Megan May Williams
Greetings Sheepdogs,
While I sign the bottom of this blog and take responsibility for its content,
I do not write much of it. I edit. A friend proofreads. It's sort of like Bourbaki.
(Nicolas Bourbaki is the collective pseudonym of a group of mathematicians.)
"Why is so much of the stuff in these blog posts repeated?"
Because I am answering questions or responding to comments of students.
The same questions and comments come up class after class, year after year,
decade after decade.
"No freeman shall ever be debarred the use of arms."
-- Thomas Jefferson
Table of Contents:
Prevention
Mindset
Situational Awareness
Safety
Training
Practice
Intervention
Strategy
Tactics
Techniques
Postvention
Aftermath
Medical
Survival
Education
Legal
Instruction
Gear
Cryptology
Signals Intelligence
Intelligence
After Thoughts
Psychology
Hanna Barron
*************************************************************************
***** ***** ***** Prevention ***** ***** *****
Things you can do to avoid the lethal force incident.
Table of sections:
Mindset
Safety
Training
Practice
*************************************************************************
----- Mindset and Attitude -----
Figuring out the correct way to think.
"Superior judgment trumps superior skills." -- Dan Millican
"A Failure to Acknowledge Reality" by Greg Ellifirtz
"Be so focused on watering your grass that
you don't have time to check if someone else's is greener."
-- Nicola Cavanis
Awareness, Avoidance, De-Escalation, Escape
"The test of time." by Orion Taraban Wednesday, February 19th, 2025
It is rare for me to read living authors. This is largely due to my recognition of
the faddishness of the present moment. Books that achieve critical acclaim and
best-seller status today are often completely forgotten in less than a decade. To me,
this is tantamount to a confession that these works lack something that speaks to
something enduring in mankind. They are too representative of a cultural moment
and quickly lose their relevance.
Texts that have been reprinted for generations, on the other hand, suggest to me
the presence of something worth preserving – and, therefore, worth reading.
There is very little profit in the publication of books in the public domain. As a
commodity, they are often not worth the paper they are printed on. However,
this further attests to the value of these works: even capitalistic enterprises are
occasionally motivated to disseminate them against their own self-interest.
One of the greatest collections of such texts is the Great Idea series, published
by Penguin Books. Currently compassing 120 works from the Pre-Socratics to
20th Century continental philosophers, the series includes thought-provoking
treatises on economics, religion, sociology, and political philosophy – most of
which come in under 150 pages. Even when I don't agree with the position of
the writer, reading through the series as helped to improve my critical thinking
and to increase my appreciation for differing perspectives. Among many favorites
are Epictetus's "Of Human Freedom" (82), Kierkegaard's "The Sickness unto
Death" (47), and "Writings from the Zen Masters" (62). Highly recommended.
-- Orion Taraban
"Start the habit of asking yourself:
Does this support the life I am trying to create?"
-- Nicola Cavanis
"More (Again) about Boyd and OODA" by Claude Werner
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
‟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
The epitome of irresponsibility.
"I do not carry a pistol so that I may impose my will on others.
I carry a pistol so that others may not impose their will on me."
-- Tom Givens
Am I paranoid to carry a gun?
---
"The superior man,
when resting in safety, does not forget that danger may come.
When in a state of security, he does not forget the possibility of ruin.
When all is orderly, he does not forget that disorder may come.
Thus, his person is not endangered,
and his States and all their clans are preserved."
-- Confucius (551 B.C. – 479 B.C.)
---
"Better be despised for too anxious apprehensions,
than ruined by too confident security."
-- Edmund Burke (1729 – 1797 A.D.)
"Survival is a mindset, not a skill set."
-- Greg Shaffer
"Have your affairs in order."
-- John Hearne
"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
“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
"Your life is as good as your mindset." -- Nicola Cavanis
‷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
***** Situational Awareness *****
How to avoid being taken by surprise.
"Many people don't realize that your awareness skills are more important than
your marksmanship skills. Well, you can't shoot something you don't know is there,
or don't know it needs to be shot!" -- Tom Givens
“. . . you cannot defeat what you cannot see . . .”
— General Gregory Guillot, commander of NORAD and NORTHCOM,
speaking to the Senate Armed Services Committee on the lack of sensing
threats to the US homeland and a call for a new sensor layer from seabed to space.
"Body language and threat recognition" by Massad Ayoob
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
"How to Spot a Bad Guy -
A Comprehensive Look at Body Language and Pre-Assault Indicators"
by Greg Ellifritz
"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)
"Lessons to Remember" by Rich Grassi
Citing Marc MacYoung.
Excerpt:
If you’re situationally “aware” but you can’t establish the “why,” you have problems.
You don’t know what you’re seeing. You can’t assess the situation, Marc notes.
"Give them what they want" by Kathy Jackson
https://www.corneredcat.com/give-them-what-they-want/
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Katherine Hughes the graduate!
Kace Hughes
*************************************************************************
----- 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.
"Superior judgment trumps superior skills." -- Dan Millican
"If You Imagine Yourself a Gunfighter | Black Swan Events" by Todd Heaton
Surprise
Speed
Violence of action
Sound tactics, not goofy novelties.
"Gut feelings are guardian angels." -- Nicola Cavanis
"How to Win the Bullet Surprise" by Kathy Jackson
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Jeff Cooper′s Rules of Gun Safety
RULE I: ALL GUNS ARE ALWAYS LOADED.
RULE II: NEVER LET THE MUZZLE COVER ANYTHING
THAT YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO DESTROY.
RULE III: KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER
UNTIL YOUR SIGHTS ARE ON THE TARGET.
RULE IV: BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET.
---
RULE V: Maintain control of your gun. -- Stephen P. Wenger
"Would-be Indiana school shooter had collage of mass murderers, court docs reveal"
by David Gay
---
"Active Killers study previous mass shooting incidents and try to do “better.”
This would-be school shooter acquired body armor. That’s relatively unusual
but may become more common in the future. You cops should be taking rifles
to these calls. You armed citizens need to be practicing long range head shots.
Those of you who are paying attention might also note the dramatic increase
in female and trans active killers in the last couple years."
-- Greg Ellifritz
---
"Transgender Cult KILLED 6 People" by Actual Justice Warrior
---
"Zizian leader Jack LaSota:
Who is transgender, vegan cult head linked to border agent killing?
Vermont killing of US Border Patrol Agent David 'Chris' Maland
brought more scrutiny on 'Zizians' "
by Sarah Rumpf-Whitten
---
"Transgender, vegan 'Zizian' cult linked to Vermont border agent
killing dependent on zapping human emotions
The Vermont killing of U.S. Border Patrol Agent David 'Chris' Maland
brought more scrutiny on the 'Zizians' "
by Sarah Rumpf-Whitten
---
"Police arrest alleged leader of anarchist vegan cult tied to series of crimes,
including CBP agent murder
Jack LaSota and Michelle Zajko have been linked to a West Coast cult group,
allegedly involved in the murder of a Vermont CBP agent"
by Stepheny Price
---
If you pump a person full of drugs to change their "sex" (which of course is impossible)
what do you think is going to happen.
"It's easier to stay out of trouble than to get out of trouble."
-- Claude Werner
"No warning!" by John Farnam
This is reality. Accept it and act accordingly.
"You are not responsible for negative reactions to your boundaries."
-- Nicola Cavanis
Former Dorchester County (South Carolina, USA) sheriff, Ray Nash, gave a
radio interview and said that the indicators of a criminal are: no shirt, tattoos, bad
teeth, and body odor.
Smoking destroys your sense of smell and taste. This means you won’t be
able to smell the enemy.
Smoking destroys your night vision. This means you won’t be able to see
the enemy in the dark.
“A pack-a-day smoker builds high levels of carbon monoxide in his blood,
which reduce 20 percent of normal night vision at sea level, an effect that increases
with altitude; by 10,000 feet, he’s lost 40% of his night vision.”
– “The Ultimate Sniper” by Maj. John Plaster,
U.S. Army retired, Paladin Press, Revised edition January 2006, page 8.
ISBN-10: 1581604947, ISBN-13: 978-1581604948.
You have a 1 in 30 chance of being a victim of violent crime per year. You have a
1 in 4 chance of being a victim of violent crime in your lifetime.
Citation: Instructor Development course by Tom Givens.
So, always carry your pistol. If you think that the chance of getting attacked is
one in a million, you’re a fool.
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.
*************************************************************************
----- Training -----
Figuring out the correct tasks to practice.
"Most people are DELUSIONAL: the psychosis of everyday life" by Orion Taraban, Psy.D.
"Superior judgment trumps superior skills." -- Dan Millican
Correction --
My dementia is wrecking havoc with my memory.
I had not heard the sentence, "You live in as many worlds as languages you speak."
from Prof. W. I had never met Prof. W.
I heard the sentence from my German teacher in high school at Punahou School.
My German teacher was substituting for the regular teacher who was on maternity
leave. He was the Counsel General of the Swiss Cosulate in Hawaii.
"Tactics and Training: Threat Response Fundamental Number 2: Communication"
by Tiger McKee
Hat tip to Tom McHale.
What a beautiful standing position!
"A mistake that makes you humble is better
than an achievement that makes you arrogant."
-- Nicola Cavanis
The lies we tell ourselves.
by Mickey Schuch
"There are three different areas, or disciplines, in which the armed person must train.
These are mindset, gunhandling, and marksmanship. Each is equally important, and
you must be at least competent in all three areas."
-- Tom Givens
I am presently taking Krav Maga from an Israeli Defense Force trainer, Ziv Shemesh.
I highly recommend you take such a course. Your lethal force incident will probably
start at conversational distance. You're going to need hand-to-hand techniques to gain
time and space to deploy your tools.
Combat is surprising. Which means it's not going to happen as you imagined it.
"100% of fights start in the standing position (If you don’t believe this, think
about when the fight starts for the assailant, not the victim, and you will see that
this is true.), 70% of fights go to the ground. So, you need to know some ground
fighting techniques to defend yourself, to give you time to get to your gun. You
should also try to avoid going to the ground by maintaining situational awareness
which will allow you to react earlier. (So, you must have the presence of mind to
react.)" -- Adam Johnson [in a self-defense class he gave in Red Boiling Springs,
TN on 26 May 2013]
"If you’re not measuring your training,
what you’re doing is called playing."
-- Chris Sajnog
"How to Manage Recoil With Your Eyes" by Ben Stoeger
Whoa! This is the opposite of rifle aiming. At the level 3 rifle coaches course at
the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, CO (because there are other OTCs)
we were taught to focus on the front sight and be aware of the target wobbling around
in the background, but don't focus on the target.
Ben is saying focus on the target and only be aware of the sight wobbling around,
but don't focus on the sight.
Ya, I know the red dot sight and the target will both be in focus. So, as Ben
sometimes uses the word "concentrate" rather than focus. Generally speaking
what you focus on is what you are concentrating on. But not always.
You are controlling what you are concentrating on. You are not actively controlling
what you are only aware of, but not concentrating on.
This is deep. Some will get this immediately. Some will have to expend great
effort to get this. Everyone is different.
You need training because:
You don't know what you don't know.
Much of what you know is false.
It's good to the have the answers before the criminal tests you.
-- Claude Werner (paraphrased)
"Bob Vogel on the Pistol Draw" by Make Ready TV
“Training deals not with an object,
but with the human spirit and human emotions.”
--Bruce Lee
We teach to always carry concealed, even when not required to as in Tennessee.
The tactical advantage of surprise will give you seconds. (Statistically, the typical
civilian gunfight last 2 seconds and 1 or 2 rounds are fired from within 5 feet 50%
of the time, and within 10 feet 75% of the time [citation: Police Officer's Safety
Association, Ralph Morz]. So, seconds are significant.) If the bad guy doesn't know
you have the pistol, he won't target you to get the pistol (a high value object). And he
won’t be prepared to respond to your presentation of the pistol.
If you open carry, you will be mistaken for a police officer or a courier of high
value items. Just like the armed guard in the bank, you will be the first one shot
in any criminal scenario.
"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
“It may seem difficult at first but everything is difficult at first.”
-- Miyamota Mushashi
Wear gloves when it’s cold. Cold fingers will get numb and fumble ammunition
and pistol. Practice with gloves on. When it’s cold, you will be wearing gloves and
you won’t have time to take them off.
In cold weather wear a hat.
“HEADGEAR: You should have a soft, jungle-style hat for warm weather because
it creates an irregular, difficult-to-detect outline. For cooler temps and night, wear
a wool navy-style watch cap. Remember that your body loses about 15 percent of
its heat through your head.” – “The Ultimate Sniper” by Maj. John Plaster,
U.S. Army retired, Paladin Press, Revised edition January 2006, page 27.
ISBN-10: 1581604947, ISBN-13: 978-1581604948.
"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
Run three miles a day. You must be in good physical condition to win in combat.
Five minutes to warm up, twenty minutes maintaining your pulse rate at 80% of
maximum (Maximum pulse rate is that at which you are running so hard that you
feel as though you are going to vomit.), and five minutes at an easy pace to cool down.
Stretch before to prevent injury and after to lengthen muscles. It takes a great deal
of self-discipline to run every day. So, this is an exercise in self discipline as much
as cardiovascular fitness.
