Paul Joseph Watson goes over leaked documents from Israel's government showing that Israel's plan is to force the Palestinians--all of them--from the Gaza strip and into the Sinai Peninsula until they can be relocated to Europe (particularly Spain and Greece) and Canada (and, presumably, the United States). Israel plans on doing this jointly with a massive PR campaign to convince the West that it must accept the soon-to-be refugees to prevent their deaths. As Watson points out, Israel has done this previously with unwanted West African refugees that were shipped from Israel to Europe rather than deported back to their countries of origin in Africa, so it is no surprise that they would want to do it with the inhabitants of Gaza. And if they can get away with it as to Gaza, you can be sure that the West Bank will soon follow.
Tuesday, October 31, 2023
VIDEO: Israel Plans On Forcing Palestinians Out Of Gaza, Into Europe & North America
Protestors Call Blinken A Murderer--Disrupt Congressional Hearing
Antony Blinken's testimony before Congress urging the body to spend gargantuan amounts of money to defend the borders of Ukraine and Israel while giving a big middle finger to American tax payers was interrupted by protestors calling him a murderer with blood on his hands before being hauled off by police. Why didn't the Capital Police shoot and kill one of the unarmed protestors as happened at the J-6 protest? Will they get prison sentences comparable to those given the J-6 protestors?
SMV Is Real: Two Flight Attendants Sue Because They Weren't Attractive Enough
The headline reads: "Two United flight attendants sue the airline after they were axed from working on chartered Dodgers flight because of their race and age." Per the article, "Dawn Todd, 50, and Darby Quezada, 44, claim they were passed over in favor of flight attendants who were 'young and thin' as well as predominately blond and blue-eyed' - and fit the 'certain look' the Los Angeles Dodgers players liked." Todd is black and Quezada is "of Mexican, Black and Jewish descent."
10 Mass Shootings Since Maine The Media Isn't Talking About
The article is "The 10 Mass Shootings Since Lewiston You Didn't Hear About" by Kevin Downey, Jr., at PJ Media. There are several reasons the media is ignoring them:
- The body counts were too low--lots of people shot but only a few killed at any one shooting (although there was a shooting in Clinton, North Carolina that left five people dead, but didn't warrant media attention because it involved the next two factors).
- The shootings involved the usual suspects instead of a white guy.
- The shootings didn't advance the anti-gun narrative since it was mostly gangbangers using handguns.
Even Anti-Gun Organizations Are Having Trouble Finding Good Help
USA Today reports that an "Armed man found dead at Colorado amusement park with multiple guns and explosives identified." From the lede:
Law enforcement in Colorado is investigating after they said a "heavily armed" man was found dead inside an amusement park over the weekend "wearing body armor" with "multiple improvised explosive devices" on him.
The Garfield County Sheriff's Office reported that Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park employees notified officials the body of the 20-year-old man was found Saturday morning, prior to the park opening.
Authorities on Monday evening identified the man as Diego Barajas Medina.
The park is located in Glenwood Springs, a resort city in the Rocky Mountains surrounded by the White River National Forest.
The article mentions that the Diego was wearing clothing with law enforcement patches, and was armed with a semi-automatic rifle, a semi-automatic handgun and multiple loaded magazines for both weapons. "Garfield County Sheriff Lou Vallario said during a Monday afternoon press conference that both weapons are believed by to be 'ghost guns.'" Because it's Halloween?
Diego was also wearing IEDs, although law enforcement indicated that at least some where fake (a Daily Mail article indicates that the IEDs were real, but he had what appeared to be grenades that were fake), but all were safely disarmed. He died from a single gunshot wound to the head. (Get the voices out!)
Although not mentioned in the foregoing USA Today article, NBC affiliate 9News reports that Diego's body was found in a bathroom stall with the words "I am not a killer. I just wanted to get into the caves" scrawled on one of the walls.
It could just be crazy talk (or scrawls, in this case) or someone had enticed him with promises of a trip to some caves. But it sounds like hypnotic programming gone awry. If you've ever had someone try to hypnotize you, it is common to have the subject imagine some sort of journey as they progress from a relaxed state to the deeper hypnotic state where they are open to suggestion. My high school psych teacher, when he hypnotized most of my psychology class, had us imagine taking a train trip to a train station in the countryside; another time someone tried to hypnotize me, I was supposed to imagine walking along a path toward a wall with a door; and a third attempt involved walking down a flight of stairs to a door. It's possible that his hypnotic programming involved a mental journey into caves.
In any event, that is just speculation on my part. It will be interesting to see what the investigation turns up, assuming that they ever release the information. We are still waiting to see the manifesto written by the tranny that shot up the Christian school in Nashville.
Monday, October 30, 2023
Diversity Is A Strength: Venezuela gang member activity present in Dallas, Chicago, Miami
From the Daily Mail: "Venezuela's worst gangsters have crossed into the US illegally and are unleashing chaos in Dallas, Chicago and Miami - with fearful residents saying they've had tires slashed, windows shot out in retribution for reporting them to cops." From the lede:
Henchmen for Venezuela's dictator and many of the South American country's worst criminals have crossed over the US border and are now causing chaos in major American cities, including Dallas, Miami and Chicago, multiple sources tell the DailyMail.com.
In Dallas, the Venezuelan neighborhood known as 'Villa Dallas' has descended into mayhem. For months, once peaceful apartment complexes have been the scene of illegal street races, beatings, shootings and extortion attempts.
Residents, overwhelmingly migrants who recently made the harrowing trek through several countries to reach America and are seeking asylum, pointed to videos of fights between armed men, broken windows and reckless drivers speeding through parking lots.
One disturbing clip shows a man with a shirt over his head wailed on by several men. The man appears to be unconscious until he moves his arm and is then kicked in the head.
Meanwhile, a car's tires can be heard screeching in the background as shots are fired into the air.
The article notes that "[a]t least 334,914 Venezuelan citizens have crossed into the US in fiscal year 2023, according to US Customs and Border Protection statistics."
A Couple Escape And Evasion Videos From Garand Thumb
Most of you have probably already seen Garand Thumb's video on "How to Evade A Professional Military (Tracking, Countertracking)" but he more recently released a follow-up video, "How To Escape The City (Urban Evasion While Being Hunted)."
Hornady Unveils New 22 ARC Cartridge
Article at Guns America. The article relates that "[u]nlike the previous 6mm ARC that catered to the needs of the Special Forces, the new cartridge is designed for sporting purposes." It sounds like it is intended for varmint hunting (using a 62 grain varmint ELD bullet @ 3300 fps) or long range target shooting (using an 88 grain ELD bullet @ 2,820 fps), but Hornady intends on also offering a black AR round (using a 75 grain ELD match bullet @ 3075 fps). The speeds listed are the muzzle velocity using a 26-inch barrel.
