Greetings Sheepdogs,
"We should not forget that the spark which ignited the American Revolution
was caused by the British attempt to confiscate the firearms of the colonists."
-- Patrick Henry
[The British were the domestic government at the time.]
I thought I would have enough time to rack the slide.
Table of Contents:
Prevention
Mindset
Situational Awareness
Safety
Training
Practice
Intervention
Strategy
Tactics
Techniques
Postvention
Aftermath
Medical
Survival
Education
Legal
Instruction
Gear
*************************************************************************
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Prevention ***** ***** *****
Things you can do to avoid the lethal force incident.
Inflation.
Table of sections:
Mindset
Safety
Training
Practice
*************************************************************************
----- Mindset -----
Figuring out the correct way to think.
"Survival is a mindset, not a skill set."
-- Greg Shaffer
Greg's deep thoughts that you need to consider.
"Active Killer Response Options for Armed Citizens" by Greg Ellifritz
Excerpt:
"I once had a student in a scenario class who ran out of the scenario when he had
a clear option to shoot the bad guy and save some lives. I asked him why he left
and he said:
“My gun is for me. Those people had the same opportunity I did to seek high
level defensive training and carry their own weapon. They chose to sit around and
watch TV instead. Why should I risk my life for them?” "
---
"You often don't know where the bad guy is who is shooting at you."
-- Phillip Groff
‷If you look at someone bigger, faster, and stronger and immediately think,
‶I'm at a disadvantage″,
I have news for you: you are.
But that's only because you just put yourself there for no reason.
The truth is that anyone can do debilitating violence to anyone else.
Your size, your speed, your strength, your gender --
all the factors that untrained people think make the difference when it comes to violence --
all matter far less than your mindset and your intent.‴
-- Tim Larkin
"Massad Ayoob - How to Appeal to Emotions in the Argument for the Second Amendment"
by the Second Amendment Foudation
We are pro-life (self-defense and defense of others) and pro-choice (to carry or not to carry).
"Gun-free-zone" = hunting preserve for psychopathic murderers.
"Discretely armed" as opposed to concealed carry.
Firearm = fire extinguisher, in that each is an emergency rescue tool. It's intended for
the first responder to immediately take action to hold off death and injury. You keep a
fire extinguisher in your home and in your car.
CPR history. AED history.
Do you have a key to your home on you? Do you have a piece of government issued
ID with your physical address on it (not your P.O. box)? So if you you let the bad guy
kill you, he now has your home address, a key to your home, and you can't warn your
loved ones that the bad guy is on the way to rob, rape, and kill them. That's why you
carry a gun.
Eloquent as always. If you haven't taken a live class from Mas, DO IT NOW!
Nobody lives forever. Nobody teaches forever.
“Willingness is a state of mind. Readiness is a statement of fact!”
-- Lt. Gen. David M Shoup, USMC Commandant 1960-1963
"Thoughts On Sport Shooting vs Gunfighting" by Suarez Tactics
Sport shooting forms training scars.
In the MMA rules, there are several techniques that are forbidden. Because they will
instantly incapacitate the opponent, ending the fight. Those are the techniques that you
should use in combat. Because as a civilian defender, your goal is to escape; if unable
to escape (because you're with your grandkids and the gang bangers have surrounded you)
your goal is to immediately incapacitate the enemy combatants. Every enemy combatant
that you incapacitate, is one less that you have to fight.
Correctly gouging the enemy's eyes should be your first instinct. Learn the proper
technique for when the enemy is wearing glasses or goggles. If you're imitating the
Three Stooges, you're WRONG!
"Your gunfights will always be anomalies.
So are those of all the instructors you venerate.
It’s useful to keep those facts in mind."
-- Greg Ellifritz
From an email from Orion Taraban --
"Going the distance." by Orion Taraban, Psy.D., Wednesday, October 30th, 2024
The finish line you can see is not the real finish line. In the vast majority of cases,
you will need to continue past this point for some time before bringing a project to
completion. The reason for this is simple: most plans do not survive their own
execution. Before starting out, you likely did not know to plan for certain
circumstances that arose in the implementation of your vision. Unknown unknowns
are an unavoidable feature of any endeavor.
The way I personally accommodate this reality is to plan on penalty time.
Almost no soccer game ends after 90 minutes. Rather, play almost always continues
for several minutes past regulation. If I pace myself according to the regulation
clock – according to the finish line I can see – then I will not only be exhausted
for the final push, but I will also be demoralized and exasperated when I discover
the game hasn't yet ended. I will be physically and psychologically depleted – which
could jeopardize the success of the entire project.
The issue is that no one really knows for sure exactly how long penalty time will
last. That said, we can make reasonable estimates. I personally do this by conducting
due diligence and multiplying by time and a half. For instance, if most soccer games
include three minutes of penalty time (due diligence), I would pace myself for
4.5 minutes (3 x 1.5 = 4.5) past regulation. This formula will help you plan many
different features of your life appropriately: everything from travel time to starting
a business.
-- Orion Taraban, Psy.D.
orion@psychacks.com
‟We don’t decide what is necessary to survive a
lethal force encounter initiated by someone else.
That person decides what’s necessary for us to survive.”
– William Aprill
If guns kill people . . .
‟Fear is an instinct. Courage is a choice.”
-- Rear Admiral Joseph Kernan, U.S. Navy
***** Situational Awareness *****
How to avoid being taken by surprise.
“You need to have the capacity for danger. You need to be ‘dangerous’.
Yet, you need to learn how to not use it except when necessary.
And, that is not the same thing as being harmless.
There's nothing virtuous about harmlessness.
Harmless just means you’re ineffectual and useless.”
-- Jordan Peterson
"Hickok’s Mistake
There’s a time to lower your defenses, and it’s not when you’re out and about."
by Sheriff Jim Wilson
Excerpt:
". . . it was pretty clear that he wasn’t paying attention to his surroundings."
"Jeff Cooper's Color Code exists to help you get your head
around the need to kill someone in the immediate future."
-- John Hearne
---
Jeff Cooper's Color Code of Mental Awareness
UNAWARE - of what's going on around you. (White)
AWARE - of who is around you and what they are doing. (Yellow)
ALERT - to a POTENTIAL threat and taking action to avoid the threat. (Orange)
ALARM - by a REAL threat and taking action to escape the threat,
which might include shooting to PREVENT the attack. (Red)
COMBAT - front sight, press. Shooting to STOP the attack. (Black)
Just in case you forgot . . .
*************************************************************************
----- Safety -----
How to prevent the bad thing from happening in the first place.
How to avoid shooting yourself, friendlies, and innocent bystanders.
How to prevent unauthorized persons from using your guns.
Jeff Cooper′s Rules of Gun Safety
RULE I: ALL GUNS ARE ALWAYS LOADED. [You must believe this.
It is not enough to pretend that this is true. Col. Cooper is creating
a belief system, not just a safety protocol. Those who object to this
rule (Dustin Salomon et al) are operating in a psychological state other
than what Col. Cooper is attempting to instill in his students. -- Jon Low]
RULE II: NEVER LET THE MUZZLE COVER ANYTHING
THAT YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO DESTROY. [Muzzle discipline.]
RULE III: KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER [and in the register position]
UNTIL YOUR SIGHTS ARE ON THE TARGET. [Trigger discipline.]
RULE IV: BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET. [what is behind it, what is in front of it,
and what is on either side of it -- Jon Low]
---
RULE V: Maintain control of your gun. -- Stephen P. Wenger
[If you don't know where it is right now, you don't have control. -- Jon Low]
---
There are only 3 places for your pistol:
1. In the holster.
2. In a reasonable ready position, not muzzling any part of the target. Reasonable
means that you have a correct two handed grip on your pistol. So the Sul position is
wrong. Even the retention Sul position with the support side hand on top of the pistol
is wrong.
3. Pointed at the target, because you are firing. It is not reasonable to point your pistol
at someone that you are not shooting. If this is not clear to you, stop and think about it.
This is why the Los Angeles Police Department uses the "urban ready", a low ready
position with the pistol pointed off to the side, not at the lower part of the suspect.
---
There are only 2 places for your trigger finger:
1. In the register position, indexed on something that you can feel (perhaps the seam
between the slide and the frame, or the disassembly pin on 1911s, or the disassembly
lever, etc.).
2. On the trigger executing your shot process. You need not have your eyes aligning
your sights with the target, as you might be shooting from a close contact position.
If you're not shooting, you MUST keep your trigger finger in the register position,
otherwise, you may be shooting; whether you meant to or not. Sympathetic interlimb
interaction, startle response, loss of balance response.
"Understanding Transitional Spaces
We're especially vulnerable when moving from Point A to Point B."
by Shelley Hill
"It's easier to stay out of trouble than to get out of trouble."
-- Claude Werner
Never let cowards (politicians) disarm you. You will end up raped and murdered.
"Greenway assaults and Tennessee’s lack of Real Constitutional Carry"
by JohnHarris
Better to be alive and face criminal charges than to be raped and dead.
"TODAY'S ADVERSARIES" by Gabe Suarez
Yes, as a matter of fact there are NAZIs (National Socialists). They march and protest
here in Nashville, TN on a regular basis.
Eat right, exercise. Don't look like food.
Carry something large that you can fight with.
It's about tactics. To get close enough to guarantee making the shot. Because as good
guys, we cannot tolerate missing (hitting innocent persons). You must be physically fit
to execute your tactics. So physical fitness and tactics are much more important than
marksmanship.
"Safety after Dark: Practical Tips for Shorter Days" by Elizabeth Bienas
"Don’t sit in your car and scroll on your phone."
Extremely dangerous, especially in parking structures,
especially in hospital parking structures (because, statistically, this is where women get
kidnapped, raped, murdered, or disappear in Nashville, TN).
". . . only using a single earbud . . ."
Never wear earphones. One earphone is just as stupid as two. Even if you can hear
peripherally, the music or talk or whatever is DISTRACTING you. It's the distraction,
not the environmental deafness. The distraction causes inattentional blindness. (Remember
the YouTube.com video with the basketball players and the gorilla?)
"If you can’t or won’t carry a firearm, get some other self-defense tool and train with it.
Many options exist, like pepper spray, pepper ball guns, tasers, stabby tools, and knives.
Remember, these all require some form of training."
Suggesting that these options are adequate is doing the reader a grave disservice.
These other options are ineffective.
Pepper spray doesn't work against 10% of the population. Any dedicated enemy
can fight his way through pepper spray. [Citation: U.S. Marine Corps Military Police
training and personal experience.]