“Many police SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) units train hard and long and
maintain high standards of physical conditioning. But whether your tac team does
this or not, you must stay in shape, or you’ll begin avoiding strain subconsciously
by dashing at a low trot when you should low-crawl, or walking conspicuously around
a wall rather than pulling yourself invisibly over it. Poor shape, laziness, and bad
tactics go hand-in-hand.” – “The Ultimate Sniper” by Maj. John Plaster,
U.S. Army retired, Paladin Press, Revised edition January 2006, page 7.
ISBN-10: 1581604947, ISBN-13: 978-1581604948.
“Train, Practice, Compete
are the key elements in the development of humans.”
-- John M. Buol, Jr.
Many students have learned during the class that their guns do not work, that
they need gunsmithing, or that they need to get a different pistol. Some students
have learned that their flashlights don’t work; the light is not bright enough to
allow them to identify their target. One of the purposes of taking classes is to
discover problems in training, instead of in combat.
“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
"Exercise. Strengthen your hands and forearms particularly. The usual warnings
about checking with your doctor before beginning any exercise regimen apply.
I know this may seem odd in a low intensity basic class, but grip strength is one of
the most important, and overlooked, factors in the ability to shoot a major caliber
handgun well. 'Well', as in quickly and accurately."
-- Steve Cooper, Paladin Training, Inc.
"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
Taking classes is important, even if you already know everything. Ninety percent
of the material may be stuff you already know or have decided that you don’t want to
implement. But, if you have a good attitude, you will always find that 10% in nuggets
that you had never heard of, or thought of, before. It may be technical, philosophical,
or perceptual. And that makes the class worth taking.
(Thanks to Mike Maples.)
"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
Hick’s Law: Reaction time increases with the number of choices.
Hick, W. E. (1952), “On the Rate of Gain of Information”,
Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, Vol. 4, p11-26.
The paper says, the more decisions you must make, the slower you go.
And the more options you must choose from in each decision, the slower
you go. The conclusion is that to execute faster, minimize the number of
necessary decisions and minimize the number of options that must be chosen
from in each decision.
So, for instance: ALWAYS clear your concealment garment the same way
(no matter what garment you are wearing), ALWAYS wear your equipment in
the same place on your body, ALWAYS execute immediate action when the
gun fails to fire (It will be obvious when something else needs to be done.),
ALWAYS shoot to the center of mass of whatever the available target is.
---
Ya, I know a lot of instructors say Hick's Law is nonsense or obsolete.
They are WRONG! I know because I have studied psychology.
“If you are reading this and can’t put your hand on your defensive firearm,
all of your training is wasted.” -- Col. Jeff Cooper
When attempting contact shots into the enemy, strive to fire downward to avoid
hitting innocents if the bullet passes through. Ideally, at the side of the neck down
into the torso. Take a close quarter combat class to understand this.
Do not press your muzzle into your target. That will push your slide out of battery.
Your pistol won't fire when it is out of battery.
"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
Many states allow concealed carry in places that serve alcohol. You might think to
have a beer or a glass of wine with dinner. But, Simon says,
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaming lion,
walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.”
-- 1st Peter 5:8, King James Version.
Even if your self-defense shooting is completely justified and righteous, if you have
alcohol in your blood stream at the time, you might lose the civil lawsuit, because the
plaintiff will claim your judgment was impaired. And that you exercise bad judgment,
which is demonstrated by your choice to drink while armed.
"Why are the little things called little things?
They are everything."
-- Nicola Cavanis
"Black Swans, Severity and Probability
What should we really train for?"
by Chris Cypert
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
"7 Things To Do Before Carrying A Gun" by Colion Noir
1. Make sure your ammo works in your pistol.
2. Mag dump from concealment to see what doesn't work.
3. Practice your draw in today's outfit.
How does your apparel interfere with your presentation from holster to target.
4. Check your red dot. Glass clean? Battery? Loose mounting screws?
5. Lube your gun.
6. Make sure you have a round in the chamber.
7. Check your spare magazine.
"What Does It Take to Be Prepared to Defend Yourself" by Sam Platia
Excerpts:
Being capable to endure a stressful situation,
you must have the stamina to outlast your opponent.
. . . learning effective hand-to-hand techniques . . .
"Citizen Defender Gets Shot By LAPD While Stopping Armed Robber"
by Active Self Protection
It is your duty to protect yourself. The police have no duty to protect you.
There is nothing wrong with shooting the cops before they shoot you. Would
you prefer to get shot by the cops? Getting prosecuted is always better than
getting shot. You need not be prosecuted. You can always walk away.
Sadie Newman
My mom had freckles. I love freckles.
------------------------------ Classes and Conferences --------------------------------
Attending classes and conferences is required for continuous growth.
Stagnation is complacency. Complacency kills.
"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
Rangemaster Certified Instructors
Map of Rangemaster Certified Instructors
Tactical Conference
Rangemaster Tactical Conference
Friday-Sunday, March 28-30, 2025
Dallas Pistol Club; Carrollton, TX
Law of Self Defense, live online class upcoming dates
April 26, 2025, and
September 27, 2025
Bullets & Bibles Conference
Friday, September 26, 2025 – Sunday, September 28, 2025
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.
Guardian Conference
September 19th - 21st, 2025 in Oklahoma City
Dustin Salomon
KR Training
Kari Grayson
Citizens Safety Academy
Carry Trainer, Mickey Schuch
Paladin Training, Inc., Steve Cooper
FPF Training, John Murphy
Defensive Training International, John Farnam
John has changed his hosting platform on the internet. His videos now stream correctly at
I recommend you view, "Low Light".
Rangemaster, Tom Givens
Trident Concepts, Jeff Gonzales
Apache Solutions, Tim Kelly
Harris Combative Strategies, Randy Harris
Patriot Training
Mead Hall Range & Tactics
Two Pillars Training, John Hearne
From Mike Seeklander
We have a fantastic set of new classes coming up starting in March of 2025.
March 8th - 1-Day CARBINE / RIFLE SPEED AND ACCURACY - Bartlesville, OK
April 4th - 3-Day Spring Training COMPETITION HANDGUN - Bartlesville, OK
May 3rd - 1-Day DEFENSIVE HANDGUN SPEED AND ACCURACY FOCUS - Bartlesville, OK
July 26th - 2-Day DEFENSIVE HANDGUN Level 1 - Ft Bragg, CA
Dec 12th - THE BIGGER CIRCLE - ADVANCED SHOOTING MECHANICS With Mike Seeklander and Rob Leatham / Casa Grande, AZ
More classes will be listed soon! Check here
on a regular basis to see classes added.
‟Training is NOT an event, but a process.
Training is the preparation FOR practice.”
-- Claude Werner
----- Practice -----
How to get proficient at that task.
"Superior judgment trumps superior skills." -- Dan Millican
Practice increases your sensitivity, your kinesthetic awareness. This allows you to
know that you are doing something wrong. Once you become aware of errors, you can
correct them (often automatically). Before you are sensitive enough to detect errors,
you don’t notice them. So, you don’t believe that you are committing the error.
"Nothing changes if nothing changes."
-- Nicola Cavanis
Strive to bring everything under conscious control. Know exactly where every
part of your body is, and where every piece of equipment is. This is referred to as
kinesthetic awareness. Because if you are not under control, you are doing
something different every time (without noticing that it is different). Consistency
is accuracy. We strive for accuracy because every missed shot is destroying
property, and injuring or killing innocent bystanders.
With training and practice, eventually everything will be under unconscious
control. You will become unconsciously competent.
"Be stronger than your strongest excuse."
-- Nicola Cavanis
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
"Trends In Police Training — Part 1" by Erick Gelhaus
"Trends in Police Training – Part 2" by Erick Gelhaus
"Trends in Police Training – Part 3" by Erick Gelhaus
Excerpt:
"That data shows [the bad guys] shoot on average twenty-three times a year."
[That's live fire practice (or at least exposure) twice a month. That's recency of
15 days? How does your practice frequency and recency stack up against the
bad guys? -- Jon Low]
"Remember, growing may feel like breaking at first."
-- Nicola Cavanis
"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
"Your speed doesn't matter. Forward is forward."
-- Nicola Cavanis
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
“Willingness is a state of mind. Readiness is a statement of fact!”
-- Lt. Gen. David M Shoup, USMC Commandant 1960-1963
"Fully Prepared!" by John Farnam
“The instant we start thinking about the outcome, we lose focus on the process.
Focus on the process, each step in correct sequence, always in the present tense.
The outcome will take care of itself.”
-- Jamie Gray
"Remember, the day you plant the seed is not the day you earn the fruit."
-- Nicola Cavanis
***** ***** ***** Intervention ***** ***** *****
Suggestions on how to deal with the incident that you failed to avoid.
Table of sections:
Strategy
Tactics
Techniques
*************************************************************************
Nicola Cavanis
----- Strategy -----
Deciding on the end state and how to achieve it,
which tactics to use, which always includes walking away.
"Never let fear decide your fate." -- Nicola Cavanis
"The bullet never misses . . . ." by John Murphy
“How do you win a gunfight?
Don't be there.”
-- John Farnam
"Armed Mom Takes On Three Bad Guys" by Liberty Doll
The background story displays the deparvity of certain persons.
Such persons exist. You must accept the fact and prepare for it.
"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
“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.)
‟Fear is an instinct. Courage is a choice.”
-- Rear Admiral Joseph Kernan, U.S. Navy
*************************************************************************
----- Tactics -----
Maneuver and fire in support of your strategy.
"Instructor Issues: Communication (Pt II)" by Rich Grassi
Hat tip to Stephen P. Wenger.
"Low Light" by John Farnam
Excerpt: (paraphrased)
It may seem obvious and intuitive, but you're going to make mistakes.
That's why training is so important. You will make mistakes in training.
That's good, so that you can discover the mistakes, or your instructor can
point the mistakes out to you, and you can correct them in training.
In combat, it's too late to discover or correct mistakes.
“People shoot you because they see you.
They see you because you let them.
Don’t let them see you.”
-- Clint Smith
Do not give verbal warnings, you will lose the element of surprise. To quote Tuco
from “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly”, “When you have to shoot, shoot, don’t talk.”
We are not police. We have no obligation to give a verbal warning. If you waste time
saying, “Halt! Military Police.” You’ve given the enemy 7 syllables, enough time for
him to shoot you several times. The way human brains are set up, talking is a high order
intellectual activity. It’s almost impossible to talk and shoot at the same time. But it’s
easy to get punched, shot, or stabbed while talking.
"Real fights are short."
-- Bruce Lee
Have a conscious plan, not just a subconscious reaction. What will I do if
a bad guy enters that door? What will I do if someone tries to rob the cashier?
Etc. Have your plan in mind before you move.
"Without discrimination,
you're going to shoot the wrong person really fast."
-- Paul Howe
Discrimination is a learned skill. You must learn it and practice it.
The liberals have been screaming for decades how bad discrimination is.
As always, the liberals are WRONG! No, as a matter of fact, I am not
taking them out of context.
". . . one of the first principles we want to apply for using cover is to create distance
between our body and the objects we are using for protection. This reduces the danger
of being injured by fragmentation and debris."
"Another advantage of having distance from cover is that it widens your field of view,
allowing you to see more of the threat environment."
"If possible, you always want to work around the side of an object, which exposes
less of your body to the threat, as opposed to working over the top, which presents the
threat with a full view of your head."
-- Tiger McKee
When Mr. McKee says fragmentation, he is referring to spalling. When the bullet
hits one side of the barrier, it may cause fragments of the barrier to blow off the other
side (even if the bullet does not penetrate the barrier). This is common with armor
plates. But also happens with any non-friable material.
"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?
Have you taken a class to learn such techniques?
When shooting from cover, shoot at whatever first becomes visible to you, e.g., a
foot, an elbow, etc. The idea is to shoot the enemy without exposing yourself. You
don't need to get a center of mass shot. Shooting his elbow or foot may be enough
to make him stop the attack. You win fights by minimizing your injury. What
happens to the enemy is incidental to your purpose of stopping the attack.
(Thanks to John Holschen.)
“Fortuitous outcomes reinforce poor tactics.”
-- Chuck Haggard
Corners –
Slice the pie. Lead with your eye (which means you must lean way over). Pull your
gun into the close contact position, so the first thing the enemy could see would be your
eye. Don’t play pee-ka-boo with the enemy around a corner. You’ll get ambushed.
Shoot the first part of the enemy that comes into view. Hitting his arm or foot may be
enough to cause him to flee, and minimizes your exposure. If you can see enough of
the enemy to get a center of mass torso shot, he can see too much of you.
"You often don't know where the bad guy is who is shooting at you."
-- Phillip Groff
Doorways –
Position yourself to see behind the far wall. Slice the pie around the near door jam.
Minimize time in the fatal funnel (the doorway) by sprinting across to the other side.
Position yourself to see behind the far wall. Slice the pie around the near door jam.
Stage to the side of the door. Pull the pistol into close contact and move briskly
through the doorway, while looking back over your shoulder as you pass through the
doorway to see what’s behind the wall behind you. Get your back to a wall and scan.