The primary advantage that this seems to offer over the 5.56/.223 is being able to shoot longer bullets while staying with the standard AR15 lower and magazines. According to Peterson's Hunting Magazine, "The .22 ARC cartridge was meticulously designed with the same chamber geometry as the proven 6mm ARC, 6.5 Creedmoor, and PRC family of cartridges," meaning that it is a fat and stubby looking cartridge, and the article discusses this new cartridge as one to compete against the .22-250, albeit out of an AR15 platform (the .22-250 would require an AR-10 platform). This latter article also indicates that the 62 grain bullet to be used in the cartridge is not the standard ELD cartridge, but a version that Hornady is calling the ELD-VT and supposedly equally good for both target shooting and hunting.
Hornady engineers moved the center of gravity rearward in the ELD-VT bullet via a unique lead layout, creating a large air cavity in front of the lead. Doing so aids in bullet stability and instigates dramatic and instantaneous fragmentation upon impact, precisely what the die-hard predator hunter needs to optimize terminal performance and minimize fur damage.
Sounds similar to what the Soviets did with the 5.45. The other weights apparently use the ELD Target bullets.
The problem, and this is alluded to in the comments to the Guns America article, is that Hornady has a history of backing a cartridge that is new or not previously manufactured in the United States, promising both loaded ammunition and reloading components for the cartridge, and then not following through.
Related article: "Best Coyote Cartridge: .223 Remington vs .22-250 Remington"--Peterson's Hunting.
Erwin Chemerinsky: "Nothing has prepared me for the antisemitism I see on college campuses now"
Chemerinsky is the the dean of the UC Berkeley School of Law. Although he suffered some name calling when he was kid (like everyone else, ever) that he ascribes to antisemitism, he asserts in an op-ed that "none of this prepared me for the last few weeks."
I was stunned when students across the country, including mine, immediately celebrated the Hamas terrorist attack in Israel on Oct. 7. Students for Justice in Palestine called the terror attack a “historic win” for the “Palestinian resistance.” A Columbia professor called the Hamas massacre “awesome” and a “stunning victory.” A Yale professor tweeted, “It’s been such an extraordinary day!” while calling Israel a “murderous, genocidal settler state.” A Chicago art professor posted a note reading, “Israelis are pigs. Savages. Very very bad people. Irredeemable excrement…. May they all rot in hell.” A UC Davis professor tweeted, “Zionist journalists … have houses w addresses, kids in school,” adding “they can fear their bosses, but they should fear us more." There are, sadly, countless other examples.
And he asks: "How can anyone celebrate the killing of 260 people attending a music festival, or the brutal massacre of more than 100 people in a kibbutz, or the pulling of people from their houses to take as hostages?"
Well, to be blunt, it is because Chemerinsky and people like him taught them to do so. The bio at the bottom of his op-ed notes that his latest book is “Worse Than Nothing: The Dangerous Fallacy of Originalism.” The Los Angeles Review of Books says this about this book:
In his timely and devastating refutation of originalism, Worse Than Nothing: The Dangerous Fallacy of Originalism, Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law and Jesse H. Choper Distinguished Professor of Law, calls originalism “a dangerous approach to constitutional law that would jeopardize many basic rights and advances in equality” which is likely to “dominate the Court’s interpretation of the Constitution for a long time.” He sets out to “unmask” the “nonsense” of originalism, which is “just the rhetoric conservative justices use to make it seem that they are not imposing their own values, when they are doing exactly that.”
Originalism is the the legal philosophy that the Constitution (like every other law written) should be interpreted according to its original intent and meaning and not whatever progressives think it should mean at any given moment. Chemerinsky has taught his students that the law is not immutable but can be twisted and misinterpreted according to the needs of the moment. So why shouldn't international law and norms “adapt[ ] to changing circumstances and evolve[ ] over time”?
On April 22, 2022, Chemerinsky hosted a podcast to, in his own words, to discuss "what law schools, students, and professors can do to make our legal system better and more equitable for everyone. Today, we’re here to talk about how law schools respond to the attack on critical race theory, and ultimately how law schools could do better to be anti-racist and to work for greater racial equality." All his students are doing is applying critical race theory to the relationship between Israel and the Palestinians, quite reasonably deciding under such theory that Israel is an oppressor, and are simply doing their jobs as anti-racists to work for greater racial equality for the Palestinians.
In a video posted to YouTube this past June, Chemerinsky was filmed in a law school class discussing how his law school engages in illegal, stealth discrimination against white applicants for teaching positions. So, he has taught his students that the end justifies the means.
And now he is surprised that his students took his teachings to heart? He reminds me of the befuddled professor in Alfred Hitchcock's film, Rope, who is shocked to discover that his students took his philosophical teachings seriously, using them to justify murdering a classmate. Chemerinsky's shock, I suspect, isn't that he created monsters (golem), but that the golem have turned on their creators.
Related article: "'Watch out Jews, jihad is coming': FBI investigate Cornell University messaging board after vile anti-Semitic threats are made against students"--Daily Mail.
Remember the good old days when it was Islamophobic to interpret jihad as meaning "war" or "violence"? I do. From a 2001 article from Radio Free Europe by Alexandra Poolos entitled "The True Meaning Of The Islamic Term 'Jihad'":
The use of the term "jihad," however, is one of the most misunderstood aspects of Islam. When some Americans picture the word jihad, they imagine a so-called "holy war" by Islamic militants, waging terror against civilians using suicide bombings and other extreme methods.
The Islamic concept of jihad, however, is usually not one of violence.
The Arabic word is often translated as "holy war," but its true meaning is actually "holy struggle." In a religious sense, as described by the Koran and the teachings of the Prophet Mohammed, jihad means striving for the benefit of the community or the restraint of personal sins. It can refer to internal as well as external efforts to be a good Muslim or believer. It primarily refers to efforts to improve oneself.
If a jihad is required to protect the faith against others, peaceful means should be used. Islam does allow the use of force but only in situations of self-defense and not against non-combatants.
That article was written less than 10-days after the 9/11 attacks.
Sunday, October 29, 2023
VIDEO: Stopping Someone From Dragging You Off With A Choke.
This video from Fight Science addresses some practical aspects of a getting attacked with a rear naked choke hold or similar hold on the street: namely, you will likely get punched first and then dragged and/or continue to receive punches.
Don't Make The Black Kids Bored
From the Daily Mail: "Teenager filmed randomly sucker-punching strangers ADMITS he attacked people for no reason as he says he regrets his actions: 'Everybody makes mistakes'." The 19-year old doesn't regret his actions, only that he got caught.
Erdogan Hints Turkey Could Enter War On Side Of Palestinians
The Express reported yesterday:
Turkey's president appears to have threatened to intervene in Gaza in an impassioned speech at a pro-Palestine rally this evening.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivered a speech to a rally this afternoon in which he told attendees Israel was responsible for war crimes, and framed Hamas as "freedom fighters".