Pepper ball guns are just as hard to shoot as real guns, but with much less range
and much less effect. Because it's a pepper ball instead of a bullet.
Tasers are only effective in the classroom demonstrations, because one dart must
penetrate the body above the belt line and one dart must penetrate the body below
the belt line (says so in the instruction manual and certified training). The darts will
not penetrate leather belts, leather jackets, canvas overalls, canvas jackets, etc.
The darts are easily brushed off the body. Tasers rely on batteries. Tasers are much
more difficult to aim than pistols.
Stabby tools do not penetrate deeply enough to affect vital organs. So there is no
affect.
Knives are legally considered lethal force, so you might as well use a pistol, because
the pistol has much more range than the knife. If the scared bunny says, I could never
carry a gun, but could use a knife, this is cognitive dissonance.
"One tool that everyone should carry is a tactical flashlight."
"Taking your safety into your own hands is a lifestyle."
The superior person.
John Farnam's rules to keep you out of trouble:
Don’t go to stupid places.
Don’t associate with stupid people.
Don’t do stupid things.
Have a “normal” appearance.
Be in bed by 10:00 PM (your own bed).
Don’t fail the attitude test.
*************************************************************************
"The staggering number of medals female athletes lost
to trans opponents revealed in explosive UN report"
by Emily Crane
*************************************************************************
----- Training -----
Figuring out the correct tasks to practice.
You need training because:
You don't know what you don't know.
Much of what you know is false. [Young adults in my classes often argue with me, because
they know from TV, movies, and the internet that what I am teaching is wrong. -- Jon Low]
It's good to the have the answers before the criminal tests you.
-- Claude Werner (paraphrased)
Shooting Illustrated: "What I Didn’t Learn In Special Forces"
by Docent
“Training deals not with an object,
but with the human spirit and human emotions.”
--Bruce Lee
"Ready Positions And Better Outcomes"
by Mike Wood
A review of a presentation by Erick Gelhaus.
"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of people always
possess arms and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."
-- Richard Henry Lee
Signer of the Declaration of Independence
"10 Skydivers Killed By EVERYONE’S Reckless Mistakes!" by Pilot Debrief
Excerpts:
"The instructor is ultimately the one responsible for keeping their students on a normal
path of progression emphasizing the need for learning the fundamentals and gain enough
experience before the student is able to take their next step . . . "
"There aren't any shortcuts to gaining the experience you need to safely operate an aircraft."
[Similarly for firearms. -- Jon Low]
"Without oversight, there is nothing to keep the pilot in line. He deviates from the
norm until he puts everyone's life in danger."
[The instructor / coach / teacher must enforce safe norms. The student will want to push
the limits / do the fancy Jon Wick stuff. If the instructor doesn't maintain oversight, the
student will end up shooting himself or other friendlies. -- Jon Low]
“It may seem difficult at first but everything is difficult at first.”
-- Miyamota Mushashi
"Always Cheat, Always Win" by Clint Smith
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
"The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword;
because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force
superior to any bands of regular troops that can be, on any pretense,
raised in the United States."
-- Noah Webster
Excerpts from "The Art of Instruction" by Michael R. Seeklander --
---
[Myelination] occurs the fastest during the initial skill development. This means that
the way you learn something first is often ingrained faster and deeper, so really pay
attention to what you learn first (and teach)?
---
Trying to go fast is the exact opposite of what students should be doing.
When they train the mechanics thoroughly, the speed just comes.
[I agree wholeheartedly, students should never be taught or forced to go fast.
Instructors who believe that shooting fast is fundamentally different from shooting
slow are wrong. Instructors who think that the only way to shoot fast is to train
to shoot fast are wrong.
-- Jon Low]
---
Teach your students not to worry if they have done the work (step one) -- their
performance will match their preparation.
[Jesus teaches us not to worry. -- Jon Low]
---
. . . we have tens of thousands of conversations of self-talk each day. Imagin if you
used these self-talk conversations for positive purposes.
---
. . . remember that over-teaching is a horrible thing to force your students to experience.
It shuts them down.
---
PESOS = Prepare, Explain, Show, Observe, and Supervise.
[Notice the Oxford comma? People who understand English use it. -- Jon Low]
---
. . . be prepared to intellectually defend whatever you are teaching.
---
This may be your fifth class of the month but it's their first; so always always present
a fresh motivated image.
-- Michael R. Seeklander
"We should not forget that the spark which ignited the American Revolution
was caused by the British attempt to confiscate the firearms of the colonists."
-- Patrick Henry
Rangemaster newsletter
---
"What is Good Training?" by Lee Weems
A YouTube.com video.
A higher level of competence is
‶Unconscious competence with conscious monitoring.″
-- John Holschen
---
"Tactical Anatomy Course, Dr. Andy Anderson
Review by John Hearne, Rangemaster Staff" by John Hearne
Excerpt:
"Anderson noted that it does little good to place rounds precisely
if your bullets don’t perform well."
---
“Hell, I Grew Up Around Guns” by Tom Givens
---
"Firearms Instructor Courses—Why?" by Tom Givens
“Train, Practice, Compete
are the key elements in the development of humans.”
-- John M. Buol, Jr.
“The secret of success is this.
Train like it means everything when it means nothing –
so you can fight like it means nothing when it means everything.”
-- Lofty Wiseman
"Safe gun handling and knowing how to operate the gun competently is one thing.
How to fight with the gun is a whole other plane of knowledge."
-- Tiger McKee
"Those motivated by a desire to improve their
gunfighting skills as opposed to a quest for trophies,
must be willing to bleed ego on the match results
to avoid shedding blood in combat."
-- Andy Stanford
"Train and practice so that you can stay in your rational mind,
and force your enemy into his emotional mind. The emotional
mind makes bad judgments which will allow you to win."
-- John Hearne
“If you are reading this and can’t put your hand on your defensive firearm,
all of your training is wasted.” -- Col. Jeff Cooper
------------------------------ Classes and Conferences --------------------------------
Rangemaster Certified Instructors
Map of Rangemaster Certified Instructors
Tactical Emergency Casualty Care Course - NAEMT Certified
$495.00
Bullets & Bibles Conference
(The registration should be at this web site after the first of the new year.)
Friday, September ?, 2025 – Sunday, September ?, 2025
(Probably the last weekend in September.)
Living Water Ranch, north of Manhattan, KS
For more information about lodging on site or
if you have any questions regarding the event,
contact our Bullets & Bibles Conference Coordinator,
Vonda Copeland
director@fhftc.org
or call 785-293-2449.
"Crime & Criminals: Risks & Mitigations 2024" by John Hearne
Monday, December 30, 2024
7 - 9pm CST
Location: Online
Other classes by John Hearne,
Carry Trainer (Mickey Schuch)
Training Courses
Paladin Training, Inc.
Training schedule --
Course descriptions --
FPF Training
Defensive Training International
Rangemaster
Trident Concepts
Mead Hall Range & Tactics
Apache Solutions
Harris Combative Strategies
‟Training is NOT an event, but a process.
Training is the preparation FOR practice.”
-- Claude Werner
*************************************************************************
*************************************************************************
----- Practice -----
How to get proficient at that task.
Why practice?
“To each there comes in their lifetime a special moment when they are figuratively
tapped on the shoulder and offered the chance to do a very special thing, unique to them
and fitted to their talents. What a tragedy if that moment finds them unprepared or
unqualified for that which could have been their finest hour.”
-- Winston Churchill
Visualize during practice.
"People rust faster than equipment."
-- John Hearne
‶Practice is the small deposits you make over time,
so that in an emergency, you can make that big withdrawal.″
-- Chesley Burnett Sullenberger, III
‟Be careful what you practice.
Because you will do in combat whatever you have practiced,
no matter how ridiculous.”
-- ‶Shooting in Self-Defense″ by Sara Ahrens
*************************************************************************
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Intervention ***** ***** *****
Suggestions on how to deal with the incident that you failed to avoid.
Awareness, Avoidance, De-Escalation, Escape
Table of sections:
Strategy
Tactics
Techniques
*************************************************************************
----- Strategy -----
Deciding on the end state and how to achieve it,
which tactics to use, which includes walking away.
“You are no more armed because you are wearing a pistol
than you are a musician because you own a guitar.”
from "Principles of Personal Defense" by Col. Jeff Cooper, USMC,
(1920 – 2006 A.D.)
"Have your affairs in order."
-- John Hearne
“How do you win a gunfight?
Don't be there.”
-- John Farnam
"Having a gun is important. But knowing WHEN to use it is even more important."
-- Greg Ellifritz
"You win gunfights by not getting shot."
-- John Holschen
*************************************************************************
----- Tactics -----
Maneuver and fire in support of your strategy.
"Real fights are short."
-- Bruce Lee
"Justify Shooting First" by Suarez Tactics
In order to PREVENT the attack, you must strike pre-emptively.
The purpose of self-defense is to prevent the attack, so you don't get hurt.
Failing to stop the attack, the purpose of self-defense is to STOP the attack,
so you don't get hurt anymore.
After the attack, there is no self-defense. Sorry, you waited too long.
After the attack, there is only revenge and retribution, which is not self-defense.
(And not legal.)
"You brought a gun to the fight. That doesn’t mean it’s YOUR gun.
The gun belongs to whomever can keep it. Think about that before intervening
in other folks’ problems. When is the last time you practiced your in-hand weapon
retention skills?"
-- Greg Ellifritz
---
". . . if the assailant has a gun, it may actually be the easiest gun for you to access,
if you know how to take it from him."
-- Stephen P. Wenger
---
When was last time you practiced your in-holster weapon retention skills?
"Driving 401: Immobilized Vehicle" by Aaron
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Excerpt:
Be physically fit enough to do the work.
Be able to make body shots on targets out to 50 yards with your handgun.
“Fortuitous outcomes reinforce poor tactics.”
-- Chuck Haggard
Never throw your pistol at the bad guy! Because the bad guy will pick it up and shoot
you with it.
From an email from Claude Werner --
"Retired Army colonel shoots robber that shot him 3 times, Cullman sheriff says"
The headline is not well written, though. A more accurate account would have started
‘Retired Army Colonel shot 3 times by robber after shooting the robber once.’
Fortunately, Colonel Gildon survived being shot three times.
“As they were driving in Gildon’s truck, the sheriff said, [the assailant] put a knife to
the victim’s throat and said, ‘Give me your money or I’m going to kill you.’
The two struggled and Gildon fired his gun.
