Happy Halloween - A Couple Classic Cartoons

 Happy Halloween! 

 VIDEO: "Trick or Treat (1956)"
Kalle Anka & C:o (8 min.) 

 

 VIDEO: "Lonesome Ghosts | Mickey Mouse and Friends: Classic Shorts | ‪@disneykids‬"
Disney Kids (9 min.)

RPG Saturday: The Sinister Secret of Salt Marsh

    The Sinister Secret of Salt Marsh was the first of a series of three interconnected adventure modules for first edition AD&D--the other two adventures being Danger at Dunwater and The Final Enemy. The Sinister Secret of Salt Marsh was first published by TSR's UK division in 1981.  It was resurrected for 5th Edition D&D, together with Danger at Dunwater and The Final Enemy, and collected together with some additional adventures in a volume entitled Ghosts of Salt Marsh. 

    I probably purchased The Sinister Secret of Salt Marsh back in 1981 shortly after it was released. The primary appeal to me was the idea of exploring a haunted house--something very different from the standard delve into abandoned crypts, orc lairs, or fighting giants. In fact, the general setting seems more appropriate for something set in the past few hundred years rather than a Medieval setting.

Adventure Summary 

     The general scenario begins with the character party coming across the sleepy harbor town of Salt Marsh where they hear stories of a haunted mansion atop a seaside cliff outside the town. Either on their own, or with encouragement from the town leaders, the characters will then journey out to the haunted house to explore the house to drive out whatever evil is lurking there.  

  

    In true Scooby-Doo fashion, the mansion is not truly haunted--at least not in the sense that the town folk believe--but is being used by a gang of smugglers who are taking advantage of secret caverns beneath the house that lead to the bottom of the cliff. A ship is used to smuggle goods to just off the coast from the house, and then moved into the caverns by boat before being further distributed and sold off. 

    The characters are intended to explore the house. Unlike a Scooby-Doo mystery, however, there actually are dangerous creatures in and around the house. There is a poisonous snake in a well outside the home, and giant centipedes and large spiders can be encountered in the house; a group of small creatures called stirges lurk in the attic; some animated skeletons are locked in a crypt underneath the house; and, of course, there are the smugglers themselves. And there is the chance of randomly encountering giant rats, goblins, or a few other creatures in addition to those attached to specific locations. Additionally, there is a "prisoner" tied up in one of the bedrooms who actually is an assassin, hired by a merchant who works with the smugglers to infiltrate the adventurer's group to take appropriate action to prevent them from ever escaping the house. 

    And below the house, hidden behind a secret door in the celler, are the tunnels and caverns used by the smugglers, including members of the smuggling gang that are living in the caverns. 

    Whether from prisoners or clues found throughout the house, the characters will learn of the smuggling and the system to signal between the house and the smuggler's ship. This gives the characters the opportunity to then attempt to sneak onto the smuggler's ship and apprehend the leader of the gang and capture the ship and collect a generous reward from a grateful town council (or abscond with the ship and its cargo). 

     Aboard the ship, however, the characters will learn that the gang has not just been smuggling goods to bypass tariffs and taxes, but have been selling weapons to a colony of lizard men that have recently moved into the area. The adventure is continued in the next adventure, Danger at Dunwater. 

Influence

     The general scenario--the haunted house atop a cliff, hidden caverns down to the sea, and smugglers--may see familiar to those of you who were fans of the Hardy Boys mysteries as it is the basic premise used in the second Hardy Boys' adventure, The House On The Cliff. This was particularly apparent to me when I read the original 1927 edition of the book which emphasized the aspect of the house being haunted and decrepit, and I used some of the descriptions from the book when I last ran the D&D adventure. 

Additional Thoughts 

     This is a great adventure for low level characters (levels 1-3) and one of my favorites to run as a Dungeon Master. It is not too long and has a mixture of mystery and action. It also splits neatly into two parts (the house and the ship) so that it can be easily played over multiple evenings. The town can be used as a base of operations for additional adventures--something that naturally results if you use all three adventures in the original trilogy or use the adventures in the Ghosts of Salt Marsh book.

    I will note that the adventure as published in the Ghosts of Salt Marsh is not too different from the original 1981 adventure. The basic scenario is the same, although some of the monsters have been changed and few new surprises have been added. 

    When I purchased The Sinister Secret of Salt Marsh in the 1980s, I did not get the follow up adventures. It may have been because I never saw them or lack of cash--I don't remember. The result is that the follow up adventure created by my friends was much different than that envisioned by the authors. The adventurers, as noted above, will discover on the ship that the smugglers have been selling weapons to the lizard men. If you continue with Danger at Dunwater, you will discover that the lizard men are mostly peaceful, but are under threat from yet a third group of creatures; which is why they need the weapons. Thus, in the final of the trilogy of adventures, The Final Enemy, the characters, the townsfolk and the lizard men all unite to fight this common enemy. 

    But my friends and I didn't know any of that. So we created our own follow up adventure where the lizard men were the enemy, gaining strength in order to attack the settlement at Salt Marsh, and it was up to our characters to stop it.  

    The original adventure booklet can still be found for sale here and there for exorbitant prices. If you don't need an original, you can purchase a PDF copy and/or a print-on-demand copy from DriveThru RPG. Internet Archive also has a PDF of it that you can download.

     If you are playing 5th Edition, you will probably want to track down a copy of the Ghosts of Saltmarsh book (which is apparently out of print, although it is available to purchase in electronic form if you subscribe to D&D Beyond).  

    Additional resources--maps and suggestions for running the adventure--are available from the DM's Guild.

VIDEO: The Future Holds No Place For Ordinary People

Ben Shapiro's video discusses how horses were replaced by tractors, cars, trucks and various engines and motors; and suggests that the coming AI (and robotics) revolution will make most people irrelevant. The horses that remain primarily are used for recreation, which begs the question of whether that will be the fate of humanity absent divine intervention. The host suggest that the difference between the horse and people are that people can have an ownership interest (shares) in the new technology, but in reality what proportion of the population will be in that position? Or will the only "ordinary people" that are allowed to remain be only those for the amusement and recreation of the elites?

We seem headed toward a society similar to that predicted by Isaac Asimov in his novel, The Naked Sun--a world where AI and robotics have replaced all but a small number of elites.  The question is whether the top elites let the population naturally reduce itself, or work to speed up the process. 

 VIDEO: "You Are The Next Horse"
David Shapiro (11 min.)

What's Going On In The World's Oldest Black Republic

In a move that threatens Leftist cash flows, El Salvador has deployed thousands of troops to Haiti. Ostensibly, the operation is to rescue four El Salvadorian air force technicians believed to have been captured by Haiti's criminal gangs (assuming that the gangs haven't killed and eaten them), the host of this video sees it as part of a greater strategy of allying with Latin American governments to confront the drug cartels.   

VIDEO: "Haiti's Gangs Just Made a Huge Mistake"
Cappy Army (20 min.)

Diversity + Proximity: "South African farmer shot, had ears hacked off and almost castrated by barbaric robbers"

The New York Post reports that Donovan Marx, a white South African farmer, "had his ears hacked off by 'exceptionally brutal' robbers who had already shot and stabbed him — and even planned to castrate him, according to reports." Except, as you read the article, there is no indication that it was a robbery, but appears to simply have been pure terrorism:

    Two barbarians stormed into one of his barns soon after his wife, Louise, left, shooting Marx in the back and stabbing him in the leg to stop him from fleeing.

    As he collapsed in a pool of blood, they held him down and hacked off his ears — chopping them into pieces to make it harder for them to be sewn back on later, according to a neighbor and friend.

    “They also tried to cut off [Donovan’s] genitals but luckily a worker showed up and the [robbers] then made their getaway taking Donovan’s farm pick-up to escape,” the neighbor wrote online.

