Franklin The Turtle Memes

 If you need a laugh, be sure to check out John Wilder's collection of Franklin the Turtle memes. 

J6 Pipe Bomb Suspect Arrested

 No, not the former Capital Police officer. "Brian Cole named as Virginia 'anarchist' accused of planting pipe bombs outside US Capitol on eve of January 6 riots"--Daily Mail. 

    The hunt for the suspect was one of the largest in FBI history, and investigators struggled for years to piece together evidence collected in the chaotic aftermath of the January 6 riots. 

    This included subpoenaing box store retailers for credit card data to find customers who bought specific kinds of battery connectors used to manufacture the bombs. 

    Agents tracked down purchasers of the battery connectors to those whose phones were locate near the DNC and RNC headquarters at the time the bombs were planted, but the FBI found there was no credible match.   

The article says that the arrest wasn't based on any new evidence, but reanalyzing the evidence they already had. No information was given, though, about what evidence linked Cole to the pipe bombs.  

A New Defensive Pistolcraft Newsletter

 Jon Low has published his latest Defensive Pistolcraft newsletter. A lot of links and comments, as always. One issue that caught my attention because Jon discusses it at length has to do with right handed shooters hitting low and left. Jon writes:

     There are a lot of videos on the internet purporting to teach you how to solve the PROBLEM of right-handed pistol shooters scattering low left (or left-handed shooters scattering low right).  Almost all of these videos are wrong.  

     The REASON some right-handed shooters scatter low left is that they are anticipating the recoil, and pushing against it.  This push is an autonomic nervous system response to the learned recoil.  (It doesn't matter how small the recoil is.  The recoil is felt, because it exists in reality.)  

     The SOLUTION to this problem and all other autonomic nervous system responses (push, jerk, flinch, freeze, etc.) to the recoil and report of the firearm is the "surprise trigger break".  ...

 He then goes on to describe how to achieve and train for the surprise trigger break. He also notes a similar concept with archery. Check it out, as well as the many other links, tips and comments. 

China's Submarine-Ship Hybrid

From the War Zone: "China’s Mysterious Submarine-Ship Hybrid Breaks Cover". The craft it a trimaran with a long and large central hull, and two smaller hulls near the back of the craft which resemble nacelles on a science fiction spacecraft. It is believed to be a submarine-ship hybrid, capable of either partial or fully submerged travel, because it has design features of both submarines and surface vessels. "The overall design, as well as features like the depth marks on the sail and elsewhere on the hull, point to it being a hybrid submersible/surface craft, which would offer the benefits of stealth when submerged and relatively efficient travel while surfaced."

    In terms of its purpose, one of the most persistent theories is that it’s an arsenal ship.

    For some years now, there have been rumors that China is developing a vessel of this kind. The idea would be to have an uncrewed, hard-to-detect vessel that could emerge to launch its missiles (land attack and/or anti-ship) before disappearing below the waves. 

Airburst "Impact" Events

 An article from SciTech Daily relates "Scientists Uncover New Evidence of Ancient Airbursts That Ravaged Earth Without Leaving Craters." It not only goes over additional evidence supporting a Younger Dryas impact event, but other airburst events. The article begins:

    Emerging evidence suggests Earth has endured far more hidden cosmic explosions than once believed.

    Touchdown airbursts, a form of cosmic impact that may occur more often than the crater-producing events known for wiping out the dinosaurs, are still not fully understood. UC Santa Barbara Earth Science Emeritus Professor James Kennett and his colleagues continue to argue that these powerful explosions deserve far more scientific attention.

    “Touchdown events can cause extreme damage through very high temperatures and pressures,” Kennett said. “And yet they don’t necessarily form a crater, or they form ephemeral surface disturbances, but they’re not the classic major craters that come from direct impacts.”

    Four recently released studies from Kennett and his co-authors highlight evidence for multiple airbursts from different periods in Earth’s past. In these events, an incoming object such as a comet detonates above the surface and releases intense heat and shockwaves. The researchers documented new findings from locations ranging from the deep North Atlantic to the remains of an ancient desert community. Their work points to materials that form only under extreme conditions, such as rare comet-derived elements, molten glass, and spherules produced by high-temperature melting of Earth materials, and shocked quartz that contains distinctive fracture patterns.   

It then goes on to describe impact proxies found in Baffin Bay, just west of Greenland, that support the Younger Dryas Impact Hypothesis (YDIH). It is the first time evidence for the YDIH has been found in marine record. Researchers also examined sediment from the Tunguska event as an example of an touchdown event and revisited evidence from Tall el-Hammam, "the site of a major ancient city in the Levant that is thought to have experienced a similar-sized event about 3,600 years ago."

“The interesting thing about Tunguska is that it is the only recorded historical touchdown event,” Kennett said, and indeed, there are documented eyewitness reports of a fireball in the sky, and photographs of flattened trees. However, for all the studies of the fallen trees and the soils at the impact site, there had up until now been little effort in search of cosmic impact proxies. This study is the first comprehensive evidence of airburst/impact proxies at Tunguska.

The Elites And Their Immigration Fetish

The AP reports that  U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell in Washington, D.C., granted a preliminary injunction sought by the ACLU and immigrants rights groups against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security blocking them from making widespread immigration arrests in the nation’s capital without warrants or probable cause that the person is an imminent flight risk. The ACLU argued that the DHS has a policy of "patrolling and setting up checkpoints in Washington, D.C., neighborhoods with large numbers of Latino immigrants and then stopping and arresting people indiscriminately."

    In addition to blocking the policy, she ordered any agent who conducts a warrantless civil immigration arrest in Washington to document “the specific, particularized facts that supported the agent’s pre-arrest probable cause to believe that the person is likely to escape before a warrant can be obtained.”

    Howell also required the government to submit that documentation to plaintiffs’ attorneys. 

Which brings me to this piece from Quotulatiousness: "The elites will continue pushing high immigration despite the obvious social costs it imposes." He begins:

One of the very tip-top luxury beliefs is that massive immigration is always and under all circumstances a good thing. A great thing, even. One of the things about the holders of luxury beliefs is that they are almost always completely insulated from any of the consequences of their beliefs, and this is especially true in this case. As Lorenzo Warby points out, the elites’ devotion to this cause contributes to collapsing levels of trust in the society absorbing all those immigrants and deeply undermines confidence that the leadership have anyone else’s but their own best interests at heart[.] 

And to condense Warby's explanation of why elites want lots of immigration, it basically comes down to what Peter Turchin termed the "wealth pump"--mass immigration makes the elites wealthier not just because the total GDP is going up, but they can drive down wages, meaning that they don't have to share that increased GDP with the suckers who work for a living. And damn the consequences to the common people of bringing in alien populations. Or, as Warby points out:

    ... Immigration does not only import workers—nor even just increase mutual-gain transactions — it imports people, so potentially affects all aspects of the receiving society. This means, of course, that there are a much wider range of possible concerns about immigration that “yes, but more gains from trade” is not an adequate response to.

    Efficiency and number of transactions are not the only issues for a social order, particularly not a flourishing social order. There are also issues of social cohesion; social resilience; connections and social capital; the distribution of GDP gains; effects on relative prices; congestion costs; how well institutions are managing the influx; effects on local communities; cultural differences; social coordination issues and the ability to manage collective action problems; increased competition for positional goods — goods that cannot, or are blocked from, responding to increased demand.

    These are all legitimate grounds for concern that are not answered by “yes, but more gains from trade“. How many of those “yes, but more gains from trade” folk have grappled with mass rape and sexual exploitation of young women and girls as a cost of culturally divergent immigration (and its systematic mismanagement)? How many of those “yes, but more gains from trade” folk have grappled with violent disturbance, even civil war, as a potential cost of immigration, even though we have historical examples of precisely that?

    If, on one hand, the respectable people insist “yes, but more gains from trade” is an adequate response, and that other concerns are not legitimate, this will almost certainly be taken as the contemptuous dismissal it is. Not only will it not be persuasive, it will (and does) generate anger and resentment.

    If people have concerns that the “reasonable”, “liberal-minded” folk will not deal with — or, worse, are dismissive of such concerns even being raised — then people will turn to unreasonable and illiberal folk, if they are the only people who will respond to their concerns. Significant gaps in political markets will be filled by political entrepreneurs. 

