A Quick Run Around the Web (7/20/2020)

"INFANTRYMAN’S GUIDE: Individual camouflage techniques & field discipline"--Brent0331 (12 min.)

• Light Infantry Tactics for Small Teams by Christopher E. Larsen (66 Mb PDF). I purchased a copy of this book and reviewed it years ago. Good overview for small team tactics, and also including camouflage, using hand signals for communication, and radio communications. 
• "More on Tribal EEFI and OPSEC"--Lizard Farmer. He begins: "During the entries on comms we briefly touched on two critical concepts: Operational Security (OPSEC) and the Essential Elements of Friendly Information.  Techniques to control Spillage was also covered.  During this entry we’ll look at how EEFI should flow within our AO – whether by comms or other means."
• "Priming Compounds and Primers Introduction"--Bev Fitchett's Guns. The article discusses the history of priming compounds, including the move to non-corrosive primers. An excerpt:

      Up to early 2000, the most common primer composition encountered was still the lead styphenate, barium nitrate, antimony sulfide and tetrazine type. In this priming compound, lead styphenate and tetrazine are the sensitive explosive ingredients; barium nitrate provides additional oxygen to increase the temperature of the flame, and antimony sulfide acts as a fuel to prolong the burning time. Aluminium, and occasionally magnesium, can also be encountered, but mainly in the higher-powered magnum pistol or rifle calibres.

      Powdered glass was also often added to the mixture to increase the friction and to assist detonation when the mixture is crushed by the firing pin.

      Modern 0.22" calibre rimfire ammunition is slightly different in that the composition almost invariably consists of lead styphenate, barium nitrate, tetra-zine and powdered glass.

     Lead-free and non-toxic primers. It began to become apparent in the early 1970s that in heavily used training facilities, the range personnel were suffering from the symptoms of lead poisoning. Whilst a large proportion of this lead was being volatilized from the base of the bullets, a portion was obviously coming from the lead styphenate primer.

     The US National Bureau of Standards claims that when lead-based primers are used, 80% of airborne lead on firing ranges comes from the projectile and 20% comes from the priming composition. These percentages obviously depend on whether the bullet is plain lead or jacketed. In the case of a non- jacketed bullet, the rifling will strip lead from the bullet' s surface, thus dramatically increasing the percentage of non-primer-based airborne lead.

     The change to a bullet with a copper/zinc jacket extending over the base was a fairly simple matter of reducing the bullet sourced airborne lead, but finding a non-mercuric non-corrosive non-lead-based primer was another.

    The problem was first solved in the early 1980s by Geco, who released a zinc- and titanium - based primer which they called " Sintox'. Since then, there have been a number of other lead-free primers produced by, for example, CCI Blazer, Speer, Federal and Winchester (Haag, 1995). The exact composition of the priming compounds used is not available, although SEM/EDX (scanning electron microscope/energy dispersive X-ray) analysis generally shows the presence of strontium in the Speer and Blazer cartridges, potassium in the Winchester cartridges and calcium and silicon in the Federal cartridges.

     Most of the more recent primer formulations contain an initiator explosive compound called 'dinol', the chemical name of which is DDNP (diazodinitrophenol).

• "More Info on Weapon-Mounted Lights"--Active Response Training. Ellifritz responds to some questions posed by readers of a recent article he did on weapon mounted lights. One of the questions that came up was using a weapon light indirectly for illumination, such as carrying a weapon at low ready and using the light splash to search for an intruder. He again believes it is too dangerous due to the possibility of a negligent discharge:

      We see far more negligent discharges with handgun mounted lights compared to long gun mounted lights.  My guess as to why this happens is either the fact that both hands are in very close proximity to each other when using a handgun WML or the fact that some handgun WMLs are actuated by the trigger finger.  Under stress, it’s relatively easy to press the trigger when you are trying to turn the light on.

       That’s a problem no matter where the muzzle is directed.  If using a proper ready position, damage can be minimized if you get on the trigger rather than the light switch.  That’s a good thing.  But it doesn’t completely relieve you of responsibility.  An errant round fired into the floor or ceiling is better than one that is fired into another human, but it is not inconsequential and it may injure either yourself or someone else.