In comments that have prompted Israeli outcry, and led the country to withdraw its diplomatic presence, president Erdogan suggested assaults on Gaza constituted a "massacre".
In the same speech, he reportedly said that Turkey can "come at any night unexpectedly” to ecstatic reception from hundreds of thousands of attendees.
The footage, which is currently circulating on X, formerly known as Twitter, purportedly showed the pro-Palestine crowd responding with the chant: “Turkish military to Gaza.”
The Great Replacement: "Illegal border crossers total over 10 million since Biden inauguration"
As the article, which is from The Center Square, points out, that number is greater than the individual populations of 41 states--only California, Texas, Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio, Georgia and North Carolina have populations greater than 10 million.
The total number of illegal border crossers during the period equates to 25% of California’s population, 33% of Texas’ population, 44% of Florida’s population and nearly 52% of New York’s population.
They’re equivalent to over 17 Wyomings; over 15 Vermonts; nearly 14 Alaskas; and nearly 13 North Dakotas. They total nearly ten Delawares, the home state of the president.
Among them are 1,586 known, suspected terrorists (KSTs) who were apprehended in fiscal years 2020-2023.
In fiscal 2023, CBP agents apprehended the greatest number of KSTs – 736 – in a single year in U.S. history.
They also apprehended the greatest number of criminal noncitizens in U.S. history, totaling nearly 50,000. This number excludes the tens of thousands of criminal noncitizens arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials and an unknown number arrested by local and state law enforcement officers.
And this doesn't include the legal immigrants.
I hope you have plenty of ammunition because as history shows, an invasion like this will lead to war or extermination soon or later.
More Bad News For Anti-Gun Nuts Arising From Maine Shooting
Although the Robert Card was found dead, apparently due to a self-inflicted gun shot wound to the head, that won't stop the gun grabbers from using the shooting to urge new gun control laws, even though there were plenty of laws already on the books to stop Card and his shooting--I mean, above and beyond the basic laws against murder.
I've previously discussed Maine laws prohibiting carrying a firearm on a premises that serves alcohol, which most definitely included the bar, Schemengees Bar and Grill, where one of the shootings took place. I've also noted that federal law requires a background check and that Card should have been prohibited under federal law from possessing a firearm due to his hospitalization for mental illness a prior threat to commit a shooting at a National Guard base (see here and here).
But here are some additional items:
- "Bowling Alley Where Maine Attacker Fatally Shot 7 Is a Gun-Free Zone"--Breitbart. From the lede:
The bowling alley where Robert Card allegedly shot and killed 7 people has a sign on the front door announcing the premises are gun free.The location, formerly called Sparetime Recreation, is now called Just-in-Time Bowling Alley.John Lott Jr.’s Crime Prevention Research Center (CPRC) noted that the sign says, “We kindly ask that you refrain from bringing firearms in this building and we would appreciate it if you left them in your vehicle. Please keep our atmosphere family friendly.”
The article goes on to note that 94% of mass shootings occur in gun free zones.
The couple jointly filed for divorce in 2007 in Sagahoc County court, citing irreconcilable differences.In 2013 the divorce agreement was amended to include an ominous requirement, stipulating that 'all guns in either party’s home shall be under lock and key during which time they are not being used.'
- "Maine Police Say Lewiston Suspect WAS Prohibited From Possessing Guns"--Bearing Arms. The article reports that according to the State Bureau of Investigation, Card was categorized as “Federal Firearms Disqualified Status” although he didn't show up on a list of persons with firearms confiscated under Maine's "yellow flag" laws. Noting that Card "reportedly spent two weeks in an Army medical center in West Point, New York after displaying 'erratic' behavior during training exercises," the article goes on to indicate that "[w]hile that information was reported to federal officials, it doesn’t sound like it was conveyed to state authorities." But, "[t]he suspects family, however, says they were in contact with both law enforcement and the military over the past few months to express their growing concerns about his 'rapidly deteriorating' mental state."
According to this article from WGME in Portland, Maine:
Maine's so-called "yellow flag" law took effect back in 2020.It changed protective custody law to allow law enforcement to temporarily take guns away from people who may be in danger of hurting themselves or others.It's different than other state's "red flag" laws because it requires a two-step sign off from both a judge and a medical provider before weapons can be taken away.That medical practitioner must sign off on the request first to determine the person's mental condition.
So Maine had a law allowing for confiscation of a firearm from a mentally disturbed person, but it just wasn't called a "red flag" law. Meaning that the claims in the media that Maine lacks a "red flag" law is disinformation.
- "Maine shooting: Lewiston police were warned about Robert Card weeks before massacre"--Fox News. This article reports:
Law enforcement officials told the Associated Press that they were alerted to "veiled threats" by Card, a U.S. Army reservist, after he threatened soldiers at a southern Maine National Guard Base in Saco.When authorities visited Card's home and couldn't find him, they dropped their investigation.
"We added extra patrols, we did that for about two weeks," Saco Police Chief Jack Clements explained. "The guy never showed up."
"Never came in contact with this guy, never received any phone calls from the reserve center saying, ‘Hey, we got somebody who was causing a problem,’" he added. "We never got anything."
Sagadahoc County Sheriff Joel Merry alerted every law enforcement agency in Maine after the Army Reserve informed his department, but also could not find Card after a welfare check to his residence.
"We couldn’t locate him," Merry said.
The FBI told AP that they were not aware of suspicious activity from Card, explaining they "did not have nor did [we] receive any tips or information concerning Robert Card."
"[The background check system] was not provided with or in possession of any information that would have prohibited Card from a lawful firearm purchase," the agency added.
Saturday, October 28, 2023
Declassified Spy Satellite Imagery Reveals Hundreds Of Previously Unknown Roman Forts
Story at the Daily Mail. The gist of the story is this: In 1934, French archaeologist Antoine Poidebard used aerial photography to locate 116 Roman forts on the Syrian Steppe. The forts were mostly located along a line, prompting Poidebard to theorize that the forts served a defensive purpose to prevent Arab and Persian incursions, and marked the easternmost boundary of the Roman Empire. Now researchers at the Department of Anthropology at Dartmouth College have gone over Cold War-era spy satellite reconnaissance imagery and identified an additional 396 forts. The distribution of the forts, however, do not just fall along a border as Poidebard found, but are much more dispersed suggesting that they were to support trade and communications: "offering water to camels and livestock, and providing a place for weary travellers to eat, drink and sleep," according to the team.
Friday, October 27, 2023
Meme of the Day: Border Insecurity
Related story: "It's business as usual at the border while Biden deals with the Middle East: Daily Mail catches hundreds of migrants squeezing through the wall"--Daily Mail. At just one location near Lukeville, AZ, the Daily Mail reporter saw at least 550 people cross the border--through a section of border wall--in just over a one hour period.
... On Thursday they included people from Senegal, Gambia, Guinea, Nepal, India, and Pakistan.
