The Docent's Memo (4/21/2021)

 

VIDEO: "Joint Breaks: Destroy The Knee - Target Focus Training - Tim Larkin - Awareness - Self Protection" (20 min.)

Firearms/Self-Defense/Prepping:

• If you didn't hear about it or see, the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) sent out an email Tuesday with the following warning:

The CMP advises to not use .30/06 ammunition in M1 Garands, 1903s, and 1903A3s that is loaded beyond 50,000 CUP and has a bullet weight more than 172gr. These rifles are at least 70 years old and were not designed for max loads and super heavy bullets. Always wear hearing and eye protection when firing an M1 Garand, 1903 and/or 1903A3 rifle.

Anybody that knows anything about shooting a Garand knows that regular hunting loads, particularly using slow burning powders, can damage the operating rod or cause other problems. There are aftermarket gas regulators that allow you to shoot commercial .30-06 hunting ammo in a Garand without damaging the operating rod, but otherwise you should stick with loads (or handloads) specifically intended for the Garand. As for the 1903 Springfields, there were problems with the heat treating of receivers back when production first started. Most of these were recalled and the problem corrected but I would always be a little suspicious of the pre-WWI era 1903s. I suspect that the World War II era 1903A3 models are probably fine even with hot loads, but I understand why the CMP is being overly cautious. 

• "Gear: Get Real and Be Prepared"--Max Velocity Tactical. MV has long recommended lighter loadouts for patrols and fighting ... and the need to get in better physical condition because even a light loadout is still going to have some heft to it. He notes that you will--if you have followed his advice--have a helmet with night vision gear, and a plate carrier and battle belt with 7 rifle magazines between them, IFAK and tourniquet, handgun and magazines for it, radio, water and some minimal food (e.g., energy bars), various flashlights, extra batteries, a basic cleaning kit, etc.
• TC- 3-22.69 "ADVANCED SITUATIONAL AWARENESS" (April 2021) (PDF). (H/t Marcus Wynne).
• "Mechanical Sequence of Events During the Firing Cycle"--Bev Fitchett's Guns. This has to do with AR pattern rifles. 
• "Witness Protection 870: The 12.5-Inch Short-Barreled US Marshals Shotgun"--Tactical Life. What I think of when I hear or see people suggesting that there is no use for firearms such as the Remington Tac 13 or Mossberg Shockwave.
• "Is The Revolver Dead? Is That a Trick Question?" by Luis Valdes, The Truth About Guns. The author begins:

That was the question asked back in 1989 [citing to a 1989 issue of Guns & Ammo]. The Era of the Wondernine was upon us. Higher capacity 9mm semi-autos that held 15 or  17 rounds was becoming the new standard. Technological wonders from Smith & Wesson, Ruger, GLOCK, SIG SAUER, HK, Beretta, and others were hitting store shelves and could been seen in police holsters.

He continues on to discuss why revolvers are still relevant as well as some of his favorite types, with a 3-inch barreled .357 Magnum his favorite all around choice for defense. 

• For those of you wondering how an officer could confuse a handgun carried on one side of her body with a taser on the other side: "Unintended: A Theory of Taser / Weapon Confusion"--Force Science Institute (h/t Greg Ellifritz). 

    When an officer first learns to draw their pistol, it may require intense focus to defeat the holster’s retention features, secure a proper grip, maintain a safe orientation, and efficiently draw and capture a sight picture. However, with sufficient practice, this process will be performed with little cognitive effort or awareness. This ability to draw a weapon or perform any skilled task without the need for focused attention or “cognitive control” is referred to as “automaticity.”

    For police, automaticity frees up their “cognitive load” for more effective decision-making and allows them to remain externally focused on threat assessments, changing environmental conditions, and communication efforts. Unfortunately, the repetitive performance that leads to automaticity can also play a role in a common performance error known as a “capture error.”

    A “capture error” can occur when an infrequent action like drawing a Taser is non-consciously substituted by a similar, more familiar, and more practiced action—like drawing a firearm. Research has shown that people are particularly susceptible to this type of error when they are occupied by other mental processes. For police, these processes might involve time-compressed threat assessments, the need for immediate action, or simultaneous efforts to communicate—including verbal warnings and de-escalation attempts.