    The torturous duo fled the scene without taking any of the farmer’s possessions in what the leader of South Africa’s right-wing Freedom Front Plus party called an “exceptionally brutal” attack. 

The article notes that "[a]uthorities have not made any arrests and have not suggested race as a motive."

The Great Conformity

Echoing thoughts expressed byAngelo Codevilla’s seminal 2010 essay America's Ruling Class—And the Perils of Revolution, the video below discusses how society has fallen under the sway of a parasitic class of elites. From the description:

    Unelected networks of bureaucrats, corporate executives, think tanks, NGOs, and central bankers now shape policy with minimal public oversight, while Western institutions replace meritocracy with ideological conformity. 

    This is why our society feels like it’s run by an HR department: a bureaucratic priesthood of manipulators endlessly managing perception and emotion while producing nothing of substance.  

 VIDEO: "The West Has Become One Giant HR Department"
Liam Out Loud (12 min.)

Weekend Reading #78

Some longer or more involved reading:

•  First up is the latest Weekend Knowledge Dump from Greg Ellifritz at Active Response Training. Lots of good links, but here are a handful that caught my attention in particular:
• The Concealed Carry's article on Halloween safety which I linked to yesterday--my thoughts haven't changed overnight.
• You've probably read that you are legally responsible for every bullet you send downrange, and Greg includes a sad example of a man who was found justified to shoot an attacker in his doorway, but then convicted of discharging a firearm into a habitation because a couple of shots struck a couple of houses across the street, earning the man prison time. Unfortunately, his conviction was probably because his attorney failed to raise the issue of transferred self-defense in the trial and didn't request a jury instruction on that issue.
•  An article from Massad Ayoob with tips on shooting micro pistols make a correlation I hadn't thought of before:

    I associate with a lot of genuine gun experts, and don’t know a single one who carries an optic-sighted pistol in their pocket. This is not to say that you can’t effectively carry such a gun concealed; it simply means that pocket carry and to some degree ankle carry are contra-indicated.

    It is not a coincidence that the increase in carry optics and the increased popularity of appendix inside the waistband (AIWB) carry occurred at the same time. When the gun is made higher top-to-butt with an optical sight, the broad expanse of the abdomen is a logical place to carry it, since there is more fabric draping down from the wearer’s chest.

•  On a related topic, Greg linked to an article on an article entitled "Carry at the Office," which begins with the author noting: "There are many options for concealed carry in everyday 'street' clothes, but the work environment limits the options for concealed carry in the office." After discussing how concealed carry entails trade-offs, the author makes another important point:

Active-shooter incidences are extremely rare, so that scenario should not be your primary concern. Rather, consider more common (but still potentially deadly) crimes like the armed mugger in the parking lot or an angry customer who chooses to commit life-threatening violence. 

•  An article discussing the five worst defensive rounds on the market. One of the rounds he mentions is full metal jacket (FMJ) pistol rounds. I would note a caveat with this which is that with certain low power pistols such as the .32 ACP, you can have either expansion but shallow penetration, or penetration but little or no expansion; and if the latter is your choice, you might as well used FMJ.
• The Tactical Professor discusses "Failing The Interview" with the interview being the evaluation that professional criminals make in picking a victim. 
• Greg has linked to the "James Bond Night School Reading List" which contains books to help you learn to be a "competent man" of action. I have to sadly admit that I've only read a handful of the listed books (but I consider each of them to be among the best on their particular craft or skill, which bodes well for the remainder of the books on the list).
• Greg links to a post entitled "A Glaring Evidence Gap" of which he warns: "Only click on this link if you are prepared to dig deep (170 pages deep) into the current prevailing conflicts regarding how best to teach the skill of gunfighting." It appears to address neurological based training systems for teaching shooting, which brings back thoughts of the system that Marcus Wynn (who sadly passed way several years ago) developed. 
• Another piece from this past week from Greg: "A Brief Encounter with Evil." An excerpt:

    He brought his eyes up to meet mine and grinned with a facial expression that exuded pure evil.

    I was a cop for 25 years.  I arrested murderers, rapists, psychopaths, armed robbers, and child molesters.  I encountered my share of evil in my former career.  Few of the seriously bad men I arrested in my police career had a countenance that was even remotely close to that of the young man I encountered on the trail this afternoon.

    His smile was so shockingly hateful that I actually caught myself recoiling slightly away from him.  That wasn’t the reaction I wanted to portray, so I stopped, narrowed my gaze, and gave him stronger eye contact without the normal friendly smile. 

•  For a change of pace, don't forget to check out John Wilder's latest: "It Came From . . . Halloween." John explains:

    Movies are our modern campfire tales.  Yeah, I know, not as good as real campfire tales, but here we are.  Given that, one of the things that humanity has shared around the fire since we first discovered fire was scary stories.  Sure, we heard about the events of the day, but the stories, the old stories that were passed down of tragedy and the supernatural were the ones that the kids really listened to.

    We’re not so different in 2026, we just lack the campfire and are distracted by the shiny objects that get put in front of us, like movies.  Since tomorrow is Halloween, based on publishing date, I thought I’d just run through a list of some of the Halloween movies that I thought were especially good.  As far as rules, I have once big one:  no more than one from a particular creator, otherwise my list would mainly be John Carpenter movies and Alien. 

As a general rule, I don't like horror movies, so I was surprised to see that I'd actually seen the majority of the movies on John's list. And to be clear, some of them are more fun than scary, such as the original Ghostbusters, The Addams Family, and Fright Night.

•  From the New York Post: "The AI jobs bloodbath is grabbing headlines — but there’s a hidden boom unfolding." The author reminds us that while AI is bringing downsides, there is a less discussed upside as well. An excerpt:

    That leaves two possible futures, and both are already underway.

    In one, AI helps established players like Amazon, Walmart and Google do more with fewer people.

    Productivity soars, profits accumulate among the richest, and the rest of us become better-equipped employees. Or we are laid off and hope for a basic income grant of some kind.

    In the other future, AI lowers the cost of expertise so far that one person with an idea can do what used to take a design firm, a factory relationship, a marketing agency and a warehouse to achieve. 

• "The Spy Who Exposed the Secrets of the Black Chamber, One of America’s First Code-Breaking Organizations"--The Smithsonian. The article notes: "In 1931, Herbert O. Yardley published a tell-all book about his experiences leading a covert government agency called the Cipher Bureau."

Long before the creation of the National Security Agency in 1952, the United States opened a top-secret Cipher Bureau known in government circles as the Black Chamber. Founded in 1919, the covert organization spied on American citizens and foreign nations alike. Its employees held no civil service status and were paid in cash from secret payroll accounts. Officially, the Black Chamber didn’t exist until 1931, when its founder, Yardley—bitter after an abrupt dismissal—decided to expose it to the world in a tell-all book titled The American Black Chamber. Eighty-two years before the infamous 2013 security leak by government contractor Edward Snowden, the U.S. was on the precipice of one of its first major intelligence scandals. 

 The surveillance state has existed for a long time. 

Oh, Look--Harvard Admitting More Indian Students

The Washington Free Beacon reports: "Asian-Americans in Harvard’s Incoming Class More Than Double, to 43.2 Percent." Seems part and parcel with the topic of the video below:

VIDEO: "Ben Shapiro Urges Republicans To Dump Young White Men and Focus on Immigrants"
Mark Dice (19 min.)

More Trans Violence

At least it wasn't a killing this time. From Campus Reform: "Trans student cited for assault after saying Republicans ‘should be shot’ at University of Utah." 

    A University of Utah College Republicans member was assaulted while tabling on campus after a trans student said Republicans “should be shot in the street,” video of the Oct. 27 confrontation shows.