Doors –
Strive to stay out of the fatal funnel. Stage on the doorknob side wall, not in front
of the door. Pull your pistol into close contact. (Don’t point the pistol at your other
hand.) Check to see if the door is locked. (If it’s locked, try another route. Breaking
down a door without special tools is not feasible. Unless you know it's flimsy.)
If the room that you’re entering is small, charge in. Don’t give the enemy time to react.
If the room is big, follow the doorway procedure described above.
“When you’re in the dark, stay in the dark;
when you’re in the light, light up the dark.”
-- Stephen P. Wenger
Stay away from walls. Bullets do not ricochet off walls as light reflects off a mirror.
Most of the momentum perpendicular to the wall will be absorbed by the wall or the
bullet. So, bullets tend to skim along the walls.
Stay away from corners and windows. The enemy is hiding around the corner or
under the windowsill, and will grab you or your pistol as soon as he can, always a
good assumption.
Do not fire warning shots. You won’t be on a multi-million-dollar range with berms
to catch your bullets. Any bullet you shoot up into the air will come down with near
equal speed on an innocent’s head. Any bullet you shoot down into the ground will
ricochet off the concrete sidewalk, asphalt road, or rock in the ground and hit an innocent
bystander or you. Warning shots are illegal everywhere in the U.S.
Doesn’t matter that President Joe Biden recommends warning shots. Remember,
he’s an idiot.
Do not shoot to wound. Always shoot to the center of mass, because this gives you
the highest probability of a hit. Aiming for an arm or leg reduces your probability of a
hit to near zero. Which means you will hit something that you don’t want to,
destroying property and injuring bystanders, maybe killing them.
"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.
"As I’ve said many times in class,
practicing sighted fire will improve your unsighted fire,
but it doesn’t work the other way around."
-- Greg Ellifritz
Email from Jeff L. Gonzales --
Hello Jonathan,
What an exciting time to be alive. So much has occurred in such a short time.
Things will probably get exciting so be prepared and as always stay safe.
The Importance of Movement in Gunfighting
In a self-defense situation, the debate between sight-focused and target-focused
shooting comes down to speed, accuracy, and physiological response. Under stress,
your body’s natural instinct is to focus on the threat, making traditional sight
alignment difficult. While sight-focused shooting offers precision, it requires
time and control that may not be available in a close-quarters fight.
Target-focused shooting, often used in point shooting or red dot optics, allows
for faster engagement but requires solid fundamentals to maintain accuracy.
The key is training both methods so you can adapt to the situation—because in a
fight, you won’t have time to think, only to react.
Now, let's shift gears a little . . .
Unsighted fire—shooting without using traditional sight alignment or visual
reference on the sight system — is not only possible but often necessary in
close-quarters defensive gun use situations. At extreme close range, your
focus will naturally lock onto the threat rather than your sights, and relying
on instinctive shooting mechanics becomes critical. There are some who have
put the work in who will be able to shift their focus, but many won't. So,
target focus in this scenario can allow for faster engagement, and the ability
to track the threat’s movements without breaking focus. Plus, a huge benefit
is better situational awareness. With proper training, body mechanics, and a
consistent draw stroke, you can develop reliable target focused or point
shooting skills that allow for effective hits without needing a perfect sight
picture. The key is repetition—building confidence in your ability to deliver
accurate fire while staying locked onto the threat in a fight for your life.
Here are three tips to help you along this journey:
1. Train With a Red Dot Sight – RDS naturally promote target focus since
you’re looking at the threat or target while superimposing the dot over it.
This helps build the habit of keeping both eyes open and maintaining
situational awareness.
2. Use Flash Sight Picture Drills – Quickly bring the gun up, acquire a
rough sight picture, like literally a flash of red, and fire as soon as the
gun is on target. This bridges the gap between unsighted fire and precision
shooting, reinforcing speed and accuracy under stress.
3. Practice Point Shooting at Close Range – Work on drawing and engaging a
target at 3-7 yards without looking at your sights, but instead looking
through them. Focus on proper grip, body alignment, and consistent hand
positioning to develop instinctive accuracy.
Final Thoughts
To develop better target-focused shooting, train with a red dot optic to keep
both eyes on the target while aiming. Practice target focused or point
shooting at close range to build instinctive accuracy through grip, alignment,
and repetition. Use flash sight picture drills to balance speed and accuracy,
reinforcing effective engagement under stress.
Good luck,
JLG
P.S. Feel free to share this with other like-minded folks.
Fight like a girl.
Sadie Newman.
"Use only that which works,
and take it from any place you can find it."
-- Bruce Lee
From an email from Tim Larkin --
Friday morning at Gold's Gym. Venice, California.
I reached up to grab a 45-pound plate. At that exact moment, a stunning girl
walked past the weight rack. You know those moments - when every head in
the gym turns?
Sadie Newman
What I didn't see was the 25-pound plate sitting in front of my weight.
One casual pull. That's all it took.
The smaller plate tipped off the edge. A simple 3-foot drop onto my toe.
No force. No acceleration. Just gravity doing its thing with 25 pounds of
dead weight.
The result? Shattered toe. Six weeks of limping. And one brutal reality check
about force generation.
See I'd spent decades teaching elite operators how to strike. But this accident
exposed something that most self defense experts miss entirely.
If an unaccelerated 25-pound weight can shatter bone . . . imagine what your
entire body weight could do when you understand how to truly deploy it.
This isn't about strength. Or speed. Or years of training.
It's about one principle of physics that transforms your natural body weight
into devastating force.
Stay Safe,
Tim Larkin
"Denn jedes Mal, wenn was geht, ist Platz für Neues.
Und wenn es gestern nicht sein soll, dann klappt es heut 🦋"
-- Nicola Cavanis
There are a lot of ways to execute any particular task.
Don't get fixated on a particular way. Especially if it's
not working for you. Try another. Which means you may
need to take a class, read a book, watch a YouTube.com
video to learn other ways to do the task.
"The Press-Out (Part 1)" by SLG
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Excerpts:
". . . starting from a two-handed ready position,
the press-out in its most basic form involves pushing the gun to the target
while pulling the trigger to the rear.
Done correctly, the trigger breaks at the exact time that the gun stops on target."
"When learning the press-out, occasionally the gun will fire fractionally early
before it stops moving. Those shots are often the most accurate shots fired and
are not to be considered ND’s (negligent discharge) or AD’s (accidental discharge),
since you are trying to make the gun go off. When it goes off in that situation,
it is a true “surprise break” and you are incapable of adding pressure to the gun
that might throw your shot low or left."
"The Press-Out (Part 2)" by SLG
"The foundations of your grip are established
before you even draw the pistol from the holster."
-- Tanner Denton
I finally figured out how to make my point of impact when shooting with one hand
the same as when shooting with two hands. Grip super tight.
No it was not obvious to me. Nothing is obvious (to me).
I don't have very strong hands (a life time of office jobs). My left hand was 85
pounds when using one of those grip strength devices in my physical therapist's office.
My right hand was 87 pounds. My therapist told me that the average for men is 105
pounds.
With practice and exercise, I am able to get my grip strength up to 105 pounds
for short periods. At that point, my point of impact coincides with my point of aim.
Otherwise, it's about 7 inches off (7" right and low when shooting left-handed only,
7" left and low when shooting right-handed only; at 5 yards on stationary targets).
After today's practice session, my left hand was trembling uncontrollably. My
right hand was sore, but not spasming. I can see that this is going to take a lot of
practice to be able to shoot reliably, on demand, with only one hand.
I encourage you to do likewise.
(The day after, my masseuse told me that there was a huge amount of tension
in the muscles between my left shoulder blade and my spine.)
"Grip first, then press."
-- Mike Seeklander
From an email from Tim Larkin --
Something fascinating happens to Special Operations units in the field.
After training thousands of operators, we discovered that around the 60-day mark
of deployment, even the strongest SEALs lose 30-40% of their physical conditioning.
The constant stress, irregular meals, and sleep deprivation eat away at their carefully
built strength and speed.
But here's the fascinating part…
Their effectiveness in close combat didn't drop nearly as much. Why?
Because we'd taught them to rely on the one thing they couldn't lose: their body weight.
Think about it – a SEAL might drop from benching 300 pounds to 180… but their
180-pound body mass stays relatively constant. And when they understand how to
deploy that mass using their natural walking motion, they can generate over 500
pounds of striking force. No gym required. No explosive movement needed.
Just physics and body weight.
This discovery transformed how we train operators. Instead of complex techniques
that deteriorate under stress, we focused on something that's always there – your natural
ability to generate force through movement.
Stay Safe,
Tim Larkin
P.S. Whether you're in peak condition or haven't exercised in years,
your body weight is always available. . . .
-- Tim Larkin
As Tim likes to say, the Earth is your best contact weapon, and it is always available
(and gravity is always helping you).
“What’s the number one reason for reloading? Missing the target!”
-- Claude Werner
How do you ensure a hit? Surprise break.
[If you don't know what this is, find a competent instructor to show you.
This is the "secret" of marksmanship.
Just as smooth continuous backward motion of the arrow relative to the riser
and unconscious relaxation of the drawing hand upon the clicker is the "secret"
of Olympic style recurve archery.]
Email from Tim Larkin --
Look around any gym and you'll see them . . .
People building massive biceps. Working on their six-packs. Pushing their deadlift
PRs higher and higher. All thinking the same thing . . .
"The stronger I get, the better I can protect myself."
It's what we've all been taught to believe. That physical dominance equals fighting
ability. That the most athletic person wins. But after 35 years of studying real
violence . . . I can tell you this mindset isn't just wrong. It's dangerous . . .
Real violence isn't won by the person with the best physique. Or the strongest punch.
Or the most impressive workout routine. It's won by the person who understands how
to use basic physics. How to deploy their mass - regardless of fitness level - in a way
that generates devastating force. Think about it . . . we have heard many stories like:
The 120-pound mother stopped two attackers protecting her kids.
A grandmother in her 70s who fought off a home invader.
A skinny convenience store clerk stopped an armed robber.
The overweight businessman who dropped an armed carjacker.
None of these scenarios rely on fitness. They rely on understanding how your body
naturally generates force. And the truth is you're already carrying lethal force capability.
Right now. Even if you've never stepped foot in a gym. You just need to understand
how to use it.
Stop training for the wrong fight.
Stay Safe,
Tim Larkin
"It's not daily increase but daily decrease - hack away at the inessentials!"
-- Bruce Lee
Irishka's humor
***** ***** ***** 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
"Post-Shooting Trauma Realities" by Massad Ayoob
"In Self-Defense Podcast 133:Point of No Return"
Law enforcement veteran and consulting expert Doug Deaton explains that when
a concealed carrier fires in self-defense, they become the subject of a legal
process that will dominate their lives until it is concluded – whether that is a
decision not to file charges or a trial verdict. Once the process has begun,
there is no turning back.
Transcript of podcast is included below, so you can read the transcript, instead
of listening to the podcast.
In the right hand column of this web page, click on "Never Talk To The Police"
or use the address,
"Commitment and 10 Tips"
No transcript, but the important points are listed below the podcast window.
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
Armed Citizens Legal Defense Network (ACLDN). See
". . . after an assessment that
your incident constituted a legitimate act of self defense,
the Network will work with you
and your attorney (paid for by the Network), to assure
the best possible legal defense."
Well, if the assessment is that your incident was a "legitimate act of self defense"
you wouldn't need any help because you wouldn't be arrested or prosecuted.
You need the help when the prosecutor's assessment is that the incident was NOT a
legitimate act of self defense.
So you need an attorney on retainer, not an insurance company that can decide
not to defend you based on their assessment.
The high stress of a lethal force encounter will induce auditory exclusion
(can’t hear anything), tunnel vision (loss of peripheral vision) [John Farnam says
this is actually magnified vision. The subject of your concern is magnified to the
exclusion of everything else in your field of view. -- Jon Low], skewed perception
of time (tachypsychia effect, things appear in slow motion, or things appear to rush
by faster than you can do anything), temporary memory loss (amnesia, this is one
of the reasons you should not make a statement to police before consulting an
attorney), and false memories (these will be used to prove to a jury that you lied
to the police and hence had a guilty state of mind).
All police departments have a policy of not interviewing police officers
involved in shootings until after the officer has had two good night’s sleep.
Some departments won't interview officers for 72 hours. So, why in the world
would you talk to police immediately after a high stress incident? DON'T!
“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
"Decorated Marine Charged with Crime for Defending His Church" by Keith Graves
The church security officer was charged with a crime (battery).
The violent trespasser was not charged with anything.
USCCA refused to pay legal fees for the church security officer.
(All the security officers that I know carry U.S. Law Shield.)
A cautionary tale.
And the drama goes on. I love it.
"USCCA Sent Me A Cease And Desist. I Will Not Be Bullied."
by Heavy Duty Country
---
"USCCA Responds. Full Panic Mode After Sending Me Cease And Desist: Part 2"
by Heavy Duty Country
----- Medical -----
"If you prepare for the emergency,
the emergency ceases to exist!"