      In my mind it’s best to avoid the negligent discharge entirely.  When using a handgun with a WML, do your searching with a handheld light.  We rarely see negligent discharges of any type when people do this.  The one exception is when people are using the “Harries” flashlight technique.  Numerous NDs have been reported with this technique.  Some folks believe that the close proximity of the two hands when using the Harries light position lead to “hand confusion” and result in negligent discharges. 

• "THE ORTHOPEDIC HOLSTER"--by Massad Ayoob at Guns Magazine. This article looks at some holsters for those suffering from back pain, particularly lower (lumbar) back pain, or where range of motion (ROM) is an issue, such as after a rotator cuff injury or surgery. Ayoob makes a few suggestions, including a shoulder holster (as long as it is balanced out), appendix carry, cross-draw, or a pocket holster. 

       The key to the back pain issue is to either balance the weight (such as you might be able to do with a shoulder holster), or keep the weight as close to the center of the body as possible. Thanks to Craft Holsters, I've been able to try out a few holsters over the past several months, so I can tell you that a shoulder holster (in my case, a .380 on one side balanced by a couple spare magazines on the other) works well to minimize back pain--enough so that it is now my standard carry method. (See here for a review of a different brand of shoulder holster). I was also surprised to find that a quality small-of-the-back holster worked well. I have received a cross-draw holster for review that I will be trying out soon and I'll let you know how well that works. I've used pocket carry extensively in the past, but believe that the biggest advantage to someone with back problems using that method is that by carrying in the pocket you are forced to use a smaller, lighter gun.

• A while back I complained about the lack of articles explaining how to know if a handgun correctly fits your hand. I did some digging and found these articles on the topic:

• "How To Make Sure Your Handgun Fits You"--Bearing Arms.

• "Grip Fitting 103" (PDF) by SFC Richard Merrill and the USAMU International Pistol Team.

• "Hand Size Counts in Safe Handgun Use: A surprising number of handguns are not safe for most female and some male users" (PDF)--by Joel J. Hebert from Ergonomics in Design. 

• "#SHOOTTip – Handgun Size & Fit"--Julie Golob. Article and video.

• "How To Properly Fit A Handgun To Your Hand"--American Gun Association.

• "How To Fit Your Hand To Your Pistol" by Julianna Crowder at A Girl and A Gun.

• "The Right Fit"--Rich Grassi at Handguns Magazine.

• "LIKE A GLOVE: PICKING A HANDGUN TO FIT YOUR GRIP"--Combat Armory.

• "HOW TO MEASURE FOR YOUR CUSTOM GRIP"--Precision Target Pistol Grips.

     With the exception of the last article and "Grip Fitting 103" article, these articles deal with selecting a standard handgun to fit your hands. If you want measurement to look at, Hebert's article is the place to go. Most of the other articles discuss ways to check whether a particular gun fits you. For instance, from the Bearing Arms' article: 

     With a very, very unloaded gun, assume a normal firing grip and point at a safe backstop. Now move your finger to the trigger as if you’re going to fire. Hold that position.

     I want you to look at the lower portion of your index finger – the area from where it plugs into your palm up to the first joint. When your trigger finger is ready to press, do you see daylight between the gun and your finger?

     If your finger looks something like the picture here, you’re good to go. If the bottom surface of your lower index finger is pressed against the side of the gun, you’re having to reach for the trigger. This means that your grip is too large for your hand size. That matters because as you flex your finger to press the trigger, your index finger will be contacting the side of your gun and gently encouraging it to move off target! The good news is that if you’re a lousy shot, you can blame the fit of your gun.

     This second test is a little less obvious. At the range, I see all sorts of shooters struggling with accuracy and ability to control recoil as a result of a crooked arm / gun relationship.

     What does this mean? It’s simple. When you hold your gun in a firing grip, with your trigger finger placed to pass test one above, the gun barrel should be in perfect alignment with your “radi-ulni.” That’s short hand for the two bones in your forearm – the radius and ulna. You don’t just want the gun barrel to be parallel to these two bones, you want it to be a direct linear extension of these bones.