‘But my pistol jammed, and I couldn’t get it to fire again so I threw it and exited
the truck,’ Gildon wrote. ‘He got my pistol and got it to work.’ ”
The District Attorney clearly is not a George Soros acolyte.
“Being in the country illegally may get you a free house in California,’’
[Cullman County District Attorney] Crocker said, “but it does not entitle
you to immunity from prosecution in Cullman County.”
Discussion points -
Pistols do malfunction, especially at close quarters and unusual angles of
presentation. Polymer pistols are quite prone to this issue. The type of pistol
was not reported but I would lay even money it was polymer. I’m disappointed
I wasn’t able to take Greg Ellifritz’s class on Extreme Close Quarters Gunfighting
but there are still a couple of opportunities this year. Greg and Craig Douglas
have well documented the differences from beyond arm’s length shooting that
take place in touching distance combat.
If you do have a malfunction, don’t throw your pistol away. You may still be
able to use it as an impact tool. Also, as long as you hold onto it, a malfunctioned
pistol can’t easily be used against you the way it was in this case.
Although we all preach about the three Stupids, any of us can have reasons to
go into an iffy situation like the Colonel did. At least he had his gun. God’s plan
may have been for him to survive but the Colonel’s plan was to be armed.
God helps those who help themselves. [Which is true, but not Christian theology. -- Jon Low]
-- Claude Werner
“What’s the number one reason for reloading? Missing the target!”
-- Claude Werner
"You often don't know where the bad guy is who is shooting at you."
-- Phillip Groff
“When you’re in the dark, stay in the dark;
when you’re in the light, light up the dark.”
-- Stephen P. Wenger
"The shorter the fight, the less hurt you get."
-- John Holschen
*************************************************************************
----- Techniques -----
Ways to execute a given task in support of your tactics,
especially when disabled or under stress.
"How Fast Should I Shoot?" by Dave Spaulding
Every shot should be a sighted shot. Let your front sight determine your speed.
Shooting faster than you can see is bad. Shooting faster than you can think is bad.
"History of "Shoot To Reset" - Stupid Shit I Heard This Week Vol. 3"
by Dave Spaulding
"Use only that which works,
and take it from any place you can find it."
-- Bruce Lee
"Improve Your Pistol GRIP w/ a Grand Master USPSA Shooter" by Hunter Constantine
If he undercut and thinned the trigger guard with his Dremel tool, he wouldn't have
that nasty callous on his middle finger.
He says his hand goes all the way around the grip. In detail, he means that the tips
of his fingers are pointed back toward him. If you can't achieve this, the grip is too big
for you.
Consider his explanation of "locking your wrists".
Consider his advice to pull your shoulders down with your lats.
"Don't look at the dot, just be aware of it."
1. Squeeze the shit out of the gun.
2. Bend that horseshoe flat.
3. Get a good stance.
4. Build a good platform. (Shoulders down and relaxed. If you can't do that,
pull your shoulders down with your lats. It's the opposite of hunching your shoulders.)
"The foundations of your grip are established
before you even draw the pistol from the holster."
-- Tanner Denton
What do you notice when watching a pro golfer drive the ball from the tee?
He continues to look at the ball on the tee, even after the ball is well on its way
down the fairway. Similarly, when watching a pro shooter you will notice that
she continues to look at the sights, watching them recoil and return to the target.
No peeking to see where the bullet hit. Such is follow through.
Your sight alignment and sight movie determine where your barrel is pointed
when the striker / firing pin hits the primer. Your follow through determines
where your barrel is pointed when your bullet exits the muzzle, a millisecond
later. A millisecond is more than enough time to move your barrel completely
off the target.
So keep watching your sights. Don't worry about the target. If your sights
moved correctly, you bullet's point of impact was correct. Get that second sight
movie after the shot. That is your assurance that you shot process was correct.
Which is your assurance that your point of impact was in fact your point of aim.
"Hey, Staff, I watch golf on TV and it sure looks to me like the golfers follow
their ball off the tee and down range with their eyes."
Some of them have fast swings. You would have to look at the swing in slow
motion to see that they in fact keep their heads down and look at where the ball
was for a fraction of a second after they strike the ball. I have viewed many slow
motion videos of such and can assure you that it is true.
"Grip first, then press."
-- Mike Seeklander
"Directional Pistol Travel" by Suarez Tactics (Gabe Suarez)
Make sure the pistol is pointed down during transitions between targets.
Muzzling a person without justification is aggravated assault with a firearm. There
is a 10 year sentencing enhancement for the firearm.
For the first time. -- I had a student who was wearing his pistol inside the waistband
appendix. He was right handed, so his pistol was at one o'clock. We were practicing
support-side-hand (left-hand) only presentations from the holster to the target. He was
able to reach around behind his back and establish a correct grip on his pistol before
pulling it out of the holster, keeping it pointed down at the ground, bring it around his
body, point at the target, line up the sights, and take the slack out of the trigger.
I was amazed.
If you believe you can do a thing, or if you believe that you can't, you're right.
"The Importance Of Carrying With A Round In The Chamber" by Alex Ooley
October 25, 2024
Excerpt:
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the
December 2024 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
[Yes, dear reader, an article from 2 months in the future. -- Jon Low]
"It's not daily increase but daily decrease - hack away at the inessentials!"
-- Bruce Lee
*************************************************************************
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Postvention ***** ***** *****
Suggestions on how to treat your wounds or the wounds of your loved ones.
Suggestions on how to avoid prosecution, conviction, and prison time.
Suggestions on how to avoid the civil law suit and judgment.
Table of contents:
Aftermath
Medical
Survival
*************************************************************************
----- Aftermath -----
You must be alive to have these problems: criminal and civil liability.
“Your understanding and consent are not required
for someone to take your life, kill your loved ones,
and destroy all you hold dear.”
-- William Aprill
In the right hand column of this web page, click on "Never Talk To The Police"
or use the address,
“The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him,
but because he loves what is behind him.”
― G.K. Chesterton
In the right hand column, click on the link labeled "Self Defense Insurance".
Or, the link is,
Read this before you buy insurance. You need to make an informed decision.
The various policies are drastically different.
"You need to read the fine print." -- Massad Ayoob
*************************************************************************
----- Medical -----
Tactical Emergency Casualty Care Course - NAEMT Certified, $495.00
I donated blood. Please follow my example. My numbers at this donation:
Hemoglobin 15.4 grams per deciliter, minimum for blood donation is 13.
Temperature 97.9℉, acceptable range for blood donation 95 to 99.5.
Pulse rate 74 beats per minute, acceptable range for blood donation 50 to 100.
Blood pressure 95 systolic / 78 diastolic mm Hg (millimeters of mercury).
A few years (decades) ago, my pulse was 60 bpm and my BP was 60 / 50.
When getting old, adapt. Don't deny reality. Accept it and adapt. Forgetting that you
are 65 years old and thinking that you can still run with the 20 year old's is a recipe
for disaster.
I remember on a formation run, the Marines were passing the guidon around and the
Marine with the guidon would run around the platoon and then pass it to another Marine.
Forgetting that I was 47 years old at the time, I grabbed the guidon and ran around the
platoon. I nearly passed out. I didn't embarrass myself, but I was never going to do that
again.
Drink enough water or water based beverages (no sugar, no electrolytes) to always be
generating large volumes of clear urine. The correct and natural color of urine is clear,
not yellow. If you think the normal color of your urine is yellow, because yours is always
yellow, you are WRONG! If your urine is always yellow, you are chronically dehydrated.
Which is very dangerous, very bad for your health. You're on your way to kidney stones,
kidney disease, and death.
If you drink sugary beverages, your body pulls water from your blood stream to dilute
the sugar down to a concentration that can be absorbed by your body, effectively dehydrating
you.
If you drink beverages with electrolytes, the chemicals will disturb your body chemistry.
Never believe the propaganda. All studies saying that electrolytes are good for you were
paid for by Gatorade. (That was part of one of my research projects in a coaches' course
at the Olympic Training Center, the one in Colorado Springs, CO.)
But it's not enough to stay hydrated, you also MUST sweat. Sweating is your body's
way of cooling itself. NEVER use anti-perspirants, NEVER! The alum (an aluminum
compound) will cause your pores to seize up, preventing you from sweating. This will
cause your body to overheat, resulting in heat exhaustion, heat stroke, and death.
---
When I was in Marine Corps Recruit Training, the Drill Instructors were very careful
to ensure we drank water and pissed before going on a run. During a run a Private fell
out. The Navy Corpsmen, who were following us in a Jeep, immediately picked up the
Private, stuck an IV of saline solution into him, and took him to Balboa Naval Hospital.
He died.
He was not sweating which is an indication of heat stroke. He wasn't sweating because
he had sprayed an anti-perspirant on himself. The investigation included interviews with
other Privates in his platoon. They said that the victim did that because he thought that
by preventing sweating, he wouldn't lose the water, so he wouldn't get dehydrated.
[I didn't find out the details of the incident until decades later.]
Never use anti-perspirants, they will kill you.
"But, Staff, I stink. What can I do?"
You can use distilled white vinegar to wash affected areas of your body. The vinegar
smell disappears in a couple of minutes. It won't stain your clothes. In fact, you can use
it instead of bleach to wash your clothes. Much less destructive of your clothes than bleach.
There are all kinds of household disinfectants that are safe to use around children, pets,
and your skin. Read the labels. Your mission is to kill the bacteria, not stop the sweating.
"If you prepare for the emergency,
the emergency ceases to exist!"
-- Sherman House
*************************************************************************
----- Survival -----
Cardio
"If you stay fit, you do not have to get fit.
If you stay trained, you do not have to get trained.
If you stay prepared, you do not have to get prepared."
-- Robert Margulies
*************************************************************************
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Education ***** ***** *****
Table of contents:
Legal
Instruction
Gear
*************************************************************************
"You will never get smarter or broaden your horizons
if you're unwilling to learn from others and read."
-- Becca Martin
"Institutional Memory" by Greg Ellifritz
Hat tip to Docent.
Excerpt:
". . . if you are a successful content creator or trainer in the business, write some books!
Blog posts eventually disappear. DVDs and streaming video services may be ephemeral.
Printed material lasts longer than anything we’ve found so far. Turn all those blog and
forum posts into a book if you really want to remain relevant 100 years from now."
"The Weekend Dispatches" by Bendigo Strange
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Quips
Active Response Training
The Tactical Professor
Rangemaster Newsletter
ConcealedCarry.com articles
Concealed Carry Corner
"Cogito, ergo armatum sum." (I think, therefore armed am I.)