Getting the Firearms Mfg Treatment: Kraft, Coca-Cola Being Sued By Blue City

From the New York Post: "Kraft, Coca-Cola among companies sued by San Francisco over ultra-processed foods in first-of-a-kind lawsuit." The article relates that "[t]he city of San Francisco sued Kraft, Mondelez, Coca-Cola and other makers of ultra-processed foods on Tuesday, accusing them of knowingly sickening California residents with addictive and harmful products." "The city is seeking restitution and civil penalties to offset its healthcare costs, along with a court order prohibiting the companies from engaging in deceptive marketing and requiring them to alter their practices," the article adds. Although this is the first U.S. city to bring such a suit, it probably won't be the last. 

Diversity Is A Strength: The Decline of Baltimore

 From the Daily Mail: "How deceitful foreign investors turned a once-proud American city into a complete eyesore." From the article:

    Fernando Plastino convinced investors from his homeland to buy homes in Baltimore. He promised he would manage the properties, collect rent and pass it onto them for a fee.

    However, the investors said they eventually stopped receiving payments - and realized they had been misled, the Baltimore Banner reported.

    It's the latest example in an ongoing saga of foreign investors encountering problems when buying real estate in the city, which is now full of empty and dilapidated homes.

    In addition to the recent Argentinian scandal, buyers from Hong Kong, Israel and Turkey have also experienced problems after having issues with companies promising them a fortune by investing in property in Baltimore.

    The homes purchased by Plastino's company are in such bad shape that action has been taken by city officials.   

So why is the U.S. allowing foreign investors to buy up houses in the U.S. and drive up housing costs? 

Refugees Welcome: HIV Cases Surge In South Central Idaho

 The local ABC affiliate reports that a "Sharp increase in HIV and AIDS cases prompts health officials to urge vigilance in South Central Idaho." The article relates:

South Central Public Health announced last week that the area recorded 15 cases of HIV in 2025, up from five cases in 2024. AIDS cases also jumped significantly, with 9 reported this year compared to just one last year. 

However, the article is quite opaque about possible reasons for the increase, although one does come to mind:  

Twin Falls sits in Idaho’s southern Magic valley, a city of more than 50,000 that is about 75% white. Conservative and deeply Christian, the town has consistently voted Republican, backing Donald Trump in both 2016 and 2024. Yet since the 1980s, it has been one of only two cities in Idaho, along with Boise, to accept resettled refugees: first south-east Asians, then eastern Europeans from the former Soviet bloc, Bosnians in the 1990s, and later families from Africa and the Middle East. ...   

Although I can't find specific information on the number and types of refugees, Idaho, overall, accepted 468 refugees in FY 2025, with 36% coming from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the refugee agency for Twin Falls states that "[r]efugees resettled in Twin Falls come primarily from Afghanistan, Burma, the Democratic Republic of [the] Congo, Iraq, and Syria." 

VIDEO: Best AR-15 Set Up For The Prepared Civilian

The author draws on his background in special forces operating in Afghanistan as a starting point, but then makes changes based on what he believes will be the needs of an armed civilian. For instance, he does not believe that an armed defender will likely be shooting at the ranges he did in Afghanistan, so he believes that a simple red-dot optic will suffice (and be lighter and less expensive to boot) over using an LPVO. He also believes that you should shoot the ammo you can afford (even if it is just 55 grain), although he suggests keeping some green-tip in reserve because of its better penetration capabilities. While the 16-inch barrel has advantages, he suggests a 14.5" with a pinned and welded muzzle device because the slightly shorter barrel offers the best compromise between CQB (i.e., inside your home) and shooting at extended distances. Interestingly, he recommends that when getting beyond just a basic rifle set up, you go first with a suppressor before getting night vision optics. But he thinks a white light and red dot is probably good enough for the prepared citizen. He also goes into a few different load outs, so be sure to watch the whole thing. 

    He mentions that he has free downloadable targets for zeroing your weapon at his website. Here is the link. 

 VIDEO: "Best AR15 setup and Tactical Loadout for the prepared civilian."
Modern Tactical Shooting (26 min.)

VIDEO: "A 9-Candle Menorah in the Ancient Earthworks of Ohio"

This was a well documented mound earthworks in the 18th Century and were surveyed by the Army Corps of Engineers in 1823. Don't bother trying to find it on Google Earth, though, as "[t]hey have long since been plowed level, and their orientation and exact location are unknown." 

 VIDEO: "A 9-Candle Menorah in the Ancient Earthworks of Ohio"
Hidden in the Heartland (6 min.)

VIDEO: CEO Of IBM Tells Execs To Hire Fewer White Men Or Get Bonuses Cut

 An Indian CEO, of course. So why isn't the DOJ looking into this?

 VIDEO: "Tucker Reacts to James O’Keefe Exposing IBM" (1 min.)

How Much Ammo Should You Stockpile?

At one time, the question of how much ammo to stockpile was only a question for survivalists thinking of ammo supplies after TEOTWAWKI, and of little concern to most gun owners. Thinking back to when I was a kid, I don't believe that my father, who was an avid hunter, probably ever had more than a few boxes of ammo on hand for any one of his firearms. He didn't shoot the volume that seems more typical today, and the attitude was that if we needed more ammo, we could hand load it or buy more. But since the ammo shortages--particularly after the Sandy Hook shooting--I think most any avid shooter tries to keep reserves of ammunition on hand.

    Which brings me to the question of how much ammunition do you need? As I said, this used to be a question that only survivalists seem to ask, so my first encounter of this question was in books like Bruce D. Clayton's Life After Doomsday or Prepare Today - Survive Tomorrow by a man writing under the name of Joe Harold, both of which seemed to be popular among the survivalist community in the 1980s. The amount of ammunition they recommended was modest. Clayton suggested something in the order of 1,000 rounds for each defensive rifle (of which ~150 to 200 should be in magazines), 300 rounds for each defensive handgun (~50 rounds in magazines), and 200 combat rounds for shotguns in addition to any ammo used for practice or hunting. Harold's recommendations were, I believe, something like two to three times that. 

    In Scott Witner's article, "How Much Ammo Should You Really Stockpile?" at the The Truth About Guns, he provides a method of calculating how much ammunition you need based on three uses/types of ammunition:

A functional stockpile isn’t just “whatever’s in the garage.” Organize what you own into three buckets:

1. Range Ammo

Your monthly burn rate. Used for regular range days, match prep, and classes.

2. Ready Ammo

Loaded magazines and defensive loads staged in gear, safes, or vehicles. This is your immediate-use supply.

3. Long-Term Reserve

Deep storage you don’t touch unless there’s a true disruption—political unrest, supply chain collapse, or extended shortages. 

 He looks at what this might look like for someone that is storing 9mm, .223/5.56, and 12 gauge shotgun shells with frequent or intense training. For instance, for 9 mm, he calculated out the amount as follows:

Range Ammo

If you train consistently, expect to shoot 250–500 rounds per month. High-intensity handgun courses can exceed 1,000 rounds in a weekend.

Ready Ammo

A reliable baseline is 6–10 loaded magazines per pistol (roughly 100–150 rounds).

Long-Term Reserve

A sensible long-term number is 5,000 rounds per shooter, covering practice, defensive use, and future shortages. 

Using the upper range, that equals 6,000 for annual training, 150 rounds of "ready ammo", and 5,000 for long term storage, or 11,150 rounds. He has a similar number (11,300) for 5.56, but because you won't expend as many shells training with a shotgun, he has a much small number (1,250) for the shotgun.

    Even for the casual shooter, he recommends 2,300 rounds for 5.56, over 1,650 rounds for 9mm, and about 400 shells for the shotgun. This is based on an assumption of 0 rounds for a monthly training budget, maintaining the recommendations for "ready ammo" and having a fairly decent long-term reserve. 

    And keep in mind that this would be for each shooter (although perhaps you have a mix of dedicated and casual shooters). 

    Anyway, what do you think? 

Rapper Targeted In Stockton Shooting Hiding Out

From the New York Post, "Rapper targeted in Stockton mass shooting is hiding out, fearing for his life after being shot at little girl’s birthday party, dad says."  Per the article, "Rapper MBnel was among the 15 shot at a birthday party for a friend’s 2-year-old daughter inside Monkey Space, a banquet hall in Stockton, on Saturday evening, his father, Junior Dongon, told The Post."