• "Why So Many People Fail To Prepare Even Though They Have The Money"--Modern Survival Blog. A long list of possible reasons as it most likely varies from person to person. The problem is that people don't see an immediacy of a risk and so, although the harm is high if something occurs, the perceived chance of it occurring is so low that it doesn't even show up on people's radar, or perhaps they believe that there is nothing that can be done to mitigate the risk, so why bother.  
• "Maps For Preparedness"--Common Sense Home. The author explains that paper maps are helpful "[i]f you need to evacuate, you can plot alternate routes to avoid congestion and problem areas. If you need to hunker down in place, you can mark local resources and friends and neighbors, as well as high risk areas." On the latter topic, the author suggests:

    Piece together nine of the USGS 15-minute maps, with your camp, house or property on the center map.

    Mount that map on an oversize map board. Draw in the property lines and owner names of all of your surrounding neighbor’s parcels in at least a five mile radius.

    Get boundary line and current owner name info from your County Recorder’s office. Study and memorize both the terrain and the neighbors’ names.

    Cover the whole map sheet with a sheet of heavy-duty acetate, so you can mark it up just like a military map. It will help you get to know your neighbors. When you are introduced to one of them, you will be able to say, “Oh, don’t you live about two miles up the road between the Jones place and the Smith’s ranch?” 

    Make up an emergency contact list with phone numbers/e-mails that corresponds to all of the names marked on the map, plus city and county office contact numbers for quick reference. Tack  the list upright next to the map board, and keep an extra copy in your emergency information binder.

    As you get to know people, you can make notes on the phone list or the map about resources they may have for barter or sale.

She admits that something this might not be possible for a city environment, but you should still have an area map and have the addresses of allies (friends and families) at hand. 

• "Prepper’s Emergency Dental Kit Checklist (and Why You Need One)" by Jacob Hunter, Primal Survivor. Remember the scene from the movie, Castaway, where the character played by Tom Hanks is trying to pull out his tooth? Don't get into that situation. This article touches on the health issues posed by poor or painful teeth, provides a list of items to have for a dental emergency, points you to sources of information for dealing with dental issues, and finishes with DIY toothbrush and toothpaste substitutes. 
• I want: "The Ek Model 4 By KA-BAR – Made For Killing Nazis" by Travis Pike, Gat Daily. This knife was originally developed and became popular with soldiers during World War II. KA-BAR apparently bought the Ek brand and decided to re-release an updated version:

The Ek Model 4 keeps the core design that made the knife so famous. This includes the dual-edge design with an aggressive spear point. The blade is 6.625 inches long, and at the time, that blade length was rather standard. The idea was that the length of the blade allowed you to reach a vital organ regardless of where you stabbed someone in the torso. 

• He chose bear spray: "Wilderness guide dies days after grizzly bear attack near Yellowstone"--New York Post. He chose poorly. 
• When will the RINOs learn? "Politico: John Cornyn Willing to Find ‘Common Ground’ on Gun Control"--Breitbart. "Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) is reportedly talking to Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) and is willing to search out 'common ground' for gun control." The article further notes that "Murphy also reached out to Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN). Politico observed Braun 'said that he’d be open to a narrower attempt, but not the kind of comprehensive legislation Democrats want.'" Texans (and the rest of us) are stuck with this traitorous scum until January 3, 2027, when his term ends.
• Related: "‘Seize and Destroy’ – Federal Lawmakers Reintroduce Confiscatory Ban on ‘High-Capacity’ Magazines"--Guns America. Per the article, U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and Congressman Ted Deutch (D-FL) reintroduced the Keep Americans Safe Act, which would ban with a capacity over ten rounds, and require those owning such magazines to turn them over to the government or destroy them.
• "Thirdworldization: The Slow Burning SHTF Of America"--Loose Rounds. The author begins:
  

    The developed world, accustomed to safety, convenience, and comfort, is facing a slow-burning SHTF called Thirdworldization by some. Each time humankind faces some tribulation like the one we’re currently going through, it feels like the world is coming to an end. In many senses, the threat is present: a pandemic is a serious SHTF. It IS the end for many. 

    But the real SHTF isn’t just the pandemic – it’s the effects on the system that Selco warned us about from the very beginning.

    The ramifications of such events as Covid-19 and government responses are real and long-lasting. Despite theories surrounding COVID-19 (conspiratorial or not), the fact is real damage has happened to the economy and our lifestyle. To those who say we’ve been through a lot since March 2020, I’d argue we haven’t yet seen the full range of consequences. Objectively, we’re not even out of the pandemic.

VIDEO: "Hyperinflation is Already Here – You Just Haven't Realised It Yet."--Economics Explained (19 min.)