-- John Farnam
*************************************************************************
----- Legal -----
"Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.
It is wholly inadequate for the governance of any other.
-- John Adams, October 11, 1798
"Gun Law Database" by U.S. Law Shield
"One may be surprised to learn that the word Democracy does not appear
in either the Declaration of Independence nor The U.S. Constitution."
-- Bendigo Strange
[Because democracy is majority rule of the mob. -- Jon Low]
"BREAKING NEWS JUST NOW:
SCOTUS ISSUES MAJOR DECISION TODAY IN 2ND AMENDMENT CASE"
by The Four Boxes Diner (Mark Smith)
The US Supreme Court granted cert, vacated and remand (GVRed) the
Lara v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania case involving the 2nd Amendment rights
of 18-20 year old young adults.
"Build A Reciprocity Map:" by Concealed Carry Inc.
"Stealth Edit: FBI Quietly Revises Violent Crime Stats"
by John R. Lott Jr
---
"Sleazy leftists.! Sleazy lies!" by John Farnam
"With many departments, 911 calls are now “triaged,” with the question
“Is this a real emergency?” coming first.
When the caller does not make a persuasive case within the first few syllables,
he/she is told to “come down to the police station and fill-out a report,” or the call
is immediately shunted-off to voicemail."
"Concealed Carry Laws in America" by CCW Safe
"Law of Self Defense" by Andrew Branca
(free book, just pay for shipping so you don't have to go to Colorado to pick it up)
"Military Authorized to Use Lethal Force Against Americans"
by Liberty Doll
Cited directive,
2016 version of document,
Bet you didn't know how weak the Posse Comitatus Act was.
"Assassination" ? Really?
"Component heads may act for 72 hours before obtaining approval." Really?
---
"ALERT! Biden & Harris Authorize Military To Use Lethal Force On Americans!!"
by Jared Yanis (I met him at the Gun Owners of America convention in Knoxville, TN.)
Cited article,
DOD DIRECTIVE 5240.01
Section 3.3, subsection (c) and (d)
"Use of deadly force versus threat of deadly force." by Andrew Branca
"Biden's DOJ Suffers Major Defeat in Prosecution of Maryland Gun Store Owner"
by Cam Edwards
Hat tip to Stephen P. Wenger.
Excerpt:
". . . a jury in Charm City, [Maryland] has rejected the Biden administration's
attempt to put a gun store owner behind bars for allegedly conspiring with a Maryland
sheriff to illegally acquire machine guns. In fact, it only took jurors five hours to
deliberate before they came back to the courtroom and acquitted Robert Krop of all
charges."
"Krop rejected two plea offers from federal prosecutors,
allowing his case to proceed to trial."
"Judge issues 'stunning' ruling keeping noncitizens on voter rolls" by Fox News
U.S. District Judge Patricia Giles. You have to name them. Because individuals
make decisions, not groups. You know who appointed her.
---
"Supreme Court Upholds Youngkin Order Removing Noncitizens from Virginia Voter Rolls"
by Ken Klukowski
Sometimes the good guys win. Even when they win, they lose a lot. Suspended
without pay, might lose his job, dragged through the expense and trauma of a criminal
trial, the civil trail will immediately follow, lots of bad press, name and occupation
made public, etc.
"FBI Agent Found Not Guilty of Attempted Murder in Maryland Metro Shooting
The charges against FBI agent Eduardo Valdivia stem from a Dec. 15 shooting
on a train near Medical Center Metro station in Bethesda"
by Paul Wagner
Hat tip to Claude Werner.
"Bill to Ban 'Citizen MILITIAS' Introduced to Congress" by Roman Balmakov
A clear modern definition of terms and explanation of the 2nd Amendment.
All 50 states have laws against militias. And how these laws conflict with the
1st Amendment right to assemble and associate.
"ATF Deadly Raid Dashcam Released. This Was Murder" by Heavy Duty Country
If the ATF had turned on lights and sirens, and knocked and announced their presence,
why do none of their body cameras have a recording of such? If they wanted their
presence known to the home owner, why did they cover the door camera?
Check out the time line, it doesn't make sense.
Sometimes we win!
"Two Huge Wins on Opposite Sides of the Country" by Washington Gun Law
Nhuyen v. Bonta
Chritian v. James
In the movie "Thelma and Louie",
Thelma gets raped by the bad guy in the parking lot. Louise points her pistol at the bad guy
and forces him to release Thelma. As Thelma and Louise are walking away, the bag guy
makes disparaging comments. Louise turns and shoots the bad guy, killing him. Louise
says we need to leave. Thelma says, no it was self-defense, he was raping me. Louise
explains to Thelma that it was not self-defense, it was murder.
It's important that you understand this. Because you don't want to be screaming at
your attorney, "I can't believe I'm being prosecuted! It was self-defense!" While your
attorney explains to you why it was not self-defense.
Know the law. Be able to articulate why your actions were justified. Give your attorney
good facts to work with.
"Gun Permits Revoked For Thought Crime" by Liberty Doll
The right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. Such is the plain text of the
2nd Amendment of the United State of America Constitution. So there is no such thing
as "reasonable gun control laws". Any law that infringes on the right to keep and bear
arms is unconstitutional. Yes, as a matter of fact, it is that simple.
Shoes left.
“Is there no virtue among us? If there is not, we are without hope!
No form of government, existing nor theoretical, will keep us from harm.
To think that any government, in any form, will insure liberty and happiness
for a dishonorable population represents the height of self-deception.”
-- James Madison, 1788
*************************************************************************
----- Instruction -----
Colonel Robert Lindsey to his fellow trainers:
"We are not God's gift to our students.
Our students are God's gift to us."
"The limited time you spend with students may be the only training they ever receive!"
-- John Farnam
----- Instructors -----
“He who dares to teach must never cease to learn.”
-- Richard Henry Dana
"What If a Shooter Can’t Point?" by Vince O’Neill
I disagree with how the author teaches to grip the pistol, because I believe the
wrists need to be straight. Any bending of the wrists weakens the grip. So the thumbs
should point up, not forward. And when the support side finger are opened up, they
should point forward, not down. A stronger grip makes it more difficult for the bad
guy to take your pistol.
But, the rest of the article is interesting.
Be careful what you teach.
Because your students will do in combat
whatever you have trained them to do,
no matter how ridiculous.
-- "Shooting in Self-Defense" by Sara Ahrens
"Training Students with Physical Disabilities" by Greg Ellifritz
---
Hi Greg,
May I suggest the U.S.A. Shooting Paralympic Coach at
USA Shooting
1 Olympic Plaza
Colorado Springs, CO 80909
(719) 866-4670
Email addresses at
https://usashooting.org/about/leadership/
---
BRENDA SILVA
NATIONAL PARALYMPIC COACH AND MANAGER
Brenda.silva@usashooting.org
---
It's been decades since I was involved, so all the people have changed,
but they were always helpful to me. Previous coaches have sent me all
kinds of equipment to assist disabled shooters; all free of charge.
Cheers,
Jon
"Remember,
the students who require the extra effort
are the ones who need us the most!"
-- John Farnam
Excerpts from "The Art of Instruction" by Mike Seeklander --
---
The real key is that the subconscious programs be written into the brain (like a computer
hard drive) properly; or, when run, they will perform the wrong processes, even if you
consciously know they are wrong. Skill programs are written by repetition (and don't forget
that the subconscious mind does not judge repetitions as correct or incorrect -- it simply
records them). This is the reason that training must be treated so seriously and ANYTHING
taught must be researched and validated before we allow our students to ingrain it into
their subconscious minds.
---
. . . if you're a teacher --- or what I like to refer to as old school subject matter expert
who requires no input from your students and thinks you're the smartest guy or gal in
the classroom, you probably should think about another profession.
---
Cross training is an absolute must.
---
My suggestion is to find and attend as many conferences as possible early in your
instructing career. Doing so will pay benefits by saving you time by exposing yourself
to information you might have taken years to realize or find.
---
-- Mike Seeklander
---
Mike Seeklander wrote in his book recommending instructors to always carry and use
mouth wash.
I think a better solution to bad breath would be to floss between your teeth, bending
the floss around each tooth to scrape the sticky plaque off of the tooth below the gun line
(otherwise, the plaque will turn into tartar / calculus, and destroy your teeth; and stink),
brushing your teeth thoroughly (as thoroughly as you would clean your pistol) with tooth
paste, and scrubbing all interior surfaces of your mouth.
Dental hygienist, Renee Cleary, in addition to the above, recommends using a tongue
scraper.
Mouth wash can also be used, but many contain alcohol, which is not good for you.
And must be avoided by alcoholics. (I'm not kidding. There were guys in my recruit
platoon who were drinking the Listerine for the alcohol.)
"You must teach skill sustainment as part of training."
-- John Hearne
Ask your students if they can read and write. It's not insulting. It's necessary to
accommodate them, to properly do your priming. Sending documents to them won't
work if they can't read them. Can't read might mean vision problems, mental problems
(dyslexia), etc. It doesn't necessarily mean illiterate.
Can't write can be due to arthritis, vision problems, physical problems (Parkinson's
disease), etc. Can't expect them to reply by email if they can't write.
Pay attention. Everyone is different. A lot of people are disabled, especially as they
age.
Rejecting such students is wrong.
When I worked for Concealed Coalition they would hire a sign language interpreter
for classes even when only one person was deaf. A money losing proposition, as those
interpreters are expensive. But Concealed Coalition would do it.
All leadership is by example.
----- Students -----
I know training can be difficult. Let me share some words of encouragement that
my teacher told me, that I believe apply to all training regimens.
"Keep in mind that this is some seriously next level material. It is totally normal
that the first time you see this stuff, you find it confusing. You find it difficult to
understand. So, confusion should not discourage you. It does not represent any
intellectual failing on your part. Rather, keep in mind that it represents an opportunity
to get even smarter."
– Tim Roughgarden, Professor of Computer Science
and other stuff at Stanford University
"Learning over Content Consuming | Studying like a PhD" by Charlotte Fraza
"Until you can teach it clearly without hesitation."
My first ex-wife would say bye the way Ms. Fraza does at the end of the video.
It gave me shivers.
---
The test of whether or not you understand a thing is whether or you can explain it
to someone else familiar with the field. The test of whether or not you have a deep
understanding of a thing is your ability or inability to explain it to a layman.
Paraphrased from Prof. Norman Christ.
"It's better to be wrong than to be vague." -- Freeman Dyson
If you are wrong, the instructor can correct you.
If you are vague, no one can help you.