Related: "Stockton mass shooting that killed 4, including 3 kids, at child’s birthday party was gang-related: mayor"--New York Post.  

X-Class Flare Disrupted Radio Signals In Australia

 Space.com reports that on Sunday, the Sun unleashed "a strong X1.9-class solar flare that briefly knocked out radio communications across Australia and parts of southeast Asia." 

    The eruption, which peaked at around 9:49 a.m. EST on Nov. 30 (0249 GMT Dec. 1) came from a newly emerging sunspot region AR429 as it rotated into view over the sun's northeastern limb.

    The flare triggered a strong (R3) radio blackout across the sunlit side of Earth at the time of the eruption. 

In other news of Earth-Sun interactions, "A Strange Zig-Zagging Solar Phenomenon Just Appeared Near Earth." 

    For the first time, researchers have detected a magnetic “switchback” right here near Earth. A switchback is a zigzag twist in magnetic field lines once thought to occur only in the sun’s superheated outer atmosphere. The unexpected discovery is a bit like finding out a rare deep-sea creature also lives in your local lake.

    The findings, published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, don’t just expand the map of where these magnetic oddities appear. It hints that Earth’s magnetic bubble may be more tightly linked to the sun than scientists realized.

    “This structure meets the criteria for a magnetic switchback, a phenomenon frequently observed in the solar wind,” said the research team in the study. 

Pompeo Says Critics Of Israel Have No Place In U.S.

From Shadow of Ezra on X is a video clip of an interview with former CIA Director Mike Pompeo where he "claims that Americans who criticize Israel are committing a modern form of 'blood libel,' insisting that such voices should have no place in the Republican Party or in the country at all," and suggests that support of Israel is central to Conservatism in the U.S. The next question should by why does he think it central to Conservatism? 

    George Washington warned against foreign entanglements because of the risk of being dragged into foreign conflicts, and you can't get any more conservative in America than supporting the ideas of the Founding Fathers. Thus, this idea of undying support for Israel is not only unrelated to conservatism, but is the antithesis of American conservatism. 

More Deaths Due To Indian Truck Drivers

The New York Post reports: "Truck driver charged with killing newlyweds in horrid crash is illegal migrant given license in Newsom’s California: feds."  The article states that "Indian national Rajinder Kumar, 32, was arrested after he jackknifed his semi-truck and collided with a vehicle in Bend [Oregon] back on Nov. 24, killing William Carter and his new wife, Jennifer Lower." The Department of Homeland Security revealed that Kumar was in the US illegally, having been released into the country by the Biden administration. He was issued a CDL by California in 2023. The article also recounts other deaths caused by Indian truck drivers in the United States illegally.

More: "ANOTHER ONE! Criminal Indian Illegal Alien Semi-Truck Driver Who Obtained CDL in California Kills Two People After Jackknifing Trailer in Oregon"--Gateway Pundit.  

The Chinese-U. Mich. Bioweapon Connection

From the Daily Mail: "Inside China's bioweapons plot that transformed Michigan's 'Big House' into ground zero of covert warfare." The article reports that on November 5, federal agents charged three Chinese nationals - Xu Bai, 28, Fengfan Zhang, 27, and Zhiyong Zhang, 30 - with conspiring to smuggle genetically modified biological materials related to round worms into the US while working at a University of Michigan (U-M) Shawn Xu research lab. Zhang was also charged with making false statements to federal agents about the shipments. 

    These cases follow the June arrest of Chengxuan Han, a PhD student from Wuhan who pleaded no contest to smuggling charges before being deported and barred from returning to the US.

    Han had sent the modified worm samples from China before joining the lab in Ann Arbor herself.

[snip]

    In the same month Han was arrested, federal prosecutors charged a Chinese couple - Zunyong Liu and Yunqing Jian - with trying to smuggle a dangerous crop fungus into the US, which could potentially devastate American fields and poison livestock.

Federal authorities also claim that the more than 600 research and teaching labs at U-M have repeatedly been hijacked by Chinese students and researchers for illicit activities. And beyond the shenanigans at the research labs, the article mentions that "[i]n 2023, five Chinese U-M students were charged after a midnight visit to Camp Grayling, a military training installation in northern Michigan," adding that "Federal agents say they deleted photos, lied about why they were there and tried to cover their tracks. They had all graduated and left the US before charges were filed in October 2024." Finally, the article relates:

    Since 2020, U-M has received $375 million in foreign funding, including tens of millions from Chinese entities.

    The university struck major partnerships with:

• Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) - on aerospace, engineering, and rocket-fuel science
• Beijing Institute for Collaborative Innovation (BICI)
• Southern University of Science and Technology
• Peking University
• Multiple Chinese robotics and tech firms

In 2017, U-M even launched its official name in Chinese characters.

    And until 2019, it hosted a Confucius Institute, widely seen as a soft-power arm of Beijing. 

In other words, the University of Michigan has become a hot spot of spying, bio-terror, and has been assisting China in making better ballistic missiles. 

More: "Chinese scientist who smuggled dangerous ‘vomitoxin’ fungus into US deported"--New York Post.

VIDEO: Do You Really Need To Upgrade Your Gear?

You work hard for your money which means, as this video explains, you should think hard before upgrading the gear you have if it works for you.  

VIDEO: "Do You Really Need to Upgrade Your Gear? Honest Advice"
PreparedAirman (7 min.)

Interesting: Submarine Caves In Mexico Extend 325+ Miles

From the Daily Mail: "Inside the world's longest underwater cave: Subterranean water 'web' in Mexico extends at least 325 MILES." Found beneath the Yucatan Peninsula, the Ox Bel Ha ("Mayan for 'Three Paths of Water'") is what the article describes as "a sprawling water 'web' that makes up the world's longest underwater cave system" in which divers have "found giant sink holes, huge crystal chambers known as ice palaces, and 38 unique species of cave–dwelling animals." So far just a bit over 325 miles has been mapped, but cave divers believe there is much more to be found. 

    Scientists believe that the incredible complexity of Ox Bel Ha is due to the unusual way in which it formed.

    Millions of years ago, rainwater and dissolved carbon dioxide filtered through a thick layer of limestone on the Yucatan Peninsula.

    As this acidic solution filtered through the rock, it reacted with the limestone and carved out vast channels and tunnels.

    Then, approximately 18,000 years ago, severe climate changes caused ocean levels to rise and flood the caves – sealing the underground landscape exactly as it is found today. 

The Postal Service's Reliance On Foreign Drivers

"USPS tried to ban immigrant truck drivers — it went horribly"--Freight Waves. First, the background:

    The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Sean P. Duffy recently announced an emergency interim final rule to restrict non-domiciled Commercial Driver’s Licenses (CDLs), causing significant disruptions in the trucking and supply chain industries. Issued by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) on September 29, 2025, the rule addresses widespread abuse in the issuance of these licenses to immigrants. The rule requires that states immediately stop issuing new non-domiciled CDLs, but created a two-year phase in period before all non-domiciled CDLs are invalidated.

    Non-domiciled CDLs, originally intended in 2017 to allow drivers residing in one state to obtain a license in another, evolved to include non-U.S. residents, sometimes without proper work permits. A DOT audit revealed that at least 200,000 such licenses were issued, with over 25% in California improperly granted. 

When the Postal Service enacted policies to comply with the rule. "Facilities were instructed not to load trailers hauled by such drivers as part of efforts to improve safety across a network of asset carriers and brokers handling local, regional, and cross-country work." 

    The policy’s impact was immediate, resulting in canceled loads and widespread disruptions. USPS operations, heavily reliant on these drivers, saw trips missed and sorts delayed, exposing vulnerabilities in the postal linehaul network.

    Within days, USPS reversed the ban, deeming the service and cost impacts too severe for an abrupt change. This highlighted the critical role non-domiciled drivers play in mail delivery reliability. 

While contractors can go back to using the non-domiciled drivers, the USPS maintains that "other rules—such as English proficiency and two drivers per truck—still apply." 

    The article goes on to report that "[s]ince the FMCSA permitted foreigners to get a non-domiciled CDL in March 2019, over 200,000 have been issued. In that same period, the trucking industry has added more than 310,000 trucks, flooding the market with way too much capacity." The consequence is that the trucking industry is "the longest downturn in history, [which] we dubbed the Great Freight Recession." 

