Practical Eschatology: The Docent's Memo (Feb. 14, 2022)

VIDEO: "Why does a civilian need a SPR? (GPR vs SPR)"--Brass Facts (18 min.)

Besides explaining what is an SPR and why or how a civilian would use such a rifle, I would also note the effectiveness of the coloring of the presenter's rifle and clothing in the Utah desert, even with snow cover.

Firearms/Self-Defense/Shooting:

Jon Low (Defensive Pistolcraft) published a new roundup of articles and commentary last week. Lots of good stuff, as always. But a couple things that in particular caught my attention. First, I appreciated his comments about our role as private citizens in armed forced encounters; our goals and tactics are different from that of the police or the military. Jon explains:

* Avoidance, Deterrence, Escape * As a civilian, these are your goals.
---
You are not military. So, you don't have to destroy the enemy with fire and maneuver. You don't have to close with the enemy to destroy the enemy with close combat.

You are not police. So, you don't have to engage in the first place. You don't have to pursue. You don't have to arrest. You don't have to restrain. Which means you don't have to protect the suspect. You are not responsible for medical aid for the suspect. (The Nashville Police Chief has instructed his officers, "No proactive policing." You can respond to calls, but don't initiate anything. For those of us who used to be cops, this is the most bat shit crazy policy.)

You are not a vigilante.
---
You are not military. So, you don't have to obey the Geneva Convention. You may use hollow point bullets. You don't have to obey the Hague Convention. You are not required to take and care for prisoners. In the Marine Corps, we were taught to "Never take prisoners." Because you don't have the personnel to guard them and take care of them.

You are not police. So, you don't have to give any warning. It is effectively impossible to talk and shoot at the same time. So, while you're saying, "Halt! Military Police." the bad guy will be shooting, stabbing, and kicking you.

You always have to look at the bright side.

It matches up with a topic that I've been mulling around in my head of the difference between a prepper in a SHTF situation from that of the military, the police, and even the general defensive shooter.

Jon also links to an article by Dave Spaulding in the Range Master news letter entitled "Reloading: Significant or unnecessary?" The gist of the article is that Spaulding thinks that there is a time and place to practice reloads, but it isn't in the middle of a drill teaching some other skill or even during live shooting; instead, practice it while dry firing. Spaulding also notes that should you run out of ammo in an actual fight, you will need to reload quickly. In this regard, he doesn't think that the method you use to release the slide is important. "You have no idea how much I do not give a shit how you release the slide!" he writes. "As long as you get it done as quickly as possible, that’s all I care about." Jon disagrees on that point, writing:

Well, actually, one should give a shit as to how the student releases the slide after a reload. Because there are two possibilities: the slide is forward or the slide is locked back. We should teach and use a technique that works in both cases. If the technique does not work in both cases, it is WRONG. Racking the slide is correct.
Well, if you bring your pistol and magazine up into your field of view, you can look the magazine into the magazine well while keeping threats in view.

Jon also mentions that he purchased a pistol with tritium night sights. He offers some thoughts about using night sights or illuminated sights:

The pistol had very bright tritium sights, color white. One dot in the front and two on the rear. While I had casually used such nights sights before, now that I owned a set, I thought I had better put in some deliberate practice.
The practical necessary application of such sights is in an environment that is dark. You have positively identified your target, but the target is not lit. So, you cannot silhouette your iron sights. For whatever reason (tactical or because the flashlight is broken or lost in action), you cannot use your flashlight.
If you can't use your flashlight, you can't afford a muzzle flash. Yes, there are many types of ammunition that drastically minimize muzzle flash. You can use a flash supressor. If you're using a sound suppressor, you probably won't have the muzzle flash problem. If you're concerned about noise, you need to use subsonic ammo. Because the super sonic crack is loud, especially at night in the quiet of the field, away from urban noises (or inside a quiet building).
Shooting at enemy combatants in the dark without lighting them up is generally not within the scope of civilian self defense. This is a pretty offensive, as opposed to defensive, technique.
If you're thinking about using a red dot sight in such situations, look at your red dot sight from the front in a dark room. You will notice that there are a lot of angles from which you can see the red dot. Which means the enemy can see the red dot. If you're wearing glasses / goggles, the enemy can see the reflection of the red dot off your eye protection. (Hey, the glow of a lit cigarette was enough for GySgt. Carlos Hathcock. And I'm sure for many others.)
If you've got enough light to positively identify your target (your tactical flashlight is on him), you've got enough light to silhouette your sights. Using the Harries technique, you'll never see your glowing tritium sights. If you're holding your flashlight at your cheek or crown of your head, the back of your pistol is lit up, and you definitely won't see your glowing sights.
If the target is not lit up, can you positively identify your target?