    University police identified the student and issued two Class B misdemeanor citations for simple assault and property damage.

    The confrontation began at 12:52 p.m. on Marriott Plaza, where College Republicans were operating a table at the university’s Salt Lake City campus.

    The University of Utah said the individual wiped a College Republicans whiteboard with their hand before arguing with a club member about gender and free speech.

    “The visiting student then assaulted the tabling student, knocking them to the ground and tearing their shirt,” the university stated.

The attacker's name was not mentioned in the article.  

Obama Administration Knew Ilhan Omar Married Her Gay Brother

In yet another example of a conspiracy theory being proven true, the Washington Free Beacon reports: "After Shaming Conservatives for 'Seizing' on 'Rumors,' NYT Finally Concedes Ilhan Omar (Probably) Married Her Brother." The article relates that "[t]he Obama administration 'found evidence suggesting' that Rep. Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.) committed immigration fraud by marrying her brother, the New York Times revealed on Thursday." 

    Federal agents opened an investigation in 2016, the Times reported, and found reason to believe that Omar and Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, who obtained a provisional green card following their marriage in 2009, were siblings. Prosecutors declined to pursue the matter because the alleged crime—federal marriage fraud—fell outside the statute of limitations.

    In a dramatic reversal based on the Times's past coverage of allegations, the esteemed publication conceded that "Several aspects of [Omar's] marriage to Mr. Elmi have long been murky." For example, the happy couple's marriage certificate was signed by a Christian minister rather than a Muslim imam—a curious detail that neither Omar nor the minister, Wilecia Harris, has publicly explained.

    This will no doubt come as a shock to loyal Times readers, who were repeatedly assured that Omar did nothing wrong. ...

I doubt it. The New York Times mostly appeals to party apparatchiks who can change their core beliefs on a dime if the party dictates it.

And as if to underline how fraudulent was the marriage, there is this from the New York Post:  "llhan Omar’s alleged brother she wed in ‘sham marriage’ says he is a gay man in academic paper."  

RIP: Patrick Stewart Dead At 86

The Associated Press reports that Patrick Stewart, who played Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men film franchise, has passed away age 86 "following 'a brief and poignant journey' with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy Body Dementia, spokesperson Kelly Bush Novak said." He is survived his his wife and two children. 

Concealed Carry: Halloween Safety

Concealed Carry has an article on "Halloween Safety for Gun Owners," but which really includes tips useful to most everyone. The article begins, though, with some statistics about Halloween:

The biggest Halloween risks aren’t masked killers. They’re cars, alcohol, crowds, and empty houses.

• Property crime. Travelers reported 24 percent more property crime claims on Halloween than on an average day. According to the same Travelers data, as summarized by EMC Security, about 60 percent of those claims involved theft from the home, including break-ins. A dark house is an easy target for a burglar.
• Kids hit by cars. A study in JAMA Pediatrics looked at more than 40 years of U.S. crash data. It found pedestrian deaths were 43 percent higher on Halloween than on comparison nights. For kids ages 4 to 8, the risk was about 10 times higher.
• Drunk drivers. From 2019 through 2024, NHTSA counted 176 people killed in crashes involving a drunk driver on Halloween night (6 p.m. to 6 a.m.). Thirty-one of them were pedestrians.
• Violence at crowded, late-night parties. This one gets the headlines, and the pattern is consistent enough to plan around. More on that below.

The author continues by relating some notable Halloween shootings from recent years, commenting: 

    Look at what these have in common. Big crowds of strangers. Alcohol. Hours well past midnight. Someone who’d already made trouble that night. None of them happened at a front door handing out candy.

    The lesson isn’t that you need to be ready to win a gunfight in a costume (though it sounds like a good idea). It’s that you can skip most of this risk by choosing where you are at 1 a.m. If a party has outgrown the host’s guest list, or someone gets thrown out and storms off, that’s your cue to leave. Remember too that in many states it’s illegal to carry while drinking or in places that serve alcohol. A crowded, boozy party is exactly where your gun is least useful and your judgment matters most. 

And that is really the crux of trying to stay safe from violent crime: lifestyle and life choices generally matter more than carrying a handgun or pepper spray, or training at the local boxing gym or dojo. That is why John Farnam's primary rules of self-defense do not have anything to do with fighting, weapons, or even situational awareness:

 • Don't go to stupid places: Avoid high-crime areas, dangerous neighborhoods, or locations where trouble is likely.
• Don't associate with stupid people: Stay away from individuals who engage in illegal, reckless, or volatile behavior.
• Don't be out at stupid times: Minimize or eliminate being in vulnerable environments during late-night or high-risk hours.
• Don't do stupid things: Avoid participating in risky activities, arguments, or escalations that invite danger. 

But back to our Halloween safety article: the author includes tips for those spending the night at home (whether or not you are handing out candy), and for those taking their kids out trick-or-treating.  So be sure to read the whole thing. 

Musk Explains Why He Throttled Ukraine's Access To Starlink

The New York Post reports:

    Elon Musk has all but confirmed his company SpaceX was the one that throttled Ukraine’s access to its crucial satellite internet system, undermining the country at a vulnerable time in its fight against Russia.

    Musk claimed Saturday that Ukraine had been using the civilian ‘Net system, Starlink, to carry out drone attacks against Russia and said SpaceX took action to stop that.

    “Using Starlink, a civilian commercial service, for offensive drone strikes to kill people has never been allowed, nor should it be,” the billionaire posted on X. “Starshield, a different system, is controlled by the US government. What they decide to do is up to them.   

However, "[o]n Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said full service had been restored. 'The speeds are now at the level we need,' he said in a Telegram post." 

Gun Violence Is Not The Leading Cause Of Death Among Children

 A short article at The Federalist from 2023 explains why the common Leftist lie about "guns being the number one cause of death among kids" is false. And, like many other statistics thrown around that purport to be about kids, the problem is how children are identified: "These studies count adults who are 18 and 19, and sometimes up to 25, years of age." If we look at actual children, the results are very different:

According to the CDC, the number one killer of children between 1-14 are accidents — vehicular, suffocation, and drowning. Twice as many kids under 12 died in cars than from guns. Also, if these studies began at birth rather than starting at one, the leading killer of all children would be diseases and genetic abnormalities. Surely a one-year-old is as much a “kid” as a 19-year-old. (And if you begin at fetal viability, by far the leading killer of young people would be late-term abortions — more than 8,000 viable unborn, and probably more than 50,000 performed after 15 weeks.)

America Uncovered Explains The Brazilian Election

 A succinct explanation of what is going on with the Brazilian election and its fall out.  

 VIDEO: "Brazil is in for a BAD TIME..."
America Uncovered (10 min.)

What Could The Future Hold For Ruger Revolvers?

I was thinking the other day about how Ruger has gutted their revolver lineup when I came across a couple articles about Taurus offering its Raging Hunter revolver--their equivalent of the Ruger Super Redhawk--in .350 Legend:

• "Taurus Introduces a Handier 8 Inch .350 Legend Raging Hunter Revolver"--The Truth About Guns. 
• "Rifleman Review: Taurus Raging Hunter in 350 Legend"--American Rifleman.  

And then I saw the video below in which Smith & Wesson is announcing a couple additions to their classic line of revolvers: the Model 1917 in .45 ACP and the Model 22 in .45 ACP/.45 Colt.

 VIDEO: "NEW Model 1917 & Model 22"
Smith & Wesson (4 min.)

It reminded that the revolver market may not be what it was decades ago, but it is far from dead. So why would Ruger, other than the Wrangler and Super Wrangler products, abandon that market?