-- Sherman House
"What If I Get Shot?" by Steven Moses
Excerpt:
Caleb recommends that the concealed carrier should have on their person
when outside the home the following items:
1. QuickClot Gauze
2. CAT tourniquet or Soft-T Wide tourniquet
3. Beacon Chest Seal or Russell Chest Seal
4. Benchmade 7 Rescue Hook Cutter
"The cost of saving lives:
Complications arising from prehospital tourniquet application"
by Mor Rittblat MD, Sami Gendler MD, MHA, Nir Tsur MD,
Irina Radomislensky Bsc, Arnona Ziv MBA, Moran Bodas MPH, PhD
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Tactical Emergency Casualty Care Course - NAEMT Certified, $495.00
“Your character is what you do when no one is looking.”
-- Thomas Jefferson
*************************************************************************
----- Survival -----
"Survival is a mindset, not a skill set."
-- Greg Shaffer
"Survival is not based solely on technique. Survivability may hinge on the use
of the correct technique appropriate to the environment you are fighting in.
Oh, and yes, marksmanship is always valuable."
-- Clint Smith
"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
"Gun & Prepping News #19" by Docent
Rangemaster March 2025 Newsletter
Excerpts:
21,800,000 pistol carry permits in the US.
1 person out of
every 10.6 people between the ages of 20 and 80 have a
carry permit.
That’s 9% of the population!
---
Please read the article, "Appropriate Use of Force" on page 10.
Excerpts:
"Please
note we are talking about serious injury here, not black eyes or
split lips."
[The problem with that is that there is no way to know if the enemy is going to stop
after splitting your lip or continue until you are dead. -- Jon Low]
---
1. I will not seek a fight, and if at all possible I will avoid one,
but if one is forced upon me I will do what it takes to win.
2. My sidearm is neither a status symbol nor an emotional
crutch.
I will not reach for it unless out of dire necessity,
but if
I must use deadly force to preserve my life or that of an innocent person,
I will use it skillfully and without hesitation.
3. I will forget I have a pistol, unless I need it to stop an immediate and
otherwise unavoidable deadly threat to me or to
someone for whom I am responsible.
Quips
Active Response Training
The Tactical Professor
Rangemaster Newsletter
Shooting Classes Blog
"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
"You Can Legally HUNT CARTELS & Earn a BOUNTY From The Government!"
by Andrew Branca
Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution, Letters of Marque.
"Burchett introduces bill to authorize President Trump to issue letters of
marque and reprisals against cartels"
Model Letter of Marque --
---
Well, you don't get any bounty from the government. You just get to keep the spoils
of war. What you going to do with container loads of drugs?
Or container loads of girls? They have no skills, no education. You going to house them?
feed them? educate them?
"Remember, most victims of human trafficking are the victims of their parent’s drug debts or have run away from an abusive home."
-- Bob Campbell
-- Bob Campbell
from "Incidents and Takeaways: Defensive Lessons from Real-World Gun Fights"
by Bob Campbell
"Air Marshal Jailed Over Fake Silencer Charges" by Liberty Doll
Girls are rarely kidnapped from good homes. Because that would cause the parents to
raise hell with the police and politicians until the girl is rescued or found. The bad guys
want to keep a low profile.
"Air Marshal Jailed Over Fake Silencer Charges" by Liberty Doll
"Self-Defense and the Law:
When Is It Time to Talk with the Prosecutor?"
by Massad Ayoob
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
Authors always put in a disclaimer, "I'm not an attorney. This is not legal advice."
or "Ya, I'm an attorney. But this is not legal advice." etc. Then why are they giving
us legal advice?
"Self-Defense: May You Vs. Should You" by Grant Cunningham
Excerpts:
"While you never, ever shoot with the intent to kill, you do shoot to stop
someone from killing you. Very often, the result of that fight-ending action
is the attacker’s death." [So you must make peace with your God and your
conscience before the lethal force incident. -- Jon Low]
"Even if you’re cleared of criminal charges, the attacker’s family might decide
to press a civil suit against you, which is a common happening in today’s world.
Again, think tens of thousands of dollars at a minimum for your legal defense fees."
". . . there are situations under the law where you may shoot someone.
That doesn’t mean you always should, however."
"Noted defense attorney Jim Fleming was fond of saying that self-defense is
determined by inches and seconds. What seems perfectly fine to you may be
interpreted entirely differently by people looking at those inches and seconds
in detail and with the dual luxuries of time and undivided attention."
"Whether you shoot or not, you must make your own call into the 9-1-1 center
as soon as you can. Though it’s not legal proof of innocence, investigators often
take the stance that the first person to call in is the victim. This status tends to
influence opinions throughout the justice system."
" (On a personal note, I consider MAG-20 to be so important that I suggest
everyone who even contemplates using a gun for self-defense take the course,
even before they take a “shooting course.”) "
---
Massad Ayoob Group
[I've taken the course and highly recommend it. -- Jon Low]
---
The magazine and internet articles are full of these discussions, as if you will
have time to ponder and decide, and then act. In reality, you will instantly shoot
to save your life or the lives of your loved ones. There will be no time to think.
Interviews with survivors are always something like, "I was scared out of my
mind. I just shot to save my life." No thinking involved, just instant action.
Sorry, that's reality.
"BREAKING!!!
Supreme Court Emergency Decision To End All Firearm
Permits Nationwide Put In Motion!"
by Armed Scholar
Do you see why the California law enforcement agencies are filing amicus briefs
in support of the 2nd Amendment?
"BREAKING!
[District] Court Decision Strikes Down Machine Gun Possession Law & Charges!"
by Armed Scholar
"Major Lawsuit Filed Against Glock" by Jared Yanis
"Trump Admin Freezes Firearms Export License Processing" by Stephen Gutowski
During his first administration, he did the bump-stock ban. Now he is preventing
gun exports. Not very 2nd Amendment friendly.
"The ATF Firings Have Begun!" by Liberty Doll
"HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT: Meet The New ATF Director" (Kash Patel)
by Guns & Gadgets 2nd Amendment News
"We're Suing Tennessee Over This Anti-Gun Law" by Gun Owners of America
“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 -----
“The most valuable resource that all teachers have is each other.
Without collaboration, our growth is limited to our own perspectives.”
-- Robert John Meehan
----- Instructors -----
Colonel Robert Lindsey to his fellow trainers:
"We are not God's gift to our students.
Our students are God's gift to us."
Never do anything for your students. Never let the husband / boyfriend / etc. do anything
for the little girl.
The student must struggle and learn to do the task. "Helping" her, prevents her from
learning to do the task. All people learn by doing; not by listening, not by watching;
only by doing.
"Every time I teach a class,
I discover I don't know something."
-- Clint Smith, Director of Thunder Ranch
"Instructor Issue: Communication" by Rich Grassi
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
"Instructor Issues: Communication (Pt II)" by Rich Grassi
“He who dares to teach must never cease to learn.”
-- Richard Henry Dana
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
"Remember,
the students who require the extra effort
are the ones who need us the most!"
-- John Farnam
"You must teach skill sustainment as part of training."
-- John Hearne
"The limited time you spend with students may be the only training they ever receive!"
-- John Farnam
----- Students -----
"Growth is uncomfortable because you've never been there before."
-- Nicola Cavanis
"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
The test of whether or not you understand a thing is whether
you can explain it to someone in the field. The test of whether
or not you have a deep understanding of a thing is your ability
to explain it to a layman.
-- Norman Christ
"It's better to be wrong than to be vague."
-- Freeman Dyson
"Try.
Try again.
Try once more.
Try differently.
Try again tomorrow.
Try and ask for help.
Try find someone who's done it.
Try to fix the problem.
Keep trying until you succeed."
-- Nicola Cavanis
----- Andragogy -----
Students can't test and grade themselves. There is a conflict of interest.
The teachers that taught the class can't test and grade the students in the class.
The teachers know the students. There is a conflict of interest.
Other teachers in the department can't test and grade the students. Because
they know the teachers. So there is a conflict of interest and perhaps undue
command influence.
May your testing never be political. May your testing never show favoritism.
Because that will destroy your reputation.
"Most people are DELUSIONAL: the psychosis of everyday life" by Orion Taraban, Psy.D.
"Let’s Fix What’s Broken" by Dustin P. Salomon
Hat tip to Greg Ellifritz.
‟An instructor should not expect any learning to
take place the first time new information is presented.”
-- ‶Building Shooters″ by Dustin Salomon
----- Gear -----
And the safe storage thereof.
“Mission drives the gear train.”
-- Pat Rogers
"Innovation!" by John Farnam
"Gunsmithing: Gun Oil, Crud and Parts"
by Greg Derr
Excerpts:
Grease is a no-go for most guns.
Mineral spirits do a great job removing oil and gunk,
and it doesn’t dry the parts of all the oil like a “brake cleaner” or acetone.
After cleaning, I blow the parts dry with compressed air.
Do not be overly concerned with your pistol. The surgeon is not known by his scalpel.
He has no favorite scalpel. He has a skill; any scalpel will do. (I have seen a tracheotomy
performed with a steak knife grabbed off a dinner table.) Similarly, you should concentrate
on honing your skill, any pistol will do. A person will become comfortable with anything
he practices. Sentimental or personal preferences have no place in combat.
You may not have a pistol; any knife will do. What is the best way to hold a knife?
The way you are holding it in the fight. Don’t change grips. Don’t throw your knife.
Lead with the knife, as a fencer, with your other hand covering your carotid arteries in
your neck (Thanks to Sensei Cat Fitzgerald.). You may not have a knife; a pen will do.
You may not have any weapon; your hands will do. Concentrate the strength of two
of your hands against one of his hands or one of his fingers and continue to twist;
don’t stop when something breaks. Stomp on his foot over the arch, the small bones
in the foot are easily broken (and he may be wearing steel toed shoes). Gouge his eyes,
if the enemy is wearing glasses or goggles, gouge up and under the glasses. A blood
choke will incapacitate a person in 8 seconds (often much less than 8 seconds).
(An air choke is ineffective because a person can hold his breath for a minute or more.)
If you don't know what I'm talking about, ASK!
Keep fighting. If you maintain a combat mindset, you can win.
If you think you are better off submitting, you are statistically wrong. May I invite
your attention to “More Guns, Less Crime” by John R. Lott Jr., ISBN: 978-0226493640;
and you would be doing the criminal’s next victim a grave disservice.
In the May 2011 issue of the American Rifleman on page 83, Criminology Professor
Gary Kleck of Florida State University concluded from a study of National Crime
Victimization Survey data that “Robbery and assault victims who used a gun to resist
were less likely to be attacked or to suffer an injury than those who used any other
method of self-protection or those who did not resist at all.”
Make your finger pistol. Hold it against your waist / belt where you wish to mount
your holster. Keep your wrist straight. Note how your finger pistol is pointing. That
is the proper cant for your holster to allow a natural (not awkward or contorted) grip
and presentation from your holster.
Of course, you may not be able to accomplish this. The grip of the pistol may stick
out too much, forcing you to cant your pistol forward (the FBI cant). But it's a good
starting point.
"It's not computer graphics. I made a sight scope props that looks like it came from
the game world." by Kousaku Japan
Notice all the text in the description below the video to prevent YouTube.com
from censoring the video.
The sight has no lenses, no reflectors. But does rely on batteries and sophisticated
electronics. Any better than iron sights? Only in the sense that you can see below
the target (as you can with a red dot sight), which might be a tactical advantage in
some circumstances.
A student was using nylon brushes for cleaning the bore of his pistols. He said it
was because a nylon brush had come with his Glock pistol, so he assumed that that
was the appropriate tool to use.
You must use a bronze bore brush of appropriate size and a bore solvent to clean
the bore of your pistol.
Nylon brushes are too soft. They will not mechanically scour your bore.
Steel is too hard and will scratch your bore. Residue will then build up in the
scratches. And then it will become extremely difficult to clean your bore.
Push the bronze bore brush all the way through your bore. Never reverse direction
while in the bore. You want your bore brush to scour your bore, not to gouge your bore.
The heat and pressure during internal ballistics will cause the surface material of
your bullet to chemically bond to the bore of your pistol. So, scouring your bore with
a bronze bore brush will not be enough. You must use a bore solvent to chemically
remove the copper and lead residue from your bore.
Always insert the bore brush from the chamber end of the barrel. If you insert
from the muzzle end of the barrel, you have a good chance of nicking the muzzle.
The muzzle is the last part of your pistol that touches the bullet. The gasses must
exit uniformly around your bullet when it leaves your pistol. Any nick in the muzzle
will cause non-uniform gasses pushing your bullet upon release from the barrel.
Hence, inaccuracy. [If your muzzle is all nicked up, have a gunsmith crown your
muzzle. Or, you can do it yourself. Midway sells the tools.]
Pushing your bore brush from chamber through the muzzle and then pulling from
muzzle through the chamber is one stroke. Expect to do 20 strokes with bore solvent,
followed by a couple of tight coffee filters (they don't have any lint, as do cloth patches;
they are cheaper than store bough cloth patches; they are widely available at any grocery
store) if you've fired less than 50 rounds. Forty strokes (with a coffee filter after every
20 strokes) is usually sufficient for more than 50 rounds.