The primary culprit: a way oversupplied trucking market. The elimination of non-domiciled CDLs pool will have a significant impact on the freight market as these drivers leave the service. After all, depending on how many of the 200,000 non-domiciled CDLs are currently active and hauling freight, it could wipe out 5%+ of all truckload capacity in the market.

The English proficiency rule will also have an impact: "An insurance executive at a large agency suggested that at least 10% of the truck drivers on the road would fail an inspection if tested on their English language proficiency." 

• More: "USPS Built Mail System On Foreign Truck Drivers, Now Expects Special Treatment From Law."--Zero Hedge.  

The Great Replacement and Rural Communities

The Unz Review published a piece last week entitled "The Great Replacement Comes to Rural America: How mass migration is reshaping every corner of America" that contends that "[n]o matter how far Americans flee from the pressures of urban life, the Great Replacement will always find them." The author goes on to not only show the shift using data on the size of rural populations, but that this invasion has been backed by both Democrat and Republican politicians. The author concludes:

 Only a fundamental change in the ruling class could end this civilization-destroying process. Until that moment arrives, Americans will find that no place remains out of reach from the transformations set in motion by Washington’s mass migration regime.

This has been an ongoing process for a long time in Idaho where illegal aliens working in agriculture have flooded into the state for decades. A recent event in southwestern Idaho that illustrates the scope of the problem was a raid by federal authorities of a horse racing track hosting illegal betting. The raid was in Wilder, Idaho, a small, rural farming town in southwestern Idaho. When I was a kid the town matched the demographics of the state. However, by the time of the 2010 census, the town was 75.9% Hispanic. Unsurprisingly, of the 400 people caught up in the raid, only four were arrested for gambling and over 100 illegal aliens were arrested. As the AP reports in its understated way, "[t]he raid on La Catedral Arena struck nerves in Canyon County, which has the most Hispanic residents in Idaho and where Trump got 72% of the vote last year." The raid so freaked out Hispanics and liberals, that the Canyon Country Sheriff issued a statement to assure everyone that it was not actually an ICE raid, apparently to tamp down concerns that ICE was going to start conducting raids in agricultural communities. And an organized activist network immediately went to work, including spreading stories that children caught up in the raid had been zip-tied and otherwise organizing opposition in the area. 

    And that should probably the main takeaway: that the networks backing this are well organized to immediately challenge any attempts to crack down on immigration. 

VIDEO: The Historical Achilles

A look at Bronze Age Collapse by following the career of the warlord--Piyamaradu, the Terror of the Hittites--that the author believes was the person who was the basis of the character of Achilles in the Illiad.  

VIDEO: "Bronze Age Collapse and the historical Achilles | Piyamaradu, 1250 BC"
Project Glorious (21 min.)

Blue Origin's Blue Ring Spacecraft

From Space News: "Blue Origin advances Blue Ring spacecraft toward 2026 national security mission." From the article:

    Blue Origin said it has passed a key development milestone for its Blue Ring spacecraft, a maneuverable in-orbit transport vehicle designed for national security missions and backed by Pentagon funding.

    The company on Nov. 21 said “the Blue Ring team successfully integrated the flight vehicle’s primary structure and internal harnessing with the core propulsion module.” The spacecraft will now undergo additional checkout work before engineers move on to powering up the vehicle.

    Blue Ring is built to deliver, host and transport payloads in orbit and shift between orbits as missions require. Those movements fall under what the U.S. military calls “dynamic space operations,” a term used to describe spacecraft that can reposition themselves on demand — to gain a better sensor angle, avoid a threat, support another spacecraft or relocate payloads. Such maneuvering has become a priority for the Space Force as it eyes more resilient satellite architectures.

Our first space fighter?

Serial Spitter Given Educational Beatdown

 The New York Post reports that "Anthony Caines— the sicko busted by the NYPD for allegedly spitting in the faces of white women who passed him in Williamsburg — has apparently been on the receiving end of some street-style justice." Caines, who is black, "was arrested on Nov. 13 for his serial spitting spree" and quickly "released with an ankle monitor the following day, after pleading not guilty to charges including aggravated harassment based on race or religion, according to court documents obtained by The Post."

    Video footage shared on social media shows two men beating and stomping on Caines:

    The two men laugh to themselves as they kick Caines and stomp on his legs.

    Caines is heard wailing in pain during the beatdown.

    The clip quickly cuts to an image of Caines with a large gash on his forehead, above his left eye. Blood streams down his face as the men issue a final warning.

    “Stop violating these females out here, you heard?” the man filming the footage tells him.

    “We’re tired of that s–t,” the man explains. “You’re making us look bad.”

    Caines appeared to confirm he understood, before saying, “I went to jail, didn’t I?”

    “F–k jail — we’re worse than jail,” the man yells before delivering one last punch to his head.   

So this appears to be blacks policing other blacks. Interesting.  

VIDEO: Debunking Common Arguements for Mass Immigration

He debunks the following arguments generally advanced in support of mass immigration, as well as ranking them as to how stupid (or evil) they are:

• "Diversity is our Strength"
• "We're A Nation of Immigrants"
• "Mass Immigration Is Unstoppable"
• "Immigrants do the jobs, we don't want to do"
• "They Contribute More In Taxes"
• "Immigrants Commit Fewer Crimes"
• "We Need Mass Immigration For Higher GDP"
• "Immigration Will Save Social Security"
• "Immigrants Are More Entrepreneurial" 
• "Moral Obligation To Let Them In"
• "No Human Is Illegal"
• "Immigrants Are Vital For Technology" 

 VIDEO: "Mass Immigration: All Arguments Ranked & Debunked"
Basic Logic (6 min.)

Chicago Schools To Excuse Absences For Illegals' Children If Parents Fear ICE

 From the Daily Mail: "School district allows migrant kids to stay home if their parents fear ICE." However, the reason for the absence is obscured in the school records, only being listed as "concern for the student's health and safety".  Also, "[t]here is no time limit on this excuse, meaning a parent could indefinitely keep their child out of school for this reason." In other words, it gives the District a way to keep the kids on the books (and boost enrollment numbers) even if the students are deported or voluntarily leave the country. With Democrats, it always comes down to money. 

Bear Mauls Security Guard In Japan

"Bear Mauls Security Guard at Train Station Restroom in Japan amid Alarming Rise in Fatal Attacks"--People. 

    According to local media outlets Kyodo News and NHK, the 69-year-old, who is a security guard, was mauled by the bear just as he was about to exit the restroom near a train station north of Tokyo.

    Though he fell, the man managed to fight back and kick the bear, which caused it to flee, per Kyodo News. The incident happened in the early hours of Friday, Nov. 28, with the man running to a nearby police box at 1:20 a.m. local time to report the attack.   

Gun & Prepping News #57

 Just some gun and prepping related links that I thought interesting or useful:  

•  "Red Dot vs. Iron Sights: Which is Better?"--Shooting Times. Richard Nance and James Tarr take different positions on whether you should have a red dot sight on a carry gun. But beyond the reasons each gives for his position, there are some shooting tips. For example, Tarr writes:

Struggling to find the dot? If you’re struggling to find the dot, it probably has to do with an improper grip or inconsistent presentation. The most common problem is the dot being above the optic window. Camming your support side wrist forward should bring the dot into view. Drawing the gun up high from the holster before driving it out to the target (picture an upside-down L) puts the dot in front of your eyes longer, so you can see it sooner. If you drive the gun out and there’s no dot, grip the pistol more tightly. This will likely bring the dot into view.   

• "Master the Basics"--Shooting Illustrated.  Steve Tarani goes over hold/control of the handgun, presentation and aligning the muzzle, and recovery. On the latter skill:

    Recovery is where the wheels often come off, even for shooters with copious rounds down range. The moment the gun recoils, everything the shooter just built—grip, hold, sight alignment, trigger control—must be sustainable without conscious thought. A higher-percentage success rate of that process is what separates a ‘safe shooter’ from a deployable one.

    The novice fights to find the shooting process; the professional follows it.

    Successful recovery means the muzzle finds its way back to the same visual index every single time, with the shooter already prepared for the next shot before the first one has fully settled.