     If your gun grip is too large for you, there will be a necessary tendency for you to grasp the gun so that the web of your hand wraps around towards the trigger, so your index finger can reach. This means that your thumb moves around and is directly behind the gun. Check out this picture to see an exaggerated view of what I mean.

• "CUTTING-EDGE COMBATIVES"--Off Grid Magazine. A look at the pros and cons of using a knife (particularly, a folder) for self-defense, as well as some tips. For example:

Only deploy your weapon (whether blade or firearm) when you have enough space and distance between you and your assailant. How much space and distance? As much as possible. If a bad guy is within arm's reach, the situation can go sideways in a blink, as your attention and hand are focused on drawing your tool rather than on the incoming attack. If the thug is too close or already on top of you, your first option should be to slow or neutralize the threat with your empty-hand skills before reaching for the weapon. The reality is empty-hand fighting skills are necessary in many situations.

Lots here, so read the whole thing.

• Some firearm/crime history: "Real Live Machinegun Crime: Roger Waller and his Full Auto .380ACP MAC-11"--Guns America. "Since 1934 there have been two cases wherein the legal owner of a registered machinegun committed a crime with his weapon. Only one is well documented." The miscreant in the latter incident was, as you guessed from the title, Roger Waller, a thirteen-year veteran of the Dayton, Ohio, police department. His job was to collate information about drug distribution, but one day he learned of possible drug dealing from his HVAC repairman, and the two decided to do their own investigation and, well, things didn't go so well.
• Speaking of things not going well: "Cop is accidentally killed by his training officer during crossfire after suspect opens fire on their patrol car"--Daily Mail. Jonathan Shoop died after being shot by his training officer Mustafa Kumcur. The criminal suspect,  Henry Eugene Washington, had exited his vehicle following a crash and before the police arrive. When the officers pulled up, he began shooting at the officers while they were still in their own vehicle. Per the article, "Kumcur was in the passenger seat of the police car when he returned fire, shooting 'multiple times' at Washington. One of Kumcur's bullets hit Shoop, in the driver's seat, killing him."

"Don't Talk to the Police"--Regent University School of Law (47 min.)

      Herschel linked to the foregoing video in his post, "Massad Ayoob’s Bad Advice." Herschel's post is more in the perpetual debate over whether you should talk to the police after a defensive shooting or no. Obviously you cannot literally say nothing because you will at the minimum have to identify yourself--police are entitled to that information. But beyond "name, rank and serial number" type information, what should be said?

       The video is an excellent explanation of why you shouldn't talk to police, and how anything you say will be twisted and used against you in a court of law. The primary speaker is a law professor and experienced defense attorney, but he is followed by an experienced police detective. Interestingly, one of the things mentioned by the professor is that police may interview you and then, whether by mistake or purposefully, "forget" or mischaracterize something you say, and without a recording, it will result in a he said/you said situation at trial. The detective, when it was his turn to speak, started by saying that he agreed with everything that the professor had said, but later admits that while he will record interviews, he only uses it for making up his notes, and then deletes the recording "because it is not evidence." But according to the professor, the recording potentially had exculpatory evidence if there was ever a dispute about what was asked or said during an interrogation. Essentially, then, the officer was admitting to destroying potentially exculpatory evidence. 

      But a second point I would bring up is that the video is discussing the more general issue of interaction with police when the police are investigating a crime or a potential crime, and not the specific instance of a defensive shooting. Remember that if you claim self-defense, you are admitting to assaulting and/or committing battery, but that the use of force was justified. In that case, Ayoob is contending, you want the police to think of you as the victim and not the perpetrator, and you want to make sure that the police don't miss some crucial piece of evidence or witness testimony. 

     I've thought a lot about this topic, and am still not sure what I would do. However, I'm leaning toward some basic comments ("That guy tried to shoot me" or "That guy broke into my house") and then shutting up.

"Causes of Earth Rotation Glitches, New Solar Cycle | S0 News Jul.19.2020"--Suspicious Observers (6 min.). Rotation Glitches essentially refers to changes in to the rotation such as might result in the earth's tilt changing or changes in the length of day. The relevant portion begins at the 3:27 mark.