    The statement from Ruger does not completely foreclose their return to the revolver market. Ruger's statement indicated:

"These decisions reflect our review of consumer demand, evolving market preferences, manufacturing complexity and the long-term profitability of each product family," Clary said. "The goal is to focus our resources on the products consumers want most today while creating capacity for future product development and manufacturing modernization." 

Additionally, Shooting Sports USA relates:

    “This does not necessarily mean these product families are permanently discontinued,” Abbey Clary, Ruger’s director of media, advertising and public relations, told American Rifleman Executive Editor Evan Brune. She added that some of the names could return in new forms, though Ruger has nothing specific planned and no date for any comeback.

    There’s precedent for that. Ruger’s memo points to earlier pauses of the 77-Series rifles, the 22 Charger and the SR1911, along with generational redesigns of the Red Label shotgun, Ruger American Rifle and Ruger Precision Rifle. Two of those once-paused lines, the 77-Series and SR1911, now find themselves back on the bench. 

But if you look at the Taurus revolvers in the articles cited above, I would point out a couple things that set them apart from Ruger's hunting revolvers: the aluminum barrel shroud and the long Picatinny rail for mounting optics. Ruger can't really tap into the nostalgia market like S&W and Colt, but their revolvers have fallen behind on weight savings and features for mounting optics and/or lights. 

    With that in mind, I would observe that we've seen other firearms companies pull products from the market while they updated designs. FN did it with the Hi-Power; Beretta did it with the 80-series Cougar handguns; and Walther recently pulled the PP and PPK with the promise of introducing something more modern. So perhaps Ruger is looking at similarly revamping their revolver lines to offer more features and modernize the manufacturing.   

    I obviously don't have any inside information. This is just my musings on what might be going on. What do you think?

Wilder: "Manmade Horrors Beyond Human Comprehension"

John's latest is entitled "Manmade Horrors Beyond Human Comprehension," and he's not talking about some Lovecraftian horror or something dished up at the Indian-Italian fusion restaurant your boss took everyone to for lunch. But not quite as bad as "I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream" ... maybe. His topic is Philip K. Dick's and Aldous Huxley's visions of the future, and how close we might be to realizing some of it due to the advancements in AI. Check it out.

Related:

• "Microsoft offers voluntary buyouts to 60,000 employees as AI leads to efficiency push"--CNBC. The layoffs will impact workers in the U.S., Canada, India and the United Kingdom. 

VIDEO: How Every Great Civilization Collapsed

An overview of Joseph Tainter's theory of diminishing marginal return on complexity and the trigger for civilization collapse once the costs of complexity surpass the benefits. As for our position on the timeline, I addressed this in detail a 2014 post that concluded my review of Tainter's book, noting that we had passed into the realm of negative return on complexity.  

VIDEO: "Every Great Civilization Collapsed the Same Way. Here’s Where We Are in the Timeline"
The Archivist's Journal (7 min.)

Sen. Ed Markey Lays Out Leftist Plans for Election Day

Andrea Shaffer, on X, has posted a short video interview of Sen. Ed Markey discussing Democrat plans to call for strikes and mass protests, as well as indicating that they have lawyers that have already started preparing court filings to stop any action that the President might make to safeguard the elections. He initially tried to cast this as being in response to the President hypothetically calling out troops, but when he goes on to discuss national strikes, it seems he is discussing those as independent of any action by the President. Perhaps the Left hopes that the strikes and protests will cause Trump to call out troops and then they can unleash the lawyers?

Former Deputy Director Of FBI Warns Americans To Prep

The Daily Mail reports that former deputy director of the FBI, Dan Bongino, is warning Americans to prepare and stock up on supplies. From the article:

    Dan Bongino, who left the bureau in January, said the public needs to do what the UK and European governments are telling citizens: Have a preparedness plan and at least three days of food and power ready.

    'Have yourself an emergency radio, have yourself some batteries, get yourself some emergency food, get yourself a rain collection and water filtration, some filtration tablets,' he said on Monday.

[snip]

    The long-time law enforcement officer explained that the US military is already preparing for a potential crisis to cut off access to food, water and emergency supplies - and the public needed to do the same.

    Bongino's warning came just hours after details of FORTRESS were revealed, a plan to keep US forces fighting and military bases stocked for at least 90 days, even if civilian infrastructure fails.

    'The Pentagon’s doing its job to keep our national security safe and make "Fortress America." You have to make "Fortress my house," "Fortress my apartment." Please, do it for everyone. Your neighbors are not going to have any extra food,' he added on his podcast.

    The Pentagon's emergency plan comes as some European countries have issued urgent pleas to begin stockpiling supplies for a potential disaster, although the alerts have not given specific details of what the emergency is.

[snip]

The FORTRESS plan is calling for portable nuclear reactors, large battery systems and independent local power grids to keep US military bases running during blackouts. 

Related:

• "Tinned mackerel, hand-crank radios and bags for poo: crisis-prepping guides around the world"--The Guardian. The article relates:

    The UK has told people to fill their pantries with food for three days in case of catastrophe, joining a host of countries urging citizens to ready themselves for core systems failing.

    Such advice, once dismissed as the preserve of preppers, has become more common in government circles as climate breakdown worsens weather extremes and geopolitical tensions turn cyber-attacks and sabotage into a regular occurrence.

    Even in countries with national strategic food stockpiles – a buffer the UK lacks – authorities have asked individuals to play their part in societal resilience.

    What actions do Britain’s allies – from the US and Europe to India and Australia – recommend people take before disaster strikes?

The article then very briefly summarizes the recommendations from agencies in France, Germany, the U.S., Finland, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, Australia, and India, before concluding with the UK's checklist. 

Heh: UK's Award Winning Female Cop Doesn't Know Gun Safety

 From Shootings News Weekly: "When the UK’s Met Police Show Off Their Award-Winning Armed Cop And She’s Doing Everything Wrong." Police Constable (PC) Fiona Shaik Umar, apparently part of the Women In Firearms Attachment, was being celebrated for being an excellent officer. Excellent at what is the question. The photograph of her standing next to her superior officer shows here holding an AR style rifle, finger on the trigger, with the barrel pointed at the other officer's leg. It rightly earned her criticism, but this being the UK, rather than admit that their award winning diversity hire had screwed up the official response was to blame critics as being racist and misogynistic. 

Khyber Optics: Grid Reference Graphics (GRG)

 Khyber Optics has an article, entitled "GRID REFERENCE GRAPHICS (GRG): BUILDING A COMMON OPERATIONAL PICTURE," on designing and using a grid reference for use on maps or aerial views. As the article explains:

    In any tactical environment, the ability to communicate locations accurately is essential. Whether coordinating a search-and-rescue operation, managing personnel across a large area, identifying hazards, or reporting observations, confusion over locations can lead to delays, miscommunication, and potentially dangerous mistakes.

    A Grid Reference Graphic (GRG) is a map, aerial photograph, or satellite image divided into clearly labeled reference areas. Its purpose is to establish a common geographic language among personnel operating in the same area.

    Instead of describing a location as "the second building past the intersection," a team can refer to a designated grid square, building identifier, or named reference point.

    GRGs are particularly useful when multiple teams are working from different positions, using different communications systems, or interpreting the same area through ground-level observations and aerial imagery.    

Besides describing how to create GRGs, the article also end with an infographic with a check list to use.  

Issues & Insights Warns Of Left Wing Revolution

The Issues & Insights editorial board's latest editorial was "Think Europe’s Chaos Can’t Happen Here? It’s Already Being Planned." They write:

    That headline might seem a bit provocative, but it’s serious. Because while the violence across Europe has been described as “student protests,” it is anything but that. In fact, it’s a calculated effort by highly organized and well-financed extreme left groups to sow anarchy across Western civilization.