Hold your barrel up to a light. Do not let the light shine through the barrel. Rather
point the barrel off to the side of the light, so that the light reflects off the surface of the
bore. Move the barrel as necessary so that you can inspect all parts of the bore in focus.
The bore should appear smooth and shiny, like glass. There should be no rough areas.
If you see rough areas, give your bore another 20 strokes with bore solvent followed
by a couple of coffee filters. Repeat until your bore is smooth and shiny.
Every cleaning is an inspection.
Replace your magazine springs when they no longer feel strong to you, before they
start causing feeding malfunctions. You don't have to buy from the manufacturer (very
expensive). The online gun stores, such as Brownells, Midway USA, Numrich Gun
Parts Corporation, Wolff, etc. have lots of replacement springs for your magazines.
Yes, as a matter of fact replacement springs do exist for your magazines. They may
not be listed as such, but if you ask around and look at magazines in the gun stores,
you can figure out which springs will work in your magazines. Manufacturers only
use a small number of springs, because it's real expensive to design and manufacture
a new spring.
If you can't find a spring for your magazine, your pistol is exotic. You've violated
the Wal Mart rule. You should be using equipment that is widely available, so spare
parts are widely available.
"Gun Bunny Gets Action: Trying All Manual Actions" by Gun Bunny
I love Gun Bunny. The awkwardness of a beginner.
"Ultimate Slow Mo Muzzle Exit Compilation!" by Ballistic High-Speed
Fluid physics in action. Notice how fast the rifle bullets spin.
"Ballistic High-Speed"
---
"Bullets vs Steel at 800,000 FPS by The Slow Mo Guys
"The Slow Mo Guys"
If you use a holster that has a large surface area against your body, you will
sweat under it. So, make sure it dries out properly. If you wear every day,
have two holsters. One is drying while the other one is in use. Same thing for
body armor and boots; one set is in use; the other set is at home drying out.
If you are using a model 1911 type pistol, drill an indentation in the slide
stop for the detent to fit into. The slide stop rotates on the pin that holds the pistol
together. The detent is the spring-loaded pin that holds the slide stop on one end,
and the thumb safety on the other end.
Otherwise, the slide stop might come out. And the pistol might fall apart.
Yes, I have seen this happen in classes and in competitions.
"The New Ruger RXM – A Modular, Glock-Compatible Pistol with Magpul Innovation"
by Mitch Goerdt
$409 if you pay in cash at Bud's Gun Shop.
Now that all the patents have expired, everyone is cloning the Glock.
This one is a little innovative as it has a modular Fire Control Unit that
can be popped in and out of various frames. Just the like the Ruger American,
which I cannot recommend because they won't sell you replacement magazine
springs. Just like the Sig P320, which I cannot recommend because there are
many documented cases of the pistol firing without the trigger being pressed.
"What a Navy SEAL Carries When Hunting Predators" by Shawn Ryan
With Jared Hudson. He recommends closed emitter red dot sights and
explains why. He uses a Sig 365 Macro (used to use the Sig 365 XL,
longer grip so you can get all of your fingers on the grip).
Subsonic vs. supersonic ammunition.
A reader writes --
I went to a pistol class at the Sig Sauer Academy. I couldn't help but notice that none
of the instructors were using P320s. Some of them were using the P365s (with the
extended / longer grip). Some of them were using other Sig pistols.
An instructor confided to me (off the record) that they have had problems with the 320s.
From an email from Glock -- {In the context of my Glock 21 (45 ACP) magazine springs.}
From: James "Abe" Race <james.race@glock.us>
To: Jonathan Low
Thu, Feb 27 at 1:12 PM
Thu, Feb 27 at 1:12 PM
There are two different springs. If the follower is marked the "1304- anything"
then it is the current wide base spring (Generation 4 and 5).
If [the follower is] marked the 3955 it will be the same spring that is used in the
If [the follower is] marked the 3955 it will be the same spring that is used in the
9mm and 40 caliber magazines (and Generation 1, 2, and 3 Glock 21 magazines).
Kind regards,
James Race
Technical Service Representative
GLOCK, Inc. | 6000 Highlands Parkway | Smyrna, GA 30082 | | www.glock.com
Kind regards,
James Race
Technical Service Representative
GLOCK, Inc. | 6000 Highlands Parkway | Smyrna, GA 30082 | | www.glock.com
[I was not able to find any markings on the followers in any of my magazines
that looked anything like those described above. So I ordered 10 of the thinner
springs from Wolff. I hope the thinner springs work in the fatter magazines. -- Jon Low]
"23 Least Reliable Guns That Won't Last 1,000 Rounds (Avoid!)"
by Guns You Can't Live Without
“Your car is not a holster.”
-- Pat Rogers
***** ***** ***** Cryptology ***** ***** *****
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.
"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
"The Secrets to Precise Movement" by Know Art
"Never memorize anything. Rather, study it until it becomes obvious."
-- Norman Christ
"it actually happened" by John Hammond
FaceBook.com banned Linux. Because Linux is malware. Stupidity has no limits.
/. (slash dot)
"Computer science has nothing to do with computers or science."
-- Donald Knuth
Striving for more precision than the system can tolerate is always going to be a problem.
"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
"Information Theory" by Sam Cohen
Lectures will be added to the playlist as they become available.
"Premature optimization is the root of all evil."
-- Donald Knuth
From "Lie Groups, Lie Algebras, and some of Their Applications" by Robert Gilmore
(Lie is pronounced "Lee".)
Hat tip to Dr. Edward L. Robinson.
Lie's three theorems provide a mechanism for constructing the Lie algebra
associated with any Lie group. They also characterize the properties of a Lie
algebra.
The converse of Lie's three theorems do the opposite: they supply a
mechanism for associating a Lie group with any finite-dimensional Lie algebra.
The correspondence is not 1-1; many different Lie groups may have the same
Lie algebra. There is, however, a 1-1 correspondence between Lie algebras
and simply connected Lie groups. All other Lie groups possessing the same
algebra can be obtained from this simply connected group in a straightforward
way, as factor groups of discrete [the original are continuous -- Jon Low]
invariant subgroups [of the simply connected Lie groups -- Jon Low].
Finally, Taylor's theorem allows for the construction [not just existence,
that's why this is useful -- Jon Low] of a canonical analytic structure function
φ(β, α) from the Lie algebra.
These seven theorems --- the three theorems of Lie and the converses, and
Taylor's theorem --- provide an essential equivalence between Lie groups and
algebras.
-- Robert Gilmore
University of South Florida
[Yes, this is what the ChiComs are using. Some of them are pretty smart, because they don't
tolerate Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity. Such stupid persons are summarily executed.
Oh, you didn't know that? You're welcome. -- Jon Low]
"You don't need to memorize theorems,
because you can always derive them from first principles."
-- Sven Hartman
"But why wavefunctions? A practical approach to quantum mechanics"
by Physics with Elliot
"How Feynman did quantum mechanics (and you should too)"
by Physics with Elliot
More details in the notes,
Nicola Cavanis
"What's so wrong with the Axiom of Choice?" by MetaMaths
"The NSA’s (National Security Agency) Secret Sex CHATS?!" by Ben Shapiro
Also DIA (Defense Intelligence Agency).
Now you see how the Puzzle Palace has degenerated.
The last time I visited the NSA, I saw this nonsense in person. It's true.
---
"Tulsi Gabbard on NSA chatrooms: This is an ‘egregious violation of trust’ "
by Fox News
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLxpz_B28Lk
---
"Tulsi Gabbard on NSA chatrooms: This is an ‘egregious violation of trust’ "
by Fox News
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLxpz_B28Lk
She fired all of them. That's a step in the right direction.
***** Signals Intelligence and Ground Electronic Warfare, Cyber Security,
(sometimes Air Electronic Warfare too) *****
"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
Electronic Weapons:
"Electronic Warfare Against Norway" by James Dunnigan
February 17, 2025:
The waters between northern Norway and northwestern Russia have become a
testing ground for Russian Electronic Warfare or EW. Russia has been reckless
in testing all manner of spoofing and jamming. The spoofing is the most
dangerous because it can go unnoticed by pilots flying on instruments. At least
until the pilots realized that they were not where they thought they were. Military
aircraft have some protection against this but commercial airliners do not. In late
2024 and early 2025 the Russians increased their jamming and spoofing to protect
their military bases from long range Ukrainian drone attacks. That did not work
because the Ukrainians were apparently using unjammable Inertial Navigation
System tech plus an image recognition system when the drone was in sight of the
target. The Ukrainians may also have been using something else, but whatever
it was it worked as an increasing number of targets in northern and northwestern
Russia are being hit.
On the positive side the Russian jamming and spoofing does not disrupt ground
transportation. But anything more than a few hundred meters above the ground
has to navigate visually or stay out of the jamming and spoofing zone.
The electronic interference is worst for aircraft operations over the Baltic Sea
near Poland and Latvia, as well as the Arctic near Finland and Norway. Since 2023
commercial airliners have reported thousands of incidents where their aircraft had
problems because of jamming. This was four times more than the problems
encountered in 2022 and twenty fold increase since 2018. Most of this jamming
was meant to interfere with battlefield drones.
In the Middle East, there have been reports of false signals telling pilots their
aircraft were directly above the airport in Tel Aviv despite being far away. In nearby
countries like Egypt, Iraq and Lebanon airline pilots reported that the jamming
caused their electronic navigations systems so that onboard instruments indicated
that the aircraft were over an airport when the pilots could look out the windshield
and see that this was not the case. Pilots who are alert to the false signals taking
them off course take action to get back on course and reach their destination. Pilots
have to be alert because some jamming is done in the form of spoofing, where a
signal is jammed in such a way that it takes the aircraft off course while trying not
to reveal that this is the result of jamming. Spoofing is hard to distinguish because
the signal appears legitimate. Of the several satellite navigation systems available,
only Europe’s Galileo incorporates an authentication system that can verify when
a signal is from its satellites. Galileo, which currently is the most accurate and
precise navigation satellite system, is introducing an even stronger level of
authentication.
Some companies in the regions affected have developed equipment that protects
GPS signals from jamming and spoofing. An Israeli firm, InfiniDome, has been in
business for nearly a decade developing inexpensive equipment to deal with
jamming. This equipment is sold online for about $100. InfiniDome says it has
successfully protected trucking, drone operations and others in Israel and around
the world with its InfiniDome GPSdome-1 and GPSdome-2 anti-jam products.
While the jamming and spoofing has a significant impact on commercial airlines,
travel to and from Israel has prompted commercial firms to develop long-term
solutions for the intense jamming that has been present in the region for years.
The recent outbreak of electronic jamming and spoofing is nothing new.
During World War II the allies non-electronic used chaff along with several
electronic countermeasures to deal with German air defense systems during the
1943-45 aerial bombing campaign against German cities. Chaff, also known as
Window, involved releasing thin strips of aluminum-coated paper from the aircraft.
These strips created false radar echoes, confusing German radar operators and
making it harder for them to track the bombers accurately. The Allies developed
radar jamming devices to disrupt German radar systems. These devices emitted
radio frequency interference, interfering with enemy radar signals and reducing
their effectiveness. Bombers used Direction Finding or DF signal jamming to
interfere with German radio navigation systems. By transmitting false signals or
noise, they disrupted the accuracy of German fighter direction finding equipment.
Spot jamming targeted specific German radar stations. Bombers transmitted
jamming signals directly at these stations to disrupt their operations.
Britain also pioneered the use of Electronic Warfare Aircraft in the form of
Mosquito light bombers. Some were equipped with electronic warfare systems.
These aircraft flew ahead of the bomber formations, jamming German radar and
communication frequencies. Mosquitoes were unique in that they were made
largely of wood, which radar could not detect. The metal components in Mosquito
aircraft were insufficient to show up as an aircraft on German radar. All these were
a significant factor in protecting Allied bombers operating over Germany.
Sixty years after World War II, the rapid development of electronic jammers,
to shut down wireless detonators for roadside bombs in Afghanistan and Iraq,
also brought about more unanticipated disruption of friendly electronics. Iraqi
civilians were well aware of this problem, as they quickly learned that their cell
phone service tended to disappear when an American military convoy approached.
Other wireless gadgets tend to go haywire as well. The list of items affected grew
as the American jammer, mainly the Warlock series, added more frequencies to
its repertoire. This problem was first noted back during the 1990 campaign to
liberate Kuwait.
It was discovered that certain combinations of airborne jammer frequencies
could trigger an involuntary launch of Patriot anti-aircraft missiles, as well as some
less catastrophic, but equally unexpected events. Investigation of these incidents
revealed something electronic warfare experts have been warning of for a long time.
With so much exotic new gear, capable of putting out so many different signals,
and in a huge number of combinations, which creates even more new electronic
signals, there was no way to know what kind of impact this would have on existing
military, and civilian, electronics.
Throughout the 1990s, the problem only got worse. This became obvious as
there were increased incidents of military electronics tests trashing, or playing with,
nearby civilian electronic devices. The military was eagerly seeking some solutions,
because it's important for military equipment, especially communications and control
systems, not to suffer from electronic interference. Warlock jammed some military
equipment, including some radios. This was not good.
Work is underway on some solutions, but none looks particularly promising.