Welcome to the Revolution:

• "Derek Chauvin Guilty on All Three Charges: 2nd, 3rd Degree Murder; 2nd Degree Manslaughter"--Breitbart. Per the article, "[t]he defense is planning to appeal, and will likely argued that Chauvin was denied a fair trial by the judge’s decision not to change the venue of the trial and not to sequester the jury during a period in which there were further police shootings and local riots."
• Related: "Lynch mobs"--Area Ocho. An excerpt:

    Andrew Branca talks about the intimidation of the jury in the Chauvin trial, and he made some points that struck a chord with me. First, let me start with the relevant quote from the esteemed Mr. Branca:

If it cannot be expected that Chauvin can get any fairer a trial elsewhere in Minnesota than he can in the rage-mob surrounded Hennepin County Courthouse, the solution consistent with the “justice” any of us would want for ourselves or anyone we care about is not to compel him to endure an unfair trial where he is.

    That is the point- if a person who is accused of a crime cannot receive a fair and impartial trial under the law, then the law has become nothing more than a codified lynch mob, and we can forget about calling our legal system a “justice system” because there will be no justice of any kind to be had.

• Related: Jury intimidation. "Maxine Waters urges Minnesota protesters to 'stay on the street' if Chauvin acquitted in Floyd case"--Fox News. This is obviously from a few days ago. "Asked about the Derek Chauvin murder trial in Minneapolis, Waters told reporters if the former police officer isn't found guilty of murdering George Floyd, 'We've got to stay on the street and we've got to get more active, we've got to get more confrontational. We've got to make sure that they know that we mean business.'"
• "Welcome to Medellín, Minn., Where Elected Officials and Cops Are Afraid of BLM and Antifa Race 'Cartels'"--PJ Media. Victoria Taft points out that after the Brooklyn Center police shooting of Daunte Wright, the mayor decided that everyone involved--the officers and the police chief--should be fired, but that City Manager Curt Boganey, a black man, remonstrated because the officers were entitled to their due process rights. The city council was having none of that and voted to fire Boganey "based on fear of retaliation from the Black Lives Matter radicals[.]" Taft observes: "When antifa and BLM stir as much fear as Pablo Escobar and his henchmen, which prevents you from doing your damned job and following the Constitution, we’ve arrived at Banana Republic status."
• "The Future of American Policing" by Greg Ellifritz, Buckeye Firearms Association. He discusses four trends in policing: (1) the hatred toward police and constant second-guessing has made it harder to become a police officer and enforce laws, with the result that fewer people will want to be cops; (2) the effects of the pandemic will be lower revenue to local, state and national governments with the consequence that funding for law enforcement will be slashed; (3) distrust of government and the judicial system will discourage new recruits; and (4) just like the trend in the military, future policing will rely more heavily on drones and surveillance systems.
• The government and media were lying to you: "Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick Died Of Natural Causes"--Law Officer. He suffered a couple of strokes the day after the protests of January 6, 2021--not from being struck with a fire extinguisher or poisoned with bear repellant as the media and government kooks were splashing all over the news. So, the only person that actually was killed during the protest was Ashley Babbitt.
• More lies of the left: "The Myth That the US Leads the World in Mass Shootings"--Foundation for Economic Education (FEE). This 2019 article notes that the mantra of the U.S. having the most shootings came from the so-called research of one man--University of Alabama associate professor Adam Lankford. But Lankford, at the time, would not release his research so no one could check it directly. Conversely, John Lott of the Crime Prevention Research Center showed that even using Lankford's definition of a mass shooting the US trails many other advanced nations in mass shooting frequency and death rate, and did so notwithstanding having the highest gun ownership rates in the world.
• "Duping the ‘woke’—a new kind of criminality in America. And a new kind 'woke supremacy' Stockholm Syndrome..."--Law Officer. The author of this op-ed contends:

Undeniably, criminals and politicians are selfishly ignoring the realities of crime and criminal behavior for their own advantage. And they’re exploiting the kindness of “woke” folks to create an ignorant, dangerous, and even criminal form of incivility in America. And while the woke believe in speaking out against “systematic racism” and “over-policing,” they’ve obviously been duping into ignorance about some of the basic facts about crime in America.

And the primary bit of ignorance has to do with interracial crime. For instance, the author notes that "In 2019, the latest year of Uniform Crime Data available from the FBI, blacks killed more whites (566), than whites killed blacks (246)," notwithstanding blacks representing a much smaller proportion of the population. The author goes on to discuss other areas where blacks excel in crime over other racial groups and adds:

If crime statistics are any indication, America does not have a racial crime problem; it has an intra-racial crime problem. And that 9 out of 10 black murder victims were killed by other blacks—should be all the urgency we need to scrutinize how “systematic racism” may not be the problem we think it is, and that woke-minded people have been duped into scapegoating law enforcement under false pretense.

