Detroit and Newark 50 Years Ago"--The Lowdown.

      In what was dubbed the “long, hot summer," more than 100 poor, largely black communities were rocked by violent incidents in 1967. Some labelled them riots, others called them uprisings and rebellions. Erupting primarily in East Coast and Midwestern cities, including Milwaukee, Buffalo, Tampa and Cincinnati, the incidents resulted in more than 100 deaths, hundreds of millions of dollars in property damage and scores of burned-out neighborhoods, some of which never fully recovered.

      The unrest was a reaction to a larger problem: deep-seated anger and hopelessness simmering in many disenfranchised, urban communities where rates of poverty, joblessness and crime were disproportionately high.

      But nearly every instance of unrest was ignited by the same kind of spark: an individual local incident involving an unarmed black man (or men) beaten or killed by white police officers for a seemingly minor infraction.

• "And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.": "Today in History: Islamic Jihad Conquers Ancient Christian Constantinople"--PJ Media. From May 29.
• "Coronavirus task force chief Mike Pence: You did it, America"--Washington Examiner. 

“This is all evidence of what the American people have done,” Pence said in his first interview to review the battle. “Because of the cooperation and compassion of the American people, we slowed the spread, we flattened the curve, we saved lives, and I have no doubt about that,” said the vice president during an hourlong talk with Secrets.

• Related: "DHS: Bigger virus ‘catastrophe’ avoided by stopping illegal immigration"--Washington Examiner. "To estimate the potential for further virus spread had the border not been shut down and thousands were still being held, DHS said one infected migrant would have exposed 426 others in the process of being apprehended, put in a holding cell, and then transferred out."

• Who knew that shutting down your state's economy would have consequences: "Gov. Whitmer asks Washington to help state's budget"--WILX 10. 
• "Someone finally brings clarity to the Obamagate narrative" by Andrea Widburg at American Thinker.

      One of the problems with Obamagate is that it's incredibly complicated.  It began under the Obama administration and involved the alphabet agencies (the CIA, the FBI, and the DOJ), as well as President Obama, the national security adviser, the director of National Intelligence, the FISA court, and overseas intelligence agencies.

      The wrongdoing included false affidavits; spying on innocent people, including the president-elect; unmasking; and set-ups, such as perjury traps and spies inveigling people into ambiguous statements that could be used against them.  It then escalated to an attempt to overthrow the Trump presidency through a two-year-long investigation that destroyed several people's lives, even though the special counsel's office knew from Day One that neither Trump nor his team had done anything wrong.

• "Mueller shows the FBI needs disbanding"--Don Surber. An excerpt:

      Under Obama, the FBI lied to federal judges 17 times to get permission to spy on Donald Trump.

     Instead of going after those real crimes, Mueller tried to frame President Trump.

      We tried reining in the FBI. We failed because it still had too much power. It was an Americanized Stasi.

     President Trump was only the latest politician to be targeted by the FBI. Ted Stevens, Bob Menendez, and Marion Barry are among the many people the FBI targeted. Yes, Mayor Barry was scum. But when he said, "Bitch set me up," something in me clicked. The ends do not justify the means. Sorry. The people of DC wanted him, cocaine habit or not.

      Dowd told Jarrett, "They knew there was nothing to investigate. People subverted the system of justice. One corrupt act after another. It’s staggering. The lies were monstrous. It was all pretense and fraud. Mueller should not walk. Rod Rosenstein should not walk."

     But they will.

     We all know that.

     The only reform that will work is to get the federal government out of the crime-stopping game because the power of the FBI is too great for mortal man to resist.

• "Not far from the LAC, satellite picks up Chinese armour, artillery"--Indian Express. From the article:

       As Delhi and Beijing turn to their working mechanism at the level of diplomats to reduce military tensions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, there’s evidence of the Chinese having deployed towed artillery and mechanised elements on their side of the LAC opposite the Galwan valley.

      Highly placed sources told The Indian Express that a detailed analysis of satellite images has shown extensive deployment of towed artillery and mechanised elements on the Chinese side, bringing Indian deployments within striking distance.

      Satellite images also show the presence of at least 16 tanks with a mix of infantry combat vehicles, though camouflaged. Flatbed trucks, excavator machines, dumper trucks too have been identified in the imagery, sources said, adding that these suggest permanent defences are being prepared by the Chinese in the area.

• "US seized Chinese-built transformer – but nobody knows why"--iTWire. 

      The seized transformer was meant for the Western Area Power Administration for use in its Ault substation. Apart from WAPA, the Chinese firm has also sold units to American customers the New York Power Authority, EDF Renewables, B.C. Hydro and MidAmerican Energy.