Anyway, a lot more there so be sure to check it out.

Weekend Knowledge Dump from Active Response Training. Links to articles and videos on: security strategies when using Lyft, Uber, or the like; night vision setups for rifles; a couple articles on weapon mounted lights; how to survive a dog attack; Wilderness Medical Society guidelines on treating anaphylaxis; advise on purchasing and using a portable generator; and a lot more.

In regard to the article on anaphylaxis, there are few key points that I took from the paper. First, although there isn't good data on the number of incidents of anaphylactic attacks, it does appear that the numbers are increasing, with the majority associated with food allergies. Second, "Epinephrine is the essential, primary treatment that should be given once anaphylaxis has been diagnosed (1A). If possible, separating the patient from the inciting allergen is prudent, but vomiting should not be induced to eliminate a food-based allergen (1C)." But, third, the epinephrine needs to be injected (e.g., an epi-pen) because "[a]lthough they are widely available, over-the-counter, metered-dose inhalers of epinephrine have not been found to be a practical or effective treatment for anaphylaxis." My wife has a prescription for an epi-pen. As the article indicates, "[f]or disaster or austere conditions, multiple reports suggest that acceptable epinephrine potency is retained as long as 24 mo beyond the expiration date." So, my plan is to include my wife's old epi-pen in my IFAK when she replaces the one that she carries with her.

"Is It Better to Go Factory or Build a One-Off AR-15?"--The New Rifleman. If I were to sum up this article in one sentence, it would be: "Your home built AR-15 will be a POS that will get you killed." I'm probably biased because I've built a few AR style rifles. But I don't agree with an almost blanket rejection of a home build. Anyone with some mechanical ability and is willing to put in the effort to research and learn about ARs and how they operate should be able to assemble a reliable AR. Also, the author's underlying assumption is that anyone assembling their AR rather than buying a factory gun (or at least a complete upper) is doing it solely to save money and will buy the cheapest parts available.

I think that the better way to address the question of whether to go factory or build a one-off AR-15 is to discuss the issue on its merits rather than assume that someone building their own AR is an idiot that is going to mess it up.

So, what are the reasons to buy an AR?

Resale value. It is axiomatic that a stranger to your AR will be willing to pay more for a factory gun than for one that has been pieced together. This isn't to say that the factory model is better than the home built rifle, but that we have more faith in the factory built rifle over the home built rifle assembled by someone we don't know. So, if you think that you will be reselling the rifle at some point or view it as an investment, go with a factory rifle from a quality brand. On top of which, certain brands (e.g., Colt) seem to have a certain cachet that brings higher prices.
Instant gratification. If you just want to have a rifle to shoot, now(!), then a factory rifle is the way to go.
You have to. My thought on this might be for the person that works for an agency that allows you to purchase your own rifle but requires certain models or brands. This may also apply to someone in a prepper group where the group has agreed upon a particular brand and model of rifle.
The factory rifle is (more or less) set up exactly how you want it. Most of the people I know that build their own rifles enjoy tinkering and the "hunt" of tracking down parts. If you don't fall into that category, don't want to have to make upgrades to your rifle, and can find what you want, you are probably better off just purchasing the rifle.

So why might you want to build your own AR?