As a result, the most likely source of hostile jamming is the force with the greatest
number of transmitters. For American troops, that comes down to We have met
the enemy, and it is us.
-- James Dunnigan
Good Morning Security Team,
May I invite your attention to
The Israelis were able to get the bombs to prematurely detonate because they have
excellent Electronic Counter Measures in their Electronic Warfare units. An ECM
failure would have resulted in hundreds being killed the following day during the
rush hour before the Sabbath.
Cheers,
Jon
---
Modern commercially manufactured explosives are stable. You can shoot them
[No really, a Marine asked one of our Lieutenants if a handgrenade would explode
when hit by rifle fire. The Lieutenant obliged by shooting a grenade with his M-16
on the grenade range. The grenade did not explode. RDX is stable.], hit them with
a hammer, or set them on fire, and they will not explode. In order to get them to
explode, you must introduce a supersonic detonation shock wave to the material.
How do you do that? Usually a blasting cap or some such device. Many of
those devices are electronically triggered. So they are susceptible to electronic
warfare attack.
If the timing cannot be predetermined, command detonation is necessary. How
to command the bomb to explode? Usually a cell phone. So a device that rings all
cell phones in the area, or sends alerts (Amber Alert) to all cell phones in the area,
or sends text messages to all cell phones in the area might work.
If the enemy is sophisticated enough to set up an encrypted message to the smart
phone to detonate the bomb, jamming may work to prevent reception of the message.
If the enemy is not using commercially available modern explosives, there is an
excellent chance the explosive is unstable, thus an excellent chance that the enemy
will blow himself up. Never interfere with the enemy killing himself.
---
Do you remember when President Biden's entourage was going to use a bunch of
rental cars to go somewhere and all the cars blew up and burned the night before their
scheduled use? Back then, the U.S. Secret Service had excellent Electronic Warfare
capabilities, because they had former Marines and soldiers (all male and heterosexual)
from the 2600 field. All of those persons were fired or resigned (I don't think any
transferred, because there was no place to transfer to, to escape the Woke.). They were
replaced by incompetent fat-body lesbians and transsexuals (not from Transylvania).
You think I'm joking. Check the employment rolls. Hopefully, Trump will get rid
of them and hire normal (as opposed to Abby Normal) people. I think Trump is the
only president that has been forced to use his own security in addition to
U.S. Secret Service (or is it "in spite of"). I wouldn't trust the U.S. Secret Service.
We have all seen how they operate.
[Sorry if you didn't appreciate my allusion to the "Rocky Horror Picture Show".
I don't apologize. Sorry if you didn't appreciate my allusion to
"Young Frankenstein" 1974 PG 1h 46m. Mel Brooks doesn't apologize either.]
Publicly claiming to be a member of a special group is demanding preferential
treatment in the job application process. Claiming to be a lesbian, doesn't mean
that person is a lesbian. Claiming to be a trans person, doesn't mean the person is
trans. It just means they are demanding preferential treatment in the job application
process. And they claim such, because they don't have the skills, and experience
required for the job. Nor do they have the high test scores in intelligence, English
reading comprehension, and such. You think I'm joking. Check the employment
records. Oh, of course you can't. But D.O.G.E. can and is.
---
From an email from Andrew Branca --
We’ve now learned that it was a female pilot landing the Delta/Endeavor airliner
that crashed in Toronto on February 17, tearing off both wings and flipping upside
down—miraculously with no loss of life.
The pilot who crashed the flight on landing was female is notable because Delta
in general and their subsidiary Endeavor have been great champions of diversity,
equity, and inclusion policies, with a particular focus on applying DEI to its pilot corps,
which is otherwise dominated by white males.
Did Delta’s genuflection at the gods of DEI contribute to this crash? The answer is
that Delta’s DEI policies necessarily HAD to contribute to this crash—and airline DEI
policies generally will likely contribute to many more crashes, at the cost of a great
many innocent lives, if their DEI policies are allowed to continue.
Why? Because the very pursuit of DEI mathematically requires the destruction
of competence—and low competency in high-stakes activities like piloting large
aircraft in challenging conditions inevitably leads to crashes and death.
-- Andrew Branca
"apple disables iCloud encryption in UK after government order"
by Low Level
"new Linux feature makes hacking IMPOSSIBLE" by Low Level
Not totally click bait. mseal() has functionality.
"Cubic DTECH, Instant Connect, and Rally Tactical Systems
Provide Real-time Language Translation to Special Operation Forces"
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"
Sadie Newman
***** ***** ***** Intelligence ***** ***** *****
"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
"Trump fires CQ Brown, nominates retired Air Force 3-star as replacement
Trump announced he would nominate retired three-star Air Force general
Dan Caine as his chairman of the joint chiefs."
by Ashley Roque
"Hegseth fires Navy’s top officer, Air Force No. 2
The firings of Adm. Lisa Franchetti and Gen. James Slife
follows tonight's removal of Gen. CQ Brown as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff."
by Justin Katz, Michael Marrow, and Ashley Roque
I'm praying the Trump administration takes care of my beloved Marine Corps.
Black Box DECODED - What the helicopter pilots said
by Brian Murray
From the Merge --
They Said It
“. . . burn it down to its smoldering foundations and let it vanish into history . . .”
— a Hudson Institute report on the
Joint Capabilities Integration and Development System (JCIDS),
the process by which the Pentagon creates requirements to justify
what weapon systems it buys and how they should look.
This report has some really good analysis and some of the most
well-structured explanations and critiques we’ve seen. Highly
recommended reading for anyone in defense — from uniform to industry.
Cited paper,
If you're a spy, you should be scared to death of the little old ladies.
Elon Musk is Donald Trump's lighting rod. As such, protection of the principal and
family are within mission.
You may not agree with Mr. Musk's morality. But I remind you that when a Saudi
enters the United States through Customs, the U.S. recognizes all of his wives, because
it is legal and normal for Saudis to have multiple wives.
Many women have claimed that Mr. Musk is the father of their child. They do
not realize the jeopardy that they bring upon themselves. Until Mr. Musk acknowledges
paternity, we should not be expending resources.
Exoskeletons.
"Marines: Chinese Amphibious Invasion Barges" by James Dunnigan
February 21, 2025:
For nearly thirty years China has been making serious preparations to launch an
amphibious operation to conquer Taiwan. The latest development is a barge that
carries a 130 meter long road platform that can be used on coastal areas that lack
beaches but are close to roads. The new Chinese landing barges can approach these
areas once Chinese commandos or paratroopers have seized a small portion.
The barge gets close enough to the coastline for its road platform to be shoved or
carried forward somehow to plop down near a coastal road. Then amphibious or
RoRo ships come up behind the barge and drive vehicles, including tanks, onto
the barge, across the road platform onto Taiwanese territory near a road. Currently,
there are only six potential invasion beaches in Taiwan. The new road platform
barge means Taiwan has to reconsider its defense plan against amphibious landings.
Last year Chinese leader Xi Jinping decided to seize or try to seize Taiwan
before the end of the decade. Xi realizes Taiwan has a say in this matter and wants
to mobilize sufficient forces and create the right psychological conditions in China
and Taiwan. This includes having Chinese naval and air forces operating near
Taiwan on a regular basis so the Taiwanese military is not alarmed every time
Chinese forces operate near the island.
Some of these forces that regularly appear off the Taiwanese cost are those that
would be used if China were seeking to blockade Taiwan. Chinese military forces
will eventually blockade Taiwan and prevent any ships from getting in or out.
Preparations are also being made inside China. Laws have been passed allowing
China to quickly nationalize foreign assets as part of a program to keep the Chinese
people supplied if there is an international embargo and economic sanctions. China
also plans to increase its emergency petroleum stockpile so there will be supplies
for years of isolation. China is also building a pipeline to get petroleum to areas
that normally receive it from the nearest coastal city and port. China is purchasing
oil from as many suppliers as possible as these nations will feel the economic pain
if China is embargoed because it seized Taiwan.
Xi Jinping expects most of the nations in the world to oppose a seizure of Taiwan.
To deal with that, China is reducing its holdings of American government bonds.
This reduces the damage to China if the United States declares war and seizes
whatever Chinese assets it can. China hopes such a war will not involve much
military action beyond that needed to blockade China. According to Chinese plans,
that blockade would last a few years and would then be lifted because so many
nations want to end their economic suffering because trade with China was blocked.
China is the second largest, after the United States, trading nation in the world and
taking Chinese trade out of circulation would cause worldwide suffering. In theory,
it would be worse for China but not if China can build up large enough reserves of
essential industrial supplies to survive the economic catastrophe China created.
These Chinese moves would lead to economic disruption outside China for years
and have a lasting impact that could take a decade or more to recover from.
The Chinese plans are theoretical at the moment even though China is quietly
implementing some aspects of their surviving the expected worldwide economic
disruption a seizure of Taiwan would lead to. Another problem is that enough
details of the Chinese plan have become known to trading partners and nations
willing to use military and economic force to block a Chinese attack on Taiwan.
China wants to avoid a war but Taiwan and its military allies, especially the
United States, are willing to meet force with force. China doesn’t want to get
into a war because its forces are untested and, as recent corruption scandals
have demonstrated, led by generals who are more concerned with getting rich
than getting ready for war.
Taiwan and its allies have been increasing their military preparations for
over a decade. This began before the current Chinese economic and military
activities and China is now seen reacting to efforts to make the Chinese plans
more difficult to implement. Taiwan has purchased new weapons as well as
increasing stockpiles of ones it already has. That means more warships,
warplanes, and equipment for ground forces.
Taiwan is the most troublesome independent portion of China. After
World War II Taiwan acquired protection from the United States before the
new communist Chinese government could get organized and do anything
about the troublesome Chinese province of Taiwan.
Over twenty years ago China began building a large quantity of amphibious
shipping. Two Landing Ship Dock or LSDs were built in large, covered sheds.
These 25,000 ton LSDs carry four LCAC high speed landing craft and four
helicopters each. China began building four to five 4,800 ton Landing Ship Tank
or LSTs a year. These LSTs can carry about 2,000 tons if they are not going to
run up on a beach. The Chinese prefer to avoid that, as it eventually destroys the
LST, and you can carry more load if you don't. A larger number of LSMs, which
are smaller than LSTs, but in this case almost as large as World War II LSTs were
also under construction. Large numbers of smaller landing craft were also being
built, all of it apparently capable of making the 300 kilometer trip from the
mainland to Taiwan.
China has also built conventional military amphibious assault ships similar to
those used by the United States since the 1960s. China has eight 40,000-ton
Type 075 LHDs. This type of amphibious assault ship uses helicopters to get most
of its troops ashore. There is a well dock in the rear for loading Type 726
air-cushioned landing craft as well as conventional landing craft. The vehicle deck
carries up to a hundred vehicles, usually a mix of trucks and amphibious ZBD-5 IFVs
and ZTD-5 light tanks. Vehicles can also be driven on or off the LHDs via ramps,
like RoRo vehicle transports and ferries. It will take a few years of experience
before determining the optimal mix of combat vehicles and landing craft for this
class of LHDs.
Back then China would not reveal the eventual size of this amphibious fleet.
Taiwan defense officials suspected enough of these amphibious ships were being
built to land enough divisions on Taiwanese beaches to hold them. China will also
use a lot of civilian transport for an attack on Taiwan, meaning they could put nine
or more divisions on ships. The navy's amphibious shipping would be used for the
first wave, where speed is needed. But the next waves could be put ashore with
civilian ferries and transports. In addition, there is an airborne division.
China also expects to use a growing number of large civilian ferries, especially
the RoRo (Roll On, Roll Off) models for a major amphibious operation to seize
Taiwan. In the last year Chinese military planners also ran some simulations from
the defender’s point-of-view and included the many anti-ship weapons Taiwan and
its allies would have available, even after a port had been seized and reinforcements
were needed to hold it. This is where the ferries and RoRos were essential, but
staff exercises found that the civilian vessels were very vulnerable to attack and
unexpected bad weather. These problems would, at the very least, render the
civilian vessels unable to complete their missions and in some cases be lost.
Arming the civilian ships with missile-defense systems, along with sailors to operate
them, would help, but not solve the problem.
The staff exercises also found that there were now so many ferries and RoRos
available, and part of the invasion operation, that there were not sufficient nearby
Chinese ports to load all the civilian vessels at once (something equivalent was a
fatal flaw in Operation Sea Lion). China is now reconsidering its invasion plans.
Meanwhile many Chinese RoRos have been modified for amphibious operations.
As recently as 2020 China was observed using the Bang Chui Dao, a 20-year-old
passenger RoRo ferry modified for amphibious operations actually using its new
capabilities in an amphibious training exercise. Built in 1995 as a vehicle/passenger
ferry, the Bang Chui Dao was modified in 2019 to give it a sturdier, and longer, rear
ramp that could load and unload the 26-ton ZTD-5 amphibious tank as well as the
lighter ZBD-5 amphibious IFV (Infantry Fighting Vehicles). Other modifications
revamped the passenger area to accommodate about a thousand troops. Originally
built to carry 1,200 passengers and about a hundred cars and small trucks, with the
modifications the ferry can now carry fifty armored vehicles and nearly as many
military trucks. In effect the militarized ferry can carry and land an amphibious
mechanized infantry battalion on any dock, jetty or coastal area that the ferry can
get close enough for its ramp to reach. RoRo ferries like this cannot handle rough
weather, especially away from coastal areas. The ferries are not equipped for long
voyages and these militarized ferries are intended for use against Taiwan or other
nearby land masses. That means they have to be loaded at ports close to the landing
areas in Taiwan and there are not enough Chinese ports for that.