The routes are well-worn by now. From Senegal to Morocco to Spain to Ecuador to Colombia to Mexico City and north by bus, for example.
And the stories are just as well worn. The night's big contingent from India all told a similar story, rehearsed on the 15 or so days traveling.
'It's the political thing,' said 22-year-old Dhruv Patel, as he described how people from politically connected families like his face the constant threat of kidnap.
'Threatening calls,' said another young man in his group.
'Criminality,' said a third.
And:
... Data released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection revealed there were 269,735 encounters at the southern border in September, beating last December's record, and bringing the total for 2023 so far to 2.47 million.
The Biden administration has tried to respond. It announced recently that it would grant temporary legal status for nearly 500,000 Venezuelans already in the United States on July 31, while at the same time promising to deport those who arrived illegally after that date and failed to get asylum.
And the deportation flights to Venezuela have begun as part of a diplomatic thaw with the government of Nicolás Maduro.
That might bring temporary respite, said Chris Clem, former chief patrol officer in nearby Yuma sector, but does not change the overall trend.
'It's a couple of hundred people a day, that's a drop in the bucket,' he said.
'Until there's a significant policy shift, until there is a significant focus on reestablishing our border security as a priority, I think we're gonna suffer and morale will suffer.'
Maine Shooting: Inconvenient Facts
The shooter reported hearing voices and is, most likely, suffering from schizophrenia. The Daily Mail notes that "while the rate [of schizophrenia] is around one in 100 in the general population, more than a third of America's mass shooters suffered from the condition, according to gun violence research and prevention organization The Violence Project."
Psychologist Dr Elinor Greenberg said that while Card may fit the bill for a psychotic disorder, his age is older than the typical onset.
She told DailyMail.com: ‘We know he was hospitalized at 40, and the onset of schizophrenia in men would be 16 to 20.
'So what happened between then and now? I'm trying to account for how this guy got from 20 to 40 without being hospitalized before last summer… Something disturbed his functioning severely. So that's the big question – what's going on, and why the violence?’
The article goes on to explain that "[s]chizophrenia is what is known as a polygenic disorder, meaning it involves the interaction of multiple genes," but there is more going on than just the genetics.
Traumatic events can trigger the onset of schizophrenia, which typically occurs in late teen years to early 20s for men and late 20s to early 30s for women. The brain changes a lot during puberty, and those changes could trigger the on-switch for the disease.
Scientists also believe, in addition to external factors like trauma combined with genetic factors, that a chemical imbalance in the brain is to blame.
They have been particularly interested in serotonin, which helps regulate mood, dopamine, which drives desire and motivation, and glutamate, which is important to memory, cognition, and mood regulation.
It has also been shown that 30 percent of schizophrenia cases among men aged 21 to 30 are related to heavy and problematic use of marijuana, which is legal for medicinal and recreational use in Maine.
Evolution In Action: Empty Bear Spray Canister Found At Scene Of Deadly Bear Attack
John Farnam, writing at Ammo Land, notes that the "Myth that Bear Spray Will Save You Proves Deadly Once Again." This incident involves a couple and their dog hiking in Banff National Park in Canada’s Alberta Provence. They were attacked and killed by a female grizzly bear. Their partially eaten bodies were found near their campsite along with a fully-discharged can of bear spray. As Farnam points out, "[t]he 'bear-spray will protect you' fantasy has been sold to naive hikers for years. It may work some time, yet this couple bet their lives on it, and it didn’t."
Maine Democrat and RINO Call For More Gun Control
The Hill reports that Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) stated at a press conference that although he had previously "opposed efforts to ban deadly weapons of war, like the assault rifle used to carry out this crime," he would "now call on the United States Congress to ban assault rifles, like the one used by the sick perpetrator of this mass killing in my hometown of Lewiston, Maine".
I wasn't aware that they had recovered the weapon used, let alone determined that it was fully automatic.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), at the same press conference, wouldn't publicly admit that she would also support a federal law to ban scary looking rifles, but she did state: “I think it is more important that we ban very high-capacity magazines. I think that would have more input and more effectiveness[.]” Like it did in the Parkland shooting where the killer used the state-approved 10-round magazines. Because the extra couple of seconds to switch out magazines is going to make all the difference in the world. Just like all the other laws prohibiting the shooter from possessing firearms or taking them to drinking establishments were effective in stopping this crime.
Do they put something in the water in D.C. to mentally retard everyone living there?
And what's a "very high-capacity magazine"? Is that like having a volume control knob that goes to 11?
Surging Extremism Over War In Israel
From "Surging extremism in the wake of the Gaza War is no coincidence" at The Hill:
As the war over Gaza rages, it has inspired a wave of hate crimes and terrorist attacks and deepened political divisions across the United States and Europe.
Seventy-one-year-old Joseph Czuba has been charged with murdering a 6-year-old Palestinian boy and attempting to murder his mother. He allegedly blamed them for the Hamas attack on Israel and reportedly yelled, “All Muslims must die,” while stabbing the boy more than 26 times.
In France, a Muslim man of Chechen descent allegedly stabbed a teacher to death and wounded others, while yelling “Allahu Akbar” (God is great!).
A Tunisian man is accused of shooting dead two Swedish soccer fans at a match in Brussels.
Authorities have not been able to link any of these murders directly to Hamas or establish that the accused killers were motivated by events in the Middle East. However, since the deadly attacks occurred in the immediate aftermath of the Hamas invasion and Israeli response, an inspirational connection seems likely.
Well, maybe. But I found the following interesting inasmuch as most of the media I see have taken a decidedly pro-Israel stance and have pretty much only reporting incidents of harassment or protests aimed against Israel or Jews:
London has seen a dramatic spike in both antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents.
The city has experienced a 1,350 percent increase in hate crimes against Jews since the outbreak of the Israel-Palestine crisis. The Metropolitan police investigated 218 antisemitic offenses between Oct. 1 and 18 compared to 15 during the same period last year.
Islamophobic offenses in the city increased 140 percent from 42 in 2022 to 103 this year.
And in the U.S.:
“As the Israel-Hamas conflict continues, we have seen an increase in reports of threats against Jewish, Muslim, and Arab communities and institutions,” the Department of Homeland Security warned on Oct. 18. “Lone offenders, motivated by a range of violent ideologies, pose the most likely threat.”
Also:
Across the U.S. and in many countries around the world, large demonstrations in support of Palestinians have been taking place. The vast majority have been peaceful, but some of the slogans being shouted are dangerous.
“Free Palestine” is a legitimate statement of solidarity. “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” echoes Hamas’s goal of destroying the Jewish state, and “death to Israel” is a call to commit genocide.
Pro-Israel demonstrations have been fewer, generally much smaller, and more subdued, with participants expressing solidarity with what they see as their historic homeland.
However, there has been a disturbing tendency among some groups to equate criticism of Israel with antisemitism.