• Gun control in action: "Mayor Lightfoot’s Chicago: 50 Shot, at Least 6 Killed, Since Friday Evening"--Breitbart. 
• The violent riots peaceful protests for inclusion and acceptance continued apace in Portland, Oregon, Seattle, and Denver. In fact, the Portland police got to play a game of "guess the surgical scar" when a naked woman decided to do yoga in front of the officers. Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler still has his panties in a wad over the feds protecting federal property. Wheeler presents an interesting political history because, even though he came from a wealthy family, he essentially was a loser until he married his wife, Katrina Maley, who was deeply involved in killing babies pro-choice politics. Suddenly, he won a race for county commissioner and then, although completely lacking any experience, was tapped by then-Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski to replace State Treasurer Ben Westlund, who died in office. 
• Things heat up in Mexico:

• Some background: "Militarised Criminal Networks in Mexico and the Challenges They Present to the Military and Police"--Small Wars Journal. 

Mexico is a contemporary depiction of what is being defined as a ‘criminal insurgency’ which has plagued the country since late 2005. Authorities in the region estimate that upwards of 40% of the country suffer chronic insecurity, characterised by homicidal violence, kidnappings, a significant death rate and high levels of population displacement. While Mexico is not widely considered a failed state, there are clear examples of sub-state failure with a multitude of non-permissive areas that are not under control of the legitimate state and have been contested for many years. The evolution of organised criminal networks, otherwise known as the cartels in this context, in Mexico can be described in a three generational model focusing on three metrics: the degree of political activity undertaken, the internationalisation or level of global reach, and level of sophistication in the establishment of alliances, conduct and the use of high-end technology. The motivation for criminal activity, regardless of its complexity, still remains as profit and power.

• Yesterday: "'They are sending a clear message... that THEY rule Mexico': Terrifying footage shows CONVOY of Jalisco drug cartel 'soldiers' waving military-grade weapons next to armored trucks and shouting the name of their leader 'Mencho'"--Daily Mail. From the article:

      The Jalisco cartel is regarded as Mexico's strongest gang, along with the Sinaloa Cartel formerly led by jailed kingpin Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman. 

       It is often credited with infiltrating poorly paid and trained police departments across the country to protect its wide-ranging criminal rackets. 

      The cartel based in the central state of Jalisco has spread across Mexico and increasingly has posed direct challenges to the government.

      Mexico City's police chief, Omar García Harfuch, blamed the cartel for an elaborately planned attempt on his life last month - an ambush on the capital's most famous boulevard.

       The Jalisco cartel operates in 24 of 32 states in Mexico and has shipped cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and fentanyl-laced heroin to the United States.

       The cartel, is known to be in control of between one-third and two-thirds of the US drug market. 

• News report from today, although it involves incident from last Friday: "Mexico's war on drugs: Moment THREE cartels ambush the military who fight back in a hail of bullets"--Daily Mail. 

       A soldier's body cam recorded the dramatic moment the Mexican military came under attack from multiple cartels in western Mexico.

      Members of the army and National Guard were on a patrol mission of the Michoacán city of Aguililla on Friday when they were met with fire from members of the United Cartels.

      The military arrested at least five cartel members following the gun battle which left at least one soldier injured. 

Also, according to the article, "United Cartels formed in October 2019 in response to the ongoing battle the Jalisco New Generation Cartel has been involved with the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel, which then sought and received the military-like backing from the Gulf Cartel, Los Zetas and the Sinaloa Cartel."

• "Connecticut pathologist’s study shows CDC coronavirus test kits generate 30% false positive results"--Legal Insurrection. "Other issues with the COVID-count include motorcycle fatality classified as COVID-19 death, Rhode Island reporting 113 false positive results, and Florida labs lacking negative COVID-19 results."

• Related: "Now We Have Proof Dr. Fauci Is Full of Crap and Can't Be Trusted"--PJ Media. Fauci praised New York's response to the Wuhan virus and said that "they did it correctly." The article then goes into all of the things that New York did wrong, the most egregious being the ordering of COVID-19 patients into nursing homes:

On March 25, New York state ordered nursing homes to accept patients regardless of their coronavirus status—a deadly mistake. Even then, it was known that the elderly were more vulnerable to the virus, so having patients who tested positive for the coronavirus in nursing homes allowed the virus to spread rapidly, killing thousands.