    Here in the U.S., the hard-left Democratic Party has all but declared it’s no longer a party of working-class people and middle-class taxpayers. It’s dominated by the Democratic Socialists of America and closely allied and networked with the global movement to destroy capitalism and impose socialism.

    An exaggeration? Nope.

    According to “DataRepublican,” a well-known data-crunching online influencer who previously worked as an analyst for the Pentagon, the Democratic Socialists of America have plans for all of us. She cites literally “thousands of new transcripts and hundreds of recordings” showing what those plans are.

    “You’ve heard that the DSA is proposing structural reforms to America, including abolishing the Senate and imposing term limits,” DataRepublican wrote on X.

    “What you have not heard is — there is an operational plan to put it all into action. If the Democratic Party sweeps 2026, then DSA will become ‘foot soldiers’ in constant clashes with the administration to cross a ‘red line’ or invoke a ‘doomsday scenario’ — meaning, President Trump invokes the Insurrection Act, probably sometime in 2027.

    “Then, a lot of coordinated responses kick off, including delegitimizing the federal government itself and handing that legitimacy to Democratic governors. 2028 then becomes a vote on whether to keep American governance as-is or to burn it all down to appease a ‘young and brown’ demographic.”

    In short, the end to our constitutional republic as we know it.

The 10,000 "election observers" that the Democrats have recruited? They will be there to prevent Republican monitoring of polls and intimidate voters. Possibly to start off the riots and protests. And behind the rioters and protesters will be a small army of "security"--the various John Brown clubs and similar gun "clubs" on the left. We have laughed at them in the past, but they have been training and going to combat oriented gun competitions. And behind all that,  the Left have the surveillance state, the media, the big city prosecutors, and most judges on their side. They control almost all of the large law enforcement agencies. And as for the military? Obama purged many high ranking officers and replaced them with his own picks; and who knows how many of them and their hand picked underlings remain. 

    If this plan seems familiar, it is because this is what we started to see with the George Floyd and Antifa protests and riots during Trump's first term, and which was cut off by Biden winning the election. We can only assume that it would have grown much worse if Biden had not become president. 

Related:

• "Gavin Newsom Calls DSA 'Mainstream Democratic Movement' Heading Into 2028 Presidential Election"--Townhall. 
• "The SPLC's Hate Map Was Never a Map. It Was a Hit List Washington Used."--Hot Air. 

Traveling Today

 No posts today

Gun & Prepping News #104

 Some links that may be of interest: 

• "Smith & Wesson Announces Acquisition of Savage Arms"--The Firearm Blog.  Not sure what I think about this because my fear is that S&W (or more accurately, its investors and managers) will not do anything to improve Savage, but just suck it dry. 
• "Don’t Become a Fudd: A How-To Guide" by Tamara Keel at Recoil. Keel has essentially redefined "Fudd" to mean a firearm Luddite unwilling to let go of yesteryear's technology. I have to agree with one of the comments, which pointed out that it was originally used to denote the gun owners who thought that the Second Amendment only applied to traditional hunting arms and were willing to throw other gun owners under the bus. The archetype of this was the once popular shooting and hunting writer, Jim Zumbo, who threw his career away after penning a rant in 2007 against hunters using AR style rifles in hunting camps, going so far as to call them "terrorist" rifles. I also question the point of Keel's article. Is she suggesting that those who enjoy Cowboy Action Shooting somehow lesser gunowners? Or those who focus on using black powder firearms? 
• I guess per Keel this must be an article for Fudds: "Colt Python Is Back: Should You Buy New or Vintage?"--Guns America. Basically it comes down to whether you want one for shooting or one for its collectors value. If the former, buy a new Python; and if not, buy one of the original Pythons. An excerpt:

    Calling the new revolver a “copy” of the old Python misses the point. The new gun is better understood as Colt taking the old Python’s visual identity and shooting personality, then rebuilding the mechanical package around manufacturing methods that did not exist when the original was introduced in 1955.

    Colt added roughly 30 percent more steel around the top-strap area and simplified the action considerably. Several assemblies in the original became single modern components, cutting friction points and making consistent production possible without the extraordinary amount of hand fitting that helped make old Pythons both wonderful and expensive.

    Does that mean the new trigger is worse because somebody with a stone and a lifetime of experience did not personally whisper encouragement to every engagement surface? Not necessarily. Reviews of the revived Python have repeatedly found exceptionally smooth double-action pulls and crisp single-action breaks. Some experienced shooters actually prefer the consistency of the modern action.

    That does not make the guns the same. A 1960s Royal Blue Python is a mechanical artifact from a particular era of American gunmaking. A 2026 Python is a modern production revolver built to be used. Pick your flavor of romance. 

• "300 Blackout vs. 300 HAMR"--Field & Stream. From the lede:

Up until the introduction of the 300 Blackout, the only mini 0.30-caliber cartridge anyone was shooting out of an AR15, or mini bolt-action rifle, was the 7.62×39 Russian. Unfortunately, as wonderful as the 300 Blackout was for subsonic shooting, it could not compete with the 7.62×39 in terms of performance. This left those wanting to hunt big game with an AR15 or mini bolt-action rifle looking for a cartridge that could compete with the century-old 30-30 Winchester. Wilson Combat filled that need with the 300 HAMR, but a lot of shooters are unfamiliar with it or don’t know how it differs from the 300 Blackout. We’re going to clear that up. 

• "Machine Gun Theory and Doctrine"--The Firearm Blog. I wish this article actually covered the theory and doctrine of using machine guns, but it doesn't. However, it does have some history about the adoption of the machine gun, particularly focusing on Russia and the Soviet Union. 
• From the same author: "The Soviet AK-74 Inspiration"--The Firearm Blog. The Soviets were impressed enough with the performance of the M16 and its .223 cartridge in Vietnam, that they developed their own small caliber round and adopted it as their standard infantry round. 
• "Taurus Gives the TX22 a New Twist With a Folding Brace Option"--The Truth About Guns.  The author begins:

    I’ve said before that the Taurus TX22 is one of my favorite .22 pistols, and it may well be my favorite of all time. The ergonomics are excellent, it has great magazine capacity, and mine has happily digested pretty much any .22 LR ammunition I’ve stuffed into it. It’s also a great suppressor host, which is always a plus in my book. Mine is an early model, though, from before Taurus started offering optics-ready slides. The latest addition to the TX22 lineup addresses that and adds another interesting feature to the mix.

    Taurus just announced the Brace-Ready TX22, which combines the updated TX22 platform with the option of a Strike Industries FSA Lite folding stabilizing brace. It’s an interesting combination that looks like it could make an already fun pistol even more entertaining at the range.

You're not limited to the Strike Industries brace, however, as the pistol's attachment point is a Pic rail, so you should be able to mount other braces or stocks. It also comes ready to mount an optic. I also understand that there are forced reset trigger mechanisms available for this pistol. 

• Another review: "Taurus TX22 Braced Review: The TX22 With a Folding Brace"--Guns America.

• Liberals are a plague on humanity: "San Diego County Sues 3D Filament Manufacturer Over 'Ghost Guns'."--The Firearm Blog. The article reports that "San Diego County is suing Polymaker, a producer of 3D filament material. The county says Polymaker is purposefully selling its material to California residents, enabling them to make so-called “ghost guns” through 3D printing processes." Maybe they will next be suing companies that sell files or screwdrivers. 
• "Gladwell Says Better Trauma Care Masks America’s Homicide Toll"--The Truth About Guns. The author relates:

    Malcolm Gladwell has a theory about why gun control isn’t a bigger political issue in America, and it has nothing to do with the guns themselves. It has to do with the doctors.