----- Andragogy -----
‟An instructor should not expect any learning to take
place the first time new information is presented.”
-- ‶Building Shooters″ by Dustin Salomon
“The most valuable resource that all teachers have is each other.
Without collaboration, our growth is limited to our own perspectives.”
-- Robert John Meehan
*************************************************************************
*************************************************************************
----- Gear -----
And the safe storage thereof.
“Mission drives the gear train.”
-- Pat Rogers
"What I Wish I Had Known Before I Carried Concealed" by Elizabeth Bienas
Excerpt:
"Don't be afraid to build a tool kit of options with multiple holsters."
"The Anatomy of an Effective Tuckable Holster" by The Suited Shootist
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
"How Long Is Too Long [to keep magazines charged]?" by Ken Hackathorn
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Excerpt:
"Then, let the springs recover and rest."
[That doesn't make sense to me. The spring in an inanimate object. A piece of spring
steel will not "recover", no matter how much it "rests". -- Jon Low]
"Pistol Mounted Optics — Revisited"
by Erick Gelhaus
Hat tip to Aqil Qadir.
"All the reasons I recommend RDOs to enthusiasts only.
If you’re recommending them to people who barely practice . . . you’re wrong."
-- Aqil Qadir
---
"Handgun Optics Lessons" by Massad Ayoob
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Excerpt:
"In the past year, 30 to 50% of our student officers arrive carrying a pistol dot optic.
Of those in use, 50–100% failed in some fashion during the classes."
-- Jeff Chudwin
---
That whole "The Vulture Technique" paragraph didn't make sense to me. I think
it is essential to have your head up and your shoulders down and relaxed. Head down
with shoulders up requires muscle tension. Tense muscles are slow muscles. Relaxed
muscles are quick muscles.
-- Jon Low
"Holster Setup 101: Balancing Concealment and Comfort for Concealed Carry"
by Tenicor
Really depends on the shape of the hips, female vs. male body type.
I like that he recommends third party parts to help you fit the holster to your body.
"FlexCCarry℠ Solutions: A Positive Guide to Off-Body Carry" by Vicki Farnam
ISBN-13 : 979-8991672405
---
FlexCCarry℠ Solutions
"No freeman shall ever be debarred the use of arms."
-- Thomas Jefferson
My student attempted to push the factory installed plastic rear sight on his Glock
with my Wheeler sight pusher. The plastic separated from a spring steel under-plate.
We could not get the plastic and steel parts back together. Attempting to use the
plastic rear sight without the steel under-plate did not work, because the fit was too
loose. The rear plastic sight could easily be pushed out of the dovetail with finger
pressure.
What a terrible design. Shame on Glock for shipping new guns with such sights.
Ya, I know that it is common knowledge that the factory plastic Glock sight need to
be replace as standard practice. But it's still bad.
Those scum bags at Ruger refused to sell me magazine springs for my Ruger American
in 45 ACP. They insist that I buy a new magazine.
But I found a substitute that fits and works perfectly.
Wolff gun springs
HECKLER & KOCH VP9
For use in:
VP9 - 9mm - 15 Rounds
Also for use in:
USP - Expert Magazine .40 - 16 Rounds
P30, P30L - 9mm - 15 Rounds
P30, P30L - .40 - 13 Rounds
Product number 78694 (for a pack of 10 springs, I generally keep at least six magazines
for each of my pistols).
"How a Pump Shotgun Works" by Matt Rittman
Matt does a great job.
You will need to go to settings in the video and turn off the subtitles, as they block
a lot of the video.
This is important if you or some gunsmith does a trigger job on your 1911.
---
"How I Do a Complete Trigger Job on a 1911" by Engineer's Armory
---
"A Detailed Look at 1911 Sear and Hammer Engagement" by Engineer's Armory
"Beretta 1301 pro lifter" by Michael Flitcraft
"Sig 320 Banned by cops" by Ben Stoeger
Anecdotal incidents are not statistically significant. But these incidents are no longer
anecdotal, too many.
“Your car is not a holster.”
-- Pat Rogers
"Teton Custom Holsters" by Bryce Johnson
A colleague at work is wearing a holster from Teton made by Bryce. High quality,
very nice.
Instagram,
"Don’t carry guns in your car."
-- Greg Ellifritz
*************************************************************************
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Cryptology ***** ***** *****
"Arms discourage and keep the invader and plunderer in awe,
and preserve order in the world as well as property.
Horrid mischief would ensue were the law-abiding deprived of their use."
-- Thomas Paine
Cryptosystems are considered "arms" by federal law, ITAR,
International Traffic in Arms Regulations. That means cryptosystems are
protected by the 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Never let the
government infringe on your right to keep and bear cryptosystems, to
include home made cryptosystems, to include sharing cryptosystems with
others.
"Exotic Phenomena in dimension 4" by Lisa Piccirillo
at the Harvard Mathematics Department
Dimension 4 is special for many reasons.
She mentions her previous talks at Harvard. Yes, they were disasters.
She's an assistant professor at MIT. MIT claims she is a diversity hire.
How insulting. She is a renown, award winning mathematician.
2021 Maryam Mirzakhani New Frontiers Prize.
2021 Clay Mathematics Research Fellowship.
2021 Sloan Research Fellowship.
"The Conway knot is not slice" by Lisa Piccirillo
Abstract,
Paper,
In this day and age she doesn't use electronic pictures. Not even an overhead
projector. (Sort of like John Farnam.)
Mangle as in cut and paste of sub-manifolds, not as in computer science.
She doesn't explain how the sub-manifolds are glued together. That's a critically
important detail.
She's a little sloppy with her gauge theory explanation.
Her grasp of the literature is very good.
"One of the manifolds eats some b₂ out of the other." I couldn't stop laughing.
No, it's not a dirty joke. It's a math joke.
"Make manifolds by starting with some big geometric stuff and making a hot mess."
Such precision and rigor.
If it doesn't make sense to compare manifolds with boundaries to manifolds without
boundaries, why is she comparing them? (Bounded does not mean finite. Unbounded
does not mean infinite.)
It's a literature review, not a math talk.
Yes, a geography question. Where can we find exotica.
"My younger sibling, Kai Nakamura." ?
https://mathematics.stanford.edu/people/kai-nakamura
"A neural net spits out something verifiable." What?
Do you see how you can use the maps in your cryptology? She forced isomorphisms
at every step of the last proof. So the maps are reversible, information conserving.
"Never memorize anything. Rather, study it until it becomes obvious."
-- Norman Christ
" “Bankrupting Physics” Best Quotes " by Unzicker's Real Physics (Alexander Unzicker)
Author quoted, Sheilla Jones.
Before entering fundamental physics, you have to call out bullshit.
"Computer science has nothing to do with computers or science."
-- Donald Knuth
"The Iron Man hyperspace formula really works
(hypercube visualizing, Euler's n-D polyhedron formula)"
by Mathologer
---
"3rd proof that the coefficients of (x+2)^n count the
numbers of vertices, edges, etc. of an n-D cube"
by Mathologer 2
"Nothing in life is to be feared; it is only to be understood. Life is not easy for any of us.
But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves.
We must believe that we are gifted for something, and that this thing must be attained."
-- Marie Curie
"Why This Padlock Is Special!" by Adam Savage's Tested
Print in place. Do you understand?
1:01 / 23:07
"Premature optimization is the root of all evil."
-- Donald Knuth
"When Outsourcing $9/hr Software Engineers goes Wrong" by Coding with Dee
If you think experts are expensive, wait till you see what amateurs will cost you.
"You don't need to memorize theorems,
because you can always derive them from first principles."
-- Sven Hartman
On October 21, 2024 A.D Luke Durant discovered a new prime number.
52nd Mersenne prime number is 2¹³⁶²⁷⁹⁸⁴¹ - 1.
"Man spent $2 million to find new largest prime number
M136279841 is over 41 million [decimal] digits."
by Andrew Paul
I remember learning this for the first time as an undergrad at Columbia back in 1977.
My mind was blown for days.
"This Single Rule Underpins All of Physics" by Veritasium
Principle of Least Action.
The calculus of variation is used to find the path of least action.
Total energy is a lot more than kinetic and potential (gravitational in this case) [heat in
all of its forms, electromagnetic fields in all of their forms, other fields from other forces
{the strong force, the weak force}, and others {oh, yes, there are others}].
Yes, of course, total energy is conserved (Notherian). That's physics, not something
peculiar to the problem that Euler was solving.
Yes, of course, the energy of each path is the same, because in a closed system (as
described) energy is conserved.
Do you see why this article is in the cryptology section? Do you see how to use this
idea in your crypto systems? In your secure communication protocols?
"The World Depends on 60-Year-Old Code No One Knows Anymore" (COBOL)
by Coding with Dee
Department of Defense? Remember Ada? (The programming language named after
the Lady Ada, world's first computer programmer) I have copies of all of the original
documents for Ada.
COBOL programmers. I thought they were all dead. Are there schools that teach
COBOL?
When I was an undergrad we used FORTRAN 77 in 1977. Yes, before its official
release in 1978.
*************************************************************************
*************************************************************************
“Pistol Malfunctions Due to Weak Magazine Springs” by Jonathan Low
[An excerpt was previously published on the Rangemaster Facebook.com web page.]
[Also appeared in ShootingClasses.com
(I have no idea what that first photo above my article is.)
which links to my bio page,
]
Malfunctions are avoidable with correct inspection and replacement of worn parts.
Inspection is done while cleaning your pistol. Cleaning is done after field stripping
your pistol. You, the user, should only be field stripping your pistol. Leave the
disassembly of your pistol to a competent gunsmith. Otherwise, you may lose small
springs and other parts. In a worst-case scenario, you will incorrectly assemble your
pistol causing the pistol not to function as designed.
If you lose a small spring that is part of a safety mechanism, you probably won’t
be able to buy a replacement spring. The manufacturer will require you to ship the
pistol back to them so they can install the replacement spring.
How would I know that?
A Type 1 pistol malfunction is a failure to fire, which occurs when pressing the trigger
makes a click instead of a bang. The solution is Immediate Action, which means:
1. Tap the magazine base plate at the bottom of the grip to ensure the magazine is
locked into the pistol.
2. Rack the slide to chamber the next cartridge from the magazine.
3. Assess the situation.
[If you were taught, Tap-Rack-Bang, that’s just WRONG! Never let shooting the pistol
become an automatic part of any procedure. The shooting must always be a separate
intellectual decision. Otherwise, you will shooting faster than you can think, which
always leads to tragic consequences.