China has been modifying ferry designs for military use since 2012 when China
launched Bohai Emerald Bead, the first of four passenger ferries designed for
military use, when called up for military service. These four ferries, each displacing
30,000 tons, can each carry 2,000 passengers or troops and up to 300 vehicles and do
so for long voyages on the open ocean. This was but the first of many dual use
civilian-military RoRo ships built in China. The government pays for the military
modifications and assists in obtaining the financing for these ships. Owners are
compensated when these RoRos are occasionally used for short periods of military
service.
Militarized RoRos were an interesting development since it wasn’t until 2009
that the first RoRo ship designed and built in China entered service. This ship was
designed for military use, as it can carry up to 5,000 vehicles (cars and light trucks),
or over a thousand armored vehicles. It has nine fixed and three adjustable decks for
vehicles. A RoRo ship moves next to a dock and then deploys ramps so that its cargo
of vehicles can quickly drive right off. If, for example, China invaded Taiwan, a RoRo
ship could move into a recently captured port and unload an armored brigade in a few
hours. Chinese planners became aware that the Taiwanese knew some intact docks in
the right places were essential for the RoRos to succeed and those ports are now more
difficult to take quickly and Taiwan has plans to cripple key ports before the RoRos
can get to them.
The owner of most of these RoRo ferries is China Ocean Shipping Co. or COSCO,
which operates a fleet of over 700 cargo, tanker, and RoRo ships. COSCO is owned
by the Chinese government and its ships are available for use by the military. COSCO
is a $20 billion a year business that also owns ship repair facilities and port operations
around the world.
COSCO has been scrambling to buy or build more RoRo ships, mainly because
Chinese automobile manufacturers are exporting more cars to developing countries
where Chinese vehicles are very popular, some selling for half what Western cars
sell for. Back in 2005 COSCO had only three small RoRo ships, all leased from
Japanese owners, and realized it would be cheaper to build Chinese RoRos to move
most or all of its exported cars. At the time, most of the RoRo ships in the world
were owned by Japanese shippers. Noting the military usefulness of RoRo ships,
COSCO was ordered to not only build these ships in China, but to optimize them
for military use. Now China is exporting most of its vehicles using Chinese-built
RoRo ships and many are part of the wartime reserve fleet. This concept of a wartime
reserve fleet has long been used in the West.
In 2023 Taiwan bought fourteen M126 Ground Volcano mine dispensing systems
for nearly $13 million each. Delivery is to be completed this year. Each Ground Volcano
system is mounted on a 10-ton truck where short-range mortar tubes are used to launch
canisters of mostly anti-vehicle mines designed to disable a vehicle by blowing off a
tire or breaking the track on a tank. Each canister contains some anti-personnel mines
to make it more difficult for enemy troops to quickly clear the anti-vehicle mines out
of the way. Before using Volcano, you can set the self-destruct time for the mines for
anything between 4 hours to 15days. This prevents anyone from retrieving, disarming
and reusing the mines. Ground Volcano dispensers mounted on trucks take from four
to twelve minutes to dispense 960 mines that create a mined area 1,100 meters wide
and 120 meters deep. Taiwan has about a dozen useful invasion beaches and lots of
high ground behind those beaches. The Volcano trucks can be based near each beach
in a protected area to minimize the impact of pre-invasion missile strikes.
All this would be a rather ramshackle effort by American standards, but the Chinese
believe it would be adequate against the Taiwanese. The key to such an invasion is
keeping the U.S. Navy out of the war. Meanwhile, Chinese shipyards were also turning
out submarines and surface warships. This means China could make a serious move on
Taiwan by 2030.
-- James Dunnigan
"Morale: Russian Saboteurs and Sleepers" by James Dunnigan
February 11, 2025:
Russia, unable to subdue Ukraine with military force, concluded that the most
vulnerable aspect of the Ukrainian war effort was the support received from NATO
countries. For over a year Russia has been attacking NATO nations clandestinely
with disinformation and sabotage using a combination of specialized diplomats
and sleeper agents who have long been living in Europe. The sleeper agents usually
don’t carry out the sabotage themselves but hire criminal networks in Europe to do it.
European police and security agencies were aware of these plans and, when these
sabotage activities were detected, the criminals were sought and some were arrested.
Some of these men confirmed the Russian source of these attacks. With these
Russian efforts no longer secret, Russian recruiting efforts were crippled, but not
halted, because of fears that anyone who worked for Russia would be quickly
identified and arrested. Since Russia invaded Ukraine, public opinion in Europe
has been hostile to Russia. Undeterred, the Russian sleepers faded deeper into the
background and used one or more levels of intermediaries to identify criminal groups
who were willing to carry out the sabotage if the financial rewards were high enough.
There have been a few railway accidents that are now being reexamined to see if
they were acts of sabotage. Russian jamming of GPS signals continues to be a
problem in several European countries. Russia denies any involvement but the
evidence of Russian complicity grows with each incident. In this respect Russia
is at war with European nations and these attacks have led to economic sanctions
against Russia. Russia sees this as an attack on their economy and their sleeper
coordinated sabotage campaign in Western Europe is their response.
Russia had sleeper agents in Ukraine since the 1990s, after Ukraine became an
independent state in 1991. The sleepers were not fully activated until Russia
realized their 2022 invasion was faltering. There was no public announcement of
this but by 2024 the Ukrainian security service, or SSU, detected several Russian
agents operating in Kherson, which is near the Black Sea northwest of Crimea.
Three Russian spies were arrested and apparently none of these men admitted to
being sleepers or knowing anything about sleepers. That was not unusual, as
sleepers and the agents they hire locally know that as long as they disclose nothing,
Russia will do whatever they can to free these loyal agents.
Each of the arrested men appeared to be operating independently, without
knowledge of other agents. This was true, but these men also knew the sleeper
network existed and said nothing about it. The Russian sleepers and spies were
working jobs, like driving a cab, that allowed them to get around without raising
suspicions. Interrogators did discover that the Russian agents were currently
seeking locations and status of Ukrainian air defense systems and other military
targets, especially those difficult to identify using aerial reconnaissance. Earlier
SSU had disrupted an espionage network seeking location of Ukrainian HIMARS
missile launcher vehicles. These are kept hidden because the Russians fear these
mobile missile launchers, and the damage they do to Russian artillery units and
supply storage sites.
Eastern Ukraine always had a large Russian population because during the
1930s Russians were brought into eastern Ukraine to replace all the Ukrainians
who died during the Holodomor or Great Famine. The famine was caused by
the Soviet government exporting nearly all grain produced in that part of the
country for several years. This was part of a Soviet plan to raise additional foreign
currency to pay for importing Western machinery needed to industrialize Russia.
This plan worked, and leader Josef Stalin saw the dead Ukrainians as necessary
to enable Russia to build factories for producing commercial and military products,
including tanks and the new multiple cell rocket launchers they had recently invented.
Now, nearly a century later, there is another war because Russian forces invaded
independent Ukraine in 2022. Stalin would have seen this as a civil war, but times
have changed. Some things going on today Stalin wound see as familiar. For example
the post 1991 Russian government lost most of its destabilization skills. A century ago,
the new communist government in Russia came to power because of the communists’
ability to subvert their opponents and eliminate opposition without a lot of bloodshed.
A more recent destabilization effort involved an effort to destabilize countries in
Africa to distract attention mass media paid to the Russian campaign in Ukraine.
Russian mercenaries and spies are busy trying to cause as much distracting chaos
as possible in the rest of the world. This includes covert operations in Europe,
mercenaries operating throughout Africa, and establishing links with Moslem
organizations in Central Asia and Europe and blowing up Western airliners.
Russia believes that conventional warfare waged in Ukraine and the
unconventional warfare carried out worldwide complement each other. Russian
efforts to destabilize Africa are supposed to divert attention and resources headed
to Ukraine. To make this happen, Russian spies, assassins, and propagandists
continue their efforts.
Revolution and subversion efforts worldwide have long been used by the
Soviet Union and later Russia to exploit whatever opportunities were available
to disrupt and diminish support for groups hostile to Russia, while encouraging
local leaders that support Russian objectives. For example, in 2016, Russian
operatives recruited criminal gangs to cause trouble in the tiny Balkan state of
Montenegro and disrupt efforts by that country to join NATO. That attempt failed
when several foreign agents and pro-coup Montenegrin politicians were detected,
arrested, prosecuted, and imprisoned.
In February 2022, Russian agents tried to organize widespread protests that would
justify Russian military intervention, aided by pro-Russian factions in the Ukrainian
government. These factions were supposed to make it possible for pro-Russian groups
belonging to the Ukrainian parliament and government to seize power. That effort
failed because the Russians overestimated the number of pro-Russian officials in the
Ukrainian government and the Russian invasion did not immediately succeed, as the
Russians expected. There were too many Ukrainians willing and able to fight and
defeat the Russian invaders.
The Russian FSB is the post-Soviet version of the KGB but has demonstrated a
shortage of skills and ability to match the performance of the KGB in its prime.
The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 was made possible, in part, because the
KGB had also lost its ability to get things done. By the end of 2022, the military
failures in Ukraine gave the FSB more political and financial support to move
forward with spending more time, money and effort on their sleepers program.
The FSB has to call on retired agents who had served during the pre-1991
Soviet Union era. Many Russian sleepers were exposed in the 1990s because
Soviet archives were open to foreign historians, some of them secretly working for
Western intelligence agencies. Many Russian sleepers were identified and arrested.
That put an end to Western researchers studying KGB archives. Russia considers
arresting their sleepers in Europe and North Americans a hostile act. The Russians
quietly began rebuilding and expanding their sleeper network. Meanwhile the
Russians arrested innocent Western visitors to Russia and kept them in prison
until they could be exchanged for arrested Russian sleepers.
Western intelligence agencies now spend a lot of time trying to identify sleepers
and pay more attention to acts of sabotage. These acts are often disguised as
accidents of the result of a local feud. For the last two years, sleepers have become
prime suspects. When pursuing whoever was responsible for acts of sabotage,
sleepers are often at the top of the list of possible perpetrators.
-- James Dunnigan
"Procurement: UK And Ukraine Deal of the Century" by James Dunnigan
February 11, 2025:
Britain recently signed a one-hundred year partnership deal with Ukraine,
covering commercial, educational, health and military cooperation. Britain has
made several long-standing treaties; the oldest is a 1373 alliance with Portugal
which has been honored several times in the past 650 years, most recently in the
Napoleonic Wars. Since Russia invaded Ukraine, Britain has sent nearly
$16 billion of economic and military aid. Britain will send at least $3.6 billion
a year in military aid until the war ends. Britain is the third largest aid donor to
Ukraine, after the United States donating nearly $80 billion and Germany giving
$18 billion.
The hundred year partnership is mainly about support for rebuilding Ukraine’s
economy from Russian attacks in the past three years. It will cost more than a
trillion dollars to carry out those repairs. Donor countries will get a lot of that
money back by supplying industrial and consumer workers and management
personnel to get the work done as quickly as possible.
The British partnership takes the long view, guaranteeing Ukraine a reliable
commercial partner as well as a long-time military partner. This includes a
suspected agreement by Britain to supply a portion of any peacekeeping force
required by a peace treaty to end the war. A buffer zone will probably be needed,
staffed with troops from NATO nations. If the Russians attack, they will have to
go through the buffer zone and trigger a war with the 32 NATO nations.
This Deal Of A Century is a novel approach to guaranteeing Ukraine continued
military aid as well as more and support to help prevent another Russian attack in
the future.
-- James Dunnigan
{Perhaps concern over PRC management of Panama Canal port facilities is rational.
-- Sid Ontai}
"Sea Transportation: Chinese Containership Conquest" by James Dunnigan
February 22, 2025:
Chinese shipyards construct nearly 70 percent of the Container, or Box ship markets.
These vessels are the largest cargo ships to ever go to sea. The largest container ships
weigh up to 250,000 tons and are 400 meters long. That’s 15 percent longer and more
than twice as heavy as the largest aircraft carriers, like the U.S. Nimitz class.
Container ships can carry over 24,000 TEU/Twenty Foot Equivalent 6.1 meter metal
containers. These ships have crews of fewer than fifty officers and sailors. The Nimitz
has a ship’s complement of about 5,000 personnel.
The builder and owner of most of these containerships is China Ocean Shipping
Company or COSCO, which operates a fleet of nearly 400 24,000 TEU capacity
container ships. COSCO is owned by the Chinese government and its ships are
available for use by the military. In wartime that means COSCO ship officers have
been trained to deal with operating their ships in support of combat operations.
COSCO is a $26 billion a year business that also owns ship repair facilities and
port operations around the world. Meanwhile South Korea is getting back into the
construction of these 24,000 TEU ships with orders for 24 ships. In response to that
the Chinese are planning to build 32,000 TEU ships.