You want to. As I noted above, some people enjoy the thrill of the "hunt" for the various parts, tinkering with the gun, learning how ARs work, and so on. Unless you are trying to do a build with an 80% receiver, a home build pretty much comes down to matching and assembling parts.
Saving the costs of upgrades. If you can find a stock rifle that works for you, great! But I know people that have bought a stock rifle from a reputable manufacturer and then proceeded to make significant upgrades: a different stock, a different pistol grip, a better trigger, a different or better handguard. By that point, you might have been better off building the rifle yourself rather than paying for the inferior parts from the factory and then paying again to get the upgraded parts.
Saving money over a high-end rifle. I have to agree with the New Rifleman that if you are simply trying to save money over a bare bones stock factory rifle, you probably won't be able to do so. As he observed, manufacturers--especially large manufacturers--can purchase parts in bulk at far lower prices than you could get paying retail. But he is only half right. Just because a manufacturer can purchase the parts for a lower cost doesn't mean that the savings is passed on to you. If a particular configuration is popular, manufacturers and retailers may very well charge a premium for the firearm. I noticed this several years ago when I built my .300 Blackout pistol. Typical prices for something similar to what I built were running $1500 or more. I was able to build something just as good or better using quality parts for about half of that.
Nobody makes what you want. I ran into that with my AR308 build. Because I wanted something of a specific configuration and weight to be a modern scout rifle, what I wanted was not on the market. And lightweight rifles, overall, are very expensive--far more than what I was willing pay.
Spreading the costs out over time. And this brings me to a final point, which is the sticker shock on some rifles. By building your own rifle, even if you are basically copying an available rifle, you can buy the parts here and there as the become available or go on sale, and spread the costs over a period of many months.

Guns Magazine has a three part article by John Taffin on the subject of big bore belly guns. (Part I) (Part II) (Part III). By "belly guns," Taffin means a short barreled revolver with a barrel length of less than 4-inches, and most of the models he discusses have barrels of 2.5 or 3 inches. By big bore, Taffin states in his article that he means anything more powerful than .38 Special (in order to include revolvers in .357 Magnum), but most of the revolvers he discusses are in .44 Special or .44 Long Colt, or larger/more powerful. The first part is mostly history of how revolvers with cut down barrels came into being and, finally, became factory offerings. I found this interesting:

The Mormon gunfighter and peace officer, Porter Rockwell, may have been one of the early proponents of Big Bore Belly Guns as he often cut back the barrels of Dragoons and 1860 Army .44s to make them easier to conceal and faster to reach if needed.

Part II brings us into the modern era, starting with the Fitz Special and moving into production models and the dearth of .44 Special as the century progressed, with only the Charter Arms Bulldogs still being offered in that caliber.

Part III catches us up to to the current period, noting some modern .44 Special revolvers, and then discussing the big, short barreled magnums favored by some going into the woods. Taffin concludes:

   All this brings us down to the task of actually choosing a Big Bore Belly Gun from all the many options. I could certainly get by with any of the single- or double-action sixguns discussed. However, what would be my best choices?

   We actually have two categories to consider. One is a sixgun that would be used primarily for self-defense while traveling in civilization, while the other would be for utilization far from the beaten path where it might be needed against tough, nasty four-legged critters that bite, scratch, gore or stomp. For the first category from the used gun list, I would go with a .357 Magnum 2-1/2″ S&W Model 19/66. It is easy to conceal, very portable, sufficiently powerful with a large list of ammunition options. Looking at the new gun market, my choice would be the relatively new 3″ version of the Ruger .357 Magnum GP100. The Ruger GP has been offered for several decades in 4″ and 6″ versions and has proven itself to be utterly reliable and virtually indestructible.

   For traveling foothills, forests and mountains, I would go with something larger depending upon just where my feet would take me. There are larger cartridges offered than the .454. However, in my golden years this is the upper end of my ability to handle a sixgun well. This leaves me with the choice of the Ruger Alaskan 2-3/4″ chambered in .454 and fitted with rubber finger grooved grips that I find absolutely necessary for handling the power of the cartridge in this relatively-small sixgun. This same gun has also been offered in the easier-handling .44 Magnum.

   Life is full of trade-offs. For me, the longer barrels are much easier to shoot. However, the shorter barrels are much easier to pack and definitely quicker into action. As in so many cases, we pay our money and we take our choice — and choice is highly subjective.

A must read in light of the ATF's assembly of a database of gun sales: "Democrats Pushing Gun Registry as Precursor to Gun Ban" by John R. Lott Jr, Real Clear Politics. Lott warnes:

   Federal law explicitly prohibits the creation of a federal firearm registry, but the Biden administration is making one anyway. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) has collected nearly one billion firearm purchase records. The government has now created a searchable digital database containing 866 million of these transactions, including some 54 million made in 2021 alone.