Shooting on every presentation from your holster to the target is a training scar that
will get you into trouble. If you testify at trial that that was how you were trained,
it’s not going to go well for you. Because that is obsolete training.]
A Type 2 pistol malfunction is a failure to feed (a cartridge into the chamber),
which occurs when pressing the trigger does not cause a click (dead trigger).
Immediate Action will clear this malfunction. Do not analyze the symptoms to decide
what to do. If the pistol does not fire, immediately execute Immediate Action.
If the Immediate Action does not work, as will be obvious because the slide does not
operate properly, you will immediately execute a type 3 malfunction clearing or a reload.
A type 3 malfunction clearing will automatically fix an empty magazine problem.
So training yourself to automatically do a type 3 malfunction clearing will cost you
little more time than an emergency (reactive as opposed to a proactive) reload.
[Training to immediately execute an action is much faster than stopping to analyze.
Because conscious thought is much slower than automatic motor programs.]
A type 3 malfunction is a failure to extract (the spent case from the chamber).
The symptom is a dead trigger, as with a type 2 malfunction.
This is not a double feed. Modern semi-auto pistols will not double feed as some
semi-auto rifles will. Double feed means that two cartridges have come out of the
magazine and the bolt or slide is attempting to insert both into the chamber at once.
A type 3 malfunction is where the extractor claw has not grabbed the rim of the
spent case or slipped off the rim of the case, and the slide has moved backward
without pulling the case out of the chamber. So when the slide moves forward
under the force of the recoil spring, it attempts to insert a new cartridge into the
chamber, but the chamber is already occupied by the previous cartridge’s case.
The solution is:
1. Lock the slide to the rear. (If you can rip the magazine out of the magazine well
without locking the slide to the rear, you don’t have to do this step.)
2. Eject the magazine. (Discard the magazine, as it may be the problem.)
3. Rack the slide until the chamber is clear.
4. Load the pistol.
The following photos are of a Springfield Armory XD in 45 ACP, with a 4" barrel.
When my student first encountered these malfunctions, I asked Tom Givens for help.
Tom said that the Springfield Armory magazine springs were junk and to replace them
with Wolff springs. I did so and now they work reliably.
The following photos display type 2 malfunctions due to a weak magazine spring.
The cartridge is being driven down into the magazine, rather than up into the chamber.
Because the magazine spring had not pushed the cartridge up into the correct position
against the magazine lips before the slide came forward and started pushing the cartridge
forward.
The slide moved forward under the force of the recoil spring, but caught the side of the case,
instead of the rear of the case. The slide was then locked back so you could see what happened.
This occurred because the spring had not pushed the cartridge all the way up against the lips of
the magazine before the slide came forward. So instead of catching the rear of the shell casing,
the slide caught the side of the shell casing.
The old Springfield Armory spring is on left of photo. The new Wolff spring on right of photo.
So, why did the magazines work flawlessly in an XD Tactical with a 5" barrel and fail
completely in an XD with a 4" barrel?
The longer barrel has a longer slide, which has more mass, and has a single 18.5-pound spring.
The shorter barrel has a shorter slide, which is less massive, and has a much stiffer double spring
(one spring wound clockwise around another spring wound counterclockwise).
So, the shorter barreled pistol cycles much faster. The weak magazine springs could not push
the cartridge up into the correct position for chambering the cartridge before the slide started
moving forward.
flip upon recoil. A terminally bad design.
***** Signals Intelligence and Ground Electronic Warfare, Cyber Security,
(sometimes Air Electronic Warfare too) *****
“Your character is what you do when no one is looking.”
-- Thomas Jefferson
Random bits, unique (sequence never exited before, to the best of my knowledge),
not tested (statistical tests for randomness) because they are real random, not
pseudo-random. Octal, not hex. Generated by rolling regular octahedron, which was
machined to the best tolerance that the machinists at the National Bureau of Standards
could achieve in 1977 A.D.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
01234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
30106441050653406137444731107400647057232562573636162331471001507754737
06421765300232030551520220705777437527670424030764326227747155121663117
26244760302545151151141772451447634775570775746272621374105266113311544
30264401717264227468752013312374511127333541160745772754074102000056350
63322275612032540743063045220346452647631231847256337607133576613031277
What do you mean they don't look random? Random events cluster. Because clusters
have higher entropy than uniform distributions, and all systems move toward higher
entropy (forward or backward in time). Running a movie backwards will show decreasing
entropy, but entropy never decreases.
"A free people ought not only be armed and disciplined,
but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain
a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them,
which would include their own government."
--George Washington
"NIST Recommends Some Common-Sense Password Rules" by Bruce Schneier
https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2024/09/nist-recommends-some-common-sense-password-rules.html
Cited document,
Excerpt:
The following requirements apply to passwords:
1. Verifiers and CSPs SHALL require passwords to be a minimum of eight characters
in length and SHOULD require passwords to be a minimum of 15 characters in length.
2. Verifiers and CSPs SHOULD permit a maximum password length of at least 64 characters.
3. Verifiers and CSPs SHOULD accept all printing ASCII [RFC20] characters and the
space character in passwords.
4. Verifiers and CSPs SHOULD accept Unicode [ISO/ISC 10646] characters in passwords.
Each Unicode code point SHALL be counted as a single character when evaluating
password length.
5. Verifiers and CSPs SHALL NOT impose other composition rules (e.g., requiring
mixtures of different character types) for passwords.
6. Verifiers and CSPs SHALL NOT require users to change passwords periodically.
However, verifiers SHALL force a change if there is evidence of compromise of the
authenticator.
7. Verifiers and CSPs SHALL NOT permit the subscriber to store a hint that is
accessible to an unauthenticated claimant.
8. Verifiers and CSPs SHALL NOT prompt subscribers to use knowledge-based
authentication (KBA) (e.g., “What was the name of your first pet?”) or security
questions when choosing passwords.
9. Verifiers SHALL verify the entire submitted password (i.e., not truncate it).
Hooray.
[Notice that many persons who left comments do not understand cryptology,
no training, no education. Forcing users to use particular characters or characters
from particular subsets, does not increase complexity (they don't understand
what is), it just makes remembering the password more difficult for humans,
which forces the human user to use some method to remember the password.
All such methods are insecure.
The purpose of passwords is "something you know" that no one else knows,
that is not recorded anywhere else, in any form.
Persons who force you to change your password every so often are not just
ignorant, they are stupid. Beware.
-- Jon Low]
When I was in grad school at the University of California Santa Cruz the Internet
Service Providers were kind enough to let us monitor their servers. Our study
concluded that 15% of all email is lost, in the sense that it never gets delivered and
there is no email back to the sender saying that the email bounced. So the sender
believes that the email was received. Beware.
"DEF CON 32 - Inside the FBI’s Secret Encrypted Phone Company ‘Anom’ "
DEFCONConference
by Joseph Cox
"Operation Trojan Shield", June 2021.
FBI in San Diego, not Washington, D.C.
Third country to circumvent the legal protections of the U.S.
Not only the messages are important, it's the meta data.
"Insane brand loyalty." Stop and think about that.
In Istanbul, Turkey. Why? Do you remember?
"What Makes Israel So Good at Hacking?" by Cyberspatial
Weekend Knowledge Dump
Intel analysis by James Dunnigan, 10/20/2024 --
Information Warfare: Chinese Horde of Hackers
October 20, 2024: During the last ten years China has vastly increased its Cyber War
(attacks on computer networks, usually via the Internet) operations. Chinese hackers
are now responsible for over a third of the hacking activities worldwide. This includes
the acquisition of Zero Day Exploits or ZDEs. These are freshly discovered and
exploitable defects in software that runs on the Internet. These flaws enable a hacker
to get into other people's networks and PCs. In the right hands these flaws enable
criminals to pull off a large online heist or simply maintain secret control over someone's
computer. Currently China has collected more than 80 percent of the existing ZDEs.
ZDEs are rare. They are in great demand and are increasingly expensive to find,
or buy, from legitimate researchers or on the hacker black market. The price of ZDEs
varies a lot. That's because not all vulnerabilities are equal. Some are much more
valuable than others because they are more effective or allow attacks on a larger
number of targets. Commercial Internet security firms offer rewards to software
engineers who first discover a zero day vulnerability. These vulnerabilities are software
bugs that have not yet been put to use by a hacker to create a ZDE. The rewards for
really good ZDEs can sometimes exceed a million dollars. The commercial security
firms, which provide services for corporate and government clients, offer the rewards
openly. There is a more lucrative underground market, financed by criminals and some
governments that offer even larger rewards.
The users, especially large companies, get after the software publishers to find and
fix the bugs quickly. This rarely happens [Do you understand why? -- Jon Low], and
discovering and fixing these vulnerabilities usually takes several months and sometimes
as long as a year or more. This is largely because fixing these bugs is expensive and
publishers don't want to risk creating new ones. The publishers know that every time
they open their source code to repair something there is high risk of creating more bugs.
[Do you understand the grotesque stupidity of such management fears? -- Jon Low]
Moreover, it's expensive to fix the bug, test the patched software and then distribute it
to their customers. Thus, unless the bug is highly likely to be exploited, it is not
attended to right away. The problem with this approach is that the software publisher
may not be aware of how exploitable the bug is. Criminals and Cyber Warriors have
an interest in finding ways to exploit bugs that appear relatively harmless. That turns
the bug into ammunition for the Cyber War, and a way to make money for the criminals.
The Chinese lead in Cyber War means that China is now the most powerful Cyber
War operator in the world, with the most ZDEs, the most hackers and the most ability
to damage the networks of any nation that is considered an enemy. Currently this
capability is theoretical because China is not at war with anyone, at least not openly.
In preparation for a Cyber War ammo supply is critical. Whoever finds the largest
number of quality unpatched vulnerabilities and turns them into exploits will win.
There's a lot of evidence that the United States and China have both compiled large
arsenals and tested a lot of their stuff. Other countries are players as well, but until
recently the U.S. and China appeared to be the superpowers of Cyber War. Now it is
evident that China has taken the lead and is the largest Cyber War operator on the
planet. [What to do? Stop using proprietary software, especially government software.
Stop using Microsoft software. And a lot of the "ammunition" becomes useless.
-- Jon Low]
At one time the U.S. had an edge in the number of potential commercial security
firms and freelance experts it could enlist for the war effort. China openly encourages
its hackers to go out and practice on foreigners, especially the Japanese, who are still
hated for World War II era atrocities, and the United States. China is also believed to
have arrangements and understandings with the gangs that specialize in Internet based
crime. Remember, China is still a police state and communist secret police
organizations have long been known to use criminal organizations for all sorts of things.