      The report said WAPA fed wholesale electricity to power stations in 15 states in the western and central US.

     Transformers do not contain software-based control systems and are passive devices, though recent equipment may contain diagnostic electronics, the WSJ said.

     Cai told the newspaper that even if someone accessed the diagnostic data, it was of no import.

     He said the transformer had been built to the buyer's specifications, down to parts the number of which had been bought in the US and UK chosen by WAPA.

• Obama's and Hillary's foreign policy still paying dividends: "Moscow is painting over the Russian markings on its jet fighters and sending them to fight a proxy war against Turkey in Libya"--Business Insider. 
• "Nazi commandos came 'appallingly close' to assassinating Churchill, Stalin and Roosevelt as leaders met at secret 1943 summit in Tehran to plan the liberation of occupied Europe, new book reveals"--Daily Mail. 

      A German spy discovered an unguarded secret entrance into the heavily-fortified embassy compound, through underground water tunnels. The Nazi murder squad planned to parachute into Tehran wearing Russian uniforms to mingle with the heavy Soviet troop presence already there.

      But the Germans were unaware that two of their operatives were double-agents, leaking assassination plans to the Russians.

• "Third Generation Gangs Strategic Note No. 25: 18th Street (Barrio 18) Demonic & Santa Muerte Affinity Linkages"--Small Wars Journal. From the summary:

The majority of past maras-focused dark spirituality research has centered on the relationship of Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) to this form of veneration and worship. MS-13 links to such magico-religious activities—which presently are active at clica (clique) and individual levels—are well documented. They were evident with the origins of the gang roughly four decades ago, even though such expressions were initially considered ‘Satanic-light’ due to their derivation from Heavy Metal and Stoner influences. The 18th Street gang (Barrio 18), however, which some consider more sophisticated than MS-13 and is not currently under the US national security spotlight, has remained an ongoing enigma concerning its linkages to such practices. This research note seeks to provide some initial and exploratory insights—primarily but not exclusively via imagery interpretation—into 18th Street dark spiritual activities.

Also:

      Barrio 18, as an extension of 18th Street, in El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala has become—for the want of a better term— increasingly feral from a magio-religious perspective, as has its deadly rival MS-13 or Barrio 13. The gang’s LA street culture and structure has blended with that of individuals from the lower socio-economic rungs of societies found within El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala whose agrarian influences make them more accepting of the supernatural and a world in which witches and sorcerers exist. 

      This shift in spiritual orientation—from the Los Angeles ideological ‘Satanic-light’ approach to one with an at times deeper and darker magio-religious perspective—is readily evident in IMAGEs 7-9. ...

And:

What these images and other supporting information convey is the existence of an array of Barrio 18 dark spiritual practices along a continuum. On the more criminally benign or gray side, the veneration or worship of Santa Muerte is taking place in which narcotics trafficking, extortion, and similar activities are petitioned for protective purposes.  At the other darker extreme, death magic and actual human sacrifices are manifesting themselves. These are taking place in a shifting syncretic blending of Santa Muerte, ‘the Beast’ (as a demonic representation), and Satanic practices, resulting in an emerging form of pandillas and maras ‘Death cult worship.’ To what extent these practices are taking place within Barrio 18 as opposed to Barrio 13 (MS-13) is unknown, but they are ongoing and have been taking place for at least some decades now. One La Policía Nacional Civil (PNC) anti-gang unit investigator who was involved in a raid in Apopa, El Salvador in 2014 explains that both the 13 and 18 pandillas now use much of the same symbology in their cultos satánicos.

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      The mark of the ‘three 6s’ equaling 18 can clearly been seen in IMAGE 5 on another 18th Street gang member’s forearm. This would confirm him as a Mara 18 member when referring to his Satanic practices. The other gang he ran with, specifically MS 13 early on, would immediately order him killed over such a tattoo because the ‘mark of the beast’ equaling 18 is unacceptable to that gang. It is unknown why El Cholo later left Mara 18. Possibly, a disagreement arose in his clique. In 2005, he joined the Braker gang and later engaged in ritual cannibalism in which he and other gang members ate the raw heart of a suicide victim he had ‘killed with death magic’ via a cemetery ritual with a voodoo doll. The victim “…sacrificed herself on her own. She cut her own veins with a machete” because she had been satanically compelled by El Cholo to do so. As part of the devil’s pact, El Cholo and his fellow gang members had to eat her heart or would face demonic retribution for themselves or their families.