• "You’re Probably Gonna Get It…"--Burning Platform. The author explains why the current response to Covid-19 will never stop the spread and is only needlessly destroying the economy.
• This is pretty interesting: "Historic Moon Landing Footage Has Been Enhanced by AI, And The Results Are Incredible"--Science Alert. 

"Where was the Tower of Babel? - Dr. Douglas Petrovich"--Was Genesis History? (23 min.). If you just want to know the answer without all of the evidence, the answer is that Petrovich believes it to be the site of Eridu. 

• "Trumpet Sounds in the Sky 2008-2018"--Strange Sounds. 

• Related: "What’s causing those weird trumpet noises in the sky?"--San Diego Union-Tribune.

• Flashback to June 30: "Why Rioters Will Eventually Turn Their Rage On Christianity If Not Stopped"--The Federalist. An excerpt:

     Recently, Shaun King, a champion of the Black Lives Matter movement, called for the destruction of Christian iconography, statues, and stained glass, if they represent Christ, His mother, or any of the apostles as white. This, according to King, makes the iconography nothing more than a “gross form of white supremacy” and “racist propaganda” created to be “tools of oppression.”

     To King, the only proper response to any fossil of racism or oppression is to destroy it. As any depictions of Christ or the Virgin Mary with light skin represent “white supremacy,” according to King they’ve all got to go.

After discussing recent vandalism of Christian churches and iconography, the article continues:

      The reason for the attacks becomes clearer when considering that Black Lives Matter and Antifa are Marxist organizations and Marxism is an enemy of Christianity. It has to be. An atheistic system that sees economic Hegelianism as god will have to consider all transcendent religions the enemy. It’s why the Soviet Union was an atheistic state, which replaced God with the Communist Party.

      Another reason comes from the hatred Marxism holds for Western Civilization. The dream of Marxism is to eradicate Western civilization and replace it with itself; its reaction to the legitimate evils that have been committed by Occidentals is not reform but obliteration.

     Marxism assumes that because the windows are dirty and cracked, the entire house must be demolished. We see this same hatred today in the insurrections occurring right now. There is no reason for mobs pulling down statues of Ulysses S. Grant or Hans Christian Heg or calling for statues of Abraham Lincoln as the Great Emancipator to be removed.

      But if Western Civilization is evil, that means all the elements that went into creating Western Civilization must also be destroyed. That includes Christianity.

• Related: "Satanic Symbol Painted at Church in Parish Where Knights of Columbus Began"--National Catholic Register. From the article:

       The incident is the latest in a growing trend of vandalism against Catholic churches in the past week.

      Earlier this week, a statue of Jesus was beheaded in the Archdiocese of Miami and a statue of the Blessed Virgin at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Colorado Springs was tagged with red paint.

      A statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary was beheaded last weekend at a church in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

      On July 10, a vandal spray-painted the word “idol” on the statue of the Virgin Mary at a prep school and seminary in the New York City borough of Queens.

      The following day, the face, head, and upper body of a statue of the Virgin Mary were damaged in an arson attack at a parish in Boston.

     On July 11, a man crashed a minivan into a Catholic church in Ocala, Florida, and then lit it on fire with gasoline while people were inside preparing for morning Mass.

     At the same time that fire began, in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles the church of the Mission San Gabriel was destroyed by fire. The 18th century mission was founded by St. Junipero Serra, whom Pope Francis canonized during his 2015 visit to the U.S. The cause of the fire has not yet been determined, and is being investigated for arson.

There has been a total of 11 attacks on Christian churches in the U.S. over the last few months. 

• Related: "Report: China Forcing Poor Citizens to Trade Faith for Welfare Checks"--Breitbart. The article reports that "The economic downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic has hit China’s low-income households hardest, many of which rely upon state-funded welfare benefits to survive. In recent months, the CCP has reportedly forced Christians across the country receiving state-funded welfare benefits to remove religious symbols from their households and replace them with images of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Mao Zedong; some are told to renounce their faith altogether. If Christians refuse, the state cancels their welfare payments, according to the magazine."