Exploring practical methods for preparing for the end times, including analysis of end time scripture and prophecy, current events, prepping and self-defense.
There has been some speculation that the weapon used in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was a B&T Station Six 9mm pistol (formally known as the VP-9), a handgun based on World War II-era Welrod pistol. The Welrod used an integral silencer, while the Station Six uses a removable silencer, but both are manually cycled bolt action handguns.
The consensus among most of the gun-tubers I follow is that the weapon used was not a Welrod or Station Six, but that it was a standard semi-auto handgun with a homemade silencer or older model of silencer attached--hence the cycling issues experienced by the operator. Here are few analyses:
First up, Ian at Forgotten Weapons categorically dismisses the idea that the weapon was a Welrod or a modern equivalent, but concludes that it was a semi-auto pistol poorly set up with a silencer that malfunctioned on every shot.
Next, Garand Thumb tests different theories and weapons, and also concludes that the most likely explanation was a semi-auto pistol with a home built sound suppressor that simply did not cycle after each of the rounds fired:
Third, the VSO Gun Channel explores the issue of why the weapon jammed after every shot and concluded that it was because the silencer used by the assassin did not incorporate a Nielsen device, which is intended to assist cycling when using a sound suppressor on a pistol using the Browning tilting barrel design (although I would note that the Garand Thumb video found that modern suppressors that were light weight would still work without a Nielsen device).
The YouTuber Armed & Styled recently posted a couple videos on flashlights and weapon mounted lights and using them in defensive contexts. The first video is her going over the various terms used to describe brightness, intensity, etc., and a few basic considerations in using a light. The second video delves into the topic deeper with an interview of John Johnston of Ballistic Radio on using the handheld or weapon mounted light.
As my LDS readers know, Section 89 of the Doctrine & Covenants contains the "Word of Wisdom" laying out some dietary recommendations and restrictions, including the ban on alcohol, tobacco and hot drinks (interpreted as tea and coffee). But in the preface to the that section, the Lord notes that it is being given to the salvation of the Saints in the Last Days. Cross referencing the phrases used to Biblical passages, the author comes up with an explanation of the verse in Revelation about the woman being given eagles wings and fleeing into the wilderness for 3-1/2 years. Based on D&C 89, he believes that this is in specific reference to the Church fleeing to Missouri due to the heavy persecution that will come upon the Saints right before the Second Coming.
It's only been about 6 months since Suspicious Observes began shipping Ben Davidson's book on the disaster cycle. Yet even in that short time period, a considerable number of papers have been published that support his theory and continue to show that the cycle is progressing. He goes over the new research confirming his theory.
In this video, Davidson lays out the timeline of events should we be subject to a micro-nova event--something that apparently is what darkened the star Betelgeuse recently.
Video: "1991 'Brown Bag' MRE Menu #5 - Spaghetti with Meat and Sauce"--The Cosmic Freight Train (23 min.). My friend Matt is back with another test of an old MRE so you don't have to. So, this was donated to Matt by a mutual acquaintance that had obtained this while working on a fire crew in the early 1990s, and has since kept it in his vehicle in the event of breakdown, so the storage conditions have been, at best, less than ideal.
My friend is back to test another old MRE. As before, he has more specific information concerning the MRE contents in the video description at the link. The basic takeaway from this one is that MREs with dairy don't age well. This MRE had a lot of foods with cheese plus milk caramels, and it did not fare well as a result.
Jabal al-Lawz. The dark color at the top of the mountain is not from shadow but the color of the soil and rock.
I think that it is almost universally recognized that the mountain known today as Mt. Sinai on the Sinai Peninsula is not the Mt. Sinai/Mt. Horeb of the Old Testament that Moses ascended to speak with the Lord and received the tablets containing the Ten Commandments.
One of the theories concerning the true location of Mt. Sinai is that identifying it with the mountain called Jabal al-Lawz located in Saudi Arabia, in the area that would have been called Midian at the time of the Exodus. Under this theory, the crossing of the Red Sea occurred across the Gulf of Aqaba at a location roughly parallel to Jabal al-Lawz; specifically at Nuweiba Beach. This claim is bolstered by the presence of unusual coral formations on the sea floor that appear to have grown around bronze age chariot wheels. Similar to this theory is one that puts the crossing at the Straits of Tiran at the very bottom of the Sinai Peninsula, but likewise maintains that Jabal al-Lawz is Mt. Sinai. The video below presents a compelling case for the Nuweiba Beach/Jabal al-Lawz hypothesis, in my opinion, and is the one that most shaped my views on the subject.
Conversely, the majority of scholars have seized on the fact that the existing Hebrew texts do not say that the crossing was of the Red Sea, but instead uses a name that translates as Reed Sea. Apparently we get the Red Sea translation from the Septuagint in which the body of water crossed by Israel is identified as the Red Sea. In any event, scholars believe, based on the use of the name "Reed Sea", that the crossing was at one of several lakes that historically ran on a line along the junction between the Nile Delta and the Sinai Peninsula. (See, e.g., this article). Based on this, scholars have looked for a mountain in the northern Sinai that might fit Mt. Sinai/Horeb. A short while ago, I came across a couple short videos that discuss this theory (crossing the Reed Sea) and which are set out below:
Under this theory, the location of the biblical Mt. Sinai is Gebel Khashm et-Tarif which is still on the Sinai Peninsula, but near to the top of the Gulf of Aqaba providing ready access to Midian. The latter fact is important because Moses had fled to Midian from Egypt, his father-in-law dwelled there, and Moses actually met with his father-in-law during the time Israel was in the desert.
The primary problem I had with the Reed Sea and Khashm et-Tarif theory is that one of the important points emphasized again and again was that, according to the scholar, the Hebrews could not have traveled more than about 6.5 miles per day (!) and, consequently, could not have made it to the Gulf of Aqaba in the time allotted.
It is also important to note that the Israelites were not striking out cross country (at least not initially) but followed well-established roads. In fact, the Exodus account mentions that Moses was instructed to not take a northern route that would cross territory held by the Philistines, but instead was told to go via "the way of the wilderness of the Red sea". (Exodus 13:17-18). This, I believe, was meant to be a proper name denoting the trading route that ran between Egypt and Midian and cut across the middle of the Sinai.
My friend went into his storage pantry and tried an old (1991) MRE to see if it is still edible. He hasn't died, so I guess it was still mostly good. Anyway, you might just follow the link because he has more information in the video description.
In case you hadn't seen this, it has video from the lander during the descent and landing, including deployment of the parachutes, dropping the heat shield, and final landing using the sky crane system.
This is another video whose author argues against a Meso-American location of the events of the Book of Mormon, instead setting it in the Ohio and Mississippi River Valleys. Ingram does a nice job of tying it into the Hopwell cultures that existed between 600 B.C. and 400 A.D.