In short, the author argues that the current "wokeness" and all the prattle of "white privilege" and "defund the police" merely serves to dupe the public into not looking at the real problem of black crime and instead place the blame on other groups, be it white Americans or the police.

• Related: "Addressing the reality of black crime in America"--Bayou Renaissance Man. Grant takes a look at the issue of broken families in the black community.
• Related: "'We are now a lawless city': New Yorkers left on edge as random ‘sucker-punch’ assaults known as the 'knock out game' increase"--Daily Mail.
• Related: "Moment NYC motorist throws an 'unknown chemical' on officer before 'firing a Molotov cocktail at a patrol car' during an 8am traffic stop amid anti-cop protests across the US"--Daily Mail. Black on blue crime.
• Related: "New York EMTs are being 'targeted by anti-cop agitators' who smash ambulance windows and tag "f*** the police" on rigs"--Daily Mail. 
• What passes for entertainment in some communities: "Take that! Kid with gun squeals in pain after picking the wrong unarmed guy to carjack and getting body-slammed to the ground"--Daily Mail. First the backstory: Six hours prior to the incident mentioned in the headline, two feral black kids tried to rob a customer at gunpoint at a Chase bank in San Leandro but fled empty handed after their victim told them he was an off-duty police officer. In the subject incident, the two then try to carjack a car at gunpoint, but the owner was having none of that and bodyslammed one of the kids to the ground where he started squealing like a stuck pig for no reason that I could see before the guy let him up and he ran away. Learning nothing, both boys and an accomplice were arrested for trying to steal a third car by force, but quickly released. Still having learned nothing, three days after that they were caught attempting yet another carjacking in San Leandro. 
• "The Very Real Danger of Politically Sanctioned Violence" by Michael Bane (h/t Greg Ellifritz). An excerpt:

    Politically sanctioned violence has changed the self-defense landscape in the United States, and the sooner we accept this and modify both our behavior and training accordingly the more likely we are to stay out of the teeth of the beast.

    For the most part, we have seen self-defense as binary, the defender versus the aggressor. That is consistent with the language we used on THE BEST DEFENSE; it is the language used in virtually all of the self-defense courses I have ever taken, and it makes perfect  sense, “us versus them,” good versus bad.

    But what if the aggressor we face is a member of one of the politically sanctioned groups? Well, you might ask Kyle Rittenhouse, who’s life — whatever the outcome of the murder charges against him — is ruined. Without going into a huge analysis of the incident, I suspect that a lot of us would say we were legally, morally and ethically able to respond with potentially lethal force if we were attacked by an aggressor with a “deadly weapon,” whether that weapon be gun, knife, a hammer or an improvised  impact weapon, say, a skateboard. After all, that’s what we have taught and been taught.

    But what if the aggressor is a member of one of the politically sanctioned — protected — groups? Here’s the Cliff Note’s answer: You are at fault, regardless of the circumstances; you are the one who will pay the price. The aggressor probably knows in advance that if he or she is actually arrested, a small likelihood, either there will be a legal team in place to spring them or they will face a “woke” district attorney elected by floods of money from globalists like George Soros, who were put in place specifically for this reason. There are no legal consequences to their actions.  

    And what do you think those committed, “woke” DAs will do to you? Short answer…they will destroy you.

    If that doesn’t scare you enough, consider that the aggressor you face will very likely know or will have been taught just exactly how far they can go to push you into an escalating reaction. In fact, they want that escalating reaction on your part, because it will play well in the wildly biased media reports…you will be the “thug;” the aggressor will be the “victim.” That is how this particular game is played.

Read the whole thing. 

• "The Radicalization of Black America" by David Cole, Taki's Magazine. The key parts:

    Last week, as Americans on the left and right were brawling on social media over mass shootings ..., a genuinely important story sailed under the radar. Remember Younes Abdullah Mohammed? He was the al-Qaeda recruiter who in 2010 tried to solicit the murder of the South Park guys because they were going to depict Mohammed as a cartoon (Comedy Central prohibited the portrayal in response to the threats). Younes served time in federal prison, and now—using his birth name, Jesse Morton—he lectures about the process of Islamic radicalization.