    To build this, novices must isolate the pattern: lift, settle, return. At first it appears mechanical, even exaggerated, but repetition sculpts it into an efficient neural pathway. Once the pattern is reliable, speed develops naturally as a byproduct of efficiency.

    For the high-performance shooter, recovery drills become tests of consistency under compression—stringent par times, more technical targets and tighter accuracy requirements. The goal is identical at both ends of the spectrum: to make recovery a subconscious, competent and repeatable cycle that fails to collapse under pressure.

• "Pushing The Limits of Smaller Guns"--Shooting Illustrated. Claude Werner writes:

    As we learn to get a good sight picture and press the trigger smoothly, small guns such as the Ruger LCP Max or Glock G43 can be shot accurately at much further than just an arm’s length distance. We can practice such shooting with courses of fire that challenge our marksmanship at longer distances, with smaller targets, and shooting with one hand. While most defensive gun uses take place within seven yards, on a full-size target, and allow us to shoot with both hands, that’s not universally true. It’s worthwhile to have an understanding of how well you can shoot your pistol beyond a car length.

    This is a practice session of just under a box of ammo (47 rounds) that provides three different benchmarks for your ability. It includes shooting with one hand, shooting at a smaller target, and shooting at longer distances.  

• He has some more photographs at his blog post: "Pushing The Limits of Smaller Guns"--Tactical Professor.  

• "Ruger's New LCP Pistol Offers 'MAX' Protection"--Shooting Times. A review of the Ruger LCP Max with a manual safety as well as instructions on how to switch the magazine release from being for right handed shooters to left handed shooters. And this:

Some of you reading this might ask, “Why would I want a small .380 ACP pistol when I can have a slightly larger 9mm?” Shooting Times writer Layne Simpson wrote an entire article on that back in 2018. I encourage you to look up that report because it’s full of very good information, but I’ll condense it for you here. Size and weight, as in the size and weight of the gun. A .380 ACP pocket pistol is just about the smallest and lightest handgun that still shoots an acceptably potent round for self-defense. ... 

• "Blind Faith – A Low Light Drill by Mike Boyle"--Snub Noir. This is a drill to practice low light shooting, using steel targets (although the author indicates that paper targets can be substituted). "Two 6 round magazines or a fully loaded 6 shot revolver with a speedloader. The shooter will also need a hand held or weapon mounted light."
• "75Gr Hornady TAP On Deer"--Scattered Shots. The author had been deer hunting with a 5.56 using the 75gr TAP ammo, and shares photographs of how it performed on a body shot (and it did very well). 
• "Marlin 1894 Trapper 10mm Automatic Overview"--Field & Stream. Marlin's 1894 is the only lever action rifle (so far, anyway) offered in 10mm. The author tested velocity and accuracy at 100 yards with several loads. As expected, the Lever Evolution rounds offered by Hornady did better at range than other loads. However, the author concludes:

And that brings up the question of what the 10mm Trapper is for? Clearly, its deer and feral hog capable out to about 100 yards, but as a stand-alone purchase, a Trapper in 357 or 44 Magnum might make more sense. On the other hand, if you’re a 10mm guy and already have a 10mm revolver or pistol, I don’t know how you’ll be able to resist this handy little carbine. 

One of the concerns I have with semi-auto pistol ammo in carbine barrels is that the cartridges tend to peak in velocity at barrel lengths shorter than the length of barrel in a carbine. For instance, in this case, the 1894 Trapper reviewed in the foregoing article has a 16.1 inch barrel, but when you go to Ballistics By The Inch for 10mm, you will see that the across multiple loads, the maximum velocity is at 13" to 14". Loads like the .357 Mag. and .44 Mag really do take more advantage of the longer 16" or 18" barrels.  

• "Shotguns: How To Breach"--Shooting Illustrated. An excerpt:

    Eddie Penney is the CEO of Contingent Group, author of the great book, “Unafraid,” and a retired SEAL Team Six guy with seven deployments under his belt. He’s breached more than his share of doors, and inasmuch, advises the average, untrained, home defender that strong and repeated “mule kicks” to the door may be the best bet. He’s referring to the kicking style where you face opposite of the door, bend over and kick out and backward.

    But, he says that if a mule kick doesn’t work, a well-placed shot or shots from a shotgun will often open a door right up. He says the best way to open a locked door with a shotgun is not by shooting for the hinges, but for the bolt of the locking mechanism, where the bolt enters the door frame.

    “Go for the locking side,” said Penney. Then, he advises to jam the shotgun’s muzzle into the door jamb, where the door meets the frame, just above where you think the deadbolt should be. Angle the barrel down 45 degrees and toward the door at 45 degrees so the shot will strike the bolt where it enters the door frame. Angling the gun down and away will also minimize the chance of debris—spall—going into the room. Then use your shoulder nearest the door to shield your head as you look away. With the shotgun held firmly in place, pull the trigger.

    “Take a shot then try to push or kick the door open,” said Penney. If it still won’t open, your first shot probably made it easier to see where to better aim your next shot, so try it again. Plenty of times the bolt will be blown right out of the door, or the doorframe will be destroyed, allowing the door to freely swing open. 

The military and police typically will use special breaching rounds, but Penney indicated that if they didn't have the special rounds, they would use bird shot--the smaller the better.  

• "Best Long Range Cartridges"--The Firearm Blog.  By "long range," the author means 800 to 1,000 yards. As you would expect, the author believes that the best all round cartridge for long range shooting is the 6.5 Creedmoor. He considers the .308 to be the most versatile "because it's available everywhere, and because it has been available in so many military and civilian contexts for so long, there are lots of competition opportunities to use a .308." The best for the AR15 platform is the 6mm ARC. The best for hunting is the .300 Win Mag, according to the author. And the best big bore is the .338 Lapua. 
• "What is the Best Barrel Length for 6mm ARC?"--Ballistic Advantage Blog. If you do not know much about the 6mm ARC, it was a cartridge designed for the military to give long range capabilities to the AR 15 sized platform--it can stay supersonic out to 1,000 yards depending on the bullet and load. But as to this article, it's not an issue of which barrel length is the best, but what is the best length for different applications. The article indicates you should use a 24" barrel for long range shooting; 20" for hunting or target shooting; 18" for most military applications but is also suitable for hunting. Sixteen inches is the shortest they recommend without too badly compromising the cartridge's capabilities. 
• Related: "22 ARC vs 6mm ARC: What Sets Them Apart?"--AR15Parts.com. The 22 ARC is flatter shooting, but lacks the bullet weight to reach out as far as the 6mm ARC.
• Related: "6mm ARC Basics – What you Need to Know to Get Started"--AR Build Junkie. 
• Related: "Building A 6mm ARC Upper"--Shooting Illustrated.  
• "Best .308 Barrel Lengths: Is 16 Inches Too Short?"--Firearm News.  The author writes:

 In conclusion, yes you do indeed give up some velocity dropping from a 22- or 24-inch barrel to a 16-incher. However, it’s probably not as much as you would think. Is the trade-off worth it? Now, that is the important question. In the case of a lightweight carbine, which will be used inside 600 yards and primarily inside 300 yards, a 16-inch barrel makes a lot of sense. It is significantly shorter, handier, easier to maneuver and easier to get in and out of vehicles with. The shorter barrel is a real plus if you plan on mounting a sound suppressor. In the case of Ruger’s SFAR, it makes for a very quick handling package that is easy to carry over hill and dale.

• "The Priorities of Survival"--Revolver Guy.  The author was working on a presentation intended to "focus on a handful of law enforcement gunfights involving officers armed with revolvers, and identify some 'lessons learned' for armed citizens who are similarly equipped," and offers some thoughts to readers about Massad Ayoob's "Priorities of Survival" model,  akin to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs in that the most basic and primary needs are at the base of a pyramid and moving up to more refined points. At the base of the Priorities of Survival pyramid is "mental awareness and preparation," then "tactics" above it; then "skill with equipment"; and, finally, at the top, "equipment". 
• "Dark Arts For Good Guys: Think Fast!"--Straight Forward In A Crooked World.  The author begins:

    There is a problem we (society in large) face in trying to thwart,fight,and kill the badmen of the world.

    As the "Good" we have concluded that there is unofficially mandated fair play and ethics into trying to fight off those who commit evil.