But, in accordance with the official narrative, you can't have an article about Jews and Muslims protesting or attacking one another without raising the bogeyman of "white supremacists":
Jewish and Muslim communities face a double threat. They may be attacked by people who blame them for the current crisis, as was the case with the murdered Palestinian boy in Plainfield. But they may also be targeted by white supremacists who hate both groups.
Japan Puts Bounty On Bears Due To Record Bear Attacks
Japan has a problem with an increasing number of bear attacks as bears increasingly are seeking food in towns and cities: there have been at least 167 reported attacks this year already, and Akita Prefecture has had at least 53 people injured this year, which is almost triple the number of victims last year. Thus, the Prefecture's governor is encouraging hunters to shoot bears on site, and is offering a reward of 5,000 yen (approximately $33) to those who capture a bear. They are also going to subsidize the cost of hunting bullets for hunting clubs.
Media Disinformation About The Maine Shooting And Maine Firearms Laws
Well, it looks like the narrative has switched back to the second crime scene being at a bar rather than a restaurant as all the media outlets were reporting yesterday. I guess it is hard to hide that fact for long when the place is called Schemengees Bar and Grill. Later in the article, it does switch back to referring to the place as a "restaurant". This may seem pedantic on my part, but it is important because Maine makes it illegal to carry a firearm inside a place that serves alcohol, and the media is covering this up.
Speaking of media disinformation, the Insider takes the low road by ignoring all the laws that did apply to the shooter in its article, "Maine's gun control laws explained: No permits required to carry firearms and roughly half of all households have a gun." The article faults Maine in three primary areas:
- That Maine "doesn't require a permit to carry firearms and allows both open carry and concealed carry";
- That Maine "also doesn't require background checks on gun sales"; and,
- That Maine "doesn't ban high-capacity magazines."
Also not mentioned is that the shooter was not permitted to possess a firearm under federal law due to his commitment to a mental hospital.
And, of course, the article ignores the fact that whether Maine required a background check is irrelevant because it is already required under federal law.
The article also laments that "[s]everal measures trying to tighten gun control laws in the state have failed in recent years, including proposals to require background checks for gun sales, ban bump stocks, and mandate a 72-hour waiting period to buy a gun," although without explaining how any of these would have made a difference in this case.
Thursday, October 26, 2023
Huntington Was Right
From the National Post, "Joel Kotkin: Samuel Huntington was right — cultural and religious clashes are driving war today." Kotkin begins:
History is rearing its ugly head, and it would best not to look away. Time to put away our foolish utopian dreams and face the harsher, more divided world, predicted in Samuel Huntington’s 1996 book, The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order.
In the heady days following the collapse of the Soviet Union, many public intellectuals, as well as presidents like George W. Bush and Barack Obama, embraced the notion of an ever expanding, liberal and democratic world order. Some, like political scientist Francis Fukuyama, even preached the “end of history,” prophesizing “the good news” of democracy’s inevitable spread and insisting that tech growth favours “a universal evolution in the direction of capitalism.”
Recent events, notably the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, suggest it’s time to bury these notions. In Clash, Huntington predicted the Ukrainian conflict as well the resurgence, at the expense of the West, of many cultures, including Indian, Chinese, Arab and Turkish. He noted all seek recompense for steep declines during the period of European predominance. Rather than a world shaped by the logic of markets and the rule of law, this is engendering the ascendency of autocrats and intensifying tribalization and primitivist religious movements.
Our two concurrent wars demonstrate Huntington’s thesis. The assault on Ukraine, which he foresaw, reflects not neo-Soviet ideology but a deeply Russian Orthodox racial world view. ...
China’s emergence similarly speaks of revanchist notions more reflective of Han nationalism and Imperial tradition than Communist ideology. The red mandarins may spout Marxist credos but their appeal to the masses lies largely in nationalist desires to achieve the stated aim of becoming the leading global superpower by 2050.
And, he adds:
The dangerous conflict in the Middle East further reinforces the “clash of civilizations.” The takeover of the Palestinian movement by Hamas wipes away even the smallest fig leaf of liberal intent for a two-nation solution. Hamas’s goal is simple: eradicate Israel and its Jewish inhabitants. Longer term, the goals of the Islamists also include imposing their faith on even those Christians full of sympathy for the beleaguered Palestinians. The imbecilic Obama-Biden pandering to Iran demonstrates the foolishness of ignoring the fundamental realities of “clash of civilizations”; you can’t make a partnership with someone who wants you dead.
Much of the rest of his article discusses the civilizational and cultural splits that will shape the next century of geo-political history, as well as the dangers of the West becoming weak due to its obsession with multi-culturalism and woke ideology. While Kotkin urges Western leaders to build stronger ties with other civilizations that have experienced the positive growth offered by capitalism, such as India, Japan and South Korea, he warns that "[t]he major obstacle [to this strategy] may be self-inflicted — a lack of belief among large segments of the western population that disdains our own heritage and prefers to embrace groups seen as victims of neo-colonial oppression, however brutal and hate-filled."
In that regard, he adds:
Nor can we be too confident in a western defence establishment and intelligence services that have been focused elsewhere on green absolutism or gay rights, as the head of MI6 recently opined. The obsession of NATO and the U.S. military in fighting climate change and white nationalism is borderline insane at a time when they should be more concerned about their dubious war-fighting ability and our industrial prowess to meet the new challenge.
Ultimately the West cannot win, or even stay relevant, in the “clash” if it does not believe in itself and is willing to employ all possible means to protect its interests. With a debilitated sense of self-belief, the West, for all its manifold technical and cultural progress, may be ill-suited to battle the pernicious forces shaping our present clash of civilizations.
Kotkin's concern, I fear, is not the health of the West, per se, but that the West be preserved in order to function as a defender of Judaism and Israel. (See, e.g., his October 23 piece at Spiked!, "Why Jews are abandoning the left").
Related Posts:
Dems Still Pushing More Diversity
Even as Israel enjoys the blessings of diversity and POC students at New York University call for Israel to be cleaned up, "President Joe Biden’s deputies welcomed at least one economic migrant into the United States during the last 12 months for every American newborn or high-school graduate," and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, lectured us that Americans must give foreigners the opportunity to migrate into the U.S. homeland. Of course, one cannot forget that Biden's recent request to Congress to fund further conflicts in Ukraine and Israel also included "$14 billion extra to help bus illegal migrants up to the U.S. border and onward into hotels in many cities and towns around the nation."
It doesn't help that powerful billionaires like Michael Bloomberg is praising Biden for granting temporary protected status to the nearly 500,000 Venezuelans who have entered the US over the past 18 months. Says Bloomberg: "Biden is now showing that he understands the high stakes, and by taking more steps forward, he can strengthen the economy, support cities, and strike a blow against xenophobia and candidates who promote it." Funny that Bloomberg, being Jewish and all, isn't urging Israel to take in the refugees and potential migrants in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, or Lebanon. Israel is a wealthy country and admitting all those displaced Palestinians and Syrians ought to really make their economy boom.