    On March 22, documentarian Andrew Gold interviewed Younes/Morton on his podcast. And the former jihadi outlined a principle regarding radicalization that has relevance beyond just Muslims. He explained that as a professional al-Qaeda recruiter, he never had a more effective tool than the Mohammed cartoons. “We must stop the infidels from blaspheming our sacred prophet” ignited radicalization-prone Muzzies more than anything else in his recruiter toolkit. Yes, more than “The Americans are bombing your babies.” More than “The West sells arms and sponsors wars against you.” More even than “The Zionists are occupying our land!”

    Those issues, as important as they are in the radicalization process, simply did not “motivate” as the Mohammed cartoons did.

According to Younes/Morton, imams who knew that there’s nothing in Muslim law or theology that commands believers to kill infidels who depict Mohammed, purposely spread the lie that such a commandment exists, because it was a falsehood that could spawn a deeper hatred of Westerners, a greater willingness to kill, than something banal like “Their generals are bombing some villagers.” ... It spoke to a common identity shared by all Muslims, be they Sunni, Shiite, Arab, Asian, black, or white.

    ...

    “Something sacred to you—the thing that is the very core of your identity—is being profaned and disrespected by people who value their ‘free speech’ rights over your right to protect what is hallowed. Your identity commands you to take up arms.” That’s an argument that stirs passions and engenders hate.

    And there you go; now you have a “clash of civilizations.” More important, now you have decentralized person-to-person warfare, as opposed to centralized government-to-government warfare. A white guy in France or the U.K. can say, “I support bombing Syrians,” and he’ll be fine. But if he draws Mohammed, some individual Muslim, acting on conditioning rather than direct orders, will murder him (or try to). Guaranteed. No centralized command but countless autonomous radicals, all on the lookout for blasphemers to eradicate.

    Once you understand that principle, everything we’ve seen in the U.S. regarding blacks over the past few decades becomes instantly explicable. Black Americans have the highest levels of self-esteem of any racial or ethnic group in the country, yet arguably (on average) they have the fewest accomplishments to back up that narcissism. What a perfect group for leftist “imams” to target with the message that it’s your skin that’s sacred. Your holy skin makes you valuable, not your accomplishments. Those who speak disrespectfully of that skin are blasphemers; it’s your duty to eradicate them.

    Essentially, blacks are their own Mohammed. They are their own sacred icon, their own holy prophet. They may be Christian, Muslim, secular, whatever. But they must all fight to protect their hallowed skin from disrespect from infidels.

    This is the talking point that crafty race-hustlers are using to radicalize as many blacks as possible. ... Once you grasp the Mohammed analogy, it makes total sense that a Dr. Seuss book with an African caricature must be banned. And any white person who speaks improperly of blackness must be canceled. And any white professor or service industry worker who speaks anything but worshipful praise of black students or customers must be fired. They profaned the holy; the ummah must be appeased.

    This is why it’s pointless when a white person says to a black, “Hey, I get pulled over too! I get bad service in restaurants too! Whites like me get shot by cops more frequently than blacks!”

    Yeah, but you’re not sacred. Disrespect to you is not blasphemy.

    So what do you get in the end? A demographic group that considers outsiders—infidels—unworthy of speaking to or about the ummah. A group whose images must not be drawn, whose history is not to be discussed but in hushed tones of awe; a group whose music, appearance, clothing, and lingo must not be appropriated by the unclean. Forty million Mohammeds, vigilantly on the lookout for disrespect from the sea of heathens among them.

VIDEO: "Crimea is running out of water"--Caspian Report (12 min.)

To understand the situation in Crimea and why the Russians appear to readying an invasion, you have to understand that the immediate trigger was Ukraine's threats to invade the Crimea, but behind this is the more consequential strategic err on the part of the Ukraine to cut water to the Crimea and force a confrontation. 

Miscellany:

• "Tail Wags the Dog in Ukraine Tensions"--Strategic Culture. 

    In recent weeks the military forces under Kiev’s command have stepped up violations of a shaky ceasefire in the conflict with separatists in Eastern Ukraine (Donbas). The shelling of civilian centers has raised concern that the Kiev authorities are deliberately winding up tensions with Russia by placing the ethnic Russian population in Donbas in danger of an offensive. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his government have failed miserably to implement the 2015 Minsk peace accord which obligates Kiev to grant political autonomy to the Donbas region. The region objected to the NATO-backed coup d’état in 2014 which ousted an elected president and ushered in a new anti-Russia regime.