   This massive data collection effort encompasses information on all guns sold by licensed gun dealers, and on all legal gun transfers in states with so-called universal background checks. So, federal officials will have the name of everyone who legally obtained a gun. Now, President Biden wants to make universal background checks nationwide so he can have an even more complete registration list.

   According to a Rasmussen Reports survey, Democrats support the idea by a 2-1 ratio, while Republicans oppose it by a similar margin. Two-thirds of Republicans believe the policy will lead to gun confiscation, and even 40% of Democrats believe the same. Confiscating legally owned firearms, it seems, is not merely a right-wing conspiracy theory.

   Similarly, a recent Gallup poll shows that 40% of Democrats want a complete ban on civilian ownership of handguns. Countries such as Canada, the U.K., and Australia aren't the only ones to use registration to ban and confiscate guns. California, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. have also used registration to know who legally owned different types of guns before banning them.

And don't drink the Kool-Aid that such a database will be used to solve a crime. Lott goes on to note that Hawaii, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Washington D.C., and Canada's Royal Mounted Police have all, in one way or another, admitted that gun registration is useless--as in didn't solve a single murder or shooting.

VIDEO: "5 Mistakes Beginner Backpackers Make"--Backpacking Adventures (7 min.)

Prepping/Survival:

"DIY Rain Barrel Instructions With Pictures (Cheap and Easy)"--Primal Survival. I like the idea of having two spigots for each barrel: a drain spigot near the bottom and a spigot somewhat higher that will deliver the clear water.
"Are There Any New Survival Products That Are Actually Worth It"--The Weapons Blog. A review of survival kits/packs from Everlit, Kosin, and the PrepStore Elite Emergency Pack. From the article:

Unless you’ve been prepping for some time, one thing to note is that emergencies rarely give you the time to gather all you’ll need to survive if the condition lasts for months at a time. That’s why the emergency backpack kit from Everlit is a popular and best overall survival kit at just under eighty dollars.
This kit features twenty-three different accessory items recommended and tested by veterans packed into a 900D 42L tactical backpack that supports at least three days of roughing it before it’s time to restock while having room to store some extra clothes. The 2L hydration bladder holds two liters of potable water, and the backpack itself handles MOLLE equipment add-ons if necessary.

Better prepare for high prices and/or shortages of chicken products: "Chicken producers warn about fast-spreading bird flu spreading across US"--New York Post. The article relates:

   US poultry producers are tightening safety measures for their flocks as disease experts warn that wild birds are likely spreading a highly lethal form of avian flu across the country.

   Indiana on Wednesday reported highly pathogenic bird flu on a commercial turkey farm, leading China, South Korea and Mexico to ban poultry imports from the state. The outbreak put the US industry on edge at a time that labor shortages are fueling food inflation.

   The disease is already widespread in Europe and affecting Africa, Asia and Canada, but the outbreak in Indiana, which is on a migratory bird pathway, particularly rattled U.S. producers. A devastating US bird-flu outbreak in 2015 killed nearly 50 million birds, mostly turkeys and egg-laying chickens in the Midwest.

VIDEO: "Tucker: Lawmakers are panicking over this"--Fox News (12 min.)

News & Headlines:

Don't make the blacks angry: "Shocking moment man is brutally beaten and stomped by a gang in Harlem then left unconscious in the middle of the road - where he is run over by passing car, as crime spikes in NYC"--Daily Mail. More at the New York Post. According to the video, the unidentified victim got into an argument with a man and woman. Two men apparently attacked and chased the victim into the street. The video shows three black men standing over the victim, who is lying in a crosswalk, stomping directly down on his head and neck, and kicking him in the side. This type of attack--particularly the stomping on the head/neck--is use of lethal force. After the three attackers leave the body, the man was then struck by a car causing even greater head injuries. According to the Post, "Police have said that the gang ran the mans [sic] head over with a car after his [sic] was beaten unconscious." It is difficult to ascertain the race of the victim, but on the video, you can see a gap between his coat/shirt and pants showing light colored skin which suggests he was white or Hispanic.
Laws on the use of force have become so restrictive that security guards are essentially useless: "Video captures the moment SHOPPERS and clerks try to stop brazen thieves looting swanky Louis Vuitton store in New York while mall security look on and do nothing"--Daily Mail. In a more civilized time, a person could use lethal force to stop the commission of a felony or stop a criminal fleeing when he or she had committed a felony.
"Why was Bob Saget's death ruled an accident? Head injury was so severe it was like he'd been hit with a BASEBALL BAT, says doctor as autopsy report reveals 'major trauma' which 'could NOT be caused by a slip and fall'"--Daily Mail. Interesting. When Saget's death was first reported, we were told he had died in his sleep and there were no visible signs of trauma.
Karma: "US-born Chinese figure skater Zhu Yi falls AGAIN and breaks down in tears at Olympics... a day after being branded a 'disgrace' by her countrymen for finishing last after giving up American citizenship to compete for Beijing"--Daily Mail. Zhu, born Beverly Zu, decided to compete for China in Olympics and changed her name and US citizenship. She "finished with the lowest score of the event at Beijing's Capital Indoor Stadium yesterday after she failed to land a jump and fell on the opening combination, and botched another jump later in her short program."
"Despite their popularity, a new study has revealed that face masks could be making it more difficult for children to recognise faces – and in turn could affect their ability to make friends."--Daily Mail.
O Canada:

I think this observation from The Last Refuge should be kept in mind for any future spicy times in the United States:

Let this serve as yet another example of how police units will respond to carry out the orders of government officials regardless of what laws, limits or duties ordinary citizens may project upon them.

When told to load YOU into the cattle cars, or fire upon any resistance effort, every single police officer will follow orders; and they will execute those orders with extreme prejudice, without distinction for constitutional limitations. In the era of COVID compliance, all police officers are jackboot security agents of the authoritarian state. Conduct your affairs accordingly.

But, moving on, anyone with two brain cells to rub together will have noticed the difference between how the leftist politicians (who claims to represent the working class) reacted to the truckers protest versus how they reacted to BLM and Antifa. Basically, instead of giving them room to protest, the truckers have been the victim of government interference, harassment and, now, arrest. Why? Glenn Reynolds explains in a New York Post op-ed:

   So we’re finally seeing a genuine, bottom-up, working-class revolution. In Canada, and increasingly in the United States, truckers and others are refusing to follow government orders, telling the powerful that, in a popular lefty formulation, if there’s no justice, there’s no peace.
   Naturally, the left hates it.
   For more than a century, lefties have talked about such a revolt. But if you really paid attention, the actual role of the working class in their working-class revolution was not to call the shots — it was to do what it was told by the “intellectual vanguard” of the left.
   A working-class revolution led by the working class is the left’s worst nightmare because the working class doesn’t want what the left wants. The working class wants jobs, a stable economy, safe streets, low inflation, schools that teach things and a conservative, non-adventurous foreign policy that won’t get a lot of working-class people killed. It’s not excited about gender fluidity, critical race theory, “modern monetary theory,” foreign adventures and defunding police.

And the truckers want back their freedom. This is antithetical to the political left because the left is, at heart, autocratic. Even some of those on the left recognize this. For instance, in Spiked we read:

Once working-class protests were often organised by leftists or even Communists, but many of today’s working-class radical movements take on a different, more populist and distinctly anti-statist character. One can question the positions adopted by protesters, particularly on vaccines, but also recognise that the new wave of working-class unrest, whether in Canada or among the gilets jaunes in France, reflects a deep-seated frustration with diktats issued from above by an increasingly authoritarian state.

"Generally," the author continues, "these movements are not embraced but are largely met with disdain and even horror by gentry progressives and their media allies." And they are met with disdain and horror because "[t]hese protests in the US, Australia and Europe are not led by Marxist intellectuals in quest of a new world order, but by those seeking to restore an increasingly threatened world, where individual workers still possess some power and small independent artisans or merchants can support a middle-class lifestyle."

Thus, in New Zealand, whose prime minister is the living embodiment of "power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely," it is reported that the government began using increasingly aggressive tactics in an attempt to disperse its own truckers protest.

They turned on the lawn sprinklers to soak all of the protesters and their belongings. When that measure seemingly failed to impress the protesters, they broke out an old tactic intended to drive them away. They set up huge speakers and began blasting the camp with pro-vaccine advertisements and loud, blaring music, including some old hits by Barry Manilow and the “Macarena.”