    In a wide-ranging Time magazine interview with Belinda Luscombe promoting his new book, The American Way of Killing (out Sept. 29), Gladwell argued that the skill of modern trauma surgeons is quietly holding down the murder statistics that would otherwise drive public outrage.

Gladwell suggests that "if you froze the quality of medical care at 1960 levels, the United States would see roughly 75,000 homicides a year. Instead, the actual figure sits around 12,000." I'm sure that good trauma care does depress the number of shootings that result in death, but Gladwell is exaggerating the estimates to support his position:

 Gladwell’s statistic isn’t invented, but it’s stretched to the top of the range. The original source is a 2002 study in Homicide Studies by Anthony Harris, Stephen Thomas, Gene Fisher and David Hirsch — Murder & Medicine: The Lethality of Criminal Assault 1960-1999 — which the DOJ’s own Office of Justice Programs library hosts. That study concluded that without medical advances, the U.S. would see “45,000 to 70,000 homicides a year instead of an actual 15,000 to 20,000.” A 45,000-to-70,000 range. Gladwell rounds up past the ceiling to 75,000 in the interview and to “75 to 80,000” in his podcast telling. The underlying academic finding is real. The specific figure he cites in interviews isn’t quite what the paper said.

But given that 250,000 people die each year in the United States due to medical negligence, perhaps Gladwell should be arguing for more outrage against doctors and hospitals.

• "Chestnuts and Various Nuts Compared"--The Survival Gardner. An excerpt:

    The American chestnut tree used to dominate the forests of the Eastern United States before the introduction of the chestnut blight that destroyed almost every single tree. Though we haven’t found a good American chestnut that will survive here yet, if one is discovered, we’ll plant as many as we can.

    For now, the Dunstan (which has some American genes) and the Chinese chestnut do great, even if they are tiny trees compared to the towering American chestnuts of the past.

    Chestnuts don’t need perfect soil and thrive in zones 5-9, and can probably be zone-pushed into zone 4 as well with a decent microclimate.  

RPG Saturday: Mongoose Traveller Character Creation

Traveller is a role playing game that was first released in 1977 but has been updated over the years. I posted a review of the original game earlier this year, and followed it up with a look at the most recent version of the game published by Mongoose Publishing. The video below discusses character creation using the Mongoose rules. There is also an online tool for the Mongoose character creation: "Mongoose Traveller 2e Character Creator" at DJV's Web Pages.

 VIDEO: "Traveller: Part 2 - Character Creation"
Seth Skorkowsky (40 min.)

The Problem With PCCs Isn't The Concept, But The Government

(Note: This is a significantly updated version of a post I made several years ago). 

 

Pistol caliber carbines (PCCs) are the Rodney Dangerfield of firearms: they get no respect. The primary complaint seems to be that they are the size of the rifle, but lack the stopping power of a true rifle round. For instance, just a few days ago I had referenced an article, "Pistol vs Rifle Cartridges: There is a Difference" from Shoot On, which asked why you would use a pistol to stop a threat if you had a rifle available. Lucky Gunner has made the same point with regard to PCCs:

 

But if you’ve already decided to use a long gun, why would you get one chambered for the weaker cartridge of a pistol? Pistol caliber carbines are the worst of both worlds. They are feeble and anemic like pistols but carry the size penalty of a rifle. 

 

Back in 2017, when Nathanial F. still wrote for The Firearm Blog, he also argued that PCCs did not make any sense except as a range toy. And Warrior Poet Society released a video and article in 2022 going over the pros and cons of PCCs, and mostly finding cons. 

 

    When you look at these articles, the primary arguments against PCCs are that they don't solve a problem in a world filled with ARs because they lack the range, accuracy, ability to penetrate body armor, and terminal ballistics of a defensive rifle. (And, other than the body armor issues, you see the same arguments against using them for hunting unless you are simply going to use them for pest control).  

    What is being described in the article are the arguments on why submachine guns disappeared from military armories after the advent of small caliber select fire rifles in 5.56 (or 5.45 for the Soviets/Russians). But that such weapons are largely unneeded on the battlefield, even taking into account urban warfare, does not mean that they are unneeded or obsolete for the civilian at self-defense distances. In reality, the problem with the modern PCC for self protection isn't a result of anemic cartridges, but that government regulation has stuck us in an environment where the potential advantages have been outlawed and so we are instead stuck with pistol caliber weapons in a rifle body and with a rifle length barrel. 

    This isn't necessarily a detriment for all PCCs. Cartridges like the .357 Magnum, .44 Magnum, .45 Colt, etc., are in a whole different category from rimless pistol cartridges. If you look at the data collected from the Ballistics-By-The-Inch project, you will notice that these rimmed revolver cartridges not only benefit from longer barrels, but their velocities continue to show appreciable gains in velocity all of the way out to 18-inch barrels. For instance, a .357 Magnum load of Federal 125 gr. JHP has a gain in muzzle velocity of 932 fps between a 2 inch and 9 inch barrel. Going from 9 to 17 inch, we see a gain of 145 fps. And from 17 to 18 inches, we see another gain of 46 fps. I've seen other tests that have shown a .357 Magnum out of a 16-inch barrel is comparable to a .30 Carbine, and a .44 Magnum can be a good deer round out of a carbine. In short, then, I believe that the lever action pistol caliber carbines in .357 Magnum or .44 Magnum are practical.

    The same cannot be said for pistol cartridges intended for semi-auto pistols. Their velocities tend to plateau at the 8 to 10 inch mark and there is relatively little increase past that point. For instance, taking Federal 124 gr. Hydra-Shok JHP as an example, you will see a gain in velocity between 2 and 9 inches of 312 fps. From 9 to 11 inches, there is 0 gain in velocity. From 9 to 17 inches, there is only a gain of 38 fps. At 18 inches, the velocity drops 19 fps, erasing half of the gain from 9 to 17 inches! In fact, all but two Cor-Bon loads saw declines in velocity between 17 and 18 inch barrels. Federal 155 gr. Hydra-Shok JHP in .40 S&W shows a similar pattern. From 2 to 9 inches, you see an increase in muzzle velocity of 325 fps. From 9 inches to 17 inches, we see a gain of only 37 fps, and from 17 to 18 inches, we see only a 9 fps gain--most other loadings actually show a decline in muzzle velocity. 10 mm fares only a little better. Looking at the Federal 180 gr. Hydra-Shok load, we see a gain of 338 between 2 and 9 inches. From 9 to 17 inches, we see a gain of only 30 fps. From 17 to 18 inches, there is still a slight gain in this loading, 23 fps, but most of the other loadings show a decline in muzzle velocity. In short, the PCC firing a rimless cartridge like 9mm or .45 ACP will not show much increase in performance beyond an 8-inch barrel and so a 16-inch barrel is useless, or worse than useless because it adds unnecessary length and weight. 

 

    Conversely, with such short barrels, ballistics and reliability of the gas system become questionable with a 5.56 system. The Small Arms Defense Journal published a piece in 2023 entitled: "Barrel Length Studies in 5.56mm NATO Weapons" by Jason M. Wong. A couple points that are notable. First, he points out:

 

Short barreled gas operated weapons, of which the AR-15/M4 platform is of interest, pose increasing reliability errors with decreasing barrel length.  The prime reason is that as the barrel is shortened, there is decreased dwell time of the projectile in the bore after passing the gas port.  This makes timing more difficult, and adding muzzle accessories (such as a sound suppressor) will cause serious reliability issues, such as faster cycling. ...