And as Americans struggle with paying bills, we learned that "Chicago is giving $9,000 in rental assistance to migrants in need of temporary housing," on top of all the other money benefits and housing assistance they are receiving. And Breitbart has this heartwarming story:
Danny, a Venezuelan migrant who recently arrived in the “Big Apple,” is beyond surprised with the accommodations and benefits provided to him. He crossed the Rio Grande in May near Brownsville, Texas, after a grueling trek through Panama, Central America, and Mexico.
Now, Danny told Breitbart Texas he has a clean hotel room, a New York City identification card, free health care and prescription benefits, and recently found a job at a cleaning company. All at the expense of New York City taxpayers.
And:
Contrary to reports that describe drug use and violence in some of the New York City hotels used to house migrants, Danny says that is not the case where he is staying.
“We have more than 15 Army soldiers that help with security and hand out food to us when we get hungry, there is plenty of food available all day and our rooms are cleaned every morning,” he told Breitbart Texas. Danny says laundry service and cable television at the hotel are free as well. All of this is provided by the taxpayers of New York City.
Its been hard on New York, once so open to immigration, to live up to its standards now that it has skin in the game. Faced with more than 110,000 migrants that have arrived in New York City in the past 18 months (260,000 flooded across the border last month, so obviously New York isn't accepting its fair share), New York governor Kathy Hochul is complaining that the borders are too open. Of course, other areas of New York state and even New York City don't want them. But it wouldn't be the Cloward-Piven plan without this:
Of course.
Mass Shooting In Gun Free Zones By Crazy Guy Illegally In Possession Of Firearms
Most of you have probably already read or hear of the mass killing in Maine yesterday evening that has left at least 16 dead (although others sources say 18 or even 20) and scores more wounded. Since security footage shows him using an AR style rifle, the anti-gun nuts are already foaming at the mouth demanding that ARs be banned. The suspect has been identified as a 40-year-old man named Robert Card. The Independent indicates that "Mr Card is a member of the US Army Reserves and a certified firearms instructor, who officials said had recently made threats to carry out a shooting at a National Guard facility and had reported mental health issues, including hearing voices." He was also "reported to have been committed to a mental health facility for two weeks this summer and then released."
Although the earlier reports on this story indicated that Card shot up a bowling alley and a bar, all of the accounts have now settled on it being a bowling alley and a restaurant. That is probably because under the law in Maine, it is illegal to carry a firearm into "[e]stablishments licensed for on-premises consumption of liquor, if the premises are posted." Meaning that the shootings probably occurred in gun free zones. Card may be crazy, but he's not stupid.
And speaking of crazy, it is, of course, illegal under Federal law for a person adjudicated as mentally defective or who has been committed to a mental institution to possess any firearms or ammunition. Maine law also makes it illegal for a person that has been involuntarily committed to a mental hospital to possess a firearm.
So, once again, we have a situation where gun control laws already on the books would have stopped a killer if they had been enforced, but they weren't. And there seems to be a lot of these mass killers that had received psychological treatment and counseling. Perhaps that is where we should focus investigative efforts and new laws.
College Graduate Anguished At Living In Real World
The Insider reports on a recent college graduate who took to Tik Tok to complain about having to work a 9 (!) to 5 job. And--grab your tissues here--because she can't afford to live in the city, she has to catch a train at 7:30 am and sometimes doesn't get home until 6:15 pm. And she's torn up that it leaves so little time for chores or a personal life. The horror! THE HORROR!
Wednesday, October 25, 2023
Rite Aid, CVS and Walgreens To Shut More Than 1,500 Stores Because Of Crime & Competition
Rite Aid said it will close 150 of its 2,100 US locations after they filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this month.
The pharmacy chain has been unable to settle hundreds of lawsuits that accused them of overprescribing opioids and has struggled to keep up with competitors.
And:
CVS is set to close the doors on 900 of its stores by the end of 2024, 10 percent of all its shops, as part of their online strategy.
The major drugstore chain is coming to the end of a policy launched in 2021 which will see 300 stores closed each year - meaning 900 will have shuttered by 2024.
CVS made the reforms to adjust to the needs of online shoppers while battling rampant shoplifting.
And:
Walgreens will shutter 150 stores by summer 2024, citing slashed earnings due to plummeting demand for Covid vaccines and tests.
Reefer Madness: Woman Mauled After Giving THC To Dog
This was almost a case of evolution in action. From the Daily Mail:
A woman was mauled and nearly had her arm ripped off by her pet Rottweiler in a terrifying, bloody one-hour ordeal after she fed her pet a THC gummy.
The unidentified pet owner, from Gaylord, Michigan, was left covered in 'extreme' amounts of blood after Blau, who had eaten the cannabis gummy, ripped her off her toilet seat on October 5.
Blau, the three-year-old, 82-pound Rottweiler, attacked his owner and then proceeded to stampede through the house after the woman locked herself in the bedroom. The dog was euthanized as a result of the attack.
California Super Volcano Grumbles But Little Chance Of Eruption
From the Daily Mail: "Is California's supervolcano set to blow? Scientists identify more than 2,000 quakes at the Long Valley Caldera that they say 'are precursors for an eruption'."
Scientists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) identified over 2,000 earthquakes rumbling throughout the Long Valley Caldera in recent years.
The team conducted a new investigation to see if the seismic activity was a sign of impending doom or that the risk of a massive eruption was decreasing.
Caltech researchers created detailed underground images of the caldera, finding that the recent seismic activity results from fluids and gases released as the area cools off and settles down.
The study author Zhongwen Zhan said: 'We don't think the region is gearing up for another supervolcanic eruption, but the cooling process may release enough gas and liquid to cause earthquakes and small eruptions.
'For example, in May 1980, there were four magnitude 6 earthquakes in the region alone.'
The article also adds that "[t]he long-dormant volcano was the site of a super explosion 767,000 years ago, releasing 140 miles of volcanic material into the atmosphere and devastating the land."
While it may seem that volcanic eruptions or volcanic activity is increasing, that is an illusion. Rather, we are increasingly more aware of volcanic activity. See:
- "Volcanic Activity Isn't Increasing Across the Planet"--Discover Magazine.
- "Has volcanic activity been increasing?"--Smithsonian Institute.