    Kiev’s failure to implement Minsk and to end the seven-year civil war has been emboldened by the indulgence of the United States, the European Union, and NATO, all of which lend credence to the preposterous and cynical narrative that Ukraine is facing “Russian aggression”.

• Karma: "China Mulls Deploying Troops to Afghanistan After U.S. Pullout"--Legal Insurrection. Afghanistan sits on trillions of dollars worth of mineral resources, and, so far, China has been enjoying the protection of the U.S. military as Chinese companies move in to exploit those resources. If the U.S. leaves, China may well have no other choice but to shift troops into Afghanistan. This may be a win-win situation for the United States. First, China will be much more brutal when fighting the Taliban, so there will be a certain amount of justice for all the blood and treasure the U.S. has expended. Second, China will no more be able to successfully defeat the Islamic hill tribes than the Soviets and probably because of the same reasons: the U.S. can start arming the Taliban! Thus, Afghanistan will also prove to be a money pit for the Chinese--perhaps even result in an Islamic insurgency in Western China. 
• Related: "The US Exit: Views From Afghanistan’s Civil Society"--The Diplomat. The author's conclusion:

Afghan citizens therefore are trapped in a quagmire of politics in which they remain defenseless. In such circumstances, the rearming of factional groups is one possible outcome as Afghans look to fill the gap to provide human security. The international community, particularly humanitarian organizations, must engage regional powers, regardless of the U.S. troop withdrawal, and step up to a moral obligation to ensure that stability, justice, and peace take root in the country through a long-term engagement with the civil society. This should include a more genuine intra-Afghan dialogue for processing trauma and reconciliation, and not only through engagement of the powerful actors on all sides.

Interestingly, the author never mentions China in the article. 

• Of course: "Report: Online Uyghur Slave Trade Booming in China"--Breitbart. The lede: "Unspecified sellers in China are increasingly using online venues to advertise Uyghurs for sale in 'batches of 50 to 100 workers,' Sky News revealed on Friday."
• "The Nordic Paradox in Australia: Women’s Advancement and Male Resentment: Male resentment and status anxiety are globally destabilizing forces." by Grant Wyeth, The Diplomat. From the article:

    One of the more disturbing pieces of research to appear in Australia in recent weeks has shown an increased likelihood of domestic violence when women earn more than their male partners. Researchers from the Australian National University indicate that this perceived violation of gender norms is proving emotionally confronting to some men, who sense a loss of power and feel the need to use violence to reassert it.

    Their research highlights what should be considered Australia’s most pressing social and political problem: male resentment.

    These trends are not unique to Australia, as a similar problem has been identified in the Nordic countries. The phenomenon is known as the “Nordic Paradox” because these countries consistently rank as some of the most gender equal in terms of education, economic opportunity, pay, and political representation, yet also maintain disproportionately high levels of violence against women.

    The working theory of the Nordic Paradox is that female advancement creates a male backlash.

I'm not convinced that men are more physically abusive than women based on the research I've read on the subject. But, assuming arguendo that it is true, I wonder if it could be related to fighting over finances. It seems that there is a general rule in a relationship that what a man earns is "ours" but what the woman makes is "hers".

• "Afterlife in Judaism"--Jewish Virtual Library. 

Orthodox Judaism has, throughout, maintained both a belief in the future resurrection of the dead as part of the messianic redemption, and a belief in some form of immortality of the soul after death. ... Reform Judaism has, however, given up any literal belief in the future resurrection of the dead. Reform theology concerns itself solely with the belief in a spiritual life after death and has modified the relevant liturgical passages accordingly.

Interestingly, the article explains, "When a man dies his soul leaves his body, but for the first 12 months it retains a temporary relationship to it, coming and going until the body has disintegrated. Thus, the prophet Samuel was able to be raised from the dead within the first year of his demise." This would likely explain why a large number of Hollywood films dealing with the newly departed have a period between when the person dies and when the person goes to heaven (or hell) and is instead just sort of hanging around (e.g., the 1989 film, Always, or the 1990 film, Ghost).

• "NASA’s choice of Starship proves government now fully embraces capitalism in space"--Behind the Black. Space X, a company that is subject to market forces, has beat out competitors still dependent on cost-plus contracting. The author of this piece explains why this is so important.
• A reminder that we live in the 21st Century: "NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Succeeds in Historic First Flight"--NASA. Just a short test but enough to show that it works. Not an insignificant feat since at ground level the Martian atmosphere has a pressure of 0.095 psi as compared to the Earth's sea level atmospheric pressure of 14.7 psi.