For over a decade now Cyber War and criminal hackers have secretly placed malware
software in computers belonging to corporations or government agencies. These Trojan
horse programs turn the infected PCs into zombies or bots which are under the control
of the botmasters who planted them. Such control allows the botmaster to steal, modify,
or destroy data or shut down the computer systems the zombies are on. You infect new
PCs and turn them into zombies by using ZDEs. This is a big business, although a lot
of that business is delivering spam. But mixed in with all the garden variety criminality
is a lot of corporate and military espionage.
Cyber War commanders are resigned to the fact that they will have to use
mercenaries if they want to survive any future Internet based conflict.
[Do you remember when the FBI attempted to change their requirements so they could
recruit hackers. The fat body couch potatoes couldn't pass any tests. You're laughing.
You think I'm joking. Having a graduate degree in a hard science or a law degree or an
accounting degree means you have the perseverance to finish the degree. It doesn't mean
you've got a high IQ. It doesn't mean you can recognize patterns. It doesn't mean you
can figure things out. It doesn't mean you can figure out the picture in the puzzle with
many pieces missing, distorted, and sabotaged.
-- Jon Low]
Much use is being made of mercenaries right now in the race to build up stockpiles
of munitions. In Cyber War the ammo is information. That is, knowledge of
vulnerabilities in software connected to the Internet or major networks not connected
to the Internet. It's feared that China actually has a lead in this area, a lead they will
not discuss but that the victims know exists.
Cyber War is usually conducted all the time, like espionage in general. Many people
don’t realize that NATO nations often spy on each other. This is usually kept quiet
because this espionage is a way for friendly states to test each other’s Cyber War
defenses without being a threat. This is how the current increase in Chinese Cyber
War activities was discovered and measured.
-- James Dunnigan
---
Why are we in second place? (Actually, we are way below that.) Because the
U.S. government agencies are hiring according to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusiveness
directives; quotas; affirmative action; etc. All of the big defense corporations are doing
likewise. The meritorious don't get promoted, they get fired. The dead wood floats
to the top. Those who refused to get the "vaccine" were fired. The non-compliant,
non-obedient, those who refuse to bend the knee and kiss the ring, are fired.
As Trump would say, sad.
Trump has run a business, so he understands. His opponents have never run a
business, have never worked in a business. So they don't understand.
They believe you can tax the people into prosperity. They don't believe in a meritocracy.
They don't believe in capitalism.
When I was with Mike Battery, 3rd Battalion, 14th Marines, 4th Marine Division in
Chattanooga, TN, a full bird Colonel, who was part of an inspection team, took me aside
and told me, either I get with the program or I'm out. The Colonel was referring to
President Obama's diversity program: females in combat, homosexuals in the Armed
Forces, etc. Sure enough when time came to re-enlist, the Battalion Commander, a
Lt. Col. told me I was out. Too old he said. I was still running 1st class PFTs (Physical
Fitness Test), still shooting Expert with the rifle, still getting good fitness reports (when
the Lt.'s remembered to write them). The battalion was full of Privates who couldn't
pass the PFTs. It was infuriating.
-- Jon Low
"The IBM Selectric II: A Typing Revolution Turned Spy Tool - Inside Operation Gunman"
by Retro Tech or Die
"Traditional Celtic Songs - Fill-iù Oro Hù Ò & O Cò Bheir Mi Leam | Port Sligo/Leitrim | TG4"
With lyrics and translation. How is your Scottish Gaelic. I just so happen to have a
mother-in-law (daughter's husband's grandmother) who is Scottish and is fluent in Gaelic.
Having trouble figuring out that recording you have? Perhaps you need my mother-in-law.
"this new Linux feature makes hacking IMPOSSIBLE" by Low Level
mseal system function in the kernel.
ret is return from the subroutine.
Breaking Defense has a weekly newsletter, "Networks & Digital Warfare" at
Crypto-Gram by Bruce Schneier
2600
‟If violent crime is to be curbed, it is only the intended victim who can do it.
The felon does not fear the police, and he fears neither judge nor jury.
Therefore what he must fear is his victim.”
-- Col. Jeff Cooper, "Principles of Personal Defense"
*************************************************************************
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Intelligence ***** ***** *****
Gathering, Analyzing, Disseminating
"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State,
the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
-- Second Amendment, U.S. Constitution
Intel analysis by James Dunnigan, 10/20/2024 --
Intelligence: Balloon Based Electronic Surveillance
October 20, 2024: Ukraine is the latest country to adopt aerostat (aerodynamic unpowered
blimp) systems that use a 30-76 meter long, helium filled, unmanned blimp equipped
with radar and other sensors and equipment. The Ukrainian system is called Aero Azimuth.
The system includes a trailer with a winch to quickly bring down the aerostat as well as
tanks of helium gas to inflate the aerostat before deployment. The aerostat carries
SIGINT (Signals Intelligence) equipment to detect the radio signals emitted by Russian
drone operators up to 40 kilometers away. This information is quickly sent to nearby
Ukrainian troops who can use either artillery or drones to attack the Russian positions.
The Aerostat remains ten to 20 kilometers behind the front line. The aerostat can
operate at 700 meters and emits no signals the Russian can use for target location.
Communication with the aerostat is via the cable that tethers the aerostat to the
equipment trailer.
These Ukrainian aerostats can remain aloft for up to seven days and carry a 25 kg
payload of passive sensors to detect the controllers of Russian drones, especially
FPV (First Person View) drones where the operator uses a headset and video game
controls to see and maneuver their drone. The Ukrainian aerostat system allows
the Russian FPV drone operators to be identified, located and attacked.
[Well, you can identify and locate the transmitter, but the operator? -- Jon Low]
The Russian response to the loss of drone operators is to move them further away
from the front lines. This limits the effectiveness of Russian FPV drones because
now they cannot operate very far into Ukrainian territory. The Russians can use their
drones to attack the Aero Azimuth trailer and all its aerostat operating equipment
but the Ukrainians would detect the approach of such an attack and move their aerostat
equipment out of the way, Ukrainian also has anti-drone weapons that can destroy
some or all of the attacking drones by jamming their control systems and causing them
to crash. The United States has used aerostats in Iraq and Afghanistan and still has
aerostats and related equipment. The Americans are sending Ukraine this equipment
within six months and resuming the manufacture of such equipment. Aerostats have
civilian applications and manufacturers are available to build more aerostats for Ukraine.
Modern aerostat systems have been around since the 1980s and have proliferated
as more compact, lightweight and powerful sensors became available. The larger of
these blimps are more than twice the size as the more familiar advertising blimps.
An aerostat is designed to always turn into the wind and stay in the same place.
An aerostat is unpowered, and secured by a cable that can keep the aerostat in position
at its maximum altitude of 4,700 meters. At that altitude, a large aerostat can carry a
two-ton payload. The cable also supplies power, which means the blimp can stay up
for about 30 days at a time before it has to be brought down for maintenance on its
radars. Often, two radars are carried. One is for surveillance; the other is a precision
track and illumination radar (PTIR). The surveillance radar provides long-range
coverage (400 kilometers or more), while the PTIR, which is a steerable system
capable of tracking multiple targets, can focus on items of interest. Current aerostats
carry a larger array of more capable sensors.
Aerostat systems cost varies from under $10 million, to over $100 million each,
depending on the size of the aerostat and the capabilities of the radar and other sensors.
Aerostats work. Kuwait had one in 1990, and the ground radar spotted the Iraqis as
soon as they crossed the border. The U.S. uses dozens of aerostat systems in Iraq and
Afghanistan to guard bases.
Israel is also a user and manufacturer of aerostat systems. In early 2022 Israel put
its first Sky Dew aerostat system into service along its northern border, to detect Iranian
air attacks using low, slow UAVs equipped with explosives and a GPS guidance system
programmed to head for specific targets. Sky Dew carries radars and other sensors to
monitor large land areas for low, slow intruders. Another Sky Dew was eventually
installed in the south, along the Gaza border, where the threat is now worse because
the Sunni Arab Hamas that rules Gaza is once again attacking Israel.
Sky Dew specifications were not revealed, apparently because it uses new sensors
that can detect a lot more threats at greater distances and lower altitudes and speeds
than previous systems could. Iran has been developing new aerial threats designed
to get past many current air defense radars so not letting Iran know exactly what
Sky Dew is capable of will give Iran a more difficult time evading it.
Sky Dew is not the first Israeli aerostat system. In 2005 an Israeli firm introduced
a smaller aerostat system; the ELM 2083 that was a substitute, in performance, to an
American AWACS (Air Warning and Control) aircraft. This aerostat was designed to
spot aircraft up to 500 kilometers distant and at low and medium altitudes. Unlike
Sky Dew, ELM 2083 was less effective at detecting very low and slow threats.
One example of the new generation of sensors for aerostats is the U.S. Army Starlite
radar, which has been in use for over a decade. The AN/ZPY-1 Starlite lightweight
radar weighs 29.5 kg, occupies 34 cc of space, uses 750 watts of power, and costs
about $2.3 million each. Starlite can deliver photo quality black and white images of
what is down there, in any weather. The army has developed software that enables
the Starlite images to be transmitted to existing army video terminals and automatically
appear on electronic versions of standard army maps. Starlite is used in combination
with vidcams and infrared or thermal heat sensors. The Starlite software enables the
operator to quickly, or automatically, point a video camera at anything Starlite can see.
Starlite was originally designed for use in the army's 1.5-ton MQ-1C Sky Warrior
drone. While drones get more publicity, the army has found that its aerostats and tall
towers also make good use of Starlite and do it a lot cheaper; under $1,000 an hour,
mostly for maintenance, repairs, and personnel to monitor the sensors, and stay
airborne nearly all the time. Compare this to Sky Warrior or Predator, which costs
$6,000 an hour to fly. The stationary Starlites just need a way to keep an eye on a
large area; like chunks of the Syrian, Iranian, or Pakistani border or the area surrounding
a base 24/7.
Starlite thus became another component of the PTDS (Persistent Threat Detection
Systems) that are mounted in the aerostats or towers. PTDS was developed because
of the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2004 the U.S. Army sent 22 aerostat systems
to Iraq and Afghanistan. The most common model of aerostats float at about 330 meters,
tethered by a cable that provides power and communications to the day and night
cameras, or Starlite radar, up there. The big problem was ground fire from rifles and
machine guns. Hostile gunmen liked using the aerostats as targets. Rifle fire would
not destroy the aerostats but did cause them to be brought down more frequently for
repairs. Normally the aerostats can stay up for 30 days at a time but the bullet damage
repairs have some of them coming down every few days. The PTDS surveillance
systems mounted on tall steel towers also suffer gunfire damage but rarely any that
disables the equipment.