The researchers detected 238 eruptions from the past 2,500 years, they report today in Nature. About half were in the mid- to high-latitudes in the northern hemisphere, while 81 were in the tropics. (Because of the rotation of the Earth, material from tropical volcanoes ends up in both Greenland and Antarctica, while material from northern volcanoes tends to stay in the north.) The exact sources of most of the eruptions are as yet unknown, but the team was able to match their effects on climate to the tree ring records.The analysis not only reinforces evidence that volcanoes can have long-lasting global effects, but it also fleshes out historical accounts, including what happened in the sixth-century Roman Empire. The first eruption, in late 535 or early 536, injected large amounts of sulfate and ash into the atmosphere. According to historical accounts, the atmosphere had dimmed by March 536, and it stayed that way for another 18 months.Tree rings, and people of the time, recorded cold temperatures in North America, Asia and Europe, where summer temperatures dropped by 2.9 to 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit below the average of the previous 30 years. Then, in 539 or 540, another volcano erupted. It spewed 10 percent more aerosols into the atmosphere than the huge eruption of Tambora in Indonesia in 1815, which caused the infamous “year without a summer”. More misery ensued, including the famines and pandemics. The same eruptions may have even contributed to a decline in the Maya empire, the authors say.“We were amazed at the close correspondence and the consistency of the climate response to volcanic sulfate forcing during the entire 2,500-year period,” says coauthor Joe McConnell of the Desert Research Institute. “This clearly shows the marked impact that volcanic eruptions have on our climate and, in some cases, on human health, economics and so history.”
Related Posts:
- "The Mysterious Eruption of 1258 A.D."
- "The 1783 Laki Volcanic Eruption in Iceland"
- "10 Most Powerful Volcanic Explosions in Past 2000 Years"
- "Volcanoes and the Beginning of the Little Ice Age"
- "Documentary on the Mt.Tambora Eruption"
- "How Big Was the Tambora Explosion?"
- "The 1815 Mt. Tambora Explosion"
- "Documentary On The Krakatoa Explosion of 535 A.D."
And We Are Supposed To Be Able To Fight A Two Theater War?
Since World War II, our national military strategy has been that we should be able to fight in two theaters simultaneously: a war in Europe and a war somewhere else. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen also recently stated that the U.S. can afford to support both Israel and Ukraine's military needs because our economy has been doing so well. But this Breitbart articles has me wondering: "DOD Admits It Is Returning Weapons to Israel that Had Been Dispatched to Ukraine."
As you probably are aware, the United States likes to pre-position arms and equipment in the event of a conflict, including in Israel. But, according to the article, the U.S. took tens of thousands of 155mm shells from its stockpiles in Israel and moved them to Europe to support Ukraine's war effort. Now it is having to return those shells to Israel for Israel's use against Gaza. So, if we don't have the munitions to supply both a conflict in Ukraine and one in Israel (which is itself not even a real war against peer or near-peer opponents), how were we ever supposed to be able to fight in two theaters against near-peer opponents?
Tuesday, October 24, 2023
VIDEO: When Israel Attacked The U.S.
A video about Israel's attack and attempted sinking of the U.S.S. Liberty during the Six Day War. The series producer, Forgotten History, also released a second video a few weeks ago interviewing a survivor of the attack.
VIDEO: "This Land Is Mine"
An irreverent video looking at all of the peoples that have conquered the Levant/Canaan/Palestine/Israel over the ages, set to the song "This Land Is Mine." I would note that this video was released 10 years ago, so obviously it has nothing to do with the current Israeli/Hamas war. For a more serious take on the subject, check out the second video below which creates a timeline of what nations and what religions have controlled Jerusalem. The polity that controlled Jerusalem the longest where the Romans (including the Byzantine Empire) while Islam has been the dominant religion for the longest period of time. The second video was released about a year ago, also pre-dating the current war.
Some Firearms Related News
Just random stories that have been filling up my in-box:
- "Ruger Single-Ten Stainless" by Thomas Christianson, Survival Blog. Like the Single-Six except offering 10-rounds of .22 LR. On the other hand, it doesn't have the interchangeable cylinder to shoot .22 Magnum.
- "NEW Colt Pythons! Same Snake Gun with Hogue Grips, Bead Blast Finish"--The Firearm Blog. Trying to turn the Python from a safe-queen to a carry or working gun. I agree with one of the comments, though, that the bead blast finish is perhaps going too far and something similar to what you see on S&W guns would probably be a better choice. The MSRP is $200 less than the standard offering, which is something, though. The double-action on my Python is superior to any other revolver I have, whether S&W or Ruger.
- "NY Lawmakers Want Background Checks & Waiting Periods for 3D Printers"--Ammo Land. Supposedly due to concerns of people printing firearms. Coming from people that have never used a 3D printer. They aren't "plug and play" devices even with the advances over the last few years.
- "I Sat Next To A Gun 'Fanatic' On A Plane. When I Told Him What My Job Is, Things Got Interesting."--Huff Post. Anti-gunner strikes up a conversation with a lawyer who collects antique firearms and does some handloading. Although the lawyer admitted that something needed to be done, he wouldn't let himself get pinned down on anything because he saw too many flaws to the "solutions" that the author brought up. For example:
What about limits on gun ownership for those with a history of domestic violence? Rick had mentioned that his legal work included handling sexual assault cases, so this seemed like low-hanging fruit. But again, Rick was not on board. He felt there were too many cases in which women falsely accused their partners of domestic abuse.
Apparently he was a "fanatic" because he shot down each of her proposed "solutions".
- "AR-15 Rifle Basics: Understanding Iron Sights"--The Truth About Guns. The author contends that a good set of iron sights are still a must for an AR rifle. An excerpt:
The first myth we need to dispel is that AR-15 iron sights are cheap and outdated. The folks who think that are usually the same people who buy a budget set of low profile Picatinny-mounted iron sights that folds down, think of them strictly as backups, and only zero them by making them line up with their red dot in order to co-witness.If you’re thinking that iron sights are the gun equivalent of that near-useless donut tire in your trunk, you’re doing it wrong. Don’t buy a cheap set of folding flip-up sights and expect them to perform with any degree of repeatability or precision. You can sometimes get away with just a rear sight if your gun already has a front sight integral to the barrel.
Also:
A high quality set of AR-15 iron sights will give you greater precision than any red dot and many magnified scopes. If you have cash for a cheap scope in the $200 range, realize that the USA-made, world-class set of sights pictured in this article, the Scalarworks PEAK sights, are $130 for the set. You can either buy cheap, easily-broken gun show junk, or you can buy something that works and will last. Your choice.
- Live by the sword.... "Study: 80% of Firearm Homicide Victims Have An Arrest Record"--Guns America. So what I'm hearing is that high homicide rates may have a silver lining.
- "Top Kel-Tec Sub-2000 Upgrades from MCARBO"--Ammo Land. The upgrades the author is looking at are an optic mount, extended magazine release, aluminum trigger guard, and aluminum trigger and trigger bar. I don't have one of these, but some of you might. I know that they are popular for bug-out/get-home bags.
- "Gun Review: Avidity Arms PD10 9mm Pistol"--The Truth About Guns. A not-a-Glock that tries to make a better carry handgun by retaining a full size frame, but thinner for easier concealed carry. Part of the reason they can get away with this is using 1911-style 9mm magazines (most of which are 10 rounds).