Lest you laugh and think that this is harmless, the article explains:

If the tactic of blaring music at people in an effort to disrupt their sleep cycles and force them into compliance sounds familiar, you’ve probably spent some time studying your history. It’s the same tactic that the United States Army used against drug cartel kingpin Manuel Noriega in 1989 when he was holed up in the Vatican embassy in Panama City. They blasted the building with heavy metal music for days until he finally surrendered.

I would add that it was also used against the men, women and children at the Waco compound before the ATF finally burned them to death.

More: "General Strike!"--Gates of Vienna. A comparison between the trucker protests and the General Strike of 1926 in Britain.

After doing such a bang-up job investigating bat viruses and gain-of-function in Wuhan China, EcoHealth Alliance has now received a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) contract worth $4,675,023 to perform the same type of work in Liberia. Now I have to wonder how long it will be until some super strain of Ebola might spread across the globe. Also another example of how the well-connected do not seem to face consequences for screwing up or covering up.
Evil: "Vermont Plans To Enshrine Legal Abortions Right Up To Birth"--The Federalist.

VIDEO: "Multiculturalism is a 'Sickness'"--Paul Joseph Watson (11 min.)

A recently declassified U.S. intelligence report reveals that China's military and intelligence leaders view the United State's multiculturalism as a strategic weakness.

Commentary & Analysis:

"Sic Semper Tyrannis" by Michael Walsh, The Pipeline. Walsh dives into an analysis of the uselessness of lockdowns and how it illustrates the failures of the ruling elites:

And so we near the end of the Great Pandemic Hoax of 2019-22, an unprecedented and breathtaking power grab by governments around the world to seize powers far beyond their constitutional allotments and to transform a relatively minor flu virus — however originated and for what ill purposes — into a weapon of mass economic and emotional destruction whose effects will be felt for years and decades to come. It has been a textbook example of tyranny.

   Consider it a warning shot, though, because while Covid may finally have been exposed for the non-apocalyptic event it always was, such tyranny is only the beginning until we put a stop to it. Put a stop to extra-legal "emergency" measures that are transparently and insultingly fraudulent, and which are invoked in the name of the "greater good." Put a stop to the notion of judicially sanctioned "protected classes" in a formerly classless society. Put to stop the notion of a "New Normal" of privation, deviancy, and spiritual and material penury imposed by Leftists as they continue their centuries-old task of undermining every tenet of Western Civilization in the name of "equity" — in a world in which equality is aspirational at best and equity is impossible.

   And, once and for all, put paid to the notion that "when you've got your health you've got everything," the motto of a nation of neurotic hypochondriacs that is fundamentally at odds with every principle of the moral and socially productive life. For under this seemingly anodyne contention lies a wealth of mischief, chief among them the idea that your fellow citizens pose an existential threat to you by their refusal to conform, and thus can and should be restricted, incarcerated, or even killed as the need arises. And all in the name of Socialism, whether National or international.

As we've seen via a recent study by the Johns Hopkin University (a study of studies, really), the lockdowns imposed by states, countries, and municipalities everywhere in the name of "mitigating" the spread of an illness with a 99 percent survival rate in the name of public health were completely ineffective.

   Far better to have done nothing at all; instead, families were separated, the elderly (those most at risk from the respirational difficulties caused by the likely Chinese-manufactured bioweapon) died alone and often in squalor; weddings and funerals were canceled or held "virtually"; businesses were shuttered and driven into bankruptcy; more than two years of schooling were ripped away from forcibly masked children; and colleges and universities continued their descent into mere parental-money shakedown rackets by offering education-by-Zoom as they continued with their main mission of gobbling up real estate to take it off the tax rolls and fatten their endowments.

   And the only people held responsible for this sanctioned crime wave were... you.

Read the whole thing.

Thank goodness that we have Israel to remind us that nations do not have friends, they only have interests. Global Research has run an article with the title "Israel Will not Support Washington against Russia and China: Israel Confirms its 'Neutrality in the New Cold War'." This is what we get by lavishing billions of dollars on Israel's defense every year. The money quote from the article is this: "Israel pragmatically balances between the US and Russia, and if anything, it’s tilted a lot closer towards the latter in recent years since Moscow has done more to ensure Tel Aviv’s regional security concerns than Washington has through the Kremlin’s 'passive facilitation' of its literally hundreds of anti-Iranian bombing operations in Syria and other related measures."