    When I teach on how to defend against mass shootings I tell my students that they have to get their head around shooting an attacker in the back. And turn the targets around for them to do so.

    Being in a prolonged gunfight with multiple attackers is not the same fight as with a home invader. You shooting a man in the back as he runs for the front door is at best manslaughter. Understanding that firing into the back of a gunman as he walks around executing people lying on the floor is called tactical advantage and justified. Just as it is for any S.W.A.T and HRT Sniper.

• "Tarp Shelter – A Comprehensive Guide to Building Your Own Survival Shelter"--Alpha Survivalist. A lengthy article on--you guessed it--making shelters from tarps. The author begins by noting that:

A tarp shelter is a versatile and affordable solution for camping and outdoor enthusiasts looking for a lightweight and easy-to-set-up shelter. Tarp shelters can be used in a variety of ways, from a simple overhead cover to a fully enclosed tent-like structure. With a little creativity and some basic knowledge of knots and rigging, you can create a comfortable and protective shelter that will keep you dry and comfortable in any weather.

He covers four types of tarp shelters, tips on selecting the right tarp, equipment/supplies you will need, anchoring techniques, tips on maximizing comfort and protection, etc.

•  "Different Fishing Setups You Should Know About"--SHTF Preparedness. Combinations of elements--floats, bobbers, weights, swivels, etc.--for (i) cast and retrieving, (ii) fishing off the bottom, and (iii) suspended bobber and bait fishing. 
• "15 Things You Should NOT Do When The SHTF"--Urban Survival Site. The author begins by pointing out:

    Plenty of attention is given to the things you should do when disaster strikes, but knowing what not to do when disaster strikes can be just as important. During a crisis, emotions run high, logic often takes a backseat, and panic can override even the best survival plan. One bad decision in those early moments can have serious consequences.

    That’s why it’s critical to mentally prepare yourself not just for action, but for inaction. Prepare yourself for the things you must resist doing, no matter how tempting they may be.

The first four things to NOT do are: (i) panic; (ii) stare at the TV; (iii) decline government aid; (iv) bug out to the woods. Read the whole thing. 

• "Selco: Are You TRULY Adaptable Enough to Leave Everything Behind to Survive?"--The Organic Prepper.  An excerpt:

    Many of us mix things here about survival, things that you have to have to survive, things that are important, less important, comfort vs. necessity and similar – it is a huge topic.

    But for this article, we need to understand that things are just like that – things. Yes, they make our life easier. But believe it or not, life is possible without many things. The final result here for many preppers is gonna be the fact that they might die, because they will value too much their physical preps, and they may fail to recognize the moment when they need to leave everything and run.

    It is very easy to fall into that trap – to start to value your preps so much, you collected those things so hard, you invest your money into food stash, into 10 different kinds of weapons, into a bug-out vehicle, into a cabin in the woods.

• "How Long Will a Buddy Heater Run on 1 lb & 20 lb Propane Tanks? (Run-Time Chart & Tips)"--Modern Survival Blog. The Mr Heater Buddy is one of the most popular propane heaters for emergency use, temporary heating of a garage or workshop, or even for taking camping. The author gives times for both the Buddy heater and the Big Buddy heater, and gives times for running at low, medium (for the Big Buddy) and high settings. For the Buddy heater, the run time on a 1 lb. bottle is between 2.4 to 5.4 hours; and using a 20-lbs. tank, it is between 41 and 92 hours. He has a lot more information on BTUs, the best use for the Buddy versus Big Buddy heaters, and how to hook them up to 20 lbs. tanks. 

Gun Control In Action: 14 Shot, 4 Dead In Mass Shooting In Stockton (Updated)

From USA Today: "4 dead, 14 injured in California shooting at child's birthday party." It's good to see that California's strict gun control laws are doing their job. The article reports:

 The incident was reported at a banquet hall where a family was celebrating inside the building. During the celebrating, gunshots erupted and 14 victims were shot, four of those people died. The victims' ages range from "juvenile and adults," according to Brent.Early indications suggest this maybe a "targeted incident," Brent said during a press conference Saturday night.

No description of the suspect has been released. Only 17% of the population is white (non-Hispanic), so this is likely another case of diversity being a strength. A Daily Mail article about the incident had some reactions on social media including this: "Get these guns off the streets, this is terrible. Babies getting shot.'" Maybe the problem is not the guns, but the people that live there. 

Update: The USA Today article was a bit off. Other news sources indicate that 14 people were shot of which 4 have died. The title of this post has been updated accordingly.  

VIDEO: Setting Up The AR7 As A Survival Rifle

The producer of this video, Paul W., writes for Primer Peak. He briefly goes over the reason he bought this rifle over the Ruger 10/22 take down (too heavy) or the Marlin Papoose (out of production and so demanding a higher price) before going over some things he did to better set this up as a survival rifle (i.e., surviving and getting rescued rather than tactical). These aren't modifications to the firearm itself, but just different things he's added, such as putting glow in the dark tape on the weapon to make sure that he can find it if it is set down in brush or grass and to see it at night. He describes a couple things he did to make eliminate rattling, and some bits of other survival gear he was able to slip into the stock. He also reported good reliability using the .22 Punch ammo.  

VIDEO: "Setting Up the Henry AR-7 to be a Survival Rifle"
Paul W. (9 min.)

Afghan Immigrant Arrested For Bomb Threat To Fort Worth, TX

Another Afghan admitted under Biden's Operation Allies Welcome program has been arrested, this time for threatening to bomb Fort Worth, Texas. Mohammad Dawood Alokozay was arrested on Tuesday by the Department of Homeland Security after posting a video on Tik Tok in which he claimed to be building a bomb to target the Texas city. Per the article, "Alokozay came to the US in the wake of the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan as part of the Biden administration’s Operation Allies Welcome, according to DHS," and was made a lawful permanent US resident on Sept. 7, 2022. Although Alokozay is currently only facing state charges, Immigration and Customs Enforcement has lodged a detainer. 

Vigilant Citizen: The Finders

An interesting piece from Vigilant Citizen:  "Mind Control, Ritual Abuse and Child Trafficking: The Mysterious Case of 'The Finders'." Today, if we think back to the Satanic panic of the 1980s, including allegations of ritualistic child abuse at day cares, we believe that it was all a panic with no underlying facts to support it. But is that true?

    The cited article relates that "[i]n 1987, a police investigation into a mysterious group called The Finders revealed a powerful network engaging in child abduction, mind control, and satanic rituals. The case then turned into one of the biggest cover-ups in U.S. history. Here’s a look at this critical piece of occult elite history."  

    At the center of it all is an enigmatic group called The Finders, a sophisticated network that abducted children, brainwashed them in horrific conditions, subjected them to satanic rituals, and trafficked them on an international level.

    As we’ll see, the material seized by the police on the group’s properties was nothing less than horrific and extremely damning. In normal circumstances, the pictures, documents, passports, and computers found by investigators would have been more enough to take down this organization and arrest all of its members, alongside massive media coverage and public outrage.

    However, this did not happen. Instead, the people who were arrested were quickly released, the charges were dropped, and the media abruptly stopped covering the story. What happened?

    Well, this case can be divided into two distinct phases. In the first one, local police thoroughly investigated the group and transparently documented its findings. Shortly after, the FBI took over the investigation, and things quickly got murky.

    The reason for this is as evident as it is alarming: The Finders were directly connected with the CIA. In his Illuminati Formula to Create a Mind Control Slave, Fritz Springmeier wrote:

The Finders, a joint CIA/FBI group procured children for the Network for years. Some of the children needed for programming are to be used for sacrifices to traumatize those being programmed.

    In 2019, under the Freedom of Information Act, the FBI released documents related to The Finders. Although the texts have been absurdly redacted, some tidbits of information with far-reaching implications still provided deeper insights into this massive conspiracy.

    Here’s a look at this bottomless rabbit hole, which offered a rare glimpse into the inner workings of the occult elite.

Some of the information revealed that "[s]everal members of The Finders were current or ex-members of the CIA and the intelligence community." Read the whole thing. 