China has other shipping interests that are only tangentially related to moving
goods around the world. Chinese companies have been taking on the management
of more foreign ports. This port management business is an important capability
for many nations that lack the cash and experience to make their port operations
more efficient. China is not alone in this business. Persian Gulf states, especially
the UAE, have long been in the business of managing port operations for many
Asian and African nations. The UAE companies are reliable, wealthy and will
rapidly upgrade ports where they are welcome.
Chinese efforts have become less popular because ports managed by Chinese
companies, especially those in Central and South America, are increasingly used
by the Chinese government-influenced firms to allow Chinese operators to set up
espionage operations disguised as part of the Chinese port operations infrastructure.
Not only are so many Chinese managed ports being subverted for intelligence
and corporate espionage, but most of the shipping using these ports are built in
China by COSCO, a $255 billion a year business owned by the Chinese government,
that operates dozens of tankers and container transports, as well as ship repair
facilities and port operations around the world. It was always understood that
COSCO would provide cover for Chinese spy operations, and any special
operations the Chinese Navy needed help with.
China is often the major importer and exporters in ports it controls. That makes
it easier for Chinese raw material exports to move without paying all the taxes due.
The same game is played with tariffs imposed on imported goods. Chinese port
officials can doctor the paperwork and bribe locals as needed to get their goods into
a country as cheaply as possible.
Over the last few years it was found that COSCO was more into espionage than
previously thought. As American counter-terrorism activities increased in
out-of-the-way places, they often found that, not only was COSCO already there,
but so were plenty of Chinese intelligence personnel, operating under the cover
as COSCO employees. It was a near-perfect fit. Port operations are the center of
much of what goes into, and comes out of, a country. In many poor countries, the
local officials who oversee foreign operators like COSCO can be bribed to look
the other way when special cargo goes in, or out. COSCO also moves sensitive
people, and material, for the Chinese military or anyone else who can afford it.
It's never been a secret that COSCO works closely with Chinese military and
intelligence agencies, but the degree of cooperation has been increasing. COSCO
has also been caught smuggling illegal cargos like weapons, hazardous waste, and
anything else someone can afford to have moved. In most non-United States or
European ports the Chinese-run ports can do whatever they want without fear of
competition from nosy and generally incorruptible American or European port
inspectors.
The Chinese controlled ports provide a worldwide network of ports China can
use to disrupt port operations in wartime. Even the United States could not
quickly deal with the Chinese-controlled ports. Replacing personnel with trained
locals or foreigners would take weeks, if you were lucky but more likely months.
Meanwhile Chinese port management firms could sabotage port operations as a
last act before they were replaced by locals. The new port officials would require
training, much of it on the job training, as local training teams struggle to get
ports functioning effectively.
-- James Dunnigan
From the Merge --
A new report on the war in Ukraine reveals that while 60-80% of FPV drones
fail to even reach their target, they still manage to account for 60-70% of all
weapons effects.
The lack of artillery is one of the causal factors for these statistics.
“Aggressive maneuvers around Taiwan right now are not exercises,
as they call them. They are rehearsals.”
— Adm. Sam Paparo, Commander, US Indo-Pacific Command
“We’re ready to rock and roll on this. We’d go straight into production,
full-rate production. This Iron Dome is perfect timing for us, and I’d be willing
to go into Trump’s office and tell them we’re ready to go today.”
— Dave Alexander, President of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI),
on a new long-range wide-area sensor the company has been developing for the past decade
From Global Recaps,
Taiwan is investigating what it calls a “gray zone” action by China after an
undersea cable connecting Taiwan and Penghu was severed.
A Chinese-crewed vessel, the Hong Tai 168, has been detained.
Incident Overview -
This drama started on February 22, when the Hong Tai 168 was hanging out
a bit too close—925 meters (0.5 miles), to be exact—to the undersea cable.
Then, on February 25, Taiwan's Coast Guard (CGA) showed up at 2:30 am
to move them along.
Surprise, surprise! The cable was cut by 3 am, and all eight crewmembers,
who are Chinese nationals, were detained.
Investigation Underway -
The coast guard is investigating whether the cable cut was intentional or
accidental.
The ship did not respond to multiple broadcasts from Taiwan’s coast guard.
Authorities suspect a potential Chinese “gray zone operation,” which refers
to coercive actions falling short of war.
So what’s next? While the cut didn't disrupt communications, this incident
is more than just an inconvenience.
Past Incidents -
This is not the first time undersea cables around Taiwan have faced suspicious
damage.
In January, a Chinese-linked cargo vessel was suspected of cutting another
undersea cable off Taiwan’s northern coast.
Similar incidents in 2023 saw cables connecting Taiwan’s main island to its
outlying Matsu islands damaged, leading to internet blackouts.
Global Recaps, "Georgescu Arrested"
https://www.globalrecaps.com/p/georgescu-arrested
https://www.globalrecaps.com/p/georgescu-arrested
"Good habits and skill beat luck every time."
-- Sheriff Jim Wilson
"The Merge"
Breaking Defense
Intrigue
1440
29155
Global Recap
Timber Sycamore
(No caption because I could not find the dog's name.)
***** ***** ***** After Thoughts, Politics, and such ***** ***** *****
"I hate it when I'm trying to eat a salad and
it falls in the trash and I have to eat a taco instead."
-- Nicola Cavanis
"Army Stealing Food Money" by Docent
When I was in the Marine Corps at Kaneohe Marine Corps Air Station, the food
at the mess halls was terrible. I remember Sgt. Yeck taking a piece of "meat"
(actually just gristle) to our Sgt.Maj. to show him and to complain about the food.
Sgt. Maj. Troy took it up the chain of command and demanded an investigation.
Our battalion commander, Lt. Col. Moss, told Sgt. Maj. Troy he could retire
immediately or face disciplinary action. The Sgt. Maj. just disappeared.
Gun-control laws have always been racist and always will be.
"PERMIT-TO-CARRY APPLICATION OUTCOMES IN NEW JERSEY:
A COUNTY-LEVEL ANALYSIS (2019–2024)"
"Gun Ownership in America:
Surprising Statistics and What They Mean for 2nd Amendment Advocates"
by Mitch Goerdt
Recent correspondence from AgiliteGear.com -- 18 February 2025, 14:34 Central Time
Hi Jonathan Low,
We hope you’re doing well and staying safe. We’ve received your inquiry and
will get back to you within 4-6 business days. Due to the current security situation
in Israel, many of our customer service team members are deployed to Gaza and
Lebanon, which may result in delays in our response time.
. . .
"The Corruption of Science" by Docent
Excerpts:
"The journal Nature highlighted the scope of the issue in 2016 with a poll of
1,500 scientists. 70% of respondents reported that they had failed to reproduce
the results of at least one of their peer’s studies. 87% of chemists, 69% of physicists
and engineers, 77% of biologists, 64% of environmental and earth scientists,
67% of medical researchers, and 62% of all other respondents reported this issue.
50% had failed to reproduce one of their own experiments."
“ He also acknowledged that the system drove the best and brightest out of
academia and left only "obedient idiots". ”
---
I don't agree with Sabine Hossenfelder on various physics topics. But, I must
confess she has courage to stand up to the scientific establishment. I hope D.O.G.E.
cuts all their funding. No, I am not a hypocrite. When my family and I were living
off grant money, I was producing useful stuff that the U.S. Navy used to kill enemies.
The stuff I worked on really worked.
Aircraft carrier landing, plane descending at 800 feet per second is normal.
This commercial passenger aircraft was descending at 1100 feet per second.
Descent too fast for landing gear to tolerate. Landing gear on right side collapses.
Right wing hits the ground and shears off, fuel spills out and ignites.
Left wing is still providing lift and flips the plane over onto its back.
All 80 passengers and crew survive. Miracles do happen.
---
And now for the other side of the story.
"They're just going to ignore this,.." by Decoy Voice
Delta Airlines brags about DEI inclusion on the front end and blocks
all criticism on the back end.
---
"The TRUTH About the Delta 4819 Pilots!" by Dan Millican
Description of pilot and co-pilot.
"Superior judgment trumps superior skills." -- Dan Millican
---
"Toronto Emergency Landing: Captain Steeeve Breaks Down ATC & Survivor Footage"
by Captain Steeeve
Good advice for dressing for your airplane ride.
"The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it."
-- Mary Flannery O'Connor
"PA Gov Josh Shapiro Named in Trump Assassination Attempt
by Federal WHISTLEBLOWER in New AFFIDAVIT!"
by Brian Maxwell
(Because YouTube.com removed other such videos from the YouTube.com
platform. Notice how the narrator has to use euphemisms to avoid being
censored by YouTube.com.)
It was Joe Biden, not Donald Trump. Fake news on MSNBC.
Even Saturday Night Live understands.
"REVEALED: The Evil Mastermind Targeting Trump with Lawfare | Ep 86"
by Liz Wheeler
The Democrats couldn't pay activists to riot, because Kamala Harris spent all
of the Democrat's money on her presidential campaign.
"How USAID Funded the War on the Second Amendment"
by Susanne Edward
“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
Reggie
*************************************************************************
Psychology
Passport bros (The opposite of mail order brides.) by Brett Cooper
My maternal grandmother was a mail order bride from Korea.
My second wife was from Thailand. The marriage was so nice compared to my
first marriage to an American woman. The American woman took both of my
children and all of my money (including future income) in the divorce. The Thai
wife was gracious and kind during our divorce. The thought of taking my money
and property never entered her mind, because she was honorable. World of difference.
"Creating a monster: how men ruin their relationships"
Important for raising children.
"Talking is OVERRATED: most problems cannot be solved with discussion"
by Orion Taraban, Psy.D.
From an email from Orion Taraban, Psy.D. -- Wednesday, February 26th, 2025
"Hope and humility."
Most cultures look ahead to the future. The past is behind us – out of sight,
out of mind – while we walk toward the time to come with our eyes wide open.
The metaphor is so omnipresent that few ever think to question its blatant
absurdity. After all, if the future is before us, why can we not see it? And if the
past is behind us, why does it seem to come along for the ride?
To my knowledge, it is the Basque culture that most accurately symbolizes
man's relation to time. In that linguistic tradition, humans are walking backward
into their future. Their eyes see only where they have been been, and they
blindly progress down a unknown (and uncertain) path. To be sure, a person in
such a predicament can make general deductions as to his heading – if he is
facing north, he must be walking south – but there is little he can do to predict
the progress of his journey with any satisfying degree of accuracy.
We are all being hurtled backward into our futures. An easy path might
suddenly give way. A strenuous incline might flatten out just around the corner.
Deep appreciation of this fact inspires both humility and hope. Humility
because no prosperity is perpetually assured. And hope because we do not
know – cannot know – when our fortunes might change for the better.
---
This week's behavioral experiment:
Stop consuming drinks with added sugars. Notice how you feel.
Warmly,
Orion
"Winning to lose: what do you hope to gain?" by Orion Taraban, Psy.D.
This is a reality check for delusional persons. Because . . .
"Most people are DELUSIONAL: the psychosis of everyday life" by Orion Taraban, Psy.D.
---
People believe what they want to believe and they refuse to believe anything that
is obnoxious to their worldview, especially their political / religious view.
People do what they want to do and neglect to do that which they don't want to do.
So always ask what have you done, not what do you plan to do, nor what do you dream
of doing. There is no truth in future plans or dreams. The truth lies in what they have
chosen to do in the past.
*************************************************************************
Gabby with baby human.
"Shawn Ryan on Masculinity, Independence, and Family | Episode 6"
by Brett Cooper
"When The U.S. Navy Tried To Kill The President (FDR)"
by Will Dabbs, MD
Hat tip to Tom McHale.
Excerpt:
Whenever the USS Porter encountered other American ships,
she was greeted with the refrain, “Don’t shoot, we’re Republicans.”
There would be no living that down.
Agilite is looking to hire a
"SOCOM/US Military Business Development Manager"
and a
"Business Development Manager - US Government Sales"
full time in Holon, Israel
They would strongly prefer a person who speaks Hebrew.
(They asked me to apply because of my connections in the U.S., but I don't speak
Hebrew.)
Making beer cheese with Sadie Newman.
"The Biden administration launched a massive multi-year lawsuit against SpaceX
for not hiring asylum seekers, despite the fact that SpaceX is legally BARRED from
hiring non-permanent residents under ITAR, because rockets are an advanced weapons
technology. In other words, it was both illegal to hire asylum seekers and illegal not to
hire asylum seekers!!" —Elon Musk
Lucy with human.
but at an Epocha when the rights of mankind were better understood and more clearly defined,
than at any former period.”
—George Washington (1783)
—George Washington (1783)
" 'They Can Never Tell Us Who Put Cocaine At The White House...':
Jim Jordan Calls Out Biden-Era DOJ" by Forbes Breaking News
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeCxgpd9aQ0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeCxgpd9aQ0
"The Media Completely Ignored This Mass Shooting Stopped By Armed Citizen"
by Colion Noir
Semper Fidelis,
Jonathan D. Low
Email: Jon_Low@yahoo.com
Radio: KI4SDN