The first army aerostats went to Iraq to help defend offshore oil facilities from
attack by terrorist speedboats. Those early systems used a 75 meter long, helium filled,
unmanned aerostat equipped with radar and other sensors. The U.S. Navy operated
aerostat systems from ships to spot small boats over a large area around the vessel.
Larger aerostats, like JLENS, were originally designed to detect cruise missiles and
were soon replaced by smaller and cheaper aerostat systems currently in use.
-- James Dunnigan
"10 Things You MISSED About Trump's Assassin" by WolvesAndFinance (Zack)
The U.S. Secret Service violated all of our safety rules when they fired at the second
assassin.
Jeffery B. Veltri, it's important to identify individuals. Individuals do things, not
organizations.
Weekend Knowledge Dump
An even better video of the landing.
They truth about Lindsey Graham.
Hard to believe South Carolina keeps electing him.
" ‘Stunning security failure’:
U.S. agents miss Venezuelan gang tattoos in scan for refugee approvals"
by Stephen Dinan
DHS validated TDA gang members as refugees.
"FBI And DEA Gun Parts Slated For Destruction Found In Seized Ghost Gun"
by Darwin Nercesian
Hat tip to Stephen P. Wenger.
Excerpt:
"A new Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General (OIG) audit
questions how FBI and DEA gun parts slated for destruction ended up in a
“ghost gun” seized during a criminal investigation."
Now you know how criminals get their guns. From the FBI and DEA.
Oh, and of course from the ATF (Project Gunrunner, Operation Fast and Furious).
Everyone involved got promoted. No one got fired. Your tax dollars at work.
In order of decreasing competence:
Individual private intelligence operators. (unencumbered by bureaucracy)
Private sector intelligence organization. (encumbered by "managers")
Military intelligence. (encumbered by company grade officers)
Government (civil service) intelligence. (strangled by bureaucracy and political correctness)
[The only exception would be the French. You have to study their history to understand.
Maybe the Polish, but they were under the communists for so long. Communists destroy
meritocracies. It takes a long time to rebuild a meritocracy. Z2]
Spear Operations Group, Abraham Golan. Remember them? Think Israeli operations
in the United States with credible deniability. You don't think the Israelis operate in the
U.S.? Ever heard of Jonathan Jay Pollard? The U.S. traded him to the Israelis. (What
did they trade for?) The Israelis give Pollard a pension and he's living well. Ever view
the open source videos? Whose head is that watching Pollard? Ya, I know you can only
see the back of his head. That's our friend from the Office of Naval Intelligence. Small
world, eh?
"U.S Targeted Assassin Team is Legitimately Insane" by Task and Purpose
December 29th, 2015, Aden, Yemen. What else was going on at the time?
Can you keep track of all of the political parties and their associations? That's your
job, intel analyst.
$25,000 per month. In 2015 U.S. dollars. My son made that kind of money.
I never made that kind of money. Because my son was infantry and had friends who
preceded him. I was intel. All my friends disappeared or died.
It's as if the narrator has never hear of Letters of Marque,
U.S.A. Constitution, Article 1 Section 8 Clause 11.
Ya, Private Military Companies are effective. But even more effective are individual
agents / operators backed by private sector intelligence companies. Who got you out of
Afghanistan? What is Lockheed Martin's black budget concentrated in? It ain't cost-plus
contracts.
"HUGE UPDATE FROM ISRAEL (OCT. 26). IRAN'S DEFENCE DESTROYED!"
by Israel MyChannel
---
"Israel Attacks Iran, Again" by Peter Zeihan (Zeihan on Geopolitics)
This is a three part series explaining to women how to get a commitment from the
man they want. That is, a high value man. [I wouldn't waste you time. This is truth.]
Not a moral or ethical exhortation. Just effective pragmatic strategies.
---
"How to get any MAN you WANT: the MASTER KEY"
by Orion Taraban, Psy.D.
Pride is also a sin.
You have to be useful. Not ornamental. Make his life better. Make his work easier.
Provide instrumental support.
Service is a gift.
De facto commitment.
---
"How to get any MAN you WANT: the HOOK"
by Orion Taraban, Psy.D.
Sex is a reinforcer. Sex is a reward. If you give a bear treats and then withhold the
treats, the bear will maul and kill you to get the treats.
No this is not the Christian ideal. As Dr. Taraban says at the beginning, this advice
is not moral or ethical. It is effective and pragmatic in the real world with real people.
The explanations in terms of economics (not money) is spot on.
De facto exclusivity. (monogamy)
---
"How to get any MAN you WANT: The UNBREAKABLE RULE"
by Orion Taraban, Psy.D.
A woman builds her house with her hands and tears it down with her mouth.
Never be disrespectful to your man.
Never complain about your man to others.
Pretend you're talking to whoever you're talking about.
---
Exactly what is taught at certain spy schools.
"We need to be anti-woke." by Margaret Qu
Do you understand why this is in the intelligence section?
"Mark of the Beast Update: Kuwait Bars Financial Services For Unregistered"
by Docent
Do you understand why this is in the intelligence section?
"China's Version of the CIA is Brutal" by Task & Purpose
Not just Cambodia, Vietnam invaded China (and won). But being nice guys, after
they got everything they wanted, the Vietnamese withdrew.
The CIA's Instagram account, "Amazing", get the euphemism?
"China Faces Deflation as Economy Stutters || Peter Zeihan" by Zeihan on Geopolitics
The Long March. Get it? Assemble and go on long walks.
"Good habits and skill beat luck every time."
-- Sheriff Jim Wilson
"The Merge"
Breaking Defense
Intrigue
1440
"Observations Made" by Bendigo Strange
*************************************************************************
The United States is the only country in the world that allows drug companies to advertise
directly to patients. Stop and think about that.
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** After Thoughts, Politics, and such ***** ***** *****
"Hey, Babe, I parked my new gun in the barn."
"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of people always
possess arms and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."
-- Richard Henry Lee
Signer of the Declaration of Independence
"Our Future?" by John Farnam
I spent my entire time (34 years) in the Marine Corps fighting communists.
They go by different names, but always the same goal. Seize the levers of power.
Centralize power.
The opposite of capitalism. Small weak government. Decentralized power.
Power reserved to the states and the people. Capitalism is economic freedom.
" Judge Overturns Election, Calls Evidence of Fraud ‘Shocking’ "
by Roman Balmakov
Democrats eating their own.
"Elon Musk on the Importance of Gun Ownership and Voter IDs"
It's true. California has banned the requirement for government IDs for voting.
Anyone can vote in California. Literally anyone. As many times as they want.
Impersonating whoever they want. If you show up to vote and are denied, because
someone impersonating you already voted, what are you going to do?
"The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it."
-- (Mary) Flannery O'Connor
Matt Lohmeier was fired from the Space Force and lost his pension because he
pointed out the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion training rampant in the Air Force.
"Jack Smith Files Final Response" by OfficialACLJ
Would any Democrat even consider doing this?
Can you believe that there are actually Jews who would vote for Harris instead of
Trump?
20% of the poplation is responsive to propaganda. There is nothing you can do
about them, because they don't think. They believe.
"Christian students in Wisconsin speak out after Kamala Harris
told them they were at the ‘wrong rally’
by Ryan King
Deep truth. The mechanics of male-female relationships. The effectiveness.
---
"Why beautiful women are nuts: a co-created problem"
by Orion Taraban, Psy.D.
"Because they have never been told the truth (in their entire lives)."
"Pretty is not sufficient compensation for crazy. So the men walk."
---
"Why successful men are jerks: no one wants to do the laundry"
by Orion Taraban, Psy.D.
---
Hypergamy (women marry up). Once she has dated a man with a car, she is not going
to date a guy with a bus pass.
"The way it ALL ENDS: the five endgames that all women face"
by Orion Taraban, Psy.D.
"The men that have what women want are the least likely to give it to them."
Stop and consider that. It is deep truth.
"Keeping your price tag high ain't going to lead to a sale."
"High earning women with advanced degrees." are the demographic that predominantly
end up childless, unintentionally. Because they are older, they don't get the marriage
offers. A woman's value in the marriage marketplace starts going down at age 30.
They price themselves out of the market against their less educated, lower earning,
younger competition. Stop, and think about that.
The economics of prostitutes and the use thereof. Men don't pay escorts for sex.
They pay the escort to go away. Quietly, without any problems (legal, economic,
emotional, etc.). Traditional dating is extremely expensive (in time and money);
Dr. Taraban explains. Divorce is extremely expensive. At $1000 per hour, escorts
are cheap. Compared to how much money the man makes per hour. The mitigation
of risk may be a much more important consideration to high value men.
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"Why successful men use escorts: what the rich and the beautiful have in common"
by Orion Taraban, Psy.D.
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"The $50,000 beer: why very attractive women aren't on dating apps"
by Orion Taraban, Psy.D.
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"You get what you pay for: the higher the prices, the better the service"
by Orion Taraban, Psy.D.
"Our Military Deserves Better" by Brett Cooper
Video of Kamala Harris saying that there are no active duty persons in any war zone.
Talk about living in an alternate reality. Video of deployed active duty soldiers watching
her on TV and laughing at her. It would be funny if she were not Vice President and
running for President.
How do you recognize a tyrant?
Not difficult at all.
"3 out of 4 Failed – The Result of DEI Policies" by I, Malcontent
Don't let political correctness get you killed. Don't let political correctness kill your
subordinates. Remember the enlisted solution in Vietnam; fragging.
“You can’t truly call yourself ‘peaceful’ unless you are capable of great violence.
If you’re not capable of violence, you’re not peaceful, you’re harmless.
Important distinction.”
-- Stef Starkgaryen
Why do the Democrats run females against Trump? Not a rhetorical question.
President Gerald Ford was never elected President. Kamala Harris was never elected
Democrat nominee for President. And you think your vote counts?
Semper Fidelis,
Jonathan D. Low
Email: Jon_Low@yahoo.com
Radio: KI4SDN
"The Bangles - Hazy Shade Of Winter (Return To Bangleonia)" by ShoutFactoryMusic
One of the few recordings that has all verses.
Vodka and lime. Do you know the reference?
I was walking down a hall and smelled a perfume that a college girlfriend had worn
in 1977. Fragrances can evoke strong memories. Be careful.