- "Optimizing Your Home Defense Handgun"--Shooting Illustrated. Some of the points raised in the article:
- Choose a common self-defense caliber--avoid the heavy magnums like .44 Magnum or larger.
- For a dedicated home-defense handgun, the author recommends a full size, duty style handgun.
- While acknowledging that most armed encounters don't take more than a few shots to resolve, the author points out that with concealment not being an issue, you might as well go with a full size capacity: "Using standard-capacity magazines or reliable extended magazines holding 15-20 rounds can be a sound practice."
- The author doesn't really commit to either iron sights or optics. However, my personal belief is that if you are going to rely on iron sights, a home defensive handgun should have a full set of tritium night sights.
- As to weapon mounted lights, the author states: "Used properly, a WML can be an outstanding accessory for armed home defense. Used improperly, a WML can be a dangerous liability." As to the latter point, the author is discussing the temptation of using the WML for searching. You have two options here: you can use a second flashlight for searching, which is the easiest option, or you can learn to keep the handgun directed in a safe direction and relying on the splash/spill from the WML while searching.
- Finally, he discusses options to safely store but quickly access the home defense handgun.
- "Follow through – Practical Application"--tacticalprofessor. He discusses a video of a police encounter with a hostage situation and how follow through would have helped the first officer (firing a less-than-lethal munition) and the second officer using his duty handgun. An excerpt:
The second officer demonstrated good follow-through while shooting his Glock. When his first shot missed, he was able to assess and fire a second shot without hesitation because he was still on target.
Whether shooting a long gun or a pistol, follow-through is extremely important. Pistol shooters often immediately drop their guns below the line of sight to see where the bullet impacted. This is a bad habit to be scrupulously avoided.
He links to additional sources on follow-through.
- "Prepper's Armory: Shot Sizes"--Blue Collar Prepping. A great primer on shotgun shot sizes, covering the different bore sizes, different sizes of small shot and bird shot (both American and European sizes), and the types of game for which the different types of shot are used. And because lead shot has long been disallowed for water fowl and this seems to be slowly spreading to upland game birds, the article discusses the different materials from which shot is made.
- "Vintage Gun Review: Savage Enfield No.4 MK1*"--The Truth About Guns. So these are like standard Enfield No. 4 MK1 rifles, but built under contract by Savage in the United States. The author opines that the Savage models are better build and more accurate than their English counterparts.
- "Apples & Oranges: Two Lightweight Concealed Carry Pistols"--Ammo Land. A look at the Beretta APX Carry and Glock 43X. With its relatively low capacity (6+1 rounds) and long and relatively heavy trigger pull, the APX is intended for people who normally would carry a revolver and/or pocket carry.
While at the NRA Annual Meeting, I cornered one of the Beretta Pistol Product Managers and posed the question, “Who is the APX Carry for? What market are you chasing with it?” His answer wasn’t surprising. He told me that it was for the revolver market. Many people like the peace of mind of that design for concealed carry, and the goal was to offer a semi-automatic alternative with many of the same ‘comfort’ attributes.
For more on these, here are a couple reviews from The Truth About Guns on the APX and the 41X, respectively.
- "Armed Self-Defense: Reality vs. Fantasy"--NRA Family. From the lede:
Since most people have never even witnessed a criminal attack or shooting, they often have unrealistic ideas about what exactly might happen. We tell students that a criminal attack is going to be what it is going to be – and probably won’t fit your pre-conceived ideas.For example, I was recently made aware of a couple who had spent quite a bit of time discussing and planning for ways to deal with a home invasion. And then, one evening, the wife pulled into her driveway after a long day at work. Two men jumped out of a car parked on the street that the wife had not really paid attention to. They pushed her up against her car and demanded her keys. It was a carjacking, not a home invasion. So surprised to be dealing with an attack that she hadn’t even considered, the woman was almost overpowered. As it was, she was able to get her gun out and get a shot off, failing to hit either attacker. As they fled, the husband was in the house wondering who in the neighborhood was popping firecrackers.
- "Intruder In A Box - A Better Way To Test Self-Defense Ammo?"--Guns America. Sort of like Paul Harrell's meat target without the mess. MSRP is $90 plus another $20 for shipping.
The front of the Intruder box has nine bullseyes embossed onto the cardboard. Behind the cardboard is a tough but flexible layer of a rubbery material. Directly behind this is a much harder but thinner layer of a hard plastic-like material.Next, the elongated rectangle behind each of these bullseyes holds a water-filled plastic container, followed by what looks like an air pillow used for packing—air to represent an expanded lung.Then, more “bone” material and muscle/sternum-like flex material are at the very rear of the box.
- "Proper Combative Pistol Grip (And A Whole Lot More)"--Guns and Ammo. Good article for proper grip, proper grip pressure, the wrist, etc. After reading the first 3/4 of the article you might have the impression that the thumbs are largely irrelevant. Not so:
Are the thumbs important for combative shooting? I think so, but it has nothing to do with applying grip pressure. I like the thumbs forward, as they offer a secondary sighting device when trying to get the gun on target during the pandemonium of armed conflict. The thumbs-forward grip also helps lock the wrists to control recoil. (That recoil thing seems to be a continual theme, doesn’t it?) Locked wrists and an aggressive upper body will keep the gun on target even when shooting quickly.
- "Hip Grips, Clipdraw And NPE Carry, With The Darryl Bolke Mousegun Mindset"--Civilian Defender. An ode to the mousegun, recognizing that as a civilian defender and not a police officer or special forces operator, our task is to get away from danger, not run to it. An excerpt:
A FEW BULLET POINTS OF DB’S SALIENT THOUGHTS RELATED TO THE MOUSEGUN MINDSET
◦ (MOUSEGUNS) ARE Really good guns when you can’t have a gun or you don’t want to look like a cop; if you get made you are getting killed◦ Your Bill Drill times will suck with them◦ “When you carry a .22 revolver you don’t do stupid stuff. It completely changes everything about your mindset to NOT being about the gun.”◦ He rationalized it by saying that if he had operatives overseas, he put them there with a .22, and it was concealable, wouldn’t make them want to be in a gunfight, and left no casings behind◦ If you were in any leftist owned city these days, you MIGHT want to carry a gun that leaves you in a situation where the PROBLEM HAS TO COME TO YOU (get out of trouble guns)◦ How many people do we know break the rule of stupids BECAUSE they have a gun (gas station at 1230am)◦ All DB’s cop friends are now carrying J frames so that they DON’T get in trouble by accidentally interfering in dangerous situations◦ What is the more tactically correct thing to do? Don’t be a big damn hero◦ When you don’t shoot people through the heart or the brain, they don’t become incapacitated; most pistol bullets don’t work unless you shoot people in the right places◦ John Helms Mindset; greatest extant gunfighter today: sights I can see, trigger I can manage and it should be reliable. The rest is fairly irrelevant
A lot more there, so be sure to read the whole thing.