It shouldn't surprise anyone familiar with the history of Israel's relations with the U.S. On June 8, 1967, Israeli forces attached the U.S.S. Liberty severely damaging the ship, killing 34, and wounding 171. Israel suffered no consequences as a result. Israel constantly spies and steals technology from the U.S., with the Jonathan Pollard affair being the most public example of this. Pollard sold military secrets to Israel while working as a civilian intelligence analyst for the U.S. Navy in the 1980s. This is still probably the largest intelligence breach in U.S. history. Pollard was arrested en route to the Israeli embassy and jailed for 30 years. Upon his release, he was unapologetic for betraying his country in favor of his tribe, and was given a heroes welcome when he arrived in Israel.

Related:

"Israeli Spies in the US"--Middle East Research and Information Project (1986).

The Pollard affair took Washington and Tel Aviv by surprise. Wolf Blitzer, Washington correspondent for the Jerusalem Post, in a book published just several weeks before Pollard’s arrest, wrote that there is no real fear in the US government that American Jews are leaking information to the Mossad, the Israeli equivalent of the CIA. “Experienced US intelligence officials readily acknowledge that the degree of cooperation between the CIA and the Mossad is already so close that the two organizations do not really have to spy on each other. Despite infractions on both sides,” Blitzer explained, “US and Israeli intelligence organizations have maintained a discreet arrangement since the 1950s, banning covert operations against each other.”

"Israel's Economic Espionage in the United States" by Duncan L. Clarke, Journal of Palestine Studies, Vol. 27, No. 4 (Summer, 1998), pp. 20-35. Relating that Israel has regularly carried out an aggressive campaign economic espionage against the United States since 1948 (i.e., since its inception).
"How Israel Spies on US Citizens"--The Nation (2018).

   An investigative documentary by Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera scheduled for broadcast earlier this year was expected to cause a sensation. Its four 50-minute episodes centered on the young and personable James Anthony Kleinfeld, British, Jewish, an Oxford graduate who speaks six languages, including Dutch and Yiddish, and is well-informed about Middle East conflicts—seemingly a natural fit for a Western foreign ministry or a major think tank.

   The documentary showed Kleinfeld being enthusiastically recruited for his skills by The Israel Project (TIP), which defends Israel’s image in the media, and associating with senior members of organizations that support Israel unconditionally, especially the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac), the powerful US lobbying group. For five months, he mixed with them at cocktail parties, congresses, and conventions, and on training courses. He won their trust and they opened up to him, abandoning doublespeak and official lines. How, he asked, did they go about influencing the US Congress? “Congressmen don’t do anything unless you pressure them, and the only way to do that is with money.” How did they counter Palestinian-rights activists on university campuses? “With the anti-Israel people, what’s most effective, what we found at least in the last year, is you do the opposition research, put up some anonymous website, and then put up targeted Facebook ads.”

   Kleinfeld’s contacts told him they were spying on US citizens with the help of Israel’s Ministry of Strategic Affairs, founded in 2006, which reports directly to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. One official said: “We are a different government working on foreign soil, [so] we have to be very, very cautious.” And indeed some of the things they do could be subject to prosecution under US law.

Unfortunately, the documentary was never broadcast as part of a broad push by Arab states to strengthen U.S. support.

"Israel Won't Stop Spying on the U.S."--Newsweek (2014). From the article:

   ... Now U.S. intelligence officials are saying—albeit very quietly, behind closed doors on Capitol Hill—that our Israeli "friends" have gone too far with their spying operations here.

   According to classified briefings on legislation that would lower visa restrictions on Israeli citizens, Jerusalem's efforts to steal U.S. secrets under the cover of trade missions and joint defense technology contracts have "crossed red lines."

   Israel's espionage activities in America are unrivaled and unseemly, counterspies have told members of the House Judiciary and Foreign Affairs committees, going far beyond activities by other close allies, such as Germany, France, the U.K. and Japan. A congressional staffer familiar with a briefing last January called the testimony "very sobering…alarming…even terrifying." Another staffer called it "damaging."

   The Jewish state's primary target: America's industrial and technical secrets.