Second, as to terminal ballistics, he explains: "To generate a lethal wound channel, the M855 projectile must have a velocity of at least 2,500 ft/sec on impact with the target.  Below that critical velocity, the M855 bullet simply drills a 1/4 inch hole in the target, which too frequently is not lethal unless it passes through a vital structure. ... The critical velocity of 2,500 ft/sec was in a barrel between 9 and 10 inches in length, which further shows the folly of considering a 7-inch barrel for this cartridge." In short, then, when talking about short barrelled weapons, you potentially lose the ballistic advantage offered by the rifle round; and probably much of the reliability as well, which brings us back to the PCC. 

 

    The real reason that we do not see more value from PCC weapons is because of government restrictions. Historically the PCC provided one or both of the following: 

1. It had a stock making it better for shooting at longer range, whether as a weapon built around a stock, or by being able to attach a stock to a pistol (and while such weapons probably did not see a lot of use in the West, that wasn't true in the wars in China in the early 20th Century due to Western embargoes on importing submachine guns).  
2. Allowed for automatic fire in a size smaller than a machine gun or select fire "battle rifle". And, with a stock attached, made such automatic fire fairly controllable at anti-personnel distances. In this respect, I am particularly thinking of the submachine gun. And in the latter regard, because they could make use of a simple blow back, open bolt mechanism, they could be made in a smaller form factor than most combat rifles, even assault rifles.

    Government regulation has consistently outlawed most of the characteristics that made PCCs valuable. The restrictions on short-barreled rifles essentially quashed any development of standard style pistols to which stocks could be affixed or production of short barrelled carbines (although the availability of pistol braces changed that situation somewhat). 

    Similarly, the passage of the National Firearms Act, which was intended to prevent civilians from being able to stand up to their government, has all but removed automatic weapons from civilian hands; and since no new weapons can be sold, it has effectively destroyed any development of new or better designs. While modern military doctrine largely eschews using automatic fire from combat rifles (essentially taking the "assault" out of "assault rifle"), in a civilian context, a small machine pistol or submachine gun would be a viable alternative to a shotgun, only shooting more effective projectiles than your standard 00 Buck. A point brought up by Timothy J. Mullin in his book, The Fighting Submachine Gun, Machine Pistol, and Shotgun.

    Finally, at the apogee of submachine gun and machine pistol development, manufacturers were able to develop some very small form factors such as we see with the Sterling submachine gun, or the Uzi submachine gun:

British Sterling Submachine Gun

This Dutch soldier appears to be using an Uzi or Mini-Uzi submachine gun.

But because of the prohibition on open-bolt designs, we typically see much larger weapons than is actually necessary for pistol caliber designs.

    Now I'm not saying that the answer is to go back to the Uzi or Sterling, or even open bolt designs. My point is that, but for anti-gun laws and regulations, we would have updated designs using more modern materials and capable of mounting optics and lights. And, in fact, with the development and popularity of pistol braces, we have started to see such developments. Hopefully, with some of the changes to enforcement of the NFA and a favorable judicial decision on forced-reset-triggers, we will see even more innovation. Because I do believe there is a legitimate argument for civilians having a stocked, light weight, short barreled, rapid-fire carbine shooting something with less recoil, flash, and sound than a rifle round or shotgun. 

VIDEO: Don't Pop Up From Behind Cover

Shouldn't be so close to the car, either.

 VIDEO: "Don't Pop Over Cover" -- Compose (25 sec.)

Anniversary of Beirut Marine Barracks Bombing

Today is the 43rd anniversary of Hezbollah's 1983 truck bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut when the U.S. foolishly tried to keep a peacekeeping force in the city after the Israeli invasion. Per Wikipedia, "[t]he attack killed 307 people: 241 U.S. and 58 French military personnel, six civilians and both the attackers." The explosives were supplied by Iran and the driver of the truck carrying the bomb was Iranian. We should have launched military strikes against Iran at the time, but I guess better late than never. The incident also illustrates the stupidity of not having loaded weapons as both the guards' rifles and the crew served weapons overlooking the approach were unloaded per guidelines issued to the Marines. 

Of Course: "Iwo Jima Statue’s Beheader Is an Illegal Alien"

The man who took a sledgehammer to the Iwo Jima Memorial statue outside the Marine basic at Quantico, Va., has been identified as Miguel Alonso Maldonado Soriano, and he is an illegal alien and former DACA recipient whose legal status expired this year. The article relates: 

Melugin explained, “Per federal sources, Soriano illegally crossed into the U.S. in December 1999. He was granted DACA by the Obama administration in 2014 and had it extended for years, most recently by the Biden admin in 2024, but he lost his DACA status in August of this year when it wasn’t renewed by the Trump administration.” 

Life In A Diverse Country

 From the New York Post: "Heroic South African dad kills armed carjacker in gunfight with gang as he shields daughter from bullets." There is a video also showing the interior of the car and the father shielding his daughter with his body as he returns fire on the five gang members. One was killed by a shot to the head and four fled the scene. 

    Wild video showed the dad unleashing a volley of shots at the thieves who had seemingly eyed an opportunity to wreak havoc on his family just four days after moving into their Pinetown, South Africa home.

    The dad – identified as Sidney Hill – pulled out of his driveway late on Oct. 9 when he suddenly came under fire from two armed men who had jumped out of the back of a Renault Kiger.

    He then whipped out his gun from his waistband and retaliated – all while protecting his terrified daughter sitting next to him, the video shows.

    During the shootout, some 27 shots rang out in just 14 seconds — with one hitting one of the gang in the head, killing him. 

Another Milestone In The French Civil War

The Daily Mail reports that a man armed with a WWII-era Sten submachine gun drove through a Muslim neighborhood shooting at people. The article further relates:

    The gunman seemed intent on ‘causing as many casualties as possible’, according to Trappes mayor Ali Rabeh, who described the rampage as ‘racist [and] probably Islamophobic’.

    Gunshots were reported at several locations including a playground as the attacker attempted to ‘cause carnage’, Mr Rabeh added.

    A man of African origin aged 26 was killed while a 12-year-old girl was seriously wounded after being shot eight times. Two men, aged 29 and 49, have been taken to hospital after suffering life-threatening injuries.

    Mayor of La Verriere, Nicolas Dainville, said the suspect was of a ‘European type’ while France’s national anti-terrorism prosecutors have taken up the case as a suspected terrorist incident.

    They are investigating whether the acts targeted the ‘real or supposed race, ethnicity, nationality or religion’ of the victims.

    During his arrest, Kevin T ‘made no secret... [that] he was there to kill people he considered to be of foreign origin,’ according to local MP Laurent Mazaury.  

Latest Gov UFO Dump: Mysterious Black Triangles

The latest UFO dumps from the government include accounts of fast moving black triangle shaped craft. From the New York Post: "Mysterious black triangle objects speeding up to 1,800 miles per hour without vapor trails were spotted over secret US military bases on at least three separate occasions over the past year, a newly declassified tranche of government files on UFOs revealed Friday." That is about Mach 2.3. The article continues:

    The triangle sightings raised concerns both for the advanced technology they appeared to use and for the location  — over top secret sites where the US government tests new technology. The exact location and dates of the sightings were redacted for security reasons. 

    Sketches released by the government show the black, triangle-shaped object over a mountainous area. No photos were provided.  

Significantly, "The mysterious triangles made no sounds, showed no exhaust gases and, when scanned with a thermal device, gave off a consistent heat signal — unlike an airplane or drone, which would register at a higher signal around certain spots, like its engine." 

    The Daily Mail reports on other items in the information dump, including allegations that the government did recover bodies from a crash UFO.  From the article:

    The report made public on Friday included testimony from a military officer, whose name was redacted, who claimed he was present at the famous Roswell UFO incident in 1947 and was shown the spacecraft in a hangar known as 'Building 84.'

[snip]

    The officer is believed to be Roswell Army Air Force Base Public Information Officer Walter G Haut, who confirmed that the US had recovered an egg-shaped craft and multiple dead bodies from a New Mexico crash site in early July of that year.