Weekend Reading

Greg Ellifritz has a new Weekend Knowledge Dump with lots of links to articles and other links on self-defense and survival topics.  And he has links to some Black Friday deals for prepping and self-defense minded people. Some of the links in his Weekend Knowledge Dump that caught my attention in particular:

• An article from Shooting Illustrated titled "How Fast Can You Run?" that addresses the elephant in the room for those who think that in the event of danger, they can run away. It's more than just a fitness issue as the article notes other factors such as sex (men generally can walk and run faster than women), age, terrain, the type of footwear, and more. The other thing to remember is that running uses different muscles than other exercises--even sprinting is going to be different from jogging or long distance running--and you could end up injuring yourself. 
• One of the issues that come up again and again is the topic of using bird shot or other small shot for self-defense in shotguns. In that vein, Greg links to an article discussing using shells loaded with BB loads and why it is not the best option for self-defense. The BB loads that were tested had decent penetration out to 10 to 20 yards depending on the load used (so probably acceptable inside the confines of most residences). The problem was the spread pattern which opened up pretty quick such that the best range he could get before the pattern opened up too far was only 10 yards, and that was with a load using flight control wads. 
• So I had mentioned earlier this week an incident from Italy where migrants attacked a couple having sex in a car, and gang raped the woman (the male victim's fiancee). Greg also take note of this incident, but rather than focusing on the attackers being migrants, the point he raises is that there are some situations that justify resistance even against all odds--that there are some things worth killing (or dying) for.
• A point/counter-point style (do any of your remember that TV program?) article discussing whether you should train with hostage targets with one author (Ralph Mroz) arguing against it because it fools you into taking a shot you won't be able to take, and Claude Werner pointing out that people can and do make those shots. Mroz raises a good point about the small size of a person's head and that they can move their head faster than you can make the shot. That, however, has more to do with why the head should not be your initial target in a gun fight rather than an argument against taking a shot in a hostage situation. One of the key aspects of a hostage situation as portrayed in hostage targets is that the criminal is standing behind the victim so he does not have to move. I remember seeing a video of a security guard that was present when a man took a woman hostage outside the store where the guard worked. The guard rested his revolver on the roof of a car, took careful aim, and took the shot when it was clear that the man was too agitated to reason with. There was no issue of the man trying to dodge out of the way. I saw another video where the criminal was so intent on holding his hostage and yelling at the police surrounding him that he never even noticed one officer quickly walk up to his side and shoot him in the head at contact distance with a shotgun. 

Claymore: "Danny's First Day"

 Going a long time back at The Firearm Blog, there was an occasional contributor that went by the name "Claymore". In this particular story--"Danny's first day: An argument against ankle holsters"--he had been tasked to go undercover and take photographs of people attending a protest outside a courthouse where a Puerto Rican terrorist was being tried. This was back in 1988. As Claymore explains, "Normally when one is undercover in situations like this there is an intelligence gatherer and a cover officer. The cover officer’s only job is “watching the back” of the one gathering intelligence." But because a KKK rally was also being held, the law enforcement agencies were short handed and didn't have a spare experienced "cover officer," leaving Claymore having to use a newly minted U.S. Marshal who carried his concealed weapon exactly as taught in the academy--in an ankle holster--and was not going to change for just that job. 

    Most of the article is about his covering the protest, but I've always found the discussion relevant to holsters to be particularly interesting:

    It had been a long three hours so we went in the store and got cold drinks and we deciding what the best way back to my car was and decided to cross the road. Being good citizens after crossing the road we started toward the entrance of the park to throw our soda cans in a trash barrel at the entrance of the park when the Big armed dudes were back with a bunch of pissed off people along as helpers…. we were in deep shit and were quickly surrounded and driven by the force of the crowd into the fenced park.

    I have always appendix carried my Browning BDA-380 when undercover just the the right of my belt buckle and had put on rubber Pachmayr grips that work perfectly to prevent the firearm from slipping down from the belt. [Ed: Claymore was left handed, so this meant that he was carrying in a quasi cross-draw position].

    The big dudes were kicking us in the achilles tendon, and calves, while wearing heavy work boots, and pinching the back of our arms. Let me tell you when a large full grown man pinches your muscles it hurts like hell.

    We were in deep deep shit but fortunately we had stopped right before the May 19th lady and I quickly got my firearm out because I could still move my forearms and it was a simple matter to just move my hand to my belt buckle area to draw. Danny on the other hand had seen me going for my weapon but when he bent over to get to his ankle mounted weapon they “bucked” up against his extended rear end preventing him from bending over and when he tried to lift his leg to get to it they jostled him so he couldn’t stand on one leg.

HE COULD NOT GET TO HIS WEAPON TO SAVE HIS LIFE.

    I took my weapon out from under my shirt with just and inch or so of the barrel showing, so the rest of the crowd couldn’t see it, and told the May19th lady “I know who you are and you know who I am. Look down (she did) and in three seconds I’m going to start shooting, starting with you right in the stomach if you don’t get your goons off us” I told her “we are leaving so just get them off us and we are out of here” All this time they keep up the pinching and kicking and I could see Danny was having a hard time of it.

    Out of the corner of my eye I spotted the boss of the local police intelligence unit and the assistant Special Agent in charge of the local FBI office, I knew both of them well, standing on the other side of the road laughing.

    Well she gave a nod and the goons backed off and we slowly backed out of there. I was HOT. I walked over to my alleged friends and said something like “WTF is wrong with you assholes why didn’t you send us some help?”

    They were grinning and and in unison they came out with a line, stolen from the Texas Rangers, and said “one riot one trooper” we knew you could handle it.

    I was floored and when I said “I had drawn my weapon and was one second from shooting”. They lost their smiles quickly and explained that they did not see that and thought I had it handled.

    I calmed down a little but I could see Danny was a little unnerved by the whole thing. I got him back to my car and drove back to his office. I asked him “how did you like that day in the life of a trooper?” He said “does things like that happen very often?” I said “not too often that bad but working rallies either KKK, commies, or whoever is part of the job.

    He said “I have changed my mind” and he never became a trooper but went on to a long career with the Marshal service.

    So my advice is that an ankle holster is the very last place you want to carry your primary weapon if there is any way to avoid it. There are a multitude of other carry positions that you can come up with that are much better. That being said I did carry a SECOND firearm in an ankle holster while working in uniform, but never a primary. 

And The M7 Is Already Being Modified

 It's only been a few years since the M7 was officially adopted by the Army and we are already seeing some significant changes to deal with shortcomings that were already obvious when it was first adopted such as the weight and recoil. From "The Army’s New M7A1 Spear: Shorter, Lighter, and Finally Making Sense?" at The Truth About Guns. Some of the changes:

• The barrel has been shortened from 13 inches to 11 inches in order to save weight. Now remember that the whole point of the 6.8×51 cartridge and a new rifle was to provide better penetration against body armor (which is primarily an issue of velocity) and longer effective range, so cutting two inches off the already short barrel length just degrades the cartridge's performance. The consequence is that muzzle velocity has now dropped to under 3,000 fps, to now about 2,940 fps.
• The barrel profile has been changed to also save weight.
• Improvements to the handguard to add more attachment points, allow better access to the gas adjustment, and strengthen the attachment to the receiver.
•  These changes and the shift in the point of balance toward the rear makes the rifle quicker to the shoulder and easier to use.
• The folding stock has been abandoned.

On the other hand, there is no getting around the fact that the ammo is heavier and bulkier:

     A key point from the Rangers who have worked with the Spear in testing the ammo load penalty is real.

•  A squad equipped entirely with 6.8×51 carries roughly 60 percent of the round count they would with 5.56
•  Every magazine is heavier
•  Belt-fed guns and DMRs add even more weight on top of that

That matters for fire superiority. Thirty rounds of low-recoiling 5.56 that troops can shoot quickly and accurately still count for a lot in any fight.

    This is where the role of the M7A1 starts to make more sense. Several experienced voices in the video argue that this should not outright replace the M4. Instead, it makes more sense as a special weapon in the platoon.   

And that special role is essentially that of a designated marksman rifle.  

Biden Ordered Airports To House Illegal Aliens

 From Townhall: "Remember All the Illegals Sleeping in Airports? The Biden Administration Was Behind It All." From the article:

    ... A new report, from the Senate Commerce Committee, says the Biden administration forced airports to house illegal immigrants, posing a serious safety risk to airports and American travelers.