   "No other country close to the United States continues to cross the line on espionage like the Israelis do," said a former congressional staffer who attended another classified briefing in late 2013, one of several in recent months given by officials from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the State Department, the FBI and the National Counterintelligence Directorate.

   The intelligence agencies didn't go into specifics, the former aide said, but cited "industrial espionage—folks coming over here on trade missions or with Israeli companies working in collaboration with American companies, [or] intelligence operatives being run directly by the government, which I assume meant out of the [Israeli] Embassy."

"Israel accused of planting mysterious spy devices near the White House"--Politico (2019). Israel had planted "stingray" devices around the White House to intercept cell phone communications.

There seems to be a misconception among many Christians, particularly Evangelical Christians, that the Jews are still the chosen people of God and, for that reason, should be given a pass when they engage in conduct injurious to the United States. That is not accurate. Christ stated that "the first shall be last and the last shall be first," clear reference that the gospel was taken first to the Jews and then to the Gentiles, but in the last days, the gospel would be provided first to the Gentiles and then, as described in more detail on Revelation, the Jews last. The Jews are not completely forsaken, but they are the prodigal son who wasted his inheritance, while the followers of Christ are the dutiful son. In fact, when Ezekiel describes God's defense of Israel when Gog attacks them, Ezekiel makes clear that the provision of a defense has nothing to do with Israel's worthiness, but is simply to preserve God's reputation and honor.

VIDEO: "Solar Storm Strikes Down SpaceX Starlink Satellites"--Suspicious Observers (4 min.)

And Now For Something Completely Different:

"Geologists ‘closely monitoring’ rising magma under Oregon volcanic region"--KRQE. An excerpt:

... In a USGS Hazard Notification statement Monday, Cascades Volcano Observatory announced their scientists have tracked an increased rate of ground uplift in the Three Sisters volcanic region found in the southwest corner of Oregon.
   Using satellite radar images and GPS units, USGS scientists have tracked an increased rate of uplift for a 12-mile diameter region, 3 miles west of the South Sister volcano. According to USGS, the data suggests the ground rose 0.9 inches (2.2 cm) from June 2020 to August 2021.
* * *
   “From 1995 to 2020, the area rose approximately 12 inches (30 centimeters) at its center,” USGS stated in a recent release. “Although the current uplift rate is slower than the maximum rate of about 2 inches per year measured in 1999-2000, it is distinctly faster than the rate observed for several years before 2020.”
   Despite the excitement, USGS and Burns have said that the public is not in any immediate danger. The volcano status is currently listed as “green,” and there is no sign of an imminent eruption.

"Calorie restriction rewires metabolism, immunity for longer health span"--Medical Xpress. They observed this a long time ago after the Biosphere 2 experiment where a group volunteered to be sequestered in the lab for months. Because of problems with the agriculture, the group had to go on a restricted diet for most the experiment, but came out with much healthier digestive systems than when going into the experiment.
"Opinion: When It Comes To The USAF And UAP, The Tide May Finally Be Turning" by Robert Powell, The Debrief. Powell begins by noting that the Air Force has not been as serious as the Navy concerning unidentified aerial phenomena. But, he continues:

Perhaps the tide may be turning though, since the Air Force is beginning to display serious concern on this issue, as relayed to their men and women in the service.

   One day after Chris’s article appeared, an Air Force officer contacted me regarding UAPs. The timing was purely coincidental; it was in response to my inquiry regarding a UAP event that supposedly occurred in late 2021 and involved the USS Kearsarge. During our conversation, the officer described a briefing he had attended in May 2021 preceding a planned exercise.
   During the briefing, he and the other personnel observed a slide presentation that explained what to do if they encountered a UAP. They were clearly instructed to complete the Air Force reporting form, which has drawn-shapes of several different types of UAP they could encounter (plasma-like balls, tic-tacs, disks, etc.). It also featured specific questions, such as whether the UAP interfered with their radar operation. This was all new, the officer pointed out, something that would not have occurred 18 months ago. He found the stigma associated with this subject in the Air Force had significantly changed.
   The discussion then turned to the increased amount of UAP activity reported over the last few years. Two years ago, when first hearing Ryan Graves state they were seeing these objects on a daily basis, he thought Ryan was probably exaggerating. After what he’s seen and heard since then, the officer no longer holds that opinion, and now believes UAP activity encountered in U.S. airspace is actually quite high.