    'I am convinced that what I personally observed was some type of craft and its crew from outer space,' the witness said in a statement given in 2002 and kept secret by the Pentagon.

    The officer added that this wreckage and the aliens were taken to a guarded hangar where he was allowed to see the craft, described as being roughly 12 to 15 feet long and six feet wide with a metallic surface.

    It had no windows, wings, tail or landing gear, and was composed of a strange metal foil described as 'paper thin yet extremely strong.'

    The bodies were placed under a canvas tarpaulin, but the witness report revealed their heads were larger than normal and they were about the same size as a ten-year-old child, standing approximately four feet in height. 

Interesting: Ukraine's Starlink Issues Because Ukraine Hacked Starlink

Stephen Fleming on X notes: 

This makes sense. (1) Ukraine had been hacking Starlink to get around flight restrictions for years. (2) When Starlink tightened their security, the hacks failed. (3) For political reasons, Zelenskyy accused Musk of shutting down access.  

We give them hundreds of billions of dollars in aid and this is how they repay it?  

Weekend Reading #78

Some longer or more involved reading:

• Greg Ellifritz's Weekend Knowledge Dump for this week has a lot of interesting article. Some that for one reason or another struck my fancy were:
• A couple article about the recent Silver Rail Elementary active shooter incident, including a look at what the armed citizen did to stop the incident, some thoughts about using a vehicle as a weapon, and a look at Oregon law that would justify the armed citizen's response.
• An article about the Ruger Service Six and some modifications that the writer/gun smith is making to improve it's characteristics as a defensive revolver.
• A piece from Organic Prepper on how to read the streets--i.e., specific things to look for to better gauge a situation or local. 
• Lucky Gunner looks at sales data to examine changes in the most popular handgun and rifle cartridges. In the handgun category, unsurprisingly the 9mm is by far the dominant caliber being sold, while .40 S&W continues its decline. But frankly, 9mm was well on its way to becoming the dominant handgun cartridge in the 1990s before the Assault Weapons Ban intervened by limiting magazine capacity and, thereby, pushing people to the .40 S&W. Once the magazine limits disappeared, it was inevitable, in my mind, that the 9mm would once again reign supreme. The big upset is in the rifle calibers where in 2010 the .300 BLK and 6.5 Creedmoor were brand new, but now are both in the top 5. 
• An article going over the history of the Remington 870 shotgun as well as a list of some models to avoid and which to keep an eye on. 
• Mountain Man Medical's article of a recent shooting death at a hunting camp in the wilds of Idaho, the impact of long response time before medical help arrives, with some suggestions for a medical kit to keep at a camp--something more than the basic blow out kit you might carry on you. 
• And Empty Cases has an article discussing the "scout" part of Cooper's scout rifle concept, including what Cooper meant by "scout" and a couple of men that served as scouts and the templates for what Cooper was thinking about when he came up with the scout rifle.
• This week, Greg also posted another list of free Kindle books at Amazon with an emphasis on prepping, survival, self-defense, and travel, but also some more eclectic titles. Check it out.  
• And Greg has been extra busy because he also has an article entitled "What Do I Say After A Shooting?" 
• And John Wilder's latest: "Will We Win? Yes. Will It Be Horrible? Also Yes.  So, We Might As Well Enjoy It."  Some thoughts on the troubled times we live in, but also hope for a better future once we get through the bad times.
• "The Alternate View: Future Trajectories for Civilizations" by John G. Cramer, Analog. The author discusses a couple of recent papers with implications for the Fermi Paradox. He sums it up:

Th e [sic] bottom line of these two studies is that (1) the Fermi Paradox Great Silence may be in part the result of the short detection windows for unstable planetary civilizations, and (2) our present society (scenario S2) is fragile and subject to collapse, so we should be doing much more to stabilize and preserve it, and also to prepare for recovery after its collapse. 

• On a related note: "What if we’re alone? The philosophical paradox of a lifeless cosmos" by Shai Tubali, Big Think. The author writes:

Despite all our searching and knocking on cosmic doors, we may be utterly alone — effectively or actually — and for now, that’s the reality we inhabit. Futurist John Michael Godier observed that true solitude in the Universe can never be proven; we could discover alien life and know we’re not alone, but we’ll never confirm that we are, trapped as we are within the observable Universe’s shimmering bubble. What if, after centuries, our telescopes find no alien biospheres, no technosignatures, just an unbroken cosmic silence? As Arthur C. Clarke said, either we’re alone or we’re not, and both are terrifying. To make sense of this profound solitude, philosophy might just hold the key.

But, Tubali continues, it shouldn't be terrifying if we are alone because that just makes Earth and us just that much more special. 

VIDEO: The Darkweb's Most Popular Forum Was Hacked

Not my usual fare, but interesting nonetheless. The forum is called Dread and it is apparently the dark web's version of Reddit. Anyway, not something you would have come across in the MSM.  

 VIDEO: "The Dark Webs Most Popular Forum Got Hacked"
Mental Outlaw (19 min.)

Climate Scientists: We Need More Money!

In 1999, Ove Hoegh-Guldberg published a highly influential paper which predicted the loss of coral reefs by 2050--50 years in the future at that time--due to global warming (although there were some dissenting voices that said it was due to killing wildlife or pollution, which had been ongoing for centuries in some parts of the world). 

In 2017, the British Independent newspaper continued to report that "More than 90 percent of world's coral reefs will die by 2050," and that there was, at that point, no way to stop it. 

Today we are being told that "Almost all coral reef ecosystems face risk of collapse in 50 years, study warns." In other words, after 26 years, we are still 50 years from when the coral reefs will collapse. Or, as the Los Angeles Times put it last month: "The Great Barrier Reef refuses to die on schedule." 

The author of the latter article, Bjorn Lomborg, begins by noting (bold added):

    Australia’s marine scientists released their annual audit of the Great Barrier Reef last month, and it contains news you almost certainly haven’t heard: Coral cover held steady or increased across most of the reef. The scientists measure the percentage of living hard coral cover, and in the 40 years of systematic study, the five best years on record are the five most recent. That is the sound of a catastrophe not happening.

    You haven’t heard the good news because the reef has an entire public relations industry built around predicting its imminent demise as a result of global warming. In 2012, researchers from the Australian Institute of Marine Science reported that the reef had lost about half its coral cover since the mid-1980s — falling from 28% to just 13.9% — and projected that cover could halve yet again by 2022. In 2014, the Guardian published an interactive obituary for the reef. In 2016, Outside magazine agreed, declaring the reef dead at age 25 million.

    The patient, it turned out, hadn’t read the notices. By 2021, coral cover was higher than at any point since measurements began in 1986. It stayed at unprecedented levels through 2022 and 2023 and climbed to a new all-time high in 2024. The reef answered two decades of death sentences with more coral than anyone had ever measured.

    The scientists even stopped publishing the reefwide statistic — making it harder for the layperson to easily see that the reef was defying long-held predictions. But researchers from AIMS continued publishing regional averages, making it possible to effectively re-create their reefwide average — which clearly kept increasing.

 In the case of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia then reverted to Plan B:

When catastrophe fails to arrive, a second story stands ready: Take a bow and send the bill. Australia’s federal and Queensland governments have spent more than 5 billion Australian dollars on reef programs since 2014, and when UNESCO declined in July to put the reef on its “in danger” list, Australia’s ministers hailed the decision as recognition of the country’s world-leading reef management. It takes nerve to spend decades forecasting an ecosystem’s death and then claim credit for its historically high coral cover and remarkable resilience. 

But Lomborg's article must have caused a stir because we are now back to Plan A, just with the doomsday of coral reefs pushed out a bit longer.