    That report alleges the Biden administration directed several government departments, including the Department of Transportation (DOT), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to house migrants in airports.  

Why? "According to the report, the administration instructed DOT and FAA to 'inventory available facilities' at both federally owned and local airports and to 'divert federal resources' to support migrant arrivals." 

Nat'l Guardsman Dies--Suspect's Motive Unknown (wink, wink)

There have been further developments in the shooting of two National Guardsman by an Afghan immigrant who had, at one time, served on a CIA death squad. The major development is that National Guard soldier Sarah Beckstrom has died from her injuries she received in the terror attack carried out by Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who had served as part of a CIA-backed "Zero Unit." We have some more information on how the attack went down:

    Suspect Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan evacuee, allegedly drove across the country from his US home in Bellingham, Washington — a nearly 3,000-mile, 40-hour haul — to arrive in D.C. by Wednesday afternoon, officials confirmed after the attack.

    It remains unclear when Lakanwal left home — where he reportedly has a wife and five children — and when he arrived in the nation’s capital.

    However, he was laying in wait on a corner the Farragut West Metro entrance, just two blocks from the White House by about 2 p.m. — where two armed National Guard troops were standing patrol.

    The attack happened at 17th and I streets NW — next to Farragut Square Park.

    Lakanwal then allegedly pulled out a .357 Magnum-caliber Smith & Wesson revolver, trained its sights on the Guardsmen, and started firing, according to authorities.

    Specialist Sarah Beckstrom — a 20-year-old with the West Virginia National Guard who had volunteered for the day’s service so others could be home for Thanksgiving — was quickly struck in the head and chest.

[Snip]

    But Lakanwal reportedly only had four bullets in his gun, and allegedly picked up Beckstrom’s weapon and continued shooting at 24-year-old Guard Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, CBS News reported.

    Wolfe is still in critical condition.

    Nearby, a National Guard major was doing rounds to check in with troops posted nearby and heard the gunfire down the block.

    Despite not having a weapon himself, he looked towards the chaos and saw that Lakanwal had spotted him.

     The major ducked behind a car and pulled out the only defense he had: a pocket knife, according to sources who spoke to CBS.

    When Lakanwal paused to reload, the major leapt from cover and turned the ambush back on the attacker — stabbing the alleged terrorist in the head multiple times and bringing him to the ground, conservative lawyer and strategist Mike Davis reported from law enforcement sources.

I'm going to interrupt the flow of the New York Post article to interject something from Anonymous Conservative who was analyzing the surveillance video that captured some of the events:

See the two trucks on the right? We have seen a couple of these high profile “hits” now, where they were walled in on one side of the ambush zone with either larger SUVs, or box trucks. Luigi Mangione was among the most notable, as in his case, a driver in one of the SUVs grew impatient, and opened the driver’s side door on his Chevy Suburban, and stood up on the floorboard, with his head up above the top of the truck, looking back to see where Mangioni and that United Healthcare CEO, Brian Thompson, were. As they approached, he got back in his vehicle, put it in drive, but then sat there through the whole shooting with his foot on the brakes. 

Don't know if it is relevant, but it is something to consider. Back to the New York Post account:

    During the initial attack, the major allegedly heard Lakanwal yelling “Allahu akbar” — “God is great” — the Muslim phrase commonly yelled by Islamic extremists carrying out terror attacks.

    Meanwhile, a fourth National Guardsman was nearby and had ran towards the fray with a pistol drawn, and shot Lakanwal in the buttocks and leg.

    Both guardsmen held Lakanwal down until he was arrested. 

Notwithstanding his shouting "alluha akbar," the article states: "It remains unclear exactly what motivated Lakanwal to carry out the alleged attack...."

    The fall out from the attack continues. "President Trump said late Thursday that he intends to 'permanently pause' migration from all 'Third World Countries,' to allow the US to 'fully recover' in a Thanksgiving Truth Social post." 

    “Even as we have progressed technologically, Immigration Policy has eroded those gains and living conditions for many,” Trump wrote late Thursday night.

    “I will permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries to allow the U.S. system to fully recover, terminate all of the millions of Biden illegal admissions, including those signed by Sleepy Joe Biden’s Autopen, and remove anyone who is not a net asset to the United States,” he added. 

Pres. Trump is also considering deporting Lakenwal's family: his wife and five kids. 

    And we learn more about Lakanwal's life:

    Rahmanullah Lakanwal and his family were welcomed into the US four years ago after serving in a CIA-backed elite Afghan commando “Zero Unit” that was accused of torture and the brutal murder of civilians. 

    After his war-torn country fell to barbaric Taliban rule, the 29-year-old was given a $2,000-per-month apartment in the quiet town of Bellingham, Washington, neighbors told The Post — along with, reportedly, a contracting gig at Amazon.

 [snip]

    After being welcomed in the US, Lakanwal, his hijab-covered wife and their five children settled in the idyllic northwest Washington city of Bellingham. He largely lived a quiet life in a modern apartment building, where he often played Call of Duty and FIFA, neighbors told The Post.

    “Bellingham is very liberal,” a neighbor explained, describing the area he settled in as “very welcoming. Very diverse. Very open.”

 And that is probably why he finally snapped. 

Indian Fungus Among Us

 Yesterday I had posted about a fungal STD spreading in the U.K. where the origin of the disease was Southeast Asia. A reader, in the comments, asked if I had any information about the demographics of the people with the disease. I couldn't find that information, but I did come across the following from a paper entitled: "Trichophyton indotineae—An Emerging Pathogen Causing Recalcitrant Dermatophytoses in India and Worldwide—A Multidimensional Perspective."

Trichophyton (T.) indotineae is a newly identified dermatophyte species that has been found in a near-epidemic form on the Indian subcontinent. There is evidence of its spread from the Indian subcontinent to a number of countries worldwide. 

So while I don't have the demographics of those seeking treatment in the UK, it is clear that the disease comes from India. Another example of how diversity is a strength. 

Range Hot: Setting Up A Range Belt Or Battle Belt

From Range Hot: "How to Setup a Range Belt or Battle Belt." While we typically talk about what to attach to the belt, the article begins by examining the "foundation" belt:

    ANR Design’s preferred range belt is the Blue Alpha Gear Duty Molle Belt & Battle Belt Lite belt. These are great host battle belts. They do require a liner belt, which is a Velcro inner belt of 1.5″ that fits through all normal pants. The duty belt preferred width is at the 1.75″ size. They are super sturdy and load bearing range belts. Blue Alpha Gear has a bunch of cool accessories that allows modularity of your range belt. They have the padded Velcro liners to create a rubberized texture surface to put over a jacket, or over garments if you don’t have access to your liner belt.

    While on the subject of Velcro and building a stable foundation for your range belt setup, make sure that you invest in a roll of hook Velcro. Make sure to always apply stick-on hook Velcro to all of your hard plastic accessories when using a duty belt. Going through the Molle loops on the duty belts isn’t always the best practice. You’ll get a much more stable platform by going over the belt itself with a belt clip. To make sure that it clings on to the liner belt that is attached to your pants, use hook stick on Velcro on your hard plastic accessories so that they maintain a positive contact against your liner belt. 

     The article also discusses what to put on the belt, including medical supplies and an IFAC pouch, magazine carriers, some tools you might want on the range, why you might want a dump pouch on a range belt, and, of course, holsters:

 Most off-the-shelf KYDEX holsters for a range belt or a battle belt are what is considered a level 1 retention system. Level one retention is friction that holds the firearm in place inside the holster. Therefore, in a tactical application, you might want to consider a holster that has mechanical retention. Mechanical retention is defined by level two annotation. Once you get into level 3 holsters, you are talking about holsters that are typically NIJ certified and carried by police officers. Level 3 holsters are not utilized by Special Forces or military units.   

Related:

• "The Bump-in-the-Night Belt" 
• "Bump In The Night Sling"  
• "Do You Need an All-in-One Fighting Kit?"--Everyday Marksman. The author describes what he calls his "Minuteman Kit": a belt and Y-harness type system.
• VIDEO: "Minuteman Battle Belt Setup! What Do You Need? Do The Things!"--Asymmetrical Preparedness (19 min.)
• VIDEO: "How to setup a 'gunfighter' Belt / Battle Belt / Ferro Concepts Bison Belt"--Garand Thumb (24 min.).